Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
•
•
•
[only within quotation marks, aka dialogue] korean, english
"starting today, these twelve young men will be sharing this mansion for the next month! you guys can take today to get to know each other a little and get used to the place - but be up by seven tomorrow for the first challenge!"
they don't know about your horrible time management skills yet, do they?
they'll find out soon enough.
jeong and sungho waltzed off while elliott fell onto the closest couch in the living room and exhaled a long, deep breath. soon changbin had plopped down beside him, and the two had an impressive way of sprawling out and leaving no space for anyone else.
"so do we keep up the strangers act?" whispered the french boy as he leaned towards the other's ear and changbin shrugged.
elliott instinctively turned to zane for an answer, because he was the leader. not a very serious one, but he did always make decisions for the whole group. he always made sure everyone was okay with what he chose, too.
"oi, farmer boy," he called, and zane quirked a brow in question. elliott was using english to keep the conversation a little un-understandable for the camera team. "is operation: strangers still in place?"
"yeah," replied the male and turned to christopher for confirmation. the oldest nodded; it seemed riot and j.y.p. had given the two the same instructions.
a few days ago, when deck was first informed of their appearance in k-mansion, the leader had been handed a paper of do's and don'ts which he promptly threw over his shoulder because "i already know that we're gonna mess up, so why waste time?"
they just hung around and asked questions, getting to know each other better while simultaneously keeping up the "we've never talked before" facade.
as the focus of almost everyone shifted to felix, who was talking animatedly about something regarding fortnite, elliott crept to the window facing the front of the house and peered outside.
finally, a white van belonging to an animal center pulled up and two men unloaded a cage from it, a small ball of white curled up inside. elliott's heart soared and he turned to the others and shouted, "yuki's arrived!"
zane cheered, and all the stray kids members except one waited curiously. jisung, however, had already met yukihime and just perked up, glad to meet the year-old tigress again.
"she's freaking gorgeous," he told minho, who was sitting next to him on a different couch.
the second oldest of stray kids was easily the most excited in the room to see yukihime, because he and elliott had exchanged numbers and texted mostly about cats. minho knew all about how elliott had first got yukihime; her first trip on an airplane from paris to seoul; her escapades at the dorm. the only thing left was to actually meet her.
there was a knock and elliott rushed to open it. the two men came inside, carrying the cage between them, and set it down on the floor with a relieved sigh - yukihime was only one year old, but she was still pretty heavy to carry up a flight of stairs.
"thanks, man," said elliott as he fist-bumped the taller man, who shook his head and waved before leaving with his coworker.
elliott then came back and unlocked the latch to the cage easily, and yukihime strutted outside with not a care in the world, looking lovely as always. everyone in the room immediately fell in love with her (some, all over again).
minho didn't have to do anything except exist for yukihime to approach him and jump onto his lap, and he wore a smug expression as he began to pet her.
it took her only a minute to choose a stranger over you.
similarly, hyunjin didn't have to do anything but exist for yukihime to take an immediate disliking towards him. when he moved to place his fingers on her fur, she hissed. when he decided to just sit beside minho and admire her, she moved to the other side of minho, using him as a barrier between hyunjin and herself.
the pinkette simply didn't understand why he had gotten rejected in 0.001 seconds, and shot elliott a sort of helpless look, who gave him a reassuring smile.
"she doesn't hate you," he whispered as he perched on the armrest of the couch beside hyunjin. "she's usually cold with all strangers. minho's just . . . one of the few who she's okay with from the beginning. i don't know why."
"even kids love him," sulked hyunjin in a whiny voice while crossing his arms and sliding down in his seat. "when i tried to make friends with them, they just beat me up!"
elliott shrugged. "well then, maybe you're just bad with kids and animals."
"hey! your behavior is so ugh!"
"oh, english hyunjin is back," commented jisung.
the enemies-turned-besties began bickering in a good-natured way and elliott watched with a kind of half-smile resting on his lips, just barely noticeable when you paid attention. it reminded him of his ex best friend from back in paris, one who he had fallen out of touch with after his father died in the accident.
•
"eli, i heard what happened and came as fast as -"
"i want to be alone right now."
"i won't talk or make you talk, i'll just stay here so you don't feel lonely -"
"no, i don't want to see you right now. please leave."
•
he inwardly winced at the uninvited memory.
it was all your fault. she did nothing, and you still pushed her away. she cried so many times because of you, and you damn well knew it. but did you do anything? no, you just left her.
elliott abruptly stood up and a few of the others in the room turned their eyes on him. he gave them a reassuring smile and a shake of his head to say everything's fine, mumbled, "bathroom," and left the place.
he found the lavatory soon enough and locked the door behind him before walking to the sink and staring at himself in the mirror for a solid five or more minutes.
that's the face of a mur -
"fous-moi la pax," he whispered as he turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water. "i'm not a . . . a . . ."
you can't even say it, can you? go on, tell me what you're not.
