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makochi-furin · 2 months

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THE THREE WAYS THAT KAJI REN PROTECTS YOU

A/N: Hi, all. This is an example format of one of my types of structures for writing this sort of content. This is a hc-scenario mix :)

WARNING(s): sexual harassment, reader is backhanded (not by kaji)

—Kaji Ren doesn't play when it comes to his s/o. He's well known for his temper, and has quite a short fuse. That's why he wears his headphones and always has a sucker: so he can't hear someone talk shit and snap, and so he can't say anything back to make the confrontation worse. He actively does his best to control this part of him—the part that wants to break a mf's jaw. When it comes to his s/o, he's even more likely to temper it down. When it comes to someone messing with his s/o, bets are off

—He's very gentle with you. He's very aware of himself around you, and how he can be scary and rough around the edges. The last thing he wants is for you to feel unsafe in his presence, or scared of him. He really does his best to not act like a delinquent around you. Really. He tries so hard, yall

—You have probably heard of some of the things he's done, particularly from the townsfolk who go on and on about how amazing Bofurin is, and how they saved the town from different gangs and teams. Sure, you know he's strong, and you know he often gets into fights (that much is evident from the scratches and bruises he always has on him), but it's hard to connect your sweet, quiet boyfriend to the big, bad member of Bofurin who kicks ass and takes names like it's his job

—He's also very quiet, even around you. It's not intentional. Kaji is just a generally quiet person, and prefers to listen to you ramble about whatever more than talking about his own day (especially since his days usually consist of fighting). His fondness for you is quiet, too, but obvious to anyone who knows him. Sometimes, it's so subtle you don't even really notice. For example, he always walks road-side when you two take a walk through town; he somehow remembers EVERYTHING about you if you mention it even once (birthday, favorite color, favorite flower and food, etc...); when you two go on walks, he trails very slightly behind you, as if to watch your back; most of all, he takes his headphones off around you

—The school day was hard. You woke up late, you had forgotten to complete an assignment, and there was a pop quiz in your worst class. Not to mention, all of your friends were missing that day, out sick or at appointments, so you were left alone. Then, to make matters worse, you spilt your drink all over yourself at lunch. Several people laughed at you, and you had to walk around in your white, uniform button up that was stained and see through at the bottom.

Honestly, it was just an awful day.

You were getting ready to head home and crash, forgoing all of your homework, when your phone dinged right as you were about to catch the bus. With a sigh, you looked down at it, expecting it to be one of your parents ripping into you about a forgotten chore or something (with the day you'd been having, it wouldn't be a surprise).

Meet me at the bridge

From: Blondie

You couldn't help but give a weak smile. Your bed sounded nice, but honestly, venting to Ren sounded a lot nicer. You were practically on the verge of tears in the middle of the day, in disbelief about how awful your day had been. You could really use his presence, so you went.

The bridge was empty, thankfully, and Ren sitting on the railing and looking up at the clear, blue sky was a lonely sight until you joined him.

Without a word, you climbed up on the railing, sitting next to him. Your eyes fell to the river running below, enjoying the gentle sound of it flowing along. From here, you couldn't even really hear any other people on the streets. It was nice and calm, a welcome change from the rest of the day.

When he noticed you there, he looked over and started to smile. When he saw your sorry state, shirt all stained, a miserable expression on your face, red lined eyes, the smile fell immediately. He carefully placed his headphones to rest around his neck.

"Hey. You look awful. What's wrong?" He was blunt, but you'd learned he wasn't trying to be rude. He was simply straightforward. Unlike his rather plain voice, though, his dark blue eyes stormed with concern.

Honestly, you probably just wanted to cry, but didn't want to embarrass yourself. Instead, you let your head fall, fidgeting with your hands in your lap to distract yourself as your legs hung limply over the railing.

"It was just a really bad day," you explained with a pitiful voice, cracking halfway through.

Ren stared at you for a second, and if you looked you'd probably see the cogs turning behind his eyes. He was kind of short circuiting. He wasn't great at these kinds of situations, but he cared for you so much that seeing you all sad and upset made him incredibly uncomfortable.

All he really knew to do was gently disconnect your hands from each other, taking one and lacing his long, slender fingers through it. He blinked at you when you looked up at him. Though his expression was still plain and rather stoic (he really just didn't know what to do), his voice was soft as he said, "Tell me about it."

You widened your eyes a bit. You two hadn't been together for very long, and honestly in the beginning, sometimes you wondered if he even really liked you. But, as your eyes fell to your connected hands, and then back up to his, you knew he did. He cared enough to give you his full, undivided attention, even picking up his phone to pause his music so it wouldn't be audible through the headphones.

For Ren, it was a pretty big deal.

You broke right then and there, venting to him about everything. You were just so overwhelmed that letting it out helped immensely. And unlike others, he didn't try to give advice, or anything like that. He just listened.

Then, at the end, he squeezed your hand gently. "I'm sorry your day's been so shit... But... It's okay now. It's over."

Afterwards, he probably bought you whatever you wanted for dinner, and then offered to help you with your homework so you could go right to pretending you didn't exist in your bed when you got home.

—He really is very new to this whole 'relationship' thing, but he does his very best. He's honestly just not the greatest at saying or doing the right thing, but, my god, does this poor boy try to

—There are other ways he protects you, too, than just being there for you and listening. There's also the more physical ways, obviously. He's very observational, despite popular belief, and is usually acutely aware of what's going on around him (and especially around you). His quick reflexes have saved you from a world of pain multiple times, particularly if you're clumsy

—One time, you asked him to go out shopping with you. You knew he wasn't huge on clothes, or anything, but you wanted the company and to spend some of his rare off time with him. Of course, he agreed.

"This is so cute. Don't you think?" you asked with a bright smile, holding out the top you'd found at a thrift store towards him.

He was behind you, leaning on the cement wall with one hand in his pockets and hangers with the other clothes you liked in the other. Ren only nodded, but that didn't deter you at this point.

You grinned, deciding to buy the top. Starting to walk towards him so he could hold this one, too, you failed to notice your shoe catching on the bottom of the metal rack. With a little yelp and widened eyes, you started to fall forward.

You heard the clattering of multiple hangers hitting the solid floor, but you were more worried about the fact that your head was about to hit the cement wall full on. Squeezing your eyes shut, you waited for impact, but it didn't come.

Instead, you felt your head hit something warm and marginally softer than cement. Opening your eyes, you let out a sigh of relief.

Ren had grabbed the back of your shirt, and then leaned over you to shield your head with his hand probably before it even registered to you that you were falling. He easily pulled you back up, careful not to step back until you caught your balance.

"Klutz," he muttered after giving you a once over, which immediately had you pouting, of course, and flushing pink. Ren smirked at the expression, much to your chagrin.

"Ren," you whined.

His smirk would rise into a true smile, then. His smiles were contagious and beautiful, reminding you of daybreak, when the scary night was finally gone and the sky was a gorgeous painting of pink, orange, and red.

You couldn't help but smile back.

"It's okay. I'll always save you from busting your ass," he said, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead that had you melting, regardless of the rough wording.

Sometimes, only sometimes, the boy had rizz.

—These are ways that Kaji protects you that you don't even really think about much, because they're so common. Emotionally, he tries his very hardest to always be there for you, to always be someone you can tell anything to. He doesn't judge you. He keeps you from hurting yourself accidentally, and is always there to catch you when you fall

—Maybe the only time you ever see him actually pissed (not bad argument pissed, but ready to throw hands pissed) is when you're being physically threatened somehow

—I can't stress this enough: he does not, under any circumstances, want you to see him fighting. He's still scared deep down that he'll black out and IT will happen. He'll lose sight and take out everyone around him. It scares him even when he's fighting with other members of Bofurin, so it definitely scares him around you. He does everything he can not to lose his temper around you: music, suckers, hell, even breathing techniques

—However, and this is a massive however, any mf who messes with you must be crazy as hell, especially if they know you're Kaji's girl, because my god he'll hit 'em with a scream AND his fists. That song RAHH—yeah, that's Kaji. He will not play

—You two were meeting up for a date at this cute, little diner in the city. As always, you were a little bit early, so you leaned back on the brick of the diner wall and looked up at the sunset.

Kaji had probably gotten caught up with something, but he'd make it in relatively good time. He always did. And if something really got in the way, he'd text you about it, probably with only one apology, but the next time you saw him he'd have wildflowers, or some other gift to give you to make it up.

You had dressed up pretty cute for this particular date, though. A nice, little diner with the gorgeous sunset as your backdrop? Yeah, you wanted to take photos and dress up a little for Ren. No matter how long you'd been dating him, the way he looked you up and down, a little blush just barely visible across his cheeks, always made your heart swell,

No matter how long you'd been dating, he still had a crush on you.

You were busy thinking about what you'd order, or what you'd talk to Ren about first, to notice the trio of men who were walking by.

They were older than you, at least a decade so, and they immediately stopped when one pointed you out.

"You look mighty nice," said the tallest one, and he was big like a bear. Rough-looking like one, too, with a roguish smirk and lustful eyes, he looked you up and down, but not in the way Ren did. When this man did it, you just felt gross, like you needed to cover up.

"T-Thank you," you muttered, crossing your arms over your chest and looking at the ground. You hoped they'd just keep walking, but they didn't. In fact, your worst fear was confirmed when they instead gathered around you, cornering you.

"You look pretty lonely out here all alone, too. Did you get stood up?" asked a much shorter man, staring unabashedly at your chest. "We can help you out, ya know."

"I'm good... Thank you," you said, trying to back up, but you were already leaning on a wall. "I don't want any trouble."

"No, no trouble at all. Just a good time," said bear man, taking a step closer, getting way too far into your personal space.

Your heart rate shot through the roof, but you were also frozen by fear. Against one man, maybe you had a chance. Against three with no weapons? You felt helpless, and you hated it.

"You gotta number?"

"I... um," you stumbled, feeling so stupid. "I have a boyfriend... Sorry." With that, you got off the wall and tried to squeeze past them, but bear man quickly snatched you back in place by your wrist, grip so hard it would definitely bruise.

Tears brimmed at your eyes. "That hurts," you cried, really beginning to fear for your safety now. You tried to rip your arm away, but it was no use. "Let go of me!" you finally yelled.

The one who hadn't spoken yet spat out, "Nice guys like us are constantly getting fucked over by girls like you. Where's your so-called boyfriend, huh?"

Bear man laughed, but quickly narrowed his eyes with rage the more you tried to tug yourself free. Finally, he had enough when you scratched at the top of his hand, and then he backhanded you pretty brutally.

A cry of pain escaped your lips, the left side of your face stinging terribly, particularly where his ring had left a nasty cut on your cheek. Finally, tears fell from your eyes. "He's real, and he's on his way. He's a member of Bofurin," you said weakly, hoping it would deter them.

Everyone knew what Bofurin was, after all.

To your horror and growing panic, they only laughed at you, though, even as you held your cut face and looked away. "Sure, sure," chuckled the short man, sounding very confident. "Where is he, then?"

"He's right here."

Immediately, you were crushed by an overwhelming wave of relief. Just his voice, as pissed off as he sounded, was enough to assure you that everything would be all right.

Ren would handle it.

The three men turned, immediately stepping away from you.

"Hey, man, we were just checking on your girl, ya know? We saw her fall and hit her head on the wall. Looked pretty nasty," said bear man, sharing tense looks with his buddies.

You couldn't bring yourself to say anything, too overwhelmed and shaken by what happened, so you just dropped your hand from your face and looked at Ren, who stared at you.

There was an inferno in his eyes. You could tell immediately. Otherwise, he looked perfectly calm, but this was the most angry you'd ever seen him, especially when he caught sight of the blood slowly dripping from the cut on your cheek.

It was weird, too, because usually Ren got hot angry. He yelled and cursed. This was calm, though. Too calm. This time, he was cold angry.

"Right," he said quietly, which immediately had the trio's tense shoulders falling with relief. Without ever taking his eyes from your's, Ren walked towards you.

You'd never been so happy to have a boyfriend who could intimidate people just by looking at them.

He wordlessly took off his headphones, gently setting them on your head, music blasting so loud it almost surprised you. You couldn't hear anything. Ren took the sucker out of his mouth and threw it to the side, which was very unlike him.

He always even kept the sticks and wrappers to throw away later.

Finally, with that storm still raging in his eyes, he sweetly kissed your nose, whispered, "Leave it to me," and turned you around so you were facing the wall.

You didn't move an inch, still too frazzled about what had happened, in your head about what could have happened. You weren’t sure you'd ever been so scared.

For about a minute, you just stared at the brick, tears falling from your eyes and stinging the open cut on your cheek. You flinched when the headphones were taken off your head, and then a gentle hand rested on your arm to turn you around.

Ren rested the headphones around his neck, and then silently wrapped his arms around you in a warm, comforting hug. He rested his chin on top of your head, squeezing you.

You relished in the comfort, squeezing you eyes closed against his chest, sure that if you looked around, you'd see three unconscious bodies lying beaten and bloodied on the ground.

His hand found your hair, fingers lightly scratching your scalp. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Still in shock from the events and taken aback by his soft tone, you couldn't help but smile weakly. "It's okay," you breathed, still not pulling away from him. You weren't sure you ever would.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," he said, leading you with a hand pressed against the arch of your back. While you stepped over bear man's unconscious form, Ren intentionally stomped right on his face, no doubt breaking his jaw by the sickening crack you heard, with a stoic expression as if he hadn't just done that.

Needless to say, he bought you a pocket knife and told you to let the air out of any bitch who cornered you again.

—Y'all, when I say this mf don't play, he DON'T PLAY. It's canon. Istg

#kaji ren x reader #ren kaji x reader #wind breaker #windbreaker x reader #kaji ren #makochi’s hc/scenario mix #wind breaker x reader #kaji ren x you #ren kaji x you

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chlorinecake · 11 months

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🎙️ star-crossed lovers 【薄幸な恋人】 ⛦

summ✩ry While collabing with your girl group and Enhypen for a special stage, forbidden feelings spark between you and the main dancer upon dorming together

p✩iring idol!niki x popstar!reader ✩ requested ✩

-> PART 2 HERE

genre band au, fluff, secret romance cw swearing, mild bullying, the word ‘sexy’ like once, kissing, girl drama, reader is younger than Niki wc 4.4k

“Ugh,” Serenity groaned as the hairstylist applied yet another thick layer of chocolate brown hair dye to her scalp.

“This gig better bring in some serious bank, because never in my life would I willingly collab with those overrated wannabes,” she exclaimed, taking a frustrated sip from her vanilla latte.

“Hey, people used to call us wannabe's, too, you know,” Haerin said quietly as she tucked her hands under the UV light.

“Yeah, you should be more mature about this, Serenity... like I always say, professionalism triumphs pride," you added, only half-engaged in the conversation as a certain online article caught your attention.

As the band leader, you were always in charge of everything, so Serenity and Haerin were used to you talking to them this way...

“I’m just glad that we're getting exposure,” Haerin smiled, thinking of the countless nights you and your group spent practicing routines and writing songs for auditions, "it's not often that artists like us get opportunity's to perform internationally."

“For real,” Serenity cheered, “Riot Grrlz for the win!”

The three of you put your hands out to make a circle, “Riot Grrlz for life,” Haerin exclaimed, forgetting that her nails hadn't fully dried yet.

"Whoops," she giggled, just as Jade, the oldest of your group, made her way from the bathroom.

“What took you so long in there?” Serenity asked cheekily, “I thought we were gonna have to call the fire department.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Jade returned, taking a seat beside Haerin so she could get her nails done, too.

“You were talking to the enemy, weren’t you,” Serenity accused.

“No, Ren, I didn’t go behind your back and sell my soul to the devil for fame.”

“Not that enemy,” Serenity grinned, “I'm talking about Mr. Six Foot Moon Eyes.”

“Oooooo,” Haerin amused, pulling your attention away from your phone.

“Ugh, let it up guys. My crush on Sunghoon is long gone, especially now that we’re gonna be working together. Besides, I would never act so recklessly over romance.”

“Who said anything about reckless romance,” you teased, unintentionally giving Jade a full view of the article your were reading on your phone.

"Nobody,” she began, “but I’m surprised you even heard that over all your internet-stalking.”

You were scrolling through a K-Pop news feed when you came across a post.

It was titled: "Enhypen Rumored By Netizens To Be Collabing With THIS Rookie Western Girl Group."

"Shush," you whisper-yelled at Jade, "unless you’re trying to get our record deals pulled!"

Just last week, your management team made you and your group sign a contract of secrecy, swearing silence regarding unpublicized business projects and associations: this included your upcoming collab with Enhypen that Jade nearly just spoiled.

Although, in all honesty, the blog's use of the word "rookie" bothered you more than potentially breaking any contract rules.

"Relax, boss, it's practically a ghost town in here," Jade defended, drawing your attention to the near vacant salon space.

Ding.

It was an email from your manager.

He wanted to inform you all that your chauffeur would be ready around 2:45am to bring you guys to the airport.

"Jeez," you mumbled to yourself, "looks like I'm not getting much sleep tonight."

“Shit,” Serenity whined, “I haven’t even made enough time to brush up on my Korean yet!”

“Luckily me and Haerin here are bilingual baddies,” Jade giggled, giving the cat-eyed girl a fist punch.

“Ahh, watch my nails!!”

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Your company's fashion crew was experimenting with different concepts, assigning each of your members an individual color to permanently represent: Serenity was teal, Jade was purple, Haerin was white, and you were pink.

Some time passed, an you and your group arrived in South Korea around 3:00pm.

Thanks to the fashion tech your management team hired, it wasn't obvious that you and the girls had been in and out of sleep for the past 13 hours.

You couldn't help but stalk the headlines about your group, as rumors about your Enhypen collab continued to spread like wildfire.

So much for swearing silence and secrecy, you thought to yourself.

South Korean pop media had already seemed to build a vendetta against your group, given that you were young, talented, and most importantly, from the states. The xenophobia of most K-netizens was disheartening at best, but you understood that hate was a part of success.

Besides, you were living the dream of many engenes at the moment — most of them would sell their siblings to be in your shoes right now.

“Ahh! This is unreal!!” Jade cheered excitedly in the back of the limousine. You guys had just left the airport around thirty minutes ago, after getting past the pesky crowd of paparazzi.

“I know right? Korean McNuggets slap way harder than back home,” Haerin added while munching on the salty snack.

“Don't get too comfy, Rinnie. We will leave you here,” Serenity joked.

You hadn't even realized the radio was playing until a certain guitar riff blared from the ceiling speakers.

"Oh hell no," Serenity immediately cringed, covering her ears as you, Jade, and Haerin exchanged knowing look, bringing imaginary microphones to your mouths in unison.

It was Enhypen's song Blessed-Cursed, Jay’s voice singing "We go!" over the radio.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, GO!!" The three of you cheered, obnoxiously dancing to the choreo while sitting.

Memories of your group (minus Serenity) binge watching music videos at sleepovers resurfaced in your mind.

Usually, you'd only listen to throwback hits like Britney Spears or Rihanna, mostly because Rnb and Pop beats inspired your own art.

Still and all, Blessed-Cursed was one video that the three of you fell in love, way before your upcoming collab was even a thought.

"Don't get mad when I start recording you clowns," Serenity threatened, thoroughly amused by your behavior.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Upon arriving outside the Hybe Building, a trio of body guards guided you and your girls to an office room where the seven boys stood awkwardly around a large table.

Part of you still couldn't believe this was all actually happening, despite it being right in front of you.

“Hello! We are Enhypen,” Jungwon bowed as the guards exited the room.

Jay visibly cringed at his leaders words, “I promise we were told to introduce ourselves like that. Please don’t judge us.”

“Well, uhm… H-hi,” you stuttered, feeling a bit nervous, “We are the Riot Grrlz. It’s a pleasure being able to work with you all.”

Niki, the tallest of the boys, caught your attention immediately as he greeted you with a peace sign.

Was he always this cute?, you thought to yourself.

That’s when a lady dressed in all black barged through the glass door on the other side of the room.

“Sorry to interrupt… well, not really. Me and the Enhypen boys are already well familiar with each other, but you ladies can call me Kim,” she greeted, waltzing into the office as if owning the place.

She was a fast talker, so you knew you’d have to pay attention to what she was saying or else you might miss something.

“I hope you made use of each others time and gathered everyone’s names? Phone numbers?”

”We were just in the middle of that before you came in, Miss Kim,” Sunoo clarified.

“Very well then. You have a total of 15 minutes to lock in dorming arrangements. As you’ll see on this clipboard here…”

She paused mid-sentence, holding the clipboard dumbly.

“God, can one of you take this thing already?”

“Oh- sorry,” Heeseung chuckled nervously, taking the clipboard from the fiery woman.

“As I was saying, there are four rooms for the eleven of you to somehow divide. And no, just because you’re all hormonal young adults, none of you get a free pass to break the no-dating rule.”

“No-dating rule? What is this, a detention center,” Serenity mumbled.

Kim cleared her throat, feigning a smile as she glared at Serenity with narrowed eyes, “This is a place of utmost professionalism, Princess Land of The Free. If you have a problem adhering to the rules in place here, you are more than welcome to leave.”

“A-and after that? The fifteen minutes, I mean,” Haerin blurted out shyly.

“All of you will meet back in the main lobby, where you will be guided accordingly.”

Miss Kim turned of her black boots, beelining to the door with powerful strides, “The timer starts now” she called out, closing the door behind her.

And with that began your group discussion of rooming arrangements. Unfortunately, though, things didn’t get off to a particularly nice start.

“Are you effing kidding me?” Serenity asked rudely, screwing her eyes toward a now annoyed Heeseung, “Why can't we just get separate hotel rooms?!?”

“Look, there's no perfect way to go about this," he sighed, crossing out the roommate pairs you all had just agreed on. "So you either humble yourself, or sleep in the bathtub for the next two weeks."

“Really guys, the math is simple,” Jake started, “There’s eleven of us and only four rooms to choose from. Nine of us will be divided in groups of three, and the remaining two will share the last room together.”

"Cool! Me, ____, and Jade can share the first room together!" Haerin obliged with a smile.

"Perfect, and where will I go?" Serenity questioned, mocking Haerin's excitement.

"The bathtub, right?" Jay teased, provoking Serenity to argue with him.

Meanwhile, you attempted to make peace with everyone willing to listen, “Guys, I agree with Jake. We need to make a decision quickly before Kim gets back.”

“Right. Everyone in favor of room number 1, provide a show of hands,” Heeseung said, Jay and Jake raising their hands with him.

"And for room 2?" Jungwon initiated, raising his hand with Jade and Haerin.

A pout formed on Jade's face once she realized that Sunghoon wasn't in the same pair as her.

"3's the magic number, I guess…" Sunghoon offered, Serenity raising her hand with him.

Now it was just you, Sunoo, and Niki remaining.

"I'll group with 3, too. All of our name's start with "S," so it just makes sense that way," Sunoo joined shyly.

"Welp, now that leaves the final room for me and..."

"Me..." Niki spoke with a deep voice, flashing a mysterious half-smile-half-smirk that you knew would haunt your mind later.

"Me and me... the odd one's out! Wow, that's actually perfect!" Jake cheered just as the lady in black strut back in.

“Times up,” she said, taking the clipboard from Heeseung to analyze the finalized dorming plans.

“Hmm, interesting,” she mumbled to herself, tucking the clipboard under her arm.

You all made your way down to the main lobby, just as Kim instructed.

One of the security guards mentioned that Hybe suggested a dinner outing for your group and Enhypen as a way to end the night before you started work the next day… or maybe it was mostly a way to officially confirm the rumors about your collab.

Upon arriving, everyone sat at separate tables, divided according to who they agreed to room with.

Although Niki seemed quiet at first, you and him were giggling the babies the entire time you ate.

“Poor Jungwon. He’s gonna be sandwiched between Jade and Haerin for the next two weeks, his biggest fans,” you joked.

“Nah, Sunghoon and Sunoo have it way worse. Serenity’s attitude is enough to send me running,” Niki chuckled, shaking his head.

"Speaking of running, how come you were appointed leader over your group even though you’re a baby," Niki teased.

"Not you baby-shaming me! I was born in 06', you've barely got any experience on me."

"I've had an entire YEAR to catch up on things, for your information."

"Things like what? Potty training?"

"Pfft, probably..." he replied, going quiet for a second before continuing, "If you ever need help, though, I don’t mind practicing with you after hours.”

"Sounds like fun, but that might be past my bedtime," you pouted playfully, taking one of the fries off his plate.

"Hmm."

"Hmm what?"

"Nothing, I just didn't take you as the type to follow rules," he smirked, taking a sip from his soda.

"I guess it depends on what rules we're breaking. Whether it’s worth it or not."

"So rule breaking is a “we” thing now, huh?"

"Probably..." you smiled, the cool breeze of the foreign air sending shivers down your spine.

Or maybe that had something to do with Niki?

Before you knew it, it was time to head back to your dorms for the night. You knew rehearsals in South Korea were taken a lot more seriously than where you're from, so you needed all the rest you could get.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Day one was easy.

The main focus was recording voice samples in the studio, experimenting with different harmonies, and training your vocals as needed.

Now you were on day two, which started with a quick vocal session, leading into the dance rehearsal warm-up right after. After stretching, the studio was split in half, girls taking the left side and boys taking the right.

You all wore numbers on your back. This way, there wouldn’t be any confusion when any of your were being called.

Niki was assigned number eleven, and you had number one.

According to Jake, the numbers were disseminated based on skill level, and out of the 11 of you, that made Niki first place… and you the very last.

As rehearsals went on, your placement was proving to be true.

You were struggling to keep up with the choreography and it was really starting to bug you.

"Are you feeling okay," Niki asked as you sighed for what sounded like the hundredth time.

"Yea, I'm fine, it’s just this footwork is a bit tricky," you admitted.

“Aww, the smallest number for our most inexperienced contributor,” Serenity teased, making a pass at both your age and inability to get this one move right.

“I may be the youngest out of all of us, but I was appointed head over our group for a reason,” you snapped back.

“Yea… and it still shocks me to this day,” she mumbled, Jade and Haerin pausing to listen now.

You scoffed at her ignorance, putting your hands on your hips, “As if you could lead the Riot Grrlz any better.”

Serenity gave you a look that made you wanna drop here right there in front of everyone.

You never understood why she always had an attitude over the simplest things, and given the current work setting, your tolerance for her bull crap was at an all time low.

“Right, the Riot Grrlz. “Rookie Western Girl Group,” huh? And you expect me to be proud of that?”

“With pride of lionesses, of course,” Jade pitched in, leaning down to fasten her shoelaces.

“We should really keep working on our routine, guys,” Haerin mumbled quietly, causing the raging brunette diva to roll her eyes.

Meanwhile, the boys seemed to be getting along rather well with their part of the routine, completely blind to the chaos brewing at their left.

And by the boys, I mean all of them except Niki and Jake, who were both too distracted by your girl drama.

Way to go embarrassing myself again, you thought to yourself

“You’re new to this sort of training, aren’t you,” Jake asked curiously.

“What, did my shitty dance moves give it away?”

You know it wasn’t Jake’s fault, but you were started to doubt your abilities as an artist and performer.

Even Serenity felt as though you were letting your group down.

“You’re not a shitty dancer, ____,” Niki answered, walking closer to you.

“Yeah, Niki’s right. You shouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself,” Jake added.

“Exactly! Just focus on your strengths,” Serenity pitched in, “your vocals, for example. You might ruin the dance routine, but at least you’ll save all the high notes with Heeseung.”

It was clear that you and Niki were equally fed up with Serenity’s toxicity.

“Okay, can everybody clear out for a moment," Niki clapped, causing everyone to back up against the walls almost instantly.

He pulled you by the hand, turning you to face him as he called out to Sunoo, "Put on a random dance track, real quick. Something upbeat, please."

“Gotcha!”

Turning back to you, Niki took your chin in his hand, making your eyes meet his. “Just follow my lead, okay?” He whispered, taking off the bracelet he wore before sliding it on your wrist, “Do you trust me?”

“Niki...” you started, not sure of what he was trying to do.

“I need you to feel the music, ____. Let it control you," he said, stepping away as a short remix of "Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls blared from the radio.

You could hear an amused Serenity and Sunghoon chuckle a bit at Sunoo’s choice of song, but Niki remained serious.

His gaze met the ground before he started freestyling to the song, letting his mind and body get used to the rhythm as he flowed to the beat. You stood awkwardly beside him, not feeling up to dance at the moment.

He caught sight of you standing and nudged your shoulder, "Loosen up, ____," he smiled, finally starting to feel the song himself.

You started by mirroring his movements at first, adding a few steps to make it fit your own style more.

"See? Now you're getting it," he encouraged again, pulling you toward him so you could dance together.

Your friends and the boys cheered you and Niki on while you two danced as if choreographed.

The track ended with Niki's had on your waist, both of your chests heaving from all the action.

Haerin's jaw dropped as she struggled to find the right words or any words to say, “That was…”

“Sexy!” Heeseung smirked while playfully fanning himself, making Niki turn his face in embarrassment.

You could feel your own face getting hot now, too, especially with everyone staring.

"Relax, Rinnie, you're acting like you've never seen a guy dance with a girl before," Jade chuckled.

"N-not... n-never like THAT,” Haerin said with a shocked face, “____, you're amazing!"

"Thanks," you smiled shyly, eyes falling back the bracelet Niki put around your wrist.

"Keep it... it's a good luck charm," he replied softly.

"Alright, alright. You guys can loosen up each other's buttons on your own time," Serenity snapped, interrupting everyone's gawking.

"Right... On second thought, it’s time for our break," Jay called, handing you and Niki a rag for your sweat.

"Great job, you guys. See you in 20," Jungwon added.

"Come on, girls," you chirped, picking up your gym bag as you took a sip from your water jug, heading towards the studio exit.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

The rest of the day continued according to your work schedule. One vocal practice followed the other as the initially difficult routine felt more natural with each retake.

You also made a stop by Hybe's fashion team, getting your measurements taken so they could design your outfit for the upcoming stage.

Although this was a work trip, you were having a blast in Korea so far. You liked getting to work with the new people and trying different foods. You especially liked being roomies with Niki.

He was super talented, chill, yet flirty at the same time.

No wonder his fans go so crazy over him, you thought to yourself.

“Hey, ____,” Niki called out, jogging to catch up as you made your way from the dance studio after going back to get the pair of headphones you forgot near the water cooler.

“I wanna show you something…,” he announced, “Well, a thing I like to do.”

“Mhm, and what’s that?” You asked playfully.

He chuckled, “Just a thing that I can’t get away with while in idol mode. My secret escape... Are you interested?”

You meditated on his words before answering, considering the early curfew outlined by both your managers, and how it was already 8:00 at night, “It’s getting pretty late, you know… Is it gonna take long?”

He giggled again, this time leaning into you. “Only if you’re indecisive.”

The sounds of your sneakers tapping against the shiny tiled floors bounced off the hallway walls.

Like you said, girls would sell souls to be in your shoes right now: there’s no way you were gonna pass up on a chance to hang out with Niki…

A chance to explore this reckless romance.

“Ok, let’s go, but we have to be back by midnight,” you agreed.

“Ok, Cinderella. We’re not too far from where I wanna show you,” he beamed, fighting the urge to hold your hand as you followed him out of the Hybe Building, clashing into the night.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

The place was reminiscent of a skate park, graffitied ramp-like walls cupping you and Niki in the surface of the arena.

There were a few other people present, but they seemed more wrapped up in their own little worlds to even look your way…

The moon shined behind the thin clouds of the sky, basking you and Niki’s skin with an ethereal glow.

“This is it!” He gestured with open arms, “my secret escape.”

You tucked your hands in your pockets as it was a bit cold out, “A shared secret place?” You corrected, pointing out the tiny groups of people hanging around.

Niki pushed the hoodie from over his head, revealing his two-toned mane, “I guess you could say that… they’re all idols, here. Just like me. They get why I do this.”

“Why you do what,” you inquired, stepping over a few random rocks that decorated the path.

“Why I dance,” he answered almost immediately, looking you in the eyes, “for myself.”

He took a few steps away from you, swaying to the music that rippled from one of the mystery people’s carry-radios.

Like earlier, you mirrored his moves at first, adding your own adjustments based on intuition.

Feeling.

You had so many more questions to ask, but in this moment, you focused on Niki and the way he moved.

The small groups of people developed into a crowd within a matter of seconds, joining you and Niki along with the music.

Although everyone was doing their own thing, in a strange way if felt harmonious.

Some people danced calmly, others were more wild. Either way, you were starting to understand what Niki meant.

Being able to express yourself away from prying eyes, scornful comments, flashing cameras, or a number 1 sign on your back was invigorating.

The music was still going when Niki grabbed your hand and pulled you to the side, a soft look taking over his features.

“Kiss me,” he whispered, staring into your eyes.

“W-what?”

“I just need to know that what I’m feeling right now is real.”

You took his face in your hands, trying to make yourself feel more in control of the situation, “Niki, I don’t think we should do this. Your manager outlined pretty strict rules.”

He paused before responding, “Remember what you said at the restaurant the first day we met?”

His grip on your hands remained delicate despite how strongly he felt for you.

“About us breaking rules together… only if it’s worth it.”

“Exactly,” he smiled, leaning in, “I knew they didn’t call you a riot girl for nothing.”

His lips connecting with yours like a puzzle piece, both your hearts fluttering as if they’d grown butterfly wings.

You felt like your world was spinning at twice its original speed, but at the same time, the moment felt still.

Niki tilted his head, deepening the kiss as he braced a hand at your waist, pulling you closer before finally letting go.

“I like you, ____. Like, a lot,” he confessed, taking in the dreamy expression displayed on your face.

Your mind went blank.

“Say something? Please,” he urged, taking your hands in his.

A smile wavered over your features as you kissed him back on the lips, feeling as though you both stopped breathing for a moment.

“I like you too, Niki. But isn’t this pretty risky?”

“You said so yourself, risks don’t count if it’s worth it,” he nearly whispered.

“Well,” you began, still holding onto him, “if we’re gonna do this, it has to stay between us… no one else can find out.”

And just like that, you were now secretly dating your roommate / coworker / Enhypen’s main dancer and maknae / one of K-pop’s most sought after It-Boy’s, all in a three days.

Great.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

You and Niki made it back to you dorm rooms undetected. It seemed like everyone else was either too tired or too busy to notice that you two were out for so long.

Unlocking the door to as quietly as possible, you and Niki took light steps, trying not to disturb anyone or draw attention to yourselves.

Once the door was closed, you both bust out in a fit of laughter for reasons you didn’t understand nor cared to understand.

You didn’t need a reason laugh when Niki was around… it’s kind of just something that started to happen over the last couple days.

“What’s your secret to performing so well?” You asked him, both laying face-up on the lower bunk bed together.

“Hmm, I feel like nervousness is a strength. It pushes you to go forward in a sense…”

“Yeah… I get that. Sometimes, I feel like being calm is dangerous. It puts you in a safe space, when performing should be all about taking chances.”

“Right,” he agreed, resting a hand over his stomach, “Speaking of chances, they’re precious, you know? I never just assume I’ll get another opportunity to dance.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Like…” he sighed, trying to find the right words, “Every time I get on stage… in front of those lights… in front of my fans… I perform-”

“As if it’s your last…” you answered for him.

“Yeah, that,” he chuckled, running a hand through his hair, “You know, it’s really nice talking to someone who gets me… the dancer part of me.”

“Of course, it’s really nice talking to you, too, Niki,” you smiled softly.

Breaking the calmness of the moment, he sat up in his elbows, meeting your face.

“Top or bottom?” He asked, referring to where you wanted to sleep for the night.

You crawled over his body, climbing into the upper bunk of the bed and laying down to finally rest.

“Good night, number 11,” you teased, snuggling into the mattress.

“Rest well, number 1. Big day tomorrow.”

🎙️ For my baby, @microwvdstrawb3rri3s, I hope it was worth the wait ~ And yes, before you ask, there will be a second part 💕

⛦ Additional tags for my fellow Niki enthusiasts: @fanficfactoryfoxxx @nikisblkgf @yourmomscuntis2tighy @nikimeows @kimjiho1 @nikipedia07 @nishimuradaniel

🎙️ Feel free to check out more fun reads on the pinned post at my home page ~

@ashgonedash, I still felt bad about forgetting to tag you earlier 👑 so here you go, my love :3

Update: THANK YOU ALL SM FOR 400 NOTES!!

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