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soobiniebaby · 3 years

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Angels & Devils Part XVI : Time’s Up

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

~ p a r t s : main post || prologue || part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5 || part 6 || part 7 || part 8 || part 9 || part 10 || part 11 || part 12 || part 13 || part 14 || part 15 || part 16 || part 17 ~ p a i r i n g : love triangle involving choi soobin and choi yeonjun ~ g e n r e : high school au | some social media au | some fluff & angst | childhood friends | love triangle ~ l a n g u a g e : English ~ w a r n i n g : contains swearing, alcohol, kissing (?) and may contain mature themes (angst, etc.) ~ a / n : This will be my first fanfic (go easy on me pls) and i’m just writing this as I go along, so bear with me juseyo The setting (place/country) of the story is up to the reader’s interpretation ~ s u m m a r y : What should she choose? Han Baby: the new girl with a troubled past MO Academy: her new high school Choi Soobin: student council president, member of the Ecosave club, volunteer at the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of the Honor Society, a vocalist in the Jazzed club, the school’s all around golden boy Choi Yeonjun: leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy with a bad rep 5 best friends, 1 new girl, 1 childhood friendship, 1 epic love triangle? What will this school year bring?

Yeonjun’s night wasn’t going so well.

All he wanted was to take his girlfriend to one of the biggest school dances of the year, to pick her up from apartment and have his breath taken away but how undoubtedly gorgeous she’d look, to hold her hand in the backseat of his car and maybe toast with a glass of white wine as his driver takes them to the dance, to take silly and sweet photographs as they enter the venue, to watch every guy’s drop as he walks in with her drop-dead gorgeous self into the hall, to hold her close and whisper sweet nothings in her ear while they slow dance under the twinkling lights and fall petals floating down, and to make it a night they’ll never forget as they make their way back to her place after the dance for their own private “afterparty.”

Yet, he found himself in a throng of kids around his age who he knew would be able to live as lavishly and extravagantly as they wanted to without having to work a single day in their lives, striving to make dull conversations about who threw the latest reckless parties and who hooked up with who and who did this that and so on and so forth. For a “business” party, and it was less on networking and more on gossiping and hooking up for these kids. When his father sprung his mandatory attendance at this event, Yeonjun had initially thought of asking B to come with him so that they’d at least be able to spend the evening together, whether it be at the Fall Ball or not, and he knew that her presence would make it so much more bearable. But as soon as he heard who was hosting the event, he knew inviting B would be a bad idea. Because the event was being hosted by none other than Kim Jisoo, successor to the biggest Technology Firm in the country.

And Yeonjun was quick to learn that wherever Kim Jisoo went, Park Rose was sure to follow.

And right on cue, he spots her.

Her long red hair fell down her shoulders like a velvet curtain, her figure flaunted by the blue slip dress that hung off her body elegantly. She spots him at the same time and gives him a wave. Again, he feels as if he were transported 2 years back to the past, feeling tongue-tied and breathless in her presence. He shakes it off before waving back to her, and she makes his way towards him.

“Hey babe, I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.” Rose says, instinctively leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“It’s a party hosted by Kim Jisoo, so my father forced me to come tonight. And I’m not your babe.” he says, though he makes no move to avoid her kiss on his cheek.

“Sorry, I guess it feels a bit weird seeing you again after we’ve broken up. It’s a habit, I guess.” she says, giggling. “Did you come here alone tonight? No friends? Where’s your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, my friends and girlfriend are actually at MO Academy for the Fall Ball. I’m actually gonna ditch this party as soon as I can then head on over to the school dance, but don’t tell Jisoo cause she might not let me go so easily.” he says, taking a sip out of the champagne in his glass.

“Ah, the Fall Ball. I remember how beautiful the last one was. Remember, they covered the whole dance floor with autumn leaves? Then I sprained my ankle when that song by Twice came on and I couldn’t help but dance along.” Rose laughs, fondly remembering the evening. “A swollen ankle wasn’t enough to spoil our little afterparty at The Eastwood though.” she says, referring to the hotel they had booked that night and the hours they spent tangled in the sheets.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be even better this year since the guys and I are the student council leaders now.” Yeonjun says, brushing off her comments about the past.

Rose pouts. “Come on, lighten up Junnie! No need to pretend that you and I are strangers. We’re friends, right?”

Yeonjun raises a brow. “Yeah, sure, friends.” It was something he never thought of Rose as, but given their situation, it felt like an appropriate label. “As a friend, do you want to go around and do that thing we used to do at lame parties like these?” he says, another memory of them popping up.

Rose giggles, remembering how they used to go around the party, pick a couple or group to watch, and make up dialogue for them. It was a fun and entertaining way to get it through a night like this, surrounded by shallow and stuck up trust fund kids. “Ah, now that’s what a friend at a party like this is for.” she says, her eyes quickly scanning the room before landing on a group of people. “Okay, look over there, let’s call the man Mr. Bass, and let’s say he’s got his arm wrapped around his girlfriend yet he’s so obviously flirting with their companion Mr. Archibald…”

The rest of Yeonjun’s time at the party was spent that way, with him and Rose going around the room, people-watching, dialogue-making, story-telling, sipping on Chardonnay and laughing together just like the good old days. The best dialogue they made up was one between Rose’s own friend group, Jisoo, Jennie and Lisa, wherein the pair of them made up a story about how Jisoo and Lisa were trying to outshine each other for Jennie’s affection.

“Wow, Rose, I have to admit that when I stepped foot into this place, I never would have thought I’d actually have fun tonight.” Yeonjun says after they sneak away in a fit of giggles. “Our dialogues tonight weren’t the best, but I’ve gotta say, the one with Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo was genius. Is there any truth to it, or is it purely fiction?”

“Well I made up the scenario, but honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a bit of it ended up being true.” Rose says, nursing the wine glass in her hand. “I have to say, I thought tonight would be just another night of me glued to the same 3 girls I’ve been stuck with the past year, so thank you. I had fun with you tonight.”

Yeonjun smiles at her. “Speaking of Jisoo, do you think it would be safe for me to leave now? The dance will be ending in about an hour, and I’d really like to catch at least a bit of it before the night ends.”

“Oh, you can’t just slip out cause that might get you on her bad side. You have to come and say goodbye to her, but don’t worry, I’ve got a fullproof plan to ensure that she’ll let you go.” Rose says, giving him a smile before taking a sip of wine.

“Follow my lead.” Rose whispers to Yeonjun, linking their arms together before approaching Jisoo, Jennie and Lisa.

“Hey girls, where have you been all night? I feel like I haven’t seen you around.” Rose says, greeting the 3.

“We could say the same about you. I was starting to worry about you, I feel like I haven’t seen you all night!” Jisoo exclaims, before her eyes settle on the man Rose had on her arm. “But I guess I had no reason to worry after all, looks like you found yourself some company.” she says, smiling knowingly at the pair. “Hello Yeonjun, I’m glad to see you were able to make it to my party tonight.”

“It’s my pleasure, Jisoo.” Yeonjun says politely. “I really had fun.”

“Yes, tonight was fun, but I hope you don’t mind if I leave and take Junnie here with me?” Rose says, giving a pout. “I think I’ve had a little too much to drink and I’m not feeling well. Yeonjun has offered to drive me home.”

Yeonjun subtly raises a brow at her, but she throws him a quick wink.

“Oh no, are you okay? You look like you should lie down.” Lisa says, her brows furrowed with concern.

“Don’t worry about her, ladies. I’d be glad to give her a ride home and make sure she’s okay.” Yeonjun says, quickly catching on to Rose’s plan.

“Oh, Yeonjun dear, thank you so much!” Jisoo squeals, quickly leaning forward and giving him a peck on the cheek. “You’re such a darling. Thank you for looking out for our dear Rose.”

“No problem at all.” Yeonjun says. “We’ll be on our way now, I think Rose really needs to lie down.” he says to Rose, who dramatically puts a hand over her forehead.

“Yes, I think I really do. Thanks again, Yeonjun. Girls, I’ll see you all soon. And Jisoo, I’m sorry I have to leave early, I promise I’ll make it up to you.” she says, batting her eyelashes at the girls.

Jisoo waves a hand in the air. “Nonsense, your presence here tonight was more than enough. You too, Yeonjun! Thank you for coming tonight.”

The pair waves at the 3 girls one more time before they walk away, snickering and giggling.

“Wow, that was genius. Thanks, Rose.” Yeonjun says. “I guess I’m free to go now. Do you, uh, do you really feel sick? Do you want me to give you a ride home?”

Rose laughs. “Am I that good of an actress? No, I feel perfectly fine, that was just an excuse so Jisoo would let us go. But I wouldn’t mind a ride home, thanks.” she says, smiling at him sweetly. “I mean, you owe me now so it’s only fair that I get a free ride home.”

Yeonjun shakes his head, smiling as he pulls out his phone and texts his driver to pick him up at the front entrance. “Alright, let’s go then.”

Yeonjun had to admit that his evening wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to escape from the party, but here he was in his car with his driver driving away from it. He was dreading having to see his ex again, but he was pleasantly surprised by how her company had made the night tolerable, or fun even. The ride to her house wasn’t a very long one seeing as she lived in the same neighborhood as Jisoo did, but the whole time was spent with the 2 of them laughing and reminiscing, just like the good old days.

“Ah, here we are.” Rose says as the car stops in front of her house. “Junnie, I just wanted to say thank you for tonight.”

Yeonjun smiles at her as his driver gets out of the car and opens the door open for her. “No problem, Rose. I had fun too, thanks to you.”

Rose gives him a smile back, and before he knew it, she was leaning in and he was closing his eyes as her lips met his, melding together like 2 pieces of a puzzle. She tries to deepen the kiss by tangling her hands in his hair, but he pulls away, drawn back to the present-day reality.

“Rose, sorry, I can’t do this. I’m in love with someone else.” he says, his lips stinging as the guilt starts to hit him. “And I’m leaving to go meet up with her right now. Look, I had fun tonight, but like you said, we’re friends. Nothing more.”

Rose sighs, retracting her hands from his shoulders. She sits up, straightening out her dress before she says “Friends. Right, thanks again for tonight Junnie.”

As she stands up and exits the car, she takes one look back at him. “Whoever you love now, I hope they know how lucky they are. But I also hope you know that I don’t think you and I will ever be just friends, and tonight was proof of that. I’ll always love you, Junnie.” she says, giving him a small wave before she walks away, slamming the car door shut behind her.

Yeonjun watches her walk up to the front door, wanting to make sure that she’d make it into her house safely. Once she was out of his sight, he lets out a deep breath, one he didn’t realize he was holding in his chest. He leans back against the car seat, running a hand through his hair. His night wasn’t going the way he thought it would, but hopefully meeting B at the Fall Ball would set things back on track.

Or so he thought.

•°•

He wasn’t expecting the pang of jealousy that hit him when he finally saw B at the Fall Ball.

She was right when she said that his jaw would drop when he saw her dress. She looked breathtaking, and he smiled to himself when he noticed that her blue dress matched his blue hair perfectly. But when he noticed that she was on the dance floor with her face buried in some other guy’s chest and this guy’s hands around her waist, he felt his blood boil.

How dare someone else hold his girlfriend like that.

But as they sway to the music and they shift their positions, Yeonjun finds himself surprised when he finally gets a look at the guy’s face.

It was Soobin. Yeonjun should’ve known by the way he towered over B, and because of the fact that he had asked Soobin to step in for him until he could make it to the dance, but the feeling of seeing him hold B that way shocked Yeonjun.

He felt betrayed.

He trusted Soobin enough to know that he would never make a move on his girlfriend behind his back, but he couldn’t deny the sparks he saw whenever Soobin and B were together. All the way back from the first day of school when Soobin caught her from falling down the front steps of MO Academy, to Hueningkai’s birthday party when Yeonjun was people-watching and he noticed how Soobin had his eyes fixed on B the whole night, to the night of his birthday party when he noticed how flustered Soobin got when he had to kiss B, to tonight when he saw how intimate Soobin and B looked locked in each other arms on the dance floor.

He knew he wasn’t the best boyfriend, especially given the fact that he had kissed his ex girlfriend a total of 2 times now behind his current girlfriend’s back, but he couldn’t help the jealousy that was starting to pound into his ears. He knew that B got jealous too, and maybe she had good reason to given his history with Rose, but those were both mistakes. Those kisses weren’t his fault, and it was only normal for him to feel a little jealous too, seeing her with another guy.

Before he knew what he was doing, his feet were guiding him towards the pair on the dance floor and he finds himself tapping Soobin on the shoulder.

He sees a flash of something in Soobin’s face when he turns and sees Yeonjun standing there, but he ignores it. Instead, he smiles and says “Excuse me, but may I interrupt?”

B’s head snaps out of Soobin’s chest then, her eyes meeting his now, wide with surprise.

“Yeonjun! Y—you’re here.” she exclaims, jumping out of Soobin’s arms and towards Yeonjun.

He smiles at her endearingly. “Hey, Baby. I made it right on time.”

He watches as her eyes shift between him and Soobin before she smiles and gives Yeonjun a hug. He engulfs her in his arms, kissing the top of her head, his nose scrunching up when he realizes that her smell was tainted with hints of baby powder and vanilla. Soobin’s scent.

Soobin gives him a pat on the back then. “Glad you could make it. Cleaned up pretty nicely, too.” Yeonjun smirks. Of course he made sure to look his best. He had an extra shirt, tie and coat tucked away in his car and he changed on the way to MO Academy.

“Are you flirting with me?” he says jokingly. “Thanks for taking care of my Baby for tonight, Soob.” he says, purposely wrapping an arm around B’s shoulders and pulling her to his side.

“Don’t mention it. You 2 enjoy the rest of the night now, I’ll see you back at the table.” Soobin says, flashing a warm smile before he retreats, turning his back to them.

Yeonjun nods at him and watches as he walks away, but before he can get very far, B suddenly takes a step forward and reaches for his arm.

“Soobin, wait.” she says, causing both of the boys to freeze. Yeonjun stares at her hand clutched onto the ends of Soobin’s sleeve as Soobin looks back at her.

“Yes, B?” he asks tentatively. Cautiously.

B’s silent for a moment, and although her back was turned to Yeonjun, he could tell that she was struggling to say whatever it was she wanted to.

“I just wanted to say, um, thank you. For tonight.” she finally says, and Yeonjun feels a pang of guilt in his chest as he recalls how Rose had sad the exact same thing to him earlier that night before they shared a kiss.

“No problem, B. The pleasure was all mine.” Soobin says, smiling warmly at B and giving Yeonjun a small nod before turns and disappears into the crowd.

As Soobin walks away, Yeonjun wraps his arms around B’s waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, mildly disturbed to once again catch a whiff of baby powder and vanilla. He leans in close, close enough so that his lips would brush against her ear as he whispers “You wanna dance, Baby?”

She turns to face him, a bright smile on her face. “I’d love to.” she says.

Yeonjun grins, subtly rubbing his face in the crook of her neck, hoping that some of his scent would rub off on her skin to get rid of Soobin’s smell, before he grabs her hand and spins her around on the dance floor, causing her to squeal and giggle.

Back at table 21, Soobin watches as B lays her head on Yeonjun’s chest, her hands laid on his shoulders as his arms circled around his waist, and he tries to put himself in Yeonjun’s place, which he was in up until a few moments ago. He watches as the 2 of them slowly move to the rhythm of the mellow music, and he watches as Yeonjun plants a gentle kiss on B’s forehead as the song ends, until a new one starts and they start dancing again.

And again.

He watches until Taehyun finally announces that the Jazzed club had already performed their final song for the night, and that the DJ will be accepting song requests.

He watches until Taehyun, Beomgyu and Kai finally get off stage and join him at their table, Yuna eventually joining them too, taking her place beside Kai.

“Soobin?” Taehyun asks, noticing how spaced out Soobin looked.

“Hm?” he responds, his eyes still absentmindedly watching the couples still dancing in the ballroom, or at least, on one couple in particular.

“Are you okay?” Taehyun asks, nudging him until Soobin’s eyes meet his.

Soobin forces a smile. “I’m good, yeah.” he says, leaving Taehyun unconvinced.

Taehyun takes a quick look around their table, making sure that Kai and Yuna wouldn’t hear him, before he leans in a bit closer and says “I saw you dancing with B earlier, and it looked like things were going well. What happened? Where is she?”

Soobin hesitates, chewing on his bottom lip before he tries to subtly tilt his head in the direction of the dance floor. Taehyun follows the direction, confused at first, until he spots a familiar head of blue hair in the crowd and the girl he had his arms around.

“Ah.” Taehyun quietly says, looking back at Soobin with a regretful look in his eyes. He gently pats his hand over his on the table. “So he came.”

Soobin smiles at him again, a little more genuine this time. “Yes, and I’m glad he did. Look how happy she is now that he’s here.”

“Mm-hm, I mean she looked pretty happy when I spotted you 2 on the dance floor earlier, but if it means anything, at least Yeonjun kept his promise. I was worried he wouldn’t make it, knowing how strict his dad is when it comes to business endeavors.” Taehyun says. “When did he get here?”

“Um, about 30 minutes ago?” Soobin says, trying to count the number of times he watched Yeonjun kiss the top of B’s head with every song that ended. “They’ve been dancing since he got here.”

Taehyun raises a brow. “Well, we all know how much Yeonjun loves to dance. I’m sure they’ll stop by the table to rest for a bit though. Are you sure you wanna be sitting here for the rest of the night? You could ask someone to dance with you, or go for some refreshments.” Taehyun offers. “Gyu and I will just resting for a bit before we hit the dance floor.”

“Yeah, my date’s been too busy dealing with last minute crisises all evening, we haven’t danced to a single song.” Beomgyu suddenly butts in, whining.

“It’s crises, not crisises.” Taehyun corrects him, grimacing yet inwardly wondering how he ended up falling for someone who could make such an adorably simple grammatical error. “And I promise we’ll dance soon. I’m just checking on Soobin.”

“Oh no, please, go ahead and dance. You guys should enjoy your evening.” Soobin says, feeling embarrassed now. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’m perfectly fine. I’ll be heading out and making rounds in a bit to check if everything is going smoothly anyway.”

“You heard him, c’mon Tyun, Soobin’s a big boy who can handle himself perfectly fine.” Beomgyu says, tugging on his date’s arm.

Taehyun looks around the table, noticing that Kai and Yuna had already left and were probably somewhere on the dance floor. He gives Soobin one last look before he sighs. “Alright, whatever you say. But if you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know, okay? I’m here for you.” he says, gently squeezing Soobin’s shoulder before letting himself be dragged away by a very persistent Beomgyu.

Soobin watches as Beomgyu drags him right to the middle of the dance floor, the crowd magically parting to let them through. All eyes seem to be following them as Beomgyu flamboyantly wave an arm in the air before holding his hand out to Taehyun, who rolls eyes before taking his hand, letting out a squeal in surprise as Beomgyu suddenly twirls him around before pulling him towards him, the 2 boys chest to chest with Beomgyu’s hands on Taehyun’s waist as they start to sway to the music.

“Wow, look at that. Who knew Gyu and Tyun would be so freaking adorable together?” B says, watching in awe as all eyes lock on the 2 boys in the middle of the dance floor.

“I have to admit, they are pretty cute together.” Yeonjun says, leaning down to whisper in B’s ear. “But I think we’re cuter.”

She giggles as his breath tickles her neck. “Oh, hush. Look at them! They look amazing together.” she says, and right on cue she sees Beomgyu say something in Taehyun’s ear and the younger boy rolls his eyes but then suddenly smiles at the former, unable to stop himself. “They’re definitely cuter than us.”

“Stop saying that, we’re adorable!” Yeonjun huffs. “I even ducked out of that stupid business party and rushed over here just so I could see you tonight.” he pouts playfully. “If that’s not adorable, then I don’t know what that is.”

“Sweet, that’s what it is.” B says, reaching up to cup his face in her hand. “The sweetest, actually. Thanks for being here, Junnie. It means a lot to me.”

He smiles easily, his cheeks warming up as she looks up at him. “It’s my pleasure. Anything for you, Baby.” he says, pulling her closer. “Because I love you.”

Now it was her turn to have her cheeks heat up. She lets out an awkward laugh, flustered. “Thanks again.” she says, not sure if she was ready to tell him she loved him back yet. “How was your evening, by the way? Was the party boring? Are you tired?” she asks, wanting to change the topic.

He laughs, knowing she was shy. “Ah, it wasn’t much of a party. It was more like a gathering of boring rich people trying to out-talk each other about who’s richer and who’s business is doing better and whatnot. It was physically and mentally draining to be there, but I feel so much better now that I’m here with you.” he says, as smooth as ever.

B raises a brow. “You always know what to say, don’t you?” she says. “My feet are starting to kill me in these heels. Do you think we can take a little break and sit at the table?”

Yeonjun nods, easily accepting her suggestion. “Whatever you want, Baby.” he says, leading her away from the dance floor and back to table 21, surprised to see that it was empty.

“Wow, I guess all the guys are busy with their dates.” Yeonjun says, sitting down after pulling a chair for B. “I wonder if Soobin has found someone to keep him company tonight, too.”

B’s eyes search the crowd, spotting their friends one by one, save for the said boy. “Ah, if Soobin’s not at the table he’s either getting some refreshments or dealing with behind the scenes stuff to check if things are running smoothly.”

“How are you so sure he’s not dancing with anyone?” Yeonjun asks, raising a brow.

“I’ve been trying to convince him to ask a girl to dance all night, but I guess he’s just taking his duty as Student Council President too seriously to relax and enjoy himself.” B says, shaking her head.

“That sounds like Soobin.” Yeonjun says, taking a quick peek at his phone before setting it down on the table. “Speaking of refreshments, want anything? I could get you a drink or maybe some snacks?” he offers.

B nods. “Oh, yes please! I mean, I knew you love to dance, but I don’t think I can keep up. I need to rehydrate before I step foot on the dance floor again.”

Yeonjun laughs. “My body’s used to it from all the hours I’ve spent training and practicing.” he says. “Okay, you sit tight and I’ll be right back with a couple of drinks, alright?” he says, planting a quick peck on her forehead before making his way to the refreshments table on the other side of the event hall.

B takes the time alone to marvel at the evening, from the beauty of the event hall to the performances by the Jazzed club to Yeonjun appearing right on time. She crosses her legs under the table, absentmindedly tapping her foot to the beat of the music, counting the number of couples dancing past their table, until she feels a buzz on the table and hears the ring of a message alert tone.

Her eyes instinctively move towards the direction of the sound, moving down leading towards Yeonjun’s phone on the table.

Upon seeing what the notification was for, she wishes that she didn’t follow her instincts.

She feels her entire body go cold, her eyes repeatedly reading the message until the screen goes black, the words etched in her mind. Surely, there must have been some mistake. Maybe she just was just seeing things. Before she can convince herself that her eyes must’ve been playing tricks on her, Yeonjun’s phone rings, the screen lighting up with a new message, the messages displayed on his lock screen clear as day.

Before she could fully stomach what she was seeing, Yeonjun returns to the table with 2 wine glasses in hand, taking his seat next to her. He was saying something about how he spotted a few couples getting a little too intimate on the dance floor, but his voice just sounded garbled to her. All she could do at the moment was try to absorb and make sense of what she saw and figure what she would do about it.

Yeonjun grabs her hand on the table then, snapping her out of her thoughts as he notices that she hadn’t been paying attention to a word he was saying. He turns her palm face up and lightly traces along the lines and creases, knowing how much she liked it when he did that.

“Baby? You okay?” he asks, concern plastered on his face.

She wanted to say ‘Yeah, it’s nothing’ or maybe something like ‘No, but let’s talk about it later.’ But before she could collect her thoughts and compose herself, her mouth spoke out the words without her consent.

“Were you with Rose tonight?”

Yeonjun freezes, his hand going still over hers, and her heart sinks as she realizes that it was true.

“Why would you think that, Baby?” he asks carefully, and her heart sinks further, lurching somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

“Yeonjun. Were you with her tonight, and did you give her a ride home?” she asks, and when he doesn’t respond, she continues. “You left your phone face up on the table when you left to get drinks. And while you were away, the screen lit up with a text message from her. I wasn’t trying to snoop or anything, I never had any reason to doubt you or feel the need to worry about you hiding anything from me. Until now, that is. All I did was look down and I saw it without even meaning to, so if you were gonna hide it from me, you should have tried harder. Heck, it’s like you didn’t even try to hide it at all.”

“Baby, no—” he begins, but B’s eyes widen as another thought comes into her mind and she interrupts him, the words pouring out of her mouth as the thoughts enter her mind.

“Oh god, you didn’t even try, did you? You were with her and you didn’t even try to hide it. Is it cause you wanted me to find out? Is this your way of saying that you don’t wanna be with me anymore? Is this your messed up way of letting me know that you’ve been seeing her and maybe you didn’t know how to tell me so you leave your phone here on purpose so I’ll see it and get the hint?”

“It’s not like that.” Yeonjun says, his eyes trying hard to relay what he was feeling.

“I get it. You wanted to be with her tonight so you go to that stupid business party but then come here to break things off with me? Or heck, maybe you wanted to get lucky with me tonight before breaking things off with me to be with her, is that it? That’s what Choi Yeonjun does, love ‘em and leave ‘em, right?” she says, her tone becoming less shocked and confused and more frantic and spiteful.

Yeonjun looks at her, the hurt in his eyes apparent in his face. She was spiraling, the thoughts swirling around in her head growing more twisted and mixed up the more she thought about it, but she couldn’t help it. Her thoughts were coming out unbidden, as if her mind was flooded and her mouth was a stream just letting it all out

“Baby, Baby please, listen to me. Let’s go outside, someplace quiet.” Yeonjun says, standing up and begging her with his eyes to follow him. “Baby please, come on.” he pleads, lightly tugging on her hand.

She takes a deep breath and nods almost mechanically, standing up and following his lead. As he guides her through the crowded event hall and out into the hallway, he keeps looking back at her to see if she was still following, but whenever his eyes met hers, it felt like she wasn’t even there. They pass by Soobin on their way out, speaking to the security team at the entrance about the guest list and the tickets. When Soobin catches sight of Yeonjun looking tense and B following behind him, he’s confused. When his eyes meet Yeonjun’s, they’re full of nothing but concern, but Yeonjun just shakes his head at him without stopping.

He only stops when they reach the parking lot, the sound of music playing from the event hall almost inaudible outside in the chill of the night. As a gust of cold wind blows between them, he attempts to offer her his coat to keep her warm, but she holds her hand up, unbothered by the cold.

“Yeonjun. I need you to tell me what’s going on right now, because I swear, I’m going out of my mind trying to comprehend what I saw.” B says, her voice oddly calm and detached.

Yeonjun takes a deep breath before he begins, saying a little prayer that things would go well. “Okay, yes, I was with Rose tonight. The business party I attended was hosted by Kim Jisoo, and if my birthday party was any indication, where Kim Jisoo is, Rose naturally would be there too.” Yeonjun admits. “I wanted to invite you to come to the party with me, but I knew how excited you were for the Fall Ball and I didn’t want to ruin your night by forcing you to come to this stupid party with my ex present, so I thought it would be better if I simply stopped by the party for a bit and then spend the rest of my night here with you.”

“So is that supposed to make me feel better? And what makes you so sure I would’ve preferred going to the dance without you over going to some stupid party with you?” B asks, her frustration growing. “Why did you make that decision for me? And if you felt so forced to attend this stupid party, why did you have to spend the evening with her? Why did she feel the need to text you then? Were you hanging out with her the whole time? Did you even try to keep your distance from her after I’ve told you how uncomfortable I feel about you with her?”

“Baby, that’s not fair, I was just—”

“You know what’s not fair? You attending a party knowing fully well that your ex would be there. No, wait, I know your attendance at the party and the attendance of your ex at the party is something beyond your control, but Yeonjun, you could’ve at least told me about it! You could’ve given me a heads up, you could’ve simply let me know instead of doing it behind my back.”

“Baby, the only reason I didn’t tell you is because I didn’t want to ruin your night and I didn’t want you to feel bad. I was just trying to protect you!” Yeonjun says, his voice raising slightly when hers did.

B looks at him incredulously. “Wow, protect me? By lying to me? Yeonjun, I’d rather live with the hard cold shitty truth than live in blissful ignorance with a lie. And can you honestly say that the only reason you hid this from me was to protect me? There’s no other reason why you didn’t tell me?”

Yeonjun hesitates, only for a moment, but seeing it made B flinch. Over the course of their relationship, there were a few things that she had taken notice of about Choi Yeonjun. When he was excited about something, his voice would go a few octaves higher. When he was nervous about something, he would bounce on the balls of his feet nonstop. And when he was lying about something? He would take a deep breath and his eyes would fall to the ground, which is exactly what he did just now.

Upon seeing her flinch, Yeonjun starts to panic, feeling a sense of alarm, as if he could either make or break the situation depending on how the next few moments play out, as if there were a ticking time bomb and he only had a few minutes to defuse it before it exploded.

“Baby, look, Rose means nothing to me. Seeing her tonight was just a chore, and I only hung around her cause my father wants me to stay on Kim Jisoo’s good side, and you know she and Rose are close friends—” he reaches for her, hoping that his touch would break down her walls, but she steps away from him.

“Okay, let’s just cut the crap. I am willing to let this go, to forget all about this and merrily move on and dance the night away with you if you honestly tell me one thing.” B says.

Yeonjun looks at her hopefully, nodding eagerly. “Yes, yes, alright, what is it?”

B takes a deep breath. “Has anything ever happened between you and Rose since we started dating?”

She watches as the hopeful light in Yeonjun’s eyes dies, his face dropping and his shoulders sagging, and she feels her heart break into a million pieces.

“Thanks. That’s all I needed to know.” she says, her voice cracking as her hands start to shake.

“I’m sorry. Baby, I’m sorry, but I promise, it wasn’t that bad, it was barely even—” he begins again, but she couldn’t handle it anymore. All she could feel was her heart being torn out of her chest and bleeding out on the pavement. She squeezes her eyes shut.

“Yeonjun.”

B could feel the heat behind her eyes, knowing that tears were threatening to fall. She could feel heart pounding out of her chest, her hands shaking as she bunches them into fists at her side, clenching them together to stop herself from falling apart right then and there. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” she continues, knowing that it was true.

“Baby, please, wait.” Yeonjun pleads, taking a step forward and reaching a hand out towards her. She closes her eyes and takes a small step back, keeping the distance between them. He visibly flinches, hurt by her aversion, but he continues to speak. “Please, take 3 deep breaths and try to calm down. Hear me out. Please.”

B keeps her eyes shut, shaking her head. “Yeonjun, no. I can’t do this. I don’t know how I can possibly get past this. I don’t think I could ever let this go.” How did her night go so horribly wrong? She was wearing the most beautiful dress she had ever laid her eyes on, she was having a blast at the Fall Ball, dancing her heart out letting go of all the worries she had, and she had been surrounded by people who she knew loved and cared for her.

So how the hell did she get here?

Yeonjun feels his heart drop. “So what do you want to happen now? What do you want me to do? Tell me anything, and I’ll do it. Baby, I’ll do anything for you. Just please tell me how I can make this right.” he starts, pleading helplessly as he feels her pulling away.

“You want to know what I want to happen?” B asks, gathering up the strength to look him right in his eyes, tears falling down from her own as she says, “I want this to stop. This, us, this evening, this pain, this nightmare, I just want this all to stop. I think the best thing you could do for me now is just let me go, don’t make this hurt any more than it already does. Just let me go.” she says, now pleading as well, tears now spilling uncontrollably down her face. “Yeonjun, please, just let me go.”

“Baby, please, don’t.” Yeonjun says, his voice cracking as what she was saying hits him, knocking the air out of his lungs as his breaths start to come out in sharp gasps, his eyes damp with tears that threatened to fall.

B shakes her head, taking a shaky breath and biting her lip to stop it from quivering. She takes one last look at him looking painfully beautiful with is blue hair blowing in the wind, his soft eyes looking at her like a lost child, his plump lips shaking as he tries not to cry. She takes one last moment to look at the boy she loved before she says

“This is goodbye, Yeonjun. I’m breaking up with you.” •°• Author’s note: Thank you so much for your patience!! The past few weeks have been very hectic. The typhoon that hit my country a few days ago and the 2 days I spent without electricity definitely didn’t help, but alas, here’s chapter 16!! Please let me know what you think, don’t be afraid to leave a message, anonymous or not, cause my asks are open!! I’m still trying to figure out how to make my Tumblr more easy to navigate, but don’t be afraid to reach out to me!! Don’t forget to stream We Lost The Summer MV!!

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soobiniebaby · 3 years

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poor soobin TT hey author-nim hope youre doing well! loving the story and looking forward to the next update!

Ah, try not to worry too much about Soobin, I'll see to it that things lookup for him soon 😌 thank you, its been a couple of rough weeks, im in the middle of processing my big move to another country and my country was hit by a pretty bad typhoon, but i promise ill upload the next chapter by tomorrow! i wouldve uploaded it today but the power in my house was out for 2 days. thank you for patiently waiting, it means so much to me that you're enjoying my fic! 💛

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part XV : It’s You

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

Soobin’s breath catches in his throat as he absorbs the words on the screen.

Was Yeonjun really asking him to step in as B’s date? Suddenly, Soobin’s fantasies of having B as his date come flooding back to his mind, and he could hardly believe that most of it would be a reality. From him showing up at her apartment door to pick her up, to having their pictures taken together right as they enter the event hall, and maybe even up to how breathtakingly ethereal she’d look under the sparkling lights as they’d slow-dance in the middle of the dance floor.

The thought of his fantasies for the past few weeks becoming a reality made his cheeks heat up, and he takes a deep breath, quickly weighing the possible pros and cons of what could happen if he stepped in as B’s date in his mind, before he counts to three and sends his response.

Yeonjun’s request caught Soobin so off-guard that he wasn’t even able to mention why he messaged him in the first place. He sighs, tossing his phone down beside him on his bed, as he tries to get a grip on his thoughts, which were now swirling around with fantasies of B opening her apartment door and looking lavishly perfect in her dress, slow-dancing with B and taking pictures with her and sitting beside her at their table and—

Soobin shakes his head, trying to shake away such thoughts. B was his friend, and he would be there for her as a friend, only until Yeonjun arrives and takes his rightful place as her date.

He sighs again, his heart still pounding as he says “Alexa, lights off” before he’s enveloped in darkness.

•°•

B pouts, her whole lower lip sticking out as she looks up at her boyfriend with puppy-dog eyes.

Yeonjun frowns. “Baby, c’mon, please don’t do that. You’re too fucking cute, God. You’re breaking my heart.” he says, unable to stop himself from stepping forward and taking her face in his hands, his thumb gently rubbing on her lower lip as if he could erase her pout. “I wish I could skip it, trust me I do, but business is business, and you know how my father can get about things like this.”

B holds her pouty face for a moment longer before she sighs in defeat, realizing that she had no choice in the matter.

It was the morning of the Fall Ball, and when she heard someone ring the doorbell so early in the day, she was a tad annoyed that someone would dare bother her beauty sleep. Once she saw it was Yeonjun, she instantly felt her mood go from 0 to 100, happy to see him standing at her doorstep. But once he told her why he was there, her mood instantly went from 100 to 0 once again.

It wasn’t Yeonjun’s fault that his dad was a cold-hearted business-minded dick. She melts into Yeonjun’s touch, her eyes fluttering shut as his thumbs gently find their way to her jaw, lightly tracing patterns.

“Fine. I understand.” she finally says, opening her eyes to meet his. She lifts a hand up and cups it over one of his, entwining their fingers together. “But will I at least see you tonight? I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks, and I wanna see your jaw drop once you see me in my dress.”

Yeonjun raises a brow. “How are you so sure my jaw will be dropping?”

B smirks, her eyes alight with mischief. “Well, first of all, it got Ryujin’s stamp of approval on the slutty-and-classy factor. And second, no matter how pretty and sexy I’ll look in the dress, I know that all you’ll be thinking about is how you’ll be taking the dress off.” she says, watching Yeonjun’s mouth drop at what she was suggesting.

“T—taking the dress off?” Yeonjun stutters, and B stifles back a laugh. She had never seen Yeonjun stutter before. “Me? Taking the dre—taking your dress off?”

B nods, and Yeonjun’s eyes widen. She grins devilishly. “I mean, if you can’t make it to the dance, we can always have a little after party of our own.” she says teasingly.

Yeonjun just looks at her in wonder, before shaking his head and letting out a chuckle. “Damn, Baby, you’re really something else.” he says, and she can’t help but hold back her laughter. “I just—I fucking love you, you know?”

Now it was her turn to go slack-jawed. “What? Wait, you what?” she says, not sure if she heard him right.

He laughs at her reaction and shakes his head once again. “I fucking love you, Baby. I love you.” he says, and when she remains frozen in shock, he says “I just wanted to let you know, and I don’t want you to feel pressured to say it back, so you don’t have to.”

B nods, her tongue still caught in her throat as she tried to wrap her head around his words.

Yeonjun sneaks a quick peek at his phone. “Ah, I have to go, I have a video meeting with our Japan clients in 30 minutes.” When she remains silent in shock, he chuckles and bends down, planting a warm lingering kiss on her forehead. “My business thing will be starting at around 8PM, but I’ll try to ditch it early and if I’m lucky I can make it to the ball by 10PM, and I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll see you later, Baby. I love you.” he says, caressing her hair before turning away to leave.

As she watches him make his way down the stairs and get escorted into the car by his driver, she finally snaps out of her daze and feels herself smile.

“I love you too.” she quietly says into thin air, before she shakes her head, her cheeks hurting from smiling, before she closes the door behind her and prepares herself for a busy day.

•°•

That was 13 minutes ago.

Soobin sighs as he checks his phone one last time before he pockets it, his hands shaking as he does so. He holds his arms out as his sides and starts to flail them around vigorously, hoping to shake off the nerves. He takes a deep breath, stuffing both of his hands as deep as they could go in his coat pockets, and slowly counts to three before abruptly ringing the doorbell, holding his breath as he waits for a response.

“Soobin? Is that you?” B’s voice floats from inside the apartment.

Soobin forces himself to put on a smile, making sure to avoid tripping over his words as he says “Yeah, it’s me!”

“Hold on, I’ll be out in a bit!” she calls, and he hears some noises from inside the apartment, such as the sound of her running around and rushing to do whatever it was she was doing.

“Alright, take your time, I’ll be right here.” he says reassuringly, taking deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. He was just a friend picking up another friend to go to the dance together…as friends. Why was he so nervous?

Wanting to appear as casual and calm as possible, he decides to take his phone out of his pocket and feign scrolling or typing, just so that he wouldn’t look pathetic when she opens the door.

Once he hears her footsteps approaching, he holds his breath, and when she finally opens the door, he tears his gaze away from his phone to greet her.

And he nearly drops his phone, his jaw nearly dropping along with it.

A petite goddess stood in front of him, illuminated by the light pouring out from her apartment. Her long hair was parted to the side and framed her face with loose waves. Her eye makeup was done with simple winged eyeliner and long curled lashes, her face glowed and shimmered with highlight and bronzer, but her lips were painted a loud and eye-catching red, accentuating the cute little cupid’s bow on her upper lip that made them look irresistible.

But what really made him nearly drop his phone was her dress and how good she looked in it. No, how good it looked on her. Her blue dress fell off her shoulders, the flowy fabric leaving her neck, back and shoulders bare, with delicate satin trimmings all over. Her gown had a modest empire waistline yet had a surprisingly daring slit that ran all the way up her thigh, with satin trimming once again added in to balance out the look. She paired the dress with a pair of strappy heels that crisscrossed around her legs until just below the knees.

“Okay, I’m ready, let’s go!” she says, not noticing how he was ogling her. “Sorry if I kept you waiting out here, I didn’t know it would be this cold.” she says, rubbing her arms with her hands.

It’s only when the freezing cold autumn breeze hits him when Soobin finally unfreezes, and he snaps into action, taking his coat off and offering it to her.

“Here, you can use this to keep yourself warm.” he says, and before she can refuse, he slowly drapes it over her bare shoulders, careful not to ruin her hair or makeup as he does so. “At least until we get to the car.” he adds, once he sees the hesitance on her face.

She nods her head and smiles up at him. “Thanks, Soobin. 5 minutes in and already I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my date.” she says, and he prays that it was dark enough so that she couldn’t see him blush. “Well, as my last minute date at least.”

Soobin coughs, trying to conceal his red cheeks. “Right, um, let’s get going then.” he says, leading the way to the car. He offers to hold the ends of her dress as they make their way down the stairs, making her giggle, and once he opens the passenger door to his car, he offers his hand to help her easily slide into the car. He closes her door and quickly makes his way to the driver seat. He hears her sighs in relief as he shuts the door behind him, the car heater kicking in as he starts the engine.

“Oh, that feels nice.” she says, putting her hands up towards the vents to defrost her cold fingers. “Again, I just wanted to thank you for doing this, Soobin. I know you didn’t really want a date to the ball and that you weren’t really interested in taking any girl from school to the dance this year, but I hope you’re not too bothered with having me as your last-minute date.”

You’re the only girl in the entire school I wanted to take to the ball. Having you as my date is the only thing I’ve been dreaming of these past few weeks. I wouldn’t trade having you as my date for anything else in the world.

As all these thoughts flood Soobin’s mind, he simply smiles back at her and says “No problem, B. I don’t mind it at all.”

Her eyes sparkle as she beams at him then, happy with what he said, and just like that his heart rate started to speed up once again. Tonight was gonna be a long night.

•°•

“Say cheese!”

“Sir, could you lean in closer, maybe put your arm around him?”

“Sir?”

Beomgyu hastily puts his arm around Taehyun’s waist, pulling him closer to his side as they posed for the photographers at the entrance of the event hall. “Tyun, are you okay?” he whispers, shaking him slightly.

“I…I’m, um, I think I’m feeling a bit shy.” Taehyun finally admits, his eyes darting around the area, which was quickly starting to fill up with students arriving with their dates, presenting their tickets and getting in line to have their pictures taken by the photographers before entering the event hall. Beomgyu had picked him up from his apartment, being the perfect gentleman, and they had arrived at the dance a little early so that they could do a few last minute checks around the venue before most of the guests start to arrive.

Whenever he and Beomgyu were together, he simply felt happy. It was just the two of them, talking and laughing as they always did, except now there was some handholding and kissing in between. And when Taehyun asked Beomgyu to be his date, he was simply happy about the thought of going to the Fall Ball together. But now that they were here, together, as dates, Taehyun was starting to realize that he hadn’t exactly thought the entire thing through.

He didn’t think about the stares they’d be getting, or the confused looks that would come their way when people saw them together, or about the excited whispers that would start whenever people spotted them walking hand in hand. And now that he was seeing it, he was starting to feel shy. He didn’t know what it was like to be in a relationship, and frankly he wasn’t used to the attention that came along with it, especially since his partner just happened to be one of his best friends, and his co-student council member. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the pair of them would receive so much attention, but Taehyun was surprised nonetheless.

Beomgyu chuckles. “You, Kang Taehyun, are nervous? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you nervous before.” he says, leaning in so close to whisper in his ear that Taehyun could feel his breath lightly tickling his neck. “Why are you nervous?”

“I guess I’m just not used to all the attention. I’ve never been in a relationship, so I don’t know how to act around you now when people are watching.” he says, his eyes catching random glimpses of stares aimed at them.

“Ah, of course it’ll come with a lot of attention, silly. Especially since you have me, the elusive and charismatic Choi Beomgyu by your side.” Beomgyu says teasingly, and that was enough to earn a small smile from Taehyun.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Taehyun says, feeling a bit more relaxed.

“And you’re adorable.” Beomgyu says, causing the younger boy’s cheeks to flush.

“Perfect! Hold that pose!” the photographer exclaims, seeing that Taehyun looked more relaxed and natural now. He quickly holds the camera up and points it towards them. “1,2,3, smile!”

As the flash goes off, Taehyun feels himself smile, and he feels Beomgyu’s arm around his waist tighten just a bit more before the photographer says “Excellent! Thank you, and enjoy your evening. Next!” signaling the end of their turn.

Taehyun lets a small sigh, feeling himself relax, as Beomgyu takes his hand and pulls him forward, finally stepping through the giant double door entrance and into the event hall.

“Wow, you guys really pulled out all the stops for this one.” Beomgyu comments as they take in the room. It was spectacularly designed with rows and rows of fairy lights hanging across the ceiling, with curtain lights lining the walls. The ceiling itself was barely visible as the entirety of it was shrouded with different fall flowers such as Dahlias and Begonias, with balls of autumn leaves hanging as well, some occasionally falling down and letting the room rain with autumn leaves.

“You mean we really pulled out all the stops?” Taehyun says, raising a brow. “Have you forgotten that you’re actually a part of the student council or do you really not pay attention during our meetings?”

Beomgyu laughs. “I do, trust me, but I didn’t know it would turn out looking like this! It’s amazing.” he says, still in awe.

Taehyun can’t stop himself from smiling, feeling a sense of pride. “I helped choose the flowers. Now let’s go find our table, the others might be waiting for us already.” he says, now leading them towards their assigned table, which was conveniently situated near the side of the event hall, closer to the stage and the side entrances so that they as student council members would have easy access to any backstage problems.

When they arrive at table 21, they’re surprised to see just 2 people sitting there. Soobin and a girl. The girl was sitting with her back to them, and all they could make out was that she had long dark hair that fell down her back in waves.

“Huh, is that Soobin? Who’s he sitting with?” Taehyun asks once they spot the table from 10 feet away.

“Maybe he caved and got himself a date at the last minute. I mean it’s not like it would be hard for him to find one on short notice.” Beomgyu muses. “I wonder who it is.”

Once they arrive at the table, Soobin’s face lights up as he sees them.

“Gyu! Tyun! You’re finally here.” Soobin says. “Take a seat, Kai and his date should be here soon too.”

Beomgyu raises a brow at Soobin’s smiley demeanor, but takes a seat nonetheless, but not before he pulls out a chair and offers it to Taehyun.

“Ah, you didn’t have to.” Taehyun says, though the pleased smile on his face betrays his words.

“Hush, shut up and let me be your perfect date. I mean, you’ve been dreaming of this for a year now, right?” Beomgyu says teasingly, laughing when Taehyun gives him an annoyed look.

“Soobin, seriously, I swear I’m gonna kill you for saying that.” Taehyun says, shooting daggers at the boy. But before Soobin could respond, his date turns in her seat to face the two boys, and their jaws drop as she does so.

“Yeah, remind me not to spill any of my secrets to Soobin either.” B says, coming face to face with Taehyun and Beomgyu.

“B?” Beomgyu asks, surprised. “Are you Soobin’s d—Where’s Yeonjun?” he stutters.

B laughs out loud at Taehyun and Beomgyu’s confused faces. “Oh, sorry, I guess we never got to tell you!” she giggles. “Um, Yeonjun’s dad forced him to go to this business party thing at the last minute, and I guess he sort of assigned Soobin to look after me. Until he gets here, at least, he said he’ll try to cut the party early so he can catch the end of the dance.”

Taehyun raises a brow. “Oh, what a shame.” he says, his words directed at Soobin. “How inconvenient is it that you’re stuck with Soobin as your date now.”

B nods “Luckily Soobinie’s very kind and he accepted, although I’m trying to be as less of a burden as possible.” she says, laughing as she rests a hand on Soobin’s arm.

“Very lucky.” Beomgyu says, smirking at Soobin behind B’s back. “I’m pretty sure Soobin won’t see you as a burden though, he is very lucky to have been blessed with the opportunity to have you as a date tonight.”

“Aw, thanks Gyu, you’re so sweet.” B says, looking at him in awe. “Tyun, is he always this sweet? You two are so lucky to have each other.” she says, looking between her 2 friends lovingly. When the guys told her the news, she was so happy she started to cry. After all those mornings she spent walking with Taehyun to school, she never would have imagined that he would have feelings for someone like Beomgyu. In the dynamic of their friend group, the 2 of them stood at opposite sides of the spectrum, yet they worked perfectly well together, like blue orangeade.

“I have to admit, the idiot has his moments.” Taehyun says rather lovingly in contrast to the nickname he had given him. “Speaking of idiots, where’s Kai? Shouldn’t he be here by now?”

And right on cue, Kai and Yuna come stumbling up to the table, both of them in a fit of giggles as they try to seat themselves, abruptly stopping once they noticed there was 1 empty chair.

“Hey guys, who’s not here ye—” Hueningkai starts, but once he sees B next to Soobin, his confusion further grows. “What’s going on here? Where’s Yeonjun?”

B and Soobin explain the situation once again, and Kai and Yuna nod understandingly.

“I never knew Yeonjun’s dad could be so harsh.” Yuna pouts. “I’m sorry about that, B. But hey, at least you’ve got another handsome guy to keep you company tonight.” she says, winking at Soobin. “Let’s try to enjoy it anyway, alright? And I’m sure Yeonjun will do anything to see you tonight.”

B nods in agreement, happy that she had her friends with her to keep her company. Maybe her night wouldn’t be a total bust.

Just then, Soobin holds her hand under the table, squeezing it comfortingly. She looks at him and sees him smiling at her. “Don’t worry, we’re right here for you.”

She beams at him and squeezes his hand under the table, entwining their fingers together. “Thanks, Soobin. Really. It means a lot to me.”

And just like that, she knew it was going to be a good night. With or without Yeonjun.

•°•

The night had kicked off with a bang. The council had hired a DJ and opened up song requests so that students could hear their desired songs along with personalized dedications all around the event hall, students from the Theatre club had been assigned by the student council to host the event. Designated different clubs within the school were tasked to present special numbers at hourly intervals throughout the night. The Theatre club had done a short improv scene, picking random students in the audience to participate, which earned many laughs from the crowd. The Photography club had been going around and taking polaroid pictures of the students. The Film club has been documenting the night on video and will be showing a short highlight reel by the end of the evening.

But now, it was the Jazzed club’s turn.

Soobin nervously walks across the stage, the spotlight trailing him as he makes his way to the center, adjusting the microphone stand higher to match his height before he starts.

“Hey guys, how’s everyone’s evening going so far? Is everyone having fun?” Soobin says, pleased with himself when the event hall booms with cheers from the crowd. “That’s good to know. On behalf of the student council, I’d like to acknowledge the participation of everyone here tonight and for everyone who couldn’t make it, without all of you, this event wouldn’t have been a success, so thank you.” he says, earning cheers from the crowd once again.

He flashes a charming smile as he continues. “I know that this evening has been a blast so far, but how about we slow things down a little bit…” he says, and right on cue the selected members from Jazzed club goes on stage and starts to prepare their instruments, which gets the crowd cheering again. “Coming right up, we have a special performance by MO Academy’s very own Jazzed club!”

Soobin takes the mic in his hands and starts to walk around the stage, approaching each person one by one to introduce them to the crowd. “Here, we have our student body’s precious Public Relations Officer, Kai Kamal Huening, tickling the ivories!” he says, putting a hand on Kai’s shoulder as the younger boy plays a few keys on the piano, making the crowd cheer.

He moves on to the drum set. “On the drums, we have Yoon Dowoon! Drop us a beat, please!” he proclaims, and Dowoon follows suit, showing off his skills.

“Isn’t he amazing, folks?” Soobin asks the crowd, making them cheer in response. “Next up, we have Nam Donghyun playing the Bass!” he says, motioning to the bassist as he plucks a few strings.

“On guitar, we have our student council’s very own Treasurer, Choi Beomgyu! Show us what you’ve got, Gyu!” Soobin says, dramatically doing a very bad air guitar impression in contrast to Beomgyu’s slow acoustic guitar. Soobin laughs as Beomgyu shakes his head.

“And last but not the least, our vocalist for the evening, the one and only Kang—” Soobin begins, ready to introduce Taehyun, until Beomgyu grabs the back of his suit, tugging him to his side as he quickly whispers in his ear.

“Taehyun can’t do it, he’s dealing with a crisis with the security team.” Beomgyu explains hastily.

“What! Who’s gonna sing then? Can you sing and play the guitar at the same time?” Soobin asks, trying to keep a smile on his face even though he was panicking on the inside.

“I don’t memorize the song, just the notes.” Beomgyu says. “But why don’t you sing? It’s not like you haven’t sang in front of an audience before. And you have no excuse not to sing, because you wrote the song.” Soobin couldn’t think of an excuse to get himself out of it, because Beomgyu was right. Soobin had been working on the song for a couple of months now, but he never intended on singing it himself, especially not in front of a crowd, and especially not in front of her.

Before Soobin can protest, Beomgyu quickly takes the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, our vocalist for the evening, the one and only Student Council President, Mr. Choi Soobin!” he proclaims, making the crowd cheer as Soobin practically chokes on his own saliva, taking the microphone back from Beomgyu.

“I—uh, yes!” Soobin says, quickly gathering his thoughts, not wanting to look unprofessional in front of the whole school. “Our first song tonight is a special composition by the Jazzed club! Composed by Kang Taehyun, and lyrics by Choi Soobin.” he says, letting the cheers from the crown die down before giving the band the go signal.

The lights dim as the song starts with a slow intro from the drums and the piano, and the spotlight focuses on Soobin as he starts to sing.

(ORIGINAL SONG: Look After you by The Fray) [some lyrics changed by author for story purposes] “If I don’t say this now, I will surely break As I’m staring, your hands I want to take I look on breathlessly, my knees they start to shake My heart has started to separate”

As he sings, he remembers all the moments he caught himself staring at B, and all the times she made his heart speed up just by looking at him, and all the instances where simply seeing her took his breath away, like when he picked her up at her place for the dance that night.

“Oh oh, be my baby oh Oh oh, be my baby And I’ll look after you.”

He sees her in the crowd then, sitting by herself at their table, her chin resting on her hands as she watches the band play on. Her eyes meet his and she smiles, giving him a small wave. He’s unable to stop himself from smiling back, his heart pounding in his ears.

“If ever there was any doubt My love, she’s looking at me Her smile gives me security Her love rings with clarity”

He’s watching her watching him now, her head nodding along to the gentle beat of the song, her eyes bright as she claps with the crowd and cheers him on.

“Oh oh, be my baby oh Oh oh, be my baby Oh oh It’s always have and never hold You’ve begun to feel like home, yeah What’s mine is yours to leave or take What’s mine is yours to make your own”

He wrote these lines after the night of Yeonjun’s birthday, when he saw her a crying drunken mess on the closet floor and realized that he would do anything for her. It didn’t matter if she was his best friend’s girlfriend or if she was the girl he was in love with, it didn’t matter if she was drunk and crying or sober and laughing. To him, he was B, one of the few people in the world he held closest to his heart, and he knew he would do anything for her.

“Oh oh, be my baby oh Oh oh, be my baby Oh oh”

As he sings the last lines of the song, he feels his face start to heat up as the audience begins to cheer louder, a bit shy now that he had sung his song in front of the whole school. Singing a song he wrote in front of the person he wrote it for was something he never anticipated he’d do, but upon seeing her eyes, as bright as ever, focused on his face, he would’ve written a million more songs and sang them all to her if it meant she’d look at him like that every time he did.

When the audience starts to die down and the couples on the dance floor start to return to their seats, he spots Taehyun running to towards the stage, waving his arms at Soobin, signaling that he was there and that he could take over.

“Ladies and gentlemen, that song was called ‘Look After You’ written by yours truly, composed by Kang Taehyun, and performed by MO Academy’s Jazzed Club. Let’s give another round of applause!” Soobin proclaims breathlessly, his smile widening as the crowd starts to cheer. He quickly motions Taehyun to come on stage, relieved that the younger boy was there. Soobin didn’t think that he could sing the rest of the songs on the setlist without any practice.

“And now, here to take us away with a voice as cool as the Fall breeze and visuals as refreshing as Autumn leaves, let’s give it up for Kang Taehyun!” Soobin announces, arm outstretched towards the boy who was now making his way across the stage.

“Thank you, everyone.” Taehyun says, smiling as he catches his breath. “We’ve got a great set prepared for you tonight, so grab your partners and prepare to swoon as we start with a song called Autumn Leaves by Ed Sheeran.”

When the next song starts to play, Soobin makes his way off the stage, his body still humming with adrenaline from singing his song on such short notice. As he makes it off stage and finds his way back to his table, he receives a few compliments and pats on the back from his fellow students, telling him he did a great job on the Fall Ball and gushing over how beautiful his singing was. He acknowledges them bashfully, his face heating up more and more by the second, until he finally makes it to his table, which was occupied by no one but B.

She starts to clap as soon as she seems him approaching, shaking her head in approval, legs crossed casually. “Wow, Choi Soobin. I’ve been told that you were a bit of a songwriting genius, but I didn’t know just how much of a genius you were until now. You definitely live up to your hype. Well done.”

“Oh stop it, you’re only saying that cause I’m your friend.” He smiles shyly as he takes his seat next to her, mindful of the absence of their other table mates. “Why are you alone? Where are our fellow table 21s?”

“Gyu, Tyun, and Hyuka are all onstage and will remain onstage for at least 5 more songs, and I’m guessing Hyuka’s date is off somewhere with Ryujin.” she says, referring to Yuna. “They invited me to hang out with them while you were all onstage, but I didn’t really feel like taking shots of the Tequila that they smuggled in at one of the bathroom stalls.”

“Is that what they’re doing?” Soobin says, raising a brow. “You do remember that I’m the Student Council President, right? Doing something like that could get them suspended!” he exclaims.

B laughs lightly. “Oh, I don’t think I could ever forget, Mr. President.” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at him. “And yes, I am well aware of that, but I trust that you won’t bust them anyway because although you have responsibilities, you’re not a fun-sucker either so as long as you trust that they know their limits, you’ll just be keeping a stern eye out instead of busting them.”

Soobin sighs. “You’re right, I guess you know me too well.”

B nods. “Yes, and I happen to know that you haven’t had the chance to break out some moves on the dance floor all night.” she says, exasperated. “C’mon, Soobinie, you should dance! I know you don’t have a date and I’m just a sort of last minute engagement, but you could ask literally any girl here to dance with you and I just know that they’d practically pee themselves with glee as they drag you to the dance floor.”

Soobin laughs. “That’s absurd.” he simply says, and she shrugs. It’s quiet between them for a moment, they watch the couples on the dance floor until the song comes to an end and a few of them make their way back to their seats while the others stay on the dance floor and give a round of applause to the Jazzed club.

“Thank you, thank you.” Taehyun says, his voice reverberating through the event hall. “Now for our next song, no high school dance would be complete without one of the most iconic high school prom songs in the cinematic universe of Young Adult movie adaptations. As seen in the Twilight saga, this is Flightless Bird, American Mouth.”

“B?” Soobin says, turning to face her as Taehyun sings the first line of the familiar song.

“Yes?” B asks, her eyes focused on the couples dancing in front of them.

“I know that I’m just a stand in until your real date arrives and that Yeonjun will probably be here before the Fall Ball ends, but do you wanna dance with me?” Soobin says in one breath. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, but I think it would be a waste if you just sit here all night. I mean, I’m not saying that your night will be a waste or anything or that you’ll just be sitting—”

B silences him by standing up and grabbing his hand, forcing him to stand up. “Like I said, Binnie. You could ask literally any girl here to dance with you and they’d practically drag you to the dance floor.” she says, beaming as she drags him through the throng of people until she finds a vacant spot near the stage.

“Didn’t you mention something about peeing themselves with glee—?” Soobin begins, but she shuts him up by putting a finger up to his lips, which catches him by surprise. He remains frozen as she guides his hands to her waist and she reaches up to rest her hands on his shoulders, her neck outstretched as she looks up at him.

“Just shut up and dance with me, Choi Soobin.” she laughs, which causes him to unfreeze and sway along to the music.

“You know you have 4 different names for me?” Soobin says out of nowhere. “You’ve called me about 4 different names just now.”

“What?” B asks, curious. “No way! How can I possibly have 4 names for 1 person?” she says.

Soobin bites his bottom lip thoughtfully before answering. “Well, you call me Soobin on normal occasions, Soobinie when you wanna ask for a favor so you act all cute, Mr. President for when you’re teasing me about anything school or council related, Choi Soobin when you’re either impressed by me or annoyed by me, and sometimes you call me Binnie, though I’m not sure why just yet.” he says. “Oh, that’s 5 names!”

B looks at him, incredulous. “Wow, I’ve never really noticed.” she says, amazed. “Anything else I should know about myself?” she asks teasingly.

Soobin stays quiet in thought for a moment before the words come pouring out. “You fiddle with your pens when you’re bored. When there’s something on your mind, your eyes dart all over the place as if you can see your thoughts out in the open. You make this face when you’re tired and cranky.” he says, his eyebrows pulling down and his cheeks puffing out as he pouts, mimicking her expression.

B chokes out a laugh. “No, I don’t!”

Soobin smiles at her fondly. “Trust me, you do! Um, what else? When you’re excited about something, your eyes sort of just light up and you practically bounce in your seat. When you’re nervous, you have a tendency to tap the tips of your toes on the ground. When you’re shy, you usually end up hiding your face with your hands—”

“So do you!” B interrupts.

“I know I know, let me finish!” Soobin laughs, his breath shaky now. “You’re a straw-biter, so you hate metal and paper straws cause they’re no fun for you to bite on but you use them anyway cause you wanna save the sea turtles. Your usual order at Kang’s café is a large peppermint mocha iced latte which you usually don’t end up finishing so you have it packed in a paper coffee cup and give it to the homeless man who begs right across the street along with whatever change you have in your pocket. When you’re happy, you sing out loud and your voice when you sing is soft and sweet and if I could, I’d record it and play it as a lullaby on nights when it’s particularly hard to sleep.”

B laughs, in awe of everything she was hearing, not noticing the way he was looking at her now. “My voice as a lullaby? It’d be like being serenaded by a banshee!” she exclaims jokingly. “What nights do you find it particularly hard to sleep, then? What causes your sleepless nights? Is it school? Is it stress? Is it a girl? When do you have sleepless nights?”

‘On nights when all I can think about is you.’ Soobin thinks to himself, but he just smiles at her warmly.

Before he can respond, the song ends, and the couples on the dance floor break away from each other and focus on the stage to cheer on the Jazzed club.

“Alright, this one’s for all those friends-to-lovers out there who were able to let love bloom from friendship, or for those who are still friends but would rather be lovers, this is your opportunity to get out of the friend zone!” Taehyun says, pointedly glancing towards Soobin. When he realized that B was with him on the dance floor, his eyes widened and he gave Soobin a wink, causing the older boy to blush. “This song is called Sweet Night by V.”

As the next song starts with a smooth acoustic intro, B turns to Soobin once again, not noticing how flustered he seemed to be. “Hey Binnie, you down for round 2? Or we could go back to the table if you don’t feel like dancing, I know you don’t like crowds.” she says, referring to them being in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by couples who were starting to get very close and intimate with each other.

Soobin looks at her and shrugs. “I wouldn’t mind dancing with you again.” he says, and her eyes instantly light up, causing his heart to flutter. He didn’t want to admit it, but slow dancing with her was a bit of a dream come true for him.

“On my pillow”

She smiles up at him, and he offers his hand with a flourish, causing her to laugh as she takes his hand in hers, once again positioning them on her hips before she reaches up to lay her hands on his shoulders as they start swaying to the music.

“Can’t get me tired”

B leans forward and closes the distance between them, burying her face in Soobin’s chest, and he could only pray that she couldn’t hear his heart pounding through his shirt. “Hey, Soobin?” she mumbles, her voice muffled.

“Hm?” Soobin responds, trying his best to control his breathing and regulate his heartbeat, afraid that she’d be able to hear it with her head pressed against his torso.

“Do you remember the night of Yeonjun’s birthday party? When I was crying on the floor and you saw me?” she asks.

“Sharing my fragile truth”

“Yes.” Soobin says. How could he forget? That night, he had let his walls down and let slip just a sliver of what felt like truckloads of emotions he felt for her. She had practically told him that she would have chosen him over Yeonjun if it were an option, and that the prospect of them being together wasn’t just a fantasy. “What about it?” he asks, as casually as he possibly could.

“That I still hope the door is open”

B sighs, keeping her face hidden from him. “It’s just, is there really nothing more that happened that night?” Soobin had to lean down to hear what she was saying. He didn’t know why, but she seemed to be hiding her face in his chest. “Ever since that night, I’ve been feeling a bit…different, I guess?”

“Cause the window opened one time with you and me”

Soobin gulps. “What do you mean? Different how?”

“Now my forever’s falling down wondering if you want me now”

“Well, I don’t exactly remember much to be honest.” B admits, her voice still muffled against his chest. “But I remember you and me sitting on the cold floor, I remember I was crying and that my heart hurt, I remember you being right beside me and leaning on your shoulder, I remember saying—”

“Saying what?” Soobin asks, wondering why she cut herself off so suddenly, and wondering where this conversation was going.

“How could I know one day I’d wake up feeling more”

‘Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.’ Her words echo again in her head. Ever since she had that dream, or rather that flashback, he had been feeling different. As if her heart and body remembered something that her mind didn’t about that night. “I remember saying that I felt hurt.” she says instead. “I dunno, I guess I just feel weird because I don’t remember everything. I’ve never been blackout drunk before, so it’s really strange for me.” she says, chuckling lamely at herself.

“But I had already reached the shore Guess we were ships in the night Night, night”

Soobin remains silent, not really knowing what to say. They simply sway to the music then, under the soft glow of fairy lights, with autumn leaves and flowers occasionally falling with every gust of the chilly autumn wind that blew into the venue.

“I'm wondering Are you my best friend?”

B did feel like she had been closer to Soobin lately. She didn’t know if it was because her childhood friend, Kai, had been busy with his relationship lately or if it was because Yeonjun was closest to Soobin. But she knew that ever since that night, she had been seeing him in a different light, as if she knew she could tell him anything and he’d bring her a sense of comfort no matter what the situation. She just didn’t know why.

“Feels like a river's rushing through my mind”

Soobin’s heart starts to race as he tries to figure out why she had suddenly brought up the topic of that night, and suddenly he feels guilty once again, remembering seeing Yeonjun’s lips crash against Rose’s. He felt his stomach lurch at the memory, but he knew he couldn’t tell B about it. It was Yeonjun’s responsibility.

“I wanna ask you If this is all just in my head”

B was starting to wonder if Soobin had felt a shift in their dynamic ever since that night as well. Did he see her in a different light after witnessing what a miserable drunken mess she was? Did he remember her telling him that maybe it should’ve been him, whatever ‘it’ was? Or has he always just been so caring and a good friend?

“My heart is pounding tonight I wonder if you are too good to be true”

Soobin looks down at B then, who still had her face buried in his chest, the fairy lights shining warmly above them giving her honey toned skin a gentle glow. As small flower petals continue to fall overhead, a few of them catch in her hair, making her look like some sort of ethereal goddess. She was too good for him, and too good for Yeonjun as well. He knew that.

“And would it be alright if I pulled you closer”

B’s hands fall from his shoulders and slip down to his chest. She finally looks up at him then and smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s just that you’re so tall, and my arms were starting to get tired. Do you mind if I keep my hands here?”

“How could I know one day I'd wake up feeling more”

When her eyes meet his, Soobin could swear that his heart was leaping out of his chest and right into her hands, one of which was situated directly above his heart. He nods. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

They spend the rest of the song dancing in silence. She rests her head against his chest once again, her cheek squished against his necktie, and his hands slowly wrap themselves around her waist comfortingly.

“But I had already reached the shore”

Suddenly, Soobin feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns his head and nearly jumps out of B’s grasp once he sees Yeonjun standing there.

“Guess we were ships in the night night, night”

“Excuse me, but may I interrupt?” he says politely. Upon hearing his familiar voice, B’s head snaps up and her eyes widen as she sees him.

“Yeonjun!” she exclaims, jumping out of Soobin’s arms. “Y—you’re here.” she says, caught by surprise.

Yeonjun beams at her then. “Hey, Baby. I made it right on time.”

B looks between the 2 boys for a moment, hesitant, before she walks up to Yeonjun and gives him a hug.

“Glad you could make it.” Soobin says, patting the blue-haired boy on the back. “Cleaned up pretty nicely, too.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Yeonjun says teasingly, making Soobin roll his eyes. He gives Soobin a quick one-armed hug. “Thanks for taking care of my Baby for tonight, Soob.”

“Don’t mention it.” Soobin says, smiling at him. “You 2 enjoy the rest of the night, now. I’ll see you back at the table.”

Yeonjun nods at him, meanwhile B’s staring at him the whole time.

Before he turns away, she takes a step towards him and reaches for his arm.

“Soobin, wait.” she says, catching the sleeve of his suit.

He looks at her over his shoulder. “Yes, B?”

As his eyes meet hers, she feels her breath catch in her throat. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. Her mouth opened to speak, but her brain couldn’t think of any words to say.

He tries to decipher the look in her eyes then, as if she was trying to tell him something.

After a moment, she releases his arm. “I just wanted to say, um, thank you. For tonight.” she finally says, smiling at him, though it didn’t seem to reach her eyes.

“No problem, B. The pleasure was all mine.” he says, smiling reassuringly at her before he turns and makes his way back to their table.

B feels a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind, and Yeonjun rests his chin on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. “You wanna dance with me, Baby?”

She squeezes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath before turning to face him, painting a smile on her face. “I’d love to.”

As they start to dance to the next song on the setlist, Soobin sits alone at table 21 and watches.

And he didn’t know why, but that last lingering look she gave him was stuck in his mind.

•°•

Author’s note: Here’s part 1 of the Fall Ball! But the real fun starts at part 2, next chapter. Just wanted to drop this before TXT’s comeback.

Watch out for MINISODE 1: BLUE HOUR coming out today at 6PM KST!

#tomorrow x together #txt #choi yeonjun #yeonjun #yeonjun fanfic #yeonjun fic #yeonjun au #choi soobin #soobin #soobin fanfic #soobin fic #soobin au #txt fic #txt au #tomorrow x together fanfic #tomorrow x together fic #tomorrow x together au

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Note

your fic is so good!!! i used to ship her with soobin at first then yeonjun made my heart flutter but now i think i like her with soobin again!!! great job, cant wait to see what happens next :)

Hi, thank you!! Ah yes, everyone seems to automatically ship her with Soobin. I can’t blame them because Soobin’s my bias. 😅 Thank you for reading, I’ll try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow!! 💛

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

i never talk about these things but i can’t remain silent.

i know tumblr doesn’t give a SHIT when things happen in countries outside the “most popular ones” (such as the usa & england). it’s true, don’t lie to me. y’all don’t give A FUCK. not every issue and problem in said countries gets the appropriate exposure but in general shit shows up on the news WORLD FREAKING WIDE. you set up donations, you help out, your spread the word, you say “pray for x”……

southern europe is burning.

my country is burning.

people are dying - at home, on the road, trying to run away, in their cars.

yesterday my country had 300 active fires.

people are losing EVERYTHING they own.

i have a friend that is on a train right now passing through places that have been burnt to the ground and she says the smoke is so intense it’s getting inside the train and she can barely breathe.

and yet, even though several people (myself included) have been trying to bring awareness to what has been happening in southern europe… what we get from most of you, those not part of the countries suffering, is silence. we don’t ask for money, we don’t ask for shit other than a reblog to spread awareness… something you can delete in 24/48hrs if you wish.

i don’t know what to tell you. i’m angry. i’m frustrated. i’m disappointed. i feel like i’m screaming into the void. “a reblog does nothing” - you know that’s a damn lie, you know exposure always helps, you know people start paying attention when posts on social media become popular. my country in particular is a small one, we get ZERO exposure. y’all are only starting to figure out we even fucking exist bc of the shit we’ve been winning lately.

but hell, if the EU doesn’t give a shit, why should some user on tumblr dot com?

again, i don’t know what to tell you so i’ll let the images speak for themselves:

An image captured by a Nasa satellite shows a thick plume of smoke blowing southward from the Greek island of Chios over the island of Crete

Torneros de Jamuz, Spain

Duca, Croatia

A helicopter from Italy’s civil protection service drops water on a fire near the railway between Venice and Trieste

Residents take refuge on the beach as a wildfire burns on the mountain next to the village of Lithi, on the Greek island of Chios

Men gather cattle during a forest fire in Vieira de Leiria, Marinha Grande, Portugal.

Charred trees are seen on the hills above the Cloister of Thivaidas on Mount Athos, a World Heritage Site in Greece

Portugal

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

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AAAAH the new chapter is so exciting! I really like your style of writing! :)

AHHH thank you so much 💛💛 If you think that was exciting, watch out for the next one then. Let’s just say that the Fall Ball will be a very interesting evening!!

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part XIV : Who’s a Liar?

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

“Yeonjun, I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“Baby, please, wait. Please, take 3 deep breaths and try to calm down. Hear me out. Please.”

“Yeonjun, no. I can’t do this. I don’t know how I can possibly get past this. I don’t think I could ever let this go.”

“So what do you want to happen now? What do you want me to do? Tell me anything, and I’ll do it. Baby, I’ll do anything for you. Just please tell me how I can make this right.”

“You want to know what I want to happen? I want this to stop. This, us, this evening, this pain, this nightmare, I just want this all to stop. I think the best thing you could do for me now is just let me go, don’t make this hurt any more than it already does. Just let me go. Yeonjun, please, just let me go.”

“Baby, please, don’t.”

“This is goodbye, Yeonjun. I’m breaking up with you.”

3 weeks before… The past couple of weeks have been difficult for Soobin.

First, the Fall Ball was coming up, and as Student Council president, it was a bit of a burden on him. The Fall Ball was one of the biggest social events at MOA, and it was the first of the 3 annual school dances that took place at the school every year, followed by the Winter Formal and Prom for the Seniors. The Student Council, along with the respective committees in charge of the Fall Ball, had been meeting at least thrice every week now.

Second, he’d been trying his best to keep his distance from Yeonjun and B. Knowing what he knew about what happened the night of Yeonjun’s birthday party 2 weeks ago, he felt as if there was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. So far, Yeonjun had showed no signs of recalling just how far things with Rose went that night, and B hadn’t shown any signs of remembering the conversation that she and Soobin shared in the utility closet while she was crying her eyes out, which ended with him admitting that he currently had feelings for her, which he was really struggling with.

And third, he just seemed to be falling more and more for her everyday. No matter how much he tried to keep her at a distance, the little smiles she’d send his way and the mere way she said his name just made his heart flutter every damn time. The butterflies in his stomach were inescapable.

He felt guilty for thinking it, but on more than one occasion he’d fantasized about having B as his date for the Fall Ball. He’d imagined what it would be like to drive to her apartment on the night of the ball, and how breathtaking she’d look as she’d greet him at her apartment door wearing the most gorgeous dress, how her eyes would sparkle when they’d take pictures at the photobooth before the dance, how tender she’d feel in his arms as they slow-danced in the middle of the school’s event hall, and even the things that they could do after the dance, which may or may not have included the tantalizing thought of him unzipping her dress to reveal her slender bare back and more.

His imaginations of everything that he wanted to do with B’s bare skin made Soobin feel guilty, but he couldn’t stop the fantasies from playing in his mind from time to time. He found that the best way to shut them down was to remind himself that Yeonjun had probably already seen or done everything that Soobin could only fantasize about, which effectively made Soobin feel sick to his stomach. He didn’t know just how far Yeonjun had taken things with B, but he had definitely insinuated that they’ve done more than just make out, and frankly, Soobin didn’t want to know just how much more.

Besides, Soobin was well aware that his thoughts were nothing more than fantasies, that Yeonjun would be taking B to the Fall Ball, and that his reality would probably end up with him ensuring that the event would be running smoothly the whole evening, too busy to actually dance with his date, if he’d even have one.

Taehyun had tried, on more than one occasion, to suggest who he should take as his date to the Fall Ball.

“How about Tyuzu, that shy girl in your Maths class? She seems really nice and graceful, and with her height I’m sure you 2 would look amazing together.” Taehyun suggests. It was lunch time, and the 6 of them were sitting at their gazebo. Yeonjun and B were busy feeding each other and giving each other googly eyes, while Beomgyu and Kai seemed to be laughing over a video Kai had seen on Twitter.

“Chou Tzuyu? She is really nice, kinda shy, and I have to admit that she’s very pretty.” Soobin says, considering Taehyun’s suggestion. “But I don’t know if I can ask her, we’ve never had any conversations before so it would be a bit weird, she might say no.”

Kai lets out a snort. “Yeah right. Soobin, do you know how many girls at this school would go crazy if you asked them to be your date to the Fall Ball? Have you forgotten who you are?” he says. “Heck, remember that one year when a couple of girls asked you to be their date? I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again this year.”

Beomgyu nods in agreement. “That’s right, you’re Choi fucking Soobin! President of the Student Council, Ecosave club ambassador, president of the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of MO Academy’s elite Basketball team, a main vocalist of the Jazzed club!” he exclaims, holding his hands up in the air as if there were a billboard with Soobin’s name on it. “Choi fucking Soobin.”

Soobin laughs, embarrassed. “Thanks you guys, but I don’t think I’ll be taking a date this year.”

“No, what about Tzuyu? I’ve been thinking about who the perfect date for you would be, and after much consideration and deliberation, I know she’s the one.” Taehyun says.

“And she seems great, Tyun, and thanks but no thanks. Why don’t you ask her instead?” Soobin suggests, politely turning down his suggestion.

“I would, but she’s too tall for me.” Taehyun grumbles. “Plus, there’s already someone else I wanna go with.” he says, subtly shooting a look in Beomgyu’s direction. Noticing this, the ever-so-confident Choi Beomgyu looks flustered for a moment, not expecting the sudden interaction.

“Oh? Our Taehyunie actually has a date in mind?” Kai says excitedly. “Finally! Who’s the lucky date?”

“I haven’t asked them yet, so still no date for me.” Taehyun backtracks. “What about you, Hyuka? You got a date in mind?”

Now it was the younger boy’s turn to be flustered. “I, uh, I’m kinda dating Yuna, and we already agreed to go to the Fall Ball together.” he mumbles.

“Whoa, you asked Yuna out? Why didn’t you tell us!” Beomgyu exclaims, surprised.

“I’m sorry, I thought I did!” Kai says defensively. “I definitely told B about it though. Right, Baba?” he says, turning to B.

B breaks out of the little love bubble she shared with Yeonjun and nods. “Yup, and I think you 2 are adorable.” she says. “Yuna, Ryu and I will probably be going dress shopping this weekend. Do you have any preferences? Anything in particular you wanna see her wear? Any color or style in mind?”

Kai starts to blush. “N—Not really, I think she’d look great no matter what she wears.”

The whole group in the gazebo collectively goes “Aw.”

“Sounds like our darling boy is in love.” Soobin says affectionately, ruffling his hair. “Yuna’s a lucky girl! No wonder you seem like you’ve had your head in the clouds lately.”

“Oh stop it.” Kai huffs, his cheeks heating up as he tries to brush away Soobin’s hand. “At least I have a date. Really, Soobin, you could ask literally any girl in this school and she’d say yes.”

Except the one girl I actually want to ask, Soobin thinks to himself, his eyes sneaking a quick glance at B, who currently had Yeonjun’s arm casually wrapped around her shoulders as he absentmindedly scrolled through his phone and she continued to tease Kai about his new relationship.

B was pretty, but it wasn’t like she was the prettiest girl in the world. Heck, he knew that there were a lot of other pretty girls at MOA, so he didn’t know why he was so captivated by her. Soobin had never considered himself to be the kind of guy who’d have a type, so he didn’t know what exactly made someone attractive to him. He just found himself attracted, and he had no idea why. Out of all the girls at MOA, why did she have to be the one to catch his attention?

At that exact moment, B turns her head towards him and their eyes meet. She breaks into a giggle, causing Soobin’s heart to skip a beat. He starts to panic as he realizes that she had caught him staring.

“Soobin? Do you want my help in the date department?” she asks teasingly.

“Ah, nope, I think I’m good. I really don’t think I’ll be asking anyway to be my date this year.” Soobin says, flustered by her catching him staring at her.

“Dude, it’s our last year and it’s our last Fall Ball. Are you sure you want to do it solo?” Yeonjun pipes in.

Soobin shrugs. “I don’t mind, really. I’ll focus more on organizing it and making sure everyone has a good time, so being dateless is alright with me.”

B sighs. “What a shame, you could’ve made one very lucky girl at MOA really happy.” she says. “But whatever you say, Soobinie. Just make sure you let yourself enjoy the Fall Ball as well instead of just focusing on everyone else having fun, alright?”

Soobin nods. “I will, don’t worry.”

Once that was settled, the school bell rings then, signaling the end of their lunch break. The group pack up their stuff and walk back to the main building, going their separate ways to class.

•°•

2 weeks before…

“Hey Tyun, do you have a date to the Fall Ball yet?” Soobin asks absentmindedly, his eyes on the screen and his fingers expertly smashing buttons on the controller as he did his best to beat Kai at this round of Tekken. It was Saturday, and the guys had come over to his place to play video games.

Taehyun sighs, scrolling through his phone while the boys focused on their video game. “No, Soobin, I don’t. I haven’t had the chance to ask yet.” Which was true. It was only when Taehyun had started seeing someone in their friend group when he realized just how hard it was to be dating someone in the same friend group, especially when they he and Beomgyu had both agreed to keep things lowkey. He could see now why Yeonjun and B hadn’t told anyone about their relationship when they first started dating.

He thought it would be easy, since he and Beomgyu saw each other everyday, ate lunch together everyday, hung out at his family’s café after school everyday, and even got to hang out during the weekends. The problem was that the 2 could never find time to themselves, the rest of the friend group always seemed adamant on hanging out together, and if both of the boys would say no to hanging out at Soobin’s place on Saturdays, then it would come off as suspicious. Whenever they were together, they could hardly sneak in some quick hand holding, much more a few private words between them.

His eyes dart to Beomgyu, who was sitting in the middle of Soobin and Kai on the sofa. He looked adorable between the 2 giants of the group, sitting with his legs tucked under him, making him look extra tiny. Taehyun’s heart fluttered when Beomgyu meets his gaze and gives him an understanding smile, which he returns.

Taehyun knew that he could just ask Beomgyu to be his date through text, but Taehyun was a bit of a romantic. For the past year, he could only ever fantasize of what it would be like to kiss Beomgyu, of how soft his hands would feel, of the warmth of his body if he were to embrace him, of dancing with him in the middle of the floor at one of MOA’s school dances. Now that it was all a reality, he wanted everything to be perfect, or to at least be able to ask him in person.

“What, why haven’t you asked yet?” Soobin exclaims, surprised. “Kang Taehyun, are you…nervous?”

Kai bursts out laughing at the thought. “Taehyun? Nervous? Please, I bet that word isn’t even in his vocabulary.” he says, keeping his eyes on the screen. “If anyone should be nervous, it should be whoever Taehyun plans on asking. No offense, Tyun, but you are intimidating as hell. Even as your friend, I would probably pee myself out of nervousness if you wanted to ask me to the dance.”

“Lucky for you I don’t want to ask you, then.” Taehyun replies dryly. His brows furrow together with worry. “Am I really that scary?” He knew he had a reputation at MOA, that everyone had him on a pedestal as this perfect untouchable being, that most students were afraid to speak to him unless he acknowledged them first, but he didn’t think even his friends would feel that way.

“No, I don’t think so. Hyuka’s just saying that cause he’s scared of you but I don’t think you’re that intimidating, but that might be cause I’m the oldest one here.” Yeonjun pipes in, his eyes on his phone. “What do you think, Gyu? Is Taehyun scary or is Kai just a scaredy cat?”

Kai lets out a “Hey!” in protest, but Taehyun’s focus is on Beomgyu now, who tapped a finger on his chin as he thought of his response. “No, I don’t think Taehyun’s scary at all. In fact, I think he’s adorable. Like a cute little squirrel, with his big eyes and his fluffy hair.” he says thoughtfully, smiling fondly at the said boy. “In fact, contrary to what Kai thinks, I’d be ecstatic if I knew that Taehyun would like to ask me to the dance.”

Taehyun feels heat start to creep into his cheeks, flustered by Beomgyu’s opinion. “Really? You’d be ecstatic?” he says, not really knowing what else to say.

Beomgyu nods. “Definitely. I would say yes, without a doubt.” he says, his smile growing.

Without a second thought, Taehyun suddenly says “So do it, then. Be my date. Go to the dance with me. Say yes.”

Once his words register, everyone goes still, their heads all turning towards him, as if he had just transformed into a squirrel in front of them. Taehyun didn’t think he’d just blurt it out, but the words came out of his mouth before he could even think about it. He knew they were all looking at him as if he were crazy, but he only had eyes on Beomgyu, who was looking at him with wide eyes, caught by surprise.

After a moment, Beomgyu’s smile grows even wider as he says “Yes. I’ll be your date. I’ll go to the dance with you. Without a doubt.”

Taehyun can’t stop himself from smiling upon hearing this, his jaw stretching out to its limit and his eyes crinkling with glee. Meanwhile, their friends suddenly unpause, jumping out of their seats and staring at the 2 boys.

“Oh my god! What just happened?” Kai exclaims, covering his mouth with his hand to stop himself from smiling.

“Wait, Tyun, when you told me you’ve been in love with someone for like a year now, was it Beomgyu this whole time?” Soobin says, the realization hitting him like a truck.

Taehyun nods. “Yes, but there’s no need to talk about that.” he says, trying to politely tell Soobin to keep his mouth shut. Now, he was shy.

“In love, hm?” Beomgyu says teasingly, standing up as well to walk over to Taehyun. “For a whole year? Didn’t know you had it that bad for me, Tyun.”

“Don’t let it get to your head now, just cause you’re my date.” Taehyun says casually, trying to hide his giddiness. Beomgyu was his date. He was going to the Fall Ball with Beomgyu.

Yeonjun walks over to the 2 and envelops them into a hug, squishing them together. “I’m so, so happy for you two.” he says wholeheartedly.

“Thanks, YJ.” Beomgyu says, laughing as Yeonjun squeezes them even tighter.

“Congratulations you two! I’m so happy!” Soobin squeals, joining the group hug.

“Congrats! I’m happy, too!” Kai says, trying his best to wrap his arms around the 4 older boys. “What should we call you now? Beomhyun? Taegyu? Tyugyu?” he says playfully.

“You’ll call us Tyun and Gyu cause that’s who we are.” Taehyun responds. “Look, I love you guys, and I’d like to thank you all for being happy for us, but I can’t feel my ribs so please let go now.” he manages to say, trying his best to wiggle his way out of the group hug, which was impossible since he was right in the middle of it.

“No, I want this moment to last forever. So happy for you guys.” Kai coos, squeezing even harder.

“Hey, please don’t crush my date!” Beomgyu laughs, attempting to protect Taehyun from being squeezed to death.

“You heard Gyu, hands off his date!” Soobin says, stepping away from the group. The 2 other boys hesitantly follow suit, leaving Beomgyu and Taehyun standing together in the center. The two boys look at each other, their eyes both sparkling with joy as Beomgyu reached out and took Taehyun’s hand in his.

“My date.” Beomgyu says, keeping his eyes on his boy. Once again, Taehyun can feel his cheeks go red, and it takes his entire willpower to stop himself from leaning in and kissing Beomgyu right then and there.

Their 3 friends coo and squeal in awe, amazed at what they were seeing.

“How are you 2 so sweet? How did this happen without any of us suspecting anything?” Soobin asks curiously, looking at the 2 with a bit of jealousy. Why couldn’t he have what they did?

“Actually, yes, I think we all want to know how exactly this happened.” Yeonjun agrees, taking a seat on the sofa.

“Will you tell us? Please? I wanna hear a love story.” Kai says, plopping himself down next to Yeonjun and giving the 2 boys puppy dog eyes. Soobin soon follows, seating himself on the couch, and looks at the 2 pleadingly.

“Alright, children, settle down.” Beomgyu says, taking over. “Allow me to tell you the story of how Tyun fell head over heels in love with me—”

“Oh shut up, you’re the one who kissed me first.” Taehyun says, making the 3 boys gasp.

“B—but, no! That was a game!” Beomgyu interjects, referring to the game of Kiss or Tell at Yeonjun’s birthday party. “I panicked and kissed you cause you were gonna tell everyone about that one time we tried this new Ramen place near the subway and I ended up shitti—”

“You know that’s not the kiss I was talking about.” Taehyun cuts him off, echoing the exact words Beomgyu had said to him when they first talked about it at Kang’s café. Beomgyu’s face goes red as the 3 boys practically die of curiosity.

“Oh my god, Gyu kissed Tyun? After the game?” Kai screeches, unable to stop his dolphin-like squeals from coming out due to his excitement.

Taehyun nods. “There’s not much to it, really. He kissed me during that game, then he kissed me again after, we talked about it. We started kissing and talking more, and then I asked him to be my date today in front of you guys.” he says matter-of-factly.

“Don’t forget the part where Soobin said you’ve been in love with me for a year now.” Beomgyu butts in, recovering from his flustered state.

“Soobin, you’re lucky I like you and consider you as one of my closest friends.” Taehyun says, looking at him pointedly.

Soobin laughs nervously, knowing that he was referring to the fact that he told Taehyun practically everything about his feelings for B. “Yeah, thanks, Tyun.” he says sheepishly.

Taehyun simply nods at him, signaling that his secret was still safe with him. “Now that we’re all caught up on me and Gyu’s history, can we let it go and move on now?” he says, not really used to being in the spotlight for anything other than his academic achievements or extracurricular talents. And he definitely wasn’t used to being fawned over for his love life, which had been nonexistent up until that moment.

The 3 boys nod. “Okay okay, let’s talk about something else. How about the Fall Ball? What will you guys be wearing?” Kai asks, gamely changing the topic.

“Yeah, I mean, a suit? What else?” Yeonjun says. “I have like a hundred suits just waiting to be worn, I just have to pick one out.”

Beomgyu nods. “I’ve got some suits at home too.”

“I don’t have a suit yet.” Taehyun says quietly, as if he were a bit shy and embarrassed. “I—I kind of just rent a suit every time I have to attend an event that requires it because…” Because I can’t afford to buy it, he wanted to admit. Even with the scholarship, it was hard to maintain his lifestyle as a student of MO Academy. He did his best so that it wouldn’t be a financial burden to his family. He walked to and from school everyday, brought packed lunches, recycled notebooks and used textbooks, and worked part time at the café so his family wouldn’t need to pay for an extra set of hands.

Being one of the school’s scholarship kids never bothered him much, especially since he knew his performance as a student was exemplary and he knew he deserved the honor of studying at such a prestigious school, but he couldn’t stop himself from those moments when he just couldn’t afford to live as lavishly as his friends did. But when he saw his friends’ faces showing that they understood, he felt like he didn’t have to say it out loud.

Beomgyu clicks his tongue, looking at him playfully with disapproval. “No way, my date deserves to own a suit. The most handsome guy at MO Academy, apart from myself of course, should definitely own a suit.” he says, smiling at Taehyun thoughtfully. “What do you say, I take you out shopping tomorrow? We can go to the shopping center near that subway station, I could meet you there for lunch?”

Taehyun beams at him then, nodding his head. “It’s a date.”

“Our first one.” Beomgyu says, winking at him.

“But the fact still stands that I can’t…afford to buy a suit.” Taehyun says sheepishly.

“Darling, don’t worry about that. I’ll get you a suit as pretty as your face, which is impossible because you are the prettiest person I’ve ever seen, but I can sure as hell try.” Beomgyu says, lifting a hand up to cup Taehyun’s cheek, making him blush.

“Alright, but nothing too extravagant, and definitely no designer brands.” Taehyun says, giving in. “And I’m buying you lunch.”

Beomgyu beams. He didn’t think Taehyun would say yes, but he was set on buying him a suit whether he wanted it or not anyway. “Deal.”

The 3 boys watching them from couch squirm, trying their best to hold in their awe, but upon seeing that, Kai couldn’t hold it in any longer.

To everyone’s surprise, Kai lets out a squeal, making them all jump and stare at him. “You guys are so cute, I wanna cry.” he says, making them all laugh fondly at the youngest boy.

“We are adorable, aren’t we?” Taehyun says, wrapping an arm around Beomgyu’s waist.

“Couple of the year.” Beomgyu agrees, kissing the top of his head. “So what kind of suit do you want?”

“Just a standard black suit, so I can wear it to any occasion.” Taehyun says. “I mean, it’s not like there’s a wide spectrum of styles to choose from anyway.”

“This topic would’ve been more fun to talk about if we were girls.” Soobin pipes in thoughtfully. “It’s kinda boring how guys just wear the same thing for every formal event. Meanwhile, girls can pick any dress color and any style of dress they want!” he says, suddenly going on a mini rant. “It seems so fun in movies when girls go dress shopping and fix up their hair and do their makeup before a big event. I wish guys could experience the same thing. Shopping and getting all dressed up and excited for a big night sounds so fun.”

“Speaking of girls going shopping, I’m pretty sure Baby, Yuna and Ryujin are doing exactly that right now.” Yeonjun says, taking out his phone and tapping it a few times before holding it up to his ear. “Hello? Baby?”

“Yes?”

“I—I was talking to her, not you, Gyu.” Yeonjun says, surprised when Beomgyu responded. The boys in the room snicker, and Taehyun smacks his arm.

“Baby? You there?”

‘Hey there, yes I’m here with Lia and Ryu.’ B responds over the phone.

“Hey Baby. Ah, dress shopping, I presume?” Yeonjun says knowingly.

‘Yup! We’ve been walking around and trying on dresses for what feels like decades. I think this is the 5th shop we’ve been in. I’m exhausted.’ B says, and she did sound tired.

Yeonjun pouts. “Oh no, is my baby tired? Want me to come over and help you girls? I can carry all your bags and stuff.” he offers.

B giggles. ‘Thanks, but I think we’re good here. I don’t want to interrupt your time with the guys, plus I kind of don’t want you to see my dress until the Fall Ball. I want it to be a surprise.’ she says mysteriously.

“Oh, you have a dress already? No fair, I wanna see it! Send me pictures please.” Yeonjun says pleadingly.

‘Well, no, but I’ve tried on a few dresses that I might end up buying so I have a few prospects. And no, I want it to be surprise!’ she laughs. ‘I gotta go, we have to finish this by 6pm and we haven’t even thought about looking at shoes yet. See you later, and say hi to the boys for me!’ B says quickly before hanging up.

“Was that Yeonjun?” Ryujin asks as B puts her phone away.

B nods. “Yup, he was just checking in.” she says, going back to scanning the clothing rack for any dress that would catch her eye. “God, I hate shopping. I’m so tired, and I haven’t even bought anything yet. This feels hopeless.”

“Hey, lighten up, this is supposed to be fun!” Ryujin laughs. “Why haven’t you bought anything yet? I thought that blue dress you tried on at the shop before this one looked amazing on you. The one with the thigh high slit? It was gorgeous.”

B bites her lip. The dress was gorgeous, but she didn’t feel gorgeous when she wore it. The truth was, the closer the Fall Ball was getting, the more self-conscious she was growing about her body. She had strived to maintain her slim figure. She had always watched what she eats and tried her best to get in some exercise whenever she could, but ever since she moved away from her home, she hadn’t been able to find the time or the equipment to exercise, and she felt like it was starting to show. “Honestly, I thought I looked a bit fat, but I’ll keep the dress in mind. I think I can lose a few pounds in 2 weeks, right?”

Ryujin’s jaw drops as B says this. “Fat? Please tell me you’re joking.” she says, horrified. “B, no offense, but you could use a few extra pounds. I love you, I love how you look, but sometimes when I hug you I feel like I could snap you in half.” Ryujin admits.

“Ryu, no, I just feel like if I lost some of this fat right under my belly button, any dress would look just right.” B says, pinching the nonexistent fat.

“Please don’t.” Ryujin says. “If I see you dieting, I will force feed you. You are beautiful just the way you are, and if you don’t see that, then maybe you just need a little nudge, or a gently shove.”

Just then, Yuna calls the girls to the dressing room. “Guys! Come look, I think I’ve just found the perfect dress!” she squeals.

As the 2 girls head over to the dressing room, Yuna pulls aside the curtain and steps out of the booth dramatically, giving a twirl and a pose. “Ta-dah! What do you guys think?”

Ryujin and B looked at her in awe. She was wearing a satin gold slip dress that elegantly hung off her frame, highlighting her delicate shoulders and accentuating her long legs. The dress was held up by thin straps and fell down right above her knees.

“You look amazing.” B says. “Kai is going to love this.”

“Yes. Absolutely yes.” Ryujin says, howling with approval. “Damn, I wish I could pull off a slip dress. It’s like the right amount of chic and sexy.”

“Ryujin, please, you’d slay anything you wear.” Yuna says, blushing from their compliments.

“Easy for you to say, I’ve got man shoulders and thick thighs. Not exactly the right body fit for a dress.” Ryujin groans.

“Don’t say that!” B says. “You look good no matter what you wear!”

“Ha, and now you know how I feel about you saying the same thing.” Ryujin says, referring to their conversation earlier. “Let’s just agree that we’re all gorgeous and that we’re all gonna rock whatever dresses we buy today, alright?”

B giggles, realizing how Ryujin had cleverly turned the tables on her. “Alright. But Yuna, you definitely have to get that dress. It’s perfect.”

“Only if you get that gorgeous blue dress you tried on earlier.” Yuna sing songs. “The one with the slit. I can’t believe you didn’t get it right then and there. You looked amazing! Like the Greek goddess of the sea or something.”

“Yuna, the Greek god of the sea is Poseidon.” Ryujin informs her.

Yuna simply shrugs and cheekily says “God is a woman.” before turning back to her reflection in the fitting room.

B laughs. “Fine fine, after you buy that dress, let’s go back to the previous store and I’ll buy the blue dress. I guess it was perfect. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I couldn’t unzip it on my own. My arms couldn’t reach the zipper.” B huffs.

“That won’t be a problem when you wear it for the Fall Ball since you’ll have Yeonjun to unzip it for you.” Ryujin says teasingly.

B blushes bright red. “Ryu! Don’t say that in front of our baby.” she shushes, motioning to Yuna, who was too busy twirling around and admiring her dress in the mirror to notice what the 2 girls were talking about. “We agreed to keep our discussions PG in front of her.”

“Don’t worry, when you put her in front of a mirror, she could stare at herself for hours.” Ryujin says dismissively. “Also, yes we did, but things between you and Yeonjun definitely aren’t PG anymore.”

It was true. Over the past few weeks, things with Yeonjun had advanced faster than she realized. They quickly went from kissing and caressing to, well, let’s just say that the kisses have gone below the neck and that the caresses have gone under their clothes.

B’s cheeks burn even hotter as the non-PG moments she shared with Yeonjun began to play in her mind. “I—well, yeah, but we shouldn’t be talking about it in front of Yuna.” B says, trying to steer away from the conversation.

Ryujin decides to steer them away from Yuna instead, leading B out of the fitting rooms and back into the racks of dresses, out of earshot. “Okay, now that Yuna’s out of the way, I want to talk to you about this.” she says, trying to maintain eye contact with B. “I know things with Yeonjun have been going great, and although I have an idea of just how far things between you two have gone, there’s just something I wanna say.”

“Alright then, what is it?” B asks, ready to hear whatever sex advice Ryujin would tell her.

“I just want to say, be careful. Your first time should be special, with someone special, and if you decide that going all the way with Yeonjun on the night of the Fall Ball will be the way to do it, then I’m 100% routing for you. But I just want to make sure that you’re 100% sure about it too.” Ryujin says, completely sincere. “And you don’t have to tell me whether or not you decide to do it, you don’t have to let me know because that’s between you and Yeonjun, but I want you to know that I’m always here if you want or need someone to talk to about it, okay?”

B blinks a couple of times, surprised by Ryujin’s sudden advice. She always pegged Ryujin to be the supportive friend who’d bring out the inner hoe goddess in her, but seeing how genuine and concerned she was made B feel a newfound fondness for her.

“Aw, Ryu, you’re so sweet.” B says, unable to stop herself from wrapping her arms around her friend. “Thank you. I promise, I’ll only do it when I’m 100% sure and ready. And I promise I’ll let you be the first to know all about it, not because I feel the need to, but because I want to.” B says, winking.

Ryujin chuckles. “Alright, but I don’t want to hear any gorey details.” she says. “Now, let’s pull Yuna out of the dressing room and to the cashier so we can buy our dresses and get the hell out of here.”

•°•

1 week before…

“Soobin! Soobinie! Hey!”

Soobin turns to look back, stopping his tracks in the middle of the hallway. He was on his way to meet up with his friends at their gazebo for lunch when a familiar voice called out his name in the hallway.

As he turns around, he’s surprised to find his cousin, Choi Arin, waving at him. He smiled and waved back, not noticing that she had a friend with her. He stays still as the 2 girls approach him. “Arin, hey, what’s up?” he asks politely. Even though he and Arin were cousins and grew up seeing each other on family occasions, he never seemed to see her around MOA. They never shared any classes together, they didn’t have any mutual extracurricular interests, and they had completely different social circles. Arin’s friend group consisted solely of girls, and until recently, Soobin’s friend group was composed of all boys. He had mentioned before that he had a cousin who studied at MOA, but he never really got the chance to introduce her to any of his friends.

“What’s up? I feel like I haven’t see you in forever!” Arin says, playfully hitting his arm. “I guess Mr. Student Council President is too busy to check up on his cousin?”

“Ah, I’m really sorry I haven’t been able to see you around campus lately. Senior has been hectic, especially these past few weeks with the Fall Ball coming up.” Soobin says apologetically. “I promise, when the whole Fall Ball thing is over, we’ll hang out, alright?” he offers.

Arin laughs lightheartedly. “Lighten up Soobin, I was just teasing! I do miss seeing you around though, and maybe we could hang out even earlier? Say, the night of the Fall Ball? I have you don’t have a date yet, is it true?”

Soobin rubs the back of his neck, flustered at the topic of his date, or lack thereof. “Um, yeah, no date for me, but it’s completely fine with me. I didn’t really have anyone I wanted to ask to the Fall Ball anyway.”

“Oh is that so?” Arin says mischievously. It’s only then when she steps aside and pulls her friend forward, introducing her to Soobin. “Soobin, this is my friend Yiren. She also does not have a date to the Fall Ball.”

Ah, so this was where this was going.

“Hello, Yiren, it’s nice to meet you.” Soobin says politely, putting on a charming smile. Yiren blushes visibly and says hi back.

“Now Soobin, I was wondering if you could help my friend Yiren here about her dateless situation?” Arin says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Soobin knew that she wanted him to ask Yiren to the dance now, but he didn’t have the heart to force himself to go to the dance with someone he didn’t know. It wouldn’t be fair to Yiren to spend her evening with someone who was too busy wishing they were dancing with someone else to even pay attention to her.

Instead, Soobin quickly scans the hallway for any familiar face, until he spots one. “Oh, Jangun!” he says, spotting the boy walking out from one of the classrooms along the hall. “Jangjun, come here!” Soobin calls, motioning him over. When the boy notices Soobin calling him over, his face lights up and he waves back, quickly making his way to meet them.

“Soobin, hey!” Jangjun says excitedly. “You called me over?” Soobin had always thought that Jangjun was a nice guy, he was one of the students at campus that Soobin considered as his friend outside of his friend group. Jangjun was always willing to help in any way he could, and boy could Soobin sure use his help now.

“Jangjun, yeah, I just wanted to know if you have any plans for the Fall Ball. You taking anyone?” Soobin asks.

“Oh, no, sadly I was too busy dealing with some family business these past few weeks. I didn’t notice that the Fall Ball was getting closer until it was too late. It’s 1 week away and I still don’t have a date, so I thought it seemed hopeless to try to look for one now.” Jangjun admits, genuinely bummed out.

Soobin deliberately lightens up, straightening out his posture and tilting his head up, as if he was hit by a stroke of genius. “Ah, it’s never too late! Jangjun, this is my cousin’s friend. Her name is Yiren, and my dearest cousin Arin has just informed me that she doesn’t have a date yet either.” he says, stepping aside as he introduces the two to each other.

“Yiren, yes hi, I’ve seen you around. I think we had Biology together last year.” Jangjun says, smiling brightly at her. “I’m Jangjun, nice to meet you.”

Yiren smiles shyly at him. “Hi Jangjun, I’m Yiren. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Well, it looks like we’re being set up here.” Jangjun says lightheartedly, laughing nervously. “I don’t mean to be too straightforward, but is there any chance you’d like to go to the Fall Ball with me?”

Yiren’s face lights up as she smiles at him and nods. “Yes, I’d really like that.”

“Great! Uh, can I have your phone number? And let me know your social media accounts too so I can add and follow you.” Jangjun says, enthusiastically giving her his phone.

As the pair walk off and get to know each other, Arin turns to glare at Soobin.

“You know I was trying to pair you and Yerin together, right?” she huffs.

“Yes, I could tell, I’m not that stupid you know.” Soobin chuckles. “Sorry cous, I just really don’t want to ask anyone to the dance. I’ll be too busy making sure that nothing goes wrong to even entertain a date anyway.”

“Oh, Soobinie, when will you learn to put yourself first.” Arin says, shaking her head. “Well, although my plan to set you up with Yerin failed, at least she got a date out of it anyway.” she says, amused as she watches her friend giggle at her newfound date.

“Don’t get me wrong, she seems like a great girl, I just… I’m not interested in taking anyway to the dance.” Soobin says. “Speaking of, who’s your date to the Fall Ball?”

Arin smiles with a glint in her eyes. “Hwang Hyunjin.”

“Wow, Hyunjin?” Soobin says, impressed. “Great catch, cousin. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your evening.” he says, knowing that Hyunjin was one of the more popular guys in their grade, and that he was always great company judging by the amount of people he was constantly surrounded with.

“Thanks, cous. I was thinking of asking you to introduce me to your student council buddies since I’ve been dying to meet them since you became president, but then Hyunjin asked me and that was that.” Arin says.

“Ah, really? Sorry, I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you to my friends yet. They’re all unavailable though so even if I had introduced you to them, you wouldn’t have gotten a date out of it.” Soobin laughs, making Arin snort. “But I’ll introduce you to them soon, I promise.”

Arin sighs. “It’s fine, Soobin. Just make sure you come find me at the Fall Ball and say hi, alright? I’m sure you’ll have the time to do it, since you won’t be glued to a date all night.” she says, playfully pinching his cheeks before walking away.

•°•

4 days before…

“The more I think about it, the more it hurts. I don’t know what to do, Binnie. I just wanted to get away.”

She moves closer to him, her ass sliding against the cold hard floor, closing the gap between them as she leans her head on his shoulder. She feels him go still for a moment, before he takes a deep breath, her head rising and falling along with his shoulders as he does so, as he takes one of her hands in his and starts to trace gentle circles on her skin.

He speaks, and she sees his mouth moving, but no sound seems to come out, the words lodged deep down in her memory.

When he finishes speaking, she sighs and says “Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.”

B wakes with a start, her whole body visibly tensing up as her eyes fly open. She instantly lifts her head up and sees both Yeonjun and Soobin looking at her with concern.

“Baby? Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?” Yeonjun asks, putting his hand on top of hers. She looks around and realises that she had fallen asleep during class, Creative writing, their last period for the day.

B squeezes her eyes shut before she lets them meet his. “Yeah, a bad dream I guess.” she says. “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep in class in the first place.”

Yeonjun smiles at her fondly. “Sir Kim’s just letting us discuss ideas for our projects, and since my partner’s not here, I’m hanging around with you and Soobin.” he says, and that’s when she remembers that Soobin was seated next to her on the other side.

She turns to him, unable to meet his gaze just yet, still confused by the dream she just had.

“B? Got any ideas you wanna share?” he asks, his dimple popping out as he gives her a small smile. “It’s alright if you don’t, you can just sleep if you want. I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”

What was up with her dream? And why did it feel so real? She remembers the feeling of his hand on hers, of his thumb tracing circles along the surface of her skin, she felt is as clear as day now.

“Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.”

Why would she tell him that in her dream? Was it possible that she had some underlying feelings for him? What should’ve been him? What was her subconscious mind trying to tell her?

“B?” he asks again, his smile faltering.

She finally meets his gaze then, and she plasters on a smile. “No, I shouldn’t sleep in class. I guess we’ll just go along with what we’ve been doing so far. We can just take random pictures of each other whenever we hang out and make stories out of them in our posts.”

Soobin nods. “That’s what I was thinking. It shouldn’t be too hard since we’re stuck with this until the end of the term.”

“Yeah, it’ll be a breeze.” she says, feigning positivity. The truth was, the dream she just had was worrying her and was very confusing.

Why would she and Soobin be in that position? Why would she say that to Soobin? She knew it was just a dream and probably just her subconscious mind making up scenarios, but why did it feel so real?

•°•

1 day before…

It was Friday night, the night before the Fall Ball, yet B still couldn’t get the strange dream with Soobin out of her head.

It constantly replayed in her head, like a broken film reel, and the more it played, the clearer the picture became.

Although some parts were still hazy and some words still came to her memory as muffled sounds, she was able to discern that she and Soobin were alone in a small space, that they were sitting on the floor together, that she was wearing the dress she wore the night of Yeonjun’s birthday party, that she was very very drunk, and that she was crying.

Now her main question was why.

Why was she alone in a small space, sitting on the floor on the night of Yeonjun’s party, very very drunk and crying…

...with Soobin?

Letting her curiosity get the best of her, B decides to send Soobin a text, wanting answers once and for all.

Upon seeing her final question, Soobin froze. He could feel himself start to sweat as he contemplated what he should do next. Although B’s recollection of the night of Yeonjun’s birthday party was clearing, it was still painfully clear that she had no clue about Yeonjun locking lips with Rose later that evening. What Soobin didn’t know was if Yeonjun’s recollection of that evening was coming to him as well.

Soobin found himself facing the very dilemma he wanted to avoid.

Should he tell B the truth, the whole truth about what else he saw that night? Or should he lie and let Yeonjun deal with the problem of telling B about the kiss?

Soobin had a method of dealing with such dilemnas. He simply closed his eyes, took 3 deep breaths, and made a decision.

He typed out his reply and hit send before he could second guess his decision.

His heart ached as he realized that he had just lied to B, but he knew it was the right, or rather the less evil, choice. She didn’t need to know that he had practically confessed to having feelings for her that night, nor did she need to know that she had wondered out loud about the what ifs between she and him. He didn’t mean keeping those parts of the night in the dark.

But what he truly felt awful about was the one thing he witnessed that he didn’t have the authority to tell her. As he texted B goodbye and wished her a good night, he quickly sent a text to one more person.

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part XIII : Just Stay

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

Choi Yeonjun didn’t know when to stop, which was one of his greatest strengths, but now he knew that it could very well be his greatest weakness as well.

Once he had set his sights on something, he’d never stop until he achieved it. Take B for example, the moment he knew he wanted her, he didn’t let anything stop him from pursuing her until she finally said yes. For tonight, a goal he had unintentionally set was to keep himself on Kim Jisoo’s good side, as that’s what his father would have wanted. And because of that, ever since she had arrived at the club that night, he felt as if he had no choice but to follow along with whatever she wanted, even if that meant spending the night entertaining his ex girlfriend.

Park Rose was just as captivating and electrifying as he remembered her to be. Her fiery red hair was just as stunning as her jolting personality, which was one of the things that he had loved about her. She was exciting, even now he could never tell what was going through her mind or what unexpected words would spew out her mouth. She always caught him off guard, and the feeling on being kept on his toes just kept him wanting more.

Tonight was no different. He wanted to believe that the only reason he had been stuck by Rose’s side the whole night was because Jisoo had insisted that he hang around their group for the evening, but he knew that a small part of him was still captivated by Rose’s appeal. He knew that he could easily give Jisoo a plausible excuse to break away from her group, but a part of him didn’t want to.

Maybe it was the 5 rounds of shots that Jisoo ordered up for the group, or maybe it was the 3 glasses of Vodka Redbulls that he had consumed, but whatever it was, Rose felt too familiar, her rose scented perfume overpowering his senses as she leaned in close whenever she spoke to him, the way her laugh resounded above the noise of the blaring club music took him back to all the times she would laugh at all his lame jokes, the way she tilted her head back and laid a hand on his shoulder reminded him of how surprisingly gentle her touch was for someone who was so boisterous and loud, and the way she pouted at him when he refused her offer to dance with her echoed all the times she would pout at him in the past knowing that he would eventually give in and she’d get her way.

With the alcohol overpowering his system and Rose taking over his senses, he lets her pull him through the crowd until they were in the throng of sweaty bodies and booming music, and he watches as she whips her long red hair over her shoulder and starts to move around him. As she rests her hands on his shoulders and slowly moves closer towards him, moving her body against his, he’s reminded of the nights they spent with their bodies entwined and how he memorized every dip and curve in her skin like a map, causing his face to heat up at the memories.

As she notices the shift in his facial expression, she smirks, catching him off guard before grabbing his face and pulling down until their lips crashed together.

She kisses him hungrily, her lips moving fervently as her fingertips dug deeper into his skin, yet unlike the hundreds of kisses they shared before, this one tasted like bitter poison on his lips.

He instantly breaks away, pulling her hands off his body, as he looks at her in distaste. “What the fuck did you do that for?” he hisses.

She looks at him innocently, batting her lashes, before she shrugs. “I missed you, Junnie, and I know you missed me too.” She attempts to lay a hand on his shoulder but he shrugs her off, grabbing her hand and shoving it away.

“You haven’t changed at all, Rose.” he spits out. As he wipes his mouth and turns his back on her, his gaze meets a familiar pair of eyes from across the room, and he freezes, taking in the disappointed look on Soobin’s face, realizing that he had probably seen what just happened.

“Shit.” he says to himself, and as Soobin turns away and shakes his head, Yeonjun quickly darts across the room to meet him, trying his best to navigate through the crowd, keeping his eyes focused on his best friend.

“Soobin, wait.” Yeonjun finally says once he’s within earshot. “I need you to listen.” They’ve reached a less crowded and more quiet part of the club, by the bar, and Soobin had taken a seat on one of the barstools, running a frustrated hand through his hair before downing 3 consecutive shots of vodka. Yeonjun had never really seen his friend like this before.

“What, Yeonjun?” Soobin says, his face going sour as the alcohol slides down his throat. “Whatever it is you have to say, I’m listening now. But I have some things to say too, and when I start talking, you better listen carefully.”

Yeonjun takes a deep breath as he takes a seat beside Soobin, downing a shot of alcohol himself before looking him in the eyes. “I’m not sure what exactly you saw, but I’ll explain everything anyway. And I promise that I’ll listen to whatever you have to say too.” he begins slowly. “Kim Jisoo is here, as in Kim Jonghyun’s successor, the owner of the biggest Technology Firm in the country? Anyway, for as long as I can remember, my father has been very particular about staying on Jisoo’s good side for company relation purposes, and that means practically treating her like a VIP whenever I see her.”

He goes on to explain how Jisoo showed up with her friends and how Rose happened to be one of them, and about how the rest of the night had gone, up until the moment Rose pulled him in for a kiss and he cursed her out.

“Are you done now?” Soobin asks when Yeonjun finally stops talking. He had been quiet the whole time, staring at Yeonjun straight on as he absorbed every word that came out of his mouth. When Yeonjun nods, Soobin sighs.

“Yeonjun, I need you to be honest with me here. I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to really think about it before you give me any answers.” Soobin says, and after Yeonjun nods, he begins.

“First of all, do you still have feelings for Rose?” he asks. Yeonjun’s mouth opens to flat out say ‘no,’ but upon seeing Soobin’s look of disapproval, he pauses and tries to think really hard about it.

He couldn’t deny that he definitely still felt that familiar spark that he used to feel whenever Rose was involved, but he chalked it up to the fact that she just felt familiar and he just felt nostalgic. “To be completely honest, I definitely felt something when I saw her again, but that was just because I was so surprised after not seeing her for what 2 years?” he says.

Soobin raises a brow. “But you definitely felt something? What did you feel?”

Yeonjun lets out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know, it felt…familiar? She felt the same, I felt like a spark but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Soobin’s brows furrow together. “A spark? That doesn’t sound like nothing, Yeonjun.”

“Trust me, whatever it was, it means nothing to me. Because she’s a lying, cheating, manipulative mess of a person and she can go to hell for all I care.” he said, trying to sound as convincing and as chagrined as he could, but after seeing her again, it felt weird to talk about her as if she were trash.

“Whatever you say.” Soobin says, sounding unconvinced. Yeonjun could tell that Soobin was trying to maintain his composure and trying to remain level headed, but the way he rolled his shoulders back was a dead giveaway that he was close to losing it. “And now for my second question.” he says, taking a pause.

Yeonjun raises a brow. “Yeah? What is it?”

“Do you…” Soobin begins, hesitating. “Do you love B?”

Yeonjun stopped breathing for a moment, the mention of his girlfriend knocking the wind out of his lungs, the guilt of realizing that she hadn’t even crossed his mind the whole time he was with Rose filling his gut. “Do I love B?” he repeats.

Soobin nods, and judging by how tight his jaw was clenched, Yeonjun knew that he had to consider his answer very carefully. But how could he ever admit that she hadn’t crossed his mind the entire time he was with his ex?

“What kind of a question is that?” Yeonjun exclaims. “Soobin, we’ve only been dating for a couple of weeks, I don’t know. How would I know?” Yeonjun was panicking, the words tumbling out of his mouth. “How do you even know when you’re in love with someone after just 2 weeks—” he sputters, until Soobin takes him by surprise and slams a fist on the countertop, making Yeonjun jump in his seat.

“God damn it, Yeonjun. What the fuck are you saying?” Soobin says, his voice dangerously calm but the words coming out like venom, making Yeonjun wince. “It’s either you love her or you don’t, and right now, it doesn’t sound like you do.”

“Soobin, come on! I can’t just decide whether I love her or not. But I think I definitely could be in love with her.” Yeonjun says helplessly. “I mean, she’s amazing. She’s beautiful, she’s perfect, she’s… one of the best damn things to ever happen to me.” he finishes. “And maybe I’m not sure if I love her right now, but I know that I would make a complete ass of myself if I let a girl like her go, so I could very well love her anyway.”

Silence envelops them then, the club music and party goers sounding distant, as Soobin stares at Yeonjun calculating his answers, until he finally says “She saw you, you know.”

“Who? Baby? She saw me what?” Yeonjun asks nervously.

“She said she saw the look on your face when Rose walked into the club earlier. I wouldn’t have believed her until I saw you actually talking to Rose.” Soobin sighs. “I don’t know if it’s cause she was wasted, because believe me she reeked of alcohol, but she was a blubbering mess, Yeonjun. She was devastated. If she finds out that you kissed Rose, it would kill her.”

Yeonjun’s face starts to pale. “Shit, she saw that? And she told you? How did she even know about Rose?”

“Yes, she apparently saw that and yes, she told me all about it. That’s not the point, Yeonjun. Now this is the part where you listen to me. Very carefully.” Soobin says, his authoritative I’m-the-student-council-president voice taking over. “B is in a very fragile state right now. She was a big mess, crying her eyes out on the floor of the broom closet, already questioning her self-worth, insecurities eating her alive. She told me that it hurt to see you with your ex.”

“She said all that?” Yeonjun says, the guilt weighing down his heart. “What else did she say?”

“Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.”

Soobin shook his head, trying to forget that segment of their conversation and everything that followed. “She didn’t say much else. But you know what I said? I told her that you would be a complete idiot to let something as insignificant as your cheater of an ex to fuck things up. But I guess I was wrong.”

Now that really hurt Yeonjun. He put a hand on his chest. “You know she’s the one who kissed me, right?” he says. “Yes, I talked to her and all that, but—”

“You cheated on her, Yeonjun.” Soobin says quietly, making him freeze.

“What did you say?” Yeonjun asks, his hands shaking now. “Are you calling me a cheater, Choi?” his voice raised. How dare he? “Maybe what I did wasn’t right, but you know what a real cheater does? A real cheater uses you and fucks other people behind your back, all the while making you think that everything is your god damn fault.” Just like Rose did, he thought to himself. “And that’s not me.”

“‘Maybe it wasn’t right?’ Yeonjun, you were with your ex for almost the whole night. You could’ve left any time you wanted to but you didn’t. What’s worse is that you felt something, you felt a spark while you were with her. And maybe the kiss wasn’t your fault, but the fact that you even gave her a chance to let it happen speaks volumes to me.” Soobin answers back, his breaths coming in heavy as he starts to lose his composure.

Soobin shook his head. “Forget it. It’s your relationship that you’re fucking up, not mine. You believe whatever you want, tell B whatever you want, I’m staying out of it. But let me just say one last thing.” he says, standing up from the barstool. “You better not hurt her, Yeonjun.”

And with that, Soobin gives him one last meaningful look before downing another shot and walking away.

•°•

When Han Baby woke up the next morning, she was made aware of 3 things.

First, she was badly hungover.

She tried to open her eyes but the blinding lights glaring into the room were too bright for her dehydrated body to endure. She rolls over in bed and she immediately feels a wave of nausea shoot through her stomach as her whole world spins. She squeezes her eyes with her hands and stretches her arms outwards until they come in contact with something warm and soft and solid. A person.

Second, she was not alone in her bed. Surprised, she instantly turns her head to face whoever was sleeping in her bed, instantly regretting it when she feels the world around her spin once again, but an endeared smile instantly creeps into her face when she sees who the person was. It was Yeonjun, his blue hair standing out against her white sheets, one hand over his face and another resting on his bare chest, the blanket coming up to his stomach, which was lined with a subtle yet noticeable layer of muscles.

Third, Yeonjun was laying shirtless in her bed. And he had abs.

She felt her face heat up upon seeing so much of his bare skin and immediately peeked at the covers to see if she was still clothed, and sighed in relief when she saw that she was still wearing her dress from the night before. Once that was established, she takes a moment to observe her boyfriend, who looked like an angel with his glowing honey-tinted skin, his plump perfectly shaped lips slightly parted as he let out a few quiet snores in his sleep, making her giggle. She tries to recall the events that led up to having him sleep in her bed for the night, but nothing from the night before comes to mind.

What happened last night?

She remembered arriving at the club with Kai and walking in together with the guys, she remembered meeting Ryujin and Yuna inside, she remembered having a few shots with the group before someone suggested they play that Kiss or Tell game, but her mind was unable to conjure up images of anything that came after. Whatever happened, she figured it couldn’t have been anything bad since she woke up next to Yeonjun the night after his birthday party, and she was a bit curious and excited to find out how exactly it happened.

Remembering the date, she excitedly scooches closer to him, resting on her elbows as she leans over him and plants gentle kisses all over his face, from his cheeks to his forehead, to his nose and down to his lips.

Yeonjun lets out a noise, a sleepy grunt, before he runs a hand through his hair and slowly opens his eyes, surprised to see B looking down at him.

“Happy birthday, Choi Yeonjun.” she whispers, a bright smile on her face as their eyes meet. He smiles back at her, slowly and groggily, his eyes still cloudy with sleep.

He lifts a hand up and strokes her hair, savoring her radiant smile before gently pulling her towards him to let their lips meet once again. “And good morning to you, Han Baby.” he says, their lips still touching. When he feels her smile against his lips, he lets out a little laugh before pulling her in even closer, until she was lying down on top of him, the covers between their bodies. She lets her fingers roam, fiddling with the sheets until her hand comes in contact with the warm skin of his chest.

“Good morning to you, too.” she says, biting her lower lip to stop herself from smiling too much. “What are you doing here, birthday boy?”

He opens his mouth to respond, but his mind is unable to formulate an answer. As he tries to look back on the night before, he realizes that the last thing he remembers was welcoming Kim Jisoo and her friends, which happened to include his ex-girlfriend, into the club. He remembered hanging around them at Jisoo’s request and downing shots and drinking vodka, but after that, his mind went black.

His brows pull together as he responds “I’m actually not sure, the night is a bit of a blur to me, and there’s a lot that I don’t really remember.”

B sighs. “Maybe we can help each other fill in the blanks together? I tell you what I remember and you tell me what you remember?” she suggests, her fingers tracing circles over his torso.

“Are you drawing circles around my nipples?” Yeonjun asks, looking down at his chest where her fingers were. She immediately blushes and pulls her hands away, making him laugh. “Okay okay, let’s fill in the blanks together. What do you remember?”

B tells him about what she recalls, up until the game of Kiss or Tell. “After the game, I hardly remember anything. I think I went off with Ryujin and, knowing her, she’s probably the reason why I got blackout drunk.”

Yeonjun nods. “That sounds about right. I remember I was welcoming some people from my father’s guest list and I ended up tagging along with a few of them.”

“Oh? Which ones?” B asks, her fingers drawing random patterns on his skin.

“Kim Jisoo, heiress to the biggest Technology Firm in the nation. My father insists I treat her like a VIP every time I see her, so I practically have to kiss the ground she walks on. She brought a few friends with her, one of which…” Yeonjun hesitates, before taking a quick breath, “just so happened to be my ex.” he finishes.

B’s fingers freeze on his skin, her mouth snapping shut, as she tries to take in this information. She didn’t want to freak out over it, but a part of her had been insecure about Yeonjun’s past relationship ever since she found out about it. Everyone made it sound like such a big deal, her being his first love and all, and B’s curiosity got the best of her and she even ended up looking her up on social media and stalking her twitter account, which she instantly regretted because all it did was make her feel insecure about herself.

“Your ex?” B asks, trying to sound casual and unfazed. “Your first love, right?”

Yeonjun looks at her surprised and nods. “Yeah, how’d you know about that?”

“Ah, Ryujin and Yuna told me a bit about it. Her name was Rose, right?” B asks.

It felt wrong to hear her name come out of B’s lips, but he nods. “Yeah, Rose. She was with Kim Jisoo last night so I ended up seeing her too. I hope you don’t mind that I spent time with my ex last night.” he says. Granted, he didn’t remember much about what he did when he was with Rose last night, but that didn’t matter to him now.

B nods. “Yeah, it’s fine, I shouldn’t even care about it, I mean it’s your relationship.”

“It was my relationship, but not anymore.” Yeonjun looks at her and notices that she was deliberately avoiding her gaze. “Baby.” he says, trying to get her attention. When her eyes shift to the floor, he cups her face in his hand and gently rubs his thumb against her cheek. “Hey, Baby, look at me.”

She finally looks at him then, and it’s clear in her eyes that she definitely didn’t like the idea of him seeing his ex again. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t avoid seeing her last night. I didn’t know she was gonna be there. If it bothers you or makes you uncomfortable in any way at all, I promise I’ll never see her again.” he says, soothingly tracing her jaw now. He uses his free hand to hold hers and press it against his chest, right where his heart is.

“Do you feel this, Baby?” he asks, the gentle rise and fall of his chest accompanied by the inexplicable beating of his heart. “This is all yours, Han Baby. I am all yours. I promise.” he says reassuringly. She gives a small smile but bites her lip, and he can tell that she was resisting. He uses his thumb to dislodge her lower lip from her teeth, gently brushing it.

“Thank you, Yeonjun.” she says, finally giving him a genuine smile. She knew it might’ve seen strange, and she didn’t want to be that insecure or controlling girlfriend, but it was nice to see that he was making the effort to make her happy, and that was enough for her. “Now I have one question for you…”

Yeonjun raises a brow, wondering what it could be.

She grins. “What happened to your shirt?”

Yeonjun bursts out laughing, his chest rumbling below her, sending vibrations through the sheets. “I think we’ll have to figure out the answer to that together, Baby. You wanna have breakfast before my father inevitably summons me for some bullshit birthday dinner with my family?”

B nods, giggling and booping his nose. “Whatever you want, birthday boy.”

•°•

Turns out that Yeonjun ended up shirtless because someone (presumably B) had thrown up on his shirt, as evidenced by his shirt found discarded on her bedroom floor with puke stains all over. Neither of them could recall how they ended up in B’s bed together or anything else from the night before, but they didn’t mind.

They spent most of the day lazing around B’s apartment, grateful that Kai had conveniently recovered from the chicken pox and no longer needed to stay over at her apartment. Once Yeonjun had received a message from his father telling him to be home by 5PM and a text from his driver saying that he was ready to pick him up and waiting outside B’s apartment, it was time for him to go.

“Um, Baby, as much as I know you don’t mind me being in my shirtless state, I’m pretty sure that my parents would be highly concerned if I came home with a puke-stained shirt from the night before or with no shirt at all.” Yeonjun says after collecting his belongings.

“Oh, right. We probably should’ve washed your shirt when we got up this morning.” B says, slapping her forehead. “Wait, let me check my closet to see if I have anything you can borrow.” she says, opening her wardrobe.

Yeonjun chuckles. “Baby, you are aware of how adorably tiny you are, right?”

B huffs, looking through her cabinet. “I am well aware, thank you.” she says, quickly glaring at him before turning back to her clothes. “But I like to wear oversized clothes, so I might have something in here that could fit you.” she says, looking through the jackets and hoodies hanging in her closet, until she sees a big gray one that definitely looked like it could fit Yeonjun, or even big enough to look oversized on him.

“That looks like it would fit me. It looks like it would be a little too big on me, actually.” Yeonjun observes as B examines the big gray hoodie. “Wow, how big is that on you? It looks like you could wear it as a dress.”

“It goes all the way down to my knees, actually.” B whispers under her breath. “I, uh, I don’t think this hoodie’s any good. I know I have a button down here somewhere that would be perfect fit on you.” she says, quickly putting the big gray hoodie back in and rummaging through the clothes.

“What? Why not?” Yeonjun asks.

Because it’s Soobin’s, she thought. And at the thought of Soobin, her heart aches for some inexplicable reason.

“Because I haven’t really washed it, ah, here it is.” B says dismissively, taking out a plaid button-down shirt and handing it over to him. “I’m sure this will fit you perfectly.”

Yeonjun puts the shirt on and starts buttoning it up, his biceps straining against the fabric. “I’m not much of a plaid guy, but this will do.” he says, fixing the shirt up. “How does it look?”

B giggles. “I’m pretty sure it’s the girlfriend who’s supposed to be wearing the boyfriend’s clothes, but that shirt definitely looks better on you than it ever has on me.”

Yeonjun grins. “Guess we're breaking gender stereotypes then. Alright, you can wear my clothes anytime you want. And thanks, Baby.” he says, giving her a quick kiss. “I really have to go now, Hwall’s been waiting for me downstairs and I don’t think I can keep my father waiting any longer either.”

“It’s alright, Yeonjunie.” she says, rubbing their noses together. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Happy birthday.” she says again.

“Thanks, Baby.” he says, kissing her forehead, making his way down to kiss the tip of her nose, and finally her lips before pulling away. “See you tomorrow.”

And with that, she escorts him out of her apartment, watching him make his way down the building and waving him off as he gets into his car.

She sighs as she closes the front door behind her, laying a hand over her chest. Spending the day with Yeonjun was great, but she couldn’t stop thinking of that second of heartache she felt when she thought of Soobin, and how she felt the pain once again as soon as he popped into her mind.

What was that about?

•°•

“Soobin.”

“…”

“Soobin?”

“…”

“Soobin!”

After the third time, he couldn’t resist any longer. He sighs and plasters on a smile before turning to face her. “Hey B.” It was Monday, 2 days after the disastrous events that took place at Yeonjun’s birthday party, and he had been trying his best to avoid both of them. He didn’t know what Yeonjun had told B or how much B knew about what happened on Saturday night, but a part of him was surprised when the pair arrived at school together on Yeonjun’s new motorbike, which was a birthday gift from his parents. “What’s up?” Soobin adds, trying to push away all his thoughts and feign normalcy.

“What’s up? Are you kidding me? You haven’t said a single thing to me today and the first thing you say is ‘what’s up?’” B asks playfully, nudging his arm. That was true, he had gone the whole day without speaking to either of them, which had been easy enough since the 2 of them were practically in their own love bubble at lunch, making it easier for Soobin to stay away. It was currently their last period, their Creative Writing class, and Yeonjun had been pulled out of school for the afternoon by his father so he was absent, leaving B and Soobin alone.

“Technically, the first thing I said was ‘Hey B.’” Soobin returns with a playful tone. “Why? Is there anything you wanna talk about?” he asks a bit nervously. Knowing how wasted she was the last time he saw her, he was unsure about whether or not she remembered anything about their conversation in the broom closet, but he was hoping that she didn’t. Especially the part where he said:

“It’s not like I never liked you, because I did. And I still do.”

To his surprise and relief, B just shakes her head. “Nah, you just seemed a bit off today and I just wanted to know if you were okay. Is there anything you wanna talk about?” she asks.

Soobin’s smile suddenly felt very pained. He wanted to do his best to avoid them and stay out of their relationship, but why did she have to be so damn sweet? And why did she have to look so damn good? He always found her to be rather attractive, from the moment he caught her at the steps on the first day of school, but now she looked absolutely radiant. Her skin was glowing in contrast to her long dark hair, making the blush creeping into her cheeks and her plump pink lips stand out. She looked so beautiful it made his heart ache. “No, I’m fine, but thanks for worrying about me, B.” he simply says.

B raises a brow. “Are you sure? You’ve been looking mopey and sad all day.” she says, concerned. “This something happen? I haven’t heard from you or the other guys all weekend either, except for Ninging.”

Soobin shakes his head. “Nothing’s happened, everything’s fine.” he lies, but then he stops. He knew that something definitely happened and that not everything was fine, but she was acting too cheerful considering what happened last Saturday night. “What about you? How was your weekend? Did anything happen?” he asks, curious now.

“My weekend was nice. I woke up on Sunday morning hungover as fuck, but I woke up and Yeonjun was there in my apartment with me!” she laughs. “It’s actually really funny cause neither of us remember how we ended up together in my apartment. I guess we both got way too drunk last Saturday night. I don’t mind though, cause I got to spend most of Sunday celebrating Yeonjun’s birthday with him until he had to go. It was really nice.” B says with a happy smile on my face.

No way. Did she not know? “Oh that does sound nice. I can’t believe you got wasted last Saturday night though. How much do you remember?” he asks, wanting to know.

She bites her lip, trying her best to recall. “Honestly, not much. I only remember up until we played that Kiss or Tell game then we all sort of went our own ways. Ryujin dragged me along and I’m pretty sure we ended up doing shots, which is probably how I got so drunk. Other than that, the night’s a blank. Same goes for Yeonjun, though he did tell me that he remembered seeing his ex girlfriend there. You knew his ex, right?” she asks with wide curious eyes.

So Yeonjun didn’t tell her? “Yeah, I remember Rose. I can’t believe she was there. Did Yeonjun mention anything else? I mean, it must have been weird for him to see his ex again after 2 years.” he says, the kiss between Yeonjun and Rose clear in his mind and the confrontation that followed after still lingering in his thoughts.

B shakes her head. “I guess it was a bit weird but he didn’t mention anything, just that he ended up getting pretty drunk as well. And I know it sounds crazy, but to be honest, the thought of him seeing his ex girlfriend again makes me feel sick but he promised he wouldn’t see her again or do anything that made me feel uncomfortable. Isn’t he sweet?” she says, laughing.

No fucking way. He didn’t tell her. Now Soobin was mad, and he badly needed to keep himself together. He didn’t want to lose it, especially not in front of B, who didn’t seem to know anything. “Wow, that does sound sweet.” he says, trying not to let the bitterness creep into his tone.

B nods. “He really is.” she says dreamily. Soobin grips his seat tightly, his knuckles straining as he tried to keep his composure. How could Yeonjun not tell her? And how could she sit there and gush over him? The whole thing made him feel sick and he wished he never saw B crying in the broom closet or that he never saw Yeonjun kissing Rose, he wished he could be as blissfully unaware as B was, cause the whole thing was making his blood boil. He just wanted to get away from both of them, to follow Taehyun’s advice and stay as far away from their relationship as possible.

Just as he felt like he was about to combust, their teacher catches the class’s attention.

“Hello class. I can see that a lot of you have been making good progress with your social media project, but I have to say that over the weeks, I don’t feel like there’s much of a story in your posts. I’ve decided to extend your project up until the end of the term, and I’m sure you’ll all be happy to know that you’ll be stuck with your partners until then.” Sir Kim announces, sending the class buzzing.

B turns to Soobin with a big smile on her face. “Hear that, Soobin? Looks like we’ll be stuck together ‘till the end of the term.” she says excitedly.

Soobin gives her a pained smile in return. “Great.”

•°•

“Hey Baba, remind me I need to stop by your place to pick up my stuff.” Kai says as he munches on his egg tarts.

B nods. “Sure thing, Ninging. I already cleaned up the guest room and I left all your clothes folded neatly on the bed.”

It was after school and they were doing their usual hangout at Kang’s café, and Soobin felt like he was going out of his mind. He kept bouncing his knee under the table and shaking his legs, as if something were trying to crawl out of his skin.

Noticing this, Taehyun nudges his leg and raises a brow at him.

In response, Soobin decides to send him a text.

“Ah, my mom just texted me that she needs help lifting some things in the pantry. Soobin, can you come with me? I could use your help.” Taehyun says casually, finishing up his glass of lemonade.

Soobin nods and stands straight up. “Let’s go.” he says, making his way to the kitchen before Taehyun even got the chance to stand up.

Taehyun sighs, leaving the table and following after him. Beomgyu shoots him a confused look, but Taehyun just shakes his head in response, leaving Beomgyu at the table with B and Kai.

Taehyun leads the way into the pantry at the very back of the kitchen, letting Soobin in before locking the door behind him.

“Okay, we should be safe here. Now tell me, what’s wrong? Why do you look like you can’t breathe whenever you’re with B?” Taehyun says, folding his arms across his chest.

Soobin takes a deep breath. “Okay, remember when I found B wasted and crying her eyes out over seeing Yeonjun with Rose last Saturday?” he begins. Taehyun nods, urging him to continue. “Well, there’s more to it than just that.”

“What do you mean?” Taehyun asks. “You know, we still haven’t really talked about what happened last Saturday night, I was too busy to call you yesterday. I need you to tell me everything now.”

“Alright, so I saw B crying because she saw Yeonjun with Rose, she was an insecure wreck so I tried to comfort her and out of nowhere she says ‘Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.’” he says, holding up his hands to do air quotes. “So I was like, what’s that supposed to mean? Then she said that people have told her before that she and I would’ve been a good couple or something and then she says something like ‘maybe I should’ve chosen you, even though that wasn’t an option cause you never liked me’ and that’s when I ended up telling her ‘It’s not like I never liked you, cause I did, and I still do.’” Soobin says, groaning as he covers his face with his hands in shame.

Taehyun goes soft and lets out an “Aw, Soobin. That’s how you told her you like her?”

Soobin nods. “Yes, and I know I said that I wished she wouldn’t remember anything, and guess what, she doesn’t remember anything!”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Now you won’t have to clear the air with her about you whole ‘I like you’ confession.” Taehyun asks.

“Yes, but I mean she doesn’t remember anything. All she remembers is up until the end of the Kiss or Tell game and then getting drunk with Ryujin. She doesn’t remember seeing Yeonjun with Rose, she doesn’t remember how devastated she was when she saw them together.” Soobin say, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, that still doesn’t seem too bad. At least now she won’t feel bad about it.” Taehyun reasons out.

Soobin shakes his head. “That’s not all. After you and Gyu arrived and you kicked me out of the broom closet, I started wandering around the club, then I saw Yeonjun with Rose. It seemed fine at first, they seemed like 2 people catching up and having a good time, dancing in the club, but then she kisses him.”

Taehyun’s eyes widen. “Yeonjun and Rose kissed last Saturday night?” he says in disbelief. “When? How? Why?”

“I dunno, I think it was about 30 minutes after I left you and Gyu with B? And it was like I said, one minute they’re talking and laughing, then the next minute they’re on the dance floor, and next thing I know they’re kissing.” Soobin says. “Yeonjun pulled away, and that’s when he saw me and we had a little talk.”

“Wow, that sounds bad. Rose is such a bitch, I’ve always hated her. What did you 2 talk about?” Taehyun remarks.

“I sorta just confronted him about it. I gave him a chance to explain what just happened, I asked him if he still had feelings for Rose and he said he felt a spark or something, I asked him if he loves B and he didn’t seem to know. I told him that B saw him and Rose together and how messed up she was over it. I told him that he cheated on B, that even if Rose was the one who kissed him he shouldn’t have given her a chance to let it happen in the first place. And I told him that he better not hurt B. That’s it.” Soobin says, explaining the gist of their conversation.

“That’s, wow, that’s a lot to unpack.” Taehyun says, trying to absorb everything. “I think you do have a point about it being Yeonjun’s fault that Rose kissed him, he should’ve known and just stayed away from her instead of letting something like that happen. But don’t you think that calling him a cheater was a little bit harsh?”

Soobin shakes his head, looking tired. “Maybe, but it’s how I see it. First, he admits that he still feels a spark when he was with his ex, then he spends a big chunk of the night with her, then he ends up being kissed by her? All while his girlfriend is crying her eyes out just from the mere sight of them together? I don’t know about you, but for me, as long as you have feelings for someone, especially for your ex, while you’re currently in a relationship, it feels like cheating to me.” he explains. “And seeing B like that, I just… I don’t want to see her that hurt ever again.”

Taehyun nods. “When you put it like that, Yeonjun definitely sounds guilty. And I have to agree that seeing B like that really just makes the whole Yeonjun and Rose thing a lot worse.” he says. “But B doesn’t seem to be bothered or anything. She looks very happy.”

Soobin nods. “Exactly. And you wanna know why? It’s cause she doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t remember seeing Yeonjun and Rose together, she doesn’t remember being absolutely heartbroken over seeing Yeonjun and Rose together, and she doesn’t know that Yeonjun and Rose kissed. Yeonjun didn’t tell her.”

“Are you serious?” Taehyun says, his tone still calm. This was one reason why Soobin enjoyed talking to Taehyun, he was always so calm, empathetic, non-judgmental, and logical. He felt like he could talk to him about anything without worry and he’d listen or give great advice if you needed it. “Yeonjun didn’t tell her anything?”

“Well, she mentioned that Yeonjun told her about seeing his ex at the club and he told her that he’d never see her again if it made B uncomfortable, but that’s about it.” Soobin says. “He didn’t tell her about the kiss, and it’s either because he didn’t want to, or…”

“…or he doesn’t remember it.” Taehyun finishes. “Have you talked to Yeonjun about it?”

Soobin shakes his head. “I’m finally taking your advice and keeping myself as far away from their relationship as possible. Heck, I was determined not to speak to either of them anymore, until B started talking to me in our Creative Writing class while Yeonjun was absent. And of course, I’m stuck with her as my partner for the rest of the term.” he sighs. “But I don’t know how I can survive this, I don’t think I can stand to talk to her and smile at her after seeing her so heartbroken over something she doesn’t even remember, after seeing Yeonjun kiss Rose and her not knowing about it. I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s definitely a tough one, Choi.” Taehyun remarks, taking a moment to think it over. “Okay, I’m going to assume that Yeonjun isn’t a complete jerk and that he didn’t tell B about the kiss because he didn’t remember it. Is Yeonjun still in the wrong? Yes, because he put himself in a situation with his ex. But is it a problem? For now, no. Because neither of them know about it, neither of them are currently affected by it. It will become a problem if B finds out about it from someone else, or if Yeonjun remembers the kiss and doesn’t tell her about it.”

“So what are you saying? That there’s no problem here?” Soobin asks, surprised by Taehyun’s verdict.

“Oh, there’s definitely a problem, but I’m just saying that right now, that problem is dormant since neither of them know about it. I’m saying that there’s nothing to deal with yet, since the problem is still dormant.” Taehyun says. “For now, they’re basically living the whole ignorance is bliss thing. Assuming that Yeonjun doesn’t remember, neither of them know about the kiss, therefore it isn’t a problem.”

“So basically it’ll only be a problem if B somehow finds out about it or if Yeonjun remembers it?” Soobin asks.

Taehyun nods. “Correct. If Yeonjun does end up remembering it, the problem will depend on whether or not he tells B about it.”

“So what am I supposed to do? I remember it, I know about it, I saw it, I saw everything. I don’t know what to do.” Soobin says, looking as confused as ever.

“Soobin, if I were you, I’d just sit this one out. It’s gonna be hard, but for now, you’re just gonna have to pretend that the problem doesn’t exist. If you tell either of them what you saw that night, it could only cause bigger problems. My advice for you remains the same, just try to keep yourself as far away from their relationship as possible. That doesn’t mean that you should avoid them, just be their friend but draw the line when it comes to their relationship.” Taehyun says.

“So I just pretend that I know nothing. Got it.” Soobin says, nodding once for covering his face with his hands and letting out a loud groan.

“Are you good now? Come on, we better get back or they’ll start wondering what’s taking us so long.” Taehyun asks.

“Wait, you haven’t told me about what happened to you last Saturday night. You said you kissed your crush! Who is it? How did it happen?” Soobin exclaims, suddenly remembering.

Taehyun laughs. “Maybe another time, Soobin.” he says with a mischievous smile, unlocking the door before leading the way out of the pantry, through the kitchen, and back to the table.

•°•

“Alright, I have to be home in 15 minutes and I still have to drop by B’s place to pick up my stuff, so we have to go now or else Lea will kill me!” Kai exclaims, seeing the text from his older sister.

B laughs, patting him on the back. “Alright, let’s get going then! Lucky for you, I live right across the street.” she says teasingly. “Tyunnie, you wanna walk home with us?”

Taehyun smiles but shakes his head. “No, I have to stay and help clean up today. You guys go ahead and be safe.” he politely declines.

Kai shrugs. “Alright, you be safe too. See you tomorrow!” he says, grabbing B’s arm and practically dragging her along with him as he rushes out of the café.

“I should probably go too, I’ve got a lot of homework to do. Whoever said that senior year would be a breeze was full of shit.” Soobin groans, looking through the checklist of tasks he had on his phone. “Gyu, you need a ride? I can drop you off along the way.” he offers.

Beomgyu shakes his head. “Nah, I’m good. I’ve got a quiz tomorrow, so I think I’ll just stay here and study for a bit.” he says, taking out some notebooks and pens from his school bag and laying them down on the table.

“Wow, I never knew you actually studied.” Soobin remarks, causing Beomgyu to snort. “Good luck with that then, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” he says, waving goodbye to Taehyun and Beomgyu.

For a while, the 2 of them sit alone at the table in silence. Beomgyu was reading through his notes, highlighting a few things along the way, while Taehyun sat across him, finishing up his 3rd glass of lemonade. As Taehyun’s glass becomes empty, he stands up and takes the glass with him. As he’s about to walk away from the table, he’s surprised when he feels someone grab his free hand, stopping him in his place.

He looks back and sees Beomgyu looking at him, his notes sprawled across the table, a sentence remained half highlighted as if Beomgyu stopped midway just to grab Taehyun’s hand before he left.

Which was exactly what he did.

“Yes?” Taehyun asks, turning to face the boy.

Beomgyu looks nervous for a moment, like he was doubting himself and as if he were starting to regret grabbing Taehyun’s hand, but then he takes a deep breath and says “Wait. Don’t go.”

“Why? I’m right here.” Taehyun says, raising a brow.

“I just—” Beomgyu starts, his breathe shaking as he looks down at his hand holding Taehyun’s before looking up at him again. “I think we need to talk.”

“About what?” Taehyun asks, even though he knew exactly what he meant.

“About last Saturday night.” Beomgyu says, his eyes closing as the memory crosses his mind for the millionth time. “About our kiss.”

Taehyun sighs. “Look, I already said it’s fine, you panicked and kissed me on the lips, it was just a stupid game, it was nothing.”

“You know that’s not the kiss I was talking about.” Beomgyu says, a different kiss on his mind. He remembered standing by the bar with Taehyun after game ended, laughing and apologizing about how he had panicked and kissed him on the lips. He remembered Taehyun telling him that it was fine and that there was no need for him to apologize. “And I didn’t panic.” He remembered taking a couple of shots with him, and they asked each other a question every time they took a shot. He remembered asking Taehyun if he minded that Beomgyu had kissed him on the lips, and he said no. He remembered Taehyun asking him if he wouldn’t mind doing it again, and he said no.

“I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“So go ahead and kiss me, Choi.”

He remembered downing another shot and saying “Oh, what the hell.” Before taking Taehyun’s face in his hands for the second time that night, looking deep into his eyes to see if he really wanted it, before leaning in and letting their lips touch once again.

“So, you wanna talk about it?” Beomgyu asks, the memory playing in his mind over and over again.

Taehyun smiles, his heart melting at how unusually vulnerable the usually confident Beomgyu looked. “Alright.” he says, bending down to take a seat at the table, not letting go of his hand. “Let’s talk.”

•°•

Author’s note:

I know it’s a little late :c and I’m sorry cause I’ll be a lot busier these days bc life is suddenly moving again :c but :c Happy Yeonjun day!

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part XII : See Them Burn in Fire

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

“Ningning, please help me, I’m freaking out.”

It was currently September 9, Wednesday, her third day of being back at MOA, and she was indeed freaking out.

Her first few days being back at MOA felt like a fever dream wherein she was the main character in some cheesy teen romcom who had somehow gained the affections of the school’s it boy, complete with montages of everyone’s eyes following the 2 of them whenever they walked around campus together and scenes of them spotted around campus holding hands (complete with Taehyun constantly reminding them “Physical contact within campus grounds is prohibited!”), staring at each other like the lovesick teenagers that they were, even pulling their face masks down to steal kisses when no one was looking.

She never realized how big of a reaction their dating news would gain until she actually saw it; the stares, the whispers, even the attention that Yeonjun’s tweet got, which garnered over a thousand likes, which was a bit concerning since Yeonjun’s twitter account was fairly new yet not really surprising considering how popular he was.

She didn’t really mind the stares and whispers. It’s not like she hasn’t been the main topic at school before, but now the attention was for something that she was actually happy about, so in a way it felt nice. What she was freaking out about, however, was Beomgyu’s reply to Yeonjun’s tweet.

It was only when she asked Kai about it did she find out that Yeonjun’s birthday was on the 13th of September, which was only 4 days away, and she had no clue what she would give to him as a gift.

“How do you think I can help?” Kai asks, confused. “I’m just his friend, you’re his girlfriend. You’ve always been great at giving gifts anyway, I’m sure that whatever you get him, he’ll love it.” he says matter-of-factly.

B groans. “You’ve known him for longer than I have! And I don’t know what I can put together on such short notice.” she whines, which was true. The fact that their relationship was new made it even more difficult since she didn’t know a lot about what sort of things Yeonjun really liked yet. “Do you guys have any plans for his birthday?”

Kai nods. “We’re all getting individual gifts, but duh we’re throwing him a kick ass party.” he says. “We always have big parties when someone’s birthday comes up. The best part is, by Saturday night I’ll be medically cleared and ready to get wasted.” he says excitedly.

“I could help you guys with the party, but what gift can I get him? What can you give someone who already has everything?” B wonders out loud. It was no secret that Yeonjun was loaded and could have anything he wanted at the snap of his fingers, which only made it harder for B to come up with a meaningful gift.

“Easy, give him something that only you can give him.” Ryujin pipes up. She walked home with B after school to hang out since the guys were busy with their weekly student council meeting, but the truth was, Kai had pleaded with B to invite Ryujin so he could ask for a little bit of help about how he should ask Yuna out, which was the first thing they talked about when Ryujin arrived. She had given Kai good advice and was looking forward seeing how he’d ask their friend out, though Kai said he would wait for the right time to do it, which made Ryujin roll her eyes at him and call him a chicken, which he accepted.

“Something only I can give him? Like what?” B asks desperately.

Ryujin stands up from her spot on the couch, grabs a ribbon from one of the blue rose bouquets that Yeonjun had given to B and stands over her. “Simple. Here, take this.” she says, handing the ribbon to B, which she takes gingerly.

“Then tie it around yourself.” Ryujin instructs her, which she follows cluelessly.

“Now what?” B asks, the bow tied around her torso.

“Strike a pose and tell him ‘Happy birthday Yeonjun, unwrap me.’” she says, smirking.

“Eugh, please don’t.” Kai says, visibly cringing.

Meanwhile, B was visibly blushing, untying the ribbon and tossing it aside. “I—um, as s—special as that sounds, I, uh, don’t think that’s something I can give just yet.” she says, flustered at what Ryujin was suggesting.

Ryujin laughs. “Don’t worry, I was just kidding. You are too precious, B.” she says, ruffling the top of B’s head. “Don’t ever do that unless you’re 100% ready by the way.”

“Okay, that’s already more than I need to hear.” Kai says, covering his ears with his hands. “Anyway, Baba I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Kai says, trying to change the topic. “If you want my advice, I suggest you get him something heartfelt, maybe something with special meaning to him.”

B sighs. “I guess. Maybe I’ll ask the other guys for help.” she says, whipping her phone out and creating a new group chat.

Soobin sighs as he drops his phone, leaving it atop the conference table, leaning back in his seat at the head of the table as he watches his 3 present members continue with the meeting.

Surprisingly, being the student council president wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. His members did their assigned jobs well and took their respective roles seriously, so his job was mostly to oversee things and make final approvals. Taehyun usually led their meetings, and one of Soobin’s main tasks was to make sure that the younger boy could effectively take his place as president once Soobin graduated, which Soobin had no worries about since he saw Taehyun as his right hand man, both in and out of the student council, considering how the younger boy had been especially close to him the past few days.

The past few days haven’t been very easy on Soobin, considering that the girl he found himself falling in love with and the blue haired boy he was best friends with had officially come out as a couple. It was bad enough that he had to see them constantly hold hands and stare at each other with googly eyes whenever they hung out, but news of them dating became one of the hottest topics at school, so even when he wasn’t with them he would still hear the people around him talking about them nonstop. He had no escape.

The only person he could share his true feelings with was Taehyun, his righthand man, who had figured out Soobin’s whole situation and had reached out to him as soon as the news broke out.

Since then, he always felt Taehyun watching him closely, especially when they were all eating lunch at the gazebo or hanging out the Kang’s café after school. For Soobin, it felt nice to know that there was someone by his side who understood what he was going through, so hiding his true feelings didn’t feel as tiring.

Soobin is snapped back into the present as Taehyun says “That concludes this week’s meeting. Next week, we’ll be tackling the annual Fall Ball that will be taking place on October, so you better prepare suggestions for the theme by then.” he says, referring to one of the school’s biggest social events and one of the 3 annual school dances that took place at MOA every year.

As Taehyun puts his things away, the other boys stretch out in their chairs and grab their phones, relieved that the meeting was finally over.

“Hey Tyun, I’ll be stopping by Baby’s place for a little while. My driver’s waiting for me outside, you wanna catch a ride with me?” Yeonjun says suddenly as he stands up, typing away at his phone the whole time.

Taehyun shakes his head even though Yeonjun’s eyes were focused on his phone. “You can go, there are a few additional ideas that I want to run through with our president first so I’ll be staying behind for a bit. Thanks, though.”

Yeonjun looks at him then and nods. “Alright then, see you guys tomorrow.”

The boys greet him goodbye, with Beomgyu going “I’ll walk out with you, my ride’s waiting too.” before the 2 boys disappear out of the room.

Soobin turns to Taehyun, confused. “You have additional ideas you want to run by me? What additional ideas?” he asks.

“Oh, I don’t know, the idea that you want to help the girl you love come up with a birthday gift for her boyfriend, maybe?” Taehyun says pointedly. “You should not be helping B with things like that, given the fact that you’re in love with her.”

“I—no, B is just—” Soobin sputters, caught off guard. “I’m not in love with her!”

“Holy shit! You’re in love with B?” a voice suddenly exclaims, making Taehyun jump in his seat and causing Soobin to yell out in surprise.

“Gyu! What are you doing here?” Soobin asks, shocked to see Beomgyu standing in the doorway. “I—Oh god you scared me! I thought you left with Yeonjun. What—?”

“I left my phone, so I told him to go ahead and I came back here to get it.” Beomgyu explains, and sure enough, the boys catch sight of Beomgyu’s cellphone which he had left on top of the conference table. Taehyun slaps his forehead, frustrated at himself for not noticing it earlier.

“I knew Taehyun said he had extra ideas to talk to you about, but I never could have imagined something like this.” Beomgyu says, his eyes wide. “Is it true? Soobin, are you in love with her?”

“I—no! N—no I’m not, I—I just—” Soobin sputters, his brain malfunctioning as he realizes that his secret was slowly starting to spread.

Taehyun puts a hand on Soobin’s shoulder to calm him down. “Gyu, I don’t know what you heard, but I think Soobin’s going through a lot right now, so it’s best if you pretend that this never happened, alright?” he says.

Beomgyu nods, grabbing his phone from the table before taking a seat beside the 2 boys. “Of course! Just act like I’m not even here. My lips are sealed.” he says, making a zipping motion over his mouth.

“Thanks, Gyu.” Soobin finally manages to say, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. “And to be clear, I am not in love with her. I might have a slight crush on her, but that doesn’t mean anything. She’s my friend, what’s wrong with wanting to help her find a good gift for one of my best friends?”

“Whatever you say.” Taehyun says. “And there’s nothing wrong with it per se, but I don’t think you should put up with their relationship any more than necessary. They are your friends, but I think it would be better if you don’t get involved.” he says, trying to give good advice. “Don’t take it the wrong way, cause it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be supportive of their relationship or anything. I mean, yes you’re their friend, but don’t get yourself involved in anything that has to do with their relationship.”

Soobin nods reluctantly, trying to understand where Taehyun was coming from. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind, thanks Tyun.” he says. “It wouldn’t hurt to help B come up with a gift for Yeonjun though, right?”

Beomgyu nods. “True, that just means you’re a good friend who wants to be there and help a friend out.”

Taehyun sighs. “You’re an idiot, Gyu. And you’re hopeless, Soobin. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Soobin chuckles. “Don’t worry, Tyun. I don’t see how it can hurt any more than it already does anyway.”

Taehyun shakes his head. “I didn’t know you were such a masochist.”

“I never said I like the pain! I’m just saying, it can’t get any worse than this.” Soobin says defensively.

Oh, how horribly wrong he was.

•°•

The rest of the weekdays flew by quickly enough. Soobin had taken Taehyun’s advice and had been trying his best to avoid being around Yeonjun and B longer than necessary, making sure that he had a clear boundary between being their friend who was happy for them and being their friend who would go out of his way to involve himself in their relationship.

Meanwhile, now that Beomgyu knew about his secret, Soobin could feel an extra pair of eyes practically burning into his skull every time they hung out. Taehyun was an expert at hiding his feelings and understood that Soobin just wanted things to be as normal as possible, but Beomgyu had started to treat him like he was delicate, often giving him pitiful looks and being extra nice to him, which Soobin could only hope wouldn’t come off as suspicious to the rest of the group.

It turns out that the boys didn’t have to put together a party for Yeonjun since his father had organized one on his own, renting out one of the only night clubs in their town for Saturday night, inviting a few people whom he thought would be beneficial for Yeonjun to mingle with and telling Yeonjun that he was free to invite whomever else he wanted to, which was basically the entire high school population of MO Academy.

“Did your dad really rent out a whole club just so he could throw you a business networking event disguised as a birthday party?” Beomgyu comments as he and the 3 boys stood in front of said club, waiting for the last 2 members of their group to arrive.

Yeonjun shrugs. “It’s still a party, just gonna have to deal with a few ‘unwanted’ guests I guess.” he says. “I’m not sure which pretentious rich kids from the business world my dad invited though, so I’ll have to go back and forth between partying with you guys and entertaining whoever snotty douches he’s invited.”

“And we will try to stay as far away from them as possible. I don’t think I can put up with any more pretentious rich kids.” Taehyun says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I think dealing with you guys everyday is about as much as I can handle.”

“We are not pretentious rich kids!” Beomgyu says defensively, but when he sees Taehyun raise a brow, he backs down. “Right, sorry. Anyway, any word on where B and Hyuka are now? Why didn’t you guys go together again?” he asks Taehyun, knowing that he and B usually came together since they lived in the same building.

“She just said that she and Hyuka were dealing with a crisis and would be running a bit late and that I could go ahead, so I did, but I didn’t know that we’d end up waiting for them to arrive before going into the club.” Taehyun explains.

“It’s a Saturday night, they had the whole day to get ready so there’s no reason why they should be running late.” Beomgyu whines.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Soobin says.

And right on cue, a car stops in front of the club. The boys wait and watch as the car idles for a few moments before the door flies open and Kai steps out, and the boys realize why the pair had been running late.

Even though he was medically cleared and recovered from chicken pox, Kai’s face was sprinkled with distinct spots all over his cheeks, and although they had been meticulously covered up with makeup, the bumps were still very visible.

Just as Soobin was about to comment on how Kai��s face looked like the back of a Hersheys cookies and cream chocolate bar, Kai extends an arm towards the inside of the vehicle, and a delicate hand appears, taking Kai’s hand in hers as the hand’s owner steps out of the car. Soobin could feel the words die in his throat as B comes into view, wrapping her hand around Kai’s arm before Kai closes the car door behind her.

She was breathtaking. Her long dark hair poured over her shoulders in gentle waves, her skin glowing in contrast to her dark hair and her midnight black dress, which hugged her small frame perfectly, the neckline dipping dangerously low and the slit cutting lethally high up her thigh, the dress reaching just a few inches above her knee. She looked especially tantalizing as she finished the look off with a pair of strappy heels and striking red lipstick, making her look like a movie star from the 1900s.

Soobin couldn’t bring himself to look away, even as he saw her look up and smile, giving a small wave towards their group. He couldn’t even smile back, he was so taken by how beautiful she looked, until Beomgyu spoke up, snapping him out of his trance.

“Stop undressing her with your eyes, Choi! She might catch a cold.” Beomgyu remarks teasingly.

Soobin nearly chokes on his own spit, his eyes automatically looking down at the ground feeling ashamed at the thought of someone catching him staring at B, until Yeonjun laughs and Soobin realizes that the comment was meant for Yeonjun all along.

Why did they have to have the same name?

“Sorry, I can’t help that my girlfriend looks insanely gorgeous, especially in that dress.” Yeonjun laughs, keeping his eyes on B the whole time as he wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses her cheek. “You clean up really nicely, Baby.”

B smiles at him, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “Speak for yourself, birthday boy. You look particularly handsome tonight.” she comments.

“My birthday’s not until tomorrow though, I hope you have your gift ready.” Yeonjun responds.

“Don’t worry, I have the perfect gift for you.” B says, trailing fingers up his chest before gently tapping his nose. “Hope I won’t disappoint.”

“Baby, you alone are more than enough for me.” Yeonjun says, nuzzling his face in her neck, making her giggle.

“Eugh, that’s enough, you guys make me want to vomit. Let’s just go in already.” Kai groans, making the pair laugh.

“It’s my birthday and I’ll ogle my girlfriend if I want to.” Yeonjun laughs. “But you’re right, let’s go.” he says, leading the group forward as they walk up to the front doors of the club, the bouncer greeting them warmly as he recognizes Yeonjun’s face.

“Happy birthday, Sir Choi. Enjoy your evening.” the bouncer says, ticking their names off the guest list before leading them into the club.

•°•

“Truth or dare!” someone suggests. A small circle had gathered around one of the VIP tables, practically the same people as the ones who were playing Truth or Dare at Kai’s birthday party just a few weeks ago.

“But we already played that last time!” another person objects.

“Fine, um, how about Kiss or Tell? Have any of you heard of it before?”

When no one offers any response, Ryujin explains. “One person spins a bottle and when it lands on someone on their turn, they have to either kiss them or tell everyone a secret about that person.”

Everyone in the circle nods, ready to start the game.

“Alright let’s do this! First up, the birthday boy!” Beomgyu says, clapping his hands and reaching over to pass an empty bottle of Tequila to Yeonjun.

Yeonjun smiles as the circle cheers for him and spins the bottle, the cheering getting louder as the bottle stops.

Kai shrieks in horror as the tip of the bottle points to him, and before he can say a word, Yeonjun stands up and quickly plants a kiss on the younger boy’s forehead, the whole circle ringing with laughter.

Kai looks helplessly at Yuna sitting next to him, a bit horrified as he says “I can’t believe Yeonjun stole my first forehead kiss.”

Yuna laughs and simply says “It’s your turn.” before handing him the bottle, which he hesitantly spins.

The whole circle collectively go “Awww” as the bottle stop in front of Yuna.

Kai turns to her and asks “Have you ever had your forehead kissed before?”

“No, well, just by my parents I think.” she says, causing Kai to smile before planting a light kiss on her forehead, which instantly makes her go red.

“There you go, now your forehead’s been blessed!” Kai says teasingly. Feeling flustered, Yuna clears her throat before spinning the bottle and she watches as it lands on Ryujin.

As soon as Yuna opens her mouth to speak, Ryujin grabs her by the shirt and pulls her towards her, Yuna’s mouth smashing against the side of Ryujin’s face.

“I—uh, can she do that?” Yuna sputters. “I was gonna tell a secret but she kissed me! Is that cheating?”

Ryujin shrugs. “It’s kiss or tell, and you kissed, so now it’s my turn.” she says, wiping traces of Luna’s lip gloss off her cheek before spinning the bottle.

All around the circle, people “Ooh” as the bottle stops in front of Taehyun.

“Oh really? Of all the people here, this guy’s probably the only person I don’t know any secrets about! And he’s the last person in the circle, heck in the whole world, that I would ever consider kissing.” Ryujin whines.

“If you had chosen to say something, anything, any outrageously completely made up rumor I would have gladly gone along with it instead of having you kiss me, but that’s no longer an option thanks to your big mouth, so now neither of us has a choice.” Taehyun says dryly.

B laughs at their interaction. It was odd that 2 of her closest friends seemed to hate each other, but it was always entertaining to watch how snarky they could get when put together.

Ryujin gulps, not even bothering to hide how horrified she looked as she reluctantly made her way towards Taehyun. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re right.” she says, Taehyun visibly cringing as Ryujin slowly puts a finger under Taehyun’s chin and lifts it up until his forehead comes in contact with her lips.

The crowd cheers wildly as Ryujin pretends to gag, wiping her mouth as she made her way back to her seat. Meanwhile, Taehyun remained unfazed, mentally putting the whole thing behind him before grabbing the bottle and letting it spin, and he smiles in satisfaction when it lands on Beomgyu.

He rubs his chin with his hand as he contemplates what to say. “Hm, so many secrets, which one should I share about you Gyu?” he wonders, before his eyes light up as a particularly embarrassing memory comes into mind.

Beomgyu looks at Taehyun suspiciously as the boy starts to speak with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Oh, I know! One time, Gyu and I tried out this new Ramen place near the subway, and he—”

Before Taehyun could finish the story, Beomgyu’s eyes widen as he realizes which embarrassing secret his friend was about to reveal. In a state of panic, Beomgyu grabs his friend’s face in both his hands and pulls it towards his, their lips crashing together as people around the circle gasp and squeal in surprise.

Taehyun could feel his eyes, which were wide with surprise, start to close as he absorbs the fact that Beomgyu was kissing him, before Beomgyu pulls away, looking at him confused.

“Tyun, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to plant one on you I—I kinda panicked.” Beomgyu says in a hurry, trying to explain himself.

Taehyun shakes his head, still seemingly unfazed by the whole game. “There’s no need to apologize, Gyu.” he simply says, brushing off the feeling that Beomgyu was staring at him intently and drowning out the catcalls from the circle. “It’s your turn.” he says.

Beomgyu looks at him for a moment longer before he nods, shaking his head before spinning the bottle, watching as it lands on Soobin.

“Oh, Soobinie baby?” Beomgyu says teasingly, smirking when Soobin visibly freezes in place, staring at Beomgyu in horror as he realizes what Beomgyu was implying.

Beomgyu laughs at Soobin’s reaction. “Relax, Binie!” he says, knowing what Soobin was thinking. “I wouldn’t do you dirty like that. Okay, I’m sure some of you here already know this, but our dear President Soobinie…”

Everyone goes quiet, all eyes on Beomgyu as he reveals a secret. “Our dear President Soobinie, whom is known to hate exercising despite being on the basketball team and is notorious for his love for bread and ice cream, is actually very lean and muscular.”

A few girls around the circle sigh as they stare at Soobin with curious eyes, trying to visualize the muscles beneath his jacket, which causes Soobin to blush.

“Gyu, stop it.” he says bashfully. Beomgyu’s confession was true, Soobin really did have a rather fit physique, but the attention he was getting from Beomgyu’s revelation was making him squirm in his seat.

“It’s true! He even has abs!” Beomgyu exclaims, which makes Soobin blush even harder.

Beomgyu laughs, seeing how red his friend had turned. “You’re welcome.” he says, clapping him on the back. “Now it’s your turn.”

Soobin rubs his face in his hands, trying to wipe away the warmth from his cheeks, before grabbing the bottle and letting it spin.

He feels all eyes on him as the bottle stops, pointing at B.

B laughs with ease, unaware of the intense stares that Beomgyu and Taehyun were giving their friend. “Alright, Binnie, let’s get this over with! Kiss or tell?” she says, raising a brow at him.

Soobin found himself stuck. No particular secret about B came to mind, no matter how hard he tried to look back at all their past conversations, and no embarrassing moments had transpired between them either meaning that he had nothing to tell, so he had nothing to share, which meant that he had no choice but to go for the kiss option instead, which he definitely did not think was a good idea. It didn’t help that he could feel Taehyun and Beomgyu’s gazes burning into him either.

He decides to go for the safest option and spits out anything random instead. “I, um, I don’t know if anyone knew this already, but B…really wants a cat.” he finishes lamely.

Everyone stares at him blankly, underwhelmed by what he revealed.

“Well, that is true. I do really want to own a cat as a pet.” B offers, trying to keep the pace of the game going.

“But that’s hardly a secret!” Yuna comments. “Anyone who knows you can tell that you love cats enough to want one anyway.”

“Sorry, I guess I don’t really know any of B’s secrets.” Soobin says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ryujin smirks. “You know what that means, then.” she says.

“What?” Soobin asks stupidly, not really understanding what she was implying.

“It’s Kiss or Tell, and since you have nothing to tell, that means that you have to kiss.” Yeonjun says, retracting his arm from B’s shoulders as he leans forward in his seat.

“Ah, um, I already said something though, so—?” Soobin begins, fumbling with his words, not really sure how to handle the situation.

Yeonjun raises his hands in the air. “Soobin, it’s fine, it’s just a game.” he says, lightly laughing. “Just go with it.” he assures.

Soobin nods, taking a deep breath before he stands up and makes his way over to B, being very mindful about the fact that her boyfriend was sitting right next to her.

B laughs upon seeing how nervous Soobin looked. “Soobin, what’s up with you?” she laughs. “Don’t be nervous! Here.” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear as she turns her face to the side, offering him her cheek. “Just a quick peck, don’t worry, it will be over before you know it.” she says teasingly.

Soobin laughs along. “Right. I’m sorry about this by the way.” he says, before leaning down and letting his lips brush softly against her cheek. He stands straight up as he says “There! Done!” before walking back to his seat with his head hanging down to hide his burning red cheeks, Taehyun clapping him on the back as he sits back down.

“And now it’s my turn.” B says, holding her breath as the bottle slows down and letting out a cheerful whoop as she sees who it finally stops on.

“Ha! Ningning, you are so done!” she squeals, laughing maniacally as she rubs her hands together deviously. “Oh my god, I have so many secrets, so much good shit about you, where do I even start?”

Kai jumps up then, catching everyone by surprise as he grabs B’s head and tries to get her lips to touch his face, and she tries her best to keep her lips tight together.

“Don’t you dare say a damn thing Han Baby!” he says desperately, making her laugh.

“Get away from me, ew, what are you doing!” she squeals, trying to shove him away. “Stop trying to make me kiss you! I have so much to tell!”

The sudden spectacle makes everyone in the circle burst out laughing, except Yuna, who was notably staring at the 2 best friends.

Unaware of Yuna’s unease, Kai continues pulling B’s head towards his face, before her lips accidentally make contact with his ear, and he finally lets go, pumping his fists in the air. “Ha! Now you can’t tell them anything!” he says triumphantly before making his way back to his seat and casually wrapping an arm around Yuna’s shoulders.

“Alright, I think that’s where the game ends for tonight!” Yuna exclaims, brushing off Kai’s arm around her shoulders as she stands up. “Now come on, let’s dance!” she says, grabbing Ryujin by the arm and pulling her away.

Everyone in the circle cheers, standing up and rushing to the dance floor.

“What do you say, birthday boy? Wanna dance?” B asks Yeonjun as the circle starts to clear out and go their separate ways.

“There’s actually a few people I have to say hi to, people from the business side of life.” Yeonjun says, checking his phone. “They’re mostly just people I’m obligated to socialize with, like the kids of some of our company’s business partners and stuff. You wanna come with me to meet them? I can introduce you.” he offers.

B thought about it for a moment, though she already knew that she didn’t feel like meeting a bunch of boring business kids and listen to them talk about business that she knew nothing about. Before she could respond, Ryujin swoops in and grabs her arm.

“Sir Choi Yeonjun, if you’re not going to get this hot piece of ass on the dance floor, then let me do the honor.” she says before dragging B to the dance floor.

“I’ll see you later then!” Yeonjun shouts after them, he sees B shrug and nod at him, offering him a smile before Ryujin grabs her and starts dancing around her.

Yeonjun shakes his head with a fond smile on his face, watching his beautiful girlfriend enjoy herself on the dance floor before sighing as he stands up, preparing to turn on his ‘Choi Yeonjun, future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation’ before wandering into the crowd.

•°•

Yeonjun put on a pleased smile as he greeted another batch of party guests that his father had invited. This time it was famously wealthy Kim brothers, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon and Kim Taehyung, notorious for having not only good looks but killer personalities and unmatched talent as well. The Kim brothers came from a long family line of musicians and record producers, and Yeonjun had to admit that they were 3 of the select few people that he genuinely considered as his friends in the business side of his life.

As the 3 boys greeted him and started up small talk that made him genuinely laugh for the first time since he left his friends to start mingling with his father’s choice of party guests, a new batch of people walked into the club which Yeonjun knew he had to welcome. He excused himself from the 2 brothers and made his way towards the newcomers.

This time, he put on his deal-closing smile as he spots the familiar face of Kim Jisoo, successor to the famous Kim Jonghyun, the owner of the biggest Technology Firm in the country. As he approaches Kim Jisoo, he slips back into Choi Yeonjun, future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation, flashing her a charming smile and shaking her hand as he greets her.

“Choi Yeonjun. Happy birthday, dear! It’s always so lovely to see you.” Jisoo says, softly touching his arm as he does so.

“Thank you, Jisoo. The pleasure is all mine, because as always, you look stunning.” he says dashingly. Kim Jisoo was one of the richest eligible bachelorettes in the country, so his father had specifically asked that he maintain in her good graces.

“Hush now, you look quite handsome yourself.” she says, ever so elegantly. “Oh, pardon me, I’ve almost forgotten to introduce you to my companions! I’ve invited a few friends here with me, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, not at all.” Yeonjun says politely, she could have invited her entire posse for all he cared. He hadn’t even noticed that she wasn’t alone until she stepped aside to reveal the 3 girls whom she had brought along.

“These are my best friends.” Jisoo says, pulling the 3 girls forward. He eyes the girls one by one, plastering on his best polite smile, but he feels his breath catch in his throat as his eyes land on the 3rd girl. “Yeonjun, darling, I’d like you to meet Jennie, Lisa, and—”

“Rose.” He says, the name barely escaping from his lips. Suddenly he didn’t know which Choi Yeonjun he had to present himself as. Standing there in front of her after so long, he didn’t feel like Choi Yeonjun the future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation or Choi Yeonjun the one and only MO Academy It Boy. He felt like the Choi Yeonjun he was 2 years ago, helpless and tongue tied in her presence.

“Yeonjun.” she says, smiling at him then. And there was something about her smile and how her smiling at him made him feel the same way as he did 2 years ago, as if nothing had changed. Before he even knew it, he felt his own smile appear on his face.

“Oh dear, are you 2 acquainted with each other? I had no clue!” Jisoo giggles, looking back and forth between them with curious eyes.

“Well, I didn’t know that it was Yeonjun’s birthday we were attending.” Rose says, her eyes still on him. “He and I go way back.”

“That sounds intriguing.” Jennie comments, and Yeonjun snaps out of it, realizing that he was being rude.

“Sorry, hi, I’m Yeonjun. Nice to meet you.” he says, his charming smile back on as he shakes hands with Jennie. Jennie smiles back at him politely before he moves to shake Lisa’s hand, which she gladly reciprocates.

As he stretches a hand out to Rose for her to shake, she instead shakes her head and holds her arms out to him. He debates whether or not to accept her invitation since it would feel strange to hug his ex again after 2 years, but since Jisoo was there and he didn’t want to seem rude, he decided to allow Rose to hug him.

Hugging her felt nostalgic, and once again he felt as if he had been brought back in time, her rose scented perfume consuming his thoughts and flooding his mind with memories he thought he’d already forgotten. He decides to step back at that moment, not wanting his subconscious to take him back any further.

“Now that that’s settled, why don’t you join us for a few drinks?” Jisoo pipes up again, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. “And Yeonjun darling, I’d love it if you filled me in on your history with my dear friend Rose here.”

Once again, as Choi Yeonjun the future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation, he felt powerless against Kim Jisoo, successor to the famous Kim Jonghyun, and he feels his jaw start to hurt from smiling as he says “I would gladly join you, Jisoo. It would be my pleasure.”

Jisoo squeals and claps her hands with glee as she hooks her arms through Jennie and Lisa, leaving him and Rose to follow.

Yeonjun looks at Rose once again, her long fiery red hair styled in a braid and her slender figure wrapped in a sequined mini dress, as if she hadn’t changed at all over the years.

She smiles at him, looking at him like she always used to. “Come on, we better catch up before we lose sight of them.” she says, referring to her friends.

Yeonjun nods, the strange wave of nostalgia hitting him like a truck, blurring his grasp on the present. “Let’s go.” he says, as she puts a hand on his arm and he lets a hand rest on the small of her back to guide her through the crowd.

Unbeknownst to him, there was a pair of eyes who saw the whole exchange.

Han Baby, who was standing by the bar watching Yeonjun make his way through the room as Ryujin poured shots, suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her chest as she recognized the girl with the fiery red hair and the way Yeonjun had looked at her.

“Alright, here’s one for me and one for you, you better drink up you little shi—B? What’s wrong?” Ryujin says, as she drops the shots on the counter and notices her friend’s sudden dazed state. Ryujin follows B’s gaze and sees Yeonjun with Rose as well.

“Ah shit. Hey B, why don’t we—” she starts to say, but before she knows it, B squeezes her eyes shut and takes off running, bolting so fast that Ryujin barely had time to see which way she went.

“Well fuck.” Ryujin whispers to herself, downing the shots on her own before squeezing her way through the crowd to search for her friend.

•°•

Soobin’s night was not going very well.

After his nerves almost ate him alive during their game of Kiss or Tell, he had been trying his best to distract himself by getting drunk to shake them off, along with his feelings for B.

So what if he had kissed her cheek? It was barely even a kiss, it was just his lips lightly brushing against her skin, so light that he could barely even feel it, and holy shit did his lips really touch her skin?

The whole night, he had been trying his best to avoid both Yeonjun and B, which had been easy enough since he knew Yeonjun had to attend to his father’s chosen attendees and he knew that B would be kept preoccupied by Ryujin. But after having one too many drinks, he found himself in need of some quiet time to stop his head from spinning.

He sees a small closet door near the back of the club and decides to go for it, knowing that at best, it would only have a few cleaning supplies, maybe a mop and broom or 2 inside.

But as he opens the door, he’s surprised not only to see that the closet was much bigger than he thought it would be, but also to see a small figure hunched over on the floor.

“B? Is that you?” Soobin says, squinting his eyes so he could see better. The figure was sitting on the floor with their knees hugged to their chest and their face buried in their arms so he wasn’t sure, but as she looks up, her tear-filled eyes meeting his, he knew without a shadow of doubt that it was her.

“Who is it? Are you Soobin?” she slurs.

“Yes, it’s me, Soobin. B, are you crying? What’s wrong?” he asks, suddenly alarmed. What was she doing hiding in the closet of a nightclub on her the night of her boyfriend’s birthday party, crying her eyes out?

“No, it’s nothing. Soobin, I just want to be alone right now. Can you just forget you ever saw me, Soobin? Please?” she barely manages to say, her words blending together.

Soobin found himself frozen in place, his hand squeezing the doorknob as he contemplates what his next move should be.

Taehyun’s words rang through his head.

“Don’t get involved. Yes, you’re their friend, but don’t get yourself involved in anything that has to do with their relationship.”

But as Soobin looked at B, crouching on the cold floor, her arms wrapped around her legs, her chin resting on her knees, her mascara running down her cheeks, her tear-filled eyes looking at him with heavy sadness, he couldn’t help himself.

Seeing her like that, he couldn’t bear to leave her. He told himself it was just because she was his friend and she needed a friend right at the moment, but he knew he was only fooling himself. He took a deep breath before letting go of the doorknob and carefully making his way to her.

He crouches down on the floor next to her, being mindful to keep enough space between them. The first thing he does is take off his black denim jacket and draping it over her knees, aware that she was wearing a rather short dress and wanting to make sure that she wouldn’t feel violated by him. Next, he asks her “What happened?”

She looks at him then, and his heart aches for her. She looked so lost, as if her mind couldn’t process whatever thoughts she was having. “Yeonjun’s ex girlfriend is here.”

Soobin’s face automatically turns into one of disgust. “Rose?” Everyone hated Rose. “Why is she here? Are you sure?”

B nods, looking like a lost child. “I saw her walk in with some girls earlier, probably some of those business people Yeonjun mentioned. I knew it was her cause I stalked her on Twitter so I know what she looks like. Of course she looks like a fucking model, with her long fiery red hair and her long figure.” she says bitterly, her words slurring slightly. Soobin had a feeling that if she weren’t this drunk, she probably would never say any of this out loud. “See here, I even took screenshots.” she says, pulling out her phone and fumbling with it for a bit before shoving it in Soobin’s face.

Soobin was aware of how Rose looked, having been there back when Yeonjun was still dating her, and he was just as unimpressed now as he was back then. “Oh god, who even invited her? And for the record, she does not look like a model, she looks like a witch.” Soobin says sourly, which causes B to snort.

“Oh, just admit that she’s gorgeous, Binnie. I know she is.” she slurs. “Anyway, I was at the bar with Ryujin when she walked in and then I saw the moment Yeonjun saw her, and oh god the look on his face.” she says, her face contorting, clearly showing her disdain. “He came up to her and greeted her, he hugged her, he smiled at her and started talking to her as if she were special or something.”

“Yeonjun did all that? B, that sounds ridiculous.” Soobin says, trying to ease her worries.

“Are you saying I’m crazy?” B almost shrieks, staring at him as if he were crazy. Whoops, wrong move.

“No, it’s just that I know Yeonjun and I know what he was like when things ended with Rose. He was a huge mess, and I just don’t think he’d be dumb enough to treat her like a friend or to even acknowledge her existence after everything that happened.” Soobin says.

B lets out a wail. “But I’m not crazy, Binnie! I saw it with my own 2 eyes, and Ryujin saw it too, and she tried to distract me but it was too late. At that moment my brain couldn’t process what my eyes were seeing and I just sort of ran away to get some clarity.”

“That’s why you’re hiding here? For some clarity?”

B nods, but then her eyes swell up with tears again. “Yes but I still don’t really understand it. The more I think about it, the more it hurts. I don’t know what to do, Binnie. I just wanted to get away.” she says, moving closer and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Soobin takes a breath, well aware of how close she was and the weight of her against his body and how her usual Lavender scent was just drowned out by the stench of alcohol. He didn’t know how just how drunk she was, but Soobin never thought B could be so vulnerably jealous and insecure. He gingerly raises a hand and holds hers, gently running circles on her skin with his thumb as he thinks over his next words very carefully. “Okay, so what if Rose is here? So what if Yeonjun smiled at her or hugged her or whatever else you saw? None of that stuff matters because B, he has you.”

B laughs bitterly. “He has me? What does that matter?”

“It matters because you are one of the best people to exist in this world at this very moment and he knows that. It matters because you are one of the kindest, smartest, cutest, silliest, and most beautiful people I know. It matters because you are special, and he is so damn lucky that he gets to call you his. It matters because a girl like you is impossible to find, and he would be a complete idiot if he let something as insignificant as his cheater of an ex fuck it up.”

It’s quiet for a moment, the only audible sound coming from B as she tries to stop her tears from falling and slow down her breathing. Until she very quietly, almost inaudibly says “Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.”

The thumb tracing circles on her hand freezes and he feels his heart stop beating as her words wash over him. “What did you say?”

“Maybe it should’ve been you.” she sighs. “I’ve been told on more than one occasion that you and I would make a great pair so maybe they were right. Look, you’ve even given me your jacket just now even though I still have one of your hoodies from when we were in your room at Kai’s party! I mean it’s not like I had an option cause you never liked me anyway and Yeonjun did, but maybe if you did, maybe I would’ve chosen you just like everyone said I should’ve or would’ve. Or could’ve? I don’t know.” she slurs, her words heavily blending together yet her message was very clear.

When Soobin remains frozen and silent, B laughs out loud, a few hiccups escaping her as her crying subsides. “Oh god I’m sorry, I’m just so drunk please don’t listen to me. You should go back out there and have fun, don’t waste your time on me. I’m pretty sure I won’t remember this in the morning anyway. And don’t worry, I’ll give you back your hoodie.” she rambles, her words slurring together. And he knew she was right. She was so drunk, he didn’t think he’d ever see her like the wasted mess that she was now.

Soobin looks at her sadly, his heart aching. He couldn’t leave her alone, but he knew that if he stayed with her any longer, especially since she was drunk and spewing out candid thoughts like that, he’d only end up hurting himself. He pulls out his phone and sends a few quick texts before leaning his head back against the wall, waiting.

“You know you always have a choice, right?” Soobin says. “And for the record, it’s not like I never liked you.”

B looks up at him, confused. “What?”

“It’s not like I never liked you, because I did.” Soobin says, praying with all his might that she wouldn’t remember a word of their conversation when she woke up the next morning. “And I still do.”

Before B gets the chance to react, the door flies open, and Taehyun walks in along with Beomgyu, both of them had a slight crazed look in their eyes as if they had run a marathon.

“B! Dear sweet darling, are you okay?” Beomgyu says dramatically as he sweeps into the room and drops himself on the floor in front of her, pulling her into his arms.

“I saw Yeonjun with Rose!” she wails before the tears start to fall from her eyes once again, she crumbles in Beomgyu’s arms, her drunk mind still unable to properly process anything.

“Shhh, there there, you poor miserable thing. It’s alright.” Beomgyu coos, rubbing a hand soothingly along her back. Behind her back, he violently mouths to Soobin and Taehyun “Rose?! What the fuck?!”

Soobin stands and approaches Taehyun, who was standing by the door observing the scene in front of him.

“Thanks for coming, Tyun.” Soobin says. “I can’t–I don’t think I can trust myself around her, not while she’s like this. It’s just–“ he says, struggling with his words as his conversation with B replays in his mind “It hurts too much, I can’t be here for her but I can’t just leave her alone, so thank you.”

Taehyun shakes his head at the older boy. “No problem, Soobin. I told you I’m always here if you need me.” he says, clapping him on the back. “How bad is it?”

“She’s really drunk and she was crying and all upset cause she saw Rose and Yeonjun together.” Soobin explains.

Taehyun nods. “That’s understandable, Rose is a hideous wench just the thought of seeing her makes me want to vomit, much more the thought of her and Yeonjun together. I’m assuming she came with some of Yeonjun’s business friends.” he says. “Anything else?”

“Well…I sort of told her that I like her.” Soobin whispers so that Beomgyu and B wouldn’t hear.

Taehyun’s eyes widen as he hits Soobin’s arm. “What! Soobin! Why would you do that?”

“She was drunk and upset and rambling and saying things and I’m also pretty intoxicated too so it sort of just came out!” Soobin groans. “She’s pretty wasted though so I don’t think she’ll remember anything.”

“You better pray to science and faith that she doesn’t.” Taehyun warns him. “Tell me everything later on, okay? Just go and leave her to us, you look like you could use another drink.”

Soobin nods. “Thanks, Tyun. Fill me in too, how has your night been?” he asks politely.

Taehyun smiles. “I kissed my crush, and my crush kissed me back.”

Soobin’s eyes widen and his mouth drops open in shock. Before he can say anything else, Taehyun laughs and pushes him out of the room before slamming the door in his face.

•°•

Soobin’s night was starting to turn hazy as he kept his alcohol ingestion going, and the more he stumbled through the place the longer the night seemed to drag on.

After his quiet yet disastrous moment with B, he immediately rushed to the bar and started downing shots with a few seniors from their class. Once he felt the alcohol back in his system, he spent some time on the dance floor joining the throng of random sweaty bodies jumping and grinding and bumping against his. At one point, a wasted girl he recognized from his science class pulled him aside and attempted to lock their lips together, which he managed to politely refuse and escape from.

After stumbling his way through the place, he had finally caught sight of a familiar face. Once he spotted the back of Yeonjun’s familiar head of blue hair, he started to make his way towards him, until he saw the head of long fiery red hair that Yeonjun currently had as company.

He stopped in his place, observing his friend as Yeonjun continued to converse with his ex. Soobin could see that they were standing right in front of each other and that they occasionally leaned in close, but he deduced that it was probably just because the music was so loud.

He watches as Rose laughs at something Yeonjun says, laying a hand on his shoulder as she tilts her head back before she leans into him and says something back, which causes Yeonjun’s shoulders to shake with laughter as well.

He watches as Rose pulls him to the dance floor, with Yeonjun initially refusing and trying to keep his feet planted on the floor until the girl pouts at him and manages to pull him along with her, into the middle of the crowd, as they start to jump and shake their bodies along to the beat.

He watches as Rose whips her long red hair over her shoulder as she starts wiggling her body around the blue haired boy, her hands on his shoulders, almost around his neck, as she pulls their bodies flush together and she starts dancing against him.

He watches as she traps Yeonjun’s face in her hands and pulls down until their lips meet, and Soobin’s breath catches in his throat as she does so.

He watches as Yeonjun breaks away and all but shoves her aside, while she looks at him innocently and shrugs. He watches as she attempts to pull him close again, only for Yeonjun to grab her hands and push them away. He watches as Yeonjun finally turns around, their eyes meeting, and he watches Yeonjun freeze as he realizes that Soobin was watching him the whole time.

•°•

Author’s note:

Did someone say... drama? Here’s a lengthy and drama-packed chapter to make up for a delay in the update! I just moved into a new apartment and I’ve been busy with packing and unloading all my stuff so I’m sorry for the delay :c Thank you for all your kind words and your reactions, they really mean so much to me! Let me know what you think!

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part XI : I’m Yours, You’re Mine

A n g e l s & D e v i l s || Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

Over the weekend, B and Kai had spent most of their time lounging around the living room, finishing the entire season of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay on Netflix on Saturday and having a movie marathon on Sunday. They ordered all their meals and had all the food they wanted delivered to the apartment, their food cravings ranging from donuts and milk tea to egg tarts and mint chocolate ice cream. It felt like one of the many sleepovers they used to have when they were kids, only now it was just the 2 of them in a place of their own, without nosy siblings or strict parents to bother them or tell them what they could or couldn’t do.

Other than stuffing their faces with food and drowning their emotions in Netflix, they finally had all the time in the world to do all the catching up that they hadn’t been able to, asking questions and telling stories about what they had missed out on each other’s lives through the years.

“First kiss?” B asks.

“Oh, I think I was in the 7th grade, and it was with Im Yeojin. You?”

“Lucas Wong. A couple of years ago.” B responds.

Kai shakes his head. “That guy was your first kiss ever? Lucas? Your ex?”

B nods. “The one and only. Next question please?”

“Alright, worst ex?” Kai asks intentionally.

“Ningning, you know I’ve only had 1 boyfriend.”

“Yes, and he was the worst! He had the audacity to cheat on you! And all because you wouldn’t ‘put out?’ He's lucky I lived 3 hours away or else I would’ve kicked his ass.” Kai says, huffing.

B laughs, trying to swallow down the lump in her throat that formed whenever she talked about her horrible ex boyfriend. There was so much more to their relationship than him cheating on her cause she wouldn’t put out, but she wasn’t ready to let her best friend know all about it just yet. “Thanks, but judging by the size of his biceps, I don’t think that could’ve ever happened anyway.”

Kai pouts. “Are you saying I should start going to the gym?”

B laughs at him dismissively before changing the subject.

Also, sharing a living space with another person was also a bit of an adjustment for B since she had already gotten used to living alone. Her apartment only had one bathroom which she now shared with Kai, and now she had to keep all her personal toiletries set aside and her feminine hygiene products kept away, not wanting a repeat of the horrifying moment when her best friend walked out of the bathroom with his face all red.

“What happened to you?” she had asked, noticing how flushed he looked after being in the bathroom for 20 minutes.

“You know that when I’m, um, taking a shit I like to read the back of labels of whatever I see in the bathroom, right?” Kai starts slowly.

“Okay, weird, but go on.”

He takes a big gulp before continuing. “Well, let’s just say I now know how to properly put on a tampon. And let me just say, I’m glad I wasn’t born a woman.”

After that incident, B made sure to keep all feminine hygiene products hidden away in the bathroom cabinets. She ensured to leave a stack of random books and magazines on the bathroom counters so Kai would have something to read when doing his business. Other than that, B also had to remind herself that it was no longer socially acceptable to walk around her apartment in nothing but a tshirt and underwear on, since she had gotten used to roaming the space without worrying about other people seeing what she looked like. She usually went to bed in just a shirt and underwear and roll out of bed and straight into the kitchen for breakfast without a care in the world. Now, she had to double check and make sure that she was wearing bottoms and a bra before stepping out of her bedroom.

Even though there were many things she hadn’t considered before inviting a guy to stay in her apartment, she had to admit that it was nice to have company around. She hadn’t realized how lonely it was to live alone until Kai had come along, and now she was already sort of dreading the day when he’d get better and move out. She was starting to consider finding a room mate before then, knowing that she’d feel lonely once her company had to leave.

Come Monday morning, B woke up feeling excited. She rolled out of bed, put on a pair of shorts, and made her way to the kitchen, only to be surprised by the sight of breakfast already prepared on the table. A plate full of bacon and sunny side up eggs, a bowl full of fresh fruit and cereal, and a glass of blue lemonade were all neatly laid out on the table, and Kai was sitting there with an apron still tied around his waist. When he saw B step out from her room, he immediately greeted her “Wakey wakey Baba, time to go back to school!”

B rubs the sleep from her eyes, making sure she wasn’t just dreaming that Kai had prepared breakfast for her. Once the smell of freshly cooked bacon filled wafted in the air, she immediately brightens up and walks on over to give her best friend a hug.

“Ningning, you did all this for me? Thank you so much!” she says in awe.

“Yup, I wanted to make it special since it’ll be your first day back at MOA today.” Kai says. “Now hurry up before it gets cold. You have to be ready in 40 minutes.”

B all but gobbles up all the food that Kai had prepared for her before jumping into the shower, drying her hair, putting on some make up and changing into her school uniform, making sure she had everything she needed before letting Kai walk her to the front door.

“Have fun, Baba!” Kai says.

“Sure thing. Make sure to keep the door locked and call me if you need anything.” she says, waving goodbye before making her way downstairs to meet Taehyun.

As soon as Taehyun sees her, his eyes visibly light up.

“B! Finally, I’ve missed you so much.” he says, waving hello before stretching his arms out towards her. “Come here!”

B excitedly runs up, preparing to hug Taehyun, until at the last minute he folds his hands across his chest and takes a step back, which stops her in her tracks.

“On second thought, don’t touch me. You may be medically cleared already, but since Hyuka’s staying with you, you might still be carrying the pox.” he says. It’s only then when she notices that he was wearing a face mask and had a small spray bottle of alcohol hanging from his school ID lace.

She smiles at him sheepishly. “I missed you too, you know.” she says, opting to wrap her arms around her own torso instead.

He laughs at her silly antics before following suit, wrapping his arms around himself. “Let’s just pretend that we’re hugging right now.”

B nods. “Alrighty. Thanks, Tyun.”

“Don’t mention it. Now come on, put on your face mask and make sure you have hand sanitizer before we go.” he says, adjusting the mask on his face.

She puts on a mask and puts a small bottle of hand sanitizer in her pocket before they start making their way to school.

“I’ve missed these walks of ours.” B says happily, breathing in the morning air.

“I’ve missed them too. And I’ve missed you. School was a bit boring without you, and walking to school alone just didn’t feel the same.”

“How have things at MOA been, apart from the health protocols? And how are the guys?” B asks.

“Apart from the implementation of health protocols, school has pretty much been the same. The guys miss you. I think they’re excited to see you.” Taehyun responds.

“I miss them too.” B says, sighing. She and Yeonjun had FaceTimed every night through the weekend, but she missed him, and she felt a bit sad that they had to cancel their supposed last date. She had to admit that she missed the other guys too. “What makes you think they’re excited to see me, though?”

“They told me to ask you if you could meet them by the front gate of MOA before classes start this morning.” Taehyun says.

“Oh? They did? Weird, but okay. I wonder why.” B says, trying to think of why they might want to meet up. “How have you been? Has anything in your life changed in the past week?” she asks.

Taehyun shrugs. “Not really, same old same old. Just the usual studying at school and working at the café.” he says. “What about you? How have you been doing?”

B shrugs too, mimicking his response. “I’ve been good, nothing much going on.” she says casually, which was a lie. She wanted to tell him about Yeonjun and about how he asked her out and all the dates he put together, but a part of her was scared about how he’d react, so she thought it would be better to tell him when the time was right.

As she and Taehyun approach the campus, her eyes catch sight of 3 familiar figures standing right outside of the gates, particularly to the head of blue hair.

B feels her heart jump out of her chest, speeding up her walking, and Taehyun runs to catch up to her as she starts waving her arms in the air the closer they got until the 3 boys look up in her direction and they all wave back.

“Seriously, you 3, why aren’t you wearing face masks?” Taehyun says as they meet the 3 boys outside the gate.

“Well good morning to you too, Tyun.” Beomgyu says playfully. “Relax, we’re not within campus grounds so we don’t have to wear masks yet.”

B laughs at their banter. “I think Tyun’s just worried that you’ll catch Kai’s chicken pox germs if you stand too close to me without a mask on.” she jokes. “So, why are we meeting up here outside the gates instead of at the front steps like we usually do?”

“Hey, B! Good to see you again.” Beomgyu says.

“Well, you see, there are new health protocols set in place on campus right now, and as members of the student council, we can never be caught violating any rules set within the school.” Yeonjun begins, smiling at her brightly, like there was a secret that only the 2 of them shared.

“Alright, and…?” B asks, not sure where they were going with this.

“And before we go in and start off another week of school, there’s just this 1 health protocol we’d like to violate.” Beomgyu continues.

“Okay, which one? Is it the face mask thing? Why are we standing outside the school gates?” B asks, still confused.

“So we can do this.” Soobin says, before taking a step towards B with arms outstretched and pulling her into him, his whole body engulfing her in a hug.

He feels time stop the moment his arms wrap themselves around her body, her face buried in his chest, the top of her head inches away from his chin, the smell of her lavender-scented shampoo tickling his nose, his hands resting on the curves in her waist.

When Soobin woke up feeling excited that day, he told himself it was just because he was excited to start a new week of school, but deep down he knew that wasn’t the case.

When the guys suggested that they wait for B outside the school gates so that they could greet her a proper ‘welcome back,’ he felt a flutter in his chest, and he told himself that it was just because he was happy that their group would be complete again (minus Kai), but deep down, he knew he was only fooling himself.

When he and the guys stood outside the school gates waiting for B and Taehyun to arrive, he could feel his heart start to beat even faster in anticipation, and he told himself it was just because he was looking forward to see their friend again after a whole week, but he knew there was more to it than that.

When he saw her waving her arms in the air and walking towards them, he felt his breath catch in his throat, and he told himself it was just because he was surprised to see her looking so radiant and healthy knowing how badly sick she was, but he knew it was because of how he was just now realizing how beautiful she really was.

When he took a step towards her and engulfed her delicate figure in his arms, feeling the warmth of her body against his, a feeling washed over him unlike anything he’s experienced before, as if by having her in his arms everything in the world was finally falling into place and the pounding in his chest and the flutter of butterfly wings in his stomach finally made sense, and it was at that moment he knew with absolute certainty just what it was.

It was her. It was B.

He didn’t know how it came to be, or why exactly it happened, but all he knew was that it was her.

It was him realizing that he was falling in love with her.

And the feeling hit him so suddenly with such clarity that for a moment, it felt like the whole world stood still, as his breath seemed to catch in his throat and time seemed to stop as he held her in his arms, savoring the moment and all the emotions that were hitting him all at once.

She lets out a surprised squeal as Soobin pulls her in, only to be muffled by her face being buried in his chest as they embrace.

“Soobinie!” she says, laughing in surprise. “I missed you too.”

Soobin smiles to himself, tempted to rest his chin on her head, but he was aware of the presence of their friends, so he slowly lets her go, his eyes meeting Taehyun’s as he does, and Taehyun’s expression quickly changes as he realizes what was happening.

Taehyun raises his brows in question, and Soobin gives him a quick and discreet nod in response, to which Taehyun shakes his head.

Soobin keeps his head down to conceal the blush creeping into his face as B steps away and Beomgyu tackles her into a hug.

“We missed you so much! I wish I could’ve gotten an excuse to skip school for a week too, though.” Beomgyu says slyly.

“Hey, I did not skip school! I called you everyday to listen in on lectures, remember?” B says defensively, hitting Beomgyu’s chest. “If you wanna stay at home so bad, maybe you should come over to my place. I’m sure Hyuka would gladly give you a big hug, along with the chicken pox of course.”

Beomgyu steps away and holds his hands up in the air in front of him. “No way, I don’t want chicken pox. I’d rather endure school than have hideous spots all over my body.”

B looks at him offended. “You think I have hideous spots all over my body?” she says through gritted teeth.

“Oh, now you’ve done it, Gyu.” Taehyun says, watching as Beomgyu runs away from B to hide behind him. “Don’t worry B, I’ll help you kidnap him after school. I think Hyuka would like to have an extra playmate.”

“I never said that!” Beomgyu cries, running from Taehyun to Yeonjun now, hiding behind the blue haired boy. “B, you look beautiful as always. If anything, the spots just accentuate your beauty.” he says desperately.

B scoffs. “Oh shut up. You’re lucky I like you, or else I would’ve slapped you so hard that the spots would transfer from my skin to yours.”

Yeonjun laughs, shielding Beomgyu behind him. “Wow, I never pegged you to be violent.” he says.

B shrugs. “I’m not. I’m just saying, I could slap someone if I wanted to.”

Yeonjun shakes his head, pulling her into his arms. “Welcome back, Baby.” he whispers in her ear, giving her a quick peck on the cheek and slowly stroking the small of her back, making sure that the other boys don’t see, before letting her go.

Once she pulls away, her face is noticeably red, and Yeonjun can’t help but laugh. God, she looked adorable. He gives her a quick wink before saying “And now that that’s settled, shall we head to class?”

The 3 boys put on their facemasks and let B lead the way into the school gates, each of them having their body temperatures checked and their hands disinfected before walking through the gates.

As B walks ahead of the boys, the 4 boys pair off.

Beomgyu slings an arm around Yeonjun’s shoulders, keeping his voice low as he says “So now that’s she’s back, will you guys have the talk now?”

“What talk?” Yeonjun asks.

“The talk? The relationship talk. You know, the talk about your feelings and where you guys stand and what your label is and stuff like that.” Beomgyu says knowingly. “If the 2 of you don’t want to put a label on whatever it is you 2 are, then you should at least let the other guys know that you’re dating.”

Yeonjun shrugs. “Don’t worry, Gyu. I’ve got it all planned out, you’ll see. I’ve been planning this for days now, but considering that we’re at school, I’ll have to make do. At the end of the day, we might even let you guys know about us.” he responds, his eyes glued to the girl in front of them, which automatically puts a smile on his face. “I’m gonna make that girl mine.”

Meanwhile, Taehyun attempts to sling his arm around Soobin’s shoulders, but with the other boy being much taller and walking a bit faster, he settled for interlocking his arm around Soobin’s instead.

“Oh, hey Tyun.” Soobin says, surprised by the sudden lock on his arm. “What’s up?”

“’What’s up?’” Taehyun says, mimicking him. “You tell me. All your questions about falling in love and stuff…were they about B? Is it her? Are you in love with—”

Soobin cuts him off. “Shhh, the other guys might hear you!” he says, hurriedly looking around and seeing that no one was within ear shot. “Yes, it’s about her. Let’s talk about this later, okay? Alone.”

Taehyun sighs. “Fine, but wow, I should’ve known. I had a feeling it was her. You 2 would make a great couple.” he says teasingly.

“Oh shut up, you know-it-all.” Soobin says, flustered. “I’m sure you would’ve figured it out sooner or later anyway, you’re too damn smart, you know?”

Taehyun laughs. “It doesn’t take a genius to see that you’ve got it bad, Binnie.” he says. “Let’s talk about it soon, okay? Just hang in there.”

Soobin sighs, his eyes focus on the girl walking in front of them. “Trust me, I’m trying.”

•°•

B had to admit that Yeonjun’s sudden request had her heart fluttering, but more than anything it got her head buzzing with curiosity. Within 5 minutes she had excused herself from class, 3rd period biology which she didn’t share with any of the guys, and she was on her way to the student council room, which she had only been to once before with Soobin and Yeonjun. Technically, she was cutting class, but a few minutes probably wouldn’t hurt.

B takes a deep breath, not knowing what quite to expect, before turning the knob on the double doors to the student council room, taking a step inside.

The room was dark, the blackout curtains doing their job, and was only illuminated by the light spilling in from the door and a set of candles in the middle of the conference table, which also highlighted the fact that the conference table seemed to be overflowing with blue rose petals.

And there was Yeonjun, leaning against the table, a single blue rose in his hand. It’s only then when B looks down and notices that the carpeted floor all the way from the entrance of the room to the spot where Yeonjun was standing by the conference table was littered with blue rose petals.

“Yeonjun? What is this?” B asks, stepping inside and closing the door behind her, the only source of light in the room now coming from the candles. She removes her face mask, noticing that he wasn’t currently wearing one, and pockets it in her blazer.

“Baby. Come here.” he says, patting the spot on the table beside him. B walks over to the table, stepping on countless blue petals as she did so, and once she reaches him, Yeonjun takes her by surprise and carries her, lifting her up and setting her down on the table.

“Yeonjun!” she squeals in surprise, clinging on to him for dear life. As her bottom hits the table, she lets go and whacks his arm. “You surprised me!” she huffs, surprised by his sudden maneuver. “And you’re breaking the health protocols! What’s all this for anyway?”

He stands in front of her, simply staring at her, admiring how she looked in the candlelight. A few blue petals had fallen over the edge when he set her down on the table, but that didn’t bother him. He had skipped the entirety of 3rd period to prepare for this moment, so he wouldn’t let anything distract him now.

“All this?” he simply says. Upon seeing the confused look on her face, he takes a step towards her, situating himself in between her dangling legs, and he rests his hands on either side of her, his palms laid flat on the table just centimeters away from her thighs. The whole mood in the room shifted from playful to something different with just that simple action. “All this is for you.”

B could feel her heart start to pound in her chest again. She tried to keep a level head but Yeonjun was standing so close that she could smell him, the scent of his cologne now very familiar to her, and she could feel parts of his uniform lightly tickling at her inner thighs where he stood, sending shivers down her spine. “For me? Why?”

“Because, Baby, you deserve it. You deserve all of it.” he begins carefully, slowly, his gaze locking her in place. “I told you I want to give you all the good things you deserve, and during the past week I tried. Those dates meant a lot to me and I can only hope that you enjoyed them half as much as I did. My plans were cut short because of your unexpected temporary roommate,” he says, fondly referring to Kai, “and maybe I should’ve waited a little bit longer to do this, but I don’t think I can keep this to myself any longer.”

B looks down then, her cheeks starting to heat up. She sees how close his hands are to her thighs and her mouth goes dry. He was standing so close. “What are you talking about?” she says, her eyes transfixed on his hands.

Her eyes follow as he raises one hand to cup her face, lifting it up slightly to meet his gaze. “I want you, Baby.” he says, looking right into her eyes. “I want you to be mine.”

B takes a deep breath, finding herself unable to look away, before she says “I want you, too.”

And with those words, Yeonjun couldn’t resist any longer. He leaned forward, closing what little distance was left between them, and pulled her face up to his, their lips crashing together.

~ w a r n i n g : makeout scene ~

Praying that he couldn’t hear her pounding heartbeat, B returns the kiss with equal fervor, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him even closer. Her fingers entwine themselves in the hair at the nape of his neck, effectively disheveling his blue hair.

Yeonjun’s hands inch away from the table and come in direct contact with her thighs, the sudden warmth of his palms on her bare skin causing B’s mouth to open a little to let out a breath of surprise. She feels him smile against her lips, amused by her reaction, before taking the opportunity to trace her lower lip with his tongue, seeking entrance, which she allows.

His hands start to move slowly up her body then, he slides them up from her thighs to her waist, her skirt hiking up a few inches higher in the process. He breaks the kiss, allowing a moment for them to catch their breaths, before bowing his head down, his lips coming in contact with the sensitive skin on her neck.

“Oh god.” B breathes out, surprised by the contact, and again she feels his lips form a smile against her skin. She tilts her head backwards, his lips trailing kisses along her exposed skin, her heavy breaths starting to make her feel lightheaded.

Just as he’s about to pull away, his lips brush against the dip in her collarbone, causing her to wrap her legs around his waist and her fingers in his hair to dig in deeper, her body reacting to him before her mind could grasp what was happening.

“Fuck.” he breathes against her skin, feeling himself start to lose control.

B’s grip loosens then, her hands dropping from his hair to rest on his shoulders, her breathing heavy as she lets her head fall forward to rest on the top of his head, his face still buried in her neck. “Sorry.” she whispers, trying to control the rise and fall of her chest.

His grip on her waist remains tight, her blouse bunched up in his fists, his head buried in her neck as he tries to calm himself down, his breath coming out through clenched teeth. For a moment, they stay like that, until Yeonjun’s grip gradually starts to loosen, letting go of the fabric of her blouse as his hands go from clenching her waist to gently tracing circles on the now exposed skin on her hips.

~ end of makeout scene ~

“You…” he begins slowly, lifting his head and letting it rest against her forehead, their breaths mingling. “You drive me crazy, you know?”

She lets out a small laugh, shaking her head lightly against his. “Not really, no.”

He laughs too, reaching a hand up to caress her hair, his eyes on hers once again. “Baby.” he simply says.

“Yes?” she responds, unable to stop a smile from creeping on her face. He smiles too, his heart fluttering, and he takes a deep breath before saying the next few words.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

She nods her head eagerly, their foreheads rubbing together. “Choi Yeonjun, I’m all yours.” she says, laughing upon seeing his bright smile. She kisses his nose, then his forehead and each of his cheeks. He starts laughing as she showers his face with light kisses. “I’m yours, you’re mine, Baby.” he says, the feeling washing over him.

“You think it’s safe to let everyone know now?” Yeonjun asks her, remembering how he promised Beomgyu they’d tell the rest of the boys about it soon.

B nods, biting her lip as she thinks of how people would react to the news. Yeonjun was her boyfriend. “Yes.”

He uses his thumb to free her lower lip from her teeth, gently tracing it before kissing her softly again. “Let’s tell the guys later. At lunch.” he says, referring to their daily lunchbreaks spent at the gazebo.

“Sure.” she says. Then she pulls away and pushes herself off the table, straightening out her uniform as she does so. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Biology class to get back to.”

Yeonjun smirks, watching her pull her skirt down and tuck the hem of her blouse back in, straightening her blazer and running her fingers through her hair. It gave him some sort of satisfaction, knowing that he had gotten her so disheveled. He leans back against the table, running a hand through his hair and straightening out his necktie as well, keeping his hands in the front pockets of his trousers.

“Aren’t you coming back to class?” B asks, pulling the face mask out of her blazer pocket and putting securing it over her nose and mouth. “There’s only a few more minutes, and then it’ll be our lunch break.”

Yeonjun shakes his head. “I never went to third period.” he admits. “You better get back to class and surrender your hall pass though. I’ll meet you at the gazebo for lunch.” he says.

B’s mouth drops open. “You skipped third period?” she exclaims. “Please promise me you won’t skip classes again, please?” she pouts.

He laughs, taking her hand and pulling her closer. “I promise. Except for when my father requests it, though. But this is the last non-business related time I skip class.” he says, kissing the back of her hand. “You better hurry back, the bell rings in about 10 minutes.”

“Oh my god, I am so dead!” she squeals, her eyes widen as starts to pull away, but Yeonjun’s grip on her wrist keeps her in place.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he says pointedly, his brow raised.

“Oh.” she simply says, before standing on her tiptoes and using a finger to pull her mask down, giving him a quick peck on the lips before pulling the mask back up. “That?”

He laughs, shaking his head. “You are adorable. I meant this,” he says, planting the single blue rose in her free hand. “but thanks, Baby.”

She blushes beet red then, straightening out her blazer one last time and quickly saying “See you at lunch, Yeonjun!” before dashing out the door.

He uses the remaining 10 minutes of 3rd period to distract himself from his thoughts by cleaning up all the rose petals he had set up. He wasn’t expecting things to get so heated, he only wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend, but he had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events. Just thinking about how she had reacted to his touches and how adorably flustered she got made him smile to himself, but the memory of her wrapping her legs around his waist and tilting her head back sent his mind wandering into the very place he was trying to distract himself from in the first place.

He sighs, shaking his head as he forced his thoughts to go focus into another mindset instead. He checks his watch, the petals all put away in a garbage bag. As the lunch bell rings, he grabs his things and locks the student council room behind him, putting on a face mask before making his way to the gazebo where he would meet his friends and his girlfriend for lunch.

Now he just had to tell his friends about his girlfriend.

•°•

When B got back to her Biology class, the teacher fortunately didn’t seem to notice that she was gone for well over 5 minutes, but her friends definitely did. When she sat back down beside Ryujin and Yuna, they definitely noticed how long her absence was, and they took note of how flushed she looked, and of the blue rose that he had haphazardly tucked under her blazer.

“Spill it. Now.” the 2 girls eagerly say, eyeing her like a hawk.

“Yeonjun asked me to meet up with him at the student council room.” B whispers to them, making sure that they were the only ones within earshot.

“Ooh, a steamy secret rendezvous in the middle of class?” Ryujin says teasingly.

“No, it wasn’t like that.” B aggressively whispers back, well-aware of how her cheeks were heating up as she tries to push away thoughts of Yeonjun’s lips on her neck.

“So what was it like then?” Yuna asks innocently.

Unable to contain her smile, B says “He asked me to be his girlfriend. And I said yes.”

The 2 girls quietly squeal at the good news. “Wow! Congrats!” Ryujin says.

Yuna nods. “Wow, and just like that for the first time in 2 years, Choi Yeonjun has a girlfriend.”

“2 years? He hasn’t had a girlfriend in 2 years?” B asks, surprised. Since everyone kept mentioning Yeonjun having a record for being one of the biggest flirts on campus, she was expecting him to have a long list of complicated past relationships.

“Well, real serious girlfriends, yeah. He’s been on a few dates with some girls since then, but it never really went beyond that so I wouldn’t call them girlfriends. And if I’m not mistaken, she was his first girlfriend. His first love, actually.” Yuna says thoughtfully. “I don’t really know her since she was never a student here.”

“I did, sort of.” Ryujin pipes up. “Gyu told me all about the guys’ past relationships. He mentioned Yeonjun and Rose’s relationship a lot. He said she was…” she starts, trying to choose her words carefully. “well, a complete bitch.”

“Rose?” B says, the name completely foreign to her. “His first girlfriend? So he’s only had 1 other girlfriend before me? And she was a complete bitch?” she asks, her head spinning with information.

Ryuji nods. “Yeah, despite his track record and dating history, he’s only ever had 1 serious relationship, and that was with Rose.” she says. “Gyu said they were intense. It was one of those relationships that were just so, um, loud I guess?”

“Loud? What do you mean?” B asks, genuinely curious yet a bit afraid to find out the answer.

“Gyu said they were one of those couples who were always so in-your-face about their relationship. Yeonjun wasn’t active on social media back then, but she was, and she was flaunting her relationship all over, showing off all the stuff he’d spoil her with and everything. Not only that, but they were one of those couples that, when going through a fight, the whole world would know about. According to Gyu, their relationship was dramatic and fiery and intense and so damn toxic, but Yeonjun was head over heels for her, which annoyed the guys to no end.”

“That sounds kind of awful.” B says, unable to imagine Yeonjun in such a relationship. “Kind of weird that the guys didn’t seem so supportive, either?”

Ryujin shakes her head. “That’s not even the worst of it. Apparently, she cheated on him with another rich kid she met while she was on vacation or something. Gyu says he hasn’t hated anyone as much as he hated Rose.”

“Now that sounds really awful.” B said, the information overload swirling around in her head. She couldn’t even imagine how awful this girl must’ve been for even Beomgyu and his friends to hate her so much. Why had Yeonjun fallen in love with such an awful person? And how could he have stayed in such a toxic relationship? And how could anyone cheat on him?

“I can’t say for sure since I personally don’t know her, Gyu just showed me a few of her pictures before, but he made her sound like the devil incarnate.” Ryujin says.

“Well, devil incarnate or not, Yeonjun’s definitely taken his standards to a different level with you.” Yuna says a bit comfortingly, squeezing B’s arm, trying to move away from the unpleasant topic. “And the best part is, I’m pretty sure all his friends love you already, so you won’t have to worry about that either. You and Yeonjun are solid.”

“Thanks, Yuna.” B says, smiling in relief. Then, remembering what Kai had told her about wanting to ask Yuna out, B giggles to herself.

“What was that for?” Yuna asks, noticing the sudden giggle.

Just then, the lunch bell rings, and B stands up instantly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Nothing. Just excited about my new relationship, I guess.” And about your soon-to-be relationship with my best friend. she thinks to herself, before greeting the girls goodbye and leaving the room.

Due to Kai’s absence, she had to walk to the gazebo alone, growing accustomed to having him pick her up outside her classroom so they could walk to the gazebo together. Now that she was left alone with her thoughts, she was starting to feel overwhelmed about everything that had happened that morning, from being back in school to her meet up with Yeonjun to officially being his girlfriend to learning about his ex. Even though she had learned a lot from Ryujin, she had to admit that her curiosity was still taking over her thoughts, which she knew would probably do no good for her new relationship.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder about Yeonjun’s past relationship, and worry about how similar it had sounded to her relationship with her one and only ex boyfriend.

As she approaches the gazebo, she sees that Yeonjun and the rest of the guys were already there, sitting at their usual places. Without Kai, she wasn’t sure where she should sit. She usually sat beside Soobin cause that’s where Kai would usually sit before welcoming her into the group, but now she wasn’t sure.

Before she started to worry too much about where to sit, the boys spotted her approaching the gazebo and started waving at her. She smiles and waves back, stepping into the gazebo.

“There you are! Ah, it feels good to see your face around here again.” Beomgyu says, welcoming her in. “And just in time, too. Yeonjun says he has an important announcement that he’d like to make.”

“That we’d like to make, actually.” Yeonjun says, offering B a hand as she steps in, and she takes his hand shyly, letting him guide her into the small space.

“Oh?” Taehyun says, eyeing the 2 with a bad feeling in his gut. “What announcement?”

B takes a deep breath suddenly feeling shy and nervous, her eyes on the ground. She was starting to feel worried about how their friends might react, and guilty about not telling them about the whole thing in the first place. She had grown very fond of the boys and felt very comfortable around them, their closeness making her feel safe, as if she belonged. She was afraid that being Yeonjun’s girlfriend would change the way they see her or the way they treat her.

Sensing her nerves, Yeonjun squeezes her hand, urging her to look at him instead. He offers her a small smile, which she nervously returns. He nods at her before turning his attention to the 3 boys seated. “First thing’s first, I just wanna say that I’m sorry we didn’t tell you guys about this sooner. We just agreed that it would be best to keep it between us until we were sure about how things would go.”

“Whatever it is, we understand.” Soobin says with a smile on his face yet with a sinking feeling in his stomach, his mind buzzing at Yeonjun’s choice of words.

We.

Taehyun looks at his president with worry, a part of him dreading whatever Yeonjun would say next yet already sensing what was coming.

Yeonjun smiles brightly, his heart fluttering as he looks at the girl by his side before slinging an arm over her shoulders and pulling her to his side. “Baby and I are together.”

As the words leave Yeonjun’s mouth, Soobin’s gaze instantly falls on B, wanting to see if it was true or if it was some sort of weird prank that Yeonjun was pulling. When he sees her smile shyly, attempting to bury her face in the blue haired boy’s chest, his heart sinks.

“We’re officially a couple.” she confirms, her face getting redder by the second as she looks up at Yeonjun, who he could tell was grinning behind his face mask.

Soobin didn’t know what felt worse, the fact that his best friend and the girl he just realized he was falling for were now a couple, or the fact that now he was falling in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. Seeing them together now—her with her flushed cheeks and her tight grip on Yeonjun’s necktie and him with his arm dropping down from her shoulders to her waist, securing her by his side—made Soobin feel a bit sick. But what made him feel even sicker was the fact that seeing them together was making him feel sick in the first place. His best friend had finally found an amazing girl 2 years after his horrendous break up and was now dating said amazing girl. He wanted nothing more than to feel happy, but the fact that he didn’t made him feel terrible.

Before Soobin’s guilt starts to consume him, Beomgyu suddenly claps, sending a jolt through everyone in the gazebo. “Wow, congratulations B and YJ!” he says, approaching the couple and happily slapping the older boy on his back. “You 2 look great together.”

“Thanks, Gyu.” B says shyly, her blush visible even through her face mask, one hand fisting Yeonjun’s necktie as he kept her close to him.

“Don’t mention it, I’m happy that this guy has finally moved on.” Beomgyu says teasingly. “And that he was able to score someone way out of his league.” he says, wiggling his brows at the pair.

“Shut up, BG.” Yeonjun says, playfully shoving Beomgyu away before they share a quick high five “You’re right though, I don’t know how I got so lucky.” he says, using his free hand to caress her hair.

“Shut up, both of you.” she says, flustered. She looks at Taehyun and Soobin anxiously, holding her breath as she waited for their reactions. So far, the two boys had either been staring at her and Yeonjun or at each other.

Finally, Taehyun stands up, approaching the couple. “B.” he simply says, which causes her heart to sink a little.

“Tyunie?” she asks, nervously waiting to know his verdict. She and Taehyun had formed a sort of special bond over their walks together, and his opinion was the one that she worried about the most. She wanted to apologize on the spot for not telling him about it sooner, and explain everything about the past couple of weeks to him to make him understand why she had chosen to keep her relationship with Yeonjun a secret. She didn’t know why, but she wanted Taehyun’s approval.

He smiles at her then, and she feels the weight lifted off her chest. “Congratulations.” he finally says, stepping towards her and hugging her, which she wholeheartedly returned. She lets out a sigh as he rubs her back, her chin tucked into his shoulder, before he pulls away. “I just broke a health protocol for you.” he suddenly says, horrified. He instantly steps away then and starts to vigorously spray his hands, arms and neck with alcohol, which causes B to burst out laughing.

“You did it cause you looove me.” she says teasingly. “And thanks, Tyun.” she says, glad that he approved, though she made a mental note to tell him about all the details later on. She felt like she owed him that much.

It’s quiet for a moment as Yeonjun’s gaze lands on Soobin, the only one in the group who hadn’t shown any reaction towards the news as he had just been staring back and forth between him and B the whole time.

For Yeonjun, it was Soobin’s opinion he valued the most. Soobin was one of the few people in the world that Yeonjun would trust with his life. He was the only one among his friends who supported his relationship with Rose, valuing Yeonjun’s happiness above his own when he was clearly unhappy about the whole incident.

He was the one who was there for Yeonjun when everything came crashing down, the one who helped Yeonjun pick himself back up after being cheated on by his first love, the one who helped save Yeonjun from the nights when he would drown himself in alcohol in the hopes of numbing the heartache, the one who would sneak into Yeonjun’s house in the middle of the night to make sure he was asleep safe and sound in his bed rather than hooking up with random girls and picking fights with random guys at the bar, the one who would talk Yeonjun into giving his father a chance and reason with him that his father only wanted what was best for his son, the one who encouraged Yeonjun to join the dance club and the jazzed club and the student council, the one who begged the faculty and advisers to give Yeonjun a second chance at finishing school at MOA promising that he would keep his friend in check, the one who would do anything to make Yeonjun smile, and the one who would always tell Yeonjun the truth.

He stares at Soobin until Soobin’s eyes finally meet his and he stands up, making his way towards the blue haired boy. Once they stood face to face, there’s a moment of silence before Soobin’s face melts into a warm smile, his dimples peeking out from under his mask, his eyes crinkling at the corners, which instantly puts a smile on Yeonjun’s face as well.

Yeonjun pulls him into a hug, relieved. “Congratulations, Yeonjun.” the taller boy says, patting his back a couple of times before pulling away. “I’m so happy for you.” he says.

“Thanks, Binnie.” Yeonjun says, patting him on the back as well. “This means a lot to me.”

Soobin nods at him before turning to B, and before he can say or do anything, she throws her arms out to him and pulls him in for a hug, her tiny body feeling especially fragile as her arms squeezed around his waist.

He looks down at B then, finding her in his arms for the second time that day, in almost the exact same way. Again, he feels time stop the moment his arms wrap themselves around her body, only this time she had her arms around his waist as well. Her face was buried in his chest, the top of her head inches away from his chin, the smell of her lavender-scented shampoo taking over his senses, his hands resting on the curves of her waist.

Only now it felt completely different.

When he hugged her this morning, it felt like everything in the world was falling into place, the feeling hitting him so suddenly with such clarity, as if time seemed to stop as he was hit with the realization that he was falling in love.

As he hugged her now, it felt like everything in the world was falling apart, the horrible feeling hitting him as he felt his heart sink deeper and deeper, as if time seemed to stop as he was hit with the reality that she was Yeonjun’s, that what he felt for her was wrong, that he could never let his feelings for her go past what they were now, that he probably shouldn’t even be hugging her anymore.

“Thanks, Soobinie.” she says in response to how he had congratulated Yeonjun.

“No problem, B.” he says, lifting a hand up to gently stroke her hair, taking a deep breath and taking in her lavender scent, savoring the warmth of her body against his one last time, telling himself he’d never hug her like this for as long as he could handle it. As he lays his chin gently at the top of her head, his eyes meet Taehyun’s, who was standing behind her, staring at him with a sad look in his eyes.

Soobin squeezes his eyes shut, prolonging the hug for a moment longer, before finally pulling away, looking directly at her eyes. She was glowing, her face flushed yet radiant, her smile so big that it was visible under her mask, she looked so so happy that it made his heart ache, knowing that the next few words he’d speak out loud would kill him yet knowing that he meant every bit of it.

“I’m happy for you.”

•°•

Author’s note:

Hello, thank you for reading! I’m trying to get more familiar with Tumblr, so if you have any suggestions or comments don’t be afraid to drop them! (PS I’m not even sure how to reply to comments, that’s how bad I am at using Tumblr lol but I promise that all replies are highly appreciated!!) PS: Happy 1 year anniversary/birthday, MOA! <3 Also: STREAM DRAMA MV!

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part X : Secrets of the World

A n g e l s & D e v i l s || Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

The past week has felt surprisingly lonely for Hueningkai since B hadn’t been around. He had enjoyed being at MOA even before B transferred there, but once he got to experience how fun it was to have her at school with him, school just didn’t feel the same.

School had become a bit hectic in the past few days since more students started to show up with chicken pox, so the school started taking drastic measures to minimize the spread of the virus, keeping temperature checks at every entrance and barring students with symptoms from stepping foot on campus. They’ve also encouraged students to wear face masks, minimize physical contact, and always have hand sanitizer or alcohol on hand and to keep check of their immunization records to see which students were susceptible to the disease. Kai himself had been strictly following the newly implemented guidelines, especially since he was a member of the student council, and things were going fine until he woke up with spots on his arms earlier that day.

He immediately locked himself in his bedroom and called up their family doctor to do a quick check up before they deduced that he did indeed have the chicken pox, and that he’d have to keep himself locked up since neither of his sisters have had it before. He was ready to keep himself holed up in his room for the whole week until the guys gave him a great idea.

And now here he was, sitting in B’s living room after she had made sure there were fresh sheets in her extra bedroom and after he had unpacked his clothes and things for the week. He had told her basically everything about the past week except for one tiny detail.

“Hey, Baba, can you sit with me for a minute? There’s something I have to tell you.” he says suddenly, patting the cushion beside him on the couch.

B nervously takes a deep breath before turning to face him. “Yeah, sure.” she says, plastering on a smile and taking a seat. “What is it?”

“Well, now that I’ve told you all about my week, there’s something I feel like I need to ask you.” he says, looking directly at her.

“Okay, ask me anything.” she says, twiddling her thumbs together anxiously. Was it about Yeonjun?

Kai takes a deep breath before taking one of her hands in his and asking, “What would you say if I told you that…”

“That…?”

“That I like someone, and I’d like to ask them out?”

B blinks in surprise. “Oh, uh, I’d say that it’s great? Is there someone that you like? Someone you want to ask out?”

Kai nods. “There is, and I thought I’d ask you first since you know her.”

“I do? Oh, who is it? Is it someone I like?” B asks, surprised.

“Yeah, she’s one of your friends actually.” Kai begins, rubbing the back of his neck as he starts to get shy. “It’s Yuna.”

B claps her hands together and lets out a whoop. “Yes! Oh my god, yes. You 2 are perfect together! Yuna is so sweet and bubbly, and you’re so bright and full of cheer and the 2 of you together will just be like a burst of sunshine.” she says excitedly.

“So you approve? You’d be okay with me maybe asking her out soon?” Kai asks, smiling brightly now.

“Yes, definitely yes!” B says. “Wow, this is great. How did this happen? Have you been talking to her lately? Do you share any classes together?”

Kai nods. “Yeah, we’ve texted a couple of times ever since you dared me to get her number at the party.” he says. “We share a couple of classes together, and I always smile and wave at her when I pass by her at the hall. She’s…cute.” he admits, his cheeks going pink.

“Aw, Ningning, that’s so cute!” B says, resting a hand over her heart. She felt like it was melting from how adorably smitten her bestfriend was. “When are you planning on asking her out?”

“Soon, hopefully. I was thinking of dipping out of Art club to ask her out today, but I woke up with chicken pox, so that’s definitely out of the question. I mean, I could still ask her out through text, but I thought it would be better to do it in person.” he explains.

B nods in agreement. “Yes, definitely better in person. That way, you can see her reaction. Whether she’ll blush bright red or if she’ll be nervous, it would be better than just texting her.” she says.

Kai nods in agreement. Now that B felt more at ease, knowing that Kai had told her he wanted to ask someone out, she decided it would be a good time to ease the whole Yeonjun thing into the conversation. She shot Yeonjun a quick text, letting him know that Kai had arrived at her apartment, before turning to her best friend.

“Now, it’s my turn to ask you something.” she says suddenly, sitting up straight and staring at him intently.

Kai nods curiously. “Alright, sure, what is it?”

“Well, what would you say if I told you that I like someone?” B starts slowly.

“Well, that depends, who do you like?” Kai asks.

“I said if I told you that I like someone.” B says defensively. “So just because I’m asking you about it doesn’t necessarily mean that I actually do like anyone.”

Kai smirks knowingly. “Mhm, okay, whatever you say. So, hypothetically, who would it be?”

B takes a deep breath before saying “Yeonjun?” her voice coming out as barely a whisper.

“I’m sorry, did you say Yeonjun?” Kai says, shocked. “You like Yeonjun? Yeonjun? Like, our Yeonjun? Choi Yeonjun?”

“Shush! And yes, of course that Yeonjun, what other Yeonjun would there be?” B says exasperatedly, whacking Kai’s arm.

And now for the moment of truth. B could feel her heart pounding as there’s a moment of silence between them, Kai processing what he just heard. B was worried about how he’d react. Would he be upset? Would he get angry? Would he disapprove?

Turns out, Kai did none of the above. Instead, he suddenly bursts out laughing, which catches B completely by surprise.

She lets him let it out for a while, his annoyingly endearing dolphin laughter ringing all throughout the apartment, with quick gasps of breaths and “Yeonjun? Our Yeonjun?” in between laughter. She waits for his laughter to die down and for him to catch his breath before continuing.

“Okay, what in the actual heck was that for?” she huffs, folding her arms across her chest, slightly annoyed.

“Oh, Baba. Sweet, clueless, purely innocent, Baba.” he says, patting the top of her head. “Okay, no offense, but Yeonjun is sort of…out of your league.”

“What?” B shrieks, shoving Kai’s hand away. “Okay, no offense, but what do you mean?” she says, mimicking him.

Kai laughs at how childish she was being. “It’s just that he’s Choi Yeonjun! Yes, to us he’s just Yeonjun. But to everyone else he’s the Choi Yeonjun, student council secretary, leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy, filthy rich and next in line to take over CEO of YJ Choi Corporation. He’s basically the most eligible bachelor in the town, heck maybe even in the whole country!” he exclaims. “So with a reputation like that, I think you can imagine the kind of girls he would date.”

“Yeah, okay, so he’s intimidatingly out of my league.” B admits, just now realizing how powerful Yeonjun really was. “But it’s not like I’m the ugliest, stinkiest, most uncatchable fish in the sea!” she exclaims. “Besides, what kind of girls would he date?”

“Baba, don’t get me wrong, you’re great and I love you but you’re not exactly Yeonjun’s type.” Kai says comfortingly. “Yes, you’re cute. Heck, you’re pretty to a certain extent. I’d say you’re above average, and when your family background is taken into consideration, you’d certainly be a good catch to the average citizen. But Yeonjun…” he pauses, trying to choose his words carefully. “Well, he’s Choi Yeonjun. He’s the biggest catch in the sea. And for the past couple of years I’ve known him, the kind of girls he goes out with are always the stunningly beautiful and elegant girls around MOA. And as much as I love you, you just aren’t that kind of girl.”

B pouts. “Yes I am! I can be that kind of girl! I can be stunningly beautiful and elegant.” she pouts, although she knew that deep down, her best friend was right. It wasn’t like she had low esteem, she knew she had looks and smarts and wits, but she knew that she wasn’t the kind of girl who could walk around with a bare face looking like a model.

“Baba, I love you, but come on.” Kai says. “I’m just saying, you’re just so not his type.”

“Oh yeah?” B huffs. “If I’m so not his type, then how come he’s asked me out twice already?”

As Kai’s eyes go wide and his jaw drops, B immediately covers her mouth, realizing what she just let slip out.

“What!” Kai practically screams. “He asked you out? Yeonjun asked you out? Yeonjun asked you out twice?” he says, trying to wrap his head around the idea. “And what did you say?”

“He asked me out the first time at the party and then the second time the day after.” B says slowly. “I said no.” B mumbles.

“You said no? To Yeonjun? You rejected Yeonjun? You rejected Yeonjun twice?” he says.

B nods but then she lets out a small sigh. “Actually, I wasn’t able to respond the first time since our 7 minutes were up. And then yes, I said no. But then I said yes, when he asked me out again last Friday.”

“He asked you out again? Wait so he asked you out thrice? And you said yes?” Kai screeches. “And it happened last Friday?!”

B nods slowly. “Yes, yes, and yes?” she says.

“Baba!” he cries. “Why didn’t you tell me? I need to know everything. Now!” he demands.

And so, reluctantly, she does. From the 7 minutes she shared with Yeonjun at the party to how he lead her back to the shed and asked her out again the next day, to how he had winked at her as he performed onstage and how she had made it a point to avoid him since then, to how she had fainted in the hallway and how he had brought her home and taken care of her to how they talked things out until they came to a conclusion. “Then he kissed me, and that’s when I said yes.” she finishes. “And he’s been coming over and sweeping me off my feet almost everyday since then, except on Monday when Ryujin came for a quick visit.” she adds.

Kai makes a face. “Eugh, I do not want to picture you and Yeonjun kissing. I don’t want to picture you and anyone kissing, really, it’s just disgusting.” he says, shuddering. “But, um, wow. So you and Yeonjun, huh? I didn’t see that coming. I guess that’s why you were acting kinda weird during those days after the party? You were avoiding Yeonjun?” he asks, his mind putting the pieces together.

B nods. “Yup. I was avoiding him, which was stupid, but hey here we are now. Dating.” she says, shrugging. “And now that I know I’m not his type, I’m really not sure why he asked me out so persistently.”

“Well, I mean, you aren’t ugly.” Kai says. “Maybe you actually are stunningly beautiful? I dunno. I’m your best friend. To me, you’re just kind of meh.” he says teasingly. “I have to admit though, if you were ever to end up dating one of the guys, I wouldn’t have expected you and Yeonjun to end up together.”

“What do you mean?” she asks suspiciously, her brows pulled together.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise.” he says, laughing as he puts his hands up defensively. “It’s just that I never imagined you and Yeonjun to end up dating or anything. If there was one person in our group I thought you’d ever end up with, I always thought it would’ve been Soobin.”

“Soobin?” B asks, perplexed. “Why?”

“Because I know you.” he starts. “I’ve known you for years, and I know the kind of guys you like and the type of guys you crush on, and honestly, Soobin seemed to fit into the category. Plus, I know Soobin. And knowing him, you seem to be the kind of girl he’d like as well. Also, there’s the fact that you told me you have a crush on him before we left your apartment on the day of the party, remember?”

“You know I made that up just so you’d let it go, right?” B says pointedly. “And what do you mean about Soobin being my type? And me being his type?”

Kai shrugs. “Soobin is nice, sweet, charms the socks out of everyone around him, and he’s an all-around good guy. And you, you just seem to be the type of girls that he used to go for in the past. He likes bright and lively girls, like you. Just thought you 2 had chemistry.” he explains simply. “Guess I was wrong, though. I haven’t seen what you and Yeonjun are like together, but I’m happy for you, Baba. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” he finishes sincerely.

“Thanks, Ningning.” she says, leaning in to pull him in for a quick hug, though an uneasy was starting to settle in her stomach upon hearing his opinion on her dating life. “Promise me that you won’t tell anyone else about this for now, alright? Not until Yeonjun and I decide what to do next.”

Kai nods. “I’m bad at keeping secrets, but I promise I won’t tell anyone about this.”

“Thanks, Ningning. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Yeonjun and I sort of agreed not to tell anyone at first, we kinda wanted to see how things would go first.” she says, hugging him again.

“It’s alright, Baba. Thanks for telling me, anyway.” Kai says, hugging her back. “I have to admit, this conversation had me so surprised that I forgot about these itchy spots for a moment.”

“Eugh, thank god I’m done with that.” B says, immediately pulling away. “So how are you feeling? Are you feverish? Do you want me to ask my doctor to come by to check up on you everyday?” she asks, examining his spots.

“Nah, I’m good. My doctor said I should be fine as long as I keep my body temperature in check and I avoid scratching myself. He’ll be checking up on me after 5 days to see if I can be medically cleared to go back to school.” Kai says, rubbing his arms. “These pox are a bitch, though. I’m itching all over.”

B slaps his hands away, stopping him from scratching himself. “Looks like it’ll be just you and me for the next 5 days.”

“Oh, really? Won’t Yeonjun be coming over? I thought he’s been visiting everyday.” Kai says.

“He already texted me to tell me that our date for today would be cancelled, and I guess now I know why.” she says, looking at him pointedly. “I mean, he can still come over to visit since he’s immune, but it wouldn’t bother me if he didn’t. I’ve missed you.” B says, ruffling her best friend’s hair. “We haven’t talked like this in what feels like forever. We’ve got the whole weekend to hang around, watch movies, and play around like we used to when we were younger.”

“Oh right, you’ve been cleared to go back to school on Monday.” Kai says, pouting a bit. “Wow, how did you survive being stuck at home all week? Just thinking about it makes me feel like I’ll die out of boredom.” he says, sighing sadly.

“Hey, I didn’t just bum around the whole week. I was on my phone everyday, listening in on lectures and taking notes of my own so I wouldn’t fall too far behind on classes. I suggest you do the same.” B says.

Kai lets out a huff. “Eh, sounds boring, but we’ll see.”

Meanwhile, at MOA, the 4 boys eating lunch together were starting to realize just how different things were now that two of their regular companions were absent.

“Is it just me or do things feel kinda…weird.” Beomgyu asks, as the boys sit in surprising silence, their lunches laid out on the table in front of them, the gentle wind blowing the flowers and vines around the gazebo.

Taehyun nods. “I get what you mean. This whole chicken pox outbreak has made things around here complicated.” he said, completely missing Beomgyu’s point yet making an entirely valid one. “All these sudden health regulations are so difficult, and being a student council member gives no excuses not to follow them since we have to set an example for the rest of the student body.”

He had a point. Thanks to the chicken pox, every student was now required to wear a face mask at all times, except during mealtimes. Not only that, but physical contact was highly discouraged, students were required to send in copies of their immunization records to the school clinic, and every room and entrance on campus now had staff spraying everyone who passed by with alcohol on their hands. The protocols would be in place for a whole week, until a decline in cases would start to show.

“Well yeah, the protocols are pretty sudden and stressful and the whole chicken pox outbreak is making everyone a bit paranoid, but that’s not what I meant.” Beomgyu said, patting Taehyun’s arm. “I mean, you’re definitely right. But I meant that things feel weird without Hyuka and B around.”

Taehyun nods. “Ah yes, I really miss B. It feels a bit lonely to walk by myself to school now, though I used to do it everyday. It’s strange, I never realized how much her absence would affect me.” he says, pondering about how different things felt without her.

Soobin nods, then catches himself. “Don’t you miss Hyuka too, Tyun?” he says, changing the topic. It made him uncomfortable, hearing how Taehyun’s words hit him. It was hard for Soobin to admit it, but B’s absence had bothered him more than he thought it would. And now that Kai was absent as well, Soobin was starting to feel a bit lonelier.

Taehyun shrugs. “I mean we just saw him yesterday, but yes, I have to admit that not having him here feels strange as well.”

“I miss them.” Beomgyu simply says. “Do you think Hyuka took your advice and went over to B’s house?”

“I hope so, it seemed like the most logical option for everyone involved.” Taehyun responds.

“Yeah, he did, she said Kai arrived earlier.” Yeonjun says absentmindedly, scrolling through his phone.

“Oh, she texted you?” Taehyun says curiously. “That’s strange, she hasn’t texted me all week. I mean, she calls me everyday but we don’t really talk because she just listens in on our lectures. Maybe I should send her a message too, to check up on how she’s doing.”

Realizing that he had just let something slip, Yeonjun puts his phone down, subtly kicking Beomgyu under the table, hoping he’d say something to help him out.

“Oh yeah you definitely should! I’ve been texting her too.” Beomgyu says suddenly, jerking in his seat, trying to come up with anything to deflect the conversation from Yeonjun’s slip up. “She, uh, she says she misses us and that she can’t wait to go back to school.” he says sheepishly, lying through his teeth.

“Tell her we miss her too.” Soobin says, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

“You should tell her yourself. I mean, I know we all miss her, but I think it would be better if she hears it from each of us.” Beomgyu says, further leading the conversation.

The boys sit in silence once again as they focus on consuming their food, picking up their phones as well.

Soobin and Taehyun take Beomgyu’s advice and shoot B some messages. Beomgyu texts her as well, to make up for lying to the guys about it.

As their lunch break comes to an end, Yeonjun speaks up. “We should probably get going, it’s our first club day with these implemented health protocols, I’m sure the administrators will want all club officers to assist in making sure that people follow the guidelines and restrictions.”

The boys all agree and pack up their bags, ready to head to their respective clubs.

Yeonjun turns to Beomgyu and says “Hey Gyu, I think I left something in my car, wanna walk with me?”

Beomgyu nods. “Sure thing YJ, lead the way.” And the 2 boys wander off, leaving Taehyun and Soobin to walk back to the building together.

“Thanks for saving my ass back there, I thought Taehyun would’ve caught on. He’s pretty intuitive.” Yeonjun says, bumping his fist against Beomgyu’s.

“No problem. I’m guessing you were texting her right at that moment? Try to be more careful. Or better yet, just tell the other guys about it already.” Beomgyu responds.

Yeonjun shakes his head. “I’m not sure if Baby and I are ready to take this thing public yet. We’ve only gone on a few dates, and we haven’t even talked about where this might lead to. Besides, things between us are so good right now, and letting other people know about it might change that.” he reasons out. “She and I will have to talk about things first, so until then, promise me that you won’t tell anyone about it?”

Beomgyu sighs. “Fine, but as cute as it is to see you so happy and blushy, the 2 of you better sort this out soon. I don’t like having to keep secrets.” he says, shuddering slightly. “But really though, how are things between you 2? Do you see it going anywhere?”

Yeonjun smiles to himself. “I really like her, Gyu. I really really like her.”

“So what are you gonna do you about it?” Beomgyu asks curiously. “Where do you see things going between you?”

“I’m gonna ask her to be mine.” Yeonjun asks. “Not yet, but soon. I think this could be the start of something great. I feel like I’m falling more and more for her each day, and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.”

Yeonjun stops walking for a moment, looking at Beomgyu as if he had just realized something. “I think I might love her, Gyu.”

Beomgyu stops as well, staring at the blue haired boy. “Are you sure? Remember what happened the last time you fell in love?” he asks, reminding Yeonjun of the only real relationship he’s ever had, and how bad things ended and how heartbroken he was at the end of it all, and how he’s struggled to find anyone he’d want to develop a real connection with since then.

Once upon a time, Yeonjun had fallen in love. Her name was Rose, and she was a student from another school within the district. She had fiery red hair and an even more fiery personality, which was probably what drew him to her in the first place. Being with her was exciting, and Yeonjun liked the feeling of being kept on his toes, not knowing what to expect next. He fell for her hard, without stopping to think that maybe she wasn’t someone worth loving. He liked that she was confident and knew what she wanted out of life, he liked that she was experienced and knew just what to do to make him tick. She played him like a fiddle, and he happily obliged, showering her with affection and spoiling her with everything she wanted. It was only when he found out that she was cheating on him did he realize that she was just using him. In the end, he was left drained, exhausted, and closed off to the idea of falling so recklessly in love again. 3 years later and he still struggled to make any emotional connections with people of the opposite gender.

Yeonjun shakes his head. “Fuck that, dude. This is different. She’s different.” he says, with B on his mind.

B and her long dark hair, her warm pink skin, the soft freckles splattered across her cheeks, her small fragile hands, the gentle dip at the curve of her waist. B and the way her laugh rang through his mind, how the gentlest of her touches could leave him feeling breathless, how her smile was permanently etched into his memory, and how the way she looked at him made him wish he was something worth looking at. How she made him want to be more.

“I know she is. I mean, one, I actually really like her. Whereas Rose was a dirty lying cheat, B is pretty damn cool.” Beomgyu says. “And two, she’s a genuinely good person who I’m sure likes you for more than just your dad’s money.”

Yeonjun nods. “So you see my point.”

Beomgyu nods back, then smiles. “Damn, maybe this should be the headline for this month’s issue of the school paper! Choi Yeonjun: in love.”

“Oh shut up. If you ever print anything about me, I’m ready to sue, Mr. Editor and Chief.” Yeonjun says, playfully shoving Beomgyu’s arm.

Beomgyu laughs, wrapping an arm around his friend’s shoulders as they continue to walk across the campus. “Don’t worry, I’ve got better things to publish than your love life.”

“Thanks for keeping this a secret, BG.” Yeonjun says.

Beomgyu sighs in response. “No problem, but I gotta admit that I don’t like keeping secrets from the rest of the guys. Keeping things from each other might complicate things.”

Yeonjun shrugs. “Complicate what things? I don’t see how things could possibly go wrong.” he says nonchalantly.

meanwhile

“It’s weird how different things feel without B around, huh?” Taehyun says casually as he and Soobin make their way across the campus. “I honestly didn’t think I’d miss her this much. It’s strange, don’t you think? Do you miss her too? Or is it just me?”

Soobin shakes his head. “Nah, me? Why would I miss her? She’s just a friend. Things don’t feel weird at all.”

Which were all lies. For Soobin, everything without B felt weird. He never realized how much of an impact she had left on him until he started to wake up the past few days knowing that he wouldn’t be seeing her at school and then suddenly his day would feel a little less chipper and a little more dull. He never noticed how important she had become to him until he no longer had to save a seat next to him at the gazebo during lunch in the hopes that she would sit next to him. He never knew how much he enjoyed her presence until he walked into their Creative Writing class and his eyes didn’t automatically search for hers in the crowd because he knew he wouldn’t find them.

It was just now hitting him how much he actually missed her.

He missed waking up in the morning knowing that he’d get to her see her and starting his day off excited, whistling to himself as he got out of bed. He missed walking to the gazebo for lunch and thinking about which of his packed snacks he could share with her, saving the seat next to him in the hopes that she’d choose to sit beside him. He missed looking forward to the last period for the day and walking into the classroom with his eyes meeting hers, which would automatically be followed by the big smile and wave she’d give whenever she saw him walk in, and how she’d pat the chair beside her so he could sit next to her.

Which all confused him. He had been studying at MOA for the past 4 years, and yet he had never felt this sense of longing just because of one person’s absence. What’s worse is he didn’t realize how much he’d miss her until she was gone.

Was it possible that he had feelings for her?

“Why do you even miss her so much? Do you like her or something?” Soobin says teasingly, trying to deflect his own thoughts.

Taehyun raises a brow. “I like her, but not in the way you mean.” he responds factually. “I just miss having her around. Just because you miss someone, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have feelings for them, you know.”

There’s a beat of silence before Soobin carefully asks. “So how would you know that you have feelings for someone then? Doesn’t the feeling of wishing they were around and stuff mean that you like them?” he asks, trying to untangle his thoughts and make sense of his feelings.

Taehyun thinks about it for a moment. “It could? Wishing that someone were with you when they’re not around could mean that you have feelings for them.”

“So missing someone like that means that you like them?” Soobin asks.

“Maybe. Personally, I think it’s more than that though. It’s the way they make you feel. For example, when I’m with the person I like, I feel incomparable happiness, like I wouldn’t trade their existence for anything else in the world. Just the thought of seeing them gets me excited to start my day. I look for them everywhere I go, and I can spot them from a mile away, as if my eyes can automatically zero in on that one person. Even when I don’t see them, everything around me seems to remind me of them. I feel comfortable, like I can be myself around them.” Taehyun says thoughtfully.

“Oh, Tyun, I didn’t know that you like someone.” Soobin says, surprised. “It sounds like you love her a lot. You were able to express your feelings so well.”

Taehyun smiles wistfully. “Yeah, I guess I really do. This person’s been on my mind for quite a while now, and I’ve learned to come to terms with how they make me feel. That’s how I’m able to express it so well, I’ve been dealing with these feelings for more than a year now.”

Soobin’s jaw drops. “You’ve been in love for over a year? Have you told this person about how you feel?”

The other boy simply shakes his head. “No, I can’t, cause I know they’ll never feel the same way about me. I’d rather do the logical thing and keep my feelings to myself instead.”

“You always choose you head over your heart, Tyun.” Soobin says. “Why not try listening to your heart for once? Have you ever confessed your feelings for anyone before? We’ve been friends for a while now, but honestly I feel like I don’t know much about your love life. It seems like one of the last things that would be on your mind.”

“Ah, Soobin. I don’t like expressing these feelings cause I know they won’t amount to anything. Why are you asking me these things anyway? Are you in love with anyone?” Taehyun says dismissively, flipping the conversation over.

“You’re so pessimistic.” Soobin says sourly.

Taehyun shrugs. “You say pessimistic, I say realistic. Now tell me, do you have feelings for anyone?” he says pointedly. “You seem to be really interested in the topic.”

“I’m not really sure. I mean, there’s this girl, and I think she’s great and all, but I don’t know if these feelings mean anything. You know I had a girlfriend before, right? Remember last year, when Lia and I were a thing?”

“Oh yeah, you and Lia were cute together. See, since you’ve been in a relationship before, you should know what it feels like to like someone.” Taehyun says.

Soobin nods. “Yes, but the problem is Lia confessed to me first. When she confessed, it’s not like I had any strong feelings for her or anything, I just thought that she was pretty and nice to talk to, so I told her I liked her back and I asked her out. But now, I’m feeling these things, and it just feels so different from what I felt when Lia and I were together.”

“I guess you didn’t really love Lia, then?” Taehyun says, and Soobin shrugs in response.

“I definitely had feelings for her, but I broke up with her after a while cause I just didn’t see our relationship going anywhere.” Soobin admits.

“Look, I’m sure you liked her, but it’s different to love someone.” Taehyun says. “Because when you love someone, you just know it.”

“But how? How do you know?” Soobin asks confused, desperate to untangle his feelings.

“You just do. It might hit you at one certain moment, when you see this person and your heart starts to beat twice the normal rate and you think to yourself ‘oh wow, I love this person.’ Or you could just wake up one day feeling more, and then it would hit you just like that.” Taehyun says. “It could hit you out of nowhere like a truck, or it could come to you slowly and then all at once. But however it goes, one day you’ll just know.”

“One day, I guess.” Soobin says. He couldn’t imagine waking up one day and feeling completely different about someone, or looking at someone and suddenly being hit with the realization that he was in love with them. Or her. Or B, to be exact.

His cheeks went pink just thinking of it. “Well, I don’t think I’m in love with her just yet. Thanks for the talk, though. It was very interesting, and you made a lot of good points.” he says as they approach the stairs leading up to their club rooms.

Taehyun nods and claps the older boy on the back. “No problem, Soobin. Whoever she is, I’m sure you’ll figure things out soon. And if you ever do wake up one day and realize you’re in love, she’d be stupid not to love you back.”

Soobin smiles at him warmly. “Thanks, Tyun. I hope I figure it out soon. Oh, one last thing.” he says, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

“Yes? What is it?” Taehyun asks.

“Do you mind if we keep this conversation between the 2 of us? I’m just…” Soobin pauses, fumbling with his words. “I’d rather no else knew about this for now.”

Taehyun laughs kindly. “Don’t worry, I promise it will be like we never had this conversation. I’d also prefer it if you don’t tell anyone else about my crush, I’m pretty sure you’re the first person I’ve told about it.”

Soobin nods. “Of course! You can count on me, my lips are sealed.” he says, making a zipping motion across his mouth, which causes Taehyun to laugh. “See you later, Tyun.”

Taehyun waves and watches as Soobin disappears into the Ecosave club room, greeting the other officers of the club and reminding them about the implementation of health protocols.

Taehyun shakes his head before turning away and continuing down the hall to his own club room, preparing himself as president of the Debate Club to brief his officers and members about the health protocols. He found it adorable that his friend whom had never really been in love before was so obliviously in love now without even knowing it. He knew that Soobin was a smart guy, but he didn’t know that he could be so clueless about his own feelings. Taehyun always thought that his friend would be a little more emotionally self-aware, but he was wrong. He could tell that Soobin’s thoughts were all over the place, and he hoped that their little talk would at least help him figure out his own feelings.

He almost felt bad for Soobin, but he was amused and was looking forward to seeing how Soobin’s little crush would play out. Anyone would be lucky to date a guy like Soobin. Whoever this girl was, he could tell that Soobin had it bad. He just hoped that it was someone who could love him back.

•°•

“Baba?”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

B shifts on the couch, turning over so she could come face to face with Kai. “Alright, what is it this time? You want advice on how to ask Yuna out or something?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” he says, his cheeks suddenly turning pink. “I wanted to ask you something about Yeonjun.”

“Oh, what about Yeonjun?” she asks, curious.

“Well, I was just wondering, why Yeonjun?” Kai asks thoughtfully. “I honestly never pegged him as your type of guy. Your past crushes have always been the academically smart, sweet, caring types and Yeonjun’s more on the work hard play harder, cool, chill, borderline fuckboy types? So what made you like him?”

“Ah, he may not be the smartest or the most academically focused guy, but he’s definitely sweet and caring. And while many people may see him as cool and distant and maybe even a bit of a flirt, but there’s so much more to him than that.” B starts carefully. “He’s just so…amazing. When I first met him, I honestly never thought we’d end up where we are now. It’s like he’s a completely different person, like there’s a completely different side to him that I’ve been privileged enough to see.”

“Sounds like someone’s in love.” Kai sings teasingly, trying to hide his disdain at her answer. Maybe he was being overprotective, but he only wanted to make sure that his best friend wouldn’t get hurt. Judging by her answer, it sounded like she was smitten simply because of the things Yeonjun did to sweep her off her feet. She was too focused on one side of Yeonjun that she was blinded to all his other sides, which didn’t sound good to Kai. “But really, do you think you might be?”

“In love?” she clarifies. She stops for a moment to think about, meanwhile the same 3 words continuously run through his mind: please say no, please say no, please say—

“I don’t know. I don’t think so?” B says, a bright smile on her face. “I mean, it’s only been a week since we started going out, so it’s too early to tell, right?”

Kai laughs along. “Right, it does sound a bit unrealistic to fall in love with someone over a week.”

“True, but at the same time, I feel like my life has changed so much in the past week, and it’s all because of him. It was like a montage out of a romance movie or something, you know?” she says with stars in her eyes, and it was at that moment when Kai realized that he couldn’t change his best friend’s mind, even if he tried. She was falling hard.

“That sounds great, Baba!” he smiles, not knowing what else he could say. “I’m happy for you.” And it wasn’t a lie, he really was happy that she seemed happy. He was just worried that she was rushing into it all. He knew her, he knew how careful she was and how she usually thought things over at least 10 times before making a decision, but the girl he was talking to now, who had stars in her eyes and a lovesick smile felt almost alien to him.

He desperately wanted to tell her to be careful and to keep her guard up, but he didn’t want to ruin her happiness. Instead, he simply said “It’s nice to see you happy like this. I haven’t seen you crush so hard on a guy since we were in the 3rd grade and you were going absolutely feral for that one guy in our math class.”

B laughs at the memory. “Oh god, Park Jisung, I remember him! He was the top student in our batch, I think that’s why I liked him so much. I was crushing hard.”

“Not as hard as you’re crushing on Yeonjun now, I’m guessing?” Kai asks. He wanted to know just how far his best friend had already fallen.

B shakes his head. “I’m falling pretty hard, Ningning. I’ve never felt like this before.”

And there it was. The answer he’d been dreading.

He plasters on a smile. “Not too hard, I hope.” he says weakly.

“Psh, yeah, don’t worry about me Ningning. I’ve got this all under control.” she says, laughing it off.

He laughs too. “Of course. I’m not worried. Not at all.” he says. And those were all lies.

Because he knew that no matter what she said, no matter how much he liked Yeonjun and no matter how happy she looked now, he’d always worry about his best friend.

12 notes · View notes

soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part IX : Magic Hour

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

Yeonjun had been on cloud 9 the whole weekend.

Ever since he and Baby talked things out and she finally said yes to him that Friday, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from smiling. They had been texting ever since he had left her apartment.

Even the horrendously boring and rigid dinner he had with his parents that night became so much bearable since he had been texting her under the table nearly the whole time.

At the end of the day, he’d call her on FaceTime and they’d stay on video call until one of them would fall asleep.

On Saturday, he and the guys had hung out at Kai’s house. They all put together a care basket, each boy contributing a little gift or token along with a note, to wish B a speedy recovery. He had delivered it to B by the end of the day, stopping by her place for a quick visit as well.

“There’s a cute plushie from Hyuka, a novel highly recommended from Tyun, a collection of movies from Gyu, and handpicked snacks from Soobin. And there’s a get well soon card with a short message from each of us.” Yeonjun says, slowly laying out each boy’s gift in front of B. “Also, Soobin requests that you take a picture with his gift so you guys will have something to post for your project this week.” he adds.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to take a few pictures before devouring them.” B says, excitedly looking at the snacks. “Wow, these gifts are amazing. The boys are so sweet.” she says in awe, grabbing the plushie from Kai and holding it close to her chest.

“The boys? What about me? Aren’t I sweet?” Yeonjun asks.

“Well, I guess you are, but you didn’t get me a get-well-soon gift.” she says, pouting.

Yeonjun laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your get-well gift right here.” he says. When she raises a brow at him in confusion, he simply puts a finger under her chin and tilts it upward as he gives her a kiss, keeping it tender and sweet. He feels her smile against his lips and he pulls away, smiling back at her. “See? Bet you feel better already.” he says.

“Much better.” B smiles, feeling tingles all over her body. “Still no gift, though.”

Yeonjun stepped back, shocked. “Was that not enough for you? What more do you want from me?” he says, exaggeratingly putting a fist over his chest.

B laughs. “You’re so dramatic! Don’t get me wrong, your kisses are great, but I want a gift that’ll keep me from getting bored or feeling lonely while I’m on lockdown for the week. The boys’ gifts are all spot on.” she explains. “If I’m gonna be stuck alone here for the next few days, I’m gonna get bored and lonely.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect gift. You’ll see.” Yeonjun says mysteriously.

B raises a brow but raises no further questions. That night, she makes sure to take pictures and sends them to Soobin, each of them creating their own social media posts for their project.

When Sunday came, B decided to plan out her week of isolation, wanting to make it as productive as possible. First, she messaged the boys to thank them for their gift basket and to beg them to help her keep up with schoolwork and lessons, which they gamely accept. She also checks her other messages and sees a few from the girls.

She finally messages them, feeling guilty upon seeing how worried they were.

Meanwhile, Yeonjun starts to make plans of his own, wanting to make sure that the coming week would be perfect.

•°•

Monday

Wanting to start her first day of missing classes on the right foot, B had managed to convince at least one of her classmates in each class to secretly have her on call during the periods, so that she could listen in on the lectures on her phone, as if she were taking an online class. She had called Taehyun for first period Economics, Kai for second period History, Yuna for third period Biology, Beomgyu for after-lunch Maths, Taehyun again for Foreign Language class, and Soobin for Creative writing class.

“Why not me?” Yeonjun had asked her with a pout when she told him her plan.

B laughed at how adorable he was. “Because Soobin is one of my closest friends, plus he’s my partner in the class, so it would make more sense if I called him. Besides, it might seem too suspicious if I called you instead of him.” she reasoned.

The whole day, B had her phone by her side as she struggled to listen to the lectures and took down her own notes as well, making sure to catch any dates for assignment deadlines or quizzes. By the time last period was over, B had gotten showered and dressed, first for a quick visit from her family doctor to check on her condition and then for some time to hang out with Ryujin, who had promised to visit since she was immune to chicken pox.

Sure enough, the doctor came by and did a quick check up of her vital signs and assessed her rashes, simply advising her not to scratch them. He was there for a maximum of 20 minutes before leaving.

At a little past 5:30 PM, Ryujin came ringing on her front door holding a box of cinnamon rolls from Kang’s Kafe.

B excitedly hugs her as soon as she opens the door to let her friend in, squealing and thanking her for the cinnamon rolls.

As they step into the apartment, Ryujin observes “Wow B, you look so happy, you’re practically glowing, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the rashes.”

B blushes and waves her hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s probably just cause I’ve been getting a lot of sleep lately, but thanks.”

“A lot of sleep? More like a lot of Yeonjun.” Ryujin says, smiling devilishly. “Come on, tell me more about it! How are you feeling? What is it like to date him? Have you guys done anything yet?”

“Well if you must know, I feel really happy. So happy in fact that it keeps me too distracted to even think about how itchy these rashes are.” B says, rubbing her arms which had small specks of rashes. “And technically, we haven’t even gone on a date yet, but we’ve been talking a lot and he’s called me on Facetime the past 2 nights and he’s just really sweet. And no, we haven’t ‘done anything’ yet, we’ve just kissed a couple of times.”

Ryujin lets out a squeal. “Ah, it sounds so exciting! I’m so happy for you! Honestly, seeing how hard you were trying to avoid him for the past 2 weeks was hard. I wanted to shake you or something just to knock some sense into you. It was actually kinda funny seeing how stubborn you were about it, I mean he obviously liked you but anyone who knew your current situation could see that you definitely had feelings for him as well!” she laughs. “Speaking of, what have the other guys said about you 2 dating? I bet Gyu’s been teasing you 2 nonstop.” she asks, referring to the guys in the student council.

B laughs nervously. “Oh, uh, we haven’t really told anyone yet.” she admits. “I haven’t even told Ningni—I mean Hyuka, about Yeonjun asking me out at the party, so none of them have any clue about Yeonjun asking me out and me avoiding Yeonjun and everything. I’ve only told you and Yuna.”

Ryujin smacks B’s arm. “B! Why? You should’ve at least told Kai about it! Isn’t he your best friend?”

“He is, yes! It’s just hard, I mean I’ve told him about my past crushes and stuff back when we were younger, but it’s just that Yeonjun is his one of his closest friends, so it just feels kind of weird. Like it might make their friendship awkward, especially if things between me and Yeonjun don’t work out.” B says defensively.

“Please, those guys are thick as thieves, nothing could ever break their friendship apart. And stop saying that you and Yeonjun won’t work out, you’re worrying too much about something that hasn’t even happened yet or something that might not even ever happen. Instead of thinking the worst about the future, you should just try to make the most out of the present instead.” Ryujin says.

“Wow, that’s actually really good advice, Ryu.” B admits. “Fine, I promise I’ll try not to worry too much and stuff. But Yeonjun and I agreed that we’d wait until I’ve recovered enough to go back to school until we tell the guys anything about us dating.”

“Oh sweetie, he’s a guy. Heck, he’s not just a guy, he’s Choi Yeonjun. Guys like to talk about girls. And just like you’ve been talking to Yuna and I about Yeonjun, I’m pretty sure Yeonjun has been talking to at least 1 other guy about you too. The question is, which guy could he be talking to?” Ryujin wonders.

•°•

Tuesday

“So that’s what I’ve got planned out for the next few days. Well, while she’s still confined to her apartment, at least. I’ve got a whole week of stay-at-home dates and romantic stuff planned. I just want to make it as good as possible, even if she can’t leave her house.” Yeonjun says, finishing up explaining his plans in great detail. “It’s what she deserves, especially after hearing how much she struggled the past 2 weeks. I just want to make sure she won’t regret her decision to finally say yes.”

“Yeonjun, that sounds amazing.” Beomgyu says, looking at the blue-haired boy in awe. “I always knew you had your ways to woo a girl, but damn I’ve never seen you plan out something like this before. I especially like the part where you sort of kidnap her.” Beomgyu laughs. “Congrats on finally getting the ‘yes’ by the way. It was kinda killing me to see how hard the past 2 weeks have been on you too.”

“It’s what she deserves. It’s crazy cause I don’t think I’ve ever liked a girl this much before, especially since I’ve only known her for a few weeks.” Yeonjun gives him a bright smile, and Beomgyu could tell just how smitten he was. “And thanks, Gyu. Thanks for being there for me these past couple of weeks, too. And thanks for keeping it between us.” he adds, remembering how Beomgyu had noticed how different Yeonjun had been acting, and how Yeonjun himself had finally told Beomgyu about everything.

From how Yeonjun had been watching B at the party to how Yeonjun had found himself smitten by B during their 7 minutes together to how Yeonjun had asked her out twice and even to how he had winked at her onstage. He didn’t mean to tell anyone about his feelings for their new friend so soon, but he couldn’t bear the weight of it any longer. Now he was happy to be telling Beomgyu about how he had taken care of B when she was sick and how they had finally been able to talk things out.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad.” Beomgyu says, laughing and clapping him on the back. “I have to admit, it’s a bit weird seeing you talk about a girl so much, but I can’t help but feel proud that you’ve finally found someone you genuinely seem to care for.”

Yeonjun nods. “Yes, I really do. And thanks Gyu, really. She just feels really different, I guess. And I’m hoping that the more I get to know her, the more I end up liking her, instead of the other way around. Usually with me, girls can make a strong first impression at the start but then when I try to get to know them more, they end up feeling just like everyone else. I don’t think it’ll be like that with her, though.”

“With all the things you’ve got planned for her, I highly doubt that’ll be the case.” Beomgyu says. “I’m sure she’ll love it. Go get her, Yeonjun!”

And he did.

That afternoon, he stood outside her apartment door feeling just a tiny bit nervous, his hands full, whispering and instructing the people behind him for the last time before he rang the doorbell.

“Coming!” Yeonjun could hear her yell from inside the apartment, and he smiled to himself.

He braces himself as she opens the door, and as soon as he sees her face, his heartbeat instantly speeds up.

“Hi, Baby.” he simply says as he stands in front of her with a bouquet of blue roses, the string quartet that he had hired for the afternoon starts to play a soft rendition of Euphoria by BTS.

She stands there for a moment, a hand covering her mouth as she stares in awe at the blue-haired boy before her and the blue roses he held, to the four string players holding their instruments and serenading her, until the chorus comes up and Yeonjun softly sings, “Take my hands now” as he takes one of her hands in his and squeezes it gently. “You are the cause of my euphoria.”

She unfreezes then, taking a step towards him and wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug, which was a bit of a challenge considering the dozen roses between them.

He laughs as she gives up on trying to hug him and settles on standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck instead. “You’re supposed to take the flowers first, silly.” he says.

“Yeonjun! This is just…wow.” she says, taking the flowers in her arms, they were heavier than they looked. “This is incredible. You’re incredible. This it too much, this is… just, thank you so much.” she says, flustered.

“Oh, Baby. This is nothing, don’t sweat it.” he says, savoring her reaction. If she was gonna smile this wide and get this flustered every time he made a romantic gesture like this, then the rest of the week was going to be fun.

•°•

Wednesday

B had been wondering why Yeonjun had made such a strange request that morning, but she was happy to oblige. It’s not like she had anything better to do in her apartment, and she spent most of her time listening to lectures through phone calls in her bedroom anyway. She had called the same people as she had for the past 2 days, glad that she had found a way to keep herself up to date on lectures.

She had almost forgotten about Yeonjun’s request until her last class for the day ended, and she heard sounds coming from inside her apartment. She kept her bedroom door closed the whole day, so the sound of some unknown person in her apartment was alarming.

She quickly dials up Yeonjun’s number, trying to keep herself calm and telling herself that it was probably not a dangerous intruder but rather something related to Yeonjun’s request.

“Hey Baby, what’s up?” he says, answering on the second ring.

“Hey Yeonjun, uh, I’m in my bedroom right now and I thought I heard something from inside the apartment so I was wondering if it’s something to do with what you texted me this morning or if there really is an intruder and I should call the police.” she says, trying to sound causal and calm.

Yeonjun laughs on the other end, which causes B to relax a bit. “You are adorable. Very smart and safe that you checked with me first though, everytime you hear strange noises in your apartment, call me right away okay?” he says. “For now, don’t worry though, I promise you’re safe. It’s part of the plan, I asked some people to help me set up for our date today. Sorry for making you panic, I should’ve given you a heads up.”

B scoffs. “Psh, I was not panicking. I’m just being very smart and safe, like you said.” she says. “What kind of date requires you to ask for help to set up though? What exactly do you have planned for today?”

“Now why would I tell you that? You’ll find out in about an hour anyway, but for now, promise me you’ll stay in your room until I tell you it’s safe okay? If not, you’ll spoil the surprise.” he says.

B nods. “Yeah sure, I can do that.” she says, even though the curiosity was killing her. What kind of date did Yeonjun have planned now?

Just then, B hears a voice from Yeonjun’s end of the call. “Hey YJ, you want me to ride with you to Kang’s? Or should I ride with Soobin?” Beomgyu asks.

“Hop right into the car, I’ll just finish up this call.” Yeonjun responds. “Hey Baby, gonna grab a quick snack at Kang’s with the boys before I head to your place. I’ll make it quick, so try not to miss me too much.” he says.

“Don’t worry, it’s the rest of the guys that I really miss anyway.” she says teasingly. “It’s only been a few days, but I haven’t seen them in forever.”

“Oh? So since you’ve been seeing me almost everyday now, you don’t miss me? Yeonjun says, and B could practically hear him pouting from the phone.

She laughs. “Don’t be silly, you know I miss you too.”

Yeonjun laughs too. “I miss you too. See you in about an hour, alright? And wear something nice.” he simply says before hanging up.

“Was that her? Was that B?” Beomgyu asks as Yeonjun gets into the car, joining him in the back seat before the car starts to move, taking them to Kang’s café.

Yeonjun nods. “Yeah, she was worried cause she heard a noise in her apartment but I told her it’s just the dinner people.”

Beomgyu raises a brow. “The dinner people? Wait, which date is this? The one where you hire people to set up the apartment in like a super romantic—”

“Yes yes, it’s that one.” Yeonjun said, amused at how excited Beomgyu was, remembering that he told Beomgyu about all his date plans for the week. “I’m a little worried that it might be a bit too much? What do you think?”

Beomgyu laughs. “Honestly, what you’ve got planned for today is…small compared to what you’ve got planned for Thursday or Friday. Considering she’s not supposed to leave her apartment, it’ll be a challenge to pull off too.”

“Oh, I asked her doctor about it and he said that as long as she’s very careful about who she comes in contact with and limits exposure as much as possible, then technically I can take her out. Just a matter of how and where I do it.” Yeonjun says confidently. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, I can pull it off.”

Beomgyu gives him a smile and a pat on the back. “I’m sure you can, Yeonjun. Don’t worry about sticking around at Kang’s either, you can leave as soon as you want, I’ll back you up. Try not to keep her waiting, you know?” he says supportively.

“Thanks, Gyu. I’ll just order something for takeout and I’ll go.”

•°•

B takes a deep breath and straightens out her dress one last time before finally opening her bedroom door and taking a step into her living area.

And she was immediately rendered speechless.

The place looked almost unrecognizable. The furniture had been moved around to make space in the middle of the room for her small round dining table and 2 chairs. The lights were all off, the apartment illuminated solely by candlelight, with tea candles and blue rose petals scattered all over the apartment, carefully sprawled all across the floor and sprinkled on the furniture. The table was set up for 2, with delicious-looking dishes already in place and a bottle of white wine along with a flower arrangement and 2 candles in the center.

She could hear the string quartet from yesterday from within the apartment, and after letting her eyes adjust to the dim light and looking around she could see that they were hidden away in the kitchen, softly playing their rendition of Home by Michael Buble.

Then Yeonjun reveals himself, he was waiting right outside her bedroom door, and he holds out a hand to her. “Han Baby, I know it’s a bit early, but would you do me the honour of having dinner with me?” he says grandly.

B lets out a laugh, looking at him in awe. “It would be my pleasure, Choi Yeonjun.” she says, taking his hand.

He smiles back at her and leads her to the dining table, pulling out her chair and letting her sit before joining her.

“I’m not sure what food you’d like, but I got garlic butter baked salmon, chicken kievs, Caesar salad, a bottle of Moscato and a serving of chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.” Yeonjun says, presenting the table on the food.

“Wow, they all look so good.” B says, feeling her mouth start to water. “How did you do all this? How did you put this all together?”

“Well, I had a bit of help, of course.” Yeonjun says, pouring the wine. “I asked my driver Hwall and some help from home to bring over the food, move the furniture and set up the candles and flowers. And the string quartet, whom you’ve met yesterday, are a few friends from my old school.” he says, giving a quick salute to the four string players in the kitchen, who warmly smiled back at him. “I hope you didn’t mind having strangers in your apartment, I’m sorry if you got scared. I should have been more considerate.”

B accepts the glass of champagne but shakes her head. “Yeonjun, it’s fine. I trust that you’re being careful and that you wouldn’t compromise my safety. This is all very lovely, thank you.” she says, reaching over the table to take his hand and gently squeezing it.

He smiles warmly at her. “Thank you for trusting me. I’m glad you like it.” he says, once again savouring the moment. The warmth in her eyes as she looked at him, her initial shock upon seeing the dinner set up, how good it felt to have her hand in his, and just everything about her in general.

Since he couldn’t be out too late on a school night without raising suspicion from his father, he wanted to make the most out of every minute. From sharing the most compelling yet laughably random conversations over dinner, to the sickeningly sweet banter over dessert, to the intimacy of slow dancing in her living room.

He made sure to bid his friends from the string quartet goodbye and help B with putting her furniture back in place before calling up Hwall and letting him know it was time for him to go.

As she walks him out of her apartment, lingering by the doorway for just a moment to say goodbye.

“You know, you never cease to amaze me, Choi Yeonjun. I’m starting to think there’s nothing you can’t do.” she says, as he stands outside her door. “Except fly, of course.”

Yeonjun smiles at her quizzically. “What makes you think I can’t fly?” he asks playfully, pulling her closer.

“Because you’re only human?” she says, laughing. “Besides, I don’t want a boy who can fly. I just want you.” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Aw, Baby, you’re so sweet.” Yeonjun says, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Now, let’s say I could fly, would you still want me then?”

“And you’re so silly! Of course I would.” she laughs, stroking his hair. “But for now, I think you have to go.” she says, seeing his driver standing by from the corner of her eye.

“I’m afraid I do.” he says, giving a quick nod to Hwall before completely wrapping his arms around B’s waist and holding her tight, which causes her to squeal.

“See you tomorrow?” he says, finally letting go.

She nods. “See you tomorrow.” she says, waving him off and watching him walk away.

Right before he gets into his car, he takes one last look up at B’s apartment, and he’s pleasantly surprised to see her still standing outside, a hand on her chest as she smiled to herself, spinning in place a couple times before walking back into her apartment and closing the floor behind her.

He couldn’t wait to see how she’d react for what dates he had planned next.

•°•

Thursday

With Yeonjun’s simple request, once again, B didn’t really know what to expect.

She certainly wasn’t expecting to be ambushed at her front door with a bouquet or blue roses and to be serenaded by a string quartet on Tuesday, and she definitely wasn’t expecting her apartment to feel like a romantic 5 star restaurant yesterday, but his request for today’s date caught her so off guard that she couldn’t help but to overthink.

Wear something comfy?

What did he mean by that? What kind of date would entail such a simple request? Would it be something as simple as staying in and watching movies together? Knowing Yeonjun, it probably wasn’t.

While still keeping track of lectures through cellphone calls, she spent more of the overthinking about what kind of date Yeonjun could have possibly planned for the day, and what kind of outfit she’d be wearing.

At the end of the day, she decides to message her girl friends for help once again.

And right as she finishes fixing herself up, she hears the doorbell ring. She calls out “Just a second!” and quickly swipes on some blush to finish the look before running up to the front door and opening it.

“Hey, Baby.” Yeonjun says, smiling at her. “You look nice. You definitely found the perfect balance between cute and comfy.” he says, checking out her outfit.

“Hey Yeonjun! Thanks.” she says, smiling back. Just as she opens the door wider, ready to welcome him into the apartment, he takes her completely by surprise and says “Come on, let’s go.”

She blinks once, twice, still surprised. “Let’s go? Go, uh, where?”

“You’ll see. C’mon, put on some shoes and grab your things. Hwall’s waiting for us downstairs.” he says casually.

“Go? Where? And how? I mean, I’m still highly contagious, my doctor said I couldn’t leave—” B starts, still a bit dumfounded.

“I’ve cleared this with your doctor. Yes, you’re still possibly highly contagious, but where we’re going, there won’t be anyone for you to infect.” he says.

Confused, B decides to put on a pair of sneakers and grab a small sling bag before locking her apartment door behind her.

“Ah, before I forget.” Yeonjun says, rummaging through his bag before pulling out a surgical face mask wrapped in plastic. “You’ll have to put this on for now. Safety reasons.” he explains, handing it to her.

She obliges, and once the face mask is secured, he grabs her hand and leads her to the car.

•°•

“So…where are we going?” B asks for what feels like the hundredth time.

“You’ll see.” Yeonjun responds for what feels like the hundredth time.

“Are you kidnapping me? Should I be worried?” B asks. “Hey, Hwall, is he kidnapping me? Should I be worried?”

Yeonjun’s driver Hwall looks at her through the rear-view mirror as he drives. “I assure you, with sir Yeonjun, you’re in good hands.” he simply says.

B lets out a huff. “You didn’t answer either of my questions, but fine, I trust you.” she says, looking out the window and noticing how unfamiliar everything looked. They were now going uphill and had a fairly decent view of the town. “Wow, I am just now realizing just how little I know about this place. I mean, I just moved here, and all I know is how to get to school and back.”

Yeonjun laughs. “I don’t blame you, but it’s practically the opposite for me since I’ve lived here since I was a kid.” he says. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you around the whole town pretty soon.”

B gives him a curious look but doesn’t say anything. She continues to look out the window for the rest of the ride, noticing how high up they were going. Once they reach the top of the cliff, the car suddenly pulls over and stops, causing her to look around excitedly.

“Is this it? Are we here? Where are we?” she says excitedly, trying to look around for any clue as to what Yeonjun had planned for their date. All she could see, however, was the edge of the cliff and how high above the town they were.

“Huh, I guess we got here a bit early.” Yeonjun says, looking out the window. “Molang isn’t here yet.”

“Molang? Who’s Molang?” B asks, raising a brow.

Just then, she notices a low whirring noise, not knowing what it was or where it was coming from. She notices the sound getting louder and louder, until a helicopter comes into view.

As she spots the helicopter flying in and slowly approaching them, her jaw drops. “No way.”

Yeonjun laughs as he stares at her, amused by her reaction. “Yes way. Baby, this is Molang. My beautiful Airbus ACH175 helicopter.” he says, waving at the pilot through the window, who raised a hand back to acknowledge him. “And that’s Sunwoo, our pilot for today.”

“Yeonjun, I—” B starts, but she doesn’t really know what to say. “I—”

He laughs again. “Are you ready to fly?”

B simply nods, staring at the helicopter that was now landing in very close to proximity to where the car was parked. Once Yeonjun opens the door for her and she steps out, that’s when she notices that they were parked next to a helicopter pad situated right by the edge of the cliff.

“Okay, so, helicopter? How?” she manages to say, still struggling to put together coherent words. She could feel the end of her cropped sweater flapping around her torso as they came closer to the helicopter

“Let’s just say that there are a lot of perks that comes with being the sole heir to my father’s business.” he answers, almost yelling to be heard above the noise, taking her hand as they approach the helicopter.

They take the proper precautions and double check everything to make sure that they were securely strapped in, with Sunwoo the pilot briefing them on basic safety protocols and informing them of how they can communicate via the headsets provided.

Yeonjun buckles B into the backseat himself, making sure that she was strapped in tight and taking off her face mask, telling her “Don’t worry, I asked and made sure that Sunwoo is already immune to chickenpox beforehand, so you being contagious won’t be a problem.” before stealing a quick kiss and securing her headset. Next, Sunwoo helps him buckle up next to B, making all the necessary safety checks before they take off.

“Are you afraid of heights, Baby?” Yeonjun’s voice suddenly rings into B’s headset.

“No.” she replies, looking at him and squeezing his hand tight as she feels the vehicle lift off into the air. She wasn’t exactly scared, but she wasn’t expecting to leave the ground when she woke up that morning.

The view was simply breathtaking. She had flown in airplanes before, and as much as she enjoyed being at airports and taking the window seat, but nothing could compare to seeing the small town from a thousand feet in the air.

Below them, the world looked green and blue, the town highlighted by the abundantly green trees and the river that surrounded it.

Throughout the ride, Yeonjun had begun to point out the most random things to B. From the park where he won his first soccer match in when he was in the 5th grade, to the building that his father owned which he absolutely hated. He told her endless stories of the places he’d run away to when he felt like escaping, and stories of the places he’s learned to love the most after years of living in one place.

As the sun started to set, the city lights started to light up slowly, then all at once.

“Wow, this is amazing. It feels like magic.” B says, staring in awe at the town below them, now illuminated in hundreds of shining lights.

“Magic hour, when the sun sets and all the lights start to turn on.” Yeonjun agrees.

B could feel her neck start to ache from keeping it outstretched the whole time as she tried her best to look out the window, drinking in as much of the view as she could.

Meanwhile, Yeonjun had his eyes on her the whole time.

•°•

Friday

Just then, B hears her doorbell ringing.

She yells out “Coming! Just a minute!” before getting up and making sure she was appropriately dressed before making her way to the front door.

As bummed out as she was about their her supposed last stay-at-home date with Yeonjun being cancelled, she also couldn’t help but feel curious about what could have possible come up that Yeonjun had to cancel it.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she forgot to check through the peephole before opening her apartment door, and as soon as she saw the person standing on the other side, she felt her heart skip a beat.

“Baba!” Kai exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. “Surprise!” he says, before engulfing her in a hug.

She unfreezes then, her mind in scrambles, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“Ningning! What are you doing here? And why are you hugging me, step away from me, you might get chickenpox!” she exclaims, trying to pull away from his embrace.

“Actually, I’m here because I have chicken pox.” he admits, subtly rubbing his arms, which B suspected were covered in itchy red rashes. “A few people from school have started to show symptoms, actually, myself included.”

“Oh my god, you have chicken pox? Are you okay? Did any of the other guys get it?” she asks, concerned.

Kai shakes his head. “I’m fine, just a little itchy. And no, as far as I can tell, it’s just me so far. The school’s in chaos now, everyone’s starting to show up to school wearing face masks and spraying alcohol every 5 mintues. Everyone’s afraid of the chicken pox.” he says, shivering.

“That sounds disastrous.” she comments. “So what brings you here exactly?”

Kai grins. “Well, since I have chicken pox now, and you’ve had chicken pox now, and no one else in my family has had chicken pox so I’d be a major health threat to them, I was wondering if I could maybe…stay with you?” he asks sheepishly.

“Oh, like we could quarantine together?” B asks. “I was actually medically cleared by my doctor already so I can come back to school on Monday but I’d love to have you here! Why not?” she says, squealing excitedly as she hugs her bestfriend.

Kai laughs happily. “Oh thank god, Lea practically kicked me out of the house and sprayed me with alcohol the whole time when I got sent home from school. I was able to grab a few of my things before I was banished from my own home.” he says, relieved.

“Oh, you poor thing.” she says, ruffling his hair. “Come on in, I’ll make sure the guest bedroom is clean and ready for you.” she says, welcoming him into her apartment.

“Thanks, Baba! Oh, I’m so excited, I’ve missed you so much! I haven’t seen you in a whole week.” Kai says, whining. “I can’t wait to catch up with you. Honestly, MOA has felt so boring without you so there’s not much I have to say. But I can’t wait to hear all about how you spent your week!”

B laughs hesitantly. “Oh, psh, there’s not much to tell you either.” she says weakly.

“Don’t say that, I’m sure spending a week at home felt like a mini vacation! So tell me, what did you do the whole week?” Kai starts, as they enter the guest room.

I’ve been going on dates with our dear friend Yeonjun B thought to herself, though she knew she couldn’t bring herself to just tell her bestfriend about it.

So what could she tell him about her week?

15 notes · View notes

soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part VIII : I Don’t Wanna Be Just Friends

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

It had been 13 days now since Kai’s birthday party. 13 days since Yeonjun had asked her out, and so far she’s done a good job at making sure that things between them wouldn’t change. All it took was to avoid being alone with him.

At first, she was convinced that both of them would move on from Kai’s party as if nothing had happened between them, that is, until he made it a point to keep his eyes on her while he was performing onstage, even giving her a wink or two. That simple gesture flustered her so much that she made sure to never find herself alone with the blue haired boy again. Ryujin’s “Looks like Choi Yeonjun’s got his eye on you” remark didn’t help either. And it definitely didn’t help that she often caught Yeonjun looking at her, though she could never bring herself to meet her gaze, afraid that she might get even more confused than she already was.

During their daily lunches at the gazebo and their trips to Kang’s Kafe after school, she made sure that she always had Kai by her side. During the one class that she shared with Yeonjun, she made sure that Soobin was seated between them. On Saturday, 7 days after Kai’s party, the boys had invited her to hang out at Soobin’s house and still she was able to avoid being alone with Yeonjun, gluing herself to Kai’s side the whole time. She wasn’t avoiding Yeonjun per se, she still talked to him when necessary. She just wanted to make sure that no line would be crossed between them, that there would be no opportunities for him to leave her any more flustered than she already was. She wanted to wait until thinking back to the moment he winked at her onstage didn’t make her heart race or her cheeks heat up anymore.

She had managed to maintain her daily routine of walking to school with Taehyun, attending classes, going to Kang’s Kafe with the gang, and walking home perfectly fine until today.

Friday.

Friday was quickly becoming her favorite school day. First of all, it was their washday, so she could get dressed up and look pretty if she wanted to instead of having to wear the same uniform everyday. Second, ever since she joined the HTA club, she’s been able to spend most of the afternoon surrounded by the cats and dogs within the campus grounds. It wasn’t all cuddles and pets, since the club was responsible for caring for the animals, they also had to clean up after them, made sure their feeding stations were never empty, and ensure that all the animals were in good shape. Luckily the workload wasn’t too bad since Soobin and the rest of the club members were all very attached to the animals under their care.

She had also gotten much closer with the rest of the boys, especially with Soobin since they spent a lot of time at the HTA together, and they were constantly taking pictures of each other so they’d have content to post for their creative writing class project. Unsurprisingly, their social media posts for the week both included cats under the care of the HTA club.

This Friday morning, 13 days after Kai’s birthday party, B woke up as usual to the sound of her phone alarming. What was unusual, however, was how heavy her body felt when she turned over in bed to shut the alarm off, and how chilly she felt even though her body was drenched in sweat. She came down with a bit of a cold the night before and she figured a night of good sleep would make it disappear, but clearly she was wrong.

She dragged herself out her bed and started getting ready for school, taking a cool shower and getting dressed. Due to how out of sync her body felt, she didn’t have the appetite to eat breakfast or the energy to care about how she looked, so she quickly swiped some tint on her lips and cheeks. She saw a couple of red spots on her chin and thought about whether or not she should cover them up with concealer, but she noticed that the spots felt itchy and she was afraid that covering them up with makeup would irritate them more so she left them alone. She threw on a sweater and jeans before willing herself to step out of her apartment and meet Taehyun downstairs.

“Wow, B.” Taehyun says as she meets him outside, staring at her with a strange look on his face. “And I don’t mean that in a good way.” he says, concerned now. Last Friday, she had made an effort to look nice. Her face was vibrant and her outfit choice was stylish. Now, she looked a little worse for wear, and she looked tired, as she stood slouched over with her arms folded across her chest. “Are you…okay?”

B nods. “I’m fine. I just skipped breakfast, I’ll get something to eat after homeroom.” she said, thankful that they didn’t have any classes for the day. She told herself that she just had to survive homeroom, get some food to energize herself, and then she’d be able to power through the rest of the day.

“Are you sure?” Taehyun asks, taking a step closer towards her so he could examine her properly. “You look kind of pale.”

B gives him a look. “It’s just cause I didn’t put on makeup.” she says dismissively. “And I didn’t eat breakfast, but I promise I’m good. Let’s go.”

Taehyun gives her one last look of concern before turning away. “Alright, let’s go.”

•°•

Homeroom was a drag. Attendance was required, but the whole thing felt like a waste of time. It was supposed to be used by the class advisers to discuss school policies or events, but their teacher didn’t seem to have anything to discuss. B spent the first 30 minutes of the period with her head buried in her arms, lying down on her desk.

“Hey Tyun,” Kai whispers. “What happened to Baba? Is she okay?”

“She seemed a bit off when we were walking to school. She was quiet, and she looked really tired. I asked her if she was okay before we left, and all she told me is that she didn’t have breakfast and that she was fine.” Taehyun confesses. “You got any food with you right now?”

Kai shakes his head. “I always have breakfast before I go, no matter how late I’m running. Do you have anything?”

Taehyun reaches into his bag and pulls out a brown paper bag. “My mom always packs me a couple of sandwiches, just in case.”

The 2 boys smile at each other and nod before each laying a hand on B’s shoulders.

“Baba, hey, wake up.” Kai says, gently squeezing her shoulder.

B turns her head in her arms to face the boys, not sitting up. “Hm?” she mumbles.

“You said you skipped breakfast, right? Are you hungry?” Kai asks.

“I have a couple of sandwiches here, you can eat them right now if you want to.” Taehyun says soothingly, gently squeezing her shoulder.

“No, it’s fine, you should eat them. But thanks, Tyun.” B says, giving him a weak smile.

“Baba, c’mon, you should at least eat something.” Kai says. “No offense, but you kinda look like a corpse.”

“Gee, thanks.” she responds dryly. “You know what, it’s cause I didn’t wear makeup. I’ll just go to the restroom and freshen up real quick.” she says, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small makeup bag. She stands up and glares at Kai before saying “I’ll be back.”

She walks up to the class adviser’s table and asks for permission to go to the bathroom before exiting the room.

“Dude. Seriously.” Taehyun says, turning to Kai and whacking his arm. “Did you really have to tell her that she looked like a corpse? All I wanted was for her to take the sandwiches.”

Kai just shrugs. “Hey I was just stating facts. I thought it would motivate her to eat, I didn’t think she’d bring out her makeup bag.”

“You’re an idiot. You better apologize to her when she gets back.” Taehyun says, shaking his head at the boy.

Except B never returned to class.

•°•

Yeonjun walked down the hall, his hands in his pockets and his head full of thoughts.

Fridays were one of the busiest days of the week for him. First, as president of the dance club, he had to finalize club activities before the end of homeroom, and since they had new members, they would be focusing more on introductions. Next, he had to consider his role in the Jazzed club. They were impressed with the rapping he did during the showcase on club recruitment day and they wanted him to assemble a small group of members and start a rap line within the club, so he had to figure out which members had potential and how to develop the skills needed to be a rapper. Lastly, there would be the weekly family dinner he’d be having with his parents for the night.

It was going to be a long day. He decided to take a break from planning out his day during homeroom and walk around the hall to stretch his legs for a bit. He was on his way back to his classroom when he saw a familiar face coming out of the women’s restrooms.

He smiled as he saw Baby step out, her arms folded across her chest cradling a small makeup bag, her eyes on the ground. She was wearing an oversized sweater and a plain pair of jeans, but he noticed her face was done up really nicely. Without even thinking about it, he found his feet begin to change direction, walking towards her now. It was the first time he’d seen her alone in the past few days, so he figured he’d grab the chance.

“Hey, Baby.” he called, as he was about 10 feet away from her now. She didn’t seem to hear him, cause she still had her eyes on the ground as she took slow steps. He decided to call her again.

“Baby?” he says a little bit louder as he comes closer. She looks up at him then, and he notices how blank her eyes looked. She looked dazed, as if she were lost and confused.

As her blank eyes meet his, she opens her mouth and says “Yeonjun?” before her vision goes blurry and she stumbles backwards.

Yeonjun manages to rush to her side and gets a grip on her shoulders before she loses her footing and her body crashes against his.

“Whoa there, are you okay?” he asks, as his hand brushes against her neck, he notices that she was burning up. “Baby? You’re burning up.” he says, looking at her with concern. She had her eyes closed and was breathing heavily. “I’m taking you to the clinic.” he says, positioning her properly, cradling her in his arms before lifting her off the ground.

“Hold on, Baby. I’ve got you.” he says, securing her on his back before making his way to the clinic.

•°•

Yeonjun puts his phone back in his pocket and runs a hand through his hair. He sat in silence, counting the number of tiles on the floor, before the school nurse called for him.

“Mr. Choi?” the nurse calls.

He stands up immediately and enters the room that the nurse had put Baby in, knocking on the door before stepping in.

“Yes, nurse Sunwoo?” he says, standing by the door. Baby was asleep on the bed, and the school nurse was standing beside her with a clipboard in his hands.

“Is Ms. Han a friend of yours? It looks like she’ll have to be sent home. She has a high fever, her temperature’s 38.9 degrees Celsius, so it’s standard protocol that we send home students with fevers.” nurse Sunwoo explains.

Yeonjun nods. “Alright, sir, will you fill up a form? I’d gladly take it to her adviser, and I can also take her things from her classroom and get her a ride home.”

“Yes, I’ve already filled up a form for Ms. Han, and I’ll fill up a form that will explain your absence from homeroom so you can get her a ride home. You’re still expected to return to school afterwards, though.” nurse Sunwoo says. “But first, I have to ask, have you ever had the chicken pox before?”

Yeonjun’s eyes widen and his mind goes blank. The chicken pox? He takes a moment to think about it before answering “Yes, I had it when I was 3 years old.”

“That’s good.” nurse Sunwoo says, sighing in relief. “I’ve noticed that Ms. Han appears to have some rashes spreading across her face and neck. The school doctor isn’t in today so I can’t be too sure, but I looks like she might have Varicella, so it’s best that she avoids contact with other students just in case there might be someone who hasn’t had the chicken pox before. It’s a highly contagious disease, so it could spread quickly. Judging by her symptoms now, she probably contracted the disease about 2 weeks ago.”

Oh no, could it be? “We had a social gathering about 2 weeks ago. Do you think she could have picked it up from someone there?” Yeonjun asks.

“Again, I’m not a doctor so I can’t officially diagnose her. But if it is Varicella, then yes, it’s highly possible that someone at that party had it or at least came in contact with someone who had it and became a carrier.” nurse Sunwoo explains. “If other students were present at that gathering, then we’re likely to see more cases of this soon.”

Yeonjun nods. “I understand, Sir, and I’ll warn my friends about it too.”

“I suggest Ms. Han contact her family doctor so that she can be properly diagnosed as well.” Nurse Sunwoo says before handing Yeonjun the forms. “Submit this to Ms. Han’s class adviser and collect her things. Come back here and I’ll help you with transporting Ms. Han to her ride home. Once you’ve secured her safely in her home, come back to school and present this form to your class adviser.”

“Will do, thank you, Sir Sunwoo.” Yeonjun says, taking the forms. “Oh, a friend of ours says he’ll be stopping by the clinic to visit her, if it’s okay.”

Nurse Sunwoo shakes his head. “She may be highly contagious, so before any of your friends plan any visits, please make sure that they’ve already contracted the chicken pox before. Otherwise, they have a high risk of getting infected as well.”

Yeonjun nods and thanks the nurse once again before leaving, whipping out his phone to text the guys while he walked to her classroom.

After texting the guys, he sends a quick text to his driver as well.

Once he reaches her classroom, he knocks twice before entering the room and walking straight to the adviser’s desk. He could already hear the whispers from the class as he informed the adviser of Baby’s condition and gave him the clinic form. The adviser simply says “I hope Ms. Han recovers soon.” and signs the form before handing it back to Yeonjun. “You’ll find her things over there, she was seated in between Mr. Kang and Mr. Huening.”

Yeonjun thanks the adviser before making his way to her seat and collecting her things.

“Pst, Yeonjun.” Kai whispers. “Is it really chicken pox? How is she?”

“Nurse Sunwoo said he suspects it’s chicken pox, but he couldn’t be too sure since the school doctor isn’t in today, so it would be best if Baby contacts her family doctor.” Yeonjun says quietly, making sure no one else but Kai and Taehyun could hear him. “She fainted when I saw her, and when I left she was asleep in the clinic.”

“I hope she’s okay. I really should’ve known she wasn’t okay before we left this morning.” Taehyun said, a frown on his face.

Kai puts a hand on Taehyun’s back. “Tyun, seriously, this isn’t your fault. Thanks to you, she made it to school safely.” he says comfortingly.

“Thanks, Hyuka. I wish we could visit her though, make sure she’s okay.” Taehyun says wistfully.

“If you want the chicken pox, feel free to visit her then.” Yeonjun says, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ll just take her things then I’ll bring her home. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her for now.” he says, clapping the 2 boys on their backs before excusing himself from the room.

Yeonjun heads back to the clinic and Nurse Sunwoo helps him bring Baby in a wheelchair to the north quadrangle, where sure enough, his driver was waiting for him. His driver opens the backseat and helps Yeonjun with loading the girl into the car. Yeonjun thanks the school nurse once again before entering the vehicle himself.

“Where to, sir Yeonjun?” the driver asks as they pull out of the campus.

“You know Kang’s Kafe, right Hwall? We’re taking her home to her apartment, it’s in the building across the café.” Yeonjun says. “This is Han Baby, by the way. She’s a friend of mine.”

“Alright, Sir Yeonjun.” Hwall simply says. “Will you be staying at her apartment for the rest of the day?”

Yeonjun shakes his head. “We’ll just be dropping her off, I have to be back at school for the afternoon.”

“Seems a bit dangerous to leave her alone in this state, sir.” Hwall comments. “Your friend doesn’t look like she’s in the best condition. Is she sick?”

Yeonjun nods. “She fainted and has a high fever. I wish I could stay and make sure she’ll be okay, but I have no choice. If I don’t go back and submit this form, then I’ll have an unexcused absence, which my father might hear about.” he says with a hint of bitterness. Yeonjun’s personal driver, Hwall, was one of the few staff members hired by his family that he trusted, so he felt safe confiding in Hwall about his problems.

“Whatever the situation, I’m sure you’ll handle it well, sir.” Hwall simply says, knowing Yeonjun.

Just then, the car takes a sharp turn, and Baby’s position shifts, somehow ending up with her head on Yeonjun’s lap. He tries to inch away from her so that her head would land on the car seat instead, but he was surprised when she reached out and grabbed the fabric of his jeans, causing him to freeze in place. He looks down at her and sees that she’s still fast asleep. He lets out a small smile and rests a hand on the top of her head, caressing her hair carefully. He snaps a quick picture before sending an update to the boys.

He ignores Taehyun’s message and locks his phone, tilting his head back, thinking carefully about what he should do for the rest of the day.

His gut told him that he shouldn’t leave her alone, at least not in her current condition, and he felt like simply making sure she got home safe wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to spend the afternoon watching over her, to contact her family doctor and have him come over to examine her, to stay by her side and make sure she wouldn’t wake up alone.

On the other hand, if he did skip school for the rest of the day, he’d fail to submit his excuse slip, and that would be another unexcused absence in his record.

He sighed, looking down at the girl sleeping on his lap, wondering if he should choose his head over his heart.

•°•

When B wakes up and opens her eyes, she’s surprised when she sees nothing, her view obstructed by something covering her face. She lifts a hand up to reach over her face, removing whatever was obstructing her view. She grabs it and realizes that it’s a face towel, and it was slightly damp. Why did she have a towel on her head?

She turns over in her bed, blindly reaching over the sheets in search of her phone, but she’s surprised when her hand comes in contact with hair. Human hair.

Was there someone else in her bed?

Her eyes immediately widen as she pulls her hand away and attempts to scramble away, but instead she ends up rolling over until she falls over the side of the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

“Ouch.” she says out loud, rubbing her the spot on her head that met the heaviest impact with the floor. Once she realizes that no one else had made a sound, she starts to sit up, slowly peeking over the sheets to catch a glimpse of whoever might be on the other side of the bed.

She’s surprised when she sees a head of blue hair, and she immediately stands up to get a better look.

It was Yeonjun. He was sitting on the floor at the other side of the bed, but he seemed to have fallen asleep, his head resting in his arms, which were folded across the bed.

B could feel her heartbeat start to quicken as she started to panic. Why wasn’t she at school? When and how did she get home? Why was Yeonjun here? Why was she alone with Yeonjun in her apartment?

She weighed her options. She could either wake him up and get the answers to all her questions, or she could simply sneak out of her apartment and continue to avoid him like she had been the past 2 weeks.

She sighed, knowing what she had to do. She got back on the bed and started to slowly crawl towards him, carefully putting a hand on his arm and gently shaking it.

“Yeonjun?” she says. “Yeonjun, wake up.”

To her surprise, the blue-haired boy stretches his arms out on the bed, gripping the sheets tightly for a second before he relaxes and lifts his head up, and for what felt like the first time in 2 weeks, their eyes meet.

And just like that, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter about again.

“Hey Baby, sorry I fell asleep.” Yeonjun says casually, sitting up on the floor. “Oh god, what time is it? I hope I wasn’t asleep for too long.” he says, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“It’s fine, no need to apologize. It’s 4pm right now.” she says kindly, checking her watch. “Um, Yeonjun?”

“Yes?” he asks innocently, his mouth quirked up in a smirk.

“How did we end up here exactly?” she asks. “What happened?”

Then Yeonjun filled her in. He told her about how she passed out in the hallway and he brought her to the school clinic, how the school nurse said she might have the chicken pox and she had to be sent home cause of her high fever, how Yeonjun brought her home, how Yeonjun found the number for her family doctor and had him come for a home visit, how the doctor confirmed that she did indeed have chicken pox and she would have to stay home for at least a week, and how Yeonjun watched over her the whole time.

How he carried her from his car all the way up to her apartment, how he removed her shoes before tucking her into bed, how he put a damp face towel over her forehead and replaced it every hour, how he checked her temperature every 30 minutes to see if her fever had died down yet and how relieved he was when it finally did, how he had constantly sent the other guys updates on how she was doing, how he had ordered food to be delivered to her apartment just in case she woke up hungry, and how he had fallen asleep while sitting on the floor.

How he had taken care of her the whole time, yet B pushed the thought of Yeonjun doing all that for her to the back of her mind.

“I have the chicken pox? Oh god oh god, I’m gonna have to miss school for a week?” B says, her head drowning from the sudden heavy load of information. “Why are you here, though? Did you skip school? Where are the other guys?” she asks.

“Yes, you have the chicken pox and yes, your doctor says you can’t leave your house for at least a week, depending on how fast you recover, so he’ll be checking up on you again in a couple of days. Lucky for me, I had chicken pox when I was 3 years old so now I’m immune, and unlucky for them, none of the other guys have had chicken pox before so they can’t really be here right now.” Yeonjun says, skipping over her question about him skipping school. “So it’s just you and me.”

B bites her lip, overwhelmed by the whole situation. It wasn’t even the fact that she had chicken pox that was made her nervous or the fact that she’d be missing a week of school, it was the fact that she was now alone with the boy she had been trying to avoid for the past 2 weeks, and the fact that she couldn’t have Kai or the rest of the guys come over so she could keep distancing herself from Yeonjun. It was the fact that she knew that she couldn’t keep avoiding him any longer. “So it’s just you and me.” she repeats.

Yeonjun smiles. “Lucky for me, unlucky for you, isn’t it?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks suspiciously.

“Baby, come on. You’ve been avoiding me for the past 2 weeks, right?” Yeonjun asks point blank. “And let’s face it, I’ve been waiting to get a moment alone with you for the past 2 weeks. So this situation right now is lucky for me, and unlucky for you.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.” she says weakly, caught off guard by how direct he was being.

Yeonjun shakes his head. “It’s okay, Baby. I guess I put pressure on you. If anything, it’s my fault that you felt so uncomfortable that you had to start avoiding me.”

“It’s not that, Yeonjun.” she protests. Upon seeing the confused look on his face, she bit her lip. Time to face the truth head on. “I’ll admit that I have been avoiding you, but it wasn’t cause I was uncomfortable with you.”

“Oh? Why then?” Yeonjun asks. “You know it hurts, right? It hurt to see that you never wanted to sit beside me, that you were purposefully avoiding talking to me, that you didn’t want to be alone with me, that you wouldn’t even look at me. I thought I lost a friend. I thought I lost you.” he admits, looking at her intently. “The past 2 weeks hurt.”

B felt an ache in her chest. She was so caught up in her own feelings and so engrossed in avoiding him that she didn’t realize what it might’ve been like for him. “Yeonjun, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” B says, climbing off the bed and sitting down beside him on the floor. “And it wasn’t your fault. It was just me, avoiding you and blocking you out like I did, it was all just me being stupid. I got so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t even think about how it might have affected you or our friendship.” She puts her hand on his comfortingly. “I hope you know that I really don’t want to lose you, and I didn’t want to lose our friendship.”

He takes her hand, intertwining their fingers, and gives her a small smile. “And you know I really don’t want to lose you either. So why? Why have you been avoiding me?”

B takes a deep breath, bracing herself for what might happen once she told him the truth. “It’s because I was confused. To be honest, when you performed on club recruitment day and winked at me onstage, it felt like butterflies were born in my stomach that day, and I’ve been trying to keep them from fluttering around but they just seem to keep multiplying.”

Yeonjun smiles. “So I gave you butterflies.” he states.

B nods. “Yes, but after turning you down, those butterflies were very confusing. I told myself that it was nothing, and I figured that as long as I didn’t see you or talk you or even sit beside you, the butterflies would die out and our friendship would be saved. But I guess I was so afraid of losing our friendship that I ended up slowly destroying it, pushing you away and hurting you in the process.”

“But why were you so afraid? I get that you wanted to keep our friendship above all else, that’s the main reason why you turned me down in the first place, right?” Yeonjun asks. “But why were you so afraid? Why did you feel the need to stay away from me?”

“I was afraid that if I were to have a moment alone with you, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was afraid that if I looked at you for too long, the butterflies in my stomach would consume me completely. I was afraid that if I talked to you, I’d turn into a blubbering mess because you get me so flustered. I was afraid that if I sat beside you, my heart would start to pound so loud that you’d be able to hear it.” B takes a deep breath before continuing, her voice starting to shake. “I guess I was afraid because deep down, I knew I wasn’t confused. I was just too chickenshit to admit it, even to myself, but I think I was really afraid because a part of me knew that I had feelings for you.”

There’s a moment of silence as B’s words come pouring out. Yeonjun stays quiet, comfortingly tracing circles on her hand with his thumb while she collects her thoughts, putting them together and letting them pour out.

“I was afraid because I had feelings for you, and I was afraid that being alone with you would drive me crazy. But I feel like I’ve been going crazy anyway, ever since that night in the shed, I can’t seem to think straight anymore.” B confesses.

“You were afraid because you had feelings for me?” Yeonjun asks. “Had?”

B shakes her head. “Have. I’m afraid because I have feelings for you.” she clarifies.

“You know since then, I had the next 2 weeks planned out, right?” Yeonjun starts. “I told myself I had 2 weeks to change your mind, and I had it all planned out, starting with dazzling you during our performance on club recruitment day. But damn it, you never gave me a chance.”

“What do you mean?” B asks, confused.

“You started avoiding me, remember?” Yeonjun laughs, the mood feeling lighter after B finally unloaded all her thoughts. “This” he says, holding up their hands, which were still intertwined, “is the closest I’ve been to you these past 2 weeks. At first, I thought I’d fucked up, and I was ready to give up. But then I told myself that I’d try it one more time, give it one more shot, before I leave it alone forever.”

“What are you talking about? Give what one more shot?” B asks again. After finally letting go of the thoughts swirling around in her for the past 2 weeks, she was a little overwhelmed.

Yeonjun turns to face her then, looking right at her. He sighs as he says, “Let me make this perfectly clear. I have not been able to stop thinking about you since that night in the shed. Those 7 minutes kept replaying in my mind, and it killed me that I never got to spend another minute alone with you again. If I had known that those 7 minutes would’ve haunted me for the next 2 weeks of my life, I would’ve...” he says, trailing off when his eyes quickly dart to her lips. “Well, let’s just say I would’ve made those 7 minutes something worth remembering.”

B lets out an “Oh.” and starts blushing profusely.

Upon seeing her reaction, he laughs and squeezes his eyes shut. She was too god damn cute. After shaking his head and telling himself to focus, he continues. “Anyway, after you turned me down, I promised myself that I would try harder. I gave myself 2 weeks to do anything to change your mind, I was ready to fully turn on my charm, to show you that I was someone worth dating, and to show you that our friendship is just as important to me as it is to you. But then you started to ignore me, and I was about to give up and accept that you’d never be interested in going out with me, but then I told myself that if I didn’t try at least one more time, if I didn’t give it one more shot, I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life.” he says sincerely.

B stays quiet, trying to absorb everything she was hearing. Yeonjun continues, moving even closer, her hand still grasped tightly in his.

“To be completely honest here, I have not enjoyed a conversation with any girl as much as I enjoyed those 7 minutes with you, and I want so much more than those 7 minutes. I want to take you out, I want to give you all the good things I know you deserve, I want to get to know you as much as I can. Yes, I want to be your friend, but God Baby, I don’t know if I can go on like this for much longer because being friends means staying platonic and I want you so much more than that.” he says intensely, lifting her hand up to his chest, right to where he could feel his heartbeat. “I want to show you who I am, I want to know who you are, and I want to be what you deserve. If you’ll let me.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off her the whole time, but B took a moment to close her eyes and try to clear her thoughts. She didn’t know what to expect when she woke up this morning, but this definitely wasn’t it. As hard as it was, she was glad to finally express her feelings, like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. But after hearing everything Yeonjun just said, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up once again.

“Baby?” Yeonjun whispers after a moment of silence, looking at her intently. He was so close to her that she could clearly see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, her own breathing getting heavier the more he inched closer.

“Yes?” she finally asks, her heart pounding out of her chest as she kept her eyes downward. She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye, because if she did, she felt like she would combust in front of him, like the butterflies she felt in her stomach would suddenly explode all at once.

“Baby.” he says again. Only this time, he bravely puts a finger under her chin and lifts her face up so that he could get a better look at her.

B lets out a deep breath and braces herself, knowing there was nowhere to hide now. She let her eyes slowly trail upwards from his chin, her heart skipping a beat when her eyes caught sight of his lips, up to his nose, and finally to his eyes. She was so struck by the intensity when her gaze finally met his that she felt her breath hitch once their eyes met.

He shifted his hand, sliding it further into her neck, from one finger under her chin to his whole palm against her skin, his fingers cradling the back of her neck as his thumb traced slow circles along her jaw. “Look at me.” he says softly.

“Yes?” she finally manages to say out loud, though it came out as a whisper.

The corners of Yeonjun’s mouth tip upwards in a small smile. He leans in closer again, his eyes never leaving hers, until he was so close that their noses were almost touching.

“Will you go out with me?” he whispers, his warmth breath mingling with hers, the tips of their noses gently brushing against each other with every word spoken. “Please?”

B lets out a deep breath, unable to keep her voice steady as she says “Yeonjun…” not really knowing what else to say.

Feeling her breath so close to his mouth, Yeonjun’s eyes flutter downwards, catching a glimpse of her lips, before he says “Fuck it” and pulls her face towards his, their lips finally crashing together.

B could feel a thousand butterflies in her stomach collectively combust as his lips meet hers. Her eyes close as she immediately responds and kisses him back, giving in to him. Her hands reach up to his chest, and she gently grabs his shirt in her fists.

Yeonjun takes it well, and he brings his other hand up to cup her face, holding it in place as his fingers entwined themselves in her hair, further tilting her head back for better access.

B could feel her whole body weaken, as if she were melting in his hands. Her hands relax as she lets go of his shirt and simply lays her palms against his chest, sliding them up to his shoulders and finally to his neck, her fingers tracing his sharp jaw.

Yeonjun pulls away then, separating their mouths. To his surprise, he was breathing heavily, his own heart pounding so loud he could hear it roaring in his ears. He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and wonder, his hands still cupping her face. What was this girl doing to him?

There’s a moment of silence as they simply stare at each other, the sounds of their heavy breathing filling the room. Yeonjun’s eyes earnestly search hers for any sign of how she was feeling, hoping he didn’t overstep his boundaries or make her feel uncomfortable. He didn’t mean to kiss her so suddenly, but after pouring his heart out, he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

Meanwhile, her eyes were fixated on his, her thumbs absentmindedly tracing circles on his jaw, her fingers tickling the hair on the back of his neck. It took her a moment to realize that Yeonjun really kissed her and that she kissed him back, and she was starting to become lightheaded, as if she were intoxicated.

“Yeonjun?” she says, finally breaking the silence.

“Yes, Baby?” he asks softly, his gaze never leaving hers.

She offers him a small smile before saying, “Yes. I’ll go out with you.”

Upon finally hearing her say yes, Yeonjun lets out a big smile, unable to stop himself. “Really?” He asks as he savors the moment, staring at her eyes and her lips trying to memorize every little detail, reveling in how small and fragile she felt as he cradled her face in his hands, marveling at the heat of her skin under his palms, and once again going breathless at the memory of their kiss.

She laughs a little as he smiles, noticing how his whole face lit up as soon as she said yes. “You happy now?” she asks.

“You know I’m always happy when I’m with you, right?” he says, smiling at her cheekily.

“And you know I have chicken pox, right?” she says teasingly.

“And you know I’ve had them before, right? I’m immune for life.” he reminds her.

“Okay, quick question then, how will you take me out if I’m sick and can’t leave my house for at least a week?” B asks. “Both of us have been struggling for the past 2 weeks and now that we’re finally here, I can’t even go out.” she laughs sheepishly.

“Funny though, if you never got the chicken pox, I don’t think we’d get to where we are now. You and me, dating.” he says sweetly. “Well, dates don’t always mean going to the movies or fancy restaurants.” Yeonjun begins. “I mean, we can always just stay here, hang out, maybe get a repeat of that kiss earlier.” he says, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She smacks his arm, suddenly flustered again, her cheeks going red.

“I’m serious! How will we be dating if I can’t even leave my apartment?” B asks.

Yeonjun just smiles at her then. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got something in mind. You’ll see.” he says with a glint in his eye.

When she gives him a confused look, he laughs and pulls her in closer again, brushing the hair away from her face before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. He keeps her close, resting his chin on the top of her head, her scent making him wish he’d never have to leave.

“Thanks for saying yes, Baby.” he whispers, his lips moving against her hair.

B reaches up and takes on of his hands in hers, letting out a sigh. “I don’t think I could ever say no to you again, Yeonjun.” she says, smiling.

Yeonjun smiles, pulling away for a second, only to put a finger under her chin and tilt her head backwards, leaning in so he could kiss her once again.

“Uh, Yeonjun?” B starts again. “Quick question. Should we tell the guys that we’re dating now?”

Yeonjun leans back, thinking it over. “Well, I guess it’s something they should know about since they’re our friends.” he says rationally. “Do you want to tell them?”

As much as she wanted to believe that their friendship wouldn’t end up crashing and burning if things between them didn’t work out, she was still very worried about it. “How about we wait until I’ve recovered and I’m medically cleared to go back to school and see the guys again?” she suggests. “Let’s see how things turn out by the end of the week.”

Yeonjun nods, smiling at her. “Deal.” he says, once again planting a kiss on her forehead.

And to him, it didn’t matter that he skipped school for the afternoon just to look after her, it didn’t matter that he’d have an unexcused absent in his school records, it didn’t matter that he had to constantly text and call different club officers from the Dance club and Jazzed that day to give them instructions while he was away, it didn’t matter that he’d have to sit through another family dinner with his parents later that night. If going through all that meant he’d get to spend this one moment with her in his arms, he knew he’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

°•°

Author’s note: Quick question, dear readers... How do you feel about kissing scenes? I hope no one here is uncomfortable with graphic/detailed kissing scenes because there may be more coming up soon, especially since the characters in the fic are highschool students. Thank you for the likes and especially the comments! Reading comments motivates me to write more because it feels nice to know that people are enjoying my work. :)

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part VII : Green Light

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

“No?” Yeonjun asks.

B nods her head. “No.”

He raises a brow at her. “But you just nodded.”

“Yeah, I was saying ‘yes’ to your ‘no?’.” B explains.

“Wait, so you’re saying yes?”

B lets out a huff. “Yeonjun, seriously—”

The blue-haired boy laughs. “Baby, I’m kidding. Don’t worry, I understand. May I ask why, though?” He was genuinely curious. Was he expecting to get shot down? Not really. But was he expecting her to say yes? Kind of. When Choi Yeonjun asks someone out, he almost always gets a yes on the first try.

“We’re friends, you and I.” B starts, her eyes starting to dart around the shed as she continues. “And my best friend is one of your best friends. I don’t want to mess up our friendship group’s dynamic by going out with you and then being dumped by you and then having everything crash and burn afterwards.”

“What ‘group dynamic?’ What ‘being dumped?’ What ‘having everything crash and burn?’ How are you so sure that all that is gonna happen?” Yeonjun asks. He had to keep himself from chuckling and maintain a straight face, because as ridiculous as it all sounded to him, he knew that she was serious and he wanted to treat it seriously.

“If I go out with you and you and I don’t work out, everything between us will get awkward. I know Ningning’s my best friend, but the boys will definitely pick your side, so I’ll probably have to find a new group of friends to hang out with.” B explains.

“Baby, I promise you, we won’t end up like that. If you agree to go out with me, nothing will change. We’ll all still be friends. You won’t lose us.” Yeonjun says reassuringly.

“And how would you know? Have you ever dated someone from your circle of friends before?” B asks, raising a brow.

“God no. As attractive as my friends are, I don’t think I could ever see myself going out with any of them. I mean, Hyuka’s like a baby brother to me, Taehyun is too perfect it’s kinda intimidating, and Beomgyu just isn’t my type. I mean, I think Soobin and I could work if we gave it a shot, but I don’t think he’d be interested.” Yeonjun says jokingly.

“Yeonjun, come on. You know what I mean.” B says, letting out a small laugh.

“Okay, I haven’t. But look at Gyu and Ryujin for example. Sure, they weren’t in the same friend group, but they were friends and they dated, and then they went back to being friends. Friendships don’t have to crash and burn just because of a few dates.” Yeonjun says defensively.

“Yeah, okay, Gyu and Ryu managed to stay friends. But if things don’t work out between you and I—” B starts, until Yeonjun interrupts her.

“But what if they do...” he says quietly.

“What?” B says, unable to hear him properly.

“But what if they do? What if we do? What if things between us work out?” Yeonjun asks.

B’s quiet for a moment before slowly starting again. “It’s not just our friendship I’m worried about, you know. I just moved here, I’m going through a big adjustment period in my life right now, and I’m just starting to make friends and establish a routine, and I like that you’re a part of it. I like seeing you everyday, I like that we’re classmates for at least 1 period and that I get to hang out with you and eat lunch with you and the rest of the boys.” she says, and as positive as it all sounded, Yeonjun had a feeling he knew what she’d say next. “But I’m not ready to change any of it. I like you, Yeonjun, enough to at least enjoy seeing you everyday. But I’m not ready to do anything that could change how things in my life are right now.”

Yeonjun nods. “It’s alright, Baby. I understand.” he says sincerely, looking right at her eyes. She really did look sorry, but at the same time her eyes kept darting back and forth between his and the ground. He could tell she was being sincere, but it looked like there was something more that she didn’t want to say. She was fairly easy to read, but he couldn’t decipher what else could possibly be on her mind.

“So that’s why I’m saying no. I’m really sorry, Yeonjun. I like our friendship too much right now to let anything get in the way of it.” she says, her eyes meeting his.

“You like our friendship too much right now? What about, say, in 2 weeks? Do you think you’d feel differently about our friendship then?” Yeonjun asks innocently.

“Yeah, if you suddenly become unbearably annoying in the next 2 weeks, that could definitely change.” B says sarcastically. “I don’t know, Yeonjun. It’s not like I can see into the future or anything, but I don’t think anything could change how I feel about us in a span of 2 weeks.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Baby. Everything can change in 2 weeks.” Yeonjun says mysteriously. When B raises a brow at him, he just smiles at her with a glint in his eye. “You’ll see. Now c’mon, let’s get back in there before they come looking for us.” he says, opening the door and leading her out of the shed.

•°•

It had only been 2 hours since she turned Yeonjun down, but looking at him now, B was starting to regret it just a tiny bit.

The boys had been rehearsing in Soobin’s house for an hour now. They hadn’t really been singing or rapping as Taehyun hinted they would be. They were working on the choreography and mostly polishing their positions and transitions, and as impressively sharp and coordinated as they all were, she had to admit that she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Yeonjun.

The blue haired boy could dance.

Simply the way he moved made him stand out. His movements were completely controlled yet so effortlessly executed, as if dance were a language and his body was highly fluent. She could see now why girls would go crazy when they see him perform, and a small part of her was starting to regret turning him down, even though she knew it was silly. Him being an amazing dancer shouldn’t be a factor to take into consideration when deciding whether not she would date him.

But still. She caught herself staring at him more than she’d like to admit. It was only when Kai threw himself onto the carpeted floor and yelled “Water break!” when she snapped out of it and stood up with a jolt.

“I’ll get you guys water, consider me as your unofficial water girl. That’ll be 5 water bottles, right?” B says, volunteering. “Uh, I guess I’ll get them from the fridge…?” she says, trailing off.

Soobin laughs, wiping sweat from his forehead before saying “Alright, I’ll show you where they are. Come on.”

B nods as she follows Soobin out of the room and downstairs towards the kitchen.

“So what do you think of our performance so far?” Soobin asks. “I know I’m not the best dancer, so it’s okay, you can be as brutally honest as you want.”

“Soobin, you guys are amazing. If the choreography looked that good, I can’t wait to see what the singing and rapping will sound like! And shut up, you’re a great dancer.” B says, playfully shoving his arm.

Soobin smiles, a bit embarrassed. “Thanks. You’ll only have to wait 2 more days until you see the whole thing, so I hope you look forward to it.”

“You bet I am! I didn’t know Ningning could dance either. Growing up, he was very interested in singing and playing different instruments, but I never knew he could rap and dance as well.” B says, amazed.

Soobin nods. “The Jazzed club helped a lot of us with honing in skills that we didn’t even know we had. It definitely helped me a lot with feeling more confident about myself. I used to be insanely shy until Yeonjun convinced me to join Jazzed club. Since then, I’ve even had the courage to take on the responsibility of being Student Council President, which is something I never thought I’d see myself doing.” he says bashfully.

“Wow Soobin, were you really that shy? I’m glad you’ve come out of your shell then, you’re doing great as far as I can tell. I guess being in Jazzed club helped you a lot then.” B says, smiling at him.

“You wouldn’t believe how shy I was.” Soobin laughs. “And yeah, it really has. Are you interested in joining? I think you’d like it.”

B thinks about it for a moment. “It looks like a lot of fun, and you guys make it seem so amazing. But I have to admit that I’ve never really been musically inclined? Don’t get me wrong, I tried really hard to learn how to play instruments when I was younger. Ningning tried to teach me how to play the piano, but I just couldn’t ever get it right. The most musical thing I can do is sing, but I don’t think I’m very good at that either, and besides, anyone can sing if they try hard enough.”

“I’m not great at instruments either, but I sang a lot while I was growing up and it was something I enjoyed doing. Never in my whole life did I ever think I’d be dancing on a stage in front of an audience though, but that also changed when I joined the club.” Soobin admitted.

“I really can’t wait to see you perform. I’ll get a front row seat, and I’ll be the one screaming my lungs out.” B says, laughing.

“If that’s the case then I’ll make sure to dance my heart out. I mean, if you’re gonna be giving it all with your lungs, might as well give it my best with all my heart as well.” Soobin says.

“Looking forward to seeing it.” B says, smiling up at him just as they reach the kitchen. “Oh, by the way, we should probably post stuff for our creative writing project too.”

“Oh, sure. Got any good pics from last night? I think I might have one.” Soobin says, whipping his phone out.

“I should probably be the one to post something though, since you posted something first.” B says, also taking out her phone. “We should each have at least one post every week.”

Soobin nods in agreement.

The two continue to look through their camera rolls until B exclaims “Ooh, I’ve got one!”

“Alright, I wanna see it.” Soobin says, attempting to look over B’s shoulder to peak at her phone.

“No way, you’ll see it when you post it! Let me just think of a caption.” B says, shielding her phone from Soobin’s curious eyes as she types out a caption.

Soobin’s phone pings with a notification, and he checks it.

“Oh wow, I knew we took selfies together but who took this photo?” Soobin asks, transfixed. Were they really that close together last night? He had to admit that he wasn’t completely sober so the night was a bit fuzzy, but he didn’t realize that he had ever been in such proximity with B. Other than the moment she whipped cake off his face, of course. At the memory of that, he felt his cheeks start to warm up again.

“I think Yuna or Ryujin did? I’m sure it was one of them. We all airdropped each other all the photos we took from last night. There are a lot stolen photos, and most of them were highly unflattering, but this one seemed alright.” B says.

“Yeah, it seems alright.” Soobin says as he looks at the post again, noting how their faces were side by side, he could’ve rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Alright, now show me where the water bottles are.” B says, pocketing her phone.

“The what?” Soobin asks, his mind still on the post.

“The water bottles? I need to bring at least 5, which I probably couldn’t have carried all on my own, so it’s actually really good that you’re here. Now, where are they?” B asks.

“Ah, right. They’re here in the fridge.” Soobin says, walking over to the fridge and grabbing as much bottles as he could. “We’re gonna need way more than 5 by the way, so let’s just take as much as we can for now.”

“Alright, let’s go.” B says, cradling 4 bottles in her arms as Soobin pushes the refrigerator door close with his foot, his arms full of water bottles.

“Let’s go.” Soobin says, and the 2 of them head back to the designated practice room.

•°•

On Monday morning, B had to walk to school alone.

It was club recruitment day, and Taehyun had told her beforehand that he’d be going to school an hour earlier that usual in order to prepare for the busy day, especially since he was the vice president of the student council.

“Do you still wanna walk together, though? Or would you rather sleep in for an extra hour?” Taehyun had asked her through text the night before.

Of course, she chose sleep. As much as she loved walking with Taehyun to school everyday, she did not want to get up an hour earlier than she had to.

“Nah, it’s fine. I can walk alone. I’m sure it’ll be a busy day for you anyway, so don’t worry about me.” she responded.

Now, here she was, entering the campus alone.

She was surprised by how busy it was. Along the school grounds, several booths were set up, each with at least 3 people, calling people over, handing out flyers, holding up signup sheets. Most booths had small exhibits, music playing out of portable speakers, and some booths were even giving away snacks or candies to attract more people.

She was so amazed and overwhelmed by the scene in front of her that she almost didn’t notice Beomgyu approaching her with a polaroid camera and taking a quick picture of her.

“Ha! Gotcha, B!” Beomgyu says, laughing as he cradles his camera, waiting for the picture he just took to develop. Once it was done, he flapped it around for a bit before laughing and pocketing the picture. “That was a good one.”

“Gyu! Oh god, you surprised me. Didn’t see you coming. And what’s with the picture? Can I see it?” B says, a fist clutched to her chest. “Wow, so this is what club recruitment day is like?” she asks, looking around in amazement.

Beomgyu stands beside her and nods. “Nah, I think I’ll keep the picture to myself for now. And yup, pretty much. It can be pretty intimidating for freshmen and new students, but it’s all really fun.” he says. “In the morning we have the booths wherein people can check out what clubs are around, in the afternoon there’s the visitations so people can visit the rooms to check out what the clubs are like, then from 3PM onwards there’s the showcase in the auditorium wherein each club can put together a skit or performance to show off what they’ve got.” he explains.

B nods. “Wow, it seems so exciting.”

“It’s one of the busiest days of the school year, and it’s one of the hardest events to plan since it’s at the very start of the school year, so we were working on it even during the summer before classes started.” Beomgyu admits. “I’m part of 4 clubs, not including the student council, so it was a lot of work for me too. Especially since I’m the head of the Journalism club and in charge of the school paper.” he pouts.

“Aw, Gyu, it all looks great. You’ve done a great job.” B says, giving the boy a pat on the back. “Is that why you’re going around with a camera, by the way? For the school paper?”

Beomgyu nods. “Nah, these pictures are for my personal documentation though if I get any interesting pictures, I could use them for the paper. I do have a documentation team going around with cameras as well, but I like being behind the lens. Say cheese.” he says before quickly capturing a stolen photo of B once again.

“Gyu!” B screeches, caught off guard. “I better not see my face in any pictures on the school paper this month.”

“Don’t worry, I get to do final approvals for everything before each edition gets published.” Beomgyu says reassuringly. He smiles as the picture finishes printing and tucks it away in his pocket once again. “By the way, you interested?” he asks.

“In the school paper?” B asks. “Maybe. I write but I’m not sure if I’m any good at it, and I’m no pro at cameras either. I actually don’t know what clubs I might join.” B admits.

“Oh, maybe I can help you with that. I can walk with you for a bit, show you around the booths, try to see if anything interests you.” Beomgyu offers, which B gladly accepts.

“Are you interested in anything in particular? Got any hobbies?” Beomgyu asks as they begin walking around.

“Hm, I’m not sure. Got any clubs about reading? Or anything about animals?” B asks hopefully.

“For reading? I think there’s the literature club. That’ll be nice if you’re a fan of books and poetry and stuff. And if you’re an animal lover, you should definitely check out the HTA. That’s the Humane Treatment of Animals club. They’ve set up an animal shelter within the school and do a lot of volunteer work with animal rescue and stuff.” Beomgyu says.

“Okay, now those sound very interesting to me.” B says. “Do you know where their booths are? Can you show me?”

Beomgyu nods. “The council was highly involved in planning for today’s activities, and we had to approve of the booth layouts, so I think I remember where the booths are positioned. This way.” he says, leading them through rows of booths.

B could see then how much of a big deal extracurricular activities were at MOA. All the students seemed to be pumping with energy. She’d lost count of the number of times she had been offered flyers for different clubs by the time they reached the booth for the literature club.

The students managing the booth engaged her in a quick introduction about the club and their activities and had given her a flyer as well. Included in the flyer was the location of the club’s room and the schedule for the day. She gladly accepted it and put her name into the signup sheet.

“Alright, that’s good. Your first signup! Next stop, the HTA. I believe their booth is this way, right next to the—” Beomgyu begins, but he’s cut off by a shrill shriek.

“Baba! Baba!” Kai squeals as Beomgyu and B walk past the Art Club’s booth.

“—Art Club.” Beomgyu finishes, as Kai runs over from inside the booth, right to where they were standing.

Kai gives B a big hug as he joins her side. “Baba! Come check out the Art Club!” Kai says excitedly.

“Ningning, hey!” B says, surprised to see him.

“Wait you two, say cheese real quick.” Beomgyu says, pointing his polaroid camera at them. The 2 happily oblige and instantly pose, with Kai wrapping an arm around B’s waist and B lifting an arm up all the way to the top of Kai’s head in a peace sign, and Beomgyu pockets the picture once it’s done.

“Are you here to check out the Art Club?” Kai says excitedly.

“Ah, the Art Club. Of course.” she says, eyeing the booth. “I almost forgot that you were the president.”

“Of course I’m the president. My club’s the best club on the campus. Here, take a flyer.” Kai says, practically shoving one into her hands. “You too, Gyu.” he says, as he shoves one in the boy’s face. “By the way, what are you doing with Baba? I thought you were supposed to be manning the Journalism Club’s booth.” he asks suspiciously.

“Psh, just ‘cause I’m club president doesn’t mean I should be stuck watching over the booth. It’s all a matter of delegation.” Beomgyu says smugly. “Besides, I’d rather be walking around and capturing all the action than be stuck behind a booth all morning.”

Kai looks torn for a moment, like he wanted to abandon his booth and join Beomgyu and B, but he just shakes his head. “As much as I’d love to join you guys, I can’t abandon my booth. Not at the last minute, at least.” he says, pouting.

B laughs at the boy. “C’mon, Ningning, you’re doing great. Look, your signup sheet’s all full already!” she says, noticing the clipboard on the table.

“Don’t worry, we always have room for more. Here.” Kai says, taking the clipboard and flipping the sheet over to reveal another page full of free space. “Sign up, Baba! It won’t automatically mean you’re signing up to be a member, but it saves you a spot for the room visits this afternoon.” he adds, noting how hesitant B looked.

“Alright, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” B says, signing her name on the sheet. She had no intentions of joining the art club since she was never talented at any form of art, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out, especially since her best friend was the president of the club.

“Yay, thanks Baba! See you later!” Kai says excitedly. “Where are you guys headed, anyway? Signed up for any other clubs yet?” he asks.

“We were headed to the HTA booth.” Beomgyu answers.

“Ah yeah, I almost forgot how much of an animal lover you are.” Kai says. “Their booth is right next door.”

“Yeah, I’m actually thinking of getting a pet soon, since I have my own apartment now.” B says. “Alright, we’ll check out the booth now. Later, Ningning!” she says, waving at her best friend as she and Beomgyu walk away.

“Are you really thinking of getting a pet for your apartment?” Beomgyu asks curiously. “What kind of pet would you want?”

“I like a lot of animals, I find them all really adorable.” B admits. “But I think I’d really want to get a cat, or maybe a couple of bunnies.”

“Oh, are those your favorite animals?” Beomgyu asks. “I’ve got a pet parrot, his name is Toto. You should meet him someday, he’s really sweet.” he says fondly.

Just then, they see Soobin standing outside the HTA booth, handing out flyers to people passing by. There was just one detail about him that caused Beomgyu and B to burst out laughing instantly.

He was wearing bunny ears made out of balloons on his head.

Beomgyu quickly snapped a picture with his polaroid camera while B quickly whipped her phone out to take pictures as well.

The sound of their laughter and the flash from Beomgyu’s camera caused Soobin to notice them, and his face instantly went red as he did.

“Gyu! B! What are you doing?” he wails, covering his face and turning away from them.

“Soobin! You look adorable!” B manages to say in between bursts of laughter.

“So this is how the HTA manages to get so many recruits every year.” Beomgyu says, amused. “Now I’m not surprised. Using you as a mascot is genius. No one can resist you, Soobinie.” he says teasingly.

“Oh, shut up.” Soobin says, his face still red. “What are you guys even doing here?”

“I was just helping B find clubs that she might be interested in.” Beomgyu says, casually draping an arm over her shoulders. “She says she’s an animal lover, so I figured she’d wanna check out the HTA, and now here we are. And here you are.”

B nods. “Yeah, Gyu told me that the club do a lot of volunteer work and even set up an animal shelter within the school, and I was instantly hooked. I really love animals.” she says with a twinkle in her eye.

Soobin smiles. “You’ve come to the right place, then. Here, have a flyer.” he says, offering her a flyer, which she gladly accepts.

She reads through the flyer then, her excitement to join the club growing by the minute. “Oh wow, now this is my kinda club.” she says. “Are you the club president, Soobin?”

“Yup. You interested? Wanna sign up?” he asks hopefully.

“Definitely! I’m already looking forward to joining.” B says, as Soobin hands her the clipboard with the signup sheet, which she gamely signs.

“Great! I guess we’ll be expecting you to drop by the club sometime after lunch for the visitations? The club’s location is on the flyer, so try your best not to lose it.” Soobin says.

“Sure thing. See you then.” B says excitedly.

“Hey, you two, say cheese!” Beomgyu says, pointing his polaroid camera at them. Soobin and B stand side by side and smile, but Beomgyu lowers his camera as he looks at them. “Okay, maybe pose a bit and say cheese? Come on, don’t just stand there.” he whines.

Soobin gives Beomgyu a look and B just rolls her eyes. She holds her arms out to Soobin and slowly steps closer towards him until her arms surrounded his body, and she closed them around him. He lets out a surprised laugh and decides to go along with it as he wraps his arms around her too. Slightly embarrassed, she squeezes her eyes shut and smiles. Just then, Beomgyu snaps a picture.

“Okay, that was a pretty good shot.” he says. He holds it up once its done developing, examining it one more time, before pocketing it.

“You know, that’s like the 4th picture you’ve taken of me this morning, yet I haven’t seen a single one of them.” B says as she steps away from Soobin. “Can I have at least one of them?” she asks.

“Nope, I keep all of the polaroids that I take. I’ve got a whole collection of them. I can print you out some copies if you want, though.” Beomgyu offers,

“Yes please, I’d really like that.” B says. “I’d also like to see your collection someday. Seems interesting.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to show you if you ever stop by my place.” Beomgyu says. “Well, that’s all the club you wanted to check out, right? Anything else you wanna do before lunch? Wanna check out other booths? I think Tyun’s managing the Debate Club’s booth, and Yeonjun’s probably at the Dance Club’s booth. We can stop by the Journalism club’s booth too so I can see how things are going.” Beomgyu offers.

“Sure thing, whatever you wanna do, Gyu. Lead the way.” B says.

“Alright, let’s go! See you later, Soobin.” Beomgyu says to the boy with the bunny ears.

“See you later.” Soobin responds.

“I’ll be sure to drop by the HTA later. See you then!” B says, giving a small wave before Beomgyu drags her along with him and they disappear into the booths once again.

•°•

“Hold still.”

“I’m trying.”

“Try harder, just hold still.”

“I literally haven’t moved since you started.”

“I said hold still, Baba!” Kai exclaims, trying his best to sketch her as accurately as possible.

“I am!” B says, smiling through her teeth. It was already after lunch, and visitations had already started. Her first stop was at the Literature Club, and it seemed interesting enough. They presented more information about the club and what activities they’d be offering for the school year. She was on her way to the HTA when she ran into Kai, who all but kidnapped her and dragged her into the Art Club.

She figured spending a few minutes in the art club wouldn’t hurt, especially since Kai had been so excited to pull her into the room. But then he insisted that she let him do a quick sketch of her, and B realized a little too late that it meant she’d have to stick around a little bit longer than she had planned.

It’s been 15 minutes since Kai had first told her to hold still, and she was starting to lose patience. When her phone alarmed with a notification, she was relieved to have an excuse to move. She sees that it’s a message from Soobin and she replies as quick as she can.

B locked her phone and put it back in her pocket, feeling much more better than she did a minute ago. She told herself that she only had to hold still for 5 more minutes, and she hoped that Kai would let her go once Soobin arrived.

Sure enough, after 5 more minutes of holding still, B heard one of the art club members exclaim “President Choi! What are you doing here? Are you looking for Hueningkai?”

Kai’s head snaps up from his work upon hearing his name. “Younghoon, who are you talking to? Is that Soobin?”

The art club member, Younghoon, answers “Yes, he says he’s looking for someone.”

“Alright, welcome him in.” Kai says, putting his work down. B sighed in relief as Soobin walked into the room. When his eyes met hers, he gave her a quick wink, knowing that he was doing her a favor.

“Hyuka, hey! How’s the president of the art club doing?” Soobin says, walking over to Kai and giving his shoulders a squeeze.

“I’m doing good, we got a lot of signups today and the visits have been going really well.” Kai responds. “And how’s the president of the HTA doing?”

“Stressing out a bit, that’s actually why I’m here. I need help with tracking down one of the campus cats. We were hoping to introduce all the campus animals during recruitment day but there’s one cat that we haven’t seen around in days. All my members have their hands full with the signups and visitors, so I was hoping I could find an extra pair of helpful hands here?” Soobin says, looking pointedly at B.

“Oh, I don’t know, Soobin. The art club’s pretty busy right now, too. I could ask some of my officers if they could help you?” Kai offers.

“Nonsense, your officers should stay here. I’ll go, I’m not I’m not needed here anyway. And I already had plans to stop by the HTA, so I think it would be nice if I could help out.” B insists.

Kai lets out a sigh. “Alright, I guess I’ll finish your portrait some other time.” he says.

“You sure you won’t mind? You can stay here if you want, I can try checking out the debate club if Taehyun can help.” Soobin asks innocently. Wow, he was good at this.

B smiles. “No need for that, I’m happy to help. I love cats anyway, I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

Kai waves the two of them goodbye, and they leave the art club together.

“Is there really a missing cat around the campus?” B asks, concerned.

Soobin shakes his head. “Nope. I just made it up. The cats and dogs in campus never wander far, so it’s easy to keep track of them all.”

“Wow you’re surprisingly good at lying then.” B says, impressed. “Oh, I can’t wait to meet them all! How many animals are there in the campus.”

Soobin just gives her a smile and says “You’ll see.” as they continue to make their way across the campus until they reach the edge of the school grounds, where a small cabin was located surrounded by a garden.

“This is another part of the campus that I haven’t been to yet.” B says. “Now, I’m really glad that you came, cause I don’t think I would’ve been able to find this place on my own.”

Soobin laughs and says “You’re very welcome, then.” as they step into the threshold of the garden. “B, welcome to the Humane Treatment of Animals, or the HTA in short. The club was established a few years ago when some animal-loving students noticed just how many cats and dogs were freely roaming the campus. They decided to assemble interested members, and with the permission of the school board, they were able to have this small area built within the campus grounds as a donation.”

“That sounds pretty impressive, it’s a good thing that those students took the initiative to do all this.” B says, staring at the establishment in wonder. Soobin leads her to the small cabin and opens the door for her.

As they step into the room, they’re met with the other members and officers of the club welcoming the other students who have signed up. And also, B couldn’t help but let out a little squeal as she saw cats and dogs all around the place, some were peacefully sleeping in random spots, some were rubbing up against the students and asking for attention, and there was one white cat that was right by the door as they walked in, and gave them a little meow.

“Oh my god, who is this cutie?” B says, instantly crouching down to examine the cat, who was rubbing itself against her feet. She offers a hand in front of the cat’s face, and the cat starts to nuzzle its face into her hand, which instantly makes her melt.

“Ah, that little guy’s name is Tobin. He’s the one in the picture I sent you earlier, one of my favorites. He’s very friendly, he loves to get pets and cuddles, but he’ll beg incessantly for food once he gets a whiff of anything that smells delicious to him.” Soobin says, joining B and Tobin on the floor as he crouches down as well.

“So if I join this club, I get to hang out with Tobin and all these animals every Friday?” B asks. “Count me in.”

Soobin grins at her then. “Alright, I’ll get you a copy of the official membership form. Have it filled in before the end of the day. All forms will be collected after the showcase this afternoon, so it gives everyone enough time to finalize which clubs they want to join.”

B shakes her head. “I have zero doubts in my mind that this is the club for me. If you give me the form now, I’ll fill it up and submit it right here, on the spot.”

And so he does.

•°•

B spent the rest of the time for club visitations at the HTA, getting to know the other members and cuddling up with all the animals under the club’s care. When Soobin announced that he had to go to the auditorium to do final preparations for the showcase, B asks him if she could tag along.

“I wanna make sure to get good seats, front row, right in the center.” she says, so Soobin allows it. Once they reached the auditorium, he went backstage with the rest of the organizers and performers, and she secured 3 seats in the front row, texting Yuna and Ryujin to come join her. The auditorium was already fairly full despite there being 30 minutes before the showcase started, and soon enough Yuna and Ryujin walked in and joined her.

The three girls start catching up, talking about everything that had transpired over the weekend, from Hueningkai’s surprise party all the way up to club recruitment day, which Ryujin and Yuna didn’t have much to do with since they had already joined clubs since they freshmen year.

They were so caught up in talking that they didn’t notice how full and busy the auditorium was, and it was only when someone from backstage announced “Please settle down, the showcase will begin in 5 minutes” did they notice how much time had passed since they started talking.

“Wait, there is one thing I’ve been dying to know all weekend.” Yuna asks with a glint in her eye.

“Oh, me too. I think I know what you’re talking about.” Ryujin says, looking at Yuna knowingly.

B looks back and forth to her left and right at the 2 girls. “Well, don’t just look at each other like that, what is it?”

The 2 girls give each other sly smiles before turning to B, who was sitting in the middle of them. “What did you and Yeonjun do during your 7 minutes in heaven?”

B could feel her cheeks heat up, remembering once again what she had been trying to push out of her mind the whole weekend. “Nothing much, we just talked, played 20 questions to pass the time. He was really nice.” she tries to say as casually as possible.

“Come on, you’re blushing like crazy!” Yuna says, laughing at how red B’s face was.

“Spill it!” Ryujin exclaims, poking B’s sides until she finally caved.

“Alright, fine, but promise me you won’t tell a single soul about this. I haven’t told anyone about this, not even Hueningkai, so if this information somehow circulates, I know it’ll be because of you two.” B says reluctantly.

“You know we wouldn’t do that to you.” Ryujin says. “We promise we won’t tell anyone, now spill it.”

B takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh before saying “Yeonjun asked me out.”

Yuna squeals in delight while Ryujin just smirks. “Why am I not surprised.” she says smugly. “So what happened? How was it? Are you two secretly dating now?”

“No no, nothing happened. I turned him down.” B admits, and that’s when Yuna and Ryujin actually looked surprised.

“What? You turned him down? Why?!” Yuna asks, completely baffled.

“He’s my friend, and he’s one of my best friend’s best friends, I don’t wanna mess anything up. Imagine how awkward the group dynamic would be.” B says defensively.

“But it’s Choi Yeonjun!” Yuna exclaims. “Oh gosh, I know I’ve had the biggest crush on Kai in like forever, but if Choi Yeonjun asked me out, I would’ve said yes in a heartbeat.”

“It’s complicated, I just don’t want to complicate things, is all.” B says.

“Yuna, hush, we have to respect B’s decision.” Ryujin says, patting the girl on her knee. “B, how did Yeonjun take it? Are things okay between you two or are they weird?”

“He seemed fine with it, he said he understood, and I don’t sense any awkwardness so far. I told him I liked our friendship too much to risk complicating things, then he said something about our friendship changing in 2 weeks, which I don’t really understand but I laughed it off anyway. I’m hoping that’ll be the end of that and that we’ll be able to move past it without it affecting our friendship.” B explains.

“Wait, what about 2 weeks? What did he say exactly?” Ryujin asks.

“Sounds like he’s got something planned for the next 2 weeks? Is that it?” Yuna asks, intrigued.

“No I don’t think it’s like that. I didn’t really understand, but he said—” B starts, but she gets cut off when the lights in the auditorium suddenly go out and music starts blaring as everyone’s eyes focus on the stage, the showcase starting.

The showcase was interesting and entertaining enough. Each club had an allotted time to present whatever they wanted to. The different sports teams held a short fashion show that showcased each team’s uniforms with each team captain making a short speech to announce tryouts, which earned cheers and cheers from the audience when Yeonjun, Soobin and Hueningkai were spotted strutting on stage wearing their basketball jerseys. The film club presented one of their latest projects. The photography club showed a slideshow of pictures taken earlier that day and the film club put together a video as a sort of highlight reel from the club recruitment day. B had lost count of how many clubs had showed their presentations when the announcer finally said:

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, an exclusive performance from the Jazzed Club, starring MO Academy’s very own Student Council! Debuting the club’s latest composition entitled ‘Boy In Luv,’ please put your hands together for Jazzed!”

The screams were deafening as the 5 members of the student council appeared on stage, wearing their school uniforms stylized in different ways.

B had seen them rehearse the choreography at Soobin’s house, but nothing prepared her for their performance.

Kai opened the performance, which immediately got the audience screaming. Next, Beomgyu’s deep vocals dominated the auditorium, and Soobin’s rapping was heard for the very first time, and everyone seemed surprised by how good he was at it, judging by the escalating cheers from the audience when he started.

But nothing surprised B more than when it was Yeonjun’s turn to sing as he was front and center on stage, dancing and expertly making eye contact with the audience. It was no surprise that he was an amazing performer, but what got B’s jaw to drop was when his found somehow found hers in the audience as he rapped the words “But, I’m going to flip the situation, from friends to lovers” and winked right at her before Taehyun took his turn.

When that happened, B felt her heart pound as Ryujin and Yuna each grabbed her arms and started screaming incoherently. She tried her best to focus on the rest of the performance, but all she could think of was Yeonjun and what he just did.

As the performance ended and the 5 boys bowed onstage before waving at the audience once more, B could still feel her heart pounding as she cheered along with the audience.

Kai and Soobin found her face in the crowd and started jumping up and down, waving their arms in the air with excitement. She waved back, cheering as loud as she could, and she could feel her heartbeat start to slow back to normal.

Just then, Yeonjun’s eyes met hers once again, and he gave her a small wave and a bright smile before winking at her once again. And just like that, her heart started to pound again.

“Looks like Choi Yeonjun’s got his eye on you.” Ryujin says in B’s ear.

B puts a hand on her chest, feeling how fast it was beating, and wondering what exactly it meant.

17 notes · View notes

soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part VI : Slow Down

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

B’s night was starting to turn hazy as she tried to lose herself in the madness of the party.

After her dare had finished, the people at the circle had already moved on from the game and started mixing in with the rest of the party. B was dragged away by the girls to play beer pong with some of their friends, while Yeonjun was dragged away by the boys to start a dance battle in the middle of the patio. Once their 7 minutes were over, the 2 of them never got another second alone again.

And Yeonjun’s question was left hanging in the air, occupying all the space in B’s head, which she tried to drown away with alcohol.

As drunk as she was, she just couldn’t get Yeonjun out of her mind. It was like his words were swimming laps through her alcohol-filled brain. Finally, she took out her phone and started texting, knowing that she’d probably end up regretting it the next day.

The rest of the night started to feel like a blur. She had played 3 rounds of beer pong, someone had suggested that every time someone mentioned school they would have to take a shot, Kai had pulled her away from the girls and dragged her with him to the dance floor by the pool even though they were both way too drunk to do much other than jump and sway their bodies and hold onto each other for support. At one point, she remembers Soobin walking out into the backyard with a big cake as Taehyun and Beomgyu stayed by his side, holding water guns and randomly spraying cold water into the crowd as they made their way to where B and Kai were standing, everyone starting to sing one big chorus of Happy Birthday.

As the 3 boys with the cake and water guns reach Kai and B, the crowd sings one more time until Kai finally blows the candles out, which is then followed by cheers from around 200 drunk teenagers. Just as the cheers start to die down, Kai surprises everyone by grabbing a fistful of cake and flinging it in a random direction, as it ended up landing directly on Beomgyu’s shirt.

Beomgyu looks down at his ruined shirt and back up at the birthday boy, who was too busy laughing his ass off to notice that Beomgyu was holding the water gun in his direction as he let it spray.

Kai’s laughs start to turn into horrified screams as he gets sprayed with cold water. He grabs B by the shoulders and attempts to shield his body with hers, even though he was more than a whole foot taller than her. With Beomgyu targeting Kai’s chest and B being much shorter than the intended target, the water ended up spraying her right in the face.

She sputters in shock, unable to dodge due to Kai’s tight grip on her shoulders. Beomgyu puts the gun down as he realizes that he just sprayed her face. He looks at her, horrified, as he says “Oh god, I’m so sorry B! I was supposed to just spray Hyuka cause he flung cake at me.”

She wipes the water from her face before giving him a suspiciously sweet smile. “It’s all good, Gyu.” she says, as she takes a small step forward, closer to Soobin and the cake in his hands.

“Really?” Beomgyu asks, looking nervous.

B’s smile widens as she reaches a hand towards the cake. “No.” she says, as out of seemingly nowhere, she flings a piece of cake in Beomgyu’s direction. However, in her drunken state, she misses and ends up hitting Soobin squarely in the face.

He stands there completely still, eyes shut and lips pursed, as Kai starts to screech with laughter and Beomgyu attempts not to laugh, with Taehyun just watching everything unfold amusedly.

Now it’s B’s turn to look horrified as she steps towards Soobin and stands on her tiptoes, trying to wipe the cake and frosting from his face. “Soobin! Oh my god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that at all. That was supposed to be for Gyu.”

“It’s okay.” He tries and fails to say due to the heavy amount of cake on his face, as she continues to wipe bits of it off his face, being careful not to get any frosting on his shirt or his hair. She cups his face in her hands and uses her thumbs to gently wipe the frosting away from his eyes.

Once he opens his eyes, he’s surprised to see how close she was standing to him. She was standing on the tips of her toes so that the top of her head would reach his nose instead of below his shoulders. She had her neck outstretched as she was looking up at him, her face full of concern, her palms on his cheeks and her thumbs resting on his cheekbones. When she sees his eyes open, her frown instantly lifts into a smile, and as her smile widens, Soobin could feel his heart rate quicken and his face go red. If it was out of embarrassment, drunkenness or something else, he wasn’t quite sure yet.

“Yay, there you are! Sorry again, for flinging cake in your face.” B says, standing back on her heels and retracting her hands from his warm face.

“Uh, it’s fine. Don’t even mention it.” Soobin says, struggling to put together coherent thoughts.

There’s a beat of silence as the insanity dies down before Taehyun decides to surprise everyone by grabbing a fistful of cake, shouting “Hyuka, catch!” and flinging it in Kai’s direction. Kai screams and manages to swat the piece of cake away with his arm, only for it to land on top of B’s head.

B could feel her face heat up as she turns around, a low rumble coming from her throat, and she faces Kai with a deranged look on her face. Kai gulps, recognizing the rare look. It was her look of death, which he hadn’t seen in over 13 years.

“Hue. Ning. Kai.” she says quietly, annunciating every syllable. Kai smiles sheepishly and attempts to apologize, but then B lets out a playful roar as she tackles him, and they both fall into the swimming pool.

The crowd erupts in cheers and laughter again as B attempts to wrestle Kai in the pool, which she fails to do so since they end up falling into the part of the pool that was 6 feet deep. She ended up clinging on to her tall best friend like a cat trying to claw its way up a tree.

“Tyun, why did you fling cake at Hyuka?” Beomgyu asks as everyone watches the 2 childhood friends struggle in the pool. “I mean don’t get me wrong I loved that you did it, it was awesome, but why?”

Taehyun shrugs as he says. “Guess I just wanted to be part of the fun. It was worth it. Too bad Yeonjun had to leave early, he would’ve loved it too.”

“Yeah, too bad.” Soobin says, the remaining frosting on his face was starting to feel uncomfortably sticky. “I think I’m gonna wash this frosting off and get changed. You guys good?”

Taehyun nods. “Yeah, I’ll stay here, watch the party die down. People are already starting to leave, so it shouldn’t be long now.”

Beomgyu puts an arm around Taehyun’s shoulders. “Same here. There wasn’t much frosting on the piece of cake that Hyuka hit me with, so I think my shirt will survive.” he says, as he looks down at his barely soiled shirt.

Soobin nods and hands the cake over to Taehyun before turning around to make his way into the house. Before he gets too far, he feels a soaked pair of arms wrap themselves around his torso from behind and start to rub his stomach, so now not only did he have sticky cake on his face, but also a wet shirt and a violated stomach.

“Soobinie, help me.” Kai says from behind him. Soobin turns around and sees Kai pouting and B following him, both soaked from their squabble in the pool.

He laughs at the sight of them, soaked and shivering, before saying “Alright, follow me.” and the 3 of them make their way into the house.

•°•

“Wow Soobin, your house is amazing!” B says, as the 2 of them follow Soobin into his huge house, through the backdoor into the kitchen, to the foyer, up the grand staircase, and through endless doors and hallways. “And you live here alone?”

Soobin nods. “Yep, no family members. I keep insisting that the help occupy some of the guest rooms up here instead of hiding out in the maid’s quarters, but they don’t seem to think it’s a good idea.”

“Well it does seem pretty lonely, having to live up here all by yourself.” B remarks, eyes wandering the halls. The house had a very modern feel to it and was very minimalistic.

“Don’t worry Soobinie, Hueningkai will come visit you everyday from now on!” Kai slurs, his arms still around Soobin’s torso. The older boy was practically dragging the birthday boy through the house.

Soobin laughs. “No need for that Hueningie.” he says, mimicking him. “Hosting this party was pretty fun, it’s nice to see other people around here.”

They stop when they reach a door at the end of the hallway. Soobin props the drunk boy against his body as he turns the doorknob. “Here we are. Uh, please take off your shoes and put leave them by the door if you can.”

Soobin leads them into the room, calling out “Alexa, turn lights on dim to 50%” as dim light fills the room, kicking off his shoes and putting them on the shoe rack right by the bedroom door before dumping Kai into a bean bag on the floor close to his entertainment system, which included a TV, some big speakers, and loads of videogames and gaming consoles.

“Wow, your room is huge. If I lived here, I’d probably never get bored.” B says, kicking off her black sneakers before twirling around the room as she looks around in amazement.

“I said it gets lonely, but I wouldn’t say it gets boring.” Soobin says as he wanders into his bathroom in search of towels. “And are you sure that’s a good idea? Won’t you feel dizzy?” he remarks as he walks back into the bedroom, watching her twirl around.

“I can’t help it!” B exclaims, putting her arms out as she continues to twirl around. “I feel so light and buzzy and—”

“Drenched and freezing cold?” he interrupts, holding out a towel towards her.

She twirls towards him then, attempting to grab the towel from his hand as she does so, but instead she loses her balance and ends up collapsing on a bean bag next to the one Kai was currently passed out on, the towel she attempted to grab landed on top of her, covering the whole upper half of her body.

“B! Are you okay?” Soobin calls out, rushing to her side and tossing the 2 towels on their passed out friend before kneeling by B’s side.

B waves an arm in the air above her in an attempt to get the towel off, but instead she ends up whacking Soobin up his chin, which he responds to with an “Ouchie, B what—”

Upon realizing that she had accidentally troubled Soobin for the second time that night, B sits straight up, not realizing just how close Soobin was as the top of her head ends up colliding with the bottom of his chin.

“Ouch! B what are you—?” he exclaims again, eyes squeeze shut as he tries to endure the pain, his hand rubbing his chin.

B’s eyes widen as she realizes that she hurt him yet again. “Soobin! Oh my god, I am so so so sorry! I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve apologized to you tonight, but I just can’t help it, I’m sorry. I’m not usually this clumsy, I think I’m just really drunk, I—” B starts to ramble on in panic, sitting up and attempting to comfort him, cupping his face in her hands for the second time that night as she tilts his chin up, trying to assess for any damage.

Soobin, surprised by her sudden close proximity, couldn’t help but sit there frozen, trying to will himself to say something, anything, instead of just staring at her and feeling the warmth of her hands on his face as she focused solely on his chin.

“Oh gosh, I think that’ll form a small bruise. I should go down to get some ice.” B says, pulling her hands away. As she starts to stand up, Soobin snaps out of it and immediately stands up, saying “I’ve got ice in the mini fridge right by my bed. I’ll get it.” and off he went to the other side of the room, where the bed and the entrance to the bathroom were.

“You have a mini fridge by your bed? Wow, that’s actually a genius idea.” B remarks as Soobin returns to her side with a few ice cubes wrapped in a face towel.

“It’s probably my favorite thing about this room.” he agrees. “By the way, I’m fine. No need to apologize, it doesn’t even hurt that much.”

B raises a brow as she grabs the ice from his hands and hold it up to his chin, which he tries not to noticeably wince to.

“Seriously, I’m fine. I’ve got this.” he insists, trying to take the ice from her hand but he ends up just cupping her hand in his, suddenly highly aware of just how small her hands were compared to his.

B pulls her hand away from the ice pack reluctantly. “Alright, if you say so. I’m still sorry though.”

Soobin laughs softly. “Wow, you’re stubborn, you know that?”

“I am very aware of that fact, yes. It’s how I get what I want.” she says, shrugging. She grabs the towel that caused the soon-to-be bruise on Soobin’s cheek and starts rubbing it against her face and hair. “Thanks for this, by the way. This is a very nice towel. Very soft, very warm, very absorbent. 10/10, would highly recommend.”

Soobin laughs out loud. “You’re so weird! And you’re welcome. You want to change out of your wet clothes, by the way? I can lend you a shirt if you want, or I think my sister still left some of her clothes in her room if you’d prefer that.”

B shakes her head violently. “No need for that, you’ve already done so much and I’ve already caused you so much trouble tonight. You just sit right there.”

“Are you sure? I can at least lend you a jacket to help stop you from shivering?” he offers, full of concern.

She sighs, knowing it would probably be a good idea. “Alright, I’ll give it back to you ASAP.”

He nods and stands up, once again walking over to the other side of the bedroom, rummaging through his wardrobe before returning to her side. He offers her his plain gray hoodie with single black stripes along the arms, which she gratefully accepts.

She finishes rubbing the towel against her wet clothes, drying her arms, legs and feet before putting on his hoodie, which smelled strongly of baby powder and vanilla. Soobin’s scent. B grabs another towel and kneels over her best friend then, who was passed out cold.

“Wow, I’ve never seen Ningning this drunk before. I wonder if he’ll remember any of this tomorrow.” she says, as she begins to rub the towel against his hair.

“I don’t think I have, either. We usually only drink when we’re celebrating something, and we only throw big parties for birthdays and other special occasions. It’s the first time we let him get this wasted, though.” Soobin says.

Just then, Soobin hears his phone ringing. He fishes it out of his pocket and checks the caller ID.

“It’s Yeonjun.” he says, pleasantly surprised. He smiles as he answers the call. “Hey, Yeonjun. What’s up?”

B turns away as Soobin talks to Yeonjun on the phone, focusing on Kai and rubbing the towel on his wet clothes. Just then, her hands freeze in place as she remembers the onslaught of drunk texts she sent out earlier that night. She quickly crawls to her purse, which was on the bean bag she fell into, and checks her phone in horror, re-reading the messages she sent.

“B’s here with me, right now.” Soobin says, which immediately catches B’s attention. She looks up at Soobin then, wondering what the 2 boys were talking about.

“Yeah, she and Hyuka had a little fun in the pool. I really wish you could’ve stayed, you missed so much.” Soobin says fondly. “I bet if you had stayed, you would have ended up with cake in your face too.”

“I said I was sorry about that.” B says quietly, pouting at Soobin, which causes him to laugh. He covers the bottom of his phone with his hand as he tells her “And I forgive you.” before uncovering his phone and saying “Yeah, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow during clean up.”

“Clean up?” B mouths at him.

Soobin covers his phone again as he explains, “Yeah, the guys all agreed to come over tomorrow at 10 AM to help with cleaning up, though most of them will probably be too hung over to really help out. You wanna come? It’ll just be us 5, plus you if you wanna.”

B nods. “Sure thing, I’ll try to be here as early as possible.”

Soobin smiles before turning his attention back to his phone. “Oh, B says she wants to come over for clean up tomorrow.”

B focuses on Kai again, knowing it was pointless to try to dry his clothes. His pullover and jeans were too thick and heavy to dry with just a towel. Instead, she tries shove the towel under his pullover and wraps it around his torso so that the cold water wouldn’t be touching his back or chest.

“You wanna talk to her? Sure, hang on.” Soobin says, reaching his phone out to B. “Yeonjun wants to say hi.”

She smiles as she takes the phone, and Soobin takes B’s spot in front of Kai. “Hi, Yeonjun.”

“Hey Baby, how are you feeling? Are you still drunk?” he asks.

B’s face begins to heat up, knowing he was referring to the drunk texts she sent earlier. “Yeah, no, I’m fine now. A quick dip in the pool sobered me up a bit.” she says sheepishly. “Sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to.”

She hears him chuckle through the phone. “No way, they say drunk thoughts produce honest words, or something like that. So, you think I’m cute?”

She felt like her face was burning up now, and prays that Soobin wouldn’t notice. She quickly looks over at him and sees that he’s managed to get Kai out of his wet pullover and into a dry shirt, and he had a pair of clean blue jeans by his side ready to be worn. He was in the process of trying to pull off the younger boy’s pants when his eyes meet hers, and there’s a beat of silence as they realize how awkward the sight of Soobin taking Kai’s jeans off was.

“It’s not what it looks like! I’m just getting him into warm clothes!” Soobin says defensively as B turns away, giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Yeonjun asks.

“Oh nothing, Soobin’s just trying to get Ningning into some dry clothes.” she says.

“Ah, I can imagine how that would be funny.” he says, chuckling. “By the way, how will you get home?”

“Oh, I was thinking I could call for a cab with Taehyun or something since we live in the same building.” B says.

“That’s good, where’s Tyun right now?”

“Uh, I think we left him with Gyu before we came inside? I’ll text him in a bit, I should probably head home soon anyway.” B replies.

“Alright alright, I’ll check in with Tyun and Gyu as well. Goodnight, Baby.” Yeonjun says.

“Night, Yeonjun.” she responds, before handing the phone back to Soobin, who had successfully gotten Kai changed into dry clothes.

As Soobin takes the phone, B crawls back to Kai’s side, running her fingers through his hair to check if his hair was already dry. She pulls out her phone and sends Taehyun a text.

She frowns, staring at the screen, as she notices that the boys’ contact names and photos had been changed.

“What the heck? Who did this with to my phone?” she wonders out loud.

“Oh, Hyuka messed with your contacts and spammed your camera roll with random pictures while you were in the shed with Yeonjun.” Soobin answers, his phone in his hand as his call with Yeonjun finishes.

“You know, I was starting to feel a bit guilty about tackling him into the pool, but I have 0 regrets now.” B says, hitting Kai’s arm playfully, which was met with no reaction. “Wow, he’s really out cold. How will he get home?”

“Ah, he can sleep here. Anyone who’s too drunk and can’t make it home on their own is welcome to sleep over, though most people usually end up sober by the end of the night or catch a ride with sober friends.” Soobin explains. “It’s how house parties around here usually work.”

B nods. “I see I see. Well, I’ve texted Tyun and he says he’s good to go. I’ll just call for a cab and we’ll be on our way.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you guys home? Or I could ask one of my family’s drivers to take you, since I don’t trust myself enough to drive with alcohol in my system.” Soobin offers.

B shakes her head. “No, I couldn’t. I don’t want to put you through any more trouble than I already have tonight.”

“I insist. You and Tyun are 2 of my closest friends, so I wouldn’t mind at all. I’ll just let the driver know and he’ll be ready to drop you off. I have to stay here and watch over everyone.” Soobin insists.

Sensing that Soobin wouldn’t let her off the hook, she finally agrees. “Alright, thanks, Soobin. You’re the best.” she says, smiling at him gratefully.

He smiles back at her warmly. “No problem.”

•°•

B wakes up in bed the next day due to the sound of her phone being spammed with text messages. She rolls over in bed is instantly hit with a wave of dizziness.

She groans as she reaches for the glass of water she prepared in advance on her night stand, taking small sips of it until her mouth didn’t feel like it was lined with chalk anymore.

She puts the glass down and grabs the bottle of Gatorade she left in advance as well, trying to drink as much of it as she could, hoping that the electrolytes from the energy drink would replenish her body’s needs.

Finally, she grabs her phone and checks her messages only to see that it was from the boys.

Soobin smiles to himself as he puts his phone down and stares down at the 2 boys passed out on his bedroom floor. He had gotten used to taking care of his friends whenever they’ve had a little too much to drink, but he knew that having them pass out in the bean bags on his bedroom floor was the easiest part. Once they’d wake up with inevitable hangovers, he knew that it would be harder for him to nurse them back to sobriety. He was hoping that there would be no vomit this time, though at least he could ask for help from his household staff if any vomit would be present.

With the rest of the group on the way to his house, Soobin figured it was time to face the horror of dealing with the 2 hungover boys. He kneels down and says, as loudly and brightly as possible “Huningie! Beomie! Rise and shine!” while putting one hand on each boy’s thighs and shaking them as furiously and as violently as he could.

The 2 boys instantly start to groan dramatically, Hueningkai burying his face in Beomgyu’s chest and the latter covering his ears with his hands.

Soobin repeats the procedure until Beomgyu finally snaps, randomly kicking his legs in the direction of the noise and sitting up, eyes squeezed shut as they adjusted to the light flooding into Soobin’s bedroom.

“Jesus fucking hell, Choi. Why are you torturing me?” Beomgyu says, his voice cracking as dryness burns his throat, his head throbbing from dehydration.

Soobin smiles widely at him, glad to get a reaction out of him. “Good morning to you too, Choi.” He hands Beomgyu a bottle of Gatorade, which the boy accepts as he desperately downs it all. “B and the boys are on their way here for clean up, so you and Hyuka have to get up soon.” he says.

Beomgyu wipes his mouth as he finishes the last of the Gatorade, blinking his eyes until the room stopped spinning. “Ah yeah, clean up. Almost forgot about that.” he says, his voice still hoarse. “I didn’t know B was coming, though. I thought we were gonna practice for our Club Recruitment performance?”

Soobin’s mouth drops open a bit as he realizes that he completely forgot about their final rehearsal. They were set to perform a special number that Monday for club recruitment day, and they had agreed to have their final rehearsals on Saturday afternoon, which was today.

“Oh wow, now that I forgot about.” Soobin admits. “I was actually the one who invited B to join us for clean up, I completely forgot that we would be rehearsing this afternoon.”

Beomgyu shrugs. “She can watch us practice, I wouldn’t mind, and I’m pretty sure the other guys wouldn’t really mind either. We’re having rehearsals here anyway, so she can just hang around if she wants to.”

Soobin nods. “Yeah, I guess. I didn’t get to tell her that we’d be rehearsing later though. I hope she won’t mind.” he says, suddenly overthinking the whole thing.

“I’m sure she won’t, don’t sweat it.” Beomgyu says, noticing how worried Soobin looked. “Actually, why are you sweating it? You seem really worried.”

“I’m not sweating it.” Soobin says defensively. “I just—I’m used to performing on stage in front of faceless audience members. I’m not used to performing with someone watching right there in the room?”

“Soobin, are you…shy?” Beomgyu asks.

Soobin starts to feel his face heat up. “Kind of, I guess? When we rehearse for performances, it’s always just us and the other club members. I guess the thought of 1 person watching from such a close proximity just makes me feel different.”

“Aw, it’s okay Binnie. You always look great when you perform, and I’m sure B’s not the kind who would judge or criticize.” Beomgyu says comfortingly. “I don’t get why you’re getting all shy anyway, it’s just B.”

“Yeah, it’s just B.” Soobin says to himself. Why was he getting so worked up over it?

“My head’s pounding like crazy, jeez.” Beomgyu says suddenly, groaning as he grabs his head. “What time is it?”

Soobin looks at the clock on his desk as he answers “It’s 10:03.”

Beomgyu chuckles. “Ah yeah, we were supposed to meet up at 10AM. Shit, I didn’t mean to get so drunk, I was trying to avoid a hangover. Please tell me that there will be breakfast waiting for us downstairs.”

“Breakfast? Always. The sooner we get Hyuka up and running, the sooner we can eat. C’mon, help me.” Soobin pleads, which Beomgyu gamely accepts.

The 2 boys kneel over on each side of their unconscious friend, looking at each other as they prepare to wake him up.

“On the count of 3.” Soobin says, and Beomgyu nods. “1…2…3!”

The 2 boys put both of their hands on Hueningkai’s arms and legs, as they shout “Rise and shine, Hueningkai!” and violently shake him awake.

Hueningkai shoots up screaming in panic, then slowly lies back down, while groaning and holding his head, as the 2 boys roar with laughter.

“I hate you.” Hueningkai groans, his palms squeezing into his temples.

“We love you too!” the 2 boys respond cheerfully.

•°•

“Is it just me, or does Soobin’s house look a little different in the daytime?” B asks Taehyun as they step out of the cab and walk up to the front door of Soobin’s house.

“What do you mean?” Taehyun asks, before ringing the doorbell.

“I guess it looks less like a spoiled rich kid’s party mansion and just more…cold?”

Taehyun raises a brow at B, confused. “Cold?”

“Not cold like in a bad way.” B says, trying to explain express her thoughts. “More like, it looks like the house of a lonely bachelor or something.”

Taehyun looks up at the house again and says “Yeah, I guess I see what you mean.” just as the front doors open in front of them and they’re greeted by Soobin himself.

“Tyun! B! You’re here!” Soobin says cheerfully, looking nothing like the lonely bachelor one would picture living in the house. “Come in, everyone else is already here.” he says, letting them in and closing the door behind them. They follow him down the hallway until they reach the dining room.

Beomgyu, Yeonjun, and Kai were all seated at the round table, which looked like it could fit at least 12 people, and was full of an extravagant breakfast menu that looked like they could be props for a tea party scene in a movie about royals. The dining room had glass doors and windows that overlooked the entire side garden of the house, where B and Kai had passed through the night before to get to the backyard.

Beomgyu looked much better than he did in the picture Soobin had sent to the group earlier, almost like he wasn’t hungover, as he was stuffing his face with food. Yeonjun was sitting back in his seat, his phone on the table, as he sipped out of a teacup. Kai, however, was wearing a pair of sunglasses and had his face resting on his hands, his elbows up on the table and food untouched.

“Good morning, everyone! Wow this food looks amazing!” B says in awe as she and Taehyun take their seats between Kai and Soobin.

“Baba? Is that you?” Kai croaks, his voice still hoarse.

“Yup, the one and only. How you feeling, Ninging? Did the birthday boy party too hardy last night?” B asks teasingly.

Kai groans, covering his ears with his hands. “Ugh, shut up. Your voice sounds like it’s searing into my brain.”

“Well good morning to you, too.” B says, leaning over to ruffle his hair teasingly.

“Gyu, you’re looking better. How are you feeling?” Taehyun asks as he begins to fill his plate with food.

“I’m feeling good. The hangover wasn’t too bad, I think it would’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t made me chug all that water before you dumped me in Soobin’s room last night.” Beomgyu says, recalling how Taehyun practically drowned him with drinking water before he passed out.

Taehyun laughs pleasantly. “That’s good to hear. It was for your own good, you know.”

“Yeah, I honestly thought you were trying to kill me last night, but now I know you were just trying to save me. Thanks, Tyunnie.” Beomgyu says in a teasingly cute way.

“Don’t mention it.” Taehyun says, laughing again.

“Too bad I had to leave early last night, sounds like the party really began right after I left.” Yeonjun remarks.

“It was pretty fun, but there were good moments while you were still there too!” Soobin says, taking his seat between Yeonjun and Taehyun. “Remember, you gave me that lap dance? I thought I was gonna burst from embarrassment.” he recalls, cringing at the memory.

“Shut up, you know you liked it, Soob. You’re welcome, by the way.” Yeonjun says teasingly, watching as Soobin’s face started to turn red again.

“Let’s not forget those 7 minutes between you and B, I’m sure that was fun.” Beomgyu remarks, looking back and forth between the 2 of them. “What did you guys do for 7 minutes?” he asks curiously.

“Uh-huh, we agreed that whatever happened in the shed stays in the shed.” B says, sticking her tongue out at Beomgyu. She was hoping that everything that had happened in the shed would be locked away forever, and that she wouldn’t have to face Yeonjun alone again.

“You’re the one who said that, and technically I never agreed to it.” Yeonjun says slyly, with a cheeky grin on his face.

B’s mouth hangs open in an O, and Kai seemingly reanimates back to life as he sits straight up, whips his sunglasses off, and exclaims “What did you do to my best friend?!” looking at Yeonjun suspiciously.

“No no, nothing like that, get your mind out of the gutter, Hyuka.” Yeonjun says, putting his hands up in front of him defensively. “We just talked, it was all innocent, I swear.”

“Yeah, don’t worry Ningning it was nothing like that at all!” B says as well, flustered that Kai would think like that. “We just talked. Really.”

Kai remains suspicious, looking at the 2 back and forth. “Alright, what did you talk about then? Is there anything I should know about?”

“No! Nothing at all. We just talked like the 2 friends that we are. Plus, we had an agreement that nothing would leave the 4 walls of that shed.” B says, her face starting to flush red. She looks at Yeonjun pleadingly, hoping that he would help her out.

Yeonjun nods. “Yup. Just talked. Like the 2 friends that we are. Nothing will leave the 4 walls of that shed.” he said, repeating what she said.

Kai glares at the 2 of them for a bit longer before finally letting it go. “Alright, let’s say I believe you. But if there’s something I should know about that you’re not telling me, I better not hear it from someone else.” he says pointedly at his best friend.

“Yes, I promise.” B says, crossing her fingers under the table. Technically speaking, there really wasn’t anything to tell him yet. Yeonjun had asked her out, she never got to respond, and the question would forever be locked away in the shed, never to be spoken of beyond those 4 walls. It wasn’t like she was dating anyone or anything, so there wasn’t anything that Kai needed to know about.

They move on from the topic then, their discussions ranging from the amount of clean up they had to do to do the rehearsals they would have that afternoon.

“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were performing this Monday! Are you all members of the Jazzed club?” B says excitedly.

Taehyun nods. “Yeah, I think we were all drawn to it from the start. The club mostly focuses on music, such as singing, writing, producing, playing instruments, and even performing which sometimes requires some dancing. But to make the Club Recruitment showcase more interesting, we decided to incorporate a little bit of rap to our performance as well, which is a bit of a challenge.”

“Oh my gosh, I could hardly imagine the 5 of you singing and dancing together, but rapping? That is definitely something I’d wanna see.” she says, getting more excited by the minute. “Can I watch you guys rehearse? Please, pretty please?” she asks, giving puppy dog eyes at everyone around the table.

They all look at Soobin to see his response, and he just nods cheerfully. “Yeah sure, why not? We’ll be starting rehearsals at 1PM, just here in one of the rooms. You’re welcome to stay if you want to.”

B grins, giddy with excitement. “Yay, thank you so much! I can’t wait to see what you guys have put together. I’m sure everyone will love it.”

As everyone finishes up with their brunch, their empty dishes being taken away one by one, B excuses herself from the table to go to the bathroom.

“The nearest bathroom is down the hall, the first door on the right.” Soobin says, directing her.

She quickly makes her way to the bathroom then, trying to be as quick and clean as she could. As she finishes and closes the door behind her, she’s surprised to see someone waiting outside.

“Yeonjun, jeez! You scared me.” B says, feeling her heartrate pick up.

“Why would you be scared?” Yeonjun asks, chuckling. “C’mon, come with me for a moment. I just wanted to show you something.” he says, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.

B let him pull her, praying that he couldn’t feel her pulse racing through her wrist.

He leads her down the hall, passing by the doors of the dining hall and straight to the kitchen, which led to the backyard.

“Where are we going?” she asks him, shielding her eyes with one hand as the sunlight poured down on them out by the pool.

“I think I left something in the shed last night, I was hoping you could help me with it.” he simply says, leading the way to the shed.

He opens the door and steps inside, pulling her in with him. The heavy door closes behind them, and they find themselves in the dim light of the shed once again. She notes that while last night it was pitch black, this time there was at least a little bit of light, just enough so that B could make out the outline of everything in the shed.

B starts to look around the shed, her eyes struggling to adjust from the searing brightness to the dim light. “Alright, so what did you leave here? What are we looking for? Is it a wallet? A ring?” she asks as she looks at the ground, trying to spot what he might have left behind.

“We’re not here to look for anything.” Yeonjun begins slowly. B looks at him, confused.

“So what is it? You said you left something here last night, right?” she asks.

“I left a question, and I was hoping you could help me with the answer.” Yeonjun reveals, looking at her intently. “You said last night that whatever happens in this shed stays in this shed, so here we are, back in the said shed.”

She could hear her heart pounding through her ears as she forces herself to meet his gaze. She couldn’t escape it now, especially since they were in the shed. Even though she already knew what he was going to say, she asks “Alright, so what’s the question?”

He smiles at her then, amused. He knew that she knew what he was talking about.

“Baby, will you go out with me?”

She holds her breath, knowing she wouldn’t be able to avoid this forever. Technically, she had the whole night to think about what she would answer, but now that the moment was actually here again, her thoughts were scrambled.

She counts her breaths, 1 2 3, before exhaling and giving him her answer.

“No.”

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