Chapter Text
shit, shit, shit
I won't make it- wait, I will! yes! come on, run!
let's go, feet! we can do this!
no no no don't close yet! just three more- argh!
Jisoo watched in frustration as the latest train pulled out of the station, chest heaving up and down in deep breaths. He ran a full ten-minute distance to the subway just to make it to the next one. It was just his luck that the station was too crowded that he had to slow down every so often to avoid bumping into strangers, hence why he still failed to get into the public transport despite his efforts.
Fighting the urge to groan aloud, he took out his phone and typed a quick message to his co-worker, informing him that he would be running a few minutes late. The unamused emoji reply that immediately followed told him that the other was not pleased, but what could Jisoo do? Fly all the way to his workplace?
He killed some time browsing on social media and running through the sets of outfits that he would be working on today. The photoshoot would not start until an hour later, but he had to be ahead of schedule to set everything ready beforehand. Although they had been prepared yesterday before he left for home, it would not hurt to review them over and over again.
It was a good distraction; before Jisoo knew it, the next train was already pulling into the platform. The doors slid open and he was quick to take a spot at the opposing doors, not wanting to stand in the middle and be surrounded by a lot of passengers. He was four stops away so he used the additional time waiting on the moving vehicle to reply to the rants that were sure to arrive in his inbox any moment now.
The next message was from Jeonghan, a fellow stylist who had become his best friend over the years of working together in the same team. wth Jisoo???? i told you to come in before 8!
I'm really sorry, Han. The elevator in my apartment broke down. I had to run fifteen flights of stairs.
u shuld hav just jumped down that'd faster
The morbid response caused him to snort. Sure, if you don't mind me coming in to work as a ghost.
no worries i'll bring a Ouija board
Another one came, this time from their team leader, asking him to drop by the office first to retrieve some forgotten portfolio to which he had affirmed. A few more rounds of friendly banter with Jeonghan over text and it was finally his stop.
Jisoo got off from the subway and walked towards their building. Taking the necessary items from their floor, he moved down to the area where they would be holding the photoshoot. He looked for their team leader and passed the portfolio before finally entering the set, bowing to the other employees in greeting.
He found Jeonghan inside the dressing room standing next to the rack of clothes. Dropping his things on the nearby table with a loud clatter, the blonde haired male raised an eyebrow at him before continuing to browse through the hanged articles.
"What, no rants in my face?" Jisoo asked, already expecting the other to personally chew him out for arriving late.
"I already did my speech on chat. Or was that a bot I was talking to?" The man sassed.
"You're not the type to slide off tardiness easily, Han."
"And you're not the type to arrive late often, Joshuji." Jeonghan retorted back. "That's Soonyoung's job."
"Well, you're not wrong-"
"I come bearing gifts!"
Like a summoned spirit, the said male came into sight, wearing a loud, tiger-patterned shirt tucked in beige pants and a checkered beret that covered his platinum silver hair. Not a typical outfit for someone who was supposed to work behind the camera, not in front, but that was nothing new.
There was not a trace of dishevelment on Soonyoung, as if he took his sweet time coming to office like he was not running late again. He flashed them a bright smile, eyes turning into slits that often made Jisoo wonder if the boy could still see them in those.
"Good morning, Soon." Jisoo greeted the newcomer. "Jeonghan was just preparing to scream your ear off for being late again."
"Ah, really? If he did then he won't get this." The man lifted his hand holding a cup holder containing takeaway coffee. "There's no point in giving an offering if I'll still get punished, right?"
It took Jeonghan merely two seconds to cross the distance and take one of the beverages in the paper carrier. "Wow, Kwon Soonyoung, have I told you that you're the best co-worker I've ever had? Thank you for your exemplar contributions to the team!"
"Really, hyung? You're dumping your best friend over an iced Americano?"
"Real best friends bring coffee when they're late." The blonde sipped on his drink while shooting a judging glance at Jisoo who merely shook his head. "What do you say, Joshuji?"
"I'm not wasting five dollars on you." He said, taking his own share from Soonyoung while muttering a soft thanks. "Soon, you should probably show your face to Minghao first. The guy might throttle you for making him set up all by himself."
"Oh, shit." The younger staff cursed in remembrance. He glanced down at the cup holder containing two more drinks. "Do you think adding donuts will cushion his rage?"
"Probably, I haven't seen him take any sugar or caffeine today." Jeonghan quipped. "Oh, and put some prayers in."
"Hello, Jesus, Your most favorite child is asking for help again." With a sigh, Soonyoung left the dressing room to face the wrath of their other teammate.
When the youngest was gone, the older two exchanged knowing looks, mouths busily drinking their liquid consciousness. It would really depend on Minghao's mood if they would get free lunch from Soonyoung later. It was not like they tell him to do it, but the boy had a habit of making up for his tardiness by buying them food, and who were they to say no?
Just then, their team leader peered in and told them that the model had finally arrived. The pair quickly put down their cups and grabbed their tools, ready for their first job of the day.
Jisoo was exhausted.
He heard the convenience store employee bidding him goodbye as he left the store, a black plastic bag containing a pack of instant ramen and soda can in hand that were to become his dinner.
Their last photoshoot wrapped up pretty late, forcing everyone to stay behind to clean up and finish selecting shots that would be used for the upcoming issue of a fashion magazine where their newest collection would be featured in.
By the time that he was out, he was too hungry yet tired to whip up something to eat. And so he decided to drop by the convenience store near his apartment first before going back to his place.
Jisoo was dragging the sole of his shoes against the asphalt, thinking of a hot shower and his warm bed when he noticed something bright on the ground. Picking it up, he realized that it was a stuffed doll.
The toy had a unique, alien-like appearance; a white, slightly elongated body with big, cartoonish eyes and a blue diamond perched on the side of its pink colored head. It was nothing famous, nothing he recognized on any children's shows or books. Perhaps it was a personalized design?
Having taken the object, he felt a bit awkward to put it back on the ground. There was no trash can nearby that he could dump it into so he decided to hold on to it and continued on his trek back home.
Jisoo got on the elevator and pressed the button for his floor, immensely grateful that the lift had been fixed within the day. There was no way that he still had enough energy left to manually climb up to his unit. He would be found sleeping dead on the steps came morning.
Once he reached the apartment, he head over to the kitchen to boil water for his noodles. Jisoo moved to the bedroom to get some clothes to change into before taking a quick shower. He finished just in time to hear the kettle whistling, prompting him to return to the kitchen and cook his dinner.
Inhaling the food in record time, Jisoo cleaned up and was about to go back to his room when he noticed the doll lying on the counter. He forgot to drop it into the bin that was just by the entrance of his apartment building.
Jisoo took the object and inspected it. Though having been abandoned on the streets, the stuffed toy was clean; void of any stains or dirt. He considered throwing it away for a moment but the more he stared at the object, the lesser he felt like it. In the end, Jisoo decided to keep it. He wouldn't mind something cute to look at on his desk.
He entered his bedroom and sat in his study desk. Resting the doll against the wall on the top left corner, Jisoo opened his sketchbook and pen canister.
It was his nightly ritual to draw something as a form of relaxation before going to bed. The buzzing alertness in his mind left from a busy day at work slowly smoothed into a soft hum whenever he sketched, easing him better into slumber. It was also a good way to keep notes of random ideas that he thought of during the day.
Jisoo had been working as a stylist in a local fashion house for around five years now. Having learned the inner workings of the job, it had become easy for him to build concepts for every collection that they had to do, but not without the help from his highly talented team of course. Though they were mostly assigned to work for magazine photoshoots, creating moodboards and portfolio were also a part of the job especially on special collections that took longer to plan.
That, and it had always been his dream to launch his own fashion brand. Still was.
He had just finished drawing tiny floral prints on a pencil-cut skirt and was about to reach for a differently-colored pen when he heard a tiny gasp of awe.
"Woah~"
Jisoo froze, head glancing around to search for the source of sound. None. He lived alone, and the walls were thick enough that his neighboring units' noises could not be heard unless they were shouting or blasting music at full volume. Besides, the exclamation was too soft, too low that it could only be spoken and heard within the four corners of this room.
Now, Jisoo was not the type to get scared of paranormal things. Among his friends, he was the one they used as a wall when jump scares appear on the screen while they were watching horror movies which, ninety percent of the time, was also his movie recommendation after winning rock-paper-scissors (don't blame him; he's very good at it).
So, no, he was not really spooked by the random voice. Perhaps 'curious' would be the better term. He had been living in this apartment for years and this was the first time that something like that happened. If he would think about what changed today compared to the previous times that he stayed in his room that could cause him to hear that...
Shifting to his left, his gaze landed on the white doll that he had placed on the desk. The toy was staring back at him lifelessly, not moving an inch. After a full minute of staring with nothing happening, Jisoo dismissed the idea and continued sifting through his pen canister. That was impossible, wasn't it? There was no way a stuffed toy could talk...could it?
Once he found a pen he liked, he proceeded to color inside the flowers, and then the skirt. Moving back to scan his work, Jisoo let out a satisfied sigh, pleased that he was able to create one piece for today. He had thought about it this morning when he saw Minghao's ocean blue top and olive green pants. Flowers were often more associated to warm tones, but he wanted to mix it up and use other colors for variation.
He had placed the pens back in their can and was about to rise from his seat when another tiny voice chirped. This time, he was certain from which direction the word came out.
"Pretty!~"
Jisoo snapped his head so quickly he could have broken his neck as he stared at the alien doll on his desk. Just like before, the object stood immobile from where it had been resting all this time, but his suspicion did not die down. Only within the proximity of his desk space would it be possible for that volume of voice to be heard. He was sure of it.
"Hmm, I wonder if it was a good decision to pick up something from the road?" He deliberately mused out loud. "Maybe it was dropped by a kid or something and they're probably looking for it now."
No reaction. It seemed that the thing was really adamant on pretending to be lifeless even when already caught.
"...I should put it back where I found it. And if some stray cats played and bit on it, it probably won't matter since it's just a doll, right? It's not like it can get hurt or something."
He let out a dramatic sigh and was about to grab the doll when it finally spoke. "No, please! Don't put me back on the streets!"
Jisoo's eyes turned wide when the doll that was standing stiff mere moments ago was now looking at him with begging eyes, hands pressed together in plea. He still had half a mind that all those were just his hallucination but now that he could see the object moving, alive, he confirmed that it was real.
"Wha- you-" His mouth opened and closed, sleepiness jumping out of the window from shock. "You're talking!"
"Yes, I am." The creature stood straight and did a formal, ninety-degree bow. "My name is Bongbongie. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
After a few more seconds of spacing out, Jisoo managed to return it with a nod. "Oh- uhm, I'm Hong Jisoo."
"Thank you for taking me in, Jisoo-nim!" The doll named Bongbongie said. It had its hands in front, stance shy yet polite. "I could have gotten hurt have I been left there longer!"
"You're...welcome, I guess?" He could not believe that he was engaging in a conversation with a living toy right now. Wait, was that instant noodles drugged? Or maybe he was too exhausted that he fell asleep on his chair and he was now inside a dream?
"This big, human world is dangerous for Bongbongie! Like what Jisoo-nim said, I could get trampled on by passersby or worse, become a toy to some stray cat- ouch!"
"Weird...it feels soft. Squishy, like a cushion." Jisoo watched Bongbongie rubbed its hurting cheek from where the human had pinched it. "Just what are you?"
"Please, refrain from hurting Bongbongie. I can feel pain too just like humans!" It cleared its throat before speaking again. "Bongbongie is from a world called Caratland. It is a beautiful place full of love and magic!"
"Magic?" When the other nodded, Jisoo pressed further. "Then what are you doing here?"
"Bongbongie was walking innocently on the way home two moons ago when a portal suddenly opened on the ground. Before I knew it, I was swallowed into the hole and Bongbongie ended up in the human world."
"But why was there a portal? And how will you get back?"
It was Bongbongie's turn to sigh. "That still remains to be a mystery. I have been going around this world searching for my way back but alas, the portal is nowhere to be seen."
"So, you're stuck here?"
"Yes, for the meantime. I believe that I can still go back home someday." Bongbongie looked at the human. Its eyes were already twinkling naturally, but they seemed to be shining brighter as it stared up to Jisoo. "Please, Jisoo-nim, will you allow Bongbongie to stay with you until I can return to Caratland? I promise not to be a burden!"
Jisoo studied the pleading toy, wondering if that may be a good idea. So far, this otherwordly being named Bongbongie did not seem to be dangerous. Besides, what could a talking and moving doll do while living with him? It did not even have fingers to hold a knife and slash his throat while he slept. Or...could it?
"How will I know that you won't kill me or set my house on fire?" Jisoo asked suspiciously. He would never admit that he had dreamed of having a magical sidekick when he was a child, and having the possibility of it coming true now was messing with his supposedly rational, adult mind.
"Bongbongie won't! I promise!" The doll raised a limb, and even without hands, Jisoo could tell that he was swearing. "Bongbongie will try to help Jisoo-nim in whichever way I can!"
"I'm not sure I would need help from a stuffed toy that's barely taller than my hand but...okay."
"Really? Thank you very much!" It bowed profusely at him. "Bongbongie will be the best roommate and companion to Jisoo-nim!"
"Uh...no need to call me so formally, Bongbongie. You can just call me 'hyung'."
But the alien being shook its head. "No, I want to keep my respect towards Jisoo-nim. Until I have proven myself to be a trusted companion, Bongbongie will keep his address formal to Jisoo-nim."
"Whatever suits you, I guess."
"Thank you!" Bongbongie said with another bow. It took a few, careful steps closer towards the sketchbook, peering on the article. "Your drawing is very pretty! Is Jisoo-nim an artist?"
"Somehow. I work in the fashion industry." He answered, watching the tiny fellow closely examine his art. "We have to draw designs when preparing for new collections from time to time."
The doll nodded sagely. "No wonder it's so good. Bongbongie planned to pretend being a normal toy but Jisoo-nim's sketch was so good I could not help but speak!"
Jisoo smiled at the praise. From all their exchanges so far, the magical creature seemed to be nice and polite. It would not be hard to get along with it. "Thanks, Bongbongie."
An idea must have popped in the doll's mind that it snapped its head back to Jisoo. "Since Jisoo-nim had been so kind as to let Bongbongie stay, I shall give you a gift!"
"A gift?"
"Yes!" The creature nodded eagerly. "Bongbongie came from a land of magic so I can give you some!"
Woah okay, wait. First it was like a horror movie, now this whole thing was turning into some kind of anime plot. Magic? Really? Jisoo was not sure he was ready to lead a double life of an overworked adult and superhero.
"Are you saying that you will give me some kind of special power?"
"Yes! A kind of magic that Bongbongie thinks will be helpful to Jisoo-nim!" The doll chirped in reply. "Jisoo-nim is a wonderful artist, so making your talent magical will be my thank-you gift for letting Bongbongie stay!"
"So what-" Jisoo let out a big yawn before continuing. "-kind of magic is it?"
Bongbongie took notice of his sleepiness and instead of answering, had decided to leave it for the moment. "Oh no, Jisoo-nim must be tired from his job. You should take a rest now!"
As much as Jisoo wanted to deny it, he did feel the exhaustion in his bones. A quick check on the clock too and he knew he had to go to bed now or risk sleeping in and arriving late for work for a second consecutive day.
Moving to the bed, he lied down on the mattress and turned to Bongbongie who sat on the edge of the desk. "I'm not sure if this is all just a dream but it'll be cool if I see you again."
"No worries, Jisoo-nim. We can talk about the gift tomorrow. Bongbongie will still be here when you wake up so sleep well!"
"Alright. Good night, Bongbongie."
"Good night, Jisoo-nim!~"