Morning Star (Ateez Fantasy!AU) Chapter 3

Morning Star

 

Flipping on her desktop lamp, Saetbyeol sinks into her chair, locking her purse in the desk’s only drawer. Tapping her finger on the smooth surface of her desk, she impatiently waits for her computer to come to life. Today was going to be an exhausting day.

Saetbyeol was usually always the first to arrive in the morning. She wasn’t a morning person per-say, but she liked to get a head start on her work so she wasn’t having to get off late or be the last to leave. The glow of her computer monitor illuminated her face, exposing the exhaustion in her eyes. Taking a swig of her coffee from her travel mug, she opened her web browser and document software. The cave incident left her so baffled that she began thinking of any and all possible explanations - no matter how bizarre it seemed. Before she could document and publish the article, however, she had to find solid evidence on what could’ve caused this. The scenes from that day constantly flashed in her mind; the whole situation was unsettling.

Shaking the images from her mind, she cracked her fingers and let out an audible sigh before typing ‘behaviors of hunters’ into the search bar. Time slowly passed by as she read article after article on hunters and their occasional strange behaviors, but none of it matched with what she saw in the cave. The carcusses - piled perfectly on top of one another with only their livers missing. It just didn’t add up.

   Her next option was to research murders and bizzare patterns as well as various killings, but regardless of how deep she ventured into the rabbit hole, Saetbyeol couldn’t find similar cases. She didn’t want to rule out murder, or a deranged hunter, but she couldn’t find any solid reasons as to who would do such a thing, or why. Hunters never stacked carcusses neatly and perfectly, so maybe it was a warning? Maybe a serial killer lurked in the shadows and utilized animal carcusses to send out a subliminal threat?

Breaking her concentration, she heard the bells on the office’s front door chime. Looking up, she saw San walk in and towards his desk. Removing his thick black jacket, he draped it perfectly over the back of his chair. Placing his belongings neatly in their proper places, he pressed the power button on his computer as he waited for the machine to come to life.

Saetbyeol never once paid attention to his strange organizational behavior, but after the cave incident, she had become more aware of her surroundings. However, considering San was her co-worker, she didn’t dwell upon his actions. Sensing someone watching him, San spun around in her direction only to catch her watching his every move closely. Smiling sweetly at her, he waved to his mysterious co-worker. Her eyes quickly darted back to her screen, fully prepared to go back to ignoring him at all costs. Cheeks flushing just the slightest tinge of pink, she hoped he couldn’t see her discoloration from across the room. San frowned, he was always curious about her and why she never spoke to anyone other than the girl he saw her with the other night. Shaking his head, San makes his way to the coffee bar to make himself some tea.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Saetbyeol groaned in frustration - she was getting nowhere. She was just about to give up and try a different route when she noticed a comment from an anonymous user with a link to another article. Furrowing her brows, she gnawed on her lip - she might as well check it out. Clicking on it, she stared at the words in big bold letters, Mythical Creatures: A History,  the color of a dark red wine, maybe even a blood hue.

As she scanned the article, Saetbyeol quickly perceived that it was written by an amateur author. The more she read, the more skeptical she grew - what even was this? Fiction perhaps? The author talked about the reality of mythical creatures walking amongst human beings which which, in return, earned an audible chuckle from Saetbyeol.

The author probably wrote it to get a rise out of people and to fuel others’ superstitions. There’s no such thing as mythical creatures and even if there were, how would people know? Did they see one? Doubtful. The more she read, the more absurd the article grew - such creatures apparently took the form of human beings to fit in which caused Saetbyeol to, once again, question whether or not the author had seen such a sight, to which she, yet again, declared that it was doubtful.

It took everything in Saetbyeol’s power to not roll her eyes at the mention and definition of each creature. There’s no way people actually believed these things, right? She had to give the writer some credit, though - a lot of the information was very detailed, but there’s no way they weren’t making this up. Sighing, Saetbyeol moved her cursor to close the tab when suddenly, a familiar word caught her eye: Kumiho. Gnawing on her lower lip, she hesitantly clicked on word to read more. Just as the page finished loading, her boss called to her; Saetbyeol jumping in her chair as her head whips in the direction of her boss’ voice. “Yes boss?”

“Can I speak to you in my office real fast?” Ms. Kim stood at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to her office.

Jumping up, she made her way to her boss and up the stairs to her office. Returning to his desk, tea in hand, San noticed Saetbyeol was nowhere to be found. He wondered if she had gone to the restroom or to get something to eat. Why was he suddenly so concerned about her?

Shaking his head, he made his way back to his desk, setting his teacup down on top of the coaster next to his keyboard. The room had started to fill up with more of his coworkers, their voices becoming louder as they started to bid good morning to their friends while working on bringing their computers to life. Sitting down, San’s eyes scanned the crowd of people, eyes darting left and right in hopes to catch a glimpse of Saetbyeol, but to no avail.

“What do you mean I have to work with him?!” Saebyeol replied to her boss. The two of them were good friends from college, but at the end of the day, Ms. Kim was still her boss, so she had the final say in decision-making.

“I know this isn’t easy for you Saetbyeol and I’m not doing this to punish you by any means, but I am teaming you up with San for your cave investigation. An outsider's view might be a good thing, not to mention the attention he’ll bring to the story.” Ms. Kim replied giving Saetbyeol a sympathetic grin.

“So you are using him for publicity! This isn’t even his department anyway!” She groans as she folds her arms across her chest.

“Well, yes, but I’m doing this for you. You know I’ve always wanted you to go far in your career, so I’m using this opportunity to help you out as well.”

“Fine, whatever. But don’t expect me to be nice to him.” Saetbyeol snaps back, glaring at her boss and old friend.

“I’m not expecting you to, but do try to at least work with him.” At that Ms. Kim dismissed Saetbyeol.

She stormed out of the office, back down the stairs and to her desk. Flopping in her chair, she snaps her head in San’s direction, shooting daggers from her eyes into his back, hoping he could feel it. As if abiding by her wishes, San tensed up and turned his head to lock eyes with her, suddenly taken aback by her gaze. The look of pure hatred twisted the features of her face, her eyes cold as a storm brewed within them. Confusion overtook his body - what had he done to her that made her behave this way towards him? Had he taken her mug by mistake? Did he say something about one of her articles without realizing it? Eyes growing wide, Saetbyeol whipped her head around - focusing on her computer screen in front of her.

Frustration coursing through her, Saetbyeol tries once more to read the article she had found in the comments, but her attention was pulled elsewhere once more. Saetbyeol watches out of the corner of her eye as her boss makes her way towards San’s desk. Great she’s going to tell him the news. Pretending not to be paying attention, Saetbyeol fixated her eyes upon the monitor, but didn’t read the words virtually plastered to it. Stopping in front of him, Ms. Kim places a file of all the copies Saetbyeol made of her report from the cave and her findings so far beside his hand. Watching San flip through them, his eyes grew wide as they dart straight to Saetbyeol - he must’ve just been told the news.

Feeling her cheeks flush, she bends down, pretending to pick up something off the floor so her hair could fall freely from behind her ear to hide her face from his view. Straightening up slightly, she could see his shoulders tense up through the curtain of her black locks as he sighs; nodding in agreement with Ms. Kim, knowing he, too, cannot refuse. His reluctance was obvious, but being the good poster-child he was, he confirmed his agreement without too much hesitation.

As Saetbyeol continued to watch, a warm feeling of anger began pooling in the pit of her stomach. Sighing, she fully straightened up, unlocking the desks drawer, as she grabbed her purse and stormed out of the building. She needed fresh air before she snapped. How could Ms. Kim team her up with him? Of all people, why did it have to be Choi San?

An audible sigh escaped her lips - she was going to get so many glares from this, as if she already didn’t get enough. San was the most desired person at their workplace, but he was also the most unavailable person in the office. Clenching her jaw, Saetbyeol ran a hand through her hair once she realized how her female co-workers would react. San was fairly popular amongst women - especially those in their office. Countless times they had tried to make their move on him and each time, he politely turned them down. That, alone, was going to cause trouble for her, but she had to at least give him some credit - he was always a professional gentleman, even to her.

But she was cold, closed off from everyone; never made friends or spoke to anyone, and when she did it was laced with intense sarcasm. No one approached her for anything, and she liked it that way. Honestly, her only true friend was Mirae. Her boss knew of Saetbyeol’s past, so how could she do this to her? Ms. Kim said it was for Saetbyeol’s benefit, but there’s no way anything good is going to come out of this.

Paying for her lunch, Saetbyeol slipped into a secluded picnic table nestled under a tree. She always came to this park near the office for lunch, or whenever she needed some alone time to cool off or to think. Glancing down, Saetbyeol took a quick glance at her bandaged ankle. The bleeding had stopped, but considering the wound’s vulnerability and placement, it was easy to re-open the tear. Noticing no signs of blood seeping through the bandage, however, she went back to focusing on her lunch - doing her best not to think of the fact that she is going to have to work with the Choi San.

 

San was still so confused as to why Saetbyeol acted with such anger and rage towards him. She obviously knew that they would be working together from here on out. San knew how she kept to herself, how she never spoke to anyone and what others thought about her. If someone started to talk about her around him, he would instantly change the subject in hopes to get the negative attention off of her; he hated how people spoke about her. They didn’t know her, nor did they ever try to, but it’s not like he attempted to, either. He had tried to approach her once in the past, but it blew up in his face, so instead, he secretly admired her from afar; his interest growing everyday. Now that he was getting his chance, though, he had to admit that while he was thrilled to get to know her, he was reluctant as well - he knew what their interactions would do to her. More people would start to stare and talk badly about her - pondering and speculating as to why the two of them had grown so close. They wouldn’t care about the fact of their pairing being for an assignment; human beings only ever cared about drama and how to twist stories for their own benefit.

San glanced once more at her now empty workstation, her frustration apparent. Sighing, he stood up, mug in hand, as he made his way back to the coffee bar for another cup of tea. Passing by her desk, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed the article she was reading. What did this have to do with the cave’s case they would be working on together? Noticing the new, unread article in a tab next to the currently open one, he frowned. Leaning in a bit to get a better look, he rolled his eyes as he moved the mouse's cursor to the small ‘x’ button in the top right-hand corner of the tab, closing both tabs pertaining to mythical creatures.

“How stupid,” San’s voice was soft, irritation seeping into his body. He never thought Saetbyeol, of all people, believed in such wild stories. He would have to ensure she didn’t look up such things if he was to work with her. Their pairing was already going to cause trouble - he wasn’t going to allow her to make a fool of the company, let alone themselves, as well. Deleting  that day’s browser’s web history, he continued on his way to the coffee bar.

Satisfied with his beverage, San moves gracefully between the scattered crowds of employees discussing various projects they were working on. It wasn’t uncommon for people from different departments getting teamed up, but why choose someone from the news and another from the entertainment section? Contrary to popular assumptions, those two categories were in no way connected - not for this story, at least.

Looking out the window, San noticed Saetbyeol walking back towards the building. Should he approach her? Just as she was about to enter, Saetbyeol was stopped by one of their fellow coworkers. He watched as the man got closer and closer to her as she tried to put a comfortable distance between them, but the man was not letting up. The look in his eyes made San’s stomach twist, anger boiling up inside him.

The man was taunting her. He watched as Saetbyeol tensed her shoulders, curling into herself as she lowered her head to avoid his intimidating gaze. The more he pushed, the more uncomfortable she grew. She wanted to just disappear. Tears started to sting her eyes as he continued to as to why she was taken to the bosses office - repeating how he thought she was finally getting fired. San noticed her small frame begin to shake. He normally didn’t get involved in people’s affairs, but he could tell how truly frightened she was. He knew what consequences this would bring, but he wasn’t going to allow this to continue to happen, not to his new partner. He would protect her of what people had to say from now on.

Standing up, San quickly made his way out the front door. Looming behind the man taunting Saetbyeol, he cleared his throat, lowering his voice to sound more menacing. “Is there a reason why you are tormenting my partner?”

Snapping her head up Saetbyeol stares at San. His demeanor was suddenly menacing and quite frightful; completely contrasting his usual cheery and warm self. She had to admit she was scared of the San she was currently seeing. She had never once seen him show any sign of anger or aggression, so this was new. Glancing up at him, she saw his jaw clenched tight as a nearly visible fire danced in his eyes. Their co-worker turned around to face San, he stood just a few inches taller than him, but that didn’t stop San from confronting the man. She couldn’t hear any of the words the two of them exchanged as she froze in pure fear and anxiety. It had been a long time since she had a severe panic attack like this, but it wasn’t much of a surprise - it was triggered upon receiving the news about working with San and now, with her co-worker cornering her and San acting out of character, it only intensified.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she noticed their co-worker backing down and heading back inside. Thankfully, only a small crowd of spectators had formed, and those who did gather around,all had their attention on San. Quickly wiping away her tears before anyone saw, she tried to calm her breathing when suddenly, a firm, but gentle hand grasped her shoulder. She already knew whose hand it was, but the feeling of him touching her, made her shy away from his touch.

“Are you okay?” His voice was laced with genuine concern, yet she could still hear the anger in his deep tone. He could tell she was still trembling, her breathing still somewhat uneven. Faint whimpers left as she started to speak.

“I-I didn’t ask for you help. I would’ve been fine on my own.” Her voice trembled uncontrollably as she tried to calm herself before she went back inside. She didn’t have any strength left to yell like she wanted to. She knew that her words were a lie, she wouldn’t have been fine on her own. Actually, if San hadn’t come to her aid, she would’ve been a lot worse. She couldn’t say it out loud, of course, but she was thankful that he showed up.

Flinching at her words, a deep sadness welled in his eyes, but only momentarily has he quickly replaced it with his usual gaze. Her words stung, and he didn’t understand why. He just helped her, why was she still behaving like this towards him? Deciding not to think too much of it he took a couple steps away from her, allowing her to have the space she needed to calm herself. This wasn’t his first time seeing someone have a panic attack, so he knew what to do in situations like these. To be honest, this was a whole new Saetbyeol; one had never seen before today. The girl before him was a fragile being - not the cold, hard-headed person he had always seen.

She truly was a mystery to him, but it intrigued him more. Maybe now he could finally crack her mystery.

Everyone else has quickly cleared the area, leaving her and San alone as they stood in the cool afternoon air. Small snowflakes had started to fall from the sky. Watching them, Saetbyeol began to finally feel her body relax, exhaustion consuming her, but she willed her body to remain upright. She couldn’t let San, or anyone who might still be watching, see her in this vulnerable state. This was the first time he had ever heard her voice, aside from when she was being short and sarcastic with people and when he overheard her talking to her best friend the other night after she got off work. The sound of it made him feel warm and soothed, it was soft and higher pitched than he imagined. This was her real voice.

“My name is Choi San. It’s nice to finally meet you after all this time --- partner.” He smiled sweetly at her, reassuring her that she had no reason to fear him. Making both of his hands visible, he extended his left hand out to her in a friendly gesture, hoping she would return his handshake.

Fear crept up within her once more, looking from his face to his hand she gnawed on her lip. She wasn’t used to physical contact with men, but she had already felt San’s hand. The feeling of his hand on her shoulder - faint, but still there. His touch was different, it was soothing and even though she shied away from his previous touch, she never felt fear from it. This was her first time ever being this close to him, or anyone besides Mirae, for that matter.

She was guarded but she didn’t feel afraid like she had with their coworker who, moments ago, stood uncomfortably close to her. She could feel her walls slightly crumbling in his presence despite how hard she tried to keep them standing. She still didn’t trust him, but if she was going to have to work with him for the case, she decided she would at least try to get along with San.

Slowly and hesitantly, she extended her right hand, placing it in his larger one. Watching his fingers curl around the back of her hand, swallowing her’s whole, she mirrored the movement and curled her fingers over his. Unable to take her eyes off his hand she spoke softly, yet hesitantly, “My name is Yoo Saetbyeol. It’s nice to meet you as well.”

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momoxia #1
Chapter 6: Alright this is the best san's fanfic :"( i love it so muchh
You made it very well! Can't wait to read the next chapters
FictionalWonderland
#2
Chapter 1: This is quickly becoming my favorite fic, js xoxo