Despite everything going on between your members’ constant curiosity about your friendship with Hansol, and the little rumors spreading here and there online, you had zero time to think about any of that. You wanted to because honestly, after that morning when Mira said something, you kept having little thoughts of ‘what if’. But you were in the midst of a comeback and you were about to travel to America to do some promotions there for a few weeks, too. To even think about opening that can of worms right now would be the dumbest thing you could possibly do.
But of course, Hansol pops back into your mind when he texts you after your music show performance – because of course Seventeen was performing too, so he knew when it was over – and asks if you want to hang out that night. Knowing you’re leaving in the morning for America for at least the next month, how could you say no?
So that’s how you find yourself in Hansol’s car for once. Usually you’re the driver just because you don’t really mind it, but Hansol insisted on driving this time.
“You should relax since you have to be up early tomorrow,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, though, I’ll have you back before you have to leave.”
But as you rode shotgun in Hansol’s car, you, as always when you hung out together, found yourself not wanting to go home. You wanted to just pause time and be in a little infinity with your best friend. You wanted to continue to talk about nothing and everything, and laugh and talk about deep, serious things.
“Is there anywhere you wanted to go, by the way?” Hansol asked after one of your many conversations had naturally ended and the two of you were sitting in comfortable silence for a few minutes, just the sound of 5 Seconds of Summer softly filling the car. But his voice almost made you jump because you were lost in your thoughts about your feelings toward Hansol – you were silently cursing your bandmates for planting this stupid seed in your head.
“No,” you replied, glancing at the dashboard to check the time.
1:09am.
“C’mon, there’s gotta be something,” he pressed with a chuckle. “I can’t bring you home yet. I’m not gonna see you for an entire month,dude.”
Your eyes went out of focus, staring at the soft glow of the dashboard where the song, artist, and time were displayed. But none of it registered. The butterflies that erupted when he said that threw you off. But…maybe that always happened and you just never thought anything of it? Maybe you assumed you felt that way because it was just nice to feel like he liked hanging out with you? Or maybe…it was more but you never considered that an option?
‘Oh god, do I…actually have feelings for Hansol?’ you asked yourself.
You turned your head in small movements to look at him, almost feeling timid as your eyes landed on his profile.
‘I don’t wanna say goodbye to another night, and watch you walk away,’ the bridge played from the speakers, ‘I don’t wanna let it burn in the city lights, and make the same mistakes this time.’
He felt your stare and glanced at you with a warm smile and laugh to match, “What’s that look for?”
“N-nothing,” you replied a little too quickly.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he frowned slightly, assuming that his comment about not seeing each other was why you were staring at him with an unreadable expression. “I mean, if it’s cool, I’d be willing to stay over.”
You’d had sleepovers with Hansol before, but suddenly it was nerve wracking.
‘No,’ you told yourself, ‘you’re just overthinking because of Mira and the girls. This is literally nothing.’
So, because you, like Hansol, didn’t want to say goodbye yet, either, you smiled and said, “Yeah, of course.”
Anonymous asked: I’ve been rereading Imprinted and I was wondering if you’d ever do a headcanon on when Bomi shot Mingyu like you did with Bomi and Jaehee’s mate? I just want to know more about what happened but I understand if you don’t want to
a/n: okay this ask was sitting in my inbox for a long ass time bc i forgot about it lmao. but fun fact!!!! in the original svt imprinted i planned on actually writing all of that out in his first part and it was gonna be the first thing that happened in the part, but i felt it wasn’t super necessary and made it kinda long. but here’s the backstory!!! (and yes this is a prequel to the first part). but to the anon who requested this: i am so sorry for being so late ily
Warnings: guns and blood!!! but if you’ve read the story you know that nobody dies
she was with Namjoon’s crew and was assigned a mission on her own, but Yoongi promised to be waiting for her when she was done
because the two were really close
her mission was to kill the pup of Seungcheol’s pack in an attempt to have some sort of start to getting rid of the large pack and to have a bit of an upper hand
because the pack would be too distraught over the loss of their brother to retaliate right away, so then they could strike
now, before meeting Mingyu, Bomi despisedwerewolves
her parents were killed by werewolves but we already knew that
so she was fine with having to go in and fuck up Chan’s day
meanwhile, Chan had no idea what was about to come
the pup had a really late class that day and was just getting out
it was already dark outside but Mingyu was waiting in the parking lot to pick him up
did Bomi know that? of course not
she just knew that Chan would be alone and that was the perfect time to make her move
she was waiting by the fence at the edge of the parking lot. it was dark and not near any streetlamps, and it was right by the woods so she could drag him away and do it
as he was passing by, she lunged out and put a cloth laced with silver in his mouth, gripping it behind his head and dragging him backwards into the darkness
but out of the corner of his eye, Mingyu had seen his brother walking over, and then he saw a shadow and Chan was gone
naturally, he went to investigate
Bomi managed to spin Chan around despite his struggling, shoving him to the forest floor and aiming her gun at him
in Chan’s panic (and with his mouth, y’know, burning) he had no idea what was happening, but now he sensed it. he knew what she was and what was going to happen
“Bye, puppy,” she smirked
a growl ripped through the silent forest as Mingyu lunged out of nowhere and pushed Bomi up against a tree, her back slamming into it
and then it hit them both at the same time
Mingyu’s red eyes softened, his expression falling and his teeth no longer bared
Bomi’s eyes went wide and the first thing she felt was panic
this wasn’t right. it was against everything she believed in. what was she supposed to do?!
Mingyu’s face was inches from her, so her first instinct was to shove him away
and in her confused panic, she did the only thing she could think to do
she shot him
the silver bullet hit his shoulder, and with a hiss of pain, Mingyu fell to the ground beside Chan
Chan stared at his brother in horror, and then looked up at Bomi with a mix of hurt and confusion
his eyes filled with tears knowing silver could kill Mingyu
looking between the pup and his brother, she actually felt…bad. why did she feel bad?
‘because you’re no better than them now,’ she realized
like monsters had taken the people she loved from her, she was taking someone Chan loved from him
she were the monster
“I-I…” Bomi stammered, but she didn’t know what to say. she didn’t even know what to do, she was just frozen in place
the pup was suddenly on top of her, and her back was hitting the ground
since Chan had taken her off guard, her gun fell from her hand when she hit the ground, so she had to fight back with her arms and legs
but she wasn’t doing that for long because Chan was suddenly pulled off of her, and then she was staring down the barrel of her own gun
above her, Mingyu’s face was set in a grimace and Bomi thought she was definitely in trouble
“Call Seungcheol,” Mingyu told Chan through clenched teeth
but Bomi was in a different kind of trouble than she thought
then he managed a hint of a smirk as he told her, “You’re coming with us.”
Genre/warnings:ghost au, horror au, angst, small mentions of drinking but it’s not excessive, mention of possible drug use, mentions of murder
Word count:1,485
Summary: Every apartment building is a little strange, whether it be the residents or the history behind the building. But when Yoongi moves into Westfield Apartments, he finds that both his neighbors and the building itself are more than a little strange.
Christopher ‘Chan’ Bang: A nice guy, but definitely wary of others outside his apartment. Protective. Polite, but seems to be a little nervous all the time.
Lee Minho: Blunt. Makes it obvious he doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Rude, but with intention. Tries to drive people away intentionally.
Seo Changbin: Quiet. Keeps to himself. Doesn’t say much, even when spoken to. Usually out at the bar. If he’s out at night, he doesn’t come back until after sunrise. Must know something.
Felix Lee: Innocent. Naïve. Too kind and friendly for his own good. Left in the dark by his roommates. Probably for the best.
Yoongi had swung back by Jihoon’s to grab the file, quickly scanning through whatever your father had gathered on the four roommates he was about to encounter. He was sure they knew something, but it seemed to be to the extent of whatever Wonwoo, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung knew: there was something going on in the apartment building that they should be mindful and afraid of, but they weren’t sure what it was.
With the file stuffed into a black backpack he was keeping on his back, Yoongi approached 206.
When he knocked, it was Minho who was at the door, leaning against the frame with a disgusted look on his face as he eyed Yoongi up and down.
“And what’re you back for?” he asked, definitely not hiding the fact that he didn’t want Yoongi coming back to their apartment.
“Minho, stop it,” Chan came up behind him, saying the words under his breath forcefully with a stern look. Then his eyes went to Yoongi and he offered a friendly smile. “What can we do for you?”
“Who is it?” Felix’s voice came from inside the apartment, before there was a harsh, “Shh!”
“As if you don’t know…” Minho muttered, rolling his eyes.
Yoongi flashed him a confused look before slowly looking back to Chan, “…D-do you know why I’m here…?”
“You’ve only been bothering everyone and their mother in the building,” Minho snapped. “Whatever the hell you’re digging around for, we’re not having any part of it. Kick rocks.”
“Minho–!”
“Hey,” a new voice cut in.
Changbin came out of the dark apartment that was only being illuminated by a TV screen. He kept his eyes down, only glancing up at Yoongi as he slipped between Chan and Minho, muttering, “Wanna get a drink?”
Not even waiting for an answer, Changbin turned the corner into the hallway and kept walking. Yoongi only glanced at his two roommates as Felix called for Changbin to come back to movie night before the older boy was jogging to catch up.
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Yoongi found himself in a bar on the edge of the nearby city. It was the stereotypical tiny bar that one would see in the movies. It was a little bit of a shithole but it was nice enough for Yoongi to not feel gross drinking out of their glasses. It was also nice enough for Changbin to be a regular considering everyone there seemed to know him and the bartender knew his typical order – Yoongi just got whatever Changbin got.
Changbin had one hand around his glass while Yoongi held his with both to just give his hands something to do instead of nervously fidget.
“Listen,” Changbin finally began after the two sat in silence for a moment after getting their drinks – Yoongi wasn’t really sure what to say because Changbin was pretty intimidating, and he felt like he should wait for the younger boy to start the conversation, anyway, “I know you know things about the apartment. All of us do – ‘cept Felix, and we wanna keep it that way?”
“Why?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
Changbin chuckled, “You’ve seen the kid: he’s too…pure and innocent and happy. Besides, it’s not his fault he’s stuck there. Kid has nowhere else to go so we took him in even though we didn’t want him exposed to what we have been. I feel bad because he wants to leave the room and make friends, but… I’m not saying everyone in that place is bad, but we don’t know who we can trust. That place changes people, we’ve seen it happen. Kihyun got fucked up by something on the fifth floor. Hell, Kibum was never as agitated as he is now. He used to at least be nice sometimes, but now talking to that dude is a surefire way to get your head bitten off. Even…”
He paused, looking down into the liquid in his glass, “Even Jihoon and Yuna were normal when they moved in. But then…Yuna started saying things that were just…weird. She was seeing things that weren’t there and mumbling to herself. She was always talking about these…dark shapes and shadows. Some people though maybe she was just acting normal to make friends but then got comfortable, and she was crazy all along. Some thought she was doing drugs. And because Jihoon was so close with her, he was deemed crazy, too. But…the longer I’ve lived in that stupid fucking building, the more I wonder…was Yuna even crazy at all? If I’m honest, I think she was perfectly sane, but she just had the power somehow to see the shit that’s changing everyone in the building. Maybe I’m lucky because I spend more time here than at that place, so I can see what’s happening. But I don’t know who or what or why.”
“Can I ask…what do you think happened to Yuna?” Yoongi wondered slowly.
“Think she was either locked up in a mental hospital, or whatever she saw got to her,” he stated blankly. “Everyone saw the cops take her out, assuming she murdered _____, but they never investigate any of the other murders here. If they investigated _____’s, they’d know that Yuna didn’t do it.”
“You don’t think it was Yuna?” Yoongi interrupted.
“No,” Changbin replied surely. “They were best friends. I think, like every other murder, that whatever Yuna saw is killing people. I think it’s tied to the Westfields, and they must have connections with the police since they’re not doing anything about it. So they either threw her in a hospital or they let whatever’s in that building get her. Either way, she didn’t deserve it.”
“How do you know all this? And if you know this, why haven’t you just left?” Yoongi asked.
Changbin gave a small, sad smile, “Because it’s…fine. Nothing bad has happened to us and we don’t have the money to leave. Westfield is dirt cheap. We mind our business. If anything, we just wanna get the kid outta there before something happens to him. Me, Chan, and Minho have had rough lives. We’ve done shit we’re not proud of. Felix, though? He’s good through and through. He doesn’t deserve whatever’s going on there.”
“Don’t you want to try and stop it, then?” Yoongi continued. “At least for Felix?”
Changbin took a gulp of his drink before he looked at Yoongi solemnly, “I know you know more than us, and I don’t wanna know anymore than I already do. But we know your intentions are good. But, Yoongi…your actions might be stirring up whatever’s in that building. You’re putting a big-ass target on yourself, and I don’t want any part of it.”
Yoongi leaned in a little closer, his stare intense, “Then who can I go to for help? I really need more answers, Changbin. Please.”
Changbin stared back as he weighed his options, then sighed, looking back down at his drink, “I don’t know who knows what, but Namjoon’s a smart guy. There’s no way he wouldn’t have somewhat of an idea of what’s up with the place. But…”
Changbin paused so sigh, hanging his head, “Look, it’s a longshot he’ll even answer you – and it might even get you killed – but…Jungkook might be your best bet. He was the closest with Yuna so he’d probably know more about everything. But Jungkook doesn’t really talk to anyone anymore. Guy hardly leaves his apartment.”
Yoongi felt a little bit of relief, but also a little anxiety. While he had a lead for some answers, he knew that the closer he got to the answers he needed, the bigger the target on his back became. But he was in too deep now. He had to keep digging.
“Thanks, Changbin,” he said as he put a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. Then he stood to leave.
Changbin grabbed Yoongi’s forearm but didn’t look at him, “It’s not safe to go back now. I’ll get you a room at the motel I stay at.“
“N-no, I can pay,” Yoongi insisted. “You said you can’t afford to move out, so–”
“It’s fine,” he assured him, “I get rooms for cheap because I flirt with the girl at the desk. Place isn’t much but…it’s safer than going back.”
a.n- Ah I missed this couple! Sorry about the late response anon but I hope you enjoy this! <3
A big warm thank you to @chateautaeand@alpacaseok for beta reading this and squealing with me about this Jungkook
As always feedback appreciated, a reblog and a like goes a far way. Send me an ask!
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People assume that leadership of a company is the most stressed when things are not going well, when the stocks are plummeting and market share is dwindling. However, what most don’t know is that the most stressful time is actually when your company is thriving, because unlike the earlier ways there are no problems to solve, the biggest problem is to predict how others might steal your spot, how your consumers might get bored of you, how even a slight mistake might lead to the downfall. It’s a practice in predicting human behaviour – something inherently difficult to quantify.
Collaborating with Saga was supposed to be a reprieve from the workload, it was supposed to be a way for Jungkook to finally gain the respect of his employees as he transitioned from part-time to full-time. Yet, he still overheard their snide comments, still had to bite his tongue when he received scathing looks from people who blamed nepotism for not sitting in his seat, people who made his job inherently more difficult, sending in sloppy reports compiled by interns. It was infuriating, and Jungkook was so so tired.
Running a hand through his hair, he walked into his dark apartment, tossing his jacket haphazardly on the floor along with his bag before trudging towards the couch and sprawling on it unceremoniously. He could feel every muscle in his back ache, a dull pain that made him whine. He didn’t think he even had the energy to turn on the lights, let alone make it to his bedroom. However, as much as he tried, he couldn’t shut off his brain, strategies from the earlier meeting roaming around like flies, buzzing annoyingly.
With a sigh, he sat up, reaching into his pocket for his phone and dialling your number. Talking to you always relaxed him, especially when he was having trouble with work. It helped that you could organise his thoughts, ask him questions that instantly made him see solutions instead of problems. It was reassuring, and his heart eased a little even as the dial tone rang out crispy through his phone.
“Hey Kookie! How’s my baby?” you answered cheerfully, and in his tired state Jungkook couldn’t help blushing a little, the endearments making him feel soft and fluffy. He knew you were equally as busy, your new job taking a bit to adjust. He didn’t want to invite you over. He knew that he should refrain because you had told him about your first big project and all that you needed to prepare for it, but it had been a long week without seeing you. Too long without the caress of your lips against his, and the longing manifested as a quiver in his lip.
“I’m… okay. Sorry, are you busy?” he asked, throat suddenly dry as he tried to control the wobble evident in his voice.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” you asked, the concern lacing your tone bringing out his vulnerabilities as he laid his head back, staring at the ceiling, eyes tracing the beam of light escaping his blinds and dividing the darkness into two.
“Long day,” he sighed, loosening the top few buttons of his shirt before continuing, “Long week. Miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby,” you assured softly, the conversation petering out as the two of you sat in silence till Jungkook apologised again meekly. It didn’t take you long to make up your mind, leaving work to catch a cab to his home, stopping only to pick up some food.
When you entered the code on his door, you were met by darkness, eyes taking a little too long to adjust as you took off your shoes and jacket, following the trail of Jungkook’s things to the living room where the man sat hunched on the couch. Placing the take out boxes on the coffee table, you kneeled in front of him, aligning your face to his as you held it in your hands.
“Hi sweet boy,” you cooed, kissing the little pout on his face. Jungkook couldn’t take a deeper breath even if his lungs allowed it, drowning in your intoxicating scent as he wrapped his arms around you and held you tight, burying his face in the crook of your neck. Lifting you up, he placed you in his lap, grip still an iron vice around you as he nuzzled into you, relishing the way your fingers softly massaged the back of his neck.
“I missed you,” he breathed, finally looking at you, eyes roaming your features. It had only been a week and somehow he had forgotten how beautiful you were, how just looking at you made his heart skip a beat. The soft smile on your lips felt like champagne in his veins, bubbling warmth through him till he had no choice but to capture it with his lips.
Jungkook wasn’t a shy virgin anymore, months of practice with you had turned him confident, albeit a little cocky at times about his ability to turn you into a squirming mess within minutes. But sometimes when he was exceptionally stressed and needy, he forgot about his preconceived notions about how sex was supposed to be. He forgot about the worries about pleasing you just right so you wouldn’t leave him, and he forgot about everything else but the taste of your lips and the feel of your touch. In those times he loved the way you pampered him, instructed him, called him a good boy in that sultry tone that made his mind blank and his blood fizzle. The same tone you were using now.
“Does my Kookie wanna be a good boy,” you said against the skin of his clavicle, your kisses having since departed from his lips to his jaw to his neck, leaving him blissfully sinking into the cushions. His breath came out in little pants, his hands flexing by his side because to truly be a good boy meant now touching you with your permission.
“Please baby,” he gasped just when your teeth nipped at the skin of his Adam’s apple, lust shooting through him and manifesting in the tightness of his pants under you.
You cooed at him, always ecstatic when he submitted so easily, relishing how you could provide him the solace you knew no one else could. Your fingers slowly unbuttoned his shirt, feeling the strong muscles he’d work so hard on, mouth relentless in tasting the slightly salty skin. As you kissed down his chest, you swiveled your hips against his, his cock already hard beneath you providing the perfect amount of friction to have those breathy whimpers escape his lips. Usually you would pull his pants down and sink him within you, ride him till he was mumbling incoherently and cumming within seconds, but it had been too long since you’d had him and you needed to cherish each moment, stretch it out so that by the time you were done his knitted brow and bags under his eyes would disappear.
With his shirt wide open and chest decorated with the blooming scarlet granted to him by your lips, you stood up, watching him as he peered at you from below his lashes, head tilted back. His hands quivered by his sides, chest rising with each breath but he didn’t dare move, and a proud smile made its way to your face. You ignored his little whine as you took his hands and walked him to the bedroom, you heart hurting a little at how tired he seemed, steps heavy and shoulders tight.
“Strip,” you commanded as you sat on the edge of the bed, watching how he slowly revealed more of his skin to you, your panties getting damper as he shrugged off his boxer to stand proudly in front of you. You were still in awe of how beautiful he truly was, rippling strong muscles protecting the most gentle heart underneath.
Standing in front of him, you looked up at him, running your hands over his shoulders, slowly coaxing him into contentment. His eyes fluttered, goosebumps rising as you traced the tattoos on his right arm before your fingers moved to his chest, roaming over his pebbled nipples and solid abs and trailing over the little path of hair that led to his hard dick patiently waiting for you.
“Tiger… baby,” he groaned when instead of gripping his cock like usual you just caressed it with a finger, your nail tickling him in a way that made his dick weep. The more you teased, the more he felt his legs shake, mind turning into the pink mush he craved so much around you. He never thought it was possible to lose yourself in someone this easily. Jungkook was used to hiding himself, being strong so his parents thought he was reliable, being stoic so his friends wouldn’t baby him, but with you he felt like he could be himself, raw and vulnerable because you would never hurt him.
When another featherlight touch threatened to make his knees buckle you guided him to the bed, laying him over the sheets and climbing to lie next to him. He looked over at you, confused, expecting you to straddle him and put him out of his misery but you just smiled, kissing him till all his thoughts floated away.
“Wanna forget everything today?” you whispered, hand cupping his jaw and lips pecking his nose. He felt as if he was melting into the mattress, nodding breathlessly as you started stroking him in earnest. He couldn’t help the high pitched whine that escaped him when you suddenly picked up speed, eager to reach his end. He was on the cusp, legs stretching out as his head leaned further into the pillows. His toes were tingling, sparks shooting up and down his body chaotically.
Seeing the stretch of his neck, so eagerly displayed for you, your lips started sucking on the skin, bruising it deliciously, his moans a chorus swelling through the room. You knew he was close by the way his thighs were shaking, quivering under your forearm and so with a tight grip at his base, you stopped.
“No no no,” Jungkook whined, fists clutching the sheets below him before pleading at you, begging for a release. But you knew Jungkook, knew that if you edged him a few more times he would melt away his stress when he finally came. With a placating sloppy kiss, you straddled him, legs stretching over his thighs as your hand began it’s movements once again, slowly torturing him.
The way he was keening had you throbbing, your pussy clenching over nothing and when you edged him once again he developed that dazed look on his face that made you almost push your panties to the side and climb on. Yet you decided to pull more of those sweet groans when you decided to lick his tip, relishing the salty bittersweet taste.
Moaning loudly, you closed your lips around him, sucking deep till your nose met the little hair at the base of his dick. One swallow around his flesh and Jungkook felt as if he would lose his mind, his breaths turning into wheezes as he tried his best not to cum, tears lining his eyes.
“Please please please I’m gonna cum,” Jungkook protested, yet you didn’t let go. His brain felt like it was escaping out his ears, muffling all sounds as he concentrated on not cumming without your permission. He wanted to be good so bad, wanted to please you, worship you, love you. His mind was filled with just a chorus of your name, the way your nails were taking over his abs making him heady. When he thought he couldn’t control himself anymore, you released him, his orgasm ebbing away just like his sanity. It felt as if he was in a different plane, floating peacefully in bliss from being so good for you. He didn’t cum and he didn’t care that tears were easily streaming down his face, he was so happy that he followed your instructions, and even happier when you kissed him, whispering affirmations in his ear.
“So proud of my Kookie,” you cooed, lying over him, kissing every part of his face, hands wiping his tears. “My good boy. My best boy. My favourite boy.”
Jungkook repeated your praises, mumbling incoherently, eyes closed and unaware that you had shed your ruined panties. You smiled at him, kissing him once more, as he easily let you invade him with your tongue. You guided his poor tortured cock into you, letting your walls envelope him in your warmth, the stretch making you moan softly.
You matched his bliss when you started rotating your hips, the angle making you see stars. It wasn’t long till you lost your patience, changing the pace to one that was faster, more haphazard, one that made the sounds of your bodies colliding echo around the room even louder than Jungkook’s begging.
“Please baby! Please wanna touch you! Wanna so bad,” he cried, hips thrusting into you trying to match your pace on shaky legs. It seemed impossible how many endorphins were rushing through him, making it seem as if he had already cum when he knew he was still harder than he had ever been.
“Go ahead baby,” you moaned and the words had barely left your lips when he was looping his arms around you to pull you to his chest, his grip so tight that you could barely move. Yet the change helped your clit grind perfectly against him bringing you closer, agonizing him as you got tighter around him. His begging was barely recognizable as words, full of yearning, drool dripping as he mouthed at your chin, bringing your orgasm to the cusp.
“Cum for me Jungkook,” you whispered, right as you fell off the edge, muscles quivering under his hold, his loud whine filling your ears. And seconds later he was cumming, unable to stop how he spasmed, squirmed from the euphoria flowing through him as he breathlessly moaned your name again and again.
When the tide had ebbed, you stayed close, holding him tight and whispering how much you loved him, how proud you were of him. He didn’t care that the two of you were messy, sticky with sweat, his mind too frayed to want anything other than the comfort you provided.
It seemed like hours till he was able to speak again, answering your questions about different video games he liked as you brought him back to earth, your fingers gently running through his hair. He noticed that somehow the two of you had changed positions, his head now laying on your chest as he curled around you.
“How are you feeling, my pretty boy,” you checked in, and Jungkook couldn’t help blushing at the endearment. He never thought being called pretty by you would make him feel so alive but the praise felt like a balm to his earlier torture, the haze melting into love as he looked up at you. You smiled at his glistening doe eyes as you kissed his forehead, loving the grin that showcased his teeth and scrunched his nose.
After pampering him with a bath and listening about his day, you changed the sheets, cuddling your giant loveable boyfriend and assuaging his worries. Sometimes you wished you could take his stress away from him, steal it away so it wouldn’t burden his shoulders. But looking at him now as he cutely kisses you, relaxed and boneless, you were happy to give him at least this temporary reprieve.
“I love you, you know that right?” you asked him, gently stroking his cheek as he gazed at you adoringly.
“I do. Thank you for loving me,” Jungkook whispered, kissing your lips once again. “I love you more than anything, my soulmate.”
You giggled at his silly belief but still picked up his hand from where it laid on your waist.
“My soulmate,” you acquiesced with a kiss to his pinky before intertwining yours against it, enjoying the way he smiled before drifting off to sleep.
nap of a star — nishimura riki. best friends to lovers. eventual established relationship. zombie apocalypse au. fluff. heavy angst.
synopsis. nishimura riki was sixteen when you taught him what love was. he is still sixteen when the universe teaches him of loss and rips you out of his hands. (1.9k words)
Nishimura Riki was sixteen when you taught him what love was.
It was confusing at first. He didn’t understand why he felt funny whenever you would bump your shoulders with his, why his eyes would trail towards your direction after he would tell a joke, why he’d search for your face in every room, and why he was more aware of his actions when you were around.
You’d approach him, he’d start to sweat. You’d talk, and he’d notice the way your lips would curve up. And even though he didn’t know it yet, love was residing deep in his bones.
And he swears he didn’t intend on it; he’s only sixteen years of age and more often than not, he found that he didn’t care much about anything. He does things when needed, he only says what he needs to say, only listens when it interests him, but with you, he finds himself smiling at the most unexpected times.
He’s so drawn to you, with everything that you do. And suddenly, everything is about you.
The flower he sees while walking to school reminds him of that time the two of you had visited the flower shop and he had placed one on your ear. The shell he finds at the beach reminds him of your favorite pearl earrings. He was in love, and maybe it was because he hadn’t known love otherwise that he never truly realized it before.
He supposes he should feel embarrassed that you’ve managed to seize him entirely, but somehow it didn’t matter.
It’s a Sunday when you find one of the rare photos you had together with Riki displayed on the lock screen of his phone.
“Riki?”
“Hm?”
You still remember the day it was taken. It was after the both of you spent the entire day visiting downtown thrift stores and eating at your favorite stalls, the same day you stayed up talking on the phone until dawn.
You were the one who took the photo, smiling with him at the camera while the two of you wore the most absurd pieces of clothing you found at the thrift store (you had shoved a handful of clothes in his direction and asked him to wear it. How could he refuse when you looked so happy handing them over to him?). There’s a light tint of pink on his cheeks, and it’s obvious he’s trying to hold in a smile by covering his lips with a peace sign, and you had your face squished with his.
“You have us on your phone screen?”
It’s almost record-breaking time when his face flushes red. And he’s trying, really trying, to ignore your eyes because he hadn’t meant for you to see that, but it’s difficult when you’re smiling at him like that.
“You weren’t supposed to see that.” He grabs his bag from you, and he’s just standing there, but it’s clear he’s getting shy and flustered because he had just been caught red-handed.
“It just reminds me that no matter what happens, I have you,” Riki mutters quietly, eyes shifting towards your bedroom door as if it was the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. “Do you like me?”
The absurdity and straightforwardness of your question has him choking on his own spit, and he looks at you with wide eyes. He swears he can hear everything in your room, including the loud thuds of his heart beating through his chest.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while… if you like me or not. I mean - it’s not like you’re really trying to hide it.” Riki’s mouth drops open and he’s quick to cross his arms defensively, shaking his head and trying to unconvincingly persuade you that you were wrong.
“For what it’s worth, I really like you too. A lot.” Your voice grows quieter and Riki immediately drops the hands he had folded over his chest. “Really?” A soft smile tugs on his lips.
“Yeah.”
Riki spends the entirety of sixteen being in love with you.
+
Nishimura Riki is still sixteen when the universe teaches him of loss and rips you out of his hands.
“Are you okay?” Riki asks. He sounds horrendous.
You’re propped in a makeshift bed he had made you two nights ago after he had devastatingly found out you had been scratched. He didn’t take the news well - sobbing in your arms until he fell asleep. The events of that night are a blur, but you can still remember the haunting words Riki had repeated, “I can’t lose you, please… please tell me this isn’t real.”
The virus was taking an abnormally long time to overtake your system, and every night, Riki stays by your side to hold onto the last moments you will probably have together.
You’re able to see out the window to your left from where you’re laying, where the school grounds had been broken and vandalized, and where people you used to call your friends roam freely on the grounds - barely recognizable. You remember thinking of how you were going to be one of them soon in what you thought were your last hours.
On the first night, you and Riki talked about the day you had slipped out of your house and into the darkness outside to spend time with each other. You had class the next day, but you chose to spend the entire night in a park, a secret to the sleeping world around you. You recall holding onto each other and watching the sun rise. Riki remembers the tiredness weighing down his eyes, but he’d stay up another hundred hours to do it all again.
He falls asleep crying and holding onto you until all he’ll ever know is you.
On the second night, Riki cries again. He repeats, “please don’t leave me” as you tell him about the day you held hands and raced through a crowd to get on your favorite rides at the amusement park - your very first date. The sun was beaming, and the day felt timeless. He sang you to sleep on the way home.
Riki curses to Whoever is Above as you cry into each other’s arms. The both of you fall asleep exhausted, and you make him promise to try and get out of there alive, for the both of you.
Tonight, he lays beside you on the little table he had laid you on to rest. You had become a little more unresponsive - you knew it, and he knew it. There was nothing left he could do.
And you don’t know how hard it is for him not to cry again when every part of his body was screaming for him to do so because he was so afraid. He wasn’t ready to let you go. You were still so young. He had practiced not crying earlier while he was out looking for food and water at the school’s abandoned cafeteria, but nothing could ever prepare him for this.
When he finally speaks, his voice comes out broken and small.
“I’m gonna miss you.”
You have your head rested on his chest, and you let yourself absorb the gentle rise and fall of it. He feels the faint pressure of your hand holding onto his, and when you squeeze onto his hand, he knows you’re telling him it’s okay to cry.
“I’m gonna miss you so much.”
His next words come out in a sob. Riki shuts his eyes closed, running a hand through your hair and breathing in your scent. He tries not to think of anything else, he tries to just be with you. He doesn’t speak anymore, he just allows himself to cry and feel as he holds onto your limp body. Amid everything that was happening, he still felt it deep within his voice.
He still felt love.
And then he hears your voice.
“Sing for me?”
Riki takes a deep breath, and he tries to sing for you, like he always did before, despite his voice being a little wobbly and broken. “I can see even if you’re not by my side. I feel you even if you don’t say a word.”
It’s just the two of you in that room, with time stilling in that tiny room as he sings for you, pressing gentle kisses on the top of your head as if it was the last time he’ll ever be able to do so. “Even if it’s just in your memories, my heart is always dancing, just like before.”
You didn’t say much as you listened to his quiet singing.
“I want to be your nap so I can dream with you no matter when, as if nothing had happened. The moments that felt like magic and the brilliant night sky, they’re on my mind.” When Riki finishes singing, he lets out the most pained noise you had ever heard. As if it was finally dawning on him that he had to let you go soon. His first love, maybe his only love.
“Don’t be sad…” You try to lift your hand in a weak attempt at cupping his cheek. “Riki, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
There’s a long silence before you see Riki’s face visibly break. You see the way he slowly loses composure of himself until he’s reduced to a sobbing mess. He buries his face deep in your hair, embarrassed. He doesn’t want you to see him like this, he doesn’t want this to be your last memory of each other.
Everything is so overwhelming, and it hurts everywhere. In his head, in his head, in his eyes. Everywhere hurts.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ll visit you in your dreams.” He keeps his eyes shut closed when he feels your lips press softly on his chin. “Riki, look at me. Please…”
He couldn’t.
“Riki, please… for me?”
He wills himself to open his eyes and look at you, but the moment his gaze meets yours, he finds himself tearing up again. He knows he’s running out of time. He takes a breath too big for him and he’s reduced to a coughing fit.
When he meets your gaze another time, he realizes this could possibly be it. He tries to regain his composure before pulling you closer to his body.
Riki traces a finger on your face, watching you silently and studying your every feature before leaning down to place multiple kisses on the spots he had just traced. “Thank you for teaching me to love, and for loving me in return.” A quiet whisper.
He sees blood dripping down your nose.
“You’ll be okay, right?”
He knows he won’t be. He knows he’s so afraid of living without you, he knows it’s going to be difficult finding the will to survive the undead when you are no longer by his side, but he promised you he would try to live, so he puts everything into the lie that slips from his mouth.
“I’ll be okay.”
“You have to let me go now, you know what to do.” He feels you loosen a big breath and he nods his head understandingly. Riki places one last kiss on the corner of your lips as he breathes out a final ‘I love you’.
[6:02 PM] — park sunghoon. established relationship. (0.4k words)
Sunghoon’s life is growing tired. He’s not quite sure when it started, but he realizes it now — deflated and exhausted on his way home. He deduces it might’ve been from all his waiting only for nothing to come.
He catches himself unfocusing his eyes and breathing out until the stream of air thins more often than he’d like. A pang in his chest follows at the realization. Though, the reminder of a homecooked meal awaiting him makes him calmer.
His next breath is a sigh — there you are, in all your glory, his shirt framing your figure as you quietly make dinner. He guesses you must be wearing earphones from the way you don’t budge at the sound of the door opening.
Bleary and exhausted, he turns to wrap his arms around you, lips ghosting over your head as he mumbles sweet words of love to you.
It startles you for a moment, but you immediately calm when you breathe him in so instead, you let your body absorb the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
When you take his hands into yours, Sunghoon utters a prayer for the first time in the long time. A silent plead for the moment to stay like this, never fading and forever breathing against his lover’s back after a long day.
You feel like comfort, especially through flitting moments like these when the two of you are quietly standing in the kitchen, leaning into each other for support, and breathing in the smell of home.
Being with you is like going home — it’s like basking into the familiarity of victory.
A warm smile breaks over his face and he gently tugs at you to turn around so he can see you. He wants to bathe in your presence, into the feeling of longing finally achieved. And when you do, it takes him a few minutes to catch his breath.
Comfort really does surround you and encompasses the entirety of your life, Sunghoon thinks. Perhaps, unknowingly, you’re comfort personified.
He uses his palm to cup your cheek, moving slowly to catch glimpses of this moment into photographs in his mind. He inches forward, lips aching to steal yours into a long kiss. And when his mouth finally slots with yours, the overwhelming wash of his feelings almost make him cry.
Time slowed, and stilled. It was just the two of you, fingers carding through each other’s hair and stroking down spines in the empty, sunlit kitchen. The weight he felt earlier rolls out of his chest with ease, until he feels like he can finally relax and smile properly again.
He’s been so patient, and he thinks it’s finally come, that something he’s been yearning for all his life.
Sunghoon’s convinced that today, his life stopped growing tired.
ミ★synopsis: as the university’s part-time librarian, you didn’t expect to develop a relationship with the guy that likes to skip lecture in order to take a nap in the library instead. and as the bad boy of the university, hyunjae had never crossed paths with you until he started sleeping in the library—so he can’t explain why you’re so familiar to him.
ミ★genre: reincarnation!au, badboy!hyunjae, librarian!reader, angst, some fluff, some humor
ミ★warnings: major character death, depictions of violence, mentions of blood
ミ★word count: 20,800
ミ★pairings: hyunjae x gender neutral reader
ミ★notes: happy verybelated birthday to my soulmate and best friend, @sunlightwoo this oneshot took me an incredibly long time to write and it’s quite ridiculous how long it ended up becoming… but i really hope you love it <3 i love you so much gina, thank you for everything <3
“Please. You can take me, but not him. He has nothing to do with this.” You beg the soldier, falling to your knees without a second thought as you plead. The commander stares down at you, and you watch as the corner of his lips quirks upwards in amusement.
“Oh, Midnight.” He says in a sweet tone, and your eyebrows furrow in confusion, only for your blood to run cold when you see his hand wrap around the gun in his pocket.
“How bold of you to think that I would have mercy on a thief.”
You gasp awake, the sound of the gunshot ringing in your ears as you blink up at the ceiling. You’re drenched in sweat, making you recoil in slight disgust as you groggily sit up in your bed. You look out the window, seeing the sky that’s still full of stars, signaling that you have a long time until you need to wake up for your lectures in the morning.
You shake your head, reaching up and resting a hand over your forehead as you let out a shaky breath.
“What a weird dream.”
You push the cart full of books down the aisle, looking through the shelves to see where to place the book in your hand. A quiet, ah, escapes your lips when you discover its place, and you quickly put the book back in its rightful spot on the shelf. Smiling to yourself, you push the cart out of the aisle to head back towards the front desk.
You glance over towards the study tables, seeing the familiar groups of faces of students who enjoy going to this library to study. You slowly come to a stop when you see an unfamiliar body slumped over one of them, and you frown slightly at the sight. Looking around, you see no one even sparing a glance towards them, and you bite your bottom lip. You tentatively walk over, and gently knock your hand on the table as a means to wake them.
Only to blink when they don’t move at all.
Pursing your lips, you step around so that you’re standing where their head is facing, and you pause when you finally lay eyes on the man.
His eyelashes are long, resting beautifully on the tops of his cheeks as he breathes softly. From the slope of his nose, to his pretty cupid’s bow—you find yourself in a state of awe at the beauty of this man. There’s also the smallest inkling you feel within your chest as you stare at his sleeping face, and you wonder why you can’t help but think he looks a bit familiar.
“I’ll let him sleep.” You say quietly, thinking that he must be rather tired to have decided to take a nap in the University library. Turning around, you walk away from the man and go back to your cart. You push it to the front desk, and plop down into your seat behind it. Letting out a breath, you turn on the computer to begin a new round of solitaire.
“Dude, where were you? I was saving the seat beside me cause you said you’d come to lecture today.” Juyeon asks when Hyunjae walks up to him sitting on the bench. He lets out a yawn and shrugs his shoulders, scratching the back of his neck as he replies, “I didn’t wanna fall asleep during class, so I took a nap in the library instead.”
Juyeon’s eyes soften a bit at the news, “You still having trouble sleeping?”
Hyunjae nods his head, adjusting Juyeon’s backpack strap for him as they begin to walk out of the quad. He looks off to the side with a sigh, thinking of how he suddenly went from being able to have a dreamless sleep, to having sleepless nights due to dreams that he can never remember.
“I think you should go see someone so that they can prescribe you something. The melatonin gummies aren’t working for you, so this would be the next step.” Juyeon says, and Hyunjae purses his lips at the thought of having to take sleeping pills just to get a good night’s rest.
“It happened randomly, so I’ll probably be able to sleep normally at a random time too.” Hyunjae reasons, and Juyeon frowns at his friend’s stubborn nature. He nudges his shoulder, and Hyunjae lets out a chuckle at the blonde’s concern for him.
“I’m okay, Juyeon. This’ll pass.” Hyunjae tells him, and Juyeon just lets out a sigh of defeat as he just nods his head. Hyunjae places his arm over Juyeon’s shoulders, glad that he has such a good friend by his side.
“Now that you’re done acting like a mother,” Hyunjae begins, and Juyeon scoffs at the term. “You wanna go to that party Haknyeon and Eric are hosting tonight?”
He watches as the corner of Juyeon’s lips quirk upwards at the mention of a party, and he knows he’s got his best friend interested. As they begin talking about the plan for tonight, Hyunjae tries to ignore the heavy weight of exhaustion settled over his shoulders.
“Hi Kevin.” You greet your coworker as you walk past the desk to clock in. He gives you a smile, happy to see you after having not been scheduled together in a while. “Yn! I missed you.”
“Missed me? You just missed working with me since I put away all the books for you.” You tease with a grin, and he immediately begins to protest as you laugh quietly. While the two of you talk, your attention is caught by someone walking past the front desk with his airpods in his ears.
You take notice of the bags under his eyes in the brief glance you get of his face, and your eyes widen when you suddenly recognize him as the guy who took a nap on one of the study tables from the week before.
“And that’s how I got Jacob to curse for the first time. Was definitely something I never want to experience again, but I’m glad I scratched it off the bucket list.” Kevin finishes as he scans another book, looking up at you to catch your reaction, only to see you distracted. His eyes follow your gaze, and he almost chokes when he realizes just who you’re so distracted by.
“Don’t tell me you have a crush on him too.” He whines, and your head snaps back towards Kevin. “Huh?”
He gestures in the direction the guy went, and you raise an eyebrow, “Do you know him?”
Kevin just gives you a deadpan stare, and you blink, wondering if you asked the wrong thing. He chuckles and shakes his head, handing you a book to place on the cart. Taking it from his grasp, he begins to explain, “I can’t believe that you actually live under a rock.”
“Hey!”
“He’s my friend, and he’s well known at our uni cause he’s a handsome ass bitch. Some students like to call him a bad boy since he drives a motorcycle and doesn’t really talk to many people outside of our friend group, but I really think he’s the farthest thing from that.” Kevin explains with a giggle, and you find yourself wondering how you never knew any of this information when you and Kevin are besties at work.
You glance over in his direction, finding him fast asleep over one of the study tables once again. There’s an indecipherable emotion that tingles within your chest as you stare at his slumped over figure, and you question why you’re so intrigued by a man that you’ve never once shared an interaction with.
“What’s his name?” You ask in a soft voice, choosing to ignore the thought in your brain as you turn back towards your friend. He looks at you with a knowing smile, and he just lets out a breath as he hands you another book.
“Hyunjae. His name is Lee Hyunjae.”
It’s a few hours into your shift when you begin putting the books back into their respective places on the shelves. This is probably your favorite thing to do while working at the library because you’ve always enjoyed organizing, and this is the epitome of that.
Pushing your cart to the next aisle, you briefly look up towards the study tables, only to blink in surprise when you find Hyunjae still fast asleep on the table. Glancing down at your watch, you see that it’s already 6 o’clock in the evening.
“He’s been sleeping there this whole time?” You murmur as you look at him from the bookshelves. Pursing your lips, you glance around, seeing a few students minding their own business as they study at their own respective tables. You look back in his direction one more time, before letting out a breath and pushing the cart in his direction.
You wonder why you’re so entranced by him, a man you’ve never met nor spoken to once in your life. Since the day you saw him asleep in the library for the first time, you felt yourself gravitate towards him, and you don’t even know why.
Is it because he’s handsome? Because you found it funny that he had come to the library just to sleep? You’re not sure.
But as you bend down so that you’re eye-level with his sleeping face, you still can’t figure out the answer.
Standing back up, you reach out and gently tap his shoulder. When he doesn’t even shift slightly, you bite the inside of your cheek. You gently tap his shoulder again, “Excuse me? Sir?”
You watch as his eyebrows furrow at your voice. Moving to tap him again, you stop when his eyes slowly begin to open. He blinks tiredly, confused as to what’s going on around him as he gets used to the light flooding his vision. Letting out a quiet yawn, he turns his head in your direction, only to pause when he realizes there’s someone standing beside him.
His gaze slowly trails up towards your face, and he feels his breath get taken away when he locks eyes with you. Your eyes sparkle underneath the light as you look at him with a small amused smile, and he can only blink at the sight as a question suddenly comes to mind.
am i… in heaven?
“Hi, I’m really sorry to have woken you up from your nap. It’s just that you’ve been sleeping here for the last three hours, and I feel like you would be much more comfortable in your own bed.” You explain, warmth flooding your face as you speak because oh God you’re shy. He can only stare at you in silence, making you wonder if you made the right decision as you look back at him with increasing anxiety.
He blinks, before looking down at the table where he’s been sleeping this whole time. He lets out a quiet chuckle, reaching up and running a hand through his hair as he stands up from the chair. He picks up his backpack and throws it over his shoulder, looking back at you with an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry about that.” He says, and you immediately raise your hands towards him and shake them. “No! It’s okay! Really, I just woke you up because I would rather you be comfortable in a bed rather than an old wooden chair and a table.”
His eyes bore into yours, and you can only look back into his as the sound of your own heartbeat floods your ears from how handsome he is. You watch as a small smile forms on his face, and he reaches out towards you with his hand.
“My name is Lee Hyunjae.”
Glancing down at his hand, a soft laugh escapes you as you reach out and take hold of it. Looking back up into his eyes, you smile as you say,
“My name is yn yln.”
Hyunjae feels his heart pang against his chest when your name leaves your lips, a lump forming in his throat as he stares at your smiling face. Not wanting to appear affected, he gives you a grin and the two of you let go of each other’s hands.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, yn.” Hyunjae tells you, and you nod your head with a warm face. “It was nice meeting you too, Hyunjae.”
And with that, you watch as the “bad boy” of the university turns around and walks away. Your eyes follow him until he’s out of sight, and a breath escapes you as you lean against the table. You raise your hands up to cup your warm face, thoughts running a mile a minute as the whole interaction continues to play in your head.
While Hyunjae stops at the back of the library, resting his hand against the wall as he sucks in a shaky breath. Tears flood his eyes as he stares down at the ground, trying his best to hold them back.
He doesn’t understand why he felt such a large feeling of sadness wash over him when you had said your name, or why he’s fighting back tears as he stands outside of the library.
All he can really make sense of is that you have a beautiful smile.
“Jaehyun!” He turns at the call of his name, smiling brightly when he sees Hyunjun hurrying towards him with a loaf of bread he bought. He reaches out and wraps an arm around his friend’s shoulders once he’s close enough, ruffling his hair with his hand. “Did you make your move?”
Hyunjun immediately shoots him a glare, nudging him in the stomach with his elbow. “No. I don’t know why you’re so fixated on me and the baker’s daughter.”
“Cause it’s obvious that you have a crush on her.” He teases, to which he receives another jab to the stomach. He clutches his side, wincing in pain at Hyunjun’s sharp elbows as his friend chuckles.
“We just did the usual, talking casually as she got me the loaf of bread I ordered. Nothing special.” Hyunjun explains with a soft smile, and he lets out a disappointed breath. “Tsk, thought I taught you better.”
“The only thing you’ve taught me is that I should get better friends. Then again, I should’ve expected that the librarian who talks to books would be strange.”
“Hey! You know that books are precious! Take that back!”
“No!”
He’s about to put Hyunjun in a chokehold when a shoulder bumps into his own, causing him to take a step back. With a frown taking over his features, he turns his head to glance back at the person who bumped into him. His eyes slowly trail up from the ground and up their body, stopping at their lips when they begin to say:
“I’m sorry—”
Hyunjae blinks his eyes open, turning his head and squinting towards the sunlight that’s managed to peek through the sliver of his curtain. He lets out a groan, groggily rubbing his face as he sits up in his bed. Running a hand through his hair, he looks at the time and sees that it’s 8 am.
“Four hours of sleep.” He murmurs, staring tiredly at his clock as he thinks of his schedule for the day. He has calc at 11:30, bio at 12:30, then he has that class he always skips at 1:30. Raising his hands up towards his face, he shuts his eyes as the growingly distant memory of his dreams play behind them. Lowering his hands, he lets out a sigh.
“Why do they feel so real?”
“Why are you at the library when you’re not even working today? It’s Friday, wouldn’t you rather be out having fun?” Kevin asks with a grin when you walk up to the counter. You shrug your shoulders, “Maybe because I’m a student that likes to study here? Besides, you know I’d rather hang out in the library.”
Kevin chuckles, the sound making you smile as he gestures towards the study tables. “Whenever you feel like taking a break, come over here and talk to me. I’m on shift until 6.”
You give him a thumbs up, “Of course! I’ll talk to you later.”
After bidding Kevin goodbye, you walk towards the study tables in hopes that there’s one that’s empty. You do a quick scan for an available table, only for your eyes to stop on a familiar sight.
Hyunjae’s laid over the surface of a table, head resting on his arms that act as a pillow. His backpack is placed in the seat beside him, no laptop or journal taken out and on the table either.
A small smile forms on your face as you make your way over to where he’s seated. Biting the inside of your cheek, you slowly bend down so that the two of you are face to face. Your eyes roam over his features, and you quietly wonder how he can sleep so soundly over an uncomfortable surface like this.
You’re about to stand back up when his eyes slowly blink open, and you’re rendered frozen in place when his eyes bore into yours.
“Yn?”
You quickly take a step back, nervous chuckles escaping you as he tiredly sits up from his original position. Rubbing his eyes, he looks at you with a curious gaze, “How long were you watching me like that?”
You blink, “Oh, you know. A couple seconds or so…”
Hyunjae gazes at you for a moment longer, before a small smile forms on his lips. Shaking his head, he covers his mouth to let out a yawn as you awkwardly stand in front of him. You suck in a deep breath before gesturing over to the two empty chairs in front of him.
“Can I sit with you?”
The two of you stare at each other for a second, with regret slowly inching up your throat the longer you wait for his answer. Clenching your fists at your sides, you’re about to tell him that you’ll find another table when he finally responds, “Yeah, of course you can sit with me.”
The corners of your lips tilt upwards, and you nod your head. Stepping over to the chairs across from him, you pull out the seat and sit down. Putting your bag down in the chair beside you, you pull out your laptop and open it up, preparing to get to work.
Hyunjae quietly watches you as you do this, admiring the way the sunlight peeks in through the windows and hits your face as you reach for your headphones. He wonders why you had chosen to sit with him when there were other tables that are also only occupied by one person.
“You’re not working today?” Hyunjae asks right before you’re about to put in an earbud, and you nod your head. “Today’s my day off, but I still need to write an essay.”
“For what class?”
“Multicultural History. I was given a specific timeline and I basically just need to write about it for seven pages.” You explain with a sigh, watching as the latter cringes at how much you need to write. A small giggle escapes you at his reaction, and Hyunjae’s eyes sparkle at the sound.
“You can continue your nap, I just didn’t feel like sitting alone.” You tell him with a smile, and he nods. Moving to rest his head on his arms, he stops right before he closes his eyes and looks back at you. You tilt your head at his sudden pause, only for warmth to flood your face when he says,
“Whether you’re working or not, you can always come sit with me.”
And with that, Hyunjae lowers his face into his arms to take another nap. While you just sit there in shock, letting his words sink in as you stare at the pretty man with warm cheeks.
It’s a couple of hours later when Hyunjae finally wakes up, and he slowly blinks his eyes open as he sits up properly in his seat. Running a hand through his hair, he starts to yawn when your voice quietly greets him, “Good morning.”
He looks at you with an amused look in his eyes, and you grin back at him before glancing back at your laptop screen and typing away. Stretching his arms over his head, he gazes at the clock on the wall and sees that it’s now 7 pm.
He turns back to you, and reaches out and taps the top of your laptop. Halting your typing, you pause your music and pull out an earbud, “Mm?”
“Are you hungry? It’s around dinner time.” Hyunjae asks, and your eyebrows furrow. Your eyes dart down to the time on your screen, and you blink in surprise when you see that it’s already 7 at night. “Oh shit.”
He chuckles at how you sound when you curse, having only heard you be soft spoken in the times the two of you interacted. You give him a smile and reach a hand up to scratch the back of your neck, not realizing how long you’ve been working on your essay.
“I didn’t know that much time had passed.” You mutter shyly, and Hyunjae nods his head in agreement. Pressing your lips into a thin line, you gently shut your laptop and slip it into its sleeve, before beginning to pack the rest of your stuff.
Hyunjae watches you quietly as he stands up from the table. A question comes to mind as he throws his bag over his shoulder, and he lets out a breath while he looks at you. “Do you want to go to the convenience store together?”
You physically halt your movements right as you’re about to put your laptop into your bag, and slowly turn your head towards Hyunjae. “Heh?”
A small smile forms on his face at your reaction, and he tilts his head to the side, “Should I take that as a no?”
Your eyes widen and you immediately lift your hands up to him, “No!”
“No?”
“I mean, no as in, noyoushouldn’t take that as a no.” You panic, and Hyunjae bites back a laugh. Blinking your eyes, you let out a quiet cough and promptly place your laptop in your bag, before zipping it up and throwing it over your shoulder. “R-Ramen, shall we?”
Hyunjae nods his head, amusement dancing in his eyes as the two of you walk side-by-side to the exit. You glance over towards the front desk, seeing that Kevin has long been replaced by your other coworker since he got off an hour before.
“Damn, Kevin left already.” Hyunjae points out once you both reach the doors, and you nod as you each walk out. “He got off at 6, and now he’s probably going to be petty with me since I didn’t take a break to go talk to him.”
Hyunjae chuckles, already imagining what the latter would complain about. “Sounds like Kevin.”
A comfortable silence falls over the two of you as you head in the direction of the convenience store. Your eyes look over the scenery of the trees and the remnants of the sunset as you smile softly to yourself, while Hyunjae takes small glances at you, wondering how he can feel so comfortable walking in silence with a person he hardly knows.
“Did you finish writing your essay?” Hyunjae asks you after a moment, and you turn to him with an embarrassed smile. Rubbing the back of your neck, you let out a sigh, “No, not yet. I still have to write two more pages and then edit everything.”
“You sound disappointed by that.” Hyunjae points out, and you nod your head with a slight pout to your lips.
“I just wish I was more productive. Normally, I would’ve been able to finish writing seven pages easily, but I guess I was having an off day today.” You explain with a chuckle, but it slowly dies out when you don’t receive an immediate response. Turning your head to glance at the pretty man, you find him looking at you with a small smile on his face. He lets out a low whistle and turns away once he realizes that he’s just been staring, and you look down at the ground.
“I think you accomplished a lot during the time that you were working on it, so don’t be too hard on yourself for those last two pages.” Hyunjae tells you, and you bite the inside of your cheek at his words. There’s a sense of comfort that fills your heart, overtaking the slight disappointment you had originally felt.
Turning to him, you let out a giggle as you ask, “How about you? How was your nap?”
Hyunjae blinks at the question, before laughing quietly and nodding. “It was alright, felt nice knowing that I had someone to protect me while I was sleeping.”
He pauses after the sentence leaves him, and he tilts his head as he questions why he feels so weird. It’s only a second later when a brief memory suddenly comes to mind,
He lays on the grass, looking up at the blue sky as the heat from the sun lays over him like a warm blanket. Feeling a pair of eyes on him, he lets out a quiet chuckle, “Mm?”
“What?” The voice asks, and he smiles to himself, knowing that they’re trying to play it off as if he didn’t catch them. “You were staring.”
“I was just making sure you were safe.” They respond, and he laughs.
“What! What’s so funny about that?”
“Why would there be danger in this field of grass that’s far away from the city? Trust me, I’ve been going here since I was a child. No one knows of this place except you and me now.” He explains, only to hear a quiet chuckle in response. Turning to glance at them, their features remain a blur as the sun appears from behind their head, rendering their face unrecognizable. He blinks when their hand suddenly reaches out and rests on Hyunjae’s head, gently patting his hair as they say in a soft voice,
“No matter where you are, or where you go, I’ll be by your side to protect you.”
Hyunjae sucks in a sharp breath once the memory disappears, making you turn towards him with a look of concern on your face. His eyes are wide as he stares down at the ground while the two of you walk, and you notice how pale his skin has become.
You stop walking and gently grasp his wrist, making him halt his movements. “Hyunjae, are you okay?”
He turns his head and looks back at you, just to find you looking at him with worry etched over your features. Biting the inside of his cheek, he tries to shake off the initial shock he felt when the memory came to mind, as this has never happened while he was awake.
You watch as he finally gives you a smile, acting as if everything’s okay as he answers, “I’m alright, just remembered that I have to work on homework tonight.”
You stare at him for a moment longer, before nodding your head and letting go of his hand. The two of you aren’t close enough for you to ask him more, and you can already see that he doesn’t want to talk about it further. “Understandable. It’s kinda like a jumpscare.”
He chuckles and smiles in agreement as you begin to walk again, completely dropping the topic of whatever it was that bothered him. When you draw closer to the convenience store, you can’t help your curiosity as you turn to him again, “Why do you sleep in the library almost everyday? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Hyunjae doesn’t look surprised at the question, since he expected that you would probably ask him at some point. However, he doesn’t answer it until the two of you reach the entrance to the store, and he pulls open the door and holds it open for you.
Giving you a small smile, he finally responds, “I don’t really care for my technical writing class.”
Hyunjae heads towards the library with a little skip in his step, heart feeling warm in his chest as he thinks of seeing you again. The last time he saw you was a couple days ago when the two of you went to the convenience store together, since he didn’t need to go to the library due to it being the weekend.
“So you just go to the library to skip class and take a nap?” You ask with a hint of disbelief in your gaze as you step inside. Hyunjae nods his head with a quiet chuckle, closing the door and walking beside you towards the aisle of ramen.
“Why don’t you just go back to your apartment and take a nap then? The library tables can’t be more comfortable than your own bed.” You say as you reach out and pick up a shin ramen, and Hyunjae just shrugs his shoulders. He picks up the neoguri ramen, feeling a slight weight over his shoulders as the real reason why he goes to the library remains in the back of his mind.
“I find that sleep comes easier at the library than it does at home.”
Just as Hyunjae’s about to push open the doors to the library, he lets out a yelp when his backpack is suddenly tugged from behind, yanking him backwards.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Hyunjae exclaims when he tries to glance back, only to be dragged away from the library and down the steps. Once they’re at the bottom of the stairs, the person finally lets go, and Hyunjae turns around to start shouting at them, only to stop.
He lets out a sigh, “God damn it, Juyeon.”
“We’re going to class together, whether you like it or not.” Juyeon says with a big smile. Hyunjae groans when Juyeon wraps an arm around his shoulders, beginning to bring him in the direction of their building.
Hyunjae steps out from under Juyeon’s arm and points towards him, “I’m not going. I have my daily nap to attend to and that is much more important than technical writing.”
Juyeon squints at Hyunjae, making the latter look away and over to the library to avoid eye contact. The blonde continues to analyze his friend, before letting out a sigh of disappointment and shaking his head.
“Instead of taking you to class, should I take you to the hospital to finally get sleeping medicine instead?” Juyeon asks, a stern expression on his face. Hyunjae just presses his lips into a thin line, “You sound like a mother.”
“Would you rather have Sangyeon scold you? You can hardly sleep at your own apartment, you skip class, and go to the library not to study—but to sleep.” Juyeon says, making Hyunjae glance down at the ground. Juyeon stares at him for a moment longer, before looking away and running a hand through his hair.
“I’m just worried about you.”
“I know, but I’m fine. I’m not even failing the class either! I’m just going through a slump right now, but I should be able to sleep normally after it’s over.” Hyunjae explains earnestly, hoping that this will appease him so that he doesn’t have another thing to stress about. Juyeon reaches out and pats Hyunjae’s shoulder, “Okay, but you’re still going to class with me.”
“Ohhellno.”
“Professor is having us choose our partners for the group project that’s due at the end of the quarter and I need you there.” Juyeon says, before wrapping his arm around the back of Hyunjae’s neck and beginning to drag him towards the building of their classroom again.
“But—”
“No buts! It’s just for today, the professor needs to know that I have a partner so that I don’t end up working with some stranger.”
Hyunjae fails to come up with an excuse to skip this lecture and go to the library instead. He lets out a sigh of defeat as he gets dragged away, knowing that he should at least attend this section for the sake of his project. Taking a quick glance back at the library, he bites the inside of his cheek at the thought of you possibly waiting for him.
I’ll go see you later, yn.
You push the cart full of books past the aisles, looking at the study tables as you walk by, but failing to see that familiar slumped over figure. Pursing your lips, you shake your head and turn into the non-fiction aisle.
“Why do I feel a bit disappointed? I should be happy that he went to class.” You mutter, picking up a book and placing it into its designated spot. Doing a quick onceover of the shelf, you catch sight of a book that’s not meant to be in this aisle.
“Why would someone put Frog and Toad next to Stephen Hawking?” You ask yourself as you reach out and take it out of the shelf, only to lock eyes with someone in the next aisle. You blink in surprise, only for a smile to immediately take over your features when you recognize them.
“Lee Hyunjae!” You whisper-shout, and he waves at you with a grin. He holds up something in a plastic bag, and you raise an eyebrow at him, before gesturing for him to come into your aisle. Giving you a thumbs up, he disappears from sight and appears by your side a few seconds later.
“Where were you?” The question falls past your lips without a second thought, and you just as quickly turn around and slap yourself on the forehead. Hyunjae bites the inside of his cheek to hold back his laughter, watching as you eventually turn back around to face him with an embarrassed grin.
He leans against the shelf, a smirk on his lips when he asks, “Were you waiting for me?”
“No!” You exclaim, only to flinch back when you receive a few shushes from those who are studying. You do a quick bow in their direction, having forgotten that you’re in a public library as you turn back to Hyunjae with regained composure. “No. I just noticed that you weren’t at one of the study tables.”
“Ah.” Hyunjae says, and you let out a breath of relief.
“So you were looking for me?” He teases, and you press your lips into a thin line. He lets out a quiet laugh and waves his hand at you to signal that he’s just joking around, before lifting up the bag that you now realize holds a container of takeout food.
“What’s this? Are you having dinner here? You know that you can’t eat in the library—”
“It’s for you.” Hyunjae interjects, and you stare at him, mouth still open as the rest of the sentence remains lodged in your throat. He smiles, “I got you some kimchi jjigae since I know that you won’t be getting off shift until past dinner.”
You continue to stare at him in shock, unable to formulate a response since you’re still trying to digest the fact that he went out of his way to buy you dinner. He reaches a hand up and waves it in front of your face, causing you to snap out of your daze.
“O-Oh God, sorry. I just… I can’t believe you got me food.” You laugh softly as you stare down at the bag of take out, and he grins.
“I didn’t want you to have a late dinner.” He mutters in response, and you look up into his eyes. The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment, with warmth flooding your face, and Hyunjae wondering if you can hear how hard his heart is beating against his chest.
“Thank you.” You say, and the corners of his lips quirk upwards as he nods. Without a second thought, he reaches out and grasps your hand, making your eyes widen in surprise. He lifts it up and faces your palm towards the ceiling, before repeating the action with your other hand.
Before you can ask what he’s doing, he gently plops the bag of takeout into your hands. You look down at the container, then glance back up at his face, just to see the warm smile resting over his features as he stares into your eyes.
“Eat well, okay?”
After nodding your head, he gives you one last grin, before turning around and walking out of the library. Your eyes trail after him, and once he’s out of sight, you glance down at the bag of takeout in your hands.
You let out a happy sigh, “He remembered that I work late tonight.”
“Why would a librarian have to work late at night?” A voice huffs from the next aisle, and Hyunjae chuckles at them. Taking a book off the shelf, he sees the back of the person’s head as they glance up at the other books. “Cause I’m the son of the family that owns this library, and that means I have to make sure all the books are in their designated spots.”
“Pft. Still doesn’t mean you need to work late hours.”
He turns the book over in his hand, and grins down at the cover. Letting out a breath, he walks over to the aisle the person’s in and stares at the back of their head as they’re crouched down to look at the books on the bottom shelf.
He lifts up the book in his hand, “Read this book.”
“Is it the bible?” They ask, making him roll his eyes.
“Pride and Prejudice.” He answers, and he watches as they turn their head slightly.
“Do you think I’d like it?” He stares at them for a moment, before chuckling and waving the book in his hand. “I wouldn’t have told you to read it if I didn’t think you wouldn’t like it.”
They let out a soft laugh, a sound that makes his heart warm.
“I guess I should read it then.” They say, before finally beginning to turn their head to look at him.
Hyunjae blinks his eyes open, a furrow to his brows as he slowly sits up from the table. He glances around the library, seeing that the afternoon sky had already turned dark during the time he was asleep. He sighs, “The dreams are haunting me even when I’m not at home.”
Letting out a yawn, he turns his head just to find you putting a few books away in one of the aisles. A small smile forms on his lips, and he tiredly stands up from the table to walk over to you.
You quietly hum to yourself as you put another book onto the shelf, feeling a bit excited for your shift to be over since you’re hungry. You spare a glance in Hyunjae’s direction, expecting him to still be fast asleep over the table, only to blink in surprise when you don’t see him.
“Where’d he go?” You quietly ask yourself, moving to step out of the aisle and walk over towards the study tables when a hand suddenly grasps your wrist and spins you around.
You suck in a breath of surprise when you end up face to face with an amused looking Hyunjae. He takes a onceover of your features, watching as your initial shock slowly melts into shyness as you suddenly begin to avoid his gaze.
“Were you looking for me?” Hyunjae asks with a grin, and you bite the inside of your cheek. “Maybe.”
He chuckles and lets go of your hand, allowing you to finally breathe properly as you take a step back. Sucking in a few deep breaths, you shake your head and turn back towards the shelves with a shy smile.
“How was your beauty sleep?” You ask as you reach for a book on the cart, to which Hyunjae takes it and places it into your hand. Giving him a grateful smile, you turn back towards the shelf and place it in its spot.
“It was alright.” Hyunjae lies, but he notices the way you glance back at him with disbelieving eyes at his answer. He picks up another book and hands it to you so that you’ll look away from him, “It was.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t.” You say in a sing-song voice as you place the book onto the shelf. Hyunjae squints at you, “Your eyes speak more words than you vocalize.”
You purse your lips, wondering when the two of you became close enough for him to be able to read you so easily. Shaking your head, you’re about to turn towards the cart again, only to pause when the spine of a book catches your eye.
“Lee Hyunjae.” You murmur, and he raises an eyebrow.
“Full naming me now, hm?”
You chuckle, reaching out and taking the book from the shelf. You briefly flip through the pages, remembering how much you enjoyed this book when you were in high school.
“Do you like books?” You ask, and Hyunjae pokes his tongue into the inside of his cheek at the question. He leans back against the shelf, “Not really, why?”
“I just found my favorite book, and I wanted to ask you to read it.” You explain as you skim through one of the paragraphs, a small smile forming on your face. Hyunjae tilts his head, “What is it?”
Shutting the book in your hands, you turn towards the pretty man and hold the book up towards his face. The cover of the story reflects from the light, and Hyunjae feels his heart stop when he reads the title.
“Pride and Prejudice.” You answer with a soft voice, watching as Hyunjae’s eyes get a faraway look to them as he stares at the old book.
He lifts up the book in his hand, “Read this book.”
“Is it the bible?” They ask, making him roll his eyes.
“Pride and Prejudice.” He answers, and he watches as they turn their head slightly.
“Do you think I’d like it?” He stares at them for a moment, before chuckling and waving the book in his hand. “I wouldn’t have told you to read it if I didn’t think you wouldn’t like it.”
The memory of his dream flashes past Hyunjae’s eyes as questions flood his brain. He wonders what kind of a coincidence this could be, how this could possibly happen as he stares at the familiar cover of the classic story.
At his silence, you glance at the book in your hand, before turning back towards him with an embarrassed smile, “You don’t like it?”
Hyunjae blinks out of his daze, eyes meeting yours as you stare at him with concern written over your features. He shakes his head, reaching out and gently taking it from your grasp, “No! I just spaced out, sorry. I’ll definitely read it though.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to read it if you don’t like reading—”
“It’s your favorite book, of course I have to read it.” Hyunjae cuts off, genuineness dripping from the sentence as he looks at you with fond eyes. You bite the inside of your cheek, warmth flooding your face as you nod. “Okay, tell me if you like it.”
And Hyunjae stares at you for a moment longer, quietly wondering what his dreams mean as he nods his head with a smile that fails to reach his eyes.
“Of course, yn.”
“Why am I coming to the library?” Juyeon asks as he gets dragged up the steps, to which Kevin just huffs out a breath.
“Cause I need you to see this.”
“I have a class soon, though. Why not show Hyunjae? He’s probably already at the library considering this is the class he skips.” Juyeon points out when they enter the library. Kevin bites his bottom lip, bringing Juyeon over towards the bookshelves so they can hide properly as he mutters under his breath, “Cause he’s what you need to see.”
Juyeon raises an eyebrow, “What?”
Kevin peeks past the bookshelf to make sure they have a good view, before tucking his head away. Turning towards Juyeon, he places both hands on his shoulders, making the latter squint at him in confusion.
“Kevin…”
“Shh.” Kevin says as he maneuvers Juyeon over towards where he was standing, “Just look quietly.”
Juyeon gives him another look, before peeking his head past the bookshelf, only for his eyes to widen in disbelief.
Hyunjae’s seated at a study table, but he’s not sleeping like he always said he does. Instead, he’s talking to the person sitting across from him.
Juyeon watches as Hyunjae smiles softly at whatever the person said, and his mouth drops open in shock when his friend even reaches out and pats their head fondly.
“No fucking way.”
“Yes fucking way.” Kevin says.
You look at Hyunjae with nothing but warmth in your eyes when he retracts his hand, and he can’t help but smile at the sight. Shaking your head with a quiet giggle, you glance at your laptop screen to see the grade of your essay staring back at you.
97/100
“Ah, I can’t believe they liked it that much.” You mutter, and Hyunjae scoffs jokingly. Looking up at him, you see the furrow to his brows as he points towards your laptop. “Of course they liked it that much. Don’t underestimate yourself, yn.”
You attempt to fight the smile from forming on your face, but you fail. Turning away, your eyes fall on the bookshelves, only to blink in surprise when you see two heads peeking out.
“Kevin?”
“Oh shit.” Kevin breathes out when you make direct eye contact with him, and you squint at him. Hyunjae sees the change in your demeanor as you look away from him, and he turns towards the direction you’re staring in.
“Lee Juyeon?”
“God damn it.” Juyeon states when Hyunjae sees him, and Kevin turns towards his friend with a frightened expression. “Should we run?”
“Aren’t you on shift?”
“I’m still on break for like, 15 minutes.”
“Word.” Juyeon says, before nodding his head and sprinting to the exit with Kevin. You and Hyunjae watch as the two disappear from sight, and you let out a quiet chuckle when you hear the sound of the doors closing.
“I hate them.” Hyunjae deadpans, making you snort in response. Turning back towards your laptop, you gently close it and pack it into its sleeve. The black haired beauty watches you quietly as you do so, admiring your features with a hint of a smile.
“Do you wanna do something to celebrate?” He asks, and you look up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Celebrate what?”
“Your grade.” Hyunjae responds, and you tilt your head. You had never celebrated getting a high grade or test score before since you’re usually busy, and you didn’t think it’s that big of a deal. However, with the way he’s looking at you with a proud expression, you find your heart swelling with pride.
“Should we?” You ask with a growing smile, and he grins as he nods.
“We should.”
It’s only a few minutes later when you find yourself staring at the death contraption that Hyunjae uses as his vehicle of transportation that you slightly regret saying yes. The pretty man notices the apprehension in your body language, and he chuckles to himself.
“What’s wrong?” Hyunjae asks, turning around so that he’s leaning back against his motorcycle and facing you. You gnaw on the inside of your cheek, before shyly pointing towards the bike, “Are we using this to get to the restaurant?”
Hyunjae spares a glance towards his motorcycle and nods his head, looking back at you with a grin, “Of course.”
Your eyes widen at his answer, and you immediately turn around to start walking back to the library. Hyunjae laughs and steps forward, grasping your wrist softly and spinning you around so that you’re facing him again.
His breath gets caught in his throat when he finds your face inches away from his own, having underestimated how close you were when he spun you. Warmth floods your face almost immediately at the close proximity between you two, unable to breathe as the two of you just stare at each other.
Hyunjae clears his throat after a moment and lets go of your wrist, and you quickly take a step back from him as you awkwardly cough into your elbow. Fighting back the blush that’s flooding his face, he reaches out and grabs his motorcycle helmet, before turning and holding it out to you.
“Do you trust me, yn?” Hyunjae asks, and you slowly nod your head. He smiles softly and wiggles the helmet towards you, “Then trust that I’ll protect you.”
You don’t move to grab it, still feeling unsure of what to do as you stare down at the helmet. He lets out a breath after a moment, before shaking his head and stepping close to you again. Your eyes widen when he reaches up and gently places the helmet on your head for you, a smile escaping him as his fingers graze your chin while he buckles the straps.
“Don’t know how to put on a helmet?” He teases, to which you slap his arm in reply. He smiles before patting the top of your head and turning around towards his motorcycle. You watch as he throws one leg over, and glances at you as he starts the engine.
“You wanna walk to the place with the helmet on?”
You squint at him, “You wouldn’t let me walk alone.”
Hyunjae stares at you for a moment, before nodding his head in agreement. Rolling your eyes, he laughs and pats the back of the seat. “Come on, you told me you trusted me.”
You purse your lips, before letting out a sigh and stepping up to the motorcycle. Resting a hand on his shoulder, you carefully lift your leg up and place it on the other side of the bike. Hyunjae grins proudly and revs his engine, eliciting a squeal from you.
“You might wanna hold on.” Hyunjae tells you, expecting you to argue with him. However, he’s shocked when you almost immediately wrap your arms around his waist, and he bites back a smile as a blush forms on his cheeks.
“Drive safely.” You say in a soft voice as you shut your eyes tightly, and the pretty man chuckles in response.
“Anything for you, yn.”
Hyunjae steps out of the library with a tired sigh, making sure to lock the door behind him before walking down the quiet street.
The small thrum of disappointment lingers in his heart after having not seen them today, and he quietly wonders why they didn’t visit. Looking around, his eyes gaze over the closed shops as he walks.
“You! Stop there!”
His head snaps back when he hears the shout, and his eyes widen when he sees a figure dressed in black run out from around the corner and in his direction. The entire lower half of their face is covered in black silk, acting as a mask to hide their identity.
“Midnight.” He mutters when he realizes just who they are. The bandit that strikes at night, taking money from those who are well off and later giving it to the less fortunate communities. He’s never seen them, having only heard rumors about them, almost as if they were just a myth.
But when he locks eyes with them, he notices their eyes widen in shock, and he tilts his head when he realizes.
Their eyes are familiar.
Before he can open his mouth to say their name, they’re already running past him, but not without grabbing his wrist and yanking him backwards with them.
“Run!” Their voice exclaims, and he doesn’t need to be told twice.
Removing his wrist from their grip, he quickly intertwines his fingers with theirs and ends up pulling the two of them forward.
“Since when could you run fast!? Don’t you just take care of books all day?!?” Their voice rings out in surprise, and he lets out a scoff.
“There’s much more shocking revelations that have occurred tonight!” He responds as he abruptly yanks them into an alleyway that he knows leads to a shortcut to his house.
“Do you workout in your spare time or something?!”
Hyunjae just laughs and glances back at their covered face, “We have a lot to talk about, y-“
Hyunjae gasps awake right before he learns the name of the figure he’s been dreaming about. Letting out a groan, he rolls over in his bed and picks up his phone to check the time. Biting his bottom lip, he puts his phone back down and reaches up and covers his face.
“Who are you?” Hyunjae whispers, feeling haunted by the mysterious figure he’s been dreaming about for months.
Heaving a breath, he slams his hands onto his bed and stares up at the ceiling with a tired expression. The exhaustion weighs heavily over him, but he already knows that he won’t get a dreamless sleep if he attempts to sleep again.
“I guess I’ll make coffee.” Hyunjae murmurs, before rolling off of his bed and leaving his room. He walks past the bright clock that displays the time, but he chooses to ignore it.
He doesn’t want to get reminded that it’s only 3 in the morning.
“So, anything for them, huh?” Kevin asks with a teasing smile, and Hyunjae just shoots him a glare from across the table. He reaches out to bonk his head with the book, only for Jacob to block it from hitting the blonde’s head.
“No bonking.” Jacob states, and Hyunjae lets out a huff. Juyeon walks in from the kitchen holding a bowl of rice, and he raises an eyebrow at his friend’s squinted eyes.
“Are you that upset that you can’t see yn today?” Juyeon teases, making Hyunjae snap towards him.
“Why is everyone teasing me about yn!?”
“Cause you’re in love with them.” Kevin responds, causing Jacob to let out a giggle and Juyeon to grin knowingly. Hyunjae lets out a sigh at their antics, pulling out his phone to see if he’s received any messages, just to put his phone back down when he sees texts from people he could care less about.
“Damn, you got a shit ton of admirers.” Juyeon points out when he sees a glimpse of Hyunjae’s unread messages, and he shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t really care about them.”
Kevin leans close to Jacob and places his hand over his mouth to whisper in his ear. Hyunjae looks up to find the blonde staring directly at him as he whispers quiteloudly,
“It’s cause he only cares about yn~”
Hyunjae presses his lips into a thin line, before shaking his head and taking some rice from Juyeon’s bowl. Placing some into his mouth, he mutters, “I hate it here.”
The sound of the door opening gathers the four’s attention, and they all let out a noise of greeting when Sunwoo walks in. The redhead grins and says hi, but a concerned expression takes over his features when he lays eyes on Hyunjae.
Hyunjae blinks, “What?”
“Did you sleep at all last night?” Sunwoo asks as he sits in the seat beside him, and Hyunjae shakes his head with a pitiful smile. “Only got three hours, but that’s the norm.”
They all exchange a glance before turning back towards their very sleep deprived friend, and Juyeon bites the inside of his cheek when he gets a better look at the dark bags under Hyunjae’s eyes. The black haired beauty sinks into his seat at all the eyes on him, and waves his hands towards his friends.
“Guys, please. I’m used to it, don’t worry about it.”
Just when Juyeon’s about to reply, a foot kicks Hyunjae in the shin, causing the latter to let out a shout of pain as he doubles over. Sunwoo’s eyes widen, and Jacob immediately asks if he’s okay, to which Hyunjae just lets out a quiet cry in reply.
“Underestimated how hard I kick.” Kevin murmurs, which Hyunjae overhears and lifts up his head to shoot him a glare. Kevin gives him a sheepish smile, “Sorry about your shin, but—”
“There should be no buts in a good apology—”
“But yn’s studying at the library right now. Alone.” Kevin cuts off, and Hyunjae blinks at him with his mouth wide open. Jacob and Sunwoo exchange a glance before looking at Juyeon, who just has an amused look in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, Hyunjae places his hands on the table and stands up from his chair. He takes a look at his four friends, before giving them a grin and pointing towards the door.
“I-I’ve gotta, ya know,go…”
The four share a look, one that basically says, get a load of this guy, before turning back to him and sending him a wave.
“Have fun!”
“Drive safe.”
“Take them on a date after!”
“Sleep well.”
Hyunjae chuckles at their different responses as he slips on his shoes, shooting them all an excited smile as he waves his hand at them.
“Text you guys later.”
They watch as he leaves the apartment, and Juyeon lets out a breath when the door shuts. Sunwoo turns towards the blonde, nudging him with his elbow to gain his attention.
“You’re really worried about him, huh?” Sunwoo asks, and Juyeon nods his head. Turning to glance at the door, he purses his lips at the thought of how dark Hyunjae’s eyebags have gotten.
“Ever since he began to go to the library, he’s started sleeping even less at night.”
Hyunjae walks through the entrance of the library, a smile threatening to form across his lips as heads in the direction of the study tables. Poking his head past the bookshelves, he glances around the library, looking for your pretty face.
He pauses when he sees not your face, but the back of your head as you’re slumped over the study table you’re seated at. He raises a hand up and covers his smile, holding back a laugh as he walks over to you quietly.
He pulls out the chair perpendicular to you, and carefully sits down as a means to not make any noise. He grins at your sleeping face, not even acknowledging the dried drool on the corner of your lips. Biting his bottom lip, he scoots in a bit more and places his arm onto the table, before laying his cheek onto it so that he’s facing you.
His eyes trail over your features, and he quietly wonders how a person can be so painstakingly beautiful as he stares at your sleeping face. After a moment, Hyunjae feels himself beginning to grow more tired as he looks at you, and he struggles to keep his eyes open.
“Ah, they fell asleep again.”
Hyunjae opens his eyes when the beginning of the dream flashes behind his eyelids, the exhaustion weighing heavily over him. He fights to keep himself awake as he looks at you, for the sake of not having another dream again.
But he fails.
“Ah, they fell asleep again.” He murmurs as he walks up to the wooden table after putting back the last book on the shelf. Letting out an amused chuckle, he sits in the chair perpendicular to them and rests his cheek onto the surface of the table.
Staring at their sleeping face, he quietly wonders to himself why they’re able to sleep so well on such a hard surface. Pursing his lips at how uncomfortable he is, he adjusts himself so that his cheek is resting on his arm, now feeling a bit more comfortable.
Looking back at their face, his eyes trail over their features. From their eyelashes, to the slope of their nose, and to their lips.
“What a beautiful sight.” He whispers. He blinks in surprise when they suddenly begin to stir in their sleep, and he watches silently as their eyes begin to open.
Hyunjae jumps awake, feeling startled as he stares at your sleeping face. Panic floods his chest when he sees your eyebrows furrow and you begin to stir, but before he can sit up, your eyes slowly blink open.
And his heart stops.
The visual of your eyes boring into his merges with the one from his dream, and suddenly all the memories of his past dreams with the faceless figure slowly become memories of you. He sucks in a breath and abruptly stands up from the chair, staring at you with wide eyes as you rub the back of your neck tiredly while you sit up.
“Hyunjae, what’s wrong?” You ask when you finally take notice of his shellshocked appearance. He doesn’t respond though, just continuing to stare at you while his heart beats against his ears the longer he stays there.
There’s no way, Hyunjae thinks to himself when your eyes grow with worry.
There’s no way that it’s you.
Your eyebrows furrow in concern, and you slowly stand up from your chair, “Hyunjae, are you okay?”
When you attempt to walk over, he quickly steps back and knocks over his chair. The loud thud of the chair rings throughout the quiet library, gathering the attention of other students as they look at what’s going on between you and the bad boy of the university.
You gulp, “Hyunjae?”
He blinks at you, before stepping past the table and sprinting out of the library without another word. Your mouth drops open in shock as you watch him leave, and you flinch when the sound of the door closing rings around the quiet space.
“What happened to make him react like that?” You ask yo
ミ★synopsis: three heavy words. you’re so used to saying this to the one person that’s always been by your side, because you know that he’s your other half; platonically. these words have always held some sort of meaning whenever you say it to vernon, in hopes that maybe one day he’ll say it back to you.
ミ★genre: best friends to lovers!au, slow burn(ish), fluff, humor
ミ★warnings: nothing !
ミ★word count: 5,773
ミ★pairings: vernon x gender neutral reader
ミ★notes: hi guys !! sorry for such a long delay, i was super swamped with my midterms and now i have finals coming up wAAAA but here’s my 2 year anniversary oneshot gift !! i haven’t written a vernon oneshot in a longtime and i decided that now was the best time to write one! i kinda based this one off of how my bf and i started dating… LMAO. so this one is v cute :] i hope you guys like this one ! make sure to give vernon lots of love <33
“I love you.”
“You’re cool.”
You lean back into your chair with a huff, crossing your arms as you glare at your best friend sitting across from you. He glances up from his phone to see the annoyance over your features, and the corner of his lips quirks upwards.
“Why do you look so…” He trails off and gestures towards your face, and you raise an eyebrow. “So constipated?”
Seungkwan snorts from beside you, and you poke your tongue into the inside of your cheek. Squinting your eyes towards the brunette, you shake your head and place your focus back onto the assignment you were working on.
“Vernon, why don’t you just say it back? Yn always gets into a bad mood for like half an hour whenever you just tell them you’recool in response.” Seungkwan asks, peeking glances in your direction to see you angrily typing up your essay. Vernon just chuckles, gently kicking your leg underneath the table, making you look up at him with a glare.
He watches as your glare softens slightly the longer the two of you hold eye contact, and he turns away from you and back towards Seungkwan. “Yn already knows that I only say I love you to a few people.”
“Which are…?”
“My mom, dad, grandparents and my sister.” Vernon answers with ease, and Seungkwan grins as he glances at you. You’re typing away on your laptop again, a furrow to your brows as you listen in on their conversation.
“So you don’t love me? Your friend since childhood? Or Woozi? Or Joshua—”
“I love you guys, you’re practically like family.” Vernon cuts off, and your lips curl downwards at how quickly he corrected Seungkwan. The blonde watches as Vernon looks at you, and he doesn’t overlook the hesitation in the latter’s eyes when he sees your pout.
“I just… I just don’t want to carelessly throw around such a deep phrase. I want to say I love you when I really mean it.” Vernon explains as he keeps his eyes on you. Feeling their gazes burning into your forehead, you look up from your assignment to see the two checking if you’re okay. You let out a sigh, reaching out and shutting your laptop closed. “And that’s why I’ve been saying I love you to Vernon everyday, because one day he’ll say it back.”
“But today is not that day.” Seungkwan says, and you nod your head in defeat.
“Today is not that day.”
Vernon looks at you for a moment longer, before looking down at his iPad to try and solve the math problem on his screen. Seungkwan and you glance at each other, and you point a finger towards the blonde, “How long did it take for Vernon to tell you he loves you?”
Seungkwan shrugs his shoulders, putting his pencil pouch into his bag as he thinks to himself. He purses his lips, “I’ve known Vernon since our first year in high school, now we’re in our third year of university. I’d estimate around… four years?”
“FOUR YEARS?!” You exclaim, standing up from your seat with wide eyes. You immediately shrink down when you get glared at by numerous people, realizing that you just shouted in the middle of the library. You bow your head towards them in apology, feeling warmth flood your face at how you acted before you thought it through.
Vernon’s holding back a laugh as he tries to focus on his notes, and you squint your eyes at his shaking shoulders. You kick him underneath the table, and he clears his throat, the hint of a smile now gone from his face as he goes back to writing on his screen.
“It took Vernon fouryears to say he loves you?!” You whisper-shout, and Seungkwan nods his head. “Sounds about right.”
“Why did it take you so long to say it?” You ask, turning to Vernon to see him turning off his iPad. He looks at you with a blank stare, before shrugging his shoulders and putting his tablet into his bag. “Never really felt like it.”
“Yeah. When he finally said it to me, I’m pretty sure it was because I told him I’d rewatch all of Avatar the Last Airbender with him.”
“That sounds right.” Vernon says with a chuckle, throwing his bag over his shoulder after he’s packed everything. He steps out from the table and walks over to your side, beginning to pack your things for you while you gawk at him.
“I have to wait fouryears for you to tell me you love me back?” You ask him with wide eyes, and Seungkwan bites back a laugh at how shellshocked you look. Vernon just rolls his eyes, reaching out and flicking your forehead after he zips up your bag. You let out a squeak of surprise, “What was that for?!”
“Let’s go get dinner. I know you’re still embarrassed by how loudly you shouted a few minutes ago.”
It’s fascinating how quickly you stand up and take your bag from Vernon’s grasp after the sentence leaves his mouth. You give him and Seungkwan a big smile, “Does Chinese food sound good?”
“It sounds amazing, yn.” Seungkwan responds with a laugh, and you turn towards Vernon to see his response. He nods his head at you, “Sounds good.”
You gesture towards the exit with a satisfied smile, “Let’s go then!”
As the three of you walk out of the library, you spare a glance towards Vernon. The sunset shines over his features, casting a warm orange glow onto his face as you walk to Seungkwan’s car. Feeling your eyes on him, Vernon turns his head and looks at you with an amused look in his gaze. “Mm?”
Biting the inside of your cheek, you give him a smile. “I love you.”
“I think you’re cool, yn.” Vernon responds with ease, grinning when you quietly curse to yourself.
“Damn it. Damn it all.”
“I have a good feeling about today.” You say to Minghao as the two of you walk towards the cafeteria where the rest of your friend group is waiting. The pretty man just gives you the side eye, and you nudge him with your shoulder. “I’m serious! I think today’s the day that Vernon will finally say it back.”
“Yeah, sure. And I think today’s the day that a zombie apocalypse will break out.”
“Hey, don’t say that.”
Minghao chuckles at the serious expression that forms on your face, knowing very well that you had just finished the new zombie drama, All of Us Are Dead. He rolls his eyes and wraps an arm around your shoulders, patting the top of your head fondly. “It’s just a show, don’t worry too much.”
“Train to Busan was a canonmovie in that drama! What if it happens here?! Then both the movie and the drama would be canon!” You worry, raising your hand up to your mouth in panic as the two of you reach the lunch table. The group immediately greets you both, but you’re too stuck on the fact that you would probably be the first to die if a zombie apocalypse broke out.
Vernon places a spoonful of rice into his mouth, watching you in amusement as Minghao explains what he did to make you look this unsettled.
“Hao, you know how yn is with zombies.” Jihoon says when Minghao plops down beside him, and the black haired beauty shrugs his shoulders. “They’ll be fine.”
Vernon chuckles and moves the empty chair beside him backwards, the noise of the chair scraping against the floor finally making you snap out of your daze. You look up towards him, and his heart warms when a smile forms on your face.
“Were you thinking of how you would aim for the head during a zombie apocalypse?” Vernon asks after you walk over and plop down in the empty seat he had saved for you. You nod your head with pursed lips, taking his chopsticks and snatching a piece of cucumber kimchi. “I just don’t know why so many people in those movies and dramas don’t aim for the head! Even Thanos said to aim for the head.”
Vernon snorts at the mention of Marvel, shaking his head as he turns back towards his lunch after you place his chopsticks back on his plate. He pats your head fondly, making you chuckle quietly before he starts eating his food again.
Seungkwan watches this interaction from across the table with squinted eyes, and Mingyu looks at him with a frown on his face. He nudges him with his shoulder, and the younger waves him off with his hand.
“Seungkwan, why are you watching them?” Mingyu whispers, and Seungkwan purses his lips in thought.
“I feel like… I’m about to make a breakthrough…”
“How was class?” Wonwoo asks you as he places an apple in front of you. You let out a groan and take a bite of it, shaking your head at the thought of the hour long section. “Don’t even get me started. I can’t believe I had to debate about something that I don’t agree with. We aren’t even supposed to be debating in that class! It’s developmental psychology!”
Your exclamation gains the rest of the group’s attention, and Minghao grimaces at the memory of some of the bad takes a few of your classmates made. The shudder of his shoulders catches your eye, and you know exactly what he’s cringing at.
“Should I ask what the debate was about? Or should I refrain from doing so and live in ignorant bliss?” Joshua asks, and Minghao’s about to tell him to go with the second option when you suddenly respond,
“It was about whether or not children should play violent video games. Then these people who were on the anti-video games side of the debate were saying some bullshit about how Mario Kart promotes destructive driving!”
The twelve stop to let your exclamation sink in, but Minghao just shudders at the memory of you suddenly arguing with them even though you were assigned to the same side of the debate as them.
“I really wish a zombie apocalypse would’ve broken out and got them first.” Minghao mutters quietly, but not quiet enough for Jihoon to overhear.
“MINGHAO?!”
“What! It’s true!”
“Please don’t get yn started on the zombie apocalypse again!” Chan begs, and a frown immediately takes over your features as you turn to their side of the table.
“What’s so wrong about me talking about zombie apocalypses?”
Chan stares at you like a deer caught in headlights. He slowly shrinks back into his seat, and turns away so that his back is facing you. He gives Jun a bright smile while a drop of sweat slowly drips down his neck from the feeling of your eyes burning holes into the back of his head, “So. Lovely weather we’re having, am I right?”
You squint at the man, moving to go and fight him when you feel a hand rest over your shoulder from behind. Turning back, you find Vernon just giving you a small smile as he shakes his head. You purse your lips when warmth floods your heart just from his smile alone, and you lean back into your chair in defeat.
“What would I do without you?” You ask as you take another bite of the apple Wonwoo gave you, and Vernon just shrugs his shoulders with a grin. “Probably get bitten by a zombie.”
A frown immediately takes over your features again, making Vernon let out a laugh and immediately wave his hands at you to signal that he’s just kidding. Letting out a sigh, you roll your eyes and rest your chin onto the palm of your hand. You stare at him with a small smile on your face, and he raises an eyebrow at the determination in your eyes.
“What?”
Vernon notices your smile brighten slightly, and he feels his heart stutter when you suddenly say, “I love you.”
He blinks at you for a moment, before reaching out and patting your head softly. You feel your hopes rise at the sweet action, only for them to be crushed right after when he responds,
“I think you’re rather swell, yn.”
You press your lips into a thin line and lean back into your seat in disappointment for the nth time. Looking up at the ceiling of the cafeteria, you clasp your hands together and mutter,
“God, why have you forsaken me?”
And Seungkwan just watches from where he’s seated, staring at the warm look in Vernon’s eyes as he looks at you.
Seungkwan, Vernon and Chan sit on the floor eating snacks together as they do their own respective homework. Vernon reaches out with chopsticks and picks up a chip, before placing it into his mouth as he scrolls through the article he needs to read for his upcoming section.
As he places his chopsticks down onto his plate, he scratches the back of his neck at the feeling of eyes on him, but he’s too afraid to turn his head.
Chan looks away from his laptop and takes a few pieces of popcorn. As he tosses them into his mouth, his eyes look ahead and he raises an eyebrow at what’s occurring right before him.
Seungkwan is burning holes into the side of Vernon’s face, trying to get the latter to look at him so that he can finally blurt out what he’s been thinking of the whole day. Chan glances over towards Vernon, and he watches as his eyes repeatedly dart towards Seungkwan and back to his laptop.
“Am I… missing something?” Chan asks, breaking the silence that was blanketed over the three of them for the last hour. Vernon looks up at him, purposefully trying to avoid turning his head towards Seungkwan as he asks, “Does Seungkwan look like he wants to kill me or hug me?”
Chan looks at Seungkwan for a moment, before turning back to Vernon. “I think it’s neither.”
Vernon’s eyes widen at the answer, “Neither?!”
“Vernon.” He jumps at the call of his name, finally turning around to see Seungkwan looking at him with a knowing smile. He blinks.
oh god. he’s going to kill me, Vernon thinks to himself.
“When do you think you’ll tell yn that you love them back?” Seungkwan asks, putting a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth. Vernon chuckles slightly, shaking his head at the fact that this was the reason why the blonde was intensely staring at him. “I don’t know, there’s no deadline on love.”
Chan tilts his head, “You and yn have been best friends for over half a year already, and you spend almost all your free time with them. How come you haven’t said it yet?”
Vernon purses his lips, and he shrugs his shoulders. “It’s complicated.”
The two share a look, before turning back towards the man in question. Vernon blinks at them, before letting out a sigh and shutting his laptop. He adjusts his position so that he’s facing the two, and he gestures at them with his hands.
“Well, ask your questions.”
“Do you care about yn?” Chan asks, and Vernon’s eyebrows furrow immediately at the question. He nods his head right away, “I care about them more than words can explain.”
Seungkwan internally screams at his friend’s quick answer.
“So you’re just not sure if it’s love yet?” Chan presses, and Vernon shrugs his shoulders. He looks off towards the window, staring out at the dark clouds that loom over the city as he mutters,
“Yeah, I guess I’m still not sure.”
“How long are you going to keep trying to get Vernon to tell you he loves you?” Joshua asks as the two of you make bracelets on the floor of his shared apartment with Jeonghan and Seungcheol. You chuckle and pick up the letter N, “Until the day he finally says it back.”
Joshua lets out a low whistle, making you look up at him with a raised eyebrow. He raises his fist and gives you a smile, “Fighting!”
You roll your eyes, reaching out and kicking him lightly before retracting your leg. He grins and picks up the daisy bead, threading it through the string as you quietly remember the day you found out why Vernon wouldn’t say I love you too.
“Thank you Nonie! Love you.” You say cheerfully as he hands you the basket of french fries. He sits down beside you on the bench and pats your head fondly, before taking a sip of his water without responding to your statement.
You bite the inside of your cheek at the thought that he hasn’t said it back to you in the few times you’ve said it to him. You reach out and poke his shoulder, causing him to turn and look at you with a raised eyebrow. “Mm?”
You suck in a breath before asking, “How come you don’t tell me you love me back?”
A silence settles over the both of you after the question escapes past your lips, and you find yourself wondering if it was a mistake to even ask him that when he doesn’t answer right away. Clenching your fist, you move to tell him that he doesn’t need to answer it when he suddenly responds,
“Love is very important to me.”
You blink at him, and Vernon takes a piece of your fries and places it into his mouth. He shrugs his shoulders and looks around at the other people walking past the two of you. “When I say it, I want to make sure that it’s genuine. That it doesn’t just become an empty saying that I would call out in passing, because then it’s not true.”
You nod your head, understanding where he’s coming from as you rest your chin on your hand. “So who would you say I love youto?”
“I’d say it to my family and some really close friends, like the guys in the friend group. I’ve known them for years now, they’re practically like my second family.” Vernon explains. He runs a hand through his hair, contemplating whether or not he should actually say the next part. Pursing his lips, he decides, fuck it, and adds, “and I’d say it to the person that I truly do love.”
Your eyebrows furrow, “Like… a partner?”
And Vernon nods, giving you a small smile as he confirms, “Yeah, someone that I’m in love with.”
“Do you think Vernon will ever say it back?” You ask in quiet voice, a tone that makes Joshua’s eyes lace with concern as you’re usually very high-spirited about the whole ordeal. Biting the inside of his cheek, he knows that he can’t lie to you as he simply shrugs his shoulders.
“Vernon’s a simple guy, but he’s also complicated on the inside. In the years that we’ve been best friends, he’s never told me that he loves me.” Joshua says, and you lower your head in defeat. Seeing you look dejected, he reaches out and rests a hand on your knee to offer comfort. You glance up into his eyes, and he gives you a small smile.
“But even then, Vernon makes sure that I feel his love even if he’s never said it verbally.” Joshua adds, and he feels the slightest bit of relief when the corners of your lips quirk upwards. You look away and back down towards the incomplete bracelet in your hands, smiling softly at your best friend’s name reflecting back into your eyes.
“Well, I guess there’s hope.”
“There’s no hope!” You cry up towards the sky in a state of anguish while Vernon laughs at your reaction beside you. Jeonghan chuckles and reaches out towards your arms that are lifted up to the sky, pushing them down so that people will stop looking at you as the three of you walk down the quad.
“Personally, I think that as a way to cope, you should just gaslight yourself into thinking that you’recool, means I love you too.” Jeonghan tells you, and you let out a huff of defeat. “I’d rather not have to gaslight myself into believing this when I already gaslight myself into procrastinating my homework.”
“Eh, what’s the harm in adding another thing?” Jeonghan asks, and you pause, before pursing your lips in thought.
Vernon frowns, “What about we just, I don’t know, not gaslight ourselves?”
The two of you glance towards the man with judgmental expressions on your faces. Vernon blinks at the sudden glares, “What?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Not the menally stable guy giving us advice again…”
Vernon’s jaw drops slightly, making you and Jeonghan burst into giggles. You reach out and wrap an arm over Vernon’s shoulders, ruffling his hair lightly, “We’re just kidding.”
“Kind of.” Jeonghan adds, making you nudge him with your elbow. Vernon snorts when Jeonghan suddenly disappears from view, and the two of you glance back to see him doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach.
He looks up at you with a grimace on his face as he squeaks out, “That really hurt.”
You let out a loud laugh and unwrap your arm from Vernon’s shoulders, stepping over to Jeonghan and giggling as you mutter out apologies for nudging him too hard. All while Vernon watches from where he’s standing, the smallest of smiles on his face as he listens to your soft giggles.
While still in pain, Jeonghan takes notice of the fond look in Vernon’s eyes as he looks at you, and he bites back a smirk. The blonde finally stands up and rubs at his stomach, waving you away with his hand as he lets out a cough. “Jesus, why are your elbows so sharp? What if you bruised my ribcage?”
“There’s no way yn bruised your ribcage.” Vernon interjects with an amused expression, and you bite back a grin.
“You’re right. Yn definitely broke a rib.”
“Yoon Jeonghan!”
Vernon laughs at your exclamation, reaching out and wrapping an arm around your shoulders to calm you down. You squint your eyes towards the blonde, who just smirks at the fact that his quickly thought out plan seemed to have worked.
he likes yn, Jeonghan thinks to himself.
“It’s okay, if anything, I’ll pay for his hospital bill since I know you’re saving up for a car.” Vernon tells you with a smile, and you coo at the kind gesture. Turning around in his arm, you reach out and squish his face with your hands like you always do, making him let out a whine.
“You’re so sweet, you must love me~” You sing lightheartedly, and Vernon looks into your eyes as you smush his cheeks together.
“You’re cool.”
“DAMN IT!”
All while Jeonghan watches, backtracking his original thought with,
underestimated. he definitely loves yn.
“Yn, go to sleep.”
“Naur.”
Mingyu’s head snaps towards you with a furrow to his eyebrows, “Did you just… did you just say no in an Australian accent?”
You look up from the google doc that has half of your essay written on it, and Mingyu blinks at how red your eyes are from exhaustion as you nod your head. Giving him a tired smile, you mutter, “Brain too tired to even question what I just said.”
Mingyu purses his lips at your words, before walking over and placing the cup of water he just poured onto the kitchen table. He takes a sip from his water bottle, and ruffles the top of your hair fondly. “Go to sleep, yn. You have classes in the morning.”
“It’s alright, Gyu. I can always pull an allnighter.” You say with a wave of your hand, and Mingyu squints his eyes at you. “Yn…”
You bite the inside of your cheek at the warning tone to his voice, and just give your roommate a small, grateful smile. Reaching out and patting his arm, you say softly, “I’ll go to bed soon, I swear. The last half of this essay won’t take me more than an hour.”
Mingyu continues to squint at you, and you continue to look up at him with the best puppy dog eyes you can muster. After a moment of him scrutinizing you, he lets out a sigh and nods his head. He heads towards his bedroom and waves a hand at you, “Goodnight, yn.”
“Night, Mingyu!”
Once the door closes behind him, Mingyu shakes his head and grabs his phone off of his desk. He immediately dials that familiar number and puts the phone up to his ear. Laying down on his bed, the ringing stops and he lets out a breath,
“Vernon, you gotta come over.”
Vernon waits outside of your apartment door clad in only a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, having walked over as soon as Mingyu told him what’s going on. The door quietly opens after a moment, and he chuckles behind his hand when he sees a half-awake Mingyu looking at him. He steps to the side without a word, and Vernon pats his shoulder as he walks past him. Slipping off his shoes, he pads over towards the kitchen table where he knows you’ll be studying.
He bites back a soft smile when instead of seeing you wide awake, you’re slumped over the table fast asleep. Stepping over, he shakes his head when he sees your cheek resting on your keyboard, spamming many letters onto your google doc while you mindlessly sleep.
“Yn, wake up.” Vernon says in a quiet voice, reaching out and gently shaking your shoulder. You remain asleep, with drool even beginning to dribble out from your parted lips. Mingyu walks over and snorts when he sees you, “That bitch in the REM cycle.”
Vernon rolls his eyes, before squatting down and carefully putting one arm under your legs, and the other behind your back. He lifts you up from the chair, and walks over to your room, gently kicking the door open and stepping inside.
All while Mingyu watches from his own bedroom door, shaking his head with a yawn.
“That man is in love.”
Vernon pulls back the comforter to the best of his ability before finally setting you down on your bed. You immediately curl up into your pillows, making Vernon smile softly as he pulls the comforter up to your shoulders. He stays by your side for a moment longer, brushing away the baby hairs on your forehead as he admires your sleeping face.
“Pretty.” Vernon murmurs, before standing up and moving to turn off the lamp on your bedside table, only to stop. He smiles to himself when he sees two bracelets you must’ve made with Joshua, seeing one with your name and the other with his name. He looks at you with warmth flooding his face, and he quietly murmurs, “Thank you, yn.”
Turning off your light, he walks over to your door and takes one last look at you, making sure you’re fast asleep, before closing the door behind him. He heads towards the kitchen table and goes to your open laptop, deleting all the gibberish that you typed with your sleeping face. He turns off your laptop and makes sure to plug it into its charger on the kitchen island, before cleaning up the table of all your stuff.
He prepares your backpack for your classes tomorrow, placing it by your charging laptop so that you know not to forget it when you go to campus tomorrow morning. Letting out a breath, he looks around to make sure he didn’t miss anything, and nods his head once he’s made sure everything is prepared for you tomorrow.
Yawning, he heads towards the front door, only to almost scream in fear when Mingyu’s voice suddenly appears out of nowhere.
“Jesus Christ! You scared the shit out of me!” Vernon whisper-shouts to the tall man who’s watching him by his door, to which he just grins in response. Vernon shakes his head, “What did you say?”
Mingyu points towards your room, “You care a lot more about yn than you think.”
Vernon just looks at him in silence, wondering where he’s going with this. The big puppy just smiles knowingly, waving him off with his hand as he opens the door to his own room.
“Goodnight, Nonie.” Mingyu says, before turning and walking into his bedroom. Leaving Vernon standing by himself in the kitchen, a furrow to his brows as he glances back at your closed door.
You lay on the grass, staring up at the clouds in the sky while you wait for your next class to start. You had just finished your psychology class, and now you’re in your hour gap between the last class and your upcoming statistics class. Unsure of how to pass the time, you noticed how nice of a day it was, and decided to just cloud watch in the quad.
You’re about to reach for your phone when a face suddenly appears above you, and a bright smile immediately forms on your face.
“Vernonie!” You exclaim, sitting up as he plops down beside you. He places his backpack down beside him, and shoots you a grin. “What are you doing laying in the middle of the quad?”
You shrug your shoulders as you glance at the time, seeing that your class will start in fifteen minutes, “Didn’t know what to do during my hour gap, and then I thought it was a beautiful day. Then, suddenly, I was on the grass!”
Vernon chuckles at your brief explanation, watching as you lay back down and look up at the sky. He sighs and quickly follows suit, arm brushing against yours as he looks at the clouds pass in the sky. The two of you quietly talk about your days for a moment, before falling into a comfortable silence.
You turn your head to glance at Vernon, admiring his side profile as you watch his eyes sparkle up at the sky. Biting the inside of your cheek, you turn back and look up at the clouds. A small smile forms on your face, already knowing the answer as you say for the first time today,
“I love you.”
Vernon stays quiet, watching as a cloud that resembles the shape of a daisy floats into view. The memory of you briefly mentioning in passing that your favorite flowers were daisies comes to mind when he looks at it, and he finds himself knowing why that was the first thing that he remembered when he saw the cloud.
The corners of his lips quirk upwards as the flower floats away, before he responds,
“I love you too, yn.”
Silence settles over the two of you after those three words escape past his lips. You blink up at the sky, the confession not comprehending in your brain as you look at a cloud that resembles a banana. Vernon turns his head to look at you when you don’t respond, and you glance back at him when you feel his eyes on you.
You blink. Then you blink again.
You let out loud gasp and quickly sit up on the grass, hand clamped over your mouth as you look at Vernon, who is slowly sitting up to gauge your reaction. You stare at him with wide eyes, pointing at the man in complete shock.
“What did you just say?” You ask, disbelief written over your features. Vernon smiles softly at how cute you look, before saying,
“I love you, yn.”
Your mouth drops open, and Vernon chuckles as he takes a peek towards his phone, seeing that you only have ten minutes to get to your class that’s across campus. He reaches out and pinches your upper arm, making you squeak in surprise as you slap his hand away.
“Why did you do that?! We’re in the middle of a breakthrough!” You exclaim, and Vernon holds up his phone, forcing you to look at the clock. You gasp for the second time, quickly standing up and grabbing your backpack. You throw it over your shoulders and look at your best friend with the happiest smile forming on your face as your eyes bore into his.
“I have to literally sprint to class that’s on the other side of campus within,” You take a quick glance at your phone and sharply inhale at the time, “nine minutes now, but just to be clear…”
Vernon smiles softly as you look at him expectantly, waiting for him to say it again. He shakes his head, warmth dripping from his eyes as he says,
“I love you.”
You bite your bottom lip to try and stop the smile on your face from getting even bigger. Looking behind you, you begin to take steps backwards in the direction of your class as you ask, “In a friend way or an i’m in love with you, yn, type of way?”
And Vernon just chuckles while waving his hand at you, “You’re going to be late to your class.”
“This is more important to me!” You exclaim with a laugh, and Vernon sighs teasingly as he looks down at his hands. He bites the inside of his cheek, before looking back up at you.
“In an I’m in love with you type of way.”
Warmth floods your face immediately at his confession, and you quickly glance at your phone, panicking when you see that you now only have seven minutes to sprint to your class. Even with this knowledge, you quickly rush over and throw yourself onto Vernon in a tight hug, making the two of you land back on the grass in a heap of laughter.
You nuzzle your face into his neck, wondering how you can feel so much bliss at a time. Vernon closes his eyes, a soft smile on his face as he holds you tightly within his arms. After a second, you remove yourself from his embrace and stand back up. Waving at him with your hands, you smile brightly at the man you love as you take steps backwards towards your class, “I’ll see you after my lecture, okay?”
Vernon nods his head, waving back at you as he says, “I love you, yn.”
And you cup your warm face with your hands, unable to get used to those words escaping him as you turn around and begin to head towards your class. You quickly turn back to look at him though, and he raises an eyebrow at you. Laughter flows past your lips as you finally get the chance to cheekily reply,
➳ 1k+ words | fluff, ceo!jungkook, secret agent!reader | jeon jungkook x f reader | nc-17 | flirty!jk, swearings, suggestive language
Imagine yourself lounging on a luxurious yacht’s deck with your favourite cold drink in hand. The sound of crashing waves and distant seagulls shrieking acts as background music as you relax under the warm sun. That is your dream getaway. Of course, the ship had to be peaceful with not many people around. After dealing with various people in your work, crowds would only prevent you from indulging in your relaxation.
So, you planned to come back to your hometown for a quick family visit and pack your vacation essentials. Then you’d go to the port where the rented yacht is waiting to take you on your merry way.
You deserve this break, after all. You are one of the best in the field, but you also helped train other new agents back in the headquarters.
Seeing you worked your ass off had moved your boss to give you a long holiday. She even rented a private yacht for you (since it was all you can talk about whenever someone mentioned a break). You barely stifled your grin when you received the news.
Everything was according to plan - that was until you faced a hindrance in the form of your childhood friend. Not that you hated him or anything. You two talked from time to time, even flirted a little back then, but it never crossed any line due to your unusual occupation. You had to keep everything under wraps, which led you to underestimate how much power he possessed.
And somehow, you find yourself drifting further and further away from your dream vacation. How so? Well, instead of luxuriating in your rented yacht, you are now sitting in a high-class bar. Surrounded by rich people, looking totally out of place in your midi sundress and straw hat.
“Did you not get the outfit I sent you?”
“Did you not get I am on vacation?”
Jungkook shrugs in response. “Your vacation can wait, but I can’t.”
“Well, I don’t care! You could have hired someone else who is not on holiday!” You hiss in annoyance, placing your hat on your side. “There are lots of other agents capable of dealing with whatever antics you’d like to drag them into.”
“But they aren’t the best.” Jungkook counters, tugging off his suit jacket and handing them to you.
“You don’t know that!” You shoot back, tugging on his suit to look more inconspicuous.
“It wasn’t written in their profiles.”
You want to wipe off that smug look on his face, but you can’t create a scene.
“Okay, Mister I-Am-A-Big-Shot-CEO. You might have the resources to dig into anything you can get your hands on, but that does not give you the right to do so—”
“But I just wanted to know what my dear childhood friend is up to - why she never called, how is she doing—”
“You broke the law and my organisation’s privacy rights. They could have sued you and—”
“But you told them I can be trusted. Plus, I help their funds now. Literally, your headquarters wouldn’t have their tech and gadgets as advanced as now if it wasn’t for me.”
Cocky little shit.
…But he’s also right. So, you deflate, giving up on arguing with him. You should have known talking to him would go around in circles, so you opt to take a deep breath and ask, “What do you want?”
Jungkook notices your change in demeanour and pouts. “I was hoping you’d put up more of a fight.”
“Well, not with that big ass ego of yours. Plus, the faster we are done, the faster I can catch up on my ride.”
Jungkook sighs in defeat as you switch into your work mode. “A competitor of mine has been making deals with someone from my company. I’ve been receiving reports of copyrights when no one should know of my developing products yet.”
You want to strangle him at this point. This is probably like a B-class case (or even C, actually), and your organisation has a handful of capable agents to deal with this.
“Kook, you’re going to sleep with one eye open tonight.”
“Why? You’ll come visit?” He grins at your apparent annoyed attitude. “Babe, that’s like a dream come true. You never visit my place. Should we get dinner too? I’ll wine and dine you, or do you prefer Netflix and chilling—”
You sigh deeply for the umpteenth time. Seriously, how did that shy boy turn into this menace, you wonder.
“How the hell did you turn into this when you were so nice back then.”
“I am nice.”
“The news article I found about you says otherwise.”
“People would say anything to get attention. Plus, they don’t know me personally anyway. Unlike you, right?”
“I don’t know…” You shoot back. “Things changed.”
“Huh…” Then he leans closer to you, voice reducing into a seductive whisper. “But I’m still me, aren’t I? Still your Kookie?”
You groan, pushing him away. “My cookie monster phase is in the past, okay? I don’t call you that anymore.”
“Why? It’s a cute nickname. Only you would call me that.”
“Kook.”
“Kookie,” he responds with a shit-eating grin.
You glare at him. “Jungkook. How long is this mission gonna take? You know the longer you waste my time—”
“Mhmm, don’t mind at all. I can pay as much as you’d like anyway.”
As you’re about to fire back at him, there’s a new guest in the bar just arriving on the doorstep when you shush Jungkook with a finger on his mouth. “A guy with a briefcase just enter the place.”
Jungkook blinks before turning his head to glance at the entrance behind him. “Yep, that’s him alright. But we still need to find the rat.”
“Today’s a workday. Are there any uniforms or ID that your employees use?”
“Just ID card, but who’d be stupid enough to bring that here—” His breath hitches as you cup his face in your hands to make him face you.
Apparently, someone just walks to the entrance to approach the newcomer. They face in your direction, which can lead them to identify Jungkook if you’re not careful.
Leaning in so close to him, your lips are mere millimetres away from that it’d look like a couple making out to anyone around you. You tilt Jungkook’s head a bit while you tilt to the other side to keep your eyes on the two men. You both stay that way until the traitor and his friend is back in their seat.
“The rat is wearing a champagne tie, and he’s stupid enough to keep on his ID card around his neck.” You chuckle, releasing him from your hold. Jungkook is still in a daze as you mutter all the details. “—and… Are you listening?”
“Huh?” He snaps out of his trance.
“His name is Yu Junseo, part of the developer team in your company. No wonder it’s easy for him to share classified information.”
“…Yeah.”
“Yeah?” Your brows furrowed in confusion. “Is that all you have to say?”
“I-I mean, yeah, I’ll look into it.”
“See? It’s not a hard mission at all, Kook. How dare you say there’s no other agent capable of this,” you say exasperatedly, crossing your arms, but the initial annoyance has ebbed away.
“I only hire the best, you know that. How did you read his ID from this far?”
“Yeah, yeah,” you shake your head, finishing your drink in one gulp before pointing at your eyes. “Special contact lens, remember? Where you invested your funds on.”
“Ah, right…”
“Mhmm, I better get going now.” You are about to leave your seat when he grabs for your wrist. “What now?”
Jungkook looks lost for a brief moment before he babbles, “Where are you going now? I’ll drive you there.”
You raise a brow at him. “It’s fine, Kook. There’s an Uber nearby. Shouldn’t you go back to your office?”
“Nah, I’ve got time. Especially when I can spend them with you.”
And let’s just say you ended up with an unexpected company for your vacation on an even bigger private yacht.
a (incomplete) collection of voicemails on a phone that hasn’t been charged for over a year. // if i could have this entire thing in italics i would but i won’t. anyways, something a bit different imo. idk how i feel about it tho yikes warnings: implied reader death; please do not read if that will potentially put you in a bad mindset. ; alcohol wc:1.3k
[ 11:23am ]
“hey, y/n. it’s me. i know you probably won’t hear these-”
an exhaled breath of laughter.
“‘probably’? i know you won’t. you never used to check your voicemails, anyway, but- but now you really never will.”
The night was still and quiet but tension was high. Your boyfriend, Jeno, sat in the driver’s seat and clenched his jaw, occasionally drumming his thumb against the steering wheel. The car was stationary and deathly silent.
Prior to this moment, you had both been out to dinner with the other’s parents respectfully, and while the food had been alright, it was hard to keep down with the sinking feeling of regret that set like rocks in your stomach.
Your parents despised Jeno. They believed he was a bad influence, that he would make you ditch your studies for him and that your grades would suffer majorly from being in a relationship with him. Similarly, his parents despised you. They believed that their son was too good for you, that you would end up caring more about your education and schooling than Jeno. You thought their reasonings were stupid but there was nothing you could do to change their minds. And you tried, but every time the other’s partner was brought up in conversation, it would always lead to an argument.
You and Jeno were both seniors, only weeks away from graduating and completing exams. Sure, you had your share of other things to stress over than what your parents perceived your boyfriend, but it certainly added to the pressure. Prom was in a matter of days and despite having your dress picked out and Jeno rented a suit for the occasion, you were both unsure how your parents would react.
“I’m sorry, Jen,” you muttered, shifting your gaze to the young man sitting beside you. He shook his head with a very subtle smile.
“It’s not your fault. Why are you apologising?” You simply shrugged in return but couldn’t help but smile back.
Despite everything, Jeno was still the kind, sweet idiot you crushed on hard back in freshman year.
“Hey Y/N?”
“Yeah? What’s up baby?”
“W-What?” was the most you could get out.
“Since our parents don’t want to see us together, they can not see us at all,” he declared.
“Since our parents don’t want to see us together, they can not see us at all,” he declared.
“Jeno, this isn’t just something we can just do spontaneously. Neither of us have money, we don’t have a place to stay. Are you sure you’re thinking this through?”
Jeno only shrugged, “We can tune the finer details later, but think about it. We can be free, and be with each other. We’re eighteen. We technically have the capability to leave and our parents have no say in it.”
You swallowed thickly before giving him an answer.
“I’ll think about it, okay?”
The early morning breeze numbed your skin as you hastily stashed your suitcases into the back of Jeno’s car. The backseat and trunk were packed to the brim, leaving only the two front seats for you and him to occupy.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” you said with a half-hearted laugh as your eyes settled on a small photograph that Jeno had in his car. It was of the both of you at prom and the memory had the ghost of a smile brush over your lips.
“Can’t believe you said yes,” he chuckled as he started the car, “moreso when you said that we should leave at one in the morning.”
“The earlier we leave, the quicker we can start over, right?” You gave him a hopeful smile and he returned it.
“God, I could kiss you right now,” he mumbled.
“What’s stopping you?” You quirked an eyebrow. He chuckled.
+ pairing: kim seungmin x female reader + genre: fluff, enemies to lovers, florist!seungmin, best friend!felix + warnings:none + word count: 1.1k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary: Your plan was simple: get Kim Seungmin a flower bouquet that screamed how much you despised him. However, your plan fails after you meet the florist and understand that maybe flowers can mean different things to different people. + lia’s note: Hello, I hope you’re doing well. When I tell you I love this drabble, it’s because I do. I had so much fun writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it too! Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it! As always, happy reading!
“What flower says I hate you the most?” You asked your best friend as the two of you stared at the flower shop window, looking over the different arrangements on display. “Do you think I should google it?”
“Why do you want flowers anyway?” Felix shrugged and messed his hair. “Couldn’t you get him, I don’t know, a box of spicy chocolates?”
“Those don’t say I hate you discreetly, Felix. Those are too straightforward. Besides, he likes spicy food.”
“How do you know that?”
You ignored Felix as you moved away from the window, grabbing your phone and quickly searching which flowers had the meaning of I hate you. You scrolled through a couple of the results and made a mental list of the flowers you’d consider: orange lilies and yellow carnations seemed like the best option. You’d be sure to ask the florist to make you a small bouquet with that.
“Let’s go!”
You grabbed Felix’s hand and pulled him to the inside of the flower shop. A soft melody played and your eyes got lost in the beautiful colours of the different flowers, their scents melting in the air beautifully.
“Welcome to the flower shop! How can I help you?”
Your dream was short-lived when you glanced at who was behind the counter. The disappointment you felt was probably not mutual because his smile didn’t fade. Since when did Kim Seungmin work at a flower shop?
“I’ll wait outside…” Before you could argue with your best friend, Felix was already opening the shop door and stepping outside, offering you a thumbs-up from the outside.
You shook your head and massaged your temples, not surprised Felix left you here on your own to chat with Seungmin. He always did this whenever you were together. Slowly, you made your way to the counter and placed your hands on it, glancing at Seungmin. As usual, he had a smirk on his lips that made your heart jump in your chest at an awfully fast pace. This was why you couldn’t stand Kim Seungmin. You didn’t like feeling this way when you were close to him.
“I’d like a small bouquet with… orange lilies and yellow carnations. You can make it ugly, I don’t care.”
“That bouquet is for me, isn’t it?” He chuckled and leaned on the counter, keeping his eyes on you. You glanced at his lips and back into his eyes, wishing you had the strength in yourself to look away. “Props to you for looking up the meaning of the flowers. Sadly, we don’t have those flowers in stock. Do you still want to offer me an I hate you flower arrangement?”
“Make me a flower arrangement with the flower you hate the most, then.” You leaned closer to him too, somewhat upset. “And I don’t care about how it looks. The more you hate it, the more I’ll like it.”
He shrugged. “I don’t hate any flower, Y/N. And I can’t possibly make it look bad, not even on purpose. I am that talented. However, it will never be as beautiful as you, of course.”
Here he was again, swaying you with his words. You didn’t like this at all, especially when you knew this was the most cliché pick-up line he could’ve used on you. Besides, he didn’t mean it. Seungmin charmed everyone around him with words, half of which he didn’t mean.
His words carried no meaning. He truly didn’t think you were beautiful no matter how much you wished he did.
As he got back to work on the flower arrangement you had requested him, you paced around the flower shop and glanced at the different shades and sizes, smelling a couple of them to get the full experience of their scents. Some were stronger while others were lighter, but you enjoyed all of them.
“Gardenia,” Seungmin said after a while. “Specifically the white ones.”
“Do you hate them?”
He chuckled and shook his head, glancing your way. “I don’t hate them. I just feel powerless by them.”
“Why is that?”
You started to walk towards the counter again, focusing on what Seungmin was doing. He had selected a couple of flowers and was working hard to prepare a flower arrangement. He was methodical in his work, quick too. You found yourself leaning on the counter, fascinated by what he was doing, admiring him from afar.
“I always wanted to give you a bouquet with them.” He stopped what he was doing and messed up his hair, quickly glancing at you. He was flustered, making you flustered in return. “They’re pretty flowers. But I always feared you’d know what they meant so I kept myself from sending them to you.”
“It’s ok if you despise me, you know? What do they mean, anyway?” You said that last part more to yourself than to him.
You got your phone out of your pocket again and searched for the name of the flower he had said. The more you read, the more confused you were. Most websites said positive things, lovely things. Seungmin couldn’t possibly mean that, could he?
“Like any other flower, they can mean different things. But if I ever gave you these flowers it would be to tell you that you’re lovely.”
Your eyes shot from your phone screen to Seungmin on the other side of the counter, extending a bouquet of white flowers to you. It took you a while to understand that the flowers in front of you were the same flowers on the images on your phone.
White gardenias. Seungmin had prepared a bouquet with white gardenias.
Slowly, you reached your hand towards the bouquet, unable to hide your smile. It looked pretty, not ugly as you had requested. And the flowers were lovely, maybe more lovely than you. However, you couldn’t help but wonder what you would do with it. You had asked him for a bouquet with the flowers he despised the most, but now that you knew what they meant, you couldn’t help but wonder if that wasn’t the message you wanted to get across to Seungmin, but couldn’t.
You’re lovely.
“So these are the flowers you loathe the most?” You asked, just be sure.
“I guess…” He shrugged and messed his hair, smiling at you afterwards. “Just let me know which meaning you’re giving to them once you offer me the bouquet later.”
You nodded, feeling your heartbeat increase the more you stared at him. Except, this time, instead of looking away or making a sarcastic remark pretending you didn’t care for him, you allowed yourself to smile and enjoy this small moment.
+ pairing: hwang hyunjin x female reader + genre: angst, enemies to lovers, apocalypse!au + warnings: mentions of weapons, wounds, implied poor hygiene conditions, seungmin is sick, let me know if i am missing something + word count: 0.7k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary: There is always a time when a tough choice has to be made. However, you didn’t expect to get help from the one who always disagreed with everything you said or did. + lia’s note: Hello, how are you? This piece is something I’d like to explore in the future somehow. It reminds me of ya dystopian which is the genre that made me fall in love with reading and only increased my love for writing. Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it! As always, happy reading!
The light that prickled through the windows wasn’t enough to light up the small space. The air smelled of gunpowder, sweat, and the last meal you all shared. No one dared to speak about the obvious, but the thought was in the air and hidden in the way you glanced at one another.
“We should talk about it,” you said, sitting on one of the wood boxes nearby, scratching the back of your neck. Everyone turned to look at you, wary of what you were about to say. “We need more supplies and food too. What we have won’t last us more than a few days. Besides,” you glanced at the opposite side of the room where someone laid on the cold floor, their breathing frail, “we need to find something to help him with the fever. There’s a couple of old pharmacies nearby, I’m sure we can…”
“You’re not possibly suggesting we go overground, are you?” You took a deep breath and glanced at him. He crossed his arms and shook his head. “It’s still not safe out there.”
“It will never be safe out there anymore, Hyunjin. Don’t you get that?” You stood up and wiped your hands on your dirty trousers. “The food we have might last us two more days, even if we eat only the essentials. Without any medication, Seungmin won’t survive much longer. And I know this place very well. It used to be my home.” You turned to face everyone else and gulped, your heartbeat increasing in your chest. “I… I’ll go.”
Murmurs erupted in the small crowd, but you knew none of them would volunteer to go instead of you. Still, even if you voted on who would go, you would probably be one of their choices.
“You won’t survive out there,” Hyunjin said. “You can’t aim a gun, you’re weak… how do you expect to carry food and supplies here on your own?”
Whether Hyunjin was mocking you, you couldn’t be entirely sure. The truth was, the two of you never got along very well, and often your values and opinions collided with one another. You didn’t understand how he could only think about himself. Even here, despite everything that was happening, he didn’t see the grand scheme of things. Still, you weren’t going to spend your energy arguing with him. It was no use.
“I’m not asking you to come with me. And if I don’t survive, there’s one less person to eat, right? That should make the food last a little longer for all of you…”
You moved past him and started to prepare your weapons to go to the surface. It wasn’t a task you were pleased about, but it had to be done. You picked up a few guns, feeling their weight on your hand before checking whether they had enough ammunition for you to carry.
After a while, Hyunjin joined you and, after glancing at the table in front of you, he extended a gun your way, not looking you in the eyes.
“This one’s better for you. It has less kickback and it works best with how you usually shoot and aim.” You glanced between the gun and his expression, biting your lower lip. When you didn’t accept the weapon, Hyunjin grabbed your arm and turned your palm upwards, placing the handle on your hand. “I don’t want you to die, Y/N.”
“I’m glad to know you still have consciousness,” you said sarcastically as you saved the gun in its pouch on your waist. You lifted your ways to look at him, serious and determined. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll go with you.” He bit his lower lip and ruffled his hair, fixing it right after. It was too long now, he needed a bandana to keep it away from his eyes. “You may know how to move around on the surface, but you still need someone to help you out. Besides, I can help you carry stuff and… keep you out of trouble. I’m sure Felix can keep order while we’re away.”
You weren’t sure if Hyunjin was worried about you, but you weren’t going to be stupid and deny his help. He was right, you needed someone’s help. And from everyone around, he was the one better qualified to go with you.
“Fine,” you said, looking him in the eyes. “But when it comes to locations, you follow my lead. When it comes to cover and safety, I’ll follow your lead. We have to trust each other if we want to survive.” You gulped, knowing that your next statement would be too honest for you to pretend you weren’t saying it out loud. “I want to survive, Hyunjin. With you.”
+ pairing: lee felix x female reader + genre: fluff, best friends!au, apple picking!au, non-idol!au + warnings: none + word count: 0.8k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary: Apple picking was something you looked forward to every year. After all, you got to spend the day with your best friend and that made up for how tiring the task was. + lia’s note: Hello, I hope you’re doing well! This one is super cute, I had a good time writing it! Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it; I am always appreciative of your feedback! As always, happy reading!
You and Felix made your way through the apple trees, feeling the sweet scent every step of the way. Everyone around you was hard at work, completely focused on their task. It was no easy feat, but in the right company, it was certainly easier.
“It’s a beautiful day today, isn’t it?” Felix asked after putting down your empty container and looking up at the sky. The morning light pierced through the branches and greeted your skin softly. Thankfully, today the weather was nice and the soft breeze that blew kept the heat away.
“It’s a beautiful day indeed,” you said and fixed your hat, smiling at him. “Shall we get to work?”
“Of course!”
It didn’t take long for you and Felix to get fully absorbed in the task at hand. You carefully picked the apples from the tree, wiping them softly before placing them in the container. Every once in a while, the two of you would reach out for the same apple and when your hands met, you’d let out a soft giggle and spend a good minute trying to figure out who would pick the chosen apple.
“Go ahead,” you said as you gestured to the apple.
“No,you go ahead.”
More often than not, you’d be the one picking the apple while Felix moved to another tree or another apple to keep your flow of work uninterrupted. The two of you chatted about the most random things as you did this, occasionally breaking into a song whenever silence became boring.
Despite how tiring today would be, you loved doing it with Felix. It was a small tradition you had ever since you were children. Your parents tended to bring you with them and, instead of helping around the fruit farm, you’d run and hide behind trees, sometimes stealing apples and eating them right away in secret.
This place had seen the two of you grow up and no matter how apart you were or what was going on with your lives, you always knew that this was something that you’d never skip. And so, year after year, the two of you kept coming back to pick up apples together and spend a wonderful day in each other’s company.
“So…” He said as the two of you moved away from the trees, carrying the heavy container towards the small carrier nearby. “How many apples do you think we’ll catch this year? Think we’ll beat last year’s record?”
This was another part of your tradition, trying to outdo your previous record. It gave you no prize or award to catch more apples, but the pride and joy the two of you felt were worth it. Besides, the one that failed to guess the number of apples you picked together had to pay for dinner. And for two years in a row, it had been Felix’s turn.
“I think we’ll break the record but I won’t say by how much just yet.” Felix rolled his eyes and you let out a soft chuckle gesturing with your head to the carrier in front of you. “Shall we place the container there on three?” Felix nodded. “One, two, and…”
The two of you placed the container on the carrier with some effort and afterwards, you wiped your hands on your jeans, glancing around to see which area you should tackle next.
“Do you want to rest for a bit? What about we lay under some trees for a while?”
“Do you think they’d be ok with that?” You scanned the crowd, noticing everyone hard at work.
“It’s not like we haven’t done it before.” He reached his hand for yours. “Come on, let’s hide for a bit.”
As much as you wanted to say no to him, you didn’t want to skip out on the fun. This only happened once a year and being a little mischievous was also part of the tradition.
You grabbed Felix’s hand and it didn’t take long before the two of you started to move away from the crowd of people and disappeared in between the apple trees to where no one would find you for a while.
After walking for a bit, Felix and you sat side by side under a tree and you took a deep breath, closing your eyes. His arm wrapped around your shoulders and he pulled you closer to him, making you smile. This time, when the silence took over, instead of trying to fill it, you embraced it.
This was wonderful and peaceful.
“We’ll do this again next year?” Felix asked in a low voice and you nodded, looking at him.
“We have to. It’s almost like our personal New Year’s day.”
He hummed and sighed, resting his head on your shoulder. This was your favourite day of the year. Apple picking with your best friend. You laughed with him, you rolled your eyes at him, and you listened to him as well.
It was a small celebration of your friendship, one you looked forward to every year because spending time with Felix was one of the things you enjoyed the most in this world.
+ pairing: han jisung x female reader + genre: angst, fluff, suggestive, exes to ??, college!au, badboy!jisung + warnings: mentions of drinking, reader is slightly intoxicated, let me know if i am missing something + word count: 1.5k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary:You knew Jisung’s promises tended to be empty and after what happened, you swore you would never be his again. However, it’s never too late to change, or is it? + lia’s note: Hello, how are you? So this drabble is very angsty, I’d say. I hope you enjoy reading it, I enjoyed writing it! Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it! As always, happy reading!
The party wasn’t as fun as you wanted it to be. Despite the music playing and everyone’s efforts to keep you entertained, the truth was you were having a hard time. These kinds of places always reminded you of Jisung and he was someone you wanted to avoid and forget.
However, that was proving to be harder than you’d like to admit.
You still saw him on the campus grounds and whenever your eyes met, you had to look away and continue to walk. You couldn’t bear the pain in his eyes, but you also didn’t want to bear it. It was probably an act to him like most of your relationship had been. Did he ever love you or were you too enamoured to see the red flags?
Whenever the two of you crossed paths he’d try to talk to you. He’d try to say that he had changed and that he was willing to give all of what you had another try. Part of you wanted to give in and accept his offer, accept his words. But whenever you were about to do it, images of what had happened popped into your head.
It wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t worth it. And yet, you couldn’t stop thinking about all of it.
As the party went on, you grew slightly tipsier. Whether it was your need to forget or your desire to enjoy a cold beverage, you weren’t sure. Your thoughts started to get muffled together, your words slurred. Even the music sounded slower and your dance moves were heavy and erratic. Your heart jumped in your chest and when your eyes landed on Jisung on the other side of the dance floor, you stopped what you were doing, unable to look away from him.
Tonight, he was alone. He leaned on the wall and sipped on his drink, raising his cup to whoever greeted him on his way to the upper floor. For a while, he was oblivious to your eyes on him. But just like when you were dating, he always found you. No matter how big the crowd, Jisung always found you.
When he started to make his way towards you, you considered turning around and joining your friends near the beer pong game happening, but you couldn’t. You waited for him to join you, watching as the lights changed and greeted his features, amazed at how he looked good under every single one of them. Han Jisung was certainly breathtaking.
“Hi.”
You didn’t hear his voice but you read his lips. For the first time in a while, you pondered what it would be like to kiss him again. You wondered what it would be like to feel his arms around your waist as he kissed your skin, wanting you to be his. Had that been an act too? Part of you didn’t want to believe that tonight. Not now when he was this close to you.
“I’ve missed you,” you said, licking your lips as you stumbled towards him, a crooked smile appearing on your face. “I’ve missed you so much, Jisung. I’m so sorry, I…”
Your hands quickly found the back of his neck and you tried to pull him closer to you, but Jisung tensed up under your touch and shook his head.
“You don’t want this, Y/N.”
“How do you know?” You said, rolling your eyes. “You don’t know me. You don’t know what Iwant!”
“You’re drunk. I don’t… I don’t want you to do something you might regret later.”
You couldn’t help but laugh at him. Since when had Jisung started to care about your feelings? Since when did it matter to him what you felt? This had to be the funniest joke you had heard all night.
“You’re funny,” you booped his nose, not letting go of his neck. When your eyes found his, you expected them to be happy and eager for something, but this time, they were sad and cautious. You sighed. “Why aren’t you happy tonight?”
He pursed his lips and studied your expression carefully, his hand brushing softly against your cheek. You slowly grabbed it and intertwined your fingers together, a wave of electricity greeting you abruptly. His touch was certainly something else and you craved it more each day you were apart. And yet tonight, Jisung didn’t want it. Or maybe he didn’t want you. He probably had his eyes on someone else.
“It’s not just unhappiness,” he said over the loud music and let go of your hand, shaking his head. “I’m upset and disappointed with what I did to you.”
“We can move on from that, Jisung.” You tried to get closer to him again, to grab his hand, to pull him closer, but he stopped you. “We can…”
He started to walk away from you and towards the front door of the house and you followed him with wobbly steps. When you were outside, the music pounded behind you and you stopped briefly to consider whether or not you should go back inside. However, you found yourself climbing down the stairs towards Jisung as he messed his hair and paced around the empty road.
“We can chat about it.” You shoved your hands in your pockets and started to make your way toward him. “I’m not thatdrunk.”
“But you don’t want to chat for the right reasons right now. I know what you want right now.”
“And that is…”
Jisung pondered for a while. He glanced at the houses around the two of you as he ruffled his hair, somewhat desperate. You sighed and lowered your head, unsure of what to do or say. Maybe he was right, maybe you wanted to chat for the wrong reasons. Maybe you would say yes to everything he’d say to you in hopes that would get you closer to him, even if it was just for one night.
“I know you, Y/N. I notice the way you look at me. I know what alcohol does to you. You become touchy, emotional, needy. Trust me this time when I say you don’t want that. We’d both regret it.”
“Why would you regret it?” You chuckled as your heart sunk in your chest. “You’re done with me, aren’t you? You’ve found someone else now and they’re probably better than me, right? Where is she right now?” You started to look around trying to locate someone in the shadows or inside a car or just leaning on a picket fence. “Where is she, Jisung?”
“There hasn’t been anyone after you.” His voice was sombre and a chill went down your spine. You wanted to blame it on the wind, but when your eyes turned to look at him, you knew he was the one that caused it. “I have been trying to be a better person. Words mean nothing when you have nothing to back them up with. But I have been trying, Y/N.”
“Why?” That was the only word that left your lips whenever you spoke with Jisung tonight. “You could have anyone, you don’t have to change. After all-”
“Don’t you understand that I love you?” He took a deep breath and started to pace around, avoiding looking at you. “When we were together, I took you for granted. And then, I messed up what we had and that made me realise that I… I love you. I don’t think I have ever loved anyone as I love you right now.” He stopped pacing and turned around to look at you, heartbroken. “And sometimes, loving someone means to keep your distance from them, even when you don’t want to. More than anything I want to show you that I have changed and that I am willing to wait until you’re fully sober for us to talk about this. For to talk about… us.”
You couldn’t say anything to him. You got lost in his eyes, in this foolish hope that kept on growing in your chest and that you were expecting to burst at any moment, disappearing in a matter of seconds. However, that didn’t happen. This foolish hope refused to burst.
When you didn’t answer him, he shook his head and started to walk towards the party. He kept his eyes on his feet and a regretful expression he tried to conceal with a sad smile. This was why your hope hadn’t burst. This was why it kept growing.
This time, Jisung was giving you something more than his empty promises. He was doing what he told you he would do: he was making an effort to be a better person. And right now, as much as you wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter, this mattered to you more than anything he had ever done to you.
“Thank you,” you said and he stopped on his way up the stairs to look at you. You nodded. “We’ll talk about… us some other day. I’ll… text you?”
“Call me.” He smiled softly at you and you couldn’t help but reciprocate the gesture. “I like the sound of your voice. Good night, Y/N.”
You blamed the alcohol in your system for making all of your thoughts slower and your reactions delayed. Still, despite all of that, one thing was for sure: this time, you would trust Jisung.
+ pairing: han jisung x female reader + genre: fluff, attempted humour, best friends (idiots) to lovers, non-idol!au, confession!au + warnings: mentions of food, reader LOVES chocolate cake, reader almost chokes on a piece of cake, let me know if i am missing something + word count: 0.7k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary: Your love for chocolate cake is quite massive, but there might be a certain someone you love more than this incredible piece of heaven. + lia’s note: Hello, how are you? I hope you have fun with this one. It’s definitely on the goofy side and I had a lot of fun writing it! I hope you enjoy reading it as well! Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it! As always, happy reading!
Jisung held your hand as he guided you through the busy street and inside a small bakery. As soon as you stepped in, the smell of freshly baked goods surrounded you and you took a deep breath, smiling in delight.
“I heard they have the best chocolate cake in town and…”
Chocolate cake. At the sound of those words, you scanned the bakery display with all of your attention, reading the labels on the different cakes and pastries until you landed on your target.
“Chocolate cake…”
You let go of Jisung’s hand and walked closer to the display, completely enamoured by the cake. It looked delicious and your mouth was already watering at the thought of having a slice. If there was something you absolutely loved was chocolate cake: the texture, the taste, the smell. Everything made your senses tingle and you were on a life mission to find the best chocolate cake of your life.
“Thank you,” you said to Jisung and offered him a smile and a wink, “for continuing to help me on this mission!”
He let out a soft giggle and made the order for both of you. Jisung also asked for a slice of chocolate cake which meant he was willing to spend half an hour of his life hearing you talk about chocolate cake and how much you loved it. You didn’t know why he did it but you weren’t complaining. His company was the best and you wouldn’t trade it for anyone else’s. Not even for a slice of chocolate cake.
After the two of you found a table near one of the windows, you sat down and it didn’t take long for you to grab your phone to take pictures of your chocolate cake slice. You smiled the entire time, taking it from different angles that truly highlighted the beauty and delicacy of this piece of heaven.
“Ah,” you said, pointing to your slice of cake, “I want someone to look at me and care about me the way I look and care about chocolate cake. That is the dream!”
Jisung laughed again, messing his hair afterwards and glancing around the small place where a soft melody played to fill the silence.
“It’s a nice dream…” Jisung sighed and gulped. He ruffled his hair again and you glanced between him and the chocolate cake, unable to resist taking a bite. As soon as the piece of cake was about to reach your mouth, Jisung added, “What if I want to make it happen?”
“What?” You shoved the piece of cake in your mouth and at the explosion of flavour, you closed your eyes, enjoying every bit of it. “Oh my God… This is sogood.”
You could cry about how delicious this cake was. The velvety texture melted in your mouth and the flavour wasn’t too sweet nor too bitter. It was perfect.
“Isn’t it obvious that I want to date you?”
Your eyes widened in shock and you almost choked on the piece of cake you were enjoying. Jisung quickly got up from his seat and came to pat your back, helping you calm down and regain your composure. Did he say what you thought he had said?
“What did you just say?” You said, lifting your eyes to look at him, perplexed. “Did you say you wanted to date me?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “If I haven’t made it clear, I do like you and I want to date… you.”
You nodded, unsure how to form a coherent sentence to express your feelings. Inside of your head, you were jumping, screaming in excitement, shaking your legs up in the air. Here, however, you could only look into Jisung’s eyes as you tried to calm your heart down and remind yourself that you couldn’t stare at him for the rest of eternity. Or at least, now you could.
“Hm… the chocolate cake is good,” you said and shook your head right after. Could you for once in your life stop thinking about chocolate cake? You cleared your throat and glanced back at Jisung. “What I’m trying to say is that the chocolate cake is good, but this is much better. So much better. I mean it.”
And you meant it. Chocolate cake was great and all, but being loved and cared for by Jisung? Oh, that was divine.
+ pairing: park sunghoon x female reader + genre: angst, fluff, classmates to lovers, impliedfake-dating,implied unrequited love, high school!au, hearthrob!sunghoon, best friend!jake + warnings: none + word count: 0.8k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary: Sunghoon might have stolen your heart with his perfection, but you had also stolen his heart, even if you were unaware of it. + lia’s note: Hello, how are you today? When I tell you this drabble has my heart, it’s because it does. I am very happy with it and I hope you enjoy it as well! Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it; I am always appreciative of your feedback! As always, happy reading!
“You’re doing it again.” Jake rolled his eyes as you stared at the mirror inside your locker, checking your makeup. “Y/N, you look fine. Any more mascara and I’m afraid your lashes will touch the ceiling.”
You turned around and glared at him, pulling the books he was carrying for you out of his arms. He sighed and leaned away from the locker behind him, messing up his hair. Jake kept staring at you for a while as you packed your belongings inside your locker, picking up the books for your next class. When you were done, you closed it and smiled at your friend, a gesture he reciprocated.
“You do look pretty. You look pretty every day, not just today. It’s just that I-”
At the end of the hallway, a group of students disturbed the peace with bright smiles and happy cheers, high fiving everyone they knew on their way to class. Your eyes landed on the one leading the group, and you couldn’t help but smile at him. That was the Park Sunghoon effect. No one resisted his charms. Not even you.
Sunghoon was everything you looked for in a guy. Besides his good looks, he was an extremely kind and caring person who also had good grades. Other girls described him as mister perfect, and you were almost sure you would start using that title as well. What wasn’t there to like, appreciate or love about him? In theory, Sunghoon could be considered perfect.
When his arms wrapped around a girl’s shoulders and he kissed her cheek, your heart sank in your chest and suddenly, you came back to reality. Perfection wasn’t a part of your world. You could stare all you wanted at Sunghoon, you could admire him from afar, you could even exchange a few words in class, but that was about it. He rarely took more than two seconds to look at you.
If perfection existed, the two of you would be together. If perfection was real, he would be the one you would call boyfriend. If perfection existed, he would be eager to get to know you the same way you were excited to get to know him.
But alas, perfection doesn’t exist. And the fake scenarios in your hand would be just that. Fake.
“Why isn’t he into me?” You said under your breath as he strolled down the corridor with his girlfriend, kissing her cheek softly when he passed in front of you. It felt like the universe was punishing you. “What am I missing?”
You gulped and under Jake’s attentive gaze, you started to make your way to your next class, your eyes staring down at your feet. After a while, Jake wrapped his arm around your shoulders and patted it softly, making you look at him. He offered you a kind smile.
“It’s his loss that he doesn’t see what’s right in front of him.” He booped your nose and the two of you stopped in front of your classroom. “You’re great, Y/N. And I… I hope someday you’ll fall in love with someone who appreciates you deeply for who you are. Someone that doesn’t make you feel like you’re lacking something. Because you’re whole on your own. And pretty great too.” He cleared his throat and shrugged, fixing the bag on his shoulder and shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Maybe a little bit annoying. Oh, and you complain a lot too.” At this, you rolled your eyes and pushed him away from you, making him giggle slightly. “Okay, fine. Fine! I’ll walk you home after classes?”
You fixed your jacket and nodded, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Can we stop by the ice cream shop on our way home? I’ll pay for yours!”
“Sure.” He waved at you and started to walk towards the stairs, climbing them two steps at a time.
When he was out of your sight, you took a deep breath, thankful that you had someone like Jake in your life. He was the best friend you could ever ask for and he always knew how to lighten up the mood when you were feeling sad.
As you entered the classroom, you scanned the different tables to try and see who was missing. When your eyes landed on Sunghoon, you forced out a smile his way that he didn’t reciprocate. Instead, he looked away from you and focused on his notebook in front of him, a sad look in his eyes you couldn’t ignore.
Still, you wouldn’t ask him about it. You would wonder about the source of his sadness for the remainder of the class, trying to think of ways to cheer him up, completely oblivious to the fact that you were the source of all the pain he carried right now.
After all, how could Sunghoon admit his feelings for you when what you had with Jake was simply too perfect for him to ruin?
+ pairing: bang chan x female reader + genre: fluff, friends to lovers, non-idol!au + warnings: mentions of food and energy drinks, let me know if i am missing something + word count: 0.9k + requested as part of my Drabble Event #2 + summary: A late-night rendezvous to the grocery store with Chan takes an unexpected turn after your blunt question and his honest confession. + lia’s note: Hello, I hope you’re doing well! I hope you enjoy reading this drabble, I absolutely had so much fun writing this one, it’s super cute.Please, like/reblog this if you enjoy reading it and let me know your thoughts through an ask if you feel like it; I am always appreciative of your feedback! As always, happy reading!
When Chan threw a rock at your bedroom window asking if you wanted to join him on a late-night rendezvous at the local grocery store, you didn’t think twice. After grabbing your jacket and climbing down the stairs, you found him parked in front of your driveway, the engine breaking the underwhelming silence of the night.
You quickly joined him inside his car and soon enough, he was driving the two of you through the quiet and empty streets of this town, stopping at every red light only to increase the volume of the radio slightly so the two of you could sing even louder than before. These small moments were what you loved the most whenever you were with him. They were simple and happened in a blink of an eye, but their impact left you with memories that never faded. If anything, time only made them stronger and more precious.
After he parked his car at the grocery store, the two of you started to make your way towards the entrance.
“So… what are we buying this time?” You asked Chan as you walked backwards so you could face him. “Is it gummy bears again? Or have you upgraded and we’re buying other stuff now?”
He chuckled and messed his hair before putting his hood on. You turned around and started to walk alongside him, the yellow light from the grocery store sign reflecting in the puddles near the entrance.
“We’re buying gummy bears again and some popcorn too. I plan on having a movie night soon so I have to be prepared.”
“Do you have any beverages at home? You might need those too for your movie night…”
He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing at the entrance door. You noticed the closing time and realised the two of you had more or less ten minutes to buy whatever Chan needed. This if they didn’t stop you from buying at all.
Inside the grocery store, an overplayed radio song blasted through the speakers louder than expected. The bright lights hurt your eyes slightly and you had to blink to get used to them.
Chan didn’t waste any time in the different aisles. After all, every time you came with him to the grocery store, he reminded you of a man on a mission. He went straight to the right aisles and only grabbed what he wanted. He never glanced at the same thing more than twice.
You, on the other hand, tended to get lost on the new products and whatever sale the grocery store had going on. This time, you got curious about the different colours of the energy drinks that were on sale. You didn’t need them, but buying one couldn’t hurt, right? Besides, they weren’t full price.
“Which flavour would you like?” You asked Chan, picking two different colours. You laughed at the bright blue one and extended it his way. “This one matches your hair. Maybe it tastes like you…?”
“I don’t think I taste like blueberry.” He took the bottle from your hand and started to read the label, keeping his head down. However, you noticed his cheeks slightly flushed and his best attempt at hiding them from you with his hood still on.
“What do you taste like, then?” You boldly asked, taking the bottle from his hand and gesturing to the rows of bottles next to you. “I’m taking this blue one to try, choose one and I’ll pay for it.”
He scanned the different labels as he patted his lip, reading them carefully before moving on to the next one. What you thought would be a quick decision on his part took longer than expected. At one point, he removed his hood and messed up his blue hair, biting his lower lip.
You gulped, unable to take your eyes from him as your heartbeat increased in your chest. Whether he was aware of it or not, Chan was quite wonderful to admire and there was always something new to discover in him. This time, you smiled at how his brows furrowed the more focused he was. Why was this so difficult for him?
“I’ll get going to the cashier otherwise they won’t let us pay. Don’t take too long to pick, alright?”
When Chan didn’t answer you, you sighed and turned around, making your way out of the aisle and towards the only cashier still working.
“What’s your favourite flavour?” At Chan’s question, you stopped in your tracks and turned around to look at him, confused. You moved closer to him again and scanned the different labels, trying to find the one with the flavour you tended to enjoy the most in other beverages.
“This one.” You grabbed the bottle from the shelf and showed it to Chan, smiling. “Why do you ask, though?”
After he put his hood back on, he shrugged and smirked, looking you in the eyes.
“Maybe I just want to taste like your favourite flavour, that’s all.” Your lips parted in surprise and Chan lowered his head, making his way out of the aisle. “Consider that one as my choice, by the way.”
This time, you were the one having a hard time dealing with his words. You tried your best to prevent his statement from getting to you, but you couldn’t help it. Your body was suddenly on fire and your heart couldn’t calm down, no matter how hard you tried.
You glanced at your hands, looking at the two bottles side by side, and smiled. Two distinct shades with different flavours, but you were sure they’d match well together, just like you and Chan.
a regular monday morning, a regular start to the week.
student government starts an hour earlier than the actual school day, so here you are. 6:56 AM exactly, arriving at school with enough time to slip your weekly love letter into his locker on the way to the student government office.
until it wasn’t a regular start.
“good morning vice prez.” his voice rings in your ear as you freeze in your spot, the letter just leaving your fingertips and you hear it hit the bottom of his locker.
maybe you’re hallucinating.
but it’s always good to check.
you turn around and you see jungwon’s figure standing in front of you.
yep, definitely delirious. as student gov’s president, he’s always first in the room, and always last to leave. it’s definitely rare for him to be out right now.
so you mentally shake yourself awake, and walk towards the office. it wasn’t good to daydream.
“hey!” the jungwon hallucination is suddenly running to catch up to you. “it’s rude to ignore your boss!”
you whip your head around.
“my delusions are getting more and more realistic, jungwon sounds exactly as he should in real life.” you say to yourself, slapping your cheeks to wake yourself even more.
“delusions?” jungwon hallucination exclaims. “vice president y/n, i am most definitely not a delusion.”
“jungwon would probably be in the office already, and it’s highly unlikely he would be outside right now, so kindly please go away.” you shooed him as he laughed.
“you’re not wrong, but i was getting my water bottle i forgot in my locker.” your mouth hangs open as you realize.
jungwon giggles and flicks your forehead before he starts walking again.
“are you not surprised that i was the one slipping letters into your locker?” you catch up to him and you question him, playing the whole situation off, attempting to hide your embarrassment.
“i mean, your letters weren’t discrete at all.” he elbows you, smirking. scoffing and crossing your arms. “the handwriting, the stickers, the content. do you not think that i wouldn’t know my vp’s writing?”
“well, what do you think?” you ask, trying to keep your cool.
“hmm, i don’t know, what do i think?” jungwon smiles smugly and winks. “okay, this week’s student government meeting starts now. we’re taking attendance, who’s not here?”
you’re looking down and scowling, but jungwon knows that you understood what he meant.
he knows there’s a blush swarming your cheeks you’re trying to keep a secret, and he smiles to himself.
