Chan Sits Cross-legged In His Living Room, A Box Of His Old Belongings Sitting On The Floor In Front

chan sits cross-legged in his living room, a box of his old belongings sitting on the floor in front of him. a few days ago, his parents called to let him know they were going to do some cleaning of old belongings, maybe donating anything that was still good quality. which lead to the two of you heading up for the weekend. his younger brother has already came and went, just narrowly missing getting to see the two of you, which just leaves the two of you to sort through chan's old things while his parents are out.

and chan's starting to regret it, because you just happened to find his old high school student ID, and you've lost it. "it's not that funny!"

"you looked like an egg!"

he's fighting back his own smile. you're not wrong, his high school haircut is far from flattering, but he doesn't want to admit that. you're holding onto his ID tightly, immediately falling away from him when he lunges to grab it. it's a childish game of him reaching for it and you twisting and turning to keep it away from him, but he finally wins out, pinning you against the floor as he manages to snatch it from your grasp. you're still laughing, and he finds it infectious as he collapses onto you, face buried in your shoulder.

he pushes himself up, hovering over you when he smiles. "hi." he keeps the card tight within his grasp. "i'm gonna burn it."

"i'll buy it from you."

"not a chance." his gaze flickers down to your lips. "but... i could be bribed--"

"oh my god, you big dork." you snort, "i'm not making out with you when your parents can come home any second, you dweeb."

he leans back, eyes twinkling as he teases you. "just a peck? and you're the one in love with me, you know. what does it say about your tastes if i'm a dork--"

you just pull him in by the front of his shirt, kissing him to shut him up (he loves teasing you and how flustered you get). he smiles into it, a hand cradling your face as he lets out a quiet hum...

only to immediately yank from you away the minute he hears the doorknob jostle, feeling like an embarrassed teenager all over again.

What if....

header edited by me (@chogiwapadada) do not remove the watermark and do not repost

pairing; yoon jeonghan x afab reader

genre; smut (minors dni), angst, some fluff

warnings; unprotected sex, talk of a fight, sadness, illudes to depression

word count; 1.8k and some change

request; no

a/n; i am just as sad as you are, maybe even more

song inspiration; eric nam - what if

Jeonghan turns in the bed, your hair tickling his nose as the light shines into his eyes. He can’t help but to smile as he scoots in closer behind you. His nose nuzzles into your hair as he drapes his arm over your waist enjoying your warmth.

It felt like he hadn’t been this close to you in forever. He vaguely remembered the night before. The raised voices, your tears, his that he managed to barely hold back as you said you were going to leave, but he had stopped you. 

You were in his arms, you smelled like sunshine and vanilla. Each breath you took in was like a breath in for Jeonghan. You were so important to him. If you had asked him to explain it, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to. 

Reaching up, Jeonghan moves your hair from your neck so he can press a kiss to your soft skin making you smile. He can’t see it but he can sense it with the small hum that escapes your lips. “Morning love.” You nod at his words before turning in his arms so you can face him resting your forehead against his. 

Jeonghan liked this even more, now he could look at your serene face. God you were stunning, especially in the morning. Your bare skin, messy hair, the lines from the pillow on your soft cheek. He couldn’t help himself as he reached up to trace over one making you whine softly about trying to sleep longer. 

“I know baby…but you are just so cute.” You laugh and shake your head muttering no as you move to bury your face against his chest making Jeonghan laugh as his chin rests on the top of your head. His arms holding you closely as he looks out the window as the sun starts to truly peek in. “Are you working today?” 

Your voice was muffled against his bare chest as you draped your leg through his, becoming tangled under the comforter. “No, stay home with me.” Your lips brush his collarbone as Jeonghan starts to say he can’t and that you can’t skip work. That something feels off, this wasn’t like you. Yes, the two of you had fought but you never skipped work…but when your soft lips touch his skin he can’t seem to care about work, about responsibilities, about anything except you. 

“God…I love you.” You smile against his soft skin, your breath tickling his skin making goosebumps spread. “And…I’m sorry. I didn’t say that last night. I should have. I’m such a fool.” You let out a content sound at Jeonghan’s words before pulling back to look at him as your fingers run along his ribs making his breaths come quicker and deeper. Now he could really look into your eyes and appreciate you, and it took that new breath away. 

He missed you without the need of it because you were right here but a fight would do that to a person. When you looked at him like this, like he was your favorite person, he felt like he was floating. He wanted to live in this moment forever. The sun that was that perfect level in the sky, your beautiful face in front of him, your soft fingers on his skin, your legs tangled with his under warm covers that neither of you were in a rush to leave. 

You watch Jeonghan take in a deep breath to steady himself before he leans down to press a kiss to your lips. It’s such a gentle kiss as if you might break, disappear, or push him away. Instead you smile against his lips and reach a hand up to pull him closer deepening the kiss. Jeonghan’s fingers slide along your waist as he tries to find something real to hold on to as your tongue slides into his mouth making his head spin. 

“Fuck…” You laugh at his muttered curse against your lips as Jeonghan pulls back to look at you as his legs move along yours so he can move between yours so he is laying on top of you. His fingers pull at your soft shirt as he tugs it up your stomach so his fingers can finally touch your skin near your hip bone. When you shiver at his touch, Jeonghan groans softly into your kiss at your reaction. “I want you to be mine for the rest of my life…” 

“Then do something about it.” They were words that seemed to echo in his mind over and over but Jeonghan simply smiled at them, nodding as he moved to press his lips to your jaw making you lean your head back against your pillow as he moved his thigh between your legs as you lifted your hips. When a soft moan of his name slipped off your lips Jeonghan’s brows furrowed at how distant it sounded but he shook his head and moved his lips back to yours wanting to swallow your moans, to keep them forever. 

Your fingernails sliding over his back, as you whine on his lips, you can’t help but to want him to go faster with how much you want him. Jeonghan can sense it but he can’t help but to want to take his time. “Please…” Your plea is like candy and Jeonghan is dying for how sweetly you intoxicate him. “Yeah…okay. I know. I just….” You whine again and he nods, shrugging the covers off his back as he sits up to look down at you. 

“You are so pretty baby.” Your cheeks warm at Jeonghan’s compliments as his fingers slide your shirt up your torso over your breasts as you arch your back letting him peel the garment from your body. Jeonghan’s eyes travel over every inch of your skin as if trying to remember where every freckle and mole are located as if he were to blink he might forget and one might shift. You laugh and reach for his hand moving it to your hips. “Keep going, please…I need you.” 

Jeonghan laughs and nods as you lift your hips letting him slide your panties down your legs as you move your body for him. He bites his lips as he watches your legs move to either side of his body as you look up at him. Jeonghan can’t help but to groan at the sight, your beautiful body on display for him as he once again lets his eyes scan over you this time looking between your legs at how wet you are for him as he runs his hands over your knees down your legs before he leans back to slide his own shorts off. 

He was painfully hard for you, he wanted you more than anything. It was like his body was crying out to be part of yours. So when you reached for him Jeonghan wasted no time moving back into your arms and between your legs. With his lips finding your cheek, he whispered soft praises and how much he loved you as he lined himself up with you before pushing into you slowly savoring how your body was made for him.

With your mouth next to his ear, Jeonghan’s eyes closed as he listened to your soft panting breaths that were in time with each of his thrusts. How your moans became a bit more high pitched when he’d go deeper, and how your nails would dig into his back making his hiss out a breath when he’d bottom out into you. 

When you started to clench around him, your orgasm on the cusp, Jeonghan almost wanted to slow down and prolong your pleasure, but he was too close to following you. Your hands on his cheeks as you brought his lips back to yours as your walls trembled around his cock, Jeonghan groaned into your mouth as you came undone for him like no one had ever done before. You were perfect, he didn’t want anyone else because there was no way anyone else could feel like this. 

Your head is thrown back as you cry out his name when Jeonghan spills into you, he can’t help but you pause his thrusts just to enjoy the visual. The way your hands had moved to clench his biceps, your thighs quivering, your breasts pushed up against his chest, a beautiful blissful smile on your face. He wanted to remember this moment forever along with the entire morning. 

Laying you down Jeonghan presses kisses between your breasts before working the kisses up your neck to your mouth as you smile running your fingers through his hair as he whispers that he loves you. When he doesn’t hear it back Jeonghan laughs only to look up at you questioningly, “Say it back baby…” but you stay silent, just your fingers moving through his hair before you turn over and your back away from him just like you always did in the dream.

Jeonghan sighs in his sleep furrowing his brows before running a hand over his face. When he opened his eyes, the sun was at that perfect level in the sky, his hand ran over your spot in the bed to find it empty. He closed his eyes again, tightly knowing he had dreamt of you again. He remembered the yelling, your tears, his that he had barely held back until he hadn’t. When the front door had slammed shut and you didn’t come back he couldn’t stop the tears that fell down his face. 

Just like the tears that were rolling along the sides of his eyes now into this hairline as his fingers gripped the pillow that had once been yours. Where there was once warmth, now was just a cold unused pillow, and riight now his bed felt like it was made of ice. 

Turning away from your side of the bed Jeonghan sniffed back his tears and swiped his phone from the nightstand that held a box with a ring he never got to use, before looking at the time. He sighed, opening his social media like he did every single morning. Your name typed into the search bar, Jeonghan can’t help but to smile sadly at your gentle smile. Your beautiful face in newer pictures that he hadn’t been around for. He searched for a new person in your life just in case. Someone other than him that was making you happier than he could. 

Following his ritual he goes into his phone contacts and hovers over your name wanting to call you just like he had wanted to stop you that night when you walked out that door. As soon as he thinks he has the nerve to press the button his brain begins to play with him. 

“What if she picks it up?”

“But what if she has your number blocked?”

“What if someone else picks up the phone?”

Jeonghan’s pride gets the better of him, just like yesterday and the day before that, and the day before. He presses the power button turning off the screen making your face vanish so he can close his eyes. His heart is tight as he forces himself to sit up and get ready for another day without you in his life. 

-----------------------------------

tag list; @bangchanbabygirlx @just-here-to-read-01 @hoshistar96 @niktwazny303 @strawberri-uyu @yeritheloml @tis-nikii @noraehey @hoohoohope @otterpopchan @xuxibelle @foxdaisy @smileysuh @vern0nsworld @synthetickitsune @enhacolor @pandorashbox @yeosayang @httpswonwoosglasses

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seventeen members as love tropes: joshua

soulmates

'hand in hand, you and me. today, tomorrow, forever.'

when 00:00 glow green in the darkness, you clutch your bedsheets tighter, feeling light burn on your right wrist. it's happening. what everyone talked about, waited for, dreamed of. it tingles for few seconds and when it stops, you know that name of your soulmate is now etched on your wrist with black ink which will not come off no matter how hard you'll try. unspilled tears sting your eyes and you're about to go to the bathroom, when you hear careful knocking and gentle 'love?' from the other side of the door.

'joshua?' you question loudly before jumping from the bed and rushing to open the door. just like you predicted, your boyfriend is waiting on the other side, wearing oversized hoodie on top of his light blue pjs. 'babe, what-'

'your roommate is here?' he asks, interrupting you gently. at the shake of your head, he then points inside. 'can i come in then?'

for the first time since you started dating you hesitate. should you let him in when you don't know if it's his name on your wrist and vice versa? there are so many things on the tip of your tongue: have you checked? is it my name? am i your soulmate? your insides are churning just from the possibility of someone else's name being written on his wrist. joshua takes a second to assess your state and it doesn't take him long to understand what's happening with you. he's always been good at figuring out your feelings even before you did, always knew what to say or do to calm you down. before you can voice out your fears, his arms find their way around your waist, gently but firmly pulling you towards him. 'shh,' he whispers, hugging you tight. 'i know, love, i know.'

'i'm scared,' you mutter, hiding your face in his neck. and it's such a familiar place for you, you can't imagine not being able to do that, can't bear the thought of not having joshua this close to you.

you didn't know how joshua felt the same, how holding your trembling body in his arms made him want to tuck you away from this world and just forget about everything. if the stars decide that you two are not meant for each other then he'll write his own story, create another univerise in which you are his and he is yours because that's the only correct way of how it should be. he hasn't looked at his wrist, mostly because he is scared too but also because he doesn't have to look at it to know who is his fate. gulping, he tightens his arms around you, leaving small kisses on your shoulder.

'have you looked?' you ask in a small voice, biting your lower lip. 'what if-'

'look at me,' joshua asks, leaning back until you move your head and make eye contact. 'i haven't looked. we're both going to look right now but before we do, i just want you to know that it won't change a thing, okay? you are it for me and i don't care if universe agrees with me or not.'

'b-but, if it's not my name..' you start, not being able to finish that sentence because every word breaks your heart.

'then i will cover that name with yours,' joshua says with sureness of person who will not change his mind. 'i will go to the tattoo parlor right now and will make sure that only your name is on my wrist. i love you. do you love me?' at your nod, most beautiful smile blooms on his face. 'ah, i'm just the luckiest guy, aren't i? universe already blessed me with your love, let's check if it blessed me again, shall we?'

it's scary. your throat tightens up and heart rate slows down in anticipation. you didn't think that figuring out who's your soulmate will happen in the middle of the hallway of your dormitory with your boyfriend right in front of you, but life has its own plans. grasping sleeve of your sweatshirt, you look up at joshua, who's already looking at you with impossible fondness. you are it for me, he mouths and with this rolls up his sleeve, looking down. you don't have to look down at your own wrist, because watching surprise and happiness glow on joshua's face is the answer enough for you. when he looks back at you, there are tears in the corners of his eyes.

'it did bless me again,' he whispers, not looking away from you. his eyes are filled with awe and he brings your faces close, so close that your foreheads are almost touching. 'i would've created another universe for us but i don't have to. you are mine in this one.'

what comes out from your mouth is a mix of hysterical laughter and whimpering sob. joshua smiles and takes your hand in his, showing you both his own name written prettily on your wrist. he strokes it lovingly with his thumb as you stare transfixed, not being able to utter a single word. relief floods your system and you sag against him, smiling at the way he keeps on leaving small kisses anywhere he can reach.

'you are my soulmate,' you let out, still in shock. 'josh, you are my soulmate.'

he chuckles, nodding. 'yours, baby. forever and ever.'

he hugs you tight, looking up to the ceiling for a second, silently thanking whoever is responsible for this to happen. he prayed yesterday, promised that he won't ask for anything else as long as he'll get this wish right. i will never ask for anything else, he thinks, mentally sending this message to the universe. you gave me everything.

a/n: oh the feels :') impossible to picture anyone else for this au, so of course it's joshua. tell me how you liked it! - nini

my other works can be found here

thank you for answering my ask hehe <33

i actually thought it was dreams and the window being open in the morning was just jeonghan coming into their room and like, idk, standing there staring at the reader mom i threw up. but since you mentioned it, even tho the reader never actually looks into the woods, they fell prey to his lure because they’re asleep and therefore, their mind is vulnerable right? also hannie they have a door why you making our reader climb through the window smh lmao

WAITTT I DIDNT EVEN THINK OF SEOKMIN LIKE THAT but jeonghan forgetting then suddenly getting possessive and being like “YOU! BETRAYAL” and taking him back is killing me i’m sorry

also so now since reader is jeonghan’s, i’m guessing the mind control is just going crazy? like that’s where the loss of humanity is coming from right? ik you mentioned in the warnings jeonghan has no morals when it comes to this but i’m just wondering lol since they’re also not human and so is hannie and yeah….idk, hope they’re happy in the woods doing whatever it is they do tho!!!

hi hi i am here because i have not been able to get Dark out of my mind since reading it yesterday as it has ruined my life in the best way possible and i come bearing questions if you don’t mind lol

loved watching the gradual loss of humanity in reader but also, did you have a certain like, way of that happening or was it a bit more up to the readers interpretation? reading it i felt like that feeling you described everytime the reader walked by the woods may be it if not a part of that but just wanted to see what you originally had in mind whilst writing it

it was so interesting seeing all that unfold though, even in the beginning and how it’s already so, dark and then the gradually intensity of it occur. i loved reading it sm, the entire fic really.

also! seokmin! what happens to him now 😭 does hannie still have him under his control or is he just, gone. now that jeonghan has the reader and all

Me just giggling to myself reading the "ruined my life part" hehehe i love chaos and fucking with people

Okay so lemme try to explain this but please have patience because honestly I was just working with vibes and vague ideas throughout the whole writing process so I have not actually ever wrote this down or explained it, and I'm not even sure I really thought it all through properly ngl lol

Right so reader moved to the new place a few months back and it's close enough to the woods that Jeonghan spotted them and instantly decided he wanted to eat them, like literally entirely consume. But Jeonghan can't leave the woods so he had to try to use his monstery mind control type thing to lure reader into the woods. It didn't work.

At least, not at first. Jeonghan kept jumping into reader's mind at every chance he could to wear them down and it worked, though not when reader was awake. Jeonghan could only lure reader when it's the middle of the night (at it's darkest) and his powers are strongest because idk maybe reader was just mentally stronger with instincts that worked well enough to tell them to keep the fuck away from the woods and not even look in that direction. Which was good because the eyecontact makes Jeonghan's powers stronger and almost impossible to ignore his lure.

Anyway, basically(I say knowing I'm about to ramble even more) those scenes about reader being in the dark that seem like dreams, yeah, no, they had just fallen prey to Jeonghan's lure and had climbed out of their window every night which is why it was always open in the morning.

Jeonghan was so intruiged by their strong mind and at first, reader was a challenge he wanted to beat and was determined to lure them during the day when their will is strongest and his powers weakest. And then he just became enamoured and no longer wanted to eat reader but claim them as his own and his companion for all eternity.

Jeonghan had actually lured Seokmin before in order to spy on reader through Seokmin's mind but the poor dude didn't know and had entirely forgotten. Then the day came that Seokmin asked for reader's number and Jeonghan got posessive and so he stole Seokmin away and essentially tortured him for a while and fully took over his will. So now Seokmin is basically Jeonghan's slave and Jeonghan can use him to move in the day and away from the woods, which will help Jeonghan lure people in to eat much easier!

I hope that all made sense and answered your questions! I am very aware I cannot get to the point and just ramble a lot but that's just how my brain works so lol, sorry if it's all a bit of a mess to you

I'm really glad you liked the story so much, though! And to actually send an ask with your thoughts and questions, that really means a lot to me! I appreciate it 💗

Dark - Y.JH

🌲Who: Gender-neutral reader x Jeonghan 🌲What: Horror. Human reader. Monster Jeonghan. 🌲Wordcount: 3.2k 🌲Warnings: Mental manipulation/control. Some blood and injury. Gradual loss of humanity. Biting. I truly do not know how to tag/warn this but basically, Jeonghan is some kind of eldritch horror who wants reader and morals do not exist for him 

Summary: There’s something watching you. It feels old, feels evil, feels dark. You can feel its eyes on you when you pass the woods to get home.  It feels hungry.

-2024 Masterlist-

AN- @ourdawnishotterthanourday , thank you for reading through this for me, little one 💗

It’s dark. The kind of dark that isn’t just seen but felt. The kind of dark that seeps into your skin, wraps its cold fingers around your veins and travels through your veins. The kind of dark that makes a home of the deepest corners within you and steals the warmth from your soul. The kind of dark that hardens your heart and refuses to let go.

It’s dark and you don’t know if you can find the light again.

You’re the last to leave. Again. It doesn’t surprise anyone anymore. You’ve been leaving later and later with every passing week.

The sun had set long ago by the time you leave work and start the walk home. 

A walk that you shouldn’t really take. The way is dimly lit, the neighbourhood too old for modern security cameras to be commonplace.

It’s dark and not safe. You know this. You had been scared about this when you moved here all those months back. Back when you used to get lifts home from colleagues who worried for your safety too. Back before you lied about being okay to walk home alone.

Something changed. You don’t know what it is, but something in you isn’t the same as it was then. You don’t know if you miss it. 

It’s dark and you’re walking home the same route you take every night after work. Far too late into the night. 

A cool breeze flutters your hair, presses against your back urging you onwards. Closer to home. Closer to the darkness waiting for you. 

An empty house, no one to come home to. No one to wait up and scold you for being so late and reckless, yet relieved to see you home safe. No life within the walls until you return. No one. Just the dark.

It’s a calm night. Like the world has decided to take a break and let the nightcrawlers go about their business with nothing to disturb them. It’s nice. Soothing almost.

You take a deep breath, let the night air chill your lungs, send prickles over the back of your neck. 

You almost pause as you realise the shiver running its fingers up your spine isn’t from the lungful of cool air. But you don’t dare.

You know something is watching you. Something is always watching you as you pass the opening to the deep old woods near your home. The only companion you know on these nights. 

It used to scare you; cause your heart to race and your lungs to shudder in your chest, expand and deflate erratically and leave no room for anything else. But now. Now there’s something else in your chest, spreading and winding around every inch of you, filling all the gaps and limiting how your lungs expand, forcing them to behave. 

It used to scare you; it doesn’t any more.

Still, you don’t dare slow, you don’t dare look because you know with everything in you, you know that the moment you show weakness, show interest, whatever is lurking in the dark will be upon you and you will be helpless to stop it.

It’s dark and cold and…soft. The world is cold around you, burrowing under your skin and spilling ice into your heart, but there is softness underfoot. It’s a little damp and something small tickles over your bare skin, but it’s soft underfoot. 

It’s soft and it’s not as bad as you thought it would be.

When you open your eyes on a new day, the curtains are pulled open allowing the morning sun to stream into your bedroom. You remember closing them last night before climbing into bed. You remember locking the window securely. 

There’s a gentle breeze against your face, birdsong reaching your ears. 

You’re not surprised to find the window open when you look over.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” One of your co-workers, a friendly young man who seems to light up any room he enters checks, even as others call for him to hurry. 

“I’m sure, I’m not much of a drinker,” you assure, smiling at him in a way that you hope is assuring. Really, you just want him to leave. You used to like him, when you first met you thought he was the kind of man you would love to have by your side in any capacity, but especially as a romantic partner. But now. Now his sunshine hurts your eyes and makes the fire burn cold at the back of your neck.

“Okay,” he agrees, though he looks disappointed and very bad at hiding it. You pretend not to notice and turn your focus back to your work, tilting your head down in a clear sign of dismissal. 

“Come on, Seokmin!” One of your colleagues yells.

“Alright!” He calls back yet hovers a moment longer before abruptly grabbing a pen from the pot and leaning over to take your left hand and scrawl numbers down on your skin. “If you change your mind, here’s my number, I’ll keep my phone on loud. Or if you want someone to walk you home, I’m happy to! It scares me thinking about you walking-” 

“There are post-it notes right there,” you comment, looking between his phone number written hastily against your skin and the little stack of bright yellow squares of paper. They’re impossible to miss. 

“Oh, right, sorry.” He quickly puts the pen down and backs up with an embarrassed, apologetic smile when you raise your eyes to look at him. “I just-” 

“Seokmin!” The loudest of the group almost screeches impatiently, making Seokmin jolt and look at them. “Flirt on company time, not mine!” 

“I’m not flirting!” Seokmin shrieks, whirling around to look at you with wide eyes of alarm. “I-I’m not flirting!” 

“You should go because they drag you,” you suggest, raising an amused eyebrow. 

Seokmin opens his mouth to respond yet just closes it again and nods rapidly before turning and rushing off, zipping his coat as he goes. 

You hear him whispering madly, sternly to his friends when he reaches them but you don’t care to discern the words. You’re already looking at the numbers on your hand and wondering if he purposely picked the permanent marker to stain your skin with.

It’s dark, and cold, and soft, and you’re not alone. The ground is still damp and soft under your bare feet, the gentle breeze cool against your skin and you can’t see. But there’s something against your left hand that feels almost tender. 

A touch. An icy finger tracing over your skin. Admiring.

Until it’s not. 

The gentle touch turns sharp, a piercing burn in a purposeful line across your skin. Warmth spills out, trickling over your skin, dripping off your fingers to the soft ground you stand on. 

Your breath catches as your lips press together firmly. You want to cry out, but there is something telling you not to open your mouth. You can’t let the dark spill onto your tongue and slip down your throat. 

There’s a sound, something you don’t understand. Something that rattles the very core of you, something indescribable even if you were to try. But it feels old, it feels powerful. And it’s talking to you.

You don’t know what it’s saying but it’s talking to you, voice vibrating in your bones for only a few seconds yet it feels like those few seconds have changed you irreversibly. 

Something wet touches your hand. The icy touch of slender fingers hold your palm, leading it closer to the soft wetness. It’s almost warm, but not quite. 

The cool wet traces over the warm trails that spilled your hand. 

A tongue. Whatever is with you is tracing its tongue over the trail of your spilled blood. 

There’s a sound, it sounds pleased. 

The tongue passes over the back of your hand. It burns.

You want to cry out.

You keep your mouth shut.

“What happened?” One of your colleagues asks, eyeing the bandage wrapped around your left hand as you take your mug from the coffee machine. 

“Just wasn’t paying attention,” you reply with a lighthearted little laugh and shrug. She accepts your words just like that and starts to prattle on about something as she puts her mug where yours was moments before and places a fresh pod into the machine. 

Your gaze slides to the white gauze hiding the raised line of a fresh wound on your hand, cutting straight through the stained ink you couldn’t scrub off before bed.

“Did you hear?” Another colleague walks in, his hands holding his oversized empty mug ready to refill, and his eyes are wide.

“Be more specific, Seungkwan, you catch so much gossip it’s impossible to know what you’re talking about at any given time,” the woman on your right scoffs, rolling her eyes but her lips are turned up a little in amusement. 

You glance at her and suddenly wonder why you don’t know her name. Have you ever known it? Surely. You must’ve. But you can’t for the life of you remember what it is. 

You look at Seungkwan as he moves closer and you realise that you had forgotten his name until the woman spoke it. You wonder what else you’ve forgotten lately; you get the feeling it’s a lot. Yet you find that you don’t care, not really. It’s all meaningless.

“You know how Seokmin didn’t turn up today, right?” Seungkwan whispers as he leans closer to yourself and the nameless woman. 

You didn’t ask to be included in this and you almost walk away, but he’s half blocking you in and you don’t really want to go back to your desk and stare at a screen that hurts your eyes even with the brightness turned down. So you remain and just watch the conversation happen as you sip your drink.

“Hungover, he went out with Mingyu and Soonyoung last night and you know how those three get,” the woman muses, plucking her mug from the machine and turning to lean back against the counter and leave space for Seungkwan to access the machine if he wants to. But he doesn’t and continues to clutch his empty mug with wide eyes.

“We all thought that too but he didn’t answer anyone’s texts or calls and you know he’s too nice to do that.” The woman hums in agreement. You don’t have any input yourself but nod a little when Seungkwan looks at you. 

It seems right for Seokmin’s character at least, to never intentionally avoid others like that. He always seems too…warm. 

Your nose turns up a little at the thought of that warmth. You used to like it. But now. Now even the thought feels suffocating.

“Exactly,” Seungkwan continues, entirely missing your unimpressed turn of expression. “So Mingyu went around there on lunch break to check on him and he’s not there.” 

“What?” 

“Seokmin isn’t there.” 

“Then where is he?” 

“Nobody knows. They’re trying to find out. It’s not like Seokmin to do this. They’re worried something happened to him.” 

It’s dark, and cold, and soft underfoot and you’re not alone. It’s dark and there’s a cold trail of a gentle touch over your cheek. 

There’s that sound, that noise you know means that whatever is with you is talking to you. You don’t understand, but you think you’re starting to.

It’s dark and you’re not alone anymore. You’re not sure you ever were. 

There’s a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, a hamper of unwashed clothes in the bathroom. None of it matters. It’s all meaningless.

You’re waiting. Though you’re not sure what for. 

But you think you’re starting to understand. Every morning you wake with a breeze on your skin and you think you understand more. 

You feel it in you. 

Whatever it is, it’s almost ready.

A gasp of your name makes you look up from the display of apples before you. You know the approaching man, he’s familiar. You work with him.

He gets closer, plastic disposable coffee cup in hand and he’s already talking away, gossiping. You lift your eyes from his cup and to his face. He always has a cup. You know that. But you don’t know his name. It doesn’t matter. 

“It’s so sad, isn’t it?” The man finishes, frowning at you as if he truly is upset by whatever he had just said to you. You blink at him, not sure what was said but willing to agree to be left in peace already. “About Seokmin?” 

You don’t know who Seokmin is. You think you should know, but you don’t. You don’t care either. 

“Were you listening?” He frowns further and reaches out towards you. You take a step back out of his reach before his palm can touch your forehead. “Are you okay? You look pale, you feel cold.” 

“I’m fine,” you assure. It’s the truth. You are fine. He’s the one emanating a disturbing amount of warmth. 

“You’ve been strange lately. Not yourself.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Right.” Genuine concern twists his mouth as he curls his hand back around his cup. “You should text Seokmin, let him know that you’re thinking about him, it’ll cheer him up.” 

“I have groceries to buy,” you point out. He opens his mouth to say something but you’re already turning and walking away with your basket in hand. 

Those apples didn’t seem fresh enough to you anyway.

There’s a man standing on the path as you walk home, a grocery bag swinging from your hand and guided by the gentle moonlight. He’s not moving, just standing, staring into the dark of the woods transfixed. 

You know better than that. 

As you near the man-shaped obstacle in the path you make an attempt to give him a wide berth but suddenly he turns to face you with wide eyes void of any light. You recognise him, even without his normal warmth. 

“Come for a walk with me,” he speaks to you in a voice layered with sounds you can’t describe. Though there is his natural voice and another one there, one you don’t know by ear but you know it. Whatever is in your chest knows it. 

You almost falter in your steps but remain steady. You ignore him and walk around his form to continue on your walk.

“You can’t avoid it forever. He’s waiting for you,” he calls after you.

“Go home, Seokmin!” you reply yet don’t look back. 

You don’t see him take a step off of the path. You don’t see him slink off into the woods, drawn by something that has its cold fingers too deep in his chest for him to ever be free of again.

It’s dark, until it isn’t. No light comes yet shapes start to form in front of your eyes. Pale thin fingers reaching for you, tipped with short pointed nails. The sharpness of which you have proof of under the bandage on your hand.

A gentle caress on your cheek.

A blink of your eyes and a face appears. Or perhaps it was always there. You just didn’t see it before. 

It looks human, yet doesn’t. Too beautiful, too ghastly. A contradiction you are unable to remove your gaze from. You don’t want to remove your gaze from.

Dark wisps of hair fall over an even darker eye as its head tilts a little. To the left then to the right. 

Pretty lips stained red stretch wide, too wide. Sharp teeth put on display. Too many teeth. But so pretty. Dangerous. And beautiful. 

It’s smiling, eyes swirling with twisted pleasure as it stares at you, a cold, gentle thumb rubbing a tender pattern against your cheek. The smile grows as you tilt ever so slightly into the touch.

Teeth rescind before your eyes. They remain sharp yet fewer appear and are smaller than before. Leaving space for sounds to slip through. You catch sight of a pale tongue moving within its mouth as it forms sounds. Words. 

But you don’t understand. You don’t know the ancient language it speaks. 

Yet.

A soft touch to your bottom lip and your mouth falls open at the request of this horrifyingly beautiful creature before you. 

It smiles widely, pleased by your willing obedience as darkness spills onto your tongue and slips down your throat.

It’s dark when you open your eyes, no light streaming in from your window. The breeze is still on your face where you lay. 

It’s soft under your back, soft and cold and damp. 

“Welcome to your new life, little one.” You’ve never heard the voice before, not on its own, only blended with the man on the path. It’s velvet smooth yet crackles at the edge with a cold fire. Comfort and danger in one. You know the owner even without looking over. 

Still, you look.

Beauty and horror rolled into one haunting creature resembling a human male, yet far from it. 

He’s sitting on the damp forest ground a little to your right, smiling at you with those sharp teeth on show, his dark, dangerous eyes which hold no light or warmth locked on you. And yet you feel…adored. 

“What’s your name?” You ask, voice soft and calm, at peace here laid on the bed of moss beside the being that could tear you apart and swallow you whole if he so desired. You think he once wanted to. But now. Now you think he still might. But only to carry you with him always. 

You think you would let him, if he asked. 

“My name?” He repeats, leaning forward. You nod and then suddenly he’s slinking over the ground, crawling in a manner that should not be possible, his bones should not move in such a way if he were human. 

But he’s not. 

“Names hold power here, little one, do you think I would give a mere human power over me?” He taunts, placing each of his bony hands either side of your head as he leans over you, head tilting too far to the right for a human neck. 

“I don’t feel human anymore.” You reply and lift your hand to feather your fingers over his cheek. Perfectly smooth and cold, yet still soft. 

“I suppose you are not.” He chuckles and dips down to brush the tip of his nose over your neck, to breathe the scent of you in.

“What am I now?” 

“Mine.” Sharp teeth pierce your delicate skin, not deeply, just enough to draw blood that a cold, wet tongue laps up greedily. 

“Then tell me your name. If I’m yours, I will never want to do you harm.” 

He leans up. Peers at you as he licks blood stained teeth and swallows every drop. 

“You are mine.” He repeats.

“I am yours.”

“Prove it, let me have you.” 

“I am yours.” You repeat firmly, tugging him down to taste your blood on his tongue.

It’s dark, and cold, and soft under your bare back, and you are not alone. 

“My name is Jeonghan.” 

It’s dark and you don’t want to find the light again.

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