#idolproducerthings

[itshyejung]

Slam Dunk - Cai Xukun

Type: Scenario

(Not gonna do genres bc tbh idk how to categorize my scenarios? I guess they’re fluff I mean they’re not rly angsty and def not smut so... just cute? Who even knows lmao)

Characters: Nine Percent Cai Xukun x you

(Pics are edited by me so pls give credit. Scenarios are not requested, I came up with all these a long time ago but never really shared them publicly, so hope you guys enjoy! I tried to be creative with each scenario and not do super cliche or boring ones but I think all of them are still kinda cliche lmao...)

You didn’t know what it was that the coaches always saw in you, but you seemed to be some sort of prodigy in their eyes. You played basketball freely, not to impress anyone or be the best. You just wanted to be yourself and basketball made you feel this way. The coaches called it potential. You argued there were better players on the team, but in reality you were like a teacher to them. Each day your teammate friends would ask you to teach them how to shoot like you did. You’d just roll your eyes at them and smile. “As long as you can shoot your own way, you’re fine,” you joked.

However, you decided basketball was especially important to you. It could help you consider scholarships and even score them. It could help you with hand-eye coordination, and planning and organization, teamwork, agility, stamina, strength, and much, much more. Basketball gave you your personality: tough but clean, just like a slam dunk that passed through the hoop with nothing but net, not even brushing the rim. And you were especially good at those.

It was no surprise to you that you had made the tryouts for the girls’ high school varsity basketball team. However, you never imagined you’d be captain. You were only a sophomore, and by the school’s sports team rules, only seniors could be captain. But no one else objected. You wondered to yourself how you could possibly play better than one of those intimidating seniors. Scary.

Coach Liu started practice right away. You quickly kept up with the drills the seniors and juniors were participating in. You had thought the varsity team would have much more difficult challenges, but you felt familiarity and at home even on a new court. You felt excited to play your first game in the upcoming preliminaries, even if it was sort of far way. It was the perfect time to improve your skills.

After a few weeks of practice, you realized that you collaborated well with the juniors and seniors and they often passed you the ball to slam dunk. You often took free throws and arched the ball beautifully towards the basket from the three-point line. Honestly, you could play just about any position. And you had fun with your teammates.

At the end of practice one day, Coach Liu called you over to her office, so you suspected something was wrong. However, what she had to say surprised you.

You pushed open the door to her office quietly, not wanting to draw a lot of attention in case your teammates might overhear the conversation, and sat in front of her desk voluntarily, waiting for her to finish upon a phone call. You couldn’t help but stare at the many championship awards that filled her walls and siplay case. Her very first had been when she was only four years old, which shocked you. You hadn’t thought of playing basketball until you were maybe seven or eight years old, and here was a child basketball prodigy. No wonder she was the coach of a team like this. You saw that she had wirtten “Goal: three-timing girls’ high school champ” on her yellow notepad and instantly worries began filling your head. You had heard that this school’s team was insanely good, so you wanted to help Coach keep that reputation. Maybe she wanted to move you to junior varsity after all…

“Thanks for waiting,” Coach Liu clicked the phone into place and turned in her chair to face you. “I’ve rarely met with any of the varsity teammates individually before, so I hope you’re prepared for the important news I’m going to share with you.”

You nodded. “Of course.”

“I see youv’e noticed my goals sheet.” Coach Liu pointed to the yellow notepad you were staring at earlier. You gulped, hoping it was inaudible. You had just started on the team and now was going to get bumped down. “I’ve only written one for girls, as you can tell.”

Wait, what was she suggesting?

“You see, even with larger amounts of practice, the boys’ varsity team cannot withstand a good enough reputation. Some people wonder just what is going on at our school, although they respect our girls’ varsity team a lot. And through all my years of coaching, I don’t think I’ve seen one person as dedicated to basketball individually as you. So I decided to offer you the job of being the manager of the boys’ varsity team this year. Would you like to?”

Wait, what was she suggesting?

Your mind went blank for a moment. You, a sophomre who just got on the varsity team, now becoming the manager of the boys’ varsity team? Wasn’t this a bit too much? You were dumbfounded by her question for quite a while. But you thought about it a lot. You thought about what the upsides and downsides were. Downsides: not enough time to practice for your own team, not enough experience to lead them well, distracting, etc. Upsides: well, you thought maybe you could learn a few things from their mistakes and methods. Perhaps they had trouble with things that you didn’t, so you could challenge yourself into helping them on different measures.

Coach Liu’s voice cleared your thoughts for you as she patiently asked again, “Have you decided?”

You rotated your thumbs in your lap for a bit before answering uncertainly, “Yeah, I’ll take the job.”

Coach Liu clapped her hands together. “Great! I’ll let their coach know.”

You left her office in confusion. What had you just agreed to? Well, there was no turning back. You headed towards the gymnasium to begin your job. The boys team practiced right after the girls team, and today was tryouts day. You couldn’t miss the very first day as manager.

“The manager is here, boys.” The coach’s voice was different from what you thought. The attitude was also different. It didn’t feel like basketball. It felt like boot camp. The boys looked like zombies. Well, except for this one boy… who was he? He had an aura completely different from the other guys on the court. HIs attitude towards basketball impressed you, and considering how others thought of you on the court, it was a rare feeling you got. It seemed like he was also one who worried about his own improvements and not what anyone else did. The more you watched him behind your clipboard, the more you thought he was just like you.

After Coach Han introduced you to the team, there were many surprised faces. Of course, they thought “How could a girl be the manager of our team?” Some faces looked embarrassed that they needed a girl to manage them; they knew they sucked like crap. Some looked like they didn’t care at all. You stepped up confidently.

“Well, sorry you guys have to do this after practice, but we’ll begin tryouts right away,” you said clearly and loudly, scanning the line of boys standing in front of you uncertainly. “First, we’ll begin with a simple lay-up line. I’m sure you’re all educated enough to know whta a lay-up is, right? Let’s start.”

The boys swiftly went through a lay-up line, but it still looked awkward. You jotted down some quick notes that came into your mind while Coach Han barked at them. You drew diagrams of their body structures as they ran through the other drills and analzyed the levels of their strength and stamina. Some were fit for basketball and some needed more work. You also drew a game plan and a line-up for starters, which Coach Han approved of. He wrote down who had qualified for first, second, and third lines. At the end of practice, you read them aloud.

“First liners, also starters for line up.” You announced the names one by one. “Cai Xukun,” you concluded. It was that new boy you had spotted earlier, the male version of you. You were a little surprised, but you half smiled in his direction. He returne d it with a full smile, and bright, sparkling eyes. You looked away and said, “Now for second line.”

Cai Xukun. He was definitely a player who was going to be hard to forget.

_______________________________________________________________________

You didn’t know exactly what being manager of a basketball team meant, but it sure took up a lot of your time, especially since now you kind of had to work harder towards your own team. You felt your skills slowly dying, you felt the joy and freedom of playing basketball slipping away. You didn’t know what had gone wrong the past few days, but it didn’t seem right.

Dejected, you stayed on the court after practice on day trying to land your three-pointers. A square basket of balls sat next to you, and you grabbed them hurriedly, aching to shoot a perfect three-pointer. None of the balls you shot touched net, only rim. You were shocked. Where had your ability to play basketball gone? You had never lost it, always practicing with your father, the coach of the state boys’ basketball team, and your brother, who was part of the state team. What had happened?

Confused, you picked up allt he balls on the floor, but there were just too many to hold in your arms. All the sad-looking balls on the floor represented all of your failures, it seemed, even the failure to pick them all up. A few dropped from your arms, reminding you of how your heart and mood had dropped recently. You tossed the balls back into the basket that held them and decided to start again. After all, you weren’t the type to give up before at least a good couple baskets were made.

As you shot over and over again, another shadow was watching you from outside, leaning neatly against the frame of the gym doors, with a slight smile playing on the lips, watching you carefully with pretty eyes.

One of the balls that bounced off the rim threatened to roll out the gym doors, but was stopped by a rather large foot. Surprised that there was someone else in the gym at this hour, you looked up in confusion only to find Cai Xukun of the boys’ varsity team staring back at you with tthat same smile.

“Hey there, Ms. Manager,” he grinned. “I’m Xukun.”

You sighed a little and smiled back, worries running through your head. Had he seen you practice? Had he seen your terrible shots? “Of course I know you, Mr. First Liner. You did awesome at tryouts.” 

“Thanks,” he nodded. “Stuck?”

You sucked in your breath. You hated admitting failure, but nevertheless you had to be honest. “Yeah, a bit. But it’s probably just a phase. It’ll pass before the International Cup quarterfinals.”

“Oh, you guys qualified? That’s great.”

“Thanks. I better brush up on my skills by then.”

“Don’t worry, you will.” Pause. He shook some of his white-blonde hair out of his eyes. “I could practice with you.”

You hesitated. Someone like him, with someone like you? Well, in a sense, it worked extremely well. Besdies, wasn’t his style of basketball just like yours? What was there to worry about, really?

“Umm, that would be really helpful, thank you.”

His eyes crinkled cutely as he grinned, and he walked over to the basket of balls with a super subtle bounce in his step. He carefully chose a ball and turned it over in his hands a couple of times, as if seeing it for the first time. After a lot of blinking, he turned to you and tossed it in a perfect arc. You caught it easily, but was surprised at how much better you felt already, and how much more of your confidence had come back. 

“Try shooting your three-pointers again, only this time, shape your fingers a little more in the direction of the ball, and have more bounce in your motions. Also, turn your head slightly towards the left a bit,” Xukun instructed you, becoming serious. You had never tried anything new before, besides your own style of basketball, but this wasn’t the time to argue. 

You stepped up to the three-point line once again, feeling weird. It was like you had a new attitude towards basketball: to be successful together with your team. Of course you knew teamwork was important, but you had never thought of it much more than a methodology of passing the ball around. You made most of the shots yourself. But now, you wanted to change that. You wore your confidence once again and took a shot.

_______________________________________________________________________

Quarterfinals went by fast, as did semifinals. You were surprised by the level of basketball the high schoolers at first, but soon it was the day for finals, which went more or less like this: 

Secretly nervous, you jumped for the tip-off as the game started. Arching your fingers a bit more just like how Xukun taught you, they grazed the ball just barely ahead of the opposing team, and you were able to obtain it. Looking around quickly, you bounce-passed it to your teammate and ran ahead towards your basket, weaving easily through the maze of defenders that stood before you. Doing your best to dodge the defender that was tight against you, your eyes watched the ball travel back and forth like a hawk until it landed in your hands again.

You tossed the ball over your head up towards the basket. Easy two-pointer.

The game progressed quickly but also with a high level of difficulty. The team had also been a hard rival of your school last year, so you weren’t about to let them get away with their revenge plot. 

At the end of the fourt quarter, the score became 141 to 98. You had crushed them.

After being engulfed by your teammates and coming close to suffocating in them, but somewhat still giddy with joy, you heard a roar of shouting coming towards you and turned around in shock, meeting the eyes of the boys’ varsity team. You didn’t know they’d come in quietly and sat in the middle of the bleachers to get a good view of the game.

“Well, what’d I tell you? Wasn’t this a good experience after all?” Coach Liu asked, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“Yeah, I really have to thank you. You helped me change my perspective on basketball to something more positive.” 

“I’m glad! Keep it up. I think some guys want to talk to you,” she winked. I groaned as she walked away.

You were surprised by how many compliments you recieved from the boys’ team. In fact, they went further into the fact that they really enjoyed having you as a manager because you really improved the team, and they had reached semifinals in the International Cup, which was far, far ahead from where they ended up last year. And the entire time, your smile did not diminish.

Especially when it met one just like it, belonging to Cai Xukun. It was beautiful. You thought back to all those months you had practiced with him, hung out with not only at classes in school but also out in town, walking your dogs to the park, or playing basketball with your father and brother. And you realized that Xukun was actually an important part of your basketball career.

“Hey, I realized something, Ms. Manager. When it comes to basketball, you really are at the center of my heart,” he said to you, trying to ignore the whoops of his teammates behind him.

You laughed nervously, groaning internally at the pun but responding with one of your own. “Well, I guess I’ll have to manage as best as I can with that.”

You both laughed, his tinkling pretty, yours sounding more like hiccups. Yikes.

“Your laugh is cute,” he said, not even blushing. “Ever since you’ve been our basketball manager, I’ve been watching you, because you seemed different from the other girls. I was right; your style of basketball is similar to mine: free.”

“It’s funny,” you said, your smile getting bigger. “I was actually doing the same thing.”

“Guess that means we were meant for each other,” he said nonchalantly. “So, will I see you at our final game?” He held out his hand as if wanting to shake on it.

“Yeah. Definitely.” You laughed and nodded, grabbing his hand in a handshake but feeling your heartbeat skip for a second as he had other thoughts, intertwining his fingers with yours and pulling you closer to him.

It was interesting; the both of you, who had never really held anything other than a bumpy, rock-hard basketball, felt the rough calluses on your palms but also a deeper, softer feeling. Basketball never felt so good. 

[itshyejung]

“I go through every day by your side knowing I can never have you.” -Zhu Zhengting

[itshyejung]

“I’d rather view beautiful things up close, especially you.” -Wang Ziyi

[itshyejung]

Coffeehouse Angel - Zhu Zhengting

Type: Scenario

(Not gonna do genres bc tbh idk how to categorize my scenarios? I guess they’re fluff I mean they’re not rly angsty and def not smut so... just cute? Who even knows lmao)

Characters: Nine Percent Zhu Zhengting x you

(Pics are edited by me so pls give credit. Scenarios are not requested, I came up with all these a long time ago but never really shared them publicly, so hope you guys enjoy! I tried to be creative with each scenario and not do super cliche or boring ones but I think all of them are still kinda cliche lmao...)

P.S Sorry if there are any typos on the last two and this one! 

The crowded counterspace was so small, it was uncomfortable to breathe in the area especially when your co-worker, Zhu Zhengting, was always squishing behind you to get around you as you rang up customers’ orders. The satisfying sound of steaming coffee falling into a cup made you realx as Zhengting’s quick and skillful hands expertly mixed a raspberry mocha for the tall lady in a red leather coat. You adjusted the hat you wore on your head and wiped off a bit of sweat before turning on your super smile for the next customer in line. Your hands worked quickly at the cash register, occasionally glancing to the side to see if Zhengting was squeezing by. You made sure to let him have plenty of space when he would. You blushed insanely at the thought of bumping rear ends, so. you were carefuly to make sure it wouldn’t happen. Little did you know of Zhengting’s expression on the other side, secretly smiling at the way you cutely tried to move out of his way. But, he thought, a little skinship wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

“Oh it’s 9:30am. Position switch,” Zhengting noted as he glanced at the small clock on the left wall of the shop. You nodded and traded places with him, ashamed at the fact that you would now have to openly perform your coffeemaking skills, which weren’t nearly as skillful and exciting as Zhengting’s. You also kind of enived the way he confidently took over your job. Your boss had told you that you were better suited for cashier management and customer service, but as Zhengting has been working here longer than you had, he obviously had more experience and was good at just about everything.

You rubbed your hands together, untied and retied your apron, and set your elbows on top of the coffee machine as you waited for Zhengting to call orders out to you. From there, you got a nice view of his straight back and long fingers, handling cash just as expertly as you did and typing away on the touch screen of the cash register. However, he seemed to handle everything with ease, unlike the way you had scurried around, handing a pile of orders to him, shuffling left and right, and fingers shakily typing out orders onto the touch screen that you sometimes made typos (no one saw, so that was okay, right?). 

“Hey. Are you listening?” Zhengting’s large hand waved in front of your face rapidly as the customers in line laughed. “I know I’m good looking, but if you stare too long, you might lose your job.”

You flushed madly, which Zhengting smiled cutely at. He thought you were generally pretty, but prettiest when you were modest. He had a strong attraction to girls who were just the way they were, not hidden under layers of disguise that supposedly made them “pretty” but rather, he liked the pretty nature of them. He thought the best kind of person was one who always stayed their true self, and sometimes they were crazy or weird, and it entertained him to meet those people. He was very outgoing in meeting all kinds of people, and one of the reasons he liked working at a coffee shop was because it also amused him to see all the slack faces of people who were having shitty days, desperate for a kick of caffeine to wake them up. 

You hastily yanked down on a lever on the coffee machine to fill up one of the styrofoam cups. The calm brown liquid flowed into the bottom of the cup and pooled to fill the container. Just like how many people like the sound of rushing or running water, the sound of coffee hitting the bottom of a cup calmed you the same way. You quickly capped the cup after it was filled and handed the steaming beverage to the customer. A few coins fell from his hand into the glass jar on the side of the counter.

“Thank you, sir!” you waved at him as he stepped out of the coffeeshop, the bell on top of the door jingling as it swung open and closed.

You shook the glass jar a bit to loosen up the coins inside. This week, you and Zhengting had collected a good amount of tips. Not great, but what would you expect? Indeed you were an amateur. Seventy-five percent of those tips were probably the college girls going crazy over how cute Zhengting was. He looked like an adorable little mouse or cat with really fluffy fur.

“Seriously, if you’re going to keep doing that, I’m going to have to go work back there.” Zhengting pointed towards the back kitchen, where a few cooks worked making orders for people who had stopped by for a bite. Although it was mostly known for coffee, the shop was also partially a cafe where you could dine in. “And I’d be washing dishes. Now, I don’t want to do that, with you out here having all the fun, right?” He pushed on your forehead gently with two fingers. “Focus.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, boss.”

The day rolled by quickly, but you were kept busy for the rest of the day and surprisingly rarely thought about Zhengting as you served sandwiches and handled to-go customers who pulled up at the window. “I think it’s your turn to wipe down tables,” Zhengting said to you as you flipped over the sign on the front door.

“Right.” You walked over to the small calendar that hung off a pushpin in the wall. “It says ‘JUNGJUNG’ in giant letters. And obviously my name is not Jungjung.”

“Ugh, I hate going by that nickname,” Zhengting groaned. “And contrary to wait it says, it’s actually your turn anyways. Boss said so, because he saw you staring off ‘into space’ during work today.”

“Whaaaaaat,” you tried not to blush at how he had sarcastically covered up what (or who) you were actually staring at. “Alright, I guess this makes up for that then,” you sighed, and headed to the kitchen to grab the dish towel. You and Zhengting both detested wiping the gunk off the tables. The cookies and muffins many people requested for were especially crumbly, and there were messes all over the tables. You tied your apron tighter around your waist and began wiping the crumbs off the table, sweeping them onto the floor which you would later make Zhengting sweep up. You wiped ugly, sticky smudges of coffee off the tabletops, secretly making faces at them.

Meanwhile, Zhengting hid his smile behind his hand. Actually, the boss had never spoken a word of what he’d just told you to him. In fact, it was 100% true to say that Zhengting loved watching you work, especially when you wiped off tables. It wasn’t that he was a pervert who just liked staring at nice asses, definitely not. He especially liked your figure from the back. He thought that even your derpiest moments were done with at least some beauty and grace; you just looked beautiful to him. And he loved viewing your hard-working self from a distance, where you were completely clueless about it. After all, anything pretty should be looked at from a distance. You didn’t suspect a thing, just begrudgingly worked at making each table spotless. When you were done, you wiped sweat off your forehead with the backs of your hands and threw the towel at Zhengting, who caught it perfectly in the center of his chest.

“Whoa there, calm down. Hey, if you’re mad about wiping down twice in a row, I’ll take it tomorrow and the day after. Coffee?” Zhengting held out a hot cup of the liquid as you approached the counter, fingers already fumbling to untie the knot on the back of your apron. You folded it up neatly and hung it on your apron hook.

“Don’t mind if I do,” you grinned, accepting it halfheartedly. To be honest, all you wanted to do was go home and sleep all day, every day. Yet something about Zhengting’s attitude and personality made you stay later than your shift every night. Perhaps it was the way he joked humorously, but then was sincere at other times. Maybe it was the way he had voluntarily taught you all that he’d learned working here so that you wouldn’t be behind all the other employees. Or maybe it was because he had been the one that proposed the idea of “coffee dates” each night.

It wasn’t that you two were dating or anything. In fact, you’d never thought of him as more than a best friend and a long time co-worker. However, you didn’t think you’d rather have a coffee date with anyone else other than Zhengting. You enjoyed these a lot because they were especially refreshing after a tiring and long work day. They definitely stretched longer than the amount of time you’d been scheduled for. Three hours a day felt like three years. Besides, there was something about Zhengting’s smiling face that always left you relaxed at the end of the day.

“School’s ending pretty quickly, don’t you think? Soon all of us seniors will move onto uni,” Zhengting suddenly brought up, staring out the window while propping himself up against the counter. He gulped down a big sip of his coffee. You swirled your own raspberry mocha in your cup absentmindedly. There was something eating at the back of your mind that you didn’t really have the heart to tell Zhengting. However, it was not something you could avoid.

“It has been a pretty fast year,” you agreed, finally consuming a bit of your coffee. “Sometimes I wonder if everything really happened that fast or if I’m just terrible at paying attention.”

“Worried?” Zhengting grinned. “Don’t worry, star student. Didn’t you tell me you sent a lot of college applications out? I bet all of them are going to fight over you.”

Heat flushed through you and colored your cheeks warm. “Don’t say that,” you brushed it off. “I haven’t gotten any letters yet. Where are you planning on going to college?”

Zhengting’s head snapped up to look at you and grinned when he caught you off guard. Returning his gaze outside, he said, “I just applied for the local university. Nothing too extravagant. I think staying here will be just find for me.”

You nodded in understanding. “The safer choice, of course.”

“Are you saying I’m not a risk taker?”

“W-what? No… well, it’s not that it makes me one, obviously…” 

“I think asking you to prom was probably the biggest risk I ever took,” Zhengting made a face and downed the rest of his drink, tossing the empty cup into the trash can with a loud clutter. “Don’t you think?”

You set your cup down with a clunk as you thought back to the clumsy but fun mess that night had been. “You punk! I’m not as difficult as you are to deal with!”

“Perhaps not, but you have to agree that I’m better at dancing.”

Aish, this kid. You grabbed a bunch of his coffee-brown locks in one hand and dragged his towering head to your eye level. “Say one more word and you won’t be able to dance anymore, you got it?”

“Ouch! The f-” Zhengting began, trying to yank his hair out of your grasp. Then his gummy smile suddenly returned. “Yes, ma’am.”

Your stomach was full of hot coffee but you weren’t ready to leave yet. Although Zhengting was an annoying kid a lot of the time, you had to admit you had a lot more fun if he was around. You two had somehow become close a long time ago when you had been swinging int he backyard. A grubby, sweaty little brown-haired kid barreled through, trying to keep a slippery frog in his grasp. You had jumped off the swing and joined him in the chase, always seeking adventure.

“Do you think… that Seoul University will accept me?” you wondered aloud as Zhengting watched you carefully. There. You had said it aloud, but unbeknownst to you, he had long ago known about your desires to study in South Korea. He was your childhood best friend, after all.

“Idiot.” Zhengting pressed two of his fingers to your forehead again and pushed gently. You feigned pain and flopped down on the counter. “You know smartasses like you will get in. You just wanted to rub it in my face.”

“That hurt!” you complained, but was secretly grateful that Zhengting supported you and gave you encouraging words, even if it was in a rough way.

“Ah, true love always does, doesn’t it?” Zhengting joked nonchalantly, but his cheeks flamed up at what he’d just said.

You choked. “Whoa, where’d that come from?”

“I was just thinking.” Zhengting dragged his finger around on the counter and said nothing more. You looked at him funny and then proceeded to finish your coffee as if nothing had happened.

“That’s never a good thing for you,” you joked back.

“Yah! Your smartass is showing too much!”

“Or maybe it’s because you’re too much of a dumbass.”

“Ugh, forget this. I’m going home.” Zhengting laughed a little and swiped your car keys from you, pretending to head off with them.

“What about me, you inconsiderate punk?” You jumped on his back and yanked his arm down, desperately prying athis fingers. What was with him today?

“There! Now I really get to go home.” You smiled triumphantly, walking out of the door with a huge new ego.

Zhengting just chuckled and turned off the lights, locking the doors before heading home himself. It was true, he loved annoying you. But he loved it more when he made you smile.

_______________________________________________________________________

You couldn’t help it. Your smile would just not disappear. It had to be completely normal, right? How could one’s smile disappear when they had received an acceptance letter from Seoul University as a foreigner? You almost jumped out your bedroom window, wanting to show Zhengting the letter, but miraculously refrained from pitching yourself out 50 ft into the air onto gravel down below and waited with close to no patience until your shift had started.

At five o’clock in the morning, you raced to the coffeeshop with more speed than you had ever run in gym class and probably more speed than you will ever run in a zombi apocalypse and burst into the staff room, banging the door so loudly that it ricocheted and almost hit you back in the face.

“ZHENGTING!” you yelled, jumping on him again.

“Whoa there, tiger. Calm the hell down. Did you get into Seoul U or something?”

“See for yourself!” You shoved the envelope in his face excitedly.

“I can’t see anything,” Zhengting said in a muffled voice. “Lemme see this.” He tore the envelope from your hand.

“Don’t crinkle it!”

“I’m guessing you got in then,” Zhengting smiled genuinely and opened the envelope carefully, skimming over the letter and stopping at the last sentence. “You smartass. I knew you would make it.” He ruffled your hair affectionately, but it ended up looking like a wild bird’s nest.

“Yah! You-” you protested, trying to fix your hair. “So this is how you congratulate me?”

“I’m proud of you, smartass. Let’s get back to work,” Zhengting winked.

You smiled at him, knowing that he was sincerely happy for you. You two had been friends for years, so of course you could read that on his face. However, you could also hint that there was a bit of disappointment on his face. What could he possibly be worrying about? Did he not get into the college he wanted? You dismissed it temporarily and stepped out the doors feeling more confident and ready for work than you had ever been in your career there. You made sure to give your absolute best in customer service today, and even surprised yourself when you volunteered to wipe down tables and wash the dishes.

Zhengting watched you with a longing expression. He knew this would be one of the last moments he would ever get to spend with you before you left for Seoul. You didn’t know that he would miss you so much he would never have the same work attitude again just because you weren’t there. Zhengting watched you nonchalantly wipe down the tables and hum a familiar tune, admiring your figure for the last time and making sure to remember it forever. He had wanted to confess to you soon, but apparently “soon” wasn’t soon enough. Now you were leaving even sooner.

You lazily dragged the towel across the countertop when you were finished and proceeded to head back into the kitchen to start washing the dishes. As this was probably your last day here, you wanted to be of as much help as you could to the coffeeshop you loved working in so much, mainly because of Zhengting. You admit that you had to thank him in the first place for giving you such great memories throughout your childhood.

If it weren’t for him, you might not have even gotten a job here. And finally the feeling of missing him terribly slapped you in the face. How could you have been so blind? You were so excited about getting into the school of your choice that you had completely forgotten about the reason why you had the confidence and the potential to be accepted into such a school: Zhu Zhengting. You shook your head in disbelief.

“Hey.” Zhengting pushed a small styrofoam cup your way. The last coffee date you’d ever have with him was beginning, and somehow you wished it would never end. You smiled and picked it up, suddenly feeling silly for wanted to keep the cup as a memory to reminisce the days you’d worked here.

“Thanks.”

“And I have something else for you too.” He drew out a box from behind his back and slid it across the counter towards you. Surprised, you turned over the box in your hands a couple of times.

“What’s this for?” You unlocked the clasp that locked the box together and found yourself looking at something you knew would touch your heart forever.

“Remember this?” Zhengting smiled the instantly he saw you smile at the pair of star earrings that used to belong to your mother. Perhaps she had gone off with another man ever since the divorce, but you knew that she never forgot about you. She’d left those earrings just for you, but then a month later you had lost them and gone to Zhengting to cry about it. This was when you were ten years old. Now you had to confess that you’d never really thought about them again. You’d never expect that they would turn up again, much less in the hands of Zhengting.

“But how did you get these?” you asked him, closing the box finally.

“I have my secrets,” he said slyly.

You were confused at his sudden generosity. Zhengting had always been one to play around, throw around a couple of jokes, and tease you in every possible way he could. For him to be this sincere was a completely different image to you. For the first time since the two of you had been friends, you saw Zhengting as other than just the little kid who used to push you on the swings in the neighborhood playground every day. You saw him as someone who had really matured and grown up.

“What are you staring at?” Zhengting wondered in amusement.

“You- uh, I mean thank you, Zhengting. I definitely won’t lose these ever again, and I’ll wear them all the time in Seoul.” You just smiled back at him, refusing to admit that he looked different to you now. How could he possibly have known where your mom kept her valuable things even after she died if he wasn’t interested in it, and how was he that dedicated to find those for you? And for what reasons?

_______________________________________________________________________

It had been a year since you’d moved out of the country for Seoul University. She really left. The idea had hit him harder than a car accident probably would. Without you, working at the coffeeshop had obviously never been the same.

Zhengting didn’t really pay attention to the shifts of new co-workers that came in and out to replace you over the past year. He hid his friendly, outgoing self with a more modest mask. As he turned over the dirtied “Open/Close” sign on the door one night, the new co-worker began wiping down tables.

He knew that she, too, was one who had feelings for him but he ignored that fact. Even the way she wiped down the tables was not as appealing to him as the way you had done it. It was a whole other level of missing somebody that he had. He missed the way you and him always had soap fights when washing dishes. He missed the way you always walked into work with a smile on your face and kept it that way as you handled customer service. He missed the way your beautiful, long fingers tapped on the touch-screen cash register.

He missed coffee dates with you.

He knew it was against the rules to suddenly pull out his phone during work, but his fingers were itching to get in contact with you again. He’d done the same only a few days after you left, remembering that he had worried about seeming desperate since you didn’t know about his silly crush on you still.

You hadn’t had the chance to come back over the holidays you’d had that year, and he was even more devastated but generously understood how busy you were. You were studying at one of the top universities in eastern Asia. Just as he was opening the chat you guys had, the co-worker called out, “I’ll be going, Jungjung!” 

Zhengting didn’t even look up at his subtley rolled his eyes while she hung up the towel. “Can you please not call me that?” Ever since you used to scribble his weird nickname on the schedule, all the other workers had seen it as well and loved to tease him. But he’d only allow you to call him that. “Just call me Zhengting.”

“Okay,” she said, not seeming to pay any attention to what he’d just said. Zhengting sighed as she finally left the shop.

He walked to the counter where you two always had your coffee dates. Something was different about the counter. Although it was pretty much empty, he saw on the end of the counter that there was a small green box sitting there, with one of the shop’s lights shining on it like a spotlight on a main actor in a play. Curious, he reached for the box and almost made a noise of surprise when he saw his name on the back.

“This must be a gift from the boss for all the hard work I’ve done,” he jokingly praised himself. 

With hesitant fingers, he untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. Surprised, he found a silver and bronze chain, the kind he had always wanted to attach to his black pants. He couldn’t think of anyone who could’ve possibly known that he had wanted it, except…

His fingers hit something papery at the bottom of the box. His eyes breezed over the words and his breath caught in his throat as he read the words over and over again, feeling that what was happening now was completely unbelievable. He looked around quickly, but as usual, he was the only worker left in the shop. Suddenly, a sliding sound across the counter startled him. A cup of his favorite espresso was being pushed towards him. As the familiar smell met his nose, his smile brightened.

He pushed himself up onto the counter and peered at the person crouched below the counter, trying to hide herself. “You’re finally back.”

Zhu Zhengting,

First, I apologize for not acknowledging your feelings earlier. I think I knew in myself that I had those feelings for you as well. At first, Seoul University seemed like a good idea. But as I went through this past year, I found that I didn’t really enjoy studying far away from you after all. I haven’t been doing too well because of being homesick. If I can’t be where you are, I don’t think I would be able to live my life very well. So I transferred to Anhui University, where we can be reunited again. I chose to come back to you, because I love you. I hope you’re not disappointed in me.

Zhengting felt your beautiful, long fingers against his broad back as he engulfed you in the biggest bear hug he could ever give someone. When he breathed in your scent, it was just like waking up and smelling the coffee. 

[itshyejung]

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not - Chen Linong

Type: Scenario

(Not gonna do genres bc tbh idk how to categorize my scenarios? I guess they’re fluff I mean they’re not rly angsty and def not smut so... just cute? Who even knows lmao)

Characters: Nine Percent Chen Linong x you

(Pics are edited by me so pls give credit. Scenarios are not requested, I came up with all these a long time ago but never really shared them publicly, so hope you guys enjoy! I tried to be creative with each scenario and not do super cliche or boring ones but I think all of them are still kinda cliche lmao...)

The florist’s had never been so busy before, but here you were hauling in boxes and boxes of flower orders your aunt had just placed to keep the stocks up in the shop. There was a large truck in the back parking lot that was filled with many floral arrangements. How many did your aunt even order? Too many to count. There was barely any room left at the display windows, so you had no choice but to push them towards the counter, where they almost crowded the cash register. You would have to deal with them later, there were more out back.

You thanked the delivery man, signed your name on his clipboard, and stood looking disbelief at the ros of pots and plants that were lined at your feet as he drove away. Where were you doing to find the time and spot to put them? With a sigh, you picked up the first pot of orchids and tugged it inside, searching carefully. At least the shop hadn’t opened yet, so you still had some time. However, you had to hurry. Any passerby might see the row of flowers outside an empty parking lot and think it was weird. You checked your watch: 45 minutes until opening hours to move 60 pots of flowers. You were in trouble.

Feeling like an idiot, you ran up the stairs to your ream and began fixing the flower pots all over the floor of your room. Besides, if you ran out of one kind of flower, you’d just have to run right up there and bring one down, pretending it was the second stock room. Right? No one would know. Except maybe your aunt, who was on maternity leave due to her pregnancy, might have a fit when she comes to visit, yelling about how the flowers don’t have proper sunlight and water supply. Speaking of, the ones downstairs probably don’t either. Oops.

You fished around the real storage room for the watering can and took it to the sink, impatiently waiting for it to fill up with water. You had ten minutes lefto before opening time. Hurriedly, you dragged the watering can over to the row of flowers spread in a row under grow lights, lightly sprinkling water over the delicate petals. Why was such a small watering can so heavy?

You stepped back to admire how fast you’d gotten it all done. Then you cringed. Hopefully you hadn’t drowned the flowers. They looked fine; presentable at least. As a florist’s assistant, that was good enough for you. Your aunt could check on it later.

It was a weekend and you had to managed the store, as the only other employee your aunt had hired so far worked on the weekdays when you had school. If this was going to be your potential job, the least you could do was work weekends while your aunt was on maternity leave.

You flipped the closed sign over to open and ran upstairs quickly to bring two more flower pots down, just for presentation. Although there was practically no room on your counter, you managed to squish them both on there without knocking over any of them. You heard the bell ring in front of the store as someone pushed open the door hurriedly.

“Yes hello, welcome to-“ You stopped short in your tracks when you realized just who had stepped foot in your store: one of your favorite regular customers, Chen Linong. He also served as your current secret crush. Your heart bloomed like the flowers in the shop whenever you saw him, and you definitely felt lighter around his presence. There was something about him that distinguished him from other guys that girls usually had a crush on: although he seemed shy, he didn’t care about things like people seeing a teenage boy hanging around in a florist’s shop. No one called him a loser for it either, because they knew a guy like him had his reasons.

“H-hi,” Linong blurted, turning an alarming shade of red in the face. Was he sick? Was it hot in here? Come to think of it…

Maybe the fact that a teenage boy coming to the flower shop was starting to eat at him. But you didn’t mind. You could stare at him admiring your floral arrangements all day, and every day you tried to perfect the arrangements to his liking. “Um, do you need any help finding a specific type of flower?”

“No thanks, I’m fine.” He smiled straight at you… wait, it wasn’t like there was someone else in the room anyway.

“Oh, um, feel free to look around!” You cringed. What were you saying? Didn’t he already say he was fine? Why did you keep bothering him?

“Yeah I will, thank you,” he said and knelt down so that his eye level was parallel to that of a pot of sunflowers. He was so close that his nose was almost buried in the petals. You thought it was a funny image and almost burst out laughing, but then you remembered that you hated your laugh, and besides, you’d rather not disturb the silence in the shop right now. 

Just you and Linong… this was the way it should be.

_______________________________________________________________________

The florist’s was one heck of a busy place. Were there really that many people who wanted to buy flowers? All the times you had read about florists in books, they’d always had a quiet, tranquil attitude, not some busy, rushed attitude. Plus, the literal flower boys who worked there were always described so prettily and cutesy and here you were… scared you were going to knock over one of the pots on your counter.

“Ma’am, can I get a pot of lilies, please?”

“I still haven’t gotten my order of a six set amaryllis and astible mix.”

“Do you have any sunflower arrangements left?” Linong grinned crookedly at you and jokingly hid the sunflower pot he was admiring earlier behind his body secretly. 

“Yes, I’ll be right there…” you called, barely hearing your own voice. What was it, roses, orchids, sunflowers? Or daffodils, carnations, sunflowers? All you remembered were the sunflowers hidden behind Linong’s body, and you hurried to get them. He had on a yellow sweater today, the same color as the sunflowers, and he sighed like he had been caught red-handed with his masterful camoflauge plan. But he smiled to let you know he was still joking. You rolled your eyes and dragged the damn heavy thing back to the counter, where the first two customers in line stood patiently waiting for their… delphiniums and irises. Sweat peas and lilac.

“Lilies, amaryllis, and astible!” you muttered a little too loudly to yourself, the sound of you snapping your fingers echoing off the walls of the small, cramped shop. You looked around at all the faces staring at you. “I-I’m sorry, I’ll be right back.”

You ran upstairs, oblivious to the fact that Linong was watching you trip over the stairs towards your room in the shop. In fact, there were many things Linong knew that you were oblivious to. There was the fact that he knew you lived up there, on the second floor of the building in which the florist’s shop lay at the bottom of. He also knew that every night, after you closed the shop, you would open the balcony doors to your room, sometimes blasting your music while you did your homework, which the neighborhood never minded of. You’d then water your hanging plants delicately before closing the doors again. Sometimes he rode his bike here, and as he was wheeling away, he would see your figure in the dim light of your room. He knew you lived independently, as you had been given the spare room on top of the florist’s ever since you started working there by your aunt. He knew all these things about your life and yet he still didn’t know how to talk to you.

You appeared at the bottom of the stairs again, dragging the designated flower pots with you and handing them to the right customers. linong sighed, waiting patiently as he rocked back and forth on his small heels, curling his feet along the insides of the rubber soles as he stalled for time. He couldn’t wait to get started with the new project he had planned in mind, and he really needed your help. But it seemed like you were too busy to notice him standing there. A bit dejected, he turned back to the flowers, now remembering you had snatched his sunflowers away. He chuckled to himself and began to browse along the rows, selecting a new flower in his mind.

The sound of a ringing bell and the clicking of cashier keys rang throughout the shop all day. Linong was getting tired of waiting. He stood up and suddenly saw a spare apron hanging off a crooken nail in the wall. He scrambled up to get it and tied it on himself. You looked at him incredulously. What was he getting himself into?

“Let me help you,” he said, sliding into a spot at the counter next to you. You smiled so big you were afraid your teeth would fall out right there in front of him.

“U-um… you don’t have to! I can manage by myself!” You gently pushed him out of the way and busied yourself with rummaging through the coin box to find change for the customer at the front of the line. 

“Are you sure about that?” HIs eyes looked so sincere you almost felt bad about lying to him about how tired you were. BUt it wasn’t right to complain to a customer like him about your job. Besides, you’d picked this job because you genuinely loved flowers, and you especially loved your aunt, the professional florist who had given you this job in her very own florist business. She was even nice enough to let you have the small room upstairs. You couldn’t let her down, but… “I’ve been watching you all day, and I’m pretty sure you would love some help, wouldn’t you?”

You blushed madly, unable to believe he’d make you feel this way. “A-ah… whatever you say,” you said hastily, pushing a few flower pots aside. However, you forgot for a second how crowded the counter had been and you knocked one over the edge. Linong was quick to retrieve it, wiping his brow. “That was close, wasn’t it? Now aren’t you glad I came to your rescue?”

You blushed even more. “Sure.”

“Hey, it’s really sweet that you two lovebirds are chitchatting over there, but I need my order urgently, miss!” a lady in a long white trencth coat called from the middle of the line. You and Linong both scrambled a good distance away from each other and began to take care of customers’ needs and wants from opposite sides of the counter. Occasionally, you’d both turn heads to look at each other for a split second, then quickly look away.

When you finally turned over the “Open” sign hanging on the inside of the door, Linong was collapsed on the counter. Luckily, most of the flowers had cleaned away, so his tall frame had a lot of space to lean on. “Wow, I don’t know how you go through this every day. I-I mean the job is nice, it’s just… for a high school student like you, isn’t it a bit, um, too much?” he suddenly stuttered.

You opened another door to a small kitchen and grabbed two cups, preparing to make tea for the both o fyou. “It’s honestly fun work for me. Maybe it’s hard on you a bit, because you’ve never experienced this before, but that’s okay. You’ll find your strength someday and have a career that keeps you going. For me, it’s being a florist. My aunt was the one who educated me in this area, so I’ve always followed her footsteps.” You added water to the tea bags in the cups and carried them out to the main shop. Linong gingerly took the handle of the one you held out to him.

“Amazing,” he said in the most innocent voice he could manage. “Well, it’s good that you don’t mind this job. I think it suits you a lot. I mean, you’re practically as pretty as a flower yourself,” he complimented. You shied away, hiding your face in your hair for a brief moment.

“Hey, I just had an odd question. What are your top seven flower recommendations for girls?” He drained the last of his tea and set the cup down. It shined pristinely, like there had never been tea in there. Amazing. Did he like tea that much?

You were suddenly flustered. “U-uh, I have a list on the business website. You can find it there…. there are pretty much recommendations for everyone.”

“Thanks, Well I’ll be talking my leave now. Take it easy, alright?” He saluted you and backtracked out the door. You saluted him back with a small smile, The way he had voice his question was like he had someone in his mind that he liked. Who was it going to be? Maybe Yawei, the president of the debate team and co-captain of the cheerleading squad: both the brainy and athletic type of Asian. Or maybe it would be Tiancai, that one genius Asian artist who always got praised for her artwork even though she made a mess of it (“Now that’s real art!” the teacher said) and wore paint-splotched clothes to school without a care.

You trudged up the stairs with heavy feet, ready to literally crash into your bed. Then you remembered your lit homework sat untouched in your backpack for tomorrow.

Take it easy, my ass.

_______________________________________________________________________

After another couple of days, you were minding the florist shop as usual when Linong walked into the shop with a slight bounce to his step. Okay, unusual. Maybe he was just extra happy and bright today. After all, wasn’t that what he was known for at school? Being overly optimistic?

“Can I help you with anything?” you approahced him, just like a regular employee at a store would do. He shook his head like usual, explaining that he was just browsing. “In fact, I found a pretty cool flower along the way here. Do you guys have these?” 

He held up a daisy and you laughed. “What don’t we have?”

You tended to a few more customers that morning, and sometimes your line of sight would stray over to where Linong squatted. When the last of the morning rush customers had gone, you turned back to Linong. He was like a stray cat that always hung out in your shop and stayed by your side the entire day, doing aimless things. Now, he had that silly daisy in his hand again, only this time half the petals were plucked off and were in a messy arrangement around his feet.

“She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me…” You chuckled as he counted the petals of an odd-petaled flower. Reaching the end, he jumped up and rushed up to your counter. Remembering your job, you also quickly rushed behind it. Linong never bought anything, which you didn’t mind, but you, as a florist, needed to attend to all customer’s needs.

“One orchid arrangement, please!” he said, placing an array of dollar bills and coins on the counter.

“Coming right up.” You reached beneath you and pulled out what you thought had been your best arrangement of orchids and proudly handed it to him. “Here’s your change.” Pause. “For anyone in particular?” You poised a pen over the blank tag on the pot, ready to get indirect dirt on the girl he liked.

“Yes, a very special girl. She’s the most beautiful one, too. Just write that down,” he said nonchalantly. You half-heartedly wrote that on the tag, secretly half-wishing it would be you. Of course it wouldn’t. You bet 60% that it was Yawei, but Tiancai wouldn’t be half bad either.

“Thanks! I hope these will do the trick. I got them from the list of recommendations you personally put on the website, you know.” He winked and left.

Earlier than usual. And little did he know orchids were your favorites.

_______________________________________________________________________

Every day after that he would purchase a new flower arrangement. Tulips. Roses. Delphiniums. Poppies. Asters. And finally, hydrangea. He even requested for a single sunflower. Each day he bought your next favorite. He seemed to get cheerier each day, his hands full of fresh dollar bills and coins. You found yourself forcing a smile each day he came. You had a crush on him so badly you couldn’t stand seeing him take flowers out of your shop for some other girl that he liked when he was the one you liked. How dare he?

Okay, okay, so it was your fault you never told him. Best just to be a regular old florist and not Linong’s secret admirer.

Strangely, on the eighth day, he hadn’t come in at all. With the amount of dedication he had to buying flowers for his girl, you’d think he would have bought something at your shop every day, 365 days a year. But there was no sign of him. Sighing, you flipped the “Open” sign over. You decided to call a few of your friends to help you with a project.

It was another huge flower arrangement order, but this time it was a surprise for someone special. In a few days, your aunt would have her first abby shower with her newlywed husband. This was an event you couldn’t miss, and you wanted to see her after missing her so much on maternity leave. In fact, your flower arrangements had been so successful a couple motnhs ago at her wedding that you suddenly loved your new skill and was soon obsessed with it. Ever since, you’ve had a knack for creating artistic flower arrangements and made the business of the florist shop even larger. That way, your aunt felt that it was afe to hand off major responsibilities to you. Besides, you were almost graduating. Shouldn’t all 17-year-olds have a small, stable job now?

As you waited for your friends to arrive, you heard a soft knocking on the glass of the shop’s door. It was Linong, carrying what looked like a giant lion head. Nope, never mind; in the street light it was more of a giant flower arrangement in a straw basket, with the single sunflower he’d just bought recently sticking out.  You opened the door and stepped out into the cold, steam rising from the breath you took. “It looks nice.”

“Isn’t it?” He looked proud. “Thanks to you.” Your grimace dropped. “You really helped me out this time. I owe you. When I gift this to the girl I love, I’ll definitely make sure to give you credit!” 

You remembered all those times he had secretly broken your heart, all those times he had left your shop with a new bundle of flowers, all those stupid gooddamn times you had to write “to the most special, beautiful girl I know” on the blank tags while gagging inside.

Your friends arrived soon after and you had to shut Linong out of your life now. He looked a bit disappointed as you ran pu the stairs to your room, beginning to work on the 250 flower arrangements for your aunt’s baby shower. His heart felt heavy as he carried the equally heavy basket back to his house. If only you knew…

The day of your aunt’s baby shower finally arrived, and you woke up worried. You had arranged carpools with your friends to get the 250 flower arrangements to the baby shower location before the actual baby shower started so that your aunt wouldn’t notice. Then you remembered that Linong would be there. Oh, screw him! Weren’t you trying to get over him anyway? Why were you still worrying about him? You struggled to lift the delicate flowers into the trunks of your friends’ cars. On the way there, you discussed your Linong dilemma with them, and they were very supportive in saying that they would stand up with you against him whenver needed.

Finally, everything was in place. Your aunt and new uncle arrived in a sleek black car and even got to walk down a makeshift red carpet of red rose petals. When they stepped out, all the guests cheered at the sight of an obvious baby bump. You couldn’t wait for a new baby cousin. Maybe you could be the next teacher in the family’s florist generation, and you could get to teach your cousin. Unless if he was a boy; then he wouldn’t be interested.

After listening to a long speech about how much your aunt was proud of you, she said, “All these flower arrangements today were made by my niece, and I can’t believe she surprised me like this. Coincidentally, I wanted to surprise her as well for working so hard during my maternity leave. Actually, I had a hand in helping someone else plan a surprise for her. So I’m going to introduce him right now. Her friend from school, Chen Linong, come on up!” 

You saw Linong move towards the podium with a large basket of flowers in his arms. The very same flower basket arrangement he had shown you a few days ago.

“Thanks auntie,” he said. “Hi. I’m Chen Linong, and I’m a classmate of her niece who prepared all these beautiful flower arrangements. I wanted to surprise her by making a flower arrangement of my own to confess to her with, although it could never compare to hers. But I hope she’ll still like it.” 

He stepped off the podium and the entire audience “aw”ed with enthusiasm. Your heart pounded as fast as a race car’s maximum mph rate as he walked closer and closer.

Until all you could see right in front of you were hydrangea. Tulips. Roses. Poppies. Asters. Delphiniums. Orchids. The single sunflower poking out cutely.

And the smiling face of Linong, the only (sun)flower that mattered right now.