Emas Recs - Tumblr Posts

stop this was so so adorable🧌😭 the bantering was just spot on riki AND YOUR WRITING IS SO SMOOTH ?!!! 🫶🫶🫶

F𝗔LL𝗔CY ── nrk.

✶ : 0.4k, nishimura riki & gn!reader, fluff, established relationship, high school!au. ⚠ : mentions of food, mentions of kissing, pet names (my love), lowercase intended. ੭ : random thought i had :D

“what do you think about re-creating our first date?”

with your suggestion, riki looked up at you adorably, teeth sunk deep into the homemade sandwich he brought for lunch.

as it was the last day of school, you debated on possible ideas for your first vacation date with your boyfriend. however, his suggestions always clashed drastically with yours, leaving the two of you in an infinite circle of disagreements.

“okay,” riki nodded, curly raven locks bouncing along with his movements. he took another large bite of his bread before finishing, “it's settled then.”

“god, riki. close your mouth while you're eating.” scoffing playfully, you snatched his juice box and sipped on the remaining drink.

he threw you a dirty glance as he gulped down the snack. his eyes fell to your lips on the white and red straw, a cocky smirk showing up on his. “if you wanted a kiss so bad you could've just asked for it.”

you hurriedly spat the straw, neck heating up with his unfiltered remark. “you're lucky i love you, or i would kick your knee right now.”

nishimura let out his signature chuckle and interlocked your fingers when you stood up to leave the school's cafeteria. “so... which movie are we gonna watch?”

“what?” you frowned in confusion.

“what what?” he repeated, tilting his head to the side, the same uncertainty laced in his tone.

“what do you mean by ‘which movie are we gonna watch’? didn't you agree that we'd re-create our first date?”

“yeah? and isn't going to the cinema what we did back then?” looking down at you, riki slowed down his pace at the academy's field.

“we went bowling for our first date, and it was your idea,” you stated, smiling as your boyfriend pecked the back of your hand.

“no, we went to the movies. your idea.” he argued back.

“bowling, ki.”

“movies!”

“bowling!”

“okay, okay. then it was bowling.” riki bumped your hip with his softly, deciding to let you go away with it. “saturday at 7 pm?”

“saturday at seven.” you proudly adjusted his tie one last time, watching him walk away to his class.

a bright smile appeared on his face with thousands of plans for the long-awaited day running through his mind. he blew you a dramatic kiss, and you pretended to catch it just to see him laugh shyly. “promise you that it'll be even better than our first, my love!”

⠀ ⠀ © soov, 2O22.

this was such a fun read from the very first line T-T MANN I LOVE STREET RACER AUS SM SO J WAS SUPER HAPPY THERE WAS SOME RACING AG THE END and omg yeji carried fr LOVE HER SM ???!! as usual with your works this was so well written and very easy to imagine everything that was happening!! honestly my favorite scene besides hee in the race was just. mc busting the 4 idiots out of jail JAHSBNSH I WISH THE O2Z WERE IN IT MORE BECAUSE THEY MADE ME GIGGLE 🧌🧌🫶 thank you for sharing this fic, i enjoyed it a lot !! 🫂🫂🫵🫵

always been you

PAIRING(S) | lee heeseung x fem!reader

GENRE(S) | fluff, angst, crack, suggestive, slowburn, pining, (childhood) best friends to lovers, college au, badboy au

WORD COUNT | 16569

WARNING(S) | profanity, illegal racing, mentions of death, drugs, blood, injuries, sex and food, mentions of self hatred and sexual assault (the latter is just a small sentence that does not relate to the plot nor to any of the characters but is just a tidbit of information provided), daddy issues, making out (towards the end), heeseung is a bad boy but he’s a complete softie with the reader

PLAYLIST | click here!

TAGLIST | at the bottom!

AUTHOR’S NOTE | hello! i’m very excited to be posting this fic again :”) it was the first long fic i wrote and holds a special place in my heart. i hope you guys like it <33 and to those who are re-reading, i hope you enjoy it again LOL feedback is appreciated! 

Lee Heeseung was the kind of teenager everyone’s parents warned them to stay away from.

Notoriously known all over campus for drug dealing, gang fighting, participating in illegal street races and getting involved with the local police at least once a month, he was the poster boy for the term bad influence.

No one dared to mess with him.

His gang members—though ‘brothers’ would have been a better word to explain their bond—had his back at all times. Teamwork makes the dream work, they say. Well, in this case, teamwork made everything work. Together, they had everyone in the palms of their hands.

Jay, Jake and Sunghoon were the other three people nobody ever tried to mess with. They were equally dangerous and equally unpredictable. One minute, they’d be talking to you like a civil person, and the next, they’d be beating the crap out of you.

Dealing at parties, betting on races, getting betted on during races and being modern-day mercenaries (without the killing part because they weren’t that bad) were few of the widely known methods regarding how they earned their money and reputation. Having filthy rich families was just an added bonus.

Speaking of loaded parents, all four of them shared the same sob story. That was why they had connected with each other so easily. It was the typical father-loves-his-business-empire-more-than-his-son-and-often-forgets-he-has-one-so-the-son-gets-into-trouble-to-gain-his-father’s-attention bullshit.

The strategy worked for a while, but its unoriginality reduced its effectiveness remarkably over time. All their fathers stopped giving a shit after realising the plan their children had devised, and instead of personally dealing with whatever problem had been created by their attention-seeking offsprings, they began sending in people working under them to deal with it.

Too bad the four of them had already begun enjoying what had initially started as a game.

The odds of meeting not one, not two, but three people with such similar backgrounds at the same time were close to none—Jake had calculated, to everyone’s surprise, when they were hanging out with each other one day.

Fate, Heeseung had declared immediately after. It was fate that had led them to each other. To their brothers.

Based on these widely known facts about the quartet, one would come to the conclusion that they were a tight-knit group of nineteen-year-olds who cared about no one outside of themselves.

This conclusion, however, was only partly true.

Based on a lesser-known fact, all of them—Heeseung, most of all—cared about one other person. Rumour suggested Heeseung had once said he would tear the world apart with his bare hands if this person were harmed.

The only question: who?

Why, no one other than you, of course.

Keep reading

ema’s fic rec’s ₊˚⏃⊹!

i decided to make a lil’ masterlist of fics i thoroughly enjoyed for you guys to also read and support these amazing authors <3 make sure to give them lots of feedback and love; do not be a silent reader T-T! also, there will be no social media aus or smut in any fics below. have fun!!

★ = ALL TIME FAVORITE !!

ENHYPEN !

⚠︎ yang jungwon:

http-do-you-luv-me? ★!!! (16k, jock won, e2l, f, a)

i have reread this masterpiece countless times and it’s p much my comfort fic T-T i could rant about it forever, even if u dont read enha/longfics just read RNNN, all time fav fs <3

for any price ★ (9.4k, assassin won, f, a)

saw assassin and clicked immediately jshsjs, very unique and exciting!! plus yeonjun is featured.. *stares*

in your dreams ★ (10k, dreamwatcher? won, e2l, f, a)

you cannot find any other fic like this one, very creative idea and has a bit of everything !!

love that blooms (demigod au, f)

chasin’ your pretty thoughts (22k, mindreader won, f, a)

lost cause (8.5k, classmate won, f, a)

would you be so kind? (3.7k, classmate won, f)

crepuscule (11.5k, vampire won, f, a)

closer (4.7k, ravenclaw won, f, a)

war tactics and kisses (demigod au, f)

attention, please! (9k, jock won, f, a)

⚠︎ lee heeseung:

always been you (16.5k, badboy/bestfriend hee, f)

my camp counselor is kinda hot (demigod au, f)

attention, please! (8k, jock hee, f, a)

⚠︎ park jay:

study lessons (12.3k, jock jay, f, a)

⚠︎ sim jake:

none for now <\3

⚠︎ park sunghoon:

the 7th sense (10.3k, dragon hoon, f, a)

marriage discount (2k, fake dating, f)

reasons to date (2.8k, classmate/friend hoon, f)

enchanted (3k+ ongoing series, prince hoon, f)

⚠︎ kim sunoo:

none for now <\3

⚠︎ nishimura riki:

sixteen eighty-five ★! (6k, e2l jock/newsclub riki, f, a)

another all time fav, everything about it is just what i enjoy in a fic and i could reread it over and over <33 niki is so mean but then so nice it’s just auhsjs aww

dear bus-noona ★ (0.8k, stranger riki, f)

i barely read short drabbles, but this was absolutely adorable and had me laughing and smiling even with just 800 words <3

kitty got your tongue (14.6k, assassin riki, f, a)

sucks to be you, sleepyhead (demigod au, e2l f)

all i want for christmas is you (5.4k, e2l, fake dating, f)

attention, please! (10.8k, jock riki, e2l, f, a)

lucky charm (2.6k, classmate riki, e2l, f)

behind the net! (9.8k, jock riki, team manager reader, e2l, f, a, plugging my own fic cuz why not)

⚠︎ ot7:

silenced ★! (20k+, zombie apocalypse series)

i just love apocalypse aus so when i found this i KNEW i’d love it <3 the boys are all so loveable and unique in their own ways and mc is so chill but also a badass <3 very high recommend!!!!

TXT !

⚠︎ choi yeonjun:

steal my heart (19.6k, royal + arranged marriage au, f, a)

i said “why won’t you forget?” (2.7k, runaway beomjun, f, a)

mr. vice president (7.3k, frenemies/academic rival yeonjun, f, a)

⚠︎ choi soobin:

actions have consequences (4k, lifeguard au, f, a)

⚠︎ choi beomgyu:

the prince and the jackal ★!! (11.8k natureprince gyu, f)

AAH ANOTHER ALL TIME FAV, i could talk about it forever, but it’s just so unique and close to my heart and the bantering is so cute, idc if u dont read txt read rn it’s amazing <3

the only exception ★ (12.4k, stranger gyu, f)

this fic is just so warm and homely? it made me smile lots T-T

i said “why won’t you “forget?” (2.7k, runaway beomjun, f, a)

favor (4k+ twoshot, classmate gyu, f, a)

⚠︎ kang taehyun:

none yet <\3

⚠︎ huening kai:

none yet <\3

EXTRA ! (i don’t read bts anymore, but i wanted to include these since they’re still favs of mine!)

so you wanna be the best ★ (8.1k, POKEMON TRAINER JUNGKOOK! f)

I GREW UP WITH POKEMON, DIGIMON ALL THAT. so when i saw this??? i genuinely screamed this. one is vv close to my heart <3

lifeguard ★ (12.6k, lifeguard jungkook, f)

this fic will get you to giggle at least once, istg one of the funniest fics i’ve read it is HILARIOUS i’m not over jk putting sunscreen on mcs back and her thinking it was tae the whole time T-T

thank you for reading!! again, make sure to give the authors lots of love :D

OMG KIM BELOVED THIS IS SUHC A FUN IDEA ALREADY?? AHGH IM SO EXCITED 🤬🤬🤬‼️‼️ i love jiung ik he’s going to be funny AND ALSO YOU WROTE THIS SO WELL AS USUAL 🫶🫶

SINCERELY, YOUR SECRET ROYALTY!

001. i got into what?

WARNINGS: swearing

WC: 1152

“what why the fuck would i do that” you exclaimed as you wiped the tables off. it was 6pm, which was closing time for bees bakery. you and jiung were busy cleaning up before closing the doors officially.

“because ynnnn, it would be fun to see how the royals live dont ya think? and plus we could hopefully find you a man!!” jiung whined as he threw his cloth in the sink and started to untie his apron. “no jiung, plus i would rather eat dirt that get with one of those royals, they’re jus stuck-ups and you know it.” you said as you threw your cloth at jiung which landed in his face. “rude” he rolled his eyes.

be:lift royal high school was holding a challenge, opened to anyone, including 10 commoners. now, be:lift was never someone to do this, but with their new headmistress, mrs hwang, everything went south. she wanted to see if commoners could get along with royals, and if it was the case, she would make a new school dedicated to royals and non-royals.

“well if you ever make up your mind, you know who to call, i already signed myself in!!!” jiung said as he walked out the cafe. “bye yn!!” he screamed as you waved at him. you sighed as you loosened your apron and hung it up before getting your stuff and locking up the bakery.

the walk home wasnt too far, since you stayed with your grandpa, ben. his wife, bee, used to be the owner of the bakery before she fell ill. now she’s sitting in the hospital slowly recovering. so you being you, you decide to name the bakery after her, so that when she came out of the hospital, she could see what you had been doing.

“aera im home!!” you shouted as you walked into the house. “yn!” your grandpa called as he smiled at you. “hi benny” you smiled as you gave your grandpa a hug. “ynnie!!!” you sister called as she ran towards you. “hi ae” you said as you pulled away from the hug and turned on the tv.

“have you heard about the be:lift challenge?” aera said as she looked at you. “i have, jiung couldn’t stop talking about it today” you replied as you groaned at the thought. “eeeek! im so excited to see who get in, i heard they’re going to announce who got in today!” aera said turning her attention back to the tv. “i couldn’t careless” you said before checking your phone. “oh prince sunghoon is so dreamy, if i could go i would definitely not miss out on looking at him” aera said as she saw sunghoon on the tv. “aera!!” you said as you smacked her arm lightly. “ow! what? im jus being honest” she said as she rolled her eyes.

now you wouldn’t lie, prince sunghoon was attractive. him and his friends, who were known as enhypen, were all attractive but sunghoon had to be the most. his visuals were out of this world and the way he carried himself too was insane. he could make everyone drop what they’re doing and have all the attention on him.

“oh!! theyre going to announce right now!!” aera said as she got up to get some snacks. “stupid royals shit” you whispered under your breath and rolled your eyes. aera soon came back and turned to volume on the tv higher.

“welcome everyone to the first ever commoner student invitation to our school!” mrs hwang said as the crownd clapped hands. “the winners will be able to go to be:lift royal high school for the next 1.5 years, starting now, and will be able to do any outside activities they want.” she continued. “now lets see our winners, drum roll please” she said smiling brightly.

“ezaki hikaru”

“mark lee”

“choi jiung”

“sim yn”

you gasped. aera looked at you and started jumping up and down. “you got in!! you got in!!” she said as she shook you. you zoned out after you heard your name so you didnt know who else got in. you stared at the tv screen in disbelief, there was no way. you didnt even sign yourself up. “how?” you asked still zoned out. “i signed you in!!” aera said as she smiled at you. “aera oh my god” you groaned as your rubbed your face.

your phone started ringing. “oh my god bitch we both got in!!” jiung said as you could tell he was smiling brightly. “i didnt even sign myself up” you said as you looked at aera. “me and aera did. i did say that if we do something we do it together, payback for forcing me to work at the bakery” jiung said as he laughed at the end. “i hate you so fucking much” you said as you stood up. “i love you too, now get ready, ill see you soon” jiung said before ending the call.

“aera go get the door!” you shouted in your room. “okay” she said before she went to open the door. “here for sim yn” said a deep voice. there in the doorway stood a tall buff man dressed in an all black suit. “i’ll get get her” aera squealed. “yn yn yn!!! i think they’re here!!” aera called as she dragged you out of your room. “ae what are you-“ “hi” you said as you stopped mid sentence. “miss sim?” the man said once again. “thats me?” you asked in confusion. “im here to pick you up for be:lift royal high school, i’ll be your driver and butler for the next 1.5 years maam” he said as he took off his hat and bowed to you. “we should get going, this way miss” he said as he showed you.

“bye ynnie, im gonna miss you and also tell prince sunghoon his wife is waiting for him” she said as he laughed. “oh wow ae, like i would do that, i think ill stick with jiung and some of the other commoners” you said as you gave aera a tight hug. “bye benny, love you” you said as you went to hug your grandpa before heading towards the car.

you waved at your sister and grandpa as the car took you to the highschool. “first things first mr who-ever you are, lets get this straight, you can call me yn, no miss and that stuff alright.” you said as he drove away. “yes yn” he replied. “you name?” you said smiling at him a bit. “im mr kim namjoon miss” he said as he smiled at you. “okay mr joonie, you’re gonna be stuck with me for a while, and it wont be too easy i’ll tell you” you said as you smirked an leaned back in the car. you could tell this was going to be a long ride.

masterlist | previous | next

AN — first chap🤭🤭

TAGLIST (open) — @luvhooniez @hoonfever @yenqa @l1lac-dreamer @hikyeom @nyfwyeonjun @palajae @yourstrulykiri @abdiitcryy @zuhahrts @rikkiloveskpop @sungookie @viagumi @trsrina @bookishcalls @cocos4ninii @wooniy @lilactangerine @mutlishipperfangirl @pluviophilefangirl @s4turnsl0ver @ynnamxree @yjjungwon

bye i’m going to SOB??!! oh my gosh author you’re just an absolute genius this was so incredible and just beautifully written i’m literally ☹️☹️😭😭 your writing is so easy to read, and i absolutely love the way you took the more classic arranged marriage/royal au and made it your own!! 🥹 all the characters were so so loveable INCLUDING mc (which in itself is amazing to me, because i usually have a hard time liking mcs in fics), and my favorite character was for sure chaewon T-T SHE WAS JUST SO CUTE AND ALWAYS THERE FOR MC AUGH, i was secretly hoping she would treat chae more like a friend than a maid by the end but <\3333 STILL I LOVED HER AND BEOMGYU SO MUCH !! AND AND THE EPILOGUE?? JUN GIVING HER AN ART STUDIO I WAS JUST T-T AWWWW, AND finding out she’s been drawing him the whole time sjbdjdbdj mc is so adorable bye 😭😭 anywayS again, you have such a talent for writing i am absolutely dumbstruck rn and will be rereading this when i’m feeling down 🫶 MUCH LOVE AND THANK U FOR SHARING THIS WONDERFUL FIC <3!!!!

STEAL MY HEART ; CHOI YEONJUN · 19.6k words

summary ▸  you thought you’d only need art in life, but when your mother arranges for you to marry the duke, choi yeonjun, your life is turned on its head. now in what you think will be a loveless marriage, can a trip to the country change things for you both? pairing ▸ choi yeonjun x fem!reader genre ▸ regency!au, arranged marriage!au, (kind of) enemies-to-lovers!au (it’s more like they just annoy each other for a bit); duke!yeonjun, artist!reader, fluff, some angst other characters ▸ original characters, kim chaewon, choi beomgyu, choi soobin, kang taehyun warnings ▸ explicit language, food, mentions of drinking, mentions of drunk yeonjun (it’s only in a couple scenes), jealous yeonjun (only for like a second lol), minor character death, very brief mentions of sex (no explicit smut written), very old ways of thinking about women and marriage, yeonjun and beomgyu are brothers in this for story purposes, this story is not historically accurate so please do not take it as such song rec ▸ thank u, next, Dancing with a Stranger, & Watermelon Sugar : covers by Vitamin String Quartet - (i love these songs so i highly rec listening to them while you read!!)

a/n ▸ well this has been such an adventure and a half to write! LOL anyways tho this is my entry for the writing nook’s “a season of refreshments and courtship” event hosted by the wonderful @mxxndreams​ !! (go and check out the other lovely fics in the link above!!) i’ve never really written something with the period piece/regency aura, so this was fun to experiment with. i’m not sure how well i did but hopefully it’s alright hehe ✨ thank you to all the lovely people in the writing nook for all their support! i managed to get this fic done with your help and you all are amazing people~ thank you to lia for making one of the best places i’ve encountered on the internet, i feel so happy and safe and supported when i’m there. <33 now please enjoy this! (ps: i couldn’t not pick vsq’s watermelon sugar cover it was too fitting and also it made me think of yeonjun’s aotm haha)

feedback

☕— like my writing and wanna support me? consider buying me a coffee (kofi link in my bio) do let me know what you thought of this story by sending me an ask here!! :3

i.

YOU STARED AT THE BIRD YOU’D JUST PAINTED ON YOUR CANVAS, AND ALTHOUGH YOU THOUGHT YOU’D DONE PRETTY WELL, IT WAS STILL LIFELESS. YOU JUST COULDN’T FIND THAT INSPIRATION—THAT OOMPH—THAT YOU NEEDED TO REVITALIZE YOUR INSPIRATION.

You needed something to completely steal your heart and capture your attention; something that would have you only drawing that subject. You’d take anything at this point.

Pretty soon though, everything was going to change; you weren’t sure how much longer you could just stow yourself away in your room and paint and draw to your heart’s content. 

Soon, you were going to be married to someone you’d never even met. 

“_____! Come out from there, the Duke and his family are here!” 

Your mother’s voice rang out in the halls, and you tensed a bit; breath catching your throat. 

It was time. 

Keep reading

this was so cute WTHH ☹️ i absolutely love slice of life fics like this especially lifeguard/summer job aus T-T this whole fic was soso well written especially the first few paragraphs and i can’t believe this doesn’t have more notes??! >:( the characters were really loveable to me (except yeonjun 💀💀) despite being only 5k words and everything was just really well paced :D AUGHH THIS WAS JUST SUCH A FUN READ THANK U FOR WRITING THIS !! 🫶🫶🫶 alsO yn bringing fruit for gyu and kai instead of junk food. what a mom i love her 😭😭

actions have consequences

you’d never liked going to the beach, it always ended with sand in places sand shouldn’t be and sea water on your carseats. yet still, you found yourself applying to become a lifeguard at your college’s hottest summer hangout spot — the beach. you didn’t expect to get accepted, and now your worst nightmare was about to become your reality.

pairing choi soobin x fem! reader (ft. choi yeonjun)

genre fluff, bit of angst, college au, lifeguard! soobin, lifeguard! reader, slice of life

warnings cursing, talk about swimming and drowning and the ocean, alcohol, kissing

the ear-splitting squawking of seagulls was the first reminder of the stupid decision you had made. you gripped your pillow in your hands and stuffed your face into it, squeezing your eyes shut to block out the light. it was fairly difficult considering your cabin was only made of wooden planks riddled with cracks that the light was able to slip through.

rolling over to face away from the window, you stared blankly around the small room. there was just your bed, a wooden chair and a mini fridge. why on earth your employers decided a mini fridge was better than personal bathrooms, you weren’t sure. with a huff, you grabbed your phone to check the time. it was five in the morning, half an hour before your first shift of the summer.

‘shit,’ you pushed yourself up out of bed, almost tripping over your suitcase on your way to the door. uniform in hand, you grabbed your sandals and left your cabin, locking the door behind yourself. as fast as you could, you ran along the wooden pier until you were met with the communal bathrooms.

out of all summer jobs, you managed to get yourself into the worst one possible. you hated everything about the beach, including the people. there was sand and salty water and seaweed that stuck to your feet, as well as shaking dogs and children with sticky hands from their ice cream cones. not to mention how it was always smokey from people barbecuing, and teenagers decorated the beach with empty beer bottles every single night.

tugging the white t-shirt that read, ‘guard,’ in red lettering over your bright red swimsuit, you thanked the universe that the dress code wasn’t a bikini. pushing your way out of your stall, you hurried to brush your teeth as the rest of the girls around you chatted casually. you almost forgot that you were the new girl.

you carried your pyjamas and toiletry bag back to your cabin, exchanging them for your lifeguard kit. looping your whistle around your neck, you locked your cabin door once more. then you became suddenly aware of how tired you were feeling, realising how early in the morning it actually was. you’d rather be spending your summer locked away in your dorm than waking up earlier than the sun for two entire months.

as you turned towards the exit of the pier, you came chest-to-face with a stranger. raising your gaze, you saw that he was smirking back down at you.

‘uhm, sorry,’ you stepped over to your left, letting him pass. but at the same time, he moved to his right. ‘you go first.’ laughing lightly at the situation, you stepped out of the way once again.

‘what’s your name?’ you were so taken aback by the question that you simply stared at him. ‘i’ve never seen you around here.’

‘it’s my first day,’ you explained. ‘and my name is y/n.’

‘well, y/n, if you ever need someone to show you a good time, i’ll be eternally available,’ the boy smiled, making you force a smile back in his direction. college boys sure were forward. ‘i’ll be in cabin eight, just so you know.’

‘leave her alone, yeonjun,’ another voice cut the two of you off. you turned to face a slightly taller boy, happy that he came to your rescue. the boy you assumed to be yeonjun shrugged and began walking in the direction of the bathrooms. ‘sorry about him. he’s actually very sweet, just flirts with anything with a pulse.’

‘thank you,’ you smiled, awkwardly staring down at the wood beneath your feet. ‘i have to go, lives to guard.’

‘yeah, of course,’ he stepped out of your way, watching you all but flee the scene from embarrassment.

lives to guard? groaning to yourself, you were almost glad to be planting your feet on the hot sand. there stood your supervisor, a clipboard in hand as she scanned the beach.

‘morning, newbie,’ she greeted you, scrolling through her list. ‘since it’s your first shift, i’ll put you up on that tower over there in the middle. a mentor should be with you soon, and your lunch break is at eleven. don’t worry, though, i’m sure soobin stashed enough snacks for the both of you.’

‘sure, thank you,’ clutching your bag, you turned on your heels and headed for the lifeguard tower. it was quite large, enough to fit at least five people onto the platform alone. then there was a small white room perched atop it, where you assumed all the equipment needed for an emergency was situated.

you sat with your feet dangling, eyes scanning the scarce beach. a few old couples occupied it, walking their dogs before it became too busy. it wasn’t too sunny yet, although you wished you’d bought yourself a visor when you’d had the chance.

ten minutes passed before you saw another lifeguard come down onto the beach. it was the taller boy who has saved yeonjun’s attempt to label you his summer fling, and he was headed your way. oh god, he’s soobin. naturally, he turned to the steps leading up to you, flashing you a perfect smile, dimples and all.

‘so you’re my mentor with a stash of snacks,’ you stood up, holding your hand out towards him. he stared at you blankly before realising you wanted him to shake your hand. ‘sorry, was that too formal for a lifeguard?’

‘only slightly,’ he laughed softly at your awkward approach. ‘but are you hungry? i always bring food to break up the long day of sitting and watching people.’

‘not usually at this time of the day,’ you watched him sit down, and instantly followed to sit at his side. ‘but i am now that i’m awake.’

‘yeah, it’s a difficult routine to get used to,’ he agreed, placing his bright red bag at his side. ‘so… do you live around here?’

‘not exactly,’ you gratefully accepted the breakfast bar from his offering hand. ‘i’m a student at the college.’

‘me too,’ soobin sent you another one of his perfect smiles. ‘yeonjun forced me into this job last year. he’s graduating next summer and wants to work the beach one last time.’

‘lot’s of opportunity for dates, i guess,’ taking a bite, you turned to face the beach again. ‘he’s quite the charmer.’ the two of you laughed together at your joke, and you were glad you got paired up with someone as sweet as soobin.

by the end of your second week, you’d gotten the hang of things. the days were getting longer and hotter and you found yourself shopping for that visor as well as a bikini you promised yourself you wouldn’t buy. but who could say no to a cute, cherry red bikini that had, ‘lifeguard,’ printed along the hems?

soobin was easily your closest friend out of the lifeguards. he introduced you to his four college friends, too, but it didn’t stick completely. except for maybe beomgyu, because who could resist such a sweet energetic boy?

the only downside of scooting your way into an all-boys group was the pure hatred felt by the other girls. it wasn’t in your plan to make any enemies, especially not with the people who had access to your shampoo bottles. a new fear of going completely bald or a ridiculous colour overnight had been unlocked, for sure.

still, you spent most of your days with soobin. it was routine to sit on the lifeguard tower all day, sharing snacks and stories. you always teased soobin for not being able to swim, and he threatened to put sand into every pair of your shoes in return. he’d taught you all the basics of being a lifeguard, which is how you caught up so quickly.

he always switched his shifts to be with you, and would accompany you to lunch everyday. you’d miss him at dinner sometimes, but he would check up on you before you were off to bed. and both fridays, he treated you to ice cream. a small part of you was hoping it would become your new weekly tradition.

‘good morning, y/n,’ beomgyu called from across the beach, waving you over. he was your mentor for the day, despite the fact you were sure you didn’t need one anymore. ‘what’d you bring?’

‘every kind of fruit you could imagine,’ you teased, making your way up to the tower and sitting cross-legged on the ground. he grimaced but took a seat opposite you, waiting for you to tell him you were just kidding. ‘i’m just taking care of you.’

‘no fun,’ he shook his head. ‘yeonjun always has the best snacks.’

‘well, he’s right over there with soobin,’ you pointed out, gesturing towards the two sitting on some beach chairs. oh how you envied the ground shifts, as beomgyu had nicknamed them. ‘we can swap if you want. but take this, i packed you all a fruit tub each.’

‘ugh, fine,’ he grabbed the two containers from you before pushing himself up onto his feet. ‘just because soobin is your favourite.’

‘bring back those containers later!’ you called after him, following him with your gaze. he went to talk to the boys, and you watched as soobin nodded to himself as he listened. the smile that spread across your lips couldn’t be helped.

he was so dreamy with the way his eyes crinkled and his dimples appeared when he smiled, and he was so tall which made him a lot easier to spot from a distance. he always wore his t-shirt and some cherry red swim trunks, but occasionally he would use the bottom of his shirt to wipe at his eyes or face. every time he did so, you would hope he was going to take it off.

his eyes met yours and he gestured for you to come down. you smiled, shaking your head and patting the space beside you. he excused himself from the conversation, brushing his hair back with his hand as he made his way over.

but the moment was easily interrupted when you spotted two young boys practically drowning each other in the sea. struggling to grab your whistle, you made your way onto the beach before you were able to blow it. pulling the boys apart, you lectured them both about the dangers of holding each other under the water. they both looked glum as they made their way back to their parents who were too busy reading to notice.

‘hey,’ soobin came up behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders and turning you around. ‘are you free tonight?’

‘why?’ you made your way back up to your tower. ‘i mean, obviously, but why?’

‘there’s going to be a party tonight,’ he explained. ‘on the pier, after the sun sets. probably just a bunch of people hanging out in each other’s cabins and making out under those hideous christmas lights. i thought you and i could get away from it all.’

‘but a party sounds nice,’ you pouted, reclaiming your spot with your back against the wall. pulling out your water bottle, you waited for soobin to say something else. ‘i need it after a day as hot as this one.’

‘well, that’s fine too,’ he pursed his lips, looking off to the distance. ‘i guess it could be fun.’

you hardly noticed the silence that fell over the two of you after the party discussion until you realised it was lunch time. ‘so, where to?’ you asked hopefully, but soobin’s response was definitely not what you were expecting.

‘having lunch with the guys today,’ he rushed out, slinging his bag onto his shoulder and almost running from you. being left in the dust, you slowly packed your things up and made your way back up to the pier. then you saw him talking to one of the girls, who he led towards the street. you felt your jaw drop at the sight.

rolling your eyes, you entered your cabin and slammed the door behind you. unsurprisingly, beomgyu was sprawled across your bed. ‘so you saw it, i’m guessing?’

‘saw what?’ you snapped back bitterly. ‘and i need you out of my room so i can lock up while i shower.’

‘you saw soobin with another girl,’ he laughed. ‘don’t act clueless, y/n, we all know you have a thing for him.’

‘i don’t,’ turning to face beomgyu, you shot him a glare. ‘i’m just mad he lied to me about having lunch with you guys. really, who does that? besides, i like someone else.’

‘is it me?’ he rolled over onto his stomach, placing his chin in his palm and fluttering his eyelashes at you.

‘it most certainly is not,’ you grabbed your spare lifeguard t-shirt, throwing the material in his face. ‘i’ve witnessed you drunk, gyu, there’s no coming back from that.’

‘i’m just saying,’ he stood up, dropping your t-shirt onto your bed. ‘with soobin out of the picture, you have more time for me.’

‘oh, sure,’ flicking off your light, you forced beomgyu out of your cabin. ‘want to get lunch with me? i promise no more fruit.’

soobin never came back after lunch. it wasn’t like you were worried, considering you didn’t know when his shift started and ended. beomgyu had took it upon himself to sit with you until the sun began to set, pushing all of your buttons. he jumped from singing in a ridiculous voice to trying to flip your water bottle to hiding your whistle all over the beach.

you were pretty much exhausted by the time you finished washing all the sand and sea water off your skin, but you couldn’t escape the pier party. soobin turned out to be right about the christmas lights. pushing your way through college kids drinking and kissing turned your one minute trip to your cabin into a five minute trip.

out of instinct, you checked your phone for messages. there was one from taehyun asking if you’d seen soobin, but none from the boy you all seemed to be searching for. falling back on your bed, you frowned up at the dark wooden ceiling. you knew beomgyu or yeonjun would be here to drag you out of your pitiful state soon, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move.

it sounded like soobin was asking you out just hours ago, but now he was disappearing for the entire day with girls you’d never seen before. maybe if you hadn’t been so stupid to shoot him down so quick, he’d be at your door about to pick you up. there was a knock on your door before it swung open, and there stood yeonjun.

your relationship with him was awkward. in fact, he was the first person that came to mind when you lied to beomgyu about liking someone other than soobin. because he was crazy attractive and had his way with words and sometimes you caught yourself staring at his lips wondering what it’d be like to kiss them. he enjoyed flirting with you and you let him, but he knew you had feelings for his best friend. you weren’t close like you were with beomgyu, it wasn’t casual like it was with taehyun and kai, and it certainly wasn’t whatever you had with soobin.

‘come on,’ he sat beside you, pulling you up to sit. ‘i’ll be your date for the night. i can show you that good time i promised.’

‘it never stops, does it?’ you laughed at his attempt to cheer you up. ‘but sure, i’d like that.’

he grabbed your hand, leading you out onto the pier. the music was deafening but it was also freeing to hear some loud guitar and drums. beach goers loved to play the latest pop songs, and it drove you mad at how repetitive they were.

‘i’ll get us some drinks,’ yeonjun leaned in to say, leaving you to rest against the railing to examine the area. that was when you saw soobin and the mystery girl down at the beach. your expression and heart dropped all at once.

honestly, you felt stupid. actions have consequences, is what you tried to tell yourself. it was only your own fault. soobin said he lived by that, considering he was working as a lifeguard but he couldn’t even swim himself. you agreed when you explained how you had a deep hatred for the beach but somehow ended up in the same predicament. if you hadn’t picked the party over a night with soobin, maybe you would’ve been walking hand-in-hand down the beach with him as he was with her.

‘sorry, line was long,’ yeonjun handed you a red solo cup. ‘i have no idea what’s in it.’

‘i don’t care,’ you finished the drink in a few gulps. ‘i’m getting a refill.’

yeonjun didn’t understand what had gotten into you until he spotted the scene on the beach. he shrugged it off and let you do whatever you felt like doing, it wasn’t his heartbreak to deal with. you returned to see the couple had retired from their romantic stroll under the stars, and the thought alone made you roll your eyes. before you knew it, the two had made their way up to the pier and were talking to a small group.

you gestured for yeonjun to lean in closer until you were sure only he could hear you. ‘i need you to kiss me,’ he chewed on his bottom lip in thought, glancing over at the couple. ‘i need to see if soobin has any sort of feelings for me.’

‘how dramatic should i be about it?’ he beamed. you could tell he was loving this evil plan of yours.

‘enough to be attention grabbing but not so much so that beomgyu starts wolf-whistling,’ you nodded, mentally preparing yourself. ‘and enough that soobin sees.’

without another word, yeonjun grabbed your face and placed his thumbs over your lips. he pulled you into the fake kiss, the force of it making you grab onto his t-shirt for support. he’d angled it perfectly so that soobin couldn’t see his trick of blocking the kiss with his thumbs. seconds felt like minutes before he pulled away, smiling at you lovingly like lovers would do. you returned the smile, his hands still cupping your face.

when you glanced in soobin’s direction, he was you watching over the top of his cup. he was quick to look away, and that was the last you saw of him for the rest of the night.

everything that could’ve went wrong, had went wrong. soobin stopped hanging out with yeonjun and beomgyu, because you came with them like a free gift. and he was mad at yeonjun, because he had known about his feelings for you when he kissed you. taehyun and kai were caught in the middle, but ended up on your side most of the time. they adored soobin, but they weren’t the biggest fans of the girl always trailing at his side.

you hated how things had switched. beomgyu’s singing was no longer annoying, you simply watched soobin’s every move from the tower as the former switched between different tones and genres every second. you always packed some extra fruit or vegetables for soobin, forgetting he was never around to take them from you. you’d search for him before lunch or dinner, only to discover he’d already left.

sometimes you would see him and the girl around. they didn’t seem awfully friendly, but it felt like you were being replaced. you missed shifts with soobin, talking about nothing important all day under the sun. and his dimples when he smiled, or how easily he got shy from your teasing. his laugh was contagious and addictive at the same time, but he didn’t laugh much anymore.

you thought you were being dramatic, he was only around for two of the four weeks you had been working. but did time really have anything to do with intensity? you weren’t sure.

the only thing you were sure about was that everything had became dull without soobin. it was a continuous cycle of waking up to seagulls, showering in a dull communal bathroom and watching strangers have fun all day. even the pier parties seemed like a bore. you locked your door and listened to music through headphones at every single one.

actions have consequences. you never should’ve taken a job at a place you despised, you never should’ve made soobin think you kissed yeonjun. it was petty of you, and now you were paying for it.

everyday you would pass soobin, and everyday it was awkward. like he was a stranger, not the cheerful boy you had met on your first day. you had to get yourself out of there.

‘i’m thinking about leaving early,’ you announced at dinner, making yeonjun drop his spoon. beomgyu stared at you wide-eyed as if you had just told him the worst news in the world. ‘i know it’s a two month job that ends with the summer, but i hate it here. the sand is starting to ruin all of my days.’

‘you could just talk to him,’ beomgyu aggressively shook his head as yeonjun tried to reason with you. the younger was practically begging you to take it back. ‘soobin has always been a believer in communication. you can work it out.’

‘this has nothing to do with soobin,’ you avoided their eyes, staring down at your plate. ‘i already told you guys i hate the beach. sure, having soobin around made it a less painful, but i still hated it.’

‘but you’re our y/n,’ beomgyu whined. ‘we need you.’

‘i’ll see you at college in autumn,’ you comforted him, patting the top of his head. ‘i’ll even let you have a sleepover at my dorm.’

beomgyu was still sulking after you’d finished eating and wished the boys farewell as you made your way to your cabin. pulling out your suitcase from under your bed, you began folding your clothes to place them neatly into it. but getting bored easily, you grabbed your phone and dived back onto your bed.

word had already spread to the two youngest boys. kai promised he would eat any nutritious snack you handed to him if it would make you stay, and taehyun asked you if you would go swimming with him one more time. beomgyu was spamming you with crying gifs, whereas yeonjun told you not to pay attention to their pleas.

the knock on your door was expected. you pulled it open thinking it would be beomgyu, but there stood soobin in all his glory. his hair was windswept and he was out of breath, as if he had just ran a mile in a minute.

‘um,’ you cleared your throat. ‘did you run all—?’

there was no going back now. soobin wasn’t the impulsive type, but there he was cupping your cheek and pulling you into a kiss. your eyes shot open in realisation before you relaxed into the kiss. but before you could kiss him back, he pulled away.

‘was that too much?’ his cheeks reddened. ‘i’m sorry.’

‘no, it was fine,’ you nodded, smiling. ‘i didn’t kiss yeonjun.’

‘i know,’ his tongue came out to wet his lips. ‘and she isn’t my girlfriend.’

‘i know,’ you copied, staring up into his eyes. ‘can you—?’

before you could finish your question, he pulled you back into his arms. you looped your arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer to you. you were given the chance to kiss him back, reassuring him about your feelings. his hands moved from your face to your waist, not wanting to let you go.

‘so… will you stay?’

‘because i kissed you i’m obligated to stay?’

‘actions have consequences, y/n,’

the sound of beomgyu wolf-whistling was quickly cut off by yeonjun slapping his hand over his mouth. the two of you parted instantly, turning to see the duo hanging out of yeonjun’s cabin.

I WILL CRY THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE AND SO WELL WRITTEN??? op i genuinely love ur writing so much it’s just so aihsjsn i can’t explain it but this was so cute and fun to read 😭!!! love gyu in this even if he’s a bit of a dumbass sometimes 🧌

ᝰ another favor | choi beomgyu ˎˊ˗

genre: fluff & angst

type: drabble / twoshot

word count: 3.8k

description: beomgyu has finally worked up the courage to ask you out. but after seeing you hang out with someone else, he’s outraged.

contents: beomgyu taking advantage of the reader’s feelings, and i think i wrote beomgyu as more of a brat lol

prompts ↓

“can you picture it? you and i together?”

“you’re gorgeous.”

read the first half here

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈 𝐁𝐄𝐎𝐌𝐆𝐘𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐒. His ears felt hot, which meant they had already turned red. His hands were sweaty, and he had to keep stopping on his way to your locker to wipe his hands on his pants, trying his best not to crush the rose he was holding. Beomgyu couldn’t believe that he hadn’t even approached you yet, but was already a nervous wreck. Hopefully you were at your locker and there were no interruptions because he didn’t think he’d have the courage to confront you at a later time.

The quivering boy peeked behind the corner, and spotted you, shoving books into your locker. You always arrived at school earlier than most, when the hallways were still scarce, to review your notes before class. Beomgyu had shown up forty minutes early, just for you. 

He let out a quiet laugh, and a small blush crept onto his cheeks, as he watched you struggle to wedge your science textbook between your other books.

They’re so adorable, he thought.

Beomgyu was then struck with an idea. He could walk on over and hand you the rose. Next he’d take the textbook from you, and fit it in your locker for you. Then make some sort of remark like, “You looked like you could use some help”, radiating confidence because he figured you liked that part of his personality. He’d ask you for a favor right after you hit him with a sassy reply, (he really hoped you’d tell him to kiss you again instead), and the favor would be for you to go out with him.

Beomgyu nodded to himself. He patted his fluffy, brown hair down to cover his tinted ears, adjusted the collar of his shirt, and flattened down his blazer. He was going in, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. And he shouldn’t have to worry about that, because you always said yes.

But before Beomgyu could even make it three feet away from where he was standing, someone else came up to you. They weren’t walking with a red rose, but they were walking with a dazzling persona and a smile so bright and lively that if the video game Super Mario Sunshine was a person, it would be this guy.

Keep reading

AGH SUE!! I FINALLY GOT TO READ ANOTHER ONE OF UR BEAUTIFUL WORKS AND U LEFT ME SMILING ONCE AGAIN 😕😕 i just have to say first that your writing in this was absolutely wonderful (as usual ofc hehehd); the way every sentence was worded and the pacing was all very very well done especially with the dialogue!! i dont usually enjoy jealousy scenarios a bunch, but you did this so beautifully and it was a very fun read overall <3 I LOVE COLD BF RIKI :(( the hug at the end was adorable and i pray that bestie chaewon got to sleep peacefully in the end 🫶🫶🫶

jealousy, jealousy — nrk.

trope. established relationship. overprotective / jealousy au.

synopsis. nishimura riki is stubborn and hard-headed, yet not even a fight can stop him from making sure no one bothers his girlfriend. who knew jealousy could look so good on riki? (2.1k words)

note. here’s to anon who requested for me to write jealous aus! realized i’ve never actually tried writing it before :0 the song btw has nothing to do w the fic. just stole the title

There’s nothing more unsettling than seeing you trying to talk to Nishimura Riki who is actively making it a point to avoid looking or speaking to you, despite being in the same vehicle.

Especially when you’re saying, gently, “Riki, I’m really sorry.”

Riki couldn’t bring himself to look at you. He was understandably upset, and there was an insistent voice in his head that told him to give you the silent treatment. Your boyfriend had the right to be annoyed – especially when he had spent hours prior in the day waiting for you at your favorite ice cream parlor.

It wasn’t like you had meant to stand him up on your date. You had been called back late by your teacher, and you had forgotten to inform Riki especially when your mind was a sea of responsibilities you had to tend to. And on most days, Riki would understand and forgive you in a heartbeat – even offer to help you with your workload.

He always said it was a stupid reason to be upset with, and it was in hindsight. However, it’s been a really long time since you’d last been on a date together.

With his dance competitions and your constant strive to keep your scholarship, the both of you were understandably busy. Spotting free time on both of your schedules was rare and you took every chance at spending time together when it happened.

Today was one of those days, and the plan was that you’d go on an ice cream date (just the two of you) before going to one of Jay’s famous parties. It didn’t help that Riki was particularly clingy today after having lost a spot in the Top 3 of his recent competition. He just wanted to be with you, to bask in your comfort, and to hold you in his arms as a reminder that there was always next time.

And you had accidentally robbed him of that. So, Nishimura Riki was upset with you.

“Riki–” You begin.

“Don’t.” He cut you off before you could even continue. “I don’t really want to talk to you right now.”

He surprised himself with how cold he spoke to you, guilt instantly settling in, but it was too late to take back his words. Besides, you knew never to take it to heart when Riki was upset. You’d just have to try again tomorrow, when he’d have enough time to calm himself down. So, you simply grow quiet as he pulls up the driveway of your shared friend’s house.

The night air is cold when you step out of the car, and you visibly shrug at the sudden coolness in contrast to the heat you had felt in the silence between you and your boyfriend. It’s only now that Riki allows himself to look at you. His gaze follows the gentle shaking of your shoulders and the clattering of your teeth as you wrap your arms around yourself in an attempt to warm yourself.

While he was angry, Riki was not a cruel boyfriend. Shrugging his jacket off, he places it on your shoulders gently, helping you adjust your arms in its sleeves to make sure that in the chill of the night and the air-conditioned party, you would not feel cold.

Before you can thank him, he starts walking for the door.

Poor Sunoo is unaware of the fight when you pull both of you in for a hug, bouncing in conversation and being greeted by an awkward string of responses from the both of you. He only understands the situation when you and Riki walk separate ways upon entering the party.

The music is unbearably loud, and Riki is the first one to go meet up with his friends. You walk the opposite direction in hopes of seeing a friend.

Truthfully, you did not want to be in this party right now. It was only ever fun when you were Riki, popping out an ankle biter or two as you’d make fun of the drunk teenagers around you. Time always stretched in meaningful ways when you were with him, blurred by silly dancing and excusing yourselves to pull pranks on your friends.

“(Name)!” You spot Felix, a good friend of Jake, approaching you with a smile on his face. He gives you a side hug, immediately noticing the lack of your boyfriend by your side. “Where’s Riki?” You return the warm smile at the boy, politely acknowledging him. You don’t really want to tell him you weren’t with Riki because you had a fight, so you settle with a little white lie.

“He’s downstairs. I’m looking for a friend.” Felix nods his head, patting your head before he’s called by Hyunjin. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you around!” With one last tap on the shoulder, Felix heads towards the direction of his friend, leaving you to walk around by yourself again.

You grow more anxious upon not spotting a single close friend in the party after roaming around the house for a good fifteen minutes. Then again, Jay’s space was huge and it’d be impossible to look through every space and crevice in search of a friend.

You had hoped maybe Yuna or Yunjin were around so you could pass time through conversation and gossip. However, fate doesn’t hand you luck tonight.

On the other side of the party, Riki is seated with his friends – Sunghoon and Jake joking around with a beer in hand as they chat about their recent flings, Sunoo off to dance with friends, Heeseung and Jay busying themselves to make sure the partygoers were accommodated with enough food and drinks, and Jungwon who is concerned why his friend is awfully quiet tonight with the absence of your usual figure next to him.

“Where’s (name)?” Jungwon starts.

“We had a fight.” Riki’s response is pointed as he glances at Jungwon before going back to people-watching. It’s like he doesn’t want to say it. Riki hates fighting with you – and while it was normal to occasionally fight in healthy relationships, it didn’t mean Riki hated it any less. However, he was stubborn and hardheaded, and that insistent voice has not left his head.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” Jungwon blinks, unsure of how to respond. He wasn’t sure if Riki wanted him to keep pushing at the topic or not. Going for the safe option, Jungwon keeps his mouth shut as he excuses himself to go help Jay and Heeseung.

While heading for the kitchen, Jungwon spots you seated on another couch in the living room, scrolling through your phone. Next to you is Chaewon who looks like she’s in a peaceful slumber despite the loud music and the crowd of people.

When you catch sight of the boy, he waves at you politely before he disappears into the crowd.

You hum to yourself. You suppose you should just leave in a bit after Chaewon wakes up. Besides, it wasn’t really a bother having her lean her head on your shoulder, and you didn’t really want to wake her to leave the party you had just joined.

You’re less fortunate with the man seated on your left.

He had been trying to talk to you the whole time you were looking for a friend (after Felix had left your side), and he had sat down next to you the moment you grew tired.

When Jungwon disappears, the boy next to you perks up and starts quizzing you on your name, which school you went to, what year you were in. He honestly seemed friendly, noticing your lack of mood for the party and attempting to lighten it up a little. But, you did not feel like answering him.

Perhaps he was trying to make a friend, but you were too preoccupied on how you were going to apologize to Riki tomorrow. And, he was being a little too creepy about not leaving you alone.

He tries asking you open-ended questions, tries to be quirky by asking conversation-inducing questions, but you really had nothing to say that might be of interest to him.

“You look like you aren’t enjoying yourself.” You’re ripped out of your thoughts at his constant efforts at a conversation, and when you start to feel properly awkward, you feel his arm slide behind you, dangling on the couch and inching impossibly closer to you. Maybe he wasn’t trying to make a friend after all.

You silently pray in your head for Chaewon to wake up so you could peel yourself away from the situation.

You stutter over your own words, trying to think of a way to tell him you really weren’t in the mood to have a conversation with a stranger, and you’re sure Riki wasn’t too big of a fan of someone else trying to be touchy with you.

While you appreciated his efforts at trying to make you enjoy yourself, you can’t help but think that he had ulterior motives, and you were sure your boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate that.

Was the oversized jacket you’re wearing not clue enough that you had a boyfriend?

“Yo, who’s that next to (name)?” Riki’s ears perk up at the mention of your name, back straightening as he tries to listen in on Jake and Sunghoon’s conversation.

“Riki, I think someone’s trying to chat your girlfriend up.” Sunghoon looks behind him to look at Riki who has grown intimidatingly silent at his comment. Motioning over to where you’re seated, Riki pushes himself off from the couch, peering over in search of his girlfriend in the crowd.

Jake and Sunghoon were right. In his view, he spots a stupid looking boy trying to impress you – and you were clearly not having it. Riki feels his head start to ache and his fists clench by his side. He grips his phone tighter, knuckles turning white at the sight that greets him.

The icy grip of jealousy that seeps through his veins is overwhelming. You’re smiling politely at the boy, and Riki knows you’re trying to think of a million ways to get away from the situation. He doesn’t understand why he feels jealous. It’s not like you even wanted to talk to that boy.

Then it clicks. Maybe that’s why. Because here you were, seated with some boy who has his hand on your shoulder when it should’ve been him. And all of this is happening just because he was upset at you for your lack of communication from a while ago.

Nishimura Riki couldn’t take it anymore.

Locked and loaded behind gritted teeth and popping veins on his neck, he makes his way through the crowd, stopping right in front of you and the cause of his annoyance. “The fuck do you think you’re doing?” Riki glares down at the boy beside you. “That’s my girlfriend, so get your hands off her.”

The sight of Riki is enough to send bullets of sweat down the boy’s forehead. With a newfound fear, the boy straightens up from his seat, pulling his arm off of you before raising it in defeat. “Dude, my bad. She was here alone, how should I have known she had a boyfriend?”

“Go fuck yourself.” Riki’s face flashes in your direction and his features soften at a ridiculously fast pace. He reaches out to take your hand in his before gently tugging you off of the couch, apologizing to Chaewon in the process while he takes you outside.

Riki pulls you in for a hug. He doesn’t care how upset he was with you, he needed to make sure you were okay. With his hand running through your back and his lips pressed on top of your head, he feels his mood instantly lighten.

He pulls away, brushing your hair off your face before asking quietly, “Are you okay?”

You thought about it for a second before nodding your head, smiling gratefully at him. You know he was upset with you (he might still be), and Riki tended to be stubborn and hardheaded when it came to arguments. It was just nice to know that even then, he always had your back. Even if he was angry or upset or annoyed, you knew you could always count on him to be there for you.

“You wanna go home?”

You nod your head, scooting closer to him. He knows that you just need him so he takes your hand in his, leading you over to where he had parked the car. “Maybe some ice cream to make it up to you?”

“Okay. I’m still upset, by the way.”

“I know. I love you.”

“...Love you too.”

TYUN 😭😭😭 THIS IS SO ADORABLE IM SOBBING :(((

[11:56 pm]: kang taehyun

taehyun is exhausted. his shoulder hurts, his lunch sucked, he got scolded because of course he fucking did and to make his already sour mood even worse, you haven’t texted him back the last few hours.

he can’t really blame you, he supposes. it’s almost midnight, maybe you had a similarly shitty day and just went to bed the second you got home — he understands, because that’s exactly what he plans to do tonight.

a deep sigh escapes him when he finally opens the door to your apartment, shrugging off his jacket and kicking his shoes off somewhere. he’ll put them away properly in the morning, he swears, right now he just needs to crawl into bed with you and fall asleep with his arms wrapped around you.

taehyun is a little caught off guard when he notices the light coming from the living room, did you forget to turn them off? maybe you fell asleep on the couch? he shuffles into the room, hand on the light switch when a…pile of blankets? on the floor catches his eye.

“what the f—“

a muffled gasp came from inside the pile and taehyun startles a little when your head suddenly pops out, looking up at him excitedly. “tae, i didn’t hear you come home—“ he silently watches you trying to crawl out of what he assumes to be a pillow fort as carefully as possible, scared of destroying your hard work.

taehyun can’t bite back the small albeit tired smile on his face when you finally stand in front of him, the excitement sparkling in your eyes successfully making his heart squeeze in a way he only ever experienced with you.

before he can ask you what you’re doing, why you decided to gather up all your blankets and pillows to build a questionably looking pillow fort at midnight, he’s tightly wrapped in your comforting embrace. letting out a deep sigh he tentatively wraps his arms around you, hiding his face in the crook of your neck, basking in your warmth.

taehyun doesn’t know why, but he very quickly finds himself rapidly blinking the sudden tears in his eyes away. it’s like everything just came crashing down the second your engulfed him in your arms, like he could finally breathe and relax for the first time in a while. it felt nice, though he still felt stupid for crying into your shoulder out of nowhere like that.

you don’t say anything. you just let him cry, one of your hands coming up to run your fingers through his hair, anything to soothe him a little and get him to relax completely.

“what’s up with that messy pile?” taehyun mutters through sniffles, just barely lifting his head from your shoulder to get a look at your face. “wh— messy pile?!” he chuckles at your furrowed brows, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek.

“it’s a pillow fort, okay? i thought it would be nice,” your voice gets softer towards the end and it makes his heart soar, “and you look like you could use something nice, hm?”

taehyun already feels like crying again when you cup his face and look up at him with this heart wrenching mix of overflowing love and worry; you just want him to be fine and healthy and happy.

god, he’s a fool in love.

he nods silently and watches you crawl back into the fort first, smiling softly when you hold open the entrance for him with your head popping out, looking up at him expectantly. following suit he gets comfortable next to you, the sheer amount of soft material surrounding him making it virtually impossible for him to be uncomfortable.

the dimly lit atmosphere is cozy and makes taehyun drowsy, snuggling closer to you almost on instinct when he feels his eyelids getting heavier. you pull him closer to you, letting him rest his head on your chest, hands gently rubbing along his back to soothe his tired muscles.

“i love you,” he whispers tiredly, tightening the hold he has on you, “and your messy pile.”

you pinch his side in retaliation for the slandering of your hard work, his sleepy chuckles making your heart flutter. “love you too,” you mumble against his skin, pressing a few kisses along his forehead, “even if you’re mean about my very nice pillow fort.”

part of the bucketlist boyfriends series

*i can’t link it since it messes w the tags </3

i’m in tae brainrot rn he is so. bf 🙁😭

♰ ━━ 3:00 𝘼𝙈

pairing: bf!taehyun x gn!reader genre: fluff, established relationship synopsis: Staying up and watching random YouTube videos wasn't the healthiest, but who couldn't when they're so addicting. As it got later into the night, you could not help but get more and louder with your laughs, which was the worst thing you could do. yenii note: just know that none of my stories are proof read 🤭

"Aw, that cat is so cute!!" you screamed out loud while forgetting that Taehyun, your boyfriend, was sleeping. You were too distracted by the video on your phone, that you couldn't care less about your boyfriend trying to sleep. You quickly turned on your stomach to get a little more comfortable with your phone. While you were watching another YouTube video, you randomly decided that you wanted to call your friend for no reason. The next 10 minutes, you and your friend were gossiping about work very loudly. At first, Taehyun could ignore the noise, but now you were just screaming at this point. "Babe.." your boyfriend mumbled. You turned your head at him, "hm?." he didn't say anything, so you just turned your head back at your phone. You continued to talk to your friend again, while Taehyun just stared at you with concern. He didn't understand why you were up this late, 'cause most of the time you would go to bed before he did. Taehyun moved closer to you and looked at your phone. "What is it Tae?." you asked your sleepy boyfriend. "It's 3:00 am babe, shouldn't you be sleeping?.." he asked with a concerned voice. "I'll go to bed later, besides I was just updating my friend on drama that happened at work.." you dragged. Taehyun pulled you into his embrace and rubbed your head. "You can tell her in the morning.." he cooed into your ear. "Let me just finish telling her!.. I'm almost done explaining anyway." you begged. Taehyun's muscular hands turned your body around to face him. "Fine.. Five more minutes, okay?" he told you. You nodded in response and kissed him on the cheek. "Five more minutes.." you scooted away from Taehyun and continued to talk to your friend again. Taehyun picked up his phone from the dresser next to him and checked the time every 5 seconds. He wanted you to go to sleep early, so he wouldn't see your moody side in the morning, but you didn't want to. 10 minutes passed, and you were still talking to your friend. Taehyun wanted you to realize that, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen, so he had to take it into his own hands. He pulled you back into his embrace and made you look at him. "Babe, It's been more than 5 minutes, in fact it has been 10 minutes, I thought you were going to bed.." he rubbed your cheek with his thumb. "Just one more minute, I promise!" you reassured him. You knew you weren't going to take 1 minute, but your friend was telling you something very interesting. He sighed and frowned. "Baby, I know you're not going to take one minute, just go to bed already, you can call them in the morning." He begged. All Taehyun wanted was to go to bed with his lovely partner, but you weren't making that happen because you were caught up with random drama your friend was talking about. You looked at your phone and sighed. "Uhm, I think it's getting late. We can talk about the rest in the morning, okay?!" you said with a soft smile. You could hear your friend whine, but you ignored it. "Goodnight!" you quickly said before ending the call. You turned back to look at Taehyun, and he couldn't help but have a soft smile on his face. "Thank you.." he cupped your cheeks. He gracefully kissed your pouted lips and hugged you after. "Okay, Let me put my phone away, and then we can finally go to bed!" you said cheerfully. You scooted back to your own dresser and placed your phone down. You rolled your body playfully back to Taehyun and cheerfully smiled at him. He pulled you back into his embrace for the last time before whispering into your ear sweet nothing's. You immediately fell asleep after cuddling with Taehyun for a few minutes. A soft laugh came out of your boyfriend after realizing you were sleeping. "Woah, I knew it, you were tired.."

©yeniiverse

this!! was!! so!! GOOD?!! HELLO I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS 7K WORDS IT FELT SO FAST AUGHH 😭😭 op your writing is so wonderful and flows very nicely and i could imagine every scene pretty well! i loved the little text convos every so often, it made me love each side character especially soobs hsbsns I WANTED MORE OF HIM AND THE OTHERS 😭💗 also in my opinion one of the hardest things to write is the context (? i hope u know what i mean) of a fic; an explanation of mcs life before the main plot happens and i think you did that really well with the first couple paragraphs! it wasn’t too long and overexplained, but it was also enough to picture what a week in mc’s life would be like <3 ANYWAYS I ENJOYED THIS THOROUGHLY, YOU DID THE FRENEMIES TROPE SUPER WELL AND THIS FIC WAS VV FUNNY AND THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF FLUFF N ANGST 🫶🫶 thank u for sharing <333

mr. vice president // yeonjun

Choi Yeonjun was an ace, and everyone knew it. He was a star athlete, top student, creative genius, school vice-president, and prom royalty. The only person who even came close to his level was you.

at a glance: gender neutral reader, rivals to lovers, high school au, fluff, angst, ft. soobin, beomgyu, aespa's karina and winter

words: 7.3k

warnings: shit tonnes of swearing, brief mention of sports-enforced dieting (not weight related)

——————————

You liked being the best, and you were good at it.

Your list of titles and achievements was long for your age: President of the student council, most promising player on the basketball team, and top performer in every exam season. In any metric you could name, you were always in either first or second place.

The person you had jockeyed for first with for the last four years was none other than Choi Yeonjun, the golden boy, the unstoppable force to your immovable object.

He was the most promising player on the football team. As your Vice-President, you two were the highest-ranking student leaders in the school. Perfectly and equally matched in academics, you both constantly oscillated between the two top spots on the yearly grade rankings. You could’ve been a high school power couple had it not been for one thing: you hated each other’s guts.

Your rivalry was well known throughout the school, although most people saw it as just a mildly petty competition. No one would ever expect such capable, talented, and hardworking students to indulge in that sort of immature behaviour. The only people who knew the true extent of your animosity were your kids.

You and Yeonjun called the other student council members your kids, and they in turn called you both their parents. On the administrative side Yeonjun had under him Soobin, the general secretary, and Beomgyu, the treasurer. On the operations side you led Jimin, head of logistics, and Minjeong, communications and liaison officer. Of course, you two had also fought over who would take admin and who would take operations (the kids voted in the end). Sometimes when you and Yeonjun were acting up too much, one of them, usually Soobin, would say, “Not in front of the kids!”

But as co-leaders of the student body, your school’s star athletes, and joint cohort-toppers, you had a lot in common with each other. Maybe that’s why you disliked him so much: he reminded you of yourself.

——————————

You and Yeonjun were indeed busy bees. Your school days started earlier than everyone else’s, because you were in charge of the morning announcements and had to get ready before assembly. During breaks when the others got to relax or nap or eat you had disciplinary duties, not that either of you ever actually disciplined anyone (snitches get stitches, even for the golden kids). You also finished school later than most; being in the Excellere class for gifted students meant extra, harder, and longer lessons. After Excellere, you both had sports practice two to three times a week. If it was competition season like it was then, you had practice every day. In between commitments you were always stuck in meetings with him and the rest of the student council, or with him and the school principal.

Since school was just about all you did, that meant you were with Yeonjun for nearly every waking moment of your life, barring weekends. And sometimes not even that. You spent far too many of your precious weekend hours with him, either on Zoom calls or representing your school at external events.

“Good morning, Pres,” Yeonjun greeted that morning, punching your arm as he waltzed into the front office like he did every day. He always called you Pres. Never your name, just Pres. You hated it, and you’d told him as much more than once. That only made him do it more. He pointed at the hot pink post-it note on the announcement book. “What’s this?”

“The Spring Festival ticket sales announcement. Jimin finished setting up the website last night,” you told him. “Minjeong says we can start making the announcement every week, and she’ll put it on the school socials after assembly today.”

“Why can’t you do it?” he asked.

You folded your arms. “Because it’s not my job. She’s our communications officer.”

“What is your job, then? You seem pretty free to me,” he said.

“You’re one to talk. Are you still bitter about losing to me, Mr. Vice President?” you taunted, pointing to his student council badge. It was silver and read ‘student leader’, like all the other members’ badges, while yours was gold and read ‘president’.

“We all know I’m equal in rank to you. The President/Vice President distinction is just a formality,” he retorted, but you knew he had been disproportionately upset by the badge thing when you were both sworn in. 

“A formality you gave up being football captain for, and still lost,” you teased. It was childish, but you stuck out your tongue at him anyway. He seemed to bring that out in you.

Student council Presidents were not allowed to hold a second leadership position, so he had turned down the captain role offered to him because he had expected to be appointed President. It was either him or you, that much had never been in question, but he’d gotten cocky. You remembered him being absolutely gutted about losing the presidency to you, not least because he hated the boy who ended up captain. You, however, didn’t really care about your position on your team as long as you got to play. You did, though, care about beating Choi Yeonjun.

“I’m still the best player on my team,” he countered, defensive and equally childish.

“So am I, genius.”

“I am a genius, aren’t I, Pres? That's why I came first in our latest Excellere ranking.”

You were just about to answer when the principal entered the office. It was almost time for assembly to start. As petty as you both were, you knew better than to fight in front of faculty. Yeonjun, having gotten the last laugh, glanced over at you and winked obnoxiously. You’d get a chance to get back at him later.

——————————

Whenever Yeonjun winked or smirked or rolled his eyes at you, you were reminded of the infuriating fact that he was, undoubtedly, extremely good-looking. He was the golden boy, after all, and it was only fitting for that status to extend to his appearance too. Tall and fit, with gorgeous eyes and the stutter-inducing confidence of someone who knew they were attractive. Other students sometimes greeted you both as you walked around the school (neither of you were that popular in the traditional sense of the word, but you were well known to say the least) and he could often make them swoon with just a smile.

But he didn’t date. In fact, as far as you knew, he’d never dated at all, nor even spoke about it. He was too busy for love, something that no doubt caused heartbreak throughout the whole school.

You were the same: you had no shortage of suitors but no interest in frivolous relationships that would only distract you from your duties. Your immature rivalry with each other was just about the only non-important thing either of you allowed yourselves to partake in. You had places to be, battles to win, things to achieve.

That was a mantra you found yourself repeating in your head more and more these days. You were starting to wonder what was even the point of pushing yourself this hard. Maybe you were burnt out.

Yeonjun nudged you with a smirk when he noticed you nodding off. “Tired?”

“I’m fine,” you said, resolute, sitting up straighter and squaring your shoulders. As much as he got on your nerves, he was also the closest thing to a friend you had in Excellere. You sat together in nearly every class.

He snorted, amused. “Are you sure, Pres? Because class is over,” he said, pointing to the clock at the front of the classroom. Sure enough, the teacher and all of the other students were gone. It was just you and him.

You pushed him to hide your embarrassment. “Whatever. Move, I need to get to practice,” you said, grabbing your bag.

He pushed you back, hard enough to knock you back down into your seat so he could get up first. “Me too, sleepyhead. You’re not special,” he mocked, swinging his own bag victoriously over his shoulder with a triumphant smirk.

“I never said I was. Unlike you, I don’t have an inferiority complex,” you retorted, standing back up and rushing out of the classroom. You were not the type of person to fall asleep in class, and you sure as hell weren’t going to stick around to give him the chance to remind you of that.

——————————

By the time practice ended, you could barely keep your eyes open. It was past 10pm now, and you sat at the bus stop in your basketball uniform, knees pressed to your chest. Your teammates had all gone home, but since you always missed physical training due to Excellere, you had to stay behind and complete your three kilometre run after practice.

“Hey.”

You cracked one eye open to see Yeonjun standing in front of you, hands on his hips, peering down at you curiously. You immediately sat up straight, blinking a couple of times as if that would erase your tiredness. “Why are you here?” you asked.

“It’s a public bus stop, and I’m a free man,” he said, pushing you aside so he could sit down next to you.

“Yeah, exactly. It’s a public bus stop, and there’s plenty of room elsewhere,” you scowled, pointing to the abundance of empty space on the bench aside from the spot right beside you. He winked in answer. “I mean why are you getting the bus? I thought your mom usually picks you up.”

He shrugged, balling up his navy blue football jersey and holding it out to you. “She’s busy tonight.” You stared at the jersey in confusion. He scoffed and shoved it into your arms. “Is your brain broken? Put it on.”

“No, gross. It smells like your sweat,” you said.

“Ungrateful bastard. I can see you shivering.”

You shoved it right back to him. “You wear it then, if it’s so cold.”

“Fine.” He yanked it back and put it on, even though you could tell he hadn’t yet cooled down from his practice. His chest was still rising and falling faster than usual, the veins on his arms were still sticking out, and there were still beads of sweat on his forehead plastering his hair to his skin. Idiot. “Do you always take the bus home alone? What about your teammates?” he asked, looking around. It was dark, and he’d never taken the bus at this time of the night.

“They finish before me. I have to make up my PT because of Excellere. Don’t you?” you asked. He nodded. It seemed like you both were always the first students to arrive at school and the last students to leave. You took your phone out to check the bus timings. “Which bus are you waiting for?” you asked. Yours was coming in a minute.

“I don’t know,” he said, stubbornly pretending like he wasn't overheating in his jersey.

“You don’t know? Have you never taken a bus before?” you mocked. “Well, I suppose that’s what happens when you’re chauffeured around everywhere.”

“Fuck off, Pres. Of course I have,” he countered, defensive. “I take 47 home sometimes.”

“47 doesn’t run this late. You’ll have to take mine and get off two stops after me,” you said, not really sure why you were helping him. He had Google Maps and thumbs, after all.

Right as you said that, that very bus arrived. You flagged it down and rushed on board, not bothering to check if he was following you. He was, and he again sat down next to you in the back of the empty bus with a satisfied grin.

You sighed and looked out the window as the bus started to move. “Can’t you sit somewhere else?”

“No, I cannot,” he said, pulling up the sleeves of his jersey instead of just taking it off like he clearly wanted to do.

“You’ll catch a cold if you keep wearing that and sweating in it,” you told him. The bus was freezing.

“That’s not how colds work,” he shot back, immediately pulling his sleeves back down. “For someone who bangs on constantly about how good they are at biology you’d think you’d know that colds are caused by pathogens.”

You took your headphones out of your bag and plugged them in. “Fine, then. Stew in your grubby discomfort.”

He said something else, but you pretended not to hear him, continuing to look out the window. The rest of the bus ride went by in silence, until:

“Hey,” he said again for the second time that night, knocking his knee against yours. You ignored him. He yanked your headphones out of your ears in retaliation.

“Ow!”

“What’s the matter with you today? Why were you falling asleep in class?” he asked, holding your headphones high above his head, out of your reach. During a momentary flash of self-awareness it occurred to you that you were both far too old to be acting like kindergarteners. You couldn’t imagine what the principal would think if she knew this was how her two star students behaved in private. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, preparing to be made fun of, and stood up briefly to snatch them back. “Why do you care?”

“I want to know if you’re sick so I can avoid you,” he replied.

“No, I’m on a caffeine ban,” you answered, somewhat reluctantly. He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Our coach puts us on diets before competition season to make sure we don’t get sick. No caffeine, no sweet drinks, no fried food.”

He laughed, completely unsympathetic. “And you still lost last year?”

“We came in second at nationals,” you retorted, “while I seem to recall your team didn’t even make it to regionals.”

“At least we get to eat whatever we want,” he said, knowing it was a weak comeback even before he said it. Last year was a bad season for the football team; they lost to a school they should’ve easily been able to beat and didn’t even get the chance to compete regionally. You had teased him mercilessly for it ever since, just barely stopping short of bringing your national silver trophy to school and putting it on his desk. Or carrying it into a meeting with him and using it as a drinking cup.

You reached over and pushed the stop button on the handrail behind him. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you over the deafening sound of all of my medals clattering together. Move. It’s my stop.”

Annoyingly, he didn’t move, forcing you to climb over him to get out and off the bus. He flipped you off as the bus drove away, and you flipped him off right back.

——————————

Two days before your basketball championship, you’d finally admitted to yourself that you were not doing well. All the practices, student council meetings, and weekly Excellere rankings were starting to get to you. Your school days were fifteen hours long, your nights and weekends lost to studying or catching up on the meetings you and Yeonjun missed while in class or at practice. Which was frustrating, because it wasn’t like you hadn't gotten through these things before. You didn't know what was wrong with you this time.

“What’s with all that stuff?” Minjeong asked, watching you force a towel and a bag of toiletries into your locker and slam the door closed before they fell out.

“Yeonjun and I are staying late today to go over the work you guys did this week, so I need to shower here after practice,” you said. “We’ve missed way too many meetings.”

“Yeah, because you’re both busy. His championships are tomorrow and yours are the day after. Can’t it wait?” Jimin said.

You shook your head. “No, you guys are already doing work that’s meant to be ours.” You paused for a second for comedic effect. “Besides, I hope he’s tired after tonight so he loses tomorrow.” They both laughed.

“As expected of the golden kids,” Minjeong said, giving you a hi-five. Yeah. As expected of the golden kids.

——————————

It was 11pm, and you and Yeonjun were sitting beside each other in an empty classroom going over the minutes from the last three student council meetings. His hair was wet from his shower and he hadn’t bothered to get dressed fully, with too many buttons undone, an untucked shirt, and his tie nowhere in sight. You stopped taking notes.

“Can you please put your uniform on properly?” you asked.

He snatched your pen and notebook away from you to add in something you’d been fighting over for the last ten minutes. “Why do you have yours on like that, with everything all done up and tucked in? There’s literally no one else here.”

“You look unbecoming,” you said.

“I’m comfortable. You should try it. You can’t convince me you like wearing your tie and buttoning your shirt all the way up like that,” he said, pointing the pen at your collar. When he was done writing, he looked up at you in satisfaction and smirked, arrogant. “Or am I distracting you?”

You would never admit it, but he was right. On both counts. He was distracting you. “Is Soobin okay? He’s been doing a lot lately,” you asked, ignoring him, looking over your notes again. If there was anything that could get you and Yeonjun to stop bickering for even a second, it was talking about the other council members.

“I think he’s a little tired. Once we’re both done with our competitions we can start pulling our weight more,” he said, humming thoughtfully, as if you both weren’t already doing as much as you could. “But you’re right, the kids have been working hard. We’re not being the best leaders right now.”

“Yeah, we’re not,” you sighed, thinking about how you’d seen Jimin online past midnight a few days ago. You should be doing more.

Yeonjun kicked you in the shin under the table, ignoring your hiss of pain. “You know who’s not okay? You. You’re fucking out of it these days.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine,” you scowled. “You’re the only person who thinks that.”

He rolled his eyes at your pride. “Yeah, but that’s because I know you better than anyone.” You scoffed at that, but he continued, “Seriously, Pres, who else gets you like I do?”

“Who are you, Sigmund Freud? Stop psychoanalysing me,” you said, glancing over your notes one last time, checking to make sure you had covered every point in the meeting minutes.

“So you think I’m smart?”

“No, I think you want to fuck your mom.”

He relented after that, a type of mercy he didn’t afford you very often. You wondered, then, if you really were as not okay as he was claiming. How had he been the only one to pick up on it? No, you were fine. You were fine. There was nothing to pick up on.

The two of you worked in near-total silence for the next couple of hours. That was a pretty standard affair, once you’d both exhausted your barbs and witty comebacks and didn’t have anything else to say to each other anymore. What wasn’t normal, though, was that you weren’t even being bitchy to each other in the comments of your shared Google Doc as you wrote your emcee script. The thought of Choi Yeonjun, of all people, noticing- you were fine.

“We still need to finalise the event schedule for review by tonight,” he reminded you, breaking the silence. You’d completely forgotten about that, and you never forgot anything.

“I’ll do it. You have your match tomorrow,” you volunteered.

“How charitable of you, Pres,” he said, giving you snark instead of gratitude. You didn’t have it in you to retort, although if the kids were around you probably would have. He raised an eyebrow. “What, no comeback?”

Checking your watch, you mumbled, “It’s past 1am. Let’s just finish this script and go home.”

He looked closely at you. You were being weird, he was sure of it now. He could see the resignation in your eyes, the only sign you’d shown in the four years he’d known you that maybe you weren’t quite as untouchable as you appeared. 

“Hey, seriously, what’s wrong with you? I can’t have you breaking now and leaving all the work to me,” he asked, sounding sincerely worried about you for the first time in his life. He had never thought of you as someone who needed to be worried about.

“I’m fine,” you insisted through gritted teeth, “I just-”

You glanced up at him, which was a mistake. The moment you saw concern (of all emotions) on his face, you cracked. You hadn’t cried in front of another person since you were eight years old and broke your leg in a car accident, but now there were tears in your eyes threatening to spill over. Immediately you blinked them away, hoping he would just let it go. Unfortunately for you, however, he had other plans. He laughed and put his arm around your shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Comforting you, dumbass.”

You shrugged his arm off of you, clearing your throat in a futile attempt to ease the knot you felt forming at the base of your neck. “I don’t feel comforted.”

He scowled, leaned back in his seat, and crossed his arms. “Well, then, talk to me.” His tone was so solemn and authoritative that it made you comply immediately.

“People keep asking me for things and expecting me to be able to do everything and saying that I’m capable of anything but I’m a fraud. I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m so tired and I just want it to stop.” At some point during your outburst you’d started to cry, though you weren’t sure when, because his arm was back around your shoulder and he was palming away the tears on your face with his free hand. He hooked one foot around the leg of your chair and pulled it closer to him.

“You’re not a fraud,” he said under his breath, his eyes staring straight into yours and his hand warm against your cheek. You didn’t know why he was being so kind to you, and, more confusingly, you didn’t know if you wanted him to be. Which was mortifying.

Through the sheer power of your embarrassment, you willed yourself to stop crying. “I’m fine. You can let go of me now,” you told him, looking away.

“Right.” He seemed to snap back to normalcy at the same time as you, moving back and dropping his hands. You both got back to work like a switch had been flipped, aggressively avoiding each other’s gazes.

——————————

It was nearly 2am by the time the script was finished.

“You shouldn’t stay up to do the event schedule. We’ll just tell the school we need more time,” Yeonjun told you as you both started packing up. His words, for once, were void of arrogance or mockery. It made you anxious in a way that was entirely foreign to you.

“Don’t look at me like that,” you grumbled, turning away. You hated having to ask for more time, to not deliver something you were meant to deliver.

He grinned. “You mean like this?”

Before you’d had the chance to insult him or tell him to knock it off, he took you by the shoulders and stared right at you, his face just inches from yours.

“What the fuck are you doing?” you asked, but your nervousness slipped through in your voice. He smirked, having heard it too.

“Don’t let this go to your head, Pres,” he began, “but I really want to kiss you.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore your quickening heartbeat. “Yeah, whatever. You think I’m hideous. We’re gonna miss the last bus-”

His lips were on yours without your brain having even had the time to process what he’d said. One of his hands shifted down to your waist while the other moved to your jaw, tilting your chin up slightly. Your own hands instinctively came to rest on his chest, and you found yourself kissing him back without thinking. You could feel his heart hammering through his shirt. He was the first to pull away.

Frozen, you could do nothing but stare at him, with your eyes wide and lips still slightly parted. “What-”

“I had to do it. At least once,” Yeonjun whispered, not moving at all either. He was searching your expression for signs of something, you didn’t know what, but when he didn’t find it he let you go. Neither of you said a single word to each other during the entire hour-long bus ride home.

——————————

What a dickhead. How could Yeonjun go from kissing you to ‘idk about pres’ that seamlessly? He had been so kind, so sweet to you that day. You purged that thought from your head as quickly as it had come.

“There’s our president!” Beomgyu cheered as he let you into the meeting room, and the others broke into applause.

“Congrats on winning your finals yesterday!” Jimin added, still clapping.

You closed the door behind you. “Thank you! Sorry for being late,” you said. “I promise I will not miss a single meeting now that my comps are over.”

When Yeojun eventually showed up, he barely looked at you. You didn’t really know why that upset you as much as it did, or what you had been expecting. Once you all started working, however, you quickly fell back into a familiar rhythm along with the other council members.

“Where’s the chit from the popcorn machine vendor?” you asked Beomgyu, sifting through the stack of papers on the desk.

Beomgyu looked up from the printer that he and Jimin were trying (and failing) to get to work right. It was currently spitting out black and white pages that looked like they had been printed in Hell on a Tamagotchi by Satan himself. “What chit?” 

“The nacho store we were going to get cancelled on us last weekend, so I asked Yeonjun to get a popcorn guy instead,” you explained. Fucking Yeonjun. You turned to him. “Did you forget to call him back? It’s been four days.”

He thought for a bit then shrugged, relishing your annoyance. “I guess so. Whoops.”

“Call him now, before he backs out,” you instructed, turning your attention back to the papers.

“Haven’t you ever heard of saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’?”

You didn’t even bother to look up. “Haven’t you ever heard of doing your fucking job?”

He threw the pen he was holding on the floor in response. The other council members exchanged furtive glances.

“Come on, guys. Not in front of the kids,” Soobin sighed, ever the mediator, picking up the pen. You wanted to tell him he didn’t need to clean up after a child, but that would just make things worse. You continued working.

“What’s going on with you two? You’re even worse than usual,” Minjeong said.

At that, you and Yeonjun locked eyes from across the room. He scoffed and looked away immediately. You watched him closely, but you couldn’t read him at all. You were quickly realising that, despite being mirrors of each other and spending almost all of your time together, you barely knew him.

“It seems our Pres is touchy today,” he teased. “They’re a little stressed out.”

You pinned the papers you were holding together with a paperclip and filed them away. “Watch it, Yeonjun,” you warned.

He ignored your glaring at him, your eyes telling him to stop, continuing, “Despite all appearances, they’re not as golden as they so desperately want everyone to think. They even had a little breakdown before their competition.”

Before anyone else could react, you passed the file in your hands over to Beomgyu (what you were doing was technically his job, anyway) and left. The room fell deathly silent.

——————————

Strangely, Yeonjun followed you into the corridor, feeling a weird compulsion to do so. His feet moved under him without him realising. Running after you and shouting your name, he easily caught up with you in just a few long strides. He grabbed your wrist and pulled you back, forcing you to turn around.

“Let me go.” You shook his hand off of you, unable to stop the tears from welling up in your eyes. This was humiliating.

He laughed lightly, unfazed. “What’s your fucking deal? We’ve said way worse things to each other before,” he said. He had a point. And you did have some sort of tacit agreement with him that nothing was off-limits. Maybe you’d been too naive in thinking that that night was different. That it had meant something.

“Fuck off! I need to go fix your fucking mistake,” you shouted, turning back around. Your voice was trembling.

“Pres, relax,” he teased, taking you by the shoulders and spinning you around before you’d even had the chance to take a single step away from him. He leant down to emphasise the height difference between you two, something he did often that infuriated you to no end, pleased by how easily he could rile you up. “Don’t you know throwing tantrums is counter-productive?”

“I hate you, Choi Yeonjun,” you said coldly, biting the inside of your cheek to try and stop your tears. When all he did was laugh, you pushed him away. Against your wishes, a sob broke its way through your pressed lips and you lost it. You balled your hands up into fists and pounded on his chest repeatedly to get him to let go of you; it was like hitting a brick wall and you both knew it. “I hate you! IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou.”

He stopped. “Are you crying?” You crying once the other day was out-of-character enough, let alone twice in such a short span of time. He was pretty sure he’d never even seen you show the smallest sliver of vulnerability before this week.

“Yes, I’m fucking crying, asshole. I’m glad your snail of a brain finally caught up.” You hit his chest again, so weak you barely disturbed a single fibre on his school blazer.

Any sympathies he might have been forming for you earlier dissipated in an instant. He easily grabbed both of your wrists with one hand to stop you, glowering at you, his jaw clenched. “You should’ve known I would tell the kids. Everything between us is fair game, isn’t it, Pres? Why did you even tell me any of that if you wanted it to be a secret?” he snapped.

All the vitriol in your voice evaporated. When you next spoke, you sounded like a child, scared and upset and betrayed. He had never heard you sound anything like that; it was jarring to the both of you. “Because I thought you would understand.”

There it was. The revelation. Perhaps that was what your entire years-long rivalry with this dick of a man boiled down to: a secret hope that he was struggling as much as you, and a frustration that it didn’t seem like he was. You hadn’t even understood that was what it was until you said it.

He sobered in an instant, his eyes softening in the realisation that he’d gone too far. “Pres,” he said quietly, like he was calling a wounded animal. The guilt in his voice was probably as close to an outright admission of wrongdoing as he would ever get with you. “I didn’t know you were-”

“Whatever, dickwad,” you mumbled, deflated, pulling your hands out of his grasp. “I have to call the vendor before he pulls out of this deal. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Pres, I didn’t know,” he repeated, more urgently this time, still not an apology, following you as you walked away from him. 

You stopped in your tracks and turned back around, your voice now calm and measured, holding up a hand to stop him from continuing. “I will be civil to you for the next week so we can see this event through, but I’m done with-” you gestured vaguely between the both of you. “I’m done with whatever this is. Bye, Yeonjun.”

This time, he didn’t chase after you.

——————————

Why was Yeonjun bringing up the day you both stayed until 2am? The day he kissed you? He made it sound like an average day, as if it had meant nothing to him, but something had clearly changed between you two since then.

He was walking on eggshells around you, trying to crack jokes, and engage you in conversations where he didn’t pick on you. You hated it. It made you feel weak. But you were the only one to pick up on it, which was the upside to every single student council member being up to their eyeballs in stress. None of them really noticed his strange behaviour. Or yours.

The festival kicked off smoothly — so smoothly, in fact, that it took Yeonjun and the rest of the council a whole half hour to realise you were missing. After you and Yeonjun finished your joint emcee duties, they hadn’t needed to call you or report to you for anything.

“Hey, have you seen the pres?” Jimin asked, Minjeong following closely behind her. “We’ve been looking for them everywhere.”

“Nope,” Beomgyu said.

Soobin shook his head. “Me neither.”

Everyone turned to Yeonjun in unison. “I’ll go look for them,” he said, already leaning over to grab his jacket hanging off the back of the chair next to him.

“You can’t leave us too! You’re our second-in-command,” Minjeong pointed out.

“Yeah, whatever. You’re in charge now,” he declared absent-mindedly, not really listening to her, one foot already out the door.

——————————

Yeonjun sprinted straight to the bus stop, ignoring the stares of the other students as he ran right through the festival booths. He got there just in time to see your bus pulling away, letting out a long string of curses that made the elderly man sitting on the bench glare at him. He was usually careful about his behaviour in public, especially when he was in uniform like he was then, but he didn’t care anymore.

Your taunts last week were partly true; he didn’t really know how to take buses, and he really was sort of driven everywhere by his parents. So it took him far longer than it should have to figure out how else to get to your house (he stood there staring at the bus chart for long enough that three different people offered to help him). Even the aforementioned elderly man took pity on him, but not before tsking disapprovingly at his student leader badge and calling him foul-mouthed.

He ran ten minutes from the bus stop he ended up alighting at to your house and reached your front porch without even knowing why he was there at all, but he pounded on your door anyway. You came to the window, peeked out from behind the curtain, and left.

“I can see you, Pres. Open the door,” he called out, out of breath. When you complied, he didn’t even give you the chance to speak. “Why are you here?”

You looked him up and down, deciding to be annoying. You usually did when it came to him. “This is my house. Why are you here?” 

“You know what I meant, dipshit.” How charming.

You let him in and poured him a glass of ice water. It was weird seeing Yeonjun sitting in your living room, like a forced merger of two spheres of your life that you kept separate as much as you could. His school blazer was hanging off the end of the sofa.

“It’s hot,” he said defensively when he saw you looking at it. It wasn’t; he was just sweating from running from the bus stop to your house. He took the glass from you and set it down on the coffee table without using the coaster you’d so nicely placed right in front of him, making you see red. “Four ice cubes? Are you telling me to die?”

“As if you have a superstitious bone in your body, Choi Yeonjun. Is this how you act as a guest in other people’s houses too?” you asked, sitting down beside him.

He loosened his tie and popped the first two buttons of his dress shirt open. “No, just yours.”

“Sure, please make yourself at home,” you said sarcastically. “What do you want?”

“I came to apologise. You disappeared and we all freaked out. God, I can’t believe I’m worried about you-”

You raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Are you sure you know what an apology is?”

“Shut up. I mean-” he groaned in frustration and ran his hands through his hair, something he often did when he got annoyed. “You’re being so difficult!”

“Says the guy complaining about the number of ice cubes I put in his water!”

“For fuck’s sake,” he sighed, putting his head in his hands. “Hang on. Let me start over.”

The living room was completely silent apart from the sound of his heavy breathing. You were about to say something about it — a star athlete being so winded from a short run was pretty entertaining to you — but you decided not to. Your phone dinged. It was Beomgyu telling you the popcorn vendor had shown up late, drunk, and thrown up in the popcorn machine, followed by three increasingly ridiculous reaction images from Megamind. Maybe you shouldn’t have hired a popcorn vendor after all.

“What’s so funny?”

You flashed him your phone screen. “Beomgyu sent me something.”

Yeonjun didn’t even look at it, despite being the one who’d asked in the first place. “I like you,” he declared. 

“Are you having a heat stroke?” you asked, disinterested, typing out a quick reply.

He knocked your phone out of your hand in a huff. “Stop fucking texting Beomgyu.”

Your phone clattered to the floor. “Hey!”

“You are such an irritating person.” He dramatically (as always) got up from the sofa to kneel on the floor in front of you, looking up at you with an indecipherable emotion in his eyes. “I like you, Pres. I have for a while now, but I only realised it the other night. I got scared and I lashed out, but that doesn’t make what I said okay. I betrayed your trust and I’m sorry.”

Your head started spinning, and your heart leapt up into your throat. I like you. Your jaw would’ve dropped open had it not been for every muscle in your body going rigid at once. He casually sat back down next to you, picked up his glass, and took a sip. As if he hadn’t just delivered you the single biggest shock of your life. You could barely get his name out of your mouth.

“Yeonjun, I-”

“Look, you don’t have to say anything. I just needed to tell you because it was driving me crazy. You drive me crazy, actually-”

You grabbed his tie, pulled him towards you, and kissed him. If he was surprised by your boldness he didn’t show it, his hands easily finding their way to your waist as he kissed you back. His lips were cold from the ice water.

“Thank you for the apology. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

He broke the kiss, laughing breathily. “I can’t think straight when you’re kissing me. I didn’t hear anything you said.”

You flicked him lightly on the forehead, unable to stop yourself from smiling. “I said thank you for apologising. I appreciate it. But I’m still mad at you.”

“I know,” he said. Right at that moment, both of your phones went off at the same time. “We should get back to school.”

He stood up, casually took your hand, and started walking. You didn’t pull away.

——————————

Although you did it often, being in school this late at night with no one else around never quite stopped feeling other-worldly. Your body was tired, but your mind was still awake and buzzing and alive. 

“I’m sorry I made you miss the festival,” you said as you finished making your rounds through the school to check each room one last time, switch off the mains, and lock the doors. 

“You didn’t make me do anything.” Yeonjun took your hand in his again and gave it a comforting squeeze, before adding, “Don’t be so full of yourself.”

The words were familiar, but his tone and the warmth in your cheeks were not. Choi Yeonjun of all people was making you act shy and blushy. Revolting.

“The golden boy of the school just confessed to me a few hours ago. How could I not be full of myself?” You stopped walking and turned to face him. “I like you,” you mocked, an over-dramatic caricature of his voice.

Yeonjun groaned and hid his face in his hands. “God, I can’t believe I actually said that. Like a character in a Netflix original.” You laughed, wondering if you’d ever laughed with him, not at him, before.

He’d called his mom earlier and told her not to pick him up — he wanted to take the bus with you, even though it would take him twice as long to get home. Leaving the school, you both turned to look back down the empty corridor.

“I guess this is the end of our late nights,” he mused. Your competitions were both over and there were no more events to organise for the year. All that remained were your final exams.

“Until our Valentine’s Day celebrations,” you reminded him. “Jimin wants to start planning that next week.”

He retorted immediately, “I don’t.” As the lights of the corridor started to turn themselves off (they were on automatic timers, which you found very annoying), he leant down, cupped your face gingerly in his hands, and kissed you twice.

“I want to do this.”

——————————

thanks for reading <3

-minastras

SHELL OMFG IM SCREAMING THSI WAS SK ADORABLE??? 🙁🙁🙁🙁 NETEYAM MY BELOVED THIS IS MAKING ME SAD SHSKSN i was literally smiling and giggling the whole time i read this it was just sO cute and i love the whole idea of being a prank duo with lo’ak too?!? AUGHH AND THis felt sm longer than 1.5k MAN IT WAS ALL SO ADORABLE 💔💔 your writing is gen so wonderful ur literally the most talented EVER 😡😡 SMOOCHES U SO HARD I REGRET TAKING SO LONG TO READ ONE OF UR BEAUTIFUL WORKS IM SO SORRY. BOW I HAVE TO READ MORE NOW 🙏🙏🙏💗💗

— " wait, this isn't a prank? "

❀ . neteyam x human gn!reader .* +

:: preview ! :: ‘’This- this isn’t funny you know, I know you and Lo’ak enjoy taunting me but this isn’t funny.’’ You hold back a frown, ‘’It’s not a prank Nete, not this time.’’

❥ : * warning(s): mostly fluff, some banter between reader n neteyam, and a tinyyyyyyy bit of angst.

.*+ a/n: it’s here 🥹, I’m so proud of this (for once) and I hope you can all enjoy this and have a good time reading ! reblogs are v much appreciated it and so are comments <3.

wc: 1.5k.

.+* : taglist: @tinystudentblaze-stuff @neteyamsangel @lupinswolfsbanes @bmkisseths @cinnnaroll

Much like spider, you had grown up on pandora. Your parents mostly being out of the picture, and dying while you were very young had allowed Neytiri and Jake to take you in.

Growing up you never felt much different — perhaps only the size of your body and the color of your skin, those being the only things that really stood out to you.

If you asked yourself, ‘’Do you feel like you don’t belong here?.’’ When you were maybe, ten, your answer would’ve been, ‘’Of course not, this is my home and these are the people I grew up with.’’

But asking that question now, when you’re older — and feelings are more complex, you’d say ‘’I do, I feel like I’ll never fit in, like I’m an error in a puzzle.’’

At first it was something you couldn’t get through your head, you’d try to accept that you’ll always be different, and that you’ll always be inferior to the others. — like an extra tough pill to swallow, as much as you wanted to be like them, you knew it was something you could dream of, as much as you wanted, but never have.

At some point, the situation that made you accept who you were, was when you came to an ultimatum about your feelings for Neteyam — you wished day and night that he’d return what you felt, but each time you’d try to confess he assumed you were playing a prank, and Lo’aks pest behavior while you were trying to confess made matters even worse.

You figured, hm, perhaps this is a sign I really never will be one of them, maybe Neteyam is too nice to outright reject me — too nice to say, ‘’No, you’re a human — I could never be with one of you.’’

You knew that the other Na’vi talked about you — you heard the whispers, outcast, weak, frail, demon.

Neteyam would try his best to assure you not to listen, but you knew his thoughts were similar to what the others would say. And you couldn’t blame him, or any of them for the matter. You were merely an intruder, a parasite in their home.

You were on your way from one of the labs when you had run into Lo’ak, his face desperately trying, and failing to hide a smirk. You tried to hold back a tired, very tired sigh — you loved him but his idiotic ‘’adventures’’ or however he liked to call them left you wanting to get eaten by a thanator, which, by the way has almost happened because again - Lo’ak is an idiot.

‘’No, whatever it is no — I will not get caught up in your stupid ‘quests’ and then have to suffer the consequences Lo’ak.’’ You tried walking right past the much, much taller boy but to no avail as he quite literally grabbed you by the shoulders and kept you put.

‘’Nah listen, I got an amazing idea okay? Like you’re gonna literally love me for this - infact, you’ll owe me after this.’’ You huffed and slowly plucked his fingers off your shoulder — ‘’Okay, fine - I will listen but if it starts sounding even the smallest bit stupid I am leaving.’’

He grinned and sat you down on a nearby log, ‘’Okay so we both know how you and my brother have been prancing around each other like birds ready to mate-‘’ You frowned quickly speaking over him — ‘’No, we haven’t, if anything it’s just been me, he absolutely will never and absolutely doesn’t have feelings for me Lo’ak, don’t be harsh.’’

— The younger boy stutters with a disgruntled face, ‘’Are you- wait, you’re not actually THIS blind are you? He’s literally in love with you..has been since he’s been like nine.’’ Lo’ak continues staring at you like you’ve stepped on his tail — on purpose.

‘’I- no, wait what? Did he tell you that?’’ You asked standing up, suddenly feeling the need to pace or else you’d actually throw up everywhere.

Suddenly, laughter interrupts your pacing, and you swiftly turn to stare at the blue boy. ‘’Why the hell are you laughing? Are you joking? Is this another one of your stupid pranks?.’’ Irritation slowly starting to settle — he abruptly stands up, and he looks at you in the eye, very intensely might you add, like if you’ll look away for even a spilt second you’ll miss a very important detail.

‘’Yes, he told me, I wouldn’t joke about this. I know I have a reputation to be an idiot and attempt stupid things, but this is the one thing I’m one hundred percent sure of, he’s in love with you, and has been for quite some time.’’ —

Hearing those words, from Lo’ak, hearing him say them so carefully, so delicately made your heart thump so loud you’re afraid you might really get eaten by a thanator this time.

Suddenly everything felt hot, like there wasn’t enough air to breathe through your mask.

‘’Lo’ak, where is he - just, just tell me where he is I don’t need another one of your ideas I just need to know where he is.’’ — you quickly grabbed your knife sheathing it into your side pocket.

‘’He’s at the pond, your guys’ usual spot, told him to go there and said I’d fish with him, so uh - don’t keep him waiting.’’ — He got up and placed a small pat on your head, walking back to wherever he came out of in the first place.

You quickly ran to the pond that you and Neteyam frequented often, although you weren’t Na’vi and certainly didn’t have as agile and long legs — you got yourself where you needed to be fairly quickly.

As soon as you arrived you spotted the boy sitting next to the river, and your heart started to thump again - he was everything to you, he was perfect.

You quickly walked up to him, not getting a chance to pat him to let your presence known before he turned around — Na’vi ears, after all, ‘’Oh- you are not Lo’ak, could he not make it?.’’ He asked with a small frown, you built up whatever courage you could and spoke.

‘’Ah, no uhm - listen Neteyam, I need to speak to you, it’s quite important and I really need you to listen okay?.’’ You tried saying it as seriously and gently as you could, not wanting him to believe you were trying to play a prank, again.

He looked skeptical at first, which you couldn’t blame him, considering all your other attempts ended in you laughing, and him laughing, awkwardly along with you.

‘’Alright - I will listen, but if this is another pointless prank I will leave.’’ He said finally giving in.

You nodded quickly and sat down next to him, making sure to angle your head and body towards him — ‘’Neteyam, Lo’ak - he told me you have feelings for me, and before you scurry off this isn’t another prank I swear.’’ You made sure to look him in the eye, not once breaking any contact, you continued, ‘’And, I love you, I’ve loved you since I’ve known what romantic love really was - Each time I’ve tried confessing it ended horribly or Lo’ak was somehow involved.’’

He started to laugh, ‘’Am I really such a joke? This- this isn’t funny you know, I know you and Lo’ak enjoy taunting me but this isn’t funny.’’ You hold back a frown, ‘’It’s not a prank Nete, not this time.’’ You say it as gently as possible, even resorting to use his nickname — which he only really allows you to use.

You grab his hand, and hold it as tight as you can. - ‘’I was afraid okay? I was afraid because at the end of the day I’m a human — you won’t have half the life with me that you could with an actual Na’vi woman. I’d only be a burden and I found it impossible somebody like you could ever return what I felt.’’

He suddenly took the hand you were holding and pressed it to your cheek, (or mask.) marveling at the size of his hand compared to your face — you were so delicate, he would never admit it but he found guilty pleasure in being so much bigger.

‘’You’re an idiot — the biggest idiot on Pandora, maybe even more than Lo’ak.’’ He gave you a cheeky smile bringing a small kiss to the top of your head - ‘’You being a human doesn’t change what I feel for you. I do not care who or what you are, you make me feel alive each day and everytime I have to be apart from you my heart aches and I feel tired. I need you, in every way, please do not let you being a human ignore how I feel about you.’’

You honestly felt like throwing up, (again) — this all felt too good to be true, like a really good dream you’d wake up from any minute.

‘’So, I guess Lo’ak can stop calling us two birds waiting to mate?’’ You said hugging the bigger boy in front of you, never wanting to ever let go again.

You both burst into laughter, hugging each other so tight in fear that if you let go this really all would be a dream. — yeah, you could get used to this.

IM SO LATE IM SORRY I WAS NOT HAVING IT YESTERDAY BUT!!!!!!!!! raven wtf. i hate you. i am divorcing youWHAT THE FUCK WHY WOULD U WRITE THIS WSJKSNOJSNKSNJ IM SO BIMG ITS SO WELL WRITTENA ND WELL DONE BUT IT LITERLALY SHATGERED MY HEART. AND THE END 😕😕 saori go die. nobody likes you. especially not niki. AHHHHHHHHHHH my wife is so talented this was so good for only 700 words like 💔💔💔💔 I LOVED IT AMAZINF AT WRITING FR 🤬💗

Foolish Heart

Pairing ➳ Niki x GN!Reader

Genre ➳ Angst

Warnings ➳ This is pure angst no fluff at all

WC ➳ 787

A/N ➳ I kinda hope someone cries reading this /srs /j /hj

Falling in love with your best friend was the worst thing that had ever happened to you. Being so close to him yet so far killed you. You fell for Nishimura Riki and you hate it. You hate how his eyes lit up when he talked about something he liked, you hate how easy it was to get lost into them. But most of all you hate how he would talk about her. 

Nothing broke your heart more than when he would talk about Saori. How his eyes would lit up when she walked into the room. How he would forget about your existence when she looked at him. You hate having feelings for your best friend, and you hate knowing that you will never have a chance with him. Shaking your head you try not to think about those thoughts. 

You were walking down the hallway trying to get to the rooftop. Being there always helps you calm down. Since the morning a nervous feeling was building up in your chest and you had no idea why. The closer you got to the staircase that led to the roof the more your gut was telling you to turn back and come back later. Yet you decided to ignore it and kept on walking. 

Walking further down your steps slowed when you heard a quiet giggle. Then a soft laugh. The anxiety in the pit of your stomach worsened. The laugh sounded awfully familiar. The closer you walked to the staircase the more clearly you could hear two people talking. 

Step. It went quiet. Step. You felt your anxiety worsen. Step. You heard a whisper of a name. Step. You hear someone take a few steps. Step. Turn. You wished you listened to your gut. You wished you stopped at the bathroom to take a few breaths to calm down your nerves. Because when you turned the corner you saw Riki’s lips on Saori’s. 

Tears pricked your eyes. You froze on the spot. Your mind was yelling at your body to get away from where you were. But you couldn’t move. It felt as if you had been turned to stone. All you could do for a moment was watch as they kissed. Riki’s hand rested on her hip while the other cradled her face softly. Feeling a tear roll down your cheek brought you back to your senses. 

Quickly as you could you ran away. Away from where they stood. Your feet carried you in the direction of the closest bathroom. Entering it you let yourself breakdown. Warm salty tears rolled down your face, bringing a hand up to your mouth you tried your best to muffle your sobs. The image of them together kept on flashing through your brain. With a shaky hand you brought your phone out of your pocket. 

“Hey y/n,” Danielle spoke. “Please come to the 2nd floor bathroom,” your weak voice spoke. “Shit what happened,” Your friend said. “I’ll tell, just please come,” you said. Danielle came running to the bathroom as fast as she could. As soon as she spotted your figure she held you close to her as you cried again. That night you went to sleep with a broken heart and no good night message from Riki. 

The next day when you woke up you had a high fever, so stayed home. Usually when you weren’t at school Niki would spam your phone or come to your house but today it was nothing. No call, no text, no visit to your house to check on you. Not feeling any better for the rest of the week you didn’t attend classes. The only person who came to check up on you was Danielle. There was still nothing from Riki’s side except radio silence. 

On the next monday when you went to school you weren’t sure what you were going to do, there were a million different things on your mind. As soon as you stepped on school property a voice called out your name. “Y/n,” Riki said. “Riki,” putting on a fake smile you waved to him. “Come here I need to tell you something,” he said again. “Oh, okay sure,” walking to where he stood you took notice his hand intertwined with Saori’s. 

"Y/n meet my girlfriend Saori," he said, smiling widely at you. 

As soon as those words escaped his mouth it felt like your world stopped. Sucking in a shaky breath you give them a tight lipped smile and congratulate them. You always knew that Riki would never be yours. But you didn't know that it would hurt so much. 

Damn your stupid heart for falling for the one person it couldn't have. 

Comments, reblogs, feedback greatly appreciated!!

Enha permanent taglist - @delcakoo

taejays on tumblr all works are mine, do not copy, plagiarize, repost, cross post, translate etc without consent.

STAWPP EVERYTHING WAS SO CUTE AND SO. BEOMGYU ☹️☹️ their little bantering is adorable EVEN THOUGH I AM DESPERATE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED 💔💔 i enjoyed this a lot and your writing is super easy to read op!! <3

a lost bet!

pairing: frenemy!beomgyu x reader

genre: fluff, comedy

summary: you lose a bet to beomgyu and out of everything you'd think he'd ask of you -- money, to pour freezing water on yourself out in the snow, hell, you thought it'd be more likely for him to ask you to jump off a cliff and survive than telling you to take him out on a date.

word count: 2.2k

notes: cheesy stuff but if you read it till the end, a heart is always appreciated :') if you read it and liked it, please reblog ˃̵ᴗ˂̵

there are people who would be described as two peas in a pot, the half of the other, siblings from another mother -- the idea that they complete each other, that they work so well together that they must be of the same thread.

to describe your relationship with beomgyu, those metaphors would never even have came up in the light of day because you guys just don't work. you like what he likes and he likes what you like. you do what he does, and he does what you do. for heavensake, you've known each other since highschool and you still ended up in the same dream university, in the same dream careers, in the same fast food job! and that is exactly why you don't work. the arguments that fester from being just a little too similar got extreme back when you were teenagers, terribly extreme you couldn't even blame it on hormones.

girls who'd be interested in beomgyu every three weeks would come up to you at the randomest times to ask if there was anything going on between you two and the first couple girls, your friends would die of laughter because of how inaccurate the assumption was. "her and beomgyu? beomgyu with the long hair? him and y/n? the y/n that's standing next to us right now?"

it was safe to say that after a while, the entire engineering major knew you and beomgyu would never happen. and you were content with that.

that is until that day happened, the day you lost the bet.

you were feeling lots of things before he'd decide on a what you'd do - fear, fear was a big one.

"hey, go easy on me." you reluctantly said quietly.

"huh?" he put a hand behind his ear, "what'd you say?"

it was embarrassing enough that you couldn't complete the software in time when you're known in the major for being the fastest, but it was even worse to give beomgyu the satisfaction of you being scared. you already caught a smirk on his face, fucker.

"i said...go easy on me you prick."

"okay okay here, since you're begging, i'll give you a deal." he folded his arms, acting like he was thinking of this on the spot. "i'll go easy on you if you don't ask any questions about my dare." and that was when you knew that he had this planned out - you took the bait anyway, just of the small chance you might avoid jumping off a cliff.

"okay, i accept the deal, whats the dare?"

"take me, choi beomgyu..." he was elongating every vowel and you'd hate to admit it but every time he does it, as annoying as it is, it does manage to do its job and keeps you on your toes to want to know what he'd say next.

but the long pause that day was way more annoying than usual.

"just say it!", you yelled.

"on a date!" he yelled immediately in response. "jesus christ you're so impatient."

beomgyu saw you open your mouth to say something and he anticipated it so he quickly shut you up with a finger on your lips.

"no questions, remember?", you rolled your eyes and snatched his finger off your lip. "here are the rules. one, you're paying for everything-"

"broke ass." you cursed under your breath and he caught it.

"who's working three shifts again?" well, that got you quiet. "two, it has to be the best date i've ever been on. like spectacular, jaw dropping, 5 star restaurant. you know i'm a wanted, highly desirable man. and three, if you break the rules, you'll have to try again. but hey, i trust you'll get it on the first try. i'm going to go easy on you."

and that is how you find yourself on the 9th try of trying to woo beomgyu with a date and finally get the dare over with. i'm going to go easy on you? bullshit.

the first three times, it was aggravating to know that you failed and had to go on another date. the next four to eight times, you viewed it as another assignment to overcome - like a game? that period was ambitious (hello, you literally drove four hours for one of the dates once) so when even those failed, you entered your nine times to how many the fuck you know times. you've never went on this many dates with someone you weren't even in a relationship with.

and by now you'd figured that beomgyu was just freeloading off of you. that asshole. you would totally do something like that..

like it was the devil's calling, beomgyu came through the door of the desserted cafe that you part timed at.

"hey! welcome to bist-- beomgyu." you said his name grimly, staring at him walk over to your register.

"oh my god, i did not know you worked here! fancy seeing you partner!"

"beomgyu, you literally used to work with me-- you know what? no. i just took the last order. we're closing the store."

he looked at his wrist, like he was reading a watch but when he dropped his hand down, there was indeed, no real watch.

"it's seven on a thursday, you aren't fooling me."

you groan dramatically like a child, frustrated. "what do you want beomgyu? i can't afford to hear your voice one more time this week, i'm serious i think i need to get myself checked out before i'm driven to insanity." you mumbled as he looked up at the menu, his iris going left and right trying to decipher which one would be the cheapest, and not taste like total shit. "can i get a...hmm...this is a lot of options..."

"a triple shot soy decaf vanilla latte with whipped cream?", you filled in.

"no not--wait, hold on. that sounds really good."

"because it is good." you said rolling your eyes playfully, this time.

"is it cheap?"

"the cheapest." you said, cracking a smirk. it was times like these where you remember that you and beomgyu are still the friends part of the frenemy title you both chose to adopt.

a more genuine fond smile warmed up on beomgyu's face, because he had the same exact thought.

"well its not technically the cheapest--" he started.

"don't ruin the moment beomgyu." you said heading to the backroom.

"i'm just saying, you were being deceitful! also there was no moment!" you heard beomgyu call out. secretly, you let out a quick chuckle to that.

when you finally got him his order, you expected him to leave...but of course, you thought too highly of him. because there he was, elbows on the counter, sipping his coffee (milkshake) really..really loudly. it was like his sole purpose was to annoy the fuck out of you.

"do you want me to direct you to a table mr. choi?" you said in your fake nice voice sarcastically as your back was turned from him to wash the tools that you used.

"y/n i have a question."

"answer mines first."

"when is the next date--i mean, like, your next, um..attempt? try? what are we calling it?"

you exhale, you knew he was going to mention it.

"it's today. surprise!" you turned around with a terrifying toothy smile, doing jazz hands.

"you just decided this last minute didn't you?" you shook your head, still keep up a smile. "also stop smiling like that oh my god."

and the smile was dropped. "okay, so what if i decided just now? you know, the cheapest dates are the best dates."

"literally nobody has ever said that." he said, taking another sip of his drink, shaking his head slowly disapprovingly.

"no, yeah you're right i don't know why i just did." you said, very much perplexed those words came out of your mouth -- you'll call it your first stage of insanity.

"look, i'm going to be completely honest, i don't think you'll ever top the paris hot balloon date with that cute foreign chick."

you scoffed, coming closing to the counter with your arms crossed. "um pfft, i thought we collectively, we as in the whole world by the way, agreed that you made that date up."

"you're the only one who thinks it didn't happen, i literally showed you pictures! and it's not that hard to believe, i am universally hot stuff." he shrugged, and you rolled your eyes. "wait hey, i think i still have the pictures, let me show you."

his eyes were narrowed, scrolling on his phone.

"okay okay, enough. also don't call yourself hot stuff again." you covered his phone screen and he looks up at you confused. "lets say it did happen.."

"it did happen!"

"...if you knew i wasn't going to top your extravagant paris date, why'd you even add the second rule?"

for the first time, beomgyu didn't have an immediate response. he was quiet, way too quiet.

"look, you can just tell me you were trying to freeload off of me." beomgyu looks taken back, his face scrunched up, so you add more to clarify, "i would be pissed but you don't have to be all secretive about it. i can get over it if you pay me four hundred dollars in cash--"

"let's say i was freeloading off you, which by the way, i should've thought of that--"

"correction, you were freeloading off of me."

beomgyu ignores you. "you know what, i just thought of something. there is one way you could top the hot balloon paris date."

your interest was piqued but you try not to show how your ears perked up, and clear your throat. "what is it?"

despite your attempt to seem disinterested, when beomgyu motions to bring your head closer so he can whisper something, you don't hesitate.

"i don't know, maybe it'll be too hard on you...like it takes a lot of courage--"

"just say it!" you yelled impatiently.

"say i liiike you beomgyu-ah~" he said with what you think is a pout, and top of that you'd bet a hundred bucks that he was fluttering his long lashes too.

you pull your head away. "beomgyu."

he shrugged. "i'm giving you a very easy task, take it or leave it."

you exhale, its true. it isn't that bad. "i'm not doing the aegyo though."

"thats the entire point! just don't do it at all then."

"oh, okay. bye, it wasn't pleasant seeing you beomgyu, as always." you waved him away and start untying your apron to leave your shift, but beomgyu was still there. because you've heard the third groan in a row.

you, however, didn't notice that he came to the back in the register area until you felt his hand touching your struggling ones that were trying to untie your apron for the past..three minutes now.

you dropped them to your sides, feeling a little awkward at the sudden proximity.

"were you actually going to close?" he asked as you felt beomgyu trying to untangle the knot.

"no that was lie, i'm leaving because my shift ended."

"huh. you know i was about to apologize for bothering you. and i never apologize."

"who said you weren't bothering me anyway? in fact, you've been bothering me this whole month more than normal."

you looked back to beomgyu, "why'd you stop? can you try to untie it faster?"

"alright alright, jesus."

the rest of the time that he spent untying the knot, it was quiet. oddly.

"done. i have to go now though, homework and stuff." he said backing away.

you stopped him by holding his wrist back. "hey, are you mad? it's kind of weird, i've never seen you mad."

he looked back at you with a raised brow. you rolled your eyes, correcting yourself. "okay, well i've never seen you mad this month"

you let go of his wrist because hes fully turned to face you, with his arm crossed.

"maybe, maybe i wasn't mad because i didn't see hanging out with you to be the biggest nuisance in the world."

"well..you're mad now."

"say i like you."

"huh?"

"you don't have to do the aegyo, i'm exempting it because i am a very nice friend."

okay, so now you're lost. you don't know what's going on, at all. but hey at least you'll get a perk of ending the dare!

do you...want to end the dare?

okay, what the actual fuck. why are you having that thought?

"i like you beomgyu-ah." you mumbled reluctantly in the most monotone, robotic voice ever. and his previous sorta serious face morphs into a fit of laughter.. KNEE slapping laughter.

"god you should've--you should've seen your face!" he said pointing at you while he uses his other hand to hold his stomach. like an elementary bully ad.

and the fit of laughter continued.

"was that whole im mad act fake? you're...ugh." you groaned. another day, another beomgyu being a total dick.

you took beomgyu by the wrist again to push him out of the back. "bye! it's time for you to leave!" you said loudly.

"alright alright i'm leaving--ow!"

you had to go through seeing him laughing all the way to the exit door, but hey, at least he was gone. you sigh, relieved.

but then you hear the ding again.

"i like you too by the way" beomgyu shouted out. and then left again.

typical annoying, irritating, choi beomgyu. leaving you to make an analysis of what he meant by saying that... for the entire night.

AHH THIS WAS SO CUTE i love mythical fics like this and gyu being an annoying but pretty menace the whole time was so 😭🫶 tbh was expecting smthn to go wrong like mc telling him their name or gyu leading her somewhere bad BUT he actually didnt so yay!!??!! now i wanna know what mc has to do in return 💔💔😞

The Forest is alive - Beomgyu x Reader

Fae!Beomgyu x human reader

notes : gender neutral terms, mentions of woodland creatures obviously, mythical terms n stuff, i dont know a whole lot about mythology so bear with me :)

word count : 2744 words

“Isn't it beautiful!” Beomgyu called out towards you, the natural glitter on his cheeks shining brightly. He looked like he could rival the sun. He was truly in his element. This moment made you reminisce on how the two of you had come to meet.

The two of you had met two years ago, deep inside the forest just next to your home. You hadnt moved in recently or anything but you didnt go outside much anymore. The forest always scared you, it felt alive. Something about it kept you away. That was until one year while your family was off on a trip, you had stepped out to tend to their garden for them.

But when you looked towards the forest, there was something blue and glowing in front of you. It was about the size of a water bottle and just floated in front of you. It looked like blue fire and it caught your attention. Something about it was so enticing that you found yourself walking towards it without much thought.

Once close enough to touch it, you reached out to curiously tap the little blue flame. As soon as your finger went to make contact with the little blue wisp it disappeared, causing you to jump back a bit. Confusion took over you as you glanced around before spotting another one, this time closer to the forest. Once again, it was like it was calling your name.

“Y/n… y/n come here..”

It whispered, sounding far away and all around you all at the same time. Mesmerized, you once again began following the wisp. Yet again as soon as you were close enough to touch it, it disappeared and reappeared somewhere else. You let a small smile spread across your lips as you followed the wisps deeper and deeper into the forest. The sun shone on the leaves, giving them a shiny glow on the dew.

Once inside the forest there was a whistling sound to your left, causing you to snap your head over and look. That's when you realized how deep you were in the forest. That you were definitely lost. Suddenly the whistling picked back up again to your right, causing you to turn towards it again. What is going on? You knew there was always something off about the forest.

“Hello?” You asked cautiously, eyes still scanning the trees. A twinkle of laughter rang out in the deep of the trees at your voice. It sounded like whatever or whoever it was is just circling you, the sounds constantly moving.

“Are you lost? You shouldn't have followed the wisps.” A honey-like voice whispered into your ear. You whipped around out of fear, how had someone gotten so close? Before realizing nobody was there. What the hell?

“Who.. who are you? What's going on?” You spoke up nervously, now not able to stand still. You continuously turned to make sure nobody could sneak up on you. This is why you didn't trust the forest, it was like it was alive.

Then finally, you saw a figure in the trees. You stopped to watch the figure nervously before seeing a man walk out of the shadowed area. He was wearing a dirty gray hoodie, the thing having rips and the colors washed and faded like it had been sitting in the sun for years. He wore equally dirty jeans only without the rips that the hoodie donned. His hoodie was halfway unzipped, hanging off his left shoulder. He was undeniably beautiful, a coy smile on his lips and flowers following wherever he stepped.

“You're lost aren't you? You shouldn't be here.” The man spoke as he continued to approach you. There was something inhuman about him even if he seemed like a normal person. You took a cautious step back, which caused him to stop.

“Do you talk at all, little human?” He egged you on, head tilting with his question. Although it seemed like more of a teasing comment than genuine question. Wait, little human? Was he not human?

“What do you mean by little human?” You countered with furrowed brows, refusing to take your eyes off of him. Laughter bubbled up from his chest at your words, his eyes crinkling.

“Oh, you don't know? Isn't it obvious?” He laughed, you couldn't read him. What were his intentions? “The forest is alive.. Do you not know of the tales? Of faes, gnomes, and elves?”

You just continued to stare at him with a confused look. What in the world was he talking about? Sure the forest felt off but there was no way it was truly alive like you worried. Those were all fairy tale creatures, not real things.

“Wow.. you really are clueless!” He exclaimed with another laugh. “You should really be glad I found you before the elves.” He continued as he began approaching you again.

“Well then c’mon human, I'll bring you out of the forest. Maybe now you can read up about the creatures here before you offend the wrong person.” He started as he walked past you, turning to look at you and wait for you to follow.

“Why should I just blindly follow you? What even are you?” You questioned. You didn't want to follow this random man, especially not after he confirmed he wasn't human. Sure he was undeniably ethereal but he could be leading you to your death for all you know.

The man just smiled another beautiful smile at you, turning to fully face you. “Now why would I trick you, i've been kind so far.” He responded with a fake pout. You didn't trust him. Did you even come from the direction he was facing?

“Just come, we can talk along the way.” He continued to encourage you to follow him and honestly, what else could you do? He could kill you here or bring you to another spot of your demise, or you could take the gamble and maybe be taken home.

“...Fine” You gave in, walking towards him with an obviously apprehensive look. He just smiled in response and turned around to begin walking.

“Follow me then!” He called out, glancing back once more before a mischievous smile spread onto his face and he began to run. He expertly hopped over roots and easily navigated the forest, practically disappearing into the woods.

“Shit, wait if you want me to follow!” You exclaimed, eyes widening as you processed for a second before running after him in the direction he went. Something about him was so alluring. Perhaps you were being stupid, so easily fooled by a pretty boy with a honey voice but what else could you do? At least he gave you a chance of getting home.

The twinkles of his laughter kept you going somewhat in the right direction for a few minutes until you were panting, slowing down a bit. Suddenly you noticed the silence around you which brought you to a stop. The sun was beginning to set around you, the forest darker than it had been when you first entered.

“Boo!” Sounded from right next to your ear after almost a minute of silence, ripping a scream out of your throat as you jumped back to see the same man again right behind you.

“What the fuck!” You cried out, hand on your chest as he just laughed at your fear. He was practically doubled over and honestly his laughter was like music to your ears.

“Sorry, sorry. It's in my nature.” He said in between giggles before straightening back up. “Let's continue, I won't run this time.”

You didn't understand what he meant by it being in his nature, but you just nodded while slightly glaring at him. You were getting annoyed but didn't say anything. He also didn't seem to care whatsoever, still smiling as he began to walk like he had promised.

You followed him somewhat closely, not wanting to lose him again in the forest. It was silent as the two of you traveled together, just the sound of birds and crickets filling the air.

The two of you walked for what felt like centuries before suddenly your foot caught on something, causing you to tumble and fall with a yelp. Instead of catching you, the man watched with a snort and giggle while covering his mouth. You looked up at him from your spot on the ground to see his foot extended where you had fallen.

“What was that for you asshole?” You had a frown on your face as he just giggled, outstretching a hand to offer to help you up even though he had been the one to trip you.

“Couldn't help it, you were getting too comfortable.” He snorted. You didn't understand why that made him trip you though, but you were beginning to notice a pattern in his trickster tendencies.

“Whatever.” You grumbled before hesitantly going to take his offered hand before he yanked it away. You glared at him as he laughed again before offering it to you a second time. You just stared at him for a few seconds before reaching out for his hands once again, this time he didn't pull it away. Easily, he pulled you up into a standing position.

“Just a bit farther, human.” He stated simply as he then didn't release his hold on you, beginning to pull you along with him. What the hell?

“Let go of me.” You demanded with furrowed brows but he just shook his head and continued on.

“Nope! You're funny when you're mad. That and the woodland creatures get antsy at night.” He replied and didn't explain any further. That caused you to notice how it really was getting dark, only a bit of the sun still up. With the idea of the woodland creatures targeting you, you let up and let him hold your hand.

“So, the wisps brought you here right? Wonder why they waited so long. Usually humans are brought in as children.” The man spoke simply as you two walked, glancing at you for a response. You didnt really want to talk to him as he made you nervous, but there was also something in you that wanted to converse with him. It wanted him to be fond of you.

“I didnt go outside much as a kid. The forest scared me.” You replied after a few seconds which made him snort.

“Really? You were already afraid? Thats new.”

“Why do the wisps bring children?” You then pushed, getting curious. None of this made sense.

“Do you not know the story of wisps?” He asked and watched as you shook your head. With a playful roll of his eyes he began talking.

“The wisps can be little faeries or spirits from a creature or a human's past life. They lead wanderers and unsuspecting humans to treasure or to their demise. It fully depends on the wisps you meet as some are more malicious than the others. Some wisps that were human like leading people to good things but it doesn't happen often. Really they lead you to your fate.” He explained, not sparing you a single glance.

“You must've been lucky enough to run into a kind wisp as they brought you to me. That or they intended for something else to find you. Although you may not think of this as a good thing.” He chuckled a bit at the end, like he knew something you didn't. He spoke like you wouldnt be getting rid of him anytime soon, which was worrying. Hed take you home and youd never see him again, right?

“How does that correlate with them bringing children?” You decided to ask, still curious.

“Human children are gullible and easy to influence. They're used for things like servants, lovers, given to the devil, used for entertainment, and more. Really they could be used for a multitude of things depending on the creature.”

“Oh.” You said with wide eyes. None of those options sounded anywhere near ideal, how does all of this happen with nobody knowing? Then you remembered all the story books and things you've written off and fake and made up. Now youre realizing just how real those mythical stories are.

“What's your name, human?” He then suddenly asked, looking over at you. Something about the question felt wrong and it felt like the forest stilled. Something in you screamed at you to not answer.

“..(your nickname)” You finally replied hesitantly which made him smile and his eyes glinted with interest.

“You're smarter than I expected.” He replied before facing forward again. You don't really know what you just avoided, but it must've been something important with how he reacted.

“Are you really taking me back? It's been a while.” You spoke up around ten more minutes later as you squint your eyes at him. You were beginning to feel more and more lied to, it didn't take you this long to enter the forest.

“Yes, (nickname) I am. I cannot lie so you'll be home eventually.” He responded. “The forest can be unpredictable and moves, you came in much deeper than you realize. Just a bit longer and you'll be home.”

All of this was so weird and confusing, all of this mythical forest shit about the forest being alive. But true to his words five minutes later the edge of the forest began to appear. You saw the lights inside of the house shining through the trees which made you smile. Finally!

“Now, now (nickname) before I let you go, let's talk a bit.” The man suddenly said, tightening his hold on your hand and keeping you with him. You furrowed your brows once again and tried to pull your hand away but he was relentlessly strong. You suddenly remembered that he was truly a mythical creature you didn't understand or know anything about.

“Now that I've helped you out, you're in debt to me. So get ready to see me around a lot. You're interesting so I'll stick around.” He began with an almost serious look before smiling. “You should feel honored that I even let you live! I'm a fae after all, look it up once you're back inside.”

Your eyes widened at his words, you were indebted to some mythical woodland creature? That couldn't be good. Hell what if he made you some kind of servant later on? You were fucked. You instantly made a mental note to read up on faes and see what he was talking about, you had assumed he was a somewhat harmless creature.

“Now off you go! Ill see you around human.” He finally released your hand and lifted up his other to wave at you. But once he began to take a step back you took a step towards him, surprising even yourself.

“Wait! What's your name?” You asked, watching him intently. You somewhat understood that it was something important to know names but you also just wanted something to refer to him as seeing as you would see him around.

“Hmm.. you can call me Gyu for now, human.” He replied after a few seconds of consideration. Soon after saying it he smiled before disappearing further into the trees. You stood there and stared until his gray hoodie could no longer be seen.

Finally you turned around and walked back to your house, honestly a bit quickly. What had just happened? Seriously what the hell.

As soon as you were inside you closed and locked the door behind you, just staring forward as you processed. The forest was really alive? It didnt feel real, none of that did. Had you been out there for hours? It hadnt felt horribly long but you were out there long enough for the afternoon sun to set.

Deciding to take up the man, now dubbed Gyu’s advice you immediately went to the computer in your fathers workspace. You stayed up all that night researching the woodland creatures that you used to see as just stupid fairytales. It caused you to realize how lucky you really were to get out of that situation alive. It also made you way more wary for the time to come, now knowing that you were indebted to a fae.

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notes : this is the first time ive written like a full out something using y/n so,, cut me some slack.. also the ending is pretty open so u can imagine how they became closer and eventually it led to them sharing names etc etc

comments and reposts are appreciated since it lets me know you liked this and it is super motivating!!

general taglist : @squiishymeow @beomnioa @jwnghyuns

if youd like to be added or taken off of my general taglist shoot me a dm or an ask !

OH MY GODDD im literlaly screaminf and crying author this was AMAZINGLY DONE and so so well written + planned!!!! i’m such a sucker for survival/apocalypse ot7 aus and this just fed me so well like i genuinely did not want it to end ksbhdnd 😭 each of the boys are so unique and loveable,, I eSpECIALLT HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR RIKI ALREADY I JUST WANT TO HUG HIM SO BAD MANN HES SO CUTE AND DOES NOT DESERVE THIS ☹️☹️☹️ when they had to leave n’ he was so distressed and yn helped him get all his stuff,, GOD YN BETTER NOT LEAVE AND PROTECT HIM 😞 and the way jake checked to see if mc was hurt at the end :( LITERALLY CRYING. also i rlly love hee and mcs dynamic so far,, the slight tension in the closet?!? I DONR KNOW IF U PLAN TO ADD ROMANCE IN THIS SERIES AND FRANKLY I WOULD NOT CARE IF THERE WASNT ANY but i already love hee x yn or MAYBE niki x yn but i think rikis more like a lil brother 💔 ANYWAYS i wanted to run and read the next part right away but i just had to leave a reblog w my thoughts first cuz yknow!!! (theres much more i want to say but tbh i think it’d be too long and annoying LMAO) anywaYs thank u for sharing this wonderful story i will be tuning in to next chaps <3 🫶🫶🫶🫶

SILENCED (1)

MASTERLIST PLAYLIST (potential hints)

GENRE ➩ enhypen zombie apocalypse au!

SUMMARY ➩ navigating life 1 year post end of the world was already difficult as you avoided rotting corpses with hefty appetites and groups with various bad intentions. things get harder when you run into a group of survivors, 7 boys who make it impossible to run away.

WC ➩ 10.7k

WARNINGS ➩ all things that zombies bring like gore and death lol, sexual content, main character death etc

AUTHORS NOTE ➩ this was originally a one shot story but under request from people that read my stories before i post it’s going to be a multiple part series! hope you enjoy the first installment as it builds up the world and characters plz let me know your thoughts and guesses (NOT PROOFREAD)

Whenever you pictured the apocalypse, the end of the world that people often talked about over drunken hypotheticals or PG-13 level horror, you pictured it loud.

Thunderous even, a deafening mixture of screams and cries behind the roar of fire and destruction.

You imagined utter chaos and it was never quiet in your head when you did so, a clear built scenario that you never paid too much mind to, considering the absolute fantasy of it all.

So now that you were almost a year deep into the official end of humanity, you were a bit thrown off by how different it was from your previous assumptions. Sure, there had been fire and screams and it definitely wasn’t lacking chaos, but most days you found yourself in complete ear ringing silence.

The soundtrack of your day to day life rarely extended past birds chirping, the crunch of leaves and loose sticks under your boots as you attempted your way through forest filled terrain.

It’d taken you a while to leave Seoul, first being held back by fear and panic and then not wanting to leave the comfort of your known surroundings.

It was easy to figure out how to survive there after a while, knowing when it was safe to leave your apartment and scavenge the nearby stores and when it was time to draw the blinds and let’s hoards pass by undetected.

You’d sit with bated breath as you listened to soft groans and bodies bumping against your front door as they mindlessly made their way down the hallway and eventually off to find something that had made a noise or distracted them.

When you imagined the apocalypse before you hadn’t really considered the different types that could occur. You suppose chemical outbreak or maybe even a world war could’ve been possible, far fetched but possible nonetheless. Maybe even multiple waves of natural disasters, wiping out cities and land masses in its wake.

Somehow, the dead rising hadn’t crossed your mind.

The creatures that had lingered outside your door all those months ago weren’t like anything you could’ve possibly dreamed up in your anxious mind, defying science and all rationality with their mere existence and hunger based drive.

It didn’t bother you as much now, having spent weeks frustrated over the mechanics of their mobility, the reasoning for their immortality.

Now you felt somewhat close to them, these days hunger being your main reason for existence and almost your entire train of thought from the moment you woke up to the second you fell asleep. This was the same thing that had finally driven you from the city, the stores running dry eventually and leaving you no choice but to turn to nature for nutrients.

You thought about this comparison now as you came to a slow stop, lowering yourself down into a crouch as you listened to the branches snapping off in the distance.

The knife in your hand felt heavier than normal, eyes darting around the forest as you took in your surroundings and made a quick escape plan in case it was more than one undead, in case you needed to run and run fast. You didn’t want to leave just yet, having followed a deer into the woods a few hours ago and you were in desperate need of an actual meal.

Shifting your weight onto your heels, you listened to the sounds come closer and then stop when they reached a bush a few yards ahead of you.

Your head was cocking in confusion, grip tightening around the leather of your knifes handle as you waited for it to continue its approach. The bush rattled a few times, keeping your attention tightly locked on it as you held your breath.

“Put it down.” A low voice was sounding behind you and you froze, feeling the cold metal pressed against the back of your head before you even registered the fact that somebody was speaking.

It’d been weeks since you’d heard something so real, something so human other than your own voice and you felt a sudden wave of dizziness at the fact you were clearly stuck.

For a brief moment you considered spinning in place and attempting to disarm him, relying on your own swiftness taking him off guard and beating his reactionary speed that would cause him to pull the trigger before you even saw what he looked like.

This plan was put to rest quicker than you could think it through, the bush rattling again as another figured pushed its way through the thick leaves. You watched his face pull into a wince when he saw you and you furrowed your eyebrows.

“Hyung.” He muttered and you heard a sigh from behind you, their plan clearly not entailing this interruption. “She doesn’t have anything on her.”

The one behind you didn’t say anything about this, still not taking his gun off you considering the fact you’d made absolutely no move to lower your own weapon like he had originally instructed you. You remained still despite a wave of fear washing over you at the realization you had nothing of value for them to take other than yourself, a sudden reminder that the apocalypse was scary but being a woman was scarier.

“Go.” He was speaking again, still in that low timbre and the boy from the bush winced again, shaking his head like he wanted to deny the order but also taking an instinctive step forward like he was accustomed to taking them.

You couldn’t get a grasp on their dynamic or what they exactly wanted from you, the boy stood in front of you looked nervous like he had a thin idea of what would happen and he didn’t agree with it. You considered for a second if this was a situation worth trying to talk your way out of, eventually deciding to just let things take their course with your limited options.

“You don’t need to kill her, let’s just leave her here and go back.” He was taking another step forward and he continued to look over your shoulder, eyes only darting down to yours for a second in a silent plea for your cooperation. “She doesn’t know which way we’ll go”

“She was tracking.” The boy behind you was immediately noting and you almost cursed under your breath at the fact he was right. If you wanted to follow them you could, their tracks in the dirt obvious to you now that you’d spent months learning the skill.

“Then we tie her up and leave her, but we don’t need to kill.” He was shaking his head in exasperation and you could hear the boy behind you let out a frustrated sigh.

You had no doubt in your mind that if he was alone he would’ve killed you without a second thought, swift and silent in the way he had approached you from behind and keeping his gun firmly pressed against your skull. Despite your confusion you were silently thankful for the others boys resolve, although it came off as weak to you.

“If you’re going to tie me up in the woods you might as well kill me yourselves.” You were speaking for the first time and both boys reacted immediately.

The one behind you was shifting on his feet to stand firmer, pressing his metal into you while the other in front was giving you a helpless look, clearly upset you had immediately undone any progress he was making for your release.

It was silent for a few moments after that as they looked at each other and you wondered what conclusion they were coming to with just their glances. You hadn’t done yourself any favors in your statement but it was true, leaning you defenseless this close to dark was more of a death sentence than a bullet in your brain.

“We can take her back with us.” The boy from the bush was eventually whispering in a last attempt at keeping you alive, hands coming forward in a plea. “Not as a guest just as a prisoner for now, until we figure out what to do with her.”

You almost laughed at him but decided against it although figuring there was no possible way that would be allowed considering two seconds ago they were about to kill you. However the silence, and lack of immediate rejection, from behind you made you second guess.

You were being pulled to your feet before you even could process him moving again. “You’re explaining it to him, I’m not taking the heat for this.”

His tone was harsh but tired and you were startled at the fact he was actually taking you with, even more fear sinking in as you realized the ‘him’ he was referring to meant they weren’t out here alone. For some reason you hadn’t considered them being with a larger group.

The other boy didn’t say anything but you imagined he gave some form of silent acceptance considering the fact you were suddenly being moved forward harshly with your hands held behind your back.

You hadn’t seen the second boy yet but you were unnerved considering he was able to hold both your wrist together with a single hand, still keeping his gun pressed between your shoulder blades as you moved clumsily through the woods.

From their dynamic you had assumed they were alone, your first mistake, and that he was the leader out of the two of them. Hearing his words about explanation you realized the hierarchy wasn’t that simple and there was clearly somebody they both answered to outside of each other.

“Are your hands okay?” You looked to your left to see the kinder boy following you as you walked, staying at your side with his gun tight in his hands now.

The boy behind you sighed at his question and you weren’t sure exactly how to answer. They were hurting and if you saw any way out of this you would’ve complained, made a sarcastic comment that could potentially get your ass kicked if they weren’t feeling up for jokes at the moment.

Instead you offered him a small nod and turned back to face forward so you didn’t trip.

Your options now were to die here and now, act out and become more of a hinderance than their willing to deal with. Or go along with them and most likely end up being killed eventually anyways, maybe after at least one more night of sleep. You kept your mouth shut for the time being and kept walking.

“We should’ve blindfolded her.” The boy behind you was muttering after an hour or two went by and you vaguely heard the sounds of chatter and fire crackling off in the distance now. “He’s going to lose his shit.”

“Maybe we have Jake talk to him first.” The other one was whispering from beside you as the three of you slowed to a stop, accessing the situation before approaching with a stranger in toe.

It was clear to you now that this group was far larger than you had anticipated. They continued to whisper new names and you listened to the overlapping conversations off in the distance, your heart beating so fast it hurt as you skimmed through the different scenarios this could end in.

While they were distracted you were taking your chance, throwing your shoulder backwards to hit the first boy and taking off in a sprint back the way they had taken you from. You ignored his cry of shock and the others frantic plea for you to stop and come back as you whipped through the trees.

The sun was setting now so any tracking skills you had was completely useless, relying on nothing but your feet and the surrounding terrain as you attempted to put as much distance between you and the others as possible.

You could hear the two who had brought you back with them starting to yell out for help and despite cursing under your breath in frustration, you didn’t blame them and saw it coming before you even ran. You were a stranger and now you knew exactly where they were located, going from a hostage to a threat in seconds.

It had only been 20 minutes of running before you had exhausted yourself from lack of pacing, slamming against a tree and bending over with your elbows to your knees to try and catch your breath.

You could hear shouts in the forest behind you along with groans that brought on the harsh reminder you had more than one enemy in the woods. Their yells and loud feet over leaves and sticks were going to continue to bring more of the dead down on you and you were starting to panic completely.

Before you could think about it anymore or start running again, something heavy was slamming into your side and you were hitting the ground hard.

You flew across the leaves and mud before flipping over onto your back with a shout and scrambling away from whatever had rammed you before you even registered what it was. Another boy, not the one from the bush, was bouncing back to his feet considering he’d also hit the ground after he tackled you and was approaching you swiftly.

He looked furious but you couldn’t tell what type of weapons he had in the dark, kicking you feet out as he gained on you and hitting him in the knee.

A groan fell from his lips and he bent to grab his leg as you pulled yourself off the ground and instinctively reached down towards your thigh for your knife, finding the holster empty and immediately remembering it’d been taken from you hours ago.

He chuckled at your obvious dilemma although it lacked humor, an annoyed expression on his face like you were wasting his time. He was suddenly lunging at you again and although you were fast, he was definitely bigger and you let out a scream as he pinned you back down onto the floor.

Your stomach was pressed tightly against the dirt and you felt his knee land on your back, holding your arms tightly so you couldn’t break free from his hold again.

“Stop fucking moving already.” He was grunting from above you as you continued to thrash and attempt to kick at him despite slowly coming to the realization there was no getting free.

“Hyung.” Another voice was screaming out, obviously following the sounds of your cries and screams to find you. You twisted your head against the dirt to see the boy from the bush approaching you with a few others behind him.

“Sunoo go, you’ve done enough.” Your attacker was spitting from above you and you saw a flash of hurt over the others face, immediately taking a step back towards the rest of the boys who were watching the scene with varying expression.

Sunoo, the one who had brought you here in the first place, was clearly experiencing guilt as he looked down at you but you weren’t sure if it was for you or for causing an issue for his group. One of the boys behind him was reaching a hand up to grab his arm, pulling him backwards softly so he didn’t have to watch.

“Heeseung it wasn’t his fault.” You didn’t recognize the boy who was speaking now, approaching from the side, but you immediately could tell from his low timbre that he was the one who had held you at gunpoint. “I fucked up, we didn’t know what to do.”

“You kill her.” Heeseung was forcing the words out through gritted teeth and you were squirming again underneath his knee, the pain in your back excruciating as you started to find it difficult to breathe. “Or you leave her to the rotters, but under no circumstances do you bring her back to camp.”

Sunoo was glancing at the boy who had said something with a furthering expression of guilt and upset considering the fact those ideas had both been rejected by him. You thought about saying something, about pleading for your life or negotiating a deal where they could bring you far away and leave you somewhere you couldn’t find your way back.

You quickly decided against it considering how serious the boy above you was speaking, also piecing together this was clearly who was in charge and was being discussed in the woods previously.

The others boys were watching in the distance and you were trying to count them to see how outnumbered you were, eventually giving up considering how dark it was and how dizzy you were getting from being pinned against the floor. It was definitely more than you could handle and there was clearly no use in trying to out run them again considering how silently and quickly Heeseung had caught up to you the first time.

You hadn’t even heard him before he came out of the trees and it’d only taken him a second to bounce back onto his feet despite the tackle almost completely knocking the wind out of you.

He had you beat in all aspects and you didn’t feel like poking the bear would be the best move if you wanted to survive the night. That might not be up to either of you however considering the low groans that were starting to fill the forest.

Between the darkness and the almost echoing night air you couldn’t quite tell which direction it was coming from and judging by the way the group of boys starting to look around with their weapons raised, they couldn’t either.

You were being pulled up off the floor before you could think for another second and you sucked in a big breath now that your lungs were no longer restricted, immediately faltering when you were aggressively yanked around as Heeseung started to move towards the boys.

He was flinging you around like a rag doll and you heard him give out a low whistle, the others immediately forming a semi circle defense while everyone started to move in sync through the forest back towards where their camp was. It was a practiced routine and you would’ve been impressed if you weren’t technically their opponent right now.

“Pick your damn feet up.” He was speaking lowly into your ear with irritation and you let out a grunt as he continued to drag you.

“If you gave me a fucking second maybe I could.” You were spitting back and thrashing your torso forward slightly so his grip on your arms would loosen, he didn’t say anything about this and just glared at you as he let you get your balance so you could travel back to the base faster. “Thanks.”

He scoffed but didn’t reply to your sarcastic comment, traveling swiftly in silence on guard in case more than one dead came out from the dark woods.

By the time you got back to the camp, the fires were put out and nobody else was around. You weren’t sure if that’s because it was late or because everybody who lived here was apart of the group trailing behind you.

The camp was mainly made up of tents, some smaller like they were only fit for a pair and some large with big wooden stakes to hold them up. There was a few RV’s you could see from where you were standing and some trucks that could possibly run but for the most part they were large rust buckets littered with blood and dirt residue like the rest of the worlds vehicles.

You were being pulled into the largest tent before you could finish your observation and sat down in a chair furtherest away from the opening. You almost made a comment about them thinking you’d run again but you decided it wasn’t the best idea.

Only two of the boys followed you inside after Heeseung, the one from earlier who had attempted to take the blame off Sunoo and another you didn’t recognize.

“So what’s the plan then?” He was the one who spoke first and you glanced at him from under your messy hair, shifting uncomfortably as Heeseung tied your hands behind the chair tightly.

“First this idiot needs to tell me why he brought her back in the first place.” After he was finished and confident his ties were strong he was circling back around and approaching the familiar one, you couldn’t see his face anymore but his back was tense and straight. “What were you thinking?”

He cocked his head slightly but he didn’t seem deterred or intimidated by Heeseung’s demeanor, only breaking eye contact to spare you a quick glance.

You wondered if he was worried you’d give up the fact it was Sunoo who had practically insisted they bring you back. It was interesting that despite telling him he had to be the one to take the heat originally, he had immediately stepped up for the blame once he realized Heeseung was truly angry.

“She’s a tracker.” He brought his gaze back to the other boy as he spoke calmly. “She would’ve found us if we just left her and I saw no other option.”

The boy you didn’t recognize was looking at you now with a curious expression and you turned your head to look at him for a second, not able to get a good read on what he was thinking or what side of this argument he would be on. You wondered if this was the one mentioned earlier, Jake.

“You should’ve killed her Jay.” He was holding your gaze as he said it and you were taken back by his comment, not expecting him to be so blunt and cold.

Jay, despite being the one to originally put a gun to your head, also looked thrown off by this and faltered in his calm expression for a second and he looked at him. “Are you serious?”

“Jake’s right.” Heeseung shook his head, confirming your previous suspicious and Jay let out a small laugh of disbelief, taking a step away from the two boys back towards the entrance.

“I’m just supposed to blow her brains out right in front of Sunoo, just because there’s a slight chance she’d follow us?” He was holding his hands up in frustration and you shifted uncomfortably in the seat again, causing their heads to turn towards you.

Heeseung was approaching you swiftly and you watched him as he took large steps, gasping when his hand was reaching up to grab a solid chunk of your hair in his tight grip. He pulled slightly to make you look at up him, bending slightly so he could hold eye contact with you.

“How many people are in your group?” He was speaking steadily and low but you could feel the warning in his tone.

You were shaking your head in denial and confusion but stopped when he tightened his grip and repeated himself louder and more agitated. “How many?”

“I don’t have a group, it’s just me.” You were wincing and trying to hold his gaze, failing miserably due to the pain and intensity. Your eyes went over his shoulder to look at Jay and you gave him a desperate look. “Tell him it was just me.”

He didn’t say anything and you didn’t expect him to, only asking out of pure panic and as a last ditch attempt to plead your case. You weren’t afraid to die but if you could help it, it wouldn’t be in some random groups tent just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Heeseung was loosening his grip on your hair as he looked at you but keeping his hand on the back of your head, a silent warning in case you decided to act out in any sort of way. You watched him with your breath held as you waited for him to say something or react in any sort of way. He was just studying your expression like he was attempting to seek out some trace of a lie on your face.

“You can track.” He was stating suddenly but you took it as a question and nodded repeatedly as best as you could with how close he was to your face. “Can you hunt?”

You were nodding again but slower this time, not quite understanding where this was going. He was looking over his shoulder back at the other boys and Jake gave him an incredulous look that only confused you further before you slightly pieced together what he could he implying.

“You’re not serious.” He was laughing but it was devoid of humor, glancing at Jay who was stony faced as he looked at you. “Heeseung, you can’t be serious right now. Let her stay?”

You felt a wave of sickness pass by as he confirmed what you were thinking and you hoped you didn’t look too appalled visibly. You didn’t like this idea anymore than the thought of them killing you, never being in a group by choice. You didn’t necessarily play well with others and certainly not after they held you hostage and tackled you in the woods.

“She hunts.” He said it like it was obvious and you couldn’t deny the fact it was a valuable asset nowadays as human-made resources slowly died out. You’d noticed it yourself back at your apartment, having to venture out further and further every time you went for a run.

“Riki hunts.” Jake was quickly shutting him down and your interest piqued.

“Riki is learning to hunt but it’s not enough.” Jay was adding into the conversation now, still looking at you as he spoke like he had been since he entered the tent. “It’s almost winter and we can’t keep taking these day long trips every time we’re low…. and we’re always low.”

It was silent for a few moments while they looked at each other in frustration and you once again tried to understand the hierarchy and dynamics at play here, falling short every time. Eventually Jake was scoffing and exiting the tent, slamming the flap down as he left in anger.

Heeseung swiped a hand at Jay, dismissing him too and you didn’t miss the small nod he gave you before turning on his heel and following after the other boy.

That left you and Heeseung alone in the tent and he was taking a step away from you finally, watching you curiously as you took a breath finally and held his gaze tight in yours. You felt a dull ache in your back from his knee and your wrist were screaming for release from your constraints.

“Think of it as a trial.” He was turning away from you for a second as he started to talk and you stared daggers into the back of his head. “I don’t kill you now and in return, you don’t do something stupid.”

You watched him as he started to face you again with a stern look on his face, a hint of youth underneath the hardened exterior, and his eyes shot down to your feet and then back to hold your gaze. “Don’t give me a reason to kill you.”

——

You hadn’t spoken to him again but he didn’t seem too bothered by your silence, only muttering small commands as he dragged you out of the tent and towards one of the RV’s.

You were being left there for the night and you tried not to move much after he cut your restraints with a warning full glance, not wanting him to mistake your movements for another attempt at an escape. Despite not wanting to be there any longer than you had to, your chances were slim out in the woods by yourself.

You figured it wouldn’t hurt to stay a few nights, slipping out whenever you had gained their trust and didn’t need to sleep in a guarded metal bucket.

He’d left you with one of the boys you recognized from earlier in the woods, the one who had gently pulled Sunoo back after he started to get scolded. He looked the opposite of gentle now as he glared at you from the foldable table on the other side of the RV, gun hanging loosely on his lap and he watched you.

“Is there something on my face?” You were eventually muttering, not able to stop yourself as irritation bubbled to the surface.

You hadn’t asked to be brought back here, not even remotely putting yourself in this situation, yet everybody was acting like you were purposely causing issues or trying to harm them.

“You shouldn’t be here.” He was shaking his head and the deep tone of his voice threw you off slightly considering how young he looked.

Despite his youthful features, you could tell he was just as weathered and worn by this new world as everybody else was, you included. His eyebrows were pulled tight and his skin was darker in random sections like he had permanent dirt stains.

He was watching you as you observed him quietly, fidgeting slightly the longer you scanned his features and frame.

He was tall, a lot taller than you and even the other boys you’d encountered long enough to get a good sizing up done. You tried not to focus in on the tears in his clothing or the blood stains surrounding his knees and hands, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable than you already were.

“If you don’t want me here, why not just let me go?” You were shrugging like it was a nonchalant thing to ask, feigning ignorance that he clearly didn’t buy judging by his scoff and annoyed expression.

“And get in trouble for no good reason? Are you stupid or do you think I am?” He was letting his gun lean against the table, deciding you were more of a bother than an actual threat.

You shrugged but didn’t talk to him again for a minute of offer him a response to his question, knowing it would just further upset him. Considering the two of you were clearly stuck with each other for the night you didn’t see the point. “I’m Y/N.”

He was sighing as you spoke again, your voice softer than before as you shifted on the uncomfortable half bed Heeseung had sat you down on. You watched him watch you for a few seconds before he finally responded.

“Riki.”

——

You weren’t sure when you had managed to fall asleep, at some point just laying flat on your back and listening to the sounds of the forest off in the distance as they mixed with Riki’s soft breaths on the other side of the RV.

Apparently you had considering the fact you were being shook awake aggressively, jumping up with a start and reflexively striking the person who had woken you.

“Dude what the fuck.” Jake was standing near your bed and shielding his face from any further assault, a pained look on his face. You gave him an incredulous stare at his reaction, not quite sure how he expected you to react to being vibrated awake by a stranger who had encouraged your death last night. “Make yourself useful.”

He was turning and leaving after that quick statement and you groaned, flopping backwards onto the uncomfortable mattress for a second before kicking up and out of the bed, following him outside before he got too far away and you were lost in the camp.

“You’re going out with Heeseung today.” He was explaining as you jogged to catch up with him, trying to ignore the stares and whispers from the other boys as you passed.

“Does that mean I get my knife back?” You were asking him despite already knowing the answer and he shot you a quick glance at the sound of your voice, looking away as you furrowed your eyebrows.

“First piece of advice, don’t ask stupid questions.” He was stepping forward towards a different tent than last night, holding the flap open with a raised arm until you got the hint and ducked underneath it with a muttered word of thanks. He followed behind you and you saw Heeseung and two other boys sat around the tent, gearing up.

Sunoo was there and he faltered for a second when he saw you, another look of guilt washing over his face as his shoulders tensed. You gave him a small nod but it didn’t seem to appease him in anyway.

The other boy wasn’t looking at you, instead focusing on the disassembled gun in his lap as he meticulously cleaned it and cleared his throat. His hands were fast and swift, no hesitation or question in his expression.

“They’re going on a run too.” Heeseung was speaking and you looked up at him to see who he was talking to, surprised to see him already watching you. “We are heading off in the other direction.”

You were nodding and fidgeting in place, not quite sure how to respond to him in a way that didn’t immediately showcase your frustration. You weren’t thrilled about going out into the world with no weapons and no clue if this guy had good intentions, maybe this was his way of killing you as quietly as possible. He obviously wasn’t expecting you to hunt with your bare hands so you weren’t sure why he was bringing you along.

Still, you didn’t bother arguing with him and after a few more minutes of prep you were following him into one of the trucks off away from the main camp.

“There’s a town about an hour away.” He was muttering eventually as he drove, the heavy rumble of the old engine almost putting you to sleep if it wasn’t for the aggressive way the truck jerked every time he amateurly changed gears. “We cleared it for food but at the time we weren’t thinking about other types of supplies.”

You were watching the side of his face as he spoke and he spared you a glance at your silence. “You think there’s still stuff left now?”

“Possibly but it’s worth a shot. There’s a reason you’re out here and not in Seoul just like us, a lower populated town means maybe less survivors passed by when everything went to shit.” He was sighing as he spoke but seemed hopeful as he tried to convince you.

He wasn’t wrong for the most part, you had traveled to a more rural area in hopes for less of the dead and more towns left undiscovered. You figured if this didn’t end soon then there would be no place left that wasn’t completely cleared out.

Heeseung was large and sturdy but you didn’t miss his sunken in cheeks and darkened eyes, clearly lacking vital nutrients and a healthy lifestyle. It wasn’t that jarring considering you hadn’t met anybody who was doing particularly well but being in a group with larger numbers certainly made things a bit more uneasy.

You took a second to study him as he drove, trailing your gaze from his black long sleeve down to his matching cargo pants. His weapon holster was tightly pulled around his thigh similarly to how yours normally sat and you were suddenly reminded how defenseless you currently were.

“How do you know I’m from Seoul.” You didn’t necessarily feel like talking to him anymore than you had to but if you were going to be stuck with him in charge of your life, maybe some small talk wouldn’t hurt.

“Riki.” He spoke bluntly but it answered your question considering the fact you’d spent most of the night talking to the younger boy after the tension between you had calmed down. “Nice to hear you actually talk occasionally.”

“Maybe I’m more inclined to speak with people who haven’t tried to kill me.” You were quipping back and he let out a small chuckle at your sudden change in tone, not taking any actual offense.

You understood why he had done what he did and he knew you understood but that didn’t mean you were happy about the way things had went down and were continuing to go. You didn’t want to be with them and that much was clear but at some point he had figured if you had somewhere to go, you would’ve put up more of a fight.

The truck jerked particularly hard around another turn onto a dirt road and he swore under his breath, yanking at the shift knob until it slightly smoothed out again.

He gave you an awkward glance out of the side of his eyes and you tried not to chuckle at his terrible manual driving skills. You figured eventually everybody would adapt to things they hadn’t needed to before but it was slightly amusing to know most of the world was desperately trying to adjust to things you’d always had available to you.

You didn’t bother telling Heeseung you could drive a stick shift better than anything else, having been taught in one back in high school. He didn’t need to know how good you were at setting camouflaged rabbit traps or that you weren’t half bad with a bow. Your skill set was better kept a secret until you could get as far away from this group as possible.

By the time you were finally pulling up to a small town, if you could even call it that considering it was just a few old wooden buildings and shops in a U shape, Heeseung seemed to have relaxed a bit.

“We’ll be in and out.” He was carefully instructing as you got out of the car and you nodded although you were feeling frustrated about having no weapon. “Stay close by in case you run into an issue okay?”

Despite your upset and undeniable feeling of vulnerability, the run was going smoothly for the most part. You were quick to enter buildings behind Heeseung as he checked for undead and you had actually managed to get a bag full of supplies that could help the group through the winter.

Your guard was lowering slightly considering you’d come across little corpses, the small town seemingly sheltered from the horror the rest of the world had been subjected to.

Neither of you talked much, the mission being at the front of your minds and you were thankful for the lack of distraction.

It wasn’t until you were on your fourth building, some old auto shop with a connecting garage, that you realized how mistaken you had been. Heeseung was still outside the front door, fidgeting with something old and rusty that you couldn’t quite place.

Whatever it was, he seemed determined to unearthed it from the weeds that had grown around it and you impatiently shoved past him into the store. He offered a small scoff as you pushed through but didn’t bother chasing after you or demanding you wait, also making the mistake of being relaxed.

The second you entered the shop and the door closed behind you, a small gap left open considering the door was also subjected to the growing nature that almost converted the entire building, you smelt it.

Throughout the many months you’d been getting accustomed to the apocalypse and all it’s trials and faults, you still hadn’t adjusted to the overwhelming stench that came along with awaken corpses. It was especially murderous when they moved in masses or were left rotting since the start.

“Heeseung.” You were calling out in a hushed voice, slowing down your steps and looking around the store with confusion. You ignored the fact it was the first time you’d said the boys name and how casually it slipped out, listening in to his small hum of acknowledgment from outside. “Do you smell that?”

You could hear him setting down the metal thing he was obsessing over and pushing the door open swiftly, looking at you with a worried expression.

Before he could speak or confirm your senses, you were hitting the floor with a shriek.

It took you a second to realize why you had fallen but the moment you started to think straight again you could feel the tight bony hand wrapped around your ankle, having dragged you down onto the dust covered floor. You sucked in a sharp breath and scrambled back the best you could, kicking at the walker who had gripped your pant leg.

You could see it now, halfway stuck underneath one of the fallen shelves and desperate in the way it’s jaws snapped around nothing.

You were still kicking it when you realized the groans suddenly starting up were far too loud to be coming from the single walker in front of you, understanding with a wave of panic that your shriek had clearly awaken whatever amount of dead it was that was causing such an odor.

“Fuck.” Heeseung was entering the store swiftly and rushing over to you, immediately stomping the rotted skull of the dead that was holding you with his boot.

Ignoring the amount of blood and brain matter that sprayed out on your face at his action, you accepted his hand and let him pull you up and off the floor.

There was no time to dust yourself off as you both heard crashing and groans coming from the connected auto garage, clearly full of dead that had been starving for far too long. They were pouring out in pairs from the small doorway and you and Heeseung stood frozen as you tried to think of a way out of this.

They were coming from both sides of the aisle, filling up the only exit route back to the open door and sufficiently trapping you in the store.

Your fingers were twitching and reaching down to your empty holster, cursing once you remember you had no weapons on you and turning your head to glare at Heeseung who was already watching you with a panicked expression.

His eyes shot behind your head and you almost jumped out of the way, expecting something dead and hungry behind you, before he was reaching a hand out to grip your arm and pull you with him.

You didn’t object despite your confusion and you followed him swiftly, groaning loudly when you understood he was leading you towards the back of the shop where a small maintenance closet was hidden behind some tool carts and brooms.

“Hurry up, help me.” He was shouting back at you as he started to throw things out of the way and you unfroze, helping him clear the way to the door.

You were spinning around once finished to see the hoard closing in on you, a flustered shout pushing past your lips. “Heeseung.”

“I’m trying.” He groaned, his leg propped up against the wall as he kept trying to pry open the old rusted door with all his weight.

Finally, he was stumbling back in your direction and you grabbed his arm to stop him from falling into the awaiting arms of the dead that were now only a few feet from being able to grab onto you. He was immediately catching his footing and ushering you into the closet before closing it tightly behind the two of you.

You sat with bated breath and you waited to see if it would hold, the bodies of the corpses smacking against it as they clawed and practically shrieked with hunger.

Heeseung was holding the doorknob tightly so it wouldn’t spring back open and although it was dark, flashes of light that managed to break past the dozens of shoes outside the door, revealed to you his fearful expression that didn’t help calm your nerves.

You opened your mouth to speak and ask him about what you were supposed to do but his eyes were shooting to your in a glare, his free hand coming up to cover your mouth as he shushed you.

Your eyes widened at the fact he was suddenly touching you, looking down at the hand over your face and then back up at him as he swiftly ripped it away and shook his head, gesturing to the door like you were stupid for trying to make any noise.

He didn’t look at you again as you furrowed your eyebrows in annoyance but nodded in understanding, realizing he wanted to wait until they had settled before showing any sign of life. They could definitely smell you and had no reason to give up, only driven by hunger, but you figured eventually something would come by and distract them.

Which gave you some hope that you could get out of here safe, not wanting to die stuck in a smelly auto shop closet with Heeseung, but you also let out a small sigh knowing you’d be waiting here for a long time.

For the first time since you’d been rushed inside the small space, you took a second to look around. It was tiny, so small that if Heeseung was standing straight and not bending slightly to keep the door held shut, his shoulder would be touching the other wall.

To make matters worse the opposite width wasn’t any bigger, the toes of your boots smushed against his with no room to scoot backwards or make less contact.

Eventually he was slowly letting go of the metal door knob, moving barely an inch every ten seconds as you both waited to see if they were going to suddenly rip the door open and devour you whole. It was clear after a few minutes that it was sturdy enough to keep you hidden behind it for now, you’re not sure you could say the same about the next few hours however.

Heeseung sucked in a much needed breath and leaned backwards against his side of the closet, his knees pointing out towards you in result.

He was watching you with a curious expression and you glared at him in silence, not sure if you were allowed to talk yet or if it would result in his large hand over your mouth again.

“In and out.” He was whispering it so quietly it almost looked like he mouthed it. You could still barely see him but you could hear the smile in his voice as he joked about your failed plan, the light catching his eyes as he peered down at you. “You good?”

You were nodding but shifting uncomfortably, suddenly remembering how close of a call you’d had now that things were calmed down enough for you to think properly.

“It really had me for a second.” You whispered back to him and shook your head, avoiding his gaze as you looked at the vibrating door. “I shouldn’t have let my guard down like that, it was stupid.”

“Then we’re both stupid.” He was muttering back and you tried not to be too curious why he was being so nice to you despite his harsh leadership within the group. “At least you weren’t alone.”

You were scoffing and shaking your head, his boot scooting forward towards yours in a warning to keep your noises at a low volume. He couldn’t exactly make out your expression considering you were placed lower than him and getting less light on your face but he could practically feel the death stare you were sending his way.

“It’s easier to be alone.” You were countering in a stern tone. “If I’m stupid alone I’m just dead but if I’m stupid in a group then I’m guilty. It’s on my hands.”

“It would’ve been on mine if you’d gotten bit back there.” He was cutting you off and you stopped abruptly, looking at him with parted lips. “But the same thing goes for if I die out here, if I don’t get back to camp, back to my family then that’s on me too. Not trying just because you’re alone isn’t an excuse.”

His tone was heavy now and you felt bad for getting him so frustrated considering how carefree he’d been for most of the day, possibly enjoying not having to direct orders and commands for a few hours. You imagine that if he was able to he would’ve stormed off and left you with his heavy statement.

Instead the two of you sat in the silence of what he had said and listened to the groans only a few inches away from your heads.

You were shifting suddenly and he looked back at you in question when you accidentally bumped against his stomach, not having room to move your arms anywhere.

“Is that why you lead them then?” You tried to keep your voice soft and questioning, not wanting him to mistake you for accusatory.

You didn’t want to fight with him again especially since he had saved your life not too long ago, potentially twice with his quick thinking to get the two of you into the closet.

“It just happened.” He was whispering back and his tone was slightly guarded. “We knew each other before and when.. everything went to shit they came to me one by one.”

“I was scared shitless, I mean sure I’ve chauffeured them around for a few years and I’d handle calling in our takeout orders but now I’m supposed to keep them alive?” He sounded flustered and you listened to him quietly, letting him talk.

For some reason it hadn’t occurred to you to wonder how long they’d known each other. They seemed comfortable and they worked fast and efficiently like they had experience with it but you’d seen similar things in groups who met only at the beginning of all this, being forced to learn how each other works to survive.

You briefly remembered Riki saying something about high school and Jay but you didn’t fully make the connection, maybe you just didn’t want to.

But listening to Heeseung so earnestly talk about the responsibility he carried as the leader and the eldest you felt a wave of understanding, immediately followed by the desire to run far far away from the inevitable care that comes along with a group this tightly knit.

“We left Seoul the first week in Jungwon’s old van.” He was continuing on and when you raised an eyebrow in question he was nodding in realization. “That’s the one who was cleaning the gun, he’s out with Sunoo right now.”

“How many more of you is there?” You hoped he didn’t think you were asking him in an attempt to get information on the group that would assist you in your escape, although you halfway were.

“Just Sunghoon, I don’t think you met him.” He was mumbling and you thought for a second before shaking your head.

That made a total of seven and a wave of fear washed over you at the thought. As of now you were leaving no matter what and as of now they weren’t going to let you just go easy, meaning in some form this was your opponent. Seven men who were capable and seemingly willing to kill you if necessary with the exception of one or two.

Heeseung’s silence made you think he knew what you were thinking and he shifted so he was standing again, no longer leaning against the wall.

This put him even closer to you and you held your breath at the proximity, only letting it out in a moment of shock when his hand was coming up suddenly and touching your face like it had earlier.

You were jumping backwards, at least as far as you could in the tight space and he was shushing you with furrowed eyebrows and a finger to his lips, glancing at the door in worry and then back to you as he continued what he was originally doing.

It took you a few seconds to remember the walker he had stomped on, to remember the blood and rotted skin that had splattered all over you.

Heeseung was gently wiping your face off with his hands, using his sleeves at times for the areas that were particularly covered. You felt your cheeks flush in embarrassment, his large hands stiffening for a second when he realized how awkward this situation was.

He was taking his hands away swiftly and clearing his throat, shuffling backwards again and avoiding looking at you. It was silent for a few minutes and you felt suffocated by it.

“You didn’t lose anybody.” You broke the thick air by speaking again and he flinched before looking down at you. “Since Seoul, did you lose anybody?”

His eyes flashed with something heavy and sad and you imagined he was thinking about his family, slightly curious why he had left without them and what had happened before the other boys showed up alone at his doorstep. Then he was shaking his head to answer your question.

“Then maybe you’re more fit to lead than you thought.”

——

“Was he scared?” Riki’s voice was ringing in your ear again and you groaned softly, leaning back on your pillow and trying your hardest to ignore his constant questions. “I mean, I’ve never seen Heeseung scared. What was it like? Did he cry a little bit?”

After a few more hours had passed in the closet, your suspicion was correct and eventually something passed by that caught a few of the undeads attention. The stragglers had wondered outside the auto shop and the rest immediately followed the noise and movement.

Heeseung and you had waited another half an hour just to be sure before slipping out finally, backs aching from standing straight and rigid for so long.

You’d gotten in the truck with the supplies you found earlier in the day and headed back to the camp, not wanting to risk your luck any further and needing to beat the night as the sun slowly set.

The boys had affectionately greeted the two of you when you arrived, or more so Heeseung as you hovered awkwardly behind and watched them all. You saw a boy you didn’t recognize and figured he was Sunghoon, finally having faces to all the names.

They all carried different expressions of worry and upset and you watched them scan his skin for injuries or scratches, eyes crinkling with relief when they saw he was safe and returned to them. Your heart felt heavy and your stomach turned as you watched the display of care and love towards each other.

You’d caught Jake’s eye for a second and he narrowed his at you, causing you to swiftly give him a nod and slink back into the RV you’d been assigned to.

The same RV that you were now groaning in as you listening to the young boy, the youngest boy as you had found out yesterday, talk your ear off with questions about what it was like to be stuck in a closest with his hyung.

“He cried like a baby.” You were muttering and he laughed softly before shaking his head, able to tell you were lying to him. “I’m serious, my shoulder was soaking wet by the time we got out of there.”

“You know you’re funny when you’re not glaring at me.” He was remarking and you scoffed softly. “The others don’t joke around anymore so I don’t either.”

He sounded younger than he looked when he said it, voice steady like he didn’t even process the weight and sadness of what he was saying. Maybe he’d already started to forget what it was like to be a teenager with no responsibilities.

For a second you zoned out picturing him before the apocalypse, a younger Riki wearing a school uniform and excitedly chatting with the older boys. Maybe he was shy or maybe he was just as talkative and mischievous as he seemed to get the few times you’ve talked to him.

You were abruptly broken out of your daydreams when you heard shouts coming from outside the RV, immediately sitting straight up in the bed and locking eyes with Riki as his widened in fear and concern.

As far as you knew, everybody had turned in for bed. Heeseung didn’t like any one leaving their tents after dark, a heavily suggested curfew seeming to be followed religiously and you couldn’t think of good a reason for the boys to be disobeying this.

You were standing up swiftly and making your way towards the small door, being stopped by a hand wrapped around your arm.

Riki was shaking his head with a panicked expression, pushing you back into the RV. “What are you doing? You can’t go out there.” His voice was urgent and he took a step between you and the door.

His protective expression was making you feel sick and your expression turned stony, moving to push past him but stopping as the door was flung open without either of you touching it.

Sunghoon was stood panting, looking up at you guys from the surface level. He took a step up the RV’s metal steps and glanced behind him with a hard look on his face. Now that the door was open you could hear the shouts louder and also the groans that accompanied them.

“We have to go.” He was rushing out and your mouth parted slightly, looking between him and back to Riki who Sunghoon had been watching since he opened the door.

The younger boy was shaking his head as his shoulders dropped and you felt a wave of upset and guilt for him wash over you, knowing this had been his only home for the past year considering the fact he wasn’t permitted to runs as often as the older boys.

“I’m sorry Rik, there’s too many we don’t have any choice.” Sunghoon was shaking his head sternly but his eyes were soft as he looked at his friend. “You need to pack and we have to go, both of you.”

His eyes moved over to you hesitantly and he lost the affection in his gaze, you didn’t take any offense to it and nodded your head as he turned to rush back to help the others buy some time. You touched the younger boys arm and he jumped slightly before looking down at you with a heavy expression.

“Let’s pack your stuff okay?” You whispered and your unusually gentle tone just made him feel worse, curling in on himself slightly as he nodded and started to grab what little belongings he had scattered around the RV in an attempt to make it feel more like a home.

He was done quickly and you were getting ready to exit the vehicle and join the others when he was grabbing your arm again to stop you.

You almost turned to scold him for wasting time and not letting you go but stopped in your tracks when you realized he was holding a gun out in between your bodies, gesturing for you to take the weapon.

You considered saying no for a few seconds, knowing Heeseung and the other boys wouldn’t be happy with you for accepting and most likely would also scold Riki for giving it to you in the first place. The need to survive overtook this and you took the gun from him, nodding in appreciation.

The second you stepped outside you understood why the only option was to abandon the camp. The dead were pouring in from every side of the forest, their groans mixing together and attracting more and more every minute that passed.

Your eyes were darting around try and spot the other boys but you couldn’t see them in the chaos, feeling frustrated and panicked as you heard Riki’s breathing getting more strained from beside you.

Eventually you spotted Sunoo at the same moment he saw the two of you as well as he was rushing over to you with a serious expression, eyes bouncing around to check if it was safe to stop and talk.

“They’re out past the river.” He was explaining swiftly and you nodded despite having no idea how to get there. It seemed to make sense to the two boys however because they were quickly turning on their heels and disappearing into the woods, looking back a few times to make sure you were following behind them.

Sunoo was running ahead of both of you and your heart clenched watching him take out a few stragglers that were making their way towards the over run camp, his knife effortlessly going into their rotted skulls as he kept rushing through the woods.

Eventually the groans got quieter and you could hear the light splash of a stream, catching sight of the other boys huddled together before the saw you.

“They’re here.” Jake was announcing when he picked his head up and saw the three of you approaching. He stood up and rushed to meet you halfway, checking Sunoo and Riki for injuries before his eyes landed on you.

His gaze trailed down to the gun clenched in your hands and for a second you thought he’d take it from you, demand you leave or maybe try to kill you here and now so they didn’t have another thing to worry about. Instead he took a step closer and briefly scanned over your body, similar to the way he was doing to the others.

“I’m okay.” You breathed out and you weren’t sure why you said it, just wanting to get his concerned look off of your frame as soon as possible. He nodded his head but lingered on your for a second before turning and walking back over to the others.

You followed behind him to see what the boys were surrounding, watching as they all pointed at a crinkled map and spoke in hushed voices. They carried bags on their shoulders and you vaguely noted that Jungwon’s was full of the guns he was always taking such intense care of.

“We’ve been that way man.” Jay was sighing and shaking his head and he pushed Jake’s finger away and moved it further down the map. “From here to here it’s not clear, dead ends or there’s just nothing left.”

“Well we can’t go north.” Sunghoon was countering and you could see a large red X over the area he was referring to. You wonder how long they’d been planning an escape plan with no luck.

You listened to them talk for awhile with a sick feeling in your stomach, wondering if you should help and throw out the idea that was brewing in your mind. On one hand this was your chance to escape considering they had no home to even protect anymore, you could sneak out or hold the gun in your hands to one of their heads until you were far enough away that they wouldn’t follow.

This could be your only opportunity to be back on your own, not owing any sort of debt to a group that was dealing with their own conflict.

Riki was looking back at you suddenly with a worried expression and that thought was immediately out the window as you let out a small sigh, upset at yourself for what you were about to do, before stepping up towards the boys.

“I know a place.” You were rushing out and they all turned to look at you. Heeseung’s eyes were softening at your sudden want to help and you nodded at him. “It’s a few hours south but I stayed there for a few weeks before I kept moving away from that area.”

“You think it’s still there?” Jungwon was asking, his first time speaking to you directly since you’d arrived to their group. His voice wasn’t as harsh as his glare though and he seemed genuinely curious, not suspicious of your motives.

“It was gated.” You shrugged and bent down, bumping into Heeseung’s side and causing him to sway in his crouched position. You were touching the map and felt relieved to see the area you were referring to wasn’t crossed out or circled. “It might not be but it’s worth a shot. Plus we don’t have many options.”

“We?” Heeseung’s voice was soft from beside you and you turned your head to look at him, flushing slightly when you realized how close to each others faces you were.

“Yeah.. we.”

——

POINTS N LAUGHS CUZ I READ THIS BEFORE ALL OF U 😂😂😂 but crying sobbing the ending turned out so cute rei YOU WROTE THIS SO WELL HOW IS THIS SO ADORABLE AND CUTEJBHD THE PETNAMES TOO 💔💔 won gettinf jealous of a cat ..love him sm ☹️

TH𝗘 C𝗔T ── yjw.

✶ : 1k, yang jungwon & gn!reader, fluff, estabilished relationship. ⚠ : mentions of food, lowercase intended, kisses (on the face), jealousy (over a cat). ੭ : HAPPY LATE WON BIRTH ^_^

jungwon smiled at the proud expression you had after leaving the bakery near his house with a pastel paper bag.

“can you believe it? these were really the last slices of chocolate cake they had!” you exclaimed, latching your fingers with your boyfriend's as you left for yang's house.

“mhm, and i'm glad we arrived on time, dear,” he hummed and gave your cheek a shy peck before glancing down.

“oh my god, wonie, look! a cat!”

even though his grip was strong, as soon as he looked up, he found his hand empty and starting to get cold.

he admired your figure carefully approaching the greyish animal, arms extended to show it that you didn't mean any harm. jungwon’s face was adorned by a lovesick grin while the cat purred and rubbed its back on you.

“you're so cute. are you lost, buddy?” you cooed, petting its fur and forgetting it couldn't understand you. the cat's yellow eyes closed in bliss when listening to your gentle tone.

“maybe i can try to communicate with it,” jungwon suggested playfully as he kneeled next to you. “i think this little guy here can understand me.”

nodding, you considered the absurd option since jungwon always seemed to be good with felines. “oh, right. can you try to?”

he leaned closer to the small cat and let out a low meow, voice cracking midway. his eyes widened awkwardly, averting them from the creature.

you blinked twice before bursting out laughing, careful to not drop the package. your new friend curiously scanned you and switched its focus to your boyfriend, reciprocating the meow.

“i— it really understood you,” you cackled, using jungwon to support yourself and not fall.

he clicked his tongue. “get lost. of course it did.” jungwon thought he could mask his embarrassment when he was close to you, but not when his whole face glowed with a compromising red hue.

“you don't have to be so salty, love.” standing up, you gave the area below his ear a quick kiss, his body burning. “i'm sure the cat didn't even care about that horrid voice crack.”

his hands covered his face, rubbing it as he followed your movements.

your body did a turn to look at your lover and the pet, mouth twitching upwards when you noticed the similar look they had.

“psst, come here!” you called out gently, not sure if you were talking to jungwon or the cat. nevertheless, both of them walked up to you helplessly, and a laugh threatened to fall from your lips.

the boy intertwined your fingers once again, wincing when your freezing skin came in contact with his lukewarm one. yang sighed disappointedly, removing one of his beige-colored mittens and giving it to you. “give me the bag and wear this.” he demanded, adjusting your coat in the meantime.

in response, you could only obey his worrisome commands, covering your palm with the fluffy fabric. right after, the black-haired boyfriend stole your uncovered wrist and stuffed his pocket with it. “that's better,” he whispered, a cloud of mist running away from his chapped, pink lips.

jungwon pulled you along with him towards his dorm, garish butterflies swarming around inside his stomach. your every squeeze on his palms made his heart threaten to explode in love.

when his irises focused on yours he saw billions of unexplored galaxies in them. they turned into crescents as you neared his face. “the cat keeps following us.”

in fact, the small animal sprinted in your direction, and jungwon saw it happily pawing at your shoes. “i've never seen a stray animal doing this,” he gasped.

“there's a first time for everything.” you shrugged playfully, biting your lower lip and keeping up with your pace. “c'mon, kitty!” chuckling, you called the cat again.

the walk to the cozy place lasted another minute. yang squeezed your hand and huffed every time you gave attention to the clingy pet (which played with your shoelaces), making you laugh even more.

as soon as you two arrived at the dorms, jungwon opened the door, followed by a quick ‘okay, come in’. however, you were almost squatting, gesturing with your gloved hand for the cat to enter.

“psps, c'mere!” you motioned to the inside of the house, your boyfriend's stare lifting to see the “intruder” trust you.

“bubs, we can't bring it inside!” he whined. “can we say bye to it? i think it might even be from the weird lady next door.”

“but it's so cute!” you replied using the same childish tone, squeezing the cat's cheeks to convince the boy.

“and we need to eat our cake,” jungwon tilted his head to the side, voice toning down. “besides, i'm way cuter than this thing.”

you looked up at him and grinned sideways, bidding a quick farewell to the animal leaving. “why that comment, won?” standing in front of him, you looped your arms around his neck while his went to your waist.

“can't let you spend all your attention on a cat. it's my birthday, after all,” he stated, gaze narrowing when the innocent stars in your eyes from before turned into mischievous ones.

before teasing jungwon further, you kissed the corner of his mouth for a brief moment, catching him off guard. his eyelids closed by the end of the peck, staying close even after you pulled away.

“you sound so stupid right now,” you confessed with a soft smile, “but it's alright; you look adorable when you're jealous.”

he opened an eye and then another, blinking helplessly. the boy pressed his lips together, observing you take back the package from his hands again, walking in front of him.

“psst, c’mon!” jokingly, you gestured for him to follow you into the lobby. “we need to eat the cake.”

even with the playful lilt on your voice and the chocolate cake (which he secretly disliked the flavor), jungwon felt happier than he's ever felt in his life, enjoying the remaining hours of his birthday with the person he adored the most.

⠀ ⠀ © soov, 2O23.

kayla ate again LITERALLY SCREAMED THIS WAS ALL SO GOOD?!?! SO MUCH HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER WTF AGHHHH RIKI. im gonna kms kayla WHY DO I ALWAYS LOVE THE SECOND CHOICE PLEASE I SECRETLY WANT RIKI TO END UP W YN NOW. THIS IS SO 💔💔💔 AND SROP why was jungwon so cold to them at first 💔💔 like ik hes in his emo era btu DAMN YN WAS BEING SO SWEET . JUNGWON SHUT UR TOMATO ASS UP ugh . and ofc FUCK HYUNG LINE HE ALREADY MOVED SCHOOLS CUZ OF YALL CMON WHYRE THEY BEATING HIM AGAIN ☹️☹️ i’m so glad yn and riki punched them I WASNT EXPECTING A FULL FIGHT THO DAMN. mc so slay w her taekwondo??? anyways. im honestly curious ro what’s happening next like WONS REPUTATION BETTER GET FIXED 😞 IM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAP KAY U BETTER SEND IT TO ME FIRST BECAUSE IM THE BEST ‼️‼️‼️

bravery at my nightmares — yang jungwon

SYNOPSIS > after being expelled from his old school for something he didn’t do, life for jungwon only got harder. everyone avoided him and claimed that he was “bad energy” or a “terrible influence.” so, why did you have to be different than everyone else and actually try to get close to him while gnoring all the rumors about him?

PAIRING > junior!jungwon x junior-fem!reader (ft. enhypen hyung line + jungwon and ni-ki, hoshi from svt, nagyung from fromis_9, and taeil from nct).

WARNINGS > EVERYTHING IS FICTIONAL (severe?) bullying, blood, swearing, toxicity, fighting, the staff force jungwon to open his backpack, a teacher almost hits jungwon, the school staff are really rude, angst, fluff, mentions of cigarettes, and mentions of food.

WORDCOUNT > 6394 words

NOTE > act 1 is finally here!! (it’s been like thirty minutes PLSS) still this is mainly all fluff (?) TRUST ITS GOOD 🤞 my fave scenes r in here so.. ENJOY!!

TEASER / PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4

ACT 01.

Jungwon got only a day off from school before having to attend a new one because of his father. Jungwon’s father was aware of what his son was going through but couldn’t do anything to help and felt awful for son.

“Just trust me, this school will be better.” Jungwon’s father's words replayed in Jungwon’s head as his grip on his backpack's straps tightened. His father had also said that about Decelis but it ended up being way worse than middle school.

Surprisingly, he had hope for this school, BeLift Academy. It even sounded promising. 

He walked up the front steps of the school as other students did the same. He stood in front of the entrance, staring at the building. It was huge and covered in moss, leaves, and vines. 

He shook his head as he got himself together. He looked around, noticing all the weird looks he was getting from the other students. Ah right, he wasn’t wearing their uniform. 

He looked down at his outfit and then back at them. They were pointing at him and whispering to each other; it confused him. What else could they possibly be staring at? He headed towards a window to see his reflection as they all moved away from him, clearing the area. 

Oh, his hair. It was red. 

He forgot about him dying it the other day — he thought changing his appearance could make him more confident in himself, but that didn’t seem to help in his case. He combed his fingers through his hair while sighing. Maybe he shouldn’t have done this. If only he knew about the weird looks he would get from the other students, he wouldn’t have done it. Oh, well, too late now. 

He stuffed his hands in his sweater pockets and entered the front doors of the school. The more steps he took to the school, the number of students that moved out of his way increased. It was weird. Why would they move out of the way for him? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“Isn’t that Yang Jungwon?” A student from the nearby staircase whispered. “Who?” Another whispered in more of a questioning tone. “I’m not sure if it’s really him, but, I heard from a friend that he’s the student that got expelled from Decelis for robbery, severe bullying, and he even broke a teacher's car!” They exclaimed as their friend covered their mouth from the random outburst. Jungwon looked over at the two friends; a male and a female, that looked back at him. 

“Shh, he’s looking over here!” The boy whisper-shouted as the girl apologized. Jungwon’s look didn’t mean to be stern or scary, it only recently became a habit after his last ‘fight’ with Sim Jaeyun. They bowed, apologizing for their gossip, and ran up the stairs as they disappeared in plain sight. 

Jungwon raised his brows out of shock after letting their words sink in. The urge to reveal to everyone that all those rumors were lies and that he was the one who got bullied and forced to ‘confess’ about doing those things felt overpowering. He wanted to tell everyone the truth so badly but he also didn’t want them to know about his past, he wanted to forget about it himself. 

Although he hated the thought of lying about himself to others, it was the only way he could keep these secrets hidden. It was already too late to change his reputation and deny the rumors anyway. The whole school seemed to know about what happened back at Decelis. But in a different way and not the actual truth. More of a lie. 

Jungwon continued his walk down the school hallway, ignoring the stares he received from the other students, either because of his hair, uniform, and/or the rumors spreading about him. It wasn’t bothersome, but it was awkward. He wasn’t used to getting stared at in fear. It was always students looking at him pathetically and him being the one to stare back in fear. 

Was he even scary looking to fit those rumors?

“Riki, chill! It wasn’t even that serious,” a familiar voice exclaimed while running down the stairs, clearly out of breath. “You stepped on my shoes, I just got them!” Another voice exclaimed while running down the stairs. 

Jungwon looked over at the commotion only to see a teen boy chasing another teen girl down the stairs. “Okay! I’m sorry. Here, let me wipe it.” The female said while crouching down to wipe the light brown mark. “See, it’s all gone! Not that bad, was it?” She said as the male playfully rolled his eyes. “Whatever, you’re lucky it was muddy outside or it would’ve been worse.” He replied as the female kneed him in his shin. 

“Hey?! What was that for!” He exclaimed while limping after the female who ran with a cheeky smile on her face. “Y/n, wait up! I can’t run that fast anymore.” He attempted to pick up his speed and chase after his friend. 

“Wait, be careful!” Riki tried to warn Y/n, but he was too late. You were brought to an abrupt stop as you felt your body collide with another. You let out a humph sound as your face smashed right into their chest. 

“Y/n,” Riki exclaimed while running to her and rubbing his shin. He grabbed your arm while pulling you back toward his figure. “Be careful next time, you could’ve gotten seriously injured.” He placed his hands on your shoulders while examining your figure for any injuries. “I’m fine, I promise.” You reassured while letting out a short laugh. You looked at the body beside you, apologizing for your previous mistake. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to — wait a minute. You look very familiar,” your apology cut short as you stared at the familiar boy with narrowed eyes. “Don’t bother with him, he’s bad news anyway,” Riki said while sending Jungwon a glare and grabbing you by the arm. “Aren’t you that boy from the convenience store? Right, you are!” You pointed at him with a smile after remembering the memory.

That was you? You were the cashier who helped with his wounds? 

“What are you talking about?” Jungwon asked with a raised eyebrow. Even if he knew exactly who you were, he couldn’t let everybody know about his past just because of you. “You’re the boy who had multiple wounds on your face, right? Wow, who would’ve thought we’d meet again!” You smiled as Jungwon and Riki both looked at you weirdly. 

“Y/n, are you okay?” Riki questioned as you looked at him with a confused expression. “What do you mean? I’m perfectly fine,” you said, causing Riki to shake his head. “Let’s go, I think you’re low on food or something,” Riki said while grabbing your hand, pulling you away from Jungwon, and heading towards the cafeteria nearby. 

At least your friend pulled you away before things escalated. He didn’t have any excuses left to say if you had stayed any longer. Man, the whole school must really hate him by now.

— 

Cafeterias weren't Jungwon’s favorite places to be. At least not anymore. After the incident back at Decelis, they just always felt uncomfortable. He sat alone at a table near the exit door while everyone watched his every move. It felt too awkward to take a bite of his food. They could see everything he did, maybe he should’ve sat somewhere where nobody could see him. 

“Come on,” a voice from in front said. “I told you I don’t want to go! Y/n, he’s not good to be around, why won’t you listen to what I say?” Another voice said. “Riki, you always believe rumors! What if he’s not what they really say he’s like?” The footsteps that approached him got louder, causing him to look up from his food tray. 

“Hey, I’m not sure what your name is so… Tomato head it is!” You said with a smile while taking a seat. “His name’s Jungwon, Yang Jungwon,” Riki said while placing his food tray on the table and taking a seat too. He sent a glare to Jungwon as you nudged his shoulder. “Can you stop? At least get to know him better,” you whispered at a level so only Riki could hear. He rolled his eyes and whispered back a ‘fine.’

You looked back at Jungwon as your eyes examined his figure. “The bandaids, they’re still there. Were the wounds that bad?” You questioned as he stared back at you. His gaze wasn’t frightening nor was it mean. It was neutral. A few moments of silence went by with no response from Jungwon. “Aren’t you gonna answer? She asked a question,” Riki said with narrowed eyes and a harsh tone. 

“Lay off of him, would you? He doesn’t have to respond to everything I say,” you looked at Riki with a stern expression as he looked away and ate his food. “Well, do you have a uniform?” You asked, trying to get an answer out of him somehow. “Then, why were you expelled from your old school? Are the rumors really true–”

“Why are you asking so many questions? Gosh, you’re so nosy.” He muttered while looking away. Riki looked up from his food and grabbed him by the collar. “I don’t know what you did at your old school, but, I’m not letting you repeat that here.” He warned as they both stared into each other’s eyes while gasps erupted in the cafeteria. “Riki, let go of him.” You grabbed him by his waist and pulled him back down to his seat. “He’s right. I’m sorry for being nosy, I was just curious.” You apologized while Riki grabbed his food tray and rose from his seat. “Let’s go, Y/n. Clearly, he doesn’t want us here.” Riki started walking away as you rose from your seat with your food tray in hand. 

You waved goodbye to Jungwon, turned around, and ran to Riki. Jungwon looked back at his food tray in disappointment. He could’ve made a friend just now but his word choices made things worse.  

“Why do you even bother with him? He seems like an ass,” Riki scoffed as you sighed. “I don’t think the rumors are true. Trust me, who comes to a convenience store at 11:47 PM with multiple wounds and blood dripping from any open spots on their body?” You said while thinking back to the night. “A boy who just got into a fight? He must’ve got his ass beat by other people after what he’s done,” Riki said as you softly pushed him to the side. “Hey, what was that for?! I almost dropped my soup,” you laughed at him as he looked down at you and rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever, I’m not becoming friends with him. I don’t care about your opinion,” he shrugged his shoulders as the two of you exited the cafeteria. “Doesn’t mean I won’t!” You said with a smile. 

Your new main goal was to become friends with Jungwon, but clearly, that would take a lot of attempts. 

—

Although lunchtime was only an hour long, it still felt too short. In English class, you were assigned to bring today’s homework to the teacher’s office, and despite how tired you were, you had no option but to agree.

You walked down the hallways of your school while your eyes read over the notebooks in your arms. Some notebooks were labeled ‘English,’ while others only had the owner's names on them.

“You’re not wearing the school’s uniform, you show up with your hair in a vibrant shade of red, and you have piercings?” The principal's voice was loud but muffled through the door. You stopped in front of the office doors after the sudden outburst. 

“Leave my office,” Mr. Choi said while chair scraping echoed in the room. You backed away from the door as you watched the doorknob turn with Jungwon appearing right after. “Oh, Jungwon, hey.” You said with a smile, attempting to make the fact that you heard him get yelled at less obvious as his head turned to face you. 

Your eye contact only lasted a few seconds before he looked and walked away. “Wait up,” you exclaimed while catching up to him. “You’re really bothersome, you know?” He said after you reached beside him. 

“That won’t stop me from at least trying to become friends with you.” Your grip on the books tightened as you looked ahead. Jungwon looked down at you with slightly raised brows. 

Friends? That was the first time he heard someone say that word to his face. “Friends,” he muttered, causing you to look up at him. “Did you say something?” You asked in a confused tone. He shook his head and looked away as you raised a brow at him. “Okay then, I have to stop here. Get to class safe!” You smiled while pointing at the sign beside Jungwon that read ‘Faculty office.’ 

You waved at him and walked into the already-opened entrance, greeting the teachers while closing the door behind you. 

Jungwon continued to walk down the hallways while shaking off his previous thoughts. “Jungwon,” a voice from behind him called out, but he ignored it and continued walking. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” they muttered as their speed increased. Jungwon heard the footsteps behind him become louder. It felt like déjà vu. Out of instinct, Jungwon’s footsteps also rose in speed. 

Their hand gripped Jungwon’s shoulder and pushed against the wall. Everything was happening too quickly for Jungwon to comprehend. All he saw was the face of a familiar boy standing in front of him. 

“You heard me didn’t you?” He questioned as Jungwon’s eyes grew in size. “Look, I don’t know why Y/n is trying to get close to you, but I don’t like it. If you mess with her, I won’t forgive you.” He said while tightening his grip on Jungwon’s top. 

The door down the hall opened with a click, alerting the two boys. He removed his hand from Jungwon’s top and straightened it for him to pretend that nothing bad happened. “Riki and Jungwon? Shouldn’t you both be in class, what are you doing out here?” You questioned while heading their way. 

“I went out for a walk after finishing up a test in chemistry and I ran into Jungwon,” Riki explained with a smile as he patted Jungwon on the back. Jungwon was baffled. How could he act as if nothing happened not even a minute ago? “Ah, how was the test?” You asked while standing in front of them. “It was pretty good, I probably got a few questions wrong. How about we head back to class now? I don’t want my teacher to worry or anything.” He said as you nodded in agreement. “Bye Jungwon!” You smiled and waved as he did the same. 

You walked ahead of Riki as he watched you walk with a smile. He turned around, sending Jungwon another glare before looking away and walking behind you. 

Did Riki really not like him or did he just really like you? 

—

Walking home at night always scared Jungwon. He was never sure when he’d run into those boys again and he wasn’t prepared for it to happen. 

You closed the front door of the convenience store as you locked it. Work for the day was finally over. You let out a sigh of relief while opening one of the ice creams in your hand. 

You popped it into your mouth as you walked down the bumpy pathway. Streetlights and the store signs illuminated the area. The books for English class weighed you down as you adjusted your backpack on your shoulders as you walked.

The neighborhood was peaceful. There weren’t many incidents that happened here which attracted a lot of residents. 

You looked up from the ground to be met with a familiar figure. “Jungwon?” You squinted your eyes at the boy who walked in front of you. “Ah, it is you!” You muttered while running up to him. “Hey,” you tapped his shoulder from beside him as he flinched in return. 

“Oh,” he said while looking at you. “Hi,” he greeted as he looked away. “Do you want?” You questioned while holding out the second ice cream you had. “I’m fine,” he shook his head as you shook yours too. “I doubt I’d eat it myself, here take it before it melts.” You pleaded while pushing the ice cream into his hand. He refused again as you titled your head at him. 

Growling.

You both stared at each other out of shock. “What was that?” You asked in a cautious tone. “Uh,” Jungwon started while thinking of an excuse. “Oh, was that your stomach?” You stifled a laugh as realization hit you. He looked away, embarrassed. “It’s not that funny,” he defended as you stopped yourself. “You’re right, I guess. But clearly, you’re hungry, so take the ice cream!” You urged him to take the ice cream for a third time. 

He hesitated for a few moments out of embarrassment but eventually accepted it. 

The wrapper crinkling echoed through the empty streets as you both walked side by side. “Knowing that this is where we first met is kinda crazy. You even said we wouldn’t meet again!” You exclaimed while looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Well, I thought we wouldn’t. I didn’t plan on meeting you again either,” Jungwon responded while taking his first bite of the ice cream. 

“What even happened that night?” You asked, catching Jungwon off guard. Should he really tell you what happened or should he lie? “Well, Riki had a thought and said you probably lost a fight. But you know, he’s really self-centered and really protective of me.” You explained while looking up at the stars as Jungwon stiffened beside you at the sound of your friend’s name. 

You looked over at him with a puzzled face. “You good?” You questioned as he nodded in response. “Yeah, don’t worry. But I can see that he’s very protective of you.” He said, ignoring your whole question, but you paid little mind to it. “Literally! He knows I can fend for myself but still doesn’t trust me. Do you know those overprotective siblings? He’s like that but worse,” You took another bite of your ice cream and Jungwon looked at you confused.

“Fend for yourself?” He asked while looking down at you. “Yes, I’ve been doing Taekwondo for 2 years now. I’ll tell you this, I’m pretty good at it!” You cheered with a smile. “Ah, I tried doing that before. I gave up after a week, it became tiring and didn’t work out well.” He chuckled at the memory of his 4-year-old self complaining to his father about it almost every day. 

“But you know the basics, right?” You asked as he shook his head in response. “I always got hurt instead. I was pretty different from the other kids, you know? I was always flimsy and weaker than them, and still am.” He said as he took his last bite of the ice cream. “Really? Then what are the rumors for?” You raised a brow at him as you took your last bite too. 

“Oh, yeah.” He mumbled. He spoke too much about his past, it definitely blew his facade. “Wait, I don’t think I have any time for that.” You said as he looked over at you with a confused expression. “My house,” you pointed at the structure beside the two of you as his eyes averted from you to the structure. “Oh‌, okay. Bye.” He waved at you as you did the same. You walked up the pathway to your door as Jungwon stood there in silence. 

“Hey, wait,” he started, causing you to turn around. “Thanks for the ice cream. I enjoyed it,” he thanked you as you smiled. “You’re welcome! See you tomorrow, Jungwon!” You cheered and waved goodbye to him again. You continued your way towards your front door as Jungwon looked at the ground while a smile grew on his face.

This was the first time Jungwon was excited to go to school tomorrow. Maybe the thought of having a friend doesn’t sound all too bad.

—

Jungwon stood at his locker as he placed his belonging into an open spot. He let out a sigh while shutting his locker shut as you and Riki appeared from behind it. “Jungwon!” You exclaimed as he flinched. “Did I scare you? My bad,” you apologized as he waved it off. “It’s fine, what’s up?” He asked. “Riki and I–”

“I didn’t agree to this, don’t include me,” Riki said while looking away. “Okay then... We’re going to do karaoke after school and I decided to invite you as well!” You smiled at him as he looked at you, surprised. “Invite me as well? Why?” You looked at him dumbfounded. “We’re all friends are we not?” You asked.

“I never said I was friends with him—Fine, I guess we are, but that still doesn’t mean I trust you,” Riki said, switching his sentence midway after the warning glare you sent him. “Wait, are you even free?” You asked again as he nodded. “I’m free, so why not.” He said with a slight smile. “That’s great! Meet at the convenience store at 6:50 PM?” You questioned as he agreed. “Great!” You cheered while raising your hand. 

In return, Jungwon flinched slightly out of habit. You and Riki both looked at him cluelessly. “High-five…?” You said while reaching for his hand and raising it to meet with yours. “Oh, right,” Jungwon said while regaining his composure and clearing his throat. Riki watched things unfold with a confused expression but shook it off a few moments after. 

“Weird,” Riki whispered.

—

The clock on Jungwon’s phone read 6:53 PM. He reached the convenience store only a minute ago and was shocked that nobody else was there. He leaned against the walls of the store while scrolling on his phone. 

The sound of panting and rushed footsteps grew in sound, causing him to look up from his phone. He watched you and Riki slouch over while catching your breaths. “How long have you been here for?” You asked as Jungwon slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Not long, maybe 1 minute.” He responded as Riki groaned. “And you made me run for nothing?! We were barely late, Y/n!” He exclaimed between pants. “Not my fault! I thought it would take longer, alright?!” You argued back while Jungwon smiled. 

“It’s fine guys, let’s just go now.” He suggested as you both looked up at him. “Alright but, could we walk a bit slow? I need to regain my energy,” Riki asked as you and Jungwon agreed. 

The walk to the karaoke place wasn’t bad. It was only tolerable if Jungwon ignored the looks Riki gave him. Before they even started walking, Riki placed himself in between the two so that he was in the middle instead. Recalling his words; “I’ll stand in the middle so I can hear both of you when you say something,” it was stupid but you both didn’t think too much about it. 

“Who’s going first?” You asked while grabbing the remote control. “Can’t we just do a duet?” Riki asked as you looked over at him. “Then what about Jungwon?” You cocked your head at Jungwon as he stared at you. “I’m fine! Don’t worry, you two can do your thing.” He reassured you as you nodded. 

“Okay! Riki, what song?” You waited for a response as your fingers hovered over the remote control. “Uh, ‘Tell me’ by Wonder Girls?” He suggested as you agreed. 

“Now playing ‘Tell Me’ by Wonder Girls,” the machine spoke as the song began to play in the background. You placed down the remote control on the coffee table while grabbing a mic. “I call the first verse, like always!” You exclaimed while rising from your seat. Riki rolled his eyes but agreed as he also grabbed his mic. 

Jungwon watched the both of you with a small smile. If this is what having a close friend looked like then he was ready for it anytime. “5, 6, 7, 8!” You counted as Riki stood beside you. You both started dancing together at the beat drop while Jungwon watched from his seat on the couch in disgust. This will be embarrassing. 

“Hey, I’m gonna head to the bathroom for a bit.” Jungwon said, excusing himself from the embarrassing scene. You held up an ‘ok’ sign as he rose from his seat and headed towards the door. 

On the other side, the song and your voices were slightly audible but mainly muffled. He walked away from the entrance as he headed towards the male bathrooms. He didn’t need to use it in any way, he was only trying to escape from that atmosphere. He really did want to become close friends with you guys but it seemed as though it would be a little harder than expected. It was obvious that Riki didn’t take a liking to him but it’s not like he could change that.

Jungwon walked with his head low as he tried to get rid of his overwhelming thoughts. 

“Hurry up, I’m starving!” A voice exclaimed as he kicked the vending machine. “Clearly, I’m trying. Be patient or you won’t get anything in return,” another voice said in an annoyed tone. 

Jungwon was brought to an abrupt stop by another figure. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” A voice warned from in front of Jungwon. He backed up as he prepared to apologize but instead, was now met with the eyes of a familiar boy. “Wait a minute, guys look! It’s shithead,” he laughed, alerting the boys who stood next to the vending machine.

Jungwon stiffened at the familiar nickname as he looked up he was met with the four familiar faces. Park Sunghoon who stood in front of him as Lee Heeseung, Park Jongseong, and Sim Jaeyun all stood around the vending machine. 

They all looked at Jungwon then to each other and let out a laugh. “What did you do with your hair? And the piercings, woah you changed.” Sunghoon said while touching small pieces of his hair and looking at his earrings. 

“I heard you’re known as a ‘bad boy’ at your new school, seems like you let the little title get to your head, huh?” He said as he poked Jungwon’s forehead. “Glad to see the title of ‘asshole’ hasn’t gotten to your head yet,” Jungwon muttered, causing Sunghoon to stop for a moment. “What did you just say?” He asked while raising a brow at Jungwon. 

Jungwon looked up with a ‘glare’. “I said, I’m glad to see the title of ‘asshole’ hasn’t gotten to your head yet.” He repeated as Sunghoon clicked his tongue and looked away. “You little shit,” he mumbled while slapping Jungwon across the face. Jungwon held his reddening cheek with his hand.

“I guess you forgot to change your stupidness while changing your features. You still don’t know when to watch your mouth,” Jaeyun said as he walked over to the duo. “Could we take this outside? Just looking at him is making me mad.” Jaeyun looked at the two boys who stood behind him and Sunghoon as they nodded in agreement.

Fuck, here we go again. 

Jungwon wobbled on his feet as he tried to keep his balance. “Why won’t you just stay down?!” Jaeyun said while kicking Jungwon in his guts. He let out a nasty cough as droplets of blood fell from his mouth. 

“You’ve became even more annoying, you know?” Jongseong headed over to Jaeyun and Jungwon while pressing his lit cigarette onto the walls nearby. “It’s only been a week ever since your last appearance at Decelis, your new school must’ve changed you, hm?” He questioned in a teasing tone. He watched the droplets of blood fall from Jungwon’s lip in satisfication. 

“I think it’s best for us 4 to remind you of who you truly are,” Jongseong raised his fist as he pulled it back. “Stay still for this one, it’s gonna hurt.” He warned while aiming for Jungwon’s cheek. 

Jungwon prepared himself for the next hit, he wasn’t going down that easy. He waited and waited but nothing came. Opening his eyes, he was met with a shadow. He tried catching his breath from the previous hits as he watched with squinted eyes and a blurry sight. 

Thud. 

“Wow, I haven’t done that for a while.” The person in front of Jungwon said while dusting off their hands. “Are you okay?” They asked while turning around to face Jungwon with concerned fill in their eyes. They held out their hand to Jungwon as he hesitated. 

“...Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Riki.” He said while taking his hand into his. Riki helped him straighten up as he dusted off Jungwon’s clothes. “You’re bleeding a lot,” he said in a lower volume as Jungwon coughed again. 

“What the fuck was that for?!” Jongseong’s voice reeked with anger as he stood up, recovering from the previous attack. “Aw, looks like you have people to stand up for you now, don’t you?” Heeseung teased from the sidelines with crossed arms. Riki turned around while stretching his limbs.

“Look, I have no clue who you four are, but that doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to hurt my…friend.” Riki said with some hesitation in his voice. Heeseung scoffed while pushing himself off the wall. “Is this some joke?” He asked with knitted brows. Riki looked at him cluelessly while raising a brow. “No?” He said unsure if that was the right answer. 

“Aren’t you sweet, defending your little ‘friend.’ I wouldn’t trust him if I were you, he caused many problems back at Decelis. I’m sure you know of them too,” Sunghoon said while helping Jongseong from his previous spot. 

“I don’t like you,” Jaeyun said from beside Jungwon with his hands in stuffed into his sweater pocket. Riki turned around to see Jaeyun kicking Jungwon in his shin. Jungwon fell to the ground after losing his balance. “Don’t touch him,” Riki warned. He was too distracted by the sight in front of him that he wasn’t aware of the fist that was heading his way. 

“Pay attention to your surroundings,” Heeseung said as he watched Riki slouch over from the sudden attack. Riki looked up at Heeseung with a fresh new cut on his bottom lip. It was a 4v2, how was that fair? Those boys were way stronger than those two combined, especially with Jungwon’s strength. They were bound to lose. 

“What’s taking you guys so long!” Your voice rung out, alerting all the boys as you’d hit Jaeyun. “Riki, I sent you to go find Jungwon in the bathroom, not outside!” You exclaimed while looking at Jungwon’s fragile figure and Riki’s slightly injured one. “I can never leave you two alone,” you mumbled as a smile grew onto Riki’s face. The possibility of them losing reduced by 10%. With your help, something could be done. 

“Not my fault he wasn’t there, be grateful that I found him anyway!” Riki argued back as he spat out blood. “You’ve got to be lying. A girl, really?” Sunghoon laughed from beside Jongseong. Riki looked away from you as he narrowed his eyes at Sunghoon. 

“Focus,” you said to Riki as he stood up while wiping his bleeding lip with his thumb. He threw a punch at Heeseung as he stumbled over his feet. Riki fought the other three boys as you ran over to Jungwon. 

“Hey, you okay?” You asked while helping him up. He coughed to the side as he nodded. “I’ll help with your wounds after, alright? Just… hang in there for now?” You ressaured him while rushing. The rustling noises from beside the two of you caused you to look over at the slightly injured boy. “You see, just because you’re a girl. That doesn’t mean I won’t hold back,” Jaeyun said as you patted Jungwon on the back. “I wasn’t asking you to but okay!” You stood up from your previous spot and walked towards Jaeyun. 

You stood in the fighting stance as Jaeyun stood in front of you. He scoffed at the sight, “Are you really going to fight with m—” 

You threw a jab at his jaw as he backed up from the impact. Jungwon’s eyes widened at the sight of both you and Riki fighting against his ‘bullies’. It was something he could never do but it was still cool to watch. 

“You did Taekwondo? No wonder why your moves are so familiar,” Jaeyun mumbled while rubbing away the pain from your hit. You didn’t let his words get to your head as you waited for another opportunity to strike. 

“Well, me too.” He said while getting into the same fighting stance. He went in with an uppercut which was blocked by your forearms while you kicked him on the neck. 

You and Riki were too busy fighting the four boys and didn’t hear Jungwon’s warning. He stood up from the ground while gaining his strength again. “Guys, the police,” he said but it was too faint for anyone to hear. He placed his hand on the bricked wall beside him for more stability while the other rested on his knee. 

“The polic–” Jungwon cut himself off as the sirens of the police cars became audible. “Shit,” Jaeyun said while stopping mid-attack. You, Riki, and Jungwon all looked at each other with widened eyes. “What should we do?” Riki mouthed to you. “I’d say we run,” you mouthed back. 

He pushed Sunghoon and Jongseong away from him while you ran over to Jungwon, grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him along with you. All three of you ran at full speed with Jungwon falling behind by a little bit. 

“Why are we running so fast?! Shouldn’t it be the other way around!” He exclaimed in between breaths. “No, silly! That only happens in shows, but who said we had to follow the rules?” You said with a smile heard in your voice. 

“She’s right, it’s okay to break rules sometimes. They’re there for a reason!” Riki said while grabbing you by the arm. “I think we might need to go faster, what if they rat us out!” He panicked as he picked up the speed with both you and Jungwon now falling behind. 

—

The three of you sat at the table outside of the convenience store. The ointment bottles, used cotton swabs, and bandaid wrappers were scattered on top of the table as you all ate your ice cream. “Feels nice, doesn’t it?” You asked while smiling at the night sky. Jungwon looked at you with curious eyes. “What does?” He inquired, causing you and Riki to look at him.

“Actually, I’m not sure. But just the three of us sitting here together feels comforting.” You explained as you looked at them back. “So, Riki. Are you two finally ‘friends’ now?” You teased while leaning over the table. He playfully rolled his eyes at you with a warning glare as you laughed in return. “Don’t push it,” he said, causing Jungwon to chuckle. 

It felt like the world shifted at the sudden sound. You and Riki both looked at Jungwon with shocked and judging expressions. “Just ‘Heh?’” You both mocked in unison. “‘Heh?!’” You said again while Jungwon looked up at you with confused eyes. “What’s so shocking…?” He asked, unsure. 

“You literally just laughed! Nobody has ever heard you laugh yet. There’s even a rumor about you never laughing for years!” You pointed at him still in shock. “I’m human too, you know. I’m supposed to laugh eventually,” Jungwon said back as Riki nodded in agreement. “He’s got a point, Y/n.” He said, resulting into the two of you to start an argument. 

Jungwon was thankful. He was thankful to have met you that day, his birthday. It felt as though you were supposed to be his gift instead of that beating he got. 

He was glad that he had people to call friends. 

—

It was cloudy and slightly gloomy outside. 

“Alright, hit me.” Riki said as Jungwon looked at him confused. “You can at least throw a punch right?” He asked while Jungwon shook his head. “So, you have no fighting experience?!” Jungwon nodded as both you and Riki facepalmed. “Gosh, okay. Y/n, I’m gonna need your help for this one.” You stood up at the sound of Riki’s words and headed over to the two boys. 

“Okay, Jungwon. Hold your hands like this,” you grabbed his wrists and positioned them to shield his face. “This will help at the start of fights. Since I learned Taekwondo, I’m not able to teach you combat fighting, so Riki will do most of that.” You explained while backing up from him. 

“Now, to throw a hit at someone, just swing forward. Still try and have power into that swing and hit for a critical spot! For example, the face.” Jungwon nodded as he took in all your words.

You moved out of the way, causing him to face Riki again. “Try hitting me now,” Riki insisted as Jungwon hesitated for a while. “Just do it already—”

Jungwon threw a punch at Riki’s jaw, cutting off his sentence. His eyes widened while watching the impact his hit had on Riki. “Was that too hard? Are you alright?” He questioned as he placed his hand on Riki’s back.

“Could Have warned me, you know?” He said with pain lingering in his voice. “Sweet! That was perfect, Jungwon. Keep practicing those and you’ll eventually be able to fight Riki! Maybe even beat him,” you whispered the last bit but it was still audible to Riki. 

“Pardon?! Don’t boost his ego, he can’t get past me yet!” He exclaimed while straightening up. “Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s you with a boosted ego.” You retorted as he rolled his eyes. “Moving on, let’s do that again! This time, I’ll for sure block it.” Riki said while getting back into position. 

© haknom 2023 - do not copy, translate, or plagiarize my work on other platforms!

TAGLIST: @soov @redm4ri @ox1-lovesick @urszn @feeeli @taejays @hanniluvi @dakkisz @dimplewonie @ddenoudepression @xiaoderrrr @ja4hyvn @mmaplepastries @essmarye @w3bqrl @axartia @yjjungwon @jennaissantes @yenqa @chaechae-23 @annoyingbitch83 @hawkins-hs @shinsou-rii @wanna-live-yn-life @luvhyun3 @astrae4 @naddii @4yjwonnn

Perfect Harmony ‣ cbg

‣ pairing: palace attendant!beomgyu x princess!reader

‣ genre: implied f2l, royal!au, fluff, some angst, sorta slice-of-life

‣ wc: 5.7k

‣ summary: “A perfect harmony… that’s what they are”; alternatively, you're slipping and stumbling for with anyone but Choi Beomgyu—but maybe it's a good thing…

‣ warnings?: reader keeps worrying about an upcoming event (a ball) and experiences near-humiliation surrounded by a group of people, lots of question asking (overthinking?), ending might be rushed bc I write at like 4 in the morning

‣ an: this was cuter in my head :( and I rly just pulled this outta nowhere because I wanted to write something but thanks to @hoonieji for helping me a bit with this

The ball happening at the end of the week was all for you. Its purpose was to find a gentleman that was to take the place of the king once your mother chooses to step down as the queen. This was why your mother was making a great deal out of everything. So great, that you can almost see the veins popping out of her forehead from stress.

The entire situation was bittersweet. 

Although, you admit that it is more bitter than it was sweet.

It was sweet because you loved big gatherings. You loved spending time with people who have travelled miles just to attend your party, as well as the people who resided in your own kingdom. There was also a small part of you that was rather curious about the gentlemen your mother deemed candidates and the fact that any of them can be your future spouse.

It was bitter because this wasn’t how you wanted to find love (or at least, what people defined as love). You always imagined yourself finding love on your own. Whether it be by accident or having seen it from afar… you just wanted to find it on your own. Not through the judgment of your mother. 

You were afraid that these ‘gentlemen’ would turn out to be roach-like, or put into simple terms, disgusting. But you wanted to give your mother the benefit of the doubt. If she was able to choose a kind-hearted man like your father, then she would also have the ability to do the same for you. 

Or at least you hope.

“Princess!” 

You’re knocked out of your thoughts by the sharp voice of Mr. Geum, who was impatiently standing at the centre of the ballroom. He had his hands on his hips, weight shifted to one leg while he tapped his foot against the cool floor, “I am here to assist you with your ballroom dancing. Not watch you get lost in your daydreams.” 

Moving swiftly, you stand up from the chair placed at the corner of the room and towards Mr. Geum. One last reason that this all falls under bitter. 

You had to dance.

When you were younger, your mother would point out how dancing was often related to elegance and how elegance was a significant trait that every princess must possess. You remember thinking that all of that was nonsense. Only because elegance could be indicated by many other things. Not just dancing. 

And although dancing didn’t always signify the elegance of a princess, you started to realize that it did play a role in the trait. Especially when ballroom dancing was one of the most considerable parts of a ball. It created opportunities to showcase yourself, and you figured that knowing how to ballroom dance was important in finding your future Prince. 

“Today’s lesson is close to finished,” Mr. Geum points out, “We need to use all the time we have to see improvement, Princess.” Smoothing out his shirt, he gestures for you to raise your elbows as he’s taught, and along with your arms, you straighten your back. 

You don’t say a word. Instead, you sigh and follow Mr. Geum’s orders. One of the ladies at the side of the room starts the music, and through muscle memory, you begin moving your feet. They move in a box-like motion, the waltz, while Mr. Geum leads you across the dance floor. 

You follow proper ballroom dancing etiquette, counting by fours in your head. Although you’re certain you’re following the steps right, you begin stumbling over Mr. Geum’s feet, which causes him to trip over yours. He tries his best to correct you, pulling and pushing you in a way to fix your positions. This doesn’t work.

“I apologize, Mr. Geum,” you say at the song's end. If you’re doing this horribly with the waltz, you can’t imagine how terrible you will be with the foxtrot. The corners of your mouth turn down into a frown, brows furrowing in frustration, “That was all my fault.”

Mr. Geum waves off your apology, “No need to apologize, princess. You’re learning, so it’s understandable that you make mistakes. I have noticed that you’re following the steps well.” 

“That’s what I don’t understand, Mr. Geum,” you say, “I’m not uncoordinated. I can comprehend everything you’ve taught me and translate them into dance moves. I don’t understand why I can’t complete the dance.”

Mr. Geum nods in sympathy, bringing a hand up to his chin as he’s sucked into thought, “I have taught many students who have gone through similar situations as you have… it sounds absurd, but partners do affect how the individuals act together within a routine. You can think of it as two different notes creating a perfect harmony.” You watch as he goes back into his thinking pose, spinning on the spot. 

As if on queue, Beomgyu, the palace’s attendant, and one of your best friends, enters the room, layers of cloth napkins in his arms. He’s out of breath and restless. But even so, Mr. Geum calls on him, “You! Boy! What’s your name?” He waves Beomgyu over, to which Beomgyu complies. 

“It’s Beomgyu, sir,” he answers quietly, trying to catch his breath, “Princess.” He bows to you, and although he normally doesn’t do this when it’s only him and you in the room, he still makes sure to show you respect when there are others around. 

“Do you know how to waltz?” Mr. Geum continues, “The princess needs a partner that may help her prove her skill.”

Beomgyu nods, “Yes, sir, I do.” He looks between you and Mr. Geum, still slightly nervous. 

Mr. Geum claps his hands together, “Ah, perfect! Let’s see it!” He makes his way to the music player, motioning for you to set yourselves up. His attention is kept on you and Beomgyu, and you admit that it’s a bit nerve-wracking. 

“You know how to waltz?” You ask Beomgyu, “What other secret talents do you have?” Raising a brow, you take one step forward towards the boy. The space between the two of you is small. You would feel Beomgyu breathing on your forehead if you stood up straight. 

“It never really came up,” he says quietly, “May I?” His left hand hovers above your waist, closer to your shoulder blade, raising the other hand at the level that you would be holding your right hand. 

“Of course,” you grinned. With one hand you take his raised hand in yours while bringing your other up to his shoulder.

Mr. Geum counts down and begins the music. When it was time, the both of you began moving your feet in sync, Beomgyu leading and you following. 

Almost instantly, you feel a difference between the way Mr. Geum leads and how Beomgyu leads. When Mr. Geum leads, you can feel that he was much more commanding. The push and pulls were forceful, though they weren’t forceful in such a way that was considered rough. In the way you danced with Mr. Geum, it was evident that he lives up to his role as your instructor, leading you as if you had no knowledge of what you were doing. You guess it made sense, but you weren’t an amateur. 

You liked the way Beomgyu led. 

Instead of simply leading you, or almost dragging you along like Mr. Geum, Beomgyu made sure to move you along with him. It was almost as if he was waiting for you to follow in his footsteps although you both had to execute moves at the same time. Beomgyu was gentle. He knew how to move as if you both were one piece. 

The way Beomgyu leads lets you show off the knowledge that you have managed to acquire over the lessons you have taken. Your confidence is heightened, and you can’t help but feel relieved because you now know that you have the ability to dance with elegance. It all just simply depends on who you’re dancing with. 

You look up at Beomgyu, who is already looking down at you. His eyes are glistening—you don’t know why. You smile. You wish you could dance with Beomgyu at the ball. 

You’d probably feel the most confident with him.

“Beautiful!” Mr. Geum exclaims from the side. He stops the music and approaches you and Beomgyu quickly. He has a smile on his face, hands clasped together with pride, “That was a perfect example of what it looks like to find someone you, with lack of words, harmonize with.” He pauses and continues, “You two looked wonderful!”

You drop your hand from Beomgyu’s shoulder and turn to your dance instructor. Your eyes light up at the compliment, a smile following it, “Thank you, Mr. Geum. I’m glad I can show you what I learned from you.” Mr. Geum nods and begins to list what he’s prepared for tomorrow’s class, seeing that you’ve finally reached his current expectations. 

As you nod along to the upcoming plans, you don’t realize that you’re still holding onto Beomgyu’s hand. He’s looking down at your joined hands, unsure whether or not he should let go. He tries loosening his grip, but that’s when he realizes that it’s you that is maintaining the hold.

Finally, Mr. Geum concludes the class, “The lesson is over for today! I will see you next time, Princess.” He goes in for a fatherly hug and that’s when you let go of Beomgyu’s hand. 

Even then you don’t realize, and Beomgyu’s left confused.

°•. ✿ .•°

Beomgyu feels like a fool. 

And not because he was sitting on the filthy floor of the stables. 

He feels like a fool because he can’t get the feeling of you holding his hand out of his head. He shouldn’t even be feeling this way towards you but he can’t help it. He blames you, but not in a way where he’s angry at you.

Sighing, he shifts in place and glances out at the setting sun. He can feel his clothes getting filthy by the second, but he also doesn’t mind because he knows the day’s almost over. He can change into his pyjamas and then he can go to sleep. And by then, he hopes he can forget about the things that happened in the morning. 

“There you are!”

Beomgyu jumps slightly and his head turns quickly towards the direction of the voice. He sits up a bit, hands pushing him up so he’s not laying on the unused pile of hay.

Beomgyu’s eyes widen at you making your way into the stable. You shut the stable door behind you and make your way down towards Beomgyu, who’s evidently confused. 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” You halted in front of him, “And turns out you’re just here.” You plop down to his right, using the back of your dress as a makeshift blanket to sit on. “What are you doing here?” 

Beomgyu stretches his legs out and shrugs, “Thinking.” He has no other way to put it. He’s been sitting here for the past hour just… thinking. His eyes flicker to your crossed hands, then to his toes, “What are you doing here?” 

“I wanted to talk to you,” You say nonchalantly, “I want to get my mind off of the ball.” You almost shiver at the thought of the anticipated event. 

“So I’m just here to distract you?” Beomgyu jokes. He raises an eyebrow, “Am I just that to you?” 

You lean forward and push him lightly, though it’s still strong enough to make him fall back into the hay piled up behind him, “Of course not, Gyu.” Sitting back up into your original position, you continue, “It’s just… every single person in the palace… hell, even anyone I encounter in the town… all they want to talk about is that ridiculous ball. I feel like you’re the only person I can talk to that will talk to me about anything else and understand.” 

Beomgyu hums a response, a sound that lets you know that he’s listening and, just as you said, that he understands. “Well… what do you want to talk about?” 

“Anything but the ball,” you snort, “You suggest something.” The sun has sunken deeper under the horizon, though it’s still peeking over it in the slightest. The blue of the sky is more light than it was navy. There was still plenty of time to talk.

For a moment, Beomgyu’s stuck with no topic to talk about. To be fair, his head has practically been occupied by you, and only you, for the past hour. Then he suddenly remembers, “How about Mr. Geum’s toupee?” Beomgyu looks over at you with a knowing look, trying not to burst out laughing at the image of Mr. Geum’s toupee that had been sliding off of his head. 

“I wasn’t the only one who noticed?” You let out a hearty laugh, “I couldn’t stop looking at it! I swear that that was the reason why I kept losing my footing with him! I wanted to fix it so bad.” This wasn’t just a one-time thing. During the past few classes, you constantly kept getting the urge to push Mr. Geum’s toupee up higher on his head. You were unsure whether it would have been more embarrassing for the man to have you do that for him, or have it flop to the floor without warning.

Beomgyu lets out a laugh, “It was the first thing I noticed when he called on me.” He grabs a handful of hay and crunches them up, “How could I not? It doesn’t look even close to his real hair!” 

You continue to laugh, “I’m telling him that you said that!” Beomgyu doesn’t sense that you’re joking, and at this, he feels the need to poke your rib. 

“Ow!” you whine, using one hand to clutch your side, “I was joking!” You’ve sunken closer to Beomgyu, almost laying down. You fix yourself up, clearing your throat, “That reminds me… where did you learn how to dance? You were good! I think you’re better than me.”

Shrugging, Beomgyu purses his lips. “It’s not really a special story.” He’s actively recollecting the moments related to dancing.

You furrow your brows, “I still want to hear it.” 

Beomgyu looks at you as if he wanted to make sure that you were fine with him taking over the conversation. You gesture for him to begin. He nods, “You know how my mom would always bring me to the balls the queen held when I was younger? When I wasn’t obligated to be there?”

Your face lights up, bringing a hand up to your mouth, “Of course I do.” Beomgyu’s mom was your mother’s lady-in-waiting, so she would often be found at her side, waiting for any orders. Your mother never minded Beomgyu tagging along with his mom, just as long as he didn’t cause any disturbances. She was lucky that Beomgyu was a good kid. 

“Whenever it was time, I would always watch everyone dance, and I memorized it all by observing. It sounds odd, but I stood back and watched the same routine be performed every ball.” Beomgyu looks over at you, “And when you see it happen tens of times a year for many years, I guess it just makes sense for me to memorize it without being taught it.”

Beomgyu finishes his short story, and you're left finding it endearing how Beomgyu had actually managed it memorize the ball dances simply through watching. Many people would see these dances happen would but would not bother watching the entire routine. “That’s amazing.” 

Even though you asked Beomgyu not to direct the conversation towards the ball, you decide to do it. “I want to save you a dance at the ball.” 

It was an impulsive suggestion, although you wouldn’t even consider it a suggestion. It was more of a statement, a sure one at that. It should have been a question, but there was a great part of you that truly wanted Beomgyu to dance at the ball. 

Beomgyu’s slightly dumbfounded at what you just said, not quite certain if he heard you properly, “What?” He didn’t mean to come out as disrespectful. He was genuinely confused. He needed you to repeat yourself.

“I want to save you a dance,” you say, “Dance with me at the ball.” 

Eyes widening, Beomgyu shakes his head, “Y/N, I can’t do that.” 

“And why not?” You raise a brow, sitting up straighter before crossing your arms. He better have a good explanation. Beomgyu tended to lie to get out of situations. You can still recall the times he admitted to lying to his mom to get out of certain duties. It was simply Mrs. Choi’s mistake for believing the boy every single time. 

Beomgyu flicks up some straws of hay towards you, “I’m part of the staff… I have a job to fulfill during the ball.” He shakes his head again and starts fiddling with more hay. He’s somehow grown nervous over nothing. 

“I can tell them to let you—”

“And I don’t want to take the spots of the gentlemen the queen has lined up for you, Y/N,” he interrupts, “Imagine what they’ll say if they see that someone from your staff is taking up time that someone else could be using?” 

If Beomgyu was going to be honest, having the chance to dance with you at the ball would be… nice. Sure, he already his chance to be your partner during your lesson, but the atmosphere at the event will be different. There would be people watching, you both would be dressed in formal attire, and there would be live music. Everything about the idea of dancing with you at an actual ball is perfect, but there undoubtedly were factors standing in the way of it happening. 

You frown, “I don’t care about them, Beomgyu. That just says something bad about them if they’re like that. Besides, I think I’d enjoy it more if you were there with me.” It was true. Despite the fact that your friends will be present at the ball, Beomgyu being there would help ease the stress you already knew you would be feeling that night. 

I think I’d enjoy it more if you were there with me.

How can Beomgyu react to that? 

Beomgyu thinks fast. He mentally rakes through all the luxuries that will be present at the ball, all the people you loved building relationships with, and the music. He feels as if all those things would easily drown him out. Then he scoffs. “There’s no way you would enjoy the ball more with me there.” 

“Of course, I will,” you sighed, “Why would I not?” You look at Beomgyu as if he’s said something remarkably ridiculous. 

Before Beomgyu could think up an excuse, you hear a voice call for you from the palace. Only then do you realize it’s much darker than it was when you first found Beomgyu. You stand up in haste, brushing off the back end of your dress, “I need to go… Please consider it, Gyu.”

Only to please you, Beomgyu nods his head, “I will. Goodnight, Princess.”

You roll your eyes at the title, “Goodnight, Gyu.”

°•. ✿ .•°

The guests will be arriving soon and despite the fact that you should be looking forward to it all, you were sitting in your room lacking the spirit to leave. A list of the gentlemen, the suitors, that your mother invited for you is staring right back at you, and you couldn’t help but grimace at some of the names on it. 

Sure, there were some names that you weren’t as displeased with, but there was still that one name lingering at the back of your head that you wish you could easily substitute for a name on the list. 

Your finger plays with the corner of the list, pursing your lips. 

“Y/N?” Your lady-in-waiting, Chaeryeong, knocks at the door, peeking her head in, “The first guests are arriving. The queen asked me to tell you to get ready for your entrance.” She knows how you feel about the event, hence the hesitant smile on her face. 

Your heart briefly tightens at the mention of the guests, your stomach twisting soon after. You turn to her, presenting an uneasy smile,  “Thanks, Chae. I’ll be in position in a bit.” She nods before slipping back out of the room, leaving you alone.

You take a few moments to relax and catch your breath. You want to admit. Although you’ve attended and hosted many galas and promenades before this one, you have never felt this nervous about a ball. It was the purpose of this ball that snatched away the carelessness you often had when attending these celebrations. 

Sighing, you stand up from your chair and smooth out your ball gown before leaving your room, still feeling your heart pounding against your ribcage. Opening the door, you squeeze your eyes shut as if it’ll help you ease your worries. And even if it doesn’t, you use it to help you focus on your breathing. Then in one motion, you step out and swing the door closed behind you. 

This is just another ball, you convince yourself, There is nothing to worry about.

Expecting there to be an empty hallway, maybe a knight or two standing guard as normal, you’re startled by the presence of Beomgyu, who’s patiently standing, waiting, against the wall across your room. Your eyes habitually scan his attire, which is what all the other male staff were wearing—a white dress shirt, a suit vest, slacks, and black dress shoes. 

“I’m here to escort you,” he smiles, holding out his arm, “You look beautiful.” 

Your heart leaps just for an instant, “Thank you.” Grabbing onto his forearm, he begins leading you down to the top of the staircase, which is the place you were to be for your introduction. Many of the other staff you pass compliment you on your appearance. Their comments bring you temporary solutions to your current predicament. They almost help you forget that you were expected to keep an eye out for a possible future spouse in less than an hour. 

Others comment on how the invited gentlemen are going to swoon, and that’s where you’re taken back to the reality of it all. You turn to Beomgyu, “Are you… sure you don’t want me to save you a dance?” At this point, you don’t care if you appear desperate. 

No. “Yes, I’m sure,” Beomgyu replies, tapping his index finger against the back of your hand, “My reasons are still the same. I don’t want to cause any conflict between you and the gentlemen.” 

“But you saw how well I danced with you the other week,” you reason quietly, “What if I mess up with the suitors and they decide that they—”

“If you mess up and they don’t like it, then they don’t deserve you,” Beomgyu says in a hushed tone. He’s not looking at you but at the staff members waiting for your queue to enter, “Remember that, okay?”

Everything, in the beginning, went by in a blur. You were only aware of the conversations you had with your friends, the delicious food, the lovely music—you wished it was like this the entire ball. But once your mother had announced the commencement of the special portion of the ball, everything was back to its normal pace. Maybe it was just your mind doing you a favour. Only because you did have to choose carefully.

You were instructed to proceed to the centre of the ballroom, and once the music started the gentlemen were allowed to approach you and ask for a moment with you. 

You didn’t think anyone would have the courage to be the first to dance with you. Many pairs of eyes settled on you, awaiting the suitors to come up and ask for a dance. But once the music started, a handful of the suitors approached you swiftly. You decided to go for the one directly in front of you, “May I have this dance, Princess?” 

You nodded, almost reluctantly, offering a gentle smile. 

“My name is Sungchan,” he introduces, “Jung Sungchan.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sungchan,” you reply. You couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was. His smile was eyecatching, and he had this mysterious glint in his eye that enticed you. You now wonder what criteria your mother used when inviting these suitors. 

Was it through appearance? Success and wealth? Personality? 

He holds out his hand, and you accept it, taking this as a sign that he was going to begin dancing. Just as you were taught, you start following the steps that you practiced many times, counting mentally, while simultaneously listening to the things Sungchan was telling you.

“How has your night been?” He drops his hand from your waist and he spins you, “Good, I hope?”

You giggle nervously, “It’s been… busy.” Unexpectedly, you step on Sungchan’s toes, causing the two of you to stumble slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry! It’s–“

“Don’t apologize,” Sungchan interrupts, “Accidents happen.” 

You feel a sense of relief in your chest. Even if there shouldn’t be any excuses for such mistakes, you’re thankful that Sungchan seems to genuinely understand the occurrence. 

He leans forward, “I’m nervous, too.” Sungchan squeezes your hand and continues to make conversation. His movements are quick and sharp, which makes you feel like you’re obligated to move along to his tempo. Unlike Mr. Geum, he makes sure that you’re caught up with him before making the next move, and you believe this is why you aren’t tripping any more over his feet.

After you and Sungchan have danced together, another gentleman approaches, “May I take it from here?” He’s bold enough to bring a shoulder to Sungchan’s shoulder. 

Sungchan nods, “I hope to see you again, Princess.” He brings your hand to his lips and kisses it, backing up to give you space.

You smiled genuinely, nodding him goodbye before moving on to the next suitor. You know who he is. Yoon Jaehyuk. 

You’ve heard of many things about Jaehyuk from your friends. He’s got the reputation of being stubborn especially when it comes to business deals. If he wants it, then he gets it. You think that this was likely why your mother had invited him as a suitor. He was powerful when it came to connections and was rich as well. 

“Let me sweep you off your feet,” he winks, “I’m Yoon Jaehyuk.” 

Immediately, you feel Jaehyuk push and pull you similar to how Mr. Geum often did in your lessons. It felt like he will quite literally sweep you off of your feet, and you’re worried. Your mind flashes back to your lessons with Mr. Geum and how you did poorly with your instructor, and just as you expected, you step on Jaehyuk’s toes. 

You apologize quickly, eyes widening, “I apologize!” Jaehyuk shakes his head and tells you not to worry about the accident, continuing to lead you with the dance. Jaehyuk doesn’t seem to understand, nor regard, that you were struggling to keep up with his movements. But then again, ballroom dancing required two people, and you weren’t fulfilling your half of the sequence.

Jaehyuk brings up the topic of his travels, having travelled from two kingdoms over just to be here, “Your region is the prettiest.” He comments, “The flowers here are beautiful and they are unique compared to those in the others.”

Before you could reply, you stagger in your footsteps and interrupt the tempo that you both were following. The unexpected disruption causes Jaehyuk to pull you towards his own body a bit harder than anticipated, and before you know it, you’re falling into his chest. 

You regain your balance on your own, trying to catch sight of Jaehyuk who made a noise of frustration. 

“I’m sorry,” you repeat frantically, “I just–”

Jaehyuk doesn’t say another word, instead, he lets go of you and he walks away, shaking his head. You can’t tell if it was out of irritation, disappointment, or embarrassment, but you felt a huge sense of remorse for what just happened. 

If you mess up and they don’t like it, then they don’t deserve you. Beomgyu’s words echo in your head. 

You squeeze your eyes shut and then open them again, scanning the crowd for the other suitors. All of the room’s attention was on you, and after what just happened, you didn’t like it. 

“Next suitor?” You hear your mother’s voice bound from behind you. The music is still playing, waiting for bodies to dance to its melody. 

Your heart was beginning to beat faster and you felt as though the temperature in the room was rising rapidly. Again, your eyes scan the crowd, and to your left, you see Jaehyuk whispering to the other men words that you cannot hear from where you stood. And although you don’t want to assume the words are about you, his eyes continue to flicker to you, almost signifying that you were the topic.

“Next suitor?” Your mother repeats, voice wavering. No one dares to move forward and you’re not sure why. 

Was it because of your mistake? What was Jaehyuk telling them? Were you simply imagining everything?

Then, your mother’s voice appears in your head. The ability to dance signifies elegance. 

Did that one misstep give them the impression that you didn’t have elegance? Why did this even matter?

Questions are running through your head and you’re unable to stop them. Not when everyone’s staring at you. Not when no other gentleman is willing to take his turn. Not when you think you’ve actually blown your chances of finding someone that will take place as king. 

Your head falls in between your shoulders and you close your eyes, only hoping for all of this to end. Why couldn’t this all go by in a blur? Where was Beomgyu when you needed him?

As the music continues on quietly in the background, you start to hear commotion somewhere in the crowd. You choose not to look, afraid that whatever is happening will only cause you more stress. There’s whispering, though you can hear it gradually increasing in volume. 

Then you feel a hand on your shoulder.

You lift your head, opening your eyes so that you could graciously face whoever it was saving you from your embarrassment.

“Y/N.”

You open your mouth but nothing comes out. And you know he understands the reason for this. Without hesitation, you took a big step towards him, the front of your dress pressed up against his legs, and you let your forehead fall onto his chest. 

You close your eyes. “Beomgyu…” 

You feel like crying. It’s not clear whether you want to do it out of humiliation or built-up stress, but you know for sure that part of the urge is from relief. You’re relieved that someone’s here to join you at your side, despite the numerous people watching, and judging. You’re even more relieved that this someone was Beomgyu—the boy who you want to admit brings you comfort no matter what the situation.

“Still have that dance saved for me?” He whispers. He nudges your forearm with the back of his wrist in attempt to lighten up your mood. Beomgyu can feel all eyes on him as much as they were on you. But he turns a blind eye to them, his priority being you and making sure you are okay. 

Lifting your head, you nodded, “Always.” 

A smile rises upon Beomgyu’s lips at your answer before he steps back to bow, “May I have this dance, Princess?” 

You nod, mirroring Beomgyu’s smile.

In one swift motion, you and Beomgyu bring your hands up to  appropriate positions. Once you both were set and ready, your feet begin to move along to the music, counting to fours mentally. Your eyes travel from Beomgyu’s chest and up to his eyes. He’s already staring back at you, lips permanently propped into a gentle and comforting grin. 

Anyone who’s watching from the surrounding crowd can see how well you and Beomgyu danced together. As if the floor was ice, you both glided across the dance floor with ease, almost as though you practiced the routine for endless hours. 

As the song continued, you feel the worry in your chest begin to diminish, your confidence level slowly increasing as moments go by. The guests soon start to disappear from your peripheral view, almost as though as you and Beomgyu were the only ones in the room. Your mother was gone, your friends were gone, Sungchan was nowhere to be seen, and Jaehyuk? You couldn’t care less about where he went. 

It was just you and Beomgyu. 

As you and Beomgyu waltzed, your mind wanders back to the words that Mr. Geum had described how two people connected when they were dancing. You couldn’t help but ponder over his metaphor because here you were, dancing almost perfectly with Beomgyu, when not even minutes ago, you were stumbling roughly over, not just your own feet, but even another’s. 

If you were a musical note, you simply did not harmonize with Jaehyuk or Sungchan. And although it was a shame that you may not even get a chance to dance with the other gentlemen, dancing with Beomgyu made it evident that your notional musical note is compatible with his. 

Unbeknownst to your knowledge, Mr. Geum stands at the edge of the audience, a sense of pride growing steadily within his chest. His hands are crossed together, palm-to-palm, and brought up to his chin as he watches the two of you in endearment. 

“A perfect harmony.” Mr. Geum says this under his breath—so quiet that he believes that he is the only one who is able to hear his statement. Only, he doesn’t take notice of the queen who quietly positions herself at his side.

“Perfect Harmony?” She has a brow raised as she looks to Mr. Geum for an explanation. She says this out of curiosity, not quite understanding the meaning behind the instructor’s words. 

Mr. Geum nods and repeats himself, “A perfect harmony… that’s what they are.”

°•. ✿ .•°

hope you enjoyed this!

tags: @k-radio @whipped-kpop-creators

soulmates, i guess

PAIRING ▸ choi yeonjun x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ soulmate au, fluff, crack

WARNINGS ▸ profanity

SUMMARY ▸ when you first meet your soulmate, their first words to you are tattooed on your wrist. choi yeonjun’s first words to you are “ew, you stepped in dog shit,” and you beg the universe for a do-over because those are the words forever inked on your wrist.

PLAYLIST ▸ angel or devil by txt 

WORD COUNT ▸ 2252 words

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ hello this drabble was inspired by writing @soobmint​‘s name on my wrist and panicking because it wouldn’t come off. also disclaimer: i like mint chocolate chip pls don’t come for me

THIS WAS, BY FAR, THE WORST MORNING IN THE HISTORY OF TERRIBLE MORNINGS.

It started with your alarm deciding not to go off after a long record of reliability. This led you to wake up thirty minutes later than usual, practically flying out of bed to get started with your day and get ready for school. Waking up late wasn’t the end of the world, but you were so frazzled that you ended up starting to shampoo your hair with a bottle of Nair.

On the bright side, you didn’t start massaging it into your scalp, but the ends of your hair were coming off as you desperately tried to wash it out. Needless to say, you started off the morning being a sobbing mess.

“Y/N, are you cutting your hair?” your best friend, Choi Soobin, asked over FaceTime. “Before school? This is a mistake. Please stop.”

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