hello hi can i request a chan imagine where you’re a few years younger than him and not asian and you hear some trainees saying that you shouldn’t be dating him and you distance yourself, but he finds out and reassures you and tells off the girls ??? i’m sorry this is so detailed 😅
Hi!! Im so sorry this has taken me so long! Its a little rushed, but i do hope you enjoy!! You can find it here!! Thankyou!!!
Summary: Hard days of work = fluffy cuddles from your boyfriend
Genre: Lil angst, but Fluffy!
____________________________
You shake the rude teenage customers from your mind as you finally clock out for the day, eyes dragging through the deserted street as you lock the door behind you.
You’d been working unforgivably hard for the blurred weeks. You barely could remember the days now.
Just what day was it?
You’d barely been at home long enough to see the date or the time, sleeping for a few hours only to do it all again tomorrow.
You hadn’t even seen your boyfriend, besides glimpses of his jacket as he rounded the corner. While he was producing music, you were serving customers with a false smile.
But today even your crease-free concealer had caved in on you, customers noting your pale appearance with as equally much concern as your co-workers. Still, you waved it off with a smile, saying you were probably developing a common cold, which you had actually suspected might have been the case.
But your cold-like symptoms slowly processed; a racking cough, a running nose. Maybe you’d been too neglectful of your health.
Keys jammed into the keyhole of your apartment, you very obviously had the flu.
Bag slipping off your shoulder, you make your way to the bathroom in sluggish steps.
Clothing wrinkled by time and hard labour, you shed off your second skin and make a measly shot at the washing basket in the corner, redressing only for your head to fall into your hands.
Grunting in frustration at your sick appearance, you flick the faucet on, hands filling with cold water to spill over your face.
Once. Twice. Three times.
Sighing at your unbending tiredness, you raise your hands to the water once more.
“Hey,”
The face in the mirror comes to the light as he steps in, voice soft and hand-pressed into your shoulder blade. “Sweetheart, come to bed. You look terrible.”
Despite his good intentions, you push him off.
“I’m okay Chan, I just need to shower first.”
So you turn, making your way to the shower unapologetically, too exhausted to notice - or remember- the raised step before it collides with your foot.
But Chan catches you, a grim expression on his face as he leads you back to your room.
Despite your apprehension, as soon as your head hits the pillow you feel some sort of sense of relief.
Chan’s hand comes to rest of your forehead, the mattress dipping beside you.
“You’re burning up. I think you’ve worked yourself sick.”
Opening your eyes, you see worried ones staring back at you. With a cheesy smile, you nod in response.
“I think I might text my boss."
“I think that's a good idea. You look really sick.”
Pressing send on the text makes you feel even better, slumping back into the pillows, cheesy smile plastered on your features as you give a single confirming nod too Chan.
“It's done.”
“You should rest now. Its been a while since I’ve seen you do at least that.”
Now you groan in a mixture of agreement and annoyance.
“Works been hectic. But right now I’d be happy to get some actual sleep."
“That sounds like a good plan.”
With your hand falling onto his cheek, he smiles gingerly, pulling you a little closer for you to collect some well-earned sleep together.
****
Your alarm sound is harsh, its beeping disturbing not just your slumber, but probably everything in a 1km radius. With a groan, you turn around to shut it off but are stopped by Chan’s arm, which has already shut off the alarm and is back around you.
“Go back to sleep. You don’t have to work today.”
“Hm,” you hum happily. “It's really nice."
With a laugh, you two stay in bed for a little while longer, eyes shut, bodies still.
You’re not even aware you’ve gone back to sleep until you open your eyes to see Chan’s side of the bed empty.
Pushing yourself up, your eyes search the deserted room, hands raking through your hair in an attempt to push it away from your face.
With one last check to see if the boy is completely M.I.A, you steal his hoodie from the back of the chair, pairing it with a random pair of jeans found in the washing basket as you take a shower to simply scrub off this sick feeling in your bones.
“Hey, is that my hoodie?”
You rush away from the boy once your downstairs, stealing a pancake from the plate as you cross to the other side of the bench.
“Of course it's not.” You reply, laughing when he rolls his eyes, spatular raised in his hand.
“What do you want to do today?” He asks, flipping the last pancake over in a simple motion.
“Hm, maybe we could just-oh.”
Your ringtone interrupts you, face dropping at the sight of your ‘work’ contact.
You roll your eyes at Chan, making a face as you answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey Y/N,” You immediately recognise your coworker's voice, “I’m so sorry to call you like this. I know you called in today and can't work, but this is sort of an emergency.”
You sigh. Watching as Chan shakes his head, indicating for you to decline.
“I really can't work today if that's what you're asking me.”
“No, No, No.” she’s frantic as if she’s shaking her head. “Nothing like that. There are some people here asking for you. I've told them your not in but they won’t leave. Do you think you’d be able to come in and tell them too in your scary manager voice? I’ll cover you for the rest of the week, I swear."
You think about this, giving Chan a blank look for a moment before nodding.
“Fine. But you seriously better, otherwise you’ll get the scary manager voice.”
She bids you her uttermost thanks in busts of relief, the phone clicking off as you turn to Chan.
“There’s an issue at work.”
He gives you a flat look, holding up the spatula in threat.
“You said you wouldn’t go.”
Shaking your head, you can’t but help laugh at his ’threatening appearance.’
“I’m not working. Some people are asking for me and no one can get rid of them. I’ll use my scary manager voice on them, don’t worry. We’ll be like 10 minutes tops, I promise.”
He rolls his eyes, trading the spatula for a set of car keys.
“Fine. But only 10 minutes.”
You at work in the blink of an eye, Chan parking right outside.
“Just stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He gives you a nod and a smile.
The moment you enter the room, you swear under your breath, body wanting to just turn straight back around.
The teenage girls from yesterday stand at the counter, phones and bitchy attitudes in hand.
Over the counter, your co-worker gives you a half exasperated, half thankful look, making you even more annoyed.
“What seems to be the problem here?”
Any trace of your friendliness is gone, your stoic manager voice making a comeback.
You knew these girls all too well.
They were self-proclaimed JYPE prodigy trainees, bitchy attitudes making them automatically better than everyone else.
“Finally,” the blond rolls her eyes at you, stance leaned to the side.
“We’ve been asking for you.”
“Yes, and pestering staff when they’ve already told you that I am not in-store today. This is highly unprofessional for some trainees.”
Your gaze goes to your co-worker at the counter, eyes transferring your exasperation.
“Look, girls, I’m actually quite sick at the moment, and I’m running out of patience here.”
“We have an issue to discuss with you.”
You gesture for her to continue, leaning against the counter now as they look at each other smugly.
“We’ve been talking,” the brunette starts, fingers twirling in her hair. “And we think that it's best for you to break up with Bang Chan, for his career and the company status.”
You raise an eyebrow.
“And that’s for you to decide is it?”
“It’s not just us!” the third girl bursts. “Its a lot of trainees actually.”
You deadpan her.
“This is bullshit and you know it.”
“No, actually it's perfectly reasonable. We just want the best for Chan, and you are just not that. We explained that yesterday.”
“The best for me?” Chan’s voice is loud in the abandoned shop front, eyebrows raised in question.
The girls group together in front of you, turning from raging bitches, into squealing fangirls in less than a millisecond.
“This is highly inappropriate you know, to harass someone on her day off. She came all the way here to sort this issue out, but you continue to harass her. I’m disappointed, and as JYP trainees, this is even more disappointing.”
“Chan!” The girl's voice is high, shrilling. “There’s been a misunderstanding.”
“No,” he shakes his head “You have no right to call me that. As your senior, I’m going to have to inform all your teachers.”
With his bitter parting words, he takes your wrist and pulls you out of the shop.
“Hey,” He stops you once you're outside, hand lightly on your arm.
“Have they bothered you before?”
You shake your head, giving him your best reassuring smile.
“You’re sure? Because I’m going to report them anyway. So if they’ve bothered you before…”
“Chan,” You give him a small smile. “It's okay.”
He gives you a look in return, opening the car door for you to get in, the car ride silent
on the way home.
You groan in somewhat relief when your feet touch the carpet of your living room, body flopping onto the couch. Chan is right behind you, body falling onto the couch as yours does.
“We should watch a movie.” You say, picking up the remote to shuffle through Netflix.
He only hums in response, making you look at him.
“What's wrong?” You ask, brows furrowing in concern.
“I know she came to you yesterday. I heard her say it…”
When you say nothing in response, he continues.
"I’m just mad that a trainee would do such a thing. It's not fair on you.”
You give him another small smile, hand on his arm to calm him down a little.
“Chan. It's okay.”
“No, people shouldn’t treat you like this, even if you are dating an idol.”
You nod again, understanding of his frustration.
“I know. It's alright,” You tell him. "They didn’t hurt me, and nothing would ever make me leave you. I don’t care that you’re an idol. Your just Chan to me. The Chan who routinely cooks pancakes on the weekend. The Chan who FaceTimes me when I’m doing a late-night shift so I’m not alone. The Chan who goes to work every day to make awesome music; just Chan.”
He smiles, eyes locked on yours.
Mirroring his smile, you press your body into his side.
“Why don’t we watch Howl’s Moving Castle? I could use a movie.” Chan says arm around your shoulders now, leaning into you.
Hey so ummm I can I request something like an arranged marriage au with seungmin or jisung where him and the reader dont like each other at first but ended up falling in love idk ? Thanks 💜💜
Hello Anon!! Im so sorry this has taken me so long!! You can find this request here!! Please enjoy!!
Summary: Stuck in an arranged marriage with none other than Han Jisung feels both awkward and like a breath of fresh air.
Genre: Angsty Fluff!! New love fluff!
___________________________
Long tables are horribly impractical.
Yet you’re seated in the corner of one, mother and father beside you.
Across the vast space is another family, one your father associated with for work; the chairman, his wife and his son, who is also seated in the middle of his parents.
A green china tea set rests in the middle of the space, sweets overflowing in an emerald china jar, completely untouched.
Much like the sweets, the glittering ring seated on your left forth finger remains untouched.
Even after the many months you’d been wearing it, it had never felt as heavy as it did now.
“They’re to be married by noon.” Chairman Han tells your father, a wide smile peeking over the rim of his teacup.
“Of course,” your father says, a chuckle in his voice as he peers over to his wife. “There is no doubt. We have been very excited about this marriage for a long time."
Well, everyone except you; the bride to be, and your fiancé.
You two barely glance at each other, laughing in the appropriate times, and bidding your thanks to the other family when plausible.
But what is said, is done.
24 hrs later, you are seated behind an even larger table, decorated in white trimmed lace, bouquets of white roses and tulips, and people bidding their promises of love and eternity to the happy bride and groom. The evening air is crisp, almost as crisp as your mother's handwriting on your forged wedding vows, the note cards tucked under your ringed hand. You can see Jisung’s tucked away too, his fathers writing as dark as his black suit.
As far as conversations went, you and the groom had barely uttered a word to each other since the engagement had started. You knew his name; Han Jisung, his age; 19, and his family; the chairman and his wife. In return, he knew the same about you, your name, age and family.
You never felt so far from reality, seeing someone you barely know wrap their hands around yours and call you family, call you his wife, his lifelong partner.
But of course, none of the words was his. Then again, neither were yours.
The house arrest came later, both your parents shoving you inside, a white dress and all. Jisung was right behind you, just as flustered as you.
The doors in the house seemed to slam one after the other.
Parents gone, Jisung’s door remaining firmly shut. So you took refuge too, the door to your room shut, but the window open, curtains fluttering over the bench seat in the corner.
This would be your home, and home is what you’d make it.
A week turned into a month, your body rarely leaving your comforter or the bench seat. By now you’d memorised the way the horizon rose and fell, what day, noon, evening and night all looked like against it.
It was in the early depths of the afternoon when the sunshine was bright overhead, clear in the middle of the horizon.
A knock at the door doesn’t pull your gaze away from the jagged line of the trees, the rising of the hills.
“Y/N,”
You turn your head at the sound of a soft voice, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Your eyes fixate on the figure at the door, a sense of both familiarity and unfamiliarity slicing through you, as cold as the wind outside.
“You should eat.”
Han Jisung stood by your doorframe, head leaned to the side as his gaze lays on you, eyes filled with concern.
“I-“ You cut yourself off, sitting up more formally, hands clasping together in your lap. “Mr Han, I am alright. But thank you for your concern.”
The boy cringes, nose wrinkling.
"Please, call me Jisung. Mr Han is my father's name. I hate formalities he holds.”
You smile slightly, nodding along to his request. You hated the formalities too.
Jisung looks up at you again.
“Come eat downstairs. I’ll make you something.”
You gingerly shake your head again.
“I'm fine. Really."
He rolls his eyes this time, shaking his head.
“No is not an option. You haven’t eaten all day.”
“And I don’t recall you caring about this before.”
You don’t quite expect your words to come out so harsh, yet somehow you don’t quite regret them either.
Any trace of arrogance is knocked away from the boy, his frame dropping a little in the frame of the doorway, hand going limp by his side.
“I’ve always cared.”
“Oh, you have?” You ask, standing up now, arms crossed. “Is that why you locked yourself away? Did you think ‘this isn’t fair’? That ‘your life is ruined’ and ‘planned out for you’?! Don’t you think that I felt the same?”
You’re standing now, raging at the situation at hand.
“I, Han Jisung, don’t want your charity.”
He takes your words with a blank expression, hands still limp beside him.
His calmness enrages you more.
“How can you just stand there!” You shout, gesturing widely to his relaxed state.
“I deserve that.” Jisung sighs, pushing himself into your room, standing only a meter from you now
“You’re right Y/N. I know how hard this has been for me. It must have been ten times harder for you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that this has to be our future. But right now, we have to make do with what we have. Let’s start from the beginning, turn a new page. Can we at least try to be friends? For sanity’s sake? Because I don’t think that I can keep doing this douchey silence act any longer. It’s not me, and I don’t think it’s you either.”
You’re silent, looking at him, professing his words.
He holds out a hand.
“I’m Jisung. Will you come to eat with me? I am worried about you.”
Finally, you crack, holding out your own hand, a small smile on your lips.
“I’m Y/N, and I’d love to eat with you.”
So you let him lead you to the kitchen, sitting down to watch him rifle through the cupboards, producing a pan and various ingredients.
“What are you making exactly?” You question, eyebrows raised as you watch him turn the stove on.
“Pancakes.” He says simply, the mixing process already unfolding in a bowl. “Chocolate chip to be exact.”
You nod, watching him as he mixes the batter together.
“So, Y/N. If we’re going to be friends, I guess we should start with the basics. What is your favourite colour?”
“Blue actually,” you smile. “It’s been my favourite colour since I was young.”
“Blue? Really.”
You nod, smiling a little more as a memory pops into the forefront of your mind.
“When I was really young, I painted my room blue once.” You only pause to laugh at the memory. “I snuck into my fathers shed and stole the blue paint. It was so late. I painted the walls when he got home and had gone into the study.”
Jisung’s laughing now, the whisk rested on the bench as he props his head up under his chin.
“Was he mad?”
You shake your head gladly, smile wide.
“He found me at 1am. But he rolled up his sleeves and helped me paint all the places I couldn’t reach, which honestly was like the top half of the walls.”
“You’re dad sounds awesome.” He notes, pushing himself up. “I wish mine would’ve let me do mine red.”
You laugh. “Red?”
He nods, smiling. “Red is awesome! It’s fast. Just like the cheetah!”
You can’t but help at laugh at his enthusiastic response, keenly watching as the pancakes are whipped together and placed in a neat stack on a plate in front of you.
“Wow,” you sigh, eyes closing at the first bite of the delicious pancakes. “These are actually amazing.”
“They’re world-famous.” Jisung holds his fork out at you. “And the only thing I can make well without burning the house down.”
“Why do I believe that?” You say, laughing at his half offended expression.
Catching up on everything you’d missed with Han Jisung, is much like catching up with an old friend.
Empty snack bowls add to the relaxed atmosphere, lazy laughs hanging in the air. A measly 1:08am adds to the light as the TV plays a random movie in the dead of the morning.
Yawning, you curl further into yourself, eyes lazy set on the movie ahead, the couch next to you dipping as Jisung does the same.
It's nice, the relaxed atmosphere between you two.
There is no need to walk on eggshells around him now.
A soft fabric touches your arms, its warm surface making your eyes track from the TV to see the source of its warmth.
Jisung gives you a tired smile, the blanket dropping from his hands over you.
“You looked cold.” His voice is barely above a whisper, smile small yet sincere.
“Thank you.” You whisper in return, heart loud in your ears.
You let a few awkward moments pass, daring to side-eye the boy when the room dips into darkness.
His eyes meet yours in a smile, two crescent moons shining in the dark.
“What?” You say, relieved the dark can hide the heavy blush on your cheeks.
“Nothing.” He replies, blinking simply.
You sit up a little, brushing hair behind your ears.
“Is there something in my hair? On my face?”
His smile turns a little smug now.
“Only beauty.”
You’re not sure what to do, choosing to hit is shoulder while yelling some form of opposition, and hide your face in your hands.
“No! Don’t hide that pretty face of yours!”
You splutter at his words again, willing yourself to compose.
“Its late Jisung, we should probably head off to bed.”
Nodding in agreement, the television is quickly switched off, the both of you trudging into the direction of your rooms, two bodies in the darkness, black outlines against the horizon.
“Hey,” you interrupt the silence upon getting to your door, finally looking up to make eye contact with the boy who also pauses with you.
“Thank you for today. It’s nice not to feel so alone in this whole thing.”
“Likewise Y/N,” he smiles. “Its been really nice."
You two just stand there for a moment, the seconds passing so slowly it could be an eternity.
“I guess we should stay goodnight then."
“Ah, yeah.”
You fidget with the knob of your door, rather nervous.
“Its been nice getting to know you. I’m looking forward to getting to know you even more now. Goodnight, beautiful.”
Your heart flutters at the mere sound of the word, hands covering your face almost as a fight or flight reflex.
“Goodnight Y/N.”
“Goodnight Jisung.” You manage, aware of his laugh at your state, watching as he disappears into his room through your fingers.
The door gives out as you push it, body falling into the warm embraces of your blankets.
You could almost feel your heartbeat bounding off the walls.
No, there was no way.
Han Jisung was making you fall in love with him, and you’re just letting him.
______________________
The light in your living room is soft and dimmed, hyperreflective of your insomniac state at the early 2am.
It had been months now, your brain hardwired in staying up well past the normal time, active into the depths of the night.
So you’d started doing something somewhat practical to kill the time.
Tonight, the moon was high, it’s white light reflecting off the apartment building across from you, subtly illuminating your balcony.
Sketchbook in hand, you take your paintbrush, smearing the blush coloured pink into the finely traced lines you’d drawn up a day prior.
Yet somehow you weren’t completely alone with the moon.
It had been a few weeks now that you’d noticed the boy in the apartment next to you, who often came out half an hour or so after yourself, computer set up with a producer lab kit by his side, notebook complete with a pen.
You’d taken him as your muse, his face always coming to mind whenever you picked up your pencil. The small details of him that were illuminated by the light of his laptop were just enough for you to piece together.
And tonight wasn’t any different, both of you seated on your balcony’s, silent, and concentrated.
Looking up, you swirl your brush in the water, watching as the paints mix together, but the boy catches your eye tonight, his laptop bright, illuminating his face, earphones shockingly white against the night sky.
He looks up too, just at the right time to catch your eye, a small wave and a smile caught in the light.
You wave back, giving him a similar smile, paintbrush back in your fingers, eyes tracing back down to your half-painted face, your muses half-painted face.
It was almost stupid how your heartstrings pulled at just the sight of this boy, how you felt this strange tug towards someone you’d never even had a conversation with.
Thank God you're facing him, your sketchbook hidden behind your legs.
He catches your sight again, this time not quite in a wave, but the sight of him holding up a finger, sharpie in his other hand as he flips to the back of his notebook.
‘Insomnia?’
You laugh at his sign, ripping up a blank page from your own sketchbook, brush dipped into the black paint to write a reply.
‘Yes. You too?’
He nods, a smile on his face, writing back something.
‘I like your drawings. They’re really good.’
‘Can I put a name to the face then?’
You’re half shocked at your own confidence. If anyone had found out your drawing them, you would’ve been mortified. But you can’t ignore your beating heart, unsettled in your chest.
‘Hwang Hyunjin.’
‘Y/N Y/LN.’
‘Well, Y/N. I’ve been writing songs and you’re sort of my muse.’
Oh.
You feel a strange calmness in amongst your nervousness. It’s like you’ve known him for years in these few weeks. You can see his quirky personality hidden amongst the glimmer of his eyes.
‘Can I hear them?’
You ask him, eyes wide and waiting for an answer from the insomniac boy, paintbrush scattered to the side, black paint staining the table.
You watch him as he stands, dragging his chair to the corner of his balcony, only a measly few meters away from yours.
Upon him holding his phone and AirPods up, you immediately follow suit, sketchbook in one hand, and chair in the other.
“Here, take these. I’ll play it for you.”
Reaching over the balcony, you take the AirPods, bidding him your sketchbook in return.
With the earphones shoved into your ears, the first note hits, a melody following in its wake, the boys vocals melting your insides the moment they start.
You smile, widely.
It's almost cliche how the song hits you, butterflies in your stomach quickly turning to the whole zoo as the lofi beats continue.
“Insomnia Boy, you’re singing is amazing!" You exclaim, taking out the earphones to hand them back over.
He groans ungracefully, head falling onto your sketchbook.
“I’m more of a rapper, honestly. Singing is not my strong suit.”
“No, no,” you argue, “This is absolutely beautiful. A work of art!”
He laughs, passing your sketchbook over the balcony.
“No, these are works of art. You seriously draw people so well. Even me!”
“But it’s only half-finished.”
He rolls his eyes at your modest attitude.
“And it's already beautiful. Just like you.”
You feel your cheeks heat up at his compliment, stomach filling with butterflies.
Your conversations continue, both filling in the blanks of your lack of knowledge about each other, despite it feeling like you’ve known each other for years.
Hwang Hyunjin is in college for music producing, which totally made sense.
The track is called ‘La Luna’, again fitting because of your meetings being mainly in the middle of the night.
“You know, its nearly 3.30.”
“What?"
You’re eyes open wider in shock as you check the time, realising that time had passed under your noses.
“We should probably get to bed.” You say, a sigh on your chest, standing up as Hyunjin does.
“We should. But, there is something I wish to ask you."
Your eyes meet his, eyebrows raised to prompt him to continue.
“Would you be willing to go for some coffee? Maybe at 10?” He laughs awkwardly, a hand going to the back of his neck. “I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I really feel like I’ve known you for years.”
You cant help the small smile on your features, eyes immediately retracting to the ground as your cheeks heat up.
“I accept your invitation, Hwang Hyunjin.” You say, “And I further agree with your feelings. I think we’ve known each other for years, perhaps in another life.”
“Another life,” he echos, eyebrows raised, a knowing smile spreading onto his features as bright as sunshine. “I like that idea. Perhaps we were together in another life. Maybe like soulmates?”
“Well then, soulmate. I’ll certainly be seeing you at 10.”
“Soulmate. It has a ring to it. I like it. Coffee at 10 then soulmate? And you can show me those beautiful drawings of yours, Y/N?"
Your heart skips a beat, mind reminiscing on his song lyrics almost nostalgically.
"Whatever you say, Hwang Hyunjin."
'La Luna.
Oh, dear La Luna,
Won’t you let the sun hold you tonight?'
XO by Beyoncé is one of my fav love songs and the fact you wrote something for it w my bias makes me so so so happy- it made my night. You did such a wonderful job:)❣️
Im so happy you enjoyed it anon!! XO is one of my favourites too xx. Thankyou for the endless support!!
Hi I was wondering if you were able to do a fake dating au with Hyunjin with like fluff and a tiny bit of angst but mostly fluff so like fake dating and best friends to lover. I hope this isn’t asking to much thank you 🥰
Hi Love! Im so sorry this took me so long, but I’ve been working on it for a while!! You can find it here!! Enjoy!! Thankyou so much xx
Summary: Lovelorn; The state of being sad because of the problems love brings. Stupid projects mean even stupider decisions when your in college.
Genre: Super fluffy! College Fluff!!
_____________
“What about proving gravity wrong?”
The boy across from can only groan, folding into a pile on his notebook, pen falling from his hand.
“You’re seriously so dumb,” Hyunjin groans into his sleeves.
“You know this project is like half our grade right?”
“No shit sherlock.” You spit, rolling your eyes as you lean back into your chair.
“I seriously think we’re going to fail this unit. There’s seriously nothing.”
“Hey!” Now he’s sitting up, eyes wide. “I’ve given plenty of suggestions!”
“Hyunjin, being able to resist eating an open pizza box for 24 hours is not proving anything wrong.”
“Hey, it shows that we've got strong will power!"
You groan now, throwing your head back.
On the unlikely chance to choose your partners for a project, you were both stumped with the project question of ‘Prove me wrong’, the topic as widespread as the question.
Just what were you proving wrong? Whatever you two wanted to prove wrong.
Hyunjin sits up suddenly, eyes wide with the essence of ‘eureka’.
“What if we did an article on celebrity lives? Like the whole dating for publicity thing?”
His voice grows more excited as the words pour from his mouth, the cogs clearly turning in his brain.
“What if we proved that fake dating doesn’t always lead to love like people seem to think it does?!”
You watch him for a solid minute, trying to wrap your head around this concept your best friend was suggesting to you.
Fake dating?
Would people even believe that you two would date?!
“Fake dating? I mean...” you trail off, fiddling with your ring, eyes averted to the table.
“Y/N! It’s perfect!” The boy exclaims, grabbing your shoulders over the table. “Just think of it! It’s perfect, we can use extra media, like vlogs and shit too! We both know that there’s no risk that we could fall in love, so why not?”
You couldn’t argue, even as you looked him in the eyes.
He was right. He was always right.
Plus, you two could use the bonus points of the extra media in the presentation.
“Fine,” you hold out your hand, catching his in a firm handshake. “I swear that we will prove that this fake dating shit doesn’t end in love.”
“Here’s too that.”
13 days. That's all would only be.13 days of fake dating your best friend; Hwang Hyunjin.
_______
i
What had you expected?
Things run as they normally do during the first 24 hours of the project.
Honestly, if fake dating Hyunjin was going to be this easy, you would’ve signed up for this years ago.
With no relationship knowledge under your belt, you certainly knew that having a relationship couldn’t be this easy, right?
Though you two were set on making an “itinerary of dating” for your project, you were happy with the way things were going. At first, you’d thought that this whole relationship thing was going to be overwhelming, and astoundingly difficult. But, things were still oddly normal around you two.
That is until he pulled the camera out.
Amidst a vlog type video, he looks over at you, the movie on the television loud in the background.
“What?” You groan, covering your face, trying to shy away from his camera lens.
“We should start the project. That involves filming the process, remember Y/N?”
You groan in response, now pulling the blanket over your body, one hand still covering half your face.
“Hey! We should cuddle, just like normal couples do when they watch movies.”
Now your hand drops, Hyunjin’s camera capturing both your faces to gauge your reactions to this whole fake dating scenario.
“I searched it up and found an article that said the first thing a lot of couples do is cuddle, and hold hands. It’s like the building blocks of a relationship.”
“Aren't Chan and Felix coming over soon though? Aren’t you guys studying?”
“Yeah, but we have to tell them at some point. Remember, we’re dating now.”
You’re silent, pulling the blanket closer to your body now, eyes meeting his.
“Can you put the camera away? This just feels so wrong.”
He sighs, lowering his phone to press stop on the video, eyes back on yours.
“We have to document this Y/N.”
“I know,” you say defensively, curling tighter into your legs. “But it's just...”
Now he’s concerned, pushing himself across the couch to sit down next to you, a hand resting on your shoulder.
“Hey, if you’re not comfortable with this idea, we can just change it.”
“No, no, no. It’s not important. Let’s just drop it.”
His head drops to catch your eye, concern written on his features.
“Y/N, what’s going on? You can tell me you know.”
You sigh now, eyes closing as you let your body relax into the pillow behind you.
“I don’t know if I’m right, for this project, I mean.”
He’s confused, silence urging you to continue on, explain more.
“Hyunjin, you’re experienced. You’ve been in a relationship. I’ve never been in a relationship in my life. I have no experience. You know? I don’t know what to do, or how to act! It’s all new to me!”
You sigh, trying to gather your thoughts.
“I just don’t think I’m the right partner for this idea.”
“Hey,” he takes your hand now. “I don’t care that you’re not experienced. I didn’t pick you for experience, I picked you because your my best friend, and we can learn together.”
He moves a little closer, catching your eye again.
“I’ll show you. I’ll be your teacher. You know what, don’t think of this as a project, but rather ‘Relationship Advice 101: The Basics’ okay?”
You smile at the name, looking at him properly now.
“You’d do that?”
“Of course.”
The conversation stops there, comfort setting in as your big secret is finally off your shoulders, lightening your load and mood as your eyes trace back to the movie, interested in the characters.
However, it seems your ‘Relationship Advice 101: The Basics’ class was about to begin, the boy tapping your shoulder before patting the space next to him, urging you to move closer.
Shooting the boy a questioning look, you scoot over, throwing half the blanket over him as you do so.
He wraps his arm over your shoulders, pushing you a little closer to him.
Ah, cuddling. The first building block of a relationship.
Its still, awkward even, for a few moments, both of you watching the movie, tense bodies brushed together.
“Hey,” Hyunjin’s voice is gentle, nowhere above a whisper, his tone something you’d never heard before.
“You can relax a bit, you’re really tense.”
“How?” You ask, unsure of how to get comfortable in such a position with someone who was only your best friend.
“Well, you can move more into my chest more, so you’re comfortable. Just try and find a position that’s comfortable for you, don’t stress about me.”
Giving an apprehensive nod, you turn into him more, a hand coming to tentatively rest on the boys' chest, head pressed to his shoulder.
His grip on you readjusts as you do, strangely comfortable.
You let out a nervous smile.
“This is kind of nice.”
“Cuddles are always nice.”
And just like that any means of conversation diminishes between you both, gaze on the movie.
But even your gaze on that diminishes, as does your ticking mind.
Your body relaxes more into Hyunjin as your brain shuts off for the night, worries as light as the night air.
____
ii
The sound of a ringing alarm draws you out of your dreams, a hand trying to find your phone in amongst the blanket.
The sound is cut off, making you give a small sigh of relief, settling back into your comfortable position.
“Y/N.”
You groan in response, fingers twisting with the blanket.
A hand comes in contact with your arm, shaking your body slightly. You shoo it away, eyes clamped firmly shut.
“Y/N, we have things to do today.”
It's like all at once you’re hypersensitive of the owner of the voice, extremely aware of the grip in your arm, and where your head is rested.
Opening your eyes you see Hyunjin in the same position that he was when you’d fallen asleep last night, your head still rested comfortably on his shoulder, hand splayed out on his chest. However, his attention is on his phone, fingers typing a response back to someone.
You rip yourself from him, eyes wide.
He only gazes at you nonchalantly, sitting up.
“You fell asleep.”
“And why didn’t you wake me?” You ask, eyes wide as you search for your phone.
Your roommate was going to kill you for this.
“You never get any sleep,” He tells you, soft tone enough to stop your franticness for just a second. “I didn’t wake you because you needed to sleep.”
Giving him a small smile, your fingers find your phone, however, your gaze remains on the boy, eyes smiling at him.
“You’re too kind Jin, but what am I going to tell my roommate. She’ll fry me for this.”
“We’ll we are ‘dating’ now, so you’ll just have to tell her you spent the night with your boyfriend.”
His comment makes you splutter, eyes wide.
“Spent the night!?”
Hyunjin only laughs at your state, pushing himself into standing position to tap your shoulder reassuringly.
“We have a big day today, I’ll meet you at your apartment so we can work on this itinerary shit. The group wants to catch up too, Chan and Felix are asking questions."
Groaning as he leaves the room, you in turn also push yourself off the couch, gathering your things as you prepare yourself for the walk back to your dorm room.
“See you soon then, Jin!”
“Bye Y/N!”
Nobody questions a thing.
From Hyunjin’s hand in yours to the way your roommate smiled when he’d come knocking at your door, your relationship seemed to be believable in the best way possible.
Even your friends, when you’d sent the girls a frantic text on the group chat and shyly nodded to Hyunjin’s group, had congratulated you both in open arms, and the countless ‘I knew it’ statements.
Any anxiety about actually getting away with the project had completely faltered, all you guys needed to do was keep the ‘dating itinerary’ safe away from the eyes of absolutely anyone.
You guys had planned to go on three dates for a more reliable experiment, your last date being a somewhat fancy one for a more memorable experience.
Any time in between the dates was filled with having coffee at the local cafe or watching a movie together. In the meantime, the day would be filled with working on the project together, linking the videos to the PowerPoint slide, writing a reflection, cross-linking with social theories.
It was a good plan, bound to work.
It had to work.
_____
iii
It was working. Everything was going smoothly.
Four days had passed without a hitch, your credibility growing when people saw you holding hands in public, or when you’d hug each other goodbye for the day only to reunite at the coffee shop some 8 hours later.
But your anxiety had ridden dangerously high when you’d received a text from Hyunjin during your lecture, reading “My dorm. Now. Urgent.”
What had happened? Had your idea been canned by the teacher? Was he hurt? Did he not want to continue the experiment?
Packing all of your things on the sound of the bell, you bolt off towards the dorm rooms, arriving at Hyunjin’s in no less than 3 minutes.
You knock on the door, hard, eager to get inside.
It opens, a mildly stressed Hyunjin standing in its wake, his hair tousled as if he’d been running his hands through it over and over.
You’d seen him like this before, but there was something about the crease in his forehead that makes your heart sink a little.
With a wave of his hand, you’re invited inside, following him into the small kitchen, where Jisung, his roommate is sitting.
Giving him a confused side gaze, you sit down as he does, waiting for someone to speak.
Jisung holds up a piece of paper, one you instantly recognize, one that was an important piece in your experiment.
“So you two aren’t together?” He asks, eyes tracing from Hyunjin to you.
You don’t quite know how to answer, eyes wide as you look to Hyunjin.
“I’ve explained it to him, briefly. I thought that it might help if you explain too.”
“Oh...” you trail off, thumbs fiddling together.
“Yeah. We’re not. Look Jisung, I'm sorry we lied to you. It’s for a project you see, we have to prove something wrong, and we chose to prove that fake dating doesn’t always equal in two people falling in love as everyone thinks.”
He nods at this, processing.
“And you guys obviously need everyone believing your dating for this to work right? All your friends? And the boys?”
You both nod.
“Right. Okay...” the boy trails off, sliding the sheet of paper back to Hyunjin.
“I’ll keep your secret. Don’t stress. You guys look so pale right now.”
You and Hyunjin seem to let out a breath at the same time.
“Thank you.” You whisper, hands pressed together as you smile up at him.
Jin smiles too, patting the boy's arm as a sign of thanks.
“Well, it seems that you guys have a date to get to right? Today’s what, day four? You should get ready.”
Giving you both a smirk, he hits Hyunjins arm as he gets up with a wink.
The other boy groans at this.
“He’s going to tease me about this non-stop now that he knows what we’re doing.”
You shrug nonchalantly, your own small smirk on your features.
“Sorry buddy, I have to get ready for our staged date.”
“I’ll meet you at 6 then? At your dorm?”
You nod, bidding him a cheeky goodbye, yelling out to Jisung as you’re leaving too.
At least the situation had become somewhat lighter, right? Now that Jisung knows, this experiment could only go the way you both wanted it too, to prove your points that love doesn’t always have to bloom between two close people.
In an hour and a half, you’ve wiped off the grime of the day, replacing it with a skirt and some hoop earrings.
On cue, you hear Hyunjin’s knock at the door right at 6pm.
Shuffling to the door, you open it in a quick motion, struggling to get your earring in.
“Hey, come in, I’ll just be one second.”
You skip back to the kitchen, earring finally in place, grabbing your bag off the bench as Hyunjin waits in the doorway.
“Did you film anything beforehand? I did a short one just about the fact we were going on a date.”
He nods, eyes wandering around the dorm room nervously.
You sneer, hitting his side as you open the door.
“She’s not here, I wouldn’t talk about something like this if my roommate was in the other room.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure if you’d told her, after Jisung and all.”
You shake your head, locking the door before following him down the halls.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out.”
You let him lead you through the buildings, going up some stairs and through some overpasses, unsure of your final destination.
Pushing open the door, he gestures for you to walk past him, your eyes wandering over the rooftop location.
Sitting down on the bench seat, you can't but help marvel over the view.
“I come here when I’m stressed.” The boy tells you, eyes wandering over the horizon of the university campus.
“It's beautiful up here,” you comment. “Very calm actually.”
“The sunset should be soon. It’s really nice from up here. I thought that this might make an alright first date for my fake girlfriend.”
You can hear his smile, even see the way his eyes are shining. He was happy, happy that he was making you happy perhaps. After all, he was teaching you all these things.
Was this what a first date always entailed? So many questions yet so many answers at once?
He was right, as always. There was something about the way the sunset looked from up here that set it apart from everything in your life. Encircled in orange and pink hues, you two watch as they fade to a shining purple, the night peaking from under the clouds magnificently.
You’re mesmerized, not just by the light show, but by Hyunjin's sincere gesture.
“So this is what a date is like.” You speak, eyes never leaving the beauty of the sky.
“It sure is,” the boy answers, turning to look at you. “Fake or not, I thought you’d actually like this.”
“I love it. Thank you.”
And with that, you two walk back through the nights breeze, lead back through the buildings to your dorm room.
“I know I'm not the best fake boyfriend, but I’m glad that you liked it. It’s the best I could figure out without making it too awkward between us...” Hyunjin trails off, a hand resting on the back of his neck.
But you smile, sincerely, throwing your arms around your best friend to trap him in your tight embrace of a hug.
A hug you rarely gave to anyone.
“Thank you again.” You mumble, pulling back with a wide smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nods, features mirroring your own smile.
“I’ll see you then.”
____
iv
It seemed that your ‘date’ with Hyunjin hadn’t solved all the problems in the world like you’d originally thought, but rather the stress of any college student had hit you like a ton of bricks.
Bad test scores.
Money trouble.
Lack of concentration.
Lack of sleep.
All combined together, you were sure that this was a horseman of the apocalypse, a fifth more unforgiving one that was reserved just to torture college students.
Sighing into your notes for the hundredth time, your attention came to rest on your phone, the text from Hyunjin almost comforting in its own strange way.
“Okay, 4 days of M.I.A studying is enough. Date tomorrow. Wear something pretty. I’ll come to get you at 1.”
You texted a reply, sighing as your head hit the desktop.
Now you couldn’t get him off your mind.
That was an issue you were sure you wouldn’t have to face in this experiment. After all, you two were only friends, right?
When this experiment finished, things would go back to normal, as if they never happened. You’d been sure of it.
But 7 days in, you really weren’t so sure.
Your heartfelt a certain way around him, and when he’d grab your hand, you had to will yourself back to civilization, back to the reality that this was only - and would only -be an experiment for your project.
Nothing more.
Surely your feelings were just all part of the experience, the learning of the way of relationships.
Perhaps Hyunjin simply was just a good boyfriend.
But not yours.
He wasn’t your boyfriend.
He is your friend. Nothing more, nothing less.
Shaking the thoughts from your head, you blink up at the 11.57pm illuminated on the screen of your phone, eyes tired.
Perhaps you should go to bed.
It seemed tomorrow was going to be the biggest day of them all, and you’ll need all the extra sleep you can get.
So you abandon your papers, and climb into bed, thoughts of Hyunjin never leaving your mind.
___
v
Slapping a hasty snooze on the alarm that has already rung its fourth course, you push yourself up into sitting position, head in your hands, tiredness sitting on your chest.
Perhaps all those sleepless nights had finally decided to make their presence known.
And all on this particular day.
Groaning into your hands, you run your fingers through your hair, grabbing your phone from the nightstand.
You have 5 hours. Five hours to wake up. Five hours to get yourself ready. Five hours to wipe off all your grime and prime yourself up for a fancy date.
A date with Hwang Hyunjin - your best friend, your fake boyfriend.
You were never the best with girly things, especially not your appearance.
Upon opening your closet, it was clear that you were out of your depth.
Unable to separate the whites from the pinks, you hailed your roommate in a mild yell, your crossed armed stance never faltering even when your roommate throws clothing at you to try on.
Rather, your roommate takes the lead now, prepping you prime and pretty for your date, the dress something from her wardrobe, hair and makeup complete with her signature style.
1pm comes, Hyunjin's knock at the door only a few minutes late.
Your roommate is the one who answers it, greeting him with a smile, yelling for you to - as she puts it - “Hurry your ass up.” and “not keep your beautiful boyfriend waiting."
Even just the sight of him makes your heart flutter. Tall, dark and handsome, the boy looks considerably attractive in his suit.
Silently, you swear at yourself for the thought.
You can’t think about this, not now. Not whilst you two were so close in proving your points.
Hand-pressed into yours, he gingerly leads you to his car.
“So where are we going?”
“You’ll find out.”
You huff at his tight lips, wishing that he’d at least give you a hint, eyes staring eagerly out the windshield.
Pulling up some 10 minutes later at a lake, he gestures for you to get out, a smirk on his features when he sees your surprised expression.
So you open the door and climb out, never once breaking eye contact with the beautiful view as you wander forward, Hyunjin close behind.
“Wow.” you breathe, turning back around to face him, seeing that a blanket has already been laid down, but the boy is hidden behind the screen of his camera, lens focused on you.
“Hey! You didn’t tell me you were filming!”
He laughs at this, head popping out to face you.
“I couldn’t disturb how marvelled you are.”
You smile at this, eyes lingering on his for a moment before switching towards the open picnic basket.
The camera is abandoned from his grip, hand held out to you now.
With a small smile, you sweep your hair behind your ear, taking his hand as he guides you towards the blanket, gesturing for you to sit.
With tousled hair and cheese and crackers, you watch the afternoon roll by over the lake.
His phone is abandoned on the blanket, the containers empty.
You were both quite comfortable, leaned back, light on the conversation.
As the breeze hits your skin in goosebumps, you cross your arms in an attempt to keep out the cold.
“Here.”
Hyunjin already has his jacket off when you turn to face him, body close to yours as he throws it over you shoulders, fingers fastening one of the buttons.
“No one has ever given me their coat before.” You tell him, cheeks tinted a heated pink.
“Well,” he looks at you now, leaning back onto his arms, head lulled to the side to face you. “Everyone is just a douche bag then.”
Giving him a small smile, you look down at the coat.
“Thank you for this though. It’s beautiful.”
“You’re more than welcome.” He pauses, making you look at him, but his eyes are trained on the horizon before you. “You know, I think that you deserve to be treated like this at least once in your life.”
You don’t quite know how to answer, eyes faltering as he turns to face you, cheeks burning red.
And it isn’t the last time you do exactly that.
As the day dissolves into the evening, you find yourself relaxed into his shoulder, heart beating nervously in your chest as his head pressed against yours, legs sprawled out against yours but crossed at the ankle.
“I know I’ve said this,” you whisper, “but this is seriously the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, fake or not.”
“You’re most welcome Y/N.”
Head pulling away from yours, you two find yourself in that same scene that was in every romantic movie you’d ever seen.
That one look that is so adorning, so love-filled. The one look that builds the tension in the air, but just the right amount.
You also know what comes after this type of look.
This was easily where you two were meant to kiss, bodies moving closer like magnets, the kiss sweet.
But this time, it’s not like that.
Breaking away from your eyes, the boy looks back at his car than to his watch.
“We should probably head back. It is sort of late.”
You nod in agreement, aware of the awkwardness in his voice, helping to fold the blanket as he packs up the basket.
Even the ride home is awkward, just what you were initially afraid of.
Determined to break the tension, you suggest walking him back to his dorm, which he only laughs at.
“You know that it’s normally my duty to do that.”
“Well Mr Hwang, I want to break this tradition of yours.”
So he lets you, basket abandoned in the car, the sound of your clacking heels in the car park almost as loud as the silence between you as you two walk.
Pulling out his keys he unlocks the door, pushing it open just a crack.
“Why don’t you come in?”
You look up from the floor, eyes wide.
“You’re sure?”
Perhaps you say it a little too eagerly, because his eyes cresent into moons, smile wide as he nods.
Throwing the keys somewhere on the bench, you’re invited into the familiar room, the boy waving you to follow him to his room.
“You left something here when you were the other day.”
“I did?” You question, racking your brain for what it might be.
Plopping onto his bed, you watch as he wanders around the room, racking through the draws of the tallboy.
“Ah!” He exclaims, holding out something in his palm to you.
Two little gold hoop earrings lay flat, your eureka moment hitting you as you remember taking them off when you two were watching movies.
“Oh! I remember taking them off!” You exclaim, taking them wide a wide smile.
“Thank you!”
He smiles, plopping down next to you, shoulder touching yours, sleeves now rolled up at his elbows.
“You look tired,” Hyunjin tells you as you lay your head on his shoulder, eyes slowly closing as your body relaxes.
“I am tired.” You reply, mumbling.
His head comes on top of yours again, his body relaxing too.
“Me too.”
You’re not sure how long you two are sitting there, but you’re awoken by some shuffling.
Eyes opening, you realize that you’ve both fallen asleep, Hyunjin’s head still rested on top of yours, breathing slow in your ears.
In the crack of light peaking through the doorway, a tired Jisung passes along the doorway, shoes in his hand.
Upon seeing your open eyes, he presses a finger to his lips, smile wide at the sight of you two.
Within a haze of sleep, you smile back too, eyes closing once more as sleep bites at you, luring you back into the darkness, and the arms of none other than Hwang Hyunjin.
___
vi
The countdown is slowly diminishing before your eyes, mind stuck on passing your exams, rather than your project with Hyunjin.
If you didn’t think about him, that would make this ordeal easier, right?
It would make the project easier to present. It would fill the “going back to friends” with some normality that you could fathom.
Everything was ready to go, other than your hypothesis.
It seems that falling for Hyunjin was easier than you’d thought.
“Y/N! You have to come to the party!”
You roll your eyes at the boy, taking another swing of your coffee.
“But why? You know I hate them! Chan’s parties are just too much most of the time!”
“Because now that you’re my girlfriend, you have to come to the party’s I’m going too! It’s like the code!”
You roll your eyes again, shaking your head.
Hyunjin stops your walking with a hand on your shoulder, pleading look glinting in his eyes as he presses his hands together.
“Please? Come with me? I’ll buy your coffee for a solid month. And you can choose the next movie on movie night!”
This makes you smile a bit, the offer a ray of sunshine in your broke college lifestyle.
“Fine. Only because I have no money,” you tell him. “But you have to promise to actually do that.”
“Of course, I promise.” The boy says, wrapping his pinky with yours.
Splitting ways, you head off to your next class, the remainder of the day a headache and a half.
The last thing you wanted to do was collect yourself for a party after such a long day.
Sighing to yourself, you throw your bag at the bed, getting yourself ready for the night ahead.
Upon arriving at the party, you’re beginning to realize just how shit parties are when your sober, you early morning presentation holding the two of you captive, locked away from any of the drinks.
Weaving through the flurry of people, you crane your head for even a look of Hyunjin - or any of the boys for that matter, music as loud as the swaying bodies and terrible singing.
“You’re Hyunjins girlfriend right?”
Whipping around to the girl who has tapped your shoulder, you ignore the urge to roll your eyes, Clarissa and her so-called possy knitted together tightly behind you.
If college was high school, these girls would be the “popular group”, the biggest bitches to have ever walked the earth, living proof that people don’t just grow out of wanting to stick their noses into everyone’s business.
“Yeah,” you nod, pulling to the side of the room. “I am.”
She smiles, one of those honey smiles, sticky with fakeness.
“Good. But, you know. I’ve been asking around, and it seems that you two have never actually kissed.”
Is this girl serious?
She’s wasting her time buy inquiring if you and Hyunjin have kissed?
“Just so you know, it’s none of your business.” You tell her, a lie on your tongue. “But yes, we have kissed, in public too, Clarissa.”
“Well that’s a relief,” she sweats, giving you another sugar-coated smile.
“Because there’s a rumour going around at the moment, but I’m glad you can dispel them Y/N.”
“What’s the rumour?”
Hyunjins body is close to yours, hands resting on your shoulders, voice loud as he speaks.
You can almost hear the venom in his words, see how his eyebrows are raised in false interest.
“Oh,” she sighs, eyes flicking to the side before she leans in, hand half-covering her mouth. “People think your fake dating.”
“Well, that’s bullshit and you know it.”
His words are straight to the point, hand taking yours.
“The boys are over here, come on.”
And so you let him whisk your anxious self away, her words fresh in your mind.
Your whole cover could be blown with this one rumour, whether she knows or she doesn’t, you have to make sure she doesn’t let this one slip.
But how? You weren’t quite sure.
Rolling your eyes at your lack of solutions, you shoot a friendly smile at the group, who grow closer with every footfall.
“What the fuck did Clarissa want with you?” It’s out of Felix’s mouth as soon as you’re close enough to here him, a disgruntled groan leaving yours as a response.
“That bad?”
“Worse.” You answer Minho, a hand running through your hair.
“She was telling us that there’s a rumour that we’re fake dating.”
Chan’s eyebrows furrow, the party holder putting his cup down.
“That’s complete bullshit. There’s no rumour.”
You nod in agreement, giving him a half-smile.
“Ah, so that’s why you two have a stalker.”
Jisung is leaning on the counter, cup tilted in the direction of someone, both you and Hyunjin turning to stare down a grinning Clarissa.
This girl was going to be the bane of your soon-to-be hangover.
You groan, quickly plucking up Chan’s abandoned up, and swallowing whatever it’s contents is the boy giving you a surprised look.
“Hey, we’ve got a presentation tomorrow.”
Hyunjin tells you, hand on your shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter. The only way to get rid of Clarissa is to get drunk,” you wiggle your fingers. “Then she’ll magically fade into the distance.”
“Okay okay, You're officially cut off madame. No alcohol for you tonight.” Chan tells you, stealing his cup back, eyes narrow.
You sigh, nodding, Hyunjin patting your back softly.
The conversation drifts, you sitting down on one of the chairs, eyes watching over “Queen Bee” and her crew with a narrowing intensity.
“Hey, stop! Don’t stress about her!” Jisung’s fingers come in front of your face, your gaze going to the boy.
“It’s sort of hard not too.” You whisper, lips tight as your eyes wander around the group.
He gives somewhat of a sympathetic smile.
“I know. But it’s only a few more hours. Don’t stress about it. Everything will go fine tomorrow.”
You take his words with a smile, eyes landing on a quiet Hyunjin who stands across from you, fingers fidgeting with his ring, spinning it around.
Catching his eyes, you stand, wandering to his side.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Concern bubbles in your chest, but you know that now is not the right time to address it, perhaps you’d catch him later and ask again.
“Oh, you’ve never seen them kiss either? How interesting!”
You don’t even bother looking behind you, rolling your eyes at her words.
“Don’t listen to her, She's bullshit.” You tell Hyunjin, eyes landing on the boy.
But now he seems more uncomfortable than before, jaw clenched, eyes avoiding as if he’s weighing up something in his mind.
“Fuck it.”
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he’s turning to you, body close, as his lips touch yours.
You’d always expected that kissing Hyunjin might feel like fireworks or explosions of some kind. But it was neither of those, rather a calmness, a safety net. It felt right. It was as if your world had been spinning around you, but suddenly just fell into place, into a perfect rhythm.
And this was it.
You’re kissing Hwang Hyunjin, your best friend. And nothing would ever be the same again.
___
vii
“Oh, okay.”
Jisung’s comment is all you hear, your eyes wide on Hyunjin, barely focused.
“I’m going to leave now.”
Although it’s clearly shut up Clarissa’s commentary, you can’t quite comprehend the last few seconds, bag slung over your shoulder, back turned to the group as you make your way, quick smart, out of the party.
Your mind screams at you. This was a dealbreaker, a complete and utter violation of what you two had agreed to.
How are you supposed to get up in front of your entire lecture hall in less than 9 hours and blatantly lie about your feelings to the boy standing next to you?
The wind runs up your skin as you walk back to your dorm, heart beating heavily inside your chest, swarming with various emotions.
Anger. Rage. Jealously. Hurt.
You hurt more than anything.
“Y/N!”
You don’t dare slow your pace at the sound of your name, wind-cold, eyes teary.
“Y/N! Hey, wait up!”
He’s closer now, footsteps echoing across the courtyard.
“Wait,” A tug at your arm, stops you completely, body turning to face the boy.
He breathes heavily, eyes focused on you.
“Please wait.”
Somehow, your heart still falters at his whispered words, eyes glued to his even in their watery state.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” He starts.
“No,” you interject, voice cold. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Believe me, Y/N. I know,” he looks around now, letting a small sigh slip through his lips. “But, hell, something just came over me. I don’t know if it’s just the fact I was too immersed in this fake dating business, or if it’s just the timing, but Y/N, you should know I wanted to kiss you.”
You’re silent, eyes downcast.
“And I know that it wasn’t the right time, nor place, but Y/N, I think that I’ve messed this project up entirely because I just can’t keep lying to you, or myself for that matter.”
“What are you saying?” Your words come out a little harsher than you intend, but your bitterness seems to just flow out of your mouth. “That you like me? That you’ve been making up this crummy bullshit excuse of “oh I don’t feel anything for you.”? Do you know how much that hurt me? That I’ve been feeling like absolute shit because I’m holding this burden of the fact I’ve caught feelings for you?”
“No, I-”
You cut him off in an instance.
“This is over, Hwang Hyunjin.”
Turning away, you walk off from the boy, heart hammering in your chest, but he’s quick, arms wrapping around your waist, body pulling you into a back hug, chin pressed against your shoulder.
You’re voice only cracks as you try to scold him, body giving up on fighting his grip.
“I know I’ve ruined everything,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. “But Y/N, I really like you a lot, and I hate seeing you this upset because of me.”
At first, you say nothing, trying to calm the wave of emotions splaying over you.
But that only leaves one remaining, on the rocks, for all to see.
“I like you too.” You manage, letting a small smile slip onto your features.
With the boy pulling away, you turn to face him, no longer boiling with anger nor sadness.
“Can we do this again?” Hyunjin asks eyes lit up in a smile. “I’m Hwang Hyunjin, you’re once fake boyfriend, and certainly an asshole. But, I’d really love to be your real boyfriend, if you’ll allow me to be.”
You crack a wider smile, giving the boy a small laugh.
“But what about our project?”
“Fuck the project, all that matters is you at the moment.”
And with that, he pulls you into another kiss, just as sweet as the first.
Pulling back, you smile up at him, cloud nine flooding your vision.
“Fine, Mr Hwang Hyunjin,” You whisper.
*gasps* I've noticed that you've wrote nothing for Jeonginnie yet so can I request some fluffy fluff with Jeongin please like a first kiss? Or soft cuddles hidigsgis idk
Hi anon!!! Ah ive been waiting for an Innie request!! Thankyou so so much! I hope you enjoy it!! You can find it here! Soft cuddles and first kisses ahead!!!
Summary: As the new year kicks over, you couldn't imagine spending your last few moments of 2019 with any other person.
Genre: Fluff!!
_________________
Sighing to yourself, you throw your apron onto the bench, the clock blinking an electric blue 7.02pm at you.
Another short staffing for the day had left you completely overworked, and underpaid, making it the 4th day in a row you had to pull a 10 hour day.
Another sigh slips through your lips as you left up the mop bucket, attempting to pour it down the sink, however, the bucket slips from the side, causing the dirty water to pour down your uniform.
You groan, nudging the bucket under the sink with your foot, whist your hands ring out the fabric of your shirt.
What a way to end 2019.
Locking the shop up for the new year, you trudge towards your car, texting the group chat that you’re finally on your way.
You had requested for the day off with some new years plans, but your boss had just shrugged them off and called you in any way.
It was meant to be a day full of food, movies and board games, but had turned into a jam-packed day of yelling customers and a coffee-stained shirt.
The wind makes your treck to the dorms a lot more difficult, your knuckles wrapping on the door in a quick knock before your fingers pull the jacket around you tighter.
“Y/N, come inside! It’s freezing out here!”
You smile up at the maknae, slipping past to quickly take off your jacket, shoes and bag in the entryway, the heat of the dorms melting your frozen joints.
“Y/N!” The eldest boy immediately throws his arms around you, warm hands splayed over your back.
“Chan,” You laugh, “There’s no need for a hug.”
He pulls back, eyes now on your clothes.
“You’re soaked! Didn’t you bring a change of clothes?”
“Ah,” you sigh, the little itch in your brain finally going. “That's what I forgot this morning. The bag is on my kitchen bench. I got called in early this morning.”
“You can just borrow some of our clothes for the night,” Jisung tells you, the youngest nodding in agreement. “It’s not a problem.”
“No, no.” your waving hand stops Chan as he moves. “This will dry out eventually, and besides, I’m not working tomorrow, so I can just wash this when I get home.”
Chan shakes his head, hand around your wrist to tug you down the hallway with him.
“Absolutely not. Come on."
Giving the laughing members a pained look, you're pulled completely against your will into one of the bedrooms, further shoved into the bathroom, a unknowns balled t-shirt and sweatpants thrust into your hands in the process.
So you change - rather reluctantly - hanging up your sopping clothes on the rack to dry as you shuffle your way back into the lounge room to join the bundle of bodies amongst the blankets.
Slipping in-between Felix and Jeongin on the couch, you can feel your muscles finally unknotting.
Oh, what a long day it has been.
Jeongin unfolds his blanket, throwing half over you with a small smile, half concentrated on the movie playing on the TV.
You thank him silently with a smile, snuggling into the fluff, fingers reaching for your phone.
9.15pm.
Only 3 hours and 45 minutes left till midnight.
Ever since you were little, you had always stayed up to midnight with your family, counting down the hours, the minutes, the seconds.
It was a tradition, that had spread to your friends as you got older.
But this year, for the first time in your entire life, you honestly weren’t sure you were going to make it to midnight.
Another movie is switched on the instance this one ends, your mind barely engaged with the screen, eyes blankly staring at the TV.
“Y/N,”
Your blank stare moves towards Jeongin and Jisung, who are staring at you enthusiastically.
“What’s your new year's resolution?”
You laugh bittersweetly at Jisung.
“To find a new job.”
The boy frowns.
“You’re still hating it?"
Nodding, you look from Jisung to Jeongin, sighing tiredly.
“Management keeps calling me in, and I end up staying back to close into the night alone. I know that I should just keep the extra staff there, but as their supervisor, I don’t want to keep them behind that long,” you sigh again, looking towards the TV.
“I hate my shitty job.”
You’re certainly not expecting them to say anything, but yourself surprised when Jeongin puts his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into a tight hug.
And you stay in his embrace for the rest of the night.
You feel fuzzy, sleepy.
It's like his embrace has put your mind to bed completely.
You don’t even realise your eyes are closed until you feel a sharp poke in your cheek.
Shrugging it off, you give a small groan, body shifting to rest your head on something.
It comes again. Then again. Then again.
Ripping open your eyes, you’re met with the grey fabric of a hoodie.
Eyes adjusting to the light of the room, you pull back from the shoulder of the boy, finally meeting the smiling eyes of the maknae.
“Oh, sorry,” you whisper, pulling away from the boy completely.
He presses a finger to his lips, gesturing to the room.
The majority of the boys have fallen asleep by the looks of things, a headphone-d Minho and Changbin exceptions - their fingers tapping along to a beat of a song, although their eyes are closed.
“Come with me.”
You let Jeongin pill you up, hand in his as he guides you across the mass of bodies in the living area, lead to the small balcony outside.
“Woah.” you gape as the door slides closed behind you.
The skyline is lit up in dotted lights, the dark sky melting into the lights of the city in the most spectacular fashion.
“The fireworks are always amazing from up here,” Jeongin tells you, eyes looking at the scene over the railing. “Every year we always come out here and celebrate.”
“It’s beautiful.” you marvel, leaning on the railing now, eyes wide as your hands cross over your arms to shield them from the wind.
A soft fabric drops onto your shoulders, making you turn to look at the boy.
“You looked cold,” he tells you, securing a button so the jacket covers your arms.
You smile lightly as a thank you, turning back to view the city lights, hoping that the boy couldn’t see the blush on your cheeks.
“I’m really happy to be here with you guys,” you say, letting out a chilly breath.
“And I’m happy you’re here.”
His response surprises you, something he’d been doing all night. It made your heart swell most sincerely.
As your eyes grazed over him, you noted new things you hadn’t noticed before - the way he smiled, the way his eyes curved, that his cheeks went slightly pink in the cold.
“There's not long left till midnight,” he tells you, eyes splayed on the horizon. “You should stare at the city, not at me.”
“I can’t help it,” you slip, eyes wide as soon as the words leave your mouth. “Holy shit I am so sorry. I did not mean to say that."
He only smiles at this, fingers slipping over the railing as he turns to look at you.
“You know, there's a certain tradition on new years.”
You’re good at masking your shock to his words, rather raising your eyebrow instead.
“And what’s that exactly?”
“Oh, you know.” Jeongin muses, the smile on his features growing larger. “You know what. I’ll just show you. It normally happens in the last 3 seconds of the year.”
The shouts have started, loud and clear as everyone starts the countdown from ten.
“Ten. Nine. Eight.”
“I guess I won’t have to wait long then.” You say, looking out at the lights, the yells of the city below almost projected in the cities brightness.
“Seven. Six. Five. Four.”
Jeongin grabs your hand, making you turn to him, the boy getting closer by the millisecond.
“Three. Two. One. Happy new year!”
And just like that, your lips are pressed against the boys, the kiss as sweet as the view.
You hear the fireworks overhead, their bright colours illuminating behind your eyelids.
“Guys! It’s midnight!”
Chan rips open the screen door, causing you and Jeongin to jump apart, eyes wide as they zero in on a cocky Chan standing at the door.
Loud cheers erupt from inside, the remaining 6 boys spilling out onto the balcony to see the bright fireworks.
You turn towards them too, putting one hand on the railing.
The boy moves a little closer, his hand taking yours into its embrace, warm against the wind.
You can see him, eyes beaming, smile wide as he watches the fireworks, their colours illuminating him in an ethereal light.
He points to the sky, nudging you with his shoulder.
“Watch the fireworks, not me.”
You open your mouth to reply, but the boy cuts you off.
“You have all of 2020 to look at me. But these fireworks will only last 15 minutes.”
With a nervous smile, you turn your eyes back to the lit sky, watching with wide eyes as the thrilling fireworks pulse through the sky.
“2020 off to a fleeting start hey?”
Chan’s voice comes from behind you both, his arms thrown over both of your shoulders.
You both watch him, wide eyes, estranging nervous glances.
“Don’t worry you two, I won’t tell. But I totally knew this would happen.”
Hey, first off all : could I be anon 🏳️🌈 ?? + could you do an au where seungmins best friend do there outing by him but seungmin have feelings so he feel a bit struggling but after all he support her when her girlfriend break up ?? Ofc,only if you feel comfortable to write it. 🥺💗
Hi there 🏳️🌈 anon!! You can find this au here!! I’m sorry for the delay with the writing!! This au was a little tricky for me to write so I do hope its okay, as I know its a little short (again i am sorry, i am not used to writing with this type of theme!) I do hope you enjoy though!! Thankyou so much for the request!! xx
You were withdrawing. It was simple to say the least.
You felt awkward every time the boy would hold your hand, or press a kiss to your cheek.
You weren’t sure you were always this way with him, you were sure you’d loved him, that part of you would always perhaps love him.
But the other part of you knew all too well.
Fiddling with your ring you can spot the boy right away in the booth on the far side of the cafe, his hair bright in the sunlight, eyes kind to any passerby.
Your fiddling turns to unease when he spots you, standing to greet you with that large smile of his.
“Hey! I’m glad you came! What would you like to drink, my treat!”
Perhaps it’s his cheeriness, or the fact that some guilty part of you felt that you really couldn’t keep stringing the boy along anymore, but it spills over your lips like word vomit, hands shaking in obscure nervousness and anticipation.
“Seungmin, we need to break up.”
He freezes, eyes wide as he stares at you, taking in your words. “W-What?”
Biting down on your lip, you mumble an apology, eyes avoiding his as they pool with tears.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He seems to collapse down onto the seat, eyes mirroring the glassiness of your own.
“Why,” he exhales in a single breath, looking up at you now. “Is it me?”
“No it’s me.” you immediately sit down across from him, grabbing his hands in your own tightly. “It’s me.”
His tears pull at your heartstrings as they fall, body faltering at just the sight of the broken boy in front of you.
“Seungmin,” You whisper, unable to contain your emotions. “I love you. I do. But I’m... I’m...”
You take a breath. “I’m not attracted to men.”
He’s directly looking at you now, expression something unreadable, hands pulling away from yours.
“Did you just come out to me?”
“I think so.”
Seungmin nods for a few seconds, seemingly processing your words. You fidget nervously, watching him for some sort of an answer.
But then he smiles, a ray of sunshine in the darkness.
“I’m glad you trust me.”
“You're not angry?” You ask, eyes wide.
He shakes his head. “Of course not. I’ll support you no matter what, you know that right?”
You’re not sure what comes over you, but you almost can’t control your emotions, slumping in your seat as tears stream down your cheeks.
“Thankyou.” You whisper, clinging to his shirt as he comes to sit next to you, arms closing around you.
“You have my unconditional love and support,” he tells you. “Please know that.”
“Seungmin, you’re the best person I’ve ever met.”
You can feel his smile beaming through his hug, arms tight around your body.
You can’t quite help the feeling of calmness that goes over you.
Despite all this, Seungmin’s reassuring hug reminds you that no matter what, you’re always going to be safe in his arms.
You’re always going to be safe with him by your side.
