#and...jiwoo/jiyoung...sigh

[heartrenderscove]

'Lady Gestella holds Kayden in her heart'

Be fr with me rn😭😭

She holds him in her heart over what? A bunch of letters and one sided correspondence?? It wasn't even letters they were sending to each other, it was just some mail she received and never replied to

She hadn't even spoken to Kayden irl but somehow started crushing on him to this extent? It's giving crazy celebrity crush actually

It's like falling for someone over a bunch of one sided texts 😭😭 RIP Gestella, you'd never survive catfishing

[eatsbop]

Curtin standing next to the Patricks like, "If I had to ask my old man to set me up on date, I'd rather stay single all my life oh my gosh."

And Kayden's nodding sighing, "Jiwoo's mostly a latchkey kid since he was really really young. Can you believe he's been living on his own since he was in middle school? He takes care of his own meals, chores, grocery shopping, arranges his house bills, and he even adopts and takes care of strays! Talk about knowing how to stand on his own feet."

Pluton clearing his throat, "I've known him for two weeks but forget about setting him up on a date. They should be the ones trying to impress him. Us. I won't give Jiwoo just to anyone. Who was that lady who keeps popping up to our house to talk to Jiwoo?"

Curtin, raising his voice: "Haaaaa don't be rude. That's the Shinhwa leader Miss Yoo Jiyoung herself, did you not recognize her?! You see her little brother's one of Jiwoo's closest friends.."

Inhyuk and Ian:

[ahomeganeyatsu]

Role-reversal AU where Kayden is a runaway student from the World Academy. So by this point, Kayden's been living with Jiwoo for some time now.

He was on his way home with Inhyuk, Seongha and Jiyoung. He doesn't understand why they're coming over. It's not like they're friends. (Like he hadn't been pissed when the Klein brother's attacked them when it was him they were after. He totally didn't feel guilty when the reason they got injured was because they were trying to protect him.)

Before Inhyuk could say anything, something slams into Kayden. It wasn't unusual to have someone targeting Kayden. Usually, people from other schools came over to pick a fight with him. But an Awakener? Around school? There were guards posted around the area, even more now with the whole Dark debacle. They were not expecting an attack. Not this early.

The three take defensive stances. They know Kayden wouldn't want them invovled. More than that, they know he wouldn't go down easily. But they aren't going to back down.

They were wary of this stranger. The fact they hadn't even detected him says enough about his skill. None of them have been able to land a hit on Kayden in their spars before. Not one he allowed anyway. Jiyoung had grazed him once, but that was more because Jiwoo had startled them. Kayden hadn't been cleared from the med bay as he had led them to believe. And recently, they learned their resident grump wasn't at his 100% for some time now. (He probably hasn't been since they met him.)

And yet here stood before them a stranger who managed to catch Kayden off guard and send him sprawling to the ground. It wouldn't have been surprising if it had been an adult. But the guy couldn't be any older than them.

They had a right to be wary.

Whatever any of them had planned to say was cut off by Kayden's, "What the fuck Kartain?!"

That... wasn't the reaction they had expected.

"I should be the one saying that! What the fuck, Kayden?!"

Kayden sputters. "Wha— Why are you even mad? I'm the one that got punched here!"

"That shouldn't have even hit! Your force control is shit! What the hell happened to you? Why weren't you at the Academy? Why was everyone so friggin tense? I can't even mention your name without giving anyone a conniption. What the fuck did you do?"

"Huh. So they did keep it quiet."

"Yeah, whatever shit you pulled. They aren't happy. If you're here and they've put a ban on your own name, things aren't pretty. So are you going to tell me?"

Kayden raises a brow. "Isn't it obvious?"

Kartain's tense shoulders drop. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Figures."

"What are you even doing here anyway? I'm pretty sure that shitty old woman didn't give you permission to leave."

Kartain mimic's Kayden's earlier gesture. "I don't need their permission."

Kayden stares. "You're an idiot."

Kartain bristles at the statement and points an accusing finger at Kayden. "Well, you're the idiot first!"

"You're an even bigger idiot for following me!"

"You're the one without a braincell for running in the first place!"

"You're one to talk! You still came after me knowing you'll be in the same situation as I am!"

Before it could escalate any further (really, none of them knew if the pair were going to fight or making out, it was confusing), Inhyuk decided to step in.

"We get it! You both equally love each other. So can any of you tell us what exactly is happening?" The twin glares Inhyuk receives has him quickly hiding behind Jiyoung.

Yeah, Inhyuk was not going to get in the middle of that anymore.

[lilacshouko]

We Need a Little Romance In Life

Warning(s): bad grammar 😭 I’m trying to fix within my abilites | Update: unkown | Webtoon heavy (follow webtoon with a change here and there) | OC centric (Female)-but you can think however you want.

masterlist | back | next

Chapter 2

Enjoy! ><

A few days later

Kartein went out first, followed by Claris once she heard a ruckus outside. She just finished giving the final touch to Jiwoo’s. She was greeted by a bunch of awakeners, and 4 of them are in their teen.

‘They must be Jiwoo’s friends’ 

Unknowingly, she smiled and felt warm.

‘What a sight’

“Thank you very much”

Claris returned to her brother's side and noticed Jiyoung bowing to Kartein.

“It’s Yoo Jiyoung, the president of Shinhwa”

Kartein noted, The black-haired beauty replied with a yes.

While Kartein takes a look around, Claris decides to introduce herself formally to Jiyoung.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Yoo Jiyoung, Korea’s no.1 awakeners and Shinhwa’s President. I am Claris, Kartein’s younger sister.” Claris swallows her shyness, she has to make a dignified, good impression in front of other influential awakeners!

“It is a pleasure, Lady Claris”

“Please, just Claris. I’m just happy to meet other powerful female awakeners, I’m sure we could be good friends. I would love to chat more with you, but we have to rest now. See you next time, Jiyoung”

Kayden, Kartein, and Claris left the place to go back to the house. Kayden took the lead.

While Kartein is busy trying the technique, Claris went out for a few days, to do some business, Kartein and Kayden are informed that she won’t be at the house for a few days. Kartein albeit reluctantly decided to let her, as long as she keeps contact.

---

With Claris, she arrived at the Union. Now, standing in front of Park Seongha. Blushing, fidgeting, and looking up. That man is taller than her. She even wears heels! And she only comes to his upper torso area?!

“He-Hello! I keep my words!”

“Yes. I can see that. Uhm, do you need something from Union Lady Claris?”

“O-oh! Please, just Claris! Ur..yes…I-I-I would like to meet Dr.Delein!”

Seongha stiffened, 

“I’m afraid….I can’t let you visit Dr.Delein”

“Oh? Urm….why?”

“Because he’s under strict surveillance and contact is minimalized, to not have the previous trouble happen in the future”

“…..I can’t have that….”

Despite Claris' blooming crush on Seongha, she wants to meet Dr.Delein in person, and she will. Her demeanor and aura changed, Seongha noticed and tightened up his guard. Claris not longer blushing and smiling, but cold.

“…I want to meet Dr.Delein…now, Park Seongha from Union, it will do you good to lead the way. I don’t like to play around”

Seongha frowned, but he very much understand, that Union would not be safe if he didn’t abide by her wish. Claris is known to be a pacifist now, but in the past, Claris are known to be ruthless, the only outcome from fighting her was death, or their core shattered beyond fixing. He couldn’t take any chances, with the current things going on in the country.

“Alright, but I will stay inside too. I hope you can understand that, …Claris”

The woman back to her smiling face and pink dusting her cheeks.

“Yes, of course! Tha-thank you!”

Seongha sighed, he can’t deny that she looks very ravishing, wearing a sundress and her smiling face….her round eyes and plump, soft, lips….

‘Urg, focus! Park Seongha!’

Focus he did. Seongha leads the way.

—-

Inside the visiting room.

Claris sit in front of Dr.Delein, and Park Seongha standing near the table beside Claris.

Claris is still with a smile on her face, while Dr.Delein looks a bit taken back and wary of her presence.

“Hello, Dr.Delein, I’m afraid we never meet. But I heard numerous illegal deeds you did around. I have to say, you did a great job covering your track"

“Uh, Yes…”

“O-oh! I’m Claris!”

“Yes..Lady Claris. I know about you”

“All good things I hope!”

“…”

“No-now! I come here to tell you something”

“What is it?”

“Please refrain from running away again like before. Even if your student, Wooin is in danger. It won’t do you or him any good, when it comes to that, I may or may not have to finish you off. I acknowledge your abilities, especially how nice of you to heal Jiwoo’s arms. But this and that are different things. Wooin is a strong boy, trust him”

“I know…I understand..is that all?”

“…..”

Claris smiled and stood up, Dr.Delein noticed and followed. She extends her hand, and he reciprocates. 

“I just don’t want a knowledgeable awakener like you to fall into the wrong hands”

Suddenly blue energy appeared from Claris’s hand to Dr.Delein. Seongha immediately separate the two, and he glared at Claris.

The platinum-haired woman flinched, and before he could say anything, Claris cut him off

“Re-relax! I just mark him down!! Now I know if he ever ran away, I can easily track him down. Of course, I will inform Union if that will ever happen! So..so..calm down okay”

Seongha, still frowning, decided to trust her words.

"Now, my business is done here"

"...You just come to warn and..mark..me? How can you know that I won't erase the mark..?"

Claris smiles,

"I come here to mark you, seeing your past crimes and you're valuable, not to me but others. Also, you're free to try erasing the mark. I am sure you know my capabilities Dr.Delein. You're smart" 

With that, she walked out.

Now that they are out from the Union’s Headquarters.

Claris gives her phone to Seongha, 

“?”

“Please, give a y-your number”

She can’t stand still, fidgeting with a red face.

Seongha obliged. 

*ping* 

came from Seongha’s.

“That-that’s my number. Feel free to contact me, Seongha.”

He nodded, watching her. Feeling a bit warm...

“Uhm, are you busy right now, Seongha?”

“No……why?”

Claris gather all the courage and grab Seongha’s hand, gripping it hard.

“Take me around will you?”

Shooting Seongha her pleading eyes, he froze. 

---

Taglist: (comment on masterlist post)

@kreishin

[jiye0ngs]

what would it be like baking with the friend group ?

For all of them: absolute chaos.

Given JISUK’s spontaneous nature, trust that both of you aren’t going to follow any recipes or instructions. Homeboy just takes one quick look at the recipe and says, “Okay, let’s go.” Jisuk, you say, we have to follow it. Jisuk, you’d argue, it said three cups of salt. Not five. Of course he doesn’t listen. Of course you eventually give up and both of you spend the entire time eyeballing things instead of measuring them properly and mistaking numbers and calculations. While waiting for the goods to bake in the oven, both of you throw flour at each other and end up slipping on trash/ plastic bags on the floor that you had failed to discard, then proceed to laugh your asses off. ‘SHIT, WE’RE IN TROUBLE,’ would be the last thing you’d both think of when Jiyoung eventually comes home. Good thing you have desserts readily cooked to bribe her off from scolding you, though.

Baking with WOOIN, on the other hand, is a pleasant experience. Pleasant, but not smooth: that’s because you both get carried away chatting and/or playing games while waiting for the goods to bake or cook. Mixing, kneading, and placing batter in neat portions is calm and soothing; Wooin is quiet, and he looks happy while making food. But when something burning starts to smell, he descends into utter confusion while staring at the oven. “I don’t know how to put it out,” he’d say, “My powers will only make it worse…?” Which, okay, that’s true, but also Wooin. Bestie. The pot handle is right there. And so you both sigh in relief and take out the goods 😭 Best thing is how neither of you wait to let the food cool down; you chomp your way through the thing while doing ‘HASHADHADHSFJDSHAAHA’ noises with your mouth. The food is burnt but that’s okay. It’s…the memories that count.

SUBIN belongs in Masterchef. “Let’s get cooking, bestie!” she’d say while rolling up her sleeves, and you descend into a quick and easy division of labor as you follow a meticulous recipe. You both complain and laugh about the long story that accompanies the recipe (“Sharon, who the hell cares about your great-grandfather that trekked 5 kilometers every day to procure blueberries?” Subin says, while rolling dough,) and dance around to music in the kitchen. While waiting for the dessert to cook, you take turns spraying whipped cream into your mouth – which turns out to be sort of a problem later on, since you end up having no whipped cream to place on your final product 😭 Not to worry, though! Subin bought another one in advance. She tops the thing off with a perfect swirl and takes numerous pictures, all of which you’ll both post on Instagram with the caption, “Baking Time With My Bestie. 🥰 #Baking #Baker.” You garner a hundred likes and one (1) comment from Yoo Jisuk complaining about how the cake probably tastes bad. Oh well.

You know how JIWOO is mostly calm in other things? Well, that calmness doesn’t really apply to baking. Baking with this best friend of yours is comparable to what Hercules felt while accomplishing the 12 Tasks, since hell, did you have to multitask all at once. You’d both be cooking up a simple dessert while trying to do your best following the instructions - then when you had your back turned, the kittens would climb up and start eating your mixture, which resulted in you and Jiwoo having to wrangle the cats off, accidentally knocking some stuff over, then starting again from scratch. Jiwoo gets nervous about everything too, and you have to assure him he’s doing correctly lest your best friend ends up double checking the recipe 15 times in a row. Jiwoo is more drained than a whole afternoon of training once you manage to put the dessert into the oven - admittedly, you were too. But again, once the oven rings, you both stand up and admire your work - it’s not that bad! Jiwoo eats it all up with a happy smile on his face. You invite him to another baking day next time. You both smile and cackle ominously while receiving concerned stares from cats.

[ladyhatter614]

Jiyoung: … the principal just called— Boyoung: It was Jisuk! Jaehyuk: It was Jisuk! Jiwoo, being the good friend that he is, tries to cover for Jisuk: It was me!

*Boyoung and Jaehyuk look pointedly at Jisuk*

Jisuk, sighing: It was me.

[excelsi-or]

your type (pt. 6)

Hiiii friends, it’s only been like two weeks! Pretty good in terms of posting for me lol. I don’t know what it is about this story in particular, but I feel so self-conscious about posting new parts. But I’m also not someone who likes to leave things half finished.

I hope you’re all doing well :) 

BIPOC recs: I actually have a few! Two books: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 - Cho Namjoo (basically follows a woman’s life in South Korea and all the micro-oppressive things that women face in their personal and career lives); Winners Take All - Anand Giridharadas (a non-fiction about how billionaires create such a disproportionate world for us all; I love listening to Anand’s talks about this subject. I find it fascinating). Music: Cross Country - Breland (excellent country song); Boyz II Men - Kirby (I love this woman’s energy)

w.c. 2.6k

pairing: jihoon x OC/reader

pt. 1; pt. 2; pt. 3; pt. 4; pt. 5

The summer semester has her in the research lab 8 hours a day. Luckily, Jihoon is also on campus for just as long. His professor got him a gig working on music for a few groups in various companies. It helps get his foot in the door, and while the deadlines are tight, he genuinely enjoys working.

They take their lunch breaks together, wandering the green or just wandering hallways if it’s too warm outside. But since he doesn’t have other classes, Jihoon’s been chatting with a few girls he’s met.

And he’s told her all about them, so she isn’t blindsided if someone else decides to share it with her.

“How was your date last night?” she asks at lunch.

Jihoon shrugs. The girl had come over since Seungcheol was at Jihyo’s. “She was whatever.”

She lifts an eyebrow, eating the sandwich that Seungkwan made for her lunch. She’s now taken to spending the night at Seungkwan and Hansol’s when Seungcheol visits.

Jihoon sighs. “Jiwoo was uninteresting.” When she has no response to this, he pouts. “She didn’t really have any opinions on anything, so we couldn’t find anything to talk about.”

“But you didn’t just go for dinner.”

“She was fine in bed.” Jihoon shrugs. “Didn’t really tell me what she liked, so hard to say how she felt about it.”

“Ahh.”

“What does that mean?”

She pops the rest of her sandwich in her mouth. “I don’t really know how to continue from that.”

Jihoon snorts. “Well, you’re the one who asked.”

She thinks for a minute. “Are you just saying she was uninteresting?” She kicks him lightly under the table. “Did you listen to her?”

“Of course I did!” Jihoon sips his coffee. “You said that I need to look at people more,” he makes a point of staring at her, “and to be aware of my body language because it comes off as standoffish.”

“And still?”

“All she talked about was her dog. I love talking about people’s dogs, but not for two hours.”

“Dinner was two hours?”

Jihoon shakes his head in frustration. “The kitchen kept getting the order wrong. Anyway, enough about my failed date, how’s your research going?” He pushes a napkin towards her.

She pulls out the pencil she was using to hold her hair up. Her hair cascades around her and she begins sketching out her reaction. While Jihoon hasn’t quite learned all the chemistry terminology, he recognizes various things, specifically the compounds she’s working on. She’d taught him some basics about catalytic testing, using drawings to help him follow along.

Multiple times she’s insisted that her research is really boring, especially for people who aren’t in science. But Jihoon likes listening to her talk, and her research lets her dominate the conversation. He asks questions and clarification, and she’s always great at simplifying things.

Jihoon has learned that her amazing attention to detail translates well to analyzing his songs. And she’s always very honest about the parts she likes and doesn’t like.

“I have some finished works I want your opinion on.” They start to clean up their table.

She glances up at him. “You don’t have a date tonight?”

Jihoon waits for her to fall into step with him. “I do, but I also have deadlines. So, if you’re not tired later, meet me in the studio?”

She waves goodbye to him. “I’ll let you know where I’m at.” She waits for him to exit the building before going to put her earphones in. As she’s heading to the stairs, she sees Seulgi heading towards her. They cross paths in the chemistry labs, but have never been on real speaking terms.

She smiles at Seulgi, about to go around her like normal, when the woman asks, “Are you and Jihoon dating?”

Despite her earphones in, she does hear the question. She turns. “Uhm, no.” She pauses and Seulgi says nothing. “Why?”

“I just…” Seulgi gives her a once over. “You seem too nice to be dating Jihoon.”

She’s taken aback by that observation. While Jihoon has given off the hot-cold vibe, player energy, and a slight lack of communication skills, she can’t say Jihoon’s ever warranted a comment like that. “We’re just…” She tries to come up with a word. “We’re just friends.”

“You’re smart.” Seulgi seems to mull something over. “But smart girls like you have fallen for his charm.”

“Like… you?”

“Once, but I’m not talking about me here. I’m talking about my friend.”

This piques her interest more than she wishes it did. Jihyo has warned her against listening to all these testimonials of women dating Jihoon.

“Maybe you just need to give the man a solid chance. If you’re gonna spend all your time with him anyway.”

Against Jihyo’s advice, she asks, “What happened to your friend?”

“Jihoon broke her heart. He doted on her and from the sounds of it, worshipped her, but then all of a sudden, he went cold. Stopped answering messages, stopped picking up the phone, avoiding her in the hallways. Then he said—”

“‘I’m ignoring you now, please leave me alone?’”

Seulgi tips her head. “Have you talked to Wendy?”

She runs her tongue along her bottom teeth. “No. I haven’t.”

“So how did you—?”

“I met another girl he’s dated. And… he’s a creature of habit, so… figured he’d say something similar.”

Seulgi hums. “Well, Wendy refuses to see any other man now. But she’s fine, mostly. We just can’t mention Jihoon around her. So, just…”

“Be careful?”

Seulgi chuckles. “So you’ve heard the warnings before?”

“A couple times.” Under her breath, she mutters, “Maybe I should heed them more.” She gives Seulgi a friendly nudge as she walks away. “Thanks for the warning.”

“Is everything okay?”

Jihoon received her text around 4:30, saying that she wasn’t feeling well and would go straight home after she was done in lab.

“Yeah, I’m just… I think I’m getting sick.”

She had seemed fine when he saw her.

“Okay, I’ll walk you home then.”

There’s a long pause. “I actually caught up with Taehyung, Jungkook’s boyfriend? He said he would walk me home.”

Jihoon turns in his chair at this odd development. “Oh. Okay. Well, I’ll… see you tomorrow then.”

“Bye.” Almost like an afterthought, she adds, “Sorry.”

Jihoon turns back to stare at the pieces of work he has open in the task bar that he wanted to show her. Instead, he closes them and goes back to work.

Time passes without him realizing. Before he knows it, it’s time for him to meet up with Ara. He glances at the clock, thinking.

Jihoon (19:14)

Meet me at the gym?

Jihoon (19:14)

Hey, don’t think I’ll be able to make it tonight. Caught a cold.

Soonyoung (19:15)

Sure. See you in 10.

Mingyu (19:15)

I’m in.

Ara (19:15)

If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you have another woman in mind.

But okay.

Get well soon, babe.

True to their word, Mingyu and Soonyoung meet him at the gym near their homes. Soonyoung leads the way inside and they go stretch while Jihoon disappears to change.

When he reemerges, Mingyu asks him what’s wrong.

“She cancelled on me.”

“Who?” Soonyoung is stretching on his right.

Jihoon crosses his right arm across his body, feels the stretch in his upper delt and across his arm. He updates them on what’s happened in the last 7 hours, from lunch, to her saying she’s sick, to Ara.

Mingyu frowns. “I didn’t realize you two were still going on dates. I thought you’d already gotten to the… dating part of dating.”

“Wait,” Soonyoung seems to realize something, “are you seeing other women right now? We cannot win this bet unless you commit!”

Mingyu observes Jihoon in the mirror. He has a dazed look in his eye, as if he’s thinking hard about something. “You actually like her.” He turns to Jihoon. “You’re genuinely upset that she didn’t come to the studio.”

Jihoon wasn’t really frowning before, but he is now. “No. I’m not.”

“Wonwoo hyung said that he thought you were seeing other women again.” Mingyu turns back to the mirror. “I said that couldn’t be possible, because you don’t like to lose.”

“Can we just work out?” His tone is harsh, but his friends hear a small plea in there too. They exchange looks over Jihoon’s head and shrug.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Soonyoung nudges him towards the free weights.

It isn’t until after their gym session on their way home that Soonyoung and Mingyu begin grilling him.

“Are you seeing other women right now?” Mingyu asks.

“Well…” Jihoon adjusts his bag on his shoulder. “Yeah.”

Soonyoung and Mingyu’s jaws drop.

“Dude. The bet.” Soonyoung gives him a push. “What if she finds out?”

Jihoon watches his feet move beneath him. “She already knows.”

“She knows? And she still goes out with you?” Mingyu demands. “Are you guys just friends?”

Soonyoung groans in frustration. “Seriously, Jihoon, bets are serious business. We went all in on this bet. You can’t just let Seokmin win a bet like this.”

“What happened, hyung?”

The question seems to release something in Jihoon. He throws his hands up in frustration. “I don’t know. I really don’t. She just… holds herself at a distance from me. I can’t seem to…” He makes grabbing motions in the air. “Get anything out of her.” He shakes his head. “Maybe we should just give up here. I don’t know if I can win this bet.”

“Yah!” Soonyoung throws an arm around his shoulders. He squeezes his arm. “I am not losing to Seokmin and Seungkwan on a bet that I know that we can win. You are the best at this.”

“She’s just as good at keeping me at a distance. And apparently she’s also had men castrated before.”

Mingyu and Soonyoung blink in surprise at the sudden information.

“Okay, well, we’re not going to let that happen to you,” Mingyu states.

Soonyoung agrees. “But you’re going to have to start pulling out al your moves. You—”

Jihoon shakes his head. “Listen to me. I have been at this since February. The girl won’t even let me kiss her.”

Mingyu scoffs. “You haven’t even kissed her yet? You guys are just friends.”

Soonyoung holds a hand up in Mingyu’s face. “You are not being encouraging.” He readjusts his grip around Jihoon. “Look. We’ll help you then. Lee Jihoon doesn’t tap out like this.”

“You said she canceled on you.” Mingyu tips his chin in Jihoon’s direction. “Why?”

“She said she was sick and found someone else to walk her home.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen. He releases his grip on Jihoon to get a better look at his face. “That’s it?”

Jihoon scowls. “Did I not tell you that I haven’t even kissed her yet? I eat lunch with her every day and then I walk her home.”

“Are we in the 1700s? What the fuck?” Mingyu demands.

“I can’t work out what makes her tick. She tells me stuff about herself, but nothing I can use. All I’ve learned is that she’s one of the smartest people I know, reads a lot, paints, and can give me actual feedback on my music.”

“Oh, come on, that can’t be all you’ve learned.”

Jihoon sighs, racking his brain for more information. There are obviously little things he’s noticed, like that she drinks a shit ton of water; that when she thinks something’s amusing, she lets out a little breath of laughter; or that she presses down on her fingers with her thumbs when she’s nervous. But he can’t share these things. They aren’t useful.

“I’ve learned she hasn’t really dated anyone since Byunggu. That she doesn’t even count that guy as a boyfriend so Jungkook is the last man she dated.”

“Byunggu… why do I know that name?” Soonyoung looks to Mingyu.

“Because he’s the guy who’s either been threatened, murdered or castrated,” Jihoon grumbles.

Soonyoung waves him off. “No.” He reaches behind Jihoon to hit Mingyu’s arm. “Isn’t he that guy who debuted last year?”

Mingyu’s brow furrows.

“He stopped coming to parties because he was filming some show or something, remember?” He pushes Mingyu, as if that will jog his memory. “He was one of your girls’ friends. Remember? She wouldn’t stop talking about him? That’s why you dumped her?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Mingyu pulls his phone out and looks something up. When he turns the phone to Jihoon, Jihoon squints at an article about this man who is currently doing small roles in various dramas. He doesn’t recognize the face. But until this point, he’d never seen any photos of this elusive ex. A debut would explain why he disappeared into thin air.

“What am I supposed to do with this information?” Jihoon pushes the phone away. “She clams up as soon as he comes up.”

“Okay, okay. Forget trying to replicate the men of the past.” Soonyoung says. “Just… be you.”

Jihoon stares at him in disbelief. “She doesn’t like me.”

“She must, because she’s spent a lot of time with you, hyung.” Mingyu sips from his water bottle. “Noona only gives certain people her time, if you haven’t noticed. Her girls, Hansol, Seungkwan, Wonwoo hyung these days.” He shrugs. “If you’re spending so much time with her, she likes you at least a little bit.”

Jihoon bites his tongue, annoyed that they’re right. “I’m only going to give this another month. If I can’t get this girl into my bed, then there’s no way she’s going to say ‘I love you’ first.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?” Jihyo asks.

The two roommates are having a night in, watching a movie but talking the entire time with take out on the table.

She came home looking preoccupied, so Jihyo forced her to put on her pajamas, pick what sort of take out they would eat, and to bundle up on the couch. Then she forced her roommate to tell her what was wrong.

“I don’t know. Do you think it’s a sign that two different women have told me I should be careful?” She pouts. “I don’t want to feel like I need to tread carefully.”

“I don’t know what Jihoon was like with those other girls, but he likes you. I know what a guy looks like when all he wants is to get you into his bed. That look on Jihoon’s face when he sees you is pure adoration.”

She carefully breaks apart a cookie before popping a piece into her mouth. “If anything, Jihoon’s just a friend.”

“A friend who adores you. Who you also seem to like.” Jihyo nudges her with the back of her hand. “You can’t go around thinking every boy is going to hurt you like Byunggu.”

“I don’t think that. Why would I think that if I don’t even give them a chance to try?”

Jihyo snorts, both amused and frustrated. “Jihoon is putting in the effort with you. You didn’t even give him your number for like a month and a half. And he still made it work.”

“I did that to keep him away from me.” She rolls her eyes, a slight smile on her face. “So, thanks for helping him out with that.”

“You still hang out with him.”

“You know, he’s seeing other girls now.”

Jihyo pauses. “Really?”

“He tells me about them. He had a date yesterday. He has one tonight.” She shakes her head. “I think it’s just better for me if we stay friends.” She notices Jihyo on her phone. “What are you doing now?”

“Asking Cheollie if Jihoon’s home.” Jihyo turns her phone her way, grinning. Seungcheol had sent a picture of Jihoon next to him on the couch. The two seem to be playing video games. “Give the man a chance. You don’t know what kind of boyfriend he can be if you don’t.”