TEASER i call it fashion ⋆˚꩜.ᐟ nishimura riki
pairing: fashionmajor!niki x marketingmajor!reader
genre: university au, fluff, (eventual) smut
synopsis: you thought being paired with niki for a class project would be easy enough, but what happens when your feelings get in the way?
content tags: SLOW BURN. marijuana and alcohol use, heavy petting, unprotected sex, oral sex, possessive!niki, jealous AND avoidant!reader. winter and ningning as readers friends, enha ot7 as niki's friend group.
word count: 2k
author's notes: hello enha tumblr this is my first time posting a fic on here so i decided to post a teaser first! it'll be the first of many i hope! it's mostly world building but still i hope you enjoy. feel free to send any feedback or thoughts my way ✶⋆.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Your eyes felt heavy, wanting sleep. The light from your half closed curtains spread throughout your room, exposing the dust in the air – you needed to do a proper clean soon.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The alarm has been going off for the past hour, even though it was in a different room, it fills your entire apartment. That's what you get for living in cheap student accommodation. Groaning, you shove your head under your pillow, chasing whatever sleep you could get. Your own alarm hasn't gone off yet, so you knew you had some extra time to rot in bed.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
It was no use; instead of absorbing any sound, the thin walls echo it back even louder. At this point any sleepiness you once felt has been washed away by pure irritation. You tumble out of bed, barely having time to adjust to the brightness of the room. Rubbing the crusties from your eyes, you use your spatial memory of your apartment to go towards the sound. Opening your eyes was too much of an effort right now. If you were going to bump into anything, it’d only be your peeling leather couch you and your roommates got for free off of Facebook Marketplace. It was supposed to be a temporary fix; only to fill the space until you all had saved up from a better one. That was almost two years ago at this stage.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
You didn’t bother knocking on NingNing’s door and opted to force it open. She had left a pile of clothes right behind it. You mentally rolled your eyes at her messy habits – Hey, that top looks familiar. Throughout all the commotion you made entering her room, NingNing hadn’t stirred nor shifted in her sleep once. She is wrapped up in her sheets, with her arm hanging off the edge of the bed. Her hair obscures her face slightly but you could hear her deep, even breaths. You grab her phone from the floor, turning the alarm off. 7:12 am. Still irritated at her, you fling her phone straight at her head, earning a disgruntled groan. Attempting to escape waking up, she curls further into her bed. You almost let her, taking deep breaths in an effort to not stay annoyed. But upon hearing her soft snores re-emerge from the pile of blankets – How is she already gone back to sleep? – You grab her arm and yank her out of the bed, pulling her straight onto the floor. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry” she yelps as her butt hits her hardwood floor on the only spot not covered in clothes. You grab one of her pillows to smother her with it. She’s too quick though. She dodges the pillow only to tackle you by the waist, “I’m sorryyyyy baby please forgive me”. Her mockingly flirty tone makes you want to deck her. She clings to your side, cozying into your neck, squeezing you tighter by the second. The more you try to shove her off you, the tighter she hugs you. “MINJEONG! HELP ME! PLEASE!” Winter appears at the door in a hoodie and hello kitty pajamas pants. She’s laughing before she even gets a proper look at the two of you. “The two of you are pathetic” You scowl at her “Have you been up this whole time??” NingNing wraps her legs around your waist as you attempt to stand up. “Yeah” Winter giggles “I’ve a quiz later today I wanted to get a bit of revision in beforehand” Winter has always been the early riser out of your trio. She’s a computer science major. It’s not uncommon for her to take over your tiny dining table with textbooks. She probably has a log book and calculator permanently in her handbag at this point. NingNing is a physics major, unbelievably, having never seen her study, or heard of her ever going to lectures. She prioritises her sleep and social life more than her studies; Yet she still maintains almost perfect grades? Bitch.
As a Marketing major, you undeniably have the easiest workload of you three. Sure you have exams and quizzes, but most of your assignments are hands-on projects. You even got the chance to do an internship with Pop Mart last year, helping to design the promotional material for their new ENCHIN plushies. No Quantum Mechanics. No Calculus. No Thermodynamics. No confusing formulas. Just you and the 4 Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion!). Your course requires you to build your resume through experience and intuition, not replication of formulas done a million times before. (all respect to my science baddies though.) You had breezed through the previous semesters, however, you were slightly anxious about this one. The marketing faculty pushed heavily for taking cross-listed courses, guiding students to gain as much experience in every field possible, especially within the arts departments. You had avoided them as long as possible as it usually involved interacting with artsy students whose courses you hadn’t an iota about. And group work. It was a no. But before the start of the new semester, your academic advisor pulled you on it, explaining your final year would be increasingly difficult if you didn’t take one now. She presented you with a number of potential courses, choosing the one that you deemed least eccentric: FMS226 Fashion Marketing 101 conducted by Professor Jung. You would share that class with the Fashion majors, naturally. The Fashion majors were an easy group to spot on campus, though they didn’t have any need to frequent the library, so you only saw them in passing as they congregate in the quad between classes. Half were stoners, covered in tattoos and piercings, bleached hair, baggy hoodies and distressed jeans. While the other half opted for the look of a fashion director, elevated basics, monochromatic palettes, clean and sleek hair, forgoing any accessories bar plain hoops. It would be a lie to say you didn't envy either group, they exuded an air of innate confidence and coolness, regularly inspiring trends within the rest of the student body. Your own fashion sense left a lot to be desired. Your wardrobe was divided into professional office wear you had for your internships, and comfy sweats you wore to lectures. It was from lack of interest, more so lack of knowledge. You knew all the major designer brands, but you couldn't differentiate between any of them. You'd have no real knowledge of textures, textiles, shapes and cuts. On top of that you'd have no idea how to style something to make you cooler or make other people want to wear something similar. So instead of wasting brain power into something like being stylish, you take away the decision fatigue altogether to have more energy for your academics.
Despite the morning's rough start, the three of you sat silently at the kitchen table: NingNing crunched on dry cereal wrapped in her duvet, Winter sipped on a black coffee while scrolling, while you were lethargically peel an orange in a very shallow attempt to get some nutrients. You flung the peel at NingNing as her loud chewing reverberated throughout the kitchen; she ignored you entirely, continuing to munch. “How are you feeling about today?” Winter asks, raising her eyebrows at you before continuing to scroll. “Eh, I'd rather not go. I’m dreading it honestly” You sigh exasperatedly. “I know that Sunoo’s roommate is a fashion major. I’m not sure of his name though” NingNing shrugs. “Well that's not much help to me is it?” “I’m just saying!” Winter interrupts by standing up, her chair scratching against the floor. “I’m heading to campus this morning anyway so why don't we walk together?” She places her cup in the sink “Might make you more nervous if you have too much time to think about it before you actually go into class” Winter turns to smile at you awkwardly “We can share the umbrella.”
Huddling underneath the umbrella to avoid the rain, the two of you set off towards campus. Decelis Academy wasn’t your first choice, but you stumbled across it after reading a graphic novel about vampires. You had assumed it was made up; you applied solely because of your love for the series. Turns out the author actually attended the university and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Animation only a few years prior. Clearing her throat, Winter hesitantly spoke “I’ve been meaning to tell you” She avoided your eyes, looking at the ground. “Jeno finally asked me to be his girlfriend.” A pink tint bloomed across her cheeks as she spoke. “I haven’t told Yizhuo yet. I just know she’s gonna make fun of me” You stay silent for a minute studying her. It was cute seeing her like this; she rarely mentioned romantic feelings. She was private in that way. NingNing was the complete opposite; she dated openly and wasn't exactly hush-hush about the details of her hook ups, so Winter being timid about who she liked was almost laughable to her. “Youre such a cutie Minjeong” chucking while reaching to pinch her cheek. As much as you’re happy for her, envy coils in your stomach. Dating has never been easy for you, your nervousness repeatedly prevented you from making the first move, and if you did find yourself liking someone, you’d make up excuses as to why you can’t see them until it eventually fizzles out. Still, you craved the intimacy, the closeness of someone’s company. You make an effort to push the feeling down. You reach the Arts building. Winter gives your arm a quick squeeze before saying goodbye. You watch her walk away until you can see her anymore, anything to delay going inside.
“Thanks for today. Before we go, I’m going to pop up details for your assignment. You can email me with any questions. See you next week”
The aim of this assignment is to create a brand with a distinct style, as well as a marketing campaign to promote the brand. Fashion and Marketing students must pair up in order to complete this assignment.
You, and your partner, must design a portfolio, min. 100 pages, that details the innerworks of your created fashion brand. Sketches, mockups and fabric samples should be included. This can include, but is not limited to, signature colour palette, patterns, textures and cuts, budgets for both the hypothetical creation of the all clothes in the line. Alongside this, you must design a marketing campaign to promote this brand. This can include, but is not limited to, potential celebrity ambassadors, campaign photoshoots, storyboards of any video advertisements as well as any other necessary material.
Please include all any image references and/or inspiration in the beginning of your portfolio. Any and all us of AI within this assignment will result in a null grade, please use your human creativity for this. Email any questions to: [email protected]
The hall instantly broke out into noise as people tried to pair up. There’s nothing more awkward than trying to find a partner in a classroom of people you don’t know. You sit idly for a few minutes looking around the hall. That’s when you spot him. You recognise his bleach blonde hair, the few strands of his hair you can see from underneath his cap. His hands were decorated in rings, all different shapes, metals and gems. The sight makes your mouth water. You could feel yourself stand to walk towards him before the thought finishes forming in your head. You stand in front of his desk, note book in hand. Your shadow covers his desk; he still doesn’t notice you. You can hear beats faintly bleeding from his wired headphones, He was busy doodling on his notebook in front of him. Tiny doodles of ducks with cheetah spots all over. You clear your throat and tap his shoulder “Eh, excuse me?”. The heat of awkwardness crawls up your neck. You don't even know his name yet, and the thought of potentially being rejected as a partner only appears in your mind now. “Oh hi sorry” He has a deeper voice than you anticipate. He swiftly removes his headphones, looking up at you intently. That is before he gets distracted by the commotion of the hall. You take it as an opportunity to get a good look at his face. He has high cheekbones, and an angular jawline, with full lips; Deep brown monolid eyes framed by eyebrows that standout despite being bleached. You notice how his double eyebrow piercing reflects light as he looks around the room. He’s handsome. Fuck. Of course he is. He notices you staring, not that you were hiding it. “Is something going on?” slight panic surfacing on his face. You laugh softly at him, unable to help the small smile that spreads across your face. “Eh yeah, the professor just announced the assignment for this class. It's a paired project…Would I be wrong in assuming you’re a fashion major…?” He makes direct eye contact. You can feel the heat of awkwardness rise up your neck. Looking down your note book to try and hide from his gaze, you continue. “A marketing student and a fashion major need to pair up. That’s why I'm asking you…I’m the marketing major…obviously.” you laughed awkwardly before clearing your throat, feeling your cheeks redden. A sly smile creeps on his lips “Um sure. Why not? I have no idea what we need to do though. I didn't think I'd need to pay attention in this class ""Yeah I can see that” as you eye his doodle filled page. His entire face lights up as he looks down at the notepad “I’ll listen from now on. I promise” “Amazing. Great. Um. Let me go grab my phone so I can get your number.” You begin shuffling through your bag, trying to locate your phone, oblivious as to how he studies your face. “I have mine here, why don’t you go first?” he takes his one from his pocket and hands it to you. You fill your details, putting (Fashion Marketing 101) beside it, just incase he forgets who you are. He chuckles at the detail you put into your contact as you hand him back his phone. Just as you begin your search for you phone again, Professor Jung dismisses that class. The boy shoots up, quickly packing up his bag. Fuck. He’s Tall too. You crane your neck up to look at him “ Oh eh my name’s Riki by the way, I never said.” His eyes dart between you and the door “I don’t mean to cut you off but I have dance practice straight after this and it’s on the other side of campus so i kinda need to run” You can only nod sheepishly at him “I’ll send you a text later so you have my number” as he brushes past you. And then he’s gone.
Your entire body deflats when you get home, now grateful to have the difficult chore of choosing a partner over with. You haven’t sorted anything out; You didn't even get his number. It was still better than nothing. As if he knew you were thinking it over, your phone pings.
Unknown number: hey this is riki
Unknown number: the fashion major obviously :)
You groan at him parroting your words from earlier. As if your nervous state wasn't embarrassing enough, he had noticed it as well.
Riki (Fashion Marketing 101): im free tomorrow morning until 12
Riki (Fashion Marketing 101): wanna meet for a coffee or sum?
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