#im youngmin fanfiction

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 7

*previously titled ‘Can’t Remember to Forget You*

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

high school au + fake dating au

same universe/basic timeline as let me love you

ch one | ch 6 | ch 8

As summer officially started, you found yourself going on a number of dates with Youngmin—fake date, of course. You’d gone to different restaurants around the city, gone on a group date with a few of Youngmin’s friends, and taken Daehwi to the zoo. Through it all, you realized that Youngmin wasn’t a shitty person on the inside, he just tried to act like a shitty person, and that was something that you still didn’t understand, nor was it something that you were planning on excusing him for.

The group date with Youngmin’s friends had, unsurprisingly, been a trainwreck. His friends were loud, obnoxious, and you could tell that Youngmin was getting more and more irritated at their crass remarks.

Taking Daehwi to the zoo was a much more pleasant affair. Daehwi, of course, was delighted to go somewhere with the two of you, skipping happily as he clutched onto both of your hands. It was nice to get an afternoon off of dancing and working in the grocery store, and Daehwi’s wide smiles and gasps at the various animals made it even better.

Youngmin was also starting his internship soon. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t talk very much about it. You had been sitting at an outdoor table at the zoo, across from Youngmin, when you brought it up.

“So, when does your internship start?” You asked casually, watching Daehwi jump down from a rather large rock.

Youngmin glanced over at you, and then back down at the frozen yogurt cup he had been holding for Daehwi. “Couple days, actually.”

Your lips curled up into a half-smile, surprised at yourself for even caring. What had this world come to? “You nervous?”

“Nah,” Youngmin’s eyes darted over to you again, and you could tell he was lying. The two of you remained in silence for a little while longer, both of you knowing full well how worried he was. You didn’t have to hear from Youngmin about this internship; everyone from school was already talking about it. It was the Samsung internship, the one that streamlined high school graduates into management positions, or even higher.

Knowing how important and nervewracking the internship was, you were surprised to hear from Nayoung that Youngmin’s parents were leaving for a business trip to Japan the weekend before he started. Then again, you weren’t really that surprised.

As you settled down to get some sleep before an early shift in the grocery store, you glanced over at your phone.

To: im ym

Good luck tmrw

With a sigh, knowing you’d done the right thing, you rolled over.

You hadn’t even closed your eyes for a few seconds before your cell phone started ringing. Without checking the caller ID, you held the phone up to your ear.

“Yes?”

“(y/n),” Youngmin said breathlessly, “(y/n), it’s, it’s Daehwi, he, he—“

“Woah, Youngmin,” you sat up in bed, alarmed at Youngmin’s voice. You don’t think you’d ever heard the boy so distraught. “Take a deep breath and then tell me.” You heard Youngmin take in a shaky breath.

“It’s Daehwi,” Youngmin repeated, “he, he has a fever, and says his stomach hurts, and that he might throw up, and (y/n), I have no idea what to do, my step-mom isn’t here, and I’m at home by myself, and Daehwi won’t stop crying.”

“Hey, Youngmin, it’s gonna be okay,” you said quickly, keeping your phone to your ear as you clambered out of bed, yanking a few things into a large bag that had been lying on your floor, “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, (y/n),” Youngmin sighed, “I should get back to Daehwi.”

“Deep breaths, Youngmin,” you reminded him, “if you feel like you’re getting panicky, call me again, okay?”

“Yeah,” Youngmin replied. You could just imagine him nodding, and you shook your head. You were moving so quickly to get some flu and cough medication into your bag, along with a change of clothes that you didn’t have time to think fully about the situations, or its implications. You dashed out of your house, hurriedly flagging down a taxi.

When you finally arrived at Youngmin’s house, you could faintly hear Daehwi’s sobs.

“He’s miserable, (y/n),” Youngmin whispered, looking down at you with a pained expression, looking just as miserable. You nodded, following Youngmin into Daehwi’s room.

“Hey, Daehwi,” you smiled, going to carefully push the hair out of Daehwi’s eyes. He definitely had a fever, if his burning forehead and flushed cheeks said anything.

“Noona?” Daehwi peered up at you, sniffling, “I feel like I’m on fire, noona, can you make it go away? My stomach really hurts too.”

“Do you feel like you might throw up still?” You asked, concerned. It sounded like he might have caught the flu. Daehwi nodded, whimpering. “Okay, I’m going to give you some flu medicine, if that’s okay with you? It’s just for kids, so the dosage will be alright.”

You looked at Youngmin, just to make sure that he was alright with it as well.

“I know how to swallow pills,” Daehwi said, still trying to make you and Youngmin proud, even though he was sick. Youngmin grinned, having appeared with a glass of water. Daehwi gulped down the medicine, wincing at the taste of it, before curling up underneath his blanket.

“It’ll start working in about 20 minutes,” you told the small boy, who nodded sleepily.

“Do you want some tea or anything? Some soup?” You asked, ruffling Daehwi’s hair.

“Some tea, if it’s not a trouble,” Daehwi murmured, clearly close to sleep. You nodded, getting up. Youngmin and you headed to the kitchen.

As you started boiling some water, you realized something, turning away from the stove suddenly

“Hey Youngmin—“

Your eyes widened as your body nearly slammed into Youngmin’s. He’d been walking towards you to hand you a tea bag, and as you narrowly missed crashing into him, his arm darted out to steady you, hand firm on your waist. The two of you stood there, your eyes wide as you realized just how close your body was to his. You could feel the warmth radiating off of him, and was acutely aware of the sharp inhale of his breath.

“Careful,” Youngmin murmured, before gently placing the teabag into your hand. As you turned to make a cup of tea, you couldn’t help but notice how cold you felt.

Silently, you finished up the cup of tea and hurried into Daehwi’s room. He had already fallen asleep, breathing peacefully, and you smiled at the sight, setting the mug down on his nightstand. When you went back to the kitchen, Youngmin was pulling the rice cooker out from underneath the sink, yawning.

“Wait, Youngmin,” you called, frowning, “isn’t tomorrow the first day of your internship?”

Youngmin looked over at you in confusion, “yeah, why?”

“Youngmin, it’s already midnight,” you exclaimed, taking the rice cooker from him, “you should go to sleep, really. I can make you something quick for lunch, but you should get rest for your big day.”

Youngmin stared at you for a few more seconds, the heavy look that made your stomach turn with a strange feeling. Finally, he sighed, a small smile dancing on his lips before trudging off to the bathroom.

You started on making the rice, thinking over everything that had happened that night. You tried to assure yourself that the reason you’d raced to the Im household so quickly was for Daehwi’s sake, but a small part of you knew that it had something to do with the tinge of desperation in Youngmin’s voice when he had called you.

“(y/n).”

You looked up at the sound of your name, and that same weird tug in your stomach made you feel like you’d just run three miles uphill. Youngmin was in a loose t-shirt and sweats, hair damp from a quick shower. He shot you a smile, holding up a new toothbrush package.

“Thank you, for everything,” he said quietly as you picked up the toothbrush up, murmuring a quiet thanks. “I-I know that things have a bit strange lately, but I really appreciate it.” You ducked your head, trying to hide your quickly reddening cheeks. It was that damn stare of his, the quiet, weighted one, that always seemed to make you blush.

“It’s—“ you cleared your throat, cheeks reddening even more. Youngmin’s lips twitched up into a tiny grin. “It’s no trouble, don’t worry about it.”

Youngmin paused, looking at you for a beat more before smiling fully, “good night, (y/n).”

“Night, Youngmin.”

teehee are those feelings i see being caught hmmm

im on winter break i will rise and finally write! also maybe if the gods are willing i will finish this damn story before the new year. 

[starrywinters]

Lost And Found — A Kim Donghyun Songfic

requested by anon!

genre: angst, fluff

synopsis: where you fall out of love with Donghyun and he does whatever he can to make you fall for him, again. Reader as Lee Kimi

song used: Hello by NU’EST

Hello?

Did you eat?

Where are you, what are you doing?

Because I’m worried about you

(Tell me baby where you at)

Hello?

(Call me baby I be there

Wherever you are I be there)

Hello?

(Pick up the phone girl

Cause I gotta be there)

Kimi

“KIMI!” Turning around to face the person who called you,

“Oh! Hey,” grabbing your hand and pulling you around so that you’re far away from the sidewalk with the reason of protecting you.

As the two of you walked around having fun, playing games and talking, a phone call was being made from your house.

Hidden in your purse was your phone, constantly vibrating, seeking your attention, waiting to be picked up.

Is there traffic? You’re running late

(because of your impatient heart)

I guess you forgot your battery

(I thought something else)

It seemed like it would rain

(So at the end of a dilemma),

I went out earlier to pick you up

Because I wanted to see you faster

Donghyun

‘Ah I’m really worried, why isn’t she picking up? Where is she? Did she get hurt? Aahhhh.’

Deciding to go look for Kimi, he heads out wandering around your neighborhood and nearby malls. Walking in and out of stores with no answer as to where she is, he thinks back to where she’d most likely be. Since it’s night time and she loves looking at the stars in the sky at the park nearby their neighborhood, he decided to head towards there.

Arriving at his destination, there he finds her. Sitting on a swing staring up at the sky, holding something—what looks like another person’s hand. Walking a tiny bit closer, he sees her and a very familiar looking guy laughing and chatting.

‘Is that Youngmin-hyung? What is he doing there with Kimi?’

You’ll probably be surprised

When you see me (you’ll like it)

In order to not miss each other (I should run faster)

I see you from far away but

When I called you, why did I say

Watching Kimi from afar, he feels his heart break into pieces, ‘Why has she never shown me that smile before? Is she not happy with me? Wait, it’s late, did she eat dinner yet? I should ask..’

Afraid of what he’d face, he decided to just call. Dialing her number and waiting for her to pick up, he looks up at her direction. Kimi and Youngmin continues chatting animatedly and paying no mind to their surroundings, ‘Looks like they’re having fun…’

Deciding to just leave and walk around to sort out his thoughts, he hung up and turned around. The two on the swing not even hearing the snap of the twig Donghyun has stepped on as he took his leave.

Hello, did you eat?

Where are you, what are you doing? I’m worried

Hello, why aren’t you saying anything?

Hello, (Hello) Hello? (Hello?)

During the weekends, he called and asked Kimi out on a date to the amusement park. She reluctantly agreed and began to get ready. As she waited outside for Donghyun, another guy coincidentally popped up and asked Kimi if she wanted to head out and eat.

The date with Donghyun completely left her mind as she said ‘Yes’ and they began walking…

Right when Donghyun arrived to pick her up.

I came to pick you up

In case it rained

In case you would have to

Walk alone in the rain

‘Youngmin-hyung again? What’s happening?’

Texting her a cute text, “I’m here ♡( ´▽｀)” and receiving a simple, “Sorry, I’m busy, something came up” absolutely frickly frackly broke his heart.

Seeing her walk off with a guy that isn’t him with his own two eyes completely hurt him. But he didn’t say anything, he didn’t confront her or anything as he still loves her and believes Kimi has a legit reason for doing what she did. ‘Maybe this is a dream, maybe this is a prank.’

I’m in front of your house, I see you

I guess you’re with someone

But actually,

I couldn’t say those things in case I lost you

Donghyun knew there was tension in their relationship, heck others did too. They could feel it a mile away, his friends tell him to break with with Kimi. Many times too, but he doesn’t listen, he believes he can make it work. He believes he can fix their relationship and make it stronger and better than it was before.

Kimi has actually planned to break up with him, she knew Donghyun was close to her house. She knew Donghyun was watching them at the park, she wanted to him to be the one to initiate the break up. She didn’t have the heart to break Donghyun’s soft baby heart. She was conflicted, but she couldn’t help it. She just…

Fell out of love.

I know that my actions are cowardly

Even if you make fun of me by saying I’m a coward, I can’t go

Do you know how I feel?

Why is my way to you like the way to hell?

This doesn’t make sense

I’m the one who comforted your loneliness

Hurry and tell me please,

That there’s nothing going on between you two

Why can’t it be me? Please say something

Donghyun already dressed up decided to not let his good outfit go to waste, he wanted to spend his day happily, going to a restaurant first then to the mall and shop for Kimi. Walking into the closest restaurant, he sits at a table near the window.

Looking to his right, he sees his girlfriend sitting alone looking at the menu.

“Kimi? What are you doing here? I thought you-” “Kimi, have you ordered yet?” ‘Oh, it’s Youngmin-hyung. Again?’

Springing up from her seat like she got caught doing something illegal cough you kinda did, breaking my baby’s heart smh “A-ah, Donghyun-ah! Wha-what are you doing here?”

“I was just walking around and I got hungry. What are you doing here with Youngmin-hyung? I thought you were busy?”

Youngmin answers instead of Kimi, “We’re on a date, Donghyunnie!” ‘Wait, what? Did I hear that right?’

“Date? Kimi, what? Is this true? Are you cheating on me?”

What are you doing over there right now?

I’m staring at you blankly from far away right now

Can’t you feel me?

Flash-forward to a few days later

Donghyun wasn’t able to accept the fact that she was, he tried weeks and weeks to get her back. He gave her flowers, gave her chocolates, messaged her sweet good morning and goodnight messages. He continued trying and trying for a few days, but he couldn’t do it anymore. He felt as if he’s just wasting his time and decided to stop.

He still loves Kimi alright, but if she doesn’t seem happy after the conditions he set, he’ll let her go. And that’s what he did, or what he will do after one last try. But wait, conditions?

Say the words you want to say tomorrow

Tell me that you’re sorry tomorrow

Where do you keep looking?

This is the place you should be

Flashback to a few days ago

“Yes, we’re on a date Donghyun.” He didn’t say anything, didn’t express how he felt, his crestfallen expression did it for him.

“Since this happened, I might as well tell you;

Donghyun-ah, let’s break up. I’m just… I’m not happy anymore. This isn’t working, let’s end this.”

Donghyun couldn’t believe his ears, he thought back to the times where he’s been nothing but sweet towards Kimi, where he treated her as if she’s his whole world. Clearly Kimi didn’t feel it. smh kimi smh

Desperately trying to get an answer and maintain their relationship, “Kimi, no. Please, this can’t end. Let me fix this, let us fix this. We can be happy together, please.”

She didn’t have it, she didn’t want to waste her time with something as trivial as this love they she lost.

As she gets ready to leave with Youngmin, who is very obviously lost as he didn’t know you two were dating, with the excuse of her losing her appetite, “Kimi, wait. Please, give me another chance. Give me a few days max, let me try to make you fall in love with me again, please.”

She agreed, with the condition of you giving up on her if you don’t succeed. And the deal has been set.

Hello, did you eat?

Where are you, what are you doing? I’m worried

Hello, why aren’t you saying anything?

Hello, (Hello) Hello? (Hello?)

Going back to the present with you, Kimi

Messages has been flooding your inbox, you replying with either cold messages or one word. You tried to get rid of him, but through those few days where he showered you with love, you couldn’t help but always look forward to what he would gift to you or message you next. Overall, you fell in love with him, again.

So after two days of not receiving anything, you couldn’t help but worry, wondering what he was doing. Wondering if he has given up, you felt guilty. You regretted acting the way you did towards him, you don’t know what had happened to the love you felt for him and you hated yourself for letting that love go. For letting Donghyun go.

I want to see you because it’s raining

(because it’s raining)

Because I’m walking on the street

I walked with you

(because I feel like dying)

I’m in front of your house,

I miss you but I guess you don’t

(I miss you)

Actually, I’m going crazy

I guess I can’t go on if it’s not you

Thinking back to the conditions you set with him, you panicked. Not believing he really gave up, you decided to go look for him. Running around with a racing heart you didn’t want to believe he gave up, he can’t. Not after succeeding his mission.

Getting to his house, you ring the doorbell. Knocking and ringing, getting his attention, wanting him to open the door already so you can hug him and tell him he succeeded. He accomplished his goal.

Once the door opens, you jump onto him. Crying, wailing. Telling him you don’t want to break up anymore, spewing out apologies and begging him to forgive you.

As he calms you down, you open your eyes to a messy living room. Filled with papers sprawled around and you just noticed he was holding onto his guitar.

Baby I can’t let you go (did you eat?)

I only think about you girl

What would I be without you girl

(where are you, what are you doing?)

Don’t tell me lies, Don’t say goodbye

I just wanna let you know

(why aren’t you saying anything?)

I only think about you girl

What would I be without you girl

What would I be without you girl

Asking him what he was doing and why his house looks like a tornado hit it, he replies with,

“I was writing you a song, in hopes of you not leaving me. I wanted to try one last time before I give up but I’ve been having writer’s block me too donghyun, me too and I’ve been stuck in my house for awhile trying to create a song. Just for you.”

“I’m sorry Donghyun, I’m sorry. Please forgive me for ever suggesting to break up, I’m sorry, I love you, please, don’t give up.”

“I won’t, I can never give up on you, I will never. I love you too baby.”

Hello

✧ You weren’t just a star to me, you were my whole damn sky. And you still are, I love you Lee Kimi. ✧

unedited! 1958 words .O. someone pls tell me why i have written more words in this story than i do others.

sorry this took awhile;;; i couldn’t bare to hurt my baby’s feelings)):

anyway, i hope you enjoy!  ♡( ´▽｀) <– see what i did there.. no? ok hahah sorry bYE!

[bitter-me-ss]

names; hers and his

His name means prosperity and intelligence. It’s a pretty name, a name that brings all the goodness within, a name that she loves coming out from between her lips. She likes saying his name. More than she likes saying her own name. Her name is the symbol of a lonely warrior, of getting through without caring how much of her—the bearer of the name—that left in the end. Her name sounds pathetic and heroic all at once. She hates feeling pathetic and she never want to be a hero.

“Why do you hate your name so much?” he asks, after she gets upset because he calls her five times to show her his highest score on this mobile game she can’t remember the name. One thing about him is that he loves this topic. He loves talking about name, basically about meanings behind things. He considers everything symbolizes something.

“I don’t hate my name.”

“Yeah, but it bothers you. It’s the same thing.”

“It’s not the same thing. You bother me. I don’t hate you.”

He giggles, as if the fact about her not hating him is as exciting as playing a mobile game. As thrilling, too. He stands beside her deck, his back leans on the closed window, holding a cup of coffee.

“I don’t see a problem with your name.” he says, in this demanding tone, in this challenging tone. To put it simply, it is the way he teased, it is the front line of the way he pricks on the topic that bothers her—not hate, no, absolutely no. Having this name isn’t entirely the problem, the problem is when people ask what is the meaning of it. The other problem is when they know the meaning of it and ask in confusion, why did your parents give you that name?

How does she supposed to know? She was probably still in a form of embryo. She didn’t have a voice about her name or her whole existence. Both her name and her existence were never her idea.

“The name is not really the problem. Explaining the meaning is the problem.” she replies, busying herself with her computer, avoiding his tall figure that blocks the sunlight that shines through the window.

“Not everyone will ask you the meaning of it.”

“They will. No parents are insane enough to name their daughter Einarr except mine.”

“It sounds pretty.”

“It’s a boy’s name.”

“So what? I know an Andrea who is a girl, and another one who is a boy.”

She sighs, she doesn’t know why she is still in this conversation. He just hates losing. “It means a lonely warrior. And a fallen one, at that. Give me just one reason why I should like explaining that to people.”

He shrugs, laughs a little. “It’s poetic?”

“Oh, shut up.”

His little laugh grows into a fit of laughter, enormous, contagious laughter. It’s hard to resist not to laugh when the way he laughs reminds her of all things that makes her happy.

“I like your name.”

She snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Einarr is from the word einherjar, right? It is how they call a fallen warrior that dies a heroic death in Norse mythology,” he says, as if she doesn’t know that already. “They die because they save people. I think it just means your parents wish you can contribute to the humanity before you die?”

She laughs even harder than him. “Are you kidding me? That’s what it means? Do you actually think they already thought about my death even before I was born? That explains a lot,” she can’t help her sarcastic tone.

“They just put so much hope in you.”

“Well, now they know they shouldn’t. I can’t save people.”

“I still like your name.” he insists, and this is his last line, the ones that he throws when he starts losing but still denying the reality. It varies, sometimes it is I still or I don’t care or many other words. It’s cute, she thinks, how he hates losing but still doesn’t want to give up when she starts to win, fairly.

She never wants to be a hero. She doesn’t really like winning either.

“I like your name better.” she says, “It’s proper. It’s how a parent should name their children.”

His face lights up. “Really? You can have my name then.”

The sun has started to set and he is still there, in front of the window, his figure distorted in every edge, in the most beautiful way that makes him look like an elf. A tall elf that radiates warmth even when their eyes cold. It’s really not fair, you know? His eyes are never cold.

“That is non-sense.”

She likes his name. She likes his eyes. She likes him. She likes him just like that. She likes him just like this.

“It’s not non-sense,” he says, eyes twinkling in excitement. “I am going to make myself so famous and I will say your name in every chance until the point they can’t remember my name without remembering your name too.”

She can’t help but to look surprised. Not touched, not in a mocking way. Just a simple amazement. “How the hell you can come up with—” she can’t find the right words, “—silly ideas?”

“Silly? You are being too nice.”

“I am nice.”

“Yeah, usually you are nice, this time you are too nice.”

“Whatever.”

“It’s okay,” he says, the sky outside starts getting dark. “I like it when you’re too nice.”

She stares at him, arms folded in front of her chest, smiles in disbelief.

He stares at her, hands inside of his pocket, smiles jokingly.

 Her eyes are made of the crashing waves.

His eyes are made of the stars constellations.

Her eyes are never in peace.

His eyes are never cold.

----

Today she reads his name on the banner in front of the gate. Today she reads his name painted on some people’s cheeks. Today, the amount of people that have his name between their lips raised into the numbers she can never possibly count. Today she is just one among so many.

The long, wide, twisted and complicated tracks lay in front of her and hundreds people that screams behind her back. A lot of them scream. Some people are just trying to talk to a person beside them. Some people are just trying to look where they put their hat. Some people are just asking when the race is going to start.

“You bet on me, right?” It is the first thing he asks when she meets him in the waiting room, swaying her hand a little like a child asking for extra candy. He is just sitting there, already in his race suit, black and orange and white. She stands before him, always enjoying the times when she can feel that she is taller than him. There are other racers there too, those she doesn’t really know. Then again, she is bad at remembering names and faces.

She turns to face him after a slight, polite, smile to everyone inside the room. “I don’t do bets.”

“Ahhh but you should this time! It means you believe in me!”

She lowers her gaze, only to find a supposed-23-year-olds guy looking at her in disappointment, his lips turn into a small pout.

He sways her hand again. “You don’t believe in me?”

“How can believing in you has anything to do with placing bets?”

“I don’t know. Everybody says that. They love it when people place bets on them. It makes them confident.”

Her lips curve into a sweet, comforting smile. It is a rare smile, the rarest he is ever get. He loves that smile more than anything. And he loves it because she knows when to give him that smile; she is a master in timing.

“I won’t place a bet on you just to make you feel more confident.” she says, still smiling.

“Then what will you do? Surely, that smile won’t be enough.” he teases, points at her face. She is still smiling. He is tempted to look at his watch and count how many seconds he has get with her smile. This is probably the longest smile she has ever given to him. It is both thrilling and worrying at the same time.

She doesn’t answer. Instead, she bends her head and kisses his lips softly. It’s just a small kiss. Honest and sincere and at the right time all at once. It is the kind of kiss that doesn’t make you fly or fall, it makes you stay, both feet on the ground, knowing such kiss exists. It is also the kind of kiss that makes you feel okay to let go, that makes you feel enough when the kiss is over. He sways her hand again, a giant grin on his face.

“I didn’t see that coming.”

“Of course you didn’t. Or else your ears won’t be that red.”

He grunts. “My ears are not red.”

“It’s okay, red ears are cute.”

He squeezes her hands this time, having them both cupped in his own big hands. It’s summer and her hands are still cold. He blows to her hands; his warm breath stays for a second before it goes cold again. He always says that her hands are cold because she has a warm heart. Those kinds of sayings always leave her chuckling in disbelief.

“I will win. I am going to be so famous since today and onwards. And then I’ll have them remember both my name and your name.” he states, as if it is the most important thing he’s been holding on to. She thinks it is unbelievably silly, but he looks so determined it is both endearing and terrifying.

Her head nods. Her heart shakes.

---

The race feels like forever. His playful face has gone beneath the helmet since—she doesn’t know since when. She is just observing with her eyes, she has them both glued on a blue car she can’t remember the name even when the man beside her has been shouting both the name of the cars and the racers over and over again. Between those names she can only recognizes his name.

His name means prosperity and intelligence. It’s a pretty name, a name that brings all the goodness within, a name that she loves coming out from between her lips. She likes saying his name. She likes his name. She’s been whispering his name under her breath like a thousand prayers.

Her heart shakes. It doesn’t just thump, it is not a mere beat; it’s shaking, it’s trembling. It is not the heart she knows. Suddenly she wants him to stop. Suddenly she wants everyone, everything, to stop. Suddenly it feels like this is not right.

The blue car and the red one is having an intense fight. Both have the finish line on the tip of their eyelids, hanging like a bait. Small crashes are ignored. Fire is waiting to light up like a hungry tiger waiting for a clueless deer. Barbaric screams are heard from both of her sides and her back, making her deaf.

No. No. Please. Stop.

She whispers his name again.

The fire has chosen its victim. The blue car turns over, starts to light up in twisted colors of orange and blue.

Everything does stop.

Except her.

Her heart beats steadily. It turns into the heart that she knows, the heart that knows what to do. But her mind is a complete chaos and she ignores the guards’ loud shouts, the tall, white secure gates made of steel that scratches her feet and hands trying to stop her. She runs like she is flying, doesn’t know how long, still whispering his name, as if his name is a spell to trick the fire so it can burn slower.

His car is surrounded by fire-fighters that is too slow for her liking, and a complete medic team that is only waiting to get whatever thing that left from inside the car.

She doesn’t remember how. What she knows is that the next second she finally feels the fire welcoming her skin is the same time she feels his wrist, trying to pull him out and checking his pulse at the same time. His pulse feels like a newly-born baby, weak and fragile but it’s there. It’s there it’s there it’s there.

She whispers his name again.

Pulling him out costs so much energy. She drags her own body and places herself in a way that makes it possible to push him out. With her hands. With her legs. With her back. With her everything.

Out. Out. Out. Get him out.

Where is everyone?

Her name means a lonely warrior. Her name symbolizes a destiny that requires her to do her job alone. His name means prosperity and intelligence. His name symbolizes so much hope.

She kicks, trying to push him out even further. Her legs touch nothing, only the hot air that burns.

He is out.

She whispers his name again, one last time. Before everything turns into a million bright colors and then goes into a pitch black in a blink, giving her only a split second to have her whole life flashes before her eyes.

So this is how an einherjar died.

---

She hears something. Her name. Called over and over again, as if the caller is trying to memorize her name, as if the caller is trying to pronounce it right.

Einarr. Einarr. Einarr!

She likes his name. She likes his voice, too. Even though she prefers his voice to be delivered to her in a different way. Not in that desperate tone. But she can’t move, if every element of her existence has a button, they are all turned off already. Except her blurry vision and the way her ears still can catch his voice, but it sounds so far, too far.

And the last sentence she can’t possibly give to him out loud.

Your name has so much hope. I have always wanted to be your einherjar, anyway.

He doesn’t want this. He cannot accept this. This is not the way he wants their name to be remembered. A heroic death is not supposed to be like this. A heroic death should not happen with him as the one who is saved. A heroic death is not poetic, a heroic death is a pile of horse shit.

He likes her name. He likes her, too. He loves her, moreover.

“It’s not fair,” he grunts angrily, tears running on his face even faster than the way he races his car that feels like a hundred years ago. “You hate your name already. Now you want me to hate your name too?”

He can’t hate her name. He likes everything about her too much. And blaming names are so silly and stupid and pathetic, he thinks, but one can never predict how grief can do to a person.

Her eyes are closed now, but it is no longer a pair of crashing waves, he thinks. Her eyes are closed now, and it is finally in peace, he guesses.

His eyes are still wide open, but the stars are hiding behind the dark clouds. His eyes are still wide open, but the warmth is overshadowed by the cold, falling rain.

She likes his name. It has so much hope.

He likes her name. It gives him a life.

[wanna-one-imagine]

Wanna-One Park Woojin School AU! (Part 3)

The next part of the Woojin School AU! You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. Enjoy! (You + Park Woojin)

– Your POV – 

It had been a month since you and the boy had that interesting exchange, and you were just beginning to forget about it. You sometimes unintentionally snuck glances over at him, still waiting for him to be done with the book. You sort of gave up on that though, when the librarian told you that Woojin (you assumed to be the boy’s name) hadn’t returned the book yet, despite going to the library every day. He was an asshole, but there was nothing you could do about that.

But everything changed when the fire nation attacked when Jihee (your best friend, in case you forgot lol) suddenly announced that she was moving, thanks to her parent’s job change. Just like that, the one friend you had at your school was gone, and you felt your world crashing down.

Now, it seemed like you had no one. Not a single true friend who you could genuinely trust was here for you anymore.

The day after Jihee had left, you arrived at school to an empty desk next to yours, left without a seat partner. 

“Class, I have an important announcement to make,” your homeroom teacher said as he entered the classroom. “As you can see, one of our students has moved to another school, I hope you all got to say your goodbyes. Ah, and (Y/N), please find another desk partner... looks like Park Woojin has an empty seat next to him, you can sit there. In addition, you all have you first rounds of exams coming up soon, so...” the teacher’s voice trailed off as you dejectedly moved towards Woojin’s desk in the back, not even willing to fight it.

You plopped down next to him and looked at Woojin, who was dozing away in the seat next to you. You sighed and laid your head down as well, closing your eyes in hopes that when you woke up, Jihee would be next to you instead of him.

When the bell rang for you to go to lunch, the two of you silently got up, and headed to the library, without speaking to one another. The librarian saw you two entering together and said it was good that you two were friends now, happy that “books bring people together”. You shook your head and found a seat at a table, pulling out your lunch and homework. 

You both didn’t necessarily like one another, but didn’t have the energy to fight about it anymore.

You noticed Woojin sitting by himself at a different table, reading another book that didn’t look like The Devil in the White City. Either way, you were too exhausted to care. The two of you, unknowingly to the other, took peeks at the other person throughout the hour but neither of you disturbed the other, which was for the best.

After lunch was over, the both of you got up and once again, silently walked back to your classroom, just to sit together at the desks again. It was quite an interesting occurrence that became a daily pattern for the both of you. There was no talking, but over time you got used to one another’s presence. You would even wait for the other to finish packing up their things so that you could walk together. 

You both were lonely, but for some reason just this much soothed the loneliness enough to a tolerable level. And Woojin had no desire to accept the social classes of the school, but for some reason, you seemed different. Eating by yourself in the library every day, he didn’t see much of a difference between the two of you.

One day, you two arrived at the library, and you both just took your seats as usual, but shortly after, Woojin approached you, sitting down next to you with his copy of The Devil in the White City. 

“Hey (Y/N), here,” he passed the book to you, his eyes averted, facing the table. “I actually was done with this a while ago, I just kept forgetting to return it... sorry about that, I hope you weren’t still waiting.”

You looked up at him, and you couldn’t find it in you to get angry. He didn’t look at all like the person everyone feared so much, he just looked like... well, a nervous, normal, cute kid. The fact that the both of you went through the same thing every day at school made you curious about him, and wonder if he was lonely... like you.

For some reason, you didn’t even acknowledge his apology, automatically whispering out, “How was it? The book, I mean.”

Woojin finally made eye contact with you, making your own eyes widen in surprise as you met his strong gaze. And just then, you saw him smile for the very first time, his snaggletooth peeking out at you. He slowly started explaining his review of the story, over time becoming more excited as you asked more and more questions.

Before you knew it, lunch was over, but the two of you kept talking, laughing at how you both didn’t finish your meals because you were so distracted. The both of you made a plan to secretly eat in the classroom, giggling as you went inside, confusing the other students (who had started leaving you alone, since you had started hanging out near Woojin).

Class started, and the both of you whipped out your books for the first time, holding them vertically so your faces would be covered. You both managed to shove the food in your mouths for a grand total of 30 seconds, before you were promptly caught.

“Park Woojin! (Y/L/N) (Y/N)! Absolutely no eating in class is tolerated, you can treat yourself to eating lunch in the library instead of the cafeteria for the next week!” The professor yelled, before resuming his lecture.

You and Woojin put your food away, desperately holding in your laughter, a task that only got harder once you caught sight of the other’s attempt to hold a poker face.

From that day, the two of you got closer. The walks to the library and back weren’t silent anymore, and neither were lunch periods. The two of you started to stay after school in the library, reading together in comfortable silence or discussing/debating books or sometimes just taking a nap.

Slowly, you started noticing yourself reacting to Woojin; the initial attraction you had to him was starting to resurface after the months of no contact. You blushed at some of the simplest things he did, from the slightest accidental touches that burned your skin to the passion he displayed about critiquing literature. You were completely aware of how damn good looking he was, but for the most part you tried to shove that thought out of your mind.

Are you crazy, Y/N? Don’t make a fool of yourself, he’s never really talked to anyone, as if he’d like you.

Over time, though, you started falling harder and harder for Woojin. He left doodles on your books while you were asleep, would poke your cheeks randomly, and went out with you to eat or see movies.

You even went over to his house to chill out, his mom excitedly preparing food for the two of you and repeatedly asking Woojin if you were his girlfriend, making the both of you embarrassed. Woojin’s parents were thrilled that he had a friend come over for the first time :)))

One day you two were just working on homework in Woojin’s room. He let you use his desk, Woojin offering to use the bed. Shortly later, you started dozing off, head plopping onto your arms, making Woojin laugh.

“If you were going to sleep, you shouldn’t have taken the desk dumbo,” Woojin called, only to receive no response from you. He got up, and approached you, noticing you were actually out cold, evilly laughing as he grabbed a sharpie.

But as he approached your face with the marker, he was startled at how adorable you looked, even if your sleeping face was all contorted and weird (SORRY I HAD TO)

He giggled to himself (like the loser he is) and dropped the pen, grabbing a blanket and placing it over you

He crouched next to you, poking your cheek and whispering without thinking: “I’m glad I met you, (Y/N). I was alone for so long, but now you’re here.” 

Welp thanks to that poke, you were now classified as Awake, and you couldn’t manage to move when you felt Woojin tuck your hair behind your ear.

ohmygoshogmghsdfohmygod is he going to kiss me scREAM ok ok ok Y/N you’re ready you can do this

You waited for a solid minute, to feel nothing touch you. Slightly disappointed, you peeked your eyes open... only to find Woojin’s face quickly approaching you. You instantaneously reacted, shifting your head to face his. Woojin’s eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen, before his lips met the area between your nose and upper lip. 

“OWWWWWW” you exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing the point of contact, slightly hurting from the impact.

“Oh god (Y/N) I’m so sorry I was aiming for your chee–” Woojin blurted before realizing what he had said. He grabbed his own face in shock and started backing up, attempting to flee the crime scene... before he tripped his own feet and fell to the ground face first, making you fall to the desk table in laughter.

You got up sat on his back, pinning him to the ground, asking what he was doing and demanding to know if he liked you or not, this whole situation making you so happy that it was only possible that you liked Woojin back.

And that logic reached him before it hit you.

Woojin easily got up, wriggling out of your grasp, backing you up against the wall, his hands holding your wrists (scream why am I writing this)

"Why are you so excited? You better have a good reason for being awfully happy, or I’m just going to assume you like me, (Y/N).”

Your brain was far too focused on managing your heart (which was apparently running a 100 meter dash), leaving you mumbling incoherent excuses, making Woojin immediately lose his tough guy act, doubling down in laughter.

You caught ahold of yourself, sputtering out, “well yeah? So– so what if I do?”

Woojin immediately silenced, looking up at you. “That would be awfully convenient then (Y/N), because–” he mumbled, averting his eyes, embarrassed, “I feel the same way.” 

The both of you just silently stood there (because you were both really good at being awkward), but the quiet atmosphere suddenly broken by the opening of Woojin’s door, a high-pitched voice asking “kids, do you want some snacks? I have some crackers and seaweed and fruits!”

For the next few days, the both of you didn’t really talk to one another. It seemed like the two of you had gone back to the old days of being completely quiet, but this time the silence was more awkward than comfortable. At the end of that week though, while heading to the library during lunch with Woojin, you felt his hand slightly touching yours, and eventually grabbing it, interlacing his fingers with yours. The two of you met eyes, and couldn’t help but smile when each of you saw the others’ blushing face.

Somehow, the two people who needed someone the most had found one another.

Part 1, Part 2

A/N: I wrote this originally with a lot of angst but then I remembered that I promised cute times so here we are LOL

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the short series! This was a fun experiment for me, lmao. Not sure how well I did with consistency in terms of all the parts, I feel like some things I wrote in previous parts are irrelevant now because I didn’t start with a clear storyline in mind, so maybe I’ll do some edits later.

And as always, thanks for reading ♥︎

[onghwcng]

with every word  you swear to me (all my beliefs start caving in)

RATING: T

PAIRING: Kim Donghyun/Im Youngmin

SUMMARY: “You’re a sophomore. I’m sure there are lots of things you still don’t know,” Youngmin teases Donghyun, all bark and no bite. Donghyun scoffs in return, but the good natured grin is still on his lips and his eyes are still sparkling with unrestrained mirth.(Here, Youngmin wishes he had a polaroid, because that’s a pretty sight and he wants to take a picture of it—of Donghyun smiling and looking like everything’s alright in the world even if everything isn’t—because this moment is something he wants to remember for a long, long time.) “Yeah? Like what?” Donghyun challenges, raising a brow at Youngmin expectantly.“Like the fact that you feel a lot like home,” is what Youngmin wants to say, but Donghyun might think Youngmin’s hitting on him, and Youngmin definitely isn’t. Donghyun’s just a friend. A really, really nice friend that Youngmin’s nowhere short of adoring, but that’s it. A friend. A bro, if he must call him that. So, instead of blurting that out and unintentionally starting either a rift or a heart to heart, Youngmin shrugs. “Like, things.”

WORD COUNT: 27,612

WARNINGS: Internalized homophobia.

Also posted on AO3.

 I.

 "We are condemned — and we understand it        well — To give everything, to withhold nothing."

    People always have a drive. It’s their motivation, their will, some kind of thought that drives them to do whatever it is they’ve determined to be important enough to turn into reality. For world leaders, their drive might be to make their countries a better place, and for supreme sith lords from Star Wars, their drive might be to make things as bad as possible. A drive is neutral. It can be good, it can be bad, or it can be full-on chaotic neutral, but for Youngmin, he’s only got one drive, and it’s to make music.

 (In retrospect, saying that his drive is to make music seems bizarrely anti-climatic when compared to the examples he’d stated, but Youngmin, despite being a rapper, is terrible at wording things out. Or, saying things. Stating? Saying? Either one.)

 The first time he’d listened to his cousin play guitar, it felt like someone was constructing some kind of heavenly performance right in front of his eyes, even though looking back, listening to an eleven year-old pluck the same few strings to play a cheap rendition of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata should hardly be life-changing. Maybe Youngmin was just easily impressed as a kid, as most kids tend to be, but whatever the case is, it was music and it was his love at first sight. No, wait, not first sight—love at first sound? That.

 “Teach me,” he’d breathed, eyes as wide as saucers in their amazement. His cousin wags his fingers at him and shakes his head, ends up saying something like ‘you’re too young to learn the art of guitar’, and Youngmin sulks afterwards. His pity party doesn’t stop him from sticking around when his cousin plays a few more songs though, and with every passing melody, he finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into the pool that is his constantly growing love for music. This is going to be his thing, just as his mother’s thing is sewing and his father’s thing is growing tomatoes at their farm. Youngmin helps out too, sometimes, but he doesn’t want to be stuck farming tomatoes all his life.

 Music is what Youngmin wants to do, and one day, Youngmin’s going to be the best one out there. He just knows it.

     Seoul University takes him out of Busan and into the capital of his nation. Youngmin is an awkward young adult; he fumbles with the Seoul dialect, and more often than not, slips back into his satoori in the middle of his sentences, especially when he’s nervous. (And he’s nervous quite often.)

 Still, Seoul University might place him somewhere he’s completely not used to, because they didn’t have these skyscrapers back in Busan and he sure as hell isn’t used to the city lingo around here, but Seoul University takes him closer to his dreams, and that’s all that matters. He didn’t work his ass off during his last year of high school just to let all his hard work go to waste, no matter how homesick he gets sometimes, no matter how few friends he has on campus because of the awkward, unsure way Youngmin carries himself.

 (The awkwardness is a little unlike the way Youngmin had been back in Busan. Though he was never the icon of confidence, the nerves hadn’t been as present, and that’s because Youngmin was home. Now, he feels like a stranger in his own skin whenever he speaks in a dialect that isn’t his own.)

 Youngmin sucks it up. He makes do with what friends he does have, and spends his nights writing down lyrics, laptop still on with the composing program shown across his screen. Packets of cup ramen surround him, discarded and making his small studio room stink of instant noodles, but this is nothing. He convinces himself it’s nothing anyway, because all of this will get better once everything works out.

 They have to.

      Three years into his studies, Youngmin finds a familiar face in the crowd that is the music department’s newest batch of students.

 He doesn’t recognize him at first. The kid now sports dyed red hair (the colour is ridiculous, but then again, Youngmin’s hair used to be an even brighter shade of it before he’d decided to return it to its original colour) and his features have matured, which is to be expected, because time waits for no one. Still, Youngmin does a double check, because the kid has an eerie resemblance to a certain Busan boy who used to drill Youngmin for money (not in an illegal manner, though it was surely annoying at certain times) during the most opportune moments.

 As soon as the ceremony ends, Youngmin rushes down the stairs, heart pounding in his chest from excitement. The kid attempts to leave the building immediately (and he’s alone, too), but Youngmin is there by the door in a flash, blocking him from his exit.

 “Um, do you mind?”

 The kid seems to be too focused on looking past Youngmin’s shoulders to look at Youngmin’s face, and Youngmin feels slightly guilty, because he might be in a rush and Youngmin’s stalling his time. Still, he’s a man on a mission, so he does mind, thank you very much.

 “Park Woojin?” Youngmin says the name tentatively, tasting the long unspoken syllables on his tongue. He’s going to be embarrassed if he gets this wrong, but Youngmin is at least 99% sure that he’s right, because there’s really no way someone can look like another person this much. Unless puberty is that powerful, which Youngmin highly doubts, because the kid’s even got the same beauty mark on the side of his temple, the same spot the Woojin he knows has one.

 Unless cloning has become a possibility and a mad scientist has sent his creation to Seoul University’s music department, Youngmin’s postive the kid is the same Park Woojin he knows.

 Woojin freezes, obviously surprised someone knows his name without him having given it prior (or so he thinks!), at least, until he finally looks at Youngmin’s face and realization dawns upon his features. Good, Youngmin didn’t get the wrong guy. “Youngmin hyung!”

 Youngmin wants to hug the kid, but at the same time, they haven’t seen each other for so long that even after Woojin recognizing him, the two of them have a tangible awkwardness between them. Youngmin’s arms are limp, and Woojin doesn’t seem to have the initiative to hug Youngmin. The kid’s never been much of a hugger though, has he?

 “Do you want to catch up?” Youngmin offers, a wry quirk to his lips. There’s a coffee shop—Youngmin’s favourite coffee shop, as a matter of fact—located just around the block. It should be open by now, and Youngmin hasn’t had the daily shot of espresso he needs to function in the morning. (Whose bright idea was it to hold the freshmen tour so early in the morning anyway? Not his, that’s for sure.)

     If Youngmin feels better knowing Woojin’s satoori is even worse than his when he’d first moved to Seoul, he doesn’t let it show.

 The both of them are cramped together in one of the cornered seats of the coffee shop, half-empty cups of coffee both placed on the table. Youngmin’s taking his time with his, though he’s tempted to down it in one shot. The only reason why he hasn’t is because Woojin’s there with him, and he’s not sure if Woojin would be terrified or seriously concerned if he sees Youngmin do that. Freshmen are weird.

 “I have to thank you, hyung,” Woojin mumbles, voice uncharacteristically demure. When Woojin refuses to meet his eyes, Youngmin realizes that Woojin is shy. Is that even possible? (Apparently so, but Youngmin still has a tough time believing it, even if seeing is supposedly believing.)

 “What for, Woojin?”

 Woojin appears contemplative. Not for the first time in this conversation, Youngmin wishes he can see what’s going on inside the younger’s head, but that’d be an invasion of privacy so Youngmin retracts the thought—being creepy isn’t really on his bucket list. “You’re the reason why my parents allowed me to come here.”

 “…Huh?”

 Woojin grins, snaggletooth and all. It’s charming. “My mom only let me come here because she knew you’d be here, too. She trusts you.”

 The weight of Woojin’s words soon sink in, and Youngmin looks at the younger with barely concealed horror. “I am not going to babysit you—”

 It’s nothing personal, because Youngmin adores Woojin no matter how much money the younger has taken from him. Woojin’s a nice kid and he’s not a big hassle because Youngmin knows he’s the responsible type and he can handle most of his own problems. As far as younger brother figures go, Woojin’s on the independent end of the spectrum. Still, Youngmin isn’t fond of the thought of spending a majority of his nights looking after the freshman, close ties or not. He’s got his own life to live, his own problems to deal with. He doesn’t need to add Woojin on top of all that, no matter how much he likes the kid’s company.

 “It won’t be babysitting!” Woojin cuts him off in the middle of his tirade, already latching onto Youngmin’s tone. It shuts Youngmin up, at least, lets him sink back onto his chair and give a gesture with his hands that’s meant to signal Woojin to explain. Hopefully quickly, because Youngmin has a date with his lyrics sheet back at his dorm. “You’ll just need to check on me every once in a while—okay, once a week—and text my mom how I’m doing. With pictures attached.”

 “That sounds a lot like irresponsible babysitting, Woojin.” Judging by the guilty, sheepish grin that blooms on Woojin’s lips, it is, and Youngmin pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He’s already made up a decision, and it is exactly the kind of decision that makes Youngmin wish he wasn’t so responsible and (maybe a little) overbearing. “Text me your class schedule. We’ll work something out.”

 Woojin gnaws on his lower lip. “But hyung, I don’t have your number yet.”

 “Give me your phone, then.” Woojin hands it over without a fight, and Youngmin punches in his number, leaving the name blank. Whatever Woojin wants to name his contact as, it’s the kid’s choice. “Don’t forget to text me later, okay?”

 Like an obedient oversized puppy, Woojin nods, lips set into a dutiful thin line. “Roger that, hyung. Wait, where are you going?” Youngmin’s already getting out of his seat and Woojin clambers after him, and in the process of rushing, accidentally hits his knee on the roof of their table. It makes an audible noise, and Woojin hisses in pain. Youngmin cringes.

 “I’m guessing I’ll leave that part out when I report to your mom?”

    Youngmin’s on his third cup ramen for the day and is inching closer and closer towards his imminent death due to a gaping lack of proper nutrition when his phone buzzes, indicating a new message.

 It’s an unknown number, but the tone of the message makes it obvious as to who it is, so before responding, Youngmin saves his number. (He should’ve taken a picture of Woojin too, or at least find one online, because Youngmin has a thing with giving his contacts pictures—he’ll have to fix this later, maybe ask Woojin for a selfie?)

 won stealer (13:15): hyung i have a great idea

won stealer (13:15): like, a really good one

won stealer (13:16): please hear me out

paca hyung (13:18): what is it?

won stealer (13:18): ok you’re here

won stealer (13:18): have you ever thought about making a band?

paca hyung (13:19): uh, no

won stealer (13:19): it’s a good idea and i can list down the reasons!

won stealer (13:19): do you want me to list down the reasons

paca hyung (13:20): go for it kid

won stealer (13:21): first of all you can totally look after me while being productive

won stealer (13:21): you can improve your song writing skills

won stealer (13:22): also you can submit the band as a project to your prof

won stealer (13:22): it’ll be extra credit!!!

paca hyung (13:23): okay, you’re onto something here

paca hyung (13:23): won’t hurt a shot lol what do i have to lose

won stealer (13:24): great because i might have already found us our vocalist and keyboardist

paca hyung (13:25): …

paca hyung (13:25): what

    Whatever it is he’d expected of the vocalist, Youngmin surely hadn’t expected it to be someone even younger than Woojin. Their would-be vocalist and keyboardist is apparently a prodigy and got into college early through a fast track program Youngmin can’t seem to remember the name of. Long story short, the person Youngmin’s supposed to recruit seems like he’d belong more in the school orchestra rather than a band, and Youngmin doesn’t even want to know how Woojin managed to lure someone like that into his band. Maybe he should start giving Woojin more credit.

 “Where’d you find him?” Youngmin doesn’t bother to make sure the vocalist (his name is Lee Daehwi, he’d mentioned before somewhere during their conversation) is out of the room when he asks this to Woojin, because it’s not like he’s going to say something rude about Daehwi anyway, and by the tone of Youngmin’s voice, it should be easy to defer that this is being spoken as a compliment.

 Woojin smiles smugly. “I know people.”

 “If by that you mean you posted an ad on the bulletin board and waited for someone to respond, then yeah, you know people,” Daehwi muttered under his breath, carefully avoiding Woojin’s piercing glance when directed towards him.

 It was in that moment that Youngmin knew he’s going to like having Lee Daehwi around.

 “Welcome to the band.”

    The three of them make Youngmin’s favourite coffee shop as their base of operations. It’s a slow start, but it’s still a start, and their forming leads Youngmin to wonder why he hadn’t thought of something like this before.

 “What are we going to name ourselves?” Daehwi asks one day, notepad in hand. He’s their resident planner and secretary as well as their vocalist and keyboardist, because everyone knows you should only leave those jobs to Woojin if you wanted your documents to get lost and it’s an open secret that Youngmin’s not the most organized person around. (“That much’s obvious with the way you layer your shirts,” Daehwi once said to him, and Youngmin refused to speak to the younger for a whole day afterwards. Not one of his best moments.)

 Woojin’s nose scrunches up, and it’s the telltale sign that he’s thinking, because it’s his ‘thinking face.’ Youngmin remembers having a younger version of Park Woojin confiding this to him once, maybe over five years ago.

 “How about WYD? Like, What You Doing? It’s got our names too! W for me, Y for Youngmin hyung, and D for Daehwi!”

 As far as ideas go, that’s not terrible, and Daehwi writes it down. “Alright, that’s one idea. Youngmin hyung, do you have any ideas?”

 Names aren’t his forte, but Youngmin takes into account the other two’s hopeful expressions, and somehow, his brain conjures up images of a sparrow and an otter instead of a band name that doesn’t sound like it came out of the ‘80s. But, Woojin and Daehwi both resemble those animals, and if Youngmin’s got to think of an animal for himself, it’d definitely have to be an alpaca (Woojin even saved his number as ‘paca hyung’)—he might be onto something here, and Youngmin might be able to kill two birds with one stone. The band name as well as what sets them apart from other bands, because in the music department, there are a lot.

 “Animal Kingdom.” He’s met with dumbfounded silence and incredulous stares from Woojin and Daehwi. Woojin looks like he’s more surprised over the fact someone gave a name that sounded sillier than what he himself had suggested, and Daehwi looks exactly like someone who has just realized he’s surrounded by not just one, but two knuckleheads. So, Youngmin gives a follow-up to his statement immediately, which is a really PR thing to do and makes him realize he’s been hanging out with the PR kids way too much lately. “It makes sense! You look like a sparrow, and Daehwi looks like an otter. I look like an alpaca.”

 Daehwi frowns. “You’ve got a point, but the name is so cheesy. And I’m the one saying that.”

 When Daehwi of all people is saying something’s cheesy, then aforementioned something must be pretty damned cheesy, considering the fact Daehwi’s someone who can read a Nicholas Sparks book overnight and come out unscathed, even saying something like ‘it wasn’t that cheesy.’ Youngmin feels like a little part of himself has been scabbed. (The hip-hop part of himself, he means, because having a band called Animal Kingdom might not be the swaggiest—that’s probably not a word but one of the Taiwanese exchange students seems to think it is and Youngmin’s been infected by the kid’s word virus—thing to do.)

 “A different name with the same concept, then?” Youngmin tries, and when the kids realize he’s not going to give up the animal concept any time soon, they give in with a sigh, though Woojin makes it evident he doesn’t think Youngmin entirely knows what he’s doing.

 “How am I going to go to classes when people know me as a sparrow?” Woojin laments under his breath, and Youngmin brings himself to chuckle.

 “At least you won’t be known as an alpaca.”

 Woojin has the gall to turn his nose up at him. “But I thought you liked being called an alpaca? I mean, you’ve got the whole alpaca dance thing down to a—”

 “Nope, I can’t hear you, Woojin.”

    This isn’t working.

 Theoretically speaking, it should be working, because they’ve got two rappers and one decent vocalist; not to mention Daehwi’s composing skills when teamed up with Woojin and Youngmin’s own (with the addition of each of their ability in lyric making) they should be a dream team. Not a trio of overworked college students who can barely get through practice without interrupting each other because that was a wrong note and something like one of them accidentally going off-tune.

 Put simply, they’re a disaster, and Youngmin’s starting to regret investing all his time into this when he’s got a stack of assignments waiting for him back at his place. Maybe it was a stupid move of his, to consider that this whole thing would work out, because obviously he’s supposed to suffer his way through college before getting out and hopefully getting his big break. He’s added a ‘hopefully’ to that word, because there’s only so many success stories compared to the amount of failed musicians he sees, even if they’re graduates from South Korea’s top university.

 It gets discouraging, and that leads to stress, and the stress tends to pile up.

 So, what Youngmin’s trying to say is, maybe he’s not okay. He’d figured this whole band thing would be a magic key, but it’s starting to look like he’d chosen the wrong object and one of these days he’s going to have to come back to his cherry farm and—

 And, he needs to calm himself, because this really isn’t the greatest place to have a mental breakdown. (Added to that, Daehwi’s starting to look worried and even Woojin’s caught onto the unsteady twist in Youngmin’s features. Deep breaths.)

 “Hyung, are you okay?” Daehwi edges carefully, eyes searching for any trace of anything that’s not okay from Youngmin’s form. If he looks at the right places, he’s bound to find a hell lot of it.

 “I’ll be honest,” Youngmin begins, voice blunt. “Not really. The band isn’t working out.” Subtlety has never been Youngmin’s strong point, so he decides to drop the bomb just like that, and averts his eyes because he doesn’t want to see whatever disappointment is waiting for him in both Woojin and Daehwi. It’d be like looking into the eyes of a puppy he’s abandoned, and he doesn’t need that on his already heavy conscience. (One of these days, Youngmin’s going to have a breakdown, he can practically feel it.)

 “I’m sorry.” Woojin sounds so guilty, and Youngmin wants to tell Woojin that he doesn’t have to feel like he’s the guilty one. Even though Woojin’s the one who came up with the idea, in the end it had been Youngmin who’d executed it, and that makes him even worse because his role had him feeding the two kids some kind of false hope for… what? A reputation upgrade? A few extra points in class? It’s not like he’d sold them hopes and dreams, per se, but still.

 “It’s not your fault. It’s mine,” Youngmin resolves, ignoring Woojin’s look of bafflement directed at him. “Listen, Woojin—”

 “No, you listen, hyung.” That manages to shut Youngmin up, because Woojin is usually exuberant and vibrant, maybe more on the grumpy than the sunshine side of things (unlike Daehwi), but there’s a certain layer of ice behind Woojin’s tone that takes him completely aback. “You’re not the one at fault here. I don’t know why you’re thinking that when this whole idea was mine in the first place. You wouldn’t have formed our band if I hadn’t given you that idea—so if anyone’s to blame, it’s me. Please don’t blame yourself over this, hyung.”

 “But I—”

 “Stop blaming yourselves, oh my God,” Daehwi interrupts their self-pity, sounding more exasperated than angry. Is that a good thing? Youngmin hopes that’s a good thing. “This was none of your faults. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want it to.” After a contemplative pause, he adds, “Kind of like a relationship.”

 “A relationship?” Woojin mirrors Youngmin’s face of blatant confusion. Though, maybe to a more serious extent, because Youngmin’s starting to get the idea of what Daehwi’s saying, having had his fair share of relationships. Woojin’s been single since he was born, so Youngmin tries to understand the youthful innocence that rolls off him in waves.

 “Yeah, a relationship. Sometimes you might give it your all, time and everything, but in the end some things just aren’t meant to work out.” Daehwi is probably speaking from experience, judging by the sadness that laces his tone. Youngmin makes a mental note to ask Daehwi if he wants to talk about it later. If there is a later.

  In the end, the both of them look at Youngmin. He knows why, of course. They consider him as their leader. It’s a heavy burden, because he makes all of the important decisions, kind of like this one.

 This time, the decision he makes is far from being an easy one.

 “If we’re comparing this to a relationship, then it’s time to take a break.” And, because he can’t bear to see the both of them being sad, he decides to add in a pinch of humour—even if Woojin’s going to be the only one appreciating it in the end as Daehwi’s taste in humour isn’t as lame as his and Woojin’s. “It’s not you, it’s me.”

    Neither Daehwi nor Woojin stop texting him, even after their failed attempt of a band ends before it even really begins. None of them act like a stranger around him, never forgetting to nod in acknowledgement or wave whenever they spot each other around campus. When they bump into each other in the halls, they greet each other too.

 In a way, it settles Youngmin, because it doesn’t feel like much has changed. Maybe the three of them don’t meet up to make music anymore, but none of them have stopped being friends. Even if Daehwi’s found his own group of friends (with some of the more popular kids in freshman year, he recognizes Park Jihoon as one of them because he’s got a handful of friends who wants to be introduced to the kid) and Woojin’s slowly breaking through of his shell and is starting to talk to people who aren’t Youngmin nor Daehwi. Sometimes, Youngmin sees him walking to the library with someone else from his year—a nice boy named Hyungseob, he eerily resembles a bunny—and it makes him feel happy, even if he has to fake his reports to Woojin’s mother sometimes.

 It’s not like she realizes the difference between the pictures that Youngmin takes of Woojin and the pictures that Woojin either takes himself, or has Hyungseob to do for him. The three of them are kind of like co-conspirators in a sense; co-conspirators in making sure Woojin’s mother stays happy even if Youngmin doesn’t stick around like the mother hen she’d expected him to be for her son.

 (He was always more of a papa bear than a mother hen anyway.)

     II.

 "                                             I knew it was restless, nocturnal, demanding, and wouldn’t fit into my life. But I longed, nevertheless…"

    Parties usually aren’t Youngmin’s scene.

 It’s not that he lacks the social awareness needed for them (contrary to slightly popular belief, though those rumours have died down once people started noticing his friendship with Daehwi, Woojin, and the occasional Hyungseob—they called him the ‘freshman collector’ for a while before they started realizing that was kind of fucking creepy), but it’s because Youngmin would rather spend the night completing the assignments he knows are due either the next meeting or the meeting after that, but he still starts later on in the project anyway because apparently he’s Im Youngmin and he’s a sucker for death. Or pain. Whichever comes first.

 Tonight’s a different occasion though, because it’s a special occasion. It’s not everyday that your first friend on campus gets elected as the president of his frat, as odd as it might seem that Kim Jonghyun’s a member of a fraternity in the first place. Jonghyun’s one of those good guys that seem like they could step into any movie and instantly be its protagonist because he’s got a good head on his shoulder and the kind of morality usually found in future world leaders, not the leader of a pack of (somewhat subdued) frat boys.

 Still, Youngmin knows the boys of the fraternity adore Jonghyun, going as far as to slightly change their ways for him. The Jonghyun Effect (complete with a trademark and everything) is what they’ve been calling it, because—and this is what they say—whenever Jonghyun gets disappointed, it feels like they’ve managed to let down Captain fucking America. Youngmin sees the resemblance, kind of, because whenever Jonghyun’s disappointed he manages to make Youngmin feel like he’s ten again and he’s just done something that he wasn’t supposed to in the farm. He once shared that story to some of the frat boys, and they couldn’t relate.

 That’s to be expected, considering none of their families own a tomato farm.

 “Youngmin, I’m glad you could make it.” Jonghyun personally sees him at the door, and Youngmin doesn’t know if he’d ever expected anything else. The older of them (only by a few months, as Jonghyun is fond to remind him) is donned in a long-sleeved pink shirt that looks comfortable and fitted denim jeans. His hair is styled, and he’s smiling—pretty widely too, which is good, because this is supposed to be Jonghyun’s night.

 “I know how much this means to you,” is what Youngmin offers in return. The both of them share a quick smile, and soon Jonghyun finds himself greeting another guest, leaving Youngmin alone after a quick apology. Youngmin waves off the apology, because Jonghyun’s supposed to be greeting the guests anyway, and Youngmin’s sure he’s got some friends of his own at this party.

 Friends that aren’t Daehwi nor Woojin, considering they’re freshmen and he’s pretty sure Jonghyun hadn’t invited any to the party. Dongho, who stands as bouncer in all of his intimidating glory (it’s only a cover though, anyone who’s someone knows he’s a softie at heart) is bound to keep any party crashers at bay.

 His first order of business is to get some booze. While he isn’t the biggest drinker, he can hold his liquor well enough, and there won’t be any harm in a few drinks. The buzz would be pleasant and maybe it’d get Youngmin to loosen up enough to make some friends. That is, if he manages to keep his drinking under control (easier said than done once the liquor really gets into his system) and avoids blacking out. Because if Youngmin blacks out, it means he wouldn’t remember any friends he’d made prior, and that’s not the angle he’s going for.

 As tempting as it may be.

 Thankfully, he’s able to find beer easily, even if beer isn’t exactly his preference. Youngmin’s more of a rice wine person, but he’ll take anything, so he gulps down the beer and controls his facial expression to avoid cringing at the stale, bitter taste.

 (Nobody’s really paying attention to him, so even if he’d let his discomfort show, it’s not like he’s going to be the butt of the party. Everyone’s attention’s fixed onto Sanggyun who is currently doing a keg stand. Sanggyun’s doing a good job of not falling onto his own butt and embarrassing himself, and apparently it’s lasted more than ten seconds. Not bad.)

 The party’s revving up now, more and more people arriving with every passing moment. Youngmin knows how much of a loser he looks like right now, quietly sipping a beer he isn’t even enjoying and not really having much company around him. The solution to this, of course, is even more drinks. Where else is he supposed to gather courage from? He’s similar to Woojin in this way, because the both of them have a tendency to be relatively reserved at first before being friendly with someone. That demeanor kind of changes when he’s trying to befriend someone who’s lonely (codeword for having even less friends than he does), in which he has the galls to be the talker instead of the one being talked to, but in this party, it seems like he’s the odd one out.

 Most of the people here? He might know their names, but he’s starting to regret not going out more back in his freshman year. Now they’ve got their own friends, and Youngmin’s… Youngmin. Not left behind, per se, but not exactly in the crowd either.

 He’s in the tiny gray area in the middle, sometimes teetering over the line when his three freshmen friends are involved, but that’s all.

 (His thoughts are starting to get sad and the party’s barely even started—time to get another drink.)

    Two hours into the party and Youngmin’s already done his fair share of socializing (he thinks he’s made like, what, five new friends now? Daehwi would be proud), feeling the familiar buzz of the alcohol but still fairly in control, because he holds his liquor well and he doesn’t really enjoy much of the alcoholic beverages served to drink further. The drinks were a good distraction from his thoughts that were taking a rapid depressive turn, but now they’ve served their job, and Youngmin keeps a tight handle on his self control.

 He knows when enough is enough and he still needs to walk across campus to get back home—so, no more drinks. Not tonight.

 Youngmin’s having a grand time leaning against a wall as he watches the antics of the party unravel before his eyes (some interesting things are beginning to happen, like witnessing Jonghyun finally kiss Minhyun after several months of pining), only slightly wondering what he’d have done had he drunk as much as the rest of them. Probably nothing remarkably interesting, maybe he’d have puked in one of the bathrooms, and ended up falling asleep in the bathtub. Nothing remarkable enough to go on anyone’s Snapchat, just something to give him a bitch of a hangover when he wakes up.

 Maybe he should go back now. It’s not like anyone’s going to call him out for leaving, and he’s already been there for two hours, so that should be enough, right?

 (As he sees Jonghyun push Minhyun inside a bathroom and the resounding click that happens after Jonghyun locks the door, he decides that yep, this is definitely enough. He doesn’t need to hear or imagine whatever’s happening after that, dear Lord.)

 What happens after that is something that Youngmin will remember for the rest of his life as the beginning of something fateful (or whatever wording there is that Daehwi would use from one of his Nicholas Sparks novels) in the years to come, but at the present moment, something that’s just plain fucking weird, because some guy he doesn’t know has just strolled up to him and promptly plants a big, sloppy kiss on his lips.

 Stranger Danger (that’s what Youngmin’s going to call him, or SD for short) reeks of alcohol and bad life decisions, because giving Im Youngmin out of all people a kiss has got to be a terrible life decision, and Youngmin pushes him away just as any other person would do when a stranger suddenly tries to shove their tongue in your throat and just ends up colliding your teeth with his (painfully) in the process.

 Drunken kisses aren’t his thing, neither are kisses shared with strangers, and negative plus negative equals negative. So, that wasn’t necessarily the best way to start an acquaintanceship or whatever it is the stranger had been hoping for with Im Youngmin.

 “What the hell?” Youngmin splutters, looking as taken aback as he sounds. He’s sure SD hadn’t meant to cause any harm, because alcohol makes you do really stupid things, so he tries not to sound too rude. A difficult task, considering he’d just had a kiss stolen by some drunk college student at a frat party.

 (Oh my God, I might’ve just kissed a frat boy. The very thought sends shivers down Youngmin’s back in terror, because not to generalize all frat boys, but the only decent frat boy’s Youngmin’s ever talked to is Jonghyun.)

 “Why did thou push me away, oh Romeo?” SD starts to lament in front of him, and Youngmin kind of wants to bury a hole and stay there for the duration of his party or maybe the rest of his life, because did he just get kissed by a stranger who thought Youngmin was Romeo? From Romeo and Juliet?

 What kind of drunk nutcase could he possibly be dealing with?

 “Listen, I’m not Romeo, I’m Im Youngmin,” he attempts to correct the other, inwardly relieved that the drunk stranger hasn’t tried to kiss Youngmin again. Instead, he looks lost now, head tilted slightly and eyes dazed in drunken confusion. “Maybe I look like someone you’re… acting with or whatever, but it’s not me, got it?”

 And, because Youngmin’s life is made of inopportune moments, that’s the exact moment that the guy chooses to pass out on him—eyes rolling backwards, body dropping unceremoniously to the ground before Youngmin even has the chance to react.

 Thank goodness he chose a spot with a carpet as a place to pass out, because Youngmin doesn’t need ‘letting a guy fall to the cold hard ground’ weighing down on his already heavy conscience.

 He can’t just go home like this, though. It wouldn’t be right to leave someone on the ground, even if it’s a padded floor because of the carpet, even if it’s the same someone who’d seriously weirded him out by kissing him and proceeding to act as if Youngmin’s playing Romeo in a warped version of Romeo and Juliet where the both of them are at an unglamorous college party. So, Youngmin awkwardly slings the guy’s arm across his shoulder, and rests an arm on his waist as he attempts to holster the drunk up.

 It’s a tough job because the guy weighs heavier than he looks (which is odd because he seems to be more skin than bones, so maybe it’s lean muscle?), but he doesn’t receive any odd stares because everyone’s off in their own drunken worlds. Not for the first time tonight, Youngmin thanks the booze.

 Why am I even doing this? Youngmin grimaces when he already feels the knots forming on his neck, and he knows he’s going to wake up all sore tomorrow because this is the closest thing he’s had to a workout in the span of thirteen months. Oh, right. It’s because I have a ‘saving people thing’, whatever that is. Daehwi, as a matter of fact, is the first person to point out said ‘saving people thing’ after he’d witnessed Youngmin give his packed lunch to a homeless man when the both of them had been strolling around Seoul. Daehwi said it because he knows that was the last food Youngmin’s got in his fridge, and Youngmin knows a ‘saving people thing’ is supposed to be positive, but right now, it’s just kind of… dumb. Heroic, but dumb.

 The stranger’s given him more trouble than he’s worth, and yet, here is Youngmin, saving him from being a man floor at a party. He just hopes that when the stranger wakes up tomorrow, he’s not going to attempt to kiss Youngmin again or try to call him Romeo. Once was more than enough.

    When the stranger wakes up, Youngmin’s already cooked breakfast for the both of them, a simple plate of sunny-side eggs and some rice on the side. Though Youngmin would usually save the eggs for a special occasion (and instead opting to have cereal for breakfast or something), he doesn’t want to seem rude, even if he’d already gone out of his way to bring the stranger back to his apartment after a completely unconventional first meeting.

 He’d fix the stranger up some hangover soup if he actually had the ingredients. Alas, he doesn’t, so he can only hope the stranger likes his egg sunny-side up.

 “Hey. Aspirin’s on the table.” Youngmin points at the assortment of pills, sending a smile that he hopes looks friendly at the stranger. The stranger returns it warily, and Youngmin feels a stab of relief, because at least he knows the stranger’s probably not the type to do the same things he’d done when he was drunk (possibly shitfaced?) last night.

 “Thank you,” croaks the stranger, and Youngmin winces. Must be one hell of a hangover.

 “I, uh, cooked you some breakfast. It’s not much, though.” The stranger looks at the plates Youngmin’s conveniently placed on the small dinner table, and his face lights up in the first genuine smile Youngmin’s seen from him. It’s… admittedly a nice sight.

 “Thank you,” he repeats once more, voice still throaty, but in slightly better condition now that he’s gotten more used to speaking. “Did we, um…? I mean I don’t think we did because I woke up wearing the same thing as I did yesterday, but, um.”

 The stranger’s ears are red, and Youngmin isn’t looking much better either. Still, Youngmin gathers the courage needed to wave the stranger off, shaking his head in a negative. “No, we didn’t. You passed out, though, so I decided to bring you back. Hope it wasn’t a creepy move or whatever.”

 “It wasn’t,” assures the stranger, and Youngmin feels a wave of comfort. There’s this kind of calming aura that surrounds him, and that itself makes it even more mind-boggling that this is the same person who’d kissed him and proceeded to address him as Romeo less than twelve hours ago. “I’m Donghyun.”

 Youngmin outstretches his hand. Donghyun takes it in his, and Youngmin has to note how firm his grip is. Must be the muscles, then, because his sore shoulders are a reminder of how much effort it’d taken to drag Donghyun back to his dorm.

 “Im Youngmin.”

    juliet (8:09): hey :)

juliet (8:09): thanks again for earlier

juliet (8:10): you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me

paca hyung (8:11): it was the right thing to do so don't sweat it

paca hyung (8:12): even if you were a little heavy like dude what's your workout plan??

juliet (8:13): out of all the things you could've said

juliet (8:13): amazing

paca hyung (8:14): what? you're like a bulky juliet

juliet (8:14): STOP DON'T BRING THAT UP EVER AGAIN

juliet (8:15): i take back everything I've said you're mean

juliet (8:15): don't talk to me

paca hyung (8:16): ok...

juliet (8:16): I DIDN'T MEAN IT LITERALLY!!!

    Over the course of the weekend, Youngmin learns several things about Donghyun.

 The first (and most) important thing is that Donghyun’s normally a quiet person; reserved, even, kind of like Youngmin but with more friends because he’s an ambivert, apparently. Point is, Donghyun is more on the quiet side, and after learning what he’d done to Youngmin during their first meeting, he’d turned beet red and couldn’t look at Youngmin in the eyes for an hour.

 That piece of information Youngmin figured when the both of them were at Youngmin’s apartment, just before Donghyun leaves Youngmin to go home, but not before putting in his number into Youngmin’s phone. It’s platonic, though. A hundred and one percent completely platonic because Donghyun says he’s straight.

 Youngmin doesn’t push it because he knows his boundaries.

 They do start texting, though, and that’s how Youngmin gets to know his new friend. Or acquaintance. He’s not sure where Donghyun falls on the spectrum, but he’d like to think they’re friends. Hopefully it’s not one-sided thinking on his part, because that’d be awkward, and Youngmin’s already a lump of awkwardness that he doesn’t know how he’d fair when faced with that confrontation.

 He has his own reasons as to why they might be friends, though, because they’ve been texting near-nonstop for the past two days and by this point, Youngmin knows what’s Donghyun’s hobby (writing lyrics and making songs), his hometown (Daejeon, a little surprising because Youngmin would’ve thought Donghyun was a Seoul boy), and the name of the cacti he keeps next to his window (Jack.)

 In return, he’s shared some things about himself to Donghyun too, like how he was in a band just a few weeks ago until they figured out things wasn’t working out, to stories of how he used to help his parents out in their tomato farm back in Busan. Donghyun’s a good listener (through text, if that’s a thing, and Youngmin’s going to pretend that it is), always commenting during the right moments and staying silent otherwise.

 Donghyun is nice, and Youngmin kind of likes being friends with him, even if so far their real life interaction consists of Youngmin helping Donghyun nurse his hangover after their disastrous first meeting. A little unconventional and maybe more than a little backwards, but it’s the company that matters.

 As far as Youngmin’s concerned, Donghyun is wonderful company.

    There’s a new movie playing in town. Something about aliens, because almost everything’s about aliens nowadays, and everyone on campus is talking about it because the lead actress is from South Korea. National pride and everything.

 It doesn’t hurt that the movie has a rating of over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, so that’s got to mean it’s a decent watch.

 The first person he asks to accompany him is Woojin, partly because the both of them go way back but also because Youngmin’s seen Woojin’s wallpaper; it’s a candid of the actress, so Youngmin’s sure the kid was waiting to watch it, too.

 Only, there’s one problem.

 “Sorry, hyung. I’ve already promised Jihoon I was going to watch it with him.”

 An odd expression crosses Youngmin’s face. “Wait, Daehwi’s friend Jihoon? Your Park family name twin Park Jihoon?”

 Woojin nods, seemingly uneasy. “Yeah, with him. I’ve already planned this with him since last week.” That must mean they’ve been waiting for a while, because the movie only started playing yesterday.

 “Okay then, I guess.” Woojin sags in relief, and Youngmin, protective older friend instincts kicking in, senses that something might be going on over here. “Are the two of you seeing each other or something? Because I thought you were with Hyungseob.”

 “It’s not like that—”

 “Sure it isn’t.”

 “—okay fine, so maybe it’s a little like that, but it’s not serious or anything. It’s just one date, and Jihoon… well, Jihoon’s cute.” Woojin shrugs weakly, as if that rectifies everything, but Youngmin frowns in an almost disapproving manner. To bystanders, this might seem like a scene out of a teenager movie, like a father scolding his son for sneaking out at night for a party. Except this kind of party is one with only two people, one of which Youngmin’s never actually spoken to before, so he thinks his worry is well placed.

 Something in Woojin’s expression softens after he notices the way Youngmin’s brow twitches whenever he’s worried, and Youngmin’s not sure whether to be horrified or proud that Woojin knows him well enough to the point he can read his body language. “Hyung, I’m going to be fine. Just because you’re playing babysitter for me doesn’t mean I’m still a kid, okay? I can make my own decisions, and it’s just a date, it’s not like I’m going to drag Jihoon off to Vegas where we’ll wake up the next day with a marriage certificate.”

 Youngmin certainly doesn’t need that mental image.

 After Woojin’s crossed out off the (very) short list of the people Youngmin could ask to go to the movies with, his next choice is Daehwi, obviously, but that plan’s also botched when Daehwi informs him that he’s out of town that week. Apparently, he’s in America to visit his mother, and he’ll be back in two weeks. Youngmin would ask ‘but what about your assignments’, but Daehwi is Daehwi, who is scarily efficient and terrifyingly smart, so he retracts that after realizing that, as far as questions go, is a pretty stupid one.

 In the end, after figuring out two of his favourite juniors (he’d call them youngsters but that’d make him sound way too old for his age) were unable to make it, he’d decided—after brief contemplation on his part—to ask Donghyun.

 Brief contemplation because they’ve only known each other for less than a week, and despite the fact their Snapchat streak’s still going on until this day, Youngmin’s not sure if Donghyun would consider them as close enough friends to hang out with each other. It’s silly, because when he confesses this to Daehwi, all he gets is a text that says ‘lol you guys have a snapchat streak for over five days isn’t that a sign of friendship??’ which Youngmin leaves on read because Daehwi’s got a good point and yet, Youngmin still worries.

 (He knows he should really stop worrying over the most trivial things, but Youngmin can’t help it. He’s a natural worrier and all the stress and anxiety piling up doesn’t exactly help.)

 paca hyung (11:13): are you free tomorrow?

juliet (11:13): hello to you too hyung

paca hyung (11:14): …

paca hyung (11:14): hi donghyun

paca hyung (11:14): are you free tomorrow? (2)

juliet (11:15): i am!!! why do you ask?

paca hyung (11:16): do you want to watch a movie w/ me?

paca hyung (11:16): ‘the alien way’

paca hyung (11:17): i think that’s what it’s called

juliet (11:17): ok! i’ve been meaning to watch it anyway

juliet (11:18): meet you at the cinema tomorrow? what time?

 (Youngmin checks the time of the screenings on his laptop. His eyes squint as they adjust to the brightness, but he sees well enough, considering he’s wearing his glasses right now. Those are more comfortable than the contact lenses he usually wears.)

 paca hyung (11:20): around 2pm?

juliet (11:20): call!!! i’ll see you tomorrow, hyung!!

 Well. That wasn’t as big of a disaster as he’d imagined it’d be. 

    Whatever it is he’d been expecting Donghyun to say to him, it definitely isn’t what he does end up saying, which is an unimpressed, “Do you have a thing for layered shirts, hyung?”

 Youngmin feels the tips of his ears burn. He remembers vaguely, though the moment’s more than a little shaky by now (he’s never been the one to have the strongest memory) wearing a layered shirt the first morning he met Donghyun. Sober Donghyun anyway. It’s not the same shirts as he’s wearing now though, and maybe the difference of the shade isn’t anything overly life-changing, but the colours are different enough to make it evident that Youngmin spices things up using a variety of colours.

 (“These are all shades of red. Or white, I didn’t even think that was possible,” Daehwi once said, giving his wardrobe a scrutinizing look that made Youngmin feel as if his clothes were being inspected by a literal fashion police. And he might’ve gotten on the wrong side of said police officer. “How do you even call this a variety?”

 He might’ve looked properly chastised after that, and Woojin’s sniggers were pointedly ignored.)

  “It’s my style,” he defends, almost weakly.

 Donghyun chuckles. Idly, Youngmin notices he doesn’t look half bad even though he’s donned in a simple striped shirt and plain black pants. “Don’t worry, I didn’t mean it negatively or anything. I was just making an observation, so don’t take it the wrong way, hyung. There’s nothing wrong with layered shirts.”

 “Sorry,” Youngmin offers, and Donghyun shrugs.

 “It’s cool. Where are we sitting, by the way?”

 Oh, right. Tickets. Youngmin fishes the two pieces of paper out from his pocket, and hands them over to an expectant Donghyun. It’s a good thing Youngmin knows a guy who works at the cinema, and therefore, was able to reserve tickets through him. Maybe not the fairest move, but Youngmin pays for the tickets (well, he will pay for them when he meets the guy in class later). It’s not like there’s a law stating this isn’t allowed or anything, so Youngmin’s not too bothered by using up his favors and connections.

 (Connections. Way to make himself sound like a social butterfly when Youngmin knowing the right guy’s just the result of plain luck.)

 Donghyun does a low whistle. It sounds pleasant, but then again, Donghyun’s voice is nice to listen to in general. Kind of makes Youngmin look back to the days of the band and what could’ve been, because although Donghyun is no Daehwi, Donghyun is Donghyun. Everyone’s got different strengths and Youngmin wishes he knows how Donghyun sounds like when he’s singing. Maybe if they’d met earlier, Youngmin would’ve asked Donghyun to join the band, and things could’ve worked out.

 Or, an alternative result: things would’ve stayed the same even with the addition of one, because that’s just the way life works. Some things work, other things don’t. A successful life’s only the result of trial and error, though a pinch of luck wouldn’t hurt. (That’s exactly why Youngmin hopes he’s got at least some luck on his side; it’d be nice to actually achieve his dream and make sure the past few years haven’t been a total waste.)

 “You got us some pretty nice seats.” Donghyun passes the tickets back to him. “Hey, let’s go grab some popcorn. My treat. Do you prefer butter or caramel?”

 “Butter.”

 “What are the odds, me too. I’ll buy a bucket for us to share, then. Unless you hog the popcorn. Do you hug the popcorn, though?" Donghyun's brows are knitted together because he's asking a Very Serious question right now, his lips twisted into what Donghyun might think to be a frown, but ends up looking more like a pout. Not for the first time, Youngmin thinks he might be one of the cutest people he's ever met. (Fine, there's not really a lot to choose from, but it's the thought that counts.)

 "I don't think so?"

 "Huh." Donghyun hums. "I'll hold you to that."

    The bucket of popcorn is wedged between the both of them, Youngmin having gotten an idea to place it on their shared armrest. It’s not the most comfortable position, but at least neither of them get to hog the popcorn, and Donghyun seems to care more about sharing the food equally rather than his own comfort while watching a movie that’s nearly three hours long.

 (Youngmin checks the duration of a movie before he watches them—it’s comforting, and he can estimate when he’ll eventually have to get back home and return to the mundane life of composing and surviving off shitty coffee.)

 Donghyun makes for a nice movie watching companion. He doesn’t talk much, instead choosing to focus his attention on the screen. He doesn’t ask for spoilers or anything, doesn’t even check his phone. In one occasion, Youngmin feels the buzz of Donghyun’s phone’s vibration, but the other doesn’t bother to lift it from his lap (it’s face-down.)

 That’s kind of nice, if a little worrying because what if it was something important someone was trying to tell Donghyun? Though he brushes off the worry when he reminds himself that it’s Donghyun’s problems, not his, and he has enough of his own worries to worry about.

 Point is, Donghyun makes for a nice movie watching companion, and Youngmin thinks he might want to do this again sometimes. It’s like a breath of fresh air when he compares it to watching movies with Woojin, who’s usually talking miles and miles per hour, and Daehwi, who has a much different taste in movies than Youngmin. Daehwi checks his phone throughout Youngmin’s choices just as Youngmin sleeps through Daehwi’s movie selection, so it’s fair game and there’s no malice behind it whatsoever.

 So, yeah. This is kind of nice.

    It becomes a regular occurrence, and Youngmin’s not sure when him and Donghyun started becoming comfortable enough to drop by each other’s places unannounced (it helps that they apparently live in the same building, only on different floors and that makes visiting so much easier) but it does start three weeks or so after their initial meeting. The both of them become fast friends, and Donghyun makes Youngmin feel comfortable in a way that neither Daehwi nor Woojin have been able to. Being with Donghyun makes Youngmin feel like he’s back in Busan, and that’s weird because Donghyun’s satoori is a poor imitation of Youngmin’s and he’s never been out of Daejeon nor Seoul, but there’s just something about Donghyun that makes Youngmin feels like he’s home.

 That’s in a totally platonic way, of course. Youngmin might be openly bi and has dated his fair share of both guys and girls, but as far as he knows, Donghyun’s completely, inexplicably hetero. Apparently it’s because Donghyun’s been conditioned since he was a kid that a guy was only supposed to be with a girl, having a religious family and everything, and by the time people would start trying to experiment with their sexuality or something, Donghyun’s mind was already made up.

 He doesn’t judge Youngmin, though. Youngmin’s confided this to Donghyun during the beginning of their friendship, on the same morning that Donghyun woke up on Youngmin’s bed (Youngmin had taken the couch and it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as Woojin makes it out to be) and had to explain the awkward chain of events the previous night—and in the end, instead of turning him away and sprinting out of Youngmin’s room as soon as Donghyun learns of Youngmin’s sexuality, the guy just nods and keeps a smile on his face, still.

 (“I’d like to pride myself for being pretty open minded. In accepting other people’s preferences, I mean. It’s the twenty first century, right?”

 And, well, Youngmin kind of decided right then and there that Donghyun was a good person.)

 Tonight, the both of them are sprawled on Donghyun’s couch, the television showing their movie selection, Prisoner of Azkaban. Donghyun’s watched this at least a million times (or so he says), but this is Youngmin’s first time watching. They’ve been here for hours now, going through the Harry Potter movies because apparently Youngmin’s lack of Harry Potter experience is a sad, sad story that needs to be amended immediately.

 Youngmin goes with it, even if he didn’t see the hype (that’s starting to change, but don’t let Donghyun know that or he’ll never live it down) because it was Donghyun’s idea. That’s as good of a reasoning as any, right?

 “I’m getting sleepy,” Youngmin admits when they’re halfway done with the movie. Still, there are five more to go, but the clock’s already showing that it’s past midnight and Youngmin’s eyelids are getting too heavy.

 “Weak,” teases Donghyun, though judging by the heaviness of his voice, Youngmin deduces that he’s stifling a yawn. (A few moments later, he’s proven correct.)

 “We could continue this tomorrow, you know,” Youngmin begins. He looks at Donghyun who’s nodding off already, and his eyes soften. “It’s a weekend. We don’t have to finish all of this in one go.”

 Donghyun doesn’t say anything afterwards, only making a small grunt that Youngmin’s not sure whether that’s agreement or denial. He doesn’t dwell on it though, because the movie’s getting to the good part, and Youngmin doesn’t want to miss it.

 (Spoiler alert: he doesn’t miss that scene, but he misses the scene after that. He’s unable to fend off his need for sleep anymore, so he dozes off. Youngmin doesn’t notice that Donghyun’s already asleep even before him, breathing controlled and perfectly even.)

 They wake up the next morning, limbs tangled and Youngmin feels a crick in his neck because Donghyun had used it as a convenient place to lean on sometime during his sleep. It’s kind of worth it though, because Donghyun looks so peaceful and content when he’s sleeping that even Youngmin, whose neck is seriously beginning to ache (nothing mortally dangerous, only the kind of soreness that’ll go away if he looks up acupuncture points later) doesn’t dare to move a muscle.

 When Donghyun finally wakes up, Youngmin doesn’t miss the way Donghyun tenses, as if he’d just realized he’d done something that might not have been the ‘straightest’ thing to do. (Which is kind of bullshit, because it’s not like they’d kissed or anything, it was just cuddling. There’s nothing wrong with bros cuddling, really.)

 “Good morning, sunshine.” Youngmin cracks a grin. It’s one that Donghyun returns weakly.

 They don’t talk about it.

    fashionista (18:00): HYUNG WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU MADE A NEW FRIEND D:

fashionista (18:01): i can’t believe i heard about this from samuel

fashionista (18:01): I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS DD:

paca hyung (18:02): um

paca hyung (18:02): what

fashionista (18:03): don’t what me >:(

fashionista (18:03): i’m talking about you and donghyun hyung??? (duh???)

paca hyung (18:04): oh donghyunnie

fashionista (18:04): YOU GUYS HAVE PETNAMES?

paca hyung (18:05): daehwi chill it’s the same way i call woojin woojinie

paca hyung (18:05): wait i also call him by kid a lot too idk

fashionista (18:06): ugh wait

fashionista has added won stealer to this chat

won stealer (18:07): what up my dudes

fashionista (18:08): youngmin hyung has a new friend!!! and he didn’t tell us!!!

won stealer (18:09): uhhh way to go for making a new friend youngmin hyung?

fashionista (18:09): why

won stealer (18:09): why not

fashionista (18:10): ANYWAYS

fashionista (18:10): i want to meet your new friend!!! hyung, introduce us!

won stealer (18:11): why am i included

fashionista (18:12): OH I KNOW how about you take him to our karaoke bar! it’ll be fun!

paca hyung (18:13): pretty sure i don’t have much of a choice daehwi you’re a man on a mission aren’t you

fashionista (18:14): indeed >:)

won stealer (18:15): can someone please explain to me what’s going on

fashionista (18:16): it’s me wondering what jihoon and hyungseob see in you

    When the band was still a thing, aside from the coffee shop, Youngmin still remembers the three of them hanging out in a karaoke place located right next to a hole in the wall chicken wings restaurant. It’d been a weekly ritual of theirs, usually every Friday because they need some time to unwind and what better way to do it than indulge in some silly singing (or in Youngmin and Woojin’s case, rapping or doing a weird, offkey thing that they can’t even call singing) together?

 “I’ve never been to this area of town before.” Donghyun’s looking around the alleys in awe, taking in the sight of the brick red washed buildings all cramped together, little signs hanging off some places, some of them fluorescent. Some of the kids call this the ‘edgier’ part of the city that surrounds the campus, the kind of place that the artsy students with the tortured souls would find solace in some of the cafés scattered around. The cafés in question offer a decent view, decent coffee, and decent company. Youngmin would know, considering he’s gone to every single one of them during exams rush.

 “You’re a sophomore. I’m sure there are lots of things you still don’t know,” Youngmin teases Donghyun, all bark and no bite. Donghyun scoffs in return, but the good natured grin is still on his lips and his eyes are still sparkling with unrestrained mirth.

 (Here, Youngmin wishes he had a polaroid, because that’s a pretty sight and he wants to take a picture of it—of Donghyun smiling and looking like everything’s alright in the world even if everything isn’t—because this moment is something he wants to remember for a long, long time.)

 “Yeah? Like what?” Donghyun challenges, raising a brow at Youngmin expectantly.

 “Like the fact that you feel a lot like home,” is what Youngmin wants to say, but Donghyun might think Youngmin’s hitting on him, and Youngmin definitely isn’t. Donghyun’s just a friend. A really, really nice friend that Youngmin’s nowhere short of adoring, but that’s it. A friend. A bro, if he must call him that. So, instead of blurting that out and unintentionally starting either a rift or a heart to heart, Youngmin shrugs. “Like, things.”

 “Very helpful,” Donghyun deadpans.

 “We’re here!” Youngmin willfully ignores how unimpressed Donghyun is by his lackadaisical answer, instead holding the door to the karaoke open for him. The cool breeze from inside is alluring, considering they’d walked all the way there and it feels like it’s a hundred degrees or something, and the karaoke place also smells like popcorn, soda, beer, and whatever snacks karaoke places usually serve. (It’s been a while, okay? Youngmin’s memory is, he repeats, not the best.)

 Woojin and Daehwi are supposed to be there already, so Youngmin leads Donghyun to his usual room (it’s practically designated by now), and even when the both of them are right outside the door, they can already hear noises coming from inside, meaning Youngmin recognizes Woojin’s attempt at a high note and Daehwi’s uncontrolled laughter.

 “Yup, those are my friends,” Youngmin mutters under his breath.

 “They sound lively,” Donghyun comments off-handedly. His hand’s on the doorknob, but he’s waiting for Youngmin’s ‘okay’ to open it, and that’s probably made it onto Youngmin’s list of the most thoughtful things anyone’s ever done for him.

 “You have no idea.” Youngmin shakes his head, a fond grin on his lips. “Time to join the fray, buddy.”

 “No, not the fray. Anything but the fray.” Donghyun puts his free hand over his chest, face morphed into what looks like a face someone would be wearing had Youngmin just insulted their mother.

 “Just open the door, Donghyun.” Youngmin’s exasperation is evident, but his gaze remains warm. There might be something other than simple camaraderie hidden beneath its brown hues, but if there is, neither of them notice.

    Three things. There are three things Youngmin finds out about during the group’s karaoke slash meet Youngmin’s new (and possibly only when he discounts Woojin and Daehwi) friend, which are:

 First, Daehwi is an expert at embarrassing Youngmin. This is the most painful one, because apparently Daehwi knows about all of Youngmin’s embarrassing stories (probably got some of them from Woojin, if the guilty look in Woojin’s face is any indication) and he isn’t afraid to share one or two to lighten the mood at Youngmin’s expense. At one point, Daehwi told Donghyun about the time Youngmin accidentally sent a sext to his uncle instead of his boyfriend-now-ex (who coincidentally had the same name of his uncle, which, now that he thinks about it, is pretty fucking weird) and Youngmin has absolutely no idea where Daehwi got that story from because he’s pretty sure Woojin hadn’t been present at the time that catastrophe blew up full scale.

 Daehwi is terrifying, and Youngmin (slightly, somewhat, very lowkey-ly) fears him. Hell, if Daehwi puts his mind to it, Youngmin’s pretty sure the kid could rule the world over a weekend.

 The second thing, and this is much less terrifying than the first but also much more interesting, is figuring out that Woojin is in some kind of love triangle between Jihoon and Hyungseob. Being the supportive older brother figure he is, the first thing Youngmin said after finding out that Woojin was torn between the two boys had been, “Wow? You of all people?” and that’d granted a round of laughter from Daehwi, a pout from Woojin, and a light slap on his shoulder from Donghyun.

 “He has love problems, Youngmin, this isn’t really the time for comments like that,” Donghyun had chastised, and Youngmin shut up afterwards. Woojin seemed smug, at least, until Donghyun spoke again. “Doesn’t mean I’m completely disagreeing with what Youngmin said, though. I mean, Park Jihoon? Really?”

 Woojin’s situation is messy, because Jihoon likes Woojin, but Hyungseob also likes Woojin (maybe has been liking him for a while now, Youngmin’s not oblivious to the lovesick stares Woojin receives from Hyungseob whenever the three of them hang out). Woojin likes both of them, and is now camping out in Daehwi’s house so that he can avoid his problem. Daehwi has his own house a few minutes away from campus, and it’s secluded (but not horror movie secluded) enough to ensure Woojin won’t be running into Jihoon nor Hyungseob whenever he goes on his 3 A.M. mini market runs.

 To express his grievance, Woojin had sung not only one, but four ballad songs. Solo.

 (“Daehwi, I’m desperate. Don’t you have anything like my situation in one of your novels? I’ll take any advice, even if it’s from a dude who’s got ‘Sparks’ as his surname.”

 “Maybe, but I don’t think any of the leads were as hopeless as you. Can’t help you there, sorry.”)

 Last but not least, and this is what Youngmin places last because he likes saving the best for last, is that he’s now heard Donghyun sing—and his singing voice is even better than his talking, humming, or sleep singing voice. (The last one is a thing, Youngmin can confirm.)

 Donghyun’s chosen song is something titled ‘Hongdae Geondae’, a song that Youngmin’s listened to a couple of times before, but not necessarily on his music library. Still, Donghyun obviously likes the song, if the wide grin he wears as he sings the song is any indication.

 That’s not really the most memorable thing though, cute as it is. No, what’s memorable is that Donghyun has a really, really nice voice, and it’s not just the vocal colour. The technique’s there too, and while he might not be as trained as Daehwi, who’s had vocal lessons nearly all his life, the talent is there. With a little bit more polishing, he could improve even more, and Youngmin knows that if anyone has boatloads of potential, it’s Kim Donghyun.

 “Nice voice you’ve got there,” Daehwi compliments, meaning it sincerely.

 “Thanks.” Donghyun’s smile is bashful, as if he’s not used to having people complimenting his voice, which is stupid. With a voice like that, the only thing he should be receiving is compliments.

 “You know, we had a band once,” Woojin says, sounding casual even if he’d dropped a sudden bomb in the conversation. (Okay, maybe it’s just a bomb for Youngmin, who still feels guilty sometimes thinking of the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve for their little team. Daehwi and Woojin have probably gotten over it by now.)

 Donghyun’s heard about the band, of course, because Youngmin’s told him nearly everything about his life story just as Donghyun’s told Youngmin is, but he still looks interested, perking up in his seat.

 “I’ve heard, yeah.” Donghyun shoots a glance at Youngmin from the corner of his eyes. “Kind of a shame you guys aren’t together anymore. I’m sure you could’ve made great music.”

 He doesn’t like the glint in Daehwi’s eyes. Not at all, because when Daehwi looks like he’s just gotten an idea, a majority of the time, the ideas are either pure genius or a recipe for disaster. “You know, we could always revive the band,” Daehwi tosses up conversationally, as if he was talking about the weather instead of bringing back the band. “Not everything succeeds on the first try.” Here, he pointedly looks at Youngmin, who’s suddenly finding the floor a very interesting subject.

 “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Woojin agrees, which shouldn’t be surprising at all because this is Woojin and he’s unlikely to give up on an idea even if it’s failed before. Or maybe Youngmin’s just being a total cynic about all this and needs to lighten up. “It wouldn’t hurt to try again.” And, again, another look is pointed Youngmin’s way.

 Donghyun stifles his laughter into his palm. He probably enjoys seeing Youngmin looking so lost, and Youngmin hates him. (Not really.)

 “I…” He raises his previously bowed head slowly, meeting the hopeful eyes of Daehwi and Woojin’s prompting ones. They’re expecting him to say ‘yes’, and then they’ll reconcile (as if they haven’t already, but this meaning they’ll start being a band again as if nothing ever happened), and maybe they’ll crash again and eventually the cycle will start all over again. Youngmin doesn’t know what to do. It’s not exactly a life or death situation or anything, but he still feels the burden of being their leader, because this means whatever he says now will have a domino effect for anything else that happens afterwards.

 If he says yes, this means he’s giving them another shot. Maybe this time around they’ll work out and this whole band thing will pay off as well as it was originally planned to, but that has an equal chance of happening as things ending up the same way they did before. That means an extra week of awkward silences and half-hearted waves when they pass each other in the halls, coupled with the same guilt Youngmin feels whenever he thinks about the band.

 On the other hand, if he says no, it might mean he’s trying to protect them from the possible negative damage—yet at the same time, it also indicates that he’s not willing to give them a second chance. The analogies make the band breakup seem more like a relationship breakup, though, and Youngmin isn’t that shocked because hadn’t he used a relationship analogy when breaking up the band the first time?

 (Wait, wrong call. That was Daehwi.)

 So, Youngmin gets an idea. It’s not crazy, not entirely, and he’s not sure how Donghyun will react to it. He’s got his fingers crossed that Donghyun will take it in stride and there won’t be any bitterness or resentment whatsoever, because whether this idea will work or not really depends on Donghyun, who’s still blissfully unaware of the plan that’s just finished formulating in Youngmin’s head.

 “Let’s revive the band—” Amidst the cheers and high-fives, Youngmin clears his throat, and the two youngest quiet down once more, although their excitement is blatantly shown, “—but only if Donghyun joins us too. He plays bass and I’m sure having something new won’t hurt.” He tries to pass his words off as nonchalant, but Daehwi and Woojin share a look (that he can’t quite decipher and that’s a first) and Donghyun’s gaping at him like Youngmin’s grown two heads.

 Not a good sign. Yellow light? Red light?

 “It’s not called a revival for nothing, right?” Youngmin tries. Donghyun is… still gaping. “There’s got to be something different. Some new element,” he finishes, starting off confident but in the end of his tirade, only sounds small and more than a little unsure. “Like what DC did with the revival comics?”

 (He really shouldn’t have said that. Youngmin’s the only one amongst the four of them who bothers to read the comics. The others stick to the cinematic universe, so not only was his reference essentially useless, now he’s going to get comments of ‘you’re still reading comics?’ from Woojin for at least a week. Nice going, Youngmin.)

 “I have no idea what you just said,” Daehwi says bluntly, and Youngmin visibly deflates. “But.” At this, Youngmin perks up, head rushing back to glance upwards from its previous floor-appreciating angle. “I wouldn’t mind having Donghyun hyung in our band.”

 Daehwi smiles at Donghyun, the same kind of smile he gives when he’s trying to make people feel comfortable. It works because it’s Daehwi and his smiles are as warm as tiny, little harmless suns. Youngmin doesn’t really know how warm said tiny suns are, of course, but he thinks he’s made a good estimation.

 “It’d be cool to have you in our band,” Woojin adds helpfully, glancing at Donghyun with evident hope in his eyes. When Woojin turns on those eyes, the likehood of Donghyun accepting their offer has gone up by at least fifty percent.

 “I don’t know, guys,” Donghyun tries, sounding unsure. His hands grip the surface of the couch, and Youngmin knows Donghyun’s got a tight grip—he’s sure there’ll be nail marks left, but nothing that a few minutes won’t erase. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your chemistry and all.”

 Youngmin places a comforting hand on Donghyun’s shoulder. Donghyun doesn’t flinch away, he simply stays put, so Youngmin takes that as a good sign. “You wouldn’t be ruining anything,” he assures. “There wouldn’t be any harm in giving it a shot.”

 Now, Donghyun’s faced with more than just Woojin’s puppy eyes and Daehwi’s surging hopefulness, because Youngmin’s there and he’s trying to lure Donghyun into the premise of being in the band while trying not to sound forceful or whatever. Having Donghyun in the band would be the deciding factor to whether or not Youngmin’s willing to try again (because as much as he likes Daehwi and Woojin, he thinks having a new variable would make the likehood of things turning out differently much higher), but at the same time, he’s not completely sure if Donghyun would be comfortable making music with two people he’s only known for less than three hours and Youngmin himself.

 “You’re hard to refuse, you know that?” Donghyun chides, and Youngmin feels his worries dissolve, something not completely unlike relief settling in his chest.

 Maybe this could work after all.

      III.

  "I am pleasantly located in the deep sea, but love will row you out, if her hands are strong, and don’t wait till I land, for I’m going ashore on the other side."

     A Comprehensive List of Im Youngmin’s Problems, In No Particular Order:

  His professor hates him.

He hasn’t started on the 5K essay due tonight.

The last time he’d eaten something not instant was two weeks ago.

Woojin’s still stuck in his love triangle. That means Youngmin’s still stuck listening to Woojin’s problems and not knowing how to help him solve them.

Hyungseob is mad at Woojin. It becomes Youngmin’s problem because of the same reason as his fourth problem.

Donghyun is an amazing person. This would not be a problem if Youngmin wasn’t an idiot and hadn’t gotten himself in love with the heterosexual bassist of his band. Now he has to worry about making sure Donghyun doesn’t find out about Youngmin’s feelings because it might ruin the band that is currently in its fragile state.

It might also ruin his friendship with Donghyun. This might be the biggest problem because Youngmin doesn’t want to lose Donghyun. Not now, not ever.

 The band isn’t an immediate problem. They’re getting on their feet, and they’ve actually started making songs now. Daehwi composes for them, and they all work on the lyrics together. Their first gig is in two weeks, on Friday at Kang Daniel’s birthday party.

 It’s a Big Deal (along with the capitalization and all) because Kang Daniel night be the biggest guy on campus right now for being the music department’s resident celebrity. He isn’t an idol, but he’s got a popular YouTube channel, and everyone knows he’s bound to be somebody as soon as he graduates. Daehwi knows Daniel through Samuel who’s friends with Seonho who’s friends with Guanlin who’s friends with Yongguk who’s friends with Daniel. Apparently, Daniel has a thing for ‘undiscovered talent’, and thinks it’d be a great idea for Brand New (that’s what they’re calling themselves) to perform at his birthday party. Daehwi accepted on the behalf of the band, and now they’ve got a week and a half to prepare.

 They’re trying to make sure it won’t be a mess.

    Youngmin meets Jihoon on a rainy Monday afternoon.

 He only has morning classes on Monday (which is exactly the reason why he hates Mondays with a passion) and the band’s practice starts after nightfall, because Donghyun’s classes start late and Daehwi usually makes a home out of the library to study starting from 3PM onwards. Woojin’s hours are flexible, which is a code for he doesn’t really have much to do so he can start band practice any time. The good thing about Woojin is he also shares nearly the same class hours as Youngmin, so they walk together, sometimes. (They’d stopped doing that for a while after the band’s first breakup, but now they’ve gotten back to the habit of it, because Daehwi insists that team bonding is a vital part of becoming a successful band. Youngmin obeys Daehwi’s orders because Daehwi is terrifying when he needs to be. Woojin shares his sentiments.)

 Right after his class ends, Youngmin meets Woojin in front of Woojin’s class, because Woojin’s ends ten minutes after his. He checks on his phone as he waits, scrolling through his Instagram feed and liking a few pictures as he does. One of those pictures is Donghyun’s most recent post, a picture of Donghyun posing in front of the café Youngmin frequents. Youngmin had taken the photo, and he remembers having a hard time focusing on getting his hands to not shake instead of staring (too long) at the carefree curl of Donghyun’s grin.

 It’d been a difficult task, to say the least.

 Woojin always ends up leaving his class at the end, so when a flurry of freshmen rush outside the classroom and Youngmin doesn’t see Woojin immediately, he doesn’t make much of it. Apparently, Woojin enjoys not having to be squeezed through a crowd of students enthusiastic to leave, so he likes to stay behind for a few minutes, packing his bags with slow, relaxed movements and listening to music while he’s at it. Youngmin can’t say he doesn’t relate, because he’s the one who’d inspired Woojin to do that in the first place.

 It’s only when the students stop stumbling out of the room and there’s still no sign of Woojin that Youngmin starts to worry. Woojin is not difficult to spot because he’s the only one with red hair in his year, so Youngmin couldn’t have missed him.

 His worries halt when he hears the familiar noise of Woojin’s laughter from inside the room, so he cancels out his previous plan of calling Woojin’s friends. Instead, he peers inside the classroom, noting that only the professor and two students are left inside the cream-shaded room. One of those students is Woojin, who doesn’t have his earphones on and is currently laughing at something his friend’s saying.

 (Said friend turns out to be Park Jihoon. It takes Youngmin a few tries to place him, but soon enough, he remembers the face that his yearmates had been talking about in the beginning of the school year. A conventional pretty boy who is also a walking fashion disaster had been the way they’d described him. Youngmin now sees why they call him that, because this is the first time he’s seen someone wear neon green stripes on a pink shirt.)

 “You should’ve seen the look on his face,” Jihoon is saying, hands waved up in the air in animated motion, “it was the first time I’ve seen him look so distraught. I felt pretty bad. I was only joking around, but he took it so seriously.”

 “And whose fault is that?” Woojin’s grin is nearly shark-like, but Youngmin attests that’s because his snaggletooth is showing.

 “Mine,” finishes Jihoon on a glum note, but he perks up as soon as Woojin extends his right hand forward, index finger poking Jihoon’s cheek in a fond manner. Youngmin suddenly feels like he’s intruding a private moment (also, he didn’t even know Woojin had it in him and he’s pseudo proud but also confused because he thought Woojin was still in that love triangle?) but it’s too late to turn back because Woojin soon spots him. If Woojin is surprised or disturbed, he doesn’t show it.

 “There will be no canoodling in my classroom,” the professor reminds them from his seat, and Jihoon goes beet red. Woojin’s blushing too, but to a lesser extent.

 “Youngmin hyung!” Woojin says instead of acknowledging his professor’s warning. Might not be the best move, considering the stink eye the professor gives Woojin afterwards. “Let’s go grab some lunch. Jihoon can come, right?”

 “Uh, sure. Why not.” Jihoon’s face loses some of its previous embarrassment and instead it brightens up, as if Youngmin’s just complimented him though the reality is that Youngmin’s only given him the green light to eat with him and Woojin. It doesn’t take Youngmin long to discover that Jihoon’s a particularly animated person because of it—a little easy to read, too, and that goes against what Daehwi had said about Park Jihoon being ‘a manipulative bastard when he wants to be.’

 Finding a place to eat is easier said than done because it’s raining and Youngmin doesn’t carry an umbrella with him. Neither does Woojin and Jihoon, judging by the slightly panicked expression on Woojin’s face and the frown that Jihoon wears.

 “I’d say we make a run for it, but I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Youngmin says. His eyes scan through the droplets of rain, trying to make sense of the quickest route they could use to get to the campus cafeteria.

 “Why don’t we order an Uber?” Jihoon suggests, much to Youngmin’s silent horror, because that means they’d have to pay extra and Youngmin’s already barely getting by with what he has. And he walks around campus.

 Woojin notices Youngmin’s distress, evidently, because he purses his lips and shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The cafeteria’s not that far from here, it’d be a waste.”

 “If you say so.” Jihoon shrugs, pocketing the phone he was readily holding a few seconds ago.

 Then, the unthinkable happens. (By unthinkable, Youngmin means it’s a sign that the world must hate him, because now he feels like he’s stuck in a scene that comes straight out of a teen drama from the early 90s.)

 “Woojinie, is that you?”

 Youngmin recognizes the voice immediately, of course. It’s Ahn Hyungseob, one of Woojin’s earliest friends in campus. By extension, he’s Youngmin’s friend too, though the both of them haven’t spoken since they don’t actively seek each other—different crowds and everything. In any other occasion, Youngmin would be glad that Hyungseob’s around, because while they aren’t the closest friends, Hyungseob is a ball of sunshine and is generally a good influence on Woojin who’s more of a realist than anything. However, the whole ‘love triangle’ thing is still going on, and Hyungseob has just stumbled on Woojin and Jihoon together. Youngmin’s there too, of course, but he’s going to be the fourth wheel in this situation. Probably.

 This is an impending mess, and Youngmin kind of wants to dash across campus and leave the three of them alone. The only reason he stays is because Woojin sends Youngmin a pleading look that’s downright pitiful, but the kid needs his moral support and if Woojin’s going to lament to him about this later, it’ll probably be easier on the both of them if Youngmin sticks around and sees the situation unfold himself.

 So, Youngmin stays, albeit with much reluctance on his part.

 “Hi, Hyungseob,” Woojin greets the other with an awkward smile on his part. It looks tense, but then again, Youngmin would probably be worse if he was in Woojin’s position. Good thing Youngmin’s never been stuck in a love triangle, and right now, his love life resembles a tragedy of something that ended before it ever even started. (With Donghyun, nothing’s ever going to start, he’s sure. Youngmin’s just being realistic about all this.)

 “Oh. Jihoon too.” Hyungseob visibly deflates at the sight of Jihoon and Woojin together, and the image is even worse because Jihoon’s leaning on Woojin maybe a little heavier than needed. Obviously, Jihoon’s not very pleased about all this, and Woojin looks plainly uncomfortable. “Youngmin hyung, you’re here too!” Hyungseob fakes his enthusiasm with an exaggerated wave directed towards Youngmin. He returns the wave with a small smile, nodding to acknowledge Hyungseob’s presence.

 “I didn’t know you had classes today,” Woojin mumbles, looking at anywhere but Hyungseob.

 It’s been a while since the both of them really talked, or at least, that’s what Woojin’s told him. Ever since Woojin stopped hiding out at Daehwi’s place—more like since he got kicked out by Daehwi himself—Woojin has only been hanging out with Jihoon rather than Hyungseob. “It’s not running away,” Woojin had stated, but Youngmin thinks the reason why Woojin stopped talking to Hyungseob is because a rumor had gone around about Hyungseob becoming ‘a thing’ with another kid named Euiwoong who studies politics.

 The only reason why the love triangle’s still a thing, even after all that, is because a ‘private source’ told Woojin that Euiwoong and Hyungseob are just childhood friends and Hyungseob’s still upset at Woojin avoiding him only to show up everywhere around campus with Park Jihoon on his trail.

 Basically, it’s messy as fuck.

 “I don’t,” Hyungseob is quick to correct. “I was just going to meet Woongie. He’s the one who has a class today.” Woojin’s face falls at the admission (and probably the pet name). On the contrary, Jihoon looks smug.

 “Woongie, huh?” Woojin whispers under his breath. Hyungseob notices his slip up immediately, eyes growing wide with surprise.

 “Y-Yeah, Woongie. That’s, um, Euiwoong.”

 Woojin smiles. It’s a little painful to see. “I know.”

 Hyungseob seems to realize how awkward the situation has gotten, so he stumbles on his own steps, and Woojin reaches out with a hand to steady his shoulders. Both of their faces turn red. Jihoon is, evidently, unpleased.

 “I should really go now!” Hyungseob says in a rush, the words coming out seemingly faster than his mouth’s movements. “I’ll see you, Woojinie! And, and uh—” by this point, Youngmin worries if Hyungseob will trip over his own two feet, considering the panic he’s going through as he attempts to run away (literally) from the situation. “Bye, Jihoon and Youngmin hyung!”

 Just like that, he’s gone. It’s also the beginning of Youngmin’s impending headache, because this is going to be the only thing Woojin will talk to him about for the next two days. Why.

    juliet (00:14): are u awake

paca hyung (00:14): YES

paca hyung (00:15): i mean yes

paca hyung (00:15): sorry my caps key was on

juliet (00:16): do i wanna know why??

paca hyung (00:16): um

 (Nice going, Youngmin. How eloquent.)

 juliet (00:17): haha kidding!!!

juliet (00:18): why are you awake though it’s late >:(

paca hyung (00:18): shouldn’t i ask the same for you

paca hyung (00:19): but i’m writing lyrics

juliet (00:19): do you want to write with me?

paca hyung (00:20): it’s late though

juliet (00:20): we’re literally an elevator ride away…

juliet (00:20): ok i get it you don’t want to spend time with me is that it i

juliet (00:21): haha kidding im not that clingy

paca hyung (00:21): sorry

paca hyung (00:22): but if the offer’s still up you can drop by

paca hyung (00:22): i mean if you want to

paca hyung (00:23): i messed it up didn’t i

paca hyung (00:24): donghyun?

 Much to his own surprise (and delight), Youngmin didn’t mess it up. Donghyun still shows up in front of Youngmin’s apartment, and he’s still smiling like nothing’s wrong. It’s the Donghyun Smile, and it’s the smile that makes Youngmin fall for Donghyun all over again before he gives himself a sharp reminder of the reality that is, he can pine for Donghyun all he wants for as long as he’d like and in the end, Youngmin still won’t have a chance. Joy.

 “I thought you weren’t coming anymore,” Youngmin says, still flustered by Donghyun’s sudden appearance. Donghyun hadn’t bothered to dress up, which is good, because if he had then Youngmin would’ve been more embarrassed about having Donghyun show up while he’s wearing his The Force Awaken themed pajamas.

 “Says who?” Donghyun responds curtly, hands crossed over his chest but the pose doesn’t look intimidating on him at all. “Let’s get some food.”

 “Is there a place still open at this hour?” Youngmin’s brows furrow. It’s nearly one in the morning. Even the pizzerias have closed up.

 “McDonalds, duh,” Donghyun says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and Youngmin’s the only one not getting it. “It’ll be my treat. I know you haven’t eaten properly in a while,” the last part is admitted quietly. So quiet that if Youngmin hadn’t strained his ears, he wouldn’t have heard it.

 The concern is touching, and Youngmin might be feeling something akin to butterflies (yuck, much?), but it’s really just Donghyun being a generally good bro and paying attention to Youngmin’s unhealthy eating pattern. There’s nothing romantic behind it, obviously. Just like everything else in their friendship, the whole ‘I know you haven’t eaten properly’ thing is completely, irrevocably platonic.

 (God, he’s pitiful.)

 “You noticed?” Youngmin can barely hear his own voice over the loud beating of his heart. He hopes his face isn’t as red as the tomatoes from his farm.

 Donghyun stares at him oddly.

 “Of course I did,” he says. His voice is soft, and his eyes are open and caring. “You don’t think it’s noticeable how you always smell like instant food? On good days, they smell like something microwaveable.”

 “The cologne doesn’t cover it up?”

 “Shut up, you don’t even wear cologne.”

 Neither of them really talk afterwards. Donghyun’s still standing outside the frame of his door, and Youngmin is staring at Donghyun, pointedly avoiding the other’s lips. He settles for his eyes, and that’s not much better. Maybe it’d be better if Youngmin stares at his nose? That’s hardly distracting, right?

 “So, do you want to go?” Donghyun reminds them of his agenda, and Youngmin shrugs.

 “Okay.”

 “Okay?”

 “Yeah, okay.”

    The McDonalds they go to isn’t crowded at all. Inside the place that’s decked in red-and-yellow furniture, the only people there are the employees and four people, and Youngmin recognizes none of them.

 “I’ll order for us. What do you want?” Donghyun asks, easily detaching the arm he’d previously linked with Youngmin. (Yeah, they were linking arms. Youngmin’s just glad they went out at night. That way, his blush hadn’t been as obvious as it would’ve been had the sun been shining on them that time.)

 “Cheeseburger’s fine,” Youngmin says, because he hasn’t really tried anything else other than that. Woojin considers Youngmin’s lack of experience in fast food an atrocity, but it’s not Youngmin’s fault that he doesn’t want to get addicted to something that is, obviously, unhealthy as fuck.

 “Want some fries with that?” Donghyun offers. “McDonalds’ fries are the best.”

 Youngmin says, “Okay then,” because he trusts Donghyun’s judgment enough for that. It might not look like it, but Donghyun has ‘refined taste’ (or so Donghyun says). Youngmin knows that because he’s found Donghyun’s old food blog that he used to run back in high school and he had a fun time reading through his old ‘foodventures’, as high school Donghyun called it. Obviously, Donghyun doesn’t know that piece of information, and Youngmin doesn’t plan to tell him because explaining why Youngmin had been cyber-stalking Donghyun would be one long, embarrassing explanation and Youngmin’s a terrible liar. Donghyun would figure out Youngmin’s feelings right away and no one wants that.

 By the time Donghyun returns with their food, Youngmin already has his notebook out and his fingers have his well-worn pen in their grip. The page is opened to the latest song Youngmin’s working on, and it’s about the current state of his life.

 In other words, the lyrics are depressing.

 “Can I read that?” Donghyun inquires through a mouthful of chicken nuggets. His cheeks resemble a squirrel’s like this.

 “It’s not finished,” Youngmin argues, and it’s a weak argument, but at the same time he really doesn’t need Donghyun to read this when he’s got an entire verse on his feelings for Donghyun. Unrequited, sad, and hopelessly mopey. “Besides, I’ve shown you some of my lyrics before. You’ve never shown me yours.”

 Donghyun frowns. “True, but my lyrics aren’t as good as yours.”

 “That’s what you say. I haven’t even seen any to confirm nor deny that.” Youngmin pops some fries into his mouth. It’s salty, but he hopes that’s because of the salt rather than having the workers’ sweat laced within. That’d be gross and unhygienic and he’s probably sucking away all the fun out of eating fries because of his overthinking.

 “Okay, fine,” Donghyun grumbles. Youngmin wonders if he’s heard that right, if Donghyun has really just agreed to show Youngmin his work. “Wait.” He wipes his greasy hands onto the tissue on his tray and slides over his notebook to Youngmin’s side of the table. “I only accept compliments and constructive criticism.”

 There’s an undertone of anxiety to Donghyun’s words, as if he’s afraid Youngmin will start talking trash about his work. It hurts Youngmin, only a little bit, because he would’ve thought that Donghyun knows by now that Youngmin would rather step on a lego instead of hurting his friends’ feelings. He doesn’t say anything about it though, only giving a small smile (it’s a little strained around the edges and he hopes Donghyun doesn’t notice) and flipping the red-covered binder open to the first page.

 “Ugh, this is embarrassing,” Donghyun continues to mutter. He’s even stopped munching on his nuggets. Youngmin would bet that if he looks up now, he’d see Donghyun gauging him for his reaction. Maybe even expecting the worst of it.

 (Yeah, right. Youngmin would rather eat his own fist than insult Donghyun and his work.)

 He doesn’t know what he was expecting in Donghyun’s binder. Maybe something more on the upbeat and positive side of things, because that’s the kind of person Donghyun is. The kind of person Youngmin knows him as, at least.

 Whatever it is, he hadn’t been expecting the first page to be filled with scratches and barely legible writing. Youngmin takes a minute or two to read through the whole page and then read it all over again just to understand it, and it’s only on his fifth read that the writing begins to seam together, when the lyrics start to take form.

 It’s a love song. At least, it’s structured as one, and the lyrics are romantic. There’s no way these lyrics are about something platonic, and Youngmin looks at the date (Donghyun is systematic about these things) to check when Donghyun had written this: it’s January 1st 2017, meaning it has been months since that was written.

 If Donghyun’s writing it based on his real life feelings (and who is Youngmin kidding, because the lyrics are heartfelt and they make him feel jealous because of someone he doesn’t even have a chance with), there’s probably a chance that they aren’t together anymore. Youngmin might be a terrible person for thinking this, but a part of him hopes Donghyun isn’t with the person he wrote this about anymore. He doesn’t like himself for thinking this because one of these days Donghyun is going to find someone (who is a girl and therefore most definitely not Im Youngmin) and Youngmin’s going to end up alone because he can’t seem to move on from his friend.

 A classic fairytale ending, Youngmin styled.

 “The lyrics are interesting,” Youngmin says, faking a conversational tone to see what that brings him. “They’re heartfelt.” That part is honest. Donghyun’s mouth opens slightly, eyes alight in recognition as he understands which song Youngmin must be talking about.

 “Yeah.” Donghyun chuckles, a tender smile on his lips. “They are. I wrote that for my girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend now, I guess.”

 “You must’ve loved her a lot.” Youngmin doesn’t know why he’s saying all of this. He wants to put on duct tape on his own damned self, because he doesn’t know when to shut up, does he? At least Donghyun doesn’t look like he’s mad at Youngmin for saying that, and that is somewhat a reassurance that Youngmin hadn’t prodded too far.

 Surprisingly, Donghyun scoffs.

 “Nah, I didn’t. It was puppy love more than anything. We were high school sweethearts, but it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to in college. Shit happened and people change, you know? One day we talked about it and we ended it. Figured neither of us really loved each other,” Donghyun confesses, sounding like he’s talking about the weather instead of his past relationship.

 Youngmin admires that about him, because Youngmin never fails to stutter and basically get his nerves ridden with anxiety whenever people expect him to talk about a failed relationship. Maybe it’s because he tends to shoulder the blame for that, just as he shoulders the blame for everything else that crashes and burns in his life. Maybe this is the reason why he’s glum when compared to his lackadaisical friends.

 “That happens,” Youngmin says after a beat of silence. He isn’t really sure about what else he’s supposed to say. ‘Good thing you’re not in a relationship anymore because I’m kind of in love with you? Or maybe in like?’ is obviously not what he should be responding with.

 “Yeah.” Donghyun laughs. Suddenly, he sounds weary. All Youngmin wants to do is hug him and tell him that he’s too young to be laughing like he’s already tired of the short lifespan he’s living now. “It does.”

    Daehwi stops coming to practice five days before Kang Daniel’s birthday.

 This is a Very Big problem because without Daehwi, there will be no one left to play the keyboard and Donghyun will be the only one singing. Not to mention Daehwi plays a vital role to the band as their morale booster because the other three are ‘sullen and depressing all the time except for Donghyun who is sullen and depressing sometimes.’

 The problem escalates when Daehwi doesn’t pick up any of their calls, plus a public phone number.

 “What if he’s kidnapped?” Donghyun’s voice shakes at the end, and he’s gripping his couch with enough pressure to make his hands grow pale. “When was the last time the two of you saw him? I saw him two days ago, and he seemed fine but then again I only saw him in passing and I should’ve been more observant—”

 “Donghyun, stop.” Youngmin grips Donghyun’s shoulders, forcing him to stop the previous squirming he’d been doing. He feels Donghyun slacken in his hold, but that’s not exactly a good thing either because Donghyun now just looks plain defeated. “We should just go to his house. He’s probably there, holed up in his room the way he always is whenever he’s down.”

 “Yeah, but he usually picks up our calls,” Woojin mumbles, face set in a sullen pinch.

 “He probably needed some time for himself,” Youngmin points out. “Or maybe he just overslept. It’s late and maybe he had a hard time in class.”

 Woojin and Donghyun look at him like he’s grown another head and then some. This is because Daehwi is probably the most responsible person in their team. He doesn’t even need an alarm to wake up (apparently his body clock is strong) and yet sets one up anyway as a just in case. Not to mention, Daehwi is almost always the one to get them to rehearse whenever they complain (although most of the complaining is on Woojin’s part, a fact that Youngmin will never forget to remind.)

 They cancel practice for the day and set out for Daehwi’s house ‘in the middle of nowhere’ which isn’t really a middle of nowhere because it’s still Seoul and he still has neighbours and a 7-Eleven. Donghyun is the one who pays for their Uber and Woojin is the one who gives them directions. Youngmin’s there to supervise and make sure none of them start hyperventilating because of their rampant imaginations of Daehwi’s kidnapping, which isn’t the case they have in hand because Youngmin’s gut feeling says otherwise.

 (Yes, Youngmin trusts his gut. It’s reliable, trustworthy, and the last time he hadn’t listened to it, he ended up being stuck upside-down dangling from a tree. It was humiliating.)

 Daehwi’s house seems occupied and that’s a good reason as any for them to stop overthinking as the patio lights are still on and the curtains are drawn. Daehwi’s car is parked there too, a Volkswagen Beetle spray-painted yellow with pink stripes that Daehwi technically can’t drive yet he still keeps around anyway. Still, the house makes it seem like Daehwi’s still there, and Youngmin thinks it’s a small comfort although Woojin has started whispering things about alien abductions and replication androids.

 (Youngmin’s going to have a talk about whatever it is that Woojin’s been watching—perhaps too much—later.)

 They knock, but nobody opens the door. So, they knock again, and this time Youngmin even shouts, “Daehwi, open the door!”

 The shout was not a good idea because now some of the neighbours who’d been throwing a barbecue lawn party are glaring at them like they’ve ruined their collective nights. Technically, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

 Even so, they knock again, and Woojin even sings a song at Daehwi’s door. Donghyun proceeds to apologize to the neighbours for Woojin’s atrocious act that he calls singing, and the neighbours soften up after that because Donghyun has the face (and voice) of an angel, and who can stay mad when he’s apologizing to them? Not the neighbours, that’s who.

 “Maybe he’s not here,” Donghyun eventually says, eyes clouded and downcast.

 “No, let’s try one more time,” Youngmin urges, stubborn despite himself. He raps his knuckles onto the redwood door, loudly and letting the sound rattle amidst Woojin’s mumbles how this might not be his brightest idea.

 No one opens the door.

 As they leave, Youngmin sees one of the lights from a room on the second story flicker and die.

 paca hyung (22:10): daehwi where were you?

paca hyung (22:10): we only have a few days left until the performance

paca hyung (22:11): did something happen?

paca hyung (22:12): are you alright?

paca hyung (22:30): daehwi?

paca hyung (23:33): i hope you’re not responding because you’re just asleep

paca hyung (23:34): talk to me tomorrow

 On the following day, there’s still no response.

     A Revised List of Im Youngmin’s Problems, Still in No Particular Order:

 He’s going to fail his musical theory quiz tomorrow.

The countdown to Kang Daniel’s birthday is like a Doomsday countdown that is unavoidable (because unfortunately you can’t ask someone to change their birthday) and things are going to spiral from the ‘bad’ zone to the ‘holy shit this is terrible’ zone in less than four days.

Daehwi’s still MIA and he’s not responding to anyone’s messages or calls, even his other friends’ and Bae Jinyoung’s.

His crush on Donghyun has gotten even worse and Youngmin will end up alone, raising at least thirty cats during his mid-life crisis.

There’s no instant food left in his fridge and he’s starving.

 Life is a bitch and Youngmin thinks there's a high possibility that he might hate his.

    As the shitstorm that is his life unfolds, Youngmin takes a few minutes to call his parents. It has been a while, considering the last few months of his life have been some of the most hectic and he’s the type to forget contacting someone until it has been literal months and only then does he realize that humans have yet to evolve to reading minds and until that day, communication is the key to maintaining a relationship.

 He’s still not Professor X from X-Men and thus, still needs to actually call his parents to know how they’re doing. So, he does the thing, and he’s glad that his parents have gotten the same model of the phone as him instead of sticking with their old bulky (and freakishly strong) Nokias. Durable those things might be, but the camera quality is crap and video calling, for that device, is a thing of the future.

 Before pressing the ‘call’ button, Youngmin makes sure his room is clean, and any trace of whatever incriminating activities he does (there’s nothing but Woojin likes to leave behind his comics for whatever reason and his father doesn’t really approve of comics) is safely hidden away. By safely hidden away, he really means he has them piled together underneath his bed, but it’s not like he’s going to facetime them showcasing the hidden parts of his bed. If Youngmin doesn’t do that with his friends, then the likehood of him doing that with his parents is less than none.

 “Youngmin! We were wondering when you’d call,” his father starts off their conversation, the camera capturing the tomato fields behind him. Youngmin wishes he was there, just helping his father with the tomatoes and leaving behind the problems caused by college such as the band’s low morale and also some guy named Kim Donghyun that he’s halfway in love with, but the world isn’t a wish granting factory.

 “Sorry,” Youngmin apologizes sheepishly, all pretense of confidence gone whenever he gets the opportunity to speak with his parents. They can read him like an open book, the same way most parents can to their children. Putting on a bravado is futile.

 “Is everything alright?” His mother, ever so perceptive and always knowing whenever Youngmin’s anything but okay, gently prods.

 “Um,” Youngmin says like the intelligent creature he is. “Nothing catastrophic’s happening or anything. Just… some things are bothering me, I guess?”

 His parents share a worried look. Youngmin watches them with something akin to guilt clawing into his chest. The first time he calls them in a while and he’s making them worry. Nice going, Youngmin.

 “You know we’re always here to listen, son.” His father’s brow are set in worry, his mother squeezing his father’s bicep as a way to ground him.

 “And if you don’t think we can help, I’m sure you can talk to your friends,” adds his mother, and Youngmin tries not to laugh because if the problem is about his friends then how is he supposed to talk to them about it?

 He holds himself from saying anything potentially hurtful or snide. There’s no reason to make his parents think he has an attitude problem whatsoever, no matter how incapable he is at dealing with his own problems and a need to take his frustration out on someone is just there, currently dormant and relatively harmless, but has a possibility of acting up like a ticking time bomb.

 “Okay. I love you.”

    Two days after Daehwi’s sudden disappearance, he returns to practice, but there’s something off about him that sets Youngmin on alert.

 “Hey guys,” Daehwi greets them as he sets his backpack on a free table. When he smiles, it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

 “Daehwi, where have you been?” He finds himself asking, and inwardly cringes at how blunt he’s being. Great job, Youngmin. The first time the kid shows his face on the planet in more than 24 hours and instead of asking if he’s alright, he’s already being bombarded by the question that everyone has been asking. It wouldn’t hurt if he’d a little more tact, but the question is asked, and the damage is done.

 “In my room,” becomes Daehwi’s prompt answer. He’s probably being honest, because Daehwi isn’t the best liar and something within Youngmin tells him that Daehwi is stating the truth. “I heard you guys when you tried to come over. I’m sorry I didn’t answer the door,” he apologizes, as if Youngmin, Woojin, and Donghyun would be more concerned over Daehwi not opening his door rather than Daehwi’s very own wellbeing.

 “Were you…” Donghyun trails off, and he is peering at Daehwi in concern. “Okay?”

 “Not really,” Daehwi breathes, and Woojin is there in an instant, looping an arm around Daehwi’s shoulders. Daehwi leans into Woojin, letting Woojin guide him into the couch, letting Woojin help him sit down.

 Youngmin has a feeling this is a story better told seated, so he takes the seat across Woojin and Daehwi’s. Barely a few seconds later, Donghyun joins him, the weight of the loveseat giving out slightly.

 “I haven’t been completely honest with you, when I was telling stories about my trip to see my mom.” For some reason, Daehwi’s voice cracks at the word ‘mom’, and Youngmin exchanges a look of perturbation with Donghyun.

 A beat of silence ensues. Youngmin, Donghyun, and Woojin wait for Daehwi to continue—none of them are to say anything, and Youngmin fears if he says the wrong thing Daehwi wouldn’t tell them anything at all. Trust plays an important part in friendship. Youngmin might not confide to Daehwi and Woojin about his little crush on Donghyun, but he shares with the three of them about his fear of not being good enough to be successful in the musical field the same way Woojin laments to them about his dramatic love life and Donghyun confesses he’s always scared of not measuring up to his team brother.

 For the longest time, Daehwi has been that person in the group, the one who rarely speaks to them about whatever’s troubling him. Maybe it’s because he’s used to keeping all the big problems to himself—apparently that’s something in common between child prodigies—and only sharing the mundane, petty and sometimes irrelevant problems with his friends.

 A prime example would be how none of them know what Daehwi fears but they know he gets annoyed whenever Jinyoung sticks too close to Jihoon even if Woojin can confirm the one Jihoon likes is him, or how Daehwi hates it when his orders are messed up in restaurants but he never says anything because he doesn’t want to trouble the workers. All of them are real problems and they’re little snippets of Daehwi, but whenever a certain problem is big (as in possibly life-changing big), Daehwi keeps to himself.

 Youngmin sees this as a leap of trust. (Or faith. Whatever.) It’s up to Daehwi whether he wants to take it or not, but if he does, his three friends will be waiting for him on the other side.

 “On the last day I was in New York, the morning before I went to the airport, I talked to my mom,” Daehwi starts, voice laced with unease and doubt. “I… I told her I was gay.” He cringes at the end of his sentence, as if he expects the three of them to start throwing crosses at holy water at him in the name of God. Of course, none of that happens, because to the three of them that piece of information isn’t exactly new. Daehwi isn’t exactly subtle about his relationship with Jinyoung.

 Woojin’s grip on Daehwi tightens, his thumb drawing abstract patterns on Daehwi’s shoulder.

 “How did she take it?” Donghyun asks, the sound of his voice a near whisper.

 “Not very well.” Daehwi laughs an empty laugh, one that’s devoid of any humour whatsoever. “She told me she needed some time to process the information, but she didn’t see me off at the airport like she usually does. She just… she locked herself up in the room, she wasn’t even there when I wanted to say goodbye when my cab arrived.”

 Daehwi doesn’t shed any tears, doesn’t even sound sad. He’s even smiling, although it’s devoid of warmth and resembles the jagged end of a knife.

 “I got over that a couple of days later.” An image pops up in Youngmin’s head, memories of Daehwi walking around campus with hunched shoulders and frame hidden beneath oversized jackets, of that Daehwi wearing watery smiles and red-rimmed eyes. He’d known something wasn’t right at the time, but Daehwi always waved him off, and now he regrets not bothering to stick around and make sure if he was really okay—because nothing about that Daehwi was fine, and Youngmin still believed in the white lie, even assuming that it’d been because of a movie or whatever instead of it being the serious problem it really is. He should’ve tried harder to break through Daehwi’s walls, and he’s so deeply rooted in his own self-loath that he only snaps back into reality once he feels warmth on his knee.

 That’s Donghyun, placing a hand on Youngmin’s knee, because he must’ve noticed the tensing of Youngmin’s limbs and the grimace that twisted his lips. Calm down, Donghyun mouths at him, the warm chocolate of his eyes meeting Youngmin’s own.

 Youngmin takes a deep breath, inhaling through his nose, and when he exhales, he tries one of those tricks he’s always seen on those meditation videos where he imagines he’s taking away all of his problems with him.

 It isn’t a 100% success, but he does feel some of the tension melt away, and his body relaxes. Donghyun must’ve noticed, but he keeps his palm on Youngmin’s knee still, as if that’s the anchor Youngmin might need.

 (It is.)

 “Three days ago,” he continues, “I got a text from her. I thought it would’ve been something more along the lines of ‘hey I’ve come to terms with your sexuality now so introduce me to your boyfriend!’ or something like that, but I got something different.

 "She told me I didn’t need to come to her New Year’s Eve party, the one she holds every year with her co-workers and friends. And family too, but I guess I don’t even fit that criteria anymore.” Daehwi scoffs, and when he looks at the others’ eyes, a deep frown settles on his lips. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t need to be pitied.”

 “It’s not pity,” Youngmin protests immediately. “We’re just worried, Daehwi. There’s a difference. Locking yourself away and not answering to anyone’s messages tends to do that to people.”

 Daehwi shifts in his seat, squirming a little against Woojin’s airtight grip. A heavy sigh is released. “…You’re right. I’m sorry, I really am. I shouldn’t have made you worry like that.”

  “As long as you don’t do it again.” Donghyun’s gaze softens. “Tell us if you’re having a hard time. We’re your friends, Daehwi. That’s what friends are for, aren’t they?”

 “You’re right,” Daehwi agrees, and Youngmin’s relieved to see that the smile Daehwi wears now is like Daehwi’s usual smile. Bright and genuine. “Let’s get back to practice! We need to make up for lost time—and get off me, Woojin, your grip’s making it hard to breathe.”

    Donghyun decides to crash at Youngmin’s place that night because his roommate’s girlfriend is coming over and after seeing sock being stuck on the handle of the door, he doesn’t want to take any chances. Youngmin can make an entire list of why Donghyun staying over is a Bad Idea, some of those reasons being:

 There’s nothing to eat. Youngmin knows Donghyun’s not the biggest on instant noodles and aside from that, the only thing Youngmin has in his fridge is cereal. That wouldn’t be a problem if he had non-expired milk, but Youngmin hasn’t checked on that in a while. Donghyun doesn’t seem to be the type who eats cereal without milk. Youngmin doesn’t want to take the risk.

He doesn’t have his couch. At the moment it’s being sent back to Busan because his parents want to switch it with the one at their house. His new couch arrives the day after tomorrow because naturally, he is timing’s worst enemy.

That leaves the choice to let Donghyun sleep on the floor, his dining chair, or his bed.

Obviously, he’s going to choose the last option because Youngmin has some manners. But that decision leaves a new problem entirely, which is, where is Youngmin going to sleep?

Donghyun says Youngmin should just sleep on the bed, and they could share the bed because it’s queen-sized and can fit the both of them. Because Youngmin doesn’t want to wake up with a rickety back, he agrees, and now the realization that he’s going to share a bed with Donghyun has just settled in and holy shit he’s going to sleep on the same bed as Kim Donghyun.

 In conclusion, Youngmin is screwed.

    The water is cold by the time Youngmin takes a shower, though little of that is because of Donghyun’s showering habits and more because he hasn’t paid for the heater in a while. It does enough to shock him out of whatever thoughts he’d had, because the cold when mixed with the night air makes his limbs feel like they’re freezing. Youngmin is quick to get out of the shower, although he doesn’t forget to wash his hair first. He tries to do all of that in record time because having greasy hair feels uncomfortable and he wants to smell less akin of exhaustion and sweat and more soap and cleanliness around Donghyun.

 He wraps the towel (dark grey with no patterns and what Woojin dubs as Youngmin’s ‘grown up towel’ whatever that’s supposed to mean) around his waist, hair still wet and feet determined to get him to his closet as fast as possible. Outside the bathroom it’s even colder because at least the bathroom isn’t air conditioned, unlike Youngmin’s slightly cramped bedroom.

 “Youngmin hyung, is that you?” Donghyun calls out from the living room, pausing whatever it is he’d been watching on the television. He’s moved one of the dining chairs to the front of the television (after getting Youngmin’s permission) and is currently sprawled out, looking as comfortable as someone can be while sitting on an uncomfortable chair.

 “Yeah,” Youngmin returns, and before he can shut the door (does he want Donghyun to see him half-naked? Not really), Donghyun’s shouting something about ‘wait’, and a few moments later he’s in front of Youngmin’s door. The only thing that seperates them is the doorframe, and Youngmin unconsciously steps further inside his room, determined to put as much distance between them as possible without it being rude.

 “Do you want me to put on a movie? I think we can watch some, right?” Donghyun asks hopefully, practically beaming up at Youngmin. “I saw you had a couple of musicals in your collection and it’s been a while since I’ve watched one.”

 Youngmin’s throat feels dry. Maybe this is because he’s half-naked in front of Donghyun who seems to be too focused on the movies to realize that Youngmin hasn’t dressed yet.

 “Sure,” he agrees easily, all too ready to close the door and get himself into some proper clothes.

 He starts wondering if he’d said something wrong (which would be weird because he’s pretty shre he’s only been speaking one-syllable words) when Donghyun’s smile melts away and he just freezes in his steps. It’s not until Youngmin realizes that Donghyun has his eyes trained on his bare torso that Youngmin realizes why, and when he does, he feels heat creep up his neck.

  God, this is awkward.

 “Uh.” Because Youngmin is brilliant with words, that’s all he says, and he even sounds dumbfounded while he’s saying it. All he wants to do is crawl under the covers of his bed and sleep until the gig (and after that go to sleep again) because Donghyun seems to be shell-shocked after seeing his body. Is there something wrong with it? Are there still hints of the tattoo he’d gotten back in freshman year on a drunken whim? (It’s removed now, but maybe there’s still traces of it left behind? Just maybe?)

 “Sorry,” Donghyun pipes out, the sound of his voice slightly higher than usual. “I’ll just… go.”

 Just like that, Donghyun’s gone in a flash, leaving Youngmin confused at whatever it is that just transpired.

 He gets dressed, but it’s a clumsy endeavor as his fingers tremble and his heart feels like it’s beating a million miles per hour. There’s a calming effect that comes with the act of putting on clothes, though, so by the time he slides his trainers up, he’s significantly calmed down and his cheeks aren’t red anymore—just the tips of his ears, a searing shade of red.

 Donghyun refuses to look at him when Youngmin joins him in the living room, pulling up another chair beside him. This isn’t the most comfortable movie watching position by far, because the chair’s stiff and there’s no place to lay down on, but it beats sitting on the floor. (Only slightly.)

 “Are we going to watch the movie?” Youngmin asks after he can’t stand the tense, awkward silence anymore, and Donghyun nods weakly. He sets up the DVD, and Youngmin catches glimpse of the movie Donghyun picked. ‘Sing Street’, a movie Youngmin hasn’t watched in a while, but he remembers some of it—kind of. “Have you watched that?”

 “I haven’t.” It’s weird to see Donghyun speak like that, meek and weak (oh, that rhymed!), and it’s not like Youngmin’s dense enough not to notice how he’s practically looking at anywhere else in the room but Youngmin. Even the broken clock right above the television, even if it’s long stopped and the time shown is nowhere near the current time.

 “Well, it’s a good one.”

 “Oh, cool.”

 Neither of them do anything to break the silence afterwards, and if he had to put it in an expression, the tension would be thick enough to slice through. Youngmin sneaks a glance at Donghyun, only to find the younger had been looking at him already—and Donghyun looks away, head swishing so fast that Youngmin would’ve thought he was trying to shake something out of his hair. His cheeks are tinged pink after getting caught, fists clenched tightly on top of his lap.

 Youngmin wants to say something to break the ice, maybe something like, ‘I’m sorry you had to see me half-naked I’m sure nobody wants that image’, but the words are lodged in his throat and he’s stuck watching the movie half-heartedly, mouth wanting to speak but heart giving him warning signs to just stay quiet instead of potentially ruining the mood even further.

 Donghyun’s nowhere different, because he doesn’t say anything, and Youngmin’s too afraid to check on his reactions on the movie because he’s half-afraid if Donghyun’s looking at him instead of paying attention to the rolling clip. It’s not like Donghyun’s stare is scary, because it’s really not, but Youngmin blushes easily under attention—and this is Donghyun’s attention he’s talking about, so one plus one equals two, etcetera.

 “Hyung, can I ask you something?” Donghyun asks, out of the blue, and Youngmin might’ve jumped a little because he was a little shaken, but anyway.

 “Sure thing! Shoot.”

 There’s a flicker of hesitation in Donghyun’s face, but his resolve crumbles through. “How did you know you were bi?”

 Youngmin hadn’t been expecting that.

 “I guess I figured it out when I was thirteen?” His voice lilts at the end of his statement slash imposed question. “At the time, there was a new kid in my class. Ong Seongwoo. He wasn’t really going to stay for long—apparently his parents moved around a lot—but we became fast friends. Somewhere along the line, the both of us thought it’d be a fun idea to give each other our first kiss?” God, the both of them were always up to nearly everything back then, now that Youngmin thinks about it. “And we thought it’d be gross. But it wasn’t, so we did it some more. We tried dating for a while after that, and it was like dating any other person. We broke up because he was moving again, this time out of the country, and the tech back then didn’t make long distance relationships as easy as now.”

 That and neither of them had come out of the closet back then, and neither wanted to take the risk of using letters or something and having their parents snoop through them. So, they gave up on what was essentially a seven-month middle school relationship, both of them choosing to let each other go and start a new chapter. Youngmin remembers how heartbroken he was, sometimes cutting class because it wasn’t the same without Seongwoo around to talk and laugh and hold hands with at the back of the class. It was a relationship that wasn’t meant to last anyway, but Youngmin thinks he wouldn’t have it any other way—it was one of those experience where he was able to learn more about himself, and he got his first taste at a breakup that actually made him sad. All in all, it hadn’t been the happiest thing ever, but Youngmin can look back upon it with a smile now.

 “Huh,” Donghyun mumbles to himself, and doesn’t proceed to add anything to his statement.

 In the background, the movie starts playing ‘To Find You.’

    Post-movie, him and Donghyun move to Youngmin’s bedroom, because it’s getting late to the point it’s early (3AM, baby!) and they have the odd morning band practice tomorrow. Being late is not an option because Daehwi gets annoyed whenever people are late and Woojin makes it a habit to follow Daehwi’s lead, even if the real leader of their band is Youngmin.

 “Lights out,” Youngmin says as he switches off the light, and his room would be pitch black if it wasn’t for the little string lights he has on the ceiling. They don’t form a star, or letters, or shapes, or anything else that people usually make them out to be. They’re abstract and Youngmin only has them because they were the only nightlights on sale.

 Donghyun has the right side of the bed while Youngmin claims the left. They put a bolster between them (Youngmin’s idea) and they share the blanket after Youngmin found out his lack of spare blankets and Donghyun promised he wasn’t the type of person to hog the blankets. Still, it feels weird, knowing that Donghyun is right there and they’re going to sleep on the same bed after experiencing two of the most awkward hours they’ve had in their friendship.

 Five minutes pass and Donghyun hasn’t said anything, so Youngmin assumes he’s asleep. He’s about to close his eyes and doze off too, at least, until Donghyun’s whisper breaks through the silence that blankets over them.

 “Hyung, can I try something?”

 If Youngmin had listened closely, he would’ve heard the nervous undertones in Donghyun’s voice.

 Because Youngmin has the inability to think things through whenever Donghyun is involved, he doesn’t stop to consider what that something might be, and gives a soft, “Okay.”

 There’s rustling on the other side of the bed, but Youngmin doesn’t dare to move. The whole moment feels like a spell. Or maybe a dream would be a better way to put it—point is, everything feels unreal, and Youngmin fears that if he twitches everything would be broken and he’d wake up confused and curious to know what was it that Donghyun was meaning to try. So, he stays still.

 The bolster is unceremoniously thrown to the floor. Youngmin’s heart beats faster and faster, and at some point it’s going to break out of his chest and he might die or spontaneously combust or something.

 Then, Donghyun’s arms are wrapped around his tense form, and he feels Donghyun’s nose rest on the crook of his neck as he tangles his feet with Youngmin’s own.

 (There is no heterosexual explanation for this.)

 “What are you doing?” Youngmin shudders. Not in disgust, far from it, but because he has goosebumps running down his skin and yeah, this is definitely a dream, isn’t it?

 “Hyung,” Donghyun murmurs, and Youngmin is hyperaware of the slow movements of Donghyun’s lips on the soft flesh of his neck. “Look at me,” he commands as he raises his head, detaching himself from the crook of Youngmin’s neck. This leads to a whole new problem, such as Youngmin feeling Donghyun’s breath tickle his ear, warm and coming out in soft puffs. “Please.”

 Almost robotically, because he doesn’t know what the hell he’s actually doing, Youngmin moves, tilting his body to face Donghyun’s and wrapping a loose arm around Donghyun’s waist. Donghyun tugs him closer, and their bodies press against each other. It’s warm, and Youngmin’s face burns, even in the shadows of the dark.

 “Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you’re flustered? Because you do.”

 “Uh, no. This is a first. Thank you?”

 “You’re welcome.”

 And just like that, Donghyun’s lips are on his, and this time, he doesn’t taste like alcohol and bad decisions. He’s unsure and hesitant, even if he’d been the one to make the first move, not quite sure how to move his lips against Youngmin’s. This is still more graceful than their disastrous first kiss, however, and Donghyun is careful when making sure their noses don’t (painfully) bump and their teeth don’t gnash against each other’s. The kiss is careful, and neither of them rush.

 Youngmin doesn’t think this is a dream.

    He wakes up alone.

 Donghyun’s side of the bed is made, and there is no trace of his shoes, or anything else, as a matter of fact.

 The only reason Youngmin knows he hasn’t hallucinated the previous day is because he finds the case for Sing Street’s DVD on the coffee table, the same place Donghyun left it yesterday, and there’s a thank you note stuck to the fridge. The handwriting is Donghyun’s, and the pen he’d used is left on the top of the refrigerator.

  I didn’t take anything from the fridge, don’t worry. I also didn’t shower here, so you might have some warm water in the tap for whenever you decide to clean up.

  Sorry Thank you for your hospitality.

     Yet Another List of Im Youngmin’s Problems, In No Particular Order:

 His new couch smells a lot like tomato sauce, so whenever he sits down, it makes him feel like he’s in KFC instead of his dorm.

Woojin has resorted to tailing Youngmin everywhere because he’s scared of Lee Euiwoong, who is apparently scary and reminds Woojin of his dad because of their similar mannerisms. This all happened because Woojin was confronted by Euiwoong who thinks Woojin is leading Hyungseob on by talking to him again despite still spending time with Jihoon every once in a while. This is the problem that could easily be amended if Woojin just chooses either Hyungseob or Jihoon now (but he’s terrible at making up his mind so that’s much easier said than done) or if they all just date each other.

Donghyun is avoiding him. Both in person and in text.

     IV.

 "MARY: Look at me. You can depend on me.               It’s all right, I tell you.                If you will depend on me, it will be                     all right."

    Here lies a full documentation of Youngmin’s attempts to coax Donghyun into conversing post-kiss, or as Youngmin would prefer to call it, The Most Awkward Sleepover and Sudden Kiss of His Life. For short, that is TMASaSKoHL, but that is a bitch to pronounce. So, he calls it The Kiss.

  The First Attempt

Location: Right outside Donghyun’s dorm.

Props: Chocolate, because who doesn’t like chocolate?

 The earliest attempt is attempted on the afternoon after The Kiss. Youngmin waits Donghyun to depart from his dorm and in his right hand, he carries a bag filled with store-bought chocolate, because chocolate is romantic and he’s trying to be as romantic as possible. Knowing Youngmin himself, that’s a challenge, and it’d be easier if only he’d let someone who isn’t completely shit in the romance department (like Daehwi) help him.

 But, because he’s determined to keep this from his friends as long as possible, he tries to figure out all the details alone. Chocolate is the most basic prop of a romantic move, aside from flowers, but because a bouquet are more expensive than the cheapest chocolate brand in the convenience store, Youngmin goes with chocolate. Fun.

 As the door swings open, Youngmin’s posture straightens, and he thrusts the bag that contains the chocolate as soon as someone exits the dorm.

 Said someone has long hair, is wearing lipstick, and is most definitely female.

 “Are those for me?” the girl asks, already noticing the chocolate he has. “I’m flattered and all, but I already have a boyfriend and I don’t think we’ve ever even met—”

 So, that was a total bust.

  The Second Attempt

Location: The cafeteria.

Props: Pretty much nothing.

 Donghyun has been staring at his tray since Youngmin decided to join him at his table, and the saddest part is that Donghyun’s not even eating it. A waste of lumpy mashed potatoes, if Youngmin were to say, considering Donghyun hasn’t put any of that in his mouth and is instead mixing them around with his spoon.

 “Donghyun, come on. Talk to me,” Youngmin tries, eyes all big, sad, and hopeful.

 Donghan, who is Donghyun’s roommate as well as one of his friends, is looking at the both of them as if he’s missing the butt of the joke. Technically, he’s not missing out on any joke, unless Youngmin’s counting his own life as one. In that case, then yes, he’s definitely missing out on it.

 “Should I go…?” Donghan trails off, already tidying up his tray and getting ready to move to the table next to them, where Hyunbin and his freakishly tall friends usually sit together for lunch. Anyone who’s tall has an open invitation to the table, including Youngmin, though Youngmin’s never taken up the offer because those people are intimidating as fuck.

 “Stay,” Donghyun grunts, and it’s the first word Youngmin’s heard him say all day.

 Unfortunately, the word was directed at Donghan, who gives Youngmin a shrug and a look of obvious pity. Hang in there, man, Donghan mouths at him.

  The Third Attempt

Location: Band practice.

Props: Park Woojin and Lee Daehwi.

 The third time is supposed to be the charm, and Youngmin’s really hoping it is, because now things are getting plain ridiculous.

 Being able to perform without making any mistakes is one thing, but if the band’s relationships are strained because of Youngmin and Donghyun, the crowd might be uncomfortable watching the vocalist make eye contact with anyone in the band but Youngmin. That gets even more awkward when one takes into account that the two of them have a shared verse, one where Youngmin raps and Donghyun sings along with his melodies and it’s supposed to be this big, killing moment, but instead the moment’s killing Youngmin because Donghyun would rather make eye contact with the mic stand than him.

 “The both of you are even worse than Woojin and Hyungseob,” Daehwi complains once Donghyun goes outside to take a call. The sad part of it is that the accusation is true, and nobody expected there to be a pair worse than Woojin and Hyungseob during their few weeks of miscommunication. What’s most amazing about this revelation is that him and Donghyun have only had this rift for about two days and it’s already that bad.

 “Yeah,” Woojin hops onto the bandwagon, sounding his assent with ease. He’s probably just glad that he’s not the joke of the band’s love life anymore because that title has now become a shared burden on him and Donghyun.

 “I’ve been trying to talk to him,” Youngmin weakly defends, because hey, he really has been trying his best—it’s just Donghyun who won’t stop to give him the time of the day. “He doesn’t want to talk to me, Daehwi. I don’t know what else to do!”

 “Keep trying,” Daehwi says with a roll of his eyes. “I really hope you’ll get this resolved before our performance, because that was legit painful to watch.”

 Youngmin makes a face. “Okay, okay. Hold your horses.”

 The door opens and Donghyun steps in, having finished taking his call. The tip of his nose is a little red due to the cold, and like everything else about Donghyun, it looks adorable. Kind of makes him look like Rudolph, but then again, Donghyun’s always looked more like a buffalo rather than a reindeer in Youngmin’s eyes.

 “Donghyun—”

 He’s one word into his sentence when Donghyun suddenly holds up a hand, eyes staying glued to the phone. “Sorry, I have to take this.” He leaves the room again, even if there hadn’t been any ringtone whatsoever even though all of them know Donghyun’s ringtone is an obnoxiously loud chorus cut of Hongdae Geondae.

 When fifteen minutes pass and Donghyun still hasn’t returned, Woojin checks outside, only to return less than six minutes later with a look of displeasure plainly written on his face.

 “He made a run for it.”

    Daniel’s birthday rolls around quickly, and before they know it, they’re all wearing matching outfits with matching stripes in the same spots. Solidarity is a thing, and even if Youngmin and Donghyun’s current state of relationship (or lack thereof) is a noticeable hole in the band’s usual dynamics, at least the matching clothes close the hole, even if it’s just a little bit.

 Upon arriving at the party (they’re all riding Daehwi’s car and Donghyun is driving because out of all of them he’s the only one who actually has a license), Woojin immediately digs his cell out of his pocket and starts to type furiously on his monitor.

 “What’s with him?” Donghyun inquiries, an upward twitch on the upper corners of his lips.

 “He invited Jihoon, Hyungseob, and Euiwoong.” Daehwi’s nose scrunches up. “Not sure what he invited the last one for, because Jinyoung told me Euiwoong’s out for your blood. I don’t want to be held responsible for not warning you when you’re found dead in Daniel’s bathroom because you invited the same person who’s actually pissed at you to a party.”

 As much as he loves Woojin, Youngmin can’t help but agree. Daehwi has a point, although he doubts Euiwoong would go that far. He can see Euiwoong scaring Woojin, though, and might stick around for the entertainment when that happens because he is A Terrible Person who laughs at the misery of his friends.

 Woojin pouts, probably wondering why he’s even friends with people who laugh at his life choices and warn him of his imminent death instead of being supportive. “Whatever. I’m going to finish all this once and for all, but, uh, after the performance. Maybe it’ll clear my head,” he tries to reason, and Youngmin can see the logic in it, a little bit.

 “Alright, Sparrow,” Daehwi calls Woojin by the name of his ‘animal persona’ in the band, which is also the easiest way to make Woojin cringe. It works, foolproof.

 They get off the car together, and Youngmin doesn’t miss the way Donghyun tries to keep as much distance between them as possible. Now the avoidance is just plain hurtful, it’s not even awkward or uncomfortable anymore, because Youngmin’s beginning to feel like Donghyun just doesn’t want to be around Youngmin anymore. (“I’m sure that’s not it,” Daehwi had said upon hearing Youngmin’s confession, but even Daehwi sounds unsure in spite of his words of comfort.)

 The party is already in full swing, if the sheer amount of people is anything to go by. Youngmin can barely hear the sound of his own voice over the speakers that blare the newest hiphop song topping the carts, and the four of them constantly get separated by the crowd. Daniel’s not even there to greet them by the door, although Youngmin hears Kang Daniel’s signature laughter somewhere from the beer pong table, probably having the time of his life with his friends.

 “Our gig’s in half an hour,” he reminds them, putting on what he calls his ‘stern’ voice. It’s the same voice Woojin’s scared of because he can remember Youngmin using it on him when they were younger and Woojin did something to piss Youngmin off. “You’re all free to go mingle and all, just be sure to make it back in time.” It’d be no use to make all of them stick close together, because they’re bandmates but not each other’s bodyguards, and a part of him is doing this because he sees the way Woojin scans the room for either Jihoon or Hyungseob, probably wanting to get some words in before the stage. Because after the stage comes his final decision and knowing Woojin, he probably considers that as the biggest milestone of his life already.

 As soon as he finishes giving them their warning, Woojin sprints off, presumably in search of the two people who have been giving him enough stress to last a lifetime. Daehwi takes off after Woojin, though in a much calmer manner, waving and greeting people as he goes. It’s kind of amazing how Daehwi seems to know everyone, even if he’s a freshman and has been going here for less than a year.

 That leaves Youngmin and Donghyun. Youngmin isn’t sure how he feels about this, beucase he’d expected Donghyun to be gone as soon as Youngmin gave them the green light to do their own business. But Donghyun is still there, silent but watchful, and he’s actually looking at Youngmin for the first time in days. If he had to place all the emotions in Donghyun’s eyes, it’d be difficult, because there are many—but the most prominent ones are sadness and regret.

 Regret for what, Youngmin’s not sure if he’d like to hear. There’s only so much his heart can take.

 “We… I think it’s time for a long overdue talk,” Donghyun says, although his voice gets lost in the crowd.

 “Speak louder,” Youngmin responds, practically shouting to get his point across without having to repeat himself. The music’s just loud (Kang Daniel must have some nice speakers) and the white noise of chatter does nothing to help.

 “We need to talk,” Donghyun repeats, this time louder.

 “Right now?” He asks dubiously. Sure, a talk might be exactly what he’s been waiting for (and has been rejected for multiple times), but when they can barely hear each other speak—maybe a party isn’t the best place to have a feelings talk. Or any other talk, now that he thinks about it.

 “Better late than never?” is the reply he receives, and it’s not long before Donghyun’s dragging him by the arm to… somewhere, Youngmin’s not really sure. He’s more amazed Donghyun’s knowledge of the house (he seems to know the layout pretty well considering he doesn’t stop to ask for instructions—so it’s either he’s not a stranger to Kang Daniel’s house or he has a really, really good inbuilt navigation) than knowing Donghyun’s finally talking to him after the few days that felt more like months.

 They pass through a room with a bright red door, and Youngmin finds himself getting dragged inside, closing the door behind him after Donghyun’s nonverbal request (he’s gotten too accustomed to reading Donghyun’s body language now and it’s either amazing or pathetic.)

 “So,” Youngmin begins, leaning back against the door. The room is a closet, judging by the shoeboxes stacked and the clothes hung, but it belongs to a girl, if the dresses are anything to go by—he’s heard Kang Daniel has an older sister.

 Donghyun smiles, forced and fake. It never reaches his eyes. “So.”

 “You said you wanted to talk, so… you first.” As if Youngmin’s going to be the one who starts off The Talk after getting ignored and avoided for the past few days. He thinks he’s entitled to being a little petty, thanks.

 “I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Donghyun swallows. “What I did was—it wasn’t cool. Doing that and then staying away from you is… it was a dick move, and I acknowledge it. I’m sorry it took me so long to gather up the balls to talk to you.” Donghyun’s biting on his lower lip, the browns of his eyes scarce of certainty—he’s scared and confused, and if the way his fingers continue to tap rhythmically on the walls, the anxiety is present.

 Apologizing isn’t an easy thing to do. Forgiving is even more difficult.

 “Is there anything else you’re sorry for?” Youngmin asks, his voice coming out as a low whisper that remains audible even through the hum of the music from outside the room.

 He doesn’t need to specify. Donghyun knows what he’s talking about, judging by the way his eyes flash with recognition. It makes him nervous, because Youngmin’s not sure whether he wants to know if that was a regret or not.

 “No.” Donghyun surprises him with how confidently that’s said, a complete 180 from the meek demeanor he’d been wearing for his apology. “I don’t want to apologize for anything else. There’s nothing else I’m sorry for.”

 “Really?” Youngmin surprises himself with how bitter the sound of his laughter is. “Not even the kiss? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I think that’s the reason why you’ve been avoiding me in the first place.” He halts himself before he can say anything potentially hurtful. Youngmin is bitter, but he doesn’t want to go so far as to hurt Donghyun’s feelings in the process. He still cares about Donghyun, even if he’s the reason for Youngmin’s recent emotional turmoil.

 “I’m not going to apologize to you for that, hyung. I just—I just needed some time to think about it, and I don’t regret it. If I had the chance to do it again, then I would, I’d take it and do it all over again. Because—

 “Because I like you, hyung. And it took me a while to realize that, but I like you, and I’m not going to apologize for something I’m not sorry for.”

 Any and all pretense of Youngmin’s wrath is gone, and in its place is a gaping Youngmin, shell-shocked and dumbfounded. Not his most attractive look, but he can’t find himself to cover up his surprise, and that’s how you know he’s taken aback—probably the most taken aback he’s ever been in his life, because Youngmin’s life is mostly all about that consistency and with consistency, you don’t really get much chance for surprises. Especially not one in the form of Kim Donghyun and his confession in a stranger’s closet.

 “Oh,” Youngmin says, the image of eloquence as he tries to not stutter through a one syllable word.

 Donghyun is watching him with something akin to amusement and fondness. “Oh,” he agrees, repeating the word in a manner much smoother than his.

 Instead of saying something like ‘I’ve been pining after you for weeks now’ or even a simple ‘I like you too’, all that comes out of Youngmin’s mouth is, “I thought you were straight.”

 “I thought so too.” Donghyun shrugs. “But then I met you. I guess you never know until you meet the right person—shit I definitely didn’t mean it to sound like I think you’re my soulmate or anything even though that’d be nice and—okay I’m going to shut up and stop embarrassing myself now.” Usually, Youngmin is the one who blushes until his face is as red as the plantations of his farm, but this time around, it’s Donghyun—and it’s a nice change for once, because a blushing Donghyun is cute and Youngmin doesn’t know how to deal with that.

 “I, uh, wouldn’t mind that either,” Youngmin fumbles through his words. It’s a miracle he can pull himself together and rap when he’s on stage because he’s a terrible speaker. But, it’s worth it, because he can see the way Donghyun glimmers with joy.

 “Really?”

 “Totally, really, completely—”

 He’s stunned into silence when a warm lips brush over his cheek, and that’s Donghyun who’d left him a chaste kiss. Even after Donghyun pulls away, he’s still so, so close, arms wrapped around Youngmin’s neck, their faces only barely apart from each other’s through the close hug.

 (Youngmin thinks he can live like this for the rest of his life.)

 “We, um,” Youngmin stutters, because how is it possible for him not to stutter when he’s speaking to Donghyun in close proximity? “I think we can continue this later—because the performance and all,” he finishes lamely.

 “Yeah, of course,” Donghyun agrees, but doesn’t release Youngmin from his hold. He only does so when Youngmin coughs, almost pointedly, and he jolts away—shy and perhaps embarrassed from the boldness he’d shown.

 Youngmin pulls on the handle.

 It’s locked.

 “The—”

    Kang Daniel’s sister is the one who breaks them free, because apparently Donghyun is friends with her (“We’ve known each other for a while! She’s amazing!”) and has her number on speed dial on his phone.

 “This is exactly why the door’s never closed,” she says after she kicks the door open, and Youngmin is both impressed and terrified because of how powerful she is.

 Seulgi is her name, and Youngmin’s heard of her before through the rumours about her being a part of a five-women girl gang. With the way she’s dressed, all black leather and a white tank that exposes her mid-riff underneath the opened jacket, he’s starting to think the rumours might have some truth in them. Her image is the opposite of Daniel’s, who’s known to be the easygoing, if not lame (but in an endearing way, because how else would he have made all those friends?) guy on campus.

 Still, she seems… nice. If she wasn’t, then why else would she have broken them out of the closet?

 “Thanks, Seulgi noona!” Donghyun thanks her profusely, and Youngmin follows his lead, showing her a wary smile.

 “It’s no biggie,” she exhales. It’s amazing how she hasn’t broken a sweat even after kicking a door open. Seulgi takes the cake as the most badass person Youngmin’s ever met. “Aren’t you performing? There’s only like, five minutes left until your performance.”

 She’s right. There are only a few minutes to go until their performance, and knowing Daehwi, he’s probably sent out a mass text to everyone in the party to inquire their whereabouts.

 Youngmin grasps Donghyun’s hand in is and breaks into a run. (In retrospect, he should’ve let Donghyun lead him, because Donghyun actually knows the way around.)

    They have three songs on their setlist. The first one is a cover of Bruno Mars’ ‘That’s What I Like’, because apparently that’s Daniel’s current obsession and he wouldn’t stop pestering them until they agreed to perform it for him. The second is an original, a song that Daehwi had written about a birthday, so technically, Daniel has his very own birthday song—that’s probably the reason why he was hyped as hell during that song, jumping around and generally making a bigger fool of himself than usual. The final one is another one of Daehwi’s compositions that’s coupled with Woojin’s choreography, a song that they’d created but performed, unlike their usual band performance, like an idol group’s. With choreography and no instruments on stage and everything, and that’s actually the performance Youngmin was the most worried about because his limbs are long and he can barely control them when dancing.

 Practice pays off, though, because he safely performs the song without accidentally slapping anyone with his elbows. Woojin is the real star of that song—oh, right, it’s called ‘Welcome to my Hollywood’—because his dancing trumps over anyone who just dances for like, one occasion and proceeds to never dance again. (Youngmin is referring to himself.)

 “I can’t believe we didn’t mess it up.” Youngmin laughs, exhilaration pounding through his veins.

 Next to him, Daehwi is grinning triumphantly. “I told you this thing would work out.”

 Even if he doesn’t specifically remember when Daehwi said that, Youngmin nods in agreement, and his smile is so wide he can feel his cheeks start to hurt. “So, has anyone contacted us for another performance?”

 “Well, there was Daniel’s friend who approached us to perform at his older brother’s wedding, and then there’s also this girl in my class….”

    won stealer (09:00): hello guess who has important news

won stealer (09:00): it me

fashionista (09:01): stfu it’s too early

won stealer (09:01): rude??? youngmin and donghyun hyung i would like to report lee daehwi for rudeness???

fashionista (09:01): the

fashionista (09:02): you’re never this chipper in the mornings

fashionista (09:02): who died?

won stealer (09:02): NOBODY DIED AM I NOT ALLOWED TO BE HAPPY IN THE MORNING

paca hyung (09:03): you’re allowed but this is really unusual tf is going on

juliet (09:03): what he said

won stealer (09:04): ~what he said~

won stealer (09:04): lovebirds

won stealer (09:05): anyway i settled my early life crisis

fashionista (09:05): did you mean your love triangle

won stealer (09:05): that

won stealer (09:06): so i talked to jihoon and hyungseob yesterday after the performance

juliet (09:06): so that’s where you ran off to

juliet (09:07): proceed!!!

won stealer (09:08): the three of us decided to compromise

won stealer (09:09): try something new because it’s college and that’s the time to try new things and all right i mean that’s what youngmin hyung said

paca hyung (09:09): where are you going with this

won stealer (09:10): i’m getting theRE

won stealer (09:10): so we all just decided to try this whole date each other thing a try

fashionista (09:11): you mean you’re in a poly relationship?

fashionista (09:11): that’s the correct term btw

won stealer (09:12): yeah that

paca hyung (09:12): how did they agree

won stealer (09:13): we decided love triangles were too last century and twilight so

won stealer (09:14): that happened

won stealer (09:14): i ask for your blessings

juliet (09:15): of course!!! you haven’t introduced me to them though

fashionista (09:16): maybe you can do that when you see me off at the airport. you can take your boyfriends with you woojin

juliet (09:16): airport??

fashionista (09:17): omg i forgot to tell

fashionista (09:17): but um my mom called me yesterday

fashionista (09:18): we talked things out

fashionista (09:18): she apologized and i got reinvited to visit her soon!

juliet (09:19): daehwi i’m so happy for you!!!

paca hyung (09:20): told you she’d come around eventually

won stealer (09:20): congrats daehwi

fashionista (09:21): thanks guys <3

fashionista (09:21): i’m gonna pack now try not to blow up my phone with your messages

paca hyung (09:22): no promises

    “Are you sure you’ve already got everything packed in there? A jacket, extra batteries, spare clothes—”

 “For the sixth time, yes, hyung. I’ve tripled-checked, you don’t have to worry about me,” Daehwi says, faking exasperation at Donghyun’s numerous concerns. One would think Donghyun is the one going on a trip, considering the amount of messages he’s left Daehwi concerning what to bring and what not to bring (“I saw it on a travel website!”) instead of the other way around.

 “I’m just trying to make sure,” Donghyun grumbles. He reaches out to ruffle Daehwi’s hair, a broad grin resting on his face. “Take care and stay safe, alright? Don’t forget to text us when you’re in transit and once you’re there.”

 “Why not Facetime too while we’re at it?” Daehwi jokes, but Donghyun takes it seriously, what with the nodding he gets up to.

 “That’d be alright, too.”

 “Hyung, I was joking.”

 “But it wouldn’t be unwelcomed,” Donghyun points out in his earnest.

 Someone reaches out to poke Donghyun’s shoulder. It’s Bae Jinyoung, who has been waiting to say goodbye to Daehwi for some time now, but Donghyun’s been talking to Daehwi for over five minutes and there isn’t much time left until Daehwi has to go. “Sorry,” Donghyun apologizes, and gives one last hug to Daehwi before he walks over to Youngmin, who has said goodbye to Daehwi before him. The last thing he sees before turning away from the couple is Jinyoung caressing Daehwi’s cheek, and Daehwi melting into his touch—they’re cute, almost disgustingly so.

 The dynamics of Daehwi and Jinyoung’s relationship is different from Woojin’s with Jihoon and Hyungseob, considering the three of them tend to bicker more instead of constantly showering each other with love and affection. Then again, Youngmin would make a hypothesis that’s because, unlike Daehwi and Jinyoung where the both of them are romantics, all three of them are similar in meaning that none of them are particularly romantic.

 The closest thing would be Jihoon, although Woojin can attest to Daehwi that he’s more manipulative than anything, and it’s almost scary how good Jihoon is at getting the attention of his boyfriends. Hyungseob, on the other hand, is the clingy type—while Jihoon embraces it and lets himself be trailed after by Hyungseob like some kind of lost puppy, Woojin is subtler about it, and goes beet red whenever his boyfriends do something like simultaneously peck his cheeks in public. Youngmin would describe their relationship as young love, because that’s really the only way to go around it—it’s a bright, upbeat kind of love, where each of them aren’t well-versed in relationships and they’re learning together.

 (“I’m really going to miss you,” Woojin had said to Daehwi after their hug. Instead of saying something like ‘I’ll miss you too’, Daehwi squished Woojin’s cheeks together, enjoying how the other didn’t protest no matter how much Woojin actually hates it—considering this is the last time they’ll be seeing each other in a while, he goes limp, and lets Daehwi have his fun.

 “Take care of Hyungseob and Jihoon, ‘kay? If I catch word that any of them get hurt because of your oblivious butt—”

 “—you’ll make sure there’ll be hell to pay, I know.”

 “Good. Now come here and give me another hug, Sparrow.”

 A groan. “How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?”

 “How many times do I have to do it for you to know that I’m not going to stop?” Daehwi smirks, leaving Woojin to grumble and wallow in his bitterness.)

 The group that had gathered together for Daehwi waves him off as he finally decides it’s time to leave, as the boarding gate will be opened in a matter of less than thirty minutes and missing a flight isn’t in his agenda, and as they wave him goodbye, a warm feeling has settled in Youngmin’s chest.

 A year ago, he wouldn’t believe it even if his current self told his past self that he’d be happy and content, for once, because the Youngmin of this day last year would’ve been too busy with his own work, not bothering to give enough time for the rest of the world. The Youngmin of the past didn’t have a Woojin beside him, there to break him out of his solemn exterior and have him indulge in things in life other than work.  The Youngmin of the past didn’t have a Daehwi beside him, perhaps terrifying but always meaning well, and never failing to be there as a steady grip to reality whenever Youngmin can’t do that himself. The Youngmin of the past didn’t have a Donghyun beside him, never failing to accept Youngmin even when he was in one of his moods, there to give commentaries on silly movies to help cheer Youngmin up.

 He’s grown, both emotionally and musically, and none of this would’ve been possible had it not been for the people that now surround him.

 “Let’s go grab some lunch, I’m starving,” Hyungseob suggests once Daehwi’s passed through the gates, and all that’s left is six college students in the middle of the airport’s bustling crowd. Holiday season is always crowded, Youngmin would know. “I’ve heard there’s a new chicken restaurant opened right across the airport!”

 So, the six of them go for chicken, with Hyungseob leading the way singing songs about chicken (Youngmin didn’t even know there were this many songs about it) and Jihoon, holding hands with Woojin, trail closely behind him. The rest of them walk further behind, and Jinyoung’s constantly checking his phone, probably texting Daehwi if the way he’s smiling is any indication.

 The restaurant is family-run, and the scent of chicken wafts through the air, inticing and causing Youngmin’s stomach to rumble. He hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and he sees the way Donghyun’s grinning at him, probably wanting to laugh.

 “Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh at your starving boyfriend.” He fakes a huff, leaving Donghyun to roll his eyes and mutter something about this being his own fault for not storing up his fridge.

 They order, and their orders are served fairly quickly. On his left, Woojin’s being fed by Hyungseob (or more like being force fed, if the burning tip of Woojin’s ears is anything to by) as Jihoon’s too busy digging into his own meal to care, and Jinyoung’s still on his phone. If Youngmin had to guess, he’ll start eating once Daehwi shuts down his phone, so Youngmin makes sure to save a few pieces of chicken when he picks some up for his plate and Donghyun’s.

 “What’s the seasoning?” Donghyun wrinkles his nose as he catches whiff of the sauce.

 “I think it’s barbeque.”

 “Oh, I like barbeque.”

 Through the loud laughter around their table as they eat and Woojin continues to share stories of him stealing money from Youngmin as a kid, and Donghyun’s legs nudging his under the table even through Jihoon’s aghast “Are you guys playing footsie under the table?”, Youngmin comes to another revelation.

          People always have a drive. For Youngmin, it was once music and only that, but now, he has the people he loves. He knows he’ll always keep fighting for them, would kick life in its metaphorical shin even if it makes his legs bruise, because it’s a long journey ahead and there’ll be obstacles waiting for him; some of them might be difficult to overcome, others an easy hurdle, but he’ll make sure to pass through them not for himself, but for the ones he holds closest to his heart. His parents, who wait for him to return and gave him tips how to clean up the couch that smelled like tomato sauce. Woojin and Daehwi, who have somehow wormed their ways into his heart no matter how much they can be. Donghyun, who smiles at him like they’re the only ones in the world, sharing some kind of private joke.

 So, this is it. Youngmin’s life is far from the picture perfect adulthood he used to dream of. He still has his fair share of problems (for one, he has now run out of hot water in his dorm and showering with cold water in the middle of winter is actually painful). He still eats instant meals instead of anything gourmet because his monthly budget remains the same. There's no guarantee of him being successful after graduating either.

 But as long as he has the people he cherishes the most around him, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

[all-about-wannaone]

4/100 Ways To Say I Love You

Pairing: Park Woojin x Reader 

Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, Slice Of Life 

Prompt: “Come here, let me fix it.” 

Words: 4814 

A/N: Trust me when I say that I wanted to post this yesterday, but my internet did not cope with me at this point. :( Hence, I could only post this today, but I am so glad my internet is up and running again and I could not be more excited to share this new part of the series with you guys! ^^ I know it’s a little longer than usual, but I hope that you guys will enjoy it as much as I do! Unfortunately, I do have some news for you guys and that would include the fact that written ship requests will now be CLOSED as I want to focus a little on my scenarios and fanfiction requests for now. :’) I’ve seen my inbox and have seen at least 5-6 requests for a “Wanna One mafia AU” and the good news would be that I would be finally kickstarting the request! Thank you all for being so patient and do look forward to it! 

It was probably a given when I say that being a trainee in the Korean pop industry was tough. The competition was extremely intense, with bands debuting faster than ever in such a short amount of time. In 2012 alone, over 400 bands debuted and from then on, the numbers had dwindled, but they were still considerably high. Nevertheless, the dreams of debuting in a team were not easy to grasp either.

In fact, there was never a guarantee to when a company would tell one that he or she was going to debut. All we knew was that we needed to debut by the time we turned 22. If not, we had pretty much wasted our youth, and that was the implication; a signal to tell us that it was time for us to pack our bags and go; find a better, more practical and sustainable job in the mundane working world.

For me, I would never have expected myself to sign on as a trainee for the music company, Brand New Music. It was just a pure coincidence when a young female stranger approached me with a name card while I relished in the taste of my instant noodles at a convenience store in Hangang Park. It was a strange place, to say the least, and I could not help but feel a little suspicious at the sudden offer.

Like they always say, if something was too good to be true, it probably was, and those were all the sentiments that I felt back then.

“Good afternoon, my name is Lee Eunmi from Brand New Music entertainment. We would just like to pass you our name card as an encouragement for you to sign on with our company. If you would like more details, please do not hesitate to send me an email or give me a call via these pieces of information here.”

I nodded and hummed in acknowledgement, still having a mouthful of noodles in my mouth, but my eyebrows did knit together as I took a closer look, scanning the name card’s front and back to see whether it was a legitimate company.

It had an address, a company phone number, a fax number, an official email and even other points of contact, one of them being Eunmi herself. She only chuckled in embarrassment at my reaction, and she said in a slightly awkward manner, “I’m sorry if this came as a little bit of a shock, but I would just like to say that you have been street casted, hence, we would highly encourage the fact that you participate in our auditions this coming Saturday here.”

“S-sure,” I responded, chewing the last remains of my noodles, “I-I’ll see whether I am interested or not. T-thank you very much for the offer.”

With that, she only smiled and gave a polite bow, leaving the convenience store as if nothing had happened. Then, I proceeded to recount the incident to my best friend, and to my surprise, she was extremely excited with a whole bunch of emoticons just to express her feelings.

“Why why? Is this a good thing?”

“Oh my god, is that even a question you should be asking? This is your chance Y/N. Show them what you are made of. You have literally been on the stage your entire life, surely this would only provide you with even more opportunities to learn and grow about what it’s like to be in the much coveted celebrity lifestyle, while pursuing your dreams of becoming a performer, Kpop or not. I’m so proud of you Y/N!”

Even though the words were sent through via a text message, I could definitely sense how elated she was, and after some serious consideration, I had decided to submit my application two days before the audition process. There was truly no harm giving it a shot and my best friend was right; I had always wanted to see what it was like to be considered a celebrity, and I wanted to be a performer, even at a relatively young age.

Memories came flooding back to how my parents had disapproved of my choices, but they gave in to my pleas, realising later how much passion I had for performing and the fact that my second home could well be the stage of any concert hall. Furthermore, this was a rare opportunity, and one that should not be missed.

Hence, I went for the auditions, nervous but determined and that was also the day when I met a few others, namely Park Woojin, who was my age, and Im Youngmin. Both of them came from the sunny side of Korea, also known as Busan, and for some strange reason, we had become quick friends.

Woojin and I realised that we had lots in common, while Youngmin was the equivalent of the older brother that I never had. I found out later on, 30 minutes before the audition began, that Woojin was getting in through Dance, Youngmin for Rap and I was getting in through Song. 15 minutes into the waiting process did they start to arrange us according to the categories that we had signed up for, and we wished each other the best of luck before all of us took the opportunity to show what we were made of.

Fast forward a little over 2 months later, and that was when I received my email of acceptance from Brand New Music. It turns out they had prepared a dormitory for the trainees and all I had to do was to move in and the training programme could begin proper the following day. Therefore, I requested for a week before I started, just so that I could have some time with family and friends before my schedules piled up and timetables clashed. Luckily, the CEO was nice enough and assured me that all will be okay when I sent an apology.

Then, there I was, lying on the bed of my new home that the company had sponsored. For now, it was a relatively small space, given that I was the only female trainee at that point, together with my manager. We did not have much of an age difference, hence, we became almost like sisters. Apart from having a high level of proficiency in administration, she was also extremely caring; ensuring that I ate my vitamins, consumed full meals for sustenance and occasionally snuck in a snack or two into my diet. The best thing of all, hands down, was the fact that I had someone to confide in when times got tough, especially when I had to balance both school and trainings at the same time.

It was only at the dance studio when I had realised that both Woojin and Youngmin had also been accepted under their respective categories, moving in with their youngest male trainee, Lee Daehwi, and Kim Donghyun, who joined the audition programme 4 months after me. Indeed, it was expected to be awkward, especially when we did not share very much about ourselves the last time we met, but it was as if it had become a simple reunion between a group of friends.

After practices, we would sneak out in the middle of the night to the bustling area of Gangnam, indulging in traditional and classic street food or simply spending time in the Hangang Park cycling or just enjoying the view of the city skyline from the other side. Those moments were blissful, especially when we faced such immense pressure of doing well in both our development programmes and school examinations. In fact, we only had each other for the most part, since we did not spend much time with our own classmates either.

Eventually, for some strange reason either by coincidence or fate, Woojin and I had become closer than before, to the point that we would wait for each other at the midpoint between our schools, just so that we could take a bus to our company building. Sometimes, we would spend a little more time in the studio than the rest, especially when my dancing skills were not the best. He was a little more on the quiet side and never said too much, but worked hard to polish my movements and taught me in a succint and efficient manner how I could possibly improve.

Later, we realised that we pretty much basked in each other’s company, and when we did not have any lessons go to, we would take refuge in a coffee house nearby just to talk or study. Sometimes, we would simply head down to Myeongdong or Hongdae to try their signature ddeokbokki sets or go for a few arcade games just to give ourselves a much needed break.

According to Youngmin, who had started to notice how much time Woojin and I had spent together outside of lessons and practices, feelings were bound in the way at one point. Perhaps it was because he was the oldest and had the most experience, but he was not completely wrong. No matter how much Woojin and I realised that we were “too young”, we could not deny what our hearts had been telling us for the past few months.

Call us fast, but Woojin (with lots of help from Daehwi and Donghyun) mustered the courage to confess as we stayed back to practice a little more, and with an open mind, I accepted his feelings. For obvious reasons, the company did warn us of the possible risks that we might run into eventually, but Youngmin had convinced them that it would be okay. He had said that we were just trainees, people that the public knew nothing about. Hence, he felt that we should have been given the chance to fall in and out of love (touchwood) while it still could take place. Surprisingly, the CEO accepted, but he reminded us to be more cautious, especially when we were out and about, away from the protection of the company’s 4 walls.

6 months later and the 4 boys decided to take the bold step of participating in Mnet’s survival programme “Produce 101 Season 2”. In a nutshell, it was the male version of Produce 101. I could not deny that my heart did ache a little at the thought of not being able to see them for the next 4 months or so, but this was their chance; a window of opportunity to achieve their dreams.

As they said their goodbyes with slightly tear jerking hugs and a long farewell, I promised to participate in the votings and watch the episodes, especially when the votes determined their ability to debut in the final 11 in the finale.

“Wait for me, Y/N. I promise I’ll be back before you know it. Don’t miss me too much, take care of yourself, do well in school and don’t fall sick… okay?”

Those were the last words Woojin had sent to me via text, before his phone got confiscated by the producers as a precaution for the trainees’ sake.

The days did, in fact, go by in a flash and as much as it pained me to say it, I had gotten used to the lack of enthusiastic greetings from Daehwi, Youngmin’s short but sharp comments, Donghyun’s happy-go-lucky nature and most importantly, Woojin’s overall company. Sometimes, as I crossed the mid-point between our schools, I would anticipate Woojin running towards me from behind and giving me the fright of my life. Unfortunately, it only left me with a bittersweet feeling that it was not going to be the case.

In a nutshell, Produce 101 had been a tough journey for all of them, and I could not help but feel extremely proud of how far they had come. Woojin had contracted shingles, but he still gave it his all in the performance for “Never”. Sure, they might not have won, but I was still touched by the fact that he continued to perform without giving up. Daehwi and Youngmin pulled through, despite the hate that they had received for scandals and looks (which were ridiculous in my opinion), and no matter what the circumstance, they never failed to keep their bright smiles on at all times. As for Donghyun, it was a pity that he had come home first, but he still exuded rays of positivity and optimism, telling me that he was glad he tried it, knowing that he has to work harder if he wants to achieve his dreams.

On the 14th of June, that was when the boys had finally made their way home. The night was far from young, but I took some time off to prepare for their arrival, cooking up all their favourite foods that they probably never got to eat during the show. Truth be told, thank goodness my mother was still awake so late into the night, especially when it came to the recipes and measurements that were needed for the wide spread of dishes later.

“I’m so glad to be home,” Daehwi lamented in a tired manner, but all was lost when he saw me in the kitchen, “Oh my god!!! It’s Y/N!! Hyung, Y/N’s here!!!”

“Goodness Daehwi, I know you’re excited but keep the volume down! We have neighbours around here,” Youngmin warned in a light hearted manner, only to be faced with a guilty Daehwi, and continued, “Anyway, hey Y/N, it’s… been long. Woojin’s on his way up!”

“No problem. The food should be ready any minute now and before I forget, congratulations for getting into Wanna One, Daehwi. Oppa, all hope’s not lost, you know? I can assure you that you will go far, together with Donghyun.”

Hearing that, he flashed me a sad, but relieved smile, and replied, “Thanks Y/N. Come, let me help you with the laying of the table at least.”

And there he went to take the white porcelain plates and cutlery, but that was also the time when I felt a familiar set of arms wrap around my waist from behind.

“Hey babe.” He greeted, in his low, charismatic and extremely charming voice.

“Hi Woojin. Congratulations on making it to the final line up. Are you feeling better?” I asked, concerned and he only scoffed in response, “Of course, and besides, that was weeks ago. What are you making anyway?”

“Hmm… Tofu stew for Youngmin, kimchi stew for you and Donghyun, as well soybean stew for Daehwi. You know how he hates spicy food, so I hope you enjoy it.”

“I definitely will,” he said, taking in a deep breath to inhale the fragrant aroma of the foods that were being prepared, “Damn, I’ve missed your cooking.”

I smiled at the comment, and turned off the stove, pouring Daehwi’s stew into the heat retaining bowl that I had found, garnishing them with green onions, ready to take them out. Without any words spoken or uttered, Youngmin was already on his way, taking the tray without any hesitation. However, I could not deny that the atmosphere had become a little cold; way too serious for my own liking.

“Woojin, is anything wrong? You guys seem… distant.” I whispered, and he shook his head, before fishing out a necklace from his back pocket.

“There’s nothing wrong with the hyungs, or Daehwi. In fact, it’s probably just me. I wished that I had more time to spend with you before I move into the new dormitory tomorrow with the rest of Wanna One. Hence, I-I’m sorry that I can’t give you the love and affection that you must have missed.”

“Therefore,” He said, walking behind me and sweeped my hair to one side, “Take this as a gift from me to you. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take for me to come home, but let this be a symbol for the fact that I will always remember you, whatever happens. And besides, it’s a couple necklace.”

He showed me the necklace that he wore underneath his collared baby blue shirt, and I was greeted with the sparkling sight of silver and a heart shape with nothing on the inside; just an outline. Out of curiosity, it was definitely normal to ask why.

“If you look at yours,” He said, pointing to where I should look at, “yours is the full heart. Put them together, and you get a complete heart shape because you complete me.”

It was clear that he was probably cringing at this point, and I could not help but get a little teary eyed at his gift. He had obviously put lots of thought into the meaning of the gift, and proceeded to put the clasp together once he had placed the cool metal chain around my neck.

“I know we are young, and probably still have a whole lot more into this relationship, but take this as a promise from me to you that I will always be with you, no matter what happens; physically or spiritually.”

Those were the last few words that remained etched in my mind on Woojin’s and Daehwi’s last day as “Brand New Music trainees”. Their schedules had been extremely packed with advert filmings, variety show appearances, photoshoots and preparations for their upcoming debut and concerts. As for Donghyun and Youngmin, they had been given the green light to debut as the sub-unit of “Brand New Boys”, namely “MXM”, and they too started to get busy with debut preparations as well.

Unfortunately, there I was, feeling as if I had run into a dead end. There were no other female trainees for the time being, and it seemed that there had been no auditions taking place in Brand New itself, but it was understandable. It was still a relatively new company to the market, and compared to big shots like SM Entertainment, JYP and YG, perhaps it was more strategic just to deal with whatever they had first before branching out into debuting more groups and training even more trainees.

Woojin’s necklace never left my neck throughout that process and I was glad that it had been made of a material which did not tarnish, no matter what I did to it. Indeed, he was probably prepared for the fact that I would never remove it, especially when it was my take on a good luck charm. It felt as if he was still by my side, cheering me on and giving me the strength that I needed to trudge on the road ahead.

Little did I expect the necklace to be ruined in such a short amount of time and I was devastated to say the least.

All I wanted to do was to show up at Wanna One’s many fansigning events, given that my CEO had snuck me in, as a surprise for Woojin. As expected, he looked dashing in all the outfits that had been put together tenaciously by the stylist. Yes, he was still a little awkward and shy in front of the camera, but he definitely did give the vibes of a true idol now.

Fans were armed with DSLR cameras equipped with lenses as long as 30cm, snapping pictures continuously of the entire group, or their favourite member. The flashes and sounds of pictures being taken filled the auditorium, coupled with excited chatter and the occasional screams. In retrospect, people probably wondered what on earth I was doing in such a place, but I paid them no attention as I had directed all of it to my boyfriend and his fellow members.

All I did was to say hello, bringing nothing with me and even the members were surprised, but it was only when Woojin looked up after he had received a gift that the reactions got even bigger.

“Y/N!! You came!!” He said in a loud and excited voice, and knowing him, he was probably ready to jump across the table to give me a tight hug, but I only shushed him teasingly, and he seemed to understand.

“I’m… quite surprised to see you here.” He said, while signing my phone case for me, smiling shyly as he saw that I was still wearing the necklace around my neck, “I missed you, Y/N. I’m sorry I couldn’t go back very often and —”

“Miss,” the crowd manager interrupted abruptly, “you need to move along. Please cooperate with us.”

“I’ll see you soon.” I mouthed, before moving onto the other members and greeting them with a polite bow as well, handing them my phone case for autographs too.

Truthfully, that was all I did, but never did I expect that I would end up with a broken necklace, all thanks to fans who got jealous of my interactions with Woojin. They only attacked me after I had my dinner, and I was this close to reaching the comforts of my home.

“Bitch, you didn’t deserve that time with Woojin. You’re so ugly anyway, what the hell would he see in you?”

“I agree, and besides, who are you to hold up the line? He has other fans too, you know? How disrespectful. I bet you didn’t even buy thousands of dollars worth of albums just to attend. Did you sneak in to the venue? I presume so.”

“How dare you spend so much time with our oppa. I hope I don’t see you at the next fanmeet. Not only are you a visual polluter, you’re an attention seeker too. How… disgraceful.”

I tried my best to put all those thoughts behind me, dancing and training with even more passion just to keep my mind distracted. With a tired mind also came very frequent slipups during monthly re-evaluations, and I found myself strictly reprimanded for not heeding the advice from the trainers. It then led to the immense stress and pressure that I felt now, and it did lead to many occasions when I would find myself crying, just because I could not get a step right or experiencing countless sleepless nights.

My body weight began to fluctuate from diets and stress eating, followed by the eyebags that had become significantly more prominent than before. Others began to find the rumours online, spreading hate comments and photoshopping unnecessarily onto my pictures in my SNS, leading to me deactivating it once and for all.

Then came the day when I was still practicing in the dance studio on my own. Only the Almighty would know how much time had passed, and no matter how much my legs (especially) cried for a break, I did not even bother to stop. I knew myself well enough; if I stopped, there’s no knowing where my emotions might go.

So I continued, until I heard the sound of the door open, coming face to face with an unfamiliar figure wearing a black hoodie and long sweatpants to match. I froze at the sight, ready to grab the nearest thing I see as a form of defence.

“It’s just me Y/N. Calm down.” The familiar voice said, and I sighed in relief. However, the atmosphere felt cold, sending shivers down my spine.

“Woojinnie… Why… W-why are you here?”

“Youngmin called my manager a 100 times at least, telling me that I needed to come see you as soon as I could. He said you barely ate, slept and kept yourself locked up in the practice room, as if you lived in it. He sounded so worried, and I would say the same. Y/N, why is that?”

“I’m sorry Woojin. I really am.” I replied, and my voice was starting to shake. Tears were threatening to spill at any time, but I kept it together, clenching my fist.

I walked over to my bag without making eye contact and opened the compartment at the front, taking out a ziploc bag storing all the fragments that I salvaged that night. He was a little confused, but his eyes widened at the sight of the ziploc bag, and I knew that I was probably dead meat.

Woojin was not an emotional person, but a normal human being would not dare to challenge it. Like they always say, the quietest people were always the most intimidating.

“L-look, I-I’m sorry I didn’t protect your gift properly. I tried to, I really did but —”

Unfortunately, he only walked away in the opposite direction, heading towards the storage lockers that the CEO had built in for us. There were 5 lockers in total (for now), and each of them looked the same, but one could clearly tell which one was Woojin’s. He had not said anything yet, turning the lock in silence and opening it with ease, taking out what looked like a small transparent case, the size of a passport, together with a first aid kit.

“Come here. Let me fix it.” He said, in a pretty neutral tone and a straight face.

He’s probably disappointed in me for not taking care of something that held so much value to the both of us. Great job Y/N, I guess you could say that you’re royally fucked for now.

I passed him the ziploc bag and he poured out the contents gently into the other side of the box, looking through the tools that he had and skillfully putting the necklace back together with some random spare metal pieces that he had.

“W-why do you suddenly have tools with you though?” I asked, breaking the cold and tense silence that the both of us have had to endure for an excruciating moment.

“It was a gift from my father,” Woojin replied, eyes still focused on fixing the necklace and putting it back together, “He knew that I liked to make these kind of stuffs, especially when it came to metal pieces like dog tags and necklaces. Hence, before I left Busan, he had customised a pocket-sized set for me to ensure that I will never get bored if I was not dancing or rapping, and it was also my good luck charm.”

His tone was still cold and aloof, so I mustered up the courage and asked, but in a very cautious manner and as if I was walking on eggshells, “Woojin, are you… mad at me?”

He sighed at the question, putting down the pliers and necklace, looking at me with a sad gaze, “I hate to say no, because I would be lying to myself, especially when I had made this from scratch, but,” He paused, before continuing, “I trust you enough to say that this was not deliberate… right?”

“No, it wasn’t,” And he heaved a sigh of relief, but I continued my story anyway, “I was coming home from your fansign and some fans decided to maul me on the way back. I tried to fight back, I really did, but they grabbed the necklace off my neck, snapping it with all their strength. I’m sorry Woojin —“

Before I could say anything more, he had pulled me into a tight hug and muttered something guiltily along the lines of saying how he was immature and a fool to jump to conclusions so quickly.

“No Woojin, it’s not your fault. I’m fine anyway. I was upset too, so I’m glad I managed to salvage the pieces anyway, including the pendants of your initials, just so that I could bring it to a jeweller when I had the time, but Youngmin oppa suggested I should not after he took me to the doctor to ensure that I was okay.”

He nodded in acknowledgement and then proceeded to tend to my already swollen ankles, which were the case from dancing way too much just to relieve my stress. I wanted to continue the conversation, and only told me that I needed to relax, warning me that the treatment he knew was going to hurt a little. Nevertheless, at least the silence was replaced with a little more cordial environment now.

Once he was done, he whipped out his phone and checked the time, eyes widening when he realised that it was already 3am. He packed his things briskly into the locker, but kept my necklace with him as well as his little tool set.

“I’m sorry Y/N. I really need to get going. The necklace is going to take some time but once it’s done, I’ll call you… somehow and… take care of yourself more, okay? Don’t get hurt anymore and… just… trust my h-hyungs okay?”

“Woojin…” I muttered, grabbing him in a back hug before he could take his leave, “I… I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” he replied in a soft tone, turning around and reciprocating my embrace, “but I promised that I will come back. Just wait for me and it’ll be over before you know it.”

Request a scenario here! 

Wanna One masterlist 

[kimbapwrites]

I Hate You || Im Youngmin

Summary: Countless fights, hateful glares and hostility were all that was exchanged between you and Youngmin since the beginning of freshman year due to a fiery competition for first place. After failing a math test, you are forced to be tutored by your red haired rival. Slowly, you feel hard feelings start to wash away and something a bit warmer replacing them. 

Paring: Youngmin x Reader 

Genre: Angst, fluff, High school AU

Word Count: 7.9k 

A/N: HI~ First of all, 7.9k words, *chokes*. This was supposed to be a “short” scenario I don’t know what happened I’m so sorry. I also apologize about the long wait, I wasn’t able to write for a few days, but I hope the long story makes up for it! This is my first time writing a fanfiction so I’m not sure if I did it right, but I tried my best and I hope you guys enjoy ^^ If you have any suggestions or comments, let me know, I’d be happy to hear your thoughts :) 

-Admin Michelle

The insides of your stomach churned as you anxiously bounced your legs, pupils shaking in fear as you glared at the paper sitting in front of you. This was the dreaded day you had been trying to avoid for the past week; the day that would decide if you lived or died:

The day the math test grades were announced.

All around you, commotion could be heard as your fellow classmates of your advanced math class discussed what number was marked at the top of their papers. You  buried your face in your hands and made a quick, desperate prayer for your grade to be saved before finally turning over the paper.

68%  

The number scribbled in red was enough to bring out loud sobs from your lips as you collapsed in your desk chair in despair. That’s it. I’m done for. Goodbye college. Goodbye top rank. Goodbye life. It was nice while it lasted.

Your mind was picking out what songs would be played at your funeral when a certain obnoxious voice interrupted your thoughts.

“Judging by your dying whale impersonation, I assume that you didn’t do too well on the test. Guess I’ll be keeping the first place rank after all.”

You lifted your head only to immediately glare at the smug boy in front of you;

Im Youngmin.

You stared into his eyes with as much hatred as your smaller body could muster, just as you had been doing since the first day of high school when you both vowed to be the best, thus forming a rivalry between you and the red haired boy. Throughout the tiring years, you and Youngmin have suffered through a multitude of advanced classes together and fought for the top rank, which constantly switched between the two of you. The fiery competition arose tension and multiple feuds to occur every day, and today was no exception. Currently, Youngmin held the prestigious title of first place and was not afraid to rub it in your face that he would be keeping it due to the poor grade you just received.

“Shut up Youngmin before I punch that smirk off your face. Is your memory so bad that you forgot that I know Taekwondo?” You replied as you crossed your arms. A smirk that matched the obnoxiousness of Youngmin’s overtook your face.

Youngmin scoffed at your attempt to be intimidating. “Barely. You took it when you were 5 and quit after a week because it was too hard. Just like you should quit trying to get first place because we all know that I’ll always be better than you.” Despite now hating each other’s guts, you and Youngmin had been close since childhood and were once inseparable. You knew everything about each other, whether you wanted to or not.

You took a step closer to him. “Alright listen Alpaca Boy, 1) I could still very easily kick your butt to space and back and 2) The only reason you’re first place now is because I spent more time volunteering at the cat shelter because I’m a good person unlike you.”

He took a step closer to you. “Alpaca Boy? Wow, that’s soooo creative. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised since that’s probably the best your second place mind can think of.”

The space between you two was now less than a foot. “Actually, I’m very creative. That’s why I won the best writing award every year and oh, that’s right, you didn’t.”

Six inches. “Okay, fine, I’ll admit that. but remind me again, who aced the math test and who failed? Hm?”

That was it. “Come here! I’m gonna tear that dyed black hair out of your big head!” You pounced on him and him at you, ready to tear each other into pieces when you felt a pair of strong arms pull you away.

“KIDS. THAT’S ENOUGH.” Teacher Seokhoon’s deep voice rang through your ears and ended the heated up feud. “Jesus Christ, you guys do this every day. It’s like trying to tame wild monkeys I swear.” He shook his head while you and Youngmin calmed your heavy breaths. “Is first place really worth it?”

“YES.” You and Youngmin simultaneously turned and shouted in reply.

All Teacher Seokhoon could do was sigh. He turned his back to you and began walking to his large mahogany desk, expecting you and the other honors student to follow. On the way there, you and Yongmin walked side by side through the narrow aisles, your glare at him never faltering.

Once there,you all sat around Teacher Seokhoon’s desk and he began talking. “You two have been fighting every day for the past three years and quite frankly, I’m tired of it. And you guys probably are too. So, I’ve been thinking and I’ve come up with a plan to hopefully make you guys hate each other less.” You and Youngmin looked at each other, confusion and disgust in both set of eyes already.

“You’re both probably aware that, Y/N, you basicaly failed the last math test.” You lowered your had in shame but from the corner of your eye, you could see Youngmin lightly chuckle. It took all of your power not to punch that obnoxious smirk off his face right at that moment, as you decided that would only make things worse. “I don’t know what happened, but if you want to be contender for valedictorian next year, it can’t happen again,”

Oh no, please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.

“Therefore, I’ve decided that, instead of giving you both detentions for the fights in class, Youngmin will tutor you for the time being until you understand everything again.”

Oh God, he said what I thought he was going to say.

You opened your mouth, an entire list of reasons why you shouldn’t have to be tortured like that about to spew from your lips, but was silenced by Youngmin beating you to it.

“But sir! I don’t deserve to be punished like that! Send me to detention, make me clean the bathrooms, heck, give me an F, but don’t make me tutor her please I’m begging you!” The black haired student cried out in agony as he bowed down in front of the teacher.

Another wave of hate for the boy came over you as you thought about the audacity he had to go so far as to beg so he wouldn’t have to work with you. If anything, it should be you complaining about being stuck with his arrogant self. While he was still in his kneeling position, you kicked him on his side, sending him face first into the ground. A scoff and giggle that you weren’t even sorry for came out of your mouth, earning you a hateful glare from Youngmin.

Before the fight could intensify again, Teacher Seokhoon cleared his voice and shook his head with disapproval at yours and Youngmin’s childish ways. “This is exactly what I mean. You guys are juniors in high school now but you act like five year olds fighting over who gets the last sticker, it’s unbelievable. My decision is set. Youngmin, you will tutor Y/N every day after school until the final. And every time I see you two bickering I will add another study session until you finally get along. Do you understand?”

You and Youngmin looked at each other for the last time before sealing your fates, the hate slightly subsided but still there. Knowing that you had no choice in this matter, you both sighed before shaking your heads in defeat. “Y Teacher Seokhoon, we understand.”

With that one sentence, the conversation was over and the tutoring sessions were final. After giving a hostile handshake to Youngmin, you turned to go to your own group of friends, who you figured were waiting in the lunchroom.

What you failed to notice though, was Youngmin smiling to himself as he watched you leave the quiet classroom.

“I hate him I hate him I hate him,” You said as you angrily bit into the sandwich that you stole from your childhood best friend, Daniel. “I mean, who does he think he is? Begging to get away from me? Pft, it should be the other way around.”

It was currently the end of the day and you and Daniel were in the school’s library waiting for Youngmin to appear and your suffering to begin. Hidden behind a shelf of books in the fiction section, Daniel was listening to you rant about the unfairness of your punishment while you ate his leftover lunch. Daniel was the closest and longest friend that you had. He was there when you and Youngmin used to spend hours a day just wandering the neighborhood as kids and he was there when the rivalry and hate between you and the red head began. Daniel always saw how drained you’d become after overworking yourself to beat Youngmin and wanted more than anything for the feuding to stop. He wanted you to be happy, not constantly fighting to be the best because he already thought you were perfect.

After listening to your rant, Daniel hesitantly said “You know, I don’t think this tutoring thing is a bad idea. I mean, he’s really good at math and can help you. Plus spending so much time with him might make you realize that he’s not actually so bad of a guy.” He waited for your response, but all he got was silence and an incredulous stare filled with disappointment.

“Wow, I feel betrayed. After fifteen years of friendship I thought that you would be on my side, not defending the person who’s been an arrogant jerk to me for the past three years. Alright, I see how it is.” You said as you turned your back to him, deciding to eat your own lunch instead of the person’s who just back stabbed you. Daniel sighed.

“Y/N, I’m not betraying you, I’m just saying that Youngmin’s actually not as bad as you think he is. We’re on the dance team together and he’s always smiling and kind to everyone. He does this thing called the ‘Alpaca Dance’ and it’s hilarious.” Daniel said with a shrug, taking a sip of your banana milk. “He’s nice to everyone else, I don’t understand why he’s only a jerk to you.”

You set your food down. You didn’t understand it either. You and Youngmin used to be so close before; one would never go anywhere without the other. Then when high school started, everything changed without warning. You had assumed that it was just because you both wanted to be number one, but listening to Daniel, you began to wonder if maybe it was something deeper than that. Now it was your turn to sigh. “I don’t know why either.”

Thinking of possible reasons for Youngmin’s attitude towards you, Daniel added “Hm. Maybe he likes you?”

You choked on your sandwich. Your chest involuntarily leaned forward as your lungs produced a series of cackling coughs, Daniel patted your back as a string of apologies left his mouth.

You drank the rest of your sweet drink and took deep breaths to calm down before answering, “HA. That’s funny. That was a great joke Daniel thanks for making me almost choke because of it. But really, that’s not possible. All Youngmin thinks of me as is an annoying competitor.” You said, your heart stinging a little bit by your own words. Before you could get too caught up in your feelings and what the slight pain meant, you heard an all too familiar voice come up from behind, startling you.

“I heard my name?” Youngmin said, causing you to scream and Daniel to shove his hands over your mouth in an attempt to silence you.

“Jesus Christ Youngmin you scared me. Knock next time, would you.” You said as you put your hand on your chest, trying to calm your erratic heartbeat. Youngmin and Daniel laughed at your frightened state, earning them one of your death stares.

“Alright, well I’ll leave you guys alone for your study session. Have fun and please, try not to kill each other.” Daniel announced after packing his things and getting up from his spot next to you on the library floor so the redhead could replace him. He and Youngmin did their fistbump, causing you to frown at their closeness. Before leaving, Daniel ruffled your hair, a common act of affection between you two, and gave you a look that you knew meant behave. While you were replying in your own facial expression that translated to alright, mom, you didn’t notice the slight look of disappointment on Youngmin’s face. As quickly as it appeared though, it faded back to the smug look he constantly wore in your presence.

“Should we go to the tables? Or are you incapable of getting up after eating all those snacks?” Youngmin asked, amusement in his voice at his own insult. You scoffed.

“Oh, screw you, Im Youngmin.” You began packing your stuff up, including your precious snacks, and put your backpack on. Instinctively, you lifted your arms out as a call for help and waited for Youngmin to assist you. You watched as he stared at you, unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, he placed his hands on yours and pulled you up. You realized that this was first physical contact he’s had with you for years that wasn’t intended to be bothersome. Okay, maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

You wiped any dust off of your skirt with your hands and was about to say a quick thanks when Youngmin opened his mouth and said “Dang, you’re really heavy. I bet an elephant is lighter than you.”

Never mind. Once a jerk, always a jerk.

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.” You said as you rushed past him to get to the tables, purposely shoving him a bit with your big bag of textbooks. Behind you, you heard Youngmin softly chuckle.

You looked at the red haired boy sitting next to you against the brick wall of the school and rolled your eyes in annoyance. Jerk… You thought.

You had been studying in the library with Youngmin, trying to digest today’s lesson that you were struggling with. Already being frustrated, it didn’t help your patience when Youngmin couldn’t contain his sarcastic, mocking comments for one moment to actually help you with your homework. After thirty frustrating minutes of not understanding what the boy in front of you was saying, you had decided you had enough and that was when you burst. Closing your eyes, you replayed the argument that happened just a few minutes ago.

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS WHAT THE HECK IS THE FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF CALCULUS AND HOW THE HECK DO YOU APPLY IT.” You shouted at Youngmin from across the study table, homework and textbooks pages long forgotten as the only thing you were focusing on at the moment was how to murder the student and math problem in front of you.

“YOU JUST REPLACE ALL H’S WITH X IT’S NOT THAT HARD STOP BEING STUPID.” Youngmin yelled back, equally as frustrated and annoyed that you couldn’t seem to understand anything.

“WELL MAYBE IF YOU WERE A BETTER TEACHER I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT BY NOW. AND DON’T CALL ME STUPID, STUPID.”  You stood up and crossed your arms in defense, challenging him to fight back with you, which of course, he did.

“FINE, DUMBASS. AND MAYBE IF YOU WERE A BETTER STUDENT I WOULDN’T HAVE TO BE TEACHING YOU.” Youngmin copied the stance you had and looked down at you with angered eyes since he was a quite a few inches taller. If you stood on your tippy-toes though, you figured you could punch his head off.

“SHUT UP YOU BARELY UNDERSTOOD THE CONCEPT TOO. YOUR MOM TOLD ME YOU CRIED TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE INTEGRAL IS.” You heard him scoff as he leaned closer to you, a habit of his he always did when he was trying to intimidate someone.

“FIRST OF ALL, YOU SHUT UP AND-”

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP AND GET OUT. THIS IS A LIBRARY NOT A SCREAMING ZOO.” You both froze at the chilling shriek of the old librarian who was fed up with the commotion you and Youngmin were causing with your fight. You had never seen her anywhere else besides her desk with her pointy nose in a book, but now she had walked over to you two and was physically shoving you out the wooden doors of the quiet study place. With nowhere to go, you and Youngmin simply sat against the front entrance of the door, still fuming about what happened.

“That was your fault,” You said to him with a scowl.

“As if. I wasn’t the one who started screaming first, now was I,” He replied without even looking at you. He leaned his head back against the wall, his hoodie covering his closed eyes.

“Shut up,” You said as you followed his pose. You were too tired to fight any longer and you assumed he was too. You sat in silence as you looked at the graying sky, a feeling of sadness washing over you. You replayed part of your conversation with Daniel earlier. “Maybe he likes you?” Yeah right. There was no way he would like someone who fought with him every second of the day, especially when he constantly had a swarm of girls fawning over him wherever he went. They showered him with praise and love, you attacked him with sarcastic comments and screaming. Not that you were disappointed though, you didn’t think you had any feelings for your red haired rival. Just as you were drowning in your thoughts, a light droplet of water fell upon your face and spread coldness throughout your body. It was beginning to rain.

You opened your mouth, about to share your discovery about the upcoming weather with Youngmin but he once again beat you to it.

“It’s gonna rain soon. I think we should go somewhere else.” He was now looking at you with eyes you had never seen from him before. They were a calm brown and held an emotion that you couldn’t decipher. You tried to read his face, but after so many years of just yelling at it, it was like reading hieroglyphics.

“Hm. Guanlin is working at a cafe a few blocks down. We could go there and, if we beg really hard, he might hook us up with some free coffee and snacks.” You said, raising an eyebrow as you turned to glance at Youngmin. He nodded in agreement and soon, you were both up with your backpacks and ready to go.

The trip to the cafe was mostly uneventful as you and Youngmin walked side by side in silence, you lost in your thoughts and Youngmin in the music that was playing through his earbuds. You watched the light rain fall upon the surrounding nature and drizzle it with dew. Most people prefer sunny days and clear blue skies but to you, this was the best weather. It was calming and never failed to make you feel serene.

Memories of jumping the rain with Youngmin as a child began playing through your head and suddenly, you found your eyes trailing to the red haired boy beside you. This was the first time since high school started that you and Youngmin have been peaceful around each other and you had to admit, it was pretty nice. You looked at his features and thought about how much he matured physically. You looked at his perfect red hair and doe eyes and had to admit that even though you hated his guts, he was handsome. You could see why girls chased after him in the halls. You were forced out of your analyzation of his face though when Youngmin noticed you staring and turned to you.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, something you taught him to do in middle school.

“Nah, just ugliness. But that’s always been there.” You replied with a smug look as you returned to admiring the scenery around you. You felt him shove you a bit with his arms before scoffing and putting his earbud back in. You laughed.

You were halfway to the cafe when you realized that you should have listened to Daniel when he told you to bring a jacket earlier; it was freezing now due to the constant rain. In an attempt to lessen your shivering, you rubbed your bare arms with your hands trying to generate some warmth.

“Geez, it’s cold,” You said to no one in particular. Thinking that Youngmin couldn’t hear you due to the music he was listening to, you continued walking while gritting your teeth. We’re almost there, you told yourself. In the middle of your thoughts, you felt a sweater being laid over your shoulders and a blanket of warmth encompassing you.

You froze in your tracks. Stunned, you looked up with wide eyes at the redhead beside you. Youngmin was looking at the ground, refusing to meet your eyes, as he rubbed his neck in awkwardness. His hoodie that he had on before was now on you instead and revealed the embarrassingly adorable shirt he was wearing underneath that had an alpaca with a bowtie on it. You couldn’t help but laugh.

Your sudden laughter surprised Youngmin and he met your joyful eyes, confusion evident on his face.

“Thanks Alpaca Boy for the sweater.” You said in between a fit of giggles while pointing at his shirt. His ears lit up red like a Christmas tree and his hurriedly covered his torso with your arms, only intensifying your enjoyment at his flustered state.

“S-shut up,” He said as he turned away and speedily walked the rest of the way to the cafe, you trailing behind with a series of teasing remarks about your new favorite shirt of his. Your giggling and his shouts for you to be quiet became music that filled the surrounding neighborhood.

After you finally arrived at the cafe, you said hello to Guanlin, who was a mutual friend to the two of you, and begged him to give you some snacks. Being a stubborn byeongari, he agreed after you both gave something in return. For you, it was doing his Korean homework for him for a week and for Youngmin, it was rap lessons after school. Once settling down on sofa seats in a quiet, secluded area of the cafe located near the back, you and Youngmin spent two hours working on your homework assignment for the night together. Currently, he was quizzing you on the different vocabulary words you would need to know for the next test.

“Okay, so what’s an asymptote?” Youngmin asked as he took a sip of vanilla latte.

“A line or curve that the graph of a relation approaches more and more closely the further the graph is followed.” You immediately responded, proud of yourself afterwards for remembering. You took a bite of your banana bread. “Next question.”

“What’s a piecewise continuous function?” Youngmin now leaned back in the cafe’s sofa, a smirk on his face as he expected you not to know. “It’s fine if you don’t know-”

“Shut up and wipe that smirk off your face before I punch it off. I know this. It’s a function made up of a finite number of continuous pieces. They may not have the vertical asymptotes and the only possible types of discontinuities are removable and step discontinuities. Told you I knew this.” You said, smug once seeing the look of surprise on Youngmin’s face when you got the answer right.

“Wow, you’re really understanding this. I’m surprised, maybe you’re not as dumb as I thought.” Youngmin teased.

“Be quiet, Alpaca Boy,” You said, amusement in your voice as you teased him with his new nickname. He glared at you in return.

“Sigh, you know, I wish I could use all of these physic terms we’re learning to perfectly knock those round glass off Teacher Seokhoon’s face so he wouldn’t be able to see, and therefore teach.” You said as you grabbed Youngmin’s latte and took a sip. It was a familiar action between you two, something you used to do without any thought back in middle school before things fell apart. You paused, realizing what the action meant and waited for Youngmin to start yelling at you. However, he only watched you share his drink calmly and with a small smile. You realize his thoughts were probably the same as yours before. You set his drink down in front of him again and switched to your own despite the fact that you didn’t like it as much.

“Yeah same. Like, calculate how much force we need for our fist to make directly contact with a point on his glasses and knock it off without touching the rest of his face. Let’s start a petition to make this a graded assignment.” You and Youngmin laughed at his comment, thinking of the possibility of punching your teacher in the face.

Youngmin watched as your eyes disappeared into joyful crescents and giggles escaped your pink lips. He watched as you threw your head back in laughter that filled the room. He would never tell you this, but he loved it when you smiled. Your laugh was his favorite music in the entire world because it always lightened whatever mood he was in. It was infectious. He wished he could he could watch you be happy more and participate in creating those smiles and laughs he loved so much, but whenever you two met, all that seemed to be produced was glares and scowls. Knowing that your joy wouldn’t last much longer with him, he simply took in the moment before him.

When you finally calmed down, you said “That was funny, wow. I didn’t know there was a sense of humor in you, Im Youngmin,” Earning you a small chuckle and teasing glare from the male. The room was quiet again except for the buzzing of the coffee machines and soft music playing through the speakers. However, instead of the quiet tension that was usually between you and Youngmin, you sat in a comfortable silence as you just, for the first time in forever, enjoyed each other’s company.

You looked outside the window by your seats. After you had arrived in the cafe, the rain came back in full force and it was currently pouring outside. You looked on fondly as you watched a pair of children run into the streets jump in the puddles, much to their parent’s disapproval. You missed the times when you could be that carefree and have fun with friends without worrying about a test the next day or colleges to apply to. You missed the times when you could play with Youngmin without fighting over first place a second after. You listened to the pitter patter of the rain hitting the pavement and thought about how close you and Youngmin used to be for the hundredth time that day.

“Remember when we would play like that when we were younger?” Youngmin asked as if reading your thoughts. You turned to the red haired boy and realized that he had moved so he was now sitting next to you. His face held a fond smile as he reminisced on the past with you. “God, our parents got so mad when we came home soaking wet.”

You laughed as you recalled your mother’s angered expression as she scolded you and Youngmin for getting your clothes wet. You and the redhead didn’t care though, you were kids and you had fun. That was all that mattered.

“Yeah, oh my gosh she was furious. Oh! Do you also remember when…”

For the rest of the night, you and Youngmin reminisced on your old adventures together, laughing at the stories of your childhood stupidity that you shared with the red haired boy. Hot drinks turned cold and treats stale as they sat forgotten on the cafe’s table, the only thing mattering to you and Youngmin was the good times you had as kids. Around you, life continued on. People bustled in and out of the cafe, leaving to attend meetings that would shape their future after receiving their coffee, but you couldn’t care less. For once, you weren’t worrying about your future and college, instead, you were enjoying the present and past with the male in front of you. Before you knew it, Guanlin was coming up to your seat in the back of the cafe and begging you to leave, as it was already closing time.

You looked at the time on your phone. 9:52PM. Although it didn’t feel like it, you had been with Youngmin for the past six hours. Looking at the boy, you realized that this was the longest time since high school began that you and Youngmin had been in each other’s company and not wanted to tear each other apart. In the cafe, you weren’t two rivals who wanted to the other to disappear so they could be first place, but close friends who were reminiscing on old memories. Instead of counting down the minutes until you could leave like you thought you would be, you were enjoying the time with Youngmin and having fun. In fact, you only wished for the clock to turn slower so you could be with him longer because you knew that tomorrow, everything would return to how it was before. Although, you sort of hoped that it wouldn’t be. Before you could get caught up in your thoughts, you heard Youngmin clear his throat and ask you if you had a ride home.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll just call Daniel to come pick me up.” You said as you opened your message chat with him. You had expected a few messages from him earlier, but what you got was an entire spam.

Cat Boy - 4:03PM

Where are u??

Cat Boy - 4:10PM

Is everything ok?

Cat Boy - 4:33PM

Plz tell me ur not responding bc u and YM r getting along not bc ur killing each other

Cat Boy - 5:42PM

Y/N I lost my cat answer me rn

Cat Boy - 5:43PM

Help me my cats are everything i need them to be able to live

Cat Boy - 6:01PM

Ok I didnt lose Rooney I just wanted u to respond

Cat Boy - 6:27PM

OooOOOOOOooO r u and YM are doing something alone that takes a lot of privacy and time ;))))

Cat Boy - 8:52PM

But rlly where r u and y is it taking so long Peter misses u T^T

Cat Boy - 9:43PM

hELLo???????????????? iS U DeAd

Sighing, you sent a reply.  

Me - 9:54PM

Geez yes I’m fine nothing happened you perv I’m alive can you pick me up? I’m at the cafe Guanlin works at

Not a second later you felt a slight buzz, signaling Daniel’s reply. Dang, the boy is fast.

Cat Boy - 9:54PM

I THOUGHT YOU DIED YOU ARE THE WORST TEXTER EVER OF COURSE I’LL BE THERE IN 5

You laughed at the dancer’s overuse of capitalization and put your phone away, returning your attention the boys in front of you. Guanlin had finished his shift and was now sitting by Youngmin, talking to him about the dance team they were both on with Daniel. While you were listening to their conversation about whether or not they should incorporate a move your friends Seonho and Daehwi created into their choreography, you saw Daniel come in his car that you called the Cat Mobile to take you home. You waved to him as he walked into the cafe, ruffling your hair in greeting. While your head was down, you notice Youngmin shift uncomfortable in his seat at the gesture.  

“Oh hey guys. Youngmin, glad to see you and Y/N didn’t murder each other.” He teased and you kicked him in the shin.

“Yah, I’m an angel I would never hurt a fly,” You said, feigning innocence as you did a flower pose and smiled. Around you, you heard three boys scoff while Daniel rubbed his bruising leg.

“Sure you are. Anyway, let’s go home. Bye Youngmin, bye Guanlin, see you guys at practice tomorrow,” The brown haired boy said kindly to his friends. With that, you waved to Guanlin, stuck your tongue out at Youngmin, who did the gesture back to you, and linked your arms with Daniel’s while you walked to his car. As you turned around, you caught a quick glimpse of Youngmin frown while staring at your arms hooked around Daniel’s.

When you got in the car, you pressed play on your favorite song and opened Snapchat to play with the silly filters. In the middle of your selfie session, you got a message from a number that you hadn’t contacted in years. As you opened the text, you felt your heart swell up and heat rush to your cheeks.

Im Youngmin - 10:03PM

Today wasn’t actually wasn’t that bad. It was nice hanging out with you again. See you tomorrow. Good night.

Since that day at the cafe, you felt something between you and Youngmin begin to shift. Of course you would still argue, there are some things about people that would never change, but the fights lessened and usually ended in playful teasing and laughter. In your heart, you felt the hatred for him start to melt away and be replaced by something new, though you weren’t exactly sure what that new feeling was. You no longer grimaced whenever his name was brought into a conversation, instead, you felt your heartbeat speed up and a smile form on your face. Studying sessions were a time for you two to talk about anything and everything and soon, it became what you looked forward to most in the day.

Slowly as the days went on, Youngmin’s chair inched its way towards yours until it was no longer across from you on the other side of the desk, but right next to you; his arm against your own as he leaned to look at your homework. The cafe you took refuge in from the rain the first day soon became a regular place for you to visit, the red haired boy usually right beside you in that secluded space in the back of the coffee shop. After tutoring ended, you would go to his studio with him and admire as he poured his soul out into his dance movies and wish that you could be that passionate about something too. On days that you were piled with homework, Youngmin would come over to your house and suffer with you as he explained the things that you didn’t understand, much to your parent’s pleasure. They, like everyone else in school, was happy to see you two as friends again. You got used to seeing his smile every day as you he walked with you through the halls, laughing about something else that Woojin mispronounced and was happy to share a story of Daniel and his cats in return. Every night, you could always expect hours of message exchanging with the red haired boy and a “good night :)” when you both decided to sleep before the morning sun peeked from behind the night sky. It was as if you were brought back to the times in the past when you and Youngmin were each other’s closest friends, except the only difference was you had both grown, and you couldn’t be happier.

Except for right now. Right now you wanted to strangle the red haired boy standing in front of you.  

Ever since that afternoon in the cafe, you and Youngmin had been friends that could rely on each other for everything. You would talk everyday about anything that bothered you and you thought that he would trust you enough to do the same. You found that all to be false though after the last bell rang, signaling the end of the math final.

You had been waiting for Youngmin by the classroom door, anxious to tell the smart rapper about your answers on the test when, before you could even say hi, he simply brushed past you with his head down. You looked on incredulous and hurt, but decided that he must be in a bad mood. You spent the lunch period too distracted to listen to your friend group’s conversation and afterwards searched around the halls for him, only to learn that he left home early because he wasn’t feeling well. For the next few days, you looked for him in school and the cafe, even dropping by his house, only for him to be nowhere to be found. You worried about his well being and wondered if he was still eating right, but the darn jerk didn’t even care enough about your hurting heart to reply to your text messages that you knew he read.

After a week of absence, he was finally back in school and acted as if he was never gone. The red haired boy that squirmed his way into your heart was laughing and joking with his friends as usual, his eyes curling into the crescents you realized you loved seeing. You were glad to see him healthy and okay, but was furious at how nonchalant he was being. Did you feelings really not matter at all to him? Wanting an answer to his avoidance, you went to the dance practice room where you knew he would be and confronted him, but all he did was remain silent.

You glared at the boy in front of you with as much hate as you could, something that you hadn’t done in what felt like forever. After weeks of purely joy around him, the hostility coming from you both felt foreign. You wanted it to disappear and warmth from his arms to replace it, but was too angered by his refusal to speak.

“Youngmin, answer me. Why did you disappear for a week without telling anyone.” All he did was shift onto his other foot, his eyes finding more interest in the pattern of the floors than you.

You tried again. “Did you forget how to talk? Come on, just answer me please.” Still nothing from his part. Getting frustrated, you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. You took a breath and opened your mouth, preparing to yell.

“Youngmin-”

“What! Why do you care so much! God, Y/N leave me alone! I didn’t talk to you because I didn’t want to alright. Geez, you’re being really annoying.” The rapper finally spoke, but it was out of anger and frustration at your nosiness. You gave him a blank stare.

“I’m being annoying?” You asked, hurt and confused as to why was mad at you when you did nothing wrong. You felt a new wave of irritation washing over you.

“Yes. So can you just leave me alone now? I have better things to do.” With a huff, Youngmin turned his back to you and began walking to the door. You could have just let him leave and your newly reconciled friendship end, but your stubbornness wouldn’t let you. Youngmin was too important to you now to let him just leave your life again. You ran up to him and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from leaving. He froze at your touch, but still didn’t turn around to face you.

Not letting go of his arm, you started talking. “So that’s it huh. We just became close again and you’re just gonna leave me?” You looked at the floor, your eyes threatening to spill tears that you didn’t know you would shed. You waited for his reply, but all you got was silence.

“You’re just gonna walk back into my life, become one of the most important people to me, and then ignore me forever?” His refusal to answer to you when you were spilling your heart out to him angered you. You looked at his unmoving state and wanted to punch him just so he would at least talk. Letting your tears fall, you continued.

“If you hated me that much you should have just continued being a jerk to me instead of lending me your sweatshirt when it was raining and actually caring about me. You shouldn’t have made me laugh and worry about you when you were gone and instead just yell at me for being a stupid idiot like you have been all these years. You should have stayed out of my life when you walked out of it in the beginning of high school-”

“That’s not why I started fighting with you.” Youngmin said, cutting off your loud sobs as he turned around to face you, a stream of tears running down his own face. You were silenced by the painful expression he had on his face, something you had never seen before. You wanted more than anything to wipe it away. “That’s not why I started fighting with you…”

“Then why? Why, Youngmin? Why did you-”

“BECAUSE I LIKED YOU. Because I couldn’t go a day without thinking about you and your smile. Because every time you came near me I would feel my breath get caught in my chest. Because every time I saw you with Daniel, I felt jealous, hurt, and pathetic because he could express his feelings to you and I couldn’t. I started fighting with you to get rid of these stupid feelings and finally move on and guess what Y/N, I thought it was actually starting to work. I thought I was starting to feel sane again until that freaking day in the cafe when you looked more beautiful than ever staring at the rain and we relived our old memories together that were filled with love for you on my part but nothing back from you. I realized that I could never get over you because you never let me, you kept crawling back into my heart when I knew that I was locked out of yours. And it hurt Y/N. It really hurt… That’s why I left for a week - it was because I was scared of these feelings that I had for you that just wouldn’t leave me alone even though you had none. I left because I liked you. Because I still do.”

A deafening silence filled the empty room as you stood with your mouth agape at the genuine words the red haired boy that you had grown warm to just spoke. Through your tears, you looked at Youngmin’s face that still looked so handsome even after crying, and tried to search for any amusement, any sign that showed he was just kidding and would say in a second ha, I got you while he laughed at your gullibility. Your heart felt conflicted however when the only thing you found was pain and sincerity.

He was being serious. Youngmin had liked you all of these years, and you were too caught up in your own world and your own competitiveness to notice. You wanted to punch yourself when you reflected on all the fleeting looks of disappointment that would appear on the male’s face whenever Daniel slung his arm over your shoulders, or all the smiles and slight blushes Youngmin would have whenever you did the same to him. You looked back and lost count of all the times that you stared into Youngmin’s beautiful eyes and felt the incredible warmth of his love, but only pushed it deep down because there was no way you were in love with your best friend. But that’s exactly what you were. And that’s exactly what he was. You realized that all the fights were just simply excuses to talk to one another while pushing your feelings deep down out of denial. Your mind flashed back to the walking in the rain when Youngmin gave you his hoodie. At the time, you took it as simply a friendly gesture, but now you knew it was something more. It was something deeper than friendship and a thousand times more painful, and it was exactly what you were experiencing too. You remembered the feeling of your heart skipping beats whenever you heard the rapper’s adorable voice and all the moments your face resembled the color of this hair that you loved to stroke your hands through whenever you felt his arm against your own in the library. You cared about Youngmin so much when he was gone, not because you were just worried about his health, but because felt empty when he wasn’t by your side. After hearing Youngmin pour his heart out to you, you realized that the reason your heart ached was because you felt the same. You liked Youngmin. And he liked you.

You trailed your eyes up to meet the boy’s in front of you. His dark chocolate orbs that never left your crying form were glistening with the tears that he contained for years, looking at you with desperation for you to say something, anything. But you couldn’t, you didn’t know what to say.

So you hugged him.

You wrapped your arms around his strong torso and let his shirt be blanket for your tears to fall. Immediately, you felt his arms wrap around your waist and his head rest against your own. You could feel the warmth and love emanating from every inch of his body and leaned further into him, thankful for his presence. You stayed like that until your breaths mixed into one and your hearts were beating to the same rhythm. Finally, you spoke.

“You’re an idiot, you know that Youngmin?” You closed your eyes as you smiled. Around you, you could hear students rushing through the halls to get to their next class but for you, time was still in Youngmin’s arms. You didn’t want to leave, and it didn’t seem like he did either. You felt the boy that took over your heart begin to gently sway the both of you and you sighed in content. “I like you too, if you couldn’t tell from the constant teasing.” You heard the male laugh.

“You know if that’s your way of flirting, you’re gonna end up alone forever. My shins are still bruised from all those kicks.” Youngmin said and you proved his breaking the hug and punching him lightly in the arm. Your smile never left your face as you told him to shut up and retracted back into his arms, your new favorite place to be.

“So, does this mean that we’re dating now?” You hesitantly asked as you pulled away from him slightly to look into his eyes. You could feel the doubtfulness and fear swirling in your orbs as you waited for his answer. The red haired male showed you that you had nothing to worry about though when a second later, his eyes lit up like the twinkling stars in the sky and he brought you back into your arms, causing you to melt at his touch. You felt a fluttering in your heart at the gesture when Youngmin opened his mouth and said, “Of course. You’re the only person in my heart, babe.”

You shoved him away as you laughed at his teasing. “Ew you’re gross never mind. I hate you, Im Youngmin.”

After you finished your laughing fit, you looked up at the rapper that etched his name into your heart with playful teasing and soft gestures and saw a smile warmer than a blazing fire placed on his face.

A second later, you heard Youngmin say “I love you too.”

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 8

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

read ch. 1 here | read ch. 7 here | read ch 9 here

The next morning, you woke up to a warm blanket draped over you. You’d ended up falling asleep on the couch, unsure of where to go, and you guessed that Youngmin had given you the blanket. There was a note taped to it—

Thanks

Short, but to the point—just Youngmin’s style. Shaking your head, you made your way to Daehwi’s room, figuring that you should check in to make sure he was okay. To your surprise, someone was already there—Daehwi’s mother.

“Oh! Hyemi!” You smiled widely at Daehwi’s cheerful mother, who was just setting down a tray of rice porridge for Daehwi.

“Noona!” Daehwi exclaimed, smiling toothily at you. You grinned, going to stand next to the small boy’s bed.

“(y/n),” Hyemi placed a hand on your shoulder, “I can’t thank you enough for last night, really. I feel so embarrassed, but you  are really such an angel.” You smiled at her kind words.

“It was no trouble, really,” you assured her, wondering how Youngmin turned out so… foul, if Hyemi was around him so much.

“(y/l/n), thank you for your help,” Youngmin’s father said stiffly from the door. Ah yes, that was where Youngmin got his good ole Im gene—the Im patriarch.

“Can we call you a taxi?” Hyemi asked gently, “or I can drive you somewhere, if you’d like.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” you replied, “I just need to pop home for my dance things, but I can take the bus easily.”

Hyemi nodded, satisfied once she knew that you would get home safely. “Thank you again, dear,” Hyemi said as she led you out of the huge house, “you and Youngmin will be wonderful parents.”

“Wha—“ you looked over at the giggling mother, feeling your cheeks heat up as she patted you on the back.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease,” she smiled at you, “I just can’t help it—you two are perfect for each other.”

You took a deep breath in, trying to clear your mind before attempting the three-beat combo that Jung Jung had just shown you.

“Back to beat one,” Jung Jung sighed, meeting your frustrated gaze in the mirror, “(y/n), what’s up? You know we need to get this choreo down solid by next week.”

You groaned, running a hand through your sweaty hair. “I know, I know,” you glanced over at your dance partner, “I just… I guess I have a lot on my mind right now.”

Ever since dance practice had started, you couldn’t get those words out of your head—you two are perfect for each other. You’d heard that phrase so many times before, from classmates, Youngmin’s friends, and even strangers that you met at the various socialite functions. But coming from Youngmin’s mom, the woman who had been at Youngmin’s side for the larger portion of his life—that meant something.

“Hey, (y/n),” Jung Jung snapped his fingers in front of your face, reminding you of just where you were.

“I’m sorry,” you sighed, “okay, let’s start from the top.” Jung Jung stared at you for a second more before shaking his head and going over to the stereo.

After running through the choreo a few more times, you finally got the hang of the tricky three-beat combo that had been tripping you up before.

“See?” Jung Jung grinned over at you as the two of you got ready to head out of the studio, “sometimes, all you need to do is clear your mind, and then you’re ready to tackle the task.” You grinned back at your dance partner, pulling your phone out of your duffel bag. Glancing down, you realized that you had a couple missed calls, one from Youngmin. Gesturing to Jung Jung, you stepped out into the hall to call him back.

“Hello?”

“Oh, (y/n), hey,” Youngmin’s voice crackled over the receiver, “yeah, I called you when I got out of my shift at the internship, I thought maybe you’d wanna hang out? I just got home, but I have the car.”

“Hang out, as in like, hang out?” You blurted out without thinking, before wincing at how stupid you sounded. Youngmin just chuckled.

“Yeah, did you have anything in mind?”

You glanced back into the practice room, where Jung Jung was shutting off the speaker. “Change into some comfortable clothes. I’ll text you an address.” You knew how stressed Youngmin was over the internship, but as his time before university shortened, you knew that he had a lot of decisions to make, and hopefully, this would be a good way for Youngmin to clear his own mind.

“We’re hanging out at your dance studio?”

Youngmin hovered in the doorway to your practice room, car keys in hand. A half-smile just barely ghosted on his lips as he looked around, drinking in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors and high quality speakers.

“No, we’re dancing at the dance studio,” you said, bending down and wiggling the aux cord to the speakers in his direction, “pick a song and a choreo we both know, and we can dance.” Youngmin stared at you for a moment, that familiar stare sending a tingle up your spine, before moving in your direction.

You grinned as the opening notes of Wild Thought floated through the speakers, taking one of the opening positions next to Youngmin.

You had only ever seen Youngmin dance once, and to be honest, you hadn’t even really been paying attention, so to see him dancing next to you took your breath away. As the two of you hit each beat, almost perfectly in sync, you questioned how he could ever be okay with not dancing. It was like all your arguments and irritation melted away, and the two of you were able to just exist next to each other. Staring at your reflections in the mirror, you felt like the two of you could take on the world.

But as the song came to an end, reality came crashing down around you—the two of you weren’t even dating.

You froze—where had that thought come from? Of course you weren’t dating, you were glad that you weren’t dating, right? Because you disliked Im Youngmin so much?

“(y/n), that was awesome,” Youngmin turned to you, cheeks flushed as he tugged off his sweatshirt.

You stared at Youngmin, a low grin spreading across your face. “We should choreograph something.”

“Wait, what?” Youngmin looked back at you, half torn between excitement and amusement, “choreographing will take hours, and it’s exhausting!”

You shook your head, patting Youngmin on the shoulder, “oh, young one, choreographing becomes like oxygen when you’re as passionate about dancing as you and me. You have a lot to learn.” Youngmin grinned, handing you his phone.

“Well teacher, take it away.”

[imagineproduce101]

Passion (Complete)

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

high school au + fake dating au

same universe/basic timeline as let me love you

multichaptered for all you youngmin stans!

dancer!reader

reader is a second-year in high school; youngmin is a third-year

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Preview:

“What does this have to do with me?” You asked, tossing the magazine back onto the table. “I’m not the one who’s famous, nor am I the one who took the picture.” Youngmin glared at you for a moment more before rubbing his hand on his face, sighing deeply. When his eyes met yours again, his frown had been replaced by a much softer, more despairing expression.

“I need your help,” he muttered, “I know what I’m about to ask is a lot, but believe me, if the truth comes out, not only am I screwed, but you are as well.”

You stared at him.

“Look, consider it payback for you fucking up my uniform,” he said, leaning against the table. “Here’s the favor: I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

“Bye.” You spun on your heel, reaching for the door to the classroom.

“(Y/N), please.” Something about the desperation in Youngmin’s voice made you freeze, turning around to face him. “I… I’m desperate. Nobody can know that I was at that competition, or that I dance. You being my girlfriend is the perfect solution—you have an excuse as to why you were talking to me, I have an excuse as to why I was at the competition, and the press can stop saying that I’m crazy and not fit to inherit.”

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 6

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

read chapter one here | read chapter five here

high school au + fake dating au

same universe/basic timeline as let me love you

multichaptered for all you youngmin stans!

dancer!reader

reader is a second-year in high school; youngmin is a third-year

“I can’t believe I let you drag me into this,” you grumbled from your position next to Youngmin, standing awkwardly in the entrance of one of the fanciest hotels in Gangnam.

“Free food,” Youngmin whispered back playfully, making you nudge his side. The gesture made a thousand cameras flash, and you did your best to not roll your eyes. You, Youngmin, Youngjae and Hyemi (who was carrying a sleepy Daehwi) were standing at the entrance of the Lai gala, thrown to celebrate the opening of another strip mall in Busan by the Lais. Lai Guanlin, another student at your high school, though a year younger than you, was the nephew of the family throwing the event. Youngmin had pleaded for you to attend, explaining that these types of events were usually extremely dry and boring, even with Daehwi there.  

“(y/n), is this your first gala?” Hyemi asked, not unkindly, as she glanced over at you. You hurried to nod, smiling at the sweet woman. “Well, Youngmin, keep her close, I don’t want her getting overwhelmed or worried.”

Youngmin nodded, hand immediately going to your waist. You froze in fear, realizing how familiar the position had gotten for the two of you. The two of you had gotten through the night so far without getting into a single argument, setting a definite record for ‘most time without yelling’.

“You ready to head inside?” Youngmin asked you quietly. You nodded your head mutely, letting him lead the way. The four of you had gotten there fairly late, and there was already a good number of people milling around the space reserved, either dancing, mingling, or sitting at the tables that were arranged on one side of the room. “Food?”

“Yes, please,” you nodded, heaving a sigh of relief at the thought of having something to keep you busy. There were so many incredibly important people in the room, and you were terrified at the thought of making even one wrong move.

“Wow, they got some really fancy meat,” Youngmin whistled, impressed, “the Lais really went all out with this event.”

“I guess so,” you shrugged, not really able to tell the difference. “So, how are you enjoying the feeling of recently graduating?”

Youngmin grinned, loading food onto his plate, “not much different. It’s summer, so I guess the feeling of freedom hasn’t really set in yet.”

“Noona, can you help me get food too?” Daehwi asked, tugging on your pant leg. Apparently, Hyemi had set her son down and let him loose.

“Sure,” you smiled down at the adorable boy, grabbing a plate for him as well, “what do you want?”

“Beans.” Daehwi said firmly, nodding his head. Youngmin looked over at you in amusement, clearly trying to suppress a laugh. You glared at him.

“Just beans?” You asked, raising a casual eyebrow. From her seat, Hyemi sent you an embarrassed smile. Clearly, this wasn’t a new thing.

“Yes. Beans,” Daehwi said serenely, “with a bit of salt, please.”

More upbeat music started up as you carefully spooned some beans onto Daehwi’s plate, and slowly, couples began filling the dance floor. One couple in particular caught your eye—Lai Guanlin and Kim Hyojin, both juniors at your high school, who were dancing slowly. You smiled at the sight.

“They’re cute,” you commented to Youngmin, who hummed in agreement.

“Guanlin’s had a crush on her for ages,” he replied, chuckling at the sight, “I guess fate decided to bless him.”

“Really?” You looked up at Youngmin before looking back at the couple, “that’s adorable.”

Youngmin grinned, patting you on the back. “Hey bub, you got all the food you need?” He asked Daehwi, holding his hand out for the younger to grasp. Daehwi nodded, following Youngmin to the table where his parents had sat, you right behind them.

“(y/n), you should live with us,” Daehwi said abruptly, through a rather large mouthful of beans. You had been sipping some water when he said that, and started coughing, eyes watering as you wheezed.

“Daehwi-ah, I don’t think that would work too well,” Youngmin said, eyes playful as they met yours. You were still coughing, trying to suppress the tickling in your throat.

“Why not?” Daehwi pouted, “I like (y/n), you like (y/n), Mom likes (y/n).”

“Well, (y/n) has their own family that they need to take care of,” Youngmin explained carefully. You nodded with a smile.

“Oh,” Daehwi nodded, clearly thinking about this new revelation.

“So, Daehwi,” you looked down at the adorable child, who was slowly spooning beans into his mouth. “Do you have any plans for the summer?”

Daehwi perked up, looking up at you with a wide smile, “yeah! I’m going to lots of summer camps!”

“Oh, really?” you smiled, silently handing him a napkin after seeing how much sauce had gotten on his face. “What camps?”

“I’m going to one for science, one for reading, and one for space!” Daehwi nodded proudly, grinning toothily, “I really like science, and I wanna be an astronaut.”

“Wow, that’s a hard job,” you said, grinning at his enthusiasm, “are you excited?” Daehwi nodded, mouth full once more.

The three of you sat in relative silence, Daehwi occasionally commenting on someone’s dress or the song. Youngmin ate through two plates and had started on a third when Daehwi announced that he needed to go to the bathroom. Youngmin had started to get up, but you got up instead.

“I need to go as well, I can go with you,” you said, holding your hand out for Daehwi to take. Youngmin nodded up at you with a small smile, and the two of you set off for the back of the venue where the bathrooms were.

“Are you gonna be okay going by yourself?” You asked Daehwi, who just nodded, trotting off into the bathroom. You headed into the other bathroom, quickly going before washing your hands. As you checked your reflection in the mirror, you recognized the person standing next to you—your junior, Kim Hyojin.

“Oh! Hi!” Hyojin smiled widely, waving at you.

“Hey, Hyojin,” you waved back, looking over at her.

“I didn’t realize that you’d be here,” Hyojin commented, quickly straightening her hair a bit.

“Yeah, I’m here with Youngmin,” you replied, “you’re here with Guanlin, right? Are you guys dating?”

Hyojin blushed, smiling shyly at you, “yeah, actually, he just asked me out.”

“Really?” You brightened, smiling widely, “congratulations! You guys are super cute together.”

“Aw, thanks,” Hyojin grinned, “you and Youngmin are super cute as well.”

You mentally winced, but made sure to thank her.

“All of my friends have been talking about how adorable you two are,” Hyojin laughed, “my whole grade was totally freaking out when we heard about the dictionary thing.”

“Wait, even the underclassmen heard about that?” You asked, pausing in shock. Youngmin’s popularity really was no joke.

“Yeah,” Hyojin nodded, “we heard about the dictionary thing, how he helped you with the English final, and it’s so cute how he went to support you at your dance competition.”

Oh, if only you knew, you thought to yourself grimly.  “Well, it was nice seeing you,” you patted Hyojin on the back, “congratulations again.”

Hyojin nodded as you headed out of the bathroom, Daehwi waiting patiently outside.

“Ready to go?” You asked cheerfully, holding your hand out once more. Daehwi nodded, grasping your hand tightly. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Daehwi sighed as the two of you walked back out to the main room. “Sleepy.”

You took your seat next to Youngmin, Daehwi climbing into your lap instead of his own chair.

Later that night, as you sat awkwardly in the car between Youngmin and Daehwi, Youngmin looked over at you.

“So, do you have any summer plans?” He asked curiously, hand going up to loosen the tie around his neck.

You shrugged sheepishly, “dancing, working at my parents’ grocery store. Nothing super interesting. How about you?”

“He has an internship! At Samsung,” she began, obviously very proud, “it was a super competitive scholarship, but our Youngmin managed to get it.” Youngmin smiled, obviously a bit embarrassed as Hyemi cut into the conversation.

“Wow, that makes my summer sound so boring,” you laughed, grinning over at Youngmin, who smiled back in embarrassment.

“I don’t think it sounds boring,” Youngmin replied, looking at you thoughtfully, “just different.”

next chapter

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 5

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

high school au + fake dating au

read ch. one here | read ch. four here

“That is all, class is dismissed,” your teacher announced, closing her book and opening the door. As the final bell of the year rang, your classmates flooded the halls, happy to be able to leave school for a few months. Nayoung was in the office getting some paperwork filled out, and the rest of your friends had class downstairs, so you texted them to see where they were. Down the hall, you heard Ong Seongwoo yell ‘we’re free!’ at the top of his lungs, making you chuckle to yourself.

“Hey (y/n), I need to talk to you.” 

You turned to face Youngmin, who was standing behind you, hands holding onto the straps of his backpack awkwardly. You raised an eyebrow at him, figuring that you’d grace him with mercy because of the help he’d given you.

“Yes?” You gestured for him to say whatever he needed to say. 

“My graduation is tonight,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “my mother wants you to be there.” You stared back at Youngmin, torn as to how you should respond. “Daehwi has also been wondering how you’re doing.”

“Fine,” you relented, “but I’m only doing it for Daehwi.”

“Noona!” You quickly locked the door to your house before turning to see Daehwi running towards you. He gave you a huge hug, smiling cheerfully up at you. “Noona, I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Daehwi,” you replied, letting Daehwi tug you in the direction of the Im’s shiny car.

“Good evening, (y/n),” Youngjae greeted stiffly, and Hyemi smiled widely at you. You settled into the seat between Daehwi and Youngmin, who was dressed in a sharp suit.

“Here,” you muttered, passing him a bouquet of flowers that you’d bought after school. Youngmin accepted it carefully, sending you a tentative smile. You were still mad at him, and just looked back at him blankly.

“Noona, how were your tests?” Daehwi asked, looking up at you cutely, “I’m sure you did great!”

“I don’t know yet,” you laughed at his adorable optimism, “but thank you for the vote of confidence.”

“Noona’s smart, that’s what hyung said,” Daehwi nodded confidently. You glanced over at Youngmin, eyebrows raised, before your attention was drawn back to Daehwi, who was trying to show you something on his phone.

The small boy ended up clinging to you through the entire graduation ceremony. Daehwi even got a bit sleepy, and you ended up carrying him, much to Hyemi’s dismay. He was adorable, though, so you let it slide.

“Are you looking forward to your own graduation, (y/n)?” Hyemi asked as the graduates began filing out of the auditorium, the ceremony having ended.

You thought about her question for a moment, having never really given that question much thought. “I guess, yes,” you nodded, “was Youngmin excited to graduate?”

“I’d like to think so,” Hyemi nodded, “I’m sure you know about the, ah, rough patch that Youngmin hit this year. I’m glad that he’s continuing on his path.”

“He’d be a fool not to,” Youngjae grunted from his seat on the other side of Hyemi, who shot you an amused smile, as though apologizing for Youngmin’s curmudgeon of a father.

“I think we can start heading out to take pictures,” Hyemi said gently, “I can take Daehwi from you if you’d like, I know he can get a bit heavy if you hold him for a while.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” you glanced down at the small boy in your arms, his own arms wrapped tightly around you, “I don’t think he’d be too happy with moving either.” Hyemi smiled at that, following Youngjae out into the large lobby of the auditorium where the graduates were milling around, taking pictures with each other to commemorate the big day.

“Youngmin’s over there, I think,” Hyemi said to Youngjae, pointing to where Youngmin’s head of burgundy hair towered over a few other heads of brown hair, exposed now that they had removed their graduation caps.

“Congratulations!” Youngjae greeted the boys heartily, shaking each of Youngmin’s friends’ hands—Donghyun and Woojin.

“Why don’t you boys get closer together so that we can go take a picture of you?” Hyemi smiled, waving her camera around. Youngmin winced in embarrassment, but his friends happily obliged. In your arms, Daehwi stirred awake, blinking his eyes sleepily. “Daehwi, do you want to get in the picture as well?”

Daehwi nodded, and you carefully set him down, the young boy toddling over to cling to Youngmin’s suit leg. You smiled at the cute scene, as Youngmin reached down to ruffle Daehwi’s hair.

“(y/n), why don’t you join them as well?” Hyemi asked with her cheerful smile, gesturing for you to join Youngmin. Donghyun immediately shuffled over, letting you stand next to Youngmin. You did your best to smile for the camera, feeling awkward in such close proximity to Youngmin. “Beautiful,” Hyemi checked the picture in the little viewfinder of the camera, “why don’t we get one with just Youngmin and (y/n), to commemorate the occasion?”

You glanced over at Youngmin, who looked back at you and just shrugged with an apologetic expression. The two of you stood next to each other, Youngmin’s arm draped awkwardly around your waist, as Hyemi snapped away, cooing at how cute the two of you apparently looked.

“I think she just wants to take a few more pictures, then we can get going,” Youngmin murmured to you once Hyemi had stopped taking pictures of the two of you. You nodded, absentmindedly letting Daehwi hold onto your hand. “And thank you,” Youngmin turned to you, eyes meeting yours, “for coming today, I mean. I know that I messed up, and shouldn’t have done that, and I really am sorry.”

You looked back at Youngmin for a beat, processing what he’d said. “Thank you for apologizing,” you replied, “I’m glad that you know you messed up.”

“(y/n)?” Daehwi looked up at you sleepily, tugging on your hand, “did hyung hurt you?”

You smiled down at the innocent boy, gently squeezing his hand. “He did, but he apologized for it, and that’s the important thing.”

Youngmin smiled at you tentatively, obviously relieved that you had forgiven them.

“Come, dears, we’ll start heading home,” Hyemi said, coming up to the three of you. With Youngmin’s hand on your waist and Daehwi’s hand in your own, the three of you headed out of the auditorium, Youngmin officially done with high school.

You weren’t sure why, but that night, as the Im family dropped you off at your house, you had a feeling that your life was going to start changing, not just in your day-to-day routine, but emotionally as well. 

next chapter

[imagineproduce101]

Sweet Like Honey

honey and youngmin for anon

Colored out the lines

I came to find

My fire was fate with you

listen to honey 

You leaned out of the window of the car a little bit more, letting the wind ruffle your hair into a chaotic mess.

“(y/n), be careful,” Youngmin said gently, placing his hand that wasn’t steering on your arm. You glanced back over at him, smiling widely. You leaned back inside the car, the wind still ruffling your hair, but less violently. Outside the car, the greenery of the countryside whipped past in a semi-blur, and you exhaled, feeling your troubles melt away. 

These spaces were all you needed with Youngmin, the few hours of escape that the two of you got from your chaotic lives.

On the radio, the cheerful guitar intro of one of your favorite songs started, and Youngmin hummed along to the tune. As the singing started, the two of you traded playful looks before immediately belting out the lyrics, dissolving into laughter at how terrible you both sounded. 

As you intertwined your fingers with Youngmin’s in between your seats of the car, you felt warmth trickle through your heart and lungs all the way down to your toes, sweet like honey. 

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 4

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

high school au + fake dating au

same universe/basic timeline as let me love you

multichaptered for all you youngmin stans!

dancer!reader

reader is a second-year in high school; youngmin is a third-year

read chapter one here | read the previous chapter here

You slowly dragged yourself towards your classroom, eyelids heavy due to the lack of sleep. You’d stayed up all night on Sunday cramming for your finals, and it was really hitting you now—you felt like you were going to fall asleep while standing up.

“Hey, so how are things with (y/n) going?” You froze at the sound of Ha Sungwoon mentioning your name casually, and you stopped yourself from stepping out into the main hallway, curious as to who was talking about you.

“It’s whatever,” you heard Youngmin reply casually, “I mean, I’m just dating her to get the press off my back.” You shrugged, ready to walk away—he wasn’t wrong. “But she’s kind of a bitch.” Oh hell no.

Youngmin’s friends chuckled at that.

“Like, she’s super stubborn and bossy, it’s fucking irritating,” Youngmin sighed. You were furious at that—here you were, doing Youngmin a favor, and he repays you by talking shit about you? Hell to the fucking no.

You stormed off towards your classroom, sitting down grumpily.

“Hey, (y/n),” a few of your classmates said sweetly, turning in their seats to greet you. You smiled back, waving to them.

“Oh, (y/n),” one of your friends in your class, Eunbin, walked over to you, taking a seat. Her group of friends followed, crowding around you. “We were wondering… “

“What’s dating Youngmin like?” Yebin pitched in, the other girls giggling into their hands. You were about to start raging about how much of an asshole Youngmin was when another idea came to you.

“It’s going great,” you said with a sugary smile, mentally cringing, “he’s super sweet, and tries really hard.”

“What do you mean, tries hard?” Eunbin asked, obviously thinking about what dating Youngmin would be like herself.

You simpered, dropping your voice to a whisper and leaning in, as though you were about to share a confidential whisper, “Youngmin’s kind of a terrible kisser. It’s tragic, really, with his good looks, but I guess you can’t win the lottery every time you play.”

“Really?” Yebin’s eyes got wide, “he’s a bad kisser?”

“Oh yeah,” you sighed, acting as though you thought it was the cutest thing on earth, “and he tries so hard, it’s adorable. But there’s teeth and tongue everywhere, and he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.”

“Oh, ew,” Eunbin wrinkled her nose, “that’s a total turn-off.”

“Yeah, maybe you just shouldn’t kiss him, (y/n),” Yebin giggled, “you guys are so cute though, we saw those pictures of you two at the restaurant this weekend!”

“Yeah, seriously, you guys are goals,” Yehana, another classmate, chimed in dreamily.

“Thanks, guys,” you smiled at them as the teacher walked in—Operation ‘Get Back at Youngmin’ was officially in action.

“(y/n).”

You looked up from your books innocently, meeting the eyes of a furious Youngmin, towering above you with his arms crossed.

“Oh, Youngmin,” you smiled up at him, ever so slowly closing the textbook you’d been studying. The entire classroom, who had stayed inside to cram during lunch, was watching you.

“Let’s talk,” he growled out, not even waiting for a response before grabbing your wrist and dragging you out of the classroom.

“Let go of me, asshole,” you hissed as he dragged you down the hall. You did your best to twist your hand from his grip, but he was too strong, “this is fucking assault, let me go.”

“What the hell did you do?” Youngmin hissed, the two of you safely inside an empty classroom. He shut the door loudly, turning to face you with an angry expression. “Why the hell are people asking me if it’s true that I’m a shit kisser?”

“Hm,” you said, pretending to think, “maybe because you’re rude as fuck and apparently, the only thing that matters to you is your appearance. Karma can be a real bitch, you know.”

Youngmin got closer to you, and you were suddenly aware of your back pressed up against the chalkboard, his face dangerously close to yours.

“(y/n), you should know,” he said in a rough voice, eyes boring into yours intensely. You tried to ignore the shiver that ran up your spine, “I happen to be a really, really good kisser.”

You gasped as suddenly, his lips were on yours, somehow gentle and rough at the same time. Something strange fluttered in your chest as his hands were on your waist, the small of your back, pulling you closer to him. It was when his tongue carefully glided over your bottom lip when you snapped back to reality.

“Ow, what the hell?” Youngmin groaned, clutching his groin where you’d just kneed him in attempt to get him off you.

“That was sexual assault, and you’re lucky I’m not fucking reporting you,” you snapped before storming out of the classroom, making sure to slam the door on your way out.

Staring at your slightly puffy lips and red cheeks, you groaned at your reflection, scolding yourself for kissing back. Your mind was a swirl of conflicting thoughts that you tried to sort out as you splashed water on your face, carefully drying it off with a paper towel.

Obviously, you were pissed at Youngmin—a dude can’t just grab you, tug you around, and then kiss you without even asking for consent. That was fucked up, and you were furious. But then again, the kiss had felt really, really nice—

“No,” you said aloud firmly to your reflection, “no. (y/n), be strong, don’t do it.”

“I feel it, girl,” another student laughed, coming out of the bathroom to wash her hands, “finals week, huh?”

You glanced over at her, embarrassed that she’d overheard you talking to yourself. “Yeah. Finals.”

That night, when Youngmin tried calling you, you ignored him. The next day before school started, he was waiting outside your classroom. You just pushed your way past him and took your seat, done with his self-entitled bullshit. You were pissed—rightfully so—and you planned on making sure that Youngmin was fully aware of it.

The day before your English final, the one you were dreading the most, you entered your classroom and spotted a few books sitting on your desk.

“Hey, did anyone put their books on my desk by mistake?” You asked your classmates, frowning. None of your classmates knew what you were talking about. You picked up one of them, a worn-out notebook, and flipped through, eyes widening. It was an extremely detailed English notebook, with translations, idioms and detailed verb conjugations. There were two of those notebooks, and an extremely nice, brand-new English dictionary. A small note had been stuck onto the cover of the dictionary.

I’m really sorry.- iym

You raised an eyebrow as you took a seat, surprised that Youngmin even remembered what you’d said about your English final, and more surprised that he would actually apologize—and it seemed like a sincere apology.

Maybe, just maybe, Im Youngmin wasn’t a total asshole.

next chapter

the take away from this chapter: DONT CONTINUE TO LET FANFICTION WRITERS GLORIFY SEXUAL HARRASSMENT. CHARACTERS NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS WRONG. 

[imagineproduce101]

Im Youngmin Mafia AU

you were a kindergarten teacher at the elementary school in your town

you truly loved your job, having the ability to get students involved in school and their education

as the new school year started, you made sure to get to know each of the students and their families well

there was one student in particular, im youngjae, who you were concerned about

on the first day of school, he’d been dropped off by someone-- they’d left so quickly you didn’t get the chance to talk to them-- and he’d been whisked away at the end of the day

you’ve started noticing that youngjae has issues of some sort with home life

you do an activity with the kids about what they want to be when you grow up and he draws a GUN

and you’re like no sweetie guns are bad let’s draw a firefighter

“but daddy has a gun?”

and you’re like ummmmmmmm

so of course, when you meet im youngmin, youngjae’s father, for the parent-teacher conferences, you’re intrigued

he’s extremely charming, and you find yourself blushing at his small compliments, doing your best to get the conversation back to youngjae’s progression in learning the number line

then finally, as the end of the parent-teacher conference draws to an end, you take out the drawing of the gun, showing it to him

“this is what youngjae said he wanted to be when he grew up,” you said quietly, watching an array of emotions flit across his face

“ah,” youngmin nodded, pulling the paper towards him and tracing the crayon lines carefully

you watched as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably, his dress shirt shifting slightly

you caught sight of a tattoo on his chest-- 101-- and you sucked in a breath, understanding

while the man in front of you was obviously involved in shady business, he looked so upset about the whole thing, and you felt bad 

pulling the paper away, you smiled at youngmin

“mr. im, i just wanted to let you know about that,” you said cheerfully, “i’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. youngjae is an absolute sweetheart to have in the classroom. he’s very helpful to his peers, and does his best to understand and keep working on the tasks he’s given.”

“please, call me youngmin,” youngmin insisted, shaking your hand as he headed out

his hand was warm, and you felt like you’d been shocked

one day, you noticed that youngjae hadn’t been picked up after school, so you brought him back to your classroom

he sat there, playing with the small boardgames and puzzles that you had as you worked on your report cards, checking to make sure he was okay  every so often

the hours passed, and soon, it was past dinner

he was clearly hungry, so you dug out some goldfish and let him have that

“don’t tell dad, alright?” you winked at him, and youngjae giggled, nodding as he shoved a goldfish into his mouth (this is a terrible teacher btw)

you were worried that youngmin wasn’t showing up, but youngjae said he hadn’t said anything about him picking youngjae up late

you looked through the emergency contact cards you had, figuring that you would just call him and see what was up

on the other side of town, youngmin was tied up to a chair, glaring up at choi seungcheol of svt, blood pouring out of his mouth and ribs hurting like hell

“i’m not telling you where we hid the ammo,” he growled, looking up at seungcheol defiantly

“oh youngmin, sooner or later, you’ll have to tell us,” seungcheol smiled, holding up a hammer, “after all, you only have so many bones in your body.”

suddenly, a phone started ringing

another one of the svt members yanked the phone from youngmin’s pocket, showing the screen to seungcheol, who nodded

“answer it.”

“hello, mr. im? ah, i mean, youngmin?”

youngmin visibly tensed in the chair, eyes widening for a brief second. a huge grin spread across seungcheol’s face

“i was just calling to remind you that youngjae is still waiting for you here at the elementary school.”

“daddy, i wanna go home!” youngjae’s high-pitched voice echoed through the room

“youngmin?”

seungcheol ended the call, smiling down at youngjae, “i guess we won’t get to all your bones today.”

“leave them the hell alone,” youngmin shouted after seungcheol as he left the room, motioning for the others to untie youngmin

back at the school, you frowned down at the phone in your hand

“did daddy say anything?” youngjae asked, tugging on your sleeve, “is he on his way?”

“daddy’s just running late,” you replied, worried. he had responded-- why hadn’t he said anything?

suddenly, your mind flashed back to the tattoo you’d seen on his chest

while youngmin was strange, he never picked youngjae up late-- ever

he clearly cherished his son, and you couldn’t see his work, however illegal it was, getting in the way of his son’s well being

frowning, you dialed someone else, heart beating in your chest

one of your friends claimed to that one of her friends was a fairly high-up member of 101, and something about this whole situation seemed fishy

after getting the guy’s number from her, you quickly called him

“lee euiwoong, who am I speaking to?”

you quickly explained the situation, telling him that you were youngjae’s teacher and that you’d called youngmin and hadn’t gotten a response even though you picked up

euiwoong cursed, running a hand through his hair

he told you not to move from the school, that something might be going on

right after he told you that, you heard a loud series of bangs, presumably guns

shaking, you hung up, picking up youngjae and running to a small supply closet, hiding in there

“youngjae, we’re going to play a game, okay?” you said quietly, holding him close

youngjae was clearly scared, shaking as well

“we’re hiding, and we have to be as quiet as possible.”

youngjae nodded, and you put your arms around him, doing your best to comfort the five- year old

you heard loud shouting, the occasional crash, and youngjae whimpered, holding you tighter

suddenly, there was another series of bangs, and the sounds of fighting ensued

“get the classroom,” you heard someone growl

your heartbeat picked up, clutching youngjae tightly

you heard someone walk around the supply closet, and you felt hot tears running down your cheeks, thinking over and over that today was the day you were going to die

footsteps stopped in front of the supply closet, and you felt like the sound of your heartbeat was going to give you away

youngjae sniffled a tiny bit and your heart dropped as the door was wrenched open, revealing an incredibly buff guy with a disgusting grin

“you can’t escape n--”

he was cut off by the pop of a gunshot, slumping to the side in an instant

youngmin rushed over to the two of you, trying to lift youngjae up, but the small boy wouldn’t let go of you

youngmin carefully helped you up, walking you over to a chair and helping you sit down

“are you okay?” he asked, checking both you and youngjae for injuries

“we’re fine,” you assured him, “just a bit shaken up is all. you arrived just in time-- thank you.”

youngmin stared at you, obviously pained, “i should be apologizing, i’m the one who got you into all of this.”

you shook your head, gently rocking youngjae back and forth, “it was those lunatics that got me into this, not you. euiwoong told me about svt.”

“you know about svt?” youngmin looked startled, “you know about 101?”

you laughed at that, “i saw your tattoo the first time we met.”

“and you weren’t terrified of me?” youngmin asked incredulously, “i shoot guys for a living.”

“youngmin, anyone who clearly has so much love for their son isn’t a bad person,” you said quietly, watching as youngjae’s eyelids fluttered shut

youngmin stared at you quietly, eyes looking down at youngjae before back at you

“(y/n),” he said softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, “thank you, for all you’ve done for my family.”

youngmin chill with the cheese a bit pls

you end up staying the night at his house because youngjae really won’t let go of you

he insists that you take the bed and he can sleep on the couch, and you feel bad but he really won’t have it any other way

it’s a friday night, so you’re able to stay over

youngjae looks so small and fragile, you feel bad that he had to experience such an intense night

he falls asleep and eventually lets go of you, but you can’t seem to fall asleep after such a chaotic night

you get up to grab a glass of water, hoping that youngmin won’t mind

for some reason, the glasses are on a super high shelf that you can’t reach, even on your tiptoes

“need some help?” youngmin apparently was having a hard time sleeping as well

instead of water, he made the two of you tea, and you sat at his small dinner table

“you know, to be honest, there’s a reason why svt targeted you specifically,” youngmin said quietly, rubbing the back of his head

“i thought it was because of youngjae?” you asked in confusion

“partially, yes,” youngmin nodded, “and maybe this isn’t the right timing to tell you this, but i like you, (y/n),” he confessed, looking over at you over his cup of tea

“you like me?” you frowned, “how? why?”

youngmin chuckled, “you’re... you’re you,” he shrugged, “and i like that.”

“does that mean (y/n) will be my mommy now?”

youngmin turned bright red lmao

aPPARENTLY youngjae had woken up and gone out to the kitchen to see what the fuss was about

“maybe not mommy,” you replied, ruffling youngjae’s messy hair, “daddy’s girlfriend, though, maybe we have a deal.”

youngjae nodded happily, giving you a thumbs up

“wait, really?” youngmin looked at you hopefully, “you’ll date me?”

“yes, really,” you laughed at his disbelief, “but if i get kidnapped on the first date, I’ll have to reconsider.”

thank you so so much to the anon who left this super detailed possible plot that, upon reading it again, i’m realizing was meant for jonghyun, jung jung or eunki, so for theirs i will DEF try to incorporate something similar w/kids, but thank you again!

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 3

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.

in this chapter: the fake date!

chapter 1 | chapter 2

You huffed, blowing your hair out of your face. Across from you, Youngmin sent you a sharp look, clad in a nice suit. You readjusted your skirt, feeling incredibly out of place in the fancy restaurant, a goblet of water next to your plate and a fork and knife framing your glistening ceramic plate.

Two hours earlier

“No. No way in hell.”

You glared at Im Youngmin, who was standing on the porch of your house. You were dressed in sweats and a hoodie, the perfect outfit from 48 straight hours of cramming for finals. In stark contrast, Youngmin was dressed in a crisp black suit and classic white shirt.

“Come on, the press isn’t going to buy the relationship unless we’re seen in public together,” Youngmin whined, sending you one of his signature pouts. It just made you frown more.

“That’s nice, but not the weekend before finals,” you replied firmly. You needed your time to study, not go on fake dates with Youngmin.

Youngmin rolled his eyes. “You and I both know that you don’t need to study. You could probably take those finals in your sleep if you wanted. Please? We can get your favorite food.”

You eyed him suspiciously. It would be nice to eat pasta, something that you didn’t eat very often. Would you really be bought over by the promise of good food and Im Youngmin?

“I guess.” #staythirstyhoes

“Great,” Youngmin instantly transformed, sending you a million-dollar smile, “I’ll have a stylist drop by soon. I’ll pick you up at six?”

“Stylist?” You asked with a frown, watching as Youngmin set off down the path to the main road. “H-hey, wait! What stylist? Im Youngmin!”

Youngmin just ignored you, opting for getting into his stupid shiny car. You cursed under your breath as you watched him go, mad at yourself for being so easily enticed by food.

Why the hell was he such a self-important jerk?

It turned out that the stylist wasn’t as much of an asshole as Youngmin was. He’d waited for you to allow him into the house, he’d given you different options of what you could wear, and he didn’t insist that you wear makeup or jewelry. You ended up in a simple skirt and white shirt, nothing too fancy. When Youngmin showed up to pick you up, the stylist had given you a thumbs up.

“Go get ‘em,” he’d said, waving you off. You grinned, opening the door to Youngmin’s car—he wasn’t even gentlemen enough to open it for you (not that you would accept such a gesture from Mr. Asshole himself).

“So, are you dying from the hours of lost studying?” Youngmin asked, glancing over at you from the driver’s seat.

“Can you keep your eyes on the road, please?” You asked with a sigh, “and yes, I’m terribly hurt that you’re forcing me to go out when I could be studied.”

Youngmin rolled his eyes, holding back a retort. The rest of the drive to the restaurant was conducted in a similar manner—the two of you would bicker for a bit, and then fall back into relative silence.

“We’re here,” Youngmin said as he pulled up to the entrance of some Italian restaurant, the name of which you didn’t even want to attempt to pronounce.

“This is fancy,” you commented as you walked up the steps, Youngmin a few feet in front of you.

“I mean, it’s me,” Youngmin teased, carefully placing his arm around your shoulders. You jolted in surprise, but did your best to hide it, remembering that the press was probably there as well.

You were seated in the back of the restaurant, surrounded by some fake potted plants, and the waitress quickly brought out your menus. You scanned over the menu, a bit overwhelmed by all the choices and fancy names, but eventually you settled on a simple spaghetti.

As the waitress brought out the basket of breadsticks—and you’d nibbled on one—you asked Youngmin a question that had been burning on your mind since you’d seen him at the dance competition.

“Youngmin,” you said tentatively, watching as he carefully buttered a breadstick (who butters a breadstick?). He set the breadstick down, shifting his attention to you instead.

“Yeah?”

You took a sip of water before asking, “why exactly didn’t you want people to know you were at that competition?”

Youngmin sighed, ruffling his hair, “to be honest, it’s kind of a long story.”

“I mean, it’s what got us into this whole mess,” you pointed out, “don’t you kind of owe it to me to explain?”

Youngmin looked over at you for a moment before nodding. “I used to be really into dance; I took classes and participated in competitions, eventually joining my underground team, Knock. My parents weren’t really involved in my life until recently, so when they found out, they weren’t too happy. My step-mom managed to convince my dad to let me stay in Knock, knowing that it made me happy, but when the press caught wind,” Youngmin’s voice trailed off as he winced, just remembering what had happened, “well, the press wasn’t too happy.” Youngmin’s mouth lifted into a twisted smile, “the heir of Im Corporations, wasting away his time dancing. What an embarrassment to the family.”

“So your family forbade you from dancing?” You asked quietly, suddenly feeling bad for the boy sitting across from you. To be denied from doing the thing you were passionate about—by your own family, too.

Youngmin nodded, “obviously, I didn’t follow through, but my family and the press really can’t find out that I’m still dancing,” he explained, “if they do, my career is over before it even started.”

“Wow,” you shook your head as you took a sip of water, “that really sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” Youngmin sighed, going back to eating his breadstick.

“Oh wait,” you frowned remembering something else Youngmin had said, “step-mom?”

Youngmin nodded, “yeah, my mother left my father when I was fairly young. I see her on holidays and such, but my father has custody of me. Daehwi is my half-brother.”

“As a step-mom, is she nice?” You asked curiously, surprised. Hyemi, Youngmin’s step-mom, had seemed close with Youngmin, and she seemed very kind to you.

“She’s wonderful,” Youngmin confessed, smiling slightly at the thought of his caring stepmother, “to be honest, she’s a better parent than my father, but then again, that’s not a very hard level to beat.”

You chuckled at that, and then recoiled slightly. Were you and Youngmin getting along?

You realized, sitting there, having a genuine conversation, that maybe Youngmin wasn’t so bad after all.

“What were you thinking about ordering?” Youngmin asked, picking the menu up again to glance at it.

“Spaghetti,” you replied, shrugging, “I figured that you can’t go wrong with spaghetti.” Youngmin laughed slightly at that, waving the waitress over to start ordering. Once that was done, the two of you settled into relative silence.

“You know,” you began, playing with the fork in front of you, “for me, while I love dancing, I know I would be able to get a desk job and I would be okay. Is the same true for you?”

Youngmin tilted his head, confused.

“I mean,” you struggled to rephrase your question in a more understandable way, “can you survive without dance or music?”

Youngmin paused, thinking about a question he’d clearly never been asked before. “Honestly?” he shrugged, chuckling a bit, “no, I don’t think so. Music is so important to me, I don’t think I could survive without music.”

You nodded, falling silent again as the waitress brought out your food. As you began eating, Youngmin started up the conversation again.

“So, are you confident for your finals?” he asked, taking a quick sip of water. You sighed, swallowing the (incredibly delicious) bite of spaghetti.

“Mostly,” you replied, “the only one I’m worried for is English, which I kind of struggle with. But it’s on Friday, so I have time to study and cram for it.”

The two of you continued talking, and it was surprising to you how easily you were able to converse with Youngmin. You talked about school, sports, and even meandered into the world of dance a bit, talking about the past competition and the other crews who had been there. The meal was almost… pleasant.

“Mr. Im?” The waitress arrived at your table, looking harried and breathless. Youngmin paused from his anecdote about how one of his teammates had sprained his ankle to look up at the waitress in confusion. “I’m so sorry, I believe one of our patrons tipped the press about your meal here. There’s about twenty reporters outside.”

Youngmin sighed, and you gaped at how comfortable he seemed with the idea of people tipping the press about his whereabouts—that was creepy as hell.

“Very well, I’ll take the bill,” Youngmin replied, pulling his wallet out and handing her a credit card. The waitress bowed, scurrying away.

“Is this a normal thing?” You asked in astonishment, phased by how calm and collected Youngmin seemed. “Like, does this happen on a daily basis?”

“Daily basis, no,” Youngmin smiled, “but we’re hot news. All the media outlets want to scoop on the new couple in town.”

“We’re not going to have to like… do interviews and stuff, right?” You asked in horror. Youngmin laughed at your expression.

“No, no,” he shook his head, “my family’s press secretary released an official statement, and we’ll just leave it at that.”

“Here’s your receipt, Mr. Im,” the waitress reappeared, holding out the thin strip of paper, “our valet has pulled your car out front and it’s waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” Youngmin smiled courteously, getting out of his seat. You followed as well, getting up to walk behind him. As Youngmin neared the entrance of the restaurant, he paused, looking over at you. “if you get overwhelmed, just hold onto my arm. I’ll try to get us through the mess.” Your heart pounded as you looked out, the reporters’ cameras already firing off at the sight of the two of you.

Youngmin strode forward confidently, pushing open the doors of the restaurant. The sound of reporters shouting loudly, cameras flashing and clicking, washed over your senses as the reporters swarmed you, Youngmin pushing a path to the car. You gulped, nerves spiking as people surrounded you, shoving recorders and microphones into your face. You felt your lungs catch, as though you couldn’t breathe.

Someone grasped your hand and pulled you forward—Youngmin. He carefully tucked you into his side, shoving his way through the mass of reporters. He got to the car quickly, opening the passenger side and helping you in before hurrying to the driver’s side, starting up the car.

As the car pealed out of the parking lot, you sighed, leaning your forehead against the cool glass of the window.

“How do you deal with that?” You asked breathlessly, taking your cardigan off due to how hot it had gotten. Youngmin smiled, glancing over at you.

“A lifetime of practice, I guess,” he replied, shrugging, “if you need water, there should be a bottle or two in the glovebox.”

You leaned over, opening up the glovebox and taking one out. “Do you want one?”

Youngmin shook his head, “it’s okay, thank you though.”

You took a sip of water, doing your best to take deep breaths and leave that whole chaotic experience behind you. “Well, I guess the press is gonna buy our story now,” you commented with a laugh.

Soon, Youngmin was pulling up to your house, carefully parking outside. You got out and he followed, insisting on walking you to the door.

As you unlocked the door and stepped inside, you paused, glancing up at Youngmin.

“You know,” you began tentatively, looking up at him, “honestly, if music is truly what you love, you shouldn’t give it up just to filfill someone else’s dream.”

Youngmin stared at you, making you squirm uncomfortably as he tilted his head slightly.

“Well, thanks for the dinner,” you blurted out, slamming the door before cursing at yourself for being so rude. On the other side of the door, Youngmin smiled slightly, chuckling to himself at your cuteness as he got back into the car.

next chapter

[imagineproduce101]

Passion Ch. 1

Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it-- pretend to be his girlfriend. 

high school au + fake dating au

same universe/basic timeline as let me love you

multichaptered for all you youngmin stans!

dancer!reader

reader is a second-year in high school; youngmin is a third-year

Preview:

“What does this have to do with me?” You asked, tossing the magazine back onto the table. “I’m not the one who’s famous, nor am I the one who took the picture.” Youngmin glared at you for a moment more before rubbing his hand on his face, sighing deeply. When his eyes met yours again, his frown had been replaced by a much softer, more despairing expression.

“I need your help,” he muttered, “I know what I’m about to ask is a lot, but believe me, if the truth comes out, not only am I screwed, but you are as well.”

You stared at him.

“Look, consider it payback for you fucking up my uniform,” he said, leaning against the table. “Here’s the favor: I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

“Bye.” You spun on your heel, reaching for the door to the classroom.

“(Y/N), please.” Something about the desperation in Youngmin’s voice made you freeze, turning around to face him. “I… I’m desperate. Nobody can know that I was at that competition, or that I dance. You being my girlfriend is the perfect solution—you have an excuse as to why you were talking to me, I have an excuse as to why I was at the competition, and the press can stop saying that I’m crazy and not fit to inherit.”

You gazed out of the window, tuning out the quiet hum of the classroom in favor of running over the latest choreography in your head.

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and—

“(Y/N)! Eyes on the board, please!” The teacher rapped her fingers against the blackboard, making you jump as your classmates snickered. Cheeks red, you turned your attention back to the front of the classroom. Next to you, your seatmate and best friend Choi Nayoung, gave you a sympathetic look.

Sighing, you dragged your notebook towards you and resumed taking notes. Normally you did well in class, but your dance team had selected you to be the main dancer in the piece for the upcoming competition, and you wanted to do well.

You shook your head, trying to get all thoughts of dance out of your head. It was school time—time to concentrate.

“Man, you’ve really been spacing out lately,” Nayoung commented as the two of you made your way to the cafeteria. The bell for lunch had rung, and you’d waited for Nayoung to finish up her math problem before the two of you headed out. You were soon joined by Jinyoung, another friend, and Jisoo.

“Class dragged on forever,” Jisoo complained, “I hate school, honestly.”

The other three of you laughed at Jisoo’s expression, clearly fed up with school. You understood that to a certain level—on the one hand, you were the only one on your dance team still in high school, and you were just a second-year on top of that. On the other hand, you knew that school was important, and did your best to study and do well on tests and exams.

“Are you getting lunch, (Y/N)?” Nayoung asked you as your group entered the busy cafeteria. Some people were already inside, hurridly scooping rice and soup into their mouths.

“Yup!” You nodded, following Nayoung into the lunch line. The two of you stood there, chatting about your day.

“The dance thing is coming up, right?” Nayoung asked you, grabbing one of the metal trays. You nodded, mimicking her actions.

“This Friday, actually,” you replied, letting the lunch lady scoop rice and vegetables onto your tray.

Over where all the tables were, you heard a group of guys yelling loudly, cheering someone on. You and Nayoung turned your attention over to where the basketball guys were sitting—the most popular guys in school. Park Jihoon and Yoo Seonho were thumping Lai Guanlin on the back, who was bright red, while Park Woojin, Ha Sungwoon and Hwan Minhyun looked on in amusement. Im Youngmin got up out of his seat, and Guanlin asked him something.

You rolled your eyes at the scene.

“They’re so loud, I swear,” Nayoung muttered under her breath to you, making you snicker.

“Honestly,” you nodded in agreement, accepting the small soup bowl from another lunch lady.

“There’s yogurt today, my dear,” she said with a smile, pointing to the tub of yogurts that sat at the end of the counter next to the extra spoons and chopsticks. You nodded with a smile,  and selected strawberry yogurt, your favorite. Just ask you were turning around, setting the treat onto your tray, you felt yourself collide into another, much taller body.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

You watched in horror as rice, kimchi, soup and pickles cascaded down the pristine uniform of Im Youngmin. As quickly as it happened, the realization sunk in.

“Oh my god, I am so, so sorry,” you gasped, grabbing a napkin and doing your best to wipe the kimchi off the lapel of his uniform.

Clearly disgusted, Youngmin knocked your hand away. “Just don’t.” He snarled, glaring down at you. Without another word, he stalked out of the cafeteria, leaving you still covered in food and slightly shaking from the intimidating encounter. You had really just dumped your lunch all over Im Youngmin.

For the rest of the week, you were reminded of your stupid mistake. Youngmin’s friends would glance at you in the hall, laughing amongst themselves, and the few times that you’d seen Youngmin, he would glare at you.

On Friday, you were extremely distracted, trying to rush out of school to make it to your dance studio. One of the older members was driving you all to the venue, and you didn’t want to make your fellow dancers late.

“Yah, watch where you’re going,” Im Youngmin snapped. God really hated you—in your distraction, you’d run right into him. “You just really are an airhead, aren’t you.”

You bristled, glaring up at him, “hey, I’m sorry that I’ve been causing you so much trouble, but that doesn’t give you the right to insult me like that.”

“Doesn’t it?” Youngmin crossed his arms, “This is the second time you’ve inconvenienced me, (Y/L/N) (Y/N).” A tiny voice in the back of your head questioned how he knew who you were.

Brushing the voice aside, you bowed low, “again, I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. If you want me to dry-clean your uniform, I’d be happy to, but I really have to go now.” You ran off, half-bowing repeatedly to the senior as you hurriedly checked your phone, trying to tell the others that you’d be there shortly.

When you got to the studio, everything was in chaos. The normally calm room where your crew practiced was filled with friends doing makeup and clothes were strewn everywhere. As soon as you entered, a clothing bag was thrown at you by Kim Chungha, who was also dancing that night.

“Hurry and get changed so Doyeon can do your makeup and hair!” She yelled, gesturing towards the bathroom. You nodded, setting your backpack down in a space now claimed as your own.

The clothes that Chungha had set out for you were simple—a  black sports bra, black leggings and black bomber jacket. You sighed, wriggling into the clothing mindlessly, busy reviewing the choreo for that night in your head.

“Yah, hurry up!” You heard Chungha yell as she banged on the door. You groaned, pulling on your sneakers, and left the bathroom.

Doyeon immediately yanked you in the direction of where all her makeup was set up, handing you a hairtie to pull your hair back. “You ended up arriving kinda late, what happened?” She asked, getting started on moisturizing your face. You rolled your eyes, reminded of the whole ordeal with Youngmin.

“Ah, earlier this week I accidentally spilled my lunch on a senior,” you explained as Doyeon patted on foundation, “and he’s still giving me grief for it, even though I apologized.”

“Want me to beat someone up for you?” Jung Jung, a fellow dancer, asked cheerfully from where he sat on the floor, stretching his leg muscles out. You laughed at Jung Jung’s nonchalance and shook your head.

“I’ll be fine,” you reassured them, closing your eyes to let Doyeon apply eyeliner, “he’s just a grumpy senior, nothing I can’t handle.”

“All done,” Doyeon leaned back, smiling at her work. You reached tentatively for the mirror, glancing at your reflection. She’d just applied basic foundation and concealer, winged eyeliner and some lip tint, but nothing drastic. After thanking Doyeon, you joined Jung Jung in warming up your muscles, doing jumping jacks, lunges, and quick squats before moving on to stretching.

“You nervous for tonight?” Hong Eunki asked, joining the two of you. He rolled his neck and shoulders, carefully working out any tensions there. “It’s your first time performing as lead dancer, right?”

You nodded, sighing, “yeah, I’m nervous. I hope we win, and I hope I don’t mess it up for you guys.”

“Aw, (Y/N), you won’t!” Choi Yoojung patted you on the back, sending you one of her signature eye smiles. You sighed, pushing the hair out of your eyes. “Let’s hope so.”

The time leading up to the actual competition became a blur. The five of you officially performing—Chungha, Yoojung, Jung Jung, Eunki and you—were dropped off at the venue’s front, while the others who were just there to support you went around to the back, where they waited in the waiting rooms reserved for performers. You all had to sign in first before you were able to run through the choreography quickly, to test out the stage, and hurry to the waiting rooms.

Everything happened so quickly that you barely had time to notice how fast your heart was beating, or how sweaty your palms were getting. By the time you were onstage, bright lights warming your bare skin, you were ready.

+

Shoulders sideways, smack it, smack it in the air Legs movin' side to side, smack it in the air

+

“We did it!” Eunki yelled loudly as the five of you rushed offstage, sweaty. Adrenaline coursed through your veins, the product of dancing in front of such a huge audience. “(Y/N), you did it!”

You smiled brightly at your team, taking in the moment.

“On to the next competition,” Chungha joked, walking towards your team’s waiting room, “we should cool our muscles down, guys.” You nodded, following the elder back to the waiting room. Jung Jung led the team in the cool-down excercises, and then everyone headed out to the main performance area where teams were still dancing.

“Next up, please greet the dance team with the sexy charm…” the announcer introduced, as the next team took their positions on stage. “Knock!”

You nodded along with the opening beats, not really paying attention too much. Eunki was on his phone playing some game, so you looked over his shoulder to observe.

“Woah, holy shit they’re good,” you heard Yoojung exclaim, clapping her hands. You turned your attention from Eunki’s game to the dancers onstage. They were good—their movements were precise and synchronized, perfectly matching with the beat. One of the dancers—and his burgundy hair—caught your eye.

It looked vaguely like Im Youngmin, but there was no way he’d be at an event like this. You rubbed your eyes, peering closer at the stage. There was no denying it—you’d seen that stupid face too many times in the past week to not be able to recognize it. The dancer was definitely Im Youngmin.

“(Y/N), you good?” Eunki asked from his seat next to you. You shook your head in an attempt to clear your mind.

“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” you replied, sitting back in your plastic chair, “I just recognized someone from this crew.”

“Ah, who?” Yoojung asked, leaning forward, “anyone cute?”

“Nah, I barely know him,” you said, not really in the mood to explain the whole story of how you knew Youngmin. You just wanted to get home and curl up in bed. You tuned out the rest of the performances, snapping back to reality when your team briefly got attention for winning Runner-Up in the competition. It wasn’t winning, but it was better than nothing.

“Let’s go! Chungha collected her gym bag, heading towards the back entrance where the van was waiting, “unni is probably waiting for us.”

You reached down to grab your own neon pink gym bag, slinging it over your shoulder. As you followed the rest of the team toward the back, you caught sight of the bathroom.

“Ah, unni, I need to use the restroom,” you said quietly, patting Chungha’s shoulder, “I’ll be quick.”

“Okay,” Chungha nodded, “do you want me to bring your bag to the van?”

“No, it’s okay,” you assured her, waving as you ducked into the bathroom. You just wanted to change out of your sweaty stage clothes, and you’d brought a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt just for that purpose. Once you’d changed, you slung the bag over your shoulder, heading out down the hall again. Lost in your hurry to get outside, you weren’t looking where you were going and bumped into someone.

“You really just don’t know how to look where you’re going, do you?”

You looked up into the clearly pissed off face of Im Youngmin. Sighing, you ducked your head in apology.

“Sorry, I was just heading out,” you muttered, trying to shove your way past him. Youngmin moved to block you.

“Yah,” Youngmin scoffed, glaring down at you, “you really make my life difficult, you know that?”

“What?” You frowned up at him, crossing your arms.

“First you do all that at school, and now you’re at the same dance competition?” He shook his head.

“How is it my fault that there happened to be a coincidence?” You demanded, growing angrier by the second.

“Yah, no one at school can know about this,” he snapped with a glare.

“Why does it matter if anyone knows you were here?” You retorted defiantly. He got closer to you, making you step back until your back hit the wall. He got close to you, close enough to hiss his next words into your face.

“I’m not going to explain myself to a fuckin nerd. Don’t tell anyone you saw me here, are we clear?” Youngmin narrowed his eyes at you. You glared up at him silently, and he moved even closer. “I said, are we clear?"

“We’re fucking clear, asshole,” you snapped, shoving him away from you. You stomped off, pissed off at how easily you’d let him intimidate you in the moment. On the car ride home, you couldn’t help but replay the moment in your head over and over. Why was he so insistent on not letting the school know about it? If anything, you’d think him being in a dance team would make him even more popular.

“Hey (Y/N), come see the new video that Little Mix dropped!” Yoojung yelled into your ear, shoving her phone into your face. Her excited voice distracted you from your thoughts, and you’d completely forgotten about what happened by the time you got home.

In fact, by the time school had rolled around on Monday morning, you’d forgotten that Youngmin was even there.

When you got to school, you couldn’t help but notice how many people were staring at you. As you went to your locker to collect your books, a group of girls started whispering, one of them pointing at you. You looked down to make sure that nothing was odd about your clothing, but no, you were dressed in the usual school uniform.

When you entered the classroom, someone clapped you on the back, and everyone else watched in amusement.

“Ey, (Y/N), I had no idea!” Someone shouted from their seat, sending you a wink.

“Huh?” You frowned, confused at all the attention you were getting suddenly. You made your way to your seat, setting your backpack down and taking out your supplies. As you were opening up your pencil case, you heard the classroom door open with a bang. Suddenly, all the whispering stopped.

“(Y/N), we need to talk,” Im Youngmin appeared in front of you, staring intensely down at you, “now.”

You didn’t even get the chance to say yes when Youngmin grabbed your hand, dragging you out of the door and down the hallway into an empty classroom.

“Look at this,” Youngmin tossed three magazines onto the desk. You picked one up, totally confused as to why the senior was even talking to you.

I.M. Corporations Heir Seen with Girl—Another Scandal for Im Youngmin?

You looked back up at him, lifting an eyebrow.              

“Look at the picture, dumbass,” Youngmin sighed, rolling his eyes. You shifted your attention from the huge headline to the picture on the front of the magazine. Youngmin’s face was uncomfortably close to a girl, whose own face was pixelated. However, the outfit and bag were instantly recognizable— black sports bra, black leggings, black bomber jacket, and a neon pink gym bag.

You flipped open to page where the article was, briefly skimming it. The page mentioned how the girl—you—had never been seen before with Youngmin, how he’d gotten into a scandal in the past, how this proved that he wasn’t fit to be a co-CEO for the corporation his father owned.

“What does this have to do with me?” You asked, tossing the magazine back onto the table. “I’m not the one who’s famous, nor am I the one who took the picture.” Youngmin glared at you for a moment more before rubbing his hand on his face, sighing deeply. When his eyes met yours again, his frown had been replaced by a much softer, more despairing expression.

“I need your help,” he muttered, “I know what I’m about to ask is a lot, but believe me, if the truth comes out, not only am I screwed, but you are as well.”

You stared at him.

“Look, consider it payback for you fucking up my uniform,” he said, leaning against the table. “Here’s the favor: I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

“Bye.” You spun on your heel, reaching for the door to the classroom.

“(Y/N), please.” Something about the desperation in Youngmin’s voice made you freeze, turning around to face him. “I… I’m desperate. Nobody can know that I was at that competition, or that I dance. You being my girlfriend is the perfect solution—you have an excuse as to why you were talking to me, I have an excuse as to why I was at the competition, and the press can stop saying that I’m crazy and not fit to inherit.”

You shook your head, gesturing for Youngmin to chill out a bit, “dude, slow down. First, you’re telling me that someone—“

“The paparazzi.”

“Right, the paparazzi,” you rolled your eyes, “took this picture of us. Then, you’re saying that girls are going to attack me for talking to you. Then you’re saying that you weren’t even supposed to be at that competition, and somehow, the solution you arrive at is to pretend to date me?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” Youngmin groaned, pulling a hand through his perfect burgundy hair. “It’s really not that complicated. We fake date for a month, then break up when all of this blows over. And besides, you totally owe me one.”

You sighed, glaring up at him for a while. You rolled the idea over in your mind. He was right, Youngmin had a ton of fangirls who would thirst for your blood if they found out you were talking to him like that without actually being special to him. You also owed him, and you hated being in debt to people. And clearly, he needed the situation as much as you did… but he was such an asshole!

“(Y/N), please?” Youngmin asked you, looking you straight in the eye. Wow, you’d never noticed how handsome he was before… “I really need this.” His eyes were also really pretty…

“Fine.” Damn your thirsty ass.

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