#eric sohn oneshots

[sungbeam]

𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞

nonidol!eric sohn x gn!reader

you can't figure out why eric's been acting different, but maybe you had nothing to worry about in the first place.

8.2k words, bffs2l, college au, reader is incredibly oblivious, swearing, pining, flirting, kissing, mentions of organic chemistry (yuck), eric sohn, fluff, one really bad that's what he said joke (sorry it was chenle), mentions of alcohol

a/n: to @mosviqu !! (requests are closed) hope you like this one, beloved :')) thanks for waiting

A midnight pool party wasn't exactly what you had in mind when you told your friends that you had just gotten off of work. You'd thought they were just having a game night at another friend's house, but it turned out, they decided to utilize said friend's massive backyard space, including his heated pool lined with LED lights at the bottom.

"Who the hell has LED lights at the bottom of their pool?" You voiced aloud in the car.

Ningning's voice wrapped around you from the full volume of your phone's speaker, "My friend from middle school and the one who got us into Yangyang's party the other night—Zhong Chenle. You remember him, right? We went to high school with him, too."

You definitely remembered him. How could you not? He had the most subtly rich personality you'd ever come across. You once thought he was wearing a regular, white Hanes T-shirt from the store (the ones that came in a six pack from Costco), but it turned out that it was a two hundred dollar Balenciaga top.

It was literally just a white shirt.

"Yeah, so we're just here with him and some of his friends," Ningning continued on. You could hear the sounds of merriment in the background, including music and bodies crashing into the pool.

You pulled up to your apartment complex, and it took a second for you to gather your belongings and scramble out of the car. You squeezed your phone between your ear and shoulder as you bumped the car door closed with your hip. "Who's there again? I know you and Winter, but specifically…"

"Uhhh—besides Chenle, there's Renjun, Yangyang, Sungchan, and Eric."

As you let yourself into the apartment, you paused. “Wait, Eric's back?”

There was a commotion on the other side and for a moment, you didn't hear what Ningning said. Then she returned to the speaker with a giggle in her voice, “Yn! We're playing Monopoly soon, but I'm only playing if you're coming over—oh shit, did you say something just now?”

You chuckled, dumping your bag on the kitchen counter and just barely stopping yourself from slumping over like your work bag. “I just asked if Eric was back. I thought you just said he was there with you all.”

“Oh yeah! He said he got back from LA a few hours ago. I don't know how he's not severely jetlagged, but you know what? He brought booze.”

“Sounds like Eric,” you mused. You wondered why he hadn't told you he was back in town. You thought he wouldn't be taking off until tomorrow morning, so that was when you were expecting him.

“—so?”

“Hm?”

“You coming over?”

“Yeah, yeah give me a few.”

One cup of crappy coffee and a change of clothes later, you arrived in front of Chenle's house just a fifteen minute drive from your complex. It was gated and tucked away, which made sense as to why they were able to make so much noise. You could hear the music out from the driveway.

Ningning emerged from the shadows of the side entrance to the house. Her eyes lit up at the sight of you. "Ahh, Yn! I'm so glad you're finally here," she squealed and skipped over to you in her flip-flops, wrapping her arms around you in a big hug. Your friend was dressed in a pretty, bandeau bikini top and bottom, her inky black hair falling down her shoulders like the flow of a waterfall.

You laughed as she pulled away. "Glad I could make it. Are we just going through the side gate or something?"

She nodded and guided you through the foliage. "Yeah. How was work?"

You figured that after your long shift, you probably wouldn't have much energy to actually go swimming. You'd changed into a bathing suit anyway and threw a T-shirt and shorts over it in case, but had arrived with little more than your wallet, keys, and lip gloss.

You gave her a shrug in reply. "Eh. It's work," you said, your voice barely loud enough to hear over the sound of water splashing and high-pitched shrieks. "It was quiet, at least."

"That's good," she nodded with a soft smile thrown over her shoulder. "Thank god you're finally here. Chenle decided he didn't wanna get his limited edition Jade Rabbit Monopoly board wet—” She gave an indulgent eye roll, “—but his game, his decision, I guess.”

You chimed in your agreement just as you and Ningning emerged on the side of the backyard that hosted your friends and their midnight pool party. From your vantage, you could count the heads present, including one Yangyang making a splash into the pool and getting water all over Renjun.

“Yn!” Winter raised a hand from where she sat cross-legged on a lounge chair.

“Yo, what's up, Yn?” Sungchan hollered from the side of the pool where the speaker was. He was fiddling around with whoever's phone was connected to the aux cord.

You grinned, greeting everyone with a big wave. “Hey, guys. Have you been out here for long?”

“Yangyang, I swear to—” Renjun's swear cut through the music to the symphony of Yangyang's screeching of absolute delight. The former brushed his wet hair back, rubbing the pool water out of his eyes. It wasn't until afterward that he greeted you back as you neared where he had been dragged into the pool by his friend. “Hi, Yn. Did you just get here?”

“I did! Where's—”

The back door to the house slid open and Chenle emerged dragging out a massive cooler of what you assumed to be drinks. Carrying the back end was Eric in a pair of dampened board shorts with his wet bangs hanging in his eyes.

“Eric Sohn! You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow morning, you poser!” You shouted in his direction.

Chenle and Eric's heads both whipped over toward where you and Ningning were. Chenle said something to Eric with a wide-ass monkey grin, then proceeded to drag the cooler the rest of the way without Eric's help.

Eric cupped the back of his neck sheepishly as he approached you. He must have recently gotten out of the pool, because there was still water dripping down the lines of his chest and stomach. “In my defense, the airline offered me money if I took an earlier flight,” he said with a laugh.

“As your certified best friend,” you mused, “I'm offended I wasn't the first to know about this update.”

“Okay, best friend, let me hug you to make up for it.”

Your eyes widened, “Eric, you're wet—”

“That's what he said!” Chenle howled with laughter at his own joke, and Ningning groaned in anguish.

“Okay and?” Before you could protest any more, he trapped you in his arms, pressing his dampened skin against your perfectly dry outer garments. For good measure, he nuzzled his wet hair against the side of your face, too.

“You're like—like a dog,” you laughed, playfully pushing him away.

Eric beamed and placed his hands on his hips. “Golden retriever to your black cat. Now, do I have to dump you in that pool myself or are you going to like swimming tonight?”

Your face pressed into a deadpanning line, which drew an even brighter sound from him. You couldn't help but smile; it was nice to have him back. “You're so annoying sometimes. I'm sitting on the edge of the pool only, and you can suck it.”

As you began making your way over to the edge of the pool, Eric trailed after you with his head shaking and a laugh lingering on his tongue. “Missed you, Yn.”

It was a good thing you were facing away from him right then. A smile split your face like a slice of watermelon. “Missed you, too, Sohn.”

You didn't see your friends again until the following Friday evening. It wasn't late enough to call it “night” nor early enough to call it “afternoon.” It was a timestamp somewhere in the middle when the sun had yet to decide if it would hide behind the buildings or peer through the alleyways. It was also when the Korean BBQ place in the university district was relatively bare, and so you and your friends could get away with scoring the big table in the back on the raised platform.

“I feel like a king,” Chenle said with a smile on his face as he breathed in the smell of beef on the grill.

Sungchan flipped over one of the pieces of chicken with his tongs. “Wait, so Yn, they're for real making you work the Friday night closing shift?”

All eyes turned toward your end of the table where you sat with Eric on your right, and Ningning and Winter across from you.

Your eyelashes fluttered as you blinked, your dominant hand pausing your chopstick movements. “Oh, uh, yeah… I mean,” you added with a shrug, “it's not so bad most of the time. I think I would rather have me working than one of the kids.” The store you worked at was relatively understaffed, and your manager oftentimes hired high schoolers from the nearby district to fill in the spaces. There were rare occasions where rowdy customers came in during the latter hours of the night, and you would rather your younger colleagues didn't have to worry about that. (Even if you yourself also worried about rowdy customers.)

“Do you at least get a closing shift bonus?” Winter asked, her cheek stuffed with her last bite. “When I worked part-time at the corner store last year, they at least incentivized closing.”

“Usually when I work alone, yeah,” you said.

Eric's left arm came to rest over the back of your chair as he leaned forward to transfer a slab of short rib to your bowl. “Are you working alone tonight?” He asked, reaching past you to grab a piece of cucumber from one of the metal bowls of side dishes.

You placed the cucumbers between the two of you temporarily so he could have easier access. “I think so,” you said. “Unless my manager recruited someone else, but yeah, I think it'll probably just be me.”

The rest of the table turned to their individual conversations, especially as one of the waiters brought over an additional platter of meats to grill.

Eric murmured to you, “What if I just happened to show up at your work tonight?”

You turned your body slightly to face him, mutual smiles curling onto both of your mouths. “What, need a new first aid kit or something?”

“And a little dose of Yn Ln,” he said before popping a slice of fish cake into his mouth. He was still leaning in close to you, the twinkle in his eyes like a secret only you two knew. You were trying to not let the skin peeking out of his tank top throw you off balance; it was definitely just the heat and steam that made it glisten.

Your eyebrows shot up at his remark. “You're getting plenty of me now.”

“I need to make up for when I was away,” he replied as easy as it was for him to drink water. “I told you, I missed you.”

It was the fire from the grill, the heat of the room, the smell of the food. It was not Eric Sohn making your skin hot or your heart trip—at least, that was what you told yourself. He was attractive, yes, and he was one of your best friends. He was flirty, double yes, but he was still just a friend. (Right?) “Did you breathe too much LA air?” You joked half-heartedly. “You're acting… different.”

He shoved his bite into his cheek and gave you a shrug. “I think I'm acting exactly how I should be,” he said with a quirk of his eyebrows, then tuning into whatever topic Renjun had brought up—something about a party at Han Jisung's house.

Your head tilted to the side in dumbfoundment, but you returned to the rest of the group even if your brain was rewinding that conversation over and over again in your head. What did he mean that he was acting exactly how he should be?

For a moment, you turned back to look at him. His head was so close to yours, his body scooted forward on his chair to close that distance between his legs and yours. You couldn't read him—could only see the mirth in his eyes from Chenle and Renjun going back and forth in Chinese, as if he could understand. You weren't sure what you were looking for.

He glanced over at you then to meet your eyes. It was a split second, but that was enough to alter your brain chemistry, that you were sure his eyes flickered down to your lips. Then his eyes were away from you, having never dared a look at all.

It was about three hours later that you found yourself stationed behind the front counter at the store you worked at. After six, usually the crowd dwindled down when everyone was out having dinner or curled up at home for the night.

That left you with a few options to occupy the time. With the aisles less than crowded, you could hook your phone up to the overhead speaker and bop your head while stocking up the aisles. While Wednesdays were the main inventory days, some of that work spilled into Thursdays and Fridays depending on how much was delivered and who was on the schedule.

You were sorting through the candy aisle checking for expired dates when you heard the jingle of the bell above the front door. “Hi, welcome in!” You hollered from over the aisle, then broke into a smile at the sight of a familiar Los Angeles Angels baseball cap.

Eric tracked your voice and joined you in the aisle you were in, his tank top from earlier swapped out for a dark colored T-shirt under a corduroy jacket. He must have not wanted to come in clothes that reeked of food. “Hey you,” he said, walking over to ruffle your hair.

“Aye,” you chided half-heartedly and reached up to smooth out the hair on top of your head. “I didn't think you were being serious about stopping by,” you mused. You squeezed your hand to reach for the bars of chocolate at the far back. When you examined them and determined that they had reached the shelf expiration date, you dumped them into the shopping basket at your feet to be logged later.

“Of course I was being serious,” he huffed while perusing the bags of gummy candies hanging in the section next to you.

“Those are pretty good.” You pointed out a brand of lesser known gummies shaped like whale sharks. They had adorable, little smiles, but when they got damaged or melted… it was less adorable and less smile-looking. But they were nice and snackable, nonetheless.

He hummed in consideration and plucked a bag off the hanger. “How many of these brands have you tried?”

“Like… five or six,” you said. “I just kind of mark it as a store expense, and then me and the other person on shift share it.”

He chuckled, a smile flitting over his lips after examining the back of the bag. “Wanna share these with me?”

“Sure, man.”

That was how you found yourself at the front counter across from Eric, a bag of whale shark gummies split open between you. You had the store's to-do list binder open and were checking off the items you'd completed, all the while popping a poor whale shark into your mouth. Eric had found interest in one of the celebrity magazines displayed on the rack by the door.

It had so far been a slow night with very few customers coming in to grab a last minute case of beer or condoms. All the usual shit. However, time flew past a lot faster with Eric keeping you company. Even though the conversation you'd had with him at dinner earlier lingered in the back of your mind, it was quickly forgotten as he filled your time talking about LA, plans for the summer, and whatever you were up to while he was gone.

As midnight fast approached, the gummy sharks were finished and you whipped out the broom to begin cleaning up.

Eric idly scrolled through your phone to choose a song, skipping one after the other. “Can I help clean up or anything?” He asked after settling on a Dominic Fike song.

“Just sit still and look pretty,” you teased as you swept some dust and debris into a dustpan.

He smiled to himself. “That should be your job.”

There went your heart again, but thank god you were turned away from him. “Unfortunately, I don't get paid for that.”

“How much do you want?”

You turned your head over your shoulder to look at him, and he sent you a cheeky grin. You laughed loud at the ridiculousness, then returned to sweeping the aisle you were in. “You’re so stupid,” you said playfully. You didn't mean it… sort of. He was stupidly smooth, stupidly pretty, stupidly—

Eric grabbed the dustpan to trail after you. “Damn, I call you pretty and you call me stupid?”

“What if stupid is a compliment?”

“When is it ever a compliment?”

Despite the banter, the two of you were both beaming at each other in the lowlight. In no time, you had the entire store swept clean (for the most part), and you went to tuck the broom and dustpan into the back room. The clock struck just about midnight, too, and you swung the ring of keys around your index finger, your bag hanging off your shoulder.

Eric glanced up from where he had his nose buried in his phone screen. “Ready?” He asked, perking up like a golden retriever.

“Yep.” You stopped behind the counter to clock out. “Thanks for keeping me company, Eric. I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, what are f—” His voice broke for a second, and you sent him a look. He cleared his throat, “What are friends for?”

You finished clocking out on the computer, then slipped out from behind the counter and moved toward where Eric was. “Is that what we are?” You jested in reply.

His eyes went wide for a second. “What?”

Your head cocked to the side quizzically. “Is that what we are? Friends?” You repeated. When he still looked dumbfounded, you grimaced, “Was that lame? Yeah, that was lame. Let's just forget about that.”

You stepped toward the front door, but Eric placed a hand on your upper arm to stop you.

“Wait, Yn—”

You stopped with a hum in your throat, head turned back toward him. The two of you stood slightly closer now. Beneath the dim fluorescents, between the cold medicine and magazine rack, you searched this man's eyes for an answer he wasn't giving you. You could measure the length of his eyelashes from this distance, and you saw the shine mark on his lips after his tongue darted out to wet it.

“Eric?” You voiced quietly after he hadn't said anything. “Everything okay?”

Something shuddered in his expression and you swore his cheeks darkened in shade. “Nothing,” he said swiftly. “Sorry, it's nothing.”

Eric sat down across from you with a pair of headphones hanging around his neck and his hood thrown over his head. He nudged his black-rimmed glasses up his nose as he powered his laptop on. “Hey,” he whispered to you, his eyes darting around to make sure no one around you was bothered by his speaking.

The two of you were situated in the upper levels of your university library to study for your upcoming final exams. Most of the libraries on campus had a system in place where lower levels were meant as collaborative spaces with each level getting quieter in general volume. You and Eric were on the top floor, but at one of the desks tucked into one of the bookshelves. There were a few people around you, but they were hidden by walls and shelves, for the most part.

“I think you're fine,” you whispered to him in amusement as you uncapped your highlighter to mark a specific passage in the text you were reading.

Eric got up and quietly moved his chair to sit adjacent to you, rather than across from you. “What're you working on?”

“Just some research for a paper,” you replied. “You?”

“O-chem,” he said, and his entire being flopped over his closed laptop, his face crumpled in anguish.

You cooed silently and gently patted his hoodie-covered head. “You poor thing.”

Oh, organic chemistry. The monster it was.

When he still didn't pick himself or his laptop screen up, you leaned over to lay on top of him. “This is comfortable,” you muttered into the back of his hoodie.

You heard him hum in agreement.

“Dude, I don't even know how you're keeping up with your classes during baseball season,” you whispered and began mindlessly drawing flowers on his back.

“I'm not.”

You had to bury your face into his back to suppress your snort. “That's valid.”

“Thanks.”

“Awwh,” you murmured and wrapped your arms around his back. “It's gonna be okay. I promise.” Out of the two of you, Eric was usually the one with the sunny disposition, but it didn't mean you wouldn't jump at the opportunity to help him feel better. He deserved just as much tender love and care.

For a moment, you stayed in that position with your body covering his and your arms wrapped around him. If you weren't careful, you might have fallen asleep like that.

Eventually, you peeled yourself off of him and coaxed him to sit up with you. “Study for an hour with me and then we can get a treat.”

“Your face is a treat,” he said groggily, rubbing his eye from behind his glasses while yawning.

You covered up any signs of being flustered with, “Is that how you pull girls, Sohn?”

“No, that's how I pull you.”

You didn't need to feel your skin to know your face was on fire. He didn't even glance over at you, only sleepily smacked his lips together and pulled his laptop lid up with robotic motions. Maybe that was a good thing though. You still weren't too sure how you felt about his flirty remarks as of late, and they had yet to cease.

But… you looked over at Eric and he was already getting to work—you could deal with it later. It wasn't like it meant anything, right? Surely, the quickening of your heart and continually flustered state because of him meant absolutely nothing, right? Of course. And they definitely weren't signs that you liked his increased lines. Definitely.

(Who the fuck were you trying to fool?)

As promised, after about an hour passed by, you and Eric packed up your things to head out to find something to munch on. With spring slowly fading out into a pretty summer, the sun gleamed from its perch in the sky to warm the day. The trees lining the walkway were beginning to lose their flower buds in exchange for rich, dark green leaves.

A few minutes out from the university's main campus, you and Eric walked into a bakery that was frequented by many of your peers. It wasn't a complete surprise to see that nearly all of the tables inside were occupied by people with headphones in, laptops on, and books out.

You and Eric hopped in line, nonetheless, your eyes darting from the display case to the room to scout for an open table. Your fingers drummed against the strap of your bag. “You know what you're getting?”

He hummed. “The almond croissant kind of sounds good right now. What about you?”

“Might get a sandwich, to be honest,” you said. You hadn't had a filling breakfast, so you might as well make up for it.

“Which sandwich?”

“You're not paying.”

He narrowed his eyes playfully with a purse of his lips. “That's what you think.”

He did not pay for your sandwich.

While there was not a single open table inside, there were plenty of them outside. Eric wrinkled his nose at you as you were just about to take a bite of your sandwich. You stopped short. “What? Don't tell me you're butthurt, Sohn.”

“That’s such a weird word,” he said, gently pulling a piece of the croissant apart for him to put into his mouth.

“What, butthurt?” You could agree with that. It was kind of funny. “True, but it describes you pretty well.”

He laughed then, his eyes turning upward into pretty, little crescent moons. Since the two of you were forced to sit outside, the sunshine had an easier path to paint over your friend's face and make him look even more ethereal. A feeling worked its way into your chest at the sight of him like this. “Okay, honey. Whatever.”

You smiled around your bite, replying only after you'd swallowed it, “See? Butthurt.”

“I'm a good sport though.”

“Fine, I will admit that you're a good sport.”

His smile widened as if satisfied with that answer.

From within your bag, you could hear an aggressive vibration from your phone. You set your meal down to wipe your hands, then fished the device out.

At the sight of the text messages, your face morphed into one of mild amusement concealing a whole lot of “what the heck?”

Eric noticed your change in mood. “Something wrong?”

“Not necessarily?” You opened up the text chain that you had with Bae Sumin, one of your friends whom you met from a composition class you both shared in freshman year. “She's asking if you'd be interested in being set up for a date.”

You didn't know why there had been a spike of panic in your heart after reading it. It wasn't like you had any claim over Eric; that wouldn't be right to gatekeep him, especially when you didn't like him like… that, right?

His brows knitted together as he skimmed over the messages. When he was done he leaned away, his head already shaking. “I'm not really interested.”

“Really?” You asked curiously, withdrawing your phone back to your side of the table and mentally drafting a text message back. “Sieun's pretty nice.”

“I'm just—” he nudged his glasses up, letting out a breathy laugh, “—I’d rather figure that all out for myself, y'know? It's not like I don't think Sieun's a good person, but I…” He huffed, and it sounded almost frustrated.

You didn't know why you felt guilty all of a sudden. “You don't have to explain it to me, dude,” you said and began texting Sumin back. “If you don't want to, then you don't want to, y'know? It's better than leading her on.”

“Yeah,” he murmured.

“So you're not interested in anyone then?” You asked, in an attempt to slowly bring the conversation away from matchmaking. “You know what? You don't have to say anything—we can talk about something else—”

“I'm interested in someone,” he cut in.

You paused, surprised. You felt your pulse leap. Who? You wanted to ask, but instead inquired, “Really?”

He avoided your eyes. “Yep.”

“Oh.” Well that would make sense why he didn't want to be set up with someone else. Why couldn't he just say that in the first place then?

You gnawed on your bottom lip and couldn't help but think about who Eric could be interested in. There was a jittery flutter in your stomach at the thought. You didn't want to pry, but you were also curious as to who he was interested in. “Well, uh, good for you! I think that's really great.”

That… sounded so insincere.

Eric lifted his gaze to yours, and you felt a jolt run down your spine at the look in his eyes. “Thanks, Yn. I don't really know what to do though, to be honest.”

You frowned, tucking your phone away. “About—about the person? Or about your feelings?”

“I guess,” he said with a helpless gesture of his hands, “both.”

You pressed your lips together. It had been awhile since you were remotely interested in anyone either. And even back then, you were never the sort of person to speak up about your feelings with the person first. But this was Eric, and you wanted to at least try to help him. “Is this person not someone you think you should have feelings for? I guess I’m just asking why you feel conflicted or helpless.”

“Kind of,” he said, tongue in cheek. “They’re—they’re one of my—” He stopped himself. “They’re one of the best people I know, I just don’t think they feel the same way.”

“And so you don’t want to risk losing them should you confess?” You finished for him. You felt your posture droop with sympathy, and maybe a bit of envy. Who could this be about?

Eric scratched the underside of his jaw. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Well, I mean, if they’re as good of a person as you say, I think that they wouldn’t hold it against you or your friendship if you confessed and they didn’t feel the same.” If you were in his situation, you wouldn’t want to lose Eric ei—wait, what? Why were you thinking of it like that? You shook yourself out of whatever delusional headspace you found yourself in. “And in any case, maybe you can flirt with them, or hint to them your feelings and see how they respond.”

His eyebrow arched high. “I’ve definitely done that.”

“And?”

He smirked, a chuckle falling out of his mouth. “They may be one of the best people I know, but they’re as oblivious as a rock sometimes.”

Your own brows lifted. “Damn.” And you knew exactly how blatant Eric’s flirting style was.

Eric’s eyes caught onto something behind you, and you sat up to see what he was looking at. Just on the other side of the outside seating area, you recognized Mark Lee and Kim Jungwoo from Eric’s baseball team strolling past.

Mark lifted a hand, his mouth widening into a grin. “Hey, man! What’s up?”

Eric greeted his teammates with his usual cheeriness, clasping his hand with theirs.

“Oh my gosh, is this the—”

“The best friend,” Eric interrupted, his eyes darting to you. Both Mark and Jungwoo did the same thing, so now you were worried about why they were looking at you like that. “Yeah, this is Yn, my best friend.”

Jungwoo grabbed Mark by his shoulder and extended a greeting fist bump toward you. “Nice to finally meet you, Yn. Eric’s told us a lot about you.”

“Oh?” You glanced over at Eric before reciprocating the gesture. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Hope he’s only said good things,” you jested. Partly.

“Oh, all the good things; don’t worry,” Mark chirped. “We’ll see you at practice later, Eric!”

Eric lifted his hand in a wave as they continued down the street. “See you then!”

Once you were sure they were out of earshot, you picked up your sandwich again. “So you talk about me to your teammates?”

“All good things—you heard Mark,” he said with a laugh, but for some reason, you thought you detected a hint of uncertainty there. “How could I not talk about you?”

“Careful there, you’re starting to sound like you’re obsessed with me.”

“Well, maybe I am,” he shot back at you. He brushed the crumbs from his finished croissant onto the plate, reaching for the small stack of napkins between you two. “But seriously, don’t worry about what those guys said. They just like to mess with me.”

You lifted a shoulder in a meager shrug. “No worries, man. I’m obsessed with you, too, so the feeling’s mutual.”

You relished in the way his countenance noticeably lifted, his expression brightened, the corners of his lips curling into the apples of his pinkened cheeks like twin divots. All of a sudden it was just you and Eric, and you could forget about everything and everyone else.

“He said the L word?” Vernon let out a melodramatic gasp, which made it all the more funny since he'd said it with the most monotonous tone. His eyes had gone wide enough to see the white of his eyes though, and you practically doubled over because of him.

Ningning, unaffected by Vernon's silliness, nodded vigorously. “He said he loved her first! Isn't that crazy?”

You plucked out one of your opened water bottles from the fridge. “I don't think it's that crazy. Is it weird that I don't think it's that crazy?”

Vernon sank deeper into the couch cushion he sat on, eyes already drifting closed. “It's Kim Sunwoo; I don't think it's that crazy either.”

“Am I the only person who was shocked by this?”

“Yes,” you and Vernon answered at once.

Ningning rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. I guess I can see it, too. But it's just weird because he never gave any indication that he even liked her.”

“He was probably just suppressing it?” Vernon offered with a yawn. “Maybe he's just got a lot on his plate. My friend Seungcheol's a little emotionally constipated, too, but it's 'cause he's been slammed by his work stuff.”

“Isn't it crazy that people our age are telling other people they love them already? Like, love-love, and not some kind of primary-school-playground-love.” You moved yourself to join your friends in your micro living room. There was a gathering of laptops and papers scattered on the coffee table, but no one had touched them since they'd been brought out. Finals week burnout was real and tangible.

“One day,” Ningning sighed, less so lovey dovey, and more so exhausted as hell. She leaned her cheek against the back of her knuckles. “I don't know if I wanna get married though.”

“I think marriage is cool,” said Vernon. He had now taken on a coffin position with his arms crossed firmly over his chest and his face tilted up toward the ceiling. “As long as it's with the right person.”

“Yeah, stuff like that can't be rushed,” you agreed. You weren't sure what your plans for the future were; you just hoped you had your friends by your side, at the very least.

All this talk about partners and futures had your mind turning toward your conversation with Eric from lunch the other day. Did he see this crush of his as a potential life partner? He deserved that—someone who loved him as much as he no doubt loved them. Where would that leave you? Didn't you want something like that, too?

“Let's not talk about marriage anymore.” Ningning fwumped onto her side over the remainder of the sectional that Vernon wasn't lying on. She'd clearly given up on studying, same as Vernon. “How's Eric doing, Yn?”

Your head perked up. “Eric? What about Eric?”

“Oh, I dunno.” She held her phone screen directly above her face as she scrolled through social media, her lips pressed together. “Chenle said that Mark said that he's interested in somebody.”

It seemed news traveled fast, but then again, you didn't know how long Eric had been interested in this mystery person. You blinked, gnawing on your bottom lip. “Ah, yeah. He mentioned something about that to me, but he didn't tell me who it was.”

Ningning turned her head slightly to face you and her eyebrow was flicked up toward her hairline. “You're serious?”

“Well, yeah. I'm not gonna force it out of him.”

Vernon peeked one eye open. “Dude, you know that guy would do anything for you, right? If you asked one more time, he probably would have folded like a lawn chair.”

You sent him a pointed look. “I'm not about to force him to give away something sensitive like that. I admit that I'm curious, but…” It just wasn't your business.

He frowned at you, then went back to his half-conscious state.

Were you missing something?

Ningning rolled over completely onto her side. “How about this: how do you feel about Eric being interested in someone?”

Why was this the sudden topic of discussion? You pursed your lips, eyebrows furrowing. “Is this a trick question?”

“Why would it be a trick question?”

You exhaled. “He said that the person he liked was one of the best people he knew, so I'm happy for him. Like I said earlier, it would be nice to know who it was, but I don't want to make him give up something if he's not ready to yet.” That would just be unfair.

Vernon opened his eyes again and turned to Ningning. “Doesn't this sound like an automated response?”

You deadpanned. “It is not an automated response. It's—y’know, why wouldn't I be happy for him?”

With a dead serious tone, your friends said simultaneously, “Because you're in love with him.”

That statement struck a match against your cheeks and set them ablaze. Your lips parted, words failing you. Because you're in love with him?

At your speechlessness, Ningning moved to sit up straight. “We think it's because you have feelings for him,” she rephrased, as if that was any better.

“I do not have feelings for him.”

“I think you do; you might be mistaking it as something else.”

You garbled with the words in your brain, but they slipped and fumbled and wouldn't line up correctly on your tongue. It was to the point that you had to put a pause on trying to come up with a retort, and rather, piece this together logically. There had to be a reason for why both Ningning and Vernon were on the same page with this.

It came to you then, slowly, like a train pulling into the station. It was every one of his flirtatious maneuvers to get you flustered, the bittersweetness you didn't want to acknowledge at the thought that he was interested in somebody else. It was that look in his eyes that you couldn't describe, the way he tripped over his words when it came to calling you a friend. The voice over the intercom was announcing the stop as the train came to a gradual halt.

“Oh.”

Ningning frowned slightly, her head nodding. Vernon was actually awake now. “Yeah.”

So what now?

You knew Eric just finished with his organic chemistry final when you found him passed out on your couch. You'd been out working for the majority of the day and passed him a set of spare keys to your apartment to let himself in whenever he was done so the two of you could start your long awaited movie marathon night. The sun had just set and you'd come with a bag of groceries to make dinner, but all you could think about was the guy snoozing on the couch, his tufts of hair sticking out of his hood.

Cute.

By the time he woke up, you had dinner fixed up, and the apartment was filled with divine aromatics. Some said the smell of food usually made chefs feel full, but you hadn't eaten properly since you left for your shift this morning.

The lump on the couch stirred as you turned off the stove and turned toward the sink to start washing the dishes. You didn't like washing dishes, but it was a necessary evil. Earlier, you’d found the evidence that Eric had helped himself to some of the instant noodles in your cabinets, leaving a note by the dishes in the sink: Sorry, I promise I'll wash these when I wake up!!

You knew he would have kept his word, but you also knew how hard he worked and stressed over that damn exam. It was no inconvenience toward you to wash just a couple extra things.

Eric rolled onto his feet and shuffled into the kitchen, his eyes fluttering to adjust to the warm lighting. “Hi,” he rasped, voice hoarse from his nap.

His chin found your shoulder. “I said I'd wash those,” he murmured, referring to the small pot you were washing now.

“I know. I thought I'd do it anyway.”

“You hate washing the dishes.”

Your movements paused for a second. The organ in your chest was galloping away again, but now you knew the reason. Your head shifted slightly as it bumped against his gently. “I know.”

He was quiet for a moment before his arms came around your form and settled across your stomach and waist. “Thanks. Sorry for the mess.”

“There was no mess, silly goose,” you told him.

“I'll wash the ones after dinner.”

You murmured, “It's okay, Eric. I know you're good for it.”

Eric let out a breath against your neck, his head tucking into the warmth there. “I love you.”

At once, you both froze. You felt his body tense up around you, and knew your movements had stopped completely. You'd both heard what he said crystal clear and even the volume of the sink faucet couldn't dismiss it as a trick of the ear.

“Shit.” He detached himself from you just as you finished washing. You reached for the dry towel next to you on the counter to dry your hands, then turned around to face him. His eyes were wide like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I didn't say that aloud, did I?”

You smiled through a small wince. “You kind of did.”

“What if I left and pretended I wasn't even here?—”

You stepped forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. You gave him a little shake, the smile on your face sweetening. “Hey, Eric. I love you, too.”

His lips fell into a pout. “No, Yn. You—you don't get it. It's—I… I love you.”

“I know,” you said and moved your hands up to cup his face. There was a wobble in his eyes as you said this, that puppy pout deepening. “And I love you, too.”

Eric wrapped his arms around you tight then, a breath of air pushing out from his lips in utter relief. “Oh my god, you have,” he stammered, “no idea how—just—” He pulled away from you and pressed his lips to the side of your face.

You laughed, your hand coming up to cup the back of his head.

His face was split wide open by a massive grin and his eyes, his beautiful eyes, gleamed like a pair of twin stars beneath the dim kitchen lights. “Do you know how hard this has been for me?” He exclaimed while throwing his hands up in the air. “Do you know how much pain I was in when you couldn't get the hint—”

“Hey! Normal people don't just assume that their best friend has feelings for them,” you stuttered out in your own defense.

Eric tilted his head up to the ceiling. “I have literally flirted at you, right to your face.”

“You have a flirty personality.”

“And you are oblivious.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, your head cocking to the side. “Agree to disagree?”

He sighed and the sound was something happy and bright. “Agree to disagree,” he replied. He smiled at you again, but the corners were softer and mellower, the tenderness shining through like the glow of a lamp covered in a fabric shade. “I've been dying to tell you since I went to LA; I just didn't know how.”

“LA?” You parroted.

“I just couldn't stop thinking about wanting you there with me,” he said like it was the easiest thing in the world. “I'd be in the hotel room, staring up at the ceiling with the stupidest smile on my face thinkin’ 'bout you, and then I'd realize I actually was in love with you. It would flip-flop between those two things all trip long.”

You chuckled as you imagined Eric's starkly different facial expressions for each version of himself. It was an amusing thought. “Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for all the strife I put you through.”

His hands warmed over the sides of your arms. “Hey, honey, it was all worth it in the end.”

“You know,” you said, playing with one of the strings of his hoodie, and his hands came to rest around your waist loosely, “if the comfort and—the warmth and the happiness I feel around you is love, then I think I've been in love with you since the day we met.”

Eric's lips pressed in a deep pout again. “Come on! You can't possibly say that and not expect me to wanna kiss you.”

“I'm not saying no,” you teased.

There was that smile again. He licked his lips once and leaned over to gently press his mouth against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut as you let his softness consume you and ignite you all at once. It occurred to you that you were never scared of losing Eric as a friend—this was just what was next for you both.

When you both pulled away, your breaths still intermingling, his cheeks were a pretty, bubblegum pink color.

“Was that your first kiss?” You joked even though you knew full well it wasn't.

His laugh was low, but his expression brightened. “Might as well be,” he said, “it's the only one I wanna remember.”

Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you carefully pulled the loops of ribbon through itself to create the perfect, matching bow to the one on the other side of your head. Chenle was hosting a start-of-summer party, and it was mandated that you and your friends attend (according to Ningning).

Through your mirror, your eyes caught a presence at your bedroom door. “Oh my god, you're so cute,” Eric groaned, turning to the side to melodramatically hit his head against the doorframe.

You melted into a smile. “Thanks. I wasn't really sure how they would look actually.”

“Well, they're perfect. You’re perfect. Please don't take them off.” He came over to join you were you sat on the floor in front of your body length mirror.

You wiggled around a strand of pink ribbon you had cut off earlier, but didn't end up using because it was way too long for a hair bow. “I've got an extra piece. Do you want it?”

He scoffed, a hand carding through his hair, “Of course, I want it.”

Very pleased with his response, you clambered onto your knees to decide where to put it. He was dressed casually with a loose tank top, board shorts, and a cap on backwards. You squinted one of your eyes closed. “I've got it.”

“You've got it?” He repeated with a chuckle, smile widening as you practically climbed into his lap. “Hi,” he said with your faces close to each other and his hands resting on either side of your waist.

“Calm down there, tiger,” you teased, “I'm just gonna tie it where everyone can see it.”

You looped the ribbon around his left bicep, his arm subtly flexing as you did so. You made sure the bow looked as perfect as you were capable of making it. With a little pat of your hand, you deemed that it was all set.

“Perfect,” he said with a nod of affirmation.

You nodded along with him. “I'd agree.”

“Hey.” He drew your attention over to him once more and his hands pulled you flush against him. There was a goofy grin on his lips as he gazed at you with wide, doe-like eyes that melted into pairs of molten chocolate. “Do you think…”

“Do I think?” You prompted, wrapping your arms around the back of his shoulders.

“Do you think that if I kissed you in front of our friends, they'd realize we were dating?”

A laugh fell from your mouth, and Eric had never seen something so pretty in his life. (There were few things worthy of being engraved on the backs of one's eyelids, but he thought he just found a view that was. He would chase your smile until the end of time.)

“What?” He beamed. “Good idea, right?”

“I thought we said we were soft launching,” you said, the smile yet to retreat.

“I guess,” he sighed dramatically and leaned back onto his hand to drape the other one across his forehead like a damsel in distress.

You went forward to kiss him. “You're cute.”

“Isn't that my line?” He teased. He licked his lips a little then, expression becoming thoughtful. “I know this is gonna be something different—this relationship—but at the same time, I feel like nothing's changed.”

Swoon. You went in for another kiss and lingered there a bit longer when his hand came up to cup the back of your neck. “It'll be different and the same,” you agreed. “Just better.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Definitely better.”

It was scary—this venture into new territory. It was something that both you and Eric would experience and discover together. But on the bright side, at least you were in love. Maybe that was all that mattered in the end.

a/n: everybody say 'thank god she expanded the plot'

tbz m.list

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @outrologist @rikizm @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @bless-311 @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @jaerisdiction @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @vernonburger @maessseongs @ericlvr @mars101 @moonyswolf @your-mirae @richasdiary

[beamtori]

𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐝 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐢)

nonidol!eric sohn x rem!reader

2.3k words, smut (minors dni), p in v sex, reader is on birth control for convenience of hitting it raw, swearing, kissing, fingering, creampie (such an interesting word...), my weird ver of aftercare cuz how tf do u do aftercare post-getting railed at a party 😭, pet names (baby, sweetheart, hon, pretty boy), he's sweet, i think i got it all skfnksndkd

a/n: this is a second part to this fic occupied on my main writing blog! reading part one is not mandatory at all !! for @mosviqu <3 i hope it's not cringy skdnksjd also special thanks to @ethereal-engene and @winterchimez (i feel like there's always a thank u section to these 💀)

You were wearing his cap—a muted red with a rip in the fabric on the side. It was nearly impossible to miss as you clinked your plastic cup against Han Jisung's and toasted to a night of whatever was to come. (Hopefully you.)

Just about an hour ago, you'd come to find your best friend at this party after departing ways with your university baseball team's shortstop, Eric Sohn. He had obligations and an emergency to attend to, so you were biding your time around the place in case he ever wanted to pick up where you two left off. Along the way, you'd found the red cap he was wearing somewhere on the floor and put it on. Maybe it could be a beacon or some shit.

"—that's crazy, man," Jisung chuckled, shaking his head from over the rim of his cup. "I know I said I didn't wanna cockblock you, but I really didn't cockblock you this time."

You rolled your eyes. The liquid in your cup was a bit of tequila watered down with orange juice for a makeshift margarita. It was a little liquid courage in case you needed it. "Yeah, yeah. It was important, so I don't blame him." Though, you could hardly hide the disappointment behind your words.

Your friend gave you a sideways grin. "Well, the night is still young, my friend. Plenty of hot people around to scratch your itch."

"Well, I hope out of all of them, you still choose me."

Startled, you swiveled on your heel and came face to face with one sheepish-looking Eric. He had his hand clasping the back of his neck, brown hair a little more mussed from whatever emergency had arisen. His white shirt was still clinging to only a couple buttons—you had both been in a bit of a rush earlier.

"Felix? What's that? You need to tell me something—?" Jisung made a very swift exit, shooting a pair of finger guns at you.

You arched your brows as Eric came closer. "I think I'm scoping out my options," you teased, lifting your cup to your lips and draining the last bit of the spiked orange juice. You placed your empty cup on the table behind you, watching his eyes trace the path your tongue took along your lower lip.

The corner of his lips curled upward and he set his hand on the table. "Any way I can sway your judgment?" He asked. "I'm getting a bit of déjà vu."

"You have previous references," you shrugged. "I think I can trust that you're the man for the job." Despite your nonchalance, your heart was throwing itself against your ribcage like it was ready for a prison break.

Eric's other hand caged you in, his low chuckle sending a zap down your spine. "Well since my previous references check out, I'll just make sure you like what you saw."

He leaned in closer to you, and you met him in the middle. Your kiss tasted like oranges now, with the slight sharpness of the alcohol. His brows creased as he cupped your jaw and massaged his tongue with yours, trying to figure it out.

You pulled away, and he lifted the brim of his red cap to see your eyes better. "This looks familiar," he grinned.

"Does it now? Well, I'm sorry to say, but finders keepers," you said, switching the cap from front-facing to backward.

His eyes gleamed in the low lighting, and there was a smug sort of curl to his smile. "You're way hotter in it anyways."

Heat rushed to your neck. "If you keep complimenting me…"

"Then what?" He asked, voice dropping. He was in your space, front pressed to yours, lips a teasing hairsbreadth away. The back of his knuckles found your cheek in a gentle caress, a lover's purr. "If I keep complimenting you, then what?"

This was the second time you both lost the hat. You couldn't remember if this was the same room or not—you didn't really care—but you were fumbling for the lock behind you with your brain turning to mush by the way Eric was kissing you. Clearly, you couldn't multitask. His hand slipped down where yours was to twist the lock and entangle his fingers with yours.

His shirt came off a lot faster this time, your fingers used to the slim buttons, but also because he literally only had two of them to undo. The shirt went missing, and Eric's hands roamed from your waist over your backside and to the backs of your thighs. Waiting for something.

"There's a bed," he said between breaths, kisses, laps of his tongue—

"Good to know," you mused.

He scooped you up, your ankles locked behind his back. Your back hit the cool sheets and you found yourself peering up at one beautiful man. Eric Sohn was a marvel in himself to look upon, but this was a nice angle.

He kissed you again, enough to drive you up toward the headboard, his body following after yours like a shadow. His arm dented the mattress beside your head to brace himself over you, the other tucking itself beneath the hem of your shirt to grab your side.

You gasped something sharp. His mouth latched onto the side of your neck, suckling the hot skin there until you were seeing stars. Your fingers tangled themselves in his hair until they were messy, messy, messy—

"Eric," you exhaled, the sound like a whimper.

He hummed against you. "Yeah baby?"

Your fingers tapped against the nape of his neck. "Let me get my shirt off."

"Good idea." He unattached himself from you for the split second it took to rip your shirt over your head.

For good measure, you reached behind yourself and unclasped your bra, tossing it over the side of the bed. Eric's eyes glued themselves to your chest, rising and falling with the breaths you were trying to regain. He licked his lips, and you found yourself smiling.

"What?" You asked, a nervous laugh bubbling up from your throat.

He swallowed and shook his head. His hand smoothed over the back of your head in a soothing manner. "You're just so pretty. Can I…?"

You might as well have gone into cardiac arrest. "Yeah," you nodded.

The last thing you saw was the glint of his grin. He ducked beneath your chin and you lost your breath at the feeling of his lips wrapping around your perked nipple. You clutched at his hair—swore something colorful when his hand came up to squeeze your other breast. It was the rough pads of his fingers against your skin, the nip of his teeth, the bite of the cold rings on his fingers.

He lifted his lips off your chest, your boobs glistening in spit. He gave them an affectionate squeeze and pressed his lips against yours. "You can say no," he murmured against you, "whenever you want. This train stops whenever you want it to."

"Okay," you said. You appreciated that from him. "I want you to keep going."

"Mmmh, atta girl." You could feel his smile against your lips.

His body pressed down against you, the weight present but comforting in a way. You moaned as his hips grinded into yours and you raised yours in a desperate attempt to gain friction. Both of your movements were frantic now as you fumbled for buttons and zippers and kicked away pants—out of the way.

You reached your hand between your bodies and cupped the outline of his cock through his boxers, drawing a sharp inhale from Eric's lips. He pressed his sweaty forehead against yours, rutting his hips into your palm. "Ugh, baby."

"I'm on the pill," you said and squeezed him.

His eyes screwed shut, and his fingers found the wet spot on the underside of your panties. "You're—you're on the pill? Fuck, you're so wet."

He pressed a hurried kiss to your lips, yanking the hem of your underwear down. Cool air hit the wetness clinging to your pussy, and you shivered. He lost the boxers, your underwear following suit.

"Spread wide for me," his voice rumbled. "There you go, baby." He swiped the pad of his finger down the middle, drawing a shuddering breath from you. "Sounds pretty, looks pretty—mmh, tastes pretty." His finger popped out from his mouth, and he used that same one to draw enchanting infinity signs over your clit.

"Fuck," you swore, your hand digging into his shoulder.

Eric ground his hardened cock into the mattress as he watched you fall apart. He bit his lip, replacing his index with his thumb and dipping a finger into your hole.

"Oh god—"

He curled his finger inside you. "C'mon, pretty girl," he drawled, lazily pumping his finger in and out of you. The ring adorning his finger bumped against your lower lips in greeting. "Say my name."

"Eric, please," you said and pushed your hips toward him, wanting and wanting and wanting more—needing more.

His kiss was softer this time. When he leaned over, you felt the heaviness of his hardened cock over your thigh, the precome beading at the tip dripping onto you. "Yeah, baby. I got you."

He pushed another finger into your weeping folds and dug his thumb down into your puffy nub. You felt the tension mounting in your stomach, the knot winding up.

Before you could reach a precipice, he withdrew his hand clean from you.

Your eyes shot open. "Eric."

"Yn," he teased. He adjusted himself slightly, then took the hand he'd been fingering you with to slicken up his cock with a couple pumps. The sight made your tongue dry. A muscle in his jaw feathered and he braced himself over you to line his cock up with your entrance.

His tip rubbed against your pussy lips and collected the juices dripping out—you held your breath, wrestling yourself onto your forearms to watch him sink into you, inch by inch.

Eric swallowed your moans with his mouth, your fingers digging into his bicep to anchor yourself. Your brain was melting and you grasped the back of his neck as his length filled you up, a muscle feathering so attractively in his jaw.

Once he was seated to the hilt, he guided you to lay flat on the bed again, his arms braced on either side of your head. "You good, baby?" He asked you, breathing shallow.

You nodded for him.

He buried his face in your neck and his sweat-matted hair tickled your chin, his hot breath against your skin. You fucking mewled when he started moving in you—at first, a gentle rocking of his hips to test the waters, his cock pulling out halfway before thrusting back in again. His breathing was heavy in your ear, the sound turning into grunts as his strokes lengthened.

"Let me hear you, sweetheart." His hand found purchase with the soft flesh of your ass, hiking your leg up and around his back. "Feel so good around me—squeezing me just right."

His knees angled his hips upward, and you swore you saw stars when his tip curved up slightly and hit a sensitive spot inside you. You cried out, "Shit—holy fuck."

"Is that the spot, baby?"

You clenched down on him and a sluice of curses engraved themselves into your skin. "Eric, that's the spot. That's the spot. Pleasepleaseplease—" Your nails dug into the muscles of his back as you held on for dear life. The headboard of the bed knocked against the wall in tandem with how he drove into you.

Pressure mounted in your lower belly like molten fire, begging to be fanned and fueled to erupt, goddamn it. You were begging to be pushed over the edge and you could taste it with the salty sweat on your tongue.

"Can you come for me, hon? You're close aren't you?" He grunted.

You nodded, head bobbing vigorously, arching further into him. "Close, Eric. So fucking close."

Eric reached down between your bodies and kneaded the pad of his thumb down over your clit. Your breath hitched as the stimuli crested over and you were crying out for him. He coaxed you through it, his strokes becoming more desperate as he fucked his way to his own high.

You squirmed from sensitivity and whimpered. "Eric, Eric, Eric—"

"Fuck, baby, where do you want me?" He rasped.

"Inside," you said while gasping for air.

His head hung until he came, swears tumbling out of his mouth as fast as his cum flooded into you. Your thighs trembled from the sensation, and he braced his forearms on either side of your head to thank you in a sloppy kiss.

Your bodies were slick and sticky with sweat and cum. His cock softened inside you, and you winced as he pulled out. Eric smoothed a hand over your hair, nose nuzzling against yours.

"You did good, baby," he murmured. He wrapped his arms around your body and rolled over onto your sides, holding you against him.

You gave a little laugh and shoved your face between his pecs. "Thanks, pretty boy," you said. "You too."

He chuckled, biting his lip. "Cute… say, Yn?"

"Hmm?"

"I know we've got it backwards, but can I take you out sometime?"

You smiled to yourself and your heart kicked up. "Sure, I'd uh—I'd like that."

Eric's expression lit up, and you got to see that beautiful smile of his. "Thank god," he said. He brushed the hair from the divot in your shoulder, ringed knuckles running down the lines on the side of your neck and over your clavicle. "Hey, you tired?"

Your eyelashes fluttered at the question. "Not super."

"Round two?"

"Round—" Your words cut off with a shriek as he yanked you back under him. And though you started off giggling, he had those sounds melting into moans again just as swiftly.

This room was going to be occupied for a while.

a/n: the amount of times i yelled while writing this... how do people write smut all the time, i need to know ur secrets 😭

tbz m.list

[yootaesowlwrites]

I Just Want One Tiny Taste - Eric Sohn

W/C: 3.4K

Note: Blank blogs will be blocked. I don’t trust y’all, so make sure you have your age in your bio/desc or something on your blog. Minors DNI.

Prompts: “How many times have you jerked off to me?” + “I just want one tiny taste…”

Warnings: Smut, explicit language, roommates, masturbation, nudism, nicknames, oral(female receiving), clit stimulation, fingering, nipple sucking, unprotected sex(reader’s on the pill), roommates to lovers, aftercare.

Age Warning: I will not take responsibility because you wanted to read this, but if you’re under the age of 18+, DO NOT INTERACT OR READ. Do not take this as educational, this is fiction!

You were lost in thought as you grab onto Eric’s door knob and push it open, you wanted to ask him something, but the thoughts quickly vanished from your thoughts once you saw him completely naked on his bed with his cock in his hand and his phone in the other. He pauses mid-stroke as his eyes widen, he wasn’t expecting you to just walk in on him like you did. You lick your lips before a smirk forms on your lips, and you begin to move forward.

“Caught being naughty,” You say. You reach his bed and take hold of his phone, snapping him out of his shocked state, you look at the phone and found a picture of you open in his photo's app. “How many times have you jerked off to me?”

“I… Uh, Y-Y/n, it’s n-not what yo-you think,” He stutters out, trying to reach for his phone, only for you to pull the device out of his reach and lock it, You look at him before placing his phone on the bedside table, feeling a surge of confidence course through you.

“You could have just asked if you needed inspiration to jerk off,” You say. He pulls his hand away from his cock, scrambling to try and find something on his bed that could cover him up. “I would have gladly agreed to be your muse,” You were absolutely calm on the outside, but your mind screamed at you to run away and feel embarrassed about the situation. “I mean… the real thing is better than a photo, right?” He pauses, and you grip the hem of your shirt and lift it over your head, dropping it to the floor, you then remove your bra and drop it right next to your shirt. “Don’t you agree, Youngjae?”  He swallows, and you watch his Adam’s apple bobbing as he does. You weren’t sure where the fuck your sudden boost of confidence was coming from, you should be running out and hiding in shame at your actions.

“I… uh yes, I… yes,” He stutters out. He watches as you slide your hands over your breasts and down your stomach before curling your fingers around the waistband of your pants, his eyes widen as he watches you push your pants down along with your panties, he watches closely and intently as you step out of them before you take a few steps back and grab onto his desk chair and turn it to face the bed.

“Feeling more comfortable now that we’re both naked?” You ask as you sit down on the chair, spreading your legs slightly and giving him a perfect view of your pussy that was starting to grow wet. He was completely frozen, and you could feel your mind slowly catching up to you, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “Or should I leave?” He watches as you begin to close your legs, the view slowly disappearing from him when he snaps out of it.

“I, no!” He quickly says. “No, no, Fuck, no… don’t I… wasn’t expecting this,” You nod your head. “I just… this isn’t a dream, right?” You swallow as you now completely shut your legs and press your hands into your knees, building up the courage to stand up and making sure your legs wouldn’t give out on you when you ran for the door.

“No, no it’s not, this is very much real, and I’m starting to realize that I’m probably embarrassing myself in front of you right now,” You say. He quickly scrambles off the bed, falling to his knees and crawling towards you, his hands grip your knees, just below yours, and looks up at you with concern in his eyes, concern that you would get up and leave.

“No, no, why?” He asks. “Why do you feel like you are, because I can promise you that you’re totally not,” You were both naked, and he had a raging hard-on, and now he was holding onto your knees, his hold was burning your skin.

“For interrupting your private moment,” You say. “I should probably go,” You try to get up, only for him to firmly press down on your knees and slide his hands higher to have a better grip on you to keep you seated.

“Oh, no, no, please don’t go… fuck,” He says. “Unless you feel uncomfortable, and you chased your mind, but fuck, don’t go,” You watch him as he practically pleads you not to get up and leave his room. “I just… I just want one tiny taste…” You feel your muscles twitch and your insides twist at his words. “If you allow me… you can totally say no…” You take in a deep breath.

“Yes…” You breathe out. “You can have a taste,” You watch his eyes light up before his hands grip the crease of your hips, and he leans forward, his lips make contact with yours as he kisses you hotly, your eyes shut as you move your hand to the back of his head, twisting your fingers into his hair. His tongue swipes over your bottom lip, and you open your mouth to allow him access to explore your mouth, while his thumbs press against the crease of your thighs while his hand was squeezing the top of your thighs. Your other hand grabs onto his biceps and holds onto it, you could feel the temperature surrounding you shifting as the air became hot and heavy.

He pulls away from the kiss, causing strings of saliva to break off onto your chin as he does, but his lips were instantly on your jaw and kissing down your neck and over your collarbone before reaching the top of your breast, his tongue presses against your skin, and he licks a strip down to your nipple before taking the bud into his mouth.

“Ohh… fuck, Jae…” You breathe out, keeping your eyes closed as the pleasurable sensation goes through your body and builds up in your core. “Hmm…” One of his hands slides over the top of your thighs before it slips between them and pulls your legs apart, and moves his body between them to keep them spread for him. He slides his hand upwards and brushes the tips of his fingers against your folds, making you buck your hips forward. “Fuck, Jae…” He tugs on your nipple with his mouth, and you felt like he was tugging on the ball of tension that was growing inside you instead. You open your eyes and look down at him and saw him looking up at you as he was sucking on your nipple. “Fuck…” He releases your nipple and licks his lips.

“If I knew you were so willing to do this, I would have approached you weeks, no, months ago,” He says. His lips make contact with your stomach, and he kisses down and pauses right before he reaches your belly button. “I’ve wanted you… for months,” You could feel your stomach twisting at his words. “You want this, right?”

“For weeks now,” You mutter. You admit, that you found your roommate attractive when you first moved in, but once you got to know him some more, you quickly fell for him but decided to keep it all to yourself and only share it with your closest friends. “Fuck,” His fingers slide along your outer folds, causing a shiver to go up your spine.

“Are you saying I could have tasted you weeks ago and neither of us said a word?” He asks. You nod your head, and he lets out a chuckle as he drops his head. “Fuck, we’re idiots…” This time it was your turn to laugh, he looks up at you. “I guess better late than never,” He dips his head lower and his lips make contact with your inner thigh. “Let’s try and make up for the lost time,” His fingers slide between your folds, and you feel the pads of his fingers going towards your clit before circling around the bud.

“Ohh, fuck, oh, oh, Jae… shit,” You breathe out at the friction near your clit, your insides were twisting as you felt your pussy twitch at the attention it was suddenly getting, you could feel his hot breath near your pussy and his hair tickling the inside of your thighs, and fuck, it was making your mind spin. “Youngjae, fuck…” Your grip on his hair tightens, and you push your hand against it.

“So eager…” He mutters before his lips attach to one of your pussy lips and suck on it, your eyes shut, and you take in a deep breath. “Hmm,” You take your bottom lip between your teeth and bite down on it as the vibrations from his hum went through your pussy and towards the ball of pleasure inside you.

“Youngjae, hmm, oh, my fuck…” You moan, your lids twitch as your eyes move behind them, fuck, the feeling was sensational, sweat was starting to coat your skin, and you were starting to breathe in harder. “OH!” His finger slides over your clit and slowly rubs over the bundle of nerves. “Oh, my…” His other hand pulls away from your hip and feel his breathing becoming deeper against your skin. “Fuck… are you touching yourself?” He pulls at your pussy lip before releasing it.

“Fuck, yes,” He breathes out, your pussy clenches at the thought of his hand sliding along his cock, pleasing himself while making you feel good, “I’m so fucking hard, I need to try and take care of it,” You hear a squelching sound, and it definitely didn’t come from you.

“Fuck, Youngjae, that… is so hot,” You moan. His fingers slide down from your clit, and you feel a digit poking at your slit, his lips push right against your clit, and you could feel his breathing right against the nub.

“I wanna cum inside you…” He mutters, his voice travels through your clit, and you swear you could feel your own juices leaking from you at the words. “So please don’t take too long to get wet enough for me, baby,” Your back arches as you feel his lips wrapping around your clit while at the same time a digit slips into you, you throw your head back and your jaw slacks.

“OHHH!” You loudly moan, your hand on his biceps squeezing down at the sudden jolt of pleasure that goes through your veins, his nose was rubbing against your mound as his lips were wrapped around your clit, his finger curls inside you once it was completely inside you. “FUCK, JAE!” Your chest heaves up and down as you take in deep, rapid breaths. “Oh, my fucking…” Your heart drummed loudly in your ears.

“Hmm… hmm… hmm,” He moans against your clit, and with each moan you could feel the ball of pleasure inside you growing bigger and bigger, and your juices only getting slicker as it grew. A second digit slips into you, and you feel a light stretch in your walls as his fingers pump in and out of you.

“Fuck, I… Jae…” You moan as your head turns from side to side, pleasure fogging up your mind. “I…” His fingers curl inside you, and you feel a shiver go through your spine, your toes curl into his carpet floor and your muscles tighten. “Jae… Jae, I’m…” A third digit slips into you, stretching your walls even more. “Oohhh,” He releases your clit and licks a slow thick stripe over your clit, the friction making your legs shake as the rough texture of his tongue glides over your clit. “FUCK!” You sit up straight as the ball of pleasure inside you come undone, his fingers rapidly pump in and out of you to ease you through your high and make sure your walls were stretched enough for him. Stars danced behind your lids and your mind floated through the clouds and your legs shake from the pleasure.

“Hmm, so good,” He breathes against your pussy, making you push your hand harder down against the back of his head. “You’re so needy and desperate for more,” His tongue flicks over your clit, causing your back to arch. “Let me get you on the bed first,” You feel him place his wet hands on your hip and your shoulder before helping you up.

“Fuck, Jae, your cum on me… fuck,” You whimper out as he guides you towards the bed. He carefully lays you down and makes sure you're in the middle of the bed before he climbs on between your legs, pushing them wide open for him and giving himself the perfect view of your needy, glistening pussy.

“Fuck, you’re just… everything,” He says as his eyes slowly move up along your body, taking in everything about you, every little detail he was able to spot, one of these days he will explore your entire being to find which spots gave you the most pleasure and which ones he should avoid. “I need you now…” You were barely coming down from your high when you felt your hips being lifted and a fluffy pillow being placed underneath your butt. You lift your head and look at him through half-open lids. Sweat coated his chest and his hair was stuck to his forehead, a sight that made your walls clench and your insides twist together.

“Fuck… you…” You mutter and drop your head down onto the bed. You feel his legs touch the inside of your thighs and moments later you feel his cock brush against your folds before they push between them and slide up and down along your pussy.

“Fuck, so hot… and wet,” He mutters and moves himself towards your entrance. He places one hand on your hip and pushes the head into you, your jaw slacks as you feel him slowly stretching your walls and filling you. “Ohh, o-ohh,” He places his other hand on your hip as well and slowly pushes his hips forward to fill you.

“F-fuck, Youn-Youngjae…” You moan, your lids flutter as you feel your pussy slowly being stuffed by him. “F-fuck, I… you, hmm,” His fingers press into your skin, and you reach up and grip onto his bedding, twisting the fabric between your fingers. “Ohh…”

“Fuck, you… feel so good,” He grunts out, feeling your walls squeezing around him the further he sinks into you. “Taking me so good,” He thrusts his hips forward, swiftly filling you and causing your tits to bounce as he does.

“Oh!” You gasp at the sudden movement and turn your head to the side. “Jaaaeee…” You feel your muscles tightening as he slowly begins to slide out of you already. “Fuck, fuck, I… shit,” Your eyes roll to the back of your head as your head turns to the other side. The sound of your wetness quickly fills the room as he finds a pace fast enough for him yet slow enough.

“Fuck, I don’t… think I’m gonna… last long,” He says between gasps. He slides his hands along your sides and over your breasts before over your upper arms and along your forearms, you release the bedding as his hands reach yours and grab onto them, interlocking your fingers with his. “Fuck, yes,” His stomach brushed against yours with every thrust, and you swear that you could feel his muscles tightening as he does. He pulls your hands until they’re next to your head and pushes them into the bed.

“Hmm, I… we should have, oh, fuck… done this a long time ago-ooohh,” You moan. His lips make contact with your collarbone and moments later you feel him starting to suck on the skin there. “Oh, fuck…” You squeeze his hands, the feeling of his hearing his loud hot breath so close to your ear and feeling his lips suck a mark into your skin was adding to the feeling of your high building inside you. “Youngjae…” You feel your legs starting to shake as your toes begin to curl, you decide to lift one leg and wrap it around and feel his cock slide in just a little deeper. “FUCK!”

“Fuck, you’re squeezing me so good,” He mutters as he pulls away from the mark he was creating. “Fuck, you’re milking me, I’m…” You could hear a strain in his voice as he spoke. “F-fuck…” You could feel his hips stuttering for a second. “I’m…”

“Fuck, let me rub my clit,” You say. He releases one of your hands, and you immediately move your arm between your bodies, you feel his stomach rubbing more against your arm and felt his muscles pulling against your arm. “Fuck, you’re close…” You press your fingers against your clit and begin rubbing the bundle of nerves, he picks up on your breathing picking up before he felt your walls pulse around him.

“FUCK!” He loudly moans, your walls clench as the sound was so close to your ear. His pace picks up as he begins chasing after his high, his mind was spinning as he felt a heartbeat right in the head of his cock and knew he had to get it out. “Fuck, fuck, are y-you close?”

“Hmm,” You whimper out and push your head into the mattress as you feel your muscles tighten, and the knot inside you grow at a rapid pace. “Jae… YoungjAAEE!” Your back arches as the ball of pleasure inside you comes undone and pleasure courses through your body, your eyes shut and stars fly past your vision.

“Fuck, fuck, shit, I…” He mutters before his hips harshly snap forward, his body shakes on top of yours as hot ropes of cum spill into you, his hand squeezes your hand as his other hand grips the bedding and pulls at it. “FUCK, fuck, so good, shit…”

“Jae, Jae, fuck,” You chant out as your mind floats through the clouds, your body felt light as it was going through the ecstasy feeling. “Oh, my… fucking…” His hips rock into yours as he eases himself through his high, you pull your fingers away from your clit and move your hand to his side. “What if I sucked you off right now?” His hips buck forwards, your words making his mind spin even more, before he lifts his head to look at you.

“Fuck… you can’t say shit like that,” He says. You open your eyes to look at him, he could see satisfaction in your eyes with a hint of mischief in them. “Fuck, Y/n…”

“And what if I’m not joking?” You whisper. He sits on his knees and looks down at you, your skin glistened with sweat and your chest was heaving up and down. “What if I do that?”

“I would lose my absolutely damn mind,” He breathes out. Beads of sweat rolls down his chest and he was breathing heavily, his ears were red, and his eyes held a mixture between lust and warmth in them. “Another time… another time, fuck, it’s so tempting to see if you actually would, but another time…” He pulls his cock from you and watches as his cum and yours spill from your sopping hole and onto his bedding. “Let me take care of you now… you took care of my problem, let me take care of you,” You drop your leg from his waist and drop your hands onto the bed. “Are you okay… was this okay?” His tone suddenly softer.

“Hmm,” You say as you nod your head. “It was… it was more than okay,” He nods his head and slides his hand along your inner thigh, making you feel how much your juices had splattered from his thrusts.

“Let’s go take a shower, and then order some delivery,” He says. You sit upright and grab onto his shoulders, stopping him from getting up.

“What are we, Youngjae?” You softly ask. His expression softens slightly and he leans closer. “I don’t… want to be a one-time thing,” He squeezes your inner thigh, making you whimper at the feeling.

“Well… I would very much like for you to be mine,” He says. “To be with me, so we can do this a lot more often, and so I can call you mine…” You softly smile and lean in a little closer.

“Then say those magic words, Youngjae…” You whisper, your noses touch and your lips were so close to touching.

“Will you be mine, Y/n?”

[sugarcherriess]

Puppy Wanna Lick?

[ Eric Sohn x Fem!Reader ]

Warnings - mentions of food, food used… for sexual means, depraved eric, dom!eric, mentions of object insertion bc im a piece of shit, oral (m!rec), cum eating, i think that’s about it

Plot - The venture of frosting a simple cake turns into chaos as Eric and you fight about the colour of the frosting, he makes out with your hand, you two bicker some more, and then you give him a blowjob in the kitchen surrounded by the disapproving eyes of the unfinished cake and used pans.

“Add a few drops of blue food colouring, babe,”

Your softly spoken request is by no means meant to arouse an uproar or offend anyone at hand. That doesn’t stop the affronted gasp that leaves Eric’s mouth at the prospect of possibly ruining his (your collective) hard work.

The boy is absolutely scandalised!

“But we want the frosting to be white not blue!”

You roll your eyes at his exclamation. Damn rookie.

“It’ll give us a whiter frosting, Eric, trust me,”

Unappeased, Eric shakes his head in a firm no. Out of all the hardships you faced while baking with Eric, mixing the frosting was the least of your worries. Or so you hoped. Clearly, you should’ve been more careful.

“The blue counters the yellow that you can see already in the frosting. You’re the newbie okay? I’ve been in business for years, kid,” you quip, shoving him with your hip to add the food colour to the mixing bowl.

Eric catches both of your wrists as soon as the pigment touches the mixture, whipping you around to face him. A mischievous half-smile adorns his pretty face as he stares at you.

Trouble, trouble, trouble.

“Well, by that logic, you should go easy on me. After all, you are taking my baking virginity,” he wiggles his eyebrows, giggling at your unamused grimace.

“Call it that again and I’ll shove this whisk up your ass,” you threaten, pulling up a stray whisk from the counter and shoving it in his chest.

Eric bursts out an over exaggerated gasp and folds his arms on his chest after stealing the whisk from your hands.

“What if i shove this up your pussy, hm? What then?”

Your eyes almost burst out of their sockets at the unwelcome imagery that rushed to your brain. And you huff at the blood rushing down to the mentioned body part.

The bells were right, trouble is rising over the horizon.

“Eric!”

“And to think you’d be more careful for my first time! Remember how nice i was to you for yours?” He whines, dropping down to your shoulder.

You do remember. You remember him being so gentle while taking your clothes off, brushing your thighs so softly to ease your nerves. The constant reassurance, the caresses on your body, kissing on your neck… kind of like he’s doing right now…

In your frenzy you misjudge your position and put too much weight on one leg and it wobbles. You push your hand to the counter to steady yourself but it lands into something silky soft and damp– lands straight into the awaiting frosting bowl.

Eric sees the mortification dawn on your face before he notices what happened. It only registers in his mine once you bring your hand forward to show him the mess. His immediate boisterous laugh makes you laugh too, disappointment quickly fading.

With a calculated swoop of the head, he reaches down to your cream covered hand. Rogue tongue pokes out and his eyes search yours as he swipes his wet, pink appendage up your parted fingers. Eric takes his sweet time licking up the sugary icing, watching your eyes twitch and flicker at the soft, leisurely progressing movements of his.

Eric takes the last finger, your index, and wraps his tongue around it as if a snake wrapping its body along its prey. The tip pulls your digit inside the warmth of his clever mouth so he can suck the entirety of the sticky mixture off. Eric releases your finger from his mouth with a final satisfied pop.

Lost in his sultry gaze, you don’t notice when his hands grab your shoulders and push you down on your knees next to the cabinets. He abandons your skin to grab his sweatpants and push them down. You bite your lip when his half hard length comes into view, twitching in the change of atmosphere.

Eric’s hands find purchase on your skin again, this time on your head, as he fists your hair in his palm and holds it for control.

“I’m sure your witty mouth can give my cock the same treatment i gave your fingers, right?”

He doesn’t wait for a response before pulling you roughly to his cock. His grip has you wincing but also clenching your legs. The heat of your mouth finds his cock like moth to a flame and you take it upon yourself to grab his sturdy thighs. All the hours in the gym are clearly paying off, you note offhandedly.

Your tongue runs along the circumference of his tip the way his tongue did on your finger tips, making him groan out low in his throat. Using more pressure, you firmly swipe the tip across his slit and let your mouth lube it up. Eric hisses at the sensation, hips twitching, already dying to bury his entire member down your small throat.

This is so much better than making cake

“I wish i could use your mouth as a dick sweater all the time,” he huffs, running his free hand in his hair.

You want to retort that the word he’s looking for is ‘cocksleeve’ but he doesn’t give you a chance before he buries his entire length inside the hollowness of your throat.

He starts with shallow thrusts but the stretch and heaviness on your tongue is undeniable. As always, the pleasure goes straight to your head and you smile. It’s a fucked up kind of smile though, how can you smile normally with a horse sized cock shoved down your mouth?

Eric sees it though, understands that you’re smiling from the telltale signs of your eyes scrunching slightly and the glint in your eyes. His own mouth curves into a smirk to compete with yours. But his is so much more menacing,

“Slut,”

The single word leaving his lips feels like a thousand things all in once; it holds so much endearment and love in its derogatory self and yet it simultaneously feels like he spat in your mouth. You’d take it any way he likes.

Your easy and unabashed surrender has Eric’s ears burn red from overwhelming arousal and he amps up the speed and depth of his thrusts and the volume of his moans. You can feel several dull bruises forming on your walls as his tip attacks them with erratic thrusts. His hips swivel and stutter several times as you try to deep throat him as best as you can.

The muscles of your throat try to clamp down on him as your nose finally touches his skin. Your eyes are quick to blur out your vision, tears falls in rapid streams and your mouth floods with your own saliva.

As you wetly suck, or try to suck, around Eric’s pulsing cock, you hope that soon your mouth will flood with his essence instead of the taste of your saliva that you’ve learned to tune out. The salty precum already has you yearning for more and you pray to whoever’s listening to make it a quick approaching finish line but a long lasting victory celebration.

Eric’s hands form tight fists and his eyes twitch as they glare into your unfocused ones. You can’t see from the veil of your tears but you know Eric has that aggravatingly fascinating look on his face and his mind is screaming “my cum slut” and “my talented fucking whore” much like he possessively does every time his cock is inside your inviting pussy.

You don’t understand why he insists on saving these sentiments for that specific time only but you let him have it. Exactly like you let him have everything else.

“Ah… you take me so so good,”

Thrust

“Love watching you get, mmfh, impaled on my cock,”

Thrust

“God… i’m gonna stretch you loose after this,”

Thrust

Your ceaseless gags are music to his ears. Eric pushes you to the limit by shoving his pulsing cock flush against the walls of your throat. Your knees struggle to hold your weight, bruised and tender as your cunt keeps up the constant supply of arousal leaking down your thighs and flooding your panties.

But the flood in your panties is the least of your problems as Eric cums down your throat with a shout. Hands desperately grabbing your hair, he pulls you onto him in time with his fluid hips pushing into you. Your nails dig into his skin to tell him its too much and you can’t fucking breathe but you try to take it.

He’s too far invested in prolonging his orgasm to let you off the hook right now. You understand though, you know how it feels to lose yourself in such blinding pleasure. He’s been the one to teach you it in the first place.

Once he calms down, he pulls you off from him. Strings of saliva and cum hang from his cock and your mouth, some even dropping down your bottom lip in thick globs. It’s okay, he adores you messy like that.

You wipe away the tears blocking your vision while gulping all the air you can at a time. Eric’s already looking down at you licking his lips and trying to catch his breath when you look at him. Of course, it’s not going to end here silly. He’s got too much energy for his own good. You chose to bear the consequences.

His eyes suddenly catch something behind you as you get up, a spark of amusement making him scoff.

“I guess blue does make it white,”

Wiping your chin you look behind at the culprit stealing his attention and you connect the dots: when your hand fell inside the frosting bowl, the blue ended up slightly blending with the mixture and created scattered white peaks in the cream.

You roll your eyes at the instigator of this entire thing and turn around to kiss Eric with a newly arisen vigour.

Of course i was right, I’ve been doing this for years!

The next few minutes are spent with you sitting on the hastily cleared counter and Eric between your legs, using his tongue to scoop up the residue and aftertaste of his own cum from your wet cavern til it’s absolutely spotless.

A/N - The Eric piece i was originally working on took so long to finalise that i got bored with it so i deleted it and wrote this because every time he opens his palms or they’re recorded in any video I can’t help but think about how good they would feel grabbing your head to deep throat him.

[hcuyk]

okay since you're back, may i please request something around 4am with changmin (or sunwoo?) and make it angst or comfort or whatever just because why not thank you my love i'm so happy you're here you don't imagine how much

[4:01AM]

Not often did you wake up in the middle of the night, yet something felt different. Maybe it was because there was a sudden lump that had developed within your pillow or the temperature in the room had changed, but your dream had slowly faded into darkness. As you adjusted to your senses and reality itself, your eyes fluttered open and caught a glimpse of Changmin in the dark.

Your eyes traced the silhouette illuminated by the moon, noticing his eyes wide and fixated on the ceiling. Unsure of both the time and if Changmin had noticed you, you scooted over to where he was and wrapped your arms around one of his, hugging it close to your chest.

“Why are you up?” you mumbled while tucking your nose behind his shoulder, wanting to remain as close as possible. 

Changmin turned his head to face you, slightly startled that you had woken up, but his parted lips of shock curled up into a warm smile—it was almost impossible to not be in love whenever he saw you. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head before shifting in his spot, adjusting so he could bring you into his arms.

“Why are you awake, hm?” He pulled you in close and against his chest, allowing you to snuggle up against him within his embrace. 

“I asked you first,” you retaliated. You gave him an exaggerated pout before having it interrupted with a yawn. He shook his head and laughed at you softly, his arms squeezing you. He then had one of his hands gently pat you on the head, providing a weak attempt to get you back to sleep.

“Just woke up randomly, and I couldn’t go back asleep,” he whispered.

“You better not be bullshitting.” He giggled at your grumble, causing you to shuffle your feet under the comforters and kick his legs when you found them. Changmin then burst out in laughter at your terrible attempt and refuted the action by locking his legs around yours, trapping you completely in his hold. 

Instead of fighting back, your tired state melted against him, but you still glared at him as a threat. 

“I’m not bullshitting, I promise.” Your skepticism made him coo and kiss your nose, watching as your bunched-up facial features began to relax.

“We sleep together?” Noticing your slight worry, he nodded and pressed a soft kiss against your lips to reassure you.

“We sleep together.”

It had taken less than a few minutes for you to knock out, but Changmin was still completely awake. He would play with your hair, tucking strands behind your ear, before his thoughts drifted off once more. He kissed your cheek with a whispered ‘I love you’ before untangling himself from you to glance at the ceiling once more. 

His eyes then trailed over to the nightstand by their bed, and without much thought, he silently pulled out the drawer to take out a small velvet box. He flipped it open to reveal the ring he had bought you and raised it to where the moon was shining, wanting to look at it one last time before officially getting down on one knee for you.

His heart thudded against his chest and fluttered the moment he thought about you wearing it on your ring finger. He smiled and put it away so he could go back to holding you, finally relaxed enough to fall back asleep.

You were his forever, and he couldn’t wait for tomorrow. 

permanent taglist . . . @armysantiny @stealanity @zzoguri @nyujjan @tinisprout @the-kpop-simp

author's note // first timestamp for changmin! (the other one was unhinged and we pretend it doesn't exist 😭). matty my biggest supporter ilysmsmsmsmsmsmsm thank you for sending this in i hope you enjoy ALSO this may or may not be canon kidult changmin 🫣

[halaboyz]

2:07 am, eric

gn! reader; angst; tipsy characters; 457 words

you were always a second choice. it wasn't any different when it came to best friend, eric, who knew you liked him a lot. he didn't mean to leave you hanging without any answer to your confession, but you knew. deep inside, you do- that no answer, is an answer.

but even so, you liked that eric's lips lightly graze your earlobe as he whispers sweet nothings as sweet as honey. or when his hand meets your back unconsciously when he guides you through the sea of unknown faces chugging their hearts down.

what you least liked, is that goddamn smile on his face when he unexpectedly meets someone he immediately clicked with in the sea of those faces one day, and the ghost of him is what remained with you. the warmth of his breath under your ear, or his hand on your back.

and that continued to happen, over and over again.

"i'm leaving." you collect your things and stand up, leaving your friends confused and staring at you as you stride away. you hear eric quickly bid a goodbye to his so-called friend he had been meeting with for the past few weeks and to the others, tailing you.

"hey, party's not over. are you not feeling well?" and started with eric's hand on your back again, lips an inch away from your ears again. you leave him with no answer, letting him lead you out the doors of the bar.

"party's not over, like you said. you should head back." you sigh, facing him.

"are you okay? it's not like you to leave mid."

"eric. i'm not." you finally snap, "i'm not okay. i haven't been for the past few weeks and i know you know why."

"is this about her? come on... we've only just met last month and i've been bringing her so that we could be friends all together. once you get to know her it'll be fine-,"

"tell me you don't love her, then." you softly plead, waiting for him to answer. "tell me you don't love her." you wait. and wait. but when eric frowns at you, you chuckle bitterly. "see."

"y/n," he tries to reach for your arm, but you step away.

"right. asking you to tell me you don't love her is like asking you to tell me you love me. so fucking obvious." you let a tear fall before you turn your back on him, and like what you had always let happen, you hope he runs after you and ask you to understand.

but when you reach the end of the road with nothing but loneliness, you've also gotten your answer. the answer you shouldn't have chosen to ignore in the first place.

[loserlvrss]

꒰ 𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐇𝐎 ꒱ 손영재

summary : you broke with eric a long time ago, and you thought you were over him until you saw him with another girl

genre : angst, eric x afab!reader, non-idol!au, bestfreind!chanhee, for plot purposes everyone mentioned is around the same ages of 23-25 tws : language, mentions of sex, depressive episode author notes : no happy endings with me ♡ word count : 2.3k

“chanhee, i didn’t even want to come.”

“well, neither did i, y/n, but kevin said he’d send his attack-snake out on me. and i don’t want to find out what that even means.”

“huh,” you said, shoulders motioning with your voice, “kinky.”

"of course you'd think that," your best friend of a couple years (but felt like a million, in a good way) started, rolling his sharp eyes, "you haven't fucked in —"

"alright!" you stopped him, taking the creese of his elbow, "i get it, i'm lonely. damn, what about you though, king? when was your last relationship? because if i'm remembering correctly, it ended before eri —"

"y/n!" running up to the pair of you was the host, a bright and inviting smile plastering his face. although, you weren't sure why you kept walking around like a knife was lodged between your shoulder blades still. "i'm so glad you could make it!" because the moment you saw a familiar stranger, a brunette clinging to his strong arm with a green cocktail between her manicured fingers, your heart suddenly was on the floor.

you don't know why the scene of the liquid covering her perfectly blown-out hair flashed through your head. or why you could imagine the little christmas tree decoration in it scratching the top of her mouth until it stung when she would talk. you could hear her musically-tuned laugh ring through the air at a joke you couldn't imagine was that funny.

"what the hell am i, chopped liver?" chanhee joked, oblivious to what you spaced out on, "you only wanted me to come because you knew i'd bring along my emotional support fish."

it seemed you were always on a one-way street you just couldn't turn off of, because no matter how many potholes you hit, you keep driving; and if your tires popped, you weren't sure the car would stop.

you shouldn't be allowed to be appalled by the sight of your ex having moved on, simply because you broke it off when he wanted to make it work. you dropped his heart when he let you hold it. and when he should've played his cards close to his chest, he let you join his team just to fold. you were making the ship sink, so how could you have the audacity to be mad when he jumped from it while you went down?

he loved you, but at the time you weren't sure what you wanted. sure, you blamed it on being 19, but it was because you were scared to commit to someone so committed to you. you didn't want to be, selfishly, tied down to one person — and now that you've purged it from you system, you, selfishly, wanted the same commitment he had given you 5 years ago.

now you stood in the foyer, two different faces from those kids, attached to another man, thinking about if he looked over, would he get the wrong idea? would it make him as jealous as you felt?

you've loved, had loss and even forgot it. but faced with the void you could never fill was more debilitating than you cared to admit. you wanted to be two ‘i miss you's’ that just needed a push, but evidently only one of you felt that way, as the other was happily coupled up during cuffing season. but then again, you had no right after half a decade to think like that.

you just had to be brave and pretend like it doesn't bother you. you can do that. you can do a lot... right?

chanhee rammed into your side, his desperate attempt to get you back down on earth, instead of inside your never-not-on brain. "did you even hear what kevin just said?" he asked, and you looked to said man, "he said the bands getting back together." your bestfriend made a joke, which did cause you to loosen up and laugh. you thought that as long as he was there, you'd inevitably be okay.

"well not exactly, a couple people couldn't make it — which is fine, but most of our old friend group is here." kevin explained, lacing your free arm with his so you were sandwiched between the two of them. "it seems like you and chanhee were the only ones who really hung out like we all used to."

you reminisced the old times for a second. you remembered when your name was connected with eric's, when you hung out like old times with them and him. you remembered the stupid parties kevin's frat would throw freshman year, that eric would drag you to, just for you and him to have a great time. you remembered when you'd have quiet study sessions with jacob and younghoon in the school's library, or juhaknyeon and sunwoo's soccer games. it made you feel a little messy, because after you and him broke up, it's like you broke up with them all. you habitually stopped hanging out, only being dragged by chanhee who was attached to you since first introduction.

you actually owe your level-headedness all to him. he's the person who convinced you that you didn't need to have a run-of-the-mill to finally find something good. he's also unfortunately the reason you remember eric like it was yesterday, even if you don't front like it. you knew you had someone so devoted to you, yet you let him go and now you had the audacity to feel bad about it.

"well, is sunwoo coming?" you asked, which earned a nod from kevin, "and what about younghoon and juyeon?"

"juyeon got a girlfriend!" chanhee exclaimed excitedly, his voice lowering when sangyeon's attention was caught on the three of you, "like last month."

the oldest of your friend's face lit up, "y/n!" he said, making you force a smile though you were cringing; because just a couple feet away was the love of your adolescence, with the presumable love of his.

standing next to him was hyunjae, "how've you been, oh my gosh, it's been like years hasn't it?" you voiced, bringing him in for a hug, which he reciprocated before you moved to sangyeon to repeat the process. it had been years since you've last spoken to them other than a happy birthday or congratulations once in a blue moon — you honestly wouldn't be surprised if their numbers had changed and you'd been texting a random person.

"good, good," hyunjae replied, sipping a bright red cocktail, "i actually just finished my business degree, thinking of either opening my own or investing in some else's."

"and I just got engaged, though she wasn't able to make it here tonight — ceo stuff — she's getting ready to go international after fully getting elected as the heir."

you couldn't help but compare, sure you had your teaching license, but it wasn't as impressive as either one of them.

they were making it hard to believe that the world was spinning too fast, and that you weren't stuck watching the same film over and over again.

chanhee began talking in your place, forcing you down into the barstool between them all. kevin went over to younghoon and juyeon who had just made their way through the door: a synthetic blonde attached juyeon's arm.

"what's her name?" you blurted, the three boys looking down at you, "she's pretty."

hyunjae was nonchalant, pretending he didn't know exactly what you actually meant. however, sangyeon replied awkwardly, "w-who? kim minyeon? or jang nari?"

"juyeon's girlfriend, n-not eric's."

"o-oh! that's minyeon."

nari. the feminine name meaning lily; new beginnings and rebirth. just fucking perfect, wasn't it? pretty, perfect and delicate, just like the flower.

you sighed and excused yourself, disguising it as having to use the bathroom. in honesty, you weren't sure how much more torcher you could take, and it's barely been twenty minutes. you thought you'd be fine, as long as chanhee stayed by your side, but the longer you watched the pair through your peripherals, the more you just ached.

you cared more than you'd like to have admitted. and the worst part is you had no one to blame — to be mad at — because everyone had rightfully assumed you both were over it.

like you were supposed to be.

it was pathetic, the way you stared yourself down in the mirror. you found yourself resembling someone you've never met, or maybe someone you had just forgotten in all the growing pains. nevertheless, you found yourself disgusted by the fact that you were disgracing your mother's eyes, father's nose, and sister's cheekbones with the self-pity. there was nothing more selfish than crashing someone else's party with one of your own.

so you choked the tears back, the lump in your throat making it hard to breathe. you took a powder from the purse slung over your shoulder and fixed your creasing makeup. you reapplied a red lipstick, fixing your hair and outfit. you thought that if you couldn't have him, maybe you could make it wish he had you instead — god, you were letting the delusions look too good under the fluorescent light.

however, you stooped lower than throwing a pity party. you exited the bathroom with part of your dignity still intact, but the moment you sat against the plush-cushioned bench against the wall your phone was illuminated with pictures of the pretty brunette.

you couldn't get yourself to stop once you typed her name out. it's like you were boarding the gossip train all the way back in high school.

you scrolled like you were obsessed, brain blanking out everything around you. you saw her go through a cherry red hair phase sometime in 2022. you found out that her and eric had taken a vacation to hawaii back in 2021, multiple bikini pictures and perfectly sculpted bodies clinging together like models being the tell. you scrolled farther back, dead-set on finding the first picture she ever posted of him… that must've been close to when they met.

why do you even care? you know he was too caught up following you around like a puppy to even believe that he would entertain someone other than you. so, why were you obsessed? maybe you needed a reason to be mad at him. maybe you needed an excuse to shift the blame.

maybe it's everything you needed that he could live without —

"i didn't meet her that far back, y/n. we were still dating then."

your eyes shut, finger hitting the power button. you took a moment, hoping that it was just your cruel subconscious playing tricks with reality. "didn't think you'd cared that much," he took a seat on the complete opposite end of the bench, "it's been five years... and honestly i didn't think you cared back then either."

you were too embarrassed to say anything. and frankly, you didn't know what to reply with. i'm sorry? i did care about you, but just not enough? nothing seemed to suffice.

"i met nari at work. she treats me —"

your vision was blurring over, but you couldn't find the courage to get up and walk away. you were just so damn pathetic, weren't you? you just thought that everything in this world belonged to you, peaking your freshman year of college in comparison to the people who still innocently call you a friend.

"better?"

"different, y/n. she's different than you."

you sighed, "that doesn't make it bet — i mean, it doesn't matter, eric. i'm sorry, i was just curious after not seeing you for so long." your eyes opened, but the scene was blurred over, almost like it was torrentially pouring while driving late at night. there were questions flashing behind your eyelids every time you tried to blink the tears away. you thought that you couldn't stoop lower, but for the past couple minutes you've done nothing but prove it wrong. "i'm so-sorry, i'm just gonna go."

you got to your feet, but his voice made you stop dead in your tracks.

"w-why does it bother you so much?"

you honestly felt like your heart was re-shattering, joining the dust on the floor at your feet. you thought the question would join the heaps of pathetic things you've said and done tonight.

you turned around, phone clenched between your fist. eric was still sat, dark hair styled so nicely you almost thought that it wasn't him — but her — outfit a matching shade to the dress you saw hugging her figure gracefully.

"do you honestly think i didn't care about you?" you asked, to which he raised his head at an alarming pace, "it's true, i know i fucked it up, eric, okay? i know what i did to you and i'm sorry. i-i'm sorry i waited so long to tell you that." clearing the air didn't feel like closure at all. the tears in his eyes didn't feel like hatred at all. and maybe he didn't mean it. maybe he only told himself that because you did break his heart so bad, still holding pieces he's afraid he'll never get back. "you can think whatever you want, hate me even, but please don't think for a second i didn't love you back then. i was naive and made a mistake, but it's too late to take it back. believe me, i've thought about it. but i always fucking cared about you, okay?"

you found it oddly satisfying, though knowing in the back of your head that he would curse you for saying these things while he's happily coupled up, you didn't regret it.

"i'll forever be sorry, so don't hold it over my head."

"i believed you didn't care about me... back when we were nineteen." he replied after a long pause, "but i haven't believe that for a long time. y/n, i've forgiven you."

reblogs, likes and comments are greatly appreciated! thank u!

[ericshoney]

The Spy ~ Eric Sohn (YANDERE)

Warnings: Spy!Eric, Yandere!Eric, criminal!Reader, suggestive language, obsessive behaviour, kidnapping, mention of torture and sexual activities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eric Sohn. A name known well in the spy agency. He was their top spy. Eric was able to get information out of anyone, he was flexible and reliable. Even for his young age, he had worked his way to the top quickly.

That being said, whenever a job is needed to be done, a majority of the time, Eric was called, especially when the criminal was an ex-spy.

The kitten.

She was notorious, always slipping police arrest and nobody in the agency could stop her. So they called Eric.

"She's been spotted on the North side of the city. Heading for the museum we presume." The chief said, briefing Eric in. The young male nodded.

"Got a new ruby in, heard it's pretty." Eric mentioned.

"Very and if our sources are right, she's going to attack tonight."

"Not on my watch boss~" Eric replied, winking at the male.

After gearing up, Eric left the hidden agency. Nobody ever questioned Eric's plans. Knowing they always worked, the criminal would be in custody within a few hours. However, the agency didn't know Eric's mind. How he had a dark side, liked to play and was obsessive and he had been following The Kitten for a while now.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll be mine tonight~" Eric chuckled as he slipped on his motorbike and sped off.

~~~~

As Eric arrived at the museum, he saw the last few visitors leaving and the guards locking up for the night. He parked his bike and walked around the building, but saw no sign of his target. He waited twenty minutes before seeing movement on the building's rooftop. Smirking to himself, Eric quickly made his way there.

"Beautiful evening, isn't it~" Eric called smugly.

You had turned around upon hearing the voice. You saw Eric standing at the edge of the rooftop. You got into a position to fight, making Eric laugh.

"Oh this will be fun." He chuckled.

You took the first move, jumping at him, landing a punch to the jaw. Eric groaned but didn't move. He ran at you, giving you a split second to dive out the way, rolling on the floor, only for your chosen weapon to slip from your hand. You scrambled to get up, but Eric was quicker, running over and pinning your body to the ground.

"Now sweetheart, I've been following you for a while and I've got to say, I'm impressed." He said, as you struggled in his grip.

"Fuck you!" You spat.

Eric laughed as you pushed against him. He laughed at your weak attempt. He kept you pinned down both your wrists with one hand, his body weight holding your lower body, as he pulled something out his back pocket.

"Now relax darling, we're doing this my way~" He whispered.

Under the light of the moon, you saw a glimmer of a needle, before it was stabbed into your neck. You groaned as your vision faded, everything turning to black.

~~~

When you awoke, you were in complete darkness. You felt that you were sat on a bed, your wrists and ankles tied up with rope. You wriggled in your binds, just as the door opened and the lights came on. You blinked, your eyes adjusting and for you to see you were in some sort of sex room. You saw Eric walk in with a dopey smile.

"Morning kitten~" He greeted, emphasising your code name.

"The fuck?" You called.

"Oh you thought I was taking you in, oh no Y/n your mine!" Eric cheered. You felt your heart stop. He knew your real name.

"Now lets get a look at your pretty face~" He added.

Eric walked over to take your mask off. You scooted back, only for your back to hit the headboard. He chuckled and pulled your mask off, a smirk on his face.

"Very pretty~" He whispered, running a hand over your cheek.

"Why...Why haven't you taken me in?" You questioned.

"Your mine to play with. I've followed you for years. It was my mission to have you as my kitten." He admitted.

He chuckled again, seeing the fear on your face, your mask no longer hiding your emotions. He kissed your cheek and rubbed your head.

"Don't worry baby, we'll have loads of fun~"

[viastro]

glimpse of us | eric sohn

ミ★ synopsis: they say that you get flashes of your life when you’re dying. what they fail to tell you in this life, is that it also happens when you move on to somebody new. you could be the person that you never think you’d be, but somehow in the new cycle you may adapt to, you’ll always somehow find glimpses of your past mirroring through your new choices of living. requested !

ミ★ genre: exes to lovers!au, angst, some fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: miscommunication is the devil

ミ★ word count: 19,769 (oh my god.)

ミ★ pairings: eric x gender neutral reader / younghoon x gender neutral reader / eric x oc

ミ★ notes: hi everyone ! long time no tbz oneshot... hehe... but as you can see, this oneshot is based off of joji’s new song, glimpse of us. this was requested by anon, so whoever you are, i hope this fic is to your liking ! as always, make sure to give eric lots of love <33

Eric walks through the quad, his headphones blasting music into his ears as he scrolls through his phone. He raises an eyebrow when he gets a notification, and he swipes down, letting out a light chuckle when he reads who it’s from.

sunwoo: hey stupid whore <3

hyunjun: i have a name

sunwoo: bold of you to assume i’m referring to you

eric: bruh... bitches blowing up my phone 

sunwoo: ah yes, there’s the stupid whore

hyunjun: LMAO

Eric rolls his eyes at the message, moving to type out a response when he hears someone call his name through his headphones. Looking up from his phone, he watches as that familiar head of blonde hair comes running down the path and towards him. He chuckles when she immediately jumps into his arms in greeting, making sure she’s secure before setting her back down onto her feet. 

“Someone’s excited to see me.” Eric teases, and she shrugs her shoulders while trying to hide her smile. 

“Just happy to see the guy I like.” Daeun tells him, the smile finally appearing as she lets her arms fall back to her sides. He lets out a grin and pats the top of her head, before pulling out his phone to check the messages he missed in the groupchat.

sunwoo: you busy tonight ? i want kbbq

hyunjun: never busy for food

especially kbbq during the winter <333

sunwoo: where’d eric go

hyunjun: stupid whore*

sunwoo: oh right

where’d stupid whore go 

hyunjun: prolly on his way to class

he’ll just respond later

Eric snorts and sends a quick reply telling them he’s down for kbbq, before turning to Daeun to point in the direction of the cafeteria. “You wanna get food? I have some downtime before my next class.” 

She nods her head excitedly at the idea, “Yes! I’m actually super hungry right now.” 

“You didn’t eat breakfast?” Eric asks with a chuckle, and she scoffs at the mention of the early morning meal. She raises her hands up for emphasis on what she’s about to say, making the redhead raise an eyebrow. “Eric, I’m a third year university student. You really think I eat breakfast?” 

He grins at that, nodding his head in respect as he turns away to mutter, “That’s valid.” 

As Daeun begins to talk about how her day has been so far, Eric listens quietly as he gazes at their surroundings. He blinks when he sees someone bump into another person, and he clenches his fist at his side when he immediately recognizes them. 

You’re giving the person who bumped into you a small smile as they apologize, even waving your hands at them to signal that it’s okay. Your eyes are warm as you say your goodbyes to them, and he feels his heart stop when you suddenly glance over in his direction, and accidentally lock eyes with him. 

The warmth that was in your eyes almost immediately disappears, now being replaced by an emotion that’s indecipherable to him as he refuses to look away. The world around the two of you seems to come to a slow, the sound of his heartbeat beginning to pick up in his ears when he finds that you don’t turn away either. 

The world returns back to normal when someone else comes into view, and Eric bites the inside of his cheek when he recognizes who they are. He watches in silence as you turn your head to your boyfriend, a bright smile taking over your features when you lock eyes with Younghoon. You immediately wrap your arms around him in greeting, and Eric feels his heart pang when Younghoon kisses the top of your head in return. 

He turns away from the sight of you and your boyfriend, being reminded of the times where he was once in Younghoon’s place. 

“Yo! Where are you going? Don’t you want to go to karaoke with Hyunjun and I?” Sunwoo calls out when Eric starts rushing down the steps of their building. The brunette at the time glances back at his two friends, giving them a big grin, “Yn gets out of class in five minutes, I want to be there to greet them!” 

Hyunjun chuckles at his friend, while Sunwoo laughs and waves him away. “Simp! Make sure to say hi for us!” 

Eric just holds up a thumbs up towards them, not turning around to see their reaction as he runs in the direction of the Chemistry building. He feels giddy at the idea of your reaction when you see him. Will you look surprised? Happy? Will you smile and give him a hug? 

The possibilities are endless.

Eric brushes past people through the quad, making sure to apologize if he accidentally bumps into them on his journey to you. 

Adjusting the strap on his backpack, he lets out a breath of relief when the Chemistry building comes into view, and he pushes himself to run a bit faster. When he finally makes it to the bottom of the steps, he immediately checks the time on his phone, and he grins when he sees that he made it with a minute to spare. 

The sound of the doors being pushed open from above gathers his attention, and he glances up to see the beginning of the rush of students leaving the building. He waits expectantly, gazing at every person’s face until he finally notices the top of your head. 

He watches as you look up from the steps, mid-way through putting in one of your airpods when you lock eyes with him. His heart stutters within his chest when your face visibly brightens, your eyes beginning to sparkle like they hold the whole galaxy in them, and your smile.

God, your smile.

“Eric!” You cheer in greeting, rushing down the steps and practically leaping into your boyfriend’s arms. He lets out a laugh at your excitement and stumbles back a bit from the impact, making sure to wrap his arms around your waist tightly as he takes a deep inhale of your comforting scent. 

You pull away with a bright smile on your face, a visual so beautiful that Eric feels warmth flood his face from the sight alone. 

“What are you doing here? I thought your class ended at the same time as mine.” You ask, and the brunette just shrugs his shoulders to try and act all nonchalant. “We ended a few minutes early, so I wanted to come and surprise you.” 

You giggle and nod your head, wrapping an arm around Eric’s waist as he places his arm over your shoulders. You point in the direction of another building, “Want to walk me to my next class?” 

“Of course I do.” Eric answers without any hesitation, and you grin warmly at this. The two of you walk in a comfortable silence in the direction of your next class, and the blonde takes this moment to glance at you, seeing the small smile still playing on your lips from earlier. 

He giggles, “Are you really that happy to see me?” 

“Of course! Who wouldn’t be happy to see their lovely boyfriend waiting for them to get out of class?” 

Eric feels his heart warm at this, and his brain quickly starts to think of ways he can come pick you up from your classes throughout the week if it truly makes you this happy. 

“Are you happy to see me?” You ask, looking at your boyfriend with an expectant look in your eyes as you await his answer. He brings the two of you to a stop, and turns so that he’s facing you. He reaches out and gently cups your face, looking at you with nothing but love in his eyes as he responds with a shy smile, 

“I’m always happy to see the love of my life.”

“Eric!” The redhead quickly snaps out of the memory, turning to find Daeun looking at him with an amused expression on her face. She points towards the cafeteria while lightly laughing, “I’ve been trying to tell you that we made it for like, a minute now.” 

“Oh, sorry.” Eric says with a strained smile, one that she fails to notice as she begins to bring them towards the cafeteria again. “It’s okay, I’m just curious as to what you were thinking about that made you space out like that.” 

And Eric just lets out a short chuckle, glancing at the blonde as he quietly replies, 

“Just remembered something, doesn’t matter anymore though.” 

“Grilled meat is a gift from the Gods.” Sunwoo states after he finishes chewing on some brisket. Hyunjun nods his head in agreement as he flips some of the meat, “If I was religious, I’d pray to the Gods and thank them for this delicacy.”

Eric chuckles at their conversation, taking a piece of brisket and dipping it into the sesame oil. Sunwoo looks up at the redhead, noticing that he’s been more quiet than usual.

“Eric, are you okay?” Sunwoo asks as he takes a sip of soju, and Eric blinks at the sudden question. He nods his head with a quiet laugh, “Yeah, why?” 

“You just haven’t been as loud as you usually are.” Sunwoo says, pouring Eric some of the alcohol before picking up a piece of kimchi. He rolls his eyes at the statement, “You’re always complaining about how loud I get, but now I’m thinking that you actually like how noisy I am.”

“Personally, not getting kicked out of this restaurant because of you being too loud is quite nice–”

“Hyunjun.”

“What? We always get kicked out cause of Eric.”

“Don’t act like you don’t play into Eric’s shenanigans after only two shots.” Sunwoo points out, making the redhead chuckle and Hyunjun laugh as well. “Alright, alright. You got me.” 

Eric’s about to retell the story of when Hyunjun danced on the tables after two shots when his phone suddenly dings, and he glances down to see a new message from Daeun. Hyunjun notices the notification from his seat, and he moves to place the onion onto the grill as he asks, “How are you and Daeun?”

Sunwoo watches as Eric turns rigid at the question, and he shares a knowing glance with Hyunjun, before turning back towards the redhead. Eric gives the two a small smile, “We’re alright. We’ve only been on like, four dates? I think?” 

“You think?” Sunwoo chuckles, and Eric nods his head. “Daeun’s really sweet.” 

“And?” Hyunjun presses, placing some pieces of pork belly onto the grill. Eric bites his bottom lip at the question and takes a sip of soju, before beginning to create a lettuce wrap. “She’s nice.” 

Sunwoo watches as Eric quickly shoves the wrap into his mouth after he finishes making it, and he lets out a breath. 

He’s concerned for his friend. Sunwoo and Hyunjun have been concerned from the moment you and Eric broke up. It was like they witnessed the five stages of grief right before their eyes. They watched the redhead go from getting wasted every night, to dying his hair, to getting rid of all traces of you in his apartment, to doing everything that he couldn’t do while the two of you were dating, and to this stage. 

Dating.

Daeun’s the fifth person Eric’s been on a date with since the two of you broke up six months ago, and she’s also the only one who’s made it to a fourth date. 

“Sweet and nice are synonyms.” Hyunjun points out as he cuts up the pork belly. Eric stays quiet at this, knowing that his friends can tell that he’s obviously distracted. He lowers his head towards the table, before reaching out towards his glass of soju and downing it all in one go. 

Sunwoo’s eyes widen at the sudden action, “Eric!” 

“Can we just… not talk about my love life tonight?” Eric asks after placing the empty glass down, looking up towards Hyunjun and Sunwoo to see their expressions. The black haired beauty just looks at Eric for a moment, before patting his back and continuing to grill the meat without question.

While Sunwoo stares at Eric in silence, an indecipherable look in his eyes as the concern he feels heightens a bit. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he lets out a strained smile and nods his head at his friend. 

“Yeah, we can talk about something else.”

“Eric Sohn!” You exclaim when he belly flops onto your bed as soon as he steps into your room. Your newly dyed blonde boyfriend rolls over onto his back and flashes you that pretty smile of his, “Yes, my love?” 

You raise an eyebrow at him, “I told you no outside clothes on my bed.” 

Eric blinks, before glancing down at his jeans and the grey hoodie he wore to his classes. Biting the inside of his cheek, he looks up at you with a slightly guilty expression on his face. You sigh and reach out to drag him off your bed, but you fail to realize that he was expecting this.

He takes hold of your hand and pulls you on top of him, eliciting a squeak from you when you land. You push yourself up onto your elbows and glare down at him, but this doesn’t affect him at all, considering the happy smile on his face as he wraps his arms around your waist. 

“What are you doing?” You ask with a blank expression, and Eric just pinches your sides in response, making you slap his shoulder. He chuckles at your reaction, and leans up to peck your lips, but you raise your hand and cover his mouth. 

“Eric.” 

“I’m trying to kiss my beautiful significant other, but they’re not letting me.” Eric answers, voice muffled by your hand. He watches as the corner of your lips quirks upward, and he grins at your resolve slowly melting away. 

He reaches up and grasps your wrist, moving your hand away so that you can see his smile. You press your lips into a thin line when he puckers his lips, closing his eyes as he waits for you to grant him his kiss. 

“Come on, you know you want to.” Eric says through his puckered lips, biting back a laugh when he hears you snort. His grip on your waist tightens a bit when he feels you lean in, and his heart thrums against his chest as he waits. 

He blinks his eyes open when you suddenly turn away and he feels your lips against his ear as you whisper, 

“You can get a kiss when you get your outside clothes off of my bed.” 

The sound of your bedroom door opening slowly wakes you up from your dream, and your eyebrows furrow as you glance over at the entrance of your room to see Younghoon peeking his head in with a shy smile.

“Younghoon.” You murmur sleepily, and he waves at you as he places his bag down beside your desk. He pads over to your bedside and presses a kiss to the top of your head, “Sorry, did I wake you?” 

You shake your head even though him opening the door was the reason that you woke up, but you wouldn’t ever want Younghoon to feel guilty. He grins happily at this, gently brushing away the hairs that fell over your face while you napped. 

“Are you going to join me?” You ask in a quiet voice, and he nods his head while looking into your tired eyes. “I’ll join you in a second, I just need to change into the clothes I brought.” 

Your gaze trails over to his bag that’s laying by your door, seeing the sleeve of his sweatshirt poking out. Glancing back at your boyfriend, you give him a small smile, “Ah, okay.” 

He kisses your forehead one more time, before turning and walking over to his bag. You watch in silence as he takes out his clothes and leaves your bedroom, the sound of the bathroom light being switched on heard from a distance. 

You’re painfully reminded of the dream that you had as you roll over onto your back, staring up at your white ceiling. Biting your bottom lip, you let out a breath as you close your eyes, trying to rid yourself of the memory.

But you’re left with guilt as the visual of Eric’s mischievous eyes while he lays in your bed with his outside clothes appears instead.

“This is our fifth date, you know?” Eric looks up from the table to see Daeun looking at him with a small smile, leaning forward to take a sip of her boba as she stares at him with hopeful eyes. He nods his head with a strained grin, picking up his drink and sipping some boba as well. 

As he chews on the tapioca pearls, he turns and glances out the window of the boba shop, seeing the bright lights coming from the arcade. Biting the inside of his cheek, he places the cup down on the table and turns back towards the blonde. 

“Do you want to go to the arcade?” Eric asks, and she turns to look at the arcade, before glancing back at him with an excited smile. “Only if we can play dance dance revolution.” 

Eric snorts and stands up from the table, holding out his hand for Daeun to take, “I would be a fool to not play dance dance revolution when we’re at the arcade.” 

The blonde looks down at his hand, and he watches as a faint blush forms over her cheeks at the gesture. She reaches out and grasps his hand, grabbing her cup of boba as he helps her stand up from the table. Grinning, he leads her out of the boba shop and towards the arcade, feeling her squeeze his hand happily.

He fails to ignore the fact that her hand is cold, matching his own. 

“Should we go straight to dance dance revolution, or do you wanna play some other games first?” Eric asks after he receives the card that holds all their credits. Slipping his debit card back into his wallet, he turns to Daeun to see her glancing around while thinking. 

“Let’s play dance dance revolution first.” She says with a grin, and the redhead nods his head in agreement. She pulls the two of them in the direction of the game machines, and Eric chuckles with the knowledge that this is definitely not her first time going here.

“Are you ready to get your ass kicked?” Daeun asks once they arrive at the machine, and the redhead releases her hand to crack his knuckles, “I don’t know, I feel like I should be asking you that question.” 

She smirks and gets up onto the machine, swiping the card on both machines as Eric steps onto it. She pockets the game card and turns to the pretty boy, “You can choose what song we dance to.” 

“Wow, someone’s confident.” Eric teases, and the blonde shrugs her shoulders. “Just waiting for you to believe that I’m actually a God at dance dance revolution.” 

“We’ll see about that.” He replies, a playful grin on his face as he chooses one of the harder songs to dance to, Egoism. He glances at Daeun to see her reaction, only to raise an eyebrow when he sees the calm expression on her face.

Maybe even a bit of excitement laced in as well.

“You ready to get your ass kicked?” Daeun asks with a confident smile, and Eric just shakes his head with a quiet chuckle. He rests his hands on the handle behind him, watching the screen as the song starts to play. 

Once the arrows begin to show up, he quickly realizes that he completely forgot how difficult this song is to play. Stomping his foot on each arrow, he spares a glance towards Daeun, and sees her as the epitome of ease as she lightly dances to the song. 

“You having trouble?” He hears her ask when he almost misses a key, and he rolls his eyes teasingly as he shoots her a look. “Eyes on your own screen, hotshot.”

Daeun lets out a laugh at this, and he blinks at the sight. Biting the inside of his cheek, he turns back towards the screen to try and ignore the memory that’s playing behind his eyes.

“Eric, you already know that I’m terrible at this game.” You say with a laugh as the blonde swipes the card through both machines. He just turns to you with a smile, reaching out and grasping your hand to pull you up onto the arrows. 

“Which is why this is a good game for us to play, so that I can win and you can lose.” Eric tells you, and you scoff at this. He squeezes your warm hand with his cold one, “It’s only fair since you always make me play air hockey when you know that I’m bad.”

Pressing your lips into a thin line, you sigh in defeat and gesture towards the game. “Alright, choose a song.” 

He grins and turns towards the screen, scrolling through until he finds the song he wanted to dance to with you. After making his selection, he steps back and grasps onto the handle behind him, giving you a smile as you bite your bottom lip in anticipation. 

“You ready?” Eric asks when the first notes of the song plays through the speakers, and you just shake your head with a furrow beginning to form between your eyebrows. He giggles at your expression, before turning towards the screen once the arrows start to show. 

It’s only a few seconds into the song and he can already hear you struggling, and he bites back a laugh when you start cursing out the game moments later.

“WAH! Why is it going so fast?!” You exclaim, and Eric glances at you to see your desperate attempts at trying to stomp on the arrows at the right time. He’s unable to hold back his laugh this time, making you turn to see him smiling widely as he starts to focus on the game again. 

He’s caught off guard when your arms suddenly wrap around him, messing him up in the game as he laughs at your sudden intrusion. You quickly pull him down into a headlock, “You think my suffering is funny?” 

“Yn! The game!” Eric says through his laughter, and you shake your head. 

“No more dance dance revolution!” You tell him, letting out a laugh when he makes an attempt to keep stomping on the arrows. He giggles at the sound, glancing up to see the bright smile on your face as you continue to try and sabotage him. 

“Eric! I thought you were good at this game!” He blinks out of the memory when he hears Daeun’s voice, and he curses to himself when he realizes he zoned out in the middle of the song. He quickly makes an attempt to get back on track, but the memory of that day prevents him from doing so.

Once the song ends, and it’s clear that Daeun beat him by a landslide, the blonde walks up to his side with a happy smile on her face.

“See? Told you that I’d win. I am just too good at dance dance revolution.” She tells him cockily, and Eric lets out a strained chuckle as he glances around the arcade for another game to play.

“I thought you were doing well in the beginning, though. What happened?” Daeun asks as he starts leading the way towards the racing games, and the redhead doesn’t respond. He bites his bottom lip when he remembers the bright smile that was on your face that day, and he feels his heart pang at the fact that he’ll never be able to see it directed towards him again.

“You were distracted, just like you are now.” Daeun says in a soft voice, reaching out and grasping Eric’s hand. He stops at the physical contact, finally turning to glance at the blonde who’s looking at him with a bit of concern. He lets out an awkward laugh, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. What were you saying?” 

“You’re distracted, Eric.” Daeun repeats once they arrive at the racing games, and he blinks at her slowly. Turning away, he just nods his head as he climbs into the driver’s seat, removing his hand from her grasp while he mutters, “Yeah.”

Daeun stands there for a moment, staring at the back of Eric’s head as she tries to ignore the feeling of her empty hand. Clenching her fist, she moves and sits in the driver’s seat beside him, resting her hands on the steering wheel as she turns to him with a small smile, “You ready to play?” 

And Eric can only nod quietly, obviously distracted as he swipes the game card in the slot. 

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“How’s your relationship with Younghoon going?” You look up to see Hyunjae looking at you with an inquisitive expression, and you give him a grin as you take the sliced apple from his plate and pop it into your mouth. “It’s going alright, it’s close to our three months.” 

Hyunjae nods his head at your response, taking a sip of water while he watches you quietly. 

You and Hyunjae have been close friends since elementary, with the two of you watching each other grow over the years. He was the one who had actually introduced you to Eric in your guys’ first year of university, deciding to play cupid due to the feeling that you both would get along. 

He never expected for your relationship to end the way that it did.

“You like him a lot?” Hyunjae asks, and you nod your head without looking up at your friend. Scrolling through your phone, you can feel the brunette’s eyes on you as you avoid eye contact, and you let out a breath when the tension becomes too much for you. Putting your phone down, you finally lift your head and look at Hyunjae, “Yes. I like Younghoon a lot.” 

“Someone’s snappy today.” Hyunjae points out as he takes a bite of an apple slice, and you roll your eyes at this. “You ask me this question every time we meet. How do you expect me to not be annoyed by now?” 

“Because as your childhood friend, you love me a lot.” He answers confidently, only for his eyes to widen when you rub the back of your neck and look around at anything but him.

“You love me… right?” 

“Wow, I think there’s a breeze in here.” You mutter, and Hyunjae gently kicks your shin underneath the kitchen table, eliciting a laugh from you when you finally turn back towards him. Reaching out across the table, you pat his head fondly, “Yes, I love you very much.”

He grins when you retract your hand, and you smile back at him. He picks up another apple slice, biting into it as you pick up your phone to scroll through your feed once again. Biting the inside of his cheek, he decides to ask one more question. 

“Do you see you and Younghoon having a future together?” 

You physically pause, glancing up to see Hyunjae looking at you with that same inquisitive expression on his face. Except this time, you notice an indecipherable emotion in his gaze, a look that you can’t make out as he stares at you. 

Biting the inside of your cheek, you set your phone down, “Why do you ask?” 

“You know exactly why.” Hyunjae answers with ease, and you clench your jaw. 

You do know why. You know exactly why Hyunjae is asking you this, but you don’t want to acknowledge it. You don’t want to look back on the past, not now, and not ever, if you’re being honest. 

Turning away, you glance out the window of his apartment, “We are not talking about this right now, Hyunjae.”

“Then when will we?” He asks, and you just shake your head. Hyunjae lets out a sigh and leans, patting the corner of the table closest to you to try and get your attention, “Yn, we have to talk about it–”

“No!” You exclaim as you stand up from the table, turning to Hyunjae with wide eyes. He’s just staring up at you with genuine worry etched across his features, and you clench your fist at your side. 

“We will not talk about it, not now, and not ever. Younghoon and I are doing fine, there’s no reason for me to be thinking about a possible future when we’ve only been dating for less than three months!” 

Silence fills the room after your outburst, and you blink your eyes as you turn away from him. Bending down, you pick up your bag and throw it over your shoulder, “I’m going back to my apartment, bye Hyunjae.”

You hurry over towards the door and slip on your sneakers. Right as you’re about to rest your hand on the door handle, the soft call of your name has you stopping in your tracks. Slowly, you turn back to find Hyunjae standing by the kitchen table, looking at you with a sad smile on his face. 

“You told me you saw a future with Eric when the two of you had only been dating for three months.” 

You lower your gaze towards the floor, remembering the day you had confessed to the brunette that you really wanted things to work out with Eric. You would’ve thought that Hyunjae would’ve forgotten about such a thing, but you underestimated him. 

Raising your hand up to gently scratch at your cheek, you pause when you feel the wetness to your skin. Blinking, you reach up and wipe at your face with the back of your hands, only to realize that you’ve been crying this whole time. 

Quietly cursing to yourself, you rest your hand on the doorknob once again and turn towards Hyunjae one last time, 

“I may have seen a future with him, but he didn’t want one with me.” 

Eric lays on the floor of Sunwoo’s room, tossing up a baseball and catching it as he waits for Hyunjun to come back with some snacks. Sunwoo spins his chair around to check on his friend, just to snort when Eric completely misses the ball and it falls on his nose. 

“Shit.” Eric mutters to himself as he sits up from the floor, rubbing at the bridge of his nose in hopes that it won’t bruise. Sunwoo chuckles quietly to himself, watching as the redhead even goes so far as to roll the baseball to the other side of his bedroom. 

“You good?” Sunwoo asks, pointing to his own nose when Eric turns to glance at him. He lets out a quiet chuckle, squeezing the bridge of his nose as he responds, “A bit. I just hope it doesn’t bruise cause it’ll look like I got in a fight.” 

“I highly doubt that.” Sunwoo tells him, and Eric purses his lips. “But what if they did? Does it look like I won?” 

Sunwoo blinks at Eric for the question, before breaking out into a loud fit of laughter that has him bending over and punching his desk. Eric squints at his best friend, wondering what’s funny about the question as Sunwoo practically loses his mind. 

“What’s so funny about that question?” Eric asks as he reaches out to slap his peach haired friend’s leg, watching as he makes an attempt to calm himself down. He rolls his eyes when Sunwoo goes as far as wiping away a tear that managed to escape his eye from his laughter. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just.” Sunwoo begins, only to slap a hand over his mouth as another round of laughter threatens to break through. Eric sits on the floor, waiting patiently for his answer while he tilts his head at him. “It’s just so funny to think about you winning a fight.” 

“AYO?! I have won a fight before!” 

“Pft, no you haven’t.” A third voice pops into the room, making the two glance towards the door to see Hyunjun walking in with snacks he stole from Sunwoo’s pantry. 

“While I love you for bringing us snacks, what the fuck do you mean I haven’t won a fight before?”

“Don’t you remember that one guy who was flirting with yn at the frat party in your freshman year and you immediately tried to swing at him?” Sunwoo asks, red in the face from how hard he was laughing moments prior. Eric bites his bottom lip at the memory, before laying back onto the floor again as he’s flooded with embarrassment. 

“Okay, but I was really scrawny back then.” 

“And you think you can beat him now?” Hyunjun jokes, and Eric tries to inconspicuously feel his biceps before answering. Sunwoo snorts at the sight and turns back towards his pc, attempting to finish writing his essay as his two friends talk behind him. 

“How was your date with Daeun? Didn’t you guys go to the arcade?” Hyunjun asks as he throws a piece of popcorn towards the redhead, cheering when Eric manages to catch it in his mouth. He nods his head as he chews on the kernel, “Yeah, she was really passionate about dance dance revolution.” 

“Must’ve sucked for her to find out that you’re practically a God at that game.” Sunwoo chimes from his desk with a small laugh, and Hyunjun nods in agreement as the two remember how competitive Eric is when it comes to arcade games. 

Eric tilts his head to the side at the memory of that day, drinking some soda as he avoids eye contact with his friends. “Actually, she beat me.” 

The two fall silent at the news, with Sunwoo even turning around in his chair to look at Eric with a flabbergasted expression on his face. He points at the younger, “What song did you two dance to?”

Eric reaches up and rubs the back of his neck, glancing down at the floor as he quietly answers, “Egoism.”

Hyunjun blinks, before turning to Sunwoo to see the look on his face mirrored on the latter. The black haired beauty turns back to Eric, “Is she really that good at dance dance revolution?”

Eric nods his head, and Sunwoo gasps quietly at the easy answer. Bending down, he grabs a handful of popcorn and tosses a few pieces into his mouth. He lets out a breath, before glancing at Eric, “So you’ve finally met your match then, huh?” 

Hyunjun watches as an indecipherable emotion flashes past Eric’s eyes at Sunwoo’s choice of words, and he bites the inside of his cheek when Eric just shrugs his shoulders. The redhead moves to lay on his back again, staring up at the ceiling in silence as Sunwoo and Hyunjun exchange concerned glances. 

“Eric–”

“I… I keep…” Eric begins, and Sunwoo looks down at his friend, only for his jaw to drop slightly when he sees the tears welling up in his eyes. “Eric, what’s wrong?” 

“I keep seeing them.” He mutters, so quiet that it almost goes unheard by Sunwoo and Hyunjun. The black haired beauty frowns, “Seeing who?” 

Silence falls over the room, the question lingering in the air as the two wait for Eric’s answer. They watch as Eric just blinks up at the ceiling in an attempt to get the tears to go away. He fails though, because the tears escape from his eyes when he finally confesses,

“Yn. I keep seeing yn.” 

Sunwoo immediately gets up from his chair and kneels down beside the redhead, eyes laced with worry as he watches more tears trail down the side of Eric’s face. Biting the inside of his cheek, he rests a hand on Eric’s arm, “Eric, let’s go get some water–” 

“Everytime I look at Daeun, I can only see them. Everytime we do something, no matter what it is, I get glimpses of what we used to be. Daeun coming to greet me on campus? I see me surprising yn after class. Daeun being good at arcade games? I see yn being bad at them.” Eric cries, the sobs slowly beginning to pour out as more memories push past his eyes so that you’re the only thing he can think of. 

He raises his hands up to his face, “I can’t get them out of my head, but they’ve moved on. How could they move on? After almost four years together? Do they still think of me? Think of us?” 

Hyunjun’s eyes widen when Eric begins to hyperventilate, and he and Sunwoo try to help Eric sit up from the floor. The redhead sobs loudly into his hands, hiding his face from his friends as the feeling of heartbreak floods his chest. 

Sunwoo feels his eyes fill with tears as he reaches out and gently pulls Eric into his embrace. He pats his back as Eric cries loudly into his shoulder, this scenario being all too familiar for him. 

“Sunwoo.” Your voice rings out from the other end of the phone, and he bites his bottom lip as he grabs his jacket from the back of his door. “Is he there again?” 

He hears rustling on the other end, and he can only assume you’re nodding your head, “Yeah, can you come get him? I don’t want him to fall asleep out there.” 

“Yeah, I’m already on my way.” Sunwoo says once he steps out of his apartment and hurries towards the elevators. He doesn’t end the call right away, and his eyebrows furrow when he hears you sniffle. 

“Yn, are you really sure you–” 

“Thank you for coming to get him. Goodnight, Sunwoo.” You interrupt, and he blinks when you quickly end the call. Letting out a sigh, he pockets his phone and presses the main floor button of the elevator. 

It’s only 15 minutes later when he’s made it to your front door, finding Eric asleep on your step, a blanket draped over his shoulders. He can only assume that it’s from you, and he gently removes it from around the blonde, folding it nicely and setting it on the step. 

He gently pats Eric’s shoulder, “Eric, wake up. I’ll take you to my apartment.” 

The blonde’s eyes slowly open at the voice, feeling disoriented as he reaches up and rubs at his eyes. Sunwoo grasps Eric’s arm and throws it over his shoulder, helping him up from the step and bringing him in the direction of his home before his drunk friend can question anything.

“W-Where’s yn?” Eric slurs after the two cross the street, and Sunwoo just tightens his hold on Eric’s wrist as they keep walking. “S-Sunwoo, where’s yn?” 

“They’ll meet us at my apartment, okay?” Sunwoo lies, hoping that his answer will appease the drunk blonde. Frowning, Eric rips his arm out of Sunwoo’s grasp and almost immediately falls to the ground, “Liar.” 

“Eric, please.” Sunwoo begs as he bends down to try and help his friend up, only to freeze when he hears Eric sniffle. Biting the inside of his cheek, he tentatively rests a hand on his back, “Eric?”

“Why?” Eric mutters, tears falling from his eyes and onto the sidewalk below him. Through his drunken haze, all he can think about is the breakup and nothing else. “What happened to us?” 

“Eric, let’s go to my apartment.” Sunwoo tells him as he makes an attempt to help the blonde up again, only to stop when Eric’s shoulders begin to shake as he holds back his sobs. 

“W-Why won’t they talk to me? W-Why won’t they try? W-What happened? Why are we like this now?” Eric cries out, feeling his body become wracked with sobs as he lowers his head to the ground. Sunwoo blinks back his own tears as he shakes his head, reaching out and helping Eric sit up, before pulling his friend into his arms. 

“S-Sunwoo, it hurts. Everything hurts.” Eric sobs into Sunwoo’s shoulder, and his friend can only pat his back in silence as he stares up at the night sky with tears in his eyes. 

He finds that there’s no stars in the sky tonight.

“I-It still hurts. Why does it still hurt so bad?” Eric sobs, and Sunwoo stays quiet as Hyunjun tries to soothingly rub the redhead’s back. Eric shuts his eyes tightly as the memory of your breakup comes to mind, more tears trailing down his face as he cries out, 

“W-Why did they leave me?” 

“How’d you and Younghoon start dating?” You look up from your food to find Nayeon waiting for you to answer her question, the food on her plate starting to go cold. Snorting, you gesture towards her rice, “Your food’s gonna go cold if you don’t eat it now.” 

You watch as she quickly gets a big portion of food on her spoon, before shoving it into her mouth. Biting back a laugh, you try to focus on your own meal as Nayeon practically chokes from how much she’s trying to swallow. Rolling your eyes, you hand her a napkin, which she quickly grabs to cover her mouth as she coughs. 

“When I told you to eat your food, I didn’t mean shove it down your esophagus.” You giggle, and she waves her hand at you while she takes a large gulp of water. Setting the glass down, she lets out a breath and points at you, “In my defense, I underestimated how much was on my spoon. However, this isn’t about me.” 

“How is you almost choking not about you–”

“It’s about you telling me your love story with Younghoon since we haven’t been able to catch up over lunch for,” Nayeon pauses and lifts up her wrist to look at her imaginary watch, before looking back at you. “For three months. Three months! Which is how long you and him have been dating, so it’s time for my yearly update on your life.” 

“You sound like my mother.” You mutter as you eat a spoonful of your bibimbap, and Nayeon shoots you a glare for the side comment. Sighing, you place your spoon down and make sure to properly chew your food before you glance at your friend.

“He had liked me for a while before the two of us got together since we were always paired together in projects.” You begin quietly, looking out the window of the restaurant as you remember the day you and Younghoon started dating. 

Stepping out from the library, you let out a huff when you see the rain falling from the cloudy sky above you. Reaching for the pocket of your backpack, you bite your bottom lip when you don’t feel the umbrella where it’s supposed to be. 

“Of course I’d leave my umbrella at home when it’s raining.” You grumble, tilting your head up towards the sky as you wonder whether or not you should just wait it out. 

A sad smile forms on your face as numerous memories come to mind, and you lower your head to the ground, “Eric always came to get me on rainy days like this.” 

“Yn!” Your head snaps up at the voice, and you glance over to see your classmate standing at the bottom of the steps, umbrella over his head as he looks at you with a grin. You blink in surprise when he climbs up the stairs, and holds out the umbrella so that it’s protecting the both of you. 

“Younghoon, what are you doing here?” You ask with wide eyes, and you watch as his cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink as he looks at your surprised face. “I remembered that you didn’t have an umbrella after our class ended earlier, so I came to the library since you’re always here.” 

“You knew I didn’t have an umbrella?” Younghoon nods his head at your question, looking rather shy as he looks at everything but you. “I noticed that your umbrella wasn’t in the pocket of your backpack where you usually keep it.” 

You stare at the black haired beauty standing before you, feeling conflicted as you look into his soft eyes. You’ve known for a while that Younghoon likes you, maybe even from the moment the two of you met. He’s one of the more well known students on campus because he’s handsome, tall, kind, and intelligent. Anyone would be thrilled to have the attention of Kim Younghoon.

“Younghoon, do you like me?” You ask, making the latter’s jaw drop slightly at how straightforward you are. He lets out a cough and turns his head away from you, face turning red as you wait for his answer. You watch as he clenches his fists at his sides, gathering all his courage before turning back to you, “I like you, yn. I’ve liked you for a long time.” 

Silence falls over the two of you, the sound of the rain falling onto the pavement being the only thing that you can hear as you stare at the handsome man before you. His confession slowly sinks in the longer you look into his eyes, seeing the hope that floods them as he awaits your answer. 

“Younghoon, you know that Eric and I only broke up three months ago–”

“I know!” He exclaims, and you blink at the interruption. He gulps, rubbing the back of his neck as he reiterates softly, “I know.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, “Then why do you want to date me knowing that I’m still trying to get over him?” 

Younghoon turns his head back towards you with a warm smile, “Because you’re worth every minute of my time, and every drop of love that you deserve to feel.”

Nayeon stays quiet after you finish retelling the story, watching as you take a sip of water while looking out the window. She bites the inside of her cheek when she notices the faraway look in your eyes, before letting out a low whistle, causing you to glance at her. 

“Wow, he’s brave.” Nayeon tells you, and you smile softly while nodding in agreement. “I was surprised too.” 

Taking another spoonful of your food, you’re about to take a bite when you hear her add, 

“I really thought you and Eric were like… endgame. I was surprised to find out you started dating someone else, to be honest.” 

Blinking, you promptly place the spoon back into the bowl. Staring down at your food, you quietly wonder why he keeps being brought up recently. Why now? After thinking you’ve finally moved on. Why does he keep making his way into your life, even in the smallest of ways? 

“Well, I guess life just had other plans.” You respond, mustering a tight smile to try and show that you’re tired of this conversation. However, Nayeon was never the type to back down. 

“Life had other plans, or did you?” She asks, and you stay quiet. Tapping your foot against the floor, you choose to not answer her question as you finally take a bite of your food. 

Nayeon lets out a sigh at your silence, before reaching out and resting her hand over yours on the table. You glance down at where your hands connect, pressing your lips together when you realize that your finger was tapping the top of the table subconsciously.  

“Look, yn. My friends and I are hosting a party next Friday, and I think you should bring your boyfriend. He sounds like a nice guy, and I want to meet him.” Nayeon tells you in a soft voice, and your eyes trail up towards hers, feeling conflicted when you recognize the emotion in her eyes. 

Concern.

Giving her a tight smile, you nod your head, “Yeah, I’ll try my best to go.” 

Eric sits on the bench, staring out at the quad as students walk past him, rushing to make it in time for their classes. He glances down at his phone, checking to see if he’s gotten any new messages, just to turn it off when he sees no notifications. 

After he calmed down from his breakdown a week before, he knew that he couldn’t keep going on dates with Daeun when he still wasn’t over you. He planned out how to talk to Daeun and end things in the nicest way possible, having even prepared to get hit by Sunwoo and Hyunjun taking turns boxing with him. 

“Eric?” He looks up at the call of his name, finding the blonde standing before him, a smile on her face as she fiddles with her fingers. He immediately stands up and gives her a tight smile, gesturing to the bench he was sitting on, “Hi, Daeun. You should sit.” 

She giggles at the fact that he stood up just to tell her to sit down, and she nods while patting his shoulder. “Always such a gentleman. You didn’t have to stand up to tell me that, ya know?” 

“I wanted to. Besides, my mother raised me to be very polite.” Eric tells her with a grin, and she chuckles with a nod of her head. “And that she did very well.” 

Daeun turns to look at him with warmth dripping from her eyes, and Eric’s heart swells with guilt at the sight. Turning away, he glances out at the quad as he mutters, “Thank you for agreeing to meet me here.” 

“Of course, we usually meet at this time anyways. What did you want to talk about?” Daeun asks, and the redhead bites the inside of his cheek when he turns back to face her and sees her unsuspecting gaze as she waits for his answer. Feeling his hands begin to shake on his lap, he slowly folds them together in an attempt to get them to stop as he looks into her eyes. 

“I don’t think we should keep seeing each other, Daeun. I’m really sorry.” Eric says in a soft voice, and he watches as the warmth in her eyes slowly morphs into shock at what she just heard. She blinks and turns away, hearing the sound of her heartbeat against her ears as she comprehends what he said. 

“W-What do you mean? I thought things were going well?” Daeun asks, turning back to the redhead to see the look of guilt on his face. 

Letting out a breath, Eric rubs his hands on his jeans out of nervousness, “Things were going well, they were great even. I just don’t think I’m ready for a relationship yet, and it’s not fair for me to string you along when you could be with someone who’s more deserving of your time and effort.” 

He watches as Daeun’s eyes turn glassy, and she glances down at the ground as she lets his words sink in. She’s had feelings for Eric from the moment he stopped and helped her pick up all the papers she had dropped from her folder. He was so kind, funny, radiant—everything she heard about him through her peers was right. 

But he was dating you at the time.

When the two of you broke up, it was almost as if a piece of him left with you. No one knew why things ended, and she could only imagine what happened between you and Eric. However, Daeun realized she had a chance.

She was thrilled when Eric said yes to her offer of going out for coffee five months after the two of you had broken up, but she knew the reputation he was slowly building. Before her, he had gone on dates with four other people, but they didn’t work out. 

She didn’t want to be like them—she wanted to last with Eric.

But deep down, Daeun’s always knew she could never be you.

“Is it cause of yn?” She asks in a quiet voice, and Eric turns away at the question. She slowly glances up to look at him, and she lets out a breath when she sees that familiar faraway look in his eyes again. 

Ah, so he was thinking of you, Daeun thinks to herself when she remembers all the times he would get distracted whenever they were together. 

“Yeah, it’s because of them.” Eric murmurs, and she fails to notice the flash of pain in his eyes at his answer. Biting her bottom lip, her eyes trail down to his shaking hands, watching as he fiddles with his thumbs to try and get them to stop. 

“Why would you try to go on dates if you still have feelings for yn?” 

Eric just stays quiet for a moment, knowing exactly why, but not wanting to say the answer. He turns towards Daeun, “That’s why I’m ending it with you now, because it’s not fair to you.” 

The blonde looks into his eyes in silence, knowing she should be angry at him. She should be screaming at him right now, maybe even hitting him for just stringing her along. 

She can’t bring herself to do any of that right now, though. Not when she sees how heartbroken he is over you. 

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she manages a small smile as she reaches out and rests her hand over his shaking hands. Rubbing circles with her thumb in an attempt to get him to calm down, she looks up into his eyes. 

“I’m angry that you said yes to me when I asked you out that day a month ago, but I’m also glad that you did, because I got to know you.” Daeun tells him, and Eric feels tears prick the back of his eyes. She pats his hands, and stands up from the bench, looking down at him with a sad smile on her face. 

“Goodbye, Eric.” She says in a quiet voice, and the corner of Eric’s lips quirks upwards at her. Nodding his head, he raises his hand up and gives her a small wave, “Bye, Daeun.” 

And with that, she turns around and walks away from him. He watches as she leaves, staring at the way her blonde hair flows with the cold, Winter wind. A tear finally falls past his eye when the cursed memory comes to mind, the sight of Daeun getting smaller and smaller as she walks away being all too familiar to him. 

Eric steps out of the elevator and hurries over to the entrance, heart thrumming with excitement at finally meeting with you this week. Ever since last weekend, he hasn’t been able to see you because you were so busy, so when he got a text that you were outside of his apartment complex? 

He immediately sprinted out of his apartment wearing his shark slippers. 

Pushing open the doors, he smiles widely when he sees you standing by the garden, scrolling through your phone as you wait. 

“Yn!” Eric calls out as he hurries down the stairs and walks over to you. You don’t look up at the call of your name, and he comes to a stop when he’s a few feet away from you, but you still don’t look at him.

“Yn?” He says in a smaller voice, wondering if you’re okay when you bite the inside of your cheek. He watches as you pocket your phone, and he feels anxiety settle in his chest when you finally look up at him.

Your gaze is hard, no sight of the stars that he’s come to know and love over the years. 

“I-I was surprised when you texted me that you’re outside of my building. I even sprinted out here wearing my beloved shark slippers, see?” Eric explains with a small laugh, gesturing towards his slippers in an attempt to make you feel more at ease. He glances back up into your eyes, and his laughter dies down when you stay quiet, no emotion in your gaze. 

Biting his bottom lip, he points back towards his apartment, “Do you wanna come inside? I can make your favorite–”

“Let’s break up.” 

The rest of the sentence dies in Eric’s throat at your words, turning to you with furrow to his eyebrows as he tries to gauge what you just said. He blinks, “W-What?” 

Staring at him with cold eyes, you let out a breath and turn your head to the side. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears as he looks at you, wondering if he had just misheard you while he waits for you to repeat what you said. 

But his heart sinks when you turn back to him and repeat, 

“Let’s break up, Eric.” 

His eyes widen, and he stumbles back a step like your words physically dealt a blow. He looks at you in confusion, “Why would we break up? It’s almost our four year anniversary, and we’ve been doing great–”

“I’m tired.” You cut off, and Eric just stares at you in silence. Running a hand through his hair, he takes a step forward, searching your eyes for any sort of humor, like this is all some kind of sick prank you’re pulling on him. 

But he doesn’t find anything. 

“What’s wrong, yn? Why are you saying this? Are you going through a tough time right now? You know that we can handle it together.” 

“I don’t want to date you anymore, Eric. Don’t you understand that?” You ask, a blank expression on your face as you look at him. He sucks in a breath, before violently shaking his head at your words. 

“N-No. What happened, yn? What happened in the week that we didn’t see each other? Did I do something wrong? What did I do? I’ll fix whatever it is that I did, just, please. Can we please talk about this?” Eric asks, tears pricking the back of his eyes as he feels himself beginning to grow desperate. You can only stare at the ground in silence, and the blonde reaches out to gently grasp your warm hands in his cold ones. 

“Yn, please. I-I love you, and you love me. We can work this out if you just talk to me and tell me what happened. If it’s something I did, I can fix it. I’ll do anything to fix this, so please–” 

“What makes you think I still love you?” You ask, slowly lifting your head until you’re staring directly into his eyes. 

You see the exact moment his heart breaks, and the pain that floods his gaze as he looks at you. A single tear falls past Eric’s eye, and his hands fall back to his sides as he shakes his head. 

“You don’t mean that.” Eric mutters, and you just stare at him in silence, and that’s all he needs to realize that you’re being serious. 

“I'll drop off your stuff later this week, and you can just drop off my stuff whenever.” You tell him, before turning around and walking away without another word. The blonde bites his bottom lip and shakes his head, shouting out after you, 

“Why do we have to break up?! How can you just end it, after everything?! How could you leave me?!” 

But you don’t turn around, and Eric just stands there like a fool, tears falling from his eyes as he just watches you get smaller and smaller, until you eventually disappear. 

You stare at the top of Younghoon’s head while he studies, nose deep into his book as he tries to focus on the material. You’re debating on how to ask him to attend Nayeon’s party with you on Friday, because you know that he’s not a fan of social gatherings. 

You’re so deep in thought that you fail to see him look up at you, an amused smile forming on his face when he notices the dazed look in your eyes. It’s only when he reaches out and taps the tip of your nose that you realize he’s caught you staring, and you let out a quiet laugh. 

“How long was I daydreaming?” You ask, and the black haired beauty shrugs his shoulders while giving you a grin. “About a minute or so.” 

“That’s not that bad.” You say, and he points at you with the highlighter in his hand, “But you were staring at me for at least ten minutes before that.”

“Damn, you noticed?” 

“You were practically burning holes into the top of my head from how hard you were staring at me. I can tell that something’s on your mind though, what’s up?” Younghoon asks you as he glances down at his book to highlight a sentence really quickly. You tap your nails against the table, slightly annoyed at how easy it is for him to read you now. 

It really puts a dent in your plans.

“So… you know how Nayeon and I got lunch the other day?” Younghoon nods his head yes, and you bite your bottom lip as you try to think of how to phrase the next part. He bites back a giggle at the slight frown on your face, and he reaches across the table, making you freeze in your tracks when he gently rubs his thumb on the crease between your eyebrows until you relax. 

“What’s making you so concerned that you’re frowning?” He teases in a gentle voice, but you can only swallow the lump that’s formed in your throat as you stare at your boyfriend sitting before you. From his pretty smile, to the fondness in his eyes as he looks at you, you want nothing more than to just focus on him. 

But you find your mind trailing to the thought of those warm brown eyes that often held mischief in them, and that sweet smile that had the ability to brighten even the darkest of days. 

“Eric! Stop throwing turtle shells at me!” You shout from the couch, and the blonde just lets out a cackle as he throws another turtle shell at you. You let out a loud groan when you lose once again, tossing your controller onto the couch beside you. 

“You are so bad at Mario Kart.” Eric tells you, and your eyes trail down from the TV and to your boyfriend that’s seated on the floor in front of the couch. He’s looking at you with a shit-eating grin, knowing damn well that he only won because he had decided to ruin your day. 

Blinking your eyes, you stand up and whack the back of his neck, eliciting a squeak out of him. Stepping over him, you head in the direction of the kitchen to get a snack, a deep frown setting on your features since you are a very competitive person. 

But so is Eric.

“Yn! Come on, I was kidding!” You hear Eric call out from behind you, the sound of him scrambling up from the floor to follow after you. You refuse to turn around and enter the kitchen, opening the door to the pantry to look over your chip collection. 

The feeling of arms wrapping around your waist from behind makes your heart rate speed up slightly, but you’re still too stubborn to turn around in his hold. He lets out a breath when you reach out and grab a bag of chips to check if you want to eat it, knowing that you’re ignoring him because you’re mad. 

“I’m sorry, darling. You and I both know that you’re the best at Mario Kart.” 

He bites back his smile when you physically pause at his words, and he internally celebrates when you finally turn around in his hold. He immediately lets out a coo when he sees the frown on your face, finding you to be incredibly cute as he stares into your eyes while you glare at him. 

“We’re having a rematch after my snack break.” You order, and he nods his head at you with a grin. Feeling slightly satisfied at his compliance, you’re about to turn back around when he lets go of your waist and reaches up to cup your face instead. Moving to ask him what he’s doing, you’re rendered speechless when he suddenly leans in and presses a soft kiss to the crease that was between your eyebrows. 

Leaning back, he smiles softly when he sees that the crease is now gone, your features now more relaxed as you look at him in surprise. He gently pinches your cheeks, before murmuring with warmth dripping from his gaze, 

“My pretty, pretty love.”

“Yn? What was it that you wanted to ask me?” Younghoon’s voice snaps you out of the memory, and you bite the inside of your cheek at the fact that you were reminded of him again. Your foot taps against the floor as you remember what you need to ask your boyfriend, and you let out a shaky breath. 

“Nayeon is hosting a party with her friends this Friday, and she wants you and I to come.” You tell him, and the black haired beauty purses his lips in distaste at the mention of a party. He reaches up and rubs the back of his neck, “Yn, you know that I’m not a big fan of–”

“I know.” You interrupt, and he waves his hand to signal you to keep talking. Nodding your head, you continue, “I know you don’t like parties, but I really want you to meet some of my friends. We don’t even have to stay that long! Just a couple hours, and then we can go back to your place and watch a movie or something.”

Younghoon stares at you for a moment once you finish, letting your words settle in as you await his response. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he eventually lets out a small smile and rests his hand over yours on the table. 

“Since you really want me to go, I’ll go with you and make sure that we have fun together.” Younghoon says, and a relieved smile takes over your features. You give his hand a squeeze, “Thank you, Younghoon. I really appreciate you doing this for me.” 

And the black haired beauty nods at you with an indecipherable emotion in his eyes, “I’d do anything for you, yn.”

“Alright, Eric. It’s time to get out of bed!” The redhead lets out a groan at the loud voices, and he rolls onto his stomach so that he can cover his ears with his pillow. 

He sighs when the pillow is snatched out of his grasp, and he turns his head to find Sunwoo and Hyunjun standing over him. He blinks at the two of them, noticing the subtle waves in Sunwoo’s peach colored hair, and the dangly earrings that adorn Hyunjun’s ears. Leaning back a bit in his bed, he quickly realizes that the two are dressed very nicely for just coming into his room to wake him up.

“Did I wake up at Paris Fashion Week or something cause why the fuck are you both dressed so nice?” Eric asks as he points to the both of them, and Sunwoo raises an eyebrow at him. “I told you that Ryujin is hosting a party with her friends tonight.”

Eric bites his bottom lip and rests his head against the mattress, “Ah, you did tell me that.” 

“Exactly, so start getting ready or else Hyunjun is going to make you take three shots of vodka if you’re not done in ten minutes.” 

Eric immediately sits up in bed and squints at the black haired beauty, “You wouldn’t.” 

To which Hyunjun just smirks at him with a quirk of his eyebrow, before turning around and leaving the room. Eric lets out a loud groan when he hears the sound of his kitchen cabinets opening only a moment later, and from there he’s got his answer. 

“Is there a dress code?” Eric asks Sunwoo once he climbs off his bed and walks over to his closet, pushing through the hangers to see what shirt he should wear. His friend just shrugs his shoulders, plopping down onto his bed as he watches the redhead search through his clothes. 

“No, why would there be a dress code?” 

Eric snorts and shoots Sunwoo a look, “Considering the fact that you and Hyunjun dressed like you’re about to walk the runway, I was assuming I should dress like I’m about to meet the fashion god.” 

“And who would be the fashion god?” Sunwoo asks with a grin, to which Eric quickly answers once he pulls out his black button down from the closet,

“Xu Minghao.” 

Sunwoo purses his lips and nods his head in agreement, getting up from his bead with a sigh once he hears the sound of glasses clinking together in the kitchen. He points out the bedroom door, “I think Hyunjun’s about to clear your liquor cabinet since he’s too eager to drink, so I’m going to go and put a stop to the menace.” 

“He said he’d give me ten minutes to get ready, but that bitch is already taking my alcohol.” Eric mutters, and Sunwoo chuckles with a roll of his eyes. “Hurry up and come out so that Hyunjun won’t go feral.” 

“Got it.” Eric says with a quiet laugh, and with that, Sunwoo steps out of the room. When he hears the sound of his two friends laughing in the kitchen, he rests his forehead onto his hanged clothes as a frown takes over his features when he remembers something.

“Isn’t Ryujin roommates with someone I know?” 

You’re sitting on the couch with Younghoon as you listen to him and Nayeon chat enthusiastically about how Tata’s character design doesn’t deserve the hate that it gets. There’s a small smile playing on your lips at how passionate the two are over the heart shaped character, feeling a bit tipsy from the few shots you and Younghoon were forced to take with Nayeon as soon as you walked in.

You suppose this was good for your boyfriend though, considering how much more talkative he is now that he’s slightly inebriated. 

Letting out a breath, your eyes gaze around the living room, seeing groups of people doing different things. It ranges from those dancing to the music playing through the speakers, to people playing cup pong over near the stairs. You glance over at the kitchen and see the doors leading to the balcony down the hallway, and the corner of your lips quirks upwards at the thought of fresh air. 

Turning to Younghoon and Nayeon again, you see your boyfriend nodding his head enthusiastically to every word the blonde is saying about Tata. Biting your bottom lip, you reach out and rest your hand on Younghoon’s knee to get his attention, to which he just rests his hand over yours without glancing back at you.

Letting out a chuckle, you squeeze his knee, and he slowly turns to look at you. A smile immediately forms on his face when he looks into your eyes, and you grin back at him. 

“I’m going to go outside for a bit, it’s too hot in here.” 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Younghoon asks, and you shake your head with a teasing smile on your face as you stare into his brown eyes. “It’s okay, I’ll only be gone for a few minutes. Besides, you’re having a very serious conversation with Nayeon about the hatred Tata faces.” 

You watch as a wave of determination floods his eyes from the reminder of his last conversation, and you laugh at the sight. Standing up from the couch, you signal to Nayeon that you’re going outside, and she gives you a thumbs up. As you start to head towards the back door, you can already hear Younghoon and Nayeon sparking up their conversation once again. 

“Eric~ take another shot with me.” Hyunjun says in a singsong voice as he holds out the shot glass to the redhead, and Sunwoo grimaces slightly when Eric grabs it and downs the alcohol right away. He already knows that his two friends are shitfaced, and while he’s a bit drunk himself—he’s sure that he won’t be throwing up in the morning. 

Sunwoo lets out a sigh when Eric rests his forehead onto the kitchen counter after Hyunjun disappears to get some more alcohol, and he walks up and gently pats his best friend’s back. “Eric, do you want me to go get you some water?” 

Eric only groans in response, which Sunwoo takes as a yes. He lets the redhead know that he’ll be right back, and walks in the direction of the fridge to grab a couple water bottles since he’s already decided on forcing the water down Hyunjun’s throat as well. 

You squeeze past the different groups of people, your lips pulling downwards in distaste at all the sweaty bodies you’ve had to push through. Your eyes brighten when you finally see the doors to the backyard, and you hurry past the kitchen and into the hallway. 

You suck in a deep breath of fresh air when you finally push through the doors and walk out onto the balcony, feeling grateful that you’re alone as you walk over to the railing. Resting your forearms onto the cool surface, you stare up at the stars that adorn the sky with a sad smile playing on your lips. 

“Why do the stars always remind me of him?” You whisper to yourself, letting out a sigh as you lower your head.

The doors bursting open behind you make you jump up and glance back, eyes wide as you stare at the top of the person’s head. They’re slouched against the door, head hanging as they stare at the ground in their drunken state. 

“Are you okay?” You tentatively ask, staring at their red hair as their grip on the door handle tightens. You’re about to step forward to check on the person, only to stop when they finally look up and lock eyes with you.

Eric’s standing there, hand gripping the door handle for dear life to keep his balance as he stares into your eyes. The two of you haven’t been this close in months, having kept your distance a month after the break up. You know he’s not in the right state of mind based on the alcohol you smell on him, because he knows better than to try and talk to you. 

“Yn.” Eric slurs out, and you clench your jaw at your name falling past his lips. He blinks slowly as he looks at you, and he can start to hear his heartbeat against his ears when he’s reminded of how beautiful you are. 

“I didn’t know you were at this party.” He murmurs as he attempts to take a step forward, and you’re about to reach out to catch him when he almost immediately loses his balance once he lets go of the door. However, he catches himself by grabbing onto the railing, and the sound of the door closing behind him is heard as you slowly lower your arms back to your sides. 

“Nayeon invited me and Younghoon.” You tell him, and you fail to notice his grip tightening around the railing at the mention of your boyfriend. He blinks at you slowly, unable to believe that you’re real as the moonlight casts a pretty glow over your features. 

And you stare at him, feeling your heart pang when you see all the stars make its way back into those warm brown eyes of his the longer he looks at you.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you turn away and face the door. Pointing towards it, you mutter, “I’m leaving now. You can have the balcony to yourself.” 

You walk past him to get to the door without waiting for a response, and right as you reach out to grab the handle, you feel his cold hand gently grasp onto your wrist. You freeze in your spot, staring at the door with wide eyes as he continues to hold onto you. 

“Eric, let go.” You say, but he doesn’t move. Silence falls over the two of you as the cold Winter air breezes past you, and you find yourself wondering why you aren’t doing anything. 

Why are you just standing there, allowing him to hold onto you? Why aren’t you cursing at him, removing your arm from his grasp? 

Why is your heart pounding against your chest at the fact that you’re alone with him after six months of staying away?

You shut your eyes, knowing that your boyfriend is just waiting for you inside of the house. Sucking in a breath, you try again, “Eric—”

“I miss you.” He finally says, his voice being well below a whisper that you almost didn’t hear him. You don’t move, blinking down at the ground with tired eyes as he clings to your arm like a lifeline. 

You bite your bottom lip, refusing to look at him as you respond, “Eric, we can’t do this.” 

“I miss us, yn.” 

You stay quiet, trying to fight away the tears that are threatening to spill from your eyes. You tilt your head up towards the night sky, staring up at the stars to try and distract yourself from your ex-boyfriend. 

“You don’t miss me?” Eric whispers, and you blink up at the sky, feeling a wave of frustration wash over you when all you can think about when you look at the stars is him. Eric feels tears flood his eyes as he stares at the back of your head in a drunken haze, wanting nothing more than for you to turn around so that he can see your face again. He takes a small step forward, “You don’t miss us?” 

Your eyebrows furrow at the question, and you slowly lower your head so that you’re staring at the door handle again. You finally turn so that you’re facing the redhead, and you feel your throat constrict when you see the glassiness to his eyes as he stares at you. 

Your eyes are cold as you look at him, similar to that of the night you broke up with him. However, he notices an emotion to them that he knows all too well, for it’s the same one he sees whenever he looks at himself in the mirror.

Pain.

“No, I don’t miss you. I don’t miss us.” You state and yank your arm out of his grasp. You watch as his hand slowly lowers back to his side, and you silently curse to yourself for the guilt that’s flooding your chest as you look at him. Sucking in a breath, you turn away and point towards the door, “Can I leave now?” 

He stays quiet, just staring down at the ground as you wait for his response. Letting out a sigh, you turn around and walk towards the door. Reaching out to grab the handle, you’re about to open it when you hear him mutter something that makes you stop in your tracks. 

You glance back at him, “What did you just say?”

Eric’s staring at you, leaning against the railing as he lets out a dry laugh. Running a hand through his red hair, he turns away as he repeats himself, 

“Leaving me is as easy as ever for you, isn’t it?” 

Your eyebrows furrow at this, “That’s not true.” 

“Isn’t it, though?” Eric asks, turning back to face you with a tired gaze. Your eyes latch onto the tear that’s managed to escape his eye, following it as it slowly trails down his cheek. He gestures to you with his hand, “You suddenly left me after almost four years of being together, and never gave an explanation as to why because you cut off all contact with me. And now that we’re here, you’re leaving me again.” 

You squint at him, “That doesn’t mean it was easy for me.” 

“It sure as hell seemed easy.” Eric retorts, and you press your lips together in a thin line. Rolling your eyes, you turn back around, “Whatever, I’m not doing this right now cause you’re fucking drunk.” 

“You LEFT me, yn. You left, not me!” Eric exclaims right when your hand rests on the door handle, and you feel a burst of anger flood through you at his words. Turning around, you walk right up to Eric and poke his chest, causing him to take a step back as his eyes widen. 

“YOU’RE the one who wanted me to leave!” You yell, and his eyebrows furrow in confusion.  

“What are you talking about–”

“YOU’RE the one who fucking got drunk and moped to all our friends about how you weren’t ready for commitment and that you wanted to be single again! It was YOU!” You shout, and his eyes widen when he’s reminded of that drunken night six months ago.

“Eric, why did you have to get so shitfaced?” Hyunjun whines after Eric’s head almost slams forward onto the table, but Sunwoo had shoved his hand out right away so that he could catch the blonde before he hurt himself. 

“I already called yn, so they should be closeby now.” Sunwoo tells Hyunjun, to which he nods his head while patting Eric’s back.

“I’m scared.” Eric mutters, voice muffled by the table. Sunwoo and Hyunjun exchange a glance, before leaning towards the blonde, “What are you scared of?” 

“The future. Adulthood. Marriage.” Hyunjun raises an eyebrow at Eric’s answer, and he turns away to take a sip of water. 

“Is that why you decided to get shitfaced?” Sunwoo asks, and he watches as the blonde nods his head against his hand. He lets out a small smile at how drunk Eric is, waiting for his friend to continue speaking as he glances out the window of the restaurant to see if you’ve arrived yet. 

Eric lifts up his head and glances at Sunwoo, before turning towards Hyunjun. He sniffles and wipes at his nose, “Yn and I were talking about what we’ll do when we graduate, and when we think it’ll be a good time to get married. I freaked out after they left because I realized that we’re like, actually growing up and have to save money to start the rest of our lives.” 

Hyunjun presses his lips into a thin line, understanding his friend’s fears as he continues to pat Eric’s back. “I understand where you’re coming from, but you’ll have us and yn to help navigate this whole adulting shit with you.” 

“What if I’m not ready though?” Eric begins, and Sunwoo bites the inside of his cheek when he notices the slight panic in his eyes. “What if I can’t find a job that’ll help support yn and I when we get married? Everything is so expensive nowadays, and then we’re eventually going to start a family—oh God. I need another shot.”

Sunwoo frowns when the blonde reaches out and downs another shot, “Are you saying you don’t want to get married to yn?”

Eric blinks tiredly at his friend after he sets the glass down, before his head falls onto the table a second time, with Hyunjun there to catch him this time. 

And you stand by the wall, hidden from the three as you stare down at the floor with wide eyes at what you just heard. Feeling a tear fall past your eye, you cover your mouth to hold back the sob from escaping your lips, and turn around and walk out of the restaurant.

Something wet falls onto the tip of your nose, snapping you out of the memory. Blinking in confusion, you and Eric both look up towards the sky, watching as the first snow of the year begins to descend down onto the two of you. 

You let out a breath when the saying comes to mind, and you let out a quiet laugh at the irony of it all.

If you witness the first snowfall with someone, true love will blossom between both and it will be long-lasting.

Lowering your head so that you’re facing him again, you find Eric already staring at you with tears falling from his eyes. You bite the inside of your cheek, ignoring the way your vision blurs with tears of your own as you harshly poke his chest while you hiss out,

“I may have made the decision to leave first, but mentally? You had already left.” 

And with that, you turn around and move towards the door, only to freeze when you lock eyes with Younghoon. His hand is on the door handle, a pained expression on his face as he looks between you and Eric. There’s snowflakes melting on his black hair, signaling that he’s been out here with you and Eric since the snow first began to fall. 

You quickly wipe away the tears falling from your eyes and take a tentative step forward, reaching out to rest your hand over his, “Y-Younghoon, when did you get here—” 

The rest of the question dies in your throat when he flinches away from your touch, and you slowly let your arm fall back to your side. You stare into his eyes, feeling your vision begin to blur when he doesn’t make a move towards you.

“Younghoon, you know that I—”

“I knew that it would be hard for you to get over him.” Younghoon finally speaks, looking at the redhead with an indecipherable emotion in his eyes. Eric bites his bottom lip and shakes his head, “I was the one who kept yn here, they didn’t want anything to do with me—” 

“Yet I would’ve thought that you had gotten over him by now, but based on the tears falling from your eyes… I can see that I was bold to even think that.” Your boyfriend states, and before you can utter another word, he turns around and walks off the balcony. Guilt floods your chest, and you immediately fling open the door and follow after him to try and talk it out. 

Leaving Eric alone outside, the first snowfall of the year falling around him as he stares blankly at the door you had left through. Tears fall from his eyes, and he glances down at the ground as he lets out a dry laugh. 

“It was all my fault.” He murmurs to himself, unable to remember what happened the rest of that night because he blacked out.

He slowly sinks to the ground, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Another laugh escapes him, then another, until it eventually turns into sobs as he sits alone on the balcony.

It’s only moments later when Sunwoo finds him, shivering from the cold as he sobs into his best friend’s arms. He’s only able to mutter that it’s his fault, that it was all his fault, until he passes out. 

You’re sitting at a bar, cheek resting against the table as the bass of the music vibrates through the furniture. You came by yourself an hour ago, and downed five drinks on an empty stomach within that hour alone.

And now you’re drunk.

It’s been a week since the party, and Younghoon hasn’t answered any of your calls or texts. You haven’t seen him on campus either, and you can only assume that he’s doing his best to avoid you.

Not that you can blame him, though.

You bite the inside of your cheek at the reminder of his pained expression when he looked at you, another wave of guilt washing over you as you let out a groan. You raise your hand up without lifting your head, and you hear the bartender ask you what you’d like. 

Right as you’re about to answer, you feel your hand get lowered, and a familiar voice replies from behind you, “I think they’ve had enough, thank you.”

Your eyebrows furrow, and you lift your head to look behind you, just to see Sunwoo sitting down in the seat beside you with a grin on his face. Your frown deepens when you realize that there’s a hand still resting over your own, and you turn your head, just to lock eyes with Hyunjae, who’s giving you a small smile. 

Your bottom lip quivers when you see your best friend, and he lets out a quiet laugh when tears immediately flood your eyes. He opens his arms without a word, and you quickly step into his embrace, a sob escaping your lips as soon as his comforting scent floods your nose.

He rests his cheek on your head, gently rubbing your back as you cry into his chest. He quietly mutters, “Cry it out, it’s okay. It’ll be okay, yn. I promise.”

And you cry. You cry so hard that you can barely breathe as you cling onto Hyunjae like a lifeline. 

But deep down, you don’t want to accept just who exactly you are crying over.

Sunwoo comes up to the table and places a glass of water in front of you, giving you a comforting smile as he sits down across from you. You let out a small grin, “Long time no see, Sunwoo.” 

“I would ask how you’ve been, but I can already see that you’ve had better days.” Sunwoo says, and you poke your tongue into your cheek as you turn away. Hyunjae snorts at your reaction, and Sunwoo chuckles while reaching out to pat the top of your head. 

“You sobered up a bit?” Hyunjae asks, and you nod your head as you take a large gulp of water, having not realized how dehydrated you were. “I’m tipsy at best, but not as shitfaced as I was earlier.” 

Sunwoo glances at Hyunjae after your answer, and you watch as they seem to start talking through their gazes. Feeling a bit left out, you pat the table, getting their attention back on you.

“Can I ask why you and Hyunjae came to get me? I understand Hyunjae since he’s my best friend, but you and I haven’t spoken since…” You trail off, finding yourself unable to say the two words for some reason. Sunwoo presses his lips together and finishes the sentence for you, “The break up.” 

You bite the inside of your cheek and nod your head, feeling a bit more guilt weight itself over you for practically cutting off all contact with Sunwoo and Hyunjun after you and Eric broke up. You already knew that they were shocked when you ended things with him, and you had assumed they had ill feelings towards you for the way you broke it off. 

You felt even worse when you had to keep calling Sunwoo or Hyunjun to come and pick up Eric from your doorstep for two months straight. 

“When I found Eric on the balcony a week ago, he told me what you said.” Sunwoo begins, and you glance down at the reminder of your argument. He shares a glance with Hyunjae, before letting out a breath, “I don’t think you got the whole story of that night Eric got shitfaced.”

Your eyebrows furrow, and you look up to see Sunwoo looking at you, trying to gauge your reaction. You rest your hands on the table, “How could I have gotten the story wrong when I heard everything you guys said? You were the one who even called me to come and pick Eric up.”

“But you left and called me to come pick up Eric instead, who was passed out by the time I got there.” Hyunjae interjects, and you shake your head. “I only left after hearing that Eric wanted to break up with me.” 

“Eric never said he wanted to break up with you.” Sunwoo states, and you blink at this. Leaning closer to the table, you look between Sunwoo and Hyunjae in confusion, “What do you mean?” 

Sunwoo sighs, “That night, you didn’t hear everything that was said.” 

“What if I’m not ready though?” Eric begins, and Sunwoo bites the inside of his cheek when he notices the slight panic in his eyes. “What if I can’t find a job that’ll help support yn and I when we get married? Everything is so expensive nowadays, and then we’re eventually going to start a family—oh God. I need another shot.”

Sunwoo frowns when the blonde reaches out and downs another shot, “Are you saying you don’t want to get married to yn?”

Eric blinks tiredly at his friend after he sets the glass down, before his head falls onto the table a second time, with Hyunjun there to catch him this time. 

“Eric, I get that you’re shitfaced, but you gotta stop trying to get a concussion.” Hyunjun murmurs sleepily after a moment of silence falls over the three of them, taking a sip of water as he feels the frown that forms on Eric’s face from what he said. 

Sunwoo nudges the blonde’s knee, “Eric, do you not want to get married to yn?” 

Eric shakes his head, reaching out and slapping Sunwoo’s arm for continuing to bring up that question. “Why do you keep asking that? When did I say that?” 

“It’s what you’re making it sound like.” Sunwoo says with a soft laugh, rubbing the part of his arm that Eric smacked. The blonde shuts his eyes and lets out a short burp, eliciting a grin from Hyunjun, “I’m just scared about not being enough for them, you know? What if I fail at being able to give them the life they deserve?” 

“That’s not only your responsibility though, Eric. You and yn need to work together to be able to attain the life that you both deserve.” Hyunjun tells him, and Eric lets out a yawn as he keeps his eyes closed. A small smile forms on his lips as your smile comes to mind, and he quietly murmurs before he passes out, 

“I’m in love with yn, I don’t ever want to be apart from them.”

You stare down at the table with wide eyes after Sunwoo finishes telling you the whole story, tears flooding them as you think of what you’ve done. Hyunjae watches in concern when you clench your fists over your legs, biting your bottom lip to try and fight the sob that threatens to escape. 

“Yn, say something–”

“It’s my fault.” You whisper, raising a shaky hand up to your head to push back your hair. You shut your eyes tightly as you reach up, covering your face with your hands, “It’s all my fucking fault.”

“Yn?” 

You let out a sob, all the flashes of Eric’s pained face whenever he looked at you coming to mind as your mistake sinks in. You grip at your hair, trying to take a deep breath but ultimately failing when you find yourself crying even harder. 

“Almost e-every night for two months, h-he came to my door and waited for me so that we could talk, but I just left him out there.” You cry, and Hyunjae reaches out and softly rubs your back to try and comfort you. 

You slam your hand down onto the table, and Sunwoo bites the inside of his cheek when he sees how heartbroken you look as you keep your gaze casted downwards. “If I h-had just given him the chance to talk to me, then this wouldn’t have happened. Instead, I was just so fucking cruel to him because I thought he didn’t want to be with me anymore. I’m such a bitch.”

Hyunjae takes a table napkin from the stand and holds it out over your nose, and you shoot him a glance, but he just shakes the napkin in front of you. “Blow your nose.”

“T-That’s gross.” You hiccup, and Hyunjae squints at you while pushing the napkin onto your nose. “We’ve been friends for years, I don’t care. Blow.”

Much to your dismay, you lean in and blow your nose into the napkin that Hyunjae’s holding for you. Sunwoo gives you a sad smile when you lean back from the napkin, and Hyunjae stands up to throw it away. 

“Yn, you know that you need to talk to Eric, right?” You slowly nod your head, staring down at the table with a faraway look to your eyes as tears trail down your cheeks. You blink when the feeling of a hand falls over yours, and you look up to see Sunwoo’s thumb rubbing circles onto the back of your hand.

“But before you talk to Eric, you need to sort out your feelings first and figure out what you want.” Sunwoo tells you, and you bite your bottom lip when you remember the pained expression on Younghoon’s face when he saw you with Eric. 

You look at Sunwoo, feeling helpless as you murmur, “Sunwoo, I don’t know what I want.” 

And he wordlessly raises his hand, reaching out and wiping away the tear that escapes your left eye. He gives you a small smile, 

“I think you know exactly what you want, you just have to figure out how to accept it.” 

You’re sitting at a table by the window of the cafe, staring down at the foam design on your matcha tea as you wait for Younghoon to arrive. You glance up at the sound of the bells coming from the entrance, just to let out a breath when you see that he’s not the one who entered.

It’s been almost three weeks since you and Younghoon spoke at the party, and after spending a lot of time thinking, you reached out to him and asked if he wanted to meet at the cafe where the two of you had your first date. You weren’t expecting a response, but he texted you back moments later saying that he’ll meet you there.

“Yn.” You look up from the table, just to stand up from your seat when you find yourself staring into Younghoon’s eyes. 

“Younghoon, hi.” You say in a soft voice, and he musters a small smile as he nods his head in greeting. You gesture towards the seat in front of you, “Sit, I already ordered your drink for you.” 

He glances down at the latte art on top of his coffee, letting out a breath as he mutters a quiet thanks before sitting down. You sit down as well, watching in silence as he takes a sip of his coffee, and gently lowers the cup back down onto the saucer. 

Silence lays itself over the two of you as you both just stare down at the table, unsure of how to bring up the elephant in the room. You know that you should speak up first, but the fear towards how he may react makes it hard for you to say something.

“We had our first date here.” Younghoon starts in a soft voice, and you look up to see him facing the window, a fond look in his eye as he remembers that day. You nod your head, letting out a soft laugh as you mutter, “I spilled my matcha onto your shoes.” 

“And they’re still stained, thanks to you...”

“I said I was sorry!” You choke out, and Younghoon laughs at your reaction. You bite the inside of your cheek, leaning back into your chair with a lingering smile on your face as he casts his eyes downward towards his coffee. 

“I always knew from the moment you agreed to go out with me, that our relationship would just be temporary.” Younghoon mutters, and you slowly glance up to see him staring at you with a sad look in his eyes. The corner of his lips quirks upwards, “But even with that knowledge, I was still happy that I got the chance to be with you.” 

You bite the inside of your cheek, “Younghoon…” 

“I know I’m a fool to think like this, but back then, I fell in love the moment I saw you smile for the first time.” He confesses, and you feel tears prick at the back of your eyes as he smiles softly at the memory. “Every time I saw you on campus, you were just so… radiant. You were like a star in the sky that I knew I would never get the chance to see from up close, but I was content from watching you shine from afar. That was until you and Eric broke up.” 

He lets out a shaky breath, folding his hands together underneath the table before continuing, “I became greedy? I guess you could say? When I saw that I had a chance, I took it, knowing very well that there would be a deadline to our relationship. Even then, I still had the smallest bit of hope that maybe I was wrong—that maybe we could last.” 

A tear finally falls past your eye when Younghoon’s gaze trails up back to you, and he gives you a smile with tears flooding his own eyes as he looks at you. He tsks to himself, reaching out and resting his hand on your cheek. He tenderly wipes away the tear that escaped your eye as he mutters, “Always such a crybaby.” 

“I’m sorry, Younghoon.” You blurt out, and he shakes his head. “I knew what I signed up for the moment I confessed to you, you don’t need to apologize.” 

“How can you say that? You should be angry with me—hate me, even! You should be cursing me out, swearing that you never want to see me again!” You exclaim as more tears fall past your eyes, and Younghoon just continues to smile at you with a loving gaze. You bite your bottom lip and lean back, pointing at him as his hand slowly falls to the table, “D-Don’t look at me like that!”

“Like what?”

“Like I didn’t do anything wrong!” You cry out, and he stays quiet as you wipe away the tears falling from your eyes. You clench your fist at your side, “I agreed to date you when I was still in love with Eric, I stayed with you for three months when you and I both knew that I still wasn’t over him. I’m a fucking… rat bastard, I don’t know. You shouldn’t be so kind to me when I was just leading you to believe that we would last.” 

Younghoon just stares at you as you cry even more, silence falling over the two of you with the sound of your sniffling filling the air. A small smile forms on his face after a moment, and he coos at you as he moves to wipe away the tears falling down your face, but quickly stops himself. Biting the inside of his cheek, he reaches out and picks up a napkin instead, before holding it out to you. 

You look at the napkin, and glance back up at him. He waves it at you silently, and you let out a breath, taking it from his grasp and blowing your nose with it. He lets out a chuckle when you take a deep breath after using the napkin, and you shoot him a glare. 

“You think this is funny?” 

“So now you’re going to scold me for laughing at you blowing your nose like an elephant?” Younghoon asks, and you press your lips into a thin line. He grins at your reaction, before sighing and leaning back into his chair. “Yn, I could never hate you.”

“You should, I’m a—”

“You’re a rat bastard, yes, but I can never hate you or wish for you to be gone from my life.” Younghoon tells you, and you feel your bottom lip begin to quiver as another wave of tears threaten to break out. He glances down at the table, “Of course, I don’t think I can be friends with you until my feelings are gone, because it honestly hurts to see you right now.” 

You nod your head in understanding, and he looks back up at you, the corner of his lips quirking upwards when he sees your puffy eyes. He lets out a breath, “But when the time comes that I can be around you without feeling hurt, then I’d really like for us to be friends, yn.” 

You let out a small smile, a tear escaping as you nod your head. “I’d really like that too, Younghoon.” 

He stares at you with that familiar look of love in his eyes for a moment, trying to ingrain your lovely features into his mind before he distances himself from you. Letting out a breath, he stands up from the table, and you quickly follow suit. 

“Thank you for a lovely three months, yn.” Younghoon says softly, and you huff at the lump that quickly forms in your throat at his words. You reach out and slap his arm, eliciting a laugh from him as he pulls you into his embrace. 

You let out a smile, wrapping your arms around his waist as you close your eyes. Voice muffled into his shoulder, you mutter, “Thank you for a great three months, Younghoon.”

The two of you begin to sway side to side, only for you to let out a squeak when you feel your hip bump into the table. The sound of a cup falling over rings in the air, and you cling onto Younghoon tighter when you don’t feel any liquid fall onto you. 

“Yn.”

“Younghoon.”

“Are you holding me even tighter cause you know that your matcha tea just spilled onto my new shoes?” Younghoon asks you in a quiet voice, and you bite your bottom lip. 

“I’ll venmo you.” 

He sighs, “I’ll send you the price later.” 

Eric sits on the step outside of your apartment, sniffling to himself as he rubs his arms for warmth. He drunkenly rests his head back against the door, blinking his eyes slowly as the fatigue begins to lay itself over him. 

Holding his knees to his chest, he feels himself beginning to fall asleep when the door suddenly opens from behind him. He blinks his eyes open, just to find himself staring at your pretty face as you wrap the warm blanket around him. You look up once you’re sure that it’ll stay on him when you move to go back inside, only to pause when your eyes lock with his.

The two of you stare at each other in silence, with Eric’s bloodshot eyes looking into yours as sleep threatens to pull him under, and you looking at him with a pained gaze as your hands slowly fall back to your sides. 

Biting the inside of your cheek, you move to stand up and head back inside when his cold hand reaches out and grasps your warm one. 

“Yn, can you please talk to me?” Eric murmurs in a sleepy voice, and you feel your breath hitch at his words. He stares at your hand, having missed the warmth of them as his eyes slowly trail up towards your side profile. 

“I want to fix us. If you give me a chance, I’ll do whatever it takes to fix what I did wrong.” He tells you, but you continue to stare at the inside of your house, knowing you should go back inside without listening any further. 

He blinks tiredly, not even noticing your lack of response as his vision blurs. He softly squeezes your hand, “Why… why did you leave me?” 

You tilt your head up towards the ceiling at his question, fighting back the tears that threaten to fall past your eyes as you remind yourself of why you ended things. 

He’s the one that doesn’t see a future with you, not you.

“Do you really not love me anymore?” Eric asks quietly, and you turn to see the tears trailing down his cheeks as he clings onto your hand. Biting the inside of your cheek, you kneel down so that you’re facing him as you adjust the blanket around his shoulders. He blinks at you sleepily, fighting to keep his eyes open so that he can see you properly.

You tentatively reach out and rest your hand on his cheek, wiping away the tears falling from his eyes with your thumb as he leans into your touch. When his eyes begin to fall shut, you quietly whisper, 

“I’ll always love you, Eric.”

He gasps awake in his bed, reaching up and rubbing at his face, just to let out a breath when he feels the wetness to his cheeks. He groans, rolling over onto his stomach so that his face is smushed by his pillow. 

“It’s not real, it was just a dream.” He mutters to himself, voice muffled by his pillow. He frowns at the fact that it was a memory he dreamt of, but he shakes his head when the possibility that it was real comes to mind. 

Sighing, he reaches out blindly towards his bedside table and grabs his phone. Turning his head, he holds his phone close to his face as he reads through his notifications, only to bolt up in bed when a name catches his eye.

yn: eric, can we talk?

i’m outside of your apartment complex

i’ll wait for you

Eric’s eyes widen when he reads the time stamp, and he practically leaps off his bed when he realizes you sent those messages two hours ago. Throwing his sweatshirt over his head, he slides into his slippers and sprints out of his apartment.

He frantically pushes the button for the elevator, the thought that you’ve already left coming to mind once the elevator doors open. He rushes inside and presses the button to go down to the main floor, tapping his foot against the floor as he reaches into his pocket to get his phone so he can send you a text.

Only to pause when he realizes that he left his phone on his bed. 

Cursing to himself, he hurries out the elevator once the doors open to the main lobby, and he practically bursts through the entrance. He breathes heavily as he looks around the front of his apartment complex, but he doesn’t see you anywhere as he lets out a sigh. 

“I missed them.” Eric mutters to himself, about to turn around and head back inside, only to stop in his tracks when he sees you sitting on the staircase beside him. Your head is resting against the wood, fast asleep as you hold your knees to your chest. 

His eyes widen when he sees the goosebumps on your arms, and he quickly takes off his sweatshirt and lays it over your shoulders. You slowly blink your eyes open at the sudden warmth, and you look up to see those familiar brown eyes boring into yours. 

“Eric?”

“Why would you wait for me out here when I didn’t answer your text? You should’ve known that I didn’t see it and went home! It’s the middle of Winter, what if you get sick?!” Eric exclaims in worry, continuing to dote on you as he tries to get his sweatshirt to stay on your shoulders. You bite your bottom lip at the fact that he hasn’t changed at all, he still takes care of you and scolds you like you didn’t completely shatter his heart over a misunderstanding. 

“I don’t know why you would only wear a short sleeve shirt in 40 degree weather—”

“You waited outside of my door for two months after we broke up.” You murmur, making the rest of Eric’s sentence die in his throat when his gaze finally makes its way back up into your eyes. He blinks at the tears that flood them as you look at him, and he glances down when he’s suddenly struck with the cold memory of your last encounter.

He stands up from the step and brushes off his knees as he mutters, “Sorry, I forgot my place.”

He moves to unlock the door of his apartment complex when your cold hand suddenly grasps onto his own, and he slowly turns his head to find you staring at your connected hands with tears trailing down your cheeks. 

“Your hand… it’s warm.” You say, and Eric presses his lips into a thin line as he chooses to stay quiet. You blink to try and get your vision to clear, but it fails as more tears continue to flood your eyes. Letting out a shaky breath, you rest your forehead onto the back of Eric’s hand, and he tilts his head up towards the night sky. 

“Younghoon and I broke up.” You confess, voice so low that the redhead almost doesn’t hear it. He blinks, and glances down at you with wide eyes, “What?” 

You cling onto his hand tighter, “I couldn’t be with him when all I can think about is you.” 

A lump forms in Eric’s throat as he stares down at the top of your head, unable to believe what he’s hearing. The sound of his heartbeat is loud against his ears, and he’s sure that you can hear it on this quiet, Winter night.

He slowly squats down so that the two of you are eye level, and you lift your head up from his hand to look into his glassy eyes. There’s disbelief in his gaze as he looks at you, but you feel a sob bubble up in your chest when you see that familiar look of love mixed in as well. 

“Eric, I’m so sorry.” You finally say, tears trailing down your cheeks as you lower your head. A sob forces its way out of your throat as you rest your forehead onto your guys intertwined fingers, “I-I was stupid and didn’t give you a chance to tell me the truth. I just went with what I heard, and was so hurt by what I thought happened that I acted like such a bitch. I s-should’ve listened to you, but I said such horrible things and I—” 

You’re cut off when you’re suddenly pulled forward, and you open your mouth to protest, but quickly stop when you find yourself wrapped in his warm embrace. Your bottom lip quivers when the familiar scent of his laundry detergent floods your senses, and you let out a loud sob into his shoulder. 

He’s holding back sobs of his own as he holds you tightly in his arms, afraid to let go for the fear of you leaving again. Tears roll down his cheeks as he cups the back of your head with his hand, finally feeling at home after months of being overwhelmed by loneliness. 

“I’m sorry, Eric. I-I’m so sorry.” You cry out, voice muffled by his sweater, and he just closes his eyes as he nuzzles his face into your neck. After a moment of the two of you just holding each other while crying, he gently leans back so that he can look at your pretty face. 

The corner of his lips quirks upwards when he sees your swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks, and he tenderly reaches out and cups your face in his hands. You stay silent as Eric looks at you, sniffling occasionally as more tears threaten to spill over. 

He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, whispering against your skin, 

“I love you.”

Eric pulls away with a small smile on his face, cooing when the tears you were trying to hold back fall from your eyes at those three words. You let out a quiet laugh, one that’s full of heartache and relief as you reply, 

“I love you too.”

Biting your bottom lip, you look down as you begin to mutter another apology, but you’re quickly stopped by Eric tilting your chin upwards and capturing your lips in his. 

After months of staying away, the two of you have finally made your way back to each other. The kiss is messy—desperate, even. It’s sloppy and tastes of salt from the tears the two of you are shedding, and you can’t stop crying out apologies between each kiss as your fingers intertwine with his against your cheek. 

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I love you.” 

“I love you too, yn.”

When you finally pull away, Eric wipes away the tears under your eyes with the pads of his thumbs. While you wipe at his cheeks with the sleeves of his sweatshirt, gently slapping his shoulder every few seconds as he giggles softly at the sight of your swollen eyes.

He gestures towards his apartment complex when he takes notice of the goosebumps beginning to rise on your arms again, “Let’s go inside, yn.” 

You nod your head, and he helps you stand up from the step. His eyebrows furrow when he sees you shiver slightly when a particularly cold breeze blows past the two of you, and he quickly helps you slip on his sweatshirt that was just laid over your shoulders.

You let out a smile when he pulls the hood over your head, and he grins back at you as he leans in to mutter, 

“I’ll give you clothes to change into at my apartment. I don’t allow outside clothes on my bed.” 

And you let out a laugh at his words, eliciting a giggle from the redhead as you reach out and take hold of his warm hand with your cold one.

Later on that night, when the two of you are laying in bed, Eric rolls over so that he’s facing you. He stares at your sleeping face glowing underneath the moonlight shining in through his window, unable to believe that you’re here as his eyes trail over your pretty features. He carefully intertwines his fingers with yours while you sleep, a soft smile escaping him when he feels your hand permeate warmth into his cold one. His eyes slowly fall shut when you gently squeeze his hand in your sleep, the familiar rhythmic sound of your breathing lulling him to sleep. 

After six months of only being able to live through glimpses of what once was, everything slowly falls back into place since you and Eric have found your way back to one another. 

Now able to live through glimpses of what can be.

ミ★ taglist: @sunlightwoo​ @junjungsunwoo​ @woozisnoots​ @w8nuzone​ @jeonncafe​ @sbnchaos​ @mybbtaeyong4thewin​

[juhakx]

Love- Eric Sohn

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 744

Inspired by. “what thing worthy of love can be found in me?”- franz kafka

“I don’t know,” You whisper into the darkness. The slight peak of moonlight between the curtains gave you the only reassurance you needed to see the shadows of Eric’s face. “I just can’t imagine it.”

This was why you loved staying up late with Eric. There was a side of him that you saw that no one else got to, and you could share things with him that no one else had ever heard. In the end, it’s why you two got along so well–why no one questioned how the two of you became best friends. 

“That’s ridiculous. Why can’t you imagine it?” Eric asks, shifting closer. Sharing a bed was never a problem. You had been sharing beds with Eric since you were in elementary school. If you closed your eyes long enough, it felt like you were back in your Hello Kitty pajamas, trying to keep in your giggles as Eric made you laugh long past when you were supposed to be asleep. 

“Like–” You begin, turning over so you were facing him. “Guys have never been interested in me like that. And–And! Can you just imagine one person deciding, ‘Yes, this is the person I want to spend every single waking moment with?’ I can’t imagine someone choosing me out of the millions of people in the world to love. There’s nothing that deems me so special from everyone else that would justify that.” When you’re done with your spiel, you lower your hand that began to make wild gestures to get your point across. 

These thoughts had been trapped in your head for years. It was almost comical how Eric brought up subjects that you wouldn’t dare speak aloud unless it was to yourself. Just minutes prior he had breached it when asking “Do you think you’ve ever been in love?” How that spiraled to you confessing your deepest emotions, only the moon knew. 

“Well, do you think that about me?” Eric asks, not like he was defending himself, but in a way like he knew what the answer was. 

“No, you’re different,” You simply state. You notice the way Eric rolls his eyes, even in the dark, making you laugh. 

“Really? So you’re condemned to a life of solitude because you think no one will love you and I get to be loved just because I’m different?” Eric flicks the top of your head, almost as if he was annoyed that you thought like this.

“Well, yeah.” You look up at Eric, making sure he could see your eyes so he knew you were being serious. “You are so nice and you always make sure the people around you are happy and you’re so cool and really good at baseball–Oh! And you can dance. I love people who can dance.” You roll back away so you’re staring at the ceiling. “There’s, like, not one bad thing about you. You’re better than the rest. You’re different,” You emphasize. 

After a beat of silence, Eric picks the conversation back up. “It’s good to know that if no one will love me because I’m nice, they’ll love me because I can dance.”

Eric laughs when you push at his chest, annoyed. You were never good at words and he always used it against you. 

When you begin to pull your hand back, he reaches for it, his hand circling your wrist and bringing it back. 

You try to ignore the way your heart stutters. 

“You’re different too,” Eric begins. “You are so kind and not in the way you think I am, but you make sure to look after the people you care about even when they don’t deserve it. And you always kick my ass in Just Dance so technically you’re good at dancing too. And even though you’re sitting here thinking that no one could love you, you love everyone so much. And everyone you meet can’t help but love you too.” 

Eric was always better than you at words, anyway. 

“Don’t cry you weirdo,” Eric laughs once he notices the wetness pooling in your eyes. 

“Shut up, I’m sensitive,” You sniffle, attempting to pull your hand away from his so you can turn your back to him. 

Instead, he lets go willingly, grabbing at your chin so you can look up at him again. 

“I love you,” He whispers. He reassures. 

And for now, it didn’t matter how he meant it. All that mattered was that he loved you.

[sungbeam]

nonidol!eric sohn x f!reader

you won't think golf is a boring sport after he's done with you! (but it's not about golf, and it's not about swings. just a young heir with money, love, and a thing for you.)

▷ genre, warnings. technically s2l, country club au, summer break au, starts with him already into you, slight pining? idk, fluff, humor, rich people™, golf lol, swearing, drinking, kissing, it gets like actually romantic, Eric Sohn bc he's so attractive someone help me.

▷ word count. 11.4k

▷ inspired by swing my way (cha cha malone & phe r.e.d.s)

a/n: my submission for the deoboyznet summer on you event! and @mosviqu who implanted the idea of country club rich boy eric into my brain @@

It wasn't like Eric Sohn, heir to his parents' multi-million dollar investment firm, prized shortstop of the UCLA baseball team, planned to spend his entire summer charming his parents' clients and partners. A summer spent at the Beverly Hills Country Club wasn't something new for the young heir either. The rolling, emerald green hills for golf; the clean cement tennis courts; the dim and classy bars were all ingrained in him since childhood. They were environments Eric had learned to thrive in, and when one had the advantage, one was always taught to wield it like a blade.

At least, that was what he was taught. Over the years, he'd also learned that his extroverted personality and charming smile were disarming—and his pretty boy appearance often resulted in others underestimating him. That was their mistake.

"...that trip to Taiwan will be such a great opportunity to explore the relationship between our companies."

Eric clasped Mr. Thomas Tsaur's hand in a firm shake as the two men stood at the final hole of the golf course. Eric beamed. "Yes, of course! I know my mom would love to see the night markets around Taipei; my parents have been looking forward to the trip all year," he said, as easy as breathing air. Of course, he didn't really know if his parents were looking forward to it. If he was the one on his way to Taiwan instead, he knew that he himself would be ecstatic.

During business meetings—and meetings that weren't officially classified as business, but were definitely about business—Eric tried to stay as true to himself as possible. Once in a while, some of the persona he'd built up slipped through the cracks, but there was a reason he liked baseball more than business.

Mr. Tsaur made a pleasant reply back about promising a fun-filled tour of the city with his wife, and the two of them were splitting up. There were offhanded comments about seeing each other for dinner when Eric's parents finally arrived, but that was all that was left of the interaction.

Eric jogged down the hill toward the conventional path where a white-topped golf cart sat waiting for him. His driver and caddy companion for the day was Jacob Bae, a regular worker here at the country club whom Eric had known for at least a couple years now.

But instead of just Jacob and the cart, Eric found that someone else had joined the group.

You sat in the second row of the golf cart with a circular serving tray pressed over your lap. Like some of the other staff members at the club, you wore the standard black, collared shirt and black skort. He'd seen you around this place plenty of times this summer and even greeted you once or twice, but he knew you were new.

Oh, trust that he knew a new face when he saw one, especially when said face was as pretty as yours. The only shame was that you were often assigned to areas where Eric didn't exactly frequent, but he never took himself as the type to give up easily.

You and Jacob were sharing a laugh as Eric approached the golf cart with his golf putter in hand. "Hey guys," Eric chirped.

All the attention flickered over to Eric, but he couldn't stop staring at the way the slight breeze this afternoon was making your hair fall in your face all pretty. Even in a braid, the little strands fell out to frame your face.

"Oh, hi Eric! How was the last round?" Jacob asked as he twisted around in his driver's seat to watch Eric round the back to put his putter away. You had shifted in your seat slightly to follow him with your eyes, as well.

Eric slid the stick into his bag and caught your eyes. His smile widened. "It went well. Same old, same old," he chuckled, bracing a gloves hand on the roof of the cart. "When'd you get here, Yn?" He asked you with a nod of his chin.

You perked up at the sound of your name. Cute. "Ah, just a few minutes ago," you said. You sheepishly gestured to your empty tray. "Haknyeon dropped me off a few holes over to deliver drinks, and then I saw Jacob over here and walked over to catch a ride back to the clubhouse."

"I can't believe he just ditched you," Jacob chortled.

Eric circled around the cart to take the seat in the front beside Jacob. "He ditched you?" He frowned, leaning his arm over the back of the seat to look at you.

As the cart began making its smooth return down the path and over a small bridge, you smoothed your braid over your shoulder. "No, no! He didn't ditch me; we were just headed in the same direction until we… weren't," you mused. "I mean, if Cobie wasn't here, a walk back wouldn't have been the worst thing anyways."

"I guess," Eric agreed, biting his lip. "So, uh… ever played golf before?"

"Golf? It's been a while, but yeah, I've driven the occasional golf ball across a green."

From the driver's seat, Jacob slapped his right hand down on Eric's shoulder. "Yn-ie! This guy's one of the best casual golf players you'll probably ever meet. His swing? So clean."

Eric chuckled, clasping a hand on the back of his neck, when he felt your attention flicker back to him again. "I'm no pro…"

"I'll have to see that for myself then," you said with a smile.

The golf cart slowed to a stop in front of the doors into the main kitchens of the clubhouse proper. Because this main kitchen was so large, they were given their own set of doors directly to the outdoor courts and beyond for easy access. While Jacob would drop you off here, he would have to continue onward for Eric's proper spot.

You clambered out of the golf cart, poking Jacob in the shoulder as you went. "Bye, guys! Thanks for the ride, Cobie."

"Bye, Yn!" Both boys chimed together. When you disappeared behind the swinging kitchen doors, Jacob pulled the cart back onto the main road to carry onward.

Eric settled into his seat to face forward once again. He lifted the cap off his head and carded a hand through his hair to let the strands, dampened with sweat, dry a bit. "I didn't know Yn was allowed to work the golf range," he commented as innocently as possible.

Jacob made a small humming noise. "Yeah, we're short a couple people out here because of the Ferndale event going on down by the gazebo."

"She wasn't sent there?"

"Did you want her to be sent there?" Jacob grinned slyly at the young heir, who turned his gaze elsewhere.

Eric coughed. "I didn't say that."

His companion still would not wipe that knowing smile off his face, even as he slowed the golf cart to a stop and Eric hopped out to collect his equipment from the back. "I didn't say you did," he snickered as Eric walked away.

He didn't give Jacob the satisfaction of an answer, instead, saying a "thank you" for driving him over his shoulder, before ducking inside the clubhouse locker room.

Jacob shook his head in amusement and began making his way further down the path to return the cart. Silly, silly kids.

You didn't realize country clubs were real until you were sitting in the office of the Beverly Hills Country Club's hiring manager and being hired. That was about a month ago, and no, you still didn't believe it was real. The entire training experience, in fact, had swept through like a fever dream.

The summer season had just begun, though, and they had taken you on in a rush of desperation. You hadn't failed to notice how relieved the hiring manager looked when you told him you'd worked as a waitress at an upscale wedding venue before you moved cross-country, and knew how to carry a drink platter and dirty dishes. That was part of the reason you'd been hired on the spot. You'd also mentioned your extensive knowledge of how to fold cloth napkins into swans, and you liked to think that was your true selling point. (Don't ask, the last part was because you had been very bored while waiting in the backroom during a wedding.)

And while you cared little about cleaning pools or catering to rich prick egos, you did care about the crisp green bills that graced your eyes with more frequency than a Superman actor on Hollywood Boulevard. There was also the possibility to gain some more experience in the dining and catering world; if you were lucky, you could butter up your manager to let you help out in the kitchen some.

After all, that was why you were here so far from home.

"Yn, you've got company at table five," Haknyeon said as he passed by you on his way into the kitchen.

You gave a nod out of instinct. You brushed your hands against your black waist apron, absentmindedly reaching up to also smooth out the black vest on your upper half. Usually when you worked at the club's restaurants and bars as wait staff, your uniform consisted of a white button down under a black vest, followed by a black skirt and apron. It was classy and chic, and definitely added to the expensive atmosphere.

You could see table five in your section up ahead. It was a little early into dinner service, but there were still people who came in. To your surprise, the company at table five was none other than Eric Sohn himself, along with two others you recognized as his parents. They were dressed casually—meaning semiformal. It was something out of a dinner cruise, with Eric's dark brunette waves styled effortlessly messy and the top three buttons of his dress shirt undone to reveal the slightly bronzed, toned skin beneath—

You cleared your throat, plastering a smile on your face as you approached the table. "Evening, everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Sohn," you gave a small greeting bow to his parents, then swiftly doled out little napkins for their drinks. "It's nice to see you on the grounds again today."

"Oh, Yn! It's very nice to see you this evening," said Mrs. Sohn with a delicate flourish of her wrist.

"Yes!" Mr. Sohn chimed in, "What have you been up to? Eric says he saw you on the golf range today."

Your eyes darted to Eric's, then went back to his parents when you realized his eyes were on you. You laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear and bracing the end of your serving tray against your waist. "Oh, uhm, yeah! I was just summoned down there to get some drinks to the Santos family—you know them, right?"

Recognition lit up in Eric's mother's eyes. "Yes, yes! Marina and her kids! Ah, well that sounds nice; I'll have to see if I can bump into her at the spa or something. Eric gave you a ride back in his cart, didn't he? The walk back is awfully far."

You nodded. "Yeah, of course. He was with Jacob, so I just hopped in the back and rode back with them here."

"I still owe you that golf date," Eric cut in smoothly, the hand with his Rolex draped over the back of his chair. His smile was casual, innocent, the kind that so easily could make anyone do his bidding.

"Golf date?" His parents glanced curiously between the two of you, and you felt heat rush up to your cheeks.

"It was just an offhand comment," you said sheepishly. "Jacob was telling me about how great of a golfer Eric is and I said I wanted to see his swing some time." Before anything else could be said on the matter, you tucked your tray under your arm and replaced it with your notepad and pen. "Can I get you anything to drink? An appetizer to start?"

That drew away the conversation promptly. It wasn't like you were uncomfortable with the idea of going on a date with Eric Sohn, it just wasn't that simple. Though the club officially encouraged good relationships between staff and club members, they didn't exactly encourage the romantic kind of relationship. Obviously, it would be impossible to enforce a no-entanglement policy completely, but you wanted to stay on your manager's good side.

You nearly folded in half over the counter of the tiki bar at the pool. Sweat streamed down the side of your face, and you were pretty sure your baby hairs looked akin to a lion's mane under your white baseball cap. Thank god the club didn't force you to wear a black colored hat instead; the black polo and skort were death enough.

Jacob chuckled as he passed you a clean, damp towel that had been soaking in ice water. "Before you get heat stroke," he said, then returned to preparing a tray of drinks someone had ordered at the hot tub.

You thanked him profusely, dabbing your face and neck with the cool blessing. "Sheesh," you groaned. "I think I need to reapply my sunscreen soon. How are you out here all the time, Cobie?"

He grinned with a half-hearted shrug. "Well, I work with cold drinks and I'm under the shade. And—" he tapped the handy little fan clipped to one of the structure poles of the tiki bar, "—this beautiful work of engineering."

"I need one of those umbrella hats and squirt bottles kids bring to Disneyland," you grumbled and plucked yourself up from the bar. You returned the towel to Jacob so he could toss it into the soiled towel bin on the other side of him. You watched as he finished up filling the tray and whistled at the pool waiter who had ordered it for the group at the hot tub.

As the waiter walked away with the drinks, you thought aloud, "How could they stand to be in the hot tub in this heat?" From here, you could see the group of girls gathered in the bubbling jets of the hot tub at the far end of the pool in their bikini tops and Gucci shades.

"They're not standing—they're sitting."

You sent Jacob an unimpressed look, to which he simply smiled wider.

"Hey guys!" Ji Changmin huffed and puffed as he collapsed onto the barstool next to you. He had a towel hanging around his shoulders and a white sweatband holding up his dark bangs dripping with sweat. "Can I get an ice water, hyung?"

"Yeah, man," Jacob said, already dumping a scoop of ice in a cup.

"You alright there, Changmin?" You glanced over at the club's dance instructor with barely concealed amusement.

Changmin took the corner of his towel to dry the dribble of sweat making its way down his forehead. "Whoever thought it was a good idea to do hot Zumba in the height of summer needs a reality check. I think I'm dying."

As one of the country club's primary dance instructors, not only did Changmin lead all of the dance activities on the grounds, he was also supposed to take over any dance aerobics classes like said hot Zumba. You knew it wasn't his favorite, but it was still funny to make faces at him through the window as he did can-can kicks in leg warmers with all of the rich moms.

You leaned down to check if he had the leg warmers on. He did not. At least he finally had the good sense to break uniform.

Jacob slid over an ice-cold glass of water, and Changmin drained it like a man who trekked through the desert for seven days. You glanced at Jacob's digital clock on the counter behind him—he kept it so he could be on time for all of his breaks.

"Oh shit," you said, quickly fixing your cap and adjusting your hair, "time for me to get back to work."

Changmin straightened. "Where are you stationed today, Yn-ie? Chanhee and I wanted to come pick you up later for dinner before we have to come back."

"That's right!" Jacob slapped his palm to his forehead. "We have to all be back here for the banquet. I almost forgot, damn it."

You cocked a brow at him. "Wow, you, Jacob Bae, almost forgot about the major event all of our jobs are riding on that's taking place tonight?"

A smile curled onto your face when Jacob narrowed his eyes at you. "Don't you have work to do?"

You let out a laugh and began backing away from the tiki bar and your friends. "Kim has me at the ice cream bar until the end of my shift, Changmin. I'll catch you boys later!"

Jacob and Changmin raised their hands in twin waves to you as you walked away. If you remembered the time on Jacob's clock correctly, you had about fifteen minutes to get up to the indoor ice cream bar for your shift.

Tonight, the country club was hosting a banquet for one of the business men here. It was supposedly one of the most important events for the club's reputation, so it was all hands on deck. Everyone from Chanhee at the spa to Haknyeon in the kitchen were called upon to clock into work once again tonight to help out. You were glad you weren't a part of the set-up and takedown committees, but you were expected to wait on the banquet. Jacob was supposed to be bartending tonight, as usual, and your other friends and coworkers would be waiting alongside you.

You glanced up on your walk out of the pool area and nearly tripped over the soles of your sneakers.

Coming in hot (literally) were none other than Eric Sohn, Lee Hyunjae, and Lee Juyeon—all of whom were very much shirtless. Swim trunks hung low on their waists, their stomachs carved like triplet Michaelangelos. Seeing shirtless guys at the pool wasn't new for you, but these guys were actually around your age.

Eric saw you first and waved. "Yn, hey!"

"Hi guys," you greeted back with a shallow nod of your head. "Nice day out for a swim."

"I know, right?" Hyunjae raised a hand to shield his eyes from the unforgiving summer sun. "You must be baking in that uniform, Yn." He raised his chin to gesture at the all black attire.

"I don't suppose you'd be able to join us?" Juyeon smiled. He knew you probably couldn't join them because you were clocked in, but he had always been pretty nice nonetheless. He and Hyunjae were cousins, and the Lee family was well-known around here for being big names in the legal sphere, as well as being one of the larger families. There was another cousin of theirs around their age running around here somewhere, too.

You gave a helpless shrug. "Duty calls, unfortunately."

"Yn, hey wait—" Eric caught your attention as you were about to continue walking up toward the main clubhouse. He flashed you that smile again, the one that made your stomach do flips and would convince you to do flips for him if only he asked. "You won't happen to be working at the banquet tonight, are you?"

"How'd you guess?" You replied good-naturedly. "Why do you ask?"

He began walking backwards toward the direction his friends had drifted off to, his smile tilting up slightly. "So I know which cologne I should wear."

And it definitely wasn't a trick of the summer sun that made you see him wink at you.

"He's into you."

"He is not—" you wrestled your sleeve up your forearm and made a frustrated noise when the button would not go through, "—into me."

Chanhee gave you a nice, slow eye roll just so you would see it, and he yanked the sleeve away from you so he could roll it up himself. "A lot of men around here like smelling nice, but no one pulls out the Acqua Di Gio just for the service girl or a business banquet," he hissed as a fellow waiter rushed past you two in the narrow corridor. "Jesus, why is this button such a bitch?"

"That's what I'm saying," you hissed back at him as the two of you both struggled to fix your sleeve. "Not the cologne thingy—I hate how you're able to just take a whiff and name the cologne. What kind of demon nose do you have?"

Chanhee sighed and collapsed against the wall opposite to you when he finally managed to get the sleeve right. The two of you were currently on break, not hiding, in this corridor. In T-minus two minutes, you would both have to be back out in the hustle and bustle of cleanup or after-party drinks in the lounge. Because the main course had finally been served, a lot of the waiters were allowed to go on break. The banquet thus far had gone relatively smoothly, other than the fact that when you had served Eric all of his courses, he'd made sure you practically melted on the smell of his cologne.

It wasn't your fault you had to bend down close to him to not spill the hot food. And it wasn't your fault that he chose to put his mouth right to your ear when he told you a joke, masking it as asking for more water.

You couldn't decide if you were going to giggle or let your knees buckle at that moment. Thank god you managed to laugh behind your hand and hustle away before anyone noticed.

But that was besides the point. The point was that Chanhee had also passed by Eric, caught the faint trail of Aqua De Whatever, and connected some dots.

"If you want a demon, you talk to Changmin," he said. "I just know my shit. And I also know that you only break out the Acqua Di Gio when you want to attract someone, and based on the fact he's currently seated around about fifty other businesspeople…" Chanhee made a wild, desperate gesture with his hands, eyes widened. Are you getting this? He seemed to ask. Because I will smack you if you aren't.

You fanned yourself, justifying it by thinking about how hot the back hallway was and this outfit was, rather than admitting that it was because Eric was hot. "Okay, okay. Come on, we have to get back out there," you said, already turning your heel toward the door.

"I'm just saying that clearly he's been trying to tell you something," Chanhee added as you both broke out of the hallway and into the kitchen. He grabbed a circular serving tray from a stack on the counter next to him to hand over to you.

"Well, what do you suppose I should do with that?"

He pressed his lips into a thin smile, taking hold of a small, empty cart and pushing it ahead of him. "Just keep an open mind, darling."

You and Chanhee separated at the kitchen doors out into the banquet hall. While he would be a part of cleaning up, you needed to head over to the next-door parlor where the party had moved post-dinner. Business would continue as usual, just with a few more drinks and pool involved.

The parlor room was arguably one of your favorite rooms in the club with its cozier atmosphere created by the evergreen walls, tiffany-shaded lamps, and dark oak furnishings. It was also outfitted with a hearth (unused during the summer and spring) and a billiards table. Most of those who had chosen to stay had migrated with a certain crowd of people they planned to continue chatting with. Your job, as well as the few others recruited to the parlor, was to be a fly on the wall until somebody needed something. If tips were passed around, you were free to pocket them.

You were probably standing and waiting for only five minutes before you saw Eric stand up from where he was on the far side of the room. He shouldered his suit jacket off and draped it over the back of his armchair, exposing the white dress shirt and black vest beneath. Whew, he was wearing a full suit to this event? You wondered how he even survived, but all conscious thought flew out the window when he caught you staring and started smirking to himself. The smug, little expression stayed etched into the sharp planes of his face even as he strolled over to the pool table and lined up his shot.

You wondered—and it was just a thought—what it'd be like (possibly) for him to lean over you—

"Excuse me, miss?" You shook out of your daze and remembered why you were here. Unfortunately, it was not to admire the young heir watching you from the other side of the room, but to serve guests.

For the next couple of hours, your job was exactly what you did. You had been so focused on running back and forth from the bar in the other room and back that you always seemed to have missed Eric trying to catch your eye again. If he wanted drinks, he had to suck it up and ask someone else who just happened to be near him instead.

As the evening dwindled into a sweet, humid night, the amount of guests also began to trickle down. You had grabbed a rag on your way back to the parlor room and said goodbye to your coworkers on their way out. Some still lingered for last minute clean up, and though you were technically done for the night, you wanted to wipe down anything you had missed. It was something simple that you could do to help out a colleague, and it wasn't like you were in a rush to go home.

When you walked back into the parlor room, however, you blinked—surprised—at the sight of an individual left. He leaned against the billiards table, one hand holding the edge of the suit jacket draped over his shoulder and the other scrolling through his phone.

Eric glanced up from his device and pocketed it at the sight of you. "Hey."

"Hi," you said back. "Uhm, can I get you anything—"

"Oh, no no. I'm good." He shook his head, pushing off from the table. He shot you that signature boyish smile of his and your heart began doing cartwheels. "I just wanted to ask if I could give you a lift home."

You opened your mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Truthfully, you were caught off guard, stunned. This wasn't what you were expecting from him.

He saw your hesitation and let out a sheepish laugh, cupping the back of his head. "Sorry, this is so out of the blue. I… it's a little late out right now, and I didn't know if you had a ride or not. I know you're not usually scheduled to work so late."

"You know my schedule?" You blurted. Though, the thought did warm you and amuse you.

His eyes widened. "I mean, uhm, definitely not in the creepy, stalkerish sort of way! I uh, I like to think I pay a lot more attention when it comes to you." His admission didn't do much to slow the racing organ in your chest cavity. You always saw Eric Sohn as one of those smooth and collected young men who were born to charm. But seeing him flustered and tripping over his words because of you?

You ducked your head slightly, flattered and most definitely charmed still. "I'd really appreciate a lift home, Eric."

You both shared a smile in the slightly dimmed, slightly warmed lights of the parlor room.

Once you had finished glossing over the surfaces of the parlor room with your rag to catch any rings made by perspiring liquids, your manager dismissed you for the night. Eric told you he would meet you out front where he would bring his car around for you. You found yourself standing at the edge of the curb with a gentle, yet rare summer breeze wafting through your hair. You had your bag slung over your shoulder, and you grasped the strap and fidgeted with the material.

A car pulled up to the circular driveway—it was a sports car. The Corvette, sleek and aerodynamic, was doused in a shiny orange coat of paint that glimmered even in the night. The passenger side window rolled down so you could see Eric leaning over the center console and waving to you.

"Hey, hop in!" He said to you with a grin, lowering the music he was playing.

Gingerly, you walked up to the car and managed to maneuver yourself inside. The passenger seat was lined in soft black leather, and the inside of the car made it all the more easy to suffocate on that delicious cologne of his.

Eric had ditched his suit jacket and vest in the backseat of the car, leaving him in just his white dress shirt and slacks.

"Nice car," you whistled lowly as you buckled yourself in.

His mouth tilted upward. "Thanks," he said. He fussed around with his phone for a second before passing the device to you. "If you wouldn't mind putting your number and address in."

"Oh." It was a brand new contact page. You didn't question it, swiftly inputting all of the necessary information before returning his phone to him.

Eric took a peek at the address, then pulled out of the country club's driveway. You didn't live too far away from the club, luckily. It was only a few minute's drive, but the walk sometimes felt a bit longer. California didn't exactly have the most convenient public transportation system, and in an area like Beverly Hills, it was near impossible to find a reliable bus or train service.

"Any music preferences?" He asked you quietly.

You shook your head. "I'm not super picky. What you have on is all good with me."

"I have to confess, Yn," he said with a half smile, eyes darting toward you, "that I was trying to steal your attention all night."

Your stomach flipped and you suppressed the smile that threatened to crawl onto your mouth. "Really?"

He laughed. "Yeah, but obviously, your work ethic beat me out, as well as my own luck."

"Any reason for seeking me out?" He'd technically had your attention all throughout the banquet, but he had also needed to entertain and chat with the other people around him. While the after party was sometimes used for business discussion, too, the banquet dinner itself was the main event.

"I mean, besides wanting to talk to the cute girl eating up all my thoughts?"

He was turning onto your apartment complex's street all too soon. The car slid into a parking spot along the curb, and he twisted in his seat to face you. "I really want to take you out, show you a good time. It doesn't have to be something fancy if that's not your vibe; we can always start with golf."

You let the smile bloom on your face at the reference to the "golf date" you both had yet to schedule. You still wanted to see his swing, after all. "Then it's a date," you said, "I should have a free day two days from now, if that works for you."

Eric bit his lip. "I'm all yours, hon."

Before you could start doing somersaults from excitement, you resolved yourself to getting into your apartment first. "Well, thank you again for the lift, Eric. You have my number?"

He nodded. "Never losing it."

You grinned something fond. He grinned right back at you. "Get home safe."

"I will. Good night, cutie."

You slammed the car door shut and left Eric to his lonesome. Through the passenger side window, Eric watched as you disappeared into your apartment complex, safe and sound. He had almost given into the urge to ask if he could walk you up, but it was a miracle you had even taken him up on his offer to drive you home.

He pulled up your contact and sent you a text so you could have his number, too, as soon as possible. He deposited his phone into the cup holder, then punched the roof of his car with a shit-eating grin on his face. He'd scored your number and a date in one night—damn right, he did.

You had reasoned with yourself that this was okay based on the fact that you weren't on company time.

"Shoooooot," you whistled with a slight arch in your brows and applause. You tracked the distance Eric's driving shot sent the golf ball flying, and in the early morning sunlight, the white sphere disappeared over the crest of green hill.

You figured being courted by a club member during your own free time was a loophole you could live with. Especially when such a loophole looked so good swinging a golf club.

His follow through was just as beautiful as he was, his arms lifting the golf club over behind him from the arc. When he lowered the club to turn back to you, he was beaming. "What's the verdict?"

Your golf club was currently acting as your arm rest as you staked the head against the grass. "I don't know, Eric," you sucked in a breath, teasingly. "I think you could've gone pro."

He laughed then, eyes narrowed into glorious upturned crescent moons. "Thanks, cutie." He made a gesture to the tee. "All yours."

"Let me preface this by saying that it's been awhile," you were quick to say as the nerves suddenly bubbled up into your chest and made you wanna do a jittery shuffle. You should not have let Eric go first.

"No worries," he chirped. "Why don't we practice first?"

Yes, practice. Thank god he knew where your head was at.

You eagerly agreed, and set your golf ball up on the tee. Nervously, you smoothed your gloves down the front of your pleated golf skirt. You lined up the face of the golf club with the ball and pulled it back a millimeter—

Then chickened out.

"Performance anxiety," you grimaced to your date.

"Oh, well, that's okay!" Eric set his golf club down on the field and made his way over to you. "Can I help?"

Yes. "Please do," you chuckled, leaving room for him to take your club.

But instead, he shook his head. "No, no. You won't learn anything from just watching, silly goose."

He grabbed the golf club over your hands and lined both of your bodies up correctly. Your breath hitched at the feeling of his front pressed against your back. His mouth was so close to your ear again, and there was that damned cologne making you see hearts.

"Sorry, is this okay?" He asked softly.

You gulped, nodding. "Yeah. Perfectly okay." You wondered if he could feel your heartbeat quicken like a drum crescendoing. If he wasn't careful, your heart might just fall out and run to his arms.

From this position, Eric smoothly guided you through the steps of a perfect swing. The pullback was cranked over your shoulder, then the club would swing straight through, followed by the arc back over your other shoulder and the appropriate turn of your body. As he had explained to you, getting the perfect swing or shot in sports mostly came down to the follow through. If one could not back up their initial movement, then why make the shot?

"—and you turn your body—yeah, just like that," he praised as you automatically rotated yourself from the side to the front, the toe of your foot digging into the ground and turning with you. "That's beautiful."

He backed up from you then, giving you some space. It suddenly felt like you were missing something with him gone. "You should try it now!"

You took a deep breath in as you lined your golf club up with the ball again. Cranking the club back over your shoulder, you swung it down and back up again. When the face of the club met the ball, it did so with a resounding PING!, and the ball went sailing.

(That sound… mwah. The sweet, sweet sound of triumph.)

"You did it!"

"I did it!"

It hadn't gone as far as Eric's had, but it had definitely traveled farther than it would have without his help. You whirled to him, clasping his hand with yours as you both shared equally radiant smiles. A giddiness flooded into you, and no doubt into the glow of your face.

"See? Not too bad," he said, squeezing your hand.

"All thanks to you," you pointed out.

He shook his head, using your linked hands to lead you back to where your golf bags were waiting a little ways back by the cart. "Nah, you had it in you, Yn. It was just performance anxiety, as you said."

The two of you each grabbed your own bags and hiked them over your shoulder to head down the hill and find your respective golf balls. From this view, you could see that the other patrons of the club were slowly trickling out onto the acres surrounding. It felt strange to be here as not a staff member, but as a guest instead.

Eric piped up, "Is it weird that I was hoping you would ask for my help?"

"Not really," you mused, then meekly added, "'cause I was kind of hoping you would offer your help."

He looked about as happy as you felt, and he swung your hands together between you.

It hit you, then, that you were still holding hands. But you didn't let go, and Eric didn't say anything. He just helped you find your golf ball, line up another shot, and hugged you from behind like it was nothing.

From across the pond, Jacob, Changmin, Chanhee, and Haknyeon pulled up over the bridge. The four of them were all piled into a golf cart, and Jacob stopped it just over the crest. They all knew about where you were today and why you were dressed in proper golf attire rather than the country club uniform. They watched with wide eyes (and maybe a camera or two) as you and Eric had a good time.

"Young love," Jacob sighed fondly from his spot in the driver's seat.

"I think it's gross," Changmin giggled. He yelped, furiously rubbing the place on his shoulder that Chanhee had whacked. "Hey! I was kidding!"

Chanhee rolled his eyes. "Let them have their moment. I'm glad Yn-ie let herself have fun with him."

"They look like they're having quite the time," Haknyeon said. "They're cute."

Changmin poked his head in between Jacob and Haknyeon from the backseat. "Just a thought, but what if we turned on the sprinklers like in High School Musical 2?"

An exchange of looks, a deep consideration… "No," they all chorused. They would get their asses kicked for that.

You were on lunch break when Changmin practically crashed onto the bench next to you with a crazed look in his eyes. "You. Me. Spa. Now."

You couldn't even say goodbye to the sandwich you were eating before Changmin grabbed your arm and dragged you across the club.

"Changmin! What the hell—"

"I'll explain in a second!" He hissed back at you while ducking into the service entrance of the spa.

The backdoor led to a staff break room, where Chanhee was currently (coincidentally) seated on a stool eating a box of Pepero while watching a cartoon on his phone. The man glanced up from his phone at the loud commotion, one cheek full of his snack, and he blinked. "You're lucky I'm not with a client right now."

"Yeah, yeah," Changmin said, dragging you and a stool over to Chanhee at the same time. He pushed your shoulders so you would take a seat. Changmin placed his hands on his hips as he stood before the two of you. "You're never gonna guess what I just overheard."

"What?" You and Chanhee asked at the same time.

"Well, you know Clara?"

Chanhee jumped right in. "The one fooling around with that Brian Yang guy. He's the heir to that one corporation monopolizing SIM cards or some shit."

How the hell…?

Changmin's head bobbed vigorously. "Yes, yes! That's the one. Anyways—I was walking past the manager's office and they were talking loud enough to hear with headphones on. Apparently, Clara and Brian had a nasty, nasty split, and Brian got her fired."

Silence.

Chanhee's eyebrows flew up. "Like… fired-fired?"

A grave nod. "Fired-fired."

You held your head in your hands. "Just because of a break up?" You asked. "Clara is such a nice girl."

Your friend's lips were pressed into a line. "Doesn't mean he's a nice guy. I dunno—" he threw his hands in the air and let them flop back against his legs, "—it's fucked, man. He said it was, like, too awkward to be around her all the time since he was here all the time. And because his father is one of the stockholders of the country club, Manager Kim could do little but do his bidding."

Your heart had fallen into the pit of your stomach. Drama like this didn't really happen often here, but there was always something going on.

You always thought there were assholes here, but sometimes they just kept on reminding you of it.

"And now I'm fooling around with one of the club members," you thought aloud. The realization hit you, a golf ball to the face. "Oh my god."

Chanhee's hand came up to your shoulder and gave you a soothing, warm squeeze. "Eric seems like a good guy, Yn-ie. You never know."

"But you really never know," you murmured. There was a reason why the club discouraged romantic relations between club members and staff. Perhaps this time, it wasn't about work productivity, but about keeping your damn jobs. You needed this job. You needed it so desperately because of the money, the opportunities, the connections. Not to mention all of the people you'd befriended here… it didn't seem right that you were scared of what Eric could do to you, but reality was settling in fast.

The Sohns were a major shareholder in the club, which meant they could pull strings like tying a shoelace.

But Eric is good. He's been good, you reasoned.

Changmin crossed his arms as he leaned back against the wall behind him. "You should talk to him. At the very least, you only went on one date, so it's not like you're completely involved yet."

That was a good point. You were going to run with it.

When Eric invited you over to his house, you should have known you were about to drive your beat up sedan into the driveway of a palace, not a house. A house was for normal people, not whoever the Sohns were, you knew that much. To say you were intimidated by the massive front lawn, iron gates, and limestone arches and columns would be an understatement. Maybe you should have worn something nicer.

You pulled up to the curb of the roundabout—he'd mentioned to you that you could just park there. Apparently the garage was a little inconvenient for guests, but you weren't complaining. The front of the house was a marvel to look at, and wherever that garage was would have left you unable to fully soak in this modern wonder. Plus, you had some time to pull yourself together before seeing Eric.

The plan was… no plan, really. He wanted to hang out with you, and you'd mentioned your love for cooking. Thus, he proposed a miniature cooking class in his kitchen, along with dinner on the patio. It sounded nice. It also sounded great when you remembered what you needed to talk to him about. (Yay.)

It's not a big deal. Eric's cool.

You finally managed to trek your way up to the front door and you booped the doorbell. It was one of those loud bells that must have echoed throughout the house, because you could clearly hear it from the outside.

A couple minutes later, you heard the locking mechanism come undone. The door opened after; you swore that every time you saw this guy, you became speechless.

You had seen him in a dress shirt before, but this tank top and over-shirt thing was new. It was casual and comfortable, yet chic. His hair was styled in the same manner his clothing was—simple and so attractive. A silver chain and matching silver rings added the subtle touch of elegance to pull everything together.

"Hi," he grinned—he was always smiling, you realized. It was such a pretty smile. He stepped aside and gave you room in the doorway. "Come on in, cutie."

"Thanks for having me over," you said pleasantly, trying not to openly gawk at the front foyer with the sky-high ceiling, chandelier dripping with crystals, and grand staircase wrapping around the walls up to the indoor balcony.

He closed the door behind you as you deposited your shoes by the small rack. Eric wrapped a loose arm around your shoulder to guide you through the foyer. "Of course! I'm so excited you're here; I went out—actually no, I…" he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "ordered it off that grocery app. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for."

"Grocery app?" You laughed. "Are you talking about the stuff for dinner?"

"Yeah!"

The two of you entered the kitchen. It was a wide, open space that flowed straight into the living room. The cabinets were smooth and snow white, accented with countertops marbled with black and hints of gold. Though clean, it was a space well-loved with a recipe book left open to a lobster risotto; little candies left in a jar on the island labeled with chalk; barstools that weren't quite aligned, like they'd actually been sat on. The living room, too, was beautiful. Massive, but beautiful, with a wraparound couch sectional and a flat screen with family photos hung above it. It was framed by shelves filled to the brim with CD and DVD cases, more family photos, books, and little baubles.

And the lighting. Oh man, the natural lighting from the windows making up the entire back wall… it led out onto the acres of land his family owned, as well as a patio that overlooked the valley.

Eric had mentioned dinner on the patio. If your math was right, that meant you would probably be dining at sunset, all while overlooking a splendid view—how romantic. God, you hated how giddy you were starting to get. Those butterflies in your stomach would not cease.

"You have a really, really beautiful home," you murmured, letting him take your bag from you to place on one of the barstools.

You had always thought that big houses like this would be so difficult to fill. What was one supposed to do with so much space anyway? From the pictures on the wall, you could see Eric's parents, himself, as well as a sister who must have been out making her own mark on the world in that special Sohn kind of way. Even with just four people in this place… they still managed to make it feel like a home and not a house. It was like your own house back in your hometown, across the country. It was lived-in and warm and yours, and that was the beauty of it. And you were certain by just looking at this place that the Sohns were a family who loved each other.

How could you not believe in Eric? Not with all of this to vouch for him? He had grown up loved.

"Thank you," he said. "It's one of my favorite places to be. That's why I still haunt it like a ghost," he joked. He placed a warm hand on the small of your back and led you over to the fridge where he had put all of the grocery delivery bags in. Even the fridge was relatively stocked. "Not sure if everything I got was right, but hopefully it'll all turn out delicious anyway."

You helped him unload the bags onto the kitchen island, raising a brow at the labels on the groceries. They were on the higher end of price and quality, which definitely wasn't a problem, but holding a hundred dollar bottle of red wine just for sauce was making your anxiety levels spike. "Oh, no. It all looks great, Eric. Thanks for getting these, by the way. I would have gone out and brought them here, but—"

He waved away your worries. "You're busy and you're working. Plus, it lets me technically pay for dinner," he said with a cheeky look on his face and gesturing with a finger gun. It was cute. He was cute.

"Smooth, Sohn. I see you."

"That's what they called me in high school," he played along, dancing on his toes behind you to fiddle with his phone and turn on a speaker somewhere (you didn't know where). "Smooth Sohn."

You snorted, slapping a hand over your mouth. Eric's eyes glittered with a mutual mirth. "Whatever you say, honey."

He waltzed back over to you, tongue in cheek. "I like that better though—honey." He leaned back against the counter next to you and watched as you sorted out the ingredients in different piles depending on how they should be prepped. "So what's the plan, chef? You're the boss."

"I'd love to know where your knives and cutting boards are," you said.

He leapt into action. "Say no more!"

In reality, you did have to say more. It wasn't that Eric didn't know where everything was in the kitchen, he just wasn't as well versed in using the kitchen. He'd told you while teaching him how to hold a knife properly that he really only came in here for ramen. Good news was he could crack an egg with one hand; bad news was that was about all he could do. It was still charming, nonetheless. And the cute cooking lesson gave him plenty of opportunity to get close to you.

He had even insisted on you teaching him how to chop carrots like how he had taught you how to swing a golf club—over and around him—with your hands over his and your body wrapped around his, your chin on his shoulder.

But with dinner well past done, the two of you made your way out onto the patio just as the sun was sinking into the embrace of the valley below. It melted into the sky like a broken yolk, saturated and golden. He let you have the seat staring out into the valley. The way he looked at you though, made you feel like you were his million dollar valley view.

The table was set with twin glasses of red wine (amazing what a good wine paired with beef stew could do for the soul), plates separated by a hot stew pot, and a couple of candles for ambiance.

"Wow," he moaned as the beef melted on his tongue. "This is so good. And you're telling me you're pretty, smart, and can cook?"

You held back a giggle so you could swallow your bite. "And I'm single," you jested.

"And you're single!" He leaned his head back, eyes closed. "Thank god for that."

Eric leaned his cheek on his fist, his head cocked slightly and his eyes on you with a swoon-worthy admiration. "Thanks for coming out tonight and hanging out with me."

You could kiss him. "Please, I should be the one thanking you. It's been really fun hanging out with you." It was surreal, actually. The fact that this young heir had deemed you "worthy" or whatever to court and entertain—it wasn't like you defined your self worth by his attention and affection, but this felt nice. Your conversation with Changmin and Chanhee the other day came to the forefront of your mind.

"I, uhm, think this is a good time to ask if you wanted to do this more often? Hanging out with me, I mean."

You weren't sure if this was what you thought he was asking you. He reached for his wine glass, and in the fading sunlight and the candlelight illuminating the bashful expression on his face, your heart pounded.

"What I mean to say," he tried again after a small sip of wine, "is would you be my—"

"I think we should talk!" You cut in before you heard anymore. You were getting jittery, unable to figure out when was the right time to bring up the thing, but also, you wanted him to say his thing, and it was just a mess. But when you saw Eric's wide eyes, mouth zipped up, you repeated in a much calmer tone, "I think we should talk about something. It's not… it's not super serious or anything. I could just be overthinking."

Oh, you felt bad. He looked like a kicked puppy, but you saw him pull himself together for you. "It's—you're probably not overthinking, Yn. What's on your mind?"

The wine glass was put down. He even put his fork down.

Were you making a big deal out of this? Probably not, right? This was important, you reminded yourself. You pursed your lips. "So one of my coworkers—former coworkers," you amended, "Clara. Her name's Clara. She and this guy you might know, Brian Yang…"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know of him."

"Well, they kind of had this thing going on between them. And the other day, she was fired because they broke up and he thought it was too weird that she was working where he was hanging out all the time," you rambled on. "And I uhm, I just wanted to make sure from the get-go that… you know… it's stupid, I don't know. But it's my job, y'know? And—and I need this job, but I like you a lot, Eric. Am I making any sense?"

Neither of you were eating anymore.

You looked at him, hopelessly, searching for signs of understanding.

He leaned in slightly and reached for your hands over the table. "Yn, sweetheart," he said, lacing his fingers with yours over the pot of beef stew, "that is a valid point to bring up, and I can understand what you're probably thinking. That—that news must have been scary, or at least nerve-racking, and Brian's a dick for that—"

You nodded, swallowing.

"—and I don't want you to risk your job because of me," he said earnestly. "But I really want to see where this goes, you know? If anything happens and you don't feel the same way, then no harm, no foul. I'm not gonna take my emotions out on you like that asshole; that's not right."

The breath you had been holding in fell from your mouth, a wave of relief. A sappy, grateful sort of smile worked its way onto your mouth and you met Eric's own kind expression. "You are actually perfect," you let out a breathy laugh. "Where have you been all my life?"

He grinned. "Funny, that's what I've been thinking about you." Eric set your laced hands on the side of the table as he raised his glass to you. "So what do you say? Can we try this?"

You lifted your glass to gently clink it with his. "Let's do it."

"So he's perfect, but he hasn't kissed you yet?" Chanhee's gasp of incredulity hit you in a gust of air. His lips pursed like a penguin's beak. "Figures."

You sent him a look. "Oh, please. Figures what? He's just being… I dunno, chivalrous!"

"Chivalry is dead," Haknyeon snickered as he waltzed by you with fresh towels to lay out by the pool. "You should make the move, Yn."

"So you two are, like, dating now?" Asked Changmin as he hopped onto the tiki bar stool next to you and Chanhee. He kept on glancing down at his watch; he must have only a small break in between his dance classes today.

"They're 'seeing where things go,'" mocked Jacob with a shake of his head. He swirled a rag around the innards of a glass to dry it.

You sent them all dirty looks now. "Cobie, out of all the times you choose to be an imp—"

"An imp," Chanhee muttered, glancing away as he took a sip of his piña colada, "I'm dead."

"If it makes you feel better, Yn, I'm supervising a tennis match with him and the Lee cousins later today. I can get a feel of where his mind's at," Jacob offered.

You drummed your fingers against the bar. The offer was tempting… "It's fine," you insisted. "We don't have to rush things. We go to the same university and we live in the same city now. It's not like we don't have time… right?"

"Riiiight," Changmin drawled with an over exaggerated wink. He frowned at his watch, hopping off his stool. "Damn it, salsa class time. Catch you losers later!"

As he darted off into the distance, Chanhee sniffed. "Says the loser." He plucked the pink umbrella out of his drink and set the decoration down on his napkin. "You're not wrong, Yn-ie. Taking it slow isn't a bad thing. From what you told us, it seems like you're both on the same page now anyway."

"Thank you," you said.

"Maybe he's trying to plan a romantic moment." Haknyeon rejoined the conversation now that he had done his towel delivery.

Jacob nodded with an approving turn of his lips. "You might be onto something. He seems the type."

Your heart was fluttering as if it sprouted butterfly wings. Oh, the thought of kissing Eric Sohn in romantic lighting…

"I think you should take her back to her job before she drifts fully into La La Land." When you snapped back to reality, Jacob's eyes were twinkling, eyebrows wagging.

Haknyeon nudged you with the back of his hand and nodded up to the clubhouse. "C'mon, Yn-ie. I think Manager Kim wants to brief us on dinner service anyway."

Hours later, Jacob found himself on the tennis courts, overseeing a match between the three Lee cousins—Sangyeon, Hyunjae, and Juyeon—and Eric. He often thought it was luck that got him to land this job where all he did to pass the day was make drinks, drive golf carts, and occasionally play doubles with club members. For all that it was, he considered himself very content.

"—that was a foul," Jacob declared, jogging to go catch the tennis ball before it bounded into the bushes.

Hyunjae let out a groan. "Nooo! It hit the line. Jacob, please, I thought we were cool!"

Sangyeon shook his head, smiling as he caught the tennis ball from Jacob with his free hand. "Hyunjae, we all know your eyesight is shit."

Hyunjae wrinkled his nose. "Hey! No one asked."

"Can we take a break?" Juyeon asked, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "I think I need some water."

The boys all murmured their agreement, and Jacob reached down into the mini cooler he'd lugged out to toss them ice cold bottles of water. It was just one of the few perks that came with the club membership.

While Sangyeon and Hyunjae were bickering about eyesight and foul lines, Juyeon settled into a seat by them to referee. Eric sidled up next to Jacob as they both absentmindedly watched the chaos unfold from afar.

Jacob whistled. "So… Yn said she had a really good time with you the other night."

Eric perked up at the sound of your name. "She did? Well that's a relief to hear."

"It wasn't clear?" Jacob asked, face tilted in question. "I mean, not to completely expose her or anything, but she's been gushing about you all day, man."

A giddy smile took over the youngest Sohn's face. "She was?" He licked his lips, drawing the pad of his thumb over the corner of his mouth to catch the water that had dribbled from the bottle. "She's—she's so cute, hyung. Like, I don't know if this is weird for you because you're friends—"

Jacob coughed in amusement. "It's fine. Think of me as your guardian angel."

"Right," Eric piped up. "I think… I think we really hit it off, y'know? And I mean, she probably told you we just kind of had dinner and she had to leave, but she'd come after work, so she was probably tired and—"

Ohhh. Jacob understood exactly what was going on now. His heart warmed at the thought that Eric was being so considerate and not forcing you to stay. He was thinking about your long day, and didn't wish to prolong it anymore. Little did he know, you probably wouldn't have minded hanging around a tad longer.

"—I wanted to kiss her—"

Wait huh. Jacob tuned back in. "When?"

Eric blinked. "Uhm, at dinner. Or at least, when I was walking her out to her car." He glanced away and his smile softened at the thought. "I wish I had, actually. The moment was right there, and the lighting was perfect, and her smile—oh my god, her smile."

Jacob's eyebrows flew up to his hairline. So this was where Eric's mind was at; good to know. "Then do it—kiss her."

"Right now?"

"No! Not right now—"

"Hey, you guys ready to play again?" Juyeon called. The three Lees had already maneuvered themselves back to court.

Eric and Jacob exchanged glances. This conversation wasn't over, Jacob's look seemed to say.

They nodded to their companions, though. "Yeah, we're ready."

It did not come as a surprise to you when you found out Eric had a home theater in his basement. It was something like you'd pictured from the movies, the ones with the rows of dark leather armchairs, deep cup holders, and a giant screen and surround sound system. The foot of the theater room even had a little snack station to make popcorn, and a mini fridge stocked with drinks.

You and Eric shared the couch on the bottom floor that was big enough for the two of you. It was a random Tuesday, and you didn't have work today, so he'd suggested swinging by and hanging out with him for the day. You couldn't possibly refuse.

Eric scrolled through the movie options on the screen with the remote. "Are you sure you don't want any popcorn?" He asked you.

You shook your head. "I'm good, really. But it sounds like you want popcorn, Eric."

He caught his tongue in his smile. "Maybe."

If you weren't supposed to be watching a movie, you would have gladly curled up on that couch and stared at him for the rest of time. His jawline was enough to make a girl go mad, and the fact that he was just so sweet, too—

"How about this one?"

You snapped out of it, barely flicking your gaze back over to the screen in time to avoid him finding out that you were just blatantly staring. "Uhh, sure. I haven't seen this one, actually."

"Really? Oh my god, we have to watch it then." And so you did.

It was about halfway into the movie that you realized there was a draft coming down on you—the air conditioning in this room was awfully high, but you didn't want to say anything. You hiked your legs up onto the couch and hugged your arms, leaning back slightly against the quilt draped over the back of the couch. (How conveniently placed…)

Eric saw your movement from the corner of his eye. "You cold? We can share the blanket."

"My hero," you joked as he removed the quilt from behind your heads and draped it over your laps.

Because the article wasn't exactly miles long, you and Eric had to shift over closer to each other. Not that you were complaining. The arm and leg pressed against yours were warm, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to raise his arm and place it over the back of the couch behind you.

As you both watched the rest of the movie, you gradually let yourself lean into him, and his arm eventually fell to rest directly around your shoulders, pulling you into his side.

"I always liked the ending of this movie," Eric murmured softly to you as the credits rolled. He brushed his fingers along your arm in a warm, soothing manner. "What'd you think?"

You stayed with your head tucked onto his shoulder. "Hmm, not bad. I think they could have cut the romance though."

"Ah, I see your point," he said. "Sometimes directors just like to force it for the sake of a subplot."

"Wholeheartedly agree."

His fingers danced up to your shoulder and began playing with your hair. He pursed his lips. "Are you a fan of romance movies? That's kind of a random question, I guess."

"Not really—a random question, I mean," you said, and pulled your head off of his shoulder to face him. The thought occurred to you of how close your bodies and your faces were, sharing warmth and skin. You saw his eyes dart down away from yours for a split second. "I like romance movies. I think they restore my faith in humanity," you mused. "You?"

"I like 'em, too." He released a small exhale, an almost-shy smile etching itself onto his face. "Most of them are just… feel-good movies. They're really sweet, and I've always kind of wanted something like that."

"High standards," you whispered, though playfully. "Wouldn't we all like something from the movies?" To you, this was what the movies were like—"handsome guy sweeps girl off her feet, and he's perfect and she's happy." You were already living out your too-good-to-be-true dreams.

He laughed. "True. I think it's just a matter of waiting for the right person to come along, maybe. And following through."

You bit the bait. "Following through?"

"Backing up your initial swing," he clarified. "Something to drive the ball home and make sure you mean it. I feel like maybe that's what people forget about romance—that there's still an after, beyond happily ever after."

Wow. "Your brain," you praised. "That was actual poetry, I think. Is this how you get girls?"

He bit his lip through a smile, leaning closer. "Only one girl. I hope it's working."

"I think it's working a little too well," you admitted, voice barely audible now.

You could feel the warmth of his breath fan over your lips as he came closer, about ninety-percent of the way; the other ten percent was left for you to either push forward or pull back. He was giving you the decision on a gold platter.

And who could deny something served so beautifully?

You closed the gap between you and pressed your lips against his. It was soft, at first, as the nerves in your brain and your vital organs threatened to go haywire. You breathed him in, your noses slotting against each other. He cupped the back of your head with his free hand, the other curling around your waist.

When you broke apart, it was for a split second, until he was kissing you again. You were half in his lap at this point, your legs draped over his, your side pressed to his chest.

Foreheads pressed together, you shared a breath of air with him. He nuzzled his nose against you as if unable to be so far from you. "Be mine," he said, simple at first. Then, "Please."

You smiled against him and felt his mouth do the same. "Only if you'll be mine, too."

"As if I would say no," he laughed, leaning in again, and crushing his mouth to yours. The theater room filled with both of your giggles as you fell backward.

If this was the happily ever after, then you would gladly follow through.

a/n: to anyone who read flight risk, i just redeemed myself from valentine's day

tbz m.list

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @bless-311 @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @justalildumpling @jaerisdiction @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @outrologist @vernonburger @maessseongs @kflixnet

[luciathcv]

THE BOYZ MASTERLIST

-- guide: angst (a), fluff (f), suggestive (sg) || p.s. links are under cut!!

kim sunwoo

why do i even like him? (f)/(a)

sohn youngjae

san sebastian (f) - part one

goodbye san sebastian (f) - part two

[blossom-hwa]

haii! can i please request for the drabble game eric tbz + mafia au? thank you, by the way HAPPY 5 ANNIVERSARY!!

hey anon!! thanks so much for the request, I hope you enjoy my take on it!

5 year anniversary drabble game: send me a Stray Kids/TXT/Golden Child/Ateez/The Boyz member + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and I’ll write a drabble for you!

(been bingeing Vincenzo recently so. thank you anon for providing an outlet for some of my newfound mafia au ideas)

REQUESTS OPEN!!

~

Title: Web of Lies

Pairing: Eric x gender neutral!reader

Word count: 1.5k

Warnings: mentions of death, cursing

~

Eric opens his door at precisely 4:39 AM to a face he never thought he’d see again. 

You push past him into his apartment, shutting the door with a neat click behind you. “Good morning, Eric.”

He gapes. Stares. Vaguely he’s aware of the very unflattering condition you’ve found him in - his hair mussed from sleep, eyebags dark with exhaustion, pajamas rumpled from a restless night - but he can’t seem to process anything beyond your face in his apartment. 

“This is a dream,” he finally mutters, rubbing his eyes. “God, what the fuck -”

Quick as a flash, you pinch his upper arm. He yelps.

“Not a dream,” you snap, pulling your hand away. “You need to come with me.”

Those are the words that finally snap Eric out of his haze, his eyes narrowing as he takes a step back. “What do you mean, come with you?” he asks. “Everything is over. You made that clear as hell last time.”

Your lips thin. If Eric hadn’t known you were such an adept liar, he might actually believe the shadow that passes through your eyes, your tiny flinch as his words strike your face. 

“I thought it was over,” you say roughly, turning to his window. With two sharp swipes, you’ve shut the blinds. For a moment, Eric’s heart seizes - you’ve done this before, he’s watched you do this, it’s what you do when things need to be hidden - usually bodies -

You wouldn’t kill him. Eric tries to breathe. You wouldn’t kill him - that’s the one thing he can still trust you with. You wouldn’t. 

“People know about you.” You’ve turned back around and for the first time since you barged into his apartment, Eric realizes how tense you look, every muscle in your body poised to spring. “I don’t know how - I’m still figuring it out - but you’re in trouble, and you no longer have the protection of information that you had before to keep you alive.” 

He snorts. “It’s not as if that information kept me safe from anything.”

“No, but it kept you a hell of a lot safer than you would have been otherwise.” You take a deep breath. “Look, I know you don’t trust me -”

A laugh bursts from Eric’s lips, loud, disbelieving, not an ounce of humor in the sound. “Trust you?” he asks, shaking his head. “Yeah, you’re damn right I don’t trust you. How many lies did you tell me back then, huh? You, your friends, the other members of the mafia - you made me trust you and then systematically made sure every single fucking word of yours was suspect to the point that I couldn’t tell jack shit -”

“Eric -”

“And how many times did I nearly die because of that?” he yells. “How many times did you ditch the plan without telling me, then just fucking pray that things would turn out all right? How many times did you lie to me - for my safety, or whatever bullshit you believe - you knew I trusted no one but you, and how many times did you exploit that for yourself?”

For a long moment, neither of you speaks. Eric crosses his arms over his chest, resolutely looking anywhere but at you. 

“You’re right,” you finally say, quiet, low. Against his will, he meets your eyes. “You’re right. I exploited your trust for my gain, for the mafia’s gain. I’ve told you too many lies to count, woven them into truth to the point that it would take a miracle for you to fully trust me again. I know.” You take a deep breath, setting your jaw. “But when I left you last, I didn’t intend to come back, ever. You wanted your life. I wanted you to have it, too.”

You take a step forward. Rooted in place by your stare, Eric can’t find it in himself to step back. 

"I didn’t return without a reason,” you state. “You’re in danger again. Even if you don’t believe me, I know it’s true, and I’m not going to leave until you believe me.” Out of the corner of his eye, Eric watches your hands clench once, then release. “I’d rather that come sooner rather than later, when it’s possibly too late.”

Eric stares. Breathes. Tries to read your face even though he knows he can’t - that no matter how good he is at picking out the tells and tics of his opponents in court, he’ll never be able to see past that perfect mask of yours. It hurt then and it still hurts now, knowing he’ll never be able to know the real you, no matter how much he ever wanted to. 

Not for the first time, he wonders how he could’ve fallen in love with someone he’d never truly know. 

Shut the fuck up. His own fingers clench, nails biting into his palms. Love has no meaning - not here, not now. What he needs to focus on is the truth. 

You wouldn’t have returned without a reason. Of that much, Eric is sure. He made it abundantly clear he never wanted to see you again, and you’d stayed absent from his life for several years and counting. But still, he doesn’t understand why you’re here. Why does it matter that he’s in danger? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just ignore him, let him die at whoever’s hands he ends up in?

“Say I believe you.” Eric unclenches his hands with effort. “Say I’m actually in danger like you say. Why do you care? What does it matter to you?”

You raise an eyebrow. “So are you going to come with me?”

“Answer my questions first.”

“No.” You cross your own arms, leveling him with that stare that still intimidates and awes him all at once. “I could just as easily knock you out and take you with me that way.”

Eric scoffs. “What, now you’re threatening me?”

“You either come with me willingly and get answers, or you get a nasty lump on your head and come with me anyway,” you say, an empty smirk on your lips. “Trust me, with the mess we’re probably going to face outside, I think it would be easier for both of us if you were alert.”

He pinches his lips together. You wouldn’t have come here without a reason, and you really seem to believe that he’s in danger. You’ve also carried out every threat you leveled, so he has no doubt you’ll actually knock him out if he doesn’t agree. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”

“Fantastic. Now give me your hand.”

“Do you know what happens when people like you say give me your hand -”

You reach out and drag him forward, splaying his hand in front of him as he stumbles into your space. “You still remember how to shoot a gun, don’t you?” You put a pistol into his waiting palm, eyes questioning. 

Wordlessly, he nods. 

“Good. That’s yours.” You nod at the pistol. “I’m hoping you won’t need it, but hope is for weaklings. Let’s go.”

Eric stares at the gun, fighting the urge to vomit. He remembers you teaching him to shoot, your hands steadying his as you leveled the weapon at the target. He remembers the kickback, the sharp bang, the hundreds of times he shot and missed before he finally hit the target’s center.

He remembers killing a man for the first time, and the nausea he felt as he saw his pursuant fall to the ground, blood seeping from a hole in his head.

“Why are you doing this?” Eric whispers, unable to tear his eyes from the gun. “I - why -”

One warm hand covers his. Dumbly, Eric realizes it’s yours. 

“I know I’ve told you many lies,” you say quietly. “But there is one truth I will never betray.”

Slowly, he looks up to see you staring back at him, solid, steady. 

“I told you once that I wouldn’t let you die.”

He remembers that. A panic attack, his heart beating faster than he thought it could, panting breaths that just couldn’t get enough air, the bang of a gunshot echoing in his ears. You, holding his hands as he came back to earth, eyes trained on his. 

Eric, I am not going to let you die. 

“That wasn’t a lie. It still isn’t.” You fold his fingers around the pistol handle, force his uncooperating arm to shove it in his pocket. Your eyes bore into his, and Eric remembers once again why he fell in love with you, despite all the lies. 

“I am not going to let you die.” Your grip tightens on his wrist. “I promise.”

[hcuyk]

[ 18+ ] . . . . . . . . will the inferno rekindle?

[ OUR INFERNO ] WORD COUNT : THREAD

OUR INFERNO elaborates the complexities within a relationship—the spark, the blaze, the pain. your love with hyunjae is a never ending fire; it's something so strong, so beautiful and powerful, that it suffocates you both into believing that your relationship would last, only for it to go down in flames.

C—URRENT WOR—D . C—OUNT : 22k

please consider supporting by joining my taglist(s)!!

—-—-— i want us to experience this journey together <3

OUR INFERNO —T—AGLIST <- | -> PERM—T—AGLIST

lovely beta readers : @simpforsunwoo @stealanity @drunkdrazed @winterchimez — they own my heart

THERE WILL BE A HAECHAN VERSION AS WELL

< 4/16 > scene five (final rewrite) : 3219 : finished

< 4/16 > scene five (third draft) : 2481 : finished

< 4/15 > scene five (second draft) : 408 : discontinued

< 4/14 > scene five (first draft) : 2091 : unfinished

< 4/14 > chapter one : 19272 : posted!

< 4/12 > scene four (final rewrite) : 10261 : finished

< 4/11 > scene four (final rewrite) : 3219 : unfinished

< 4/10 > scene four (final rewrite) : 1492 : finished

< 4/9 > scene four (second rewrite) : 7485 : finished

< 4/9 > scene four (second rewrite) : 1745 : unfinished

< 4/8 > scene four (first rewrite) : 855 : discontinued

< 4/8 > scene three (final rewrite) : 3070 : finished

< 4/8 > scene three (final rewrite) : 2859 : unfinished

< 4/7 > scene four (first draft) : 1549 : finished

< 4/7 > scene three (final rewrite) : 2114 : finished

< 3/24 > scene three (first draft) : 1372 : finished

< 3/24 > scene two (final rewrite) : 2134 : finished

< 3/24 > scene two (second draft) : 1568 : finished

< 3/23 > scene two (first rewrite) : 2334 : finished

< 3/23 > scene two (first draft) : 1379 : finished

< 3/22 > scene one (revisions) : 3535 : finished

< 3/22 > scene one (final rewrite) : 3482 : finished

< 3/22 > scene one (first rewrite) : 2727 : finished

< 3/22 > scene one (first draft) : 1290 : finished

[winterchimez]

OT11 / Multiple Members 

❆ Old Tales, New Beginnings

↠ pairing: OT11 x f!reader 

↠ genre: retelling of old classics / true crime 

Lee Sangyeon 

❆ Eyes On Me (oneshot)

↠ pairing: ceo Sangyeon x employee f!reader 

↠ genre: suggestive 

❆ Summer Night City (oneshot)

↠ pairing: non-idol Sangyeon x f!reader

↠ genre: strangers to lovers au, suggestive 

❆ Redemption of Love (series) 

↠ pairing: phantom of the opera Chanhee x singer f!reader x fiancé Sangyeon

↠ genre: phantom of the opera, angst, supernatural, thriller, crime, fluff, time travel, reincarnation, major & minor character deaths, otome 

❆ A Little Care (oneshot) 🔞

↠ pairing: bf Sangyeon x f!reader

↠ genre: smut

❆ Addiction (oneshot)

↠ pairing: spy!Sangyeon x assassin f!reader (feat. police!Haknyeon)

↠ genre: spy x family au, fluff, angst, crime, crack & humour, slight thriller

❆ The Spy Who Loved Me (oneshot)

↠ pairing: 007!Sangyeon x agent f!reader

↠ genre: james bond / 007 au, spy, crime, angst, suggestive

Jacob Bae

❆ Nonsense (oneshot)

↠ pairing: senior!Jacob x junior g.n!reader 

↠ genre: fluff

❆ A Fairytale Encounter (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: prince!Jacob x f!reader (feat. bodyguard!Kevin)

↠ genre: akagami no shirayukihime au, royal au, fluff, angst, suspense, slight thriller 

Kim Younghoon

❆ loading...

Lee Hyunjae 

❆ Beast in the Beauty (series)

↠ pairing: profiler Hyunjae x detective f!reader 

↠ genre: jack the ripper au, angst, violence, thriller, crime, mentions of prostitution, graphic description of death, major characters death, alcohol, some fluff 

❆ Jealousy (oneshot)

↠ pairing: idol Hyunjae x f!reader 

↠ genre: fluff, suggestive, influence of alcohol, jealousy is a disease

❆ Read Your Mind (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: fwb Hyunjae x f!reader

↠ genre: angst, suggestive

Lee Juyeon

❆ A New Beginning With You (oneshot)

↠ pairing: ceo!Juyeon x f!reader

↠ genre: office au, ex-childhood friends to lovers, coming of age, angst, fluff 

❆ Criminal (oneshot; request) 

↠ pairing: criminal Juyeon x agent f!reader 

↠ genre: angst, crime, slight fluff 

Kevin Moon

❆ Nightmare Before Christmas (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: neighbour!Kevin x f!reader

↠ genre: horror, thriller, supernatural, crime, angst, some fluff

Choi Chanhee

❆ Redemption of Love (series)

↠ pairing: phantom of the opera Chanhee x singer f!reader x fiancé Sangyeon

↠ genre: phantom of the opera, angst, supernatural, thriller, crime, fluff, time travel, reincarnation, major & minor character deaths, otome 

Ji Changmin

❆ Lip Sync (oneshot)

↠ pairing: ex Changmin x f!reader

↠ genre: angst, suggestive

❆ Make or Break (oneshot; request)

↠ pairing: best friend Changmin x g.n!reader 

↠ genre: best friends to lovers au, fluff, some crack & humour

❆ Forbidden (oneshot; request)

↠ pairing: spy Changmin x spy f!reader

↠ genre: ex-bffs to lovers au, angst, crime, suggestive 

❆ Insanity (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: robin/joker Changmin x batgirl f!reader

↠ genre: batman au, angst, crime, thriller, some fluff, slight suggestive 

Ju Haknyeon

❆ Love Me Right (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: best friend Haknyeon x f!reader 

↠ genre: best friends to lovers au, fluff, slight angst & suggestive

Kim Sunwoo

❆ Teach Me How To Love (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: f!ckboy Sunwoo x g.n!reader 

↠ genre: suggestive

❆ Heart’s Detour (oneshot) 

↠ pairing: biker!Sunwoo x afab!reader

↠ genre: biker au, angst, crime, fluff, thriller, slight suggestive

Eric Sohn 

❆ Tornado Warnings (oneshot)

↠ pairing: fuckboy!Eric x f!reader

↠ genre: angst, suggestive, slight fluff

Misc. 

❆ 100 followers event!! 

❆ emails i can’t send fwd: (a tbz x enha series!!)

↠ collab with @heemingyu​ 

❆ the 007 files (the boyz open collab)

[ericshoney]

A night in ~ Eric Sohn (SMUT)

It was a Saturday night, you and your boyfriend Eric, decided to spend the night at home, instead of getting drunk at the local club like most weeks. The two of you were settled on the sofa, a blanket over your legs and a movie playing. Your eyes were on the screen, watching the random movie. However, Eric's were on you. You and him were both sexually active and tried many things in the bedroom, seeing what you like and didn't like. But now, as you sat in just one of his old t-shirts, his focus was on something other than the movie.

As you looked over at Eric, you saw him staring at you, a small smirk on his face. You felt your face heating up as looked at you.

"What?" You called, earning a chuckle from the male.

"Just thinking." He said.

"About?" You asked.

"How I want to fuck you right now~" He answered seductively.

You looked at your horny boyfriend, the tent in his shorts giving away how hard he already was. You smiled and turned the TV off, grabbing his hand and ran to the bedroom.

As soon as you stepped into your private room, Eric pushed you against the wall, kissing you deeply. You let out a small moan as his hand gripped your waist tightly.

"I want to fuck you so badly, want you screaming my name~" He whispered as he sucked on your neck.

"Hmm, make me~" You moaned as he found your sweet spot. Hi grip on your waist got tighter.

"I will." He growled.

You looked at Eric, the lust in his eyes, as he threw you onto your shared bed. He quickly slipped his joggers off and kissed you again. His hands reached for your top, lifting it over your head, leaving you only in a red thong.

"So beautiful~" He sang, running his hands over every curve of your body.

"Hmm, kiss me." You mumbled, pulling him down and kissing him again.

Eric smirked as you run your hand over his tight boxers, his hard dick ready to spring free.

"What do you want baby~" He called, slipping out of his shirt.

"You in me." You said.

Eric chuckled and kissed from your neck down your chest to your wet core. Your thong was soaked already. He tugged it off, throwing it behind him. He leaned down again, his lips hovering over yours.

"You'll have to beg princess~" He whispered, running a finger over your folds.

"Hmm." You moaned softly.

"What do you want baby." He said again.

"Fuck me." You begged, looking at him with lust filled eyes. He kissed you once more before slipping his boxers off.

"Anything for my girl." He said.

Eric lined himself and gently pushed into you, stretching you out to make himself fit. You both moaned at the feeling. You wrapped your arms around his neck, his mouth next to your ear.

"It's okay my baby, I'm here~" He cooed gently.

"Hmm...fu-fuck me. Now." You whimpered, his hips already moving gently.

Eric kissed you again as he picked up a rhythm, pleasure being the only thing you felt. He rested his forehead against yours, a thin layer of sweat on your bodies. As the need got closer, Eric picked up the pace, fucking you quicker, making you moan louder.

"Hmm baby...g-gotta cum." He moaned, his dick twitching in you.

"In, please E-Eric cum in me!" You screamed in pleasure, your body arching to get more, get him deeper.

"Fuck." Eric cursed as he came hard, his legs shaking slightly as he rocked his hips in you still, pushing him cum deeper.

You moaned and came a few seconds later, your body shaking in pleasure. You smile up at Eric, who was still buried deep in your pussy.

"More my princess?" He asked sweetly.

"Yes more please." You answered.

Eric smirked and rocked his hips hard, making you gasp and him chuckle, "So much more my girl~"

You knew your Saturday night was going to be much more fun now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where can I get an eric? 😅