SOFT FLUFF;

he remembers the first time he saw her as if it were just yesterday. at first, hyunwoo didn’t even plan on falling for allie, the idea of ever catching feelings for someone not really being even on his mind. he preferred simple hookups, things that only lasted a couple hours at most before parting ways and being done as if nothing ever happened, though he eventually found himself helping her out in ways that even she didn’t know about.

one of the reasons he had told himself that he wouldn’t even bother with such things as a relationship was due to the fact that he had his future to think about, wanting to make his debut and pursue his one true love which was music. it had been his dream ever since he was younger, realizing this when he had participated with a few friends in a talent show and the realization hit him that he actually had a talent when it came to not only singing but dancing as well.

now it was different. now he was standing on the roof as he waited for allie after having left her a note asking to meet with him. as the time went by though, hyunwoo was beginning to wonder if he should have just avoided all of this, if he should have thought this all through before actually coming to a conclusion so quickly on his own feelings. it was all so new to him, the feeling of having butterflies every time he saw her, the feeling of wanting to actually protect her from any sort of harm whether it was physical or even emotional.

he’s snapped out of his own thoughts when he hears footsteps approaching, however, he doesn’t turn around immediately. he waits until he’s managed to sort out his own thoughts and words before he finally turns to face her slowly, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. how was it possible for someone to be as beautiful as she was? it’s true that he had messed around with quite a few females before but she was definitely different than the rest, especially in the way where she actually was able to make him want to actually settle down for once.

finally he speaks, clearing his throat before he does. “thank you for meeting me up here.” he starts off simple, his thoughts having become jumbled after just seeing her standing there in front of him. hyunwoo inhales a deep breath before exhaling slowly. “i don’t know how to do stuff like this so i’m just going to go with it but i asked you up here to tell you that i like you. i know people usually do something romantic when confessing to someone but i’ve never done this before so sorry.” he pauses for a moment before continuing. “you don’t have to reply back right away or even accept my feelings, i just wanted to get this out there because i didn’t want to keep it to myself.” was this how a confession worked? probably not, though he didn’t know what else to do with the non-existant experience that he had.

there are two reasons why hyunwoo would call her to the roof.

one is a dream.  it's an imaginary world where allie thinks that he's growing feelings for her because that's what people do when they take others to the rooftop.  they say their feelings, let them fly like little birds into the sky with a glimmer of hope in their eyes as they say it.  in this imaginary world, hyunwoo will tell her that he likes her first; he'll tell her that he'll wait for her reply and she'll happily give hers.

the second is to let her down.  this is more reality than daydream, because allie doesn't see hyunwoo  -  rough and tumble hyunwoo, with his gruff manner of speaking and his love of girls falling for someone like her.  small and meek little allie han, who struggles with daily life enough that it should be laughable.  in this reality, allie's certain that he found out about her feelings for him somehow  -  the very same ones she tries to bite on her tongue and tattoo there so that they will never escape like the birds of hope in her daydreams.  and if he found them out, she's absolutely certain that he'll tell her that she's dreaming.  there's no point in her feelings because he can't return them.

allie would like the daydream, but she has settled herself on the reality of the way things are.  hyunwoo is sweet and he's been taking care of her these months, but she knows they're far too different for him to hold the same kind of feelings for her that she does for him.  she's always loved a little too easily, anyway.

she heaves a sigh when she finally reaches the top of the stairs, staring at the door that will lead her out to the chilly rooftop and the frigid air.  she wraps her coat around herself protectively, almost defensively before she pushes the door open to find him at the ledge, looking down at people below.

he looks pretty like this, framed by the setting sun.

" hyunwoo." she calls softly, her lips trying to smile in spite of herself.  she's about to say something else, but it seems like hyunwoo has other ideas so she snaps her lips shut, blinking quickly at the rushed words and the suddenness of his confession.

wait.

confession?

her brow knits together in surprise and thought, trying to understand.  is this an actual dream, not a daydream? " wait .. you like me?" she trails off in confusion, taking a step forward to him.  " i like you.  it's the other way around." she frowns.  " aren't you here to tell me that you don't like me?"

this man owns my heart

there was a strange feeling with knowing his memory had been tampered with. someone invaded his privacy and now he could no longer trust his own mind. what was he to believe if not his own perception? as the weekend continued on, he had tried his damndest to recover the memories forgotten. it didn’t work.

they were patchy, incomplete and provided no information for him to work off of. as infuriating as it was, he knew it was hopeless to push for more. the faceless girl that made his heart ache with yearning will remain faceless, it seems, lest his mind repair itself. charming assumes that if he were to run into her, everything would fall into place once more. maybe he was childish for believing so. the prince remained hopeful regardless.

perhaps that’s what brings him to the concealed shop of the local witch. she’s mysterious and interesting. he knows nothing of what fable she is from but he is the closest thing he has to a chance. so despite the blizzard that was currently overtaking new york city, the prince strolled into the warmth of the quaint shoppe. he brushes off the snow of his shoulders and hat onto the welcome mat.

“good morning!” he tells her cheerily despite the weather. of course fables are a tad bit more resilient to the weather of the mundy world but not by much. frostbite doesn’t mean much to fables. not when their limbs grow back in a twenty four hour period. the gloves on his hand felt more like a formality so mundies don’t look at him strangely. he only removes them after he’s crossed the shop and placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of the only other patron.

“i brought a treat, as promised.” out of an insulator lunch box he produces food: pasta with sun dried tomatoes that he made himself. “i also have a request of you, if you are able. are you familiar with tracking magic?” 

rose knows that she's tempting fate.  

it's in the way that charming shows up with his smile wide and boxy just like she remembered back when she was jinsoul, the one that enamoured her and the same expression he wore that made her long to see it more.  seeing charming, now taehyung, brings with it the recognition that her former spell on him is splintering.  it's only a matter of time before he remembers the things that she wishes he wouldn't, and she didn't want to be around him when he finally recognized who it was that his heart has been aching for all these years.

he should not be remembering her.  he should be thinking of finding a worthy queen for the people that he cherishes, because jinsoul, now rose, is not that person.  no one trusts a witch.  not one with an extraordinary amount of magic like she does.

she glimpses his approach from the wide windows of her new age shop; it's obvious that he's planning on coming to visit her.  she should be colder.  maybe it would turn him away from her, because although jinsoul hides beneath the mask she's fabricated, rose is still quite different.  rose is not the woman he loved, rose is  -  ... rose is different.  he can be turned off to her.

her full lips turn into a deep frown as he enters the shop with that wide and boxy smile, and rose gives an exasperated sigh.  " isn't it too cold for you to be outside, your highness? what if i hadn't even opened the shop today?" her words cut like knives, a thin blonde brow raising while her arms cross at her chest.  " it's to be a blizzard.  we can't get caught here together."

rose's eyes scan the food that he lays before her, heaving a sigh.  " i told you not to waste your time.  there's nothing you need to thank me for." is she being rude enough yet? all that rose knows is that the girl inside her is curled up into a ball and weeping, and that's enough for her to hurl all the knives she owns if it means that he'll just go away.  his question though, takes her aback.

" ... why do you ask?"

reboot.

A photograph, drops of blood. A sinking feeling in his chest and then nothing at all. 

Lee Eun-hyuk jolted awake in his own bed, staring up at a familiar looking ceiling. Beside his ear, his alarm clock was still going off, which he allowed until his little sister yelled at him to shut down the damn thing. 

There was a tingling sensation crawling up his spine and a general feeling of surrealness in the air. He felt, for a moment at least, that he didn’t belong here. That somehow, he was part of a video game and the player had hit the save button to redo a mistake they had made. 

He walked, feet slightly stiff, pushing up the glasses that he felt should be broken. Outside the door, the sun was shining. People walked about the streets in clusters of two or three, mostly students, grumbling about the next exam they had to worry about passing. 

A game, a voice whispered as he carried on with his day, following the schedule he’d carefully set for himself. Medical school. Groceries. Make a healthy dinner for Eun-yu because she had a competition coming up. Everything made sense, except they didn’t. Was he really supposed to be in medical school, carrying on a peaceful student life?

Whose game are we playing this time?

“Help, help! Someone is drowning.” 

Eun-hyuk carried on walking because someone else would always step up and be the hero. That person needed not to be him. 

“I think he is not breathing!” 

Curiosity, not concern, turned his gaze. The face that presented itself was one that he had never seen before, yet for some reasons, he thought he should recognize. His feet stopped moving of their own accord and before he could issue them the command to continue forward, they’d shuffled towards the guy. 

“Out of the way.” The person who had towed the drowning one out of water was strong, however, obviously not trained in first aid because he was more or less just shaking the patient. At least, he was good at following instructions and ducked out of Eun-hyuk’s way at impressive speed. Eun-hyuk sank down onto his knees and leaned down, placing his ear next to the drowned guy’s mouth. No air, no chest movement. 

“Call an ambulance,” he said as he took the drowned guy’s wrist, just in case the crowd was just watching and nobody actually did the important task. No pulse. “I am going to start CPR, if anyone else knows first aid, feel free to help me or replace me.” No volunteers. Great. Eun-hyuk planted a hand on the guy’s chest. “This better be worth it.” @luxacterna 

gunshots.  gunshots everywhere.

the first few graze his skin and hyunsu barely feels them, his inner demon slowly taking him over and turning his eyes a black pool of inky dark.  it’s just to numb the pain, he coos convincingly and hyunsu allows it, the death he feels inside swallowing him more than the gunshots that continue to rip through his flesh.  after all, everything is going wrong, he’s a monster  -  a monster, no one wants him, he’s giving up to protect everyone else who cares who cares who cares who cares who cares  -

a bullet strikes him where it hurts the most and everything goes black.

he wakes up drenched.  outside of a pool it seems with a crowd of people that huddle around him, but hyunsu can only think of rolling over and throwing up.  water escapes him like a geyser, and it’s confusing.  was he drowning? this isn’t how he remembered things to be.

something feels empty inside him, likely where the water took its place in his stomach.  water fills up so much, every part and now that he’s let loose the downpour he feels strangely satisfied.  it’s only then that hyunsu recognizes that there’s a crowd that surrounds him, and someone that’s sitting beside him.  someone with glasses.

someone that he recognizes.

ah yes, this isn’t right.  “ eunhyuk.” he groans, trying to sit up from his position.  for some reason, hyunsu’s body won’t let him so he allows himself to relax against the ground, looking around him at all the people in confusion.  at the sun, and the way that things seem .. normal.  normal? what’s happening? 

“ you know that i can’t die.” he mutters, reaching up an arm to rub roughly at his lips.  “ you didn’t give me cpr, did you?” 

gross.  i don’t want your lips on me.

i’m a monster.  you shouldn’t get too close.

things slowly start to fade in, memories that fill him and other memories that swell and don’t make sense.  falling from a high place and hitting water.  the pain of gunshots peppering his skin.  going through a building with an electrified blade.  a heartbreak.  all of it.  what’s real?

i’m a monster.

that fact rings out in his head more than most, so hyunsu figures that one is true, at least.  his body finally allows him to sit up and look around, looking to eunhyuk with confusion.  eunhyuk is smart.  he knows all the answers  -  and in spite of it all, even if he’s still not sure whether or not he’s evil incarnate ... he trusts him, and his judgment.  “ where is this? what are we doing here?”  surely, eunhyuk would know.

     It was supposed to be his night to just relax at home, to take a break from dealing with anything medical related, though once his phone rang and he saw that familiar name ‘Yonghwa’ on his screen he knew that his plans for any relaxation was out the window at that moment. Maybe at that time when the male had come waltzing in and helped him he should have just had one of the gang members kill him, then he wouldn’t be having to act as some personal doctor for the male. Hell, he technically wasn’t even fully a doctor at the moment, thankfully he knew enough to actually get by when it came to these types of calls he ended up getting.

     Now, here he was, getting the supplies ready that would be needed to help stitch his ‘patient’ up who, from what he was told, was suffering from a stab wound. Alex wondered what exactly was going on at this point, constantly being called over to doctor up others who seemed to be getting attacked. When he had decided on becoming a doctor, helping out gang members was not what he signed up for, and whether or not this person was in a gang wasn’t really something he cared to know about. He had learned that it’s better to just not question anything when it came to these types of situations.

     As soon as he had arrived with the needed supplies, Alex instantly is able to tell who the patient is this time (it was hard not to tell really) and he doesn’t waste any time making his way over to the other male. He had to admit, the other was actually kind of cute in a way, though the slightly more professional side of him knows that he needs to focus on treating the other first before he lets his own thoughts wander.

     Alex sets his bag down on a nearby surface, opening the bag and removing its contents as he speaks. “That’s a nasty wound you have there.” It isn’t until he’s finished setting up that he finally looks over at the male once again, putting on a pair of medical gloves before grabbing a needle and turning towards the other. “Remove your shirt. I’ll numb the area around the wound then we’ll get started on getting you stitched up.” His tone he uses isn’t really his usual flirtatious one that he would normally use back at the hospital when he’s trying to charm the patients. When it came to these moments where he was ‘summoned’ due to the favor he owed Yonghwa, Alex had no choice but to try and keep it as professional as possible, though that never really ended in a professional manner at times.

     Waiting for the stranger to remove his shirt, Alex begins to wonder just how much longer he has to do all of this. When would he be able to go back to just being a doctor in training? Just working at the hospital and dealing with both the sweet and even the bitchy patients, the latter usually being the ones he wished would just shut the fuck up so he could focus on what he was having to do. Maybe after all this was over he would switch careers. It wasn’t too late for that….right? 

by the time that the doctor gets to him, subin is all but delirious.  he still has enough of his head though to see that the doctor is ... young, impossibly so.  it isn’t the strangest thing that’s happened to him tonight, starting from his bright idea to just take a shortcut home to the man who dragged him into his bar as if this kind of thing happened all the time.  the weirdest, of course, being that he was stabbed twice with a knife and that the would be killers would never be brought to justice.

is it weird? or tragic? subin’s not really sure at this point; his brain is far too fuzzy to think of anything except how the doctor looks as he bustles around in front of him in preparation to do ... whatever it is that he’s planning on doing.  is he going to cut him up for parts? take his organs? at this point, he wouldn’t be surprised.

tonight, subin has decided to welcome death if it would have him.  and that comes with all the delirious and devil may care comments that come with blood loss and a traumatic experience, apparently.

“ and you’re young.” he says drily, finally getting a chance to focus on the doctor’s face as he settles himself beside him.  “ will you be taking my organs now?” he snorts at his own morbid joke, dropping his hands from his wounds with a hiss of pain, trying to sit up and take his shirt off with the least amount of pain possible.

which, of course, seems impossible.  “ you should be asking me on a date first if you’re planning on making me strip.” subin finally says, falling back onto the couch he’s resting on with a sigh escaping through gritted teeth.  “ you’re going to have to cut it off.  i can’t get it over my head, it hurts too much.” shouldn’t he know that if he’s a doctor? why is he telling him how to do his job?

“ are you really a doctor?” he finally asks, his brain muddled enough to spill the things that he’s thinking without remorse.  subin snickers, his head lolling to the side to gaze at the man seated next to him.  “ you’re too pretty and too young to be a doctor.” 

The scent of blood was a familiar one in this area, but not at his bar. Yonghwa ran a good business and had just enough connection to keep it one of the safest places around. 

“My poor carpet,” he lamented as he pulled the stranger a little closer, supporting him to the best of his ability. Yonghwa was a bar owner, not a athlete. And with both his stronger staff members gone on vacation, he was forced to haul this bleeding man upstairs himself. “Are you still conscious? If so, I would love to hear about what happened.” 

Long story short, Yonghwa cracked the door open, his thoughts along the path of indulging in a midnight stroll and getting some fresh air. Instead, his nostrils were hit with an unpleasant waft of salty metallic. That’s right, everyone, a guy was getting knifed right in front of his respectful establishment. One of the organizations must be recruiting newbies and clearly, these two did not read their rulebooks. At least both of those kids had the good sense to not attempt to knife Yonghwa too because that would have been real troublesome. Instead, they dropped this guy and ditched the scene, leaving Yonghwa to facepalm over the fact he now had a body to dispose. 

When he went to turn the guy over, he realized the other was still alive. The amateurs completely missed the vitals and left this man still breathing, albeit raggedly. 

“Saw something you shouldn’t? Didn’t anyone tell you to not wander around this part of the town after hours?” He put the guy onto his couch and made a quick call to summon his trusty doctor. @luxacterna 

wrong place, wrong time.  it seems that’s the story of his life these days.

after all, that’s what this boils down to, and subin is paying the price for it.  how was he supposed to know that he’d be getting knifed outside of a bar? he was just trying to take the quick way home after a long night at work  -  so much for that idea.  you should never take the quick way out of anything, and tonight proves it.

the two that approached him didn’t look to be any more than kids.  he of course, wasn’t much older than them  -  just barely into his early twenties  -  and thought he could mind his own business.  they wouldn’t bother him, until they already had him cornered, with a knife in his gut.  for all the movies tell you, it actually doesn’t hurt at first going in .. just a strange sensation of breathlessness and shock, though subin supposes that could have been the adrenaline.  it certainly hurt a lot more when they pulled out the knife to stick him again, this time a groan escaping him as the pain struck.

it’s then that a door opened, and scared off his attackers  -  for a moment, he thought he was saved.  

but even in his delirious state of losing blood, subin doesn’t understand the lack of panic on the other man’s face.  is this a normal occurrence or something? eyes beg him even though his voice doesn’t come out, to help him  -  please.

instead of calling for an ambulance, the man helps him inside.  he supposes that’s better than the alternative of laying out to die in an alley.  he barely hears the complaint about his carpets, losing blood as he is but as the words register subin really has to wonder who the fuck this guy is while pressing a hand to his exposed and bleeding wounds, trying to keep whatever blood that’s there from escaping his body further.

it takes all of his strength to speak up in reply as soon as he’s dropped to a couch.  he could pass out from the pain, but he doesn’t trust this guy much more than he can throw a house.  “ no?” he questions, his speech feeble.  “ i was coming home from work.”

did he see anything? did he ever see anything?  “ are you calling an ambulance ..?” he trails, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain surges through him.  

condolences.

“I am sorry, we are closed-”

This was a flower shop that shut down any time between noon and three pm, depending on the day of the week. Believe it or not, when one ran a flower shop solo and took care of both the orders and the deliveries, things got busy. And Yonghwa, well, he didn’t want to work very hard. 

What stopped him from finishing his sentence was the fact he recognized the person standing outside of the door. Or at least, thought he did. Three months ago, he was out drinking with some friends. The club was playing a song that he liked and it put him in an interesting mood. So that night, he ended up bringing someone home and this one just might be it. 

Although, he definitely looked happier three months ago. 

“Come on in,” Yonghwa said, pulling wide the door he was going to shut just a minute ago. “Here to order some flowers?” He grabbed his notebook from the counter. That’s right, handwritten notes, he really was running this shop old school. 

He didn’t hear an order right away, because the guy was clearly distracted by his own misery. Poor thing, he looked like he just lost his best friend. 

“Or…can I get you something else first. A glass of water, perhaps?” @luxacterna

the voice barely registers in his mind, and subin doesn’t even recognize the words until moments later.  it’s like they’re in another language, or spoken to him while he’s underwater.  they’re faded, unremarkable, and all that subin really has on his mind is his grief.

when he finally understands though, he nods his head.  “ oh.” he’s about to turn on his heel, his body feeling heavier than it ever has in his entire life but the owner of the flower shop stops him and invites him in.  if it was any other day, any other happier day, subin may have recognized him.  he’s not all too unobservant, it’s just that there are circumstances that make him so.  they make him tired, drag through the world as if he’s atlas and the weight of it all is resting on his shoulders.

it’s a struggle to follow his words.  subin lifts his eyes as the owner bustles around, grabbing a pen and a notebook and it’s then that he nods his head.  “ yes ..” though the question that he was answering wasn’t about flowers, it was about water.  he looks at the glass in confusion when it’s pushed towards him because he was certain he was talking about flowers.  “ funeral flowers.”

the reality of what he says rings with a finality in the air.  “ i’m going to a funeral.”