I love ur writing so much, when u popped into my inbox and followed me I was SOOO surprised that u knew who I was!
I look forward to reading ur future works!!! 🩷✨🍀☀️ much love!!!
HII JULESSS ♡‿♡
stop, thank you so much shshehajjajs I've actually noticed u from riri's (?) younghocrew fics so HEHEHEH I'm more surprised URE SAYING THIS TO MEEEE 💔💔💔 your writing is so good too omgosh i can't wait to read more of ur works! 🫶🏻
❤︎ . separate fiction from reality, keonho in paris, f! reader, idol! keonho, mentions of kissing, 1,5k+ words, not proofread, keonho journaling like a #teengirl
Dear Diary,
Today, we went to Paris Fashion Week. I was sort of nervous since it's my first time, and it was also SUPER hot. why'd they make us wear long sleeves in this heat? I think seonghyeon was more nervous than I am, he kept gripping on to my arm sometimes. Juhoon was chill as always. my other brothers are at YSL :( I feel nervous without James and Martin around, but being with Juhoon and Hyeon is okie dokie. I met other cool models too =)
Dear Diary,
TODAY I BUMPED INTO A POLE. I was saying Hi to my beloved coers and I was definitely gaining aura already until the pole bumped into ME. It hit my thigh and it made a small bruise :/ Coers are gonna turn this into a meme and laugh at me, I just know it...
Dear Diary,
I'm tired. Paris looks so amazing, I wanna explore everywhere, but I got chased down by fans today when I wanted to go out and try an Éclair au Chocolat... is that how you spell it?
Dear Diary,
Today I met the prettiest girl at the café me and Seonghyeon went to. I think I couldn't stop staring, even though she didn't look at me once. Well, she did, only for like one second. She's so beautiful. My coers are gorgeous too, of course!
Dear Diary,
I SAW THE PRETTY GIRL AGAIN. She was biking around the road near the eiffel tower, and she had a school uniform on?! She looks so cool with earphones and the way she drives a bike didn't look awkward. She's so pretty I wanna look as cool as her
Dear Diary,
PRETTY GIRL WAS AT THE FAN MEET but she was talking to martin more =( he kept flirting with her! I hate it. I heard she's 17 just like me and I'm her spiritual twin, but I couldn't stop smiling from how excited she looked. Oh my gosh, I wanted to say that I've been seeing her around the city but I'd sound... weird.
Dear Diary,
Today, I went for a morning jog with Juhoon and Martin. Coincidentally, pretty girl was there too selling pastry near the Eiffel Tower. I'm wondering why she's out so early doing that. I didn't want to approach because my legs are revealing and I probably look like I'm gonna lose my charm since I'm covered in sweat, but Martin recognized pretty girl and approached her so effortlessly! They were talking for how many minutes, and my heart literally felt like a knot was being pulled. I'm jealous.
Dear Diary,
Today, Martin was talking about pretty girl. He said she's an Oasis fan, which makes me feel better because I am too! He said she was listening to Stand By Me when we went for that morning jog. I think we're interconnected she just doesn't know it yet. I really wanna talk to her =(
Dear Diary,
Me and the group went out for a meeting with one of the fashion brands, I forgot which one I'm too lazy to go and check, and I was getting swarmed by fans again. I love my coers, even though some are weird... but I was genuinely finding for pretty girl in that crowd. I only saw her at that café I went to last time when the van passed by it.
Dear Diary,
I went to that café again with the whole group, and found out pretty girl works there. I decided to man up and volunteered to be the one going to the counter for our order! We talked, and she didn't recognize me until I purposely raised my shades up to my hair... she sounds a bit different from the fan meet. She said she's not a hardcore fan, but she's happy she got to meet CORTIS. While she was taking my order, I took a tissue and wrote my number on it, then gave it to her. I feel proud for that, not gonna lie (even though she didn't react..)
Dear Diary,
SHE TEXTED ME. I only saw her message ten hours later because I was asleep, but she said it was okay. Her name is Y/N, and I think her name is as pretty as her face. She's so funny as well. James scolded me because I was on my phone talking to her for almost two hours, but it was worth it =)
Dear Diary,
Today, I met up with Y/N, a.k.a pretty girl. She was wearing a really cute floral dress over jeans as if we were going on a date, AND she looks so gorgeous. She showed me local spots around the city that are good to visit, and she did not disappoint with her recommendations. I found out she's not from Paris and is actually on a scholarship while her hometown is on the countryside. P.S I paid for our meals with Martin's money
Dear Diary,
I just realized I'm leaving Paris soon. Me and Y/N have been talking for a while now, she's so smart and funny. Is it weird for an idol to like a fan? I stopped by the café she works at before going to another meeting and gave her a small bouquet of fresh flowers because the flower shops here are so pretty... I forgot I was getting chased by fans. I'll probably be all over social media by tonight, but it's okay, the smile on her face was worth the risk. ✿ ← for her
Dear Diary,
Today, at the hotel room, I talked about Y/N to the members. They were so invested and they supported me, especially James, who was giving advice and encouraging me on what to do for a girl. I was listing everything down, in case I want to take Y/N on another date again? Martin's jaw dropped and said he didn't see it coming. Good for me, I don't have to worry anymore about him potentially stealing Y/N away >▽<
Dear Diary,
Today, I sneaked out around 5 P.M. to meet Y/N at her campus. I looked so weird with the hat and sunglasses while picking her up as a surprise, but it was successful. We went to a nearby seaside boulevard and had ice cream, with my phone blowing up from how many missed calls I was getting. She didn't know, though, and I just wanted to talk with her while the sun was setting. The way her face looks under the orange-pink sky made me feel something. We were sitting so close to each other, like a couple. She looked so surprised when I told her my birthday is on February 14, and said some stuff about being cupid. I'd rather become cupid and match myself with her for Valentines.
Dear Diary,
Today, I got badly scolded by my manager, giving me a lecture about why did I sneak out and stuff. When I sneaked out back at Korea he didn't sound like that? Anyways, I told Y/N about it and she ended up feeling guilty :( I'm sad now.
Dear Diary,
I sneaked out again. I know it's bad, but it was late at night, I don't think anyone noticed. I went with Y/N and hung around the Eiffel Tower while eating a few snacks. She introduced me to Gâteu Basque, it's a sweet pastry(?), and we ate it together with just a wooden fork while taking turns feeding each other. It reminds me of a cake, but she said it's not? I think out of sleepiness I nearly kissed her cheek. I got back to the hotel around 4 A.M. already, since I dropped her off at the apartment she lives in.
Dear Diary,
I'm leaving Paris tomorrow, and I haven't spoken to Y/N about it. Should I? I'm scared, like, actually scared. I went to the café again and sat there for nearly the whole day, even though she came around two hours later after I arrived. It was quiet, so she sat beside me most of the time and we talked... she didn't seem too upset about me leaving soon. We held hands, or maybe intertwined pinky fingers under the table, while her head slightly leaned onto my shoulder. I was feeling so much things inside my stomach and I couldn't stop smiling. Is it obvious I have a big crush on her? We talked nonstop, it was like fate planned for the café to be low on customers today so we can talk.
Dear Diary,
Today was our flight going back to Korea, and I unexpectedly saw Y/N at the airport near the souvenir shops. I literally slipped out from the bodyguards guidance even though people were nearly strangling me to death, just so I can approach her. She looked so shocked, and told me she was just gonna take a quick look at me before I left since she was running errands nearby. I was so happy I hugged her out of nowhere, from adrenaline, maybe. I wished I confessed, or even left a hint, but I kissed her cheek instead and hid it pretty well with the hood of my jacket covering me. I immediately rushed back after while shouting I'd come back and saying corny k-drama scene lines. I'm already back at our dorm now and have been waiting for a text, until I realized I can't use the SIM card I used in France because the calling codes are different. I don't know if I'll ever talk to her again.
syn. a quiet bond with a film major who visits everyday at the cafe you work at. you don't know how, or why, but something about him just fits and coordinates with you perfectly.
contains. non-idol au, red string of fate theory, past lives theory, university student juhoon, part-time worker reader, moles are where your partner loved kissing you the most during your past life theory, 1900's past life scene, 660 word count.
warnings. not accurate 1900's depiction and words, a lot of parallels and contrast, not proofread writing, separate fiction from reality, intended lowercase writing.
excitement fills a part of your body once you rush over to the counter while fixing your hair, and checking your reflection on a spoon before you did.
why? well, one of your co-workers barged in and interrupted you trying to peacefully make an order for a customer—saying that your "regular" is on the way here. which is funny, because once you walk out from the back he was barely nearing the café's front door yet.
you pretend to look busy once a bell chimes and he walks in, a strap of his bag loosely falling off his shoulder while he approaches the counter.
"hi! what can I get ya?" you look towards him with a gleeful smile, and you don't fail to notice how his lips form a small curve upwards as well.
"the usual iced americano."
"again? do you not get tired of that?"
he chuckles with a smile, eyes disappearing as he did so. "then add a matcha latte for the pretty lady taking my order then."
eyes widening a bit, you feign a bashful expression while taking down his order on a notepad, your fingers hesitated for a moment when he said that.
"I'm not here for games, mister." you scoff playfully, attempting to brush it off.
"I'm serious."
"okay then. one iced americano and a matcha latte coming right up!" he gestures a nod, and goes to sit at a table by the window overlooking the view of the streets outside. he always does that.
"hey, there's no way you haven't gotten his number yet!" your co-worker whispers eagerly while you prepare two cups.
"i don't think it's anything like that between me and him." you try to deny, though it's been nearly two months that this guy has this routine of showing up only during your shift at work.
she just scoffs in disbelief from your reply and goes back to whatever she was doing.
it didn't take long for you to finish up his order, after all not a lot of people frequent this place during weekdays. only he did.
"here you go, jju."
nearly two months of him stopping by everyday, but all you could gather was that he's a film major who goes by the nickname "jju", and coincidentally he's your age as well.
"thank you." he says, slightly bowing his head when you place the tray on his table.you glance over at the counter, and see your co-worker eyeing you with a "go for it" look. taking the chance, you sit across from him.
he looks at you confused, but doesn't say anything.
"i have a question." you break the ice, taking the matcha latte that's rightfully yours, as he said earlier.
"go ahead."
"why are you always here? like, you always show up when it's my shift. also, you always sit on this exact area by the window too? are you stalking me?"
"you said 'a' question, but that's three?" he jokingly points out, sipping on his americano.
"just answer!"
"i go here because i always get this feeling like something's pulling me to. like a string—I also think it's purely coincidental my classes end when you have your shift here." he explains calmly, and you think for a moment before he eventually speaks again. "-and i like seeing the cars pass by when i sit here."
"huh? really?" that perks up your interest, and you turn to gaze at the variation of cars passing by.
"yeah."
"that's a pretty niche thing to do."
"did you know you have a lot of moles in your face?" he blurts out, and you nearly choke on your drink.
"why'd you notice that?"
"don't know. it's noticeable I guess." he says, eyeing the mole on the side of your left eye, then the one on your right cheek, and another on your temples.
silence fills the air for a minute, both of you gazing at the different types of cars outside while sipping your drink.
"do you feel it too?" you suddenly ask, looking at him intently in hopes that he'll get what you're trying to say.
it may sound ridiculous, but you feel comfortable when he's around—like your body just naturally reacts as if it's used to his presence.
"i do. that's why I'm here every single day, in hopes you'll notice."
your eyes widen in surprise, not expecting him to understand whatever that odd question was.
"we sound crazy." you laugh, not knowing what else to say. jju doesn't say anything and only smiles at you.
beyond your knowledge, in a world where it's black and white, a visible red thread tightly wraps around both your pinky fingers. it's not tangled, nor twisted. it's hanging off perfectly fine, and it's attached from your finger to his.
you can't see it, and neither can he, but the universe conspired just for both of you to feel it—to feel the love shared by two souls.
the streets are filled with a mix of horseless carriages and automobiles, the town is bustling in the early morning—newspaper delivery and milk men greeting you from left to right.
your husband walks side by side with you, eyeing the "scoundrels" who greet you so "lovingly" in front of his face.
"oh, honey, i know that look. call it quits, alright?" you reassure, laughing wholeheartedly at his quiet yet obvious demeanor.
"i hardly uttered a word." he defends, positioning his film camera on his hands carefully.
"ah, there it is! the stunning newlyweds!" a townsfolk exclaims. you and your husband, Juhoon, turn towards him.
"you're too kind." you say, a bright smile plastered on your face. Juhoon only smiles, barely looking at whoever that was.
"you're far too affable." he remarks, placing a soft peck on your right cheek, and another on the side of your left eye.
"well, this charm allures the folks for my café, would you not agree?" you giggle excitedly, and Juhoon chuckles while placing his hand around your shoulders.
both of you reach the entrance of your café, the wooden door creaking open with an antique bell chiming when you click open the lock.
you stretch your arms out, ready to start off the day with the café of your dreams—and the love of your life who made it happen with you.
the click of a camera suddenly shutters, and you turn to Juhoon, smiling.
back then, you were merely just a woman who chased down autocars with Juhoon in hopes they'll pay him for a good amount with his photography ideas.
all that "waste of time" turned into both of you managing to hold a wedding and you starting your own café.
"honey, look at this." he suddenly raises his pinky finger.
"what?"
"i have a red string, and it's attached to your finger." he says calmly with a sly smirk.
"oh, not this again."
"hm? you don't believe we're bound by fate?"
you brush him off with a giggle, "chop chop! we have a café to run."
he laughs and places a soft kiss on your temple before eventually getting down to work with you.
syn. just as you're about to sleep, your roommate martin decides to bug you just because he can't fall asleep, and ends up "disturbing" you with his late night thoughts.
contains. implied 6th member (gender neutral) reader, roommates with keonho & martin, late night talks, snobby and easily irritated reader, implied distant reader, sunshine martin, yapper martin!, 1.3k words.
warnings. not proofread writing, separate fiction from reality, "tsundere" stereotype mentioned, laying/sitting on the same bed, intended lowercase writing.
note. i love martin he reminds me of a sunflower
another long day from pre-recording has finished, and you're now worn out to the core lying on your bed.
it was past midnight already, and you've already said goodnight with each of your members an hour ago, yet you still can't sleep.
your eyes are heavy—but just moments after you think that you can't sleep, drowsiness and exhaustion seems to finally hit your nerves.
you're relaxed, relieved, and just about to knock out of consciousness—
until you can hear the sound of someone shifting uncomfortably from the bed beside yours, and that has to be no one other than martin.
you try to ignore it at first, thinking it's just the usual thing where people shift their positions when they sleep—but then you hear him move again.
not even a minute later and it sounds like he threw a blanket off him while sitting up. you don't pay any attention, and attempt to focus on calming yourself down for a good night's sleep.
that obviously fails when you feel a soft tug from the sleeve of your shirt. you don't react, in hopes martin will leave you alone and figure out his problem by himself.
"i know you're awake." he says in a soft whisper, audible enough for you to hear.
"go to sleep."
"i can't."
"well, i can. goodnight." you bluntly said, hiding yourself under the blanket and facing the wall.
"you're a terrible liar. your breathing has been uneasy since you laid down." he points out, which makes you even more irritated.
it turns silent, and you think he gave up to eventually sleep in peace.
assuming that he'll give up so easily is ridiculous, because he speaks once again.
"I hate when I can't sleep because I'm thinking about a lot of things." he opens up, and knowing you're not going to respond, he continues.
"I'm scared about a lot of things, the album, what we'll be in the future, like... you know. stuff like that."
your irritation seems to fade away, and you slowly flutter your eyes open while thinking of how to respond.
"I'm scared that our fans won't like the future songs we work really hard for—or maybe useless rumors will spread and one of you will back out from the group." martin rambles. you don't know if he's talking to himself, to you, or maybe to keonho.
he's clearly talking to you.
"I'm also scared of the changes we make in each album. everything is so underexplored, and we want to dive into everything as a group, without an exact concept. I'm afraid people will drop becoming our fans because we get boring from trying to be ourselves." you hear him let out a sigh, and the tone he's giving is so soft yet full of sadness.
you pull yourself out from under the blanket, facing towards martin while sitting up.
you're met with him leaning on the headboard of his bed, an unreadable look on his face—but you know he's thinking deeply.
grabbing a pillow from your own bed, you lightly throw it at him. he looks at you confusingly when he catches it, the orange-yellow hue of your night lamp glows enough for you to see the look on his face.
"it's not bad to get those thoughts, but don't dive into it too much." you scold him, a frown on your face from how you're not used to seeing martin get all emotional.
"well, yeah, i know. it's just... leader thoughts i guess." he looks down, and he looks so sad. it makes you even more irritated.
"you don't have to carry all of those alone. a leader can't be formed without their members, after all." you say, in hopes of reassuring him. he looks at you like you just pressed a light switch on him.
"didn't know you can be thoughtful."
"didn't know you can be so sad." you immediately retort, "don't try to bottle those up just because you're a leader, dude."
martin falls silent, and you're about to lay back down on your bed when he suddenly gets off from his and jumps at you.
"what the heck-!"
"shh, you'll wake keonho up!" he yells in a whisper, placing his index on his lips while he comfortably sits beside you on your futon.
"no, YOU'LL wake keonho up. go back to your bed."
"aw, c'mon y/n! late night talks are the best when you're close to each other."
just as you're about to answer him in annoyance, keonho suddenly moves from his bed while making a light groan. your whole body freezes, and martin's does as well with both hands over his mouth.
after a good minute of confirming the youngest isn't awake, you immediately glare back at the blond who's sitting in front of you.
"this isn't a late night talk."
"stop being a tsundere, i barely talk to you like this."
"I'm not a tsundere? go to sleep or I'm waking everyone up."
martin smiles widely, not budging away from his spot on your bed. he then takes like half of your blanket and places it over his legs—the warmth he's radiating mixes with yours under the covers.
"did you know next to james, you were really hard to talk to?" he says, ignoring what you previously said.
knowing there's no escape, and absolutely nothing else can make him get off your bed, you give up and sigh.
"no, I didn't know."
"i always wondered before why you got along with him first than the rest of us did."
"and what you're trying to say is?"
"nothing. I'm just wondering." he says, looking at you like he didn't just vent earlier.
"...i initially wanted to get closer to you." you suddenly admit, leaning on the headboard. he turns to you eagerly.
"and you're telling me this nine months into our debut?!"
"you know what, forget i said anything." you throw him another pillow, and martin laughs while covering his mouth to prevent himself from being too noisy.
"no, but seriously, what? tell me more!" he persists, and you think for a while before giving in. there's no one else listening anyway—no cameras, no interviewers, no crazy fans watching.
"i got shy. you're like the sun. you're too bright that i thought I'm too low for you to talk to." he lets out an exaggerated gasp from your admission.
"you really are a tsundere."
you shoot him another glare before he raises both arms in surrender, holding back a laugh. he's grinning from ear to ear.
you loosen up a bit, exhaling deeply before he starts talking again, like—
"would you rather be a banana eaten by a monkey or the grass that gets eaten by goats?"
"do you think ghost's are real?"
"have you seen that one scene in diary of a wimpy kid: rodrick rules where he ate that forbidden cheese? i think our forbidden cheese is seonghyeon's food."
"i get scared of you sometimes, because keonho once said you were telepathically cursing him out when he ate your butter tteok last time."
from how overstimulated you got from his never ending topics, you were slowly drifting off to sleep, only nodding in response when he asked another question.
martin stops yapping when he notices you trying to not let your head fall off, eyes half-lidded while you slump against the headboard.
he admires your state quietly, a soft smile seen on his face.
"you know, y/n, i wish we'd have more talks like this. whenever you're asleep, it's always me and keonho doing this." he says, words fading into a whisper.
you can hear everything he's saying, but your mind chooses to close your eyes and lower your head instead.
you're too absent-minded to notice how he gently lays you down onto the bed from your sitting position, making light movements to ensure a comfortable position for you.
"goodnight, martin." you mutter, and his eyes widen a bit in surprise while covering you and him with the blanket.
"...goodnight," he says, and of course he doesn't realize the silly grin he has and how red his face is.
the next day, you wake up choked by martin hugging you like a bear under the blanket, and keonho yelling at both of you to get up while saying things like "traitors" or "backstabbers".
SYNOPSIS — wherein keonho was your middle school sweetheart, until he suddenly left to prioritize becoming an idol. 2 years later, you meet him again at an ice rink, but he's no longer the boy you were once inlove with, & both of you haven't moved on?
pairings idol!ex! keonho & non-idol ex!reader
contains & warnings angsty? mentions of past conversations, reminiscing, inspired of an edit with keonho x the marias song nobody new by @ swaggrys on ig! , minimal tears shed , again ALOT OF PAST CONVERSATIONS! , not proofread writing , 2.9k words.
NOTE hello!! i've had this idea in the darkest pits of my notes app while working on my hyeon smau and i was getting indecisive if i should post a keon or juhoon written first BUT nobody new keeps playing in my playlist so i think that's a sign 🙏🏻 disclaimer: similar works are genuinely, and purely coincidental, and that this is only inspired by an edit i saw on ig huhu!!! keonho is so first love coded
"SHOULD WE GO SOMEWHERE TODAY?"
Martin asks, coming out of their shared closet and into the living room, where all his members are.
Today was a day off for CORTIS, and as far as they know, they haven't made any plans such as going outside—and the weather is extremely nice today as well.
"Can't we just stay here and rest?" Juhoon complains, his figure lying down like a corpse on the floor with his signature black robe that looks too oversized on him.
"It doesn't sound too bad." James chimes in, sitting up from the couch while placing a hand under his chin in excitement from Martin's suggestion.
Meanwhile, the youngests are occupied with a game in their phones, screaming and yelling at each other occasionally for 'dying'.
"Aw, come on! Look at the sky dude! It's perfect to go out right now." Martin exclaims, pointing at the large windows where a clear hue of blue painted the skies, and with only little to no clouds in sight.
"I suppose you are kind of right." Seonghyeon speaks up, averting his gaze from his phone's loading screen to where Martin's index points at; admiring the view outside the transparent glass.
"Seonghyeon! You died! Oh my gosh, bro I'm literally carrying us!" Keonho suddenly yells, making half of his members flinch and turn their heads to him.
"Hey Ahn Keonho! Are you even listening to what we're saying?" Martin calls out, earning a side-eye from the younger.
"Obviously not."
"Should we try ice skating?"
Three over four members look at James after his suggestion, who was scrolling through his phone, presumably looking up places to hang around at.
They think for a moment, exchanging glances—well, mostly just the hyung line. Seonghyeon is constantly getting distracted by Keonho, unable to focus on the conversation at hand.
After a few minutes, Martin only grins when Juhoon finally gives in and gestures a light nod.
"I'll contact manager right now!" Martin eagerly runs across the dorm, on the way to his room so he can a make a call quickly. "Everyone, get ready!"
"Ready for what?" Keonho finally decides to join in, turning off his phone and looks at the others.
Juhoon retracts himself from the floor while letting out an annoyed, light groan.
"We're going out."
"Over here."
James shows his phone screen to Keonho, and there it displays an ice rink location that seems a bit too far from their dorm.
"The heck, why's it so far?" Seonghyeon says, disbelief plastered all over his face when he takes a peak at James' phone.
"Well, to avoid attention? It's barely an hour away."
Keonho's breathing becomes a bit unsteady upon reading which ice rink they'll be going to, and shifts uncomfortably on the couch. "Can't we choose somewhere else?" He asks, breaking his gaze away from the phone.
Only Seonghyeon seems to notice his change in behavior, but chooses not to read much into it.
"Huh, why? Do you want to be chased by sasaengs?" Keonho doesn't respond, and the atmosphere only gets thicker while James' question hangs in the air.
Something in Keonho feels like he just retrieved a part of his memory, and out of all forgotten memories he possesses, it had to be a place where he knows too well—maybe not that well anymore, since it's been two years.
Two years since he went there, with you.
It was your all time favorite to hang around that specific ice rink, with your never ending rants about becoming a figure skater despite the endless disagreements with your family to become one.
He helped you sneak out during middle school, where you both would either hang around at the swimming pool, or at the rink.
"Have you been there already?" Seonghyeon's voice cuts through Keonho's thoughts, concerned about his prolonged silence.
Keonho only nods in disagreement, brushing it off as nothing and stands up—letting out a deep exhale while making his way to their shared bedroom.
Martin's presence is in the room, occupied with speaking to their manager while Keonho slowly crouches under his bed to reach out for his old phone.
Before he can even try and touch the old Iphone XR living in the depths of his boxes, Martin suddenly shouts.
"MANAGER SAID YES! EVERYONE CHOP CHOP!"
Keonho's hand flinches from his leader's sudden outburst, which causes him to hesitate. He sighs, and decided to leave the "ancient relic" alone, then plops onto his bed in defeat.
"Ahn Keonho, you promised!"
A faint voice echoes in his thoughts, his chest suddenly aching at the sudden remembrance of your words to him.
He's a hundred percent sure he has moved on, but ever since, he hasn't been able to look at anyone else romantically at all. Flirting and doing fan service was one thing, finding other girls and his fans especially pretty was another—but the rawness and authenticity he felt from you is indelibly etched into his heart.
"What about reaching the Nationals? Are you just going to leave like that?"
Another vivid memory appears again, with the image of your younger self weeping tears in front of him, aggressively wiping them away.
"Hey, what are you doing? we're gonna leave you." Seonghyeon interrupts Keonho's train of thoughts, putting a jacket on while picking up a beanie from his bed side table.
With a heavy sigh, and a heavy heart, Keonho gathers his energy and gets ready—silently hoping that it would only be them at the ice rink today.
Anyone from above must have heard his silent plea, because once they arrived, it was unbelievably quiet—with two to four groups of friends skating on the ice inside the rink.
"See? I was right about going out today." Martin proudly boasts, tying the shoelaces of his provided ice skates.
"It had to be here, knowing half of you generally suck at skating." Juhoon says, grabbing onto the railing while waiting for the others with James to finish putting on their own skates.
"You're one to talk."
With a bit of bickering and banter, it's only Keonho who remains unfazed and airheaded. He doesn't even realize that he did his laces wrongly until Seonghyeon points it out and redoes them.
Once all five members settle their feet onto the ice, only James professionally skates like it's breathing while the other four are going either slow and steady, or embarrassingly unbalanced.
"Ah, James you have a cheat code!" Keonho exclaims, forgetting about the previous gloomy thoughts he had since his life is on the line; one slip and it's over for him.
Out of all five, Keonho is the only one doing a bad performance in skating, which is odd, since there was a time he—
"C'mon, Kono! Getting on the ice isn't too scary, you know?" You beam at him.
Both of you were in your go-to ice rink. You were in the process of getting him to try skating, since you knew how to swim like him, and only thought it'd be fair if he knows how to skate as well.
"Y/N, I'm not sure... I think I might fall." Keonho shyly declines, hesitantly gripping onto the pair of skates you offered him to put on.
A slight frown along with a pout forms on your face. "I'll hold you, don't worry about that! I won't let you fall." You reassure, urging him to try on the skates.
After a few words of encouragements from you, Keonho finally sets foot on the rink, tightly holding both your hands for support.
You effortlessly glide on the ice, swiftly dragging him away while your hands cautiously held his. Keonho remains stiff at first, but eventually softens the more you guide and synchronize your movements with his.
"I knew you were good, but I never realized this is how it feels." Keonho says with an unconscious grin, looking into your eyes.
"Oh, stop flattering!"
Keonho suddenly lets go, earning a gasp from you in fear. Just as you were about to reach for him, he suddenly skates away— careful and slightly off balanced, but he isn't as bad as you thought he'd be.
You laugh in amazement, "Woah, you're a natural!"
"Really?!" He lightly shouts from across, skating away confidently by himself while you grin from ear to ear at him in admiration.
Keonho snaps out of his reminiscence when he suddenly bumps into Martin, making them nearly fall together.
"Boi, what are you doing?" Martin exclaims, letting his skates drag them both onto the railing to prevent falling face flat.
"Sorry, dude-"
"Y/N, hurry! It's really quiet today!"
Keonho freezes at the mention of a name far too familiar to him, immediately turning his head to the group of friends passing by from outside the rink.
There, he immediately spots you. Taller than before, hair longer than before, and your face no longer the smiley Y/N he once knew—but the shape of your eyes are still the same ones he fell inlove with.
Keonho's heart drops unexpectedly, looking away before you can notice his presence. Martin raises a brow when the younger quickly skates away, averting his gaze from Keonho and to your group, before eventually calling out.
"Keonho! Wait up!"
That loud voice only makes your hands drops while tying your laces, eyes widening in shock.
Your friends are chattering away, waiting for you to finish and finally get on the ice, but your whole body weakens at hearing the name coming out from that guys mouth.
Keonho.
Shaking off any thoughts that might ruin your whole mood, you proceed to finish tying up your laces and get on the ice.
Unconciously, your stomach starts feeling nauseous, purposely ignoring the faces of other people on the rink hopefully to not see a specific face.
You start dragging your feet smoothly on the ice, doing it as professionally as a figure skater, making frequent spins and jumps.
"Y/N, do you know we kind of contrast with each other? Ice turns to water, water turns into ice. I swim, you skate."
Not even the volume of your earphones can cancel out a memory you tried to forget. Even worse when Nobody New by The Marías is playing.
You try calming down, even though your movements start becoming unbalanced and choppy. You were fifteen with a dream, and had a first love who left for his own dreams. What's scary is he's possibly in the same rink as you are right now.
"I'm sorry, Y/N."
"I really do love you."
"I'm sorry I can't achieve my goals with you."
Eyebrows visibly furrowing, you're so lost in recollecting buried memories that you nearly crash into someone while turning for a spin, before making an abrupt and loud drift with your skates to stop.
With how audible your drift was, it catches the attention of your friends from across the rink while your left earphone falls away from your ear—and your breath hitches before you raise your head to apologize.
Just when the exact chorus of Nobody New plays in your earphones, you're met with Keonho, who looks just as shocked as you are. Your whole world stops, and you just wish you stayed at home instead.
It feels like you were gulping down a rock from how thick the tension became once you come face to face with him. Eventually gathering your composure, you decide to do the first move out of courtesy.
"Sorry, I'll be more careful with my direction." You bluntly apologize, bowing politely.
Giving him no time to respond, you're about to skate away, until he suddenly speaks up.
"So are we just gonna pretend like we're strangers?" Eyes widening in shock, you pause for a moment before shifting your gaze back to him. You bite back any form of words, unable to think of anything decent to respond with.
Your eyes fall on his, the same puppy face still visible on his expression that happens whenever he sulks.
"Aren't we supposed to?" You manage to ask, your chest physically tightening just from looking at him—because it makes you recall moments where you might mistake him as the same person he once was.
"I don't think so." He softly responds, and you swear you'll prefer to go insane than have a conversation with him right now.
"Y/N, do you think I'll be able to make it to Nationals?" Keonho asks, a sad expression on his face while licking his ice cream.
"Do you think I'll become a figure skater?" You ask intentionally as sarcasm before proving a point for his question.
"Of course! What even—"
"Then you'll clearly make it to Nationals. Don't ask such obvious things!"
Yet, here he was now, no longer the swimmer who dreamt of reaching the Nationals, but as a rising idol in the industry.
"How... How are you?" You ask, trying to savor this moment instead of running away.
You don't fail to notice the way his eyes shine when you ask about him.
"Good—great, actually. I mean, yeah. I'm doing good. What about you?" He stutters in between words, and you end up smiling. Keonho has definitely grown and changed, but some things do remain the same.
"I'm okay. Thank you for asking."
"Are you," He hesitates for a split second, raising his hand to scratch his neck. "are you a figure skater now?" The sudden question surprises you, not expecting him to still be interested in your dreams.
"Yeah. For a year already." You look at him so earnestly, Keonho nearly forgets whatever you are with him right now; his mind is spiraling back into the moments you shared with him as hopelessly inlove teenagers.
"That's good, like, really good to hear. They finally gave in?" He asks, before placing a hand over his mouth in shock to what he said. "Sorry- I didn't mean to say-"
"It's fine. Well, I kind of rebelled against them, but it's okay now." You cut him off before he can start panicking, you're happy Keonho still remembers how you were sensitive about your parents back then.
Keonho nods, smiling with his teeth out shyly. He spends a hefty minute admiring your grown features, noticing that the baby cheeks you were once teased a lot for no longer appear on your face.
"Oh, it's kind of late, but congratulations on your debut." You gesture a small clap while smiling at him.
"You saw?"
"Your face is all over the neighborhood."
Keonho lets out a chuckle, bowing his head a bit in gratitude. "Thank you, really. I didn't even know I was gonna make it."
"Well, you did. Be proud of yourself." You praise, and the crack in your voice doesn't go unnoticed by him. Keonho turns to fully stare at you, only to realize there are tears rolling down your face.
"I don't know if I'm going to make it, Y/N." Keonho's voice is unstable, his hair is dripping wet with a large towel wrapped around his shoulders.
You found him mindlessly swimming at the pool in extremely cold weather—his lips was a visible shade of blue.
"What do you mean? Keon, don't do that again! It's literally freezing cold!" You scold him while pulling out a hand warmer.
"Y/N. I'm going to quit school, and become an idol."
"Are you crying? I'm sorry- ah, what do I do-" Keonho wants to reach out and wipe your tears, but he's sure his career will drop faster than he did with going to school.
"No, shut up." You immediately look away, aggressively wiping your tears. Keonho seeing you like that only reminds him of when he broke it off with you.
"I'm sorry." Those are the only words he can say, and it makes you feel even worse because it sounds exactly the same as it did back then.
After calming down and fully wiping any more tears, you look at him with your nose red from rubbing and glossy eyes.
"Keonho, there's nobody new." You blurt out, and his eyes widen a bit in shock. "There's no one like you."
There it is. The same honesty you brought to his life back then. A spark ignites in Keonho when he hears that, pursing his lips together while looking intensely at your eyes that are shining so bright under the lights surrounding the rink.
Another pause, and Keonho can't even find the right words to say. You both just stare at each other longingly.
"Y/N, I could tell you something, but it wouldn't be right." He says, letting out a deep exhale.
"Then don't," You reply almost immediately with a sharp tone. "or I might just go back to where I started without you."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'm sorry too." You hear a few of your friends calling out to you, and you take that as your cue to leave. "It was really nice seeing you, Keon."
"Me too," He says, glancing at his own group looking at him suspiciously before turning back to you. "Y/N, I-"
"Y/N! What are you doing? You're gonna miss this!" Another yell from across, and you signal for your group of friends to wait.
"What? Sorry, what were you gonna say?"
I loved you—no. I still love you, Y/N.
"Nothing. It's just really good to see you again. Goodbye now." He curtly bows with a bright smile, while you reciprocate and wave goodbye as well.
"Keonho." You call out before slowly dragging your feet into motion on the ice.
He gives you a look of confusion, and the words you really want to say die on your tongue. "Thank you." With that, you turn away.
Once Keonho retreats to his members who are waiting outside the rink, he can't help but feel his knees fall weak, not realizing he was holding back tears until he blinks once or twice.
"they say we are who we are because of those who surround us"
⭑ oneshot ── [non-idol] CORTIS as your best friends since seventh grade, capturing every moment you've all shared through the lenses of your camera.
⭑ note ── i just felt kind of emotional of how we all just carry pieces of people close to us and get influenced by them so i decided to make this haha. they mean so much to me :'( first blog by the way.
DURING THE SUMMER, all six of you would always gather and stay in one of your houses. Your place was usually chosen the most because of how near it was from the beach.
It was a blissful morning, where James suggested to start the day with some fresh air by the sea—going as far as waking the others up just so all of you can go.
"Let's play a game! The first one who pulls away when the waves get closer loses." Keonho shouts after failing to push Seonghyeon into the water, grabbing him and Martin closer to the tide.
"Are you stupid? We're gonna get wet." Martin complains while laughing, even though there's no reluctance in his tone as he stands beside them—arms around each other's shoulders as they scream in sync with the sea.
After taking the shot from your camera, you approach James and Juhoon who stood away far enough from the water, showing the picture you took. They give a nod of approval.
"Why are they even playing that?" Juhoon asks, anticipating the waves that slowly immerse into the sand by their feet.
"One step closer! The water isn't reaching us!" You can hear Keonho exclaim, using his arms to pull Seonghyeon and Martin a bit forward.
"No, no, no, that's enough bro." Seonghyeon repeatedly refuses, obviously not wanting his pants to get soaked.
"We should join them." You suggest to the other two who are standing by your side. Juhoon, who has his arm around James' shoulder, uses it to his advantage to step closer towards the noisy trio, signaling you to follow as well.
"This is boring, the waves aren't reaching us!" You can hear Keonho whine, which makes you break a small laugh.
Juhoon takes the chance and attempts to push Martin further as the waves get closer, while you take this as a moment to capture with your lens.
You burst out laughing, watching the three lose their balance as the water nearly reaches their feet the moment Juhoon pushes Martin, while he held onto James for support so it'd be easier for him to run away if the water got even closer.
The waves unluckily reach them but couldn't react on time with Martin being pushed and dragging the two down with him. They scream and immediately jump in an attempt to escape the cold water that has already made contact with their bare feet and soaked their pants.
After taking a messy shot of their troubled and frantic faces, you immediately ran before the water could reach you as well, laughing at the nosy three.
"You all lost the game." Juhoon says, a winning grin painted on his face, while James shows an amused smile at them.
"Ah, this is Keon's fault." Seonghyeon immediately places the blame with a whine, folding up the edges of his pants that got soaked.
"Bro, Martin was dragging us down with him!" Keonho defends, wiggling his legs around.
"Juhoon pushed me!" Martin says with a laugh, pointing his index at Jju who only had a smug grin on his face while chuckling at them.
"The three of them are so similar, no?" You sigh with a smile, reviewing the pictures taken in your camera while James takes a peek beside you as well.
James lets out a hum in response, his arms crossed while eyeing the pictures you took just a few moments earlier. "They say we are who we are because of those around us." He says fluently in English.
You raise a brow as your gaze breaks away from the camera now to James, who's looking at the other four messing around. "Really?"
"It seems so." He responds, averting his eyes from them to you with a soft smile.
If that's the case.
"Happy birthday to you!" The last line of the traditional birthday song finally trailed off into silence as James closed his eyes to blow out the candles that stood on his cake, even though there were undignified spills of liquid coming out of it.
"What did you wish for?" You hesitantly asked, curious as to why he looked so calm and content after blowing his candles.
"Aren't wishes supposed to be kept a secret?" He laughs, the dimples on his cheeks slightly visible.
"Aw, c'mon! Spill! I swear I won't tell anyone." You said, pulling out your camera ready to take a picture of him.
"I wished for all of us to achieve our dreams side by side, and still celebrate moments like this." He said earnestly with a smile.
"Juhoon! Do you know where my—" Your words cut off mid-sentence upon seeing Juhoon in the kitchen playing Martin's ukulele, a bowl of untouched ramen rested in front of him on the table.
"Where's your what?" He stopped playing, and glanced up at you.
"I was gonna ask where my camera was." You said, still quite shocked at him knowing how to play the ukulele.
"Oh, it's right here." He reached his hand out somewhere on the table, moving aside a piece of cloth that covered your camera from being seen.
"Thanks." Taking your camera, you quickly turned it on and positioned the lens towards Juhoon, who went back to strumming on the ukulele. "Tell me, Jju, what can you not do? You can basically pull off anything at this point." You remarked.
"Hmm..." He paused mid-strum, trying to think. "I don't know." He laughed it off.
"GUYS!" You immediately covered Martin's loud mouth when he approached you inside the showrooms in the furniture area.
Juhoon and James stood around the corners cautiously as they held back their laughs. "What? What the heck is going on?" Martin questions in a really audible voice.
"Dude, shh! We're hiding from Keonho and Seonghyeon!" You whisper, putting up your index finger.
"What?! Aren't you supposed to be paying for their food? They're panicking out there!" He exclaimed with the most absurd facial expression you've ever seen, and he slightly failed to do so in a whisper. You could only wheeze from trying to hold in your laughter.
"Exactly, that's why we're hiding." You said, covering your mouth.
Unfortunately for his loud voice, the two youngest appeared and blew off your cover.
While you and Seonghyeon hung around outside the porch of James' grandparents house, a lot of cats ended up approaching you both.
"Woah, are these strays? Their fur looks too pretty." Seonghyeon said, crouching down at them to take a better look at the cats who meowed simultaneously.
"I don't think they're strays, Hyeon. They look like the cats that James' grandma owns." You chuckle, your gaze softening as Seonghyeon grabbed a good amount of treats nearby and fed it to the cat who didn't seem to leave him alone.
You sat down and a few ended up approaching you as well, though you needed to maintain a good distance before you'd start sneezing like crazy.
"You're allergic, right?" Seonghyeon asked, taking the cats away from you.
"Yeah. Man, you don't have to." You tried assuring him that it wouldn't be a big deal, but he kept quiet and made sure all the cats approached him using treats as bribery.
"Oh my gosh, I'm gonna burn! It's so hot!" Martin complains, taking off his black jacket. The atmosphere was mixed by the hot glaring rays of the sun paired with the cool breeze of the wind.
"We have to find shade to set up our picnic." James said, carrying the goods needed.
"We can throw some shade at Seonghyeon for his cooking skills instead." Keonho jokes, and you laugh at Seonghyeon's unbothered face.
"I don't even cook that bad." Seonghyeon defends, helping James set out the blanket.
"[name]! Take a picture of me here!" Keonho immediately runs off under the heat and sits on a bunch of huge rocks with the grass.
"Are you sure you won't be getting a heat stroke?" You asked concerned, and pulled out your camera from your shoulder bag.
"I won't! Swear!" He reassured, already posing like he's part of a Vogue photoshoot.
"—Helloo, earth to [name] ?" A hand waves over your face as you snap out of your thoughts. Reality hits you when you see the five of them staring at you like they've been waiting for a while.
You turn to look at James, who was the one waving his hand at your face, recalling his words.
"You okay? We were gonna get breakfast and we almost left you here because you stayed and zoned out." Seonghyeon asks.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Where are we gonna eat?" You ask as they start to walk, while you follow and stick closely beside James.
"I think there's a breakfast place here nearby." Martin suggests, scrolling through his phone presumably looking up good places nearby to eat.
The four of them walk ahead of you and James in pairs, bickering and bantering here and there—until you felt a slight nudge on your shoulder.
Slightly turning your head to James' direction, your gaze meets his, in a natural way. You raise a brow in confusion.
"What were you thinking about?" He asks, making sure to look ahead just in case before his eyes turn back to you.
". . .About what you said."
"Hmm."
"I was hoping that since you guys surround me so much, I carry fragments of yourselves in me that makes me the way I am as well." You say, turning your gaze back to the four who are walking ahead too fast.
James nods, unknowingly holding back a smile.
"You guys, Hurry up! I'm starving!" Keonho calls out from across the street.
⸝⸝ BASKETBALL PLAYER! SEONGHYEON x STUDENT COUNCIL! READER
⌗ SYNOPSIS ⋮ IN WHICH [reader], the school student council's secretary catches an eye for a known basketball varsity player, eom "sean" seonghyeon.
⧽ disclaimers : separate fiction from reality , this is a work of fiction , all accounts are fake , ignore time stamps!
⧽ reader as low profile in socmed but well-known at school , priv acc user ⸝⸝ cortis as guys who hang around the court every free time, seonghyeon as the only one who pursued bball among them as a sport.
meet the gangs!
Ი𐑼 THE WINX CLUB . . .
𝄞 ELITE BALLERS . . .
— NOTE ⋮ this is not a njz x cortis work, and i am not really associating njz as readers friends. couldn't think of whose faces to put as friends lol.. happy reading!
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