This Was Just So

This was just so 🥵

Unexpected

Part 2 • Part 3

You could have told me you were a married man.

{Tengen & Wives x Fem! Reader}

Warnings: Contains Smut - never in my life did I think I’d write a 5some. Vaginal sex — cunnalingus (giving and receiving) and Face sitting

A/N: in honor of our beautiful sound Hashira and his beautiful wives finally being animated in all their glory I’d also like to add — if this is well received I’ll absolutely write more! I have plenty of ideas for them

Word Count: 7,540

You never expected to catch the sound pillar’s eye. The extravagant man was attracted to anything he considered flamboyant and you figured you were anything but. However the man seemed to be fascinated by you as you tended to his wounds.

Bandaging led to touching, which led to kissing, which led to even more. The next morning you were mortified thinking the pillar must have been poisoned and not had his wits about him. After he assured you that wasn't the case, you began seeing him more often.

You thought he was sweet, maybe a little vulgar from time to time, but friendly overall. Some found him annoying, you found him rather charming…until…. “Tengen.” you crossed your arms, looking up at the large man as if you were intimidating. No one was intimidating if you had to look all the way down to see them.

The man in question was smiling down at you as if he found this cute. “Tengen.” you stated again, staring up at the man as if that would make him respond. “You know, I may be shorter than you, but I’m still the perfect height to knee you in the balls. Answer me.” that got the smile to falter, “what is it?” he tilted his head, arms crossing as he continued to look at you. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a married man?” you felt like a filthy cheater.

“I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you yet.” he spoke as if this were an everyday occurrence. “You were going to tell me?” you couldn't really wrap your head around the man in front of you. He was a married man, a man married to three wives. “Do they even know about each other?” you were infuriated. “They are well aware of each other, we all live together after all.” your eyes widened, what the hell was this man into?

“Let me explain before you get things all twisted in your mind.” you listened intently as he explained the whole situation. “I do apologize for not telling you sooner, I was afraid I’d scare you away.” he reached for your hand, one you let him take and lift to his lips. “Do they know about me?” you sunk your teeth into your lower lip, “they do, I’ve told them much about you.” you felt your cheeks heat, it seems you were the only one out of the loop.

“I had no intention of being with other women. Three are more than enough for me and I care for them dearly, but then I met you. I’ll be damned but you swept me off my feet.” he seemed a bit embarrassed to say such a thing. “Me? I wooed the great Uzui Tengen?” you laughed, feeling the mood lighten a bit. “You did, of course you did! You knocked the wind out of me, I never intended to have a fourth wife but you...took me by surprise.” your eyes widened at the use of “fourth wife.” whether he intended to or not, he made his intentions very clear.

“Do...they like me?” you found yourself aching for the approval of three women you hadn’t met yet.

“They can’t form an opinion till they meet you, my dear. But they are thinking highly of you since you managed to steal my heart.” he played with your fingers while he talked. “Makio is a bit rough around the edges, she is quick to anger but really a sweetheart. Then there is Hina, the level headed one of the three. She is very motherly and sweet but she is strong as steel. And then there is Suma, who is a little cry baby but she is adorable.” he laughed softly to himself as he thought of his three wives. “I think you will fit in perfectly, you have quite the mouth on you so you’ll get along well with Makio. You’re level headed like Hina, which also means you’ll get along with Suma.”

You felt light headed, “Well, I certainly feel the pressure.” you laughed softly, hoping Tengen didn’t notice your clammy palm. “There is nothing to worry about, y/n. You don’t have to meet them till you’re ready.” He kissed your knuckles again, hoping to ease your racing heart. “I would like to meet them.” You figured there was no better way than just ripping the bandaid off all at once.

“Then let’s go meet them.” He watched your eyes turn as wide as saucers and began to laugh. “See! You aren’t ready yet. If you are so eager to meet them, how about tomorrow afternoon for lunch?” You sighed, slightly relieved that you would have some time to prepare. “Okay…” you said after a moment, thinking of all the things you’d need to do to prepare yourself.

“I’ll see you tomorrow my dear.” He kissed your forehead before getting up and disappearing before you could even say a word. You mentally noted that you’d probably never be able to get used to his speed.

You woke up the next morning with your stomach in knots. You took a long soak in the hot springs the night before. You washed your hair, and even used some fancy creams that were saved for special occasions. You decided you didn’t want to overdo it, so you wore your hair as you usually did and put on your corps uniform.

You slipped your Haori on, adjusting yourself one more time before reaching for your favourite scented oil. “I feel like I’m about to be killed.” You muttered to yourself, there was no need to be so intimidated. You trusted Tengen but the pit in your stomach just wouldn’t go away.

“Good afternoon, my dear.” You jumped a little as Tengen’s voice appeared right behind you. “Good afternoon, you scared me.” You turned to face the man, slightly surprised to see his hair down. “Oh…” you took in his full appearance. Everything was the same, but his hair was down and there was no eye makeup.

“Handsome I know.” You laughed as he flexed his muscles, not noticing the smile on his face as you turned to put the scented oils down. “Do I look okay?” You chewed on the inside of your cheek as he gave you a dramatic once over. “Stunning as always.” He kissed your forehead like the day before, but he moved down to kiss your nose, then your cheeks, then finally your lips. “They are going to love you, promise.”

He extended his arm, allowing you to hook yours with his. “They are waiting for us outside.” You nodded, the butterflies in your stomach turning into a wild frenzy as you stepped outside and saw the three women waiting. “Oh my.” Was all you could muster, they were gorgeous. “This is y/n.” Tengen introduced you as you stepped into the sunlight.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you three.” You felt shaky, worried of what their first reactions would be. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, y/n. Tengen has told us so much!” Hina moved forward, reaching for your free hand. “I’m Hinatsuru, but just call me Hina.” Tengen loosened his grip and allowed Hina to pull you forward towards the other two women.

“I’m Makio!” The girl smiled at you, Suma hiding behind her a bit. “It’s nice to meet you!” She called, she seemed to be as nervous as you. “Go say hi!” Makio pushed her forward. “This is Suma!” Suma squealed as she stumbled forward. “So mean!” She whirled to look at Makio before turning back to you. “Tengen is right! You are beautiful.” The compliment caught you by surprise.

“Suma!” Tengen looked shocked, a blush spreading up his face. “Oh! He gushes about you all the time y/n!” Suma continued, not even paying attention to the way Tengen was turning scarlet. “He really does.” Makio laughed, walking over to Tengen and poking his red cheeks. “Stop it you two!” Hina tried to scold them but ended up laughing instead.

“Let’s go to lunch!” Tengen rushed forward leaving the four of you to follow after him. You laughed as Suma hooked arms with Makio, chasing after the tall man. “I think you’ll like being with us y/n.” Hina smiled, extending her arm to you. “I think so too.” All worries you had faded from your kind, hooking arms with Hina you both chased after the other three.

“So how exactly…does your relationship work?” You felt comfortable enough around them the more you spoke at lunch. You knew the question wouldn’t offend them. “I’ll let you girls explain it, you’ll just bicker at me if I explain it poorly.” You laughed as Makio flicked his arm.

“Well it originally started as Suma and Tengen.” Hina began, sipping her tea quietly. “It’s common for shinobi to have multiple husbands or wives. Over time, Makio and I were accepted into their marriage. it’s the four of us…now we have you!” You felt your cheeks turn warm. They welcomed you in so easily it made your heart soar.

“It’s getting late, shall we order some drinks?” You had been there for at least three hours already. Makio looked out the window of the small restaurant, “May as well stay for dinner since we’ve been here so long.” Tengen shrugged, a large arm wrapping around you and Makio’s shoulder. You came to a startling realisation in that moment, you felt no jealousy seeing Tengen be fond of the other women.

“Sake please!” Suma waved excitedly as a girl brought the drinks over. “If you’re comfortable around us sober, you’ll enjoy our company while drunk” Tengen whispered in your ear, you raised an eyebrow at him. Before you could question him, a woman set down a jar of sake and five cups. “May we see your dinner menu?” Hina smiled as the woman walked away to grab the small menu.

“So what is it like being a demon slayer, y/n?” Makio rested her arm on the table to look around Tengen at you. “We’ve been shinobi our whole lives, Tengen isn’t exactly your average corps member.”

You raised an eyebrow “are you saying i’m average, Makio?” you began to laugh as the girl looked horrified. “I’m kidding! I understand what you meant.” you realised all eyes were on you, eager to hear your story. “It’s not as exciting as you’d think! I’ve had my share of tragedy and became who I am today. It’s boring really.” you downed a shot of sake after that, you didn’t mind talking about your past but it wasn’t really a topic you wanted to share during your first meeting.

“I can drink to that, don’t be afraid to open up to us whenever you need.” Tengen kissed the top of your head, grabbing his own cup and downing sake as well. By the time you ordered your dinner, you had three full jugs of sake gone between the five of you. “Ooh!” Suma was by far the most tipsy, “she’s a lightweight, we usually don’t let her drink this much.” Hina laughed as Suma’s head rested on her shoulder, smiling lazily as the food was placed on the table.

“I can tell.” you smiled at the girl, you felt it yourself but you certainly weren't that far gone. “Some food in her stomach should sober her up.” you portioned food onto her plate and watched her eyes light up. “You’re so kind y/n!” she wailed as tears came to her eyes. Hina tried to hush the girl. “Suma! Man up!” Makio slammed her cup onto the table, the action causing you to burst into a fit of giggles.

“Eat up before it gets cold!” Tengen began to eat, eyes shifting to observe the four of you as you all began to eat. By the time the meal was done, another jug of sake was gone. You finally had the courage to ask some things you were curious about. “Okay okay wait, I do have a question.” you had a lazy grin on your face, falling back a bit to lean against Tengen.

“Ask away.” Hina’s cheeks were a bit rosey, but that was the only telling sign that she was feeling the effects of the sake. “How does sex work between you four?” you couldn’t lie, it was a question that had been haunting you for the last twenty four hours. Tengen barked out a laugh, “I told you she was kinky!”

You gasped, slapping his arm “it’s a valid question!” Makio began laughing, “I’ll let Hina answer that one.” You turned your attention to Hina, who was currently glaring at Makio for passing the question to her. “Well, it depends on the day. Most of the time we share him, other times we all take a go at him.” She shrugged. You began to giggle at the thought.

“So some nights he’ll pick who he wants to spend it with. And other nights you’ll spend it together. Do you ever have like… threesomes if one of you doesn’t want to?” You sipped your water, having switched over after the last cup of sake made your head spin. “Of course, sometimes we even have fun without Tengen.” Makio laughed as Tengen seemed surprised by that answer.

“Do you even have the stamina to take 4 women on in one night ?” You looked at the man next to you, as if the question was a challenge. “You must be kidding, I could take all four of you easily.” He seemed cocky, as if he was hoping you’d ask him to prove it.

“What do you think, Makio? Could he?” Your eyes glanced at Hina and Suma who seemed to be sobering up a bit at the challenge. “I think he may be a little in over his head with that one y/n.” Hina nodded in agreement. “Suma, what do you think?” Suma seemed to be more coherent than she was ten minutes prior. “I think he should try and prove us wrong!”

She burst into another fit of giggles. “Check please!” Tengen waved over to one of the women, and she disappeared quickly to retrieve it. “You four will be the death of me.” He shook his head, your heart skipped a beat as his hand grabbed your thigh, squeezing tightly.

The five of you were a sight to behold as you walked through the streets to get to their estate. “They probably think you’re our pimp.” You laughed as Suma hooked arms with you for support. “Suma don’t say things like that out loud!” Makio yelled, Suma squealed and held onto you tighter.

“I think you made more of a scene than Suma did Makio.” Tengen laughed , Hina guiding him down another road as he looked back at you three. “Y/n, I think you’ll like our home!” Tengen smiled fondly, he couldn’t be happier with how the night was turning out. Though somewhere in the back of his slightly buzzed brain, he was questioning if he’d actually be able to satisfy all four of you.

The added addition of you wasn’t too crazy, but it was still another woman to satisfy.

“Here we are.” Hina announced with a smile, pushing open the gates to allow everyone in. “It may seem surprising but we don’t have any sort of help here. We aren’t really messy people after all.” Suma whispered to you, a dopey smile on her face as she leaned in closer. “Which also means we don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing.”

You must have looked surprised, the giggles she let out caught Makio’s attention. “What did you say to her?” She looked between the two of you, your warm cheeks must have given away that it was a suggestive comment. As you entered into the estate itself you began to realize what exactly was about to take place.

“Have you ever done anything with women before, y/n?” Hina joined your other side, smiling at the way Suma was fiddling with your Haori. “I haven’t…though I've never been opposed to the idea.” You began to feel a bit hot and bothered as they guided you towards their shared bedroom. You knew Tengen’s eyes were glued to you, taking in every little reaction.

“So you’re technically a virgin.” Makio cooed, making your cheeks burn up. “I’m not a virgin!” You wailed a little louder than you would have liked. “My my…you feel warm.” Hina placed a hand to your cheek, pressing her lips to it afterwards to confirm her conclusion. “She’s blushing silly!” Suma giggled as you finally reached their shared room.

“I dunno, Suma. She may not be feeling well. Maybe we will try this another time.” Makio was right behind you, all of a sudden you were all too aware of their bodies pressing to yours. “I-I’m fine! Please…I…” why were you saying please? You heard Tengen chuckle from behind you as well.

“Please what?” Makio was pushing the four of you along into the room, Tengen following a few steps behind. You felt hot, cheeks burning and your palms were slightly clammy. “Please…I-I don’t know…” why was it so hard for you to speak all of a sudden? As you glanced side to side you realized both Suma and Hina’s breasts were squished into you.

“You don’t know?” Hina cooed in your ear, kneeling on the bed and pulling you down with her. “Maybe we should take off some of these layers…” Makio crawled onto the bed as well. Pushing you down until she straddled you fully. “Suma, be a dear and help me.” Makio’s voice was smooth as honey, looking down at you with lidded eyes. Makio began undoing the buttons of your uniform while Suma tugged at your Haori. Hina on the other hand watched with a lazy grin on her face.

“Don’t overwhelm her, you three.” you jumped slightly, forgetting Tengen was even in the room. “We won’t” they all sang back in unison making you giggle. “Sit up a little.” Suma pouted as she struggled to take the haori off of you. “This would be a lot quicker if I did it.” you sunk your teeth into your bottom lip at Tengen’s add in. “Don’t rush us!” Makio whined as she finally finished undoing your top. “Dammit! Why are you wearing this y/n!” she was referring to the bindings you had on your chest.

“Can we just cut them off?” Suma shamelessly began fondling your breast though the cloth. “Y–yeah. Just cut it, rip it…ah…” your eyes fluttered shut when Suma squeezed particularly harshly. “Tengen, get over here.” Your eyes opened as the bed dipped under his weight, you felt heat pool in your abdomen as his much larger hand engulfed your other breast. “Pardon the roughness.” he chuckled to himself as he easily ripped the cloth, your breasts spilling out for the four of them to see.

You squealed as you realized four pairs of eyes were taking in your half naked form. “It’s only fair if you undress too.” You puffed your cheeks out, determined to not hide your breasts. “If you insist!” Suma was all too eager to shed her clothes, not an ounce of embarrassment in her. You came to a startling realization once again when you realized she oozes as much confidence as Tengen does.

“Well if you three are going to just gawk at us…” Suma’s lips crashed to yours with a soft hum. After the initial surprise passed, you kissed her back, arms wrapping around her neck to pull her closer. You were faintly aware of rustling clothes, behind closed eyes you were certain the others were undressing. Your thoughts were confirmed when you felt Tengen’s hands pull your uniform pants down along with your panties in one go.

“Suma, stop hogging her!” You gasped as Makio pushed Suma out of the way, her lips crashing down on you before you could even catch your breath. Makio’s hips rolled against yours, a gasp leaving your lips as your drunken mind processed you were touching skin to skin. You definitely weren’t as sober as you had thought, though becoming lust-drunk wasn’t really helping either.

“Makio!” You smiled against her lips as Suma wailed. “You’ll get another chance, Suma.” It was Hina speaking this time. “Though I'm not too sure with how Tengen is looking at her.” That alone sent your stomach into cartwheels. Makio parted from you, a string of saliva connecting your lips. “So this is what you were keeping from us Tengen? You sly bastard.” Makio slipped off of you, allowing someone else to move on you.

The look in Tengen’s eyes was nothing short of ravenous. “I’ll let you ladies work her up…” he winked down at you, getting himself comfortable while leaving you at the mercy of his three wives. “Well since you two had some fun…” Hina’s lips were on your neck rather than your lips, the sudden stimulation making your moan softly. “Sensitive there?” Makio’s fingers trailed up your legs to your thighs. The sudden close contact made your stomach flip, anticipating her hand to travel where you wanted it.

“Oh? You want me to touch you don’t you y/n.” Makio cooed at you yet again, her hand resting near the top of your thigh. It was hard to even think straight with Hina sucking on your neck. Your eyes trailed over Makio’s form, meanwhile Suma had wandered up the bed to give Tengen some attention. Big breasts, a small waist, thick thighs, Makio was drool worthy in your eyes. “I-I do. Please.”

Makio smiled, hand dancing ever so closer to your throbbing cunt. So this was Tengen’s plan, let the girls do all the foreplay and then let him get to work. “You want me to touch you here?” Her hand brushed over your abdomen, your hips bucking slightly “lower.” Your words were muffled as Hina pecked your lips before licking towards your breasts. You were enjoying the attention but part of you was aching to touch them back. “There is plenty of time for that, pretty girl” Tengen smiled as Suma kissed up his chest.

“Did I say that out loud?” You were positive your face was on fire. “

Before anyone could reply you let out a noise that made everyone freeze. “M-Makio!” You slapped a hand over your mouth as Makio’s fingers ghosted your clit. “Makio, I told you she’s sensitive.” Tengen was laughing as the noise you let out caused Suma to leave him. You didn’t expect Makio to be scarlet when you looked back up at her, her fingers still buried between your slick folds.

Hina on the other hand was kissing your sternum, not going near either breast yet. “Finally! Someone who is more sensitive than me!” Suma cheered, excited that they’d have someone else to tease rather than her. You covered your face with your hands to try and hide the embarrassment, only for Suma to pull them away seconds later. “Nuh uh that's not how we do things. You gotta own the noises you make.” She giggled as your face melted into pleasure, Makio had begun toying with you in earnest now.

“Makio…” you whimpered, her fingers toyed with your clit every few seconds. “Hina!” Your eyes shot down to the dark haired girl that had taken your nipple into her mouth. Suma and Tengen watched intently, you squirmed again, feeling awkward that you had done nothing to pleasure any of them yet.

“Let’s try something else… y/n sit up.” Makio pulled her fingers off of you completely, Suma has crawled away from Tengen to focus on you once more. The three of you looked at Hina, waiting for her next orders. “Suma…lay down.” Suma did as she was asked, out of the corner of your eye you spotted Tengen stroking himself lazily. Suma did as Hina asked, you watched as her breasts jiggled. “Y/N.” Your eyes snapped back to Hina who had a smile on her face from catching you gawking. Heat flooded your cunt in some sort of embarrassed satisfaction.

“Sit on her face please.” The request made Suma squeal in excitement, you nodded, cheeks burning up as you moved. Your thighs caged in her head, thick black hair soft against the plush of your thighs. “C’mon don’t keep me waiting!” Her hands came up to grasp your thighs, urging you to move forward and lower down. “Makio…keep her busy okay?” You tore your eyes from Suma to watch Hina climb over to Tengen, straddling his lap.

“Eyes on me, pretty girl.” Makio blocked your vision, lowering your hips for you so Suma could play with you. Her lips crashed against yours with so much force your thighs gave out, pressing down into Suma’s face. You moaned against Makio’s lips as Suma began greedily lapping at your cunt. “Feels good doesn’t it? Our little Suma is so good with her tongue.” You gasped into Makio’s lips as Suma began lapping at your clit. It was teasing, but enough to make that familiar build up begin in your gut.

You mumbled some sort of response, hands coming up to touch Makio as you gained a bit of confidence when she whined. Involuntarily you began grinding your hips against Suma, her nose bumping your clit at a steady rhythm. Your back arched into Makio as Suma’s moan sent vibrations straight through your core. “Shit…suma…” her grip became tighter on your thighs making you bite down on Makio’s lip. “Makio…can I?” Your fingers ghosted down her front and to her cunt, two fingers slipping between her folds so you could toy with her clit.

There was a moment of silence, you watched her eyes turn glossy as she nodded. Behind her you realized Hina was slowly bouncing, Tengen’s grip tight on her waist. Your fingers rubbed quick circles on her clit, the sudden and intense stimulation making her hips jerk away from you. A smirk creeped up your lips, “too rough?” You weren’t sure where this sudden confidence came from but you weren’t going to question it. “A-a little.” You slowed a bit, biting down on her earlobe as you pushed further, fingers coming in contact with her dripping entrance.

You gasped when suma sucked particularly harshly in your clit, giggling when she heard you. You felt the tension building, determined to bring Makio to her peak by the time Suma brought you to yours. “You three…seem to be having fun.” Tengen’s voice was gruff, watching you three intently while Hina bounced in perfect rhythm on his cock.

You couldn’t muster up a response, slightly hypnotized by the way Hina was moving. Her back was to you, but you could still see the way her breasts bounced. “Oi…Tengen.” Makio’s eyes fluttered shut as you pushed two fingers inside. “Hmm?” He kissed Hina’s shoulder, locking eyes with you while waiting for Makio to respond. “You better fuck her good…she’s a fucking brat.” You laughed against her neck, your fingers pumping in and out of her with ease.

“Don’t you need air, Suma?” Your hips lifted, expecting the girl to be gasping for air. “Did I say you could go anywhere?” She pulled your thighs back down, biting at your clit. “Fuck!” Your fingers buried deeper in Makio out of surprise. “Watch it, Suma!” The squeal she let out had you doubling forward, nails digging into Makio. Your orgasm was quickly approaching, the tension in your gut making you gasp for air.

“She’s close.” Makio stated the obvious with a proud smile, one that faded as soon as you began rubbing quick circles on her clit yet again. “You should come with me, Makio.” You whispered it against her ear for only her. Tengen groaned in approval, you forgot about his hearing. Suma’s tongue became more frantic, all focus maintained on your clit. “Shit Suma!” You underestimated her, your hand spasming between Makio’s folds as Suma pushed you over the edge.

You clenched around nothing, hips jerking as Suma’s tongue didn’t slow down until you were trying to pull your hips away, a pained cry leaving your lips from the overstimulation. You wanted to collapse already, your post orgasm haze making your eyes heavy. “Damn Suma…you already wore her out….” You blinked the stars out of your eyes, lifting your hips to allow her out. “ ‘m not worn out…” you lifted yourself higher, pushing your body weight on Makio until she fell backwards.

“Just gotta find a better angle.” You began lazily kissing down her chest, eyes locking with Tengen as you descended lower. You watched Hina sink down fully with a shaky gasp, hips rocking heavily as she rode out her orgasm. “Ooo gonna show Makio what you can do?” You laughed as Suma crawled up to Tengen, taking Hina’s place as she flopped down on the bed heaving. “One down, three to go.” Tengen winked as Suma slid down on his length.

Your lips sunk into the plush flesh of Makio’s thigh, smiling as she arched her back slightly. You moved up a bit, kissing everywhere but the place you knew she wanted it most. Hina was watching you lazily, eyes flickering from you and Makio to suma and Tengen. “Sorry…” you didn’t know why exactly Tengen was apologizing until the bed shook, Suma’s head fell next to Makio, Tengen lifting her up by her thighs to hook them over his shoulders.

“Always flashy huh” before you could hear his response you buried your face between Makio’s legs. You liked the way she squealed, her moans mixing with Suma’s as Tengen began rocking the whole bed. You focused your mouth on her clit, flicking it back and forth with your tongue until her hand buried in your hair holding you in place. You couldn’t think straight because of the moans and cries leaving Suma. All the while Makio was whining on your tongue. It was sensory overload for your post orgasm mind.

“Shit!” You smiled against her cunt as she came, her whole body twitched as your tongue didn’t slow. “Shit y/n!” You finally slowed, working her through the orgasm until she was whimpering in pain from the overstimulation. “Was that good?” You peppered kisses along her thighs and stomach, crawling up to hover over her and kiss her lips. “Yes…” she had a fucked out look in her eyes, one yoh were going to admire longer if it wasn’t for Suma grabbing you. “Ah…y/n…next time do that to me!” She let her head fall back again, Tengen’s hips rocking into her with perfect precision.

“She’s always talkative regardless of her position.” Tengen laughed, angling his hips a different way and causing her to yell in pleasure. You decided to admire the man before you, momentarily forgetting about the other three women in the room to admire his body. Over six feet of relentlessly trained muscles. His abs constricted with each thrust, leading down into a teasing V-line where his hips met Suma. His strong thighs flexed as he kept himself at a certain angle, as your eyes trailed upwards you noticed the veins bulging in his arms.

Both hands held Suma’s thighs, his arms wrapping around her legs to keep them over his broad shoulders. “Oh you’re close baby aren’t you?” His brows furrowed as he focused, hips moving at the same pace but determined to keep the rhythm. “Hina.” At the sound of her name she sat up, hand snaking down Suma’s front to begin toying with her clit. “Oh!” She whined, cheeks bright red as her eyes squeezed shut. “So cute.” You chuckled at the girl’s expression, anticipation of your own turn with Tengen making you clench around nothing,

You watched in awe as Suma finally reached her own release. The most melodic moan left her lips, one that made your eyebrows raise in surprise. “Woah.” Your simple comment made her burst into giggles despite Tengen rocking her through it. “You think you can take two more big boy?” You watched his soften cock slip

out of her, glistening in the moon light with their arousal. “Oh I absolutely can. Since you want to test me, Makio is first.” You gasped, straightening up to look him in the eye. “You’re really going to make me go last! All your stamina will be gone.” You faked a pout.

“That is precisely why my love. You seem to underestimate me.” You moved away from Makio, giving her space to turn on her back and allow Tengen access to her entrance. “Prove it.” You smiled, anticipation swirling around your gut when he smirked at you. “Oh I will.” Hina surprised you, pulling you against her chest and kissing your cheek as Tengen ran his head between Makio’s slit. “You’re keeping up well, y/n. Are you enjoying yourself?” You relaxed into her touch, “I am…this is certainly a fun way to bond.”

Regardless of just meeting these three women earlier in the day, you felt you had known them your whole life. That was part of the reason this whole thing was so fun for you. They accepted you into the relationship with open arms and respected you. “I’m glad. I must say. This may have to become an everyday occurance.” She giggled as Tengen shot her a surprised look, slipping into Makio in the process. “You know how to rile him up.” Her whisper was only meant for you, but Tengen heard it anyway. “Yeah she does.”

You watched with lidded eyes as Tengen found a steady rhythm, the sound of skin slapping skin echoed in the room once more. You began admiring him again, the way his shoulder muscles flexed as he held up his own weight for example. He was drool worthy handsome, his hair down only intensified it. Sweat beads dripped down his face, sliding along his jaw and landing somewhere on the sheets below him. You couldn’t wait to get your hands on that man, feel his muscles and his soft hair under your fingertips.

Your eyes trailed down Makio’s ass to her waist, Tengen’s hands shifted from holding him up while he leaned over her to holding her waist when changing his angle. Your eyes trailed further to her breasts, squished against the mattress like her face was. She was biting her lip, as if determined to not moan for him. “She’s stubborn when it comes to making noises, I was shocked she was so vocal for you.” You smiled as Hina laced your fingers with hers, playing with your hand while watching the sight before you.

Suma on the other hand was close to falling asleep. “Does she always get this sleepy after?” Your eyes trailed over her, laughing as she curled up in a ball and began to snore. “Sometimes, but not always.” You we’re about to cover her with a blanket when Tengen’s voice stopped you. “You seemed to enjoy watching me with Suma and Hina, keep your eyes trained on me.” He thrusted into Makio particularly hard after that, a mewl leaving her lips. “She’s pretty close, clenching around me tight as a vice.” She whimpered as he revealed her secret.

“So you aren't tired yet, Big boy?” You weren’t sure if you were making it worse for Makio or yourself by taunting him. “I can go all night baby. In fact, maybe I’ll let these three go to bed and I’ll teach you a lesson.” You squeezed your thighs together in anticipation. “My my, you really know how to get to him y/n.” Hina was laughing behind you, you couldn’t help but smile yourself, watching as Makio came around Tengen. “Atta-girl Makio!” Tengen cooed as he rocked her through her orgasm until pulling out completely. “Hina, if you don’t mind cleaning her up. I have a certain brat to attend to.”

You felt a shiver run down your spine, he had a determined glint in his eyes. “Just think baby, you’ll have three beautiful women to attend to you once I’m done.” You gulped at that, maybe teasing him wasn’t the greatest idea. You watched him move Makio to the side, placing her gently on the bed away from him. “Y/n.” You looked him dead in the eye, for some reason you were determined to be a brat to him. “Come here.” You stayed in place, Hina watching you from the corner of her eye with a smile.

“You’re really going down this route?” Tengen chuckled, something that sent your stomach into a frenzy of butterflies. He shook his head, running a hand through his sweaty hair and smirking as you admired him. “I was thinking of going a bit easy on you baby, but I don’t think you want that.” He made his way towards you now, hands coming to grab your legs and tug them towards him. You let out a surprised gasp as you fell flat to your back, staring up at him in surprise.

“Cat got your tongue?” His hand came up to squish your cheeks together, a small smile breaking through his tough guy facade when he saw the way your lips pucker up. “Mmm…aah.” You tried to speak but only muffled nonsense slipped past your squished cheeks. “Bet you’ve been waiting all night for me to show you attention huh?” He wasn’t lying, you’d been waiting for his touch ever since he squeezed your thigh back at the restaurant. Finally he let go of your cheeks, and you nodded quickly “yes.” You weren’t afraid to admit that. Honestly you were a little more intimidated now that he was over you.

“Oh now you want to be good?” Before you could retaliate, his lips crashed to yours in a bruising kiss. You wasted no time, arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer. You smiled against his mouth as his white hair fell to tickle your face. He used one hand to keep himself above you while the other came down to hold your hip. You melted into his touch, mouth opening without hesitation to allow his tongue inside. He lowered himself further, using his elbow to keep his weight up while being able to press his body flush against yours.

Your own stomach tensed at the feeling of his abs against you, a stark contrast compared to your own soft skin. His kisses left your mouth and trailed down your neck, biting and sucking wherever he saw fit. You buried your hands in his hair, tugging softly at the strains and making him groan. “So sweet.” His lips descended to your chest. “Why am I even trying to work you up?” You gasped as his hand roughly slipped between your wet folds. Your previous orgasm and arousal made slick noises as he ran his fingers up and down your slit.

“I bet if I slipped in right now you’d suck me in and hold me tight huh? So filthy…” you felt his head press to your entrance, precum still oozing over his tip despite three previous orgasms. “Why don’t you test that theory, Tengen.” Despite coming once, you had pent up frustration over the fact that he saved you for last. You gasped, hands fisting his hair tighter as he pressed his head in just enough to stretch you. The feeling was a bit uncomfortable despite how wet you were, he didn’t pull back out until your hands relaxed their grip.

“Maybe I worked you up too much.” He sounded a bit apologetic as he peppered your face with kisses. You felt his head press into you again, you shivered as he smirked against your neck. “I’ll be gentle with you for a bit.” You felt your cheeks burn up, slightly embarrassed by his sweet talk. Somewhere in the back of your mind you were curious who was watching, but with Tengen fully enveloping your senses you couldn’t care less. The next kiss was sweet enough that it made your mind go blank.

“There we go.” He whispered praise against your lips, pushing his hips in slowly until you took him in fully. “That’s better.” He pulled away a bit, watching your face contort as you adjusted to his size. You’d only slept with him a few times, it was going to take a bit to get fully used to his size. “Now then…I’m going to put you in your place.” Your eyes went wide, almost forgetting the fact that you had antagonized him to get to this point.

“Oh…” you clenched around him involuntarily, trying to avoid his gaze when you realized just how submissive you became for him. You moaned as his hips pulled back and slammed into you again, after a few sloppy harsh thrusts he found a steady rhythm. “See baby, you take me so well.” The sound of skin against skin filled the room again, as well as the sloppy wet noises each time he buried himself in you. “See, so good for me baby. You probably love the fact that Hina, Makio and Suma’s cum is in you now too huh?” You moaned, the filthy thought making you clench around him.

“Yeah you do. Fuck you’re so beautiful.” He grabbed your hair, pulling your head up and forcing you to watch as he thrusted deep into you. He wasn’t going to last as long as he thought, as he thrusted into your sloppy cunt he realized how overstimulated he was becoming. Four women back to back were going to take some practice on his part. “Tengen…” you felt breathless, your second orgasm quickly crept up on you. He moaned shamelessly, eyes wandering down to your bouncing breasts. You clenched tightly, eyes locked on where his cock kept disappearing into your cunt.

You sunk your teeth into your lower lip, watching the way his cock glistened with your arousal with each and every thrust. “Close…” you felt that familiar build up in your gut, clenching tightly as you tried to force yourself over the edge. “Hina?” Tengen forced his eyes away from you to look for her. You couldn’t see her, but it seemed she was still on the bed. “Please.” You were confused about what he was asking her to do until she appeared beside you, laying down on her side. You watched her hand snake down your front disappearing when she found your clit. You connected the dots quickly and let your head fall back the second Tengen released his grip on you.

Hina’s fingers were beautifully skilled, knowing just how fast and how much pressure to apply to have your legs shaking as Tengen rammed into you over and over, perfectly hitting all your sensitive points. Your back arched, eyes squeezing shut as you panted. Your release was so close. “Fuck…” with a few more thrusts, Tengen thrusted so deep you could have sworn he hit your cervix. His release spilled inside of you, Hina’s fingers were relentless as Tengen’s hips rocked through his own orgasm as yours finally crashed down on you. You felt Hina’s fingers retreat as Tengen collapsed on top of you, body sweaty and chest heaving.

“Well I’ll be damned…” he rolled off of you a second later. Flopping down beside you on the bed. “Well you certainly made a mess.” Hina’s voice was right beside your ear, a cool cloth running across your abdomen and working down to your thighs. You blinked a few times, struggling to focus your eyes after the release you had. Suma was already curled up under the blankets further up the bed, Makio was slowly making her way over as well now that you and Tengen were done. Tengen broke the silence a few seconds later “You four really will be the death of me.”

You smiled lazily, thanking Hina for cleaning you up as you rolled over to face him. “I think there are plenty of people out there that would be willing to beg to die by our hands.” Tengen locked eyes with you and laughed “you mine die by your pu—“ a slap to his shoulder by Makio cut him off. “Stop being a perv and cuddle us.” Hina was already slipping under the covers, you crawled over Tengen to get to her, collapsing in her embrace. “Well if you insist.” Tengen slipped between the four of you, pulling you all as close as he could manage.

“You think I got any of you pregnant this time?” You let out a laugh, of course he’d be thinking of something like that. “I dunno, that’s a question for another day. I'm tired.” Makio’s voice was already far off, your eyes feeling as heavy as her voice sounded. “Good night.” You snuggled into Hina’s chest, feeling warm all over because of Tengen’s side being pressed to your back. “Good night.” Hina’s voice was soft and sweet, her cheek squishing against the top of your head. “Rest up, we’ll have round two in the morning.”

“Go to sleep, Tengen!”

One Morning at a Time

Warren Worthington III x Reader x Kurt Wagner

Fandom: X-Men

AU: Soulmate

Summary: While waiting for the soulmark that would change your life forever, you meet a wounded, winged mutant named Warren and a teleporter whose personality is sunshine incarnate, Kurt. You can’t help but catch feelings for them, even though you have no idea where or with whom your destiny truly lies.

Note: Reminder that I write poly stuff from time to time. I’ve been working on this fic on and off for months and it’s finally done. Now that I’m out of school (forever!(I graduated)) I’ll hopefully be a little more active! Anyway, I love these boys so, so much and I hope you do too. Tried to keep reader gender neutral, but let me know if I slipped up anywhere! Also reader’s birthday is in the summer in this (mine is personally in winter, so just pretend lol)

Warnings: canon-typical violence, mentions of surgery, language.

Word Count: 7.4k

Reader is: Gender Neutral! Also, a mutant.

It was about three months before your twenty-first birthday, and as everyone knew, that was approximately three months until your soulmark, the thing that would define the rest of your life as you knew it, would appear on your arm. Well, given that your soulmate wasn’t older than you, in which case, it could appear sooner.

You knew it was nothing to stress about, and you knew the universe would sort itself out, but that didn’t seem to stop you from worrying that you were the one person on this planet doomed to not have a mark. It was more of an absent thought, something that came and went, but something that bothered you nonetheless.

“Come on, (Y/N), it’ll be fun!” Jubilee urged, trying to get you to agree to come to the mall. “Get your mind off of things, you know?”

You thought about it for a moment. Honestly, you didn’t have that much homework…you could probably get it done whenever you all got back. You let out a sigh before finally relenting. “Alright, fine.”

In the school’s main entrance, Jean was waiting for you and Jubilee along with Scott, who had arrived a few days before, and a student you’d never met before. He was tall and blue with the most gorgeous amber eyes you’d ever seen. A spade tail swayed back and forth behind him, and when he saw the smile on your face at the sight of him, he smiled back with what had to be the most adorable smile in the world. Despite the dark colors he was sporting, the boy seemed to be sunlight incarnate.

Keep reading

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Aww look at him go, he's so cute

Anatolian shepherd dog puppy in training 

(Source)

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Amazing story, one of the best Minho x reader fic. I mean the plot, the characters and the execution was so beautifully done. I definitely recommend.

➳ written on paper. lmh

pairing: (skz) lee minho x fem!reader

As the daughter of the previous Snow White, your story requires an evil witch to take the antagonist’s spot—someone who would help lead you towards your happily ever after. That was where Minho’s role comes in.

genre/s: fantasy au, storybook/fairytales next generation au, forbidden lovers(ish), angst, fluff, drama in general, a dash of humor, son of the evil queen minho x daughter of snow white reader, kinda ever after high au but with a twist

warning/s: mentions of death (no actual dying), themes of bullying & discrimination (story roles), mentions of cheating (its not minho dw), political(?) corruption & deception, swearing, crying... lots, hyunjin is kinda an asshole for a while im so sorry

wc: 16.6k

note: tysm for the people who took interest in the teaser! i hope this makes the wait worth it <3 also this is my first time writing a fic this long, so feedback would be greatly appreciated^^

Legacy Day.

A momentous event where the students of Storybook High pledge to all of the magical world to follow in the same footsteps as their fairytale parents. In this school, the students range from the offspring of protagonists to mere side characters—the sons and daughters of antagonists are here too.

You see, when children of this magical world turn eleven, they are sent to study at Storybook High to learn more about the realm and the stories that led to its establishment. One is expected to complete the full nine-year curriculum and sign the Book of Legends on the first day of eighth grade, sealing their fate forever. This day is called "Legacy Day."

The process of signing one’s fate has been followed for many years. Some were less willing than the others, of course—but at the end of the day, no one had ever dared not to sign. This was greatly influenced by the saying that if you don’t, then your story will disappear along with you. As one would have already guessed, that belief sparked a heated debate about whether it was true or not. After all, there were a lot of fairytale children that despised their so-called "fate".

And that leads us exactly to our current event.

Silence wraps the massive hall as all eyes are fixated on one person standing on top of the tall stage. Tension hung heavily in the air, a result created by seeing who was facing them all. You couldn’t help but gulp in anticipation, finding your hands clasped while your eyes were glued on Minho—who was nervously staring at the book in front of him. 

Minho was what they could classify as your partner. Not in a romantic way (you suppose), but more so with your stories. As the daughter of the previous Snow White, your story requires an evil witch to take the antagonist’s spot—someone who would help lead you towards your happily ever after. 

That was where Minho’s role comes in.

"I am Minho, son of the Evil Queen. And," he takes a shaky breath. "I pledge..."

Everyone watching is on the tips of their toes. Minho was most well known as the person who hated their fate more than anyone else. He was practically the face of the "rebellious teens," as the others called them, who claimed they would write their own stories instead. Being the son of the Evil Queen—the same person who poisoned your very own mother and got herself locked up inside the mirror prison, his story calls for him to do the same to you. 

Surprisingly, Minho was far from what you would’ve expected as the next Evil King.

From the moment you got your acceptance letter, your parents had already warned you to never befriend Minho. They said that he’d be mean, despicable, a rotten apple, and basically evil as a whole. "Mind your own business in the dorm room, sweetheart," you remember your mother telling you as she smoothed out your dress in the carriage. "Your roommate will be the enemy. I know it sounds scary, but it’s only natural. Both of your fates are tied together. However, do not worry, my love. It’ll be over as soon as possible," she comforted you.

Well, it turns out your parents were very wrong.

Minho was nothing short of sweet and caring. Sure, he was a bit cold at times, but his frosty exterior did not speak for him the same way his heart did at all. He was fun, playful, and easy to get along with. You found yourself forming a friendly dynamic with him sooner than you expected.

"I pledge," Minho visibly gritted his teeth to force out the words he feared for the longest time. Eyes shifting, he looked at you—wordlessly pleading for you to help him escape. But, having nothing much you could do, you could only give him a small smile of encouragement. He had to do this. 

There was no other choice. 

Feeling defeated, he took the quill and stopped below the page. This was it—he’s expected to sign any second now, you thought bitterly. Even if one despised their fate, it was the only way to live in this world. The harsh truth that all of you had to endure.

Yet just when you were about to relax, Minho’s eyes suddenly changed from hesitant to determined. Your eyes automatically widened in horror. As his friend and roommate for the seven years you’ve been at this school, that look was something you knew very well. 

He can’t be thinking of—no way!

"No," he spat out strongly. The crowd collectively gasps at his words. "I’m not signing this bullshit."

In one quick motion, the book was slammed shut. 

The sound of distressed reactions took over the hall as the magic mirrors showcasing the event shattered one by one. Fear quickly spread amongst the mass of people, the emotion emphasized by the now dimming lighting. Your body froze in shock and disbelief at what Minho had just done. This—this can’t be happening, right? 

Your eyes closed instinctively as you shook silently beneath the stage. You two can’t just disappear like this! What on earth was Minho thinking? Sure, you had already signed your story, but without Minho, would it even still exist? Both of your fates are broken now—if there even is one by the end of this.

You hoped the disappearing process would be painless because you really weren’t ready to experience suffering for something you didn’t ask for in the first place. A few seconds passed by as you waited for the inevitable. 

But it never came.

Instead, you found yourself feeling nothing that was out of the ordinary. As you slowly raise your head to look at the situation, your eyes catch sight of Minho’s disapproving ones. In the short minute that you had that small breakdown, he had already stepped off the stage and was now proceeding to head away from the hall. 

The look he gave you made your eyes burn in hot fury. 

Is he serious? Why is he even disappointed? Can he really blame you for getting scared when he’s the one who put both of your lives in danger? You signed the book—you even signed it for him! All in an effort to make sure that both of your stories won’t vanish into thin air.

So what made him betray you like that?

Your clicking heels echoed loudly throughout the hallway as you walked briskly to follow his speedy figure. "Minho!" you called out to him, tone filled with frustration. Luckily, that seemed to halt his steps.

Finally catching up, you stopped just a few meters behind his back. The air was cold and lightly frosted over your warm skin. The once lively corridor was now bleak and seemed very unwelcoming. There was an unspoken hostility felt between you and Minho, as the two of you stood there for a moment—not saying anything. Something you had already expected.

What can you even say after all that?

Minho sighs in exasperation before turning around and facing you. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, refusing to venture to his face, which was carved with torment. You tried to reach your hand out to touch him, but he swatted your hand away gently. "...What do you want?"

You found your mind blanking for a moment after finally getting a better look at him. Minho looked ethereal at that moment, even through the show of his obvious pain. The moonlight suited him, you thought. It framed his whole being in its sparkling glow. 

Nevertheless, it wasn't long until you remembered why you were in front of him in the first place.

"...Why?" you rasped out. All the previous events and emotions begin to flood back, overwhelming you beyond belief. "Why would you do that!?" you shrieked at him. Minho clenched his jaw at your words. 

"You... you could've disappeared! I could've disappeared! What were you thinking—"

"But we didn't!" he yelled back. Your words immediately clumped up and stuck in your throat, unable to get out. "We didn't disappear! So I'm asking you now Y/N, what do you want?" Minho seethed.

What did you want? What else could you possibly want? All you wished for was to live properly and survive. But to achieve that in this world, he had to—

"Sign the book," you pleaded desperately. And even through the hurt gaze he set on you, you continued to try and reason with him.

"Please just sign the book. I'll do anything you want. You want to change your destiny, right? We can make it work! Do you perhaps want a throne? I'll give you mine willingly. You don't have to be thrown into the mirror prison," your voice was becoming shakier by the second from the intensity of the situation. "See? It's not really that hard, Minho! You could still change the events even if you signed the book. I know you're scared to live a life you don’t want, but—"

"When will you understand that it's not about me!?" he cried out.

The sheer amount of emotion in Minho's voice takes you by surprise. It was raw, and undoubtedly broken. His words pierced your heart sharply, and you inwardly winced as you felt the imaginary arrows sink deeper. Through the ache, you forced out a reply, "...Pardon?"

Minho hastily wiped the few tears that managed to escape, and said, "I don’t want a throne, and I'm not scared of going to that prison. In fact, with what they're expecting me to do, I really do deserve it! Just—just like my mother..." 

He's... not? Then why go through all this trouble for a rebellion? He even appears to be willing to poison you—

"But I'm different from her. I don't want to hurt you," he added weakly, "Ever. I could never bring myself to do it, Y/N. And I knew if I signed that damned book, fate would somehow find a way for me to fulfill the story, even against my wishes. And... I can't have that."

"But what about the story now? If it disappears, we—"

"Oh please, Y/N. What are we doing right now, huh? Talking! We didn't disappear like all the legends used to say."

"But we still could!" you stubbornly retorted.

Minho huffed and rolled his eyes, "So what? I'd rather that happen than my story."

The frigid tension that formed between the two of you engulfed the whole space. At this point, you were sure that if someone were to walk in on the two of you, there was a good chance they would end up coughing ice.

"You don't mean that," you warned, glaring at him. "I know well that you aren't implying that you'd rather die than... live?" The words you uttered weighed heavy on your tongue.

He simply shrugged casually in response, "Why not? I have nothing to look forward to in my supposed future anyway. Unlike your kind who get all the happy endings, we're just here to make you guys look good—what? Don't look at me like that. You know damn well it's true," he scoffed venomously. "A lot of us don't even like our stories, but look at how we're forced to do it for you to live happily ever after."

His words set fire inside of you once again. How dare he assume you had it easy too? Maybe on paper it did—you could admit that. You were a protagonist and a royal, after all, destined to have a happy ending and live a lavish life. But you knew that if you closely examined the cards you'd been dealt with, it was far from the ideal storybook ending people made it out to be. You couldn't help but laugh at the irony.

"Do you really think I like my story too?" You questioned him with a wry chuckle. "Do you really think I want to be poisoned? Then get rescued by a prince who, mind you, doesn't even love me! And then say I have to marry him too? It's bad enough Hyunjin openly displays to the public that he doesn't have an ounce of care about my well-being, but he's even shoving it into my face that he already likes someone else! Tell me who in the world wants to be a second choice, let alone be cheated on?"

"Then you shouldn't have signed it." 

His blunt words hit you like a truck. Finally feeling the crash of all the events that happened, you broke out into tears. The moonlight you praised him in earlier now serves as a humiliating reminder of what’s to come. Minho stares at your sobbing face one last time before walking away. 

And all you could think about was how he could be right.

The bustling crowd of the school cafeteria is loud as always—but this time, there was a glaringly obvious tense atmosphere that followed everyone. You couldn’t help but sigh at the troublesome situation. 

It's been a tough week for you in terms of your social life. The number of pitiful looks you've received, as well as "You can get through this," greetings from your fellow peers who played as protagonists, was astounding. On a normal day before, they would never have spared you a single glance unless they needed something. But now, you’ve practically become the center of their conversations.

And even at the very moment, you’ve got all their attention. One would think their stares were due to you wearing something obnoxious—but you were literally just trying to eat. You roll your eyes in annoyance. 

So much for a good lunch.

"Maybe if you weren’t in such a critical situation right now, then they wouldn’t be eyeing you like a display," Seungmin commented from across the table. You threw some grains of rice towards him.

"Or, I don’t know, they could mind their own business?"

"As if that would ever happen," the son of the Queen of Hearts muttered. "They’d rather watch the world explode than pass on drama."

In a way, he was right. Storybook High was not just any normal school—it was also the center of gossip throughout the entire realm. As you were the next generation of citizens, the spotlight currently shines brightly on your generation.

Felix chuckled. "It’s funny to see how different the two sides view you." The reminder of the current unity status of the student body from the next Hansel (his mother is actually Gretel, but Felix’s cousin was a girl, so they agreed to switch) immediately sucked all the remaining life from your body. "The Royals pity you, while the Rebels are curious about where you stand."

The Royals and the Rebels.

Division between the student population had been at an all-time high ever since that little stunt Minho pulled on Legacy Day. What was once a peaceful crowd quickly developed into a dangerous war zone. Granted, the people’s divisions already existed even before the school was founded. The most obvious one was being sorted into "Protagonists," "Antagonists," and "Side Characters." But it looks like with the current rise in rebellion of teens who aren’t satisfied with their fates, a new division has arisen. 

And it worsened with Minho’s refusal to sign his story.

You see, after the both of you left the hall to have your little "chat"—many of those who wanted to write a new destiny for themselves also refused to sign. These people, including Minho himself, are now classified as "Rebels." This placed them on the bad side of the (now called) "Royals", who wanted to follow their predetermined happily ever afters. 

Not everyone opposing the Rebels is actually royalty, but the majority of them are. This was what earned the group's generalized title as "Royals." Although, some of the non-royalty protagonists took advantage of the opportunity to act like one. One of them is Yeri, Goldilocks' daughter—

"Hey Y/N!" You hear a familiar voice call out. Well, speak of the devil. Yeri happily rushes over to your current table, an action Hyunjin clearly did not appreciate. Oh, did you mention you were eating lunch with him? No? Good. He’s not that special anyway.

Deciding to be a decent person, you turned around and greeted the girl, "A pleasant day to you too, Yeri. What can I help you with?" Seungmin and Felix quickly followed up with their pleasantries, while Hyunjin only grunted as his greeting. If this jackass—

"Oh, yes certainly," she chirps joyfully. You kind of envy her personality. For being the next Snow White, you were nowhere near being as positive as your mother. You lightly smiled at Yeri for her to continue, "Well, you see, I’m writing a new scoop for my blog about Legacy Day! Could you be a dear and tell me what you think of what happened?"

Your smile vanishes in a flash.

Is this a joke? Why are they asking you, of all people? It’s either she’s completely clueless or this is a sick way of putting you down. The nerve of them to attempt to humiliate you like this.

Felix tries to intervene, seeing your reaction. "Yeri, actually—"

A sudden mocking laugh rang through your ears, successfully cutting Felix off. "Please, Yeri. You can interview me instead. Let’s leave little Snow White alone, yeah? She’s already dealing with so much!" 

Seungmin didn’t even try to hide his distaste for the new face that entered the scene—a contrast to Hyunjin, who finally cracked a smile for the first time since he sat at the table. 

Of course he would. The voice belonged to the one and only Mina. The daughter of the Swan Princess, now the Swan Queen. 

Just great. What does she want now? You never knew what her problem was. She has always had a personal vendetta against you and is hellbent on making your life as miserable as possible. Not very successful, but bothersome nonetheless. 

Right—she’s also the one dating Hyunjin. The awfully paired Prince Charming to your Snow White.

Your friends used to say that she was just jealous of you. And while there was a good percentage for that to be true, you personally think she’s just a shitty person in general. Her not-so-best reputation among the student body certainly backed that up. Her and Hyunjin suit each other, you thought to yourself. 

"I’m so sorry, Y/N! I swear I didn’t mean to offend you," Yeri quickly apologized. Your head was slowly starting to hurt from all this dramatic nonsense. And unfortunately for you, Hyunjin finally decides to speak up, "Mina is right. Y/N must be having such a hard time, especially knowing her story might not happen anymore."

What the fuck. Is he for real?

Apparently he is, because he chose to leave your group at the table and walk away with the other two girls. Oh—would you look at that. Totally expected of him. You groaned as you rested your head on the lunch table. 

"Why does he even decide to hang around us?" Seungmin scowled at Hyunjin’s retreating figure. "It’s not as if he likes any of us."

You poked at your tray with a spoon, "His parents probably forced him to because of me. Who knows, maybe they’re scary."

Hyunjin was… not necessarily a bad person. In the eyes of other people, he really wasn’t. He had a good reputation amongst your peers (a stark contrast to his girlfriend), and was often called the "ideal prince." Yet, for some reason you can’t understand, he was nothing less than a pain for you and your friends. 

"Until now, I don’t get his issue. You haven’t been treating him half as bad as he does to you," Felix sips on his juice. "Is the idea of kissing you in a casket that nightmare inducing for him? You’re literally the one dying, Y/N."

From the very start, you knew Hyunjin did not like that he was the assigned prince to you. He never explained why though, and you always thought it was because, ironically, he likes apples. You’re honestly surprised he even signed his story! For the longest time, you believed he was going to end up siding with the Rebels.

Well, to be fair, he is still a prince destined for a happy ending—no matter the partner assigned to him. Maybe he also couldn’t give up the luxury. Or like you, believed that he would disappear too. All valid reasons in your book.

Speaking of Rebels, you lifted your head to look at Minho’s direction. You’ve noticed him sitting near the window since lunch started, and the sight of him alone made your heart ache with worry. From what you’ve seen, people have been avoiding him like the plague ever since the Legacy Day incident happened. Aside from when he was with his friends, all others who refused to sign their stories, Minho was seen on his own for the most part.

You were well aware that a lot of Royals had been badmouthing him intensely too. The complete opposite to the pity treatment you’ve been receiving, even though you knew they could care less. And to be honest, it’d be better if they actually acted that way instead.

"Jeez, look over there," Felix whispered. "A Royal table and a Rebel table are arguing."

How amusing. It looks like you really owe Minho an apology. He was right about most of the Royals. One of the only exceptions would probably be your friends and Jisung. He was genuinely worried enough to tell you that he was willing to be your prince instead, if Hyunjin (his best friend, by the way. How that happened, you would never know.) was ever planning on flaking out. You politely declined him, though. Your stories would clash too much. After all, he was the main protagonist of his own story too—being the son of the Frog Prince and all. The poor guy also had a massive hopeless crush on Pinocchio’s daughter.

Back to Minho, the two of you haven’t spoken for the past week. The dorm room both of you shared became too quiet, not a single word being uttered throughout the hours it was occupied. And whenever you did try to talk to him, he would simply ignore you, even leaving the room if it wasn't yet past curfew.

Maybe you should try it now?

"Hey," you tried to get your two friends’ attention, "Should I talk to Minho?"

Seungmin peeled his eyes away from the fight that was occurring a few tables away. "Go for it? You’ve been all mopey and sad for the past week. It’s about time you and him made up." Felix agreed with a short nod.

"Alright, wish me luck."

Deciding to test the waters, you stood up from your seat. The nerves are starting to form, and the words you wanted to say are lost in the sea of your thoughts once again. Taking a deep breath, you told yourself you could do it.

It was just Minho, after all. You two are close friends, right? Even though you’re supposed to be enemies in front of everyone else, of course. Talking to him shouldn’t be this hard. It’s all in your head, Y/N. You can do it.

Now—okay, maybe not.

As soon as you finally get the courage to move, you spot his friends approaching him. It looks like you lost your chance again. He would surely use his friends as an excuse to avoid you. Running your hand through your hair, you backed out of your plan right away and sat down.

Felix snorted, "Too late, huh?"

You’ll just have to talk to him soon.

Minho was not in class.

Normally, this fact wouldn’t bother you too much—but it was currently culinary class. His favorite class out of them all. 

Other students knew of this fact too. And while they used to think it was because he was secretly determined to successfully poison you in the future, you knew that it was just because he genuinely liked cooking. So the mere fact that he wasn’t anywhere to be seen at that moment concerned you greatly.

Chan, your cooking partner for this session, took notice of your fidgety actions. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You look really anxious. Is it perhaps because of me?" His question surprised you. 

What? Why would you be—oh. Chan was someone who sided with the rebels. He was good friends with Minho too, the two of them sharing the same sentiment of not wanting to be antagonists in anyone’s lives. You knew being told to be the next Big Bad Wolf hadn't been an easy task for him. And because you're technically a royal, he might be thinking you despise his guts as well.

"Oh, not at all! I’m so sorry... I’m just concerned about Minho," he hums at your answer. Taking out the chopping board, he replies, "Is it because he’s not here? Yeah, I could totally relate to your thought process. Shocked the heck out of me too, actually."

You nod aggressively, "Exactly! He never skips culinary class. There was this one time when he was having such a bad headache, yet still insisted on attending this class for that day."

In general, it was quite unlikely for Minho to skip any classes at all. He was someone who valued education and was very vocal about it. That, and something about not wanting to act like his mother when she was still in school. Minho was determined to be a model student, proving to others that he was nowhere near evil.

"Yeah, it sounds like him alright," Chan says, laughing. "Who knows? Maybe he’s just really tired today." You think carefully about his words.

It was a reasonable guess, but Minho? Too tired to cook? Unheard of! Unless he’s really sick and can’t attend the class because of the health protocols. He seemed okay this morning, though? Sure, you can’t really tell since the both of you haven’t interacted in a while (you should really try talking to him again, it’s been 3 days since the cafeteria attempt), and you only had this class together for this year—

Wait a minute. 

You only shared culinary class with him this year? He—he couldn’t have avoided this class because it was the only class you two had together, right? He wouldn’t go as far as skipping his favorite class just to avoid you?

News flash, Y/N. He totally could. And that’s most likely what happened.

You huffed at the pettiness of the idea. If he doesn’t want you to convince him to sign the book that badly, then you won’t! Like it’d even matter at this point. Too much damage has already been done. 

The look on your face must’ve been clear as day, because you hear Chan sigh from beside you. You flushed in embarrassment. While chopping the carrot, Chan decides to break the silence. "You think he’s avoiding you, huh?" he said, as you gave him a short nod. "Did he tell you that?"

"No, not really," you awkwardly responded. "We—we haven’t been talking."

Chan starts aggressively chopping, "Minho, that idiot. I told him to talk to you!" You stopped steering the soup you two were working on. The volume of his sigh worsened. You couldn’t help but snicker at his obvious stress.

"That guy really," he said, finishing up. "Don’t worry, Y/N. He’ll come around soon. He just needs more time to think."

Time to think... He had a point. Maybe you needed time to think too. 

For the past few days, you’ve been really preoccupied with the relationship between you and Minho, along with the growing suspicion that the Royals were starting to outcast you (their pity phase must be over now). Because of that, you haven’t had the luxury of really thinking about everything. From the events that happened on Legacy Day to figuring out what you actually believed in—there was still a lot to unpack. 

But before you could completely immerse yourself in your mind, panicked squeals diverted your attention to the cooking booth right beside Chan and yours—where two of your classmates were rummaging around in an attempt to stop the boiling pot from spilling over. 

"Uh, hey Chan, can you help?" Changbin, the Mad Hatter’s son, awkwardly calls out. Right beside him was a malfunctioning Jeongin, seemingly under more stress than the former. Chan’s eyes widened, "What did you even do?"

"It was Jeongin’s idea!" Changbin whined to your partner. The mentioned guy protests, "It was clearly a joke! I didn’t think you would actually do it!"

Ah—the son of the Cheshire Cat causes mischief once again.

Groaning, Chan turns to look at you. "Sorry Y/N, can you handle the soup first? I’ll just help them real quick," you give him a thumbs up, "Thanks. Just put the ones I chopped in the pot, then stir until cooked." You did exactly as you were told. While waiting for the soup to cook, you decided to take the opportunity and start what you should’ve done earlier. 

First of all, Legacy Day.

At first, you were terrified that Minho had finalized his stance that he wouldn’t follow his story. All your life, you were led to believe that following one’s destiny was the only way to continue living. You never questioned it as a result—it was quite straightforward anyway. Signing the Book of Legends was a life or death situation. And as a young child, disappearing so early in life was not the most appealing concept.

But that belief was shattered on Legacy Day, along with the magic mirrors that surrounded the hall. You and Minho didn’t fade away. Heck, even Hyunjin didn’t fade away, and he was supposed to be tied to both of your stories too! 

So what does that mean to you?

Simple. Your life was a lie. 

The whole "follow the destiny given to you" was full of crap, and you can’t believe you let yourself be trapped in that mindset for too long. In the first place, you never even wanted to be the next Snow White. No matter how many times your parents made the concept sound appealing, you just never understood the reason why you had to be poisoned and then saved by a prince. With a kiss too? Magic existed here, yes, but was that really enough to get rid of literal poison?

Plus, if the kiss needed to be from true love, then you were damned from the start—there was no way Hyunjin would end up loving you enough for that to work. And you’d really rather not touch his plump lips. If you did, Mina just might stab you in your casket, successfully killing you for a second time in a row.

It’d be "Snow White: Bad Ending" for that one.

If you really thought about it, the only other reason you signed the book was for Minho. Aside from your own life, you cared a lot about his too. Minho was your best friend, your partner, and an overall important person to you. If him living meant you had to throw away your freedom, then so be it. You won’t let Minho vanish from this world wrongfully.

You loved him too much for that.

Love. Certainly, a strong word. You still don’t know what kind of love you held for the son of the Evil Queen exactly, but you knew you did love him. Did he feel the same too? You hoped so. If his words from Legacy Day spoke any truth, then he did care about you a lot. What he did contradicted your survival plan for the both of you, but from his point of view, it was also his way of protecting you and him. 

So then, where do you stand?

It’s—it’s hard to decide at the moment. On one hand, you had the life you were conditioned to have growing up, and on the other hand, it was where you could be free. Saying it was comfort versus your dream would be an understatement. And while you wanted to dream as much as the Rebels did, that life hasn’t been proven to be very stable yet in your eyes.

Maybe you could just wait a bit more to choose. You wanted to talk to Minho first and see what he had to say. But so far—you think you might be on the verge of regretting ever signing your fate.

"Uh... Y/N," Chan said, tapping your shoulder and jolting you out of your thoughts. "The soup might be cooked already."

You gasped, "Oh, right! My bad, Chan." He waved away your apology, "Nah, it’s all good. Just turn the fire off and I’ll plate the soup." He started placing the bowls down.

Glancing over at Changbin and Jeongin’s side, you just now realized they were gone. "What did they go?" you ask. Chan grimaced at his friends’ situation. "Got called by the teacher. They’re probably getting scolded outside." You cringed.

"That’s… unfortunate."

Culinary class ended not long after.

The regret of having signed the book was getting stronger, alright.

Walking down the school corridors, the difference between the Royals and the Rebels suddenly seems more evident to your observing eyes. It was the hour right after the last classes ended, meaning everyone would be gathered in the halls. Students were all leaving classrooms, organizing their lockers, and conversing with friends—something you couldn’t do because Seungmin had choir practice, while Felix was off to the library.

In all your eighteen years of living, never once have you felt as painfully uncomfortable as at this very moment. It was like someone had pulled the blindfold that you had been forced to wear all the way back to when you were still a kid. 

So what was this jarring difference between the two sides, you asked?

The Royals were unapologetically shitting on the Rebels while the latter minded their own business. How surprising, right? And even with people hovering over their backs for the most part, they were still the ones with wide smiles and exciting chatter—meanwhile the opposite side that was too busy pampering themselves, still found the time and need to sneer at any Rebel who passed by. You winced at their actions, genuinely ashamed.

God forbid that you had acted like they did before. Even though you knew you weren’t half as bad as them because of befriending Minho, there was still a big chance you had those moments unconsciously. And you hated that thought. It’s absolutely detestable! Downright vile! The Rebels just wanted their chances of living happily ever after too. What was so wrong with that?

It was at that moment that you realized that the influence ran deep. That there was some sort of ‘worthy’ and ‘not worthy’ mindset that plagued the protagonists’ side of the division—even through the peace that you thought the school had before. As someone who was also exposed to that lifestyle since you were born, you could see where they were coming from, but at the same time, you were highly repulsed by the thought. The list of things you wanted to tell Minho grew longer by the second you stayed in this hallway.

You sped away from the scene, deciding to head to the school balconies. You figured studying with a good view would keep your thoughts at bay for a while. If you spent another minute in the midst of all that, you would probably end up choosing to resign your crown at the next possible moment. And you didn’t want to do something too life-changing impulsively. Turning the corner to reach your destination, the sudden sight caught you off guard. 

It was Hyunjin and Mina. Making out in broad daylight, without shame.

They were hidden by the pillars that stood as support for the entryway of the balconies. But you could still see them very clearly from where you stood. You doubt they could see you, though. Whether it was because you were well hidden, or they were too engrossed in sucking each other's faces—you really didn’t want to know. 

Admittedly, there was a part of you that wanted to earn Hyunjin’s affection. He was to be your husband, after all. It was only natural to want a marriage with love, or at the very least, respect. But out of everything, you could never blame Hyunjin for liking someone else. You even supported him, even if his girlfriend was someone who you could never stand to be in the same room with. Anyone should be able to love who they want to, as well as marry who they want to, responsibly. Not some nonsense book about those who came before you—

Holy shit. Your life is so fucked.

You were the one being told who to love and marry by that book. The one whose life is to be lived and told through a script. The situation you were trapped in had never been clearer than at this very moment, and it crashed on you like that one little pig’s pile of bricks.

Silent tears flowed out of your eyes as you thought of the future. Happily ever after, your ass. You're going to be married to an asshole who can’t even respect you as a prospective wife who’s in the same boat as him, and would rather choose someone else over you! Not to mention, he has to bring you back from the dead first—what if he takes the chance and just leaves you to rot? Where's the happy ending in that?

Through a watery vision, you noticed your sight suddenly dimming as you felt a hand softly wrap around your eyes, blocking your view of the couple. The sudden force caused your back to collide against a strong chest. A sudden action, but you didn’t scream. Because you recognized that scent right away.

"You big baby. If you hate it that much, why’d you sign the book?"

It’s Minho.

God, you missed his voice. It feels like it’s been forever. Feeling the relief of having him close again on top of your devastation for the future, you felt yourself starting to cry harder. He sighed at your tears, deciding to drag you away from the balconies.

"Seriously, Y/N. You have to stop pining after him. It’s not even worth it," he snarkily comments. While messily wiping your tears, you let out a small laugh. "I’m not." You both came to a stop in the middle of an empty corridor.

Finally, he turns to face you. Rolling his eyes playfully, he started wiping the remaining tears from your face. "You are such a big baby," he says, to which you slap his chest lightly, "I’m not!" 

He squished your cheeks in response to your protest. "Look at you, saying the same thing over and over again like a child," he cooed. Slapping his chest more strongly, he coughed out a wail of complaint.

"What? So you're finally deciding to talk to me now?" You glared at him. Those words seemed to get through to Minho, because he started rubbing the nape of his neck awkwardly. 

Diverting eye contact, he replies, "Yeah, about that—I’m really sorry." 

You looked at him, not convinced in the slightest. "Did Chan talk to you?" you asked. The guy did say he told Minho to talk to you. Maybe Minho finally took his advice after another round of suggestions.

It turns out the answer to your question looked like a no, because he seemed genuinely confused at what you said. "... No? Why?" 

Shaking your head, you waved him off. But Minho, being Minho, decided to dig deeper into the topic. "Did you two talk about me? What did you say?" he pressed further. Glaring at him, you pushed past him and started walking down the corridor. He trailed you like a lost puppy.

"Y/N, come on," he says, grabbing your waist and pulling you both to a halt. The gesture left you absolutely speechless. "What’d you say about me, hm?" he whispered in your ear. 

Feeling steam rushing out of your ears, you immediately pulled away. He laughs at your flustered face. "Why would you—what?" You started rambling more random words, "Minho!"

"Yes, that’s me," he jested. After seeing the amusement on his face, you quickly composed yourself. What is up with him today? Sure, he was normally playful, but not like this! You don’t think this Minho was good for your heart—if the way it was racing indicated anything severe.

Minho crossed his arms, frowning a bit. "Why are you so secretive about it? Did you both talk shit about me?" he raised an eyebrow in suspicion. You shook your head to deny his claim, "Not at all. We just talked about why you weren’t in culinary class earlier." His shoulders seemed to sag in relief.

It's not like you’d ever talk bad about him in the first place.

"Ah that," he started, "I was called to the principal’s office." The revelation has you startled. Why was he called in there? Are they expelling him? No way! They can’t do that! That’s absurd—

At your alarmed reaction, he immediately grabbed your shoulders and assured you, "Hey, hey. It’s not anything bad, I promise, okay?" He waited until you were able to compile your thoughts. You gazed into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. And just as he said, his pretty eyes held no lies.

"Then... why were you called then?" you asked. He visibly cringed at the question. Upon seeing his response, you quickly connected the dots and trapped him in a tight hug. Minho was not someone who made a big deal of most things that happened, so earning this kind of reaction from him could mean one thing: "Did—did they make you talk to her?" 

His head dipping into the crook of your neck weakly was enough to tell you that your assumption had been correct. The school had pulled out the mirror that the Evil Queen was imprisoned in and made him talk to her. This now showed the school’s stance on the issue to you.

They were not taking Minho’s rebellion positively in the slightest. 

Pulling him closer, you comforted him in the same way you’ve done multiple times before. As one would have deduced from seeing this side of Minho, he and his mother did not have a good relationship. She was the face of evil, someone who was truly rotten to the core. Minho wanted to be nothing like her. And he damn made sure of that. Unlike her, Minho was determined to live as a good citizen of the magical world. That alone made him stronger than most of the heroes you knew.

He started shifting in your embrace. You instantly knew he was about to say something. "Y/N, can you answer me seriously?" he asked softly. Nodding, you kept holding him. "Why did you actually sign the book?"

You paused for a moment, thinking about your true answer seriously. The two of you had to have this talk sooner or later. It was the main source of your conflict, the reason for all the days spent avoiding each other. Not addressing it would just be pushing aside the topic until it explodes again. So you prepared yourself for what's to come.

"I didn’t want to lose you."

Your honest words infuriated Minho, "So you’re willing to live a life you don’t want just so I won’t disappear!?" He pulled away from your embrace. You could only look at him with blank eyes. What could you even say to that? Correcting him would not do anything.

Because he was completely right.

"Why are you mad? You’re also the one who refused to sign the book because you would rather die than hurt me," you pointed out the hypocrisy behind his words. "You were so willing to sacrifice yourself so that I could live safely. So why can’t I do that too?"

"Y/N, that’s not the same—"

"I told you we could have still made it work even if we both signed the book. You know that too." 

"You know I can’t—"

"Why?" you whimpered, feeling the dam of your tears starting to break once again. This was way too many mood swings in a day for your liking. You don’t think you could take any more crying after this. "Just like you’re afraid of fate tying you to end up hurting me, I’m scared of it taking you away from me too! So tell me, what exactly is the difference, Minho?"

This got him to think for a second, the gears in his head turning and twisting to make sense of what you had just uttered. And when he finally reached a conclusion, his eyes widened in shock. It looks like you have both finally reached common ground. 

It was his turn to hug you tightly now, frantically apologizing for the way he acted. "You're such an idiot," you muttered into his chest. He simply agreed with you. "I’m sorry too."

"I know. I already forgive you."

"And I’m sorry for Legacy Day. The thought that you could disappear at any moment and I’d never see you again blinded me. I wasn’t even thinking twice about what I was saying at the moment. I—I also didn’t want to go," you sniffled. "It’s just that I really believed that we had to sign to—" 

"You don’t have to explain. It’s okay, I understand now." Minho shushed you. "I was in the wrong too. Emotions just got to the best of me, so I lashed out. I’ve had time to think though, and you just gave me another realization earlier too."

The both of you simply wanted the best for the other in the only way you knew how. Unfortunately, your methods were completely different. But that doesn’t change the fact that all you both wished for was each other's safety, and this was just one big misunderstanding.

"Are we okay now?" You asked hopefully.

"Yeah."

And that was all you needed to hear.

The same night Minho was called to the principal’s office, your parents contacted you through your mirror phone—demanding that you convince Minho to change his mind. You were so tired from the flurry of emotions you went through for the day that you merely responded that you would, not even meaning what you said.

That seemed to please them, though, since they immediately said goodbyes with their usual overly affectionate tone—which, after your big realization, sounded a lot more artificial than you remembered. 

Great. Now you’re even questioning your own parents’ love. 

Your exhausted groan simply received a raised eyebrow from Minho, who was minding his own business at his side of the room. "Looks like you’ll be back to convincing me to be your Evil King again?" he snickered in the background. 

Flopping (not-so-gracefully) on your bed, you let out a whine of annoyance. "No, but I don’t want to deal with them right now."

Minho hums in agreement, "I don’t blame you. Seeing as you cried two times in the span of 30 minutes earlier," his joking tone was not lost on you, however, so you just laughed the comment off.

"Fuck you, really."

He lets out an exaggerated gasp. After directing an eye roll towards him, you stood up to enter the bathroom. "Since when did you curse?" he inquires excitedly, like a kid asking if they could buy something. You reached for the toothpaste, "I actually curse a lot in my mind. I just don’t use it out loud because they told me that it was unbecoming of a princess to do so." He couldn’t see you, but you were making that air quote gesture.

"Use it more around me, it sounds nice."

"It's foul words, Minho," you said, voice muffled by the toothpaste foam, "And I doubt it actually sounds nice." 

When silence was all you got back, you scoffed in annoyance. He was so petty at times. You took a bit more time in the bathroom, doing what was needed for your night routine. Minho hasn’t made a noise for a while now, so you let yourself think he’s knocked out cold. After rinsing your mouth one last time, you get ready to leave the bathroom.

You really should’ve seen what was coming.

"Boo," Minho says, suddenly appearing right beside you. You quickly suppressed the urge to scream in consideration of the rooms right beside yours. Irritated, you yell, "What the hell!" 

Unbeknownst to you, that was his plan all along. 

"Another swear!" Oh, of course he would. You wanted to be mad, but found your anger dissipating instead. The sparkle in his eyes, hearing you curse once again, was too adorable for you to stand.

Minho spent the rest of the night teaching you more swear words. It was unnecessary, but you let him do it. You have been waiting to talk to him for days now—and you surely won’t let this go to waste.

The next couple of days were an absolute nightmare, though. Good things come with a price, you guess. This had to be the world’s way of making you pay back the luck you spent in trying to reconcile with Minho.

Mina has been constantly going after you again, with a passion to humiliate your whole being. Other Royals have been pulling you aside to ask for updates on Minho’s decision to sign the book, to which you only politely smiled at them and left. Oh, if you could only sneer back at them like they’d been doing to him. But with the little restraint you had left, you remembered that most of the student body didn’t actually know you and Minho were good friends (it was Minho’s idea back in second grade—something about you not getting targeted).

And above all that, you had your parents spamming your mirror phone every hour of the day to remind you about the task they gave you. No matter how many times you told them that Minho would not be changing his mind, they kept on insisting.

"No one would say no to you, Y/N! You’re the next Snow White!" your mother states, as if that would change anything at all. Your eye felt the need to twitch as her reminder. "He won’t. Plus, you’re the one who told me not to befriend him. Now you expect him to go along with what I say?" you reasoned.

"This isn’t a yes or no situation, darling. He has to do it."

No he doesn’t.

"Enough, mom. It won’t happen," you tried to keep your tone as respectful as possible. "I have a class soon; let’s talk some other time."

"Applebun—" you hung up the phone.

Gripping the device tightly, you let your locker close with a bang. Multiple eyes turn in your direction. You gave them an apologetic gesture. Shoot—if you don’t control your emotions soon, it’s going to affect you in class. 

"Oh? Did little Snow White just have a tantrum? How disappointing that I missed it," Mina’s shrill voice rang through the halls. Her heels are loudly clicking against the floor, cutting you from your thoughts. She really never misses a beat, huh? It was annoying, but you had to praise her for her consistency.

Pasting on a practiced grin, you faced her. "Good day to you too, Mina. Looks like Hyunjin isn’t with you right now," you commented. "Did he finally get tired of you?"

You fought the urge to snicker as soon as you saw the effect this had on her. With a huff, she replies, "He has something to do right now but will meet me for lunch. Right, did he not tell you? We’re eating lunch together from now on. He doesn’t really want to be seen with you anymore." Oh, a decent insult!

Deciding to keep the retort to yourself, you just shrugged it off nonchalantly. "Good for both of you. Have fun!" you cheerfully responded, before walking past her.

"Wha—you!"

Y/N-1, Mina-0. You mentally counted.

Turning the corner, you spot Minho leaning against the wall, back hunched from silently wheezing. "Seriously," you exhaled, "Why are you suddenly everywhere now?" After finishing his quick laughing fit, he turned to look at you.

"She deserved it," he commented. You stared at him, unamused. "Of course you would think that." You felt a few gazes directed at the two of you. 

Right, this might be an odd sight for them.

If you think about it, what's the point of hiding now? Minho won’t sign his fate, so yours might have been changed. So, does that mean you can be friends in public now too? Should you test it out?

"Y/N, are you alright?" Minho worried.

You eyed your surroundings carefully. This could end up badly if you don’t do it correctly. There was a big chance either that Minho’s reputation could worsen, or the Royals would decide to hate you—ah fuck it. 

They can go cry about it if they want.

Grabbing his hand, you started leading the both of you down the halls. He looked at you in shock, "Wait, what are you doing?" The Royals, who saw your exchange, left their mouths open like a gaping fish. On the other hand, you noticed the Rebels' eyes light up with interest. Minho also spotted this, but before he could say anything else, you dragged him away faster.

"Don’t mind them. Let’s just head to class. It’s culinary."

And while you felt significantly lighter at that moment from the burden of hiding your relationship with Minho being off your shoulders, the consequences followed up soon after. 

By the time the moon said its greetings, your parents had already heard of what happened. Whoever snitched worked fast. But at least you now have the opportunity to tell them the truth about you and Minho.

Your parents’ lectures engulfed the whole room while Minho sat beside you for emotional support. "What are you doing, making friends with the enemy? Do you have any ounce of shame!?" Your father’s booming voice was heard.

Maybe you really don’t have any shame. You were so grateful that they even chose to voice call instead of a video chat—if your parents saw Minho holding your hand beside you whilst glaring at the window in an attempt to still leave respect for them, they would have freaked past no return.

"I knew the school shouldn’t have placed both of you together in one room. Nothing good was ever going to come out of that situation," your mother ranted. Is she really saying that now? She was the one who told you it was natural to be dormmates with Minho back then. Then again, it wasn’t the first time she changed her mind when the result didn't benefit her. 

After a short pause, she spoke up again, "What? So you’re not answering now? Oh, honey! That guy is such a bad influence. How did we let this happen?"

Could they not? They talk as if they’ve already met him!

Feeling Minho give your hand a squeeze, you got the courage to speak up. "...You don’t know him. He’s nothing like his mother, so stop saying that," your unsteady voice spoke. Answering back to your parents was never an easy thing for you to do. "Minho’s a great—uh, friend. He helped me realize that there was so much more than just trapping yourself in a predetermined future. I actually—I don’t even want to be Snow White..."

Your parents were silenced by what you had just said. "What do you mean you don’t want to be Snow White? Why not? Your life is already set for you! You’ll marry Hyunjin too—"

"Hyunjin already has a girlfriend. I’m not sure how you two never knew that, but he doesn’t even like me! Like, at all! Good for you that your pairing worked out well, but I’ve tried for years to get him to respect me even as a friend—but it never happened, and probably never will," you desperately explain.

"At this point, I’d rather marry Minho!"

The person mentioned visibly stiffened up beside you, the hand holding yours tightening. You felt your face flush in embarrassment. In the heat of the moment, you blurted out your thoughts carelessly. You hoped this wouldn’t cause a rift in your relationship with him again, because you’re not too sure if you can handle another week of Minho ignoring you.

But you meant what you said. 

That’s right. You would rather marry Minho than some ‘ideal prince’ who can’t even treat you like a decent person.

In fact, married life with Minho doesn’t sound bad at all! If anything, you were actually willing to do it if he agreed. It was something you had considered before—a few years back, when you had a massive crush on him. Perhaps the crush never even went away like you had thought. You might have just gotten used to him to the point that what you felt evolved from just a crush to comfort and trust. Who could blame you, really? He’s kind, fun, knows you well, can cook, and is even handsome. He could easily be one of the top Prince Charmings in this school if given the chance.

"I know you just want the best for me—or even if you don't, I can’t find myself caring anymore. But basically, what I think is best for me is not marrying Hyunjin, or being Snow White," you spoke. "I’m already eighteen. Can I please have the chance to choose for myself? Minho won’t sign the Book of Legends either way, so my story might not even turn out the same."

"Choose your own destiny? You already have a good one—" 

"Honey," your mother interjects, "It's a scary world out there. There will be lots of people who want to hurt you!"

You sigh, "Yes, Mom, I know. And I’ll figure something out along the way. But can’t you stop to think that maybe those same people didn’t have any other choice because they were bound to the fate they signed? They deserved the right to choose who they truly wanted to be too."

There was the sound of shifting from the other line. You knew your parents would be hard to convince, but it was worth a shot. This was for the better. It would be great if they managed to spread awareness to the older generation as well.

"Your father and I will think about it," you hear your mother cough. Hope sparked inside you. "Thank you, Mom."

"Sure, sweetie. Talk to you soon."

The line falls flat after that.

Exhausted from the mental gymnastics you had to perform, you immediately melt into Minho’s shoulder. When he doesn’t say anything, you finally realize that he hasn’t moved an inch since you said you’d rather marry him than your assigned prince. "Minho?" you nudged.

He finally snaps out of the trance he trapped himself in, but chooses to stare at you silently. You tilt your head in confusion and ask, "Are you alright?"

"... Marriage?" he squeaked out. 

Oh. Does he not like the idea of marrying you?

You sulked. Sure, you weren’t exactly what they called wife material. Growing up as royalty meant you had other people to do things for you. However, you also prided yourself on being a quick learner. If Minho wants someone that knows how to do house chores, then you are more than willing to learn!

He must have noticed your mood going down, because he started panicking. "No—I, uh, didn’t mean it... like that," he reasoned, "I was just caught off guard! People don’t really look at me and think that I’d make a good husband, y’know?"

You slapped his arm harshly. He complained almost instantly at the pain.

"You absolute liar! You’d rival Hyunjin’s rank easily if you were classified as a Prince Charming," you huffed in protest. He turns red at the compliment. Feeling accomplished but wanting to mess with him more, you decided to add: "Don’t sign up for Prince classes though."

Offended, he retorts, "Why not? You just told me I’d be a good prince!"

"I want you to be my prince only," you replied in a casual tone.

Minho’s face burned even brighter.

There was definitely a difference in the way the Royals treated you the next day. Word travels fast, but their attitudes switch up faster. It wasn’t like you really cared. Most of them chose to avoid you completely, while some were very vocal about their newfound hatred towards you. 

And as you predicted, Mina was the ringleader of the latter group.

"How interesting, isn’t it, Y/N? Snow White and the Evil King, together?" She approached you at your locker, "Do you have a death wish or something? Or maybe your standards have just fallen so low?"

You didn’t want to waste your words on her, so you preoccupied yourself with fixing your textbooks. It’s no use anyway. Anything you say will just go in one ear and out the other when it comes to her. However, that reaction didn’t seem to satisfy her enough because she poked at you further.

"So we’re right then? Ah, but I must say, you two make such a great couple! Two poor souls who lost their stories. How tragic," you clenched your teeth to avoid accidentally laying a hand on her, because that would just cause unnecessary drama. "You’re still lucky to be alive. I wonder how long it’s going to take before life gives up on both of you—either way, it looks like fate already did."

You slammed your locker closed, making a startling noise. Mina jumped at your actions before quickly composing herself to appear more confident. You’ve had enough of her antics.

"Did anyone ever tell you how annoying your voice is? No? Oh, well. Can you just do us all a favor and shut up? You never even say anything important, so just save your breath for something that’s actually worth it."

"I’m sorry?"

"Not forgiven. But it’s about time you apologized," you sassed. 

Mina’s face flushed with anger. Threateningly raising her arm, she aimed to hit you. "You’re nothing now, Y/N. So learn your place—" you shut your eyes instinctively, waiting for the impact. 

As much as you wanted to fight back physically, you were currently at a major disadvantage with the school now that you’ve exposed your friendship with Minho. They’ve most likely classified you as a threat now too. It was better to take the slap and leave Mina with the bigger accountability to deal with.

You waited for it, but the slap never came.

"Mina, you are so pathetic. Do you know that?" A voice you knew very well spoke. "Have some shame and look at your actions, will you. Is all of it worth it?" You opened your eyes.

"Get your hands off my girl, Minho," Hyunjin arrived growling while trying to get in between the two. Minho released the grip he had on Mina’s arm. Scoffing, he responded, "Now you’re here too? Tell us, won't you, Hyunjin? How long will you keep defending her actions? She’s going to end up severely hurting someone if this continues." Hyunjin started shifting uncomfortably. 

He should know better than to let this continue. Mina isn’t a notorious bully, but she should learn to be more responsible for her actions. Sooner or later, her attitude might be her greatest downfall. Mina glared hotly at Minho, absolutely livid. 

In the midst of the two’s humiliation, you noticed a crowd around the four of you. You were glad to know that they have nothing else to do than eavesdrop on any kind of drama. But before you could speak out to the impromptu audience, a blinding flash suddenly stole all the attention. You spotted Yeri standing in the front of the group, shaking with wide eyes while holding her mirror phone up.

Did she just take a photo?

Quickly realizing the situation, Hyunjin dragged a still fuming Mina away. Minho noticed this and yelled, "Get back here!" You quickly pull him back before he ends up chasing after them. "What—Y/N!"

"Leave it."

"What do you mean leave it—no? They’ve crossed so many lines," he seethed in anger. Seeing the crowd still present, you decide to escape as well. "We’ll deal with it some other time. But first, let’s get out of here."

You found yourself dragging Minho down the hall again like yesterday. Only this time, he was burning with fury. It wasn’t always that you got to witness him being this mad. Normally, he calms down faster than he becomes agitated. You were embarrassed to admit that you found Minho's rage attractive.

The two of you entered the lawns of the school garden, where you decided to stop and let him cool down. Minho was still huffing in quiet anger at the two schoolmates you encountered earlier.

"Stop frowning," you said, pinching his cheeks. Minho growls, not appreciating the gesture. It looks like he’s still in a bad mood. Not wanting to make it worse, you slowly let go of him.

Turns out he did not like that, though, because he quickly catches one of your hands and presses it back to the side of his face. "Why did you not fight back? You handled her so well before." The gesture made your heart swell.

"If my parents are now aware that we’re not actually on bad terms, then the school must be too," you sighed, "Adding the fact that I’ve already told them I don’t want to follow my story, if things escalated to the point where we had to be called in earlier, they’re definitely going to side with Mina."

"Is this about me again? You signed the book; it was me who didn’t—"

"I regret it."

Minho spluttered at your words, "Wait, what?" You avoided his surprised eyes. This was something you hadn’t told him yet. Well, anyone yet—you only came to the conclusion last night while talking to your parents.

"I know you said you didn’t want to be Snow White, but you never said you regretted signing," he says. You hugged your arms, "I never said I really wanted to either. It was just something I thought was a necessity. But now that it’s been proven the whole sign or die thing was a big hoax, I wish I hadn’t."

You looked at Minho, greatly troubled. "Honestly? I’m scared. I know I’ve been saying that since you won’t sign anyway, my story won’t happen the way it was supposed to—but just like everything else, we don’t know if that’s even true too," you bit your lip in distress, "What if fate just replaces your role with another person? Did I really trap myself in a scripted future?"

All the flaws in your previous plan started to surface without mercy. It could work in another timeline, one where Minho had signed the book. But seeing that he hasn’t, what happens to you now? Would the legacy just adjust and take Minho out of it completely? Is that what they actually meant by your story disappearing?

Will you somehow end up forgetting Minho?

The mere thought of that alone terrorizes you. A life without Minho would be meaningless by your standards. He was the person who brought color to your monochrome life of royalty and bettered you as a person. Forgetting him would be equivalent to going back to that way of living.

"Y/N," Minho called out softly. The sea of your thoughts were raging with all sorts of negativity, making his heart ache for you. "Like you said, we’ll find a way even if you sealed your fate, okay? I’ll be here with you every step of the way."

"But what if—"

"None of that," he said firmly. "I’m not leaving you alone, whether you like it or not."

You exhaled, trying to calm yourself. He’s right. The two of you can still be together if you really want to. Fate can just suck it up and deal with it. 

Fuck being Snow White anyways.

"I hate apples," you grumbled. Minho laughs at your remark, knowing exactly what you meant. "I know. So you don’t have to be Snow White around me," he cups your face gently.

"Just be my Y/N."

"What do you mean the Book of Legends was stolen!?" A loud yell full of disbelief was heard throughout the entire cafeteria. The whole area went dead silent faster than the prideful hare. You stopped scooping up your food midway, watching as Seungmin and Felix both look at each other with wide eyes.

What?

"Changbin, seriously!" Jeongin’s mortified voice echoed in the quiet room. The students were all frozen in their respective spots, trying to process the information that had just dropped on them. What was supposed to be a normal lunch suddenly transformed into a time of anxiety.

"... Are you for real?" Someone asked the two troublemakers. "This isn’t another prank, right? Cause that’s not a good thing to joke about," they said icily.

The Book of Legends is missing? What madman would have the courage to do such a risky thing? That book is the center of this world—a relic if one must say. To harm it would most likely result in a mass extinction of people!

A crash was heard a few meters from where you sat. Someone had fainted and knocked the whole table over. Multiple people were trying to help the unconscious student out of the mess.

"I—uh, well..." Jeongin started. All eyes were on the guy as he stood there, fidgeting nervously. Deciding to get it over with, he cleared his throat and continued, "I was passing by the Principal’s office and overheard it..."

Cue chaos.

Murmurs of panic covered the whole cafeteria. Everyone was worried about what could possibly happen if the book was ever in the wrong hands. 

It was a powerful object that could change lives in an instant. Fate and legacy are strong concepts in this world, after all. They're literally the foundation of your society.

"Is this really happening?" Felix said, looking very queasy. Seungmin scooted away from him instantly. "Control yourself, Felix. You don’t want to puke right now."

"Who could have done it?" You thought out loud, "And why? There’s nothing to gain from taking the book, right? Unless you’re a psychopath who wants to destroy the world."

Seungmin looks at you appalled. "Why are you thinking about mass murder?" 

"I don’t know! There’s literally no other reason to steal the book! It’s not as if you can erase the signatures of those who... signed…" A realization hit the three of you.

Felix gasped in shock. "Is that even possible?" He questioned. Seungmin considered the idea. "There’s magic here, Felix. Technically, anything is possible."

"But the worst thing is that it might not even stop there," he added. "There may be a loophole in which you can sign another person’s story and make it yours." The idea concerned you heavily.

Could that actually happen? So then what would happen to the ones who got their original story stolen? Wait, if this is allowed, then that would make the entire concept of having a story assigned at birth useless—you could literally just pick one to sign at Legacy Day!

There must be more to this than you originally thought. And it wasn’t looking too good. "It’s not lining up," you muttered. 

"What isn’t?"

"The Book of Legends," you lowered your voice, "I’ve never thought of it like that before, but you might be onto something Seungmin."

Felix gave you a confused look. "Like he said, it really is technically possible for someone to follow another story than theirs. If that’s a thing, then why have an assigned destiny for each one of us in the first place?" You pointed it out to them.

The two were startled by the revelation. You were right. There would be absolutely no need for an assigned fate if anyone could just choose what they wanted—heck, the Book of Legends might not even be needed at all. 

The right to choose what future they wanted for themselves has been the main thing the Rebels fought for, and knowing the school was against it (basing off the actions they took against Minho), the same place the Book of Legends was kept and handled, what could this mean for the truth?

The pressing question now is: what exactly is the Book of Legends, and why are we told to follow only those stories that are in the book?

"This is making me doubt everything," Seungmin mumbles. You gulped as you looked at the still fear-stricken cafeteria.

"You should."

Later that night, you found yourself unable to sleep due to the plaguing thoughts from events that unfolded earlier. There had to be an explanation for all this, you thought. 

The white ceiling on your side of the room looked very interesting to you at that moment. It was also very useful, seeing as you could make an imaginary conspiracy board on it. You don’t know what time it was currently, but you found yourself unable to care.

A messy rustling of sheets was heard over on Minho’s side of the room. You decided to look over in mere curiosity. Like you, he was also comfortably tucked in bed, staring at the ceiling. It looks like both of you can’t sleep.

"A lot on your mind?" He starts the conversation. You nod against your plush pillows. "Thinking about lunch earlier this day..." Minho hummed at your answer.

"Care to share?"

"I don’t know… I’m not too sure about it yet. Jumping to conclusions wouldn’t do me any good," you sighed, exhausted from thinking. You wanted to avoid spreading something that was untrue—and to do that, there were a lot of things you still had to consider carefully. There were sounds of movement coming from Minho’s location. "Do you want to take a breather? You might drown in those thoughts again."

You sat up, glancing over at him. There he was, pulling a warm hoodie over his head. "Where are you going?" 

"We. Where are we going," he walks over and throws another hoodie at you. It smelled nice. The scent was from the same soap he used to wash his clothes. You caught yourself smiling unconsciously. Pulling you up from your bed, he grins at you.

"We’re going out."

And that's how you found yourself sliding down a sturdy rope from your dorm balcony to the ground below.

Curfew had already commenced a couple hours ago, which only really hit you once you saw the unfiltered darkness of the night. You could clearly hear the crickets loudly chirping around you—something you didn’t get to hear that often because of the soundproofing spell cast on the school’s walls.

"I can’t believe I’m doing this," you squealed joyfully, enjoying the feeling of thrill. In your peripheral vision, you saw the tips of Minho’s own lips twitch upwards. 

Light footsteps from the two of you permeated the area as he led you towards the entrance of the forest near the dorm building. "Is this the first time you’ve snuck out?" He asks at a low volume, trying to avoid the threat of getting caught.

"Yes," you reply. "I've never had the chance to do it before. Have you?"

He chuckles at you. "Plenty. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed how I sneak out at night sometimes." You blinked at his confession. Racking your brain for any memories of Minho mysteriously disappearing in the cold hours of the night, you came up with nothing. "No?"

"It's probably because you're already asleep when I leave," he says as he leads you two down a narrow path. The area you were heading to must be surrounded by trees, somewhere deep in the small forest. "Why have you never invited me?" You approached him with your complaint.

"Again, you were literally dead asleep."

"Just wake me up. I’ll catch up with a nap after getting poisoned," you joked. Minho clicks his tongue at the reminder. "Not happening. Ever." 

Seeing his face twist grumpily, you poked at his side. Minho pushes your hand away, feeling ticklish. 

After another minute of walking, you finally reached a large clearing. Minho stepped aside to give you a good view, as if proudly presenting the location. You gasp, amazed at the sight before you.

It was a big lake, something you never thought of the school having before. 

The scenery was beautifully surrounded by large bushy trees, forming a wall-like barrier around the body of water. That must be why it wasn’t easily seen from the outside. You noticed that the trees had a blue-ish glow, a result of the moonlight bouncing off the lake’s water. It helped give off a peaceful ambience, one where you could feel your worries dissolving in the chilly night. 

You look around in wonder. "I didn’t know they had a lake here!" Minho heads over closer towards the lake’s shore to sit. You sped up when he called you over.

"I found this back in third grade," he explains while picking up a rock near him. "It wasn’t on the school map, so I was surprised to see it too."

The water was certainly not lacking in appeal either. It was so crystal clear that you could see all the different kinds of rocks littered underneath it. As you looked further, you realized the lake was quite deep in the middle because you couldn’t see its floor anymore.

"This place is very therapeutic, huh?" 

Minho examined the rocks he was holding and responded, "Yeah. I come here to relax whenever I’m really stressed." He stood up and threw one of the rocks towards the water. You both watched as it skipped a few times before sinking. "I actually went here after the Legacy Day event."

Right. That must’ve been after your fight.

You let a comfortable silence take over your conversation, simply enjoying the company of one another. In the span of a few weeks, a lot has happened to the two of you. From misunderstandings that led to a fight, to making up and thinking about the future—you could say that those events really helped your change as a person, even in a short amount of time. 

But there was another thing that bothered you at the present.

"What do you think about what happened to the book?" You asked Minho. He continued skipping rocks. "You mean the Book of Legends?"

"Yeah."

"Shocking," he chuckled. "I never thought someone would ever have the balls to do such a stupid thing." 

Stupid was one way to say it. The Book of Legends was a highly secured item that only a select few people had access to. For someone to get past security, they had to be really stealthy to the point where you couldn’t notice them—that or not be classified as a threat.

"Why do you think they did it?"

Minho shrugs. "Maybe as a prank. I mean, what else can you really do with that book anyway?" He turned around to face you and asked, "Why?"

Should you tell him? It’s not even a confirmed theory, and there was a chance that you couldn’t actually erase the signatures, let alone steal another person’s story. However, Minho was someone who knew magic very well and could be a useful source of information.

"Me, Seungmin, and Felix were talking about it at lunch and thought that maybe there was a way to remove a signature from a signed story, or steal it as your own?" Minho dropped the remaining rocks.

"Wait, are you serious?"

You bit your lip. "It’s not yet confirmed, but Seungmin said it could be possible. We have magic and all that. As a magic user though, do you think it's possible?"

He thinks about it carefully. Magic was a complicated subject to dive into because it has so many layers. And because of that, Seungmin was correct that anything could be done technically with the help of magic.

"It... might be a thing," Minho considers. "It’s quite a possibility. This is really bad though, because it would mean the book being stolen could potentially cause major damage to our world." With his insight, the situation becomes so much more frightening to think about the outcome. 

Is that what the person who stole the book planned to do?

"That book is causing so many problems," he sighs tiredly. You had to agree with him. The Book of Legends has literally been the source of most of your problems, especially knowing that the way your world works is because of the stories within it.

Minho sat back down beside you. "I wish that thing just never existed," you muttered under your breath. He stares at you, amazed at what he had just heard.

"Your way of thinking has really changed."

"How could I not?" You said, feeling agitated. "There’s a ton of stuff that doesn’t make sense in the beliefs I had before. I’m kind of ashamed that I’ve only noticed it recently."

Minho pinches your cheek. "It’s never too late," he teased. "At least you’re willing to admit your shortcomings. I like that about you."

"Don’t fall for me too much," you joked. When he didn't retort, you glanced at him. However, instead of the annoyed reaction you expected, he was giving you a soft look.

"What if I already did?"

Your brain immediately short-circuited. Wait, he does? Does Minho actually like you? This isn’t a dream, right? Maybe you fell asleep earlier, and this was just your brain playing tricks on you—

"It’s real, Y/N," he pulls you out of your doubts. "Don’t be pressured to give me an answer. It’s fine if you just see me as a friend." You catch the tips of his ears turning red.

Oh God, you think you’re going to pass out.

This was Minho. Your partner in crime, Minho. The ideal man of your dreams, Minho. Once upon a time, you had a massive crush on him, Minho. And here he was telling you he liked you? Like, romantically? What can you even say to that? 

If only your parents could see you two now. You’d love to rub it in their faces that he turned out to be so much better than Hyunjin.

At your extended silence, Minho looked away. He looks really embarrassed, so you decided to end his suffering.

"I did also have a crush on you a few years back," you admitted shyly. He snaps his head towards you. "A few years back? What about now?" He asked.

You shrugged, trying to mess with him. "I don’t know," you replied. He dramatically wilts at your words. At his endearing reaction, you couldn’t help but break the act. "But I’m willing to try."

His soul comes back to him at the snap of a finger. "Really? Are you for sure?" He giddily looks for your confirmation. When you nodded at him with a smile, he almost jumped from joy. "I could literally kiss you right now," he announces, feeling breathless.

"Do it."

You didn’t have to tell him twice. It was like living fifteen-year-old you’s greatest dream, except this time, you were actually going to kiss Minho. The peaceful vibe of the area turned romantic as the two of you got closer. But just when you were about to close the gap, a movement in the woods caught your eye.

"Jisung?"

"Are you really saying someone else’s name while you’re about to kiss me?" Minho says, dumbfounded. You hastily waved your hands in denial. "No! I mean that it’s literally Jisung!" You pointed behind him.

Once Minho turned towards the direction you told him, the two of you saw Jisung, frozen in his tracks. You looked at him, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uhm... What are you doing here too?" He squeaks out, sounding frightened.

Jisung was trembling like someone had just caught him in the act of doing something illegal. Something you didn’t understand because he’s literally the one who caught you and Minho almost kissing. 

"Are you—" The words you were about to say dried up completely after your eyes traveled down to the object he was currently clutching with his whole strength. Hold on.

Is that the Book of Legends?

You choked on air. "Did—were you the one—" Your eyes stayed fixed on the supposedly missing book. Jisung panics and quickly hides it behind his back, as if that would erase both yours and Minho’s memory of ever seeing it on his hands. Minho abruptly stood up.

"Jisung, what have you done?" He stepped forward, scaring the poor guy even more. "Do you even know how big of a deal this is?"

Then, the unexpected happens.

"And what if I do!?" Jisung snaps.

You were taken aback. This was a side of him you’ve never seen before. Well, the two of you aren’t exactly close friends, but you’ve always seen Jisung as having a cheerful personality. The case of him getting angry, let alone annoyed, seems so foreign to you. Minho's eyes narrowed at him. 

"...Please tell us you aren't planning something bad," he slowly said, attempting to approach Jisung. But the latter takes a few steps back. 

"This book is a curse!" Jisung reasons, pointing at the book. He looks at it with such hatred that you never thought would be possible to come from him. "Don't you see it? Everyone is getting torn apart just because of this damned book! The school is a mess, my friends are all fighting, and the person I like won’t even give us a chance, all because of this—this thing!"

It was as clear as the lake's water that Jisung was hurting. You could see the unshed tears piling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He was determined to get his point across: the book had to be disposed of. And he was the martyr; volunteering to do it himself.

"Jisung, just think for a moment—"

"How easy for you to say, Minho!" He scoffed in disdain. "You haven’t signed yet. You’re still free to do everything you want without anything tying you down—"

"And that almost cost me my life!" Minho reminds him. "If the saying was true, I wouldn’t even be here talking to you right now, Jisung."

You decided to speak too, "Jisung, please. We don’t know the extent of the importance that book holds. It could literally end up destroying the world in the worst case scenario."

He looks at you in disbelief, not believing his own ears at what you had said.

"Why are you even defending it? I know you don’t like your story either, Y/N. If we just get rid of it, then we can be free," Jisung appeals, trying to get you on his side. You shook your head. He was a bit too far gone. "Jisung, we could literally die."

"I know, okay!?" He wails. "But I’ve gotten this far already. This isn’t something I can just undo!" Jisung falls roughly to the floor, greatly distressed.

His desperation was evident in his sobs. The more you thought about it, the more it made sense. Jisung was Hyunjin’s best friend, as well as his roommate—but Jisung was also close to Changbin and Jeongin. The whole Rebel and Royals thing must have been devastating for him. He was also one of the people who signed the book before Minho’s outburst back on Legacy Day. Something you knew he only did because there was no other choice, just like what happened to you. Jisung also had the ability to turn into a frog at will, a trait that evolved for the line of the Frog Prince. He must’ve snuck through security as one to reach the chamber they placed the book in. How he got through the magic barriers, though, was beyond you. But that didn’t matter at the moment.

Minho walks over and grabs Jisung’s shoulder, lightly squeezing it. "You can still return it... We won’t tell on you as long as you don’t get caught," Minho turns to you. "Just promise us you’ll return it, okay?" You nod your head in agreement. Jisung manages a confirmation through his sniffles.

"Let’s head back. You can return it early in the morning, Jisung."

A loud bang abruptly woke you and Minho up. Feeling distraught, you sat up to find the source of the disturbance. You didn’t know what you were expecting, but what you saw was not what you expected at all.

"Did you seriously sleep in one bed?" Hyunjin asks, looking at the two of you. "And you called me and Mina bad."

What the hell was he doing here?

Like reading your mind, Minho pulls you back towards his chest. "What the hell are you doing here?" He sleepily glares at the intruder.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes at Minho’s reaction. Instead of finally leaving, he shuts the door he flew open and sits on your sofa. You and Minho watched as he made himself comfortable, completely ignoring both of you in your current intimate position. Hyunjin stares back, unamused.

"So I can’t be comfy too? Have some hospitality, geez."

You pinched your nose bridge before asking, "So? What’s your business here?" Hyunjin had a visible lightbulb moment. Is he serious—

"I have news!" He announces. "About the Book of Legends."

You light up. "Oh! Did Jisung manage to return it—" Minho clasped a hand over your mouth to shut you up. Fuck, you forgot that Hyunjin might not be aware. You both eyed him awkwardly, looking for a way to cover up your mistake. Hyunjin snorts at the comical scene.

"Don’t worry, I already know. I helped him return it earlier."

You let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God. I thought Jisung was toast now." Hyunjin grabbed a sofa pillow to hug. Is he planning to stay here or what? "Do you have anything else to say—"

"It’s fake."

Minho, who finally came out of his sleepy spell, gave Hyunjin a confused look. "What’s fake?" The former pursed his lips, obviously conflicted about what he was about to say.

"The Book of Legends is fake."

Did Jisung steal a dummy? Wait, does this mean he got caught? You are now alarmed at the possible indication. "Is Jisung okay?"

To your relief, Hyunjin confirmed that the other prince was indeed safe. You don’t know what you would do if he was ever found out to be the one who attempted to steal the Book of Legends. That was a crime worth getting expelled and imprisoned for, even worse than Minho disrupting this year’s Legacy Day event.

"How’d you find out it was fake?" Minho asked.

"We were passing by the principal’s office after returning the book to the chamber. The door was slightly open, and we heard him ordering another to this person over the phone. At first we thought it was for a dummy until the actual one was back, but it turns out the book wasn’t even this all-powerful relic! It’s literally just an enchanted book to make those fancy visuals—"

"Hold on, you mean the whole concept of the Book of Legends is fake? Not just the one Jisung stole?" You yelled at the unexpected revelation. "Then what the fuck is the Book of Legends for then?"

Hyunjin looked shocked. "You curse?"

"Answer me!"

He raised his hand up when you attempted to launch at him. Minho quickly held you back. "Calm down, woman. And you ask me why I don’t want to marry you." Minho gave him a pointed look. 

"Let’s not go there right now."

"No need to get all possessive on me, loverboy. I have no plans to take her away." Hyunjin tells Minho. The latter only snarls sourly. "You better not."

"Hello? Are we just going to brush off that the Book of Legends isn’t true?"

Hyunjin retorts, "It’s real. Just not in the way we believed it was. It’s literally just a book filled with stories enchanted with magic to make it look fancy." You stared daggers at him. 

"Get Jisung. You’re so useless."

He whined. "It’s not my fault! I don’t know much else other than that either! Jisung went straight to Yeri to see if she could post the news. We’re hoping to get the issue investigated professionally."

"How are you so sure they aren’t in on this too? Maybe we’ve been living under the control of the officials for so long!" Minho stroked your hair, in an attempt to calm you down. "Isn't that the point of a government?" shrugs Hyunjin.

You threw a pillow at him.

"Can you not!?" He shrieked. Minho groaned at the chaotic scene. "Thank you for the news, Hyunjin, but this could really wait until lunch or something," he locked you in place so that you wouldn’t attack the poor guy any more, "Unless you have anything else you want to say?"

Hyunjin went silent. He placed the pillow back to rest on the sofa, and sat properly. Clearing his throat, he finally spoke.

"I wanted to say sorry to Y/N," he admits. "There isn’t an explanation I can give you for why I treated you the way I did other than I was immature and hated the idea of not being able to choose who I married—which is a bad excuse because it’s not like you liked that either. Compared to the two of us, you treated me much better than I did to you, even if we were in the same boat." You blinked.

"I’m working on myself, and Mina is too. So I hope you can forgive us someday. You don’t have to like us, though. We'd understand that much."

Well, this was unexpected. Hyunjin and Mina weren’t total bullies, but they still had a hand in the multiple times you were hurt. It would be hard to forget, but you think you could manage to forgive them in the near future at the very least. If they were willing to change, that was enough for you.

"I’ll think about it," you replied to him. The simple positive response was enough to make him smile. "Thanks."

Hyunjin stood up and headed towards the door. "I’ll leave you two lovebirds now. School starts in two hours, by the way. Might as well get ready; there’s bound to be lots of people in the cafeteria soon," he bids, closing the door not long after.

You lay back down, covering yourself with the blanket. Minho laughs and joins you.

"Thirty more minutes."

A day after the shocking truth of the Book of Legends came out on Yeri’s blog, an investigation was launched into the case. And just a mere two days after that, Jisung and Hyunjin’s finding was confirmed—which appalled the whole realm.

It turns out, there was so much more to the fake Book of Legends. Storybook High’s current principal comes from a long line of people who were all high-ranking officials in this world. It was also from this family that the concept of stories was traced back to: the Grimm Family. After careful investigation, they found out that one of their first ancestors responsible for the stories was a very ambitious writer, who wished for his works to come to life. With the help of his older brother, who was a strong magic user, he learned magic with his goals in mind. And with the magic he had gained, he made the legitimate Book of Legends. 

It was a book containing all of his stories, with different parts dedicated to all of the characters. But there was a curse embedded into the book; if one signed a character’s story, they would end up living the same life as them. 

Satisfied with his work, the Grimm ancestor went around towns, trying to find people to trick into signing the pages under the guise that it meant they liked the story. As one could have probably guessed by now, you were the generations that came after those victims.

That didn’t mean your Book of Legends had the same curse, though.

Apparently, the original book has long since disappeared, only really affecting the first generation of those who signed it. The Grimm ancestor did not live long enough to make another one for his victims’ offspring, though, and in an effort to save their father’s work, his children vowed to continue the stories no matter what—which was still the Grimm Family’s main goal in the current time.

The truth wasn’t uncovered earlier because the Grimm Family quickly took over the world’s power positions and buried the information—making it only accessible to those in on the plan. Following this, they also found out that the current Grimm governing the school had a brother who they locked up in prison wrongfully because he opposed their family’s plans.

What a ride.

"This is so messed up," Chan gasped from across the table, setting down his mirror phone that had the news displayed. "I knew it was sketchy, but not this sketchy!" Felix agrees with him, reaching over Seungmin’s tray to grab his brownie.

Yours and Minho’s friend group (plus Hyunjin and Jisung, who were connected to Changbin) were currently seated at one table, eating their respective lunches. The full result of the investigation just came out earlier this morning, and many were still processing the bomb that just dropped.

"It’s great to know we’ve been living a lie all along," Jeongin chirps sarcastically. Jisung smiled at the group. "But at least now they've abolished it, right? We’re all free now!"

Oh, that was another thing that happened. After the arrest of the remaining Grimm Family members that were involved with the scheme, the new officials completely tore the "follow your story" concept apart and encouraged everyone to write their own destinies. As a result, many of those who heavily sided with the Royals division apologized for their actions and were now working to improve themselves.

"Took them long enough," Minho said, placing an apple on your tray. You pinched his arm. "Ouch!" Seungmin had the audacity to look disgusted. 

"Can you two flirt somewhere else?" 

"Fine," Minho said, standing up and dragging you along. Gagging noises were heard from the table as the two of you left. You laughed, very amused at their reactions. When Minho stops the both of you in an empty corridor, you joked, "Why do we always end up in a hallway?"

He chuckles at your comment. "Who knows," he stepped closer, "But I know I haven’t gotten that kiss yet." You rolled your eyes at his suggestion. "I can’t believe we ended up together. We're literally supposed to be enemies," you said as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

Minho snickers. "That’s only written on paper anyway," he leans forward.

"Paper can easily be torn."

taglist 🏷️ : @h0neydewmoon @ni-sh @xazucaradictax @autumn-lv @hyuka-luvbot @openlylazybookreader @aunty-tiger-potato @mafegarcia @peachesandcream-9 @strwbrryblues @skzpdf @sidekidzz

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These are so beautiful and creative. The characters look so unique and promising. Just looking at them makes you itch for a backstory lol. If someone made a book with inspiration from these characters I would definitely read.

This lady I follow on tiktok has been creating character designs to encourage people to make fantasy characters who wear a hijab and they are so incredibly cool!

This is a compilation of looks they have done so far and they are all really awesome

Here's the link to her tiktok profile btw

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Seems so magical 🤩

㋡🥀

Seascape...

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