𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘’𝖘 𝖊𝖘𝖈𝖆𝖕𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘’𝖘 𝖊𝖘𝖈𝖆𝖕𝖊

synopsis: ___ was trapped in an arranged marriage with Choi San, the crowned prince of wonderland and her step-sister’s lover. How will she find happiness? How will she escape?

pairing: thief!yunho x fem!reader

themes: royal au, angst, romance, kidnapping, horrible parents, tba

wc: 231 words

warning: this is in no way representing anyone’s personalities. This is simply a work of fiction. ENJOY!!

   𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊

Lee family’s backstory

The Lee family was a happy family. Mr Lee was the king’s advisor, the breadwinner of the family so to say. Despite his busy schedule, he always managed to find time to be a part of his children’s lives. He always made sure to be there for any and all events, their birthdays etc. Mrs Lee was a very caring mother who always took care of the kids. They were a very tight knit family. Mrs Lee was the best mother any child could ask for. They were a very happy family, until that fateful day.

Mrs Lee suddenly fainted. Doctors from all over the kingdom, even from neighboring kingdoms, could not find what was wrong. It was until that fateful day, a day after _____’s 3rd birthday that Mrs Lee finally passed.

Despite this, Mr Lee was still always present in his daughters’ lives. Chaeryeong was forced to grow up faster than she should to take care of her younger sister, ______. 

“Papa, when’s Mama coming back?” 

Hearing 3-year-old ____ say that broke his heart. He could not bare to tell her anything.

“Mama will be back soon...”

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

A few years later, when _____ was 13, Mr Lee had remarried. He married Ms Goo and Ms Goo had a daughter. Goo Harin. To say their lives changed, was an understatement. Their lives became a living hell.

masterlist

you know what I can't stop thinking about? arranged marriage au with prince! ateez. in smut form..

idk if you're taking any requests but.. just an idea I guess haha😌

ARRANGED MARRIAGE WITH PRINCE ATEEZ

PAIRING — ateez x reader

GENRE — romance, smut, prince/royalty au, prince!ateez, princess!reader, arranged marriage au, spouse!ateez, strangers to spouses to lovers, fem!reader, sub!reader, dom!ateez

WARNINGS — smut, unprotected sex, breeding kink (cuz ya know, gotta get that heir), possessive sex, first time sex/taking of virginity, oral (f & m receiving), fingering, sexual language//dirty talk

WORD COUNT — 6.2k

SUMMARY — you are a princess, and you’ve been wedded to a prince in an arranged marriage. naturally, it is expected for you and your now husband to be fruitful and produce an heir. it’s your duty, but you find yourself in the arms of your prince for reasons beyond just legal obligation. simplified summary: your first time with the prince you were forced to marry.

HONGJOONG

the books against your back were jagged and painful, but the discomfort did little to counter the pleasure you felt as a hard cock filled you yet again. you moaned and clawed at his strong back, the muscles flexing under your touch. there was a grunt in your ear when your nails dug in deep. his own hands held your hips, keeping you suspended against the large bookshelf.

hot breath against your neck made you shudder, and the teeth that sank into your skin a second later had you hissing in both pleasure and pain. “you’re awfully tight around me. are you close, hm?”

you watched as hongjoong lifted his head to face you. your eyes locked, and you’d never seen him look so intense. you squirmed under his gaze, but your movement was limited in his hold. your breath caught when his hand circled around your jaw; you had no other choice but to keep your sight focused on him.

hongjoong smirked. there was a wild gleam in his dark eyes, one you’d never witnessed before. since marrying prince hongjoong all those months ago, you’d only ever seen him calm, collected, and poised. he was a dutiful prince, dedicated to the crown and to his kingdom. he was polite, but cold, only ever really offering you attention at official events. you were beginning to believe he hated you, up until this evening. a particular duke had shown you a decent amount of interest at the ball, far too much for hongjoong’s liking. things escalated, and soon you found yourself stripped of your gown and thrown against the shelf within his study.

and there was no doubting the way your prince felt about you now.

hongjoong’s hips thrusted upwards repeatedly, and you began to unravel bit by bit within his arms. his eyes bore into yours, watching your face contort in pleasure. “you are my wife. do you understand?”

you barely managed a nod. you pulled at his back as you tried to anchor yourself to him like a lifeline. “y-yes.”

his lips captured yours in a languid, sloppy kiss. “mine, all mine. and i will dedicate as much time as i need to reminding you of this, so you will never forget it.”

hongjoong claimed you against his bookshelf repeatedly, over and over, until the sound of his name was the only sound to be heard within the expanse of his study. and with the marks that littered your skin, there was no way you could ever forget you were his.

SEONGHWA

“does this please you?”

your vision was hazy as you peered down the length of your body. a handsome face was nestled between your thighs, your arousal dripping down his chin while his eyes watched you closely. you nodded slowly, like it was a struggle for you to even comprehend what he was saying. “yes,” you breathed, “it does. very much. please, keep going.”

seonghwa smiled just before returning his attention to your pretty pussy. his tongue swirled over your bud and your body responded in kind, back arching and your fingers tangling in his dark strands. he was encouraged by the sounds you made, those pretty little whimpers and cries that had him stiffening in his trousers. he was eager to fuck you, to claim you properly as his wife, but he delayed his own pleasure just to taste your release on his tongue.

you came with a rush, pleasure surging in your body and offering you an experience you’d never had before. you shook under the weight of your orgasm, and seonghwa was there to guide you through it with soft caresses against your thighs. the look he gave you while he climbed over your body was one that made you feel so many things. it was a genuine surprise that your relationship with your arranged husband had grown into this; you had feared you’d fall into a loveless marriage like so many others. you’d never been so happy to be proven wrong.

seonghwa rid himself of the rest of his garments. his hard cock brushed your inner thigh, and you gasped at the feeling. he kissed down your jaw as he started to align himself at your entrance. “i’ll keep making you feel good,” he spoke. “i’ll fuck you with my cock, fuck you full of my cum and claim you completely. watch my seed make a home out of your womb. would you like that?”

you wanted nothing more. your legs wrapped around his waist and urged him forward. he obliged you, slipping himself into your tight heat. he allowed you time to adjust before rocking his hips into you over and over. and when the time came, you begged for his seed, begged for him to claim you like he’d promised he would.

YUNHO

when you were delivered the news that you’d been betrothed to a prince, you were afraid. afraid of a loveless marriage, of a marriage bound by duty. you feared that as the wife of a crown prince, your entire future would be rooted in stone. you were anxious your new husband would be someone you couldn’t even muster up the ability to tolerate. and when you thought of the wedding night, of performing your marital duties, you felt nerves, disgust, uncertainty.

but prince yunho surprised you in every way. he was kind, gentle, respectful, and beyond beautiful. you weren’t expecting it, but falling into his arms the night of your wedding came naturally to you. there were no nerves or disgust like you’d once feared. you felt at ease by his presence, and even after he offered you a way out of this, even when he gave you a choice, you still desired to go through with it.

yunho’s large frame hovered over you, enveloping you within his presence. his scent was all around you. his hips glided forward, plunging his cock deep inside you until you felt impossibly full. he chuckled at the way you whimpered, adoring the sight of your eyes rolling at the surge of pleasure. his hand cupped the side of your face, your skin hot to the touch. “you are beautiful,” he spoke softly, almost reverently. “i never expected to be graced with such a beautiful wife and princess.”

you felt bashful under his attention. you hid your face in his hand, earning yourself another giggle from the prince above. he urged you to face him again, and you were overwhelmed by both the pleasure he gave you and the stunning sight of his smile.

“don’t be so shy. i am your husband, after all.” yunho retracted his hips before snapping them into you again. you both groaned at the bliss. his soft smile morphed into a smirk. “and i am filling you to the brim with my cock. so, tell me, how badly do you desire me?”

you breathed in, and out, and over again while you reveled in the way he filled you up so full. long gone was the discomfort; your cunt now took him in completely, eager for him to take you. “please,” you whimpered as you lifted your hips to urge him for more. “take me. claim me. i need you so desperately.”

yunho gave you more than you ever could’ve asked for, pleasuring you so well until you had your fill. and with each thrust, the fears you once had slipped away, replaced with pleasure and admiration and a hope for the future.

YEOSANG

“ah! j-just like that. fuck, just like that.” yeosang watched with awe as you took him in full. the head of his cock grazed the back of your throat and he thought he could’ve seen stars. his hand was full of your hair, steadying your pace as you bobbed your head up and down.

the two of you had been avoiding each other since your wedding. things were…awkward, to say the least. neither of you were very outgoing, and didn’t exactly know how to interact. you were married, but were practically strangers. even after all of his royal training as a prince, yeosang was clueless how to engage with you. he was always destined to be in an arranged marriage, and he always knew he was expected to produce an heir….but no one offered him any insight on what to do beyond that. it wasn’t until his closest friend at court, wooyoung, practically locked the two of you in a room together did he finally muster up the courage to engage with you. things were less awkward after that.

and now here you were, in his room, with his cock down your throat. things had definitely improved.

yeosang cursed when you wrapped a hand around his base. when you glanced up at him, lips stretched around his shaft, he almost came undone instantly. he pulled your mouth from him before that could happen. the shocked look on your face was almost comical. he might’ve laughed if he wasn’t so aroused. “i don’t want to cum just yet.”

you gave him an odd look. “why not?”

“i want to make you feel good, too,” he admitted. he swallowed at the way you kept eyeing his cock. “i…i would like to fuck you, if that’s alright with you.”

you both powered through the initial awkwardness at first. the unsure touches, the slow falling of clothing, the experience of being bare before each other, witnessing each other’s bodies for the first time. you both melted into each other the moment he seated himself inside you, finding your rhythm and allowing your desires to take over.

“you’re so tight. fuck, you’re so tight.” yeosang buried his cock into your heat over and over, feeling the way your walls clamped around him like a vice. he was encouraged by your sounds and the way your hands gripped at his back.

“i’m so close,” you breathed. “you’re making me feel so good, yeosang.” you held onto him tightly as you began to grow overwhelmed by your incoming orgasm.

all yeosang wanted was to make you fall apart. he’d now discovered his most favorite thing in the world, and all he could think about was making you scream his name. and you did just that as you fell apart moments later, his name slipping from your lips like a prayer. he wasn’t too far behind you, releasing himself inside you and filling you to the brim.

SAN

you felt all sorts of ways about your new husband. you didn’t hate him, no. he was kind enough to you, pleasant to make conversation with and polite and courteous. your marriage to him thus far was going far better than you expected. but you didn’t love him. at least not yet. there was definitely something akin to romance between you, but it was much too new, too delicate. the one thing you knew for sure was that the sexual tension between you and the prince was thick, and made it almost unbearable to be near him. you wanted him more than anything, needed him even.

and eventually, the tension snapped.

san rolled his hips forward, seating himself as deep within you as he could go. his grip on your waist was rough, his fingers in your flesh bordering on painful. “you’ve no idea how much i’ve been wanting this, wanting you.”

you whimpered at the fullness of him. his cock stretched you out wide, and you couldn’t recall a time you’d ever felt so full. your hands gripped at the backside of his shoulders and your legs circled around his waist, your body silently begging him for more. “san, please. i need more.”

“since you asked so politely.” the sheer force of his thrust stole the breath from you, a silent cry catching in your throat. san didn’t allow you much time to collect yourself before setting up a ruthless pace. he was desperate, desperate for you. the raging desire he’d been feeling for you fueled every thrust, every plunge of his cock into your heat. you felt absolutely wondrous, so perfectly warm and wet and tight around him. “you’re so tight for me, fuck, you feel divine. and you’re taking me so well.”

the polite prince you knew him to be was a distant memory. now, all you saw above you was a man wild with desire. his words, his cock, and the sight of him were all making you feel overwhelmed, and you knew your end was near. “s-san, feels so good!”

san peered down at you with his dark eyes, a smirk stretching across his face. “yeah? are going to cum for me?” when you nodded frantically, he hiked your leg over his shoulder, driving his cock deeper into your dripping cunt. “i’m going to fill you up so full, and claim this little pussy all for myself. would you like that? want me to breed you so good, hm?”

the only answer you were able to offer him was a cry of his name as you crumbled underneath the weight of your orgasm. your own release urged the man above you to his own.

san’s hips stilled as he came, cock throbbing and filling you up with his seed. he kept himself seated inside you, not wanting a single drop to fall from your stuffed hole. “you’re so addicting,” he whispered against your skin as his mouth traveled up your neck. “and now that i’ve had you, i don’t think i’ll ever be able to get enough.”

MINGI

“look at you, so pretty like this.” the deep rasp of mingi’s voice settled on your ears and brought you back to reality. your eyes focused on his handsome face. he was already watching you, seemingly intrigued by all the faces you were making, like he wanted to commit every expression to memory. “you look beautiful underneath me, full of my fingers.”

heat simmered on your cheeks. you squirmed, both from the pleasure and his attention, and sighed as his long fingers curled inside you. his fingers grazed the sweet spot nestled deep within you, causing your back to arch.

mingi smiled. “oh? did that feel good?” his smile grew when you nodded, like he was proud of himself for making you feel this way. this was certainly a new experience for the both of you, and so intimate. you were thankful for a husband like him, someone willing to be kind and patient with you. someone who cared for your pleasure.

“feels amazing,” you breathed. you were close, and you were certain he could tell by the way your walls gripped his fingers. he kept reaching for that spot, urging you to your release. you inhaled and exhaled before deciding to speak, “mingi, i need you inside me. please.”

“i am inside you.” his fingers curled again.

you shook your head. “your cock.”

mingi swallowed hard. “are you certain?”

you melted at his concern for you. it only made you want him even more. “yes.”

mingi was nestled inside you soon after. discomfort morphed into pleasure, and you quickly became intoxicated by the fullness of his cock inside you. he fucked you slow, deep, and so absolutely perfect. you always feared what an arranged marriage would entail, but mingi made you excited; you were eager to see how this blooming relationship between you and your prince would grow.

WOOYOUNG

“i knew it.” a smug voice came from between your thighs. a warm tongue flicked over your bud, teasing you and making you yearn for more. “i knew you’d fall for me eventually.”

you rolled your eyes, both from the pleasure of his tongue on your clit and annoyance. “i have not fallen for you. do not flatter yourself.”

wooyoung chuckled and pushed your thighs further apart. he sucked on your clit, and though you tried to hide it, he heard the small whimper slip passed your lips. he smirked victoriously, even though you couldn’t see over the skirt of your gown. “mmh, she says otherwise, love.” he licked a long stripe over your folds.

you bit your lip. you don’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing you moan. for the lack of a better response, all you could offer up was a firm “humph”. as annoyed as you were with your new husband, you couldn’t deny the pleasure he was offering you, nor your own attraction to him. wooyoung was loud and had a large personality; he was cocky, and very self assured. the exact opposite of you. on your wedding day, he told you that it was only a matter of time before you fell in love with him. you tried ever since to prove him wrong.

but your own lust got in the way.

“come on now, let me hear you,” wooyoung urged. he lapped and sucked your sex like a delectable meal, doing everything in his power to coax those pretty little sounds of bliss from you.

it was a losing fight. the pleasure overwhelmed you, and as your high drew in closer, there was no way you could keep silent anymore. raspy breaths and soft whimpers fell out of your mouth as you began to spiral. you reached for his hair, but he was hidden under your gown out of your grasp.

“there’s those pretty sounds, love,” wooyoung praised you. “now cum on my tongue for me. i know you want to.” encouraged by his words, you came on his face mere moments later. he eagerly lapped up every drop of you while your thighs shook around his head. he milked you of your high before emerging from under your gown with a smirk.

you watched him closely through hazy eyes as he climbed over your body.

“now, i’m going to make my pretty little wife scream on my cock.”

JONGHO

you knew since you were little you were bound for an arranged marriage, dedicated to some unknown highly titled man. you were told that you just needed to make yourself like them, whoever you married. force yourself to be happy until you tricked yourself into believing that you were. then, you ended up married to a crown prince, but to your surprise, liking your new husband came easily to you. and even crazier, falling in love with him was effortless.

it took one dance with him, one moment spent in his strong arms.

jongho held your hands above your head as he fucked into you. you were rooted in place by his strong grip, and you were happy to remain there and take every bit of pleasure he was giving you. his thrusts were powerful, and his cock was reaching so deep within you thought you could see stars. “you’re so perfect for me.”

his lips were on yours in a slow kiss, and you swallowed up his words. in exchange, you sighed against his mouth. there was so much you wanted to say, but the pleasure was too much for you to even speak.

jongho seemed to understand every moan, every cry that you made. one of his hands let loose of you to lower down between where you were joined, thumb pressing into your clit. he inhaled your moans. “i’m going to make you feel so good, princess. make you cum on my cock over and over just like you deserve.”

“y-yes,” you sighed, so close to falling over the edge. “please, yes.”

he kissed you passionately, hips remaining constant and thumb against your bud. he was like an anchor as you came undone, keeping you in his hold as you fell apart. and he didn’t stop, keeping true to his word.

AUTHOR’S NOTES — this wip was the most voted for on the poll, so here it is! this request has been sitting in my inbox for so long🫣 i’m sorry! i hope you enjoyed this!!

i’ve opened up a ko-fi shop! link to it is on the pinned post on my blog. if you enjoyed this, or enjoy any of my work, a donation would be very appreciated! of course, a reblog and nice words would be just as meaningful💕

TAG LIST — @abiaswreck @jungkookieprincess @lilie-dctl @mjyungi @marievllr-abg @mylovelymito @nebulousbookshelf @northerngalxy @silverpixiedust23 @staytinyinmybpack @thesafecafe (if you’d like to be on my tag list, find the tag list form link on the pinned post on my blog!)

NETWORKS — @kflixnet @wonderlandnet

ALL FICS ARE THE ORIGINAL IDEAS AND WRITTEN WORKS OF NATEEZFICS. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. REPOSTING WITHOUT CONSENT FROM THE AUTHOR NATEEZFICS IS PROHIBITED!

𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙕 𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙆𝙏𝙊𝘽𝙀𝙍 ‧₊˚ ☁️

↳ updating every day of kinktober! ↳ will mostly be drabbles or short fics (500-1k wc)

day 1 ♡ changbin - breeding day 2 ♡ wooyoung - pegging day 3 ♡ chan - daddy kink day 4 ♡ hongjoong - praise day 5 ♡ lee know - edging day 6 ♡ yunho - somnophilia day 7 ♡ jeongin - pet play day 8 ♡ mingi - squirting day 9 ♡ seungmin - dacryphilia day 10 ♡ seonghwa - rollplay day 11 ♡ hyunjin - bondage day 12 ♡ jongho - overstimulation day 13 ♡ han - voyeurism day 14 ♡ san - pegging pt.2 day 15 ♡ felix - mommy kink day 16 ♡ yeosang - dry humping day 17 ♡ yunho + mingi - cucking day 18 ♡ hyunjin - choking day 19 ♡ changbin - lingerie day 20 ♡ seonghwa - tentacles day 21 ♡ wooyoung + san + yeosang - foursome day 22 ♡ jeongin - toys day 23 ♡yeosang - crossdressing day 24 ♡ san - exhibitionism day 25 ♡ wooyoung + changbin - threesome day 26 ♡ han - thigh riding day 27 ♡ lee know - spanking day 28 ♡ jongho - strength kink day 29 ♡ felix - thigh fucking day 30 ♡ seungmin - degradation day 31 ♡ chan + hongjoong - surprise ;)

Ohhh my god dilf Chan......... hard working responsible Chan with an adorable little toddler boy who wants to be just like daddy, doing his homework and coloring in apples on the floor next to Chan's desk while he mixes tracks and produces banger after banger, wanting to work as hard as his dad does. His kid copies everything he does. Chan pauses to get coffee, junior is following at his heels, pulling an apple juice or banana milk from the fridge. Chan sighs and puts his hands on his face while he tries to figure out this bass riff, kiddo sighs and puts his hands on his face while he tries to figure out how many sides a triangle has.

And of course he needs a babysitter. He works long hours and can only do so much from home, so you're there to fill in the gaps when his kid isn't kicking ass at preschool and Chan is still at the office, so to speak. As much as he would hate to admit this, he really has had his eye on you for a while. There's just something about how good you are with his kid, how much he loves having you over, frequently asking Chan if you can come with them for errands and outings. Chan is fighting with everything he has not to see you as more than his son's babysitter, especially since he knows his kid already does and is probably more attached to you than a kid should be to some babysitter. Probably because you're much, much more than some babysitter, your practically his kid's mother at this point. You know as much about him as Chan does, and are equally equipped to take care of him, and that maternal instinct you get makes something hot and heavy and intense stir in Chan's stomach.

It's so late at night when he gets back, and raining too. You figure Chan will walk you to your car like he always does, but this time he insists you spend the night. It's late and dark and raining and that's just the final straw for him, what kind of man would he be if he let you drive all the way home in those conditions? You can't turn him down, or maybe you don't want to. It wouldn't be the first time you've spent the night, but it would be the first time with him home. He's made up his mind and it makes you squirm a little. You never expected to love this job so much, but Chan is so stupid hot and he pays you really well, and his kid is sweet and well behaved on top of that?? This is the best job you've probably ever had, so you relent. He watches you fold, laughing nervously and not meeting his eye until you agree. If you knew the things he was thinking about you right now...

You find out just what he’s thinking about you soon when you find yourself folded up in his bed, climbing over you and caging you in with his muscular body. He's been so busy, he can't even remember the last time he got to sink his massive cock into a tight warm drippy cunt, especially one as cute as yours. He has you pinned down nice and tight as he stretches you open, moaning into your mouth. He fucks you so deep, so hungry for the way you squeeze him, strangling his cock, making him feel things he hasn't felt in ages. He babbles praise and thank yous studded with moans in between strings of curses. Fuck, you feel so goddamn good. From the second he popped the tip into your soft wet folds he knows he's not letting you go anywhere. And this is certainly not the last time he'll have you screaming daddy.

They said keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Luckily for them you were right next door.

In the spooky month of October your neighborhood got a whole new block of neighbors. Who you easily befriend. They were friendly, hot as hell, single, regular ‘boy next door’ neighbors. You were wrong. What happens when you get caught up in their trickery?

If you play your cards right your neighbors might let you live…Did I forget to mention that all your neighbors are notorious slashers? Hold onto you underwear everyone, SlasherAteez has just moved into the neighborhood!

Welcome to Slashtober 2023!

10.03 🔪 Invisible Man!Hongjoong

Tags…Mirror Sex + Breath Play + Degradation

10.10 🔪 The Strangers!HwaYunSan

Tags…Bulge Kink + Rough Sex + Double Penetration

10.17 🔪 American Pyscho!Mingi

Tags…Choking + Exhibitionism + Squirting

10.23 🔪 Jigsaw!Wooyoung

Tags…BDSM + Bondage + Toys

10.29 🔪 GhostFace!JongSang

Tags…Primal Play + Masked + Phone Sex

10.31 🔪 OT8

Gang Bang + Bukakke + Dacryphillia

©️Please do not steal, translate, copy, or change any of the work tagged above. This includes all the fics and graphics. The graphics are made by me unless stated otherwise.

Wanna be added to the taglist? Shoot me a message or drop a comment, and I’ll make sure to add you❤️!

Watch your back : chapter 5

Once you don’t value what you have someone else learns how to take care of what used to be yours

Synopsis : 8 men supposed to give her all the love they promised end up leaving her behind without a valid reason

Pairing : girlfriend Reader x PolyAteez !

Warnings : this chapter contains mentions of, arguing with Yunho , slut shaming , lots of crying , blood , being shoved , Rin provoking reader , assault , miscarriage , panic attacks , bruises, mutism , superficial sympathy , fake tears , flashbacks etc Please reminding me if I forgot something

Superficial sympathy: is a false, insincere display of emotion such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief

Tag list : @legbouk , @scarfac3 , @m4rsluv , @hcyaa , @jackinmyarea , @layzfeelit , @loverlele , @mulletjoonsupremacy , @veneziamadness , @belle643 , @gugggu6gvai , @atinytinaa , @voidcupidz , @atinyreads , @baguette-atiny , @parkthothwa8 , @hwadump ,

This series is going to be posted together with the Psychiatric series, which means one chapter after another

Word count : 3,6k

She ran down the hall in a hurry after realizing at home that she was late to school by forty minutes because her alarm didn't ring neither did everyone else care to wake her up , it was a mystery since she always woke up before anyone else

" Excuse me for being late I overslept "

She panted trying to stay calm as she apologized for being late as the teacher just signaled for her to go and sit down on her assigned seat

Y/n went and sat down as everyone looked at her confused to why she was sitting on that place

"You don't sit there someone else sits there "

A classmate said looking at her

" What do you mean I don't sit here ? "

" Yunho requested for someone else to sit beside him , so you sit at that table alone "

She looked at Yunho before sitting down at the far back , she didn't know why he would request for someone else to sit there ,they were on good terms actually so what happened?

" Ok , there will be a project coming up so I want you guys to pick your partners "

Everyone went around the class to ask for someone to team up , Y/n stood up and went towards her boyfriend that was currently taking notes silently

" Yunho ? Do you want to work together ? I mean it would be a lot easier since we liv- "

" No thank you I already have a partner "

He continued to take notes ignoring her presence making her frown

" Is everything alright ? You'd usually say yes "

" Can you please go back to your seat ? I can't concentrate with you here "

She looked at him confused with his sudden behavior  and sat back on her place without a partner since everyone already had one

" Y/n don't you have a partner ? "

" N-No sir , but could I perhaps do it alone ?"

The teacher sighed before nodding his head

The girl sat back down with a frown pulling out her head phones and putting them on as she stared at her blank desk

What happened for him to behave this way ?

—-

"Make sure to finish the project till next week, and don't forget about the school trip to Paris "

Their teacher said before the bell rang signaling everyone that it was lunch time

Y/n ran up to Yunho , she really wanted to know why he was acting that way towards her

" Yunho , what is going on with you?"

She held his arm as everyone else went out leaving them alone inside the class room

" I have lunch let go "

" Yunho no , why are you mad at me ? Did I do something wrong ? can you also please tell me why nobody woke me up today knowing that I would probably be late ? "

He brushed her hand off him and rolled his eyes as he approached her

" Your not a kindergartener that needs their parents to wake them up , you have a phone to put on your reminder not anyone else "

" But you could've just woke me up this one time it's not that hard "

She held him again but got pushed off

" You must be really deaf when I just told that you can put on a reminder so that doesn't happen "

" But I did put a reminder on! "

The girl frowned extremely confused with his statement that didn't really make sense to her

" Did I do something to you ? why are you guys all mad at me , did I hurt you ? "

Y/n looked at him with her doe eyes , the same look she always did when she was extremely overwhelmed and didn't know what to do

" You piss me off really , why can't you be like Rin ? She's sweet and knows when to not bother us at all , why are you the opposite? "

" Why do you keep comparing me to her ? And I don't want to be somewhat I'm not "

She fiddled with her sweater as tears started building up

" Your just being a nuisance honestly lately, sometimes I think if what Seonghwa said is true , your er just being a big headache "

"Stop with the excuses ! Do you guys actually love me at all ? Did you guys just get another girlfriend because I didn't satisfy you a enough tell me because I can't just watch you guys disrespect me while I do everything to make you guys happy despite being pushed away all the time and  be compared to her ! "

She pushed him back as he looked at her with widened eyes, she had never pushed him

" Am I some joke to you ? "

" Don't push me , your going to regret it "

He hissed at her as she wiped her tears

" I'll push you because I'm tired of this behavior your acting out towards me ! "

She pushed him back making him back against the table, so he shoved her also

" Listen ! You are the one going out with other guys while you have us ! , you barely even spent time with me these past months do you know how I felt ? Do you even love me ?! "

He yelled at her

" So it's about that ? , why would you hurt me by saying other things than the truth! he's just a friend of mine I am literally dating you "

She shed tears again approaching him

" Your the one at fault ! your hanging to much around him , who knows you don't go around already spreading your legs for him ! "

Yunho was extremely mad his chest was rising up and down in a uncontrollable way not even realizing his choice of words towards his lover

" You think I'm that low of a person? Is that what you guys think about me ?! "

She chuckled sniffing 

" I really thought you'd at least change the most , but yet your still the same asshole  "

" N-No that's not what I meant "

Y/n took her stuff and went out the classroom, she couldn't even stay longer at school so she called herself sick and went home

Why where they always against her for no valid reasons ? , it's just something she couldn't understand

Is this called love ? Or was it torture at this point , the love is still there but the pain is sometimes  bigger

__

The house was quiet the only thing heard were the kitchen tolls , she was currently baking something to lift up her mood that died down after the argument she had with Yunho

He had spammed her phone with multiple messages and voicemails making her ignore her phone since she needed some time alone

She knew he was sorry but preferred him to come to her when she was ready to talk

The time was passing quickly as she looked out the window, the way the tree leaves danced with the wind made her feel at ease

One of the reasons she adored spending time in the kitchen , it was calm and her safe place other than her room

It had a nice view to the outside world , the sweet park were people enjoyed sitting to read their books as the kids played around

She wished to be like that one day , able to enjoy sitting at the park carefree with a cup of tea in her hand just like these parents that sat at the park

It brought a smile to her face as she heard the kids scream in joy , she envied them for not having to care about anything else

The timer dinged making her hurry and take out the red cake setting it on the counter to cool off as she prepared the icing

" I don't have any sugar "

She sighed and cleaned her hands on her apron before going out to ask her neighbor

" Hello ? Who's there ? "

" It's me Y/n "

She played with her ring nervously as the door opened revealing the middle aged woman smiling as she opened her arms for a hug

" If it's not my sweet girl I missed "

Y/n smiled feeling the motherly love through the hug making her bury her face onto the woman's shoulder for comfort

" I haven't seen you for weeks now , you must have been so busy with school my poor girl "

Her hair was caressed softly making her shed tears

" I've missed your hugs Miss Cha , I'm sorry if I didn't visit you like I usually do "

" Don't worry studies come first darling , so what does my pretty girl need ? "

Miss Cha pulled back and wiped away her tears smiling

" I-I wanted to ask for some sugar "

" Are you baking again? "

The girl nodded chuckling as her neighbor went into her kitchen to lend her some sugar

" I hope this is enough, make sure to spare me a slice from that cake of yours "

Both smiled before Y/n bowed thanking her

" I will for sure bring some of the cake to you "

" If you need anything I'm just one knock away and you know that right ? "

Y/n nodded with a smile and made her way back home after bidding goodbye

She couldn't stop her tears from falling as she got back inside

The way she craved for the comfort of someone and the way they acknowledged her made her cry from relief

Her phone started ringing and the caller ID showed “Yuyu💕”

She cleaned off her tears and cleared her throat  ignoring  the call before continuing what she was doing in the kitchen

But to her surprise the door opened revealing a blonde Rin entering with her two friends but stopped on their tracks as they made eye contact with Y/n

" I didn't know you were home "

" I didn't feel well at school so I just called in sick and went home "

Both looked at each other awkwardly

" Is this her ? the one that cried over shoes ?"

The shorter girl beside Rin chuckled in disbelief nudging her other friend

" Well what do we have here "

The girl approached Y/n and slid her finger across the icing on the cake and brought it closer to her mouth tasting it

" Woah tastes so good , girls come and have a taste of my besties cake "

The other two girls rushed over and dug into the cake with the spoons on the table

" She really knows how to bake "

" Are you gonna eat this ? "

One of the girls spoke mouth full of soggy cake eyeing Y/n that stared at them in disbelief

" Look she's even crying from joy since we like the cake , don't worry the cake is good "

The girl teased making the other two laugh as Y/n she'd tears of frustration and anger

" I'm so tired of you ! "

She screamed slamming Rin's face harshly onto the cake making the blonde scream in pain

" Are you crazy ?! "

" She's bleeding from her nose! "

Y/n breathed harshly as tears fell, it was the first time in her life she ever put her hands on someone

" Your so done for this you fucking bitch "

Rin wiped her face angrily holding her nose and signaled for the girls to grab Y/n

" Your gonna regret touching me , girls do what you have to do "

" Don't touch me ! "

She screamed curling into a ball as the two girls started kicking and punching her violently

" You should've thought twice before touching her you piece of shit "

A harsh kick was send right towards her stomach making her wince in pain for air

" Your so petty it was just cake  "

The other girl kicked her face as if it was a soccer ball , Y/n's eye twitched from the pain of how hard they kicked her

" Do you fucking know how much my parents payed for me to get this perfect nose ! You wouldn't even be able to afford it! "

Rin scoffed as she watched her friends beat the poor girl to the point she weakly tried to reach for a way to get out their assault

" Wait until I tell the boys about this you fucking slut "

" She only thinks about herself what a fucking bitch , why are they even dating her "

Y/n felt blood leaving her mouth and her face burning for the skin that tore up on her cheek making Rin laugh and squat down to her

" I can't believe this fucker peed herself "

The two girls eyed Y/n's jeans as they watched more liquid spread around her private area

" A grown up girl pissing herself ? Iseul film this it's so funny hurry ! "

The taller girl from them all started recording as she kicked Y/n's face one more time busting her lip

" Wh-hat did I-I-I e-ver do t-to you "

She cried out as her voice was raspy from all the begging and screaming looking up with her left eye swollen shut

" Just looking at you makes me ill and the way they'll always prefer me over you is amusing "

" Mhm Yeon-ngja I-I don't think it's pee "

Iseul spoke concerned as the liquid continued to spread

" What do you mean it's not pee ? "

“ It’s not pee fuck ! ”

The girl approached Y/n's pants and slightly touched it screaming after she saw crimson colored liquid cover her fingers

" She's bleeding ! guys w-what do we do "

" Relax guys she's probably on her period "

Rin laughed it off but Iseul panicked more

" This is not period blood Rin ! This is heavy blood and it's reddish brown! Rin she had a fucking miscarriage! ”

" H-How do you know she had a miscarriage? "

" Because my mom works at the hospital and told me about a patient ! "

Iseul teared up and pulled out her phone to call for help

" Iseul ! If you call them your gonna get locke-"

" And what if I get locked up in prison you both will go with me you took part in this ! "

She yelled at everyone as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration waiting for the ambulance to pick up

" Wait what if we tell them that we came to hang out and saw the door open and her like this in the kitchen? "

Yeongja stuttered trying to calm both down as Y/n whimpered in pain

" I think we should do this "

" She wouldn't dare tell anyone, she can get charged for assault because of my nose "

Iseul checked the girls pulse to make sure she was alive because she looked nothing like herself , bruises on her face , eye swollen shut and a busted lip not to forget the purple blue bruises that started to form

" It's on the second floor, yes number 369 "

Everyone looked worried for themselves other than the girl that tried to breath properly

" They are on their way he-"

Y/n's phone started ringing uncontrollably

" Who is it ? "

Rin checked the phone on the counter and cursed seeing San's number calling her so she just ignored it not answering

" You should probably clean your nose to look decent or they're going to question you "

Rin nodded and went to her room to fix herself before coming back

" I think we went overboard "

" Girls relax I have it under control "

The door rang and she went to open immediately taking a minute to fake her cry

" Pleas-se this way hurry "

She sniffed leading the paramedics to the kitchen that hurried towards the direction taking in quick action

" What happened? "

" Me and my two friends came home to work on a project and we found the door open and than we went inside hearing whimpers , and than saw her laying there "

Rin teared up as they carried Y/n out on a stretcher hurrying to their ambulance

"I heard you guys may suspect the girl having a miscarriage ? Do you know how far she was ? "

" W-We didn't know she was pregnant "

Yeongja said wiping her face

" I ask for someone or all three to follow us quickly to the hospital as her witnesses "

Everyone went out closing the door and going inside the ambulance towards the hospital

The girls kept giving each other discreet looks as they grew anxious

Iseul therefore was sweating bullets from the amount of guilty that filled her mind and chest

"Don't worry girls everything is going to be ok "

Was it really?

__

Machines beeped as she laid there peacefully breathing with the help of the mechanical ventilator

The two other girls had already gone home leaving Rin all to herself in a room with Y/n

" You wouldn't have ended this way if you didn't touch me now see what you’ve done"

She sighed looking at the other girl scoffing

The door opened revealing the boys that rushed as fast as possible towards the hospital after being informed

" What happened to her "

San was the first to rush towards her bed panicking as the others waited for an explanation from their other girlfriend

" She w-was assaulted at home "

" What do you mean she was assaulted "

Seonghwa raised his voice that got shaky with tears threatening to fall

" Yeongja , me and Iseul found her bleeding in the kitchen all beaten up "

Rin fake cried as Yeosang hugged her for  comfort

" Bleeding ? Did they stab her or something? "

It got silent suddenly as the room grew uncomfortable

" Rin speak up , did they stab her ? "

The girl shook her head gulping as she had all eyes on her

" Than why was she bleeding ?! "

Hongjoong grew mad at the lack off response

" Nobody stabbed her s-she "

More tears fell but this time from minimal regret she felt

" Rin just say it nobody is holding you at a gun point, your worrying us "

The girl looked back towards the bed where San caressed Y/n's bruised face with tears

" Y/n h-had a miscarriage "

" What do you mean miscarriage ?! "

This time Yeosang spoke eyes widening

" They said she was four weeks almost at her fifth pregnancy week "

Everyone looked towards Y/n with tears

" Sh-he was pregnant and didn't tell us ? "

" Calm down Jongho , we'll hear from her when she wakes up to tell us "

"One of us was the dad and lost their first child how am I supposed to stay calm ? "

He teared up approaching his girlfriend that slept peacefully

" I'll find that bastard that did this and fucking kill them for this "

Wooyoung bawled his fist with angry tears making Rin gulp

" I-I even fought today with her and she didn't answer my calls it probably already happened by then so she wasn't able to p-pick up "

Yunho teared up hysterically as Mingi embraced him crying as well

" G-Guys she's waking up "

Seonghwa immediately went towards Y/n upon  hearing San's words

" Baby , what happened to you ? "

He caressed her face but the girl started shaking her head in denial after looking to the side as tears buildup in her eyes

" Why is she shaking ? "

Everyone looked concerned as she kept shaking her head lips wobbling as she opened her mouth but no words came out

" Get t-the doctor Hongjoong "

She fought off Seonghwa's hands as he tried to keep her calm

Loud whimpering where heard as she cried clutching her stomach and kicking her feet

" Baby it's ok I'm here and so are the others "

Seonghwa teared up seeing his lover in a unpleasant situation unable to calm her down

" I think she's having a panic attack "

Mingi came forward and held her softly as she continued kicking and squealing instead of screams leaving her mouth

" Please step aside and let the nurse take care of this situation don't worry "

The nurses helped her calm down by injecting her with tranquilizers

" Is she going to be ok ? "

Yunho looked concerned with his nose running and puffy eyes

" She must have been in a shock moment where the body reacts after remembering something that caused them distress "

" She also couldn't talk she kept squealing and humming but nothing came out "

" When someone is experiencing traumatic stress and their body goes into fight or freeze mode, blood is diverted away from the parts of the brain responsible for language and speech production , and consequently their capacity to formulate language and to initiate speech is reduced , so she's basically mute now I don't know how long it will last b-"

" She will stay that way forever ?! "

San yelled in disbelief with tears streaming down his eyes

" No that's not the case , it's probably temporary depending on how big the process is of her recovery so please don't stress her out "

Everyone looked at her falling back into slumber with fresh tears streaming down

" Are you her boyfriend or ? "

The doctor looked at San who was stroking her face crying

" We all eight are h-her boyfriends "

" My condolences to you guys , stay strong "

The medical staff bowed to them and left

" I can't believe thi-is "

Hongjoong broke down as Wooyoung hugged him  while  tears also left his eyes

All of them had tears in their eyes, not only because one of them possibly lost their first child but also because someone they loved laid on a hospital bed unable to do anything

" I think some of us should go home and freshen up than come back "

" I-I'll stay here with her "

Yunho said tearing up but Mingi held him

" Yunho your in no condition to stay , Seonghwa will stay with her now let's go "

They kissed her cheek one last time leaving Seonghwa alone with Y/n who sat beside her bed caressing her hand

" I'm sorry I couldn't protect you "

He shed tears lowering his head , it hurt him the most seeing her this way since he couldn't do anything else other than remain by her side for now and make sure she was doing well

𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘’𝖘 𝖊𝖘𝖈𝖆𝖕𝖊

 synopsis: ___ was trapped in an arranged marriage with Choi San, the crowned prince of wonderland and her step-sister’s lover. How will she find happiness? How will she escape?

pairing: thief!yunho x fem!reader

themes: royal au, angst, attempted suicide, physical abuse, a lot of blood, let me know if I missed anything

wc: 660 words

warning: this is in no way representing anyone’s personality. This is simply a work of fiction. 

a/n: this chapter is not proofread yet, apologies for any grammar or spelling errors😭😭.  ENJOY!!  (not proof read yet)

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓

The royal family were gathered in the main hall along with all the maids, Sana and Harin.

"We're gathered here today to discuss an issue that has recently been brought to my attention." San's father announced.

"San. It has been brought to my attention that you have been committing infidelity and abusing ____ and that she had almost lost her life." He continued.

‘Why isn’t Mr Lee here?’ Jongho thought. 

San remained calm and replied, “I’m sorry father but where did you hear this from?”

“That’s beside the point. Did you or did you not hurt ____.” His father emphasised. 

San stood there in silence refusing to answer. Then Jongho voiced out, “Shouldn’t Mr Lee be here? It IS regarding his daughter.”

Just then an adviser came in and whispered something into his father’s ear. 

“Whatever is going on with you, San, don’t make it too obvious. You’re king now. Stay OUT of trouble.” He sternly said before leaving. 

After he left San immediately shouted for no one to leave and the person who told his father to come out. Not wanting anyone to get in trouble, the pale and just recovered ____ took the blame. 

San immediately gripped her hand tightly, and dragged her out of the main hall. His grip was so harsh that it would most likely leave a mark. As ____ was being dragged across the hall, San could see the worried look on Jongho’s face and realised that he had something to do with it.

“Stay out of my business my dear younger brother. You may be stronger, but I’m king. I have the political power. So watch your back.” San whispered to Jongho, as he walked past him, before leaving with Harin following behind, smirking at Jongho, as if she had already won.

Jongho scoffed. 

“Fuck father. I’ll settle this on my own.” Jongho mumbled to himself before leaving and slamming the door. 

Over the next few weeks, the abuse got worse. ____ could barely walk and it was more difficult for her to eat, talk or do anything, she wouldn’t even leave her bed. San was pissed that word got out and ‘punished’ ____ more for telling his father.

One day, she called all the maids into her room. She cried and broke down in front of them, begging them to tell no one. 

“I know you know what’s going on. I know you gossip about all of this. But please, I’m begging, make sure his highness doesn’t hear of this.”

Seeing the current queen of Wonderland in this state, all the maids felt bad for her. They saw, first hand, the results of the current king’s affair. Over those few weeks, they showed her more kindness. They tried their best to help her in any way,  whenever they could. They felt bad for her, having to go through all this and still being able to put on a smile for the citizens,who were unaware. They were thankful that she took the blame as they knew their families and their lives would be at risk if San himself found out it was actually them that leaked the information about the abuse to his father. 

All the maids showed her sympathy and were friendly. They were no longer cold and avoiding. They would always entertain her, whether it be the latest gossip in Wonderland or the neighbouring kingdoms or current affairs going on in their own kingdom. 

However, back at home, Chaeryeong started getting suspicious. Her sister hadn’t sent her a letter in a long time and she was worried. She was aware that San did not love her sister and loved Harin instead. She knew her sister wasn’t actually happy about the marriage but she would at least send her letter once every 2-4 days. However, it had been weeks since the last letter and Chaeryeong was starting to worry. 

What if she got hurt?

Well, that isn’t far from the truth..

✦ ATEEZ as little things they'd do in a relationship ✦

Word Count: 5.1k total

(K.H: 0.64k P.S: 0.79k , J.Y: 0.56k, K.Y: 0.54k, C.S: 0.74k, S.M: 0.66k, J.W: 0.69k & C.J: 0.49k)

Warnings: Fluff, mentions of medicines, a bit but like not super important afab reader in hongjoong but is an easily skippable paragraph, risk of cuteness overload, talk of different heights in San's but all types included, anxiety and panic attacks in Mingi's.

❉ Hongjoong

Carrying a little case with your medicines/sanitary products

It doesn't matter whether you are sick or you are not, he once was with you when you had a terrible headache and had nothing on him to help you so he had no other choice than (or as he likes to call it: punished by some power above) to see you, his partner, a.k.a the love of his life, suffer from an horrible headache to the point where he had to rush out your apartment to the nearest pharmacy and ask the doctor for some headache painkillers then rush back to give them to you and just rest by your side in the middle of the darkness in your room hoping for the meds to do something.

So, after that emotionally dreadful night (for him), he settled to the idea to never again let you go through any pain if can have the means to stop it. Since then always having a small case (originally meant in the market for makeup supplies but everyone can use them as they want) with different pills for different pains you may be prone of, be it a headache, a stomachache, muscle ache, anything, along with some medicines for flu, allergies, food sickness, motion sickness, etc. To what he actually found it very useful for when him or any member get any type of pain or illness.

If you are not fond of pills or are unable to take a pill he will either carry in the case a pill grinder or the liquid/syrup alternative to the original pill so you won't struggle. Also, in case you suffer from some chronic illness don't dare to think he didn't count on that, carrying your medicines around along with alarms for each of it or the ones you are supposed to take in case an episode, be it pills syrup, an injectable, some epinephrine in an epipen, an asthma pump, insulin injections or whatever you may need, he WILL have it, if he runs out of it, Hongjoong WILL get more asap.

"What? You expect me to just sit around you when you are like this, in pain/during an episode? Na-ah, love, I'm here for you, yes, but I want to be useful too and make you feel better if I can. And I can." He will answer the first time he used a medicine of the case for you, handing you the medicine almost immediately after you mention the tad bit of

Also, if you were born with female reproductive organs and have a period, you bet he will have in the case at least two pads, panty liners and tampons (if you use) in the case, not wanting you to feel uncomfy bc you had your period while being with him on a date or at the dorms, don't worry, he has you covered (after, meticulously and discreetly looking through your bathroom drawers and taking note of the product you use to know what he gets will be functional and most of all, comfortable to you). Along with the painkillers that work best for your ovulation pains or cramps, if you get them.

Basically, Hongjoong carries around a mini-portable drugstore because he loves you so much he is not risking you (or him) being sick, or in pain, or uncomfy when what you are supposed to be doing, wherever you two go to, be it a date or just quality time, when he can obviously make it stop by being prepared, hating to see you in any type of upset/sulky mood. You very much expect phrases and moments like:

"You want a medicine? I have some headache painkillers..."

"You feel nauseous? I have a packet of Alka-Seltzer here somewhere if you want some?"

"Your sugar levels are high? Here, have some insulin."

"It's time for your medicines, love."

He's so cute, omg.

REST OF THE MEMBERS UNDER THE GAP

❉ Seonghwa

Calling you each night he's away

He wants, he can, so he will.

Ever since you and Seonghwa went to live together to a shared apartment it became a habit for the both of you to have a little chat before actually going to sleep, talk about your day while doing each of yours night-time skin care routines, planning out your next date or your next roadtrip on his soon free day while cooking dinner together or just eating some take out from a restaurant near. Just talking to each other about random or normal thing puts both of you at ease and made you sleep better throught out the night.

It was just how you both liked it, what you both grew to be fond of, hearing each other voice at night time and unstressing with calm and peace at home, even if he or you arrived at midnight or before dawn from work, as the other readjusted to the presence they loved some words were exchanged. Both you and Seonghwa are very aware of how there was no way in the world to get in bed without waking the other for some sleepy and kinda coarse words before dozing off again.

So, as it came naturally along with Seonghwa's work, he often had to spend some night away from the apartment for work in other places, making it a bit less easier for the both of you to just doze off, no mattering how tired you or he were. To what he came with the solution to call you when it was near nightime. Be it that he is away for a day for a promotion far from your shared apartment or for months in a tour, he will call you every single day.

If he is staying in a place with similar or the same timezone as you he will call you when he knows both you and him are about to go to sleep, a videocall as you brush your teeth and he changes into his pajamas, talking about everything but nothing at the same time, taking the phone to the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, everywhere as long as the call goes on; making him feel closer to you, feeling like you are besides him in the bed watching the show in the TV, it makes him less homesick when he is on long trips.

If there is a significant difference between your time zone and his he will call you when your timezone is near nighttime, all in hopes to make you feel closer to him just as he does and with that helping you have a good night sleep, which he aknowledged you needed most of the time. At first, being selfless towards you he only called when he knew you were going to sleep, not even daring to call you when he needed to sleep even if that compromised him a good night of sleep, so, picking up on this selfless habit of his and after some comments from the guys about how tired Seonghwa looks when he is away from you you made it your own mission to call him when you know he is about to go to sleep, just because you felt like that was the bare minimum you should do for him in gratefulness of his calls.

And it actually took him by surprise the first couples of times (because it was like fucking 3 in the morning in Korea and you should be sleeping, he believes) but, nevertheless, making a damn zoo run by his belly in love and adoration, hearing your raspy sleepy voice on the phone wishing him a good night of sleep and paying attention to the bit of his day he is telling.

He just feels so full of love and so warm and bubbly inside, he loves you so ducking much and all he is able to think about after each call is how he was so lucky to find someone that sacrifices so much for him when he, according to himself, doesn't deserves it, to what I hope you will put your heart to change because he is just so cute, just imagine his smiley voice on the other end of the line as he wishes you goodnight.

Damn, I just made myself simp for Seonghwa.

Anyways, to what I hope was realized, Seonghwa doesn't care where and when he is, this man will take out time in his busy schedule to talk to you and listen to your day, not because its what he feels like doing but because he KNOWS its what he needs to do, is the least he fills like doing after all you do for him, because he just loves you that much.

❉ Yunho

Cuddling you while being sick

This ray of sunshine will NOT care if you have the flu, a seasonal fever, stomachache, food sick, man, you could even have Covid-19 or Influenza and he will not care (but if you ask him to take care of himself he will do so, while still taking care of you, this boys cam be very fucking clever and sneaky when he has the half of the braincell he shares with Mingi).

Anyways, as I was saying. If you are sick Yunho will take care of you as the good boyfriend he is. Helping you out with the house chores, buying you medicines, staying with you as moral support and asking Wooyoung to make some soup for you to eat for lunch or, if Woo cant, Seonghwa.

But one of the things both you and him love the most about the taking-care-of-my-sick-partner process is very much how he is always warm or cold for your convenience as if his body knows what yours need, a human AC just for you, if you feel like cuddling he is always down for it, Yunho doesn't cares that you are sick and he will very probably get sick too, he will cuddle you when you feel unwell.

He will stay with you on your bed or your couch, draping the fluffy blanket over you as he pulls you closer to his big ass body, taking advantage of his height and broad chest he will let you lay on top of him, head on his chest, hand in his as his other plays with your hair lovingly, legs intertwined together, your ear over his heart, the sound of its beating calming you and helping you doze off even if your cold was against it, your boyfriend is very much aware of the power cuddling has with you when sick.

In case you don't feel like cuddling because of the fever he will lay 30-to 40 centimeters away from you, hand taking yours and rubbing random shapes on the back of yours while occasionally telling you how even sick and at the verge of, according to you, dying, you look like an angel fallen directly from heaven, corny, yes, but you love him like that, don't you?.

Either way, he will stay there for you until you feel better, as you fall asleep he will whisper sweets nothings to you, like how cute you look with your blushed cheeks, how adorable you will look once you are all better and all the thing you two will do.

"I love you, Y/N, a lot." He whispers, a hand reaching out to caress your cheek with love and adoration, making you smile sleepily against his knuckles. Muttering an I love you back to him before dozing of against his chest, the beating of his heart against your ear soothing the way your body ached and how your stomach felt twisted and your mind tired.

The love and admiration Yunho feels for you is enough motivation for him to endure your sickness and be by your side until you are once again the person he loves to see happy, even if a week later he will be the one babied by you because he got sick too and everything in him hurts.

Now it's your turn to be the big spoon.

❉ Yeosang

Leaving post-its notes everywhere for you to find during the day

Because of his work he often has to leave before you even wake up, so, stealing a peck from your lips, leaving a kiss on your cheek and sticking notes everywhere he would often leave your shared home.

At first it started because he felt bad after you two had a sleepover before sharing apartment, or once you moved together, the way he had to leave you alone in the bed to wake up by yourself, painfully aware that no matter how many times he said he loved you and kissed your cheek you were not aware of it, his mind abhorring the idea of just sending you a text like you two didn't spend intimate time together a couple hours away (doing you know what or not) so he, spotting the post its you had on your desk, felt it a more cute way to wave you goodbye to just leave notes fucking everywhere.

It was now an everyday occurrence, he now carried at all times a stack of colorful post-its in his pocket along a pen and every time he thought about you he would write a short sentence, a small paragraph or even something as short as "Love you" in the notes, just to save it again in his pocket.

When you woke up and felt his side of the shared bed empty you were very used to it, getting up and starting to get ready for you work/studies you grab your phone to check your messages and boom, post-it no.1 stuck to the screen of your phone.

"Have and awesome day, my love :D"

Smiling you put it in your box of Yeosang's post-its, you get up to walk to your shared bathroom, shower and once you were ready, a towel wrapped around you and grabbing your morning face wash, a mini cloud-shaped note is stuck to the bottle, there goes no.2 of today.

"U probs look really beautiful rn"

Instant laugh from you, I hope.

And like that, by the end of the day you collected three more notes.

One in your lunch bag that said "Eat well beautiful.", another in your car keys that had in red pen written "come home safe, I'm waiting for you" and lastly, one on your front door once you got home from work that shone with a shimmery blue gel pen and said "welcome home, dear <3".

Opening the door, you were welcomed with the sight of your boyfriend moving already decorated cookies from a bakery box to a plate, his back turned to you as he tried not to break any cookie, and finally, as you stood in silence behind him, he took his note block, ripping out his most recent note and sticking it next to the plate.

"Hi, love." You muttered, your hands sneaking around his waist and your eyes peaking to the flower shaped cookies and the note at its side that told "I love you.", your heart going warm instantly just as a smile crep up to your face as Yeosang passed his arm around you and brought you closer, a kiss on your temple as he left the empty box aside.

"Welcome home, honey."

❉ San

Luck forehead kisses

I actively don't know why, but I feel this man is a sucker for forehead kisses.

Like, if you are shorter than him and he has like, your forehead not too far from his mouth reach he will just leave a small peck there as he passes you by. But even if you are not that shorter, shorter or taller he will give you forehead kisses, dw. If you are like shorter than to reach this man will NOT hesitate to bend his neck while lovingly placing his hands on your cheeks or at the nape of your neck, bringing you in.

If you are taller than that, it doesn't matter if still shorter than him or if he is the short one between you two, he will either do one of these: a) grab you by the chin gently and lovingly pull your face down a bit as he stretches his neck a bit (if he can) and reach your forehead, b) place his hands on each side of your face and pulling you near him either pushing your face down and stretching his neck or full on standing on his tippy toes, or c) if you are full on taller than him he will stand on his tippy toes + stretch his neck an pull you down until you are bent over so his lips can reach your temples, but either way you are going to get a forehead kiss.

Leaving the height thing aside, as I said already, this man is a sucker for forehead kisses but why? Oh, lemme tell you.

As we all know the classic kiss on the lips is all that romantic and yeah, but I have this feeling than San doesn't like, super loves the idea of kissing you on the lips, and not because he is ashamed or anything, but more cause he prefers to have these little special moments of being able to kiss you on your lips for really longs periods of time when you both are home together and he knows himself he will not be able to survive with just a little peck and will end up wanting more, in public. So, to avoid getting to carried on kissing you he started going for little forehead kisses, because he loves them a lot too, he considers them a lot more adorable and full of a different type of love and adoration than other type of kisses.

So, taking this into consideration, be it that you or him are off to work or he has a performance in some moments or any type of scenario he need a bit of courage and calming his nerves he just walks up to you, places his hands on your face and kisses your forehead to remind you in this silent way how much he adores you as his partner and that he will do his best, taking it as a good luck charm not only for himself but for you too, never forgetting the little kiss when he knows you have something important near.

There was this time where he and the boys were performing on the MAMA's and the choreography was quite a challenge, even for the, so before going up the stage he met you backstage and left multiple kisses on your forehead, the last one lasting some seconds because, as he said, "he needed all the luck to not run out of breath before his part".

(He never told you why he thinks it brings good luck but it actually is because after one of your very first dates he said goodbye to you by leaving a kiss on your forehead a while stepping outside of your building he found a four leaved clover between the grass and some steps away there was on the sidewalk a 10 000 won bill. But shh, don't tell him I told this.

Further into the relationship the two of you had, when he planned on proposing to you, on the D-Day of his plan he spent all the morning leaving numerous kisses on your forehead, leaving you confused as he excused it that it was because of the upcoming album they had scheduled, but actually took them to mentally calm his nerves of asking you to marry him.

The calm that such a simple gesture brought to his heart seemed absurd to him sometimes, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

And don't even get me started on those times when you give him forehead kisses, man, he feels like ascending and meeting Jesus right then and there.

❉ Mingi

Holding your hand and playing with your fingers.

As we all know Mingi is actually kind of a big baby sometimes.

So, when he gets anxious he often doesn't want anyone to touch him to not try and get his senses overwhelmed, but ever since he met you he likes to distract himself from his anxiety while grabbing your hand into his and playing with your fingers and the jewelry you have on them, or gently rubbing the pad of his finger on your painted nails if you have them like that, if not, he will bend your fingers and try to make some peace signs, quite happy that you let him touch you.

At first when you two weren't in a relationship still it was actually pretty rare you were in the dorms or in a lot of the places they were two, so, you weren't actually there with him when he got panic attacks or when anxiety got the worst of him, leaving him to the boys, but once, you were over their apartment after work when they arrived and Mingi walked right over to his room, locking himself in his room without even acknowledging your presence, Yunho walking after him only to be met with a locked door.

Confused, it had to be Seonghwa the one that told you that Mingi was really anxious in the way home and probably was in the middle of a panic attack right now, but refused to have any of them over to calm him, to what you took it upon yourself to walk over to his room and knock, a small "Mingi, let me come in" leaving your lips before the door slowly unlocked, Yunho nodding for you to enter.

It is still fresh in your mind the way Mingi was curled up in the corner behind the door, avoiding your gaze by all means as you sat silently in front of him. "You need a distraction or company?" You muttered, not wanting to overwhelm him, to what Mingi said he needed quiet company. After a couple of minutes of staring at Mingi who's heart was still pounding in his ears and breathing hasn't slowed down a bit you decided to test the waters and slowly, almost as if the silence the room half was made out of thin glass, you reach out to hold his hand between yours, in a way that Mingi still swears to this day nobody had ever held him, in a way that was so delicate and light he didn't even felt bothered by it, even when his senses were painfully aware of everything that surrounded him, your light touch seemed to draw his focus out of his mind and settle it on you, right under his nose, smiling warmly at him.

It may or may not be here when Mingi developed a bit fat crush on you.

So, after you holding his hand and taking him slowly out of his panic attack, ever since then, being just friends or a couple, whenever he felt anxious his hands would unconsciously reach for yours if you were near him, fingers playing with yours, drawing on your palm or admiring your rings.

Now, this habit of him developed more when he was officially your boyfriend, now that he could hold your hand without giving an excuse, he would hold it EVERYWHERE. Especially when going out, since being in public triggers his sharp edged thoughts a lot and made him feel anxious all the time, being able to hold your hand while going out in the street just bring him down a lot, reminding himself that you are by his side.

And don't get mad at him if you don't like kinship, it just calms his anxious heart so much he feels like a whole new person :c.

BUT, if you actually don't like him holding your hand that much, dw, he will put all of him into abstaining his need and will settle with constantly brushing his fingers with yours.

❉ Wooyoung

Always kissing your hand before leaving home

Is it corny? Yes. Is it cute tho? Yes. And did it started as a joke but ended up as a habit? Also yes.

Moving on to the cute part. It actually did start as a joke, that time he spent all the morning in your apartment just in quality time by your side, be it cooking, baking, just dancing or cuddling in the couch, anything, but at around 1 p.m. he had to go to get ready for a performance they had at night in this royal concept the music show was on for the day and he had been joking to you about him being a prince and you being his princess/prince

The joke getting to the point where he even put on an act while waiting for lunch to be ready as if he was a prince, picking you, a.k.a his princess/prince, up for a ball and dancing to a slow Spanish waltz song playing from his phone after googling "valz" with the typo included.

After that day the joke kept on going for a couple of dates until it became an habit to the both of you that every time he is going to leave or sees you, without caring he saw you an hour or five days ago, before giving you a small peck in the lips or cheek he'll grab your hand between his and leave a small kiss on your knuckles. It even got to the point where even if he is just like, there, not arriving or going, will just grab your hand and leave a small kiss there before playing with your fingers and/or rings.

Like, y'all were sat in the dorm couch, San at Wooyoung's left and Hongjoong at your right, Seonghwa and Yunho on another couch, Yeosang on the floor with his back resting both your and Wooyoung's legs, and Jognho and Mingi on two puffs they have around.

The nine of you were watching a movie that just came on Netflix, fully concentrated on the TV screen when suddenly you felt a hand slip up between yours and long bony fingers intertwine with yours, Wooyoung's thumb leaving caresses over the back of it while pulling it over his lap, a few seconds before lifting it up and pressing a small kiss on your knuckles and smile, his eyes looking at his side to the small smile that crept up your lips, used to this habit.

He'll do it anywhere and everywhere, if y'all were official to the fans he'd do it on award shows, near paparazzi, in fan events, things like that, if y'all aren't official he'll still do it in the company, not caring if his near staff, other members or KQ artists, his lips will linger over the knuckles of your left hand before leaving a quick peck.

Anyways, I'm drifting off, let's suppose he leaves before you to work, this particular day he was off earlier, already in his outfits and brushed hair while you were still in your pajamas.

"Love, I'm going off to work." He announced while putting his outside shoes on. "Com'ere" He called for you, a step lower than you when you arrived, resting your hands on his shoulders as you got closer to kiss him goodbye on the lips.

"Have a good day, Woo."

"You too." He smiles, his right hand engulfing your left one to near it to his lips, kissing it rapidly with adoration and love, before letting both of them fall, his gaze locking with yours as an indescribable full-of-love look crossed his features, a smiles wide on his face. "Love you, my princess/prince/royalty."

"Love you too, honey." And with that, letting go of your hand he was off to work.

Oh.

And just imagine after he proposes to you and he gets to kiss you ring-adorned hand as your fiancé and later as your husband? Man, that habit will just fill his pride more.

And if you to get to have kids, believe me, he WILL kiss his kids on the head before going off after kissing your hand, a new habit will appear.

❉ Jongho

Carrying you to the bed

Deny this man would, go ahead, I'm waiting.

Anyways, it was past 11 p.m. when you and Jongho finished the second movie from The Lord of the Rings marathon you guys had planned together after finishing last week's marathon, yet, you had overworked yourself today at your studies/work and couldn't pass the Two Towers, falling asleep a bit before the credits came in.

You had your arms slumped around his middle since half movie, his arm around your shoulders so you could freely rest your head on his chest as both of you were laying down diagonally in the couch of your shared apartment. It was just the perfect position for you to fall asleep against his warm body.

Jongho was about to put on the third movie but noticed the empty pot of popcorn, so, as he turned his head to ask you to lift up from his chest so he could go to the kitchen he noticed your sleeping face, your right cheek mushed against his chest, causing your mouth to open a bit and silent snores leaving you, deep in your slumber.

He froze for a second, a million thought about getting you a blanket, waking you up, his need to go for more food and a bunch more thoughts crossing his mind, his eyes resting on your face with love in his expression, his heart taking the image of your peaceful dreaming state and making a zoo go through his belly as if you weren't two and a half years in your relationship. He's just so cute, like a bear.

He tried to move his arms to take you to your shared bedroom, making you shuffle against him to what Jongho stilled again, waiting for you to get deeper in your sleep so he could move you without waking you up.

He doesn't care if it took you 5 minutes or half an hour to go one step deeper in your sleep, he will stay there holding you. Once he know you won't wake up he will slowly, carefully and silently move out from your grasp, hooking an arm under your thighs and another one under your back, and he doesn't care how big or small you are, he can AND WILL carry you to your bedroom, walking in slow steps and clumsily opening the door, leaving your sleeping body over the mattress and pulling the blankets over you, taking 10 minutes to go and eat one last thing before turning everything off, making sure the apartment is closed correctly and getting ready to bed, letting you rest a bit more before slowly waking you so you could do your skincare routine and brush your teeth before finally sleeping.

Once you are both ready he would cuddle you in bed, waiting for you to sleep first before letting his eyes close, one hand holding yours lovingly and one last peck on your lips before dozing off.

©danihow. 2022. All rights reserved. Re-uploading, translating or any sort of modifying any work piece is not allowed.

This is a work of fiction, people mentioned or involved are actual human beings and none of this work is based on actual facts over the celebrities mentioned nor is intented to portray them in a realistic way.

Any problem detected on the information given may be comunicated to me via DM.

— the most lonely creature (m)

〰️ pairing; k.yeosang/f.reader

〰️ word count; [35.9k]

〰️ genre; dragon serpent!au, water god, fantasy

〰️ summary; finding a yeouiju in the forest brings terrors unlike you've ever seen– in the shape of a water god

〰️ warnings under cut

content; use of explicit language, mythology (not completely accurate), smut, mate mentions, injuries, Blood, Strong Language, cursing, dehydration, anxiety, age gap, double penetration, marking 

-

You brush off your sleeve, glaring at the tree that prickled the fabric. You stretch your shirt slightly, seeing the small, dime-sized hole it left. Your friend insisted that this material was high quality, the best of the best. But from that small hole from a branch, you wonder if he only thought this because he saw it in one of those buy-it-or-you’ll-lose-the-discount commercials. You roll your eyes, giving the branch another pointed look before continuing your climb.

You love the outdoors. The soft breeze that flows through the air, the sounds of the animals and insects speaking to one another. Sometimes you'd see a deer dash through the thick brush, too quick for you to admire its beauty. The fresh air that you adore; better than the city, filled with noises of angry people and an odd odor that never seemed to fade. You breathe in and out slowly, sweat coating your forehead.

Your former coworkers always wondered why you loved being in the mountains by yourself, instead of in the office with everyone else, slaving over a desktop and complaining about the cheap coffee. But what can you say? Maybe listening to them whine about the broken air-conditioner for what had to be the hundredth time finally struck a nerve. And who wouldn't want to be outdoors? The sounds of nature are all you listened to. And nothing could be better than that.

After about an hour of hiking, you spot a coursing river. You raise a brow. A river? This high? You stumble along the rocks and sit by its side, watching as the clear water flows over the rocks and misses easily, disappearing down the steel tilt of the mountain. You reach down, letting the clear water roll along your skin, a small dent in the ever flowing current.

It feels almost oddly lukewarm, a bit like a hot spring. It's strange. You glance up, the sun beaming down on your surroundings. Could it be that? Your eyes move over to the opposite side of the river, a glowing light catching your eye.

You glance at the river, large rocks making a strangely perfect path across the water. You debate in your head whether to ignore the shiny object in the distance, or take the risk to cross the water. It doesn't even look too deep if you slipped. You bite your lip, before deciding. You toss your bag over your shoulder tightly before taking the first step on to the rocks. Your hiking boots aren't cheap, but they're made for tougher terrain so you assume that they would work easily on this surface.

You slowly cross, making sure you're fully stable before moving on to the next one. It's a lengthy process, hands trembling as you finally toss yourself into the small pile of leaves on the bank of the river, cushioning your fall. After taking a few seconds to breathe, you dust off your clothes and look at the object you couldn't help but feel drawn to. You crouch town, pushing the grass away.

It looks almost like a large pearl, a bit dusty and covered in grime. But as you wipe it away with your fingers, the shine peaks through, its outer layer egg white. You pick it up, surprised at how lightweight it is. It has to be less than two pounds, but with its size you'd assume it would be much heavier. Nothing scratched your interest on what it is, and the only person that comes to mind is your old office buddy.

Wooyoung. Wooyoung would know what this is.

You opened your bag, lightly pushing it between your belongings before standing up. The sun's beginning to set, and you'd rather not be out here, not when you're not the best hiker. You glance at the spot once more, before walking back the way you came.

-

You walk through your door, tossing your bag into the mud room and kicking your shoes off. You send little kisses to your fish before walking into the kitchen, pouring water into the pot and placing it on the stove.

"Oh shit the Pearl," You run back, looking through your bag and seeing it shine at you. You wash it off in the kitchen, then place it next to the window by your door. It glows softly in the low sunlight. You stare at it for a bit, before dialing your person.

He picks up after only one ring.

"It's almost 6pm so it's not late enough for a booty call," is the first thing he says. He's sitting in his office, knickknacks piled on shelves behind him.

Jung Wooyoung. The bravest man alive, at least in your book. When you were an intern at your editing company, he was one of your superiors. Compared to everyone else he was much more mellow, not caring much about deadlines and always encouraging the people underneath him to take their time with assignments. It didn't bring much favor to him whenever all the departments had meetings, but he always had excellent reviews from the authors. And that made the management hate Wooyoung just as much as they loved him.

Once you were transferred to Wooyoung's department, a soft hello and a tasty coffee made you both best friends. You were inseparable; assignments were given to you and he always stayed by your side to joke about his team or to laugh at the typos some authors did. Every moment spent with him was amazing, and if you were honest with yourself, you did have a little crush on him. At least until he told you that he didn't really imagine himself with someone. That he loved artifacts and stories more than people. It’s more of a fondness now than anything else.

But that day. The day that Jung Wooyoung poured coffee on your department manager. The day that Jung Wooyoung leaped out of your office, high speed and was followed by what had to be dozens of security guards. The day that Jung Wooyoung decided to quit editing and to be a historian, searching for artifacts and educating people when necessary.

And damn he is good at it. You know how smart he is, but never in your life did you think he'd open his own shop in the city and be one of your wealthiest friends within a span of years. Him leaving your office is probably the reason why you wanted to work at home. He's bold enough to go for his dreams, and you felt that too.

"I'm not calling you for a booty call, idiot," You snort, and he laughs. "What's up? How's it going?"

"Ah, you know the usual. Rich men walking in with their trophy wives and wanting to buy one of my babies for way less than it's valued. And then the wives pout and he puts out some extra cash to buy it," he frowns as he looks at his papers. "Did I tell you how much I hate millionaires? All they do is take money and sleep with it."

"Aren't you a millionaire?" You say through a soft smile.

He nods. "My point exactly."

He grabs something off the shelf behind him, before showing it to you. "Hyung came into my shop the other day and said he found this letter from the twelfth century. It's a love letter," Wooyoung traces the words delicately. "It's a bit cheesy, I think you'd like it."

"Yunho really came into your shop to give you a letter? How much did you give him for it?"

Wooyoung sighs. "Nothing. All he wanted was a date."

"That's cute," You laugh, and Wooyoung rolls his eyes.

"It would be, if I didn't say yes."

You blink. Yes? He said yes? You try to keep your face as straight as possible, his eyes moving to the camera. You don't notice the longing in them, they want to hear you protest and say that no, you don't think that going on that date is okay. But all you do is smile, and nod.

"I think you deserve a date, Woo. You've been cooped up in that shop for so long, time to explore the outside world," You move your face closer to the screen. "And from what I can see, you probably haven't showered in days."

"Ah, you're not my Mom," He sighs. "Why did you want to call me anyway? Just to make fun of me?"

You bring your phone with you, flipping the camera to the back one. Your stone sits in the same spot, no longer glowing like before. Wooyoung leans closer to the screen as you align the camera.

"I was hiking and found this thing in the underbrush. I wiped it off a bit 'cause it was dirty but I have no clue what it is?" You say the last bit as a question.

Wooyoung stares at it, his head cocked to the side slightly. He pouts a bit, and you hold back your aww's, knowing he loves being called cute a bit too much. He'd probably go on about it for a week.

"Is it heavy?"

"Nope," You reply. "Can't be more than a few pounds, give or take."

"What kind of color is it? I know it's white, but is it more pink-white or a yellow-white?"

You move the camera out of the way, squinting your eyes at it. "Probably more yellow-white? A bit darker than an egg."

"I can't really tell from this camera to be honest. It can't be a pearl, because it's too big. Almost like the size of a fist. And it isn't heavy either. Would you mind if I came over to your house tomorrow? I'll probably see it better that way."

You flip the camera back to your face. "Will I ever say no to a visit from my favorite person in this universe?" You say, "And I can finally give you your nasty underwear that's been here for way too long. I'm tired of staring at them in my drawer."

"Are they... in your underwear drawer?"

You glare at the screen. "How old are you again, dirty old man? I'm hanging up, see you at twelve!"

He opens his mouth but you've already ended the call, tossing your phone on the counter. You wince as it slides all the way off, the loud drop echoing around your small home. You glance over to make sure it's safe, before walking around it, throwing yourself dramatically on the couch and letting out a sigh.

Your eyes travel back to the strange orb-like thing, sitting next to the window. Whatever it is, you know it's only a reason to not work on the next editing of your client's story. You love the story, actually. Filled with more sci-fi elements than you could think of. You're sure that she's going to become the next James something one day. But goodness, the angst. You needed breaks in between or else you'd be sobbing over a bowl of ice cream, questioning your life choices and wondering if you'd ever find someone that loved you as much.

You push those thoughts away, running your fingers through your hair slowly. Tomorrow's a long day.

-

A knock on the door makes you put your coffee to the side, eyes flicking to the window next to your door. Wooyoung stands there, waving his arms frantically. You grin at him, hopping off the stool and opening the door. He immediately walks in without even saying a good morning. At least he kicks his shoes to the side, walking around the small hallways until his eyes land on the sphere next to your window.

He leans forward, poking it lightly with his finger. "This is the strangest thing I've ever seen," he mumbles, rubbing it with his thumb. "Where did you find this again?"

"Next to the river in the mountains about an hour out from here. I thought I was an egg from an ostrich or something-” He gives you a deadpanned look at that comment- “But it doesn’t sound like anything is inside. It’s not hollow, which is weird because if not-”

“Then this thing would have to weigh at least ten pounds,” Wooyoung murmurs. “Do you mind if I pick it up?”

“Be my guest,” you say, gesturing to it. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. Just don’t make too much of a mess, yeah? We both know how you get around new things.” A literal mind boner, you think, walking back into the kitchen.

You listen to him play around with it, mumbling his thoughts to himself as you sip your coffee. After about twenty-ish minutes, he runs back into the kitchen, flopping himself on the stool across from you.

“You have to take me to where you found it!” He says, giddy in his chair. You purse your lips, shaking your head.

“I don’t think I want to go back there,” You mumble, taking another sip. “It’s a bit of a ways away. And my legs are sore from yesterday. Plus, I barely edited today and it’s due in two weeks.” You complain, and he scoffs.

“You told me about this thing, and you don’t even want to show me where you got it from? How could you?” He pouts, hand over his chest as he glares at you.

“Wooyoung, you don’t even have hiking-”

“All of it is in the car. I always come prepared,” He says, and winks. “In any situation.”

“You’re disgusting,,” You tease, and he laughs. “Alright, we can do it. But for crying out loud, if you scream at a bee we’re going to turn right around and come back. I’m serious, Woo.”

He frowns. “I am not scared of bees, y/n.”

You raise a brow. “We’ll see.”

-

“Fuck, did you see that?”

“It was a fly, Woo, a fly.”

He laughs nervously, “Ah, I was just testing you.”

You two climb slowly, Wooyoung not far behind you. He jumped a bit at various things, but oddly didn’t at snakes mating. Instead he watched, until you called him a creep and he walked away. You’re almost at the spot where you found it, the sound of running water and the smell seeping into your nose. You glance back at him to make sure he’s close behind, before pushing past some leaves and overgrown plants to reveal the beautiful river.

It’s a bit drier now, but it seems to glow slightly when you enter, as if to give you a soft Welcome. You stand there for a moment, hands resting on your chest as you admire the water. It’s clear enough to see the bottom, various species of sea life swimming through, oblivious to this outside world. Wooyoung finally makes it next to you, breathing heavily.

He opens his mouth to complain, but his eyes widen at the scenery, looking at you. You smile softly at your surroundings, lost in your own thoughts. He doesn’t dare interrupt; he loves seeing you like this the most. You take a couple more moments to breathe in the fresh air before turning to him.

“You see those stepping stones in the middle?” He nods. “That’s what I used to get across. It was close to the bank of the river, hiding a bit in the mud.”

“Interesting,” he begins walking to the stepping stones, and you follow close behind. Just because he knows about these artifacts doesn’t mean he knows nature; he spends more time in his office than the sun.

"Be careful-" You utter, watching as his shoes slip slightly on the pebbles. He looks back at you. His purse is tight around his waist, hair pulled into a small bun on the top of his head. He sticks his tongue at you.

"Real mature," You mumble, and he laughs. You don't notice how close his left foot is to the water, his grip on the rocks slipping. He looks back at you in panic before falling back into the water.

"Wooyoung!" You yell, reaching out and grabbing him by a strap on his travel bag.

He lurks forward, and you reach onto one of the big stones. The rock digs into your fingers and you curse to yourself, grinding your teeth as you try to hold onto him and yourself. But the river...

It has other ideas.

The current picks up immediately, flinging you back from the rocks you desperately held onto. Wooyoung struggles to grab something, anything in his grasp, but the branches are too far away from him. You turn around, your head bobbing up and down from the depths as you try to think of a way to get out. But your feet don't even touch the bottom, and you feel the panic begin to rise in your chest.

"Fuck, I'm sorry y/n, I wish that there was someway we could get out of this-!"

You turn your head, spotting a stump not too far from where you two are. With all the strength you can muster, you yank him through the water. You wrap your arm around the stump, Wooyoung holding on tight as well. You both catch a breath, before he begins to laugh.

Your anger subsides, and you giggle with him as well. "Fuck you! We could've died!" You yell, splashing water at him.

He chuckles slowly as the two of you make your way back to dry land. "You didn't tell me how slippery it was. I could've died!" He jokes.

"Keep talking like that and I'll throw you back in there, idiot." You grumble.

The two of you finally make it to shore, breathing heavily. He flops on his back,chest rising and falling. You lay next to him, your hair slapping against your cheek. You two don't say anything for a moment, heart still pumping at the rise of adrenaline. You glance back at the log, watching as it detached itself from its spot and continued down the river, falling over the incline and from your sight. It was a miracle; it suddenly appeared as you turned your head. You were sure the both of you were done for; but you suppose that that's how life works.

Wooyoung leans up, picking leaves off his clothing. He looks at you, "Hey. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying close enough attention-"

You wave him off. "As long as we're alive, you don't have to say sorry. Now, if we both fell and I had to walk with your sorry ass to the gates of Hell, we would've had some issues."

"Hell?" He frowns. "I'm too good for that."

"You saying that brought you a little bit closer to burning for eternity."

You two continue to tease one another as you walk back down the mountain, the small orb of yours still tucked safely in your bag. Through the laughs and pushes, you notice Wooyoung wince. You look down, a slash on his left forearm, bleeding profusely. After much protest from him, once you get down the mountain you insist on bringing him to the hospital. Even though he whines for a bit, you call Yunho; the one person you can count on to bring him there in one piece.

He picks up after the first ring.

"Papa's pizzeria, delivery or pickup?" Yunho asks, and you sigh, rubbing your forehead. These two idiots are plucked from the same tree.

"Woo is hurt and I need you to take him to the hospital," You hear him stumble over something in the background, and your frown deepens. Maybe you'll just bring him yourself? You already have to deal with enough as it is, and if you're being honest with yourself, delaying your editing for another day won't do much to your workload. You'd still procrastinate until the last second.

"How hurt? Did he get his finger stuck in the garbage disposal again?" You hear him fumble with something, "I told him to stop sticking things down there, and here we are."

"I think he'll tell you the story once you get there, since he won't let me bring him," You glance back at pouting Woo, "I think he's a bit embarrassed," You whisper.

"I'm right here!" He complains, and you snort.

"I'll be there in ten minutes, make sure he elevates his finger and stays away from the sink. I'll wait in the car-" Yunho stops in the middle of his talk. “Wait. Please tell me he didn’t try that butt thing again.”

You’re quiet for a moment. Wooyoung takes the phone out of your hand, and you stare at him, a brow raised. He turns away from you, but you can still see the blush that brushes his cheeks.

“Stop saying stupid things and get here already before I bleed out and die, okay?” He ends the call, turning to you. “Some things are better left unsaid.”

-

Yunho stands across from Wooyoung, clicking his tongue as he examines the abrasion on his arm. "What did you do, fall off a cliff?" He scolds, and Wooyoung looks at you, a grin cracking his face.

"If you weren't so busy saving lives, I wouldn't have done this to get your attention," Wooyoung says with confidence and a wink, not noticing how red the tips of Yunho's ears get.

"Let's go to the hospital before this thing gets infected." His eyes flick to yours. "Are you okay being alone? Unless you want to come with us."

"Nah, I'm good. I have to finish up some work before leaving. Woo, please let Yun take you and don't try to convince him otherwise," You glare at Wooyoung, rubbing warm water on your cut. Yunho notices the slight winces you do, and glances in the sink.

He frowns. "I'm a doctor, and you're asking for me to ignore your hand. Sometimes, I wonder if Wooyoung's the idiot."

"Hey!" You protest, and he takes your hand out of the sink, examining it closely.

"It's only a surface wound, nothing too big. Just clean it and put a bit of antibiotic on it and change it every six hours. Let it breathe a little before replacing the band-aid and you'll be fine." He says, smiling at you.

Jeong Yunho. Before meeting Wooyoung, Yunho has been your friend for several years; probably since you were small kids, running around the playground. You were close, perhaps a little too close. Your other friends always insisted that you two should date, because you were compatible, but god, you know too much about him to even give it a second thought. He's pretty, you'd give him that. But if you could barely stand Wooyoung's jokes; Yun's were on another level. He couldn't stand five minutes without saying something stupid.

And you love him, you do. But if you had to stand that for more than a day you're sure you'd go mad. Handling one of them is enough to give you a slight headache. But two? Absolutely not. You'd rather fall down that mountain.

"Thank you Yun," You say and he nods quickly, turning back to Wooyoung.

"Time to get your ass to the hospital. I would help you myself, but technically I'm not allowed to since I haven't seen your chart," he says, and Wooyoung only rolls his eyes. He glances at your bag quickly.

"Hey, I'll look more into that orb thing okay? Don't miss my call or else, y/n," he points a finger at you, before following Yunho out to the car. You wave them off, a coffee in hand. Once they drive far enough away, you close the door behind you.

You dig through your bag, placing the orb back in its spot by the window. You think back to the river, a frown on your lips as you stroke the sphere. It still had plenty of water in it, but not enough, you think. You wish silently that it goes back to its original shape, worry about your features. Global warming is a bitch.

You let go of the ball, placing your cup in the dishwasher and stretching your arms. You're exhausted from everything that's happened today, but you still have to edit that angst, sobbing-over-your-popcorn story. So you puff out your chest, taking one last look at the shiny orb shining softly before walking into your dungeon.

-

Wooyoung is fine, he just had a few bruises and they stitched up his abrasion on his arm. Yunho told you the whole story, from Wooyoung's loud screaming to the nurse frantically looking at him and asking if he needed to be sedated. And even with Yunho there, Wooyoung almost stopped the circulation of blood in his arm from how tight he was holding onto him. You can only imagine how dramatic he was; Wooyoung is all bark and no bite.

You flick off a stray leaf from your arm. Some would say you're out of your mind for coming out there without even a week passing since you two almost killed yourselves crossing the river. You know Yunho would have a fit, locking you inside your home and not letting you see the light of day for a month minimum. But you consider yourself a bit fearless, so what's so bad about climbing the mountain again? Seeing the pretty water and having a picnic next to the river?

You finally make it to the spot. A rush of calm flows over you as you set up your spot, lightly flapping your blanket over the forest floor and taking out your small snacks. You sit next to the water as you sip your tea. There's so much more water now, completely different from a couple of days ago. A bit of it splashes against the sides of the bank, some falling over you like a mist. You hum softly, taking a bite of your sandwich.

Your eyes flick over to the other side of the river, and you stop what you're doing. A small cabin is there; it's dark wood almost masking itself against the foliage behind it. You raise your eyebrows in confusion. That couldn't have always been there; there was no way you and Wooyoung would miss it. You tuck the rest of your food away, standing up.

Vines creep along the sides of the small home, flowers decorate the bottom of the windows. It looks a bit old but well kept, signs of someone living there clearly seen. A small part of you is curious, fingers itching to see what's inside. But you shake your head. There could be someone in there right now, and you could be invading their space. You glance down at the blanket.

You could be on someone's property right now.

You crouch down, folding up your blanket as quickly as you can. A creak makes you stop what you're doing, eyes moving back across the river. A man locks the door behind him, staring down at the river. His eyes move along the bank, confusion in his gaze. You look back down, packing away your things. No need to attract more attention to yourself. You shove it in your bag, looking back across the water.

The man's eyes are frozen on yours, an unnaturally bright blue, almost as translucent as the water below you. You don't move, his eyebrows furrowing as he stares at you. You feel a strange feeling roll over you, your skin prickling and your hairs standing straight up. Whatever this man... thing is, you know he's not friendly. He takes a step forward, and your body moves into overdrive. You throw your bag onto your back, running through the forest.

You try your best to leap over the rocks and fallen sticks in your way, desperate to get away from him. You hear the stomping of his feet behind you, your heart beating in your ear blocking out most sounds. Your feet catch onto a piece of bark sticking out of a stump, and you stumble before falling onto your back. You hear his steps getting closer and closer, and you try standing up, but curse, staring at your leg. A deep gash covers your calf, and you try your best to hold back your tears.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

His voice is right behind you, and you tense up, quickly turning your head around to face him. He stands above you, arms crossed. His blue eyes narrow, pupils similar to a snake's. He cocks his head to the side, glancing quickly at your leg before flicking back to your face.

“Why are you here?”

You open your mouth, before closing it. This man could be a serial killer, ready to kill you at the slightest mistake in your words. You’re sure that he knows what you’re thinking from the inquisitive look in his eyes. He’s waiting for you to lie, he’s waiting for you to make something up.

“I was having a picnic. Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t know this was someone’s property–"

“You shouldn’t be able to see me.” He says plainly. “How can you see me? Have you visited a witch? Are you dying?” He presses you for answers, taking a step closer. “Tell me now, Human.”

This whole situation is getting weirder by the second, so you shake your head, trying to drag yourself away from him. He grabs onto your arm, glaring at you. The bright blue pierces through you, and you quickly realize that they aren’t contacts or a stylistic choice. His eyes are really that color.

“Answer me.”

“Let go of me first, creep.”

He glances at your leg again, before letting go of your arm. You lift yourself onto the stump that tripped you up, breathing heavily. The blood leaks out of your leg slowly. You feel yourself getting lightheaded, and you rub your eyes.

“Listen, I don’t have time for this. If you want to report me to the police or something, can you just do it already? I don’t think I’ll last much longer.”

“Are you feeling faint?” He asks, crouching down to touch your leg. You wince as he brushes your cut. “You can’t leave the mountain like this.”

“Of course I can’t, idiot-”

“But I cannot help you. I need to know where Yeouiju is first. I can sense it on you.” He says, pulling back.

You huff in irritation. “I don’t know what a Yeouiju is! Can’t you just help me?”

“Yeouiju has gone missing ever since you appeared, Human. It rested in the soil next to the river. It has gone missing ever since you traveled across the waters.” His eyes move to your bag, before looking at you. He knows it’s in there, but he hasn’t said a word. “If it is not in my hands, terrible things could happen.”

You open your bag, taking it out. “I didn’t realize it wasn’t yours, I’m sorry.” You give it to his open hands, and he sucks in a shaky breath as it touches his skin. You see the stone glow slightly, before he places it in his pocket.

“You made a wish.” He says softly, “And you didn’t use it for yourself.”

It seems like he’s waiting for you to respond with something, but you keep your thoughts to yourself. He stares at you, frustrated. He shakes his head slowly, lifting you up and pressing you against his chest. You yelp, wrapping your arms around his head. His skin is cold, your hands shivering against it. He walks through the forest with ease, barely rocking you. You come to the river, and he glances down at you.

“Close your eyes, human.”

You hold them tight, and he walks. You’re not sure how he gets over the water so easily, but you open your eyes as he opens the door to his cabin. He places you down on his sofa, telling you to stay put as he disappears into another room. His home is cozy, a fireplace in the corner crackling, filling the silence. Everything looks handmade; from the chairs at his table to the clock on the door to the cabinets lining the walls. He has candles in every corner of the room, flickering softly. And the floor is… moist. You're sure every surface of the wood is wet.

You notice that he doesn’t have electricity anywhere in the house, a wood burning stove in the living room and it looks like the kitchen doesn’t even have running water. You try moving your leg but pain strikes up your calf, and you let out a low groan, biting your lip. Here you are, in a stranger’s home without anyone knowing. You curse yourself for leaving your phone at home, even though it’s no use; there’s no signal out here.

-

Yeosang stands in the opposite room, staring down at Yeouiju. He doesn’t quite understand how you were able to see and wield the orb; it could only be held by wise ones, and ones of pure heart. He hasn’t seen a human hold it in ages; it always sat outside, a stray passerby oblivious to its presence. And yet, you hold it without even knowing its power, using your wish to refuel the river’s waters.

He frowns, placing Yeouiju back on his shelf. Many humans who were able to see it in all its glory used their wishes on selfish things; riches, glory, full health for themselves, immortality. But you, you used yours to help a river. Once you took it from its holy spot, he felt the pain of it being gone from his presence in his chest, a hole ripped out cleanly.

He rubs his chest, but it feels different ever since he touched the stone. He knows that something is off, something the other gods didn't tell him about. He runs his fingers through his hair, glancing back at the stone before walking out.

-

"I told you to stay still." He says as he walks back in.

You finally take in his appearance. He's wearing old clothes, loosely fitting to his form. White shirt and cargo pants, though his shoes are oddly clean. He kicks them to the side, staring at you. His hair is blond, overgrown and covering a bit of his eyes. He walks to you, holding a small, leather bag in his hand. He sits on the floor next to you, digging through his bag. You see him take out small clothes, he sniffs it once before looking down at your leg. He frowns, glancing up at you.

"It was foolish of you to run. You could have hurt yourself more than this," he takes out small tweezers. "Close your eyes if looking at me doing this is uncomfortable."

Before he begins, you move your leg away. He sighs, dropping his arms.

"What's the issue?" He asks, already exasperated. "This will be finished quickly if you cooperate."

"How do I know you're not going to poison me or something? Or is this your evil plot to lure me into your home and keep me as your pet? Huh?"

He stares at you. He pulls your leg close to him, holding it tightly. He blows on your leg softly, and you feel it grow numb at his breath, and you widen your eyes.

Okay, at this point you can only come to one conclusion. This must be some weird dream of yours. Though it is a first, seeing someone like him. You try to calm your heart as he leans forward, slowly picking out small pebbles and other debris. The silence is comforting, but your curiosity is lingering as you look at him. There's something off about him, from his eyes to his calm demeanor to his strange home in the mountains. And there's more to it, but you just can't figure it out. His eyes flick up at yours, emotionless.

"Are you going to stare at me the whole time, or ask your questions?" He asks softly. "I will not tell you my name, and I will not tell you why I have a home in the mountains, or about Yeouiju. But you may ask about other things, and I'll decide if I want to answer."

So the things you want to know, he's not going to say. He digs into your skin as you try pulling away, but his grip is so strong and steady that it doesn't even faze him. His pupils widen as he focuses on cleaning your wound.

"Why don't you have electricity?" You ask softly.

"Why have man-made things when you can live off the Earth? She has given us everything that we need, there is no use for electrical appliances. I have candles, and I have wood. I live near a river. Nothing more is needed." He says simply. "I am going to cleanse your wound, please tell me if the pain is too great."

He slowly dabs the cloth on your skin, watching your face for any signs of discomfort. Not finding any, he turns back to your cut.

"Why did you decide to help me? To bring me to your home?"

He stops cleaning for a moment, and you wonder if you asked too much. He closes his eyes for a moment before speaking.

"The River told me that you were pure, the waters flowing through the mountain whispered to me, and I only listened. There is nothing more to that." He takes out his butterfly stitches, looking at you. "Close your eyes, it will hurt less."

"No, I'm fine—"

"Close your eyes, I don't have time to argue with you about this. Just, close your eyes."

You glare at him but shut your eyes, putting your hand over them. He huffs, then begins to take care of your wound. You could barely feel his touch, the light brushes against your skin still cold. You wonder if it's because he doesn't have heat, but the fireplace should suffice, right? And it's almost the end of Winter; Spring is right around the corner. Wait, why are you worrying about a man who lives in the woods? He's probably been here for years and knows how to live without assistance from you. You aren't his friend; why are you even thinking about it?

Your eyes flick open, moving to the stone necklace resting against his chest. Carved into each stone are symbols you don't quite recognize, a light blue peeking out from the strokes. He grunts, and your eyes move back up to his. He frowns, looking down at your leg.

"You need to rest before leaving; it will be too hard to hike back down the mountains with a wound like this," he stands. "I'll give you some of the stew I made earlier since you didn't finish your lunch." He doesn't ask if you want any, walking back to the kitchen.

He looks back at you sitting next to the fireplace, hand reaching out to feel the waves of heat flowing off of it. Your hair has leaves sticking out of it, some falling to the floor without much notice from you. He leans on the counter, running his fingers through his own.

They will not approve of him having a Human in his home; he knows that. He can only imagine what his brothers might do if they stepped into here, fresh off a trip to see Mother. Eyes moving to the Human in the room, bringing less hospitality with their stares than him. Perhaps San will accept you, but it is a reach. Even though he’s the brother with the most light-hearted mind, he's furious when he needs to be.

He reaches over, taking out a wooden bowl from his cabinet and opening the lid to the stew. Steam moistens his face as he places chunks of meat and potatoes into your bowl. He looks at you again, and this time, you're staring out the window. You rock your not-injured leg, too deep in your thoughts to notice his stare. He places his hand in the water, breathing slowly.

He almost drops the bowl at the sudden onslaught of emotions. He closes his eyes, teeth grinding as his heart swells in his chest, a ringing in his ears and his hand shaking. He's not able to produce sweat, he knows that, but he feels it fall from his cheek. His eyes dilate, looking at you. The word keeps on chanting over and over in his head, and he tries his best to suppress it. Because it cannot be. You are an ordinary Human, it is impossible-

Mate.

"Hey, are you alright?"

You turn to him, and jump. He's trembling; tears falling down his cheeks and sweating more than you've ever seen. You stand, limping slightly.

A small breeze drifts through the window, and he tries to hold his breath. But the creature in him takes control, awakening. The sweet smell of your pheromones brush his nostrils, tickling his nerves. He closes his eyes again, struggling to tell you to stop moving. If the counter wasn't between you and him ...

"Don't move." He says, voice rumbling.

You immediately stop, as his eyes burn into yours. They're completely black as they look at you, the pretty, crystal blue gone. You see as he clenches the counter with his hand, as if he's struggling to keep himself from jumping over it.

Mate. Mate with her, she is yours.

The same words continue in his head over and over, becoming too much to bear.

"Leave, now." He says.

You look outside, the sunset almost turning into the starry night sky. But if you're honest, you'd rather deal with the woods than the strange man in front of you, whose eyes move to every flick of your muscles, neck strained. You grab your bag quickly, limping out the door. Before you leave, you turn back.

"Uh, thanks. For helping me. And I'm sorry I stole your stone."

You shut the door, quickly hobbling across the river, ignoring the loud crashing sounds behind you. You don't know what's up with him, but you don’t want to know. Not really. God, Wooyoung and Yunho would laugh if you told them about this, about meeting a strange guy in the woods and going into his home. Well, scold you first, before bursting into laughter. Telling you that you hit your head a bit too hard on the ground, that you should've gone to the hospital along with Woo. That you have a concussion.

You shake your head at your silly thoughts, your flashlight guiding you back home.

-

You shut the door behind you, taking stuttered breaths. You toss your phone to the side, running your fingers through your hair. Leaves catch onto your nails, and you grunt, tossing them in the small bin next to your door. Whatever the fuck just happened, you wish you can just push it out of your mind, toss it to the side and pretend that today is just another ordinary day.

You throw yourself onto your couch, a nightly routine. A shot of pain goes up your leg, and you hiss, looking back down at it. He bandaged it up pretty well, neatly cleaning off your wound and leaving only the aligned butterfly bandages behind. You run your fingers along the side of it, humming to yourself softly. Was he high? His face was so red, but it just looked like he smelled something terrible.

You reach for your remote, turning on National Geographic. MythBusters is on, talking about the loch ness monster and dragons. You raise your brow, relaxing into the cushions. As he begins his trip to some Forest in China, you hear the familiar beep of your phone. You glance at the caller ID, and see Wooyoung's kissy face. Is he already fine and dandy? You were sure that he caught something with that deep gash. You answer, balancing it between your ear and neck.

"What's up-"

"Where is the stone? y/n, tell me that you don't have the stone anymore," he says through rushed breaths. It sounds like he's run a marathon, gasping through your phone. You lean away slightly.

"Your voice is muffled Woo. Move away from your mic," You complain. "But yes, the stone is back where it's supposed to be. Out of my hands. Deep in the mountains, never to be seen again."

"Thank God. I was researching about it and it talked about it having omnipotence power, and it belong to the ancient dragons-"

You hear a soft knock on your door, and you lean over your couch, looking through the side window next to your door. You see a figure standing there, completely still. Wooyoung continues to yap about the end of the world and something about serpents as you groan, standing and stretching. The banging gets louder, and you sigh.

"What? Who are you?" You yell.

"y/n?" Wooyoung says, "When did you go to the mountains? Did you go alone?"

"Woo, shh. There's someone at the door-"

"Who's at the door, y/n?" You hear the nervousness in his voice. "Fuck, can you just answer me already? I'm about to piss myself."

You walk to the door, but stop, staring at the small window. You can recognize that frame from anywhere. Large body almost blocking the whole window, blue eyes shining through the glass. Your hand shakes, barely listening to Wooyoung's rants into your phone.

"y/n, tell me who the fuck–"

"What did you say, Woo? About the stone and the dragon?" You say softly, your eyes never leaving his.

"Well, it's not a well known story, but sometimes there's a four-toed, Korean dragon that carries a stone called Yeouiju, carried either in its mouth or claws. This is all legend, but it says that whoever is worthy of it and carries the stone, will have the blessing of the gods. Something about the abilities of omnipotence and creation at will. Almost like a wish fulfilling stone, y/n. And it also mentions something about if dragons lose their hold of the stone and is found in the hands of another, they are destined."

"Destined?" You say breathlessly. The door begins to shake, a smile slowly forming on the man's face. You hear a small mhm from Wooyoung as he continues.

"Yup. Whoever is able to hold the stone, is destined to be with one another. Like mates, I guess."

The door begins to rattle after Wooyoung finishes. You take a step back from the door, eyes wide.

"I don't know what that stone that you found was and I know you don't believe in things like this, so please just drop the skepticism for a bit and listen to me. Don't go back for that stone, y/n. It's better to just pretend that it doesn't exist, and live your life without it. I'd rather you not go up the mountains either."

The door groans under his weight, small cracks slowly forming. You move into your kitchen, looking at your phone.

"Wooyoung," You say softly.

"Yes, what's up?" You don't respond after a moment, and he begins to panic. "y/n? You never told me who's at your door? What's wrong?"

"Do you really believe in this whole dragon thing? Because if you do, I'm ninety-fucking-percent sure he's right outside my door," You say. Wooyoung doesn't say anything for a moment, before a chuckle erupts through the phone.

"Don't shit me right now, y/n. Wait..." he trails off, before speaking again. "What happened when you dropped off the stone? y/n, this isn't funny, I'm being serious."

The banging gets louder. You wince each time, putting your phone on speaker, your hands shaking too much to hold it.

"I met a guy in the woods, Woo. His house was weird, he didn't have electricity and his eyes looked like some type of lizard's... And I ran back home, Woo. He told me to leave, and I did. But right now, the man I found in the woods is outside the front door, and he wants to come in."

You hear crashing through the line, and things thrown all over the place.

"y/n, do not open that fucking door. y/n, go hide somewhere, in your room or something–"

"Why won't you let me in?"

His voice echoes in your home, and your eyes flick back to the door, seeing him staring right at you, even through the tempered glass.

Nothing will happen, don’t you want to see me? I won’t hurt you. Just listen to me, okay? Open the door, and everything will be fine.

The cracks in the wood grow, and you feel your heart beating in your ear. The dark wood is slowly coming apart, and Wooyoung is too far to come and save you. You're on your own.

"I'm on my way, y/n, please go hide somewhere, don't open that door! I'm not going to hang up the phone, okay? I'll be on the line with you," he says, and you hear him zipping up his coat. It takes him over an hour to get there every time, and even with him speeding he could only knock off about twenty minutes. And that's if he doesn't run into city traffic.

Your phone beeps, blinking and showing you your low battery.

1%.

Who are you talking to? Is that your mate?

His voice drips with jealousy, and you're sure if you stay on the line any longer–

"Woo, I'll have to hang up now, but I'll make sure to call you back, alright? My phone is running out of charge." You say, hearing the curses fall from his lips.

"Don't you hang up on me!"

You click the end call button, keep your eye on the door as you plug it into your charger in your kitchen. The thumping slows down a bit, and you hear a soft knock on the wood.

I'm sorry for making you walk down the mountain alone, but I was with you the whole time. I didn't let you out of my sight.

That was the feeling that itched your skin, making you turn back every couple of seconds. He was protecting you– no. No, he was chasingyou.

Why don't you let me in, y/n? I want to check up on you, make sure everything is okay.

You shake your head, though you're not sure if he could see that gesture. You're too scared to speak to him, to say a word that'll show your weakness. Show how desperately your body wanted you to fling that door open. You don't know what's gotten into you, but the pull, the urge to see him is slowly overcoming your rational thoughts.

Are you feeling okay, y/n?

You love the way your name rolls off his tongue, familiar and yet, not. He slowly pushes his body against the door, waiting for you to say something to him.

I know you want to speak to me, please. Just say something so that I know you're okay.

You wrap your fingers around the edge of the counter, keeping your eyes to the floor.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," You whisper. You're not sure if he hears you, until a low moan falls from his lips, his jiggling of the door handle increasing by the second.

You sound like you need my help. I can hear it in your voice, you need me, don't you? You feel that, you feel that feeling rolling over you? I can smell you from here, y/n. I know you want me. I know you want me to make love to you, don't you?

You fall into your stool, wrapping your arms around your body, legs tight together.

Want me to fill you up with my cum, have you shaking with how good I pump into you? Biting into your neck, sucking marks into your skin. I bet you'll like that, right?

You try to control your breaths, but a low moan falls from your lips, and you hear him fall to the ground. The TV is too low to hide the sound of him unzipping his pants. Too low to cover his loud moans as he rubs himself just outside your door. You can only imagine the sweat dripping down his forehead, head thrown back and eyes tight as he fucks himself into his hand.

Fuck, I'm here, y/n. Just open those legs for me, hm? Don't you want me to smell you? To suck your clit, to make you cum? Just open them. Do it for me, now.

His voice turns aggressive at the end, and you don't move. You know what will happen if you do. And you're not sure if you'd want to stop yourself from throwing that door open, taking him without a second thought.

You're mine, you know that right? Since you grabbed my stone, we're destined for one another. No mortal will make you feel like I do. I can hear you panting, you know. I can see you, sitting there. Struggling to listen to me, trying your best to keep yourself in that chair.

I know you're thinking about me fucking you. Opening the door and shoving you against the wall, shoving my cock into you without a second thought.

He stops moving for a second, standing up. He begins hitting the door, the brute force breaking off one of the hinges. You need to hide now. You look from the floor to the glass, and between the foggy texture, you see something peeking through. Are those… wings?

His eyes meet yours, and his name rumbles in your mind. It isn't from his mouth, you just feel it being given to you.

Yeosang.

You get up from your chair, not thinking about the repercussions of your actions. Not thinking about how he can smell you. He grunts loudly, slamming himself against the door harder. You run into your bedroom on the opposite side of the house.

Your eyes move all over, before they rest on your closet. It's such a typical place to hide, but you have no other choice. Then your eyes move to your bathroom, but you shake your head. No, that'll be the first place he'll check. You quietly open your closed door, shutting it behind you with a slight click.

You hear your door being kicked in, and you flinch, cursing at yourself for not checking your phone charge before running in here. You hear his soft footsteps as he walks around your home, your breaths hushed.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly, voice echoing throughout the empty hallways.

You say nothing, not daring to even move an inch. The door squeaks open, and you press your hands over your mouth, eyes watering. Your hands shake as you hear his slow breaths. You know he doesn’t want to hurt you, deep down you know that. But the fear of the unknown, the fear that he’s actually here to damn you for taking his Yeouiju, makes you think otherwise.

“Why didn’t you open the door?” He asks, stopping in front of the closet. His finger scratches the wood, and you hold in your sobs. “Aren’t we meant to be together?”

The door flings open, and you scream, covering your face. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to steal the stone, please!”

Hands pull you up, and you yell, trying your best to fight against him.

“y/n! Y/n! Hey, listen to me! I’m not him, I’m Woo! Hey, hey,” He says, and you open your eyes, looking at the soft brown eyes of your best friend. “Hey, calm down. Just breathe, alright? I’m here, no one’s going to hurt you.”

He pulls you into his arms, trying his best to calm down the shakes that just won’t stop vibrating through your body. You cry against his shoulder, clutching so hard against him you’re sure you’ll leave bruises.

“Don’t you ever fucking hang up on me, alright? Don’t you ever do that to me again.” He says sternly, and you feel his tears drip onto your neck. “Fuck, you scared the shit out of me, I thought… I thought-”

He doesn’t say it, but you know. A small knock makes you jump, and Wooyoung holds you tight, standing in front of you and turning to the door. Yunho stands there sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

“I know you said to stay in the car, but it’s so dark out there and the loud music could do only so much, ya know?” He glances behind Wooyoung, meeting your eyes.

“So I heard you caught the eye of a dragon?”

-

Wooyoung stands in the kitchen, flipping an omelet. His eyes stare at you through the window, watching you swing yourself softly on the swing. Yunho stands next to him, balancing on one leg. His eyes follow his gaze, and he sighs.

“You haven’t taken your eyes off of her for days, Woo. She’s fine.”

Wooyoung looks down at the pan, shaking his head. “She says she’s fine, but I know she’s not, hyung. She pretends, you know that. She always says that she’s okay, but then I hear her crying in her room, telling us that it’s just an emotional movie. Every time she goes into the bathroom alone, she locks the door and takes less than two minutes in and out. She’s anxious; and she’s trying to hide it from us.”

Yunho nods slowly. “So, this dragon thing, it’s real?”

Wooyoung knows he doesn’t want to believe it. Believe that just up those mountains, a creature lays in wait, waiting for Yunho and him to leave so he can see y/n again.

“It’s as real as sliced bread,” Wooyoung murmurs. “I can’t believe it myself; but what else do you think broke in the door like that? And it was from the outside. No human or animals around here could do that much damage. And I’m sure that an elephant didn’t travel over here to knock down her door.”

“So, what do we do?” Yunho replies. “Do we bring her back to our apartment?”

Wooyoung elbows him, ignoring the smirk on his face. “I haven’t told her about that yet, idiot.”

“Better now than never,” Yunho shrugs. “But I’m being serious. We know she hates the city, but if she’s too afraid to stay alone, well, if we’re too afraid to let her, then we should bring it up.”

Wooyoung grumbles. You already have so much on your plate; dealing with the head editor at your job, this dragon nonsense. Bringing up his new relationship with your childhood friend would probably bring more stress to your life. Wooyoung frowns as he stares at his egg, taking a small bite.

“Fine, we’ll bring it up. But let me tell her first, okay? I think it’s better for her to hear it from me.”

Yunho shrugs. “Doesn’t matter to me. I think she’ll be happy you finally have some dick in your life.” Yunho narrowly misses Wooyoung’s spatula, laughing as he chases him around the house, the stove of course, safely turned off.

-

“This is not possible. A wise one never mates with a mortal, a Human of all the possibilities,” Seonghwa says through clenched teeth, staring in disgust at his younger brother. “What have you done?”

“Do not scold him so much, Seonghwa. He must have made some sort of mistake, I cannot see Yeosang’s mate being a Human. It is impossible.” Jongho says, defending his brother. “He is the wisest of us all, don’t be so harsh.”

“Or perhaps he would like for this to happen,” San says, eyes on his brother. Yeosang says nothing, listening to their complaints. “He has always followed what Mother says, but at some point, we all rebel. This may be his time.”

“You all are being harsh,'' Mingi mumbles, staring at the blood on the couch. It smells like Human, the stench not too bad on his nostrils, since he has been infatuated with one before. He looks at Yeosang’s tired eyes. “I trust Yeosang with my whole life. Let him explain himself first, please.”

“Fine,” Seonghwa murmurs. He glares at Yeosang. “Explain, now.”

Yeosang keeps his eyes on the floor, exhaustion not the only thing taking a toll on his body. He hears his inner dragon desperately wanting to leave his home, and run to yours, completing the mating ritual. A chain attached to his legs, made with the toughest metals that Earth can provide. It wraps around his kitchen counter; keeping him in his place.

He stares at the chain for a moment, before sighing, pushing his long locks away from his face.

"The dragon told me, this was not my choice and never will be. I just helped her in the forest, tended to her wound. And then when I was about to feed her, I felt the pain in his chest. The overwhelming feeling of the beast trying to claw himself out and mate with her. My dragon is never wrong, even in this Human form. This is why I have myself chained up. Even now, it wants to shred the four of you apart to get to her. And your insults are only fueling the anger in my chest."

He looks at them, and Mingi tries his best to hold in his shock. Scratches cover his face from his claws, slowly healing. Dried blood stains his cheeks but he couldn't even begin to notice. He sees the tightness in his brother's jeans, the reigned in anger that keeps him from leaping at the rest.

Because he has felt this way before.

"Hyung," Mingi mumbles softly. "We all know what happened when my lover was a Human. I am afraid. Afraid that the same would happen to you and y/n. I don't think... I don't believe we should allow you to see her again, or vice versa. It is for the best."

A low growl rumbles in his chest, and the others stare at him, ready for an attack at any given moment. But Yeosang closes his eyes, calming himself.

"We are ancient ones; there is no reason we should even be able to have mates," San mumbles, rubbing his forehead. His red hair is striking compared to the rest of them; but he is a fire dragon. It is expected for him to look this way. "Why did Mother insist?"

"She wanted us to have a chance at a normal Human experience. Ever since she gave us this," Seonghwa gestures to his body in disgust, "Human form, she has wanted us to assimilate into everyday society. But Yeosang has kept to himself, as well as the rest of us." Seonghwa looks to Yeosang, white hair covering his light pupils, almost translucent. He wears his brown human contacts when necessary; but he prefers to let his eyes breathe.

"You should have left that Human to die. It is the natural order. I know that you are... slightly leaning to caring for them, but they are not like us. And you seemed to have forgotten that.

"I couldn't leave," Yeosang explains. "She had Yeouiju. I couldn't leave without retrieving it. Without it, our rivers will dry. Even if I am in control of the rain and river, that doesn't mean that I can stop it from drying out. Finding out I'm to mate with y/n, that was just a mistake."

Mingi shakes his head, brown hair and eyes more normal than the rest of them. Besides the reptile slits as pupils, nothing else was out of the ordinary. At least, from what the normal Human could see.

"I don't approve, Yeosang."

"I heard you the first time," he grumbles. "But this is not our only issue."

Seonghwa tenses up, and San speaks. "What is it now?"

"I am not the only one that has a Human mate."

They all exchange looks, knowing exactly who he speaks of.

"What will we do about that? He hasn't been careful, but mother will approve. She will stop us if we ever interfere. She would scowl us."

"Make sure that he does no harm to the Human. Even though most of you despise the creatures, they are Mother's creations. Seeing them harmed only disturbs her rest. And we are the guardians. Yunho will stay in line." Yeosang is confident in his resolve. Yunho is the one that has spent the most time with the lesser beings. He knows how to be like a Human.

-

Yunho pouts as he stands at the door, Wooyoung next to him. You lean against the wall, rolling your eyes at the behavior. You're fine, and they continue to insist that you go with them. But from the lingering gazes Yunho gives his ass and the smirks Wooyoung sends his way, you've had enough. And you love them, you do. But the constant laughing at higher volumes than necessary and the toilet seat being up, you've had it. The only reason why you haven't kicked them out earlier is because they were worried out of their minds. But you're okay now.

For now.

"y/n, please eat more. You're stuck in that room all day and never come out. I'm serious," He adds, seeing the look on your face. "I bought vitamins and left them in your room. And if you need more—"

"Ah, Woo! She'll be fine, she is an adult not a child," Yunho complains. "And I've been standing here for ten minutes as you showed her around her own house and told her where her own things are. The new idol show is going to start soon, let's just go." Yunho pulls at Wooyoung, kicking him outside. He gives you an apologetic look.

"Call us if you need us. We're here for you, you know that, right?" He says softly. "I don't want you to be hurt, especially by this strange man. Call me if he appears. Do not hesitate, y/n."

You see the plea in his eyes, desperate for you to listen to his words. You nod, and he pulls you into a quick hug, squeezing you tightly before kissing your forehead and stumbling after Wooyoung. You wave to them as they go, your heart clenching. You know that you should have gone with them. If he wanted you this bad, he knows. He'll be waiting for you to be alone, and you're not sure if the feeling in your chest is anxiety or excitement.

-

You frown as you submit your edit of the chapter, shutting off your computer. You let out a long, breathy sigh, throwing yourself back in your chair. The wheels give it’s last sad effort and you yelp, falling back to the floor. The drop echoes around the house as you groan, small whimpers falling from your lips. You hear a loud bang, and you barely glance up, Wooyoung’s probably forgotten his underwear that he still didn’t take back. Hands reach and lift you from the floor with ease, and you laugh slowly.

“Don’t make fun of me I know I’m an idiot, Woo,” You say, reaching down to pick up your fallen chair.

Hands reach for it instead, and a cold shiver rolls up your spine. His hands are too big to be your best friends’. Your eyes follow his arms, meeting the light blue that you’ve tried to erase from your head. His hair is pulled back from his face, resting in a low bun. He looks at your shocked expression, and slides your chair under your desk. You take a step back once he moves forward, and he stops.

“I-”

“Why are you in my house? How did you get into my house? Why are you in my room? Get out!” You yell, eyes flicking to the phone text to your computer. He follows your gaze, shaking his head.

“Calling more Humans to assist you won’t make me go away. And I heard the sound, and I came as quickly as I could. Are you alright? You hit the floor pretty hard.”

As quick as he could? Was he waiting outside your door? You know that the hike from his home to yours is at least an hour, and that’s if you don’t stop to take a break. He takes in your confused expression, waiting for you to object, for you to scream and run away from him. You wear your thoughts on your face, your eyebrows furrowed and your bottom lip between your teeth. Your hair looks like you’ve ran your fingers through it over and over, and you’re wearing your sleepwear, loose on your frame.

His dragon rumbles inside of him, and he closes his eyes for a moment, too quick for you to think it’s more than just a blink. He opens them again, keeping his gaze with yours.

“Are you stalking me?” You ask, “Are you waiting outside my hours, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on me?” You know you sound crazy, but he’s crazy! He’s the one that broke your door, which led to Yunho standing there in confusion as he tried to fix it.

“No, I told you that I came-”

“Yea, you came when you heard the sound. But you had to be close, it’s not possible.”

“Are you sure it’s not possible? You know that I am not a Human,” he says simply. “Just accept it, and then you’ll understand that I can find you anywhere and be there within moments.”

He sits on the bed, and you hear something drag. You glance down, seeing chains wrapped around his ankles. He doesn’t explain why he has them, just stares at you.

“Please leave my house.” You say softly. “I don’t want you here, Yeosang.”

That shatters the expressionless look on his face. His mouth forms a small o, eyebrows tight in concentration. “You know my name. I haven’t told you my name, but you know. How do you know?” He stands this time, eyes flicking between yours. The pupils narrow into slits, blue darkening.

“I heard it. When you were outside my door, I heard your name whispered into my ear.”

He nods slowly. “So this is not a lie. It’s true, you are my mate, y/n.” He takes your figure in. “I cannot believe you’re my mate, a Human.” He says that last word with a bit of revulsion in his speech, almost hissing as it comes out. “I couldn’t … I didn’t think it was possible to mate with a Human. I didn’t think that Mingi was telling the truth, but you are here.” He reaches out, but moves his hand back quickly when you flinch. “I will not hurt you. You know that.”

“I don’t know that, Yeosang! I don’t know you, I have no clue who the fuck you are, and you continue to just barge into my home, thinking it’s yours. Saying that I’m your mate, but I’m not. I don’t even know your last name, I don’t know anything but the fact that you live in a small house in the middle of the forest and you’re horny as Hell!”

He snorts at that. “I’m not sexually aroused all the time. It’s just when I’m in the presence of my mate. My dragon inside of me wants to have children, that’s its goal. But when I’m alone, I’m fine. I don’t have the desire.” He looks at you, “I didn’t want this either. To be your mate. That’s why I live in the forest alone, away from Humans. I would rather be away from all of you, isolated and live on my own. But unfortunately, you decided to come into my forest and take Yeouiju. If you just left it alone, none of this would have happened.”

You stay silent at that. He sighs, tugging at a small hair that fell out of his bun. You notice that his fingers are lined with silver rings, each one has a strange symbol. Just like the necklace that rests on his neck. You look away, trying your best to comprehend whatever the Hell is going on right now.

He’s right; you’re not scared of him. Your chest leaped when he appeared, but a wave of calm fell over you once you realized it was him. Despite everything, you feel safe. With a man who claims he’s a big, bad dragon that lives in the woods. With a man who claims that he’s your mate. With a man that almost made you drop to your knees just a week or so ago because he told you to. You consider yourself an independent woman. Not listening to the begging of some man to shove his dick in you. And yet, you’ve been drooling over that night, wonder what would’ve happened if you opened the door…

“Stop.” He says, clenching his jaw.

“What? I didn’t even say anything!” You say, your face warming by the second. Oh God, you’re making a face, aren’t you? The fuck me face? How more embarrassing can this get?

“You didn’t need to, I can smell you. If you continue I won’t be able to stop myself.” He says simply. Your body shivers, and he growls.

“I said stop.”

“I am! I am, can you just go?” You open the door, gesturing out. “And never come back?”

He looks out into the hallway, closing his eyes for a moment. He opens them again, a tired look in his face. “If I leave, I will be back unfortunately. Even now, my dragon wants me to stay. To set up my nest here because your home is filled with the scent of you, and those other men,” He wrinkles his nose. “I thought that I could speak to you, about more than just mates. About why I am like this, and about my dragon that I mentioned and you don’t seem that fazed that I keep on saying it.”

Wooyoung. Jung Wooyoung, this guy was right! Your nerdy best friend is right! You look at Yeosang, frowning. He doesn’t even look like a dragon, did he adapt as the years passed? Changing his form to walk among you humans easily?

"My friend, he's really into this stuff. He researches old objects and keeps many. A kind of Indiana Jones if you really think about it.”

Yeosang stares at you blankly and you can only sigh, your reference meaningless to his ears.

You rub your face, turning around and walking into the kitchen. He follows behind, a bit slow on his part. You start the coffee maker, before turning back to him. His eyes are empty, not even a peek into what he’s thinking. But you notice how they flick all over your kitchen, taking in the environment with caution.

"What are dragons?" You ask, staying a bit away from him. The counter is the only thing separating you, but he doesn't make any motions to get closer to you, and you're glad. "Are they giant lizards?"

Yeosang scoffs at that. "We are not giant lizards. We are..." He trails off. "The best description would be a mix between a lizard and a serpent. We are cold-blooded, and we mate for offspring in the early Spring."

You tense up at that, knowing that Spring just began.

"Is that why you picked me as your mate? Because it's early Spring?"

He shakes his head slowly. "No. Mother, when she created us we were supposed to guard our realms. Make sure the balance of the Earth always stays the same. But she noticed how lonely we were. You see, I don't often see my brothers. Since I am in charge of Earth's water, I have stayed alone on that mountain for millennia. No human has ever had the ability to see me or my cottage, because it is hidden from their eyes. But you," He looks at you. "You have changed everything. And a part of me is afraid of this. I've never wanted a mate, because..."

He looks down at his hands. "I have seen my brother care for a Human. And watch him die in his arms, unable to do anything. He wasn't his mate, but he cared for him like so. Mingi didn't deserve to get his heart broken like that, so I swore that I would never do the same. I would never interact with a Human, I will stay away."

"But your eyes met mine from across the river. At that moment, I knew that you were different. And you happened to be the one mother chose for me. A Human who would die in a few decades, only a few hours for a creature like me."

He told you the harsh truth. He doesn't want you, and it's not like you want him. You barely know him. But the feeling of rejection swirls in your chest, the burning sensation of knowing that you're unwanted making you want to vomit.

"Then why are you here? Is this supposed to make me feel better? Make me want to throw myself into your arms and thank your Mother that she made us mates? I don't know you, Yeosang. And I don't think I want to. Not after you basically called me a waste of time."

He winces at that. "I didn't mean to–"

His eyes turn to the open doorway, narrowing. He moves in front of you, blocking your view. You try to push him out of the way, but he glances back, glaring at you. You stay silent then, hiding behind his wide stature.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, emotion lost in his voice.

The new person laughs, and it's like magic to your ears. Not as pleasant and mouth watering as Yeosang, but pretty damn close.

"Ah, do you want to hide her from us now? We just wanted to take a peek at your mate."

"Leave." He says simply. "I told you to not involve yourselves in this, it'll only overwhelm her–"

"Overwhelm me? Why do you keep on treating me like a fucking kid?" You peek your head out from around him, and he sighs, letting you stand in front of him without much protest.

A man stands there, arms crossed as he tilts his head and takes in your figure. His eyes roam over your body, teeth biting his lower lip. His eyes rest of yours, filled with something you can't figure out. You wouldn't have noticed anything strange about him, but his eyes are a lighter brown.

"Yeosang didn't say you were a beautiful Human," his voice is smooth, slithering into your ear as he speaks. He takes a step forward, "Perhaps you'd want me instead?"

"Cut it out," The man standing behind him mumbles. His hair is a dark red, eyes matching the same. His eyes flick over you quickly, frowning. "She knows how easily you fell in love with a Human, and yet, she continues to do this to us." He tsks, looking away. "How despicable."

"San, Mother makes decisions for a reason. We must be grateful, she is the one who made us into who we are," The slick talker rebuttals. He looks back at you, nodding his head once. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mingi. The one with the bad temper is San. Seonghwa isn't here, he decided to go back to his Home."

Mingi looks at Yeosang, a small pout on his lips. "Don't hide your playthings from us anymore—"

A low rumble echoes around the room, stomping Mingi in his speech. You feel Yeosang move closer to you, almost inches away from pressing his back against yours.

"Watch what you say," he says.

San sighs. "He's already bonded, there's no use. If we remove her, it will only tear him apart."

Remove? Remove? Were they going to—

Yeosang feels your heartbeat race and he stands in front of you, wrapping an arm around you protectively. His skin is cold but it's comforting, his grip strong as he holds you to his side.

"I won't repeat myself, San. Remember your place. Both of you leave her home, now."

Mingi's face drops. "I'm sorry," he tilted his head to you. "To both of you. Please be well."

San sniffs, eyebrows furrowed. "Doesn't it smell like–" Mingi slaps his hand against San's lips, a nervous laughter erupting from him.

"Haha! Time to go, San. I'll see you back home, Yeosang. And it was nice meeting you, y/n. I hope to see you again soon."

Mingi pushes a resistant San out of your home, shutting the door loudly behind them as they leave. Your hand brushes lightly against Yeosang's arm, and he slowly lowers his chest, heart beat steadying to a normal pace.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't expect them to show up here so quickly." He confesses, turning back to look at you. "And I understand if you don't want to be my mate. I'll just stay away."

You feel your body reject the idea. Tears spring to your eyes, your hands begin to shake, and your breaths kick up in speed. You shake your head, not wanting to meet his eyes."No. No, I mean... We can be friends, Yeosang. I don't want you to disappear. Not until I've given you a chance."

His somber expression fades as he takes in your words. "You don't have to do that to make me feel content. I'm okay with being away."

"Are you? Are you okay with not seeing me?"

His eyes move to the floor at that. He doesn't say anything, but as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. You nod slowly.

"Okay, then we can be friends. Just... when you come to my house, maybe knock before barging in? And don't break my door anymore please, it took Yunho way too long to fix it."

You see the disgusted look on his face, but before you can question it it fades away. He moves his head in agreement, slightly tilting it to you.

"I'm fine with that. When you are inviting people into your home, do you trust them? There are many who say they are something when they are not. You should be wary of that."

"No one that's come into this house is someone that I don't trust. At least, not until today."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't you trust my judgment?" You ask through clenched teeth. If he's referring to you not letting your best friends into your home, you'd shut it down immediately. They're the only people that you love and trust in this world. Not even him, your destined mate, can get in between that.

He sighs, mumbling words in a language you don't understand. He takes off his necklace, rolling the stones between his fingers for a moment. "You've kept your eyes on this for a while, so before I go I should tell you what this is. "When we were first created, all of us were given a token of Mother's love and protection. She gave me this necklace and the silver on my fingers. The symbols are something that your Human mind won't quite comprehend. But essentially, it protects you from danger and deep woes. Since... Since I worry for you, I would like it if you kept this with you."

You stare at it in his hands, his fingers brushing lightly over the stones.

"I can't take that—"

"I am a dragon, y/n. I do not need protection like this. And I have my rings, if you are worried about that. Please, this will make me feel better about leaving you alone without my protection."

Before he was complaining about having to be your mate, but now he's basically confessing his love for you. You nod, barely, and he takes a step forward, slowly dropping it on your neck. You think that some feeling will go over you, but there's nothing but the smell of him that surrounds you. He stares at the necklace on your neck, letting out a breath of relief.

"Please don't take it off unless I'm with you. Now that you're my mate, it makes you a target for beings that are too terrifying to name. Beings that lurk in the forest."

He hears your heartbeat pick up at that, and curses himself for scaring you.

"They won't come to you, I've already placed protection around your home. Nothing within a twenty mile radius will come to you unless I perish. And I am older than the stars."

You laugh, and his chest whines at the sound. He closes his eyes, trying his best to remember the beautiful symphony. His eyes move to how yours crinkle at the corners, how your nose scrunches up and your cheeks lift.

"I cannot believe the universe decided to make my mate a dragon that constantly reminds me that he's older than dirt. And people said Twilight was bad."

He listens to you mumble on and on about how unfair the world is and something about sliced bread. You look at him, and your eyes still. A small smile graces his lips, and it's one of the most ethereal things you've ever seen. You feel your cheeks warm at your thoughts. Watching him stand there, your doubts go away for just a moment.

"I'll see you soon, right?" He asks.

"Yes. Yes you will, Yeosang."

-

Wooyoung walks around your home, eyes flicking over everything. You watch him with mild curiosity, waiting for him to complain about the dishes not being done or something so minuscule that not even your dragon— Yeosang, would be able to notice.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He questions, worried. That's why you love him. Despite his annoying habits and a bit of overbearing behavior, he cares about you. He cares about you so much, and thinking about it almost makes you cry.

"I'm okay, Woo."

He takes a step closer, doubt in his eyes. "Are you sure? You don't need anything?"

"No, I'm fine Woo. All I need is you and Yunho, and I'm good. Answer my calls and whine for all I care, but I'm good. No more walking around here like a zombie, no more jumping at the slightest sounds. I'm good."

He runs his fingers through his hair.

"Fine, but stay away from that forest. I'll buy you one of those treadmills that makes you think you're walking in nature."

You chuckle, and he grins at how he finally got you to laugh. Your eyes move over to Yunho, your smile slipping slightly.

Ever since they've arrived, he's been off. He was all smiles until his eyes flicked over your figure, moving from your necklace to your home. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and sat on the couch, saying nothing else. Wooyoung didn't notice the change in his attitude, too worried about you. But whatever upset him, you just hoped it wasn't you. He didn't even laugh at any of your cheesy jokes or crack one of his own. Does he think that you're lying about how okay you are? Does he know that you're hiding something without saying it?

You've been on edge the whole time because of him, waiting for him to finally snap and say what he has to say. But he's kept his lips shut, staring ominously into the muted TV.

"Alright well Yun and I have a date later, but just text us if you need anything, alright? We're just a phone call away!" He hugs you quickly before pulling on Yun's shoulder. He stands, and you almost scream as his eyes meet yours.

They're completely black, filled with nothing. But he blinks and it's gone, as if you just imagined it. Yunho breaks out into a smile, different from his quiet behavior only moments ago.

"Take care of yourself, alright? Don't get into any trouble." He says the last word with a bit of anger, and you nod, letting the both of them walk out. As they shut the door behind them, you lean on the counter, eyes unfocused.

No. It was just a trick of the eye. It's not possible for him to have black pupils. You push away your silly thoughts, trying to think coherently. He's been your best friend ever since you were a child. Whatever you think you saw, it isn't true. You keep on telling yourself this, scrubbing the plates with much more vigor.

-

"Tell me more about Humans. Do you have lifelong mates, are there people you are destined for?" Yeosang asks as he watches you type on the computer.

You sigh, "No. Well, it's not like our bond. People sometimes choose someone to spend the rest of their lives with, and it's not fate or destiny. They go through problems, some may have multiple people they love. It just depends on how their life goes, ya know?"

You don't hear anything from him, and you continue to concentrate on the words in front of you. He seems to get the picture, moving away from you and walking around your room. You don't see him stop on your drawer, don't hear him opening the top one because of your immense concentration on your work.

Yeosang brushes his fingers on the fabrics, obviously your undergarments. His hands reach deeper, something solid touching the tips of his fingers. He pulls it out slowly, a large pink cock standing in front of him. He feels his face flush as he stares at it. Do Humans... pleasure themselves this way? He pokes it, a faint smell of your pheromones coating the outside. He quickly drops it into your drawer, slamming it with such might that you jump in your seat, turning around to look at him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Pink cheeks and red ears greet you back, and your eyes move to the drawers behind him. You think about what you have in there, panic immediately reaching your eyes.

"Just... Don't look at people's stuff, alright? And haven't you lived for several millenniums? The first thing that you should've learned was privacy!" You hiss, and he nods, bowing quickly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you pleasure yourselves—"

"Stop! Stop, please don't make this more embarrassing than it already is."

He nods, and you turn back to your desk. Your eyes can't seem to concentrate on the task, and you throw your head to the desk in frustration. Yeosang moves back over to you, concern about his features.

"Why do you do things that upset you?" He asks softly. "Isn't it better to do more calming activities? I have seen you stressed since I've arrived, and that will only decrease your lifespan."

You can't help but pout, "I love my job. I just hate when I can't figure out how to edit something with better words. And I need money, Yeosang. Nothing comes easily in life."

He shrugs at that. "I live in the mountains with what nature provides. The only use of money to me is a way to start my fire. But I do see how focused Humans are on it. It's a major reason why you all suffer so greatly. You should look back to your ancestors and see that the simple life is best. But barely any of you know how to start a simple fire without the use of your tools."

He glances at your computer, hands crossed against his chest. "You stared at that for so long, you don't even realize that three hours have gone by." He glances at the time on your clock. "Would you like me to make something for you?"

You frown. "You don't even know how to work the oven, why would I let you near my kitchen?"

His lips lift up into a smirk, showing the ever elusive dimples in his cheeks. "I'll bring you to my home. Something is already cooking."

You think about the last time you were there, his eyes locked on yours as he struggled to hold himself together. Hands digging into his kitchen counter as you basically ran out, your leg straining in pain as you made your way down the mountain. You were terrified at the time; a bit of you still is, even if he's your mate.

"I won't hurt you," he says softly. "I can feel the change in your temperature, and hear the way your heart beat changes. I can't read your thoughts, but from this I know enough. I won't hurt you," he repeats. "That was my dragon out of control. It's never experienced a scent like yours before, but I've controlled it. And it won't dare to hurt you, it wants to only protect."

He rubs his forehead. "This... All of this is complicated. There's so much to explain to you, but I'm not sure if you'd like to hear it." His words are coming out in soft whispers, unexpected from such a vocal being like him. But he's nervous, hands shaking slightly as he pulls on his hair. You've grown to notice that it's a nervous habit of his.

"Let's go to your home," you say, and he visibly brightens up at your words. "And I don't think you'll do anything to hurt me. I trust you."

You trust him. His lips twitch, wanting to curve into a smile. But he's so scared of frightening you away that he only nods, not noticing your shoulders drop a bit at his dry reaction.

"We should leave soon, then. Before it gets dark out."

-

You still make him nervous when you're with him. The smell of you stuck in the air, whiffing around his small home. He keeps quiet though, checking and tasting his soup frequently. He's not sure what you like; salty or sweet, spicy or mild. It makes him panic a little, hoping that he satisfies you.

You sit in the living area, eyes on the fireplace flickering. His eyes trail along your exposed skin, landing on the junction between your neck and shoulders. He's been wanting to mark you as his since he's found out, but easing you into this is what's best. You don't know anything about him, and tying you to him that way will only break you two apart. Resulting in him being more broken than he already is.

It's hard, he wants to tell you everything, from his birth to now. Everything that he knows about dragons, wanting to see your eyes shine with curiosity at his words. But he holds himself in, not wanting to overstep. You're loud and blunt, you'll tell him when he's doing something wrong. He tastes the stew once more, nodding in satisfaction.

"You know," he looks at you, and you're turned back, smiling at him. "You don't have to make the stew perfect. As long as it's edible, I couldn't care less about the flavor."

"I just finished." He grabs a wooden bowl, thinking back to how only a couple of weeks ago, you were with him. Same scenario, but this time your leg is fine. The healing water, or cleaning liquid, that he poured over it, helped. He still hasn't told you about the small trick that he did, but that's for another time.

He takes two bowls and spoons, and walks over to you, trying his best to not trip. He's clumsy, he knows that. He passes the bowl to you and you thank him. He sits across from you, watching as you take the first bite into his mouth. You say nothing for a moment, face and body motionless.

"Is it too salty? I can add more water—"

"Yeosang, if you told me you were such a good cook I'd ask you to cook for me all the time!" You say, your face bright. "What the fuck! This is some Gordon Ramsay, some Bobby Flay type shit! It's amazing!"

He sighs in relief, sipping his slowly. "I'm glad you like it, y/n."

Your smile twitches. Your name falls off his lips easily, making your whole body shiver.

"You never said my name." You say softly. "To be honest, I thought you didn't know it. But you finally said it, so we're getting somewhere, right?" You say, and he nods.

"Yes."

You hold the hot chocolate in your hand, sitting closer to the fire. It has to be past midnight, your soft whispers echoing around the room. You two have talked about everything; from your rocky relationship with your family to your friends. He talked about his family life as well, and how much he loves the forest.

"What kind of dragon are you?"

"I control agriculture and water. That's why I keep my home so close to it, I can feel everything. I could even feel when you and your friend fell in. The water is connected to me in such a way that if I concentrate on it, I can feel the sea life that lives in its depths. And when the forest breathes, I do. Everything is connected," he puts his hand on the ground, closing his eyes.

"Can't you feel it?"

His smile grows on his face, and you stare in awe. He's showing you his true self; the sharpness of his canines and the beautiful lift of his cheeks. Eyes closed into small crescents and skin glowing with the flickering of the fire. You've never seen him so relaxed, free of woes and anxiety. It's a beautiful sight.

"Do you feel it, y/n?" This time his eyes are open, resting on yours. It's not a lust filled gaze, not emotionless. It's filled with... something you didn't expect to see.

Care.

"Yes, I can." You say, the double meaning behind your words apparent. He smiles softly, looking to the floor.

"It's not proper for you to stay at a dragon's home, but I cannot let you go back down the mountain at this time of night. Not that you won't be with me, which you will, but there's too much danger when it's the night. I would prefer it if you stayed here." He scratches the back of his head. "Ah, but I only have one bed. I can sleep on the couch while you rest there."

You place your cup on the stump coffee table, shaking your head quickly. "I can't just take over your bed."

"I'm not letting you stay in the living area, y/n." He says, not leaving room for protest. "There's spare clothing in my room, and there's running water as well. Please, take as long as you'd like. I'll wait for you to finish."

You purse your lips, and he raises his eyebrow, waiting for you to challenge him. But you're too exhausted to give a hint of your usual sass so you nod, standing up.

"My room is the last door to the right. And the bathing area is right across from it." He says, grabbing your cup and walking into the kitchen. You watch him for a moment before following where he tells you to go.

You push the door open to his room slowly, peeking inside. You aren’t sure what you expected; but this isn’t what you think a bachelor pad would look like. His room has shelves of books everywhere, some in languages you can’t even pinpoint. The earthy smell of Yeosang swirls around the room, and you take it in, the scent comforting. Scattered papers lay across his desk, but you ignore all of them, walking to his closet and peeking inside. It’s lined with mostly dark colors, so you grab whatever pops in front of your face before closing it quickly. A small thought dawns on you.

You don’t have any underwear.

Your eyes flick to the drawer in the corner, but you shake your head. Nope. Even if he’s your mate, he’s still a complete stranger and going through a stranger’s things is a no-no. You quickly walk out, shutting the door behind you. Going commando is a thing, and you’ll embrace it! You glance into the living area before going into the bathroom, locking the door behind you.

-

Yeosang sits on his couch, running his fingers through his hair. He can hear the scolding of his brothers in his head right now, telling him that this is a bad idea, being alone with you. Telling him that he should have rejected you long ago; that his presence in your life will only make it harder for him to resist you. Because technically, you aren’t his. Not until his marks cover you.

A small knock on his door makes him tense up. He’s been so lost in his thoughts he didn’t hear the pitter patter of his elder brother coming to see him. He walks in without a care, glancing around the open space before staring at Yeosang. He hasn’t dropped his glamor, eyes still the solid human brown. He frowns at Yeosang, closing the door behind him.

“Why have you brought her here again? Didn’t the others tell you how dangerous it is? You might hurt her, or worse. I thought you out of everyone would understand the risk.”

“I thought you would understand, since your partner right now is a Human. You’ve been around her for longer than myself and haven’t hurt her. Saying that I will is hypocritical.”

Yunho rolls his eyes. “You haven’t spent time with Humans in centuries. You find them revolting, you actively avoid their presence. And yet with y/n, you seem to do the complete opposite of what you usually do. Is this really because of Mother?”

Yeosang nods, but stops himself. “No. This is not only because of her. Yunho, I care about y/n. I do. She is different, much more different than the Humans I am used to. I don’t want to see her gone, not yet.” He mumbles. He can’t help but yearn for you, even when you’re still showering, oblivious to the conversation the two of them are having. “And you shouldn’t be here, anyway. You haven’t told her who you are, it’ll upset her when she finds out.”

“And I never was going to tell her, Yeosang. But, you messed everything up,” He growls in frustration. “All of the glamor I put on them, all of the backstory that I’ve made up so that she believes that we grew up with one another, you ruined it.”

“Just tell her!” Yeosang hisses. “y/n can take it. As well as Wooyoung.”

Yunho growls at the mention of his lover’s name, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing.

“She trusts you, and maybe her trust will sway a little, but in the end the two of you have been best friends since she was a child. You’ve spent more time with her than me, she won’t push you away.”

“You don’t know that,” Yunho confesses. “I care about y/n, more than you can ever know. I’ve had no problem with Humans since the beginning. I’ve seen the good nature in them, I’ve seen the destructive nature in them. I have seen them rejoice at their best and fall at their worst. y/n is a pure soul, and there are already very few. But with you… her soul will be tainted. And I don’t want that for her.”

“Mother wouldn’t make her my mate if it would have destroyed her soul.”

“I would agree if Mother wasn’t too occupied with other worlds to focus on ours. She doesn’t just have us as sons, Yeosang. Why do you think we rarely see here within a millennia? We aren’t her favorites, we are one of the first ones she’s created and abandoned. She won’t care about who she made our mates, or the outcome of it. She only cares about her most respected sons, the ones who can control whole planets on their own, not just elements.”

Yunho looks outside for a moment. “She couldn’t even think of one for me. She made me in charge of darkness. All I do is make the moon rise. You hold Earth’s waters in your hands. Mingi holds sunlight at his fingertips, Seonghwa controls the air we breathe and San controls fire. And I, darkness.” He looks at Yeosang, face solemn. “I am telling you this because y/n is more important to me than many things in this world. And I don’t want to be the one to console Wooyoung when you can no longer control the dragon within you, and hurt her in some way. And this isn’t me being a pessimist, this is me being realistic. Face it Yeosang, you aren’t capable of taking care of y/n the way you want to. You don’t even know what cell phones are.”

He sighs, pushing stray hairs from his face. “Just think about this more, alright? Don’t make a decision based on what Mother says, make it based on what’s in your head and heart. More so your head, because your heart only has that dragon controlling it.” He grumbles, taking one last look at the bathroom that you’re in before stepping out.

Yeosang watches him go, biting his lip, his arms still crossed against his chest. “Nice to see you after a few centuries too, Yunho.” He utters.

-

You wrap yourself in Yeosang’s blankets, the smell of him wrapping around you. You could hear Wooyoung and Yunho right now, screaming at you for even stepping outside your house without letting them know. Woo will probably combust from so much anger, Yun having to pick up the pieces from the floor. You puff, letting out a stressed breath. This is a bad idea. This is a really fucking, shitty ass bottom of the bottle, terrible idea.

Even though it’s almost 3am, you can’t even fall asleep. Your eyes won’t dare to shut no matter how much you squeeze them together. You’re not sure if it’s from nervousness or if you’re waiting for Yeosang to knock on your door and say something. You let out a low groan, pushing your blankets off of you and staring at the ceiling.

A mirror stares back at you, and you yelp, on the verge of screeching at your bed head staring back at you. What in the living hell? Why does he have a mirror? Does he watch himself sleep?? Is it a kinky thing? You gasp, staring at the sheets underneath you. Has he? On these sheets? You throw yourself out of the bed, paranoia running through your bones.

What the hell is going on with you? You’re pretty sure you’ve slept completely fine on Wooyoung’s sheets, even though he was known as the sex freak throughout your time as his coworker before he flipped his shit. You rub your face, small whimpers falling from your lips. All you want to do is sleep and yet here’s your mind, throwing water at you and saying no way.

A small knock on your door makes you jump, eyes flicking to the small crack.

“It’s Yeosang. Do you mind if I come in?” he asks softly, and you nod, before realizing that he can’t see you.

“Yes,” you mumble.

He pushes the door open slowly, looking at the bed. His shining eyes move to you curled up on the floor, curiosity in his gaze. But he doesn’t ask, sitting in the chair several feet away from you.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he admits. “I usually don’t have much of an issue on most nights, but my eyes don’t want to close.”

You laugh, a breathy one barely escaping your lips. “Probably because I’m here,” You say, looking away from his gaze, not wanting to see him nod in agreement. “I can still leave, you know. I have a flashlight on my phone and walking down won’t be too bad…”

He snorts. “I’m not letting you walk alone at this time, and I can’t sleep because… Because now that you’re here, my dragon, no, I want to rest next to you.” You don’t lift your head, and he wonders if he offended you in any way, so he quickly cleans up his words. “Being on the couch is fine, I have no issues with that. I can sleep anywhere. But with you here, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep without you being close to me.” He admits, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I think being honest is best. You… can kick me out any time, I won’t be offended.”

You’re not, not at all. Instead, you feel your chest flutter with the possibility of Yeosang holding you close, his head resting on top of yours, your back against his chest as he presses his lips to your temple and you both fall asleep.

“I want you.” You say simply.

You don’t see the way his face turns pink at your words, ears burning red. You quickly realize what you’ve said, and you backpedal quickly.

“I mean! Haha, I was saying that I want to sleep with you, in the same bed. Like, because we’re tired, not the other,” You throw your head back in frustration. “This is so embarrassing.”

He laughs, and you enjoy the sound. “No, I get what you mean. I want to do that. We should do that.”

You stand up, crawling back underneath the covers. Yeosang follows your lead, lifting up the covers and sliding underneath. Your warmth compared to his cool skin gives you a different feeling. You stare at the ceiling, eyes on him. He met yours, a small smile on his lips.

“You can’t fall asleep with your eyes open,” he says simply, and you snort, turning your back to him. He laughs, and you feel him slide, his back to you as well.

You stay like that for a few minutes, and you know what you want. You’re an adult, all you have to say is-

“Do you mind if I hold you?” he whispers, his body turning to you. A small yes escapes you, and he doesn’t hesitate, pulling you against him.

His chest rests against your back, rising and lifting slowly. Your feet press against his legs, and he basks in their warmth. He wraps his arms around your waist, face in your hair. He takes this moment to breathe you in, your smell surrounding him. His skin is several degrees colder than yours, and the dragon in him tries its best to pull you as close as possible, without hurting you.

Your eyes flutter close, comfort quicker than before. Yeosang mumbles a soft goodnight into your ear, and you whisper it back. Your trip to sleep land is quick.

-

The sun shining through the windows wakes you up in the morning. You squint, trying your best to blink away the night. It feels like weights are trying to keep your eyes closed, but you know it's probably midday, already too long to stay in bed. Your boss is probably endlessly calling you about your assignment for the week. You stretch your arms slowly, palms hitting a solid body. You almost scream, until you think back to last night.

You roll over. Yeosang is still fast asleep, his chest rumbling every time he exhales. His hair is a mess, covering most of his face. You reach out to push it away from his face, but you stop yourself, dropping your arm. He pulls you closer, and you yelp softly, your chest pressed against his. His eyes slowly open, looking down at yours.

"Good morning," You say softly.

He says nothing for a moment, eyes flicking between yours. He blinks slowly, breaths slow. His hands are pressing against your bare back, and you feel something, some thing hard against your stomach. He nuzzles his nose against your forehead, sniffing softly.

You push your hands against his chest, and he tenses up. "Time to go back, yes?"

He quickly lets go, leaning up in bed. He looks at you, glancing down at you wearing his clothes, face darkening. "I need to use the bathroom." He stands quickly walking out and not ever looking back.

You glance down, seeing your nipples perked, on display for the world to see. Now you feel your face warm as you look around the room for your bra. You usually sleep with the bare minimum on, so you're glad he didn't barge in when you were getting dressed. Wearing the same underwear twice in a row is gross, and going commando once in a while couldn't hurt. But you're in his home, wearing his clothes. You slap yourself, grabbing your bra from your dirty clothes pile and quickly putting it on before he walks back in.

You think back to last night, his cool hands wrapped around your waist, soothing in the early morning. If this happened a couple of weeks ago you'd freak, demand that he bring you back home and you'd never see him again. But you like the way he feels, hands oddly soft for a man his size. Pressed lightly against your bare stomach, never traveling lower. Lips pressed against your neck, tongue—

Your hand flicks up to your neck, and you quickly look in the ceiling mirror. Nothing's there, and you sigh in relief. And a bit of disappointment, but you'd rather deal with those feelings by yourself later.

"The bathroom is ready," Yeosang says, not daring to step in the room. I've left a fresh pair of clothing. I don't grow, so everything is my size. And I've realized that..." His face is completely red now. "I don't have any new underwear to give you, since I don't wear any. I'm sorry about that."

You try to keep your eyes on his, not daring to flick down. No, you're being good. Definitely not imagining what he looks like with those pants off. Nope, not at all. Yeosang sniffs, and backs away slightly.

"I'll be in the living room. You can come whenever you're ready, and then we can go back to your home."

He walks away, leaving the door wide open. You scratch your head, grabbing your things and bolting to the bathroom, not daring to even take a glance into the living area.

-

His fingers are gripping his thigh so tight, hard enough to tear. He tries to keep his thoughts empty, but all he can think of is holding you in his arms, his dragon so close to your neck, so close to making you his. Yunho is right; he isn't ready for this. He isn't ready for you, and he's not sure if he'll ever be. You're so delicate, so alive and warm and Human, the complete opposite of him. He's cold, his heart pumps blood but it's useless, he can't die. You're a Human, and he's a dragon.

And nothing will change that.

But he can't stop thinking of how your body curves into his, how you're the perfect size for him to wrap around. How he loves how soft you are under his touch, how you smell. Why are you so enticing, so beautiful and fragile? Yeosang looks at the floor, straining his dragon. He's barely holding himself back. He can't do this anymore. He can't see you anymore, not like this. Not even as friends.

He doesn't want to say it out loud, but after today, he won't be coming back to you. He'll move his home away, in another forest far enough away that you wouldn't look. But close enough that if you're in danger, he'd be able to get there at a moment's notice.

Don't. His dragon whispers to him. This decision will only hurt more. It will hurt us being away from her.

He shakes off the voice, keeping his thoughts rational. No, nothing can change his mind. Nothing.

You walk into the living room, seeing Yeosang stare off into the forest outside. He looks back at you, his eyes a darker brown. Different from the beautiful blue you're used to looking into.

"Yeosang, your eyes—"

He nods. "In case we stumble into Humans hiking. It's better to make myself look like them, so that I don't have to deal with the aftermath. Are you ready to go?" He doesn't seem fazed by you wearing his clothing, eyes calmer than you've ever seen them. You nod, and he walks outside, you follow close behind.

He says nothing to you, despite your long talks from only hours ago. Yeosang keeps several feet ahead of you, ears probably listening to your every movement. You’re not sure what happened over the course of these few hours, but you can’t help but feel worried. Did you do something to bother him? Did it bother him that you accepted his offer so easily? Did you offend him when you were talking last night?

You stumble over a rock, and Yeosang doesn’t bother to glance back. “Be careful of your footing,” He says.

"Did I do something?" You ask after about a half hour of walking. He shakes his head, but doesn't give you a verbal response. Your irritation rises as he keeps his back to you, not even bothering to acknowledge you with a look.

"Is it because you think I'm easy or something? Or did I offend you with something I said last night?"

He shakes his head again, and you stop in your spot. No. You're not going to do this wordless answering anymore. Yeosang sighs, staring straight forward.

"The sun won't be in the sky all day, y/n. It's best to move quickly so that you're safe in your home."

"I won't move until you look at me and tell me what's wrong so we can fix this."

He looks back at you, his lips tight. His eyes are cold, the beautiful warmth from mere hours ago gone from his face. It's like you're a stranger, nothing to him. He pushes a stray strand, tucking it behind his ear.

"It's nothing."

"It's something, or you won't be treating me like shit."

"If you stopped acting so entitled, then maybe you won't feel that way." He hisses, the blue slightly breaking between the brown contacts.

"Excuse me? Me, entitled? You're the one that brought me to your house, kicked me out and then banged on my door, humping it like a dog in heat. And then you barged into my home unannounced, basically on your knees to be my friend. And then you say that I'm your mate. And you're telling me that I'm entitled? When all I've done is accept you when I’ve wanted to push you away. I even believed that you’re a dragon! I didn't even question it!"

You're sick of it, sick of this hot and cold, this warmth and bittersweetness. You just want him to accept you as you are, and not push you away. You just want him to tell you what's wrong.

He stares at you. "All of you Humans are the same. Valuing your lives above everyone else's. Not admitting your mistakes, blaming it on everyone except yourself. You are the one who grabbed Yeouiju from the ground. You are the one who took it away. You started this all, and yet you continue to blame it on me."

The anger emits from your body as you stare at him blaming this all on you. Fuck him, fuck all of this! You storm past him, too tired to give a rat's ass about what he has to say. He grabs your arm, stopping you.

"Didn't you want to know why I'm annoyed?" He asks, and you push him away. He resists, and you struggle against his grip.

"You know what, Dragon? I don't give a fuck why you're mad. Because I've done absolutely nothing but accept you as you are, I've cared for you and all I get back is anger and you continuing to push me away after you open up. I'm tired, I'm tired of playing these games with you. I've never hated someone as much as I do you." You pull again, and this time, you stumble back.

But he doesn't reach for you, letting you fall to the ground. You struggle to your feet, ignoring the dirt that sticks to your clothes. No, his clothes. Yeosang opens his mouth, but you hold one finger up.

"Yeosang, I thought this was going to be something, you know? I thought you were going to accept me being a Human and you being a Dragon. I thought we were going to learn about one another and one day... One day ..."

He knows what you want to say. He desperately waits for the word to fall from your lips, but you shake your head again.

"Don't follow me. I can make it back on my own without your help."

You continue down the mountain, cursing at yourself for believing that he'd never hurt you, that he cares about you. You hope that you can forget what he told you last night, his silent plea for you to care for him completely vanishes from your mind. Your tears stain your cheek as you walk down, but you don't dare to wipe them.

Yeosang's eyes follow your figure, until you completely disappear from your view. He can adjust his sight to watch you go back home, but it'll only be more painful for him. He clenches his fingers, claws digging into the flesh. This is the best way. You, hating him and thinking that he no longer cares for you. It's the only way to keep you safe, he thinks. It's the only way that he can assure you won't come looking for him.

He takes a deep breath, before turning back and walking back home.

-

Wooyoung sees how slow you walk around your kitchen, the bright you he's used to gone. He's not sure what's happened in the past few days, but he doesn't pressure you to say it. You're still writing and editing, so it's nothing with your job. Yunho, even with his endless jokes, doesn't crack a smile on your face. You only nod although, downing your fifth coffee of the day.

"I'm worried about her," Wooyoung says. "She's not herself. y/n always gets into slumps, but nothing this severe. She won't even push us away and never rejects our invitations to stay over. She hates when we're here longer than necessary, Yun." Wooyoung says softly, ear listening to the clicking of you typing on your computer. You keep your headphones in usually, but he wants to make sure you're not listening.

"She even leaves the house, and she never leaves the house. I mean, I've never seen her cupboard so full of crap. It's like she's here, but not. Not really."

"I know." Yunho replies, eyes on your door. Wooyoung can't see, but he can. He can see as your fingers shakes as you type, eyes unfocused. It's you desperately trying to hold on to what you have left, and he knows it's his fault. He frowns softly.

This isn't how it is supposed to be. You're supposed to welcome Yeosang being out of your life, free of the danger that is him. But it seems to only take a toll on you. And there's only one person he can ask about what to do.

Mother.

"Woo, want to stay here for a bit? I'm going to buy us some dinner and I'll be back."

Wooyoung nods at his words, biting his lip in nervousness. Yunho pecks it quickly before standing up, walking out the door. He parks the car a ways away from the property, before closing his eyes. He looks up at the stars, finally locating the one he wants to talk to.

"Hi Mother. I have an issue I need to solve. It's Yeosang, and his mate."

-

Two days go by. Then a week. Then a month. You hike up the mountain, eyes desperately looking for a glimpse of him. But the other side of the river is empty, Yeosang's cottage long gone. You fall to the grass, sobs rocking through you. You don't even feel him with you, our chest void of Yeosang. You never thought that not seeing him would make you feel this way. Like the world ended.

But you tried to move on. You let Yunho and Wooyoung over to your house often, their hilarious behavior letting out small smiles from you. Even if they're a bit strained. Wooyoung noticed the change of behavior in you. He tried to interrogate you about it, but what could you say? It's not like you were in a relationship with him; no, he is, was, just a friend of yours. And even saying that is a stretch. But how can you explain that you feel like your heart is shattered into dozens of pieces, unable to glue back together?

So all you tell him is that you're fine. That it must be the change of seasons, that's all. And he believes you, at least for now. And Yunho, you know that he can see through your facade. He can see how broken you are, although he doesn't say it. But he's over at your home more often than Wooyoung is, cooking for you and reminding you to leave your house often. And you're glad to have someone like him so close to you, someone who's been with you your whole life and won't disappear on a whim.

-

Yeosang sits on his couch, so interested in his sewing that he hasn't noticed all of his brothers arriving in his room, staring at him. Even for an immortal, they have to nourish themselves. Yeosang feeds on sunlight but he hasn't left his home in so long. His cheeks are beginning to look hollow, his eyes losing the steady light that always shined brightly. The tanned dragon is slowly turning gray.

"You can't keep on doing this, it's draining you." Mingi says, tapping him. "I've never seen an immortal close to death, but you look like it. You're losing your shine, Yeosang. Your hair is falling out. You need to go outside."

Yeosang shakes his head. "I don't need to control water and plants from outside. All I have to do is flick my wrist, and they'll be fine."

"Stop acting like a child, it's like you've lost someone," Seonghwa grumbles, and he sees him stop in his sewing for a moment, before continuing. "Wait, when was the last time you've seen y/n?"

"It doesn't matter."

They all exchange looks, before their eyes land on Yunho. Yunho says nothing, staring at his younger brother. He's never seen Yeosang so frail, so weak. He rubs his face. This isn't what he wants. He wants you to be safe, he wants Yeosang to learn how to interact with Humans before becoming your mate. But hiding out in this cottage? Not saying anything to anyone for months at a time?

"What did you say to him?" San shakes his head. "Even we didn't interfere with how he and y/n interacted. You should know better than to involve yourself with mates. You know what happens if they're separated for too long."

"She's not my mate," Yeosang says softly. His voice is a bit scratchy from not talking for so long. "We didn't complete the marking. She is still free to live her life. To be unrestricted."

"That's not how it works, Yeo," Yunho finally says. "That's how our species mates, yes. But you both, you are soulmates. Lost in their creation, and split in two. And when you met, they finally lived in harmony. But when you separate them like this, it will only slowly kill you. You have to stay with your other soul." He looks at Yeosang, reaching out and stopping his hand from moving.

"I said those things about you out of anger. Your soul won't hurt her, it's destined to protect her. To protect her soul. Yes, you have to beware of your dragon, for he is fearsome. But that is all you have to worry about. y/n is yours, you two are meant to be."

"That's why, when San and I finally visited y/n, we knew. We saw how entwined your souls were, and we vowed to never try to separate you two. Seonghwa did as well, but it seems like Yunho didn't get the message," Mingi glares at the eldest. "But you have to go back to her. Her soul is yours, and yours is hers. Please just fix this."

Yeosang scoffs, pushing his hand away. He runs his fingers through his overgrown locks, hair in serious need for a wash. He thinks back to how he cut the ties with you, left you walking down the mountain alone, not even daring to look back. You're better off without him now.

"Mother told me." Yunho says, seeing the resistance in Yeosang's face. "She told me what happens when you're separated from your mate and reject them."

Seonghwa shakes his head. "This is why you shouldn't have involved yourself, Yun. Mind your business next time, like the rest of us."

"There's no use arguing about it," Mingi says softly. "Yeosang will make his decision, and that's it. We will respect it and move on. But let's give him some time alone." He looks at how pained his brother looks, and hates that they were a primary cause of it. "I'll see you in a bit, yes?" He pats Yeosang's shoulder, walking out.

San says nothing, following close behind. Seonghwa already disappeared into thin air, a bit ironic since he controls it. Yunho is the last one left.

"Go." Yeosang says simply. "I'll figure this out, but you need to leave. I know you wanted what was best for both of us, but you made a mistake, and now we have to suffer because of it."

Yeosang looked at him, the blue faded. "Give me some time."

Yunho nods. "If it makes it better, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to get this far." He turns, walking out the cottage and closing the door behind him.

Yeosang slowly puts his materials away, thoughts consumed with you. You standing on the other side of the river, sobs reaching him as he watched you, too terrified to tell you that he never left. That he just hid his home from you. That despite Yunho's warnings he couldn't bear to leave you alone, not without being close enough to feel your presence.

He grabs his dirty plates off his small wooden table, tossing them into the sink so roughly a few break from impact. He leans over the small sink, staring down at the shards decorating the bottom. He's rejected the idea of you for so long, he doesn't know what it means to finally accept you for who you are. If he's true to himself, he has pushed you away even before Yunho told him to. He didn't like the idea of you and expressed it vehemently to you whenever he was given the chance. Now, his dragon is finally content in his chest, accepting you fully.

He closes his eyes, sucking in a deep breath. Now all he has to do is see if you're willing to love him back.

-

You bang your fist on your keyboard, groaning. All of that progress, all of the hard work and dedication you put into editing is gone. Washed down the drain of the internet, never to be seen again. The document somehow deleted since the last time you looked at it, only the first draft sitting on your desktop. You're too exhausted to even complain about it, needing coffee more than anything else.

But you don't have coffee. You rub your neck, hands landing on the rock necklace that graces your throat. You touch it softly, before reaching back and taking it off, tossing it in a small drawer in your desk. You don't need it, you don't need him. But you don't have the heart to throw it away. You glare at the drawer one last time, before grabbing your bag, leaving him behind.

-

Yeosang washes his hair quickly, the hot water not enough to scrub away his regrets. He steps out of the shower, glancing at himself in the mirror. He looks exhausted, eyes void of emotion and cheeks a bit sickly. He touches his facial hair, growing a small beard from not shaving. He eyes the razor in the corner of the sink.

Should he trim it? Perhaps you'll like the beard on his face, different from the dragon you're used to. He grabs it, and the scissors, trimming it low enough to leave a shadow, but not all the way down. He already trimmed his hair in the shower, still long enough to tuck it back into a bun if he wanted to. He brushes it back, before he feels the fingers throb.

He stares down at them, seeing the glow rise. You took off the necklace. His heart drops, mood immediately anxious. Did you not listen to him? You needed to keep it on when he's not around you, he won't be able to protect you all the time—

He grabs his sweats, not bothering to dry himself off completely. You couldn't have gone that far.

-

You stare at the prices of vegetables, frowning. Did they increase them somehow? You haven't shopped by yourself in forever, but were they always this expensive? You glare at the outside of the pepper, rubbing it slightly. It's too shiny for your liking, probably filled with nasty pesticides and other gross things to make them look this way. You groan, throwing it back into the pile. You should have stolen some from Yeo— your friend's herb garden. Or maybe one day investing on your own. You have the acres, all you need to do is use them.

You grab the most natural looking one that doesn't have brown spots, and toss it into your basket. You don't notice the frantic look of a man who's just walked into the grocery store, eyes searching for only you.

You excuse yourself around a elderly couple, smiling at the woman as she scolds her husband for picking the item that's three cents more. It warms your heart to see older couples; thinking of what brought them together and how they're still together. Did they meet when they were in high school? Maybe in the middle of school dance? Or did they meet in college, eyes meeting one another across the library? Maybe reuniting after years of not being with one another, too scared to tell the other how they feel? Your mind runs through these scenarios, until your eyes land on a man not too far away from you.

If you didn't recognize the giant coat he loves to wear, you would have dismissed him. But the pumping of your heart in your ears, the dryness of your throat as your eyes land on him. He's talking to an employee of the store, eyes the cold brown you hate. He turns around, stopping in his words, and looks to you. You clutch your basket between your fingers, not daring to move as he nods at the employee once, before walking over to you. He's not that tall, you've seen taller, but he walks with purpose, head held high.

You snap out of your daze, placing your basket to the side and excusing yourself as you navigate through the people, walking out the door. No, he can't just show up again. Not after pushing you away with a stupid explanation, leaving you to deal with whatever is between you on your own. Your hand fumbles with the keys in your pocket as you jog to your car, chest rising and falling quickly.

You click the unlock button, glancing back and forth before crossing the street. You don't see the cyclist pedaling quickly, staring at his phone instead of what's in front of him. Before he gets too close, a hand yanks you forward.You shriek, falling forward into his chest. The man in the bike yells a quick apology before pedaling away, seeing the glare of Yeosang, seeping through the contacts he wears. You pull back away from him, dusting off your clothing before opening the door of your car.

Yeosang pushes on it, closing it back.You groan, rubbing your face in frustration.

"Why did you take off your necklace?" He demands, the first words to come out of his mouth since he left you.

Is that what this is about? A stupid rock necklace? "What? Did you want it back or something? I can give it back to you, just leave me alone."

He shakes his head in frustration. "No, y/n. It's not just a decorative item. It protects you when I'm not around. That is why I gave it to you. You cannot just throw it to the side."

You huff. "I don't need your protection. If I did, you wouldn't have left. You would have stayed, but you didn't. Please just let me go home, I don't need this right now. I want to be alone."

"Can you listen to me for five minutes? I can explain why I left if you'd just listen to me. Please." He tries to catch your gaze but you avoid his eyes.

No. You won't be pulled into this sob story of his again. You don't care about the balance of the world or his problems anymore. You've moved on. Just like he wanted you to. You pull on the door again, but he doesn't move his hand.

"You're not asking, are you?"

"I'm sorry," is all he says. "I just, I really need you to listen. We don't have to do it out here, we can go to your home—"

Absolutely the fuck not. Even him standing here is making you feel things you'd rather not. Being in your small home, his scent swirling around? You'd probably go more feral than you already are.

"Follow me," You press the lock on your car, marching over to a small bench. You sit down, gesturing for him to follow. He kept his distance, sitting as far away as he could. He looks at you, waiting. Waiting for your eyes to meet his, but you stare ahead, lips in a straight line. You're giving him little pull, but he accepts it. He hurt you, and still is. Even this small communication between you is more than he deserves.

"You already know about the mates thing and about me being a dragon."

A woman walks but raises her eyebrow and pulls her child closer, pace increasing.

"I didn't want to leave you. I didn't tell you, but one of my brothers came to see me the night you stayed at my home. He was concerned about my acceptance of you being a Human, and empathized that I hated Humans so much that it wouldn't work. That I'm not around them enough to be able to even comprehend how to care for one. That I will hurt you like one of the others did. And I was scared."

You play with the skin next to your fingernails, biting your lip. You never would've guessed that the big, bad dragon could be scared. You glance at him from the corner of your eye, and he's still looking at you. Gaze steady. Eyes sure.

"That's why I let you go. Made you believe that I wanted you gone, even though I wanted you to stay, I wanted to be there for you as much as I could. But I couldn't risk your life just for my pleasure of seeing you. I didn't want to do that. So I hide away from you. I saw you, when you walked back up the mountain. Crying when you saw my cottage gone." He looks down, feeling his eyes grow watery. He wipes it away, continuing. "I desperately wanted to run to you and say that I'd never leave you. But that would only lead down a bad path. At least, that's what I thought until recently."

"He told me that mates are more than that. That he made a mistake. My brother, Mingi, found his long ago even though he killed them by accident. He hasn't been the same since, and we weren't sure why. We thought it was grief, but it's so much more than that."

His eyes flick back and forth. "I don't know if this term is correct, but he phrased it as 'soulmates'. Two souls so entwined that whenever they separate for too long, or a rejection, they slowly die."

You finally turn to him. You see the fading of his beautiful hair, a slight beard covering his face. He reaches up, taking out his contacts. He looks at you, and you hold back your gasp. The beautiful blue you're used to seeing is faded, as if he's aged centuries in only a few months. You reach out, rubbing away a tear that falls without thinking. You pull back quickly, blinking quickly.

"I'm dying. And you're dying too, but it's not as obvious." His eyes flick around your face; from the deep bags underneath your eyes to the lifeless hair that you have pulled back from your face. You laugh dryly, shaking your head.

"Being tired doesn't mean I'm dying."

You say those words, but you believe him. Besides the last time you saw him, he's never lied to you. You feel the exhaustion sticking to your bones. But right when your eyes met his in that parking lot, things immediately felt lighter. The fluorescent lights in the shabby supermarket didn't burn as much. You were literally stuck in place as he walked up to you.

"I'm sorry." He says again. "I'm sorry for doing this to you, for pushing you away when I wanted you next to me. I can't stop thinking about you." He admits. "And I know you won't welcome me into your arms quickly, but I hope that we can start again, from the beginning."

You want to. You want to pretend that you don't want to do it desperately, but you do. You miss him, you miss the smile that he shows you, you miss the slight pout he makes when he's in deep thought, the slight widening of his eyes as he speaks about something he loves. You can't stop thinking about him, either. You nod.

"Okay, but no more secrets."

He closes his eyes. "What if the secret isn't mine to tell?"

You turn to him sharply. "There's something else? Yeosang, what the fuck? Are you a God or something now?"

He stares at you for a long minute, before throwing back his head in laughter. "I didn't tell you this, but Humans long ago used to pray to my brothers and I, giving sacrifices and holding ceremonies in our honor." He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "I couldn't ever understand why. We were prevented from interfering, but why sacrifice to someone you cannot see or feel? And why do you think that we will accept that? It's a strange behavior." He cocks his head for a moment, shaking his head.

"You're avoiding my question," you narrow your eyes. "What's the secret?"

He purses his lips. "It would be best if you bring your friends Wooyoung and Yunho over to your home so that we may discuss it together. It's impossible for me to tell on my own."

"You need my friends to tell your secret?" You question, and he nods.

"It will be best if they are there, yes."

"And why does it need to be in my house? Can't we go somewhere in public?"

He sighs. "I have already been given strange looks as people heard my words walking by. I am supposed to keep my presence a mystery, and not show myself. But I am already out here in public, this only makes matters more dire."

You chuckle. This silly dragon. "No one would believe your words. I'll invite them, but I still need to go shopping." You stand, and he follows your movements. "Are you coming?"

He nods quickly.

-

He follows close behind you as you grab the basket you left, thankfully still in the same spot as before. You look around the aisles, nose wrinkling as his scent fills your nose. You’re still a bit annoyed with him, angry if you really think about it, so him being so close and copying your every movement slightly irritates you. You turn back, and he looks down at you.

“Have you forgotten what you wanted to get?” He asks, and you shake your head.

“No. But do you have to stand so close? It’s not like I’m going to go anywhere,” You walk forward, the stomping of his feet echoing around the small store. If he’s any louder he’d break the tiles, you think.

Your eyes look for the sign for coffee, but before you could walk down, Yeosang brushes past you, eyes focused ahead. He picks up a small container and points it to you. A dragon covers the front of the box, one of the popular name brands you’re used to seeing. You see the slight pout grace his lips as he points at it.

“Dragons don’t look like this, why do Humans depict it this way?”

You shrug, “Probably because of how friendly it looks? No one wants a terrifying dragon on the outside of a box. Most things are made to look approachable, not scary.”

“But we don’t breathe fire, well, none of us but San,” He puts it on the shelf. “Humans long ago wouldn’t dare do such a thing. They cherished our presence, and would never defame us this way.”

He goes on and on about the treatment of dragons as you look through the varieties of coffee, hopefully finding the one you enjoy the most. Yeosang grabs something else, and before you could scold him for it, he hands you your favorite brand.

You raise your brows in surprise.“How’s you know?”

“Because it smells like you,” he says simply, grabbing another. “And I like how it smells on you. How many do you want?” He holds another in his hand, and you shake him away.

“Only two. Coffee isn’t that good for you, you know. And I love the caffeine, so I can’t get decaf,” you say, walking down the next aisle.

His eyes roam around the store in wonder, quickly tagging behind you whenever your smell fades. You wince whenever he bumps into a display or shelf, but admire him when he helps an older man pick something off a shelf. He complains about despising Humans constantly, but all you see is a clumsy, gentle man not so carefully guiding his way through the store with a slight smile on his face. Whatever his other brother said to him, you can’t believe it. No one that hated people this much could walk around you all with such a calm demeanor. He’s been hiding that he cares for so long, and you decide to ask him about that another time.

You put your items on the conveyor belt, Yeosang watching as the cashier slowly scans your items. He gives Yeosang an odd look but says nothing, telling you your total.

“I didn’t see you bring anything to trade,” he whispers. God, when was the last time he’s left the house? You pass the cashier the money as Yeosang stares in confusion as the currency is exchanged. You reach to grab the bags but Yeosang takes it from you, walking out the store.

“Paper? You give him paper in exchange for all of those goods? Is this how society is now?”

“When was the last time you got some fresh air besides today?” You ask him, and he thinks deeply.

“The last time I left was when people exchanged goods for goods. A cloth for a few tomatoes. Things like that.”

He hasn’t been outside in hundreds of years.

“How do you have all of those things in your house then? A shower, clothes, dishes?”

“My brothers bring me most things since they know how I feel about the Human world. And I make many on my own. Water freely runs through my shower because I control it. I don’t need the modern plumbing that you have in your home. As I told you before, there’s no reason for me to go outside since I can grow my own plants easily.”

“So water just appears out of thin air?” You can’t believe it.

He laughs as you open the door to your car, placing the bags on your backseat. He glances around the neighborhood, before holding up his hand. You feel a slight breeze as he points to his hand, slowly twirling his fingers. A small tornado appears in his hand, but instead of wind it’s a whirlpool, droplets of water spinning quickly. He watches as you stare at it in amazement. You reach your finger to poke it, and he stops, the water dripping into his hand, back into its normal state. He blows on it and it disappears into the air, as if he just didn’t make it come to him.

“All air has a bit of water in it. Since Seonghwa controls the air, he’s always frustrated when I do things like that, but yes. Water out of thin air.”

You grin widely. “You’re really amazing, you know that?”

A blush immediately covers his face, and you laugh. Your phone vibrates in your pocket, and you glance down, seeing the caller ID.

“Hey-”

“Why are you calling me to your house? And you said it’s an emergency? Why don’t you call the police and why are you being so vague?” Wooyoung spitfires the questions one after another, “I swear to the fucking hills, if you went into that forest again I’ll literally bury you myself. Eight feet under.”

You roll your eyes at him, knowing he can’t see it. “Can you relax for two seconds, please? So, do you remember that Dragon egg thing that we found in the forest?“

“We found? You mean you found, and irresponsibly brought into your home, not knowing anything about it and me finding out that it’s basically a mating egg-”

Yeosang pulls the cell phone away from you, placing it next to his ear. “Listen, Wooyoung, right?”

“Who in the living fuck-”

“We don’t have time for your antics. Listen to what y/n has to say, and come to her home. And as a clarification, it is not a dragon egg or a mating egg. It is Yeouiju, and it stays in my possession.” He hands the phone back to you, a triumphant look in his eyes.

You put the phone back to your ear, “Hey.”

There’s silence for a moment. “That’s the dragon, isn’t it?” He asks softly. “What the Hell have you gotten yourself into, y/n?”

“Just bring Yunho with you and come to my house in a few hours, alright? I’ll give you food and everything.”

“Alright,” You almost hit the end call button, but Wooyoung shrieks before you can. “Are you okay? I know he can probably hear me, but are you safe?”

You glance at Yeosang, and he’s staring off into the street, but you know he’s listening. The way his ear twitches when he hears himself being mentioned is proof enough. ”He won’t hurt me, I’m okay. See you later.” You hang up, unlocking the door to your car.

You gesture for Yeosang to enter, and he struggles for a moment, before finally swinging the door too wide and jumping inside. He slams it rather hard and you wince. He looks at you apologetically.

“It would be easier for me to bring the both of us back to your home,” He says, rubbing his neck. “That’s what wings are for.”

You gasp a bit too loudly, and he looks at you in concern. “So that night, I was right! You do have wings-! Wait, no, let’s deal with this later.” You turn on your car, glancing both ways before looking at Yeosang. He watches you, his head cocked.

“Put on your seat belt.” You say.

“What’s a seat belt?” You point to yours, and he looks behind him, seeing it resting inside the interior. He glances at you once more before yanking on it.

You hear a loud crack, and pray to the heavens that he didn’t break it. You peek over, seeing a large, gaping hole where the seat belt used to be. Your poor car, the only one that you’ve had since high school. Your baby. And he broke her.

He looks at you quickly, “Ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’ll fix it!” He reaches out to touch it, but you grab his hand, stopping him.

“No, no. It’s fine, just pretend that you have a seat belt and don’t jump out of the window. You’ll be fine. My car will be fine.”

You take one more look at the hole, a pained clench to your heart.

-

You finally get home after the long and quiet ride, Yeosang's eyes rarely leaving your face as you drive. You never felt more unsafe in this small car of yours, his hair brushing against the ceiling of your car, your hands sweaty against the wheel. He smiled whenever you made a snide comment at a terrible driver, glaring at them as you passed by.

"I've never seen you so furious. This is worse than when you're stuck at your computer." He mumbles, rubbing between your eyebrows. Your eyes flutter at his touch as he tries to rub away the frown lines. "There's much more things to worry about in life than incompetent carriages."

"Like," he leans forward, a smirk on his lips as you lean away, "A dragon in yours."

"Yea, yea. But from the time that I've met you to now, you're not as scary as before."

The smirk drops from his lips. He thinks for a moment, moving back. His eyes flick to you, before looking away.

"Did I scare you back then? I didn't realize how much of an impact it would have had on you, but I'm deeply sorry. That's not me; I won't ever do that again. Not when I'm clear-headed." He looks at you, a strained smile cracking his cool facade. "I won't hurt you."

"I already know that, Yeo. At least, physically." You get out of the car before he could ask more questions, already putting behind the months without talking to him. You're still a bit pissed about it, yes, but your mother always taught you that it's better for you to move on. No need to dwell on the bad things in your life.

Yeosang helps you carry the bags into your home, watching as you walk around the kitchen and put things away. Your phone vibrates, and you see that Wooyoung messaged you about being about fifteen or so minutes away. You run your fingers through your hair, looking up at Yeosang. He sits on the stool, staring at his hands.

"Is it that bad?" You ask softly. "That you need to bring my friends?"

His eyes look at you pitifully. "I wish I could explain it to you myself, but it's too close to home. It wouldn't be right for me to explain this story without them being here. They both... Need to be present in order for you to believe that it's true. Especially Wooyoung." He rubs his chin, the scratching of his hairs echoing around the kitchen.

You aren't one to care whether or not a man has a beard, but your eyes keep on trailing back to the nine o'clock shadow covering his cheeks, to the new piercings that cover his ear. Whatever happened these past few months; you know he's gotten more attractive. Even the aura around him seems more sure of himself, the fearful mate gone. Your eyes move to his lips, unconsciously licking your own.

"y/n?"

You snap out of it, eyes back on his. He looks at you in amusement, a playful look in his eyes. You clear your throat, and he points to the door.

"I believe your friends are here."

You nod, quickly walking over and throwing open the door. Wooyoung looks at you, hair a mess and a wary look in his eyes. Standing a couple of feet away from him is Yunho, the grin always stuck on his face. He looks as sharp as usual, probably just coming back from the hospital. Wooyoung walks in, Yunho squeezing your shoulder as he walks by, completely different from the cold shoulder he's been giving you for days.

Wooyoung looks at Yeosang sitting in the kitchen and freezes in his steps for a moment. Yeosang stands, holding out his hand to Wooyoung. Your friend takes it, his body trembling slightly.

"Pleasure to meet you," Yeosang rumbles. "I've heard a lot about you."

"And I've heard nothing about you," Wooyoung murmurs, glancing at you in silent anger. Yunho takes a step into the kitchen, eyes on Yeosang.

You notice the air tense up once they look at one another. The Yunho that greeted you at the door is gone, replaced with a solemn him. He nods at Yeosang, arms crossed against his chest. You shut the door behind you, walking and standing next to Wooyoung. You feel the anxiety emitting off of him and you rub his fingers slowly, trying to calm him down.

They continue to look at each other in silent thought, as if they're communicating without speaking. Yeosang seems to grow in frustration as he looks at Yunho, and you knock on the table, trying to get their attention.

"What the hell is going on?" You ask, glancing between the two. "Do you know each other?" Wooyoung scoffs, and you look at him. "What?"

“It'll be hard for brothers not to know each other, right?" Wooyoung murmurs.

Brothers.

You look at Yeosang. He takes in a breath, looking down in shame. You look over at Yunho and he seems to be more relaxed, leaning against the counter as he looks at you. Too relaxed, as if Wooyoung didn't just tell you this groundbreaking fucking news.

Your head pounds as you take it in, seeing the obvious tension between the brothers. Brothers. They're brothers. Yeosang is a dragon, so that means ...

"You're a dragon," you say softly, eyes watering as you look at Yunho. He drops the careless act, taking a step to you. Wooyoung pulls you close to him, ignoring the low rumble of Yeosang's chest as he presses himself against you.

It's not possible. You've grown up with one another, you spent your whole life next to Yun. He can't be.

"Don't do that," Wooyoung says. "Don't try that everything's okay bullshit. You've lied to her, you lied to the both of us. So drop the cocky attitude and say it like it is."

Yunho touches the edge of the counter, the island separating you and Wooyoung from the brothers. Humans from dragons.

"It's true. I didn't think I'd ever have to tell you this, but I am like Yeosang. I am a dragon." He closes his eyes, before opening them.

A dark abyss stares back at you, completely different from the bright blue you love to see. His is empty, just an endless void. He turns to Yeosang, before looking back at you.

"I didn't want to lie—"

"Just stop with the excuses and tell the story, Yunho. We don't have all night for your nonsense. We've heard enough of that for a millennia," Yeosang interrupts. "Say it."

"Watch your tone," Yunho growls, and you feel the room shake slightly at his rise in tone. Yeosang doesn't flinch though, an exasperated sigh falling from his lips. Yun looks back and you and Wooyoung.

"When you were young, I found you alone in your home. Your parents abandoned you when you were only five earth years old. Left you behind in that shack. At the time, I was very wary of taking care of you. I thought about bringing you to a local shelter. So, disguised as a Human, I flew to a nearby one. I dropped you off on the steps, but before I could let you go, you called me by my name. My true name."

He smiles. "I couldn't have fathomed that a Human child would even be able to know that. And then, I looked at the shelter I was to leave you at, and I couldn't. So I raised you as my own. I was your mother and father, putting up a mask so that you'd never know. I was your friend as well, taking care of you every moment that I could. I didn't want you to have a bad life; so I raised you in a small town with people you'd know. Once you grew and left home, I didn't have to pretend to be your parents anymore. I kept the thought in your head that you recently saw them, so you wouldn't be tempted to go back."

"You... you manipulated me." You say. "You made me think I had parents, that I had this life when I was always alone."

Yunho shakes his head. "No, you had me. We had each other. You were never alone, y/n."

All through elementary, high school and college, he's been your only friend. At least, until you met Wooyoung. You've been friends with someone that's lied to you for your whole life. Your head is throbbing terribly, and you rub it slowly, trying your best to calm yourself down before you faint or have a breakdown.

"Are you alright?" Yeosang asks, and you look at him. Your eyes are bright red, your body trembling. He stands up, walking around the corner to you.

You don't bother complaining as he pulls you out of Wooyoung's arms, turning on the faucet and pressing his wet fingers to your forehead. You feel a slightly burst of heat before it gets cool, crawling across your forehead and soothing your throbbing headache.

Yunho looks at you in concern, knowing that if he gets closer to you, it'll only get worse. Yeosang bends over as he stares at you, waiting for you to tell him you're okay. You nod slowly, and he stares at you for a moment more before sitting back down in his spot.

"I'm sorry," Yunho says. "At the time, I didn't know how essential it was for Humans to be in contact with other humans, and for you to have someone other than me. I wanted you to have a good life, but it seems like I made it worse." You see the guilt ridden in his features.

"Everyday I wanted to tell you what I am. But, I couldn't. Humans shouldn't know about our existence. But since you are Yeosang's mate, and Wooyoung is my..." His eyes flick to Wooyoung, before he looks back at you. "We thought it would be best to tell you. I just wasn't sure when, until Wooyoung called me. I told him before this, that's why he's not that shocked to hear my words."

Yunho rubs his head, "And I am the one who insisted that Yeosang never see you. That you two should separate and never reunite. I thought it would be best, but as we've found out, I'm wrong."

Your head is spinning. Too much information thrown at you all at once. All of their eyes on you as you take it in, waiting for a response. But all you could do is nod and shake your head, that being painful enough. You know that Yeosang could smell and feel how you're doing, especially from the frustrated look in his eyes.

"This conversation is done," Yeosang says, turning to his brother. "y/n needs some time to think this over. Come back if she wants you to, but it's a lot of information for her to deal with. I know you wanted immediate action, but give her some time."

If you could jump over the counter and kiss him all over you would. But all you could do is give him a smile.

"Okay. Okay." Yunho looks at Wooyoung. "Would you like me to go home on my own?"

Wooyoung grips his keys in his hand, looking over at you. He presses his lips to your forehead, squeezing your hand slightly before turning to him.

"Let's go. We'll talk more about this on our way back. y/n?"

You look at Wooyoung, and you see the exhaustion in his eyes. It's hit him, not as dramatically and life changing as you, but still. He doesn't look like his happy go lucky self, bags under his eyes and hair wild on his head. You wish you could hug him and tell him it'll be okay, but you fear that if you open your mouth you'd just scream and cry. So you nod at him.

"I love you, you know that right?" He cocks his head. "And I'll kick his ass if you want me to." He glances over at Yeosang. "Call me or text me when you can."

He kisses your forehead once more before pushing past Yunho, who gives you one last sorrowful look before following after him. They close the door behind them, leaving you and Yeosang in silence.

Yeosang says nothing, the silence ringing in your ears. You feel the breakdown slowly build as you stand there, hands quickly rubbing against one another. The image of your mother is slowly disappearing, her wise words slowly morphing into Yunho's, his voice replacing hers. You never really thought about it, but your parents are a blur. You don't have pictures with them, your graduation pictures are selfies with Yun. Your whole life is a lie, no matter how you look at it.

Your breaths quicken, head throbbing. You hear Yeosang saying something, but your head spins, too overwhelmed to answer. You clutch the counter in front of you, eyes flicking back and forth.

“y/n!"

His voice rumbles around you and you look at him. He holds his face between your hands, rubbing your cheek lightly.

"Take slow breaths, in and out," His hand places yours on his chest, holding it there. "Follow the rise and fall of my chest, and do the same thing. In and out."

Your lips tremble as you try to follow his instructions. He feels your heart slowly go back to normal as he rubs your cheek. Your eyes are closed as he watches you for any signs of you beginning to faint. But you're listening attentively, despite your life crashing before you. You open them. He smiles at you, dropping his hands from your cheeks, the cool feeling gone. You're a bit better now, and you smile at him.

"Will it be okay?"

You ask with your eyes, willing him to understand. He holds out his arms, and you don't hesitate; falling into his embrace easily. His body surrounds you as you sob into his chest, his hands rubbing your back lightly. Your fingers dig into his back, a normal human would hiss at the grip but it doesn't bother him in the slightest. His lips are pressed into your hair as you shake in his arms. There's no words that could take the hurt and betrayal that you feel away, no matter how hard he thinks. He wants you to be okay, he wants to see the smile gracing your face again. So he says the only words he can.

"I'm here for you, y/n. I'm not leaving you. Not again."

-

You sit on the bench, staring at your laptop that rests on your lap. Yeosang insists that you get some fresh air, the air in your house too stale. You didn't want to; your home is so cozy and you can just open the windows. You used to love the outdoors, you spent most of your childhood outside. But after the revelation that Yunho dropped on you a few weeks ago, you didn't want it anymore. You know that all he wanted was for you to have a good life, but the way he manipulated you; you're not sure if you can forgive such an act. You close the computer, tossing it to the grass softly and stretching your body. You close your eyes as the sun beams down on you, the soft breeze comforting. You touch the necklace that rests on your neck again, wishing that Yeosang is here to enjoy the day with you.

After that night, he stayed true to his promise. You couldn't stay in your home, too familiar and too many traces of Yunho around you. So Yeosang brought you back to his, carefully taking care of you and letting you sleep on his bed alone. You missed the comfort of his cool body against your own, but he respected you, even when you whined for him to stay next to you. He didn't mind sleeping in the living room alone, although you noticed how he kept close to the fireplace.

As you stayed with him, you noticed a lot about him. He constantly wore layers, even in the summer sun. After prying a bit, he told you that the snake side of him craved warmth since he's cold-blooded. That's why his dragon wanted to stay close to you so often. That's why he always stuck close to you wherever you went. He craved warmth, soft rumbles in his chest each time you brushed against him or stood close enough.

You knew you were overstaying your welcome at his home, even though he insisted that you were not a stranger. That everything he owns is yours. Despite his intense flattery (you're sure you could heat up the whole country with how embarrassed you were), you decided to go back home.

The first step over the threshold threw you back to the terrible night. But you pushed past the negative feelings and cleaned. It took three full days, but you cleaned your whole home from top to bottom, a bit of a fresh start for you. Yeosang drops by often now, giving you the fresh vegetables he grew and not leaving for hours. He kept his promise, telling you that you're his friend, never bringing up the fact that you're both mates.

But you could feel it.

The stares he'd give you when you're freshly out of the shower, skin clean and covered in nothing but the scent of you. His eyes on you whenever you laughed at something he said, or when you snorted at a silly TV show. The tension between the two of you as you sat at your table and ate, feet only inches apart. Hands a brush away from one another. Napkins dabbing lips and licks dragging across skin. His hands would clench the table, eyes closed as he controlled his instincts, his emotions. You thought the need that you feel whenever he's with you was just a you thing, but after spending some time with each other, it's mutual. But you're scared. You know so much about him now, and you're scared that someday you'll lose him. That all of this is just a fantasy and you'll wake up alone. So you two do this dance every time you're with one another, pretending that you don't want one another when you do.

The breeze makes you open your eyes, and glance at your home. A few more hours until Wooyoung drops by.

You were never mad at him. He's the only friend you trust now; his honesty never swaying. You love Wooyoung, you do. After meeting Yeosang, and Wooyoung being in a relationship, your romantic feelings faded. You still consider him the most important person in your eyes. He's told you that he's still friends with Yunho, constantly nudging you to speak to your long time friend, or should you say parent?

You want to. Sit down and chat, tell him how hurt you still are but that you're ready to forgive. But you're not brave enough yet. Not ready to hear him speak with you. But you miss how his laughter filled the place, brightening up your day in the simplest of ways. You want to forgive him immediately, but a part of you is a bit pessimistic. Why should he be forgiven so easily? He broke your heart, shattering it. But he saved you from a life of sadness and struggle. He took you under his wing without a second thought, and raised you as his own. He was, is, your best friend. He’s been there for you whenever a boy or girl broke your heart, whenever you failed a test.

You sat on the edge of your bed, staring at your phone. The words that she sent you, a simple “I’m sorry we didn’t work out” stuck in your mind. A small knock on the door distracted you, and you turned, seeing your best friend, Yunho standing there. He held your favorite ice cream in his hands, along with your go-to movies. He tilted his head as he watched the tears fall down your cheeks, a small pout on his lips.

“Well, you can’t just spend all day crying about it,” He said simply. “Time to wash that sadness away with this!” He holds it up, rocking on his heels in excitement. “I have every installment of Harry Potter there is, and I even brought a little Dumbledore plush for you.” He threw the DVDs in front of the TV, holding up a small bearded man. He wiggled his eyebrows, and you laughed for the first time in hours.

“You’re an idiot,” You grumbled, and he pulled your bean bags chairs in front of the small TV, dragging you as well. He kissed your forehead before plopping on the chairs, turning it on.

“But I’m your idiot.”

You take a deep breath, opening your eyes again. You hear a soft knock, and turn to your home, seeing Yeosang standing inside. He nods at you, a small smile on his lips. You lean up from your spot as he slides the door open, holding a small bag in his hand. Despite his average frame, he bumps his head into your low hanging flags, glaring at it before walking over to you.

“I apologize for not coming earlier, but I have to warn you-”

The door slides open again, and you look past him, seeing the bright red hair of his brother, San. His red eyes brighten as they look at yours, an excited wave sent your way.

After Yeosang and you mended your bond, the rest of the brothers (excluding Yunho) visited you frequently. You are quite surprised that San seems the most eager to learn more about you, stopping by your house several times a week. Yeosang discouraged him often, wrinkling his nose whenever he smelled his scent in your home, but he did like that you got along well. His brothers are his core, and it only pleased him that you and San were so well acquainted.

“y/n!” He screams, and you wince at his loud voice, rivaling even Wooyoung’s. He runs up to you, pulling you off the bench and into his arms. He always smells like a campfire, probably because his essence is entirely made from flames. He pulls back, ruffling your hair. “How is our favorite human doing?”

“Stop speaking to her like she’s an animal,” Yeosang mumbles, his voice immediately tired. “And I told you not to come out until I tell her.”

“I want to be here when you tell her.” San cocks his head, bottom lip purposely poking out as far as possible. “Yunho is leaving soon, we don’t have all day.”

Yeosang slaps his forehead. “I told you I would tell her-”

“Yunho is leaving?” You interrupt, body rigged. “But he’s lived here forever. Why would he go? Where is he going?”

Yeosang runs his fingers through his hair. “He doesn’t need to leave, but he feels that he’s bringing you and Wooyoung too much grief. He thought it would be best if he separated from this town, and left without saying so. I told him that it would only hurt you more if he left without a word, but he insists. I’m here to bring you to his home, and convince him to stay, because the rest of us couldn’t.”

You blink quickly. “Why… why? Who said I wanted him to stay?”

Yeosang raises a brow. He felt the lie before it even graced your lips, your heart beating faster and your hands fidgeting. San clears his throat. “We don’t have time for your silly human denials, Yunho is minutes from leaving.”

You push down the sour feeling that rises in your chest. He’s right, he’s right. You need to act like an adult and face your fear of seeing him again. You nod, and Yeosang wraps his arm around your waist. You yelp as he presses you against his chest.

“Hey, what are you-!”

“We have to fly there, we don’t have time to drive,” He looks down at you, your faces inches apart. “Do you trust me?”

“…Yes.”

“Then close your eyes.”

You shut them quickly.

Your body floats for a brief moment, heart jumping in your chest as you clutch your tightest onto Yeosang’s shirt. Your hair slaps against your face, cheeks sucked in and nose flaring. The burst of air is so quick, you don’t even get the chance to scream. Yeosang’s arms let you go, and you open your eyes.

You stand in front of Yunho’s apartment. Yeosang brushes your hair away from your face, eyes on yours. His blue flicks between yours, making sure you’re okay.

“Do you feel alright?” He asks, and you nod quickly.

San falls onto the ground seconds later, dirt flying everywhere. Yeosang leans back up, slight annoyance on his features. You love when they interact with one another; since Yeosang is older, he always scowls San whenever he gets the chance. San, despite his cold demeanor from before, is playful and full of life, eyes always sparkling at the newest discoveries.

You pat down your clothes, and run up to Yunho’s door. You don’t bother knocking, swinging it open. He always keeps it unlocked, explaining to you before that he’s not scared of someone robbing him. You always called him crazy, at least, until you realized why he isn’t scared.

Boxes are stacked up around his home. You push past them, looking around for him. Your eyes move to his figure sitting on the couch, head in his hands. He moves them away, looking back at you. You’re still not used to the endless black that looks at you, and he sighs, tugging on his roots.

“Yeosang brought you, didn’t he?” He asks softly. “I didn’t want you to know about this. You were fine without me being here since you found him. You don’t need me anymore.”

“Shut the fuck up for two minutes, Yun,” you move next to him, and he doesn’t flinch as you sit only a foot away. Your eyes scan him. His black eyes look at you, waiting for you to tell him how much you hate him, and that you’re happy he’s leaving.

But you pull his body into yours, wrapping your arms tightly around his waist. He feels the tears fall from your eyes, but he doesn’t dare hug you back. He’s afraid that you’ll only push him away. You hold him for a few more moments, before pulling back, wiping your soggy lids.

“I’ve been thinking about what to say to you for so long, how to tell you how much I hated-” his body stiffened at that word- “that you pretended for so long. That you lied to me my whole life, and it took for Yeosang to appear for you to say that everything was a lie. But you know, I didn’t stop thinking about how much you helped me when I was younger.”

You watch as his face stares at yours. Yunho that’s your best friend, your brother, and your family.

“You taught me how to brush on my own. You taught me how to deal with heartbreak in the best and worst ways, you mourned with me when one of my friends passed in college. You taught me that kissing a boy doesn’t mean you’re pregnant, and you taught me right from wrong. God, I hated my parents at some points, and you even came in as my best friend and helped me see that sometimes, parents make mistakes and that no one is perfect. And it was all you. You, you made me into the person that I am today, and I can’t hate you for that.”

His hand trembles when you place yours on the top, squeezing his fingers.

“I cried for so many days when I found out. I cursed at you so much that I didn’t realize that you saved me. You took me out of that house when I was abandoned by the people who created me. You could have left me to die, but you didn’t. Yunho, you saved my life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for that.”

You reach up, rubbing the tears that fall from his cheeks. “I don’t care about you being a Dragon, I don’t care that your eyes are black or that your laugh makes me want to scream sometimes.”

He cracks a grin, and your heart warms.

“I just don’t want you to leave thinking that I haven’t forgiven you when I already did. All you wanted was to protect me from danger, and I can’t blame you for that. Like you told me, everyone makes mistakes. We just have to accept, move on and grow.”

He leans forward, pressing his forehead against yours. The same thing that your parents, no, he did when you were a child. “You say that I saved you, but you saved me.” He says softly. “And I will never regret taking care of you. No matter how much you screamed and cried as I changed your diaper, no matter how much I struggled with teaching you the Human way of things. No matter how much I wanted to give up, seeing your face the next day only brought me joy, and I’ll never regret that, Pumpkin.”

You giggle softly at the nickname, “Thank you, Mr. Adult.”

“Well, I guess I can’t leave my kid behind, huh?” He teases, pulling back. You groan, throwing yourself back onto the couch.

“No Dad jokes Yun, I swear to god-”

“Ain’t no God here but me, bay-bee,” He snorts, and you only cover your face with a pillow, a loud scream drowning out his jokes for just a moment.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it,” You say. “You literally talk like ‘dad’. The jokes, the mannerisms, I can’t believe I didn’t think about it twice.”

Yunho rolls his eyes. “Why would anyone think that your best friend and your parents are the same person?”

Before you can comment, San bursts through the door, holding a couple of bottles of champagne. Yeosang and Wooyoung drag behind him, both annoyed. You can only giggle at his antics, and he wiggles his brows, yelling about how he loves Human alcohol.

Wooyoung comes next to you, squeezing your shoulder. “Did you make up? Because he’s been whining about you for about a month and I could only take so much.”

“But I thought you didn’t know he was leaving-” You look at Yeosang, and he whistles, waltzing into the kitchen. You glare as he goes, knowing you’re going to have a talk with him later.

-

You rub your eyes, yawning softly as you stand in the kitchen. Yeosang is supposed to be gone for the next few days, helping a small village somewhere continents away to replenish their water supply. He told you countless times that he can do it from the coziness of his home, but you insisted that he actually leave his cabin, and your immediate vicinity for once to explore the outside world. That being said, you walk around in one of his shirts he’s left behind and your underwear, comfortably hidden underneath the fabric. You’ve been a bit cautious around him recently, realizing that you both feel the same attraction for one another. But you know how his dragon gets whenever it gets a whiff of your scent, so you stay layered whenever he’s near.

He’s been a bit strange lately, walking around you in circles every once in a while, eyes on yours as he waits for you to say something. But you immediately called him weird and pushed him away, a sigh falling from his lips as he ignored you for the rest of that day. He always sniffed you from your side as well, rubbing his arm against you for a moment before continuing on in a conversation. You weren’t exactly sure what he would be doing, and you’re a bit anxious to ask. Yeosang is an open book, but you can tell when some things bother him, how he shuts down. Especially at the mention of his Mother, who he never speaks about, and if he does, very vaguely.

You sip your coffee, sitting on the edge of your kitchen stool and flicking through the channels on the TV that rests on your counter. Gordon Ramsay pops up on your screen, and you turn it up, giggling at how he ridicules someone for not knowing how to boil an egg. You hear the creak of your door, and glance over, expecting to see Wooyoung or Yunho.

But Yeosang walks around the corner, eyes a bit tired. He looks at you, a small smile on his lips. You jump up, running over to him and throwing yourself into his arms. He laughs as you wrap them around his neck, his face tucked into yours. He breathes in deeply, missing how you smell. His body grows stiff as you pull away, hopping over to the microwave to heat up your coffee.

You walk over to the stove, pouting at the little amount of apples you have left crisping. “Sorry Yeo, I didn’t think you’d show up until the middle of the week. Do you want some bananas? I have a couple left-”

Your eyes flick to him. The sparkly eyes that you’re used to seeing are dark, the deepest blue you’ve ever seen them. His eyes are focused on your legs, trailing up and ending where his shirt began. You tremble at his gaze and he closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath. His hand grabs the counter next to him, biting his lip as he tries to keep himself together.

“Yeo, are you alright?”

His pupils are blown once they look back at you, trembling each time you take a soft step towards him.

“Don’t move, y/n. Please.” He asks desperately. “Why are you wearing that? Why do you smell different?”

You feel the chill of his skin as you stand only a few feet away from him. You think back to the first time he looked like this, eyes focused on yours. This time, there’s nothing separating the two of you; only his pure resilience and your poor judgment. You think back to what you could have done to make him this way, and your heart drops. You haven’t taken your birth control in a while. Wooyoung told you that he’ll drop it off, but he never did, and it slipped your mind. His chest rises and falls quickly as he waits for you to say something.

“I… I forgot to take my birth control,” You say, and his chest rumbles at your words. You feel your core clench, and he whines, turning away.

“I can’t, I can’t do this,” he mumbles. “y/n, I need you to stand right there and don’t move, or else I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” You ask softly, pulling down your shirt. He only flicks his head back quickly.

“I’ll fuck you into that counter,” he says simply. You know that he’s trying his best to remain in control, but you see the strain on his neck, the white of his knuckles as he keeps himself steady. “Do you want me to do that, y/n?”

His voice flips, hands slowly moving off of the marble. His eyes are blazed as he keeps them trained on you, flicking to whenever you take a step back or move your arm.

“Answer me.”

You try to hear through the deep tone of his voice but your head is throbbing. He has no idea how much you’ve wanted this, wanted him to claim you as his mate. You thought his odd behaviors were only reasons to push you away, his hands rarely gracing your skin.

He stalks toward you, hands dragging against the counter as he watches you play with him, avoiding his steps and doing the opposite of his movements.“I have but so much patience, y/n.”

“I want you to fuck me,” You whisper, and he visibly trembles at your words, quickly walking around the counter. You know he loves the game, so you run quickly into the living room.

Yeosang follows close behind with ease, twirling you around and pressing your chest against his. You feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest, his breaths frantic with need.

“y/n, if we start, there’s no going back,” You hear the sweet voice of Yeosang speak through the lust cloud of the dragon. “Mating is a lifelong commitment. It can be treated with uneasiness. Once you say yes,” his hands brushes against your cheek. “I won’t be able to hold myself back.”

You never thought that you’d like him, let alone love him. His hard exterior is the toughest you’ve had to break through, but inside is the man that you love. The dragon that you love.You reach up, running your hands along his cheek. He leans into your warmth against his cool skin, waiting for your answer with thin patience. You can feel his growing arousal resting against your stomach as you whisper the words he wants to hear.

“I love you, Yeo. I want this, I want you.”

You pull away and he lets you, watching you as you fall back onto the pull out couch, the bed already made. The switch is almost immediate. Soft, smiling Yeo is gone.

He leans over you, pressing his lips to yours immediately. He bites your lower lip, begging to enter you. You don’t protest, letting his tongue explore you. He doesn’t let up, as if he’s searching for something within you. He sucks on your tongue for a moment before moving away.

He grabs your legs, spreading you wide. He presses himself against you, and you ground as he licks a strip up the cloth underwear, before ripping it off easily. He doesn’t waste time; pressing his face into your wet cunt as you tremble at his touch. Three fingers push into you immediately with little prep, and you yelp.

His eyes flick to yours in concern, but seeing you nod, he pushes in and out quickly. His plump lips wrap around your slick as your cunt sucks in his fingers with little resistance. The sounds of your moans echo around the room as he eagerly growls into you, fingers hitting your g-spot with ease. As if he’s done this dozens of times. He grinds himself into the couch, ears perking up as you encourage him to go faster with his strokes. You arch your back as you feel him slip four fingers into you, five, your high slowly reaching its peak. You almost fall over, until Yeosang pulls out quickly. He pulls off his shirt, your eyes scanning over his body.

His skin is covered with what looks like scales, brightly colored blues tracing his chest. He always wears long sleeves, so you never noticed how from elbow up, his arm is decorated with tattoos, some in writings you can’t quite understand. He doesn’t give you much time to dwell on it; ripping off his pants.

His cock springs out onto his belly, and you groan at the size, until you see something else underneath. Another cock, the equal size, sits underneath the first, light blue, dripping with precum. His eyes scan yours, waiting for you to reject him and push him away.

“You’re beautiful,” You say, smiling up at him.

His face reflects his smile as he leans down, pressing his lips lightly against yours. His cocks twitch against your cunt and he groans, licking the curve between your shoulder and neck lightly.

“This isn’t like Humans,” He says, rocking his cocks between your folds slowly. You try your best to concentrate on his voice, feeling the ridges of him brush lightly against your clit. “When I’m about to cum, I’ll bite your neck, y/n. I won’t let go until I’m finished.” He curses, looking between your bodies to see his cocks rub slowly. “I need to know you’re okay with me putting both of them in you. I can put in one if you want, we can stop if you want to-”

“Just do it, Yeosang. I want to feel all of you, I want you to fuck me until I can’t speak, mark my neck and make me yours-”

He presses his tips into you, and you tremble, your first orgasm immediately hitting you, your cunt tightening against him as you moan. He lets you come down from your high, before continuing his slow descent into you. He presses his lips against yours, trying his best to distract you from the stretch your pussy is getting. He tightens his eyes, shoving himself into you in one even stroke.

Your cunt is so tight against his cocks, that he can’t even move for a moment, you hold on him too tight. His balls rest against the outside of your lips, and you’re amazed at how much can fit inside your, the feeling of him completely taking over all of your senses. You know he wants to go as slow as he can, but he can only control himself for so long.

“Ease up, y/n,” He mumbles softly, rubbing your arm softly. You wrap your arms around him, feeling the smoothness of his scales underneath your fingertips. You let go for a moment and he lets out a breath he’s holding, slowly dragging his cock out of you. His eyes look back down, seeing your arousal coating his two cocks.

Your hands reach down, pushing him against you again. He chuckles lowly, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Can’t wait to fuck you like a real dragon would.”

Before you could respond, he sinks back into you quickly. Your soft moans fall off your lips as he moves in and out of you, the rolling of his hips hitting yours with ease. He runs his tongue along your sweaty neck, hips not stuttering once. You can feel how much he’s pacing himself, the clench of his brows and the strained veins in his neck.

“Go faster,” You encourage, and he shakes his head.

“I don’t want to go faster, I can hurt you.”

“Yeosang if you don’t fuck me, we’re not doing this again.” It’s a lie. It’s an utter, total lie, but he believes it.

He leans up, grabbing both of your legs and placing them on his shoulders. His pace quickens, hips becoming bolder as he collides with your flesh, the squelching sounds echoing in your living room. Yeosang couldn’t care less about how loud he’s being, groaning as he sees you in front of him, your top half still covered and your bottom filled with him.

“All of this, just for me. No one can ever have you, see you like this,” He whispers. “Look at your stomach, I can see my cocks moving in and out of you.” He grunts, strokes relentless. “You’ll look so beautiful filled with my cum, smelling only like me.”

“Yeo,” You struggle through your gasps, and he smirks as drool falls down your cheeks, your eyes moist and head thrown back. “P-Please don’t stop. Fill me up baby.”

His snarl makes your body tremble. He presses his lips to your leg, pace quickening. You hear the strain of your couch under this much movement, hoping that it doesn’t break.

His muscles strain, veins popping out on his arm as he revels in the feeling of your cunt around him. His hips seem to only go faster and faster, cocks easily moving in and out of you. The slap of his skin against yours only fills your mind, his moans music to your ears. You feel how hard his tips hit the inside of you, watch as your belly moves in and out as his cocks swell inside of you. If you weren’t so filled with the thought of him, you’d be terrified that he’d rip you apart with how fast he’s going.

He keeps up the merciless pace with ease, mouth open as he pants, eyes not leaving yours. The slapping of his balls against your lips are music to your ears, and you feel the rise of your arousal coming once again. It’s much quicker this time. He seems to sense it without your words, dropping your legs and pressing himself into you.

“Cum for me,” He says. He grips your hips as he slams into you, his pumping pace making you see stars. His teeth brush against your throat, and you scream as you reach your high. “I love you.”

He sinks his teeth into you, his hips sputtering as he claims you as his. You scream through the pain and the pleasure of him inside you. Your climax hits you so hard, legs wrapping around him as he pumps into you. His hips sputter, his balls slapping against you a few more times until he hits you hard once more. You feel the warmth of his cum hit your walls, filling you up. His cold body wraps around you as he runs his tongue along the wound, slowly closing it up.

Only your quick breaths fill the room as Yeosang pulls you on top of him, your sweaty bodies pressed against one another. He doesn’t slip out, letting his cocks rest inside you as his fingers trace your back.

“Two cocks? Scales?” You say into the silence, and he laughs, pressing his lips against your forehead. “You could have warned me about that, you know.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” He says softly. “I didn’t expect for this to happen right when I got home.”

“Home?” You say, lifting your head and looking at him. You see the deep blush coat his cheeks, the cheeks that you love. You laugh, pressing your lips against his chest. “You’re my home.”

He chuckles slowly.“And you’re mine.”

ateez story idea:

nsfw ish and yandere ish

so like san cheats on s/o, and like says shit like “i dont love you anymore” or whatever.

then san regrets and starts like trying to win s/o back. he follows him/her wherever you go. he waits for him/her outside their workplace/school. to the point where they have to get a guy friend to accompany them back home in order for san to leave. they pretend to be together and san get upset.

so one day when san is following them, he gets pissed and forcefully takes him/her away by beating the guy up and kidnaps him/her, then fucks him/her saying shit like “your mine! you get it? can he fuck you like this? i bet you missed my cock.” then proceeds to never let him/her out the house.

then idk anymore. should I write a full story?