#the boyz fanfic
[1:41 a.m.]
amidst the chaos of flashing lights and sweaty bodies on the dance floor, you can still make out the surprise in juyeon’s eyes when your lips encase his own. drunken desire drowns out the sound of the club music as his tongue delves into your mouth.
large hands come to grab the expanse of your neck, and it’s when the heat enveloping you two gets to be too much that you stop to smile up at him. dripping in ecstasy, your voice sends shivers down his spine,
“i win.”
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
ミ★taglist:@sunlightwoo@junjungsunwoo@woozisnoots@w8nuzone@miyuuraiura@sbnchaos@mybbtaeyong4thewin
“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
HAWAIIAN DUCK
