《The Arrangement》3
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Taehyung was roaming the halls of Big Hit, killing time until he had to oversee the final audition. He avoided the crowded rooms full of aspiring hopefuls and stuck to the quiet, abandoned parts of the building. It was one of those rare times he found himself completely alone and he wanted to savor the feeling. He knew after today, after he chose a mentee, there would be limited free time.
He was about to take another lap of the floor when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Pulling it out, he scrunched his eyebrows when he saw who texted and what was being asked of him. Taehyung shoved the phone in his pocket and made his way down two levels to where the training rooms were. Before walking among the masses, he pulled a face mask on and concealed his brightly colored hair with a beanie. It'd have to do.
With his head down, Taehyung hurried to a small rehearsal room at the end of the hall. Upon finding it locked, he rapped on the door incessantly until it opened. He was pulled inside quickly.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Taehyung asked, locking the door behind him.
"Aren't you happy to see me, Taehyungie?"
"Don't use my name here, Seokjin," he answered, looking at the taller boy.
"Fine, I won't call you by your name as long as you call me by Jin," the elder responded, running a hand over his fine hair.
Taehyung slipped the mask off of his face. "Whatever. What are you doing here?"
Jin put his hands on his hips, looking down at the younger. "Is that any way to speak to your brother?"
"You're not my brother, Jin."
"Come on, we're basically brothers. My mother treats you like a son of her own, worrying over you all the time. She collects every single magazine you're in," Jin informed him.
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Taehyung groaned. "Please don't tell me she saw the last one. You know, the one about the - "
"The threesome. Yeah, she saw that," Jin confirmed. "But don't worry, she's all for it. You should hear how she praises you for being so brave for exploring your sexuality. So if it's any consolation, you have her complete approval."
"It's a false story," Taehyung groaned to the elder.
"Whatever you say, V," Jin responded, cocking his head to the side. "Anyway, I'm here to ask for a favor."
The younger rolled his eyes. "Go home, Jin."
Jin approached the boy, towering over him slightly. "May I kindly remind you who took you in when you had nowhere to go. Who fed you and gave you clothes and shelter."
"Yeah," Taehyung said. "Your parents."
"I've been your family for the last six years, Tae. You are like my brother," Jin appealed to him, staring down with intense eyes. "All I want is one thing."
Something clicked in Taehyung's head. "Oh my god. No. I am not picking you as my mentee."
Jin grimaced. "Like I'd ever want to be your mentee. I feel bad for the poor soul who gets stuck with you."
"Gee, thanks," Taehyung retorted sarcastically. "Your confidence in me is inspiring."
"I want you to get me into the top ten audition. Nothing more than that," the elder said firmly.
Taehyung stared at his friend, confused. "I don't follow, Jin. You don't even sing or dance. What does the top ten - " He paused as it hit him. "Wait, are you kidding me? You can't be serious! If you wanted to see Namjoon, you could have stopped by like a normal person. I would have introduced you to him."
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Jin smiled as the younger finally understood. "Ah, yes. But I don't want him to just meet me. I want him to fall for me."
"And you think bad singing and dancing will do the trick?" Taehyung asked, shaking his head at the elder's logic.
"Just get me to the final round, Tae. That's all I'm asking. If you can't do it for me, then do it for my family."
Taehyung looked at the elder, already knowing his decision. Jin's parents - along with Jin himself - had done everything for him. When he had nothing - no money, no family, no support - they took Taehyung in and treated him as their own. Through the goodness of their hearts, they accepted him into their family and asked for nothing in return. He owed them all he had.
They had saved his life.
Jin must have seen the softening in Taehyung's face, because he smiled widely and pulled the younger into a hug. "There's my Taehyungie, the most thoughtful, kind, loving boy around."
"Now you're pushing it," Taehyung mumbled into Jin's shoulder.
The older boy released him and started for the door. "I'll leave you to do what you need to do. Oh, I forgot to mention. Mother wants you to come by for dinner this Sunday. You haven't come by in weeks and she's worried about you all alone in that penthouse of yours."
Taehyung pulled his mask back into place and checked his appearance in the rehearsal room's mirrors. No defining features were visible. "This Sunday? I don't know if I can make it, Jin."
"I don't care what V has going on then. But Taehyung is required to be at a family event." With that, Jin unlocked the door and left, leaving the younger alone once more.
Taehyung sat on the floor in the middle of the room, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Sometimes he couldn't remember who he was, who Taehyung was. He'd worn this mask - had taken on the persona of V - for so long. He stopped being his true self six years ago and feared if he continued on this path, he'd lose the boy he used to be for good.
Not even Jin or his family knew the real him. They knew he was broken, but they gave him his space to heal. They never pushed him to open up, though they made sure he knew he could trust them. Taehyung respected them very much for that, but he was too cowardly to let them in. Once they saw the shell of a person he was now, they'd turn away and abandon him.
Just like everyone else had before them.
Taehyung shook his head to stop the downward spiral of his thoughts. As much as he hated the idea of this mentorship program, he wanted to be clear minded for the final audition. He didn't need his sad and depressing thoughts affecting his decision.
He pulled out his phone and sent a few quick texts to the people involved with the singing and dancing auditions. Responses were received within minutes, all agreeing to his request and offering no push back.
Well, almost no push back.
The main choreographer, Jung Hoseok, sent back a snarky reply.
You owe me big time.
Great.
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Desolada
For millennia the demon lords known as the Goetia enslaved the human race, until a group of mortals known as the Archons received divine blessings of power and overthrew them. Under their dominion mankind flourished, though the war in the shadows never ended. A thousand years later, sixteen-year-old Leones' family is executed for the crime of heresy. Burned to death for questioning whether the Archon of Flames is a divine being, and whether any of the Archons truly are. After manifesting the power to control time, Leones survives and embarks on an uncertain journey for power and revenge. But if he is to overcome a god, he may need some help. Along the way he will discover the truth behind the demon lords, time, and reality itself, as he walks along the razor path. Artwork is used with permission from the creator, @chinfongart. Updated on Tuesdays and Saturdays
8 246The Dungeon Traveler
I spent most of my life trying to get by with whatever happiness I could, that included alcohol, food, and porn.My death was unpleasant and humiliating. However, death is something we all need to go through. A bit like a proctology exam; necessary but never anything one wants to go through while it's happening.However, death was supposed to be the end of it. Either way, the pain, suffering, and failures were supposed to be over. I was supposed to wink out, or perhaps take a trip to a lovely afterlife!No, I ended up as a small stone, strapped to a table, while a pimple-faced teenager rubbed my facets and told me how 'lovely' I was. Last time I checked, birth wasn't supposed to be as embarrassing as death!Life as a dungeon core isn't all bad. I like watching lizard love triangles and snooping on militaristic dwarves; though there is that issue where I'm trying to free myself from the entanglements of the Gods....ok, yeah that last one is a bit of a problem. Completed and available on Amazon
8 89The Rise of the Winter Wolf
What would you do if your entire life was suddenly changed at the drop of a hat? The entire population of the world that you were born into suddenly transported to another planet along with the rest of the intelligent inhabitants of the Milky Way Galaxy. A strange System talking to you about abilities and levels without a care for your opinions. Thousands of monster spawning dungeons placed around the new world without a care for the new inhabitants. And if those weren't bad enough, a forced invitation for one thousand random individuals to compete in a livestreamed competition within a dungeon with the rank of Administrator as the prize. You don’t know? Well, it’s actually pretty simple. You survive. Our story follows Wolf Adler as he, along with every other human on Earth, are faced with a strange blue box filling up their vision, warning them about an upcoming reappropriation of every being of sufficient intelligence to a new planet for the initialization of some sort of System. Will he perish in this new world? Or will he thrive? Except for the first 4 chapters, Book 1 has been moved to Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Except for the first 4 chapters, Book 2 has been moved to Amazon Kindle Unlimited. If you do not have the financial means to purchase the books, then you may DM me on discord through my discord channel for a pdf version of the book. There is only one main protagonist, but the story does have more than one perspective that it is told from. It's mostly first person from the main protagonist and third person perspective for the livestreams. The beginning of the story has also been massively rewritten since most of the reviews as of 1/23/2022. The release schedule right now is dependent on my college classes and coursework, but I always try to keep it to at least one chapter every other day, if not one chapter every day. I do not write sexual content or harem stuff. I am also not very interested in writing romance, so if you think you might see some romance, then you are probably wrong unless it's only a slight hint at romance or a slow romance very far into the story. Lastly, know that I don't like long-winding antagonists that get on everyone's nerves and last throughout the entire story. And I do like plot twists, so if you are predicting something that you think is going to happen later on that you dislike, (particularly around the middle to end of book two) then it likely won't happen.
8 408Shattered Soul
Scorned by the humans of earth, the Shadow Walker and telekinetic Sarah Marie Johnson was executed as a traitor to the human race. After her death she meets the seraph Tavariel, who explains to her that since her birth her soul had been shattered. The young Moon Elf princess Linea has always been different. Never as strong as her siblings, but magically gifted, she soon had to bury her hopes to become a Void Hunter. Instead focusing on a path to become a healer, she performs a ritual to strengthen the bond to her goddess. Unexpectedly her ritual is hijacked by Tavariel, who guides her to the place, where someone awaits her. This is the story of two parts of a soul, which were never meant to be divided. This is their journey. Hello everyone, this is my first attempt for a story on my own, so if you find any mistakes feel free to point them out. I have a rough outline were my story will lead, but ultimately I have not fleshed out the whole story yet. The current release schedule is one chapter every sunday. This can subject to change and occasionally chapters can be delayed. If you got any questions regarding my story, feel free to contact me via comments or messages. WARNING: This story is mature and is only recommended to an audience older than 18. There is tragedy involved and if you can not handle certain topics like character death, suicide, rape (or any consent-based sexual activity), racism or violence, you are advised to skip this story. There will be, however, no depictions of rape . If it should happen, it will be "off-screen".
8 178HARU
Dark forces rule Japan in 1867. Things that should never have happened, changed history forever. Follow Arata Haru on his quest for revenge against the Daimyo who decimated his clan after their bones. Travel through a dangerous land where thieves plunder the mountains, soldiers become corrupt, monks pray to ancient gods, sorcerers create potions with cruel effects, legendary samurai resurface, and the dead dance again to the drums of war.
8 128From Ninja to Pirate
Life can be difficult, hard and painful. Who am I kidding? Most of you probably have already experienced first-hand, all the difficulties, hardships and pains in life that I talk of, so rather than listen to me teach the lessons on how you should stay strong and look forward to the good things, I think you'd much rather prefer me to just get on with my story, and that's exactly what I'll do.My name was Uzumaki Naruto. I was a genin of the hidden village of the leaves, and the team-mate of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. My parents were the Fourth Hokage and the Jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed fox before me, and I was what people called, a failure.But now, the story has reversed. No more failure. No more Naruto. No more ninja.I am Akagami D. Natsuki, a girl who challenges the world, in the era of pirates!All credits go to Oda Eiichiro and Kishimoto Masashi for writing One Piece and Naruto. This is a fanfiction I wrote for my own pleasure. Please don't judge it too harshly... I have checked for spelling and grammar mistakes, but just in case there is the occasional mistake, please comment on it, rather than insult me. From personal experience, I have seen people insulting my grammar, with a comment akin to:"Cant u even spell 'mom' correctly? It's 'mom' not 'mum' you idiot!!!" So, please, don't insult me like that... It really ruins my day, which might have already been awful... Also, I apologise if they get really overpowered, or sound really arrogant... I don't mean it that way, but that's how it is read, so I'm sorry before hand. Well done for making it this far, and thank you for reading. noelicoan.
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