Latest Posts by emerald-notes - Page 2

Why my heart hurts???

"all the solo work is just a journey to get back home safely" — kim namjoon bangtan first solo tracks of ch. 2 + favorite lines

My Guardian Angel - Part 3 (Final)

Fandom: BTS Paring: Min Yoongi x Female Reader Genre: Angst Warning: Age gap, mc being a brat, traumatic past, mention of abusive household, a little depressing, I’m sorry it ended this way. Word Count: 2k Words Note: Since the reader is only 15 years old, I reduced Yoongi’s age to be 22. Please keep the age gap in mind before diving in to read. I must say there is nothing explicit in here.

Summary: When things are bound to fall apart, You find out how powerless you are to the destiny...

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 [Complete]

*************************************************

I was beyond angry. Yoongi just informed me that today was the last day in town for me till next month. He was going to be working on the weekends as well with only a day off per month. That meant, no more coming to the town for grocery shopping.

"But I won't forget to buy you a present, kitten. Also you can buy more than one thing when you're coming to the store yourself once a month."

"I don't want your stupid gifts." I angrily said, "I want you. At least, on a weekend."

"Kitten," Yoongi sighed, unable to deal with my raging state, "I'm sorry. You see, it's not something that I can control."

"Fine." I yelled, "get out of my sight. I'm not going home with you."

"Kitten…" He tried to speak but was interrupted by a lady.

"Is everything alright, dear?" The question was directed toward me.

"Yeah, everything's fine. We're just having a discussion. Thank you." Yoongi dismissed her concerns which seemed to be irritating her somehow.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked me again. When I nodded my head the lady further asked, "Who is he? Do you know him?"

"Excuse me!" Yoongi said, "I don't see why you need to know that."

The lady still asked me without bothering to look at him, "is he threatening you?"

"What?" was Yoongi's reply.

I shook my head. Then, the lady turned to Yoongi and said, "Sir, I'm very concerned about this child. Please state your relationship to her."

"That's none of your business." Yoongi answered bitterly. He grabbed my wrist and walked straight to our car.

"Sir…" the lady called from behind but we simply speeded our walk and got in the car.

I wanted to apologize for reacting like that in the store earlier and for gaining unwanted attention. Somehow I couldn't manage to do it as I felt a growing lump on my throat.

Yoongi, on the other hand, looked disturbed. I wasn't sure if it was because of the lady or myself.

In the evening, I sat on the bed while Shelby lay beside me. She stayed too quiet as if she understood the dull atmosphere of the house. I ran my hand through her. She moved closer to me and relaxed in a more comfortable position.

Yoongi was cooking outside. I dared not to go to him at the moment. I felt that something wrong was going to happen and I dreaded its arrival. I tried to plan the best way I could apologize to lift his mood. After all, it was my fault that the day went to ruin.

Then I heard a car being pulled up outside. I froze.

Could it be…

I peeked through the window and got a glance of a police car. “Why are the police here?” I thought to myself. Unconsciously I started biting my nails.

I could sense that Yoongi was talking to them outside. A dull ache was twisting within my stomach.

After a few minutes, Yoongi came inside, his face unreadable. He spoke quietly, “Kitten, you need to come out for a moment. Here’s an officer to meet you. Please talk to him nicely.”

I nodded slowly and, almost in daze, walked outside. The man in a police uniform greeted me. He asked me to sit down. After we’re both seated at the patio, the officer asked Yoongi to leave us alone.

“No!” I immediately opposed it. “He’ll stay.”

Yoongi said, “I won’t interrupt, sir. I’ll just stay beside her so that she doesn’t feel too nervous about this whole situation.”

The officer nodded and turned to me. He said that he had to ask me some questions and I was required to answer them honestly. I needed not to be  scared. When I approved, he proceeded to ask me where I came from, who was my guardian, what happened that made me run away from home, how I met Yoongi, how long had I been living with him, if I considered him to be a dangerous man etc.

I answered him truthfully. I told him how abusive of a man my step father was. I told him all the evil things he had done to me. I told him how my life was a living hell before I met Yoongi.

Every now and then, whenever I faltered in between, Yoongi would softly squeeze my hand. It was hard for me to bring up the nasty past. But I had to do it. I had to convince the police that it was my own decision that I ran away and still my own that I stayed with him.

Finally, the police said that I could go. Yoongi took me inside and whispered to me, “you did bravely, kitten.”

Then, he went out to have a last chat with the police. I waited patiently and prayed that the man would leave us soon.

The man, to my horror, did not leave us soon. In fact they were talking for so long that my anxiety got the best of me and I had to eavesdrop from inside the door.

Luckily, they were talking loudly enough for me to hear them. Unluckily, it sounded as if they were arguing over something.

Yoongi's voice was deadly, something I never heard before, "you heard everything!"

"I know, I know," the officer spoke in a frustrated manner, "But what you're asking is against the law. I can even arrest you right now for keeping her for so long without any legal rights over her."

"Will you?" It wasn't even a question. Yoongi said it as if he knew the police won't do that.

"Yoongi," the man spoke softly, "I know you very well. I know what you've been through. I also know from how you're treating her that you truly care for her. I still ask you to give it a rational thought. She doesn't belong here."

"What do you mean by here?" Yoongi argues further, "she clearly loves this place."

"She might love the place. I only meant she doesn't belong with you. She deserves a family."

Yoongi looked him dead in the eye and said, "I'm not letting her go back to that monster, you hear me!"

At this point, I was really getting scared. I didn't know if it was because of the idea that I might have to go back to my stepfather or about the fact that Yoongi was so mad, which was really unlikely of him.

"I assure you. She's never going to see him again. We're gonna call the social service. They'll arrange a nice Foster home for her."

"Oh, shut up!" Yoongi retorted, "I know how those Foster systems work. She might never be adopted. Especially at this age."

"At least, she'll have a chance for a real family. This is only for her own good."

"I don't trust anyone."

"You know you're only saying that because you don't want to lose her, right?"

Something about this confrontation with the police made Yoongi go silent. He didn't reply. It neither looked like he's going to argue any longer.

After the brief moment of silence, it almost took my utmost willpower to stay put at my place and not run straight to them begging Yoongi to say something in my favor, the police finally spoke.

"I'll give you tonight to say a proper goodbye. But I'm coming back tomorrow, along with the social service. I hope you won't resist, then. Otherwise, you're gonna be in trouble, I tell you."

The man finally left without waiting for a reply.

"I heard everything." I said after waiting for a minute for Yoongi to settle in bed. When he looked like he wasn't going to say anything back, I proceeded further. "I'm sorry I made a scene at the shop. I know it's all my fault. Oppa, please, don’t stay mad at me."

Yoongi finally looked back at me and said, "rules are rules. I don't have any control over this situation. They're gonna be here tomorrow and you'll have to go."

"Oppa!" I yelled at him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was giving up on me. He wasn't fighting to keep me anymore.

On the verge of tears, I asked, "Are you punishing me for what I did earlier?"

"No!" Yoongi stood up from the bed and came towards me, "You know, I'll never punish you for anything."

"Then, why are you doing this to me?"

"It's for your own good, kitten. Out there, you can at least dream for a new home. A new family. Here, you have nothing to even dream about."

"But you are my home."

I took a step forward and rested my head on his chest. "You're the best thing that I can ever wish for. You are my only family."

Yoongi slowly shook his head. He pushed me away by holding me by the shoulders. He made me look into his eyes and spoke very politely.

"It wasn't me who saved you but the other way around. You showed me everything that my life was lacking. Thanks to you, I felt like I truly lived. No, kitten. I can't be so selfish to keep you in this boring life of mine and take advantage of you like that. You deserve a chance in life. Unlike mine, you have a whole future ahead of you."

I couldn't understand what was going on. How suddenly everything changed in Yoongi. How willingly he was pushing me away.

"But I don't want to go."

"You're too young to understand that."

As I opened my mouth to argue further, Yoongi shook his head to shut me up. He said, "please, kitten, I want you to do better than this. I'm tired. I'm going out for a drink. Sleep tight till tomorrow."

Then, he went out with a bottle of whisky in his hand. I wasn't allowed to leave my room when he drank out on the patio. So, like always, I stayed inside. I stayed and cried. I cried on my pillow throughout the night till sleep took over my messy mind.

The next morning, we didn't talk much. We were just busy packing my bag. At one point, Yoongi came up to me with his guitar and said, "Since you love it so much, I want you to keep it."

I didn't say that the reason I loved the guitar so much was because he played it. I loved the fact that he played the guitar for me whenever I asked him to.

I decided to leave behind the little fox plushie. So Yoongi could have something to look at whenever he thought of me.

When I saw the car approaching from far away, I felt like I would break down anytime and cry. Surprisingly that didn't happen.

I scratched behind Shelby's ear and gave her the last piece of treat. I hugged Yoongi for the last time too. After that, without a fight I climbed inside the car.

As we were driving away, I thought I would take a good look for the last time at the place I called my first home. The place looked hauntingly empty. I looked at the familiar window, the front patio, our jeep, trying to take in as much as I could. 

My eyes finally stopped at Yoongi. His head was bending towards his feet so that I couldn't make out his face. I noticed that his shoulders were shaking.

I didn't need to try. Tears automatically flowed through my cheeks. All this time I had been at my worst, Yoongi was always there beside me, offering the warmth that I just needed. And the one time of him being vulnerable, I couldn't be there beside him, offering the same warmth that he had given me.

Special 8 Photo-folio Masterlist

My Personal Masterlist

Tag List: @idkjustlovingbts,  @lisabyers,  @a-sweetdreamywoman,  @yoongsexual,  @tatakaee,  @borareadsfic,  @sailorjoonies,  @futuresoffantasies, 

Feel free to let me know if you want to be added or removed from the tag list...

This monologue was everything...🩷

“It’s literally impossible to be a woman.

You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow, we're always doing it wrong?

You have to be thin, but not too thin, and you can never say you wanna be thin. You have to say you wanna be healthy, but also, you have to BE THIN.

You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass.

You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean.

You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas.

You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time.

You have to be a career woman, but also, always be looking out for other people.

You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is INSANE, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining!

You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood, but ALWAYS STAND OUT and ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL. But never forget that the system is rigged, so find a way to acknowledge that but ALSO, always be grateful!

You have to never get old. Never be rude. Never show off. Never be selfish. Never fall down. Never fail. Never show fear. Never get OUT OF LINE. It's too hard! It's too contradictory, and nobody gives you a medal or says 'thank you!' And it turns out, in fact, that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also, everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself, and every single other woman tie herself into knots, so that people will like us.

And if all of that, is also true for a doll just representing a woman, then I don't even know." -Gloria the barbie movie

this is it. this is exactly it oh my god.

Haha! Jokes on me...

Did I really think I'd be free after mid?

I’m Back...

I am attending my last exam tomorrow. Soon, I’ll be posting regularly again. At least, I hope so…

These are what you’re gonna get before long:

The last part of ‘My Guardian Angel’

Fast updates on the series ‘Noona! Please! Help!’

Slow updates on the series ‘The Other Side’

Personal review on Jin’s single ‘The Astronaut’

Short drabbles, if I have the time and mood

The only sensible character in the whole play...

“While I only hated my husband, I could bear to see him—but since I have despised him, he’s too offensive.”

(Mrs. Fainall, The Way of the World)

Restoration Series

I’m Back...

I am attending my last exam tomorrow. Soon, I’ll be posting regularly again. At least, I hope so...

These are what you’re gonna get before long:

The last part of ‘My Guardian Angel’

Fast updates on the series ‘Noona! Please! Help!’

Slow updates on the series ‘The Other Side’

Personal review on Jin’s single ‘The Astronaut’

Short drabbles, if I have the time and mood

I'm coming back

Seven days a week...

Break me off another time...

+

There is no shame in changing jobs or careers if your job is causing trauma or stress. You have not wasted the education or work experience that you have accumulated. You will always have that no matter what you choose to do with the rest of your life.

That's 💯 % correct...

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is lowkey Dorian Gray fanfiction which is basically Doctor Faustus fanfiction which is basically Goethe's Faust fanfiction which is basically Paradise Lost meta which is in fact Bible fanfiction

The Other Side - Part 1

Fandom: BTS Pairing: Park Jimin x OC (Amelia) Genre: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 1.6k Words Warning: Slight drinking, making out, nothing much explicit in this chapter. Note: (18+) Additional chapters contain heavy angst and sensitive topics. If you can’t handle problematic issues, I advise you to not read any further.

Summary: Despite her brother Taehyung’s disapproval of dating one of his friends, Amelia can’t keep herself away from the charming guy she met at his birthday...

Part 1 - Part 2 - More to come

“For you, I will be new every day ‘Cause it’s boring to have the same thing, right?” - Filter by Jimin

My brother Taehyung’s birthday was the worst day of the year for me. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Taehyung more than anybody in this world. For that exact reason, I could never refuse his request for a birthday party in our house.

I was the kind who hated parties and Taehyung, on the other hand, liked them very much. Furthermore, my presence in that party was a must for Taehyung to actually enjoy it. So, I would always end up being a weirdo trying to communicate with his friends whom I met once a year. Since Taehyung loved making a lot of friends, every year, I would meet some new people too.

Today the party seemed to be going for an eternity. The loud music was unbearable after a few hours. I was done making small talks with most of his friends. I needed some break as I felt my social battery was running out. I needed to find Taehyung.

I groaned in frustration searching for my brother in the crowd. I decided I was old enough to leave his annoying party any time I wanted to. After all, it was my house too. I could go anywhere I wanted. So, I headed for the rooftop.

Surprisingly, there was another person present whom I didn’t notice at first. I yelped in surprise when he cleared his throat to gain my attention.

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

A blonde guy wearing sunglasses, even though it was night, approached me. I realized that I had never met this person before. Thinking he was a new friend of Taehyung, I tried to talk nicely. But, to be honest, I could do with some alone time instead.

“It’s okay!” I said, “I don’t think I know you.”

“I’m Park Jimin.” He said, “I’m Jungkook’s friend from college. I believe you’re Taehyung’s sister, Amelia, right?” I nodded. But my mind was occupied with the thought that he was Jungkook’s friend.

If I had an enemy, it would be Jeon Jungkook. Jungkook and I went to school together. But we never got along. There was a history of endless fights and arguments between us. Some of them ended up with me crying out in frustration and Jungkook getting some serious talk from my overprotective brother. Nonetheless, they were still close friends.

Jimin suddenly chuckled, “I’ve heard quite a lot about you.”

I tried to smile. If he had known me through Jungkook, chances are, he didn’t know anything good.

A few cups of drinks were making my mind blurry. I started to find the stranger really attractive. I wasn’t even listening to what he had been saying. But his voice was pleasant to my ears. My mind was full of thoughts that seemed too wrong.

“Hello!” Jimin snapped his fingers in front of my eyes and I came back to reality. He wetted his lips before saying, “You haven’t been listening, have you?”

I shook my head honestly. He laughed as if he found it adorable. He took off the glasses and stared directly into my eyes.

Oh God! If looks could kill...

“I think you’re a little too intoxicated to ignore my charm.” he said. Without realizing I nodded in affirmation, making him laugh even more.

Oh God! His eye smile...

Then, he suddenly stopped. His stare was quite serious this time. He wasn’t fooling around anymore. I could feel the tension rising in the air. It seemed like there was an invisible string pulling me closer to this guy. I leaned a bit closer to him. But he didn’t move.

He half whispered, “Are you sure about this?” I nodded again.

Then, he leaned in to kiss me. It was a soft one at first, but gained momentum as soon as he got my approval. During our heated making out session, my mind had gone off to a completely different world. There was nothing I could think of other than him.

But soon Jimin let go of my lips and pulled back. A soft whimper left my mouth. Jimin just chuckled in return and shook his head.

“I don’t want you to regret anything once you’re sober.” He said.

I opened my mouth to say something but decided against it. It was already awkward enough. I didn’t want to embarrass myself further by saying something which would prove how desperate I was to have him.

Taehyung and I were only a year apart and he was the oldest. Our father was never in the picture and our mother died the year I graduated high school. Both of us ended up not going to college. Money was not a problem. We were pretty well off as mother had left us with a big house and a huge backyard of a flower garden. I worked on them and sold them in our personal flower shop which was quite famous in town. Taehyung, on the other hand, did whatever he was comfortable with at the moment.

Taehyung had lots of friends. But I only had him. And he was aware of it. But he didn’t mind. Even though he had many friends, both male and female, he would always forbid me to get a little too close to any of his male friends. I never complained either. Because, most of them were like Jungkook, whom I absolutely despised.

But I felt different this time. This Jimin guy was really messing with my mind. Ever since the night, I couldn’t shake his thoughts away. I felt a little guilty for keeping such a secret from my brother, to whom I had always confided everything.

“This is never going to happen again.” I would tell myself. But little did I know how wrong I had been.

Apparently, Jimin shared a mutual feeling and there was nothing that could stop him from coming back to me. So, coming back to me he did. But at the worst moment possible.

Ding Dong

Taehyung forbade me to get up from the dining table as we were having supper at the time. It was unusual for us to have a visitor so late. So, Taehyung went to check it himself.

“Is Amelia home?” I heard a not so unknown voice spoke and my heart skipped a bit. I knew that Taehyung was as shocked as me because he didn’t say a word in reply.

The stranger continued, “I’m Jimin. I hope you remembered me from the party. I came here with Jungkook.”

It turned out that Jimin had some important business in town. But unfortunately he was too late to catch the evening train. He hadn’t brought his car. Furthermore, he was not in the habit of riding a cab late at night. He tried calling Jungkook but he was out of town. He also informed Taehyung that he had an opportunity to become my friend during his birthday party. So, it seemed like he had no other choice but to ask us to let him stay at our place.

Taehyung didn’t seem to be believing any of his words. But he agreed to let him stay for the night. Only at one condition; Jimin was to share the bed with him. It is necessary to include that we had two spare bedrooms for guests.

I had never felt so uncomfortable while having dinner at my own house before. Jimin looked like he was having the best moment of his life; enjoying the food and appreciating it often. I nodded in between but tried not to say anything and let Taehyung join the conversation. Jimin was acting differently, almost in a child-like manner. I tried to avoid eye contact with either of them as Taehyung kept eyeing us suspiciously throughout the whole dinner.

After a while of chatting about nothing, we were all off to bed. But my brain had no intention of letting me sleep. Instead, it was replaying the night of my brother’s birthday. I wondered if this was the same flirty Jimin I had encountered some weeks ago.

Hours later, I walked out of my bedroom in frustration. Instantly, I was grabbed by my shoulders and I yelped in surprise.

“Ssh!” Jimin let go and whispered, “It’s only me!” I nodded in recognition. He looked at me carefully and a wide grin spread on his face.

“What?” I asked, surprised at his unusual behavior.

“Thank God!” He said with relief, “You didn’t forget about me.”

I laughed at him, “What made you think I might forget you?”

Jimin frowned at my taunting, “Why? You were hella drunk that night. I bet you can’t recall what we did.”

I blushed really hard this time. Of course, I remembered what we did. But I was in no mood to discuss that embarrassing event. Jimin had definitely seen me blushing. His cute face suddenly turned mischievous.

“Can you recall it or should I help?” he smirked. Now, this was the Jimin I was talking about.

Before I could shut him up with a slap on the head, I heard movements ahead of me. Both of us froze. Our eyes grew larger at once.

“Fuck!” Jimin whispered, “Your spy brother is awake.”

I ran straight to my bedroom and shut the door quickly. My heart was beating up to my throat. I could hear a conversation outside which made me smile like an idiot.

A deep voice asked, “Oy! What are you doing there?”

A cute one replied, “I think I might have forgotten the way to the bathroom.”

A moment of silence before a really angry tone spoke, “If you’re trying to make an excuse, Park Jimin, go for a better one next time.”

Next >

My Masterlist

Finally, the whole story...

“Why did I fight with Jimin-hyung? We were trainees. I personally don’t think my puberty years had hit me yet, I was really young at the time. Jimin-hyung, as the second youngest, was putting a lot of effort into watching his behavior. Was it during practice? Or was it just because of the way I spoke? I honestly don’t even remember how I used to talk. But it got to a point where even angelic Hobi-hyung would get angry at my way of speaking. My way of speaking on a normal basis wasn’t bad. I’m the type that gets a little riled up, so the guys warned me many times because of that. That’s probably why Jimin-hyung called me out separately, to talk about it. I felt very… So, I knew what I did wrong. I instinctively knew, because of how I was acting. But, because I also have my pride, I felt like there were parts that I was right about. As I was talking to Jimin-hyung, I got angry. I got angry and Jimin-hyung got angry.”

Jack In The Box, album by J-Hope

Notes: It’s time to express some of my thoughts regarding every member’s solo albums and singles. I’ve been putting it off for months. Let’s do it without further delay, starting with the first member to have released his solo album.

1. Intro: 9/10

“It flapped its delicate wings as it danced around Pandora, lightly brushing against her shoulder.”

Basically it’s the story of Pandora in Greek Mythology and the origin of hope in the mortal world. If you haven’t heard it yet, this post is a sign for you to look it up (also check out Ted Ed’s video ‘The myth of Pandora’s box’ for more details). The narration of the story (J-Hope’s intro) is smooth and short. It sounds pleasing to the ears. And it is definitely a unique idea for his album’s intro. I believe what Hoseok’s been trying to tell is that what he is to the Armys is what hope is to all the people on earth.

2. Pandora’s Box: 10/10

“J to the Hope, Jung to the Huimang, Jack in the box”

Only Hoseok can make a fine connection between a myth, a toy and his whole personality and also make total sense. It’s probably my first time listening to a song that is a retelling of a myth. And Hoseok did an amazing job here. The lyrics made my jaw drop, like literally. I said it once and I’ll say it a hundred times, BTS is one of the few artists who knows what poetry truly is. And this song is one of the many living proofs.

3. More: 8.5/10

“My work makes me breathe. So I want more”

The first released song with the music video shook me a great deal like it did to many Armys I’m sure. The sunshine of the group in such a grim-emo kinda look was absolutely out of the blue. Nevertheless, this vibe suits him right. Comparing their passion for making art with an awful addiction is a thing BTS did in their early works too. I can see that theme portrayed from Hoseok’s perspective so well.

4. Stop: 6.5/10

“The only belief that rules over me, ‘There are no bad people in the world’”

The struggle of freeing yourself of the innate nature of being judgmental is portrayed in this masterpiece. Shoutout to Hoseok for speaking about the truth of today's world and people’s values and ethics while still keeping an open mind, making sure not to judge anyone harshly. The lyrics definitely deserve praise. But personally I think it is not a song that I can listen to more than once.

5. = (Equal Sign): 7/10

“Same, the breaths we breathe. Same, the dreams we dream of”

Yes! Sing it, J-hope. Who’s going to give us hope at times of despair if it isn’t you? The change is indeed soon to begin. We’re all in this together. Let’s make a better world without prejudice and hate. BTS, as well as us, the Armys; we believe in ‘Love’.

6. Music Box: Reflection: 10/10

This one is actually brilliant. At first I played it on repeat many times a day. I even set it as my alarm ringtone and it is still there. I know, we shouldn’t be doing that because it makes us hate the music afterwards. But I still couldn’t grow to dislike it. This music has a whole aesthetic to it that makes me imagine myself in a music video everytime I play it.

7. What If...: 8.5/10

“What if I have nothing?”

This one shows what Hoseok has been trying to portray through the whole album pretty directly. You can see him questioning his own personality. Is he really all sunshine and rainbows inside out? I mean, is that even possible for a human? You can hear his passion pouring out in the voice. Chef’s kiss to the bravery of finally speaking out; louder for the people on the back.

8. Safety Zone: 8/10

“In my 20’s, I’m living an endless life”

It hurts when you look up a song and you find the lyrics so sad. The life of an idol is never really easy. People need to keep in mind that these idols are humans too. Give them some break for God’s sake. They talk about their struggles through their songs and yet we fail to see it. I really hope Hoseok finds peace and happiness that he deserves.

9. Future: 6.5/10

“Walking in the future, a step of hope”

The fact that Hoseok worries about his future too shows how much he is like us. After all, at the end of the day, we’re all human. Let’s keep our courage and step forward.

10. Arson: 10/10

“Do I put out the fire or burn even brighter?”

Just think about the poetic effect of the last line of the last song. Even though I liked most of the songs from this album, Arson takes the trophy. The music, the lyrics, the mv, everything is just fine as fine can be. J-Hope never disappoints us with his unique ideas. I’m in love…

Notes: The album is a masterpiece and it deserves all the attention it got and more. Apart from the fact that the music and the beats are all kinda dope, we need to focus on its lyricism too. This album feels like a cry for help. We need to acknowledge Hoseok's struggle as an idol and try to sympathize. Let's try to become the best version of ourselves as fans and let our idols live a normal life while supporting them unconditionally.

Death Before Water And Life After It

'The Avonlea Story Club'

Story no. #02 Inspired by prompt: “There was a legend about the well in the garden.” Time Duration: 1 May, 2023 - 31 May, 2023

Word Count: 2.6K Words Warning: horror elements, mention of illness, injuries, deaths etc.

Summary: Spending the summer vacation with an ill grandma in a remote village turns mysterious...

I attempted to write down a rare experience I got to have while I visited my late grandma’s village. The story I am about to tell is no ordinary tale. It is, in many ways, unbelievable too. So, I would rather let my readers decide upon believing it.

It was the summer of 2017. My grandma was diagnosed with a deadly disease and the doctors feared that she wouldn’t make it till the next year.  I had a long vacation of two months from school. I didn’t have any plans either. At that moment, my only desire was to visit my grandma for the last time on her deathbed, even though it was said that she couldn’t recognize anyone.

It was the very first time I sat foot in that remote village. I had expected a lot from it since it was located far away from the city. But in reality, nothing about the village appealed to me. It was just an ordinary village with ordinary people.

My grandma didn’t come to greet me. When I went to meet her, she didn’t even bother to look at me. I could tell by looking in her eyes that she was in pain. But as always, my sweet grandma didn’t want to burden anyone with it. I spent three days in the house without getting out for once. Within these three days, I had constantly sat beside grandma and talked to her in hope that she might recognize her youngest granddaughter at some point. But that didn’t happen.

Finally, it was the fourth day when I got bored of playing offline games on my phone. Since the network connection wasn’t the best at that place, I decided to take a look at my surrounding areas. Like I had mentioned before, the village had nothing interesting to enjoy. There was no place for sightseeing.

After some minutes of aimlessly walking around I came to a stop near what looked like a ruin of an old garden. I spent a minute or two looking at its broken gate. Then I finally went in. Once again, I was disappointed after finding nothing but a bunch of wild plants growing all around the place.

There was an old well at the far corner. I felt like I should go and check it before I left the place for good. As I walked towards it I felt uncomfortable and strange. I remembered I was all alone in an abandoned garden with no house that could be seen or people that could be heard.

Yet I couldn’t turn back without a close view of the well. It was as abandoned as the garden itself. Vines and roots grew all around it. The huge stones had cracks. When I peeked inside I was shocked to see water that hadn’t dried out yet. I could see my reflection perfectly in the black water inside.

I was about to go away when I heard someone behind me. There was a little boy sitting on the ground, his back leaning against the well. 

How come I didn't notice him in the first place?

He wasn’t wearing much clothes than necessary, I guessed it was because of the hot weather. He was dirty from his head to toe. I went closer to check on him. I found out that he was humming a tune while scratching his ankles.

“Hey!” I called him, “What are you doing here, all alone?”

He quitted humming at my intrusion and glanced at me for a moment. Then he looked down on his ankles and started to scratch them again. I felt an urge to stop him from doing that. His feet looked swollen and red.

Instead I asked, “Where are your parents?”

“They died… long ago,” he answered in a low voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that!” I went closer to sit in front of him, “Do you live nearby?” There were no houses in sight that could suggest his home. But I still looked around for any sign of life.

In reply, the boy looked at the well behind him for a moment. Then, he looked at me and asked, “Are you a foreigner?”

“No. I came from the city.” I replied.

“So, you are a foreigner!” he stated. This time with a thrill in his eyes. So, I nodded my head in defeat. Maybe he considered everyone apart from the villagers a foreigner.

“You shouldn’t do that.” I said, indicating his merciless scratching.

“It’s okay!” he smiled at me, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

I studied his face for a while. Even though it was dirty, I could tell that the boy was really beautiful. He had big doe eyes with long eyelashes. His small mouth looked really cute when he smiled. Also, he had the kind of smile that makes others do the same at its sight.

So, I automatically smiled back at him.

“C’mon!” I stood up, “I’m going now. You shouldn’t be here all alone. This place is giving me the creeps.”

“You’re going away already?” the boy asked. The smile on his face was gone. His big eyes were filling up with tears all of a sudden.

“Aww, don’t cry.” I said, giving him my hand, “I'm not leaving you. I’ll take you to your home.”

“I can’t go.” he shook his head.

“Why?” I asked, rather astonished at the bold reply coming from an otherwise soft spoken little boy.

The boy retreated to his previous position. He continued humming the tune and scratched his ankles as well. I tried convincing him to come with me for some time. He started to completely ignore me.

I checked my watch. It was past lunch time. I knew grandfather was probably really angry by now because he doesn’t like delaying meal times. So, I told the boy to go home early and not to come to the place again. I had to leave him alone by the well.

I had almost forgotten all about it. But another meeting reminded me of my encounter with the little boy by the well.

I laid awake in my bed. The little boy sat at the furthest corner from me. I stared at him for some time, watching him scratch his ankles and humming the familiar tune.

When our eyes met, he let himself smile. "You're awake!" He stated.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I came because you didn't come to see me again." He replied.

"Did you wait for me?" I asked.

The boy nodded.

"Where?"

"Why? By the well in the garden!"

"Didn't I tell you not to go there alone?"

The boy laughed at me, "But I live there, silly."

I didn't understand him. Suddenly I remembered I was sleeping and I hadn't really woken up.

How could I tell that I was dreaming?

"Oh no! You're gonna wake up now, aren't you?" The boy pouted his lips.

"How do you…" I couldn't finish my question. I was already awake. And as I checked, the boy was gone too.

I couldn't make myself go back to sleep again. It was already dawn. So, I walked around the house. I heard my grandma calling me from within her room as I walked past it. My eyes grew larger.

She remembered me!

"Oh, granny. My lovely, granny." I sprinted inside her room and hugged her.

"When did you come, my love?" She asked, a sweet smile on her lips.

"Almost a week ago."

We talked for some time. Grandma said that she felt a lot better and was so happy to see me. She wondered why mother didn't come. I said she was very busy with her work. I lied because I didn't want to worry her about mother's health. And I knew she wasn't the type to get hurt when someone couldn't manage their time. It is a cruel world, after all.

At some point, grandma was reminiscing about the old times. Long ago when she was young and not yet married. She used to live here, in this village, at that time. She talked as if her memory of her childhood was just a few days back. I felt like she had forgotten me at some stage and mistook me for her best friend of childhood instead as she talked.

At one point, I asked her about the old garden. I asked if it was in use at her times. She looked at me with dreadful eyes, "don't speak of it. Don't you know, it's a forbidden place to walk in?"

"Why is it forbidden, Grandma?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, dear!" She suddenly started to laugh, "I keep forgetting that it's you." and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Grandma," I called, "Please, tell me about the garden. I wanna know."

"It was a long time ago. Even before I was born. There was a legend about the well in the garden." grandma spoke dreamily.

"What legend?"

"At the time when the first gypsies came to settle down in the land, it was a barren one. No river. No rain. Nothing. Nobody knows why the river gypsies chose to live in such a land after years of floating in water. But they struggled against this land. It wasn't habitable for life at all. They decided they'll excavate a well. After months of labor they did it too. But it was only a matter of days  before the water dried out after the well was built."

"Why?" I asked as grandma stopped to take a breath.

Grandma nodded, "it was a cursed place. Everyone in the village had dreams about the well afterwards. An unknown entity would visit them in their dreams and ask them to negotiate with it. The negotiation was a human life in exchange for water.

"People were scared. They forbade everyone to go near the well. They decided to leave the place for good. Some of them even ran away from home in fear. But the nightmares didn't stop. The entity was hungry for human life. Finally, it got what it wanted.

"A little boy of a lonely mother wandered off to the well one day. When he returned home at sunset, both of his legs were found being chained. The mother walked along the long chains only to find that it led inside the very well her people had built. The more they pulled the chains, the more it grew in length, coming out of the dried well. No blacksmith could damage the chain, not even a little scratch could be made on it.

"The villagers started to see a different version of their same old nightmare. The entity now asked them the life of that little boy only. Then, started the gossip.

"The boy was an illegitimate child. His mother was not a very welcomed person in the community. They lived almost a separated life. Maybe the entity chose wisely. Maybe they should abide by its rule. Maybe the boy could be sacrificed for the sake of all.

"But the mother was a mad woman. She wouldn’t give up on her only gem. She would rather her son lived with the chains around his legs forever. The child cried. He cried all day and night. He said that his legs itched. And as he scratched them again and again, the skin had peeled off and left him wounded.

"'Mama, it hurts.' The boy pleaded with his mother to get rid of his shackles. But nothing could be done for his aid. The villagers, at one point, stopped even trying. The herbal remedy his mother gave him was useless.

"'Let me go, then.' The boy pleaded again. His mother denied.

"Finally, the boy decided for himself. When his mother would be asleep, he would go to the well again. He would ask the well what it wanted from him. And so he did. Nobody heard of the little boy anymore. Someone said that the boy had jumped off to the well himself. But nobody knew because there wasn't a body to be found.

"Since that day, there hasn't been any scarcity of water from the well. The well never dried off after. A beautiful garden grew around the land. No-one had any more nightmares. The gypsies finally overcame another adversary that was the most challenging in their community life. They lived happily ever after."

Grandma finished her story and looked at me with a smile.

"But Grandma," I spoke, "this isn't the type of story that ends with 'happily ever after'."

"Why not?" grandma asked, "the villagers, in fact, did live happily."

"What about the boy? And his mother?"

"Now," grandma stated, "they weren't the hero of my story, were they?"

"You've got a point," I said, "But don't you think that the boy could be the most tragic hero if it was said from his perspective?"

"He could be." Grandma thought for a moment, "Why don't you rewrite it in your own words then? Maybe you can do him some justice."

Before I left grandma for breakfast, I asked her one last question, "since everything is resolved, why did you say that it was a forbidden garden in the beginning?"

"Because, darling!" She looked at me as if it was so obvious, "the little boy can still be seen roaming around it."

I went to the garden that day. It was obvious what grandma told me was just a legend. And a legend can be a lie. Or at least partially. Maybe there was an incident of a boy's drowning. Maybe the nightmares originated from the collective superstitious belief of the gypsies. Or maybe, just maybe, there was an entity involved.

Whatever happened a long time ago, I could never know them for sure. I could only assume the story from my perspective and my beliefs in particular superstitions. But I didn't feel like I could rest till I saw that little boy again and demanded some kind of explanation. It might sound a little crazy to the readers but my mind couldn't make out any reasonable explanation of the boy's peculiar behavior at the moment.

I waited from morning till noon. But he didn't come. I didn’t know that some terrible news awaited me at home other than the fear that grandfather might be mad at me for missing another lunch.

Grandma was no more. My sweet, lovely grandma. The grandma who had talked with me just this dawn. I was told that the servant found her dead when he went to serve her breakfast. I almost didn’t believe it. But I accepted at last as we all do eventually.

I stayed till the funeral was over. Then I immediately packed everything to leave the place. I didn’t think I could stay at the house without feeling my grandma's presence.

But before I left, I had to solve something within myself. I had to see the boy again. I went to the garden for the last time. And as expected he was already waiting for me.

"Why didn't you tell me everything beforehand?" I questioned him, "Didn't you want me to know?"

"You know because I showed you." The same old smile on his face.

"But why me, of all people?"

He walked towards me and placed his cold hands on mine. It was the only time he had really touched me. He said hopefully, "You'll let them know, won't you? They'll finally know."

"Know what?" I asked, a little confused.

"The truth!"

I didn't understand him wholly that day. After years it somehow dawned on me. The little boy wanted the world to know. Not just the legend of the well in the garden. But the little life it took that made it possible.

Author's note: The story is inspired by a folktale my grandma had long ago told me that originated from her hometown. It was about how a pond was excavated and a child's life was offered for it to contain water. There are many versions of this story. The story is really memorable to me and honestly, I still get chills whenever I think about it. I made some changes to the plot to match the given prompt. I don't know if I could do it any justice. But I'm glad I made an effort to preserve one of the less known folktales of my country.

P.S. The country is Bangladesh…

—Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

Noona! Please! Help! - Part 2

Fandom: BTS Characters: Younger Brothers BTS and Elder Sister Narrator Genre: A Little Dramatic and A Little Comedic Word Count: 1.3K Words Warning: Mention of other idols such as Lisa and Ryujin, tearing down clothes, breakdown, crying etc. Note: It’s a siblings AU story of BTS with the narrator as their elder sister. I tried to write something different from what I usually write about. I had fun making this. Hope it makes you feel good too. Happy Reading Everyone :)

Summary: Her little brothers can’t attend to a single task without her help. Be it a dance competition or asking out a girl for a date, they always seem to be finding everything too hard to go through without her by their side. ‘Our lucky charm’; that’s what they like to call her. But what if she turns out to be a misfortune in different situations in one single day?

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - More to come

Not Really the Best Dancer:

06:45 a.m. 1st September, 2015

I still have more than an hour before Hobi’s aka Hoseok’s dance starts. So, I decided to take a shower and apply some light makeup that would suit all the occasions I am to participate in. I had taken a day off work today. Because, I’m about to meet my seven little brothers, that too, at different times in one single day.

I make a mental note of my schedule and get out of my house (Sorry, it’s actually my granma's house) 10 minutes prior to Hobi’s dance. He is going to participate in the finale of the dance competition he had been practicing for for the last three years. Though a little nervous, I’m pretty positive he is going to win. I mean, why not? He’s the best dancer I have ever seen.

“Come here!” Hobi waves his hand while talking to me on the phone. I go straight to him pushing the crowd ahead of me.

“You should have hurried, Noona!” Hobi says with a pout, “I have to go change. The show’s starting.”

“Alright!” I tell him, “Go on, then. I’ll be cheering you on from the crowd. Are you nervous?”

“Nah!” Hobi dismisses the question with a slight wave of his hand and by putting a bright smile on his face, “Why would I be? I’ve got you.”

I take his hands in mine, clearly noticing the sweaty palms, “Fighting!”

“Fighting!” with a little shake of the hands he disappears inside the dressing room.

Lisa starts her performance with a loud applause from the crowd. I had watched some of the previous dance performances of others in the videos Hoseok brought home for me to see. But I don’t remember watching any of her. Watching her perform live in front of me makes me a little nervous. She has one of the best body controls. And it is definitely something to worry about.

The next participant gets as much cheers from the crowd as her previous competitor. Her name’s Ryujin and I had seen her collaborating with Hobi before. I liked that dance so much at the time. Now, I’m not really sure I’m liking her moves. Of course, she can dance. And that is exactly my problem.

Finally, Hoseok takes the stage as ‘J-Hope’ and the crowd bursts into loud screams from the enthusiasts. All my anxieties take some rest. But as soon as he starts to move along the beat, I feel like I’m holding my breath. As if that would ensure his perfect performance.

Everything goes smoothly until at a point Hoseok rips off his shirt; earning more screams from the audience. I’m shocked at the revelation. Is it a mistake? I mean, Hoseok would never do that. Once he had told me himself that he doesn’t like showing much skin. It’s the choreography that matters more to him.

But it seems like I’m the only one who’s confused. Others around me seem to be enjoying the dance along with that little distraction that he made. However, I gather myself just before the end so that I don’t forget to cheer and clap the loudest for my little Hobi.

There’s a thirty minute break before they announce the winner of the long one month competition. I check my phone and gasp.

Three missed calls from Yoongi.

I check the time. It’s already 8:48 a.m. Yoongi’s game starts at 8:30 a.m. I was supposed to be with him now. I look out for Hobi.

“You did great!” I compliment him hurriedly.

“Thanks but…” Hobi frowns.

“What’s the matter?” I take a closer look at his sweaty face.

“It’s just that” Hobi continues, “I feel like I made a mistake.”

My phone rings before I could tell him anything. It’s Yoongi again.

“Umm…” I hesitate before speaking, “I still believe you’re going to win. Hobi… Please don’t mind but… I really have to be somewhere now.”

“What?” Hobi looks up, “No way! Wait for the announcement at least. Please, Noona! You promised!”

“I promised I will watch you perform. And I did that. Besides, you didn’t mention the results will take that long to be announced. I have to meet Yoongi. Apparently he has an important match too.”

Hobi scoffs, “As if he’s the one playing.”

I can sense the anger rising within him. First of all, he’s upset about some mistakes that he made. Now that I’ve mentioned Yoongi, he’s definitely pissed. Hoseok never liked the fact that Yoongi bets money on basketball matches. According to him, “It’s a waste of money if you lose. And a waste of character if you win.”

“You can go if you want.” Hobi says finally, “It’s not even a huge deal.”

I know he doesn’t mean that. It is in fact a huge deal for him. My common sense tells me it is better to deal with an angry Yoongi than with an angry Hoseok.

I smile and pull him into a hug. He’s surprised by my sudden action. “What’re you doing?”

“Don’t worry!” I say, “Noona will stay so that you win.”

“Oh yeah!” Hobi hugs me back, “Then, I’ll definitely win.”

“I’ll be there as soon as it ends.” I yell at Yoongi through my phone because of the loud audience around me.

“Yeah, take your time.” Yoongi says bitterly, “Looks like Hoba is in need of some luck more than I do today. ‘Cause we’re already winning.” Then, he cuts the line.

I don’t have the time to think about his last remark. The three participants walk to the stage and the crowd cheers louder, as if it is even possible. I cheer for Hobi too, mentally praying to God that my little brother gets the fruit that he’s been nurturing for so long.

With some dramatic speeches and hearts beating up to our throats, the result is finally revealed. And J-Hope is not the winner.

Looks like Ryujin outdid the others this time and she is as shocked as I am to find it out. Both Lisa and Hobi are clapping with bright smiles on their faces. They are both bowing to Ryujin, who in turn is bowing to them. The flower bouquet is presented to her and the rest of the celebration goes on in blur.

I went backstage to meet Hobi. But I only see two girls hugging and complimenting each other. Hobi is nowhere to be seen. I look through the dressing room and he’s not there.

I decide to peek at the boy’s bathroom to check and I sigh in relief. Hobi is bending towards the basin, his hands covering the face while the faucet runs beneath.

“Hobi!” I call him softly.

“Please, Noona!” His voice cracks as he tries to speak, “Just give me some time. I promise I’ll be okay. Just some time is all I need.”

Contemplating on why it is hard for me to believe that he is crying out of failure, I find that it is because I had never experienced Hoseok openly displaying sadness before. He was always the ray of sunshine, the restless butterfly or the sweet smelling flower of our family. As if it is what’s expected of him.

Even right now, in such a vulnerable state of mind, he doesn’t seem to be trusting me enough to have confided in me. Instead, he’s willing to go through a breakdown all alone until he’s ready to smile brightly again.

I am dumbfounded. I feel like I need to tell him something, comfort him and let him know that he’s not here alone. I want to make him feel that it's okay to fail. That he’s still loved and that’s what should matter the most.

My phone rings in my pocket once again and Hoseok looks up from the sink. With teary red eyes he says, “It must be Yoongi Hyung. Don’t make him wait any longer. Just go. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, confused.

“I guess,” he sniffs, “I accept my defeat. Maybe, I’m not really the best dancer that you used to think I am.”

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My Masterlist

Tag List:  @sophiatcha,  @lalavione1309,  @jwirecs,  @missmayaarmy,  @sarai-ibn-la-ahad,  @ayalies,  @karougirl123,  @juju-227592,  @coffeepurpleu,  @dreamerwasfound,  @wetfeline,  @phthao2406, @hoshi-is-ult-bbg, @bestloverstan,  @quixoticbittersweet,  @jwirecs-main,  @singukieee,  @l3aecon,  @bangtandoll20,  @gabcats5,  @latina-girl-18,  @kyuupidwrites

he just has very sensitive tear ducts cr. namuspromised, 0613data, jung-koook

My Guardian Angel - Part 2

Fandom: BTS Paring: Min Yoongi x Female Reader Genre: Fluff and slight angst Warning: Age gap, sorry but Yoongi spoils our little mc too much, nightmares, implication of abusive parents, running away from home, kissing (on the cheek), sickness, crying etc. Word Count: 2.8K Words Note: Since the reader is only 15 years old, I reduced Yoongi’s age to be 22. Please keep the age gap in mind before diving in to read. I must say there is nothing explicit in here.

Summary: You start to find happiness in the little things of your everyday routine bound life with the not-so-stranger in your shared home...

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 [Complete]

*************************************************

"Kitten, I'm home." A familiar voice greeted me from the outside while I was inside hiding beside the closed door.

My three most favorite words coming out of the mouth of my favorite person were enough to make even my worst day better. I tried hard to stop myself from giggling and giving away my position to him.

“Shelby, don’t!” I angrily whispered to our dog to stay quiet at her place. But she kept looking in my direction with her tail wagging behind her. I glared at her to stop. There was no time to bring Shelby beside me. Because I could already hear Yoongi opening the door.

And “Bwagh!!!” I yelled at his face right away.

“Ahh!” Yoongi sighed irritably. His eyes closed with a visible frown on his forehead. “How long will you keep this up?” He asked finally.

“Long enough for you to get used to it.” I replied happily. I wondered how stupid he could be for falling for the same old trick dozens of times. Nevertheless, this simple silly act made both of our days better.

As for most of my days, there was nothing exciting going on. Yoongi left everyday early in the morning even before I was awake. He always prepared both breakfast and lunch so that I really had no work to do. The only thing that kept me busy in this house in the middle of nowhere was our dog, Shelby. I would pet her, feed her, play with her and even talk to her from time to time to pass my lonely hours.

And Yoongi would be busy doing carpentry in the nearest town. He would have his lunch outside and would be home before it's too dark. His coming home was the time I wait for everyday since I started living with him. Because everyday I missed his presence beside me terribly.

As soon as he was home, I was happy again. I would start talking about how boring my day went and how much I missed him and what a new trick I had taught Shelby and what an interesting story I read from one of his old books and what a unique insect I had discovered outside and many more.

Despite being exhausted from his work earlier, Yoongi never complained. He listened attentively while doing his usual household chores with me. He rarely interrupted me while I talked but I knew for sure he was listening.

On a normal night, we would go to bed as soon as we were done with our dinner. But sometimes I would make a request to Yoongi to play the guitar for me. And he would be already on the couch ready to play my favorite tune as soon as I rested my head on his lap. Sometimes I would fall asleep and Yoongi would carry me to the bed without waking me up.

He let me have the bed for myself. It was too small for two people. So Yoongi would sleep on a sleeping bag on the floor beside it. I had asked him to let me sleep there instead since it was practically his house. But he refused and stayed firm in his decision.

Even with all the happiness that I never imagined I could experience, it would be a lie to say that I never feared losing it all. I often did. Actually more often than it could be counted as often. Every time I could hear Yoongi’s soft snoring through the quiet night, I would think about my life before him.

I knew that I was a burden on my step father who, after my mother’s death, had clearly shown me in every single way possible that I was unwanted in his house. But he was also very strict and possessive in nature. What if one day he decided that he would search for me?

I dreaded that my step father would find me somehow and all of this would be over. I would no longer be able to see Yoongi. I would no longer know what happiness truly feels like. I would no longer have a place to call home.

"Don't go anywhere far. I don't have the energy to look for you around the whole town." Yoongi yelled at me as I sprinted out of the grocery store.

"I won't." I replied louder as I went closer to one of my favorite places.

The gift shop.

It was a regular thing at this point. Every weekend, Yoongi would bring me with him to the town to do the week's grocery shopping and after that I was allowed to look through the cheap gift shop nearby. I would find something I liked and Yoongi would buy that for me in the hope of keeping my mood lifted throughout the whole week.

I walked around the small shop and carefully looked for the one thing that could bring me some comfort at times when Yoongi’s not there for me. And the little fox plushie, I assumed, recently came into the shop because I never had seen one here, caught my attention.

“Aren’t you a cutie?" I took the sleeping fox in my arms and cradled it slowly. I realized I had never had a stuffed animal my entire life. Not that I had always wanted one. But the sudden realization made me want to have a stuffed animal for myself.

I sensed Yoongi coming into the shop and I looked back, holding the fox towards him to see.

"So, you've already made up your mind, kitten?" Yoongi took the plushie from me to check it. But there was a frown on his forehead.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Umm... I think we can find something better than this." He returned the baby fox back to its family.

That was a really unexpected reply. Yoongi had never refused to buy me the thing I always chose for myself. I couldn’t even see any defect on it for him to say that. As he walked away from the plushie section, I took the little fox again and the price tag caught my eyes this time.

Hell, no!

"How come something that is too costly ended up at a cheap shop like this one?" I thought to myself. I could tell that my face went red from the embarrassment.

I should have been more understanding. Just because he said he'd buy me anything I liked didn't mean that I could ask for just about anything. That's asking a little too much from him considering how generous he was to me.

So, I picked a colorful key chain and showed it to Yoongi, pretending to be very hyped about it. He simply nodded and got that for me.

On our way home, I couldn't bring myself to talk like I usually did. Yoongi, too, remained too quiet.

The next weekend, Yoongi had to go to work. He said that it was the only time I had to miss going to the town and that he would make sure that it would never happen again. Despite the reassurance, I was kinda mad at him the whole day and decided not to talk to him when he came home.

He came home later than usual, called "Kitten, I'm home" as usual and asked me to put the groceries at the right places.

I, intentionally sulking at his presence, took the bags from him and got to work without any words. Judging by the heavy atmosphere that I had created around the house, he seemed to have understood how I felt. But he stayed quiet nonetheless.

My head was burning at that point. Maybe that was why I made unnecessary noises while doing the simple tasks Yoongi had assigned me to do.

"Oppa!" I couldn't help exclaiming as I noticed the small bag. I had been to the place too many times to know where it came from. And there it was. The little sleeping fox plush, waiting for me to embrace it in my arms.

I waited no longer. I ran towards Yoongi and immediately pulled him in a hug. Unable to say how happy he had made me, I kissed his cheek impulsively instead.

"Aish!" That usual sound of Yoongi whenever he was irritated or at least wanted me to think that he was.

But in a split second, his face beamed and he accidently flashed a gummy smile. Not to be exaggerating but it was a sight worth dying for. Yoongi's face changed, with that his whole demeanor changed as well. He looked like a completely different person when he smiled like that.

So, I had to say it, "Had I known it before, I would have kissed you all day and night, only for you to smile like that."

The only time I remembered going on a vacation was when I was a child and my father was alive at the time. We had gone to stay by the sea for a week. Even though most of the memories were faded, I could still see my father’s happy face in my mind sometimes.

This time it was the desert in contrast to the sea. Yoongi had planned to take a few days off from work and take me on a hike. I had never been so excited to look forward to something. We packed our stuff, got in his jeep and drove off.

The place looked so lively with many plants of vibrant colors. There were small and big mountains. The huge golden field stretched ahead of us. Yoongi parked his car at a side and we got off with our bags. After some hours of walking past the rocky mountains we found a suitable place to camp for the night.

I was excited at the prospect of sleeping in the open sky. Something about seeing the galaxy all night told me that it was a rare experience only a few fortunates could afford. I got another new reason to be grateful to Yoongi for the rest of my life.

“Oppa!” I called to check if he was already asleep since we had a long day.

“Hmm?” he replied.

“What does it feel like to look at the sky and you can see a part of eternity ahead of you?”

“Umm…” He thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t know! What do you feel about it?”

“I feel small. I feel insignificant. I feel…” I stopped and glanced at him, expecting a reaction.

He was still looking at the sky earnestly but hummed quietly at my response. It felt like I didn’t need to explain it further. Yoongi understood.

“Oppa!” I hesitantly called again, “Would you mind if I ask you something?”

“Ask away!” He shot me a pretending-to-be-annoying look and turned back to the sky.

I gulped before asking, “Why do you live alone?”

“For peace.” He sighed.

“I don't think I understand.”

Yoongi stayed quiet for some time and I felt like I shouldn’t have pushed the boundary. So, I turned on the other side and closed my eyes.

As I was dozing off, I could hear Yoongi’s deep soothing voice. He talked as if he was living the memory that he was speaking of. My tired eyes couldn’t cooperate. But my ears were all awoken.

“I was about your age, kitten, when I ran away from my parents seven years ago. Until now I never regretted that decision even though there were times I actually missed them. Because it was the only way i could bear to live with a sane mind. Solitary life offers you a kind of peace you wouldn’t know you needed until you can experience it. But…”

He stopped suddenly. I wanted to ask him to continue. I wanted to know what could be the ‘but’ when he himself said that he didn’t regret it. Apparently I didn’t need to. Because Yoongi spoke the rest of the words in a muffled voice as he fixed his posture to a comforting sleeping position.

“I never realized that it was happiness that I lacked in my life apart from peace. That was until I met you.”

His words kept me up through most of the night.

The next morning, it turned out I had a severe dust allergy. So, I woke up with a swollen face and a tight throat. The horror in Yoongi’s eyes as he realized something was wrong with me was another new thing I discovered his neutral face could do.

My feet were blistered from walking in the heat last day. So, after walking almost half of the way, Yoongi had to give me a piggyback ride until we reached his jeep.

I rested my head on his shoulders as he walked slowly carrying my weight on his back. And I spoke quietly in his ears.

“It was the same for me too, Oppa. I realized I can finally rely on someone without having to feel like a burden.”

I could hear the usual sound of the car being parked outside. I sprinted out of my room in no second to greet Yoongi. But instead I saw the man I was the most scared of before me. It was my step father.

“Long time, no see, huh?” He grinned at me with his disgusting rotten teeth.

“H… how d… did you find me?” I stammered as I took a step back.

“C’mon, now! Is that the way you greet your father?” The man began to walk towards me.

“Stop!” I yelled. “You’re not my father.” I wanted to scream it on his face but couldn’t bring myself to do so.

“Quit the game. It’s time to go home.” He quickly grabbed onto my wrist before I could turn back to run.

“Let go of me.” I screamed. “I’m not going anywhere from here.”

No matter how much I screamed or pleaded, he seemed to take no notice of that. He kept dragging me towards his van. I tried hard to fight him. But he was way too strong.

“Oppa!” I tried calling for Yoongi in vain. I knew he wouldn’t be able to hear me. He was miles away at work. He didn’t even know anything about the existence of my cruel step father.

As soon as he threw me inside his van I tried to get up and escape. But he grabbed onto my hair and pulled me back inside. I screeched my lungs out as a sharp pain ran through my head.

I woke up panting and drenched in sweat. I must have screamed in real life because Yoongi was already beside me, trying to read from my face just how bad of a nightmare I had.

I tried to speak but my breath was hitched, as always, whenever I cried. Yoongi moved a little closer and I threw myself at him, hugging him by his neck and sobbing loudly on his chest.

My grip on him tightened as he tried to move. I couldn’t let him go from my sight. I couldn’t let my nightmare come to reality.

Yoongi hugged me back and stayed that way for quite some time before whispering softly in my ears.

“Kitten!” He said, “I’m not going anywhere. Just give me a minute, okay?”

I sniffed and nodded my head as I released my hold on his neck. Yoongi went to the patio and came back quickly with his guitar. I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

Yoongi started to play a soft tune. It was a new one. I hadn’t heard him playing it before. I grabbed a pillow and leaned on the side of the bed. Then I closed my eyes to absorb the music. I noticed that it made me feel relaxed within a minute and I was able to speak again. He really knew how to calm me down.

Something that I had come to notice was that Yoongi never talked unless he knew for sure I was ready to speak again. So I had to make the first move. And I calculated just what to ask for in my head before I spoke.

“Oppa! I have a favor to ask for.” I stated quietly. I knew Yoongi wouldn’t be able to refuse.

He stopped the music and looked towards me. I said, “Can you please lie beside me until I sleep? Just tonight? I swear I won’t ask again.”

Yoongi closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration, “Aish! This girl and her whining. Yah!” He scolded me, still speaking softly though, “Don’t you think I’m spoiling you a little too much? You’re always asking for favors. How old do you think you are?...”

His rant went on about as much time as it took for him to make the bed. Then he lied in the corner, making an irritated face. I smilingly joined him without a word. Even though he would say that he didn’t like to be touched, he was undoubtedly the best cuddling partner one could ever wish for.

Special 8 Photo-folio Masterlist

My Personal Masterlist

Tag List: @kpopppy,  @mimislovee,  @cutubabyyy,  @pinnk-bvnny,  @just1xn,  @take-u-2-an0ther-w0r1d,  @mamamobluehaypka,  @moonyoon5839,  @laisalia,  @rabreu1414,  @fqky,  @miaaa1122,  @legendarydreamqueen

Feel free to let me know if you want to be added or removed from the tag list...

‘’Small flaws, glitches, my new afterimage. Breaking down the wall between what I want to say and what I cannot say, not getting intimidated but rebelling and asking questions against what the world demands. The world’s fixed stereotypes collides with my inner self and leaves trauma for a while but this temporary glitch transforms into the driving force to create a new wavelength and becomes a part of me.’‘

"Think of you when I'm going to bed

When I wake up, think of you again."

Noona! Please! Help! - Part 1

Fandom: BTS Characters: Younger Brothers BTS and Elder Sister Narrator Genre: A Little Dramatic and A Little Comedic Word Count: 1.7K Words Warning: Mention of BTS crackhead behaviors (I mean, why not? We all love their crackheadness), sickness, economic crisis, broken family, mention of emotional abuse, characters death etc. Note: It’s a siblings AU story of BTS with the narrator as their elder sister. I tried to write something different from what I usually write about. I had fun making this. Hope it makes you feel good too. Happy Reading Everyone :)

Summary: Her little brothers can’t attend to a single task without her help. Be it a dance competition or asking out a girl for a date, they always seem to be finding everything too hard to go through without her by their side. ‘Our lucky charm’; that’s what they like to call her. But what if she turns out to be a misfortune in different situations in one single day?

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - More to come

Prologue:

I always wonder when Ma said that she wanted a big family the day Pa had asked her to marry him, if she had really meant it like a family of ten people. But one thing was clear. Pa took her words to his heart and fulfilled her dream without compromise.

The struggle of being the elder sister of seven messy and chaotic brothers can be something impossible to even imagine. Especially if you are growing up in a household where both your parents are too sweet to ever scold their children.

I wish I could be that person who can easily punish her younger siblings when they misbehave. But alas! God had other plans. He made sure that my seven precious brothers were treated kindly by my parents to the point of being spoiled.

Now don’t get the wrong idea. My brothers are not all spoiled brats. In fact, most of them grew up to be gentlemen. At least, in front of the people that matters. But when they are home together with no one to supervise them, they are the biggest crackheads to ever exist.

Even if they give me headaches that are almost similar to that of the migraine pain my best friend suffers from (I said ‘almost’ because no pain compares to her evil migraine, trust me!) the moment I look into their eyes, I can’t bring myself to be mean. I think they have somehow mastered the art of creating the most innocent puppy eyes that melts my heart within seconds.

I think I am giving you the wrong idea all along. It's actually because I can’t express my frustration with my naughty angels in real life. So, it is making me pour out all the complaints here in texts all at once. Maybe it's time for a proper chronological introduction of them. And I will not make you wait any longer.

Kim Seok Jin:

The eldest and the handsomest, as he likes to be called, is none other than our Kim Seok Jin. “Just call me Jin. It sounds cool.” as our prince had once said. So, it had been maintained by everyone without a word. After all, he’s the hyung of the pack.

Three years younger than me, acts like the maknae more than the maknae does himself, Jin never fails to crack a joke at every family event. His sense of humor is unlike any other. No one would agree that his dad jokes are ever really funny. But you would never catch them not laughing even whenever Jin made one of his lamest jokes. My personal belief is that the mystery lies within Jin’s own laughing sound.

Kim Yoon Gi:

The only one who dares not to laugh, when the others are ready to roll on the ground, is our second eldest hyung, Yoongi. He even managed to come into this world as early as possible after Jin so that only nine months is their age difference.

My grandma used to tell a touching story of how my mother had lost her beloved cat during her pregnancy when she carried Yoongi. That’s how he ended up getting her cat’s name. Yoongi lives up to his name too. He looks like a cat, acts like a cat and I feel that he even thinks like a cat.

Kim Ho Seok:

Oldest by only seven minutes among the first set of twins mother gave birth to, Hoseok is the sunshine of our family. His bright spirit and reckless laugh puts everyone at ease. It is as if he had taken the responsibility of always keeping the good vibes in the family.

However, his angry side is just as scary. Nobody wants to deal with an angry Hoseok. Nobody! Not Jin, not me, not even Ma and Pa.

Kim Nam Joon:

Hoseok’s twin Namjoon is the brain of the team. Who said that it is always the middle child who gets ignored all the time? Namjoon proves every single one of them wrong. It is always Namjoon who comes to the conversation first whenever a relative of ours asks about us.

With all that demeanor like an older child, both physically and mentally, Namjoon still has a very childish side of him. That child is the God of destruction who breaks everything it touches. These contradictory qualities had earned him his nickname, ‘Giant-baby’.

Kim Ji Min:

The second set of twins produced Jimin as the oldest. Jimin, the comforter. Jimin, the lovely. And definitely Jimin, the flirt.

If cringe could be a person, he would be Jimin. He never shies away from his emotions. “Did I mention that I love you?” is something you would often hear him say. Even though others pretend to throw up at his words of affirmations, they have to agree that they can’t help liking it secretly.

Kim Taehyung:

Jimin’s soulmate, born with a face of a Greek God, Kim Taehyung runs the fashion industry in our home. “That lipstick doesn’t suit your eye makeup” , “The shoes made your whole fit cheap”, “Try to wear that and everyone will think you’re going through a breakup.” Taehyung doesn’t care to point them out.

Taehyung lives in his own world. Not in his mind exactly. I think it is an invisible world that coexists with ours. Because most of the time, we question his behavior and sometimes his sanity too.

Kim Jungkook:

The golden maknae, also the only one having a two years age difference with his closest elder hyung, is our bunny boy Jungkook. At first sight, everyone would think he’s the high school heartthrob. But once you get to know him, you’ll know how shy he is in front of strangers.

Whatever shyness he has in him, he uses them all outside our home. Because inside it’s always, “Party! Party! Yeah!” And that party is always him alone in his room doing karaoke till it's 3 in the morning. But who’s to scold him for that?

The reason behind each of their varying personalities, I believe, is because we grew up in different households as children. Is it even surprising? Do you think it is really possible for two people to take care of eight kids without help? The answer to this question may be a little complicated.

But my parents were determined to raise their kids by themselves so that none of them ever feels left out. And they did it too, for almost 8 years. But Ma fell ill right after giving birth to Jungkook. And Pa was having some financial crisis at the same time. As it has been said 'Bad things come in threes', Jungkook was born with some complications.

So, Pa had to focus on him and him alone. It was still hard for Pa to do it without Ma by his side. That's when I decided to take charge of taking care of the youngest while Pa looked after Ma and his business. I know I was only 8 years old at the time, but our situation had forced me to be more mature than that.

After some discussions on our wellbeing and the family's economic condition, Ma and Pa decided to keep Jungkook and me only. They told me that it was only for the time being and that they would bring everyone together as soon as they could.

Poor Jimin and Taehyung had no idea when they were sent to live with Granma and Granpa. I learned later that little Tae had continually cried for days and Jimin had grown too quiet for a two year old.

Namjoon and Hoseok were sent to stay with Ma's elder sister, her husband and her little daughter who was just about the age of the twins. As far as the report went, I'm positive that among all my brothers they got to stay a little happier away from home.

The one who suffered the most was probably Yoongi. Being too innocent for this world, Pa had failed to recognise how cruel his brother's behavior could sometimes get. Maybe growing up with an emotionally unavailable adult made Yoongi the most outwardly cold. Mind you that I said 'outwardly' because I'm sure if you can see through his heart, you will find something quite the opposite.

Jin stayed with Pa's sister who had been raising kids her whole life. All of her kids were older than Jin. So I guess it's easier to understand why Jin acts like a maknae all the time.

The idea of bringing them home 'as soon as possible' remained an idea. Because by the time Pa had somehow managed to get into a reliable position with his business, Ma was gone. And Pa had no other choice but to follow her.

Since it would be impossible for a 13 year old to be taking care of her 5 year old brother on her own, Granma decided to take us to her as well. So, we were reunited with Tae and Jimin in her house.

One by one, my little brothers turned 18 and built their own life. Even though I am now a full grown 25 year old woman I still couldn't leave my granma's house. And it is because I couldn't give up on being a parent to the youngest who has still not crossed the line of 18.

"Just wait for one more year and I'll grow up and thrive in this world." Jungkook says that quite a lot lately. Even though it might sound a little selfish, I wish my Jungkookie never grew up. So that I could keep him all to myself like I had been doing for the past 17 years of my life.

But there is a bright side of them finally turning 18. One by one the hyung line among my brothers started to get in touch with me more and more frequently. Finally, after years of separation, I truly feel like I'm getting to be that older sister that I had to be. And I'm happy that they are allowing me to be just that.

You might get a little confused as to why I had complained about them in the beginning of this story as if they were little kids I have to look after when I didn't even get to live with them for that long. Let me get you out of this confusion. It's because now that I finally get to be close enough once again, I realized one very important fact that applies to them all. My brothers haven't really grown up.

Next >

My Masterlist

🌞 Rub sunscreen all over Seokjin's broad shoulders OR huddle under Yoongi's massive umbrella to hide from the sun

🌞 Take a body shot that consists of licking salt off Hoseok's clavicle, shooting back the tequila, then sucking the lime that Taehyung is holding between his lips OR hold the lime between your lips for Jimin while he takes the shot

🌞 Pour water over the wet t-shirt contest contestants, among which is Namjoon OR participate in the contest, making flirtatious eye contact as Jungkook pours the water all over you

🌞 Get a butterfly lower back tattoo with Jimin OR get your bellybutton pierced with Jungkook

🌞 Skip the day drinking and get lost on some hike with Namjoon OR take a hiking tour that is guided by Taehyung OR stay back at the resort and play video games with Seokjin

🌞 Let Yoongi drag you around to all the local restaurants he wants to try OR club hop with Hoseok

🌞 Ride on the back of a jet ski with Jungkook OR play chicken on top of Seokjin's broad shoulders while trying to push Jimin off into the water

🌞 Find volunteer work to help the locals with Namjoon OR go snorkeling with Taehyung

🌞 Have a competition to see who can get the most likes on their vacation instagram posts with Hoseok OR tag Yoongi in every photo of the local cats that you post

🏖️ This or That: BTS Spring Break Edition

being a child of the 90s, all i think about when i hear/see the words "spring break" is seeing college students day drinking on a sandy beach making questionable choices on mtv..........so let's travel there and party! (or find alternatives to participating in all the chaos!) 👙🍹🩳🌞 these questions are not explicit, but they are also not entirely sfw, so proceed with caution. minors dni!

rub sunscreen all over Seokjin's broad shoulders OR huddle under Yoongi's massive umbrella to hide from the sun 🌞 take a body shot that consists of licking salt off Hoseok's clavicle, shooting back the tequila, then sucking the lime that Taehyung is holding between his lips OR hold the lime between your lips for Jimin while he takes the shot 🌞 pour water over the wet t-shirt contest contestants, among which is Namjoon OR participate in the contest, making flirtatious eye contact as Jungkook pours the water all over you 🌞 get a butterfly lower back tattoo with Jimin OR get your bellybutton pierced with Jungkook 🌞 skip the day drinking and get lost on some hike with Namjoon OR take a hiking tour that is guided by Taehyung OR stay back at the resort and play video games with Seokjin 🌞 let Yoongi drag you around to all the local restaurants he wants to try OR club hop with Hoseok 🌞 ride on the back of a jet ski with Jungkook OR play chicken on top of Seokjin's broad shoulders while trying to push Jimin off into the water 🌞 find volunteer work to help the locals with Namjoon OR go snorkeling with Taehyung 🌞 have a competition to see who can get the most likes on their vacation instagram posts with Hoseok OR tag Yoongi in every photo of the local cats that you post

i’m leaving the top blank so that you can keep your answers with the original post and remove reblogs, if you’d like! feel free to tag your friends! i want to see what everyone says!!!

The amount of time I wanted to end it all...

But then, I said to myself, "Had Suga ended his life when he was in high school, he would not have been here."

"Have patience. Your time will come."

Happy Birthday to one of the strongest people I know...

My Guardian Angel - Part 1

Fandom: BTS Paring: Min Yoongi x Female Reader Genre: Fluff and slight angst Warning: Age gap, running away from home, starving, lots of crying (I’m sorry but the mc cries a lot), panic attack, implication of abuse etc. Word Count: 2.7K Words Note: Since the reader is only 15 years old, I reduced Yoongi’s age to be 22. Please keep the age gap in mind before diving in to read. I must say there is nothing explicit in here.

Summary: You decide to follow a kind hearted stranger to his house in the middle of nowhere after you ran away from your abusive household...

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 [Complete]

*************************************************

I couldn't even keep track of the time. Who knew how long I had been sitting here all alone. The passers by kept throwing glances at me every now and then. But nobody really cared to ask me if I was okay or what I was up to even if my get up suggested that I wasn't a local in this place.

I had been observing my surroundings carefully. It seemed like I had taken my refuge in a complete foreign land. It was a rocky desert. It shouldn't be called a desert I suppose. Because there were enough plants to make it look livelier, at least to me. I was under a tree myself and secretly grateful for it because it was sheltering me from the heat of the sun. Even though it was winter, the heat had been bothering me since I had walked a long way to reach where I was now. Losing my energy completely, I collapsed beside this old friendly tree.

There was a grocery store beside me. People were going inside occasionally and coming out of it with huge bags. There might be a month's worth of groceries in them. Some of them would walk past me while biting into their snacks. It wasn't making me feel any better since I was starving for a whole day.

Even with the hunger, I was still dozing off because my body couldn't afford to keep me going any longer. That was when he came to me.

I heard someone clearing their throat. But I didn't bother to look up. Not gaining my attention, the person next to me let out a cough next. I looked up this time.

I saw before me a young man, probably in his twenties, carrying a grocery bag on one hand and a whiskey bottle on the other. He was wearing bright but dark blue clothes with a vest on. I noticed that his boots below the baggy black pants were a different shade of blue. All in all, I didn't like his outfit at all.

But there was something I couldn't say I didn't like. It was his hair. Bright fiery red hair. But as I checked out his facial features, I wasn't very glad that he had approached me. He looked really intimidating. Even the beautiful hair was making it worse.

I fixed my sitting posture as I felt a little uncomfortable around the stranger. To my relief, he looked away from me immediately but asked nonetheless, "where are you from? I haven't seen you around."

I didn't reply. So, he asked again, "do you have a home?" He then glanced at me once more.

Again, I remained quiet. He nodded his head as if he got the answers. "I'll just assume you ran away from your place. Seeing you in a state like this, it's most likely." He got it right. But I still didn't want to talk to him.

He leaned a little forward to me and asked in the most gentle voice, "Do you want to eat something? Are you hungry?"

The mention of hunger suddenly made my stomach growl. I nodded slowly. He tried to take out something that he had bought from the store earlier and a tangerine fell from the bag as he was doing so. When I moved to pick it up he went for it first and said, "uh-huh, that's for me." I immediately backed away.

Then, he handed me a sandwich. I grabbed it quickly and started to gobble it up. At that moment, the cold sandwich tasted like the best thing in this world. I couldn't help but let out a sound of satisfaction after the first bite.

He sat a little further from me and started to peel his fruit. I was done eating in a matter of a minute. He offered me a bottle of water. I took it gently this time and bowed my head to show him my gratitude.

He asked while feeding himself a piece of the tangerine, "How long have you been out and not eating?"

I noticed that though he talked with a heavy accent, his voice has a natural calmness. His ordinary questions sounded like music to my barren ears. Instead of answering, I kept staring at him in awe.

He looked back at me and tilted his head a little before saying, "So, you want this too?" He extended his hand towards me to offer two pieces of his little round ball of a fruit and I gladly accepted them, this time, with a little smile.

“I’ll get going now! I hope you figure out what you’re going to do next. Sitting here all by yourself won’t help you.” He said as he stood up and rubbed the dust away from his clothes.

I looked at him earnestly. I didn’t want him to leave. I wished he stayed a little longer so that I could get comfortable enough to talk to him. He looked down at me and said, “Don’t worry! I won’t advise you to go back home.” Then he muttered to himself, “I doubt if it was even a home.”

He looked back at me and said, “I hope you know the stranger danger rule already. That’s a good tactic that you didn’t talk to me just now. But I hope you won’t accept food from any strange man in the future. And don’t stay at a place long enough for people to notice that you need help. Get moving.”

Then he bowed his head a little before walking towards his jeep. He was going away. Suddenly, all the uncertainty regarding my future hit me hard and I started to panic. What should I do now? I had to stop him.

I jumped on to my feet and pulled my backpack on my shoulders before running towards him. He was about to open the door to his car when he realized I was behind him. He looked back with a confused face, “What happened?”

I cleared my throat to say, “I wish to go with you.”

His small eyes grew larger at my response. “Wha…what do you mean?”

“I meant what I said. I want to go with you. Where are you heading to?”

I knew I wasn’t the best judge of character. But I decided to listen to my intuition. Something told me that he was a guy (perhaps the only one) I could trust.

He shook his head and said, “Didn’t you hear a word I said? Don’t talk with strangers let alone get in their car. Are you stupid or what?”

His words sounded harsh enough to make my eyes prickle. I shifted on my legs and said quietly, “But I’m really scared. I don’t know what I was thinking when I ran away. I have no experience of the real world out here. I’m afraid something might go wrong. Please, don’t leave me alone here.”

“I know the world’s terrifying.” He said with a gentler tone than before, “I’m pretty sure you’re aware of it too. But I could be just as terrifying. How are you so sure to trust me, huh? Do you even know my name?”

I shook my head and asked, “What’s your name?”

He let out a frustrated grunt and said, “Just go away, please.”

I tried to smile, “It’s okay! I can just call you ‘oppa’!”

He looked at me as if I just swore at him. He shook his head again, opened the car door and got in. He signaled me to move away from his path so that he could drive. That was when I couldn’t control  my tears anymore. I stood there, looking at him while tears poured down my face like a waterfall.

His brows knitted together to form a frown. He closed his eyes, shook his head and sighed heavily. Then, he looked at me and said in a way that suggested he was really pissed, “Alright, c’mon! Hop in.”

I smiled and wiped away my tears as I ran to sit beside him. I pulled him into a hug and said, “Oppa! Thank you so much.”

“Aish!” He spoke while pushing me away, “Stop making a fuss.” Then he went on muttering to himself, “I don’t even know why I’m doing this. I doubt you're ever going to listen to me.”

And he was right to have doubted that.

"Don't ever call me Oppa. My name's Min Yoongi and you'll call me by that name only. Understood?"

"But I like Oppa more."

"And don't do that again. Don't hug me. I'm intolerant to touch."

"But I can't help it when I get excited."

“Don’t talk back like that either.”

“But I…”

I stopped myself quickly and nodded my head enthusiastically. I needed to show him that I could be a good girl if I wanted to. Yoongi didn’t talk further and kept his eyes fixed on the road.

I noticed that we were driving away from the small town of the desert to… well, it could be said that his house was in the middle of nowhere. It was a cube shaped small one room house with a large patio in the front. Everything around it clearly suggested that Yoongi lived here all alone. But nonetheless the place was neat and clean for a bachelor living here. The best thing about the house was that it looked like a place that could be called home.

My chest swelled up with overwhelming emotions. I was already in love with it all. I could never imagine living in a place like this. Not even in my wildest dream. But then, a sudden thought crushed my dream into pieces. Yoongi never said I could stay at his place.

When the car was parked, Yoongi got down quietly. I followed him to his house. He nodded at the big couch on the patio for me to be seated and I sat down obediently. I had to make sure he found my behavior tolerable enough to let me stay.

He went inside the room and there was the barking of a dog. I could guess that he was walking around placing his groceries at convenient places. After a long time, when the sun was almost setting down, he came out with food ingredients. The dog also followed him out.

“It won’t take long. I hope you’re not too hungry.” He said while lighting up the stove. I shook my head. He nodded and continued to cook.

The dog came towards the couch to inspect me. I smiled and patted its head carefully. The dog didn't retreat. Instead, it climbed onto the couch beside me. It made me laugh with its adorable behavior.

Yoongi finally arranged the hot food on the table. I tried to help him but it didn’t seem like he needed any. When everything was done, we sat down opposite each other. The smell was delicious. But I still couldn’t bring myself to eat. I needed to let out the uneasy feeling I was having.

Yoongi definitely noticed that I was struggling to say something. He didn’t start eating but didn’t urge me to talk either. Instead, he waited patiently for me to open up first.

“Oppa!” I stuttered as I said, “I was won… wondering if you’re going to… I mean let me…” I shook my head before stating directly, “Please, let me stay with you.”

“I think we can decide upon the matter after dinner.” he replied politely.

I shook my head again, “Just give me one chance. Just the one. I promise, you won’t regret it. I will be a great help to you. I’ll do all of your house chores. I can wash the dishes and your clothes. I will wipe the floor clean. I can learn to cook if you want me too. Please, keep me as a maid. Don’t send me away.”

Yoongi handed me a pair of chopsticks and said, “Eat before it gets cold.”

With a lingering fear in my heart I had to withdraw.

I got up immediately after Yoongi finished his food. I decided I would give him a demonstration of my will and the hard work. I started to take everything inside the house to the sink. Yoongi silently joined in to help.

“I’ll do the dishes tonight.” I announced and proceeded to get the job done as quickly as I could.

Yoongi didn’t complain either. He sat down on his bed and moved his attention to a comic book. I started with the small things like spoons, chopsticks etc and gradually took the bowls and the plates.

“I have years of experience in household work, you know.” I boast about myself. But Yoongi didn’t budge. So I said louder, “I’m sure you’ll find me a useful maid.”

Yoongi turned to the next page to read. I tried to joke, “Who knows, maybe you’ll have to start paying me for the…” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

The plate slipped through my fingers and shattered on the floor making a piercing sound. I froze in my place. Yoongi looked up from his book. The barking of the dog was deafening my ears.

“Oh no!” I thought to myself, “I had done it again.”

I saw Yoongi placing the book on the bed and slowly walking towards me. I tried to defend myself, “I’m so sorry. Please… Listen to me. I… I didn’t mean to. It won’t happen again.”

Yoongi walked past me. I saw his hand reaching the sink to grab something. I shrieked and fell on my knees. I shielded my head with my hands as I begged him to not hurt me.

“Please… I’m sorry. I… please.”

Tears streamed down my face as I paced to and fro. My head was still bowing towards the floor. I could feel my whole body shaking. I felt like I was going to throw up.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jerked away from him as I yelled, “No! Don’t!”

“Hey!” I heard him say, “Calm down.”

I looked up at him slowly. He was kneeling down beside me. His expression confused me for a while. He didn’t look angry. What was it again? Yeah! Worry. I saw worry in his eyes.

I slowly raised my head to face him when the dog stopped barking. He spoke carefully, “It’s just a plate. You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll take care of it, okay?” He was moving a little closer to me with each sentence.

Finally, he reached to rest his hands on both of my shoulders. My tensed muscle relaxed at his touch. I leaned forward and he caught me before my head could touch the ground.

I sobbed on his shoulder while he gently patted my back, whispering reassurance that it was really no big deal. I tried to bring myself to say something. But my breath was hitched. It made me cry even more.

“Don’t say anything. I understand.” He whispered softly.

I wiped my tears away to look into his eyes clearly. I didn't know how I had believed that these eyes could hold rage. There was nothing but comfort in his deep black twinkling eyes. I knew immediately that I had made the right choice to have put my trust on the bearer of these eyes.

Minutes later. I sat quite motionless at one corner of the room watching him do all the work. Yoongi carefully picked out the pieces of the plate, broomed the place, did the remaining dishes and made the bed.

At last, he walked to me and kneeled down to say, “You need to sleep. You must be exhausted. Come.” He extended his hand towards me. Hesitantly, I took it and he led me to the only bed in the room.

Carefully tucking me in the soft blanket, he asked, “Do you want me to turn the lights off?” I nodded my head. He turned it off and walked to the door.

He stopped and turned to me. He looked as if he was deciding how to put his thoughts to words. Then, he carefully spoke, "Next time, anything goes wrong again, you don't have to freak out. Instead, you can help me make it right. Okay?"

My eyes started to get blurry. I barely managed to let out the words, "Next time?"

Yoongi replied with a ‘hmm’ almost inaudible to my ears.

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》Be a Lady《

◇Free your mind◇

♡Be Yourself♡

Happy Birthday to My Eternal Sunshine

A Reaper’s Mistake

'The Avonlea Story Club'

Story no. #01 Genre: Adventure Time Duration: 15 Jan, 2023- 15 Feb, 2023

Warning: Death (obviously), grief, mild horror, slight swearing, small space, some messed up explanation of heaven and hell, deceiving, betrayal, angst, crying, kissing etc. Word Count: 7.7k Words (It turned out longer than I planned)

Summary: Harley comes to know that the death of her twin brother was a mistake by the grim reaper that took his life. So, she makes a deal of travelling to the underworld to correct it in order to bring her dead brother back home. On her journey, she learns little things about life... and death.

Harley returned to her room after a long and exhausting day. She felt cold, both on the inside and the outside. But she didn’t mind. After all, death was supposed to be cold. Now, Harley wasn’t the one who died really. It was her twin brother Ashton. But it didn’t make any difference to her. The thing about losing a twin is that you lose yourself along with them. At least, that was how Harley felt at the moment.

She lay on the bed, thinking. There was no way she could go to sleep without any trouble. How could she, when she knew her other half laid all alone in a mortuary? Harley wanted to cry. But her eyes were as dry as dust. She turned on some music on her phone and wished that her heart stopped clenching for a while.

By the time, the room temperature started to drop. At a point, Harley started to feel very uncomfortable to ignore it. When she checked the AC remote, she was shocked to find that the temperature went down to 19°C. Before she could fix it, another degree dropped before her eyes.

“What the hell!” she thought to herself. “It’s not even that cold outside.”

Harley could detect sudden movements behind her. She turned on her bed carefully and saw a hooded figure in a corner of her room. An involuntary gasp escaped her mouth. She sat on the bed promptly and whisper-called the intruder, “Ashton! Is that you?”

The figure came forward. Through the lamp light, Harley saw its long and oval shaped face. The jaws looked like they were sucked in. A crooked nose hung in the middle. The gray eyes were very large. Whoever this man was, he was not Ashton, Harley knew it for sure.

“Who are you?” Harley asked flatly.

“I am not a ghost nor a mere human. And I am definitely not your brother Ashton.”  The man replied fast and paused for a while before adding, “I am a grim reaper.”

Harley sighed. The man who claimed to be a grim reaper was taken aback. It was definitely not the reaction he had been expecting. The man cleared his throat to speak but was interrupted by Harley.

“So that’s it?”  she asked quietly, “This is how I die?  Because of  a heartbreak?”

“Umm…” The man considered her unusual behavior for a moment. She had believed him. But she wasn’t a bit scared. She was rather accepting her death more easily than most of the people he had encountered.

“Actually, you’re not dead.” The grim reaper said. Harley nodded her head slowly. But didn’t say anything further. He took a deep breath before saying the following.

“We’re short on time. So, listen carefully. Ashton wasn’t the one to die. It was supposed to be someone else. However, due to some misunderstanding on my part, this grave mistake occurred and it has to be fixed to avoid further complications. We need to retreat his soul from the underworld. Now, I could have done the job myself but it is mandatory for a grim reaper to accompany a human, be it living or dead, to cross the river by boat down there. Yes! Living humans had gone to the underworld before. You may ask why. But I’m not in a situation to explain anything unnecessary. I hope you don’t have any questions.”

Harley could take in huge amounts of information at once. Still, this was too much to comprehend even to her. She could never imagine in her wildest dream that her dead brother could be brought back to life.

She said as politely as she could given the situation, “But I do have a question. To be honest, a lot of them.”

The grim reaper was satisfied with her reaction this time. He held up his hand and said, “Even if you do, you’ll be answered on the way. Now, pack your bag with necessary stuff because we’re gonna have a wild night in the underworld.”

“I haven’t even agreed to go with you, have I?” Harley said, irritation clear in her tone.

The grim reaper put on a smile and asked, “Do you want your brother back or not?”

“But…” Harley tried to argue but was immediately interrupted.

“Yes or no?”

Harley groaned in annoyance. But she considered the matter. She had nothing to lose but gain from this expedition. So, there was nothing much to think about, not even the dangers it may involve. She replied quietly, “Yes!”

“Follow me, then!”  The reaper leapt out of the window.

Harley took as little time as she could to pack her bag like she had been told. She got out through the door noiselessly, not that her parents could still be awake. The reaper was waiting in the backyard. As Harley went closer, she could feel how her surroundings were changing abruptly into a very cold one.

“Good!” he said after examining Harley. “Let’s get moving!” 

For a while, all Harley could make out was his light gray eyes before he turned and started to run. She followed him as fast as her little feet allowed her to. They kept going like that for some time without saying anything to each other. Harley’s mind was spiraling with thousands of questions. But she decided to ask the very basics.

“You didn’t say how much time we really have.” She yelled at the tall figure ahead of her.

“Let’s say before they arrange Ashton’s funeral ‘cause no soul can be retreated once their earthly goodbye is done.” The reaper replied.

“That,” Harley said, “would be tomorrow.”

The reaper slowed his pace and turned to face her, “I hope you understand now why you should hurry a little more.”

Harley felt out of breath. But she wasn’t willing to take any insults for her height. She continued to run and asked again, “Where are we going anyway?”

“To the underworld, of course!” the reaper laughed.

“I meant, where on earth?” Harley said through gritted teeth.

“Oh!” The reaper said, no sarcasm in his deep voice, “Mrs. Laferty’s backyard.”

“No way! That’s the underworld?”

“There’s a doorway to the underworld. Yes!”

Harley stopped abruptly. It took a few moments before the grim reaper realized that Harley wasn’t following him anymore. He turned and ran back towards her, giving her a look which asked why she had done that.

“At least,” Harley breathed out the words, “give me a good reason to trust you.”

“Should I summon up dead people to make you believe me?” the reaper asked impatiently.

“Nope!” Harley replied flatly, “I believe that you’re a grim reaper. But I don’t exactly trust you about bringing back my brother. Who knows, what you’re tricking me into.”

“Seriously? You think a grim reaper has anything to gain from a mere human?”

“That wasn’t very convincing.” Harley turned back to walk.

“Wait!” the reaper held her by her wrist and said, “Alright! I’m going to tell you the real reason why I’m so desperate to make it right. But you have to promise me that no matter what, you’re not gonna back away from this. No matter what!”

Harley sensed the seriousness in his voice and nodded her head in affirmation. The reaper sighed, “I’m gonna lose my job even if I mess up for once. I saw what happened to the others when they did it. I don’t want the same fate. If I can correct the mistake before the higher officials are aware of it, I may have a chance of keeping my job as a grim reaper.”

He paused and looked at Harley, “Since I need you as much as you need me to bring back your brother, will you help me do this?”

“Alright! I think,” Harley took her warm hand away from his cold one and said, “I can do this without bothering you with more questions.”

Once they reached Mrs. Laferty’s backyard, the reaper produced a scythe out of nowhere and marked a large X on the ground. After a few minutes of complete silence, the ground beneath their feet started to shake. Then the X mark glowed scarlet before that part went down, creating a stair to the underworld.

“I think you forgot to ask the most crucial question on the way.” The reaper said to Harley. She looked at him with genuine curiosity. He smiled brightly and added, “My name is Joaquinn with double N.”

Joaquinn walked ahead of Harley down the stairs. Once they reached the floor made of wood, fire on the huge torches that hung by the wall lit up. Harley looked back the way she had come only to find that the stairs had disappeared completely. Fear had slowly started to build inside her. She almost reached to grab Joaquinn by his hand but stopped herself immediately.

Ahead of them was the huge river that Joaquinn had mentioned earlier. There was a small boat and the boatman was staring at them with a piercing look. Joaquinn turned to Harley and whispered, “You stay here.”  Then, he walked toward the boatman.

Harley wondered what it was that Joaquinn had been explaining so earnestly to the weird looking boatman. She couldn’t make out the words. But she could definitely tell by the tone of it that it was something she didn’t want to find out. After a while, Joaquinn took out an envelope from his pocket and showed the piece of paper it contained to the man. The man glanced at Harley for a split second before giving a stiff nod to the reaper.

Joaquinn turned back and came towards Harley with a pleasant smile on his face. “It’s all done,” he said and took Harley’s hand to guide her to the boat. Harley wasn’t feeling very good about the idea now. She wanted to ask Joaquinn if he was sure that their plan was going to work. But she couldn’t do that since she had promised him earlier not to bother with more questions.

“C’mon, now!” Joaquinn called, “Hop in!” Swallowing the lump that had grown on her throat, Harley climbed on the boat.

The boat ride was a quiet and long one. Harley had fixed her stare on the boatman, who had been rowing away without looking at them for once. Minutes later, they reached the end. Instead of wood on this side, the floor was made of concrete. They got down and Joaquinn nodded a thanks to the boatman. Harley doubted if he had even noticed that. The boatman headed back.

Harley couldn’t help but ask, “How are we going to go back?” 

“You don’t have to worry about that part.” Joaquinn said casually. “It’s easier to get out than getting in.”

“Now what?” Harley asked once again since Joaquinn kept standing there for quite some time.

“Shh!” Joaquinn whispered, “I think they sensed our arrival.”

“Who?” Harley was alarmed by Joaquinn’s change in voice.

“The guards.” As soon as Joaquinn whispered out the words, barking of dogs from all directions started to deafen Harley’s ears. “This way!” Joaquinn yelled as he took Harley’s hand and ran towards a corridor.

Harley glanced back for a split second while running along with Joaquinn. She could swear that she had never seen such a sight in her lifetime. At least twenty or more animals were coming at them. But they looked nothing like ordinary dogs. Their heads were huge with eyes looking like they could fall out any moment. Their tongues were dark purple and saliva secreted from them looked like blood.

Harley didn’t look long enough to find more hideous structures on their bodies. She tightened her grip on Joaquinn’s hand and ran faster. The corridor was getting narrower as they ran forward. At some point, it was hard even for one person to move let alone two. The dogs, being huge in size than a human or a reaper couldn’t reach them before the animals got stuck. It meant only one thing. Both the reaper and Harley were stuck as well.

There was this extremely narrow corridor which could crush your bones if you tried to pass through it on one side and the dangerous looking dogs a little further on the other. Joaquinn swore by the realization while Harley started to feel suffocated.

The barking of those animals sounded worst inside the corridor. Harley clapped her hands on her ears tightly. Joaquinn looked down at her with concern. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Please make it stop!” she yelled.

Joaquinn noticed that Harley was in between him and the underworld dogs. So, he moved Harley a bit further to make space for him to pass by her. He then placed himself between Harley and the dogs, his back facing the latter. He pulled Harley closer and said, “You need to calm down.”

Harley buried her face on Joaquinn’s chest, her hands still covering her ears. She felt dizzy. All the chaos around her, the small space, her seasonal asthma and the fact that she hadn’t anything to eat the whole day were good reasons for her to faint. And that she did in a matter of a minute.

Harley woke up in the dark in complete silence. She sat up promptly and pondered over the possibilities of her being in the underworld. “Had I been dreaming?” she thought to herself.

“Hey! Welcome back!” Joaquinn’s cheerful voice proved her wrong and she sighed in relief. That meant, the hope of getting her brother back was still possible. The next moment, she thought about the terrible event she had encountered before she passed out.

“Where are we?” she asked, panic raising with each word.

“Ah! Don’t worry about those nasty animals. They’re gone. We are now safely locked up inside a cell.” Joaquinn said those words as if being locked up in the underworld prison was no big deal.

Harley asked, “What happened exactly when I was out?”

“Well! After you fainted, the guards came to inquire about the sudden outbursts of the hellhounds. Since they found us with no real explanation of trespassing in the underworld, they decided to put us in a cell before informing their master. That’s all.”

Harley secretly appreciated the quality of Joaquinn explaining critical situations easily. By the time, her eyes adjusted to the dark and she could make out his figure sitting in front of her. She sighed and asked, “So, how do we break out of here?”

“I’m still thinking about that.” Joaquinn said casually and pointed to Harley’s backpack, “You better eat something while I plan our escape.”

Harley thought she ought to eat something in order to have some strength for the future troubles she was about to meet. She prepared herself mentally to face more obstacles too. After the greetings from the hellhounds, she thought she could handle just about anything.

Offering Joaquinn the packet of butter cookies that she had brought, which he gladly refused, Harley started to relax as she chewed on her favorite snack. She felt a little more comfortable to ask Joaquinn some more questions which were not necessarily important at the moment but were bothering her mind a lot.

“Why do you think my brother is in the underworld?” She asked quietly, “I mean, isn’t it hell?”

“It is, indeed!” Joaquinn replied, “Why do you ask?”

“Because I can’t think of anything my brother did that was evil enough to land him in hell. Wait a minute! Or is it because of the other person who was supposed to be dead instead?”

“Nope!” Joaquinn shook his head and continued, “even if it was a mistake that your brother died in the place of umm… someone else, he still would end up where he deserved to be. Don’t give me that look before I explain the whole matter. It’s not because he's evil that he ended up in hell. It’s rather because of the lack of a heaven.”

“Lack of what?” Harley couldn’t mask the surprise in her voice.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Joaquinn chuckled, “There is no heaven to begin with. Humans made that place up for the comfort of mind. Every human ends up in hell after they die, which is this underworld.”

“Now that you’ve said that,” Harley said thoughtfully, “I don’t think that there is anyone saint enough to enjoy eternal peace or something. So, I guess, it’s quite logical.”

“Not a saint exactly but there are people who are really good compared to others. And they definitely don’t deserve to be put in the same place. It’s not the flaws in humans but rather the flaws in the whole concept of heaven itself. Do you think eternal peace is even possible? I mean, what is peace without a little chaos, huh?”

“You’re smarter than you look.” Harley thought. Of course, she didn’t say the words out loud.

Joaquinn continued, unaware of Harley’s admiration, “Now, here is how the hell works. To put it in easier language, people who did worse get the worst place whereas the best people get the best, all here in the same underworld. Easy as pie.”

“Isn’t it crazy to think that once we get out of here, me and my brother, we’re going to be the only people who know exactly about the afterlife?” Harley said dreamily.

“Hell, no!” Joaquinn replied with a laugh, “I’m not taking any risks. I’m gonna make Ashton forget about this all. A grim reaper’s kiss can make you forget certain parts of your life, you know.”

“Ew!” The thought of Joaquinn kissing her twin makes her want to puke. Then, she remembered that she was also someone who knows his secrets as well and gulped down the lump on her throat.

“So,” Harley asked, “Do you know where my brother is?” 

“Well, if it isn’t my dear friend.” Joaquinn had turned his head towards the cell door and called the person who had just arrived, much to Harley’s surprise.

“I think I know you, don’t I?” the person brought the torch he was carrying closer to the cell and recognized Joaquinn.

“How can you not?” Joaquinn whined, “I am the grim reaper who brought you here. It had been only a month and you already forgot all about me? I thought you said that you were glad I wasn’t as scary as you thought.”

“Of course, Joaquinn!” he smiled, “I am glad that it was you rather than some other mean reaper. What are you doing here?”

“I’m in trouble, my friend.” Joaquinn stood up and walked to him, “I see you’re in uniform. That means, they’ve already posted you as one of the guards, haven't they?”

“Sure, they did.” the boy said with a doubt.

Joaquinn yelped in joy, “Speaking of perfect timing, huh! C’mon, now, what are you waiting for? Get me out of here.”

“Wait a minute!” The boy took a step back, “What are you talking about? If the master knows about this, he’ll lock me up instead.”

“Oh no, silly! He wouldn’t. Because I’m going to take you out of here with me.” Joaquinn said reassuringly.

“Out of here?”

“Yep!”

“Is that even possible?” The boy asked dreamily. “But I thought you can’t go out into the world if your funeral is already done.”

“Who said that your funeral’s done?” Joaquinn continued, “Remember? You don’t have a family, Alex!”

“My name’s Alec.”  the boy corrected.

“Of course, it is. Now, listen to me carefully. I have a spare soul to put in the underworld. Instead, I can free one from here. Okay! I see, you don’t believe me. Wait a second.” Joaquinn took out the envelope from his pocket and showed the paper to the boy.

“Who is…” Alec tried to ask but Joaquinn instantly said, “We gotta hurry if you want to get out. Now, tell me if you agree on the deal we just made.”

“I don’t know.” The boy simply shrugged his shoulders.

“C’mon, Alan.” Joaquinn tried to persuade him further, “All you need to do is get me out of here and you’re granted a second chance of living your life.”

“But what’s the point if I’m gonna die someday.” The boy argued, “I don’t even have a family to go back to.”

“I know,” Joaquinn thought for a moment before saying, “But what about… her?”

“Her?” the boy’s eyes widened, “You know about her?”

“Yes!” Joaquinn nodded, “I do.”

The boy thought for a moment quietly. Then, his face beamed with hope. “Alright, Joaquinn! I believe you. I’m going to bring the key.” Saying this, the boy had already gone away with his torch and darkness fell into the cell once again.

Joaquinn let out a heavy sigh, “Ah! It’s so bothersome to deal with humans.”

Harley had been listening to their conversation quietly but attentively. She came forward and cleared her throat before asking, “Is it true that his funeral’s not done and that you’re going to help him out?”

“I don’t know, to be honest.” Joaquinn replied, “I don’t stay long enough for people’s funerals. Once I bring them to the underworld, my work is done.”

“So, you just lied to him?” Harley doubted the reaper’s words.

“Do I have any choice?” Joaquinn turned to her and said, “We don’t have an eternity to get your brother out of here. And answering to your hanging question, I don’t even know where he is right now.”

Harley remained quiet. She knew there was nothing she could say to argue with him. After all, she would choose to help her own brother over some stranger named Alec. But her heart panged with sudden guilt.

“Who is her?” She asked quietly.

“What? Who?” Joaquinn asked unknowingly.

“The one you told Alec about.”

“Oh! I don’t know that either. Just made a lucky guess.” Joaquinn shrugged his shoulders.

Harley’s hand clenched into a fist at his apathy, “He could be gay, you know.”

“Once again, lucky guess.”

The boy came back with the key and a huge grin on his face. He unlocked the door without a word and they got out immediately.

“Thank you so much, my friend.” Joaquinn pulled him into a hug and said, “You need to wait here while I finish my job. Then, I’ll be back to get you.”

“You’re really coming back for me, aren’t you?” The boy asked, still a faint smile lingering on his face.

Harley spoke before Joaquin could say anything. “Alec, you’re an amazing person. The world out there doesn’t deserve you. I hope you always remember that.”

“Who are you?” the boy asked in confusion.

“She’s another reaper. Anyway, we gotta go, now. Don’t worry! We’ll come back for you. Bye.” Joaquinn said quickly and pulled Harley by her hand to drag her out of that place through the dark corridor.

It was hard for Harley to keep up with Joaquinn when they ran together. Because, Joaquinn with his huge legs ran as if he was jumping on the moon's surface. Harley, on the other hand, had to take more steps faster to remain by his side. Since it hadn’t been the best day for her, she didn’t feel energetic enough to run anyway. So, after a while, she tripped and fell, hard, on the ground.

Joaquinn kneeled down beside her and asked anxiously, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fucking not!” Harley muttered angrily under her breath.

“Hey!” Joaquinn yelled, “Don’t take out the anger with me. We should hurry if you want to save Ashton. Now, is it my fault that you’re too weak to handle anything?”

“Technically, everything that has been happening is your fault.” Harley snapped back.

“Okay! Fine!” Joaquinn threw his hands up in defeat, “Let’s not run anymore. But at least get up so that we can walk out of the dark.”

Harley did as she was asked to and they both walked quietly for a while. She felt uneasy this way. She felt like she didn’t really have the right to remain angry at this stranger, who had been helping her, even if it was something he needed to do as well.

So, she tried to cool down and asked, “Would you mind me asking about that paper you showed Alec and the boatman? What does it contain?”

“Well, umm… it was sent to me with the name of umm… the person I was supposed to take the soul of.” Joaquinn said rather awkwardly.

“Who is this person?” Harley asked instantly, feeling a little bad for not wanting to know about them earlier.

“I don’t think you should know that.” Joaquinn sounded reluctant to tell her, “You would probably make a huge deal out of it.”

“Why?” Harley asked more curiously, “Are they someone I know?”

Joaquinn scoffed, “Judging by how you reacted earlier for only deceiving a stranger, I don’t think it matters.”

Harley rolled her eyes in annoyance, “Fine! Don’t tell me.”

They walked a few more minutes when they could finally see the light ahead of them. “Can you see it?” Joaquinn asked, pointing at its way and Harley nodded, “Let’s get out of here, then.” Joaquinn started to sprint toward it, leaving Harley no choice but to run after him.

They came out into an opening. It was a large field full of what appeared to be people at first glance. But they were rather different entities; souls of dead humans, guards, demons, monsters etc.

Harley's eyes grew larger at the sight, "Are we caught again?"

"Not yet!" Joaquinn replied shortly and grabbed her hand. A sudden shiver went through Harley’s whole body at his cold touch.

"He's a little too touchy." Harley thought to herself even though it was something she didn't think worthy to be thought of at this time.

"Let's walk out of here casually." Joaquinn dragged her forward. He kept talking while looking straight ahead, "It's the center of the underworld. Did you see the doors around?"

Harley nodded her head. The place was circle shaped and the walls had lots of doors to it. They had gotten out of one of those doors as well.

"Each of them leads to a different place. Now the question is, which one are we supposed to be using?" Joaquinn said.

Harley asked him instead, "Where do you usually bring the souls?"

"To the receptionist." Joaquinn nodded at a woman in front of them, "They are taken to the master and he decides where to put them in."

"I bet the receptionist knows where they are kept." Harley said.

Joaquinn nodded again, "She might."

"We should take a chance." Harley said boldly. Joaquinn looked confused. So, she replied, "Let's ask for help."

Asking for help turned out to be a bad idea.

Harley was reluctant to speak with the receptionist. But the receptionist made both of them answer her questions at once. Bombarding them with questions and receiving different answers almost every time from the two of them, made her suspicious. So, she decided to play it cool with them, but dialed for the master’s number secretly.

“You may wait for a few minutes. I need to make a call to ask the ones who keep the records to let you know where Mr. Ashton Campbell is kept currently.” The woman said with a professional smile on her face.

Joaquinn and Harley glanced at each other and swallowed together. Before Joaquinn could mouth the word ‘run’, someone yelled from behind.

“Holy Molly! Look who I ran into. Joaquinn, my bro.”

“Matilda!” The woman called her, while Joaquinn looked at her in disbelief. “Do you know this man well?”

“Bet I do, Kim.” Matilda walked towards them. “He’s one of the guards.” The receptionist named Kim left out a sigh. She was a good friend of Matilda and trusted her. So, she gave them the location to Ashton’s room, which was a map since the underworld was as big as the earth itself. And they all left the place quietly.

It wasn’t until they entered a door which led them to another corridor (“Jeez, the hell is full of corridors!” Harley thought) they started to talk.

“Thank you for saving my ass just now.” Joaquinn looked at Matilda and let out a huge smile. Harley thought he looked better with a smile.

“It’s nothing.” Matilda replied, “You better explain what’s going on. Who is this living human that you brought here? Don’t tell me you fell for those tricks like me as well.”

Joaquinn laughed at this and said, “She’s a friend. She’s helping me to break out the wrong person I sent here today.”

“No way!” Matilda’s eyes widened, “You kidding me?”

“Absolutely not!” Joaquinn gave a quick explanation of what the real deal was. Matilda nodded her head. “Won’t you introduce me to her?” Matilda elbowed Joaquinn.

“Yeah, sure.” Joaquinn said, “This is Harley as I told you. And Harley, she is one of the reapers, I mean, was a reaper.”

“Why isn’t she anymore, may I ask?” Harley asked, confused at her being suddenly involved with them.

“That’s because,” Matilda replied, herself, “I did the worst thing a grim reaper could do. I fell in love with a human. It is called ‘love at first sight’ I believe. And I refused to take the soul of that person. Now, there you go. That’s the dumbest shit I did. But you know what? I’m not ashamed. Not even a little bit.” Matilda started to laugh at her own speech even though Harley couldn’t see what was so funny about it.

She could only imagine how tragic it must be; given the job of killing a loved one. Even if you knew it was their time to die, you could never bring yourself to do that. Or at least, Harley could never do that.

“The master gave me the job of a guard instead, you know. Just so he could make me regret my poor choice. Because I got to see the love of my life going through the worst punishments of hell regularly. But like I said, I don’t regret nothing.”

“That’s my girl!” Joaquinn pulled her into a hug. Harley wished that she could be hugged like that sometimes too.

“Freeze!” Some guards came behind them with different weapons.

“Shit! We gotta run!” Matilda screamed the order and in the blink of an eye, they started running as if their life depended on it. Actually, it pretty much did.

“Why are we running?” Harley asked, “I thought we got the permission.”

“The permission of only a receptionist. Not the master.” Matilda said sarcastically.

Matilda ran ahead of them, reading the map in between so that they didn’t have to lose time on finding their desired person. But at a point, they ran into a dead end.

“What happened?” Joaquinn asked, “Why are we stopping here?”

“Shit! I should have turned left.” Matilda lifted her head from the map.

Suddenly an arrow was shooted towards her and she was pinned to the wall by her arm, “Fuck! It hurts.” she screamed in pain, making Harley flinch.

“This is it!” Joaquinn sat down with a thud, “Guess I have to serve the master along with you, Matilda.” he muttered.

The guards came running towards them, seizing them by their arms and tying their hands behind them. Neither Harley nor Joaquinn made any complaints at all. But Matilda struggled hard against them only to increase her pain and to give up in the end.

“I’m sorry, friends. I couldn’t come to much help, after all.” Matilda said with a sigh.

“Let’s just leave our fates to the master.” Joaquinn replied.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s going to have a blast.” Matilda scoffed.

They were dragged along with the guards and were forced to follow them. Nobody said anything to the other. Harley understood that begging the guards to let them go would be fruitless. They looked like they were loyal to their master.

The guards took them in front of a cell. Harley observed that this one looked more exclusive than the one they were kept in earlier. It was rather big and cleaner too. The guards checked them thoroughly. They took away Harley’s backpack too. Joaquinn started to get really mad when they took out the contents of his pants pockets.

Joaquinn snapped at the guards and almost started an argument. Meanwhile, Harley noticed that the envelope that made her curious earlier layed on the ground. She took it and opened it to see what’s written there.

Name of the Human: Harley Campbell

Date of birth: 19 January, 2003

Date of death: 15 February, 2023

Time of death: 02: 34 a.m.

Assigned Grim Reaper: Joaquinn

Harley didn’t know what to feel at that time. She could never imagine that it was her instead of her brother who should have died. But the more she thought of it, the more it made sense.

They both had sneaked out of their house to get to one of their friend’s parties. She didn’t want to go. But Ashton insisted upon her coming along with him. That was when the accident took place. That was how the mistake was made. They shared the same surname. They both were born on the same day. They both were present in the car during the accident.

Harley closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. She took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. Then, with a poker face on, she kept the paper inside the envelope and handed it to Joaquinn.

Joaquinn’s eyes grew larger and he looked at Harley suspiciously, trying to read her face. But Harley didn’t budge. She went inside the cell willingly and sat down at a corner.

They sat there in complete silence after the guards left. Joaquinn sat down beside Harley and Matilda fell asleep at another corner across from her. Then, Harley decided to speak.

"So, it was supposed to be me." It was not a question, rather a statement to let Joaquinn know that she had found out.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Joaquinn asked and Harley nodded slowly. Joaquinn muttered something to himself and buried his head in between his knees.

"You could have just told me. You didn’t need to hide it." Harley said quietly.

Joaquinn looked up and turned to face her, "I did it because I had to. I needed your help to make things right. But as far as I know humanity, no one would want to die willingly."

Harley let out a painful laughter, "Then, you only know a fraction of it."

Joaquinn didn't reply. Harley settled down easily and made her space to lie down on the ground. She whispered softly but loud enough for Joaquinn to hear, "If we get to Ashton anyhow, please do me a favor and keep it a secret from him as well."

“You really thought you could work right under my nose without me finding out, huh?” The master scoffed at the three captives. They had been brought before him. He was now the god of their fates. And everybody knew, except Harley, that the master liked to play with them.

“Let me first get done with my old acquaintance.” The master moved towards Matilda and spoke, “Dear Matilda, we met again. I thought we wouldn’t until you finish your 300 years sentence.”

“Here we are!” Matilda shrugged her shoulders.

A frown appeared on the master’s forehead. He looked displeased when he said, “There’s nothing interesting about you. Nothing that excites me at all. I’ll go for the usual punishment. Add 300 years more to your 167 years that’s left.”

Matilda blinked her eyes quickly for a while. Harley wondered if she had been expecting some worst kind of punishment. The master ordered the guards to take Matilda away. But she said, “Please, master, let me talk to the girl. For once.”

When the master nodded she came straight to her and said with a smile, “Don’t worry about me. I’m going to be just fine. But since you’re the only living person I can say this to, I will. Remember that it’s coming from an ex grim reaper’s mouth.”

Matilda took a deep breath before saying, “Life’s too short to waste over stupid mistakes. Please, don’t leave any regrets. So that when it’s your time to die, you can die a happy human.”

Harley could say nothing in return. She glanced at Joaquinn. But he had been keeping his eyes down to the floor. Matilda pulled Harley into a warm embrace. Harley could swear that she had never been hugged like this her entire life. Then, Matilda was taken away.

The master walked around the room, thinking. Harley thought he was probably thinking of how to punish them.

“Alright!” the master announced, “I think I know what to do with you two.” He smirked at Harley, “You’re here to save your brother, right?”

Harley nodded her head rather innocently. She looked a little too desperate. Joaquinn bit his lower lip in frustration. For some reason, he was really mad at himself.

“I will grant you that wish then.” The master said and Joaquinn’s head shot up.

He asked in disbelief, “You’re gonna let us go?”

The master shook his head as he laughed, “Not that easily! But hear me out. I thought for a moment how I had never granted anything to anybody before. So, it might be a good thing to experiment on. But again, there is a condition.”

The master walked to Joaquinn and said to him only, “I will let this slip for only once. If you can make it right this time, you’re free to go. But if you mess up again, just once again, you’re going to have the same fate as your friend, Matilda.”

The master walked back to his seat and asked, “So, tell me, Joaquinn, do you accept it?”

Joaquinn glanced at Harley. But this time, her head was bent downward. Joaquinn swallowed hard and replied, “Yes!”

The master said nothing in return. But Harley noticed a satisfied face when she looked at him for the last time.

The moment Harley had been waiting for had never been closer. Two guards accompanied them to the cell where Ashton had been kept. They opened the cell door and giving a stiff nod went away. Harley stepped inside first followed by Joaquinn.

Ashton was sitting by his bed. He first thought that some guards had visited him. But when he saw his twin sister’s face, which was so much similar to his own, he couldn’t help but cry out.

“Harley!” He stood up and hugged her right away. “Oh, Harley! I’ve been so alone and I missed you so much.” Then, he looked at her face and his smile drowned, “Are you dead too?”

“No, I’m not!” Harley tried to show a smile, “I’m here to bring you back home.”

Ashton looked puzzled at her comment, “But I thought I died.” He looked at Joaquinn and said, “And you were the grim reaper who brought me here.”

Harley nodded and said, “Yes, I know. But there had been some mistakes. He shouldn’t have taken your soul. It should have been someone else. Anyway, we’ve sorted it out. Now, let’s get you out of here before the master comes up with some cruel ideas.”

Ashton nodded even though he wasn’t very sure about the whole matter. They got out of the cell and walked through the corridor. Joaquinn walked ahead of them, map in his hand. Harley thought that he had been exceptionally quiet. Probably giving them some privacy so that they could talk for the last time.

So, they talked. Harley told Ashton everything she couldn’t have. She told him how much she loved him but was never able to express it. She told him how he was the only person Harley cared about. She told him how much she hated her parents for discriminating between them and loving Ashton a little less than they did Harley.

By the time they had reached the river, both the siblings had become too emotional. Harley knew that it was their last meeting. But she couldn’t really say goodbye to her brother in fear that he might refuse to cooperate.

“Let’s get on the boat.” Ashton exclaimed, “I can’t wait to start anew.”

“Wait!” Joaquinn stepped forward, “Ashton! Don’t you want to know who this other person is? The one who’s to die instead of you?”

Harley glared at Joaquinn, shaking her head to remind him of the favor she had asked earlier. Ashton was too confused to understand it. He simply asked, “Who?”

Joaquinn swallowed before saying, “It’s Harley.”

Harley closed her eyes in disbelief. She thought she could trust this reaper only for once. But no!

It took a few minutes before Ashton realized what the reaper had informed. He gasped, “Oh my God! Harley!”

“No, Ashton!” Harley said, cupping her brother’s face in her hands, “It’s okay! Don’t feel too sad. I already know about it and I’ve accepted it too. Please, brother, it’s fine.”

But Ashton had been shaking his head in denial, “There’s no way I’m going back without you. No way! I can’t do this. I can’t take your life.”

“But it’s your life that I’ve been living right now.” Harley argued, “It was meant to be me from the start. Please, Ashton, don’t act like this.”

Ashton hugged Harley once again and Harley sunk into his embrace. Tears started to stream down her face. Ashton, on the other hand, was crying too. Seeing them in such misery, Joaquinn realized he had to step in.

He spoke, his voice shaking from the emotion that had been building inside him unknowingly, “I’m sorry to say this but I don’t think I can do this either. I can’t take your soul, Harley. I just can’t.”

Harley let go of Ashton. She looked furious. She yelled at Joaquinn, “It’s all your fault. You have to fix it now. You have to take my brother back to the world. I’m not taking any ‘sorry’ from you.”

Ashton tried to calm her down. He had never seen Harley in such a vulnerable state before. He pulled Harley back and they sat down on the concrete floor together. Ashton patted her softly on the back. When Harley finally stopped crying, he spoke.

“It’s okay! I’ve already faced death and I’ve accepted it too. Just think about mother and father. They had already gone through my death. How do you expect them to behave if they found out it was you and not me?”

“I don’t give a fuck about them.” Harley snapped.

Ashton chuckled and said each word as if he meant them, “Don’t be so stubborn, Harley. I know you love them, no matter what you say. Okay! If you don’t want to think of them, think of yourself. You have so many regrets. I know you do. But I don’t really have much. I have enjoyed my life the way I wanted to. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t the favorite child. But you had been fulfilling their dreams all this time that you never stopped to think what you wanted for yourself. I know, being a favorite child has its disadvantages. Now, what I want is that you go back and live the life you wanted. Not the one you were meant to. We’ll meet again. Then, I hope you would tell me what a happy and free life you had led.”

Harley suddenly remembered Matilda’s words, “Please, don’t leave any regrets.”

Harley looked at her brother and tears filled her eyes. She buried her head into his neck and sobbed quietly, while Ashton softly stroked her hair.

The boat ride back without Ashton was quiet at first. Harley could feel that her body was screaming for a nap. She was exhausted by everything that had happened in the past few hours. Harley felt as if she had lived through days.

The thought of leaving behind her twin made her eyes watery once again. She didn’t mind them anymore. Never in her life had she cried so hard. She felt that from now on, it would be a little easier for her to cry whenever she needed to. So, she sobbed in her hands freely.

Joaquinn sat closer and unconsciously wrapped his hands around her shoulders. Harley let herself lean onto his chest and cried silently. Then, she suddenly remembered the deal Joaquinn had made earlier with the master. She remembered how his face glowed with glory as if he had been expecting Joaquinn to fail.

“Joaquinn!” She called and looked up to his face, “But the master is going to hold you captive. You’re going to lose the job. You need…”

Joaquinn hushed her up and pulled her into a hug. He whispered to her softly, “It’s okay, Harley. I’ve learned to take responsibility for my actions. Everything was my fault, after all.”

Harley sniffed but remained silent. Joaquinn ran his hands through her hair and said, “I think, I ought to apologize to you. I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess. I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry I couldn’t save your brother. I’m sorry, Harley, for everything.”

Harley nodded and said quietly, “Can we please stay like this until we reach the other side?” Joaquinn hummed and pulled her a little closer, letting her relax into his arms.

When they finally reached the spot, Joaquinn gently pulled her away. He held her by the shoulders to support while she got off the boat. The stairs had appeared once again. They climbed the stairs side by side and came into the opening of Mrs. Laferty’s backyard. The dawn was about to break. There was not a soul in sight.

Harley turned to Joaquinn to say her final goodbye. But he shook his head as if he knew what she was about to say. He said, “It’s not a goodbye. I hope we’ll meet again.”

He cupped her face into his cold hands and said, “It’s time for you to go back to being normal again. Don’t worry! I’ll let you remember the part where your brother and… someone you knew advised you to live your life with no regrets.”

Harley nodded her head in agreement. Joaquinn leaned forward to kiss her warm lips gently. Closing her eyes, Harley felt the moment with all her might till it lasted.

Author’s Note: This is the first ever story of the first month for my story club. Since I’m not a pro at this, please consider stupid mistakes. And also, I appreciate your honest feedbacks. The door to constructive criticism is always open to the readers.

Please check out my partner’s work of the month as well and support her > @littlemissblogger​

Soulmates???

14 February, 2023 Approximately 2 in the morning

I woke up from a two hours sleep and couldn't force myself to go back to it (something of a bad habit I had grown since last month). I would walk around for quite some time, maybe chat with my mother if she's awake, walk a few more minutes, read something, write something, maybe walk again, check my phone, listen to music, etc. etc. etc.

It wasn't any different that day. I walked around the apartment and had many thoughts in my mind as usual. These thoughts turned into some real shits and at a point I was in a dreadful existential crisis. Music, being my friend at times like this, was an escape. The first song, also the only song I listened to, was 'So Far Away' by Agust D feat Suran.

Among many thoughts regarding my life, I also thought of Yoongi's. Those thoughts lead me to think that there wasn't any official performances of this mixtape of Suga (as far as I know). Knowing that it was released at least four years ago, I couldn't even dream of a concert based on it alone. I hope you can see where this is leading to...

15 February, 2023 Approximately 3:30 in the morning

I know I was late. But I got the update.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!

AGUST D and a so called WORLD TOUR???

The first thing I did was definitely listening to all the songs and building up some kind of feelings inside myself walking around the apartment all alone while the rest of the family sleeps.

But my second thought was something my mother says occasionally. According to her, she has some weird connection with my father spiritually that lets her feel things before hand. I'll go with a normal example; like my father calls her right at the time she was thinking of him or vice versa.

I'm not trying to sound crazy here but that was exactly what I thought and I laughed at myself too. Actually, it was a smile on my face. But I'm glad nobody was around to see it.

I wuv U 💜

Fandom: BTS

Pairing: Jungkook x Female Reader

💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖

I woke up in the middle of the night by the sound coming from my living room. The culprit was no other than Jungkook, who had been singing karaoke with much pleasure as I could sense from his voice. I checked my phone and found that it was 3 o'clock.

I have a habit of not being able to go back to sleep once I'm awake in the middle of the night. And I'm pretty sure Jungkook was aware of it. Thinking of giving him a good scolding, I walked to the living room only to find the mess he had created.

At least four cans of beer lay all around the floor. He was drinking from his glass very excitedly, his hair completely disheveled. Hearing me enter the room, he looked up and flashed a bunny smile.

Of course, I couldn't bring myself to say anything mean.

"Come here!" he mumbled like a baby.

I dragged myself forward and sat down beside him. Immediately, he hugged me by my neck and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. I could smell beer from his breath.

"What are you doing this late?" I asked.

Jungkook blinked at me innocently, "Did I wake you up, sweetheart?" I pouted and nodded my head sorrowfully to let him know what he did. To which, Jungkook gasped dramatically and clapped his hands to his mouth.

He spoke with remorse, "I'm so sorry, baby. I swear I didn't mean to. I only wanted to have some drinks. And suddenly I felt like singing. I forgot that you were already asleep. What time is it?"

"It's 3 in the morning!" I informed.

"Okay, baby! I'll stop now." He tried to get up but I pulled him back into the couch.

"No. Stay. And sing!" I requested, "for me."

He smiled mischievously and said, "I wuv U." He then turned on the music to sing, while I rested my head on his shoulder and ran my hand through his sexy messy hair.

💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖💜💖

Note: I had to write something down since I watched his late night live. Jungkook has no idea what he does to me...

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