Ahn-Bo Jeong

Oh. He'd half expected to get snapped at—instead, he'd gotten a full (ish) apology. There was a noticeable absence of any mention of Min-Jee-yah, but at the moment, Ahn-Bo found that he didn't particularly care. Even with his pride and his pout, Seojin-a's intentions seemed sincere. Maybe Ahn-Bo was too desperate to forgive, maybe he was suffering from short-term memory loss—whatever it was, he welcomed it with open arms. He'd experienced what it was like to not have his friend around at all. The quidditch player would rather have his friend around—secretive liar and all—than to lose him entirely.

He allowed himself a full grin then, to show Seojin-a that he appreciated and accepted the olive branch. "So you admit that you do need me for Sigilcraft?" One brow raised playfully. Then, he sobered slightly as he added, "I would say mianhe for tackling you... but I still think you deserved it." Before Seojin-a could react, he continued quickly with: "Mianhe if I hurt you, though. I hadn't meant to." After all, only one of them was walking around with an elbow-sized bruise on their chin.

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   Seojin Jeong

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

Jin didn’t know what to expect from Moon-ssi at his apology; maybe nothing. It was rightfully owed and he didn’t feel badly for having given it. But the other’s tease did make him look up and Jin wrinkled his nose delicately rather than acquiesce any sort of agreement. He did need Moon-ssi if he was going to pass Sigilcraft, but he wasn’t about to let the cocky quidditch player know that. Besides, there was much more that Jin needed from his former friend than just academic assistance. Moon-ssi had become the very air he breathed, despite how dramatic and pathetic that sounded. These last few weeks had been awful without him and Jin… well. He wasn’t sure that if given the choice between groveling and never seeing Moon-ssi again, he wouldn’t chose the former. Again— not that he’d admit it.

As for that bit about being tackled, Jin huffed a surprised little laugh. “Ani,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to elbow you in the jaw either.” Well, maybe he had in the moment, but he regretted it now. “How is that feeling by the way?” Jin hurried on, desperate to move away from the endless list of things he had to apologize for before they got into treacherous territory. He reached one hand out and gently pressed the tips of his cold fingers against Moon-ssi’s chin to tilt his head towards himself. “It doesn’t look as bad as it did,” he commented. Maybe the ganhosa had done something for it.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song
*nurse

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

It almost felt like things were back to normal between them. He was teasing, and Seojin-a was doing his best not to find it amusing—but the laugh, and sometimes even a smile, would always win out. And... less endearing but also normal, the vampire was lying to try to make Ahn-Bo think him more chivalrous. Although in this case, it technically hadn't been a lie. The elbow hadn't been meant for his chin. It had been meant for his face. The face was now being turned slightly so that Seojin-a would have a better view of the bruise he'd caused. Ahn-Bo ignored the mortifying urge to nuzzle against his hand, like a dog or something else equally ridiculous with no dignity. Even with the vampire's cold fingers beneath his jaw, he felt his cheeks grow warm. Now who was the one blushing?

"I'll have to take your word for it—I haven't seen it," he admitted, doing his best to hold still before Seojin-a realized he was still touching him. As for the question of how he was feeling, "I'm on the mend. Still tired, less sore, no longer hungry." Ahn-Bo grinned, unable to help himself as he continued, "Just give it to me straight—am I more, less, or the same amount of handsome now that I've been roughed up?" Maybe it made him look more rugged and mysterious. His gaze fell to the bandage on Seojin-a's arm and softened, "How's your arm?"

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

Moon-ssi’s skin was warm to the touch and tingled slightly where the tips of Jin’s fingers turned him to examine his chin. Did he need to lean forward so close to inspect? Certainly not. Did he want to? Maybe. Jin lingered slightly, his fingers brushing against the bruise apologetically. “Mianhe,” he whispered again. He really hadn't meant to beam Moon-ssi so hard. The slightest blush had stolen across his friend's face however and it warmed his skin even more. Jin resisted the urge to brush his thumb along Moon-ssi's cheek just to feel what it would be like.

Pulling back reluctantly, Jin nodded at Moon-ssi’s reassessment of how he was doing. “You should probably rest,” he agreed before the slight tease distracted him and Jin huffed another breathy little laugh. Part of him wanted to admit brazenly that Moon-ssi was more handsome now, and that regardless of any injuries, he was more handsome every minute, every day. But that would be weird so he didn’t. Jin didn’t trust himself to say it even teasingly without the truth seeping through so he just rolled his eyes and poked his friend in the face. “Modest as ever, I see,” he hummed, playfully.

The inquiry into his arm made Jin look down at his own bandage. “It doesn’t really hurt,” he shrugged. “I’m sure tomorrow will be a different story, but whatever Ganhosa-nim did must be healing it pretty effectively.” Tomorrow. He could have flinched for letting himself bring up tomorrow so openly. They still hadn’t talked about what came next and, even though things seemed pretty neutrally thawed between them, Jin wasn’t holding his breath it would last. The minute Dae Min-Jee heard he was in the infirmary, they’d never be rid of her. In fact, Jin was surprised she wasn’t here now. She must have heard they got detention and figured they were still at it.

(Jin was loathe to go back to the dorms on his own and leave Moon-ssi here alone all night. He half wondered if Ganhosa-nim would mind if he stayed and decided to see how long he could wait her out before he was dismissed.)

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

It took every bit of Ahn-Bo's willpower not to snatch Seojin-a's arm and pull him closer to the spot where he'd lingered. And he had definitely lingered. There was no missing it. The look in his eyes—the soft, warm affection that Seojin-a was oblivious he was showing—had returned. Ahn-Bo was rewarded with another involuntary laugh. As if Seojin-a couldn't resist touching him, he poked the Quidditch player in the cheek teasingly. The last time he'd done that had been the evening of their fight. The memory made his chest squeeze. He shook it off, scrunching his face in an overdramatic wince, as if in pain. He fully expected Seojin-a to roll his eyes at his antics.

"She's well-practiced," he nodded, relieved that his friend's arm did seem to be doing better. It was difficult to judge through the bandages, but as far as he could tell, Seojin-a hadn't seemed to be favoring it in any way. "Kappa bites are nothing compared to what she's seen from me and my teammates," he huffed a laugh and waved a hand dismissively at the vampire's arm, "That's basically child's play."

Before he could stop it, he yawned so widely that it made his jaw ache. "Mianhe," Ahn-Bo adjusted the sleeves on his hanbok self-consciously. Seojin-a had told him he'd needed to rest, but if he did... then his friend would leave. And the moment would be over. He had no idea what morning would bring, and it made him nervous for them to separate again; it was as if staying together could keep reality at bay.

  

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

Moon-ssi’s dramatic flinch at his poke did make Jin roll his eyes, but it was fond if the smile sliding over his face was any indication. It had been almost a month since he’d been free to poke or tease or prod his friend, and his fingers were itching to latch back onto the handsome beater as if scared he would somehow disintegrate into thin air. It was ridiculous, but Jin was feeling particularly indulgent after suffering for so long so any excuse he had, he would take.

Scoffing at the notion that his bite was nothing to be worried about, Jin stuck out his lower lip. “I see how it is,” he clicked his tongue lightly. “When it comes to my injuries, they’re nothing! Not worth even playing physician or being concerned. Fine. I’ll remember that next time and leave you to hobble back on your own!” Jin raised his chin haughtily with an amused, if playfully huffy, expression on his face. He knew better than to take that from what Moon-ssi had actually said, but it felt good to be able to tease him back again.

At his friend’s yawn however, Jin sobered. Moon-ssi was probably exhausted from the day’s events; he really should get some sleep. Jin himself probably should too. (He stifled his own yawn into his sleeve, caught from the other as it passed by.) They’d both had a tumultuous, ‘imbalanced’ day but it was clear neither of them was willing to let it end quite yet. Not with… a semblance of normalcy restored, however temporarily. Jin wondered what would happen if he just curled up in one of the other bedrolls. Would he get scolded?

As if to answer his unasked question, the lights that had been flickering overhead in various candles and torches went out. Jin and Moon-ssi were both cast in darkness as Ganhosa-nim called out that it was time for bed. The little tables floated off, including the teacup that was still in Jin’s hands now empty. “I guess that means I can stay right?” He whispered, leaning closer to Moon-ssi in case he was supposed to have excused himself back to the dorms and she just hadn’t noticed.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

Seojin-a's pout shouldn't have made him feel all gooey inside, nor should it have made him desperate to give him anything and everything he wanted. He knew full well his friend was only teasing... but that didn't stop his fingers from twitching as they itched to smooth the crease that had appeared between Seojin-a's brows. The temptation to use any excuse so he could touch the vampire had always been there—even as first years, though it had been purely friendly then. Over the years, it had bloomed into something deeper and more intimate. It had been welcome and felt like the most natural thing in the world. The desire to hold on to Seojin-a and never let go had increased tenfold since their month apart. Would it level out if once things were sorted, or would this always be the only thing he would ever think about?

Apparently it was time for lights out. The moment he'd been dreading... they'd have to separate now, and he still had no idea what to expect come morning. Would they go back to hating each other? More accurately—would Seojin-a pretend none of this happened and behave as if he still hated Ahn-Bo? Or would they go back to being two peas in a pod? They hadn't sorted it out! His heart raced as his eyes struggled to find Seojin-a's in the dark. What had come out of his friend's mouth next had been the last thing he'd expected to hear. "I can stay right?" He... wanted to stay? It didn't sound like he felt obligated. It would have been very easy to excuse himself and slip away. And yet... he hadn't. He'd even leaned toward Ahn-Bo, who could've sworn he felt the warm breath of his whisper on his neck. Involuntarily, he shivered.

"Ne," was the immediate answer, although he didn't actually know if this was true. His voice was quiet but firm. If Seojin-a tried to sneak out now, Ahn-Bo wasn't above snatching his sleeve, whining, or guilt-tripping him into staying. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to point the vampire in the direction of the mother-of-pearl cabinet where the extra bedrolls were kept. He'd been here often enough that it was almost as comfortable to him as his own dorm. He pointed toward the empty space directly next to him, "Put it here, so I can keep an eye on your arm and play physician if necessary." It may have been too dark for Seojin-a to make out his amused smile.

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   Seojin Jeong

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

In the dark, it was difficult for Jin to make out Moon-ssi’s expression as he hunched closer and asked a silly question. Technically, he was injured too— there was no reason he shouldn’t be allowed to stay, even if his was only a superficial injury. Still, the surprise of it had caught him off guard and the thrill of Moon-ssi’s response made Jin grin. Play physician. He could think of a few things Moon-ssi could check out to make sure he was healthy. His heart, for one—

Turning away to fetch a new bedroll, Jin padded towards the pearl cabinet. He was as quiet as possible and quick as he rummaged around and pulled one out. Then, wandering back to Moon-ssi, he rolled it out just where his friend has said. Next to him. Where he belonged.

It had been almost a month since Jin had slept so close to him, and amidst all the other bedrolls in their dorm of all their year mates, it had never been so intimate. He was pretty sure he’d woken up closer to Moon-ssi’s foot than his head on multiple occasions. But this, while similar, was different. Maybe it was just that they’d been fighting, or maybe it was trying to poke around in the dark, but Jin’s heart thundered in his chest. He didn’t stop to say anything until he was organized and had crawled into the roll.

Jin turned towards his friend. He was rather a bit further away than before, but he was still there— Jin could trace the outline of his nose against the darkness. They still hadn’t talked about what tomorrow would mean and some small panic kept the words lodged in his throat as Jin thought about it. He rubbed his face tiredly against the soft cushion of the bedroll.

“Do you think we’ll have to keep cleaning the hot springs tomorrow?” He finally asked, voice quiet as Jin hedged cautiously in the direction of ‘after tonight.’ On the one hand, it was a valid enough thought. On the other, it also gave them an excuse to see one another again without Dae Min-Jee, even if it was detention.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

While Seojin-a fetched the bedroll and situated himself where Ahn-Bo had directed, Ahn-Bo had settled himself more comfortably on his own bedroll. For the last few weeks, he'd struggled to fall asleep (and stay asleep.) No matter how tired he'd been or how badly he'd tried to make his mind stop racing, he failed to get more than a handful of hours per night. Despite how sore he was and how traumatic their evening had been, Ahn-Bo was looking forward to finally having a good night's rest.

By the time his friend had settled in, Ahn-Bo's eyelids had grown heavy. He couldn't sleep yet—not until he knew for sure what tomorrow would bring. It seemed that Seojin-a felt the same, given his question in the quiet. The quidditch player gave up on what he should and should not be feeling in the moment, fully embracing his feeling of eagerness. "If we do, it means Seonsaengnim is definitely trying to kill us." He joked quietly. This was it. Seojin-a had given him an apology and he'd accepted. It was time to move forward. Knowing and doing were two very different things. While his heart was optimistic, the rest of him was terrified. Terrified that he'd be rejected, and he'd be shattered all over again.

Tentatively, he spoke barely above a whisper, "Would you want to clean the hot springs tomorrow?" It wasn't the most forthright question, but it was the best he could do. Hopefully, Seojin-a would pick up on what he was really asking and put him (them both) out of their misery.

  

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

Jin laughed slightly at Moon-ssi’s response. Seonsaengnim was definitely not trying to kill them, but he’d been pretty angry… “His whole mustache twitched when he was scolding us,” Jin snickered. For being one of their hardest teachers to impress, over the years Jin had come to accept that Seonsaengnim just expected tradition, perfection, and balance in all things. It wasn’t personal— save for the fact that Jin himself was, inherently, none of those. But it soothed the ache of feeling targeted all the time. Especially when Moon-ssi got yelled at in the same breath. Jin snickered again.

A quiet question floated over to him in the darkness then and Jin squinted, his eyes adjusting, to see if he could read the expression on his friend’s face. His tone had been soft, almost hopeful, and Jin couldn’t help but feel he was asking more than just the obvious. He sucked in a small breath. Did he want to clean the hot springs again tomorrow? Definitely not; it was gross and those kappas were still out there. But… he did want to spend time with Moon-ssi; and all the better if it was alone. He deliberated on how to respond.

“They are pretty dirty,” he tried. Then, with a slight fidget as he felt his cheeks warm, he added: “Without us, who’s going to clean them?”

There. That should answer at least one unasked question. The other still lingered like a gwishin, waiting to swallow them whole.

“Do you… think we should eat first?” Jin asked, his heart rate picking up a tick. He wanted desperately to add - alone - to that statement, but he couldn’t. He knew trying to repair whatever this was would need to involve her, however much he might hate it. Jin didn’t know what that looked like though. Up until today, he couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as Dae Min-Jee. He wasn’t so sure that would change overnight. Especially if Moon-ssi was serious about all his stupid antics. The thought struck like a small blade in his chest and Jin felt his heart twinge. Maybe it was a bad idea to stick his head back through this hole. He didn’t know if he’d be able to stomach it again.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

Even as he lost the battle to keep his eyes open, he smiled brightly. Not about having to trudge back out there to clean the hot springs (gross), but about the confirmation that Seojin-a did want to be friends again. "Kenji," he laughed, "Let the kappas have their revenge." Hopefully, the fact that they'd been out there as long as they had and been attacked by kappas counted as punishment enough. He really didn't want to have to return to the scene of the crime.

Ahn-Bo scoffed (elatedly) at the question about eating. "Of course we should." Never would he ever voluntarily skip a meal. Cheeks aching from how wide his smile was, he added, "We need our strength for battle. You never know when Seonsaengnim will send us back. We should make sure we always eat, just in case." It was the most ridiculous excuse he could have used, but he was sleepy and too giddy to have thought of something more subtle. This brought them to the remaining elephant in the room... Min-Jee-yah. If he were being honest, he didn't know what he was going to do when it came to her.

Attempting to be nonchalant (and failing horribly), he tried to scoot around without saying her name at all. "Did you mean to set her on fire?" It was an abrupt change of topic—even when he was well rested, he wasn't the most tactful of people. There really had been no hope of a smooth approach.

  

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

The fact that Moon-ssi had answered affirmatively about eating should not have surprised Jin— and it didn’t, really. He’d suspected they both felt the same weariness about wanting to be friends again and just not being sure what that looked like yet. But it was a relief to hear anyway even if his doubts about whether it was smart had begun to filter in. Of course it wasn’t smart; what could possibly seem like a good idea about tagging along, the awkward third-wheel to one’s best friend and his fiancé when… somewhere, deep down, one knew— they were quite jealous indeed. (A facet of himself Jin had been struggling to deal with in the past month, too.) But he’d never been all that clever when it came to Moon-ssi.

The blunt question that followed caught Jin like a hand to the throat. He knew it was going to come up eventually, he just hadn’t expected it to be so direct. (Though, in retrospect, he should have knowing Moon-ssi as well as he did. There would never be anything worth dancing around that his friend didn’t just come outright and say.) Jin turned away and laid on his back, heart hammering in his chest. The answer was yes. In that moment, he’d definitely meant to lash out at her in some way and it had just manifested as a small flame on the corner of her hanbok. But he didn’t want to admit that; not to Moon-ssi of all people if he actually liked her. But then again— Jin wasn’t sure lying about it was a great idea either.

“Ne,” he finally whispered, the single word feeling like a monster had just landed on his chest. It wasn’t even fair to try and say he hadn’t meant to hurt her, because he had. Not… gravely, but still. “Ne,” he breathed again. “I did.” Somehow, the confession didn’t make him feel better. “It… makes me angry that she took you away from me. Or she will.” Yes, there. That was an angle to push. It was true and still kept the full reality obscured; the one Jin didn’t dare admit even to himself yet. “You were right, Moon-ssi. I was— am jealous.” He wrinkled his nose and forced the words to keep coming. “It’s just— you’re the only person who has ever tried to understand me. The only one who really isn’t bothered by my parentage. Even though some of the others have stopped being so outwardly rude, there’s nobody else who treats me the way you do.” Also, she was definitely a michinnyeon, but he didn’t need to tack that on right now to make this harder on either of them. “Mianheyo,” he sighed. Not for lighting her on fire, maybe, but for being so jealous about it. “I didn’t mean to let my anger come out like that.”

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song
* crazy bitch

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

The lengthy hesitation before Seojin-a responded was answer enough. He did mean to set Min-Jee-yah on fire... which meant that he had meant to toss Ahn-Bo across the hallway as well. He must have been very, very angry to have lashed out in that way. Seojin-a didn't usually lose his temper in such an outward display. To his credit, he did sound apologetic. And she was probably fine. Her robes were extinguished quickly, and she wasn't in the infirmary with them. Whatever had happened had been taken care of.

He'd known his friend had been jealous for nearly a month (having had the revelation during their argument.) Still, hearing Seojin-a admit it and explain his reasoning had him opening his eyes and turning in his bedroll to face the other. The vampire's outline was just barely visible in the dark. Being unable to see his expression was unfortunate. There was a delightful swoop in his belly. He was special to Seojin-a. Pure joy shivered up his spine. Seojin-a's furious reaction had been so extreme that he ought to have been far more concerned about it. Instead, he felt his face heat. This should not have made him swoon. Yet here he was, swooning. Well, some parts of him were. There was one in particular beneath the blanket that was doing something else. Maybe the darkness was a good thing after all.

"I'm still here," he replied softly, deliberately ignoring his body's reaction. What could he do to make this better? Even if he completely ignored her for the rest of their schooling, they would eventually wed. Whatever he did wouldn't change the future. There wasn't much comfort he could offer Seojin-a, no matter how desperately he wanted to. "I owe you an apology too, Seojin-a. I knew you were jealous." This would be mortifying to admit, but if his friend could do it, so could he. "And I wanted to hurt you back... so I did those things on purpose." When he said it out loud like that, he sounded like he was a terrible person. "I wish I would have thought of a different way to get you to talk to me. Mianhe jinjja."

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   Seojin Jeong

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

The truth being out there felt like a cavernous, evil thing had crawled out of the privacy of Jin’s mind and exposed itself on the ground here between them. His anger was dangerous. He’d never anticipated even in his lowest or worst moments that he’d be capable of something like this, or the types of thoughts that sometimes occurred to him. Thoughts were just… thoughts. It was scary when they morphed into something more tangible. And having to bare that to Moon-ssi, on top of his friend already being annoyed he was obscure with the truth, felt… incongruent. This was why Jin kept things to himself. He didn’t know what he was capable of and digging in never led him anywhere good.

Jin didn’t realize he was holding his breath and how painful the effort of it was until Moon-ssi rustled in his bedroll and spoke. Those three little words released a valve in the base of Jin’s spine and all the air came rushing back to him. I’m still here. Jin wanted to wrap them up in a silk and tuck them into his pocket to keep forever.

Before he could say anything though, Moon-ssi continued on with his own confession. (And Jin was glad of it because he was definitely a little choked up between the lack of oxygen and his sentiments. There were no words to be said yet until he caught his breath.) The confession was as much of a surprise though. Despite the fact that he should have been annoyed that Moon-ssi was just baiting him this whole time, Jin couldn’t get past the thought that— “Wait, so you don’t actually like her that much?” Maybe it was a leap, but he was hearing what he wanted to hear and needed to confirm. “It was just… to bait me?” So many more questions piled up but Jin held them at bay. Did this mean all Moon-ssi’s little antics were fake? Was he playing it up the whole time just to be a brat? Was there any truth in what he’d seen developing with Dae Min-Jee? He didn’t dare hope it was all for his sake, but the juggling questions still lingered. He turned his head, searching for Moon-ssi in the darkness.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo Jeong

Ahn-Bo braced himself for the fury that was sure to be hurled his way. He'd hurt Seojin-a deliberately; surely, that would result in some kind of offense? And yet, what came back his way didn't sound particularly angry. Instead, Seojin-a's breathless response had sounded curious—perhaps even hopeful. The bedding next to him rustled as the vampire shifted, turning his head toward Ahn-Bo. His expression was cast in shadow, but that didn't stop the quidditch player from imagining the look in his eyes—bright and shining.

It took him a moment to think about his response. He hadn't really thought about it... but he could see why it was important information for Seojin-a. Ahn-Bo hummed thoughtfully. "She's... fine, I guess." He shrugged. This next part he hadn't wanted to admit aloud. It felt like he was pouring alcohol on Seojin-a's fresh cut. "Not all of it was for you. The beginning, at least. I didn't realize then how you felt about it... and she comes from a good family, she's nice-looking, and we get along okay."

Another shrug; this one guilty, imagining the hurt in his friend's expression. He was quick to try to soothe the sting: "But that's all. I like you a lot more." In more ways than one, though he didn't think Seojin-a was ready for that conversation. "And she's kind of annoying. All the talking and clinging and eyelash fluttering... it can be a lot. I'd never kissed her before today, either." That felt like it was an important distinction, as awkward as it was to say.

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   Seojin Jeong

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Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.
He has a noticeable accent when speaking in English.

Set by the amazing Fox! • plot with me

It didn’t matter. Regardless of what Moon-ssi said, it didn’t matter. Jin had to remind himself of this as he waited somewhat hopefully for the next words out of his friend’s mouth. Because even if it had all been pretend, or for show, the reality that Moon-ssi was going to marry her was the same. Whether he liked her or not didn’t change facts. But that truth didn’t make the sting any less sharp as Moon-ssi confirmed that no, not all of it was for Jin’s benefit. (Though if he meant the beginning of meeting her or the beginning of their fight, Jin wasn’t sure.) Still— he frowned into the abyss.

I like you a lot more did not, then, make the former as palatable as Moon-ssi hoped. Jin sighed to himself. He’d take it he supposed. He was glad to hear it, if nothing else. As for the rest of it, Jin only wrinkled his nose in silent agreement that she was annoying, and Moon-ssi didn’t even know the worst of it. But that wasn’t a line Jin was willing to cross, maybe ever. If he was smug at the fact that they hadn’t kissed before today, he ignored it. That felt an awful lot like a different kind of jealousy he wasn’t ready to admit to. Even if Jin was dying to ask if Moon-ssi was planning to do it again. It wasn’t his business. And he didn’t want to know.

Nodding slightly, even though he knew his friend couldn’t see him, Jin wasn’t sure what to say. He could agree objectively with everything Moon-ssi had said or see where he was coming from. But he didn’t have to like it. In the end, Jin turned back up towards the ceiling and snuggled deeper into his bedroll. “I don’t like her,” he muttered, more to himself than to Moon-ssi. It’s not like it wasn’t obvious but somehow it felt like a confession anyway. Jin huffed and turned over again. He felt like setting boundaries, ultimatums even, to keep himself away from stupid, bratty, nice-looking-and-from-a-good-family Dae Min-Jee. But that wouldn’t be fair to Moon-ssi so he stayed silent. Instead, he reached out and bridged the gap between them hoping he wouldn’t accidentally poke Moon-ssi in the eye as he aimed for his cheek. (It was dark, ok.)

“Just… don’t get frustrated with me when I need a break, ok?” he whispered. It was the only ultimatum Jin felt was fair. He would learn to deal with her; he’d stomach whatever dumb, coupley antics they felt necessary to engage in. He just needed Moon-ssi to give him a little slack as he did it in his own way. Jin knew now that he’d do anything for his friend. He just needed… a little space to process, and sulk, sometimes.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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The following 1 user Likes Seojin Jeong's post:1 user Likes Seojin Jeong's post
   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.