⤷ ㅤseulgi k。

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ Chris was...a little more than surprised at the response he was given. It didn't tell him whether or not she actually wanted him to visit. But, since the woman wasn't feeling well, he couldn't really blame her for being blunt. Still, he planned to go and see how she was doing. Illnesses of any kind were obviously never anything pleasant.

To: adroable
From: bigbangtheory

I'm sorry! This is the last message I'll send, I swear.
But since I'm still deciding to come, would you be able to send me your address? :)
I just need to grab some things, then I'll be on my way!

Once he sent his reply back, Chris resumed reading. However, his focus wasn't on the book anymore. The manticore was worried that he'd already ruin his 'date' by bothering Minkyung to the point where she'd either snap at him or stop messaging him back completely. Neither of those options was something that he wanted to have happen. So, he sat there, eyes scanning over the pages in his book while donning an anxious expression.

@chris b。ᵇᶦᵍᵇᵃⁿᵍᵗʰᵉᵒʳʸ Minkyung was rather slow when she took her phone once again but quickly read the message. Oh. An offer to take care of her, huh? She couldn't help but be... slightly touched. There weren't many people that'd volunteer to take care of a stranger, and especially her, who had been nothing but hostile to most people she met. This reminded her a little bit of Yoona. And perhaps Jaehyung as well. She let out a sigh and typed a reply, trying her best not to make as many typos as possible.

To: bigbangtheory
From: adroable

do whatever you want.

Short. She wondered if that'd turn him off or something. Nevertheless, she sent it. If he still came, then she had no choice but to entertain him as much as she could. If not, then she could deal with that as well. It was just a simple cold — even if it was in summer — and she was certain to get well soon enough. But if Chris wanted to come and take care of her, then she had no reason to say no.

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ When his phone vibrated, he marked the spot on the page he was reading, then reached for the mobile device and unlocked it to view the message. A small frown formed on his lips, slightly sad that his date was sick and probably wouldn't be able to meet up with him. Of course, being the kindhearted manticore that he was, his concern was for her wellbeing. Maybe...maybe she would appreciate some company at home? Chris figured it must be lonely, trapped in her house all alone (at least, he assumed she lived alone).

To: adroable
From: bigbangtheory

Oh no! :( I'm so sorry to hear that, Minkyung.
No need to worry about the date at all, okay?
I was actually wondering if you would mind me stopping by to look after you, even for a little while. Or, just to keep you company.
Is...that alright with you?

He sent the message while nibbling on his lower lip. Would she think it was weird that he wanted to do that when they didn't even know each other at all? But, for him, having someone distract him from his illness ended up being a pretty good remedy (and with some medication, of course).

@ˢʰ chris b。ᵇᶦᵍᵇᵃⁿᵍᵗʰᵉᵒʳʸ Another match. Minkyung would like to say she'd lost count of how many times she'd been matched, yet none of them did the trick. But that wasn't truly the thought that ran through her mind at that moment. She was burning — quite literally. She had, unfortunately, gotten herself sick right when summer was about to end. Dear Inari, she hadn't been sick in /years/, and all of a sudden, here she was! Sick. Bedridden! Her nose itched, and a soft sneeze passed through her nostrils. She sniffed when she heard a notification from her phone. Grumbling to herself, she grabbed her phone from her side and read the message.

Oh right, she'd been paired. Absentmindedly, she began typing.

To: bigbangtheory
From: adroable

hey. well i don't htink i'd be available anytime soon realyl
im a bit sick yeah sos tuck in bed

Without even bothering to check her typos, she clicked sent and let her phone plop to her side. She felt tired, incredibly so. She couldn't even stand up to take her medicine — and she hated medicine, so maybe she was simply going to throw that idea out of the window. Nevertheless, she didn't want to ruin her date's day because of her sickness, but... what else could she do, really? When she couldn't even get out of bed... Sighing, she lied on her side, closing her eyes as she waited for another notification to come through.

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ This was Chris's first time being matched with someone since he'd downloaded the Imperial application. He was nervous, yet excited, especially when it would hopefully lead to him developing a closer relationship with his date, even if they only remained as friends. Meeting new people was always something that the manticore enjoyed, so he didn't wait very long before sending his first message to Minkyung.

To: adroable
From: bigbangtheory

Hello! This is Chris, the one you've been paired up with on the dating app.
I was just wondering when you'd be available, so we could plan out a good time for our date that would work for both of us. :D

He then pressed 'send', and watched as his message eventually turned to the 'delivered' status before he closed the application and locked his phone. Chris wasn't sure what he could do in the meantime while waiting for his response from her. After a few moments of thinking things through, however, he settled on reading a book in the lobby of the hotel he was staying in, his eyes sometimes drifting away to watch those around him or to check to see if his phone lit up at all.

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ names after names, he would wince at how she would call him idiot, stupid. sheesh, as if he doesn’t already know. but what can he do? jaehyung told her what his mind thought of the second that question was made and he was a man who speaks his thoughts. that is probably one of the reasons why he didn’t have a proper job outside magnolia before. he was like a walking disaster, a ticking time bomb no one would want to hire. and he wouldn’t change his request for the better, he wants to see her again and that was the one idea that popped immediately in his brain.

the mortal walked forward and turned around, leaning his tall fram by the door. he knows she was there and his guess was right when he heard her insults yet again. it made him laugh softly and all he could do was imagine how she looks like behind the mahogany door and look up the sky, wondering if her back was also by the front door. maybe it was a little too cliche but one can dream, right? “i don’t know, that’s the first thing that came into my mind,” he spoke softly, a small smile adorning his features and one could feel it even if they couldn’t see. “why would i ask for your protection? you’re still a woman,” he stated matter-of-factly and continued, “i won’t let you protect me. even if you’re stronger than i am, i won’t.” honestly, jaehyung would want the vice versa but the human knew what she is capable of. had not her hostility towards him during the ball, he wouldn’t be able to have the guts he has now. it a switch inside him, thinking she was still a girl, fragile and vulnerable. despite the strong demeanor she has and the abilities she posseses, she is weak inside. he knows that because he is not dense, her hostility is her way of protecting herself, and he kind of learned that the hard way.

silence doomed upon the both of them, and he waited. he shuffled in his feet, hands tucked inside his oockets as he awaits her response. after a few more seconds, he swore he heard her breathe, and the next thing he knows, her voice streamed through his ears. a huge grin was plastered on his face, doing another air fist bump before turning to face the door again. “you can’t take that back, miss foxy” jaehyung announced with a triumphant chuckle and knocked once on the door.

“see you tomorrow,” he called out and back away from the establishment with a smile, “minkyung.”

@jaehyung p。ᵘⁿᶠᵒʳᵗᵘⁿᵃᵗᵉˢᵒᵘˡ what was the human grinning about? why was jaehyung taking her insults too well? minkyung wondered if this was... a fragment of his past self living with his present; wondered if this was something that came to him naturally—if he /remembered/. but she doubted that, because if he did remember anything at all, even the slightest bit of the past, of the fiery inferno that she placed upon the place they once called home, then he wouldn't be smiling like this.

he would probably look at her in fear and guilt, and she wouldn't be able to take it.

she blinked in surprise at the man's request however. "hah?" she breathed out, disbelieving of what she just heard. "are you really an idiot? out of all the things you could wish for, you choose /that/?" and it wasn't even for himself — it was a wish that would benefit minkyung a little too much, even if that meant that she had to see the human more often than she would have preferred. she clutched the bag of sweets in her hands rather tightly, almost enough to crush them under her sheer strength, but she didn't. her love for sweets was simply too much.

"you must be an idiot," she said, lips curling down as she bit onto her bottom lip, eyebrows furrowed. "you could have asked for fortune, for protection, or something else that would benefit you, but you choose this?" why was he so persistent? she wondered if it was better for her to have him remember, so that he'd be afraid to ever think about approaching her again. try as she might, she found herself still unable to forgive him — for his betrayal, for his lies, for the broken promise. hongseok might have told her that he would help her forgive—but even he hadn't kept his promise that well.

was it that hard to keep a promise? or was it simply because it was with /her/?

she slid down to the floor, crouching as she placed the bag of sweets above her knees. shadows covered the upper part of her face. what kind of expression was she making then? what did jaehyung think of, when he wished for that? she was torn — she didn't want to see him ever, even if they were in the same town, lived in the same area, but she wasn't one to break her own words. she almost valued her vows as much as yoona.

a sharp inhale, and she hung her head low. "but since i told you that i'll grant any wish... fine," she said. "i'll let you send me sweets in the future." this was okay, right? she was okay. this was alright. this wouldn't change anything, she had to tell herself. she didn't know if she was even capable of letting such a change into her life.

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ he tried- very hard, to not let her know that he could notice how her furry ears twitched at the mention of the sweets. jaehyung found it adorable that he would want to take a photo of her then and there but he knew if he did that, he'll have her claws around his neck. at the corner of his eyes, he noticed her fluffy tails wagging and he tried hard not to show the growing smile on his mien. man.. it was hard for the human to contain his fondness towards the fox. another thing his eyes took note of was her eyes. golden orbs shone brighter than his entire life, as is all the stars were in her eyes, twinkling on their own. it was beautiful. so beautiful that he realized his cheeks was heating up so he shook his head to sna out of his reverie.

"heh," he just shrugged and grinned widely, gleeful that she still took the sweets despite her hostility towards him at the chatroom. he also knows how minkyung always includes 'stupid' or 'idiot' towards him. and honestly? he kind of likes it.

the fox's cheeks were pink as his earlier, and jaehyung wanted to squish them between his hands, but who knows if he'll be the one to get squished? a mere mortal like him is nothing against a kitsune after all. his ignorance might put him into harm one day, but that's the least of his priorities now. the only thing that was running in his mind is this girl, in front of him, holding the box of sweets he just gave. jaehyung was about to talk when the door slammed shut on his face. again.

'what..' he thought, wondering why and what the fox was thinking that made her close the wooden plank on him the second time. did he look ugly? did he smell bad? he swore he was wearing a nice cologne but now that he think about it, it must have worn off. he waited for a few moments before he lifts up his fist, opting to knock when a tiny, feminine voice, her voice, spoke.

he had to bite his lower is to prevent his smiles, but he couldn't. so he covers his face with his palm, shaking his head in disbelief. did he just hear the right thing? doing a small fist bump in the air, the mortal cleared his throat and answered. "can i... send you more sweets in the future?"

one would think why did he ask that. of all the things he could wish for, why that? he didn't know. but he wouldn't let the chance to want to see her again.

@jaehyung p。ᵘⁿᶠᵒʳᵗᵘⁿᵃᵗᵉˢᵒᵘˡ the twinkle in minkyung's eyes and the way her ears twitched in an excited manner were a complete giveaway of what she actually felt, which was a large contrast to what she was trying to display. when jaehyung narrated on what kind of sweets he brought, her tails started to move behind her, though she hoped that he wouldn't notice (but he probably would; her tails were quite large, after all). she couldn't help it, okay? she loved sweets. she honestly thought that sweets were the best thing in the world next to im yoona, and while this was quite unusual for a fox to be so fond of such sweet delicacies, she wasn't one to eat flesh or meat. in fact, her most preferred food was souls, spirits — but that was beside the point. not everyone needed to know about that.

a dash of pink sprinkled upon her cheeks at the other's words, and she held the sweets in her hand quite gently but firmly. "are you stupid? can you hear what you're saying right now, you idiot?" she uttered as she pulled the sweets to her chest. "what thanks? i didn't do anything to warrant gratitude!"

she averted her eyes, gaze lowering to the floor, seemingly unable to focus on a single area and space. why was she feeling so flustered around jaehyung? damn it. she wasn't supposed to be affected. she was supposed to hate him — in fact, she did hate him, more so than anyone — any human in existence. but he didn't know what he did, couldn't remember, because the man she knew and loved before was already dead, and this one was a new person, someone who wasn't acquainted with her in any way.

he had nothing to do with her anymore, and frankly, she didn't want anything to do with him either. she would much rather ignore him, pretend he didn't exist — but how could she, when no matter how much she tried to push him away, he still... kept coming back?

drawing a deep breath, she closed the door with a loud thud, not even bothering to look at him or say anything. this felt too familiar, too similar, and she couldn't say she liked it. but she could already imagine how his face was after she'd closed the door on him for the second time that hour, the disappointed look, and the puppy eyes.

it tugged at her heartstrings.

so she hugged the sweets to her chest, biting the inside of her lower lip, before she spoke, "s-since you gave me sweets... i'll grant you a single wish," loudly, enough for him to hear easily. "don't get mistaken though! i still don't like you. it's just that the sweets have nothing to do with... my hate for you."

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ it surprised jaehyung how quick she arrived at the door but as soon as she opened it, his face adorned almost with a smile and a word to be said, it was shut again in front of his face which puzzled him. his small eyes blinked profusely at the manner of the fox. did she hate him too much that she immediately rejects his peace offering and donation as a kind human being? a hand lifts up his head to scratch it, confused at the weird behavior- but cute minkyung who was behind the door.

the innocent mortal was contemplating whether he should just go home and call his luck today a blasphemy. because who was he kidding? he can never be fortunate.

it all changed in just a fraction of a second when he suddenly heard the door squeak open again and at the other side was minkyung hiding behind it with her arm outstretched, as if wanting to get the box almost immediately. of course, he wouldn’t let that happen, right? he noticed how the blanket slid down her smooth skin and honestly, it made him blush a bit but he decided to not he more annoying than he is.

“how did you know they were sweets thou— oh, i shouldn’t ask that,” he stopped mid-sentence as he recalls how her kind smells at least every kind of scent there is. that amazes him and then he felt as if this has happened before. déja vu? nah. that can’t be. “i have candies like skittles and gummy bears and uh, i don’t know if you like reese and hershey kisses but,” he grinned sheepishly and handed her the box, finally, that must be what the female is thinking right now.

“i hope you like it. it’s like a thanks from before and you know.. i kind of like seeing your face light up because of it!” jaehyung gleefully, fingers adjusting his glasses that was about to fall from his nose.

@jaehyung p。ᵘⁿᶠᵒʳᵗᵘⁿᵃᵗᵉˢᵒᵘˡ minkyung was... bundled all up.

it was cold — too cold for her human form, and while she supposed she shouldn't feel too cold, especially when she was technically a creature of the wild, she shivered a lot, sneezed a lot, and acted a little too much like a human. she was wrapped in thick blankets, wrapped around her petite figure as she snuggled to her pillow on the couch near the fire with her tails over her body as well. she could feel warmer, of course, if she went into her fox form, but she didn't want to have to feel that she needed to go out. whenever she was in her fox form, she always felt the need to run, to be in the forest. but no, she felt too comfortable in her current position.

this would have been perfect if she had sweets with her, but she couldn't be bothered to get out of the couch.

minkyung smelled the human's scent before she felt his presence outside her house. her fox ears twitched in annoyance, and her eyebrows furrowed at the realization that it was jaehyung once again. what was he doing—her ears perked up as another scent reached her nose. she blinked her eyes open as she sat up.

were those...

sweets?

she slowly climbed out of the couch, letting the blanket slide after her as she walked toward the door. she held the doorknob, and she stopped. hesitated. did she really want to see him right then? did she really want to entertain the human right then? her teeth dug into the soft flesh of her bottom lip.

"is uh... hello? anyone home?"

she took a sharp inhale. she was only going to take the sweets. she wasn't going to talk to jaehyung. that's it. that's just it. so she opened the door, meeting his eyes when the door revealed him, but just the mere face of his—those familiar eyes—

she shut the door loudly on his face, and leaned against the wooden object, flushed and red. why? her heart beat loudly against her chest. what was this feeling? why was she flustered at the sight of this damn human, damn it. the saccharine scent of the delicacies in jaehyung's hand flew past her nostrils, and it was more than enough to tempt her to open the door once more, but not enough for him to take a good look at her.

hiding behind the door, she looked at him with an arm outstretched toward the man, the blanket sliding off to show a bit of her skin. "give me the sweets," she mumbled, fox ears twitching as she narrowed her eyes at the human. "give them to me and leave. what did you even come here for?"

@minkyung k。ᵃᵈʳᵒᵃᵇˡᵉ with the final wipe on his lenses, the human smiled triumphantly as he looks at the camera in his hands. he had just bought new accessories for it and you can say he was accomplished. jaehyung was never well off in the beginning. years of bad luck never let him land on a job. where does he get the money? part times. but it only lasted for a few months and his company would immediately fire him. it’s not that he does something bad, they always
say they need someone better than him. but all is well in the life of the mortal who is now living in a small apartment inside magnolia springs. the luck he has been wanting to feel kind of made an appearance the moment he stepped foot in town. placing the camera back into it’s
case, he turned his swivel chair
around and grabbed the medium-sized box placed on his bed. inside were different types of sweets, some chocolates and a pack of cookies. and one would know whose it for.

minkyung.

just the thought and mention of her name– even at the back of his head, already gives jaehyung unexplainable glee. it has been established that the fox’s hostility towards humans, especially him he thinks, was very obvious and yet he just couldn’t let her go off. he likes seeing her ticked off and the fact that he had met her before and saw her adorable side eating skittles just
makes him want to see more of what the kitsune has to show. if she wanted to of course. “all set, i should thank yoona for the information,” he pats the box and stood up, hugging it to his chest before grabbing his keys and wallet, not forgetting to lock his door.

his walk was... undeniably enthusiastic. he was whistling a tune he heard of last night and he can’t help but feel extra fortunate today. the human was sure he was somewhat an epitome of bad luck and this has been the most surprising change he has experienced throughout his whole
life. “where was it agai– ah there!” his feet fastened its pace and reached the quaint home. it was pretty and quite cozy, a very suitable exterior for someone like minkyung. of course the culture of her kind could be seen in the design, and at some point he felt a sting at the farthest back of his head in which he just shrugged off.

finally having the courage to step closer to the domicile, his breathing ragged and was shaking due to the nervousness she could probably sense. with shaky hands, his first
knocked on the door with his other hand holding onto the box securely, “is uh... hello? anyone home?”