safe spaces

Description

Anyone who ever worked at Café Neo knows that working there is a dream. It's always cozy and warm, the fellow coworkers are wonderful, the customers are kinder than most, the manager lets everyone invent daily specials and take home leftovers, and it's never too busy. Some see it as a safe haven, and others as an escape.

But, when tragedy strikes just two blocks from their little coffee shop, everything around them starts to come apart at the seams. All is not as it seems.

 

/~/

 

"You know, it's funny; when you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags." - Wanda the Owl from BoJack Horseman

Foreword

Wellll I'm back once again with a new fic even tho I have a bunch of fics I need to work on lolllllll (im crying on the inside). This one is an ode to my favorite kind of au: COFFEE SHOP AU - but with a lil twist that's angsty and about a topic that is very important, imo. Though this time, I'm aiming for an optimistic ending. Rather than a focus on a specific character, it'll be an ensemble! And pairings are a surprise/slightly ambiguous.

title: safe spaces

characters/pairings: baekhyun, jongdae, sehun, oc (kwon naeun), seulgi, irene, wendy, other exo and rv members though they are not a part of the main ensemble, brief mentions of other idols, too. 

rating: pg 13!

word count: 20k

genre: angst, drama, coffee shop au, a lil bit of suspense thrown in there? it's more like tension, social issues

disclaimer: shout to the trailer for the minding the gap hulu documentary for making me feel a certain way and then getting inspired to write this at 3am lmfao, shoutout to one more thing that i will mention in the final authors note after this is posted bc its a spoiler, there will be serious topics ya girl is tired of the portrayal of jealous men being a good thing, poor/questionable consent, entitled men, and many other issues. As usual, anything triggering i.e. mentions of abuse/violence will not be explicitly written about.

warning: there are brief moments of dubious consent, so please be aware of that!

 


 

COVER ART BY: bluelixir
(her work is so gorgeous, go check out her shop through the link below!)

Comments

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vampwrrr
#1
This is incredible, amazing, perceptive, astute, entertaining, touching, and illuminating. Tbh, I had put off reading it, because I thought that it might be...not as exciting as your other ones, but this was a wonderful stripped, intimate, sensitive, character study. I am curious about what eventually happened to Baekhyun, but your deft portrayal of the interactions between characters and how those interactions are fueled by power dynamics, and undertones was so satisfying. You know that I am reccing this, right?
exolotl
25 streak #2
Chapter 1: This is a beautiful story about the effects these issues have in our lives. For a moment, I thought that one of the characters was going to be involved in the murder (or perhaps would fall victim to a similar crime later on in the story), but I'm so glad you decided to focus on the tension and conflicts that arise among the rest of us after something like that. When these things happen, we all need to take action and speak up in order to prevent something similar happening to someone else. It was nice to see all sides presented, I think you captured both quite well. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that was frustrated after hearing Sehun and Wendy belittle Irene for standing up for what she believes in. Unfortunately, this is pretty common in society nowadays. Feminism has become synonymous to misandry for reasons that are beyond me.

Can't get over how incredible Irene's in this story. I loved, loved, loved her character and related so much to her thoughts and actions. She was brilliant throughout the entire story! I also enjoyed Seulgi's character a lot; it was nice to see her stand up for herself at the end, which is something I wish many people will do in situations such as this.
iSayRawrCx #3
Chapter 1: This was really well-written! I hope people who are usually on the side of Sehun/Wendy/stalker read this and understand what feminists really argue for; though their views aren’t 100% untrue, people like them are missing the bigger picture.
Baembi
#4
Chapter 1: This reminds me of the mass murder that happened in Quebec, where a man went to a classroom with a gun and knife, told all the men to go out of the classroom and for the women to stay behind. He shot all the women in the classroom and even went around the school for about 20 more minutes, only targeting women. He killed a total of 15 people including himself.
lackadaisies
#5
Chapter 1: oh my god i love this so much. i felt like i know every single character you've written in this story- how close it is to reality really gives me the shivers. the tension building up to the end of the story kept me on the edge of my seat at all times, and i really love how realistic the ending is. i had to take a deep breath to not chuck my phone across the room when a ty character grinds my gears.

amazing.
love this.
thanks for writing this. yay women.
lackadaisies
#6
i just read the foreword and the moment i saw the bojack horseman quote i know i'm signing up for some Good Content
sweetcynicism
#7
Chapter 1: thank you for writing this and telling this story. to me, what's most striking/staying about this is that naeun, irene, seulgi, and wendy's experiences and opinions are so real... like i could know these girls in real life, go to school with them, and never know some of these things happened to them. and kim jieun too, like you emphasized - she really could be anyone, and what happened to her could happen to any girl. what's also scary is that because of the way we're brought up, whatever gender we are, we could be like sehun or wendy or baekhyun - and even after learning why equal rights are important and why women shouldn't feel afraid walking alone by themselves, we might resort to doing what society/men expect for (like naeun said) "convenience."

the most lasting idea from this is that despite how far the movement for feminism has come, there's still so so much to do that it seems like the battles won have only scratched the surface... crazy to think about when so many societies claim to be "forward." this story really resonated with me, thank you so much for writing!!
upgrader
#8
Chapter 1: this was devastatingly gorgeous and raw and real just wow you did an amazing job

i really liked the format of character vignettes as the main characters processed the events and the cracks that had formed in their ignorant bliss. it was nice to see baek's growth and see how toxic masculinity has shaped his life and relationships - and then to show he too is powerless when it comes to wealth and bigger systems of oppression.

i identified most with irene and had a big oomf moment when her excitement to talk to chanyeol turned to disappointment - i wish i couldn't relate but so many male "friends" in my life have sent similar texts that just show my value is as an object and not a person.

wendy and sehun were infuriating but a sad reality. some women really do contribute to misogyny as some kind of way to better themselves, thinking they'll somehow be protected if they do everything right.

also naeun kind of reminded me of the cool girl quote from gone girl?? which i loved.

overall this was a really great read and made me think a lot. i feel like i know each character, it was just a real and kind of unsettling (but also hopeful) portrayal of what it means to walk in the world as a woman. good job!!!
bluelixir
#9
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: This fic is a masterpiece. You’ve done so much research for it and it really shows as that commentary on recent and relevant events.

From Jongdae’s first quote, he was rubbing me the wrong way. Labelling Naeun as “one of the guys” in this context is pretty messed up because it implies that is what he takes seriously. I can’t put my finger on what exactly throws me off, but it does.
Wendy’s couple-roons. Oh man. The fact that she doesn’t really acknowledge that relationships other than heteroual ones exist is very subtle as implied with the colors. Irene is fighting an uphill battle that’s worth her time, and it’s so telling that people choose to stick to a certain color. It’s what has been engrained in us by society.

I feel for Seulgi. She’s someone who is empathetic and kind, and that doesn’t mean that she isn’t strong. The fact that she had simply smiled and someone took it as encouragement is unfair, and the majority of employees of Café Neo had…uncomfortable suggestions. Why should Seulgi give someone a chance when she’s not interested? Why would Sehun ask why she’s so embarrassed when she’s clearly doing nothing to warrant the attention? She’s just being nice. Naeun’s suggestion isn’t that bad of an idea, and just in general, self-defense is incredibly useful.

Irene’s struggles in class are too real. I’ve been in that position and as much as people like to say that the population of women in STEM is growing, this kind of behavior is really common. On top of that, the fact that her uality gets dismissed is a struggle of so many people in LGBTQ+, but biuals are disregarded because female biuals go through exactly what Irene goes through. They’re told that they can be turned straight, or else ualized and asked about a . And it’s not okay to talk about women in an objectifying manner, despite of her attraction.

Shindong, holy . The logic makes no sense. There is no excuse to kill someone in this situation. It really is a hate crime against women and it’s shocking and absurd that people would continuously dismiss that. It’s a blatant hate crime and that’s the only reason that women were targeted. The fact that Shindong has the audacity to tell her how to act while she’s both disturbed by the crime and getting her education is even worse.

Jongdae. I just. The fact that he coerced her into having . That’s really not consenting, and Jongdae seems like he’s manipulating her subtly in order to get what he wants from the relationship. Jongdae clearly fails to realize that Naeun is troubled by the recent events, and the “nothing kills the mood like murder” sounds so dismissive of her internal struggle.

Baekhyun’s insistence when Naeun’s set her boundaries and made it clear that she is in a relationship is unfortunate and real. I saw a post somewhere online a while ago, and it said just avoid doing anything non-platonic at work, even with your closest coworkers. Regardless if they’re at work or not, Baekhyun isn’t respecting those boundaries and doesn’t take no for an answer. I feel like you created his initial character to believe that if he tries hard enough, Naeun would leave Jongdae, and if that was the point, you did a great job.

Murder is murder. It doesn’t matter what the victim is wearing. It doesn’t matter what the victim is doing. If that’s taken into account, that is victim blaming, plain and simple.

Jongdae comes off as…unhealthily possessive. I feel like you created the double standard of Jongdae looking at other girls while Baekhyun looks as Naeun to be an underlying issue, and I love it. Somehow it’s completely fine for Jongdae but if someone else looks at his girlfriend? That being said, I feel like this adds to the tone of the fic because it further makes Naeun almost turned into a trophy rather than a person.

Okay so there’s laws in other countries that it’s not if you’re in a relationship or married, and that’s something that I absolutely cannot agree with. A lack of consent is damaging, regardless of relationship status. We can see that in Naeun because it’s clear that how she’s being treated is affecting her mental health and her stability, and Naeun probably also feels like she can’t really tell many people other than Seulgi at the moment.

“Not all men.” Oh my god. Irene’s right. If the shoe fits. Sehun and Baekhyun’s time on the couch made me so mad. And they’re not blaming an innocent group and in no way is the crime an outlier. This kind of stuff happens on the daily, and maybe it’s not murders in South Korea, but the coercion, the lack of respect, etc, is something that happens on the daily as we see in the female characters in the story.

I love Junmyeon.

I hate “Jinyoung Park.”

Irene has every reason to be angry. Wendy is arguing that they’re better off than some other places, but Irene is right. She can argue for progression and improvement despite the country’s and their society’s current status. The fact that Sehun is saying that girls can do boy things is so infuriating, because that’s exactly what we want. We want to take up STEM careers without facing backlash and misogyny. We want to go through our daily lives without facing ism and attacks because of our gender.

“so uh are you still gay lol” oh my god there Chanyeol goes ruining a perfectly good friendship. I mean calling her lesbian vs straight based on who she’s dating is still very not okay but it’s clear that he doesn’t take her and her uality clearly now.

Jongdae mansplaining her even though she’s a barista. Too real and too accurate

The man who has been stalking Seulgi being offended when she says no? He grabs her even though that’s not okay. And people just dismiss it as normal. Baekhyun’s character development was subtle enough, but I was still pleased when Baekhyun makes the first move. I know you left the fic a bit open-ended on his side, but I have a sinking feeling when the other man who assaulted Seulgi was rich.

Naeun letting go of Jongdae and her insecurities??? Jongdae no longer preying on her uncertainties???? Naeun having a cute relationship that seems healthy???? BEAUTIFUL

We all know someone like each of these characters. I feel like I might have been some of these characters in the past. But I hope I can eventually become like Irene. Unapologetically strong in her sense of justice and in her beliefs.