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Published:
2025-08-29
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2025-08-29
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stick to the script

Summary:

With newfound confidence and determination, Mystery tries (again) to talk to Jinu.

*Also I am establishing my AUs to clear things up.

Notes:

1. This is a companion piece to my fic 'all's fair in love in words.' Must read!

2. I mention events from my other fics so if you don't want that spoiled, read them first!

3. Someone pointed out au details and I realize I've been confusing about the universes each fic is set in so I will clear that up in a second chapter!!

4. I will make a fic that features Baby to give him some characterization...at some point...promise!!! (not sarcasm i'm gonna do it fr)

5. enjoy :D

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: stick to the script

Chapter Text

Mystery had an idea. Regarding Jinu. And talking. Again.

 

This time would not go like the last. Last time he was too indirect, expecting Jinu to pick up on his anxious cues and stammered words—he should’ve just had a conversation with Jinu, or at least sent him a text, about his intentions. 

 

Now it was a matter of keeping it up.

 

They’d already had the talk with Romance (where he got regrettably emotional…), about communication, how Mystery’s actions affected Jinu’s panic attack, how Jinu’s lack of nonverbal affection made Mystery feel unloved in some way.

 

Lots has happened since then. Baby got stabbed, that was fun; Abby and Jinu argued like crazy and Abby got a concussion that shook him for three weeks, even more fun; Romance tried to surprise them and they attacked him for it; and it just seemed like Jinu could use some…reassurance.

 

Jinu looked stressed. He always does, but not with the weight of tasks, with the weight of emotion. Regret. The past weeks have been harrowing for everyone, and by watching Jinu for a few days, he figured the other needed some love. His kind of love. Jinu needs someone to say I love you, from the heart, with their words.

 

Realistically, Mystery should have told the others about his findings. If Jinu needed words, they were the ones to go to. Yet after everything, Mystery can’t help but want to be the one to do it.

 

He knows he’s capable. He’s been getting better, over time. He’s still soft-spoken, still doesn’t talk much in public—but at home, with his boyfriends, he’s…taking steps. He asks them how they’re feeling. How their days are going. If they’re excited for upcoming events.

 

And they’ve been nothing but absolutely patient with him—sometimes when he made “small talk” he wouldn’t know how to respond to something. Or it would take him a minute. Or he would stammer and shut himself up in embarrassment. They always coaxed him to take his time, don’t worry, because they were never judging him. And the other day, he’d held a conversation with Abby for a whole 15 minutes!! It was about whether they liked chicken or pork more. Not your day-to-day topic, but it was one, and Mystery was proud of himself for it.

 

So Mystery decides he will comfort Jinu himself. Which backfired on him last time, but he digresses. It’s not as…delicate of a situation as it was when Jinu was panicking.

 

Jinu’s been pacing the apartment for the better part of an hour. He might as well have left holes in the floor with the way he circled the coffee table, the kitchen, and the back again—either thinking intensely or scrolling through something on his phone while miraculously avoiding stubbing his toe.

 

Mystery, on the other hand, has spent the whole morning in the spare room, hunched over the desk. He’s been writing on a little piece of paper, tapping the pen against it every few seconds as he thought.

 

Of what to say to Jinu.

 

The thought of writing out a script when he was meant to be speaking from the heart was embarrassing at first. It was Romance, of course, who encouraged him to do it, because writing it down didn’t make it any less sincere. Plus, getting to go over it and memorize it would hopefully make for a…smoother transaction. He wouldn’t stumble or stammer or have awkward silences while he thought, if he already knew what to say.

 

You’re the light of my life, he writes, and then scribbles it out harshly. Too corny.

 

We’d be nothing if it weren’t for you, and then he scribbles that out too—he just watched a show where the main character said that.

 

He tests the words around in his head, imagines himself saying them—and winces when he pictures himself in front of Jinu, speaking like he’s reading off a Powerpoint presentation, his voice monotone and robotic and…ingenuine.

 

No, no. He can do this. Romance said he can do this.

 

He settles on we all love you very much instead. Gets the message across, even if it isn’t as poetic as he would’ve hoped.

 

When it’s all finished, Mystery holds the note delicately in his hands, the ink still wet, and reads it over.

 

Jinu,

I know the last few weeks have been crazy. We’ve all been through a lot of stress, anger, and hurt that’s knocked us quite off-center. I noticed you’ve looked stresed stressed these past few days, and I just wanted to remind you that we’d be nothing if it weren’t for you we all love you very much. You’ve done so much for us, and show your love in so many different ways. You always strive for us to be happy, and you work very so hard to keep us afloat. You’re the light of my life Even though we’ve been through a lot, we’ve come out stronger, and part of that is because of you. So thank you, for being there when it seemed like it was best to leave. I love you.

Mystery

 

He doesn’t know why he signed his name—he was talking —but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is saying this to Jinu, preferably by the end of the day.

 

He stands up to close the door, making sure nobody’s around before shutting it. He didn’t want to get caught doing this. It was embarrassing enough to be practicing a love letter, but a completely different case to have to explain it.

 

With a deep breath, he reads it. He reads it over and over until his eyes blur and his back hurts from curling over the desk and it seems like the words are carved into his brain. Then, he turns it over and faces the mirror to practice, trying not to cringe at his reflection.

 

“I—” he cuts himself off. How has he messed up already?

 

No. He has to do this for Jinu. “I know the last few weeks have been hectic,” he recites—wait, no, it’s crazy, not hectic—

 

He screws up way too many times. Fumbling words, saying things out of order, straight up forgetting lines. It was getting exhausting, and frustrating—it seemed like he would never get this right. It was only a paragraph. Eight sentences. He’s a celebrity, he’s had to say that many before. He’s memorized scripts for ads and promos and videos a million times.

 

It’s different though. Because those were to the fans. Millions of people who loved him without knowing how he went red when Jinu hugged him, or how his tongue twists when he tries to say good morning . They adore him, they want to marry him, they want to be him—but they have no idea who he is.

 

Jinu does.

 

Jinu knows him—knows all of them—inside out. Their wants. Their favorite noodles. The drinks they hate, the way they like their shirts folded. It wasn’t going to be the same. Mystery could blow kisses and smirk at the fans, the millions of faces without features, screaming his name—but not Jinu, who looked at him with soft eyes and an I know you better than anyone ever could smile and touched him with radiant hands.

 

He settles on going to get a glass of water, pocketing the note—and in doing so, he runs into Baby.

 

“Hey,” Baby greets, looking up from his phone. He’s sucking down a smoothie, leaning against the counter with his leg hiked up on the island. It’s an…odd position. “I heard you talking in there, you on the phone or somethin’?”

 

Mystery shakes his head, pushing Baby’s feet off the countertop, much to the other’s dismay. “No, I’m…just…practicing..” he swallows. “Lyrics.”

 

God that was a pain to say. He takes a swig of water and leaves before Baby can ask him anything else.

 

“Oh, and Jinu’s gonna be back in 5. He went out to clear his head but he’s bringing back McDonald’s,” Baby calls. Mystery pretends not to hear him say “wonder if he got stabbed.”

 

Actually, he barely hears him at all, because blood rushes to his ears. Five minutes. He has five minutes to finish memorizing!

 

Grunting at Baby in response, he rushes back into the room, taking a breath. Okay, he can do this. He turns to the mirror and nods at himself.

 

He’s got this.


“I know things have been crazy lately,” he whispers, not wanting someone else to overhear him. “We’ve all been through a lot of stress, anger, and hurt that’s knocked us off-center. I noticed you’ve looked stressed these past few days, and I just wanted to remind you that we all love you very much. You’ve done so much for us, and—...and…you…”

 

Goddamnit.

 

He looks back at the notecard, tries again. Forgets the second to last line, he forgets the first line—until finally, he recites the note in its entirety.

 

Finally.

 

Mystery smiles to himself, trying to bite back giddy excitement that maybe he was doing well as a partner.

 

Then Jinu walks in.

 

He knocks on the door softly at first, pushing the door open quietly before peaking his head in. Mystery hides the note behind his back.

 

“Hey,” Jinu murmurs, smiling. He comes fully into the room, looking a bit concerned. “You okay? Why’re you in here?”

 

Mystery swallows. This is it. “I was…um. Just relaxing.” Awful excuse, 0/10.

 

Jinu raises a brow. “Alright, well. I brought dinner, and I got you a large this time, come eat. Baby won’t stop calling me a try-hard for not getting stabbed,” Jinu mutters, rolling his eyes fondly. Before he can leave, Mystery catches his wrist.

 

It all feels so familiar now. When Jinu was going to the food court and Mystery held him back for a reason he couldn’t even name. He’d just sat there and stared at Jinu, sweating and overwhelmed and desperate, and then said hi like a shy little kid. He remembers the sting that went through him when Jinu was confused and amused by Mystery’s awkwardness, as if he was just joking, as if he wasn’t trying to bare his heart in a way that made sense to Jinu.

 

This time, he has something to say.

 

“I…I wanted to tell you something.”

 

Jinu turns fully at that, looking alert but worried, like he’s trying not to panic at the prospect of another issue, another conflict, another argument. “Yeah? What’s up?”


And then it all comes at once.

 

He had been so determined before, hadn’t he? I can do this. I want to do this for him. Ro said I could. 

 

And now he’s face to face with Jinu. The muse. The subject of his ballad. All the you’s in his note applied to the person right. there.

 

It hits him like a bullet train. Jinu’s eyes—confused, steady, warm, gentle—gaze into his own, even if they were covered. His wrist was limp in Mystery’s grip; he stood there, waiting, expecting.

 

Mystery’s palms sweat. And then his knees feel weak. His legs shake, his eyes go wide and glassy, his throat bobs as he tries to swallow around the sudden lump in it.

 

He can hear his heart beating, blood pumping through his veins, beating behind his eyes, circuiting through his ears, spreading on his cheeks. He goes red, suddenly humiliated. Not because he’s anxious, but because he’s so entirely pathetic.

 

He had thought the self-deprecating thoughts surrounding his ability to use his words had been diminished. With Romance’s help and Jinu’s reassurance, they were silenced into nothing more than a lie, a figment of Mystery’s imagination. Fake.

 

But oh, they were real. And they were only concealed by the fantasy he had created, where he pretended he was actually talking any more than before, being a better lover to Jinu than before. It was rose-tinted and had sparkles in it— woo, yay, I said ‘how are you?’, I’m the most sociable being on the planet! Jinu must love me now.

 

It was stupid. He was stupid to think he could actually do this.

 

It doesn’t matter what he tells himself, his hands are all he has. He was silenced then, way back then , and now there’s nobody to shut him up but himself. All he can do is hold hands and tap wrists and lace fingers and act like it’s enough when it’s not, he knows it’s not, he knows he’s inferior to the others in every way—the others, who touch Jinu but they also say they love him, write him little stupid love songs, get him trinkets with notes in them, send him videos of excerpts from books just like Jinu would in return. The others, who love so easily. So wholly. In a way Mystery could never do. It didn’t matter what Romance said or what Jinu thought.

 

He’s pitiful. His awful attempts to speak are childish and pitiful. He could only reach out and bump their shoulders like a dog , unable to communicate like a human but desperate for attention like an animal who doesn’t know any better than to beg for scraps.

 

“I—” he starts, but his voice comes out rough, bordering on broken. “I, um, I was gonna…say that…I…”

 

So he does the only thing he can do—remember as much of the note as he can, because if he pulls it out and reads it he would somehow look even more ridiculous.

 

“I know the last few weeks have been—crazy—” God, he’s choking. His words are growing too thick and the knot in his throat is getting harder and harder to breathe past. “We’ve all been through a lot of—anger, and I’ve…I’ve noticed that…you show your love in so many different days—um, ways, different ways—”

 

God, no, no, no. It doesn’t go like this, it’s all wrong.

 

Jinu steps a little closer, almost like he’s approaching a scared animal—and that’s all Mystery is. A kitten in a box waiting to be picked up or thrown away.

 

“Myst. Take a deep breath, sweetheart.”

 

It makes him feel worse. He doesn’t need that. He doesn’t need coddling and reassurance just because he’s speaking. He’s an adult. He’s a child. He’s pathetic.

 

“I’m fine. I’m fine. This is about—you, you’ve been stressed, and…you always strive to be happy—strive for us to be happy, and….and…I…”

 

Then comes the awkward silence, because Mystery doesn’t know the rest. It’s gone. It’s done. He’s done.

 

“I’m sorry, I— fuck. Fuck, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

 

It crashes eventually. He couldn’t keep pretending like he had it all figured out anymore. It’s over.

 

The tears win, and a sob wrenches out of him against his will, his hands pressing over his mouth. He’s just standing there, breaking down in front of Jinu like he was dying for attention. He drops the note.

 

So familiar.

 

He remembers curling up on the bed after Jinu pushed him away. Hands pressing into his face and his lip trembling and tears leaking onto the covers below.

 

You’re not what I need right now.

 

Jinu didn’t need him then and he doesn’t need him now. They don’t need him. He’s ice where they’re flowing, beautiful water. A statue of a forgotten god, where they’re mortals pretending the world hasn’t left his name to the wind. A cold, dead shadow where they are light, living and running and flying and free.

 

He remembers sitting at the table, talking off of Romance’s words, answering Ro’s questions as if Mystery couldn’t think for himself. He remembers crying because he can’t , because the words get caught in his throat every time and he’s never been able to unlodge them. They just stay there and choke him until he can’t breathe.

 

His hands come down from his face and clasp in front of him, politely, almost as if he were being punished. “I’m sorry. I’m—I’m sorry, I messed it all up. I can’t ever do this right. I try to, for you, and I always—mess up.”

 

“Woah, woah, Mystery, baby,” Jinu breathes, stepping closer until he can be right in front of his distressed partner—he pries Mystery’s wrists apart, and laces their fingers together instead. “You tried your best, okay? The fact that you gathered up the courage to say what you were going to is something to be proud of. I’m proud of you.”


Bullshit. Mystery smells it a mile away—Jinu just wants him to stop crying. But Mystery is frustrated. He can’t convey his thoughts, his feelings, or his love like a normal person. Why can’t he just be normal?

 

He just shakes his head, his breathing uneven and too quick. He wants to lean into Jinu’s touch, but at the same time he wants to avoid it at all costs. It just makes him feel dumber.

 

Jinu, to his surprise, pulls away. To crouch down and pick up the note.

 

The same crumpled piece of paper Mystery swore he didn’t need. The one where he’d bore his heart out with pen and scribbles and hearts doodled in the corner, the same one he’d been reading for hours, just for it to come out all wrong.

 

Jinu stares at it for a long time. And then,



“You wrote this?”



Mystery wishes the answer was no. He wishes he would’ve just thrown the goddamn thing away and went out to eat his large fry. He nods anyway.

 

Jinu’s face crumples. “God, babe…” he whispers, and then pulls Mystery into a crushing hug—tight, but gentle, as if Mystery is something precious.

 

“I love you too. So much. So much.”

 

Mystery sniffles, shaking his head in confusion—Jinu should be mad. Disappointed. Laughing .

 

“Why? I—I ruined it, I couldn’t even get the first line right. I wanted to—do…words..for you..”

 

Jinu squeezes tighter. “Words come in more than one form, Myst. Just because you wrote it down, doesn’t mean I’m gonna feel them any less.” Jinu pulls back, hands cupping Mystery’s face firmly but gently, and brushes his hair away, revealing a teary eye. “It doesn’t matter if you say this or write it down or—do it in sign language. I don’t care. This means the world to me.”

 

…oh. He hadn’t thought of that.

 

Jinu keeps going, because of course he does. “This is exactly what I needed. You were right, I was feeling bad after everything. The fact that you even noticed makes me feel so loved, babe, but the fact that you wrote all this out? For me?” Jinu’s voice cracks—he’s crying too, now, but out of joy. “That’s enough. You’re enough.”

 

You’re enough.

 

Mystery buries his face in Jinu’s shoulder and lets himself be held.



___




The two of them spend a while in the room.

 

They’re aware the food is getting cold, but they don’t care. Jinu’s hold stayed tight and Mystery let himself cry. 

 

Later, he would berate himself for being so easily swayed in his thinking. He’d been calling himself pathetic, hating himself to the utmost degree—and then Jinu says you’re enough in that rough, shaky tone, and Mystery feels like he’s floating.

 

But for now, he’ll stay here. Knowing that he did it. He gave Jinu the words he needed.

 

When they leave the room, finally, Baby jokes that it “took them long enough.” Their food was already in the microwave, and Abby gets up to start it, sending them a fond smile. Romance grins and scoots his chair, making room for the two of them to sit together. Their noses are red and their cheeks are blotchy, but they’re smiling and holding hands and Mystery is, for once, fine with that.

Chapter 2: AUs n stuff

Chapter Text

I said this in a comment, but in case you didn't see it, I realize I can be a bit inconsistent sometimes. Maybe I accidentally mention in one AU that Baby has like? A mole on his arm? And then I say it in another AU and it makes this whole thing of which fic belongs to which and are the Saja Boys human or what. SO. Here's what my frazzled brain has been imagining.

 

In the following fics, the Saja Boys are demons. These fics are set in the movie. All of them are polysaja.

"Bracelets"

"Voices" (sequel to Bracelets)

"Remember"

"Forget" (sequel to Remember)

 

In the following fics, the Saja Boys are human/them being demons is not explicitly stated. They're set in the KPDH universe, but are not canon compliant. Details of canon are not included (please correct me if I'm wrong). The Saja Boys are still idols. All are polysaja.

"All's Fair In Love and Words"

"Are you...open minded?"

"Fries"

"Goodnight Kiss"

"Plan"

"Change" (sequel to Plan)

"Socks"

"Stick to the Script"

 

"Too Much" is in the human AU, but is an outliar because it is not polysaja.

 

Most fics will be set in the human AU unless otherwise explicitly stated. 

 

Sorry for the inconsistency! I forget to tag them accordingly sometimes and it's confusing anyway. Hopefully this cleared things up!!

 

Also---thank you so so so much to everybody who reads my works. Also a big fat kiss to my chronic commenters---I love love love reading your comments!!! They make my day and it makes me so happy to know you enjoy my work, the little details, etc. Especially since I started posting when the fandom is starting to die off a little (WHY AJKNCKNASKLFNKNVAKLMSLKCNJABSNVKJMA). Thank you for supporting me, it truly means the world <3

 

Stay tuned :)

 

Notes:

thanks for reading!!! comment 🤍 to give mystery a big hug