[ 003 ] .☘︎ ݁˖ beyond the bet
SUMMARY: Hoping to leave her troublemaker past behind, Y/N starts university determined to become someone new. But when notorious playboy Juhoon targets her to win a year-long dating bet, her fresh start turns into public humiliation.
Since the break up, the both of them swore to never cross paths.
Too bad their friends had other plans!
juhoon x f!reader, smau (will include written parts), non idol au, crack, university setting, cortis are frat boys, exes to lovers, profanity, fluff, angst, everyone is lowk morally gray, malewife x girlboss trope, slowburn(?), wonhee x keonho mentioned
٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ PARTNERS AGAIN
After leaving the restaurant, the group was greeted by the cool night air. Their conversation drifted from one random topic to another as they made their way down the sidewalk.
Several meters ahead, a familiar figure caught Martin's attention.
“Is that Y/N?” he squinted.
You were walking unusually slow, hands tucked into the pockets of your hoodie as you kicked a pebble along the pavement. It almost looked like you were waiting for them to finish eating.
The girls immediately picked up their pace until they were walking beside you, slipping effortlessly back into conversation as if nothing had happened.
Lily tapped your shoulder. “Why are you walking so slow?”
“Dunno. It felt nice outside.”
“...Really? It's hot as hell.”
You let out a small laugh but didn't bother explaining yourself. Anyone could tell you were just stalling. The four of you went back to talking normally like nothing had happened, complaining about classes instead.
“I can't believe Professor Han assigned us a group project when break is literally in two days,” Yoonchae groaned.
“I know,” You sighed. “I barely survived the last time.”
Moka shrugged. “Maybe he's still upset about his divorce. He did the same thing last year.”
“...Wasn't that, like, two years ago?” Lily asked.
“Yeah. He cried about it in class too.”
All of you burst into laughter, the voices carrying itself through the quiet street. Even people who were miles away could hear your silly banters.
A few steps behind, the boys had fallen into a conversation of their own. Martin and James were arguing over something stupid while the twins were on their phones, too busy doomscrolling to care.
Juhoon walked beside them in silence, every now and then, his eyes drifting forward.
For some reason, the sight of you irritated him more than he'd like to admit. It felt like that moment at the pool, when he saw you have fun with your group, giggling like little kids. The more he saw your joy radiating off of you, the more pissed he got.
“Yo, Jju!” James called out, giving up on arguing with Martin.
Martin crossed his arms. “Whatever, bro.”
With a dramatic sigh, he fished his headphones out of his pocket, shoved them on, and cranked up his music, muttering something under his breath about “being surrounded by idiots.”
“Hm?” Juhoon finally answered.
“You've been real quiet lately.”
James hummed in response, unconvinced. His eyes followed Juhoon's gaze until they found you several steps ahead, completely engrossed in conversation with the girls and painfully unaware that someone couldn't seem to take his eyes off you.
A few seconds passed in silence. Juhoon unconciously rubbed the back of his neck, but before he knew it, his eyes had wandered to you again.
James noticed immediately, a grin slowly spread across his face. He let out a quiet snicker.
Juhoon's eyes widened ever so slightly. “I wasn't staring at her, I swear!”
Keonho finally looked up from his phone. “The hell are you two talking about?”
Juhoon let out a groan and buried his face in his hands.
“Please… Just pretend I never said that… ”
He raised both hands in surrender. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Juhoon clicked his tongue, refusing to look at either of them.
Keonho narrowed his eyes. “Y'all are weird.”
The lecture hall buzzed with conversation as everyone waited for Professor Han to announce the project pairs. With midterm break starting tomorrow, nobody was in the mood to pay attention.
You leaned back in your chair and nudged Yoonchae.
“I hope he pairs us together.”
A few rows behind you, Juhoon sat by himself.
None of the Cortis boys bothered taking Biology, leaving him stuck beside a different group of frat boys from the LNGSHOT house. They were just as loud as Martin, if not louder.
Woojin smirked. “How'd Ohyul hyung and Ryul hyung end up here? I thought you guys passed Biology.”
“Woojin... if you open your mouth one more time-”
“Yooo, chill bro!” Louis laughed, patting Ohyul on the back. That only earned him another glare.
“I submitted my paper on time though!”
Ryul lets out a laugh. “Maybe he just didn't like the way you wrote it.”
“Do you wanna die today?”
“Woah, woah. I'm just being honest!”
Woojin slouched back into his chair. “He failed both of you. Why are y'all arguing with each other?”
Louis nodded. “At this point, just accept it. There's nothing you can do.”
“...Whatever.” The two hyungs muttered in unison.
The four continued bickering, loud enough for half the lecture hall to hear.
Juhoon barely looked up from his phone.
Professor Han walked to the podium and cleared his throat and the chatter died down almost instantly. He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his shirt pocket, unfolded it carefully, adjusted his glasses, and glanced around the room.
“I will now announce the project pairs.”
A collective groan rippled through the lecture hall.
“And before anyone asks,” he added, “no, you may not switch partners.”
That statement earned more groans from the class.
“The project is due on the first day back after break.”
He glanced down at the attendance sheet and began reading.
Yoonchae leaned over with a disappointed sigh.
“Seriously?” You glared at Professor Han
A few more names passed until yours came up.
“Y/N,” he paused, “and Juhoon.”
Yoonchae raised a brow. “Since when does he take Biology?”
Instinctively, you turned around.
Sure enough, Juhoon was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, all nonchalant and unbothered.
You rolled your eyes and turned back to the front immediately without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Professor Han had already moved on to announcing the remaining pairs, completely oblivious to the awkward silence he'd just created.
You mumbled “This is gonna be the worst break ever…”
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[🗨️] apologies for the hiatus!! i was busy enjoying summer and forgot to update lol. to make it up for yall i'll dish out 2 chapters this week... ik this is really short but i kinda got sloppy last minute so srry for that 🫶🫶🫶
im a little concerned abt how to continue this when school starts but regardless i hope to continue it for as long as i can!!!
taglist (open): @kpopsmutty69 @narcissanarcissa @luffyloving @skibidiev @zooweemimi @iiunique @pereinble @martinslver @wassupacai3 @tangerinestarr @donttripchocolatechip3 @sese-blurbs @cortisalcholic @coquettegirlyenha @jujuwos