sophlovesjeong - Tumblr blog

sophlovesjeong · 2 months

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overpass graffiti | sim jaeyun

ꕤ DESCRIPTION: “they say we fall in love three times in our lifetime: our first love is the one that breaks us, leaves us hopeless and lost, this then brings us to our second love, the one which picks up the broken pieces of our heart and mends it back together; heals us from the heartache the first left and lastly, our third and final love⏤the love that’s supposed to last. for you, your best friend sim jaeyun happens to be two out of three.”

ꕤPAIRING: best friend!jake x f!reade & second lead!jungwon

ꕤGENRE(S): slice of life!au, soulmate(?)!au

ꕤWORD COUNT: 23.9k

ꕤWARNING(S): loss of virginity, soft dom!jake, sub!reader, oral (f!receiving), p in v intercourse, no protection, drugging (not the reader), underaged drinking, swearing, dry humping, mentions of plan b, mentions of hospitals, possessive!jungwon, mentions of sobriety, heartbreak, allusions to depression, mentions of drinking and smoking, mentions of passing out.

ꕤA/N: i think i have a thing for sim jaeyun and angst.

“Jaeyunie, meet ____. You and her are gonna be best friends.”

Jake’s mother smiles, a hand lightly on his back, and pushes him forward with a gentle pat.

The moment she steps away from his side however, he panics, looking back at her desperately. He’s met with a smile of encouragement - caring but unsympathetic. Jake swallows harshly, shyness heavy in his throat, and uses all the willpower in his 9 year old body to force himself to look at the small female.

Standing across from him, a girl of roughly the same stature is grinning toothily - or at least she could've been, if she’d had enough teeth. ____, was dressed neatly, her hair laid down with lots of gel and two ponytails with bows holding it all together. Her light purple dress swayed as the gentle breeze blew. In one chubby fist she clutched tightly onto her fathers hand. Jake blushed, if he didn’t firmly believe that girls had cooties he would have sworn her to be the prettiest girl he’s ever laid eyes on so instead he scrunches his nose and says the first thing that comes to his mind and knows will hurt her feelings.

“You’re dirty,” he proclaimes, crossing his arms. “Very dirty.”

At his words, ____’s smile quickly falters and an almost angry look overtakes her face. “Am not!” Sensing his daughter's growing fury, her father steps in.

“____ah, calm down. I’m sure Jaeyun didn’t mean it, why don’t you two spend some time together? Hm? I’m sure you’ll be best friends.”

Not giving his daughter any time to argue, he excuses himself and leaves to go join the other adults by the varanda.

____ crosses her arms and stares up at Jake intimidatingly, “apologize.”

Jake gulps, although he’s a whole head taller than the girl and probably even older, he can’t help but be slightly scared of the icy glare she’s sending his way so he meekly mumbles, “I’m sorry”

However, it doesn’t seem as if ____ is pleased with the half assed apology. She raises an eyebrow and impatiently taps her foot on the grass, “for what?”

He gulps, “for calling you dirty, I didn’t mean it.”

Satisfied with the apology, a wide smile breaks out on ____’s face before she doubles over from laughing so hard. “Y-you should have seen your face!” She abruptly stands and quivers her bottom lip as she stares at Jake, “I-I’m s-s-sorry.” She breaks out into laughter once again, unable to hide her amusement. Jake only frowns and crosses his arms.

“It’s not funny.”

Ignoring his embarrassment, ____ walks right up to him and slings an arm around his neck, “Let’s be best friends forever, yah, Jaeyunie?”

Usually Jake would have scolded anyone who called him Jaeyunie, his mother and hyung being the only exceptions, but for some reason hearing the name slip out so easily from your mouth seemed comforting. “Okay,” he agreed, slightly hesitant. “You seem kinda stupid, so I can still be number one with you as my best friend.”

You only smiled in response, delighted, before spinning on your heel and running back to your mother and father, who were talking animatedly with his own parents.

What a strange girl, Jake thought. At least she wouldn't be competition.

___

Later that night, both of Jake’s parents and your mother and father were sitting at the table discussing grown-up things while you were in the bathroom and Jake was sitting beside his brother when his name filtered through to his ears. He had been in the process of stabbing the greens off his plate and slowly feeding them to his precious dog Layla when his parents weren’t looking, but at the mention of his name he perks up instantly.

“...Jake has already been offered scholarships to private middle schools once he finishes elementary but he’ll be attending the private international school his elder brother goes to,” she was bragging again.

Your mother perks up as well, “Wow, that’s so incredible, Suyeon. I think being friends with Jaeyun will really help ____ find some initiative. She’s already so used to being good at things, a little healthy competition is just what she needs.”

Jake’s father nods, gesturing for the maid in the corner to bring over the bottle of wine. “It’s certainly going to help with that. While we’re on this topic, I’d like to invite you to join our study group. We have the best tutors come in and teach the kids after school but only the best of the best are allowed to join, ____ shows a lot of promise.”

Jake listens nervously, watching his father as the maid filled his glass and stepped back.

you’re….smart?

His mother notices him staring, and reaches over to tousle his hair affectionately. “Don’t worry, Jaeyunie,” she croons. “You’ll still be number one. Being friends with kids that are as smart as you is a good thing! You and ____ will have lots more to talk about than you would with anyone else.”

He frowns. He knew sometimes parents lied to kids to stop them from being sad, but his mother would never lie to him. Jake was too clever, he’d figure out the lie before she finished telling it.

“Alright.” He found himself cautious for the second time that day. “As long as I can still be number one.”

Jake in fact did not stay number one for long.

Once you had fully settled into your new life in Australia your grades skyrocketed causing your teachers to bump you up a grade, placing you into Jake’s class, the two of you always went head to head vying for the first rank and each time Jake always fell a point behind.

It aggravated him to no end that you came out of nowhere and completely upended his whole life and identity, Jake had always been the smart one and never had any solid competition so having you seemingly pop out of nowhere and take away the very thing that made him, well him agitated him beyond belief.

But of course this made for a great friendship, while Jake claimed he hated your very existence he soon found himself looking forward to your after school study sessions. You never took them seriously, you always goofed off and made it your life's mission to teach Jake the meaning of fun. It took a while for the boy to warm up to you but you managed to get on his good side with a little bribing of fried chicken and grape soda.

The two of you would wait until your break to sneak out to the fried chicken place down the street to pick up the order you had placed during your tutoring session before heading back to hide in one of the various rooms inside Jake’s spacious home. The two of you would use this time to talk about the annoyances in your life, you would mostly complain about the girls who kept coming up to you to confess their love for Jake and how you were growing quite annoyed with having to turn them down on his behalf. He would only grimace and quickly change the topic to how annoyed he was with you for yet again topping the class rank.

Slowly but surely though, as the two of you began to age, the conversations began to change as he warmed up to you, what used to be pointless bickering and complaining turned into meaningful deep conversations about his fear of attachment, rooted in his father constantly leaving him and his family to go back to Korea for his job overseas. You had slowly become the only constant in Sim Jaeyun’s life and he truly had no intentions of letting you go. You really had become his best friend just like his mother predicted all those years ago.

While it might have taken Jake some time to love you, you loved him from the start. While everyone saw him as the perfect all rounder student you knew he was more than that. You knew he wasn’t perfect, wasn’t some ace who was just naturally talented. No, he worked just as hard- if not harder than his peers to keep up the image he was born to fit. He pulled all-nighters to bring home grades suitable for the assemblyman's son, immersed himself in after school clubs to fill up his resume because God forbid he wasn’t preparing for college at the ripe age of 9, learned multiple languages to become an ambassador for the school and threw himself into learning different instruments and playing different sports to really bring home the title of being an all-rounder.

In everything he pursued, he aced and came out on top. Which is why it irked him to his very core when you came around and knocked him down a peg. You knew right away just how much it bothered him, of course he complained about it every day during your group tutoring sessions but you didn’t really care. If anything it was motivation for you to work even harder to maintain the top spot.

You weren’t doing it out of spite or to intentionally anger him, no you were doing it to show him it’s okay to not always be perfect. It’s okay to rank second, it’s okay to goof off during tutoring sessions when studying is all you ever do, it’s okay to eat junk food when you feel like it and most importantly it’s okay to talk through your emotions with someone. You like to think you ranked first for his own good, to help him realize life is more than just school.

When the two of you reached high school you eased up with working so hard for the top rank but Jake didn’t, he studied all of your summer break before freshman year and placed into a year above you. It annoyed you that you were no longer graduating together but Jake became more lax and carefree knowing he would be graduating a year early, it was refreshing to see a new side of your best friend. Somewhere along the grades of 11 and 12 though, something shifted.

Jake was never unattractive but you never really took note of just how attractive he could be until your junior year.

___

“He’s gonna say no, Sarah.”

“We’re just looking out for you. He’s always hanging out with ____. They’re probably secretly dating, why don’t you just ask someone else?”

“I don’t know why you’re so set on him. I heard he’s already turned down six girls this month. six.”

Jake was just trying to get his calc homework done, bent over in the back of the library with his textbook open in front of him, eyes glued to the page. He spares you a frantic look, desperate to get your attention and convey that it was time to leave before it happened again.

You, of course, were not paying attention. You were splayed out haphazardly on the chair across from him, headphones in and scribbling in your notebook. You had a smudge of graphite on your nose from scratching it in the middle of your doodling session.

You hum peacefully, completely unaware of your friend's turmoil.

It was everywhere. Prom. It was one stupid night, and he was fully planning on spending it wrapped up in blankets in his living room with you watching romcoms. It was the senior prom and he refused to attend a social event he knew you wouldn’t be at.

Unfortunately, Jake was alone in that feeling, the girls whispering from the table behind the two of you were right. He’d been asked six times. Six excruciating experiences of being cornered by a near stranger who smiled too sweetly and asked him to be their date, six separate occasions on which he’d stuttered a “sorry” and bowed deeply, ducking out before they could say any more.

And by this point, he just really, really didn’t want to have to turn down another girl. He felt like absolute crap.

Jake reaches out, tugging at your school uniform. “____” he whisper-yells.

You shrug him off and pout, “you’ll mess me up. Stop.”

He persists however, this time more aggressive and even goes the extra mile and pulls out one of your airpods. “I’ll buy you dinner please can we just go?”

You finally look up from your work slightly agitated and a full on pout graces your lips, if it were any other time Jake would take a moment to admire how adorable you look but it wasn’t.

“Why do you wanna leave so badly?” you huff out.

Before Jake can answer though he’s cut off by Sarah, one of the girls who has made her way over to your table.

“Jake?”

At the mention of his name his eyes squeeze shut and it hits you like a truck on why he was so adamant to leave. This time it’s the girl from his IB Latin class who he tutored on occasion.

She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, you wonder what Jake’s response is going to be this time. She’s very pretty.

“Yes?” He croaks out. Behind him, you sit up in your seat, ready to step in if needed.

She looks down, hands twisting together and fidgets and steps side to side, but when she sucks in a sharp inhale and looks up her eyes are filled with determination. Jake feels queasy, almost as if he’s about to vomit.

“Do you maybe want to go to prom with me?”

Jake swallows the lump in his throat, guilt twisting everything into a knot. You see his knuckles turn white as he makes a fist and you resume your drawing, knowing what his answer will be.

“I’m sorry,” he manages. “But I don’t plan on going.”

Your brow shoots up in shock, you never figured he was rejecting all these girls because he simply didn’t want to go, you thought he was just waiting for the right moment to ask the girl he truly wanted to go with. You never asked why he was so closed off about prom, you figured he would tell you in his own time when he was ready.

“Can I ask why?” She lets her hands fall to her side. “Even if you don’t wanna go with me, I think you’d have a lot of fun.” She retreats back to her friends before he can respond. Jake tries not to notice the way they shake their heads sympathetically and pat her back in comfort.

“She’s right you know, prom would be fun.” you say as you shut your sketchbook. “Plus, she seems really sweet.”

Jake rolls his eyes “you sound like my mom.”

“Ha ha,” you drawl, stretching and arching off the chair like a cat. “I really don’t understand why you don’t want to go. It’s your last chance to enjoy a high school dance.”

The previous year, while you were in your sophomore year and Jake in his junior year he skipped out on prom, choosing to attend his model UN conference instead as his dad had put an emphasis on how much more important the meeting was compared to prom.

Jake shrugs and reaches for your backpack to pull out some snacks you packed for him, “it makes it real.”

“Makes what real?” you tilt your head to the side and patiently wait for him to collect his thoughts to elaborate on what was bugging him.

Jake sighs. “That this is the end.” he mummers, “after prom it’s graduation, and after grad I’m off to the states for uni…away from you.”

Your heart skips a beat and your hands start to get clammy at his words. You try to subtly rub your hands on your skirt and sit up straighter, confused as to why his words have such a strong effect on you.

“We’ve never spent more than a week apart from each other and now we’re going to be thousands of miles apart for a year. I can’t go to prom knowing you won’t be there and that it brings me one step closer to leaving.” he continues, he doesn’t look at you as he lays his emotions bare for you, rather he focuses on organizing his snack options.

Your heart twinges at the reminder that he was leaving for Yale in the fall, this would be the last summer spent together for who knows how long. As much as the reminder upsets you, you still plaster a smile on your face and playfully roll your eyes.

“Did you forget our promise? You and me, forever and always. We have all of summer to make as many memories as we went and even after you leave we can facetime, technology has come a long way y’know.” You reach out to take the bag of chips he had settled on eating to open for him before handing it back. “Distance means nothing. I’ll always have time for my best friend, plus when I go to Harvard I’ll only be two hours away. Enjoy the time you have left in Australia. You'll probably miss it more than me when you actually leave.”

Jake shakes his head, “doubt it but you do make a valid point.”

You smirk and shrug, “when do I not?” You clear your throat. “Does this mean you’ll go to prom?”

He tugs his bottom lip between his teeth and tilts his head side to side before asking, “go to prom with me?”

This time you can’t hide your shock, it’s not odd for you and Jake to be pairs for most social events but for some reason him asking you to be his date for his first and only prom causes heat to rise to your cheeks.

“W-what?”

“What? I can’t see myself going with anyone else, I’m most comfortable around you. Plus when I think back to my senior prom I want to remember how much fun I had and when I’m with you all the stress I’m under suddenly doesn’t matter anymore.” He states.

“Stop being corny,” you hiss weakly, fumbling with the straps on your bag. “It’s not a good look.”

Jake giggles, “what? Do you want me to get down on my knees instead? Do a promposal?”

Your eyes widen, mortified at the idea of him putting together a grandiose promposal. “You’re such a little shit, I swear—“

“Hold on, siri play stand by me by be—“

You pick up your sketchbook and hurl it at his head causing him to duck out of the way and fall out of his chair onto the floor with the force of his laughter. Hearing his laugh causes a pinch in your heart.

When he finally manages to pull himself together and off the ground, he wipes at his eyes and sighs. “Seriously, though.” He hums. “Will you go to prom with me?”

You swallow thickly, averting your eyes to the floor. “Sure.” you say quietly. “I guess so.”

You're uncharacteristically nervous for prom. Your mom insisted on taking the day off from work to help you get ready when you told her Jake had asked you to go with him.

You thought she was being dramatic but she swore up and down, left and right- that this was the beginning to your ‘blooming love story’.

She brought you to a salon to have your hair and makeup done and even splurged on a $900 dress. You’re beyond grateful to have a mother as understanding and loving as she is. Your father is away on business and unable to make it to take pictures so your mom has been documenting the whole day to share with him, the two of you are currently in your bedroom as she paints your toes.

“Mom?”

She hums in reply and puts down a new coat of nail polish on your big toe. “How’d you know dad was the one?”

Your heart is quiet in your chest, a calm thumping rather than the stutter it had been at all week as you wait for her response. She softly smiles before responding.

“He showed up to my dorm room with pedialyte and carpet cleaner.” She caps the nail polish and cleans around the edges of your toes. “We had been dating for some time and I was supposed to attend a business summit with him but I had a stomach bug and threw up all over my dorm. Your dad didn’t hesitate to drop his plans for the day and showed up to take care of me. He was the first person to ever put me before anything else and I just knew I loved him when he showed up with no clue on what to do but willing. He didn’t care about what his dad had to say about skipping the event or anything else, just me.”

You hum and fiddle with your hands as you think back to moments you’ve shared with Jake. The first one your brain recalls is the first time you got your period. Unfortunately it happened during your school's nature classroom trip. You were up in the woods for the week learning about nature and science through different activities and during your first night there you got your period. You walked around the whole day with blood stains on your shorts and cramps you couldn’t account for. You were beyond embarrassed come dinner time. You had no girl friends in the grade to ask for help and the boys made it a show of embarrassing you at dinner by pouring ketchup all over your seat. Jake was having none of it though, he came up to you at your table and wrapped his hoodie around your waist before grabbing your arm and leading you out of the canteen to the nurse on site.

He stayed by your side that night watching stand by me on your phone outside the cabins getting bit by mosquitoes. He didn’t complain or make any jokes of his own, rather stayed silent and let you have the quiet time you needed. When the two of you finally retreated back to your separate rooms you found a little gift basket on your bed filled with different types of pads, tampons, a heating pack and some chocolates. Apparently while you were walking around with stained shorts Jake was going around collecting different menstrual items from the girls in your grade to give to you, his way of helping.

It did make your heart flutter at the time but you chalked it up to your period hormones and never spoke on how it made you feel to anyone…Was that when you started to fall in love with your best friend?

Your doorbell goes off and you feel anxiety seep into your bones. Your mom senses this and holds your hand to give it a firm squeeze. “don’t stress about something you’re not sure about, okay? I want you to have fun tonight - both of you.”

You nod at her, loving how she knows exactly what was plaguing your mind, you let her lead you out your room and out to the living room. She lets go of your hand and walks over to the door, opening it wide.

“Wow.” You and Jake exclaim simultaneously as soon as you see each other. The butterflies in your stomach erupt once again at the sight of him; dressed in an sleek black suit with the first three buttons of his black undershirt undone, his hair has been bleached blonde and styled down with a part in the middle.

“You look…amazing.” Jake breathlessly lets out, staring at you in complete awe.

You blush and flatten out invisible wrinkles in your dress. “Thank you so do you, I love your hair.”

He smiles and shakes his fringe out of his eyes, “thanks. Figured why not try something new. Ready to go?”

“Woah woah woah, hold on, you two aren’t going anywhere without taking pictures!” His mom appears from behind him, “Let me go get my phone real quick!”

Your mom claps her hands as scurries off to retrieve her phone, “Oh, yes! I have to take pictures for your dad.”

Jake walks up next to you and you’re sure your heart is about to beat out of your chest. “You look really great, ____.”

“You’re not so bad yourself. Blonde was a great idea.” You bring your hand up to fix his parting a bit more. “It’s a nice contrast with the all black suit.”

“Yeah.” He swallows, looking down at his shoes.

“Okay! I have my phone!” Your mom says as she returns, instructing both of you to move out to her garden in the backyard and stand by the peonies for the photo.

“This might take a while.” You whisper to him and he chuckles, gently placing a hand on your lower exposed back.

“Won’t you get cold later?”

You shrug, “probably. Good thing your mother raised you to be a gentleman.” It takes him a second to register your words, scoffing in disbelief once he realizes what you were hinting towards but he doesn’t argue knowing he really will give you his jacket the second he sees you shiver.

“Smile!”

___

After a long process of taking pictures the two of you finally head out with Jake driving you guys to prom. Upon arriving you’re amazed at how extravagant the venue looks. Just another perk of attending a private school you think to yourself.

After finding parking the two of you head inside to find your table, you’re sharing it with your two friends Kairo and Mei and a random couple who snagged their tickets at the last minute (Jun and Luna).

“Jake! ____!” Kairo and Mei are in the entryway to the ballroom, waiting for the two of you where they texted they would be standing.

Mei walks forward, a greeting never making it past her lips, as she reaches out to brush Jake’s fringe out of his eyes. “Sorry, it was bothering me.” She mumbles as she steps back.

You know her intentions are innocent but with the way Jake’s cheeks flush red and he can barely meet her gaze you feel a twinge of jealousy and sadness. Since when was he flustered by Mei? The four of you met during SAT Prep and formed your own study group to help each other out during midterms and finals your freshman year (Jake’s sophomore) the dynamic between you all was pretty formal. The four of you didn’t make plans to go to the movies or the mall like other kids your age, it was strictly studying and neither of you minded it. Kairo and Mei fulfilled you and Jake in an academic sense while you and Jake met all your social and more emotional needs together.

So why the hell was he all blushy at Mei fixing his hair? Why didn’t he react the same when you fixed his parting?

“Should we go in?” Kairo asks.

“That sounds great,” you grit out, your grip tightening on your clutch.

Mei slides up next to Kairo and slips her arm back through his. The four of you walk in and find your table. Kairo pulls out Mei’s seat and Jake follows, doing the same for you.

“So Jake, are you excited for commencement?” Mei asks once you’ve all taken your seats.

Jake clears his throat, “more nervous than excited. Can’t believe it’s all finally over.”

The three of them go back and forth in idle talk before Jake slowly eases his way out of the conversation, mindlessly nodding at what your friends are saying and leaving you to your thoughts.

He’s uncharacteristically silent though as he bobs his head to the music. Seeing as you know him better than yourself, you know he’s nervous - but why?

Was he thinking of Mei? The thought makes you feel sick; you have no reason to be jealous because you’re just his best friend and your feelings are a jumbled mess you can’t navigate through- you don’t even know what you want from him. He can’t fix what he doesn’t know is broken.

Your mind is absolutely blank as you stare down at your hands on your lap. You only snap out of it when a large hand engulfs yours, but you don’t dare to look at him. You can’t.

“Are you okay?”

There they are again; the stupid butterflies winding up in the confines of your stomach. “Yeah,” You remove his hands from yours, “I’m fine.”

Jake reluctantly lets you pull his hand away, knowing something’s wrong but he doesn’t want to push. You compose yourself and remind yourself about your words to Jake; this is his last school dance. It needs to be memorable.

So you’ll make it memorable.

As the night goes on with the food served and multiple performances happening, you’re able to loosen up and forget your worries.

“Do you want to join the dance floor?” Kairo asks as he eyes the growing dance floor.

“No.” You frantically respond, earning a look of judgment from Mei.

“Yes!” She exclaims, grabbing both you and Kairo before dragging you out of your seats with a gleeful giggle.

You try to grab on to Jake for help, but your hand merely grazes his as you’re pushed to the dance floor. On the dance floor, other people have jumped into the idea of dancing and in no time, it’s filled with dancing students.

A little while later, Jake joins the three of you and your little dance circle moves around each other for a few songs; you’re all laughing and you’re genuinely starting to enjoy yourself. Eventually, Kairo and Mei leave to go take a breather leaving you alone with Jake.

“Are you feeling any better?” He leans down to your ear and tries to speak over the loud music.

You nod, “Ye-”

You’re cut off by the loud upbeat music dying out and picking back up but this time a soft violin intro fills the room, you recognize the song instantly. The live orchestra begins playing the chorus of nobody gets me by Sza, you watch as everyone around you pairs up and when you turn around, Jake is already looking at you with a small smile tugging on his lips.

His ears are tinged pink as he offers you a shrug, “Do you wanna dance?” He holds out his hand to you.

You take it with baited breath and immediately at the touch, the butterflies are at it again. You step closer to him and place your other hand on his shoulder while his other goes to your back, where your skin is exposed.

He’s gone back to being unusually quiet again; he’s just leading you to the slow beat of the song and looking away, only meeting your eyes when he catches your lingering gaze.

“____, you’ve been out of it all night. Are you really okay?” He quietly asks, his brows furrowing.

“I…” For a moment, you consider confessing what’s weighing on your heart but you panic. How would he react if he knew?

“____?”

“I think I’m in love with you.” You blurt out, a heavy sigh leaving your lips as soon as the words come out. You feel a little lighter knowing you’ve said your peace but your heart races in panic as you wait for his response.

“Oh,” Jake whispers. It could have been your imagination but you swear his eyes look just as dizzy and unfocused as your own. His lips part maybe to say something more, but close as quickly as they opened and his gaze flickers down to your lips.

“I-” You choke on your words, shame and regret instantly flooding your body. You want to curl up and hide in a hole but you can’t. Jake is holding on to you too tightly and you’ve already let the cat out of the bag. Might as well get it all off your chest. “I-I don’t know when it happened but I know my feelings aren’t platonic anymore. You’re all I can ever seem to think about, when you touch me it feels like butterflies are swimming in my stomach and the thought of you even being interested in someone else makes me sick to my stomach.”

You take a deep breath, “I think I’m in love with you Jake. I love the little things that make you Jake, your obsession with math and physics, your ability to make anyone you speak to feel truly seen, how you rely on God to get you through hardships you face.” You continue to drone on and on about the quirks you love about your best friend, not noticing the way his lips tip upward in a wide grin.

“I love you.” You confess.

“____?” He asks, voice even.

“Yeah?”

“Stay still.”

Jake steps forward and wraps his hand delicately around the back of your neck, he doesn’t miss the way your hooded eyes follow his movement. He stands up straighter, he’s so close that your noses brush against each other ever so slightly.

The flush on Jake’s cheekbones is clear as day, a lovely rose pink.

He takes one final deep breath and leans in to plant a kiss on your awaiting lips. The moment your lips touch, you feel a spark of electricity jolt through your body but as quick as it comes, however, and before you can react, he’s already swiftly pulling away.

When the two of you pull back, your eyes are wide open, gaze fixed on Jake’s face, his lips left slightly parted. His entire body is vibrating with warmth and anxiety, hardly able to keep still.

Jake stares at you, still feeling the desire pooling in his stomach, and wonders if he had made a mistake.

“____,” Jake calls, quietly. “____.”

He begins to hold his breath. Did he overstep?

“Did you…” You begin, eyes wide, flickering rapidly across his face. “Did you…just…”

“Yeah,” Jake replies, his voice cracking a tad. “Yeah, I did.”

There’s a silence between the two of your for a long second before you collect your bearings and clear your throat and say,

“Do it again.”

Jake feels numb, unable to be shaken or moved by the world around him, so he steps back in and tilts his head to the side, kissing you once again like you asked.

You can barely hear the crowd around you over the sound of your own heartbeat. Jake kisses you softly, almost shyly. A gentle hand slides down to your hip, anchoring you in place, a solid touch while the rest of the world slowly fades away.

You can’t think about anything other than the feeling of Jake’s lips finally on your own. You continue to kiss Jake until you feel his hand leave your hip and he gently pulls his lips away.

You keep your eyes shut for a second longer, body thrumming with warmth and energy, you feel Jake’s forehead knock against yours after a beat. When you finally open your eyes, like always, Jake was staring right back at you.

“I love you too.”

Following prom you feel as though you’re on cloud nine. After your shared confessions and heated kisses Jake took you outside of the venue to discuss where things would go from here. He only had three more months left in Australia before he had to leave for Yale but he knew he would be a fool if he let you go.

The two of you came to the conclusion that you would take things slow and enjoy the little time you had together working towards being a couple and pick things back up once you graduated and made your way to the states to join Jake.

Things truly felt perfect, Jake would come by your home every now and then to take you on impromptu dates with a new bouquet everytime and an explanation on why he chose those specific flowers. On days where he was too busy getting ready for his upcoming semester to take you out, you would pack him little lunches and drive the two of you down to the park you would often visit in your childhood and have little picnics while listening to him go on about how excited he was for the physics program at Yale.

The people who had been in your lives and watched you grow up together were thrilled at the direction in which your relationship was going. Both your parents were delighted when Jake broke the news that you were officially seeing each other on a romantic level working towards eventually dating. You would often have Sunday brunch together after going to church with his family and yours before sneaking off to his room to cuddle on his bed for an afternoon nap.

Had you known this is what would come with confessing, you would have told Jake way sooner but sadly, time had passed and the date of Jake’s departure from Australia was fastly approaching. He has a week left and he’s determined to make it the best one yet.

“Let's road trip to Sydney.”

You stop fiddling with Jake's fingers and turn your head to look up at him from your position on his chest. “What?”

He smiles down at you before placing a quick kiss to your forehead. “You heard me, let’s take a road trip to Sydney.”

You playfully roll your eyes. “Yeah I heard you dummy but why?”

He shrugs and entwines your hands once more. “Why not? It’s my last week and we talked about road tripping down there for spring break but someone,” he pauses to poke at your side with his free hand drawing out some giggles form you his heart warming at the sound, “-just had to get sick the night before we were supposed to leave.”

You let out a groan, “you’re never going to let that go are you?” Jake hums, “absolutely not.”

You huff in thought, “it’s a nine hour drive Jake…”

He sits up forcing you to do the same as well, turning to face him. “We can take turns. Plus my flights’ leaving from Sydney, we could go to the airport together and have a proper goodbye without my parents bugging us.”

You bite down on your lip seriously considering Jake’s impromptu idea. Within the past three months you’ve had to share Jake with so many people- his soccer team, his orchestra friends, his family. Everyone. Alone time was scarce and the thought of a getaway to Sydney where it would be just the two of you and no distractions sounded lovely.

“Okay.”

“Okay? Just like that?”

You hum and move to sit on his lap and throw your hands over his shoulders. “Why not?”

A huge smile breaks out on Jake's face causing you to smile as well, something about seeing him happy always managed to bring you happiness. It should be scary, just how willing you are to sacrifice for Jake but for some reason you always throw caution to the wind the second he comes around. You’d give him the world if you could.

You feel Jake wrap his arms around your waist and slowly slide his hands under your shirt to caress your back. “What's going on in that pretty head of yours, love?”

You begin playing with the hair on the nape of his neck and whisper out, “thinking bout’ how I'd give you the world.” Jake’s hands pause at the base of your back, clearly caught off guard, you look down at his eyes and see how dark they’ve gotten. Desire and love pooling in the hues of his brown eyes. “You are my world.”

He leans in as he finishes his sentence and places his lips on yours. The feeling of his lips is incredibly warm as he pushes them against yours, slightly chapped but otherwise still soft. The amount of emotion he puts into kissing you isn’t like anything you felt before, there’s more desire in this kiss compared to all the others you’ve shared. The feeling of his tongue sweeping against the plumpness of your lower lip and the heat from his body sends butterflies to your stomach.

His hands fall down to your hips, pushing up your t-shirt to feel the softness of your stomach beneath his palms with battered breaths before pushing you back. He makes quick work of flipping you so your back is now on the mattress and it’s him straddling you. You gasp at the feeling of the soft mattress beneath you, his body pinning you deeper back as he continues exploring your mouth with his own.

You pull back slightly, breathing heavily and your lips red and plump with saliva. Jake smirks at the sight, his thumb coming up to pull down your bottom lip with the tip of his finger before moving his mouth to the sensitive skin of your neck.

The strands of his hair are silky beneath your fingertips, gasping and tugging at the roots as he bites down on a certain area of your neck that makes your core clench.

“Jaeyun,” you whisper, whimpering at the feeling of his palm applying pressure lightly against your navel. “Are we-?”

He slowly pulls away from you and adamantly shakes his head. “No.” you whine in protest as he pulls away and lays beside you once more. He pulls you close to his chest before confessing to you. “I want our first time to be romantic, not some quick fuck in my bedroom.” He kisses your temple. “You deserve more than that.”

The Following Day - 1:36PM

“Ready to head out?”

You whirl around to find Jake standing in front of you and your parents, having just finished packing your suitcases in the trunk of his car and is now looking over at you with a tilt in his head.

You nod and smile brightly. “Of course,” You say, turning to your mom and dad to bid them one fast farewell. “I was just saying bye.”

He nods in understanding, waving to your parents, “I promise we’ll be safe and if anything happens you’ll be the first we call.” He says to reassure your parents, more so your dad who was a bit more hesitant to the last minute idea.

Your dad nods stiffly at Jake, “take good care of her. No drinking or scandalous activities, I’m not ready for any grandchildren.”

You gasp at your dads words and swat at his chest. “Dad! Stop embarrassing me!” He only tisks in your direction.

“You know what's more embarrassing? Having to finish your senior year pregn-”

“-Ahhh. Dad, stop it! I promise we’ll make smart choices!”

He chortles at your flushed expression and leans in for a hug. “I’m only messing with you.” You hug him back before pulling away to give your mother a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

“See you in a week!”

After pulling away Jake steps forward to hug your parents goodbye as well.

“Be safe Jake, we’ll miss seeing you so often! Make sure to call us if you ever need anything once in the states, okay?” Your mom softly says to him as she holds his face in her hands, tears slowly filling her eyes. Over the years Jake has slowly become like a son to her, she was used to cooking extra knowing he’d come over for dinner after your tutoring sessions. She had even turned one of the spare bedrooms into a personal room for Jake, allowing him to sleepover when his parents were out of town for business.

You can only imagine how much she's going to miss him, maybe as much as you know you’ll be missing him.

He nods and sniffs, is he crying too? “Of course auntie, I’m really going to miss our Friday night movie marathons.”

You smile bitterly beginning to fight back tears of your own. Your father was always away for weekend meetings in Melbourne starting Friday night into Saturday evening and as captain of the varsity volleyball team you had late night practices every Friday meaning you wouldn’t be back home until the dead of night and your mother was left all alone. Jake, having nothing to do once classes were done would often go over to your home to keep her company so she wouldn’t be all alone in your home. It was a little tradition the two kept up over the years.

You hadn't given yourself time to really mourn the idea of being separated from Jake for an entire year but watching him say his tearful goodbyes to your parents is really putting into perspective just how entwined your lives are. He’s your everything and how he’s leaving, how are you going to manage your senior year without your best friend?

“We should get going.”

“Mhmm.” You look over at Jake and reach a hand out to wipe away his fallen tears. “It’s okay.”

The two of you say one last goodbye before getting into Jake’s range rover, you look out the window to see your parents waving you off. You slide back into the passenger seat of his car and put on your seatbelt now processing the fact that this is the last week you have with Jake.

There is a silence as Jake is starting the car, and a part of you wants to die. On one hand you want to cry and beg him to stay but on the other you know if you do, Jake will differ his offer and take a year off to be with you. That’s the last thing you want, he deserves happiness. That’s all you’ve ever wanted for him. If that means braving a smile for now while your heart is in turmoil so be it.

Jake is the first to break the silence.

“That was a lot harder than I thought it would be.” He drives down your driveway before making a right to pull into the neighborhood.

“Goodbyes are never easy.”

“Yeah but…I didn't cry when saying bye to my parents but something about your parents made leaving seem all the more ...real?”

“It’s only natural, you spent more time with us. You’re like their second child.”

Jake hums in thought, “I don’t think I’lll survive having to say goodbye to you.”

You purse your lips thinking about what your goodbye would be like. Would there be tears? Unspoken words? “I think you’ll be just fine.” You reach out for his right hand that lays on the gear shift and hold it tightly. “It’s only temporary.”

The next nine hours are spent singing old 90’s love songs and making pit stops every now and then to stock up on some new snacks and to switch off so Jake isn’t so tired. During your third stop is when Jake pulls out a camera and begins vlogging the remainder of the trip claiming it would be nice to look back at it once the trip is over.

Once you finally make it to your destination, you pull into the driveway and place the car in park before looking around at your surroundings. The home is modern with nothing but natural light, it’s surrounded by trees to still give you enough privacy but it’s secluded from the other homes on the lane.

“Oh my gosh it’s so pretty.”

You open the door and immediately extend your legs out onto the solid ground beneath you. You let out a sigh of satisfaction and Jake laughs from next to you.

He’s opening his own car door soon after, but he straightens up into a standing position pretty quickly and stretches upwards. He closes the car door behind him, watching as you eventually pull yourself together to do the same.

You turn to face him. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.” You gesture towards the airbnb and earn a nod from Jake, who mentions something about doing the same thing. You meet back at the car a few minutes later.

Jake gestures to the trees surrounding the home. “Want to take a walk around the area? I think I saw a park when we pulled into the neighborhood.”

You nod. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Why don’t you get started? I’ll catch up.” Jake watches you leave, before opening the trunk of his car and rummaging around.

He does catch up with you, quickly enough that you hardly notice that he had sent you out first. You hear his footsteps, and the call of your name, causing you to turn around. “Jake!”

The sight before you makes you smile brightly. Standing before you is Jake, with his polaroid in hand. The lens is pointed right at you. As soon as you’re staring straight into the camera, Jake grins. “Say cheese”

You giggle and close your eyes before making a little peace sign. You hear the little click and the flash illuminates your face. You open your eyes to find Jake smiling down at the little printed picture waiting for it to develop. “I can’t believe you brought that.”

“I’m a photographer at heart, what did you expect?” Jake teases back. “Besides, it’s really pretty around here. I need some pictures for my dorm.”

You blush at the thought of him putting up a picture of you on his dorm wall. The pair of you begin to make your way to the park, taking in the view from different angles. The stroll is mostly just to get rid of the pent up energy, but it’s still a nice view to admire. As soon as you arrive at the park you ditch Jake to run to the swing set.

“Push me?”

Jake rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief but still walks behind you to push you forward.

“Did you know my brother and I got in trouble with our mom because of how high we would swing you?” Jake giggles, “she was worried we’d push you too high and you’d go flying.”

“I blame your brother. He turns everything into a competition.”

“So do you!” Jake exclaims. You quickly stop the swing with your feet to turn back at him with a judgmental look on your face. “When we were a little older and Jaehyun left us to push each other you would get annoyed that I didn't push you as hard as you did for me.”

“It's true though.”

You scoffed, “at least I didn’t actually push you off your seat.”

He laughs at the memory, “we’re stronger now, do you wanna see who can go higher?”

“knowing exactly how strong you are… uh, not really? but whatever, let’s do it!” you brace yourself on the swing and start pulling yourself back to get momentum.

“Okay, wait! Wait!” he rushes to the seat beside yours and pushes it as far as his hips can go, already giving him an advantage. “Okay, go!”

Childish laughter escapes both of you as you let yourselves swing back and forth, trying to put your weight in properly to reach higher than each other. it really felt like you were kids again, you felt at peace, a part of you never wanted this night to end.

The next few days fly by and just like that it’s the night before Jake’s flight. You had spent your time in Sydney visiting the opera house, late night dinner dates and excursions all over the bustling city. There truly never was a dull moment within this week that’s come to pass. Getting to make new memories with Jake is exactly what you needed.

The two of you have just gotten back from dinner at Altitude, a restaurant overlooking the opera house. You’re now in your shared bathroom dressed in one of Jake’s old tee’s and a thong doing your nightly skin care routine as Jake undresses in the bedroom, getting ready for his nightly shower. You look at his reflection through the mirror as he takes off his shirt. Your eyes skim down his toned chest, desire pooling in the pits of your stomach. Throughout your time here it’s been nothing but makeouts and little pecks throughout the day. You wonder if he’ll finally make a move tonight.

“I can feel you staring, love.”

“That’s the point.”

Jake doesn’t say anything in response but rather slides up behind you and peppers your neck with gentle kisses. He cages you between his body and sink and presses his hips into your back. Your eyes flutter shut at the feeling of his fully hard cock pressing against your lower back.

Jake’s eyes rake your body through the mirror, desire burning in his irises. he shifts his eyes to stare at your lips before moving back to turn you around and face him and press himself directly to your front before leaning down and in. He takes his time, giving you the opportunity to pull away but you don’t. You want this.

He leans forward and allows his lips to graze yours, the faintest of touches. “Are you sure you want to do this darling? We don't have to.” Jake asks softly.

You shyly nod your head and lean in to close the gap but he pulls ways and shakes his head, “no love. I need to hear you say yes.”

“Yes, I want to do this, Jaeyun.” You push forward allowing your lips to touch. He groans once your lips make contact. You’re unable to focus on anything other than the feeling of his lips on yours.

You can faintly taste the shirley temple he had at dinner on his tongue. He sucks harder on your lip and brings one hand down in between your things to prod at your pulsing heat.

He pulls away to let his eyes drink in the sight of you before leaning down to pick you up. you let out a yelp and grasp onto his biceps for protection, “w-what are you doing?” You sputter.

“I can’t make love to you properly on the sink, darling.”

You blush at his words and bury your face into his chest, after a few strides Jake is gingerly placing you on the bed.

He gets onto his knees and straddles your hips before reaching out to help you out of your shirt. You breathe in deeply savoring the way he feels pressed against you. the feeling of his warm fingers moving under the hem of your shirt across your stomach. He lifts it off of your body and tosses it across the room.

“Thank you for trusting me with your body.” Jake says before leaning back in and places his lips on yours yet again.

You moan into the kiss before he trails kisses down your jaw to your neck, his teeth brushing over your skin and making you shiver regardless of the heat being provided by Jake’s skin pushed up against yours. You close your eyes and relish the feeling.

With his lips still pressed against your neck, he whispers, “what do you want love?”

Your eyes flutter open as he slowly pulls away to look at you.

“I won’t do anything until you tell me what you want.” He reiterates before placing his lips back onto your neck, biting down making it harder for you to form a coherent sentence.

“I-i don’t know.” You say breathily but he chuckles in your ear, “yes you do love, tell me what you want so I can make you feel good.” He says as he gently tugs at your underwear, you whine and raise your hips off the bed to allow him to take it off faster. He tisks, “I need to hear you say it.” You look up at him to meet his gaze, “I want you to touch me.”

His gaze hardens, “spread your legs doll.” He orders.

He shifts his position and allows you to spread your legs before slotting himself in between them. He taps his fingers against your hips silently asking you to raise them. You shyly lift them to the best of your ability and let him pull them off of you, your arousal clinging to your underwear and clit.

Once you’re completely naked, he brings his lips to your chest and roughly kisses your skin, his tongue probing at your nipple. You whimper when he bites your left nipple, the feeling overwhelming. He pulls back and looks at your bare body.

“Fuck you’re so beautiful.” He mumbles before leaning down to toy with your pussy.

“You’re so wet too. Did our kissing turn you on so much, love?” Jake asks, smirking down at you. your face heats up at his words but you don’t respond. He looks back down at your pussy and shifts his position so he’s laying down in front of your pussy. He lets his pointer finger circle your clit for a little before running it along the slit of your folds. You let out a mewl at the feeling wanting more. “P-please Ja..” You moan.

“Patience, love.”

He dips one finger into you and you hiss at the feeling. It’s been a while since you’ve been touched down there and you’re extremely sensitive. “You’re so tight,” he says, pushing his finger deeper until the entire digit is buried snuggly inside you. You close your eyes and tug at the bedsheets, loving the feeling of him fingering you.

You’re a moaning mess by the time he manages to slide his whole finger into you. You clench around his fingers as he slides them in and out of your snatch and grasp onto your bedsheets. “Does it feel nice to be stuffed with my fingers?” Jake asks.

You know your voice will fail you so you adamantly nod your head. Jake picks up the pace and your hips move to his strokes. Jake licks his lips when he feels your walls clenching tightly around his digits.

“I-i think I’m close.”

His fingers curl inside of you which causes your hips to jerk upwards. “Are you cunning?” He asks cheekily.

You nod eagerly, “yes!” your eyes snap shut as you enjoy the feeling, “o-oh my gosh” you cry as you feel him kiss the inside of your thighs. He trails the kisses upwards until he’s face to face with your pussy and places a soft kiss on the nub before sucking on it, his tongue flicking around. He pulls his pointer and middle finger out so he can eat you out freely.

He licks the slit of your folds and firmly grips the flesh of your thighs most likely leaving marks. Marks that would remind you of this moment later on.

Jake picks up the pace, he’s going so fast that you let out a quiet scream. You fist and unfist your sheets as you rock your hips against his face and come.

Your orgasm hits you so hard that tears fill your vision.

Jake allows you to ride out your high before coming up from your private parts and leans back down to place a chaste kiss on your lips.

“Are you feeling alright love?” He asks as he strokes your hair. You’re heaving, trying to catch your breath.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to continue?”

You nod but then remember Jake wants verbal responses, “I do.”

Jake wastes no time in removing his shorts and boxers and gently moves up your body. you wrap your arms around his neck. “C-can you be gentle?” You sheepishly ask.

Your question sends an immediate reaction to Jake’s dick, he swears he could have busted a nut right then and there. “Of course doll, I'll be gentle.”

He tentatively strokes your folds with two fingers, eyes darting back up to yours to check your response. You hiss, still a bit sensitive. “Is this okay? Are you sensitive?”

“I’m fine,” you assure, “go ahead, I’m okay.”

He nods, gathering some of your wetness and smears it on his cock, a moan of relief leaving his swollen lips. “I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to be buried inside of you,” he says, angling himself better and positioning his cock near your entrance.

“Please,” you whimper, biting back a cry once his length breaches your entrance. Jake lets out a guttural growl, slowly sinking into you and bottoming out letting you adjust to his length.

“You’re so beautiful.” Jake says, rolling his hips torturously slow. “You were made for me, love. Just for me.”

You open your eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m ready, you can move now.”

Jake leans forward to place a kiss on your cheek, then on your jaw, and then on your neck. As Jake busies himself there he slowly begins to thrusts in and out of you.

Your hands are all over him; clawing his back, gripping his biceps. “Love,” he whispers, “you feel so good.”

The sound of your bodies slapping against each other plus your loud wanton moans and the creaking from the bed is all that can be heard reverberating around in the home. He thrusts two more times, his hips stuttering before he chokes out, “mm gonna cum.”

You scratch at his sides and bite your lip to suppress your moan, “m-me too.”

“You can cum love,” Jake coos. He wraps his arms around you and hugs you closer to his body, the feeling of your chest pressed against him and his dick pounding into you is enough to send you over the edge.

“I’m cumming!” You mumble into his skin. Jake groans at the feeling of you cumming on his dick before his hips still and he comes inside you painting your walls white.

His lips are on your shoulders and neck, softly sucking on patches of your skin and murmuring sweet nothings as you calm down.

“Fuck.”

Jake pulls out and looks down at the mess of the sheets, now that he’s no longer caught up in his lustful haze it dawns on him that the two of you didn’t use protection. So much for smart choices.

As if now remembering yourself you shrug, “I’ll just grab a plan b tomorrow.”

Jake nods, “I’ll send you the money for it.”

His body then drops to lay beside you and he pulls you in close with the promise of a hot shower after a few minutes of decompressing. You roll over and sit up, swatting Jake’s hands away as he reaches for your arm. “Wait, I have something for you.”

He hums, interest piqued. “Huh?”

You open the bedside drawer where you had hidden the card you had written for Jake before the two of you left Brisbane. It was a love letter, all the things you’ve ever wanted to tell him but kept to yourself out of fear. It holds all the words your heart so desperately wants to tell him before he leaves.

“It’s not anything extravagant but I know you care more for sentimental things anyway.” You hand him the card, “don’t read it until you’re on the plane.”

He looks at the light pink envelope decorated in stickers and his name written in neat calligraphy in the center, the faintest smile on his face but a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“I love you.”

The way he says it sounds different from all the other times he’s ever told you. Almost as if he needs to convince you that he loves you but you know. He places one last kiss to your lips before pulling you back down to cuddle.

“I’m going to miss you.”

Jake hums, “me too.”

The room slips into a comforting silence and eventually you drift off.

8:41am

You wake up feeling cold. You whine and feel around for Jake’s body but when you feel nothing you open your eyes and softly call out for him. “Jake?”

When you’re met with no response you sit up and look around the still dark room. You stand from the bed and reach for your shirt that was still on the ground. You hadn’t intended to fall asleep, it was only meant to be a quick nap before the two of you took a shower together and watched movies until it was time for you to head to the airport.

“Jake? If you’re trying to scare me, give up.”

You’re still met with silence and you begin to feel uneasy. “Jake?”

You search the living room and your heart drops. His things are gone, his shoes, his suitcases. Everything. You run back to the room to see if it’s really true, if Jake left without saying goodbye. What you find breaks your heart even more. All his toiletries are gone, all that's left are your belongings. You let out a sob when you find the love letter you had written for him laying atop his pillow, opened and crumpled at the sides, proof he had read it but didn’t care enough to take it with him.

You drop on to the bed in shock and disbelief, tears sitting in your waterline. You turn to look beside you, staring at the letter as if it had burned you, the only trace that Jake was ever here is his scent in the sheets. You look at the alarm clock to see if you’ll be able to make it to the airport on time and bid him a proper farewell, your heart sinks once again when you realize you’re far too late. It’s 8:50 and his flight leaves in ten minutes. You sniff and decide to not dwell on it, Jake probably had his reasons and you have to get ready to go home.

You strip out of your shirt and discard it on the floor before walking into the bathroom to start your shower. You step into the shower, toes flinching as they touch the chilled ceramic floor. Your mind is in shreds; how could Jake leave without a goodbye? You turn the dial, releasing thousands of frigid drops, wetting your hair and trickling down your back. Your eyes fall closed and images of last night cross your mind.

You want to scream. Did last night not mean as much to him as it did to you? Was this all so he could fuck and just leave? You wrap up your shower and step out to brush your teeth. When finished, you dry off and head for your suitcase to pick out an outfit. You settle on sweatpants and an old graphic tee with slides. Once dressed and ready for your journey back, you finish your packing and look around the house one last time to see if maybe Jake left anything for you, maybe even an explanation. All you find is a plan b box on the kitchen counter next to a water bottle. You pick up the pill box and exit promptly and throw your things in the back of Jake’s car. You look down at the passenger seat where the letter you had written for him sits. You pick it up and examine it one last time before shoving it deep into your backpack.

Maybe this was less painful than having to say goodbye.

It in fact was not less painful. A day passed, then two, then a week, then a month. You stared at your phone at all hours of the day, calling and texting waiting for confirmation that he had arrived safely and an explanation on why he went ghost but it never came.

You started your senior year alone. That was the first time you ever realized just how dependent you were on Jake, you had no other friends to go to the movies with, you spent your senior appreciation week alone, you had no one to make plans with when the weekend would roll around. Maybe you should have made deeper connections. You slowly started to lose sight of the end goal, Harvard had always been your dream but your mind was in too much turmoil to see it meaning anything without Jake, your heart can’t stand to be near him but not have a connection to him. You had heard from his mother that he had settled in at Yale and was enjoying his time abroad. You never told your parents what happened down in Sydney, you couldn’t bring yourself to talk about it without crying.

Eventually you began to decline, your grades took a hit and your GPA dropped from the perfect 4.5 it had been sitting at for the past four years to a 3.2. You started failing your core classes and you were kicked off of the varsity volleyball team. Your parents couldn’t understand the sudden change in you. You stopped talking to them, stopped going to your tutoring sessions and stopped caring about life itself. You would only go to school when you felt like it and come straight home before locking yourself in your bedroom. When time came to send in your college applications you didn’t know what to do. You knew Harvard wouldn’t want you and you never considered any other options. You sat down with your guidance counselor and she gave you some options. The majority consisted of staying in Australia, letting you know it didn’t seem possible to go abroad. You limited your application process to four schools, two in Australia and two in Massachusetts. If Harvard didn’t want you, maybe a private school would grant you admission and you could transfer in your sophomore year.

As much as you wanted to be far away from him, Massachusetts happened to have all the top schools that were realistic for you. You applied to Northeastern and Boston college. Neither were the ivy leagues you were hoping to attend but private institutions nonetheless. You sent in your applications for early action, praying you would get in and get to leave Australia behind. You were suffocating here.

Luckily for you, your acceptance letter came from Northeastern and you were quick to accept. You were waitlisted for Boston College and accepted to both Australian unis but you had decided where you were going. You toured Northeastern in the spring with your mom, you both absolutely fell in love with the campus. It was right in the middle of the city, across from the train system making getting around easy. You got to meet the girl you would be dorming with, Avianca; Avi for short. She was very bubbly and sweet, and very opinionated. She had grown up in Boston with her mother and two brothers. Her mother was unable to join the two of you so you went out to brunch with her and your mother. After that your mother left the two of you to go shopping for some things for your dorm.

“Are you excited to start in the fall?” Avi asked as the two of you browsed targets room decor.

You shrug and hug yourself, “I guess.”

Avi stops to look at a large beige throw pillow, “that's all? Aren’t you excited for the new experiences?” She looks up at you, “the boys?”

You play with the tag of the pillow in her hand. “I-” you hesitate and she picks up on it.

“Unless…” she smirks up at you, “you have a boyfriend?”

You pause. Could you even consider Jake a boyfriend? He never officially asked you to be his girlfriend but the two of you did way more than what other couples do in a lifetime. As if reading your mind Avi hums.

“Ahh, I see. It’s complicated?”

“I guess you could call it that.”

She tosses the pillow into the cart, “is it over?”

You continue walking down the aisle as you think back to Jake, this would be your first time ever saying what went down outloud. You were hesitant to tell your parents because of how close they were with Jake, you didn't want this affecting their perspective of him but Avi doesn’t know him, she’s unbiased. And that’s how you found yourself crying inside a target finally opening up about just how hurt you were by Jake’s actions.

Once you finish telling her your story from start to finish, Avi is embracing you. “Jake is a dick. You did not deserve that. I’m so sorry.”

Avi spends the rest of your time together comforting you. She lets you rant about Jake and gives you her two cents every now and then. You felt a little embarrassed at how much you were crying but Avi was quick to reassure you letting you know it was actually time you let it all out. The two of you exchanged numbers before parting ways again and she made you promise to keep in touch with her while you were back home in Australia until your move-in day and that's exactly what you did.

After flying back home you slowly started to rebuild. Jake isn’t a part of your life anymore and you can’t continue to wallow in your self pity. It was time to let go and move on, you would be starting your freshman year of college in four months. You don’t want to be stuck up on someone who wasn’t even thinking of you.

You took the time to learn new hobbies as you didn’t have volleyball to lean on. You took up baking for a bit before getting bored and moving on to painting. You learned how to knit and made yourself some mittens and a scarf to prepare for the cold Boston weather. You even took up photography, opening up a private instagram account to post your pictures as you traveled around Europe during June. It was a graduation gift from your father, you had stops in France, Wales, Germany and Spain. You spent a month traveling before heading back south.

You flew to New Zealand before officially going home to explore the mountains, it was a nice reset. Jake had promised to visit with you but it never happened and you weren’t putting things on hold for him anymore. You would facetime with Avi every night, brainstorming ideas for your room and your plans for welcome week. She had no intention of staying in your dorm that first week before classes started.

At first you were hesitant, going to raves and frat parties meant the inevitable. The possibility of running into Jake would be significantly higher and if you didn’t run into him there was still the fact that you would be approached by some man before the night was over. You had expressed to Avi how you couldn’t see yourself entering a relationship anytime soon. You had yet to fully heal from Jake and the thought of being that vulnerable again terrified you.

She only listened before reminding you that you didn’t have to date every guy that said hi. Some below the belt touching and harmless flirting never hurt anyone. She went on to ramble about how you’re entering your prime and have an insanely hot aussie accent that could help you secure any guy you wanted. You zoned out once she started asking you if you could moan for her so she could take pointers.

Your parents could see the shift in you and it brought them relief, they felt more at ease to send you abroad now that you were in a better mental headspace. You left two weeks before classes started to move in and get accustomed to the new environment. Your parents came to help you and Avi move in before leaving to go back home.

It’s now nighttime and you’ve just officially finished decorating.

“So, there’s this rave at slackers tonight, wanna go?”

You turn to look at Avi from your bed as she sits at her desk organizing her makeup. You snort, “as if I have a choice.” She looks up at you grinning.

“Glad you’re aware! Now get up and go shower, you’re all sweaty and doors close at 8!”

You roll your eyes but listen to her nonetheless. You stumble out of your bed and walk towards your closet to try and brainstorm what to wear. “Is there a theme?”

Avi hums, “yeah early 2000’s.”

You scan your wardrobe to see what you can find before deciding upon a baby blue butterfly top you had gotten off of amazon and a mini cargo skirt. For shoes you settle on some old Nike air forces knowing they would be demolished by the end of the night. You head over to the bathroom and begin getting ready. You try not to take too long, making sure to properly wash your body but you don’t take the time to exfoliate. Once drying off and exiting you make quick work of getting dressed and sitting beside Avi to start your makeup while she works on styling her hair. You don’t take too long for your makeup, choosing to opt for a more natural look and go for a half up/half down hairstyle with two strands out in the front.

Once you’re both ready, you grab your student ID’s and bags before heading out and start the five minute walk to the T. As you’re waiting for the train to arrive you take pictures with Avi to post and make a new story post of the sun setting. Once the green train arrives the two of you hop on and head towards the party venue.

By the time you arrive, the line is still relatively short and you’re inside in under thirty minutes. You scan your surroundings, the club lights are too bright and strobing too fast, just asking for someone to seize. The dance floor is crowded with people and there are drunks stumbling all around you.

Avi spins on her heels and smirks up at you, “what are the odds you get a stranger to buy us drinks?”

You quickly shake your head. “Zero! I’ve never done this before Avi!”

She shrugs, “so? Have you seen yourself? You look so hot, ____.” She makes it a point to slap your ass. “You have all the right assets on display, you just have to use them to your advantage.”

You gasp and rub your sore bottom, “okay one, never do that again. Two, why don’t you get a guy to buy us drinks? Put those tits to good use.”

She smirks. “I was already planning on it. But seriously, I promised to help you get over Jake and what better way to do that than getting under a new man?”

You groan. “Sleeping around isn’t going to help me get over Jake.”

“What makes you think he hasn’t done the same?” You furrow your brows at her and she scoffs. “Come on ____, he’s been in the city for a year while you were on the other side of the world. Jake is hot and I’m sure he knows it just like other girls in Connecticut probably do too, what would really have stopped him from getting his dick wet?”

You stay silent, deep down you know Avi is just being truthful and realistic. Jake had no obligations to you and no one to get in his way of whoring around if he really wanted to as much as it may hurt you.

“Okay.”

Avi’s brows shoot up in shock. “Okay? That’s really all it took?”

You nod firmly, “I’m done putting my life on pause for him. Besides, a little flirting never hurt anyone, right?”

Avi squeals and claps her hands together. “Perfect! I better see you throwing it back on some guy before the night ends!”

The two of you decide to part ways to find your prey of the night. Avi makes quick work of heading to the bar where the older men are to see if she can score some drinks while you idle around the dance floor, scoping out the faces to see who you wanted to make a move on. Before you can set your sights on someone, you feel the warmth of a body behind you though they’re not quite pressing against you yet. It doesn’t feel bad, and neither do the fingertips ghosting along the curve of your waist. You press into their touch a little more. The tentative fingers at your waist get more firm once they realize you’re open to their touch.

“Wanna dance?,” the body behind you asks, lips brushing the shell of your ear. It makes chills prick at your skin. You bite your lip to keep from smiling at the sensation. Your hand goes to cover the bigger one on your waist. You’ve missed being this close to someone.

You intentionally keep the touch constant when you turn around in their hold. Their palm slides along your body till it’s settling on your lower back just above the swell of your ass.

When you look up, your reply gets caught in your throat.

The owner of the warm body behind you is handsome, strikingly so. Tall, strong. Smile dreamy with dimples, and eyes dark. He gives you a soft grin accompanied by an encouraging nod, wanting you to say what you can’t seem to get out.

“Uh–” you sputter with a wince, before clearing your throat, “Where’s the fun in asking?”

You can’t hear his laugh over the music, but you can tell he’s amused by the way his chest rumbles, and how his eyes curl. The hand at the base of your spine moves to your hip, squeezing gently.

His other hand is moving, too, and you track it until it’s tucking some hair behind your ear. You go still and flush when he leans down to your ear again. “If you insist,” he tells you. You don’t get to respond before he’s forcefully turning you back around and pressing his body into yours. The song changes to an upbeat caribbean mix and the sexy stranger has you bent over, one hand in your hair as a makeshift ponytail and the other resting at the base of your spine as he sensually moves his hips to the beat of the song, practically humping you. You can feel yourself getting wet as his clothed dick brushes against your vagina, your miniskirt and thong barely hiding anything. You begin whining your waist to meet his thrust giving those around you a show. Soon, a circle forms around the two of you as people turn on their camera to film. When the song finally ends the two of you separate and the crowd disperses. Some guys stick around though, hoping you would part form your dance partner and give them a chance to feel you humping them but you never get the chance. The stranger leans down to your ear, “I’m Jungwon.”

You smirk and respond with your name. “I’m, ____. Clearly you’ve done this before Jungwon.”

Jungwon briefly looks surprised, eyes widening like a child before he’s laughing. “Ah,” he muses, guiding your arms to drape over his shoulders, your hands interlocking behind his neck. His hands do the same around your waist as he pulls you a little closer. “Perhaps but clearly the same goes for you.”

There’s a flutter in your tummy that you haven’t felt in months and it’s exciting. Makes you giddy as you blink up at him sultrily.

“Are you complaining?” you ask him.

He adamantly shakes his head, “Of course not, as long as you’re not in a relationship no complaints over here.”

You cock your head to the side. “I don’t do relationships.” You wait a beat before asking, “Is that what you’re looking for?”

He looks up like he’s thinking. Then he’s shrugging. Crowding your space, cheek brushing yours as he talks into your ear again, he answers, “I want what you want.”

Jungwon doesn’t move out of your space like the times he did before, instead pulling you into him a bit more, making your space his space too. Lips brush against the corner of your jaw, just below your ear. Teasing, yet sure.

“I want to forget–” Your hand twines into the hair at the nape of his neck when he nips softly at your earlobe, making you gasp quietly, interrupting yourself. “–about someone.”

He lets out a smug sound of understanding. “That sounds doable,” you hear him say, before he purrs confidently, “Let me help you.”

Just as the two of you lean in for a kiss you’re interrupted by the calling of your name.

“____!” You pull away to find Avi stumbling towards you. When she’s close enough, she grips onto your shoulders to try and keep herself up. “H-help.”

You look at her in worry and try to balance her but she’s quickly becoming more and more unstable, her words slurring and her body becoming limp. You begin to panic, “Avi? Avi! You’re scaring me, what's wrong!?”

Jungwon steps in to help you hold her up. “Shit, I think she was laced.”

Your eyes dart to his in worry, sensing your panic Jungwon tries to calm you down. “There’s a hospital nearby. I’ll call an uber and we can head over.”

You nod, trying to steady yourself for Avi’s sake. The two of you make quick work of ushering her out of the building and outside to help her get some fresh air while Jungwon orders the uber. It’s there in seven minutes and the three of you rush to the nearest children's hospital.

Once you arrive, Jungwon hands over Avi to the medical staff while you try and give them the information they need to admit her. She’s rushed into the emergency bay while you and Jungwon are told to sit in the waiting area while they pump her stomach.

“It’s going to be okay. We got her here in time, I’m sure the doctors have everything under control.” Jungwon says as he takes a seat beside you. It’s clear you’re distraught and don’t know what to do but it’s also clear that what you need right now is not only reassurance but a friend. Your shoulders slump instantly and you nod despondently. Cautiously Jungwon entwines your hands together, lacing your fingers with his.

He shifts, leaning his body into you allowing you to cuddle into him for some warmth, your lack of proper clothing clearly not helping. You bite your lip to keep in the tears before resting your head against his shoulder. You close your eyes, basking in his comforting presence, letting both his words and presence wash over you and ease your worries.

The both of you sit in silence for long, drawn-out moments before you finally speak up. “I’m sorry, this probably isn’t how you wanted to spend your night.” You pull away and wrap your arms around yourself, “you can go if you’d like.”

Sensing your guilt and apprehension, Jungwon shakes his head softly and removes his bomber jacket to hand to you. You stare at it for a second before taking it and putting it on. “It definitely isn’t how I saw my night going but you clearly need a friend, it wouldn’t be right to leave you alone.”

You twiddle your fingers, “why are you being so nice to me?”

He purses his lips in thought, showcasing his dimples. “Like I said before, it’s clear you need a friend. You’re obviously going through something with a guy you probably really like and your friend is in the hospital after getting laced. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.”

You blink at him, embarrassed that he read you so easily. “I-” You cut yourself off and look away, feeling the tears start to well up. “I feel so lost and alone.”

Jungwon slowly reaches for you and brings you in for a hug, letting you cry into his chest. “I moved to this stupid city all by myself and now I miss my parents, I miss my home and worst of all I miss him. Avi is the only friend I have and I can’t help but feel like her being in this position is all my fault! She only wanted to go out to help me move on a-and we made this stupid bet about getting guys to buy us drinks and now she’s getting her stomach pumped!” You angrily rant to Jungwon, overwhelmed by the events that have transpired within the last twenty-four hours.

He listens, gently rubbing your back as you let it all out. “It’s normal to miss your life back at home, going to college is hard enough, let alone having to move to a different continent. I understand the guilt you’re feeling but I doubt Avi is mad at you for what happened, you weren’t the one who drugged her.”

You sniffle and wipe at your nose with the sleeve of his jacket, “I guess so.” You pull away from his wet chest to wipe away the remainder of your tears. “I’m scared.” You softly admit.

“Of what?”

“Being alone again.” You whisper, you can’t help but wonder if Jungwon will stay after this, if Avi will be okay enough to stay for the semester. You pray you don’t lose either of them.

“Good thing I don’t plan on leaving.” Jungwon offers with a soft smile, you look up at him gratefully and wrap him in a hug.

“Thank you.”

The two of you spend the rest of the night in the ER, the doctors eventually come to fetch the two of you to join Avi, letting you know that she’ll be just fine and able to return home the following day. Jungwon stays true to his word and doesn’t leave your side until it’s time for Avi to get discharged. The three of you clamber into the back of the Uber Jungwon ordered and drive to your dorms. While sitting at Avi’s bedside the three of you began conversing about anything and everything. You found out that Jungwon was also a freshman at Northeastern majoring in Biochem. On top of that, he was living in the same dorm as you-his room only two doors down.

Once you arrive, you bid farewell to Jungwon with the promise of grabbing breakfast with him and his roommate Beomgyu the following morning before heading into your own room.

“He’s cute.” Avi says as she gently takes a seat on the couch.

“Jungwon?”

She hums, “sweet kid.”

You nod absentmindedly as you gather your bathroom supplies. “I guess so.”

Friday November 15th - present day

Three months have passed since the beginning of the semester and it’s safe to say that you’re beginning to feel at home in the city. Jungwon stayed true to his word and didn’t leave you. In fact, there was never a moment where you were alone. If you weren’t at Snell studying with Jungwon, you were at your dorm watching shows with Avi or at the dining hall grabbing lunch with Beomgyu.

The four of you have truly become inseparable these past few months and you’re so grateful for the support they provide. It’s nice to finally have other people to rely on rather than having to rawdog life alone. When the four of you aren’t absolutely swamped with homework you grab dinner together at one of the dining halls before going back to your place for a movie night. Tonight happens to be one of those nights.

“Wollastans hands down has the best snack options,” Beomgyu says as he empties the grocery bag onto your living room floor. Avi hums and takes a seat beside him on the floor in front of the TV.

“That they do.” She reaches for the pack of gummy bears and offers some to Jungwon who’s laid on your couch arms wide open as he smiles up at you waiting for you to take your rightful seat in between his legs. He takes a handful of gummies and thanks Avi before patting his chest.

“Hurry up princess, I'm getting cold.”

You scoff and roll your eyes before kicking off your shoes and making your way across the threshold to plop down in between his arms. “What are we watching tonight?” You ask. Jungwon taps your cheek silently asking you to open up, you do and he plops a cherry bear into your mouth.

“Interview with the vampires.” Beomgyu replies as he ques up the show. Once it’s ready to go Avi hands you a blanket to cover yourself with before she cuddles up to Beomgyu, the two of them whispering to each other lost in their own world. You smile softly at them, you and Jungwon have a running bet of how long it was going to take before the two crack and just get together. They’re adamant that they’re just friends but it’s clear as day feelings are there.

You feel Jungwon wrap his arm securely around your waist before he places a soft kiss atop your head.

As touchy and flirty as the two of you are, you’re just friends. Once Jungwon made it clear he was here to stay you found the confidence to open up to him about Jake. You told him about the ghosting, the sex, how much he meant to you and how you don’t think you’ll ever love someone the way you love him or even be ready for a relationship anytime soon. Jungwon understood and made his intentions clear, he just wanted to make you happy. If that meant putting his feelings on the backburner and doing things your way so be it.

It wasn’t a fair deal at all, Jungwon devoted almost all of his time to you, he would walk you home from your late lectures, wake up at five am to run to Tatte to buy you breakfast before your eight ams, turn down girls who approached him in hopes that when you were ready you’d come running to him.

He did it all without complaint, he loves you fully and without restraint. He’s loved you from the start, he loves you the way you wish Jake had.

You can’t help but think about where Jake would fit in your life now. You’ve changed and made sure your new life left no room for him, you tailored your life to make sure Jake could never waltz back in and destroy all the progress you’ve made. You don’t think he’ll fit in with your group of friends anyhow. As this year has come and passed, you replaced Jake with Jungwon. It’s hard to picture Jake falling back into the role of being your only friend in your life.

You have Avi, Beomgyu and Jungwon. They look out for you and make sure to take care of you. It’s a reciprocal friendship, they’re pouring into you just as much as you pour into them if not more.

You snap out of your thoughts when Jungwon softly pinches your side. “You zoned out, are you okay?”

You nod your head and play with his fingers under the blanket. “Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life.”

You feel him take in a sharp breath before pulling you into him even more. “I’m the lucky one.”

___

As the movie night comes to a close, you sit up from Jungwon’s hold to stretch, your friends following your actions. You reach for your phone to check the time to see if you can squeeze in one more movie.

“It’s only nine, we can start another show or watch a movie.” You offer

Jungwon wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you in closer to his side, “I don’t have anything to do tomorrow, I’m down.”

Avi stands up and clears her throat. “Actually can we go out?”

Beomgyu looks up at her questioningly, “wanna ride the blue bikes around campus?”

She shakes her head, “a Harvard frat is hosting to-”

“Absolutely not.” You cut her off. You haven’t been to another college party since the one at slackers, the sight of Avi getting drugged permanently put you off from the party scene.

She huffs, “why not!?”

You give her an incredulous look. “Are you being serious? You were drugged the last time we went to one, I don’t want to see you in the ER again!”

The boys can sense the growing tension, Beomgyu stands and tries to calm Avi and Jungwon soothingly rubs your arms.

“It was one time! I won’t drink this time!”

“I still don’t feel comfortable.” She throws her hands up and turns to pout at Beomgyu knowing it’s a weakness of his.

“Yah! this is between the two of you, stop pouting at me.” He says in response before turning on his heel to head to your kitchen to raid it for some more food. You huff and turn to Jungwon to have him plead your case but he only shakes his head, he knows better than to get in between the two of you.

“Uh-uh, No. You two figure this out.”

He stands from his seat beside you to go join Beomgyu in the kitchen.

Avi takes Jungwon’s seat and grabs your hands. “I promise I won’t drink! I know better now and the guys will be there! You know they won’t let anything happen to either of us! Come on, _____ please!”

You sigh and shift your attention to the boys goofing off in your kitchen, Avi is right. The boys wouldn’t let the two of you out of their sight, especially Jungwon as he was there for the last party the three of you had attended.

“Fine.”

The living room of the frat is completely packed, people are scattered around the home, either dancing in a large group in the middle of the living room, relaxing in the kitchen with drinks in hand or smoking blunts upstairs. Something that definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by you is the hordes of couples pressed up against each other and the walls, making out and grinding against each other for the entirety of the house to see without a single care in the world.

You turn to face your friends, “an hour tops then we’re out of here!”

Avi playfully rolls her eyes, “aye aye captain.”

She grabs Beomgyu’s hand and they walk into the midst of the party leaving you with Jungwon. “Want to grab a drink with me?”

You pull your attention away from a guy who’s completely wasted and forcing another to a dance off to Jungwon who’s standing next to you. You shrug, “sure.”

You both exit from the hallway where your little group had clustered and enter the kitchen to grab a drink. Jungwon hands you a water bottle but you nudge away his hand and reach for a red solo cup to pour yourself a shot of tequila. You knock it back and move down the counter to pour yourself some of the punch.

Jungwon watches you in worry as you pucker your lips at the taste of the punch, “I thought no drinking tonight.”

“No drinking for Avi. Plus it’s for the nerves.”

He nods at you and takes a sip of his water. “What has you on edge?”

You look around the kitchen sadly before confessing what’s weighing on your heart. “It feels so odd being here, it was my dream for so long and now it’s just some other school down the block.”

Jungwon hums before scanning the area himself. “Do you regret choosing Northeastern?”

You sigh, “I..” you trail off to really think through your answer. Northeastern has become more than a safety net. You have a family here because of the school, people who love and care about you without restraint and would be crushed if you up and left them. You also can’t help but feel as though there’s a double meaning to Jungwon’s question. “I don’t think so, more so mourning what could have been here.”

Jungwon nods, “are you still thinking about transferring?”

You shake your head. “No, I think it’s time to close the chapter on this time period in my life.”

Jungwon stills beside you, to him, Harvard = Jake and the life you lived with him back at home in Australia, does this mean this is finally the end of you and that dirtbag?

You smile and place your arms around Jungwon’s neck. “I think it's time to start focusing on what I have here at Northeastern…with you.”

Jungwon swears he feels his heart stop at your words, are you finally going to give him a chance? His eyes suddenly gleam with mischief as he rests his hands on your waist and squeezes you a little tighter and yanks you towards him, bodies just centimeters apart as you crash into his chest, all up in each other’s personal space.

Your eyes widen in complete surprise.

“Are you saying what I think you are?” He teases with a stupidly lowered tone, a smug grin decorating his face.

You ignore the electricity shooting through you, rolling your eyes and playfully sneer at him. “Don’t be smug, I can still change my mind, you know.” You force space between you two and try removing his hands from your waist but his grip transforms into an iron lock.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

He pulls you in close and leans in to whisper, “yeah? Then who's gonna do this?” He doesn’t wait for you to question him, leaning in right away to place his lips on yours and cage you between him and the kitchen counter. Your eyes blow out, taken by surprise until you find yourself quickly melting into the kiss, hands gripping his shoulders tighter. Jungwon can’t help himself from opening up his mouth to catch more of yours, lips sensually kissing yours in a slow, unhurried pace.

You instantly love the way he kisses, completely taken by his pillowy, delicate lips.

Jungwon doesn’t care if your lipstick smudges onto him or how brash the public display of affection seems; all he cares about is the soft feeling of your lips against his own for the first time and the fact that you’re willing to be his.

He knows it’s going to stay on his mind for weeks.

You’re beginning to get lost until he disconnected your mouths, only looking at each other with overwhelming feelings and shimmering eyes that depict how nervous you are for this new step.

“Wanna dance with me?” You shyly ask.

Jungwon smirks, his mind recalling the first time he ever met you at that slackers party. “Where’s the fun in asking?” He mocks, you roll your eyes at the familiarity of his words before dragging him out of the kitchen and into the living room to dance away your inhibitions.

The two of you make your way to the center of the room knowing once you start dancing, all eyes will be on you. Jungwon squeezes your hips one last time before turning you around and helping you slowly grind down on him to the beat of the song, once you have a steady rhythm going on he begins to buck his hips to meet your pace.

Just like that night at slackers, you’re bent over whining your waist against Jungwon and catching the attention of those around you. Jungwon sneaks one arm around your front and gently squeezes at your right boob under your crop top, getting turned on by how your butt applies the right amount of pressure to his cock every time you bounce off of it and the lustful gaze of those watching. He could cum in his pants. You have to bite your bottom lip to keep from moaning.

As the song comes to a close Jungwon releases you and places a kiss against the base of your neck, “I’m going to grab us drinks, stay right here baby.”

You nod and let him remove himself from you completely to go get the two of you drinks, you turn around to see if you could potentially find Beomgyu or Avi and spend some time with them until he returns but before you even get the chance to fully scope out the area you feel someone grab onto your wrist and spin you around.

You’re about to tell the stranger off but your words get caught in your throat when you turn around to find a tall blonde man dressed in all black staring you down. You exhale sharply at the way he seemingly undresses you with his eyes.

“You sure know how to put on a show, princess.”

You feel your face heat up a bit at the use of pet name and being called out on the way you were just dry humping Jungwon. Not knowing what to say you wait for him to continue. Picking up on that, the stranger continues, “I’m Jay, what’s your name darling?”

“____” you breathlessly let out.

He hums and pulls you in closer, “sexy name for a sexy girl, who’s that guy? Your boyfriend?”

His hands travel down to grab at your ass over your leggings and you have a feeling that even if you were taken, Jay wouldn’t care.

You bite down a moan at the way he caresses your ass, taking turns between rolling the flesh and pinching it every now and then. He lands a sharp slap to your bottom when you don’t answer, his patience running thin. “Answer me princess.”

You shake your head, “n-no I’m si-”

Before you can finish your statement Jay gets ripped away from you by another male who huffs out in playful annoyance. “C’mon mate, it’s my birthday and you’re ditching me for some action?”

This time, your blood truly runs cold. Standing in front of you in all his glory for the first time in a year and three months is Sim Jaeyun. His eyes sweep over to you and the smile that was just gracing his face begins to slowly fall. Your eyes greedily take him in. You notice he’s dyed his hair back to black and grown it out a bit, parting it in the middle like you used to do for him during your walk to school. His shoulders also seem a bit wider, did he start working out? You even note his style has changed, gone are the tight skinny jeans and random hoodies. He’s dressed in wide legend pants paired with a simple white tee tucked in and Jordans on his feet.

“____.” He breathlessly lets out.

Hearing him call out to you breaks your heart, after all this time you thought you would be angry at him for what he did. Swearing to Avi that if you ever ran into him you were going to rip him a new one, maybe even slap him for having the audacity to hurt you the way he did. But now that you’ve been graced with the opportunity all you feel is a deep sadness, all your anger gone in that instant.

You see Jay’s eyes bug out of his head as he looks between the two of you. “She’s ____?”

Your eyes flicker over to Jay as you make the assumption Jake must have told him all about the two of you. Jake reaches a hand out to grab yours but you instantly jerk away from his touch. He doesn’t deserve it, your mind screams at you.

“Don’t.” You grit out, fighting back the tears.

Jake’s face falls even more at the malice in the simple word, heart breaking at how you avoid his touch but respects it nonetheless.

“Please, let me just ex-”

You don’t let him finish before you’re spinning on your heel and bolting out of the party. You knock into a few partygoers, the alcohol finally taking its effect. You hear muffled shouts of your name as you push past people to make it outside to the lawn. In your daze you don’t see your friends running after you.

You stumble out of the party and onto the lawn. The front of the frat house is nearly empty, save for you and a couple that’s making out on the grass. You stagger towards a bush when the overwhelming feeling of vomiting consumes you. Your stomach contracts violently and all the liquor you had consumed comes back up splattering the bushes.

“____!” You hear Jungwon call out your name before he’s kneeling beside you and holding your hair back.

You heave again and once more the contents of your stomach spray the ground. You sink to your knees and retch until only clear liquid is coming up. Your throat feels sore from the stomach acid that is layering it and your mouth tastes of vomit.

Avi kneels beside you and rubs your back soothingly as Beomgyu stands protectively in front of you, shielding you from Jake’s view as he tries to grab your attention, constantly calling your name.

“It’s alright,” you hear Jungwon whisper as you feel your stomach begin to settle. He slowly ties your hair up for you using a hair tie Avi offers and once he’s sure Avi has a steady grip on you, he’s standing to square up to Jake.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Jungwon asks. Beomgyu’s eyes widen the tiniest fraction at his roommate's question, knowing damn well he can’t fight and Jungown might be alone in this one.

Jake scoffs and steps up to Jungwon, his own annoyance at its peak. “I’m her best friend who the fuck do you think you are?”

Your friends all still at the realization of who exactly the stranger is. Avi is the first to react, scoffing at his audacity from beside you as she looks up at him.

“You know you got a lot of fucking nerve to even call yourself that. You’re the one who ghosted her, you’re the one who left. You don’t get to claim that title anymore.”

Jake falters at the harsh glare he’s receiving from your friends but he’s determined to speak to you.

“You don’t know shit.” Jay spits out from behind Jake knowing the true story as to why Jake did what he did. Albeit shitty, his friend had his reasons and he wasn’t going to let anyone shame him for the decisions he made as a kid fresh out of high school.

Beomgyu swears he sees red. “Watch it.” He says as he shoves at Jay’s chest. Jay, having none of it though, pushes back causing Jungwon and Jake to have to step in and separate their friends before things escalate.

Jake pulls his friend away and harshly whispers in his ear before Jay scoffs and walks away back into the party. Jake clears his throat and turns back to you and your friends who are all still glaring and making a protective front around you.

“Please, ____. I Just need one chance to explain myself.”

Jungwon opens his mouth to respond for you but you're quicker than him.

“No.” Your voice is firm, “you don’t get to hurt me the way you did and expect me to give you the courtesy of explaining why you chose to break my heart.”

From your seated position you can see the tears swimming in his eyes and it almost makes you crack. Almost. But you need to choose you for once. You need to stop throwing caution to the wind when it comes to Sim Jaeyun, he never once did that for you.

“You’re a year too late.”

Still determined and not deterred by your stance, Jake takes a cautious step forward, stopping when Jungwon deems he’s gotten too close and steps up as well to place a hand on Jake’s chest.

“I’m sorry, ____. I know I fucked everything up and-and that I don’t deserve another chance but please-” He chokes back a sob, “please just let me explain!” Avi rolls her eyes and helps you stand. “What good will that do? You’re right, you don’t deserve shit from her. Explaining why you’re a shitty person isn’t going to change anything.”

Although harsh, Avi is right. Hearing him out won’t change the fact that he no longer has a spot in your life, it won’t change the damage he’s caused, it won’t do anything.

“Let’s go guys.” You weekly let out, completely drained and craving the warmth of your bed.

“____!”

You ignore Jake’s call of your name and leave with your friends surrounding you, making it impossible for him to see you anymore. Your heart seizes in your chest at the desperation in his voice as he calls out to you but you keep walking, you leave him behind like he did to you all those months ago.

[November 15th, 12:35 AM]

[jake]: can we please talk?

[jake]: i’m sorry

[jake]: please

[jake]: _____?

[November 16th, 2:48 PM]

[jake]: i know you don’t want to talk to me but please let me explain ____

[jake]: i’ll leave you alone after, i swear

[November 17th, 6:15 PM]

[jake]: i’ll be at caffe nero near newbury tomorrow at 2 until they close

[jake]: please come and let me explain, i’ll leave you alone regardless of what you decide.

Jake stares down at his phone as he hits send, over the past two days he’s been sending you text messages praying you’ll respond but each one has been left on delivered. He doesn’t know if you’ve read them or even blocked him.

He tosses his phone aside and drops down on his hard dorm bed staring up at his ceiling wondering why he let things get so bad. He thought he was making the right decision for the both of you, thought he was doing right by you by leaving you alone.

Falling in love takes courage he doesn't possess at the time. You never stood a chance and it's little wonder why you felt so cheated.

Leading up to his departure from Australia everything was perfect, it was a dream. He had the girl of his dreams, a scholarship to the school of his dreams and for once- a supportive family backing every decision he made. It was new, it was different. It was scary. Jake grew up having to fight for his parents attention and had to work for their love, it was conditional, he had to be perfect. Being given it so freely and easily by you came as a shock.

He knew just how much you loved him, how much you had sacrificed over the years for him, he doesn’t deserve it now and he sure as hell didn’t think he deserved it back then. How could he love you if he barely understood how it worked? He had such a twisted view on love. At the time he thought it came with conditions, that he couldn’t love or be loved without conditions. That it was only a matter of time before the hammer dropped on your changing relationship and you began expecting more from him as a boyfriend, more that he couldn’t give.

Reading the letter was what really did it for him.

Of course he didn’t listen to you when you told him to read it once he was on the plane. He waited until you fell asleep and reached into the drawer to retrieve the letter and began reading it. Jake read it over and over again until he had it memorized, so much so that he still has it memorized to this day. He left you with the original but wrote it down on a napkin on the plane when he realized how big of a mistake it was to leave it. He sits up to walk over to his desk and retrieve his written version of the letter and begins to read it once again.

Dear Jake, my sweet angel boy,

I should have told you this right after prom: that there's this special love that I have deep within my heart. That love is only for you. It is far greater than this world. I wish I could show you how much you really mean to me. If I could only let you feel how much I really do love you in a kiss or a hug, you would begin to feel the love that I have for you.

If I could describe the love that I have for you and use lyrics of love songs or even the sonnets of Shakespeare, it would still be impossible, because the love that I love for you cannot be put into words. You've had my love from the day we met, and you will have it forever. As time goes by, my heart and love for you will keep growing stronger, brighter, and bigger.

Call me your love from this day forward. Although we have two different minds, and souls, we have one and the same beautiful heart. My love for you is unconditional. Please don’t forget that.

I love you with all my heart, body, and soul. I will never stop loving you. You are my life, my world, and everything to me. Distance may keep us apart for a short while but you will always and forever be embedded deep within my heart.

My beautiful love, you are my world and you have been since the first time I saw you. I felt love the first time I looked at you all those years ago in your backyard, and my world became a beautiful place to live in. I often ask myself, what in the world would I do without you now? I hope to never find out the answer to that question.

I’m writing you this letter to tell you how much you mean to me, and to thank you for coming into my life. You are something I never thought could exist for me. You are the best thing that has ever happened in my life, and I don't regret telling you how I feel.

I love you Sim Jaeyun, today, tomorrow, forever.

Tears swim in Jake’s eyes as he places the letter back in the depths of his desk. He wishes so badly that he didn’t run, that he stayed and talked through his fears with you but he was too much of a coward and knew deep down that you deserved better. He never deserved you to begin with and he was a fool for ever thinking a broken boy like him could ever love someone as amazing as you.

After leaving, Jake found it hard to settle into his new routine. He missed your presence every single day, finding it harder and harder to ignore your text messages asking how he was, if he had eaten, if he liked the campus.

By the time Jake had realized how big of a mistake he made and just how much of an ass he looked like, he couldn’t take it back. The damage had quite literally been done and it seemed you were moving on. The text messages stopped coming in, he was removed from your close friends and his mother no longer had any updates for him when he would ask. Apparently, you had stopped going over and it was rare to catch glimpses of you as the school year progressed.

When he had heard from his brother that you were no longer on the volleyball team he wanted to reach out and ask what happened. You loved the sport too much to just quit, especially during your senior year but Jake had a feeling he was the last person you wanted to hear from.

His first semester at Yale was nothing like he expected it to be, everything was dull and lifeless. Every day was the same routine: wake up, shower and brush his teeth, get dressed and head to lectures before studying at the library until midnight because his roommate had a girl over.

He felt like he was slowly losing his sanity. As the end of his first semester came to a close and winter break was fastly approaching Jake decided he had had enough. Yale meant nothing if you weren’t in his life. He knew at that point you had probably sent in your college applications and were practically a shoe-in for Harvard so he did what he thought would bring him peace.

He sent in his transfer application before the end of the semester to be able to start in the spring and got his acceptance right before winter break. He didn’t tell his parents about the sudden decision, knowing they wouldn’t be happy with him but he was done living in his fear. It was what caused him to lose you and he would be damned if he let it happen again.

He eventually told them once everything was set and as expected he received an earful about his decision from his father before he realized how deadset his son was on this before backing down.

Once the spring semester started Jake could slowly feel his world start to mend. Everything seemed brighter at Harvard; the physics program was easier, the people were kinder, he had friends and his new roommate wasn’t an ass.

Jay and Jake clicked the second Jake rolled his suitcases into the new room. Jay took him under his wing and treated him like a little brother. It felt nice to have someone to rely on, sure Jay wasn’t you but he slowly became someone who meant the world to him and he looked up to. Eventually Jay introduced Jake to his friends Heeseung and Sunghoon and the four became an inseparable group. The four of them truly did everything together: they took all their gen ed classes together, they attended each other's sporting events and they would often go to frats together with Jake staying sober to take care of his friends.

The guys never pushed Jake to explore the women that approached him at parties knowing his heart belonged to you. They had heard him go on and on about you on several occasions and knew he only transferred to be close to you. They admired his determination to right his wrongdoings but were truthfully skeptical if it would work. They encouraged him to just text you, arguing the more time he let pass the harder it would be to win you back but Jake argued back that this was something that couldn’t be fixed over text.

The semester flew by and Jake was increasingly getting excited. Once he had submitted his last final exam he was on the first flight back home to Australia in June. He couldn’t wait for you to start school in the fall to talk to you and he was long overdue for a trip back home, two birds with one stone. However, when he made it back home to Brisbane his dreams were once again crushed. His mother informed him about your solo trip to Europe and how your parents had sent you away under the guise of it being a graduation gift but really it was out of fear of your declining mental health.

Jake was lost, he had heard nothing about your mental state as his mother insisted she knew nothing about your life anymore when he would inquire about you over the phone. It came as a shock when his mom sat him down to tell him about you being kicked off the volleyball team rather than you just leaving like he assumed, how you no longer attended study groups and even skip school now. What came as the biggest shock was hearing you didn’t get into Harvard. Jake felt absolutely disgusted with himself.

He had caused this, he was the reason behind your suffering and yet he had the audacity to show up here thinking you would welcome him back. He was right, he really doesn’t deserve you. Look at all the pain he’s caused you and what you’ve lost in the process.

He didn’t stick around much longer after that, He flew back to the states a week before you came back from New Zealand and became hell bent on leaving you alone. He owed you that much, some peace after bringing nothing but chaos into your life.

The rest of his summer was a haze, he spent it getting high or drunk with Heeseung and Jay. He didn’t tell his friends about what he had heard from back home, the guilt eating at him but he made it clear that there would be no Jake and ____. The two of you were officially done.

Heesung and Jay were obviously worried about their friend, they knew of the love the male held for you and to see him so torn up over it that he was drinking all his inhibitions away or smoking until he was numb was alarming but they didn’t stop him.

They did however intervene towards the end of the summer when Sunghoon came back from Korea and Jake insisted the group went to an end of summer kickback. They had never seen Jake so out of it, he got so crossfaded that he passed out at the party and was unresponsive for twenty minutes.

Emergency services had to be called and the party got shut down. It was safe to say his friends were done with his shit and sat him down and forced him to talk about his emotions because they would be damned if they watched him continue down this path and eventually die from it.

That night was an eye opener for Jake and he swore he would get better, promised he would stop holding things in and be more upfront about how he was feeling. Seeing Jay cry over the possibility of his death was what really put things into perspective for him, the thought of you also possibly being torn over him dying got him to take his sobriety seriously.

His friends held him accountable as the new school year began, they cut back on frat parties, made the effort to not drink as much around him and even began being more open with each other due to Jay’s claims of “vulnerability breeds vulnerability.”

It was safe to say that Jake was finally beginning to heal. He knew sooner or later he would have to face the consequences of his actions and he was fully prepared to do so, just not so soon. It was Sunghoon’s idea to go to the frat at Kappa Alpha Theta for his birthday. Jake was fully prepared to say no and spend the day alone. This would be his second birthday spent away from you and he wanted the privacy to read through old birthday paragraphs you’ve sent him over the years and stare at the polaroids he took of you during your getaway to Sydney.

Jay and Heesung were having none of it though and insisted he needed to actually celebrate his birthday like Sunghoon said. Jake eventually caved when the three of them offered to stay sober with him. Seeing you at that party was devastating but seeing you in another man's arms was infuriating. Jake knew he had no right to be upset with you but it irked him that he was no longer the only male in your life. Jay had told him about the dance that took place before everything went to shit and Jake couldn’t help but wonder if you had fully moved on from him. Heeseung had to remind him that if you had, Jake couldn’t be upset with you, he had practically pushed you into Jungwon’s arms the second he decided to leave you behind in Australia.

“How long do you plan on staring at your phone?” Heeseung asks as he enters the younger male's room with Jay and Sunghoon trailing behind him.

Jake sighs and tosses the device to the side, “she still hasn’t responded.”

Sunghoon takes a seat beside Jake on the bed, “give her some space dude I’m sure seeing you at the party was the last thing she expected.”

Jay hums, “you did what you can. Give her space to decide what she wants.”

Jake heeds the advice of his friends. He’s inconvenienced you enough, leaving you alone to decide if you want to meet him is what you need now. He can only hope you do decide to hear him out.

“I don’t think you should go.”

You look up at Avi who’s standing above you on the couch staring down at your phone screen, contempt written all over her face. You gently sigh and lock your phone, letting it fall on the couch with a soft thud.

“I know.”

Ever since the party Jake has constantly been texting you. Avi was beyond annoyed with the male and his inability to- “leave you the fuck alone.” You would read them as they come in, unable to bring yourself to delete the messages like Beomgyu advised when you told him about them.

“Just block his number, ____.” Avi huffs, crossing her arms as she stares down at you. You look away and draw figure eights into the couch cushions as you think.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

It’s silent for a beat, you think for a few seconds before shrugging. “I don’t know.”

Avi sighs and uncrosses her arms. “You’re being selfish.”

You stop drawing imaginary shapes on the couch and fix your eyes on Avi, waiting for her to continue.

“What about Jungwon? Have you stopped to consider what this would do to him if you let Jake just waltz his way back into your life?”

You purse your lips, you haven’t talked to the younger male since the party. He’s been reaching out as well, trying to gauge how you’re feeling with the sudden appearance of Jake but you’ve yet to open them let alone respond.

“I don’t k-”

Avi groans in annoyance, cutting you off. “-I swear if you say I don’t know one more time, ____! Can’t you see how bad Jake is for you? One appearance and a few text messages and look at you! You’re not talking to us anymore, you haven’t left your bed in almost two days! Jake is toxic, this isn’t healthy!”

For some reason you want to defend his name, want to call Avi out on being a bitch but you don’t. You know she’s being logical and Jake doesn’t deserve it so you keep quiet. When she realizes her approach may have been a bit too harsh she softens a bit and takes a seat beside you.

“I’m sorry, I just-.” She cuts herself off with a deep inhale. “Jake will never love you the way Jungwon has. It’s harsh but true. Maybe Jake did have his reasons but that doesn’t change the fact that his approach was wrong. He didn’t stop to consider how hurt you would be and that’s not okay. Do you really want to be with someone who can hurt you so easily?”

She gently pats your back before continuing knowing you won’t answer. “Jake is selfish, he’s only ever cared about himself and Jungwon has only cared about you. Don’t miss out on what could be a great love with Jungwon because you’re infatuated with the idea of being with Jake.”

With that, she gets up and leaves you to stew in your thoughts. She’s right, Jungwon was the one to stay and pick up the pieces. He was the one to show you that love didn’t have to be painful, he’s patient, kind and above all absolutely madly in love with you. He healed you from the pain Jake caused so why are you self sabotaging? Who’s to say Jake won’t hurt you again? That he even has a valid reason for stringing you along?

Your phone buzzes on the couch pulling you out of your reverie. You sigh, expecting to find another text from Jake as you pick it up to look at it only to find it’s not from him but rather the other male you’ve been ignoring.

[November 17th, 7:37 PM]

[jungwon]: do you want to grab lunch with me at tatte tmr at 2?

You want to scream at how fate is playing out, now you really have to choose.

[November 18th, 2:17 PM]

You march up the sidewalk to the sound of the steady patter of rain against the pavement that leads to the little cafe that’s tucked between the huge city buildings and hidden away from view with vines crawling up its side. You come to a stop in front of the door and take a deep breath to calm yourself before entering.

A part of you is scared you’ve made the wrong decision, you want to turn around and run to him but you know you need to see this through. People love to think about the what if’s: what if I chose the wrong major? What if we weren’t meant to ever meet? What if things had just gone the way I had so desperately wanted them to?

For you, it's what could have been that plagues your mind. To you, they’re far worse than what if’s because they were within your reach, the possibility of it coming to fruition so near but never close enough.

Jake has been your biggest what could have been, your almost. You try and reason that it’s okay that you picked him in the end, you need to know why. Why your love wasn’t enough, why the two of you aren’t together, why he was so quick to give up on the two of you.

You head inside and note the cafe isn’t big, it’s small and cozy. You spot Jake easily, he’s sitting near the back by a window facing you. He offers you a hesitant smile and wave of his hand. You exhale and slowly walk towards his booth and slide into the seat across from him. He meekly slides a drink across the table.

“I know you always liked lattes so I ordered one for you, I hope you don’t mind.”

You look down at the drink he had slid over to your side. It sits prettily in a white china cup, a leaf pattern in delicate milky foam among the pale brown. You wrap your fingers around it, enjoying the heat that spreads through your hands, grateful for the little warmth it provides. You take a hesitant sip, it’s bitter, but you recall telling Jake that only babies ask for hot chocolate.

Truth is, you had stopped drinking lattes once your friendship with him ended, the drink brought back too many unwanted memories. Memories of walking to the nearest cafe in Brisbane during finals season to get your coffee fix to stay up and finish studying were too apparent and hurt too much.

You take a bigger sip and this time let the warm liquid sit on your tongue for longer. You can't smell the bitterness of coffee beans in the warm air of the cafe and you feel safe and calm for just a moment. You allow yourself to get enveloped in the smell of baking bread and let your worries slip away for just a split second.

You place the cup back onto the table and slowly come back to reality. “Thank you.”

Jake shoots a shy smile your way and shrugs, “anything for you.”

You clear your throat and sit straighter, back on alert. You fiddle with the handle of your teacup not knowing what to say. Was this a mistake after all?

Jake, sensing your hesitance, decides to speak up first. “I’m sorry.”

“Why’d you do it?”

Jake studies your face for a good minute. He notes all the subtle changes about you, he picks up on your new hairstyle and the change in your clothes. He also picks up on the awkwardness that hangs in the air, things have never been this tense between the two of you and he doesn’t know how to deal with it.

“I was scared that I wouldn’t be enough.” Jake looks away for a brief moment to collect his emotions and make his apology sound as sincere as it can be. “Ever since we were nine you’ve loved me and I was scared that I would mess things up, that once we made things official you would expect more from me, more that I didn’t know how to give and that ultimately I would be the cause of your unhappiness and all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, ____.”

“I had enough love for the both of us,” you softly confess, your heart breaking at the revelation of how he truly felt at the time. “Why didn’t you just say that? Why didn’t you let me love you?”

Jake gulps, tears stinging his eyes. “Because it didn’t seem like a fair trade. You don’t deserve someone broken. I thought love came with conditions and I didn’t want to drain you.”

You frown, growing annoyed with how he declares how you feel. It irks you how his brain works, how he assumed how you would react, how you would feel rather than giving you the opportunity to brave through the motions together.

“You don’t get to just make decisions on my half.”

Jake stiffly nods. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Your hands ball up into fists, anger beginning to consume your body. “I’m sorry isn’t enough! I was in love with you Jake! I was willing to go to the ends of the earth just to see you smile! Why didn’t you just talk to me? I would have loved you enough until you could love yourself! We could have made it work!”

Jake shakes his head, “no we couldn’t have.”

You glare at him, “why the fuck not!?”

This time Jake stays silent. Your eyes challenge him though, begging him to continue. To give you one good reason as to why he walked away but he gives you nothing, once again making you look like a fool for throwing caution to the wind and picking him.

Angry tears pool in your eyes as you forcefully stand from your seat and stare down at Jake. He looks up at you in surprise and shame. “Don’t you fucking get it? Even after all this time, I’m still in love with you!” You scoff as you see his eyes widening at your confession. “And yet you still can’t be honest with me, I feel so stupid. You make me stupid Sim Jaeyun.”

You don’t wait for him to respond before you’re bolting out of the coffee shop and out into the rain. It’s coming down harder now than it was when you left. You let out a string of curses at how soaked you’re getting and at how embarrassed you feel for confessing your love to Jake.

“____! ____, wait!”

You hear him calling out to you but you don’t stop, if anything it spurs you on to walk faster. The streets of Newbury are astonishingly empty due to the rain making it seemingly easy for a clean escape. What you fail to take into account though is Jake’s ability to sprint due to years of soccer.

He grabs onto your arm and spins you around to face him, determination written all over his face.

“I don’t deserve love, ____ I don’t!” Jake can feel his head spin with hurt, pain and daunting thoughts that have always plagued his self-deprecating mind. “That’s why I walked away. I can’t be loved, not by you, not my dad, not by anyone. I’m not worthy of it… I’m not a lovable person.”

“Oh my Gosh..” You place a hand over your mouth, emotions reaching a crescendo as you raise your voice. “Yes you are, Jake. Why do you think I’m standing here and telling you I love you? Why do you think I ever did any of the things I’ve done for you? Couldn’t you see it in the way I looked at you? In the way I touched you, the way I trusted you? You’re worth every fucking last bit of love I have.”

“You are the greatest love I have ever known, ____. It felt selfish to keep you all to myself knowing you could have had more! Knowing I was holding you back-”

You shake your head cutting him off, “I only ever wanted you. You were always more than enough Jake and I wish you had just told me! I would have reassured you each and every time! That’s what you do when you love someone!”

Jake suddenly closes the gap between you, gripping your face intimately as he looks into your frantic eyes. “I didn’t know how to talk through my emotions, ____. I thought it was better to deal with it alone and that caused me the best thing I’ve ever had. I’m still in love with you. My feelings are so strong I don’t know what to do with myself. I can’t think straight, I don’t think straight when it comes to you.” Your eyes stare back at his desperate ones, Jake trying so desperately hard to get you to understand. “I want to try again. I want to do it right this time and never let you go.”

Your lips quiver, taken aback by his warm touch and confession. Unable to resist the urge any longer, Jake slowly leans forward, one hand firmly grasping your waist, the other resting at the base of your neck, and presses your lips together. Lightning cracks overhead as the rain continues to pour down on the two of you, soaking through your clothes. But none of it matters. A warmth radiates through you as you continue kissing Jake as the world seems to melt around you. After a few moments, you slowly pull away, taking a small gasp of air. A sheepish smile creeps onto Jake’s face as you sigh against his lips, breaking eye contact for a moment before Jake plants another, shorter kiss on your lips.

“I love you, ____. I’m sorry for not trying hard enough before but please, give me another chance to love you the right way. The way you deserve. I’m not scared anymore.”

You sniffle and nod your head, “”Okay. Let’s try again. No hiding this time. I want all parts of you Jaeyun, even the parts that scare you.”

He smiles and pecks your lip one last time. “You have all of me.”

814 notes · View notes

sophlovesjeong · 2 months

Text

Heaven & Back (p. sh, l. hs) 1/2

Gods & Monsters—>(yes, you have to read this first.) pairing. step-brother sunghoon x female reader x step-brother heeseung

genre. step-siblings AU, pwp, dubcon, M/F, fluff smut humor angst etc, buckle up it’s a wild ride

warnings. morally grey characterizations(mostly Sunghoon- is he batshit? maybe.), profanity, toxicity, sibling rivalry, mentions of alcohol/addiction, hangover symptoms, full smut warnings under cut. minors DNI.

wc. 24,000

now playing. Heaven and Back//Chase Atlantic

a/n. unfortunately I had to split this part in half because of length, will post the second half as soon as possible. thank you all for reading🩷

smut warnings. public hand job/fingering, unprotected sex, rough sex, drunk sex(consensual, but it gets a bit painful), multiple orgasms, degradation, oral, choking, face-fucking, cream pie, thigh riding, finger sucking, etc etc

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Sunghoon.

There’s no way to explain the way Sunghoon treats you justifiably. He’s cold, hot, lukewarm, makes blood rush to parts you wish he had no prowess over.

He’s someone you would have dreamt about in your younger years. The most popular, best looking, top of the class, everyone’s crush to write about in their diary after school. What he wore that day, how his cologne smelled, the millisecond of eye contact you thought he made with you. He really shouldn’t even be sitting across from you right now sporting a diabolic scowl, really showing off how pink the ring on your middle finger left his cheek after smacking him across the face to get out of your room.

He’s everyone’s dream, an angel, the perfect prince charming, and he’s your hell. Slightly smirking at you the longer you continue to glare at him and dig the tip of your butter knife into the dining room table, as if to tempt you to try it. Chuck it at his gorgeous face, slice his cheek open with your pathetic excuse for a weapon.

He’s the nightmare that snatches you up when you’re most vulnerable, the nightmare that lulls you to fall asleep earlier just to experience sooner. The darkest of dreams that make your heart race, gasping for breath when you shoot awake lost in a spiral of confusion. And yet he can be found in your most safest comforting spaces, infiltrating every area of your life.

“Heeseung, nice of you to join us.” Mr. Park exclaims surprised, eyebrows raised up further wrinkling his otherwise smooth features. “Haven’t had a family dinner at home like this in ages.”

“Yeah, Hee, what brings you out of your gloom and doom bat cave tonight?” Sunghoon asks, a snarky pitch to his tone with his gaze unwavering from yours even as his brother chooses the seat next to you.

Heeseung shrugs, reaching beneath the table to find your hand and tangle his fingers between yours. “Hungry.”

“Well, that’s great. Look at us!” Mr. Park beams happily, reaching for your mother’s hand atop the table to do the same. It’s daunting to watch unfold, instinctively squeezing around the thicker digits wrapped with yours. “One big happy family.”

Sunghoon snorts, playing it off with a cough and reaching for a glass of water while pretending to choke. “Went down the wrong pipe, excuse me.”

Heeseung’s thumb brushes over your hand, sensing the tenseness in your grip as you squeeze again. “Everything okay?” He whispers, leaning closer to nudge your shoulder with his.

So soft spoken, so delicate with you as if you’d shatter from a touch too harsh. He’s imperfect in ways that make him flawless, from haphazardly placed messy tendrils that fall before his eyes, to the genuine happy dorky smile he shows only for you. He’s safety, warmth, the blanket you cuddle deeper into that takes away all of your worries even if only for a moment.

The worry of what you’ve gotten yourself into has really built up, stuck between two opposites that seek the same endgame. There’s a way the older handles you, treats you like a fine piece of art that should be hung up and admired, can really only be described as heaven.

Heeseung, he’s your heaven. He’s your dream.

And yet you’ve grown attached to the nightmares that steal your precious sleep. The danger and fear of something so physically perfect ruining every wall you put up until you’re nothing but his.

You nod at him, reassuring him that you’re fine with a small smile.

He’s really perfect for you. He’s comfortable, adorable when his cheeks bunch up and he blinks at you slowly as a form of communication that only the two of you can understand.

Well. Sunghoon understands too, making a disgusted face as he rolls his eyes and leans back to stretch his legs out under the table. “Dad, actually, I’m glad we’re all here. You see, I wanted to bring this up before we wrap up the semester next week.”

“What’s going on son?” Mr. Park turns to face him, missing the startled bounce you make as sock covered toes glide up your calf.

“It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper family vacation, actually.. I don’t think the one we took to Florida should count.” He jokes, motioning toward Heeseung. “Right bro? We barely got to enjoy the water park.”

“It was Disney.” The older mutters, pursing his lips. Clearly not interested in rehashing the surprise trip their parents took them on to announce their split before dragging them off to different hotel rooms and leaving on separate flights.

Mr. Park clears his throat uncomfortably, tapping on the dining table. “Now son.”

“I was thinking!” Sunghoon grins, running his foot higher to dig between your locked knees. “With all of us now, we should really use this opportune moment to make memories. Next year I’ll be slammed with studies and my internship, Heeseung will be.. moving out, hopefully.” He mumbles, subtly shifting his sharp gaze back to you, patting your knee with the ball of his foot. “And you’ve always dreamt of visiting Europe.”

“That is true.” Your mother speaks up, sighing dreamily. “Italy and Paris are so beautiful this time of the year my love.”

She’s not speaking to you, tightening her grip on Mr. Park’s hand as she leans in to whisper by his ear for all of you to hear. “A second honeymoon?”

“Hmm,” he grins, pleased by the thought. “Ah yes.. mon chéri. You’d look delectable in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

“Sick.” Sunghoon says under his breath, motioning toward you and Heeseung. “All of us, you too big bro. I mean— look at how close they’ve already gotten, isn’t that Heeseung’s sweater?”

The thumb caressing your hand slowly pauses, shifty eyes catching your mother’s attention turn back to you. “Huh? All that money I spent on your nice clothes and here you are stealing your step-brother's hoodies?”

“Uhh..” Sunghoon manages to shove his foot between your legs while you scramble to explain, saved by Heeseung pointing at himself.

“You know what, I must have mixed my laundry in with the wrong pile again. I’m always doing that, my bad.”

“Well sweetie, that’s fine around the house.” She says with a forced smile, reaching to pinch the fabric on your arm. “But don’t start wearing this outside, will give your potential suitors the wrong impression.”

“Wouldn’t want that, would you?” Sunghoon interrupts, fighting against your hand pushing at his foot.

“Right, noted.”

“It’s settled!” Mr. Park chimes, unaware of the tense atmosphere that his little brat of a son has created. “Just booked our flights, we’ll do a few days in Italy and then get the train to Paris.”

“Fabulous!” Your mom shrieks, forgetting about the oversized hoodie you have on as she leaps into her husband’s arms and plants kisses up and down his cheek.

“Wonderful.” Sunghoon says, clasping his hands together. “A summer vacation all together, like one big happy family.” He nods at you and Heeseung, shoving his foot away abruptly and making sure to knock your hands apart. “Can’t wait.”

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Traveling expands your mind, it helps you to learn about yourself and to grow as a person. Exploring new countries is a once in a lifetime experience that you’ll recall for years to come.

But traveling is also a pain in the ass, especially given the predicament you’ve landed yourself in.

“This is ridiculous.” You mumble under your breath half-asleep, curled up in the backseat of an XL Uber at the crack of dawn.

“Aren’t you kids so excited?!” Your mom turns with a huge smile plastered on her face, clutching at the leather seat to get a good look at you squished against the door. “Boys! Make some room for your sister!”

The three different sounds of disgusted groans mesh into each other as Heeseung and Sunghoon adjust by pressing their thighs together, both coming in and out of sleep.

“I always dreamed of vacationing with a big family like this.” She continues, much too energetic for 4 in the morning.

“Yes honey, it’ll be a real treat for us.” Your step-father says uninterested, reaching to pat her thigh. “Don’t forget to tell them the best part.”

“Oh right!” She pipes up, turning back around to search through her purse. “Your father wanted to make this really special, especially after our discussion over dinner.”

Sunghoon straightens up, leaning over to catch a glimpse of the three plane tickets she pulls out and waves between the seats. “Your father was gracious enough to hook you guys up with business class! The seats are a lot more spacious!”

“Oh wow,” Sunghoon chimes, attempting to snatch them only for your mother to smack his hand away. “Business class for all of us? That must’ve cost you a pretty penny dad.”

“Not all of us.” His father corrects, turning slightly to lower his prescription glasses down the bridge of his nose in a snobbish manner. “We will be in first class.”

Sunghoon’s jaw drops, jerking forward as the driver rushes into a spot at the terminal drop-off. “What?! That’s not fair!”

“Do you have a job?” He says quickly with a sharp tongue, smirking and exiting the vehicle with nothing left to say.

“What about us?! Your kids?? There’s still time to upgrade our seats!” Sunghoon chases after him, luggage dragging behind as you follow suit to check your bags.

“I got it.” Heeseung says, throat still dry and gravelly having just rolled out of bed and fallen back to sleep against your shoulder.

“Ah, my bags are really heavy Hee.”

“I can handle it.” He reassures through gritted teeth, the wind knocked out of his chest as he hoists your luggage onto the scale. “You pack a dead body?”

“Not yet.” You wink. “Who knows, by the end of this trip Sunghoon might be chopped into little pieces inside of my carryon.”

“I’m sorry about this, you know.” Heeseung’s arm lifts to wrap around your shoulder, pausing midair hesitantly as you both follow your parents and Sunghoon continues to bargain with your step-dad into the security line. “Genuinely feel so bad that we’re all here accompanying you on your dream vacation.”

“Could be worse I guess, could’ve just been me and Sunghoon.” Nudging into his side, you ease into the space under his arm with a smile. “At least you are here too.”

“Ah, I don’t know about that..” Heeseung plays with his messy hair, a nervous habit, biting down on his lip. “I haven’t flown in such a long time. Not since I was a kid and would fly to stay with my Grandma during summer. Never done an international flight either..”

“Are you nervous?”

“Kind of..” he hates to admit it, looking away shyly as you step out of your shoes to walk through the body scanners.

“Don’t be nervous.” Smoothly, you bump into him as you attempt to hop back into your shoes, face meeting his chest. “I’ll take care of you.”

Heeseung’s cheeks redden instantaneously, followed by the high pitched tone of your mother’s voice squealing and cooing over your ‘sibling relationship’. The blush rises further, making way to his ears as he ducks to look away under Sunghoon’s furious gaze.

He snatches the tickets from your step-dad, charging toward you to hook his elbow with yours. “Come on sis, I’ll buy you some coffee.”

“Aww, what a doll!” Your mother sings, waving you off before you can begin to protest.

“You can thank me at some point you know.” Sunghoon says snarkily, pulling you closer to his side the further you get from your gate. “You get to experience Europe in luxury now thanks to me, even get a nice early entry to your fancy overpriced seat now.”

“I’ll have to make sure Mr. Park knows how grateful I am then.” You sneer, pushing him away to get in the single file line of exhausted travelers desperate for a taste of caffeine. Sunghoon hums, draping himself over your back to wrap his arms around your waist from behind and lightly press his lips to your ear.

“And how do you plan to show Mr. Park exactly how thankful you are?” His lips lift against the shell of your ear into a smirk, gently kissing before pulling away to order, signaling for you to add yours.

“I can pay for my own.”

“Quit being a brat.”

“It takes one to know one.”

“Is that what you’re into?”

The cashier stares between the two of you, uncomfortable and mouth agape. Sunghoon quickly displays a charming smile and adds a hefty tip along with the payment, gripping your arm to drag you to a corner and continue on where you left off.

“Is that it?” He grins, flattening a palm to the wall above your head to trap you in place. “That whole emo grunge soft boy shit, it’s not just an act huh? What? Heeseung lets you slap him around in bed too or something?”

“He’s your brother.” You snap, shoving at his chest.

“Well what is it?” Sunghoon sinks down onto his knees quickly, sliding large palms down from your waist to your hips. “Want me to act like some pathetic groveling puppy for you?” He blinks up slowly, sucking in his bottom lip only to release the pink flesh with a coat of spit. Frantically you glance around, thankful that everyone seems too caught up in their phones or focused on the baristas working hard behind the back bar.

“I can do that for you too.” He keeps going, pushing his mouth out into a cute pout. “I can be whatever you want me to be. Go on.” Hands on your hips tighten, kneading your curves to encourage you. “Pull on my hair, maybe you’ll like it more than you think.”

His head lowers more, shooting your anxiety higher until his fingers find loose laces and his tongue clicks. “Can’t walk around with your shoes untied.”

“Hoon..” instinctively, you reach to stroke through freshly washed silky black strands, adding a light tug as you reach the crown of his head. Half-lidded lost eyes peer up at you, drawing your digits to ball up and form a fist, pulling with more frustration.

“Harder.” He mutters, successfully tying your shoelaces.

“Stop it.” You grit, fisting the tendrils trapped between your fingers roughly. “Get up.”

Pretty pink lips part open, tongue dragging across the top row of his teeth with extra time along his sharp canines. “Is that an order?”

“Two Americanos for Sunghoon!”

Breaking into a smile, he jumps up fast and steals a kiss before turning away to grab your drinks. “That’s my name!”

You haven’t even made it onto the plane yet, let alone the next two weeks in different foreign countries.

Fuck.

He smiles at you as if nothing out of the ordinary has just happened, passing your drink to you before turning to grab a wad of napkins. With a swift pointed glare aimed at his back, you rush ahead to get away from him, not wanting to allow him more alone time with you. As long as you stick by your parents' sides and Heeseung’s, he shouldn’t be able to bother you much..

“Everything good?” Heeseung tugs his headphones off to hang on his neck, eyeing the Americano in your grip and your flustered appearance.

“Yeah.” You swat at the air with your free hand to brush it off. Biting your tongue to hold back a curse under your breath about how God damn annoying his younger brother can be. The evil little shit in question plops down right across from the two of you sipping on his coffee with raised eyebrows and a hint of smile playing at his lips.

“Oh, sorry for not getting you anything bro.” Sunghoon apologizes sarcastically, blinking in a mocking manner. “I know how upset your stomach gets from rollercoasters, gonna be tough for you being up in the air for this long.”

Heeseung smiles tight-lipped, slowly nodding and reaching to pat your knee. “Can I try yours?”

“Of course.”

Without missing a beat he smirks and leans into your hand, tipping the drink to his lips, not even bothering to take it from you, subtly sneaking a look at his brother’s expression falling into a disappointed frown from the corner of his eye. “Yummy.”

Sunghoon’s teeth grind, distracting his mouth with a long sip of his drink, obnoxiously stirring the ice around inside. Silently wishing for his brother to be struggling in the small plane bathroom with a line of angry travelers waiting for him to make the walk of shame back to his seat after blowing up the airplane's toilet. He laughs at the thought, rolling his eyes as you reach to wipe away a droplet of watered down caffeine from Heeseung’s lip with your thumb.

Disgusting.

“Kids, you father and I are boarding now!” Your mom bounces over, clapping excitedly. “We have priority, ciao my darlings! Next time I see you we’ll be in Italy!” Blowing a kiss, she spins back around to join your father in line, handed a glass of champagne before they even step on the plane. Real fancy.

“Can’t believe dad shafted us like this.” Sunghoon groans, eyeing his ticket before leaning over to read yours, lips pouting in thought. “Say, Hee, what’s your seat letter?”

Heeseung hums, lifting his ticket for both of you to see. “C?”

Pouty pink lips lift up, smacking his ticket against his palm as he jumps to stand and nods toward the flashing light announcing for business class to board next. Without another word he moves along ahead of the both of you, standing separately in line as you take a minute longer to grab your carry-on and end up a few behind him in line.

Heeseung chews on his nails in the meantime, eyes jumping around your gate, patting his pockets with his free hand. “Hee, you’re really nervous, aren’t you?” You ask, concerned by the little jump he makes at the sound of your voice. Immediately dropping his hand from his mouth, he rubs his stomach in an attempt to hide the audible sound that emits, shaking his head quickly with a forced smile.

“A little bit.”

“It’ll be okay baby, I promise.” You have to smile, rubbing his back soothingly as you walk onto the plane, mumbling to yourself about how cute he is.

“Row 23.” Heeseung says, lifting his ticket to read and scan the aisle numbers. “Should be right her—“

Sunghoon sits in the aisle seat, already leaned back with wireless headphones popped inside of his ears and his eyes shut. “Oh, we’re all together..”

“Ugh, well..” you grunt, shoving your bag onto the carrier above your row. “You should take the window, I think it’d help to have a hard surface to rest against if you feel nauseous at any point.”

“Are you sure?” Heeseung asks apprehensively, scratching his nape, feeling guilty. “Didn’t you say something before about loving the window seat..”

“These seats are pretty big.” You nod reassuringly, nudging him to sit down. “Never seen this much leg space before.”

“That’s because this is business class.” Sunghoon mutters, eyes remaining shut with a relaxed expression. “Not even a quality business class at that.”

“I think it’s nice.” You whisper, rolling your eyes as you settle down between your step-brothers. Stuck in the middle once again, the common theme your life seems to insist on following as of late.

“Yes, well.” Sunghoon’s neck twists, scanning your body up and down. “I’ll have to show you the real luxurious way to travel next time.”

Next time.

Glaring at him, you purse your lips and turn to sit on your hip, leaning against Heeseung’s side. “How’re you feeling?”

“Not bad..” he nods, clutching at the armrests at his sides as the plane begins to move. “Shit.”

“Here, you should take some of my melatonin gummies so that you can at least try to sleep.” Digging through your bag, you look up just in time to see his eyes scrunch shut, lips pulled over his clenched teeth to hold down a cry.

“Shit, this doesn’t feel too great.” Heeseung whispers, dropping his chin just in time for your hand to cup his cheek.

“Hey hey, it’s okay, you’re safe. You’re with me.” Trying to lift his face up, you bring the gummies to his mouth, nodding for him to take them. “Sleeping through the flight makes it speed by.”

Heeseung nods, swallowing the gummies with a kiss along your fingertips to finish. He sighs frustrated, head knocking back against the headrest. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Biting down on your lip, you pat his cheek and reach for the blanket provided by the plane, unwrapping it quickly to drape over your laps. “I think I know what can help..”

Sunghoon seems fast asleep as you peer over your shoulder to find his head tilted to one side, lips parted releasing shallow breaths. Scooting closer to Heeseung’s side, you lift the armrest between you, sliding a palm up his thigh. Initial surprise has his leg jumping up, eyes going wide in question.

“Shhh.” With a finger pressed to your lips you move closer until there’s zero to no space left between you, sneaking your hand up to his groin beneath the blanket. His lips part with a small sound, pupils large and dark, successfully distracted by your fingers wrapping around the shape of his length over his sweats. “To help you sleep..”

Panic rises up his throat, scanning the area before nodding and giving you the go ahead. He bites down on his lap the second your fingers trace beneath his shirt and play around his navel, circling the area before tickling your way down to the waistband of his sweats. “Be good.” You whisper, pressing your lips to his ear. “Don’t make a sound.”

He could grovel at that, eyes fluttering shut and back open to bump his forehead into yours with a knowing look. Letting you know how evil you are for this and how much he likes it judging from the way his cock twitches under the smooth glide of your palm sliding past his boxers.

A soft haziness draws his eyelids lower, hooded and heavy as you wrap around his size and pump him to full hardness. To anyone passing by you could simply appear to be cuddling, resting your heads together as a makeshift pillow, warm and cozy sharing a blanket. It’s nothing suspicious you wouldn’t normally see on a flight, but the thrill of it excites the both of you enough. Wrapping tight around his length to pull your fist down to the tip and smear a bead of pre-cum across his slit.

Heeseung hisses, biting down on his lip to contain any further sound of pleasure, gently nodding against your forehead to continue. Clutching your thighs together, you work to twist your wrist, jerking his length up and down with the help of wetness leaking from his tip.

It’s all hot breaths of air fanning across each other’s lips, the ends of your noses tapping occasionally, eyelashes tickling your cheeks. Drowsiness and arousal written across his face the more you work to stroke his length, expertly squeezing around the head how he likes.

“Fuck.” He curses, head dropping back to take deep breaths with his eyes shut. The bob in his throat moving up and down at a fast pace much like your hand. The hand job’s mostly dry, just slick enough to coat your palm to rub up and down without going too fast. It’s enough given your current situation to have his ass lifting off the chair, fucking up into your warm tight grip. Grasping the armrest on his right side he nods rapidly, turning to huff over your mouth. “I’m cumming.”

Without worrying about the mess you kiss him softly, noses pressed together as you finish him off and the lightest squeaked out moan sings across your lips. He falls flat to the seat instantly, head rolling from side to side as you cup around his cockhead to catch his release.

Heeseung’s chest rises and falls quickly, taking in deep breaths with a hint of smile on his face, turning to the side to mouth ‘thank you’ when you draw free and reach for the blanket wrapping to discard the mess in your hand.

“Sleep.” You mouth back, kissing his cheek before grabbing your purse to clean your hands off with a wet wipe.

Peaceful eyes blink at you slowly, head resting near the window, blowing you a kiss. “I’ll have sweet dreams thanks to you now.”

Fixing the blanket to cover his upper half, you settle back, squirming in your seat uncomfortably now with wetness stuck between your thighs. The seat of your panties clinging to your core the more you move to adjust. A gasp drops from your lips, jumping up at the arm slinging over your stomach from your left.

Sunghoon’s head drops to your shoulder, body slouched, hand landing between your thighs. Squeezing your lips, you jerk against him, bumping your shoulder on his cheek that swells up against you. “Ugh.”

Settling back in your seat, you roll your eyes, circling his wrist to at least remove his hand from the awkward position he’s ended up in. Thick fingers cup over your mound as you start to pull him away, lowly grumbling against your shoulder. “Thought you got away with that, didn’t you?”

Snapping your head to look at him, Sunghoon peers up behind thick eyelashes, squeezing your center over your pants. “Did all that for him and he can’t even take care of you?”

“Hoon.” You whisper sternly, nose twitching angrily. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Oh, I was.” He sits up only a bit, dragging his lips up the side of your throat to your earlobe. “But all of that—“

He pants mockingly- hah- ha- ahh-hah against your ear, finishing with a light peck. “You expect me to sleep through all of that noise the two of you were making?” His tongue clicks, glancing at Heeseung fast asleep next to you. “Can’t believe how fucking lazy he is, letting you suffer like this on a long flight?”

“I’m fine.” You grit. “I wanted him to sleep.”

Shaking his head, he releases you to grab his own blanket off his lap to throw over yours with his hand returning, shoving between your clenched thighs. “Well, good news for you, I’ve slept enough.”

“Sunghoon.”

It’s to your detriment how easily you ease up at the sight of his teeth gleaming, forehead resting against yours as he begins to smile. “Say my name again.”

“You’re seriously a piece of work.”

“You’re drawing too much attention.” He snickers, squeezing your inner thigh. “I can’t have you losing sleep over this problem.” Biting down on his lower lip, he positions his chin on your shoulder, gaze low to where his hand moves beneath the blanket.

“I’m not touching you.” You hiss, thigh jerking.

“You’re so mean to me..” he huffs a laugh, nose brushing along your throat. “First you didn’t even want me here, now you could care less about how exhausted I will feel when we land?”

“Why should I care.”

“Because I care,” he breathes, eyes fluttering open to look at the side of your face. “About you.”

“No you don’t.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing this.” Thick fingers sneak in past the waistband of your sweats, accommodating easily with the extra space. Good thing you opted for looser bottoms to stay comfortable on this flight..

“You shouldn’t.”

“Then tell me to stop.” He whispers, lips grazing your earlobe.

The tips of his fingers follow the damp seam between your folds, pushing the cotton material of your underwear deeper. Silence grows louder with your breath, leaning back into your seat as he taps your bundle of nerves, stroking down lower.

“Tell me to stop.” He repeats, eyebrow raised.

You should. You really need to stop him. Why won’t your mouth work, why can’t you stop.

You swallow instead to coat your quickly drying throat with saliva, shivering as he laughs lightly against your ear. “That’s what I thought.”

His strong digits wrinkle together the seat of your panties, drawing them to one side to free your core for his touch. Soft light airy touches kiss up and down, the tip of his fingers working through the mess of wet slick that’s permeated. “You’re lucky this is a long flight, bet you’ve soaked right through.”

He tucks in closer, gaze lowering back to your lap that jerks up with each motion, forearm moving up and back down as he coats your cunt with arousal from top to bottom. “You got this wet from jerking him off?” He breathes out, teeth clenched.

He goes on without your response, circling your entrance that pushes out another wave of wet heat, convulsing against his touch. “Wanna be inside your tight hole.” He says huskily against your throat. “Should let me fuck you right now while he’s sleeping.”

Fuck. It’s his fingers dipping inside to the first knuckle that has your eyes rolling back, sucking down a whimper as you turn away only to see Heeseung sleeping cutely, lips pouted, panting short breaths out. Turning away, your nose lands in Sunghoon’s thick head of hair, inhaling a deep breath of his clean freshly shampooed scalp, adding to the dizzy atmosphere surrounding you.

“Should we? You know I can’t make it fast.” Thrusting his fingers in further, he lifts his face to look at you, eyelids heavy. “Should I meet you in the bathroom? Fuck you over the sink.”

“Hoon..” gritting your teeth, you have to bite down on the sides of your tongue to not moan. Three thick digits move in and out of you faster, sending up sounds of wetness past the blanket between your bodies.

“You’re so wet,” he huffs, thumb pressing on your clit, swiveling your nerves in a figure eight. “Wanna be inside you so bad.”

“N-no.”

“Ah,” his tongue clicks, biting back a smile, cheek dimpling. “It’s always no with you, where’s the fun in that?”

Fearing that you’ll let out a moan, you purse your lips together, the back of your head glued to the seat.

“We could join the mile high club.” He laughs quietly, pushing his fingers in as deep as they’ll go from this angle. Reaching the ends to find the spongy spot inside of you. “Doesn’t have to be now, we always have the flight back.”

His forearm jerks, heel of his palm smacking against your clit, digits shaking in place. Gripping his wrist, you stare at him pleadingly, chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Wanna cum?” He asks, moving closer to shove his other hand inside. Without skipping a beat he circles your clit, massaging the stiff nub as he continues to assault your insides. “Squeeze that tight pussy around me, wanna suck you clean off you hand.”

Fuck.

That’s all it takes to push you over, nails digging into his forearm hard enough to leave crescent moon pink and red marks behind. A moan sneaks past your lips, masking the sound with a cough, kicking your feet on the floor.

“What a good girl, listened so well.”

To make matters worse, he brings his glistenings digits to his lips, gaze trained on yours. “Now you can sleep.”

“B-but..”

Sunghoon’s tongue passes between his fingers, leisurely licking at the mess coating his skin. “Don’t worry about me.” He hums softly, sucking his middle finger between his lips. “Not the first time you’ve blue balled me.”

“I can,” you stutter, directing your eyes to his lap. “..do it.”

“Sleep.” Popping his digit free, he grabs the blanket and tucks it around your arms. “I’ll see you when we land.”

The tip of your tongue itches to say more, swallowing down the incessant urge to say anything else. He’s right, this is for the best, you should sleep.. even if it feels peculiar and out of the ordinary.

Maybe he’s bored? Getting tired of you? Maybe it’s Miyeon..

As if he can hear your rampant thoughts, he turns and plants a kiss on your cheek. “I like being the last to touch you before you sleep, you’ll dream of me now.”

Yeah. He’s definitely not getting over you.

His cocky smile fades away as he lays back and sighs, eyes falling shut. “Now sleep.”

Right. Sleep..

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

“That flight was a lot easier thanks to you.” Heeseung says between a yawn, leaning over to kiss your cheek. “Thank you.”

“S’not a problem..” trying to ignore Sunghoon’s presence, you exit the plane together, catching up with your parents who also take time to stretch and rub the sleep from their eyes.

After an hour more at the airport you get inside of another taxi van, once again stuck between the two brothers.

“Get all that jet lag out of your system, kids.” Mr. Park says, pushing his sunglasses on. “We’ll be at the hotel soon, another hour or so.”

Luckily for you, Sunghoon takes his instruction to heart and immediately succumbs to sleep, setting in how tired you still really are after such a long flight. The rides calm and quiet to the hotel thanks to the time difference. Even as your eyes fall shut you’re mindful to not get too comfortable, keeping your neck up and not resting on Heeseung’s shoulder. Nothing that could raise questions or possible suspicions while in the presence of your parents.

The hotels every bit of five stars you could only ever dream of, greeted by a bellhop who takes your larger bags, led inside to a luxurious lobby fitted with beverages and fruits for guests.

“This is real nice.” You mumble, slowly spinning to admire the art details painted on the ceiling.

“Expected a Holiday Inn, did you?” Sunghoon snorts, adjusting his carry on.

“Alright kids, here’s your keys. Don’t bother us unless it’s an emergency.” Mr. Park laugh’s jokingly, immediately fixing his expression. “I mean it.”

“Be good.” Your mom adds, wrapping around his bicep. “Time for the honeymoon we deserved darling.”

Heeseung grabs your smaller bags, sleepily nodding toward the elevators. “Least we won’t have to see them with their tongues down each other's throats.”

The ride up to your floor remains silent, the three of you too exhausted after dealing with customs and the long shuttle ride from the airport. You can’t help but feel partially grateful for the lack of awkward tension after what took place on the plane.

“This is our floor.” Sunghoon announces, removing himself and his belongings first.

“I’m number 203.”

“Oh, I am too?” Heeseung slows down, watching as his brother unlocks the door to room 203.

“It’s a suite..”

“What’d you think princess? That we’d each be getting our own rooms.” Sunghoon says condescendingly, nodding to one of the doors. “I’ll take that one.”

Heeseung sets down your bags, taking in the large living room leading out to a balcony and spacious kitchen. “It’s not bad, could be much much worse. Which room do you want?”

Offering him a smile as a silent thank you for letting you choose first, unlike someone else, you pass across to the room near the kitchen instead of the one next to Sunghoon’s. “Oh it’s a little small, no bathroom..”

Heeseung calls you to the other free bedroom, pointing out the connected bathroom. “You should take this one, I don’t mind the smaller one.”

“I’m sure you’ll hardly spend time in there anyway.” You say mischievously, drawing him in to squeeze around his waist. “Can’t complain, only way my first time here could possibly be any better is having you here.”

He nuzzles into your hair, taking in deep breaths, hands caressing your back. “Wish it could be just the two of us..”

There’s a pang of guilt that thrum’s through your chest, burying your cheek against his chest for warmth. Without saying more than a sound of agreement you can’t erase the sensation of Sunghoon’s touch between your legs mere hours ago.

You shouldn’t feel immense guilt, you’re not technically in a relationship, but you could have stopped him.

You could have said no, could have not indulged him, could have broken his damn wrist..

But you didn’t, and that’s enough to have you cowering further into Heeseung’s hold. “Tired.”

“Me too baby, let’s get some rest.”

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

“Let’s relax today.” You suggest, stretching out your arms as you approach Heeseung and wrap him in a tight hug. “Flight was so long, and my body clocks all off. Wanna go down by the pool for a bit?”

“A little late for a swim, don't you think?” Mimicking your position, he loops around your waist, sliding his palms down to where your bottom bubbles out.

“We’re in Italy..”

He chuckles softly, leaning in to nudge his nose against yours. “Go put on your swimsuit, I’ll be back here in a minute.”

Sunghoon lingers around the kitchen area, pretending to scour through the different hotel provided snack options he can have charged to the room. Pretending to not listen or watch out of the corner of his eye as you stand on your toes to press a kiss to his brother’s cheek and run off to get pool ready. Of course, you won’t invite him, wouldn’t even think of it.

But that’s fine. He grins, picking up an apple from the gifted basket decorated with only premium quality fruits. He huffs a breath, shining the red apples skin on his shirt as he makes way to the balcony with a perfect view of the hotel's pool, and boy, is it perfect.

Because Sunghoon has a perfect clear shot of the two of you walking in, of the stringy red bikini hugging your curves beautifully, of Heeseung’s hand on your hip as he leads you to an empty cabana. Even if he can’t eavesdrop on your conversation at this distance, it’s good enough to keep an eye on how the two of you interact. Especially if he has anything to do with it, even better because neither of you will have a clue that your little pool date involved a third participant today.

“Hello, I’d like to order a bottle of your best Dom Perignon for my friends. They’re honeymooning and I’d love to surprise them with this gift.” Sunghoon explains to the bartender working the pool's bar, switching his focus to the bald man on the phone jotting everything down.

“That’ll be $290 sir.”

“Charge it to the suite, and throw in some of your best shots while you’re at it, keep them coming.” He instructs, biting down on his lip to contain a laugh. “Tell them it’s a gift from the hotel, something standard for your guests so that they don’t turn it down. Sweet kids, they’re too humble and refuse to accept my gifts.”

“Of course sir, will do.”

“Great.” He hangs up, watching as a waiter carries over a tray, the smile on his face growing as your face morphs to one of shock and Heeseung waves his hands to refuse the offer only for your surprised smile to fall into a pout.

Yes. Perfect.

“Aww come on Hee, why not?!” You whine, throwing yourself against his side to wrap around his arm. “Pleaseee, we don’t have to drink all of it.”

Heeseung visibly cringes, gaze shifting between you and the waiter. He lets out a long sigh, rubbing at his temples. “I really can’t drink any.”

“Heeseung, when will you ever be on vacation in Italy like this again?” Sitting up, you thank the waiter and motion for him to set down the tray, thanking him for the generous gift. The chilled champagne pours like liquid gold, taking a deep breath as you bring the flute to your nose and raise your eyebrows at him. “And not just in Italy, but with me.”

He laughs, face lifting to one side as he looks away and you crawl closer to him with another flute in hand. “Please? Just for fun, we could both use it after that flight.”

You really could use it after that, shaking off the thought of Sunghoon’s hand sneaking it’s way between your thighs.

“Just one drink.” Heeseung states, reaching for the flute you’ve extended toward him.

“To our first vacation.” Smiling, you clink your glasses together, practically moaning as you take a sip and your eyes roll back. “Oh, I really needed that.

Eyeing his own drink anxiously, he nods, admiring the way your shoulders instantly relax. It’s been over a year, he’s been good, stayed on track. One sip can’t hurt? It’s just some fancy champagne..

With a deep breath he brings the glass to his lips, sucking down a swig of mind crushing nightmares, demons he’s kept at bay until now.

One sip can’t hurt, but by the fifth time you’ve filled up his cup Heeseung can’t stop smiling. Can’t stop littering kisses up your chest and neck, can’t stop himself from feeling your body freely without a care, without concern for who could walk by.

“See? This is fun..” you giggle, lightheaded and tipsy by the time you empty the bottle. “This is what I needed.”

“Me? You needed me right?” He asks flirtatiously, nipping at your jaw. “God, you’re so sexy.”

“Stoppp.” Heat prickles your cheeks as you shove at his chest, reaching to cup his chin and push his lips out into a pout. “You’re so cute when you’re drunk.”

Heeseung blinks slowly, still in touch with his sober mind enough to register what you’ve just said clearly. “Never heard that before..”

“Whattt? I tell you how cute you are all of the time.”

Shaking his head, he circles your wrist and kisses your palm. “Usually everyone hates me when I drink.”

I hate me when I drink.

He sighs, curling up to your side, dragging your knuckles up and down his mouth as he loops your fingers together to hold your hand.

“What’s wrong baby?” You frown, pushing his hair back to gently pet his forehead.

He shrugs, blinking away moisture that’s made its way to his eyes, hot from the buzz building in his stomach. “Nothing right now, nothing’s wrong when I’m with you..”

“Mmm.. there is one thing.” You continue, clouded brain speaking with more confidence and honesty than you would sober. “Your brother, he’s such a pain in the ass.”

Heeseung’s smile returns, nodding and kissing your knuckles. “You’re right, he’s always been that way. Ever since we were kids. Sometimes I blame myself.”

“Why would you blame yourself?” You pause for a second, wanting to add that there’s nothing he could have ever done to encourage such deranged psychopathic behavior. “It’s your dads fault Sunghoon is the way that he is, if anything.”

“He’s definitely a part of it.” He agrees, pressing closer to your side. “Always feel like I could have done more, I should have done more. When our parents separated, that’s the last vacation I ever really went on..”

“I remember, sort of, that being mentioned..”

“I guess because we were so young, mom and dad didn’t think it’d be such a big deal. They promised to take us to Disneyland, only when we got there they checked into separate hotel rooms..” taking a deep breath, he eyes the empty champagne flutes sitting on the tray, now wishing for more to magically appear. “Mom told me we’d be taking a different flight home from dad and Hoonie. I didn’t really understand until we ended up at my grandparents house and stayed there for another year..”

“Fuck, no way, they just split you up like that without an explanation?” You ask, frown dragging down more.

“I started to understand after a while and.. once I figured it out.” His eyes fall shut, opening up to the same waiter returning with a flight of cocktails and tray of shots. “I started to drink.”

“Oh! Cocktails!?”

“Yes, for the lovely couple.” The waiter grins, setting the tray down. “Enjoy.”

“This is seriously the best hotel ever!” You cheer, too excited to down another drink to notice how much Heeseung’s frown has deepened, screaming at himself to not reach for another drink. “Wow, Hee you have to try this, oh my God this is seriously like drinking candy.”

“Yeah..” he whispers, fingers twitching. “One more can’t hurt.”

“Of course not! We’re on vacation babe, come on.”

With a more sober mind you wouldn’t have missed his tortured expression. Clear level headed thoughts could have stopped him from downing the next drink, from grabbing another, from slurring that you should order some more.

“Wait,” you hiccup, laughing, moving onto his lap. “We were talking about Disneyland.” You say cutely, tongue growing heavy inside your mouth. “Right?”

Heeseung’s glazed over eyes pan up and down your body, clutching your hips hungrily. “Yea that was,” he laughs, head shaking. “Worst vacation ever, l-last time I really saw Hoonie. Until high school.”

“High school?” Half registering what he’s even saying, you start to roll your hips down against him, bottom softly rutting on his crotch. “Whattt?”

“S’long story.” Droopy eyelids blink at you, tucking his bottom lip in, palms traveling to your butt.

“Tell meeeee.” You giggle, grabbing onto his shoulders. “That’s suchhh a long time?”

“Yeah it’s uhh— I don’t know. But Hoon, he really hated me. I started dating his crush or some shit.” He grunts, throat turning dry as he tries to focus on your waist curving in with each fluid movement. “I dunno, s-so dumb.”

“Seriously dumb.” You moan, completely lost in your blurred thoughts. The conversation flying over your head. “I think we should get back to the room babe.” You pant, wrapping his arm around your waist tighter. “Getting late.”

“One more drink?” He slurs, a lazy smile lifting one side of his face as he leans in to kiss your upper lip.

Shaking your head, you cup his cheeks, pressing your lower halves together harder. “I wanna go to the room, now.”

Letting out a sigh, he abruptly pushes you off, moving onto his knees to wave over the waiter. “In a bit.”

Landing against the cushion on your side you glare at him confused, clenching your thighs together as you sit up. “Hee, what the fuck?”

He waves you off, taking another shot, and another, and another..

The few minutes it takes for him to guzzle down the tray clears up your head enough to snap out of your mostly horny partially buzzed daze, grabbing his arm and tugging roughly. “Let’s go, right now.”

“One more.” He mumbles, losing balance when you pull again.

“Only thing you need to drink for the rest of the night is water.” You grunt annoyed. Struggling to stand up with him, carrying his mostly deadweight against yourself. Christ, how much did he drink?

The waiter had kept the shots coming, and while you took longer to recover after 1 drink, Heeseung had managed to down 3 faster than you could even straighten your vision. He makes a displeased sound, stumbling with your help toward the elevators.

“You’re sooo pretty,” he sulks, leaning against the wall with your hand pressed to his stomach out of fear that he’ll stumble and hit his head. “You really would look better with him.”

“What?” You mutter distractedly, blinking at the lit up list of floor numbers while trying to find the room key with your free hand in his pocket. “Who?”

“Hoonie.” He sighs, banging the back of his head against the wall with a grimace. “You’re all pretty and jaw dropping. I get why he’s hung up on you.”

Hung up? On you? Instead of contemplating that you successfully get the elevator moving, letting out a deep breath as you turn to face him and cup his warm cheeks. “Do you get why I’m hung up on you?”

He smiles drunkenly, more cute than usual somehow, shifting his face to kiss your fingers. “Are you? Cause—think I’m crazy about you.” He hiccups, eyes falling shut with a smile. “Being here with you makes everything better.”

“Yeah?” He shouldn’t be this cute with enough alcohol on his breath to set off a breathalyzer. But he nods and leans closer, pressing his forehead to yours.

“I’m saying too much, right?” He laughs, cheeks brightening up with pink even more. “Always do this—thisss why I shouldn’t drink.”

“I dunnoooo..” the elevator dings open, stopping at your floor, wrapping him in your hold to drag down the hall. “I like this Heeseung.”

“Why?” Grabbing onto the door frame when you stop, his neck bends forward to whisper by your mouth. “Why do you like me?”

There’s uncertainty swarming all across his big glossy eyes, scanning your face anxiously. “Why would you like me more than him?”

This is what Heeseung means when he says he shouldn’t drink, because an inebriated brain lacks shame, lacks the fear of being humiliated. The insecurities he hides with sobriety come to light, and much to his displeasure many of them trace back to his younger brother.

“If you come in here and drink a lot of water with me like a good boy, I’ll tell you all of the things you want to hear.” You reassure, pulling him to follow you inside the shared suite. The suite that you wish Sunghoon wouldn’t utilize so much, because of course he’s sitting on the living room couch watching an old Italian black and white film; hardly watching with his peripheral vision focused on the two of you near the entrance.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Making sure to keep your voice low, you avoid the eyes you can feel taking in every inch of your exposed skin, tripping on your way to Heeseung’s room.

“Mmmph.. but don’t leave me.” He whines behind you, wrapping around your waist. “Stay with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere lovey.” He seems reluctant to believe you and let go as you try to get him to sit on the bed. Grabbing a hold of his face, you squeeze his cheeks until his lips puff out, completely enamored by the baby talk he keeps slipping in and out of. “I’ll be right back, you really need to drink water. I do too, like, badly.”

“What?” Grabbing for your hips, his eyebrows wrinkle together. “No no.”

“Hey, what did I say?” You retort, pinching his cheeks. “Don’t make this difficult, I’m trying to save you from the fat headache you’ll wake up with tomorrow if you don’t chug some water, alright? I’ll be right outside, won’t take long.” His pout deepens, shoving his lips further out for a kiss.

“Okay.” Content by the light peck you give him, he lets go and slumps back against the bed. Head spinning now that he’s sat down and can’t focus on the ceiling despite blinking many times. “Shit, I really am drunk.”

“Which is exactly why you need to drink water.” You mutter, heading out to the kitchen. Both of you really need to replenish your hydration, you can’t wake up hungover on vacation, it ruins everything. And judging by the way Heeseung can barely walk on his own two feet, he’s destined to wake up with the most bruising headache tomorrow.

“Guessing that you two were partying it up out there.” Sunghoon’s deep voice rumbles from behind you, causing you to jump and grab onto the counter as you reach for two cups. “Here, I’ll get that.”

“No, it’s fine, I’ve got it.” Of course he’s too fast, reaching over your head with both of his hands. One to grip your forearm and the other to grab a cup.

“You’ll drop it.”

“I’m not helpless.” You snap, elbowing his chest that’s pressed much too close to your back.

“I know you aren’t,” stepping back, he gets you another cup. Motioning toward his brother’s bedroom. “Haven’t seen him like that in a couple of years.”

“We’re on vacation.”

“You really shouldn’t let him drink.” He says, backing away to lean against the kitchen island. “He’s an addict, in case he hasn’t mentioned it.”

“I know, not that it’s any of your business.”

Sunghoon makes no effort to hide his sharp gaze dragging down your figure, licking at the top rows of his teeth. “We all have our vices.”

“Even you? The epitome of perfection?” You mock sarcastically, tilting your head.

The smirk that stretches his face only solidifies how much he likes hearing that. Nodding and leaning back on the counter before raising an eyebrow at you. “Of course I do, care to take a guess?”

“Not really.” You scoff, reaching for water bottles only to be stopped by his arms caging around you, lowering his face near yours.

“I think it’s obvious what I’m addicted to.” He says quietly, eyes half-lidded as he glances down to your bikini-clad chest. “I can’t seem to get enough these days.”

“I think that you should seek help for that problem.”

“Do you?” A well groomed thick eyebrow raises, daring you to stop his hands from moving to your hips. “Because I could really use the help.”

“What’s taking so lon—“ Heeseung mumbles, leaning against the fridge as he rounds the corner from his room and immediately frowns. “What the fuck is this?”

Sunghoon shrugs, squeezing your hips firmly before pushing off. “Nothing man.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” he spits, glaring at the younger through bleary glazed eyes. “Why don’t you fuck off?”

“Takes a lot of liquid courage for you to ever speak to me that way.” Sunghoon grumbles, turning away with a wave of his hand. “Not interested in hearing this boozed up bullshit. It was nothing.”

“Hee, it’s okay.” You whisper, wrapping around his waist. “Let’s get back inside the room alright?”

He seems reluctant, digging his feet to the ground weakly continuing to dart lasers at the back of his brother's head. “Fine.” Letting out a tired sigh, he lets you push him back to his room, eyebrows furrowed as he grabs onto your shoulders and looks over your face.

“Was he trying anything?” There's a lack of assurance behind his question. Whether it be due to the alcohol or not, you can’t swallow down your guilt fast enough this time.

“No!” You laugh uncomfortably, scratching at your nape. “You know how he is.”

“Yeah. That’s the problem. I do know.” Heeseung rights his jaw, lips tight, stepping around you to storm back into the living room. “Hey, little bro.” He calls out, cracking his neck loudly.

Sunghoon appears at his door, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows raised in an amused manner. “Hey, big bro.”

The older scoffs, eyes darting around the room, halting at a large clear bottle full of tempting poisonous liquid. “You wanna keep fucking with my girl?”

Distracted by the bottle, he fails to see Sunghoon’s amused expression morph to one of confusion, misses the way his eyes light up when his brother uncaps the bottle of vodka. “Your girl?”

“Did I fucking stutter?” Heeseung spits, taking a swig from the bottle, unbothered by the acidic burn running down his throat.

“Hee, we drank enough..” you intervene, placing a hand over his. “Come on babe, let's get in the shower.”

“S’not why we came back up here.” Ripping his hand away from your touch, he steals another swig, free hand untying one side of your bikini bottoms. “Is it?”

“Heeseung!” Quick reflexes help you catch the strings before they can fall off, staring at him in disbelief. “What the fuck.”

Sunghoon shrugs, moving back to the connected kitchen to lean on the counter again. “Nothing I haven’t seen before, right bro?”

Tension fills the room at lightning speed, gulping the anxiety burning its way up from your chest.

Heeseung’s nostrils flare, teeth gritting, glowering at the younger as if he could rip his head off. “You’ve seen it all, been inside her, had your way, and she still picked me. Again.”

Again?”

Sunghoon shrugs, cheek dimpling with a small smirk. “Maybe if I played up a weak little groveling bitch act she’d pick me too bro.”

“You fucking—“

“Heeseung!” Wrapping around his waist you sober up quickly, at least enough to regain your strength. The nice drunken bliss you’d felt just minutes ago fading away the longer you stay stuck here between them. “I wanna fuck, right now.”

That seems to do the trick, softening his expression as he looks at you and breaks free from his sudden rage. “Yeah..” checking you out, he slowly blinks remembering that's why you came back up here. You should be back on his lap, sucking on his lips.

“C’mere..” you grin deviously, tugging him to walk back to his room with you. “You can’t leave me like this.”

He stops at the door before you can pull him in, shoving it fully open. “Hey little bro,” he smiles, holding the bottle up to cheers him. “Pay attention, maybe you’ll learn how to satisfy a lady for once. You greedy fuck.”

“Babe, c’mon..” choosing to ignore the way they glare at each other, you reach Heeseung’s bedroom, grabbing the doorknob.

“Leave that open.” He says sternly, kicking the door fully open with his hip.

“What? No, come on.” You argue, try to get him in and shut the door behind him at the same time. He stands tall, lifting the bottle back to his lips, pushing your hand away with his side.

“I said,” he repeats, making you walk backward toward his bed. “I want it open.”

“But..”

“But what?” There’s enough of a hint of malice in his tone to cut off what you want to say. Chewing on your lip and nervously balancing your weight from side to side. “Come here baby.”

Dragging you to his bed, he sinks down onto the mattress, placing a kiss on the skin around your navel. “S’crazy cause I’m always a little anxious when we fuck..”

“You are?” Genuine confusion passes across your face, could have really fooled you..

“Yeah s’cause I want you so fucking much.” He blinks lazily, licking at your exposed stomach, kissing and nipping between. “I dunno, like what if you’re not into it..”

Since you have fucked his brother, a fact he only wishes he could forget.

“Not into it?” Making him look up at you, you tickle his ear’s between your fingers.

“I don’t know..” he slurs, hugging your hips and looking out the door. A shadow that can only be his brother’s passing by. “Who’s the best?”

Heeseung’s hold around you tightens up, stroking up and down the backs of your thighs. “Best you’ve had, it’s me, right?”

Continuing to play with his ears, you nod and begin to move down to sit on his lap. Arms looping around his shoulders. “No one’s ever made me cum as hard as you do..”

Ouch.

Sunghoon better have heard that.

You’d never know how calculated his thoughts are, as if he’s unlocked his alter ego with liquid confidence. Untying the strings on your bikini top, he smirks. “Want you on your knees.”

Holding your bikini against your chest, you nod and crawl down onto the floor in front of him. Shyly glancing up to meet his curious gaze inspecting you. “Show me your pretty tits.”

Bending in closer he reaches down to cradle your breasts when you finally drop your top, thumbs running across your nipples appraisingly. “Wanna fuck them.” He says, flicking your nipples until they pebble rock hard. The air conditioning unit blowing cold air throughout the room not helping. He twists each of them between his thumb and pointer fingers, humming, testing the weight of them against his palms.

“But really..” squeezing your breast, his other hand drags up your throat, fingers tracing up your chin. “Can’t stop staring at your pretty ass lips.” His thumb pushes on your bottom lip, shoving between. “How good you’d look with my cock down your throat.”

Muscles tense up your thighs, trying to subtly rub them together as heat swelters between and soaks through your bikini bottoms. “Bet you look so cute sucking dick.”

Sunghoon would know.

Pressing your tongue to his thumb, all you can manage to do is nod. The wetness slicking up your bottoms becomes uncomfortable the more he prolongs this and makes you wait. Heeseung thrusts his thumb in and out a few times, smile slowly growing. “Want to?”

“Uh huh..” you couldn’t sound like any bigger of a desperate cock whore right now. Saliva pooling around your tongue in wads as he sits back and pulls his cock free. Fully hard, he wraps around the base and slaps it against his jeans a few times, sliding the pre-cum down his shaft.

The veins along his cock visibly throb, the head flushed an angry red, twitching where he teases and plays with the tip. “Open that mouth up for me baby.”

Nerves ignite the more you drool at the sight before you, reminding yourself that you’ve sucked dick before. One related to Heeseung.. can’t be too different.

Slowly propping your mouth open, your tongue rolls out, hanging over your bottom lip. “So hot.” He hisses, slowly sliding the slit lining the tip against your tongue. He fucks the head in and out of your mouth for a minute, muttering to himself how cute you are. “Think you can fit all of this in there?”

Probing a finger inside your mouth, he pulls on your cheek, popping it open. “Take every inch?” He asks darkly, glaring at your lost expression. “One way to find out.”

Without another word he grabs you by the back of your head, other hand circled around the base of his length. Pulling your head down onto his cock until he hits obstruction and hits the back of your throat. “Fuck baby. You’re a natural.”

The initial shock has you gagging, spit spilling down your chin, shoulders hunching in trying to keep your mouth around him. He doesn’t allow you to move either way, pushing down on the back of your head more until you’re really gagging. Thrusting up against your gag reflex over and over again, really testing out how much you can take.

“Fucking—yeah, that’s so fucking good.” He grunts, pressing your nose against the light trimmed hair surrounding his size. Wet gagging noises fill up the room, Heeseung’s groans and growls drowning them out each time he bottoms out in your mouth.

He keeps holding you down to an agonizing point, only able to swallow around his cock, spinning his drunken mind over the edge. “Fuck!”

Tugging you off, he slaps the wet shaft on your cheek like a wake up call. Choking and focusing on taking deep breaths when you feel tears flow from your eyes. Peering up light-headed from lack of air. Heeseung smiles, pushing his cock back between your lips. “Make my cock disappear baby.”

He slides back in slowly, excruciatingly slow, really making you swallow down each inch. The smile on his face morphs to a sadistic one when your big watery eyes meet his. He pushes and pushes, standing up with both hands on the back of your head to really fuck your throat. Throwing a leg over your shoulder, he twists your bodies until the back of your neck hits the edge of the bed, using the new position to aim his cock right at your tonsils.

“Such a good fuck hole baby, letting me use you however I want.”

The pain between your legs reaches a new high, clutching at his jeans and dragging them down. You scream around his length, tears rippling down your face. Heeseung pulls out abruptly, taking a deep breath and laughing. “Almost got me.” Smacking his cock down on your face, he drags the tip along your cheek, mouth, nose, leaving trails of spits and precum all over. “Look at you, so fucking pretty for me.”

Pushing the tip in and out a few more times, he groans, balling a fist in your hair to pull you up. “On the bed.”

Crawling onto all fours, you look over at him, back arching nicely, bikini bottoms still on. He follows you onto the mattress, discarding his shirt and pants before pressing his hips flush to yours. “Where do you want it?”

His hard wet length lodges between your thighs, slowly fucking against your bottoms. Ruching up the material up in his fists, gripping onto your stringy bikini bottom firmly as he builds up a speed. The material wedges up further between your buttcheeks, eyes rolling shut when he lands against your backside extra hard, sending your shoulders to press flat against the bed.

“Come on, speak up.” He grins, smacking your ass. “Tell me where you want to get fucked.”

Anywhere.

At this point, he could do whatever he wants with you. Finding it impossible to fathom up any type of thought as your face presses deeper into the bed. Arousal surges up your spine, another crack ringing out from Heeseung roughly landing another slap across your ass. Dry fucking your bikini bottoms that have completely soaked through, you sink lower against the bed. Lip starting to sting from being bitten raw. The delayed reaction of pain stinging up your backside only registering by the 5th smack.

“Can’t even speak up can you.” A smug smirk stretches his lips, thumb sliding to press your bikini bottom deep between your buttcheeks. “Could fuck you here..”

Squirming away, you shake, legs stretching open more. “N-no..”

He chuckles, untying the strings hanging on for dear life to keep your bottoms up. Balling the material up, he brings it to his nose, stealing a long whiff before throwing them aside. “Smells like your pussy wants me the most..”

“Ah—please.” You swallow, face flushed with heat. “Please put y-your..put it in—my pussy.”

“Put what in?” He says cruelly, dragging his nails down your back to your ass. Cupping and kneading the meaty fleshy.

“Cock, your c-cock.” You croon, squeezing more tears out. “Please..”

“Want me to fuck your pussy baby?” He teases, swiping three digits between your thighs, collecting a glob of slick to spread around. “So wet.”

Arching deeper as he circles your clit, an embarrassing sound claws its way out of your throat. Eyes clenching shut when he circles your pulsating hole. He drags back to your clit, circling around the nub, back to your hole. Back and forth until you’re a tingling mess, begging for him to fuck you.

“Yesyes!” You breathe raggedly, fisting at the bedding. “H-hurts, please.”

“Pretty little pussy hurts?” His tongue clicks, scissoring two fingers inside. “So tight..” kissing the backs of his teeth, he rolls your clit under his thumb, digits stretching wide inside of you. “After what I just did to your mouth..”

Biting on his lip, he fucks his fingers into you slowly. Curling the tips against your inner walls. Laving at his swollen mouth as he pulls out and smears the wetness across your labia folds. It’s everywhere, all the arousal for him, the desire and hunger your body screams for him.

That’s what he wants to see, slapping the back of your thigh. A needy little please emitting as he cleans off his hand on your ass.

“What was that?” He wants to laugh a little bit meanly, but his cock might damn near burst if he doesn’t get inside of you soon. Too turned on by your lack of shame for him. “Say it again.”

“Please..” you breathe out, letting out a surprised gasp when Heeseung shoves you to fall on your side. Manhandled onto your back, wanting to see your face fall apart when he stuffs you full of his cock. “Please fuck me.”

A door slams shut from behind him, smirking proudly as he hoists your legs open and settles between your thighs. He pauses there, holding himself over you, arms bridged around your body.

Flicking from his face to his cock, you could scream, breathing in sharply. Chest rising rapidly. “Seungie, please. Please fuck me.”

The sound of your pleading is almost as good as the release to come, savoring it as your begging washes over him. He nods, licking the sweat away from his upper lip, slotting a palm over your hip to hold you in place.

“Shh shh,” he groans, admiring your hung open jaw. The way you stare up at him with your head thrown back. Grabbing your thigh with his other hand, he presses it down flat to the bed, thrusting the entirety of his cock forward to fill you up in one smooth thrust.

“Yeah,” he mutters cockily, watching every inch disappear inside of you. “That’s what you wanted. Doesn’t that feel good baby?”

This is what he wanted, to watch you breakdown, lose your mind. The way you are right now, looking at him like he hung the fucking moon, drooling like a wild animal. So brainless, nothing but his.

Heeseung pulls his hips back and snaps them forward aggressively. His patience dissipated the second your warm cunt sucked around his length, instantly milking him. “That’s my good girl.” He picks up the pace even more when you whine in response. Rocking into you hard enough for the headboard to smack against the wall.

Shivers rattle up and down your spine as he grabs your breasts, hips meticulously snapping forward. The heavy grip on your chest helps him speed up even more until the pace becomes punishing. Pinching roughly at your nipples between harsh breaths. Each thrust hitting his cock so deep, so deep and hard.

“Fuck, take my cock so good.” He moans, hips circling, the tip kissing your cervix. Slapping your tits, he pushes up and reaches for your thighs, pushing them up for the backs of your knees to lay on the crook of his elbows. The vigorous pace he fucks you with snapping enough force to slide your back up the bed, reaching your hands out to push and smack at the headboard.

“Seungie..” you gasp, neck arching up, completely blissed out. The sound emitting around the room so wet, so nasty and messy. Slick pouring out past his length, trickling down past your ass making a pool of arousal on the bed. “G-gonna cum, Heeseung, I’m gonna—“

The high-pitch tone you moan out his name in makes his stomach bubble, only fucking you into the bed faster when you cry out and ball up your fists. “Yeah? Then fucking cum.”

He doesn’t falter one bit, gaze falling to where your hips connect. Carefully watching the juncture where his cock disappears inside of your cunt. Sucking in a sharp breath, he slaps the sides of your thighs. “Cum.”

“Ahh shit!” You shake through it, gasping for air, clutching at a pillow. Groaning loudly as you tip over the edge and Heeseung continues to fuck you through it, not slowing down at all. Squeezing your eyes shut, you convulse, crying out loudly, cunt clenching tightly around his cock until he has to slow down.

“Fuck.” He grits, using all of his strength to plow through it and grind his cock through the pulsating wet heat of your orgasm. It’s good, so good for both of you. Falling limp and breathless under his weight as he hoists your legs up completely and bends you forward. The mating press stealing the little bit of breath you have left.

“Hee?”

“Did I say we’re fucking done?” He exhales raspily, not allowing you to get away as he locks you into a new position. Fully in control with your legs propped on his shoulders, feet dangling limblessly by his head.

“H-hurts..” you buzz, body crushed by the white hot sensation of over sensitivity.

Not letting up, he fucks through the whines emerging from your lips. Pounds away despite your thighs shaking, muscles trembling around him. Keeps slamming in and out to chase his own release.

“You asked to be fucked.” He says between clenched teeth, punctuating each word with a rough thrust. Erupting tingly warm sensations from your gut to your chest, groaning loudly between your cries. “So you’re getting fucked.”

It’s the overload of dominance and fury that has your next orgasm rushing ahead full force. Borderline uncomfortable as the pleasure rips through you again, hurling you into a hurricane of over sensitivity. The waves of white heat pass through each limb, emptying your lungs free of air.

Heeseung can only groan through it, balls slapping loudly against your ass. The tips of his fingers digging into your thighs. “Squeezing around me so fucking good when you cum.” He says between short breaths, fucking hard. “Come on, again. You can do better than that.”

That really makes your head explode, wailing and bursting into tears as you snake a hand to your aching clit. It hurts, hurts so fucking good. The way his length relentlessly thrusts inside of you, molding you to only take his cock.

Shuddering through the painful pleasure, you squeeze around your clit. Pinching the bundle of nerves until you jerk, throbbing profusely beneath your fingers. Biting on your bottom lip until a metallic copper spills onto your tongue.

“Fuck.” Heeseung slows down, growling through clenched teeth. Pushing your legs even more until you’re forced to release your clit, feet bouncing by your head. The orgasms more painful than the last, but it’s good enough to slow him down. Squeezing your eyes shut as he buries in deep, breathily groaning. Cock twitching inside you against your convulsing walls.

Pulling out, he lets your legs fall back down, gripping around the base of his cock. “So fucking pretty when you cum like that.” He salivates. Free hand running over your wet stomach, arousal making its way down to the middle of your thighs under each ram of his hips.

“C-can’t anymore,” you whine, squeezing your thighs shut with your hand hovering over your core. “Sore..”

Heeseung licks at his mouth, patting your hip, sneaking a look at the open door. “Don’t be greedy.” He says it loud enough for Sunghoon to hear, in case he happened to come back out. “You get to cum over and over again thanks to me and I get nothing?”

Given any other day without the help of alcohol, he wouldn’t have been able to last this long. Not after this type of fucking, silently grateful for the liquid courage his brother had to remind him that he needed to act this way..

“That’s so selfish.” He laughs, slapping your hip before manhandling you onto your stomach. “Fine.”

He’ll be nice, content enough by the sound of his brother’s room door slamming shut some time ago. Grabbing your arms he pulls them back, wrapping a hand around both your wrists. “Stay put baby.”

Twisting your neck to look over your shoulder, you catch the crazed look on Heeseung’s face. Stroking his cock over your ass with hungry eyes, he places it between your buttcheeks, licking at his lips. “Wanna fuck your ass.”

You clench up at that, wrists shifting in his hold, earning a slap on your butt. “Not right now.” He winks at you, dropping a glob of spit along the crevice, moving it around with his length. “Fuck, think you want it though..”

Crossing your ankles, you quietly moan as he begins to thrusts between your ass. The cock head rubbing against your rim incessantly. The sensations still too foreign and new, exciting, digging your toes against the bed when you feel your hole twitch after he spills more spit. The rubbing makes your stomach hot, still weak after multiple orgasms, but desperate to feel him everywhere.

Mouth, between your breasts, filling your pussy, claiming your ass. You’d let him, if he really wanted to..

“You’re so wet back here.” He mumbles, hips throttling against your backside faster and faster. “Could fuck your ass, could slip it right in.”

The clap of skin on skin seers between your thighs, clenching them together to make the squeeze around his cock tighter somehow. “What if I fuck your ass?” Heeseung teases, releasing your wrists to lay his chest against your back. Arm coming around to choke around your throat.

His thrusts become more erratic, more sloppy. The tip catching on your rim more than once with each pass of his length rutting between your ass. “Bet it’d feel so good. So fucking tight.” He whimpers, pulling your back into an arch with his bicep tucked under your jaw. “Fuck, oh fuck baby.”

It hits you first, letting out a breathless squeal, scratching at the bedding. The heat between your bodies boiling over the edge, tipping you off to reach your peak once again.

“Shitshitshit.” Heeseung groans, licking up the side of your face, pressing messy kisses to the corner of your mouth. “Thank you, thank you.”

Desperation rolls off his tongue, losing his pace against your backside as powerful tremors roll through his body. Thrusting right against your rim for the tip to push in, he shoves up fast. Palms flat on your shoulder blades, blinking the sweat and tears impairing his sight to focus on his cock pouring out string after string of white creamy cum. The release shakes right through him, trembling against your figure pressed flat to the bed, cum dripping down to pool at your rim making the filthiest picture for him to savor.

“Holy fuck—“ collapsing against you, he struggles to breath. Chest moving rapidly against your back, crushing your lungs at the same time.

“Hee..” you scramble, too weak to push him off.

“Sorry so sorry,” he mutters, kissing your shoulder before rolling off to your side. “Give me a minute, I’ll clean up.”

Laying like that next to him, you can’t form a single thought. Watching the shadow of his side profile as he recuperates, breathing coming back down to a normal pace. He sighs, hands dragging through his damp sweaty hair before turning to kiss your cheek and stumble off the bed.

Taking no longer than a minute to wet a towel, he comes back and cleans off your back, gently patting between your thighs. Seemingly sobered up enough to remember to do this. You smile and work with him to get under the blanket, shivering as the warmth embraces you.

“Was I too rough?” He mumbles sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah..” you smirk, burying yourself deeper into the pillow. “Liked it.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, he pecks your forehead, softly stroking your cheek for a minute. “Goodnight.”

“Night baby.” You hum, slowly entering a mythical universe full of dreams.

“Hey hey,” a soft cool touch pats your cheek, stirring you awake. “Drink this, or you’ll be hurting bad tomorrow.”

“Mmphh?” More than already half asleep, you open your mouth against a glass pressed to your lips, neck held up by a firm hold.

“Swallow.”

Between blurred vision and a bit of help you manage to get a few pills down, whining your way back to the pillow you’d been resting on.

“Good.” Sunghoon hums, tucking the blanket in around you. “Get some sleep.”

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Waking up to the sound of birds chirping would be lovely, the smell of a hot pot of coffee, a warm and cozy bed to cuddle into.

But today had other plans for you.

Squinting your eyes open, you sit up abruptly, covering your mouth at the aggressive sound of throwing up coming from outside of the room.

“Heeseung?”

The sound gets worse the longer you sit there and try to gather your thoughts, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you stumble free from the hotel bed, legs tangled up in a sheet.

“You might not want to go in there.” Sunghoon greets you with a large smile, sipping on water. “He’s been emptying his guts for an hour now. Surprised it didn’t wake you up sooner.”

“Oh my God, Hee?” Tugging the sheet around your body, you lean against the door, rapping your knuckles along the wood. “Are you okay??”

“No! Don’t come in here!” He says raspily, throat run down. “Please, don’t!”

“Are you sure?? Do you need anything??”

“Go away!” He gags again, the noise rising bile up your throat.

“I can’t..” covering your mouth you back away, stumbling back into Sunghoon.

“Don’t worry, I gave him some medicine and water.” He lets you know, passing you a fresh cup of tea. “How’re you feeling? You both drank a lot last night..”

“What even happened..” rubbing your head, you sip on the tea. Sitting down on the couch. “I didn’t drink that much.. I guess that’s why I don’t feel awful.”

Sunghoon nods, leaning against a chair. “Heeseung’s never known his limit.” He sighs, shrugging. “Anyway. What are the plans for today?”

The bathroom door bursts open with an unavoidable rancid smell permeating past Heeseung’s long frame slumping against the wall.

“Sick dude, you need to take a shower..” Sunghoon implores, waving the air away in front of his face. “Just like old times huh? Stumbling out of the bathroom covered in puke.”

“Hee..” you jump to stand, not wanting to get too close when you see the state of him. “How’re you feeling?”

Ignoring his brother, he wipes one of the smaller hotel towels down his face, holding an arm out for you to stay back. “Terrible. Fuck I’m sorry. Sorry if I woke you up..”

“It’s okay,” you hesitate, wrapping your fingers around the sheet held around your body. “Why don’t you take a shower and get cleaned up. We can play it by ear, maybe stay in today.”

Sunghoon scoffs, standing up straight, motioning between the two of you. “We’re not staying out here an entire week. You’re really wasting another day locked up inside this hotel? Is that what you flew across the country for?”

Heeseung frowns, silently agreeing. “I don’t feel up to going anywhere.” He says, more evident as his hand raises to his mouth to hold back another gag. “You should still go.”

Taking a few deep breaths, he quickly shakes his head, rapidly waving before slamming the door shut and returning to kiss the porcelain bowl.

“I should stay..” you lament, eyes drooping lower the more it settles that you really are wasting another day..

“Let Heeseung rest today, he needs it after all that drinking last night.” Sunghoon circles your wrist to lure you away from the shared living room, eyebrow arched up curiously. “You aren’t seriously going to let him steal one of your days to explore the city?”

“I feel bad, it’s my fault he drank so much..”

“You don’t get to visit Italy whenever you please, you know?” Sunghoon frowns, unrelenting with his small backwards steps toward your bedroom. “It’s still early enough for us to check out The Vatican. Remember when you watched that documentary and kept raving on about wanting to visit?”

Of course you remember, the question is why he remembers. “You’ll go with me?”

Sunghoon scoffs, leaning against the door frame with a soft smile. “I’ll go anywhere with you. Now hurry up and get dressed so we can pass by the shops and get some coffee in our systems before we head out.”

Eyeing the shut bathroom door, you ponder for a minute, shifting from foot to foot. “Give me a bit to freshen up, I’ll meet you down there.”

He pouts, reluctant to let you close the door to your room as he bats thick eyelashes at you in a playful manner. “I can just wait for you here.. nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Get out!”

Sunghoon chuckles, mumbling on his way out to not pack your bag much since he has ‘daddy’s credit card’ to cover any expenses.

“Yeah yeah..” even while getting ready you couldn’t stop yourself from thinking about Heeseung, setting out water bottles and medicine for him on the kitchen counter.

“Going to explore the city,” you call through the door, knocking lightly. “Call me if you need anything from outside. I’ll try to be back in time for dinner.”

“Don’t worry.” Heeseung replies, sounding exhausted. “Please—please go have fun.”

“Won’t be as fun without you.” You whisper, shouting your goodbyes through the walls before heading down to meet up with Sunghoon.

The thing about your step-brother is that he really has no clue how to dress down, which really lessens the options hung up in your hotel closet. Perhaps a sundress today, something that would pop against your skin and hug your shape better. Not to impress him or anything, but to at least better your chances of not appearing like a slob next to some model dressed to the 9’s.

Sandals, a sundress, a sweater for the evening when it cools down, and a lightweight satchel. Easy, not trying too hard at all. Even if you take a little extra time to style your hair and ensure your makeup can hold up through the European summer heat.

“Ah, of course.” You mutter to yourself upon finding him standing outside of the coffee shop. Black slacks hang from his hips like a dream, buttoned down shirt tucked in accentuating his slim near non-existent waist, and hair quaffed back without a hair out of place other than the piece dangling down over his forehead. He’s a perfect vision, the usual, nothing to gasp over anymore as you’ve grown accustomed to his utter perfection.

“Well, don’t you look stunning.” He smiles, pointing his arm out in a triangular shape for yours to slip between. “Shall we?”

“No funny business.” You warn before hooking your arm through his.

“I would never.” He grins, directing you by his side to get in line. “Americano?”

“Yeah, that’s simple enough.”

“I’ve hailed an Uber to pick us up, says we’ll be arriving in about 25 minutes.”

“Sounds good.”

You realize any nerves Sunghoon used to elicit have subsided as you sit in the cramped backseat of an Italian made vehicle. Even with your limbs pressed together and the occasional adjustments he makes until his arm is looped over your shoulder as he casually speaks and points out the different architecture through the car window along the way, you can’t help to think this is comfortable.

And comfort isn’t always a good thing. Especially as you shift for a better view and his chest presses to your back, face closer to yours the more he explains the difference in environment and building structures.

“Why do you know so much about this stuff?”

“You think I’d be graduating with honors if I hadn’t also studied European history?” He says cockily, stroking down your arm. “I’m excited to see The Vatican too, it’s been a dream of mine for a few years now.”

Google translate has become your most reliable tool this past week, reaching for your phone as the ride comes to an end only to be stopped by Sunghoon bellowing out what can only be described as broken Italian; the driver responds with a sharp tongue, waving for both of you to exit his vehicle quickly.

“You speak Italian?”

Sunghoon laughs, rounding about to grab the door for you before you manage to get it yourself. “I practiced a bit after we booked this trip.”

“This trip you forced your way into?” You say snarkily, nudging his side as you begin the mile long walk to enter Vatican city.

“I told you, I’ve always wanted to visit Europe too.” Sunghoon nods to one of the many street vendors lining the pathway. “Hope these are still open by the time we leave, I always like to purchase souvenirs made by the locals.”

The variety of carts sell different items from foods, art, handmade bags, religious memorabilia, and jewelry that beams beneath the bright sun.

“Oh my God, this is beautiful.” You trail off, drawn away from whatever Sunghoon’s continued to go on about. “I’ve always wanted one like this.”

Black pearls slide through your digits, the necklace on display attached with a fat price tag that has you releasing the piece as fast as you picked it up. “That’s pretty.”

Sunghoon comes up behind you to pick up the necklace, nodding to the cart vendor. “I’ll take this one.”

His wallets out before you can argue, even so your palm lays on his wrist as you shake your head. “Hoon, I was just looking.”

“Nonsense, it’ll look great on you.” He nods, counting out a wad of Euros to cover the fee. “And it will add to the nice memories of your trip.”

Sunghoon takes the packed up necklace and motions to your neck. “You should wear it right now, you know, it will look great in the pictures we get today.”

“Okay..”

Swiping your hair to the side you take a deep breath, shivering as the pearls meet your skin and his long fingers slowly glide up past your collarbone to connect to the clasp. He leans in close to whisper, shutting the necklace to hold together. “There, you see? Beautiful.”

And it is, very very beautiful, you think as you admire the black opal against your skin in a small scratched mirror hanging from the side of the vendor's cart. “Thank you..”

Sunghoon fails to respond, having turned around as a group of girls giggled and passed by with mischievous smirks, waving coyly at him, a few even winking. He waves back nervously, laughing under his breath and reaching for his nape to rub at.

“So handsome.”

They say, continuing to gawk and gaze back over their shoulders on their way down the path. “I said thanks.” You speak up, mildly annoyed.

“Huh? Oh yeah yeah.” Sunghoon turns back to wave at the girls again, adding a small salute and shy laugh. “It’s no problem.”

“Right.” You say, growing more annoyed. “Let’s keep going before this crowd gets worse.”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

It seems to become all the more obvious just how many women(and men) double take as your step-brother walks by. Growing eyes and pleased smiles take over the strangers faces upon taking in his modelesque physique and striking features, not to mention the Italian nonnas oohing and ahhing over him before breaking into a chatter of compliments.

Quite the crowd pleaser. You can’t help but to roll your eyes, finding yourself moving closer and closer to his side until you cave at the sight of a gorgeous girl lighting up and biting down on her lip as she checks him out.

“Hoon.” Putting on your sweetest smile, you squeeze around his bicep and press fully to his side. “Thank you again, for making me do this.”

Sunghoon leans in to bump his forehead to yours. “I told you, anywhere you wanna go, I’ll be there.”

And you’d believe it if not for his wandering gaze, running up and down the sets of Italian model legs trotting around you. “Seriously, thank you for suggesting this.”

“Hey!” Pinching his chin, you force his eyes back to yours. “We’re here to appreciate architecture, rare relics! Art God damnit!”

He laughs, taking a hold of your wrist, smoothly gliding his fingers between yours. “Yes, we are, aren’t we.”

The Vatican’s gorgeous, something photos alone could never truly capture. Your jaw’s on the floor from the moment you step inside, twirling around slowly to admire the art above you.

Click. Flash. Click.

“Did you just take a picture of me?” You stop, hands on your hips, tongue poking against the inside of your cheek.

“Am I not here to be your photographer?” Sunghoon quickly takes another, catching you off guard with the flash on his phone.

“Hey!” He gets more shots of you walking toward him with your arm extended to cover his phone lense, smiling from behind the screen. “Get pictures of the art! Not me!”

He hums, motioning for you to continue walking. “Thought you’d want to document this moment is all.”

“Of course I do.” Getting your own photos and videos, you think about showing Heeseung what he missed out on later. Unfortunate that he ended up drinking so much.. but that’s not what you need to be thinking about right now. “I’m not photogenic.”

“Who says you’re not?” Sunghoon frowns, pointing out a large staircase ahead. “Go stand over there for a minute.”

“Hoon..”

“Come on, I’ll prove to you that you photograph just fine.”

“Let’s not waste too much time with pictures alright?” Begrudgingly you stand near the stair railing, off to the side enough for other tourists to still pass by. Sunghoon goes on about how it’s not you, but likely a bad photographer, which shouldn’t be an issue since he’s oh so great.

He even gets on his knees, determined to prove his point, not caring about dirt and dust trekked through ending up on his slacks. “Try placing your hands there, yeah, and tilt your chin in, that’s it, beautiful.”

“Alright alright that’s enough.” Embarrassment has you covering your face, hiding from strangers slowing down to judge you.

“Look.” Showing off the pile of photos he took, he zooms in on one of the last ones before you covered your face, hand just above your chest with a shy smile beginning to creep up. “Really like this one.”

“I look like an idiot.”

“You look gorgeous.”

He’s still smiling unblinkingly at the photo when you look at him, raging a storm of warmth beneath your cheeks. “Let’s go up these stairs.” You end up rushing past the groups of foreigners around you, eager to gain a little distance from your step-brother.

“Hey, slow down.” He laughs, grabbing onto your elbow. “The paintings aren’t going anywhere.”

“Pft I know that,” slipping free from his hold, you nod ahead toward a statue. “Madonna della Pietá.”

Sunghoon clears his throat, standing too close by your side. “When Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in his mother’s arms..”

“I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re some genius art historian at this point.” Rolling your eyes, you continue to read the description of Michaelangelo’s statue depicting Mary and Jesus.

“Well,” he pauses for a minute to take short breaths, hands tightly clasped behind his back. “There’s always been something about this piece.”

For once his attention isn’t on you, gawking at the statue with gloss coated eyes. “Some believe that Michaelangelo wanted to create a work describing the heart’s image. When I first read about Pietá I wondered if a mother’s undying love is what fuels a heart. What would we be without a mother after all.”

“Sunghoon..”

He blinks furiously, turning away from the statue. “I had to write a paper about it.” Clearing his throat, he proceeds on without waiting for you. Leaving you uncomfortably staring at the preserved piece of art.

A mother’s undying love.. something Sunghoon was never given.

You could ask what the paper was about, analyzing religion? The hanging on the cross? Motherhood? Or you could just drop it. Ignore that sour feeling building up inside of your stomach. Remember who Sunghoon is even if you feel an inkling of remorse for him.

“It’s no wonder you’re such a good tutor.” You jab his side, attempting to shift the atmosphere back to a playful one. “Brainiac.”

He grins a little, phone lifting to mask his face and get another photo of you. “Ugh come on, here.” Grabbing the device from his hands, you start to get pictures of him. “Enough of me! You’re here too.”

“We need some together.” He says not even trying to pose, grabbing your hand to hold the phone higher and get both of your faces in the shot. “You know, to prove to our parents that we actually came here. Come on, smile!”

His cheeks dimple in, distracting you as you look at the screen on selfie mode reflecting back your faces. “You’re too tall.. cutting off my head.”

“Fine fine.” He crouches, cheek brushing against yours. Getting a few shots in of the both of you smiling before making a fast turn with his pursed lips landing on your cheek.

“Sunghoon!”

Even with you landing slaps down on his arm he still managed to get a couple of photos, cheerfully walking away through the rest of the church. “Do not show those to my mom.”

“She’d probably love these.” He steals a look at the pictures, biting back a smile. “Look at us bonding now.”

“Right.. yeah, bonding.” You murmur, continuing to walk and check out the rest of the church.

“This has been nice.” Sunghoon nods, rubbing this stomach. “I’m a little hungry though.”

“Ah, I don’t really want to eat..” slowing down, you check your phone to check in on Heeseung. No messages, he must have knocked out after the way his body rudely awoke him. “Trying to save room for dinner.”

“Oh come on, I saw a crepe stand out there.” Sunghoon points to the other side of the street full of food vendors. “We haven’t even gone that way yet. You know, the desserts in Europe are nothing like the shit we get in America.”

“How would you know?” You pretend to frown, mostly pouting, sticking close to his side. The sense of feeling that you’re being closely watched returns, catching different sets of eyes darting from you to your step-brother. Can’t take him anywhere..

“Dad brought me out to London once for a business trip when I was really into Harry Potter.” He recalls, ordering a chocolate crepe to share since you insist on watching your figure.

“Bet you really related to Malfoy.”

“Whattt?” Sunghoon laughs, holding the crepe to cut a piece off for you. “I’m no Slytherin.”

“Oh, please!” You snort, moving your neck back when he raises the fork to your lips. “You’re sooo Slytherin!”

“Am not.” He says, tongue click, continuing to shut and open his mouth for you to take a bite. “Come on, we only have one fork.”

“I can feed myself.”

“You don’t need to, that’s what I’m here for.” He tuts, placing the fork by your lips again. “Now open up, say ahhh.”

Against your nature, you meet his gaze, slowly propping open your mouth for him to slide a piece of crepe onto your tongue. “Oh that’s..”

“Told ya..” Sunghoon forks a bite for himself, letting out a pleased hum. “Delicious.”

“Alright, I guess that’s actually amazing.” You admit, bumping into his side for another bite. “But you’re still a Slytherin.”

“You have me all wrong.” Feeding you another piece, he brings the empty fork to his mouth, biting on the plastic to hold it in place. “You got a little..”

He swipes at your bottom lip, cleaning off a smear of chocolate, breath lodged in his throat when you blink up at him. Pushing down on the juicy center of your lip, he sinks in for your tongue to meet the tip of his finger. Biting on his own lip as you unintentionally lick the bit of chocolate clean off his skin without breaking eye contact.

“Think I’ve had enough.” You cough, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. Chest fluttering, forcing yourself to look away. “So uhm, what house do you think you’d land in then?”

“Pfft,” finishing off the crepe, he wipes his hands clean and throws away the trash. “I’m obviously Gryffindor.”

“Ah, I can see that.” You giggle, rolling your eyes. “Cocky, big headed, full of yourself, egotistical.”

“More like Courageous, daring, willing to do anything to get what I want.” He declares proudly, standing up straight with his chest puffed out. “And I do mean anything.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.” Checking your phone again, you sigh, eager to wrap this excursion up.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Your house?” Sunghoon asks curiously, evidently forming his own opinion already.

“Slytherin, duh.” You tsks, playfully punching his shoulder.

“Ah yes, Hufflepuff personality, Slytherin mindset.” He jokes, throwing an arm around your waist. “Happens all the time, I can see why you’re confused.”

“Believe me,” sliding from his hold, you begin to walk away from the food vendors. “I’m Slytherin.”

Raising an eyebrow, he follows after you, more intrigued to delve into what you mean by that. You’re not as innocent as you like to act, dumber than you try to display if anything..

“We should start heading back.” You suggest, directing him toward the nearest street corner. “I told Hee we’d be back for dinner.”

“Ughh.. why do you even care if he eats dinner? He’s such an asshole for doing this shit on your vacation.” Sunghoon says petulantly. Rolling his eyes as you drag him out to the path to hail a cab, not wanting to walk the long trek through the street shops again.

“The issues you have with each other are seriously starting to give me a headache..” you sigh, shoving him to get inside the backseat of a taxi that pulls up. Quickly showing the driver the hotel address on your phone, you lean back, leaving ample space between you and your step-brother. “I told you, it’s my fault. I made him drink that first night..”

“He’s an adult.” Sunghoon sneers, pushing his legs open wide until your knees touch. “Last I checked he should be fully capable of making responsible decisions for himself. What were those two years of therapy for anyway, as if he’s the one that was left abandoned.”

As much as you’d love to get into it with him, be extra nosey, not even your curiosity can stop you from yawning. The summer heat and tension between the brothers, tension between you and Sunghoon, all of it really has been wearing you down. Sinking further into the seat with your head resting on the window, you finally relax enough. It’s not as if you’d really gotten a good night's sleep, still sore between your thighs after the evening’s activities..

“I’m not a therapist.” You mutter, yawning. “Wake me up when we get there.”

There’s a quiet grunt that travels from your side, a few choice words mumbled under his breath. Listening to Heeseung’s complaints and worries is one thing, but there’s zero reason to grant Sunghoon any of that courtesy.

He wants to pick a fight with you, mention that you’re only not suffering today with your head in a toilet thanks to him. Because maybe he conveniently packed hangover medication for you, just in case. Maybe he threw it in his bags with hopes of this happening. Maybe you and Heeseung both walked right into his trap, easier than tempting a fat kid with candy. It’s almost unbelievable how well this all worked out in his favor, if only he can figure out how to make it happen again..

“Wake up princess.” He announces, shaking your shoulder. “We’re here.”

That car nap was not nearly long enough to recover from this day. Brushing it off you head up to your room with Sunghoon, quietly entering to find Heeseung sat on the couch drinking water, nervously jumping up when you approach.

“My baby.” You smile, wrapping him in a tight hug. “You feeling better?”

“Yeah.” He beams, skin shining after hours of trying to recover. A nice clean scent of soap wafting off his skin and hair. “You have a good time?”

“Super fun.” You chirp, running fingers through his hair. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too.” Going in for a kiss, he frowns when you dodge him, large eyes slumping at the corners.

“Sorry, I feel stinky..” you admit, grimacing and pulling away. “Shower first and then we can go find some food?”

He smiles, rubbing your arms up and down. “Fine fine, I’ll get dressed.”

“You look cute already.”

“I could say the same about you.” You add, winking and passing him to your bedroom.

And I could start throwing up myself, Sunghoon thinks, sporting a face of disgust. Pretending to look at his phone, he blocks your way. “The pictures,” he says, motioning to the screen open on the photos he took today. “Want me to airdrop them?”

“Oh yeah, for sure.” Handing him your phone, you unlock it, continuing to your room. “Just toss it on my bed when you’re done.”

“Sounds good.” He nods, not missing the way his older brother’s glaring at him. He waits for the sound of the shower to play, raising his eyebrows at the older. “You really missed out today.”

“Yeah?” Heeseung questions, sitting down on the couch and unlocking his phone. “What exactly did I miss?”

“You know we’re here to see Italy, right?” Sunghoon laughs sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Sitting down on an ottoman by the couch, he drags a thumb across his phone screen, selecting each photo to send.

“I’m here for her.” Heeseung bristles, choosing to forget how he paced around pulling at his hair after sobering up. The thought of you alone with his younger brother for so many hours drove him more insane than he’d like to admit. Possibly even to the point of opening and closing the hotel's bar menu, picking up and hanging up the phone multiple times to stop himself from making an order. He couldn’t stop imagining the two of you together, touching, bumping into each other, holding hands, laughing together.

It made him feel more nauseous, too sick to even think about food. Not until you walked through the door and immediately went up to him was he able to calm down, ease his worries and relax enough to take a deep breath.

He’s being stupid. Insecure, silly, worrying about nothing..

“Oh my bad,” Sunghoon chuckles, getting up to leave your phone in your room. “Think I airdropped you the pictures too, just ignore that.” He shouts out before walking to his bedroom. “I’m gonna take a nap, today winded me. Probably order room service, so don’t worry about me.”

“No one’s worrying about you.” Heeseung replies under his breath, thumb hovering over a photo of you smiling. The options to accept or decline 47 photos wait for his response, chewing on his bottom lip as he accepts and they load onto his phone.

You look so cute, so pretty, smiling shyly and posing in your sundress. He smiles scrolling through the photos, cursing at himself for not being the one to take them for you. Probably impressed you how well Sunghoon was able to capture these beautiful pictures of you..

The ugly thoughts invade his head once again, face falling more and more as he scrolls through photos of you admiring the Vatican one after the next. The way you seem unaware, so enthralled by your surroundings, in awe.. Sunghoon must’ve taken these when you weren’t paying attention, too caught up in the art and architecture. These gorgeous photos you’ll look back on years down the line, precious memories, ones that Heeseung did not make with you.

He fucked up. He really fucked up..

Feeling down on himself again, he’s ready to lock his phone shut. Scratching his thigh roughly, pretending to not feel the itch shooting through his limbs. He swipes to the next one, breath catching in his throat when he sees a selfie shot of you and Sunghoon. It’s only the top half of your face, his brother’s handsome features taking up most of the screen.

You took pictures together?

He has to see the next, swallowing the dryness tightening his throat when he sees you both smiling, cheeks only an inch or two apart. The space between you is barely there, such a pretty smile stretching your cheeks wide.

You look good, and what’s worse is you look good together. He knew it, he knew you’d make a good looking couple. Both of you are attractive in your own right, complimentary, suitable for each other.

You haven’t taken photos together yet, maybe you should. He stares longer, wondering if you’d look better by his side, wondering why you’d ever choose him over Sunghoon..

It’s the next photo that has his spine stiffening ramrod straight, coughing on his spit from trying to moisten his throat. He feels more sick than ever now. The smile on your face stings through his chest, the glimmer in his brother’s eyes.

His lips pressed to your cheek..

It hurts to see. Not because he feels betrayed, not because he has any right to tell you he’s uncomfortable with this, but because you look like such a happy fucking couple.

It’s worse than seeing you side by side in a documented memory. It’s beautiful actually, some shit you’d see on Pinterest under ‘couple goals’ and it makes him want to lurch, covering his mouth and shoving his phone away. He sits for a minute, festering with anger, frustrated beyond belief that this is seriously happening. That this is happening even as adults.

That this is happening with a girl he really fucking likes and doesn’t want to lose.

“Hee?”

Too caught up in his thoughts, he doesn’t hear the shower turn off, doesn’t hear your bedroom door open. Doesn’t notice you standing there in a towel, skin soft and glistening wet. His hand slowly drops from his mouth when he looks at you and can’t even force a smile, standing up fast to get to you; fists balled up at his sides.

“Are you not feeling well?” You ask, wrinkling between your forehead full of concern. Sick, so fucking sick how much that pulls at his heart strings. How much it hurts to think about you with him, with anyone other than himself.

“No.” He says flatly, expressionless. “I’m not feeling well.”

With big confused eyes and a sad pout, you reach for his forehead, pressing the back of your hand down. “You’re a little warm..”

Grabbing your forearm, he removes your touch, taking slow steps back. “Think I’ll skip dinner tonight.”

“What? But—“

“Not hungry anymore.” He nods, turning to snatch the bar menu from the kitchen counter. “But I am thirsty.”

“I can go grab us some more water bottles if you want?”

He ignores you, picking up the hotel phone and placing an order for 3 different bottles of alcohol. “Charge it all to the room.” He says before hanging up. “And make it fast.”

“Heeseung, what're you doing?”

If looks could kill, the disappointment written all over your face could rip his heart out and trample him to death. He shrugs, looking away, tongue poking out from the inside of his cheek. “What? You didn’t seem to mind yesterday. Remember how cute I am drunk?”

“You’re cute when you’re not drunk too..” you whisper, clutching the towel closer to your body, seeming confused. “Did Sunghoon say something?”

There you go mentioning him.

“Something?” He raises a curious eyebrow. “And what exactly do you think he’d have to say to me? Did something happen between the two of you?”

“W-what??” You panic, head shaking. “No!”

“Then why are you asking?” He squints, stepping forward to corner you. “You got all pretty to go out with him, spent all day alone together, really expect me to believe nothing happened??”

“Heeseung I—“

The doorbell rings, immediately stealing his attention to storm over and rip the door open, smiling and rolling in a cart with bottles dunked inside of ice. “Wonderful.” He turns to you, popping open a clear bottle of what you assume to be hard liquor. “Now this is a vacation.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why am I doing what?” He scoffs, not bothering to fill a cup. Taking a shot straight from the bottle. “We had fun yesterday didn’t we? Maybe that’s what we are, I’m your crazy party boy.” Rolling his eyes, he takes another swig. “I fuck you how you like and take you to concerts, let you treat me like your bitch boy.”

The clear look of anger targeted at him has him looking away, chugging down more as fast as he can. Not wanting to be level headed or clear minded for this anymore. “He’s the one you can prance around on these fancy vacations, show off to the world.”

“What did he say to you?!” You fume, grabbing his hand holding the bottle. “Come on, talk to me!”

“Nothing.” He glowers, snatching his arm away, another swig down. It’s enough now to have his stomach bubbling, warm, full of acidic burning tingles. “I should have just fucking gone with you. It’s my fault.”

“You didn’t feel good..” you lament, teeth grinding as he takes another drink. “And you’re going to feel like shit again if you keep drinking like this.”

“Is it so bad that I want to have fun with you now too?” Playing with the etched words on the bottle, he grins, head shaking. “You wanna spend more time with him or what?”

“Why do you keep bringing Sunghoon up? I don’t care about him.” Running a hand through your half-dried hair, you pull at clumps, feeling tense. Aggravation rising each time his lips wrap around the bottle of clear liquid in his grip, finally realizing what door you’ve opened.

No one likes me when I drink. That’s what Heeseung had said, and now it clicks. You get it now. He’s not casually drinking for fun, he’s doing it to mask some type of hurt you haven’t begun to understand, because you should have listened better. Too focused on yourself and your own needs, too dumb and immature to handle whatever it is he could be going through.

Whatever it is Sunghoon could also be dealing with. Once again caught in the middle of their trauma and pain, you see no other way to deal with this other than doing the only thing you know how to do best.

Heeseung taps off the bottle, already reaching for the other, in disbelief when he looks at you through half-lidded glossy eyes and raises it to his lips. “Because, you like him, don’t you.”

He’s not asking, flat out informing you like some news broadcaster. “You like him, and you can’t deny it.” He huffs, smiling, dragging his tongue along the opening. “I see the way he looks at you, but I should’ve paid more attention to the way you look back..”

“You’re being irrational.” Holding onto the towel loosely, you step up to him, lifting the bottle in his hold to your lips. “Let’s have fun.”

“Yeah?” That seems to please him, cheek wrinkling to one side. “What type of fun are you thinking?”

One sip incinerates your throat, hiding a grimace as you glance down and fidget with the cotton fabric clutched in your grip, slowly letting go. “I’m all wet.”

Heeseung groans, taking a sip as his eyes follow inches of your skin being revealed. “You look fucking good.” His tongue drags heavily between words, leaving a thick layer of spit across his bottom lip as he leans in and breaths out pure alcohol across your face. “All that for me?”

“Yeah,” you nod sheepishly, eyeing the bottle, slowly stealing it free from his hold. “Now fuck me.”

Stumbling back surprised, he raises the bottle to his lips, taking a swig with a reaction this time. The liquor much darker, mixing treacherously with the clear vodka he’d already downed. “Get your pretty ass over here.”

Stepping back toward the couch, he sets the bottle down on the floor, reaching to unzip his pants. You stagger for a minute, tempted to make sure Sunghoon’s door is shut. Not that it should matter after yesterday, or after everything you’ve done.

Walking naked over to where Heeseung leans back on the couch, you can’t ignore how annoyed—almost angry you feel. Reaching for his jaw to make him look at you, you grit. “I said fuck me.”

“Yeah, I a-am.” Already slurring, he pats his thigh. The room beginning to spin now that he’s sat down, blinking rapidly. “S-sit on my face baby.”

His tongue drags out, lolling lazily across his lips. As drunk as he already seems, you can’t deny he looks good. Extra sultry and heated, reaching for your hips where you stand between his spread open thighs. He pulls you in, face crashing between your hips taking in a deep inhale. “S-smell so good, sweet fucking pussy.”

It shouldn’t be this tempting, shouldn’t feel this good to let him pull you forward until you get on top of him, knees sinking into the couch by his hips. “You’re gonna make me fall..” you giggle, playing with his hair, still slightly damp from washing it hours ago. “Should be criminal how cute you are like this..”

Helpless and dumb, extra pouty, dopey, smiling hard enough for his large bambi eyes to disappear. “T-think ya just like me.” He professes, eyebrows raising.

“I do.” Gripping his shoulders, you lift up, forgetting that Sunghoon’s only a wall away fast asleep. “I like you a lot Hee..”

“Like you more,” he hiccups, neck leaning back on the couch, blearily blinking up at you. Wrapping your hands around his throat, you slowly lower down until your middle brushes along his chin. Keeping yourself steady with a light hold on his neck. He gurgles a little, breathing heavily, mouth opening wide.

“Sit down.” A crack claps off your backside, shocking you to fall forward and land on his open mouth. His hands grip your ass after delivering a rough slap, urging you to really sit on his face.

More smacks barrel down, manipulating your hips to rut forward, no choice but to bounce away from the strikes he continues to land. “Ugh, Hee..”

It’s impossible to not roll your hips down faster, fucking your clit against his nose furiously. The rubbing motion setting off each nerve with his tongue filling you up. Huffing weak breaths against your cunt the more he struggles to breathe with your hands squeezing around his throat, persistently bouncing down on his face with his large palm squeezing your ass.

“Fuck fuck, yes!” Unable to control yourself, you really get into it. Losing your mind when he wiggles the width against your inner walls. Obscene wet sounds clapping out, his struggled gasps for air, the wet draining from your hole.

So nasty, so fucking nasty. Despite being unhappy with the involvement of alcohol, you can’t deny how much better the sex is. How much raunchier Heeseung gets, rougher, really treating you like a bitch in heat.

In a lot of ways, you needed this from him. Needed this viscous type of lust, to lose yourself in him. Palpable tension has taken more than a toll on you, the guilt and confusion, attraction and rage. This is the only way to forget the quicksand that’s filled up every corner of your life, sinking deeper and deeper.

His tongue delves through the mess of slick pushing out of your cunt. The muscle works extra hard to push against each hard clench that traps him in place, sucking and slurping loudly.

Without being able to get his fingers to reach your hole from this position, he teases the dip of your ass. Tracing the line, prodding between to faintly brush down your rim. Fuck, if only you’d move up just a bit so that he could lick you from your asshole to your cunt. Wanting to have a taste of everything right now. He sucks around your pussy, kissing and licking up the pathway to your clit. Trapping the swollen bud between his teeth, he tugs it between his lips and sucks ferociously. Making your thighs crush around his head, groaning when you release his neck.

“I’m—g-gonna cum!” You whimper, stomach curling with tight heat. Jerking against his face, having to grab onto the couch to keep yourself held up as you tremble and grind down. Hitting your peak this way has you whining desperately, pussy clamping around his tongue pathetically.

Loud pleasure rocks through the room, without a doubt waking anyone up within close proximity. Even the neighbors in close by suites could probably hear your pleasured screams.

It’s not the first time you’ve squirted, but through blurred vision Heeseung thinks he might cum from this alone. Blinking slowly and heavy as he licks his lips clean and tries to catch the fluid gushing from your hole, entranced by your inner thighs trembling above his face. The cries you let out barely reach his ears through fog and cotton that's stuffed his brain, sighing and slumping back flat without an ounce of energy left. No doubt he’ll feel it in his jaw tomorrow.

“Holy shit..” you weakly slink down to his lap, helping yourself down with your hands on his shoulders.

Insatiable attraction and sexual connection could break through the rough right now, really solidifying that this is what you want. The drinking isn’t that bad, not when everything else between you never fails to blow your mind. Still shaking after a minute of catching your breath.

“Fuck you’re seriously soo—“ he trails off, head falling back panting for air. Lips shiny with arousal, pouring down his throat. Light reflects off his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, swallowing as his eyes roll back. “I’m so f-fucked.”

“Huh?” Too eager to get his dick out, you slide down his thighs. Drawing his hardened length out to stroke, spreading the precum around. “So horny right now baby, need you to fuck me.”

Heeseung hisses when you start to jerk him off, not lifting his head as the room spins above him. It’s all too much, having to clench his eyes shut. The timing too perfect with you lining him up to your entrance, slowly lowering down to take an inch. “Ughh,” you moan brokenly, strung out and high from riding his face. “So good, that’s so good.”

He’d agree with you if the floor would stop moving, if his neck felt like it could lift on it’s own, if the light wasn’t starting to go black behind his eyes.

He’s been here before, drunk off his ass, half-near passed out with his cock deep inside of a warm hole. Memories race through his head, falling back onto a cloud as they shoot past him and draw him further into a drunken dreamland. At least the couch is soft, unlike the many floors and walls he’s crashed against in the past, even waking up on sidewalks and lawns after an all night rager.

“S-so full.” You whimper, grinding down, palms sliding up his chest. “Baby.”

His chest steadily rises and falls, mouth hung open blowing out calm breaths, eyes rolled back shut. Slowing down, you lean in, taking in how calm and easy his features are, as if he’s—

“Hee??” You cry, landing your palms on his chest firmly. Not hard enough to slap, but at least to jolt him. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

No way he seriously just passed out. No fucking way.

This can’t be happening. Yeah he drank a lot, but passing out right as you start to fuck?!

After failing to get his eyes open, you let out the longest disappointed sigh. Low key actually wishing for round two of yesterday to forget any of the feelings budding up for his brother. Convinced that another brutal round of fucking could do the job..

“Fuck my life.” Grumbling to yourself, you gather your towel from the floor. Staring at him with the saddest look on your face.

How the fuck did this happen.

How the fuck have you seriously ended up here? Your own boyfriend—whatever he is, getting whiskey dick while inside of you?!

You should help him back to bed. Try to wake him up, or at least leave a trash can out for him to hurl into in case. But after losing any sense of self-confidence you can’t find the will to be a good person right now.

Fuck this. You storm off, missing that Sunghoon’s door has opened on your way to the bathroom between your rooms.

Fuck that was terrible.

This is terrible.

Somehow you’ve made this worse.

Grabbing a fresh towel, you eye the shower and contemplate hopping in again, urged to scrub your skin raw. Until it hurts and stings, burns until it bleeds. Anything to forget that seriously just fucking happened to you.

“Seems to be a reoccurring theme,” Sunghoon shatters your inner monologue, jumping and twisting around with a hand clutched to your chest. “Always dropping the ball and leaving you hanging.”

“God, get the hell out of here.” You breathe, snatching the towel to press against your front.

“Cute.” He smiles fast, instantaneously dropping. “You know I’ve literally been inside of you.”

“You’re so annoying.” You sigh, tired and more frustrated than you can even comprehend. Stuck somewhere between heated arousal and anger, pent up after getting so close only to be let down. “Not tonight, okay? I feel like shit.”

Sunghoon actually looks concerned for once, leaning against the door bathroom connected to his room, lips drawn down. “Hey, he’s just drunk.”

“Yeah.” You sigh disappointedly, fixing the towel around yourself. “You said he drinks a lot right?”

His lips tweak from side to side, contemplating what to say. “He quit for a good while.. haven’t actually seen him this bad since our first year of college.”

“Oh, so..” sniffling, you can’t stop the warmth pushing from behind your eyes. Sucking in your bottom lip to contain a whine. “Is it me? Do you think it’s my fault he’s acting out like this?”

“Hey hey,” Sunghoon doesn’t bother to approach you cautiously. Cupping your cheeks to wipe a droplet from the corner of your eye before it can roll down. “Don’t cry because of this. I guarantee you he’ll wake up regretting all of this tomorrow, probably feel like such an asshole.”

In fact, I’m banking on it.

As comforting as he’s trying to be, you can’t stop the tears already springing free, crumbling in his hands. “I shouldn’t have encouraged him to drink, I didn’t know how bad it’d be..”

“Look at me.” He cooes, cleaning up the wet tracks rolling down to your chin. “No reason you should be crying on your dream vacation like this. Especially not because my brother can’t control his little vice. Don’t worry, alright? He’s gotten help for it before, he’ll be fine.”

He’s gotten help for it before..

“Is Heeseung like..” you slump, pressing closer to his chest. “..an alcoholic?”

“It’s possible.” Sunghoon shrugs, diverting his gaze for a minute. “He said our mom would frequent bars everyday toward the end. I’ve read that it could be genetic, you know, addiction.”

“That must have been hard for him to be around..”

As much as Sunghoon wants to throw out a ‘what about me?’ So desperate for someone to feel bad for him. Because he didn’t even get those memories with his mother. Didn’t even get to cherish the good nor the bad, and hearing about it from his brother only made him more resentful. Even if it hurt, broke his heart, he could only ever wish to have been there with his mom in the end. To suffer with her, to have some type of love for her that would have warranted sympathy the way Heeseung had.

“You have to put yourself first.” He coughs, clearing his throat to shove those thoughts aside. Forcing a smile, he reaches for a tissue to wipe your cheeks properly. “Enough with the tears, alright? Unless..”

Taking a step back, he reaches for your hands, coercing you to let go of the towel that's loosely tucked into place. “You want a real reason to cry, one that makes you feel too good.”

“Hoon..”

“We don’t have to fuck.” He bemoans, mouth dragging down to one side sadly. “Let me make you feel good.” He shrugs, drawing you closer, chest pressed to yours. “I know you didn’t finish..”

He waits a few seconds, each one ticking away loudly in his head. Thigh easing between yours, rucking the towel up higher for him to settle between. The warmth emitting from your core immediately meets his upper leg, watching for any sign of resilience. Met with the sight of your lips parting open, eyes going hazy, and neck arching back slightly; he takes the chances to shove in more. Thigh nestled up right against your cunt.

“Will you let me?” He says breathily, reaching for the top of the towel barely holding on. “Make you feel good.”

Say no, tell him to stop, pick up your towel and get inside of the shower like you’d been planning.

“K..” ah, it’s as if your subconscious has no control over what leaves your mouth. That’s all it takes for him to grab onto your hips, burying his digits in roughly to really knead your curves between his fingers. Each touch tells you the story of how much he’s missed touching you like this, how he too feels it. He needs it, he wants it.

Sunghoon can’t imagine choosing anything over this right now, let alone getting his dick deep inside of you. He has to bite down on his tongue to stop himself from saying it. To keep down his harsh comments about how his brother doesn’t deserve you, even after having to listen to you cry on his cock more than once now. He know he can fuck you better, how you really need. He can make your thighs shake just from this, rolling down onto his thigh, getting that delicious friction right up against your clit.

“Wanna kiss you.” Licking at his lips, he rubs up to your waist. Squeezing and dipping in, peering over your shoulder at the bathroom mirror reflecting the size difference between you. His hands large around your middle, further emphasizing how easily he could crush you.

The sound of your breath draws him back, beginning to pant raggedly the more you roll your hips down and rut up his thigh. Planting his foot steadily, he helps you move faster, dropping his forehead to press against yours. Lowering your eyes, you nod, just barely, lips pouting out for him.

He’s wanted it since earlier today, only scoring a small tease with his lips on your cheek. The pictures have been driving him mad, imagining the folder he’d fill up with his tongue inside of your mouth, your eyes rolled back, spine arched up off his bed.

This kiss feels long overdue, really taking his time to lean into it, groping up to your breasts. He flicks your nipples, pinching them between his fingers until you moan into his mouth and he sneaks his tongue in. This is what he’s been craving, being close to you again. Not only fucking but intimacy you can’t achieve with a quick nut.

The staggered breaths, noses bumping into each other, plush lips fighting against his to deepen the kiss that's already brought you as close as can be. His chest tightens as your breath turns shakey, eyes clenched shut the faster you ride his thigh. It’s amazing to kiss you this way, lulling your release with no more than his lips. But he wants more, his greedy heart thrumming wildly begging for a taste.

Landing a few searing pecks on your upper and lower lip, he cups your face to take in your lustful gaze. Glazed over eyes, swelling lips parted open, cheeks flushed with heat. That makes his cock jump, hissing away the way he can hear a painful cry shouting at him from inside. Leaving you with one more kiss, he lowers to spread your legs, salivating at the vision before him.

Wet, chubbed up, a strip of well groomed hairs leading down to his heaven. The space between your legs he’d give up anything to be buried inside of for hours, days on end. Fingers, tongue, his dick, whatever the fuck you’ll give him.

The silence would kill him any other time, distract him with questions asking why you’re not screaming, why you’re not crying. But when your hand reaches into his hair and pulls, it stings right to his cock. Eyes fluttering open to find yours, nails digging into the soft skin of your thighs.

Another tug at his scalp loosens his jaw, heavy eyelashes fanning open. Panting above him behind your ample chest rising rapidly. This is different, hotter, sensual..

The sounds of your aroused exertions dancing together before he leans in still focused on you. Tongue lolling out loosely, lapping your clit without a challenge. The map of your body ingrained in his memory, making it seem all too easy to work you on his tongue.

“Ahh, shit.” You hiss, draping a leg over his shoulder. Your free hand on the counter keeping you held up even as you sway and jerk forward. “Inside i-inside, fuck me with your t-tongue.”

Sunghoon groans deep, rumbling through your core. As much as he wants to spend extra time torturing your clit, he knows Heeseung left you hung up to dry and suffer. His tongue circles your entrance, coated with a thick layer of wet arousal combining with his spit. Flicking a few times to tease you, he really grips onto your inner thighs, holding you hard enough to not budge. Even as tremors roll up your legs and chest, you can only pull on his hair.

Each tug has him releasing moan after moan, gliding the tip of his tongue inside when you finally pull extra hard making his forehead bunch up. He slaps your inner thigh for being so rough, while also egging you to do it again, teasing you with short penetrative licks.

“Hoonie.. please.”

Lucky for you, he can’t deny how fucking pretty you sound whining. Moistening his lips with the abundant amount of wetness pouring out of you, he pushes in the rest of the way.

It’s more than maddening to have his tongue inside of you right now, only minutes after Heeseung had been 9 inches deep. You can’t control the way your hips jump forward, pelvis smacking his face as you start to roll up and down his tongue. Everything about it feels nasty, shameful, stirring up a taboo heat through your chest. It’s wrong, after all the guilt you’d just put yourself through.

But it feels so right. Stretching your fingers through his silky locks, pussy clamping down on his tongue with each long thrust in.

“You’re g-gonna make me—“ you stammer, head tossed back, stomach fluttering with butterflies. “C-cum, I’m—“

Sitting up on his knees, he really grabs onto you good. Tongue jamming in and out, emitting the filthiest wettest sounds between his face and your cunt. The mess of slick trailing down his chin, neck soiled with your arousal, completely drenched. He’d drown in it, suffocate inside of your pussy, die with his tongue stuck in this very spot.

“Fuck—ahh, fuck.” The way your face scrunches up makes his knees go weak. Gripping the bathroom counter by your sides to hold his balance. Release forces his tongue out enough for it to spill onto his neck and chest, licking up what lands on his lips. He swallows stiffly, teeth grinding, taking in long deep breaths through his nose to not bust inside of his pants. Allowing you to catch your breath and go lax against the bathroom mirror while talking himself down from pulling his cock out and fucking you like an animal. A few minutes go back before he stands and cups the back of your neck, stealing your breath with another long hard kiss.

His fingers lift up, glistening wet, exactly the same way they looked on the plane..

“Won’t get tired of watching you cum on me like that.” He admires, bringing his digits to your lips. “Better when you’re wrapped around my cock..”

Slipping past your lips before you can get a word out, he licks at the wet slick trickling down his hand past the digits permeating your lips. Meeting your mouth halfway to suck the clean together. Hungrily dipping in and out for a minute until you’re both slurping more saliva than your release.

“Can’t have you go to sleep with this mess..” he says huskily, squatting back down to his knees to stretch your legs apart. Large hands clasping your inner thighs, tongue dragging from your open entrance to your clit. Light strokes work to thoroughly clean you up, dragging fat stripes from side to side with his gaze intently watching your face fall apart.

A light kiss on your mound finishes off the job, leaving your legs trembling enough to satisfy him with the thought that you’ll see him in your dreams tonight.

“C’mere.” Sunghoon instructs, standing back up. Scooping you up from the bathroom counter, he quietly grunts, adjusting your weight around his waist to securely pick you up.

“Where you taking me?” You slur, still coming down from your orgasm. Head instantly falling down to rest upon his shoulder.

“Bed.” He smiles to himself, kissing the top of your head. “Been a long day for both of us.”

“Mhm..” you yawn, allowing him to lay you down and get you tucked in. Sleepily blinking up at him with a confused expression.

Cocking an eyebrow, he settles by your side and fixes your hair, pushing loose strands away from your face.

“This is weird.” You mumble, lips smacking together tiredly.

“What’s weird?”

“This. You. Everything.”

“We can talk about it tomorrow.” Yeah. Tomorrow when his brother will undoubtedly be too fucked to do anything with you. Judging by that entire fucking bottle he downed..

“S’weird..” you yawn again, eyes falling shut, breath turning shallow.

He watches you succumb to your exhaustion, leaning on a propped up elbow as you drift off.

“You might not understand yet,” he whispers, speaking to himself. “But I’m doing what’s best for us.”

Not just me.

That’s what he tells himself. That this is what’s best for the both of you, not only to fulfill his greedy desires, to enhance his larger than life ego.

Getting up from your bed, he heads back out to the living room to find his brother still passed out on the couch. Fast asleep, drooling like a baby completely unaware of how chaotic and ruthless the world outside of his dreams can be.

That’s Heeseung’s problem, he doesn’t get it.

Nice guys never win. Not in this dog eat dog world. Their dad taught him that, it’s every man for himself, even if it means destroying a relationship with your own bloodline.

If his brother had fucked off, would he have cared this much about having you? He thinks about it, unlocking his phone to admire the new background he set of you, his favorite of the photos he took today. Because you’re smiling, softly smiling, genuinely staring at the photographer instead of the camera. His chest squeezed the longer he looked at it, zooming it to be sure.

Any doubt, petty reasoning, self-absorbed desires.. they disappear whenever he’s with you. And as much as he hates to acknowledge it, he’s attached. Very attached.

“You shouldn’t have gotten in my way.” He glares at Heeseung, shutting his phone. He sighs, turning around to go to his own bedroom. Not wanting his brother to wake up mildly drunk and start a fuss if he finds you in bed together.

Stopping at his door, he looks at him one more time, void of any remorse. “It’s time to take out the trash big bro.”

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

The ring of your alarm going off has you patting around for your phone, groaning as you sit up and finally shut it off only to find yourself alone.

You definitely did not end the night alone..

Did Sunghoon go back to his room? Who cares. He shouldn’t have ended up in your bed in the first place. You need to stop letting this happen.

What if Heeseung’s puking out his insides again? You should check on him first. Make sure he was able to even make it to the toilet bowl on his own..

He’s sitting on the edge of his bed when you reach the cracked open door to his room. Leaned over with his elbows on his knees and a contemplative expression stressing his face.

“Hee?”

He peers up, eyes swollen, lips puffy as if he’d been crying. “We need to talk.”

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

To Be Continued..

taglist. @wvnkoi @yjwluvs @fictional-waste @heedeungieluvbot @moonmoongi @moonlighthoon @ddazed-lhs @en-gine @deobitifull @aeminju @eladandan @dneltrise @downbadreading @iweirdthingsblog @beomgyusonlywife @mevalemadrws @sunghoonsbaebae @iloafeyoo @axmdocs @seuomo @parkhonnie @hoonspot @aphrodijin @donghyckl @sxftiell @jinlarities @nshmrarki @idkcallmenevy @wonniestars @mimimovv @valiantcyclevoid @misodiary @hafuunkjw@unlikelysublimekryptonite @lmnhead

#mdni #what do yo Mean we need to talk #no #I need more #my sunghoon smuttt #i feel like I am being teased #I need the ending #going feral

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sophlovesjeong · 2 months

Text

young love 2 / nishimura riki

read part one here 🤍

synopsis: she fell first but he fell harder type of scenario. ANGTSY

warnings: jealously, one sexual innuendo and suggestive part with hoon (but no smut) btw this takes place in college time

wc: 6.6k

"hey, you've been avoiding me all day. Is everything alright, babe?" Mina settled down beside Riki, who sat lost in thought, facing the beach. Unaware of her presence, he was entirely focused on the crashing waves, the chilly breeze, and the swirling thoughts in his mind. "Riki?" She called out again, giving him a gentle nudge. Finally snapping out of his trance, he turned to his girlfriend, apologizing and asking her to repeat what she had said. "Are we okay? Or more importantly, are you okay?" She remained oblivious to Riki's growing feelings for YN, unable to connect the dots. However, Riki knew he couldn't break her heart with such information, especially during what was supposed to be a joyful trip. So, he concocted a white lie, reassuring her that he would be fine.

mina studied riki's expression, a hint of concern lingering in her eyes as she waited for his response. riki forced a smile, masking the turmoil churning within him as he reassured her with a nod.

"yeah, babe, everything's fine," he replied, his voice steady despite the tumult of emotions raging beneath the surface. "just got lost in my thoughts for a moment there, but i'm okay now."

mina's features softened with relief, a smile gracing her lips as she reached out to squeeze his hand gently. "okay, just making sure," she said, her voice warm with affection. "you know i'm here for you if you ever need to talk, right?"

riki's heart swelled with gratitude for mina's unwavering support, but a pang of guilt tugged at his conscience as he realized the depth of the lie he had just told her. he knew he couldn't burden her with the truth, not when it threatened to unravel the delicate balance of their relationship.

"yeah, i know," riki replied, forcing himself to meet mina's gaze with a reassuring smile. "thanks, babe. i really appreciate it."

with a sense of unease lingering in the back of his mind, riki pushed aside his inner turmoil, determined to make the most of their time at the beach and protect mina's heart at all costs. but beneath the facade of calm, the storm of conflicting emotions continued to rage, leaving riki adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

unbeknownst to them, you sat a few feet away, nestled in one of the beach chairs, solitary. Your sole desire was to relish the view while immersing yourself in music until Mina settled beside Riki. You couldn't deny the effect they had on you anymore, though a small part of her still pondered the possibilities of what could have been. But now you had Sunghoon—shouldn't that be enough to make you happy?

"jeez, yn, you're such a dunce," you muttered to yourself, your voice barely audible. you removed your earphones and shut your eyes tightly, attempting to divert your thoughts from what might have been. "well, maybe not entirely stupid… okay, sometimes," sunoo's voice interrupted from behind, causing you to jump slightly. he chuckled at your startled reaction before settling down next to you, inquiring about the whereabouts of your significant other. you gestured in the direction where sunghoon, jake, and a few strangers were engaged in a game of beach volleyball. "so, why are you sitting here alone? and conveniently positioned just a few feet away from riki and mina?" sunoo probed further.

you shrugged, offering a weak smile to sunoo. "just needed some time alone, i guess," you replied, your voice tinged with a hint of melancholy. "and as for the seating arrangement, pure coincidence, i assure you."

sunoo raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical yet understanding. "right, coincidence," he echoed, a playful glint in his eyes.

sunoo's smile gradually faded into a serious expression as he fixed his gaze on you. "don't tell me you still have feelings for him, yn. i thought we were past that," he remarked, his tone tinged with concern.

you shook your head and let out a sigh, feeling the weight of his words pressing down on you. "it's not like i have feelings for him, i don't," you clarified, but then added, "but you can't blame me for occasionally wondering about the alternative possibilities or outcomes that could have been, sunoo."

deep down, all you truly desired now was sunghoon. you loved him dearly, but riki, your first young love, remained a lingering presence in your thoughts, a part of your past that refused to fade away.

"i get that, but instead of being so dramatic—" sunoo began, but you cut him off with a playful jab. "as if you're not dramatic as fuck, you're the drama queen in this friend group," you teased, earning a chuckle from sunoo as he playfully slapped your arm.

"shut up and listen," sunoo continued, his tone more serious now. "stop dwelling on the past. stop thinking about those things and start focusing on the future. a future where you find peace of mind, whether you're in a relationship or not."

he flicked your forehead lightly, a playful gesture before offering you the chance to join jake and sunghoon in a game. with a nod, you accepted his invitation, grateful for his words of wisdom and the distraction of spending time with your friends.

that's precisely what you ended up doing, making your way over to sunghoon's team with a gentle nudge from sunoo, who seemed determined to reunite you with your beau. as you joined their side, sunghoon greeted you with a sweet kiss on the forehead, causing a blush to rise to your cheeks.

"why's your forehead all red, baby?" sunghoon inquired with a playful grin, prompting you to sheepishly recount sunoo's teasing antics. your boyfriend chuckled at the anecdote, releasing you to join the game.

"get a room, damn!" jake's voice rang out from the opposite side of the net, his playful jab accompanied by a smirk. "ready to lose, yn?" he taunted, a competitive glint in his eye as he prepared for the match.

you chuckled at jake's playful taunt, feeling the familiar rush of competitiveness coursing through you. "lose? not a chance, jake!" you retorted, matching his competitive energy with a grin of your own.

with the game about to begin, you took your position on the court, feeling the warm sand beneath your feet and the anticipation building in the air. sunghoon flashed you an encouraging smile before the match started, his unwavering support giving you an extra boost of confidence.

as the game progressed, laughter and friendly banter filled the air, each point won or lost accompanied by cheers and groans from both teams. despite jake's confident taunts, your team managed to hold your own, each player contributing their skills and teamwork to keep the game tight.

in the end, it was a close match, with both teams giving it their all until the very last point. but as the final point was scored, your team emerged victorious, erupting into cheers and high-fives as you celebrated your hard-fought win.

"another round? maybe with riki this time?" sunghoon suggests, glancing behind at the couple. everyone nods and calls riki over, along with mina.

"oh, come on, riki! join us, it'll be fun," jake calls out, waving riki over with a grin.

riki hesitates for a moment, exchanging a glance with mina before standing up and making his way to the group. mina follows closely behind, a slight frown creasing her brow.

as riki joins the circle, the atmosphere shifts slightly, a subtle tension hanging in the air. you can't help but notice the awkwardness between riki and mina, wondering if anyone else has picked up on it.

as the game begins, you can't help but feel the weight of the unresolved tension lingering in the air. every interaction between riki and mina seems strained, their once easy rapport now marred by unspoken words and lingering doubts.

despite your efforts to focus on the game, your mind keeps drifting back to the uncomfortable situation unfolding before you. it's clear that something is amiss, but no one seems willing to address the elephant in the room.

as the game progresses, you can't shake the feeling that this outing, meant to be a fun-filled day at the beach, has taken an unexpected turn. and with each passing moment, the tension threatens to unravel the fragile bonds that hold your friend group together.

in the midst of the game, your attention scattered, you fail to notice the volleyball hurtling towards you. suddenly, both sunghoon and riki spring into action, moving at lightning speed to shield you from the incoming ball. sunghoon reaches you first, his arms wrapping around your waist protectively as he checks if you're alright.

"are you okay, yn?" he asks, concern etched into his features as he holds you close.

you nod, reassured by sunghoon's presence, but your gaze flickers to riki, who stands nearby with a nonchalant expression. despite sunghoon's awareness of riki's proximity, he brushes it off, focusing solely on ensuring your safety.

"thanks, sunghoon," you murmur gratefully, offering him a small smile.

meanwhile, riki rolls his eyes at the scene, a hint of annoyance flashing across his face before he turns away, seemingly unbothered.

as the game comes to an abrupt end, jake takes the initiative to diffuse the tension, suggesting that it's time for dinner despite the sun still hanging high in the sky. his words break the awkward atmosphere, prompting everyone to agree with a collective sigh of relief.

"yeah, let's call it a day," sunghoon chimes in, shooting a reassuring glance at you.

as the group begins to disperse, mina's gaze lingers on riki, her brow furrowing with realization. it dawns on her that riki's peculiar behavior may be more than just casual indifference — perhaps, deep down, he harbors feelings for you.

"you like her, don't you?" mina's voice cuts through the tension, her words hanging heavy in the air as everyone turns to look at riki.

riki freezes, caught off guard by mina's direct question. his cheeks flush slightly as he meets her gaze, unable to form a coherent response in front of everyone.

the atmosphere grows uncomfortably silent as the weight of mina's words sinks in, casting a shadow over the group. you exchange a glance with sunghoon, both of you unsure of how to navigate the sudden awkwardness that has enveloped the once cheerful gathering.

in yuna's room, the tension from the beach outing still lingered in the air like a heavy fog. yuna paced back and forth, her frustration evident in every movement.

"she's so dumb, why would she say that with everyone there?! she could've just talked to him in private, gosh, i knew i never liked her," yuna exclaimed, her voice laced with anger and disbelief.

you reached out to your best friend, trying to soothe her frayed nerves. "hey, maybe she was just in shock, in realization, yun. calm down," you urged gently, hoping to diffuse the situation before it escalated further.

yuna huffed, her agitation not yet subsiding. "but still, it's such a personal thing to bring up in front of everyone. poor riki must feel so embarrassed," she lamented, sinking onto her bed with a frustrated sigh.

you nodded in understanding, sitting down beside her. "i get it, it wasn't the most tactful move on mina's part. maybe she just didn't think before speaking," you suggested, trying to offer a different perspective.

yuna sighed, running a hand through her hair. "i just hate seeing riki like this. it's obvious he's struggling with his feelings, and mina's comment probably didn't help," she said, her voice softer now, filled with concern for her friend.

"i know, but maybe this will be a wake-up call for him to confront his feelings," you offered, trying to find a silver lining in the situation.

yuna nodded, her expression thoughtful. "you might be right. i just hope things don't get even more awkward between them," she said, casting a worried glance towards the door as if expecting riki or mina to walk in at any moment.

yuna suggests that you talk to riki, to make him realize that it's too late now and he needs to get over these feelings he developed for you.

you consider her suggestion carefully, knowing that it might not be an easy conversation to have. but you also understand the importance of addressing the situation before it becomes even more complicated.

"yeah, maybe you're right. i'll talk to him," you agree, steeling yourself for the inevitable awkwardness that lies ahead.

yuna gives you a supportive smile, grateful for your willingness to help. "i know it won't be easy, but i think it's for the best. riki needs to understand that life moves on, and dwelling on what could have been will only hold him back," she says, her tone hopeful yet firm.

with yuna's encouragement, you resolve to have the difficult conversation with riki, hoping that it will help him find closure and move forward.

after discussing, you decide that it might be best to give riki some time to process everything before broaching the subject with him.

"i think you're right, yuna. i'll give riki some space for now," you say, nodding in agreement with your friend.

yuna nods in understanding, appreciating your decision. "that sounds like a good plan. let him come to terms with everything on his own terms," she says, her tone thoughtful.

with a shared understanding, you and yuna leave the conversation at that, knowing that confronting riki about his feelings is a delicate matter that requires careful consideration and timing. for now, all you can do is wait and hope that he finds the clarity he needs to move forward.

after a while, yuna decides it's time for you to head back to your shared room with sunghoon. as she closes the door behind you, she can't resist making a few suggestive jokes.

"alright, lovebirds, time for some alone time," yuna teases, winking mischievously as she sends you off.

you chuckle at her playful banter, shaking your head as you walk towards your room where sunghoon is waiting for you, already out the door. just before you reach him, yuna calls out one last joke.

"remember to keep it pg-13, we don't want to hear any wild noises," she adds with a laugh, causing you to blush and sunghoon to raise an eyebrow in amusement.

you enter the room, trying to stifle your laughter from yuna's playful remarks. sunghoon looks at you with a bemused expression, clearly curious about what transpired outside.

"what was that all about?" sunghoon asks, a smirk playing on his lips as he approaches you.

you shake your head, still grinning at yuna's antics. "oh, just yuna being her usual cheeky self," you reply, trying to downplay the situation.

sunghoon chuckles, wrapping his arms around you. "well, now that we have some privacy, what do you say we make the most of it?" he suggests, his voice low and suggestive as he leans in closer.

you feel a rush of excitement at his words, your cheeks flushing with anticipation. as you lean in to kiss him, you can't help but be grateful for the playful banter that brought you both closer together.

the next morning, you feel a gentle nudge as sunghoon wakes you up, his warm smile greeting you as you open your eyes. hovering over you on the bed, he leans in, and you plant a soft kiss on his nose before stretching lazily.

"good morning, sleepyhead," sunghoon says affectionately, his eyes sparkling with fondness.

you return his smile and sit up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. sunghoon gives you a quick peck on the cheek before getting up to let you get ready.

downstairs in the kitchen, you find riki sitting with sunoo and jungwon, engaged in a lively conversation. you offer them a warm greeting as you join them, feeling the pleasant buzz of morning chatter fill the room.

"good morning, everyone," you say cheerfully, exchanging smiles with the group.

while you're carefully arranging sunghoon's cereal with fruits, jake shuffles into the kitchen, his eyes still heavy with sleep. spotting you, he does a double-take and then lets out a surprised gasp.

"whoa, what's that on your neck?" jake asks, his voice laced with sleepy confusion.

you freeze in your tracks, feeling your cheeks flush with embarrassment as you realize what he's referring to. jungwon stifles a laugh at jake's sleepy shock, while sunoo and sunghoon exchange surprised glances.

riki, sitting nearby, seems to pretend not to notice, focusing intently on his breakfast.

you meet riki's gaze briefly, a pang of guilt washing over you as you remember your plan to talk to him soon.

sunghoon, catching on to the situation, jokingly scolds jake. "hey, jake, mind your own business!" he says with a playful grin, trying to lighten the mood.

amidst the light-hearted banter, sunghoon shoots you a knowing look, silently asking if you're okay. you offer him a reassuring smile, silently thanking him for his understanding.

jake, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, seems to realize the awkwardness of his comment. "oops, sorry, didn't mean to pry," he mumbles sheepishly, retreating slightly.

you nod, grateful for his apology, and continue with your breakfast preparations, trying to shake off the embarrassment. sunghoon steps in to help, smoothly diverting the conversation to a more neutral topic.

as the atmosphere in the kitchen lightens, you exchange a glance with riki once more, silently acknowledging the impending conversation that hangs between you.

with breakfast finally ready, everyone gathers around the table, the earlier awkwardness dissipating into the background as laughter and chatter fill the air.

after breakfast, you and sunghoon take on the role of "parents" of the group, tackling the dishes together as the others relax or continue with their morning routines. the warm water and soapy suds provide a soothing backdrop as you work side by side, the clinking of dishes filling the air.

as you scrub away at a stubborn stain, sunghoon glances at you, a serious expression crossing his face. "hey, yn, now might be a good time to talk to riki," he says gently, his voice barely above a whisper over the sound of running water.

you pause, considering his words, knowing that sunghoon is right. it's better to address the situation sooner rather than later, especially before any more awkwardness arises.

nodding in agreement, you steel yourself for the conversation ahead, grateful for sunghoon's support and understanding. with a shared determination, you and sunghoon finish up the dishes and then make your way to find riki, ready to finally have the difficult but necessary conversation.

riki was alone, engrossed in a video game when you approached him, quietly taking a seat beside him. his fingers paused on the controller, and you could sense the tension radiating from him as you spoke up.

"hey, riki… can we talk?" you ask softly, your voice carrying a mixture of concern and determination.

riki's eyes flicker with uncertainty as he turns to look at you, his expression guarded. he hesitates for a moment, clearly apprehensive about what the conversation might entail.

"yeah, sure," he replies, his voice slightly shaky as he sets the controller down and turns his full attention to you.

as you and riki sit together, the weight of the impending conversation hangs heavily in the air. you take a deep breath, steeling yourself for the difficult words you know you need to say.

"riki, i… i need to talk to you about something," you begin, your voice trembling slightly with emotion. "i'm sorry… i know you have feelings for me, but… i don't feel the same way anymore."

riki's expression falls, his shoulders slumping as your words sink in. "i… i understand," he replies softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "i'm sorry, yn. i should've realized my feelings for you sooner… i regret rejecting you before."

you shake your head, feeling a pang of sadness at the pain in riki's eyes. "it's not your fault, riki," you say gently, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "we were just meant to be friends… childhood friends who grew apart romantically."

riki nods, his gaze dropping to his lap as he struggles to find the right words. "i should've tried harder… i should've fought for us," he murmurs, his voice thick with regret.

you offer him a sympathetic smile, squeezing his shoulder gently. "it's okay, riki," you assure him. "we both made mistakes… but we can't change the past. we need to focus on the relationships we have now, separately."

riki nods again, a sense of acceptance settling over him as he looks up to meet your gaze. "yeah… you're right," he says quietly. "i'm sorry for everything, yn."

you nod in return, a weight lifting off your shoulders as you both come to terms with the situation. despite the sadness of the moment, there's a sense of closure in knowing that you can move forward as friends, each on your own path towards happiness.

as they finish talking and discussing the future of their friendship, they share a heartfelt hug, a silent understanding passing between them. just as they begin to pull away, mina walks into the room, her expression apologetic.

"hey, sorry to interrupt," mina says softly, her eyes filled with sincerity. "i just wanted to say that i didn't mean to cause any awkwardness yesterday. my intentions were genuine, i promise."

riki and you exchange a glance, a flicker of relief passing between you at mina's words. "it's okay, mina," you say with a warm smile, genuinely touched by her sincerity. "we understand."

riki nods in agreement, his expression softening as he looks at mina. "yeah, we know you didn't mean any harm," he says, his voice filled with reassurance.

mina lets out a relieved sigh, a weight lifting off her shoulders as she smiles gratefully at her friends. "thank you for understanding," she says, her voice tinged with relief. "i'm really glad we can move past this."

with a sense of resolution in the air, the three friends share a brief but meaningful moment of understanding, each grateful for the bond of friendship that binds them together.

as they wandered through the bustling streets, the group took in the sights and sounds of the city, their laughter echoing off the walls as they recounted funny stories and shared inside jokes.

"hey, jungwon, are you sure we're going the right way?" sunghoon teased, earning a playful shove from jungwon.

"of course i am! i've got a great sense of direction," jungwon retorted with a grin.

sunoo jumped in with his signature humor, "yeah, if by 'great sense of direction' you mean getting lost every five minutes!"

the group erupted into laughter, with yuna adding, "well, at least we'll have an adventure!"

riki, who had been quiet earlier, chuckled softly, finally joining in on the fun. "yeah, who needs a map when you've got jungwon?"

jake, always quick with a witty remark, quipped, "yeah, he's our own personal compass, leading us in circles!"

the banter continued as they strolled through the colorful streets, each joke and comment bringing them closer together. despite the occasional wrong turn and detour, they knew that as long as they were together, every moment would be an adventure.

reaching a park with various attractions and things to do, you spotted something that reminded you of your childhood. with a grin, you grabbed riki's arm and pulled him over to take a look.

"hey, remember this?" you said, pointing excitedly at the familiar sight.

riki's eyes lit up with recognition, and he chuckled as memories of your childhood flooded back. "yeah, i remember. you were terrible at this game," he teased, nudging you playfully.

you rolled your eyes, laughing along with him. "hey, i wasn't that bad! besides, i bet i can beat you now," you challenged, a competitive glint in your eye.

riki smirked, accepting the challenge. "oh, it's on," he declared, leading the way to the game booth with a playful grin. as you both stepped up to the challenge, the friendly rivalry between you reignited, sparking laughter and camaraderie as you competed against each other just like old times.

next, the group dispersed into two teams, with you and riki finding yourselves on opposing sides. as the game began, the competitive spirit ignited once again, with each team determined to come out on top.

with laughter and friendly banter filling the air, the group watched eagerly, cheering on their respective teammates and teasing each other mercilessly at every missed shot or fumbled move. sunghoon's infectious laughter echoed through the park as he cheered you on, while jake couldn't resist poking fun at riki whenever he made a mistake.

later, the group found themselves deciding what to eat, so they headed to the mall, hoping to satisfy their hunger with a variety of options. However, their plans hit a snag as they found themselves once again getting lost, courtesy of Jungwon's questionable sense of direction.

"Jungwon, are you sure we're going the right way?" Sunghoon asked with a chuckle, glancing around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Jungwon scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh, well, I thought so, but maybe not," he admitted, his expression sheepish.

Sunoo couldn't resist chiming in with a grin, "Looks like we're taking the scenic route again!"

Yuna laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe we should invest in a GPS for Jungwon," she joked.

next, they reached the mall, and as they waited for everyone to order at the diner, sunghoon and riki found themselves drawn to the claw machines and booths in the retro-designed diner. amidst the flashing lights and nostalgic ambiance, they shared a quiet, one-on-one conversation.

sunghoon leaned against the claw machine, his gaze thoughtful as he spoke. "hey, riki, i just wanted to say that there's no bad blood between us, you know?"

riki glanced up, surprised by sunghoon's sincerity. "yeah, i know. i appreciate that," he replied, a hint of gratitude in his voice.

sunghoon continued, his tone gentle. "i know things might be a bit awkward because of… well, you know," he gestured vaguely, referring to riki's feelings for yn.

riki nodded, understanding. "yeah, i get it. but i want you to know that i'm really happy for you and yn. you guys deserve each other."

sunghoon smiled, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. "thanks, riki. that means a lot," he said, grateful for riki's understanding.

as they continued to chat, the tension between them eased, replaced by a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect.

"hey, riki, i get it. it's not easy to just switch off those feelings," sunghoon said sympathetically, placing a reassuring hand on riki's shoulder. "but you've got to try to move forward. you know, there's this saying: 'the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.'"

riki chuckled weakly, appreciating sunghoon's attempt at lightening the mood. "yeah, i guess you're right. but what if i just can't seem to shake these feelings?"

sunghoon nodded understandingly. "it's tough, i know. but you've got to focus on what's in front of you. mina is a great girl, and she really cares about you. don't waste the chance to get to know her better and appreciate what you have with her."

riki sighed, knowing that sunghoon was right. "yeah, you're right. thanks, sunghoon. i needed to hear that," he admitted gratefully.

sunghoon gave him a supportive smile. "anytime, buddy. just remember, you're not alone in this. we're all here for you." with that, they shared a brief, understanding nod, knowing that even though the road ahead might be tough, they would face it together as friends.

as riki and sunghoon triumphantly emerge from the claw machine area, each clutching a plush toy in their hands, their faces light up with excitement. with a shared grin, they make their way back to the rest of the group, eager to show off their prizes.

"check it out, guys! look what we won!" sunghoon announces proudly, holding up his prize—a penguin with a big, friendly smile.

riki joins in, brandishing his own victory—a cute fluffy baby chick. "and look at this beauty! who's the claw machine champion now?"

jake chuckles, giving them both a playful pat on the back. "yeah, seriously, well done! maybe you should start your own claw machine championship league."

sunghoon beams with pride as he presents you with a cute penguin plush, his eyes sparkling with affection as he watches your delighted reaction.

"here you go, babe," he says softly, placing the plush in your hands. "a little something to remember this day by."

you can't help but smile back at him, touched by his thoughtfulness. "thank you, sunghoon," you reply, leaning in to press a gentle kiss on his cheek. "i love it."

meanwhile, riki playfully teases mina, pretending to keep a tight grip on the chick plush he won, much to her amusement. "hey, hands off, riki!" she laughs, attempting to wrestle the toy from his grasp.

riki grins mischievously, holding the plush just out of mina's reach. "sorry, babe, but this little guy is mine," he teases, feigning innocence as mina gives him an exaggerated pout.

with a playful roll of her eyes, mina gives riki a gentle shove. "fine, keep it then," she says, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "but you owe me one."

riki chuckles, relenting as he hands over the plush to mina. "of course, anything for you," he replies, leaning in to press a sweet kiss on her forehead.

as the group shares in the lighthearted moment, laughter filling the air, sunghoon wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. you lean into his embrace, feeling grateful for the love and laughter that surrounds you.

as they enjoy their meal, riki leans over to mina with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "hey, mina, what do you say we pretend to propose to each other so we can get free dessert?" he suggests, a playful smirk playing on his lips.

mina stifles a laugh, shaking her head at his antics. "as tempting as that sounds, i don't think i want to get proposed to at a random retro diner," she replies, a hint of amusement in her voice.

sunoo chimes in from across the table, his tone teasing. "yeah, i don't think that's quite the romantic setting you're looking for, mina," he quips, earning a chuckle from the rest of the group.

riki shrugs, still wearing a playful grin. "hey, it was worth a shot, right?" he says with a wink, before digging back into his meal. the group shares a laugh at his antics, enjoying the light-hearted moment as they continue to savor their time together.

sunghoon chuckles at riki's failed attempt, then a mischievous glint sparkles in his eyes as an idea forms. "hey, why don't we pretend it's yn's birthday? they'll definitely give us free dessert for that!"

yuna raises an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips. "but what if they ask for id? i doubt they'll believe you're turning twenty-one again," she teases, glancing at sunghoon with a playful glimmer in her eyes.

sunghoon laughs, waving off yuna's concern. "don't worry, we'll just tell them we left yn's id back at the beach house," he replies, confidence lacing his voice.

you furrow your brows in confusion as the conversation steers toward the topic of dessert. "what's with you guys and dessert?" you inquire, looking around at the group with a bemused expression.

jungwon grins, leaning back in his chair as he explains, "well, you see, dessert is the best part of any meal. and when it's free, well, it's even sweeter."

mina shrugs, letting out a laugh at your confused expression. "yeah, i mean, who doesn't love free dessert?" she chimes in, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

you can't help but chuckle at their enthusiasm, shaking your head in amusement. "fair enough," you concede, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "i guess i can't argue with that logic."

with everyone on board for the plan, you settle back in your seat, eagerly anticipating the sweet treat that awaits you at the end of the meal. after all, who could say no to free dessert?

as the waiter approaches their table, sunghoon leans in with a mischievous glint in his eye, flashing his most charming smile. "hey, is there any chance we could get some free dessert? it's my girlfriend's birthday today," he says, gesturing towards you with a playful wink.

the waiter's eyes light up with enthusiasm as he nods eagerly. "of course! happy birthday!" he exclaims, offering you a warm smile before dashing off to fetch the dessert.

as the waiter scurries away, the anticipation among the group grows palpable. sunghoon grins at you, excitement dancing in his eyes. "get ready for a sweet surprise, birthday girl," he whispers, his voice laced with excitement.

you can't help but laugh, feeling a mixture of amusement and nervous anticipation. "i can't believe you talked them into this," you reply, shaking your head in disbelief. "this is going to be hilarious."

across the table, yuna and mina exchange knowing glances, stifling giggles behind their hands. "i can't wait to see their faces when the entire diner starts singing," yuna whispers, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

as the minutes tick by, the anticipation mounts, and the group exchanges playful banter and speculation about what kind of dessert the waiter will bring out. finally, the waiter returns, carrying a decadent-looking dessert adorned with a flickering candle.

with a flourish, he sets the dessert down in front of you, offering another cheerful round of "happy birthday" as the entire diner erupts into applause.

on the way home, the group is abuzz with excitement, unable to contain their chatter about the day's silly antics. sunghoon leads the conversation, recounting each hilarious moment with animated gestures and infectious laughter.

"i still can't believe we convinced them it was your birthday," sunghoon chuckles, glancing at you with a playful grin. "that dessert was worth every bit of embarrassment."

yuna nods enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "and the look on everyone's faces when the whole diner started singing! priceless," she adds, shaking her head in fond remembrance.

mina joins in, her laughter echoing through the car. "i never knew free dessert could be so entertaining," she quips, casting a teasing glance at riki, who chuckles in agreement.

as the memories of the day's escapades continue to flow, the car fills with laughter and joy, each member of the group reliving their favorite moments and sharing in the camaraderie of the day. it's moments like these, filled with laughter and friendship, that make even the simplest of outings unforgettable.

a year later, the group gathers once again, this time to celebrate jake and sunghoon's college graduation. amidst the sea of graduation caps and gowns, the friends stand shoulder to shoulder, a testament to the bonds forged through years of shared laughter and unforgettable moments.

as they gather for a group photo, sunghoon pulls you close, his arm wrapped around your waist in a gesture of love and pride. "let's make sure to get a picture with the graduates," he whispers, his voice filled with excitement.

after a while you glance over at jake and sunghoon, who are beaming with pride as they pose for pictures with their families. "they look so happy," you murmur, your heart swelling with pride for your friends' achievements.

sunghoon's gaze softens as he looks at you and walks back to you, his eyes filled with love and admiration. "you'll be up there next year," he says, his voice brimming with confidence. "i can't wait to see you walk across that stage and receive your diploma."

you feel a rush of warmth at his words, grateful for his unwavering support and encouragement. "thank you," you whisper, leaning into his embrace.

as the celebrations continue, the group surrounds jake and sunghoon, showering them with congratulations and well-wishes. amidst the laughter and chatter, sunghoon's voice cuts through the noise, his words filled with hope and anticipation. "and when it's your turn next year, yn," he says, his voice ringing with pride, "i'll be right here, cheering you on every step of the way."

you meet his gaze, your heart swelling with love for the man by your side. with sunghoon's unwavering support and the love of your friends, you know that no challenge is too great, and that together, you can conquer anything that comes your way.

as the camera flashes, capturing the joyous moment with jake and sunghoon, riki sidles up beside you, a playful grin on his face. "can you believe we're next in line for this graduation gig?" he quips, nudging you gently.

you chuckle, enjoying the light-hearted banter with your friend. "i can't wait to see you in that cap and gown," you reply, a teasing glint in your eyes. "just don't trip on stage, okay?"

riki laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "hey, i make no promises," he retorts, playfully nudging you back. "but seriously, it's going to be our turn soon. let's make the most of our last year, yeah?"

you nod in agreement, a sense of excitement bubbling in your chest at the thought of the year ahead. "absolutely," you agree, a smile tugging at your lips. "but no wild parties the night before graduation, okay? we don't want any hungover mishaps on stage."

riki raises an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "no promises," he says with a smirk, earning a playful shove from you.

as the day draws to a close and the sun begins to dip below the horizon, you find yourself reflecting on the bond you share with riki. through the twists and turns of college life, you've stood by each other's side, weathering storms and celebrating victories together.

sure, there may have been moments of uncertainty and confusion, but at the end of the day, your friendship with riki remains steadfast and true. he's more than just a friend; he's your confidant, your partner in crime, and your platonic soulmate.

as you look ahead to the future, you know that no matter where life takes you, riki will always be there, ready to lend a listening ear, share a laugh, or offer a shoulder to lean on. and as you embrace the warmth of his friendship, you can't help but feel grateful for the countless memories you've shared and the ones yet to come.

with riki by your side, the journey ahead may be filled with twists and turns, but one thing is for certain: as long as you have each other, you'll always find your way.

#I have not read anything in a while #i cried #the ending reminded me of lalaland #it also reminded me of memories I had hidden away

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