The coffee is warm in her hand. So hot that the heat radiates out of the corrugated cup at an almost unbearable temperature. Amber stared blankly at the pavement, watching the rain wash away dirt and dead leaves that spiralled and swirled down the drain.
She crossed her legs, taking a sip from her cup. The taste is cloying bitterness that leaves a horrid gritty aftertaste that makes her gag slightly. Amber pursed her lips setting the hot acid down onto the table.
The coffee tasted like what she pictured ditch water would taste like.
She should have just made her own mix in the morning. A concoction of way too much condensed milk with coffee, a thick hearty sludge that made her body scream "TYPE 2 DIABETES!" but her tongue sing with praises.
"Amb!"
She glanced up barely seeing a blurred flicker of her best friend's newly coloured red hair and she's tackled with the familiar sweet smell that reminds her of clean linen and soft comforters. It reminds her of afternoons lying on the grass watching the sky and the sound of joyous giggles.
"MiRi!"
Her mood lifts and genuine joy erupts from her being as she watched the smaller girl ease into the opposing chair after a hug that lasted a good 5 minutes. Her lips tilt upwards as she observed her best friend fumble about with her bag. She's dressed so stylishly, Amber could scarcely believe it was the same girl.
A year ago she would have been dressed in dull single coloured t-shirts, long pants and the same worn out shoes. Now, her best mate's accessorized. Something she's never expected to see. A black beanie over her head paired with an ultramarine jacket and leather boots. A band of gold with a single black gem wrapped around her ring finger.
Then she's pulling off her hat revealing a messy floof. MiRi's rusty red hair dragged into a scrunchy, a few strands having escaped the holds of the worn out pink with a badly embroidered 'Amb's BFF' on the surface.
Amber laughs at the familiarity, standing to ruffle her besties hair a bit more before sitting back down.
MiRi was her best friend from her preteen days. She's counted and this is their eighth year of being besties. They had been stuck at the hip, hugging for days, so close she was sure her teachers thought them to be soulmates.
It's only when MiRi gets her soul bond, way too early to be normal, that shit gets real.
Amber grimaced at the memory.
MiRi has the flicker bond. Usually, the older of the two soulmates has to wait for the younger one to reach the age of 20 before the soulbond activates, but this was not the case for MiRi.
Deok-Su's four years older than them, lives in South Korea and was the 'luckier' one of the two in the flicker soul bond. Her cute and innocent MiRi had flickered into the bed of 20 year old Deok-Su a day before their mid-year exams. According to MiRi, it had been a morning of repeated screaming and pillow bashing on her part. The poor Deok-Su had frantically tried to use extremely broken English in an attempt to explain that he had not kidnapped her.
That week had been hell, a whirlwind of trial and errors, with MiRi flickering right beside Deok-Su the minute she too far from him in the most awkward of situations and the both of them falling ill when they're apart for too long. It was painful but MiRi had to leave and take classes in South Korea. The flicker didn't act up when they had sufficient cuddling each day.
Amber winced. There was once when MiRi appeared right smack in the middle of Deok-Su's meetings. The man was a genius music producer who worked for big name companies under the guise of the name RibidK. MiRi appearing in her old pyjamas right in front of some of the world's richest music CEOs had not been fun.
Amber remembers weeks of MiRi's tearful homesick sobs that later turned into shy girly giggles and dreamy looks of love. The tears still come sometimes but Deok-Su was the kindest male she's ever met. The things he's done for her are endless but the one that strikes Amber the most is when he had spent long nights studying English till 4 am in the morning each day just to make MiRi's life better as quickly as possible.
Theirs was honestly one of the best soulmate stories she's ever heard.
Now with a ring on her finger and the brightest of smiles on her face, MiRi looks so happy she might just start spitting rainbows.
"Deok-Su's bought me this hat and this jacket! It's the softest thing I've ever worn Amb! He's so so so kind! The other day he drove all the way to get my favourite soup dumplings. You know? The kind we both like with thin chewy skin. He drove all the way to Myeongdong just because I said I missed it. You know it was just an offhand remark I wasn't even serious!"
Amber nods, smiling softly as her lovesick best friend prattled on endlessly as if it's the first year of their relationship but really they've long passed their third anniversary.
"Oops sorry." MiRi pauses, laughing softly. Her sweet airy voice was light and pretty to her ears. MiRi's the kind of person you expect to be dressed in pink and pastel, she's all soft and fluffy. The cutest person she's ever met. But too bad society, stereotypes are always far from reality. "I forgot myself. That's probably not what you want to know."
"Naw," Amber drawls, emphasizing on the 'W' just because she can. "I'm a fanfiction author trash. That sounds like a good romantic scenario to me." She winks at her and MiRi gives her an amused look.
"You're not writing lemons about me are you..."
"Um, excuse me!" Amber splutters, giving MiRi her best disgusted expression. Tongue out, spasming left eye and all. "That's flipping disgusting!"
Lemons, the connotation for basically literary porn on fanfiction. Also, Amber's guilty pleasure. Not that she'll ever admit it.
"Wait let me guess," MiRi taps her chin, "it's not me. You write lemons about BTS."
Amber swallows, attempting to hide the stiffness of her body at MiRi's words.
MiRi smirked, her grin growing wider as she gives Amber her famous I-got-you-you-stupid-shit look.
MiRi continues, effortlessly switching to Korean, a language that Amber says she learns for MiRi but really she's learnt it more for her idols.
"Even worse. You write slash fics of all the members paired with each other. Let me guess, the maknaes (younger members) bottom while the hyungs (older members) top."
Amber choked on her saliva wheezing. She takes a swig out of her coffee and the disgusting thing was so hot it brings tears to her eyes. She gives MiRi her best what-the-flipping-shit look but her reddening cheeks that are exactly the same shade of MiRi's new hair gives her naughty deeds away.
Honestly, those fanfictions were just fantasies...Just harmless thoughts shared to a specific target audience online. Besides, it's not like the BTS members would ever read it. It's in English after all and only two of the members can speak it fluently.
"You yaoi fangirl!" MiRi cackles and Amber blows air out of her pouting lips. Her best friend, while small and adorable in looks and voice was secretly extremely evil.
"Urgh...MiRi stop teasing me okay? I'm thirsty like that because unlike you I don't have a hot dude warming my sheets every night." Amber huffed and MiRi's cheeks pinked at her words. Aw...So they did have sex every night.
Dang.
Amber mentally completes the Ice Bucket Challenge to her subconsciousness in an attempt to douse the rising thoughts of her naked best friend and a naked Deok-Su.
Bouncing in the bed.
Damn it.
Her phone buzzes and Amber swipes on the cracked screen grateful for a distraction. The old thing had been with her since 2014 and while battered and bruised having survived the apocalypse called A-Clumsy-Teenager. Amber's a little too attached to change it. That and her wallet's too starved to be capable of vomiting out that much cash to replace it.
Her eyes linger at the notification panel, pupils widening at the familiar heart symbol.
BTS (방탄소년단) WHERE ARE YOU 어디에 'SIGN' Comeback Trailer
Her heart flutters in almost anticipation and she glanced up to look at MiRi. Her lips stretching into a smile without her knowing it.
"BTS just released their new comeback trailer!"
"Oh now?" MiRi's eyes widened and checked her own phone. She beamed brightly. "I want to watch it too! Deok-Su co-wrote the melody. " MiRi clambers over to her and perches herself on the armrest of her chair as MiRi hastily clicks on the play button, quickly increasing the volume.
The screen flashes and Amber's eyes are blessed by the image on her phone screen. It's reminiscent of Salar de Uyuni, the salt flats in Bolivia. What she sees reflecting into her eyes from the pixels of her phone is a flat plain of water that reflects the sky perfectly, mirroring white fluffy clouds. Sticking out tall from the bed of water are ornate white pillars that teamed with huge roses at its tips and dripped with teardrop-like crystals that reflect the light of the sun.
The camera pans in close to a lone figure at the centre, who is dressed in a long sleeved white shirt that puffs out slightly, an indication of the loose lightness of the material. In contrast to its softness, layers of beaded crystals were draped over his shoulders, like an intricate spider web that glimmered with dew. Black skinny jeans clung tightly to his hips held in place by a loosely strung black plaited rope with leather shoes on his feet.
Amber flicks her tongue out subconsciously wetting drying lips.
The face that greets her vision is that of a doll's.
Unlike Yoongi, Jimin is characterized by a sharp jawline framed by high cheekbones that cut flatly down a small face and close in to form a thin and rather sharp chin. Soft ashy blonde locks artfully dusted the tips of thick brows the hazel hues in his hair bringing out the tiny reflected redness of each gem that is draped over his body.
From memory, Amber knows that when this boy smiles. The flat cheeks transform into little adorable puffs of pink-tinged rounded lumps.
Jimin's cheeks are Mochi. Chewy and soft yet thick and heavy to the bite. Mochi sticks to your teeth but melts and tears apart easily with saliva and Amber has the mental image of taking a bite out of his smiling cheeks just for fun.
The idol tilts his head up, huge eyes meeting the camera head-on into a deep stare that reveals whisky brown contacts. This was not perfect almonds on a bed of white soft mochi. This was a droopy shape that Amber can only describe as a slanted rectangle without the harsh edges of angles and cuts. Long lashes slant downwards, brushing against pale cheeks as he blinks.
His eyes are Amber's second favourite part about him and when he smiles, they curve into little moons of happiness with little pouches of fat underneath those eyes.
Smiling eye bags.
Something many Asian girls have gone under the knife for.
And this male specimen has it naturally with the perfect amount of fat and angle, like the marbled meat of A-grade Japanese Kobe Beef.
This was an A-grade male specimen.
But this music video bears no hint of the soft sunny vibes of his smile.
Rather, his slightly flat nose, not too sharp yet not too squished, is brushed and contoured to appear sharper than it is. The soft rusty chocolate shades of eyeshadow melt into a line of soft hazelnut brown that emphasizes on the shape of his eyes and when he purses his lips, Amber's heart races so fast it almost hurts.
Those lush plump dollops of red remind Amber of pink lined marshmallows. Makeup gives them a perfect red to a pink gradient, shimmery with gloss that makes it look much more softer and much more kissable. Amber's face warms at the thought and when his eyes droop a little lower and he tilts his head a little higher.
His gaze is seductive, yet sad.
Standing before her eyes is a prince decked in crystals, with the prettiest and plumpest heart-shaped lips.
If he weren't in BTS, Amber swears he could be a model. A lip model.
Still, Amber is probably shrouded by the hearts in her eyes because the hate comments online for Jimin is always about everything she loves.
He looks like a kid.
He looks girly because of his huge eyes, plump lips and smaller frame.
He looks fat because his cheeks are plump and bulge when he smiles.
Stupid people hating on things Jimin should never have to feel self-conscious for but instead, love and appreciate because to Amber these were the features that made him unique and beautiful.
"Jimin's so pretty isn't he?" Amber vaguely hears MiRi's voice chimed beside her ear. Her eyes zoned onto the aesthetic prince before her.
"Phantom whispers of your voice in my sleep~"
As he begins to sing, it feels as if she's doused in something warm and sweet. Her whole body clenches and shivers in a good way. Goosebumps popping over her skin. The mellifluous tone of his voice is another different type of coffee.
"I see your shadow at the corners of my eyes~"
Jimin's voice is a sea salt caramel latte. The first taste is the tangy scent of caramel, so sweet it dances across the tongue but then the hints of salt mellow out the sweetness smoothening the flavour to an almost savoury mouthful. The mellow sweetness of the drink coupled with the slightly bitter tang of coffee tricks the mind into thinking the taste is one of chocolate.
Then there are little chips of caramel chocolate bits and flecks of almonds that translate into the sinful grunts and little crackles in his higher than average voice.
The whole vibe of the song changes from that of an angel to that of an incubus as his lips stretch into a smile and his fingers crawl over his chest, body popping to the beat of the music.
"Am I a pervert for dreaming of skin I've not tasted on my lips~"
Jimin is an enigma. Pretty and sweet like a prince. He's easily one of the cutest boys she's ever seen in her life. No one expected him to be a force to reckon with at sexual songs.
Something almost seems to snap within him when his eyes droop and his voice dips into a rumbled moan.
"I feel like a predator and you are my prey."
The video flashes and Amber watched transfixed as the graphics switch to rain that pelter onto the surface of the lake, ripples obscuring the mirror of dark purple storm clouds.
Jimin has a blindfold over his eyes, his clothes were sticking to his skin from the wetness of rain. The thin fabric does nothing to hide the small hints of pink nipples obscured by the gems draped over his skin. The wet fabric clings to fibrous abdominal oblique muscles and the light bumps of newly forming abs. It dips into his belly button and rises slightly to reveal deep V-line muscles at the ends of his body.
It doesn't help that his hips are dipping into skilful thrusts that curve into steps that reveal the taut perkiness of his ass.
His dance moves were walking on a thin line between dancing and strip show, but for some reason, he manages to make every move a professional and artistic swing of hips.
"Oh f*ck me." Amber can barely stop the curse from escaping her lips.
"I knew you would say that!" MiRi giggles.
"Am I being punished for the sins of my previous life~"
He bites his lips, teeth sinking into the soft muscles. Then he's spinning on his feet, jumping so high above the water as his feet swings underneath him. They sweep against the ground and droplets of water swirl around him creating an ethereal picture in the air.
"Did I fall so hard in love with you that I've done something unspeakable~"
The video flashes and he's dragged underwater by invisible forces.
Amber's breath hitches at the sight of the merman. His fluffy locks are afloat and little bubbles escape his nostrils. His clothes below around him floating and swirling in the water. The necklace of gems glittering under the light.
The most beautiful sight would be the little ripples of light that caress his face, combing across his skin in waves and reflecting his eyes.
His body shakes and suddenly his mouth opens to let a burst of air bubbles escape. He claws at his throat and kicks his legs in a struggle for air. Amber sincerely hopes that it's a special effect scene because her heart squeezes so painfully at the sight she's breathless and dizzy.
"I'm drowning in need for you to be mine~"
The video switches in between shots.
He's submerged at one moment, dancing in another and nose pressed to a rose in the next scene. The sheer stage design, choreography and videography are more than just beautiful.
It leaves Amber so awestruck, her mind can scarcely keep up with absorbing all the information.
This was a work of art led by an artwork himself.
"Save me from this pain, let me breathe again~"
Amber's breath hitches as his voice soars into octaves higher than so many girls out there. Amber swallows as his voice climbs higher and higher reaching its peak. A peak that sends her body shivering with musical chills. His voice stimulating her brain so much that it encourages dopamine to flood into her.
"Show me a sign~"
The video ends with the slow crawl of water over his beautiful face until it completely submerges him. His lips forming words. English words.
"Let me have a taste of Ambrosia~"
He gasps and the video cuts.
Notes:
Just a heads up that this is an alternate universe. I won't be following the actual BTS history. I'm just using their aesthetics.
I also won't be using the same songs as well...Why? Um...if I use any song lyrics at all it's in relation to the soul bond. I don't see the point of pasting in song lyrics that we all already know.
EG of a major change: Jin is now Japanese so that I can write stuff like a Hanami date (sakura viewing). HUEHUEHUEHUE.
Cultural diversity is the best! Don't worry, I'll introduce them properly so that you'll remember who is from where.
I update faster on and Wattpad! :) But it's an original story there...
