Pairings: [fem] uni exchange student! reader x uni student! HS x uni student! Jay
Genres: Fluff | Slice of Life | Comedy | Angst | Teenage Romance | Thriller
Warnings: swearing
Word Count: 2.8k
Synopsis/Quote: In which your oblivious ass cannot tell that a popular boy in your class has a big, fat crush on you | “It seems like the one who was ruined was me.”
Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @seasideheeseung @wooya1224 @gratefulmaria @sunshineshouchan @youreverydayzebra @fayqj @witheeseung @haechanhues @w-o-o-y-a-a @miingxuxi @reallysmolrenjun @hrrhmay-primaryblog @rosie112703 [drop me a dm/ask/comment to be added!]
Heeseung is panicking to: What Can I Do - Day6
The smile on Jay's face completely rips you of all your worries, especially when he drags you before the mirror and sticks a Minnie headband on your head.
He pulls out his phone and nudges you to strike a pose in the mirror, sticking his tongue out while you follow suit.
The glistening shimmer across his eyes make it both endearing and terrible to bear - the thought of you telling him to give it up was absolutely off the table as of now.
The pink headband on your hair matches with the blue one on his, and he's just dragging you around the store in a bid to find more merchandise he could make you pay for (though you know for sure he was going to offer to take the bill anyway).
The day had barely begun and he was already running on an all-time high. It's dangerously addicting, and you don't think you'd be able to escape his adrenaline at all.
By the time you leave the store, more tourists have come in, but the lack of students your age made it a lot more tolerable and the theme park just wasn't as crowded as you'd expect it to be on a holiday.
The late morning sun was shining down on the both of you, his hands waving the Disneyland map around as he gestures to the different rides.
You'd be a bitch if you ruined his happiness now, wouldn't you?
Jay made it a point to think up a plan for the entire day just so he'd be able to go for all the attractions with you, somehow managing to slip in time for lunch and dinner.
His skin is a honey shade under the sun when you're on your 5th ride. The sweat that's trickling down the side of his cheekbone cues the thought: I should-
But he beats you to it, and carefully wipes a few strands of hair off your forehead stuck to your temple.
He's definitely saying something too, but none of it goes in. Not when your heart is racing from the minuscule physical contact - does he even know what he's doing?
You must admit to yourself, you got frustrated (read: angry, annoyed, troubled) with how well Jay carried himself throughout the Disneyland date.
How was he keeping himself together? Was he that full of confidence that everything would go his way? - In which it kind of was - granted that you weren't going to tell him anything about not being interested.
It's all the little things that he does, sometimes with a lack of expression, that makes you rethink your decision.
But it hits you time and time again that no matter which one you chose, you had 7 weeks left.
And who else could you blame but your father?
Maybe I am a bitch.
"Do you need help with that?" Jay coyly asks without even looking at you.
The plastic over the disposable cup was impossible to get the straw through, now leaving a mess of a wrinkled blob on the material.
"No, I'm-" You go at it once more, and the end of the straw crumples instead.
Without another word, Jay reaches over to you and takes your cup, picking the straw from your fingers before running it through the plastic.
"Thanks."
He hums, just as the sushi arrives at the table.
Half the items here were definitely not within your budget, but in some alternate universe, Jay somehow knew you'd like them and ordered them anyway.
So much for paying for your meals.
Casually thanking the way, he pulls off his Mickey headband and dusts it off, setting it down next to him before going for the cutlery.
He's gone pretty quiet compared to earlier on in the day, so it wasn't hard to figure out that he's spent.
Even more of a reason why I shouldn't ruin his night.
"You alright?" Jay raises a brow, waving chopsticks under your nose.
"Hm?" You raise both brows, slightly startled.
"You were zoning," He runs his fingers through his slightly greasy hair, then picks up his phone to take a picture of the food - and you.
"I'm fine," You pull down your peace sign and bite your smile away, instead, chewing on your bottom lip as he rearranges the sushi plates, deliberately pushing the more expensive ones to you. "You look tired too."
"Who said I'm not?" He yawns through a wide smile, laughing as he sniffles it out. "It was fun though, right?"
"Yeah," Your tired eyes trail as he finally settles the arrangement, obviously pleased with himself as he clacks his chopsticks together.
'Yeah'? That's your best answer?
Jay waits for you to pick up the first piece of sushi before he starts, and for the next 10 minutes, you eat in silence with him occasionally asking you to take something you haven't touched.
And it wasn't a romantic kind of silence.
If you could dig a hole right below your feet and crawl into it, you would. You've been friends with him for 7 weeks and yet you can't hold a decent conversation?
What's wrong with you?
You couldn't decide if it was just the fatigue that set in from a whole day out, which, in retrospect, was probably not a good idea.
You felt awkward, but Jay looked completely fine: absorbed in his own world of sushi and making sure you had your fill of salmon sashimi and unagi.
You know, the clanking of plates and distant chatter of other patrons that overwhelmed the lack of it at your table? He wasn't looking at his phone, nor zoning.
He was just... eating.
So you were nothing more than two idiots on a date that didn't work out, huh?
"Where are you off to?" Sunghoon's eyes widen, greeting Jay as he steps out of the room. Jake was by his side, ready to enter Heeseung and Jay's room.
"Going out to meet my dad," Jay squats and pulls his shoes out from the cabinet.
"Oh," Jake hums. "We were just about to pummel you about your date yesterday."
Jay chuckles, fingers twirling the laces and tying them. Sunghoon looks up and into the room, watching Heeseung sniffle while writing down some notes at his table.
"It went well."
Sunghoon looks back down and glances at Jake who's got a nonchalant brow raised.
"It obviously didn't."
Jay grunts, yawning as he stands. "Well or not, I still scored a date, so-"
The two boys blink at Jay, watching him turn to bid goodbye to Heeseung.
"I'm off."
"Aight, bye."
"Bye."
Jake and Sunghoon wait until Jay disappears into the lift lobby, hands fiddling with his earpiece to shove them into his ear canals.
They turn back and step into the room, Jake throwing himself onto Heeseung's bed and Sunghoon crossing his arms over his chest.
"It didn't go well, did it?"
Heeseung twirls his pen over his index finger, yawning at his notes. "Nope."
"And you're still going out with her tomorrow?"
Heeseung pauses and turns, scratching his cheekbone.
The silence is an answer on its own.
"You're absolutely fucked."
"I'm not fucked."
"You are."
"Oh, my God."
"Look, I'll just- after tomorrow, I can get Jay off my back regarding her, and- and I'll just see how it goes!" Heeseung shrugs, pouting at Sunghoon with wide eyes.
The younger was standing with his arms tight across his chest, unimpressed and in utter disbelief that the older had even thought about taking Jay's suggestion, much less actually do it.
Sprawled across Heeseung's bed is Jake, periodically tossing a stress ball up into the air and catching it. With his free hand tucked under his neck, he listens to the conversation that's on the verge of an argument.
"I have-" Sunghoon sighs, bringing his fingers up to his temples and rubbing them with his eyes shut. "Thinning- and I mean, THINNING patience- for how this whole thing is turning out."
"It's true," Jake chimes in, lifting his head backwards and looking at Heeseung upside-down. "He won't shut up about it."
"I just- first of all, when I said you should tell Jay or not give up on the girl to hurt his pride, I didn't mean 'ask her out'. Secondly, if Jay's so adamant about asking her out, hasn't she already figured out that Jay's into her?"
Sunghoon pauses.
"Have you done anything to try to impress her?"
Heeseung pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue and glances at Jake, eyes on him now.
"No."
Sunghoon squints. "Liar."
"Okay, so I- I comforted her once when she messed up her mid-terms and- I asked her to tutor me for the test and we watched the documentary together and-"
"'And'?!" Sunghoon shrieks, pressing his palms into his hair. "How many 'and's' do you need...!!!"
"And... I may or may not have sent her home multiple times."
Jake snickers, finally tilting his head into a normal position. "Oh, you're fucked, alright."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"That's because you shouldn't!" Sunghoon slaps him on the shoulder, earning a sharp wince from Heeseung. "And what's that girl doing, toying with both your feelings like that?"
"I honestly don't think she knows."
"Shut up, she's a scholar."
"Book-smart doesn't mean emotionally intelligent."
"If you actually did what you said you've done... and she just went out with Jay yesterday, then the girl must know that it's not that simple with either of you."
Heeseung pauses to contemplate his words.
Heeseung can't really get enough of your politeness when you order the food for takeaway. You had shown up in a simple camisole, cardigan and shorts.
As per described, simple.
But he finds himself unable to tear his attention off you, marveling at how different you looked than when you were in school.
He holds onto the pizza and chicken as you lay down the mat into the sand, some kids running past with a dog and giggling out into the waters.
The ocean was reflecting the late afternoon sun, every ripple and every little bubble glimmering a shade of blue and white.
You pull off your shoes and step onto the mat, taking the food from him and placing them strategically onto the mat to weigh it down.
He sucks in a deep breath as you carefully lay out the items, using your feet to spread the material evenly before reaching over to him as he tries to slip off his shoes.
The uneven sand under his feet give up on him, instincts grabbing onto your hand before he topples over.
The smile and laughter erupts all over your face in your lips, teeth, voice and eyes and Heeseung hates the feeling he gets when his heart stops.
But all he's thinking about is Jay and how shit of a date he said the amusement park was.
"Are you okay?" Your voice, light as feathers, comb through his anxious thoughts. Your grip is light but firm on his forearm as you pull him onto the mat, the plastic crinkling under his feet as he finds his centre of gravity again.
"Yeah," Heeseung gulps and lips his dry lips, feeling your hold loosen around him. You step back, returning your attention to the food as he glances up at the sky and the surroundings. Your white cardigan, white camisole and beige shorts are nothing but complementary to the beach sights.
In fact, the beach complemented you.
"Heeseung," You reach over and give his knee a little tap on his knee. He looks down at you from the horizon, eyes glimmering under the saturated sunlight.
"You okay?" You ask again, raising a brow out of concern.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He looks flustered, patting down his shirt and sitting opposite you with the boxes between you.
"Sorry, I was just..."
Just what?
"Thinking about the test next week."
No, I wasn't.
"Huh," You grin to yourself, looking back down at the food as you pull apart the boxes. "Are you thinking about it or panicking about it?"
Neither.
"Thinking about it," Heeseung clears his throat and inhales the scent of cheese and onions and tomatoes and fried chicken skin.
"You did well for your first test, so... just focus on whatever's that's left. Week 6 and the documentary," Pulling out a bottle of hand sanitiser from your bag, you offer it to him and he takes it.
"Yeah, I'm not too sure about whatever was tested from the first few weeks."
"What?" You frown at him with a distasteful smirk, taking the bottle back from him as he wipes his hands. "You're a top scorer! Surely that's gonna drive you to... outdo yourself again."
Heeseung shakes his head, reaching over and pulling the pizza slices apart. "Unlike you, I don't really care for a streak. I just want a pretty report card, as far as I can help it."
"You still have half a week left, so," He hands you a slice and you take it gracefully, turning to face the sea before the wind blows your hair all over your lips.
There's something calming about the way the water washes into the sand, creating white noise in silence where you should probably be talking to him.
But every time you turn and take something else from the box, you manage to steal a glance at him.
His eyes were reflecting the horizon, the ball of fire replacing his pupils and his nose drawing a gorgeous line of shadow over his philtrum.
Then he turns after finishing the slice in his hand, and the little smudge of tomato sauce in the corner of his lips attracts your attention.
"Keeping that for supper?" Sucking on your teeth, you glance down at the finishing food in the box.
"What?" Heeseung's tongue darts out and messily attempts to search for whatever you were looking for, but the dried-out sauce is stubborn despite his tongue already finding it.
"That's disgusting," You wince at him, picking up a napkin and wiping your fingers.
"I'm trying."
With a slightly embarrassed smile, you pick up another napkin and wave to get his attention.
"Do you mind?""
Heeseung blinks, then leans across boxes to you with his arm supporting his weight below his shoulders.
You try your best to avoid his eyes, so your attention solidifies onto his mouth where the stain was. With some energy, you drag the napkin across his skin, the red sauce coming off and staining the ivory instead.
But Heeseung can't hide the tiny smile that grows across his face.
Not when he can tell you're holding your breath.
"You should invest some time in swimming," He whispers, just as the last bit of sauce comes off.
"Huh?" You raise a brow in confusion, the question forcing you to breathe again.
"Nothing," He gently shakes his head, dribbling his fringe over his brows and eyelashes.
The rest of the evening is spent talking about your life back at home. Where Byeol was. Where your mother was. Where all your other friends were.
Then even outside the gates to your apartment, Heeseung's joke still has you giggling, your stomach aching and eyes tearing.
Heeseung sighs, watching you stop outside the gate and the security guard waving to him first even before he spots you.
"Wow, you might as well just..." You throw your hands up in a shrug. "Make friends with him at this point."
Heeseung chuckles, sucking his lips in between his teeth. "Thank you for hanging out with me today."
"Of course," You return his smile, your fingers interlocking with one another. "I had fun."
"Same."
A few cars drive past.
Heeseung nods, seemingly anxious as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
"Well, it's been fun."
"Mhm."
He nods again, feet rooted to the floor though his shoulders were already swaying from trying to turn away.
"Well, um-"
Then a surge of confidence washes over you, convincing you that it was a good idea for you to tiptoe and press a kiss to his cheek.
Heeseung's eyes widen when you return to flat ground, taking a step back and scanning his face for any sign of complete disgust.
But he blinks at you like a confused puppy, his entire body frozen like he was just dumped into a tub of ice.
"Anyway, goodnight," You hastily spit, turning around and fishing out your keycard.
"Wait," He takes a big step forward and wraps his fingers around your arm to pull you around.
By now your heart is racing and stopping at the same time.
Then your vision goes slightly blur and your head flashes point-blank as he leans down to peck your cheek as well.
Since you said requested are open, is it possible to write something like a lazy day in with Heeseung? Like cuddles and soft kisses 🥰
sure thing dear! i hope you enjoy!
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5:54 P.M.:
The sky has turned from bright to warm blue as the hours have passed on, and the clock on the wall ticks just the same as Heeseung and you mindlessly trace patterns onto each other's skin. Your palms are pressed together, and Heeseung's fingers trail down yours, emphasizing just how much bigger they are than yours. His fingertips are soft, featherlight, and they trail along your skin delicately.
"Are we honestly not doing anything today?" Heeseung asks after a few minutes, deciding to move and pull your body closer to his. It is cold outside, and so the two of you have opted to pile every blanket you own onto the bed. At this point, you're in a blanket fortress, both of you buried underneath the layers.
"We are," You state, "We're hanging out."
Heeseung giggles at this and nods, swiping some hair away from your face. You smile back at him and he begins running his soft hand along your arm.
"You don't wanna watch a movie or something? I'm kind of in the mood to re-watch La La Land."
You hum in thought and then shake your head, booping your boyfriend's nose gently before scrunching up your own in amusement.
"We can do that later on. Right now, I just want to admire you."
Heeseung nods and then wraps his arms around your waist, bringing your skin against his. Heeseung is soft, and smells like vanilla, and it makes you blush. He buries his nose in your neck, and inhales, just as you do to him sometimes. It's comforting, knowing he loves your smell as much as you, his. He presses a chaste kiss to the skin of your clavicle before he's pulling back and meeting your eyes.
"Can I kiss you?" He whispers, eyes twinkling underneath the dim covers.
"You don't have to ask, dork."
"Yes I do," He grins, lifting his hand up to cup your jaw. You sigh as Heeseung's nose bumps against yours, just slightly, and his breath fans out across your lips. He doesn't even have to speak to entrance you.
"Heeseung..." You say quietly, waiting for him to come closer.
"You didn't say yes." He teases you, lips trailing over the corner of yours. You laugh and nod, "Yes. Yes, yes, ye-"
Heeseung's lips mold to yours before you're finished, and they are just as soft as you remember. Heeseung's lips taste like peaches, and they move so delicately against yours you feel like you're floating.
Before you know it, Heeseung has you pulled all the way flush against him, and he's kissing you so passionately you feel love fill up every corner if your being. He only pulls away when you let out a small hum against his lips.
"I love you, Hee." You say, noting how swollen his lips are and how messy his hair is. He looks dazed, like he's just come back from a distant place in his mind.
"God, I love you so much," He replies, hand beginning to rub soothingly along your back. His lips go back to yours, soft pecks, before he's pulling away again to finally look into your eyes.
summary: it was forbidden - this glaring fact being a quarter of the reason why you couldn’t stop.
the other three-fourths, being that from the moment you met him, you couldn’t stay away from him. you had not planned on traveling to the city of love, much less becoming another cliche under the gloomy sky, but alas. Paris is not meant to be explored alone. and you had never met another man as beautiful and stunning as Lee Heeseung in Paris of 1992.
truthfully, if you could go back? you wouldn’t change a single thing.
pairing: lee heeseung x reader
genre: romance, college!student hee, actually perfect heethungie all around. help-
word count: at this point like 7k I’m p sure (rip to my fingers god)
warnings: this fic will include themes of infidelity, adultery, adult content (drinking, etc.), and just general very Grown themes. if any of these themes make you feel uncomfortable, please do not read this fic!
song rec: comptine d`un autre ete - l`apres-midi - yann tiersen
playlist: here
wattpad vers.: here
a/n: Besties…. It’s 5 am as I’m writing this. I’ve been working on this chapter ALL NIGHT LONG and I just really hope yall enjoy it as much as I did. Also if ur curious about Heeseung’s apartment, you can actually look at it here, lol. Except, the furniture in it is way different looking compared to Hee’s. Anyway! If there are any typos pls spare me bc like I said, its an ungodly hour in the morning and I’m dead inside. This fic took it out of me so uhhh I rlly hope yall enjoy it. I love u all so much, and also I love paris heeseung, god. ok. ily bye!!!
Chapter One / Chapter Two
The rain is gone by the time you’ve finished your dinner, but the smell still accompanies you as you walk down the thin pathway, passing apartment after apartment under the full moon hung high above Paris. The cab drive was short, only about fifteen minutes, but the neighborhood may as well be one from a different planet.
❥ Bad boy Sunwoo x reader, 15.6k | AO3
❥ Soulmates AU, college AU, fluff, some humour
❥ Warnings: mentions of bruises, swearing, references to mature subjects, a... pretty suggestive scene towards the end
❥ Is he a bad boy because he's bad at everything...? You had simply rolled your eyes when he'd zoomed by on his skateboard, trying to show off. You'd found it hilarious when he ended up falling face first into a fruit stand. But it's not so funny anymore when the bruises start to show up on your body right after.
"Hey, Juyeon, do you think it could be this guy?" You nudge your friend, turning your laptop screen so he could see from where he sat on the floor beside your bed. "That guy right there—Sangyeon. Do you see that bruise on his upper arm?"
When you roll up your sleeve to show him, there's a similar splash of blue on your arm that gives you a pang of hope that you'd finally found the one. You almost prayed to the OTP gods to please let this Sangyeon guy be your soulmate because he was good looking and broad and—if he were actually your soulmate, one look at his handsome face might just erase all the hate you'd been harbouring all these years.
Hatred towards your soulmate.
"It does look similar," Juyeon says slowly before leaning towards the laptop screen until his face is almost touching it. "It looks like he also has one on his collar though; do you have that one as well?"
You heave a sigh. "No."
It's another day that yields no results on the soulmate front, which shouldn't be surprising at this point, but it's a growing frustration that the continuous stream of bruises on your body left no clue as to where your soulmate could be.
Boxing has never been an interest of yours but ever since the bruises started appearing, Juyeon had suggested that your soulmate might be a boxer. It had been a joke at first but seeing as the bruises never stopped as you waited year after year to find this soulmate, your last resort was to try and look for them anywhere you could. It led you to watch boxing matches quite regularly, but the boxers' bruising patterns never quite matched yours, and the timing of your bruises didn't quite match theirs.
Soulmate—the one person in the world that shared your bruises, whose body displayed all the blues and purples of your pain like watercolour on a canvas. The concept sounded beautiful, and sometimes you could indeed see the beauty in Juyeon and Hyunjae's shared glances as congruent spots bloomed across their skin simultaneously. You saw it in the way every mark told a story, how each one was a reminder that there is someone to share your pain and that they are never too far away.
But as nice as the idea of a soulmate sounded in theory, you didn't know how to feel about the fact that your soulmate was out there getting their body battered. Were they playing a sport that involved frequent injuries? Were they actually a boxer or maybe even a stunt actor? Were they super clumsy? Or were they just—you definitely did not want to imagine the other scenarios that could possibly lead to such frequent bruising, especially when certain locations of the bruises shared a little too much about this annoying soulmate's actions.
The point was, you didn't understand how someone who was constantly getting their body bruised like that would possibly be compatible with you, an innocent student just trying to graduate from college and get a job. Though at this rate you might as well become a professional makeup artist with the amount of makeup you were wearing on a daily basis just to cover all the bruises. All that just made you more determined to find this hell of a soulmate and maybe give them a punch of your own.
"Hang in there," Juyeon says gently, pulling you out of your thoughts. "You'll find them soon."
"What did I miss?" Hyunjae comes into you room with his face entirely blocked by the bags of snacks he was carrying in his arms. He settles in between you and Juyeon, perched comfortably on the edge of your bed as he starts munching on chips. "No progress again today?"
"I thought that it might be this Sangyeon guy." You point at the screen where the boxer is walking by after a match that he won. It really would've been a good day to have him as a soulmate. "But now I'm even angrier at my soulmate for not being him."
"Oh, he's hot," Hyunjae nods. "But why, did you fantasize about having him as your soulmate or something?"
"Shut up. Not all of us are lucky enough to have hot soulmates, you know."
"Yes, please don't remind us that you once liked my hot soulmate." Hyunjae puts an arm around Juyeon possessively and you have to resist the urge to smack him.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
"But wait. Is that a new bruise?" He manages to poke your cheek before you swat his hand away and give him a glare.
It's your right cheek today instead of the usual left, but the timing isn't unusual for the bruises to start showing up. You sigh again, grabbing your phone to check in the camera, and just as he pointed out, the hints of blue-green hues are starting to make their way across your skin.
"It's okay," he says nonchalantly, "look on the bright side, at least it's not at a weird location."
"Um." You did not want to discuss weird locations. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You know. Like your neck or stomach. Or thighs." Hyunjae pauses for a second as a teasing expression slowly spreads across his face. "Though I guess if they were on your thighs you wouldn't exactly be telling us about them or showing us."
"Hyunjae!" Juyeon elbows him for you. At least one of the soulmate duo has some sense.
You don't say anything in response as you grab another chip, pretending as if your privacy—or was it your soulmate's?—hadn't just been violated by your supposed best friend. You did not want to be picturing your soulmate doing questionable things with other people.
"Wait... don't tell me you've actually gotten them there before. Y/N!"
You push him off the bed.
The morning flies by in a rush of insistent knocks on your door by the soulmate duo, running around your room to pack your bag for class, and then completely forgetting about putting on your safety net of a cake face to potentially cover up the evidence of your soulmate's injuries. Maybe that should've been your warning sign to skip class entirely today, but the soulmate duo reassures you that everything would be just fine. Hyunjae states that the chance of your soulmate getting beat up at this early morning hour was low, and on the other hand, Juyeon says you look perfectly gorgeous without makeup.
While you appreciate their efforts, you know they don't quite understand your reasoning for covering up the marks you get. You've seen the way they wear their bruises proudly, as a sign that their soulmate exists and as a statement of that bond just like a promise ring. That's naturally what happens when they've known each other since elementary school, where a fall on the playground resulted in a matching bruise on a classmate.
One day, if you ever find your soulmate, you wished to be able to boldly show off each and every mark too. But for now, you hated even the thought of possibly wearing your soulmate's ugly black eye like it's a fashion statement.
Campus is calm and quiet so early in the morning, a nice change from the bustle of crowds you usually see on the way to your afternoon classes. Clubs are just beginning to set up their tents for the club fair, including the pop-up farmer's market that comes to your school every month. In the distance, you could already see the bushels of various fresh fruits and vegetables set up on the stands, and there's a small bakery section at the very end filled with what looked like pastries and coffee shop drinks.
"Are we too late to even stop for coffee?" you groan, already imagining the suffering you'd be doing in lecture when the professor's monotone voice lulls you to sleep.
"Unfortunately." Juyeon gives a wry smile.
Hyunjae shakes his head at you. "You should've slept earlier."
"I had so much work to do for tutoring," you whine. "Anyways, coffee run after class please. Hyunjae, you owe me."
But just before you could hear his snarky retort, there's a roar of wheels against the sidewalk followed by a loud gust of wind.
Only a few inches away from you, so close that you could smell his cologne as he winks at you with a smirk on his face. A skateboarder, his dark hoodie and beanie blurring together as he zooms by. It nearly makes you fall despite how he didn't actually bump into you.
"What the—"
"You okay?" Juyeon grasps you just in time.
"Yeah, thanks." You quickly get back on your feet and subconsciously brush the shoulder that the skateboarder nearly touched. "But wow, how rude. You're not the only one who's late, asshole."
"Look at the way he's showing off now," Hyunjae snorts and when you follow his gaze, you could see the skateboarder continuing to weave his way through the students on the sidewalk, occasionally doing those jump tricks off the curb. The rumble of wheels on concrete fades as he gets farther away, but you don't miss the way he makes a few other students nearly fall as they scrambled to move out of his way.
"Must think he's so cool—" you start. And then stop. Because right then, karma literally manifests and catches up to said skateboarder faster than the blink of an eye. Maybe there was a rock on the sidewalk or some sort of ledge in between the cracks because the next thing you know, the guy is sent flying off the skateboard. It makes him tumble quite a distance, and what's absolutely hilarious is the way he lands. Right in the fruit stand that the farmer's market had set up.
Face first, straight into a bushel of apples.
"Ouch, that's got to hurt," Hyunjae says. It only takes one glance at him for the two of you to burst out laughing.
"Is he a bad boy because... he's bad at everything?" you say amidst the giggles.
"But did you see the look on his face?" Hyunjae holds onto your shoulder as he doubles over in laughter, only coming up when there are tears at the corners of his eyes. "Oh wait, only the apples could've seen that!"
The skateboarder slowly gets up as the people at the farmer's market gather to watch, their expressions equally divided between sympathy and amusement. You don't feel bad about laughing at all. Besides, this was totally karma for giving you and everyone else such a scare on the skateboard earlier. Especially that wink at you; who does he think he is?
Juyeon shakes his head. "Well, it's a terrible day to be his soulmate. Imagine waking up to that giant bruise on your face."
"It's probably a terrible day to be his soulmate every day," Hyunjae cackles again.
The fall of the skater boy causes the three of you to be late, though it was worth it. By the time you finally make it to class, the professor was already droning on about something on the next assignment, so you sneak in quietly and sit at the back while he's not looking.
"Maybe going to morning classes isn't such a bad idea when you can see stuff like this happen," Hyunjae whispers as he settles into his seat. The grin is still there, with teeth and all which was a rare occurrence.
"Are you suddenly awake now?" you whisper back.
He pulls out a notebook and writes the date, giving you a thumbs up enthusiastically. "Awake and ready to take on the day." It's not the correct date but you don't bother telling him.
When he turns to you again, he freezes. There's a look of confusion on his face that tells you he might've realized that the date he wrote was wrong or that he might've forgotten something important. But it soon turns into realization and then horror in under a second as he simply stares at you.
"What is it?"
Hyunjae's expression changes again and this time his lips curl into a mischievous smirk that could only mean he's up to no good.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. It's just that," he leans over to whisper in your ear, "you happen to be developing a nasty bruise right on your face."
Maybe you die a little inside.
Suddenly the idea of falling face first into a bushel of apples doesn't sound so funny anymore.
Hyunjae teases you about your supposed soulmate for the rest of the day. It's not surprising, really—he still teases you about your former crush on his soulmate after all, even though it's been years since freshman year of high school. And although you assure him that there's no way the skater boy is your soulmate, that it had to be a coincidence, you could still see the curl of his lip whenever he looks your way.
You're sure he would've dragged you over to wherever this rude skater boy was, determined to put an end to this mystery while getting a new reason to tease you. But he didn't have to. Because when you go back to the farmer's market tent after class for some fresh coffee and baked goods, the rude skater boy is there.
Only this time, he's not on a skateboard, nor is he falling into the fruit stands. This time, he's working there.
A blue vest covers his black hoodie with an obnoxious looking name tag that says "Sunwoo" when you get close enough to read it. There's a collection of colourful stickers on his cheek that conceal an area matching the one you'd smeared with emergency makeup on your own face, and his beanie is pulled low as if trying to cover as much of his face as possible.
A coincidence, you tell yourself. Besides, your actual soulmate had also given you bruises on the upper arm and lower shin yesterday, and you're sure this skater boy wouldn't have those.
"Y/N, where are you going?" Hyunjae singsongs like he's enjoying your misery. "Weren't we going to get coffee?"
"Um, let's go visit Younghoon instead?"
But he comes up to your group before you could effectively escape.
"Hey. Welcome to," the skater boy pauses, glancing back at the sign, "the farmer's market. Can I help you with anything?"
"Holy shit, he's actually working here," Hyunjae whispers to you so loudly that you're sure this Sunwoo guy could hear what he said. "How did that happen?"
The rude skateboarder scowls at the three of you, looking very disinterested. "They wanted someone hot to be the new face of their organization. Obviously."
"Couldn't have been a very nice face with that giant bruise on it," you whisper back to Hyunjae, just as loudly.
Although that's what you say, you can't help but notice that it was actually quite a nice face—plump lips, big eyes, and a sharp jawline that could cut someone. He was good-looking and he definitely knew it, perhaps a little too well because who brags about that to complete strangers? Why were all the good-looking ones like this?
"Ah, that's where I remember you guys from." The skater boy nods in Hyunjae's direction, "Definitely couldn't forget the pretty boy."
"Juyeon, are you hearing this?" You sigh, crossing your arms. "Can we g—"
"Oh, he's matched?" The Sunwoo guy raises a brow and then glances at Juyeon. Looks him up and down. "To quite the looker too, wow. Guess it's true what they say about hot people having hot soulmates."
"Bet your soulmate can't look too nice with all the bruises they get," you retort.
The skater boy sighs. "You really got to witness that moment, huh." He picks up a few of the fruits on the counter and sorts them in the baskets on the shelf. "Damn, really should've taken the motorcycle instead. But you see, I'm actually not that terrible at skateboarding. It only happened because I got so distracted by your beauty," he nods your way. "I guess you could say... I fell for you." And then there's the wink that you definitely saw coming—it's already his second wink at you and you've only been in his presence for a total of a minute.
"Are you kidding me? You nearly ran me over on your skateboard and you have the audacity to say stuff like this?"
You raise your hand jokingly as if to punch him, but then Juyeon's holding you back and shaking his head. "Hitting him won't do you any good, Y/N. Just in case he's... you know."
"Nah, we don't have to worry about that because there's no way he's my soulmate."
"Soulmate?" Sunwoo asks, eyes bouncing between you and the two others.
Hyunjae nudges you lightly, lips curling in amusement. "We're only stopping you from inflicting visible damage, but there are always other options. For example, bruises on legs are much easier to hide."
"Hmm, you're right. A kick should do it—"
Of course you weren't actually going to kick him. But even before you could finish your sentence, the rude skater boy is already turning his body away, dodging you while holding his hands out to protect himself.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I was just kidding," he pleads, running back behind the pop-up tent for protection. "But please don't; I just got a bruise there."
Juyeon tilts his head, brows furrowing. "Hey, Y/N. Maybe you're right that he's not your soulmate after all, since he has bruises that you don't have."
Yeah, thank goodness, you wanted to say. But you could only stare back at your friend in silence. Time seems to slow down.
Because when you lift your pantleg the slightest, it reveals the new bruise that you had noticed this morning. The same splash of aqua on your lower shin that has now deepened in colour and covers a little more area than before.
"Oh."
You feel like you're going to throw up.
In front of you, Sunwoo looks like he's about to faint.
Most people may not be lucky enough to have a nice meet-cute with their soulmate, but it felt like yours was more of a meet-ugly... literally.
No one talks about it this time, which you're very thankful for. But instead of the jokes and teasing that you expected to hear, there's a very obvious silence about anything to do with soulmates, as if Hyunjae and Juyeon were walking on eggshells when it came to the topic. It makes the whole situation feel too real when you were just trying to avoid thinking about it, and so, maybe the awkwardness wasn't better than their teasing after all.
Heading to the tutoring center after a study session with the soulmate duo has you walking by an area you don't normally pass by, and even from afar you could see just who hung out here. Their table stood out against the grassy fields and students scattered around, a monochromatic speck of dark hoodies and leather jackets amongst a sea of colour. You don't look too closely at the faces around the table, but it fit Sunwoo's image so well that it would've been a little surprising if he wasn't there.
And sure enough, he is there. You notice the girl sitting beside him first, so obviously flirting with the way she bends over as she laughs at something he says, her long hair falling over his shoulder. The way she clings to his arm and presses her whole body against him, and the way she hits him cutely. It's almost funny how she manages to get him right on the bruise on his arm, one that only you knew about. And only you could see the way he holds back a wince. But in the next moment, he looks up and suddenly his eyes are meeting yours.
Sunwoo blinks a couple of times before a knowing smirk appears on his lips. For a moment, he smiles back at the girl beside him; there's a twinkle in his eyes as if he's purposely turning up the charm, an abrupt change from the indifference that you'd seen just seconds earlier. She beams, nodding enthusiastically at everything he says. But to your surprise, she soon leaves their table looking the slightest bit disappointed.
And then he leaves the table to catch up to you.
"Hey, soulmate," he says. The smile on his face looks the same as when he smiled at her with the artificial sparkle in his eyes and all, and you want to hurl at how fake it is. Then there's how gross the word 'soulmate' sounds coming out of his mouth like it's just a joke to him, like he's rubbing this terrible situation in your face and laughing about it.
Typical fuckboy behaviour.
You speed up your steps a bit to shake him off. "Bye."
"Hey, wait up!"
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" you ask, still refusing to look at him or slow down your steps. "Like, with one of your girlfriends?"
"Aw, are you jealous? Don't worry, I'd rather be hanging out with you, soulmate."
You don't react to that, letting the silence fill the air between the two of you as he matches your quick stride without missing a beat. It feels strange to be walking beside him, like there are more eyes trained on you today as they pass by, more turning of heads.
"So how've you been? I haven't seen you around in a while."
"I was doing well until now," you say dully.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" he teases.
"In your dreams."
"I do hope you'd visit me in my dreams tonight, soulmate."
"So are you just going to keep following me?" you finally turn to ask when you're halfway across campus and he's showing no signs of leaving.
Sunwoo shakes his head. "Nah, I'm going that way too."
"If you say so."
The conversation, if you could even call it that, continues the same way the whole time he's by your side and it reminds you why it was so difficult to talk to him in the first place. The brief curiosity you had after your last meeting with him quickly fade, replacing itself with the original anger and annoyance you had towards him instead.
He tells you about some party happening this weekend (you tell him to take one of his girlfriends), then he invites you to go for a spin on his motorcycle (you tell him you don't trust him, especially not after that skateboard fall), and finally he asks for your number (you say it's the number of the local animal shelter because they take strays, not you).
The most you give him is your name, so that he might stop calling you by the S-word that you've come to hate so much. Though now you're not so sure if the S-word is soulmate, Sunwoo, or skater boy.
And then you finally arrive at your destination.
"Waitwaitwait." Sunwoo's eyes widen with realization once your steps finally stop, nearly walking right into the door of the tutoring center. Unfortunately, he stops in time. He looks at the sign on the door and blinks multiple times. "This is where you're going?"
It takes all your effort to hold back your laugh. "Yeah. Didn't you say you were going this way too?"
"Um. Right, yeah. Let's go."
To your surprise, he actually enters the room first.
"Hey," Jacob—the head tutor and administrator—greets as the two of you enter. He turns to Sunwoo, "Are you here to get tutored?"
"Um, I guess?"
"Alright." Jacob goes to grab the clipboard with the list of the tutors. "I'll see who's available today."
Sunwoo's eyes widen a considerable amount. "Wait, can't I be paired with Y/N?"
"Y/N is already paired with—"
"Hey, Y/N." As if on cue, Younghoon shows up. He takes a seat in his usual spot as if Sunwoo hadn't been standing right there, then sets a coffee cup on your desk. "I made you your favourite today."
"Aw, thanks Younghoon." You pop the lid off to take a look, and just as you expected, the usual heart design is floating at the top. "Wow, as pretty as always."
Sunwoo scoffs. "Younghoon? Why the fuck are you here?"
"Well look who it is." Younghoon glances at him up and down. Smiles a bit. "I told you about this long ago, but you just said it was for losers."
"When did I say that?" Sunwoo mutters under his breath, the frown on his face growing. "But how do you even know Y/N?"
"We were paired for a project in bio last term," you answer, finally sitting down beside Younghoon.
"Oh, was it the project?" There's a teasing smile on Younghoon's lips when he looks at you. "Didn't we meet at the coffee shop when you spilled your drink all over me?"
"I—wait that was you?" you ask, the embarrassment threatening to show on your cheeks at any moment. While you do recall having spilled a drink on a cute barista the first time at that new cafe on campus, you never made the connection that that cute barista had been him. "And you still remember that?"
Younghoon chuckles. "How could I forget? It's not every day when a customer spills a drink on the barista."
"Ugh, don't remind me; that was so embarrassing."
Sunwoo visibly stiffens. The frown on his face deepens with every second that goes by, turning into a permanent scowl as you continue to chat away with Younghoon while ignoring him. It makes for such an unbearably funny sight that you have to bite down on your lip several times to stop from bursting into laughs, and Younghoon wasn't doing much better.
"Yeah... so anyway, I'll be your tutor today," Jacob says brightly, pulling Sunwoo away from where he'd planted himself at your desk. Part of you felt guilty because Jacob probably has no idea what he was getting himself into, but one look at the betrayed expression on Sunwoo's face says it's all worth it.
The session goes well but the highlight was definitely seeing the skater boy's fuming expression every time you look at him.
"You should've called me!" Hyunjae pouts, waving around his phone in your face. "I would've walked right out of that group meeting and run across campus just to see the look on his face."
"You can come with me today," you joke. "Maybe he'll show up."
Getting the soulmate duo caught up on the latest skater boy story had Hyunjae laughing so hard within your first few sentences that the three of you get kicked out of the library—not that it was the first time something like that has happened. So you'd relocated to the courtyard and then told them about the way Sunwoo fumed at Younghoon and then scowled at you for a whole hour after getting ambushed by that tutoring session.
Talking about him makes you realize that maybe you didn't hate him. He'd become somewhat akin to the popular boys back in high school; someone who always annoyed the girls and never did their work. Someone you'd never fall for, of course, but someone who made life a little more interesting. Besides, he was just playing around, and you never saw him as a soulmate anyway.
Juyeon wiggles his eyebrows. "Was he jealous of Younghoon or something?"
"Nah, he's just mad he didn't get a chance to make me fall for him like everyone else does," you mutter. "He's just playing."
"Wait, look here." Hyunjae suddenly reaches over to gently cups your chin, turning your face towards him and then proceeds to observe closely at various angles. "Y/N... I think your boy has gotten himself into another altercation."
It's nothing new, but there's still a sinking feeling in your heart. You had been beginning to think that maybe you had some kind of positive influence on Sunwoo since no significant bruises had appeared after meeting him. That maybe simply knowing who and where his soulmate is would make him back off from the reckless behaviour a bit, for your sake.
But as the beginnings of purples appear on your face and knuckles with no signs of stopping, it seemed like all that had just been wishful thinking. Why did you have so much faith in him in the first place? Why did you think that meeting your soulmate would be so impactful on both of your lives?
In the end, he's still the same person that he's always been. Maybe you'd just have to consider it as his payback for being roped into a tutoring session.
You heave a sigh. "Okay, I guess I'll get going now since I need to look presentable and all. Jacob would freak out if I showed up like this."
"If skater boy goes today, try not to kill him, okay?" Juyeon gives you a sad smile and ruffles your hair.
"I see no reason not to," you groan. Then point at your own face, "How can people like him when he goes around looking like this?"
"Hey Y/N, we're only trying to save your own image here." Hyunjae glances at you up and down, pressing his lips together as he shakes his head. "Bruises or not, I don't think you can afford to be any uglier."
"And this is why I hate you." Getting up, you quickly sling your bag over your shoulder. Juyeon gets a soft pat on the head while you make sure to give Hyunjae the hardest flick you can muster. "Bye loser."
"Shut up; you love me."
What surprises you first when you get to the tutoring center is the worried look on Jacob's face. His eyes flicker to you the moment you step into the room, and then every few seconds as he organizes the files on his desk.
"What?" you finally ask. "Is there something on my face?"
An ironic question because yes, there are bruises are your face today. Though you made sure they were covered nicely with the emergency makeup you always carry with you.
"No." He hesitates only for a moment before walking over to you. "Y/N, that guy from last time..."
"Sunwoo?"
"Yeah him," Jacob nods slowly. "Um, if he's bothering you or anything like that. Just let me know? We can get him kicked out or banned from here."
You nearly choke on your own spit. "Is that what it looked like?"
"Well, he spent the entire session looking like he wanted to murder you—or maybe it was directed at Younghoon; I'm not sure—so um, yeah."
"Nah, Jake. He's—" my soulmate, you were about to say. But something about acknowledging it makes your stomach twist. "He's just someone I know. Who probably needs better grades." You shoot him a quick smile. "Thank you for worrying about me though."
You half expected Sunwoo to not show up since he got baited into the last session after all, but for some reason, you find yourself constantly glancing over at the door. And for some reason, he does show up.
There's a relaxed smirk on his face this time—a complete change from the startled then bitter looks of the last time. Though not much of his face is visible underneath a baseball cap and the hood of yet another black hoodie over it.
And then you realize why.
There are splotches of colour around his eye and trailing down his cheek until his jaw; the same ones that you worked so hard to cover up just minutes earlier. There are a few small bandages around his fingers, and his knuckles are red with fresh wounds.
"Hey soulmate." Sunwoo casually sets his bag down on your desk and grabs a nearby chair, setting it down right beside yours. "How've you been? Where's my hug?"
"Not in this nation," you say dryly. You open your notes slowly, refusing to look at him despite the way he peers at you.
"Oh? Then which?"
"Your imagination."
Sunwoo laughs loudly as if you'd just said the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "You're funny, soulmate. If you keep this up, I'll be falling for you in no time."
"No thanks."
"Y/N, is Younghoon coming today?" Jacob holds up the clipboard, checking off the list of students in the room.
"Um, I'm not sure—"
"He's not coming," Sunwoo answers for you. Then adds quietly, "You're stuck with me, soulmate."
You ignore the last part. "Did Younghoon tell you that?" Their interaction had been quite strange last time but you're sure they knew each other somehow. The way they talked made them sound like friends, though rivals could also be a fitting description.
An easy shrug. "He didn't have to."
"What does that mean?"
"Younghoon won't be coming anymore."
"Did you say something to Younghoon to make him stop coming here?"
The corner of his lip twitches the slightest.
"What, did you threaten him or something?"
"What makes you think I had something to do with him not showing up?" Sunwoo says innocently. He leans back in his seat and there's a faint smirk on his face that makes him look satisfied, contradicting his words. "The last I checked, he seemed to have gotten good enough grades to not need to study with you anymore."
There's something about the lack of a text from Younghoon paired with Sunwoo's relaxed demeanour that doesn't sit right with you. As much as you wanted to believe him, the fresh bruises on his face and hands told of a more complicated story.
You sigh, finally turning to the rude skater boy. "Alright, fine. Why are you here?"
"To see you, soulmate," he drawls lazily. You really hope that Jacob doesn't hear any of this conversation because you would be quite mortified.
"So do you think your grades don't need the help?"
Sunwoo smiles a little. "Okay, I know I'm hot and all but that doesn't mean I'm stupid."
"You think you're hot with all those bruises?" Standing up so suddenly earns you a concerned glance from Jacob. "You know what? Come with me." You take Sunwoo's hand and pull him out of the classroom with you, not once looking back at him.
It's empty in the stairwell when you finally stop and turn to him. Dropping his hand immediately.
"You're cute when you're angry, you know?"
"Just stop."
"I'm only telling the truth," he shrugs.
"Then tell me, how did you get all these?" Your fingers ghost over the patches of deep blues on his face and he flinches. Looks away. "Did you... get into another fight? Perhaps with Younghoon?"
His gaze snaps to your face.
"Why?"
Sunwoo groans, leaning back against the wall behind him. "That fucker is totally into you."
"So?"
"You're my soulmate," he says bluntly, frowning back at you.
"So? What, are you jealous or something?"
"What if I am? What then?"
"I don't buy that," you scoff, crossing your arms. "You've clearly never cared about me at all."
His eyes flash. "What do you mean?"
"Have you even once thought that your actions might affect your soulmate as well? I've always had to wear layers of clothing and makeup to cover up these hideous patches just to look like a normal person. Seriously, how can you think that a fight would solve anything?"
Sunwoo is silent now, gaze back to the ground where he kicks around some dust.
You sigh, turning to leave. "But if you do care, then maybe try getting your life together first. You aren't going to be anyone's soulmate at the rate of which you've been getting those bruises all your life."
More than a week has passed since that incident with Sunwoo, and you hadn't seen him around at all—not in person nor in the form of bruises. It was as if the words you'd spoken to him had completely vanished him from your life, just as you had wanted. But even though he'd been out of sight, he hasn't been off your mind for a moment because of your growing sense of guilt. You'd spent so much time building up these angry feelings towards your soulmate that it became hard to see from other perspectives, and maybe things were not as straightforward as you thought. Maybe he didn't deserve the harsh words you'd thrown at him, and he didn't deserve to have such negative energy coming from someone who barely even knows him.
Because before being soulmates, you guys were merely strangers.
You spot him the moment he walks in the lecture hall. Face half covered by his hood and bag casually slung over one shoulder, he walks in nonchalantly a minute before the lecture is supposed to start. It isn't until he's at the front of the lecture hall that the chatter in the room dies down, getting noticeably quieter. The way his eyes scan the crowd slowly makes you shrink into your seat a little, and you keep your head low just in case. But it's no use.
The hush in the room turns into whispers echoing off the walls when he slowly walks up the steps, but he doesn't seem to pay them any attention when his gaze is fixed on you. A casual stare, without intensity. Somehow, it still makes your stomach twist.
And just as you'd been dreading but expecting, he stops right in front of you and sits in the seat beside you.
"What are you doing?" you hiss at him in a low a voice as you could muster.
He gives you a confused frown. "I'm coming to class?"
In the background, your name was already being thrown around amidst the whispers just like that day he walked beside you across campus. You could only imagine what the rumours about you would look like—would you be known as Sunwoo's new fling? Someone that others would be jealous of? A new tally on his body count?
You sigh and rephrase the question. "Why are you sitting here?"
"It was an empty seat."
"Are you even enrolled in this class? I've never seen you here before."
He raises an eyebrow. "Oh, so were you looking for me?"
You roll your eyes, ignoring the urge to facepalm. The feelings of guilt you'd had earlier completely disappear with his reminder of why you'd snapped at him in the first place. What was the point of talking to him when every response was either a joke or straight up flirty? "Yeah, you wish you were that important."
"I figured it'd be easier for you to see me here instead of looking for me at the tutoring center."
"I—hey! I was not looking for you."
Sunwoo doesn't reply but a small smile appears on his face, the first genuine smile that you've seen from him in the couple of weeks since you've known about his existence. There's none of the fake charm and rough persona that he tried to project before; all of a sudden the harsh lines and black and whites of his image blur and soften, melting into an image of a soulmate that almost makes you forget to breathe for a second.
Maybe he was too distracting for his next words are so soft that they have you second guessing if you heard correctly.
"Y/N, I'm just kidding. I've actually decided to stop skipping class from now on. I'm going to get my shit together and do better."
"What?"
There's a playful twinkle in his eye. "I'm going to be so perfect after this that you will have no choice but to fall for me."
Soon class starts and Sunwoo doesn't say anything to you for the rest of the lecture, diligently taking notes in his messy scrawl across pages. Sometimes you can feel his eyes on you, glancing over briefly from beneath the edge of his hood and turning away just before you could ever catch him staring.
You're not sure if he would've said something to you after lecture ends, but you don't give him the chance to as you quickly leave to meet your friends at the library.
Though when you get to the library, Hyunjae and Juyeon are among those people who turn and gawk at you as you enter.
"Are the rumors true? Did he actually show up to class and even sit beside you?" Hyunjae whispers with the excitement in his voice and eyes filling to the brim. "Did he say anything?"
Oh. So that's what it was about.
Juyeon's eyes gleam with just as much anticipation, leaning forward to hear everything you'd say. "Is he even in your major? I've never heard you mention him before."
You sigh. "Yeah."
"To all of the above?" Hyunjae's jaw drops. "Details, Y/N. Give us the details."
Turns out it was Eric, a loud guy in your class, who told his friend Changmin, who then told Hyunjae about it. With pictures too! Not that they were good quality photos, but even from the pixelated images you could tell that sitting beside Sunwoo slouching in his hoodie with the hood up makes you look much uglier in comparison. Great, not only is he making you look hideous with the bruises, but now he's also making you look ugly just by being beside you.
At this rate, Eric and Changmin have probably told everyone about today's events, but it didn't really matter to you since sooner or later they'll all find out about you guys being matched anyway.
"So." Hyunjae furrows his brows, a puzzled look ghosting across his face after hearing about all the events that had happened between you and the rude skater boy. Which wasn't much, really, despite how the shifting of his face through all these different micro-expressions may have suggested. "He's really trying for this, huh?"
"What do you mean?" you counter. "That's exactly what fuckboys do. Duh?"
But your sarcastic remark is not met with one of Hyunjae's usual joking responses. In fact, he doesn't say anything at all and there's a brief pause as the soulmate duo exchange a look, making you very aware that you're the third wheel. For once, you can't tell what they're thinking. What was the big deal about the story you told? Surely, they couldn't be thinking that the skater boy was genuinely interested in you, because that's simply ridiculous.
Hyunjae waves dismissively and then his usual, easy smile is back on his lips. "You're right. Never mind. So," he leans in super close until you could count the number of eyelashes he has—which are very long and make you all the more envious—and then peers into your eyes, "are his tactics working?"
"Are you kidding me?" You push his face away and finally open the textbook sitting on the table. The one that you were supposed to be studying from this past hour. "I refuse to be swayed by a fuckboy. Even if he is my soulmate."
"Sometimes even fuckboys catch feelings," Juyeon says, shrugging before turning to his notes.
If you'd thought Sunwoo's tactics would've just ended with him actually attending class and sitting beside you in it, you were entirely wrong. Somehow your days quickly become filled with his teasing 'hey soulmate' at every turn from where he waits outside your dorm to walk to you to class, to when he monopolizes your time at the tutoring center. It's a mystery how he even figured out which dorm you lived in—Juyeon had shrugged innocently while Hyunjae had simply laughed and said that Sunwoo follows you around like how you followed Juyeon around all those years ago.
You're definitely glad the soulmate duo stay away whenever he's around though; picturing Hyunjae pretending to vomit was all too easy when he wrinkles his nose and pulls Juyeon away every time he spots you with Sunwoo.
"I got you your favourite today," Sunwoo announces as soon as he walks into the tutoring center. There's an air of confidence today despite the way he looks the same as usual in his black hoodie with the hood up. His loud footsteps make Jacob look up alarmingly, though you suspected that the head tutor has gotten used to your annoying student by now. "Just for you, soulmate."
Then he sets down the coffee cup on your desk. A familiar gesture, though just not from him.
"What?" Sunwoo says when notices how you're just staring at the cup in front of you. "It's your favourite latte or whatever." And when you still don't answer, he continues, "You're looking at it as if I poisoned it or something."
You look up. "Did you?"
"Oh please. The worst I could've done is spit in it."
You could only stare at him.
"Hey, spit isn't even that bad—it would just be the same as kissing me, you know." He settles down in his seat beside you and leans back, crossing his arms. "Which you'll be doing eventually anyways."
"How are you so sure about that?" you ask dryly.
"Because you're going to fall for me," he says with certainty, a pleased look on his face. "Very soon."
When you turn your attention back to the cup, the first thing you do is pop off the lid. A habit now, from when you used to check what Younghoon had drawn each time he brought you a drink he made. Though the unexpected leaf floating at the top today makes you realize that he'd mostly been drawing hearts for the past while.
Sunwoo snorts at the frown on your face. "Well obviously I'm not going to let him send you hearts in your drinks anymore. You'd think that with all the hearts you've gotten, you might've noticed his big fat crush on you by now."
"I thought he drew those in everyone's drinks," you mutter, quickly putting the lid back on the cup and filing that information away for another time. "But is that why you decided to get me this?"
"Hey, can't a guy do something nice for you?" He switches to perching on the desk beside you, swinging his legs back and forth. "But I mean. This way you won't need to see him ever again."
You shoot him a glare and he just cackles.
Similar small gestures continue throughout the term. It's as if he took an entire crash course on how to be a gentleman, or the closest he'd ever come to being one anyways. But while his actions say one thing, his lips say another as he constantly throws around the 'have you fallen for me yet,' even upgrading the 'where's my hug?' to 'where's my kiss?'
And the worst part is, you find yourself letting him do all this. You let him take your hand, let him swing your arms as you walk across campus like a typical campus couple. You let him pull you in for the briefest of hugs in front of your residence building before parting ways. You let him send you the good morning and good night texts, even if you don't reply most of the time.
You let him because you knew there should be no risk of falling for him.
"Are you cold?" Sunwoo asks when walks you back to your dorm after class one night.
It's already dark outside and for once you're grateful to have a walking buddy even if he wasn't your first or second choice. Though your first and second options have been ditching you more frequently—even the study sessions in the library with them became few and sparse when Sunwoo happened to be in your major while they were not.
"Nope," you respond, more out of habit than anything. It's a lie; the cool breeze seems to blow right through your clothes with every step, and for once you can't make fun of Sunwoo's fashion since that beanie would at least be keeping him warm.
He laughs. You shoot him a glare.
But in the next moment, he's taking your ice-cold hand between his warm ones. Warming your hand with his breath a little before he laces your fingers with his, and then placing them both in his pocket.
"If you wanted me to hold your hand, you could've just said so," he breaks into a grin, the usual teasing sparkle in his eyes as he gives your hand a squeeze, "soulmate."
"Hey—I did not!"
It might be because your view is obstructed by the wind induced tears, but for a second there seems to be something in his eyes that's a little softer than usual; a slip of brightness between the cracks of the walls he's always had up. If it were from anyone else, you might've said it was a look of fondness.
"Anyway," you quickly change the subject a few moments later, glad to have already arrived at steps of your residence building. "This is me."
Sunwoo nods and pulls your hands out of his pocket but doesn't let go. He shifts slightly so that he's on the step below the one you're standing on, spinning you around so that you're face to face.
It's then when you notice that he's quite tall. Maybe you never realized since you've always been hanging out with the soulmate duo, but now that he's in front of you, the step puts you that much closer to his face. Close enough for you to see his round eyes, his plump lips, and his beautiful sun-kissed skin, no longer hidden under the prominent colours of bruises and swelling.
It's supposed to be annoying—wasn't this was practically the same as Hyunjae always being up in your face, trying to annoy you? You're supposed to push him away, roll your eyes, laugh it off.
But for some reason, you can't. His gaze seems to pin you to the spot, making you unable to do anything except stare at the way his fluffy hair lands near his eyes. It makes you forget everything except for the way he swallows, the way he wets his lips before pressing them together. None of this makes it feel like he's the popular boy at school annoying you anymore.
"You're beautiful," Sunwoo says quietly, breaking the silence. "Can I... have a kiss?"
It's something he always says but this time, it doesn't come out sounding like a joke.
The kiss—it was really meant for his cheek. Something compels you to close the mere centimeters between you, an act that is done all too easily when his face is right there. But as your eyelids flutter shut just as the warmth of his skin was all but against your lips, he moves. Shifts ever so slightly so that the heat of his cheek is actually the heat of his lips. On yours.
You quickly jump back, not giving yourself a chance to find out if they're as supple as they look.
"H-hey!" is all you manage to get out.
The playful smile is back when he gives your hand a squeeze before finally letting go. "Just a little teaser of what we could be doing."
Without another word, he gives you a bit of a wave and leaps down the stairs. Leaving you standing there, wondering if your shivers are because of the wind and if the slight flush on his cheeks was from the cold.
Sk8ter boi: u up?
You: if this is some kind of booty call then no
You: call one of ur other girls lol
Sk8ter boi: you're the only one for me
Sk8ter boi: soulmateeee <3
Sk8ter boi: come out for a while?
You leave him on read, even putting your phone away and turning off the light. Closing your eyes. But it soon becomes apparent that there's no hope for sleep to come with there's a small nagging in your stomach. It compels you to throw on a jacket and get out of your dorm, the same kind feeling that compelled you to actually kiss him the other day on these very steps.
Though you don't count it as a kiss. It was definitely more like a brush of lips—hardly even touching for longer than a millisecond. Besides, he'd totally tricked you.
He's waiting on the steps in his usual getup, kicking around a rock aimlessly, and it takes you a second to recognize his backside without the hood on.
"Sunwoo, it's so late. What are you doing here?"
He meets your eyes with an easy smile. "Just wanted to see you."
"At this hour?"
"Every hour is missing Y/N hours," he teases, and you come very close to pretending to barf. "How are you? Are you cold?"
"I am not falling for that again." You glance him up and down warily.
"I wanted to show you something." Sunwoo shrugs, taking a few steps down and then beckoning you over. You don't even reach the bottom of the stairs before you realize your hand is back in his.
The 'something' that the skater boy wanted to show you turns out to be an old building on campus, one you've never had class in but one that you've walked through many times during your time here.
"Um, what's so special about this?"
Sunwoo's smile seems to grow at your question, and he simply points up instead of answering. Following his finger leads you to a ladder at the side of the building, going up to the roof. He gently tugs you, and soon enough the two of you are standing at the base of the ladder.
"The roof? You want to go up there?"
He probably catches your wide-eyed stare. "Aw, is Y/N a bit of a scaredy cat?"
"No!"
"Then go ahead," he says, gesturing towards the ladder.
"I just don't know why this is what you called me out for." You give him a glare and finally put a hand on the cool metal. "But if I fall and die, I hope the marks make you so ugly that no one else will like you ever again."
Sunwoo barks a laugh at that. "Don't worry. I'll catch you if you fall." He pauses briefly then adds in a quieter voice, "And I don't need anyone else to like me."
The climb up isn't too bad since the building isn't particularly high, and you don't get a chance to look down. Though your hands still grip each rung of the ladder as tightly as possible.
You had expected a nice view once you reached the top just based on how Sunwoo wanted to come here, but it really wasn't impressive. All you could see were the fields and trees on campus, though there's a gentle breeze in the air that makes it seem a little more thrilling.
"Come sit." He settles down on sort of platform, gazing at you with a sparkle in his eyes.
You can hear the quiet hum of electricity so surely this roof was supposed to be for building maintenance or something? And surely, being here is already breaking some sort of rule on campus? But tonight, maybe you decide to trust him.
"It's not so bad up here, right?" The wind ruffles his hair, and you suddenly realize that you've barely ever seen him without some sort of hat or hood on. He's never shown the world more than just a sliver of his face and you don't understand why because his hair is beautiful. His curls look so soft under the moonlight, and it makes you wonder how they would feel between your fingers. If they're as soft as they look.
"How did you even find out about this place?"
"There was a ladder, so I climbed it," he laughs. "Then I started coming up here whenever I needed to think. It's quite peaceful."
"Can't say there's much of a view though."
Sunwoo gasps dramatically, looking at you with wide eyes. "What? No, the view is amazing. Come here, I'll show you." He waves you over and then leans back until he's lying down, staring up at the sky.
You follow suit and make sure to leave a small distance between the two of you. But instead of your head meeting the rough surface of the platform like you expected, it lands on the softness that's Sunwoo's arm instead. He moves, pulling you in until you're settled in the crook of his shoulder.
"Look, it's the big dipper." With his free hand, he points to the sky just towards your left. "And there's Aries," he points to a patch of sky just above you, "and there's Capricorn."
Looking at the sky where he points reveals nothing except for the dots of light from airplanes in the distance and wisps of cloud. The moon seemed to be the only celestial body in the sky that you could see.
"Um. I'm not sure if you need your eyes checked, but there's actually nothing there," you say, giving up on the lack of a view and turning to him instead.
"Wow, couldn't you have just agreed?" He whines, lips forming a pout. "This is fake star gazing; I point at something that's not there, and you say you see it too. And then we marvel at its beauty."
"Why would you marvel at something that you can't see?"
"Hmm. Maybe you're right." Sunwoo suddenly turns to face you. "Why look at the sky when I could be staring at you?"
"Okay, stop."
"You want to play a game?"
"Yeah? And where is this going?" You definitely did not trust him with this.
"Let's do twenty questions. We'll take turns asking and if you can't answer something, then hmm," he pauses. Hums as he thinks. "Then you owe me a kiss."
"Sure. That's easy."
His eyes widen, "You want to kiss me that bad?"
"No! I meant the questions," you say dully. "And what if you can't answer something?"
"Then I'll give you a kiss, of course," he singsongs. "Hmm, have you ever had liked anyone? Other than me, obviously."
"Who says I like you? But yes, I have," you say bluntly, sputtering with disbelief at why he would start with this. "Why, have you not?"
"Well, yeah. But nothing too serious because I knew it wouldn't work out. Everyone's only interested in finding their soulmates in this world." The last part comes out sounding bitter.
"Yeah, I get it. I had a crush on Juyeon when I first met him, but it was—quite obvious that that wasn't going to work out."
"Juyeon? The pretty boy's soulmate?" he asks with sudden interest.
"Um. Please don't go beat him up?"
Sunwoo simply cackles at your words.
"Seriously, please don't. Hyunjae would kill you, you know."
"You don't think I could take on both of them?"
"Sunwoo!"
"I'm just joking with you," he laughs. "Don't worry. I'm not going to get into any more fights, Y/N. You are going to live bruise-free for the rest of your life."
"I didn't mean—"
"Well, unless you want me to mark you up sometime."
"S-Sunwoo!"
"Alright, next question. Have you ever looked for me?"
"Yeah," you admit. "It was not a fun time."
His eyes are unreadable for the most part when you tell him about the boxing matches, the interest in stunt acting. The days the patches of colour on your skin acted like little puzzle pieces, hints to where your soulmate could be.
It's only after you tell him that you start to think maybe you shouldn't have. Maybe he thinks the whole soulmates thing is stupid. Maybe he thinks you're stupid for believing in it.
"You thought I could've been a boxer?" he chuckles. "That's cute."
You roll your eyes at him. "Well, who thought you'd be some kid getting into fights all the time for no reason."
"So were you disappointed when you met me?"
You open your mouth with a sarcastic reply ready at the tip of your tongue but for some reason it doesn't seem appropriate to say anymore. His voice was still light and casual, but there's a dreading feeling in your heart with the fear that the conversation is really going to go down the slippery slope that you both have been dancing around. One that you both may never come back from.
"Don't worry," he says when the silence stretches a little too long, "you can tell me the truth, you know."
"I guess you already know the answer to that based on what I said to you that time in the stairwell." You focus on the curve of his lips instead of meeting his gaze. "I was disappointed that you turned out to be a popular fuckboy on the verge of failing out of school."
"Hey—give me some credit. I haven't hooked up with anyone since meeting you," he says hotly. "And I'm not on the verge of failing out of school. The popular part is correct though."
"Wow, congrats. You get a gold star for that." The sarcasm drips out of your voice, but he doesn't show any signs of acknowledging it as he laughs. "But Sunwoo, I'm not disappointed. I was surprised and in denial at first, and let's be real, the first few times we met went quite terribly. I don't know, I guess I was too harsh to judge you like that right away."
This time it's his turn to stay silent.
"Wait, that wasn't even supposed to be my turn!" You give him a push.
"Oh, oops." There's a bit of a smile on his face but his wall of indifference was still up. "Okay, you can ask me anything."
You take a deep breath. "Do you even believe in soulmates?"
"Oh," he says slowly, frowning. "No one's ever asked me this before. But to be honest, not really. Or at least I didn't before." Sunwoo pauses and you think that's it for his answer, but to your surprise, he continues. "I guess it's because my parents aren't soulmates, so I thought it was whatever at first, that it didn't matter. But when things started getting bad between them, I kind of just gave up on the idea of love completely."
"Oh."
It wasn't unheard of to spend a lifetime without meeting your soulmate, and marriage between non-soulmate pairs wasn't exactly rare either. It just wasn't something that you'd really thought about, seeing as the people in your life had all found their perfect matches.
He tells you about the happiness of his childhood, the way the concept of soulmates wasn't even introduced to him until he started school. How his parents got strange looks when people noticed their marks didn't match, how he became determined to forget about the whole soulmates thing. He tells you about lashing out at the world, watching love fall apart and then grow together in different ways, hating how the world made the whole soulmates thing seem inevitable. Hating the fact that he had one, and then refusing to believe he did.
"I still think that this whole soulmate thing is bullshit though, in general. People should be allowed to love whoever they want to, and besides, love can bloom anywhere. It shouldn't be just limited to soulmates," he states, brows furrowing. "But the bruises sure are annoying as fuck; I'm sorry I never realized that you'd be suffering through the consequences of my actions."
There's a stillness that lingers in the air as you quickly turn to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill out. This reveal of a more vulnerable side of him has you stunned, not knowing what to say or how to react when he's never let you see this side of him before. It makes the seed of guilt grow: the guilt that you blindly judged him and hated him for a lifetime, that you probably still would if you hadn't had the chance to meet him and get to know him like this.
But now that the first step has been taken down this path, there was no going back. There was something that you had to ask.
You turn back to him. "Does finding your soulmate change anything?"
He seems to hold his breath as he thinks. Face impassive. "I don't know, Y/N. Does it? Do you want it to?"
Thoughts fly at a thousand miles per hour through your mind, each possible answer threatening to throw you off the edge of the cliff you were cautiously teetering on. You'd known that this was going to be a conversation that your undefined relationship would never recover from, but you were not ready for it to hit you like this.
So you grab him and then your lips are meeting his.
He makes a sputtering sound from the back of his throat, definitely not expecting your bold move. But he quickly goes to kiss you back a moment later. You pull away.
"Have you fallen for me yet?" Sunwoo whispers after catching his breath. The casual line he keeps throwing around no longer seems so casual now. As he searches your eyes for an answer, you could see how full blown his pupils are and how dark his gaze has become as it gradually trails down to your lips. Dark with a sparkle from the reflection of the moon, just like the starless sky.
"And what if I have?" you repeat his words from the time in the stairwell. It no longer sounds like a taunt. "What then?"
He doesn't answer but then his mouth slowly curves into a smile.
And then he's kissing you.
His mouth is hot and his lips are everything you imagined with how soft and supple they are, fitting so well against yours. He pulls you closer until there's no space between you, until you can feel his breath hitch, until you find out that his hair really is as soft as it looked. Beneath the smell of his cologne is a faint sweetness that's so distinctly him that it's like you're breathing in Sunwoo Sunwoo Sunwoo. And—you didn't know that it could feel like this. You didn't know that kissing someone could be so overwhelming that it makes the world spin and makes your heart feel like it would jump out of your chest. You didn't know his every touch would feel like electricity running through your veins, that the muffled moans he makes would be so addicting.
It was exhilarating. It was scary. Maybe this is what it's like to be with a soulmate. Maybe this is what it's like to be in love.
In love.
Wait—
You break the kiss and pull away from him. Gasping to catch your breath as everything rushes to you all at once.
Sunwoo gives you a bit of a questioning look before the wall of indifference is sliding back into place. There's a gentle smile, not the kind he showed the world but not the ones he'd secretly shown you either. It doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"We should probably get going," he murmurs, sitting up and reaching for your hand. "It's late and you have morning class."
It's only when you're back in your dorm that you realize neither of you answered each other's last questions.
Sunwoo doesn't text you.
He doesn't read your texts either, for that matter; the couple of short messages you sent remain unread and unopened for the next few days. For once, your phone is awfully silent, and it makes you wonder if this is what it felt like to be ghosted by him. If this is what it felt like to be anyone other than his soulmate.
It's like he disappeared from your life as quickly as he'd entered it.
Maybe he finally decided that he's had enough, that he's lost interest in you. And maybe it was a good thing because you didn't know how things could possibly proceed after last night. How could you possibly pretend like there was nothing between you after everything that's happened? How could you possibly endure seeing his flirty facade when you now know he's so much more than that?
There's only silence in replace of the comforting presence to walk to you class, and an empty seat next to you in your shared lecture. The stares and whispers are back this time, and even Eric sends you a questioning glance to which you respond with a shrug.
Jacob gives you worried looks throughout your time at the tutoring center when Sunwoo doesn't show up, though he never outright asks. Which you're grateful for, because you're not quite sure how it would feel to acknowledge the problem that's been eating away at you.
Because when you think about it, you hadn't even realized just how much of your life Sunwoo had taken up—all of your waking moments had consisted of him trying to worm his way into your heart. How he was constantly being up in your face, throwing around cheesy lines and the ever so casual 'soulmate'. There were the small gestures like getting you coffee, walking you up to your door, heck, even the fake stargazing. Holding your hand, warming it up. Lips fitting so well against yours. The genuine smiles he'd shown you, different from the fake ones he'd plaster on for the rest of the world. And then there was the seemingly daily check-in of have you fallen for me yet?
And—oh.
You'd fallen for him.
He did it. He won. He got you to fall for him just as he wanted, just like he'd joked about every day.
And your heart sinks at the realization.
"Okay, spill." Juyeon sits you down at cafeteria after class with a platter of fries in front of you. Comfort food, he'd said, shooing away Hyunjae's hand when he tried to steal one. "What's been bothering you?"
You heave a sigh and then begin with the last time you saw Sunwoo on the rooftop. A night that had started with breaking the rules and mediocre views, ending with deep talks and kissing. You had to admit that it'd been romantic at some point, but had it been a date? Had anything between you two been... anything?
"So you guys kissed?" Hyunjae's eyes fill to the brim with excitement as he leans towards you. "Like, with tongue and all?"
"Okay, ew. Just because you're comfortable sharing things about your sex life does not mean I am." You push his face away just as Juyeon turns into a mess of coughs.
"Sex life?" Hyunjae repeats, entirely ignoring the way his soulmate is now sporting a furious blush. "Who said anything about sex life? Are you saying you had s—"
"Shut up," you quickly cover his mouth for your own sake. And Sunwoo's. And Juyeon's. "That is so not the point of this conversation."
Juyeon clears his throat. "So he hasn't contacted you at all since that night?"
"He has not," you sigh, reluctantly letting go of Hyunjae. "Guess he ghosted like the typical fuckboy? I shouldn't have expected anything from him."
"But it doesn't sound like he's afraid of commitment though," Juyeon says slowly, deep in thought. "He's made the effort to start going to classes and to get to know you."
"Doesn't he do that with everyone he flirts with?" you mutter under your breath.
"But he hasn't," Hyunjae crosses his arms, "flirted with anyone else since meeting you."
"That's a lie; I totally saw him—"
"He's afraid of being rejected by you," Juyeon finally says.
"Wait, what?"
Juyeon nods and even Hyunjae is staring at him with confusion.
"Okay, what do you know that I don't?" Hyunjae blinks at his soulmate, peering at him intensely.
"It was just something Eric said," Juyeon shrugs. "He was mostly making fun of Sunwoo for how much he's changed since meeting you," he nods your way, "but he also said that Sunwoo thought he wouldn't be good enough. Like he was afraid you'd never see him as a soulmate."
"Since when did you become so wise?" Hyunjae says, patting Juyeon on the head. Then his jaw drops when the words sink in. "Wait, you're only telling Y/N this now?"
"Only because Y/N still doesn't believe that lover boy's feelings are genuine," Juyeon huffs, crossing his arms. "The universe was supposed to straighten itself without my interference."
"So much for being confident that I would fall for him."
"But," Hyunjae says deliberately, "didn't you?"
"No—" you start, and then stop.
As if he could see exactly what you had been ruminating about for the past few days, Hyunjae's jaw drops even lower than the previous time. "Oh my god."
"Okay, fine!" you confess only because he already saw right through you. "But it's not a good thing."
"You had no qualms with falling for someone who's not your soulmate but now you're worried about falling for your actual soulmate?" Hyunjae raises an eyebrow and then cocks his head over at Juyeon.
"Ugh, you're never going to let me live, are you?" You stifle a groan from where your face is buried in your hands. It's not usually embarrassing whenever Hyunjae teases you about your former crush on Juyeon, but this comparison makes your cheeks immediately heat up. Maybe because there is some truth to it. "I'm sorry that Juyeon is too hot for you?"
Juyeon laughs while Hyunjae glares at you.
"Not the point," Hyunjae gives a dismissing wave. "It should be easy, Y/N. It should be like falling into place with someone, not falling off a cliff like how you're making it sound."
"It's scary though. With someone who's not your soulmate, you might not care as much because maybe it won't work out anyway. But with your soulmate, this is like the one chance of your lifetime."
"You're right, but you have one who genuinely cares for you. What's the danger in that?" Juyeon asks.
"The danger is that he doesn't even believe in soulmates." You finally take a fry, already cold by now but comforting, nonetheless. And then you think back to that night on the rooftop. What he'd said about soulmates, then what he'd asked you.
I don't know, Y/N. Does it? Do you want it to?
A question you hadn't answered.
"Just make it clear to him how you feel," Juyeon continues when you don't say anything else.
"Easier said than done," you whine. "It's like he completely disappeared. No one knows where he is and he's not answering my texts either."
"Oh that's easy." Hyunjae's lip quirks up, holding your gaze as if distracting you from when he goes to steal a fry. "All you have to do is go talk to Younghoon, and then Sunwoo will suddenly appear to beat him up again."
You don't know whether to laugh or cry at that comment. "Um. I was going to tell you to shut up, but you know what, that's actually hilarious. I'll accept it."
"Why, thank you." Hyunjae smiles. Stuffs the fry in his mouth. "But anyways, don't worry too much about it. Lover boy will be back in no time. Especially when every hour is missing Y/N hours."
"Remind me to never tell you anything ever again," you say, reaching to stuff a handful of fries in his mouth to shut him up. "But I don't even know if that's a good thing though. Him... coming back."
"Why not? Be in love with your soulmate freely, Y/N," Hyunjae gestures dramatically as he chews. "You didn't go through all those years of ugliness for nothing."
"I think I'll go talk to Younghoon and see if he knows anything." You put the platter of fries in front of Juyeon, "Thank you for your help, bestie." Then turn to Hyunjae and knock him on the head, "And just so you know, I still hate you."
"It's okay to admit it, you know. That you loveme."
"Keep us updated, okay?" Juyeon pokes you gently. "Let us know if we can help with anything."
"Yeah, let us know if you need us to beat him up for you. Well, if you don't mind having some extra bruises for a while," Hyunjae says, waving his fists arounds.
"Thanks, but it won't be necessary."
Heading to the cafe has you shivering at the cold wind against your skin; the sun had disappeared with the clouds quickly moving in, darkening the sky with the incoming storm. If Juyeon were right that Sunwoo wasn't ghosting you, then there would have to be another reason for disappearing so suddenly. An unsettling feeling that makes your stomach clench.
Luckily for you, the cafe seems emptier than usual when you head over. Younghoon's there chatting with a co-worker—Kevin, if you could read his nametag properly—and he turns to the door at the sound of the bell.
"Oh, hey Y/N!"
"Hey, Younghoon."
Kevin whispers something to him and then gives you a quick smile before going into the backroom, leaving the two of you alone.
"I'm glad you stopped by, actually. I wanted to apologize for um..." he trails off, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. "Causing you all that trouble. Not knowing about you and Sunwoo."
"Don't worry about it; you already texted me about this." You wave a hand at him dismissingly. "And besides, the important thing is that you're okay. I would've beat up Sunwoo myself if you weren't."
That makes him laugh, though the usual twinkle in his eye isn't there. "We can still be friends, yeah?"
"Yeah, of course." Then you pause, not knowing how to approach the subject. "Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to ask you. Do you know where Sunwoo is?"
Younghoon hesitates. "There were some... people looking for him a while ago. He said he was going out of town to deal with them, but that's about all he told me."
"Some people?"
"He didn't want them to find him here." Younghoon bites his lip. You could tell that he clearly knows more but you're suddenly unsure of whether you wanted to find out at this point. "Y/N, it's probably best if you don't know."
"Oh."
But who would be looking for Sunwoo? Just what kind of people were he involved with? The way Younghoon spoke about it sounded like there would be danger involved; that Sunwoo was being chased by a gang or thugs. That there would be fights, weapons, and maybe even car chases, just like in the movies.
It just confirmed the sad fact that you knew nothing about him. You were completely clueless when it came to what kind of person he was, what his hobbies were, who his friends were. And yet, he knew all those things about you. He knew your schedule, your favourite coffee order, how you met your best friends. In the couple of months that you've known him, he already knew you inside and out.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Younghoon asks, gaze instantly softening at what must be quite a sad looking frown on your face. You barely manage to shrug in response. "Sunwoo might act like an asshole sometimes, but he's not a bad guy. I don't know what he's said to you, but he really does care about you."
"Thanks, Younghoon."
"I'll keep you updated if I hear from him."
When the silence of your room greets you, this time you're scrubbing off the makeup to look for clues. The marks that you once dreaded now became your hope because at least then you'd have some sort of sign. A tiny splash of blue as proof of his existence, a patch of purple to know that he's somewhere close by, that maybe the connection you had with him wasn't a fabrication of your imagination but rather something tangible.
Because maybe you did miss his presence. Because maybe you didn't hate it as much as you once thought you did, and maybe you actually never hated it at all. Maybe you've gotten used to it and maybe the way your heart soars and the way it sinks is the very definition of what it means to be soulmates.
There were no marks. A good sign, you supposed, if this meant he hadn't been getting into fights while he was gone. But something about seeing the clean slate of your skin makes you miss the familiar sight of marks, as if they were a piece of his presence you carried around.
It's already hard to believe you'd once hated them so much.
When your phone finally vibrates, you almost think you're imagining it. That it has to be some figment of your mind that you were projecting too hard.
Sk8ter boi: open the door soulmateeee <3
But when you open the door, he's there. It doesn't even matter how he knew which unit you lived in or how he made it past the front door of the building or why he decided to come. It doesn't matter that he's dripping water onto your floor from his soaked clothes, or that he drops his helmet and jacket by the door.
"Sunwoo?"
"Sorry for taking so long," he says softly as he closes the door behind him. There's a glimpse of a smile but it doesn't match the turmoil in his eyes. "You can see my handsome face all you want now."
"Are you okay? Where did you go?"
"Let's just say there was some unfinished business with some people I knew."
"Did you..." you trail off, not knowing how to ask what was on your mind or whether if you should be prying at all.
He shakes his head and some water droplet fall from his soaked hair. "I'm not going back to that kind of life, Y/N. Had to cut off ties with some people, that's all. Everything's done now. I'm all yours."
You let out a breath of relief that you didn't even realize you'd been holding.
Strands of his hair curl at the ends, and water droplets fall. Then you notice that the white tee he has on is see-through with how soaked it is, and the way it clings onto his body leaves little to imagination.
You slowly force your gaze away. "Oh."
"Were you looking for me?"
"I—yeah," you admit. The sight of him in front of you, alive and well, was enough to wipe away all of the snarky responses you once had in mind and make you finally decide to be real with him. To finally confront your feelings. "Yeah, I was worried about you. I was afraid you'd gotten into an accident or some sort of fight and—"
He shakes his head again, showing you both sides of his arms. Turning his head and pointing at his cheeks. "Not a scratch. See? I know how to resolve things peacefully. I promised you that there would be no more marks, Y/N."
"But Sunwoo, do you mean that? I was afraid you'd left because of what happened that night. That you decided you were done with—this," you gesture vaguely. "Sunwoo... are you just playing with me?"
"What? No." His eyes fill with confusion, and he finally crosses the room. "Y/N, is that what you thought? Is that what it seemed like?" Then he's right in front of you, gently brushing away a tear that you hadn't even realized was on your cheek. "Hey, I'm sorry for taking off like this. I wasn't trying to ghost you, I was just... afraid. Afraid of what you'd say if you answered that last question because I wasn't ready to be rejected by my own soulmate." He takes your hands in his and gives you a sad smile. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt, but now, I've come to terms with it. And it's okay because I promised you that I'd get my shit together and I'm going to make it happen."
Then you're burying your face in his chest, arms pulling him closer despite the wet clothing, despite how you thought you hated him all your life. Because somehow, hating him first makes you like him even more now. And somehow, wanting to get rid of him at first makes you want to cling to him tighter now, to hold him closer and let this moment erase your guilt of ever pushing away someone who now seems to fit so well against you.
"You know, you were right to be mad at me for never thinking about you or about how my actions would affect you and the people around me. I hadn't really cared about anything in the world and didn't think about possibly meeting my soulmate in this lifetime. And even after we met, I didn't think anything would change. You were right that I was only interested in fooling around with you—only at first though." He pulls back just slightly, and you could see the honesty in his eyes, steady, unwavering. "But things did change. I usually don't give a shit about people's feelings or opinions, but for some reason, I care about yours. And I find myself wanting to get to know you, to be good enough for you. To not screw up one of the biggest chances in my life."
He caresses your cheek so delicately as if afraid this moment could shatter with a touch too strong.
"Wanting to love you and be loved by you."
If you'd been treading carefully around him before, now you find yourself drowning. Drowning in the warmth of his body against the coolness of his clothes, drowning in the sincerity in his words, in the hope that had begun to bloom in your heart so fast that it aches and yearns.
"Sunwoo, I should've told you that night."
There's a brief flash of fear in his eyes that's quickly replaced with a glimmer of hope that mirrors yours.
"Because I would've told you that I do want this to change everything. I want you to believe that soulmates can exist, and love can be real, and that the possibilities are endless if you're willing to experience it all. And that I do want you, as a soulmate."
He lets out the shaky breath he was holding. "Have you fallen for me?"
And this time when he asks, you're not afraid to answer.
"Yeah, Sunwoo. I have."
Then waves crash and surround you as his lips meet yours, dragging you into the depths and you're sinking, sinking, deeper and deeper. His mouth is hot as he kisses you hungrily, pulling you infinitesimally closer as hands get tangled in your hair and in his tee. Sunwoo's breath hitches when you press your palms against the bare skin under his shirt and there's heat sparking from everywhere you touch like a live wire. His every touch feels like air, a lifeline always keeping you alive and wanting, craving for more as you drown in his body.
He comes up for air first, pulling back the slightest, breathing hard.
"Sunwoo, you're freezing," you whisper.
"Then warm me up."
This time his lips veer from yours, creating a blaze of fire on your skin as they trail to your jaw, your ear, and down your neck that makes your breaths quicken. His shirt comes off with some effort and the bit that was left to your imagination turns into reality when your fingers trace his sun-kissed skin, following each line of his abs, each dip and curve until he's stifling a moan against your neck.
When there's a pause, his pupils are full blown, cheeks flushed as he searches your eyes. Searching for an answer for not only what would happen next, but for an answer about what would happen to the two of you. What you were and what you would become.
And then Sunwoo's kissing you again. Clothes are flung, teeth clack, and then he's pulling you with him until there are silky sheets and the heat of his body against you. Soft moans that you'd gotten a taste of that night now fill your ears as lips and hands are everywhere. His mouth trails down every inch of your body as if learning your every memory, your every bruise that had left you wondering over the years. Erasing then rewriting the stories through splashes of pink hues that darken into the blues and purples of watercolour on a blank canvas.
When the sun peaking through the curtains wakes you up in the morning, there's a disorientation in your head as if a fever dream that only lingers at the edges of your memory. The first glance at your body makes your heart sink as you realize you're covered in marks yet again, but then the memories flood back so fast that it takes a moment to catch your breath.
Sunwoo.
It's hard not to stare when he's right there. His long eyelashes, his high cheekbones, the way his lips curve into a small smirk as if knowing you're staring.
"Oh."
"Oh?" he mumbles, giving you a teasing look. He reaches over and pulls you even closer, until all you can see are those beautiful eyes. "Are you surprised I'm here?"
"No, but I was just afraid you... left."
He softens instantly into the brilliant smile that you'd seen only a few times so far. "Hey, I would never do that to you, soulmate. I was serious about what I said last night."
You nod, not trusting your own voice just yet. There's a tenderness in his eyes and fondness in his hands as his caresses your cheek, a softness that feels like warm sunlight trickling between the cracks. And when he kisses you this time, it feels like a first kiss. Whereas the night before was rough edges and stormy seas, this time it's filled with the innocence of a first love, the sweetness of a summer's day. His lips are gentle but what you notice most is the small smile that lingers on them like he can't contain his happiness.
This time the bruises that you see on your body aren't a sight that annoys you. They're not a sign that your soulmate is out there being reckless or fooling around; these are marks that your soulmate made directly on your skin. This time they're a reminder of what happened last night, not only a sign that he exists, but also a sign of how much he wants this too.
This time just before you head out, you're about to reach for your makeup bag before ultimately deciding against it. Because this time, you don't need to question who your soulmate was, where they were, or where the marks were coming from. It definitely feels different when you look over at Sunwoo and see the matching pale pink mark peeking out from the edge of his collar.
Maybe now, you can finally wear the bruises proudly.
The matching marks are the first thing that the soulmate duo stare at when you and Sunwoo walk into the cafe. You could see the way their eyes bounce back and forth between the two of you; Hyunjae giving you a very mischievous grin while Juyeon beams as if he were the matchmaker himself. Maybe he was, in a way; maybe the universe would've straightened itself out without his interference like he'd said, but he certainly helped.
There's a fifth seat saved for Younghoon, but it remains empty as you heard that he's been busy with the soulmate that he had found only recently. It's ironic that that fight with Sunwoo had been the solution for finding his soulmate all along—the bruises on his face had also showed up on a classmate of his. You were just happy that he's met someone he could finally channel all his love towards.
"Oh hey, pretty boy," Sunwoo nods towards Hyunjae when the two of you join them at the table, then turns to Juyeon, "and Y/N's ex-crush."
You elbow him lightly. "Please. Not you too."
The three of them laugh and for a second it feels so natural. You're glad to have brought them together even if their source of entertainment was from teasing you.
When Hyunjae looks at Juyeon, there's a particular look they exchange. A glance that said neither of them has ever doubted that your relationship with Sunwoo would work out, that they know all too well what the soulmate bond feels like and perhaps how its pull is inevitable.
You see it in the way Younghoon glows when he walks in with his soulmate later—Minji, he said her name was. The affection in his gaze when he looks at her, the way her eyes twinkle when smiles back at him. There's no denying their bond when it's all so different from how he looked at you before.
And you see it in all of Sunwoo's soft smiles and the crinkle of his nose and the way his eyes curve. The smiles you once thought were rare are now all you can see when no longer hidden beneath a facade. Maybe he's right that soulmates don't actually exist, and that love can bloom anywhere at any time. Maybe it's the choice to believe in it that makes the love for that person stronger than anything else. But on the way home when you see him subtly look at the marks on his skin with such fondness in his eyes, you knew that it didn't matter.
✮ a/n: i wrote this in a bid to make myself feel better and also to make whoever reads this feel better. based on the song end of the day by jonghyun <3
✮ tbz default taglist: @from-xero
a/n edit: if you see this please rb or interact because it's not showing up in the tags 🥲
"hi."
juyeon looks up, pulling his hand away from his head as he leans back against the wall.
"hey," he barely manages a tired smile, resting the back of his head against the tile with his helmet in his lap. "they let you back here?"
"why wouldn't they?" with a small, comforting grin, you take a seat next to him. the scent of sweat and the constant shuffling of his teammates in the locker room was wafting about in the air, all your senses picking them up.
but it doesn't supercede your ability to feel the weight on juyeon's shoulders.
"do you want to stay here for longer or do you wanna head back soon?"
he turns, sniffling a little and offering puffed cheeks. "we can go soon. let me just- you know... "
"mhm," you nod, rolling your cardigan in your hands. "it's okay. we can stay for as long as you want to."
silence ensues between the two of you, your eyes simply trailing his defeated team members drifting about in the locker room, some pulling fresh, clean clothes out from their lockers and others sulking like juyeon was.
by the time juyeon had taken in a sharp, deep breath, half the locker room was empty.
you had your own thoughts to entertain, so being here with him by your side - albeit a lack of talking - was somewhat comforting. you didn't need to recount the likes of the day to him with other people around anyway.
juyeon clears his throat and stands, fingers wrapped around the grill of his helmet as he does.
"give me ten, okay? I'll hit the showers and we'll go back together. do you want to grab supper before-"
"nah," you look up at him, and his eyes soften when he notices the minimal life in your gaze. "i think i'd like to go home."
juyeon nods, gently patting your head and tucking your hair behind your ear. he leans down, gently pressing a kiss to the crown of your head.
"okay. i won't be long."
the sound of the hair dryer blares through the room, over the gentle instrumental playing in the background. your lids are heavy, and all you wanted to do was to dump yourself in juyeon's bed (and possibly cry yourself to sleep) but he somehow managed to convince you to get into the bathroom.
knowing that you weren't in your best condition either, juyeon chose to sit you down by his bed and help you dry your hair. he was careful with the temperature, and even offered some finger massages into your scalp every now and then that tickled you.
with the music still playing, juyeon keeps the hair dryer and turns to watch you crawl into his bed, using your feet to open his blanket and curl up under.
right by his bed was a window that let you peek outside, and as if the skies were mirroring your feelings, the floor starts seeing little droplets of rain.
the mattress behind you sinks when he pulls the blanket for him to join you, the warmth of his arms circling around your waist sending an overwhelming wave of comfort through you.
"i'm guessing it didn't work out at the interview," he whispers into your ear, gently pecking your earlobe.
"mhm," you hum, just loud enough for him to hear. the rain picks up, and the music playing from his radio grows inferior to the sound of nature.
"i'm sorry it didn't work out."
the weight of his head presses against your shoulder.
you shake your head in response, turning around to face him. drawing circles on your lower back now, juyeon's face is also riddled with disappointment from the day. but your heart is cradled in his as he maintains the tiny smile on his lips.
"i'm sorry about the game. you guys played well nonetheless."
he smiles and offers you a light chuckle, finger reaching up to your cheek and combing your hair behind your ear.
"we did, didn't we?"
"mhm. it's just that you guys were up against a much stronger team... they were the champions last year for a reason."
"i know," he breathes, tightening his hold around you as you bury your face into his collar. your legs tangle around each under the blanket, and the length of your body is perfectly puzzled to his.
"thanks for coming though," juyeon whispers again, playing with the ends of your hair behind your shoulder blades. "i thought you wouldn't make it because of your interview."
"well, after i blasted it, i thought i'd had nothing to lose," with a wry snicker, you smile into his chest, pulling your lips between your teeth.
his hearty giggle vibrates through his chin and into your head, your arm around his torso feeling the vibration too.
"it's okay," he pulls away just enough to rest his lips on your forehead, and with every breath, you feel it on your skin. "we've worked hard."
sucking in a deep breath, you snuggle further into him, desperate for the comfort he brings you whenever he's around.
he could be slapped by god himself and juyeon would probably still have that stupid smile on his face.
the thought makes you smile to yourself.
"thank you. for making me feel better."
"of course," he sighs. "now go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
Pairings: [fem] uni exchange student! reader x uni student! HS x uni student! Jay
Genres: Fluff | Slice of Life | Comedy | Angst | Teenage Romance | Thriller
Warnings: swearing
Word Count: 3.1k
Synopsis/Quote: In which your oblivious ass cannot tell that a popular boy in your class has a big, fat crush on you | “It seems like the one who was ruined was me.”
Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @youshineshine @bloom-bloom-pow @seasideheeseung @wooya1224 @gratefulmaria @sunshineshouchan @youreverydayzebra @fayqj @witheeseung @haechanhues @w-o-o-y-a-a @miingxuxi [drop me a dm/ask/comment to be added!]
OC received a song share from Byeol (aka dumbass): Troublemaker - Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida
"A who? Threw a what? At who?"
"Yeap," Jay hurls himself into Sunghoon's bed, deliberately rolling around and heating up the cool surface.
"HEY!"
"What?" Heeseung frowns, watching Sunghoon bicker with Jay and struggle to yank him off his bed. "Someone threw a brick? At-"
He stops himself, just as your name land on the tip of his tongue like a parrot.
"At... your marketing girlfriend?"
"Oh, that!" Jake's eyes widen and aggressively waves his hands. "I heard about it from someone just a few days ago! Someone threw a brick off the edge of the bridge in the main hub, right?"
"Bridge? What- How? Why? Do we know who it is?" Heeseung pulls his phone out to google it.
"Get off my bed-!" Sunghoon literally yanks on Jay's ankles and twists him off the mattress, Jake hurriedly stepping back to avoid the body slamming onto his toes. The heavy thud brings careless giggles across the room, aside from Sunghoon, who was busy patting away the creases on his bedsheet.
"I don't wanna be that person but this is obviously the bus psycho, right?" Heeseung looks up from the uni gossip page, scrolling through the reports of multiple students talking about the accident.
"So you think he went from disabling buses to throwing bricks at people?" Jay grimaces, still using his legs to pester Sunghoon.
"Will you cut it out-"
"I mean- you wanna believe there's more than one psycho on campus?"
"Ow!"
Jake shakes his head. "Probably not- Will the two of you stop it before someone breaks an ankle?"
Sunghoon shoves Jay's leg off him, using the mattress to pull himself up from the floor. He sticks his tongue out at Jay as he stands, patting down on his clothes before crawling into bed.
"ANYWAY," Heeseung's eyes widen and his voice louder. "Please be careful. I don't want anybody landing up in the hospital before the sem ends."
"Oh, I'll be far more than careful," Jay smirks, standing up and looking down at Sunghoon, snuggled up in his bed. "I have my damsel in distress to protect."
The boy on the bed groans loudly, pulling the blanket over his head while rolling his eyes. Jake glances down at Heeseung, doe eyes wide at Jay's reference.
"Don't you only see her like... once a week?" Jake leans his rear against his own table, for Heeseung had already made himself comfortable in Jake's seat. This was Jake and Sunghoon's room anyway.
"And I'll make that twice," Jay lifts a finger. "Then thrice and then-" He snaps his fingers. "Then before we know it, I'll have her all to mys-"
"You do remember she's an exchange student, right?" Sunghoon's muffled voice echoes from under his blanket.
Jay clears his throat, blinking away Sunghoon's reminder. "As I was saying... I'll have her all t-"
"10 bucks Jay's gonna cry when the sem ends!"
"20."
"50."
Jay's lower jaw goes slack, and he drags out one of Sunghoon's pillows to hit him with.
"You guys can't bet if y'all are on the same side!"
"This is not 'Music at the Court of Louix XIV'."
"It is the link we were given."
Heeseung stares at you, then at the television screen, dumbfounded. The King Who Invented Ballet: Louis XIV and the Noble Art of Dance (BBC Documentary) was playing.
"I did not sign up for this."
"Technically-"
"No," He hurls his varsity jacket across the table and at you. "Don't even start."
A giggle escapes your throat as you catch it, rolling it and holding it in your hands.
"I thought you'd be more inclined to favour this. It's ballet!"
"Does it look like I do ballet?" Heeseung side-eyes you, resting his cheek in his palm as he sinks lower and lower towards the table surface. "No offence. I just- I could be watching half of Endgame with how long this is."
You turn and look at the video projected on the screen. After making sure your dad was too busy with work, you had managed to stay your way throughout school and hijack a tutorial room with Heeseung.
"I think I'd rather listen to that 3 hour Louis XIV compilation we saw just now," He groans, sprawling his torso and arms across the table when he lies down.
"We can do that after the documentary."
"I want to go back to my room after the documentary."
"Hey, it was your idea to meet up and watch this together. I would've been perfectly fine watching this at home on my own."
Heeseung sits up, glaring at you.
"Do you hate me or something?"
As you laugh and turn to him, the whites in his eyes shimmer at you even in the dark. Your laptop was plugged up to the television screen and the lights were shut off, making the ambience resemble something of a theatre (of course, with low-quality chairs).
"Maybe I do," With a hint of mischief in your voice, you side-eye him. "You wouldn't know anyway, right?"
Squinting, he scoffs and shakes his head. "Kid."
But as much as Heeseung complained about not wanting to watch the documentary, you found yourself in awe at how many tissues he was pulling out from his own bag.
About midway through the documentary, Heeseung began tearing at Louis XIV's traumatic life events, then he really sobbed and nearly choked on his own phlegm when the ballet performances came up.
It kind of makes you want to laugh.
By the time the documentary's ended, your cheeks were sore from smiling at how distraught he was - in which he obviously wasn't aware that you had spent half the duration watching him bawl his eyes out.
So you finally get up when the video ends, moving over to your laptop and minimising the Youtube screen as you look up, smirking at his puffed face.
"What?" His voice cracks, and it forces your lips in between your teeth to hide your chuckle.
"Nothing!" You pull the HDMI plug out from your laptop.
"Ugh," He groans, wiping the last bit of his mucus away. "Anyway, thanks for watching the documentary with me. I would've fallen asleep."
You raise a skeptical brow. "I highly doubt you'd sleep through whatever made you cry."
"Give me a break, I have feelings too. Don't you cry at some stuff too?" Heeseung sits up in his chair as you carry your laptop back to your bag and slide it in. "Well, other than your dad dragging you across the country."
A bemused scoff thrums through you. "You're daring now," You zip up your bag. "Of course I do. I just- don't do it in front of people."
Heeseung gets up from his seat and picks up his bag, walking over towards you as you push the lecture table back down. "But didn't I see you cry already?"
Your hands abruptly halt as you drop the table, and you can see his shadow towering over yours.
Fuck.
"So what?" Sucking in a deep breath, you swing your bag around and adjust the straps. "Not like you haven't seen a girl cry before."
Heeseung's looking down at you when you turn around, his black jacket snug around his shoulders and his hair tousled from the day.
"But I don't think I'd care to see other girls cry."
The blue projector screen in the back is glaringly distracting - but apart from that, you knew that you were just too afraid to look at him in the eye as the words sunk in.
Did he just-
"Anyway!" He inhales such a loud, deep breath, his chest puffs out as he steps towards the stairs, not really bothering to wait for you to catch up. "Come on, it's late. I'll walk you home."
Rushing after him with small steps, you catch up to him just as he gets the lecture theatre door open. He holds it out for you and gestures for you to exit first.
"Thanks but- it's still early and I'll be fine-"
"I didn't ask," Heeseung steps out and straight under the light bulb in the hallway. The harsh lighting casts sharp shadows around his eyes where his fringe was partially covering them and the curve of his nose was made even more obvious over his lips due to the contrast.
"I don't need a bodyguard, Heeseung-"
"Reserve your stubbornness for your dad, would you?" Quietly advising, Heeseung lowers himself and levels eyes with you. "Like I said: I didn't ask."
Then he resumes an upright position, the veins on his hands popping out from gripping onto his bag straps. A tiny smile surfaces on his lips when he notices the lack of response - he's won.
"Come on, slowpoke," He turns on his heels and brushes past you. "Or else you're paying for pizza next week at the beach!"
The evening wind was cold for a reason, roads still pretty bustling with cars and you'd assume people going home after a day's work. You had just barely stepped out of the school compound when Heeseung stopped and pulled off his jacket, draping it over your shoulders.
You thought to retort and stop him before he picks up his bag, but you know you'd just lose.
Or were you just pining for yourself?
"I assume your dad doesn't know you're not home yet?"
"He's busy with the tests and project's marking," The scent wafting off his jacket around your shoulders smell like cotton candy.
"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly would happen if he knew you were out till late?"
"Not sure," You shrug and look up at him. Now under the dim lighting from the streetside lamps, his features are more of a blur under his hair, and yet you could somehow see that twinkle in his eyes between the strands of his fringe.
You look back down at your feet, unable to maintain eye contact.
"Probably get grounded and he'd force me to wait for him in school until he's done or something."
Heeseung hums with disappointment, dropping his hands to his sides and wiping his hands into his pants. "Sounds rough."
"Eh, well... what's new?"
Then his knuckle brushes against yours, the warmth from his skin igniting little sparks up your hand and your arm.
Your heart beats a little harder, a little faster, against your consent.
When you reach the gate to your apartment, it's the security guard that greets you first and waves to both you and Heeseung. Turning around to bid Heeseung goodbye, the childish feeling of reluctance starts to eat at your stance.
You're waving but your feet aren't moving.
Heeseung smiles, stepping forward and gently pulling his jacket off your shoulders in order to keep your hair in place.
"Thanks for watching the documentary with me."
"Of course," It takes the small distance between the two of you to finally push you back, for the lack of space was driving you up a mental wall. "I'll... I'll see you next week."
"Mhm," He nods, carefully raising his hand.
He hesitates, then dips his finger into your hair to pull out a tiny thread of cotton left from his jacket.
"Alright, now go," Stepping back, his hands come up to his bag straps. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
With an almost unnoticeable smile on his lips, he turns first and walks off, not bothering to wait for you to get through the gates before he's about 10 metres down the pathway.
Little did you know that he turned once he heard the gate click shut, just to make sure you were safe.
Point-blank staring at your iPad screen, all you're thinking about was the previous night.
How much Heeseung teased you about your father, though knowing never to cross a line you didn't even need to draw for him.
The brushing hands - God, that was annoying. How the butterflies surged in your gut and yet you had to gulp it all back down before you blurted out something that could possibly ruin your life forever.
You know, maybe - just maybe - in some alternate universe, you would've made a decision long ago.
Between Jay and Heeseung.
You'd be able to choose within a second, not bothering about the other one. Maybe even elope and never needing to go back to your dad ever again.
Well, if it was Jay, that might be a little harder since he's your father's favourite pet.
Ha.
And before you could even think up the next line of your mental monologue, two hands come around your face and cover your eyes.
"What the-"
"Quick! Pink or green?"
"Jay, what in the world-"
"Pink or green?"
"Blue, can you get your hands off my face-"
"Green it is!"
He pulls his hands off and you were, for some reason, expecting a pot of gold to be on the table before you.
"What, where's my dragon egg?"
"What? No!" He sneers nodding to your feet with a wide smile.
There was a paper bag with a Starbucks tumbler in it, and pulling it out now, you see that your name had been specially engraved into its side in gold against a green background.
"Wait, what would've happened if I asked for pink?"
Jay sits, the pride spewing out from every hole in his face. "I knew you weren't gonna choose pink."
"You thought wrong," Mischievously holding the tumbler out to him, you pout and wince a little too pretentiously. "I want a pink one."
"Fuck off," Jay chortles, gently pushing your hand away as he gets his laptop out.
"Thank you," Admiring the tumbler, you can see your reflection off the clean-cut plastic. "You really didn't have to."
"It's all g," He grins at you, eyes twinkling. "You can pay for all the meals and merchandise we're gonna get at Disneyland next week."
"Of course," You carefully slide the tumbler back into the bag and place it down on the floor. "You could get like five Mickey headbands if you want and I promise I wouldn't judge you nor say a word about it."
"You can just get two and keep one for yourself," Jay keys in his password. "Anyway, are you alright? Since the brick thing last week."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't hurt so."
"Well, I know you weren't hurt but- y'know. Trauma is a thing."
"We're not strangers," Coyly raising a brow, you snicker at him.
Jay raises both brows in bold admiration, knowing that you were talking about your father.
It's when class starts that you realise you were slowly drifting off to pay your attention to the tumbler in the paper bag by your feet.
You don't remember the last time anybody had given your gifts the way Jay does almost every week.
First, a tour around school and tickets to a museum. Then, what? Cookies? Now a tumbler and next week, Disneyland?
The gnawing anxiety begins boiling in your gut.
Jay is interested and I'm just pretending to ignore it.
"What do you mean 'you don't know what to do'? You already said yes to Disneyland, haven't you?"
"I did, but- you know, with the tumbler-"
"Well, now, it wasn't just the tumbler right?"
Placing the phone on loudspeaker, you go round the room in a bid to pack up your belongings a little bit.
"You're supposed to be helping me, man," You take a seat at your desk and turn on your laptop.
"And I'm trying by telling you that Jay does like you. You're the one who's in a mess and struggling to make a decision thanks to a certain Lee Heeseung."
"Oh my God," Exasperatedly leaning back in your seat, you watch the loading sign go in circles on the screen. "I just- is it my fault that I'm not into Jay?"
"Well, yes and no," Byeol pauses. "But I do think you should take Disneyland as an opportunity to tell him that you're not interested in him, and if he doesn't get the hint nor does he know how to read between the lines then- you know."
"Okay, and what if he doesn't?"
"How the hell should I know?" She snorts. "You're the one stuck in a K-drama, not me. Jay's essentially the second lead who saves the girl from impending doom and yet doesn't get the girl."
"Must you put it that way?"
"Tell me I'm wrong."
You sigh heavily, watching your Spotify roll up.
"I just... So I do tell Jay that I'm not interested and that I'm into someone else, then what do I do with Heeseung?"
"Huh? What do you mean- what?? Are you stupid?" The disbelief in Byeol's voice was becoming alarmingly abusive. "You have half a semester left there. Not only do you want to break Jay's heart, you want to break your own? So say Heeseung does reciprocate, in which I have no clue if it's just all in your head or it is true, what are you gonna do? Get into a 7-week relationship with him before your dad ships you back here?"
"'Course not."
"Oh good, your brain's working!"
"You don't have to be such a bitch about it, you know."
"Me? A bitch? You're the one who can't make up your mind!"
"I'm just asking for opinions."
"At the cost of what? The feelings of three people?"
You purse your lips and fall into silence.
"You've been asking for my opinion for nearly a month now and you can't make up your own fucking mind. I know I don't have a place in saying what you should or shouldn't do because you know them better than I do but do you really want to break a couple of hearts before coming back? What does that make you?"
A pause. You can't answer - because you already know what she's going to say.
"Good. You know you're a bitch if you do that."
The line cackles a tad bit, and now you're staring at your own reflection in the blacked-out screen.
"If you like Heeseung and you're obviously hoping he won't break your heart, then put yourself in Jay's shoes for a tad bit, would you? If anything, he'd be the one to understand how you feel, then what? Are you gonna run to him when Heeseung rejects you?"
Another pause.
It's all kind of just- coming to you at once. You don't really have the mental capacity to process this - her words and her tone.
"You want my opinion? Tell Jay to give it up and don't confess to Heeseung. Protect yourself for the next half of the sem."
Letters For The Dead Society: Dancing With Your Ghost
part of @nayuyeons and @ateez-elena collaboration project for LETTERS FOR THE DEAD SOCIETY
⁑ wizard! jake x muggle-born! [fem] reader
⁑ angst, fluff, dark academia [SFW!]
⁑ looking like 2.7k words ish to me
⁑ angst, one swear word and tw*** implied death and suicidal tendencies [a/n: i do not encourage nor support suicide. this is a piece of fiction.]
⁑ would you give up your life to be with someone?
"Why'd you go away?"
"I'm sorry, love," Jake pouts, resting his chin on the top of your head.
"I thought you weren't coming back," Gently sniffing, you hiccup and snuggle further into his arms, fiddling with the drawstring of his hoodie.
"Aw, no..." He pulls away and tilts your chin towards him. "Don't worry. I'll always come back to you."
The sharp shrill of the school bell interrupts your moment with him, and he pulls away with his finger tickling the underside of your chin. Jake shifts back to his seat as students start flooding the classroom, and then the teacher enters.
Jake offers you a tiny smile of comfort, glancing back and forth between you and the textbook on his table. The look on the teacher's face is grim, pale and some kind of distraught as he walks in.
The students whisper, and you can't help but shrink all your attention back onto Jake, sitting at the desk right next to you.
Walking down the darkened hallways makes you feel like you were living in a dream. Being a student in this school was nothing but extraordinary, and ironically, it's the worst place to be in right now.
The altar along the corridor was drizzled with enchanted items. Teddy bears that could move, puppy plushies that could bark and flowers that were floating in mid-air.
Naturally, your eyes drift. There was a forming crowd before the altar, students dawned in their uniform sniffling and offering each other tissues and napkins to dry their eyes.
The crying was worse when the news first hit, so thank God you didn't have to get through that again.
"What is it?" Jake raises a brow, looking down at you before craning his neck to get a glimpse of it.
"Some kid got himself in the way of a crucio," You grab onto Jake's yellow-lined uniform, pulling him along to the hall of the grand stairs.
"A crucio?" Jake's eyes are wide with caution and genuine concern as he steps onto the moving infrastructure. "Why would anybody get in the way of a crucio?"
A small frown furrows your brows.
"Beats me."
With a soft rumble, the staircase comes to a halt.
Your footsteps echo down the hallway as you pick up your pace, hoping that the one thing you'd need would be right where you wanted it.
But the silence behind you slows you down in your speed, cueing you to turn around and find Jake's eyes wide at the spectacular architecture of the hallways. It's as if he hadn't been here before.
You can't help the gentle smile that emerges on your lips, hands wiping themselves against your sides. His bright orbs are filled with wonder, and he obviously doesn't even know he's got that small, goofy smile on his face when he's amazed by something.
That is, until he turns to you and finds you staring at him.
"Oh!" He jumps, quickly picking up his pace by jogging to you. "Sorry."
"What for?" You turn on your heels and grin at him before walking off. "It is a beautiful castle."
Jake's voice was still rather high-pitched and enthusiastic as he beams about it to you, but his excitement was short-lived when he finds you abruptly stopped right outside a door.
A door in a wall he knew for sure was not always there.
"Wha-" His jaw goes slack and he turns to you. "What are you- How do you-"
"I have something I need to do," You mumble under your breath, but loud enough for him to hear. "Accompany me?"
The boy parts his lips to agree, but nothing comes out. Instead, he was nodding - he doesn't seem to be able to say anything right now.
How the Hell did you manage to find The Room of Requirement?
As the heavy doors creak open and you push yourself in, the musty smell of rusting metal and old items gradually invades the likes of your sense of smell. It pushes you off your axis, leading you to rub your nostrils in a bid to rub away the smell.
You can hear the soft gasp that emerges from Jake as he walks in, probably whirling in circles and circles as his eyes feast on the sight before him.
But then as he turns to look at your back, tracing your line of sight, his feet come to an abrupt stop.
He can see himself in the mirror that you were standing before.
And yet... it wasn't aligned to where he was standing.
In place of your reflection was him.
And in place of his, was nothing.
Jake's breathing falters, and you can hear his shuddered inhales as he processes the sight. His dulled eyes are darting frantically between his own face in the mirror and you.
"How are you- How-" His voice cracks, head cocking to the side at an angle that looks horribly morbid. The sight seals your eyes shut for a second, and he watches as the mirror version of himself closes his eyes as you do.
Gulp.
"Jake."
He stares at himself in the reflection, then his vision zooms in onto the back of your head.
"Why did you get in the way of the crucio?"
The memory of the altar returns to the sea of hidden thoughts in his head.
It's his picture floating above the altar along the corridor.
"Jake."
His lips part in a bid to question the inquiry, but nothing comes out. Licking his lips, he sucks them between his teeth and chews on them as his eyes fall to the floor.
It's his teddy bears and puppy plushies and roses.
"Jake."
Upon the third time he hears his name slip off your tongue, something clicks in his head. He looks up, eyes brimming with tears when the realisation sinks in before the explanation does.
There you were, standing with your back faced against the mirror and your glistening eyes and trembling lips.
It's still him in the mirror's reflection. It's his hair, his back, his arms, his legs - instead of yours.
Your shivering fingers finally reach up to cup his face, thumbs brushing across his cheekbones. And with a soft, crumbling voice, you whisper, just loud enough for him to hear, "Do you remember?"
"Keep your head down and don't move."
His palm gently presses the crown of your head into your knees, huddled close to your chest as he cranes his neck over the huge log.
"Go. She's close."
"And the boy?"
Crunch. Crunch. Crack.
"Obliviate him."
Your heavy breath comes out in a soft squeak and Jake literally surges forward to grab your head in his hands, palm covering your mouth as he grips his wand in his free hand. He holds the both of you back against the log, deliberately sinking down into the damp mud to keep you out of sight.
Your eyes are tearing by now, heavy breaths condensing around your mouth and philtrum as the heat from his palm keeps you muffled. The footsteps against the leaves and twigs get further and further, and Jake tilts his eyes over the edge of the log to check the coast.
Slowly and gradually releasing you, his pupils are trembling when he scans the horizon once more before returning to you.
"Okay," He retreats his hand and pulls your chin to face him. "Love, I need you to listen to me, okay?"
"Those are Death Eaters. Dangerous, dangerous people... and um," He licks his lips, bringing his hand up to wipe the sweat around his nose and upper lip. "They don't like muggle-borns too."
"So, I'm gonna need you to stay very still, okay?" With wide eyes, Jake holds your shoulders and your frame still, looking at you straight at you. "I'm- I'm gonna try and do an Apparition spell- and-"
"What? Are you crazy?" Squinting your eyes at him and hissing lowly, your fingers clench around your wand, nails digging into the earth beneath your feet. "We just learnt that! And what if it doesn't work? What if we splinch a limb off?"
Jake's head drops, shaking it slightly as he sucks in a deep breath.
The long pause starts to boil the anxiety in you.
"Jake."
He looks up.
The answer was plastered across his face when he locks eyes with you.
"No," Aggressively shaking your head, you drop to your rear, hands fumbling around by your hips. "No. You're not disappariting me. Why can't you do us together?"
"I don't know if I can- I can't risk splinching you-"
"So be it! Do it for the both of us and as long as we're both breathing by the time we-"
"Listen to me-"
"No!" You shake him off and shuffle backwards. "Don't you fucking dare."
"Please," Jake falls forward to his knees, reaching for you as he lowers his head. Resting his forehead on your perched-up knees with his eyes wide open, he mumbles quietly, "I can't lose you."
As the tears choke your breathing, you look up into the huge trees, branches of leaves covering your view of the night sky. It should've been riddled with stars - that's why you even brought him here in the first place.
All you wanted was time alone with him, away from the castle, away from everybody else.
"Jake..." You look back down at him, watching him lift his head slowly. "I'm sorry. I can't-"
He shifts forward, pulling your head into his chest and resting his chin on your crown. "Hey, hey, shhh... Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
"I just- I wanted-"
"No, no," You can feel him shake his head. "Don't say it. Don't."
Finally hiccuping and sobbing into his shirt, you struggle to inhale the bit of scent you can get through your blocked nostrils.
He holds you tightly, then loosens his arm around you to rest his forehead against yours.
"Love, look at me," He swallows. "When we get back to the castle, I want you to go tell the headmaster and have him scour the perimeters, okay? They shouldn't have been able to come here but they did- which means something's gone wrong somewhere-"
"What? What about you?"
"I'll be right with you, okay?"
"Then we'll go look for the headmaster together, won't we?"
"Yes, we will."
"Promise?"
His eyes flutter shut and he nods. A heavy breath hits your forehead when he pulls away to plant a kiss on the spot between your brows.
Thumb reaching up to wipe your tears, he stands, crunching the leaves beneath his shoes as he steps back and holds out his hand.
Carefully sliding your hand in his, you look down.
"Close your eyes love-"
"Aw."
Then from a puff of smoke emerges one of the Death Eaters, hood on and mask covering his face.
"Isn't this sweet?"
"Love, keep your eyes closed."
"I would ask why you chose her to spend all your time and effort on when you're destined for greater things."
"Close your eyes!"
"Been awhile since we've sniffed out a muggle-born. Must've been honored, weren't you? To be sent a letter from the Almighty Hogwarts."
"I love you."
"Love really does make you foolish, doesn't it?"
A moment.
A crunch.
With a squeeze around your palm, a tightness starts sucking you through a void.
And in the midst of all that, you hear the cursed spell.
"Crucio!"
Your back hits the ground first, and your vision clears out around the edges as you focus on the familiar ceiling of the Hufflepuff room.
Sitting up in a bid to curb the surging feeling of nausea in your stomach, your hands automatically fumble around to find Jake's.
But as you turn, dread washes over you when your eyes befall the limp body.
Eyes open.
Fingers still curled from holding your hand.
His eyes are open.
Staring at the floor as the tears fall.
Wrapping your arms around his torso, you rest your head into his chest, but the lack of a heartbeat reminds you that he no longer exists physically, but as a spirit and as part of your memory.
"You could've just did it without coming in between us."
He gulps, and you shut your eyes, tears seeping into his shirt but none of the marks stays.
"But if I didn't... then I would've lost the one thing I ever needed."
Your nose finally sours through and through without your consent, the tears being pushed out more as you tighten your shut lids.
Jake's ghost had first appeared in this room 3 days ago. It was the day you found the Room of Requirement.
The days after the accident and up till the first time you saw him in the mirror with you was pure torture. The accident had sent the entire school scrambling to secure defences - professors casting new spells and sending guards out to comb through the perimeters, especially the forest.
Students were scared, but on top of that, even more distraught when Hufflepuff's most beloved wizard had sacrificed himself to protect a muggle-born.
On the sixth day, you found yourself sitting along the edges of the 7th floor, just inches away from falling over and onto the bridge where all the snow's collected on.
But a gentle rumbling from behind you had torn your attention away from the height, and your tired eyes are nothing but surprised when the door solidifies into the wall.
It was in the mirror that you find yourself staring at Jake's face in place of yours, and you crumble before your reflection that remains standing.
Sobbing on your knees, your vision blurs when the reality sets in once more as if you hadn't had enough of it. Frankly, you don't know if you could take any more of it.
Yet, like all things magic in the castle, you hear soft footsteps emerge out of the mirror, and a hand reaches down to pat the crown of your head.
Your hand flies up to your mouth to muffle the gasp, watering eyes finding Jake squatted right before you, a finger pushing your hair out of your eyes.
"I'll always come back to you."
"I don't know what happened... nor do I know how to fix it... but your memory resets every day now," Laying your head on his shoulder, the swell in your lids are making it hard for you to keep them open. "You don't remember what happened to you, and you don't remember what you did or said to me the last 3 days. Nobody can see you except me. I think the mirror made you real only to me."
Jake deeply exhales, resting his cheek into your hair.
"I can't remember anything because I'm not real, love."
A pause.
"I'm not a physical entity. I can't have a memory... nor can I stay forever."
Silence.
"Love," He shifts, motivating you off his shoulder. "I can't stay forever."
You choose to keep your eyes away from him, unable to look at him without tearing. So he takes it into his autonomy to get up and then lower himself to his knees, looking up at your puffy face.
"Jake, don't-"
"Please listen to me," Grabbing your hands in his, his fingers are cold and lack the warmth you recognise. "I can't stay forever. You know what that is right? The mirror? The Mirror of Esired."
"I know what that is-"
"So you know that... it- it's in your heart. You know what that means, don't you?"
Shaking your head, you lower your head and shut your eyes.
"It means I'll always be in your heart and with you, no matter what happens, alright?" A cold finger reaches your chin and tilts it up. "You're still my girl, okay? Move on when you can... but if you need me... then I'm always with you. Okay?"
A loud sniffle echoes through the room when you suck in a deep breath. He stands, bending down to plant a kiss on your forehead.
With the last bit of energy you have within yourself, you walk him to the mirror, hand in his.
A tiny smile spreads across his lips as he releases your hand, taking a small step toward the mirror. Pressing his palm flat against the glass, he manages to push himself through, and finally, he's his own entity in the mirror, and you see your own dreadful reflection.
Pairings: [fem] uni exchange student! reader x uni student! HS x uni student! Jay
Genres: Fluff | Slice of Life | Comedy | Angst | Teenage Romance | Thriller
Warnings: swearing. more than usual.
Word Count: 3.7k + 5 SM screenshots
Synopsis/Quote: In which your oblivious ass cannot tell that a popular boy in your class has a big, fat crush on you | “It seems like the one who was ruined was me.”
Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @haechanhues @sunqnyu @bloom-bloom-pow @seasideheeseung @wooya1224 @gratefulmaria @sunshineshouchan @youreverydayzebra @fayqj @witheeseung [drop me a dm/ask/comment to be added!]
A/N: This chapter hurt me like a bitch ack
Heeseung is watching the sunset to: Lawson - Standing In The Dark
A/N: Before you read this chapter, I'd like to extend my gratitude and thanks to all of you who have been following this series. I hold this one dear to my heart and I'm not entirely sure if I've offended someone throughout this series because this series has no warnings whatsoever. Writing the final two chapters was really hard for me because I lost my grandmother in September last year. I won't be tagging this chapter with anything to prevent spoilers but it will still be linked in my LMLL masterlist. With that, I thank you again for loving LMLL with all your time and effort to read, and I'll see you in my ongoing NFS series for Enhypen and a new one that's coming up. [Spoiler alert: if you liked HOSTIS not the smut though, then you might like the new one winkwonk]
Protip: For the entire experience, click the links for BGM. Keep a box of tissues with you maybe?
“Loving you was like learning to dive - Fear, then the universe... all at once."
"Gio!"
Pushing herself off the couch, she hurries for the door when the dog scrambles to dig at the gap.
"Yes?"
"Good morning! I have a delivery for Ki Hae Ri?"
She looks down at the delivery man's hands, but he's got nothing but an envelope and a blue document file. "Um, yeah, that's me."
"Ah, okay, great!" He holds out both items. "These are addressed to you. From Kim Jang Won."
A frown befalls her face.
She hasn't heard that name in a while.
"Oh, um, okay," She takes them, gently bowing as he bows back. "Thanks."
The door clicks shut as she swings it close, the plastic of the opaque document folder shining under the light. With a deep breath, Hae Ri sits, rubbing her thumb over the material of the envelop and the folder.
She flips the brown envelop over, and she spots her name.
Hae Ri's tears are nearly billowing over her lids by the time she makes it to the end of the letter. She reaches over and grabs the tissue box, aggressively wiping away the tears that were swelling her eyes.
BREAKING: ARTEMIS ENT.'S NET WORTH SURPASSES HERA & ARTEMIS
"YOUNGHOON-"
"WHAT?" Younghoon's wide, gleamy eyes are stuck to the television as he surges to his feet, the graph line on the screen for Artemis finally overtaking H&A's. "THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE.'
"I TOLD YOU IT WAS, AND IT HAPPENED!" His father snickers, doing a little dance on the couch as Younghoon fumbles for his phone in his blazer. "Now you owe me a butter pudding recipe."
"YOU WISH."
"WE HAD A BET."
"I DIDN'T THINK HERA & ARTEMIS WAS GONNA LOSE TO ARTEMIS-"
"WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED? YOU SHOULD BE GLAD!"
"BUT-"
Ding Dong
The interruption (in the form of a doorbell) stuns both father and son, but very quickly, Younghoon gathers himself. With the news still broadcasting in the back, he jogs to the front door, pulling it open to find a delivery man. He was carrying a huge bag, and in it was a rectangular, flat piece, wrapped in silk.
"Good afternoon! I have a delivery for Mr Kim Younghoon?"
"Who's this from?"
"Oh, it's from Kim Jang Won, sir," Then without hesitation, he lifts the heavy bag to Younghoon.
The familiar name strikes a chord in Kim Jo-Pil's peripheral hearing, and he can't help but take small steps towards the front door where Younghoon was frozen in place.
"Oh! Mr Kim Jo-Pil, I assume?"
"Um, yes, that's me."
"Oh! I was told I might find you here. Would you give me a moment while I make a quick one back to my car? I've got your delivery here with me."
The man doesn't wait for his response before he turns on his heels, turning around the corner where the driveway led out onto the road.
Younghoon's eyes are stuck to the silk-wrapped item in the bag, the pool swishing echoing in the distance from inside The Artemis Apartment.
Just by the weight, he can tell what it was.
His son's still demeanour calls an arm to his shoulder, and Kim Jo-Pil gently massages his shoulder with a quiet voice.
"Younghoon-"
"It's a portrait canvas. The kinds that Mom used to paint on."
Nostalgia wells Kim Jo-Pil's lungs. A quick flashback brings him to the love and care in Yoo Se Kyung's eyes when he first witnessed her painting.
Hurried footsteps return, and this time, the delivery man returns with another bag, containing another wrapped canvas.
After thanking the delivery man, Younghoon's the first to tear up, not even bothering to return to the living room to turn off the television or anything. He kneels, simply laying the bag down to the marble floor and pulling out the wrapped canvas.
His breath trembles, fingers gently undoing the material around the frame.
Then the gold wood appears, and he recognises the acrylic paint on the canvas first before he can process the painting.
A palm flies up to his mouth, eyes hurriedly shutting - as if it would stop his tears from washing through his eyes.
It was a painting of a picture - and in the picture was little Younghoon, little Jang Won, and their mother's pet cat. He pulls the silk off completely and finds the actual picture stuck to the bottom corner of the frame. Behind it, on the canvas was Jang Won's signature.
The first few tears finally hit the floor when he reaches back to the bag, tilting it over to find a brown envelope stuck in the base fold. He tugs it out and finds his name written on the back.
Back in the living hall, Kim Jo-Pil's heart is trembling in his chest as he watches his son sob and choke over the letter in his hands.
He turns to the portrait on the couch now, eyes brimming with tears when he recognises the lady in the portrait all too well.
His first and last love, Yoo Se Kyung.
Kim Jo-Pil purses his lips into a tight, sad smile, blinking the tears that have finally rolled down his cheeks. The ivory letter crumples slightly when he grips it a little tighter, blurred vision drifting back to Younghoon, still crouching over the portrait.
The news has finally moved on from talking about H&A and Artemis, but the next headlines catch Kim Jo-Pil's attention, eyes darting from the portrait to the screen.
MEDITERRANEAN HOSPITAL DOCTOR DONATES 5 MILLION IN HONOR OF KIM JANG WON AS TRIBUTE TO HER DEATH ANNIVERSARY
The neurologist had just reached home after a long night shift at work, the scent of anaesthesia and cleaning alcohol still stuck to her clothes like a stubborn child.
She was already halfway the distance down into her couch when the doorbell rings, and with a loud groan, she cocks her head back in frustration.
"Yeah?!"
"Good afternoon! I'm looking for Yoo Hye In?"
"For Gods' sake," She hisses under her breath, pulling herself to her feet and reaching for the door.
"Hi!"
"What is it?"
"I have a delivery for you-"
"I didn't buy anything."
"Oh, no, it's a scheduled gift. From Kim Jang Won."
The name strikes a single, specific chord in her. She's heard enough on the news and radio today; she doesn't need to hear it again.
The man pulls out a folder from behind his back and holds it out to her with an envelope on top.
"What's this?" She takes it, scanning the items.
"I was not authorised to go through the contents, Ms Yoo."
She looks up at him through her lashes, nose now pointing towards her name written on the envelope.
Hye In flips the file open, eyes scanning the numbers and the carbon print as she processes the information. She manages a small smile as she fiddles with the corner of the sheets.
"And you'll always be my little sister."
Young Jin Seol has her foot anxiously tapping against the carpet when she can hear Juyeon's voice ringing from his office.
Well, it's nothing bad of course - he was just having a conversation too animated with Kim Sunwoo over the latest Apple product.
"Camera quality's the same, interface is pretty much the same-"
"You know I could get you kicked out of this building just because you said that, right?"
"Please! The security would agree with me!"
Juyeon snickers under his breath, shaking his head as he shuts off the iMac and slides his phone into his blazer breast pocket.
"Come on, let's go for dinner."
"What?" Sunwoo grumbles, brows creased on his forehead. "Don't you need to go back and... I don't know, meet-"
"Yeah, but I have time," Juyeon picks up his briefcase and checks the switches for all the appliances in the room. "I'll treat you to a good meal and then I'll go, okay?"
The elder boy walks around the desk, reaching up and turning off the television where another news channel was just talking about the donation.
Sunwoo squints, locking his newest iPhone and sliding it into his pocket. "Let's just get Mac's."
With a hearty laugh, Juyeon nods, gesturing for Sunwoo to leave the office. But they find Young Jin Seol greeting a deliveryman and in his hands was a huge bouquet of yellow tulips, a brown envelope stuck in the midst of all the bright petals.
"Mr Lee."
"Yes?" A gently frown furrows Juyeon's brows.
"This is a special delivery from the florist that you've previously ordered from last year, sir," He holds the bouquet out. "Gifted from Kim Jang Won."
Sunwoo instantaneously snaps his neck to look at Juyeon, witnessing him receive the bouquet of flowers so carefully like it were a bouquet of glass.
"I think I'll take my leave first then," Sunwoo quietly informs Jin Seol when he knows Juyeon's attention has been magnified onto the flowers.
"Shall I inform the Kims that you'll be late?"
"No, no," Juyeon picks the letter out from the flower buds and glances at her. "This will just take a few. Thanks."
Jin Seol nods as he flips the letter around, finding his name written in ink on the back. As he sits on the couch of the now-quiet office, he looks out at his assistant, quietly working on her documents without looking at him.
The wrapper of the bouquet crinkles as he lays it on the coffee table, eyes drifting over the usual-sized bouquet of tulips withering in its vase.
Mentally preparing himself, Juyeon leans back into the couch, carefully peeling the flap off and opening the letter.
The sound of the water was washing against the side of the yacht as they board it, Juyeon and Younghoon careful as they help Kim Jo-Pil up onto the deck via the steep stairs.
The motor of the yacht causing the vibration finally slows to a halt as Kim Jo-Pil sits.
Juyeon takes a deep breath, letting Younghoon tend to his father while he turns and looks out into the open water. This was the exact same spot they had scattered Jang Won's ashes a year ago.
A gentle wind picks up, and now it's brushing his hair out of place despite the wax he's had since morning.
"So," Younghoon's voice bellows from behind him, and Juyeon turns to find him taking a seat next to his father. "She sent you a hundred flowers on top of the weekly standard bouquet she threatened the florist to deliver?"
Juyeon laughs, turning and licking his lips. He rests the back of his forearms on the metal railing, letting the wind push strands of his hair all over his face.
"Yeah. I had to get Jin Seol to find me about 8 vases for all 100."
"Hmm," Younghoon nods, glancing over to his father who was silent the entire ride out to sea. The elder was looking up into the sky, admiring all the white specs in the dark canvas.
"Mom used to bring Jang Won and me out to stargaze by the field."
"Yes," Kim Jo-Pil breathes, a small smile showing up on his lips. "Now, I see why she was so in love with that."
Younghoon fiddles with his collar, fingers brushing over the metal railing as he swings his arm over to propel him to face Juyeon.
"Juyeon."
The younger looks up from his feet.
And with a mischievous smirk, Younghoon teases.
"You never really told us how your honeymoon was."
Protip: For the entire experience, click the links for BGM
“And just like your mother... I love you with all my heart."
Younghoon fiddles with the tie around his father's neck, picking off a speck of dust from the black silk. He blinks his tired eyes, taking in a deep breath so huge that he can feel the cotton of his inner shirt tighten around his chest.
With empathy, his father gently wraps his fingers around his wrists, stopping him. And it takes a monumental amount of effort for Younghoon to stop himself from sobbing almost immediately.
Up in the front row, Juyeon lowers his head, greeting his own parents with some hint of pride that they were even here. He sits, unbuttoning his black blazer as he does. Younghoon and his father come around the corner from the back, one with a much puffier face than the other.
Juyeon can't help but stand and grab Younghoon by his palm, pulling him into a tight hug and patting on his spine between his shoulder blades. He hears Younghoon gulp as he pats Juyeon on the back in response, then they pull apart and Juyeon turns to Kim Jo-Pil, lowering his head.
The three men sit right in the front row, Younghoon already pulling out a pack of tissues from his inner breast pocket. The plastic crinkles, and Juyeon turns to offer him a sympathetic smile.
Silence befalls the hall when the session starts as the morning sun starts to draw straight, crisp lines all over the floor and the walls.
"On behalf of my family, I would like to thank everybody who has taken time off to be here, and for those who have sent their condolences. We have received a number of phone calls, some emails, texts, flowers... prayers. They have been comforting during this difficult time."
"Most of you here already know me. Most of you already know the kind of relationship we had. And I think... while we had our... conflicts and disagreements, we were still complementary."
With eyes filled of sorrow, Jang Won turns to look at the mourning portrait.
"Mr Ro took care of my brother and I for as long as I can remember. He's been around the Kim family since my parents were married. Even after my mother passed, he chose to stay. Mr Ro was professionally known as our butler but I can promise you he's taught us many life lessons, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know that himself."
Juyeon drops his eyes to his lap when he can hear her voice shudder through an awkward chuckle.
"Um, Mr Ro was... He was like a father, when mine wasn't around. He chose to stay at Hera's Manor, even after Younghoon moved out. He stayed to take care of me, to boss around the staff that needed to be there to take care of my needs."
She falters, and by now, there were more sniffles drizzled about in the hall.
"He was my guardian angel, left behind by my mother to me. He had been working for the Yoo family before he came and- believe it or not, Mr Ro had the chance to go become a chef."
Jang Won chokes out a dry chuckle, forcing her tears back into her face.
"But no, he chose to stay. To make sure our food wasn't poisoned. To make sure the tea was steeped for an appropriate amount of time."
"To make sure the butter pudding was to our exact tastes."
The sniffles emitting next to Juyeon were getting harsher and more aggressive and Juyeon can't help but offer him a tired smile, snaking an arm over Younghoon's shoulders. He carefully turns to watch Jang Won, obviously also having a hard time finishing the eulogy.
But she bears through it, looking up to the ceiling and blinking whatever tears that were left in her eyes away.
"Mr Ro was not our butler, he was part of our family. He did it without asking for anything in return, only wanting to protect my brother and I like we were his. Mr Ro never had a family of his own because he had started working for my mother's at the age where he should've been travelling the world and meeting new people and I-"
"I... am nothing without Mr Ro. Had he not been the one who yanked me off my brother when we fought or ordered the kitchen to make me meals that I would eat when my mother passed, I wouldn't be the person I am today."
Juyeon watches her sniffle, carelessly wiping away the tears that were dripping off her chin. She looks down, hands fiddling with something at the pedestal, and a tiny smile breaks across her lips.
"Mr Ro was the first person who figured out how to help me with my nightmares when my mother passed. All those nights... I wouldn't have gotten through them had he not found a way to cope with them."
She sucks in another deep breath, her eyes already pink from the tearing.
"I think the hardest part about this is that he should be in my place, right now, breathing. Crying."
"He should be the one standing here and convincing the world that I was a decent person."
"He never once yelled at me."
"I hope my mom takes care of him now, since he's taken care of us with more than we could ever ask for."
Jang Won lets the tears roll down her cheek, but her face is stiff as she processes the last line of the eulogy.
"Mr Ro, you have been a friend, a brother, and a father. Never have we once seen you as anything less than one of us, and the Yoo and Kim family owe a great deal of our lives to you. This is not farewell, Mr Ro, for we will all meet where the light meets the stars."
Jang Won lowers her head as she finishes the eulogy, family friends and distant relatives of Mr Ro standing to give him their prayers.
When Jang Won lifts her head, her eyes flit over to the entrance of the hall. Hye In was standing at the back of the room, hands crossed over her abdomen and the black dress soaking up all the sun coming through the gap between the doors behind her.
Then a funeral service staff comes through the door, pushing Hye In out of the way as they greet her. Jang Won could probably convince herself that she was hallucinating, now that she was on heavy medication and had just started chemotherapy. But the world slows down when she looks past the doors that were pushed wide open.
It's her mother - wrapping her arms around Mr Ro's shoulders, giving him two pats on his back before she pulls away. And for the last time, Mr Ro turns, smiles at Jang Won, and lowers his head.
The door creaks shut, a soft thud echoing through the hall.
"...Okay... Mhm, alright," Juyeon's voice could be heard, even through the heavy ward door as Hye In speaks to him outside.
He comes back into the ward, holding the door carefully so that it didn't slam when it shuts. When he turns and finds Jang Won awake, his eyes soften; shoulders slumping ever so slightly.
"Hey."
"Hi."
"How are you feeling?" The water gurgles into the glass as he fills it up, his free hand pressing a button on the side of the bed to incline the top half of her body.
"Like shit."
The sharp response manages to tickle him as the mattress comes to a stop. "We were lucky Hye In showed up. She said you could've gotten a seizure."
He drops a straw into the glass, sitting in the chair by the bed and holding it out for her. Her chapped lips come around the paper and with loud gulps, she finishes nearly half the glass.
It's the whites of the walls and the ceiling that gets to Jang Won - now she knows how her mother felt like on her deathbed.
And of course, Juyeon could predict what she was thinking when she sighs, leaning back into her pillow as he returns the glass back to the counter.
The gentle beeping of the monitor was the only sound in the private ward - even the air-conditioning was quiet. Almost pin-drop silence. Juyeon leans an elbow on the side of the mattress just by her hip, resting his cheek against his clenched fist.
The orange-yellow shade of his skin looks saturated when he slides his fingers over hers, pale and slightly grey. The colour disparity is a reminder that he should try convincing himself that this is just a nightmare.
Thoughtlessly pulling the blanket over her stomach, he finds himself scanning her face. Eyes open and staring at the ceiling; chest rising with every breath and beep he hears.
"You know... I didn't think it would hurt this much. Seeing you in pain."
"Why, cause you didn't expect yourself to fall for me and my charming tactics?"
He chuckles under his breath, lips curling up just the bare minimum as he catches her gaze. The eye bags beneath her pupils are dark and her lips are just slightly pinkier than the walls.
"When did she say I can go home before the treatment starts?"
"Tomorrow. Provided your condition doesn't worsen tonight."
Jang Won hums in response, turning back to stare at the ceiling. "I'm sorry you're hurting."
He blinks, running his thumb over her veins.
"I should've told you earlier, right?" With a light giggle, she turns back to him. "What I told you during our honeymoon."
The gulp that Juyeon forces down his throat was much louder than he expected, but he doesn't care. Not now.
He stands and uses his feet to pull the shoes off his socks, then he meticulously crawls into the bed with her, sliding his arm under her neck.
After the shuffling fades to an eventual silence, Juyeon finds himself taking in the scent of her lemon hair - now slightly mixed with the stench of the hospital. Her hand is limp around his waist with his chin resting on the crown of her head, hearts thumping against one another like they were two halves of a whole.
"I don't think you telling me to 'love you a little less' would've changed anything. In fact... I don't think I could love you any more than I do now."
She shuts her eyes, trying to register his voice and his words paired up.
As Jang Won lets time eat away at her skull, Younghoon lets his heart shatter into a million pieces when he looks into the ward. He can't even see his sister because of Juyeon, but he knows she's crying. He can see her arm tremble around his waist, and he can see Juyeon kissing her tears away.
His eyes fall to the ground as his lips part, exhaling the need to sob.
By the time the moon was high in the sky, Younghoon found himself trying to peel Juyeon away. The man was exhausted and wouldn't function with another minute spent in the ward, leaving Kim Jo-Pil in the ward with her as she lightly snoozed.
“Let us stay for the night, please?”
When he wipes his nose from the tickle, he doesn't even notice he had been crying until he notices mucus on his finger. He wasn't sobbing, nor struggling to breathe.
The tears were silent, consistent - just like her ticking clock.
“If this is some impractical joke, please do tell because my brain is just about to explode from the sight right now."
His lids flutter shut, pushing the overflowing layer of tears already in his eyes over. They wash over his cheeks mercilessly, his fists clenched and nails digging into his palm.
He sucks in a deep breath, the sniffle dragged out long and tedious.
"Dad."
For a moment he thinks this is a dream.
"Dad?"
So he finally opens his eyes and looks at his daughter tearing up. She sucks in a deep breath, alongside a sharp inhale. And before he could make it to the bed, she's sobbing with her eyes shut.
"Hey, hey, hey," He leans over the bed, gently pushing her hair out of her face and wiping away her tears. "Don't cry. Dad's here."
"I'm sorry."
"What for, honey? You've done nothing wrong."
"For being like mom."
It flashes through him like a nightmare.
Shutting his eyes tightly, he holds his breath, unable to crumble before her. She's already sobbing in his arms, entire torso shaking with every hiccup and wail, so he can't bring himself to look at her.
"And just like your mother... I love you with all my heart."
Juyeon bids the last of their house staff goodbye as they leave for the night, waiting for them to close the front door behind them before he turns to the many boxes lined up outside her office.
His gaze drops to his feet, staring blankly at the reflection of the glimmering chandelier above him in the marble.
"Juyeon!"
"Yeah?" He reaches up to the wall and clicks the light switch off, turning on his heels to head into the kitchen. He hears the clinking of china before he even gets there, and when he does, he can't help but watch her shift around the kitchen, pulling out the china one by one from the cabinets. Due to a single light source in the kitchen, most of it remains in the dimness.
The beanie around her head has long replaced the hair that he remembers the lemon scent from, and he's somewhat surprised she's still pretty swift on her feet.
Leaning his head on the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, he feels his own heart thump calmly in between his living (but failing) lungs.
"Juyeon!"
She finally turns, eyes wide and sparkly.
"I'm here," With a small smile, he pushes himself off the door frame, going over as he figures out why she's called him. When he reaches her, she's still tip-toeing and reaching for a stack of plates on a shelf she can't reach.
"Could you help me get-"
"I got it."
He holds her hand with his left, and his right goes up to take the plates down from the cabinet.
But he can't let go. Not when he can feel the bones of her knuckles and the arteries in her palm.
He draws circles into her pale skin, carefully leaving the plates on the counter before finding her other wrist, pulling it to lay over his shoulder.
The weak smile on her face still manages to lighten the mood, and she takes the initiative to rest her other hand over his other shoulder, letting him rest his palms on her waist.
"I see you've packed your office."
"It is the messiest room in the house," Jang Won shrugs, scratching her chin as she tilts her head. "I don't think I'd want random people touching my shit."
He scoffs, sucking his lips between his teeth. It takes them both a while to notice that they were naturally (and instinctively) swaying in sync - even without music.
"We should've gotten a gramophone if we were gonna do this."
"We could get one," Juyeon circles an arm around her waist, closing the gap between them. So she lays her head into his collar, taking in the scent of his pyjamas.
"What for?" A pause. "It's not like it's gonna be used for long."
A monumental effort to retain his composure tilts his head to the ceiling, feeling his lips pout in despair and a layer of tears beginning to coat his eyes.
"Must you put it like that?"
"How else do you want me to put it?"
She peels her head away from the cotton and looks up. His eyes are two pearls in the night, looking straight into hers.
"I don't know."
Even under the shitty lighting, Jang Won can see the fear in his eyes.
"It'll be okay."
"Will it?"
"Mhm," She reaches up and strokes his cheek, brushing her thumb across his cheekbones when she hears the strain in his voice. "I promise."
"Okay."
The crickets out on her yard chirp loudly, drowning them in what they would consider peace and serenity.
"Can you promise me something too?"
He searches her eyes for a hint.
"What is it?"
She looks like she's about to give a speech when she sucks in a deep breath, running her fingers over the lines of his face.
"Scatter my ashes into the ocean for me... will you?"
A/N: [Finished on 1st July, 1.40am] This chapter was particularly difficult to write. I spent about 2 days writing both C19 (this one) and C20 (the next one) and I cried throughout the entire process of writing them both lol
♡ HAPPY 800 WITH THIS JUYEON SIMP BLOG SO OFC IT'S JUYEON
♡ Some mentions of alcohol but mostly diabetes
♡ 1.25k
Okay, so freshman orientation was a thing. The orientation committee members were cool, the group leaders and facilitators were cool, and frankly, your fellow freshmen were cool too.
But there was just one problem.
It's this boy called Lee Juyeon.
But it wasn't just you who's got your eye on him (or if you could even call it that). It was probably half the girls in the group you were in.
You knew for sure you weren't going to go for him - he seemed a little too nice and a little too sincere for your liking. God forbid you falling for a good boy, right?
So when you notice the girls deliberately pulling out their 'pick-me girl' antics, it kind of tickles you from the inside. Albeit annoying you on so many levels, you were only thankful he wasn't any more than an acquaintance to you.
The group leaders sat you around the huge living room of the chalet they booked before class picked up its actual pace. There was a dizzying scent of vodka and hard liquor wafting about in the air and you were already finding entertainment in the girls taking shots, even offering Juyeon one or two.
You can't help but snort your disbelief back into your lungs, picking up the disposable cup with a shitty mixture of Bourbon and Coke.
Who the Hell even thought up this concoction anyway?
"Okay! The GLs have decided that we'll play redlight-greenlight and we'll play three rounds. The losers for the 4 rounds have to do a forfeit which we'll decide later."
Your freshmen friends erupt into less-than-enthusiastic hoots as the GLs stumble to their feet (they've had enough, you see).
They pick out the seeker for the first round, and due to the number of people in the room, they split each round into 6 people - 1 seeker versus 5 catchers.
So, you watch quietly, taking tiny sips of your disgusting mixture of sofa and hard liquor and the pick-me girls get torn away from Juyeon's side with the two rounds that happened.
You'd be lying if you said you were secretly happy that both you and Juyeon hadn't been chosen yet - which meant you'd end up in the same group as him in the final round.
But it honestly didn't matter that much. You got enough sadistic pleasure from watching the pick-me girls lose their chance at flirting with the cute boy.
By the time it hit the 4th round, the GLs were busy teasing the 3 losers of the previous rounds, and the ones left were grumbling under their breaths, reluctant to stand.
Thank the Gods the alcohol was in your system now though, you'd be thrown off the edge with all the snarky looks the pick-me girls were giving you when Juyeon nods to you.
You were this close to blowing raspberry at them, but you hold your urges back.
"Okay, so who's the seeker for this one?"
An awkward silence.
"Me, memememe," You raise your hand and shake your head, slightly frustrated with the lack of enthusiasm.
Then again, it might just be the alcohol in your system motivating your actions.
"Wow, taking the initiative!" One of the GLs laugh boisterously at you, teased that the quiet, resolved one that's stepped out of the comfort zone.
"Shut up," You snicker in response, turning to face the curtain. Beyond, you could see the lights wading through the water of the pool.
The GLs chuckle, gesturing for the other seekers to stand a distance from you and closer to the kitchen.
"Okay, y/n. They are all ready so just... do what you gotta do."
"Aight," You call out, yawning to yourself and looking out the window. "Green green green green green green greenRED!"
And you turn, eyes wide open when you note that Juyeon was the closest to you. A safe distance away - but still close.
You glance at the sides, and his pick-me-girl fans do not look happy. It's their disappointment that fuels you more though, completely forgetting that you were equally as susceptible to him.
Why did you volunteer?
"Green green green..." You turn around, rubbing your eyes as the alcohol settles on your chest. "Green greenRED-"
This time though, Juyeon's almost right up in your face.
Almost instantaneously, the blood rushes to your face and cheeks, heart thrashing about in your chest as he chuckles, obviously happy with himself that he's this much closer to tapping you on the shoulder.
"Nawh, there's no way you can beat that," One of the GLs comment, hand covering his mouth when he can tell his freshmen's taking the chance to flirt with one another.
"Watch me," Squinting at him and at Juyeon, you turn.
The competitiveness clears your mind for a bit, ready to say 'green' one more time before you can turn and run after Juyeon.
"Green!"
He taps on your shoulder and you catch a glimpse of his back foot turning on his heels as he bolts away from you. Adrenaline courses through you with the alcohol as a catalyst, but of course one of his pick-me-girls stick out one of their legs and you trip over it.
First, the anger surges through you when you realise it wasn't accidental.
But the anger subsides into embarrassment when Juyeon manages to catch you by the waist and pulls you to your feet.
The room suddenly erupts into hoots and low calls, the GLs freaking out by the side while the other boys in the room yell at him to get his hands off you.
"Sorry."
He releases you (against your will) and holds out his palm for you to tap. "I'll let you win this one."
It's in the middle of the night when most of your freshman groupmates are asleep that you choose to pack your things and leave. The stench of vape and alcohol still wafting about in the air was making you sick, so you'd much prefer if you could just go home.
But halfway down the stretch of the driveway, you hear the door of the chalet creak open.
"Hey!" A loud whisper hisses through the midnight air.
Even in the dark and without turning, you can recognise Juyeon's voice. So you turn, hands gripping onto your bag straps, eyeing him cautiously as he jogs to you.
"Hey."
"Where are you going in the middle of the night? Did you tell the GLs?"
"Um," A gush of cool wind brushes through your hair. "I left them a text because they were sound asleep. I just... you know-"
"Yeah," He rubs the back of his neck. "I know. I saw."
The trees nearby rustle with the wind's force.
"I just-" Watching him stumble over his words, your stomach slowly fills with butterflies. It's a strange feeling that you'll never fail to recognise, despite how much you hate it. "I wanted to apologise earlier if I could."
A slight scoff coughs its way out from your nose. "What for? It wasn't your fault."
"You could've gotten hurt."
"But I'm fine, and I'm heading home. I'm alright, Juyeon."
He stares at you blankly, head obviously empty of any in-depth thought.
"If... there's nothing else then I'm just gonna go-"
"Wait, y/n..." He reaches out and holds your wrist gently, the physical contact amusing you for a bit.
If only his fans could see this. How great would that b-
"Just out of curiosity, would you like me back if I told you I want to chase you?"
