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Genre: Angst/Ex-Lovers/Idol Life
Warnings: Minor 14+ language used at times
Words/Pictures: 1.5k+
Member of @eighteez-net
You leave everything and everyone you love to hide away for three years.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | ...
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Authors Note: This is a fictitious LIVE chat scenario. In no way did this chat actually happen. I made it all up. I thought a chapter like this would be fun. Hope you all enjoy!
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The LIVE Chat
Hi!
Hi!
Hi oppa!
San oppa is live
Sannie!
Hi
You look so handsome oppa!
Hi
Hi!
Hmm.. Hello everyone.
Hi oppa
Oppa looks so cute
I love you San oppa!
Hi
I feel tired but you’re online now so I feel refreshed
I’m studying for my exams. Please send some encouragement T^T
Hi!
Hellooo San!
Hi
Hello
Oh, yeah a lot of you in high school have final exams soon. I wish you luck! Study hard and you’ll pass. Wait a minute, why are you watching this LIVE? Hmm… I guess taking a break now and again is good for your brain. But make sure you stay focused later! Don’t waste your future because of me.
Oppa is more important!
Hellooo!
I want to watch San oppa. I could watch you all day
Oppa you look so handsome
Oppa looks sleepy
How do you feel today?
Hi!
Hello
Is San oppa working on a comeback?
I love you oppa!
I’m doing pretty good. I just finished a schedule so I’ll have some free time for the next couple weeks. Perfect time to speak with atiny’s. How are you all doing?
I’m so happy oppa!
I’m happy because oppa is LIVE tonight!
San oppa was so sexy performing on the awards stage!
Oppa looks handsome tonight..
San is LIVE!
Where are the other members?
Hi!
Oppa, who do you like more? Wooyoung or Yeosang?
Haha, thank you. I rehearsed a lot for that stage. All of us did. Captain really wanted to leave a shocking impression on the audience, not just on atiny. So he asked me if I was comfortable with showing my abs. Wooyoungie too. He worked really hard to sculpt his body for this performance.
WooSan is the best!
I loved the performance.. So sexy..
Yeah, I was glad we didn’t run into any issues this time around. We’ve had performances where our mic’s turned off or there were some minor technical issues despite rehearsals going well. We were all really glad there were no problems this time around. We all just kinda had fun with it too. It was fun. I hope it was fun for atiny too.
It was the best performance of the night!
Ateez always rock the house!
Oppa is so handsome tonight
San oppa hi!
My bias is online
Ateez was robbed of the best album award!
I want to marry you oppa!
Hi
Atiny always have fun with your performances
No, don’t think that way. I think the artist that won the award was deserving of it.
It’s okay oppa! Atiny still love you guys
Ateez deserved to win
Helloooo
Oppa, if you were a flavor of cereal what flavor would you be?
I think all the artists nominated were incredible and all deserving, but there’s only one award… and y/n sunbaenim’s album was just really amazing. I actually took a listen to it and was very moved by her story. I hope atiny will take the chance to hear it as well. Many global fans might not know this, but y/n sunbaenim’s comeback hit big here. Her music continues to play everywhere you go. As much as I wished it was Ateez, she clearly earned that win.
I take ateez recs seriously. I shall listen to her album soon!
I wish ATEEZ won
I think the reason her music speaks to so many of us is because she’s very honest in her lyrics. It really sounds like she’s speaking with you directly. If you’ve gone through what she has… feelings of loneliness or sadness… I think you’ll really love her music. It was really nice to see LYRA sunbaenim reunite on the big stage as well. It was a shock to many of us to see their former member join them on stage. They were five again for one night. I’m sure they felt really happy. They’ve been in the industry for ten years now. I always hope we’ll stay as eight forever and have a ten year stage too. Twenty… Thirty… Forty.
Oppa!
Ateez will be grandpa’s dancing on stage
Sannie where’s everyone else?
San oppa looks so sexy tonight, my heart is stolen
Hahahaha yeah could you imagine? All of us with grey hair, still performing our songs for atiny. Although, we probably wouldn’t be dancing anymore. Some of us might not have hair anymore either. Hahaha, maybe Wooyoung would be bald. No no, I think if anyone, it would be Hongjoong Hyung. He stresses a lot as captain. It’s partly our fault… He makes it easier on the rest of us but we make sure to take care of him too. I think we’ll all still be well and hairy then.
Please don’t go bald
I’ll still love Oppa when he’s bald
I love you San!
Oppa looks a little sad today
San, please marry me
I look sad?
Don’t listen! Oppa looks handsome
San oppa don’t be sad!
Are you sad?
I’m just sleepy I think.
San is LIVE? I’m late!
You should get some sleep oppa..
Hi
Maybe I am a little sad, I guess.
Oh no, why is oppa sad?
Atiny love and support you!
Don’t feel sad Oppa!
Truthfully… I am a bit sad these days but not as much as I was initially. I… had a friend that I was very close with. We spoke often and hung out a lot but then one day he told me he didn’t want to be friends anymore. I knew he was going through a hard time… I tried to support him. I wanted him to reach out to me, lean on me, but he decided to stop talking to me. He blocked my number so I couldn’t reach out to him either. It hurt a lot. I think anyone who has experienced this knows how heartbreaking this can be. I was thinking maybe there was something wrong with me. Maybe I said or did something wrong that made my friend only want to leave me. I learned he was still speaking to his other friends. I saw him hanging out with them. I was trying my best to be very understanding but there was still this pain of feeling abandoned, you know? Why was I left behind? Why was he still talking to everyone else, but not me? It made me feel like I lacked something. He couldn’t tell me what he was feeling… I think it was just easier for him to leave. To be honest, I understand him. I do… I’m not angry anymore. I was before, but not anymore. I wish he had stayed but I understand why he thought it was better to leave. When you’re in the state of mind he was in… maybe still is… you will believe whatever your mind tells you, right? I think he believed that I hated him… believed that he was weighing me down. But I never felt that way. I sometimes wonder if he’ll see my LIVE one day. If he does, I would want to tell him… hmm… I would want to say to him that… you were never a burden to me. Never. I really loved our friendship. I still think about you to this day. I thought I was fine with you out of my life, but when I happened to run into you recently, I was really happy… but also really sad. It made me realize I still wish we were… friends again. But you looked scared to see me. I think you were afraid I was still upset with you. I promise I’m not. I hope the next time I’m fortunate to run into you again, you’ll be able to look at me confidently. I hope we’re able to have a conversation like we used to… and it just feels like we haven’t caught up in a while. I would tell you… that I miss you. You were a great part of my life.
Oppa sounds so romantic
It sounds like you’re confessing your love to him
What’s wrong with confessing love to a friend? Hahaha I’m just kidding. I feel a little better getting this off my chest now. I don’t think he’ll see this… but it’s okay to hope, isn’t it?
I hope your friend sees this
I can be oppa’s friend!
You don’t need him
We support San oppa
May Oppa and his friend reunite one day
It’s okay, you have your members! They’re your best friends
That’s so sad… sometimes I miss my friend too. I hope oppa will be happy with his friend again. And your friend is healthier now
Yeah… sorry, I brought the mood down haha… Thank you for hearing me out but I think it’s best we move onto something more fun, don’t you all agree? Did you see that video of Yeosang and I? Someone caught Yeosangie gazing at me when I wasn’t paying attention. AH! I wish I noticed but I’m glad there’s proof out there that he loves me too–”
I stood at my window, pulling the curtain just enough to peek outside. I’m not surprised it’s raining today. Though it’s only mist. Not like I had anywhere to be. Everyone was gone to visit their families for Chuseok. It’s not like it matters. It’s not like I have any friends to miss.
I let the curtain fall back into place and moved about my dark little room. I heard the sound of crinkling paper and the crunch of chips underneath my wool feet.
My brother would hate to see this.
“Maybe I should clean up.”
I let out a deep sigh before walking a couple steps over to my sink. I bent down to rummage through the cleaning supplies. I didn’t know what half this stuff was. Detergent, brushes, gloves, dish soap, sponges, toilet paper—just so much stuff. I only needed a bag.
“Maybe turn a light on.”
I don’t want to.
“Open up the curtains.”
I don’t want to.
“How do you expect to look around in this place? Do you plan to live in the dark your whole life—?”
Shut up!
My foot throbbed where I had kicked it.
So what if I do? So what? What’s it to you or anybody how I choose to live? I don’t care. Neither do you.
Don’t pretend any different.
“Screw it.”
I walked back towards my futon and laid down on my side. I heard a sound from my pocket and pulled out my phone. It was the class group chat. Messages of Chuseok. Pictures of everyone’s families. I ignored them all until I saw one that caught my eye.
“Happy Chuseok everyone! Oppa and I are dressed to a T!” - Mirae
Mirae. That was the girl who was always looking at me funny in class. She was always with that other girl. The quiet one who gave me a tour of the school. The one with the entourage who mistook me for a bully.
A bully…
At least they apologized.
I looked at the pictures, scrolling through the chat. She hadn’t posted anything. Not that she had to, but… I don’t know. I can’t help but wonder if she knew. If anyone else did too. If that was why. Was her Chuseok…?
Why do I care? She’s just some girl in my class.
But…
“Her? That’s y/n’s sister I think. I see them walking home together sometimes with that second year basketball hot shot. Why? Did you hear something?”
She just…
“Hyung…” I spoke out loud, “I met someone who reminds me of you. She’s quiet and seems timid. There are times she lets people speak over her.”
I was guilty of that too.
“It’s not my place but…”
I turned off my phone, looking at my reflection on the black screen. I spoke quietly, just for myself to hear.
Author's Note: This was Wooyoung's POV to lead us into another brief hiatus for the first part of this long series. Because the coming chapters are going to be longer, I will need some time to write them. So, I'm hoping the next scheduled update is Sunday, August 2nd the latest! I may post sooner if all goes well.
Genre: Angst/Ex-Lovers/Idol Life
Warnings: Heartache, Themes of Depression, Crying
Words/Pictures: 2k+
Member of @eighteez-net
You leave everything and everyone you love to hide away for three years.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | ...
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Authors's Note: Y'all are gonna read some poor lyrics and fanchants and pretend they're the most sensational combination of letters ever put together lol
Thank you! And thank you for reading!
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The Comeback
First it was her Instagram. She opened up her own and posted an image that shocked a lot of fans. With LYRA, she had normally been styled to carry the image of a youthful innocence. Nobody had seen this side of her before. A side that was more mature, adult, some would even consider provocative, but to those who knew her it was still y/n. She had always been more than just one version of herself. A caption that simply read “I’m home” was written underneath. Her comments were flooded with support. She was back online. He had wanted to leave something too. Something to tell her that he was happy to see her again.
Then it was the interview. She said she was doing better these days. She was still speaking to her former members. He was glad to know that. He had worried if she had left everyone, or if it had just been him. He never felt close enough to the girls to ask. She still spoke to them. It made sense. She had known them longer. She had known them differently. He knew that. He told himself to be happy about that. At least she wasn’t alone. She had pushed him away, but at least… she wasn’t alone. She spoke about her upcoming solo debut, about her process, about the tracks. He was proud of her. He wanted to tell her that. He wished he could tell her that. All the undelivered texts in his phone told him it wasn’t a good idea.
She spoke about one track, an exclusive track. Mountain Rain. Mountain…
I had someone in my life that I hurt pretty badly… …if this song somehow finds its way to him…
He bought the album in secret but his team knew he’d do this. The others knew what this meant to him. Hongjoong didn’t push him that day. Wooyoung offered to accompany him, but he wanted to be alone with this. He wanted to hear it alone. He stood in an empty practice room and slipped the CD into a stereo.
Track 1. Introduction.
He heard the ocean, the sound of feet walking on sand, a slow cello and then the soft humming of her voice before she began to speak. A voice he hadn’t heard in years. She talked about the waves, how they looked so calm that night and how the sand below her feet felt so comforting that she wanted to sink into it. She didn’t sound happy but she didn’t sound sad either. He knew from her tone that she was smiling. She had to be smiling. There was a soft laugh. She spoke of regret, the orchestra picked up, of sadness, of a pain so unbearable at times that she wished the ocean in front of her would wash her away. Then she said she was lucky, grateful, the music softened, blessed that she wasn’t given up on. She spoke of the moon and saw herself as someone without a light of her own, until the warmth of her ‘sun’, of her ‘stars’, made her radiate an incredible glow. Slow keys of the piano jumped with the quiet waves. She felt lighter. She felt more at ease. For that, she wanted to say ‘thank you’.
Then he heard her sing.
He felt his knees getting weak. He stood against the wall and let himself slip away until he sat crouched with his head between his legs.
“Heavy silence was all I knew.
The days around me began to feel blue.
Until I had found my way back to
the home that has always been you.”
He felt an ache in his chest.
“The home that has always been you.”
His throat began to feel tight.
“San, you know… you have a way of… I don’t know… I just feel at home when I’m with you. You have that way… of making me feel safe.”
Safe. She had told him before that he made her feel safe. Yet…
‘Mountain Rain’, a song she said she wrote specifically for him. He skipped to that track and listened to it with his eyes closed. He heard every word she sang, every reach in her voice, every breath she took.
It was unfair, he thought.
It was unfair the pain she had carried all these years.
The tears just poured down. He buried his face into his hands.
He didn’t hear the door open. He didn’t care whose hands were on him, whose voice was trying to speak to him over her song.
“San…”
“It’s okay. We’re here for you, San.”
“Let yourself feel everything.”
There was an embrace and a silent understanding. They had all trickled in one by one and sat with him as he listened to her voice. He cried at the memories. The one thing he understood the most was how fortunate she must have felt for the bond she had with her members. Because he felt the same with his boys.
Her music video for ‘You’ was everywhere. Her fans weren’t the only ones going crazy over her debut. Multiple songs were hitting number one on the charts, and none more so than ‘Mountain Rain’. Every radio station featured her music, always requested by a listener. Celebrities kept mentioning y/n when asked about their latest playlists. She was on nearly every pop culture headline.
“The quiet idol who made her extraordinary return.”
Y/N was the hot topic for weeks, despite no proper promotion or appearances after her debut. It was at her request, as her company stated, that she only planned to release her music and nothing else. No matter how much he had hoped to run into her at music shows or promotional activities, it just wasn’t going to happen. He hadn’t seen her in nearly three years. Why would he run into her now, especially when she made it clear she would never allow that to happen?
“To protect his peace, I would avoid him at all costs.”
Then came the awards.
Ateez walked the red carpet just before them.
LYRA.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
That was it. Only four members showed up and took photos together. Of course. She had left. They had been continuing on as four for so long now. She was solo now. He shouldn’t have felt as disappointed as he did, but he did. He still hoped there was a chance to run into her on the carpet. Afterall, she had been nominated for a few categories. That hope followed him when he went to head into the building. He sat down with his group and scanned all the other idol groups and solo acts present.
He never saw her. His hope had started to diminish. He sat through each performance and speech with performed enthusiasm. Every time his face would slip back into disappointment, he was nudged out of concern. Every time he would shake his head to say he was okay and go back to waving at the fans who called his name. The awards continued. Her categories hadn’t been announced yet.
“Congratulations to the rookie artist of the year!”
There was applause. The hosts waited to continue.
“Ten years ago, our next performers had also made their debut! Tonight, they celebrate their tenth anniversary here on stage by giving you an incredible performance of their biggest hits! Give it up for your former rookie artists of the year, LYRA!”
He watched the girls women appear on the stage. They started with their more recent songs that only featured the four of them. Other groups were genuinely enjoying the show. Fans of various fandoms were screaming out their names. His members were cheering and nodding their heads along to the music, so he tried to do the same. The fanchant grew loud.
“Lune! Halo! Vega! And Astra! These are the stars that make up LYRA!”
Two songs had finished and Sooyoung, Lune, spoke to the audience as they calmed down.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Say that again?!”
The audience grew louder.
“Lune! Halo! Vega! And Astra! These are the stars that make up LYRA!”
Sooyoung’s face on the screen didn’t look too impressed. She asked the audience to try again and they screamed the chant one more time.
“Hmm… I think the audience needs some help. Wouldn’t you agree, girls?” Sooyoung asked the other members and they agreed in unison.
“Maybe we need to remind them how the chant is supposed to go,” Kai spoke into her mic.
“Yeah. We have Lune!” Sooyoung posed for the audience and they cheered for her.
“We have Halo!” The audience cheered for Eunji.
“We have Vega!” Kai bellowed and laughed.
“We have Astra!” Yubin smiled and waved.
The audience cheered for the girls and then Sooyoung said something that made the crowd tense up with anticipation.
“And?!”
The lights turned off, setting the whole building into a frenzy.
“We have Nova!”
His heart nearly dropped when he heard her voice shouting into a mic. The audience screamed as the middle of the stage was lit and y/n appeared from beneath the stage. She stood tall and greeted everybody with a huge smile. He tried to hide the shock on his face.
“These are the stars that make up LYRA!” Sooyoung screamed and their debut song began to play.
Everyone stood up. Wooyoung pulled him up with him. He watched them dance, sing and laugh on stage with y/n. She looked happy. She genuinely looked so happy to be up there. The girls were happy. The fans were happy.
He was so happy to finally see her again. He danced with Wooyoung and laughed when he heard Seonghwa shouting the lyrics.
They performed three songs together before ending their stage and bowing to a standing ovation. His heart was pounding as he watched her walk off with her former group. They made their line back to their seats with y/n right behind them. His heartbeat grew louder as everything else went quiet. He couldn’t feel his hands clapping. He couldn’t get his eyes to focus on anyone else but her. Everything started to slow down. She bowed to everyone who greeted them before they sat down. She smiled at everyone.
She got closer to him.
He felt his breath catch in his throat.
Her eyes found him.
He stared at her as if it was the first time he’d ever seen her.
As if he had never seen someone so beautiful before.
Her smile fell.
Her eyes looked away.
He felt his heart ache, screaming at her to look at him again.
“...I would avoid him at all costs…”
She greeted the eight of them and sat with her girls, at the furthest spot away from him.
“San?”
“I’m good, Wooyoung.”
He wasn’t and Wooyoung knew that. His heart was sinking. He tried his best to not look her way for the rest of the show. She did her best to only look ahead. She did her best to only look at her girls when she went up to accept her awards.
She thanked everyone who stayed with her.
What about me?
She thanked everyone who gave her a second chance.
What about me?
She thanked everyone who showed her love.
What about me?
“And… to the one who inspired the biggest song on my album. I want to thank you the most.”
The crowd went crazy. They wanted to know who this man was.
“Without you, I wouldn’t be here today accepting this award.”
He watched her intently but her eyes looked anywhere else.
“If you’re watching…”
I am.
“I truly hope you’re doing well.”
She did her best to keep her head down when she came back to sit down. He did his best to smile and clap for her. She wanted him to be well. She wanted him to be happy.
She wanted him to be happy, without her.
But he…
“I’m not well, Wooyoung.”
Wooyoung looked at him and seemed to contemplate something.
“I could go for some drinks after this,” he said, “I’ll stay up with you for as long as you need.”
“Thanks.”
He still loved her.
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Tag List: @candied-czennie
If anyone else wishes to be added, I don't mind :)
Genre: Angst/Ex-Lovers/Idol Life
Warnings: Indirect mentions of mental health and heartbreak
Words/Pictures: 2.3k+
Member of @eighteez-net
You leave everything and everyone you love to hide away for three years.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | ...
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The following is a fictitious interview. To give the vibe of an idol romance, I thought it would be fun to have a chapter like this. Thank you for reading.
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The Interview
Having debuted at the age of sixteen as ‘Nova’, former LYRA member—y/n—has decided to redebut as a solo artist after a near three year hiatus. Her debut solo album, L/N Y/N, is set to release this week. Here at AFTERLIGHT, I was lucky to get an early listen to the full album and an interview with y/n on her creative process. We shared some laughs and positive thoughts, a few tears as some moments got heavier. Y/N got candid about her time away from the spotlight, discussing the difficulties of youth, health struggles, support from her loved ones and her hopes for the future.
Thank you for joining us today, y/n. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us here at AFTERLIGHT.
Thank you for having me.
How are you feeling? I take it must be hard to adjust back into your routine after being away for so long.
Hmm… I think I’m doing okay, all things considered.
Take your time settling in. I think many fans, myself included, didn’t expect your hiatus to extend for as long as it did. It’s been three years since you last made an appearance, right?
Yes, it’s been about three years. I went on a hiatus in July of 2023. I had no intention of being gone for that long. I didn’t think it would lead to a departure from my team—my sisters—either. It was just something that needed to happen for me. I needed a longer break and we all decided, LYRA and our company, that it was best for me to depart so I could solely focus on my health without holding back the other girls.
I remember the articles at the time when the statement was released. Fans had many theories online since there had been no sightings of you with the girls after that for three years. I guess that leads me to ask how was your relationship with LYRA during that time?
It’s very easy to make assumptions about people we don’t know, isn’t it? I’m guilty of it myself. You know, I debuted with LYRA when I was sixteen years old. I was the second youngest, next to Yubin. You all know her as Astra. She was the closest member to me in the group mostly because of our age. We shared a bedroom in our dorm for the first three years. I still speak with her regularly even if we don’t meet up often. Sooyoung was our eldest sister, sometimes our mother with how much care she had for us. She would take the couch when we didn’t have enough room in our early years, just so the rest of us could sleep better. She was only eighteen when we debuted. Kai and Eunji were both seventeen. We were all young and around the same age. The five of us had the same experiences of idol life. I think those two factors made it really easy for us to bond as much as we did. That’s not something that can be broken in my opinion. I never left the group because of differences or any bullying. I want to clear that part up. We may have fought like sisters do, but I never experienced any negative intentions from them. I’ve never been jealous of them and I’ve never felt any jealousy from them either. There just wasn’t any room for it. It matters a lot to me that the public knows this. We all still support each other behind the scenes. They really tried to get me to stay. It was hard on all of us, but it was just the best decision for me to depart. So now, without Sooyoung, Yubin, Eunji and Kai, I don’t think I would’ve had the confidence to return to music.
You speak so highly of the girls, it’s incredible to hear how much love there is between you all. As a fan from day one, I’m glad to hear the rumours of ‘bad blood’ were baseless. It’s refreshing when members genuinely care for one another.
I understand not everyone will feel the same about their teams. This is a job after all. I don’t want to discredit those who want to behave in a more professional manner, but I truly have such a tremendous amount of love for my girls.
I can assume you wrote a song to express that love for them? You’re smiling a lot as I ask.
We’ll just have to get to that part.
Of course. So, let’s speak about your upcoming solo debut. How were you feeling about making your return to music?
In all honesty, I was quite scared to come back for many reasons. I’m no longer ‘Nova of LYRA’. I’m debuting as ‘Y/N’ this time. Just myself. I wasn’t sure if anyone would care for my solo activity. I’m with a new label. I have a concept that’s so far from what I was known for. But when I posted the first few pictures on my social media and saw the response, it did help ease some anxiety. To see that people were excited to have me back… I’m still not confident about the results but I know I have a strong team behind me. Especially Sooyoung, who pushed me to do this album. She’s a leader for a reason. If not for my LYRA sisters, my family, I’m not sure this project would’ve been possible.
I, for one, am very curious for the public to hear your new sound and see how they react. You mentioned it yourself about having a very different concept. Your solo debut might not be what fans of LYRA are used to, even having the title as just your full name. What do you hope for when your album is released?
Well, for one, my debut album is titled “L/N Y/N” because I wanted to reintroduce myself. Fans were only introduced to Nova, a younger version of me that fit our debut concept. I’ve been away for so long and a lot has changed. I’ve grown up a lot. Even when I was in LYRA, I wasn’t the same person at twenty three as I was when I was sixteen. I never really got the opportunity to share any side of me that wasn’t always so bright, positive or mischievous. It’s not to say I wasn’t those things, just… not everything was going great all the time. I had a lot of moments of self doubt, moments of anger or frustration, moments of severe anxiety to the point where I ended up leaving the group. I wanted to be able to share the part of me that struggled, and still struggles, but felt that I couldn’t speak up until now. So, I hope those who listen to my first album will leave those images of my ‘Nova’ self aside and just come in with an open mind. I want those listening to know that pain is a part of life and it’s okay. We don’t have to bury it away and push through life as though it doesn't exist. I’m still doing my best to break that habit. I just want my fans and anyone else who may be struggling to know that they’re not alone and it’s okay to ask for help. That being said, I also made sure to include a song similar to what ‘Nova’ would love called “Galaxy”. As well as a couple songs that I hope are more fun to play. I don’t want to forget ‘Nova’. I just want ‘Y/N’ to have her chance now.
Let’s go through each track on your album then. You have ten tracks listed, plus a bonus song that’s only available to those who purchase your physical album. How would you describe each one to those waiting for the release?
Yes, so, track one is just an introduction–a monologue actually. I wanted to take the time to speak to those who waited for me. My family, my friends, the fans. I wanted to start off with gratitude to those who were willing to give me a second chance. Hwang Hyun, the main composer for this album, blended the outro of my monologue into the intro of the second track titled “You”, which is actually the title track for my solo debut. I wrote “You” as an open ended ballad because the message in it felt like it was for every person who stood by me. “The Woods” is a song I wrote about my state of mind during the three years away. “A.W.W.” which is abbreviated for “Am”, “Was” and “Will Be”. I was lucky to work with a pop legend on the track “Back To You”, a more lighthearted track that focuses more on performance. “Our Youth”—I see you smiling now—is a song I wrote for my debut sisters. “Galaxy” and “Dust” are more fun and what fans of LYRA may enjoy most. “Clockwork” shifts the listener back into the mood set for my album before the final track “Lost in Space” which is an instrumental. A lot of people worked really hard to make this album happen, which is also why I’m very nervous about the reception. But I’m also glad I did this, regardless of the outcome.
I may be biased but, after listening to the album myself, I’m sure many listeners and fans will truly love the work you put into each song. The album felt very raw, not just with your slower more poetic tracks but with your more upbeat songs as well. I really felt as though I got to meet Y/N for the first time, not the carefully crafted Nova that we’ve known for so long.
Thank you for your kind words.
I had a question regarding your bonus track, which I’ll mention again is only available with the physical copies. The track is called “Mountain Rain”. Maybe it’s because it’s an exclusive track, but I found it to be the most beautiful song on your album. The depth of the lyrics and the way the music pulled at my heartstrings—I’ll admit I cried while listening to your voice. I felt the ache. Are you willing to share the inspiration for this masterpiece? I see that you're hesitant. We don’t have to discuss it.
No it’s okay. This song was the most difficult for me to write, yet it was the fastest song recorded in the studio. I think it’s because it felt like the most important song for me to get out there, but… the reason I kept it exclusive is because—truthfully—I’m a coward. I had someone in my life that I hurt pretty badly and… it wasn’t just a one time thing. I was struggling a lot with my health and he was very patient with me but I couldn’t stop hurting him. I was cruel. I knew he wouldn’t leave me, it wasn’t in him to leave when I was already so weak, so I pushed him away instead. It was hard. Extremely hard. But it was best for him to be free… away from someone causing him so much pain.
Sounds like a first love.
Oh, like you wouldn’t believe.
Do you still think of him, or rather do you hope he will hear this song?
Who doesn’t think of the person they shared their first experience of love with? In all honesty, I do think of him because there’s a lot that I was very grateful for but a lot that I still feel so sorry about. I was really lacking a lot in that relationship. I will always feel guilty for pulling him down. I want to hope that he is doing better these days. If this song somehow finds its way to him… I hope he will hear how sorry I still am. I hope… he knows that I wish for nothing but his happiness. He was nothing but the best… to the worst version of myself.
Well, I hope he does get the opportunity to hear your song. There may be a chance to reconnect, maybe even rekindle the love you both had–assuming you're both single.
I had a feeling this interview would head in that direction.
Sorry, but you’ve peaked that interest.
Yeah, well love is a beautiful human connection. It can both create and destroy. I don’t have anyone in my life if that’s what you were hoping to hear. But… I have no interest in reconnecting with him. I’m in a better place than I was before, but I don’t want to make the same mistakes again. I don’t want to hurt him again. It’s best for us to leave us where we left off. I want him, if he hasn’t already, to find someone better–far better than I ever was to him. Because, to me, he deserves only the best.
So if you ever ran into him, would you speak to him?
No. To protect his peace, I would avoid him at all costs.
Wow. What a level of consideration for someone you once shared a special connection with. I’m sure many will be very curious to know who this exceptional man is. The man who inspired, in my opinion, one of the greatest songs of love to come out this year. I really thank you for coming here to speak to us about your upcoming solo debut. If you have any final words, you may share them.
Thank you again for having me. I have always enjoyed speaking with the staff of AFTERLIGHT. My debut album comes out this week. Please look out for it and I hope you all enjoy it.
Author's Note: I want to preface that I'm not sure how the education system works in Korea. I tried to research it but every page gave me different information. Then I remembered, this is all fiction. So I went more by my school experience instead. In case anyone goes "this makes no sense". Just enjoy the lame writing lol
Jung Wooyoung was making his way towards me. I hadn’t seen him in days and the last I did, he had been quite certain of us not being friends. I instinctively grabbed onto Yunho’s sleeve.
“Hey, Wooyoung. Feeling ready for the midterms?” Yunho asked him. Wooyoung seemed to stop in place, as if caught off guard. He didn’t answer Yunho though. Instead, he brought his attention back to me.
“My beanie.”
“O-oh, yeah, sorry,” I had forgotten all about that, “I-I meant to give it back the next day but you weren’t here.”
I reached into my bag to pull it out for him. He took it from me but avoided all eye contact when he said ‘thank you’. He didn’t put it on. I watched his hands grip his beanie hard and twist it as though he was trying to wring it dry. I wasn’t sure if he was hoping for anything else.
“We are not friends.”
That’s right. I watched as he turned to leave us. I had to keep reminding myself of his words. But, I couldn’t help wondering…
“Hey, Wooyoung,” I looked at Yunho when he called him out, “a couple of us joined your study sessions with y/n. Hope you don’t mind.”
Wooyoung looked between Yunho and I, his hands continuing to squeeze his beanie.
“They… just want to study. I promise.”
He seemed to think about it for a moment.
“Fine… then I get to bring someone too.”
Yunho and I looked at each other after Wooyoung walked away. Yunho just shrugged and told me not to worry too much about it. He didn’t refute the study session, despite our last encounter. I couldn’t understand him.
Jung Wooyoung was too confusing.
We got to class where I found Mirae already sitting at her desk looking through her camera. She greeted us as we sat down and told us she had arrived early to get some club business sorted. Mirae’s eyes kept wandering when she spoke to me, not once gazing in my direction.
“Is everything okay?” I asked her.
“Yeah, why?”
“Just, you seem…” avoidant, I wanted to say, “if anything is on your mind, I’m here for you. Okay?”
The smile on her face looked rigid. Her eyes finally locked with mine but I suddenly felt uneasy.
“I’m good. Nothing to worry about,” she said before going back to her camera.
The four of us had gathered in the library. Mingi sat to my right. Mirae sat to Yunho’s left, across from us. We waited for Wooyoung to show before starting on anything and were met with shock when he brought his plus one.
Sihyun.
“What’s she doing here?” asked Mirae.
“I was invited by Wooyoung,” said Sihyun.
“Y/N said I could bring a friend,” Wooyoung looked at me and I felt myself shrinking in my seat. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Mirae but I could only picture her disappointed face.
“I have no problem with this!” said Mingi, “the more the merrier, in my opinion. Isn’t that right, Yunho?”
Yunho’s eyes met mine. I knew what he was asking. He knew what I was saying in response.
“It’s fine. We piled up on Wooyoung first,” said Yunho, “it’s only fair he brings a friend of his.”
“Exactly.”
I watched as Sihyun took the empty seat next to Yunho. She stuck her tongue out at Wooyoung, who looked a bit uncomfortable. He slowly took his seat next to me before pulling out his books. I suddenly felt this warmth radiating in my direction causing my stomach to flip.
It was hard for me to focus. Mingi kept asking me questions, then giving me praise as he normally did, but I felt myself getting more self conscious all of a sudden. I wanted Mingi to stop with the compliments. I was nervous Wooyoung or Sihyun would disagree with the comments, but they both seemed busy with their work.
Sihyun was actually paying attention to Yunho as he tutored her. She muttered something only he seemed to hear and I was surprised to hear him laugh. Yunho waved his hand and shook his head when I gave him a questioning look. Mirae didn’t look too impressed by the interaction.
“Why was she here, y/n? How could you let that happen?” Mirae asked when we gathered our belongings at the end of lunch.
Wooyoung and Sihyun had already walked ahead of us.
“What’s the big deal?” asked Mingi.
“The ‘big deal’ is that Sihyun is a major bi—bully. I can’t believe she had the audacity to sit with us! Acting like she’s part of our group and everything.”
“She seemed fine to me,” Mingi shrugged, looking towards Yunho.
“Then she’s already fooled you too. First the new kid and now Mingi. Y/N, you believe me though, right? And Yunho?”
“Of course I do,” I told her, but Yunho kept silent.
“Then don’t let her study with us again.”
“I can’t do that, Mirae.”
“Why not? Am I not your best friend?”
“Actually, that would be me—”
“I’m serious, Yunho!” she nearly glared at him.
I was surprised. Mirae has never been this bothered by anything before. From the start of my first year, Mirae has only ever been smiles and laughs. I knew she didn’t like Sihyun, but I had never seen her this upset before. I felt guilty for causing this.
“Y/N,” she took my hands in hers and smiled gently, “I don’t think I can study with you if she’s around again.”
“I understand, but I told Wooyoung—”
“You’re not getting it, y/n,” her face became rigid again, “either you ask her to leave, or I won’t be spending lunch with you guys.”
“That sounds harsh,” said Mingi.
I heard Yunho warn Mingi to stay quiet. I felt my heart hammering against my chest. She was asking me to pick between her and Sihyun. The answer was easy. Of course Mirae mattered more. Sure I had an agreement with Wooyoung and he said it himself.
“We are not friends.”
But then, why was it so hard to choose?
“You can’t seriously be thinking about this?”
“Mirae, you’re not being fair. Y/N made a promise to Wooyoung,” said Yunho, “it’s our fault for crashing their sessions in the first place.”
“You just always have to take her side,” she said it quietly, but it was heard clearly in the silence of the library.
“Mirae—“
“It’s fine. I get it. Just don’t come crying back to me.”
She gathered her belongings and left in a rush. I felt my eyes sting.
“Y/N?”
I felt Yunho’s hand on my shoulder. I couldn’t take my eyes off Mirae as she pushed through Wooyoung and Sihyun. I had never seen her like this before. She had never spoken to me like this. Had I truly hurt her that deeply?
“What’s her deal?” I heard Mingi sigh.
“Y/N?” Yunho’s voice was getting smaller.
“You take care of your friend. I’ll head off with those two weirdo’s.”
“Thanks, Mingi.”
My vision blurred. Yunho stepped in front of me to hide me from everyone else.
“I made a bad choice.”
“No.”
“I hurt her feelings.”
“It’s okay.”
“No it’s not.”
“Y/N, look at me,” he grabbed my arms and brought his face to my eye level, “do you think Wooyoung is a bad person? Tell me honestly, do you truly believe he’s a bad guy?”
I shook my head.
“You want to know him, right? I know… you care about Mirae, but… maybe it’s okay to give her some space. You’re… allowed to have other friends, y/n,” he slowly removed his hands from my arms, “you’re allowed to want to know people outside of Mirae… and myself.”
When I couldn’t answer him, he began to wipe my tears with his hands.
“You were never this big of a baby when we were younger,” he chuckled.
“Because I always had to take care of you,” I said, letting out a small laugh.
“Ah, so it’s been my job now?”
I pulled away to wipe my face dry.
“Look, Mirae can be upset about Sihyun. But I don’t think she can be upset about Wooyoung. If it helps, I could try to talk her down?”
“I don’t know if that will help.”
“You just always have to take her side.”
“Okay, then we let her come to us when she’s ready. Until then, you still have me… maybe the other loser too.”
I knew he was referring to Mingi. He smiled wider when I laughed again.
Maybe it’s the mind of an older sibling that makes you want to take care of someone so much, because Yunho looked much older at this moment. He didn’t feel like the friend who would share his gummies and gleefully celebrate his childish victories against me.
I felt like I was starting to see my friend growing into a man.
“Okay. I’ll do as you say.”
“That’s right!”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and began to walk me out.
“Hongjoong wants to go out for karaoke,” said Jihyo, “want to join us?”
We were sitting at the kitchen table, eating microwaved ramen. Our mom was out on a walk with the neighbourhood aunties. Jihyo filled me in on our mom’s search for new hobbies while our dad was busy with his ‘business trips’. It was all still a shock to me. The house would always get eerily quiet whenever he came home and whenever he left. But Jihyo decided, if our mother wanted to try so hard and pretend all was fine, we had every right to ignore it too. It was better than moping around.
For our own sanity.
Ever since sharing the weight of this family secret, Jihyo started to get back to her usual self. Although, I’m sure it also had to do with not hiding her relationship anymore either.
“Really? Hongjoong wants to go out for karaoke?”
“Okay, fine. I want to. I’m so done with studying for midterms and uni entrance exams. I’m ready to do something fun to celebrate after we finish them.”
“I thought you had no plans for university?”
“‘Joong said it’s good to keep my options open. I questioned if he doubted my skills to get into an entertainment company. He said ‘of course not’, but I did side eye him for that comment.”
“The nerve.”
“Nah, he has a point. Agencies are tough to get into.”
“Are you doubting yourself?” I asked her, lowering my cup from my face.
“Now, why would I doubt myself?” she flipped her hair behind her shoulder, “am I not the most beautiful Unnie to ever exist?”
“Of course you are.”
“Then of course I’ll get in! I’m doing this to soothe his anxiety.”
“Wow, Unnie is such a great girlfriend to Hongjoong.”
We both giggled and resumed eating again. I liked that we were back to normal again. It did sting at times when I saw the two together or when she spoke of him, but each day seemed to get lighter. I would even catch myself smiling when they would hold hands during our walk to school. I remember the uproar his basketball friends caused when they saw their star player linked with the prettiest senior at our school.
It still hurt, but I was genuinely happy for them.
“So karaoke? You can invite Yunho too!”
“I’m sure he would love to join.”
I thought about Mirae. She was upset but I couldn’t exclude her from this.
“Mirae would too.”
“Oh yeah, ask her too.”
“Maybe Mingi.”
“Oh? Mingi? Who is this new person I’m hearing of for the first time?”
“Nobody special.”
“Nobody special, really?”
“He’s a friend of Yunho’s. They’re on the same soccer team. He started studying with us during lunch recently. He’s pretty nice, despite what Yunho thinks.”
“Ah, I don’t know, y/n. You’re pretty good at seeing the good in others. Not skeptical enough like me. It’s not a bad thing,” she said when my brows creased, “I just worry about new people taking advantage of your kindness. That’s all.”
“I know… but if it helps. He pushed me to speak to you… about everything.”
“Did he?” she smiled when I nodded, “well, then he’s invited too.”
I thought about Wooyoung. Would he want to come?
“We are not friends.”
I slurped my noodles as I thought about it. Yunho told me to try.
Mirae didn’t show up to school with Yunho. He walked over to me alone. I saw her chatting with a boy from her photography club. She looked over her shoulder to see us but just walked away. Yunho reassured me she probably just needed space. He told me not to feel guilty about any of this, but it was hard.
She wouldn’t look at me during classes and she left quickly during lunch.
I couldn’t focus well in the library. I sat between Wooyoung and Mingi again. One kept chatting away while the other stayed quiet. Yunho was busy helping Sihyun but I would catch him peeking at me from time to time.
“Well, shit, seems I forgot my earbuds in my backpack,” said Sihyun, “I can’t study without some music in my ears.”
“I could sing for you,” said Mingi.
“Shut up.”
Sihyun looked at me and gave a nod of her head.
“Hey, y/n, go get them for me, will ya?”
“E-excuse me?”
“Why–”
“Why should she have to do that?”
Mingi and Wooyoung spoke at the same time, cutting off Yunho. Both boys eyed the other. Wooyoung was the first to lower his gaze.
“Y/N doesn’t mind, does she?” Sihyun looked at me, “not like this short trip will affect her studying. I need all the time I can get. Unless, she thinks her time is more important.”
“Sihyun…”
“It’s okay. I can grab them for you,” I said, standing up from my seat.
“Thank you,” she waved and gave me a smile that did not feel genuine.
I looked back to see Yunho trying to come after me, but Sihyun grabbed his arm to sit him back down.
The hallways were pretty dead for lunch hour, save for a few kids standing around in quiet pairs. I made my way down to the home room, wondering if Mirae would be there as well. I knew she was upset about our study group but I had hoped she would’ve come around to it now or at least speak with me. I hesitated on opening the door when I got there.
“Y/N!”
I heard my name being called and looked to the side to see Wooyoung standing there. I was surprised. I hadn’t realized… had he been following behind me?
“Wooyoung?”
He lowered his gaze but I could tell his eyes were wandering.
“I… um…”
“Are you okay, Wooyoung?”
I noticed his fingers fidgeting, his hands trembling.
“I came to tell you… if you don’t want to tutor me anymore, I’m okay with ending our arrangement."
What?
Is that what he wanted? Did I offend him that much, that he wanted to stop seeing me at lunch now?
“You must really not like me,” I told him, trying to laugh it off.
“What? No–”
“I see.”
“No, I meant–that’s not… I wasn’t supposed to… shit.”
“It’s okay, Wooyoung. I understand–”
“No you don’!”
His voice sent me backwards. I took a step to steady myself. I looked around to see the few people in the hallway starting to look our way.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry!”
He had bowed ninety degrees as he apologized, catching me completely off guard.
“About what I said to you, on the rooftop, I’m… so sorry.”
“I-it’s okay! Don’t worry about it!”
“No, it was wrong of me.”
“Wooyoung, it’s okay!”
I quickly moved to help him stand upright again.
“Please.”
I froze when I heard his quiet voice.
“Please, let me.”
I stepped away and watched him slowly lift up. He wouldn’t look at me but I listened anyway.
“I… was angry,” he told me, “about something else… And I took it out on you. It… wasn’t fair.”
He looked at me then, with frightened eyes.
“I’m… really sorry for yelling at you. And… you have every reason to be angry at me… to hate me.”
“Wooyoung…”
“I’m… I don’t know how…”
That’s when I noticed his breaths were coming out short. The eyes of others didn’t bother me anymore at that moment. I was more worried about the boy in front of me who looked desperate for my forgiveness.
“I don’t hate you,” I told him, “I’m not angry either.”
“Why not? You have every right to be.”
“I guess, but… to be honest, you had a point. We… aren’t friends. So… you did nothing wrong by not telling me everything back then. If I was in your position, I probably would’ve done the same and kept quiet. So…”
I wasn’t sure if he would be okay with this, but I reached out to take his hand and smiled.
“It’s okay. Thank you for finding me and apologizing. But I promise you, Wooyoung, I don’t hate you.”
He looked down at our hands. I let him go when I heard the quiet whispers around us.
“Sorry. I tend to hold Yunho’s hand sometimes,” when he’s upset, “but he’s my friend and I keep forgetting we’re not…”
“It’s okay.”
I let out an awkward laugh and walked back towards the door.
“Actually, um… about that…” Wooyoung was fidgeting again, “If it’s okay… I wanted to… I wouldn’t mind…”
I felt my heart fluttering. Was he trying to ask what I thought he was?
“Um… just forget it…”
No. I heard Yunho’s voice in my head.
“You’re allowed to have other friends.”
“Wooyoung, actually,” I felt my heart pounding, “I was wondering, if it’s alright with you, would you… could we be friends?”
He didn’t answer. He just stood there all stiff and quiet.
“W-Wooyoung—?”
“Yes! Ah, I mean… yes. Yes. Okay.”
I felt a warmth creeping onto my cheeks.
“O-okay.”
“Okay.”
Okay.
I felt strange. My brain began to blur everything else around him. Everyone else disappeared. There was only Wooyoung and I for that brief moment. Nothing else was said as we stood there, just taking this in.
Friends.
Wooyoung wanted to be friends. I couldn’t help the way my stomach kept flipping.
“Right… I’ll get Sihyun’s earbuds now, then.”
“Oh, I forgot. I actually came to tell you that she found her earbuds,” he told me, looking away, “said they happened to be with her the whole time, so…”
“Oh, okay. Guess we could just head back then.”
“Yeah.”
We walked back to the library together in silence. It still felt awkward but not in the way it always did before. There was a sense of certainty here.
We got to the library and sat back in our seats. Yunho nodded his head at me, asking me why I was smiling so much. I only shook my head and tried to get myself to calm down. I heard giggling coming from Sihyun, but her attention was on Wooyoung. She looked down at her notes when he scowled at her. I wondered just what their relationship was.
Maybe it was the same as Yunho and I. At the end of lunch, after the other three started to walk off, I grabbed Yunho for a hug. I couldn’t stop giggling.
“What happened?” he asked.
“He wants to be friends, Yunho.”
“Wooyoung?”
I pulled away and nodded my head.
“Ah, I guess that’s what that whole thing was about,” he said.
“What whole thing?”
“Sihyun found her earbuds after you left, but she wouldn’t let me tell you. I thought it was weird, and I worried when she made Wooyoung go after you but I guess this all makes sense now.”
“She made him?”
“Yeah, but I guess he wanted some kind of push, right? I mean, if he’s been wanting to be your friend too.”
I felt my cheeks getting hot again and the giggling resumed.
“I haven’t seen you this happy in a while,” he chuckled, “don’t go forgetting about me now.”
“Of course not. I’m sure Wooyoung would love you as a friend too.”
“Will he now?”
“Absolutely! You’re the best friend any person could have. He’ll love you!”
Yunho’s blush spread over his nose.
“I guess you’re right about that,” he cleared his throat, “come on. Let’s get back to class before the bell rings.”
Sihyun never joined us again for our lunch sessions after that day, but Mirae still didn’t come back.
Yunho didn’t run into Mirae on the bus for the last couple days leading up to the midterms. She continued to avoid us at school too, always hanging around older kids or her photography club members. I wanted to tell her about karaoke. Yunho had been invited and even though I had planned to invite Mingi as well, he invited himself after hearing our conversation. I felt anxious about inviting Wooyoung but after establishing a friendship, it shouldn’t have felt unreasonable to ask him. So, I did. He looked around the table, thinking about it, which made me start to feel let down. That was, until the boys encouraged him to tag along. Wooyoung agreed and covered his mouth after Mingi cheered.
The only person left was Mirae. I figured I could ask her once our exams were over. I kept peeking over to her during the tests. She stayed focused on her papers so I told myself to stay focused on mine. Mr. Kim was walking around, making sure we weren’t cheating. At the end of each exam day, Mingi would suggest an after school hangout. I’d try to run over to Mirae to have her come with us, but she’d already be gone.
I wanted to believe she was stressed with the remaining midterms. Afterall, we would only grab some street food or pastries before calling it a night and returning home to study. Jihyo kept saying I was crazy for all the intense work I was putting in. I called her crazy for not putting in enough.
Just before I went to sleep, I pulled out my phone and looked at Mirae’s number. My thumb hovered over her name. I typed out a message, erased it, tried again, hesitated and then sent it.
Hey Mirae, a few of us are going out for karaoke after midterms are done.
I’d really love it if you came too.
It would be fun. — Y/N
I couldn’t sleep. Normally, she texted fast but I didn’t get any answer right away. I decided to leave it for the morning.
“Everything will be okay.”
Right. Everything would be okay.
But when I woke up, I checked my phone to see that I had been left on read.
The exams eventually finished and I was exhausted.
“How do you think you did?” asked Yunho, “stupid of me to ask, since you’re always acing everything.”
“And like you don’t? I think I did okay.”
“Bull.”
I looked to Mirae, who was packing up her bag. I stood up and tried to walk towards her before she could leave again.
“Jung Wooyoung.”
Mr. Kim’s voice caught my attention. I looked at Wooyoung as he nervously walked over to our teacher. Mr. Kim was speaking very quietly. I became worried for my new friend. I hoped all was well. But then the smile on Mr. Kim’s face and his hand patting Wooyoung’s shoulder made me sigh with relief. I wondered what they spoke about.
“What was that about?” Yunho asked him.
“Nothing.”
Yunho wasn’t Mingi. He knew when not to push. No matter how much we wanted to know what happened. We had learned that Wooyoung was a tightly locked chest as well. I would wait for him to trust me in his own time.
I looked back to Mirae’s empty desk.
Some things were going to stay secret no matter how desperately I wished to know.
“Um, about karaoke,” said Wooyoung, catching my attention, “I was wondering, is it okay to let Sihyun tag along as well?”
“Sihyun?”
I wasn’t too sure about that. I was already getting the silent treatment from Mirae because of her. I looked at Yunho who just shrugged, feeling just as unsure as me. Wooyoung, seeming to sense our discomfort, spoke again.
“She’s not a bad person. I don’t know what you’ve heard… or what she may have done but… I promise Sihyun’s not a bad person.”
Yunho and I looked at each other again.
“I mean, maybe she’s nice when you get to know her?” Yunho suggested.
I pulled out my phone to check my texts. Still no response.
“Okay,” I slipped my phone away, “we’ll ask her to join too. I mean, it’s like Mingi said, right? The more the merrier?”
“You’re seriously quoting him now?”
I giggled at Yunho. Wooyoung looked like he was about to smile too but he hid it behind his hand.
The three of us walked out together. Wooyoung was still quiet with us, so much that I worried the chatter between Yunho and I might be bothersome to him. But he didn’t complain. He always left us at the gate to walk home with Sihyun. She had already been waiting when we showed up.
Yunho was hit with a soccer ball to the head. We all turned to see Mingi laughing from a distance. Yunho chased after him before the two returned back to the group with Mingi held in a headlock. We all chatted for a bit. Yunho let Sihyun know about karaoke, though she didn’t look too interested. She said she’d try to make it since we were begging for her to join us.
“Guess it would be fun to see the class rep getting loose though,” she teased me, “I always wondered if you knew how to have fun.”
“Y/N’s plenty fun,” said Yunho.
“Yeah! She plans to sing a love song with me,” claimed Mingi, before he yelped in pain from Yunho’s tightened grip, “I was kidding!”
“Y/N and ‘fun’? I’ll believe it when I see it.”
She walked off. Wooyoung apologized to me before running off after her. I watched the two leave together. It made my chest feel heavy for some odd reason. Mingi finally got out of Yunho’s grasp and stood in front of me.
“Who says we have to wait for karaoke to have fun again?” he pulled out his phone to show an ad, “there’s a new boba place. Let’s go!”
Yunho and I looked at each other and smiled in agreement.
The day for karaoke seemed like any other. Hongjoong, Jihyo and I walked to school together. Yunho hopped off the bus on his own. Still no sight of Mirae. Wooyoung left Sihyun at the gate and walked over to us to say hi. Mingi showed up to tell Yunho that his dad, Coach Song, wanted the boys soccer team to meet up for news about their new season.
Classes went.
I sat with Jihyo to watch Hongjoong play during lunch.
All was as usual.
I was walking out of the building with Jihyo and Hongjoong when I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out to see a text from Yunho.
Hey, Coach Song wants us to meet up for a quick practice but I left my cleats in the storage room. Sorry to ask, but could you grab them for me? – Yunho
No problem! I’ll be quick! – Y/N
“Hey, Unnie, I’ll see you guys at the karaoke room later. I just have to do something quickly,” I told her.
“Okay, but we’re starting without you,” she stuck her tongue out.
I waved at the two of them before running to the gym.
I opened the door to see our large court completely empty. It looked so much bigger when there were no sports clubs playing here. I quickly jogged over to the storage room, seeing it open. I looked for a light but the switch wouldn’t work. Just as I pulled my phone out to turn on the flashlight, I felt a push from behind. I dropped my phone, fell forward and winced as my knees hit the floor. I heard a loud slam before everything went dark. I tried to stand up and feel around me for the door.
“Hello?” I called out.
I carefully moved to find a wall.
“Hello?!” I shouted.
I found the wall. I felt along it until I found the door. I tried to open it but it wouldn’t budge. Panic set in.
“Hello?! Is anyone out there?!”
Phone, where was my phone? I tried to look around for it but I couldn’t see in the dark. I felt my knees giving in, my breath quickening.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long chapter. Hopefully it was enjoyable at least. Heads up, another hiatus on it's way as chapters are about to get longer (roughly the same length as this one). Thank you for reading!
Author's Note: This is a new series I am writing for (atiny highly voted member) Choi San x F. Reader. Please be patient with me as there may be mistakes in writing or picture specifics. This will be a more angst filled story and I'm not sure which direction I will eventually lead it to. It will be more of a "go with a flow" vibe with phone text and regular text chapters.
In Your Protection Special Chapter - Jung Wooyoung x Female Reader
Member of @eighteez-net
This is a special chapter of Wooyoung's story in my "Yearning Series". His story will continue in the future.
Genre: Romance
Word Count: 582
Warnings: Swearing, Flirting
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Final | Wooyoung Special Chapter
Author's note: for sake of easy reading, Yejin will now be referred to as "Y/N" in Wooyoung's story and y/n from Jongho's story will have an actual name. All characters can still be read as reader though.
I opened the door to see him standing there with that smug look on his face. He wasn’t supposed to be here. Knowing our caretaker, she wouldn’t be too thrilled to know a man was sneaking into the building like this. She wouldn’t be too thrilled to know the other girls were helping. I didn’t care, because he only ever came to see Naeun, but I hated that look on his face. That look that told me he charmed his way in here.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“Well, hello to you too,” he smiled, “I’m here to see my cousin.”
“She’s not here.”
“Fine, I’ll just wait for her to show up.”
He stepped closer and placed hands above me, against the door frame. I could smell his irritating cologne.
“Are you going to let me in, or?” he raised his brow and tilted his head in that arrogant way of his.
I crossed my arms and held his gaze as a challenge. I wanted to knock out those perfect teeth of his.
“You wouldn’t have me kicked out, would you?” he spoke in a low, teasing tone, “you haven’t seen me in a long time, y/n.”
I scoffed.
“As if I’d care to see you, Wooyoung.”
“Yet you still remember my name,” he chuckled when I rolled my eyes.
“It’s basic manners to remember the name of my best friend’s family member, no matter how much I despise them.”
“I mean, if you don’t care for me, at least worry about your dorm mates who were kind enough to help me in, to see my family.”
I grumbled. I heard him snicker when I moved aside to let him in. He dropped down onto my bed making me throw a fit about boundaries. He just raised his hands, told me to ‘chill’, before changing locations to Naeun’s bed.
“Is she in a class?” he asked.
“No. A date.”
“A date?” he genuinely looked surprised, “she’s seeing someone? Since when?”
“Since today.”
“Wow, and you just let her go?”
“Uh, duh. She’s a grown adult, Wooyoung. She’s allowed to date.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I knew that but I couldn’t help it. His presence always bothered me. I would just attack at default.
“He’s different,” I told him, “you don’t have to worry about her. He checked out.”
“You know him?” he asked.
“More or less.”
“And you approve?”
“More or less,” I shrugged.
“Well,” he stood up again to step towards me, “if you trust him, I have nothing to worry about.”
He was way too close to me. I didn’t like it. The room was small enough already. It’s like his body heat was turning it into a sauna. I needed air.
“You can wait for her here. I don’t know when she’ll be back,” I told him and grabbed my coat.
“Where are you going?”
“Out.”
“You don’t want to spend some time with me?” he teased.
“Never.”
I closed the door behind me and left. It didn’t matter where I walked. His scent seemed to follow. It didn’t matter how cold the air felt. The heat on my face stayed aflame. Jung Wooyoung was the most irritating existence in my life. No matter how much I tried to get away from him, he found his way in. I hated him, and I hated the fact he enjoyed every second of my misery around him.
Member of @eighteez-net
You are rescued by a handsome stranger at a college party
Genre: Romance
Word Count: 821
Warnings: Minor Swearing, Kissing, Small Mingi and Hongjoong Cameo's
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Final | Wooyoung Special Chapter
I arrived at the address Wooyoung gave me. It was the club where he first ran into Jongho. I didn’t normally come out at this time of night. At least, not alone. Yejin offered to tag along, so did Wooyoung, but I wanted to try this on my own.
I had to do this on my own.
The line was so long though. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it inside fast enough.
“Yo, y/n?”
I heard a familiar voice and looked to see a man approaching me. Even in the dark, he wore his designer sunglasses.
“Mingi?”
“Did that brat drag you out to this?” He asked, obviously speaking of Wooyoung. I watched Mingi look around for him.
“No, I’m here alone.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you ran into me then,” he gave a lopsided smile and stretched out his arms, “I’ll let you be my date.”
“Ah… sorry, Mingi. I’m actually here to see someone else.”
“Shame,” his arms fell but his smile stayed, “who’s the guy? Jeong Yunho?”
“What?”
“There’s word he’s here tonight, with a whole crowd of hot shots.”
“Oh… no… not him. Um, I’m actually here to meet someone who’s working.”
“Working here?” He shook his head, “what is it with you women going for men far below your league.”
“What do you—?”
“Come on, I’ll get you inside to see your man.”
Mingi took my hand and dragged me to the front of the line. He only smiled at the bouncer and we were both inside the building. He led me upstairs where I saw Hongjoong overlooking the dancers. He was mouthing some words to someone in the crowd. I heard Mingi shout ‘lovesick fool’.
As if that was something to be ashamed of.
That’s when I saw Jongho. He was working near the back, with a group of men, where all the velvety ropes were blocking off entrance to the general public. He was standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, dressed in black. I left Mingi to make my way towards him.
Everything happened to move in slow motion. I wanted to see him, tell him everything I felt the day I last saw him. Tell him how hurt I was about everything but despite that, I missed him.
So much.
But when his eyes found me, I felt my breath catch in my throat and my feet freeze in place. He looked just as shocked to see me here. His lips moved to say something but it was too late. My body moved on its own, going back the way I came.
Shit.
I didn’t know why I was walking away. I felt a hand grab my wrist.
“Don’t go,” I heard his voice over the music, “please.”
I couldn’t look at him. My eyes were already tearing up.
“Please. Y/N.”
His grip softened. I slowly turned around to face him. I felt the tears rolling down. Before he could say anything, I wrapped my arms around him.
“I was really hurt, Jongho!”
He quickly wrapped his arms around me.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I really, really hate how this all happened.”
“I know. I never meant for this.”
“I was so humiliated!”
He held me tighter, burying his face into my neck. I cried as I held onto him.
“I should’ve been honest with you from the second I caught feelings. I should’ve told you everything from the start. I was scared. I was so scared you’d doubt me and leave. So I kept hiding from the truth. It was wrong. It wasn’t fair to you. I’m so sorry,” he slowly pulled away to look at me, “everything I felt was true. I want to make that clear. You can hate me. You can leave if that’s what you really want. I will learn to be okay with that, but I want you to know that I never lied about how I felt. I never played with your feelings. I was honest in my intentions of loving you. I really do love you. Truly, deeply… I fell in love with you, y/n.”
Why did he have to go and say something to make me cry even more? I pulled him towards me to kiss his lips. Though he was gentle, he didn’t hesitate to kiss me back.
“I missed you,” I told him between kisses, “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.”
“It’s your fault I couldn’t forget you.”
“I’m sorry,” I felt him smile against my lips.
“Jongho…”
“Yes?”
“I love you, too. I really do.”
He kissed me harder this time. His arms wrapped around my waist to pull me deeper into his kiss.
“Don’t ever lie to me again,” I told him, out of breath.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading until the end of this series. I feel the need to apologize again to San fans for his series being shorter in comparison. But I'm glad to see it's still getting love to this day. I will be taking a break from this series for a bit to write something else that's been sitting in my head for the last couple weeks. The special chapter will still be posted though! So look out for a sneak peek at another member's storyline! Thank you again for the love :)
Night started falling faster these days. The sun had nearly set by the time I reached my neighbourhood.
“We are not friends.”
I blinked back the tears pooling in my eyes. The cold air didn’t help either.
Wooyoung was right. He had no reason to tell me any of what he heard. We weren’t friends. I was only asked to help him with his punishment. I only tutored him at school. We had no relationship outside of being classmates, no matter how curious I was of him.
Besides, I’d be a hypocrite if I got angry at him. I, too, had listened in on a conversation and kept quiet of it.
I stopped walking when I saw Jihyo and Hongjoong standing outside the complex. They were talking about something, laughing. Hongjoong brushed her hair behind her ear. My throat started to tighten again. That’s when my sister saw me and I watched her face stiffen.
“Y/N, you’re home early today.”
She came running over to me.
“Hey, you okay?”
I looked from her to Hongjoong, then to the ground.
“I’m cold,” I spoke quietly and brushed past the two of them.
“Y/N?” I heard him this time. I forced the best smile I could give them right now.
“Sorry, Unnie, Sunbae, I’m kinda freezing.”
I turned on my heel and quickly made my way inside. I ran up to our apartment, struggled with the blurry keypad and ran to our bedroom before flopping onto my bed. It wasn’t long before I heard the keypad ring again and her footsteps getting closer to me.
“Y/N, what’s wrong?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I couldn’t get myself to lift my head and speak with her.
“Y/N, Hongjoong was wondering if you would like to get some hotpot with us. The weather sucks but the food will make up for it,” she waited for me to answer, “or… it could be just the two of us?”
“Unnie, I’m fine,” I told her, but the crack in my voice betrayed my words.
I didn’t hear her right away. I heard slow tapping against wood and then a creak.
“I get it. You let me know when you’re ready to talk about it.”
I waited until I heard the door click before curling myself onto my bed and sobbing into my sheets.
“Your face is all puffy, y/n. Did you not get good sleep last night?” Asked Mirae.
“What is it with girls asking each other rude questions?”
“We’ve been over this before, Yunho. It’s rude if you ask. I’m asking out of concern.”
“I can ask out of concern too,” I heard him mumble.
“I’m fine. I just… stayed up late to study for the exams,” I told them.
“Oh, don’t get me started on those. I’m nowhere near ready for them,” Mirae whined, “could you please write mine for me too, y/n? I’ll wire you the money.”
She managed to crack a smile out of me with that.
“I would if I could.”
“I bet I’d be ready if you tutored me too! Why does Wooyoung get you all to himself?” She pouted.
“I don’t mind, but…” I don’t know if Wooyoung would be comfortable with another person there, but my hesitation made Mirae raise a brow, “I mean, I could ask. I’m sure he’d understand.”
“Yay!” She wrapped her arm around mine, “I can’t wait!”
“Do I get to study with you guys too?” Asked Yunho.
“No! Girls only!” Said Mirae.
“But the new kid isn’t a girl!”
“That’s out of my control.”
“Wow… can you believe this?” Yunho looked over at me and I smiled apologetically.
“Your grades are already fine. I’m the one who needs help. I want my bestie’s attention all on me,” she giggled and pulled me away with her as we headed into class.
“Looks like your trio will just be a duo today,” said Yunho.
We looked into the classroom and saw Wooyoung’s desk empty. I felt my heart sink at the sight.
“Maybe he’s running late?” wondered Mirae.
“Yeah, maybe.”
But Wooyoung never showed. Surprisingly, neither did Sihyun. Mirae seemed to notice as well. She made a comment, assuming the two must’ve gotten into a scrap ‘knowing Sihyun’s history and all’. But I couldn’t tell her that I was probably the reason he wasn’t here.
Mirae still accompanied me during lunch to study for exams. She was more of a challenge than Wooyoung was. He always tried his best to focus on the questionnaires and class notes, but Mirae would get frustrated with each one and give up for a snack break. Normally I would laugh it off, but my patience was starting to trickle. I know she wasn’t doing this on purpose but—
“Are these seats taken?”
I heard a loud voice. Mirae and I both looked up from our books to see the two boys standing at our table.
“Mingi, if you want to study in the library, you need to learn to be quiet,” warned Yunho.
“Ah, sorry, can’t help but make myself known. It’s not always a curse. Libraries just aren’t made for my volume,” he spoke with his hands at his hips.
“Yunho,” Mirae giggled, “you’ve never introduced us to this friend.”
“That’s because he’s not my friend.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” said Mingi, then he looked over to me and winked, “hey, y/n.”
“Hi, Mingi.”
“Yunho told me you’re helping your friends study for the exams?” He smiled and leaned over to place his hands on the table, “that’s quite generous of you, especially considering I’m in need of a tutor myself.”
“I’m sorry, y/n, but it slipped,” said Yunho, “I didn’t think he’d march his way over here.”
“Ah, I don’t mind helping, but…” I looked over to Mirae, but her attention was all on them. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.
“It’s okay, y/n! Let him sit with us!” She moved her stuff from the table to make room.
“I thought this was a ‘girls only affair’?” asked Yunho.
“That was before you introduced your cute friend,” said Mirae.
“See, Yunho? I told you the girls wouldn’t mind,” he winked at Mirae this time and she giggled.
Yunho scoffed. Mirae stuck her tongue out. Mingi smiled big and took a seat right next to me. I looked over at Yunho, who seemed to want to protest this arrangement but then he gave up. He took a seat next to Mirae and opened up his textbook.
All clubs were on hold right now, as well as any sports teams. With midterms coming up, the library and classrooms were starting to fill up during lunch. Mingi complained whenever Yunho tried to help him with a question, but he seemed to brighten up when I took a turn. He was easier to tutor than Mirae was, and considering Yunho had more patience than I did right now, we swapped friends.
The lunch hour was quick to end. We gathered our belongings. Yunho helped me pack up, something Mingi had to comment on. He found it cute but vomit inducing. Mirae giggled at that and made a comment about how everyone always assumes Yunho and I are together because of behaviours like this.
“Wait, they’re not dating?” he asked.
“No. I thought so too, but they’re just really good friends,” said Mirae.
“Oh,” Mingi looked over to me in a way that made my heart beat pick up, “good to know.”
Wooyoung didn’t show up again the following day. I couldn’t help but feel this sense of disappointment. I felt like we left on a bad note that day on the roof, and I was hoping to clear that up. Jihyo had also tried to speak with me the night before, and during our walk to school, but I kept avoiding the subject altogether. She didn’t push it but I could tell her patience wasn’t going to last much longer.
At lunch, the four of us were studying in the library again. This time, Mingi seemed to really focus on his lessons, and I noticed his compliments in my teaching had risen. He couldn’t help but praise my ‘patience’ in dealing with a ‘lost cause’ like him. He even asked if I could tutor him more at his place. Before I could answer, he suddenly yelped and looked over to Yunho. Mingi scowled but Yunho only blinked innocently and shrugged, resuming his notes with Mirae. Mirae had an odd look on her face. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. She went back to her book and I watched Mingi bend down a bit to rub his leg.
“You know, you both say you’re not dating but my man really stresses over you,” said Mingi.
Yunho and Mirae had already packed up and started walking ahead of us. Mingi decided to wait for me as I packed my bag.
“Yunho’s just a kind person. He’s always been like that,” I told him while I slipped my backpack on.
“He is, but I mean it.”
He placed his hands on my notebook before I could pick it up. I looked at Mingi and was surprised to see his face look so serious.
“I know it’s not my place, but… if there’s something going on in your head, tell him.”
I looked from Mingi to Yunho, who was waiting by a bookshelf and watching the two of us. He seemed to mouth something towards Mingi, who only smiled and waved back.
“If you think you’re protecting him by keeping quiet, you’re not.”
He stepped back and I picked up my book. I held it close to my chest as we walked back to Yunho and Mirae.
“What were you two talking about?” asked Mirae.
“I was asking for y/n’s number,” said Mingi, getting all three of us flustered, “but I’m not close enough for that yet, right?”
“Mingi, I swear you’re just asking for a fight,” Yunho grabbed Mingi by his shirt collar.
“You bet I am,” Mingi laughed and grabbed Yunho’s, “all this studying got me ready to release some pumped up energy.”
The two laughed behind false expressions while I tried to cool down my burning cheeks. I looked to Mirae who looked so confused.
“They’re like this a lot,” I told her. She gave a nod and walked out with me. The boys caught up after being kicked out by the librarian.
I thought a lot about what Mingi said to me for the rest of the day. I couldn’t help but look at Yunho's desk every now and then. I knew he cared about me. He had always been like that. Had I really been causing him stress by not sharing? I looked at Mirae. What about her? Had she been worried as well?
Then I looked at Wooyoung’s empty desk. I wondered how he felt this whole time?
“We are not friends.”
He made that much clear.
I kept thinking about it when I made my way home. I kept thinking maybe I should say something, be brave and tell my sister that I knew everything that was happening. I knew about our parents. I knew about Hongjoong and her. Tell her how I was upset, because I felt… betrayed.
I felt hurt by the people closest to me.
The sun was already starting to set when I reached my neighbourhood. I looked up from my feet to see a familiar backpack.
“Unnie…” I whispered.
Since when had she been walking ahead of me? I hadn’t noticed. Hongjoong wasn’t with her either. I kept my eye on her as I walked behind her quietly, at a distance. Watching her back, she looked so different to me all of a sudden. Maybe I only just noticed, but…
She looked so sad.
My sister was the strong one, the outspoken one, the one who came running for me whenever I needed her. I felt an ache in my chest again, but for another reason.
“If you knew something bad, so bad that it would hurt me… …would you tell me?”
Jihyo…
“I can’t do this.”
How could I be so selfish? To my own sister?
“It’s suffocating.”
I let her suffer in silence, only thinking of my own pain. What kind of sister was I?
I kept walking towards her, even as she stopped where she was. As if she knew I was there, she turned around slowly to face me.
“Y/N?”
Why was she always concerned for me? What have I done to deserve her? What have I done to deserve the kind of people who show me such love, when all I do is worry them? I watched her eyes widen and she quickly moved to wrap her arms around me.
“Why are you crying? Who hurt my baby sister? Who do I need to fight?”
“Unnie…”
“Tell me everything, y/n. Your Unnie will protect you.”
I didn’t doubt that. How could I ever doubt how much my sister cared for me? Which is why she couldn’t tell me about our parents, or about Hongjoong.
“I’m sorry, Unnie.”
“What? What are you apologizing for?”
“I know, Unnie…”
I felt her hands fall down my arms.
“What are you talking about?”
“I know everything, Unnie,” I told her as I looked into her eyes, “I wish you would’ve told me sooner–”
I felt a fierce embrace. I heard a whimpering sound as she held me. I felt her body trembling as she spoke. She wouldn’t stop apologizing to me.
“I didn’t want you to get hurt. I know I should’ve told you, but mom begged me to stay quiet about everything when I confronted her. I was so angry, but I was scared. I hate him, y/n, I really do! And I hate mom for turning a blind eye, but more than anything… I was scared you would hate me for telling you the truth.”
“Why would I hate you, Unnie?”
“Because ever since I found out about dad’s affair, I haven’t been able to look at our family the same. I keep thinking we’re all a lie. I resent dad. I resent mom. And…
She pulled away from me, keeping her head low. She looked so small, like a child guilty of being caught.
“I felt myself resenting you too. It was wrong of me. I wanted you there with me. I wanted you to know everything because it sucked that you got to live in peace. But any time I would consider telling you the truth, I just couldn’t. I wanted you to figure it out on your own, but I also didn’t. I didn’t want your whole world to shatter like mine did.”
Of course she didn’t. This was the same Jihyo that protected me from neighbourhood bullies growing up. The same Jihyo that cheered for my accomplishments, even when mom and dad couldn’t show up. The same Jihyo who made sure I was included whenever she and Hongjoong wanted to go out to play.
She always thought of me and it was wrong of me to doubt her love.
“I’m sorry you had to suffer on your own, Unnie. I should’ve been a better sister to you.”
“Don’t say that.”
“No, it’s true. I could’ve shared the weight of all this if I knew. But you carried it alone to protect me. It’s okay. You don’t have to do that anymore.”
She lifted her head just enough to meet my eyes.
“I… wasn’t always alone… though.”
I watched her hesitate to tell me what else I already knew. I was going to have to face this part too.
“Hongjoong…” I said it for her, “I know about that too.”
“You do?”
“I might have… heard something about that.”
“Oh… I wanted to tell you about that too, just…”
She was scared for a different reason, I knew that.
“How long have you two been dating?”
“Since White Day.”
“White Day?”
“Well, we gave him chocolates for Valentines like we always do and he always gave us chocolates in return on White Day, but…”
“He confessed to you?”
I watched her nod and I felt a bitter smile on my lips.
“I wasn’t even sure about dating him in the beginning either since I have plans to leave after high school, but then… he convinced me to give him a shot and I… I guess I realized I do like him…”
“A lot.”
“I wanted to tell you, I swear, but I wasn’t sure where it was going. I wasn’t sure if it was anything that would last. But then, after Hongjoong and I made it official, I felt ready to share it with you. You were the first person I wanted to tell. I really wanted to tell you, I did.”
“But…?”
“I… saw how you looked at him. When we ran into him at the mall, you were trying on that dress and he complimented how grown you looked… I saw the way you blushed. The way you smiled. The way you looked at him. You…”
She couldn’t ask me, but she knew. The look I gave her confirmed her thoughts as well.
“I tried to break up with him after. I was worried it would hurt us if I stayed with him, besides it wasn’t like we had been dating that long…”
“But, you love him… don’t you?”
She didn’t answer. Even now, she was scared to tell me. It made me feel ashamed.
“Unnie, I… are you happy with him?” I asked and she lowered her head again before giving me a small nod. I stepped closer to take her hands in mine. I smiled at her. Both our cheeks were wet with tears. She didn’t look like my older sister right now. She just looked like Jihyo.
Jihyo. Scared, unsure, messy Jihyo.
“It’s okay, Unnie. I support you. I will always support you, as you have done for me. Don’t hold back from loving anybody, for anybody. I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to hide.”
“Y/N…”
“You had Hongjoong to help you through the pain. I’m grateful for that, but I guess that’s what I’m also most envious of. You had him… not me.”
“Hey, don’t say that. It was easier to have him to lean on, yeah… but you’re my sister. More than anyone, I wanted you there with me the most,” she smiled through her tears, “No guy–no person–could replace you. You get that?”
“Yeah. Do… you feel any better, now that I know?”
She thought about it for a second.
“Yeah. I mean… I thought maybe I’d have to take it with me to post grad but…” she chuckled and wiped her face, “I feel lighter. What about you?”
“I… think I do too.”
I didn’t feel a hundred percent, but I had a feeling in me that things would be fine.
“Noona? Y/N?”
We both looked behind to see Hongjoong walking over. We quickly checked the other to make sure we didn’t appear too cried out.
“You two heading in?” he asked.
“No, actually, I was going to take y/n for some hotpot,” she linked her arm with mine and smiled, “I promised her a sister's only dinner.”
I looked from my sister to Hongjoong. He must have felt really bad about having to hide everything too. He loves my sister enough to keep it a secret if that's what it meant to stay with her. I was glad she had someone kind and loving like him, even if that meant I’d lose out. I felt okay in this moment.
“Yeah, a sister’s night out,” I told Hongjoong and gave him a big smile, “No boyfriends allowed.”
I watched his mouth slightly part as he looked to Jihyo with wide eyes. His cheeks turned pink and I heard my sister laugh out loud. We looked at each other again.
“Right! No boyfriends allowed,” she told me. We waved goodbye to a stunned Hongjoong.
My sister and I spent the whole night together. We ate, talked about our parents, cried some more and even went to a karaoke room together. The pain was still there but it was definitely better to share it with someone I loved.
I met with Yunho the next time we were at school. I waited for him to get off his bus. I was hoping to get Mirae at the same time but he said he didn’t run into her that morning.
“What’s up?” he asked when I pulled him to a more secluded area.
“Yunho, I realized I had you worried about me for a while now, and I’m really sorry about that. The truth is… I was nervous about sharing what I was going through because I didn’t want to burden you with my feelings.”
“Y/N, you should know we’ve been friends for years now. I would never feel burdened by your pain.”
“I know–I mean, I should’ve known better… I know you care a lot for me, Yunho. I should’ve come to you sooner. I just… didn’t know how…”
He waited for me to continue. I told him about my parents, about how I was trying to process the news of my dad’s affair. I told him how I found out, and how it involved learning about my sister and the boy I loved. How I felt so lost but that I spoke with her about it. It was hard, but I found it easier to tell Yunho now. He didn’t say anything until I was done sharing. I felt him wrap his arms around me, pulling me close.
“Thank you,” he said softly, “now I know.”
He pulled away and smiled at me. Yunho could get emotional sometimes, though he hated to show it. He cleared his throat and I could tell he was getting ready to say something to lighten the mood.
“I thought maybe Mingi was bothering you too much. Maybe it made you reconsider our friendship. Not that that’s worse than all this,” he scratched the back of his head, “but now I know what’s up. So, if you ever need me, I promise I’m here. I can always run over to keep you company.”
“Thanks, Yunho. I know you will,” though I knew he still had his own life with his family and soccer, which reminded me, “I don’t think Mingi is as bad of a friend as you like to think he is.”
“Oh, no… has he brainwashed you?”
I laughed.
“No… I mean, he was the one to tell me I should speak with you. If not for Mingi, I don’t think I would’ve been pushed to get this mess sorted out.”
“Really?” He looked surprised. I nodded.
The only person I had left to talk to was him. As Yunho and I walked through the main gates, there he was again. Standing on his own by the front entrance. The wind blew through his hair as he walked over to us. I froze in place. Everything around me began to slow down. I felt Yunho’s presence close to me but even then, I was nervous of what he was going to say. The boy who said we weren’t friends.
Member of @eighteez-net
You are rescued by a handsome stranger at a college party
Genre: Romance/Angst
Word Count: 826
Warnings: Swearing, Humiliation
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Final
I ran my fingers through my hair as I paced. My heart was racing fast. I felt a chill run through my body. How fucking humiliating!
“No! I wasn’t–”
“You just said you were! Is that not what happened? You were paid by my cousin to watch over me. Is that not true?”
I watched him hesitate to answer. I stepped away from him but felt his hands on my arms.
“Yes… but not always.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Y/N, please. I didn’t do this for the money.”
“Jongho, let go of me.”
The words were struggling to get out of my throat.
“Y/N, please. Let’s go somewhere private.”
“Let me go…” I begged him.
“I promise, I wasn’t lying about us–”
“No…”
He kept begging me to listen but how could I trust him? I just found out this entire relationship was a lie. Every encounter we had was a lie. From the moment I first laid eyes on him, it was all a carefully planned hoax.
“Y/N…”
I couldn’t believe this.
“Go away.”
“Please don’t do this.”
“Leave.”
“Y/N–”
“I said leave!”
Birds flew from the loud sound of my voice. Jongho and I stood still. Realization seemed to hit him then.
“Yejin, stop being a pain in the ass and let me in.”
“She’s not interested in seeing you, Wooyoung. Correction, I’m not interested in letting you see her.”
“Yejin, I swear, it took a lot of convincing some lovely girls to sneak myself in. If I get kicked out because of y/n’s dumbass friend–”
“A ‘dumbass’ friend that’s way better than you. That was a shit thing for you to do to your own cousin, you dick.”
“Yejin… let him in,” I told her.
She looked back at me in disbelief but moved aside when I told her I was alright. Wooyoung stepped in with a triumphant look on his face. Yejin then left to give us some privacy. He looked around the room before sitting down, across from me, on Yejin’s bed.
“So… I guess… you found out?” he asked without looking at me.
“About you paying a guy to like me? Yeah.”
“I never–” he took a breath before continuing, “look… I haven’t forgotten what you went through with that freak who stalked you. I know it’s why you can’t go out or even meet new people without panicking that he’s found you again.”
“That’s not true.”
“You’re lying.”
I was and he knew it.
“You… are the closest family I have. I wanted to make sure you felt safe leaving home for the first time.”
“Why couldn’t you just tell me you hired some guy?” I asked.
“I guess I should’ve. I just… I don’t know. I didn’t want you to feel like you were being tailed. I didn’t want you to think you couldn’t have a normal life. I was going to let him go once I knew you were good, but then you told me you were seeing someone–”
“The same guy you hired.”
“Yeah, but I never asked him to get that close to you,” he argued, but sank back when he finally saw my disappointed face, “he wasn’t supposed to know you personally. Everything was supposed to be secret so you’d feel more comfortable. You know it took you a lot of convincing to even get into this school. I didn’t want you to have one bad experience and drop everything. I just… wanted you to finally be happy.”
I dropped my face into my hands and let out a deep sigh.
“You were happy, weren’t you?” Wooyoung asked, “I saw how at peace you were when you spoke about him. The way you smiled and laughed about how he treats you. You really like him, don’t you?”
“Does it matter?” It was all a lie.
“It does.”
“Wooyoung.”
“I never asked him to date you. I never asked him to play with your heart,” he told me, “he called me in distress, y/n, talking about wanting to end his contract and coming clean because he didn’t want to lose you. He could give up this job, but he didn’t want to give up you.”
“Well… I guess it’s too late for that now. We ended things.”
“And you’re happy with that decision?”
Wooyoung looked at me with no hint of humour. He wanted me to seriously consider everything. I was hurt. I had the right to be hurt. But…
"Like I said, I am warm-" you smack his chest before he could finish.
pairing » ateez jeong yunho x fem!reader
trope/au » non-idol au, established relationship au
genre » fluff with a hint of hurt/comfort
word count » 3241
warnings (lmk if i missed anything!) » sickness, kissing, ...they're lovesick, not proofread
navi/masterlist!! 🤍 ateez masterlist
I DIDN'T REALISE I NEVER POSTED THIS ONE AND THAT I WAS I DIDN'T POST LAST MONTH 😭😭 hope you enjoy this one as i try my best to post a longer yunho fic 🤭
"Y/N! Thank goodness!" Mrs Jeong immediately embraces you, not waiting for you to shake off any snow on your outfit. "Thank you so much for coming."
"Of course. I wasn't doing anything important anyway, so thank you for calling me." You're not lying about that. You didn't think that preparing for tomorrow's blind date was important, at least not more important than Yunho.
The woman called you a few minutes ago, asking you to come over and take care of his bedridden son. From Yunho's insane schedule, you couldn't say that you didn't know this wasn't going to come. You warned him through text messages to dress warmly and to drink hot beverages against the cold weather. Your best friend said that he would do all those things, but given how you're here now, you wonder how much of it was actually true.
"I really have to run to the hospital now. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."
"No, please. It's okay!" You reassure her. As you hang your winter coat, you retrieve hers. "I hope everything is okay at the hospital. Drive safety, Auntie."
She's already halfway out the front door as you finish your greetings, but she turns back with a kind smile on her face. "Let me know if Yunho brings you real trouble. I'll smack him awake when I get home."
You shake your head playfully, watching her start the engine and driving away with a waving arm out the window. The front door closes with a reassuring click. Scanning the house, you clean the slight mess in the kitchen before checking up on Yunho. Besides, if you want to cook a hearty meal for him, it would be good to work in a cleaner space.
Across the hall, where the feverish boy lies under his blanket, he stirs awake at the mumbled engine. Yunho's eyelids feel especially heavy, and so does his back as he attempts to sit on his bed. The only light source was from the slightest crack on the bottom of his bedroom door, and despite that, his eyes squinted as if the room were on fire.
The poor boy pouts and sniffs before throwing his legs to the side of the bed to aim for the kitchen. He could tell that whoever is in the space is trying to keep their noises down as much as possible, and he smiles weakly at the consideration. He slides his feet across the wooden floor until he catches your familiar back on the sink.
His eyes are now better adjusted to the light, taking in the view in front of him: his childhood best friend, whom he has been in love with for so long, cleaning the familiar bowls and cutlery of his dinner from an hour ago. You hum lightly, shoulders swaying gently side to side to a rhythm. Yunho leans against the wall, eyes closing in relaxation to your voice. He could slumber back asleep at your singing, and the weakened state of his body only welcomed your tune even more.
"Yunho?" His name from your lips came as a calm whisper, but your frowning lips say otherwise. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"You abandon the sink to skip towards him.
The boy shakes his head. "Did my mum call you here?"
"The hospital needed her urgently, and she was worried about leaving you alone, so she called me." As soon as you finish, your concerned look is replaced with a disapproving one. Your arms crossed against your chest, and an eyebrow rises. "Did you really keep yourself warm like you supposedly said you would on text?"
"Well, technically, the fact is that now I am warm so-"
"Yunho!" You exclaim. "I'm serious! Stop joking around! Your boss overworks you, and you don't know when you take breaks yourself. You wake up early and voluntarily stay towards the end to help your team members, which is fine, but not at the expense of your own health! Then I get texts from you," you whip your phone out, waiting for this moment:
golden puppy
don't be mad but
i got sick :((
BUT IT'S NOT SERIOUS OR ANYTHING
IT'S JUST A FEVER AND COLD AND COUGH
I'LL BE FINE SOON I PROMISE :((
"And mind you, that was four days ago, and the fact that your mum wouldn't leave you alone means that you're not at all better yet! Yunho, I told you to-"
Your rant is interrupted when Yunho can no longer keep his lips together. A snort came out from him, and if it's not the situation, you would've made fun of him. Realising his mistake, Yunho slaps a hand to his mouth, blinking innocently at you.
You roll your eyes, arms rising in exasperation. "I can't believe you. You're sick and all you're gonna do is laugh?"
"No, no," he puts his hands together, head hanging low. "I'm sorry. It seemed like I worried you a lot. I really did try to take care of myself…"
You exhale at his apology, knowing well that there's nothing much that you can do now. The prevention stage was a failure, and now you need to focus on helping Yunho recover as fast as possible.
You reach for his forehead against the back of your palm, your lips turning down at the temperature. "You're still really warm, Yun."
"Like I said, I am warm-" you smack his chest before he could finish.
"Go back to your room and sleep, you giant puppy." You uusher him out of the room by his shoulders and turn him around to the direction of his bedroom. Yunho didn't push against you, secretly needing you for energy anyway.
As soon as you turn the doorknob open, you can tell he's been living in there for the past week. The curtains are slightly opened, possibly to let a relaxing amount of sun in during daylight, but he never got to put away his laundry properly into his closet. There's a half-empty cup of water on his bedside table, and you could tell he fell asleep while gaming with his phone on his bed. You're reminded of Yunho's condition when he coughs beside you, hunching over as you pat his back with a knit between your eyebrows.
"Okay, come on," you guide him to the bed, making sure he slowly sits on the bed. You found his medicine checklist for the day, seeing that he hasn't checked off one after dinner. You wanted to scold him, but backed down when he looked over at you apologetically. You pop the aluminium cover of the medicine, dropping the pill into his palm. "Here," you kneel next to him and pass him the glass. "No, finish it," you tilt the cup back to his lips.
Yunho sighs in relief, regarding a soft smile. You brush his bangs to the side of his face calmly. He relaxes to your touch, reaching for your other free hand to hold. In the act, he pulls you closer and slots you between his legs. He rests his head on your chest, indulging himself in your familiar scent.
"Did I worry you that much?" He mumbles.
You hum, "You always make me worry."
"Yeah?" He pulls away slightly to see you properly, mischief written all over his eyes, "Are you worried about me, or are you worried about how no one can pick you up if you're in trouble?"
"Hey! I'm very capable of taking care of myself."
Yunho tilts his head in contemplation. "Tell me that again when you miss your bus."
"Shut up!" You ruffle his hair in laughter, whilst he tries to grab hold of you. "Fine then, next time I won't call you and you can explain to my mum why I would arrive home later than I should be!"
Yunho chuckles, "As if you wouldn't call me!"
The room blossoms with laughter until Yunho clears the itch down his throat. Your bottom lip juts, eyes looking over his pale face. "Alright, let's get you resting, okay?"
Stubbornly, he shakes his head and resorts to hiding his face in your chest. Without notice, an arm slithers to the back of your knees, and his other supports you back. You yelp as Yunho places you onto his lap and buries his face in the crook of your neck.
"Yunho?"
He inhales, "You should go before you get sick." But even though it's his suggestion, he only held you tighter. His thumb soothes the side of your knee, and you swear your heart skipped a beat or two. "Thank you for coming."
"Of course," you acknowledge. "You know I always would."
You're reminded of what you were doing before rushing over to Yunho's house. Your potential dresses for the date were all over the bed, and you were passing through your makeup bag aimlessly when none of the outfits felt fitting. You sent some of the pictures to Mingi, who was the one to set you up in the first place, but the man didn't offer much help. To be honest, Yunho would've been better for this kind of advice, but other than the fact that he's under the weather, you were scared of what he would say to you.
When Mingi rushed to tell you about the blind date excitedly, Yunho was next to you. He was silent throughout the whole time Mingi was filling you in on the details: about how he was showing a group picture with you in it, about how Mingi told his friend you're single, and that Mingi would let him know if you would be down for the date. You hesitated at first, and you stole a glance at Yunho, who stared off into the distance. He didn't tell you not to go, but he didn't encourage you either. All he did was playfully nudge you by the shoulder and indifferently say, "Well, whatever you choose to do, I support you." And for some reason, that should've comforted you, knowing that your best friend would always reliably support you. But as much as he's your best friend, he's someone that you love more than just friends, and his 'encouragement' hurt more than ever.
As if he read your mind, Yunho comments tiredly, "Are you excited for tomorrow?"
Unconsciously, you grip onto his arm, "I guess? I don't know this guy other than he's Mingi's friend."
"I'm Mingi's friend too." The comment was supposed to be kept in his head.
"I know…?" You furrow your eyebrows.
"So, you're only going because it's Mingi's friend?" He completely pulls away from you this time. His eyes lost the glimmer from the light moments a few minutes ago, and he looks into your orbs delicately. "Are you really going tomorrow?"
"Well, I have no reason not to go," you gulp.
Yunho's shoulders visibly slump, and he nods defeatedly, "I see."
The hand on your back moves to pat your head. Whilst Yunho already looks away, you couldn't help but keep your eyes on his side profile. Your eyes trace his cheekbones to the slope of his nose. The way his lips slightly parted as he breathed warmly against your skin. You had to forcefully turn your head away.
"Let me know if you need me to pick you up after."
You shake your head. "I doubt you'll be better by tomorrow."
"But if you ask me to, I would do it regardless."
Tell me not to go, you wanted to tell him. You want him to tell you that the date isn't worth it. That the date won't be fun. That he's sick and that you should take care of him instead. You wanted him to tell you to stay the night, so that you'll have a better excuse of coming to the date late or better yet, to not show up at all.
"Okay," is the reply you settled on. You will yourself to look at him one last time before walking away for him to rest. Yunho looks back at you when you poke his moles. "They're cute."
"I remember that time you said that you wanted to bite me because they looked like chocolate chips."
"I was a kid and I was craving chocolates!" You try to reason.
"And then you almost burnt the house down trying to bake some."
"We almost burnt the house down. Don't leave yourself out of the situation!"
You finally hop out of his embrace, already missing the stability that Yunho gave. But you knew that if you didn't, Yunho would never get the rest that he needed. Understanding you, Yunho finally lies down whilst you tuck him in.
"I'll be here until your mum comes back. I'm just in the living room if you need anything."
"Alright."
Making sure he's tucked in, you finally lift yourself off the bed. "Sweet dreams."
Your intentions to leave the room were so that he could rest, but your absence only made Yunho toss and turn around the bed. His mind wanders to how your hand could be interlaced with someone else. How you might tell him about your life stories, and if he would come up in the conversation. If you would fall in love with him, the same way that he's fallen in love with you all these years. And if he told you now, would you not go? Would you stay with him to make sure he would recover properly? Or would saying anything only make you turn away and never look back? He couldn't imagine losing you over a petty confession, but could he deal with the consequences of a possible successful date that you go to that's not with him?
"No," he concluded. "I can't deal with it."
Deciding that reason alone is enough, he kicks his blanket away and yanks his door open. If you left, he would've known since he wasn't asleep, but if you did, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop you properly. At the approaching footsteps, you swirl your head back to see Yunho behind the couch. His face is slightly flushed, and he hurries over to the other side to face you properly.
"I'm in love with someone." Yunho gulps as you blink at him wordlessly.
"O-Okay?" You stutter despite the sharp pain against your chest. "Who? Do I know her?"
"Y-Yeah, I'll tell you after your date tomorrow." With that, he begins walking away.
You raised an eyebrow, taken aback at the response. "You're telling me all that, but you're not telling me the full story?"
"R-Right, no. You're right, uhm," Yunho fidgets in his spot. His fingers push against each other, eyes wandering around everywhere but you. It's probably a good call for you too because you're unsure of how to face him after the information drop.
Eventually, seeing the troubled boy, you could only smile somberly. You've been prepared for this moment your whole life. The way that your eyes aren't welling up is a miracle. Pushing your feelings away, you shuffle closer to him, landing a soft touch on his forearm. The boy widens his eyes at the hug you offer. The pats on his broad back is slow, and unknowing of your heavy emotions, he found reassurance in them.
"Yun, we can talk about this later, you know?"
"No, we can't," he shakes his head. "Because what if you fall in love tomorrow?"
"I doubt it, but we can still talk about your love life even if I do-"
Yunho pulls away, a firm hold on your shoulders. "Don't go tomorrow. Please don't fall in love with someone other than me."
Your eyes widen and with the stunned look at your face, Yunho contemplates laughing his words away. But the thought of losing you made him gulp his nervousness away. The hands on your shoulders slide to your hands, holding them gently. His gaze settles upon you, taking in the way your lips have parted.
"I know it's unfair to say this, but I just can't see the girl I've been head over heels with fall in love with someone she's met in a day." Yunho's voice grows quieter with each word, but had no intention from stopping. "If you want to go, I won't stop you. You know I'll always support you," he chuckles timidly. "But I wish you wouldn't go…I wish you would selfishly just stay with me. Y/N, I-" he exhales, "I've always only seen you. I've always loved you as a friend, but more than that for the longest time."
You didn't mean to stumble back at that moment, and Yunho steps forward to break a potential fall. But he retracts in the last second, scared that you needed space. He looks down to the silly pattern of his socks, lips trapped between his teeth in defeat.
"I'm sorry if this made you uncomfortable," he begins again. "I'll just…" he throws a thumb behind him, beginning to walk away. It's when he turns away that you stop him, an arm around his middle and your cheek against his back. "Y-Y/N?"
You shake your head, figuring out the words that you want to say. "I didn't mean to back away at that moment, Yun. I-I'm just shocked that you like me in that way."
Yunho just looks at your intertwined hands. "You don't have to answer. And if you don't feel the same way, we can still be friends-"
"I don't want to be friends, Yunho."
Something in Yunho breaks apart. His chest pangs in hurt, and he has to suppress the growing tears. When you let him go, he had to force every muscle within him to move. You step infront of him before he could do so, pressing a sure kiss onto his chin. Mirroring your previous look, his eyes widen, the tips of his fingers touching where your lips were on his skin.
"I love you more than friends, Yunho."
He spent no time in getting your presence closer to him, cradling you into him. Your head to his chest while a hand combs through your hair. His other arm supporting your lower body to slightly lift you so that he could press a tender kiss to your forehead.
Disbelief washes over him, "Y-You're not joking, right?"
Your eyebrow raises, "What can I do to convince you?"
"Kiss me," he replies. "Not on my lips because you might get sick but just kiss me again-"
You didn't listen to his worries. If you got sick, then you could stay in with him; given your parents would let you out the house. So, you tiptoed as you gently nudge his nose with yours and hugged his bottom lips with yours. Yunho melts, his shoulders relaxing and chest full of love. The corner of his lips rises, only fueling the intimacy of the moment.
"Now, couldn't you guys have waited until after Yunho is healthy?" The introduction of the new voice is teasing but the only thing breaking apart is the kiss. "Okay, Yunho, sleep," his mother points deeper in the house. "Y/N, there's mouthwash in the bathroom for you to use."
"Mum!"
He hates being sick because it would always keep him away from you. And, now that he's had a taste of your sweet lips, he can't risk another sickness. He's too lovesick for you. And that's the only 'sickness' he could approve of.
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Member of @eighteez-net
You are rescued by a handsome stranger at a college party
Genre: Romance/Angst
Word Count: 958
Warnings: Lies, Deceit, Minor Swearing, Feelings of Guilt
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9
I was working at a club as security. That’s where I ran into him. Wooyoung.
He approached me.
“I’ve seen how you handle jackasses here. You need work, right? I could give you a better opportunity. Better work than this and more cash.”
I was in a desperate situation. He showed me a picture on his phone.
“She knew a guy in high school. He scared her pretty bad. She couldn’t go anywhere without me for a long time. She still relies on me. I don’t mind. She’s my cousin—more like my baby sister, but… I want her to be able to have fun again. Go out. Chase her dreams. Meet people. Just… have normal experiences. But she can’t do it if I’m always around. And… it doesn’t help that he’s still out there.”
It was just a job posting.
“I finally got her to apply for her dream university. She’s not sure about going, even though her annoying friend will be with her. She’s terrified something will happen again. She gives attention to the wrong guy and she’ll get hurt again. She goes to the wrong place, and he’ll be there.”
I was only hired to protect.
“Keep an eye on her. If anybody suspicious gets too close, you keep her safe.”
That’s all I was supposed to do. Be a hidden bodyguard.
“You’ll have to be close by. I have a property you can stay at.”
It was an upgrade from my previous place.
“You’ll need reasons to be around her, so I’ll have you enrolled in her classes. You’ll get an allowance on top of your pay. Hell, I’ll even get you a gym membership. I’m telling you. You’d be an idiot not to take up my offer. Just watch her until she starts to settle… until I know she’s okay without me.”
He was right about that. Who wouldn’t want this job when he was giving someone like me so much? I took it. I decided it would be easy. I’d have a comfortable life and all I had to do was tail some girl around a school for a couple months until her cousin could relax about her safety.
This was just a job.
I wasn’t supposed to get close. I only observed from a distance. I sat far enough in the lecture halls where she wouldn’t be able to spot me. I sat at a distance at her usual cafe. I kept my distance when she would work out too. She was pretty uneventful, stuck to a routine. She never went out after the sun set. It was an easy gig up until her friend convinced her to ‘go out for once’.
I wasn’t supposed to step in, in the way I did at that party. I didn’t know how terrified she actually was until I saw her freeze up around that guy. Her hands were trembling. She was looking around for help. He put her hands on her. I was only doing my job.
“I just wanted to thank you for it.”
“You don’t have to. I saw a girl looking uncomfortable and a guy not backing off. Anyone would’ve stepped in.”
“That’s not true.”
I wasn’t being truthful. I wasn’t just anyone. I had to step in.
When did it start to get so difficult?
When she started to talk to me?
When she came up to thank me?
When I tried to push her away and felt guilty for the look on her face?
When I caught myself letting out a laugh at her poor form?
When I felt myself get annoyed at her for letting another man coach her?
“I want her to have normal experiences.”
I knew that! I had dropped the weights. I tried to remind myself, this was just a job. I was hired to make sure she was kept safe so she could live her life.
Then why was I so fucking irritated? Why did I feel the need to snap her? Why did I panic when she left in tears?
“I am suggesting that you take my very lovely best friend on a date.”
Alarms were going off but I ignored them. I knew I wasn’t supposed to agree to this. But… when she looked at me the way she did…
How could I deny her?
One date.
Two.
Three.
Weeks.
Months.
The guilt ate at me more and more each day. I had to tell her. But how? How could I tell her now?
“Well… you did save me from that creep.”
“I was just doing…”
My job.
“Anyone would’ve done the same.”
She didn’t believe me. Her experience had convinced her otherwise. I had no right to blame her either. I wasn’t being honest. I couldn’t be honest, not when it meant I wouldn’t be able to see that smile of hers.
A smile that melted away the winter I lived in for so long. I never thought I was capable of feeling this type of warmth.
“It just happened, Wooyoung.”
“How the fuck does this ‘just happen’?”
“I don’t know!”
I had tried to push her away. I tried, but I knew I gave up at some point. I had to tell her, but I was scared of losing her.
“I can’t do this anymore. I have to tell y/n the truth before this gets worse.”
“I knew she was seeing somebody, but I had no idea it was you. I swear to god, if I knew you were gonna pull some shit like this—!”
“I hadn’t planned on dating her. Look Wooyoung–”
“Wooyoung?”
Shit.
I looked behind me to see her standing there, face distraught. My breath was caught in my throat.
Author's Note: The more I write the chapters for these stories, the more I feel sorry for atiny's who read San's story. I had originally wanted to try a drabble series that went no longer than 500 words a post, but now each boy is getting no more than 1000 words. It's hard to give enough story in short posts. Hope it's still enjoyable!
“So, y/n,” Mirae took a seat across from me once the lunch bell rang, “the photography club wants me to snag some pictures for our winter column.”
“Yeah? I’m sure you’ll get lots of great shots.”
“Of course, with your help!”
“Mine?”
“Yes! If I have our top student helping me out, everyone is guaranteed to participate.”
“I don’t think you need my help. You’re already beautiful and charming on your own,” I told her. If not the girls, the boys for sure would drop everything to help Mirae out.
“Aw, it really feels good to have my bestie think so highly of me, but–why are you in such a rush to leave? You’ve never cared for the lunch line. Are you in a rush to see your boy?” she giggled.
I tried to ignore the thought of Hongjoong when she teased me.
“Sorry, Mirae. I actually promised to meet up with someone else.”
“What? Who?”
I looked to the classroom door and then back at Mirae. Her eyes widened when she looked to see who was waiting for me.
“Jung Wooyoung?”
“Sorry, I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Hey! Wait! Since when?!”
I rushed over to Wooyoung who had his earbuds in as always. I looked back at Mirae and mouthed an apology. She only waved as I left.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” I told Wooyoung, “I could’ve met you at the library.”
“Why? Don’t want to be seen with me?”
“What? No, I didn’t mean that–just, I feel bad making you wait.”
“It’s either at the door or in the library,” he looked out the windows as we walked down the halls.
“True…”
We found a quiet place near the back. There weren’t many kids studying around where we were. There weren’t any students passing by for books either. It really was just the two of us. I felt myself questioning him now, whether or not he wanted to be seen with me.
We sat together for all of lunch hour. I helped him with his math, though he seemed to pick it up really quickly. English was harder. His frustrated sighs would make me feel nervous but then he’d apologize for them. His behaviour made me feel more curious about him.
Just who was Jung Wooyoung?
“If you’re curious about him, why not just ask?”
Yunho’s voice rang in my head again. The last time I tried to strike up a conversation with Wooyoung, I upset him and ended up talking about my own issues. The bell rang, diminishing any confidence I felt to speak with him.
“Hey, Yunho, did you know about this?” asked Mirae.
We were all heading out of the school at the end of the day.
“About what?” he asked.
“Y/N and Wooyoung!”
Yunho looked at me with a confused expression.
“Oh, uh, yeah… I promised to tutor him during lunch. Just to help him catch up in class.”
“Wow, first the teacher's office and now you tutor him?”
“Teacher’s office? What do you mean? What did I miss?”
“Y/N was helping out her new friend in the teachers office for a while, right?” Yunho looked at me.
“New friend? Y/N? Why would you hide something like this from me?” Mirae looked at me then and I felt guilty for some reason.
“Sorry, Mirae, everything was happening so fast and you were also busy with photography. I promise it only slipped my mind. And we’re not even friends, Yunho!” I gave him a light smack on his arm that made him chuckle, “I only help him with his classwork. I don’t think he’s interested in anything else.”
“I don’t know,” Yunho stopped walking to look ahead at something, “maybe he is.”
I followed his gaze to see Wooyoung standing near the gate. He seemed startled and looked away. I heard Mirae click her tongue when he was greeted by Sihyun.
“I wouldn’t get my hopes up, y/n. Anyone who hangs around Sihyun doesn’t seem like good company to be around,” she told me.
I looked at Yunho, who only seemed to shrug. But I knew that look he gave me. I have known Yunho since our early school days. Though nonchalant in his behaviour, his eyes told me to trust myself. Something told me I was curious about the new guy for a reason. So, as long as Wooyoung was willing to get along, I would do my best to get to know him.
Days passed in the library and I was no closer to figuring out anything about him. It was hugely on my part as any time I would try to strike up a conversation outside of schoolwork, my words would get stuck in my throat. So I was caught by surprise when Wooyoung spoke to me instead.
“How have you been?” he asked me. I could tell he was hesitant on asking with how he avoided eye contact and with how his fingers played with his pencil.
“Excuse me?”
“Just… forget it.”
“No, sorry, I was just… I wasn’t expecting…”
“Expecting what?”
“Nothing…”
We sat in an awkward silence for a moment.
“I’m good–”
“Have things gotten–”
“What?” We both spoke at the same time and stared at the other.
“So, it’s all good at home then?” he asked me, “your parents, I mean…”
“My parents…?”
“Yeah, well, last time you told me they were… you know…”
I felt something flutter in my chest. I had told Wooyoung about my parents. I hadn’t told him much about it, or anything really at all, but he remembered. And he was asking me about it?
“I don’t know, to be honest,” I looked down at my papers, “I haven’t really asked what’s going on at home.”
When I looked at him and saw him looking back intently, I felt brave enough to keep talking.
“I’ve been avoiding going home these days. I feel like if I do, I’ll hear something again that will just confirm something… that I might not be ready to hear.”
He didn’t answer, not that I really expected him to say much but it made me feel sorry for unloading onto him.
“What does… I mean… don’t you have a sister?” He asked.
“Yeah,” how did he know that?
“What about her? Is she… okay with everything?”
“I… don’t know,” that was a lie. I know she’s been suffering with all the pain of everything going on between our parents. I heard it myself that night in dad’s hometown.
“I haven’t been seeing her much lately either,” I told him.
“Are you guys… not close?”
“We are—“ I stopped myself then. I don’t know why I did. Of course my sister and I were close. We’ve always been close. I felt Wooyoung's eyes on me as I had this internal conflict.
“She’s busy I guess.”
It wasn’t necessarily another lie. Jihyo had been busy. Whether it was school or work.
Or busy with Hongjoong.
“Um…” I heard his quiet voice and watched as he continued to fidget with his pencil, “if… it helps… you can speak to me about it… that’s, you know, if you want to–not that you have to. We can just stick to just tutoring–it’s fine.”
His face was slowly turning more and more red. He lowered his head and began to scribble in his book. This shyness, I found it somewhat endearing and caught myself smiling. I covered my lips.
“Thank you,” I told him, getting him to look up again, “I’ll take you up on that offer when I feel more comfortable I guess. Though, I don’t really think this library is the best spot to talk.”
I gave an awkward laugh. He looked like he was thinking of something.
“If… I knew a place…?”
“What?”
“I think I might know a place we could talk, if you want.”
The weather was starting to get colder as we got closer to the exam season. I knew Jihyo would be busy studying for university entrance exams, that is if she planned to go to any. I hadn’t asked her recently about any post graduation stuff. I was curious about her. I was still thinking about how she was doing, just…
I still felt some type of guilt for everything I heard during Chuseok. I wondered if my sister was even thinking about me. Wondering why I wasn’t around so much. Wondering why I would go straight to our bedroom and bury myself under the sheets as soon as I got home.
Maybe she did know. My sister was smart, intuitive. Maybe she had a feeling something was wrong with me but didn’t know how to ask?
No, my sister wasn’t like that. She was more upfront, more brave, more honest than I was. At least, that’s what I always thought. Perhaps she wasn’t thinking about me at all. With our parents, Hongjoong and exams, maybe I just didn’t matter amidst all that.
“Y/N?”
I looked up from my notes to see Yunho squatting down across from me. I could see his breath as he spoke.
“You really should go home, or at least study inside.”
“Am I distracting you from practice?”
“Please, don’t give yourself too much credit,” we both laughed at this, “it’s just crazy cold today and you’re not exactly dressed to stay warm.”
“You’re such an old lady.”
“Hey, I'm an older brother. I can’t help but worry when a kid like you doesn’t take care of themselves.”
“A kid? Excuse me? We're the same age!” I looked at him with my mouth agape in pretend offence.
“Come on, your mom wouldn’t be too happy with me if I let you get a cold.”
“I don’t think she’d have the time to care about that,” I muttered. Yunho raised a brow but I only shook my head, telling him to forget about it.
“Having a lover’s quarrel here?”
We both looked to see Mingi standing next to Yunho. He had his hands at his hips as he panted softly.
“Mingi, I swear to god–”
“You shouldn’t do that. That's offensive.”
“You seriously piss me off.”
“Aw, I affect you that much?” Mingi looked down at me as he pointed to Yunho, “he won’t admit it, but I’m his best friend.”
“I’ll never admit it, because it’s not true!”
“Oh, that’s right. Your girlfriend is first.”
I watched Yunho grab Mingi by the collar of his shirt and laugh sarcastically.
“You’re so lucky you’re the coach’s son.”
Mingi then grabbed the collar of Yunho’s shirt and did the same.
“Damn right you are. You can’t beat my ass out here while my father watches.”
They both stopped and looked down at me when I started to laugh. It was hysterical. I had never seen Yunho so animated before. He would joke around with me as well, but never like this. It was refreshing.
“Your friend seems nice, Yunho,” I told him.
“What?”
“You see that? At least your girlfriend has the brains to know I’m a good guy!”
“Y/N, you can’t be serious.”
I kept laughing as the two bickered. Something alleviated in my chest. I felt my eyes start to water and did my best to blink away any tears that threatened to fall. I watched the two let each other go before Yunho came to crouch down in front of me again.
“Hey… You good?”
I wasn’t. Even in this comedic moment that seemed to distract me only briefly, I was still in pain. And Yunho could tell. Yunho was sharp when it came to me. He always was, but I couldn’t bring myself to share just yet.
“Of course she’s not good,” I felt a warmth engulf me when Mingi placed his jacket over my shoulders, “your girl’s freezing.”
Yunho looked at Mingi and the two seemed to exchange silent words. Mingi gave Yunho a nod, then winked at me before sprinting back onto the field.
I felt the wind cutting through my ears. It was definitely chillier today. I sat on a storage box, on the school rooftop, watching Wooyoung peek down at the field through the metal fence. I covered my ears with my mitts when the breeze blew through again.
“Sorry, I guess it wasn’t smart of me to suggest this place,” said Wooyoung.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
I watched him walk over to me. He removed his beanie and placed it over my head.
“Oh, you don’t have to—!”
“It’s fine. I don’t feel as cold,” he said and walked back to the fence. I lowered my gaze as I felt his beanie. My face became warm all of a sudden.
“Thank you.”
Wooyoung didn’t answer. He just kept staring at the boys playing soccer down on the field.
“Are you interested in joining the soccer team, Wooyoung?” I asked.
He looked caught off guard. He shook his head and quickly moved to stand with his back against the fence now.
“I was just thinking of something,” he said, “your friend is always out there.”
“Yunho? He’s part of the soccer team. He’s been a fan of the game for as long as I can remember. He was in an after school team too back in middle school. I remember he saved up all his allowance once to get a jersey…”
I realized I had been blabbering on and on about Yunho.
“Sorry…”
“For what?”
“Just… I didn’t mean to talk so much about him.”
“Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“Apologize for everything.”
“I don’t… all the time,” I hadn’t noticed.
“Whatever, you can talk about him all you want though I have no interest. I’ll just tune it out.”
“Sorry—“ he looked at me again and I stopped myself from apologizing for apologizing. We were quiet for a moment before he asked.
“Does he know what’s going on with your family?”
I lowered my head and shook it slowly.
“You’re not… dating, but… I assumed you two were close enough to know each other's secrets.”
“Yunho’s got enough on his plate already. He doesn’t need my problems on top of that.”
“Don’t you have that other friend of yours? That girl?”
“Mirae?” He shrugged when I said her name, “I haven’t thought of how to bring it up to her. She’s usually busy with club activities and her own family.”
Mirae wasn’t as close of a friend as Yunho was either, but I didn’t want to confess that to him.
“Who else knows?”
I thought about it.
“Aside from my sister and I,” I looked at Wooyoung.
“Only I do?”
I gave him a nod and he sighed. He muttered something I couldn’t quite make out. All I heard was ‘you people’.
“Are you not cold? Your face is getting pink.”
I watched him press his hands to his cheeks and turn away.
“I’m fine. I told you I don’t freeze up like most people.”
He cleared his throat and turned back around to face me. I watched as he took a deep breath before speaking again.
“A couple months back… when I first arrived… I found this place for myself so I could hide away from everyone. It’s not entirely secret, but… for the most part it’s always empty. So, if it helps… to speak your mind here…”
I looked around the roof and he was right. I never thought to hang around here before. I pulled on the beanie again. He said he came here to find solitude. For a guy like him, I would think he wouldn’t want to share a place like this then. I wondered why he cared enough to bring me here.
“Why… are you being so nice to me?”
“I’m not being nice.”
“No?”
“I’m not a nice person.”
Was that what he really thought?
“I think you are.”
“Well, you’re wrong.”
Why was he getting defensive all of a sudden? I was complimenting him.
“Wooyoung–”
“You don’t know me. Stop trying to act like you do.”
“I’m sorry, I–”
“Stop apologizing! You did nothing wrong!”
My eyes widened when he shouted at me. I had flinched. He was breathing heavily. I watched as his face went from rage to fear. He was trying to say something but kept pacing back and forth before–
“I heard her that day. Your sister,” he blurted out, “I didn’t know she was your sister. But she was here and I heard her talking to that guy. The other one you hang around. They were talking about your parents. About your dad. She was crying. I heard everything. I never told you. I didn’t care to tell you, because… we’re not friends.”
He looked at me again with a realization. His shoulders fell.
“We are not friends.”
He opened the door to run back inside, leaving me frozen where I was.
Member of @eighteez-net
You are rescued by a handsome stranger at a college party
Genre: Romance/Fluff/Minor Angst
Word Count: 957
Warnings: Kissing, Very Minor Swearing, Possible Suggestive Themes?
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
I didn’t expect our first date to lead into a couple months of dating. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting at all, just that I was enamored by this man who’d wait with coffees in hand to walk me to my classes. Who would make sure I walked on the inside of every sidewalk. Who carried an umbrella for me, despite having my own. Who made sure Yejin felt included when we hung out on campus.
He was serious about taking things slow and the more I got to know him through the weeks, the more I felt my heart become attached. He surprised me with a kiss on the forehead once. I think he surprised himself too. When I told him I liked it though, he smiled and made it a regular thing. I started to anticipate the moment he’d kiss me on the lips.
At times I thought we’d get close, but then he’d pull away from me. I attributed it to him just being careful, for me, but I soon began to feel more insecure.
There was another thing too.
“Jongho, um… I had a question.”
We were at our usual cafe together. He looked up from his phone.
“What is it?” he smiled that soft little smile of his whenever he was being attentive.
“Just, I was wondering, we’ve been seeing each other for a while now…”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t know how to ask.
“I feel like… we’ve been on more than a few dates now, but… it doesn’t really… are we ‘dating’ dating?”
He seemed to stiffen up and I felt my chest getting heavy. The dread I felt began to weigh me down on my seat.
“I thought we were.”
“You thought…?”
“Yeah… did you not think so?” he asked.
I guess my face gave it away. I didn’t really know what we were. It’s not like Jongho went around calling me his girlfriend. I was too hesitant on saying anything about him to anyone aside from Yejin too.
“I guess, I should’ve been more clear,” he said, leaning towards me, “Y/N, if you want us to be, we can make it ‘officially’ official right now.”
I let out a laugh when he said that, obviously teasing my choice of words.
“Would you like that?” he asked.
“Yes. And you?”
“Hmm?”
“Would you like that too?” I asked.
I needed to know I wasn’t the only one sitting here with butterflies anxiously swarming about.
“Yes.”
How his one word made every worry float away instantly. I couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face. I heard him chuckle and then watched his hand reach over to take mine.
Now that we were official, I figured it would be okay to ask for something else.
He walked me back to my building as he always did. We said our goodbyes as we always did. He got close to kiss my forehead but I turned my head away.
“What’s wrong? I thought you liked this?” he asked.
“I do, but… I thought, maybe, you could try… somewhere else for a change?”
He was smart. The red on his cheeks told me he knew exactly what I was asking for.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I felt my heart pounding in my head. He took a step closer and placed his hands on my shoulders. He leaned in and slowly placed his lips onto mine. I felt my heart go into overdrive. He pulled away too fast. I wondered if he didn’t like it.
“You’re too tense,” he told me, “just relax, okay?”
I gave him a nod before he leaned in to kiss me again. His hands moved to cup my burning face. His lips molded into mine. He was slow, careful, and deliberate. I felt my head starting to spin. My body was starting to sink.
“I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, see you later.”
He waited until I was inside before leaving, as he always did.
“You’re smiling quite a bit there, babe,” said Yejin, as I came back to our room.
“Yeah… Jongho just kissed me.”
I don’t think I ever heard her scream as loud as she did just then.
The days were moving fast. I was on cloud nine. I never thought I’d ever feel this way about a guy in my life. Wooyoung also became curious of the man who began to replace him. He asked to meet him, just once, but Jongho didn’t seem to like the idea. He said it was too soon. We had only been dating for a short while. He didn’t want to introduce me to any of his friends yet either.
Come to think of it, I never saw him interacting with anyone else on campus.
I never saw where he lived either.
When I asked him about it, he only told me that he lived alone off campus. He said he couldn’t invite me over out of nervousness that he’d do more than just kiss me on my mouth. He then laughed when I blushed hard at his comment.
I should’ve pushed harder.
We hit four months during winter vacation. I started to feel ready about going all the way.
This was on my terms.
With a man I was falling in love with hard.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
I heard his hushed voice by chance that day, as I left my building.
“I have to tell y/n the truth before this gets worse.”
What truth?
“I never planned on dating her.”
What was he talking about?
“Look, Wooyoung—“
“Wooyoung?”
I watched him turn to face me, his eyes wide and face frozen in fear.
