#hivegetit

[hcuyk]

synopsis. you've been fake dating juyeon for three months, but you decide to call it quits when you realize that everything in the relationship and the feelings you have were much more than what's shone on the surface

pairing. fakeboyfriend!juyeon x genderneutral!reader

genre. fake dating au, mutual pining, bittersweet, majority angst, fluff, and an overall merry nice ending

warnings. profanities, poorly written

word count. 3.3k

perspective. second person omniscient

author's note. aera, this is for you and one of your entries for the 600 special event. thank you for being one of my closest friends, and i'm so glad that you're always here for me :( i really hope this fic becomes a comfort fic for you because that was my goal, MWAH I LOVE YOU please enjoy 🥺 also special thanks to @hyuukais for beta-reading and helping me with this fic when i desperately needed it

taglist. [ @strawbericc ] @stealanity @yourjaylaks @wooyoung-a @kimaya2209 @armysantiny @changminurheart @moonieric @sunfics @fullsunfluff @lcvekdy @deputyjuyeon @simpforsunwoo @nyujjan @jaekiths @i6swoo @fairycob @karsohn @nilesig @twentysixofmays

Considering how popular your ‘boyfriend’ is at school, you would assume he’d choose to attend the amusement park with his enormous number of friends yet oddly enough, he was persistent on going with you.

He wouldn’t stop spamming you through text about how there will be fireworks late at night and how he already bought the tickets, so you really couldn’t back out of it unless you wanted to be a dick. Though, when you think about your relationship with Lee Juyeon, it doesn’t make sense. What does going to Lotte World have to do with your fake relationship? If anything, it’s the last thing you deem necessary for your shared facade.

The goal is simple; make Juyeon’s ex-girlfriend jealous.

It all started when you happened to be the person in the booth behind Juyeon’s table, and accidentally eavesdropped on Juyeon’s outrage about his ex-girlfriend moving on way too quickly from him. He wanted her back, and in order to do this, he planned on tossing himself into a fake relationship so he could shove it in her face.

Unfortunately, he chose you, out of all people, because he was friends with everyone he knew. He didn’t know you, and therefore it made you perfect for his plan. The only reason you complied is because he bribed you with free bags of chips for a month straight, but he gave up on that promise after a week.

Now, three months later, the relationship hasn’t brought any hope of jealousy since, but the thing is—you’re not complaining. You know it’s wrong of you to wish that his ex-girlfriend would never return, but you’ve fallen for Juyeon, and you couldn’t help but want to keep him for yourself.

Despite being head over heels for him, you would’ve normally rejected his offer. It doesn’t matter if he bought two tickets and had one with your name written all over it; you would’ve told him to spend the time with one of his friends instead because in all honesty, the more dates you go on with Juyeon, the more you end up falling for him.

But you agreed to go with him this time because you made a promise.

You made a promise to yourself that this will be the last time you’ll associate yourself with Lee Juyeon.

So, right after school, you and Juyeon jumped onto a metro after giving your friends your backpacks to take home. You both remained in your uniforms because Juyeon refused to waste any time by changing. It was very apparent how excited Juyeon was. He had one earbud in while he uninvitingly rested his head on your shoulder. He restrained himself from snuggling up to your side, and yawned, scrolling through his phone to pass the time.

Meanwhile, all you could think about was how you’d planned on ending the relationship. You didn’t know how you’d word it or how you’d even bring it up, so it became all you could ponder, even when you both reached the park.

Your mind was cleared of your (rather condescending) thoughts when Juyeon pulled you into lines to get into the rides and the screams you both shared only brought you happy ones instead. You were usually never impressed with the attractions theme parks provide, but with Juyeon by your side, you saw everything with a different perspective.

While you were distracted with taking photos of the castle, Juyeon came up behind you and surprised you with a headband on your head. His smile was wider than ever, and he laughed when you spun around and shot him a glare. You chose to buy the same headband for him when he was distracted, the one with fox ears and a cactus atop, and he whined when you surprised him with it by forcing it upon his head. You both walked around while wearing them and Juyeon made the stupid mistake of keeping it on his head on a roller coaster. You gave him yours without taking ‘no’ for an answer, and he was hiding a bashful smile as he wore it around his neck while you dragged him around the park by his hand.

Amidst all the rides that provided sharp yet addicting waves of acceleration and thrill, you mainly looked forward to the bumper cars.

Each car could only hold one passenger, forcing you to separate from Juyeon. You didn’t mind—in fact, you both enjoyed it. You drove around the entire closure whilst holding back screams because of how Juyeon was chasing after you, constantly ramming his car into yours whenever he got the chance. His laughter filled the entire room when he had you locked against a wall, claiming victory once time was called.

The indoor rides had begun to reach their closing time, and you both only realized this after exiting the bumper cars.

As much as Juyeon had been here, he never went on the carousel.

Usually, when he’d gone to Lotte World, he’d be accompanied with friends or family and therefore it gave him no reason to spend his time riding a rather boring ride when he could be queuing for a more thrillsome adventure.

But with you, he was adamant on going on the carousel with you the entire day. He wouldn’t stop bringing it up in the middle of class (he sits behind you—go figure) and kept mumbling about how fun it’d be whilst dozing off on your shoulder in the metro. It was quite entertaining how a teenage boy could get this excited about going on a merry-go-round, so to see him so desperate made it hard to convince him that you both should ride it during nighttime. You argued that it’d look way prettier, and with a huff, he agreed.

Though, with that decision, he was on the verge of sulking and cursing you out (which he does fairly weakly) when you two had to run across the entire indoor park to reach the carousel, but luckily the remaining worker saved you from the whines by letting you two inside.

With sixty-four seats, each and every one would end up occupied but because of the lack of people, only half of the horses were taken. You were thankful for this because it gave you a chance to have some alone time with Juyeon.

Or rather, your last few moments with Juyeon.

Little did he know about how you had finally planned on ending everything between the two of you. That included the forced words of affirmation and unconventional dates that Juyeon had excused with giving the relationship ‘life’. All of this would end soon because all of it was merely nothing.

You both hoisted yourself up onto separate horses that stood adjacent to each other with Juyeon taking the inner one.

Once you’d settled on top, Juyeon reached to hold onto your hand before the ride started, mindfully rubbing his thumb over your skin. You hated how he knows how to comfort you after being together for only three months, especially when the entire relationship wasn’t even a relationship; it was a joke. That’s how you saw it, at least.

When the horses began to move, infinite coos and ahhs were heard throughout the carousel. Although it was nighttime, the bright lights somehow managed to blind you. Regardless, everything was stunning. Your eyes remained captivated as you took in every detail crafted into the carousel, and you genuinely felt like you were floating on clouds as the horses raised you up and down.

The entire moment was bittersweet; it was filled with resurfacing thoughts about how you were able to hold Juyeon’s hand without him even knowing it was your last time holding onto him. Regardless, you thought it would be a rather nice memory to look back on and smile at.

“You were right,” Juyeon says, momentarily interrupting your thoughts. “It is prettier at night.”

You tore your gaze away from the golden specks and shiny metal to look at Juyeon. He had his head resting against the pole, and he smiled when your eyes caught his. He subtly squeezed your hand, and that’s when you noticed that he’d never taken his off of you the entire ride.

It wasn’t the carousel that made him feel so enamored. It was you. You were the one that contained all the beauty, and all Juyeon could do is become entranced by the simple sight of you.

He didn’t say anything else, and neither did you. It all fell into slow motion when the world seemed to disappear around you, allowing the lights of the carousel to provide a spotlight on the two of you.

It didn’t help how he looked at you ever so lovingly, making your heart soar for miles, and you wished that moment wouldn’t have to end.

Hell, you wished your relationship with him would last forever.

But your relationship with him wasn’t even a relationship, and eventually it would all come to a stop—just like the carousel.

Juyeon leapt off his seat and helped you down ever so gently. He didn't let go of your hand as you both left the vicinity, using his free hand to adjust the headband around his neck. Instead of spoken sentences of joy, all Juyeon did was laugh out of happiness.

True, sincere happiness.

And he only felt that with you.

Fresh air and an unwelcome breeze greeted you both once you stepped outside, and Juyeon instantly rushed you over to the bridge in front of the castle. You can’t help but smile widely at the colorful lights that managed to consume the both of you. Juyeon looked so beautiful as the colors of the rainbow flashed across his skin and uniform, and joining the sight were joyus screams coming from those remaining on the outdoor rides.

You both made it in time for the fireworks, and Juyeon shoved his way through to get the perfect spot against the ledge of the bridge rather than being in the middle of the crowd. The fireworks started shooting up into the sky, and Juyeon didn't even bother to take out his phone to record it all. Instead, he had an arm looped around your waist, keeping you close against his side while the show played out in the sky.

But throughout it all, the urge to spill out what’s been on your mind the entire day refused to stop prodding at your throat, so you turned to face him and called his name.

“Juyeon,” you said loudly over the cracks and booming sparkles.

Mesmerized by the sight, he didn’t remove his gaze from the sky. All he did was respond with a ‘hm?’, and his response left you unintentionally gazing into his eyes.

Not only were the fireworks being reflected in the depths of his pupils, but they also held a sparkle that didn’t shine in the sky; one you believe could only be seen through Juyeon’s eyes when he was with you. The way it shimmered reminded you of how special you considered Juyeon, and it gave you a reason to hold onto what you have with him.

But you knew you couldn’t do it for any longer, especially when you couldn’t prioritize a fake relationship over your heart becoming permanently shattered because of what you feared as the end result.

“I don’t-...I don’t think we should do this any more.”

Juyeon became stiff and the smile on his lips fell. The grand finale was filled with countless fireworks all being shot up at once, filling the entire sky with fireworks before it was all gone. They died out in not only the sky, but in his eyes, and the sparkle is nowhere to be seen, leaving his gaze dull.

He doesn’t ask ‘what?’ or ‘huh?’ like usual because for once, he understood what you were implying.

“This as in…our relationship?” he warily questioned, hoping that he just misunderstood things, but alas, his thoughts are proven otherwise when your voice croaks.

“Fake relationship,” you corrected through a mumble. Your heart ached when you caught sight of his downturned features, you ignored it to the best of your ability because from what you knew, it could all be an act.

You forced your eyes to dart towards the ground, only catching sight of the rapid footsteps that passed the two of you. Many were exiting the amusement park with laughter and playful teases while you remained with Juyeon, hopeless and lost.

“What makes you say that? Say that we shouldn’t do this anymore…Y/N?”

“We’ve been doing this for three months,” you whispered. You picked up your head, looking up at him with tears glossing your eyes. “Three months, and to be completely honest, I don’t think this is going anywhere. We lost a purpose for this relationship, so everything between us just seems so…pointless.”

Juyeon parted his lips as if he wanted to retaliate, but seeing that you had more to say made him stay silent.

“Your ex-girlfriend…she’s happy, and I think it’s better if we break this off so we could continue with our own love lives.” You nibbled on the inside of your lip, trying to decipher Juyeon’s thoughts while looking into his eyes. “Juyeon, I think it’s better if you find someone to love instead of staying in something that’s fake.”

“Fake…you’re saying everything is fake.”

Juyeon wasn’t the type to cry, but seeing him broken was worse than having tears cascade down his cheeks. His eyes barely held an ounce of hope and his gaze was like a puppy with downturned ears.

“No,” you rushed to whisper, quickly reassuring him by bringing a hand up to his cheek. “Not…not everything, but this relationship? It’s not real.”

“So that’s why you want us to part—because we’re not real.” He slightly bobbed his head as if he understood, looking away from you, but he continued to lean into the warmth of your palm, using it as support.

You didn’t want to confirm nor deny his words, so you apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

You were about to leave, but your interlaced hand with Juyeon refused to do so.

And he noticed this.

“That’s not it,” he concluded, breaking the silence. Your eyebrows furrowed due to confusion.

“...What?”

“It’s something else, isn’t it? Why…why?” Juyeon wished he could form his words better, but he couldn’t. All he can do is ask ‘why?’.

Why on a day like this? Why during the moment when he felt the happiest he’s been in a long time? Why…why did you think about letting go when he treasured you so incredibly much?

“There’s nothing else,” you quickly denied, keeping up with your act. “This relationship is fake, so it’s better we end it to avoid wasting anymore time.”

“Then why haven’t you let go of my hand?”

His cautious, dejected whisper made you break the facade you’ve been trying so hard to hold up. The tears brimming your eyes finally became visible under the moonlight, and your eyes fell shut to prevent any droplets from slipping out. You instinctively leaned forward to rest your forehead against his chest, pouring out the truth.

“Because I don’t want to,” you replied, unconsciously latching your teeth onto your lower lip. “I don’t want to let go of you. I’m not prepared for the day your ex-girlfriend finally realizes she wants you back. I’m not prepared for when you’ll break up with me for her, and before you say anything, I know that’s what we agreed on, but the more I think about it, the more my heart aches.

I can’t do it. My heart can’t harbor the amount of pain when you leave me for someone else, so I figured it’d be easier if I was the one who let go first. It was never meant to be something I wanted to hold on for eternity.” You paused to take a breather, unsure if Juyeon heard you at all through the incessant chatter from the people around you. You then laughed, dry of all humor, in an attempt to brighten the mood. “I’m sorry, Ju, for being weak and falling for you—it wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

A response was found caught in his throat, leaving him quiet for minutes on end, and you don’t have the courage to look up at him for his reaction—so when Juyeon pulled his hand away from yours, your heart plummeted into the pit of your stomach. Nothing could stop the tears from pouring down your cheeks, not when you were in the arms of someone that didn’t love you, at least from what you assumed.

You were prepared to be ditched, left alone, but instead you were met with his hand wrapped around your nape, pressing you closer into his embrace while his other arm locked around your torso as if to keep you secured and protected from others. It pained him to see you like this, to see you broken because of him and his stupid selfishness.

“Y/N…I’m so sorry.”

You couldn’t stop your tears from wetting his shirt, hating how his actions always made you feel so comfortable, but what couldn’t be helped was his words that tore your heart to shreds. You bunched up the material into your fist, wishing he’d say anything more; just something.

Or maybe it would’ve been better if he’d left you.

It was better than holding you while also rejecting you at the same time.

“Let’s make this real.”

Perplexed, you reluctantly looked up at him. You weren’t prepared for the expression that masked his features. It was one that mirrors yours with a glint of faith lingering in his eyes.

“Please,” he begged. “I’m sorry for calling this a fake relationship from the very start when everything was so real…to me, it was real, so let’s make it real.”

He combed his fingers through your hair, tucked a few strands behind your ear, and then cupped your cheek. You remained speechless, unsure of what to think, and Juyeon sucked in a sharp breath.

He knew it was either now or never to say something because if he didn’t, he would lose you in a heartbeat.

“After a month of us being together, my ex, she pulled me aside after school one day to talk,” Juyeon explained, recalling the very moment. “She said she noticed the way I looked at you. She said it’s the same way she looks at her own boyfriend, and she said the reason she moved on so fast is because I never looked at her like that. Nevertheless…she was happy for how I found someone to finally give my heart to, and that talk…it made me realize how much you mean to me.”

“So…the spontaneous dates-”

“-were just an excuse to spend more time with you,” he continued. “I’m sorry, for letting you believe otherwise. I should have said something earlier, I-”

“Juyeon,” you started, cutting him off, but he didn't falter.

“I like you.”

Despite the fireworks being long gone, they had resurfaced within your heart, making the organ burst with the three simple words. He caressed your cheek while awaiting an answer, for you to pull away, to reject him, but you closed your eyes once more and leaned into his touch.

“I like you too—so, so much.”

You could only laugh when you catch how his smile returned. You reached up to take the headband off his neck while he rested his hands on your hips, watching your every movement. You adjusted it back onto his head, and the close proximity of his face made you giggle. He leaned in and hovered his lips over yours teasingly, whispering a sentence that has you seeing sparks before giving you full permission to dive in for a long-lasting kiss.

“Then let me be officially yours.”

NAVIGATION | TBZ MASTERLIST

[tbzhub]

12 Days of the Boyz Eric

Pairing: Eric x reader

Summary: you got the worst person for secret santa

Warnings: cursing

Genre: fluff, enemies to lovers au, co-worker au

WC: 1.8k

Tagged: @kpophoe-22

Artist Note: Hi! Just a few Christmas themed drabbles for fun! I’ll post one every day-ish from Dec 6th - 24th! (weekdays only) minors dni with the smut drabbles! If you want to be tagged let me know :) Submitting this for the holiday event @ficscafe

navi | m. list | tag list

Towards the end of your shift, you heard your manager call for a team meeting in the back of the retail shop where you worked. Putting down the shirt that you were folding, you followed after some of your co-workers to meet your manager

“Hey.” You heard a familiar voice whisper in your ear and turned your head to see your friend standing beside you. “What do you think she wants today?”

You shrugged, “No idea, let's hope she’s in a good mood. I am so over being here today.” You crossed your arms as you waited for your manager to speak.

“Okay guys, it’s that time of the year again”, your manager sang and she pulled out a small bowl with folded up strips of paper in it. “Secret Santa. Remember, don’t tell anyone who you have. Let’s make it a surprise. If you get someone you don’t know, use this as an opportunity to get to know them better!”

As your manager passed the small bowl around in a circle, you whispered in your friend's ear, “I hope I get you. I don’t know anyone else.”

She chuckled, eyes on the bowl that was being passed around. “Maybe we’ll get lucky. I hope I don’t get the girl who works the cash register. She’s mean.”

You shushed your friend, not wanting anyone to hear what she said. “Don’t say that.”

“Oh, stop. It’s just like how you wouldn't want Eric.”

Your face flushed, a sheepish grin on your face. “You’re right. But at least I’m vocalizing it. If I get him I’m screwed.”

Your friend grabbed the bowl from the coworker that was beside her and plucked a small piece of paper out of it. She handed you the bowl and winked, “I’m sure you’ll get me and I don’t need a gift, you can cover my shift for New Years.”

“Sure, you bet”, you joked while you put your fingers into the bowl, rifling through the pieces of paper until you grabbed one all the way at the bottom.

You gave the bowl to the next person and turned to your friend, “Wanna switch before we look?”

She pondered on it for a moment before shaking her head, “Nah, I feel like I got a good one.” She opened the piece of paper, covering it with her hands so you wouldn’t be able to read the name.

“Alright, let’s see who I got”, you mumbled to yourself while opening the paper.

Eric Sohn

“Dammit, she jinxed me”, you thought. You crumpled up the paper, shoving it into your pocket as you looked over to observe the guy that you got.

Eric was talking with his little clique of coworkers, goofing off as usual. It wasn’t that you didn’t like him, you were sure he was nice but he rubbed you the wrong way. Everything he did at work annoyed you, from the way he folded shirts to the fact that he could never seem to get to work on time, always arriving a few minutes later than when he was supposed to come in. He talked a lot and he was loud. Every time you had to close the shop together you would get overwhelmed by just how much he talked. Sometimes going home at the end of a day with a headache, thankful for the silence.

“Guess who I got.”

You turned to look at your visibly excited friend, “We aren’t supposed to talk about who we got.” You walked away from the cluster of people still chatting about Secret Santa and went to clock out, ready to leave this place for the day.

The next few days you tried to get to know Eric from a distance, paying attention more to the things he would say in the break room and during closing. You only had a week to find him a gift but you were drawing blanks. You couldn't even get him a gift card because you didn't know what he liked. You knew nothing about him besides your perception of him and his personality.

Coming in to open the store one morning, you saw that you had been paired with Eric according to the schedule, making your shoulders sag with dread. “Ugh, him again.”

“Wow, am I really that bad, y/n?” Eric walked over to the cash register to get ready for the day. He was on time, leaving you stunned by the unusual change.

“I’m sorry. That was such a rude thing to say.” You bowed your head, feeling guilty for what you said.

“It's alright.” Eric patted you on the arm before walking over to unlock the door at the front of the store.

You went to lean against one of the mannequin displays by the entrance as you waited for customers. It was always dead in the morning which was why you preferred opening versus closing. One day you plan to ask your manager if you could just open the store by yourself, it wasn’t necessary for someone to be there to help you. No one wants to shop for a shirt at 10 in the morning.

Eric popped up behind you, starling you out of your train of thought. “Pretty boring this morning, right?” He sat on a table next to you, pushing aside the clothes on top of it so not to ruin the folded stack.

“Mmmhm.” You wanted to enjoy the quiet this morning, not in the mood to talk to Eric at all.

“So, are you excited for Secret Santa? Did you get someone good?” Eric wore a smile on his easy face as he tried to make small talk with you. You did find him a little endearing, especially since he’s not bouncing off the walls like usual.

“I have no idea what to get the person that I picked.” You shifted your body so that you were facing Eric. “What about you? Happy with who you picked?”

Eric blushed, looking out the large glass window panes at the entrance of the store, “Yeah, I got someone that I really wanted.”

“Lucky you”, you muttered under your breath before hopping off of the display and walking away from Eric to go organize some boxes in the back.

-

Over the weekend you searched the mall looking for a gift that would be good for Eric. You thought about giving up and getting him a book, but you were sure that would be a lame gift. So here you were, walking aimlessly through the mall waiting for something to jump out at you.

You were looking at a bracelet through a shop window when you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“Hey, y/n! I knew that it was you I saw walk past me earlier.” Eric waved at you with a friendly smile on his face. “Christmas shopping too, huh?”

“Uh, yeah… I still have a few gifts to get.” You were surprised to see him outside of work, you didn’t know he lived in the area.

“Want to walk around together?”

You stared at Eric for a while, he seemed genuinely interested in hanging out with you. Figuring this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know Eric so that you could finally get him a gift that he would like, you nodded your head. “Sure, sounds fun.”

-

You walked into your job on your day off, a wrapped present in hand. Your manager planned for everyone to come in an hour before the store was set to open to exchange gifts. Normally you’d be irritated in having to come to work on your day off but your manager was closing the store for a while and giving everyone the week off for the holidays, so you didn’t mind today.

Standing next to your friend, you both waited with your other co-workers for your manager to call everyone together.

As you were chatting with your friend and another co-worker you heard the sound of jingle bells and looked over to see your manager waiting for everyone to pay attention to her.

“Okay guys! I have all of the gifts here behind me, thank you all for participating. You all work very hard and I appreciate everything that we do as a team. Look for the gift with your name on it first and then try to find the person who gave it to you.” She stepped away from the table, there were gifts lined in a row, all with the same wrapping paper so to not give away who brought what gift.

You walked up to the table looking for a gift with your name one it, eyes scanning across the table until you saw a tag that read, “y/n”, on it. You picked up the slender rectangular box, shaking it with curiosity. Walking over to the hide behind a rack of clothes, you opened your gift in private.

Tearing open the paper, you uncovered a small black box and took off the lid revealing the bracelet that you were eyeing for a few days ago. You gasped, looking around to see if anyone saw you. You opened the box again, pulling the bracelet out to admire it. A smile spread across your face as you realized who might have been your Secret Santa.

“Did Eric get me this?”

You turned around to find Eric, bumping into him the second you moved your foot.

“Oops— I’m sorry.” You looked down at your feet, suddenly feeling nervous in Eric’s presence. You held out the bracelet, making eye contact with him one more time. “Were you my Secret Santa this entire time?”

He grinned, “Yeah, I had to switch two times until I finally got you. I hope you like your gift, I saw you looking at it the other day.” He touched your arm tenderly, making you blush.

“Y-yeah. I really liked this bracelet. I can’t believe you got it for me. Why did you switch to get me, Eric?” You looked at him in the eyes, gnawing on the inside of your cheek anxiously as you waited for his response. You didn’t know when the butterflies started to show up but you felt them in your stomach now, fluttering as you stared into Eric’s eyes and down to his lips as he talked.

“I— I just really wanted to get you a gift.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking down to conceal the light flush that was appearing on his cheeks.

You smiled brightly, finding his shyness cute. “I got you too, you know. I’m glad I did too because it made me realize how sweet and fun you are. I’m really sorry that I’ve been so cold to you the entire time we’ve worked together.”

Eric laughed, “No way, you got me that video game?” You nodded, “I had no idea what to get you, I heard you mention this game when we were at the mall. You don’t have it already, right?”

Eric hugged you, wrapping his arms around you in a warm embrace. “No, I don’t. Thanks for getting it for me.” He let you go, leaving you feeling overwhelmed by how shy you felt around him. Who would have thought that you would have developed a crush on Eric Sohn?

You held out your bracelet placing it in his hand and holding out your wrist. “Can you help me with this?”

Eric nodded his head, quickly fiddling with the clasp of the bracelet and wrapping it around your wrist, and fastening it into place. As he tried to pull his hand away from yours you caught his fingers, intertwining them with yours. You tilted your head to the side as you asked, “Are you working today?” You watched as a smile spread across Eric’s features.

“No, why?”

You pulled him towards the front door, “I need to make up for lost time. We’re hanging out, it’s our day off.”

Eric chuckled, a bit surprised by your enthusiasm. “I’ll follow you any where you want, y/n.”

[tsupuffs]

pigs can fly ✩ kim sunwoo

genre : harry potter au, jily trope cuz i love jily, fluff word count : 929 a/n : i love jily (james and lily) so i just had to write this. even if ur unfamiliar with harry potter, i tried to make this as understandable as possible! also it's kind of poorly written so i'm very sorry for that. also sunwoo calls the reader princess but u can imagine it as whatever u want! i just thought the nickname was fitting.

kim sunwoo was persistent. no, certain that you would go out with him someday. ever since that fateful day he first saw you on the train to hogwarts, he’d been irrevocably, and undeniably in love with you. and unfortunately for you, kim sunwoo was never quiet with his feelings.

in fact, it was quite the opposite. every day, he’d partake in various grand gestures, all with the implication of him asking you out. whether it be disrupting the great hall announcements with fireworks that smell like fresh flowers, spelling out “y/n, go out with kim sunwoo!!” in all caps or constantly passing incredibly cheesy note-poems to you in the middle of classes. with their contents ranging from “knock knock” “who’s there?” “the love of your life, kim sunwoo ;)” to a full-fledged poem describing his feelings for you in a surprisingly well-versed manner.

nevertheless, you had always made your answer clear as day. “the day pigs fly, and the day you wear a bloody head boy badge, will i ever go on a date with you.”

this had been quite the ongoing back-and-forth dynamic. in fact, it’s been like this since first year that everyone in school, and their great aunt’s have heard about kim sunwoo’s undying unrequited love for you.

it was embarrassing to admit but truth be told, you had considered agreeing to his advances a few times. and as the years passed, you did agree, he had grown on you since you first met him, stuffing his face full with chocolate frogs as he tries his best to make small talk with you in the same compartment.

but you would never actually say yes to him. he’s kim sunwoo, for goodness’ sake! notorious troublemaker kim sunwoo. leader of the marauders kim sunwoo. there’s no way you, prefect since 5th year, and a regular at the school library, would ever be compatible with him!

fortunately though, 7th year was approaching like lightning, and you had the smallest glimmer of hope that sunwoo has changed. maybe he’ll stop with the antics, the grand gestures, and constant unreciprocated pick up lines.

as soon as you know it, the first day has already come! and you could not be more surprised. you hadn’t seen even a glimpse of kim sunwoo all day! even his best friends, eric sohn, and ju haknyeon where no where to be find. seemingly strange as on all the other years, sunwoo had a tradition of scaring you on the platform before tagging along to whatever compartment you choose.

but maybe he has changed. maybe he’s moved on? well that’s good then! good for you. no more kim sunwoo to annoy you while you’re busy with your n.e.w.t.s later this year. he’ll find someone else! you kept telling yourself that over, and over again with the hopes that you’d brainwash yourself into thinking it’s true. but a betraying part of you didn’t want that. school wouldn’t be the same without kim sunwoo constantly on your tail with a mischievous grin, and surprise gift from honeydukes.

nevertheless, you tried to focus on unpacking as your roommates conversed in what they’ve been up to during summer break. but when it was your turn to talk, you were caught off guard, then your mind went blank. the only thing in it–kim sunwoo.

speak of the devil… fortunately for you, before you could stutter a lame response out, you heard a confusing sound at your window. as you inched closer, you realized someone was throwing stones at it! flinching, another one hit it before you opened the window, outraged at whoever could’ve done this.

that was until you finally saw him. sunwoo. poodle hair, quidditch broom, gryffindor uniform, and all. that was until you noticed something. something different on the chest of his uniform. but there was no way, right?

he gave you a shit-eating grin, being sure you were watching before whipping his wand out in a cocky fashion, pointing at some unknown place on the ground before you watched a pig nervously rise from the ground. somehow, sunwoo flicked his wrist as two white feathery wings sprouted from the pig’s back, and his levitation spell went off.

with only the smallest struggle, the pig began flying around the air, returning to the land with an alarmed look. then, sunwoo inches closer to your window, flying until he was face-level with you, letting you get a better look at him, and wow, has he matured.

“what were your exact words, y/n?” he tapped a finger to his chin, feigning confusion as he pretended to think. “the day pigs fly, and i get a head boy badge?” he quoted you with a questioning tone before throwing his badge in the air, swiftly catching it with a smug look.

“what do you say? may i whisk you away, princess?”

sunwoo draws a hand to you as you simply stand there, appalled, failing to notice how your little conversation with sunwoo had gained a small audience as your roommates simply watch in a mix of amazement, and confusion.

you sigh as sunwoo tilts his head, still awaiting your response.

“fair game, kim.” you simply tell him with a faint smile, placing your hand on his, feeling quite amused by sunwoo's expression. as if he couldn’t believe the words coming out of your mouth right now.

sunwoo muttered a “holy shit”, smiling before letting you on his broom, your roommates cheering as you nervously held onto him tightly while he flew you across the land below.

main masterlist!

[tinisprout]

A Real Friend

Pairing: College student! Eric x gn!Reader

Genre: Fluff, a little angst, college au, Strangers to Friends,

Warnings: profanities, mentions of drink (not by main characters)

Word count: 1.5k

Summary: Eric doesn't have any real friends, but that will change when he meets you.

A/N: this is kinda a belated birthday fic for Eric cause I was too busy this holiday season to write anything so there is something small here.

It’s fine he gets it, it’s the holidays people are busy, they have their own plans. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt when all his friends forgot about his birthday. Eric had hoped that they might be planning a surprise party for him, but he was only met with disappointment as the day slowly passed with not a word of congratulations from any of them. He only received messages from his parents and sister who he couldn’t even see. He could barely pay his rent, let alone buy a ticket to visit his family back in America.

No, he wasn’t going to be sad, it happens to the best. He was just going to pretend like everything was okay. Eric had to make sure that he didn’t come off as someone sensitive to his friends, he didn’t want to lose them after trying so hard to befriend them. So when he got the invite to his department’s New Years’ party, he decided he would be his normal people pleaser self. This could benefit his future anyway, so why complain.

[New Years Eve]

“Here, I got the drinks you wanted, Kyungwon,” Eric looks at Kyungwon and his group of friends. They all eye Eric for a bit before laughing, casually thanking him while taking the drinks from his arms.

“Thanks, uh….,” Kyungwon doesn’t even look like he’s trying to remember Eric’s name.

“Eric. It’s Eric, remember?” He lets out an awkward laugh trying to seem unbothered.

“Eric, right,” he says, letting out a dismissive laugh. Kyungwon knew the game and he was going to play it. He was pretty influential in his school, he had a lot of connections the people wanted. Your school experience would be a nice walk down easy-street if you could befriend him. He wasn’t going to let people just use him with nothing in return, he would get as much use out of them as he could just like he was doing to Eric right now.

Eric tried starting up conversations with these boys he would call his friends, and they humored him, some of the topics went well others only led to half-hearted responses. In the end, Eric decided he needed some fresh air, it always felt so suffocating when he was with them. He went up to the rooftop hopefully there weren’t too many people there. Luckily there was only one person here and it seem they didn’t hear Eric open the door as they didn’t turn around. Eric looked to find a spot a reasonable distance away from the stranger, his eyes finding their way back to the other person’s position, only to find them suddenly climbing the fence.

No way, are they trying to…. Eric stopped his thoughts and his body took action. He ran up to the person and reached out his hand and roughly pulled at their coat. In the heat of the moment, he couldn’t control his strength, maybe a tug would have been enough. In the end, the person fell off the fencing and right into Eric.

“What the fuck?” you wince in pain, ripping your earphones out and turning to see who just did that. You saw an unknown man that looked like he had the wind knocked out of him. He seemed more in pain than you and you felt your anger lessen. Before you can voice your words of concern, he speaks first.

“What- what were you doing? Why would you-?!” Eric cuts his sentence off, that was a scary thought to finish.

“What? I was just-” you realize what he might have been thinking. “No! I wasn’t trying to jump!” Eric looked at you with disbelief, why else would anyone try to climb the rooftop fence?

“Then what were you trying to do?”

“Just… relieve some stress.”

“And how would you do that by climbing the fence?” Your excuse sounded stupid to Eric, it didn’t make sense.

“Look, I got a lot of people that care about me and I have a lot that I care about. I’m not going to throw it all away. Thanks for your concern, but it’s wasted on me,” you stand up dusting yourself off. You offer a hand to the stranger and he accepts.

“... Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Eric offers a nervous apologetic smile

“I think that’s my line, you almost completely cushioned my fall, and it still hurt, so I can only imagine how you felt.”

“Oh, I’ve been through worse.” He chuckles, and you smile.

“So, what brings you to the roof?

“Out for some fresh air,” Eric’s friendly demeanor changes to gloomy. You could clearly see this was a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve.

“Same, uh, do you have any friends at this party?” You thought changing the subject would be better.

“Yeah, you probably know them, Kyungwon and-”

“Wait, Kyungwon?” you cut him off, shocked by his words. He didn’t seem like the type to be friends with Kyungwon.

“Yes, why?”

“Nothing, he’s kinda…,” you purse your lips before deciding to continue. “Your friend is kind of an asshole.” Eric bursts out laughing at your words, but then quickly covers his mouth like he was doing something bad.

“Ah, yeah I guess so.”

“If you think so then why are you friends with him?”

“Well, at first it was cause he was Kyungwon. I think everyone in this school knows how beneficial it would be to know him. Trying to befriend him was one of the first things I did after coming here so I’ve been following around him for a while and I saw he was kinda cool at times. It was then that I wanted to try being real friends with him, but I think I’m still just a nobody to him.”

“I don’t think a friend would make you feel like a nobody.”

“ …I guess acquaintances is the better word to describe our relationship,” Eric scoffs at his own words.” You wondered just how lonely this man was.

“Are you still trying to use him?” you bluntly ask him, he wasn’t exactly innocent in all this, whatever the answer he doesn’t answer. “You’re right everyone in this school knows how useful Kyungwon is, but I would rather work 10 times as hard than spend my college life trying to kiss ass to some douche bag that doesn’t care about me.”

“That actually sounds kinda nice…”

“Uh-huh, I think you’ll have a much better time doing that than being a lap dog.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“What are strangers for?” Eric realizes that he hasn’t introduced himself yet.

“Hi Stanger, I’m Eric.”

“Eri-”

“Actually, my name is Youngjae,” you give him a questioning look. “Eric is my English name, but I prefer Youngjae.” Eric was a name he rarely used even in America, Youngjae wasn��t a particularly special name to him but he thought that he wanted to get close to the person in front of him. He wanted this person to call him Youngjae. He wondered why he introduced himself as Eric to Kyungwon.

“Nice to meet you Youngjae, I’m Y/N. First-year.”

“It’s my first year too.”

“We might be the same age then,” You proceed to tell him your birthday and he tells you his. “So your birthday just passed. It probably doesn’t mean that much coming from me, but happy belated birthday.” Youngjae feels his heart tickle and he smiles at you.

“Thanks, I-” He is cut off by the sound of the door opening. A couple burst through the door kissing. The girl jumps at the sight of the other two bodies there and pushes her partner off her.

“I told you there would be others here!” she yells, pushing them back into the building, and you and Youngjae are taken aback for a bit forgetting the things you were going to say to each other before you break the silence with movement.

“Don’t stop me this time.” Youngjae is confused by your word for a moment, then you start to climb the fence again. Your head pokes over the top and you scream, “THIS PARTY BLOWS! DAMN YOU HEEJIN FOR NOT COMING!” suddenly you hear a burst of laughter from behind you.

“So that’s what you were trying to do before,” Youngjae holds his stomach while laughing.

“Stop laughing. Come up here it’s your turn,” without hesitation, he follows suit.

“Kyungwon, I’m done following you…! AND MY NAME ISN’T REALLY ERIC, IT’S YOUNGJAE!” He shouted with all his will, it was kind of embarrassing but it felt good. Now it was your turn to burst out laughing and Youngjae couldn’t help but laugh too. You both eventually climb down after a laughing fit and Youngjae speaks up.

“I wish I had friends like you.”

“You really have no other friends?” Youngjae looks away. “Well, I think I can fix that. I have some friends that might be more your style, you take out your phone, ready to give him your number. And ask if he might know of your friends since you all went to the same school.

“Really?” He sounded hopeful and a little excited, it was kinda cute. Checking the time you caught the moment the time changed, and it was now the New Year. You look to Youngjae and smile.

“Happy New Year! Let’s be friends.”

[deputyjuyeon]

JUMPSHOT ✢ HYUNJAE┇10

❊ synopsis: for years of being a basketball prodigy, everything seemed easy for you, but things change when you need to take on a whole new challenge on the court: to face 12 men with immaculate talent for sport and unbelievable good looks.

❊ pairings: fem!reader × tbz!ot12 (this is the path for hyunjae's ending! if you'd like to read other's endings, check out the masterlist at the end of the post!)

❊ warnings: profanities

❊ a/n: HI if u didnt know alrd i was sick a couple of days ago so this chapter was delayed im so sorry and i think ill be posting another chapter and then ill be offline for a week bcs my tournament is coming up but ill make a proper announcement for it so wait for that!

❊ taglist: send an ask or a message to be added in the taglist! (or if you're shy form's here 😉) @suzy-rainbow @jaerisdiction @zvae @mingiandbaconjam @gay-nineties-hacker @minsikluv @sunjae1924 @princessmingiuwu @givememunjang @svtfilms @s0ngk4ng @grassbutneo @stealanity @my-summer-night @jumilzzz @sofie296 @hidejeon @justalildumpling @paralumanniluna @fluttering-tbz @planethyuka @moonieric @skylions-den @djmalikzayn @en-sun @sunwoahkim @taemin-jaemin @i6hoons @yunkiwii

❊ permanent taglist: @cottoncandy-kiwiin @wooyoung-a @grassbutneo @justalildumpling @kyswoo @yourjaylaks @cloudykyu @zvae @taemin-jaemin @en-sun

❊ can't tag ☹: @yannew @liahjyeonz @jujucloudz

↺ | masterlist | ↻

[hcuyk]

꒰ synopsis ꒱ from a dance to acting major, college student juyeon is taking a massive risk by making this huge leap of change—especially when he's casted as prince charming in the university's upcoming children's play 'cinderella'

꒰ pairing ꒱ collegestudent!juyeon x fem!reader

꒰ genre ꒱ college au, strangers (with a mix of enemies and childhood friends) to lovers, fluff, angst, huge dosage of crack. sf9, the rest of the boyz, and bvndit all make an appearance

꒰ warnings ꒱ profanities, bits of a toxic relationship. if you find any more, please inform me

꒰ word count ꒱ 12.5k+

꒰ perspective ꒱ second person omniscient

‘ author's note!! 🍃 — this fic is for @ateez-elena and @nayuyeons exchange fic event. the due date is arriving soon, and this fic is nowhere near done. i feel absolutely terrible for procrastinating, and i decided that it's better to post something rather than nothing. hi dear @jeongjaebae, i was your 🐳. what a surprise 😭 /s. can't believe you found out who i was after like, the first ask i sent you LMAO. i really, really hate how i have to separate this oneshot into two parts (maybe even more...unintentional series? 😅), but i really do hope you enjoy this :( it's all crack in all honesty, so i hope this fic makes you laugh. i'm so incredibly sorry for being disappointing, but i'm so glad we became closer through this event! i hope this fic makes a wonderful end to your 2021 :] a huge thanks to @stealanity, @yangkiwi, @fullsunfluff, @tinisprout, @bbanghoonie, and @decembermoonskz for all beta reading this fic. in fact, all of this part has been beta read EXCEPT for the last scene, so that's my surprise to you six <3

‘ taglist ›› @yourjaylaks @wooyoung-a @kimaya2209 @armysantiny @changminurheart @moonieric @sunfics @lcvekdy @deputyjuyeon @simpforsunwoo @nyujjan @jaekiths @i6swoo @fairycob @karsohn @nilesig @twentysixofmays @changmin-wrlds @mavericsohn @lilyujin

NAVIGATION | TBZ MASTERLIST | PART TWO

It’s every rising celebrity’s dream to walk the red carpet in Hollywood. To take a step out of a luxurious limousine whilst dressed in the finest clothes your stylist has to offer is a dream come true—especially when accompanying the flashing lights from paparazzi and calls of your name would be a bright red carpet waiting for you to walk all over it.

Juyeon knows that day hasn’t arrived for him yet; why would it? He’s still a broke college student attending an elite performing arts university, and the only reason he’s surviving is because of the constant dependency he has on his three not-so-academically-smart roommates.

This point is proven when Juyeon opens the door to his dorm with groceries lining his arms. Immediately, Juyeon’s roommates greet him with a loud pop of confetti and the unraveling of toilet paper on the ground, providing him a pathway. He flinches when his roommates start screaming—and for all the wrong reasons.

For one, the screams aren’t even directed at Juyeon. Instead, Changmin’s scoldings are towards Jacob for popping the confetti unexpectedly. His booming voice fills the dorm when he rushes to his fish tank by the front door, and slowly—but surely enough—his temper morphs into despair as he begins to sob over how some of the confetti managed to make its way into his precious fishies’ home.

Jacob is continuously pouring out apologies although his attention is fully focused on the toilet paper roll he kicked from the entrance. The roll had traveled a tad bit further than expected considering it’s now rolling around the dorm like it was nobody’s business, forcing Jacob into a game of chase.

Juyeon is left appalled by the chaotic scene, and all he could focus on was the red scribbles on the wasted toilet paper that swept the ground as if it were to mimic a red carpet. He assumes they all tried coloring it with red Crayola markers since he can see a pile of the stationary item by the dining table, but then he realizes there is one more roommate he hasn’t spotted.

His groceries drop to the ground when his gaze finally lands on the youngest out of the four in the corner of the dorm, holding a piece of printer paper with ‘WELLCuM HoME, CHEE-TAR’ written with the same red marker. Haknyeon’s bright demeanor doesn’t falter when he approaches Juyeon with it, shoving the message in front of his face.

“Wrong sign, Haknyeon!” Jacob informs from across the room, tripping over his feet in the midst of his chase for the runaway toilet paper.

A ‘huh?’ leaves the shorter male when he turns to face the paper, and his face becomes pale at the sight of what’s written.

“Shit, my bad.”

He crumbles it up instantly and drops it to the ground before shoving his hand into the pockets of his jeans in search of the correct sign Jacob was referring to.

Meanwhile, Juyeon’s jaw falls slack when he sees Changmin cupping his hands in order to collect the gold pieces of confetti from his fish tank, dumping it all on the ground shortly after. His mumbled profanities are loud enough for all of them to hear, but it really only reaches Juyeon’s ears considering the other two were occupied.

“Found it!” Haknyeon announces, fumbling to unfold it. He then shoves it back into Juyeon’s face, making him stumble backwards.

‘WELCOME HOME, CHEATER’ is what the new sign said.

Haknyeon’s shit-eating grin is smacked right back onto his lips, and he has no shame when he waves it in front of his face.

“Welcome home!!”

“I thought we agreed to not use either of those signs,” Changmin mutters, closing the fish tank shut after shaking his hands free from the water.

Haknyeon’s smile falls along with his arms, dropping them to his sides as he turns his body to fully face Changmin.

“Mind you, Mister Fish-Man, you were the one who suggested this idea.” Haknyeon points the paper at Changmin, shaking it aggressively.

“I got it!” Jacob exclaims, victoriously raising the toilet paper roll in the air from behind the couch for the other three to see.

Changmin provides no change in temper by grabbing Haknyeon’s hoodie, eyes burning into the smaller figure before using the material to wipe his drenched hands.

The younger male gasps, and before he could retaliate by grabbing and yanking Changmin’s hair out of his scalp, Jacob pulls Haknyeon back from his opponent. He pushes the smaller male aside and drapes an arm around Juyeon’s shoulders, distracting him from what the male had just witnessed. He places the roll of toilet paper onto the ground while also leaving Juyeon’s groceries by the door and drags him over to the dining table.

“How was the audition?” he asks, nonchalantly taking a step over the manmade puddle of fish tank water Changmin created with bits of confetti floating amidst it. He has a bright smile on his face like everything that had just happened was a daily occurrence which Juyeon eventually comes to accept because again, he has been living with these losers for the past three years.

“Cheater!!” Haknyeon yells when the two sit down by the table. The boy is then tackled onto the cushions of the couch by Changmin, a hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

Jacob rolls his eyes, dismissing Haknyeon’s name-calling with the wave of his hand.

“Ignore him. You know he’s just sad about losing the second greatest dancer at this school.”

Juyeon’s eyebrows shoot up, straightening his back.

“Second?” he questions. He then scoffs, shaking his head as he crosses his arms over his chest. “I mean, I still go here. I’m just no longer a dance major.”

“Duh, but Haknyeon doesn’t care about that.” Jacob pauses. “Also, the greatest dancer is me, obviously. No one can beat me. I’m superior.” He taps his fingers against the surface of the table, a look of contentment dancing on his face.

Changmin’s head shoots up from his temporary brawl with Haknyeon to glare at Jacob.

“Say that again?!” he growls from across the room. He has Haknyeon pinned beneath him, and the younger boy takes his chance to knee Changmin in the abdomen while he wasn’t looking.

Changmin yelps in pain and attempts to reciprocate the action, elbow pressing down onto Haknyeon’s rib cage.

Jacob has his head turned 180 degrees, watching the two resume their physical fight. He shakes his head before turning back to Juyeon, calling back out to Changmin.

“Just be grateful Juyeon changed majors and stepped down from his position for you.”

“Whatever,” Changmin carelessly yells, trying to restrain Haknyeon’s feet with his own.

Juyeon snickers as he watches, truly wondering how he became friends with his roommates.

“Anyway, back to the audition talk.” Jacob snaps his fingers in front of Juyeon’s face, receiving his attention once again. His hands clasp together and provide a stand for his chin, looking at Juyeon with a tilted head. “How was it?”

Juyeon stays silent for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders, choosing to give Jacob a lackluster response.

“It was...okay.”

The creases on Jacob’s forehead bunches up.

“Just okay?”

“CHEA-...close my mouth one more time and I won’t hesitate to bite your fingernails off,” Haknyeon threatens, eyes piercing straight into Changmin’s.

“Cut it out, you two,” Jacob groans, unconsciously slamming his fist onto the table. Not only does the noise stop the fight from continuing, but it also scares the shit out of the other three in the room.

Changmin hesitantly removes himself from Haknyeon before sluggishly walking over to the table. The younger does the same, no longer caring about the wet fingerprints soaked into his hoodie.

Jacob’s lips curl up in satisfaction when the two sit down, bringing his attention right back to the male in question.

“Seriously, Juyeon,” Jacob tries again, “how did it go?”

The three roommates are bent over the table, pupils bursting with curiosity as they all lock their invested gazes on Juyeon’s figure.

Oddly enough, the undivided attention doesn’t faze Juyeon in the slightest. He rests his chin on top of his crossed arms, looking up at all of them with an impending smile lingering on his lips.

“Actually? I think it went pretty well.”

//

The casting director for the children’s play is Sangyeon, an upperclassman that you’ve known since freshman year. He’s only two years older, but he’s always proved way more mature—whether it be through his actions or his looks—so to you, he has always been someone you looked up to.

But the one thing you despised about him was how unpredictable he could be.

Usually, callbacks would be announced a day after auditions had finished. Emphasis on usually.

What you didn’t expect was for him to text group chat about the cast list being posted an hour shortly after auditions had ended, being the reason why you and your boyfriend are currently racing past the dorms, pushing past students in your way.

Heavy steps down the stairways echo off the narrow walls, and you’re holding Hwiyoung’s hand throughout all of it.

You wouldn’t be this desperate if it was regarding callbacks, but since the official cast list is out, your mind is spiraling with your heart praying that you got in.

Although you and Hwiyoung manage to land every main lead role, the rush of adrenaline remains inside the both of you. Nothing could replace the victorious wash of relief when you see your names on the cast list.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t help how the auditorium is across campus, but this doesn’t stop either of you from pushing forward. You two are adamant on beating the crowd, but as time passes, that little hope has faded.

Hwiyoung’s hand falls out of yours when his steps slow to a stop on the sidewalk, checking his phone for the notification he just received.

You whip your head around as you still your tracks, brows furrowed as you urge him to follow.

“Hurry up, Hwi. By the time we get there, we probably won’t even get a good look at the roster,” you say with a huff, keeping your hands on your hips.

He snorts at your remark, eyes unwavering from his screen.

So you approach him due to sparked curiosity, looking over his arm. His screen shows a text message from Kang Chanhee, or more better known as Chani, that says ‘sorry, man’ with a photo attached right below it. Taking a closer look, you realize the photo was the cast list you two were racing for.

As expected, your name sits right next to the role for Cinderella, but that isn’t what has your eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Lee Juyeon is the name that replaces your boyfriend on the cast list. You and your boyfriend are fully convinced that he got the role for Prince Charming due to the high praise he received during the audition, but that only lands him as the understudy.

“Un-fucking-believable,” he mutters, shutting off his phone.

While Hwiyoung is processing the fate he’s led to, you’re busy trying to pinpoint the familiarity of the name Lee Juyeon.

“Lee Juyeon,” you whisper, trying to rack up your brain in order to recall the face the name belonged to. It’s a name that easily rolls off your tongue, giving you a sense of butterflies in the process, yet you couldn’t remember where you’ve heard it.

Hwiyoung watches you with a clenched jaw and gritted teeth. Irritation becomes etched onto his features when he notices that you aren’t just as outraged as he was, making a show out of angrily running a hand through his hair with a sigh of frustration slipping past his lips.

“Forget it.”

His suddenty disrupts you from your thoughts, snapping your head up to look at him.

“What?”

“Forget it,” he repeats, tucking his phone into his back pocket. He then gestures to the two of you, circling his index finger in the air. “Whatever this is? Forget it.”

It takes you a moment to comprehend what he’s referring to, and the pause only makes him even more bothered.

“Are-...are you being serious right now?” you stutter, unsure if you were understanding his point.

Eyes begin to shoot your way with whispers surrounding you as a pair. While attending one of the elite schools for performing arts, you and Hwiyoung are known to get the main lead in every single play the university has to offer. It became no secret when you two got together after the well-known play Romeo & Juliet, being the campus sweethearts everyone has come to know and love.

To see a mix of distress and confusion washed over both of your faces is certainly groundbreaking in the drama department, and Hwiyoung couldn’t bear the humiliation.

So he snickers.

“There’s no use in us when you’re going to be up on stage sharing the main lead with another man,” he hisses, avoiding the glances from others.

“What the hell is your problem?” your voice raises, growing defensive at the sudden change in attitude.

“My problem is that some dick we don’t even know took my role in the play.” He turns around and starts to walk, avoiding the gazes of others. “Understudy my ass. I’m done. We’re done.”

Your jaw locks in place as you pull him back by the arm, making him face you. “Hwi, don’t play around right now. You don’t get one fucking role and you want to break up with me?”

His eyes meet yours, and it’s a look you’re more than familiar with.

“I’m sick and tired of always being seen as one step behind you. I get the role as the main lead just as much as you do, yet it’s always ‘Y/N this, Y/N that’. No need to shove it in my face that you’re able to land every single role you audition for,” he spits. This has been a conversation you two have shared more often than not, but you would’ve never thought he’d break up with you because of it.

“Are you even listening to yourself?” your voice lightens, reaching out for his arm in order to comfort him, but to Hwiyoung, your words come off as condescending, so he shoves your hand away.

“Again, forget it,” he grumbles, tongue poking his cheek. His eyes are downturned, and he gives you one last look before taking a few steps back.

“We’re done.”

//

“It feels weird to not have you and Hwiyoung making out every second in front of us.”

“It feels weird to not even have Hwiyoung here for the casting celebration,” Songhee corrects, elbowing the male beside her.

Your eyes instinctively roll at your two friends’ unnecessary comments, fingers tapping against the surface of the table while Jungwoo keeps replaying the video of you and Hwiyoung that has been going around campus.

Casting celebrations have always been more lively from what you remember. Hwiyoung would have his arm around your shoulder while everyone laughs about the roles they’ll be playing. This time, the diner feels lifeless and empty with just the four of you sitting at a booth in the corner.

Younghoon shoots her a stern look before his eyes magically shift to having sparkles within them at the sight of the waitress approaching your booth. He thanks her with a courteous bow of his head when she hands him his milkshake, eyes curving into crescents when he takes his first sip.

You thank her through a whisper when she hands you the slice of cake you ordered, cheek propped up on your fist as you use your free hand to poke your dessert with a fork.

“You’re still watching that?” Songhee questions, diving straight into the burger she just ordered.

“More like analyzing it.” Your friend sighs, slouching back into her seat. When you lean over to see, Jungwoo doesn’t hesitate to show you her screen, having you experience the scene once again. You could barely hear what the argument was about, but that didn’t even matter with how Hwiyoung had treated you in public.

“I still can’t believe someone filmed us from their window,” you mutter, shaking your head in disappointment after seeing how Hwiyoung pushed your hand away.

“He really lost his temper, huh?” Jungwoo turns off her phone and sets it aside to focus on the fries in front of her.

“People don’t get roles they audition for. Big deal. I don’t know why he made such a fuss about it.” You shove a forkful of cake in your mouth in an attempt to cheer yourself up, but it comes as no use.

“I wouldn’t be here either if I was casted as an understudy.” Younghoon stirs his straw around, eyes focused on you. “None of the understudies are even here.”

You scoff. “Half of the cast isn’t here.”

“I agree with Younghoon,” a new voice inputs, completely disregarding your previous statement.

The door falls shut after the three males enter, bundled up in coats as they greet you guys with the wave of their hands.

Kevin continues what he was saying as he chooses to sit in the booth behind you.

“I mean, imagine getting the main male lead for every play and then become an understudy out of nowhere. Like, this is Hwiyoung we’re talking about. He didn’t even get a role.”

“Well you got the role of the evil stepmother’s cat,” Jungwoo retorts, turning her head around to look at the boy with glasses. “I’m sure Hwiyoung would’ve reacted the same way if he had gotten your role.”

“What’s wrong with wanting to expand my horizons?” Kevin cocks a brow as if he was testing your friend. “Not to mention it’s a children’s play. We’re performing for children. You don’t see the mice complaining about their roles, do you?”

Kevin juts his chin towards the pair that chose to sit at the bar, lips pressed into a line. You and Jungwoo go to look at the two, watching how easily Sunwoo and Eric got into a quarrel after deciding what to get.

“You pay, I’m broke!” Eric exclaims, showing Sunwoo his empty wallet.

“I don’t think Hwiyoung would’ve wanted to be chosen as a mouse either,” Jungwoo later adds, going back to facing Kevin.

The boy shrugs, adjusting the beanie on the top of his head. “Hey, I’m just saying it’s better than being a second choice.”

“Well you didn’t have to go that far,” Songhee chuckles, patting her lips clean with a napkin.

“Where’s everyone else?” you ask in an attempt to shift the topic.

Kevin darts his gaze towards the clock at your question before providing you a useless answer.

“I have no clue. I only know Yiyeon won’t be coming because she’s with Sangyeon right now.”

The door to the diner is pushed open, introducing another group of the casted members.

“We’re here!” Seungeun sing-songs, announcing her presence with a worn-out Choi Chanhee tailing after her steps.

Seungeun, the youngest out of the entire cast, is a freshman that proved to be one of the more talented actors on her first day here, so it came as no surprise how she got casted as the queen.

Chanhee, on the other hand, usually gets the second male lead, so it was a shock to everyone when he received the narrator role. Then again, there is no second male lead in Cinderella, so the decision makes sense on Sangyeon’s part.

Hyunjae walks in and keeps the door open for Simyeong before revealing the brown bags in their hands by raising them in the air for you all to see.

“We made cupcakes!” Simyeong grins, jumping her way over to your booth.

Sunwoo and Eric leave the bar to join Hyunjae and Chanhee at Kevin’s table, starvation causing their eyes to peek into the bags.

“We made enough so everyone could get two,” Simyeong explains while Seungeun urges Songhee and Younghoon to scoot over. Seungeun sits down while Simyeong remains standing, taking the boxes out of the bag as Jungwoo helps.

“We may have more than intended though,” Seungeun huffs, taking the bag from the two after it's emptied.

“Are the understudies not arriving?” Younghoon asks, looking up at Simyeong after taking an obnoxiously loud sip out of his milkshake.

“How would I know?” She shrugs, opening the box in order to distribute the cupcakes to everyone.

While your table is invested in sweets, your eyes couldn’t help but wander out the window, watching the stars overtake the sky as the sun sets.

“Why would they be?” Hyunjae interjects from the other table, already taking a bite out of the cupcake he made himself. “We all already saw how Hwiyoung reacted. I’m sure the other people that didn’t get in are just as disappointed.”

You sigh at the reference Hyunjae made towards the video everyone on campus has seen by now, but you continue to keep silent. You truly didn’t want to think about how you got publicly dumped for the stupidest reason on earth. It wasn’t like you had chosen the roles. If anything, Hwiyoung should’ve been throwing a fit at Sangyeon.

Considering you’re sitting right across from him, Younghoon easily spots all the signs your figure is radiating. He looks at Hyunjae and motions him to not continue any further and purses his lips. Hyunjae receives the hint and decides to exit the conversation, joining Kevin’s one instead.

Jungwoo taps your arm and slides over a cupcake, a warm smile wavering on her face.

“It’ll be okay. Just know Hwiyoung was a dick for acting like that.”

You thank her through a whisper and scoop the frosting onto a nearby napkin, earning a look of disgust from Jungwoo.

“I just don’t get it,” you mutter, keeping your voice low. “How could Hwiyoung not have gotten that role?”

You look up from your cupcake and see Younghoon eyeing your frosting.

“Do you want it?” you warily ask, hesitantly sliding it over to him.

He nods and collects it from you before dumping it into his milkshake

“I don’t even get why we’re friends with you,” Songhee grumbles, discreetly moving away from Younghoon.

“It’s better than plainly wasting it. Besides, frosting on its own is disgusting.” He mixes his milkshake with his straw once again, leisurely stirring the beverage.

“Who’s this Juyeon kid anyway?” Simyeong suddenly asks while pulling over a chair, sitting down before directing her gaze straight at you for an answer. “He’s not even in our group chat dedicated to the drama department.”

“There’s no Juyeon in our department?” The slight shock in your tone has everyone at your table looking at you puzzled. You could only shrug your shoulders in response and pop the rest of the cupcake into your mouth, speaking through muffles. “The name Juyeon is oddly familiar to me.”

“Well he certainly isn’t in our department if he isn’t in our group chat.”

Younghoon nods his head, agreeing with Songhee.

“If you think about it, you’ve been stuck with us since your very first day here. If you knew a Juyeon, we would at least know of him.”

“He has a point,” Kevin quips, joining in on your conversation once more from behind.

Jungwoo heaves a sigh and turns to look at him, flicking his forehead. “Go focus on your table’s conversation, kitty.”

Kevin frowns, and before he could face his group, Jungwoo uses her thumb to remove some of the frosting from his cheek.

“Maybe he was somebody you knew from high school,” Simyeong suggests, “or possibly someone you knew from your childhood?”

“What are the chances of that happening?” Songhee licks her lips clean and sets the cupcake wrapper down on the table. “IST is a pretty big school. It could just be somebody with the same name.”

“But his surname is also vaguely familiar,” you murmur. You curse at your brain for forgetting such a name, but you shrug it off, realizing that it probably isn’t as important as you’re making it out to be.

“Eh, forget it.” You try to move on from the subject, but that attempt fails when Jungwoo chooses to pick it right back up.

“But don’t you find it weird how some random kid that—mind you—isn’t even part of the department just auditioned and somehow got the main role? Prince Charming is literally every guy’s dream to play.”

“You know Sangyeon is picky with who he chooses for plays,” Younghoon reasons. “Besides, he attends our school, right? He’s probably just really talented and managed to somehow get the role.”

“But to beat Hwiyoung? That’s-...that’s different.”

“It doesn’t make sense, right?” Jungwoo looks at you for confirmation before turning to look at everyone else. “Sure, I’m a talented actor, but I won’t suddenly win a dancing competition one day, you get me? We may all be part of a performing arts university, but it really doesn’t mean shit when our departments are completely different.”

“I wouldn’t really say they’re completely different, but I see your point,” Younghoon replies. “It’s not impossible though.”

“Sangyeon really must’ve been out of his mind for choosing some nobody over Hwiyoung,” you mutter, finally finishing the cake on your plate.

“Are you guys talking about Juyeon?” Chanhee asks. He gestures for Jungwoo to slide over so he could join your booth.

You perk up at the mention. “Yeah, we are. Why? Do you know him?”

“We’re talking about Lee Juyeon, right? The guy that got casted as Prince Charming?”

Everyone at the table nods, eager for Chanhee to continue.

“Oh, then yeah. I’m friends with his roommates.”

//

Noises like speeding footsteps clashing against the surface of the ground and chairs falling provide a regular day at Juyeon’s dorm. Jacob locking Changmin out of their shared room is also deemed rather normal, and it’s the reason Haknyeon becomes his source of entertainment.

But it really all backfires.

“Get back here, Ji Changmin,” Haknyeon demands, dodging the obstacles in his way as he chases Changmin around the dorm.

Juyeon sits on the couch unbothered with the volume turned up unnecessarily high to overpower the screams from the two children he considered his friends. His hand is buried in a bowl of popcorn, enjoying movie night by himself while Haknyeon snatches his underwear back from Changmin.

“The next time you steal my underwear, I’m shoving your toes down your fishes’ throats.”

Changmin returns Haknyeon’s scowl with a gasp that fills his lungs to the brim and quickly tosses his arms around his fishes’ tank. A pout is smeared across his face as he presses his cheek into the glass.

“Don’t you dare bring my fishies into this!”

“Okay guys, shut it,” Jacob says after exiting his room. The light from his phone screen illuminates the relaxed features on his face as he walks into the living room, choosing to join Juyeon by the couch. “Hey Juyeon, remember the audition you had this morning?”

He taps his shoulder, looking up from his phone to see how his roommate reacts.

“Uh...yeah. What about it?” Juyeon remains clueless as he picks up the television remote from the coffee table, lowering the volume.

With underwear bunched up in his hand, Haknyeon’s footsteps lead him over to the couch and joins the two by sitting next to Juyeon.

Both Jacob and Juyeon look at him weirdly with expressions that question what he was doing, but they gradually move on with their conversation as they realize he probably just came for the popcorn.

“You know Chanhee, right?” Jacob questions.

“Chanhee? As in Choi Chanhee?” Changmin’s voice squeaks and immediately detaches himself from the fish tank in order to join his friends, choosing to sit on the ground considering the lack of space left on the couch. He crosses his legs, only having eyes for Jacob due to his piqued interest. “Like, my bestie since third grade?”

“The one you introduced me and Haknyeon to?” When Changmin nods his head, Jacob continues. “Then yeah, that’s him. I have his number.”

He obnoxiously shows off his phone to Changmin and bobs his head.

“What does this have to do with me?” Juyeon interjects, gaze shifting between his three roommates. Juyeon would say he’s equally close with all of them, but sometimes he does feel a bit left out. Then again, he couldn’t really put them at fault since he was the one who switched majors.

He’s only ever heard of Chanhee through Jacob and Changmin, but he knows Haknyeon is fairly close with him as well.

“He ghosted me last night,” Haknyeon murmurs, grabbing a throw pillow to hug while shoving handfuls of popcorn into his mouth.

“Deserved.”

The next thing Changmin knows is that a pillow is tossed at his head in an attempt to knock him out.

“Anyway,” Jacob states rather loudly in order to cover up his roommate’s wrongdoing, “he got casted as the narrator for that Cinderella play you auditioned for. He also said you got Prince Charming.”

Juyeon’s eyes bulge out of bewilderment, unsure if he has heard his friend correctly.

“What?? Aren’t callbacks being announced tomorrow? Is he saying I got called back?”

Jacob shrugs, giving his phone over to Juyeon so he could check for himself. “He specifically said cast list, so I’m assuming there’s no callbacks for this play.”

“No way, man! You got in?” Changmin slaps his friend’s feet playfully, a grin graciously placed on his lips for once.

“You’re growing up way too fast,” Haknyeon sighs, exaggerating the frown on his face.

“Did you think you wouldn’t get in?” Jacob asks, giving Juyeon’s shoulder a light shove.

“I would’ve thought I’d get in as an extra mouse or something,” Juyeon murmurs, staring at the text messages in front of him.

“It’s not a middle school play,” Changmin retorts, earning himself another pillow being thrown at his head.

“Well apparently the cast list is official. They’re celebrating right now.” Suddenly, Jacob locks his arm around Juyeon’s neck, pulling his head to his chest before messing up his hair. “I’m so proud of you!!”

“That’s our boy,” Changmin coos, grabbing his ankles and aggressively shaking them.

“Just because you miss your own dog doesn’t mean you should treat Juyeon like one,” Haknyeon blandly states through a mouthful of popcorn, poking Changmin’s side with his feet.

Juyeon falls oblivious to everything happening around him when he sees Chanhee send a photo of the cast list as evidence. He shoves Jacob away so he could look at it, eliciting a laugh out of the elder. His eyes scan through the photo eagerly, and he could’ve sworn his heart stopped at the sight of your name next to Cinderella.

“Y/N...?”

The laughter and upcoming quarrel fades into the distance when Juyeon looks up from the phone.

“Do you know her?” Jacob asks, arm propped up against the backrest of the couch.

“Isn’t she the one that always gets the main roles in plays? There’s this girl in literature that always complains about it.”

Jacob snorts at Haknyeon’s response, and Changmin decides to pitch in what he’s also heard.

“I heard it’s deserved though! Everyone is always talking about how talented she is on stage, and Chanhee is always praising her after every show they’re in together.” Changmin adjusts his posture, straightening his back.

“It really isn’t surprising since the drama department is the most well known department at IST,” Jacob comments, nodding his head along with what everyone else has been saying. “She’s really bound to become a celebrity once she graduates.”

“Not before me, though!”

Changmin dodges the next pillow that was aimed at him.

“Y/N as in L/N Y/N, right?”

The three heads turn to look at Juyeon.

“Duh.” Haknyeon deadpans. “Who else? You know who she is, right?”

“I didn’t know she goes to this school,” he mumbles, fiddling with the phone in his head.

“Am I missing something here? Are we missing something?” Changmin asks whilst also speaking for both Haknyeon and Jacob. “Have you known her in the past?”

“I guess you could say that.” Juyeon gives Jacob back his phone, but your name continues to float around in his mind.

“Come on, Juyeon.” Changmin whines, tugging on his pants. “We need more information.”

All the boy could do is shrug his shoulders, not willing to explain everything, so he opts to say something rather vague with his head facing his lap.

“It’s just a name I’d never forget.”

//

After informing your group of friends about his connections with Juyeon, Chanhee wasn’t given another chance to say another word when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He excused himself from your table and isolated himself in the opposite side of the diner, fingers constantly occupied with typing into his phone.

You kept an eye on him for the rest of the night, detailing every bit about his expressions while the conversation shifted to how costumes would turn out for the play. Simyeong even brought up how you’ll be able to pull off a dress transformation, but you didn’t hear a word she said until Jungwoo nudged your arm to drag you back into reality.

Until the very end, your mind felt occupied with the amount of questions you had for Chanhee. He never returned to your table and instead left in a blink of an eye.

Once everyone departed from the diner, you dedicated all your time to spamming him through text. Chanhee would often ignore your messages or leave them on read, and for good reason too, but this matter was urgent.

Sure, you and Chanhee both share the same first class in the morning—and you’ll definitely get to see who this Juyeon person is the day after—but the sense of familiarity from his name wouldn’t allow you to sleep into the next day. You stayed up for hours, expecting a response, but you eventually allowed your eyes to gradually fall shut. You figured he was just exhausted after dealing with Seungeun, Hyunjae, and Simyeong all in the same kitchen as they struggled to bake cupcakes.

Having English Literature first thing on a Monday morning was never to your liking, but this time it came in your favor.

“Chanhee!” you scream out, waving your hands in the air when you see him leaving his dormitory.

He looks at you for a mere second before purposely turning his back, walking in the opposite direction. You run to catch up to him, hands grabbing at the hook of his backpack to slow his steps. He scowls at his failed attempt to make an escape, but you know it’s all jokes considering you always pick him up from the front of his building.

“Why didn’t you respond to any of my texts last night?” you interrogate, skipping down the sidewalk with him by your side.

“I was asleep, duh.”

“Woah, no need for you to be a weisenheimer.”

“...A what now?”

“We’re getting off topic, Chanhee,” you deadpan, slowing your steps as he begins to slow his.

“Why are you so interested anyway?” he snorts. “I already responded to your question.”

“Oh come on, Chanhee.” you whine, grabbing one of his arms to shake. “Put yourself in my shoes, yeah? I basically got utterly humiliated by the love of my life publicly because of him.”

“Okay one, don’t call Hwiyoung the love of your life. That’s just weird. Two, you really can’t blame Juyeon for your breakup, you know that right?.” He eyes you from his peripheral vision and releases a sigh at the sight of your desperate state. Your hair isn’t properly styled like usual and your face is bare of makeup.

“Please, Chanhee?”

“It’s not like I know much about Juyeon to begin with.” Upon reaching the building where your class is located, Chanhee provides you entrance when he pulls the door open.

“Just give me whatever info you got.” You watch as he tails after you before sticking by his side.

“They’re all dance majors,” he reveals, finally giving into your antics. He lists their names from the top of his head without hesitation. “Changmin, Jacob, and Haknyeon. Juyeon was one too, but from what I recall, he switched.”

“I guess that explains the sudden appearance of his name on the cast list,” you murmur, connecting the dots. “Why’d he switch?”

“How would I know?”

You return Chanhee’s previous favor by pulling the door open to the lecture hall, giving him the privilege of sliding inside first as he continues talking.

“I’m only close to his roommates because we all share social sciences. Well, that and I’ve known Changmin since I was eight, but that’s besides the point.” He leads you up the steps and into your usual seats in the back. “I went to one of Changmin’s performances in the past, and Juyeon was the opening act there. Honestly? He’s extremely talented. His stage presence is flawless, and Changmin always praised him too.”

Your friend’s words have your brows furrowed.

“Why would someone that talented switch majors? I’m sure he’d want to be a professional dancer, right? Or a choreographer? So why Prince Charming?”

All Chanhee does is shrug when he sits down, giving you a lack of response.

“Ask him when you see him at the script read through tomorrow.”

//

Improvisation as your last class of the day has always been your favorite.

Your professor, Kim Inseong, is only five years older than you, but he’s one of your better professors for the semester. Granted, it’s only improvisation, but he teaches it better than all of your previous high school drama teachers.

You love every second of his teachings. The way he engages each and every student is something you look up to, and his feedback has always been very genuine and helpful.

You would’ve been excited to see him—especially since he’s the director of the play—if you didn’t share the exact same class as your ex-boyfriend.

At first it was a blessing, but now it seems like it was a plan just to bite you in the back, cursing you for the rest of your college life.

Two days without your boyfriend has felt like hell.

When you enter the lecture hall, your two close friends remain in the center of the room whilst Hwiyoung is nowhere to be found. It takes you a few seconds to realize that he’s settled for a spot in the back with his feet kicked up onto the seat in front of him. He’s surrounded by his personal group of friends, and they are people you were never really fond of.

“You were almost late,” Younghoon hums when you choose to sit next to him, picking at his fingernails.

“Let her be, Hoon.” Songhee sighs from behind the two of you, leaning forward to flick the back of his head.

“Happy Monday, everyone,” your professor sing-songs. His booming voice startles the entire class due to its suddenness, and he enjoys the faces you all make because of it. His six-foot-tall composition moves to sit on the only stool in the room, hands resting in his lap as he eyes all his students.

“I heard auditions went well,” he, unnecessarily, comments. “And I believe Sangyeon did a wonderful job with choosing the cast.”

A scoff can be heard from the back of the room, and you could only assume it was from the one and only ex-boyfriend of yours, yet your professor doesn’t seem to bat an eye in his direction.

“Round of applause to everyone that made it in!”

Everyone claps, and you could just feel Hwiyoung’s eyes burning into the back of your head.

“Ignore him,” Younghoon whispers amidst the applause. “He’s just being a spoiled brat.”

“Don’t call him that,” you whisper quietly because deep down, you feel like you would’ve acted the same way if you got casted as an understudy.

“Now, before we continue with where we left off last class, let’s do a quick warm-up, shall we?” Your professor scans the room with his chin between his thumb and index finger.

As much as you enjoy the improv games he makes you all play, you’re praying that you don’t get chosen to come up.

Unfortunately, he’s an unpredictable man that enjoys playing with students’ anxiety.

“Younghoon, Vivi, Jaeyoon, Yves, Hwiyoung, and…” Professor Kim takes a pause to look around the room once more, a mischievous smile making its way up his lips when his eyes land on his final target, “Y/N.”

“You’re fucking kidding me,” you say louder than intended.

“I know right? Why does he always call on me first?”

Songhee snorts and pushes Younghoon out of his seat, but she stops you from leaving the row by grabbing your wrist.

“Hey, you know you could always tell him you’re not feeling well,” she whispers, but all you could think about is how pathetic you’d look in front of Hwiyoung if you used that lame excuse.

“It’s only a warm-up,” you reassure. “I’ll get over it.”

Songhee pouts when you leave her alone, and you’re joined by Vivi when she approaches you.

“Congrats on getting Cinderella,” she whispers, accompanying you to the front of the room.

You thank her with the slight bow of your head, and soon enough you’re both joining your peers on the platform.

Professor Kim has his hands clasped together after moving the stool to the side, making sure he was out of the way.

“Now, you all might be asking ‘what improv game will we have for our warm-up today?’.” He stands up. “Perhaps it’s Bus Stop? Late For Work? Questions Only?”

“If it’s Late For Work, I’m actually going to stop, drop, and roll out of this course,” Younghoon mutters, bringing his arms over his chest.

“Younghoon!” Professor Kim calls out, and your friend nearly jumps in his spot. He points at him, then you, and then Yves. “You three, go stage right. The rest of you? Stage left,” he directs.

You do as you’re told, and deep inside you’re grateful that he didn’t place you and Hwiyoung together.

Well, that is until you realize what game he has up his sleeve.

“Yes, no, and I are the forbidden words for today’s game.” He leaves the platform and settles down in one of the seats in the front row, kicking his foot over his other leg. “The person in front of each line will step forward and begin the scene with a prompt I give you. Say yes, no, or I and you’ll be eliminated from the platform. You can’t take too long either.”

You’ve played this game multiple times in the past, but this is the first time you’ve ever felt jittery during an improv game. The last thing you need for the day is to share the same stage with Hwiyoung.

Jaeyoon raises his hand. “Can we say yeah?”

“No,” your professor replies immediately. “No saying yeah, nah, uh-huh, mhm, I’m, or any of that sort.”

“He’s cruel,” Younghoon mutters, pushing you in front of him. You glare at him, but you’re also not complaining since Hwiyoung is at the end of his line.

The game starts off with the only other two girls on the platform, and with loud cackles from the other students, Vivi is shortly removed from the game after instinctively responding with ‘yes’ after panicking for ten seconds.

Yves also manages to eliminate Jaeyoon after four minutes of acting out a plumbing scene, leaving her alone with Hwiyoung.

Well fuck.

All you could do is hope that she manages to eliminate him too.

“And your prompt will be...interesting. Friends in the same shopping aisle. Hwiyoung, start it off.”

Unfortunately for you, Hwiyoung has always been good at these games, and you don’t know how he does it.

“Oh, My. God.” He slaps a hand over his mouth as he eyes the imaginary shelves, head snapping over to Yves. “Can you believe we could’ve gotten our matching walrus tattoos for fifty percent off if we bought a bottle of tylenol at Walmart?”

The randomness from his act stuns Yves for seconds beyond end, and just like Vivi, she panics and responds with ‘how the hell do I respond to that?’ whilst looking at Professor Kim. This causes her to get booted off the platform, and your eyes widen when you realize you’re up next.

You turn around instantaneously and try forcing Younghoon in front of you, but he refuses to budge an inch.

“Ah, our infamous onstage couple.” Your professor sighs lovingly, and neither of you attempt to tell him otherwise. You hated how your heart rate picked up at being labeled as a ‘couple’ with Hwiyoung.

You discreetly stomp on Younghoon’s toes when you hear him snicker at your fidgeting, evoking a muffled scream from him.

“Well, let’s see what prompt I have for the two of you.” He looks down at his phone. “Oh! I like this one. You two are trapped in an elevator. Y/N, start it off, and...scene!” he announces.

You push your finger forward repeatedly into the air as if you were poking at a singular button, masking your worried state with a frustrated face.

“The button to open the doors won’t work,” you mumble loud enough for everyone to hear. Giving up, you retract your hand and look heavenwards. “We’re at my floor, but the stupid doors won’t even budge.”

“Here, let me see.”

Hwiyoung leans over your shoulder and squints his eyes. His lips are close enough to your ear, and you could feel his breath on your skin. You’re begging that he doesn’t see the effect he unfortunately remains to have on you, wishing for this scene to end quicker than usual.

“Have you tried pressing the button?”

You being tossed off guard makes everyone in the room laugh, and he shoots you the infamous smile that has your heart running for miles.

“Wow, didn’t really think of that. Thanks, Sherlock,” you say sarcastically with your hands on your hips. “Maybe you should try pressing it.”

You look straight up at him, but he isn’t looking back at you.

Although you two have broken up, the scene somehow manages to last for another minute without either of you failing. The anxiety of standing next to someone you felt butterflies for overtakes your nerves, yet the sight of Hwiyoung acting like everything between you is completely normal makes you ease a bit.

But you have to remind yourself it’s just all an act.

He runs a hand through his hair while his tongue creates an indent in his cheek, foot impatiently tapping against the ground.

“Looks like we’re stuck here then, aren’t we?”

He finally connects his eyes with yours, and you couldn’t help but get lost in them.

“I guess we are,” you whisper.

“And Y/N is out!”

You dart a glare at your professor, but his eyes are trained on Younghoon, waiting for the not-very-composed boy to step forward.

“You really couldn’t have stayed up there longer?” your friend scowls through a hushed tone, huffing as he waves you off. “Can’t believe you’re having me deal with your ex-boyfie.”

You roll your eyes at his words and return to Jungwoo. By the time you sit down, the next scene has already begun.

“Oh no! I said no!” Younghoon exclaims in the driest matter you’ve ever seen. “Looks like I’m out. Gosh darn it!”

The class slowly, but surely, begins to clap for Hwiyoung when Younghoon exits the platform, and only then could you get a better look at your ex. Behind his disingenuous smile lies the expression you recall from two days prior: the eyes that looked at you ever so fiercely and the heart that fell out of love. The slight twitch from his lip proves the urge to frown and curse everyone out, and his hands have probably formed into fists in the pockets of his jeans.

You could tell because you know Hwiyoung well enough. You know he sees behind all the fake praise when he landed the pathetic role of being an understudy for a children’s play.

Still, he takes a bow and accepts Professor Kim’s compliments despite everything the teacher had said earlier, and he’s about to head back to his seat before the door cracks open, freezing all movements.

It makes the entire class go silent, the noise sparking everyone’s presence.

From where you are sitting, you can barely see who was at the door, but you manage to catch a glimpse of the intruder’s raven hair.

“Well you’re certainly a new face,” your professor comments. “And you must be...? Ah wait, don’t tell me. Allow me to guess.”

Although you can’t see who was being covered by the door, you could see Hwiyoung’s expression fall blank on stage after the professor’s exact words.

“You’re our Prince Charming, correct?”

//

The read through for the script of the play takes place in the drama department’s auditorium with the cast sitting in a circle of chairs on stage. It’s the reason why Juyeon is sitting directly across from you, causing you to do all you can to ignore how he keeps taking glances at you.

Chanhee says the final lines from the script as the narrator, and claps erupt from the cast members. Soon enough, chairs are being shifted around as people go into their respective groups of friends, hence why Chanhee is now sitting right beside you.

“You spent an entire night asking me about Juyeon only to not even look at him throughout the entire read through?” Chanhee questions, cocking a brow.

Younghoon joins you two shortly after, dragging his chair over.

“I feel bad for him,” your friend interjects. When he sits down, he jabs his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing towards the said cast member.

Juyeon remains in his own seat with his nose buried in the script, unconsciously tapping the stage with the light movement of his foot. His motions are what make his anxiety evident, and little does your friends know that you have actually been analyzing him the entire time through the corner of your eye. While the script read through was going on, you noticed him fidgeting while going through his lines with stutters and constant clearing of his throat.

You’re certain he got the main male lead because of his looks. How could someone who’s completely new to the drama department manage to snatch Hwiyoung’s role away like it was nothing?

“He sat alone in improv too,” Younghoon adds, snapping you out of your daze.

“Improv? Juyeon is in your improv?” Chanhee’s voice raises as he looks at Younghoon. “Since when did that happen?”

“I’m wondering the exact same thing,” you mumble through gritted teeth. Your fingers flip through the script in an attempt to keep yourself occupied while also quoting your ex-boyfriend. “Un-fucking-believable.”

“She wouldn’t stop staring at him in class,” Younghoon exposes with a snicker hiding behind his tone.

“I don’t blame her,” Chanhee dreamily sighs. “I wouldn’t either.”

Then he stands up.

“Where are you going?” Younghoon asks.

“I’m going to go talk to him,” he nonchalantly answers. His friend slaps his arm, and Chanhee shoots him a look.

“What? Do you want to come?”

Younghoon motions over to you looking at Hwiyoung from afar.

The understudies are all huddled together in the audience area of the auditorium, and Hwiyoung is sitting on top of one of the armrests with everyone’s attention on him. He’s cracking jokes that have everyone clutching onto their stomach, and his bright smile proves contagious when everyone wears the exact same one on their faces.

You miss it.

You miss when he was like that with the cast—with you.

Younghoon gives you a gentle smack of his hand to your head, scowling.

“Snap out of it, Princess. You can’t focus on him when Chanhee is literally approaching your Prince Charming right now.”

“Don’t call him that,” you murmur, soothing the area your friend had hit by rubbing it. “He’s just some stranger.”

“Oh really?” Younghoon tests, making a show out of crossing his arms. “So he’s just some stranger when you keep bringing up how familiar he is? He’s just some stranger that you keep blaming for your breakup? Honestly, Y/N, I’m starting to become inclined to believe that it’s about time you and Hwiyoung have parted. I don’t think you two were that healthy together anyway with how much he complained about you in front of you.”

You raise your hand up to your friend’s face, preventing him from saying anything else.

“Don’t meddle into my business, okay? Just join Chanhee or whatever. Seems like he’s having a great time with Juyeon.”

He stares at you in disbelief before slowly shaking his head. He stands up with his script in hand. “You’re unbelievable.”

You don’t look at him when he walks away, and you hate how Chanhee begins to scream at everyone shortly after.

“Everyone!” Chanhee grabs Juyeon’s hand and makes him stand up, making sure everyone sees the smile that reaches his feline-like eyes. “We’re getting coffee! Anyone want to come?”

An endearing shade of pink falls on Juyeon’s cheeks at the received attention, and the pair falls unprepared at the amount of people rushing towards them as they claimed that they were also thinking of getting coffee. A lot of your close friends, Younghoon included, even mention that they wanted to know Juyeon more, and all you could do is scoff as you remain in your seat. You turn to look away, hating how you aren’t the center of attention anymore, and it causes you to miss the hopeful glance Juyeon sends your way.

“You coming?” Sangyeon asks after approaching you. You already hate him for choosing Juyeon over Hwiyoung, and now finding out that he’ll also be your stage manager makes you want to regurgitate your breakfast all over him. You love him, as a friend, but you can’t forgive him for also making Hwiyoung an understudy.

He visibly eyes your entire figure, and his tone is rid of all malice.

“I think you could use some coffee with how tired you look right now.��

“Haha, very funny Mr. Stage Manager,” you say sarcastically. You stand up from your seat with your script gripped tightly in your hand.

He shrugs. “Your loss then, Ms. Cindy.”

As everyone leaves the auditorium, you’re left with one other person in the room.

“Hwiyoung!” you call out, shoving your script into your miniature backpack. You slip your arms through the straps as you run over to him.

He’s completely thrown off by the call of his name, and when he turns around, he has his drawstring bag slung over his shoulder. He eyes you skeptically, and you try your best to contain yourself.

You hate how you feel like one of those schoolgirls in movies approaching the popular male lead.

“What’s...up?”

“Do you not plan on getting coffee with everyone else?” you ask, sparking a conversation.

He purses his lips. “Not a coffee guy, remember?”

“Right.” You pause as you mentally scold yourself for not knowing simple details about Hwiyoung.

He then raises a brow. “Are you not going?”

“Uhm...no? No, no I’m not, uhm...homework. I have homework.”

He slowly nods in response to your oddly phrased reply.

“I actually have a question!” you insincerely rejoice as you try to get rid of the tense atmosphere. “So, you know, how...uhm, you know-...” You laugh awkwardly, unsure how to approach the situation. “We always, uhm, kind of practiced our lines together, and I mean...well, you’re still technically Prince Charming...right?”

“...Right.”

“So I was just, uhm...kinda wonde-”

“You want to practice lines together?” he interrupts.

“Yes! Yes, exactly that.” You eagerly nod your head.

He chews on the inside of his cheek as he stares into the distance, and you can tell he’s thinking with how his eyebrows bunch up.

“Sure,” he finally answers, causing your face to brighten up. “Meet up at the diner later? 5pm?”

You beam, unable to remove the happiest smile on your face.

“That’d be perfect.”

//

You didn’t know what you were expecting, but you know it wasn’t this.

Two hours have never felt longer, and all you’ve done throughout the time period was watch your milkshake melt between the palms of your clammy hands. Your gaze no longer falls out the display window and instead has dropped to your lap in humiliation while tears brim your eyes.

You should’ve known. All the signs were right in front of you, but you had blatantly ignored it for your own bliss.

Being stood up has to be the worst feeling you’ve ever experienced.

Defeated, you grab your bag and push past the glass door, leaving your milkshake behind. You aren’t adamant on breaking out into tears until you catch sight of Hwiyoung and his group of friends lounging by an adjacent building. They’re laughing when they see you leave, and one of them even announces the time on their stopwatch, indicating that they were waiting for you. A smirk settles on the lips you once kissed, and his eyes don’t leave you until you’re out of his sight.

Your attempt to mask how you’re feeling shatters instantaneously when you collapse into the first lecture hall you reach once entering the nearest building, and the pain of utter humiliation and realization strangles your heart. The lecture hall you’re in happens to be the one dedicated to your improvisation class, yet you couldn’t even be bothered to turn on the lights as you clung onto the platform to stabilize yourself.

The bag you’ve been clutching on for dear life has fallen out of your grasp, and all you could think about is how embarrassing you are for falling for his enticing aura.

You still love him, you truly do, but you’re now beginning to understand that Hwiyoung never did; not one of his smiles held an ounce of love for you. It was all just an act since the very beginning, and you didn’t realize it until now.

He was playing the main character and used you as practice considering you always happened to be his love interest in plays. He made you fall in love with him, a facade, and you failed to see past it. So now, when he has nothing to practice for, he drops you like you were nothing and never cared to acknowledge you as someone he’s ‘loved’.

The creak of the door silences your strained cries, and you’re convinced that the intruder would be able to hear your nearly working heartbeat. The lights flicker on, and you shield the brightness with your hand. The action leaves you unable to see who interrupted you mid-cry, but it doesn’t matter because all you could think about was getting out of there. You grab your bag and decide to make a run for it, but you don’t make it far when you finally see the figure looking at you.

“I-, uhm...” he stutters.

“You,” you mutter, glaring into his appalled eyes.

“I’m- I’m so sorry. I didn’t, uh, think anyone would actually be in here. Then again, I kinda thought- uhm, sorry.” His hand reaches to rub his nape as if to release the tension in his neck while clearing his throat to get rid of the unsteadiness in his voice.

“You,” you repeat, yet this time it’s through a scowl and is much more projected.

“Uhm...are-, uh, is everything alright?” he hesitantly asks.

“Is there something you want?” Your head quirks to the side as you interrogate him, leaving him intimidated with how condescending your words come across.

“Uh, actually, yeah. Do you, perhaps- know where the auditorium is? I-I kinda left my script there, and I can’t really remember which door it is…” His voice trails off into the distance as he weakly pushes out a chuckle.

Your laughter blares throughout the entire lecture hall, and it alarms a very puzzled Juyeon.

“You’re an acting major, and you don’t even know where the auditorium for the drama department is?” The laughs that proceed to escape your lips add more evidence to your malicious intent, and you rest your hands on the dips of your waist with the click of your tongue. “And to even think you got casted into the play.”

Juyeon pushes the door even wider with his forearm, and it gives you a better look at the disbelief worn on his facial features. Though, he continues to try a gentle approach with you considering he understands what you’re currently going through.

“Chanhee told me everything earlier. I-I know about you and Hwiyoung, and I can understand why you’re mad,” he explains. It’s amusing how he’s trying to make ends meet, and you make it known by refusing to comply with a snicker following immediately after.

“Awe. That’s so cute. Do you want me to congratulate you for finally finding out?”

He breaks.

“I auditioned for this play just like...you,” he counters, keeping his arm firmly pressed against the surface of the door. “You shouldn’t belittle me just because that little ex-boyfriend of yours didn’t get a goddamn role.”

“You don’t get to compare yourself to me,” you hiss, purposely lacing your voice with venom as you approach him. Tears from earlier begin to resurface and prick at your eyes, but it all goes unnoticed when your glare burns into his oh-so familiar pupils. “The difference between you and me is that I actually have the talent and experience for a ‘goddamn role’. You? Oh, don’t even get me started.”

Juyeon’s jaw clenches with every passing second, and his knuckles begin to redden with how tight he’s gripping the edge of the door.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Your scoff comes out more viciously than expected.

“It means your pretty face is the only reason why you got casted.”

You don’t regret a single word that’s left your mouth, but your head hangs along the sag of your shoulders when you’re recklessly tossed back into despair.

“Go back to your little dance crew, Juyeon,” you whisper with a crack piercing your vocal cords, unable to face him anymore. “You don’t belong here.”

You somehow manage to catch one last glimpse of the pain smeared on Juyeon’s facial expression before he shuts the door on you, leaving you alone with your faded vision and choked sobs.

//

From previous experiences, first rehearsals alway seem to last for hours on end. Regardless, you do your best to keep an open mindset as you go through each and every one of your classes.

You didn’t tell your friends about what happened with Hwiyoung; it isn’t like they need to know anyway. You’re already more than well aware that they’ll reprimand every reasoning you’ll put out, so the entire idea of informing them feels pointless. Not to mention Chanhee will scold you with the same three sentences repeatedly for months straight, and you’re way more than unwilling to listen to him.

This is why you don’t arrive at the auditorium with anyone by your side. You even decide to get there later than usual because you didn’t want to risk bumping into anyone—especially Hwiyoung after what you’ve just dealt with. You hate what he did to you that day, but your heart can’t help but continue to race at the thought of him.

You’re truly head over heels for not him, but his act.

You stand in front of the doors that lead into the room, and you’re scared. You’re scared you’ll be out of place because for one, you’re not in Hwiyoung’s arms.

A sigh exits your mouth as you steady yourself before pushing the doors open. You do it slowly, and it works because you fall unnoticed by everyone around you. You peek inside and hear all the bursts of chatter coming from every nook and cranny of the room. Though, despite this, you only manage to catch two fully audible conversations.

One on stage:

“I can’t believe you chose me for the king. Do I look short and old to you?!” Younghoon whines, script balled up in his fist. He stomps his feet angrily, startling the couple in front of him. “I’m not withering!”

“Should’ve casted you as an extra,” Sangyeon grumbles, rubbing the back of his neck before yelping when his girlfriend, Yiyeon, slaps his shoulder.

And another a few feet away from you:

“It’s unlike Lee Sangyeon to cast someone because of how they look,” an unfamiliar voice mumbles.

“Hey, but can you blame him? Anyone could be swayed by that face,” a second voice says.

“It’s just such a shame, you know? To see how talent can be overlooked by beauty. Poor Hwi.”

Their conversation shifts, and you find your jaw clenched. Although you wholeheartedly agree with what the pair was saying, you can’t help but feel a bit defensive for your co-actor.

But you fight against the small tug at your heart and bite your tongue, pushing the doors even wider and finally entering. All heads turn toward you when they hear the doors shut behind you, and you plaster on a fake smile as you greet those.

But your act gets cut short when Sangyeon exclaims ‘finally!’, rushing down the steps of the stage to reach you. His girlfriend and Younghoon follow, standing behind him as Sangyeon plants himself in front of you.

He grabs your shoulders, and looks at you with a stare that bore into your eyes.

“Have you seen Juyeon?”

You hesitate then shift your gaze to look at Younghoon. His face looks just as curious, and desperate, as Sangyeon’s, and it makes you raise a brow.

Has he not been here?

The entire room is quiet, and Sangyeon snaps you out of your daze by repeating the question. A sense of panic is washed over all of his features while his eyes beg for an answer.

“Please tell me you know where he is,” he cries, shaking you repeatedly. “He was supposed to pick up his script from me a week ago, but he hasn’t contacted me since!” His lip is jutted out, pouting, and you do your best to prevent the dizziness from affecting your response.

Man, you understand that everyone in the auditorium is a drama student, but you’re starting to believe that perhaps Sangyeon takes it a tad bit too seriously.

You open your mouth to speak and Sangyeon stops shaking you instantly, eyes widening to the size of a disney character’s. Yiyeon mirrors his same gaze, and Younghoon looks at you with anticipation, just like everyone else in the room. The attention makes you struggle to find the right words, so you opt for a ‘...I’m sorry, what?’.

“Juyeon, have you seen Juyeon at all this week?”

Your eyes immediately scan the room, in denial that this man isn’t here. You spot everyone, Hwiyoung included, but the figure of the one man you dreaded to see after the ‘incident’.

Well, it’s not like you’re going to complain.

“No, no I haven’t.”

A scoff breaks through the silence, and you fully expect it to be from your ex-boyfriend, but when you trace the sound, it matches the face of your best friend.

Choi Chanhee.

Sangyeon’s loud groan has you turning back to face him, and he drops his hands from your shoulders to bury his face within them. “No one, not one single person in this room, has heard or gotten sight of him. We need to block the entire show today, and we can’t continue on if the main lead doesn’t even have his script. What will I do?!”

As he visibly, and mentally, crumbles in front of everyone, his girlfriend reaches to comfort him before Sangyeon is swooped into another person’s arms.

Hwiyoung.

“Hey, Sang, it’s alright! Don’t worry about Juyeon. You got me, yeah?” He slings an arm over Sangyeon’s shoulder, leading him out of the auditorium. He pulls a door open for the sulking male. “As understudy, I can replace him for the time being.”

You catch his fake yet dazzling smile before the door closes, and you find yourself biting back a scowl.

“I’m, uh, just going to keep everyone sane,” Yiyeon mumbles, leaving you and Younghoon alone.

Then, you and Younghoon lock eyes. You both instantly share the same thought, causing you guys to get into action right after.

As you two run up onto stage, Younghoon grabs a chair while you grab Chanhee’s wrist, pulling him away from a conversation with Kevin.

He protests, but it’s ignored when you go behind the curtains, Younghoon trailing right after. He tosses the chair into the open area, waiting until it skids to a stop before you yank Chanhee onto it. You lean against a wall with crossed arms, watching as Younghoon approaches the suspicious friend of yours.

“You know something, don’t you?” Younghoon asks, standing in front of him.

“What is this? An interrogation?” Chanhee snorts.

“Yes, in fact it is, so I recommend you answer his question,” you bite back. Chanhee rolls his eyes, no longer looking at you.

Your words make you come off as curious when in reality, you couldn’t really care much about Juyeon and his whereabouts.

Yet somehow, someway—something seems to irk you. Seeing how Hwiyoung took advantage of a vulnerable stage manager earlier doesn’t sit right inside you, and Juyeon not even showing up and disassociating with everyone in the cast is out of character. You just know something is off, and you have a feeling it was because of you.

But you refused to believe so.

“Look, I haven’t been able to contact Juyeon either.” His tone is softer, and his voice could easily be overpowered by all the other incessant chatter coming from the other side of the curtain if it wasn’t for the secluded space you three are in. Your friend has his gaze darted elsewhere, clearly avoiding eye contact with either of you.

“You have been his closest buddy ever since he’s joined the cast,” Younghoon reasons.

Chanhee laughs, then turns to look at Younghoon.

“What? Jealous?” He smirks, almost winking, but Younghoon startles him by slamming his hands onto the head of the chair, gripping the ledge whilst trapping Chanhee between his arms.

“Y/N and I have known you long enough,” Younghoon says, sucking in his cheeks. “You don’t act like this unless you’re keeping something from us.”

“And your breath stinks,” Chanhee retorts.

“Okay that’s enough, this clearly isn’t working.” You pick yourself off the wall and approach the two.

“I could get physical if you’d like me to,” Younghoon says, tilting Chanhee’s chin upward with his script.

“Yeah, no,” you mutter, pushing him aside. He frowns but watches you in amusement, interested to see how you’d handle the stubborn boy. You then face Chanhee, craning your head to the side as you analyze how his features become stiff. “Since you won’t tell Younghoon what you know, why don’t you tell me? What the hell are you hiding from Sangyeon?”

Chanhee purses his lips, licks them, then stands. He looks at you with barely any expression on his face.

“...No.”

“No?” Perplexed, you stop him from leaving, keeping him in front of you. “What do you mean by no?”

He laughs. Then, he shakes his head.

“You don’t get to know shit after what you said to Juyeon on the day of rehearsal,” he spills, refusing to look you in the eye. Your eyes grow into the size of bowling balls, freezing as your friend continues to tower over your figure with crossed arms.

“So you know…”

“I was there,” he seethes, snapping his head back your way. “I saw him, chased after him, and caught him talking to you.”

“So you both are hiding shit from me,” Younghoon mumbles, clearly appalled and annoyed with how his best friends chose to handle things.

Chanhee ignores him and steps forward, making you stumble backwards after losing your balance.

“I tried to get to him, Y/N. I called him, I texted him, I even reached out to his roommates. But guess what? Not a single one of them responded to me.”

You part your lips to retaliate, but he cuts you off.

“No, not a single word from you. As much as I love you as my best friend, all you do is spill excuse after excuse,” Chanhee snaps. Every word he spurs has an arrow aimed at your heart, leaving you stunned after each one. “You’re always spewing shit about an innocent person, blaming him for your breakup when he had no control over who got what role. Now, Y/N, it’s my turn to blame you for not only making me lose a friend I recently made, but the three other people that have always stood by my side.”

He stops, looks towards the ground, and snickers.

“So, Princess, instead of interrogating me, why don’t you tell me where he is?”

“Alright that’s enough,” Younghoon states, stepping into the conversation. He pulls Chanhee away from you, allowing you to release the breath you’ve been holding in the entire time.

Chanhee’s chest heaves as he settles his breathing, eyes burning into your skull as you avoid his glare. You feel like the smallest person on earth, especially since you’ve never had your best friend turn his back on you. Younghoon shows no empathy when he sees the fear in your eyes, only shaking his head in disappointment as he holds his other friend close.

They trusted you to play smart, but all you did was hit rock bottom.

You leave from behind the curtain, revealing yourself to the people inside the auditorium. They look at you with worry, and some of them have actually even overheard the conversation you had with your friends, but you push them all away, running to the doors. You don’t want to deal with anyone, and although your mind is spiraling, you could only decipher one of many thoughts.

“Where are you going?”

A voice pulls you back into reality when you’re met face to face with your ex-boyfriend, Sangyeon standing right behind him. He’s smirking, even compressing a snicker, when he sees the look of desperation and urgency in your face. He holds the door open, blocking you from leaving by standing in the middle of the doorway.

You look him up and down, breathing heavily, before snorting. You shove him to the side as if he was nothing, giving him silence as a temporary answer. The corners of his lips drop, and he watches you leave in bewilderment. You only make it a few feet away before turning around, looking at him with the same smile he wore earlier as you slowly walk backwards.

“I’m on a search for a prince.”

NAVIGATION | THE BOYZ MASTERLIST

[tbzhub]

12 Days of The Boyz Jacob

Pairing: boyfriend!Jacob x reader

Summary: your boyfriend gets really distant during the holidays

Warnings: none

Genre: fluff, slight angst

WC: 1.9k~

Tagged: @kpophoe-22 @erikyoongs

Artist Note: Hi! Just a few Christmas themed drabbles for fun! I’ll post one every day-ish from Dec 6th - 24th! (weekdays only) minors dni with the smut drabbles! If you want to be tagged let me know :) Submitting this for the holiday event @ficscafe

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With a little over two weeks left until Christmas, you started to feel insecure in your relationship. Your boyfriend spent a lot of his time on his phone, head down, typing away to his group chat with his bandmates. When he wasn’t doing that his free time was spent holed up in his room or the studio, oftentimes rejecting your attempts to spend time together. When you first started noticing Jacob withdrawing from you, you figured maybe he was just stressed about something with work. But you never heard him complain about any schedules so after a while you wondered if he was hiding something from you.

You spent most of your shift mulling over whether you should confront Jacob. As you walked up to his front door to visit him you were still unsure, not wanting to make him feel bad for not being as attentive to you if he really is just busy with work.

He didn’t give you a chance to knock, opening the door and embracing you in a hug the second you reached the front entrance of his place. He spoke softly into your hair, “Hey, I missed you.”

You closed your eyes, relishing the warmth that Jacob’s touch provided. “I missed you more.”

He cupped your face in his hands and kissed you on the nose before pulling you into his home and closing the door behind you. You walked over to the living room, feeling a bit more at ease. The thought of confronting Jacob left your mind as you laid down on his lap on the sofa.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Jacob had the remote in his hand, scrolling through different movie selections that were on tv trying to find something interesting to watch.

With a yawn, you nodded your head, “yeah, that’s fine. I’ll try not to fall asleep.” You joked.

As Jacob pressed play on the movie you noticed him instantly place an earbud into his ear and go on his phone. There was that prickle of doubt again making you worry about the state of your relationship with your boyfriend. You shifted so that you were facing the tv better and focused on the movie, trying your best not to get upset over the fact that Jacob wouldn’t even put his phone down for an hour and a half long movie.

After the movie was over you sat up to stretch, “It’s not too late, do you want to go out for a bit?” You hoped he would say yes so that you could talk to him about how you were feeling. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Jacob but sometimes you needed reassurance. He was acting very strange lately and his distance was making you feel a bit lonely.

“Not tonight, Y/n. I actually have to go take care of something… but I’ll see you this weekend right?” Jacob looked up from his phone, a sunny smile on his face as he waited for you to respond.

You gathered your things, averting your eyes from his gaze. “Yep.” You sniffled, trying to hide the fact that you were starting to tear up, fed up with how aloof Jacob’s been with you lately.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Jacob tried to reach his hand out to touch your thigh but you swatted him away.

Face deadpan, you stated, “I’m going home, Jacob. I’ll see you later.” With that you walked towards the front door and let yourself out, walking out into the snow with a heavy heart and a head filled with anxious thoughts.

-

You spilled your guts to your roommate the second you got home, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in your mouth as you gave her the rundown of how you’ve been feeling. “Do you see why I’m freaking out now?” You pointed your spoon at her. “He’s been distant lately and right before Christmas. What do you think is going on?”

Your roommate was silent for a moment, analyzing everything that you explained to her. “Don’t hate me for this but you don't think he’s going to break up with you or something right? He sounds pretty disinterested right now.” She looked at you warily, bracing herself for your reaction to her words.

“Hm, that thought didn’t even cross my mind.” A pang of sadness hit your chest and you were starting to feel physically ill. “Jacob wouldn’t break up with me right before Christmas, that would be so harsh. Right?”

Your roommate shrugged. “You know him better than I do. Maybe you should just talk to him.”

Anxiety started to rise in your chest as you contemplated Jacob's recent behavior and your roommate's theory. You sat back in your chair as the realization hit you, “You could be right… Maybe Jacob doesn’t want to be with me anymore.” Tears threatened to fall from your eyes as you stared down at your hands, trying to collect yourself. You didn’t want to go down a rabbit hole of negative thoughts right now. You got up from the table, opting to go to bed to avoid overthinking more than you already have. “I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Your roommate nodded, face full of pity, “Goodnight y/n, I’ll be up for a while if you want to talk later.”

You didn’t.

-

As Christmas got closer you walked on eggshells in your relationship. You both were busy and Jacob hardly reached out to you. Most of your time was spent working or with your family for the holidays, anything to distract you from the dilapidated state of your relationship.

As you were on the sofa with your roommate watching a Christmas movie, you felt the buzz of your phone in your pocket. Pulling it out, your heart skipped a beat as you saw a text from Jacob.

Can you come over tonight?

You gulped, “I guess he’s finally going to do it”, you muttered under your breath, typing out your response and getting up to get dressed.

Your roommate called out to you, “Where are you going?”

“Jacob wants me to come over tonight.” Your expression was grim as you looked her in the eyes.

She had a sullen expression on her face, understanding what you were alluding to. “It’ll be okay, y/n. I’ll be here for you, babe.” She tried to sound reassuring but it didn’t help much.

“Thanks, I’m going to get dressed now.” You pointed towards your closet, trying to close the door so you could get ready. You heard your roommate's voice from the other side of the door.

“Dress hot so he knows what he’s missing!”

You smirked, finding her advice funny.

-

As you walked up to Jacob’s front door you tried to calm your nerves, taking a deep breath before knocking on his door. It took Jacob a moment to open the door and when he did he pulled you into his arms. “I am so sorry, baby.”

You didn’t know what to do with your arms, still unsure of what to expect from Jacob tonight. “O-okay?”

Jacob sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I’m taking you somewhere and then you’ll understand.” He grabbed his coat and took ahold of your hand, dragging you out into the snow and towards his car.

As you got into the car you eyed him with apprehension. “Jacob, I’m confused.”

“I promise you won’t be in a bit, I have something to show you.” Jacob waited until you put on your seatbelt before turning on the car and pulling out of the driveway. You sat back in the passenger seat, looking out the window and watching the trees pass by in a blur. You didn’t know where Jacob was taking you but you decided to relax and enjoy the drive, it could be one of your last moments with Jacob this way. The thought made you sad, your lip trembling as you blinked back tears of sadness.

You felt the car come to a stop and you looked out the windshield to see that Jacob had brought you to the studio where his group recorded. Taking off your seatbelt you looked at him, curiosity swirling around in your mind. “What are we doing here?”

“Let’s go inside!” Jacob seemed very jittery as he climbed out of the car, running over to your side to open the passenger side door and walk with you towards the front of the building.

Once inside, he led you down a hallway and towards a small recording room. There was a leather sofa in the corner and you went to sit down, waiting to see what Jacob had to show you. “Alright, what’s going on?” Your heart was thumping hard in your chest, as you anticipated whatever he had to say.

“I know I’ve been seemingly checked out lately and I am so sorry for that. I was working really hard on something and I’m ready to show it to you now.” You saw Jacob swallow nervously as he sat in front of a screen, clicking on a file and pressing some buttons on the board in front of him. “This should do it.” He clicked on one more screen and went to sit next to you, wringing his wrists with his hands anxiously.

You heard the first few strums of an acoustic guitar come through the speakers in the room, making you raise your eyebrows in surprise. “Is this a song for the next album?”

Jacob shook his head, the smile on his face was so big as he said, “Just listen.”

You did as you were told and closed your eyes, leaning back against the leather sofa enjoying the instrumentals of the song. You heard Jacob’s voice come through the speakers, making your eyes snap open, goosebumps quickly spreading across your skin. You listened closely to the lyrics. It was a love song. “Jacob—

“Shhh”, he silenced you.

You listened to the song, realizing that Jacob had written this song for you. Tears welled in your eyes as you listened to his soft voice singing such a beautiful melody. This whole time you thought your relationship was over but it wasn’t. You grabbed onto his hand bringing it close to your heart as you listened to the bridge of the song he wrote for you, tears streaming down your face. It was stunning, you could feel the sheer admiration that he had for you through the lyrics of his song, every note he sang was coated in love for you. As the song came to an end, you looked up at your boyfriend, speechless.

“Did you like it?” Jacob looked so self-conscious, “I worked hard on it.”

You wiped away your tears, a chuckle escaping your lips, “Of course I did. I just thought— never mind.”

Jacob tilted his head to the side as he inquired, “What?”

“I thought you didn’t want to be together anymore. You were being so cold to me lately and secretive. I can’t believe you made me this song, it was beautiful.”

Jacob’s mouth fell open for a bit, “Baby, I am so sorry my behavior made you think that.” He put his arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer to him, kissing you on top of your head. “I was focused on finishing your present, I spent a lot of time talking to the guys and getting their opinions on the lyrics and the arrangement of the song. I love you so much, you don't have to worry about that ever happening.” He gave you a chaste kiss on the lips.

You laughed, “At least I was surprised.” You laid your head on Jacob’s chest. It was pleasantly quiet for a moment as you enjoyed being in Jacob’s arms. “Hey, baby?”

“What’s up?”

With a cheeky smile on your face, you asked “Can you play my song for me again?”

[hcuyk]

synopsis. eric has lived across the country for three years, preventing you from seeing your best friend, until the day he throws a party at his house in your hometown—without inviting you

pairing. childhoodfriend!eric x gn!reader

genres. childhood friends to strangers, angst, some humor/fluff, overall hurt fic

warnings. alcohol intake, profanities, idk this was really poorly written :( bumblebee is used as a term of endearment (get it cause...the b...anyway...)

word count. 3.3k

perspective. second person omniscient

author's note. a fic dedicated to elle (mavericsohn), a beloved moot that i never show enough appreciation for. with every fic i release, you're always praising me and sharing your thoughts, something i'm so incredibly grateful for, and i really do hope this fic makes up for all my lackluster responses when you're the sweetest person on earth :(( also i really miss eric

taglist. [ @mavericsohn ] @stealanity @yourjaylaks @wooyoung-a @kimaya2209 @armysantiny @changminurheart @moonieric @sunfics @fullsunfluff @lcvekdy @deputyjuyeon @simpforsunwoo @nyujjan @jaekiths @i6swoo @fairycob @karsohn @nilesig @twentysixofmays @changmin-wrlds @lisori @nanamioo @enhacolor @kyswoo @sunwoahkim @jaerisdiction @yunkiwii @ja4hyvn @choielyssa

In a life where you’ve spent eighteen out of twenty-one years together, you would think that the recent three would be nothing to you.

After all, what’s three years without your best friend when you’ve known him since birth?

The expression is often used as an exaggeration, but it’s true for the relationship you’ve had with Eric. His parents and yours have attended the same college and have been friends ever since, so it came as no surprise when they brought their eight-month-old son to meet the newly borned you in the hospital.

Of course, you both didn’t become friends right away. You just came out of the womb and Eric couldn’t even form words, but that never stopped him years later from stealing you from his parents and taking you to the wishing well in his backyard.

Being the rebellious toddler he is, he’s thought about dumping you down there multiple times, but being the bright-headed kid he is, he sat you down right beside him in the grass and chatted with you. He himself was barely capable of making conversation, but senseless babbling while you shoved your fist in your mouth as a response seemed like bonding to him.

Eventually, when your family started visiting his more often, he somehow managed to snatch you and run away into the backyard without getting caught. The same thing would happen where he talks about utter nonsense to a three-year-old kid, but you would gurgle and clap at whatever he said, so he considered it a win.

And those meetups continued for years on end. You’d join him after school and toss your backpack by his front door before racing him to the wishing well. His backyard holds many memories from playing tag to crying in each other’s arms, and you always believed it to be your second home.

Granted, after years of spending every second together, developing feelings for him became inevitable. The dopey grin he wears whenever he’s around you always makes you ponder what it’ll feel like to have your lips on it. You always thought about holding the hands that would tickle you whenever you lied to his face, but alas, as most do in their teenage years, you kept your feelings from him.

Even when friends of his would run up to you, begging you if you had feelings for him because god, he wouldn’t shut up about you. He never could, and despite knowing about him reciprocating your feelings, you stayed silent and so did he. Maybe it was the fear of weakening the strong relationship you already have with him, so none of you bothered to make a move. Nothing would change, anyway.

Well, that was until your college acceptance letters arrived. You had gotten into your dream college while Eric got rejected with each one. He was devastated, and he truly wondered where he had gone wrong, but his parents managed to get him a well paying job for him despite only having a high school diploma.

Unfortunately, this job took place across the country.

It doesn’t seem so bad because long distance relationships happen very often, so you knew you’d have no problem keeping in contact with your best friend for the time period in college. You both agreed on you moving over to where he lived once you graduated, but as years pass, the idea seems impossible with how much you two have been drifting.

Despite having each other’s numbers and social media pages, time zones turned out to play a big role in your relationship. It had no problem putting a stone wall between the two of you, preventing you both from interacting with one another. Eric lived a busy life in New York City while you struggled with your studies in UCLA.

Even when you received summer and winter breaks, Eric got none of that. Not in the position he’s in where he could get fired at any moment in time, therefore never being able to travel across the country for you.

So it surprises you one night when you’re driving down his street to find his house blaring with music and flashing colors. Your parents informed you of the house being vacant for the week since Eric’s parents will be out in Florida, but you’re starting to doubt their words. You park your car across the street and jog to his doorstep, curiosity controlling every muscle in your being.

You knock on the door, and shockingly you’re met with the face of Haknyeon Ju, a close friend of Eric’s from middle school.

“Hey!- Oh my god, Y/N, is that you?”

“Hi Haknyeon,” you warmly greet.

“I didn’t think you’d come! Eric’s inside the kitchen, by the way,” he says, stepping to the side to allow you in.

But you can only stand there frozen, baffled as you stare at him.

“...I’m…I’m sorry, but Eric? Eric is here?”

“It is his going away party, Y/N. And his house,” he says with a chuckle.

“Going away party?”

Haknyeon then pauses. His face falls as he looks at you with an open mouth, speechless.

“You…you didn’t know about Eric, did you?”

You purse your lips and hang your head, kicking the feet beneath you. “No. I’m just-...I’m just going to go, yeah? It’s nice seeing you.”

“Right back at you,” he says, nodding solemnly. He gives you a pitiful smile before closing the door, leaving you alone with the cold nipping at your skin.

You contemplate on what to do because the person you’ve been wanting to see for years is in the house in front of you, and you feel your legs becoming wobbly.

So instead of walking to your car, you decide to wander your way into his backyard, coming face to face with the wishing well. You smile as you stand in front of it, fingers grazing over the stone.

You’re so distracted that you don’t even hear the door open, but your head turns at the sound of steps crashing down the stairs of his porch.

And for the first time in three years, you lock eyes with your so-called ‘best friend’.

He holds two bottles of beer in his hands yet no smile approaches his lips. He doesn’t run to hug you or greet you with a wave.

“Hey Bumblebee,” he murmurs, a nickname you’ve always been fond of until now.

You’re unable to reject the opened bottle of beer when he holds it out in front of you, and you already down a huge chunk of it. He watches with amusement before leaning against the wishing well, propping one of his arms up against the ledge before taking a sip of the alcoholic drink.

“Thanks,” you grumble after drying your lips with your sleeve, avoiding looking him in the eye. If you did so, you’d probably fall into tears right then and there.

“No problem.”

It’s silent for a few minutes, and you swear this has been the quietest you’ve both ever been around the wishing well. Part of you regrets not leaving right when you found out he was here, but another part of you wanted to drop the cold act just to pull him in your arms and hug him until the end of time.

“So, you’re here,” Eric says, attempting to spark conversation without addressing the elephant standing between you two.

“I’m here,” you respond, fingers tapping against the glass bottle. “And so are you.”

“And so am I,” he repeats, chuckling. He shuts up immediately after, realizing that he shouldn’t have laughed. His face falls, and he’s back to chewing on his lips, hesitant on how to push forward with the conversation.

“Apparently you’ve been here for a while now, haven’t you?” With a snort, you take another sip of the beverage, no longer caring about how you’ll have to drive home drunk. It’s something you’d never consider doing, but getting into a car crash sounds just about ideal for the predicament you’re currently situated in.

Eric unwillingly nods, following your actions with a large gulp on his side.

“For two weeks,” he says afterwards.

You then scoff, shaking your head as you press your back against the stone. You look at the booming house in front of you, just in pure disbelief that you both have been in the same city all this time, and he’s mentioned nothing about it to you.

“Two weeks. You’ve been back from New York for two weeks, and your best idea was to leave me on read,” you say out loud, trying to understand the words that have just left your mouth.

“Y/N…”

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“Just hear me out, plea-”

“I don’t see you for three years, three years, and then suddenly I have to find out that you’re back home throwing a going away party when I didn’t even know you were here to begin with? For fourteen whole fucking days too. You’ve been here for fourteen days, and neither you nor my parents said dogshit about it. What’s up with that? Oh, and don’t get me started on you thinking you can win me over with a bottle of beer because it’s not working.” You toss the bottle onto the ground out of anger, staring up at the sky as you nod in defeat. “I wouldn’t even have known you were here if I didn’t drive down your street.”

You want to leave, no longer able to meet him in the eye, but your feet remain rooted to the ground, the drink you’ve thrown meeting the soles of your shoe.

Eric stares down at the bottle in his hands, ashamed.

“I missed you,” he whispers, and it’s the quietest his voice has ever been. You almost miss it too, but thankfully you’re adamant on wanting to hear him say something, to hear his stupid reasoning behind why he’s been avoiding you.

“I just don’t get it. I really thought, after all these years, I meant something to you.”

“...Y/N-”

“I sit at home wishing that I could spend my winter break with you, hell just one day with you, only to be slapped in the face and be laughed at-”

“For fuck’s sake, Y/N!” He slams his bottle on the ledge of the well, breathing heavily. “What don’t you understand? I. Missed. You.” His voice comes out louder than ever, startling you with how stern he is.

He angrily runs his fingers through his hair, clutching onto his roots as he looks down the well, unable to face you as he struggles to stand in his spot.

And that’s when you realized the reasoning behind his actions.

“If-...If we met up during my time here, things would get worse. Things would get so much worse because I missed you so much, Y/N.”

He chews on his lower lip as he prevents himself from screaming at you. He’s broken, and that much is visible when he looks at you. His eyes are glossed with his tears, shimmering brightly under the moonlight as he begs for you to understand.

“I was going to disappear, and I don’t have the heart to do that to you. I can’t bear to spend more time with you only to lose you again. I don’t want to hurt you either. Missing you already hurts enough.”

He sighs and leans against the well, arms crossed as he stares off into the distance, whispering.

“Nothing hurts more than sitting around, missing someone you love with your entire heart.”

When you don’t say a word, Eric looks your way and tilts his head. He then drops his eyes to the ground, embarrassed after outwardly admitting his feelings. The stars regain his attention, so he drags his gaze back up to the sky.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

You don’t respond, only standing there as you try to understand everything you’ve just faced.

So he reaches into his back pocket and makes a show out of pulling out his wallet, grabbing a penny before tossing it into the well behind him.

“Can’t believe you just wasted a penny like that,” you mutter. “That’s not how that phrase works, anyway.”

“It’s not a waste if you tell me your thoughts, now would it?” He puts away his wallet and picks up the glass bottle, offering it to you. “Plus, it’s a wishing well for a reason, and I just so happened to have wished for your thoughts.”

“I’m drunk, you know.” You thank him quietly and take the bottle from his hands, truly just wanting to clear your brain with the drink he’s provided.

“Tipsy,” he corrects. “It’s clear you have a high alcohol tolerance if you’re still able to process your thoughts, and you’re thinking.”

“What gives it away?” you retort.

“Oh, well, maybe it’s the fact you never think, so it’s easy to tell when you are.”

“Oh fuck off.” You shove his shoulder and roll your eyes, and he’s laughing, discreetly wiping away his tears from earlier before taking the bottle back from you.

“Maybe you’ve had too much to drink.”

“I thought I was thinking.”

“You are thinking.”

“...God, you’re impossible to decipher.”

“I’m told that a lot,” he hums, bringing the bottle to his lips. He finishes the rest of what’s inside before looking at you, analyzing your features before speaking up again.

“Your eyebrows bunch up and you tend to blink a lot when you think. Plus, your nose does that little scrunch when you lie.”

“No it doesn’t!” you retaliate, and then you put your arms out in front of you.

He laughs and shakes his head.

“I’m not going to tickle you.”

“You always say that and then you do,” you whine.

“Bring it up again, and I might as well consider it.”

You huff and retract your arms, keeping them by your side before folding them over your chest.

“I missed this,” you murmur, chuckling as you drop your head. “I missed you.”

Eric purses his lips and sets the bottle aside.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I would’ve done the same thing if I was in your position.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“...Bumblebee.”

“...Hm?” You turn your head to look at him.

“We can’t do this anymore.”

His words hang in the air, and the seriousness radiating from his tone breaks your heart in half. But you know he’s right.

“I know,” you whisper.

“I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I don’t want you to miss me anymore.”

“I know.”

“Yeah?” Eric looks at you.

“Yeah.” You kick at the bottle you threw earlier, watching it roll over the grass before slowing to a halt. “I don’t want to hurt you either, but…isn’t it going to hurt more?”

“What do you mean?”

“We can’t do this anymore, right?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s going to hurt, Eric. It’s going to hurt a lot.”

“I know.”

“But I don’t want it to hurt. I don’t want you hurting because of it.”

“It won’t hurt either of us. You’re strong, okay? And so am I.”

“But what if it does hurt more than sitting around, missing you?” you ask, spinning towards him. “What then?”

“It won’t, okay?” he says, looking straight into your eyes. “Trust me, it won’t. I believe in you, I believe in us.”

You look up at the sky, realizing it’ll be the last day where you’ll stand under the same stars as him. You shake your head in disbelief, not ready to say goodbye so soon.

“Hey, Bumblebee, look at me. It’s not going to hurt, trust me.”

Upon hearing what he said, you raise a shaking hand and jut out your pinky finger, a gesture you’ve done ever since you could speak. Eric looks at you, nostalgia hitting him all at once.

“Promise me. Promise me it won’t hurt,” you say, voice wavering as you stare at him.

“It won’t hurt, I promise.”

He wraps pinky around yours, locking it in place.

Now is the part where you two pull away. It’s the part where you erase each other from each other’s lives after twenty-one years of being head over heels for each other, but Eric looks at you with eyes you’ve missed so much. Your heart is thumping in your chest as he stands in front of you, movements stilled.

Then, out of nowhere, Eric tugs on your pinky, making you tumble forward before smashing his lips onto yours, giving you the kiss he’s always wanted to gift you.

Your eyes are left wide and stunned before you have them closing shut, letting go of his pinky to toss your arms around his neck. His hands meet your waist as he leans into the kiss.

You both know this is wrong because it’s only going to make everything worse, it’s going to hurt once you both pull away and say your goodbyes, but you can’t help but clutch onto what you’ve always wanted before you both disappear from each other’s lives.

He parts for air, but you immediately pull him back, not daring to hold back your tears from molding your lips with his. He keeps you close against his torso, but then he pulls away because he knows he’s wrong.

And then he sees the tears streaming down your face, noticing the severity of his actions. His eyes widen, shocked with what he’d just done.

“I’m so, so sorry, Y/N. Please don’t cry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-” He cups your cheeks and presses his forehead against yours. “I’m so dumb, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t help it-...”

“I missed you so much,” you sob, fingers clutching onto his shirt.

“I missed you too,” he says, drying your cheeks with the pads of his fingers. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, I’m sorry-”

You press your lips against his, wanting to shut him up from spewing any more apologies.

“There,” you say after pulling away, sniffing. “You kissed me once, and I kissed you twice. Now stop apologizing, please.”

“But I initiated it…Fuck, Y/N, I’m sorry,” he pushes himself away from you, scared that he’ll make things worse.

“Forget it,” you murmur, tightly wrapping your arms around yourself. “Just forget it, Sohn. We’re strong, remember?”

“Right.”

“You promised.”

“I did.”

“So it won’t hurt.”

“It’ll only sting.”

“Sting?” You laugh at his choice of words, making him unintentionally smile.

“Yeah, sting. It’s going to hurt, but it’ll heal with time. That’s what I promise.”

“Okay,” you say, nodding. “I believe you.”

“It’ll be okay,” he whispers. “We’ll be okay.”

“We’ll be okay,” you say under your breath, telling yourself that repeatedly. You look back at the party going on indoors, smiling bitter at the sight. You take a few steps back, and it’s too late to stop. “We’ll be okay.”

“Yeah. Just a sting.”

It’s the last thing you hear before you turn around, making your exit. No goodbyes, nothing. You run across the street and into the driver’s seat of your car, locking yourself inside. You stare blankly at the dashboard in front of you before falling into cries, head resting against the steering wheel as you drown in your sobs.

When you leave Eric’s vision, he impulsively grabs the bottle from beside him and tosses it down the well. The sound of it shattering into pieces perfectly represents his heart, and he falls to his knees, finally releasing the tears he’s been holding in ever since he saw you.

For twenty-one years, the world has always told him that he’s never been worthy of you.

And for the first time in his life, he listened.

navi | tbz masterlist

[hcuyk]

synopsis. after years of living a double life, you've decided enough is a enough

pairing. childhoodfriend!sunwoo x gn!reader

genre. childhood friends to strangers to lovers, fake dating au, angst, an attempt at comfort

warnings. mention of being yelled at by parents

word count. 1.7k

perspective. second person omniscient

author's note. there was supposed to be more to this, but i kinda lost motivation :( i'm sorry if this was terrible,, this fic is a sign for me to stop writing fics that revolve around angst only because i don't know how to portray feelings

requested by. armysantiny

taglist. [ @armysantiny ] @stealanity @yourjaylaks @wooyoung-a @kimaya2209 @changminurheart @moonieric @sunfics @fullsunfluff @lcvekdy @deputyjuyeon @simpforsunwoo @nyujjan @jaekiths @i6swoo @fairycob @karsohn @nilesig @twentysixofmays @changmin-wrlds @mavericsohn @lisori @nanamioo @enhacolor @kyswoo @sunwoahkim @jaerisdiction @yunkiwii @ja4hyvn @choielyssa

Your roaring outburst silences every person within the banquet hall, leaving all of the attendees with a spitting image of the words you’ve burned into your parents.

Your chest heaves as you stand among those seated at their tables, all eyes pinned on your aggravated figure and the glass of wine you’ve knocked over. The red liquid seeps into the expensive white tablecloth with every passing second your parents remain speechless, and the realization of what you’ve done slowly begins to settle in.

Clatters of plates and utensils continue to ring in everyone’s ears when you leave your spot, storming out of the hall without daring to look back at everyone’s frightened faces.

Sunwoo, your supposed ‘date’ for the night, has excused himself from the table with your parents before rushing to chase after you with the repeated call of your name.

By now, the sun has already settled below the horizon, so when you push past the grand brown double doors, you’re greeted with a cold breeze that tickles your neck. In an attempt to relieve yourself of the humiliation you’ve brought upon yourself, you take in a breath of the fresh, icy air, hands hugging your arms close to your being.

Hearing Sunwoo yell your name is what convinces you to make a run for it because, honestly speaking, Sunwoo is the last person you want to see at that moment.

But before you can even take off, he grabs your arm and spins you around to face him.

“Y/N,” he says firmly yet out of breath. His fringes flutter against his forehead due to the wind, and his eyes bore into yours as he says nothing else.

“Let me go,” you grumble, making countless attempts to yank your arm out of his grasp, but he only tightens his grip around you, not daring to let you leave.

“You know I can’t,” he responds.

“And why does that matter?” you ask, scoffing. You stare him in the eye, questioning his intentions. Your teeth feel the need to chatter due to the cold, but you begin to ramble, spitting in his face as you pour out your thoughts. “Do you know what it’s like to be humiliated like that? To break and finally expose my financial situation to, not only my parents, but to everyone there as well? To let everyone know that, in fact, I’m not an up and rising CEO of a promising company but a waiter at a restaurant that’s nearly out of business?

“No, no you don’t because you’re the child my parents have always wanted. You’re the child that any parent would want. You’re good-looking, and you have a successful company that would run with the simple wave of your fingers, hence why you’re always admired by all. Therefore, Mr. Kim, you have no right to drag me back in there.”

Sunwoo sucks in a sharp breath at your sudden spurt of attacks, but that doesn’t hinder his grip in the slightest.

“I’m not here to take you back inside,” he says. “I’m here to take you home because, whether you like it or not, Y/N, I’m your ride.”

With a followed pause of silence and the utterance of the word ‘fine’, Sunwoo leads you to his car and opens the door to the passenger seat for you.

You slip inside without a word, not even a thank you, and the car ride to your apartment complex is rid of all conversation. Your head rests against the window of the car the entire time, only staring at the adjacent cars whenever met with a red light.

Eventually the car slows to a halt into a parking space, and Sunwoo reaches to unbuckle his seatbelt.

“I’ll walk you to your apartment,” he offers, but you immediately reject it.

‘I’m fine’ is the last thing you say to him before slamming the car door shut, leaving him alone in the dark as you walk away.

You struggle to find the key to your apartment as you approach it, and when you come face to face with the door, you realize that you’ve left it with Sunwoo. This moment becomes the breaking point for you, the reason why your stone-wall composure finally collapses. Tears pool in your eyes as you knew you couldn’t handle seeing Sunwoo once more, especially not after the immature stunt you pulled in front of him, his and your parents, and all their close business partners at the banquet.

You’ve known Sunwoo since the beginning of time; after all, your parents have known his in their high school years. Now that you think about it, you basically shared a crib with him from the time you were born, being the closest pair of friends until your early teenage years.

Despite starting off on the same platform, Sunwoo now stands miles ahead of you, reaching milestones that you know you’d never be able to accomplish in this lifetime. You’ve failed incredibly, and you came to accept those terms, but you kept it all from your parents.

By keeping in contact with them, you were forced into making up a completely different life for yourself. Sunwoo found out about it way back when the lies began, stumbling into the restaurant you worked at by accident. You begged him to keep it a secret, from all your close family and friends, and being a friend from your childhood, he complied.

These lies lasted for years, and that was up until this very day when your parents, both yours and his, have announced they’ve arranged a marriage between the two of you.

So you flipped out.

You stood up and retaliated, yelling at your parents from across the table for making such a decision without either of your approvals. You yelled at them for how they’re always making decisions for you when they don’t know anything about the life you currently live, and that’s when you felt obligated enough to tell them that you’ve been lying to them about everything: where you lived, your job, your relationship status (because surprise surprise, you’re not dating Sunwoo)—it was all just a facade.

And you officially lost your parents for good.

You basically lost Sunwoo as well, even if he is only someone you speak to when forced to attend social events for your families. All your life you’ve been lonely, so Sunwoo is the only person that has ever been there for you.

So you stand there, given everything up as you rest your forehead against the door. You allow tears to maneuver their way down your cheeks, silently beginning to cry at the hopelessness brought to you.

“Y/N?”

Your breath stutters in your throat at the sound of his voice, but then you begin to cry harder, choking on your sobs as they grow louder.

Because right when you thought you lost your childhood best friend for good, there he stands, feet away with your key in his hold.

He hesitates to move because all his life, he’s always seen you as strong-willed, independent, and bare of tears. You’ve overcome so many obstacles that have approached you in the most vicious ways possible, but you always manage to hold a smile up onto your face as if everything was untroubled.

“Y/N?” he repeats, voice softer than before as he approaches you whilst putting his key back into the pocket of his suit.

Your cries only grow with every ache of your heart, internally screaming at him to stop saying your name because it hurts. It hurts to love someone that is leagues ahead of you, and it hurts to realize that you’re nothing to him after years of no longer being friends.

But he drapes his arms around your shoulders and brings you into his embrace, providing you a safe space and a shoulder to soak your tears into.

And the gesture makes you realize that no one has ever held you like this.

Not since you were eight, hidden in his arms after being yelled at by your parents.

You bring your hands up to clutch onto his dress shirt, fingers bunching up the material into a fist. His hands slowly rub your back up and down, calming you with the action.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, moving to lie his head on top of yours.

You can only hiccup as you cry into his shoulder, unable to form proper sentences in this state.

He apologizes once more, slightly tightening his hold around you.

You shake your head with a mumbled ‘don’t say that’, wetting his fresh clothing with your tears as he combs his fingers through your hair.

“I’m sorry.”

The repeated apology makes you laugh right before a sniffle, and you part from him.

“Sunwoo.”

“Hm?”

“...I have nothing left.”

The world seems to stop spinning with how Sunwoo looks at you, and you close your eyes. You can feel the warmth of his palms cupping your cheeks, his thumb grazing the skin of your under-eye.

“You have me.”

You blink and look at him with teary eyes when you work up the courage to meet his gaze, shaking your head as if to deny his claims.

“I don’t have you...I lost you.”

“...You didn’t lose me. You never lost me.”

His face is close to yours as he speaks, his breath hitting your lips as you stare at him.

And your voice cracks.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t.”

Broken sobs return with his ending words, and you go back to crying into his embrace as he pulls you back into his arms. You hate him with a burning passion because truly, you miss him. You miss having him by your side so much, and you’re praying that he isn’t saying all these words just to comfort you.

“...If- If I didn’t-...” your words fall short as you try to collect your thoughts, and Sunwoo gives you all the time in the world to do so, sprinkling a kiss on your head as he waits.

“...If I didn’t say anything back at the banquet…would…would you have opposed the marriage?”

The question makes him freeze, and he takes a few seconds to process what you’ve said. The short silence makes you regret ever asking him to begin with, but then he pulls away slightly so he’s able to lift your chin with his finger, making you look at him once again.

“No,” he answers. “No, I wouldn’t have opposed the marriage.”

Your heart leaps at his response, and you smile at him bitterly with words that remain limp in your throat.

“Neither would have I.”

navi | tbz masterlist

[halaboyz]

assume, kyh

pairing: non-idol! younghoon x gn! reader genre: fluff wc: 1.2k warnings: profanities ! notes: n/a !

You know you have a crush on him, but what the fuck?

"I'm just going to get a book in the library with Solar, would that be okay?" Younghoon turns to you, face eagerly waiting for a reply.

"Huh? Okay," You mumble confusingly, nodding anyway as you watch him skedaddled away from your table, earning furrowed eyebrows from everyone in it.

"Did he just ask permission from you?" Changmin says with cheeks full of food, still looking over Younghoon's fading form.

"I think so, yeah," With a face of disbelief, Hyunjae snorts once he sees your face, contorted into some confused and amused expression.

One wasn't responding though, avoiding everyone's eyes as he awkwardly shifts on his seat, but you didn't bother asking him why. Maybe he has a stomachache, with how he was gripping on his tummy for some time now, Eric.

"Bro, you good?" Hyunjae asks for you, patting his back.

"Of course!" Eric flinches in the slightest, meeting your eyes in a panicked way which he instantly turns to Changmin. "I just.. need to go," Quickly packing his things, he bid farewell with his bag hanging open, books frustratingly asking for their lives to be spared.

"The hell's wrong with Eric?" You ask, looking at both Hyunjae and Changmin. Everything was weird, from the time you woke up, to when you were on your campus grounds, Younghoon already waiting for you– which was already weird enough as it was unusual to be waiting under the sunlight, beaming on his skin irritatingly, to your breaks– now. "Did you guys do something bad to me that I don't know? Why are all of you acting nice?"

A soft, playful smack comes behind your head, making you groan.

"Was that acting nice?" Hyunjae hisses, laughing at you. "I don't know, maybe the two did, but not me and Changmin– for what we know. We were together the whole week,"

You simply ignore them, focusing on your food with a pout on your face.

Your sulking and their endless teasing stop when you feel your phone vibrate, signaling a text.

hoon: solar wanted to get coffee from the cafe upfront hoon: don't worry i just wanted to get you one too that's why i agreed hoon: what do you want? iced? hot? latte? black?

"...The hell?" Both of your friends in front of you and beside you curiously peeks, laughing for an unknown reason– or maybe it was the look of confusion plastered so obviously on your face. "Did Younghoon hit his head or what?"

"Why? Shouldn't you be liking that? Kinda.." Changmin shares a look at Hyunjae, a big smile spreading across their faces.

"Boyfriend vibes!" They simultaneously squealed, sharing a high-five as they left you in the corner of the table, groaning to yourself as you shrank on your seat, embarrassed.

"Enjoy eating, dumbasses,"

"Wait, wait, wait! Where are you going?!" The both of them shout, but you only ignore them as you reach for your phone, typing away.

you: don't bother. i'm heading there

You tuck it back in your pocket, a frustrating sigh escaping your lips.

Having enough of whatever was going on inside your friends' brains, you watch as Younghoon ordered his thing with Solar beside him, body twisting and turning slightly as she trudged little by little closer to him.

From the outside, your eyebrows only furrowed as you wait for him under the sunlight, thinking of everything they might have done for them to be treating you this nice.

"Oh, hi," Solar stops as her smile drops ever so slightly, glancing at Younghoon who had no interest in sparing her a glance. "I suppose I should go,"

And as Solar leaves, Younghoon then only lifts his head for his frown to shift into a sincere smile, having to read your text just now as he puts his phone in his back pocket.

"Hey, y/n! You must be hot, let's go inside and order you an iced latte," He smiles sweetly, tugging your arm inside the cafe and ordering your usual coffee, the smile unerased. "That looks like a good place, let's settle there," A giggle even leaves his lips that only caused you to furrow your brows more. "Don't mind Solar. She's.. just a groupmate, nothing more!"

You scoff in disbelief, and the moment you sat and he in front of you, you put on your interrogating face as you squinted your eyes, slowly taking a sip of your coffee without taking your eyes off him.

"..Why?" He asks, shifting on his seat uncomfortably. With his ear getting red, you only sigh in frustration.

"No matter how much I think, I really can't get it–," You groan, "Younghoon, do you have something to tell me?"

"What? Nothing," He shrugs, craning his neck as you exchanged confused faces.

"Then why, just why the hell are all of you acting weird today? Was it something I did, then?"

"I– when did I? What– where–?" He stutters, looking everywhere but your eyes as he had an idea of what you've been talking about.

"First, you wait for me under the beaming sunlight earlier morning, Changmin and Hyunjae did absolutely nothing but to tease me all day, and Eric is avoiding me!" Exasperatingly throwing your hands up, you pout as you wiggled your feet under the table.

Younghoon just chuckles and admires you for a minute, slowly fading when he realizes what he had to face– his embarrassment and Eric's downfall.

"Well.. I might have an idea," He mumbles, once again avoiding your excited eyes. "I– uh, no! Not me, Eric– he.."

"Drop it, Younghoon," You playfully smack his arm, growing impatient.

"He said you liked me! And I don't know if it's true but like.. I had to act on it and if I made you uncomfortable I'm sorry it's all Eric's fault please go for him not me," He rambles, closing his eyes tightly as he waits for your reaction, "If you don't really like me please just walk away. This is so embarrassing," He sighs, still not giving you a glance. "But just know that I like you," Mumbling the last part, he sighs once more.

There was only silence and the ambiance of the cafe that went through Younghoon's ears, and he assumes that you've walked away to spare him from embarrassment.

When he was about to open his eyes, he feels a soft hand caressing his clenched fist and hears a giggle.

"Open your eyes," You chuckle, shaking his hand. "It's true, I like you," Gaining confidence at Younghoon's timidness, you shyly smiled at him. "And never going to go for you, it's always Eric, damn. Don't even know why I told him in the first place," You roll your eyes, looking back at him with a sweet smile.

"I uh, am sorry," He mumbles, "I should've talked to you about it first rather than.. acting like that right away," He bites his lower lip as he looks down to his hands, remembering how your hands engulfed his just a minute ago.

"Don't worry, it was cute– I only grew frustrated because Hyunjae and Changmin kept on teasing me," You shake your head, patting his hand once again, "Just.. don't do that again, yeah? Scared the hell out of me,"

Sharing a minute of laughs, it dies down quite quickly as you shared a look.

"So.. how do we do this?"

permanent taglist: @deputyjuyeon @sunlightwoo @teuboyz @90s-belladonna @grassbutneo @skrtbabe @cosmiclele @flrtwoo @jaerisdiction​ @zvae @karsohn @moonieric @belovedgyus @softforqiankun @changmin-wrlds​ @cloudykyu @kurosism

[halaboyz]

notes, ksw

pairing: non-idol! sunwoo x gn! reader genre: angst, fluff wc: 2k warnings: profanities notes: for anon !

au + trope + prompt game :: soulmates!au + friends to lovers + “it's just so hard not to fall in love with you.” ! - closed

“Is it possible to fall in love knowing that the mere concept of soulmates exists?” You worriedly ask Kevin, “Or just.. Like. Like someone else knowing that your soulmate is out there.” You obviously shrink on your seat, growing anxious about what his answer might bring. “Oh, just asking for a friend.”

“You don’t have any more friends you could talk to with things like this except for me, though.” Kevin chuckles, ruffling your hair. “It’s okay, y/n.” He starts, sighing. “And I totally think it’s possible.”

“How, Kevin?” You pout, resting your shoulders on the table to lean closer to him.

“Well, not everyone’s priority is their soulmates. We can’t fight what we feel. We’re destined to meet someone at a certain point in time— it may be this second, the next minute, or the next hour. It can also be next month, or year, we’re never sure. There’ll come a time where you meet them, but it can’t always be them when in the first place, they were never there— though, it depends whether you’ve already known them,” Kevin explains, caressing your hand. “It’s Sunwoo,, right?”

You sigh, nodding as your fingers graze over the top of your wrist, a tattoo of a string that ends in the middle of the loop. Everyone knows that the middle is a heart, you just need someone to complete it.

They say whoever was your soulmate will complete the tattoo.

“Look, I know that whatever happens, as long as you are happy, everything will be fine.”

“I’m just worried.. The fact that Sunwoo might not even feel the same or if he does.. What if my soulmate suddenly comes? Everything might get fucked at that point,”

Kevin does nothing but look at you with pity, can’t do anything more but to be there for you, consoling you when you need it.

“You haven’t thought about if Sunwoo was your soulmate?” It suddenly comes to his mind, raising his brow at you.

“There are millions of people on Earth, dipshit. I don’t even have to think about that,” You groan, threatening to hit him as you raise your fist.

“Well, we never know.”

“Hi, thanks for saving me a seat. Kinda got caught up on a conversation with a friend, I didn’t realize the time,” You whisper as you drag the chair back cautiously, dropping your things in the quietest manner as Sunwoo looks at you amusingly.

“No problem, We’re only ten minutes through the discussion. I can lend you my notes after,” Maybe it was the smallest things that made you interested in him. The way he cares for you when you barely even knew each other; talked only when necessary and convenient. Or maybe it was also the way his doe eyes beamed at you like all the stars have fallen in his eyes the instant it landed on you. Or maybe it was also the way his smile doesn’t falter whenever he’s with you.

Nevertheless, you were smitten.

“Thank you, Sunwoo,” You mumble, glancing at him with a smile before dragging it back to the front where your professor taught calculus.

“Hey, uh..” Sunwoo strikes a conversation, taking your attention as you pack your things for your next class.

“Yeah?” You raise your eyebrows, waiting for him to continue as your heart beats faster. You can’t even last a minute looking at him, much more staring.

“I just.. You know, if you were free, wanted to ask if you were free later after your classes,” He finally says out loud for you to hear, making your heart leap and run a thousand miles per second. The tips of his ear reddened, the heavy burden in his chest finally easing after a few months of bugging him.

You stare at him with mouth agape, sneakily pinching the little of your skin behind you to see if you were dreaming. With the stinging sensation, you unconsciously flinch and reveal the mark that has been left by your fingernails.

Sunwoo chuckles as he sees this, taking your hand to caress it.

“It’s not a dream,” It was as if he knew what you were thinking, and that he knew what exactly you were feeling.

Even his touch is burning.

And it was also as if to remind you of it, you see a glimpse of the tip of Sunwoo’s soulmate tattoo that you feel your heart drop at your stomach, frowning.

“I’m sorry, Sunwoo.. I can’t. I have lots of things to do, so..” You retreat your hand from his warm ones, shooting him a small smile before you passed him, looking down at your shoes.

Sunwoo felt dejected at that when he knew you felt just as happy as he did when he asked you out.

“I definitely rejected him,”

“You definitely rejected him,” Kevin agree, shaking his head in shame.”What were you thinking anyway? I told you he likes you! It was your time,”

“It totally was,” You sigh, “Until it wasn’t. I caught a glimpse of his tattoo and it just.. Reminded me of everything,” Your fingers graze at your tattoo, like how you habitually did when the topic was talked about.

“Oh! What did it look like?”

“I don’t know, I literally just saw a glimpse. But it’s.. I don’t know, a line.” You shrug. “I can’t attend calculus anymore.” You mumble, exasperatingly sighing on your seat as you shake your whole body in frustration. “I’m just so fucking dumb,”

“Come on.. y/n, you aren’t. It also isn’t your fault that you’re worried about your soulmates, okay? You’re just looking out for Sunwoo, and for yourself.” Kevin rubs your back, feeling down with you. “Why does that man always need to wear long sleeves every day, anyway? That’s why I can’t see his tattoo well,” He groans, rolling his eyes as he takes a bite of his food.

“Like I don’t do the same,” You mumbled, your tattoo feeling hot all of a sudden.

Maybe it’s the continuous rubbing you’ve been doing all day long.

“You’re staying home?” Kevin shrieks through the phone, making you pull the phone away from your ear.

“It’s calculus.”

“You never miss calculus!”

“Now I do,” A pout forms on your lips, thinking of all the times you had asked Sunwoo to save you a seat and you wonder if still did the same today when you didn’t even ask him.

“Prof’s here.. y/n, attend it. Or I’m gonna have to drag you there,” The call drops and Kevin’s threatening didn’t exactly scare you so you just throw your phone on your bed, staring at the ceiling.

You just had to hope that you won’t run into Sunwoo later for your physics class.

Timidly walking to your locker, you see an unfamiliar notebook set between your physics book and calculus book. You tug it out of the pile, seeing a bright post-it in the middle of the notebook.

‘Take my notes, it has the last time and today. :)’

You didn’t have to think who it was from.

The pout has once again made an appearance on your face, your shoulders slouching as you felt bad at the kind gesture he did, even after what you did to him.

As you made your way to your room, you remember the time you had to tell Sunwoo your locker’s password— when you needed your scientific calculator for the physics exam, and you just seemingly forgot the most important thing that could help you pass the exam. Texting him for urgency because you knew he was just making his way for the gates after his own exams, he willingly helped you and even sneaked in the room just to give it to, even though the exam hasn’t started and yet and was only because the proctor wasn’t allowing anyone to go outside once you’ve stepped foot inside the room.

You didn’t have to know that he was already home when you texted him, running to his best effort just to get to you in time.

You smile at the thought that you didn’t even realize your physics class had already ended.

“Shit, my notes,” You gasp, hands moving quickly to copy whatever was on the board.

“It’s the fifth time you’re missing calculus, y/n,” Kevin sighs, “And I don’t think your professor is going to be happy with that. Six absences and you have to repeat the subject.”

“I know, Kev,”

“Plus, you’re literally leeching off Sunwoo’s notes,” He jokingly says, chuckling. “Time to thank him, and time to find out what his tattoo is. If you aren’t meant to be, then talk it out, just like how we have been planning, okay? You can do this.”

You can’t.

It’s been thirty minutes since the start of your calculus class, and here you were staring right at your door.

You bump your head on it, quite harshly at that. So you hiss in pain, dropping to the floor as you held your head. Opening your eyes after a few seconds, your eyes naturally landed on your tattoo mark.

“Why.. do we need this,” You whisper, tears brimming your eyes. You were always a confident one, always uptight, and knows things. But this? It never crossed your mind why— it’s existence.

And since it exists, you can’t do anything but hope that it is Sunwoo.

You wipe the forming tears in your eyes, feeling it was useless when you’re doing nothing so you pick up your things again, making your way to the university with a dignified front.

‘Here’s notes for today. Prof’s said you can’t skip one more time because you’ve skipped it five times already. I hope you’re okay. :)’

You thank the gods your physics class is canceled because the surge of confidence hitting you right now to face Sunwoo is once in a blue moon.

“Hi.” You jump on your place when you hear a voice behind you, confidence crumbling to the floor to see the man you’ve been wanting to see for weeks right in front of you.

“Hello,” You timidly responded, hands clutching on his notebook. “I want to talk to you,”

“I’ve always been here.” Sunwoo chuckles, missing seeing you. “Behind you. But you just never look back,”

“Sorry.” You mumble, looking down at your feet to avoid his doe eyes you’ve always admired. “About last time, too. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, y/n.” Sunwoo tries to reach out to you, make you feel loved as you’ve always deserved.

“For today too, because I want to see your tattoo you’ve always hidden.” You swallow the lump that formed on your throat, finally looking at him as tears made their way to your eyes again. “Sunwoo, I like you. A lot. But I can’t stand the feeling that I feel like I’m betraying someone, someone that was meant for me the moment I came out of my mother’s. The feeling that I would have to worry about my tomorrows with you, because what if you finally meet them? What if I finally meet them?”

Sunwoo just lets you speak, a sad smile on his face.

“It’s just so hard not to fall in love with you and I’m scared that if I love you too much.. A soulmate will be useless.” You sigh, letting the tears flow out of your eyes. You can’t even see Sunwoo through it.

Sunwoo lets you calm down after a few minutes, no words spilling out of his lips but his hands find their way to your back, rubbing it. Seeing you finally calmed down, he just quietly pulls his sleeve up, showing you his tattoo.

Cautiously taking your wrist in his, he also rolls your sleeves up and shows you both tattoos.. And it matches.

You feel your skin burning but in a good way. Your eyes stop forming tears and also your sniffles, looking at the tattoos— like it was some kind of animation, connected.

The heart was finally complete.

“I found you,” Sunwoo mumbles, his smile growing impossibly bigger as he looks at you. “It’s been kind of a while, but I did.”

“Sunwoo..” Sunwoo cups your cheeks and lands a peck on your forehead, and you finally breathe.

“Now you don’t have to worry about anything else than me,”

“Wrong. I got some calculus to do,”

permanent taglist: @deputyjuyeon @sunlightwoo @90s-belladonna @grassbutneo @cosmiclele @flrtwoo @jaerisdiction @zvae @karsohn @moonieric @softforqiankun @changmin-wrlds @cloudykyu @kurosism @mavericsohn @enhacolor @yunkiwii (to be on my taglist: open!)

networks: @deobiwritersnet @ficscafe @destinyverse @theb-hive @koffeenet @kflixnet @kcollegenet

[hcuyk]

K.SW | SIXTEEN

SYNOPSIS ⋆* soccer player rivals sunwoo and y/n both play for their university's soccer team. competing for the star player position, sunwoo and y/n are constantly at each other's throats, trying to outdo one another to get onto the front page of the school's newspaper

PAIRING ⋆* soccerplayer!sunwoo x gn!reader

GENRE ⋆* crack, angst, mutual pining

WARNINGS ⋆* profanities, verbal fight, mentions of verbal assault

WORD COUNT ⋆* 3k

⋮≡ [ HEADLINE EXCLUSIVE ] @flwrtbz @rindomo @minsikluv @bberryblossom @juhakfeedzz @markistheloveofmylife @illiterateliz @cvlliesstuff @17scheol @yeostars @marsophilia @iovnyu @sofie296 @morauvmi @swooxygen @winterbeartaehyungbestboy @jichanqz @love-svt

≈ HEADLINE M.LIST ˊ˗ ; previous

⋮≡ [ PERMANENT TAGLIST ] @stealanity @yourjaylaks @wooyoung-a @kimaya2209 @armysantiny @changminurheart @moonieric @sunfics @fullsunfluff @lcvekdy @deputyjuyeon @simpforsunwoo @nyujjan @jaekiths @i6swoo @fairycob @karsohn @nilesig @twentysixofmays @changmin-wrlds @mavericsohn @lisori @nanamioo @enhacolor @kyswoo @sunwoahkim @jaerisdiction @yunkiwii @ja4hyvn @choielyssa

Chanhee constantly shuffles in his position on the bleachers, but he finds it difficult to reach a sense of comfort when his partner in crime hasn’t even arrived yet.

He’s impatiently tapping his feet against the grass whilst chewing on the tip of his pen, anxiously searching the surrounding areas for any newcomers. His eyes can’t help but check his phone every second in case Changmin has returned any of his texts, but the only notifications he’s received are from his mom.

With Hyunjae leading, the entire team is on their seventh lap around the soccer field, leaving Chanhee very exhausted at the sheer amount of running within the first five minutes of practice despite only watching the group. His limbs have barely moved an inch, and yet he can already feel himself sweat bullets.

Eventually the pack of soccer players disperse throughout the field to do their individual stretches, and that’s when Chanhee catches you heading for one of the benches. He stands up with pride and tucks his pen behind his ear, believing that now is the perfect time to approach you.

“Y/N!” he calls, grabbing your attention with the wave of his clipboard as he makes his way over to where you’re standing.

“Woah there, Chanhee. You’re not supposed to be on the field,” you playfully scold. You look over both of your shoulders to make sure neither Sangyeon nor Hyunjae caught a glance of your illegal conversation with Chanhee. You put one of your feet up onto the bench and grab at the loose laces, tying them. “What do you want?”

“Where’s your brother?” Chanhee pants after stopping in front of you, aggressively sucking air into his lungs after the short exercise he’s received from jogging a few meters over to you. “It’s the first and only open soccer practice for the next few weeks.”

“Yeah, I know,” you scoff, pulling your laces tight. “He knows.”

“I really need him here, Y/N. How does he expect me to write this article on my own when I don’t know anything about sports, much less soccer? Please tell me he’s coming soon.” Chanhee sticks out his lower lip into a pout, standing jittery in his spot with every passing second.

You can only sigh in response, unprepared to tell Chanhee the unwanted news.

“I talked with him earlier,” you begin, “I tried getting him here I swear, but he really isn’t feeling like it today.”

“But he’s been looking forward to this specific day ever since you were born. I’ve been looking forward to this specific day since you were born!” he exclaims, tossing his hands up in the air. He flails them so hard that his clipboard nearly falls out of his hands, and this action grabs the attention from those around you.

You snort. “Okay, now that’s a stretch.”

“I’m not kidding, Y/N! We both talked about this day for the past two years, and all of a sudden Changmin isn’t feeling it? You’ve got to be kidding me, ri-”

“Choi Chanhee!” a voice interjects.

Both you and Chanhee turn to look at the voice, and the reporter audibly gulps at the sight. He begins to sputter as his clammy hands scrummage into a more professional position, keeping his clipboard over his chest in order to keep his blank sheets of paper away from eyeshot.

“Hello, sir, coach, err-”

“I thought we agreed that interviews would take place after practice,” Sangyeon huffs, pressing his lips into a firm line as he sets his hands on his hips.

“He’s assaulting me, coach,” you nonchalantly blurt, grabbing an unopened water bottle for yourself after popping open the cooler.

“Assaulting?!” Chanhee screams, grabbing plenty of prying eyes as he darts his gaze at you.

“Verbally, I hope,” Sangyeon jests with a raised eyebrow, looking at you for confirmation.

You blankly look at the two of them, shifting your gaze between their two figures before shrugging your shoulders.

“Sure, let’s say that.”

“Y/N!” Chanhee yells, watching you down your water with raised brows. He takes a step back, disgusted from your false implied claims. “I treated you with nothing but respect ever since I’ve known you, and this is how you treat me?”

Sangyeon only laughs and rolls his eyes, subtly shaking his head before turning to look at Chanhee. “What do you want, Choi?”

“Changmin isn’t here,” he whines, bouncing in his spot. “He should be here!”

“I already explained to you why he isn’t here,” you mutter, twisting the cap back onto the bottle before repeating what you said earlier. “He really doesn’t feel like it.”

“I don’t care about how he feels. I wake up every single day asking myself ‘Gosh Chanhee, why, just why, are you still alive?’ but you still see me dragging my ass out of bed and over to interviews with people that spit gum onto my shoes.” Chanhee humphs.

“Okay that’s enough,” Sangyeon says, cutting the conversation short. “Y/N, you need to be stretching right now. You shouldn’t even be here. Water breaks aren’t allowed till after the second round of laps.”

You gape at his words, looking at him with utter shock.

“I’m sorry, a second round? We just ran seven laps around the field!”

“Yeah, I was pretty generous today. I usually have Hyunjae stop around ten before stretches. You have ten more to go in a few minutes, so I recommend you take this time to save your breath for your lungs.” Sangyeon pats your back before giving you a gentle shove, urging you to leave.

“But wait! Y/N!” Chanhee yells as you begin to jog backwards. “Don’t go!”

“I can’t do anything, Chanhee, I’m sorry.” You frown and then turn around, running back to your spot on the field which results in leaving Chanhee alone with your coach.

“I’m sure the article will turn out alright,” Sangyeon says, trying to comfort him.

“By myself? I doubt it,” Chanhee grumbles under his breath, turning on his heels. He’s frustrated, unable to believe that Changmin, his best friend since basically forever, has ditched him on your most important day.

He’s about to sit back down on his spot to start on his notes when his eyes unintentionally roam the bleachers, and through the crowd, he catches the eye of someone who would make a great messenger.

Haknyeon regrets everything that was handed to him in life. He regrets having eyes, and he blames his mother for birthing him with a pair because if it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t be walking down the hallway to Changmin’s apartment.

If he hadn’t looked at Chanhee, he wouldn’t be here. He wishes he pried his eyes away from him when he went to talk to you, but of course he just had to have watched the entire scene unfold and then have eye contact with him immediately after.

Of course, Haknyeon didn’t go down without a fight, but with Chanhee’s consistent begging, Haknyeon officially became his messenger.

Curse him and his stupid curiosity.

Haknyeon’s feet instinctively lead him to Changmin’s apartment despite not wanting to be there at all, and eventually he works up the courage to knock on the door.

Seconds pass without an ounce of noise from the inside, leaving Haknyeon irritated. His impatience forces him to press in the passcode, giving himself entry to the apartment.

He trails in, and the silence and lack of presence overwhelms him. It’s weird seeing it empty, especially considering how crowded it has been the past few days.

Usually you’d be by his side or Changmin would have company over, like Juyeon or Hyunjae, but there’s not one other person within his range.

It makes him question whether Changmin is truly in the apartment to begin with, but unfortunately the worn out pair of sneakers by the front says otherwise. Not to mention that the door to Changmin’s room is closed, hinting that Changmin remains inside.

Haknyeon quietly drags his feet over to the door, hesitant to knock with the amount of thoughts spiraling in his head. He isn’t sure how to approach this since he didn’t think he’d be facing Changmin this early on after leaving him alone in the rain yesterday. With a sigh, he fights against his fears and taps his knuckles against the door.

To his surprise, the door immediately swings open with a hoarse voice that greets him.

“I told you I’m not-...oh.”

Changmin’s heart falls to his feet and it causes him to immediately look away, not daring to face Haknyeon. His hair is messy and he’s dressed in pajamas from head to toe, leaving Haknyeon to believe that he hasn’t left his bed once.

Haknyeon barely has his eyes focused on Changmin, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans out of discomfort.

“You should be at practice,” he mumbles.

Changmin purses his lips before leaning against the doorframe, sighing.

“I know.”

“Chanhee sent me here,” Haknyeon explains, “and forcibly, may I add, so you should get dressed unless you want to go out like—that.” Haknyeon eyes his outfit pointedly before darting his gaze away once again.

“I’m not going,” Changmin deadpans.

“I know.”

“Great. Tell Chanhee to record it for me,” he mumbles. He’s about to close the door but then Haknyeon chooses to stick out his hand, preventing him from doing so. His hand firmly presses up against the door, and his eyes meet Changmin’s.

“You’re going.”

Changmin stares at him, silent, before letting go of the door. He drops his hand to his side and walks over to sit in his chair.

Haknyeon doesn’t dare to move an inch, watching his every movement as Changmin taps his fingers against his desk. After minutes of not doing anything, Changmin is fed up with the uncomfortableness brought to him, forcing him to speak up about what’s been bothering him.

“Look, Haknyeon,” he starts. “About what happened yesterday-”

“Oh, so now you want to talk,” Haknyeon scoffs, appalled. He enters Changmin’s room and rests his back against one of his walls, crossing his arms tightly over his chest as he continues to stare at him.

“Haknyeon,” Changmin tries again, standing up from his spot as he attempts to speak up. “I really, really-”

“No. Whatever you’re going to say? Forget it,” Haknyeon cuts. “I’m just here to bring you to practice, yeah? Nothing else. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why can’t we talk about it?” Changmin asks, raising his voice as he takes a step forward.

“Because there’s nothing to talk about!” Haknyeon yells, pushing himself away from the wall to stand merely a foot away from Changmin. “Tell me, Changmin, what is there to talk about because from what I remember, I gave you a chance to talk yesterday, now didn’t I?”

His voice remains stern as he burns his eyes into Changmin. He doesn’t dare to move any close because he knows he’ll break, so he remains in his spot, staring him down as he continues.

“I left a bus and walked through a storm to give you a chance, and you blew it. You blew it, Changmin, so it’s over. Whatever happened, happened, and it’s best that we forget it because oddly enough, I don’t care. I never cared, and yesterday wasn’t any different.”

Haknyeon goes back to leaning against the wall, and his head falls back against it. He closes his eyes as his head tilts heavenward, calming his nerves as the returning silence swallows them both.

Changmin moves to sit on the edge of his bed with his head dropped to his feet, staring at the ground as he remains quiet due to the inability to speak.

After minutes of no words being spoken, Haknyeon decides to speak up once again, his voice coming out softer compared to earlier.

“Your apartment is small, you know,” he murmurs, opening his eyes so he can stare at the ceiling above him. “It’s hard to miss conversations that happen in the next room over. I heard everything…yesterday. I know you didn’t want me to tag along to begin with. I shouldn’t have, and I know that now.” He sucks in a sharp breath. “I regret it.”

Changmin grits his teeth, finding himself emotional at the remembrance of what happened the previous day.

“...Hak-”

“It was stupid of me, wasn’t it? To believe that I could redeem myself in the slightest if I made an extra sandwich for you.” Haknyeon laughs bitterly. “To hold this bit of hope that maybe, just maybe you don’t hate me entirely. I regret it all. These thoughts, my actions, maybe even me choosing this college to begin with. I regret thinking that maybe after two years, everything between us would be okay. We both would have matured, and we would set this childish past behind us. The bickering, the stares, the looking down on each other-”

“Haknyeon,” Changmin utters more firmly, cutting him off. He doesn’t want to hear any more of what he has to say, already emotional with the topic given. Here Changmin is, right in front of the man he’s supposedly hated for years, torn into pieces because of the reality he’s been tossed into. The facade he put up. The realization of why he hated Haknyeon in the first place.

“I regret it because none of this would’ve happened. I wouldn’t have had to walk all the way back to campus through the rain, and you wouldn’t have locked yourself up in your room all day. It’s not like you to shut yourself off like this. You would’ve been at Y/N’s practice right now if it wasn’t for me.” Haknyeon smiles solemnly as he speaks.

I’ve always been a burden to you, haven’t I?

“It’s not your fault,” Changmin tries to argue, but a crack appears in his voice.

It’s never been your fault.

“Whatever,” Haknyeon mumbles, pushing himself away from the wall. “Just- get dressed. I’ll be in the hallway.”

Changmin watches in defeat as Haknyeon doesn’t dare to spare him another glance as he exits.

He wants to break, he wants to scream for not understanding things earlier. For not understanding his feelings from the very start, the ones that have just unveiled themselves to him at this very moment.

And I’m sorry.

“Your passes are shit,” Hyunjae mutters, running a bit to the side as he struggles to stop the ball.

“Give me a break,” Juyeon groans. “I haven’t played all summer, remember?”

“What happened last year doesn’t excuse how the ball isn’t even going in a straight line, mister,” Hyunjae tuts. He kicks the ball back towards Juyeon. “Even Y/N’s doing better than you.”

“Comparing me to a freshman. Great.” Juyeon huffs and kicks the ball up into his hands. He wraps his arms around it and holds it against his abdomen. “Where is Y/N anyway?”

His eyes follow where Hyunjae’s finger is pointed to, and he catches sight of the big smile on your face. You're sharing a ball with two other teammates, continuously passing it around as you all converse.

“I mean it, really,” Yoohyeon says, kicking the ball your way. “I strongly believe that we’ll make it to finals this year! Especially with you on our team.”

“You really believe that?”

“Definitely! Back me up here, Jangjun.”

You almost trip over your feet as you run to stop the ball, Yoohyeon apologizing once again for how poorly she passed it. You kick it back her way, forgiving her with a smile.

“She’s not wrong,” Jangjun shrugs, resting his elbow on her shoulder. He ignores her complaints and continues pressing down onto her shoulder playfully. “We were close to making it last year, but we got cut due to Juyeon’s injury. He and Hyunjae are basically the team’s backbone. The legs, if you will. It’s impossible to run without having one supporting the other.”

“Juyeon got injured?” you ask, surprised at the newfound information. “How?”

“Beats me,” Jangjun shrugs. “But it happened near the end of our game with SNU during the quarterfinals.”

“I just know Kim Younghoon has something to do with it.” Yoohyeon kicks the ball angrily due to the topic before realizing that her kick wasn’t going straight towards you at all.

“Who’s Kim Younghoon?” you ask, jogging over to the direction where the ball was kicked in order to receive it.

“Someone you’d never want to encounter in your life,” a new voice enters, distracting you from trapping the ball under your foot.

You watch as it rolls past you at an incredible speed, and it makes you groan because you hate chasing after soccer balls. Runaway soccer balls truly don’t have a mind of their own, and you hate how you blatantly allowed it to pass you.

Juyeon’s smile drops when he sees how he distracted you, apologizing profusely as you rush after it.

“It’s okay, I got it!” you exclaim, reassuring your teammates.

Your eyes train on the ball as it skips away, but your footsteps come to an immediate halt when the fugitive is stopped by someone’s foot, and it certainly isn’t yours.

You’re about to thank the person for sparing you a jog across the entire soccer field, but you find your words caught up in your throat when you catch a glimpse of who’s standing in front of you.

His thick crimson lips quirk up into a smirk when your eyes land on them. A smug look dances on his face when he kicks your ball up and into his arms.

“Long time no see, don’t you think?”

He takes a few steps forward and then gently shoves the ball into your chest, fingers still latched onto it. The sinister smile that creeps up onto his face disorientates your thoughts, and your attentiveness causes you to catch onto the way he ever so slightly tilts his head to the side and into the crook of your neck.

His breath hits your ear, and he’s so close that you’re afraid he’ll be able to hear the effect he has on you.

His lips part to whisper something ever so delicately in your ear, something so seemingly sweet if it isn’t for the venom that drips casually from his tone.

“It’s about time you have some real competition.”

HEADLINE [ M.LIST | SEVENTEEN ]

NAVIGATION ─ THE BOYZ

© https://hvae.tumblr.com/

[hcuyk]

KIDULT COLLECTION —-—-— soulmates.

꒰ synopsis ꒱ changmin just can't stop calling your name in the midst of stargazing

꒰ pairing ꒱ daycareworker!changmin x genderneutral!reader

꒰ genre ꒱ pure fluff, may be considered slightly angsty to kidult readers

꒰ word count ꒱ 1.2k+

‘ author's note!! 🍃 — this is the first addition to the kidult collection!! proper knowledge of my fic kidult is preferred, but won't be required in order to enjoy this oneshot. contains no kidult spoilers, so enjoy reading <3

‘ taglist ›› @stealanity @yourjaylaks @wooyoung-a @kimaya2209 @armysantiny @changminurheart @moonieric @sunfics @fullsunfluff @lcvekdy @deputyjuyeon @simpforsunwoo @nyujjan @jaekiths @i6swoo @fairycob @karsohn @nilesig @twentysixofmays @changmin-wrlds

NAVI | TBZ MASTERLIST | KIDULT COLLECTION

“Y/N?”

Although his arm is firmly looped around your torso, Changmin’s eyes remain entranced by the lights shimmering in the sky. The glitter from the stars reflect through the depths of his pupils, but you don’t even notice the sight considering you currently have your nose buried into the crook of his neck with heavy eyelids.

Sitting on the ground of the parking lot in the middle of the night surely has its flaws, especially considering the cold breeze that would generously hit your skin every other second, but they could never compare to the beauty the starry night provides.

When you sleepily respond to him with a hum and a tug on his shirt, he pulls you closer under his arm and makes sure the blanket is snug over your shoulders. After the action, he continues to stay silent for a few minutes while looking heavenwards. You don’t question it due to your lack of consciousness, but the reappearance of his voice makes you stir.

“Y/N?” he whispers rather sheepishly due to repeating himself. Changmin tears his gaze away from the sight to look at you, and somehow the light in his eyes refuses to disperse.

He nudges your cheek with his index finger in an attempt to pry you out of your impending slumber, and your half-assed hum returns. You shove his hand out of your face, and your chin instinctively finds refuge on his shoulder while you rub your eyes awake. He waits for you to have your eyes fully opened before leaning in to plant a kiss on your nose.

“I have a question,” he murmurs.

“Well I would assume so after you said my name twice, dummy,” you huff. You shift to sit up and give him a playful shove, distancing him from you. “You always do this.”

Changmin whines at the unexpected attack and more so loss of contact, resulting in him outstretching his arms like a toddler.

“Do what?” he questions while feigning confusion.

“Say my name multiple times before actually telling me what you want to say.” You fake resentment by crossing your arms only to fall for his puppy-like pout immediately after. You move back into his embrace, and Changmin, satisfied, wraps his arms firmly around you once more.

Concern slowly becomes etched upon your features when you begin to overthink, wondering if he wasn’t feeling okay. You reach up to cup one of his cheeks while analyzing his gaze, a frown making its way onto your face.

“Is everything alright?”

He doesn’t respond, and instead he begins to brush strands of hair out of your face. He tucks them behind your ear, and the warm smile on his lips leaves you reassured.

Changmin reaches for your blanket and brings it back over your shoulders to keep you warm, making sure it covers you properly. You fight against it, though, and grab a part of the blanket yourself to bring over his shoulders as well, having you both shielded from the cold.

He flushes at what you’re doing, keeping his head down. When you finish with adjusting the blanket, you give his lips a quick kiss. He returns it with another of his own and presses one against your forehead as well, resting his head on yours right after. The comfortable atmosphere returns, leaving you at ease despite the silence you’re receiving from Changmin, so you focus on listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

“Y/N?” he tries again, and this time his voice is even softer, lighter, if possible.

Like earlier, you reply with a hum and shift to have your eyes connected with his. Despite the darkness, the stars in the sky continue to provide all the light you need to see the face you’ve fallen for. The sight leaves you breathless, in all honesty, and you’re able to detail the glossiness of his eyes and the curves of his cheeks.

“Do you…do you believe in soulmates?” he asks while sounding quite strained. There’s a slight stutter in his voice to show his hesitance, but you reach to hold one of his hands to keep him at ease.

“I guess…? I don’t really know, Jichang.” You pause, and he watches you with curious eyes. “I never thought about it, but…after meeting you, it’s hard to say no to that question.”

His gaze falls down to your hand as he tries to hide the wide smile growing on his face, fidgeting with your fingers while you laugh. You don’t know it, but the sound makes his heart flutter, only leaving him more flustered. He blames the topic of conversation, but you don’t mind the randomness at all. You mirror him in every way possible with your head hanging low as you can’t even bear to look at him unless you want a bunch of butterflies to burst in your stomach.

“Why? Do you believe in soulmates?” you ask, wiggling your fingers while he brushes the pads of his fingers over your knuckles.

He nods and then speaks again.

“Do you believe in having multiple soulmates, then?”

Your brow arches at the follow up question. “Multiple soulmates?”

“Yeah.”

With a sigh, you lean backwards a bit to process his words. You halt your thought process to admire how Changmin currently looks. He’s always been a bright person, especially in the daycare, so it’s rare to see him in a vulnerable, lighthearted state. Frankly enough, you consider him to be Sunwoo’s and Eric’s long-lost triplet, but seeing him right now has you convinced he’s letting out his thoughts; something he’s been working on ever since the very day he returned.

“Well, since a soulmate can be anyone, whether it be a lover, friend or family, then yeah, I do believe in having multiple soulmates,” you properly respond.

The gentleness in his features, his actions, his gaze, has you melting, and he allows your fingers to rest by setting them in his lap.

“That makes me really glad to hear,” he whispers.

You laugh lightheartedly at his response. “Why?”

“I mean, if you think about it, we’d be soulmates, right?” He looks up at you for confirmation, and when you nod, he brings your hand to his lips, pressing a kiss against your fingers before continuing. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and don’t get me wrong, I love having you as my one and only, but it doesn’t feel right ro say that you’re my only soulmate.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you tease, poking his chest repeatedly. “Are you saying you have other soulmates? How many other soulmates would you say you have?”

The shake of your head makes him grin without control, and he grabs your hand to interlace your fingers with his.

“Excluding you? Ten. Ten soulmates.”

His gaze darts back up to the sky, reminding you of the stars that accompany your little date. There aren’t many from what he sees, but it’s enough.

Ten children at one daycare may be considered a small amount, but it will forever be enough to both you and him.

No matter what, they always seem to be by your sides—even if they are in the form of stars.

NAVI | TBZ M.LIST | KIDULT COLLECTION

[halaboyz]

pairing: ex! eric x gn! reader genre: fluff, angst word count: 2.6k warnings: profanities. notes: this is for the collab event called the leftovers @tenderfrailty is hosting !! ♡ happy valentine's!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

summary: meeting him again two years after your break up, in the middle of the crowd, with his own partner, it tugs on your heartstrings because of multiple reasons. one, it was the month of you became a couple; two, it was both of yours favorite month; three, it's the start of the month you both drifted apart; four, it's the month he finally breaks up with you; five, today was both the day you answered him and broke it off.

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡ 。 listen now to: spotify. 　ﾟ･｡･ﾟ

February 13, 2022, 11:39 in the evening. And until today too, my heart still beats for you.

“I’m going, I’m going. God,” You exasperatingly groan over the phone, Chanhee’s squeals are heard as you wince and extend your arm to avoid getting your ear damaged. “I’ll be there in ten,” You look at your clothes one last time, hanging up once you hear Chanhee’s hum. “I’ll be the first fucking single on a couples event,” You hiss at yourself, trying to remember the reason why you even agreed to Chanhee’s invitation in the first place.

Your university held an event where various bands performed for free throughout the night just for the sake of Valentine’s. You didn’t understand why they did, though it was annually and it hasn’t even been 2 years— well, not at least the clock strikes twelve— when you enjoyed it.

A whole two new years, yet you still haven’t moved on.

“...Your date?” The guard asks you politely, looking around you.

“Do I need a date to enter?” You smile at him, shrugging your shoulders.

“No, but— it’s Valentine’s..?” He cautiously chuckles, stamping your wrist.

“I could spend it with my friends,” You smile again, internally saying even though they probably would be off with their partners, “Thank you,” Letting you in, you sigh as the bright spotlights welcome you into the venue, the breeze making its presence known, and the bustling and the excited murmurs of the big audience. A sigh leaves your lips, memories flooding your head as you try to dig them deep down, dialing Chanhee.

“Enjoy the night, y/n! You’re already there, you should stay. It starts in less than ten minutes. Your favorite band is here!” You suppress the urge to groan and shout at your friend, who apparently had no plans of going here today.

It was no point arguing with him over the phone, the screams already rising as you exasperatedly sigh, not bothering to bid farewell as you drop the call.

You were already here. Might as well enjoy whatever was prepared in today’s event. Two minutes to twelve, you wanted a bottle of water as you slipped your way to one of the booths, avoiding any pity eyes that landed at you and your single ass.

Opening the bottle of water, you were about to drink from it when someone accidentally bumps you, spilling the water all over your face.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” And it makes your world stop, your eyes blocked out of any murmurs but his voice. “Are you oka— oh,” You can’t decipher whether it was disappointment or anything, you were just stunned to see him.

Because after your breakup, you went back to what you were, where you were— back into your shell. You hated socializing, you hated going out. You hated being alone, most importantly in big crowds like this.

Eric did it all. He made you something you were not, something similar to him, something you once loathed, turned to someone you really loved to be— until it happened. Until the breakup happened, and you loathed it again.

“Love,” You didn’t even realize you were just staring at each other until another person reaches out for his arms, tugging him in his senses. “Oh my god, are you okay? Did you bump into them? I said be careful!” Slapping Eric’s arm lightly, they bow in apology as you gathered the courage to bring a small smile.

“Sorry,” He mumbles once again, handing you a bunch of tissues before he lets himself get dragged to the middle of the crowd, your eyes tailing him.

And it all comes back again. You see it from the back when Eric loops his arms over his partner’s shoulders, pulling them impossibly closer until their head is all snuggled up in Eric’s neck.

It all comes back again— the memories, the happiness, the feelings, the heartbreak.

February 12, 2017, 5:31 in the afternoon. Our eyes met, and I instantly knew that loving you was something I’d never regret.

“Are you going?!” Younghoon shakes your arm as you organize your locker, frowning at you. “It’s in two days!”

“That’s the point, it’s in two days!” You retort, losing your locker to face him. “And I’m single! The fuck would I go to a couples’ event?” You shrug, laughing.

“So you’re telling me if someone asks you to Valentine’s, you’ll go?” Younghoon stops you on your tracks, standing in front of you.

“Yeah, right, Younghoon.. If someone asks me,” You nod mockingly, leaving him in despair as you go on with your class.

“Hi, is this taken?” Someone drags the seat beside you, and when you shake your head as you busily highlighted your book, he takes his seat, quietly taking his things out. The whole room was chaotic, full of gossip about the upcoming event but you paid no attention, shredding Eric’s courage to pieces.

He had always wanted to take you out the first time he laid his eyes on you, the unbothered-ness you emitted every time you stepped on the room, on your usual seat by the back-most corner, not batting an eye on anyone and anything else rather than your book and the professor.

He was different. As much as you were reserved, was as much as how he was the social butterfly. He enjoyed socializing and maybe it is even one of the reasons why he’s even so interested in you— he can befriend anyone except you.

“Hey, can I borrow a pen?” He starts, and instead of looking at your hands that fiddled with your bag to lend him one, he was staring at your face.

“Here—,” You stop when you turn to face him and give him the pen, but just like Eric was so mesmerized by you, you were with him.

“Come with me on Valentine’s, please?”

And you never regretted having to meet eyes with someone the first time in Literature class.

February 14, 2018, 11:20 in the evening. I realized I can give you the world, the mountains, the stars, and everything else when I’m with you, so trust me when I say that my feelings are nothing but true.

“I’m so excited,” Eric tries to stop the smile from forming, leading you inside the venue with a hand on the small of your back.

“Why, because this time, I’m the one who asked you to go with me?” You chuckle, settling to be on one of the rails of the tree that you can sit on, just a perfect view to see the bands performing. “You’ve been chasing me for a whole year already, aren’t you tired?” Patting the space next to you, Eric takes it happily.

“I’ll never get tired when it comes to you.” Eric cheekily says which makes you cringe, but let’s be honest here. Despite the anxiousness building up inside of you, fireworks still went off in your stomach. “Let me just get you some water.” You nod at him sweetly, and your eyes roam around for Younghoon, and when your eyes met, he raises his hand to wave at you and makes a beeline to walk to you.

“Are you good? Oh my god, I can’t believe you managed to go out without me and Chanhee basically wanting to drag you out,” Giving you a small proud hug, he acted as if there were tears running out of his eyes. “Where’s Eric? Are you ready?” Younghoon holds your shoulders tightly as if he was transferring his energy to you.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready. But there wouldn’t be the best time if not now,” You nod dignified, inhaling and exhaling. “Right?”

“Eric will be worth it.” Younghoon smiles at you, and just after he says that, Eric’s voice is already loud enough to shoo him off, going to where Chanhee was smiling at you proudly in the distance.

“Who were you talking to?” Eric pouts, handing you the half-opened bottle of water. “Pink-headed one,”

“Why, you jealous?” You raise your brow challengingly, egging him to answer.

“What if I am?”

“You wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that man, you know?” You chuckle. “It’s Younghoon.”

“Oh.” Shyly looking away, a series of laughter leaves your lips again as the voices of the audience get louder, the emcee already taking his place in the middle of the stage.

“Come here, it’s starting.” You tug his arms to make him tumble closer to you, the audience already pressing themselves to each other just to get a better view.

The both of you silently waited, your heart thumping out of its cage without Eric’s knowledge of why.

“Are you ready?!” The emcee asks through the mic, pointing it to the audience for a series of yes to come out. “3.. 2.. 1! Happy Valentine’s!” And the first band, Ben&Ben starts to play their first song, Ride Home. Your eyes trail up the heart fireworks that come off, your hand slowly intertwining with Eric’s.

“Eric.” You mumble, but you didn’t realize he was too dazed by the fact that you just intertwined hands. You turn to him, a big smile on your face. “Eric.”

“Yeah?” Eric goes back to his senses with a loud-beating heart, trying to meet your eyes but due to nervousness, he can’t. So your other hand sweetly cups his cheek to stop him from looking everywhere but you.

“I think we’ll be better off as lovers by today,”

And that was how you got your favorite month, your favorite band, and your favorite heartbreak.

February 13, 2019, 9:29 in the evening. I don’t know when it started, why it happened, what happened. Your love was fading, but mine just grew stronger. You were slowly letting go, and I knew, but my hand still put its faith in you.

“...You can’t go?” Your voice falls when you hear what Eric said through the call, disappointingly looking at the mountains of clothes you had prepared on your bed. “Why?”

“I have to finish some reqs.” Eric timidly explains, sighing. “We can always go next year, y/n. Don’t act so whiny about it.” And with your voice, your heart falls to the pits of the ground.

It wasn’t just a date, it was your anniversary. You don’t know if he wasn’t aware, or if he chooses to act like he wasn’t aware. The past few weeks, or even months, haven’t been the best for the both of you, full of petty arguments and childish jealousy blooming inside each others’ chests.

You were hoping today would change it.

Well, hope has now flown out of your chest.

January 30, 2020, 7:19 in the evening. Your voice just keeps on getting stronger, mine just kept getting weaker, but we were both getting tired.

“We’re just friends, Eric. Sangyeon hasn’t even talked to me that much these few days.” You sigh for the nth time, explaining for the nth time. “And for god’s sake, every time you see us talking, it’s about our thesis,”

Eric was fuming, you could almost see smoke out of his ears as he paced around the living room as you stayed glued on the sofa.

“You know I don’t do well on befriending someone. You should be proud I got one,”

“Yeah, right. Friends laugh while talking about thesis, all the fucking time. Friends always get coffee after they go to the library all the fucking time. Friends always talk about the other friend to their other friends all the fucking time.” Eric trails out, glaring at you. You sigh at the revelation of his anger, the anger that has been there since last year for Sangyeon.

“Look, I know Sangyeon likes me, but how did you even know he was talking about me to his other friends?” You roll your eyes, hiding your annoyance from him. “And what even is it to us if Sangyeon likes me? I’m here, I am right here, Eric. Beside you, coming home to you. Can we just let it go now?”

Eric was still glaring at you, but with your words, it was as if he was bathed in iced water.

“Go inside. I’ll sleep here.” Again.

And it was not the first time Eric slept outside your shared room, but at least it was the first time he was the one who swallowed his pride to stop the fight between the both of you.

February 13, 2020, 11:58 in the evening. I fought for you. I fought the world for you, for us. But it took me some time to realize you were long gone beside me. I was the only one left holding on, while you were just waiting for me to realize.

You felt happy. After the last fight about Sangyeon, none of you ever fought again— except the fact that the atmosphere had gone cold. But at least, he was coming with you today, right? At least, he was beside you now, waiting for the clock to strike twelve as you held his hand.

“3.. 2.. 1.. Happy Valentine’s, everyone!” The emcee screams through the mic, the fireworks you’ve gone to love making their way to the sky.

“Eric, Happy Anni—,”

“Let’s stop this,” Eric mumbles, looking down. “Let’s stop this.. y/n,”

Even though a band was playing, the audience was singing along and the other half was hollering, the fireworks were soaring in the sky with a loud noise, it was dead air for you.

“Wh— what? Why, Eric?” You anxiously gripped his hand, swallowing the dry lump on your throat.

“It’s not working for you,” Eric explains, taking a hold of your other hand to try and explain things as nicely and as calmly as possible, not to cause panic on you. “You’ve given me everything, y/n. But… I’m too toxic for you.” He realized that a few days ago, on your last fight— he basically had you in a chokehold. He wanted you to be happy, but he did nothing but do the opposite. He wanted you beside him, but he realized that he was pushing you away. He wanted you to be it, but he did… nothing, while you did everything to be his.

“No, Eric. We can work this out and—,”

“It will never be for you.” And if it means the both of you were walking away for more heartbreak, he was willing to do it first.

Your once favorite band performing in front of you, Eric and his partner sweetly in each other's arms in the view, you scoff as tears formed in your eyes.

Was there a lifetime waiting for us, in a world where I was yours?

It was as if everyone sang for you, sang for your heart that did nothing but break itself to pieces as your eyes stayed at Eric’s form.

The first tear leaves your eyes, but you can’t stop the many leaving it soon afterward. Two years had passed, yet you can’t help still feeling your broken heart still beating for the one that had caused its damage.

But at least, he was happy.

Right?

As long as it worked for both of them.

Eric, despite being in the middle where he can feel most of the presence, most definitely of his partner, was zoning out as your favorite band played in the background. Two years had passed already, and he can’t help the void getting bigger and bigger now that he’s seen you again.

He feels like his ears were blocked out of the continuous sweet singing of the audience and band, and the sweetest voice his partner emitted. Yet one line had struck his heart.

Was it the wrong time, what if we tried giving in a little more?

And he can’t help looking back to where he last saw you.

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[hcuyk]

- — synopsis ⋆ the transfer student overtakes your position as captain on the swim team right when he's recruited, causing a rivalry to form between the two of you

— - pairing ⋆ swimmer!hyunjae x genderneutral!reader

- — genre ⋆ slice of life, angst

— - warnings ⋆ profanities

- — word count ⋆ 1.6k

THREE | SUFFOCATING M.LIST | FIVE

TAGLIST : @wooyoung-a @twentysixofmays @jichanqz @i6swoo @suzy-rainbow @sunfics @super-btstrash-posts @jiminxoxo @theboyzeu @sunwoahkim @lilyujin @heojangmi @hyunjaeluv @rdflare51 @kuncitizen @swooxygen @moonieric @ilovechanhee @soobins-left-dimple @nyujjan @jaekiths @sknyuz @love-svt @stealercore @bubutaeyongie @i-m4rk @yunkiwii @cloudykyu @pockyandme @livalittlelovely @eroshyunjae @nshitae @junglewoos @bloom-bloom-pow @mxlkytea13 @poutykyu @changmin-wrlds @mavericsohn || fill out the form to be included

CHAPTER WRITTEN BY : hvae

Not a single word is spoken after hearing the information Sunwoo had dropped.

Your roommate’s fingers slip out of your grasp the moment your actions have stilled as your wavering gaze hesitates to meet his. You see how his stern gaze is firmly locked onto the men in front of you two while also keeping an arm locked around you to secure you close by his side.

Racks of clothes confine the four of you into an uncomfortable environment, not one single person daring to say a word.

Sunwoo has his head cocked merely to the side, a sly smirk waltzing onto his lips after spilling the biggest lie he’s ever told.

But he doesn’t care—not when Juyeon has his jaw to the ground with eyes that continuously flicker between both of your figures. It seems he wants to say something based on his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, but he remains quiet, only relying on the rest of you to continue the conversation.

Hyunjae, on the other hand, stands with an unreadable expression painted over his features, words fighting to leave his throat as he stares not at Sunwoo, but at you.

“Boyfriend,” he says, voice slicing through the silence. “You have a boyfriend.”

The title paints a foreign taste in his mouth as he attempts to feign confusion. He’s acting like he’s questioning the true reality of things when he already knows that it’s all a lie. He tosses an arm over his abdomen and lets out a throaty laugh, throwing you off while the smirk on Sunwoo’s lips falter.

“You guys can’t be serious. You think I’ll believe that? Especially after what happened a few days ago?” he snickers, dragging his eyes over to you. He looks you up and down, detailing you. Hyunjae then leans to the side, grabbing onto one of the poles belonging to the racks in order to use it as support. He falls into a relaxed composure as he sighs and clicks his tongue in disapproval. “Damn, you guys are way more pathetic than I thought.”

“I’m sorry? Pathetic?” you blurt, voice raising. You look at Juyeon, and although he hasn’t backed you up before, you’re hoping that he stands up for you now. But to your dismay, he just stands there, allowing his friend to badmouth you.

“What is he talking about?” Sunwoo asks through a whisper, turning to face you. “What happened a few days ago?”

His mind begins to spin as he tries to remember, recalling the specific day where you had been broken on the ground. All he did was hold and comfort you until the end of time, but he would’ve never assumed that this man right beside Juyeon would be the cause of it.

His eyebrows bunches up as he struggles to put two and two together.

“Was he the reason why you were crying?” Sunwoo finally asks, albeit quietly, yet his words are still heard by the other two.

Juyeon’s eyes widen at the newfound information, mouthing the word ‘crying’ with utter disbelief. He glues his eyes to the floor as he realizes that all of this has led to your broken state, heart clenching at the thought of someone else comforting you.

Before you could respond to Sunwoo, the voice you dreaded to hear speaks up once again.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I miss something? Did I make you cry?” He doesn’t even try to sympathize with you, completely ignoring how Juyeon was acting just to continue to torment you.

Irritation burns through Sunwoo faster than an inferno, but Juyeon catches Sunwoo’s clenched fist before it could be driven into Hyunjae’s skull.

“Don’t,” Juyeon warns through a mumble, already knowing it was a battle he’ll lose. Sunwoo looks at him dumbfounded, questioning how Juyeon could protect someone like Hyunjae.

“Shame. I was looking towards it.” He smacks his lips, yet his eyes still stay on you. He watches your every reaction, and his eyes even manage to linger down to the pendant that sits on your chest. The corners of his lips raise when you don’t speak up, already knowing that he’s won whatever was going on. He prays on your downfall because that’s all he ever does.

“Get out of here,” Sunwoo mutters. He’s tempted to lunge forward and throw a few punches, but with how Juyeon stands in front of him, the action seems impossible. Juyeon has his fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist, preventing him from pulling anything stupid. He threatens his friend by digging his nails into his skin, knowing that it isn’t smart to start a fight inside a clothing store. All Sunwoo can question is how Juyeon can defend his friend, yet not you—someone he’s kept close to his heart for years.

Hyunjae taps his fingers against the clothes next to him, suddenly finding interest in the rack full of female’s jeans as he hums.

“You’re right,” he responds. His fingers freeze. “I shouldn’t be here. I was actually invited to help a friend look for his soulmate jewel.”

Sunwoo yanks his arm away from Juyeon, shooting daggers into his eyes.

“You invited him??”

“Oh no, he didn’t invite me. You got the wrong guy,” Hyunjae says, answering the question that wasn’t meant for him. The corner of his lips quirk up into a condescending smirk as he spins to face the three of you once again, ready to spew more truth. “Changmin was actually the one who invited me, so I recommend you direct your anger towards the birthday boy. I just happened to find out that Juyeon was also here, and Changmin just told me he was in one of the neighboring stores, so here I am.”

He stops when he sees the shock on both of your faces, and Juyeon just stares at the ground in defeat, unable to face you after knowing that he blatantly kept so many secrets from you those days before.

Hyunjae gets the hint, realizing that you knew none of this.

And it made things even more enjoyable.

“What? Is there something wrong with visiting an old friend of mine?” He raises his brows. “Well, I hate to break it to you two, but Juyeon, Changmin, and I have all attended a swimming academy back in high school, right buddy?”

He goes to drape an arm over Juyeon’s shoulders, ruffling up his hair with his free hand. “I missed having my favorite boys around.”

It’s hard holding back the tears from pooling up in your eyes, blurring your vision as you feel so betrayed. Your stomach twists in the most sickening ways, and you feel dizzy with the amount of information this stranger is pouring on you. To have Juyeon hold all of this makes you want to throw up, and luckily you have Sunwoo by your side, refusing to let go of you.

Hyunjae disregards how you’re feeling, looking past you to check the clock that has been plastered on one of the store's walls.

“I should get going,” he says, letting go of Juyeon. “I only planned on stopping by to give Changmin my wishes. It was…nice to properly meet you two.” He steps forward, standing a centimeter away in front of you as he tilts your chin up with his index finger. He smiles, lips hovering over yours as he whispers. “Especially you, captain.”

His eyes roam through yours, and you’re too afraid to pull back. So you continue to stand your ground, refusing to let the tears fall from your eyes as you stare straight back at him. It feels like decades as you wait for the moment to end, and Sunwoo is about to do something before Hyunjae speaks once again.

“I’m sorry,” he suddenly apologizes, dropping his hand. You’re led to believe that he’s truly genuine before realizing that this was the man that has been tormenting you for the past few minutes. He smiles, and for once he isn’t looking at you. “I guess that title has expired for you, hasn’t it?”

“Expired?” you repeat, hiding the crack in your voice. You have no clue how he manages to break you further and further, chest barely being able to catch a breath as you whisper. “Who are you?”

Sunwoo watches with extreme attentiveness while Juyeon just purses his lips.

“I’m afraid we’ve already had this conversation, but—if I must.”

He leans in, lips ghosting the shell of your earlobe.

“I’m the newly assigned captain of your little swim team,” he murmurs, just for you to hear, and you could feel his smirk brushing against your skin, even after he’s pulled away. The mist of his warm breath remains in your ear, leaving you disgusted with yourself as he leaves the store with Juyeon tailing behind him.

“What the fuck was that?” Sunwoo grumbles. “What-...what just happened?”

You laugh, weakly, and shake your head. You’re mad at him for claiming that he was your boyfriend; you know he meant nothing ill by it, but it all led to you and your downfall and you blame him. You blame the one person that stands by your side because you wouldn’t have been this humiliated otherwise.

Sunwoo can easily read your mind and his heart drops. He watches as you face your back towards him, wiping your tears with your sleeve.

“L-look, I thought he would back off. I really didn’t know he’d-”

“Forget it, Sunwoo. I’ve been humiliated enough,” you mutter.

And with that, you exited the store- and the mall overall.

THREE | SUFFOCATING M.LIST | FIVE

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© stealanity, hvae

[halaboyz]

2:58 PM, M. KEVIN

fem! reader, fluff, no warnings, 225 words

"babe, why are you carrying so much? can't we just get a cart or something?" kevin, your boyfriend cranes his neck at you, walking through the shelves of cereals. "psh," you shrug him off, "why do i need a cart? i have you," winking at him, you gasp seeing your favorite corn flakes stacked prettily on one of the shelves. "that being said.. i need you to carry these," you hand him three boxes of corn flakes, "and these," three more boxes of chocolate-flavored cereals, "and these," and the last five boxes of popsicles you have been holding on to for a while now. kevin just stared at you with a pout in his face of disbelief, looking over at you. "you got more i should carry?" sassily nudging you with his elbows, the both of you chuckle as he holds onto dear life with the things you just shoved to him. "do you want a cart?" you finally ask, winking once more teasingly. "nah," he shrugs, flexing his biceps to you. "i do need you to carry something for me though," you look back at him as you stop on your tracks, raising your eyebrows curiously. his smile falls to a poker face, scaring you, "our children," you gasp bewilderedly, slapping his arm continuously embarrassingly. well, not that you had a problem with that.

* based on this tiktok

permanent taglist: @deputyjuyeon @sunlightwoo @teuboyz @90s-belladonna @grassbutneo @skrtbabe @cosmiclele @flrtwoo @jaerisdiction​ @zvae @karsohn @moonieric @belovedgyus @softforqiankun @changmin-wrlds​ @cloudykyu