A/N: Hello everyone. Welcome back to the story.
Here we are with Season Two: Broken Bonds
Like I mentioned before at the end of season one, I found a lot of stuff in my writing that I didn't really like. Just like all of you pointed out, it did end up being rushed towards the end. Some other criticisms came in, which I am very appreciative of; otherwise I can't get better right?
Like I said before, the pace for S1 was not good. Imma be honest, it was rushed. Therefore, S2 will slow down, and hopefully, really get you guys to enjoy the characters and the relationships between everyone.
There are other criticisms I read and I'm thankful for them. Such as choices I made in terms of progressing the story, or even certain character personalities.
However, I'm going to stand by my choices and try to improve character personalities without drastically changing the continuity. It's a difficult thing, but, nothing in life is easy, so I'm just going to have work ten times harder.
I'll try my best to make this season a great one. Thank you all for the amazing support.
Without further ado.
Here is the first chapter of Season Two: Broken Bonds - A New Day
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Normal: Korean
Bold: English
Underline: Japanese
Italics: Thoughts/Flashbacks
Bold & Italics: Telecommunications (E.G. Text, phone calls, radio, etc)
~~~~~
"Good morning everyone! My name is Kim Heechul , I'm currently joined by Kim Jongmin sunbaenim and Yoo Jaesuk sunbaenim."
"Annyeohaseyo!"
"Today... Yah... Today we get to talk about a very popular subject. The number one topic in all of Korea, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, and many more Asian countries. " Heechul announced, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. His two guest were also clapping their hands, excited for the conversation.
"Today, we will discuss Spider-Man" Heechul let it out like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He let out a excited shout. "AH! I'm so, so, so excited!"
In the middle of Seoul, Spider-Man was swinging through the buildings of Seoul. The red and black suit rippled through the air as he dove down street level. His body pulled back up into the sky as his webs stuck onto the buildings.
Pedestrians below just looked up at the sky in awe. Watching as person was swinging through the air with such grace and expertise.
"I really excited too, I've been wanting to talk about this since forever" Jongmin said, unable to stay seated. The mere topic at hand making him bounce in his seat.
"I still can't believe it" Jaesuk confessed. "He's really here. Swinging around Seoul. I've seen so many photos going around the net. Yah... It's really amazing to see"
"I've actually managed to see him once" Jongmin said, and instantly the two hosts gave a big reaction.
"Really?!" Heechul asked, having to stop himself from slamming the table.
"Yes. I was out grabbing some coffee with my wife. Then... I heard the people around me gasp. Everyone was looking up, so me and my wife did the same." Jongmin explained, the two hosts quiet as they were immersed into his story. "Then out of the corner, he popped out. He was so fast! By the time I caught him with my eyes, he was already on the next street. His body was flipping and twisting in the air... It was surreal"
"All units, we've got a speeding vehicle heading South of Samseong-ro, Gangnam. Suspects appear to be armed."
"No such thing as a quiet morning huh?" Shinji said to himself, releasing at the apex of his swing. Leaning backwards, he began to free fall, facing the direction he had just came from. A white stream of webbing came out of his web shooters, sticking onto the building behind him.
Shinji began heading south, swinging with his back turned, releasing at the apex once again. He flipped and twisted his body to face south as he fired off another web, heading towards the direction of the reported car chase.
"I really hope I can see him at some point. My daughter is such a big fan. She even asked me if I could get him on Running Man" Jaesuk said with a laugh, his words making the other two hosts bust out into a fit of laughter. "I thought 'Huh?' How would I do that?!"
"Spider-Man is really taking this country by storm. Not only is he stopping crimes around Seoul. I've also heard that he has been helping civilians with small problems as well" Heechul continued.
"Ah, ah! I heard about this!" Jongmin clapped.
"He's been seen assisting civilians with everyday problems. A fan spotted him helping an old lady cross the road. Carrying groceries to a mothers car. Even saving a balloon for a kid... Yah..." Heechul slapped down the reading card, clapping his hands for the heroes small deeds.
"Such small things and he still does them. He has a very kind heart" Jaesuk said, his voice sounding very proud of that fact.
"No job is too small for a hero right?" Heechul asked, and everyone nodded and agreed to those words.
"There's the car." Shinji dove down, firing two webs at the building to his left and right to sling shot himself up and over a tall building. From his view he could see the speeding sedan below him, weaving through traffic, along with four police cars chasing it from behind.
As Shinji dove down to street level, the suspects in the car began opening firing on the police behind them. Hearing those gun shots, Shinji double timed it, swinging as fast as he could towards the speeding vehicle.
Shinji soared above the vehicle, shooting two webs at the top of the sedan. He pulled himself down, slamming his feet on the ceiling, causing the metal cave in. The sound of him landed, made the criminals inside the vehicle almost jump out of their skin.
"What the hell was that!?"
"Go take a look!"
"What!? Are you crazy?! I ain't doin' that!" Just as the he said, he felt something touching back. Before he could even scream, he was yanked out by Spider-Man.
"Alley-oop!" Spider-Man tossed the man up into the air, covering him in webbing. He then fired a web onto him, tossing the string up onto a light post, suspending the criminal from it, incapacitated.
"Shoot him bro!" The driver screamed.
"Shit!" The second criminal stuck out his body, using his hands to clutch onto the roof, his pistol pointing at the Spider.
Shinji's spider sense went off, back flipping as the man fired his pistol. The bullets passing by under his back. The hero landed on the side of the vehicle, the criminal turned to him with the look of fear. The Spider-themed hero crawled around the armed criminal like a spider, webbing his entire body up.
Shinji placed a web on his back, firing it up to a building, pulling the criminal out of the car and sticking him to the side of it.
Shinji flipped over to he front of the car, looking through the drivers window. "Sorry sir, I'm gonna have to pull you over. You're going 100 on a 50"
"Screw you!" The driver pulled out a pistol, drawing it on the Spider.
"No thank you! I'm taken!" Shinji rolled over top the rooftop, the bullets coming through from under the roof and following him. Shinji jumped off twisting his body and firing two webs in between the passenger seat door.
"SHOTGUUUN!" He pulled himself forward, kicking in through the door and into the criminal, pushing his body out from the other end. Shinji fired a web at the criminal and one at the car, swinging the criminal off to the side whilst sticking him to a wall.
"Stop! Stop! Stop Stop!" Shinji fired another web at the back of the car, landing on the road. Using his strength he pulled the car back, his feet skidding on the pavement as he forced the car to come to a halt.
"Whew! That could have been bad" Shinji breathed a sigh of relief, firing a couple of webs at the cars wheels so it no longer rolled forward.
The sirens of police cars came closer, the cruisers coming to a stop behind the hero. "Hey, uh... The baddies should be hanging around the street somewhere"
"Oh my god... Thanks Spider-Man appreciate the help" The officer said, bowing to the hero.
"No problem. Take care okay guys?" Shinji waved the police officers, jumping up into he air, firing and climbing his webs to gain more air.
*BZZT* *BZZT*
"Hm?" Shinji felt his phone buzz. Swinging up into the air, he took out his phone from his back pocket. He was getting messages from JYP.
JYP: Hey Shinji, can I ask you to come to the office for a bit?
Shinji looked at the message, falling back down as he texted the CEO back with no care in the world.
Shinji: Sure no problem
Shinji: I'm not in trouble am I?
JYP: Hahaha! No, no. I just wanted to run you by on something.
While still looking at his phone and falling with his back against the ground, Shinji fired another web behind him, swinging backwards.
He released the string of web, causing him to perform a front flip and landing on the rooftop of a bus. He followed up with one handed back flip, pushing off the bus as he landed. He did all this while texting JYP back.
Shinji: Okay, be there soon.
"Time to get to my real job" Shinji said to himself, swinging himself higher into the buildings that towered over the roads.
Meanwhile in Gangnam, a group of boys and girls in SM entertainment were walking along the hallway. The lot of them chatting about miscellaneous topics, ranging from music, movies, TV shows and more.
The group consisted of many members of the idol groups in SM Entertainment. One person in particular began to freak out when he was staring at his phone. "YO! No way!"
Everyone in the group jumped at looked at Mark like he was crazy. Before any of them could ask whats wrong, he ran to the front and showed all of them. "Guys! Spider-Man is close by! We might get to see him if go to the roof!"
"Seriously?! Let's go! Let's go!" Johnny was the next person to get excited, followed by a bunch of their members. The others, consisting of members of TVXQ, Suju, Girls Generation, SHINee, RV, EXO and the four girls who were about to debut in 2020, all followed after boys of NCT.
The group funnel out onto the roof top, the majority of them having their phones out.
"I hope I can get a good shot..." Baekhyun said, a little nervous he might not be able to get a good photo.
"Have you seen how fast he moves? It's like a blur" Xiumin added, also feeling a little nervous.
"My hands are sweaty, are anyone elses hands sweaty?" Lee Jin-Ki AKA Onew, wiped his hands on his shirt.
Everyone around was nervous. They might be celebrities in Korea but Spider-Man is a whole new ball game. If there was a pinnacle of popularity, Superheroes would be above everyone else.
"You think we'll be able to ask for a photo?" Taeyeon asked her label mates.
"You think he'll give us the time of day? He seems pretty busy" Irene answered, feeling a little hopeless that it might not happen.
"If I can get one photo with him, it will be the best day ever" Yoo Jimin (Karina) pleaded, holding her phone close to her chest.
Everyone on the rooftop was anxious,. Hoping to catch a glimpse of the red and black suited hero.
Jaehyun walked and looked around the rooftop. Scanning the skyline for any signs of the web-slinger. In the distance, he could see something moving around. He squinted his eyes, and saw that something was getting closer. It wasn't a bird due to it's sharp change in directions... Thats when Jaehyun realized it.
He ran over to Mark, slapping his shoulder multiple times, his eyes never leaving the oncoming hero. "Dude, dude, dude, dude!"
"Ah, ow, ow! W-What?!" Mark pushed away Jaehyun's flailing arms, getting annoyed with his band mate.
"Sp-Sp-Spi!" Jaehyun stuttered, not being able to speak properly due to being star struck.
"Just spit it out!" Mark said, slapping Jaehyun in the back of the head.
Jaehyun pointed at the sky and shouted. "SPIDER-MAN!"
Everyone turned their heads to the South of the building. Everything to them happened in slow motion. Spider-Man flew right above them, all of them looked at him in awe. They were all so amazed, none of them had the chance to take a photo or video. They were all mesmerized as the man in red and black passed over them.
Irene was the last person to see Spider-Man as he flew right over her. She took a step back, not realizing the edge of the building was right behind her.
Due to her sudden shift in balance, Irene fell back but the fencing kept her from falling off. Instead, she let out a yelp as her phone flew out of her hands and down a 30 story building. "AH!" Irene looked down from the building, but at that point the phone could not be seen.
"Oh! Joohyun are you okay?" Taeyeon asked, rushing over to the Red Velvet leader. Her band mates, along with some others rushed to her as well after they heard her yelp.
"Y-Yeah..." Joohyun held her heart as that gave her a good scare. "But I dropped my phone... So stupid of me..."
Taeyeon placed her hand on Joohyun's shoulder, feeling awful for her. Taeyeon was about to say something until she looked up. Her breath was caught, and her eyes widened.
Joohyun wondered why it was so silent as she looked up to see her label mates wide-eyed and frozen in place, looking at something or someone behind her.
"Did you drop this by any chance?" An unfamiliar boyish voice came from behind her.
"No... Way..." Joohyun began to get nervous, and her heart pounded. She turned around with her hands against her chest, feeling how hard her heart was beating. "Oh. My. God." Joohyun could not believe who was in front of her.
"S-S-Spider...Man?" She mumbled, just loud enough for the hero to hear.
"Yup! That's me" Spider-Man replied, hopping down from the metal fence, with a phone in hand. "I was swinging around until I heard someone shout... Then I saw a phone dropping so uh... Thought I'd swing back and catch it for you"
Spider-Man walked up to the idol, handing the phone back to her. Joohyun's eyes would not leave him, even when she reached out to grab her phone. Due to not paying attention, the poor woman fumbled the phone out of her hands, causing Joohyun to snap out of her trance like state.
"AH!"
"Ooh?" Spider-Man, fired a web at the phone, retracting it back to his hand. Everyone's jaw dropped.
"That. Is. So. Freaking. SICK!" Johnny was fanboying like crazy along with some other members. Hell even some of the older idols were trying to hold in their excitement.
Meanwhile the girls of their group only looked at him in utter amazement.
"Are you okay ma'am?" Spider-Man asked, big hints of concern targeted at the beautiful woman.
"H-Huh? Y-Yes!" Joohyun bowed, taking the phone back with two hands and a bow this time. "T-Thank you very much"
The hero chuckled at the idol, making the latter blush a little bit. Mostly due to embarrassment. "Be careful okay? Those things can get prettyyyy expensive" He said walking back. "Take care now ok--"
"W-Wait!" Joohyun shouted, her loud voice not only surprising her label mates but also herself. After realizing how loud she was, she brought hand to her mouth, a little ashamed for how loud she spoke.
Much to Joohyun's relief, Spider-Man turned around, not looking agitated at all. Given his body language since she couldn't see his face.
"Is there something you need?" He asked, tilting his head.
"U-Um..." Joohyun had her tongue twisted. She didn't understand why this was so hard for her.
Fans ask this all the time, yet asking him was an entirely different issue. She lifted her phone up a little higher, hoping that he would see and understand.
Spider-Man indeed noticed it. He smiled under his mask and walked forwards. "You want a photo?" He asked.
Joohyun nodded her head immediately, garnering another chuckle from the hero.
"Sure no problem" Spider-Man said, walking closer to the flustered Joohyun. He then turned to everyone. "Would you guys prefer a group photo?"
"Yes please!" All of them said, making the hero jump a bit in surprise.
"A-Alright! Everyone gather around" Spider-Man stood right beside Joohyun, unaware that him being this close made the idol even more flustered. "Mind if I use your phone?" He asked.
Joohyun shook her head, handing him the phone after unlocking it.
"Okay, everyone ready?" He asked. He looked through the phone screen and saw everyone posing for the photo. Spider-Man did his signature hand sign, while Joohyun made a peace sign with a tame duck lip, her confidence boosted due to being behind a camera.
*CLICK*
Spider-Man took a few more photos before turning it around back to Joohyun. "Are these okay?" He asked.
Joohyun took the phone, and everyone crowded around her to see them. The composition, lighting and angle was perfect. Everyone was a little impressed at how good Spider-Man was at taking selfies.
"These are great! Thank you so much!" Joohyun said, bowing to him, along with everyone else.
"No problem!" Spider-Man replied, waving at the SM artists. "Need to get going now. Make sure to keep your phone secure okay?" He asked, giving Joohyun a quick two fingered salute before leaping off and swinging away.
"Bye Spider-Man! It's was awesome seeing you!" Mark shouted, waving good bye to the hero.
The rest of the SM artists watched as Spider-Man swung away into the horizon. Meanwhile, Joohyun was staring at the photo Spider-Man just took of them. She smiled brightly, hugging the phone with a blush.
"Is... Is... Joohyun-unnie blushing?" Yeri asked her members, pointing at their leader.
"She is" Seulgi replied in awe. "She's actually blushing over a guy?"
"Who wouldn't? It's freaking Spider-Man" Joy shot back, her words getting Seulgi to glare at her in response.
"Joohyun has a crush on Spider-Man? Oooh! That's so cute!" Wendy was pretty much fangirling. The four of them has never seen their leader smile or blush over a guy. It's even more rare that it was both. "I TOTALLY ship it"
"Of course you would" Joy responded, getting a nice little whack from Wendy.
"Ow!"
JYP Entertainment
Shinji dropped on down onto the JYP HQ. He found a suitable spot for him to hide and change. Since nobody came up here other than technicians, it wasn't hard for Shinji to come up with a hiding spot for his suit.
The boy descended down the stairwell, going all the way to the 8th floor as it would be weird for him to appear on JYPs floor via stairwell. He took the elevator back up to the 12th floor, heading to JYPs office once he arrived.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Come in" JYP said from inside his office.
Shinji pushed down the door handle, with a click he opened the door to JYPs office, closing the door behind him with no sound.
"Shinji?" JYP called him over as Shinji entered his office. "How are you doing? Settling in okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Bit of a change but I'm getting used to it" Shinji said, talking a seat in JYPs office. "Is there something you needed?"
"Yes, actually." JYP began, taking out a file. "As you know, ITZY is headed to the states to shoot their music video."
"A few days ago, I received an offer from a big fashion company. Asking for the girls to appear in their advertisements" JYP continued, opening the file and showing Shinji the company.
Shinji took the file into his hands. He eyed the clothing peculiarly, he felt like he has seen this clothing somewhere before. In fact, the company logo was also something he felt like he saw as well.
"It's a very famous fashion company based in New York. Seeing how K-pop is becoming more popular internationally, they wanted to collaborate with certain kpop artists" JYP continued his explanation. "Of course I accepted, but... The moment the company saw your name, they wanted to do an exclusive ITZY line"
"Huh? M-Me?" Shinji pointed at himself, shocked and confused. "D-Do they know me?"
"The company CEO does" JYP replied.
"Does the name Felicia Hardy sound familiar?" He asked.
Shinji dropped the file on the table and clutched his head.
"Oh boy..."
"Is something wrong?" JYP asked, looking a bit concerned. "Do you have a bad relationship with her something?"
"No! No, no. The exact opposite actually" Shinji replied, letting out a nervous laugh. "Felicia is a close friend of mine. Well... More like an older sister."
"A-Anyways it's fine" Shinji assured. "I was just a bit surprised is all"
"You sure?" JYP asked once more.
"Yup, no problem. Its a good opportunity as well. Knowing Felicia--I mean Ms. Hardy, she's very picky, even if I'm somehow connected. I don't have a problem with it" Shinji answered, his words honest.
"Okay. Just wanted to run it by you. I'll call her back, letting her know of the deal confirmation. I will text you the details once you land in LAX" JYP said. "Make sure to get some good rest okay?"
"Ne!"
ITZYs Dorm
Shinji traversed back to ITZYs dorm, which was rather close to TWICEs old condo. While TWICEs condo was on the west side, theirs was on the east. Which was good for Shinji, as he could walk home with no problems.
The masked boy hopped and flipped down the fire escape until he hit their floor. He poke his head out, looking through his window, making sure there was no one inside.
He slid open the window, hopping inside and immediately began changing out of his costume.
His new room was a bit smaller compared to the room he had in TWICEs Dorm. Even more so with the new condo Tony gifted. However, he found it kind of nice as it was more filled out compared to a giant empty room.
Shinji walked out into the hallway, making his way into the kitchen. "Looks like everyone is still asleep" Shinji glanced at his watch. It was around 10:30 but the girls flight was tomorrow. Therefore, the five of them just decided to sleep in.
"If I'm headed to LA. Maybe I can meet up with Gwen. Haven't seen in a long time" Shinji took out his phone and took a seat on the dining room table.
Shinji: Hey Gwen! Just wanted to let you know I'm coming to LA for some work. Wanted to know if you want to meet up at some point
Shinji heard a door open. He looked up from his phone and saw a sleepy Yeji come out of her room. She rubbed her eyes with a sleepy frown on her face, walking with heavy steps.
"Good morning Yeji" Shinji greeted.
The sound of his voice startled Yeji, making the leader of the group jump. She held her chest, her mind not prepared for sudden scares. "G-Good morning... S-Shinji...oppa..." Yeji greeted him back, albeit in a awkward fashion.
The leader walked by him, not sparing him a glance. Shinji sighed as she did, wondering when she will stop avoiding him.
Ever since Shinji was introduced as ITZYs new manager, Yeji became a bit distant. What was a great friendship before, was now a cold separation. Shinji understood why. The two had almost kissed during their outing to the zoo.
The fact that he almost kissed an idol he was going to manage threw him for a loop. Of course it felt odd, but Shinji tried his best to push that aside, focusing on being a good manager for them.
Unfortunately, despite Shinji's genuine and forthright attitude, Yeji still felt his presence a bit cumbersome. After all, for Yeji, she has a completely different point of view.
The boy she liked really ended up turning out to be Lia's childhood friend and love. Apart of her felt guilty but also envious. Happy for Lia that she found him, but hurt that it HAD to be this boy. Her emotions were all over the place, and the fact he was going to be around them for a while only made it worse for her consciousness.
Even now Yeji is still attracted to him. She was happy he was here, and her heart always beats faster when he was around her. Apart of her wanted to really go for him, but knowing Lia's feelings... She couldn't.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something? Shinji asked, getting up from his seat . His question was answered as Yeji had just opened the refrigerator door. The girl letting out a sigh.
"We don't have a lot in the fridge right now" Yeji closed the fridge door, tapping on the handle as she thought of an alternative.
"Maybe we could all go out to eat or something?" Shinji suggested. "We might be cutting it close for breakfast but I'm sure lunch or brunch will do."
Yeji raised her eyebrows at the suggestion. "That's not a bad idea. Just need to wake up Lia somehow"
"She sleeps like a rock"
"She sleeps like a rock?"
They both said at the same time. The leader looking up at him in surprise. Shinji nodded his head in understanding.
Despite feeling awkward around him, Yeji couldn't help but fall into his rhythm. He was so easy to talk to that she forgot all about it.
"Let me teach you something" Shinji said, walking around her and opening the fridge door. Yeji leaned and looked over his shoulder, curious as to what he was planning. "I should teach you all of this. Just incase you need Lia to get out of bed asap and wide awake."
Yeji's interest was now peaked. The awkwardness she felt around him was now gone, replaced with intrigue and curiosity. "You want me to wake the others up?"
"Yeah. That would be perfect. It's going to be hilarious" Shinji smiled, a playful but evil smirk on his face.
Yeji walked into Chaeryoung's room, the only member that has a room of their own. Yeji grasped the dancers shoulders, shaking her gently, trying to wake her up. "Chaeryoung? Wake up"
"Hmm...?" Chaeryoung groaned, opening her eyes a tad to see Yeji crouched in front of her. "Unnie? Hm... What time is it?"
"Around 10:30" Yeji said, feeling a little bad that she woke Chaeryoung from her sleep, especially seeing how comfy she was. "Sorry about this... But.... Shinji-oppa wants to teach us something"
"Hm... Teach? I don't wanna learn..." Chaeryoung's honest statement making Yeji snicker and cover her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"He's teaching us a fool proof way of waking Lia up instantly..." Yeji said.
Chaeryoung's eyes opened. She lifted herself off her bed, looking at her leader with doubtful eyes. "Waking up Lia-unnie? Instantly? No way"
"Shinji-oppa sounds pretty confident" Yeji stated.
"Hmmm...." Chaeryoung eyed Yeji, wondering if she should go along with this. It was either go there get disappointed and knock out in her bed, or go and maybe find out something cool and entertaining. "Fine... This better be good"
Yeji smiled as Chaeryoung flipped the sheets off of herself, slipping into her slippers. "Let's go"
Meanwhile, Shinji was tasked with waking up Ryujin. For some reason, Yeji was really adamant on going to wake up Chaeryoung. He didn't understand why, but, he just let the girl do what she wanted. He was the new comer after all.
The fresh faced manager of ITZY went into Yeji's and Ryujin's room. Shinji walked over to Ryujin, bending down with his hands resting on his knees. "Ryujin? Time to wake up"
The idol did not respond.
Shinji scratched his head with his finger. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to shake her since he wasn't really all that close with anyone yet, besides Lia and Yeji. Shinji looked around and got an idea. He went over to Yeji's desk and... He grabbed a ruler.
"Ryujin?" Shinji called out, poking the idol with the ruler. "It's time to wake up... Hm?" Shinji kept on poking her, lightly of course.
The idol began to stir in her bed, letting out a light groan. Shinji stopped the poking, happy to see he finally awoke her. "Sorry for waking you up Ryujin I--"
The idol was laid down facing the wall, she turned her head to see who was bothering her. She turned to him with this death glare, her brown eyes searing into his.
Shinji frozen on the spot, his entire body unable to move. The look she gave him was straight out of a horror movie. "Is this why Yeji didn't want to wake her up?"
Ryujin's glare softened once she saw it was Shinji. She thought it was Yuna since the maknae is the only one who would annoy her to wake her up. "Oh. Shinji-oppa?" Ryujin turned over and lifted herself off the bed, rubbing her eyes. "Is there something you need?"
"Hm? O-Oh! R-Right!" Shinji cleared his throat, thanking the stars above that Ryujin wasn't going to kill him. "I uh... Well, Yeji and I decided to take everyone out for some food, and we needed to wake everyone up."
"Oh!" Ryujin smiled at the mention of food. Her eyes perked up, waking up almost instantly. "I'll get ready then."
Ryujin hopped off her bed and walked towards her door. She then turned around with a curious expression. "Is someone going to wake up Lia-unnie?"
"I am." Shinji said walking to the door.
"It's going to be tough you know" She replied with a smirk on her face.
"Not for me." Shinji said with confidence. "I've known her a really long time. Came up with my own methods. I'mma be showing you one of those methods."
Ryujin raised her eyebrows, now wondering what these methods were. "What are you going to do?"
Shinji smirked, gesturing Ryujin to come close. The idol stepped forward, with Shinji whispering into her ear.
Ryujin's blank expression went to intrigue to surprise and end with a devious smile on her face. Shinji leaned back with the same smirk, and Ryujin already began to giggle.
"Yah... That's evil" Ryujin said, all the while still laughing. "I like it. I need to record it" The idol went to her desk, grabbing her phone out of a bag that made Shinji narrow his eyes.
"Wait..." Shinji recognized that bag. He remember Nayeon mentioning Ryujin was such a big fan of Spider-Man, she got one of those limited edition handbags from a raffle. It was his first time seeing it up close. "It's kind of cool and creepy that they got so many details of suit on that bag... I wonder how long they stared at pictures of me in the suit..."
"That's a nice bag" Shinji said, pointing at the spidey-themed hand bag.
Ryujin smiled brightly, holding the bag close to her. "I know right?! Its one of my prized possessions. I'm such a huge fan of him. You have no idea how happy I was when I won the raffle"
"I can sort of imagine it" Shinji said. He had his fair share of over the top reactions when his fans have met him in real life. "I'm guessing it doesn't leave your room"
"Of course not! Don't want it to get scratched" She replied, taking her phone out of the bag. "Okay! Let's go"
Shinji and Ryujin met up with Yeji and Chaeryoung in the hallway, just at Lia's and Yuna's room. Yeji turned the door knob open, the four of them heading inside.
Yuna's sleep was disturbed by the four of them walking inside. She stirred awake, rubbing her eyes, wondering who it was. "Hm? Unnie's? Shinji-oppa? What's happening?"
"Shinji-oppa is going to wake up Lia-unnie" Chaeryoung stated. "Apparently he can wake her up in an instant"
Yuna was suddenly now wide awake. "Really? You have a method like that Shinji-oppa?"
"Yup" Shinji held out some Tupperware. He opened it up, and took out... "Cucumbers"
"Cucumbers?" Yuna scrunched her eyes, wondering what he was going to do with him.
"Just watch all of you" Shinji said, sounding very confident.
Ryujin held her laugh, her phone out recording the whole event.
"Hey... Lia, time to wake up" Shinji said, tapping the singer on the shoulders. "Hello?"
She just continued to sleep. The girls all giggling.
Shinji sighed and brought the slice of cucumber out, and luckily Lia's mouth was open ajar. "Delicious electricity" He said with an evil smile. He popped the cucumber into her mouth, like inserting money into a vending machine.
Lia closed her mouth, a slight audible crunch was heard. That sound was followed by Lia shooting her eyes open and getting up, spitting out the cucumber like a bullet.
"WHOA!" Shinji fell down to to avoid the incoming cucumber missile, all the while laughing.
"EWWW!" Lia stuck out her tongue with a sad look on her face.
"HAHAHAHA!" The four began began to laugh, with Ryujin falling down dying, her phone almost dropping from her hands. Yeji was dying as well, holding onto Chaeryoung as support who was doing the exact same thing to her leader.
Yuna, who was still on her bed, fell back down, holding her stomach. She was pretty much wide awake due to the laughter occurring.
Lia turned to Shinji. Her eyes lowering to the Tupperware in his hands. "JAE! WHAT THE HELL!?"
"HAHAHA! HOLY SHIT. I think you broke your previous record!" Shinji said aloud and laughing, the swear going unnoticed by everyone.
Lia jumped off her bed, grabbing her pillow and began assaulting the boy. Shinji did the bare minimum of defending himself. Just raising his arm as the pillow hit him multiple times. "You promised you wouldn't do that again!"
"They wanted to wake you up. This was the only way to do it" Shinji said, now using both hands to block the fluffy assault.
"Why can't you just wake me up normally?" Lia complained, finally stopping the pillow assault. A pout decorating her face.
"Because you aren't a normal sleeper." Shinji replied with a chuckle. "You sleep like your molded into your bed."
Lia frowned, taking a strike at Shinji. Hitting him straight in the face, causing him to yelp and fall back. "Hmph!"
"Oooh... Oppa you made Lia-unnie mad" Yuna teased.
"Aha... I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Shinji got back up, a smile to present on his face. He leaned over, grabbing a hold of her hand. Still laughing as he apologized. "I'm sorry, hahaha!"
"I'll let you get whatever you want for breakfast okay?" Shinji said, that promise suddenly brightening up Lia's mood. Bringing her in closer to himself, his hand reaching up and ruffling the idols hair. "Don't be so mad"
"Fine..." Lia agreed, getting up from the ground.
"Wow... That really worked" Chaeryoung said, sounding very impressed with the outcome. "She's wide awake..."
"Do you have a method for her getting ready faster in the morning? "Ryujin asked, wondering if there was any other methods Shinji had.
Shinji glanced at Lia, the girl beside him giving him a glare. Shinji turned back to Ryujin. "Maybe next time" He answered. The reply getting Lia to hit him again. "AH!"
The fours girls who woke up, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryoung, and Yuna all left the room, headed towards the bathroom to freshen up. Meanwhile, Yeji and Shinji sat in the living room, the previous awkwardness seemingly dissipated.
"Where should we go? "Shinji asked, scrolling through his phone for restaurants.
"What do you feel like eating?" Yeji got up from her seat, sitting beside Shinji and leaning just a bit to see what came up on his phone.
"Hmmm... I have no idea... Bunch of American-style breakfast places... English... You guys feel like getting soup?" Shinji asked, continually flicking his finger down at his screen.
"Hm... Maybe not today..." Yeji said, not really feeling in the soup mood. "Well... We could just go for some western-style breakfast."
"Oh... I could go for some French toast right about now." Shinji almost drooled at the sight of dish shown on his phone. "Oh... They also have eggs benedict"
"Eggs benedict? I'm so down for that" Lia suddenly hopped on the couch, comfortably laying her head on Shinji's shoulder. "Especially since I get anything"
"Haha... Of course you are" Shinji replied with large hints of sarcasm.
"Were ready!" Yuna jumped out of the hallway, everyone getting ready to head out.
"Perfect! Let's go" Shinji said, getting up from the sofa.
The six of them exited the condo, the five girls all wearing their masks. All of them tried to dress rather discreetly. Just everyday, normal clothing. Shinji on the other hand was free of any mask, just walking around in his normal attire.
Surprisingly for Shinji, not a lot of people recognized them. He wasn't mad about that. In fact, he was glad. It just means less trouble for him and everyone.
(A/N: So for this part, I did a little research on Kpop in Korea. Turns out K-pop or Idol music as Koreans call it--is way more popular internationally than nationally. Though they still probably get recognized in the streets, just not as much as actors, actresses, sports stars (E.G. Son Heung Min), and MCs (E.G. Kang Hodong, Yoo Jaesuk, HaHa, etc. Just thought it was interesting.)
*BZZT* *BZZT*
"Hm?" Shinji slowed down, taking his phone out and seeing he has received a message from Sana. She texted him good morning, followed by a selfie with her outside in Osaka and a kiss emoji. Shinji chuckled at the greeting and photo, texting back Sana good morning, asking her if she has eaten yet.
Sanaya: Yup! My mom made me breakfast this morning. I'm just heading out with some friends today.
Shin-chan: Be careful okay? I know you're clumsy and I can't help you with an ocean between us
Sanaya: Hey! 😡
Shin-chan: I'm joking lol
Shin-chan: I'm just a little worried since I'm not there. In fact, I'm kind of worried about everyone
Sanaya: 🥰🥰🥰 You're really sweet you know that?
Shin-chan: 😘
Sanaya: Hehehe! Were really going to miss you. Even our fans as well!
Sana then sent an article to him. It was a news article saying that JYP has announced Shinji's departure from TWICE as a assistant manager. It gave the reason that Shinji was moved to manage JYPs other girl group, ITZY. A lot of users that commented were sad to see Shinji go, while some others were happy, but those were downvoted to oblivion.
Shinji smiled at the fact that ONCEs liked him a lot. Even some of the male fans were sad, saying they didn't have a gaming buddy to talk to anymore. Since, while the fans were in line, Shinji would often talk to them, keeping them a little entertained before meeting the nine of them. That gesture alone got a lot of fans to like him.
Shin-chan: Don't worry. I'm sure we'll see each other often
Sanaya: We better. I want to go on at least five dates before I have to start out schedules.
Shin-chan: We'll make it work some how haha
"Shinji?" Lia called out.
Shinji turned around as the voice came from behind him. He turned to see all five girls looking at him strange.
"You walked past the restaurant" Lia said, pointing at the restaurants sign above them.
"Oh..." Shinji wanted to smack himself. He got so caught up in texting Sana, he didn't realize he just walked past the place they were going to. "S-Sorry..." Shinji jogged back to the five, the six now entering the establishment.
"Who were you texting?" Lia asked, wondering what got him so distracted. She knew well enough to know that Shinji doesn't get distracted easily.
"O-Oh" Shinji began to panic. He hasn't said a word about his relationship with Sana to her, and quite frankly, he was a little scared to. "It was um... K-Kirika. She was asking when I'd be going home to visit"
"Oooh! Kirika?! I haven't seen her in such a long time" Lia hopped up and down on the spot at the restaurants entrance, sounding very excited. "Maybe we can visit her at some point"
"You have a sister Shinji-oppa?" Yuna asked.
"She is verryyy pretty" Lia stated.
"Oh! I wanna see" Yuna jumped, pleading Shinji to show her a picture.
"Why don't we get a table first?" Shinji chuckled, waving down a waiter who soon guided them to their table. Followed by a couple of menus being placed down along with complimentary water.
Whilst looking at the menu, Shinji already knew what he wanted. He took out his phone, muted notifications from Sana for an hour, just in case she texted him. He didn't want Lia to find out through Sana texting him. He just needed a way to tell her, or find a time. "I really should have thought this through..."
"Here" Shinji said, handing Yuna his phone. "You wanted to see my sister right?"
(A/N: Cannot find any photos of the previous girl lol. Just opted for this one. Take this with a grain of salt)
"Oooh! She's so pretty!" Yuna smiled, almost pressing his phone to her face. Her reaction made the other girls curious. Chaeryoung and Ryujin who sat on both sides of her leaned in. Chaeryoung's mouth dropped, while Ryujin raised her eyebrows, her mouth in a 'O' shape.
"She really is..." Chaeryoung whispered, a little mesmerized.
"How old is she?" Ryujin asked, peeling her eyes way and looking at Shinji.
"She's born in 2001, so she should be the same age as you and Chaeryoung" Shinji said, surprising the 2001s.
"Woow... She must have a lot of boys hitting on her" Ryujin said smiling looking at Kirika's picture.
Immediately, Shinji's hand tightened on his cup. Lia noticed this and began to giggle, patting him on the shoulder. "Relax Jaeji. If I still know Kirika, she scares boys away more than she attracts them."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Chaeryoung asked. "She doesn't get a lot of guys asking her out?"
Shinji sighed, wondering how this conversation turned to Kirika's dating/romantic life. "She does have a lot of... geh... admirers..."
Lia and Yeji both snickered at his groan of disgust. His face also contorted, making it hard for the idols in front of him to keep a straight face. "Just like in the picture, she can come off as cold, and emotionless. Because of that, a lot of... geh... are afraid to approach her"
"Oh... Yeah I can see that" Ryujin expressed, definitely seeing how Kirika could be intimidating to approach.
"But she's really sweet once you start talking to her" Lia said, trying to defend Kirika's image. "Even better when she's around Jae. She's like a cute little hamster"
Yuna handed the phone back to Shinji, allowing Yeji to get a glance. Her eyes widened as well, she could see that in terms of the looks department, the two Park siblings were up there. Albeit, Shinji hides his appearance a lot more through questionable clothing.
"She looks kind of familiar" Yuna said, putting on a thinking expression. "Like... I've seen her in some magazines..."
The conversation was cut short as one of the waiters came back to ask if they were ready. All of them nodded and went on to order their food. Lia, like she said she would, ordered a smoke salmon avocado eggs benedict. Shinji ordered his French toast, Yuna and Ryujin did the pancakes, Chaeryoung did the classic English breakfast, and finally Yeji went a little fancy with a soufflé.
"You five must be excited. Heading to LA and New York" Shinji said, taking a sip of his water. "Anything you five wanted to do while you're there?"
"Venice beach is a must go right?" Yeji expressed, with all of them nodding their heads. "Santa Monica, Hollywood, there's a lot of places I want to go..."
"I hope we have enough time" Chaeryoung added, feeling a little antsy that they won't have that much time.
"Have you ever been to LA or New York?" Yuna asked, curious if Shinji could probably guide them around.
"I've been to LA a couple of times. New York been multiple times. The pizza" Shinji closed his eyes, making an ok hand sign. "Sooo good"
"You've been up to a lot then" Lia smiled leaning back onto her seat with her arms crossed. "New York and LA."
"So have you" Shinji replied. "Debuting in a group, having fans all over the world. Performing for thousands. I think you've achieved way more than I have."
Lia blushed at his compliments, nudging him with her shoulders. "Well I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you so... I can't take all the credit"
"What do you mean?" Chaeryoung asked, curious about their conversation.
"When I living in Canada, Shinji was the one who pushed me to audition" Lia explained, grabbing a hold of his arm and hugging it. Something that surprised all of them since it was rather odd for people to show physical affection in public. Especially if it was Lia since she never really seemed to into guys.
"He was also my continuous guest to my concerts in my room. So that helped me a lot with public singing" Lia continued.
"Front row seats and VIP passes every time" Shinji joked, making all the girls giggle. "Great singer. Bit of a aggressive personality though haha-oof!"
"Shush!" Lia scolded elbowing him in the stomach before smacking his head for good measure.
"See what what I mean?" Shinji continued to joke, and continued to make the girls laugh. He turned to Lia with a smile on his face that soon disappeared with the glare she gave him. "Erhm! Y-Yeah, not funny"
"Anyways" Lia continued, moving her glare away. "There was an audition for SM and I was too scared to go. Shinji stayed with me the entire day and night before, went to the audition with me and everything. If it wasn't for him, someone else would be here"
"Awww... That's so sweet" Yuna was gushing at the little history the two had. "I want someone like that too"
Yeji was happy to know that Lia and Shinji were so close. And how closely tied together they were. She was happy, but couldn't help but feel a little envious at how close the two were. Even though Shinji was older, Lia did not hesitate to drop titles, and Shinji did not mind. She was talking to him however she liked. "I wish I could do that too..."
The conversations stopped as the waiters began bringing in the food the group ordered. Everyone at the table was itching to dig in, just waiting until the servers walked away.
The girls all took off their masks placing them in their pockets or hand bags. Almost instantly, Shinji heard some people around going 'oh'. There were a couple of people asking around if that was ITZY, or just surprised to see five beautiful girls sitting at a table.
The six didn't really mind though. Their hunger was taking over and it was all hands on deck.
"God I haven't had French toast in so long" Shinji put of the pieces in his mouth, relished in the sweet maple syrup and cinnamon flavours. "Can't wait to go to the US to have more western food"
"We have western food here too though" Yeji said, feeling all giddy when she took a spoonful of that delicious, light and fluffy soufflé.
"It's more Korean-Italian, or Korean-American" Shinji replied. "It's still good but... It's like Chinese vs Korean-Chinese, similar but still very different. Even the Japanese food here is different"
"Wow... You seem to have a high standard for food" Chaeryoung said, taking a bite of the baked beans, only to scrunch up her nose later.
"High standard for food but can't cook to save his life" Lia added, Yuna and Ryujin almost spitting out their pancakes. "Yeji-unnie might have set off a fire in the microwave--"
"You what?" Shinji turned to the leader, whom now looked flustered at Lia randomly exposing her.
"It was that ONE time!" Yeji complained, pouting cutely.
"--Jaeji would have just blown up the microwave" Lia finished, taking a bite of the home fries, staring at the two beside her.
"Okay. That is not true." Shinji pointed out, straightening himself. "It would have at least been a controlled explosion. Just the interior"
The girls all began to laugh. The four members were really surprised to see how well the two got along. They just kept on throwing jabs and jabs, comebacks after comebacks. Even jabbing at themselves sometimes, which was exclusively Shinji.
"I'd like to let you know that, my cooking has improved. Jeongyeon and Mina helped me a lot with it." Shinji said, and because he was eating, he did not notice Lia's sudden twitch of annoyance. "Whenever we had time, one of them would help prepare breakfast or dinner."
"Just the two of you?" Lia asked, aggressively shoving a piece of English muffin into her mouth. The three on the other side had their forks close to their open mouths, but were too focused on Lia's sudden irritated behaviour.
"Yup" Shinji replied.
"Ahh... Haha... Must be nice" Lia replied with a fake smile, gritting her teeth afterwards. Her glare directed at the boy.
The four members all felt a chill run down their spine. They have never seen Lia with that type of expression before. She was always so bubbly, energetic and laid back... This was like a demon Lia. One the four did not want to mess with.
"OH!" A group of girls passed by their table. The sound of the group surprising the six of them, causing them to jump a little. "Y-You're... Oh! ITZY too!"
The six of them smiled and bowed to them in greeting. "Annyeohaseyo"
"Annyeohaseyo! Oh my god... We didn't expect to see you here" One of the girls said, her face all flustered.
"We heard that you left TWICE as their assistant manager. Were going to miss you oppa" Another girls said.
Lia and Yeji raising their eyebrows. "Oppa?"
"Even in normal clothing you look handsome oppa. The photos don't do you justice" The third girl said, the other around her giggling and gasping at her boldness.
"Ah... T-Thank you" Shinji felt shy as she bowed in thanks, but he still smiled nonetheless.
"Sorry for bothering you. We'll let you finish your food" The first girl said, and the group of them walked away, taking a seat at their own table.
Chaeryoung watched as the girls walked away, she then turned her attention to Shinji. "You seem pretty popular with ONCEs."
"Hahaha... Yeah. I've talked to a lot of them during fan meets" Shinji replied.
"Let's hope you get along with Midzy's too" Yuna said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll have no problem though."
"No need to worry" Ryujin said, holding up her phone. The Midzy website already having multiple forums about Shinji as their new manager. "Everyone already seems to love you. Especially the part about you being childhood friends with Lia"
"Oh really?! Let me see!" Lia took Ryujin's phone and began scrolling through the comments. She smiled as people were genuinely interested in seeing Shinji. Obviously there were a couple of comments saying how he was too young or probably trying to hit on one of them. The latter problem she wouldn't mind if it was done to her.
The comments soon turned into their female fan demographic, complimenting his appearance. With those comments, Lia's face soured. She didn't even want to read it, she just handed back the phone to Ryujin. "These thirsty fans I swear"
*BZZT* *BZZT*
Shinji felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked at the message and saw it was Kirika texting him. The message asking when he'll be coming home.
Lia glanced at his phone, smiling as she saw Kirika texting her brother. "Same old same old. Always wondering when he'll be home. She hasn't changed one bit"
"Kirika wondering when you'll be home?" Lia asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah" Shinji nodded. "I told her that I'm leaving for the States tomorrow. She's been kind of clingy the past few days"
"I've only been in Korea for a few months and I'm constantly busy with work so..." Shinji didn't have to finish as the girls understood. The young girl probably feels she hasn't spent enough time with him, and now he's going abroad again.
"Then why don't we all go over to your place?" Lia asked. Her idea peaking the interest of the girls. "We don't have anything to do. Plus, I want to see how Kirika is doing."
"I'm down with the idea" Ryujin agreed, speaking with her mouth full of pancakes.
"I want to see Shinji-oppa's pretty and terrifying sister too!" Yuna said with excitement. Shinji, laughing at Yuna's rather accurate description of Kirika.
"We can go after we finish eating" Shinji stated, and the six of them continued to eat until they had their fill.
Meanwhile: Manhattan, New York
In a high rise building in New York, a lone gorgeous blonde hair woman sat in her office. She brushed her long locks behind her ear as she browsed through the documents placed on her desk. Her green eyes moving from left to right, reading the print, until she felt someone's presence in her office.
"Word travels fast doesn't it?" She asked, still not looking away from her papers. "I was wondering when you would come by"
A cloaked figure stood in front of the blonde beauties desk. Her armored highly advanced, glowing orange trimmings in a hexagon pattern. The suit hugged the persons figure tightly, showing off her curves. The suit was also adorned with multiple weapons, two blades of different lengths on her waist, and a glowing orange dagger in her right hand, breaking down into glowing orange particles.
(A/N: I do not own this photo. All rights belong to the artist. I make no money out of this. Please don't sue me)
"When will he arrive?" She asked, her voice feminine but slightly distorted, sounding a bit robotic.
"Why?" The blonde asked, marking down her signature before placing the pen down on her desk. "You want to see him again? What makes you think he'll want to see you?
The figure stayed silent. Her head craning to look at the ground.
The blonde sighed, shaking her head. She pushed away from her desk, grabbing a remote on her desk and clicking a button with a beep. The window panels in her office began fading from black to clear. Soon, the bright light of New York lit up her office. An amazing view of the financial district.
Below she could see police cars zooming by. She smiled, tapping her window panel to open a zoom in window. She double tapped the image, and watched as a familiar red and white suited hero swinging through the streets, following the police.
"Damn... Looking good as always Spider..." She bit her lips as her eyes kept on following the web-headed vigilante.
"I want to see him again.. To... To apologize" The figure answered.
She turned around to face the figure, walking towards her with a sway to her hips. Her hands laid down on her desk, leaning forward. "Well... That's, quite responsible of you."
"Seeing how you've been working quite well for the past few months... I would say you deserve at least that" The blonde said, the cloaked figures head perking up at those words.
"I'll tell you where he's going. But that's all I'm going to do for you Zahra." The blonde said, turning on her holographic computer and zooming into LA, more specifically Downtown LA. "He'll be there for business."
The figures mask dematerialized, and flipped down her hood. A bright smile adorning her pretty face.
"Thanks Felicia. It really means a lot to me" Zahra replied, bending forward 90 degrees.
Felicia fell back down on her seat. "No funny business okay? I know how you get when you're around him"
Zahra let out a cute little giggle, all the while biting the bottom of her lip. "Like how you get when Peter is around?"
"I swear it's scary how were so similar" Felicia sighed, pressing her hand against her forehead. "I had a rough patch with Petey, you had a rough patch with Shin. Both of them still gave us second chances."
"And both of us kept on chasing after them" Zahra finished. "Well... You got yours..."
"Indeed I did... Which reminds me. When will this man call me?! I know he doesn't take more than two minutes for a car chase!" Felicia swiped her phone, angrily texting Peter.
"I guess I'll be going then. Thanks for the info Felicia." Zahra flipped up her hood and the hexagon patterned mask materialized once more.
"No problem. Oh! And make sure you're here early tomorrow. The peeps from Elle wants to discuss next years issue" Felicia said, pointing at Zahra with her phone.
"Okay. I'll be there" Zahra waved good-bye and her suit began to disappear into thin air. Her whole suit allowing her to go invisible.
Zahra stood atop of the Noir building. A building belonging to Felicia Hardy, who now owned a fashion line and company, along with being a modelling agency. It stood in the middle of NYC's financial district. A sleek modern design where the the middle half of the building was an outdoor garden.
The pretty brunette looked out into the Hudson river, where the Statue of Liberty stood.
"I really hope you can forgive me..."
~~~~~
A/N: Hello everyone!
Just want to say welcome back to season two. I'm trying my best to make this season better than the previous.