Work Text:
"What do you mean, you can't come!" Ji Eun Tak screeched at the phone.
The voice on the other end coughed raggedly while mumbling barely coherent sentences on why she could not go to work tonight.
"Sorry, I understand." Eun Tak sighed in defeat. "Just try to get enough rest so you can come tomorrow." She added before putting her mobile phone away.
Eun Tak sank in her seat and rubbed her temples to stave off a headache that has been threatening to blossom since she set foot on the station.
Her morning started well enough though. Ever since they got reacquainted back in Canada, she and Kim Shin were nearly inseparable trying to make up for every single lost moment. He had the leisure of randomly strolling about during the day but she had to go to work. However, she still manages to call on him and he always responds. Everything was just like all those years ago except a few things.
Even when their feelings became blatantly obvious years ago, Shin always kept her at arm's length. There was cuddling, tight hugs and a few passionate kisses that always left her 20-year-old self wanting for more. He always seemed to hold back.
Just before their first time together, after they had shed everything between them, once again he reigned his passions back. He looked so vulnerable as he asked for her consent - wanting to know if she was sure. Shin wanted to give her a choice to change her destiny as the Goblin's bride. It wasn't the first time that he has asked this. He asked this when she was younger while she kept on adamantly proclaiming that she was his bride. Back then, she had assumed that it was because she was too young or wasn't his type but she was too afraid to ask.
But now she understood what it meant to be his bride. They had both gone through the worst together and apart. She lost him and he came back to her.
Eun Tak remembered the tears that streamed down her face at his words. It pains her to see her beautiful Goblin so unsure. She had chosen him a long time ago, perhaps even before she even met him. She answered him with a kiss, telling him that for her there was no turning back, that she is the first and last Goblin bride.
While she dreamt and imagined countless times how it would be like to finally be with him, it seemed like her imagination apparently paled so much compared to reality. He obviously had experience which made titter between feeling lucky, jealous and insecure, but all her fears melted away when they are made one. After they are both spent, he looks at her with pupils blown wide open and tells her in a most reverent voice that he has never felt more complete.
These days, he didn't seem to have any more reservations about intimacy and Eun Tak couldn't be happier. Ever since they returned from Canada, they spent their nights together. They may not be married yet in the eyes of the law but her soul had been bound to him from the onset of his immortality.
She sighed wanting to go back home to Shin and sink into his arm after such a long day. She huffed in annoyance when the glaring red digital clock told her there was only an hour left before the show must start.
Eun Tak was one of the few people to arrive for work today and those who did show up, promptly left as soon the clock struck six. Being the only producer who wasn't indisposed, the rest of the days programming fell promptly on her lap. She had argued earlier to cancel some programs since they were understaffed but her grumpy old boss was adamant that the show must go on even as he hacked, coughed and excused himself for the rest of the day.
She closed her eyes and rested her head on her desk. Maybe she should just cancel the show for tonight and take the inevitable verbal lashing tomorrow. Even if tonight's script has been approved but the regular DJ isn't available. And she certainly can't do it all by herself.
Suddenly she felt a warm hand squeeze her shoulder, causing her to flail around in surprise before a familiar laugh rang in the air. She pushed the hair out of her eyes to see no one other than her mister laughing at her.
"Stop it!" She straightened in her chair, trying to hide her embarrassment. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Shin smirked and said, "And here I was thinking nothing can faze you."
Eun Tak tried to look annoyed but her longing for him won out. Instead, she jumped out of her seat and threw her arms around him.
"Someone's happy to see me." Shin mused as his arms automatically went around her to return her hug.
"Miss you forever." Eun Tak snuggled against his chest.
"Me too." He whispers against her shell of her ear in that timbre in his voice that never fails to make the hairs at the back of her neck stand. Eun Tak pulled his body flush against her own savoring the comforting warmth that radiates from him. She opened her eyes to look at his face but not until she managed to catch a glimpse of the time. With an angry huff, she pulls away from him to sort through the papers on her desk.
Shin blinked, confused. "What?"
"I still have work to do!" She mutters keeping her eyes away from him.
"But there's no one here." Shin looked around. The whole place was deserted with not even a single ghost in sight.
"Precisely!" Eun Tak grabbed the papers and made a beeline toward a set of controls in front of the sound booth. "They're all sick and I'm the only one left. So please leave."
"Why?" Shin followed her footsteps deliberate slowness.
Eun Tak finally whirled around only to bump against his chest. "Because you're distracting!" She answered while trying to get her bearings back.
"I can do more than distract you." Shin whispers as he slowly brought his lips down to hers. Eun Tak closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift away with the soft kisses and time literally slow down to a crawl.
When they finally stepped apart, Eun Take graced him with a smile. "So why are you here anyway?"
" I'm bored", Shin groaned. "Grim Reaper is doing overtime something about lots of unexpected work. And Deok Hwa couldn't stop sneezing around me. I figured I'll pass by to come and get you."
"The weather is that bad." Today's news was all about the prolonged bad weather in Korea and how its citizens are falling ill. The Radio Station's building was nearly empty due to some kind of strange flu going around. Then she remembered precisely who her fiancé is before giving him a mock glare. "This isn't your doing is it?"
"Of course not!" Shin grumbled indignantly.
"I know." She quickly stood on her toes to give him a peck in the lips before rushing to a computer to update tonight's program. "But you may have to wait a little longer since I'll have to reprogram tonight's set."
Shin plopped down one of the seats with an exasperated sigh. "Do people even listen to the radio this late at night?"
"You have no idea." Eun Tak laughed. "But since the DJ didn't even bother to show up, I have to cancel it for tonight. I'll get chewed up by the boss tomorrow but there's nothing I can do."
"Why do you do this?" Shin asked quietly. Eun Tak threw him a questioning look while Shin just gestured at the studio. "We have more than enough."
Eun Tak's frantic fingers paused on the keyboard as she pondered her answer to Shin's question. They were finally getting married and money is certainly not a problem. The two of them could live out the rest of her life just seeing the world and spending as much time as they possibly can with each other before she would have to leave him behind.
He's still a god and she is only mortal.
And she could feel her chest constrict at thought and tears pool from the corner of her eyes. Eun Tak could feel Shin's eyes boring into her and she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that they shared the same thought.
Taking a deep breath, Eun Tak forced a smile on her face in hopes to banish the sadness in her heart. He had come back to her, against all odds. And she knows, that no matter what happens and she would always come back to him. She knew without a doubt, that she will spend all her remaining lives with him. And when the time is right, she would beg the Almighty to allow him to finally cross the door together with her to eternity. She loves him that much.
"Growing up without a family or friends is lonely. My aunts and cousins refuse to talk to me unless it's to order me around or when they're angry. And no one in school wanted to come near me because I can see ghosts." Eun Tak recollected. "When I feel sad, I listen to the radio - not really for the songs but for the voice on the other end making me feel less alone. So I want to do my part and maybe someone would be a little less lonely if I'm here to give them something to listen to."
Shin remained silent and Eun Tak went back to the computer. Then Shin moved his chair beside her and grabbed the stack of papers on the side. "I just have to read it, right?" Shin asked while his eyes pored the script for tonight's show. He's listened to his bride's programs several times already to have an idea of what she was talking about.
"Huh?" Eun Tak's mouth hung open, with the most dumbfounded expression.
Shin snorted. "You don't think I can read out loud?"
"What are you talking about?" Eun Tak gasped at the realization. Surely, he didn't think he can pretend to be a DJ.
"I just decided to help you." Shin turned to her with serious a face. "You want it or not?"
Eun Tak glanced at the clock and pondered if she can proceed with her original plan or go with Shin's harebrained idea. With ten minutes remaining, she let out a defeated sigh before taking his hand and leading him to the adjacent room where the sound stage was. "You better not screw this up or I'll be fired tomorrow." She warned and gave him her best glare.
Shin gave her a sly wink before putting on the headphones and adjusting the microphone before him.
With only a few minutes left to spare, Eun Tak rushed back to the computer to check tonight's program set. She placed her own headphones over her head and gestured at Shin that the show will begin soon. She listened to the final lines of one of the sponsor ads playing live and raised one hand as a sign of a countdown before turning on the signal to show that they were on air. Through the glass that separated them, Shin nodded and began reading the script.
When the sound of his voice reverberated through her headphones, she felt her heart leap in her chest. She always knew he had a beautiful voice, that is if he wasn't whining like a child. Shin greeted the listeners and began talking about tonight's show in the same soothing deep drawl that she has gotten intimately familiar with.
The midnight program was more on the quiet side of things. Instead of default chatter on chart-toppers and gossip, the midnight program had inspirational quotes sprinkled with relevant literature selections. Tonight's program had something to about life and the weather - coupled with the occasional warnings on not getting sick but the tones of his voice, made everything feel more profound. Eun Tak simply stared at her mister. She must have been so transfixed by the sound of his voice, that she almost missed her queue if not for Shin frantically waving the script.
Eun Tak quickly hit a button to mute the mic and played one of the songs in the program list before looking back at Shin. Then she pressed the button to activate her speaker, "Have you done this before?" She asked breathlessly.
"No." Shin answered with a devious grin. "Just admit it, I'm awesome."
Eun Tak just rolled her eyes. She glanced at the computer and was surprised to see the chat panel flaring like crazy that she could barely read any message. Although she did manage to read one.
Thirsty4U: Oppa, what's your name and number?
"Hah! You wish!" Eun Tak stamped down her aggravation, completely ignoring the chat application and returning to the program.
For the next hour and a half, they worked together without a single hitch. As Shin began to bid goodbye to tonight's listeners, Eun Tak wrapped up the segment with another song before killing the 'On Air' sign. Once she was done, she gaped at Shin. "No way! You're actually competent at something!"
"Oi!" Shin yanked the headphones angrily from his head and stomped towards her like an oversized kid. "I'll have you know that I'm more than qualified for this job!"
Eun Tak just giggled and Shin crossed his arms, plopping down the seat next to her with another indignant huff.
"I'm kidding." Eun Tak swallowed her laughter.
"Liar." Shin grumbled, looking away.
Eun Tak moved her seat closer to his and put a hand on his cheek, turning his face so she can look into his eyes. "You did great. You really did." She whispered with a shy smile. "Thank you."
Without another word, Shin crashed his mouth to hers in a heated kiss. After an eternity, they reluctantly drew apart with Shin casually whispering in her ear, "I think I can come up of other ways for you to thank me."
"Really?" Eun Tak tried to keep her heart from hammering a mile a minute.
Shin just responded with another kiss, before pulling her up and leading them out of the door.
***
The next day Eun Tak arrived almost past noon considering she stayed up a lot longer than she expected. She was tired but a silly little grin played on her face that she tried to suppress as she pushed the door to her office open.
She certainly did not expect the sheer and utter chaos that greeted her. Everyone in her staff was accounted for but they all looked completely frazzled, all too occupied to notice her arrival. Both phones and mobiles kept on ringing and the computer kept on pinging alerts.
Finally one of her staff members noticed her. "Where have you been? I've been trying to call you for hours!" She handed Eun Tak a cup of coffee.
"What's going?" Eun Tak asked, taking a small sip.
"I don't know how you did it," Her staff looked at her in awe. "Yesterday's Midnight Show was such a hit! There are so many sponsorship requests lining up for a slot in the show. And the listeners keep on calling and calling asking about that hot DJ on the air!"
And Eun Tak promptly spits out of her coffee, glad that she didn't hit her staff or anyone else. "Ww--what?" She sputtered.
"Didn't you even turn on the news?" Her staffed looked at her incredulously. "The program was even featured on one of the morning TV talk shows! Everyone wanted to know who the mystery DJ is! I mean there was even an online poll and all."
Eun Tak sat down on her station and gaped at the reports on how successful yesterday's show has been. Her staff quickly grabbed a chair and whispered, "So who is he?"
Eun Tak paused and wondered what to say. There was absolutely no way, she will tell them who was the voice on the air. She smiled conspiratorially.
"It's a secret."