#scenarios.juliet

[leejungchans]

menace

juliet’s masterlist

warning(s): slight mentions of spooky dolls (aka changmin’s chucky doll 😭)

note: words in bold are spoken in english

set in april 2021; during filming for kingdom sports day

summary: changmin introduces juliet to an... interesting friend.

a/n: more tbz x juliet content 🥺💗 ahhdjwd i also planned to post this when kd was still going on but you guessed it—writer’s block 💔

Juliet takes a sip of her coffee and leans back in her chair, ready to sit back and relax a bit before their short break is over and the vaulting competition resumes when she hears someone call out, “Yo, Juliet! Over here!”

Her head cranes to the other side of the tents to find Kevin enthusiastically jumping up and down to get her attention. How he still has so much energy after his fabulous performance (read: his twerking) out there, Juliet has no idea.

Regardless, she responds with a grin of her own before hastily scooting her chair backwards so she can stand up, only to earn giggles from her members when she accidentally knocks it over.

“You’re so clumsy,” Yeosang teases as she quickly picks up the chair with reddened cheeks, especially because she realised that some of the Stray Kids members sitting next to them are also observing her amusedly. “What are you gonna do later when we have to vault over a taller box?”

“Hmph! I’ll have you know that I’ll beat all of you. Just you wait.”

“Aw, our little kangaroo,” San coos affectionately, patting her head over her hat. “Didn’t Kevin just call you? Shouldn’t you be heading over there?”

“I was about to! But then you guys started annoying me!”

Wooyoung snorts. “Please, we never annoy you! If anything, you’re the menace,” he jokes.

“That’s rich coming from you, Jung Wooyoung!”

“Okay, okay, no more bickering!” Hongjoong intervenes with feigned exasperation, “need I remind you that there are dozens of cameras pointed at us? I don’t need two of my kids’ bickering on national television. You’re both menaces.”

Boy, did he open Pandora’s box with those words.

“Why don’t you love us?” Juliet wails dramatically, clinging onto Hongjoong’s arm like a child trying to get their parent’s attention. “Love us! I lo-o-o-ve you!”

Unfortunately for the leader, Wooyoung joins in right away. “Yeah!” he whines as he latches onto Hongjoong’s other arm, “why would you call us a menace? I’m so hurt!”

“You were literally the one who called Minyoungie that first!”

Seonghwa graciously comes to Hongjoong’s rescue by peeling the ‘2Young duo’ off him amidst their very loud fake-crying. No thanks to the other boys, who look just fine enjoying the spectacle from the side instead of helping.

Being a father of eight children really is no joke.

“C’mon, you two,” he says, holding back a smile at their antics, “the producers are looking this way.”

Juliet sighs. “Well, can’t give them more free content, I guess. I’m gonna go see what Kevin’s up to. Don’t miss me too much!”

“I’ll try not to,” Hongjoong mumbles sulkily, stretching out his poor arms with a sigh as he watches her prance away.

Unbeknownst to Juliet, several pairs of eyes follow her while she skips across the field towards The Boyz’s table, admiring how much cute she looks in her pale green bucket hat, very much resembling a tiny sprout.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asks, high-fiving Kevin’s outstretched palm.

“Nothing,” he says with a casual shrug, “just thought we should hang out for a bit since you’re sitting so far away. You guys know Juliet,” he adds, addressing his group members.

“Yeah, you’re the one who barged into our room,” Haknyeon teases, referring to the time when she mistook their waiting room for ATEEZ’s during the filming for Round 1.

Juliet groans at the embarrassing memory. “Please, my own members already don’t let me live that down. Also, can you believe they didn’t tell us we were doing sports today?” She glances down at her jeans with a grimace. “We were told it was gonna be a picnic, but turns out we’re here to rip our pants down the middle instead.”

Kevin snorts at her dry remark. “They’re definitely gonna air that on national television if that happens.”

“Exactly, bestie. But like, can you believe we’re already more than halfway done with filming?”

“I know!” Eric agrees, “where has all the time gone? Will you guys get a break after the show too?”

Juliet nods. “I think so, though I’ll probably spend the first day hibernating in my room.”

“Hey, at least that’s far more understandable than taking your Chucky doll for a haircut,” Chanhee pipes up, shooting Changmin a knowing look.

“A… Chucky doll? Like… the one from the horror movie?”

“Yeah, you really should see it,” Chanhee says with a shudder, “or maybe not, if you’re not into those kinda thi—”

“That’s so cool!”

Changmin jumps up from his seat immediately, excited to have a supporter. “Right?”

“Do you have photos?”

“Of course!”

“Can I please see them?”

The look on Chanhee’s face is truly priceless. Is Juliet really enabling the creepy doll agenda?

“Oh, yeah, she likes horror movies,” Kevin says sheepishly, noticing his member’s flabbergasted expression. “Whoops, forgot to mention that.”

The others don’t know whether they should be amused or afraid as Juliet and Changmin begin fawning over the photos.

“He’s so cute!” she squeals, zooming into the doll’s face to get a closer look. “And his hair! You could like, braid it or do different hairstyles on it!”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do!”

“Imagine him with a high ponytail! Dang, this makes me want one for myself.”

Changmin starts nodding enthusiastically. “Do it! Buy one! You won’t regret it.”

Juliet gasps. “What if we get our dolls matching outfits?”

“Oh my God,” Chanhee mutters in disbelief, resting his forehead on his palm as though he has a fever.

“HONGJOONG-OPPA!”

Juliet’s very loud yell attracts more than a few pairs of eyes from the neighbouring tables. Main vocalist indeed, what a pair of lungs.

Several seconds of silence pass before Hongjoong’s response comes from at the opposite end of the line. “WHAT?”

“CAN I GET A CHUCKY DOLL SO IT CAN LIVE WITH US IN THE DORMS?”

“NO!”

“Damn it,” she mutters, turning back to The Boyz with a pout. “I guess no Chucky doll for me.”

Haknyeon snickers. “Just order it without telling them.”

Kevin groans. “Please don’t give her any ideas.”

“I swear,” Wooyoung says when Juliet gets back to their table, “if you bring one of those freaky things home, either it goes or I go.”

“Fantastic trade, you move out tomorrow!”

Her cheeky grin fades into a screech as Wooyoung bolts after her, prompting her to take off like a bullet. “Take that back, you menace!”

“No! Help me! Help me! I’m just kidding!”

Yunho blinks at the spectacle his two members are creating with their running and shrieking in the blazing sun. “Should we… stop them?”

“Nah, they’ll tire themselves out,” Jongho says with a roll of his eyes.

Seonghwa nods in agreement, too comfortable in the shade to go after them. “Good idea. He’s catching up pretty quickly too, so maybe we can also send him for the relay later.”

Chan scoots his chair closer to Hongjoong. “I take it this happens a lot?”

Hongjoong sighs heavily at the other leader’s question, removing his cap to run a hand through his blonde hair. “You don’t wanna know.”

a/n: ah yes 2young going from bickering with each other to terrorising poor joong within 0.4 seconds 🤧

[leejungchans]

little rose.

juliet’s masterlist

set on june 6, 2021

summary: in which juliet receives a very special gift on her birthday.

a/n: fluff fluff fLUFF FLUFF 🤧💞💞 HAKDHJW i had such bad writer’s block with juliet’s content so i hope it doesn’t show too much here 😭

(gonna include paper rings which kinda inspired this update even though i’m not a spotify user oops 💕)

“Thanks again for sneaking me in.”

“Ey, don’t mention it,” Seungkwan chirps as he leads Juliet through the hallways of HYBE’s building. “He hasn’t stopped talking about you all day, as usual. I wish one of you told me today’s your birthday earlier, though. I would’ve prepared a small gift or something!”

“Oh my God, you don’t have to!” Juliet protests immediately. “It’s really just a regular day, just that I turned a year older. You really don’t have to give me anything, I’m thankful as is for all the well wishes.”

This earns a few chuckles from Seungkwan.

“What? Did I say something funny?”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s just that you sounded just like Channie. He said something similar about his own birthday, so it looks like you’ve been around him too much,” he jokes. They stop in front of a door that leads to what she assumes is one of the many practice rooms in the building. “He’s in there, go right ahead.”

“Where are you going now?”

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to make me third-wheel you two.”

Juliet giggles. “I’m not cruel, just curious.”

Seungkwan lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Okay, thank goodness. I’m going to go bother—I mean, visit Woozi-hyung at his studio.”

“Sounds… fun?”

“For me, but probably not for him.”

“Probably not,” Juliet teases, which earns her a light punch on the arm. “Before you go, can you tell Channie to close his eyes? I don’t want him to see me through the mirror.”

Seungkwan nods and flings the door open, poking his head in to yell, “Yah! Close your eyes!”

Chan’s confused response comes just a second later. “What? Why?”

“Just do it and thank me later!”

The two exchange quiet giggles at Chan’s groan before Seungkwan pats her on the shoulder and says, “I’ll be off now, have fun!”

“You too, good night!” And with that, Juliet ventures into the room to find Chan facing the wall with his eyes screwed shut and foot tapping the floor impatiently, possibly bracing himself for whatever his member has planned.

She crosses the room with quiet strides so she can wrap him in a hug from behind. His body tenses from the unexpected contact, but relaxes almost immediately when he hears her say, “Guess who.”

Chan turns around in her arms to face her. “What are you doing here?” he muses before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I thought I was picking you up later?”

“Surprise visit?” Juliet offers with a grin. “I thought you’d be pretty tired from all the practising you guys did today, so why not just spend our date here?”

The beginnings of a frown tug at his brows. “But it’s your birthday, you don’t want to go somewhere more special? I’m really not that tired.”

“You know I don’t care much for these things, Channie,” Juliet says with a reassuring smile. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as I’m with you.”

“That’s so cheesy.”

She groans at his teasing. “Ugh, I know. It’s all your fault. You made me like this.”

“Aw, it’s cute, though. You’re cute.”

“Who’s the cheesy one now?”

“Still you,” Chan retorts, grinning widely at the pout that forms on her face. “Happy Birthday, baby. Did you have a good day?”

“Thank you,” Juliet mumbles sweetly, burying her head in his shoulder out of shyness. “And yeah, I did. It was fun meeting ATINYs at the fansign and I also had a video call with my family before I came here, so that was really nice.”

Chan can’t help but feel a twinge in his heart at the mention of her family, knowing it’s been years since she’s spent her birthday with them. But he decides not to bring it up now so as to not ruin the mood. “Ah, that’s right, you’re a twin,” he says instead, “tell your brother I said Happy Birthday too.”

“Will do. They said they want to meet you, by the way,” Juliet reveals, “whenever you’re ready, they know you’re busy and don’t want to pressure you or anything, so don’t worry.”

“Funny,” Chan says, pulling back a little to look down a her with a smile, “my parents said the same thing too. It’s a shame that our schedules don’t line up, but we can work something out later.”

She returns the smile, her cheek still lightly smushed against the soft fabric of his hoodie, and the sight makes him want to melt into a puddle on the ground. The two of them stay like that for a while, simply grinning at each other like lovesick fools (which they undoubtedly are) while gently rocking from side to side.

“I want to take you somewhere,” Chan says after several quiet moments. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do.”

“This is a horrible idea,” Juliet whines as they walk down the empty hallway. The catch is that Chan’s guiding her way as he walks backwards while covering her eyes with his hands.

“We barely walked ten steps!”

“I feel like you’re gonna crash into something!”

“I’m not!” Chan defends, “we’re almost at the elevators!”

Juliet snorts. “Yeah, but we’re going at a snail’s pace right now. Also, what are we gonna say if we run into someone? Oh my God, if we run into a staff member I’m never showing my face here again.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Chan teases, “but let’s actually hope no one shows up. Okay, turn left here—left, Minnie, that’s your right.”

Juliet dissolves into giggles, already able to picture his exasperated face in her head. “Whoops, this is why I don’t drive.”

“You’re getting distracted, be careful so you don’t tr—”

Too late.

Juliet trips over her own foot with a yelp, which in turn causes Chan to stumble backwards as well. They do have his quick reflexes to thank for, because he manages to catch her by the waist with one arm while bracing himself against the wall with the other before his spine can slam into it.

Their faces are just millimetres apart as they stare at each other with widened eyes, both rendered speechless from the narrowly-avoided accident.

“What are you two doing?”

Springing away from each other at the speed of light, Juliet and Chan turn to the source of the voice to find Seungkwan standing at the end of the hallway with an incredulous expression.

“Oppa, it’s not what it looks like, I tripped and—”

“La-la-la, I can’t hear you,” Seungkwan sings loudly as he plugs his ears with his fingers, “for the love of God, please wait until you’re in a private space before you do anything like this. I thought I said not to have too much fun!”

“But we’re not—”

“Thanks, but I’m going to go bleach my eyes now, bye!” Seungkwan doesn’t wait to hear their response before dashing away while calling out to Jihoon. “Hyung! Hyung! Hyung! You won’t believe what I just saw! They were about to make out in the hallway! Someone get me the bl—”

Juliet glances at Chan before snickering at his pink face even though she’s certain she looks just as, if not more, pink. “They’re not going to let us live this down, are they?”

Chan lets out a loud groan and slumps into the wall exaggeratedly at the thought of all the teasing he’ll have to deal with when the other members hear about this from Seungkwan. “Definitely not. I’m so screwed when I get home. Don’t think you’re safe either, I bet Seungkwannie-hyung’s texting Wooyoung as speak.”

His words causes Juliet to sober up, and her mouth falls open into a large ‘O’. “Crap, you’re right,” she mutters. “Let’s just… get out of here before someone else sees us.”

“Let’s also get out of the country while we’re at it.”

“Good idea.”

Unfortunately for future-them, their destination is merely the rooftop garden of the same building.

“Ooh, pretty,” Juliet says. Aside from having an impressive variety of plants, HYBE’s rooftop garden also boasts a great night view of the area. “I guess this is what happens when you’ve got that cash money.”

“I guess you can say that,” Chan says with a snort as he takes her hand, “c’mon.” She can only trail behind him as he gently tugs her over to a more secluded corner of the garden so they’re hidden away behind several trees.

He turns back to her after ensuring they’re truly alone. “You know you make me very happy, right?”

There’s nothing but adoration in his eyes, and Juliet thinks she’s truly never felt this loved—at least, in a romantic sense—as she leans forward to kiss him on the cheek. “You make me happier. Really.”

“No, you.”

“No, you.”

“We’re so stupid,” Chan says, shaking his head amusedly while grinning from ear to ear at their banter.

“Maybe, but you’re my idiot.”

“I told you you’re the cheesy one in this relationship. But before we go back and forth on this—” Seeing the way her lips are about to part, he presses a kiss to them to distract her. It works, and Chan takes the opportunity to reach into the pocket of his hoodie to pull out a ring box.

Juliet stares at it dazedly. “What is it?”

“Your birthday present, of course,” Chan responds with a laugh as he gently pushes it into her hands. “Go on, open it.”

Having gone completely quiet, she cracks the box open to find a silver ring carved to look like a tiny rose on a vine. There’s a pounding in her ears as she attempts to process the rush of emotions coursing through her, and she has to strain her ears to catch Chan’s next words.

“I thought that since you gave me a ring for my birthday I’d give you one too, so they’re kinda like couple rings even if they’re not matching,” he explains shyly, “and since roses are the birth flower of June and one of your favourite flowers, I thought you’d like this… I left your card in my bag downstairs, so I’ll give it to you la—”

His sentence cuts off as soon as she leans up to kiss him softly, and he responds immediately to move his lips languidly against hers.

“Sorry for interrupting you,” Juliet giggles when they separate, “I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Don’t be.” Is all Chan says before diving back in to eagerly capture her lips with his once again, smiling against them when he feels her sigh contentedly. His hand moves up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing along her jaw as he angles her head to deepen the kiss.

The both of them are slightly out of breath when they pull back, and after a few seconds of light panting, Chan asks, “Watermelon?”

He watches fondly as Juliet tilts her head to the side in confusion until her tongue swipes along her lower lip, quickly realising he’s referring to her lip balm. “Ah, yeah. I got it from a random store. Why, do you want one? I’ll bring you one next time.”

“Or…” he suggests with a cheeky smirk, “I can just kiss you instead.”

This earns him a playful roll of her eyes. “Oh? Since when did you learn to be so flirty, Lee Chan?”

“I can’t help it, I like seeing you blush.”

“I’m not,” Juliet lies with a whine to her voice, “this is just makeup.”

“Mhm, sure.”

She pretends to ignore him in favour of slipping the ring onto her middle finger. It fits perfectly, and she looks at him in astonishment with adorably widened eyes, though he could be biased. Just slightly, though. “How did you get my ring size exactly right?”

Chan shrugs with a tiny smile. “I may or may not have asked Wooyoung to measure one of your rings for me.”

“Flirty and smart, you’re really the whole package, huh?”

“What can I say? You always have good taste in everything.”

“I agree,” Juliet laughs before her teasing grin softens. “Thank you. I love it. I really, really do. I love you.”

Chan kisses her on the forehead, murmuring, “I love you too, my little rose.”

BONUS !!

THREE WEEKS AGO…

“Uh… what are you doing?”

“Shhh!”

Seonghwa puts his hands up in mock surrender at Wooyoung’s rather aggressive hiss. The younger boy currently has his ear pressed up again Juliet’s bedroom door, listening for any sign of movement on the other side.

“She’s at the company building, if that’s what you’re trying to find out.”

Heaving a sigh of relief, Wooyoung shoots Seonghwa an exasperated glance. “You could’ve just started with that.”

“You still haven’t answered my question, by the way,” Seonghwa reminds as Wooyoung pushes the door open and steps into Juliet’s room, the older boy quickly following after him.

“I’m doing someone a favour,” Wooyoung mutters absentmindedly, looking around the room before spotting his target—a small porcelain dish on Juliet’s vanity holding the rings she frequently wears.

Wooyoung’s nimble fingers sort through the assortment of rings while the older boy peeks over his shoulder.

“Which finger?”

“Uh… middle, I think.”

Seonghwa reaches around Wooyoung to grab a simple band with a tiny pink stone from the dish. “She wears this on her middle finger almost every day,” he says, dropping the ring into the younger boy’s palm.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Why, though? What’s gonna happen if you get it wrong?”

Wooyoung shrugs before pulling out the string he’s been hiding in his pocket to measure the ring’s circumference. “Probably nothing, but I don’t wanna ruin Chan’s surprise.”

“Ah, so he put you up to this.”

Oh, shit. The cat’s out of the bag.

“Oops.”

Seonghwa snorts, but his smile falters as his head snaps to look at Wooyoung with impossibly wide eyes. “Wait—if you’re measuring her ring for him… does that mean he’s…”

“Oh my God, it’s not whatever you’re thinking of!” Wooyoung cackles, landing a light smack across his head. “He probably just wants to make a couple ring for her, or something! Plus, it’s for the middle finger!”

The older boy’s cheeks are tinted pink from embarrassment within seconds. “Oh. Yeah. You’re right.”

“Don’t worry, hyung, you won’t have to walk her down the aisle for another few years.”

[leejungchans]

favouritism

juliet’s masterlist

note: (mediocre☠️) gif by me!!

set on june 18, 2021

summary: in which juliet has a few…opinions about dino’s stage outfits and performance.

a/n: before anyone asks yes this is 100% just me projecting bc clearly i’m not over the charms (chan arms) 😞

“What are you doing?”

A quizzical look makes its way onto Yunho’s face when Juliet hisses out a loud “shhh!” while still being practically glued to the TV.

“Not now,” she whispers, as though there’s some huge secret to be told, “it’s starting.”

Yunho makes his way over to stand behind her, his original plan of getting a snack now forgotten. He recognises the group on the screen immediately, now understanding why Juliet is in her current transfixed state.

“Ah, that’s right, SEVENTEEN-sunbaenim’s comeback is today.”

When the performance of Anyone begins, Yunho wonders if he should be concerned about Juliet’s lack of reaction, her body perfectly still as though she’s a statue with her eyes widened and mouth agape. Electing to let her have her moment, he stays quiet so they can watch the performance with few distractions.

That is, until Chan does a particularly sensual dance move which elicits a loud screech from Juliet, and the sudden noise causes Yunho to stumble back into the coffee table. “Julie, what the hell? You scared me!”

She pays no mind to his complaint, instead reaching past him to grab a cushion from the couch and hides half of her face behind it. “Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,” he hears her chant under her breath, “someone get me holy water.”

“You want me to turn it off?”

“No!” Juliet squeaks, and Yunho has to bite down on his lip to keep himself from laughing at her alarmed expression. “I mean… no, don’t turn it off, please,” she corrects herself meekly.

The performance ends, but the one for Ready to love begins almost immediately afterwards, and Yunho looks on in pure amusement as Juliet continues to peek out from behind the cushion.

She curses when the camera zooms in on Chan, and though her voice is muffled by the soft material, Yunho manages to catch her next words. “Not the sleeveless shirt,” he hears her mutter, “why is he doing this?”

“Well, it was likely the stylist’s choice—”

“—It was a rhetorical question!”

Putting his hands up in mock surrender, he decides to spare her the teasing until the performance ends, at the same time wishing more of the boys were here to witness this historical scene with him. Is this what love does to you?

Yunho’s stomach grumbles as the song comes to an end, reminding him of what he came into the living room for in the first place, so he leaves Juliet alone momentarily to ransack their fridge for a light snack. They’re supposed to have dinner with the others in a bit, but there’s never a wrong time for a quick nibble.

He returns while munching on an apple, only to find the television now turned off, the maknae lying on the floor on her stomach as she watches a video on her phone. He looks over her shoulder and lets out a loud groan—it’s Chan’s individual fancam from their Ready to love performance that they watched literally minutes ago.

“You never watch our fancams!” Yunho whines around a mouthful of apple, “talk about favouritism!”

Juliet doesn’t respond. She does, however, open her mouth so Yunho can offer her a bite of the fruit, and he lets her despite his indignation at her obvious bias because, well… maknae privileges.

“I do watch your guys’ fancams, for your information,” she finally says, eyes still fixed on the screen of her phone. “So I vehemently object to your accusation of favouritism.”

“Yeah, but not like—like this! Do you see yourself right now?” Love truly is blind.

“I’m with at least one of you almost every minute of my life! Why would I subject myself to more of you guys?” Juliet jokes. “But it’s not the same with Channie.”

“Why are you acting like you two didn’t just FaceTime each other last night and earlier this afternoon?”

Exposed. Yunho grins smugly in satisfaction as pink blooms across Juliet’s cheeks from embarrassment. “Whatever,” she mumbles sulkily, “I’m gonna watch this in peac—”

Her sentence cuts off with a loud gasp after witnessing Chan do one particular move that highlights the muscles in his arms, and she essentially throws her phone down on the ground before flopping down onto the couch face-down while Yunho looks on with wide eyes.

Seriously, is she okay? Should he call an ambulance?

His concern for her only triples when she lets out a loud howl into the armrest as she flails her limbs around like a child throwing a temper tantrum. “I can’t do this anymore. I hate him so much.” They know she doesn’t mean it. Not a single bit. Quite the opposite, frankly. “He’s not allowed to wear sleeveless shirts anymore.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Yunho snorts amidst her wailing, ears perking up at the sound of someone else stifling their laughter.

He turns to find Wooyoung standing in the doorway with his phone in hand, recording everything unbeknownst to Juliet. He’s still wearing his shoes, so Yunho deduces he must’ve gotten home from practice just a few minutes ago.

The taller boy crosses the room with quiet footsteps to reach Wooyoung, careful not to alert Juliet though she’s likely occupied with her… mini meltdown. “When did you get here?” he whispers with a sly smile.

“Just in time to record… whatever she’s going through right now. I’m so sending this to Chan.”

“She’s actually going to throttle you when she finds out.”

Wooyoung shrugs casually. “I’ll just make sure he’s there when she does so he can hold her back.”

a/n: 12/10 recommend watching chan’s fancams from both their anyone and ready to love stages, you know…for science 🤓🧪 and also for good health and serotonin 😄💪 (i linked the ones i referenced in this update!! 🥰) also let’s appreciate his vocals bc lee chan main vocal so true 🤧

[leejungchans]

kicked out.

note: words in bold are spoken in english

set in late april, 2021

summary: juliet drops by mayfly dance unit’s practice one night.

a/n: so maybe i lied when i said that the juho special dance stage (that i made up rip 🤧) would be the last crumbs for juho shippers bc i’ve been working on this the entire time hehe 😼

When Juliet made the spontaneous decision to visit Mayfly’s dance unit during their practice, she didn’t expect to be met with an almost empty room, let alone be face-to-face with the person she’s the least close with.

Don’t get her wrong—she has absolutely nothing against Minho, it’s just that she didn’t have as many opportunities to interact with him over the course of Kingdom’s filming. Even during the sports day when their groups sat next to each other for the entire day, she only managed to have a few short conversations with him.

It’s during those moments when she envies Wooyoung’s uncanny ability to make friends wherever he goes without a shred of awkwardness. For her, it’s always the first stages of getting to know someone that are the hardest to break through.

“That was qui—oh, hello. Sorry, I thought you were the others,” Minho says a bit too formally for Juliet’s liking, though she doesn’t blame him given that they haven’t broken the ice entirely.

“Hi,” she says back meekly, bowing to him before hesitantly sitting down across from him on the floor. “Speaking of the others, where are they?”

Minho smiles sheepishly. “We got hungry so some of them went to go buy snacks, and the others went to go use the restroom.”

“Ah… okay.”

It’s awkward. Painfully so with the two of them sitting quietly and looking at everywhere but each other. Every few seconds, Juliet’s mouth opens as she attempts to gather up the courage to initiate a conversation, but the words seem to die at the tip of her tongue, leaving her no choice but to close her mouth and endure the almost suffocating silence.

Alexa, play ‘Awkward Silence’ by Stray Kids.

Much to her relief, Minho speaks up after a while. “Did you come here from JYP?”

“I did. We thought we’d stop by on the way back to our dorms, but Hongjoong-oppa got lazy and decided to stay in the car instead,” she explains with a playful roll of her eyes. “He said you guys wouldn’t let me stay long anyways. You know, because of spoilers and stuff.”

“Right,” Minho agrees with a small smile, “but it’s going well. We’re trying out different stunts to incorporate into the performance. I was actually a bit surprised that you weren’t in this unit.”

“We thought we’d switch things up a little,” Juliet says shyly, “I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up, to be honest, since your members especially are monster rappers.”

“I’m sure you’re doing great,” Minho encourages, “Jisung couldn’t stop raving about you at our dorms too, so that must be a good sign, right?”

Juliet flushes a little as the heat trails up to her ears, and she hopes that her hair covers them enough so he wouldn’t notice. “I guess you’re right. Are those your cats, by the way?”

Minho lets out a confused hum until he realises that she’s referring to the stickers on his phone case. “Oh, yeah! Their names are Soonie, Doongie, and Dori,” he says while pointing to each one respectively.

“It’s really cool that you made stickers of them. This is making me think I should too.”

“You have cats too?”

Juliet can’t help but smile fondly at the memory of her own cat. “Just one. He lives with my family in Sydney though, so I haven’t seen him in a long time…” Her voice trails off as she scrolls through her photo album before handing Minho her phone a few seconds later. “My brother sent me this a few days ago, his name’s Mercury—the cat, I mean, not my brother.”

Minho laughs as he takes a closer look at the photo, turning back to her with an astonished expression. “Woah, it’s huge!”

“He is,” Juliet agrees, “but he’s really gentle, and—”

The sound of the door being swung open is followed by a loud yelp, and the two crane their necks in its direction to find Wooyoung, Felix, Seonghwa, and Yunho standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing here?” Wooyoung screeches, obviously referring to Juliet. “You can’t be here, cheater! I thought we agreed to not spoil the performances!”

“Cheater?” she repeats in disbelief. “We’re on the same team! I stopped by to cheer you guys on!”

“And that’s very kind of you, but you still need to leave.”

Juliet frowns and thrashes her legs around like a petulant child. If she wasn’t looking at an approaching Wooyoung, she would’ve noticed Minho suppressing a smile. “Yah, are you guys seriously kicking me out right now?” she whines childishly as Wooyoung grabs her arm to shake it gently, urging her to get up.

Seonghwa has the decency to look apologetic. “Sorry, Minyoungie, but we want your genuine reactions to the stage.”

Huffing, Juliet stands up and crosses her arms over her chest. “You guys are no fun. We weren’t even talking about the stages! I was just—”

Strong arms wrap around her torso and easily pick her up before she can even finish her sentence. Alarmed, Juliet glances over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator.

“Jeong Yunho! Put me down! Don’t make me kick you in the—”

The others can only watch in amusement as Juliet fruitlessly flails her limbs about in his hold as he throws her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

“Seonghwa-oppa, are you really going to let them kick me out like this?” she wails, giving her best puppy eyes to her red-haired member standing helplessly off to the side, who looks as though he’s torn between allowing Yunho to carry her out of the room and intervening.

Ultimately, he smiles guiltily and steps further away into the room. “Bye, Minyoungie. Rest well, okay?”

Deeming him wholly unhelpful in her attempt at survival, Juliet turns away from him to divert her attention to her last shred of hope. “Felix, you too?”

Her friend of a decade, and she repeats—a decade, only beams at her, the picture of innocence compared to the appalling act of betrayal being committed. “We promise you’ll love the stage! I’ll text you later!”

Wooyoung cackles and swings an arm over his shoulders in support while cheekily waving Juliet goodbye. “Buh-bye, Julie!”

“This is Top Ten Anime Betrayals right here!” is the last thing she manages to get out before the practice room door shuts behind Yunho.

Back outside in the hallway, the tall boy grins as he finally puts her down. “Sorry, Julie,” he says rather unapologetically, “you’ll see our stage soon enough.”

“What did we miss?”

The two ATEEZ members are joined by the rest of the dance unit, their arms laden with bags of snacks and drinks, presumably having just returned from a trip to the nearby convenience store.

Yunho grins. “Had to kick this one out before someone inevitably spoils the performance,” he says affectionately while ruffling Juliet’s hair, who grumpily tries to swat his hand away.

“Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait,” Peniel says reassuringly, and the others nod excitedly in agreement.

San reaches into one of the bags to pull out a chocolate bar. “Will this make you feel better?”

It’s almost comical how quickly her expression changes at the sight of candy. “Well, why didn’t you offer this sooner?” she asks cheekily, eyes practically shining while eagerly accepting the chocolate as the others laugh. “I’ll be going now then. Good luck, and don’t stay up too late! You guys need rest too.”

“We won’t, don’t worry,” Yunho promises, and the group exchanges final goodbyes before Juliet leaves, now a chocolate bar richer.

Juliet avoids all eye contact with Hongjoong and their manager when she gets into the car, the both of them wearing identical smirks.

“Not even Seonghwa or Felix could’ve saved you from getting kicked out, huh?” the leader teases as she buckles her seatbelt with a disgruntled hmph.

“I don’t wanna talk about it. At least I got free chocolate.”

a/n: i had no idea what juho’s conversation should be about so i just decided to make it about cats bc they’re both cat parents ✨✨ this took way too long to write i wanted to post it when kd was still running and uh whoops 😭🤡 before anyone asks, no juliet can’t have minho bc he’s mine 😔 /j

[leejungchans]

— matters of the heart.

juliet’s masterlist

set in late may, 2021

summary: the boys comfort juliet after her fight with dino.

a/n: the juliet/dino angst you’ve been waiting for hehe 😩 *hides immediately* let me know what you think of this 🥺👉👈 your feedback is always highly appreciated 💕

“Where’s Minyoungie?” Hongjoong asks confusedly. Today was one of those rare days where he came home from the studio instead of staying there overnight, and it wasn’t hard to miss Juliet’s lack of presence given that she usually likes to spend time in the living room before going to bed. “And what about Mingi and Jongho? Did they go out?”

The remaining five boys exchange sad glances, as though silently debating on who should break the news. Hongjoong’s about to question them further when he hears it—the sound of someone sniffling and gasping for air. His heart plummets.

“Is... is she crying? Please don’t tell me one of you did it.” It’s been a long time since he’s heard Juliet cry like that, and each violent intake of air he hears sends a pang straight to his heart.

“Well... yes and no.”

The leader frowns at San. “What does that mean?”

San looks at the others and they nod, signalling him to continue. His voice lowers to almost a whisper. “We were all talking and SEVENTEEN’s upcoming comeback was brought up. When we asked Julie if she’s excited for it, she started tearing up before leaving and locking herself in her room.”

“She was crying really hard and we got worried,” Seonghwa adds, appearing on the verge of tears himself, “and after a lot of pleading she let Mingi and Jongho in. We think something happened between her and Chan during their date a few nights ago.”

Hongjoong blinks, the pieces beginning to fall into place for him. Obviously, they’re familiar with handling arguments between members, but this is very different—never have they experienced one of them being in a fight with their significant other, so now it makes sense why everyone looks so helpless.

“And to think she seemed fine after that night...” Yunho murmurs, looking down the hallway leading to her bedroom. “I can’t believe we didn’t notice something was wrong sooner.”

Hongjoong rakes a hand through his hair roughly, already starting to feel the frustration settling deep in his stomach—not towards Juliet, but himself. Knowing that even he doesn’t know what to do while being able to hear her muffled sobs from all the way in her bedroom hurts. A lot.

He sighs. “Knowing her, she probably acted like everything was fine so we wouldn’t worry, but tonight was probably the breaking p—”

“Oh!”

Five pairs of eyes shift to Wooyoung as he hastily unlocks his phone to check his messages. Upon noticing the looks he’s getting, he explains, “I texted Seungkwannie-hyung to see if he knows what happened and he just responded.”

“What did he say?” Seonghwa asks, immediately leaning over to peer at the screen.

Wooyoung scans the text. “He said he’s not entirely sure other than that Chan has been upset about something the past few days, but refuses to say why. He and some of the others are trying to talk to him, though.”

San bites his bottom lip worriedly. “Then it must be because they fought while on the date. It can’t be a coincidence that they’re both in such a state at the same time.”

“And it probably doesn’t help that this is likely their first fight,” Yeosang points out quietly, prompting dejected nods from the others as an unnerving silence falls over them.

Mingi and Jongho can’t remember when was the last time they’ve seen Juliet in such a state. While she’s not the type of person to rarely cry, it’s almost unbearable to see her at the brink of being inconsolable. But they know that at this moment she needs their support and company more than anything else.

It’s been around half an hour since she let them into her room, with nothing but the small bear lamp on her nightstand illuminating the room, and all they could do was rub comforting circles on her shoulder as she lets out heartbroken sobs.

The two boys exchange worried glances for what seems like the hundredth time that night as they continue to watch Juliet’s curled up body shake beneath the comforter.

Juliet loves too deeply. That’s what Hongjoong always says about their maknae. She gives so much love to everyone around her, constantly putting others before herself, and there’s no one better to confirm that than ATEEZ themselves. It’s a good thing, really. But love and pain also come hand in hand.

After all, love hurts as intensely as it heals.

And though that has never stopped her from giving, it makes her pain that much more agonising. If it’s excruciating to see her so heartbroken, they can’t imagine how she currently feels.

Neither of them know what to say other than murmurs telling her that everything’s going to be okay, not wanting to pressure her into talking when she’s evidently not ready to.

So they wait, hardly caring how long it takes because if it meant comforting her, they’d gladly stay the entire night.

Eventually, Juliet’s cries quiet down before dissolving into hiccups, and when she finally pokes her head out from under the covers, Mingi and Jongho are ready with a tall glass of water. Their hearts break a little more at the sight of her red nose and swollen eyes as she gulps down the water to quell the hiccups.

“I messed up,” Juliet says quietly after a few minutes of fiddling with the empty glass. “I messed up. Really bad.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jongho asks softly, sitting closer to her on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah... okay,” she sniffs, “I feel bad keeping this from you guys the past few days, so... this is probably long overdue.”

Mingi shakes his head, shifting on the fluffy vanity stool he’s been sitting on all night. “You don’t owe us an explanation, Julie, and we’d never force you to tell us something you’re not ready to talk about. We’re here whenever you are.”

“No, I want to tell you. It’d probably be better that I get this off my chest,” she says with a dry chuckle. “It started when he was driving me back here, and he made a comment about how I seemed to be getting close to a lot of the guys on Kingdom...”

“I didn’t take you for the jealous type,” Juliet remarks airily, not thinking much of the situation as she continues to look out the window. They’ve always had a playful relationship, even before they started dating, so what makes this any different?

“Are you being serious right now? Do you think this is a joke? Are my feelings a joke to you?”

Her mouth falls open from shock at his agitated tone. “I never said that. You know I don’t think our relationship is a joke.”

Chan doesn’t spare her a glance. The logical part of Juliet tells her it’s because he’s driving and has to keep his eyes on the road, but that doesn’t make it hurt less. In fact, the steely look that has taken over his face sends chills down her spine.

His next words don’t help much. “Oh, really? Because it feels like you don’t care even when I’m trying to communicate with you about my insecurities.”

“Making a passive-aggressive comment insinuating I’m not being faithful is not communication, Chan.”

His jaw clenches. “I never said you were being unfaithful. Stop putting words in my mouth.”

“Well, then I don’t know what to tell you,” Juliet snaps, “it’s not my fault I happen to be the only girl on a show with five other boy groups. Is it because you don’t trust me?”

“Excuse me for not being the happiest about my girlfriend interacting so much with other male idols her age.”

The fact that her question was left unanswered doesn’t go unnoticed, and it makes a deeper pit form in her stomach. Despite her rising frustration, she can’t help but ask herself if she really has been too friendly with the others to make Chan doubt her feelings for him. “I live with eight men and you’ve never had a problem with that, so why are others idols any different? Or is this about that article about Felix and I? I thought I made it clear we’re only friends.”

Her heart shatters when he doesn’t respond. It feels like he’s stopped trying to talk to her.

And honestly, it hurts more to know he thinks of her this poorly. Sure, she has a lot of male idol friends, and she’s been getting close to more of them through the show, but not once has she ever thought of leaving Chan for any one of them.

With this being their fifth month together as a couple, and another year before that spent as friends, she thought he’d know better than to question her love for those she cares about.

But maybe she was wrong.

The car comes to a steady halt, and when she looks out the window she realises they’ve arrived outside her dorms’ building. “We’re here,” Chan says flatly, still refusing to meet her eyes.

That, paired with the hurt she’s feeling, is the last straw.

Wordlessly, Juliet unbuckles her seatbelt before sliding on her mask and grabbing her bag from the backseat. Her emotions bubble up in the form of her last words as she leaves the car, words she will soon come to regret.

“If you’re going to be like this with whoever I come into contact with, then maybe you’d be better off single,” she says coldly, harshly slamming the car door shut before walking away without looking back.

It’s only when she hears him drive away that she lets the tears fall.

Jongho and Mingi exchange another look after Juliet’s recount, though she doesn’t notice as she’s currently gazing at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

“Did you try talking to him after that?”

Her lack of reaction tells Jongho all they need to know.

“You have to talk to him,” Mingi says softly, reaching out to brush messy strands of hair away from her face. “You both said things you didn’t actually mean to each other, you have to address it to move forward.”

“I know,” Juliet whispers, “but that’s the thing—what if he thinks I meant it, when I said he’d be better off single? Why else would he not talk to me after that night?”

“You can’t make assumptions like that,” Jongho reminds her in the same gentle tone Mingi used. “That’s why the two of you need to communicate so you both know you didn’t mean what you said.”

“But what if I call him and the first thing he says is something like, ‘You were right, I like being single better’? What if this really is the end?”

There are endless what if’s in her head, and none of them lead to a positive outcome. She wishes she could uproot every single one of them.

“You won’t know if you don’t talk to him. It will be a tough conversation to have, and I can’t promise you now that the outcome will be good, but not addressing your fight at all won’t solve it. In fact, it will probably lessen any chances of reconciliation even more.”

Juliet knows Jongho’s right, when is he not? But she hates it—the fact that sooner or later she must go through the inevitable, and perhaps painful, conversation; that in this case especially, nothing good comes easily. And the worst part? The ‘good’ isn’t even guaranteed.

“I’m such an idiot,” she whispers hoarsely. She thinks of how irritated Chan looked in the car, and the knowledge that she was the one who caused that pain causes the tears she tried to hold back to leak down the sides of her cheeks. “Why couldn’t I have just kept my mouth shut?”

“You’re not an idiot, Julie,” Mingi says, grabbing a tissue from her nightstand to wipe away the tears. “Both of you were hurt and under a lot of stress from your schedules, and while that doesn’t excuse what you said to each other, it was a mistake, and they happen in every relationship. Do you remember the huge fight you had with Jongho?”

This makes her smile a little as she glances at Jongho, who is looking at her with an equally sheepish smile. “Yeah, of course I remember,” she says, “I really thought I’d end up not speaking to you for days, but I’m glad that didn’t happen.”

Mingi nods. “Exactly. Both of you said things you didn’t really mean, but you took the time to talk it out and to understand where the other came from. What strengthens a relationship is learning from mistakes through proper communication and action.”

“You’re right.” But there’s another question that’s still weighing on Juliet’s heart heavily. “Did I really look too... friendly with the others?”

It takes Jongho a few seconds to come up with a response. “No,” he says carefully, “but I don’t think it’s fair to him if we answer it either because everyone has different interpretations of it, you know?”

“Yeah... that makes sense...” A heavy sigh, followed by a dry huff of laughter. “I really have to talk to him soon, huh?”

Both of them offer encouraging smiles. “I’m sure it will be okay,” Mingi says as Juliet shifts to lie down on her bed, “neither of you are the type to give up on something easily, I doubt it will be any different in this case.”

“I hope so... but,” Juliet’s lower lip wobbles, “what if we really b—”

Jongho shakes his head. “Don’t think about that for now. I know it’s hard not to, but thinking about something that hasn’t happened yet will only put you in more pain. Get some sleep, okay? Tomorrow’s a new day, and things will work out. Even if they don’t, we’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Juliet takes a deep breath, willing her body to relax as she settles underneath the covers. “Okay. Thank you, really. You can tell the others about this, by the way. I don’t want them to worry.”

Jongho chuckles, reaching out to ruffle her hair. “We’ll always worry about you. That’s what comes with having eight brothers.”

“Fair enough. Good night, you guys should go to bed soon too.”

Mingi smiles. “We will. Rest well, Julie.” He fumbles with the bear-shaped lamp for a bit to find the ‘off’ switch before the room plunges into darkness.

When Juliet hears the sound of the door shutting, her hand starts pawing around the bed to find her phone. Faint blue light casts over her face as she checks the screen.

[No new notifications]

It’s about an hour later when Hongjoong tiptoes into the dark room to check on Juliet.

Thinking Mingi and Jongho put her to sleep, he turns on the flashlight on his phone to the dimmest setting as he makes his way into the room, careful not to cause any noise that may wake her up.

“I’m awake.”

Hongjoong lets out a tiny yelp. “Don’t do that!” he whispers, hand clutching his pounding heart. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were asleep.”

A soft giggle emits from Juliet as she reaches to turn her small lamp on. “Sorry. I just started thinking about stuff, which I’m aware Jongho said not to, and... here we are.”

Her voice is slightly hoarse from all the crying, and she cringes at the sound of it. They’re supposed to practise for their final stage for Kingdom tomorrow, so she could definitely use a lozenge if she wants to sound decent enough.

“Well, maybe getting all those things out will help you sleep better,” Hongjoong suggests as he sits down on the edge of her bed. “If you want to, that is.”

He thinks she doesn’t when she stays quiet, laying on her back as she stares blankly up at the ceiling.

“I think I’m in love with Chan.”

Hongjoong looks at her with wide eyes. “W-What?”

“I think I’m in love with Chan,” Juliet repeats followed by a forlorn sigh. “It’s been on my mind for a while, but... I don’t know, I guess I wanted to process it all myself before saying anything to anyone.”

“Did you... tell him?”

Juliet scoffs, and Hongjoong can tell it’s meant to be directed at herself rather than his question. “I was going to, but then...”

Her voice trails off after that, not being able to bring herself to finish the sentence since the wound is still fresh. But he understands regardless.

Juliet’s next words are quiet, so much so that Hongjoong wouldn’t have been able to hear if he wasn’t so focused on the suffocating silence.

“I miss him. A lot. Like, actually a lot.” She doesn’t even know that she’s crying until she feels Hongjoong’s warm hand on her cheek, his thumb gently brushing away the droplets from her skin.

“I know, I know,” he soothes. “I’m sorry for not noticing something was wrong sooner too, Minyoungie.”

Shaking her head against the pillow, Juliet runs her fingers across her waterline to swipe away the stray tears. “No, don’t apologise. If anything, I’m sorry for keeping this from you guys... I didn’t want to put more on your plate with everything we have going on right now.”

Hongjoong chuckles softly, though he doesn’t miss the way his heart twinges. “Do we need to have another conversation about this habit of yours?” he teases. “We’re a team. We’re here to help each other no matter the situation. But back to Chan, do you want to tell him?”

“Of course... but I don’t know when. Definitely after we talk about the fight, though.” Juliet pauses before adding, “I think I’ll call him in the next few days unless he calls me first... like Jongho and Mingi said, we can’t drag this on forever.”

“That’s good. Everything will be alright. Put a little more faith in him and more importantly—yourself, yeah? You got this.”

Juliet can’t help but snort. “Might have a bit of trouble with the latter.”

“But you’re working on it.”

“But I’m working on it.”

A smile reappears on Hongjoong’s face when she yawns. “Time to rest, Sleeping Beauty. Didn’t you say you wanna borrow my studio tomorrow after practice to cover a song?”

“It’s just for fun, though! I can afford to sound like an troll since it won’t be released officially.”

“Okay, Princess Fiona. Whatever you say,” he says fondly, watching the way her eyelids droop as she (unsuccessfully) fights to stay awake to continue the conversation.

“I can’t be Princess Fiona,” Juliet mumbles, drifting in and out of sleep. “That would... mean Chan’s Shrek, and he’s nowhere near Shrek’s level. He freaking wishes.”

Hongjoong thinks he almost burst a blood vessel from having to suppress his laughter. “You’re starting to say weird things,” he manages to get out. “Go to sleep, hm? Before you say something I don’t wanna hear.”

“Mm, that’s a good idea,” Juliet slurs, stumbling over her words as she loses consciousness. “Stay?”

Hongjoong’s fingers fold over her smaller hand. “Already planning on it.”

a/n: i made the ending more ✨fun✨ because i was in too much pain writing the rest oops 😞 i hope this was worth the wait though :(((( anyways besties pls don’t hate me 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

lemme know what you think bc i always love hearing from you guys 🥺💕 (especially with this one hehe 👀)

[leejungchans]

— chaos.

juliet’s masterlist

word count: 2.2k

warning(s): none!!

note: words in bold are spoken in english

set in early march, 2021

summary: juliet meeting all of seventeen for the first time after making it official with dino. this chapter is called chaos for good reason.

a/n: everyone pls admire the gif they’re so cute :’) also HOW DID THIS GET TO 2K WORDS LMAO NOT @ ME ALWAYS GOING OVERBOARD WHEN WRITING FLUFF EVEN THOUGH I’M NOT THAT GOOD AT WRITING IT 🤡🤡🤡 anyways i must say i’m pretty excited for you guys to read this one so please feel free to leave feedback and chat with me :’) 💕

Examining her reflection in the mirror of the elevator, Juliet glares at a chunk of hair that’s fallen out of her half-up, half-down ponytail and tucks it behind her ear with a sigh.

Her manager looks on her with amusement. “Julie, are you nervous?”

“Unnie, don’t tease me!” Juliet whines, leaning against the wall with crossed arms. “I just don’t want to make a wrong impression on anyone.”

“You won’t, don’t worry,” the older woman says. “Besides, haven’t you met the other members before?”

“Not all of them,” Juliet clarifies before they hear a ding! and the elevator doors open, leading to the designated floor. “Even when they were all in the same room, some of them were busy with other stuff, so I didn’t get to interact with those members.”

Her manager nods in understanding as they navigate the halls in search of the practice room the receptionist instructed them to go to.

A part of Juliet feels like she shouldn’t be so nervous. This isn’t her first time in Pledis Entertainment’s building, as this is already her last practice with Chan for their collaboration on Dino’s Danceology before filming for it takes place two days from now.

However, what’s different about this one is that it is preceded by SEVENTEEN’s practice for their upcoming Japanese comeback, meaning that all thirteen members will likely be there when she arrives, which is also why the room is different from the one she and Chan practiced in prior to today.

Oh, and this is the first time she’s meeting them in a private setting (and as Chan’s girlfriend). Totally not stressful and nerve-inducing!

“It has to be that one,” Juliet’s manager points to a door at the end of the hall, light filtering from the glass panel in its centre. The lights in the corridor are partly switched off due to the late hour, making that door stand out in particular.

Stopping in front of it, the two peer in through the panel, indeed finding the SEVENTEEN members practising for a song neither can hear thanks to the soundproofed room. With nothing to do, Juliet instinctively starts taking note of the choreography while admiring its intricacy.

The boys and her manager always joke that you can’t never take the dance out of her no matter how hard you try. She supposes that by now, dance is in her blood.

It doesn’t take long for one of SEVENTEEN’s managers to notice the two of them waiting outside, and he slowly crosses the room in order not to create too much movement which may interrupt the boys.

Juliet and her manager bow and quietly greet him when he opens the door, the man doing the same in return. “Sorry, am I interrupting?” Juliet whispers, “we can wait out here for a bit more.”

“No, it’s okay. The boys said to let you in whenever you get here. Their practice ended, but they’re just going through it again to pass time,” he explains kindly in an equally hushed tone, stepping aside to invite them in.

Some of the SEVENTEEN members notice the two new figures through the mirror as the latter silently greet the other managers present, and instantly Seungkwan’s voice can be heard reverberating around the room.

“Aw, the ending fairy’s here!” he exclaims loudly, referring to when Juliet was the ending fairy for ATEEZ’s comeback performance earlier today. Beside her, her manager stifles a laugh, knowing how bashful Juliet still feels about it. She had finished the performance with a powerful, intense gaze, though her expression quickly morphed into a sweet smile as she sent the camera finger hearts instead.

This draws the attention of others, prompting a loud chorus of hello’s and teasing remarks directed at Chan. In midst of all the commotion, someone turns off the music as Seungkwan runs up to Juliet.

“He was watching your stage from today nonstop before practice and kept replaying your ending fairy moment!” he exposes, pointing towards their maknae as the other members chortle in the background. “I think he alone contributed to at least 100,000 views!”

“Yah! Hyung!”

Juliet laughs, “Really? I’ll make sure to watch your stage just as many times when you guys have your comeback.”

“It has to be the group stage, though!” Seungkwan complains, “you can’t be biased and only watch Chan’s fancam!”

“What about I only watch yours and give it 100,000 views?”

“That’s... even better,” he admits with a very satisfied smile, though it quickly provokes protests from the others.

“That’s not fair! How come she’s offering to watch yours but not mine?” Seokmin whines, but only after giving Juliet a bright grin.

“Because I’m her favourite SEVENTEEN member, obviously!”

She pulls down her mask to smile back at the other main vocalist as Jun yells from across the room, “Her boyfriend is literally in our group, but keep telling yourself that!”

“For once, I agree with Jun-hyung,” Chan says as he approaches Juliet and Seungkwan. “I’m obviously her favourite. Right, baby?”

Seungkwan lets out a loud gagging noise at the pet name, causing heat to rush to her cheeks. Juliet now feels glad that she didn’t put all of her hair up so it would still cover her ears, as she’s certain that her ears are already starting to turn pink.

“I actually want to know who’s your favourite, though!” Seungcheol calls out before warning cheekily, “Choose wisely.”

Seokmin nods and supplies, “Aside from Chan.”

“Bold of you to assume he’s even my favourite in the first place.”

Juliet’s comment earns exactly one scandalised gasp and twelve delighted cheers at their maknae’s expense.

“Wow, you’re seriously the best,” Soonyoung says, coming up to high-five her. “By the way, you and your members did great today, really!”

She smiles gratefully, flattered to receive such a compliment from the performance team leader. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to tell them that!” With everything they’ve got on their plate lately, Juliet knows that the nine of them need all the motivation and encouragement they can get.

Then she notices Chan’s (very) evident pout. “I’m joking! I’m joking! You’re my favourite, I promise!” she says, to which he responds by taking her hand and squeezing lightly, ignoring the gagging and kissy noises the BooSeokSoon trio are making.

“But to answer the question, my favourites ranking is always open to changes. Do what you will with this information,” she teases.

“Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?”

She can’t help but giggle at Vernon’s instant offer. “Ooh, big brain energy right there,” she says, giving the rapper a thumbs-up, “everyone else can go home. Vernon-ssi just won.”

“Speaking of going home,” Chan pipes up, pointedly looking at his members, “you all need to get out so we can practise for Danceology.”

Seungkwan latches onto Juliet’s arm and tugs her away from Chan. “No! Why are you keeping Julie from us?” Though some of the others voice their support in favour of Seungkwan, they’re still hurriedly packing their bags, eager to leave so they can get some rest back at their dorms.

“How can you be heartless, kicking out your hyungs like this?” Mingyu asks, feigning hurt as he clutches his heart dramatically.

Jeonghan snorts. “As if you’re actually going to be practising. This is probably just an excuse for you to see her.” Juliet chokes on air at his insinuation and glances at her manager, who only wriggles her eyebrows back at her.

Mortified, the girl turns back to Jeonghan, who looks down at her with a shit-eating grin. “By the way, you’re lucky you didn’t hear the song or you’ll be fined 300 million won if you leak it,” he jokes.

“You’re right, but I can leak part of the choreography,” she fires back with a smirk. Of course, she’s merely bluffing, but no way she’s backing down from the infamous Yoon Jeonghan.

Soonyoung, having overheard the exchange, slings his bag over his shoulder before joining them once again. “Oh, you saw a bit of it? What do you think?”

Juliet smiles sheepishly. “I really like it, but I mean, your choreographies are always amazing. I only watched you guys for a few minutes before we were let in though, so I only remember this part...”

Her voice trails off as she moves away from the boys around her so she can see herself better in the mirror. Suddenly aware of the many pairs of eyes on her, a wave of embarrassment threatens to crash over Juliet as she realises that she’s about to dance to their choreography in front of the masters themselves. In a way, it makes her feel slightly stupid.

It also feels weird to dance without music, but those feelings melt away the moment she actually starts recalling the parts she saw. When she finishes, she finds everyone gawking at her. “Uh... I was completely off, wasn’t I?”

“Completely off?” Seungcheol repeats in disbelief. “You got the whole first chorus right just from watching us through the door!”

Jeonghan holds out his palm as though asking for money. “I think we should make you pay that fine. That was too spot on.”

“Why else do you think people call her the best fourth gen dancer?” Chan boasts on her behalf, beaming proudly.

Seungkwan leans closer to her to examine something before commenting, “Aw, your ears are as red as Jeonghannie-hyung’s hair. Are you getting shy?”

Juliet springs away from him as she brings her hands up to cover her ears, leaving the SEVENTEEN members to internally fawn over her cuteness.

Chan steps in before they can fluster her further. “Okay, you guys really have to go home,” he protests, “we’re filming Danceology two days from now!”

It takes another few minutes for everyone else (more specifically, Jeonghan and BooSeokSoon) to relent, and the twelve members gather their bags and gradually head out of the room, followed by their managers, save for Chan’s. Jeonghan pats Juliet and Chan on the shoulder before he leaves. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kiddos.”

“Probably not the best advice to give, considering there’s not much you wouldn’t do,” Juliet mutters.

He cackles. “You’re already my new favourite person, I can tell you that.”

“Is that an attempt to move up my favourites ranking?”

“Is it working?”

Juliet shrugs. “It can’t work if you’re already up there.”

“Just so you know, I was serious about getting you food, in case you feel like switching up that ranking,” Vernon remarks casually as he walks past them to get to the door.

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

With the room virtually empty, Juliet’s manager approaches her. “I’ll be at the staff’s lounge so you two can practise,” the older woman tells her, and Juliet nods, knowing that her manager needs as much rest as she can get, especially due to the hectic schedule ATEEZ currently has that will persist for the next few months.

Truth be told, Juliet feels terrible that her manager has to accompany her for schedules even at this time, this being the only time she has for Danceology as her afternoon and early evening was dedicated to comeback and Kingdom practice. Despite how many times her manager reassures her that it’s her job to do so, it doesn’t make Juliet feel any better.

Truly, their staff are the backbone of the team. Juliet knows that she could never be able to keep up with half of what their managers are responsible for, and she tells herself that the only way to not let their efforts be in vain is to do her best at every schedule.

“Call me if you need anything or when it’s time to leave. Be good, okay?”

Juliet snorts. “I’m always good, unnie. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Her manager merely gives her a knowing lift of her eyebrow before leaving the room with Chan’s manager.

She turns to her boyfriend to find him already grinning charmingly at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason,” he says innocently, “just happy we’re finally alone.”

“Yeah, so we can practise.”

“Right, practise.”

“Lee Chan, are you trying to suggest otherwise?” she challenges.

“C’mon, lie down with me for a minute! I need a break from the practising I just did with the hyungs!”

Unable to resist Chan’s suggestion partly due to his pout and partly due to her own physical exhaustion, Juliet lets him pull her down the ground so they can lay there beside each other.

“On the subject of your members, they’re really fun to be around.”

“See? I told you you had nothing to worry about. They’ve always liked you.”

She hums in response before they fall into a comfortable silence, and it’s when her eyelids start to droop despite being under the bright lights of the studio that she realises she might actually doze off here on the cold wood floor.

“Channie?”

“Hm?”

“I think we should get up before I fall asleep.”

He laughs. “It’s okay, baby. I can wake you up after a bit.”

“That’s easier said than done, ask any of my members and they’ll tell you just how hard it is to wake me up.”

“It’s that bad?”

With a groan, Juliet forced herself to sit up. “How about this—we start now so we can finish sooner, and whatever time we have left before we have to return the room we can nap. Deal?”

“Deal.”

— bonus!!

(One and a half hours later, with no sign of both Chan and Juliet, the two managers return to the practice room to check up on them only to find it completely dark.

Confused, Chan’s manager flips a switch to turn on the light situated above the door, the soft glow just enough for them to make out the two idols cuddled together, sound asleep on the long couch.)

a/n: juliet’s duality in her ending fairy moment 😔😔✨ what a heartbreaker </3 alternatively this chapter is also called “seventeen fighting for the title of juliet’s favourite member” ✨ take a shot every time you see the word “practice” or any variation of it in this update (don’t do it you’ll get alcohol poisoning 🤡🤡) also juliet 🤝 seventeen ganging up to poke fun at chan we love to see it ✨

i wasn’t sure when to post this as i have a few more updates ready but then i realised it’s mingyu’s birthday so HAPPY MINGYU DAY 🥺💕💕

[leejungchans]

— dance with me?

word count: 1.7k

pairing: dino (svt) x ateez oc (juliet)

warning(s): none!!

genre: an overwhelming amount of fluff bc i love lee chan

set on february 11, 2021

summary: during a late-night date on dino’s birthday, he asks juliet a special question.

juliet’s masterlist

minnie 🐭❤️ [22:16] i’m heading down now!! (◕‿◕) don’t drive off without me please ur so sexc 😩😩

From where he is, parked a street down from the building where ATEEZ’s dorm is in, Chan shakes his head fondly, looking out the window from the driver’s seat for any sign of his girlfriend.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, Juliet emerges from the building’s entrance, glancing down the mostly empty street before spotting the familiar car.

Under the light of the street lamps, he can see that she’s wearing a huge puffer jacket with a scarf wrapped around her neck, purple hair stuffed under her beanie to avoid catching the attention of prying eyes. With all the layers she has on, she reminds him of a waddling penguin as she speed-walks towards the car.

Cute.

Chan unlocks the door as Juliet approaches, her eyes smiling while she settles into the passenger’s seat before leaning over the console to hug him. “Happy birthday, Channie,” she beams, taking off her mask to nuzzle the bottom half of her face into the thick material of her scarf.

“You already said that,” Chan teases, also smiling as he watches her fumble with the seatbelt for a bit.

“That was from almost twelve hours ago at 12 am! I think it’s illegal if I didn’t wish you a happy birthday again,” Juliet protests. “Sorry for being late, by the way. Have you been waiting long?”

“It’s only a few minutes, don’t sweat it.”

“Okay, but there’s actually a good reason! I was about to leave the building when Mingi-oppa called me because I left your present on the table, and I had to go back up to grab it! So you have him to thank that you have a birthday present.”

Juliet takes out a small gift bag, its handles tied together with ribbon so he can’t look into it, and hands it to him with a sweet grin. “Don’t open it now, though,” she warns half-jokingly.

“What? Why?” Chan whines. “I can’t even open my own present on my birthday?”

“No, because if you open it now then I’ll have to explain the meaning behind your gift, and if I do that I might actually cry. There’s a card inside explaining it.”

“What if I want to hear it from you?”

“Then you can call me when you get home,” she responds cheekily.

Chan relents. “Fine, you win. But you didn’t have to get me anything, I hope you know that,” he adds the last part seriously.

Juliet smiles reassuringly. “I know, but I wanted to. I hope you’ll like it, though.”

“I know I will.” It’s at that moment when he finally gets a good look at her face, the light from the street lamps hitting it just enough for him to note the dark circles under her eyes. “You look tired, baby. Don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful no matter what, but is everything okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” As though on cue, Juliet brings a hand up to cover her mouth as she yawns. “Just a little tired from comeback preparations and practising for Kingdom. I’ll be fine, though, don’t worry.”

“I’ll always worry about you,” Chan admits. “You shouldn’t have come so you can rest.”

Juliet frowns. “No, I wanted to see you. Plus, it’s your birthday.”

“Okay, but you have to promise that you’ll take care of yourself.”

“I always do!” A pause. “Okay, sometimes I don’t, but I’ll try,” she promises genuinely.

Chan smiles. “Good. Let’s go, then. Seatbelt on?”

“Mhm!”

“Um, where exactly are you taking me?” Juliet asks suspiciously, noting that they’re currently driving up a hill away from central Seoul.

“Patience, Minnie. You’ll find out soon,” Chan says with a mischievous smirk. “We’re almost there.”

She feigns an offended gasp. “I am always patient! I’m just asking because I’m too pretty to meet my end now.”

“If something happens, I’ll protect you.”

“Nice try, but don’t think I haven’t watched that episode of GOING SEVENTEEN with you guys in the haunted house,” Juliet teases with a raised brow. “If anything, we probably need to call Wonwoo-ssi or Minghao-ssi.”

Chan groans. “Can we not talk about my members when we’re on a date?”

This only earns a laugh from Juliet. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

“You’re going to tease me even on my birthday?”

“It’s how I show affection!” she defends while the car comes to a stop at the side of a dimly lit road. “Are we here?”

Upon his nod, she unbuckles her seatbelt to hop out the car, snow crunching under her boots. Immediately, harsh winds whip at her face and she shivers, the temperature even lower due to the higher elevation.

She hears a lighthearted tsk from behind her before feeling her jacket being draped over her shoulders. “You left it in the backseat, silly,” Chan says softly while he helps her into it, referring to when she took it off during the car ride. “You’re going to catch a cold.”

“No, I won’t. I have you to remind me,” Juliet says cheekily, earning herself a light flick on the forehead. She follows Chan to a clearing a few paces away from where they parked and immediately realises why he took her here.

Seoul, with its sparkling lights, is captivating at night when you’re in the heart of the city, but perhaps even more so when you’re looking at it from afar. She can’t help but admire the stark contrast between the tranquil hillside they’re at that compared to the vibrant city centre it overlooks.

“I sometimes come here with the members when we want to be away from... the loudness of it all,” Chan explains quietly as they move closer to the railing. “To think. Or just to take our mind off certain things.”

Juliet leans closer to his side to link their arms, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Don’t come to places like here often?”

She snorts. “I don’t just let anyone drive me to a dark hill in the middle of the night.”

Chan laughs, gently resting his head on hers. “You have a point. Does this mean I’m the only person allowed to take you here?”

“I’d like that. I also have a horrible sense of direction, so I don’t think I can remember the way here even if I tried.” Despite her quip, something in Juliet feels fuzzy and warm at the thought of this place being one only they know of.

It brings a sense of giddiness, the same one she felt when she was much, much younger; when she and her friends first decided on a secret hideout at their school back home in Sydney. Only this time, there’s more to it than just childhood innocence.

Juliet doesn’t know much about love. She’s had crushes here and there throughout her life, but none of them ever developed into something further. Of course, until she met Chan.

She doesn’t know much about love. But this feels like it.

And that’s more than enough for her.

His voice cuts through her thoughts. “I actually have something to ask you.”

At her hum, he continues.

“I was wondering if you’d want to be on Danceology. You know, like for a collaboration. We can choreograph and dance it together... anything you want, really.”

Juliet looks up at the boy with wide eyes, not knowing if she heard him correctly. “You’re sure?”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Or you don’t have to decide now, I know you’re really busy these days. No pressure at all.”

“No, no,” she clarifies. “I meant if you’re sure you want to do one with me?”

The look in his eyes is so tender that she feels like crying. “I wouldn’t want anyone else.”

Something tells her he’s not only referring to Danceology.

Juliet leans her forehead on Chan’s shoulder to hide her face from him. “You’re going to make me cry on your own birthday,” she mutters.

“Is that a yes?”

She nods against him while blinking away the hot tears prickling at her eyes, feeling his lips press against her temple.

“That’s the best present you could’ve given me.”

“Yah, you can’t say that!” Juliet says, somehow finding it in her to crack a joke. What can she say? Humour is one of her many coping mechanisms. “You’re only supposed to say that if I didn’t give you anything! What does that make the gift I got you?”

“Best of the best?” At her laugh, Chan presses again, “am I still not allowed to open it?”

“No, you’re not.”

[00:05—Outside ATEEZ’s dorm]

“Okay, fine, you can open it.”

“What made you change your mind?” Chan grins, already reaching for the small bag in the backseat.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Juliet admits, smiling as she uses the dimmest setting of her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the dark interior, the overhead light being too risky to turn on at this hour lest they want to draw unwanted attention to themselves. “I guess I want to see your reaction.”

She stares quietly as he undos the ribbon tying the handles together before looking into the bag and taking out a small box. Despite her shyness and the sudden urge to jump out of the car and run back up to the dorm, Juliet continues to hold up her phone as he takes out the silver band within it.

It’s simple, minimalist, inconspicuous enough to wear during the day but at the same time uniquely his due to the custom engraving on the outside of the band. A snowflake.

She bites the inside of her cheek from nervousness as Chan silently reads the small card that came along in the bag, subconsciously tracing over her neat handwriting with his finger.

“Like a snowflake, I fell for you hahahaha (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) You asked me to be yours during the first snow of the year. I hope that is only the start of many more years to come. Happy Birthday, always be happy and healthy ❤️ And don’t forget to take care of yourself!! (♡`Д´) If you forget I’ll come over and nag you, but maybe you’d like that more than not ㅋㅋㅋ — 🐭❤️”

Chan’s eyes are glossy when he finally meets her curious and worried gaze, trying to gauge his reaction. He beams brightly.

“Told you I’d like it.”

find their collaboration here!! 😼

a/n: blessing you guys with this gif bc look at him go!! ;-; stream dino’s dancelogy to be sexcie 😼 pls don’t let juno flop </3 also i thought it’d be too mean if i didn’t tell you what the present was bc i definitely considered not saying anything about it 👀👀 anyways let me know what you think about this chapter 🥺 personally i am <///3 bc bwhehwhs i want what they have but also i’m not very good at writing fluff whjehdhw i cringe at myself sm when writing it 🤡

thank you so much for reading 💕 please do consider leaving feedback whether it’s a reblog, a reply or an ask, it would mean the absolute world to me as feedback really motivates and supports creators 🥺 and feel free to chat with me about juliet or anything else through my asks!! as always, take care and have a good day!!

[leejungchans]

— behind the scenes.

juliet’s masterlist | 👀 ask juliet anything!!

summary: juliet’s debut on seventeen’s youtube channel (aka an episode of inside seventeen of the making process of dino and juliet’s collaboration for dino’s danceology!!)

first of all let’s all leave f’s in the chat bc the two of them had to do their utmost best not to give away that they were already dating when this was filmed 💀💀💀

keep in mind that only their managers knew, so most of the staff (eg. hair stylists, makeup artists, cameramen, editors) did not know

so yEp!! just two beStiEs haHa nothing to see here!!! 🤪✌️

the video starts off with clips of them going over the choreography in the practice room at pledis

then it cuts to a clip of the two of them sitting on the floor where chan introduced juliet to the viewers and talked about why he chose her for this collaboration other than wanting an excuse to film something with his girlfriend oops

it was filmed in private after one of their practice sessions and it took forever for them just to get a 2-minute introduction clip 💀💀

because stuff like this happened:

“hi carats! today i have a special guest with—”

“wait—are we sitting a little too close for ‘just friends’?”

“are we????”

“idk but tbh any distance will be ‘too close’ to some people”

“should we sit on opposite sides of the room instead then?”

“yeah let’s do that”

not them coming for those kinds of netizens pLS 😭😭

“hi carats! today i have a special guest with me!”

“...”

“baby you’re supposed to introduce yourself”

“and you’re probably not supposed to call me ‘baby’ on camera”

“fuck did i say that????”

“yeah :3 as cute as that was we have to go again”

protect them 😔😔

“so i invited ateez’s juliet to be in this video because i really like her perfor—you’re giving me heart eyes we have to start over...”

“no i wasn’t!!!”

“yes you were!!!!”

“how else should i be looking at you then 😭😭😭”

there was also way too much giggling so they had to keep starting over 🥺🥺

they spent 10 minutes just deleting all the unusable footage from the camera before handing it back to pledis’ editing team 💀💀

“channie we have to delete that one too”

“why??? what’s wrong with it????”

“you called me ‘baby’ in that one”

“(￣︿￣) will you ever let me live that down”

“...no (´ ω `♡)”

okay so maybe they sent all those unusable clips to their phones first before they deleted them bc they’re cute 😔 (a/n: don’t ask me how i’m an idiot with technology ahdjhwjd 💀)

cut to the actual day of filming!!

juliet was pretty nervous bc most of the staff there were from pledis

but they were really nice and encouraging!!! 🥺

they had to shoot some solo behind-the-scenes interviews and it was a mess bc whenever one of them was filming the other would stand behind the cameraman trying to make them laugh 💀💀

“i was very honoured when dino-sunbaenim invited me to do this collaboration, because i’ve looked up to seventeen-sunbaenim since i was a trainee, so i’m really thankful for this opportunity—why are you laughing????? 😭😭”

he was laughing bc she had to call him sunbaenim lmfaoooo 💀

“i think we make good partners bc when we’re not completely satisfied with a part of the performance, we do it again instead of dwelling on it—why are YOU laughing?????? 😭😭😭😭😭😭”

haha “partners” 👀

jokes aside they still made sure to praise each other in front of the cameras when monitoring the footage 🥺🥺🥺

“ohHhH~ your facial expressions are good”

“well i have to keep with sunbaenim soooo...”

“eyyy what do you mean ‘keep up’? you’re already really good”

[mark lee’s voice] aw dude they’re flirting

when they finished the last take they high-fived each other bc they’re just a couple of bros 🤪

okay but he brought her water when she was still catching her breath so :((((((

“you okay? 🥺”

“yeah i’m okay 🥺”

don’t worry when the crew left they got to hug and say all the coupley-things they wanted to say but couldn’t (´• ω •`) ♡

in conclusion it was a very wholesome episode of inside seventeen

caratinys are thriving ✨

skin? cleared. rice? cooked. crops? watered. hotel? trivago.

everyone was living for their friendship (👀) and also for the soft moments at the end :’)))

a/n: just because i felt like we needed more dino/juliet content 😔💕 also literally after i finished writing this he put out a new danceology so in conclusion he knows what the people want ✨ everyone say thank you lee chan 🙏 please leave feedback and chat with me!! i hope you’re doing well and have a nice day ❤️

[leejungchans]

exterminator.

juliet’s masterlist

note: (mediocre 🤡) gif by me

warning(s): mentions of a spider under the cut

set in december 2018

summary: in which the boys need some help from juliet after noticing an unexpected (and unwelcome) visitor.

“EW! WHAT IS THAT?”

“Keep it down!” Seonghwa whisper-yells to Wooyoung, “Minyoungie is napping on the couch.”

The younger boy rolls his eyes, inching away from the kitchen counter. “Well, sorry!” he whispers back, “but I couldn’t help myself!”

“Why?” San says, joining the duo, “what’s going on—oh my God! Gross!”

“San! What did I just say!”

He shoots an apologetic look to Seonghwa before peeking out into the living room. Despite the ruckus, Juliet is still sleeping soundly on the couch, body curled up into a ball under the blanket that the eldest member draped over her a while ago. The three boys breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, but what do we do about that thing? Hyung, you get rid of it!”

Seonghwa turns back to Wooyoung with a nervous glance. “Can’t we wait for Yunho to get back, or something?”

“Why are we waiting for Yunho?” Yeosang asks as he strides into the kitchen, only for his expression to morph into one of bewilderment when the others start waving frantically to shoo him away. “What? I can’t even get a drink from our own kitchen?”

It’s only when he follows the direction in which San’s finger is pointing at that he notices the offending party—a decently-sized spider scuttling around on the kitchen counter—and leaps back to duck behind the doorframe. Heck no.

Wooyoung and San shriek when the spider moves in their direction and instinctively hide behind Seonghwa, subsequently pushing the oldest member forward. “Please do something, hyung!” Wooyoung begs. “Or I’m packing my bags and moving out.”

This only earns him an exasperated roll of Seonghwa’s eyes, though he himself is struggling to move another inch closer to the counter. “You’re being dramatic.”

“No, he’s right,” Yeosang agrees, still peering out from behind the doorframe. “Either that thing goes, or we do.”

“What if we burn down the apartment?”

“We are not doing that, San!”

“Uh… why are we burning down the apartment?”

The four boys whip their heads in the direction of the new voice to find Juliet standing just a few paces behind Yeosang, still wrapped in the blanket while blinking the sleep away from her eyes.

“Julie, just stay back! Don’t come in!”

“Too late,” Yeosang mutters when the maknae walks right into the kitchen, following everyone’s line of sight until her eyes land on their… visitor.

“Oh.”

“Oh? Oh?” Wooyoung echoes, completely in disbelief at her neutral reaction. “That’s all you have to say? Julie, that thing’s huge!”

Juliet snorts before walking out, and the four boys are wondering if she’s left them for dead until she reappears with a piece of paper and a clear glass seconds later. They watch with bated breath as she approaches the counter, carefully sliding the paper underneath the spider before quickly trapping it under the glass.

Raising a brow at the trio, now backed up against the opposite side of the kitchen, Juliet pads back to the living room, passing by Yeosang who mutters something about never being able to use that particular glass again.

The four boys continue to gawk in silence as she opens one of the windows to extend one of her arms outside into the cold air, gently shaking the piece of paper until the spider falls onto the ledge.

San joins her, cringing when he sees the spider crawling on the exterior of the building. “Why didn’t you just kill it?”

“Oppa,” Juliet says disapprovingly, “spiders are good for the environment and ecosystem.”

Wooyoung collapses onto the floor dramatically, clutching at his heart as he whines, “But not good for my sanity!”

She laughs before reclaiming her original spot on the couch and shifting into a comfortable position. “Now that we got that out of the way, can someone wake up me when it’s time for dinner?”

Seonghwa volunteers, and after mumbling a “thank you”, Juliet shuts her eyes and pulls the blanket up to her cheeks, leaving the four boys to their own devices as she dozes off once again.

Just a few minutes later, Yunho comes home to find Juliet peacefully sleeping on the couch. His gaze then flickers to the window right by her head, catching sight of the piece of paper that had not been there previously taped onto it, and he recognises Yeosang’s handwriting immediately.

‘DO NOT OPEN WINDOW!!!!!!!!’

a/n: a lighthearted update for you guys 🥺💞 we love an unbothered legend ✨ also someone send help bc i still can’t access my drafts for someone reason 😞 t*mblr i am under your bed rn

[leejungchans]

the plan.

juliet’s masterlist

set in late may; the day after the events of matters of the heart

summary: juliet and dino make up thanks to some coordination between their members. unexpected confessions ensue.

a/n: gUYS DON’T WORRY i’m not gonna make them NOT make up 🤧🤧 i’d never do that to them and you guys pls </3 the fluff in this is astronomical and i’m so excited for you guys to read it bc haha you’ll see 👀 (also can we all take a moment to admire how good he looks in this gif??? i love this long(ish) blonde hair on him so much 🤧)

“What if he doesn’t come?”

“He will, Jongho. Don’t worry,” Wooyoung says, gentle but firm. “Have some faith in them.”

Seonghwa chews on his bottom lip worriedly. “What if it ends badly, though? If they break up... it’ll crush her.”

Hongjoong shakes his head. “Judging by how they’ve been reacting to their fight, breaking up is probably the last thing they want to do,” he says reasonably. “Wooyoung’s right, we need to trust them to work this out themselves.”

San sighs, leaning his head back against the mirror. “I really hope this works.”

“Me too, and it will,” Hongjoong says confidently, “besides, our Minyoungie is a strong person, we have to remember that she’ll get through it no matter the outcome, and we’ll be there every step of the way.”

Yeosang glances at the door of practice room where the boys are gathered, checking for any sign of their maknae. “Speaking of Julie, where is she anyway?”

“In my studio,” Hongjoong replies, “Yunho’s with her now to make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, but it’s unlikely she will considering she’s still practising for a song.”

Wooyoung’s phone lights up with a notification, and he swipes on the screen to read it. “He’s here,” he announces to the others. “I’ll go get him.”

The leader nods. “I’ll text Yunho to tell him to leave then.”

“Group meeting,” Hongjoong announces after gathering the boys in the living room early in the morning.

“What about Julie?” Jongho asks immediately. “She’s still in the shower.”

“Which is precisely why I’m having this meeting now, and we better make it quick before she comes out.”

Seonghwa and San exchange looks. “Uh... what’s going on?”

“I’ll tell them,” Wooyoung pipes up. “Remember how I texted Seungkwannie-hyung last night?”

“Yeah, go on,” Yeosang urges, already picking up on where this is going. “What did he say?”

“He said Chan feels really guilty about the fight and wants to apologise, but is too scared to call Julie in case she’s still mad and doesn’t want to talk to him still. Or ever.”

Mingi frowns, replaying the conversation he and Jongho had with Juliet the night before in his head. “Isn’t that... almost the same thing Julie is scared of?”

The other boys fall silent at this revelation before Jongho speaks up once again in a quiet voice. “So... they’re both being idiots.”

Hongjoong snorts. “Yeah, just a little bit, and since we now know they both want to make up, we should give them a tiny nudge in the right direction.”

“How?”

“Hongjoongie-hyung and I made a plan,” Wooyoung says with a twinkle in his eyes.

Just a few doors down from the practice room, Yunho watches quietly as Juliet sings into one of Hongjoong’s mics. He doesn’t know what the song is about, given that it’s entirely in English, but he can definitely tell it’s a sad one from the way she lets out rueful sighs in between takes.

Then, his phone chimes, and his fumbling catches her attention.

“Everything okay, oppa?” Juliet asks, pausing the backing track playing through the headphones before removing them.

Yunho looks up from his phone and smiles reassuringly. “Yeah, the others just texted asking if we want to grab dinner. Do you wanna go?” For a split second, he panics. What if she says yes, going against what they predicted?

“No, I’m not that hungry now, you guys go,” she says softly. He can tell she’s distracted, because under any other circumstances she‘d definitely be able to notice the way his shoulders sag from relief. “I want to sing for a bit more, anyways.”

“Okay,” Yunho says, patting her head gently, “we’ll get you something on the way back. Stay put, okay?”

Juliet smiles. “Yeah, okay. Thank you guys.” While she feels extremely guilty about being such a party pooper, she’s beyond grateful that the boys are being so understanding.

She waves to Yunho as he leaves Hongjoong’s studio, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. Shrugging it off, she turns back to the mic and restarts the track, using her other hand to begin audio recording on her phone.

“Hey, it’s all me in my head. I'm the one who burned us down, but it's not what I meant. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you. I don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you. I need to say, ‘Hey, it’s all me, just don't go’. Meet me in the afterglow.”

Juliet sighs as she pauses the track and her recording, practically ripping the headphones off her head and accidentally dropping them onto the table a little too aggressively. She winces and makes a mental apology to Hongjoong.

To say she’s frustrated with her delivery is an understatement. The emotions are there—a result of all the feelings that have been weighing on her for the past few days—but her voice doesn’t sound right. At least, it definitely isn’t as good as it normally is.

Juliet hums absentmindedly as she contemplates what tweaks to make. She had planned for this to be calming, something to take her mind off the stress of preparing for their final Kingdom performance, but it seems as though it’s only adding onto her dispiritedness. And of course, there’s an even more pressing issue on her mind the entire day—calling Chan.

She didn’t have the time to during the morning and afternoon from practice, and—okay, maybe it was also because she kept chickening out at the last second. But perhaps now, when she’s alone in the studio with at least an hour until the boys get back, is the right time to do it.

“That sounded pretty.”

The familiar voice, one she missed dearly over the past few days, makes Juliet swivel around in the chair at the speed of light to find Chan standing near the door, and she briefly wonders if the stress and exhaustion finally caught up to her and are making her see things.

Still, her feet seem to move of their own accord, and within seconds she crashes into his arms. Under other circumstances she would’ve shown some restraint and hesitance, but the bouquet of pink roses he’s holding tells her he’s likely here for positive reasons.

Her inkling is proven correct when Chan’s head drops into her shoulder as his arms wrap around her waist to pull her closer into his embrace. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs into the crook of her neck, “I’m so, so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” she whispers back, feeling hot tears prick at her eyes. For a few moments, they don’t say anything else, silently soaking in each other’s presence from not having spoken at all in the past few days.

Juliet sniffs when they finally pull back. “You didn’t have to buy me flowers, silly.” She’s surprised she’s not already bursting into tears at the sight of his shy smile and watery eyes, and is once again reminded of just how much she missed him.

“I wanted to. You’ve mentioned that they were your favourite, after all.”

“Thank you, they’re really pretty.”

She thinks he would’ve made a “you’re prettier” quip if it wasn’t for the slight tension in the room. Maybe another time.

So she settles for asking, “Did my members tell you I was here?”

Chan nods. “Wooyoung helped me get into the building through the staff-only entrance, and then he led me here.”

“Yeah... probably not the best idea to walk right through the main entrance with roses in case someone recognises you.”

He manages a light chuckle. “You’re probably right.” His words are followed by a long pause. “We have... quite a bit to talk about, don’t we?”

“I suppose we shouldn’t beat around the bush,” Juliet agrees, guiding him to sit next to her on the mini couch Hongjoong had at the back of his studio, their bodies angled towards each other so that their knees are barely grazing.

“I’ll go first,” Chan begins softly. “I’m sorry for what I said that day. I was stressed from comeback preparations, and that paired with the insecurity from reading the articles and forums about your friendship with the others led me to lash out at you. That doesn’t excuse what I said, and it definitely wasn’t fair to you, and I’m sorry.”

Despite Chan’s calm articulation, his trembling hands betray his nervousness. The sight of his knuckles turning pale from how tightly clasped his hands are sends a pang straight to Juliet’s heart, and she has to bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop from bursting into tears completely. Her hands find his as he continues to speak, starting gentle strokes on the back of his hands with her thumbs.

“I’m sorry for making you feel like I don’t trust you, and for implying that you were seeing someone else behind my back. I know that’s not the kind of person you are, and I want you to know that I trust you. A hundred percent. And I’m also sorry for not reaching out to you after that night. Truthfully, I was scared of how you’d respond, like if you’d break up with me if I was the first to call, which in hindsight is a pretty silly reasoning.”

He inhales sharply. “I’m sorry, for all of that—oh no, don’t cry,” he coos immediately upon noticing the unshed tears gathering in her eyes. His hands reach up to cup her cheeks, thumbs gently brushing along her waterlines just in time to catch the tears that escape when her eyes flutter. “Did I say something wrong?”

This garners a shaky huff of laughter from Juliet. “No, no, you didn’t,” she reassures with a weak smile, hands shuffling further up the sleeves of the purple hoodie she’s wearing until they’re fully engulfed by the fabric to dab at her damp eyes. “I’m sorry too, especially for the last thing I said when I got out of the car. I didn’t mean it, and I don’t think you’re better off single—not that you’re only a good person when you’re taken!” She wants to fling herself off a cliff. “You’re obviously wonderful as an individual—oh God, what am I even saying?”

Chan chuckles lightly at her mortified expression. And this time, it’s his turn to hold her hands as her nervousness becomes more apparent with every word that leaves her. “It’s okay, I get what you’re trying to say. Deep breaths, okay?”

Juliet does as he says, breathing in and out deeply to calm herself before continuing. “I was hurt at the thought that you didn’t trust me enough with the others, and that made me blow up on you, and that definitely wasn’t okay, and I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for not calling earlier, believe it or not, my reasoning was the exact same as yours… so I guess we were both being silly.”

Chan smiles. “Just a little. Forgive me?”

“Only if you forgive me as well.”

“Of course I do. Does this… mean we’re good now?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” Juliet giggles, and the relief causes her to blurt out without thinking, “Uh, I actually have one more thing to tell you.”

“Really? So do I.”

She gives him a quizzical look. “You go first, then.”

“No, you go. I just did, so it’s your turn.”

With the ball passed back to her, Juliet is very tempted to back-pedal on her decision to tell him. “But it’s embarrassing.”

“That’s just making me more curious! Tell me, please?”

It’s a trap, it’s a trap, her mind chants at the sight of his small pout, but the words still leave her before she can stop herself.

“It’s just… not seeing and speaking to you in these past few days made me realise that I miss you. A lot. And that…”

Chan stays quiet as she internally battles herself, patiently waiting for her to finish the sentence.

Well, here goes nothing.

“I love you.”

The way his body stiffens from the confession makes her panic. Was that too soon to say “I love you” for the first time? What even constitutes as “too soon”? And most importantly, why isn’t he saying anything?

The silence scares Juliet. He’s only been quiet for several seconds, but to her it feels like an eternity, and her voice drops to a whisper when she says, “Channie?”

It was all so fast. One moment she was still staring into his widened eyes, and the next she feels the press of his lips to hers. Juliet can’t deny that she’s never imagined this happening, but she certainly didn’t expect it to right now.

Not that she minds.

His hand caresses her cheek again, thumb brushing her jaw as he brings her closer, his movements still gentle as ever as though he’s handling porcelain.

Chan leans his forehead on hers after they part. “I love you too,” he says sweetly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Really unfair of you to beat me to it, though. I’ve been thinking of how to do this for weeks.”

“Do I need to make it up to you?” Juliet asks sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, and even more heat rises to her cheeks when his lips curl into a cheeky grin.

“If you insist, then who am I to stop you?”

“You’re unbelievable,” she laughs, but she leans in regardless to kiss him again. “Happy?”

“Very.” It’s then when Chan finally realises why her hoodie looks so familiar.

“You’re wearing it,” he says, clearly pleased as he pulls away to get a better look at her.

Suddenly unable to meet his eyes, Juliet admits shyly, “Yeah... like I said, I missed you. Besides, you said I could have it when I tried to return it the day you came over.”

“I believe I said you could borrow it for a little more, thief,” Chan teases affectionately. “But I’ll let it slide because you look better in it anyways.”

“You’re so gracious.”

“Anything for my baby,” he says, thoroughly relishing in how she’s turning bright red. “Have you eaten yet, my love?” At the shake of her head, he smiles. “Neither have I. Let’s go then.”

Juliet beams as they stand up and stretch their limbs. “Can we get sushi?”

“Sushi it is.” Chan watches fondly while she quickly tidies up Hongjoong’s workspace, pushing the microphone she was using back to its original place on the desk when she hears the quiet call of her name.

Her acknowledging hum turns into a tiny squeak, the sound muffled against his lips as he kisses her softly, her eyes fluttering shut as she reciprocates immediately.

“Just so you know,” Chan says with a grin when they separate, “I’m going to be doing that a lot starting from now.”

Juliet returns the smile as she interlaces her fingers with his, and she thinks that no words will ever be enough to express how happy and full of love she is. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

a/n: SURPRISE 🥺🥺🥺 you know i had to make this fluffy hehe 🤧 did you guys like the reference back to the lavender hoodie from delicacy? 😼😼 ahjshwsj it’s 6am and this is not proofread so i might edit some things when i wake up 🤡 good night (morning?) besties and do let me know what you think 🥺 i’m really happy with how this turned out so i hope you like it as much as i do 💞💞

the song she sang is afterglow by taylor swift btw!! <3

[leejungchans]

— snippets of juliet on the kpop daebak podcast (ii).

word count: 2.9k

warning(s): mentions of hate comments and self-deprecating thoughts (people were mean to juliet ☹️)

notes: split into two parts bc i didn’t wanna overwhelm anyone ahdjhwjs 💀

set in late november 2020

summary: more snippets of juliet on the kpop daebak podcast with eric nam.

part (i) here!!

juliet’s masterlist | jumbo ask game

ERIC: I don’t know if you’re tired of answering questions like these, but since it’s not super common in K-pop to have co-ed groups, let alone ones with such a...

JULIET: Like... an unbalanced ratio between male and female members?

ERIC: Yeah! So people must be super curious about how your dynamics work. Like, how did you join the group? Or if it’s difficult living with eight boys?

JULIET: Honestly, not really. They’ve all just been incredibly sweet to me since the first day we met, and we all respect one another’s boundaries well. I also get my own room at our dorm, so that makes it even easier to maintain privacy.

ERIC: What do you guys like doing when you have spare time?

JULIET: Not the mafia game.

ERIC: That’s oddly specific and very resolute. Why not?

JULIET: It’s kinda... [laughs] banned from our dorm?

ERIC: [laughs] Why? What happened?

JULIET: The thing is, all nine of us are really competitive. So uh... some of us weren’t sleeping, some of us were about to fight the others, our managers got wind of this and they were like, “You guys are not allowed to play mafia without supervision!” [laughs]

ERIC: What about in the beginning? Like, when you first debuted? What was that like?

JULIET: Ooh, yeah, that’s a good question. I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I also don’t want to... hide what was going on when I debuted with the boys, because at the end of the day, it’s something that’s happened to me and... contributed to who I am today, y’know?

ERIC: Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, feel free to share whatever you’re comfortable with.

JULIET: Thanks. So... the attention was pretty overwhelming because as I mentioned, I was on MIXNINE, so people who watched it kinda expected me to debut in a girl group. So when they, or just the public in general, found out that I was in the same group as eight boys and we would be living together... things got pretty tough because there were just a lot of accusations thrown around. Like, what I might’ve done to debut with a boy group, or how my relationships with my members are... all that kinda stuff. It really took a toll on me.

ERIC: Right, totally understandable.

JULIET: Like, don’t get me wrong, I understand the shock people probably felt, but seeing all the things said about me that weren’t true... just really sucked. And for a few months there was this feeling of, “Oh, people are right. What am I doing here in this group? Why should I be here when all I’m doing is dragging them down? Would people even like me, or would they just ignore me and pretend I wasn’t a member?” Those kinda things... Of course, things got better with each comeback, and I’m so grateful that our fans... you know... like me [laughs] instead of being like, “Leave the group! You don’t belong here!” Yeah...

ERIC: How did you deal with that?

JULIET: It just takes time, I guess. Like eventually, I learnt to just ignore the harmful comments. But also, a few months after our debut, I—I don’t remember if I was crying—but I was in a video call with my parents, basically just telling them what people were saying about me and how undeserving I felt, and my dad looked me straight in the eye and said to me, “If they don’t know you personally, don’t take it personally.” And since then, I try to tell myself that when I find myself dwelling on that kinda stuff.

ERIC: Your dad’s very wise.

JULIET: That’s where I get it from! [BOTH laugh]

ERIC: Did your members know you were going to be added into the lineup, or was it very last minute?

JULIET: I wouldn’t say it was last minute—

ERIC: Ah, okay.

JULIET: —our CEO asked to see me one day, and he told me he’s been monitoring my performances both in training and on MIXNINE, and said he thought I had potential and that I’d mesh well with the boys, so he asked me if I wanted to be in the group with them.

ERIC: And you said yes.

JULIET: Yes, but—well, at that moment, I told him I needed some time to think, and the first thing I did was go to Hongjoong because I knew they already planned for him to be the leader. And I was just like, “Hey... this just happened and I just wanted to let you know, and maybe ask if the others are okay with me joining before I tell the CEO of my final decision.”

ERIC: What did he say?

JULIET: He said something along the lines of, “Oh, we all know because the company already approached us about this, and we all have no problem with it. So it’s up to you if you want to join the group.”

ERIC: You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but what if they didn’t know about it beforehand, and they were like, “Uh... actually we’re not really on board with this.” Hypothetically, since you said you wanted to make sure everyone was okay with the idea?

JULIET: Yes, definitely. We were friends before the lineup was decided, but of course, it’s one thing being trainees together, and another thing debuting and being in the same group. If they weren’t okay with it, then I would’ve said no and maybe waited until our company debuts a girl group or decides to debut me as a soloist.

ERIC: Oh, you would’ve said no?

JULIET: Yeah... because it wasn’t like I didn’t have a choice. I was given the choice of whether I wanted to join the lineup or not, and if my members weren’t comfortable with it, then I wouldn’t have insisted on doing it anyways if I knew it made them feel that way. So... yeah, if they made it clear that they weren’t on board, I would’ve respected that and told the company that I’ll wait another few years. No questions asked.

ERIC: That’s a very considerate way of thinking. Thank you for sharing that.

JULIET: Aw, it’s okay. But I think that applies to basically everything, honestly. Like, if someone tells you, “Please don’t do this, it makes me uncomfortable.” Then just... don’t do it, y’know? Like, be respectful.

ERIC: Definitely. I’m assuming you get along well with your members?

JULIET: Absolutely! There’s no doubt about it. As I said earlier, they’ve been nothing but kind to me since the very beginning, and at the end of the day we’re really like a family!

ERIC: You mentioned earlier that if you didn’t debut with ATEEZ, you probably would’ve debuted in a girl group or as a soloist. Was any of that confirmed?

JULIET: Uh... not the girl group, because when I was training with my members, I was still the only female trainee there, and there was no telling if any other girls would be joining the company. But... uh, yeah, there were plans for me as a soloist if I chose to not join ATEEZ’s lineup, but that would probably take place a few years later.

ERIC: If you’re given a second chance to pick, would your decision be any different?

JULIET: No, definitely not. Knowing that I now share this strong bond with my members, and that I’ve met so many incredible ATINY from being a member of ATEEZ... I wouldn’t give that up for the world. So if someone came to me and was like, “Hey, you can pick again: soloist or stay with ATEEZ?”... I’d pick ATEEZ in a heartbeat.

ERIC: So we actually have some questions from fans—

JULIET: Let’s hear ‘em.

ERIC: This one’s from Twitter. “What do you do when you feel sad? Do you have any tips for dealing with those feelings?” We’re starting off with the deep questions!

JULIET: Hm... honestly, my tip is... let yourself be sad. I used to beat myself up a lot for being upset, because sometimes it almost felt like I don’t deserve to complain or to be sad, and that usually just sends me down an even deeper downwards spiral.

ERIC: Right.

JULIET: So... it’s okay to not be okay. And it’s okay to take as much time as you need to process and heal from what’s troubling you. I find that it really helped me when I... validated my emotions, especially the negative ones, even if it means I’ll keep being miserable for a certain period of time. Because when I’m finally ready to move on, I’ll know that it’s because I’m genuinely ready, and not because I was forcing myself to accept something I may not be mentally ready to move on from. And that makes the healing process easier because there’s less of that... internal struggle. So... to summarise, take your time, you deserve to heal at your own pace, and I promise the world will wait for you.

ERIC: Wow... that was incredible. I really like that, you know, like the part about validating yourself even if what you’re feeling is negative. And also the last line—“the world will wait for you”. That’s so... uplifting. I think we can all take something from that.

JULIET: I hope so. And to everyone out there, you’re not alone. It can feel like you are sometimes, but you are loved and supported, and I hope you’ll remember that wherever you go.

ERIC: Second question from fans: “What do you struggle with most as an idol?” Guys—these questions are so serious!

JULIET: These questions will probably keep me up tonight because I’ll just be thinking about them nonstop. But to answer the question, probably the constant comparison.

ERIC: Ah, right.

JULIET: It’s not even the kind where people compare me to other people. Like... I kinda got used to that, which sounds kinda sad but I’m trying to not make it a sad thing? [laughs] I struggle more with it internally, like I compare myself a lot to other people, and sometimes it can... get to an unhealthy point really quickly. In this industry, it’s kinda hard to not... compare yourself to other idols, because... well, I don’t want to speak for anyone—

ERIC: Of course.

JULIET: —but from my own experience, it was kinda... ingrained that there will always be someone better, someone more talented than you are who is ready to take your place at any time. And I guess it messes with me a little? Because it will feel like I have this countdown above my head, and it makes me obsessively compare myself to other people when I shouldn’t be doing that and instead focus more on, just like, doing my own thing. So it’s definitely still a learning process for me, to let go of that mindset and achieve a sense of self-acceptance. But like I said in response to the last question, it takes time, and I’m going at my own pace in figuring that out.

ERIC: It all comes full circle.

JULIET: [laughs] Exactly.

ERIC: Last question: “What do you want for yourself? What are your goals as an idol?”

JULIET: Hm, for the group... honestly... I just hope that we can continue doing our thing, you know?

ERIC: Yeah, I get that.

JULIET: Like... I think we have a really good thing going on right now, and I don’t mean that in terms of just commercial success, but I think we’re at a place where we’re trying out different styles of music and just... yeah, doing our own thing. So I just wish all nine of us, as well as our fans, happiness and health as we go down this journey together.

ERIC: What about yourself? Like, individually?

JULIET: Well, also health and happiness, I hope! [laughs] But also, and I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I’m an over-thinker like that—

ERIC: Same! I overthink everything!

JULIET: I know! Like, my brain won’t stop going sometimes, and my members have to be like, “Okay, take a step back, deep breaths, let’s go through this together.” But going back to the question, I want to—what’s the word... preserve? Yeah, preserve my morality.

ERIC: Oh, wow. Do you want to elaborate on that?

JULIET: Yeah! Like... it can be easy to lose myself especially in this line of work. Sometimes, I find myself desensitised to certain things, and that’s when I have to just... take a step back and reevaluate myself. So, yeah... I hope that I can always hold myself accountable; not take things for granted; remind myself of my morals and passions, stuff like that. Just... staying true to myself and extending compassion everywhere I go.

ERIC: That was very well put.

JULIET: What can I say? I’m an intellectual. [holds up peace sign; BOTH laugh]

ERIC: I love how you go from, just, this serene, eloquent person to—

JULIET: Chaos? [laughs]

ERIC: Yeah, but I like that! What do the kids say, I love that for you?

JULIET: Yes! Like, “I love that for you, sweetie!” You know, gotta have the best of both worlds. Hannah Montana reference there for the OGs.

ERIC: So, we also have some lightning round questions.

JULIET: Ooh, that’s fun!

ERIC: But before we do that, anything you want to discuss or bring up? It can be anything.

JULIET: Uh, I can’t really think of anything at the moment. Um... oh! We’re going to be on—wait, when is this episode airing?

ERIC: [looks to STAFF] Uh... next week?

JULIET: [gasps] Oh my God, okay, forget I said anything!

ERIC: [laughs] What?! What happened just now, Juliet?

JULIET: I was about to spoil something, but I don’t know when it will be made public, so I’m not gonna get into trouble! You’re not going to catch me slipping, nope! You guys will just have to wait and see! [laughs]

ERIC: [laughs] You looked so terrified for a second.

JULIET: Yeah, this is something I can’t reveal or I’ll get into huge trouble! I almost pulled a Tom Holland.

ERIC: [laughs] Anything else you wanna add?

JULIET: Nope!

ERIC: [laughs] Okay, then let’s get on with the lightning round questions. Favourite food?

JULIET: Tim Tams. My fellow Aussies will relate, I think.

ERIC: I’ve heard they’re really good.

JULIET: Heaven on Earth. I’m not even kidding. Like, for my birthday in June our staff stacked together Tim Tams as my birthday cake.

ERIC: Wow!

JULIET: One of the best things anyone’s ever done for me, I still think about it to this day.

ERIC: Favourite ATEEZ song to perform?

JULIET: Uh... Wave! It’s just a really cute and happy song and I can’t stop smiling during and after each performance.

ERIC: Favourite K-pop group?

JULIET: ATEEZ. [BOTH laugh] Okay, aside from ATEEZ... uh... Stray Kids! Chan, Felix, if you’re watching this, I miss you guys.

ERIC: Singing or dancing?

JULIET: Both!

ERIC: Fair enough! Morning person or night owl?

JULIET: Night owl. It takes... a village to wake me up.

ERIC: [laughs] Favourite movie?

JULIET: The Devil Wears Prada. Ugh, so good!

ERIC: Coffee or tea?

JULIET: Iced coffee!

ERIC: One person you’d love to collab with?

JULIET: Eric Nam.

ERIC: Aw, really?

JULIET: Yeah! Let’s make it happen sometime!

ERIC: On it. Your fans are... blank.

JULIET: Incredible.

ERIC: Aww! And Kpop Daebak is... blank.

JULIET: Also incredible.

ERIC: And... I think that’s all I have for you today! To finish this off, I have one more question for you. Don’t think too much about it, whatever comes to mind first.

JULIET: Okay.

ERIC: Did the chicken or the egg come first?

JULIET: Egg.

ERIC: Gotcha. Well, Juliet, thanks for coming onto this show!

JULIET: Thanks for having me! This was really fun.

ERIC: It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, speak with you. Any message to our listeners all around the world? Anything you wanna say, plug, promote? Go for it.

JULIET: The Devil Wears Prada. [BOTH laugh] In all seriousness, um... ATEEZ is always here for you, and a lot of exciting stuff is coming up, we’re just getting started. Also, thank you to everyone around the world who’s listening for... listening. [laughs] And thank you for being here. I hope you’ll always remember that you bring a lot of good to the world, even if you don’t realise it. The world is not the same without you, and to everyone out there, I see you, I hear you, and I love you. Stay safe, wear a mask, wash your hands, and look out for one another. I’m always wishing you guys the best and... yeah! Take care and again, I love you.

ERIC: That was... wow. [JULIET laughs] Think I almost shed a tear. Yeah... that was beautiful. Thanks again, Juliet, for joining us. If you guys enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to us on whatever platform you’re listening on, whether it’s Apple, Google, Spotify... If you’re on Apple, please leave us a five-star rating and review. You can see the video of this podcast and our conversations at YouTube.com/divepods and YouTube.com/divestudios! We also have TikToks where we do... weird stuff—

JULIET: Do you do the Renegade there?

ERIC: [laughs] We will make a TikTok where we do the Renegade just for you! We have a Patreon where you guys can support us. So, again, thank you guys for listening, have a great week, stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask! And we’ll see you next week on Kpop Daebak!

JULIET: Stay safe! Clean everything!

ERIC: Yup!

a/n: i hope some parts of this update can help a bit if you’re going through something, as i wrote those parts based on my own experience with my mental health. when i first heard the words “the world will wait for you”, it was from a friend i met on twitter and i remember just being in shock bc no one had ever phrased it like that to me, and her words have stuck with me ever since. i think it’s just really beautifully worded and conveys so much hope, and i wanted to share that with you guys through this update 💕

as always, let me know what you think!! please leave some feedback, and feel free to chat with me in my inbox. i love you and i hope you’re doing well 💕

[leejungchans]

— protective.

juliet’s masterlist | 🆕 ask juliet anything!!

word count: 0.6k

warning(s): none!!

summary: in which seonghwa gets a little protective of juliet when she tries to show off her shoes.

a/n: mama hwa coming through in this update 😔 please leave feedback and chat with me!! my inbox is always open 🥺💕💕

— juliet’s outfit;

Hongjoong and Seonghwa are in the middle of doing a v-live in one of the conference rooms when they hear a few knocks on the door. The two boys glance towards the frosted glass, immediately noting the familiar figure behind it jumping up and down to get their attention.

“Is that Julie?”

Before Seonghwa can respond, the door swings open to reveal Juliet as she quietly slips into the room.

“Wooyoungie told me you two were here doing a live,” she chirps before realising that only the three of them are in the room. “Where’s manager-oppa?” she asks, given that normally there’d be at least one manager present during their v-lives.

“He went to get something,” Hongjoong says, to which she nods in understanding as she walks into frame and waves at their manager’s phone, which is currently holding the live.

“Hello, ATINY! I’m just stopping by to say hi!”

“You look nice,” Seonghwa compliments upon noticing her outfit, which consists of a floral dress under an oversized faux leather jacket. Beside him, Hongjoong nods in agreement, eyes crinkling with adoration for the maknae.

Juliet beams. “Thank you! I’m quite proud of this outfit too, if I do say so myself.”

“Are these practical, though?” the oldest member asks, lightly touching the pale blue sunglasses sitting atop her head. “They don’t look like they offer much sun protection. It’s not even sunny today.”

Hongjoong makes a teasing tsk noise. “It’s just for fashion, of course! To match the flowers on her dress! Our Juliet is stylish like that.”

The maknae laughs before high-fiving him, grinning widely as she jokes, “No wonder you’re the leader, you understand us too well! Can you stand up for a second?”

Both boys stare at her weirdly, perplexed by the very sudden request. Still, Hongjoong does as she asked, hesitantly getting up from his seat to stand next to her when he realises her motive. But it was already too late.

Seonghwa cackles because for some reason, Juliet is now slightly taller than Hongjoong when she is in reality the shortest member. Only by a few centimetres, she would argue, but still the shortest nonetheless.

“Yah! What did you do? What did you eat?” Hongjoong protests before looking down, to which Juliet gleefully wriggles one of her feet to show him her platform boots.

“This isn’t fair!” he complains to the viewers. “Everyone, she’s wearing shoes with huge platforms on them so she can be taller than me!”

“This isn’t even my tallest pair! I went easy on you!”

“Your tallest—you have more?”

Seonghwa snorts. “I’ve seen her unbox quite a few pairs already, you just don’t know because you’re rarely at the dorms.”

“Yah, when I get home I’m throwing them all out.”

Pretending to not have heard Hongjoong’s hollow threat, Juliet leans forward to read the live comments. “Oh, ATINY wants to see my boots!” she says excitedly, eager to show them off as she scuttles a few step backwards and turns sideways. “I don’t know if you can see them clearly, but they look like this!” she says, kicking up her right leg to show the side view of her boots without much consideration.

“Yah, yah, yah!” Seonghwa panics, instantly darting in front of Juliet to block her from view.

Confused, she puts her leg down and looks up at the oldest member. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Be careful,” Seonghwa scolds while Hongjoong stares at the camera with widened eyes at what just happened, “you’re wearing a dress.”

Juliet’s expression relaxes. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m wearing shorts underneath it!”

“You still have to be careful. You don’t know what kinds of people are watching.”

“Don’t be mad, don’t be mad,” Juliet whines with a pout upon noticing Seonghwa’s tightly-knit brows and serious expression, reaching out to gently shake his arm. “I’ll be more careful. Promise!”

He sighs exasperatedly, hand coming up to softly pet her hair to indicate that he’s not too upset with her.

Hongjoong smiles fondly at their exchange before turning to their manager’s phone. “ATINY, if you want to see Juliet’s shoes, she’ll share photos of them instead, so please wait for that!”

— bonus; (later that day...)

note: these probably aren’t the exact same boots as the ones in the outfit collage bwhshw but i wanted a more self-taken (?) photo for her tweet bwhshwj 🤪

a/n: juliet: [has a fear of butterflies] also juliet: [wears a whole set of butterfly jewellery] 💀💀 lisTEN she’s okay with stuff that’s not too detailed/realistic and she thinks the jewellery set is cute 😔 also, in case you guys haven’t noticed this yet, juliet has this thing called...idk if you’ve heard of it before, but it’s called being clingy 🤪 seongjoong being supportive parents and hyping up her outfit ik that’s right ✨ as always, please consider leaving feedback or chat with me!! 🥺💕

[leejungchans]

— delicacy.

juliet’s masterlist

note: words in bold are spoken in english

set in late april, 2021

summary: in which juliet makes lets dino try an australian delicacy for the first time.

a/n: idk where this idea came from but i’m not regretting it one bit bc i think this came out pretty cute 👉👈 also this gif 💔 god i’m not your strongest soldier

“Wait, how many of them are home?”

Juliet’s hand, outstretched and holding the key to their dorms, pauses as she turns to look at Chan, noting how he has gotten even more nervous since they got into the elevator.

“Not all, some of them are still at the company,” she reassures. With her free hand, she reaches for one of his, though it’s not easy with the bags of takeout he’s holding. “Besides, you’re our senior! If anyone should be nervous, it’s them,” she jokes.

“Wrong,” Chan says sulkily as she turns away briefly to unlock the front door. “When we’re at work, then maybe. But now I’m your boyfriend, not their senior, so it’s different.”

“You’re right,” Juliet agrees, as they step in and remove their shoes. She looks around the common space to find it empty. “But they like you a lot already, so there’s no need to worry. See? No one’s here—”

As if on cue, they hear one of the bedroom doors open, and Yunho walks into the living room seconds later. “Oh, hi!” he says cheerfully when he sees Juliet and Chan by the front door. “Just make yourself at home!”

“Where are you going?” Juliet asks, setting the takeout bags on the kitchen counter while she watches him put on his sneakers. Next to her, Chan takes off his mask before washing his hands at the sink.

“They sent me to go get food.”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

“Yeosangie, Wooyoungie and Jongho.”

“Why not just choose the delivery option?”

Yunho smiles bashfully. “Because we’re idiots and forgot.”

This earns a small snort from Juliet. “Okay, fair enough. Be safe!” she calls out as Yunho heads out with a wave. She turns back to Chan with a grin. “See? That wasn’t so bad, right?”

“Yeah... just seven more to go. Then again, you had to meet all twelve of them at once,” he says with a small smile, referring to his own members. “So it can’t be worse than that.”

“That’s the spirit!” she cheers, beaming at him before she grabs the bags and moves them to the dining table.

Juliet is in the middle of laying out all the takeout boxes when she hears him ask, “Uh... what’s this?”

She turns around to see Chan fiddling with the iconic yellow jar as he attempts to read the English labels. “Vegemite. Have you had it before?”

“It’s the Australian spread, right?” Juliet nods. “I think I’ve seen it before when we were on tour in Australia years ago, but I didn’t try it.”

“Do you want to?”

What was Chan supposed to do? Say no to those eyes? When they’re now ten times more sparkly?

He watches adoringly as she eagerly grabs two slices of bread from the counter and practically skips over to the toaster, popping the bread in before leaning over the machine in favour of glaring at it intensely. 

“Is that gonna make them toast quicker?”

“Oh, shush,” she says, rolling her eyes at his teasing. “Come over and help me.”

“Help you... watch the toaster?” He’s already behind her despite the skepticism in his tone, arms wrapping securely around her waist and chin coming down to rest on her shoulder.

The two stand in comfortable silence for several moments as they continue to gaze at the machine. Nothing happens other than the smell of toasted bread beginning to waft through the air.

“Still think staring at it makes it work faster?”

Juliet makes a tiny humph sound. “This toaster is an exception.”

“Mhm, sure,” Chan mumbles against the fabric of her sweater, “whatever you say.”

She cranes her neck to throw him a halfhearted glare. “You can go get the butter from the fridge if you’re so impatient.”

“No, I like it here.”

“Then don’t—shit!” Juliet yelps, flinching in his hold when the toast suddenly pops up with a loud clunk. Her cheeks flush pink when Chan starts laughing, and she wriggles out of his arms to grab a butter knife. “Stop laughing at me!” she whines, throwing open the refrigerator doors in search of the butter.

“Sorry, you’re just adorable,” he says, putting the toast on a plate before following her to the dining table.

Juliet shakes her head in mock exasperation at him, spreading a thin layer of butter onto both slices before doing the same with the vegemite when at that exact moment, Yeosang and Wooyoung walk by them.

The former wrinkles his nose when he notices what she’s doing. “Your boyfriend comes over for the first time and you’re giving him... vegemite?” he teases.

“What is that supposed to mean, Kang Yeosang? Also, we’re obviously not having vegemite toast for dinner,” Juliet defends, gesturing to the food on the table. “We bought takeout. I’m just letting him try it.”

Wooyoung snorts. “Blink twice if you need help.”

Chan glances at Juliet, now slightly concerned. “Is it really that bad?”

Yeosang grabs a bottle of juice from the fridge and pours some into a cup. “It’s the only food in the house that no one other than her touches, and we literally eat everything else. Do what you will with that information.”

She gasps, scandalised. “Excuse me, Seonghwa-oppa said he likes it!”

“Trust me,” Wooyoung interjects playfully, “he wouldn’t be saying the same if any other one of us offered it to him. He only said it because it’s you.”

“Whatever, I’m not standing for this vegemite slander,” Juliet huffs, shooing the two boys away. “Enjoy having no taste.”

Wooyoung flicks her forehead lightly before pulling Yeosang along with him, nearly causing the older boy to spill his drink. “Have fun, lovebirds!” he yells over his shoulder. “But not too much fun!”

Juliet turns back to Chan with an unimpressed expression. “You see what I have to put up with?”

He grins in response. “Maknae struggles.”

“Maknae struggles,” she agrees, holding a piece of the toast to his lips. “Well, bon appétit.”

Somewhat warily, Chan takes a bite and proceeds to chew slowly, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar taste. Juliet peers at his expression in an attempt to gauge what he’s thinking.

He swallows. “It’s good.”

“Liar,” Juliet says affectionately. “You don’t like it, do you?”

He grins sheepishly. “Okay, you got me. Not that it’s disgusting, it’s just... not bad... but not good.”

“You’re so cute,” she says, pinching his cheek gently. “You don’t have to finish it, by the way, I’ll eat it later after we finish our food.” Then she remembers something. “Wait, I have something for you in my room.”

“You can just grab it after dinner.”

But she’s already out of her seat and halfway down the hall. “No, I’ll forget later! I’ll be back in a few seconds!”

A few seconds turns into minutes as she rummages through her overflowing closet whilst grumbling to herself, the fact that she left Chan defenceless in the living room completely slipping her mind. She’s not a disorganised person, especially when it comes to her clothes and closet organisation, so she blames their hectic schedule for its current state.

Eventually, she finds his lavender hoodie squished between two of her own, and heads back to the dining room when she sees—

“Choi Jongho, what are you doing?”

He turns away from Chan to smile at her innocently, wholly unaffected by her narrowed eyes. “Nothing.”

“That didn’t look like nothing.”

“Oh, would you look at the time,” Jongho says, looking down at the imaginary watch on his wrist. “I gotta go feed my pet fish. See you!” And with that, he disappears back into his room as quickly as he had appeared.

They don’t have a pet fish.

Sighing, Juliet sits back down next to Chan. “Sorry about that, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” he reassures with a soft smile. “He was very sweet, though he did give me a friendly reminder to never hurt you. But I don’t mind, it just shows that he cares about you a lot.”

She returns the smile. “Yeah... he does. They all do. By the way, here’s the hoodie I borrowed from you last time,” she says, holding out the folded garment. “It’s washed and everything.”

Chan grins, setting it down on a spare chair. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to see it again when I gave it to you.”

“Excuse you, I’m not a thief! But... does this mean I can have it?”

a/n: okay so a few years ago i went on a study tour to australia and the host family my friend and i were staying with let us try some and we both thought it was pretty good ahjshwjs 🤩

i hope you guys like the fluff in this update bc this is the calm before the storm hehehe 👉👈 anyways gn besties lemme know what you think of this 🥺💗 thank you for reading and i hope you’re doing well!!

[leejungchans]

— double j’s.

juliet’s masterlist

summary: the full version of jisung and juliet’s 120-second interview from episode 7 of kingdom!!

a/n: i was trying so hard to compact this interview for the last kingdom update bc i didn’t want it to be too long 😭 but after writing that snippet i knew i had to do the full version immediately so i hope you guys like this 💗

Juliet grins as she watches Changbin and Minhyuk take a selfie after their interview, thoroughly enjoying the dynamics between all three groups of Mayfly.

“Okay, that’s a wrap! Thank you!” the director says to the two rappers. Changbin and Minhyuk return the exclamations of gratitude, bowing to the crew in front of them before moving off-screen to where the others are sitting.

“Han-ssi and Juliet-ssi, it’s your turn!”

Hongjoong pats her on the shoulder in encouragement as she moves to take Changbin’s seat, Jisung sitting opposite her and giving her a bright smile through the plastic divider between them.

Behind the main camera, the director gives them the cue that the cameras are rolling, and they hear the beep! of the timer, signalling that their 120 seconds start now.

Yet, neither of them speak in favour of continuing to stare at each other with awkward grins. Succumbing to her nervousness, Juliet becomes the first one to break eye contact a few seconds later, lowering her head as she bursts into giggles.

“Why? Why are you laughing?” Jisung whines, “and right after you looked at my face too!”

“Sorry, sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I promise!” she says between small gaps of air. “I just didn’t expect us to be so nervous.”

Jisung hums in acknowledgement. “Ah, I get shy around new people, more than what people would expect,” he explains, “so that’s kinda why I’m a bit awkward right now.”

“I’m like that too, but I thought we became closer friends during the sports day filming! I’m hurt!” she jokes, placing a hand over her heart dramatically.

“No, no, no!” Jisung defends, waving his hands frantically, “we did! I’m still shy, I guess.”

“Not shy, not me!” She doesn’t know where the idea of singing ITZY’s popular song came from, completed with doing the hand movement from the iconic choreography, but hey—her brain works in mysterious ways.

Juliet thought there would be some form of reaction from Jisung, perhaps he’d even join in. Instead, he remains silent from bewilderment, not expecting the sudden mention of his label-mates. He blinks at her owlishly before a loud pft sound emits from both of them, and they dissolve into giggles once more.

“Okay, okay,” Juliet says, sobering up a little after a few seconds. “We need to do this seriously. No more being awkward! Awkward is just a mindset.”

“Woah, you’re right! We won’t feel awkward if we just tell ourselves that we’re being cool.”

She nods like an approving teacher. “Exactly. We are cool.”

“Okay then, let’s go!” Jisung shouts enthusiastically, earning muffled snickers from the other members who are sitting off-screen.

Juliet bites the inside of her cheek to stifle the laughter that’s threatening to bubble up, but her efforts are futile as they both fall off their stools and collapse to the ground in a fit of squeaky giggles.

“I’m sorry, I-I don’t think we can do this,” Juliet wheezes to the cameras, clutching her stomach while tears gather in the corners of her eyes. Beside her on the floor, Jisung isn’t faring any better as he attempts to catch his breath.

Off-screen, Changbin playfully complains, “Yah! What are you two doing? You only have 120 seconds to do this!” His words help Juliet and Jisung sober up, and they scramble back onto their seats to continue what’s left of their interview.

“Okay, okay,” she says, dabbing at her eyes with her fingertips, “ask me a question!”

“Who’s your favourite Stray Kids member?”

“Felix,” Juliet answers with zero hesitation.

He sighs dramatically. “I mean... we all knew that, but I thought maybe you’d say it’s me since I’m literally sitting right here and all that.”

She relents with an apologetic smile. “Okay, then you are my favourite member in Stray Kids.”

“Forget it! You’re too late, I know how you really feel now!” Jisung sulks. “Your turn.”

“Hm... how are you so good at everything?”

“Yah! So are you! You should be asking yourself that!” Juliet grins shyly at the compliment and waves him off. “Anyways, next question... what do you do when you don’t have any schedules?”

The director cuts in before she can respond. “Time’s up! But you can answer the question, Juliet-ssi. We’ll include it as a bonus part.”

“Honestly, I sleep a lot, watch a lot of YouTube... and then go back to sleeping,” she admits sheepishly.

Jisung’s eyes widen. “Yo! Same!”

“Really?”

He nods vigorously, raising a hand above the plastic divider to give her a high-five, which she returns instantly. “We have a lot in common, woah!”

“We should have our own unit,” Juliet tells him after they take their selfie. “Maybe the name can be Double J’s or something.”

“Hm... the name needs work. But it’s a definite yes to the unit.”

a/n: i present to you juliet’s newest bestie in skz!! (felix who? 😔 ahhshwjs kidding she could never)

[leejungchans]

— new girl.

juliet’s masterlist

word count: 1.5k

set in late 2016

summary: in which juliet makes two new friends on her first day at kq as a trainee.

a/n: uM turns out this is the first predebut scenario for juliet!! as always, let me know what you think and feel free to chat with me in my inbox!! thanks for reading and ily 💕🥺 take care!!

“And here’s the final stop of our mini tour, the practice room,” the company staff tells Juliet kindly as they stop outside said room, which is still dark as no one else had arrived yet. “You’re our only female trainee, so you can train with the boys. They’re sweethearts, but you can always come to us if there’s any trouble, okay?”

“Okay, thank you,” Juliet replies meekly.

The older woman smiles in response as she unlocks the door, stepping inside the room to turn on the lights. “We’re a bit early, so you can just wait here until the others and the instructor arrives. I’ll be at the front desk if you need anything. Good luck on your first day!”

The girl quietly thanks the woman, watching her disappear down the dimly-lit hallway before hesitantly entering the practice room. Truth be told, she never expected herself to be a trainee once again, having thought that her experience at SM was enough for a lifetime. But deep down, she knew that if she didn’t give it a second try—hence why she is now here—she’d spend the rest of her life being regretful and thinking about the what if’s.

Juliet also didn’t expect herself to be so early. She was told to come in a little earlier after school so the staff could give her a quick tour of the building before training starts, but she had expected at least some of the trainees to be here already.

Then again, she’s gotten a lot more introverted ever since moving to Seoul, so perhaps it’s a good thing that she has a few moments to herself.

Still, Juliet has never felt this awkward in her life. Scared? Maybe not. Nothing will ever beat the sheer intimidation and fear she felt on her first day at SM, and though she’s only trained there for two years—much less than most of the friends she met there—she already feels like she’s gone through the wringer. Still, being in a new environment with no idea what to expect is unnerving, especially when it’s so different compared to what she is used to.

Juliet looks around the room tentatively before sitting down on the ground, her back pressing against the cold wall. She takes the time to text her aunt that she’s arrived before shoving her phone back into her bag, not wanting to ruin her first impression on anyone by being on her phone.

She doesn’t know how long she’s being tracing the pattern on the wood flooring with a finger when the door to the practice room bursts open, revealing a tall boy around her age standing in the doorway.

Before Juliet can scramble up to greet who she presumes is her fellow trainee, the boy is already beaming at her as he introduces himself. “Hi! You must be the female trainee the staff told us about! My name’s Jeong Yunho, what’s yours?”

“Baek Minyoung. Or Juliet, whichever you prefer,” she says before bowing to him. “It’s nice to meet you.”

���Juliet,” Yunho tries, still smiling brightly. She wonders how someone can be so cheerful after a long day, but his joyful disposition is definitely not unwelcome. “That’s a pretty name! Did you grow up abroad?”

“Yeah, I’m from Australia, but I’ve been living in Seoul since 2014.”

Yunho nods, eyes sparkling with amazement. “That’s cool! I’ve always wanted to go there. Is this your first time being a trainee?” he asks as they sit, ensuring that there’s a reasonable distance between them as to not make her uncomfortable. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Juliet, and she smiles wider to show her gratefulness.

“No, I trained under another company for two years before coming here,” she says quietly, omitting the name of said company to avoid being asked about her time there.

As though sensing her reluctance, Yunho dances around the topic. “Then you’re already a lot more experienced than most of us, so you don’t have anything to worry about! Did they give you a tour of the building yet?”

“Yeah, but it was pretty brief, so I might forget a lot of it after today,” Juliet admits sheepishly.

Yunho giggles. “Don’t stress it, the same happened to me too! But Hongjoong-hyung—he’s another trainee here, but he won’t be here today because he has another class—helped me, so if you need someone to show you around, I’d be more than happy to!”

Juliet smiles shyly. “Thank you, that’d be really great. Speaking of the other trainees, where is everyone?”

“Oh, they’re still probably at school or on the way here! We can keep talking until our trainer arrives—he’s really nice, so you don’t have to be nervous—or we can just... sit, if you don’t really want to talk. Either is fine!”

Now it’s Juliet’s turn to laugh. “No, no, we can totally chat! I don’t know much about anyone or anything here, so that can be a place to start!”

Turns out Yunho was extremely easy to talk to, and Juliet found that the following fifteen minutes or so passed by as though they were nothing.

It was slightly awkward when the trainee arrived with just the two of them in the room, but that remedied itself when a second boy, just as tall as Yunho, burst into the room, mumbling apologies for being late as the trainer simply laughed and told him to get ready.

The atmosphere was definitely more lighthearted than what Juliet was used to at SM, perhaps due to the jarring difference in the number of trainees in the room. Not that the trainer didn’t take them seriously—in fact, quite the opposite—it was just that everyone was less... tense and had more room to joke around.

The change wasn’t unwelcome, and Juliet finally understood what Yunho meant when he told her she didn’t have to be too nervous.

She does find it slightly nerve-wracking that the second boy would occasionally look at her confusedly whenever Yunho talked to her, but she supposes that it’s inevitable whenever a new trainee joins the company. Hell, it happened plenty of times at her former company as so many trainees would come and go, and everyone would be eager to get to know the new trainees. Some because they wanted to make new friends, others because they wanted to assess and intimidate the competition.

Juliet hopes that in this case, it won’t be the latter.

When they’re given a 5-minute break, all three of them walk back to where their bags are to take a sip—or rather, huge gulps—of water.

“You did great!” Yunho tells her, his bright smile never leaving his face despite how tired they all are.

“Thank you, so did you!”

“By the way, this is my friend Mingi,” Yunho introduces, patting his friend’s back to get his attention. “Mingi, this is Juliet. It’s her first day here.”

“Hi,” Mingi rumbles in his deep voice, “I was a bit confused back there because I thought you two were already friends because you seemed so friendly, but I didn’t recall Yunho having mentioned you before. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable from the staring.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Juliet tells him, smiling to reassure him because of how apologetic he sounded. “Yunho’s just really friendly. I would’ve been an awkward mess if he didn’t talk to me first.” The tips of Yunho’s ears turn pink from her praise. “Did you two meet here too?”

Mingi shakes his head. “Nope, we’ve been friends for a few years before we came here.”

She can’t help but blurt out, “Do you only have tall friends?”

The two boys freeze, taken aback, though they quickly recover after a few seconds and burst into giggles.

“No, because we have you as a friend now,” Yunho says cheekily. Juliet can’t even find it in her to be offended, not when they just called her their friend. “Don’t worry, you’re young, you still have time to grow taller! Wait, when we’re you born?”

“2001.”

Mingi grins. “See? You’re fifteen? Sixteen? You have time! Plus, you’re not even that short now!”

“Easy for you two to say! I feel like I’m gonna strain my neck someday from talking to you guys!”

Yunho and Mingi exchange looks before crouching down to her height, though they don’t last long before they whine about how the position makes their thighs burn, especially from all the dancing they did, making Juliet giggle.

“Do you wanna get food with us later?” the older boy asks as he stands back up to his full height. “There’s this stall around the corner from the building that makes really good tteokbokki! Mingi and I always go there after training. You know, we gotta reward ourselves somehow.”

The girl smiles hesitantly. “I mean... if you don’t mind me tagging along, then I’d love to join.”

“Why would we mind? We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

“We... are?”

“You sound so unsure!” Mingi whines. She doesn’t know how she saw Mingi as scary earlier, because all those feelings of intimidation she felt towards him dissipated into thin air the moment they started talking. “C’mon, say it with more confidence!”

“We are!”

“That’s the spirit!”

a/n: “yunho dances around the topic” haha get it bc he’s a dancer 🤩🤩 i’m so sorry i’ll go show myself out 🚪🚶🏻‍♀️ anyways yungi best boys and i will not accept alternate opinions ✨✨ please feel free to leave feedback and chat with me, and have a good day!! ❤️

[leejungchans]

— the great debate.

set on december 14, 2020 during ateez’s christmas vlive

juliet’s masterlist

a/n: (very mediocre and very low quality 💀) gif by me!!

warning: a lot of butt discourse 🤡🤡🤡 also this is all just in good fun so don’t take it too seriously, i’ll still love you even if you think we have two butts 🤩

oh no 🤡🤡🤡🤡

we all know what happened in this vlive

okay but before we get into That™️ 💀

let’s just start with the wholesome shit!! 🥰

baby sat between jongho and san

she watched san break the ornament and went 😳😒🤨🧐😟😕 but he gave her a pleading look so she didn’t say anything

she’s not gonna expose him 😔 at least when they’re not playing a game and there’s no competition/prize involved

but it’s useless bc hongjoong saw too 🤡

yunho and san commented that the ornaments looked like pokéballs/master balls and she literally went 🤩🤩🤩🤩 POKÉMON?????????

“giratina!” “giratina!” “GIRATINA!!!! :DDD”

literally never mention pokémon in front of her bc she’ll go on forever 💀

“i trained mine up to level 100 to sweep the elite four 😎”

seonghwa was big confusion

san: you don’t know this?????

yunho: you don’t know arceus?????????

2young: [very offended]

seonghwa: [didn’t watch pokémon and didn’t have a nintendo]

juliet: .....i’ll educate you when we get home 😩😩

okay let’s stop with the pokémon talk bwhdjhwjs i miss my nds hwjshws those were the good times

san put wreaths on jongho and juliet’s heads 🥺🥺🥺

wooyoung: [does a double take] oh you two look pretty 🥰

juliet: really? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

yes bby u look like an angel 😔

hongjoong: [complaining about how wooyoung wrote his initials as ‘hg’ instead of ‘hj’ on the ornament]

wooyoung: [too busy taking photos of jongliet to care]

wooyoung give us the pics 😠😠😠

meanwhile poor hwa was struggling to put the star on top of the tree :(((

juliet: [finally notices] oppa, u good? 😟😟

seonghwa: [gives up]

juliet: it’s okay we can just put u up there since ur a star 🥰🥰🥰

... okay anywAYS!!

everyone minus sangjongliet: [busy decorating the tree]

yeosang: [filming jongliet singing to santa tell me] why aren’t you two helping though 🤨

juliet: we’re working hard to give you a quality performance wtf do u mean we’re not helping >:(

save yeosang

smh not ateez complaining when they were being serenaded by the 4th gen vocal legends 🙄🤚

when seonghwa made the ornament his earring though 🥺🥺

juliet: ur so pretty!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺

wooyoung: [exposing hongjoong for ordering him to get his meal ready]

wooyoung: that was the first time someone treated me like this. it was attractive

juliet: 👁👄👁 should you be saying that on live

that’s rich coming from her when she’s literally the same person who tweeted “no feet pics” 🙄🙄

okay let’s get into the ✨great butt debate✨

for the record, juliet is team ‘one butt’

seonghwa: of course it’s two

juliet: YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN 😀

jongliet were judging him so hard 😭😭😭😭

san: WE ARE ALL BUTTS

juliet: is that your way of saying we’re full of shit

yunho: [starts gesturing butt cheeks with his hands] 😭😭😭😭😭

ateez: 😃⁉️ HANDS DOWN WTF

yeosang: i’ll draw and explain :DDDDD

ateez: ⁉️‼️❗️⁉️‼️⁉️NO DON’T PLS NO WE LITERALLY JUST SAID— ⁉️‼️❗️⁉️‼️

meanwhile she was really going at seonghwa

“IT’S NOT THE LEFT BUTT AND THE RIGHT BUTT WTF THEY ARE CALLED BUTTCHEEKS”

yeosang: we have two nostrils but one nose right? so we have the left and right cheeks but only one butt

juliet, to woosan: why are you two disagreeing??????? he’s literally right?????????????

sangliet intellectuals 😔✨

team ‘one butt’: yeo, joong, yunho, jongho, juliet

team ‘two butts’: hwa, woo, san

juliet: [scoots away from san] the three of you can pack your bags bc i refuse to be in a group with people who think we have two butts 😃🔪

she’s kidding 😔😔 she loves the three of them with her whole being but she absolutely disagrees with them in this situation

hongjoong: does a straw have one or two holes

ateez: [panics]

ah shit here we go again—

jongho: of course two??????

yeah that was the day juliet lost all faith in humanity

she was this 🤏 close to leaving ateez 💀

“JONGHO YOU TOO??????? I’M NOT GOING TO SIT BETWEEN YOU AND SAN ANYMORE I’M GOING TO SIT WITH YUNHO HE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS ME”

yeah rip jusan and jongliet <///3

wooyoung: if it’s one hole it wouldn’t be open all the way 😠

yunho: it’s one hole BECAUSE it’s open all the way

“yunho-oppa i love you so much yes king!!!!”

a very offended wooyoung: JULIE YOU THINK THERE’S ONE HOLE????

juliet: people cut holes in mountains to build tunnels going through them right? but people don’t call it cutting two holes through a mountain to build a tunnel, they call it cutting one hole

san: AHHHH WHY WOULD YOU CUT A HOLE THROUGH ME???!! 😿😿😿😿

get it?? bc he’s san aka mountain??? 💀

THE WAY SHE INHALED SHARPLY BC SHE’S SO DONE WITH HIM AHJEHDHWKJDH

papa joong to the rescue

hongjoong: yah yah minyoung it’s just a friendly discussion don’t get mad don’t get mad

wooyoung: ur cute when ur frustrated 🥰

“well then i’m about to get really adorable 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀”

is it that serious 😭😭😭😭

hongjoong: here it says that according to the national institute of korean language we have one butt

team one butt: WOOOOOO PARTAYYYYY 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

san: you know why it’s one butt? bc 9 makes 1 team. we’re a butt

“STOP CALLING US A BUTT WTF”

hwa: in my heart it’s still two butts 😞

juliet: gtfo 😀😀😀

rip hwaliet </3

san: my father calls me his heart, you know?

so the term he used can refer to either ‘heart’ or ‘chest’ 🤡 so this happened...

yunwoo: DO WE HAVE ONE OR TWO CHESTS ?!^*??¥>^*^

juliet: T W O

hongjoong: OKAY LET’S END THINGS HERE WE’LL DO THIS LATER

so what did we learn today? juliet is team one butt and team one hole 💅🏻 it’s okay if you disagree so don’t worry she’ll still love you :3

different story with her members though 💀

even after the vlive ended she was still debating with the others 💀💀💀💀💀

“MANAGER-UNNIE YOU THINK A STRAW HAS TWO HOLES????????? I AM GOING TO CRY I DON’T LIKE LIVING IN THIS UNFAIR WORLD”

she probably texted felix, somi, ryujin and the two chans that night asking them “one butt or two butts? one hole or two holes? give the wrong answer to break the friendship ❤️”

them: 😟😟😟😟

don’t worry, she was only half-serious 😔

a/n: fully on the same train as juliet ahjwhsjw tbh i thought a long time about the straw dilemma but then i thought of the tunnel-mountain analogy and now i’m fully on board with the ‘a straw has one hole’ train 🚂 as always please leave feedback and chat with me!!! 🥺❤️ i’d love to hear about your take on the butt and straw debate hajshajsjak 💀