a/n: wrote most of this like 2 months ago and absolutely did not read over what i wrote so if anything’s incoherent i apologize 😞
the day of the concert
the concert in itself wasn’t very important for you, so you decided to wear quite a simple outfit which consisted of a short sage green summer dress paired with your favorite doc martens, along with a black leather jacket.
you decided to let your hair down and didn’t bother with a complicated hairstyle, choosing to simply use your hairdryer and style it into a blowout.
you hurriedly finished doing your makeup for the night and ran out the door, realizing you were running late as the venue doors were supposed to be opened in only 10 minutes, and you lived 20 minutes away from it…
after having to run down the stairs because of the elevator coincidentially being on maintenance, almost tripping multiple times,
you reached the parking lot of your apartment where your friends were waiting in their car.
‘’where were you for god’s sake?’’ areum yelled from the driver seat of her car. you ran to the backseat and got inside, areum backing out of her parking spot almost instantly. ‘’sorry i lost track of time’’ you spoke apologetically as you knew how important this concert was for your friends, even if it wasn’t for you.
‘’if we end up being late and can’t get in i swear i will end you y/n’’ harin spoke, sitting next to you on the backseat. ‘’don’t worry girls, i’m sure we’ll be there on time’’ juwon spoke cheerily from the passenger seat, only because of how proud she felt that she had managed to convince you to come to the concert with them.
indeed, you refused to go to this concert with your friends juwon, areum, and harin. you were usually always up for hangouts, but the band that the girls were going to see at that concert was one you knew nothing about.
the girls begged you for two weeks straight until juwon convinced you (bribed you) to come to the concert in exchange for the camera that you had dreamt of owning for the past three years.
so here you were, on your way to the concert venue. ‘’what was that band’s name again?’’ you asked as harin rolled her eyes in annoyance, she had told you so many things about the band, yet you seemed to be so uninterested that you were unable to remember any of it. ‘’it’s aespa, how come you can’t ever keep it in mind?’’
‘’well why take me to this concert if i don’t even know the band’s name?’’
‘’i’ll play some of their songs so you can get to know them before the concert then!’’ juwon declared as if she was on cloud nine.
as areum drove as fast as she could, you listened to a few of aespa’s songs, and you couldn’t deny that you had enjoyed some of them.
you finally got to the venue and saw a long line forming in front of the doors which were meant to open any second now. the girls ran to avoid being any further in line than they already were about to be, dragging you with them in the process.
after endless pushing and pulling, you eventually entered the venue and managed to find the spot you had bought tickets for. you looked up at the stage and realized you had actually gotten pretty good spots with an open view on the stage.
the venue filled up and the band members’ arrival was announced. the crowd was wild, jumping cheering loudly as the four members stepped on the stage.
after a few words, the concert started with the first song that the band played, which was called ‘’drama’’. you found yourself bobbing your head to the song from time to time as you recalled listening to it in the car on the way to the venue.
the band’s songs were mostly in the rock category, sometimes switching for an indie or even an rnb sound.
you gazed at each member, admiring their talent for singing, but also for playing instruments. you managed to identify each member, giselle being the drumist, karina at the bass, ningning as the vocalist, and finally winter at the electric guitar.
none of the members particularly caught your attention, until you started to catch one of them consistently staring at you each time you stared at her, it was winter.
why does she keep looking at me? you wondered silently. no, i’m probably mistaken, you convinced yourself, only to find her staring at you once again the next second.
you opted to do the best thing you could ever do, which was to pretend like you hadn’t noticed anything. you absent-mindedly bobbed your head and vibed to some of the songs you seemed to like, mainly to not seem like you were forced to come here (even if it was the case).
after a few moments of interacting with the fans, the band members bid their goodbyes to the audience and left the stage. however, you caught winter in your peripheral view turning her head to glance at you one last time before she disappeared backstage.
the concert eventually ended as the venue quickly emptied. you followed you friends to the exit and found your way to the huge lobby where drinks, food, and even merch were being sold.
the line to the merch stand seemed to be never-ending when you joined, since the girls viewed it as a living necessity to buy the goodies and the pieces of clothing that were sold.
‘’hey i’ll go to the bathroom real quick’’ you told the girls to which they nodded understandingly, since the line was still long ahead of you, and you weren’t gonna buy any merch anyway.
the bathroom was thankfully empty as everybody’s priority was to obviously buy merch at the stands. you left within a few minutes after washing your hands and fixing your hair and makeup in front of the large mirror on the wall.
as you walked out, you accidentally bumped against a girl, knocking your shoulder against hers. ‘’oh i’m so sorry i didn’t see you there!’’ you quickly apologized to the girl who seemed to be slightly older than you. ‘’it’s all good, don’t worry’’ she smiled brightly before walking past you to leave.
you were about to walk down the wide hallway to join your friends in the lobby, until you heard a familiar voice coming from behind you.
‘’what do you think you’re doing?’’ the person interrogated with a husky voice.
you turned around and saw the girl you had bumped into just a second ago looking up with eyes full of fear. you looked at the person who had just spoken and realized it was the girl who couldn’t stop staring at you during the concert. wait, what was her name again? you suddenly couldn’t remember.
you watched as she held the shorter girl by the arm, her grasp preventing her from walking away. she looked down at her with piercing eyes as she waited for the girl’s response, who started speaking with a wobbly voice ‘’i-i… what do you mean?’’ she smiled guiltily.
‘’then what did you just take from her? i’m pretty sure i saw you… stealing something’’ my eyes widened as i patted myself down and realized something was missing in my pocket, it was my wallet.
‘’hand it over, or i’ll have you banned from ever attenting any of our shows’’ the taller girl spoke with an ice cold voice, her eyes reciprocating that same feeling.
out of fear, the girl you had initially thought seemed sweet reached into her jacket’s pocket and took out your wallet which she had stolen by purposefully bumping into you.
she handed it to me as i took it and instantly checked that everything i had was still in it. after being sure that nothing was taken, i looked up and saw the girl briskly walking away in embarrassment.
‘’nothing’s missing right?’’ the girl asked with her usual low voice. ‘’n-no, everything’s still in here’’ you spoke with an unexpectedly quiet, almost brittle voice.
you didn’t know how to act since you knew she was a member of the band, but somehow couldn’t remember her name. ‘’i saw you in the crowd, you didn’t really seem to enjoy the show’’ she stated as she leaned against the wall.
you felt slightly guilty as you answered ‘’o-oh no i was, sorry if it didn’t look that way’’ you quickly apologized, debating within yourself whether you should tell her the truth or not.
‘’it’s just… i’m not really a fan of your band. my friends really wanted to bring me here so i ended up saying yes but-‘’ ‘’but you don’t actually know us, am i right?’’ she spoke almost teasingly with a smirk. you felt blood rush to your cheeks after she guessed what you were about to say, as you could only hope she wouldn’t see it. ‘’yes… but i do know some of your songs! rock isn’t quite… my cup of tea, but i do like a few songs my friends introduced me to!’’ i smiled, trying to save myself from the slightly awkward situation.
you realized you still couldn’t remember her name, and decided it would be best to just ask instead of humiliating yourself later on. ‘’i’m so sorry this is gonna sound so stupid but i forgot your name. i had everyone memorized but somehow i can’t remember yours anymore’’ i admitted all in one breath, hoping she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.
to my surprise, her smirk widened as she snickered ‘’don’t worry, my name’s winter’’ she answered to which my eyes slightly widened as it finally hit me, and i clearly remembered the moment where harin was teaching me the band members’ names.
‘’that’s right i remember now!’’ i exclaimed, not noticing how winter looked me up and down. i looked up and saw her tongue slightly sticking out from the side of her mouth, until she realized i could see it and quickly fixed her face expression.
‘’what’s yours?’’ she asked while crossing her arms. ‘’oh, my name’s y/n’’ i smiled warmly ‘’that’s a cute name, suits you’’ she smirked once more.
did she ever not smirk? you started to notice how frequently she smirked even during the concert, even while she stared at you every so often!
winter seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds until she reached into her pocket and handed me something which looked like a card.
‘’what’s this?’’ i asked in confusion as i slowly took the item in my hands. ‘’it’s a pass for everytime we have a concert, they’ll let you in if you show them this’’ she explained as she stuffed her hands into her pockets.
‘’oh t-thank you’’ i smiled. i didn’t quite understand why she had given me it, as i wasn’t even a fan. ‘’s-sorry why did you give me this? i mean i couldn’t even remember what your name was’’.
she smirked again, pushing herself off the wall as she stepped closer to me, making me look up to her as she was taller. ‘’i’d like to see you again, princess’’ she winked before turning around and disappearing behind a corner.
i stood there as if i was frozen in place, looking at the direction in which she left before i lowered my gaze to the card she had given me.
after joining my friends, we bought some food and drinks before we left the building.
a few days later
you had gone back to your daily routine, leaving your apartment early every morning to go to college where you had lectures everyday.
after hours of taking notes and focusing on the lectures, you exited the campus and decided to walk to your favorite cafe.
as you entered the nicely decorated cafe, giving it a cozy vibe, you sat down at the very back and took out your laptop to work on an essay you had to hand in soon.
you typed quickly on the keyboard while sipping on your coffee every now and then, the caffeine helping you stay energized and focused.
after a few hours, you finally finished your essay and decided to go home since it was getting dark.
while walking on the sidewalk, you were scrolling through your phone and came across a post about aespa, which showed the days and schedules when they would hold events such as fan meetings and concerts.
you noticed that the next concert was in just a few days, and that it was in a venue about 10 minutes away from where you lived.
thinking back on how winter had spoken to you and given you that card, you contemplated whether to go or not. after all, she did tell you she would want to see you again, didn’t she?
you took out the pass you had safely kept inside your bag and read the writings on it. just like winter had told you, the card had a qr code on it, probably to be scanned in order to prove its authenticity.
you reached the front of your apartment and entered as you kept wondering whether you should go to the concert or not. on the one hand, you felt like you also wanted to see winter again, but on the other hand what would you even do there? you barely knew any of their songs after all.
‘’i should probably not go, the girls would probably feel sad that i got to go without them, especially since i don’t even like the band as much as they do…’’ i thought to myself as i locked the door to my apartment behind me.
yes, this is the right decision to make, you convinced yourself.
the next day was a pretty calm one as you didn’t have any lectures, choosing to enjoy it with your friends. areum, harin, and juwon came to hangout at your place.
you had decided to order takeout and eat together while watching a movie we had all been wanting to watch, yet couldn’t seem to find an opportunity to do so together.
after the movie ended, aespa was brought up again, as it was the girls’ favorite topic. you didn’t know whether you should tell them what had happened with winter or not, until areum noticed how quiet you were.
‘’hey y/n, are you alright?’’ she asked as she searched for your eyes until you met her gaze.
‘’huh? oh yeah, why?’’ you tried to lie, but the three girls knew you all too well and instantly realized something had indeed happened.
after desperately trying to change the topic or even lie that nothing had happened, you ended up telling them the truth about you running into winter, and her giving you the pass. you even went into detail about the princess nickname she had used on you (frankly, it had you blushing a little and fighting the few butterflies that you had felt in your stomach).
the girls were shocked and even hurt that you had waited so long to tell them about all that had happened while you were away.
‘’and you didn’t tell us earlier because?’’ asked juwon with clear hurt on her face as she crossed her arms.
you didn’t really know how to answer, and finally decided to tell the truth.
‘’well… i thought you guys would be mad or jealous that i got to go to their other concerts on my own. especially since you guys are the actual fans-‘’ i got cut off by harin.
‘’what do you mean be mad or jealous? do you seriously think we would react like that?’’ she asked with furrowed eyebrows.
areum agreed with a quick nod ‘’yeah! look, if you wanna go it’s up to you, we wouldn’t feel hurt by it or anything’’ she reassured.
juwon finally spoke ‘’well actually only under one condition’’ she said as she got the three of us staring at her in puzzlement. ‘’only if you promise to get us their autographs’’ she stated with crossed arms.
the two other realized juwon was right and nodded, showing that they sided with her. i smiled at them and nodded ‘’okay then, i’ll make sure to get those autographs for you’’ i said which caused them to cheer happily as they jumped around in joy.
two days later, on the day of the concert, you started getting ready, somehow feeling like you had to look nicer than you did the previous time.
you chose to wear a black wrap skirt with a black halter top along with your favorite black kitten heels. you picked out the pieces of jewellery that fit the outfit best, and finished the look by curling your hair before styling it into a half up half down.
after doing your makeup with care, you left you apartment and this time, managed to take the elevator as it was no longer on maintenance.
areum, who was the designated driver, had insisted on taking you as she reassured it didn’t bother her. she left after dropping you off and promised to come pick you up again after the show, which had started to make you nervous as you couldn’t help but imagine winter’s reaction to seeing you again.
as you entered the venue, you looked for a good spot and ended up pretty close to the stage, only a couple of rows in front of you. slowly, the venue filled up with people, the room which was once quiet, was now loud with the excited chatters of the fans.
the lights slowly turned off as the crowd started to cheer. you looked up at the stage and saw the members appear on the stage one by one from being the curtain.
you looked closely and recognized winter, who seemed to be scanning the crowd, looking for something. she couldn’t possibly be looking for you, right?
after a short introduction, the music started playing, and the concert finally started. you noticed winter’s searching eyes constantly darting around the room, while trying to be discreet about it. everytime she lowered her eyes back onto her guitar, you could notice the disappointment on her face.
then, while she was looking at the crowd once again, her eyes met yours, a sudden sparkle making its appearance into her once dull eyes. she smirked, showing that she had noticed (and remembered) you.
you noticed her demeanor change right after you made eye contact with her, as she hyped up the crowd, which started cheering even louder.
the concert lasted for another hour until it was finally over. you were tired, yet you somehow didn’t feel like going home, not after having such a small interaction with winter, who was your initial reason for even deciding to go to the concert in the first place.
you walked down the hallway after waiting for a few minutes until the crowd left, and sighed, resigning to the fact that it was likely that you wouldn’t see winter, at least not tonight- until you heard a familiar voice echo behind you.
‘’hi again pretty girl’’ you turned on your heels and was met with the girl you were hoping to see, winter.
she was wearing her usual smirk on her face, along with a different outfit than what she had on during the concert. the comfier looking attire made her seem even hotter, you thought, the baggy hoodie and sweatpants giving to the interaction a lot more intimacy, almost letting you think she felt comfortable enough to let you see her with a disheveled appearance rather than the put together look she has in public.
‘’i guess you really came, huh?’’ she spoke lowly, stepping closer towards you until she was towering over you, looking down into your eyes.
realizing it had been a few seconds and i had still not said a word, only standing there in awe, i spoke up, failing miserably at acting nonchalant.
‘’uh y-yeah, i did’’ i mentally slapped myself at my stuttering and the palpable fluster in my voice. as if that was not enough, i started feeling hot in the face, and could only pray that it didn’t show on the outside.
winter stayed silent and seemed to observe me for a few seconds before she leaned in even closer, smirking wider than before.
always uses his ceo status to assign you the annoying tasks to complete just to annoy you, knowing you can’t refuse.
takes advantage of lunchtime when everyone leaves their desks to drag you into his office for alone time with you.
smiles to himself whenever he sees you focused on your tasks, eyebrows furrowed as you get immersed in your own thoughts.
jay: bodyguard crush
gives in to all your impulses and insists it’s only because he wants to keep his job, when he just can’t refuse anything you ask of him.
acts cold in front of you, but in reality he smiles to himself later on whenever he remembere the silly jokes you make, or your simplest actions which make you look cute in his eyes.
pays extra attention to doing his job right because as much as he pretends not to care about you, he actually has a protective, even possessive side to him when it comes to you.
jake: childhood friends to lovers
knows and loves every aspect of you and your personality, even though he never voices it.
vows to himself to never let you disappear from his life as he considers you to be his soulmate, in any and every universe.
hates that he has to share you with other people, makes it into a competition, and even brags to others about being the only one you call yours.
sunghoon: second chance at love
makes you regain your belief in love after failed relationships just by being his own self, without forcing your closeness.
insists that you are wrong about giving up on love, that the right person simply hasn’t yet appeared while attempting to hint at himself.
makes you forget about all your past relationships that have made you lose hope in the first place with just his presence.
sunoo: grumpy x sunshine
only one to understand your unique personality and how to properly communicate with you, and even manages to make you smile from time to time.
believes that you must be his soulmate, and that your opposite personalities compliment each other in the best way possible.
knows that his cute and joyful behaviour is your favorite thing about him and makes sure to take advantage of it whenever he wants something from you.
jungwon: academic rivals
has been in your class since middle school and makes sure to always be in 1st place just because he knows it keeps you competing against him, only to keep you thinking about him.
brags about having the better grades and winning the student council president elections against you, only because he loves the little bickering sessions you two have.
secretly cares about you and makes sure to deal with whoever messes with you, and comes up with a lie whenever you notice his injuries from when he fights to defend you.
niki: playboy x nerd
shows that he doesn’t care about the rumors spreading of a nerd being seen with him, and even goes to threaten the ones who do spread them.
becomes all lovey-dovey when he’s alone with you in comparison to his usual tough guy act in front of the others.
acts cold at first but finds himself to be obsessed with you and unable to think about anything else, to the point of running through the hallways to find you.
synopsis: bored out of your mind on a cloudy day, you decide to walk to your favorite bookstore after realizing you hadn’t been there in a long time. walking through the aisles, you spot a book on the higher shelves that catches your attention. right as you reach up to grab it, another hand appears next to yours holding the book. turning your head to the side, you see yunjin, staring at you.
wc: 2.1k
venturing through the various aisles, you flipped through the pages of a few books you had been wanting to read. putting them back in their place on the shelf, you continued to walk further into the small but cozy shop.
you finally reached the back of the bookstore, which was your favorite place to read in because of the vintage pieces of furniture, vinyls, and souvenirs collected by the store owner being placed as decoration had always made you feel at ease, like no one could ever bother you there.
looking up at the shelves, your eyes stopped on the title of the book you were in search of. you reached up to grab it when suddenly, you saw another hand holding the book right as you placed your own over it.
you averted your gaze from the book and found yourself staring at a girl you had never seen before. she had long velvety blue hair, and was taller than you, her thin glasses framing her eyes as she stared at you, her hand still resting on the book.
realizing you hadn’t spoke a word despite staring at her for quite a few seconds, you decided to speak up, suddenly feeling nervous. ‘’uh.. sorry, you can have it’’ you smiled politely as you retreated your hand from the book.
the girl looked down at you curiously, as she easily took the book out of the high shelf where it was placed between a multitude of other books.
looking down at the book cover for a few moments, she averted her gaze from it as she handed you the book. ‘’you had your hand on it first, you can have it’’ she muttered, trying to maintain the quietness of the place.
you were surprised, after all if she had reached for that book, it must have meant she wanted to read it.. right?
nonetheless, you took the book in your hands and scanned over the cover before you smiled to yourself in appreciation of the girl’s gesture ‘’thanks!’’ you whispered as you looked back up at her.
since you were already here, might as well read the book at your favorite spot, you thought. after all, the stories you read in here got even better than they originally were because of how warm and authentic the place felt to you, as well as the bond you had built over time with the old lady running the store.
going to the very back of the room, you sat on one of the large bean bag chairs, excited to read the book you had been longing to read.
slowly starting to immerse yourself in the story, all you could see were the lines of words on the pages, the place quieter than ever as it wasn’t a busy time for the store.
the silence was interrupted by quiet footsteps which approached you, before you heard the other bean bag chair rustle next to you. you didn’t pay much attention to you, as you focused on the unfolding of the story, only wondering what you were to find out next as you kept reading.
a few minutes had passed, and the feeling of a pair of eyes being on you progressively grew. not even being able to focus on the book anymore, you sighed in annoyance, wondering when the individual would stop staring at you.
you finally had enough of it, and looked up from the book, turning your head to the side only for your eyes to be met with the ones of the girl you had just seen earlier in the aisle, when she gave you the book.
during all this time, you were thinking some weird, creepy old man must have been staring at you, hence the uneasiness which had been growing in you up until you saw who the person in question really was.
once you acknowledged the girl’s presence, she smiled at you ‘’sorry, you just looked really.. captivating’’ she said as she had her arms crossed, a thick book resting on her lap.
at her words, you felt your heart backflip as well as butterflies in your stomach. you didn’t even know this girl, so why were you even reacting this way?
‘’oh uh.. thank you’’ you mumbled, suddenly feeling shy. the girl was especially confident in her words, her relaxed demeanor showing it even more.
she sneered quietly at your reaction, letting you know that she had indeed noticed your nervosity. ‘’i’ve never seen you around before, do you come here often?’’ she suddenly started a conversation, which you debated whether bothered you or not.
‘’i usually come by pretty often but i didn’t really have time these days, so i thought i’d swing by. what about you?’’ you continued the conversation as you let your book rest on your lap.
‘’i started working here just two weeks ago, the owner’s my grandmother’’ she admitted, which surprised you. you considered yourself to be pretty close with the store owner, yet she had never told you about having a grandchild your age despite the fact that she shared a lot of facts about herself.
‘’oh well, guess i’ll see you more often if you work here’’ you smiled, strangely feeling excitement over your new discovery of the girl’s job in the store.
the girl’s smile slowly transformed into a smirk as you felt her eyes travel down your body. ‘’what’s your name?’’ she asked, breaking the short silence that had come back.
‘’my name’s y/n, what’s yours?’’ you returned the question, as the girl’s confidence only seemed to grow along with her smirk ‘’pretty name for a pretty girl’’ she stated, waiting for your reaction.
indeed, her compliment only made your heart’s condition worse as it skipped a beat or two, maybe even a few more. you tried to control your face expression as best as you could, trying not to let the fluster you felt show, although you knew you were definitely blushing, enough for her to see at that.
she snickered at your reaction ‘’my name’s yunjin’’ she spoke, finally answering your question as her previous words still lingered in your mind.
‘’o-oh well, nice to meet you’’ you smiled nervously, your hands getting sweatier by the second.
your phone suddenly buzzed in your bag which you had placed down on the floor. reaching into your bag, you found your phone and realized it was your father calling you. your eyes widened when they landed on the time on the left corner of your phone screen, it was already 8pm, which was late enough for your parents to start worrying.
standing up and pulling your tote bag over your shoulder, you hurriedly answeree the call and muttered a few words to your dad over the phone to reassure him, before you hung up and turned back to yunjin.
‘’sorry it was nice talking to you but.. i really have to go’’ you quickly explained as the girl looked up at you from where she sat before she stood up, slight disappointment showing in her eyes.
‘’no worries, don’t forget to take your-‘’ she started, until you turned away and left quickly, as if fleeing the scene ‘’..your book’’ yunjin mumbled to herself, finishing her sentence although you were no where to be seen, the bell at the door ringing as you walked out.
a week later
after leaving the bookstore in a hurry, you were lying in bed when you suddenly remembered something: you had completely forgot about the book you had been reading until yunjin interrupted you.
truth was, the girl made you so nervous with only her gaze on you, that you were waiting for an occasion to leave, even though you did feel like you wanted to see her.
after gathering your courage, you decided to go back to the bookstore, trying to convince yourself that it was for the book you had been dying to read, and not for the blue-haired girl.
pushing the door open, the familiar sound of the bell was heard as you were met with the old lady at the counter, who welcomed you in.
silently heading for the aisle at the back, you looked for the book you had found the previous time, but couldn’t see it anywhere on the shelf.
you wondered, could somebody have bought it before you came back? the question circled in your head as you mentally slapped yourself for forgetting to take the book with you before you left.
just as you were about to turn back around and leave, you felt a light tap on your shoulder before a familiar voice sounded behind you. ‘’looking for this?’’
spinning on your heels, you were met with yunjin, her face adorned by her usual smirk as she held the book you were looking for.
as much as you were relieved to have found the book, you found your nervosity coming back as the girl made her appearance. you looked down at the book and smiled, trying to act normal. ‘’mhm! thanks, i thought someone else had bought it while i was gone’’.
‘’i kept it safe until you came back, thought you might wanna finish reading it’’ her words were like hypnosis, drawing you in as you didn’t even know how to act or what to say.
trying to answer, you found yourself a stuttering mess to which she chuckled as she leaned against the shelf, her arms crossed in front of her chest. ‘’i’ve been wondering whether you would come back or not’’ she smirked as you couldn’t find anything to say before she continued ‘’i’m glad to see you again’’ she admitted with a smile.
a few weeks went by as your bond with yunjin grew, your visits to the bookstore becoming more frequent until you found yourself spending all your freetime with the girl, laughing and getting to know her more with each day that passed.
you had learned which day was yunjin’s birthday and as it approached, you wondered what you could possibly gift her. after giving it a lot of thought, you ended up finding a book that immediately reminded you of yunjin.
the book tells the story of a girl who loses her bestfriend in a drowning accident. unconvinced by this cause of death, the girl finds herself searching for the true reason of her friend’s passing. scientific facts about jellyfish, which are yunjin’s favorite animal, are integrated in the story to provide parallels and metaphors to daily life.
thinking this book was perfect for yunjin, you ended up buying it and wrapping it into a gift before taking it with you to the bookstore.
after walking in, yunjin instantly looked up from the cashier to you, her eyes lighting up as she got around the counter before she walked up to you ‘’hey, what’s up?’’ she spoke in confusion as she realized you were trying to contain your excitement, failing to do so as you extended your arms in front of you, handing her the gift box. ‘’happy birthday, yunjin! hope you like your gift’’ you smiled brightly at the girl who looked down at the nicely wrapped box which was in front of her as she gently took it in her hands.
smiling at you in appreciation, she walked behind the counter where she placed the box down. you waited on the other side of the counter where you could barely stand still, wondering whether she would like the gift or not.
as she gently undid the ribbon you had tied around the cover, she slowly opened the box as her eyes landed on the book you had placed in it. she reached inside the box and held up the book in front of her, her eyes glistening with what seemed like happiness, the corners of her lips curving into a smile.
looking up at you, she spoke ‘’i’ve been looking for this book for so long, how did you guess i wanted it?’’ you were surprised to find out yunjin was looking for this specific book, relief filling you as you realized you had found a gift she liked.
‘’do you like it?’’ you smiled with anticipation as she reciprocated your face expression. ‘’i love it’’ she giggled as she looked back down at the book.
you breathed out in relief as yunjin averted her gaze from to book to look at your hand which was resting on the counter before she gently put her hand over yours, which pulled you back out of your thoughts as you looked up at the girl.
yunjin was now leaning over the counter, her eyes gazing into yours as you found your face closer to hers than ever.
the girl smiled cheerfully at you as her free hand patted the top of your head, her eyes shining in joy ‘’thank you’’.
thank u for reading!! <3 i don’t know whether this is good or not, so feel free to give advice on what i should change to improve!
synopsis: you’re in a complicated situationship with ryujin, almost like friends with benefits. however, you had a disagreement and ended up arguing with her leading to the both of you ignoring each other. eventually, your friends decide to plan a hangout to the aquarium, but you find yourself surprised when you get there.
wc: 2.1k words
gazing out the window pensively, you realized you had reached your destination when the immense aquarium building standing ahead of you caught your attention.
you quickly stood up from your seat at the back of the bus and walked briskly to the door which was just about to close when you managed to get through before it did so.
as you approached the aquarium, you couldn’t help but notice that none of your friends were in front of it, which was the meet-up spot you had agreed on.
you looked around and still failed to find any familiar faces. ‘’where could they be?’’ you wondered as you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.
thinking you must have been way late as per usual, you realized your friends had probably gone inside to avoid standing under the burning sun.
indeed, it was another one of those scorching summer days, so you decided to enter the building to escape from the heat.
stepping in, you looked around in the lobby and still couldn’t seem to find any of your friends, you started to think, did you get stood up by your own friends?
you spun around on your heels and bumped into someone. not realizing who it was, you took a step back. ‘’oh i’m so sorry i didn’t mean to-‘’ you apologized until you stopped mid-sentence and finally recognized who you were speaking to.
the girl looked down at you because of the slight height difference. she was standing there with her usual laid back attitude, her eyes boring into yours.
‘’ryujin? you exclaimed. what are you doing here?’’ you crossed your arms as you waited for an explanation as to why ryujin was the only one present.
the girl sighed and leaned against the wall ‘’they did it on purpose, they wanted us to stay alone.. together’’ she spoke as she looked behind you, scanning over the posters showing fishes and different marine species that were hung as decoration across the lobby.
suddenly having a moment of epiphany, you let your arms down beside you, realization hitting you. you knew your friends wanted the both of you to reconciliate, but you had never expected them to go as far as tricking you into a hangout with her.
‘’well, i’m not staying then’’ you stated before attempting to walk back out the door until you felt a hand wrap around your arm.
looking down at your arm and back up at the person holding it, your eyes landed once again on ryujin. ‘’we paid for the tickets remember? might as well make a use out of them’’ she noted, rightfully so.
she technically had a point, you had spent your own money for the aquarium ticket, and as much as you hated being in ryujin’s presence right now, you figured you could just ignore her and enjoy the environment in itself.
sighing in resignance, you rolled your eyes ‘’fine, but i’m only staying ‘cuz i want to take photos’’ you mumbled. ryujin simply nodded, more dismissively than to agree with you, before she let go of the light grasp she had on your arm.
she walked past you and led the way to the nearest hallway as you followed, making sure to keep a certain distance between the both of you.
strolling beside the glass walls, you admired the different species of fishes, sharks, and other various creatures, your gaze lingering more on some than on others, you took pictures of almost everything you saw.
there wasn’t a single word shared between you and ryujin, the both of you simply walked side by side in the large hallways, immersing yourselves in the scenery of the aquarium, the way the creatures moved in the water, and occasionally came across a few guides who were telling the stories of how different species became what they are today and how they had developed through the centuries.
you didn’t notice it, but ryujin eventually managed to slowly close the gap you had put between the both of you, your arms now brushing against each other as you seemed to be engrossed in the pictures you were taking, and the creatures you were discovering.
your eyes landed on a few stands that were placed in the center of the hallway, which was calmer than the other ones, where souvenirs like decorative magnets, postcards, and keychains were sold.
slowly picking up your pace, you approached one of the stands where a certain keychain drew your attention. it was a blue and pink keychain consisting of various charms and a blue jellyfish which reminded you of the ones you had seen just a few minutes ago.
after looking at the price tag, you rummaged through your purse for the $7 that were required to buy the keychain. it was expensive, you thought, but being an avid keychain and trinket collector, you could not imagine leaving this building without acquiring at least one physical souvenir.
after a few moments of searching through your bag, you came to the realization that you had not brought anywhere near enough money, slowly giving up on buying the keychain you had instantly wished for.
‘’s-sorry.. i changed my mind’’ you apologetically spoke to the old man behind the stand. before even trying to walk away, someone stood next to you and handed a few bills and coins to the vendor. you turned to your left and saw ryujin, reaching down on the table before gently taking the keychain you had been eyeing and handing it to you.
‘’here’’ she said abruptly. you looked down at the keychain in confusion before taking it from her hand. you tried to figure it out but you couldn’t, why was ryujin buying you the keychain you wanted? even though you were still not on good terms.
ryujin had averted her gaze before she felt yours lingering on her. she turned to you and saw the confusion on your face ‘’it’s just a gift, since i knew you love collecting souvenirs’’ she stated monotonously.
strangely, what she had said warmed your heart, and you had to fight back a smile that was threatening to appear on your face.
you gulped and looked down at the keychain you now possessed. ‘’well.. thanks’’ you muttered to which she smiled.
you weren’t the quickest to connect the dots, but by ryujin’s actions and words, you knew she was trying to move on from the fight you guys had had, and to make it up to you.
not knowing what to do next, you fiddled with the jellyfish keychain, until ryujin spoke up.
‘’are you gonna keep sulking at me or are we good?’’ she smirked, her usual playful attitude making its return.
you yourself were tired of being on bad terms with ryujin, and decided it would be best to end it there than letting it extend unnecessarily.
feeling relief that the tension in the atmosphere was slowly vanishing, you nodded as a smile made its way to your face. ‘’we’re good’’ you stated.
ryujin smiled after hearing your response and simply started walking again, picking up your journey inside the aquarium where you had left off.
slowly but surely, the both of you had started talking and laughing again, a joyful expression on your face as the hangout continued.
standing in front of one of the huge water tanks, you admired the various colorful fishes swimming freely in the water. ryujin stood silently next to you, but instead of looking at the fishes in the water, she looked at you, her eyes slowly scanning over the features adorning your face.
her persistant gaze on you drew your attention, leading you to avert your eyes from the water to ryujin. your gaze met hers as she looked down at you, her eyes fixed on you intently.
you gulped, feeling blood slowly creep up under your cheeks as you prayed that it didn’t show (even though ryujin could clearly see it). at the sight of your reddening face, ryujin reached up slowly and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, her hand lingering over it for a moment before it slid down to your cheek, gently holding it in her palm.
looking up at her, you saw her eyes flicker down to your lips for a split second before going back up to your eyes. you could see the hesitation in her eyes, until she slowly started leaning in, her gaze never leaving yours.
knowing you had come at a less crowded time, the hallway you stood in was deserted, leaving the two of you alone. your face found itself being only a few inches away from ryujin’s, until you felt her lean in closer one last time.
you fluttered your eyes shut and pushed yourself up on your tippy toes, deciding to take the last step as your lips met. you knew ryujin was startled as she froze for a second, until she pulled you closer, her free hand travelling up to your waist where it rested as she deepened the kiss.
tilting your head slowly to the side, you found one of your hands resting on ryujin’s shoulder, and the other one on her arm which was now wrapped around your waist.
her soft lips fit just right against yours, as if they were made to be together like pieces of a puzzle. warmth blossomed in your chest as you were closer to ryujin than ever, her warm breath against your face as her coconut-scented perfume was almost dizzying.
a shiver travelled down your spine as ryujin’s hand slowly slid from your waist to rest on your hip as she pulled you closer, your bodies almost clinging to each other.
suddenly, sounds of footsteps seemed to be coming your way from behind you. realizing someone must have been coming, you quickly pulled away from ryujin, feeling a surge of embarrassment filling your chest as you looked behind over your own shoulder, seeing that the footsteps you had heard were ones of a couple admiring the scenery of the aquarium.
being sure that they hadn’t caught you mid-kiss, you turned back to ryujin who seemed to be unable to tear her eyes from you, her usual smirk back on her face, making you giggle giddily.
‘’well i guess you weren’t that mad at me’’ ryujin teased as she brought back the memories of you sulking after the both of you had fought, making you playfully hit her shoulder.
‘’i’m mad now’’ you teased back with a smile until ryujin reached for your hand, intertwining your fingers together. the butterflies in your stomach suddenly came back as you suddenly didn’t know how to act.
ryujin looked down at you with a smirk, knowing her actions were making you nervous as she nudged your shoulder, making you giggle once more while you continued walking down the hallway.
eventually, you reached the end of the hallway as you had circled back to the lobby, marking the end of your time in the aquarium.
the both of you walked out of the building side by side, landing out in the street, the heat of the sun warming you up.
as you and ryujin stepped out of the aquarium, the warm sun enveloped you, contrasting the cool ambiance inside. you exchanged glances, the playful banter still lingering in the air.
‘’well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’’ ryujin said, nudging you with her shoulder.
‘’i could say it was the best aquarium date i’ve ever had’’ you smiled at the girl. she scoffed jokingly ‘’why, you’ve been on other aquarium dates? with other people?’’ she crossed her arms, acting offended.
you reached up and ruffled the taller girl’s hair, earning a giggle from her as you did the same, ryujin mirroring your actions as she ruffled your hair in return.
thank you sm for reading if you stayed until the end!
what ppl think my hair looks like while god decided to give me unmanagable, wavy, part-time curly, and randomly straight hair (it used to be curly but idk anymore)
