[1:54 a.m]

the tiny fan blowing air towards the two of you somehow cannot beat the heat that gathers all around in your shared bedroom. blankets were tossed off of each other’s practically stripped-down-naked bodies in futile attempts to regulate body temperatures, yet your boyfriend thought the best solution was to snuggle closer to your sweaty body.

“please woo, spare me from this scorching prison,” you whine from between his arms.

“don’t be dramatic,” jungwoo mumbles into your shoulder, seemingly unaffected by the heat that is practically causing your room to steam in the hot summer night.

“if this is being dramatic then you’re a broadway actor,” you scoff, releasing yourself from his inferno of a grip to get up and turn the fan onto the highest setting. clambering back over towards the bed and flipping your pillow for the millionth time, you turn over and mumble another ‘goodnight’.

it’s when you feel a hand crawling across your stomach and hot lips pressing themselves once again between your shoulder blades that you give up on your cool-down ministrations and fact reality that you will never have any personal space with jungwooaround.

[2:13 p.m.]

renjun notices the way your head tucks onto your chest and the way your feet dangle as they intertwine with his in the hammock. you hated the fact that you can fall asleep so easily wherever you go, but it only makes you seem more endearing in renjun’s eyes. especially now, your soft snores reminding him that there’s no place he’d rather be except laying with you.

[1:21 pm]

mark has a habit of hugging you at random times. you don’t mind though, seeing how happy he is each time he wraps his arms around you.

[3:38 pm]

haechan is sitting on the couch in the dressing room when you enter. you decided to surprise him before a show, having not seen him for quite a while due to quarantine. you rush over to where he is sitting, and when his eyes land on you, he gasps and opens his arms wide.

“hihaechan,” you giggle as he eagerly pulls you into his lap. you play with his hair as he he cranes his neck up to look at you.

“i missed you so much,” he pouts and you kiss him. he buries his face into the warmth of your chest as he continues to hold you. “you smell nice.”

his grip on you is so tight you can’t help but beam at the fact he has been so eager to see you.

[8:11 p.m]

it’s was unusually quiet in the dorms. based on most of the times you visited, it’s typically been a madhouse. this was true especially with the dreamies. they were ecstatic to finally have mark rejoin them, so many resumed game seshes and movie nights were held in their definition of ‘celebration’

jaemin loved having you around the other boys. he was comfortable knowing that you fit right in with the atmosphere of the group, constantly participating in their rowdy antics.

however, tonight was calmer than usual. despite all being crowded in the same room, the younger boys were busy existing in their own little bubble. renjun had his headphones in reading an audiobook, chensung were playing league on the ground next to the couch, jeno was watching the recording of this morning’s dance rehearsal, and mark was quietly strumming his guitar while humming an unfamiliar tune.

you were splayed across jaemin’s lap as he aimlessly scrolled through his phone. head nestled on top of his thighs, you began taking some selfies of yourself to send to jaemin, hoping to fluster him. jaemin’s eyes fluttered down to your face, where you were sticking your tongue out at yourself in the camera. he tapped at your thigh, smirk adoring his face and you hid your face with your phone, embarrassed to have been caught.

face hot in bashfulness, you turn the camera on jaemin, who is back looking at his phone. biting your lip, you seize the opportunity for revenge.

“jaems.”

he looks down at the sound of his name as your finger hits the capture button.

the silence in the room is quickly disturbed by the laughter that bubbles from your throat. you never once thought jaemin could have a bad angle, but boy did this picture prove you wrong.

“hey—“jaemin protests but you shove a hand on his face as you sit up to show jeno the horrid picture of your boyfriend.

jeno’s laughter prompts the two youngest boys to pause their game and scramble to look at the photo.

“hyung, you look so ugly,” chenle laughs without any regard to formality. jaemin pouts at his remark, and at you for enticing them to pick fun at him.

he gently pushes you off his lap and storms out of the room. you roll your eyes, knowing how childish jaemin can be when his ego is bruised.

“you’re such a baby,” you shout after him, hopping off of the couch and out of the room. you see jaemin sulking on the way to his room, and you run after him, slipping under his arm right before he can shut the door behind him.

your eyes crinkle in amusement at the pouty expression on jaemin’s face. giggling, you toss your arms around his neck, standing on your tiptoes to pepper small kisses all over his downturned face. he doesn’t push you away, but you giggle as you can feel jaemin physically and mentally try to fight off your loving attack.

“i’m sorryyyyy,” you whine, jutting out your bottom lip at him. his eyes dart to your lips for a quick second, and you almost miss the small quiver of the corner of his mouth. you sigh, giving into what you know he wants. “if we cuddle will you stop being mad at me?”

jaemin can’t help the wide grin that spreads across his face at the sound of your pleads. you feel his arms slowly encase you into his embrace and you squint and purse your lips at him, annoyed at the fact that he most had this scenario mapped out in his head from the beginning.

“of course, baby.” jaemin gives you a sweet kiss that practically coats your tongue in sugar.

“you just wanted to get me alone, didn’t you?” you question, raising an eyebrow. jaemin looks up at the ceiling, pretending to ponder at your question.

‘hmmm, maybe?”

“well it worked,” you say, gently tugging him towards the bed you two shared often. “happy?”

“very,”jaemin grins, plopping onto the covers, bringing you down with him.

[4:11 p.m.]

the sun was just setting on the horizon when you visited him. you come over frequently, as the breaks in both of your schedules line up, allowing you guys time to see each other. the apartment is empty when you first walk in and all the lights are off. you chuckle, knowing he’s in his room doing whatever he does in his free time. it’s different each time. you kick off your shoes and walk to his bedroom, where you can hear quiet music playing.

his back is turned to you when you enter, only to quickly swivel around in his chair at the sound of your entrance.

“hey, sorry for not knocking.”

“that’s alright,” ten smiles. “i knew it was you when i heard the front door open.”

he was wearing an apron, with splotches of paint scattered across the fabric. in his hand laid a palette, filled with mellow colors of blue, black, green, brown, and white.

“were you expecting me?” you ask, pulling around a chair and sitting backwards so your head leaned against the backend.

“i always do,” ten responds, a teasing quip to his tongue.

you roll your eyes at his playful mannerism. it’s amazing how fast your heart beats whenever he opens his mouth, despite how often you visit. you guess you’re not used to it yet. maybe you never will be.

you fold your arms along the rear of the chair, chin resting atop of your hands. the sky is painted pink and yellow, casting a warm shadow onto the canvas in front of ten. within the intricate lines and sketches drawn in black, a woman is displayed, painted with the most detail and color.

“she’s beautiful,” you remark. ten’s eyes follow your gaze to the drawing, and the corners of his mouths quirk up into a smile.

“she reminds me of you.”

you let out a giggle of embarrassment and hide your face in your arms. ten bites his tongue to hold his excitement in.

“what movie should we watch tonight?” you ask, choosing to disregard ten’s last flirty comment for the sake of your composure.

“i was thinking pride and prejudice,” he states after a couple of seconds. ten sets down the palette and brush in his hands and replaces the two objects with your face instead. a quiet gasp leaves your lips at the proximity of your faces. “how does that sound, my lovely elizabeth bennett?”

you bite your lip and grin at the man awaiting an answer in front of you. the heat emanating off both of your faces is enough to warm you from the evening breeze seeping in from the cracked windows in his room. touching your nose with his, you can’t contain the grin that spreads from cheek to cheek as you whisper against ten’s lips. perhaps you could get used to this feeling after all.

“that sounds like a grand idea, mr. darcy.”

⚠️tw: tragic backstories and crippling angst lol, mentions of deceased parents, drowning mentions, implied suic*de, grief, renjun’s cute english (all mistakes in his dialogue are intentional. enjoy)

i had no idea this would get such enthusiastic reactions. thank you everyone who requested a continuation, hope this makes you feel something and answers some questions ♡

this is part three of merman!renjun, find parts oneandtwo here :))

1:44pm: “did it hurt?”

merman!renjun glanced up at runaway prince!jeno’s prompt, who stared expectantly at him through the bars of his cell.

“what?”

the prince gestured at renjun’s legs and spoke matter-of-factly. “your tail. it’s gone. did it hurt?”

“oh… yes.” he wiggled his toes. “it hurt.”

“a lot?”

renjun paused and hugged his knees a little closer into his chest. “yes.”

“and you… can’t transform back.” pirate!you lifted your chin to make eye contact with renjun, who pursed his lips and nodded in response.

“magic is no-come-back,” he said with a shrug.

“irreversible,” the prince offered.

“irressimble. no merperson ever come back from land.”

your heart and eyes sank to your lap. “right.”

poor haechan.

you found yourself getting to your feet. “i… i’m gonna leave you two to catch up.” dusting off your palms on your hips, you cleared your throat. “let me know if you, uh, need anything, alright?”

renjun nodded.

“right. um… your highness.” you offered a quick curtsey towards jeno, who scoffed lightly at the difference between your usual domineering behaviour and your attempt at character continuity.

as you made your way up the stairs, you remembered the time pirate!haechan had first opened up to you about his past. you had both been younger, yet already best of friends.

“cap'n the only family you got?” he tossed a grape into his mouth.

“we have an older sister. on land, though. runs an orphanage.”

he made a noise of interest. “parents?”

you shook your head as you reached for another grape. “shipwreck, funnily enough. you?”

“three siblings. all younger than me.”

you chortled at the thought. “you? the eldest?”

“i’m more responsible than you give me credit for,” he retorted, a dramatic hand placed on his chest in mock offence.

“yeah, right. i’ll give you credit when you don’t slack off.”

he laughed, and the two of you sat in silence for a moment.

you reached the top of the stairs, and took a moment to let yourself adjust to the sunlight. scanning the deck through squinted eyes, you spotted haechan at the bow of the ship, his back turned to you as he stared out at the ocean.

“your parents still around?” you had asked.

his brow had furrowed at the stars above and his chewing grew hesitant. you had started to apologise, realising you’d struck a nerve, but he shook his head and reassured you it wasn’t your fault.

“dad’s there, yeah. mum’s, uh… mum was a mermaid.”

a sound of surprise escaped your lips.

“—or so my father told us. she came to shore, grew legs and lived as a human. had my siblings and i… and loved my father. loved us.”

you chose to listen in silence and watch as he focused on peeling the skin off the grape he held in his hands.

“we were at the beach one day. i guess she missed her home, ‘cause she barely said anything and just stared out to sea.” he took a slow, shallow breath. “i asked her to come and… and play with us. and she… took my hands, told me she loved me… let me go, and—and just walked straight in. right through the waves. didn’t stop. never saw her again.”

you didn’t know what to say, so you went with the safe option. “i’m so sorry.”

“nah,” he said, trying to disguise his sniffling with a deep inhale, “all in the past. i used to be mad about it, but i’m over that now. she’s probably happier.”

you sighed at the sight of him. he was barely moving, but his loose shirt and hair whipped around in the wind. no, you aren’t.

leaning your elbows on the taffrail next to him, you watched the hull of the ship split the ocean surface, leaving waves in her wake and advancing still.

you weren’t taken aback when you turned towards haechan and was met with tears streaming steadily down his cheeks, their trail from his grief-stricken eyes shining in the sun.

he could barely maintain eye contact with you, his gaze drawn to the horizon again. a wet exhale left his lips before he pursed them tighter and gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.

“the merman’s telling the truth, then?” he managed, his tone laced with anger. “you can’t transform back once you grow legs?”

“haechan, i—”

“you can’t transform back, then what happened to my mum, huh?” he demanded, perhaps towards you, perhaps not. “you’re telling me she walked in to die? to drown in her own home?”

“haechan.”

“you mean i let her go for what? for nothing?”

“hey—”

he sniffed and shook his head, “no. no, it can’t be true. maybe he just doesn’t know her. my house is on the other end of the earth, he probably never even heard of someone returning because he’s never met—”

“haechan.” you caught his shoulder and he gripped your hand, to throw it off or for support, you couldn’t tell—until his breath was sucked out of his lungs, his head hung and he gave in to the sobs that racked his body. his weight fell forward as his knees buckled, and you caught him with practised foresight.

the two of you sank to your knees, his face buried in your shoulder and balled fists clutching the fabric of your shirt. murmuring your words of comfort and drawing circles on his back, you let him grieve his mother a second and final time.

when he finally exhausted himself and you stopped having to remove your hand from his head to wave away anyone who approached you, renjun climbed onto the deck in search of you. he frowned in confusion when he recognised haechan and stayed wary as he drew nearer.

haechan noticed his presence and pulled himself out of your arms and onto his feet. clearing his throat, he raised his eyes to the merman’s.

“i shouldn’t have touched you,” he began awkwardly, “i was… stupid, and… it almost cost you your life. i’m sorry.”

renjun looked like he didn’t know what to respond with. “you are welcome,” he replied hesitantly.

taken aback at the unexpected answer, haechan cleared his throat again and walked past the boy.

renjun turned back towards you, tilting his head in puzzlement. “why is he sad?”

you sighed deeply before standing up too. “haechan’s mother was a mermaid.”

renjun’s lips parted in shock.

“she had legs, too, and lived on land. but she missed the sea, so she said goodbye and went back.” you gestured over his shoulder at haechan’s disappearing figure down the stairs, his gaze following your hand. “he never knew merpeople couldn’t transform back, so he thought she was still alive.”

the boy didn’t meet your eyes when he turned back around. a moment of silence smothered any further words you might have said.

“and he tried help me and push me back in water.”

“… yes. he thought… you would be happier in the water.”

another beat.

“he is not happy.”

“no, he isn’t.”

you paused to let him contemplate.

“but. she was happy.”

“hmm?”

“his mother. she was happy.”

then it was your turn to tilt your head to the side.

“mermaids choose legs,” he explained, “his mother choose land.”

“merpeople choose to transform permanently?”

he nodded eagerly, “choose to t…ransform pernamamently. i choose because you protect.”

“because i protected you?”

“yes. i am in danger and you protec-ted me. i choose tarnsform tail to legs.”

you mulled over this consideration. “i… i’ll let him know. thank you, renjun.”

“you are welcome,” he responded with certainty, offering you his first smile, albeit small.

you managed to smile back. “alright,” you declared, “how about some lunch? you hungry?”

i reckon there’s room for part four.. hm hm thoughts thoughts

part one|part two

taglist:@whattaweeb@radiorenjun

4:08pm: author!mark frantically texts neurosurgeon!jaemin.

Mark: HELP URGENT what do i need to damage to prevent facial recognition???

(Read at 4:10pm.)

Jaemin: Amygdala

Mark: THANK YUO

Mark: YOU

mark pushes his glasses higher up his nose bridge and pulls himself in his wheelie chair closer into his desk. his fingers find the keyboard in front of him and resume an excited pace, his eyes darting across his screen, getting lost in his own story.

⚠️tw: swearing, violence, haechan’s a bit of an ass in this, but he has his reasons

this is part two of this au!

1:24pm: “will someone remind me why it is we’re taking him with us?” pirate!haechandemanded.

pirate!you shot him a look. “he stays.”

he scowled back at you. “look at him,” he said, nudging his chin in merman!renjun’s general direction, “he can barely walk.”

glancing over, you had to admit that haechan’s observations were right—having given up attempting to stand a while ago, renjun sat alone on the edge of the deck. he was staring down at the wood under his new feet with a slight frown, like he was wondering why the dark grains weren’t rolling over each other as waves would. the clothes given to him were too big for his frame, and his hands and feet were barely visible in the sea of sleeves.

“he doesn’t belong here. why he’s stupid enough to stay, i couldn’t say.” turning around, haechan started to scrub the railing with more aggression than ever.

“well, he obviously didn’t want to go back, so lay off it, will you?”

haechan scoffed like he had given up. “you know what? fine.” throwing the rag back into the bucket, he shrugged rather dramatically. “i’ll just accept that i can’t possibly fathom why a merman won’t go back into the ocean.” with that, he left, stomping away with as much dignity as he could muster despite leaving his chore half-finished.

sighing in frustration at both yourself and him, you picked up his bucket and continued his job.

you decided not to chase him up—you knew the grudge he held, and you weren’t about to sour his mood further just for the sake of it.

you also knew haechan wasn’t being ridiculous, nor was his reasoning questionable. you remembered the terror in renjun’s eyes when he turned back at you, the wordless pleas to save him, his desperate hands clutching at your shoulder. you only had the capacity to be confused after you led him back onboard.

tossing the rest of the water in the bucket over the railing, you carried it below deck, then remembered you had yet to offer renjun some food. visiting cook!kunandcook!chenle in the kitchen, you cleared your throat to announce your presence over the rapid chinese conversation the two were engaged in. they poured you a bowl of a simple soup, and you blew on it softly to cool it down on your way above deck—you were sure renjun wasn’t used to steaming hot meals.

shouts and sounds of a scuffle caught your attention midway up the flight of stairs, and you rushed out to see what the commotion was about.

alarm overrode your senses as you recognised renjun in the crowd gathered at the far end of the ship—pinned down onto the railing by none other than haechan, who was yelling in renjun’s face about something you couldn’t quite make out. even in the chaos, renjun spotted you in his peripheral vision, and opened his mouth to scream for you.

you dropped the bowl and broke into a sprint, your breath hitching as haechan reached down and hooked his arm under renjun’s knees. panicking, the boy kicked out, which only aided haechan in lifting him completely off the deck. you almost swore his hand was searching for something to hold onto as he plummeted.

it all happened so fast, and you were so far—one moment, he was scrabbling at haechan, the next, he was slipping off the railing… then he was airborne, but not for long.

“what are you doing?!” you screamed, almost shoving haechan to the side.

“putting the fish back where he belongs,” he replied breathlessly, barely looking at you. “why? you gonna tell me i shouldn’t have?”

you caught the railing in your hands, leaning over to search for renjun in the water. a cloud of bubbles had risen to mark where the merman had landed, and you held your own breath as you waited, not knowing what to expect. was he just going to swim away? would he wave goodbye?

when most of the bubbles cleared, you caught a glimpse of the white shirt he had been wearing.

even though the blue of the ocean blurred your view of him, the pit in your stomach grew as you realised the shirt wasn’t sinking, and neither was it still. in fact, the sleeves were still flailing around erratically, the unnatural movements slowed by the density of the water.

barely thinking, you kicked off your shoes and threw off your hat. you were about to shake off your jacket when a hand pulled your shoulder back and away from the edge. you let out a cry of shock, whipping your head around to see captain!taeyong, who shook his head at you sternly. you tried to shrug him off, but he only held on tighter.

“haechan,” he said, “fish-boy’s drowning. you go get him.”

the boy’s face turned incredulous. “why me?”

“you threw him over. you get him. go.”

you weren’t shocked when haechan audibly swore under his breath, but started kicking off his shoes anyway. he wasn’t one to cross the captain’s orders, and he wasn’t about to start.

still grumbling, he jumped onto the railing, calculating the distance from the ledge to the water below. he spat out to the side, swore, then pin-dropped perfectly.

you watched as haechan disappeared under the surface, and reemerged a few moments later with a panicking renjun in his arms, yelling at him to shut up and relax.

two of your crewmates had lowered the rowboat onto the water when haechan had jumped. he dragged renjun towards it, pulled himself up and helped renjun in before leaning back and waiting for the crew to haul the boat back up.

when they were both back on deck, renjun was still spluttering up water from his lungs. you crouched next to him and thumped your hand on his back rhythmically, encouraging him to cough it out. tears flowed down his cheeks as he struggled for breath—he had obviously never experienced coughing before.

“for the stars’ sake,” haechan challenged, “why is he still here, inconveniencing everyone? huh?” he leaned into renjun’s face threateningly, “you get caught accidentally, we let you go, and you ignore that? you could have just transformed back and swam away, but no. you just had to make me get my clothes wet, didn’t you? why? you determined to piss me off?”

still doubled over on his knees, renjun had managed to stop coughing. he didn’t move from his position, his chest still heaving as he panted. you noticed his fingertips pressing into the wooden planks under his palms, his nails turning white with the pressure. his shoulders quivered and jaw was clenched tight.

your lips parted in realisation.

“he can’t.”

haechan probably hadn’t heard you over the sound of his own blood roaring in his ears. “what?”

“hecan’t,” you repeated, looking up at him, “he can’t transform back.”

renjun’s silence only confirmed your theory.

haechan blinked. his hands slipped off his hips, and his jaw went slack.

you could only imagine how haechan must have been feeling. how his chest must have tightened with the confronting truth, how he must have forgotten the world around him.

that you could only guess—you knew what thought was whirling through his mind.

“come on,” you said gently, gripping renjun’s shoulders. “can you stand?”

he nodded shakily, and you thought you heard him choke back a sob.

leaving haechan to some space to himself, you led a trembling renjun below deck to get warm. you sat him down on a crate next to the brig, murmuring reassurances to him, and started searching for a spare blanket.

“what the—renjun?”

you had almost forgotten the brig wasn’t empty, so you weren’t alone below deck. you turned to see runaway prince!jeno, who was usually rarely awake, clutching at the bars of his prison.

you frowned in confusion as renjun cried out incoherently, launching himself off the crate to kneel in front of the prison. “je-no!” he exclaimed, sounding just as shocked as the prince through his accent.

“you two… know each other?”

jeno glanced at you, then back at the merman. “renjun freed me and saved my life.” the boy nodded profusely in support.

“uh… you’re still very much imprisoned, your highness.”

“no, no, no—” the prince started to correct you. “—in the merpeople’s palace.”

part three

⚠️tw: weapon use, mentions of blood

1:07pm: “well, you’re not cod.”

it was not the silky smooth skin (scales?), nor the somewhat fascinating slits for gills flaring in the creature’s shock that first caught your attention. not even the wriggling tail, shimmering golds and greens and blues even in minimal sunlight with every movement.

it was the eyes. the wild young eyes that defied the status of prey and established itself as a living being, not just a body of meat and bones. there was a soul there, so hungry and alive, barely containing the storm behind them.

it was startling how such fire could come from a child of the sea.

thetis had blessed you today with your first close-up look at a real merman, suspended above you in a fishing net. still hissing and thrashing, it bared its teeth at you and the crew, fighting for freedom, but only managing to tangle itself further in the process.

“lucky catch?” first mate!johnny mused, shrugging his shoulder.

“didn’t think we’d see merpeople in these waters,” quartermaster!jaehyunmuttered.

cook!chenle was shaking his head. “we can’t eat that,” he said, arms crossed over his chest.

“no shit,” pirate!haechan replied, “we’ve all heard the stories — men’s blood freezing up in their veins.” he shuddered. “don’t know about y'all, but i’m not about to have my blood turned into slush.”

your crewmates’ words hung about you like the low-hanging clouds on a still day, and yet you couldn’t take your eyes off the creature, so very clearly out of its element.

to see such a beautiful, fatal beast struggling in such a way under your hand, exposed and vulnerable — so wonderfully voyeuristic and intimate, you couldn’t help but become intrigued by it. him.

his eyes had turned from furious to panicked as the net was lowered down onto the deck, grabbing at the ropes and swiping desperately as if his claws could cut through in such a time.

you still had yet to say a word, still stunned with awe as he spilled out onto the wooden deck along with the rest of the catch — but found yourself lunging forward as you saw your crew stepping forward to handle him however they planned.

hand at your sheathed cutlass, you stepped in front of the merman, turning to face your crew with a daring glare.

“you won’t touch him,” you warned, raising your chin to challenge anyone to question your authority.

jaehyun let out a sigh and motioned for the others to step back. they begrudgingly obeyed, just as the captain’s quarters opened and captain!taeyong, your brother, stepped out on deck.

“what’s going on there?”

“merman, sir,” cabin boy!jisung piped up, “pulled up the fishing net and there he was, sir.”

“merman, you say?” taeyong repeated, taking his time down the stairs. “you mean that boy?”

looking back at him, your jaw dropped as the boy’s tail seemed to melt away, fins into flesh and bending into knees — real knees, ankles and feet and all — right before your very eyes.

the boy’s face was twisted with nausea and pain, and you realised he must have been enduring the sensations of new limbs being created in real time, bones fusing and scales sinking into skin, then splitting into two separate legs. you winced as he visibly fought back a strained groan of agony.

you took a second to process the transformation before you as the crowd parted for your captain like the splitting sea as he approached. you clenched your jaw when he signalled you to step aside, but you did so cautiously nevertheless.

crouching in front of the naked half-boy, taeyong ignored his (weaker) warning hiss and held a short blade under his chin, tilting it upwards so as to get a better look at his gills as they vanished, fusing back into the skin of his neck. he took a long gasp of air, strained with the position he was held in.

“now, what’s a pretty thing like you doing in our fishing net?”

instead of replying, he snapped at his hand, jaws opening to reveal a normal, human set of teeth. instead of flinching, however, like most of the crew, your brother gave him a warning of his own, stabbing downwards at the half-boy’s no-longer-webbed hands. the blade caught the gap between his thumb and finger, which would have pinned him to the deck had he still been in his merman form.

your grip tightened on your cutlass’ handle as the creature yelped in shock. “taeyong, enough!” nudging him hard out of your way, you reach down and pull the knife out, throwing it aside. you turn on your brother, recovering from his fall. “get away from him,” you snapped, only to be met with laughter.

“what’s it to you, whether it dies or not?”

“you’ll leave him alone, and that’s that.” you tried to put as much finality as you could into your voice, half-worried it wouldn’t be enough — but to your surprise, taeyong snorted and gave you a nod.

“suit yourself,” he placed his hands on his hips, “what would you have us do with it, then? leave it in the sun to dry?”

the merman let out a low growl at that suggestion, but you ignored it.

“we let him go.”

pirate!jaemin threw off his shirt to drape over the shivering boy as he was hauled up onto shaky new feet, legs buckling and knees giving in with the first few steps he took.

as soon as he could take certain steps, taeyong ordered for the plank to be taken out, and they were quick to usher him onto it to drop back into the sea. he hadn’t helped at all, squirming profusely in protest all throughout.

the boy’s previous feral ferocity had long since gone, and his eyes now screamed of a strange panic and fear. glancing from the horizon to his feet and the waters below and back, he seemed to be hesitating. wasn’t the ocean his home?

you didn’t dare move a muscle in anticipation until he looked desperately over his shoulder, staring straight at you — begging for mercy from the only person who had granted it to him.

pure instinct launched you forward, stepping onto the plank and tiptoeing over to him, ignoring your crew’s exclamations behind you.

“it’s okay,” you called out, “you can come back.”

the boy clutched at the shirt, wrapping it tighter around himself as he trembled in cold, beautiful face twisted in anguish.

“come back with me,” you beckoned, reaching your open hand out. “i can protect you.”

you realised you didn’t even know for certain that he knew what you were saying, but your eyes seemed to say enough for him. he managed a shaky step towards you, then another, and another, until he was within reach for him to take your hand (albeit tentatively).

the plank was nowhere near wide enough for you to support him side by side, so you offered your arm and shoulder for him to grab onto and lean on as you led him back onto the ship. the crew allowed enough space for him to collapse to his knees almost as soon as he climbed back on deck, and you ordered for jisung to bring him a new outfit.

soon, the crowd dispersed, returning to their duties — you looked up from helping him put on a clean shirt to taeyong, grinning down at you.

“you’ll be responsible for it from now on,” he said.

“i know.”

“good,” he nodded slowly, seeming to be proud of himself.

you fastened the last button for him and examined his face as he stared down into his lap.

“do you have a name?”

the boy’s pale lips twitched, like he was trying to form words as you had done.

you repeated your question, softer and slower.

you didn’t know what voice you were expecting from him, but it was more melodic and fragile than you could have ever imagined.

“renjun,” he murmured, “my name is renjun.”

—

part two

1811: the 166th day of your voyage in space with your sole flight companion, astronaut!haechan, starts like any other.

the mission had been running smoothly, with nothing remarkable on the schedule. analyse some samples, go through any new messages from earth, double-check supplies.

on paper, it was meant to be one of the least eventful days of the week ahead.

you had both been spending time in the gym in your rare overlapping break time, getting your daily exercise; running on the treadmill with him on the one adjacent, in the middle of a contest of endurance to see who could hold out the longest.

the ship spins around to grant you a once-in-a-lifetime view of earth through the windows, just a tiny blue speck against the vast void of space. your gaze locks onto your home, and you let yourself get lost in thoughts of your life. right there, on that pinprick of colour smaller than your fingernail, was everything you knew and loved.

“missing home?” haechan calls out, seeming to have noticed what your attention was on.

you glance over at him with a sheepish laugh. reaching out to slow the treadmill down, you catch your breath before you make to reply as he does the same.

“it’s been so long since i’ve seen my niece,” you tell him what you’ve been dwelling over for a few nights in a row, chest still heaving from effort.

he snorts, wiping sweat from his forehead with a towel. “she sent you a video message just yesterday. what was it about? her new elephant plushie she named after you?”

you can’t force the smile off your lips as you recall the very file he was referring to. “yeah, well… you know it’s different.”

he sucks his teeth and nods slowly. “fair.”

“just the thought of her naming a doll after me because i’m not there in person, you know?” you don’t need to verbally add that it breaks your heart for him to understand.

“yeah.” his eyes fall to the treadmill control pad in front of him. “hey, i’m sure she’s super proud of you. she’s probably bragging to all her friends that she has an actual astronaut in her family, and they’re ‘up in space at this very moment’.” he holds up air quotes and speaks in a proud, matter-of-fact voice in an attempt to imitate your niece.

your smile breaks wider at the image of her, beaming baby teeth and all. “hey, what about you? who’s boasting about you back home?”

haechan opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by your yelp of surprise as your weight vanishes with warning, your stomach lurching with horror as the floor disappears underneath your feet. you register him cursing loudly as his body floats—floats—up, without the comfort of gravity.

you swear the ship has abandoned you.

you were, of course, familiar with the sensation of weightlessness in space—but only when it was meant to be so, and the very implications makes your brain go haywire.

“shit, shit, shit—” momentary panic forces your arms to flail out to grab onto something, anything—and a hand catches your wrist as haechan pulls you into his chest.

“i got you,” though comforting, haechan fails to hide his own shock and confusion, “i got you.”

he unwraps one arm from around you to gently push off the approaching ceiling, sending the two of you drifting slowly back towards the floor again.

grabbing onto the handlebar of a treadmill (you felt tremendously thankful for the fact that they were fixed to the gym floor), he pulls both of you as close to the floor as possible in case the gravity machine decides to function properly again without warning.

your heart jumps to your throat again as his back thuds on the floor and pulls you down with him, falling onto his chest. neither of you having let go of one another the entire time you spent in unplanned non-gravity. “are you okay?”

your stray hair falls on your face as you push your head off his chest and nod blankly in reply.

“well,that wasn’t supposed to happen,” he says, though his face shows no sign of joking like usual.

“no shit,” you breathe out.

you both flinch when an alarm blares through the speakers, screaming of certain impending doom in the form of a system malfunction.

Johnny: It’s really muggy outside today….

Doyoung: If all of our mugs are out on the front porch when I step outside, I’m going to hurt you.

Johnny: *sips coffee from a bowl*

[7:14PM] a big smile was plastered on renjun’s face, jogging slightly so she could have a chance to catch him. and eventually, she did. the couple laughed out loud, his hands snaking around her waist as she wraps her arms around his neck.

“i love you, so much.” the brown haired boy spoke. eyes full of love while staring into her eyes. “i love you too, injun.” she responded, slowly starting to lean in so she could press her lips against his.

i smiled, feeling happy that he was able to move on. but deep inside, i could feel my heart slowly ache as i watched my lover with another girl. if only i survived, this would’ve been me instead of her.

although, it’s fine. as long as he’s happy with her. i no longer have to see the love of my life cry over my death over and over again. today marks as his 21st birthday. it also means that he’ll finally spend his birthday somewhere else other than my grave.

as they hold each other’s hand and began to walk away, i watched my other half become whole again with another.

a/n: aaaa im sorry for writing so much angst lately (〒﹏〒) i can’t help it heuheuehe but i promise to write fluff afterwards!! no!more!sad!stories! but anyways,, this was completely inspired by a tiktok vid i came across while i was scrolling :]

Jungwoo: Guys…I think I like boys

Johnny:Oh you didn’t know? We’ve known for like months

Jungwoo:Wait what?

Johnny: Trust me, ain’t no man can move his hips like that and be straight

Interviewer: Hello welcome, and you guys are?

Yukhei:Fabulous

Sicheng:Depressed

Yangyang:Hungery

Ten:Gay

Kun:…..Wayv?

Taeyong: What do you got there Haechan?

Haechan: Oh, you know just a Mother’s Day card for the best mother in the world

Taeyong: Aw Haechan-

Haechan: [Looks Taeyong dead in the eyes as he hands the card to Suho]

Haechan: You can’t say bubbles in a threating tone

Chenle: Bet

Later

Renjun: Hey, why is Chenle on the roof screaming bubbles?

[10:24 am]

#8 hospital au + #63 everybody knows/mistaken couple + Pediatrician!Johnny

warnings: implied chronic illness, language

~~

As the words fell resonated around the room, you watched the woman in front of you. The sob that came from her was like a knife to the chest. Her husband wrapped his arms around her, trying to give her comfort while his own heart was breaking. They were lucky to have each other to lean on.

It never got easier to share the news with families. With only a few words from you, their entire world changed, shifted in ways that you couldn’t understand.

You clasped your hands together, trying to hide the tremor that was working its way to the surface, “I’ll let you guys have some time. The nurse will follow up with you in a few minutes, please let him know if you need anything from me.” Turning from the couple, you bit your lip to keep the tears that were brimming in your eyes. “Hey, Mark,” you greeted the young nurse who had been hired just a few months prior. “Give the couple in there 10.”

Mark knew more than anyone that diagnosis like those were hard on families. They hoped for the best but lived with the reality of the worst.

“Is it?”

You shook your head. The rates were unspeakable. To say those little words again would have you sitting over a bathroom toilet your entire lunch break. 

“Just make sure that they have all of the information they need. If you need anything from me, let me know.”

His eyebrows pinched together slightly as he nodded, “Sure, but- um-” you watched as he shifted nervously on his feet, “Are you-”

“I’m fine,” you tried a smile. “Just a headache. Nothing some Tylenol”-and a long nap- “won’t fix.” Departing with a pat on the shoulder and a tight grimace, you made your way to your office. If you got there and locked the door before anyone saw you then you could have your cry. 

The door of your office didn’t budge as you jiggled the handle. “Please,” you attempted to open it again. “I just need you to work with me.” Locked. “Stupid piece of shit,” you gave the door a hard kick. 

“Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but maybe don’t take it out on yourself,” Johnny Suh leaned against the wall next to you. “I mean. I don’t think you would like me to have to take a look at you, would you, Doctor L/n? I, of course, have no qualms.”

“Leave me alone, Doctor Suh,” your turned your face away. He couldn’t see you cry. If he saw just how vulnerable this part of your job made you, he would just use it against you.

His heat and warm scent enveloped you as he moved in closer, “Come now, Doctor. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that maybe your first judgment of me was wrong.”

You shook your head refusing to answer him. Just opening your mouth you knew that the frustration and anguish you were feeling would come pouring out. The door knob jerked again and you slammed a palm against the door.

“Y/n,” oh no, he was using your first name. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just,” you sniff. “This stupid door locked me out of my office again.” A tear fell down your cheek and you tried to wipe it away before he saw. 

Johnny’s hand came up to rest on your arm, “Come on,” the light pressure of his hand guided you away from you door, “Don’t cry.”

Just like a man to not want you to show any emotion because it made him uncomfortable. Johnny is a doctor; he should be able to handle an array of strong emotions. So should you. You shouldn’t feel that much pain anymore. You should be able to disconnect from those emotions while you are at work.

“I don’t know what’s running through that beautiful head of you, but whatever it is, you’re wrong,” the door to a separate office swung open and Johnny quickly led you inside. “Here you go, sit.” His hands slid down your arms, guiding you to a plush couch. “Now you want to tell me what’s actually going on?”

You lip quivered as you tried to suppress a sob. Dark eyes caught yours as Johnny’s finger caught your chin, tipping it up so he could take in your face. A deep furrow pressed in between his eyebrows. His concern finally broke through your barrier. It didn’t matter that he may use it against you, you had to get it off your chest, “He’s one Johnny.” You raised a hand to cover your gasping breaths. “One. And I had to tell his parents that.”

“Shh, shh. It’s okay,” his arms reached for you and pulled you into his chest. “I understand.”

He would, wouldn’t he.

“I know that it hurts to give them that news.”

You shook your head, “I shouldn’t still be feeling this way. I have done this long enough that there should be a disconnect.” His shirt crinkled under the grip of your hands on his back. How was it that the one guy you were always trying to avoid was the one to comfort you then?

“I disagree,” his breath covered the top of your head. “Being able to empathize and sympathize with our patients makes us more humane. It makes the hard time seem less daunting and the good times even better. If we disconnect our patients don’t feel like they are being taken care of or like we just look at them like another lab experiment.” You sank further into him as he rubbed a hand up and down your back. His fingers made small circles across your spine every time your breath hitched and you had to wonder why he did that. “Every single one of your patients love you because you connect with them beyond just a diagnosis. You work yourself to the bone and then you put in more work to check up on families and kids that came in here months ago. Parents appreciate that and kids know that you are one of the safe adults. In this field there is nothing more important.”

“Thank you,” it was a soft whisper into the crook of his neck, but you knew he heard.

He hummed lightly, “They don’t understand how much it takes out of you. But I do. So today, I am your doctor.” Pulling away from you he brushed away the hair and tears that stuck to your cheeks. “As your doctor, I am prescribing you one nap and two Tylenol.”

“How much medical school did it take you to figure out how to make that diagnosis?” you blinked up at him as he pushed you to lay down on the couch.

Grabbing a small pill bottle from his counter he shook it lightly and grabbed a bottle of water, “I think it was my third year.” He smiled down at you, and though you would never admit it out loud, it was kind of nice. Johnny was a nice person to have as a friend.

“Really,” you tucked your hands under your head. “I think it was my second year.”

“I knew you were the smarter one,” he set down the bottles and stepped toward the door, “Though I think that was always obvious. I mean I can’t be the pretty and smart one, can I?” You laughed a long with him. Even through the ache in your head, it did make you feel better. Johnny really was a miracle doctor. “Get some rest, find me later.”

“Thanks, Johnny.”

“Anytime.” The door clicked shut behind him and with a smile on your face you drifted to sleep.

The sly smirk Mark gave you when you wander back to the nurses station an hour later dropped when Johnny wandered up and squeezed you shoulder, “Feeling better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” it wasn’t hard to give him a smile then. "I may have to invade your office more often.“

He shrugged, “Feel free to use my couch anytime.” And he walked away from you. No, you didn’t look at his butt, you were looking at the piece of paper he had tucked into his back pocket.

Mark screeched in your ear and you turned to find him quickly typing in his phone, “What are you doing?”

He hid his phone behind his back, “Nothing.” Red colored his cheeks as you continued to stare at him. “Glad you’re feeling better.”

He may have avoided your scrutiny then, but if the looks that nurses started throwing your way meant anything, he would be hearing from you again later.

Next to you, Next to me

4. Coffee Shop AU + 60. Poorly Timed Confession 

Flowershop owner!Taeyong x Cafe owner!Reader

Warning(s): language

~~

“So what do you think?” You passed the cup over to Taeyong. 

A frown settled on his lips as he looked down at your creation, “You’re sure you’ve done this before?” He watched you skeptically. 

So latte art wasn’t your forte, that didn’t mean that he had to make it seem like you had just done a crime against humanity, “I swear, I have,” you leaned over the counter, pushing the cup a little closer to him, “I know it’s not the best looking, but I promise you that it is going to be the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had.”

He hummed, pushing his open laptop to the side to grab the cups with both hands and bring it to his face. There was something so nerve racking about watching the man take a deep breath of the hot drink before taking a large swallow. His face puckered slightly and he yanked the cup from his mouth. 

Had everyone been lying to you before?! 

Your mom swore that it was good, and though your brother didn’t drink coffee, he liked your tea and pastries. 

“I’m so sorry, you don’t have to drink it. I’ll work on it. Here give me the cup,” you reached across the bar to grab the cup that he pulled from your reach.

“NO!” he yelled, “No, it was just hot. I didn’t think about that before I took a big drink.” And you thought that you saw a faint smattering of red on his cheeks. He quickly took another drink, “I love it.” He smiled at you and you tried to believe it, but it was hard when you could see how hard he was trying to make everything seem okay.

“You don’t have to lie to me. Even if my coffee isn’t good, I plan on still opening the café. I put in too much time and money for this to fail.”

Taeyong frowned again, “I’m not lying to you. You’re going to be great. And hey, you’ve already got one customer.” He pointed to himself, “You know I’m right next door, that’s why I came over, because I’m nosy. I’ve seen you here the past few weeks and curiosity finally drew me over.” The smile on his face eased your nerves and you were starting to trust the truth behind his words.

“Right,” you looked across the road to where the small flower shop sat. Taeyong shuffled his feet and you remembered that he probably just stopped by to say hello, not sample your sub par coffee. “If you want I’ll get you a lid for your coffee and you can be on your way.” He was probably busy and didn’t want to be gone long.

“Oh- yeah,” he tucked his hands in the flower shop logoed apron he wore, “I’m sure you’re busy getting ready, didn’t mean to pull you from your work.”

“You didn’t,” you pressed the plastic lid on the cup. Taeyong grinned shyly at you as he made his way to the door, “Feel free to stop by anytime.”

He tipped his head at you, “I will, thank you for the coffee, it’s delicious.”

Yeah, maybe it wasn’t so bad.

~~

“Wait, wait, wait, you went to SSU too!” you grinned at the man across from you. Taeyong had become your first regular customer. Well, your only customer, considering that you weren’t open yet. Every morning since that one two weeks earlier he stopped by like clockwork.

7 am, he knocks on the door and you unlock it for him,

7:02 he hands over the menu you were working on and orders something new, 

7:05 he takes one sip of his drink gives you his first thoughts

7:06 you chat with him about whatever is on his mind as you go about setting up tasks you have to do for the day

7:15 he goes back across the street and you only catch peeks at him through the window until you leave or he closes 

 The same thing for almost two weeks. You couldn’t even be upset that the man was getting free coffee and pastries off of you. He was good, attractive, company that you grew closer and closer to inviting to dinner with every passing day. 

“Yeah, I got my degree in horticulture and botany. I wanted to stay close to home, but branch out some. I graduated about four years ago.” 

Delight and shock lit up your face, “No way, me too. I bet we passed each other on campus or maybe even had a class together.”

Taeyong watched you calmly, a somewhat knowing smile on his face, “We may have had a business class together once.” He shrugged. 

“It would be like fate,” you pushed the chocolate croissant he ordered with his tea over to him and took his dirty cup. 

He chuckled softly, “Yeah.”

“Speaking of fate,” you checked the notepad you had sitting next to a cash box on the counter. “I have finally set a date for the grand opening.” A small squeal left your lips and you jumped in place. “It’ll be next Friday!”

Taeyong blinked owlishly at you before a grin crossed his face, “That’s amazing! And so soon, but amazing! I’m so happy for you.” You thought that he was going to jump over the bar and hug you. You wouldn’t have been complaining, if he had. Instead he ripped the croissant in half and offered one part to you. “This calls for celebration!” You would have rather had dinner with him, but he was still here and happy for you, so you couldn’t complain. 

“Thanks, Tae.” You said through a mouth full of bread and chocolate.

He raised his half in toast, “Just doing duties as a friend and neighbor.” 

And maybe something more? You had thought about it a lot over the past few weeks. He seemed to like you. There was nothing stopping both of you from just exploring whatever chemistry there was between you both. Still that little niggling of fear crept it’s way in and no one likes to be rejected. Plus, you are so busy with the store opening, it’s just not a good time to ask him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” You watched him open the door, letting in a cool breeze that smelled of clean air and fresh cut grass.

“Not if I see you first,” he took a bite of his croissant and strolled across the road, taking your heart with him.

~~

He wasn’t there. 

It was the day of your grand opening and he wasn’t there. 

T-1 minute until everyone around you watched as you cut the small ribbon that crossed in front of your café. Taeyong literally worked across the road, how could he not be there?

You needed to try to get rid of the hurt. If you didn’t, then no one was going to think you were very happy about opening the shop you had spent weeks working on. 

“You ready, darling,” a stout old lady who was a part of the city board stood next to you.

You gave her a grim smile, “Of course.”

“Oh dear, I know that there are a lot of emotions that come with this, but try to focus on the happy ones.” She shoved a pair of scissors in your hands that had to have been made for giants. “You’ll be busy enough with the new cafe, don’t worry about having too much time on your hands,” she laughed good naturedly.

“It’s not that, it’s-”

“Wait!”

Your head snapped up as the voice met your ears. A car door slammed and you saw Taeyong round his small pickup truck. In his hands was a large bouquet, along with a picnic basket. There was a grin on his face, but you could sense the urgency of his steps as he got shuffled up to you. 

“Shit,” his glasses were skewed on his face as he finally stood toe to toe with you. “So, I totally meant to be here before now.” He set down the basket and held the bouquet out to you. “These are for you. Um- congratulations on opening your shop and I’m so proud of you.” He patted around his pockets. “I have something to say to you. I wrote it down. Well, you see, I was wondering if- You know I have been wanting to do this for weeks, but was nervous and then this morning it hit me that I could ask you here.”

“Taeyong,” you stopped his rambling.” Thank you for the flowers. I appreciate them, but I don’t have enough hands to hold them and cut the ribbon.” 

“Right,” he grinned sheepishly, “I’m holding you up, sorry.”

You grinned back as the crowd started counting down, assuming you were finally ready to open shop. 

Hesitating a second after they said one, you threw another glance at Taeyong, “And I like you too. So yes, I will go on a date with you.”

The ribbon split in two just as his mouth did and you laughed as he wrapped you up, spinning you around in a circle. “Now?” He looked hopeful.

“How about after we close tonight?”

“But the wine will get warm.”

“Lucky for you, I know a nice new café that has the perfect industrial fridge for that.”

“I may have to check it out,” Taeyong linked a hand through yours. And you tugged him to follow the people that had started to trickle in. 

“I think you may just like it.”

“I think that it will be my favorite place to be”

“Oh really,” you raised an eyebrow at him. “Why is that?”

“Cause I’m next to you, standing next to me.”

Yeah, your heart was in good hands.

[11:50] within the minutes, the tension between you, johnny, and your friends rose little by little. that question you asked caught johnny off guard. he didn’t know why but he felt disappointed and it was irritatingly inexplainable on his part.

it made him grit his teeth, as if he wanted to say something but no words seemed to come out of his mouth. his eyebrows met in frustration just thinking about it. you looked so familiar yet you were so distant. his eyes drifted from your face to your hand. the clenching of your hand on your chest gave it away that you were uncomfortable.

all the reason for him to pick up the hint that he needed to leave right now and not make you weirded out because of his mere presence.

“s-sorry.” he stuttered, “i-i think should leave.”

johnny exited the little circle your friends shortly gathered in, his group looking at you intensely and with pity. your eyes welled and you couldn’t say anything. as you excused yourself to the toilet, you told the girls not to follow you. you needed the time alone.

“it’s so hard to just watch them both suffer. we can’t even do anything.” mark groaned, mouth slightly quivering.

“if i were her, i could never handle the trauma and crap she went through.” kun sighed, combing his hair back before placing his hands on his hips.

yeri looked up with tears almost falling, “who could? she had to lie to the person she loved and owed her life to.”

jaehyun pressed his lips, “and she’s carrying the guilt she wasn’t even meant to carry in the first place.”

you stared at yourself through the mirror, you couldn’t even fathom anything. your head was all empty until johnny appeared in front of you after months.

ah crap.

the sight of the man you loved made your heart pierce wide open, it was stinging and painful that your breathing lost control. by the time you exited the toilet you were heaving, it was getting harder to breathe and you wanted to escape, bumping into several students along the way.

johnny..johnnysuh..

you haven’t said his name in a while and right now that was the only word you so wanted, craved for, desperate to see and be in his arms.

you could’ve been though, if it weren’t for the accident that almost costed your life yet put johnny’sin shambles and pieces, pieces that lasted years mostly had you in it but went away in split seconds.

seeing him right now would mean blaming yourself and that guilt would envelope you like a blanket. but damn those feelings hurt so much you wanted it to stop.

you wanted to see him, you wanted johnny.

“y/n?”

no way..he shouldn’t remember you, correct?

“it’s y/n, right?”

<prev

[11:45] you stood by your locker, sighing because the ringing in your head seemed restless. aimlessly staring at a distance made you hear the chewing you did inside your gums.

yeri was worried, looking at you every now and then just to check your state. “y/n, we have to eat.” flinching as you unknowingly slammed your locker, sighing more than ever. she turned to seulgi with teary eyes, “eonni, she’s not getting any better.”

she patted her shoulder before wrapping her arm around her even though she has books on the other. “she will be, it just takes time.”

you went to the cafeteria, quickly grabbing whatever food your eyes landed on. a rough group of boys caught your attention- the hot sporty ones, as fellow schoolmates called them so.

one boy dressed in a black tee stood out not just because of his height, but because he was staring at you since he stepped foot. the way he stared at you made you feel nostalgic so you averted your eyes.

his name’s johnny. everyone knew him as the surf guy, well-mannered, and handsome. he didn’t even plan on breaking eye contact with you until you did. “johnny… keeps looking this way, it’s weird, and awkward.”

sooyoung patted your hands, pressing her lips to a thin line, “why not talk to him?” and as soon as she suggested this, johnny walked towards your table.

“sure..” you said, straightening your body as he approached closer.

taeyong and the rest of the guys just behind him and walked to seulgi was, “why did you let y/n be? you know they can’t meet.”

“it’s troubling her, don’t you see?” she reasoned, “she’s been sighing since-”

“hi, i’m johnny.” they whipped their heads to their friend, and their chests never felt so hurt seeing him introduce himself to you with a smiling face. the air around them never felt so tense and never had they ever expected this to happen so soon. even so, the innocent look on johnny made them feel bad.

they looked to you, who was clenching your chest.

“i’m sorry, but… do i know you?”

—

<prev|next>

[11:42]elitestudent!johnny slung his messenger bag across his body once the professor called the class into a halt as everyone stood, his newly bought rolex watch wrapped on his left wrist made people look his way.

with a figure tall and muscular, and skin quite tanned- his hobbies include surfing and tennis by the way, people can’t help but wanting to befriend the sophomore hottie. johnny gave them a glance, a small smile and a bow to acknowledge hearing their little whispers about him.

as he made a slight eye contact with you, however, he froze on the spot. his constant staring unknowingly blocked the way of other students behind him who were rushing out for lunch break.

“yojohnny, you coming with?” jaehyun looked back at his friend, “heard they’re serving buffet at the cafeteria.”

he looked at you one last time before biting his lip, “yeah, let’s go.”

the cafeteria was pretty much everyone’s favorite spot to hangout and chill, johnny was no different, talking and laughing out loud with his friends. they became quiet when they noticed him looking elsewhere.

jaehyun raised a brow, snapping his best friend out of a trance. “earth to johnny?” he chuckled, “you alright?”

“y-yeah,” he fiddled his fork on the pasta, looking back at you. “she looks familiar.” jaehyun, mark, yuta, and kun looked at each other, not saying a word and johnny quickly caught on, they were hiding something from him. “do i know her?”

“uh,” mark rubbed the nape of his neck, he wanted to say something but was afraid of the aftereffects. looking at his hyungs for backup, he hesistated once they gave him an unencouraging and stern stare.

“not that we know of.” taeyong managed to break the tension.

“well i’m going to talk to her.” their panicked eyes sought each other’s help as johnny stood up walking towards you.

“johnny, wait!”

—

next>

pepero kiss | johnny | mini coffee

pairing: johnny x reader

genre: corretto with syrup! very sugary ☕️

bean count: 775

a/n: i have a week off which sucks cuz bye money but here’s a delayed valentine’s coffee special for you enjoy reading my lovely beans!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

midterms, projects, presentations. that usual cycle of college students have to repeat in the span of four to five years. and all you wanted was to have a well deserved break after everything’s done.

you stretched your legs on johnny’s couch, staying at his apartment was only supposed to be during the afternoon. though that plan had failed because you went rollerskating with your girls prior to coming here. you wanted to leave after having dinner with him but he insisted that you stay the night because your apartment was stations away.

johnny looked at your studious self, typing away on your laptop while you listened to lofi-music. as for him, he already finished his projects and homeworks an hour before you started, so he was pretty free.

he sometimes would tease you for not completing every project after him, and he found it cute that you were so competitive about it. you were competing with the rank one of your major.

also he was kind of frustrated at you, not because you were catching up with your deadline and putting other things first than your studies, but because he wanted your attention for almost two and a half hours.

usually you’d give him glances and sweet smiles if you needed a break. however, tonight was just not that night. johnny sighed out loud on purpose just to make you notice him. he opted the decision to give you any physical contact, ‘cause the last time he did so he got a painful smack on his newly inked tattoo.

you tried so hard not to giggle at your pacing boyfriend, his reaction to not being noticed was funny for you. and even if you did pay him any attention, you wouldn’t be 90% finished as you were now. so you thought to tease him for a while.

when you finally held the cover of your laptop, johnny immediately looked to see if you were done. only to be disappointed once again to see you getting your notes from a folder.

“ah, i’ll just watch some tv while you work.” he dramatically said, reaching for the remote control before realizing it was pepero day. so he went to the pantry and grabbed a box of it.

he knew it was your weakness since you started dating and he knew how much you can’t resist it. the familiar sound of plastic rustling made you look at johnny for the first time in two hours, and snickered at you as he took a bite of a pepero stick and winked at you.

you didn’t know whether to laugh to be disgusted but you just awkwardly looked away. not wanting to show johnny that you wanted one. you closed your laptop and walked towards him, attempting to get the box from him.

ha, it worked.

johnny smirked, “babe, you have to finish your project then you can get a reward.”

you pulled a puffed face at him and johnny swore he wanted to drop everything to hug and kiss you. “i’m already done, so i can have my reward.” you said as you took the box of pepero from him, putting one stick in your mouth.

johnny squinted his eyes and pulled your hairtie off towards the ends of your hair. you gasped as you halted in your steps and held his hands, johnny used this opportunity to pull you gently towards him and turned you around.

you stared at him as he wrapped his arm around your waist, the pepero stick still in between your lips. he smiled at you with his light brown eyes. and he leaned closer to you that you assumed he wanted to try the pepero kiss. so you automatically closed your eyes.

he took the biscuit away that as you opened your eyes, he shook his head and waved the chocolate stick at you. “that’s not the reward i’m talking about.”

“hm?”

johnny grasped your body tighter and locked his lips with yours. you almost forgot how soft they were that you wanted to stay like this a little bit longer, which you did, for two minutes.

you licked your lips and coughed shyly, blinking at the ground not noticing he placed the biscuit in his mouth. you took the box from his other hand, wanting to have a snack after finishing your work.

“ah..” you whined as you turned to look at him, “that was the last one?!”

johnny looked at you mischievously, fiddling the biscuit in his teeth. “mhm.”

“babe i want one.” you chuckled, earning a hum from him.

“sure.. but you have to do the pepero kiss with me first.”

a spark maybe | johnny | ch.27

a spark maybe: ch. 27

coffee line: after floods of photos sent to you after that new years eve party, your once quiet life is soon to have a kickstart with the famous jock johnny suh. will there be a spark in your love life?

a/n: john and y/n wat u both doin?

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[17:40] You were always the child that had to settle. To settle on having hand-me-downs, to settle on not getting anything new, to settle on getting whatever was left. Your family wasn’t poor, you were very comfortable, but you were the youngest child. Your parents didn’t see the need in buying you anything new when your siblings’ stuff was in perfectly fine condition. Perfectly fine, meaning it was still functioning. But you didn’t complain, you had grown quite accustomed to settling.

That was until you met, Kun. There was nothing you couldn’t have. Kun wanted to give you the world by any means, and he would. If you looked at a clothing piece for a second too long, Kun was already pulling out his card. If you struggled between two options on the dinner menu, Kun would just order both. If you even mentioned wanting something Kun would order it. There was literally nothing you couldn’t have, you didn’t even need to ask.

So when it came to your guys wedding, Kun gave you no budget. He agreed to pay for everything for the wedding. Kun’s parents wanted to splurge on their only child’s wedding, so they assured you, that you guys could have whatever you wanted. So you didn’t hold back, this was gonna be your day, your one day that you wouldn’t settle.

When your mom flew in to help you overlook some of the arrangements, she was absolutely flabbergasted. Your mom saw nothing but money down the drain, spent on useless things. You tried your best to ignore all her little comments.

That was until you guys went to one of your dress fittings. You had picked out your dress with Kun, and some of your friends. None of your family was there, when you picked it out, but you wanted your mom to see it. So you brought her, Kun, and Kun’s mother along to one of your dress fittings for them to see it.

You tried it on, and the dress had been customized several times over for it to be to your liking. Kun’s mother insisted that you make whatever changes necessary for it to be perfect, she promised you that you could have it all. You were so grateful to her, that you were gonna be able to have the perfect dress.

You walked out of the dressing room, to stand in front of them. The look on your mother’s face broke your heart, she seemed so angry with you.

“(y/n),” her voice took the scolding tone, it was cold, firm, angry, “how much is this? I did not raise you to be the type of person to spend money frivolously. This is ridiculous, you don’t need all of this. You’re just spending money like it grows on trees, you should be ashamed of yourself, considering this isn’t even your money.”

You felt the tears well up in your eyes and roll down your face, you hung your head, not even having the courage to look at your mother or answer her.

“They can have whatever they want,” Kun spoke up, his voice took on a terrifying tone. A tone that you knew he was angry.

“Excuse me?” your mother asked, now turning to look at Kun. “I appreciate everything you have done for (y/n), but they don’t need all of this. This is just ridiculous.”

“(y/n) can have whatever they want, this is their wedding, and the last I check you weren’t paying for it.” Kun spat back at your mother.

“Kun it’s really fine, I’m okay,” you spoke up quickly, knowing that Kun wasn’t going to back down, since it was you.

Kun’s mother stood, from her seat pushing past your own mother to come up to you, “are you okay my dear?” you just nodded your head, not trusting your voice to convince her. She smiled sweetly at you, before turning back to your mother, “I think you should leave now.”

“I am not leaving this is my child, and they aren’t going to waste anyone’s money on that ugly dress.”

“Like my son said, (y/n) can have whatever they want,” Kun’s mother pulled out her wallet, grabbing the card out, handing it to the girl that was helping you guys, “charge it now, the full price, everything.” Your mother couldn’t contain the shock on her face, “I think you should leave now,” Kun’s mother said once again.

After changing out of the dress, you apologized to Kun’s mother for your moms behavior. You told her that you didn’t need the dress, and you would pay Kun’s mother back for everything, that she didn’t need to spend anymore money on you.

“Sweetheart,” Kun’s mother spoke coming up to you, “when I got married, I spent a total of $25,000 on my dress. Your dress isn’t even worth half of that yet, trust me, it’s more fine that I buy this for you.”

You wanted to cry about how lucky you have been to meet Kun, to be apart of this family, to have his love. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to settle my love,” Kun spoke softly to you, wiping away the stray tears.

——————————

In honor of reaching 500 followers, thank you to everyone who continues to read my work <3

[10:49] Your thighs were sore, your eyes were rolling back, you were considerably fucked out of your mind, but your boyfriend was still absolutely conherent to everything around him. Jeno had looked completely unaffected as you bounced up and down his cock continuously. He even still managed to look behind you to the computer screen, when he noticed a notification pop up on the screen. You were nearly on the edge of the mind-blowing orgasm and your boyfriend was completely unbothered.

You wish you could say that you were irritated at his unethustatic reaction, but you really weren’t. You were extremely turned on by the fact that he remained completely in control. That he wore this cocky smirk as he watched you bounce up and down. That his hands rested on your hips, not at all controlling your movements but just resting there. That he looked at you with loving eyes, his pupils blown wide.

*ring*

Jeno’s phone started going off, stopping your movements. You calmed down a bit, sobering up just a bit. Jeno grabbed his phone off the desk looking at the screen to see Jaemin’s contact picture. He slid the button to answer the call, “hey.”

You could hear the muffled sound of Jaemin speaking, but you remained still waiting for Jeno to finish his conversation. “Hold on one sec, jaems,” Jeno spoke quickly, moving the phone away from his ear, “why’d you stop baby?”

You wanted to curl into yourself at this moment, completely shocked at Jeno’s question, “because you’re on the phone.”

“Did I say to stop?” Jeno asked, with an air of confidence. His voice dripped with dominance. You slowly shook your head, unsure where Jeno’s mindset was at. “Keep going baby.”

You slowly started back up again, going up and down at an insufferably slow pace. Jeno wasn’t satisfied, squishing his phone between his shoulder and ear. He placed both hands on your hips, this time controlling your movements. Bouncing you up and down faster than you were going initially. You had to grip Jeno’s arms to steady yourself. You threw your head back in ecstasy, the moans pouring from you. You felt the orgasm that was slowly built up over time, rushing back to you with light speed.

Jeno hummed along to whatever Jaemin was saying, as he moved one hand from your hip to your core. Rubbing soft circles on your cilt, speeding up your impending orgasm. You let a gut deep moan.

“Is that (y/n)?” you heard Jaemin’s voice clear as day in that one moment. You tried to halt your movements, but Jeno didn’t let you.

Instead he chuckled at Jaemin’s question, “I’ll call you back late Jaems,” he said with that same cocky smirk.

“Dude what the fuck, why…” Jeno ended the call before Jaemin could finish his question.

“Look at you baby,” Jeno teased, he started thrusting up, meeting your bounces, “couldn’t even control yourself when Jaemin was on the phone.”

“Jen… so” you were panting out of breath at this point, ready to pass out, “so close.”

“Go on baby, you can cum for me.” At his command you felt the wave of pleasure wash over you in absolute bliss. You threw your head back as you clenched around Jeno tighter than before. You rested your head on his shoulder, now feeling exhausted. “Feel good baby?”

All you did was nod and mumble something that sounded like a ‘yeah.’

“Don’t fall asleep, I’m not done with you yet,” Jeno teased further. You wanted to groan, and complain you were tired, but this was Jeno. You would never turn down the opportunity to get your guts absolutely rearranged by this man.

[21:23]

y/n’s eyes focused back on her surroundings when she noticed the golden hues painting around her room behind her phone.

her and haechan had stayed in for a lazy day and were just spending some quiet time. when the time had passed she had no idea.

a relaxed smile pulled at her lips as she lazily turned towards her left, wondering what haechan was doing. the boy had been awfully quiet; and although she knew sometimes the obnoxiously loud haechan could also be calm haechan, it was absolutely not in his nature not to cuddle up to her during their usual silent evenings.

her smile widened as her eyes rested on a sleeping angel. he was lying on his side, one hand under his cheek and the other between his knees.

his clear skin being kissed by the setting sun made him shine as bright as the sun he was named after.

knowing how much of a deep sleeper he was she didn’t think twice before turning to her side fully and resting her palm on his jaw. her thumb swiped at his cheek, before it ran lightly along his eyelashes. his bottom lip being the next target as she just admired his beauty.

she took a deep breath as she shuffled a bit closer and raised her self up to softly press her lips to his forehead, peaking through his parted hair.

haechan took a deep breath in as he blindly reached out, with the hand that was trapped between his knees, tapping the sheets in front of his stomach before his hand bumped against her elbow. he shuffled closer, and as he did he pushed her back until her back was flat against the bed again. a soft laugh left her lips.

“what are you doing?” she giggled as he wrapped one leg around her hips and his arm around her stomach. he just groaned before he settled and sighed.

“keep doing what you were doing,” he whispered, voice groggy and y/n laughed before grasping his face in her hands again. she waited a second for his body to relax against hers before-

“AHHHH YOU CRAZY WOMAN LET ME GO!” he wailed as she squeezed his cheeks all of a sudden.

y/n cackled loud as he scrambled away, eyes horrified, before soft laughs escaped him too. the look of pure happiness in her face warming his chest.

as the two looked at each other, in the golden hours of the day, they fell in love with each other a little bit harder.

haechan didn’t think twice to shuffle towards her when she opened her arms. his own wrapping around her as she cuddled her arms around his shoulders.

his nuzzled his head under her chin as she pressed small kisses to his hair.

“i love you,” she sighed and he hummed, the soft squeeze of his arms at her words letting her know he loved her just the same.

[10:44pm] mark lee; fluff, tw alcohol. 0.5k words.

mark lee was a lightweight. this was a fact you knew well. and so, when you went out for a few late-night drinks with your boyfriend, you should’ve known it was going to end this way. while you were only tipsy, mark was passing into full-on drunk.

the walk home was only fifteen minutes normally, but you were taking it slowly, mark’s hand tightly grasping yours.

“hey,” mark murmured. “the park.”

you walked past the playground every day on your way to work, but it was eerily quiet and empty - as expected at this late hour. the roundabout sat motionless, the climbing frame empty.

mark looked at you, a scarily mischievous grin on his face. “should we…”

“the gate’s locked, mark,” you pointed out. “c'mon, let’s get home.”

he scoffed. “the fence is, what, a foot high?”

before you had the opportunity to respond, mark had let go of your hand, crossed the street, and hopped the fence. you blinked. and followed his steps.

mark was sitting on the swingset, beaming as he waited for you to join him. you took a seat on the second swing, and looked over at your boyfriend. you couldn’t help but smile back at him. his eyes were sparkling in the light of the streetlamps, and he looked positively angelic.

with a laugh, mark began to swing, pushing his legs through the air to boost his height. his giggles were music to your ears, and you followed suit.

“look how high i can go,” mark panted, and you chuckled at him.

“hey, watch this!” he said suddenly, and before you knew what was happening, he jumped off the seat, flying through the air and (miraculously) landing neatly on the cushioned rubber floor.

“oh my god, be careful!” you gasped at him.

“i’m a professional, baby,” he waved away your worries, looking very proud of his maneuver. you slowed your swinging down gradually, watching as mark shrugged out of his coat, discarding it on the floor and stretching his arms wide.

“you’ll catch a cold, mark lee,” you tutted, though he failed to listen.

“come here,” he said, extending his hand out to you. “come dance with me.”

you smiled, standing up. “there’s no music, markie.”

“we don’t need any,” he said, taking you into his arms. his hands went to your waist, and you rested yours on his shoulders. you let him move you, swaying together to an imaginary beat under the light of the moon.

“you’re so beautiful,” mark complimented you, gazing at you with pure adoration in his eyes. you leaned in, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck and kissing his lips.

“you’re so warm,” you said, pulling his body closer to yours and absorbing his body heat, combating the cool temperatures of the night. mark squeezed you tightly, picking you up and spinning you around.

“mark!” you giggled, and he put you down, kissing you again.

“let’s go home,” you suggested, and he nodded. “don’t forget your coat!”

“okay, baby,” he said, picking his coat up from the ground and taking your hand in his once more.