You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
PAIRING: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader WORD COUNT: 20k+ — series ★⋆ CONTENT: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearninggggg, slow burn, possessive!won. avoidant!reader, miscommunication.. a lot of it, plot twists, feat. beomgyu of txt, enhypen & my beautiful wife @hueningskais ⦸ alcohol, love potion drugging, masturbating (m).
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 2
V𓄧 I did not want this to be two parts . .forgive me juseyo. the second part is coming shortly. i'll make it up to you. thank you soo much @hueningskais and miss anna for proof-reading and doing so much for me, i appreciate it so so much MWAH. thank you miss @heedimples too, your input was soo helpful my girl⋆
The castle was a home like no other. You had never felt so welcome in a place that belonged to all — portraits that often gossiped to you, halls that invited you to explore them, passages that opened in time of need. The castle was a friend you welcomed into your heart without protest.
You were not someone who let things in easily, never had. People came with expectations, questions, and noise you did not always have the energy to answer. Hogwarts came naturally to you it all settled around you so easily it stopped feeling new almost immediately. Portraits whispering like bored aunties with nothing better to do, staircases shifting as if they had moods, doors opening for you like they were in on something you were not. You let it all in.
You received your letter at eleven years old. Being a half-blood — it was simply standard procedure. You stayed on for university like a lot of people did, but unlike most of them it didn’t feel like a choice. It felt like returning to something that had already claimed you.
And somewhere in the middle of it, you met him. It was annoying at first because your life was perfectly fine. Up until then it was quiet, controlled with minimal emotional risk — exactly how you liked it.
You had known Yang Jungwon for four years now, but it had not always been that way. You met in your sixth year after being paired up by Professor Snape for a three day run on Felix Felicis.
Snape paired you together like it was funny, like he didn’t just throw a Slytherin who avoids eye contact like it’s a sport with a Gryffindor who… looks.
The moment your names were called you had looked across the room, already mildly irritated, to the black-haired Gryffindor — only to find he was already looking at you. You vaguely recognized him. He was someone you had passed in corridors, one of those people who existed in your peripheral vision. You two had never spoken as there had never been a reason to, until then.
His expression did this small thing — eyebrows lifting, like he expected literally anyone else. The moment your eyes met, he looked away, offering a small, tight-lipped smile. He looked a little nervous.
You weren't too bothered to be paired with him, he seemed to be a good enough partner — at least he wasn’t Seamus.. low bar, but still.
The seat beside you was already taken. So you gathered your things without hesitation and moved — sliding into the empty space next to him instead. As you settled into the seat you had looked over to your old table. You were only a seat behind — with a perfect view of your previous place.
"Y/n right?" His voice pulled you out of your thoughts. You turned slightly, catching the way his eyes couldn’t decide where to land, like looking at you directly might be too much. Flickering between you and the chalkboard at the front of the room. You almost smiled.. almost.
"Yeah," you answer, a little softer than intended. He nods, almost immediately, like that confirms something for him. Even though he already knew.
Yang Jungwon was popular, though not in the loud, attention-seeking way others were. Known as the composed, hard-working Gryffindor, he carried himself with a kind of steady confidence that people trusted. Down to earth, reliable, kind but not soft. Never someone you could easily push around. He had made that clear and yet sitting beside you now, with your attention fully on him, he felt something in that composure slip.
He had never been someone easily taken by others. He had never found himself captivated by someone’s presence, never caught himself returning to the same person in his thoughts without reason, until you.
The first time Jungwon had noticed you, he had been half-listening in Herbology. His attention slipping as the professor droned on about Venomous Tentacula. His gaze had wandered, unfocused — until it landed on you.
You were seated a row ahead. Not directly in front of him but just off to the side, angled enough that he could see the curve of your profile. Your head rested against your hand, posture relaxed in a way that suggested you were not entirely paying attention either. Looking like you could not care less about Venomous Tentacula trying to eat someone two tables over.
All he knew about you was your house, Slytherin. Obviously. He had his own assumptions about you, but not in the obvious way. Most people assume all Slytherins are calculated and cold. They decide before you even utter a word — that you are aloof and detached. It's not that you don't feel things — it's that you feel them too much and learned the hard way that not everyone deserves access to that.
But you didn't seem to care for what others thought. You let them have their assumptions about you.
The plant in front of you swirled around your fingers as though it had chosen you. You did not react nor did you pull away either. You just let it weave between your fingers. Watching like it was mildly interesting at best. It was subtle.
The kind of moment no one would notice unless they were already looking.
Jungwon raised an eyebrow with something alike to curiosity flickering across his expression. Before he realized it, his own lips mirrored yours without his knowledge. Afterwards, it became a habit.
Not an intentional one — he never sought you out but his attention found you anyway. His gaze would drift in the middle of lessons, between notes, during long stretches of nothing. It would settle on you without a second thought.
Often times, he didn’t even let himself think about it long enough to question it. It was easier to let it exist as it was — something small and unspoken. You existed in his subconscious.
Which is why, when he heard your name called alongside his — it didn’t feel real. You were not supposed to exist like this, not in front of him, not real in the way everything else was. Not close enough to talk to or look at properly.
"Jungwon?" you said his name like it wasn’t a big deal, like he wasn't suddenly aware of everything. The way you tilted your head, the almost-smile you gave him as if you were being polite, not trying too hard.
"Oh! yeah, that's me." he replied rather fast. Realization settling in that he had spent more time thinking about you as an idea rather than as a person.. and now you were both.
You nodded, turning back to your notes and pulling out the correct pages as Snape rambled about ingredients.
You fell into a comfortable rhythm. Passing ingredients without speaking, writing notes like you shared a brain cell for a few hours. You had found yourselves to be great partners. Often times passing things between you wordlessly or having the answers the other didn't have.
By the second day, conversation came easier. You talked about things that had nothing to do with potions, debated topics you didn’t need to care about...and agreed on almost all of it. Almost.
"You Gryffindors and your pride" you rolled your eyes in faux annoyance as he passed you a serrated knife, a quiet scoff leaving him in return.
"I do not have pride! Besides you lot are practically evil." he shot back, leaning slightly against the desk. You dropped your jaw, exaggerated and offended like he had just personally offended your entire bloodline.
"That is a serious accusation." you deadpan. The Murtlap tentacle squelched unpleasantly under the blade — you winced at the texture, just a little, trying not to let it show. He noticed.
"Your stereotyping wounds me." you added flatly, beginning to write notes into both your books without thinking.
"Yeah, that was bad rage-bait," He grinned sheepishly while waiting for the knife, "Besides," you said flatly, glancing up at him with deliberate intent, "do I look evil?" you teased.
Jungwon scoffed automatically, ignoring the way he couldn't look away, fingers fumbling as you handed him the blade, just slightly in a way he hoped you didn’t notice.
"Yeah," he said, clearing his throat as he adjusted his grip on the knife, "Completely. The devil in disguise." he responded as he added the cut up ingredients into the cauldron, focusing a little too hard on the task.
You laughed under your breath and smacked his arm, with no real force behind it. He laughed too but quieter.
From that day forward, you were rarely apart. It wasn’t something either of you planned, it just happened. One day turned into the next and suddenly it felt natural to look for him without thinking. The unregistered expectation of him beside you like he had always been there.
In the library, you would sit across from each other with books spread out between you, the intention to study long forgotten. He would kick your foot under the table just to get a reaction. Which, annoyingly — you let him.
Other times, he would be sprawled across your bed, entirely too comfortable in your space, half-listening as you rambled about assignments, deadlines, anything that crossed your mind.
You found yourself seeking him out without realizing it. Waiting for him and measuring parts of your day by whether or not he was there to share them.
Even on the days when everything felt slightly off, when something sat heavy in your chest or doubt crept in quietly — you found yourself at his door. Not to soothe you or to push your burdens on him, but to exist beside someone who didn’t need you to explain anything for it to feel easier. Because his presence made you feel better without trying.
You didn’t rely on people like that. Didn’t need people like that. Well, apparently you did.. at least when it came to him, which is… deeply inconvenient.
When you'd show up at his door, quieter than usual, a little distant, eyes not quite focused — he would let you in, something in his chest tightening at the sight of you like that. Because your upset, somehow always became his.
He wouldn't speak to you different nor did he make you speak, he would just sit besides you as you watched the life outside his window. You always said his view was better along with some bitter comment about Gryffindor privilege. He’d laugh every time, and just like that.. something would lift, just enough.
It scared him how easily you fit into his life. He found himself looking for you without meaning to, glancing toward the places you usually were, expecting to see you there like it was a given.
When he would find you, a grin would take over before he could stop it, because somehow — no matter how big the castle got, no matter how many people filled it, Jungwon always found you.
One time, he found you in your common room. He’d walked in with Ni-ki, half-listening to whatever he was saying. His attention had already started drifting, and then it landed on you.
You’d picked the far corner sofa — the one slightly too close to the fireplace, where it was warm enough to make people leave you alone after five minutes. You were curled into it, book open, fully committed to looking unapproachable. Which, ironically, had never worked on him
"Hey, miss," Jungwon greeted as he made his way over, dropping onto the sofa beside you without hesitation, close enough that your shoulders brushed.
You didn’t look up immediately. You let the page sit there for a second longer, like you were deeply invested in whatever paragraph you hadn’t actually been reading.
You shifted just enough to turn your knees toward him, the book still half open in your lap. "Hey, Won." you'd return lazily, not thinking about it. He did.
That was the first time you had called him that. He stiffened — just for a split second, as though he hadn’t just short-circuited internally over one syllable. You hadn't noticed because he had pulled his arm free between you and rested it along the back of the sofa, fingers brushing against your shoulder like it was nothing. Tracing small, idle patterns against your sleeve as his gaze dropped to the pages.
He also didn’t comment on the fact you hadn’t turned a page in five minutes.
Over time, you became familiar with his friends and him with yours. It just happened, the way everything else between you did. Conversations overlapped with introductions blurring into inside jokes. Before long, there wasn’t really a separation between your friends and his.
Your "friends" being Kenny, she was your best friend from day one, she was the type of friend that would go to war for you — loud where you weren’t, reactive where you were measured. The kind of person who would absolutely escalate a situation on your behalf without hesitation. If you felt something, she felt it louder.
And then there were Jungwon’s friends. Jake, a Ravenclaw Astronomy nerd. Somehow capable of making constellations sound like gossip. You didn’t understand half of what he said, but you listened anyway.
Ni-ki, a Slytherin Quidditch Seeker. Sharp and quick in a way that kept everyone on their toes.
And Heeseung, a Gryffindor Transfiguration major. Annoyingly perceptive, he always carried himself with an ease that made it seem like he understood more than he let on.
The two of you fell into an easy friendship with the group, however they did question your new found friendship. "You two look good together." Heeseung said casually, like he was commenting on the weather, tossing the words into the air without warning.
Jungwon choked — coughing as he turned too quickly, nearly twisting his neck to stare at him. "We're friends," Jungwon managed, the words coming out uneven, far less composed than he usually sounded.
A chorus of groans followed immediately. "Yeah, obviously," Ni-ki muttered. "Painfully obvious," Jake added under his breath. Jungwon frowned, defensive now. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Heeseung said easily, though the look he exchanged with the others said otherwise. They didn’t press it because, technically Jungwon was right.
You were just friends.
Then, quieter this time, "So," Heeseung started, leaning slightly forward, voice low enough that it didn’t carry beyond them, “What’s her friend’s name?”
Jungwon blinked, "…Kenny?" Heeseung hummed and Jake smirked faintly.
"So.. you don't like him?" Kenny’s voice came from somewhere behind you as she sprawled across her bed. She’d been watching you for months now, watching the way your friendship with Jungwon had unfolded and she wasn’t quite convinced there wasn’t any foul play going on between you.
"Kenn," you sighed, not even looking up from where you lay on your own bed, "How many times do I have to say it? He’s just a friend." She groaned and turned over to stare at you upside down. Her hair falling messily over the edge.
"Sure. Yeah." she muttered, entirely unconvinced. You rolled your eyes, used to this by now. "So what’s the pink-haired guy’s name?" she added, quieter this time.
You blinked. Then laughed loud, thanking her mentally for switching the topic as she grinned, unapologetic.
As your groups grew closer, so did Kenny and Heeseung who had fallen into something of their own. It hadn’t been sudden, by the time it became official, it felt almost expected. A year after you met Jungwon, they started dating. And somehow nothing really changed. Not in the ways that mattered, at least. Other than your teasing.
She once said "You know, I thought you and Jungwon would have gotten together before me and Hee— " she paused, catching your bewildered look.
"Jungwon?" you said suddenly feeling your oxygen supply run out, "Nah it's not like that." you said simply, even then she didn't press — only pressing her lips together in response.
At first people also thought your friendship with Jungwon was something else entirely, tossed out with knowing smiles and raised brows. "You two look really good together." And every time you both reacted the same way. With immediate denial, you'd dissolve into small shakes of your heads, overlapping explanations, a little too quick to correct them. It became routine.
Sometimes people didn’t ask you at all. They went to Kenny. "Is Jungwon actually taken?" someone had asked her once, leaning in like it was some kind of secret. She had only blinked at them, unimpressed. "Ask him yourself," she replied simply. She never clarified and never denied it either.
Jungwon got it too. Only he had no idea how to respond. Guys would approach him casual, like it meant nothing and he’d pause because he didn’t know how to answer. The obvious response was easy, "No, we’re just friends. Go for it."
But Jungwon didn't want to say that, nor did he enjoy the thought. Didn’t like the idea of someone else approaching you, talking to you like that, looking at you like that. So instead, he’d shut it down."We're friends." he’d say, not waiting for a follow-up, not giving them space to ask more. Not that they ever went through with it, because where you were, so was he.
Over time, the questions faded. People stopped asking and not because they stopped noticing but because they’d already decided. After all you'd been best friends for 4 years and you were together more often than not. And neither of you corrected them anymore.
You returned to Hogwarts after two years. This time as a University student or survivors, in a way. Those two years hadn’t been spent learning in classrooms or complaining about assignments. You had stayed —worked alongside the professors, helping keep the castle standing in the shadow of Lord Voldemort.
Even if no one had seen him. Even if he had vanished again like smoke slipping through fingers — the disappearances said enough.
Those two years had changed everything. Not loudly, not in ways anyone else could fully understand — but in the quiet, constant ways that mattered. You had learned each other in survival. It brought you all closer in ways no one else could comprehend. Every worry was shared, every fear met halfway. There was no space for pretending and no room for distance. The Room of Requirement became something more than just a hidden space. It became yours, it offered escape when the rest of the castle felt too exposed.
Jungwon knew where to find you, he always did. If you weren’t checking the protective shields or burying yourself in work no one else wanted to touch, you were there, trying to keep yourself busy, trying not to think and he never let you stay like that for long.
"Enough," he’d say, quieter than it sounded and you’d argue, of course. But he didn’t listen, he’d drag you back to his dorms if he had to, ignoring your protests until the exhaustion settled in properly. Watching over you after you'd finally given in. You always did.
Over the years, you had both grown into yourselves. It wasn’t something you noticed all at once it came in passing glances, in the way people started looking at you a little longer than before.
"Do I have something on my face?" you muttered to Kenny as you walked through the halls toward your dorms. Hogwarts University students no longer had to share quarters within their houses, they could room with whoever they like. Which is how you’d ended up at the very top of the university tower with Kenny.
She turned to you immediately, eyes narrowing as she scanned over your features — eyebrows knit in concentration. "Nope," she concluded after a moment, straightening. "You’re good."
You hummed, only half-convinced as you continued up the winding staircase beside her. You waved at a passing portrait that greeted you by name.
"—You’re just hot," she added casually. You scoffed turning to her, "Be serious."
"I am serious," she insisted, nudging your shoulder. "Did you not see the way Beomgyu was staring at you earlier?"
"Heeseung's friend? the Quidditch player?" you said as you turned your head slightly. Kenny groaned at your reaction. "Yes, that Beomgyu."
"He was totally eyeing you earlier." she winked as you reached the top floor. You hummed, any retort dying on your tongue when you saw that there were only two dorms on the top floor, most the other floors had 4 or more on each of them. You had no idea what you’d done to deserve that kind of luck but you weren’t about to question it.
Two doors stood opposite each other, a large curved window decorated the space at the end of the hallway, the light spilled through, inviting and warm. Making the space feel almost intimate.
You had both arrived early, eager to settle in — to decorate, to breathe in the castle before the chaos of the Sorting Ceremony began. As you neared the doors you heard voices from one, men specifically. You and Kenny slowed at the same time, sharing a look as if to say oh god. Kenny, unfortunately, looked far more interested than she should’ve been.
You, on the other hand? Already considering turning around and pretending you got the wrong floor. As if on cue the door swung open, a blonde haired boy walked out. You barely spared him a glance at first, too focused on reaching your own door until he made a noise.
"Y/n??" he gawked, you froze for a moment, then turned. "Jungwon?" you both spoke with raised voices. He laughed still a little startled but there was no hesitation in what he did next — he stepped forward and pulled you into a hug. It was immediate, familiar and not.
Because the second his arms wrapped around you, you noticed it. His arms felt, stronger.. broader. There was more of him than you remembered. His frame filled out, solid in a way that made your breath hitch just slightly.
Since when was he built like this? And then you breathed in. Bad idea.
He had always smelled good.. annoyingly so but now it was something warmer, deeper… addicting. As though someone had personally curated a scent just to mess with your composure.
"How did you guys know we're here?" he asked as he pulled back from you, still grinning. His hands lingering on your arms like he wasn’t quite ready to let go. You smiled automatically, your body was on autopilot while your brain was still catching up.
Your eyes instinctively scanning over him. You hadn't seen him in what felt like forever, your only form of communication had been letters, since you had been on holiday with Kenny for the summer. Letters didn’t prepare you for this version of him.
His hair caught your attention next. Once dark, now an ashy blonde that fell just enough into his eyes to make him blow it away every few seconds. It softened his features in a way that made him look different but still him. He caught you staring and smiled — smaller this time, almost shy. Like he knew and didn’t at the same time.
"We didn’t," you said, letting out a quiet laugh as you nodded toward the door behind him. "That’s our dorm." His smile only widened. Beside you, Kenny raised an eyebrow, her gaze flicking between the two of you, lingering on where his hands still rested against your arms. Clocked, immediately.
Before he could respond the other boys filtered out, coming to investigate the commotion — his hands left your arms almost reluctantly. "This year is going to be so good." Jake declared the moment he saw you both, his excitement immediate and infectious.
You huffed out a quiet laugh, leaning back slightly against the wall as the hallway filled with noise — overlapping voices, half-made plans, people talking over each other like they hadn’t just had an entire summer to do exactly that.
It was easy, like slipping back into something that already fits and yet — your eyes flicked back to Jungwon without meaning to. He was already looking at you. Of course he was. You looked away first, because you were not about to unpack that in a hallway at like… 10am. Still, your lips pressed together to hide a smile.
This year was definitely going to be something.
After greeting everyone you opted to decorate your room and unpack. Deciding unpacking was safer than socialising for more than ten minutes straight.
Barely 5 minutes had passed with your absence when you heard the door open. You were midway through murmuring an enchantment, flicking lazily as your clothes lifted from your suitcase and sorted themselves into your wardrobe.
You didn’t even need to turn to know who it was but you glanced over your shoulder anyway. Jungwon stood there, grinning like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.
"Hey Won." you hummed, turning back like your heart didn’t just do something weird and unnecessary. Another flick of your wand sent books gliding into place on a shelf.
He stepped inside slowly, he noticed your posters already stuck around the walls — most of your possessions already found their home in your room. The fact that you’d basically moved in within five minutes because you hated living out of a suitcase.
"It feels like I haven't seen you in years." he said, stopping in front of you. You paused, setting your wand down before turning to face him properly. He was already looking at you. Not casually either — like he was actually looking, as though he was updating some kind of mental file on you. Or like he was taking note of everything he hadn’t been able to see through letters alone. Stop that.
Jungwon had always been like that though. Quiet about it, but present. He didn’t need a room full of people — just one. You.
He was the kind of friend who showed up without being asked, the second something felt off. The kind who would sit with you through your half-finished thoughts, letting you find your way to the point without rushing you there.
No pressure, no "Just say it already." Just there, annoyingly perfect. He knew he had a soft spot for you, you're his best friend. The one who challenged him without hesitation. The one who never raised her voice, even when hurt. The one he had missed more than he’d expected over the summer.
"I know," you said, a lazy smile pulling at your lips. "I missed you." you added. He tilted his head slightly, something softer settling into his expression.
"Come here." he murmured, it wasn’t really a request, he pulled you into him, arms wrapping around you before you could respond, and you melted into it almost instantly — a quiet, content sigh leaving you.
"I missed you too," he murmured into your hair. You hummed, your fingers drifted up to play with the soft blonde strands at the back of his head — like it was muscle memory.
He slid his hand from your back to your waist, his grip tightening around it. Just for a split second, but you felt it. He pulled back, and your arms fell away reluctantly as you stepped out of his space. He looked over you with narrowed eyes as though something wasn’t adding up.
"What are you looking at?" you teased stepping forward just to mess with him. Just enough to throw him off, he faltered before rolling his eyes in faux annoyance. You almost laughed.
"You look different." he spoke, not moving despite you being close enough you could see every detail on his sun lit face. The light spilled over half of his face, highlighting the soft curve of his lips as they parted in quiet amusement.
"Is that good or bad?" you questioned, he’d always thought you were beautiful but now there was something more. You were almost glowing — confidence and charisma, you’d grown into yourself in a way he hadn’t been there to see.
"Good," he said. "You look pretty—" he paused, then added quickly, "I mean, you’re always pretty." Right.
You turned your head, hiding the smile that tugged at your lips. You were not letting him see that.. he saw it anyway and exhaled through his nose at your reaction.
"Your hair…" you started, glancing back at him and looking over the strands falling over his forehead, the light catching in them.
"What about it?" he challenged.
"Suits you, it's pretty" you nodded. He gasped dramatically, falling back onto your bed. You laughed, shaking your head as you went back to finishing your room.
Conversation came easily after that. "Also, Kenn and I went clubbing, and I got so paranoid at one point because of this guy—" you started, pacing slightly as you spoke, wand flicking absentmindedly as objects whizzed past. Jungwon watched you.
"He was a muggle, I think… anyway, he kept trying to get between me and Kenny, and I got so pissed I could’ve hexed him—" you continued.
That was all Jungwon heard before he zoned out. Something tight had settled in his chest, something he didn’t want to name. "and then I went to get a drink and he just followed us—"
"Won?" He blinked, refocusing, still leaning back against your bed, propped up on his elbows. "Mm?" he hummed. "So he’s dead now, right?"
You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, we killed him Dexter style." He huffed out a quiet laugh as the last of your belongings floated into place.
You heard a knock and a chestnut head peeked around the corner. "Heyy guys." Jake spoke with a goofy smile as he stepped into the room, "Hi Jake." you greeted, settling onto your bed beside Jungwon. "We’re all going to The Three Broomsticks, if you want to come," he said, his eyes flicking briefly to Jungwon — who was playing with the hem of your sleeve.
Since when does he do that. Jungwon glanced at you, he was surprised to see your eyes already on him. "Yeah I'm down." you said, dragging your attention back to Jake before your brain can start over analysing like it's paid to do so.
"Won?" you added, quieter now, turning back to him — searching, though you didn’t know for what. For the little time you'd been back in his presence, you had felt a shift — it was was barely noticeable, like the world had tilted slightly off its axis. It wasn't something you listened to, even as your brain screamed that things were different. Even as it grabbed you by the arms and shook you, you ignored it.
Throughout your friendship you hadn't dated. Not seriously. Not even accidentally. It’s not that you couldn’t, you just… didn’t care to. There had been moments — people who almost asked, words that almost formed but something always stopped them.
You hadn't seen Jungwon staring holes into their eyes, his fingers curling into his palms. One boy had spewed apologies as he scrambled off, leaving you with an eyebrow raised and a "That was weird."
"Yeah, let's go," he hopped up, extending his hand out for you and without thinking, you took it.
But he didn't let go. Instead, he guided you gently behind Jake, your hand still in his, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like it’s nothing and it should have been, but something unfamiliar threaded through the familiarity. His hand in yours felt comfortable but now you were aware of it. Which is annoying because you were perfectly fine not being aware.
You also had never over-thought anything physical with him before, not that that's what you were doing…
Kenny looked between you both, her eyes immediately dropping to your hand in his loosely. Her smirk was instant, like she just unlocked a new form of entertainment.
"You okay?" Jungwon murmured, leaning down so his voice brushed against your ear. He pulled back, just enough to look at your lips as you talked.
"Mhm," you nodded quickly and then, you slipped your hand from his — stepping forward to urge the others along. You didn’t look back at him, didn’t see the way his hand lingered in the air for just a second longer than it should have.
Didn’t know if he noticed the way your fingers had twitched before you pulled away. Definitely didn't think about the fact that for the first time in four years — being around him doesn’t feel simple, and that might be a problem.
The air was crisp, fresh in a way that made everything feel lighter, clearer. The hills stretched endlessly in the distance, and the pristine lake sat below you as you walked along the bridge.
You slowed, falling a step behind the others without realizing it. Your gaze softened as you took it all in, a small smile settling on your lips at the quiet beauty of it. You breathed out, shoulders dropping a little.
Jungwon looked around mid-conversation, half-listening to Jake ramble about something irrelevant, and when you weren’t there, something in his chest did this annoying tight thing. Like when you forget something but don’t know what.
Until he turned and there you were, a few steps behind, walking like the world had paused just for you. It was the same thing that had caught his attention the very first time. He hated how that got him, as though every time was the first time.
He slowed without thinking, letting the others move ahead as he fell back into step beside you. He didn't speak — his arm brushing lightly against yours as he followed your gaze out toward the horizon.
The Three Broomsticks had a comfortable amount of people wandering in and out, it smelt faintly of butter-beer and a woodsy scent you couldn't quite put your finger on.
Your group took to the corner booth as usual, you sat besides Jungwon at the end of the booth and ordered a butter-beer as you all settled into chatter and laughs sipping your beers. As your cup emptied, you leaned back with a quiet sigh, the warmth of it settling heavily in your chest.
You slumped sideways until your weight rested against Jungwon’s shoulder. His shoulder shifted just slightly to fit you better, like it was muscle memory. His voice kept going, talking to the others, but softer now, closer. He smiled small, fond but you didn’t see. You felt the faint vibration of his voice and his hand settle on the small of your back against the seat.
"Sleepy?" he asked, brushing against your hair. "Mm, no," you mumbled, lifting your cup slightly before setting it down with a quiet clink. "Just recovering from this, it was so filling." You pushed yourself upright, pulling away from his shoulder — acting like your heart didn’t just do a weird little thing.
But his hand didn’t move. He just hummed, fingers moving in slow circles like it was the most normal thing in the world, and the annoying part? It was normal, it’s always been normal.
The front door swung open, the bell chiming lightly as a group of Quidditch players walked in, their voices loud and easy, already caught up in talk of the upcoming season. Many of them were back with hopes of becoming successful professional players.
That included Choi Beomgyu. Heeseung and Ni-ki were up instantly to greet the Chaser, shoulders knocking together in greeting. As their chatters died down he was pulled into your table and then into the seat beside you.
"Hey Y/n." he sent you a lazy smirk as he settled into the seat "Hey." you returned with a slight tilt to your head. You’d always known him — never closely, but enough. Passing smiles, casual greetings. You'd often see him around since he was also a Slytherin — he always sent you a boyish smile if he saw you sat in the Quidditch stands.
His eyes flit from yours to your lips and then over the rest of you. You noticed that too. "How was your summer?" he asked after taking a long sip of his butter-beer. "It was great, How was yours?" As he spoke, you felt it.
Jungwon's hand had stopped its lazy motions and now rested fully against your lower back, fingers spread like he’s anchoring you there without making a show of it. Your eyes flickered to him for just a second. He was leaning closer now.
"Hey, you guys wanna get going?" Jake called, breaking the moment. Voices overlapped in agreement, chairs scraping as everyone stood. Heeseung invited Beomgyu along without hesitation. Jungwon said nothing.
He bumped against you as you walked, your friends gathered ahead of you as the path stretched back toward the castle. Beomgyu glanced back once, eyes flicking between the two of you. Taking in the space, the distance, the way it didn’t quite feel like distance at all.
Jungwon looked to you and while you took in the world, he took you in.
"I’m doing the re-run on potions tomorrow," you groaned, dragging your attention back to him. He barked out a quiet laugh. "Me too."
"Snape?" he added — amused. "Hey! Snape loves me." you laughed swatting at his arm. "Of course he does!" He teased, "his bias towards you Slytherins is too obvious."
"Whatever." you rolled your eyes, yelping as he poked your sides. "I really missed this," he spoke low.
"I missed this too." you responded easily, he smiled flashing his dimples and for a moment, you just looked at him — really looked. Eyes catching on the curves of his cheeks and the flicker of mischief in his eyes. He seemed to have to same idea, looking over the details on your face. Pupils dragging side to side, you both looked away after a moment without a word.
As you reached the dorms your friends all turned, stopping you in your tracks "Thoughts on going to the lake, we have time to kill before the sorting ceremony?" Heeseung suggested, glancing between you all.
"…Yeah, okay," you nodded with the others, like you weren’t internally negotiating with yourself. Everyone else agreed easily, except Beomgyu who waved it off with something about joining later. You all filtered into your rooms.
You pulled out a bikini you’d bought over the summer, layering it with loose joggers and a top. Low effort, high reward. Soon enough, you were all heading down together arms full of towels and drinks, laughter echoing through the halls.
"Give that here." Jungwon’s voice came from behind you as he took the bag from your shoulder, without waiting for permission. He looked almost offended that you’d been carrying it yourself.
"Thanks, Won," you said glancing back and sending him a smile. You didn’t see Jake’s smirk. Kenny, however, absolutely did. "You’re getting boyfriend privileges," she sang under her breath.
You rolled your eyes, "He’d do that for anyone." Even as you said it, something in your brain went …would he though? She only groaned, unconvinced.
The Great Lake stretched endlessly before you, framed by rolling hills that dipped into the distance. It had been a while since you'd been here, not by choice. Between N.E.W.T.s and those two years confined to the castle, moments like this had been rare — almost unfamiliar.
But now the air was light, warm — the sun was out. It hung high above you as you laid out blankets, dropping your things with a satisfied sigh before standing over one of them — kicking off your joggers, pulling your top over your head.
You stretched, rolling your shoulders, fingers combing through your hair — completely unaware of anything beyond the sun on your skin.
Jungwon had been standing near the water, looking out across the lake and zoning out like he does when he’s thinking too much. Until he turned and saw you. He just, stopped.
His gaze locked without meaning to and dragged, slowly, over you as you moved — unthinking, unguarded. He didn’t even notice Jake walking up behind him. He followed his line of sight and smirked.
"She looks good, hm?" Jake murmured clapping a hand on Jungwon's shoulder, "Shit— don’t do that," Jungwon exhaled, his body jolting slightly, a faint flush crept up his neck.
Jungwon turned back toward the lake quickly, "She always looks good," he said, too fast, too dismissive like he needed to neutralise it. "Just friends?" Jake asked incredulously. "Yeah."
"So you wouldn’t care if I tried something with her?" That did it. Jungwon turned fully, deadpan. The look he gave Jake was enough. Jake laughed, clapping his shoulder. "Thought so. What are you waiting for?"
"I’m not— that’s not—" Jungwon cut himself off, jaw tightening. "We’re friends, Jake." he finalised. He opened his mouth and then stopped when he saw you walking towards them.
You weren’t paying attention to any of that, obviously. You were looking at the water, already halfway mentally in it, and you reached out, fingers wrapping lightly around his wrist, then slid down intertwining with his fingers like it was muscle memory.
His breath caught for a second, before he tightened his grip, grounding himself in it. You stepped into the water first, testing it with your toe before wading in fully. When you deemed it safe you stepped in completely. Then you turned back to him, smiling. He followed without hesitation.
Jake watched for a moment, turning around with a shake to his head "Idiots."
"Ah— fuck," Jungwon muttered as the water climbed higher, soaking through his clothes. You laughed, pulling him further in until the water reached your waist, he wrapped his other hand in yours.
The breeze danced through your hair, sunlight catching on the ripples around you as you tilted your head back slightly, eyes closing for just a second. The water was warm and inviting, the blonde in front of you inched closer. Without thinking his hand slipped from yours only to rise to your face. Your brain went very quiet. Which was rare, concerning, even.
He brushed a stray piece of hair away but his fingers lingered at your jaw. Careful, like he didn’t quite trust himself. Your lips quirked at his touch, then he dropped his hand and a drop of rain hit your shoulder. Another followed.
"Do you wanna go back inside?" he asked. You shook your head immediately, a grin spread across your face and before you could act normal about it you stepped back and splashed him square in the chest.
He gasped dramatically standing there for moment in shock. "Oh.. you’re dead." you barely had time to laugh before he lunged forward, sending water crashing back toward you, enough to make you shriek.
"Jungwon!—" you huffed, you stumbled backwards through the lake while your hands flew up too late to defend yourself. "You started it!" he shouted back, his laugh cracked loudly across the lake, messy and breathless and so stupidly pretty it made your chest hurt a little.
The others sat near the shore watching like this was the most entertaining thing they’d seen all week. Which, to be fair, Hogwarts was basically just academic trauma and near death experiences, so your standards for fun got weird here.
Both of you were soaked within seconds. The rain picked up, steady now — but the sun hadn’t disappeared, casting everything in a strange, golden haze, like a memory while it was still happening.
By now all of you were completely drenched, you waded through the water to the shore and grabbed your wand — relief settling in as you saw your belongings still dry beneath the shield you’d cast earlier.
You flicked your wand, casting a shield overhead to block the rain like a makeshift umbrella. The others immediately crowded underneath it with grateful groans, wrapping towels around themselves, you opted to do the same but Jungwon had beat you to it.
He picked it up and wrapped it around your shoulders rubbing against your arms. Your breath caught slightly and only then did you notice how his black shirt clung to him, soaked through — defining the lines of his arms, his shoulders, the shape of him in a way you hadn’t seen before.
You looked away, back to his face. This was safer.. right. Not really, because he was staring at you with this soft concentration that somehow felt worse. He was entirely too focused on drying your arms, still rubbing. You shivered, exaggerating it just slightly with teeth chattering sounds as you leaned into him, wrapping your arms around him.
"So dramatic," he snorted, but he didn’t pull away. If anything, he held you closer — his hands moving up and down your back, warming you through the fabric.
"Wait— I’m an idiot," you laughed after a few moments, suddenly pulling back. He blinked. "That’s not new—"
You ignored him and grabbed your wand, flicking it with practised ease. A warm gust of air spilled out, surrounding you instantly. Everyone huddled around you like a pack of penguins, they all groaned in relief.
"Thank fuck for you" Jake sighed as he leaned against you without thinking. The flicker in Jungwon's expression was brief but it was there.
After a hot shower you changed into your new robes, which were a lot more flattering than the school attire. Still house colours, still mildly humiliating, but at least you only had to wear them in classes.
You made your way down to the Great Hall with your friends, the familiar hum of voices growing louder with every step. As usual, you all split at the entrance — murmured "See you laters." and fleeting touches before heading toward your respective house tables. Jungwon gave you his signature smile, his hand brushing over your shoulder in passing. Then he was gone, slipping toward Gryffindor's table.
Kenny slid in beside you as Ni-ki took the seat across, already reaching for something on the table. A moment later, another presence settled at your side, Beomgyu.
"Hey," he greeted, offering you a soft, easy smile. "Hey," you returned, turning toward him.
He asked about the lake, about the afternoon, interested in a way that didn’t feel forced. You didn’t notice the way Jungwon’s eyes had already found you across the hall or see his gaze narrowed slightly, settling on the back of Beomgyu’s head. Lingering there, unmoving, even as the Sorting Ceremony began.
The first student was sorted into Slytherin. Which had you turning to stick your tongue out to Jungwon — how you usually would. Only he was already looking, his expression softened the second your eyes met, a small smile tugging at his lips. You faltered for a moment and then he threw you an eye-roll at the announcement.
Beomgyu had watched the exchange, curious. He leaned in close to your ear, "Are you and Jungwon dating?" he whispered. The question hit differently this time, it felt louder, like a ringing in your ear. You felt as though you'd been snapped out a daydream.
No, Jungwon isn't your boyfriend, it had never been discussed between you. Never defined but then your brain, traitor that it is, starts listing things.
You didn’t let anyone act the way he did with you. No one else held you like that. Looked at you like that or knew you the way he did and yet that didn't change the fact that, the label had never wavered.
Four years. No confusion. No weirdness. No “What are we?” conversations at 2am like some tragic situationship. Just… him and you.
Which, logically, should’ve been comforting but lately it felt like wearing something that used to fit perfectly and now it sat just slightly wrong — not enough to throw it away, but enough that you couldn’t stop noticing it.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe you were overthinking like a normal person who refuses to be embarrassing out loud. And you weren’t about to be the girl who ruined a perfectly good thing because she couldn’t keep her thoughts in check.
"No," you said finally, shaking your head. "We’re just friends."
Beomgyu’s grin widened slightly. "Okay." he replied, leaning back in his seat.
Jungwon had of course seen your exchange. Not the words but enough. His jaw was tight, teeth grinding faintly as his gaze flicked between you and Beomgyu, something restless settling beneath his skin.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. By the end, you were full, tired, and mildly overwhelmed by your own thoughts, which was honestly rude. You all trudged back to your dorms with light chatters. At the doors you said your goodnights and split off again.
Sleep came easily. It always did when your brain decided to emotionally clock out instead of process anything.
The morning came quietly. Soft light filtered through the windows as you got ready, rubbing at your eyes and stifling yawns as you moved through your routine. Half on autopilot, hair, robes, minimal effort because you refuse to be perceived this early in the morning.
By the time you made your way down to the Great Hall with Kenny, the familiar buzz of voices had already settled in.
You slid into your usual place, picking at fruit and sipping your tea as conversation drifted lazily between your friends. Jungwon sat across from you at some point, without asking, he reached over taking your cup and bringing it to his lips.
He hummed satisfied, before setting it back down in front of you like it was his to begin with. You stare at him for a second. Right. We’re doing that now.. You nudge his foot under the table anyway, because apparently you love enabling it.
Beomgyu slid in besides you, all easy smiles and bumps your shoulder “Morning.”
"Morning." you replied. "We should get going." Jungwon said suddenly, his tone firmer than necessary.
"Yeah, lets go." you agreed, already standing. "See you guys later."
Kenny gave you a pointed look, knowing, you ignored it. Jake didn’t miss the shift either, his eyebrow lifted slightly as his gaze flicked toward Jungwon.
The classroom felt the same as you settled into your seat beside Jungwon, a strange sense of deja vu washed over you. You turned your head slightly, studying him. He was already looking at you, his head tilted in recognition, almost curious.
"Deja vu." you whispered, he nodded, lips catching briefly between his teeth, like he felt it too.
"Hogwarts University students," Snape’s voice cut cleanly through the room, "you are here for a two-week re-run course on unnecessary, ineffective, or unneeded potions." His chalk scratched sharply against the board as he listed them.
"Babbling beverages. Stupid potions. Confusing concoctions." A pause. "And Amortentia. An arguably unneeded and unethical love potion."
Beneath the title, bold and unmistakable, he wrote,
"NOTE THAT AMORTENTIA DOES NOT CREATE TRUE LOVE BUT A TEMPORARY OBSESSION."
Your eyes lingered on it. Temporary, right. The first class was simple, babbling beverages and unsurprisingly, you were paired with Jungwon.
You fell into your usual rhythm of cutting the ingredients and writing in turns as though no time had passed at all. You stewed the Alihosty leaves first and added the Billywig stings as Jungwon stirred counter-clockwise, then went in the bile and leech-juice.
You potted the light brown substance into a vial and handed it to Jungwon so he could cork it properly. Snape sauntered over past each station with sharp disinterest. Sniffing and prodding at the goop in each pot. He sent some glares with flares to his nose until he reached yours.
"This is.. sufficient." he spoke looking between you both, "Thanks sir." you both hummed in return.
"Think that's the nicest he's ever been to me." Jungwon murmured in your ear as Snape retreated to the front desk. That earned him a laugh.
The next classes blurred together in similar patterns. You went through the same motions except Beomgyu lingered more and talked more, finding reasons to be near your group. You didn't mind, he was easy to talk to.
But Jungwon was becoming almost restless, he lingered more. Looked at you like he wanted to say something like the words were right there but he just… didn’t.
By the time you made it to the Quidditch stands, the air had turned crisp. You sat with your friends, eyes following the players as they darted across the sky. Jungwon besides you as usual. It was Slytherin vs Ravenclaw, which meant Ni-ki and Beomgyu were playing.
Beomgyu slowed mid-air as he passed your section, hovering just long enough to wave but then he waved again. Smaller, directed at you. You smiled back automatically because… you’re not rude and also because it would be weird not to. Social norms are exhausting.
You didn’t notice Jungwon’s quiet huff, didn’t feel his gaze settle heavier on you. You sniffed a little at the cold before turning to him. "What?" you asked with amusement tinged in your voice. He didn't falter, if anything his lips curved just a little more.
"Nothing," he said. "You cold?" You nodded, about to say you’re fine but before you could do anything about it, he was already pulling you closer.
Your side pressed against his, your hand lifted and placed in his lap, his fingers threading through yours like it was instinct. Oh okay.
He rubbed slow circles into your skin, then lifted your hand slightly, bringing it closer to his lips blowing warm air against your fingers. His eyes never left yours. You bit the inside of your lip without realizing, holding something back — something you couldn’t quite name.
His gaze dropped to your lips and stayed, for a second too long. Then he tore it away, lowering your hand back to his lap — but not letting go. By now you were mentally somewhere else entirely.
Above you, the game continued. People were yelling, Jake was probably commentating like he’s being paid for it, Ni-ki was doing something illegal on a broom but neither of you were really watching anymore.
At some point Beomgyu circled back around and this time — he noticed. The way you were pressed into Jungwon’s side. The way your hand rested, laced with his, something in his expression shifted.
His jaw tightened slightly, eyes narrowing as he flew past. You didn’t notice but Jungwon did and for a brief second, his lips quirked up.
The fourth and last class was on Amortentia, the strongest and deadliest love potion. As Snape had so bluntly put it, the most unethical and you're just.. casually brewing it on a random Tuesday.
You stood at your usual station with Jungwon sleeves pushed up, already moving before you even think about it.
You started by heating the water, steam curled softly into the air as the scent of something faintly sweet lingered beneath it. Jungwon added the bruised peppermint flower heads and you added the peppermint leaves. The two of you moved in quiet sync.
"Apparently it smells different for everyone," you murmured, glancing over your shoulder briefly. Like you’re not even slightly curious what his would be.
He hummed in response, tipping the crushed moonstone into the cauldron as you stirred anti-clockwise, adding the rose thorns with careful hands. The potion shimmered faintly, suspiciously pretty and definitely illegal in at least five countries.
From then it was a waiting game, he placed the cauldron in a dimly lit closet as instructed. Snape’s voice cut through the room once more. "You’ll return later," he said. "Let it settle."
You pack up your things, already halfway out the room, when you heard her.
"Jungwon," Penelope Clearwater’s voice slid in, sweet but sharp around the edges. She talked of him helping her in potions. You didn’t need to hear the rest, you already knew.
And then you decided… yeah, no. You were not doing this today, so you didn’t wait, didn’t interrupt. You just left. It wasn't dramatic — it was just easier.
Because she has this way of talking that makes you feel like background noise and you don’t do that. Not for anyone, but Jungwon had noticed too late. He was already suppressing a sigh as Penelope spoke, his patience thinning. "Can you just ask Snape?" he said flatly. "Or your partner."
"Seamus?" she scoffed. "That bloody idiot couldn’t tell a moonstone from a bezoar." she huffed in annoyance. Jungwon barely heard her, he was already looking around for you but you weren’t there.
"I’ve got to go,” he cut in, not waiting for a response. "I hope you find the help you need."
You hadn’t meant to go anywhere in particular. Your feet carried you toward the dorms out of habit, your mind quieter than it should have been until you heard a noise, low and grinding almost — like bricks moving.
You paused and stepped back and there it was. The Room of Requirement. Waiting for you, you exhaled slowly before stepping inside.
Bookshelves lined every wall, filled to the brim. A fireplace crackled softly along one side, casting a golden glow across the room as though the room was actively telling you to relax. In the far corner was a nook, carved into the wall like it had always been there. Soft blankets, scattered pillows, a large window framing the view beyond — rolling hills, the lake stretching endlessly beneath the sky.
You walk over, running your fingers along the spines of books until one caught your attention — Extinct Creatures. Good enough. You then kicked off your shoes and climbed into the nook, the cushions sank beneath you, welcoming, familiar.
You barely made it a few pages in before your eyes began to drift. Your breathing slowed.
Jungwon had walked back into the classroom in search of you, and then he tried the dorms. As he went back to the stairs, he saw it, the outline of a door that hadn’t been there before.
He stood directly in front of it and closed his eyes thinking you. The next moment he opened them the door had changed — larger now, curved, silver handles gleaming softly under the light. He didn’t hesitate. His eyes moved quickly, scanning the bookshelves, the fireplace and then you.
Curled with your knees against the window, your head against a fluffed pillow. As he walked closer he felt relief wash over him — your chest moved up and down gently as you breathed deeply in sleep. He couldn’t help it. The way his eyes moved over you as he climbed into the nook beside you — careful, deliberate, like even the smallest movement might wake you.
Not touching you, not until you stirred and turned. A soft sound left you, something content — unaware as your head found his chest. Your hand rested against his hip like it had always belonged there. Jungwon’s breath hitched, uneven now — completely out of sync with your slow, steady breaths.
He froze completely. Unsure where to put his hands, what to do, how to exist without disturbing you. One arm was trapped beneath you, already beginning to go numb. The other hovered awkwardly at his side.
Then you moved again, your leg slid over him, settling across his lap as you buried your face into his neck, exhaling softly against his skin. He sucked in a quiet breath, sharp and careful like even breathing too loud might ruin this.
He shifted slightly, freeing the arm pinned beneath you and finally he hesitantly wrapped it around your back, holding you.
You mumbled something incoherent, your voice warm and drowsy against his neck, and he let his head fall back slightly trying, desperately to relax into it.
Trying not to think and trying not to feel everything all at once. He didn’t know how long passed, minutes maybe more until you stirred again. You groaned quiet against him as you shifted, pressing closer without meaning to.
Your eyes didn't even open yet but your brain caught up real fast. You don’t panic, you're not someone who panics, you process and pretend you meant to do this. Fuck.
"Jungwon?" you murmured, your voice thick with sleep. "Hm?" he replied softly, forcing a lazy smile into his tone. "Morning."
You shifted again, this time pushing yourself up just enough to swing your leg fully over him, settling on top of him without hesitation. Chest to chest. Your head dropped back into the crook of his neck like it was instinct.
His jaw clenched, a quiet, strangled sound left him as though you'd wounded him. You lifted your head slightly, brows knitting. "You okay?"
His cheeks were flushed now, his breathing uneven and shallow. You didn’t understand. Couldn’t. Your hand came up, cupping his cheek gently, your thumb brushing against warm skin. "You’re so hot," you murmured, frowning slightly as if trying to figure it out. Then you shifted again and he exhaled sharply.
"Don’t— move," he said quickly, his hands gripping your thighs — firm, grounding, tense. You blinked at him, slowly.
He forced himself to breathe through it, his hands sliding slightly higher before stilling again, like he didn’t trust himself to move any further. Before you can even decide how to recover your dignity, the door creaked open.
Kenny stepped in and froze. Her eyes landed on you and then on him, then back again. Her jaw dropped — slowly giving way to a smirk. "Oh?" she said, dragging the word out. You stilled as heat creeping up your neck.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked, her gaze flicking over Jungwon’s dishevelled state with barely concealed amusement. You sit up like this is completely normal behaviour.
"We’re actually about to check on our Amortentia," you replied and you slide off him like nothing happened.. because nothing happened.
Completely unaware of the situation you’d just left him in. Jungwon sat up behind you, hunched slightly, hands braced at his sides. His shoulders tense, like he’s trying to reboot his entire system.
Kenny hummed, clearly entertained. "Right," she said, already turning. "Have fun with that." Something about a date followed as she disappeared through the door, laughter lingering behind her. "Won, are you good?" you tilted your head. He nodded quickly, a tight-lipped smile pulling at his mouth.
"Yeah— I’ll meet you there," he said, voice just slightly off. You don’t question it. You should but you don’t. "Don’t take too long," you added lightly, offering a small wave as you stepped out. The second you left Jungwon had sighed, loud and harsh — almost frustrated. He checked the corridor, making sure you were gone, before heading straight for his room.
He locked the door and stripped himself of his clothes — which were uncomfortably sticking to him.
He had successfully hidden his raging boner from you b ut he couldn't find it in himself to enjoy it — he groaned as he looked down at the reddened angry tip of his length which was refusing to go down. He turned on the shower and stepped in. The water ran cold, biting against his skin as he stepped under it, bracing his hands against the glass. His head dropped forward.
"Fuck…" he muttered under his breath, voice low and strained. His lip caught in his teeth as his hand wrapped around the base of his cock, his mind wandered to your chest flush against his.
Everything about that moment replayed too vividly. He pumped his hand up and down, slowly — a groan caught in his throat. His eyes were knit shut, the image of your body on his urged him to fasten his hand. You looked so fucking pretty on top of him — his teeth bit down harder.
He turned so his head was now leaning back, pressing his weight against the glass. He released his lip as his hand sped up — small fast breaths echoing through the room.
One image in particular was stamped in his head, his hands gripping your thighs like they were his to claim. The way your skin felt on his, the warmth of your touch — your breath against his neck. His hips stuttered as the coil snapped, his jaw slacked with shaky breaths as his high took over, ropes of his cum leaking out onto his hand and stomach.
He breathed heavily trying to catch his breath, he felt guilt flood his mind. He had thoughts of you before — thoughts of how you'd sound, how you'd taste, but he had never let himself do this. That restraint he had before had snapped in one moment.
His breathed in harsh again, sharper this time, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. He stayed there longer than he needed to. By the time he walked back into the classroom, his hair was still damp, water clinging to the ends as it curled slightly at his neck.
You stood at your stand, writing in the notes you hadn't done earlier when Jungwon walked in. He kept his eyes anywhere but you at first.
"Hey," he said, stepping up beside you, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to look casual. "Hey," you replied lightly. "Good shower?" you asked with your eyes still on the pages in front of you.
He froze for half a second, too quick for you to notice. His eyes flicked to you — searching your face for something, any sign that you knew, "Er— yeah," he said, forcing a small, sheepish grin. "Woke me up."
You hummed in response, like that made sense. Still focused on your notes, Snape swept back into the room — robes trailing behind him. "Go get your cauldrons" he drawled as he wiped the chalk board.
Jungwon moved instantly like he needed something to do and grabbed the cauldron from the shelves — setting it down with a thud.
You removed the lid and sighed in relief at the pearlescent liquid staring back at you. The potion had settled perfectly. Pearlescent and smooth, it shimmered with soft spirals of steam curling into the air like something almost alive.
Jungwon leaned over the cauldron and took in the scent, his head tilted for a second, "Vanilla musk…" he murmured, almost to himself. He paused and breathed in deeper, "Star jasmine… and…" his voice softened, quieter now, "fresh parchment." he finished, it was almost enchanting, he found his eyes fluttering shut, to completely seal himself into the confinement of the aroma.
When he opened them again, they found you. Then the potion, then you again.
"That smells so, so good." he exhaled, tipping his head back slightly. He watched you for a second as you stood in front of him towards the cauldron, without thinking he stepped closer. Resting his chin lightly against your shoulder. Your hair brushed against his face, soft familiar.. and there it was again.
The same aroma from the cauldron hit his nose, subtle and alluring but unmistakable. His breath catching as he leaned just slightly further in, his nose brushing the side of your neck. You felt it more than you saw it, the slight pause in his breathing. The way he didn’t pull back straight away.
"That tickles— what are you doing?" you laughed turning toward him but before your brain could overanalyse it into oblivion, he had jerked back.
"Wha— nothing!" he said too quickly, scratching the back of his neck as he stepped away. His mind was racing, of course it smelled like you. Of course it did, and the potion didn’t lie. No matter how much he had tried to.
You shook your head in amusement as you leaned over the cauldron and let the aroma seep into your nostrils. "What can you smell?" he asked, you knit your eyebrows together.
"It smells like, autumn" you started slowly, "Fresh strawberries— and rain.." you trailed off. "Smells good," you added, almost absentmindedly. "That good?" he spoke as he potted the substance. Needing something to ground himself. You nodded with a hum.
Snape once again walked over each station and arrived at yours, he took one look at the potion and nodded once — then walked back to the board. You looked at each other at the same time and broke into quiet, stifled laughter.
And then you noticed Penelope, walking over, you sighed internally. She had a stack of papers in hand, posture perfect as though she rehearsed this in a mirror beforehand. "We’re having a party tonight," she announced, placing a flyer neatly in front of Jungwon like she’s presenting a case. "Room of Requirement, for whoever wins the game."
She doesn’t look at you and you don’t look up. Mutual understanding, or maybe sly hatred. You focus on the vial in your hands instead, like you cared deeply about whatever you were pretending to do. "You’ll come, right?" she added, her tone shifting — directed only at him. Shock.
Jungwon barely glanced at the paper before his eyes flicked to you. Your brows are pulled together slightly — not dramatically, just enough that someone paying attention (him, apparently) would catch it.
"Y/n are you coming?" he asked instead. That caught you off guard, you looked up to see Penelope smiling at you. "Everyone's invited." she added with that strained smile, "I’ll think about it," you said, returning your attention to the vial in your hands.
"We'll be there." Jungwon said easily, still scanning the paper. Penelope seemed satisfied with that so she turned and walked off and you looked at him immediately. "Who says I'll be there?" you challenged. "C’mon," he grins, completely unbothered. "I’ll drag you if I have to."
"Yeah?" you shot back, arching a brow. "Try it." He leaned in slightly, voice dropping just enough "Don’t start whining when I do." Your stomach did a small, very annoying flip. You scoffed, nudging him lightly. "I don’t whine." He hums like he knows better.
You both walked back to the dorms as you talked, conversation was light, easy as it drifted between the upcoming game and whatever else came to mind. Jungwon split off to his room to change, and you did the same — stepping into your dorm and closing the door behind you.
Your hands were slower than usual as you picked out something to wear — something casual, but fitted just right. Something that sat on you well. Your favourite jewellery settled against your skin and a quick swipe of lip-gloss, a glance in the mirror and then you were out again.
The living room was already alive when you stepped in. Voices overlapping, laughter spilling out between your friends as drinks were passed around and poorly mixed concoctions were tested. Your eyes found him instantly. Jungwon sat sprawled against the sofa, one arm thrown lazily over the back, a backwards cap resting low on his head. Grey hoodie, black pinstripe pants — effortless.
Dangerously so. He looked—
No. We're not doing that. You averted your thoughts and slipped in beside Kenny at the counter instead. Across the room, Jungwon’s voice faltered mid-sentence, Jake kept talking but Jungwon had stopped. His eyes found you the second you walked in and stayed and they moved slowly, taking you in like he was trying to memorize something he hadn’t noticed before.
Like you were different or maybe like he was. You tipped the drink back with Kenny and immediately scrunched your nose, pulling a face. "Fuck, that’s disgusting," you laughed, nudging the glass away. Kenny snorted beside you.
"Yo, Jungwon?" Jake’s voice cut in, barely holding back laughter. "Hm?" Jungwon responded, not looking away from you. "You’re staring." you turned. Their expressions shifted instantly too quickly to catch fully, but enough to notice something. You walked over anyway, slipping into the space beside Jungwon like it was second nature.
"What’s wrong with you?" you grinned, your leg brushing his as you sat. His breath hitched barely and the gloss on your lips caught the light. You leaned in without thinking nudging the glass near him. "Nothing," he said, a little too quick. "Thanks." He reached for your drink, taking a sip — his eyes still flickering back to you. You didn’t stay long and you stood again, moving back toward the kitchen to fix the drinks for the others.
"I'm doing it later." Jungwon’s voice was low, almost absentminded. Jake turned to him slowly. "…And just so we’re clear," he said carefully, "by it you mean—"
"I’ll tell her." he said quieter this time like he was certain. Jake blinked, he breathed out a laugh. "Wow," he muttered. "didn’t think I’d see the day." He then slumped back against the sofa with a breath of disbelief.
Jungwon didn’t respond, he was still watching you because lately it had become impossible not to. Every day, it got harder to ignore. Harder to pretend, harder to act like you didn’t pull him in without even trying.
Across the room, you laughed softly at something Ni-ki said — but your attention shifted when you caught Kenny’s eye. "Can you help me with something?" she asked already moving, you nodded following behind.
"I’ll be right back," you called over your shoulder. The door clicked shut behind you and Kenny turned immediately, leaning back against it — arms crossing as she stared at you. For a moment she just looked at you, perplexed. "Kenny?.." you said cautiously, a nervous smile tugging at your lips. "What the fuck is going on with Jungwon?" she asked, her voice sharper than intended. Your brows lifted, "Jungwon?"
"That man is staring at you like he’s never seen you before," she continued, watching you closely. You exhaled slow, because you knew. You’d noticed it too, you had felt it and avoided it. Hearing it out loud was too much and yet somehow relieving. "It’s nothing," you start.
"Y/n, he’s crazy about you, he—"
"What if you’re wrong, Kenn?" you cut in, quieter now. Your expression tightened but Kenny didn’t hesitate. "And if I’m right?" she asked. "Can you live with that?" The question landed heavy, like they had an ache behind them. You paced, hands restless at your sides because you saw it. The way he looked at you. The way everyone else looked at you both and the way your chest flood with something warm when he got too close and worse, it feels right. That’s the problem.
To answer her question, no. You couldn’t live with not knowing, with pretending. "Okay." Your voice was sudden and firm. Kenny blinked. "Okay?" she echoed. You nodded, the slight buzz running through your body did nothing but assure your current thought process.
"Yeah," you said, more certain now. "I’m going to test it." Kenny narrows her eyes. "How?" You shrug lightly. A small smirk pulling at your lips. "Observation," you say. "Field testing." She didn’t interrupt or move. "And by the end of tonight," you continued, "If I feel like he does — if there’s anything there…"
"I’ll confess." She stood still for a moment as though any sudden movement would change your mind then she broke. A grin spread across her face, wide and disbelieving. "Wow," she laughed. "Did not see that coming."
The conversation with Kenny had been playing on your mind as you walked towards the kitchen. No matter what, tonight would change everything.
You had a plan for the night, not a good one and it was not a foolproof one but it was something. How to figure out if your best friend of four years has feelings for you—101.
Eyes. Jungwon loves eye-contact he fiends for it. He held it longer than most people, like he was always searching for something just beneath the surface.
Body language. He was subtle with everyone else but not with you. He leaned in, closed space without asking, existed just a little closer than necessary like proximity was instinct when it came to you.
Touch. Initiating more contact, that was the biggest one. He'd nudge your shoulder, brush against your arm, pull you forward when you lagged too far behind.
Jungwon was always the one to initiate it, so tonight you’d flip it. You'd hold his gaze longer than usual. You don’t look away first. Close the distance before he can, be the one to reach for him.
It made your stomach twist just thinking about it, because this isn’t just observation anymore. It’s risk and if he pulls away, or if he hesitates. You’ll have your answer.
Your friends made it to the game a couple minutes early to get the best seats for the upcoming game, Slytherin V Gryffindor. You hang back just long enough to knock back a shot, purely medicinal.
Once you made it to the game there were a few empty seats besides your friends. He sent you a small wave, like he hasn’t been subconsciously tracking your existence since you walked in. You settled besides him — making a point to sit with your leg flush against his. He paused briefly and relaxed, this wasn't unusual. Not yet.
You then turned to him looking between his brown feline eyes. "Hi Won," you said. He looked between your own, his eyes widened for a flicker of a moment. "Hey Y/n," he returned with a mischievous smile, confusion twisting into his brows.
"What are you up to?" he said leaning in slightly. You leaned in even closer and tilted your head, just a little. Play dumb, "What do you mean?" you replied, eyes still trained on his.
"I- What?" he stammered. You only feigned ignorance, perplexing him further. Was it always this obvious?
Jungwon had been convincing himself he'd been thrown into an alternate dimension, the one he'd dreamt of once where you would flirt, shameless.
It was the kind of reality he’d never let himself linger on for long, too aware of how easily it could blur into something dangerous. Something that would make it impossible to go back to what you were.
So instead of questioning it, he leaned into it. A small grin graced his lips, your eyes dilated as they looked into his and you pulled back to sit back in your chair. He sat back with the sleeves of his hoodie rolled back — his forearms on show. He watched as you shook your head in amusement and disbelief, trying your best to focus on the game that was about to begin.
Shortly after, the balls were released into the air along with a whistle to signal the start of the game. As the players all flew around the pitch you couldn't help but notice Jungwon's gaze when he was convinced you weren't looking.
You turned to face him watching as his eyes flit over your face in response, "What are you looking at?" you asked holding his eyes with yours again. "You" he said simply, you rolled your eyes at his words, but despite that you felt it. That warmth spreading in your chest, traitorous and loud.
You look back at the blurs of red and green in the distance. Relishing in the warmth, instead of filing it away. You all talked about the game as the breeze picked up and your shoulders caved in, as if to shield yourself from the cold.
You then felt an arm snake around your shoulders, Jungwon pulled you into him and rubbed up and down your arm, you pressed further into his warmth. "Comfy?" he smiled looking down at you. You nodded looking up at him, "Me too." he said, with a sheepish grin — making a point to rub harder against your arm for a moment.
Your friends snickered at the two of you, but neither of you noticed — too caught up in the quiet little world you always seemed to fall into together. Conversation flowed easily, effortlessly, the kind you’d forget the details of later but remember the feeling of.
His chest vibrated under you as he spoke, sneaking glances at you. Every so often, his voice would dip, like he was saying something just for you — even when it wasn’t anything important at all.
It's not like you hadn't been in this position before, you had been enough times that this wasn't new. Only it was. Your heart beat faster now, harder against your chest. You were certain he could hear it.
You also knew, somewhere along the way, that this was another shift — another quiet turning point in something that had always felt steady. A new line drawn without either of you acknowledging it, one that would change the shape of everything after.
The game blurred by, you and Jungwon cheered and whined at each-others teams as each of them scored points. He would never admit it but he was secretly rooting for Slytherin to win. For… morale. Just so Ni-ki could come back flashing that boyish grin you all inevitably cooed over, that was the reason.
Not the way you leaned forward with every play, eyes lit with excitement or the way your hand tightened in his sleeve whenever the score shifted. Not the way your voice carried just a little louder when it was your house pulling ahead. Definitely not that.
The commentator was drowned out by Jake's own commentary, full body reactions, dramatic gasps, like he was personally responsible for the outcome. It’s funny, it is, but you’re only half there because Jungwon’s hand is still on you. "Oi, focus!" Jake’s voice cut through as he pointed wildly at the pitch, "Ni-ki’s about to lose his mind—" You laughed softly, but your attention didn’t fully leave Jungwon.
Not when his hand slid just a little further down your arm — not unfamiliar, just more intentional than before as though he was testing something too. The last few minutes of the game had you all perched at the edge of your seats — tension coiling tighter with every second, every pass, every near miss.
It peaked when Ni-ki suddenly dipped — sharp and brutal, a near 90-degree dive as his eyes locked onto a fleeting glint of gold. "OH—" Jake practically folding over the railing, "—HE’S GONE—WHERE IS HE—" Just as you all stood up to look over the banister. He shot back up, a grin splitting across his face, fist clenched tight around the Golden Snitch.
The stadium erupted as the Slytherin team crowded around the blonde seeker, Beomgyu pulled him onto his shoulders and they all chanted the house name. But somewhere in the chaos, Jungwon grabbed your hand, you hadn't even register when it happened.
One moment you were cheering, the next — his fingers were laced with yours, his other hand thrown into the air with the crowd. The cheers mellowed like it had been pushed underwater. Your eyes trained on the space connecting you both, like they might explain themselves. He looked over at you, noticing your silence following your gaze to your hand in his. Your eyes snapped up to his, he didn't let go, he didn't pull away. He only looked over your expression carefully.
"Hey." he spoke softly, quietly — just for you. "Hi." you returned, feeling that familiar flutter in your stomach, the one that the buzz of alcohol had barely dampened.
"Is this okay?" he asked squeezing your hand for a moment, your heart stuttered. "This is okay." you nodded. A smile stretched onto his face as his thumb circled your skin. Enough to quiet the doubt that had been clawing at you all day.
As the players all made their way back inside and the cheers had subsided you all hurried inside, to the warmth. "The party then?" Heeseung said making you groan. "You don't whine remember?" Jungwon said catching your wrist as you pulled away.
"Wasn't whining." you muttered, he rolled his eyes. "You're not actually gonna drag me?" you scoffed, your voice trailed off with a hint of doubt as you watched an evil grin mould onto his lips.
"You can make this easy and just come with me— us." he tilted his head with a hint of a pout on his lips. You stared at him for a second.. debated your life choices.
"Whatever." you rolled your eyes letting him drag you along to the Room Of Requirement because apparently your free will stopped working around him. The doors of the Room of Requirement opened to something entirely different this time vast and open, the ceilings stretching high above with dark stone beams crossing overhead. Fairy lights draped between them, casting a warm, golden glow that softened everything it touched.
Sofas were scattered across the room in uneven clusters, already claimed by groups of students, laughter spilling between them. In each corner, makeshift bars lined the corners, bottles everywhere, drinks being poured like consequences weren’t real.
"See?" he murmured, leaning slightly toward you, his voice low enough that it barely carried past your ear. "Not so bad." But he wasn’t looking at the room. He was looking at you.
The soft buzz that had been carrying you through the evening was starting to dull at the edges, thinning out into something far less convincing. You needed more than this half-hearted warmth for what you had planned. You grabbed a couple of bottles and some glasses from the bar, weaving your way back to the corner your friends had claimed earlier.
"I was about to come look for you," Kenny said the second she spotted you, her voice half-laughing, half-knowing. "Thought you’d already wandered off."
When you drank, you wandered. That was just a fact. Slipped away from conversations, from rooms, from people. Chasing distraction wherever it led, no real destination in mind. Your laugh came out as a exhale through your nose as you set everything down. "Not yet," you murmured, already reaching for a glass.
Everyone was sprawled out on a corner sofa, Jungwon sat at the edge with a twinge of amusement playing on his lips — he watched as you topped some unknown liquid off with some coke. You took a safety sip. Your sip turned into another as you deemed it drinkable. The room pulsed with low, bass-heavy music, something nostalgic bleeding through the speakers as your friends broke into loud, overlapping chatter about the game.
You looked up from your glass and caught his eye, and just like that — he tilted his head, a quiet invitation. Come here. You hate that it works. You moved without thinking, slipping into the space beside him at the edge of the couch. It was closer than usual.
His hand snaked around your back settling on your hip. "Got enough space?" he murmured, leaning in close enough that his voice brushed against your skin instead of reaching your ears. You blinked once. twice, suddenly your brain wasn’t keeping up with your body. "Yes— yeah I do" you said softer than you'd anticipated. Your voice had given you away. His eyes held yours for a second too long, lips curling up. "Good."
His gaze dipped, catching on the dark liquid in your glass. You followed it, then nudged it slightly toward him, tilting your head just a fraction. He took it, fingers brushing with yours, eyebrows furrowing for a moment as he sniffed experimentally. His eyes were on yours the whole time, he took a sip from where your lips touched the glass — expression morphing into subtle delight at the taste.
"Strong," he muttered, lips quirking slightly. You nodded like you hadn’t just noticed that and let your gaze drift across the room, swaying slightly to the music as the alcohol settled warm beneath your skin.
Jungwon didn't look away once, not when you turned, not when you laughed, not when you lost yourself in the rhythm. His eyes stayed on you like you were the only thing in the room worth watching.
It didn’t take long for the winning team to burst through the doors, loud and electric with energy. Ni-ki and Beomgyu led the way, the golden trophy gleaming under the soft glow of the fairy lights as cheers erupted around them. You smiled easily, stepping forward with the others.
"Your drop was insane, Riki," you added, nudging him lightly. He broke into that familiar boxy grin, pulling you into a quick side hug before being dragged into more congratulations. You poured another drink not long after, feeling the buzz deepen as the night went on. Enough to make the world feel lighter, hopefully enough to make you braver.
You got up at some point as someone asked the room to create a dance floor in the centre of it. The room shifted, glowing softly as it cleared, colours flickering across the floor like something alive. People flooded in almost instantly, laughter rising with the music. You were about to stay exactly where you were because, realistically, dancing in a crowd wasn’t usually your thing — but then you felt Jungwon stand beside you.
"You wanna dance don't you?" he grinned reading you. You turned to him, a small laugh slipping out. "I think I’m at that point." He reached for your hand and you let him. He guided you to the floor with a smile that was tugged between his teeth, one you couldn't see as you walked hand in hand. You also didn't notice the figure that stood somewhere along the side of the room with a glare directed at you.
Jungwon turned as he reached the dance floor and pulled you closer, you took his other hand in yours. Whatever this feeling was, you concluded you liked it and then the music switched and you gasped.
[ SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK > JOJI ]
"Fuck, I love this song." you smiled. Jungwon pulled you closer, hands now safely on your waist. "I know." he said, softer now. "Did you—" you started, but he cut you off with a playful roll of his eyes, spinning you once before pulling you right back in. A laugh slipped out of you anyway, bright and unfiltered, dying the second your body met his again. Your arms found their place around his neck without a second thought.
"Hi." he whispered. So close, close enough that you could feel his breath, see the way his eyes flickered not steady but blown out and uncertain in a way you’d never seen before. "Hi," you echoed, your fingers drifted to the hair at the nape of his neck as the lights shifted over his face in soft, changing colours.
"You've been different today" he started carefully. You tilted your head slightly, studying him. "Good or bad?" you asked. "So good" he said with no hesitation, "Yeah?" you murmured, a hint of a smile pulling at your lips.
"Yeah," he nodded, hands pressing lightly into your waist — like he needed to be sure you were still there. Jungwon’s thoughts tangled over themselves, something settling in his chest but not from the alcohol. It had him finally thinking, what if she feels what I feel?
"C'mon let's grab a drink." you said stepping back and taking his hand. He pouted just for a second, at the loss of your weight against him but it vanished the moment your fingers slipped into his. His grip tightened instinctively, like it settled something in him. You caught Kenny’s smile as you walked back, that knowing one she usually threw at you. This time, you didn’t brush it off. You smiled back.
You were halfway through your drink when you felt it, that familiar prickle of being watched. The universal experience of someone staring at you too hard, with one look around the group your eyes met Beomgyu's.
Too late to pretend you didn't notice. He tilted his head slightly, subtle, motioning toward the door. You hesitated for half a second, stomach dropping and then you nodded.
You turned to Jungwon, whose eyes were already on you, like he’d been waiting.
"I'll be right back." you said to him, squeezing his hand. A silent promise more than anything, he nodded once — squeezing back, thumb brushing lightly against your knuckles before letting go.
You got up and headed to the door, walking through and leaning against the wall as you and Beomgyu settled outside — the sound of music being drowned into silence as the door swung shut. You leaned against the wall as Beomgyu joined you, hands shoved into his pockets, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips.
"Hey," you said, tilting your head. "What’s up?" He exhaled through a small laugh. "I just—" he scratched the back of his neck, glancing at you, "I wanted to ask about you and Jungwon. Again." You huffed out a quiet breath, already knowing where this was going. "I noticed things felt… different," he added.
You looked down at your hands for a moment, fingers fidgeting slightly. "Yeah.. there has been a development" You glanced back up at him. "On my side, at least" Beomgyu didn’t even hesitate. "It’s reciprocated," he said with a small laugh, nodding like it was obvious. "Like— painfully obvious." You breathed in sharp at that.
Good to know you’ve been the only one missing that for four years. "But I just wanted to make sure," he added quickly. "I wasn’t lying before," you said, frowning slightly. "I just— didn’t realise," You started.
"No, no," he cut in, shaking his head with a small smile. "You’re good. We’re good." Relief flashed across your face "Okay, I'm glad."
"You should say something to him though." he added. "I will," you murmured, more to yourself than to him.
"Soo," he dragged out, nudging your shoulder lightly, "what are you waiting for?"
That question followed you all the way back inside. Through the noise, past the lights and the crowd that blurred around you as your eyes searched and found him.
Jungwon. Stood with Penelope, not too close. Nothing anyone else would question but close enough that it feels intentional. Close enough that you noticed. "You came," she said, soft, almost relieved like his presence meant something specific. Like he came for her. Your stomach turned and something bitter ran up your throat.
Your chest ached in this dull, persistent way like something was pressing there, not hard enough to break anything, just enough to be constantly noticeable. Which was worse, honestly. You could deal with sharp. You told yourself it was nothing. Jungwon’s expression was neutral — polite, attentive in that way he is with people he doesn’t want to be rude to. He’s listening, nodding slightly, but there’s no real weight behind it.
She says something else, quieter this time, leaning in just slightly like she doesn’t want anyone else to hear. He glances around for a second — quick, then back at her, responding with something short.
He’s not pulling away or shutting it down. He wasn’t doing anything that would let you go oh, I’m being dramatic. That’s what got you, not what he did, but what he didn’t do.
Your jaw tightened as you turned away, slipping back into your group like nothing had happened. As though you hadn’t just stood there analysing every second of that interaction like it meant something. You grabbed a drink, didn’t even register what it was — just needed something to do with your hands.
Don’t look, not at her handing him a drink. Not at him hesitating, then taking it anyway. You didn’t see him notice you were back or the way he excused himself with something vague, already moving before she could respond. "Hey," he said, quieter now, like the room had shrunk down to just the two of you. "Hi," There was a beat. A shift.
"I didn't see you come in," he started, sitting besides you. Wonder why. The thought came automatically, dry and sharp, but you didn’t let it show. Your eyes flicker to her, just for a moment. He followed your line of sight, not obviously. "Just got here a couple minutes ago." you said.
"Yeah, I—" he huffed a small breath, like he’d rather skip over whatever explanation he could give. "She just stopped me." You didn’t respond, didn’t ask. "She was asking about something for class," he added anyway, quieter this time.
Your fingers tightened slightly around your glass. "Right," you said, like it mattered. He paused watching you, "I wasn’t… staying." He said, softer. That made you glance at him properly. He looked like he wanted you to understand something he wasn’t fully saying. Your chest tumbled in that same dull, frustrating way and you looked away first.
"Okay," you said, a little too quick. He didn’t call it out, he just nodded once, like that was enough — for now. "I was looking for you, actually," he added after a second, almost like it was an afterthought.
"Yeah?" you said, trying to keep your tone even. "Yeah," he repeated, quieter. That was all it took, the quiet certainty in his voice, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing he’d meant to find — for that nagging ache in your chest to loosen, easing just enough to finally let you breathe.
"I was—" he started, then stopped, huffing a small breath. "Do you wanna—"
"The balcony?" you said at the same time. You both paused and then laughed, caving into each other a little. "Yeah," he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "The balcony."
He walked quieter than usual with that drink he had already taken a few sips from. Tonight, you were going to say it. Penelope doesn't matter, that didn't mean anything. You closed your eyes briefly, inhaling. Nerves crept in as you reached the balcony behind the tinted glass doors. He reached for your hand as you stood before the stone railing of the balcony. You had never felt so vulnerable, never entrusted something as fragile as your feelings to another person.
The cool air kissed your skin, a relief against the heat crawling up your neck and then you turned to him. Your fingers curled into his, his grip tightened almost instantly. "Y/n," Jungwon breathed, there was a flush across his cheeks, spilling down his neck. His hand held yours too tightly, almost desperate. "Yes?" you said, unaware you were holding your breath
"I don’t know how to say this…" he murmured, more to himself than to you, a quiet, almost shy smile tugging at his lips. "I think you know what I’m going to say," he added, letting out a small, breathy laugh. He took a sip of his drink and placed it down the stone railing. "I think I do too," you replied carefully, a smile breaking through despite yourself.
He mirrored your smile pulling you a little closer. For a second, everything aligned, like maybe all the overthinking, avoidance and quiet longing hadn’t been one-sided delusion. Then, something shifted. His eyes flickered. Not to you, but past you. Through the glass doors as though something had caught his attention. Your brows knit, your gaze followed his instinctively — but you didn’t understand what he was looking for.
You just knew you’d lost him for a second, his attention had slipped through your fingers. Your brows pulled together, your brain already scrambling to justify it. When he looked back at you, his expression had changed. Brighter, a full smile broke out, stretching across his face. Like whatever he’d been working up to wasn’t heavy anymore.
It was contagious, you couldn't help but smile at his smile, only yours came with a tilt to your brow. "Right— sorry, where was I?" he said, voice suddenly lighter, confidence replacing the earlier nerves like they’d never been there. "I think…" he started, taking a quick sip of his drink, like he needed it, like he couldn’t quite stay still, "I think I really like someone."
Your chest tightened but not in a bad way. Not yet, because obviously he meant you. You nodded, amused "Right, who is she?" you spoke, still smiling — even as something inside you began to sink.
"Ah, you know our potions class?" he said, almost fond. "Penelope." He looked over at the glass again, at her. You faltered for a moment, then you held your smile for a second longer, letting it settle into something softer, something that took effort to be there. Hope is so rude. It shows up uninvited and then ruins your life.
You didn’t shatter or explode or break in any loud, dramatic way. You just felt, disoriented — like missing a step in the dark. That sudden, disorienting lurch where your body forgets where it’s supposed to land.
"Oh." you exhaled letting your hand drop. Your heart ached in a way that felt… unauthorised, almost. As though it had no right reacting this strongly to something you were never promised in the first place.
He didn’t seem to notice. "Yeah," he continued, almost giddy now. "I noticed her a while ago… sometimes it feels like she just — lives in my head." Eyes soft and sparkly. How they would be for someone in love. That look, the one you thought meant something. The one you thought was yours.
You thought you were being smart. You had the upper hand because you weren’t saying anything but now you don’t even get to be angry. There’s no betrayal, he didn't lie or trick you. You had built something out of moments of eye contact and hope, which is actually humiliating when you put it like that.
And you smile, of course you do. You ask questions and play the part you’ve always played. The best friend, the one who listens because that’s what you are. That’s what you’ve always been.
Push it down before it has the chance to become visible, before it turns into something he might notice — because the last thing you want is for him to look at you and realize. That you’re not as unaffected as you’ve spent years pretending to be and somewhere between him talking about her eyes, her laugh, the way she made him feel — your mind drifted. Your gaze lifting past him, to the clouded night sky, stretched out above the castle.
"Y/n?" Jungwon laughed softly, the sound light and open. "Yes?" you breathed. Something in your chest had gone strangely still. "I think I love her" he said almost dazed. You felt sick, It wasn't even just jealousy. It was the realization, that whatever you were holding onto — hope maybe or just the possibility of more, it didn't exist how you wanted it to. The realization that you were never part of the equation.
"You should tell her." you said, in a voice you barely recognised as your own, stepping back towards the door. He didn't register anything you said, he just stared through that same glass and gawked. For a moment you stood still and forced your eyes to his profile, his parted curved lips, his glittering eyes.
Your heart ached at how easily he held that look for her. It was steady, unguarded. There was no hesitation, no flicker of self-consciousness, no quick glance around to see who might notice. It was simple. Just him and her. It was real, and it wasn’t you.
You turned on your heel and walked, because you were not about to let him see what that did to you. Not now, not ever. Past the dancing students and past your friends who weren't aware of anything that had happened.
Your stomach flipped in slow, nauseating waves and suddenly you were too aware of everything. Your voice. Your hands. How long you’d been avoiding eye contact with the world. You kept your expression neutral on autopilot, years of practice kicking in. Survival instinct, if you don’t react, it didn’t happen.
You wondered if you saw him clearly at all, or if you were just filling in the blanks with what you wanted to see. You found yourself in a barely lit abandoned classroom and sat down on the steps near the window. The window was cracked open, letting in cold air that didn’t help but felt deserved somehow. It probably hadn't been long, probably minutes, but it felt you had been there for hours.
At some point your hands had started shaking, small at first, then enough that you had to press them flat against your thighs to make it stop. Your jaw locked, teeth pressed together like you could grind the feeling out of your system if you tried hard enough.
You were angry, you didn’t do anger. You did quiet and distance You did the slow, controlled kind of detachment where things stopped mattering because you decided they didn’t but you were angry, because you had allowed this. You let yourself believe it meant more, more than friendship but this this was different. This was sharp, embarrassing because none of this was technically his fault.
You let the lines blur. You let yourself sit a little closer, stay a little longer, read into things you knew you shouldn’t. You let your friends talk, let Kenny look at you like she’d already written the ending, let Jake’s stupid comments sink in like they meant something, like it wasn't just in your head.
You sat with your shoulders slightly caved in, your leg bounced repeatedly. In the time you were sat dissociated you were stuck. Cutting your thoughts off as they crowded in, not letting them finish their sentence. Redirecting them to something, anything else but it kept coming back.
He didn’t hesitate. You tried focusing on anything else, the rough breaths you could barely manage. You swallowed hard, blinking rapidly when you felt pressure build behind your eyes. No, I'm not doing that. You ignored it, even when your vision blurred slightly — even when a tear slipped free anyway, trailing down before you could stop it.
You didn’t wipe it right away, you just let it happen like it didn’t belong to you. Eventually, you stood because sitting there felt worse and staying meant thinking and thinking meant feeling.
Jungwon felt as though someone had dimmed the lights in his head, except nothing felt wrong, in fact it all felt overwhelmingly right. At some point his thoughts had narrowed quietly, to her. Penelope. She became his centre without him allowing it. His body followed without his mind understanding or questioning the reality of why. Which is why he didn't notice your faux smile the way he would have, the way it held a second too long.
He would have once, you knew that. He would’ve tilted his head, narrowed his gaze just slightly, like he was trying to read something between the lines. He would’ve asked, "What’s wrong?" even when you insisted nothing was.
He sauntered into the room with the kind of confidence only deeply intoxicated people and stupidly pretty boys possessed. Music pulsed through the room walls, low enough to feel in your chest more than hear properly. Everything looked slightly blurred around the edges, Jungwon placed his half-empty cup down on the nearest table carelessly, some shimmering pearlescent liquid sloshing over the rim.
He then walked over to her with a set of nerves he had no memory of harbouring. She stood glancing over at him with a knowing smirk. The type of girl who looked like she collected secrets for entertainment. "There you are," she hummed and Jungwon smiled instantly, helplessly.
"Hey," Jungwon said, eyes wide in that soft, open way — the same ones she had wished, not long ago, had been on her instead. The one you’d spent weeks trying not to fall apart over.
"Hey handsome," Penelope replied smoothly, like she’d tested it beforehand. She set her drink down and passing him a refilled cup of the same pearlescent liquid, he took it without even looking.
It was around then that Jake and Heeseung had circled back after getting some air, expressions already exhausted from dealing with drunk idiots all night. Jake was mid-sentence when he noticed Jungwon, Heeseung followed his line of sight and both of them went quiet for a second. "Oh, for fuck’s sake," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Heyy Jungwon.." Heeseung started carefully, voice cautious in the way people spoke to someone standing too close to the edge of a cliff. His gaze flicked to the girl beside him — unfamiliar, unimpressed by the interruption.
"Hi guys." he grinned looking between them. The grin alone was enough to concern everybody involved. "This is Penelope!" he added, gesturing toward her as he shifted slightly closer, like it was obvious.
"Oh… hi?" Jake said slowly, exchanging another look with Heeseung.
"Uh—where’s Y/n?" For a fraction of a second, Jungwon went still — he inhaled, sharp as though he was discovering your existence for the first time and then it slipped away again. Gone so quickly Heeseung almost thought he imagined it.
"Oh, Y/n?" he said vaguely, already turning his attention back. The way he said your name made Jake’s eyebrows cock immediately, like he was recalling someone from a class roster.
"I don’t know, she left earlier." he mumbled unbothered before turning right back toward Penelope again, already distracted by whatever she whispered next. She giggled beside him and he looked at her like the sound made perfect sense. Jake physically recoiled, "What the fuck." Heeseung stepped in immediately, pulling Jungwon slightly aside. "Hey- what are you-"
"Did something happen?" Heeseung asked carefully, watching him with increasing concern. "Like before this. With Y/n or something?" Jungwon blinked at him, like the question was irrelevant. "Realised I'm in love with her" Jungwon said nodding, his eyes didn’t even leave Penelope. Heeseung shot him an appalled look, open mouthed and on the edge of annoyance.
"What?" he said flatly, disbelief breaking through. "In love with who?" Jake whisper-shouted, leaning in sharply. Jungwon barely reacted, his eyes held a softened mushy glint as he waved dozily at Penelope, who was giving his friends pointed looks. Jake immediately pushed Jungwon's head back down.
"Who the fuck is that?" he snapped, gesturing toward her. "Penelope," Jungwon repeated patiently like Jake was struggling academically (he was not). Jake snatched the cup out of his hand immediately.
"Alright. Enough, come with us." Heeseung said grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the exit, ignoring his whines and pleas. Penelope stepped forward quickly. "He wanted to stay—"
"Didn’t ask,” Jake snapped instantly." Jungwon continued whining the entire way out while Jake muttered increasingly aggressive threats under his breath, clutching the cup like evidence in a murder trial. Somewhere beneath all the haze clouding his mind, buried deep enough to almost disappear entirely, your name still sat quietly in Jungwon’s chest.
Jake also did the damage control, he spotted Kenny near the drinks table laughing at something Jay said, entirely unaware her night was about to get violently worse. "Kenny." Something in his tone made her smile drop immediately.
"We found Jungwon with some girl," Jake whispered quickly, glancing over his shoulder like he expected the walls themselves to start listening. "Talking about being in love and shit and Y/n is nowhere to be found." Her face shifted rapidly through about seven different emotions in under three seconds.
They both ran out the room, in opposite directions. Heeseung and Jake practically hauled Jungwon down the dungeon corridors toward the nearest empty potions classroom while he complained the entire way.
"Guys! Let me go-"
"Shut up." they snapped. The classroom door slammed shut behind them loudly enough to rattle the shelves, bottles clinking around the room. Jungwon stumbled slightly as they shoved him into a chair near one of the worktables.
Jake lifted the glass to his nose and inhaled, immediately pushing the glass away once the smell hit his nose. "It's Amortentia." he concluded, letting out a long suffering sigh before setting it back down. "Jungwon?" Heeseung crouched in front of him. "Can I see Penelope now?" Jungwon groaned dramatically, throwing his head back against the chair.
"If you tell us what happened with Y/n," he said steadily, holding his gaze, "then yes." he lied, Jake nodded supportively anyway.
He made a concentrated thinking face at the ceiling "I took her to the balcony, I think- I wanted to tell her.. about Penelope and I did and then I looked back and she was gone." he rambled.
Jake and Heeseung looked at each other with pained expressions. "Fuck." Jake breathed, because suddenly he could picture it too clearly — you standing alone on that balcony listening to Jungwon talk about loving another girl after everything, after the lingering touches, all those painfully soft moments neither of you knew what to do with, and worst of all. Jungwon probably sounded sincere when he said it.
You probably stood there hearing every word and believed him completely.
"Can I see-" "—No!" they shouted immediately.
You lent against the cold stone of one of the many balcony's around Hogwarts, the air was sharp and prickly — you could feel the goosebumps, it soothed you. "Y/n." Kenny’s voice cut through the silence gently, though there was an edge of exasperation underneath it. You don’t turn immediately, didn't trust your face yet, your eyes bored into the stillness of the night — across the Great Lake.
"Y/n." she repeated softer this time as she approached. A hand settled carefully against your shoulder, you turned around meeting her worried eyed with your tired ones. "It's just me," she spoke quieter, taking in the exhaustion behind your eyes. "Oh, sorry." you said, "No," Kenny sighed almost instantly, offering you a small smile. "Don’t apologise."
You didn't answer, the wind pushed through your hair softly as your eyes drifted back toward the lake. Kenny leaned against the railing beside you after a moment, careful not to crowd you too much.
"Where did you go?" she asked eventually. "A walk." you replied simply. Kenny hummed softly, "You always come back weirdly philosophical after walks." Her eyes moved over your face carefully, like she was trying to piece together what kind of damage had already been done.
"He told you about her, didn't he." you said as though you were talking about something casual. She paused, "Yeah. Well.. Jake did," Kenny replied gently, turning to you. You nod softly, attempting to look unbothered. "Don't do that," she murmured immediately, tilting her head. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," you say, too quickly. "He just likes someone." Kenny blinks "Wait," she frowned. "Like actually?" You shrugged lightly like the conversation bored you. "Yeah." like it’s nothing. "He told me earlier."
"And you’re just… fine with that?" You lets out a short breath that almost sounds like a laugh. "Why wouldn’t I be?" Kenny turned toward you fully now, leaning forward slightly against the railing. "Because, you like him." The thing everyone apparently knew except the one person you wanted to know it. You shake your head, eyes dropping back down.
"It doesn’t matter."
"It does matter."
"He doesn’t feel the same," you say, firmly this time. "So it doesn’t matter." There’s something in the way you say it, like you're trying to convince yourself more than anyone else. She watches, carefully "Who is it?" You hesitate, just barely "Penelope."
"Who?" She raises a brow "She's in our potions." You say calm straight to the point. "And you’re okay?"
"Yeah." You shrug small "I told him he should tell her." The words tasted awful coming back out but that’s what a friend says, that’s what you are. Kenny's expression shifts "You told him that?"
"Of course I did," you say, like it’s obvious "That’s what you’re supposed to say."
"Not if it hurts you." You finally looks up at that, and there’s a flicker of something raw before it dulls. "I’m not hurt," you say. It’s quiet and you almost believe it. Kenny doesn’t call you out on it right away, she just studies you for a moment, then asks softly.
"What did you expect him to say?"And that was the question you weren't ready for, because your brain instantly reminds you how sure you were.
Your throat tightens, and for a second you can’t answer. Can’t even form the words without everything else slipping out with them. "Nothing," you says eventually. "I didn’t expect anything." A lie.
"Right." Kenny frowns almost sadly. A silence forms between you. Uncomfortable and loud, you clear your throat. "It's not a big deal," you add, stepping back, already closing the conversation before it can open into something dangerous. "So let’s not… do this again." You both know it’s not okay but it’s enough, for now. So instead she nods, "Let's go inside, get you warm."
The night blurred by the time you made it back to your room. You moved through it on autopilot, same routine, same steps, as if nothing had shifted or as if something hadn’t.
It took significantly more effort than either Jake or Heeseung would ever admit out loud to get Jungwon back to his dorm. Mostly because he would not stop talking.
And by the time they finally shoved him through the dormitory door, all three of them had looked seconds away from collapse. Jungwon stumbled toward his bed dramatically while Jake slammed the door shut behind them.
"I hate this school," Jake muttered immediately, "You say that every week," Heeseung replied tiredly, preparing something in the bathroom, "Because every week this castle invents a new problem." Jungwon dropped face first onto the mattress with a groan. "Penelope would understand me." he said muffled, Jake actually lunged towards him, "Don’t make me hit you."
Heeseung returned a moment later from the bathroom holding a glass filled with something dark purple and deeply suspicious looking.
"Drink," He said, pressing a glass of something dark and purple into his hand, Jungwon looked up slowly. "What is that." he frowned.
"Drink the fucking potion before I throw you into the Black Lake myself." Jake huffed, Heeseung nodded once in agreement. "Honestly at this point I’d help him." Their expressions — tired, worn down, entirely over it, left little room for argument. He sighed and drank it.
"Goodnight," Jake said flatly, the effect was instant, his body went slack as he dropped back against the pillows, breath evening out into a heavy, unnatural sleep.
Both of them exhaled, Jake dragged a hand down his face while Heeseung pushed Jungwon’s legs properly onto the bed. "That should keep him out until morning," Heeseung muttered. "It’ll wear off by then." Jake only nodded, quieter than usual.
Something about the entire situation sat heavily in the room now that the chaos had died down. The silence after disaster always felt worse somehow.
Morning came too loud, too bright. Jungwon groaned, dragging a hand over his face, pressing the heel of his palm into his eye as a sharp, splitting ache pulsed at the back of his skull. His mouth tasted awful, he blinked once, twice. Then he froze.
He sat up abruptly, breath catching as the night came rushing back in fragments — words, expressions, the certainty he’d felt. It had felt real, so real.
The party, Penelope’s face.. the overwhelming certainty sitting inside his chest every time he looked at her, intense enough to make him dizzy even now in retrospect. He remembered saying he loved her. Remembered meaning it in the moment with horrifying sincerity. His stomach turned. Did I mean it? No. No, that’s not right. Why did I say that?
And then, you. The thought hit harder than the headache and a mix of emotions followed in — anger, sharp and immediate at the realization that someone had drugged him.
Embarrassment, heavier, settling in his chest as he replayed what he’d said. How he’d said it, but beneath all of that, one stray thought, quiet and devastating in its simplicity.
She told me to tell her.. She didn’t care. Jungwon stared blankly at the floor now, jaw tightening slowly as another ache spread through his chest entirely separate from the headache splitting his skull open.
She doesn’t feel the same.
V 𓄧 lore accurate jungwon and riki ^. once again im sorry for making this 2 parts pls i wasn't going to i had no choice don't hurt meimsorry. she's alr at least 70% done. DAS RED RED DAS RED U SHOULD COME MESS WITH THE TEAMM EEE.
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
PAIRING: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader WORD COUNT: 20k+ — series ★⋆ CONTENT: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearninggggg, possessive!won. avoidant!reader, miscommunication.. a lot of it, plot twists, feat. beomgyu of txt, enhypen & my beautiful wife @hueningskais ⦸ alcohol, love potion drugging, masturbating (m).
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 2
V𓄧 I did not want this to be two parts . .forgive me juseyo. the second part is coming shortly. i'll make it up to you. thank you soo much @hueningskais and miss anna for proof-reading and doing so much for me, i appreciate it so so much MWAH. thank you miss @heedimples too, your input was soo helpful my girl⋆
The castle was a home like no other. You had never felt so welcome in a place that belonged to all — portraits that often gossiped to you, halls that invited you to explore them, passages that opened in time of need. The castle was a friend you welcomed into your heart without protest.
You were not someone who let things in easily, never had. People came with expectations, questions, and noise you did not always have the energy to answer. Hogwarts came naturally to you it all settled around you so easily it stopped feeling new almost immediately. Portraits whispering like bored aunties with nothing better to do, staircases shifting as if they had moods, doors opening for you like they were in on something you were not. You let it all in.
You received your letter at eleven years old. Being a half-blood — it was simply standard procedure. You stayed on for university like a lot of people did, but unlike most of them it didn’t feel like a choice. It felt like returning to something that had already claimed you.
And somewhere in the middle of it, you met him. It was annoying at first because your life was perfectly fine. Up until then it was quiet, controlled with minimal emotional risk — exactly how you liked it.
You had known Yang Jungwon for four years now, but it had not always been that way. You met in your sixth year after being paired up by Professor Snape for a three day run on Felix Felicis.
Snape paired you together like it was funny, like he didn’t just throw a Slytherin who avoids eye contact like it’s a sport with a Gryffindor who… looks.
The moment your names were called you had looked across the room, already mildly irritated, to the black-haired Gryffindor — only to find he was already looking at you. You vaguely recognized him. He was someone you had passed in corridors, one of those people who existed in your peripheral vision. You two had never spoken as there had never been a reason to, until then.
His expression did this small thing — eyebrows lifting, like he expected literally anyone else. The moment your eyes met, he looked away, offering a small, tight-lipped smile. He looked a little nervous.
You weren't too bothered to be paired with him, he seemed to be a good enough partner — at least he wasn’t Seamus.. low bar, but still.
The seat beside you was already taken. So you gathered your things without hesitation and moved — sliding into the empty space next to him instead. As you settled into the seat you had looked over to your old table. You were only a seat behind — with a perfect view of your previous place.
"Y/n right?" His voice pulled you out of your thoughts. You turned slightly, catching the way his eyes couldn’t decide where to land, like looking at you directly might be too much. Flickering between you and the chalkboard at the front of the room. You almost smiled.. almost.
"Yeah," you answer, a little softer than intended. He nods, almost immediately, like that confirms something for him. Even though he already knew.
Yang Jungwon was popular, though not in the loud, attention-seeking way others were. Known as the composed, hard-working Gryffindor, he carried himself with a kind of steady confidence that people trusted. Down to earth, reliable, kind but not soft. Never someone you could easily push around. He had made that clear and yet sitting beside you now, with your attention fully on him, he felt something in that composure slip.
He had never been someone easily taken by others. He had never found himself captivated by someone’s presence, never caught himself returning to the same person in his thoughts without reason, until you.
The first time Jungwon had noticed you, he had been half-listening in Herbology. His attention slipping as the professor droned on about Venomous Tentacula. His gaze had wandered, unfocused — until it landed on you.
You were seated a row ahead. Not directly in front of him but just off to the side, angled enough that he could see the curve of your profile. Your head rested against your hand, posture relaxed in a way that suggested you were not entirely paying attention either. Looking like you could not care less about Venomous Tentacula trying to eat someone two tables over.
All he knew about you was your house, Slytherin. Obviously. He had his own assumptions about you, but not in the obvious way. Most people assume all Slytherins are calculated and cold. They decide before you even utter a word — that you are aloof and detached. It's not that you don't feel things — it's that you feel them too much and learned the hard way that not everyone deserves access to that.
But you didn't seem to care for what others thought. You let them have their assumptions about you.
The plant in front of you swirled around your fingers as though it had chosen you. You did not react nor did you pull away either. You just let it weave between your fingers. Watching like it was mildly interesting at best. It was subtle.
The kind of moment no one would notice unless they were already looking.
Jungwon raised an eyebrow with something alike to curiosity flickering across his expression. Before he realized it, his own lips mirrored yours without his knowledge. Afterwards, it became a habit.
Not an intentional one — he never sought you out but his attention found you anyway. His gaze would drift in the middle of lessons, between notes, during long stretches of nothing. It would settle on you without a second thought.
Often times, he didn’t even let himself think about it long enough to question it. It was easier to let it exist as it was — something small and unspoken. You existed in his subconscious.
Which is why, when he heard your name called alongside his — it didn’t feel real. You were not supposed to exist like this, not in front of him, not real in the way everything else was. Not close enough to talk to or look at properly.
"Jungwon?" you said his name like it wasn’t a big deal, like he wasn't suddenly aware of everything. The way you tilted your head, the almost-smile you gave him as if you were being polite, not trying too hard.
"Oh! yeah, that's me." he replied rather fast. Realization settling in that he had spent more time thinking about you as an idea rather than as a person.. and now you were both.
You nodded, turning back to your notes and pulling out the correct pages as Snape rambled about ingredients.
You fell into a comfortable rhythm. Passing ingredients without speaking, writing notes like you shared a brain cell for a few hours. You had found yourselves to be great partners. Often times passing things between you wordlessly or having the answers the other didn't have.
By the second day, conversation came easier. You talked about things that had nothing to do with potions, debated topics you didn’t need to care about...and agreed on almost all of it. Almost.
"You Gryffindors and your pride" you rolled your eyes in faux annoyance as he passed you a serrated knife, a quiet scoff leaving him in return.
"I do not have pride! Besides you lot are practically evil." he shot back, leaning slightly against the desk. You dropped your jaw, exaggerated and offended like he had just personally offended your entire bloodline.
"That is a serious accusation." you deadpan. The Murtlap tentacle squelched unpleasantly under the blade — you winced at the texture, just a little, trying not to let it show. He noticed.
"Your stereotyping wounds me." you added flatly, beginning to write notes into both your books without thinking.
"Yeah, that was bad rage-bait," He grinned sheepishly while waiting for the knife, "Besides," you said flatly, glancing up at him with deliberate intent, "do I look evil?" you teased.
Jungwon scoffed automatically, ignoring the way he couldn't look away, fingers fumbling as you handed him the blade, just slightly in a way he hoped you didn’t notice.
"Yeah," he said, clearing his throat as he adjusted his grip on the knife, "Completely. The devil in disguise." he responded as he added the cut up ingredients into the cauldron, focusing a little too hard on the task.
You laughed under your breath and smacked his arm, with no real force behind it. He laughed too but quieter.
From that day forward, you were rarely apart. It wasn’t something either of you planned, it just happened. One day turned into the next and suddenly it felt natural to look for him without thinking. The unregistered expectation of him beside you like he had always been there.
In the library, you would sit across from each other with books spread out between you, the intention to study long forgotten. He would kick your foot under the table just to get a reaction. Which, annoyingly — you let him.
Other times, he would be sprawled across your bed, entirely too comfortable in your space, half-listening as you rambled about assignments, deadlines, anything that crossed your mind.
You found yourself seeking him out without realizing it. Waiting for him and measuring parts of your day by whether or not he was there to share them.
Even on the days when everything felt slightly off, when something sat heavy in your chest or doubt crept in quietly — you found yourself at his door. Not to soothe you or to push your burdens on him, but to exist beside someone who didn’t need you to explain anything for it to feel easier. Because his presence made you feel better without trying.
You didn’t rely on people like that. Didn’t need people like that. Well, apparently you did.. at least when it came to him, which is… deeply inconvenient.
When you'd show up at his door, quieter than usual, a little distant, eyes not quite focused — he would let you in, something in his chest tightening at the sight of you like that. Because your upset, somehow always became his.
He wouldn't speak to you different nor did he make you speak, he would just sit besides you as you watched the life outside his window. You always said his view was better along with some bitter comment about Gryffindor privilege. He’d laugh every time, and just like that.. something would lift, just enough.
It scared him how easily you fit into his life. He found himself looking for you without meaning to, glancing toward the places you usually were, expecting to see you there like it was a given.
When he would find you, a grin would take over before he could stop it, because somehow — no matter how big the castle got, no matter how many people filled it, Jungwon always found you.
One time, he found you in your common room. He’d walked in with Ni-ki, half-listening to whatever he was saying. His attention had already started drifting, and then it landed on you.
You’d picked the far corner sofa — the one slightly too close to the fireplace, where it was warm enough to make people leave you alone after five minutes. You were curled into it, book open, fully committed to looking unapproachable. Which, ironically, had never worked on him
"Hey, miss," Jungwon greeted as he made his way over, dropping onto the sofa beside you without hesitation, close enough that your shoulders brushed.
You didn’t look up immediately. You let the page sit there for a second longer, like you were deeply invested in whatever paragraph you hadn’t actually been reading.
You shifted just enough to turn your knees toward him, the book still half open in your lap. "Hey, Won." you'd return lazily, not thinking about it. He did.
That was the first time you had called him that. He stiffened — just for a split second, as though he hadn’t just short-circuited internally over one syllable. You hadn't noticed because he had pulled his arm free between you and rested it along the back of the sofa, fingers brushing against your shoulder like it was nothing. Tracing small, idle patterns against your sleeve as his gaze dropped to the pages.
He also didn’t comment on the fact you hadn’t turned a page in five minutes.
Over time, you became familiar with his friends and him with yours. It just happened, the way everything else between you did. Conversations overlapped with introductions blurring into inside jokes. Before long, there wasn’t really a separation between your friends and his.
Your "friends" being Kenny, she was your best friend from day one, she was the type of friend that would go to war for you — loud where you weren’t, reactive where you were measured. The kind of person who would absolutely escalate a situation on your behalf without hesitation. If you felt something, she felt it louder.
And then there were Jungwon’s friends. Jake, a Ravenclaw Astronomy nerd. Somehow capable of making constellations sound like gossip. You didn’t understand half of what he said, but you listened anyway.
Ni-ki, a Slytherin Quidditch Seeker. Sharp and quick in a way that kept everyone on their toes.
And Heeseung, a Gryffindor Transfiguration major. Annoyingly perceptive, he always carried himself with an ease that made it seem like he understood more than he let on.
The two of you fell into an easy friendship with the group, however they did question your new found friendship. "You two look good together." Heeseung said casually, like he was commenting on the weather, tossing the words into the air without warning.
Jungwon choked — coughing as he turned too quickly, nearly twisting his neck to stare at him. "We're friends," Jungwon managed, the words coming out uneven, far less composed than he usually sounded.
A chorus of groans followed immediately. "Yeah, obviously," Ni-ki muttered. "Painfully obvious," Jake added under his breath. Jungwon frowned, defensive now. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Heeseung said easily, though the look he exchanged with the others said otherwise. They didn’t press it because, technically Jungwon was right.
You were just friends.
Then, quieter this time, "So," Heeseung started, leaning slightly forward, voice low enough that it didn’t carry beyond them, “What’s her friend’s name?”
Jungwon blinked, "…Kenny?" Heeseung hummed and Jake smirked faintly.
"So.. you don't like him?" Kenny’s voice came from somewhere behind you as she sprawled across her bed. She’d been watching you for months now, watching the way your friendship with Jungwon had unfolded and she wasn’t quite convinced there wasn’t any foul play going on between you.
"Kenn," you sighed, not even looking up from where you lay on your own bed, "How many times do I have to say it? He’s just a friend." She groaned and turned over to stare at you upside down. Her hair falling messily over the edge.
"Sure. Yeah." she muttered, entirely unconvinced. You rolled your eyes, used to this by now. "So what’s the pink-haired guy’s name?" she added, quieter this time.
You blinked. Then laughed loud, thanking her mentally for switching the topic as she grinned, unapologetic.
As your groups grew closer, so did Kenny and Heeseung who had fallen into something of their own. It hadn’t been sudden, by the time it became official, it felt almost expected. A year after you met Jungwon, they started dating. And somehow nothing really changed. Not in the ways that mattered, at least. Other than your teasing.
She once said "You know, I thought you and Jungwon would have gotten together before me and Hee— " she paused, catching your bewildered look.
"Jungwon?" you said suddenly feeling your oxygen supply run out, "Nah it's not like that." you said simply, even then she didn't press — only pressing her lips together in response.
At first people also thought your friendship with Jungwon was something else entirely, tossed out with knowing smiles and raised brows. "You two look really good together." And every time you both reacted the same way. With immediate denial, you'd dissolve into small shakes of your heads, overlapping explanations, a little too quick to correct them. It became routine.
Sometimes people didn’t ask you at all. They went to Kenny. "Is Jungwon actually taken?" someone had asked her once, leaning in like it was some kind of secret. She had only blinked at them, unimpressed. "Ask him yourself," she replied simply. She never clarified and never denied it either.
Jungwon got it too. Only he had no idea how to respond. Guys would approach him casual, like it meant nothing and he’d pause because he didn’t know how to answer. The obvious response was easy, "No, we’re just friends. Go for it."
But Jungwon didn't want to say that, nor did he enjoy the thought. Didn’t like the idea of someone else approaching you, talking to you like that, looking at you like that. So instead, he’d shut it down."We're friends." he’d say, not waiting for a follow-up, not giving them space to ask more. Not that they ever went through with it, because where you were, so was he.
Over time, the questions faded. People stopped asking and not because they stopped noticing but because they’d already decided. After all you'd been best friends for 4 years and you were together more often than not. And neither of you corrected them anymore.
You returned to Hogwarts after two years. This time as a University student or survivors, in a way. Those two years hadn’t been spent learning in classrooms or complaining about assignments. You had stayed —worked alongside the professors, helping keep the castle standing in the shadow of Lord Voldemort.
Even if no one had seen him. Even if he had vanished again like smoke slipping through fingers — the disappearances said enough.
Those two years had changed everything. Not loudly, not in ways anyone else could fully understand — but in the quiet, constant ways that mattered. You had learned each other in survival. It brought you all closer in ways no one else could comprehend. Every worry was shared, every fear met halfway. There was no space for pretending and no room for distance. The Room of Requirement became something more than just a hidden space. It became yours, it offered escape when the rest of the castle felt too exposed.
Jungwon knew where to find you, he always did. If you weren’t checking the protective shields or burying yourself in work no one else wanted to touch, you were there, trying to keep yourself busy, trying not to think and he never let you stay like that for long.
"Enough," he’d say, quieter than it sounded and you’d argue, of course. But he didn’t listen, he’d drag you back to his dorms if he had to, ignoring your protests until the exhaustion settled in properly. Watching over you after you'd finally given in. You always did.
Over the years, you had both grown into yourselves. It wasn’t something you noticed all at once it came in passing glances, in the way people started looking at you a little longer than before.
"Do I have something on my face?" you muttered to Kenny as you walked through the halls toward your dorms. Hogwarts University students no longer had to share quarters within their houses, they could room with whoever they like. Which is how you’d ended up at the very top of the university tower with Kenny.
She turned to you immediately, eyes narrowing as she scanned over your features — eyebrows knit in concentration. "Nope," she concluded after a moment, straightening. "You’re good."
You hummed, only half-convinced as you continued up the winding staircase beside her. You waved at a passing portrait that greeted you by name.
"—You’re just hot," she added casually. You scoffed turning to her, "Be serious."
"I am serious," she insisted, nudging your shoulder. "Did you not see the way Beomgyu was staring at you earlier?"
"Heeseung's friend? the Quidditch player?" you said as you turned your head slightly. Kenny groaned at your reaction. "Yes, that Beomgyu."
"He was totally eyeing you earlier." she winked as you reached the top floor. You hummed, any retort dying on your tongue when you saw that there were only two dorms on the top floor, most the other floors had 4 or more on each of them. You had no idea what you’d done to deserve that kind of luck but you weren’t about to question it.
Two doors stood opposite each other, a large curved window decorated the space at the end of the hallway, the light spilled through, inviting and warm. Making the space feel almost intimate.
You had both arrived early, eager to settle in — to decorate, to breathe in the castle before the chaos of the Sorting Ceremony began. As you neared the doors you heard voices from one, men specifically. You and Kenny slowed at the same time, sharing a look as if to say oh god. Kenny, unfortunately, looked far more interested than she should’ve been.
You, on the other hand? Already considering turning around and pretending you got the wrong floor. As if on cue the door swung open, a blonde haired boy walked out. You barely spared him a glance at first, too focused on reaching your own door until he made a noise.
"Y/n??" he gawked, you froze for a moment, then turned. "Jungwon?" you both spoke with raised voices. He laughed still a little startled but there was no hesitation in what he did next — he stepped forward and pulled you into a hug. It was immediate, familiar and not.
Because the second his arms wrapped around you, you noticed it. His arms felt, stronger.. broader. There was more of him than you remembered. His frame filled out, solid in a way that made your breath hitch just slightly.
Since when was he built like this? And then you breathed in. Bad idea.
He had always smelled good.. annoyingly so but now it was something warmer, deeper… addicting. As though someone had personally curated a scent just to mess with your composure.
"How did you guys know we're here?" he asked as he pulled back from you, still grinning. His hands lingering on your arms like he wasn’t quite ready to let go. You smiled automatically, your body was on autopilot while your brain was still catching up.
Your eyes instinctively scanning over him. You hadn't seen him in what felt like forever, your only form of communication had been letters, since you had been on holiday with Kenny for the summer. Letters didn’t prepare you for this version of him.
His hair caught your attention next. Once dark, now an ashy blonde that fell just enough into his eyes to make him blow it away every few seconds. It softened his features in a way that made him look different but still him. He caught you staring and smiled — smaller this time, almost shy. Like he knew and didn’t at the same time.
"We didn’t," you said, letting out a quiet laugh as you nodded toward the door behind him. "That’s our dorm." His smile only widened. Beside you, Kenny raised an eyebrow, her gaze flicking between the two of you, lingering on where his hands still rested against your arms. Clocked, immediately.
Before he could respond the other boys filtered out, coming to investigate the commotion — his hands left your arms almost reluctantly. "This year is going to be so good." Jake declared the moment he saw you both, his excitement immediate and infectious.
You huffed out a quiet laugh, leaning back slightly against the wall as the hallway filled with noise — overlapping voices, half-made plans, people talking over each other like they hadn’t just had an entire summer to do exactly that.
It was easy, like slipping back into something that already fits and yet — your eyes flicked back to Jungwon without meaning to. He was already looking at you. Of course he was. You looked away first, because you were not about to unpack that in a hallway at like… 10am. Still, your lips pressed together to hide a smile.
This year was definitely going to be something.
After greeting everyone you opted to decorate your room and unpack. Deciding unpacking was safer than socialising for more than ten minutes straight.
Barely 5 minutes had passed with your absence when you heard the door open. You were midway through murmuring an enchantment, flicking lazily as your clothes lifted from your suitcase and sorted themselves into your wardrobe.
You didn’t even need to turn to know who it was but you glanced over your shoulder anyway. Jungwon stood there, grinning like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.
"Hey Won." you hummed, turning back like your heart didn’t just do something weird and unnecessary. Another flick of your wand sent books gliding into place on a shelf.
He stepped inside slowly, he noticed your posters already stuck around the walls — most of your possessions already found their home in your room. The fact that you’d basically moved in within five minutes because you hated living out of a suitcase.
"It feels like I haven't seen you in years." he said, stopping in front of you. You paused, setting your wand down before turning to face him properly. He was already looking at you. Not casually either — like he was actually looking, as though he was updating some kind of mental file on you. Or like he was taking note of everything he hadn’t been able to see through letters alone. Stop that.
Jungwon had always been like that though. Quiet about it, but present. He didn’t need a room full of people — just one. You.
He was the kind of friend who showed up without being asked, the second something felt off. The kind who would sit with you through your half-finished thoughts, letting you find your way to the point without rushing you there.
No pressure, no "Just say it already." Just there, annoyingly perfect. He knew he had a soft spot for you, you're his best friend. The one who challenged him without hesitation. The one who never raised her voice, even when hurt. The one he had missed more than he’d expected over the summer.
"I know," you said, a lazy smile pulling at your lips. "I missed you." you added. He tilted his head slightly, something softer settling into his expression.
"Come here." he murmured, it wasn’t really a request, he pulled you into him, arms wrapping around you before you could respond, and you melted into it almost instantly — a quiet, content sigh leaving you.
"I missed you too," he murmured into your hair. You hummed, your fingers drifted up to play with the soft blonde strands at the back of his head — like it was muscle memory.
He slid his hand from your back to your waist, his grip tightening around it. Just for a split second, but you felt it. He pulled back, and your arms fell away reluctantly as you stepped out of his space. He looked over you with narrowed eyes as though something wasn’t adding up.
"What are you looking at?" you teased stepping forward just to mess with him. Just enough to throw him off, he faltered before rolling his eyes in faux annoyance. You almost laughed.
"You look different." he spoke, not moving despite you being close enough you could see every detail on his sun lit face. The light spilled over half of his face, highlighting the soft curve of his lips as they parted in quiet amusement.
"Is that good or bad?" you questioned, he’d always thought you were beautiful but now there was something more. You were almost glowing — confidence and charisma, you’d grown into yourself in a way he hadn’t been there to see.
"Good," he said. "You look pretty—" he paused, then added quickly, "I mean, you’re always pretty." Right.
You turned your head, hiding the smile that tugged at your lips. You were not letting him see that.. he saw it anyway and exhaled through his nose at your reaction.
"Your hair…" you started, glancing back at him and looking over the strands falling over his forehead, the light catching in them.
"What about it?" he challenged.
"Suits you, it's pretty" you nodded. He gasped dramatically, falling back onto your bed. You laughed, shaking your head as you went back to finishing your room.
Conversation came easily after that. "Also, Kenn and I went clubbing, and I got so paranoid at one point because of this guy—" you started, pacing slightly as you spoke, wand flicking absentmindedly as objects whizzed past. Jungwon watched you.
"He was a muggle, I think… anyway, he kept trying to get between me and Kenny, and I got so pissed I could’ve hexed him—" you continued.
That was all Jungwon heard before he zoned out. Something tight had settled in his chest, something he didn’t want to name. "and then I went to get a drink and he just followed us—"
"Won?" He blinked, refocusing, still leaning back against your bed, propped up on his elbows. "Mm?" he hummed. "So he’s dead now, right?"
You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, we killed him Dexter style." He huffed out a quiet laugh as the last of your belongings floated into place.
You heard a knock and a chestnut head peeked around the corner. "Heyy guys." Jake spoke with a goofy smile as he stepped into the room, "Hi Jake." you greeted, settling onto your bed beside Jungwon. "We’re all going to The Three Broomsticks, if you want to come," he said, his eyes flicking briefly to Jungwon — who was playing with the hem of your sleeve.
Since when does he do that. Jungwon glanced at you, he was surprised to see your eyes already on him. "Yeah I'm down." you said, dragging your attention back to Jake before your brain can start over analysing like it's paid to do so.
"Won?" you added, quieter now, turning back to him — searching, though you didn’t know for what. For the little time you'd been back in his presence, you had felt a shift — it was was barely noticeable, like the world had tilted slightly off its axis. It wasn't something you listened to, even as your brain screamed that things were different. Even as it grabbed you by the arms and shook you, you ignored it.
Throughout your friendship you hadn't dated. Not seriously. Not even accidentally. It’s not that you couldn’t, you just… didn’t care to. There had been moments — people who almost asked, words that almost formed but something always stopped them.
You hadn't seen Jungwon staring holes into their eyes, his fingers curling into his palms. One boy had spewed apologies as he scrambled off, leaving you with an eyebrow raised and a "That was weird."
"Yeah, let's go," he hopped up, extending his hand out for you and without thinking, you took it.
But he didn't let go. Instead, he guided you gently behind Jake, your hand still in his, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like it’s nothing and it should have been, but something unfamiliar threaded through the familiarity. His hand in yours felt comfortable but now you were aware of it. Which is annoying because you were perfectly fine not being aware.
You also had never over-thought anything physical with him before, not that that's what you were doing…
Kenny looked between you both, her eyes immediately dropping to your hand in his loosely. Her smirk was instant, like she just unlocked a new form of entertainment.
"You okay?" Jungwon murmured, leaning down so his voice brushed against your ear. He pulled back, just enough to look at your lips as you talked.
"Mhm," you nodded quickly and then, you slipped your hand from his — stepping forward to urge the others along. You didn’t look back at him, didn’t see the way his hand lingered in the air for just a second longer than it should have.
Didn’t know if he noticed the way your fingers had twitched before you pulled away. Definitely didn't think about the fact that for the first time in four years — being around him doesn’t feel simple, and that might be a problem.
The air was crisp, fresh in a way that made everything feel lighter, clearer. The hills stretched endlessly in the distance, and the pristine lake sat below you as you walked along the bridge.
You slowed, falling a step behind the others without realizing it. Your gaze softened as you took it all in, a small smile settling on your lips at the quiet beauty of it. You breathed out, shoulders dropping a little.
Jungwon looked around mid-conversation, half-listening to Jake ramble about something irrelevant, and when you weren’t there, something in his chest did this annoying tight thing. Like when you forget something but don’t know what.
Until he turned and there you were, a few steps behind, walking like the world had paused just for you. It was the same thing that had caught his attention the very first time. He hated how that got him, as though every time was the first time.
He slowed without thinking, letting the others move ahead as he fell back into step beside you. He didn't speak — his arm brushing lightly against yours as he followed your gaze out toward the horizon.
The Three Broomsticks had a comfortable amount of people wandering in and out, it smelt faintly of butter-beer and a woodsy scent you couldn't quite put your finger on.
Your group took to the corner booth as usual, you sat besides Jungwon at the end of the booth and ordered a butter-beer as you all settled into chatter and laughs sipping your beers. As your cup emptied, you leaned back with a quiet sigh, the warmth of it settling heavily in your chest.
You slumped sideways until your weight rested against Jungwon’s shoulder. His shoulder shifted just slightly to fit you better, like it was muscle memory. His voice kept going, talking to the others, but softer now, closer. He smiled small, fond but you didn’t see. You felt the faint vibration of his voice and his hand settle on the small of your back against the seat.
"Sleepy?" he asked, brushing against your hair. "Mm, no," you mumbled, lifting your cup slightly before setting it down with a quiet clink. "Just recovering from this, it was so filling." You pushed yourself upright, pulling away from his shoulder — acting like your heart didn’t just do a weird little thing.
But his hand didn’t move. He just hummed, fingers moving in slow circles like it was the most normal thing in the world, and the annoying part? It was normal, it’s always been normal.
The front door swung open, the bell chiming lightly as a group of Quidditch players walked in, their voices loud and easy, already caught up in talk of the upcoming season. Many of them were back with hopes of becoming successful professional players.
That included Choi Beomgyu. Heeseung and Ni-ki were up instantly to greet the Chaser, shoulders knocking together in greeting. As their chatters died down he was pulled into your table and then into the seat beside you.
"Hey Y/n." he sent you a lazy smirk as he settled into the seat "Hey." you returned with a slight tilt to your head. You’d always known him — never closely, but enough. Passing smiles, casual greetings. You'd often see him around since he was also a Slytherin — he always sent you a boyish smile if he saw you sat in the Quidditch stands.
His eyes flit from yours to your lips and then over the rest of you. You noticed that too. "How was your summer?" he asked after taking a long sip of his butter-beer. "It was great, How was yours?" As he spoke, you felt it.
Jungwon's hand had stopped its lazy motions and now rested fully against your lower back, fingers spread like he’s anchoring you there without making a show of it. Your eyes flickered to him for just a second. He was leaning closer now.
"Hey, you guys wanna get going?" Jake called, breaking the moment. Voices overlapped in agreement, chairs scraping as everyone stood. Heeseung invited Beomgyu along without hesitation. Jungwon said nothing.
He bumped against you as you walked, your friends gathered ahead of you as the path stretched back toward the castle. Beomgyu glanced back once, eyes flicking between the two of you. Taking in the space, the distance, the way it didn’t quite feel like distance at all.
Jungwon looked to you and while you took in the world, he took you in.
"I’m doing the re-run on potions tomorrow," you groaned, dragging your attention back to him. He barked out a quiet laugh. "Me too."
"Snape?" he added — amused. "Hey! Snape loves me." you laughed swatting at his arm. "Of course he does!" He teased, "his bias towards you Slytherins is too obvious."
"Whatever." you rolled your eyes, yelping as he poked your sides. "I really missed this," he spoke low.
"I missed this too." you responded easily, he smiled flashing his dimples and for a moment, you just looked at him — really looked. Eyes catching on the curves of his cheeks and the flicker of mischief in his eyes. He seemed to have to same idea, looking over the details on your face. Pupils dragging side to side, you both looked away after a moment without a word.
As you reached the dorms your friends all turned, stopping you in your tracks "Thoughts on going to the lake, we have time to kill before the sorting ceremony?" Heeseung suggested, glancing between you all.
"…Yeah, okay," you nodded with the others, like you weren’t internally negotiating with yourself. Everyone else agreed easily, except Beomgyu who waved it off with something about joining later. You all filtered into your rooms.
You pulled out a bikini you’d bought over the summer, layering it with loose joggers and a top. Low effort, high reward. Soon enough, you were all heading down together arms full of towels and drinks, laughter echoing through the halls.
"Give that here." Jungwon’s voice came from behind you as he took the bag from your shoulder, without waiting for permission. He looked almost offended that you’d been carrying it yourself.
"Thanks, Won," you said glancing back and sending him a smile. You didn’t see Jake’s smirk. Kenny, however, absolutely did. "You’re getting boyfriend privileges," she sang under her breath.
You rolled your eyes, "He’d do that for anyone." Even as you said it, something in your brain went …would he though? She only groaned, unconvinced.
The Great Lake stretched endlessly before you, framed by rolling hills that dipped into the distance. It had been a while since you'd been here, not by choice. Between N.E.W.T.s and those two years confined to the castle, moments like this had been rare — almost unfamiliar.
But now the air was light, warm — the sun was out. It hung high above you as you laid out blankets, dropping your things with a satisfied sigh before standing over one of them — kicking off your joggers, pulling your top over your head.
You stretched, rolling your shoulders, fingers combing through your hair — completely unaware of anything beyond the sun on your skin.
Jungwon had been standing near the water, looking out across the lake and zoning out like he does when he’s thinking too much. Until he turned and saw you. He just, stopped.
His gaze locked without meaning to and dragged, slowly, over you as you moved — unthinking, unguarded. He didn’t even notice Jake walking up behind him. He followed his line of sight and smirked.
"She looks good, hm?" Jake murmured clapping a hand on Jungwon's shoulder, "Shit— don’t do that," Jungwon exhaled, his body jolting slightly, a faint flush crept up his neck.
Jungwon turned back toward the lake quickly, "She always looks good," he said, too fast, too dismissive like he needed to neutralise it. "Just friends?" Jake asked incredulously. "Yeah."
"So you wouldn’t care if I tried something with her?" That did it. Jungwon turned fully, deadpan. The look he gave Jake was enough. Jake laughed, clapping his shoulder. "Thought so. What are you waiting for?"
"I’m not— that’s not—" Jungwon cut himself off, jaw tightening. "We’re friends, Jake." he finalised. He opened his mouth and then stopped when he saw you walking towards them.
You weren’t paying attention to any of that, obviously. You were looking at the water, already halfway mentally in it, and you reached out, fingers wrapping lightly around his wrist, then slid down intertwining with his fingers like it was muscle memory.
His breath caught for a second, before he tightened his grip, grounding himself in it. You stepped into the water first, testing it with your toe before wading in fully. When you deemed it safe you stepped in completely. Then you turned back to him, smiling. He followed without hesitation.
Jake watched for a moment, turning around with a shake to his head "Idiots."
"Ah— fuck," Jungwon muttered as the water climbed higher, soaking through his clothes. You laughed, pulling him further in until the water reached your waist, he wrapped his other hand in yours.
The breeze danced through your hair, sunlight catching on the ripples around you as you tilted your head back slightly, eyes closing for just a second. The water was warm and inviting, the blonde in front of you inched closer. Without thinking his hand slipped from yours only to rise to your face. Your brain went very quiet. Which was rare, concerning, even.
He brushed a stray piece of hair away but his fingers lingered at your jaw. Careful, like he didn’t quite trust himself. Your lips quirked at his touch, then he dropped his hand and a drop of rain hit your shoulder. Another followed.
"Do you wanna go back inside?" he asked. You shook your head immediately, a grin spread across your face and before you could act normal about it you stepped back and splashed him square in the chest.
He gasped dramatically standing there for moment in shock. "Oh.. you’re dead." you barely had time to laugh before he lunged forward, sending water crashing back toward you, enough to make you shriek.
"Jungwon!—" you huffed, you stumbled backwards through the lake while your hands flew up too late to defend yourself. "You started it!" he shouted back, his laugh cracked loudly across the lake, messy and breathless and so stupidly pretty it made your chest hurt a little.
The others sat near the shore watching like this was the most entertaining thing they’d seen all week. Which, to be fair, Hogwarts was basically just academic trauma and near death experiences, so your standards for fun got weird here.
Both of you were soaked within seconds. The rain picked up, steady now — but the sun hadn’t disappeared, casting everything in a strange, golden haze, like a memory while it was still happening.
By now all of you were completely drenched, you waded through the water to the shore and grabbed your wand — relief settling in as you saw your belongings still dry beneath the shield you’d cast earlier.
You flicked your wand, casting a shield overhead to block the rain like a makeshift umbrella. The others immediately crowded underneath it with grateful groans, wrapping towels around themselves, you opted to do the same but Jungwon had beat you to it.
He picked it up and wrapped it around your shoulders rubbing against your arms. Your breath caught slightly and only then did you notice how his black shirt clung to him, soaked through — defining the lines of his arms, his shoulders, the shape of him in a way you hadn’t seen before.
You looked away, back to his face. This was safer.. right. Not really, because he was staring at you with this soft concentration that somehow felt worse. He was entirely too focused on drying your arms, still rubbing. You shivered, exaggerating it just slightly with teeth chattering sounds as you leaned into him, wrapping your arms around him.
"So dramatic," he snorted, but he didn’t pull away. If anything, he held you closer — his hands moving up and down your back, warming you through the fabric.
"Wait— I’m an idiot," you laughed after a few moments, suddenly pulling back. He blinked. "That’s not new—"
You ignored him and grabbed your wand, flicking it with practised ease. A warm gust of air spilled out, surrounding you instantly. Everyone huddled around you like a pack of penguins, they all groaned in relief.
"Thank fuck for you" Jake sighed as he leaned against you without thinking. The flicker in Jungwon's expression was brief but it was there.
After a hot shower you changed into your new robes, which were a lot more flattering than the school attire. Still house colours, still mildly humiliating, but at least you only had to wear them in classes.
You made your way down to the Great Hall with your friends, the familiar hum of voices growing louder with every step. As usual, you all split at the entrance — murmured "See you laters." and fleeting touches before heading toward your respective house tables. Jungwon gave you his signature smile, his hand brushing over your shoulder in passing. Then he was gone, slipping toward Gryffindor's table.
Kenny slid in beside you as Ni-ki took the seat across, already reaching for something on the table. A moment later, another presence settled at your side, Beomgyu.
"Hey," he greeted, offering you a soft, easy smile. "Hey," you returned, turning toward him.
He asked about the lake, about the afternoon, interested in a way that didn’t feel forced. You didn’t notice the way Jungwon’s eyes had already found you across the hall or see his gaze narrowed slightly, settling on the back of Beomgyu’s head. Lingering there, unmoving, even as the Sorting Ceremony began.
The first student was sorted into Slytherin. Which had you turning to stick your tongue out to Jungwon — how you usually would. Only he was already looking, his expression softened the second your eyes met, a small smile tugging at his lips. You faltered for a moment and then he threw you an eye-roll at the announcement.
Beomgyu had watched the exchange, curious. He leaned in close to your ear, "Are you and Jungwon dating?" he whispered. The question hit differently this time, it felt louder, like a ringing in your ear. You felt as though you'd been snapped out a daydream.
No, Jungwon isn't your boyfriend, it had never been discussed between you. Never defined but then your brain, traitor that it is, starts listing things.
You didn’t let anyone act the way he did with you. No one else held you like that. Looked at you like that or knew you the way he did and yet that didn't change the fact that, the label had never wavered.
Four years. No confusion. No weirdness. No “What are we?” conversations at 2am like some tragic situationship. Just… him and you.
Which, logically, should’ve been comforting but lately it felt like wearing something that used to fit perfectly and now it sat just slightly wrong — not enough to throw it away, but enough that you couldn’t stop noticing it.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe you were overthinking like a normal person who refuses to be embarrassing out loud. And you weren’t about to be the girl who ruined a perfectly good thing because she couldn’t keep her thoughts in check.
"No," you said finally, shaking your head. "We’re just friends."
Beomgyu’s grin widened slightly. "Okay." he replied, leaning back in his seat.
Jungwon had of course seen your exchange. Not the words but enough. His jaw was tight, teeth grinding faintly as his gaze flicked between you and Beomgyu, something restless settling beneath his skin.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. By the end, you were full, tired, and mildly overwhelmed by your own thoughts, which was honestly rude. You all trudged back to your dorms with light chatters. At the doors you said your goodnights and split off again.
Sleep came easily. It always did when your brain decided to emotionally clock out instead of process anything.
The morning came quietly. Soft light filtered through the windows as you got ready, rubbing at your eyes and stifling yawns as you moved through your routine. Half on autopilot, hair, robes, minimal effort because you refuse to be perceived this early in the morning.
By the time you made your way down to the Great Hall with Kenny, the familiar buzz of voices had already settled in.
You slid into your usual place, picking at fruit and sipping your tea as conversation drifted lazily between your friends. Jungwon sat across from you at some point, without asking, he reached over taking your cup and bringing it to his lips.
He hummed satisfied, before setting it back down in front of you like it was his to begin with. You stare at him for a second. Right. We’re doing that now.. You nudge his foot under the table anyway, because apparently you love enabling it.
Beomgyu slid in besides you, all easy smiles and bumps your shoulder “Morning.”
"Morning." you replied. "We should get going." Jungwon said suddenly, his tone firmer than necessary.
"Yeah, lets go." you agreed, already standing. "See you guys later."
Kenny gave you a pointed look, knowing, you ignored it. Jake didn’t miss the shift either, his eyebrow lifted slightly as his gaze flicked toward Jungwon.
The classroom felt the same as you settled into your seat beside Jungwon, a strange sense of deja vu washed over you. You turned your head slightly, studying him. He was already looking at you, his head tilted in recognition, almost curious.
"Deja vu." you whispered, he nodded, lips catching briefly between his teeth, like he felt it too.
"Hogwarts University students," Snape’s voice cut cleanly through the room, "you are here for a two-week re-run course on unnecessary, ineffective, or unneeded potions." His chalk scratched sharply against the board as he listed them.
"Babbling beverages. Stupid potions. Confusing concoctions." A pause. "And Amortentia. An arguably unneeded and unethical love potion."
Beneath the title, bold and unmistakable, he wrote,
"NOTE THAT AMORTENTIA DOES NOT CREATE TRUE LOVE BUT A TEMPORARY OBSESSION."
Your eyes lingered on it. Temporary, right. The first class was simple, babbling beverages and unsurprisingly, you were paired with Jungwon.
You fell into your usual rhythm of cutting the ingredients and writing in turns as though no time had passed at all. You stewed the Alihosty leaves first and added the Billywig stings as Jungwon stirred counter-clockwise, then went in the bile and leech-juice.
You potted the light brown substance into a vial and handed it to Jungwon so he could cork it properly. Snape sauntered over past each station with sharp disinterest. Sniffing and prodding at the goop in each pot. He sent some glares with flares to his nose until he reached yours.
"This is.. sufficient." he spoke looking between you both, "Thanks sir." you both hummed in return.
"Think that's the nicest he's ever been to me." Jungwon murmured in your ear as Snape retreated to the front desk. That earned him a laugh.
The next classes blurred together in similar patterns. You went through the same motions except Beomgyu lingered more and talked more, finding reasons to be near your group. You didn't mind, he was easy to talk to.
But Jungwon was becoming almost restless, he lingered more. Looked at you like he wanted to say something like the words were right there but he just… didn’t.
By the time you made it to the Quidditch stands, the air had turned crisp. You sat with your friends, eyes following the players as they darted across the sky. Jungwon besides you as usual. It was Slytherin vs Ravenclaw, which meant Ni-ki and Beomgyu were playing.
Beomgyu slowed mid-air as he passed your section, hovering just long enough to wave but then he waved again. Smaller, directed at you. You smiled back automatically because… you’re not rude and also because it would be weird not to. Social norms are exhausting.
You didn’t notice Jungwon’s quiet huff, didn’t feel his gaze settle heavier on you. You sniffed a little at the cold before turning to him. "What?" you asked with amusement tinged in your voice. He didn't falter, if anything his lips curved just a little more.
"Nothing," he said. "You cold?" You nodded, about to say you’re fine but before you could do anything about it, he was already pulling you closer.
Your side pressed against his, your hand lifted and placed in his lap, his fingers threading through yours like it was instinct. Oh okay.
He rubbed slow circles into your skin, then lifted your hand slightly, bringing it closer to his lips blowing warm air against your fingers. His eyes never left yours. You bit the inside of your lip without realizing, holding something back — something you couldn’t quite name.
His gaze dropped to your lips and stayed, for a second too long. Then he tore it away, lowering your hand back to his lap — but not letting go. By now you were mentally somewhere else entirely.
Above you, the game continued. People were yelling, Jake was probably commentating like he’s being paid for it, Ni-ki was doing something illegal on a broom but neither of you were really watching anymore.
At some point Beomgyu circled back around and this time — he noticed. The way you were pressed into Jungwon’s side. The way your hand rested, laced with his, something in his expression shifted.
His jaw tightened slightly, eyes narrowing as he flew past. You didn’t notice but Jungwon did and for a brief second, his lips quirked up.
The fourth and last class was on Amortentia, the strongest and deadliest love potion. As Snape had so bluntly put it, the most unethical and you're just.. casually brewing it on a random Tuesday.
You stood at your usual station with Jungwon sleeves pushed up, already moving before you even think about it.
You started by heating the water, steam curled softly into the air as the scent of something faintly sweet lingered beneath it. Jungwon added the bruised peppermint flower heads and you added the peppermint leaves. The two of you moved in quiet sync.
"Apparently it smells different for everyone," you murmured, glancing over your shoulder briefly. Like you’re not even slightly curious what his would be.
He hummed in response, tipping the crushed moonstone into the cauldron as you stirred anti-clockwise, adding the rose thorns with careful hands. The potion shimmered faintly, suspiciously pretty and definitely illegal in at least five countries.
From then it was a waiting game, he placed the cauldron in a dimly lit closet as instructed. Snape’s voice cut through the room once more. "You’ll return later," he said. "Let it settle."
You pack up your things, already halfway out the room, when you heard her.
"Jungwon," Penelope Clearwater’s voice slid in, sweet but sharp around the edges. She talked of him helping her in potions. You didn’t need to hear the rest, you already knew.
And then you decided… yeah, no. You were not doing this today, so you didn’t wait, didn’t interrupt. You just left. It wasn't dramatic — it was just easier.
Because she has this way of talking that makes you feel like background noise and you don’t do that. Not for anyone, but Jungwon had noticed too late. He was already suppressing a sigh as Penelope spoke, his patience thinning. "Can you just ask Snape?" he said flatly. "Or your partner."
"Seamus?" she scoffed. "That bloody idiot couldn’t tell a moonstone from a bezoar." she huffed in annoyance. Jungwon barely heard her, he was already looking around for you but you weren’t there.
"I’ve got to go,” he cut in, not waiting for a response. "I hope you find the help you need."
You hadn’t meant to go anywhere in particular. Your feet carried you toward the dorms out of habit, your mind quieter than it should have been until you heard a noise, low and grinding almost — like bricks moving.
You paused and stepped back and there it was. The Room of Requirement. Waiting for you, you exhaled slowly before stepping inside.
Bookshelves lined every wall, filled to the brim. A fireplace crackled softly along one side, casting a golden glow across the room as though the room was actively telling you to relax. In the far corner was a nook, carved into the wall like it had always been there. Soft blankets, scattered pillows, a large window framing the view beyond — rolling hills, the lake stretching endlessly beneath the sky.
You walk over, running your fingers along the spines of books until one caught your attention — Extinct Creatures. Good enough. You then kicked off your shoes and climbed into the nook, the cushions sank beneath you, welcoming, familiar.
You barely made it a few pages in before your eyes began to drift. Your breathing slowed.
Jungwon had walked back into the classroom in search of you, and then he tried the dorms. As he went back to the stairs, he saw it, the outline of a door that hadn’t been there before.
He stood directly in front of it and closed his eyes thinking you. The next moment he opened them the door had changed — larger now, curved, silver handles gleaming softly under the light. He didn’t hesitate. His eyes moved quickly, scanning the bookshelves, the fireplace and then you.
Curled with your knees against the window, your head against a fluffed pillow. As he walked closer he felt relief wash over him — your chest moved up and down gently as you breathed deeply in sleep. He couldn’t help it. The way his eyes moved over you as he climbed into the nook beside you — careful, deliberate, like even the smallest movement might wake you.
Not touching you, not until you stirred and turned. A soft sound left you, something content — unaware as your head found his chest. Your hand rested against his hip like it had always belonged there. Jungwon’s breath hitched, uneven now — completely out of sync with your slow, steady breaths.
He froze completely. Unsure where to put his hands, what to do, how to exist without disturbing you. One arm was trapped beneath you, already beginning to go numb. The other hovered awkwardly at his side.
Then you moved again, your leg slid over him, settling across his lap as you buried your face into his neck, exhaling softly against his skin. He sucked in a quiet breath, sharp and careful like even breathing too loud might ruin this.
He shifted slightly, freeing the arm pinned beneath you and finally he hesitantly wrapped it around your back, holding you.
You mumbled something incoherent, your voice warm and drowsy against his neck, and he let his head fall back slightly trying, desperately to relax into it.
Trying not to think and trying not to feel everything all at once. He didn’t know how long passed, minutes maybe more until you stirred again. You groaned quiet against him as you shifted, pressing closer without meaning to.
Your eyes didn't even open yet but your brain caught up real fast. You don’t panic, you're not someone who panics, you process and pretend you meant to do this. Fuck.
"Jungwon?" you murmured, your voice thick with sleep. "Hm?" he replied softly, forcing a lazy smile into his tone. "Morning."
You shifted again, this time pushing yourself up just enough to swing your leg fully over him, settling on top of him without hesitation. Chest to chest. Your head dropped back into the crook of his neck like it was instinct.
His jaw clenched, a quiet, strangled sound left him as though you'd wounded him. You lifted your head slightly, brows knitting. "You okay?"
His cheeks were flushed now, his breathing uneven and shallow. You didn’t understand. Couldn’t. Your hand came up, cupping his cheek gently, your thumb brushing against warm skin. "You’re so hot," you murmured, frowning slightly as if trying to figure it out. Then you shifted again and he exhaled sharply.
"Don’t— move," he said quickly, his hands gripping your thighs — firm, grounding, tense. You blinked at him, slowly.
He forced himself to breathe through it, his hands sliding slightly higher before stilling again, like he didn’t trust himself to move any further. Before you can even decide how to recover your dignity, the door creaked open.
Kenny stepped in and froze. Her eyes landed on you and then on him, then back again. Her jaw dropped — slowly giving way to a smirk. "Oh?" she said, dragging the word out. You stilled as heat creeping up your neck.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked, her gaze flicking over Jungwon’s dishevelled state with barely concealed amusement. You sit up like this is completely normal behaviour.
"We’re actually about to check on our Amortentia," you replied and you slide off him like nothing happened.. because nothing happened.
Completely unaware of the situation you’d just left him in. Jungwon sat up behind you, hunched slightly, hands braced at his sides. His shoulders tense, like he’s trying to reboot his entire system.
Kenny hummed, clearly entertained. "Right," she said, already turning. "Have fun with that." Something about a date followed as she disappeared through the door, laughter lingering behind her. "Won, are you good?" you tilted your head. He nodded quickly, a tight-lipped smile pulling at his mouth.
"Yeah— I’ll meet you there," he said, voice just slightly off. You don’t question it. You should but you don’t. "Don’t take too long," you added lightly, offering a small wave as you stepped out. The second you left Jungwon had sighed, loud and harsh — almost frustrated. He checked the corridor, making sure you were gone, before heading straight for his room.
He locked the door and stripped himself of his clothes — which were uncomfortably sticking to him.
He had successfully hidden his raging boner from you b ut he couldn't find it in himself to enjoy it — he groaned as he looked down at the reddened angry tip of his length which was refusing to go down. He turned on the shower and stepped in. The water ran cold, biting against his skin as he stepped under it, bracing his hands against the glass. His head dropped forward.
"Fuck…" he muttered under his breath, voice low and strained. His lip caught in his teeth as his hand wrapped around the base of his cock, his mind wandered to your chest flush against his.
Everything about that moment replayed too vividly. He pumped his hand up and down, slowly — a groan caught in his throat. His eyes were knit shut, the image of your body on his urged him to fasten his hand. You looked so fucking pretty on top of him — his teeth bit down harder.
He turned so his head was now leaning back, pressing his weight against the glass. He released his lip as his hand sped up — small fast breaths echoing through the room.
One image in particular was stamped in his head, his hands gripping your thighs like they were his to claim. The way your skin felt on his, the warmth of your touch — your breath against his neck. His hips stuttered as the coil snapped, his jaw slacked with shaky breaths as his high took over, ropes of his cum leaking out onto his hand and stomach.
He breathed heavily trying to catch his breath, he felt guilt flood his mind. He had thoughts of you before — thoughts of how you'd sound, how you'd taste, but he had never let himself do this. That restraint he had before had snapped in one moment.
His breathed in harsh again, sharper this time, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. He stayed there longer than he needed to. By the time he walked back into the classroom, his hair was still damp, water clinging to the ends as it curled slightly at his neck.
You stood at your stand, writing in the notes you hadn't done earlier when Jungwon walked in. He kept his eyes anywhere but you at first.
"Hey," he said, stepping up beside you, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to look casual. "Hey," you replied lightly. "Good shower?" you asked with your eyes still on the pages in front of you.
He froze for half a second, too quick for you to notice. His eyes flicked to you — searching your face for something, any sign that you knew, "Er— yeah," he said, forcing a small, sheepish grin. "Woke me up."
You hummed in response, like that made sense. Still focused on your notes, Snape swept back into the room — robes trailing behind him. "Go get your cauldrons" he drawled as he wiped the chalk board.
Jungwon moved instantly like he needed something to do and grabbed the cauldron from the shelves — setting it down with a thud.
You removed the lid and sighed in relief at the pearlescent liquid staring back at you. The potion had settled perfectly. Pearlescent and smooth, it shimmered with soft spirals of steam curling into the air like something almost alive.
Jungwon leaned over the cauldron and took in the scent, his head tilted for a second, "Vanilla musk…" he murmured, almost to himself. He paused and breathed in deeper, "Star jasmine… and…" his voice softened, quieter now, "fresh parchment." he finished, it was almost enchanting, he found his eyes fluttering shut, to completely seal himself into the confinement of the aroma.
When he opened them again, they found you. Then the potion, then you again.
"That smells so, so good." he exhaled, tipping his head back slightly. He watched you for a second as you stood in front of him towards the cauldron, without thinking he stepped closer. Resting his chin lightly against your shoulder. Your hair brushed against his face, soft familiar.. and there it was again.
The same aroma from the cauldron hit his nose, subtle and alluring but unmistakable. His breath catching as he leaned just slightly further in, his nose brushing the side of your neck. You felt it more than you saw it, the slight pause in his breathing. The way he didn’t pull back straight away.
"That tickles— what are you doing?" you laughed turning toward him but before your brain could overanalyse it into oblivion, he had jerked back.
"Wha— nothing!" he said too quickly, scratching the back of his neck as he stepped away. His mind was racing, of course it smelled like you. Of course it did, and the potion didn’t lie. No matter how much he had tried to.
You shook your head in amusement as you leaned over the cauldron and let the aroma seep into your nostrils. "What can you smell?" he asked, you knit your eyebrows together.
"It smells like, autumn" you started slowly, "Fresh strawberries— and rain.." you trailed off. "Smells good," you added, almost absentmindedly. "That good?" he spoke as he potted the substance. Needing something to ground himself. You nodded with a hum.
Snape once again walked over each station and arrived at yours, he took one look at the potion and nodded once — then walked back to the board. You looked at each other at the same time and broke into quiet, stifled laughter.
And then you noticed Penelope, walking over, you sighed internally. She had a stack of papers in hand, posture perfect as though she rehearsed this in a mirror beforehand. "We’re having a party tonight," she announced, placing a flyer neatly in front of Jungwon like she’s presenting a case. "Room of Requirement, for whoever wins the game."
She doesn’t look at you and you don’t look up. Mutual understanding, or maybe sly hatred. You focus on the vial in your hands instead, like you cared deeply about whatever you were pretending to do. "You’ll come, right?" she added, her tone shifting — directed only at him. Shock.
Jungwon barely glanced at the paper before his eyes flicked to you. Your brows are pulled together slightly — not dramatically, just enough that someone paying attention (him, apparently) would catch it.
"Y/n are you coming?" he asked instead. That caught you off guard, you looked up to see Penelope smiling at you. "Everyone's invited." she added with that strained smile, "I’ll think about it," you said, returning your attention to the vial in your hands.
"We'll be there." Jungwon said easily, still scanning the paper. Penelope seemed satisfied with that so she turned and walked off and you looked at him immediately. "Who says I'll be there?" you challenged. "C’mon," he grins, completely unbothered. "I’ll drag you if I have to."
"Yeah?" you shot back, arching a brow. "Try it." He leaned in slightly, voice dropping just enough "Don’t start whining when I do." Your stomach did a small, very annoying flip. You scoffed, nudging him lightly. "I don’t whine." He hums like he knows better.
You both walked back to the dorms as you talked, conversation was light, easy as it drifted between the upcoming game and whatever else came to mind. Jungwon split off to his room to change, and you did the same — stepping into your dorm and closing the door behind you.
Your hands were slower than usual as you picked out something to wear — something casual, but fitted just right. Something that sat on you well. Your favourite jewellery settled against your skin and a quick swipe of lip-gloss, a glance in the mirror and then you were out again.
The living room was already alive when you stepped in. Voices overlapping, laughter spilling out between your friends as drinks were passed around and poorly mixed concoctions were tested. Your eyes found him instantly. Jungwon sat sprawled against the sofa, one arm thrown lazily over the back, a backwards cap resting low on his head. Grey hoodie, black pinstripe pants — effortless.
Dangerously so. He looked—
No. We're not doing that. You averted your thoughts and slipped in beside Kenny at the counter instead. Across the room, Jungwon’s voice faltered mid-sentence, Jake kept talking but Jungwon had stopped. His eyes found you the second you walked in and stayed and they moved slowly, taking you in like he was trying to memorize something he hadn’t noticed before.
Like you were different or maybe like he was. You tipped the drink back with Kenny and immediately scrunched your nose, pulling a face. "Fuck, that’s disgusting," you laughed, nudging the glass away. Kenny snorted beside you.
"Yo, Jungwon?" Jake’s voice cut in, barely holding back laughter. "Hm?" Jungwon responded, not looking away from you. "You’re staring." you turned. Their expressions shifted instantly too quickly to catch fully, but enough to notice something. You walked over anyway, slipping into the space beside Jungwon like it was second nature.
"What’s wrong with you?" you grinned, your leg brushing his as you sat. His breath hitched barely and the gloss on your lips caught the light. You leaned in without thinking nudging the glass near him. "Nothing," he said, a little too quick. "Thanks." He reached for your drink, taking a sip — his eyes still flickering back to you. You didn’t stay long and you stood again, moving back toward the kitchen to fix the drinks for the others.
"I'm doing it later." Jungwon’s voice was low, almost absentminded. Jake turned to him slowly. "…And just so we’re clear," he said carefully, "by it you mean—"
"I’ll tell her." he said quieter this time like he was certain. Jake blinked, he breathed out a laugh. "Wow," he muttered. "didn’t think I’d see the day." He then slumped back against the sofa with a breath of disbelief.
Jungwon didn’t respond, he was still watching you because lately it had become impossible not to. Every day, it got harder to ignore. Harder to pretend, harder to act like you didn’t pull him in without even trying.
Across the room, you laughed softly at something Ni-ki said — but your attention shifted when you caught Kenny’s eye. "Can you help me with something?" she asked already moving, you nodded following behind.
"I’ll be right back," you called over your shoulder. The door clicked shut behind you and Kenny turned immediately, leaning back against it — arms crossing as she stared at you. For a moment she just looked at you, perplexed. "Kenny?.." you said cautiously, a nervous smile tugging at your lips. "What the fuck is going on with Jungwon?" she asked, her voice sharper than intended. Your brows lifted, "Jungwon?"
"That man is staring at you like he’s never seen you before," she continued, watching you closely. You exhaled slow, because you knew. You’d noticed it too, you had felt it and avoided it. Hearing it out loud was too much and yet somehow relieving. "It’s nothing," you start.
"Y/n, he’s crazy about you, he—"
"What if you’re wrong, Kenn?" you cut in, quieter now. Your expression tightened but Kenny didn’t hesitate. "And if I’m right?" she asked. "Can you live with that?" The question landed heavy, like they had an ache behind them. You paced, hands restless at your sides because you saw it. The way he looked at you. The way everyone else looked at you both and the way your chest flood with something warm when he got too close and worse, it feels right. That’s the problem.
To answer her question, no. You couldn’t live with not knowing, with pretending. "Okay." Your voice was sudden and firm. Kenny blinked. "Okay?" she echoed. You nodded, the slight buzz running through your body did nothing but assure your current thought process.
"Yeah," you said, more certain now. "I’m going to test it." Kenny narrows her eyes. "How?" You shrug lightly. A small smirk pulling at your lips. "Observation," you say. "Field testing." She didn’t interrupt or move. "And by the end of tonight," you continued, "If I feel like he does — if there’s anything there…"
"I’ll confess." She stood still for a moment as though any sudden movement would change your mind then she broke. A grin spread across her face, wide and disbelieving. "Wow," she laughed. "Did not see that coming."
The conversation with Kenny had been playing on your mind as you walked towards the kitchen. No matter what, tonight would change everything.
You had a plan for the night, not a good one and it was not a foolproof one but it was something. How to figure out if your best friend of four years has feelings for you—101.
Eyes. Jungwon loves eye-contact he fiends for it. He held it longer than most people, like he was always searching for something just beneath the surface.
Body language. He was subtle with everyone else but not with you. He leaned in, closed space without asking, existed just a little closer than necessary like proximity was instinct when it came to you.
Touch. Initiating more contact, that was the biggest one. He'd nudge your shoulder, brush against your arm, pull you forward when you lagged too far behind.
Jungwon was always the one to initiate it, so tonight you’d flip it. You'd hold his gaze longer than usual. You don’t look away first. Close the distance before he can, be the one to reach for him.
It made your stomach twist just thinking about it, because this isn’t just observation anymore. It’s risk and if he pulls away, or if he hesitates. You’ll have your answer.
Your friends made it to the game a couple minutes early to get the best seats for the upcoming game, Slytherin V Gryffindor. You hang back just long enough to knock back a shot, purely medicinal.
Once you made it to the game there were a few empty seats besides your friends. He sent you a small wave, like he hasn’t been subconsciously tracking your existence since you walked in. You settled besides him — making a point to sit with your leg flush against his. He paused briefly and relaxed, this wasn't unusual. Not yet.
You then turned to him looking between his brown feline eyes. "Hi Won," you said. He looked between your own, his eyes widened for a flicker of a moment. "Hey Y/n," he returned with a mischievous smile, confusion twisting into his brows.
"What are you up to?" he said leaning in slightly. You leaned in even closer and tilted your head, just a little. Play dumb, "What do you mean?" you replied, eyes still trained on his.
"I- What?" he stammered. You only feigned ignorance, perplexing him further. Was it always this obvious?
Jungwon had been convincing himself he'd been thrown into an alternate dimension, the one he'd dreamt of once where you would flirt, shameless.
It was the kind of reality he’d never let himself linger on for long, too aware of how easily it could blur into something dangerous. Something that would make it impossible to go back to what you were.
So instead of questioning it, he leaned into it. A small grin graced his lips, your eyes dilated as they looked into his and you pulled back to sit back in your chair. He sat back with the sleeves of his hoodie rolled back — his forearms on show. He watched as you shook your head in amusement and disbelief, trying your best to focus on the game that was about to begin.
Shortly after, the balls were released into the air along with a whistle to signal the start of the game. As the players all flew around the pitch you couldn't help but notice Jungwon's gaze when he was convinced you weren't looking.
You turned to face him watching as his eyes flit over your face in response, "What are you looking at?" you asked holding his eyes with yours again. "You" he said simply, you rolled your eyes at his words, but despite that you felt it. That warmth spreading in your chest, traitorous and loud.
You look back at the blurs of red and green in the distance. Relishing in the warmth, instead of filing it away. You all talked about the game as the breeze picked up and your shoulders caved in, as if to shield yourself from the cold.
You then felt an arm snake around your shoulders, Jungwon pulled you into him and rubbed up and down your arm, you pressed further into his warmth. "Comfy?" he smiled looking down at you. You nodded looking up at him, "Me too." he said, with a sheepish grin — making a point to rub harder against your arm for a moment.
Your friends snickered at the two of you, but neither of you noticed — too caught up in the quiet little world you always seemed to fall into together. Conversation flowed easily, effortlessly, the kind you’d forget the details of later but remember the feeling of.
His chest vibrated under you as he spoke, sneaking glances at you. Every so often, his voice would dip, like he was saying something just for you — even when it wasn’t anything important at all.
It's not like you hadn't been in this position before, you had been enough times that this wasn't new. Only it was. Your heart beat faster now, harder against your chest. You were certain he could hear it.
You also knew, somewhere along the way, that this was another shift — another quiet turning point in something that had always felt steady. A new line drawn without either of you acknowledging it, one that would change the shape of everything after.
The game blurred by, you and Jungwon cheered and whined at each-others teams as each of them scored points. He would never admit it but he was secretly rooting for Slytherin to win. For… morale. Just so Ni-ki could come back flashing that boyish grin you all inevitably cooed over, that was the reason.
Not the way you leaned forward with every play, eyes lit with excitement or the way your hand tightened in his sleeve whenever the score shifted. Not the way your voice carried just a little louder when it was your house pulling ahead. Definitely not that.
The commentator was drowned out by Jake's own commentary, full body reactions, dramatic gasps, like he was personally responsible for the outcome. It’s funny, it is, but you’re only half there because Jungwon’s hand is still on you. "Oi, focus!" Jake’s voice cut through as he pointed wildly at the pitch, "Ni-ki’s about to lose his mind—" You laughed softly, but your attention didn’t fully leave Jungwon.
Not when his hand slid just a little further down your arm — not unfamiliar, just more intentional than before as though he was testing something too. The last few minutes of the game had you all perched at the edge of your seats — tension coiling tighter with every second, every pass, every near miss.
It peaked when Ni-ki suddenly dipped — sharp and brutal, a near 90-degree dive as his eyes locked onto a fleeting glint of gold. "OH—" Jake practically folding over the railing, "—HE’S GONE—WHERE IS HE—" Just as you all stood up to look over the banister. He shot back up, a grin splitting across his face, fist clenched tight around the Golden Snitch.
The stadium erupted as the Slytherin team crowded around the blonde seeker, Beomgyu pulled him onto his shoulders and they all chanted the house name. But somewhere in the chaos, Jungwon grabbed your hand, you hadn't even register when it happened.
One moment you were cheering, the next — his fingers were laced with yours, his other hand thrown into the air with the crowd. The cheers mellowed like it had been pushed underwater. Your eyes trained on the space connecting you both, like they might explain themselves. He looked over at you, noticing your silence following your gaze to your hand in his. Your eyes snapped up to his, he didn't let go, he didn't pull away. He only looked over your expression carefully.
"Hey." he spoke softly, quietly — just for you. "Hi." you returned, feeling that familiar flutter in your stomach, the one that the buzz of alcohol had barely dampened.
"Is this okay?" he asked squeezing your hand for a moment, your heart stuttered. "This is okay." you nodded. A smile stretched onto his face as his thumb circled your skin. Enough to quiet the doubt that had been clawing at you all day.
As the players all made their way back inside and the cheers had subsided you all hurried inside, to the warmth. "The party then?" Heeseung said making you groan. "You don't whine remember?" Jungwon said catching your wrist as you pulled away.
"Wasn't whining." you muttered, he rolled his eyes. "You're not actually gonna drag me?" you scoffed, your voice trailed off with a hint of doubt as you watched an evil grin mould onto his lips.
"You can make this easy and just come with me— us." he tilted his head with a hint of a pout on his lips. You stared at him for a second.. debated your life choices.
"Whatever." you rolled your eyes letting him drag you along to the Room Of Requirement because apparently your free will stopped working around him. The doors of the Room of Requirement opened to something entirely different this time vast and open, the ceilings stretching high above with dark stone beams crossing overhead. Fairy lights draped between them, casting a warm, golden glow that softened everything it touched.
Sofas were scattered across the room in uneven clusters, already claimed by groups of students, laughter spilling between them. In each corner, makeshift bars lined the corners, bottles everywhere, drinks being poured like consequences weren’t real.
"See?" he murmured, leaning slightly toward you, his voice low enough that it barely carried past your ear. "Not so bad." But he wasn’t looking at the room. He was looking at you.
The soft buzz that had been carrying you through the evening was starting to dull at the edges, thinning out into something far less convincing. You needed more than this half-hearted warmth for what you had planned. You grabbed a couple of bottles and some glasses from the bar, weaving your way back to the corner your friends had claimed earlier.
"I was about to come look for you," Kenny said the second she spotted you, her voice half-laughing, half-knowing. "Thought you’d already wandered off."
When you drank, you wandered. That was just a fact. Slipped away from conversations, from rooms, from people. Chasing distraction wherever it led, no real destination in mind. Your laugh came out as a exhale through your nose as you set everything down. "Not yet," you murmured, already reaching for a glass.
Everyone was sprawled out on a corner sofa, Jungwon sat at the edge with a twinge of amusement playing on his lips — he watched as you topped some unknown liquid off with some coke. You took a safety sip. Your sip turned into another as you deemed it drinkable. The room pulsed with low, bass-heavy music, something nostalgic bleeding through the speakers as your friends broke into loud, overlapping chatter about the game.
You looked up from your glass and caught his eye, and just like that — he tilted his head, a quiet invitation. Come here. You hate that it works. You moved without thinking, slipping into the space beside him at the edge of the couch. It was closer than usual.
His hand snaked around your back settling on your hip. "Got enough space?" he murmured, leaning in close enough that his voice brushed against your skin instead of reaching your ears. You blinked once. twice, suddenly your brain wasn’t keeping up with your body. "Yes— yeah I do" you said softer than you'd anticipated. Your voice had given you away. His eyes held yours for a second too long, lips curling up. "Good."
His gaze dipped, catching on the dark liquid in your glass. You followed it, then nudged it slightly toward him, tilting your head just a fraction. He took it, fingers brushing with yours, eyebrows furrowing for a moment as he sniffed experimentally. His eyes were on yours the whole time, he took a sip from where your lips touched the glass — expression morphing into subtle delight at the taste.
"Strong," he muttered, lips quirking slightly. You nodded like you hadn’t just noticed that and let your gaze drift across the room, swaying slightly to the music as the alcohol settled warm beneath your skin.
Jungwon didn't look away once, not when you turned, not when you laughed, not when you lost yourself in the rhythm. His eyes stayed on you like you were the only thing in the room worth watching.
It didn’t take long for the winning team to burst through the doors, loud and electric with energy. Ni-ki and Beomgyu led the way, the golden trophy gleaming under the soft glow of the fairy lights as cheers erupted around them. You smiled easily, stepping forward with the others.
"Your drop was insane, Riki," you added, nudging him lightly. He broke into that familiar boxy grin, pulling you into a quick side hug before being dragged into more congratulations. You poured another drink not long after, feeling the buzz deepen as the night went on. Enough to make the world feel lighter, hopefully enough to make you braver.
You got up at some point as someone asked the room to create a dance floor in the centre of it. The room shifted, glowing softly as it cleared, colours flickering across the floor like something alive. People flooded in almost instantly, laughter rising with the music. You were about to stay exactly where you were because, realistically, dancing in a crowd wasn’t usually your thing — but then you felt Jungwon stand beside you.
"You wanna dance don't you?" he grinned reading you. You turned to him, a small laugh slipping out. "I think I’m at that point." He reached for your hand and you let him. He guided you to the floor with a smile that was tugged between his teeth, one you couldn't see as you walked hand in hand. You also didn't notice the figure that stood somewhere along the side of the room with a glare directed at you.
Jungwon turned as he reached the dance floor and pulled you closer, you took his other hand in yours. Whatever this feeling was, you concluded you liked it and then the music switched and you gasped.
[ SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK > JOJI ]
"Fuck, I love this song." you smiled. Jungwon pulled you closer, hands now safely on your waist. "I know." he said, softer now. "Did you—" you started, but he cut you off with a playful roll of his eyes, spinning you once before pulling you right back in. A laugh slipped out of you anyway, bright and unfiltered, dying the second your body met his again. Your arms found their place around his neck without a second thought.
"Hi." he whispered. So close, close enough that you could feel his breath, see the way his eyes flickered not steady but blown out and uncertain in a way you’d never seen before. "Hi," you echoed, your fingers drifted to the hair at the nape of his neck as the lights shifted over his face in soft, changing colours.
"You've been different today" he started carefully. You tilted your head slightly, studying him. "Good or bad?" you asked. "So good" he said with no hesitation, "Yeah?" you murmured, a hint of a smile pulling at your lips.
"Yeah," he nodded, hands pressing lightly into your waist — like he needed to be sure you were still there. Jungwon’s thoughts tangled over themselves, something settling in his chest but not from the alcohol. It had him finally thinking, what if she feels what I feel?
"C'mon let's grab a drink." you said stepping back and taking his hand. He pouted just for a second, at the loss of your weight against him but it vanished the moment your fingers slipped into his. His grip tightened instinctively, like it settled something in him. You caught Kenny’s smile as you walked back, that knowing one she usually threw at you. This time, you didn’t brush it off. You smiled back.
You were halfway through your drink when you felt it, that familiar prickle of being watched. The universal experience of someone staring at you too hard, with one look around the group your eyes met Beomgyu's.
Too late to pretend you didn't notice. He tilted his head slightly, subtle, motioning toward the door. You hesitated for half a second, stomach dropping and then you nodded.
You turned to Jungwon, whose eyes were already on you, like he’d been waiting.
"I'll be right back." you said to him, squeezing his hand. A silent promise more than anything, he nodded once — squeezing back, thumb brushing lightly against your knuckles before letting go.
You got up and headed to the door, walking through and leaning against the wall as you and Beomgyu settled outside — the sound of music being drowned into silence as the door swung shut. You leaned against the wall as Beomgyu joined you, hands shoved into his pockets, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips.
"Hey," you said, tilting your head. "What’s up?" He exhaled through a small laugh. "I just—" he scratched the back of his neck, glancing at you, "I wanted to ask about you and Jungwon. Again." You huffed out a quiet breath, already knowing where this was going. "I noticed things felt… different," he added.
You looked down at your hands for a moment, fingers fidgeting slightly. "Yeah.. there has been a development" You glanced back up at him. "On my side, at least" Beomgyu didn’t even hesitate. "It’s reciprocated," he said with a small laugh, nodding like it was obvious. "Like— painfully obvious." You breathed in sharp at that.
Good to know you’ve been the only one missing that for four years. "But I just wanted to make sure," he added quickly. "I wasn’t lying before," you said, frowning slightly. "I just— didn’t realise," You started.
"No, no," he cut in, shaking his head with a small smile. "You’re good. We’re good." Relief flashed across your face "Okay, I'm glad."
"You should say something to him though." he added. "I will," you murmured, more to yourself than to him.
"Soo," he dragged out, nudging your shoulder lightly, "what are you waiting for?"
That question followed you all the way back inside. Through the noise, past the lights and the crowd that blurred around you as your eyes searched and found him.
Jungwon. Stood with Penelope, not too close. Nothing anyone else would question but close enough that it feels intentional. Close enough that you noticed. "You came," she said, soft, almost relieved like his presence meant something specific. Like he came for her. Your stomach turned and something bitter ran up your throat.
Your chest ached in this dull, persistent way like something was pressing there, not hard enough to break anything, just enough to be constantly noticeable. Which was worse, honestly. You could deal with sharp. You told yourself it was nothing. Jungwon’s expression was neutral — polite, attentive in that way he is with people he doesn’t want to be rude to. He’s listening, nodding slightly, but there’s no real weight behind it.
She says something else, quieter this time, leaning in just slightly like she doesn’t want anyone else to hear. He glances around for a second — quick, then back at her, responding with something short.
He’s not pulling away or shutting it down. He wasn’t doing anything that would let you go oh, I’m being dramatic. That’s what got you, not what he did, but what he didn’t do.
Your jaw tightened as you turned away, slipping back into your group like nothing had happened. As though you hadn’t just stood there analysing every second of that interaction like it meant something. You grabbed a drink, didn’t even register what it was — just needed something to do with your hands.
Don’t look, not at her handing him a drink. Not at him hesitating, then taking it anyway. You didn’t see him notice you were back or the way he excused himself with something vague, already moving before she could respond. "Hey," he said, quieter now, like the room had shrunk down to just the two of you. "Hi," There was a beat. A shift.
"I didn't see you come in," he started, sitting besides you. Wonder why. The thought came automatically, dry and sharp, but you didn’t let it show. Your eyes flicker to her, just for a moment. He followed your line of sight, not obviously. "Just got here a couple minutes ago." you said.
"Yeah, I—" he huffed a small breath, like he’d rather skip over whatever explanation he could give. "She just stopped me." You didn’t respond, didn’t ask. "She was asking about something for class," he added anyway, quieter this time.
Your fingers tightened slightly around your glass. "Right," you said, like it mattered. He paused watching you, "I wasn’t… staying." He said, softer. That made you glance at him properly. He looked like he wanted you to understand something he wasn’t fully saying. Your chest tumbled in that same dull, frustrating way and you looked away first.
"Okay," you said, a little too quick. He didn’t call it out, he just nodded once, like that was enough — for now. "I was looking for you, actually," he added after a second, almost like it was an afterthought.
"Yeah?" you said, trying to keep your tone even. "Yeah," he repeated, quieter. That was all it took, the quiet certainty in his voice, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing he’d meant to find — for that nagging ache in your chest to loosen, easing just enough to finally let you breathe.
"I was—" he started, then stopped, huffing a small breath. "Do you wanna—"
"The balcony?" you said at the same time. You both paused and then laughed, caving into each other a little. "Yeah," he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "The balcony."
He walked quieter than usual with that drink he had already taken a few sips from. Tonight, you were going to say it. Penelope doesn't matter, that didn't mean anything. You closed your eyes briefly, inhaling. Nerves crept in as you reached the balcony behind the tinted glass doors. He reached for your hand as you stood before the stone railing of the balcony. You had never felt so vulnerable, never entrusted something as fragile as your feelings to another person.
The cool air kissed your skin, a relief against the heat crawling up your neck and then you turned to him. Your fingers curled into his, his grip tightened almost instantly. "Y/n," Jungwon breathed, there was a flush across his cheeks, spilling down his neck. His hand held yours too tightly, almost desperate. "Yes?" you said, unaware you were holding your breath
"I don’t know how to say this…" he murmured, more to himself than to you, a quiet, almost shy smile tugging at his lips. "I think you know what I’m going to say," he added, letting out a small, breathy laugh. He took a sip of his drink and placed it down the stone railing. "I think I do too," you replied carefully, a smile breaking through despite yourself.
He mirrored your smile pulling you a little closer. For a second, everything aligned, like maybe all the overthinking, avoidance and quiet longing hadn’t been one-sided delusion. Then, something shifted. His eyes flickered. Not to you, but past you. Through the glass doors as though something had caught his attention. Your brows knit, your gaze followed his instinctively — but you didn’t understand what he was looking for.
You just knew you’d lost him for a second, his attention had slipped through your fingers. Your brows pulled together, your brain already scrambling to justify it. When he looked back at you, his expression had changed. Brighter, a full smile broke out, stretching across his face. Like whatever he’d been working up to wasn’t heavy anymore.
It was contagious, you couldn't help but smile at his smile, only yours came with a tilt to your brow. "Right— sorry, where was I?" he said, voice suddenly lighter, confidence replacing the earlier nerves like they’d never been there. "I think…" he started, taking a quick sip of his drink, like he needed it, like he couldn’t quite stay still, "I think I really like someone."
Your chest tightened but not in a bad way. Not yet, because obviously he meant you. You nodded, amused "Right, who is she?" you spoke, still smiling — even as something inside you began to sink.
"Ah, you know our potions class?" he said, almost fond. "Penelope." He looked over at the glass again, at her. You faltered for a moment, then you held your smile for a second longer, letting it settle into something softer, something that took effort to be there. Hope is so rude. It shows up uninvited and then ruins your life.
You didn’t shatter or explode or break in any loud, dramatic way. You just felt, disoriented — like missing a step in the dark. That sudden, disorienting lurch where your body forgets where it’s supposed to land.
"Oh." you exhaled letting your hand drop. Your heart ached in a way that felt… unauthorised, almost. As though it had no right reacting this strongly to something you were never promised in the first place.
He didn’t seem to notice. "Yeah," he continued, almost giddy now. "I noticed her a while ago… sometimes it feels like she just — lives in my head." Eyes soft and sparkly. How they would be for someone in love. That look, the one you thought meant something. The one you thought was yours.
You thought you were being smart. You had the upper hand because you weren’t saying anything but now you don’t even get to be angry. There’s no betrayal, he didn't lie or trick you. You had built something out of moments of eye contact and hope, which is actually humiliating when you put it like that.
And you smile, of course you do. You ask questions and play the part you’ve always played. The best friend, the one who listens because that’s what you are. That’s what you’ve always been.
Push it down before it has the chance to become visible, before it turns into something he might notice — because the last thing you want is for him to look at you and realize. That you’re not as unaffected as you’ve spent years pretending to be and somewhere between him talking about her eyes, her laugh, the way she made him feel — your mind drifted. Your gaze lifting past him, to the clouded night sky, stretched out above the castle.
"Y/n?" Jungwon laughed softly, the sound light and open. "Yes?" you breathed. Something in your chest had gone strangely still. "I think I love her" he said almost dazed. You felt sick, It wasn't even just jealousy. It was the realization, that whatever you were holding onto — hope maybe or just the possibility of more, it didn't exist how you wanted it to. The realization that you were never part of the equation.
"You should tell her." you said, in a voice you barely recognised as your own, stepping back towards the door. He didn't register anything you said, he just stared through that same glass and gawked. For a moment you stood still and forced your eyes to his profile, his parted curved lips, his glittering eyes.
Your heart ached at how easily he held that look for her. It was steady, unguarded. There was no hesitation, no flicker of self-consciousness, no quick glance around to see who might notice. It was simple. Just him and her. It was real, and it wasn’t you.
You turned on your heel and walked, because you were not about to let him see what that did to you. Not now, not ever. Past the dancing students and past your friends who weren't aware of anything that had happened.
Your stomach flipped in slow, nauseating waves and suddenly you were too aware of everything. Your voice. Your hands. How long you’d been avoiding eye contact with the world. You kept your expression neutral on autopilot, years of practice kicking in. Survival instinct, if you don’t react, it didn’t happen.
You wondered if you saw him clearly at all, or if you were just filling in the blanks with what you wanted to see. You found yourself in a barely lit abandoned classroom and sat down on the steps near the window. The window was cracked open, letting in cold air that didn’t help but felt deserved somehow. It probably hadn't been long, probably minutes, but it felt you had been there for hours.
At some point your hands had started shaking, small at first, then enough that you had to press them flat against your thighs to make it stop. Your jaw locked, teeth pressed together like you could grind the feeling out of your system if you tried hard enough.
You were angry, you didn’t do anger. You did quiet and distance You did the slow, controlled kind of detachment where things stopped mattering because you decided they didn’t but you were angry, because you had allowed this. You let yourself believe it meant more, more than friendship but this this was different. This was sharp, embarrassing because none of this was technically his fault.
You let the lines blur. You let yourself sit a little closer, stay a little longer, read into things you knew you shouldn’t. You let your friends talk, let Kenny look at you like she’d already written the ending, let Jake’s stupid comments sink in like they meant something, like it wasn't just in your head.
You sat with your shoulders slightly caved in, your leg bounced repeatedly. In the time you were sat dissociated you were stuck. Cutting your thoughts off as they crowded in, not letting them finish their sentence. Redirecting them to something, anything else but it kept coming back.
He didn’t hesitate. You tried focusing on anything else, the rough breaths you could barely manage. You swallowed hard, blinking rapidly when you felt pressure build behind your eyes. No, I'm not doing that. You ignored it, even when your vision blurred slightly — even when a tear slipped free anyway, trailing down before you could stop it.
You didn’t wipe it right away, you just let it happen like it didn’t belong to you. Eventually, you stood because sitting there felt worse and staying meant thinking and thinking meant feeling.
Jungwon felt as though someone had dimmed the lights in his head, except nothing felt wrong, in fact it all felt overwhelmingly right. At some point his thoughts had narrowed quietly, to her. Penelope. She became his centre without him allowing it. His body followed without his mind understanding or questioning the reality of why. Which is why he didn't notice your faux smile the way he would have, the way it held a second too long.
He would have once, you knew that. He would’ve tilted his head, narrowed his gaze just slightly, like he was trying to read something between the lines. He would’ve asked, "What’s wrong?" even when you insisted nothing was.
He sauntered into the room with the kind of confidence only deeply intoxicated people and stupidly pretty boys possessed. Music pulsed through the room walls, low enough to feel in your chest more than hear properly. Everything looked slightly blurred around the edges, Jungwon placed his half-empty cup down on the nearest table carelessly, some shimmering pearlescent liquid sloshing over the rim.
He then walked over to her with a set of nerves he had no memory of harbouring. She stood glancing over at him with a knowing smirk. The type of girl who looked like she collected secrets for entertainment. "There you are," she hummed and Jungwon smiled instantly, helplessly.
"Hey," Jungwon said, eyes wide in that soft, open way — the same ones she had wished, not long ago, had been on her instead. The one you’d spent weeks trying not to fall apart over.
"Hey handsome," Penelope replied smoothly, like she’d tested it beforehand. She set her drink down and passing him a refilled cup of the same pearlescent liquid, he took it without even looking.
It was around then that Jake and Heeseung had circled back after getting some air, expressions already exhausted from dealing with drunk idiots all night. Jake was mid-sentence when he noticed Jungwon, Heeseung followed his line of sight and both of them went quiet for a second. "Oh, for fuck’s sake," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Heyy Jungwon.." Heeseung started carefully, voice cautious in the way people spoke to someone standing too close to the edge of a cliff. His gaze flicked to the girl beside him — unfamiliar, unimpressed by the interruption.
"Hi guys." he grinned looking between them. The grin alone was enough to concern everybody involved. "This is Penelope!" he added, gesturing toward her as he shifted slightly closer, like it was obvious.
"Oh… hi?" Jake said slowly, exchanging another look with Heeseung.
"Uh—where’s Y/n?" For a fraction of a second, Jungwon went still — he inhaled, sharp as though he was discovering your existence for the first time and then it slipped away again. Gone so quickly Heeseung almost thought he imagined it.
"Oh, Y/n?" he said vaguely, already turning his attention back. The way he said your name made Jake’s eyebrows cock immediately, like he was recalling someone from a class roster.
"I don’t know, she left earlier." he mumbled unbothered before turning right back toward Penelope again, already distracted by whatever she whispered next. She giggled beside him and he looked at her like the sound made perfect sense. Jake physically recoiled, "What the fuck." Heeseung stepped in immediately, pulling Jungwon slightly aside. "Hey- what are you-"
"Did something happen?" Heeseung asked carefully, watching him with increasing concern. "Like before this. With Y/n or something?" Jungwon blinked at him, like the question was irrelevant. "Realised I'm in love with her" Jungwon said nodding, his eyes didn’t even leave Penelope. Heeseung shot him an appalled look, open mouthed and on the edge of annoyance.
"What?" he said flatly, disbelief breaking through. "In love with who?" Jake whisper-shouted, leaning in sharply. Jungwon barely reacted, his eyes held a softened mushy glint as he waved dozily at Penelope, who was giving his friends pointed looks. Jake immediately pushed Jungwon's head back down.
"Who the fuck is that?" he snapped, gesturing toward her. "Penelope," Jungwon repeated patiently like Jake was struggling academically (he was not). Jake snatched the cup out of his hand immediately.
"Alright. Enough, come with us." Heeseung said grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the exit, ignoring his whines and pleas. Penelope stepped forward quickly. "He wanted to stay—"
"Didn’t ask,” Jake snapped instantly." Jungwon continued whining the entire way out while Jake muttered increasingly aggressive threats under his breath, clutching the cup like evidence in a murder trial. Somewhere beneath all the haze clouding his mind, buried deep enough to almost disappear entirely, your name still sat quietly in Jungwon’s chest.
Jake also did the damage control, he spotted Kenny near the drinks table laughing at something Jay said, entirely unaware her night was about to get violently worse. "Kenny." Something in his tone made her smile drop immediately.
"We found Jungwon with some girl," Jake whispered quickly, glancing over his shoulder like he expected the walls themselves to start listening. "Talking about being in love and shit and Y/n is nowhere to be found." Her face shifted rapidly through about seven different emotions in under three seconds.
They both ran out the room, in opposite directions. Heeseung and Jake practically hauled Jungwon down the dungeon corridors toward the nearest empty potions classroom while he complained the entire way.
"Guys! Let me go-"
"Shut up." they snapped. The classroom door slammed shut behind them loudly enough to rattle the shelves, bottles clinking around the room. Jungwon stumbled slightly as they shoved him into a chair near one of the worktables.
Jake lifted the glass to his nose and inhaled, immediately pushing the glass away once the smell hit his nose. "It's Amortentia." he concluded, letting out a long suffering sigh before setting it back down. "Jungwon?" Heeseung crouched in front of him. "Can I see Penelope now?" Jungwon groaned dramatically, throwing his head back against the chair.
"If you tell us what happened with Y/n," he said steadily, holding his gaze, "then yes." he lied, Jake nodded supportively anyway.
He made a concentrated thinking face at the ceiling "I took her to the balcony, I think- I wanted to tell her.. about Penelope and I did and then I looked back and she was gone." he rambled.
Jake and Heeseung looked at each other with pained expressions. "Fuck." Jake breathed, because suddenly he could picture it too clearly — you standing alone on that balcony listening to Jungwon talk about loving another girl after everything, after the lingering touches, all those painfully soft moments neither of you knew what to do with, and worst of all. Jungwon probably sounded sincere when he said it.
You probably stood there hearing every word and believed him completely.
"Can I see-" "—No!" they shouted immediately.
You lent against the cold stone of one of the many balcony's around Hogwarts, the air was sharp and prickly — you could feel the goosebumps, it soothed you. "Y/n." Kenny’s voice cut through the silence gently, though there was an edge of exasperation underneath it. You don’t turn immediately, didn't trust your face yet, your eyes bored into the stillness of the night — across the Great Lake.
"Y/n." she repeated softer this time as she approached. A hand settled carefully against your shoulder, you turned around meeting her worried eyed with your tired ones. "It's just me," she spoke quieter, taking in the exhaustion behind your eyes. "Oh, sorry." you said, "No," Kenny sighed almost instantly, offering you a small smile. "Don’t apologise."
You didn't answer, the wind pushed through your hair softly as your eyes drifted back toward the lake. Kenny leaned against the railing beside you after a moment, careful not to crowd you too much.
"Where did you go?" she asked eventually. "A walk." you replied simply. Kenny hummed softly, "You always come back weirdly philosophical after walks." Her eyes moved over your face carefully, like she was trying to piece together what kind of damage had already been done.
"He told you about her, didn't he." you said as though you were talking about something casual. She paused, "Yeah. Well.. Jake did," Kenny replied gently, turning to you. You nod softly, attempting to look unbothered. "Don't do that," she murmured immediately, tilting her head. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," you say, too quickly. "He just likes someone." Kenny blinks "Wait," she frowned. "Like actually?" You shrugged lightly like the conversation bored you. "Yeah." like it’s nothing. "He told me earlier."
"And you’re just… fine with that?" You lets out a short breath that almost sounds like a laugh. "Why wouldn’t I be?" Kenny turned toward you fully now, leaning forward slightly against the railing. "Because, you like him." The thing everyone apparently knew except the one person you wanted to know it. You shake your head, eyes dropping back down.
"It doesn’t matter."
"It does matter."
"He doesn’t feel the same," you say, firmly this time. "So it doesn’t matter." There’s something in the way you say it, like you're trying to convince yourself more than anyone else. She watches, carefully "Who is it?" You hesitate, just barely "Penelope."
"Who?" She raises a brow "She's in our potions." You say calm straight to the point. "And you’re okay?"
"Yeah." You shrug small "I told him he should tell her." The words tasted awful coming back out but that’s what a friend says, that’s what you are. Kenny's expression shifts "You told him that?"
"Of course I did," you say, like it’s obvious "That’s what you’re supposed to say."
"Not if it hurts you." You finally looks up at that, and there’s a flicker of something raw before it dulls. "I’m not hurt," you say. It’s quiet and you almost believe it. Kenny doesn’t call you out on it right away, she just studies you for a moment, then asks softly.
"What did you expect him to say?"And that was the question you weren't ready for, because your brain instantly reminds you how sure you were.
Your throat tightens, and for a second you can’t answer. Can’t even form the words without everything else slipping out with them. "Nothing," you says eventually. "I didn’t expect anything." A lie.
"Right." Kenny frowns almost sadly. A silence forms between you. Uncomfortable and loud, you clear your throat. "It's not a big deal," you add, stepping back, already closing the conversation before it can open into something dangerous. "So let’s not… do this again." You both know it’s not okay but it’s enough, for now. So instead she nods, "Let's go inside, get you warm."
The night blurred by the time you made it back to your room. You moved through it on autopilot, same routine, same steps, as if nothing had shifted or as if something hadn’t.
It took significantly more effort than either Jake or Heeseung would ever admit out loud to get Jungwon back to his dorm. Mostly because he would not stop talking.
And by the time they finally shoved him through the dormitory door, all three of them had looked seconds away from collapse. Jungwon stumbled toward his bed dramatically while Jake slammed the door shut behind them.
"I hate this school," Jake muttered immediately, "You say that every week," Heeseung replied tiredly, preparing something in the bathroom, "Because every week this castle invents a new problem." Jungwon dropped face first onto the mattress with a groan. "Penelope would understand me." he said muffled, Jake actually lunged towards him, "Don’t make me hit you."
Heeseung returned a moment later from the bathroom holding a glass filled with something dark purple and deeply suspicious looking.
"Drink," He said, pressing a glass of something dark and purple into his hand, Jungwon looked up slowly. "What is that." he frowned.
"Drink the fucking potion before I throw you into the Black Lake myself." Jake huffed, Heeseung nodded once in agreement. "Honestly at this point I’d help him." Their expressions — tired, worn down, entirely over it, left little room for argument. He sighed and drank it.
"Goodnight," Jake said flatly, the effect was instant, his body went slack as he dropped back against the pillows, breath evening out into a heavy, unnatural sleep.
Both of them exhaled, Jake dragged a hand down his face while Heeseung pushed Jungwon’s legs properly onto the bed. "That should keep him out until morning," Heeseung muttered. "It’ll wear off by then." Jake only nodded, quieter than usual.
Something about the entire situation sat heavily in the room now that the chaos had died down. The silence after disaster always felt worse somehow.
Morning came too loud, too bright. Jungwon groaned, dragging a hand over his face, pressing the heel of his palm into his eye as a sharp, splitting ache pulsed at the back of his skull. His mouth tasted awful, he blinked once, twice. Then he froze.
He sat up abruptly, breath catching as the night came rushing back in fragments — words, expressions, the certainty he’d felt. It had felt real, so real.
The party, Penelope’s face.. the overwhelming certainty sitting inside his chest every time he looked at her, intense enough to make him dizzy even now in retrospect. He remembered saying he loved her. Remembered meaning it in the moment with horrifying sincerity. His stomach turned. Did I mean it? No. No, that’s not right. Why did I say that?
And then, you. The thought hit harder than the headache and a mix of emotions followed in — anger, sharp and immediate at the realization that someone had drugged him.
Embarrassment, heavier, settling in his chest as he replayed what he’d said. How he’d said it, but beneath all of that, one stray thought, quiet and devastating in its simplicity.
She told me to tell her.. She didn’t care. Jungwon stared blankly at the floor now, jaw tightening slowly as another ache spread through his chest entirely separate from the headache splitting his skull open.
She doesn’t feel the same.
V 𓄧 lore accurate jungwon and riki ^. once again im sorry for making this 2 parts pls i wasn't going to i had no choice don't hurt meimsorry. she's alr at least 70% done. DAS RED RED DAS RED U SHOULD COME MESS WITH THE TEAMM EEE.
Absolute peak everyone should read this and tell their friends or else 🥹
Such a story honestly I don't wanna spoil it for anyone but guys IT'S AMAZING
(every new person reading this is lucky bc me and the ogs had to wait a month...A SLOW LONG MONTH TOO but worth it no matter what. OR IM SLINGING MACE AT U ALL...platonically) 🌸
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
pairing: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader word count: 28k+ — series ★⋆ content: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearning, possessive!won. avoidant!reader. miscommunication. jungwon is lowk pathetic but..in a hot way. secret relationship. they're disgustingly cute. ⦸ kissing. tongue sucking. spit play. dry humping. switch!jungwon, switch!reader. dirty talk. big dick won. premature ejaculation. tit play. petnames(baby, princess, babygirl). fingerfucking. finger sucking. overstimulation. kinda condescending. oral (m+f). cum eating (f+m). face fucking? (m receiving). pussy drunk won. slight size kink. multiple rounds. light choking. bulge kink. loss of virginity (m+f). unprotected sex. creampie.
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 1
V𓄧 helloooo!! it's the end of an era. i hope the wait was worth it❤️🩹and thank you soo much to miss @kissued for proof-reading!! your input was truly so helpful babygirl!
You started your morning the same way you always did, routine first, thinking later. Preferably never if you could help it. Pull the robes on, adjust your hair multiple times and mess it up again because trying too hard felt embarrassing in your current state of mind. Pause in front of the mirror longer than usual and then immediately regret it, because there’s something behind your eyes you don’t want to unpack right now.
So you looked away before you could start spiralling into one of those cruel little internal monologues about how unnatural you looked, opting to grab your things and leave instead.
But there was this dull ache sitting in your chest, quiet but persistent, like it was waiting for you to acknowledge it — and you don’t because if you don’t name it, it doesn’t get to be real. That was the system, a deeply flawed system, apparently, because despite your best efforts the ache stayed exactly where it was, tucked somewhere beneath your ribs and growing increasingly difficult to pretend wasn’t there.
The air felt heavier, like the space isn’t as easy to exist in anymore. Even the idea of sitting with your friends this morning felt strangely exhausting, and you hated that more than anything. Hated that something so normal had become something you had to think about first.
The room was already loud with morning chatter when you stepped inside, sunlight pouring through the enchanted ceiling in pale gold streaks while students crowded around long tables — balancing unfinished homework and toast. Your friends were already there, they looked up almost immediately when you approached, conversations faltering just slightly as their attention shifted toward you.
There was tension sitting there beneath everything, thin enough that nobody else would notice it, but obvious to you in the way all uncomfortable things became obvious once you were already hurting. It settled awkwardly between all of you like a conversation waiting to happen and you suddenly understood, with painful clarity, how easy it would be for someone to ask the wrong question this morning and ruin you completely.
"Morning, Y/n," a few of them said, their eyes lingering just a second too long. "Morning," you replied evenly, your voice smooth enough to pass for normal. You reached for a piece of toast, eyes flicking briefly across the table before you turned slightly like you planned on leaving immediately.
Jake frowned first, "—You're not gonna sit?" he asked. Jake knows you, he knows your way of handling things that actually hurt is by avoiding it, but he didn't know how bad it was going to get. You paused for half a second before shrugging lightly.
"No, It's a nice day," Which was objectively true, also completely irrelevant. The silence after your answer stretched just long enough to feel deliberate. You turned and started toward the entrance hall again, already feeling the weight in your chest ease slightly at the thought of escaping.
Unfortunately, the universe had apparently decided suffering built character, you made it halfway across the entrance hall before you had to slow your pace hearing footsteps. "Hey—" Jungwon stood a few feet away, slightly out of breath like he’d hurried after you without fully meaning to. His blonde hair still looked messy from sleep, collar crooked in that careless way nobody else seemed capable of making look good, and his eyes, they were already fixed on you in that open way that always made your resolve feel embarrassingly fragile.
"Hi," you said, narrowly avoiding his eyes.
"You’re not eating with us?" he asked, and there was the faintest pout pulling at his lips out of habit, so natural he probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. You glanced away, settling on the floating candles somewhere behind him instead.
"No," you answered, forcing a small smile onto your face before pressing your lips together quickly like you regretted it immediately. "I’m going for a walk." A poor attempt really, Jungwon’s brows pulled together slightly, like he noticed you were already off, despite you barely exchanging a few sentences.
"I’ll see you guys later." You added quickly, pre-emptively, before he could ask to come.
"Oh," he said softly. "Okay… bye." the words trailing as you turned and you didn’t look back. Because one glance would’ve ruined whatever pathetic amount of self-control you still had left. You would’ve seen that familiar look before he caught himself too late, and suddenly all this distance you were trying so hard to create wouldn’t make sense anymore.
So you kept walking, even when every part of you wanted to stop. You wanted to turn around, grab his sleeve like you’ve done a hundred times before, mumble something sarcastic about fresh air and have him follow without question. You wanted him next to you, matching your pace, letting the silence speak for him like he always does.
You wanted things to feel normal again and maybe that was the problem, because you’d spent so long putting other people’s feelings before your own that hurting quietly had become second nature to you. You always swallowed your emotions down before they became inconvenient. Always convinced yourself you could handle it because seeing other people uncomfortable somehow felt worse than carrying the hurt yourself. That was still true, but right now it felt too big to push down.
Behind you, Jungwon stayed standing there for another second longer than necessary. He watched as you left, there was something in his chest, something off — he didn’t reach for it. Didn’t question it, just frowned faintly as he headed inside with his mind stuck on you. He greeted the others automatically, barely registering their responses and his attention kept drifting elsewhere despite himself, replaying your expression over and over trying to figure out why something about it unsettled him so much.
He dropped his gaze to the table. People filtered out slowly after breakfast, one by one, until it was just the three of them. Jake cleared his throat loudly, "So.." Heeseung started, already watching the blonde. "Did you tell her?" Jake cut in, blunt and straight to the point.
"Dude—" Heeseung shot a look at the younger, who only shrugged. Jungwon didn’t react right away, his finger traced the rim of his glass, slowly, distracted. "No," he said finally. "I didn’t."
"Why?" they asked in unison, he exhaled, shoulders tensing slightly.
"She didn’t care," he said, eyes fixed downward on the glass. Jake leans back in his chair, staring at Jungwon like he’s just said something objectively stupid.
"You cannot actually be this stupid," he muttered, Jungwon frowned slightly.
"She told me to tell her," he says, quieter now. "You don’t tell someone to confess to someone else if you—"
"If you what?" Jake cuts in. "If you like them? Yeah, you do. All the time. It’s called being a masochist."
"That’s not—" Jungwon stops, frustrated, dragging his hand down his face. "You didn’t see her," he muttered. "She was fine." The boys looked to each-other and then back at him.
"Jungwon she clearly-" Heeseung started.
"No." The word came quick, defensive in a way he doesn’t usually get. He shook his head, sitting up slightly. "No I need to stop doing this" he let out a breath, sharper this time.
"Doing what?"
"Convincing myself that she'd feel the same." The honesty in his voice made the table fall silent, immediately he let out another sharp breath before leaning back again — exhausted already by thoughts he clearly hadn’t wanted to say out loud.
Jungwon had considered it, yes, maybe you were a little bit of a masochist and he'd seen you downplay your feelings enough times. But how the fuck could he know what's real or not anymore. For years he’d survived almost entirely on implication and hope. Now he had a choice, he could keep doing this to himself, keep taking every small thing you did and stretching meaning into it until it hurt, or he could finally accept that maybe he’d just wanted you too much to think clearly. He could finally start reading between the lines but even then, some pathetic part of him had still tried replaying your expression over and over searching for something hidden underneath it. Regret. Jealousy. Anything. Because wanting you had long since stopped feeling rational.
"I’m not bringing it up again." he said firmly. Then Heeseung glanced toward Jake briefly before speaking carefully. "Jungwon.. she doesn't even know you were under Amortentia," Heeseung said carefully.
"I know." He said quieter now, tired. "Please don’t tell her." That made them both pause because now it’s not just pride, it’s fear and if you find out, everything changes.
Heeseung studied him for a moment, something conflicted in his expression. "…We won’t," he said finally. "But only because she should hear it from you." Jake nodded once in agreement. Jungwon didn't respond, he just stared at the table, like if he stayed still enough, he wouldn’t have to choose between fixing it or losing you completely.
That first day, you avoided people, not in a dramatic way and definitely not enough for anyone to call attention to it. You still showed up where you were supposed to, still answered questions when professors called on you, still sat beside your friends during class when there weren’t enough excuses left to disappear entirely.
After breakfast, you walked instead of going straight to class. You took the longer routes through the castle automatically, choosing quieter corridors and empty staircases, slipping around crowds before they formed properly. Every decision became calculated in this quiet subconscious way you hated noticing. You’d pause briefly at intersections listening for familiar voices before turning elsewhere. Not because you were hiding, at least that’s what you kept telling yourself. You just didn’t trust your ability to look at him normally right now.
Everything continued moving with the same rhythm it always had, and there was something strangely isolating about that. The world should’ve at least paused for a second out of respect for your emotional humiliation because fuck, everything is so loud.
You ended up in the library for a while, tucked into a corner table no one really used. A book open in front of you, something dense and complicated enough that it required just enough concentration to occupy your hands if not your thoughts. Your eyes moved over the words, sure, but you absorbed absolutely none of it. Your mind kept drifting, kept replaying that moment over and over like your brain was trying to fact check it.
"I think I love her." The memory hit differently every time it replayed, sometimes sharp enough to feel like a stab, other times quieter, almost numb, like your brain was trying to dull the edges for self-preservation. You blinked, forcing your attention back to the page. Right, don't think just read, you lasted maybe twenty minutes before closing the book.
You skipped lunch, not intentionally. It just, happened — you told yourself you weren’t hungry, which was half true, the other half was that you didn’t feel like sitting across from him and pretending you hadn’t heard what you heard. You kept picturing him smiling, talking about her and every single time it felt like something folding painfully inward inside your chest. Pathetic.
You’d spent years carefully avoiding this exact situation. Years making sure your feelings for him stayed manageable enough to survive if things ever went wrong. You never pushed too hard, never let yourself fully believe anything between you meant more than friendship because you knew how dangerous hope became once it rooted itself properly. So why did this hurt like you hadn’t been?
By late afternoon, you found yourself back in the Room of Requirement almost without realizing you’d gone there. The door appeared quietly against the stone wall after your third pass, opening into something emptier than before, something quieter. A curved window stretched across one side of the room overlooking distant hills washed gold beneath the late afternoon sun. There was a wooden desk nearby, shelves lined with books you wouldn’t read and a sofa tucked into the corner beneath dim lantern light.
The room felt less like comfort today and more like permission to exist somewhere without being perceived for a while. You sat by the window eventually, knees pulled slightly toward your chest as your gaze drifted absently across the landscape outside. You tried thinking about it logically instead because logic had always been easier than emotions. People fall for other people literally every day, entire populations survive this experience regularly. He likes someone else, it's fine, that’s normal and you’ll get over it… Who were you fooling.
That persistent ache that had sat there all day had only grown heavier, spreading slowly through you in ways that made concentrating impossible. You pressed your lips together tightly before dragging a hand over your face with a quiet exhale. This is so fucking stupid.
You’re not the kind of person who spirals over things like this. You didn't build entire fantasies in your head just to mourn them afterwards. You kept yourself guarded specifically to avoid ending up here — sitting alone in a magical room feeling devastated over something that technically was never yours to lose in the first place. You’d imagined it all. Had to have because otherwise none of this made sense. You let out a breath and stood, not giving yourself more time to sit in it.
The Great Hall was loud, plates clinking, chatter. Someone a few seats down was laughing entirely too hard at something that objectively could not have been that funny. Everything felt alive in that messy, ordinary way Hogwarts always did at the end of the day. You hated how disconnected from it you felt. You slipped into the empty seat beside Jake, movements automatic, almost rehearsed at this point. He glanced at you the second you sat down, concern flickering across his face before he tried covering it with something lighter. "Hey," he said, nudging your shoulder gently with his own.
"Hi," You gave him a small smile in return, quick enough to miss if someone wasn’t paying attention.
"You okay?" he asked, head tilting like he was about to run diagnostics on you.
"Mm." you nodded, your attention shifted elsewhere, fingers wrapping around your glass of water mostly just to avoid looking directly at him. You could feel the weight of observation today, everyone glancing too carefully around you like they were trying not to step on something fragile.
You lifted the glass to your lips slowly, eyes drifting absently across the room over the rim until they caught on Jungwon almost by accident. He was already looking at you, not subtly either, there was something behind his eyes that looked like it ached. You didn’t acknowledge it and just started eating. Around you, conversation moved naturally enough, your gaze eventually wandering again until it landed somewhere across the hall.
Penelope, she was watching Jungwon. Not the way people usually watched attractive boys from across rooms at parties or meals or gatherings, there was hesitation in it, like she was actively debating whether to walk over to him right now, whether to cross that space between them. You could see it, that slight shift forward, that pause. Your chest lurched uncomfortably, so you stood a few seconds later and muttered your goodbyes, barely waiting for a response as you walked.
"I’m gonna go," you muttered quickly, barely hearing Jake call after you as you turned away from the table, because suddenly you could picture it too clearly. Her walking over, him smiling with that same smile you thought was yours. You left faster than you meant to, like if you don’t, something would catch up to you, a voice, a hand on your wrist — your own stupid instinct to stay.
The corridors blurred slightly as you walked, your pace quick and uneven while the noise of the Great Hall faded further behind you. Cold air drifted through open archways as the evening settled outside the castle windows, painting the stone floors in dim blue grey light.
You found yourself at that same abandoned classroom and sat on the stone steps despite the cold, exhaling slowly. There’s something in your heart that just won’t settle, worse now — like it’s pressing against you it, asking to be acknowledged. Footsteps echoed softly behind you not long after and you had to physically suppress a sigh.
"Hey, Y/n." Beomgyu said gently. You glanced toward him briefly as he approached before sitting beside you carefully, leaving enough space between you that it didn’t feel suffocating.
"Hi," you replied quietly. He paused, studying your face, "Are you alright," The question came carefully, like he already knew the answer and was asking anyway just in case you wanted to be honest.
"I’m fine," you said, too quickly but he didn’t call you out on it. Instead he leaned back slightly against the wall beside you and nodded once.
"We don’t have to talk about it," he said instead. It made something loosen, just slightly because he didn’t push or probe, where they immediately started trying to solve it or force it open like your feelings were some sort of problem needing repair.
You breathed in slowly, though the inhale caught unevenly halfway through. Was it really that obvious?
Silence settled between you not an awkward silence, just the kind that didn’t ask anything from you but unfortunately, quiet left too much room to think.
The way Jungwon looked at her, not the way he looked at you when he was teasing you softly or trying to figure out what you were thinking without asking outright. This had been different, it was certain as though he knew without hesitation that it was her.
With you, there was always something just under the surface. Something unsaid, but there. You felt it. You know you did, you didn’t imagine that. Right? Your fingers curl slightly into your sleeves. You could handle jealousy, honestly, you could — it was ugly and humiliating, but manageable. It was the other part, the part where something in you rearranges itself around the idea that maybe you misunderstood everything.
Jungwon, on the other hand, was losing his mind. He didn’t know what to do. All day, you’d been just out of reach, not gone but not there either and it didn’t make sense. In four years, you had barely left each other’s sides. It had never been something either of you questioned, it was just how things were, until now. Now every hallway felt too empty whenever you weren’t in it and the more distance you put between yourself and him, the more aware he became of how much space you actually occupied in his life.
By evening, the restlessness inside him had sharpened into something unbearable. He needed to talk to you, he needed to explain — even if he didn’t fully know how. Because somewhere between the potion wearing off and watching you avoid him all day, Jungwon had started realizing something terrifyingly simple. Losing you felt worse than embarrassing himself ever could. But even if he walked into it telling himself he wouldn’t say it, he knew it wouldn't last, because the truth was if you looked at him the way you always did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. So when he saw you again later that evening, he stopped walking immediately.
You were sitting with Beomgyu. Not close, not leaning in, you weren’t laughing or touching his arm or doing anything that would make people question it. There was space between you, intentional — noticeable if you knew what to look for. It was wasn't anything anyone else would look twice at but to him, it was loud, because you didn’t let people sit like that with you. Not in that quiet, unguarded way. Beomgyu wasn’t filling the silence nervously or trying to pull reactions out of you. He was just sitting there beside you while you stared ahead quietly and you were letting him.
That kind of stillness, that kind of ease was something you reserved. Something he thought, stupidly, had always been his. He stood there in the hall for way longer than he should have, watching something small and quiet and completely non-dramatic feel like it was tearing something open inside him and the realization settled in. You weren’t just pulling away. You were letting someone else in.
It didn’t fix itself the next day, or the day after that. If anything, it settled — into something quieter, more permanent. It sat behind every conversation, every glance across the room, every moment your brain instinctively searched for him before remembering why it shouldn’t.
You kept moving through your days exactly the way you always had because if you stopped long enough to properly examine what was happening to you, you might actually have to admit how badly this affected you, and frankly you refused to become the kind of person who unravelled over a boy. Especially not in a castle full of emotionally observant adults with absolutely nothing better to do than romanticize other people’s suffering.
You arrive just late enough that there’s no space beside him anymore, slipping into whatever seat is open without comment. If there is space, you take it — never close enough for your shoulders to brush, never the easy proximity you used to fall into without thinking and the second conversations started thinning out, the second things became quieter and more intimate and dangerous, you left first.
"Anyway, I’ve got something to do," becomes your exit line, like it means nothing, like he means nothing. Which is almost funny, because you’ve built your entire day around not being alone with him.
Kenny doesn’t bring it up right away. She had this deeply concerning habit of collecting emotional evidence silently before confronting people with it like some sort of terrifyingly perceptive prosecutor. You almost made it through dinner, and then.. "Hey," she says, stepping into your path just enough that you have to stop.
"Walk with me." It’s not really a question. You hesitate, just for a second like maybe if you wait long enough, this won’t happen. "..Okay."
She walks beside you in silence for a while, matching your pace easily, hands tucked into the sleeves of her jumper. It’s usually comfortable, the kind of quiet you don’t have to work for but today, it feels almost watched. "You’re doing that thing again," she says finally, you don’t look at her. "What thing?"
"The pretending nothing’s wrong thing." You let out a small breath, almost amused.
"I’m not pretending." Kenny hums, unconvinced. "Right." A few steps pass.
"You know you’re allowed to be upset," she adds, softer this time.
"I’m not upset," you say, automatically.
"You are," she replies just as quickly. "You’re just… being weird about it." That makes you glance at her, a slight frown pulling at your brows.
"I’m not being weird."
"You left breakfast, lunch, and dinner early yesterday," she lists. "You’ve been dodging eye contact like it’s going to kill you, and you literally turned around and walked the other way when Jungwon came down the corridor earlier."
"…I had somewhere to be." Even you don’t believe that, Kenny stops walking and you take two more steps before realizing and turning back, sighing slightly. "What?" She just looks at you.
"We established you like him," she says plainly. It twists your stomach more than it should and you look away almost immediately, shaking your head.
"It doesn’t matter."
"That’s not what I said."
"It’s the same thing,” you mutter.
"No, it’s not," she pushes. "You can like someone and still admit it sucks when they like someone else." You cross your arms loosely, more to have something to do than anything else.
"He doesn’t like someone else," you say, quieter now. "He’s in love with her." you add, like it costs you nothing.
"Did he actually say that?" You don’t answer, because yeah he did and worse — you heard it, and saw it.
"I just don’t get it," she says after a moment. "Everything was fine. You two were—" she gestures vaguely between you, searching for words that apparently didn’t exist. "Whatever that is."
"Friends," you say quickly, Kenny gives you a look so unimpressed it almost made you laugh. "Friends don’t look at each other like that." A humourless breath escaped you. "Apparently they do."
She nudges your shoulder lightly. "You’re allowed to be a little dramatic about this, you know."
"I don’t think I’d survive being dramatic right now."
"Fair." She pauses, "But you also don’t get to pretend it didn’t hurt,"
"I’m not pretending," you say. "I just— don’t want to make it a bigger thing than it already is."
Kenny tilts her head. "It already is a big thing, you just won’t look at it." You swallow and look away, at the brick, the portraits, anything else, she watches you for a moment longer, then sighs quietly.
"Just… don’t shut him out completely," she says. "Whatever happened, he’s still him."
That almost makes you laugh because that’s the problem, he's still the person you default to. Still the one your brain looks for in every room before you can stop it. "Yeah," you say finally, voice quieter than before.
Your eyes dropped briefly to the floor, "That’s exactly why I have to."
Jungwon saw it, obviously, not immediately or all at once, but in fragments. The way your replies have gotten shorter. The way you don’t reach for him anymore, not even absentmindedly, the way your attention no longer defaults to him.
You used to reach for him constantly without thinking about it. Tugging lightly on his sleeve when you wanted his attention while pretending you didn’t care whether he looked at you or not. Brushing past him in crowded corridors without hesitation. Shoulders knocking together casually like his space belonged to you as much as your own did. Leaning closer during conversations until your knee pressed against his under tables.
Now every movement around him feels considered first and somehow that hurts more than if you’d just started avoiding him outright. Because he catches the almosts. The split second moments where your body moves automatically before your brain catches up. When your hand lifts slightly toward his sleeve before stopping midway and dropping back to your side instead or when you start stepping closer to him while talking before correcting yourself subtly, shifting your weight away at the last second like you suddenly remembered something important.
You’re aware of your closeness to him in a way you never used to be before, and maybe worse than the distance itself is the fact that he can tell you’re thinking about it too.
Not to mention the silence. God, the silence. It used to be his favourite thing — sitting beside you without needing to speak, knowing you were there, that it was enough. But now if silence did settle between you both for too long, you leave before it can fully form, like being alone with him in stillness has become dangerous somehow. Maybe it has, he doesn’t know anymore.
By the third day, it’s unbearable. In a constant, gnawing that doesn’t let him focus on anything else. He catches himself looking for you automatically before remembering you’ve started making sure he can’t reach you properly anymore.
He tells himself to leave it. That if you wanted to talk, you would’ve and that maybe you just need space, and pushing you will only make it worse. He repeats it enough times it should start sounding logical, but not enough to settle the panic growing in his chest every time you avoid looking at him directly.
After class that afternoon, the group settled into one of the common areas near the courtyard, conversations messy in the familiar way they always become when everyone’s exhausted and avoiding assignments together. You’re already there by the time Jungwon arrives, tucked casually into a seat beside Kenny while Jake and Ni-ki argue loudly about some Quidditch match like they’re discussing a professional league.
You tilt your head like you’re listening, drop in a quiet, "That’s not even how that works," and it lands, Jake laughs, Ni-ki protests, it’s easy. You smile, and it looks real enough that no one calls it out. Which is almost funny, because you’re not here at all.
You’re hovering somewhere just outside yourself, aware of everything except what’s being said, because what you are aware of is him. The way Jungwon hasn’t stopped looking at you, not in passing but staring, like he’s trying to figure you out all over again.
He leans forward slightly every time you speak, like your voice still pulls him in automatically, like he’s waiting for something more, something you’re not giving him anymore. You pick at the edge of your sleeve, thumb rubbing over the fabric again and again, grounding yourself in something small, repetitive. "…Y/n?" Kenny nudges you lightly.
You blink, "Hm?"
"We’re talking about whether Ni-ki would survive playing against professionals," she says slowly, like she’s checking if you’re actually present.
"Oh," you nod, forcing yourself to engage. "No, he’d get destroyed."
"Oi—" Ni-ki starts immediately, he starts complaining while the group laughs around him, and you huff out a quiet laugh too, automatic and just believable enough to blend in with everyone else.
Across from you, Jungwon’s jaw tightens just slightly, subtle enough that no one else would clock it, but you know him, and even without looking properly you can feel it.
From where he’s sitting, it doesn’t look like you’re hurt, it looks like you don’t care. Like whatever you heard, whatever you think you know about him and Penelope, it didn’t matter enough to actually affect you and that stings more than he expected, because if you cared even a little, wouldn’t you react differently?
Instead you just left, over and over again — as if he’s easy to walk away from. Before he fully decides to, he leans forward again, elbows resting against his knees as his eyes settle directly on you, fixed on you in a way that makes it impossible to ignore. "Y/n."
You hate that you look up before you can stop yourself and the second your eyes meet his, it hits harder than you expect because he doesn’t look indifferent, he looks frustrated and confused, a little hurt and underneath it holds that same softness that’s always been there when he looks at you. "Yeah?" you say.
Jungwon holds your gaze for a second longer than necessary before speaking again. "…Can I talk to you for a second?" The question sounds casual on the surface, but there’s too much weight underneath it to mistake this for something meaningless. Your stomach drops anyway, because this is it, this is the conversation you’ve been dodging, the one where he says something you don’t want to hear. Where maybe he says her name again and you have to stand there and take it like it doesn’t ruin you a little.
You feel Kenny shift beside you, feel the way the table quiets just slightly. Jake stops moving entirely, Heeseung leans back slightly with the exhausted expression of someone realizing a disaster he predicted has finally arrived. And Ni-ki? That guys lost. Not a clue in the world.
"About?" you ask instead. It throws him and you saw it, the way he blinks for half a second because you’ve never made him work this hard just to talk to you.
"Just.. to talk," he says quieter this time, and something about the sincerity in his voice almost weakens your resolve completely. You tilt your head slightly like you’re considering it carefully, forcing your expression into something neutral enough to survive this. Like this isn't killing you.
"Yeah, later," you say, a soft no dressed up as a maybe. Then before he can respond, before you can lose your nerve and agree just because he’s looking at you like that, you stand and grab your things. "Anyway, I’ve got something to do." There it is again. Jungwon’s jaw tightens visibly this time as he watches you move away from the table.
You don’t look at him, not once. "See you guys." And then you’re gone, disappearing down the corridor before anyone can stop you, leaving Jungwon sitting there with the same awful question looping endlessly through his head for the third day straight. Why does it feel like you don’t care at all?
The silence you leave behind is deafening. The kind that settles over a group slowly enough for everyone to notice at different times, conversations dying unevenly until all that’s left is the sound of chairs shifting and someone tapping their fingers awkwardly against the table. For a second, nobody says anything, Ni-ki’s the first one to break, his eyes flick between the corridor and Jungwon before his brows pull together slightly. "Did you piss her off or something?"
Kenny's staring straight at Jungwon now, eyes sharp, assessing, because she’s been watching this build for days. She’s been filling in the blanks with the only version she has, that he told you he’s in love with someone else, and that's only explanation she’s been working with this entire time.
Heeseung stays quiet beside him, arms folded loosely across his chest, but his attention is fixed on Jungwon in a way that feels far too deliberate to be casual, Jake notices it too immediately. The two of them exchange a look that lasts barely half a second, but it’s enough and now they’re watching the consequences unfold in real time, knowing exactly where it went wrong.
And Jungwon doesn’t answer straight away. He’s still looking at the door, like if he stares long enough you might walk back through it and undo the last thirty seconds. Something restless and frustrated bubbled under his skin, because nothing about this is lining up the way it should.
"…I didn’t do anything," he mutters finally, but it’s hollow, even to his own ears.
Jake lets out a short breath through his nose. "Yeah, that’s kind of the problem."
Kenny’s head snaps toward him. "What does that mean?"
Heeseung glances at Jake once, a silent warning, but Jake doesn’t look away from Jungwon. He hesitates, just for a second, then leans back — rubbing the back of his neck. "It means doing nothing is also doing something."
Jungwon drags a hand down his face, frustration starting to bleed through properly now because everyone in this room keeps acting like he missed something obvious, like there’s a conversation happening around him that he somehow wasn’t invited to.
"That makes literally zero sense," Ni-ki cuts in, frowning. "Can someone speak in normal sentences?"
Kenny ignores him, eyes still locked on Jungwon. "You told her something," she says flatly. Jungwon finally looks at her, something defensive flickering in his expression. "I didn’t—"
"She told me you said you’re in love with Penelope" she cuts in immediately, Ni-ki’s brows shoot up. "Wait— what?"
"Then why would she think that?" Kenny presses without backing down. There’s something protective underneath her voice now, something simmering with irritation on your behalf. "She wouldn't just make that up."
Jake exhales slowly, glancing at Heeseung again. This is the point where either they explain or this keeps spiralling until everyone ends up miserable, Heeseung tilts his head once in silent agreement. Jake looks back at Kenny, voice dropping just enough to shift the tone. "Because what she heard wasn’t real." Kenny frowns immediately, "What does that mean?"
Jake hesitates for half a second longer before finally saying it. "Penelope slipped him Amortentia at the party." They sit there, hanging, like the room needs a second to catch up.
Ni-ki blinks, "She what?"
Kenny doesn’t react immediately — her expression goes completely still, like her brain is rejecting the information before it can fully settle. "That’s not funny."
"It’s not a joke," Heeseung says quietly.
Kenny’s gaze shifts back to Jungwon, slower now, recalculating everything she thought she knew. "So when you said—”
"I wasn’t in my right mind," Jungwon cuts in, sharper than he means to. His hands drag through his hair again, restless. "I didn’t even know what I was saying."
Ni-ki lets out a disbelieving noise, "That’s actually insane."
Jake huffs, "Yeah, tell me about it."
Kenny’s still looking at Jungwon, but now there’s something else in it, not just suspicion, something closer to realization. "She doesn’t know that, does she?"
Jungwon doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. She exhales softly, something almost sympathetic flickering through her expression now. "She thinks it was real," Kenny says, quieter now. "She thinks you meant it."
Jungwon’s jaw tightens again, because yeah. Jake leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "And from her side? You said it, clear as day and you couldn't correct it after. And you didn't explain, so what was she supposed to think?"
Jungwon’s frustration spikes. "I tried to talk to her."
"No," Heeseung says calmly, "you waited for her to come to you." That shuts him up.
Jungwon goes quiet, leaning back, staring at the ceiling like it might give him a better answer than anyone in this room. His chest feels tight in a way he doesn’t like, because now it’s not just confusion, it’s clarity.
You heard him say he loved someone else and instead of fighting him on it, instead of demanding answers or getting angry or making him explain himself, you just quietly stepped away from him piece by piece. Like he wasn't worth the argument.
"Why didn’t she say anything?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "If it mattered, why didn’t she just—"
"Because that’s not how she works," Kenny cuts in, softer now but firm. "She doesn’t fight for people she thinks she’s already lost."
He drags a hand over his face, slower this time. "If it actually mattered," he mutters, voice quieter now, "she would’ve said something. She would’ve— I don’t know been upset, or angry. Anything."
Jake’s head tilts slightly, watching him carefully. Heeseung’s expression shifts too, something almost pitying flashing across his face for a second, because that’s where Jungwon’s wrong. "She doesn’t care," Jungwon adds, more to himself than anyone else, like he’s trying to settle on it, trying to make it make sense. Kenny’s brows pull together immediately. "You actually think that?"
Jake looked like he wanted to say something else, probably something annoyingly insightful that Jungwon absolutely did not have the emotional capacity for right now, but Jungwon was already pushing himself up from the sofa before anyone could stop him.
"Where are you going?" Jake asked immediately.
Jungwon hesitated near the doorway for the briefest second. "I don’t know."
But apparently his body did because less than twenty minutes later, Jungwon caught sight of you just outside the courtyard near the covered archways leading toward the Astronomy Tower, where the stone path narrowed enough that avoiding him would take effort obvious enough to feel cruel. It isn’t planned, not really.. at least that’s what he tells himself.
"Y/n." You stop immediately because pretending not to hear him now would say too much. The corridor is quieter here, evening light filtering weakly through the tall windows and stretching long shadows across the stone floor. Somewhere further outside, rain taps softly against the courtyard fountains.
"Yeah?" you ask, and the casualness of it irritates him instantly because he knows you too well to believe it’s genuine.
"I—" he starts, then falters, something unfamiliar catching in his chest. "Can we just talk?" Your expression doesn’t change but there’s something in your eyes, something distant. Your eyes flicker over him, then settle somewhere just past his shoulder. "About what?" you ask.
That question should not be difficult to answer, instead it completely derails him. Because there’s too many versions of this conversation rotting in his head at once, and none of them feel safe enough to say aloud. The truth feels messy and unfinished and dangerously fragile, like if he explains it wrong he’ll lose whatever still exists between you permanently.
Just… us," he settles on. Your gaze flickers at that, just slightly,
"There’s nothing to talk about," you say and you mean it, or at least, you’re trying to.
"Yes, there is," he insists, taking a step closer. "You’ve been weird with me this whole week."
"I've been acting weird?" The response comes sharp and immediate, slipping out before you can soften it, and the silence afterwards lands hard between you both.
Jungwon stares at you, searching your face almost desperately now for something familiar, something that tells him this hasn’t become as bad as it feels. "I didn’t mean—" he starts.
"You did," you cut in.
"I don’t even know what happened," he says, frustration bleeding through now because none of this feels fixable anymore and he doesn’t understand why exactly everything between you changed. "You barely look at me anymore."
"Seriously?" you scoff, looking up to the archway as though it can save you.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" he asks.
"It means you don’t get to act confused now," you say, your composure slipping slightly. "Not after the shit you said."
Jungwon drags a hand through his hair roughly, agitation building under his skin because every version of this conversation keeps collapsing before he can explain himself properly. "I didn’t—" he stops again, "I don’t even know if I meant it." The second it leaves his mouth, he regrets it.
Your laugh comes out quiet and edged enough to sting. "That’s worse."
His expression tightens. "How is that worse?"
"Because at least if you meant it, it would’ve been real," you say, finally looking at him fully. And fuck, he wishes you hadn’t because now he can see it, — the hurt sitting under everything else. "—But now it’s just… what? Something you’re unsure about? Something you can backtrack because it got awkward afterwards?"
"That’s not what I'm doing—"
"You told me you were in love with her," you interrupt, steadier than you feel. "You looked me dead in the face and said it like it was obvious. Like you’d known for ages and I was just the last person catching up"
"I thought I was sure," he says, quieter now.
"Great," you nod, another silence drops between you both, sharper this time. You fold your arms tighter across yourself, trying desperately to hold onto the control slipping through your fingers because this conversation is going exactly where you didn’t want it to.
Jungwon exhales hard through his nose, pacing half a step before turning back toward you again, "You told me tell her." he says.
You nod once, and exhale "Yeah."
"No, listen to me," he shakes his head, stepping closer again, urgency creeping in. "That’s what you told me I should do."
"Because you like her," you say, your voice finally tightening. "What was I supposed to do? Stop you?"
"Maybe," The word comes out before he can filter it. Your stomach drops so suddenly it almost makes you angry and he sees it, the way your eyes widen just slightly before something else replaces it. "Maybe I wanted you to," he adds quietly. Rain taps steadily against the windows somewhere behind you while your brain scrambles desperately for solid ground because no part of this conversation is safe anymore. You stared at him for a second too long, and in that time it feels like something might finally open between you. But then you shake your head, taking a small step back.
"You don’t get to say that now."
"Why not?" his voice lifts, frustration breaking through. "Why can’t I?" he furrows his brows, looking between your eyes.
"Because you didn’t say it then!" you snap, control slipping hard enough that your voice echoes slightly down the corridor. "You said you loved her. You don’t get to come back now and act like I got it wrong when you spent days letting me think you meant every word."
"I was messed up," he says, the words coming out harsher than intended.
"Messed up?" you repeat. He hesitates, just for a second but it’s enough. Your expression shifts — something closing off completely. "Right," you say, nodding slowly. "Of course."
"That’s not what I meant—"
"No, it is," you cut him off, your voice flattening. "You didn’t mean it. You were confused, it doesn't count"
"That’s not—"
"Then what is it?" you ask, finally looking at him again, something raw breaking through. "Because from where I’m standing, you said something you can’t take back and now you’re upset I believed you." He opens his mouth but nothing comes out, because the real explanation sits lodged somewhere behind his teeth alongside every other thing he’s spent years not saying to you. Things dangerous enough that once he says them aloud, there’s no pretending anymore — and the terrifying part is he still has absolutely no idea whether you’d feel the same way or just stare at him politely before destroying him completely.
So instead, he reaches for the only thing he can. "You heard one thing and disappeared," he says, stepping closer again despite the tension radiating off you now. "You didn’t ask me anything. Didn’t even give me a chance to explain properly."
"A chance to explain what exactly?" you ask quietly. "That I somehow hallucinated the conversation?"
"That’s not what I said." he says glancing away for a moment.
"Oh, sorry," you laugh bitterly. "Did I misinterpret the part where you said you were in love with her?"
The anger in Jungwon finally breaks through. "You don’t get it," Jungwon says finally, dragging frustrated hands through his hair again. "You’ve been acting like I’m some random guy you accidentally shared a table with for the past week and it’s doing my fucking head in." he snaps, voice roughening. "You won’t even look at me anymore."
Your throat tightens painfully because the worst part is he’s right. Every horrible inch of distance between you. For a second both of you just stand there breathing too hard in the narrow corridor, years of almosts and swallowed words sitting heavily between you while rain crashes endlessly outside.
"I was trying to make this easier."
"Well it’s not." he replies instantly. You stare at him, then look away first, eyes drifting toward the water beyond the arches because suddenly the pressure in your chest feels unbearable.
"I don’t know what you want from me," you say quietly.
Jungwon huffs once under his breath, frustrated and exhausted all at once. "That’s the problem, isn’t it?" he mutters. "You never even considered there might’ve been something worth asking me about."
Your head snaps back toward him immediately. "You don’t get to do that," you say immediately, anger flaring hot now because it feels like he’s rewriting this entire situation in front of you. "You do not get to stand there acting like I’m the one who handled this badly when you’re the person who said all of that in the first place."
"I wasn't thinking straight."
"And I was supposed to magically know that?" The words crack out of you harder than intended and Jungwon falls silent immediately. "You don’t get to blame me,"you continue, voice unsteady despite your efforts to control it. "You spent days watching me pull away and didn’t say a word."
"I tried talking to you."
You cut in instantly. "No, you waited for me to come to you first." That one has him exhaling, shakily — because he knows you’re right. Outside distant thunder rolls low somewhere beyond the grounds while the corridor fills with the sound of both of your harsh breathing.
"I’m trying to—"
"I don’t need you to fix it," you say, quieter now. "I’ve already adjusted." He falters, like the words physically knock something out of him. Adjusted, like what you had is something you’ve already started letting go of.
You freeze for a second too, glancing away like it hurt you just as much to say it and the worst part is you didn’t even mean to sound cruel. You just needed him to understand that he doesn’t get to ask for you back now, after spending days pulling yourself apart trying to move around this.
"You don’t mean that," he says, but there’s less certainty in it now. You don’t answer right away and somehow that silence hurts him more than if you had.
"I have to go," you say finally.
Of course you do. You always do but this time when you step around him, he doesn’t stop you. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because for the first time, he’s not sure you’d stay even if he tried. And you don’t look back, because if you do, you’ll see it — the way he’s looking at you like he’s losing something he doesn’t understand.
Behind you, Jungwon stands frozen beneath the archway, jaw tight enough to hurt while thoughts crash violently through his head all at once. I should've told her. About how wrong everything felt that night. About why he even asked you to go out there in the first place. What he was actually going to say.
Now he’s left standing there with every important thing still trapped inside him, watching your figure disappear slowly down the corridor.
It settles for long enough that the distance between you to feel more permanent than either of you want to admit. It follows him around for hours like a headache sitting behind his eyes, dull at first and then suddenly sharp whenever his brain replays your face in that corridor, the look you gave him right before you left, exhausted and angry and so fucking done with him.
The corridor outside the Potions classroom sat mostly empty now, quieter than usual with students already filtering toward dinner. Torchlight flickered against the stone walls, shadows stretching long across the floor while rain hammered softly against the high windows near the staircase. Jungwon stood with his back against the wall beside Jake and Heeseung, jaw tight enough to ache, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat because if they weren’t there, he’d probably start pacing.
Heeseung looked calm in the way people do when they’re trying very hard not to lose their temper. Jake wasn’t bothering to hide his irritation at all, arms folded tightly while his foot tapped against the floor in uneven bursts. None of them were speaking anymore because everything worth saying had already been said three times over. Then Penelope turned the corner.
She slowed the second she saw them standing there waiting, though she recovered quickly enough to fake confidence again, expression smoothing over as she approached with that same polished composure that suddenly made Jungwon feel vaguely sick. "Well," she said lightly, glancing between the three of them, "this looks cheerful."
No one smiled back, Jungwon pushed himself off the wall before he really thought about it, eyes fixed on her in a way that immediately made her smile falter. "You drugged me." There wasn’t even anger in his voice at first which somehow made it worse. Just blunt, exhausted certainty dropped between them hard enough that the corridor seemed to narrow around it.
Penelope blinked once, then laughed under her breath like she genuinely couldn’t believe he was serious. "Right," she said slowly, crossing her arms, "and you came to that conclusion on your own?"
"You used the Amortentia from class," Heeseung cut in before Jungwon could answer, voice level and controlled. "Snuck some from the batch."
Penelope didn’t look at him immediately. She kept her eyes on Jungwon, as if she could manipulate the situation with her eyes. Her eyes flicked toward him briefly before returning to Jungwon again, calculating now, trying to figure out exactly how much they knew. "That doesn’t mean I poisoned anyone."
Jake let out a sharp humourless laugh. "You’re actually gonna stand there and call it poisoning like that somehow sounds less mental?"
"Nothing happened that wouldn’t have happened eventually." That got Jungwon moving before either of the others could react.
One step forward, close enough now that the air between them turned tense immediately. "Don’t," he said quietly, anger finally starting to seep through. "Don’t do that thing where you try to make this sound normal."
Penelope lifted her chin defensively. "You were happy."
"No, I wasn’t." he retorted immediately,
"You seemed pretty convinced at the party."
"That wasn’t me." Her expression shifted then, irritation replacing whatever performance she’d been attempting before. "Oh, please," she snapped. "You can’t blame every stupid thing you said on a potion just because it embarrassed you afterwards."
Jake swore under his breath while Heeseung’s posture stiffened beside him, but Jungwon barely reacted. If anything, he just looked more tired. "You don’t get it," he said flatly. "You don’t even understand what you actually did."
Penelope scoffed quietly, though there was something less certain underneath it now. "I didn’t force words into your mouth."
"No," Jungwon replied immediately, "you just messed with my head enough that I couldn’t tell what was real." Silence cracked briefly between them before she looked away first and there was a tiny flicker of guilt she couldn’t quite hide quickly enough.
Jungwon saw it immediately and something inside him finally snapped properly into anger, because suddenly all he could think about was you standing there on that balcony, listening to him say things he never should’ve said, watching you in real time while he stood there too far gone to realise what was happening.
"You dragged her into it," he said, voice rougher now. "You knew exactly what you were doing." Penelope’s eyes narrowed. "I didn’t do anything to her."
"Except let her think I meant all of it." he snaps.
"She heard one conversation," Penelope shot back defensively. "If your relationship falls apart that easily, maybe it wasn’t that solid to begin with."
Jake stepped forward at that, furious now, "Careful."
"You’re all acting like I committed murder because he fancied someone else for five minutes." she continued, anger spilling over now that she realised nobody here was buying the innocent act anymore.
"I didn’t fancy you. I don't even like you as a person," Jungwon said immediately, the speed of it landed harder than shouting would have.
Penelope went completely still, something genuinely angry flashed across her face then. Hurt too, buried underneath it. "Right," she laughed bitterly. "And let me guess, this is all because of Y/n." He didn’t answer quickly enough.
"Oh my god," she breathed, looking at him like she’d finally solved something. "You’re actually pathetic."
Jake swore again while Heeseung muttered, "Penelope—"
"No, seriously,” she interrupted sharply, looking back at Jungwon now with open disbelief. “You spent years following her around like some lovesick idiot and she still didn’t want you, so now suddenly this is all my fault?"
Jungwon’s expression darkened instantly. "Don’t talk about her."
"Why?" she snapped. "She’s clearly not interested. She heard you say you liked someone else and walked away without even fighting for you." That was the part still sitting under his ribs making him feel half sick all week.
"You don’t know a fucking thing about her," he said, quieter now, though somehow angrier for it.
Penelope scoffed softly. "Please. If she actually wanted you, she would’ve done something." Something cold flashed across his face then.
Jungwon stared at her for a second too long then laughed softly under his breath, "Yeah?" he said flatly. "Well at least she didn’t need to spike my drink to get me to pay attention to her."
Penelope opened her mouth again but footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor before she could answer. The kind that immediately changes the atmosphere of a room. Everyone looked up. A professor stood at the far end of the hall flanked by two Ministry officials, unreadable beneath the torchlight. Penelope’s face drained almost instantly.
"Miss Clearwater," Professor Park said calmly. "You’ll come with us." Her composure cracked properly then. "Are you serious?" she demanded, looking between them all. "You reported me?"
"It’s done," Heeseung said simply, shrugging.
"You can’t be serious," she said, her voice tightening. "It was one potion, one mistake—"
"It was manipulation," Jake snapped back. "What part of that isn’t clicking for you?"
"This is insane," she said, voice rising now as panic finally started replacing anger. "Nothing even happened." By the time Penelope was led away down the corridor, protesting angrily the entire time, Jungwon was barely paying attention. He just stood there staring at the floor, chest tight with the awful realisation that the hardest part of this was never going to be the potion. It was you believing him.
By the time evening rolled around, the argument had calcified into something heavier than frustration. It wasn’t just about what happened anymore. It was the fact that neither of you had managed to fix it. Every conversation somehow made things worse, like the two of you had spent years learning each other perfectly only to suddenly start speaking completely different languages.
Jungwon found you after that and this time it wasn’t accidental. The Room of Requirement gave him away the second the door opened, warm light spilling out into the corridor. Bookshelves climbed all the way to the ceiling, candles flickering low between stacked piles of parchment and half-open novels, the entire place carrying that quiet stillness it only ever seemed to have when you were in it. It looked exactly the same as it always had, painfully familiar.
And there you were, curled into the corner of the sofa with a book in your lap like none of it had happened. You didn’t look up when he came in, just turned a page slowly and said, quiet but flat, "I thought I told you I didn’t want to talk."
"I know," he said, shutting the door anyway. He stayed where he was for a moment, shoulders tense, clearly trying to hold onto whatever speech he’d planned before it completely fell apart on him. The silence between you wasn’t familiar anymore. It felt stiff now, crowded with too much pride and too many things neither of you had said when you should’ve.
Eventually he exhaled hard through his nose and looked at you properly. "I need you to actually listen to me this time Y/n." You let out a breath, eyes still on your book.
"I mean it."
That finally made you glance up properly and the irritation sitting on your tongue faltered slightly because he looked awful. His blonde hair was tussled in the way that it is when he's stressed, his habit of ruffling the front of his hair showing. He looked worn-down in that way people got when they were running entirely on nerves. You sighed, folding the corner of your page over before setting the book aside. "Alright," you muttered, "Talk."
He crossed the room slowly, cautious in a way you’d never seen from him before. "What I said that night…" He stopped halfway through, jaw clenching. "It wasn’t real."
Your face barely moved. "If this is your attempt at damage control, you're a bit late."
"I was drugged." The rain outside started hitting harder against the windows and for a second all you could hear was that. You stared at him for a second, waiting for the backtrack, the part where he admitted he was exaggerating because surely he didn’t actually mean— "Amortentia," he said quietly, and the way he said it made it impossible to dismiss.
Your face went still in that dangerous sort of way where he couldn’t tell what you were thinking anymore. "What?"
"She slipped it into my drink at the party." His voice dipped, "Heeseung and Jake figured it out after.. they reported her earlier" You looked away from him then because your brain suddenly felt too full, the last week rearranging itself in ugly sharp pieces. "What— Why didn’t you tell me straight away?"
"I tried." he shot back immediately, "Every time I saw you, you were halfway out the door." He dragged a hand through his hair before exhaling through his nose. "And then I saw you with Beomgyu and I just—" He stopped, eyes shutting for a second like the memory physically pressed down on him. "I felt so fucking angry."
Beomgyu?" confusion cut clean through the exhaustion in your voice. "The way he was sitting with you," Jungwon muttered, frustration bleeding back into his voice now that he’d started. "The way you looked comfortable with him."
"Jungwon. Nothing’s happening with Beomgyu." you said, still entirely lost on why this matters.
"I know that now." he said it immediately, but there was still irritation buried underneath it, stubborn and lingering.
"No, you clearly don't because you’re still saying it like he committed some sort of crime by existing near me." He huffed through his nose before he nodded once.
"Alright. Maybe I lost my head a bit."
"A bit?"
"And that doesn’t mean I enjoyed watching him sit where I used to."
The words came out before he could soften them and your stomach turned despite yourself. "You don’t get to say things like that after everything that happened."
"I know." he spoke, barely above a whisper. "I know it doesn’t suddenly fix anything. I’m not pretending it does."
"Then why are you here?" you asked, finally looking at him properly again. "Why tell me now?"
His eyes met yours instantly. "Because you think I chose someone else. For a moment you could barely process the words, because he couldn't mean it like that. God, hope needs to die.
"..And you didn’t?" you finally replied, voice unwontedly soft.
"No." he says immediately, certain in a way he hadn’t sounded once this entire week. "I never liked her. Not before that night, not after. Whatever you heard, it wasn’t me," You watched him carefully, searching his face for the part where he might pull back, make it less direct. He didn’t.
"And me?" you asked before you could fight it. That was a question he didn't expect, he suddenly looked exhausted — like he'd spent days fighting himself. "You’ve always been different."
You rolled your eyes immediately, leaning back into the sofa. "That is such a shit answer."
A quiet breath escaped him, almost humourless. "I didn’t say anything because I thought you didn’t care." His gaze dropped briefly before finding yours again. "You literally told me to go tell someone else how I felt, Y/n. What exactly was I supposed to take from that?"
You laughed once under your breath, bitter and disbelieving. "What was I meant to do? You stood there talking about being in love with her."
"I thought you didn’t care." he repeated.
"I cared too much, actually." Both of you froze. Your jaw clenched, "Don’t," you started immediately, shaking your head a fraction.
"No." He stepped closer again, something desperate creeping into his voice now. "Please, don’t take that back, that’s the first real thing either of us has said in days," You looked away quickly, pulse suddenly too loud in your ears.
"You really thought I didn't care?" you asked eventually.
"You stopped looking at me." He breathed, "You pulled away like it was easy. Like I was embarrassing you."
Your face twisted immediately, "Easy?" you repeated sharply. "You think that was easy?" You stood up too fast, anger finally cracking through properly.
"I spent the entire week avoiding you because every time I looked at you I heard you saying her name again, and I couldn’t stand there pretending it didn’t bother me."
"Y/n—"
"No, seriously, do you know how humiliating that felt?" Your voice shook despite your best efforts. "You told me that she lived in your head," You scrunched your nose slightly, expression tightening like the words physically pained you to say, "I can't—"
For a second neither of you spoke, the room suddenly felt too small for the amount of tension sitting between you both. Then he stepped close enough that you instinctively sat back down and lowered himself in front of you, kneeling while he looked up at you properly.
"Look at me," he said gently, and you didn’t, not straight away anyway. Your eyes stayed fixed on your hands, stubbornly avoiding him. Eventually, against your better judgement, you lifted your face to his and there it was again. That look. Warm and steady and devastatingly familiar, like no matter how badly the two of you had handled this, he would still look at you like you were the first thing he searched for in every room. And that was the worst part really, not the argument, not her. It was this, the way your body still reacted to him before your pride could catch up.
He searched your face, "The things I said that night, about someone living in my head all the time?"
"None of that was fake."
And then just as that familiar pain was about to settle, "I just had the wrong name in my mouth." And for a moment your eyes bored into each of his as it settled. Jungwon watched the realization move across your face carefully.
"I was so confused after," he admitted, voice low. "Because the feelings were real. They were always real.. I just didn’t understand why saying her name felt so wrong."
The irritation you’d been clinging to was barely holding together, unravelling thread by thread underneath something dangerous. He was still kneeling in front of you as though hadn’t even noticed, eyes fixed up on your face with this unbearable amount of care written all over him, like your reaction mattered more than his own embarrassment, more than his pride.
Jungwon was now fully ignoring the fact his knees had probably gone numb, too focused on you despite the fact your entire face was practically screaming what the fuck is happening right now.
"The stupidest part is I genuinely thought none of it mattered to you." he continued. "We’d sit practically on top of each other for hours and then you’d casually call me your best friend like that wasn’t completely destroying my ability to think straight." He glanced away briefly, words coming easier now that he’d started. "You’d play with my rings when you were tired, steal my jumpers, look for me first in every room and somehow I still convinced myself I’d imagined all of it."
"Do you know what actually messed me up?" he said eyes not leaving yours for a second. "Even after all this, after the argument and all the avoiding and how angry you were with me, the only thing I could think the entire time was that I just wanted you back beside me again." Jungwon shifts slightly closer without fully standing, still grounded in front of you, then hesitates like he’s debating something, before finally lifting a hand slowly, stopping just short of your face, waiting for any sign you’d move away. Your eyes flickered to it instinctively and your stomach twisted painfully at how careful he was being with you now.
You don’t move away and that seems to decide it for him more than anything else. His palm settles carefully against your cheek, warm and steady. Your lips parted a little, leaning into his touch — barely, but he felt it. His hand shifts, the other coming up too now, gently cupping your face properly this time, both hands holding you now.
"I’m not good at this," he mutters, almost like he’s talking to himself now more than you, "I’ve spent years not saying anything because I thought if I did, it would ruin whatever this was, whatever we are, and I thought I could live with that."
He leans in a fraction more, not enough to touch your forehead, not quite, but close enough that your breathing stills because suddenly there’s no pretending there’s distance left. His eyes studied your face, slower now, more deliberate, you could feel the warmth from his face.
"But I can’t," he says, just something raw and undeniable sitting underneath every word.
"I can’t do it anymore because I’m completely in love with you, and I have been for ages."
For a second he just looks at you like he’s bracing for impact, like he’s expecting you to step away, to laugh, to tell him he’s completely misread everything the same way you’ve both been misreading everything for years but you don’t move, you can't. Your eyes stay fixed on his almost helplessly, searching his face for something that looks uncertain or unsure, some indication that he doesn’t fully mean it. But there's nothing, just him — completely terrifying in his sincerity.
"And I know that probably changes everything," he adds, "but I couldn’t keep pretending it didn’t exist, not after almost losing you." His forehead finally rests against yours then, just barely, and the contact is so gentle. His gaze drops briefly to your mouth before returning to your eyes almost immediately, like he couldn't help it. Yang Jungwon — who moves through most things with quiet confidence, who always seemed so composed, so certain.. looks so genuinely scared right now.
"Say something," he whispers, not demanding, or pushing, just honest in the way that hurts. Your fingers twitch once in your lap before you finally lift one hand, not pushing him off, just catching his wrist lightly, grounding yourself in something solid because your head won’t stop spinning properly.
"Jungwon…" you start, then stop, your voice catching before you can force the rest out, like your thoughts can’t decide which one of them to turn into words first.
Jungwon doesn’t move back. If anything, he leans in more, eyes searching yours carefully now as though was already preparing himself for rejection anyway — despite not pushing him away. "I’m not expecting anything," he says quietly "I just needed you to know."
Your thumb brushes lightly against his wrist. "You’re an idiot," you say, and it comes out shakier than you mean it to, his brows pull together slightly, confused, already pulling back a fraction like he’s misread you again, "Right, yeah, I thought that might—"
"I’m in love with you," you cut in, quieter this time. He stays locked on you, unblinking, as though he’s waiting for you to finish the sentence properly. His hands are just hovering in place like he’s suddenly unsure if he’s allowed to keep holding you at all.
"What?" he says, but it barely makes it out of him, more breath than voice.
"I said—" your voice wavers, softer this time but steadier in its honesty, "I’m in love with you." you catch his hands and guide them properly against your cheeks instead of letting them hover uncertainly. There’s a pause where disbelief breaks through into his face, then something underneath it that looks almost helpless.
Then he leans in — careful, almost hesitant and his forehead finally presses against yours properly. "Fuck," he mutters, but there’s no conviction in it — just awe, like he’s overwhelmed by how real you are. A laugh slips out of you, because he sounds so completely undone it almost feels unfair.
"You’re actually going to ruin me." His hands finally shift, holding you comfortably now.
"You’re so dramatic," you whisper, but there’s no bite to it. His eyes open again at that, still too close, still pressed to yours in a way that makes the rest of the world felt like it's been turned down to nothing.
"Yeah," he murmurs, "But you still look at me like that anyway." Your brows pull together slightly, instinctively defensive, but it doesn’t really land because your hand is now curled in his shirt and you’re still not moving away.
"Like what?" you ask, quieter — pretending you don't know exactly what he's talking about.
"Like you notice things," he says, softer. "Even when you don’t say them out loud." That hits something uncomfortably accurate. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," you murmur, which is a lie, and you both know it. He hums faintly like he doesn’t believe you, but there’s no pressure in it, just affection spilling over the edges of him in a way he’s not even trying to hide anymore.
"I love the way you go quiet when you’re thinking too much," he continues, "And I love the way you always act like you don’t care," he adds, a quiet exhale slipping through his words like he’s smiling a little at the memory of it. "Like you’re completely unaffected by everything, but then you’ll sit there for five minutes staring at something like it’s the most important thing in the world."
His thumb brushes lightly against your wrist where he’s still holding you, slow and absentminded. "And I love the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching."
Your lips part slightly, like you mean to respond, like you mean to deflect it the way you usually would, turn it into something smaller, something safer but nothing comes out cleanly enough to save you.
So it just breaks, "I love you so fucking much." It spills out of you before your brain can negotiate with it, far too honest to take back. His eyes glaze over and then he shifts forward on his knees, barely even thinking about it, like the distance between you has become physically unbearable.
His thumb presses into your jaw and then he pulls you in. His lips press against yours and it's consuming, with an urgency that had you feeling weak. Your fingers tighten in his shirt and that’s all it takes. "I love you. So much" he breathes between kisses. There’s something almost pathetic in how desperately relieved he feels.
"Mm," You tilt your head and the kiss deepens. He exhales into it and the sound of it makes your grip shift, a hand sliding into his hair. A small, broken sound slips out of him, almost stunned, he leans into you anyway, forehead dipping slightly — like he’s trying to be closer than is physically reasonable.
"Fucking hell," he breathes against your lips, your stomach flips violently at the sound.
"You have no idea," he murmurs softly between kisses, almost dazed, "what you do to me."
You smile into the kiss and when you both finally pull back just enough to inhale properly, neither of you really lets go. Your foreheads rest together, noses brushing slightly, his hands still holding you. And then you do it again — soft, quick kisses against his lips. It was careless in a way that feels completely unlike how careful everything has been between you until now. He actually freezes for a second, then laughs, so familiar it made your chest ache.
"You’re so…" he starts, trailing off with another disbelieving laugh as you kiss him again before he can finish properly. "So what?" you murmur against his lips. "Mine," he says softly. You can’t help the quiet laugh that escapes you, despite the raging tricks your stomach was playing.
Then, after a second, quieter now, "Can I sit with you?.. My knees are actually killing me."
You laughed despite yourself, "You’re unbelievable."
"Yeah, yeah." he grins, you shift on the sofa, making space.
"Get up here before you pass out or something." He doesn’t need to be told twice and moves fast for someone who just complained about his knees, sliding up beside you. The second he sits, his shoulder bumps yours gently — accidental or not, neither of you acknowledges it.
"There," he says quietly. His leg is pressed lightly against yours, warm and solid, and it’s embarrassing how quickly your body relaxes around him now that you’re finally letting it. There’s a beat of silence before his hand shifted slightly against the sofa cushion between you. Then his pinky brushed yours, you looked down at it once and thread your fingers through his properly.
You couldn’t help but think, god I’d go through all of that again, as long as I end up here. Jungwon seemed to realize it at the exact same time because the second you settled beside him properly, he exhaled through his nose like he’d finally stopped bracing for something.
You then let your head fall onto his shoulder, the movement slow and unceremonious "You're not let off completely though," you muttered, voice muffled slightly against him.
"I know." he says, his own head resting on top of yours.
"And I’m still angry."
"You should be," he said without hesitation, just quiet acceptance as his shoulder shifted slightly under you to get more comfortable with you, adjusting himself to make sure you stayed there.
"And you might suffer for a while." you add, quieter now. Fully aware he probably wouldn't.
"Okay." he said simply. You lifted your head just enough to look at him properly, narrowing your eyes in suspicion.
"That was a bit too easy."
He huffed a small laugh through his nose, the corner of his mouth tugging upward as he glanced at you like you were the most predictable thing in the world. "I’m choosing my battles carefully." That made you smile properly and Jungwon looked genuinely relieved by it.
The rain ran down the window behind you as Jungwon turned to you — his hand came up, landing on the base of your shoulder. "Hi," he said as you turned to face him properly, catching the glimmer of something playful.
"What now?" you huff, attempting to look annoyed, it clearly wasn't convincing judging by his lips curving in retaliation. His hand slides up, below your jaw now.
"Can I kiss you..again," he asked, grinning now. You pressed your lips together, pretending to think about it. "Hmm."
A dramatic groan left him immediately, his forehead falling against yours. "You’re evil."
You laughed softly under your breath and before he could complain again, you nudged his head forward slightly, pressing your lips to his yourself. The kiss barely lasted a second before he smiled into it, warm and helplessly fond.
"Right," he murmurs against your mouth, "that’s definitely up there with my favourite answers you’ve given tonight."
You hum against his lips, smiling when he immediately kisses you deeper like he’s been waiting for the smallest bit of encouragement. One of his hands stays warm against your jaw while the other settles carefully at your waist, hesitant for all of half a second and then pulling you closer against him.
The sound he makes when you shift halfway onto his lap is somewhere between surprise and relief, and it nearly makes you laugh again. "Don’t laugh at me," he mumbles instantly.
"You make it pretty easy."
"Yeah?" The curve of his nose brushes yours briefly before he kisses you again, slower this time. Your fingers slide into his hair at that and he exhales sharply into your mouth, grip tightening at your waist. The reaction goes straight to your head. "Jungwon," you whisper, mostly because you like what it does to him.
His eyes flicker open for a second at the sound of his name "You're doing that on purpose," you tilt your head in response. Every touch feels careful and greedy at the same time. The rain was still tapping softly against the windows somewhere in the background, but it all felt far away compared to the warmth of him pressed against you.
His thumb strokes absentmindedly against your side beneath the fabric of your top. The kiss deepens naturally after that, unhurried and messy in the way kisses that have been delayed for years usually are. Every time you pull back for air he chases instinctively.
You laugh softly, breathless, but the sound cuts off when his lips find your jaw instead. The shift is slower this time, deliberate. Your breath catches almost instantly when he kisses just below your ear, warm and lingering enough to make your fingers tighten in his hair. "There," he says quietly against your skin, "That one got you."
"Shut up," you whisper, though there’s no real bite to it when you pull him back up by the collar to kiss him again. You tilted your head, letting your tongue graze the seam of his lips. You swallowed a high needy noise, opening up immediately. He pulled you into his lap fully now — lips still attached as you settled against him properly, arms steadying themselves against his shoulders and sliding around his neck.
Your tongue slid against his messily and then he pulled back, breathing hard. "Still okay?" he whispers. You respond with a nod taking in Jungwon's eyes, which were blackened with desire
"Words Y/n," he grins tilting your chin up, you couldn't help the heat that flood into your stomach, "Yeah— yes I'm okay,"
His grin widened as though he knew what was going through your mind and then he chased your lips again, catching you in an open mouthed kiss — trying to memorise your mouth in a way he couldn't before. His hand creeped into your hair, fingers curling in. He bobbed his head forward, capturing your tongue and sucking on it with a low groan. You gasped, eyes scrunching together as a involuntary moan slipped out of you. Jungwon's breath hitched hard, panting now, "God I've fucking dreamt of how you'd sound," He pushed his head into the crook of your neck, "This is so much better."
"Better be," you managed, fingers running through his hair slowly.
"Let me stay here," he starts pressing kisses to your neck, taking in your scent — your taste.
"Mmm tempting Won," you said tilting your head back.
"I missed that so fucking much," he groans. You tried to respond, you did, but you couldn't because his lips were dragging up your neck, wet and desperate. "Shit," you breathed, shivering.
You lay your hands flat on his chest and push him back against the sofa. He lets himself fall back against the sofa without resistance, like he trusts you completely to take the lead, his hands instinctively tightening at your sides as you follow him down. Chest to chest.
You falter for a second as if you’re both realizing, at the same time, how far this has gone. His blackened eyes flick between your now swollen lips, and your eyes. He breathed out, harsh — revelling in the fact that he's the reason your lips are flushed and shiny with spit.
Then an almost frightening thought slipped into his head, sudden enough that it made him hesitate halfway through speaking. "Have you ever…" he started, then stopped abruptly, like he already regretted asking. You looked at him for a second, brows pulling together slightly as you tried to place where his brain had just gone.
"What?" you asked. His eyes flickered away briefly before returning to yours again, visibly trying to decide whether to commit to the question or bury himself alive instead.
"Have you ever—" he stopped again, jaw tightening faintly. "Like… with anyone…"
"Fucked anyone or kissed anyone?" you asked flatly, fingers tracing his jaw. Jungwon nearly choked on his own breath, but you were completely calm despite the way his entire face shifted into instant embarrassment.
A disbelieving laugh escaped him despite himself, one hand dragging down his face briefly before he looked at you again, visibly trying to recover. "You know what, never mind."
"No," you said immediately, sitting up on him slightly, now that you’d caught onto the fact he was genuinely nervous. "You asked. Commit."
"I just—" he stopped again, visibly frustrated with himself now. "I don’t know, I started thinking about it and then I realized I actually have no idea if there’s been someone else."
The honesty of it knocked some of the teasing right out of your face. Fuck, Jungwon looked unfairly sincere when he was jealous. "I mean, obviously there could’ve been," he continued quickly, words speeding up now. "You’re—you, and I wasn’t exactly doing anything, so it’s not like you owed me—"
"There wasn’t," you interrupted softly, cupping his jaw now.
"There… wasn’t?" he repeated carefully. You shook your head once and his shoulders visibly loosened. The relief that crossed his face was so immediate and unfiltered it. "Thank fuck," he breathed before he could stop himself. You stared at him, eyebrows lifting. "You don’t understand," he said immediately, catching your stare. He sat up slightly, pulling you up with him like this was extremely serious now. "I was about thirty seconds away from ruining my own night imagining some random guy kissing you, or even touching you." You let out a quiet scoff through your nose, but your face warmed anyway.
"If I'm honest," you started, already regretting the vulnerability halfway through it, "I felt sick thinking about whether or not you'd end up in her room," your voice got quieter near the end, eyes fixed somewhere near his shoulder instead of his face despite how close he was sitting. You missed the way his whole face changed, he genuinely looked wounded by the thought of you sitting with that alone.
"Y/n," he said almost pained. You shrugged one shoulder slightly, pretending it didn’t matter nearly as much as it did. "It’s embarrassing now, actually."
"No," he said immediately, firm enough to make you look at him again. "No, don’t do that. I need you to understand something," he says, serious in a way that steadies the entire room around you.
"There was never going to be another person for me once I met you."
You blink at him slowly. "That— is a crazy thing to say to someone." by now the butterflies erupting in your belly were normal.
"It’s true." He actually smiles then, hopelessly, like even your avoidance is something he treasures.
"You’re cute when you’re overwhelmed," he murmurs, your eyes narrow instantly.
"Don’t piss me off again."
His smile widened immediately, completely unafraid now. "See? Cute."
"Jungwon you’re about five seconds away from being shoved off this sofa."
"You wouldn’t do that," he said easily, leaning closer anyway. You opened your mouth to argue but he kissed you before you could, arms wrapping around your waist. "So fucking annoying," you mumble against his lips,
"Mhmm, yeah?" he grins.
A loud crack of thunder suddenly echoed somewhere outside the castle walls, the sound rattling faintly through the windows of the common room a second before rain started hammering hard against the glass. You glanced toward it instinctively. "It’s pouring." Jungwon barely looked up, still half-sprawled into your space. "Mm," he murmured, completely unbothered, thumb absentmindedly tracing slow circles against your knuckles.
Another rumble of thunder followed, louder this time. You exhaled through your nose, leaning back slightly against the sofa cushions as your gaze flicked toward the clock mounted near the fireplace.
"You’re joking." You shook your head a little, starting to shift your weight as if to stand. "I’m serious."
"No, you’re not," he said instantly, tightening his grip on your hand when you shifted slightly like you might stand.
"Jungwon—" A laugh escaped you. "No," he whined quietly, forehead falling against your shoulder dramatically. "I don’t wanna move yet."
"You’re acting like I’m not gonna exist tomorrow."
"I'll miss you" he mumbled into your shoulder immediately, completely shameless about it. You rolled your eyes, though your fingers automatically slipped into his hair again. He visibly relaxed at the feeling. "I just got you back," he continued, voice quieter now, almost pouty despite how ridiculous he sounded. "Can’t we stay here for like… another hour."
"Won, it’s nearly midnight."
"So?" he said instantly. You laughed under your breath and tilted your head enough to look at him properly.
"You're clingy."
Another crack of thunder echoed outside and Jungwon sighed before finally lifting his head. "…Fine," he muttered unhappily.
He stands up with you still in his arms, the sudden movement making you instinctively tighten your hold around his neck. "Jungwonn—" you huff into his shoulder. He just giggles, the sound soft and breathy, pulling his head back to look at you properly. There’s something bright in his eyes, something you wished you could see every time you opened your eyes.
Without much thought, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the side of your head, still a little dazed. "What?" he murmurs, far too innocent for the way his hands are still holding you close. You narrow your eyes, "Put me down."
"Don’t wanna," he shrugs lightly.
You let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking your head. "You’re so annoying."
He just laughs again, clearly pleased with himself, before finally lowering you back onto your feet. You both pause and glance at each other and then you both laugh. Quiet at first, then a little louder, the kind of laugh that spills out when something feels almost unreal.
"We don’t have to rush anything," he says after a moment, searching your face, "but I’m not… pretending that didn’t happen either."
"Good," you say, barely above a breath. That earns you the smallest smile — not smug, not teasing. His fingers curl a little into yours.
"What do we do about them?" you asked, more to yourself than him, something almost bashful tugged at the corners of Jungwon's mouth despite the way he was still holding you close.
"I don’t really want to share you yet," he admits quietly, the faintest pout appearing like he was slightly embarrassed.
"Then let’s keep it to ourselves for now," you say. The relief on his face was immediate, the idea of this being something private between the two of you mattered more to him than he expected.
His arms snaked around you slightly before he leaned in again, stealing another kiss like he genuinely couldn’t go more than thirty seconds without one now. "You realise," you mumbled against his lips, trying and failing to sound unaffected, "everyone’s going to figure it out eventually."
"Mhm." He kissed you again, entirely unbothered. "Future problem."
"You’re very relaxed for someone who just said he didn’t wanna share."
"I don’t," he said immediately, pulling back just enough to look at you properly again. "But hiding you and keeping you close aren’t the same thing" Your heartbeat betrayed you immediately and, judging by the tiny smile tugging at his mouth afterwards, he knew it.
"C'mon," you said pulling him towards the door. It’s reluctant. His hand slips from your waist slower than it should, fingers brushing yours one last time before letting go.
By the time you finally left the Room of Requirement, your lips still felt warm. Which was a problem, a massive one, actually, because Jungwon looked even worse. His hair was a mess from your hands, mouth pink and slightly swollen, melted in a way that would immediately get him interrogated if anyone saw him. Every so often the corridor would flicker with distant lightning, briefly carving both of your shadows into sharper versions of yourselves before letting them soften again.
As you reached your dorms he stopped you, a gentle hand on your wrist "Don’t take forever," he said, though it lacked any real bite.
You gave him a look that tried for annoyance and failed somewhere halfway. "Get inside."
"I am getting inside," he grinned, but he still didn’t move right away. That earned him a quiet exhale from you, something almost like a laugh, before you finally stepped back and slipped inside, the door closing softly behind you.
You immediately bee-lined for the mirror, "Shit." you definitely looked kissed. You pressed cold hands to your cheeks, trying to ignore how warm your skin still felt. Your hair looked equally suspicious, slightly mussed from his hands, and there was absolutely no hiding whatever was settling over your face.
Outside, you could faintly hear the distant hum of the castle settling into sleep. But underneath all of it, there was still him — lingering at the edge of your thoughts the same way he had been all evening, like he hadn’t quite stopped being near you just because a door had closed between you.
When you finally pulled on something a bit more comfortable, you rested your hands briefly at the edge of your desk, exhaling a little more slowly than before. Within the last day you’d gone from moping, avoiding your best friend, to confessing, to kissing him, and now you were standing in your room trying to make your face look normal enough to walk into a his dorm like nothing had happened. The worst part was that your body still felt like it hadn’t caught up with your decisions yet.
By the time you made your way down the corridor, you were actively rehearsing neutrality. Their dorm door already had voices spilling through it before you even opened it properly. Jake’s laugh came first, loud and unfiltered, followed by Heeseung saying something that sounded like he was trying to sound serious but failing halfway through. Ni-ki’s voice cut in after that, flatter and more observant. Of course they were awake.
It all felt so normal for a second it almost made you forget you were about to walk in carrying something that felt like it had weight. You adjusted your expression once more, like that would somehow make you harder to read, and pushed the door open. It smelled faintly like coffee and whatever food Jake had apparently forced everyone into eating at midnight again.
Jungwon was sitting on the arm of the sofa like he always did, one arm draped lazily over the back. Something shifted in his face before he smoothed it away — a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth, he was fighting a smile he absolutely should not be having in front of people, and then he looked away again, too casually, like nothing at all had just passed between you. You, on the other hand, made a point of not looking at him too long at all.
You forced your face into that something neutral you'd been rehearsing and walked in further, closing the door behind you with a soft click that felt way too loud. All of them looked up almost at once and there was a half-second of silence that did not feel accidental.
"Oh, Y/n," Jake said first, squinting slightly with a grin. "You’re up?" You nodded once, carefully closing the door behind you.
"Yeah. Couldn’t sleep."
Heeseung hummed softly from where he was stretched across the other end of the sofa, one eyebrow lifting just slightly as he looked between you and Jungwon with a level of perception that felt actively threatening to your well-being. You suddenly became hyper aware of the fact Jungwon had gone unnaturally silent.
Ni-ki was lying half upside-down across the rug, but he glanced up briefly. "Thought you were still mad at him." he said as you settled down between Jungwon and Jake.
You shrugged one shoulder, forcing yourself getting comfortable, like your pulse wasn’t suddenly trying to kill you. "I’m capable of being civil."
At that, Jungwon coughed suddenly into his fist, poorly disguising what was very obviously the beginning of a smile. Jake’s eyes narrowed immediately, he didn’t say anything yet, but you physically watched suspicion enter his body. Heeseung looked between the two of you slowly. "You guys are weird," he said casually, you took this as a sign he was letting it go, the relief that flood through you was almost embarrassing.
"Thank you," Jungwon replied dryly before you could. You turned toward him automatically, already prepared to glare at him for making this harder than it needed to be, but the second his eyes met yours, something in him melted before he could hide it, it was so genuine that your stomach dropped straight through the floor.
And the worst part was that he realised it too. His gaze flicked downward almost instantly afterwards, jaw tightening faintly as he reached for the drink sitting beside him like suddenly becoming very interested in literally anything else might save him but Jake was looking between you both again.
“…Okay,” Jake said after a beat, suspicious in a way that made your skin prickle.
"What?" you replied flatly, crossing one leg over the other.
He pointed vaguely between the two of you like he was trying to physically grab hold of a thought before it escaped him. "Something happened."
"Nothing happened," you said immediately. At the exact same time Jungwon said, "What are you talking about?" The silence afterwards was catastrophic, it had Ni-ki actually sitting up — Jake’s mouth fell open in genuine disbelief as he looked between the two of you again.
"That was bad,"
You closed your eyes briefly, beside you, Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite laughing yet but visibly close to it. "You two used to lie better than this."
"We’re not lying," Jungwon said quickly, finally looking up again, though the slight tension in his shoulders completely ruined the effect. Jake pointed at him immediately. "Why do you sound nervous?"
"I don’t sound nervous." Ni-ki was openly staring now, gaze moving slowly between you both with growing fascination. "Wait, are you guys secretly fine again?"
Jake’s expression softened first. "You guys actually talked?" he said, slower. Your eyes flicked briefly toward Jungwon before you could stop yourself.
"Yeah," you admitted finally, voice calmer now. "We did." The room quieted properly after that, Heeseung leaned back slightly against the arm of the sofa, studying both of you carefully now, and you knew instantly what he was really asking. Whether the damage sitting underneath all of this had finally been dragged out into the open instead of festering quietly the way it had been the last few days.
Jake looked between you both again before exhaling dramatically, shoulders dropping in visible relief. "Thank god," he muttered. "You two were making everyone deeply uncomfortable."
"That sounds like a you problem," you replied with the fainest hint of a grin, "It was bad." Ni-ki cut in, now fully invested. "Every time someone mentioned you he’d go all quiet and weird for like ten minutes after."
Across the room, Jungwon groaned immediately. "Can we not."
Jake ignored him completely. "And you were terrifying."
"I was keeping to myself." You said flatly. "Exactly," Jake said, like that proved his point perfectly. "That’s how we knew it was serious." Still, you could feel Jungwon relaxing now that the interrogation had mostly passed, though every so often your eyes would accidentally meet again and you’d have to look away immediately before Jake started screaming.
At one point, while Heeseung was distracted arguing with Ni-ki about something stupid, Jungwon glanced toward you again over the rim of his drink. This time, he smiled properly, it was small — a dimple barely peeking through and then, like he physically couldn’t help himself, his foot nudged lightly against yours underneath the coffee table. You didn’t react outwardly but your heartbeat immediately lost all structural integrity anyway.
The first couple days felt strangely unreal, the two of you had slipped sideways into a version of your lives that looked exactly the same from the outside while quietly changing everything underneath it. You learned very quickly that Jungwon had absolutely no concept of subtlety when it came to you, and it wasn't even intentional — that was the problem.
He reached for you without thinking and he'd smile before he could stop himself whenever you walked into a room, like his body had developed some involuntary response to your existence. The first morning after everything, you’d barely made it halfway into Potions before catching him already looking at you from across the table with this annoyingly cute grin that had you wanting to pull him close and kiss his stupid face off.
But instead you kicked his shin under the desk and the blonde looked genuinely confused for a full three seconds before realisation hit him all at once, followed immediately by the smallest, guiltiest smile imaginable.
After that, it became pattern… for a few days. Late-night walks through quieter corridors after everyone else had gone to sleep. Jungwon appearing beside you in the library like he’d "accidentally" ended up there despite very obviously following you. Your fingers brushing under tables during study sessions when nobody was looking. Sitting slightly too close whenever you thought you could get away with it and then immediately shifting apart whenever Jake narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The secrecy itself should’ve been exhausting, instead, it became something strangely addictive.
There was something dangerously intimate about it, about the constant awareness of him even in crowded rooms, the tiny hidden smiles exchanged over everyone else’s heads, the feeling of his hand briefly finding yours behind the cover of someone else’s conversation. You started understanding very quickly why people lost their minds over this kind of thing.
It also didn’t help that Jungwon was completely gone for you in a way that was becoming increasingly difficult to manage privately.
By the second night, you were in his dorm after a lot of whining from Jungwon about how unbearable the boys had been the night before. Thankfully, the dorm was quieter this time. Most of the lights in the corridor had already dimmed, and when you slipped down the hallway there were no muffled voices behind the doors, no laughter, no sign that anyone else was still awake. You barely even had time to raise your hand before Jungwon opened the door immediately, like he’d been standing there waiting for the sound of your footsteps specifically.
"Hi," you whispered, already smiling despite yourself. His answering smile was smaller, almost disbelieving in that way he still got around you now, "Hi," he murmured back, and then his hand caught yours before you’d even stepped fully inside. The door had barely clicked shut behind you when he pulled you toward him properly.
Jungwon’s hands slid immediately to your waist, guiding you backwards until your shoulders touched lightly against the door, and then he pulled you into him. The force of it startled a quiet breath out of you, because he shoved his head into your neck. His hands tightening slightly against your sides when you hugged him back instantly, and the reaction he had was a soft sound escaping him as he leaned closer, like he genuinely couldn’t help it.
"Missed me?" you whispered, lips curling against his head.
He pulled back to look at you properly. "Bad," his hair was still slightly damp from showering earlier, soft under your fingers when your hand slid into it automatically, and he reacted to that too. His forehead pressed briefly against yours as he exhaled shakily through his nose. It was honestly ridiculous how responsive he was to you now that he’d stopped pretending not to be.
"You have no idea what today was like," he muttered quietly, breathe warm against your lips. "Jake kept asking me why I looked happy."
A laugh slipped out of you. "And?"
"And I almost told him to mind his business." His hands slid slightly higher against your waist, "I hated not being able to touch you." he added. You felt your face warm immediately, which unfortunately only seemed to encourage him further. "There it is again," he murmured, visibly delighted.
"Shut up." He grinned properly at that, leaning in just enough to press a quick kiss to the corner of your mouth, and then resting his forehead against yours. For a second he just stayed there, forehead still pressed to yours, eyes flicking down to your mouth and then back up again like he was weighing something quietly in his head.
Then he kissed you properly this time. It wasn’t rushed, it was slow enough that it felt deliberate, like he was checking what was allowed and what wasn’t yet. His hand slid up slightly at your back, steadying you more out of habit than urgency, and he paused for a split second like he was waiting to see if you’d pull away. You only leaned further into him, so he kissed you again, a little easier this time. When he finally pulled back, it was only by a fraction, his lips ghosting yours and his thumb brushing absentmindedly over your side like he’d forgotten he was even doing it.
The room around you stayed dim and warm, lit only by the small lamp near his desk, rain still tapping faintly against the windows outside. Jungwon looked at you for another long moment before something softer crossed his face, almost sleepy.
"Come here," he muttered.
You barely had time to react before he was already pulling you away from the door, fingers still hooked loosely around your wrist as he pulled you toward his bed. He sat first and pulled you down with him without much ceremony, one arm sliding automatically around your waist like it had already memorised the shape of you there. A laugh escaped you at the sheer determination of it, but it dissolved quickly when he looked up at you again. Jungwon leaned back properly against the pillows, his arm tightening slightly around your middle once you finally gave in and tucked yourself against him fully. The moment you did, something in him visibly changed, tension he’d been carrying all day finally loosening as he exhaled slowly. "You’ve been like that all day," he said after a moment, voice softer now, almost accusing in the gentlest way.
"Like what?"
"Distant," he continues, like the word annoyed him. "Acting like I don't exist."
"Won, we're literally hiding."
"I know," he replied, but his hand tightened slightly at your waist anyway, because he didn’t care how reasonable that sounded. "Make it up to me?" he said again, quieter this time, but the grin on his face gave him away completely as his eyes flicked down to your lips like that was the only answer he was actually interested in.
"How?" you asked tilting your head.
"Don’t act like you don’t know," he murmured, and there was something almost amused in it.
"I don’t," coming out weaker than you intended. It's quieter in a way that betrays you, even in the dim light. "Liar," he mutters — even then, there was no real accusation in it.
You didn’t bother to argue with him. In the short, insignificant seconds that followed, your hands are ran up Jungwon’s chest with urgency — leaning in close, and kissing him. His breath caught instantly against your mouth, a small involuntary sound slipping out of him, like he hadn’t expected you to actually give in that easily. When you pulled back just enough to speak, your lips still brushing his, you murmured, "Maybe."
He hummed chasing your lips, deepening it almost immediately, lips parting yours with an ease he didn't have yesterday. His tongue licked into your mouth slowly, hands settling at your hips as his fingers pressed just enough to keep you closer without being rough, yours slid up into the nape of his neck, tugging lightly at his hair. He let out a low sound against your mouth, somewhere between relief and frustration and it had your thighs squeezing together, because fuck this was chipping away at your self control, and barely anything had happened.
Jungwon's restraint however, was hanging on by a thread because the moment he felt your thighs close he felt his brain begin to melt. "Y/n I can't—" he breathed, hands cupping your jaw, if only to keep you glued to his lips.
"What—" you started, but then Jungwon whined. Actually fucking whined dragging his face to your cheek. His body jerked forward, just a little. He had been impossibly hard for a while now, despite swearing he hadn't thought about anything crazy — but somewhere between your hands in his hair and your tongue..
The sound startled a quiet laugh out of you before you could stop it, completely unaware of what had happened. He groaned embarrassed at that, one arm wrapping around your waist. It only made you more aware of him pressed against you now, warm and solid and very obviously stiff in a way that had heat flooding between your legs.
That's also when you realised that he had just cum in his pants, untouched. "Oh," you breathed before you could stop yourself. Jungwon immediately buried his face deeper into your neck.
"I'm—sorry, fuck. I didn't mean to—you're just so fucking—hot," he mumbled, almost attempting to move back, but you kept him there.
"Look at me." you said, running a soothing hand over the back of his head. He hesitated and pressed deeper for a moment, and then pulled his head back. His cheeks were flushed, hair messed up in a way only he could pull off. His glassy eyes found yours after a moment, so afraid of what he'd find.
"You're not mad?" he mumbled. He looked so fucking cute and worried and for a moment you couldn't help kissing him, "No Won," you said between kisses, "I'm not mad." And despite already cumming, he was still hard and throbbing.
"This is me making it up to you, for today." you said, voice almost a whisper — as you flicked between his eyes. His lips parted almost in confusion and he just blinked for a moment, breathing hard — then he looked up to you with those big wet eyes, "We don't have to do anything."
You bit the inside of your cheek, "I know," you kissed him again, slower, pressing against him. At some point while you were making out, you shifted onto his lap with your tongues still twisted and, he gasped as he felt your tits press against his chest. His brows were pulled together, lips parted in something you could barely call a kiss at this point and Jungwon was so entirely overwhelmed that all you could hear was his sharp gasps as your lips trailed down to his jaw.
He was trying his absolute best not to move — then he felt your tongue, licking his ear-lobe, sucking softly. "Fuuuck," Jungwon exhaled, eyes fluttering closed, his hips bucked up at the feeling uncontrollably, his hardened length rocked against your clothed pussy and then — you moaned into his ear. Jungwon was barely there at this point, he could barely touch you back he was so dazed. He panted hard, feeling your hands guiding his to your hips, teasing as they brushed up your waist, and pressing them to your chest. He swallowed hard at your tits under his palms, by now his eyes were blown wide with desire, his chest was rising and falling harshly — cock twitching beneath his already soiled pants.
His long fingers brushed against your chest, twitching in your hold. "Can I?" he breathed, so mesmerised by how you looked on him.
"Mhm yeah," he pulled your top up, over your head — letting it fall somewhere.
You watched as his eyes dragged down, his tongue poked into his cheek, almost like he was hungry "So, so fucking pretty baby," he groaned, finally finding it in himself to move. You were slowly dragging your hips together in short tiny bursts, while his hands palmed your tits — you gasped shakily. "You like that?" he whispered, voice completely wrecked.
"Fuck yeah, take it off," you huffed, fingers tugging at the fabric. As he pulled off his shirt you undid your bra letting it fall away, the second his eyes locked onto your bare tits he could barely breathe. He glanced away for a moment as a poor attempt to compose himself. But your nipples were hard, and he couldn't help but let out a strained noise at the sight, "You're beautiful baby," his hands came up and cupped your tits, fingers brushing over them.
"Ah— fuck Won—" His head tipped back at your words, as if your words and pleasure were affecting him just as much. A shiver ran through you, your hips stopping the motions for a moment as your fingers trailed down his chest. Even in the dimmed light he looked gorgeous in a way you couldn't describe. "Pretty."
He then flipped you over, lips finding your jaw, tongue trailing down your collarbone. He kept going as your hand threaded through his hair again, pressing him closer into your chest, Jungwon made a muffled noise against you, stupidly drunk on your tits. He lolled his tongue out, flattening it and licking over your nipple — your back arched instantly, a drawn out gasp bursting out as your legs wrapped around his waist, because it was all too much. Too good. He drunk up all your reactions, hips rolling against you. His tongue found your sensitive spots and a thumb rubbed over once — then he flicked his tongue over your hard bud and sucked. "Mmmph," you moaned attempting to suppress your sounds.
"Mm—don't hide," Jungwon's eyebrows furrowed — displeased and in retaliation he sucked harder, teeth grazing your skin as he tried to take as much as he could into his mouth. You moaned close-mouthed and the sound vibrated against him, he only buried his face deeper with his own high whines.
"Fucking dreamt—of touching—you baby," he mumbles in-between sucks, "Came twice in the—shower," he rambled. That did something indescribable to your panties, especially when you could feel rigid his cock so blatantly rutting against your thigh.
"Shit—what'd you think about?" you managed to breathe out.
"Your taste—your tongue—those pretty lips."
You pulled him back up to your lips with urgency, ignoring the way your tits were now slick and swollen with his spit. His wet lips parted in a choked whine as your palm found his clothed cock, "Ah—fuck baby—" he hissed, fingers tracing against the waistband of your sleep shorts. You lifted your hips and he immediately pulled it down with one hand as your palm worked against him, his shaky breaths only grew louder, even as his fingers traced over the lace of your panties.
He cupped your pussy fully, feeling the heat and you were so fucking wet that your arousal was leaking through, Jungwon couldn't take it anymore, this entire time he'd been holding himself back, not because he didn't think you could handle him, but because he didn't think he could. "You're so fucking wet for me hm?" he tilted his head, wide eyes boring into yours as you instinctively arched into his hard, pathetically desperate for his touch now.
"All for you baby—please," your eyebrows furrowed and pleading.
He could hardly comprehend it. You were submitting for him. For half a second he didn't even move, just looked over your expression and tried to etch it into his brain — stamp it onto his forehead if he could. And then he pulled your panties to the side, not even bothering to pull them off and pressed two fingers to your slit, eyes on your every movement. But just as the contact came, it was gone, because his fingers were in his mouth, licking your slick off of one finger, eyes almost rolling back at the taste.
You lips were already parted watching, Jungwon took advantage of that and pressed his fingers to your lips but he didn't even have to speak. You took both into your mouth, sucking off his spit mixed with your cum. "So—fucking hot," he watched half-lidded, his free hand found your slit again as he gently thrust them up and down your tongue.
He then eased the tip of his finger into your entrance, your jaw loosened around his fingers — a sharp gasp leaving you. "God so fucking tight," he whispered, he hadn't stopped watching you once, not even as he sank further into your pussy. Broken breathes vibrated around him and then Jungwon finally removed his fingers from your slack mouth, a string of your spit connecting you — he wasted none of it and sucked it off, "You want my fingers baby?"
"Yeah—more, please," you barely managed.
"More?" he repeated, already starting to push in and out, slowly curling against the walls of your insides.
"—Shut—up," A breathy laugh bubbled through him in response and he pushed himself up to kiss into your mouth, which was hung open. Because he'd now added his middle finger into the mix, enamoured with the way your slicked cunt let him pump in and out effortlessly. And the noises were fucking filthy, the squelching wet sounds had heat crawling up to your ears.
His fingertips then brushed against that spongy bundle of nerves — he swallowed your high sounds with small kisses to your lips, "I knoww baby you're doing so good yeah?" he whispered against your lips, he trailed down and took your nipple into his mouth again, fingers working on your pussy — keeping that same devastating pace.
"Mm—fuckfuckfuuuck," you barely even registered what you were saying anymore.
The pressure built fast, a coil tightening — he felt your moans and babbling pick up and tensed his tongue, flicking your nipple over and over and over until your pussy was grinding against his hand, bucking into him desperately. "You like it when I fuck my fingers into you?"
"Fuck yeah I love it so much—fuck-please i'm—ah" you cried, head now tilted back lax against his pillow, your hand was raked through his hair, gripping it for dear life.
"Cum for me baby, give it to me." he spoke looking up at you. His thumb then found your clit and he rubbed harsh circles, neither of were even aware of how loud you were being at this point. Because you came hard, shaking — head spinning, and Jungwon didn't stop.
Jungwon scrambled down as you came and replaced his thumb with his lips — his arms were now hooking under your thighs, locking you in place as he sloppily licked and sucked on your nub like he'd never tasted anything better. He was also moaning and huffing into you, because he had cum just from touching you. "Won—can't," you whined tugging on his hair at the overstimulation.
"One more baby—" he breathed low into your folds, mewling at your tugging. Your legs wrapped around his head, practically using his face and he was beyond delighted to be your personal fuck-toy. He then shoved his tongue impossibly deep into your pussy, fucking into you as far as he could reach and you were simultaneously grinding your clit against the curve of his nose. Your second orgasm was practically ripped out of you and somewhere between his tongue and fingers taking turns on your shattered cunt, your milky arousal leaked straight onto his tongue.
He clamped his mouth around you and kept going, kept suckling and licking, not letting a single drop go to waste. "Taste so fucking good baby, you did so so good," he finally said, against your thighs, pressing small kisses along your soft skin. You made a small acknowledging whine in response tugging his hair again weakly, legs finally going limp against him. Jungwon kissed his way back up, up your stomach, chest, neck, jaw, finally your lips. He cupped your jaw "You're so perfect princess," he rubbed your side —soothing, a contrast to the pussy drunk blonde from a few minutes ago.
You grinned against his skin, fingers scratching lightly through his hair as he kept pressing absentminded kisses across your face, "I love you," you murmured. His lips curled against your jaw, a dimple peeking through,
"I love you too baby," he whispered back and there was still something almost disbelieving in the way he said it, like he'd been reminded this is something you both say now. Jungwon’s hands wandered slowly over your half-bare skin with obvious distraction, fingertips tracing along your waist and back while you kissed your way down the side of his neck. You took your time there deliberately, mouth brushing across warm skin before lingering at his shoulder again, because frankly, his shoulders were becoming an actual problem in your life.
"How the hell did you know how to do that?" you asked after a moment, you pulled back just enough to look at him properly, fingers still tangled loosely in his hair. For half a second Jungwon looked unbearably pleased with himself, but also somehow embarrassed too. His mouth twitched like he was debating lying, before he finally exhaled through his nose. "I did research," he admitted, trying very hard to sound casual and failing almost immediately when your expression shifted into open disbelief.
"You…studied how to give head?"
"Yes," he defended instantly, already laughing now because of the way you were staring at him. "I wanted make you feel good."
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, your forehead falling briefly against his shoulder. "That might be the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Jungwon made a quiet, flustered noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh before hiding his face immediately against the side of your neck again. "Please don’t say that."
You were about to ask why, but the answer was pressed against your thigh. And even after having the breath knocked out of you. Twice. You couldn't help the renewed urge to make him feel just as good as he'd made you feel. "Why baby?" you hummed knowingly, coaxing him out of the comfort of your neck — your lips found his again, hands slowly making their way down to his waistband.
"Because I can't get enough of you," he breathed against you, cupping your jaw as the kiss deepened into something slow and so filthy it had your heads spinning.
"Take it off." you gasped into his mouth. It was funny actually, you'd both cum multiple times and you still hadn't even seen his dick yet. His hands impatiently ripped down his pants, as you freed him his cock recoiled against his stomach and you couldn't help the way your lips parted in shock. He was longer than he was thick, curved inwards and slick with cum. And he was fucking massive. Like, how the fuck had you never noticed kind of big.
"Baby, you don't have to," Jungwon mistook your shock for something else entirely. You answered by wrapping your hand around the base of his cock and it shut him up — immediately. So sensitive from cumming twice before, he breathed out shakily just at the contact. "God, your hand alone is gonna—" he couldn't even finish his sentence because you'd pushed him back and shuffled down to face him properly.
You flattened your tongue and licked up from the base to the tip of his dick, you could feel each ridge and vein along with the warm earthy taste of him. Jungwon's length had twitched at the first contact, his head falling back, hands eagerly pushing your hair back to watch you properly. "Goddd fuck babygirl," he groaned under his breathe, shaking slightly from overstimulation. You took his flushed tip into your mouth and hummed in response, the vibrations had him shuddering, and the thought that had him already biting his lip — fighting to last. Was that this was the first time you had a dick in your mouth and it was his. He would never have known with the way you took as much of him into your mouth as you could, spit gathering in the corners of your mouth.
"So pretty with my cock in your mouth princess fuuuck," he babbled. Jungwon was battling with everything he had, his eyes were knit shut, jaw was hung open — broken whines and whimpers along with rambles shaking through into the air. And then he made the mistake of opening his eyes — to you moving off him to catch your breath, spit connecting you and you took him fully into your mouth this time, cheeks hollowing as you bobbed your head. "Shit— wait—"with a buck to his hips and a drawn out moan his cum flooded into your mouth. His entire body jerked, head falling back as you swallowed, finally releasing him with a pop. "Holy fuck.." Jungwon breathed, completely wrecked, fingers pushing shakily through your hair "Baby, where did you learn to do that?"
"Research," you said against his thigh, lips curling when his head jolted upward so fast it almost looked painful. A grin spread across your face then, as you wiped the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand. "What? I wanted to make you feel good too."
For a second he just stared at you like his brain had completely stalled trying to process. Then his head tipped back slightly with a disbelieving laugh, one hand dragging down over his face, before returning immediately to you again, fingers brushing along your jaw. You grinned. "Why are you acting shocked? You literally admitted it first."
"That was different."
"How?"
"Because.. I’m me," he replied instantly, like that explained everything. You rolled your eyes immediately and Jungwon laughed in response, pulling you up properly against his chest until your legs tangled together beneath the blankets. The sound faded softer after a second, his hand moving slowly up and down your back absentmindedly while the room settled back into quiet around you. Rain still tapped faintly against the windows, gentler now, and the moonlight spilling through the curtains painted everything in silver that made Jungwon look unfairly pretty this close. His hair was messy from your hands, lips slightly swollen.
Eventually, after a long stretch of lazy conversation and kissing that kept dissolving halfway into quiet laughter, Jungwon forced himself to sit up with visible reluctance. "Shower?" he muttered, though he sounded deeply upset by the idea of moving at all. You let out a small breath of a laugh, pushing yourself upright too slowly — still half-tangled in the sheets, eyes barely open.
"We probably should." He lingered for a second longer, fingers loosely hooked around your wrist like he was testing whether he could reasonably convince you to ignore basic hygiene and stay exactly where you were, but eventually he stood anyway, pulling you up with him in the same motion
The walk to the bathroom was half-hearted at best, both of you still half-dazed, Jungwon bumping his shoulder lightly into yours in that absent, familiar way he always did when he was too tired to behave properly. The shower itself passed in a blur of sleepy warmth and quiet teasing, more soft touches than anything else, both of you too wrung out now to be anything except gentle. Jungwon then changed the sheets as you changed into some loose clothes and by the time you both finally made it back to the bed, Jungwon looked about two seconds away from falling asleep where he stood. Still, he waited until you were under the covers first before he climbed in beside you again, immediately pulling you closer. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you firmly into his chest until there was no space left to negotiate with, his hand resting at your back in slow, absent circle.
"Stay here," he murmured. "I’m not going anywhere," you replied softly, adjusting slightly so your head rested properly against him. You felt him relax fully a moment later, the tension finally leaving his body completely as sleep started to take him properly. His breathing slowed, his grip on you never loosening even as he drifted.
You woke up gradually in pieces rather than all at once, warm and disoriented, the kind of slow return to consciousness that didn’t immediately remind you where you were, until you shifted slightly and felt Jungwon’s arm tighten instinctively around you — like even in sleep he didn’t want to let distance happen. He was already awake, you realised a moment later, watching you with that quiet, half-lidded expression he always had when he was still caught between sleep and awareness, hair slightly messed, face softer than it ever was when anyone else was around.
"Morning baby," he murmured, voice rough and low, you blinked up at him, still too warm to think properly, and for a second you just stared at him like your brain hadn’t caught up with the fact that this was now your life, sneaking into his dorm, waking up in his arms, him calling you baby so easily. You shifted closer on instinct, burying your face briefly against his chest like you could delay existing for a few more seconds, and he made a quiet, pleased sound under his breath as his hand immediately slid up your back again.
"You’re too awake," you muttered against him, voice muffled. "I’ve been awake for a while," he admitted quietly, "I was just… not moving, because you looked comfortable."
That made something in your chest perk up immediately, you leaned up slightly and kissed him, slow and unhurried, the kind of morning kiss that didn’t feel like anything complicated. Jungwon responded instantly, hand sliding up to your cheek, and for a few seconds there was nothing else in the world except the quiet, the warmth, and the fact that neither of you seemed in any rush. "We should probably get up," you murmured, though you made no move to actually do it.
"Mm," he agreed instantly, not moving either, pressing a kiss to your forehead like that solved the problem. "In a minute."
"A minute turns into an hour with you."
"That’s fine," he said easily, pulling you closer again. "We have time."
You let out a quiet laugh, which he clearly took as encouragement because he kissed you again like that was a perfectly reasonable way to start the morning.
"Last night was…" you started, pausing as you tried to find a word that didn’t immediately set your brain on fire. Jungwon raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly already knowing where this was going, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over your knuckles.
"Good?" he offered, far too calm.
You let out a small laugh, hiding your face for half a second before looking back at him. "So good,"
That earned you a quiet, satisfied hum from him, like he’d been waiting for you to say it out loud. He shifted closer again, forehead briefly resting against yours. "Yeah," he agreed, voice softer now, "I liked taking care of you."
You rolled your eyes fondly, nudging his shoulder with yours. "Research paid off then?"
"Don’t start," he muttered, but he was smiling anyway, pulling you back in by your waist, "I just wanted you to feel good."
"I did feel good," you admitted, voice dropping a little, more honest now as your fingers traced absentmindedly along his sleeve. "Really good and I wasn’t nervous with you. I thought I would be, but I wasn’t."
"Me neither," he confessed. "I mean I was nervous about everything except you." After a beat he added, "Next time, we don’t have to stop there if you don’t want to.”
"Okay then... let's not stop," you whispered against his lips. Jungwon's brain physically lagged for a moment, "You— right now?" he swallowed softly. You nodded once and for a moment he just stared at you, "You're—"
"Yes baby I'm sure." you cut him off which only had him cheesing. His hand slipped into your hair, gently pulling you back just enough to kiss you, and you rolled your eyes even as you leaned into it willingly. His free hand drifted lazily down your side, to squeeze the plush flesh of your ass and finally settling on your thigh. You hummed into his mouth at the touch pulling him closer instinctively.
Jungwon pulled back first, just enough to look at you properly. There was still a trace of sleep in his eyes, but there was something else there too. His eyes were almost black, just from kissing and that almost made you laugh. "What?" Jungwon grinned catching your lips curl.
"Just how needy you get from a little kissing," you said rubbing absentminded circles on his biceps.
"You just told me you want me to fuck you," he deadpanned, which only had you exhaling a laugh at his blunt words.
"Besides," he starts, hand splaying against your thigh, guiding and resting it over his hip. "you seemed pretty needy last night." You glanced away heat crawling up your neck, "Aw, don't get shy on me now baby." he whispered as his hand cupped your jaw guiding you to face him again.
"Won—" it came out barely above a breath, cheek now burning against his hand.
"Yeah?" he tilts his head "tell me what you need princess."
You bit the inside of your lip, you weren't planning on giving in but unfortunately you already had, 5 minutes ago. "You know what I need." you said, eyebrows pulling together.
"Mm, want to hear you say it," his eyes flit between your features, lips stretched subtly in an almost grin.
You leaned in pressing a kiss to his jaw and then licked over his pulse point, "Need your cock, inside me."
Jungwon inhaled sharply, he pulled you onto his lap properly by your thighs — lips attacking the soft flesh on your neck because he couldn't tease you anymore, not when he was throbbing beneath you. You adjusted onto him pressing your core against his stiff length.
Jungwon's hands ran up and down your body, pulling you impossibly closer like distance wasn't allowed. His tongue found yours and he slipped his hands around to your lower-back, under the fabric of your loose shorts and squeezed. You swallowed his content groan as he pulled your clothes off, starting with those shorts.
You both stripped each other between wet filthy kisses, slick sounds and your shared pleasure vibrated between your mouths. He didn't bother taking his boxers off, too caught up in his fingers finding your pussy, he groaned low into your mouth once he did "I did this to you?" he breathed against your lips.
"Mhm, you make me so fucking wet," you gasped, one hand loose on his neck, the other gripping his bicep.
He practically moaned at your words pulling you up so your core was directly on the curve of his cock. You just watched as his hands drifted to your hips, he gripped gently and jolted you forward. Your breath hitched at the first contact, a shaky moan ripping out of you as he guided you back and forth over him.
His head fell back against the headboard as he continued grinding you back and forth, hips bucking uncontrollably. "Shit, I'm gonna cum just from this," he breathed, and between the slick of both your pre-cum and the feeling of your bare pussy on his barely covered cock, you both found yourselves becoming increasingly desperate.
At some point his length under the fabric of his boxers rubbed over your clit in a perfect rhythm, heat flooded through your stomach. "God, baby," you mewled, your hand on his neck tightened just a little.
"Ah- baby I'm—" Jungwon moaned high and filthy. He had no idea something as simple as your fingers around his neck could turn him on so much.
As his hips bucked and warmth spread through his boxers your own high crashed into you with a whine. "Holy fuck," Jungwon breathed after a moment, beads of sweat forming along his hairline, "..think you're ready?" he added after a moment, you exhaled a laugh leaning forward into his neck.
He grinned flipping you over, somewhere between messy kisses and wandering hands he threw his boxers off and of course he was still fucking hard. You hooked your legs around his waist as he reached down guiding himself to your slick entrance. Your foreheads rested together, eyes on your connecting bodies. "Tell me if anything feels off," he said looking between your eyes, stern despite the desire deep in his sockets.
"I will," you whisper back, he nodded and then rubbed his tip over your slit slowly, teasing you both into shudders. His eyes snapped back up to your face, taking in every tiny twitch as he gradually pushed in, inch by inch. His lips parted in a guttural moan and your eyes threatened to roll back just at the feeling of his thickness stretching you out.
"Good?" he gasped softly, barely halfway in. A noise from the back of your mouth spilled out, half moan half whine — which almost had him spilling right there. He knit his eyes shut in concentration, breath warm against your cheek.
After a moment of composing himself the best he could he continued pushing in. Your grip on his bicep only tightened as your back slowly arched with each inch. As he bottomed out you both gasped together, Jungwon traced the curve of your lower-back holding you there, letting you adjust. "It's like you were fucking made for me," he said almost under his breath.
"Feel so—so full Won," you managed, his parted mouth curled up just slightly and then he pulled out just a little, just to push right back in — every thrust creating a spark of friction, bursting low in your belly.
Your legs around his waist tightened instinctively, pulling him impossibly closer as his hand moved from your hip to the back of your head, threading through your hair. Every sound spilling from your lips had him speeding up, "Sound so—pretty— for me."
You clenched around him at his praise, and Jungwon's hips stuttered, "Ah— you're squeezing me princess—" he breathed.
Your arms wrapped around his neck pulling his mouth onto yours, he whined low into your mouth in response. For a moment you barely responded, because the added traction of your nipples against his chest had your mouth going slack and Jungwon just stared, taking in your dazed expression and then — faster than you could comprehend he pulled your leg from his hip to his shoulder, the new position allowing his cock to reach even deeper. He watched as your face contorted in pleasure — his pace only quickened, grinding as far as he could reach. "Won-fuck-fuck-fuck—baby," you babbled between breaths.
His blonde hair was tousled in that sweaty sexy way and his tongue was lolled out how it would be when he was concentrating. His gaze instinctively dropped to your stomach, "—Oh, fuck— look at how deep I am babygirl," he gaped, eyes on the clear bulge in your tummy. Your whimpers picked up as the pressure built, thrusts deepening, "Baby— I want you to cum on my cock" he breathed leaning down, "can you do that for me?"
"Yeah—yes, fuck," you whined, he started ploughing into you, a hand reaching down to rub fast circles on your clit — you clenched hard in response a chorus of babbling and whines echoing between you.
"Want you to cum in me." you gasped as you felt that familiar chord about to snap,
"— Ah my fuuck—," his hips snapped in response a content noise spilling out of him. Your orgasm crashed over you in waves, walls convulsing around his thick length and Jungwon groaned low into your neck fucking you through it, his own release following in thick spurts deep in your pussy.
You both panted as your movements stilled, Jungwon rolled over next to you pulling you into his arms, your face in his neck as his hand raked through your hair. "You're so perfect," he whispered breathy against your hair, you made an acknowledging noise "So are you."
He pulled you back just to peck little kisses all over your face, "Baby—" you started but the words quickly dissolved into giggles. "I love you," he grinned, finally pulling back.
"I love you," you responded tracing his jaw, glancing back up at his big eyes — which were softened and dazed all for you.
"Was that okay?" he said after a moment, eyebrows pulled in a nervous furrow for a moment.
You nodded automatically, "More than okay baby," you murmured, pressing a few reassuring kisses to his pink lips. Jungwon seemed more than satisfied with your answer, a sheepish grin stretching across his face before he dropped his forehead against yours with a relieved laugh.
The two of you stayed there for another minute, tangled together beneath the blankets, neither making any real effort to move. The room was warm, the early morning light spilling lazily through the curtains, and every time you shifted closer Jungwon's arms tightened around you automatically.
Eventually reality won. Jungwon let out an exaggerated sigh before forcing himself upright, earning an immediate groan from you as the warmth disappeared. "Come on," he said, reaching down to smooth a hand through your hair. "Let's get cleaned up before we accidentally sleep until dinner."
You made a dramatic sound of protest but followed him anyway, both of you moving slower than usual, still sleepy and content in a way that made everything feel softer around the edges.
You moved through the motions of cleaning up and getting yourselves sorted out while exchanging tired smiles every few minutes. Neither of you seemed capable of being more than three feet apart without immediately drifting back together again.
The rush from earlier had faded completely, leaving only the comfortable familiarity that had always existed between you. You stole one of his hoodies without asking, and Jungwon didn't even pretend to object when you climbed back onto the bed wearing it.
"That was mine," he pointed out weakly.
"Was." You smiled and opened your arms. Jungwon immediately gave up the argument and climbed back beside you. For a while he simply held you there, arms secure around your middle, the morning sunlight spilling across the room around you. You rested against his chest while he absentmindedly played with your fingers, occasionally pressing lazy kisses into your hair whenever he thought you weren't paying attention.
Then he pressed his face into your hair and mumbled, "Can we stay like this for another ten minutes?"
"Baby later, I've gotta go before the others wake up," you said, already laughing as his grip tightened immediately in protest. Jungwon groaned dramatically into your shoulder as though you had just delivered devastating news.
"You'll survive."
He lifted his head just enough to give you a deeply unimpressed look, which only made you laugh harder. The sight seemed to completely ruin whatever argument he was trying to make because a second later he was smiling too, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. He leaned forward and stole one last kiss before you could continue arguing, smiling against your lips when you made an offended noise. "There," he said, satisfied with himself. "Now you can go."
"Thank you for the permission."
"You're welcome, baby."
You rolled your eyes, but your chest felt warm anyway. You pressed a final kiss to his lips even as he made another half-hearted sound of protest, and only then did you manage to actually sit up properly. It took several more minutes than it should have to leave because Jungwon kept finding reasons to pull you back for one more hug, one more kiss, one more excuse to keep you there.
The castle was still half asleep by the time you finally slipped out of Jungwon’s room, the corridor dim and quiet enough that your footsteps sounded louder than they actually were. Behind you, Jungwon's door clicked shut softly. You were already smiling to yourself, and that should have been your first warning that the universe was about to humble you.
The sleeves of his hoodie hanging too long over your hands as you padded toward the kitchen with the vague hope of grabbing water before attempting the walk back to your own dorm unnoticed.
You were halfway through convincing yourself everyone was asleep when you stepped into the kitchen and nearly had a heart attack. Jake was already there, sitting at the counter with a mug in one hand like he’d been awake long enough to enter a different stage of consciousness. He looked up the second you walked in and visibly froze mid-sip.
You froze too and for a long second, neither of you spoke. Jake’s eyes dragged slowly over your appearance, your wet hair, the oversized hoodie, the fact it was very obviously Jungwon’s, the way you looked suspiciously rumpled for someone supposedly just passing through at sunrise. Then his eyebrows lifted so high they practically disappeared into his hairline.
"…No fucking way," he said finally, you immediately sighed,
"Don’t."
Jake leaned back in his chair. "Oh my god," he breathed, grinning now.
"I didn’t mean to fall asleep," you said far too quickly. Jake just stared at you, then his eyes dropped to your neck, then back at you again. "…Uh huh," he said flatly, heat crawled violently into your face.
"Jake." Before he could answer, another set of footsteps shuffled into the kitchen behind you and Jungwon appeared looking equally exhausted, hair still wet, shirt wrinkled beyond saving. He stopped the second he saw Jake’s expression and immediately knew, eyes closing briefly.
"Fuck."
Jake pointed between the two of you with genuine outrage. "You two are fucking monsters." You covered your face instantly but Jungwon, instead of denying it like a normal person, looked genuinely stricken for a completely different reason.
"I knew we were being too loud."
You whipped around fast. "Shut the fuck up."
Jake doubled over laughing immediately while Jungwon dragged a hand through his hair. "I’m just saying, I had a feeling."
"A feeling?" Jake repeated, wheezing. "Bro, the entire floor had a feeling." Jungwon looked deeply ashamed for maybe half a second before moving behind you and immediately hiding his face in your shoulder. His arms slid loosely around your waist without thinking, all warm and unfairly comfortable despite the situation. Which only made Jake point harder. "Two days since you 'made' up. TWO."
"We were going to tell you," Jungwon muttered weakly. Jake only stared at him. "After what?"
You groaned covering your face with both hands now. "Shut up." you said muffled.
Jake, unfortunately, was enjoying himself far too much now. "Do you understand how traumatic it is," he continued, "to wake up at like three in the morning thinking somebody is getting brutally murdered and then realizing no, it’s just Jungwon losing his virginity." Jungwon made a strangled noise into your neck. "Stop talking." he mumbled not even bothering correcting him.
"No, because I almost came in to check if—"
"Jake." He held both hands up immediately, still laughing. "Alright, okay, I’m done." He clearly was not done. The grin stayed permanently stuck on his face as he looked between you both again, softer this time beneath all the teasing.
"Seriously though," he said, shaking his head. "About fucking time." You felt your embarrassment ease just slightly at that but Jake ruined it immediately by narrowing his eyes at Jungwon "But I swear to god, if I hear even one suspicious sound again, I’m knocking on the wall like an old man."
Jungwon finally lifted his head just enough to mumble, "Can you keep your voice down before the others wake up?"
Jake gasped dramatically. "Oh, now we care about volume."
You scoffed turning your head to Jungwon, while he started laughing into you, shoulders shaking. "This is your fault," you told him immediately.
"My fault?” he repeated, offended now despite the grin tugging at his mouth. “You were the one making—”
"Finish that sentence and I’ll kill you." Jake nearly folded in half laughing again while Jungwon wisely shut his mouth, though the smug look on his face made it very clear he absolutely could finish that sentence.The kitchen settled after that into quieter laughter, the kind that came easier after the initial humiliation burned off and light conversation. Jake took another sip of coffee, still occasionally looking at the two of you with disbelief written all over his face, while Jungwon stayed tucked against your shoulder without an ounce of shame left in him anymore.
"We lasted barely two days," you said, turning to look at Jungwon again. He groaned into your neck, arms tightening around your waist. "I thought we’d at least make it a week," he said. "Yeah, no chance," you laughed.
"Worth it," Jungwon whispered, breath warm against your ear. You rolled your eyes automatically, though the smile pulling at your mouth ruined any attempt at annoyance. Behind you, Jake made a deeply offended sound into his coffee mug.
"I hate both of you."
Eventually, after Jake threatened violence if either of you stayed in the kitchen any longer, you finally escaped back to your dorm. The walk across the hall felt strangely light, maybe because the secret was already starting to slip out of your hands anyway. Your dorm was quiet when you slipped inside, still half asleep as morning light spilled weakly through the windows. You changed quickly, washing your face in freezing water in a failed attempt to wake yourself up properly.
By the time you finally made your way down to breakfast, the castle had properly woken up around you. Voices echoed through the corridors, footsteps overlapping against stone floors, the usual morning chaos settling back into place. Breakfast passed in a blur of pointed looks and carefully neutral behaviour, the kind where you and Jungwon sat just far enough apart to be technically innocent but close enough that Jake kept smirking into his drink.
The afternoon found you all together again, sprawled in a common lounge space near the library where people usually ended up when they had nowhere else to be. Ni-ki had claimed an armchair, Heeseung was half lying across the sofa scrolling on his phone, Kenny was arguing about something unimportant, and Jake was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch in a way that made it look like he was physically restraining himself from commenting on anything.
You ended up beside Jungwon without thinking, like it was muscle memory rather than choice. He didn’t say anything about it either, just shifted slightly to make space for you, his shoulder brushing yours in a way that felt entirely too natural for something you were supposedly hiding. It was almost working, until someone else walked in.
It was one of the older Slytherin students you vaguely recognised, confident enough in the way he carried himself to immediately head in your direction with an easy smile. You only realised he was speaking to you when he stopped directly in front of the sofa, asking your name with the kind of casual interest that didn’t quite match the way his eyes stayed on your face. "Hey," he said again, like repeating it made it smoother, "I’ve seen you around, I just wanted to say hi properly."
You answered politely, confused more than anything, and that was apparently enough encouragement for him to keep talking. Jungwon didn’t move at first, which was almost impressive, but the change in him was immediate anyway. You felt it, the shift in posture beside you, the way his leg tensed slightly where it was stretched out near yours, the subtle lean forward like he was suddenly very aware of the space between you and the stranger.
The guy laughed at something you said, just a little too familiar, and Jungwon finally looked up. "Can I help you?" Jungwon asked, voice calm in a way that didn’t match the look in his eyes at all.
The guy blinked, slightly thrown by the tone more than the words. "Oh, I was just talking to her—"
"I know," he said lightly, still smiling. "I heard." There was a beat of silence that felt like it stretched too long for comfort. Heeseung slowly lowered his phone. Ni-ki straightened in his chair. Kenny stopped talking mid-sentence. Jake covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders already shaking like he was physically fighting laughter.
The guy looked between you and Jungwon now, the confusion starting to shift into something more cautious. "Are you her boyfriend or something?"
Jungwon didn’t even hesitate. "No," he said easily, still smiling. Then he glanced at you for half a second, softer in a way only you caught, like the answer wasn’t meant for anyone else in the room.
"Not yet."
The room absolutely lost it in the most restrained way possible, like everyone was trying not to make it worse but failing miserably. Jake made a sound that suspiciously turned into a cough halfway through. Kenny’s eyes went wide. Ni-ki leaned forward, elbows on knees. Even Heeseung looked like he was trying very hard to understand if this was a joke or a confession.
The guy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… I’ll leave you to it then." He left faster than he arrived.
"Jungwon," you said under your breath, he finally looked at you properly now, expression completely unreadable for half a second before it softened again, like he couldn’t help himself.
"What? I was polite." he said quietly, too calm to be innocent.
"That was not polite," you laughed in disbelief, leaning into his shoulder without thinking, like your body had decided this was just normal again, completely forgetting for a second that everyone else in the room was currently reconstructing reality around you both. It only took you half a second to realise they had gone quiet in that very specific way that meant people were talking without actually speaking.
Jungwon didn’t even flinch at the contact, just shifted slightly so you fit against him more naturally. "It was," he insisted, still annoyingly calm about it, eyes flicking briefly down to you like he was more focused on you than the entire audience pretending not to exist
It wasn’t loud at first, more like a collective pause. The kind where nobody speaks because everyone is trying to decide who breaks first. Then Kenny finally leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowed like she was assembling a case in real time. "So," she said carefully, "just to clarify what I’m watching right now.”
Heeseung exhaled through his nose, already looking tired of being right about everything. "Don’t say ‘just to clarify’ like you’re not about to interrogate them."
"I am," Kenny replied immediately, not even looking away from you two. Ni-ki tilted his head, openly curious now. "So like.. you're together?"
Jungwon didn’t answer straight away. Not because he was hiding anything, but because he looked mildly amused by the fact that they were only just catching up. His hand stayed resting casually near your knee like it belonged there, thumb brushing once against your leg. Kenny didn’t even look up properly, just pointed vaguely at you both. "I knew it. I literally said it. No one listens to me in this house."
Jungwon finally sat up a little, still calm but noticeably less playful now that he could feel the full attention on him. "It’s not new," he said simply, like that answered anything.
That made Jake let out a quiet laugh from the floor. "That is the most unhelpful sentence you could’ve chosen."
Jungwon hummed quietly at that, glancing at you for half a second like he was sharing the joke only with you. "We didn’t plan for it to be… announced," he said, which made Jake snort again.
"Oh, it got announced,” Jake said. "Loudly. Multiple times."
You covered your face briefly, heat creeping up your neck. "Please stop talking."
Kenny looked between you and Jake now, fully locking in on something she wasn’t ready to let go of. "He knew??"
"Unfortunately," Jake mumbled, clearly enjoying your embarrassment far too much, leaning back into the sofa. "I’ve been carrying this knowledge alone."
Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, shaking his head a little. "That explains a lot, actually."
Jungwon shifted slightly beside you, still calm but now visibly more amused, like the whole thing had officially crossed into ridiculous territory he no longer felt the need to resist. "He’s been unbearable since this morning," he added.
"Excuse you,” Jake said instantly. “I have been supportive."
"You threatened to knock on the wall." you reminded him.
"I was setting boundaries," Jake replied without missing a beat.
Kenny pointed between all of you again, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, no, I’m still not done with you two."
"We feel like we are," you said.
"You’re not," she replied, and she wasn’t lying. The next twenty minutes somehow turned into a slow, ongoing series of questions that weren’t even really questions anymore, just observations disguised as curiosity. Heeseung quietly checking if you were both "Okay okay" after everything, Ni-ki asking far too many casual "So like when did you realise" questions, Kenny refusing to let any detail pass unexamined, and Jungwon answering everything with infuriating calmness like this was a group project he had already finished. You eventually stopped trying to defend anything and just leaned fully into him again, which only made them look more satisfied and by the time they finally let it go, it wasn’t because they were out of questions. It was because they were exhausted.
Jake was the first one to fully give up, getting up and stretching like he had just survived a long-haul flight, then walked over and flopped directly down between you both on the sofa like personal space was an outdated concept. "Alright," he announced, already reaching an arm around your shoulders and the other around Jungwon. "I approve of this relationship."
You made a sound of protest, half-laughing as his weight pushed you both closer together. "You don’t get to approve anything."
"I do," Jake said, completely unbothered, settling in like he was comfortable there for the rest of the day. "I suffered through the years of denial."
Jungwon leaned slightly into the chaos without complaint, glancing down at Jake’s arm like it was mildly inconvenient but acceptable. "You’re heavy," he said and Jake squeezed tighter just to be annoying.
"And you’re welcome."
Ni-ki was still watching like he was trying to decide if this counted as normal behaviour now. Kenny had her chin propped in her hand, looking way too pleased with how this had all resolved itself. Heeseung, as usual, looked like he’d already accepted the situation ten steps before everyone else caught up.
Then Kenny exhaled, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "No, seriously though," she said, eyes flicking between you and Jungwon, "I’m happy for you both." Ni-ki nodded immediately like that was the only logical conclusion. "Yeah. About time, honestly." Heeseung hummed in agreement, calm as ever.
Jake tilted his head back against the sofa, still wrapped around both of you like a human barricade. "Yeah," he added, quieter but sincere underneath all the noise, "I’m happy for you guys. It’s been… a lot watching you finally get here." That landed in a way that made your chest feel a little warm and too tight at the same time. Jungwon didn’t say anything straight away, just pat Jake's shoulder.
"Yeah," he said finally, softer than usual, "it was worth it."
Jake, of course, ruined the softness immediately by squeezing you both again. "Don’t get emotional," he said. "I will make it weird again if I have to."
Later that night, long after the teasing had finally died down and everyone had gone their separate ways, Jungwon appeared outside your dorm looking suspicious in a way that immediately made you narrow your eyes at him. The corridor was quiet, lit only by the warm dim glow from the wall sconces, and he stood there with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket like he was attempting innocence he absolutely did not possess.
"You look guilty," you informed him as you stepped out into the corridor, pulling your jacket tighter around yourself against the cold stone air. Jungwon’s mouth twitched immediately, blonde hair falling messily across his forehead from where he’d clearly been dragging his hands through it for a while now.
"I’m literally just standing here," he said, though the defensive edge to it only made you more suspicious. Before you could continue interrogating him, he reached for your hand, fingers slipping easily between yours with effortless familiarity. "Come with me," he added, thumb brushing absentmindedly across your knuckles. "I’m not doing anything illegal. Probably."
"That is not reassuring."
"It should be slightly reassuring," he corrected, already tugging you along the corridor. You let him pull you through the castle despite the growing certainty that he absolutely was planning something. The higher the staircases became, the more sceptical you got, until eventually you slowed to a stop halfway up another winding staircase and looked at him properly. "Jungwon," you said carefully, already trying not to laugh, "Why are we climbing seventy flights of stairs at midnight."
He laughed under his breath at that, squeezing your hand gently. "Can you trust me for five minutes, baby? Just five. I’m asking for very little here." he replied, tugging lightly on your hand until you started moving again. The pet name distracted you just enough that he managed to get you all the way to the top before you could continue questioning him. There was something annoying in his expression already, like he knew you were going to like whatever this was and was trying not to ruin it too early.
The second the tower door swung open, night air rushed around you, carrying the distant sound of wind through the castle grounds below and then your eyes landed on the setup waiting near the far side of the tower. Blankets and pillows looking ridiculously comfortable, spread across the stone floor beneath the stars, complete with snacks shoved into one corner and what looked suspiciously like one of the softer blankets stolen from the boys dorm. You stopped dead in the doorway staring at it while Jungwon immediately looked away like he physically couldn’t handle your reaction yet.
"Baby," you breathed.
"It gets cold up here," he says quickly, though the slight pinkness creeping into his face completely ruined any attempt at nonchalance. "And carrying all of this up here was genuinely horrible. I almost gave up halfway through and just invited you to the couch downstairs."
That startled a laugh out of you, warm enough that some of the tension visibly left his shoulders at the sound. You’d started noticing that recently too — how much he relaxed whenever you laughed now, like some deeply anxious part of him was still adjusting to the fact that he no longer had to wonder if you wanted him around.
"C’mere," he murmured after a second, reaching for you again. He pulled your jacket off for you before shrugging his own off and tossing both onto the blankets carelessly. You let him guide you over before dropping down beside him, both of you dissolving into quiet laughter when one of the pillows immediately slid out from underneath you and nearly sent you sideways. Jungwon caught you automatically, one arm wrapping around your waist as he pulled you securely against him, and the smug little smile that appeared afterwards made you grin immediately.
"Who knew you'd be such a sap."
“Baby I worked hard,” he replied, attempting to sound serious about it. “Do you know how difficult it is to sneak this many pillows through the castle without people asking questions. Jake watched me walk past and just went, ‘If you’re not proposing up there don't tell me about it after.’"
You exhaled a laugh. "That sounds like him."
The wind moved softly around the tower after that, the blankets warm beneath you while Jungwon shifted until you were tucked comfortably against his chest, his arm draped around your waist beneath the layers of fabric. For a while neither of you spoke. You just sat there together watching the dark grounds stretch below the tower while his fingers traced lazy patterns against your side through your top. Eventually though, Jungwon let out a quiet breath, the kind that gave him away instantly.
You tilted your head back slightly to look at him. "What’s going on in that brain right now."
Jungwon groaned softly before dropping his head back against the stone wall behind him. "I had this planned better in my head," he admitted.
A laugh escaped you immediately. "That's not an answer."
His fingers tightened around yours beneath the blanket before he looked back down at you again, expression slowly melting into something quieter. "I just keep thinking about how everyone already calls you mine, and you are. And I know that sounds stupid, because everything is already obvious, but it’s been bothering me all day,"
You blinked at him once, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. "After wanting this for so long, I don’t want to do any of it halfway with you. I don’t wanna look back later and realize I skipped over asking because I assumed you already knew."
You squeezed his hand, smiling into his shoulder. Jungwon looked down at you then, fully this time, all soft and nervous honesty under the dim lantern light.
"So," he said carefully, "Baby, can I be your boyfriend, properly."
Something about the way he asked nearly ruined you on the spot. That after years of almosts and misunderstandings and loving each other so quietly it physically hurt, you had somehow ended up here instead.
"You’re ridiculous."
"That's not a no," he said immediately, grinning way too much for someone trying to act calm. You kissed him, laughter dissolving against his mouth when he melted into it instantly, one hand sliding up to cup your cheek while his relieved smile pressed warm against your lips.
"Yes," you whispered once you pulled back enough to breathe. "Obviously yes."
He exhaled hard through his nose before pulling you impossibly closer into him, forehead pressing against yours while he laughed quietly under his breath. "Okay good," he murmured. "Because I’ve actually been stressed about asking you for, like, six hours."
"You did not think I was going to say no," you teased, brushing your nose lightly against his.
"Mmm. I considered the possibility," he replied with a tiny shrug that immediately ruined the seriousness of the moment. You swatted at his shoulder and he laughed properly this time, catching your hand before you could do it again and pressing a quick kiss to your knuckles.
"Boyfriend," he said suddenly, testing the word out loud, and unfortunately your face betrayed you immediately.
"Oh," his eyes widened, and then he laughed softly.
"Jungwon."
His grin only widened as he wrapped both arms around your waist and pulled you against him properly. "My girlfriend," he whispered, sounding entirely too pleased with himself now. You groaned and buried your face in his shoulder, which only made him laugh harder, his chin resting lightly on top of your head.
For a second you just held his eyes, looking into the same boy who used to love you silently from across rooms, from hidden glances and overthought conversations and years of wanting without knowing what to do with it.
The story had never been about falling in love. It had been about realising you already were. Jungwon tilted his head slightly when he noticed you staring.
"What?"
You smiled and leaned forward and kissed him again beneath the stars, beneath the endless sky that had watched every version of you both become this one.
And when you finally pulled away, the future didn't feel frightening anymore. It felt familiar. It looked like stolen hoodies and sleepy mornings, like a boy with messy blonde hair looking at you as though he'd never quite believe his luck.
And beneath a sky full of stars, surrounded by the quiet magic of a world that had brought you together long before either of you understood why, you stayed there a little longer.
Just two people who had spent four years finding their way home.
V 𓄧 wowowowow. i'd already written 17k words when i posted 4poison1 so i was like, yo this is not gonna take me long at all......... a month later. . .imsorry ok i hope this makes up for it AND JS KNOW i will NAUT be writing long ass fics for a while omg this took me from FEBRUARY TO JUNE. i love you x
(the pic above is me the entire month passing by as I waited for this part LMAOOO) 😭🩷
And yes it's genuinely 1:30 in the morning BUT it was so worth it to read this after my long ass week.... THIS IS TRULY SO CINEMATIC.
No but honestly I waited for this part two, and I just wanna say I'm so glad I was here to witness pt1 take off and then be there for the process of pt2!!! MY FRIEND AND I THAT READ FICS WERE SO EXCITED TO READ THIS (separately because we get awkward) but twin this was SOOO good and I'm just so proud of the work you put in to give us this awesome piec!!! ILYSM FAVORITE WRITERRR 🥹🫶🏻
i was contemplating how to finish her for so long and how i wanted the reactions to go, there are soooo many drafts for this flipping fic. omg i hope your friend loves her too!!
thank you soo much for showing her soo much love and your comments truly it was all so motivating<3 ILYT!!!
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
pairing: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader word count: 28k+ — series ★⋆ content: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearning, possessive!won. avoidant!reader. miscommunication. jungwon is lowk pathetic but..in a hot way. secret relationship. they're disgustingly cute. ⦸ kissing. tongue sucking. spit play. dry humping. switch!jungwon, switch!reader. dirty talk. big dick won. premature ejaculation. tit play. petnames(baby, princess, babygirl). fingerfucking. finger sucking. overstimulation. kinda condescending. oral (m+f). cum eating (f+m). face fucking? (m receiving). pussy drunk won. slight size kink. multiple rounds. light choking. bulge kink. loss of virginity (m+f). unprotected sex. creampie.
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 1
V𓄧 helloooo!! it's the end of an era. i hope the wait was worth it❤️🩹and thank you soo much to miss @kissued for proof-reading!! your input was truly so helpful babygirl!
You started your morning the same way you always did, routine first, thinking later. Preferably never if you could help it. Pull the robes on, adjust your hair multiple times and mess it up again because trying too hard felt embarrassing in your current state of mind. Pause in front of the mirror longer than usual and then immediately regret it, because there’s something behind your eyes you don’t want to unpack right now.
So you looked away before you could start spiralling into one of those cruel little internal monologues about how unnatural you looked, opting to grab your things and leave instead.
But there was this dull ache sitting in your chest, quiet but persistent, like it was waiting for you to acknowledge it — and you don’t because if you don’t name it, it doesn’t get to be real. That was the system, a deeply flawed system, apparently, because despite your best efforts the ache stayed exactly where it was, tucked somewhere beneath your ribs and growing increasingly difficult to pretend wasn’t there.
The air felt heavier, like the space isn’t as easy to exist in anymore. Even the idea of sitting with your friends this morning felt strangely exhausting, and you hated that more than anything. Hated that something so normal had become something you had to think about first.
The room was already loud with morning chatter when you stepped inside, sunlight pouring through the enchanted ceiling in pale gold streaks while students crowded around long tables — balancing unfinished homework and toast. Your friends were already there, they looked up almost immediately when you approached, conversations faltering just slightly as their attention shifted toward you.
There was tension sitting there beneath everything, thin enough that nobody else would notice it, but obvious to you in the way all uncomfortable things became obvious once you were already hurting. It settled awkwardly between all of you like a conversation waiting to happen and you suddenly understood, with painful clarity, how easy it would be for someone to ask the wrong question this morning and ruin you completely.
"Morning, Y/n," a few of them said, their eyes lingering just a second too long. "Morning," you replied evenly, your voice smooth enough to pass for normal. You reached for a piece of toast, eyes flicking briefly across the table before you turned slightly like you planned on leaving immediately.
Jake frowned first, "—You're not gonna sit?" he asked. Jake knows you, he knows your way of handling things that actually hurt is by avoiding it, but he didn't know how bad it was going to get. You paused for half a second before shrugging lightly.
"No, It's a nice day," Which was objectively true, also completely irrelevant. The silence after your answer stretched just long enough to feel deliberate. You turned and started toward the entrance hall again, already feeling the weight in your chest ease slightly at the thought of escaping.
Unfortunately, the universe had apparently decided suffering built character, you made it halfway across the entrance hall before you had to slow your pace hearing footsteps. "Hey—" Jungwon stood a few feet away, slightly out of breath like he’d hurried after you without fully meaning to. His blonde hair still looked messy from sleep, collar crooked in that careless way nobody else seemed capable of making look good, and his eyes, they were already fixed on you in that open way that always made your resolve feel embarrassingly fragile.
"Hi," you said, narrowly avoiding his eyes.
"You’re not eating with us?" he asked, and there was the faintest pout pulling at his lips out of habit, so natural he probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. You glanced away, settling on the floating candles somewhere behind him instead.
"No," you answered, forcing a small smile onto your face before pressing your lips together quickly like you regretted it immediately. "I’m going for a walk." A poor attempt really, Jungwon’s brows pulled together slightly, like he noticed you were already off, despite you barely exchanging a few sentences.
"I’ll see you guys later." You added quickly, pre-emptively, before he could ask to come.
"Oh," he said softly. "Okay… bye." the words trailing as you turned and you didn’t look back. Because one glance would’ve ruined whatever pathetic amount of self-control you still had left. You would’ve seen that familiar look before he caught himself too late, and suddenly all this distance you were trying so hard to create wouldn’t make sense anymore.
So you kept walking, even when every part of you wanted to stop. You wanted to turn around, grab his sleeve like you’ve done a hundred times before, mumble something sarcastic about fresh air and have him follow without question. You wanted him next to you, matching your pace, letting the silence speak for him like he always does.
You wanted things to feel normal again and maybe that was the problem, because you’d spent so long putting other people’s feelings before your own that hurting quietly had become second nature to you. You always swallowed your emotions down before they became inconvenient. Always convinced yourself you could handle it because seeing other people uncomfortable somehow felt worse than carrying the hurt yourself. That was still true, but right now it felt too big to push down.
Behind you, Jungwon stayed standing there for another second longer than necessary. He watched as you left, there was something in his chest, something off — he didn’t reach for it. Didn’t question it, just frowned faintly as he headed inside with his mind stuck on you. He greeted the others automatically, barely registering their responses and his attention kept drifting elsewhere despite himself, replaying your expression over and over trying to figure out why something about it unsettled him so much.
He dropped his gaze to the table. People filtered out slowly after breakfast, one by one, until it was just the three of them. Jake cleared his throat loudly, "So.." Heeseung started, already watching the blonde. "Did you tell her?" Jake cut in, blunt and straight to the point.
"Dude—" Heeseung shot a look at the younger, who only shrugged. Jungwon didn’t react right away, his finger traced the rim of his glass, slowly, distracted. "No," he said finally. "I didn’t."
"Why?" they asked in unison, he exhaled, shoulders tensing slightly.
"She didn’t care," he said, eyes fixed downward on the glass. Jake leans back in his chair, staring at Jungwon like he’s just said something objectively stupid.
"You cannot actually be this stupid," he muttered, Jungwon frowned slightly.
"She told me to tell her," he says, quieter now. "You don’t tell someone to confess to someone else if you—"
"If you what?" Jake cuts in. "If you like them? Yeah, you do. All the time. It’s called being a masochist."
"That’s not—" Jungwon stops, frustrated, dragging his hand down his face. "You didn’t see her," he muttered. "She was fine." The boys looked to each-other and then back at him.
"Jungwon she clearly-" Heeseung started.
"No." The word came quick, defensive in a way he doesn’t usually get. He shook his head, sitting up slightly. "No I need to stop doing this" he let out a breath, sharper this time.
"Doing what?"
"Convincing myself that she'd feel the same." The honesty in his voice made the table fall silent, immediately he let out another sharp breath before leaning back again — exhausted already by thoughts he clearly hadn’t wanted to say out loud.
Jungwon had considered it, yes, maybe you were a little bit of a masochist and he'd seen you downplay your feelings enough times. But how the fuck could he know what's real or not anymore. For years he’d survived almost entirely on implication and hope. Now he had a choice, he could keep doing this to himself, keep taking every small thing you did and stretching meaning into it until it hurt, or he could finally accept that maybe he’d just wanted you too much to think clearly. He could finally start reading between the lines but even then, some pathetic part of him had still tried replaying your expression over and over searching for something hidden underneath it. Regret. Jealousy. Anything. Because wanting you had long since stopped feeling rational.
"I’m not bringing it up again." he said firmly. Then Heeseung glanced toward Jake briefly before speaking carefully. "Jungwon.. she doesn't even know you were under Amortentia," Heeseung said carefully.
"I know." He said quieter now, tired. "Please don’t tell her." That made them both pause because now it’s not just pride, it’s fear and if you find out, everything changes.
Heeseung studied him for a moment, something conflicted in his expression. "…We won’t," he said finally. "But only because she should hear it from you." Jake nodded once in agreement. Jungwon didn't respond, he just stared at the table, like if he stayed still enough, he wouldn’t have to choose between fixing it or losing you completely.
That first day, you avoided people, not in a dramatic way and definitely not enough for anyone to call attention to it. You still showed up where you were supposed to, still answered questions when professors called on you, still sat beside your friends during class when there weren’t enough excuses left to disappear entirely.
After breakfast, you walked instead of going straight to class. You took the longer routes through the castle automatically, choosing quieter corridors and empty staircases, slipping around crowds before they formed properly. Every decision became calculated in this quiet subconscious way you hated noticing. You’d pause briefly at intersections listening for familiar voices before turning elsewhere. Not because you were hiding, at least that’s what you kept telling yourself. You just didn’t trust your ability to look at him normally right now.
Everything continued moving with the same rhythm it always had, and there was something strangely isolating about that. The world should’ve at least paused for a second out of respect for your emotional humiliation because fuck, everything is so loud.
You ended up in the library for a while, tucked into a corner table no one really used. A book open in front of you, something dense and complicated enough that it required just enough concentration to occupy your hands if not your thoughts. Your eyes moved over the words, sure, but you absorbed absolutely none of it. Your mind kept drifting, kept replaying that moment over and over like your brain was trying to fact check it.
"I think I love her." The memory hit differently every time it replayed, sometimes sharp enough to feel like a stab, other times quieter, almost numb, like your brain was trying to dull the edges for self-preservation. You blinked, forcing your attention back to the page. Right, don't think just read, you lasted maybe twenty minutes before closing the book.
You skipped lunch, not intentionally. It just, happened — you told yourself you weren’t hungry, which was half true, the other half was that you didn’t feel like sitting across from him and pretending you hadn’t heard what you heard. You kept picturing him smiling, talking about her and every single time it felt like something folding painfully inward inside your chest. Pathetic.
You’d spent years carefully avoiding this exact situation. Years making sure your feelings for him stayed manageable enough to survive if things ever went wrong. You never pushed too hard, never let yourself fully believe anything between you meant more than friendship because you knew how dangerous hope became once it rooted itself properly. So why did this hurt like you hadn’t been?
By late afternoon, you found yourself back in the Room of Requirement almost without realizing you’d gone there. The door appeared quietly against the stone wall after your third pass, opening into something emptier than before, something quieter. A curved window stretched across one side of the room overlooking distant hills washed gold beneath the late afternoon sun. There was a wooden desk nearby, shelves lined with books you wouldn’t read and a sofa tucked into the corner beneath dim lantern light.
The room felt less like comfort today and more like permission to exist somewhere without being perceived for a while. You sat by the window eventually, knees pulled slightly toward your chest as your gaze drifted absently across the landscape outside. You tried thinking about it logically instead because logic had always been easier than emotions. People fall for other people literally every day, entire populations survive this experience regularly. He likes someone else, it's fine, that’s normal and you’ll get over it… Who were you fooling.
That persistent ache that had sat there all day had only grown heavier, spreading slowly through you in ways that made concentrating impossible. You pressed your lips together tightly before dragging a hand over your face with a quiet exhale. This is so fucking stupid.
You’re not the kind of person who spirals over things like this. You didn't build entire fantasies in your head just to mourn them afterwards. You kept yourself guarded specifically to avoid ending up here — sitting alone in a magical room feeling devastated over something that technically was never yours to lose in the first place. You’d imagined it all. Had to have because otherwise none of this made sense. You let out a breath and stood, not giving yourself more time to sit in it.
The Great Hall was loud, plates clinking, chatter. Someone a few seats down was laughing entirely too hard at something that objectively could not have been that funny. Everything felt alive in that messy, ordinary way Hogwarts always did at the end of the day. You hated how disconnected from it you felt. You slipped into the empty seat beside Jake, movements automatic, almost rehearsed at this point. He glanced at you the second you sat down, concern flickering across his face before he tried covering it with something lighter. "Hey," he said, nudging your shoulder gently with his own.
"Hi," You gave him a small smile in return, quick enough to miss if someone wasn’t paying attention.
"You okay?" he asked, head tilting like he was about to run diagnostics on you.
"Mm." you nodded, your attention shifted elsewhere, fingers wrapping around your glass of water mostly just to avoid looking directly at him. You could feel the weight of observation today, everyone glancing too carefully around you like they were trying not to step on something fragile.
You lifted the glass to your lips slowly, eyes drifting absently across the room over the rim until they caught on Jungwon almost by accident. He was already looking at you, not subtly either, there was something behind his eyes that looked like it ached. You didn’t acknowledge it and just started eating. Around you, conversation moved naturally enough, your gaze eventually wandering again until it landed somewhere across the hall.
Penelope, she was watching Jungwon. Not the way people usually watched attractive boys from across rooms at parties or meals or gatherings, there was hesitation in it, like she was actively debating whether to walk over to him right now, whether to cross that space between them. You could see it, that slight shift forward, that pause. Your chest lurched uncomfortably, so you stood a few seconds later and muttered your goodbyes, barely waiting for a response as you walked.
"I’m gonna go," you muttered quickly, barely hearing Jake call after you as you turned away from the table, because suddenly you could picture it too clearly. Her walking over, him smiling with that same smile you thought was yours. You left faster than you meant to, like if you don’t, something would catch up to you, a voice, a hand on your wrist — your own stupid instinct to stay.
The corridors blurred slightly as you walked, your pace quick and uneven while the noise of the Great Hall faded further behind you. Cold air drifted through open archways as the evening settled outside the castle windows, painting the stone floors in dim blue grey light.
You found yourself at that same abandoned classroom and sat on the stone steps despite the cold, exhaling slowly. There’s something in your heart that just won’t settle, worse now — like it’s pressing against you it, asking to be acknowledged. Footsteps echoed softly behind you not long after and you had to physically suppress a sigh.
"Hey, Y/n." Beomgyu said gently. You glanced toward him briefly as he approached before sitting beside you carefully, leaving enough space between you that it didn’t feel suffocating.
"Hi," you replied quietly. He paused, studying your face, "Are you alright," The question came carefully, like he already knew the answer and was asking anyway just in case you wanted to be honest.
"I’m fine," you said, too quickly but he didn’t call you out on it. Instead he leaned back slightly against the wall beside you and nodded once.
"We don’t have to talk about it," he said instead. It made something loosen, just slightly because he didn’t push or probe, where they immediately started trying to solve it or force it open like your feelings were some sort of problem needing repair.
You breathed in slowly, though the inhale caught unevenly halfway through. Was it really that obvious?
Silence settled between you not an awkward silence, just the kind that didn’t ask anything from you but unfortunately, quiet left too much room to think.
The way Jungwon looked at her, not the way he looked at you when he was teasing you softly or trying to figure out what you were thinking without asking outright. This had been different, it was certain as though he knew without hesitation that it was her.
With you, there was always something just under the surface. Something unsaid, but there. You felt it. You know you did, you didn’t imagine that. Right? Your fingers curl slightly into your sleeves. You could handle jealousy, honestly, you could — it was ugly and humiliating, but manageable. It was the other part, the part where something in you rearranges itself around the idea that maybe you misunderstood everything.
Jungwon, on the other hand, was losing his mind. He didn’t know what to do. All day, you’d been just out of reach, not gone but not there either and it didn’t make sense. In four years, you had barely left each other’s sides. It had never been something either of you questioned, it was just how things were, until now. Now every hallway felt too empty whenever you weren’t in it and the more distance you put between yourself and him, the more aware he became of how much space you actually occupied in his life.
By evening, the restlessness inside him had sharpened into something unbearable. He needed to talk to you, he needed to explain — even if he didn’t fully know how. Because somewhere between the potion wearing off and watching you avoid him all day, Jungwon had started realizing something terrifyingly simple. Losing you felt worse than embarrassing himself ever could. But even if he walked into it telling himself he wouldn’t say it, he knew it wouldn't last, because the truth was if you looked at him the way you always did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. So when he saw you again later that evening, he stopped walking immediately.
You were sitting with Beomgyu. Not close, not leaning in, you weren’t laughing or touching his arm or doing anything that would make people question it. There was space between you, intentional — noticeable if you knew what to look for. It was wasn't anything anyone else would look twice at but to him, it was loud, because you didn’t let people sit like that with you. Not in that quiet, unguarded way. Beomgyu wasn’t filling the silence nervously or trying to pull reactions out of you. He was just sitting there beside you while you stared ahead quietly and you were letting him.
That kind of stillness, that kind of ease was something you reserved. Something he thought, stupidly, had always been his. He stood there in the hall for way longer than he should have, watching something small and quiet and completely non-dramatic feel like it was tearing something open inside him and the realization settled in. You weren’t just pulling away. You were letting someone else in.
It didn’t fix itself the next day, or the day after that. If anything, it settled — into something quieter, more permanent. It sat behind every conversation, every glance across the room, every moment your brain instinctively searched for him before remembering why it shouldn’t.
You kept moving through your days exactly the way you always had because if you stopped long enough to properly examine what was happening to you, you might actually have to admit how badly this affected you, and frankly you refused to become the kind of person who unravelled over a boy. Especially not in a castle full of emotionally observant adults with absolutely nothing better to do than romanticize other people’s suffering.
You arrive just late enough that there’s no space beside him anymore, slipping into whatever seat is open without comment. If there is space, you take it — never close enough for your shoulders to brush, never the easy proximity you used to fall into without thinking and the second conversations started thinning out, the second things became quieter and more intimate and dangerous, you left first.
"Anyway, I’ve got something to do," becomes your exit line, like it means nothing, like he means nothing. Which is almost funny, because you’ve built your entire day around not being alone with him.
Kenny doesn’t bring it up right away. She had this deeply concerning habit of collecting emotional evidence silently before confronting people with it like some sort of terrifyingly perceptive prosecutor. You almost made it through dinner, and then.. "Hey," she says, stepping into your path just enough that you have to stop.
"Walk with me." It’s not really a question. You hesitate, just for a second like maybe if you wait long enough, this won’t happen. "..Okay."
She walks beside you in silence for a while, matching your pace easily, hands tucked into the sleeves of her jumper. It’s usually comfortable, the kind of quiet you don’t have to work for but today, it feels almost watched. "You’re doing that thing again," she says finally, you don’t look at her. "What thing?"
"The pretending nothing’s wrong thing." You let out a small breath, almost amused. #
"I’m not pretending." Kenny hums, unconvinced. "Right." A few steps pass.
"You know you’re allowed to be upset," she adds, softer this time.
"I’m not upset," you say, automatically.
"You are," she replies just as quickly. "You’re just… being weird about it." That makes you glance at her, a slight frown pulling at your brows.
"I’m not being weird."
"You left breakfast, lunch, and dinner early yesterday," she lists. "You’ve been dodging eye contact like it’s going to kill you, and you literally turned around and walked the other way when Jungwon came down the corridor earlier."
"…I had somewhere to be." Even you don’t believe that, Kenny stops walking and you take two more steps before realizing and turning back, sighing slightly. "What?" She just looks at you.
"We established you like him," she says plainly. It twists your stomach more than it should and you look away almost immediately, shaking your head.
"It doesn’t matter."
"That’s not what I said."
"It’s the same thing,” you mutter.
"No, it’s not," she pushes. "You can like someone and still admit it sucks when they like someone else." You cross your arms loosely, more to have something to do than anything else.
"He doesn’t like someone else," you say, quieter now. "He’s in love with her." you add, like it costs you nothing.
"Did he actually say that?" You don’t answer, because yeah he did and worse — you heard it, and saw it.
"I just don’t get it," she says after a moment. "Everything was fine. You two were—" she gestures vaguely between you, searching for words that apparently didn’t exist. "Whatever that is."
"Friends," you say quickly, Kenny gives you a look so unimpressed it almost made you laugh. "Friends don’t look at each other like that." A humourless breath escaped you. "Apparently they do."
She nudges your shoulder lightly. "You’re allowed to be a little dramatic about this, you know."
"I don’t think I’d survive being dramatic right now."
"Fair." She pauses, "But you also don’t get to pretend it didn’t hurt,"
"I’m not pretending," you say. "I just— don’t want to make it a bigger thing than it already is."
Kenny tilts her head. "It already is a big thing, you just won’t look at it." You swallow and look away, at the brick, the portraits, anything else, she watches you for a moment longer, then sighs quietly.
"Just… don’t shut him out completely," she says. "Whatever happened, he’s still him."
That almost makes you laugh because that’s the problem, he's still the person you default to. Still the one your brain looks for in every room before you can stop it. "Yeah," you say finally, voice quieter than before.
Your eyes dropped briefly to the floor, "That’s exactly why I have to."
Jungwon saw it, obviously, not immediately or all at once, but in fragments. The way your replies have gotten shorter. The way you don’t reach for him anymore, not even absentmindedly, the way your attention no longer defaults to him.
You used to reach for him constantly without thinking about it. Tugging lightly on his sleeve when you wanted his attention while pretending you didn’t care whether he looked at you or not. Brushing past him in crowded corridors without hesitation. Shoulders knocking together casually like his space belonged to you as much as your own did. Leaning closer during conversations until your knee pressed against his under tables.
Now every movement around him feels considered first and somehow that hurts more than if you’d just started avoiding him outright. Because he catches the almosts. The split second moments where your body moves automatically before your brain catches up. When your hand lifts slightly toward his sleeve before stopping midway and dropping back to your side instead or when you start stepping closer to him while talking before correcting yourself subtly, shifting your weight away at the last second like you suddenly remembered something important.
You’re aware of your closeness to him in a way you never used to be before, and maybe worse than the distance itself is the fact that he can tell you’re thinking about it too.
Not to mention the silence. God, the silence. It used to be his favourite thing — sitting beside you without needing to speak, knowing you were there, that it was enough. But now if silence did settle between you both for too long, you leave before it can fully form, like being alone with him in stillness has become dangerous somehow. Maybe it has, he doesn’t know anymore.
By the third day, it’s unbearable. In a constant, gnawing that doesn’t let him focus on anything else. He catches himself looking for you automatically before remembering you’ve started making sure he can’t reach you properly anymore.
He tells himself to leave it. That if you wanted to talk, you would’ve and that maybe you just need space, and pushing you will only make it worse. He repeats it enough times it should start sounding logical, but not enough to settle the panic growing in his chest every time you avoid looking at him directly.
After class that afternoon, the group settled into one of the common areas near the courtyard, conversations messy in the familiar way they always become when everyone’s exhausted and avoiding assignments together. You’re already there by the time Jungwon arrives, tucked casually into a seat beside Kenny while Jake and Ni-ki argue loudly about some Quidditch match like they’re discussing a professional league.
You tilt your head like you’re listening, drop in a quiet, "That’s not even how that works," and it lands, Jake laughs, Ni-ki protests, it’s easy. You smile, and it looks real enough that no one calls it out. Which is almost funny, because you’re not here at all.
You’re hovering somewhere just outside yourself, aware of everything except what’s being said, because what you are aware of is him. The way Jungwon hasn’t stopped looking at you, not in passing but staring, like he’s trying to figure you out all over again.
He leans forward slightly every time you speak, like your voice still pulls him in automatically, like he’s waiting for something more, something you’re not giving him anymore. You pick at the edge of your sleeve, thumb rubbing over the fabric again and again, grounding yourself in something small, repetitive. "…Y/n?" Kenny nudges you lightly.
You blink, "Hm?"
"We’re talking about whether Ni-ki would survive playing against professionals," she says slowly, like she’s checking if you’re actually present.
"Oh," you nod, forcing yourself to engage. "No, he’d get destroyed."
"Oi—" Ni-ki starts immediately, he starts complaining while the group laughs around him, and you huff out a quiet laugh too, automatic and just believable enough to blend in with everyone else.
Across from you, Jungwon’s jaw tightens just slightly, subtle enough that no one else would clock it, but you know him, and even without looking properly you can feel it.
From where he’s sitting, it doesn’t look like you’re hurt, it looks like you don’t care. Like whatever you heard, whatever you think you know about him and Penelope, it didn’t matter enough to actually affect you and that stings more than he expected, because if you cared even a little, wouldn’t you react differently?
Instead you just left, over and over again — as if he’s easy to walk away from. Before he fully decides to, he leans forward again, elbows resting against his knees as his eyes settle directly on you, fixed on you in a way that makes it impossible to ignore. "Y/n."
You hate that you look up before you can stop yourself and the second your eyes meet his, it hits harder than you expect because he doesn’t look indifferent, he looks frustrated and confused, a little hurt and underneath it holds that same softness that’s always been there when he looks at you. "Yeah?" you say.
Jungwon holds your gaze for a second longer than necessary before speaking again. "…Can I talk to you for a second?" The question sounds casual on the surface, but there’s too much weight underneath it to mistake this for something meaningless. Your stomach drops anyway, because this is it, this is the conversation you’ve been dodging, the one where he says something you don’t want to hear. Where maybe he says her name again and you have to stand there and take it like it doesn’t ruin you a little.
You feel Kenny shift beside you, feel the way the table quiets just slightly. Jake stops moving entirely, Heeseung leans back slightly with the exhausted expression of someone realizing a disaster he predicted has finally arrived. And Ni-ki? That guys lost. Not a clue in the world.
"About?" you ask instead. It throws him and you saw it, the way he blinks for half a second because you’ve never made him work this hard just to talk to you.
"Just.. to talk," he says quieter this time, and something about the sincerity in his voice almost weakens your resolve completely. You tilt your head slightly like you’re considering it carefully, forcing your expression into something neutral enough to survive this. Like this isn't killing you.
"Yeah, later," you say, a soft no dressed up as a maybe. Then before he can respond, before you can lose your nerve and agree just because he’s looking at you like that, you stand and grab your things. "Anyway, I’ve got something to do." There it is again. Jungwon’s jaw tightens visibly this time as he watches you move away from the table.
You don’t look at him, not once. "See you guys." And then you’re gone, disappearing down the corridor before anyone can stop you, leaving Jungwon sitting there with the same awful question looping endlessly through his head for the third day straight. Why does it feel like you don’t care at all?
The silence you leave behind is deafening. The kind that settles over a group slowly enough for everyone to notice at different times, conversations dying unevenly until all that’s left is the sound of chairs shifting and someone tapping their fingers awkwardly against the table. For a second, nobody says anything, Ni-ki’s the first one to break, his eyes flick between the corridor and Jungwon before his brows pull together slightly. "Did you piss her off or something?"
Kenny's staring straight at Jungwon now, eyes sharp, assessing, because she’s been watching this build for days. She’s been filling in the blanks with the only version she has, that he told you he’s in love with someone else, and that's only explanation she’s been working with this entire time.
Heeseung stays quiet beside him, arms folded loosely across his chest, but his attention is fixed on Jungwon in a way that feels far too deliberate to be casual, Jake notices it too immediately. The two of them exchange a look that lasts barely half a second, but it’s enough and now they’re watching the consequences unfold in real time, knowing exactly where it went wrong.
And Jungwon doesn’t answer straight away. He’s still looking at the door, like if he stares long enough you might walk back through it and undo the last thirty seconds. Something restless and frustrated bubbled under his skin, because nothing about this is lining up the way it should.
"…I didn’t do anything," he mutters finally, but it’s hollow, even to his own ears.
Jake lets out a short breath through his nose. "Yeah, that’s kind of the problem."
Kenny’s head snaps toward him. "What does that mean?"
Heeseung glances at Jake once, a silent warning, but Jake doesn’t look away from Jungwon. He hesitates, just for a second, then leans back — rubbing the back of his neck. "It means doing nothing is also doing something."
Jungwon drags a hand down his face, frustration starting to bleed through properly now because everyone in this room keeps acting like he missed something obvious, like there’s a conversation happening around him that he somehow wasn’t invited to.
"That makes literally zero sense," Ni-ki cuts in, frowning. "Can someone speak in normal sentences?"
Kenny ignores him, eyes still locked on Jungwon. "You told her something," she says flatly. Jungwon finally looks at her, something defensive flickering in his expression. "I didn’t—"
"She told me you said you’re in love with Penelope" she cuts in immediately, Ni-ki’s brows shoot up. "Wait— what?"
"Then why would she think that?" Kenny presses without backing down. There’s something protective underneath her voice now, something simmering with irritation on your behalf. "She wouldn't just make that up."
Jake exhales slowly, glancing at Heeseung again. This is the point where either they explain or this keeps spiralling until everyone ends up miserable, Heeseung tilts his head once in silent agreement. Jake looks back at Kenny, voice dropping just enough to shift the tone. "Because what she heard wasn’t real." Kenny frowns immediately, "What does that mean?"
Jake hesitates for half a second longer before finally saying it. "Penelope slipped him Amortentia at the party." They sit there, hanging, like the room needs a second to catch up.
Ni-ki blinks, "She what?"
Kenny doesn’t react immediately — her expression goes completely still, like her brain is rejecting the information before it can fully settle. "That’s not funny."
"It’s not a joke," Heeseung says quietly.
Kenny’s gaze shifts back to Jungwon, slower now, recalculating everything she thought she knew. "So when you said—”
"I wasn’t in my right mind," Jungwon cuts in, sharper than he means to. His hands drag through his hair again, restless. "I didn’t even know what I was saying."
Ni-ki lets out a disbelieving noise, "That’s actually insane."
Jake huffs, "Yeah, tell me about it."
Kenny’s still looking at Jungwon, but now there’s something else in it, not just suspicion, something closer to realization. "She doesn’t know that, does she?"
Jungwon doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. She exhales softly, something almost sympathetic flickering through her expression now. "She thinks it was real," Kenny says, quieter now. "She thinks you meant it."
Jungwon’s jaw tightens again, because yeah. Jake leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "And from her side? You said it, clear as day and you couldn't correct it after. And you didn't explain, so what was she supposed to think?"
Jungwon’s frustration spikes. "I tried to talk to her."
"No," Heeseung says calmly, "you waited for her to come to you." That shuts him up.
Jungwon goes quiet, leaning back, staring at the ceiling like it might give him a better answer than anyone in this room. His chest feels tight in a way he doesn’t like, because now it’s not just confusion, it’s clarity.
You heard him say he loved someone else and instead of fighting him on it, instead of demanding answers or getting angry or making him explain himself, you just quietly stepped away from him piece by piece. Like he wasn't worth the argument.
"Why didn’t she say anything?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "If it mattered, why didn’t she just—"
"Because that’s not how she works," Kenny cuts in, softer now but firm. "She doesn’t fight for people she thinks she’s already lost."
He drags a hand over his face, slower this time. "If it actually mattered," he mutters, voice quieter now, "she would’ve said something. She would’ve— I don’t know been upset, or angry. Anything."
Jake’s head tilts slightly, watching him carefully. Heeseung’s expression shifts too, something almost pitying flashing across his face for a second, because that’s where Jungwon’s wrong. "She doesn’t care," Jungwon adds, more to himself than anyone else, like he’s trying to settle on it, trying to make it make sense. Kenny’s brows pull together immediately. "You actually think that?"
Jake looked like he wanted to say something else, probably something annoyingly insightful that Jungwon absolutely did not have the emotional capacity for right now, but Jungwon was already pushing himself up from the sofa before anyone could stop him.
"Where are you going?" Jake asked immediately.
Jungwon hesitated near the doorway for the briefest second. "I don’t know."
But apparently his body did because less than twenty minutes later, Jungwon caught sight of you just outside the courtyard near the covered archways leading toward the Astronomy Tower, where the stone path narrowed enough that avoiding him would take effort obvious enough to feel cruel. It isn’t planned, not really.. at least that’s what he tells himself.
"Y/n." You stop immediately because pretending not to hear him now would say too much. The corridor is quieter here, evening light filtering weakly through the tall windows and stretching long shadows across the stone floor. Somewhere further outside, rain taps softly against the courtyard fountains.
"Yeah?" you ask, and the casualness of it irritates him instantly because he knows you too well to believe it’s genuine.
"I—" he starts, then falters, something unfamiliar catching in his chest. "Can we just talk?" Your expression doesn’t change but there’s something in your eyes, something distant. Your eyes flicker over him, then settle somewhere just past his shoulder. "About what?" you ask.
That question should not be difficult to answer, instead it completely derails him. Because there’s too many versions of this conversation rotting in his head at once, and none of them feel safe enough to say aloud. The truth feels messy and unfinished and dangerously fragile, like if he explains it wrong he’ll lose whatever still exists between you permanently.
Just… us," he settles on. Your gaze flickers at that, just slightly,
"There’s nothing to talk about," you say and you mean it, or at least, you’re trying to.
"Yes, there is," he insists, taking a step closer. "You’ve been weird with me this whole week."
"I've been acting weird?" The response comes sharp and immediate, slipping out before you can soften it, and the silence afterwards lands hard between you both.
Jungwon stares at you, searching your face almost desperately now for something familiar, something that tells him this hasn’t become as bad as it feels. "I didn’t mean—" he starts.
"You did," you cut in.
"I don’t even know what happened," he says, frustration bleeding through now because none of this feels fixable anymore and he doesn’t understand why exactly everything between you changed. "You barely look at me anymore."
"Seriously?" you scoff, looking up to the archway as though it can save you.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" he asks.
"It means you don’t get to act confused now," you say, your composure slipping slightly. "Not after the shit you said."
Jungwon drags a hand through his hair roughly, agitation building under his skin because every version of this conversation keeps collapsing before he can explain himself properly. "I didn’t—" he stops again, "I don’t even know if I meant it." The second it leaves his mouth, he regrets it.
Your laugh comes out quiet and edged enough to sting. "That’s worse."
His expression tightens. "How is that worse?"
"Because at least if you meant it, it would’ve been real," you say, finally looking at him fully. And fuck, he wishes you hadn’t because now he can see it, — the hurt sitting under everything else. "—But now it’s just… what? Something you’re unsure about? Something you can backtrack because it got awkward afterwards?"
"That’s not what I'm doing—"
"You told me you were in love with her," you interrupt, steadier than you feel. "You looked me dead in the face and said it like it was obvious. Like you’d known for ages and I was just the last person catching up"
"I thought I was sure," he says, quieter now.
"Great," you nod, another silence drops between you both, sharper this time. You fold your arms tighter across yourself, trying desperately to hold onto the control slipping through your fingers because this conversation is going exactly where you didn’t want it to.
Jungwon exhales hard through his nose, pacing half a step before turning back toward you again, "You told me tell her." he says.
You nod once, and exhale "Yeah."
"No, listen to me," he shakes his head, stepping closer again, urgency creeping in. "That’s what you told me I should do."
"Because you like her," you say, your voice finally tightening. "What was I supposed to do? Stop you?"
"Maybe," The word comes out before he can filter it. Your stomach drops so suddenly it almost makes you angry and he sees it, the way your eyes widen just slightly before something else replaces it. "Maybe I wanted you to," he adds quietly. Rain taps steadily against the windows somewhere behind you while your brain scrambles desperately for solid ground because no part of this conversation is safe anymore. You stared at him for a second too long, and in that time it feels like something might finally open between you. But then you shake your head, taking a small step back.
"You don’t get to say that now."
"Why not?" his voice lifts, frustration breaking through. "Why can’t I?" he furrows his brows, looking between your eyes.
"Because you didn’t say it then!" you snap, control slipping hard enough that your voice echoes slightly down the corridor. "You said you loved her. You don’t get to come back now and act like I got it wrong when you spent days letting me think you meant every word."
"I was messed up," he says, the words coming out harsher than intended.
"Messed up?" you repeat. He hesitates, just for a second but it’s enough. Your expression shifts — something closing off completely. "Right," you say, nodding slowly. "Of course."
"That’s not what I meant—"
"No, it is," you cut him off, your voice flattening. "You didn’t mean it. You were confused, it doesn't count"
"That’s not—"
"Then what is it?" you ask, finally looking at him again, something raw breaking through. "Because from where I’m standing, you said something you can’t take back and now you’re upset I believed you." He opens his mouth but nothing comes out, because the real explanation sits lodged somewhere behind his teeth alongside every other thing he’s spent years not saying to you. Things dangerous enough that once he says them aloud, there’s no pretending anymore — and the terrifying part is he still has absolutely no idea whether you’d feel the same way or just stare at him politely before destroying him completely.
So instead, he reaches for the only thing he can. "You heard one thing and disappeared," he says, stepping closer again despite the tension radiating off you now. "You didn’t ask me anything. Didn’t even give me a chance to explain properly."
"A chance to explain what exactly?" you ask quietly. "That I somehow hallucinated the conversation?"
"That’s not what I said." he says glancing away for a moment.
"Oh, sorry," you laugh bitterly. "Did I misinterpret the part where you said you were in love with her?"
The anger in Jungwon finally breaks through. "You don’t get it," Jungwon says finally, dragging frustrated hands through his hair again. "You’ve been acting like I’m some random guy you accidentally shared a table with for the past week and it’s doing my fucking head in." he snaps, voice roughening. "You won’t even look at me anymore."
Your throat tightens painfully because the worst part is he’s right. Every horrible inch of distance between you. For a second both of you just stand there breathing too hard in the narrow corridor, years of almosts and swallowed words sitting heavily between you while rain crashes endlessly outside.
"I was trying to make this easier."
"Well it’s not." he replies instantly. You stare at him, then look away first, eyes drifting toward the water beyond the arches because suddenly the pressure in your chest feels unbearable.
"I don’t know what you want from me," you say quietly.
Jungwon huffs once under his breath, frustrated and exhausted all at once. "That’s the problem, isn’t it?" he mutters. "You never even considered there might’ve been something worth asking me about."
Your head snaps back toward him immediately. "You don’t get to do that," you say immediately, anger flaring hot now because it feels like he’s rewriting this entire situation in front of you. "You do not get to stand there acting like I’m the one who handled this badly when you’re the person who said all of that in the first place."
"I wasn't thinking straight."
"And I was supposed to magically know that?" The words crack out of you harder than intended and Jungwon falls silent immediately. "You don’t get to blame me,"you continue, voice unsteady despite your efforts to control it. "You spent days watching me pull away and didn’t say a word."
"I tried talking to you."
You cut in instantly. "No, you waited for me to come to you first." That one has him exhaling, shakily — because he knows you’re right. Outside distant thunder rolls low somewhere beyond the grounds while the corridor fills with the sound of both of your harsh breathing.
"I’m trying to—"
"I don’t need you to fix it," you say, quieter now. "I’ve already adjusted." He falters, like the words physically knock something out of him. Adjusted, like what you had is something you’ve already started letting go of.
You freeze for a second too, glancing away like it hurt you just as much to say it and the worst part is you didn’t even mean to sound cruel. You just needed him to understand that he doesn’t get to ask for you back toward now, after spending days pulling yourself apart trying to move around this.
"You don’t mean that," he says, but there’s less certainty in it now. You don’t answer right away and somehow that silence hurts him more than if you had.
"I have to go," you say finally.
Of course you do. You always do but this time when you step around him, he doesn’t stop you. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because for the first time, he’s not sure you’d stay even if he tried. And you don’t look back, because if you do, you’ll see it — the way he’s looking at you like he’s losing something he doesn’t understand.
Behind you, Jungwon stands frozen beneath the archway, jaw tight enough to hurt while thoughts crash violently through his head all at once. I should've told her. About how wrong everything felt that night. About why he even asked you to go out there in the first place. What he was actually going to say.
Now he’s left standing there with every important thing still trapped inside him, watching your figure disappear slowly down the corridor.
It settles for long enough that the distance between you to feel more permanent than either of you want to admit. It follows him around for hours like a headache sitting behind his eyes, dull at first and then suddenly sharp whenever his brain replays your face in that corridor, the look you gave him right before you left, exhausted and angry and so fucking done with him.
The corridor outside the Potions classroom sat mostly empty now, quieter than usual with students already filtering toward dinner. Torchlight flickered against the stone walls, shadows stretching long across the floor while rain hammered softly against the high windows near the staircase. Jungwon stood with his back against the wall beside Jake and Heeseung, jaw tight enough to ache, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat because if they weren’t there, he’d probably start pacing.
Heeseung looked calm in the way people do when they’re trying very hard not to lose their temper. Jake wasn’t bothering to hide his irritation at all, arms folded tightly while his foot tapped against the floor in uneven bursts. None of them were speaking anymore because everything worth saying had already been said three times over. Then Penelope turned the corner.
She slowed the second she saw them standing there waiting, though she recovered quickly enough to fake confidence again, expression smoothing over as she approached with that same polished composure that suddenly made Jungwon feel vaguely sick. "Well," she said lightly, glancing between the three of them, "this looks cheerful."
No one smiled back, Jungwon pushed himself off the wall before he really thought about it, eyes fixed on her in a way that immediately made her smile falter. "You drugged me." There wasn’t even anger in his voice at first which somehow made it worse. Just blunt, exhausted certainty dropped between them hard enough that the corridor seemed to narrow around it.
Penelope blinked once, then laughed under her breath like she genuinely couldn’t believe he was serious. "Right," she said slowly, crossing her arms, "and you came to that conclusion on your own?"
"You used the Amortentia from class," Heeseung cut in before Jungwon could answer, voice level and controlled. "Snuck some from the batch."
Penelope didn’t look at him immediately. She kept her eyes on Jungwon, as if she could manipulate the situation with her eyes. Her eyes flicked toward him briefly before returning to Jungwon again, calculating now, trying to figure out exactly how much they knew. "That doesn’t mean I poisoned anyone."
Jake let out a sharp humourless laugh. "You’re actually gonna stand there and call it poisoning like that somehow sounds less mental?"
"Nothing happened that wouldn’t have happened eventually." That got Jungwon moving before either of the others could react.
One step forward, close enough now that the air between them turned tense immediately. "Don’t," he said quietly, anger finally starting to seep through. "Don’t do that thing where you try to make this sound normal."
Penelope lifted her chin defensively. "You were happy."
"No, I wasn’t." he retorted immediately,
"You seemed pretty convinced at the party."
"That wasn’t me." Her expression shifted then, irritation replacing whatever performance she’d been attempting before. "Oh, please," she snapped. "You can’t blame every stupid thing you said on a potion just because it embarrassed you afterwards."
Jake swore under his breath while Heeseung’s posture stiffened beside him, but Jungwon barely reacted. If anything, he just looked more tired. "You don’t get it," he said flatly. "You don’t even understand what you actually did."
Penelope scoffed quietly, though there was something less certain underneath it now. "I didn’t force words into your mouth."
"No," Jungwon replied immediately, "you just messed with my head enough that I couldn’t tell what was real." Silence cracked briefly between them before she looked away first and there was a tiny flicker of guilt she couldn’t quite hide quickly enough.
Jungwon saw it immediately and something inside him finally snapped properly into anger, because suddenly all he could think about was you standing there on that balcony, listening to him say things he never should’ve said, watching you in real time while he stood there too far gone to realise what was happening.
"You dragged her into it," he said, voice rougher now. "You knew exactly what you were doing." Penelope’s eyes narrowed. "I didn’t do anything to her."
"Except let her think I meant all of it." he snaps.
"She heard one conversation," Penelope shot back defensively. "If your relationship falls apart that easily, maybe it wasn’t that solid to begin with."
Jake stepped forward at that, furious now, "Careful."
"You’re all acting like I committed murder because he fancied someone else for five minutes." she continued, anger spilling over now that she realised nobody here was buying the innocent act anymore.
"I didn’t fancy you. I don't even like you as a person," Jungwon said immediately, the speed of it landed harder than shouting would have.
Penelope went completely still, something genuinely angry flashed across her face then. Hurt too, buried underneath it. "Right," she laughed bitterly. "And let me guess, this is all because of Y/n." He didn’t answer quickly enough.
"Oh my god," she breathed, looking at him like she’d finally solved something. "You’re actually pathetic."
Jake swore again while Heeseung muttered, "Penelope—"
"No, seriously,” she interrupted sharply, looking back at Jungwon now with open disbelief. “You spent years following her around like some lovesick idiot and she still didn’t want you, so now suddenly this is all my fault?"
Jungwon’s expression darkened instantly. "Don’t talk about her."
"Why?" she snapped. "She’s clearly not interested. She heard you say you liked someone else and walked away without even fighting for you." That was the part still sitting under his ribs making him feel half sick all week.
"You don’t know a fucking thing about her," he said, quieter now, though somehow angrier for it.
Penelope scoffed softly. "Please. If she actually wanted you, she would’ve done something." Something cold flashed across his face then.
Jungwon stared at her for a second too long then laughed softly under his breath, "Yeah?" he said flatly. "Well at least she didn’t need to spike my drink to get me to pay attention to her."
Penelope opened her mouth again but footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor before she could answer. The kind that immediately changes the atmosphere of a room. Everyone looked up. A professor stood at the far end of the hall flanked by two Ministry officials, unreadable beneath the torchlight. Penelope’s face drained almost instantly.
"Miss Clearwater," Professor Park said calmly. "You’ll come with us." Her composure cracked properly then. "Are you serious?" she demanded, looking between them all. "You reported me?"
"It’s done," Heeseung said simply, shrugging.
"You can’t be serious," she said, her voice tightening. "It was one potion, one mistake—"
"It was manipulation," Jake snapped back. "What part of that isn’t clicking for you?"
"This is insane," she said, voice rising now as panic finally started replacing anger. "Nothing even happened." By the time Penelope was led away down the corridor, protesting angrily the entire time, Jungwon was barely paying attention. He just stood there staring at the floor, chest tight with the awful realisation that the hardest part of this was never going to be the potion. It was you believing him.
By the time evening rolled around, the argument had calcified into something heavier than frustration. It wasn’t just about what happened anymore. It was the fact that neither of you had managed to fix it. Every conversation somehow made things worse, like the two of you had spent years learning each other perfectly only to suddenly start speaking completely different languages.
Jungwon found you after that and this time it wasn’t accidental. The Room of Requirement gave him away the second the door opened, warm light spilling out into the corridor. Bookshelves climbed all the way to the ceiling, candles flickering low between stacked piles of parchment and half-open novels, the entire place carrying that quiet stillness it only ever seemed to have when you were in it. It looked exactly the same as it always had, painfully familiar.
And there you were, curled into the corner of the sofa with a book in your lap like none of it had happened. You didn’t look up when he came in, just turned a page slowly and said, quiet but flat, "I thought I told you I didn’t want to talk."
"I know," he said, shutting the door anyway. He stayed where he was for a moment, shoulders tense, clearly trying to hold onto whatever speech he’d planned before it completely fell apart on him. The silence between you wasn’t familiar anymore. It felt stiff now, crowded with too much pride and too many things neither of you had said when you should’ve.
Eventually he exhaled hard through his nose and looked at you properly. "I need you to actually listen to me this time Y/n." You let out a breath, eyes still on your book.
"I mean it."
That finally made you glance up properly and the irritation sitting on your tongue faltered slightly because he looked awful. His blonde hair was tussled in the way that it is when he's stressed, his habit of ruffling the front of his hair showing. He looked worn-down in that way people got when they were running entirely on nerves. You sighed, folding the corner of your page over before setting the book aside. "Alright," you muttered, "Talk."
He crossed the room slowly, cautious in a way you’d never seen from him before. "What I said that night…" He stopped halfway through, jaw clenching. "It wasn’t real."
Your face barely moved. "If this is your attempt at damage control, you're a bit late."
"I was drugged." The rain outside started hitting harder against the windows and for a second all you could hear was that. You stared at him for a second, waiting for the backtrack, the part where he admitted he was exaggerating because surely he didn’t actually mean— "Amortentia," he said quietly, and the way he said it made it impossible to dismiss.
Your face went still in that dangerous sort of way where he couldn’t tell what you were thinking anymore. "What?"
"She slipped it into my drink at the party." His voice dipped, "Heeseung and Jake figured it out after.. they reported her earlier" You looked away from him then because your brain suddenly felt too full, the last week rearranging itself in ugly sharp pieces. "What— Why didn’t you tell me straight away?"
"I tried." he shot back immediately, "Every time I saw you, you were halfway out the door." He dragged a hand through his hair before exhaling through his nose. "And then I saw you with Beomgyu and I just—" He stopped, eyes shutting for a second like the memory physically pressed down on him. "I felt so fucking angry."
Beomgyu?" confusion cut clean through the exhaustion in your voice. "The way he was sitting with you," Jungwon muttered, frustration bleeding back into his voice now that he’d started. "The way you looked comfortable with him."
"Jungwon. Nothing’s happening with Beomgyu." you said, still entirely lost on why this matters.
"I know that now." he said it immediately, but there was still irritation buried underneath it, stubborn and lingering.
"No, you clearly don't because you’re still saying it like he committed some sort of crime by existing near me." He huffed through his nose before he nodded once.
"Alright. Maybe I lost my head a bit."
"A bit?"
"And that doesn’t mean I enjoyed watching him sit where I used to."
The words came out before he could soften them and your stomach turned despite yourself. "You don’t get to say things like that after everything that happened."
"I know." he spoke, barely above a whisper. "I know it doesn’t suddenly fix anything. I’m not pretending it does."
"Then why are you here?" you asked, finally looking at him properly again. "Why tell me now?"
His eyes met yours instantly. "Because you think I chose someone else. For a moment you could barely process the words, because he couldn't mean it like that. God, hope needs to die.
"..And you didn’t?" you finally replied, voice unwontedly soft.
"No." he says immediately, certain in a way he hadn’t sounded once this entire week. "I never liked her. Not before that night, not after. Whatever you heard, it wasn’t me," You watched him carefully, searching his face for the part where he might pull back, make it less direct. He didn’t.
"And me?" you asked before you could fight it. That was a question he didn't expect, he suddenly looked exhausted — like he'd spent days fighting himself. "You’ve always been different."
You rolled your eyes immediately, leaning back into the sofa. "That is such a shit answer."
A quiet breath escaped him, almost humourless. "I didn’t say anything because I thought you didn’t care." His gaze dropped briefly before finding yours again. "You literally told me to go tell someone else how I felt, Y/n. What exactly was I supposed to take from that?"
You laughed once under your breath, bitter and disbelieving. "What was I meant to do? You stood there talking about being in love with her."
"I thought you didn’t care." he repeated.
"I cared too much, actually." Both of you froze. Your jaw clenched, "Don’t," you started immediately, shaking your head a fraction.
"No." He stepped closer again, something desperate creeping into his voice now. "Please, don’t take that back, that’s the first real thing either of us has said in days," You looked away quickly, pulse suddenly too loud in your ears.
"You really thought I didn't care?" you asked eventually.
"You stopped looking at me." He breathed, "You pulled away like it was easy. Like I was embarrassing you."
Your face twisted immediately, "Easy?" you repeated sharply. "You think that was easy?" You stood up too fast, anger finally cracking through properly.
"I spent the entire week avoiding you because every time I looked at you I heard you saying her name again, and I couldn’t stand there pretending it didn’t bother me."
"Y/n—"
"No, seriously, do you know how humiliating that felt?" Your voice shook despite your best efforts. "You told me that she lived in your head," You scrunched your nose slightly, expression tightening like the words physically pained you to say, "I can't—"
For a second neither of you spoke, the room suddenly felt too small for the amount of tension sitting between you both. Then he stepped close enough that you instinctively sat back down and lowered himself in front of you, kneeling while he looked up at you properly.
"Look at me," he said gently, and you didn’t, not straight away anyway. Your eyes stayed fixed on your hands, stubbornly avoiding him. Eventually, against your better judgement, you lifted your face to his and there it was again. That look. Warm and steady and devastatingly familiar, like no matter how badly the two of you had handled this, he would still look at you like you were the first thing he searched for in every room. And that was the worst part really, not the argument, not her. It was this, the way your body still reacted to him before your pride could catch up.
He searched your face, "The things I said that night, about someone living in my head all the time?"
"None of that was fake."
And then just as that familiar pain was about to settle, "I just had the wrong name in my mouth." And for a moment your eyes bored into each of his as it settled. Jungwon watched the realization move across your face carefully.
"I was so confused after," he admitted, voice low. "Because the feelings were real. They were always real.. I just didn’t understand why saying her name felt so wrong."
The irritation you’d been clinging to was barely holding together, unravelling thread by thread underneath something dangerous. He was still kneeling in front of you as though hadn’t even noticed, eyes fixed up on your face with this unbearable amount of care written all over him, like your reaction mattered more than his own embarrassment, more than his pride.
Jungwon was now fully ignoring the fact his knees had probably gone numb, too focused on you despite the fact your entire face was practically screaming what the fuck is happening right now.
"The stupidest part is I genuinely thought none of it mattered to you." he continued. "We’d sit practically on top of each other for hours and then you’d casually call me your best friend like that wasn’t completely destroying my ability to think straight." He glanced away briefly, words coming easier now that he’d started. "You’d play with my rings when you were tired, steal my jumpers, look for me first in every room and somehow I still convinced myself I’d imagined all of it."
"Do you know what actually messed me up?" he said eyes not leaving yours for a second. "Even after all this, after the argument and all the avoiding and how angry you were with me, the only thing I could think the entire time was that I just wanted you back beside me again." Jungwon shifts slightly closer without fully standing, still grounded in front of you, then hesitates like he’s debating something, before finally lifting a hand slowly, stopping just short of your face, waiting for any sign you’d move away. Your eyes flickered to it instinctively and your stomach twisted painfully at how careful he was being with you now.
You don’t move away and that seems to decide it for him more than anything else. His palm settles carefully against your cheek, warm and steady. Your lips parted a little, leaning into his touch — barely, but he felt it. His hand shifts, the other coming up too now, gently cupping your face properly this time, both hands holding you now.
"I’m not good at this," he mutters, almost like he’s talking to himself now more than you, "I’ve spent years not saying anything because I thought if I did, it would ruin whatever this was, whatever we are, and I thought I could live with that."
He leans in a fraction more, not enough to touch your forehead, not quite, but close enough that your breathing stills because suddenly there’s no pretending there’s distance left. His eyes studied your face, slower now, more deliberate, you could feel the warmth from his face.
"But I can’t," he says, just something raw and undeniable sitting underneath every word.
"I can’t do it anymore because I’m completely in love with you, and I have been for ages."
For a second he just looks at you like he’s bracing for impact, like he’s expecting you to step away, to laugh, to tell him he’s completely misread everything the same way you’ve both been misreading everything for years but you don’t move, you can't. Your eyes stay fixed on his almost helplessly, searching his face for something that looks uncertain or unsure, some indication that he doesn’t fully mean it. But there's nothing, just him — completely terrifying in his sincerity.
"And I know that probably changes everything," he adds, "but I couldn’t keep pretending it didn’t exist, not after almost losing you." His forehead finally rests against yours then, just barely, and the contact is so gentle. His gaze drops briefly to your mouth before returning to your eyes almost immediately, like he couldn't help it. Yang Jungwon — who moves through most things with quiet confidence, who always seemed so composed, so certain.. looks so genuinely scared right now.
"Say something," he whispers, not demanding, or pushing, just honest in the way that hurts. Your fingers twitch once in your lap before you finally lift one hand, not pushing him off, just catching his wrist lightly, grounding yourself in something solid because your head won’t stop spinning properly.
"Jungwon…" you start, then stop, your voice catching before you can force the rest out, like your thoughts can’t decide which one of them to turn into words first.
Jungwon doesn’t move back. If anything, he leans in more, eyes searching yours carefully now as though was already preparing himself for rejection anyway — despite not pushing him away. "I’m not expecting anything," he says quietly "I just needed you to know."
Your thumb brushes lightly against his wrist. "You’re an idiot," you say, and it comes out shakier than you mean it to, his brows pull together slightly, confused, already pulling back a fraction like he’s misread you again, "Right, yeah, I thought that might—"
"I’m in love with you," you cut in, quieter this time. He stays locked on you, unblinking, as though he’s waiting for you to finish the sentence properly. His hands are just hovering in place like he’s suddenly unsure if he’s allowed to keep holding you at all.
"What?" he says, but it barely makes it out of him, more breath than voice.
"I said—" your voice wavers, softer this time but steadier in its honesty, "I’m in love with you." you catch his hands and guide them properly against your cheeks instead of letting them hover uncertainly. There’s a pause where disbelief breaks through into his face, then something underneath it that looks almost helpless.
Then he leans in — careful, almost hesitant and his forehead finally presses against yours properly. "Fuck," he mutters, but there’s no conviction in it — just awe, like he’s overwhelmed by how real you are. A laugh slips out of you, because he sounds so completely undone it almost feels unfair.
"You’re actually going to ruin me." His hands finally shift, holding you comfortably now.
"You’re so dramatic," you whisper, but there’s no bite to it. His eyes open again at that, still too close, still pressed to yours in a way that makes the rest of the world felt like it's been turned down to nothing.
"Yeah," he murmurs, "But you still look at me like that anyway." Your brows pull together slightly, instinctively defensive, but it doesn’t really land because your hand is now curled in his shirt and you’re still not moving away.
"Like what?" you ask, quieter — pretending you don't know exactly what he's talking about.
"Like you notice things," he says, softer. "Even when you don’t say them out loud." That hits something uncomfortably accurate. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," you murmur, which is a lie, and you both know it. He hums faintly like he doesn’t believe you, but there’s no pressure in it, just affection spilling over the edges of him in a way he’s not even trying to hide anymore.
"I love the way you go quiet when you’re thinking too much," he continues, "And I love the way you always act like you don’t care," he adds, a quiet exhale slipping through his words like he’s smiling a little at the memory of it. "Like you’re completely unaffected by everything, but then you’ll sit there for five minutes staring at something like it’s the most important thing in the world."
His thumb brushes lightly against your wrist where he’s still holding you, slow and absentminded. "And I love the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching."
Your lips part slightly, like you mean to respond, like you mean to deflect it the way you usually would, turn it into something smaller, something safer but nothing comes out cleanly enough to save you.
So it just breaks, "I love you so fucking much." It spills out of you before your brain can negotiate with it, far too honest to take back. His eyes glaze over and then he shifts forward on his knees, barely even thinking about it, like the distance between you has become physically unbearable.
His thumb presses into your jaw and then he pulls you in. His lips press against yours and it's consuming, with an urgency that had you feeling weak. Your fingers tighten in his shirt and that’s all it takes. "I love you. So much" he breathes between kisses. There’s something almost pathetic in how desperately relieved he feels.
"Mm," You tilt your head and the kiss deepens. He exhales into it and the sound of it makes your grip shift, a hand sliding into his hair. A small, broken sound slips out of him, almost stunned, he leans into you anyway, forehead dipping slightly — like he’s trying to be closer than is physically reasonable.
"Fucking hell," he breathes against your lips, your stomach flips violently at the sound.
"You have no idea," he murmurs softly between kisses, almost dazed, "what you do to me."
You smile into the kiss and when you both finally pull back just enough to inhale properly, neither of you really lets go. Your foreheads rest together, noses brushing slightly, his hands still holding you. And then you do it again — soft, quick kisses against his lips. It was careless in a way that feels completely unlike how careful everything has been between you until now. He actually freezes for a second, then laughs, so familiar it made your chest ache.
"You’re so…" he starts, trailing off with another disbelieving laugh as you kiss him again before he can finish properly. "So what?" you murmur against his lips. "Mine," he says softly. You can’t help the quiet laugh that escapes you, despite the raging tricks your stomach was playing.
Then, after a second, quieter now, "Can I sit with you?.. My knees are actually killing me."
You laughed despite yourself, "You’re unbelievable."
"Yeah, yeah." he grins, you shift on the sofa, making space.
"Get up here before you pass out or something." He doesn’t need to be told twice and moves fast for someone who just complained about his knees, sliding up beside you. The second he sits, his shoulder bumps yours gently — accidental or not, neither of you acknowledges it.
"There," he says quietly. His leg is pressed lightly against yours, warm and solid, and it’s embarrassing how quickly your body relaxes around him now that you’re finally letting it. There’s a beat of silence before his hand shifted slightly against the sofa cushion between you. Then his pinky brushed yours, you looked down at it once and thread your fingers through his properly.
You couldn’t help but think, god I’d go through all of that again, as long as I end up here. Jungwon seemed to realize it at the exact same time because the second you settled beside him properly, he exhaled through his nose like he’d finally stopped bracing for something.
You then let your head fall onto his shoulder, the movement slow and unceremonious "You're not let off completely though," you muttered, voice muffled slightly against him.
"I know." he says, his own head resting on top of yours.
"And I’m still angry."
"You should be," he said without hesitation, just quiet acceptance as his shoulder shifted slightly under you to get more comfortable with you, adjusting himself to make sure you stayed there.
"And you might suffer for a while." you add, quieter now. Fully aware he probably wouldn't.
"Okay." he said simply. You lifted your head just enough to look at him properly, narrowing your eyes in suspicion.
"That was a bit too easy."
He huffed a small laugh through his nose, the corner of his mouth tugging upward as he glanced at you like you were the most predictable thing in the world. "I’m choosing my battles carefully." That made you smile properly and Jungwon looked genuinely relieved by it.
The rain ran down the window behind you as Jungwon turned to you — his hand came up, landing on the base of your shoulder. "Hi," he said as you turned to face him properly, catching the glimmer of something playful.
"What now?" you huff, attempting to look annoyed, it clearly wasn't convincing judging by his lips curving in retaliation. His hand slides up, below your jaw now.
"Can I kiss you..again," he asked, grinning now. You pressed your lips together, pretending to think about it. "Hmm."
A dramatic groan left him immediately, his forehead falling against yours. "You’re evil."
You laughed softly under your breath and before he could complain again, you nudged his head forward slightly, pressing your lips to his yourself. The kiss barely lasted a second before he smiled into it, warm and helplessly fond.
"Right," he murmurs against your mouth, "that’s definitely up there with my favourite answers you’ve given tonight."
You hum against his lips, smiling when he immediately kisses you deeper like he’s been waiting for the smallest bit of encouragement. One of his hands stays warm against your jaw while the other settles carefully at your waist, hesitant for all of half a second and then pulling you closer against him.
The sound he makes when you shift halfway onto his lap is somewhere between surprise and relief, and it nearly makes you laugh again. "Don’t laugh at me," he mumbles instantly.
"You make it pretty easy."
"Yeah?" The curve of his nose brushes yours briefly before he kisses you again, slower this time. Your fingers slide into his hair at that and he exhales sharply into your mouth, grip tightening at your waist. The reaction goes straight to your head. "Jungwon," you whisper, mostly because you like what it does to him.
His eyes flicker open for a second at the sound of his name "You're doing that on purpose," you tilt your head in response. Every touch feels careful and greedy at the same time. The rain was still tapping softly against the windows somewhere in the background, but it all felt far away compared to the warmth of him pressed against you.
His thumb strokes absentmindedly against your side beneath the fabric of your top. The kiss deepens naturally after that, unhurried and messy in the way kisses that have been delayed for years usually are. Every time you pull back for air he chases instinctively.
You laugh softly, breathless, but the sound cuts off when his lips find your jaw instead. The shift is slower this time, deliberate. Your breath catches almost instantly when he kisses just below your ear, warm and lingering enough to make your fingers tighten in his hair. "There," he says quietly against your skin, "That one got you."
"Shut up," you whisper, though there’s no real bite to it when you pull him back up by the collar to kiss him again. You tilted your head, letting your tongue graze the seam of his lips. You swallowed a high needy noise, opening up immediately. He pulled you into his lap fully now — lips still attached as you settled against him properly, arms steadying themselves against his shoulders and sliding around his neck.
Your tongue slid against his messily and then he pulled back, breathing hard. "Still okay?" he whispers. You respond with a nod taking in Jungwon's eyes, which were blackened with desire
"Words Y/n," he grins tilting your chin up, you couldn't help the heat that flood into your stomach, "Yeah— yes I'm okay,"
His grin widened as though he knew what was going through your mind and then he chased your lips again, catching you in an open mouthed kiss — trying to memorise your mouth in a way he couldn't before. His hand creeped into your hair, fingers curling in. He bobbed his head forward, capturing your tongue and sucking on it with a low groan. You gasped, eyes scrunching together as a involuntary moan slipped out of you. Jungwon's breath hitched hard, panting now, "God I've fucking dreamt of how you'd sound," He pushed his head into the crook of your neck, "This is so much better."
"Better be," you managed, fingers running through his hair slowly.
"Let me stay here," he starts pressing kisses to your neck, taking in your scent — your taste.
"Mmm tempting Won," you said tilting your head back.
"I missed that so fucking much," he groans. You tried to respond, you did, but you couldn't because his lips were dragging up your neck, wet and desperate. "Shit," you breathed, shivering.
You lay your hands flat on his chest and push him back against the sofa. He lets himself fall back against the sofa without resistance, like he trusts you completely to take the lead, his hands instinctively tightening at your sides as you follow him down. Chest to chest.
You falter for a second as if you’re both realizing, at the same time, how far this has gone. His blackened eyes flick between your now swollen lips, and your eyes. He breathed out, harsh — revelling in the fact that he's the reason your lips are flushed and shiny with spit.
Then an almost frightening thought slipped into his head, sudden enough that it made him hesitate halfway through speaking. "Have you ever…" he started, then stopped abruptly, like he already regretted asking. You looked at him for a second, brows pulling together slightly as you tried to place where his brain had just gone.
"What?" you asked. His eyes flickered away briefly before returning to yours again, visibly trying to decide whether to commit to the question or bury himself alive instead.
"Have you ever—" he stopped again, jaw tightening faintly. "Like… with anyone…"
"Fucked anyone or kissed anyone?" you asked flatly, fingers tracing his jaw. Jungwon nearly choked on his own breath, but you were completely calm despite the way his entire face shifted into instant embarrassment.
A disbelieving laugh escaped him despite himself, one hand dragging down his face briefly before he looked at you again, visibly trying to recover. "You know what, never mind."
"No," you said immediately, sitting up on him slightly, now that you’d caught onto the fact he was genuinely nervous. "You asked. Commit."
"I just—" he stopped again, visibly frustrated with himself now. "I don’t know, I started thinking about it and then I realized I actually have no idea if there’s been someone else."
The honesty of it knocked some of the teasing right out of your face. Fuck, Jungwon looked unfairly sincere when he was jealous. "I mean, obviously there could’ve been," he continued quickly, words speeding up now. "You’re—you, and I wasn’t exactly doing anything, so it’s not like you owed me—"
"There wasn’t," you interrupted softly, cupping his jaw now.
"There… wasn’t?" he repeated carefully. You shook your head once and his shoulders visibly loosened. The relief that crossed his face was so immediate and unfiltered it. "Thank fuck," he breathed before he could stop himself. You stared at him, eyebrows lifting. "You don’t understand," he said immediately, catching your stare. He sat up slightly, pulling you up with him like this was extremely serious now. "I was about thirty seconds away from ruining my own night imagining some random guy kissing you, or even touching you." You let out a quiet scoff through your nose, but your face warmed anyway.
"If I'm honest," you started, already regretting the vulnerability halfway through it, "I felt sick thinking about whether or not you'd end up in her room," your voice got quieter near the end, eyes fixed somewhere near his shoulder instead of his face despite how close he was sitting. You missed the way his whole face changed, he genuinely looked wounded by the thought of you sitting with that alone.
"Y/n," he said almost pained. You shrugged one shoulder slightly, pretending it didn’t matter nearly as much as it did. "It’s embarrassing now, actually."
"No," he said immediately, firm enough to make you look at him again. "No, don’t do that. I need you to understand something," he says, serious in a way that steadies the entire room around you.
"There was never going to be another person for me once I met you."
You blink at him slowly. "That— is a crazy thing to say to someone." by now the butterflies erupting in your belly were normal.
"It’s true." He actually smiles then, hopelessly, like even your avoidance is something he treasures.
"You’re cute when you’re overwhelmed," he murmurs, your eyes narrow instantly.
"Don’t piss me off again."
His smile widened immediately, completely unafraid now. "See? Cute."
"Jungwon you’re about five seconds away from being shoved off this sofa."
"You wouldn’t do that," he said easily, leaning closer anyway. You opened your mouth to argue but he kissed you before you could, arms wrapping around your waist. "So fucking annoying," you mumble against his lips,
"Mhmm, yeah?" he grins.
A loud crack of thunder suddenly echoed somewhere outside the castle walls, the sound rattling faintly through the windows of the common room a second before rain started hammering hard against the glass. You glanced toward it instinctively. "It’s pouring." Jungwon barely looked up, still half-sprawled into your space. "Mm," he murmured, completely unbothered, thumb absentmindedly tracing slow circles against your knuckles.
Another rumble of thunder followed, louder this time. You exhaled through your nose, leaning back slightly against the sofa cushions as your gaze flicked toward the clock mounted near the fireplace.
"You’re joking." You shook your head a little, starting to shift your weight as if to stand. "I’m serious."
"No, you’re not," he said instantly, tightening his grip on your hand when you shifted slightly like you might stand.
"Jungwon—" A laugh escaped you. "No," he whined quietly, forehead falling against your shoulder dramatically. "I don’t wanna move yet."
"You’re acting like I’m not gonna exist tomorrow."
"I'll miss you" he mumbled into your shoulder immediately, completely shameless about it. You rolled your eyes, though your fingers automatically slipped into his hair again. He visibly relaxed at the feeling. "I just got you back," he continued, voice quieter now, almost pouty despite how ridiculous he sounded. "Can’t we stay here for like… another hour."
"Won, it’s nearly midnight."
"So?" he said instantly. You laughed under your breath and tilted your head enough to look at him properly.
"You're clingy."
Another crack of thunder echoed outside and Jungwon sighed before finally lifting his head. "…Fine," he muttered unhappily.
He stands up with you still in his arms, the sudden movement making you instinctively tighten your hold around his neck. "Jungwonn—" you huff into his shoulder. He just giggles, the sound soft and breathy, pulling his head back to look at you properly. There’s something bright in his eyes, something you wished you could see every time you opened your eyes.
Without much thought, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the side of your head, still a little dazed. "What?" he murmurs, far too innocent for the way his hands are still holding you close. You narrow your eyes, "Put me down."
"Don’t wanna," he shrugs lightly.
You let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking your head. "You’re so annoying."
He just laughs again, clearly pleased with himself, before finally lowering you back onto your feet. You both pause and glance at each other and then you both laugh. Quiet at first, then a little louder, the kind of laugh that spills out when something feels almost unreal.
"We don’t have to rush anything," he says after a moment, searching your face, "but I’m not… pretending that didn’t happen either."
"Good," you say, barely above a breath. That earns you the smallest smile — not smug, not teasing. His fingers curl a little into yours.
"What do we do about them?" you asked, more to yourself than him, something almost bashful tugged at the corners of Jungwon's mouth despite the way he was still holding you close.
"I don’t really want to share you yet," he admits quietly, the faintest pout appearing like he was slightly embarrassed.
"Then let’s keep it to ourselves for now," you say. The relief on his face was immediate, the idea of this being something private between the two of you mattered more to him than he expected.
His arms snaked around you slightly before he leaned in again, stealing another kiss like he genuinely couldn’t go more than thirty seconds without one now. "You realise," you mumbled against his lips, trying and failing to sound unaffected, "everyone’s going to figure it out eventually."
"Mhm." He kissed you again, entirely unbothered. "Future problem."
"You’re very relaxed for someone who just said he didn’t wanna share."
"I don’t," he said immediately, pulling back just enough to look at you properly again. "But hiding you and keeping you close aren’t the same thing" Your heartbeat betrayed you immediately and, judging by the tiny smile tugging at his mouth afterwards, he knew it.
"C'mon," you said pulling him towards the door. It’s reluctant. His hand slips from your waist slower than it should, fingers brushing yours one last time before letting go.
By the time you finally left the Room of Requirement, your lips still felt warm. Which was a problem, a massive one, actually, because Jungwon looked even worse. His hair was a mess from your hands, mouth pink and slightly swollen, melted in a way that would immediately get him interrogated if anyone saw him. Every so often the corridor would flicker with distant lightning, briefly carving both of your shadows into sharper versions of yourselves before letting them soften again.
As you reached your dorms he stopped you, a gentle hand on your wrist "Don’t take forever," he said, though it lacked any real bite.
You gave him a look that tried for annoyance and failed somewhere halfway. "Get inside."
"I am getting inside," he grinned, but he still didn’t move right away. That earned him a quiet exhale from you, something almost like a laugh, before you finally stepped back and slipped inside, the door closing softly behind you.
You immediately bee-lined for the mirror, "Shit." you definitely looked kissed. You pressed cold hands to your cheeks, trying to ignore how warm your skin still felt. Your hair looked equally suspicious, slightly mussed from his hands, and there was absolutely no hiding whatever was settling over your face.
Outside, you could faintly hear the distant hum of the castle settling into sleep. But underneath all of it, there was still him — lingering at the edge of your thoughts the same way he had been all evening, like he hadn’t quite stopped being near you just because a door had closed between you.
When you finally pulled on something a bit more comfortable, you rested your hands briefly at the edge of your desk, exhaling a little more slowly than before. Within the last day you’d gone from moping, avoiding your best friend, to confessing, to kissing him, and now you were standing in your room trying to make your face look normal enough to walk into a his dorm like nothing had happened. The worst part was that your body still felt like it hadn’t caught up with your decisions yet.
By the time you made your way down the corridor, you were actively rehearsing neutrality. Their dorm door already had voices spilling through it before you even opened it properly. Jake’s laugh came first, loud and unfiltered, followed by Heeseung saying something that sounded like he was trying to sound serious but failing halfway through. Ni-ki’s voice cut in after that, flatter and more observant. Of course they were awake.
It all felt so normal for a second it almost made you forget you were about to walk in carrying something that felt like it had weight. You adjusted your expression once more, like that would somehow make you harder to read, and pushed the door open. It smelled faintly like coffee and whatever food Jake had apparently forced everyone into eating at midnight again.
Jungwon was sitting on the arm of the sofa like he always did, one arm draped lazily over the back. Something shifted in his face before he smoothed it away — a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth, he was fighting a smile he absolutely should not be having in front of people, and then he looked away again, too casually, like nothing at all had just passed between you. You, on the other hand, made a point of not looking at him too long at all.
You forced your face into that something neutral you'd been rehearsing and walked in further, closing the door behind you with a soft click that felt way too loud. All of them looked up almost at once and there was a half-second of silence that did not feel accidental.
"Oh, Y/n," Jake said first, squinting slightly with a grin. "You’re up?" You nodded once, carefully closing the door behind you.
"Yeah. Couldn’t sleep."
Heeseung hummed softly from where he was stretched across the other end of the sofa, one eyebrow lifting just slightly as he looked between you and Jungwon with a level of perception that felt actively threatening to your well-being. You suddenly became hyper aware of the fact Jungwon had gone unnaturally silent.
Ni-ki was lying half upside-down across the rug, but he glanced up briefly. "Thought you were still mad at him." he said as you settled down between Jungwon and Jake.
You shrugged one shoulder, forcing yourself getting comfortable, like your pulse wasn’t suddenly trying to kill you. "I’m capable of being civil."
At that, Jungwon coughed suddenly into his fist, poorly disguising what was very obviously the beginning of a smile. Jake’s eyes narrowed immediately, he didn’t say anything yet, but you physically watched suspicion enter his body. Heeseung looked between the two of you slowly. "You guys are weird," he said casually, you took this as a sign he was letting it go, the relief that flood through you was almost embarrassing.
"Thank you," Jungwon replied dryly before you could. You turned toward him automatically, already prepared to glare at him for making this harder than it needed to be, but the second his eyes met yours, something in him melted before he could hide it, it was so genuine that your stomach dropped straight through the floor.
And the worst part was that he realised it too. His gaze flicked downward almost instantly afterwards, jaw tightening faintly as he reached for the drink sitting beside him like suddenly becoming very interested in literally anything else might save him but Jake was looking between you both again.
“…Okay,” Jake said after a beat, suspicious in a way that made your skin prickle.
"What?" you replied flatly, crossing one leg over the other.
He pointed vaguely between the two of you like he was trying to physically grab hold of a thought before it escaped him. "Something happened."
"Nothing happened," you said immediately. At the exact same time Jungwon said, "What are you talking about?" The silence afterwards was catastrophic, it had Ni-ki actually sitting up — Jake’s mouth fell open in genuine disbelief as he looked between the two of you again.
"That was bad,"
You closed your eyes briefly, beside you, Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite laughing yet but visibly close to it. "You two used to lie better than this."
"We’re not lying," Jungwon said quickly, finally looking up again, though the slight tension in his shoulders completely ruined the effect. Jake pointed at him immediately. "Why do you sound nervous?"
"I don’t sound nervous." Ni-ki was openly staring now, gaze moving slowly between you both with growing fascination. "Wait, are you guys secretly fine again?"
Jake’s expression softened first. "You guys actually talked?" he said, slower. Your eyes flicked briefly toward Jungwon before you could stop yourself.
"Yeah," you admitted finally, voice calmer now. "We did." The room quieted properly after that, Heeseung leaned back slightly against the arm of the sofa, studying both of you carefully now, and you knew instantly what he was really asking. Whether the damage sitting underneath all of this had finally been dragged out into the open instead of festering quietly the way it had been the last few days.
Jake looked between you both again before exhaling dramatically, shoulders dropping in visible relief. "Thank god," he muttered. "You two were making everyone deeply uncomfortable."
"That sounds like a you problem," you replied with the fainest hint of a grin, "It was bad." Ni-ki cut in, now fully invested. "Every time someone mentioned you he’d go all quiet and weird for like ten minutes after."
Across the room, Jungwon groaned immediately. "Can we not."
Jake ignored him completely. "And you were terrifying."
"I was keeping to myself." You said flatly. "Exactly," Jake said, like that proved his point perfectly. "That’s how we knew it was serious." Still, you could feel Jungwon relaxing now that the interrogation had mostly passed, though every so often your eyes would accidentally meet again and you’d have to look away immediately before Jake started screaming.
At one point, while Heeseung was distracted arguing with Ni-ki about something stupid, Jungwon glanced toward you again over the rim of his drink. This time, he smiled properly, it was small — a dimple barely peeking through and then, like he physically couldn’t help himself, his foot nudged lightly against yours underneath the coffee table. You didn’t react outwardly but your heartbeat immediately lost all structural integrity anyway.
The first couple days felt strangely unreal, the two of you had slipped sideways into a version of your lives that looked exactly the same from the outside while quietly changing everything underneath it. You learned very quickly that Jungwon had absolutely no concept of subtlety when it came to you, and it wasn't even intentional — that was the problem.
He reached for you without thinking and he'd smile before he could stop himself whenever you walked into a room, like his body had developed some involuntary response to your existence. The first morning after everything, you’d barely made it halfway into Potions before catching him already looking at you from across the table with this annoyingly cute grin that had you wanting to pull him close and kiss his stupid face off.
But instead you kicked his shin under the desk and the blonde looked genuinely confused for a full three seconds before realisation hit him all at once, followed immediately by the smallest, guiltiest smile imaginable.
After that, it became pattern… for a few days. Late-night walks through quieter corridors after everyone else had gone to sleep. Jungwon appearing beside you in the library like he’d "accidentally" ended up there despite very obviously following you. Your fingers brushing under tables during study sessions when nobody was looking. Sitting slightly too close whenever you thought you could get away with it and then immediately shifting apart whenever Jake narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The secrecy itself should’ve been exhausting, instead, it became something strangely addictive.
There was something dangerously intimate about it, about the constant awareness of him even in crowded rooms, the tiny hidden smiles exchanged over everyone else’s heads, the feeling of his hand briefly finding yours behind the cover of someone else’s conversation. You started understanding very quickly why people lost their minds over this kind of thing.
It also didn’t help that Jungwon was completely gone for you in a way that was becoming increasingly difficult to manage privately.
By the second night, you were in his dorm after a lot of whining from Jungwon about how unbearable the boys had been the night before. Thankfully, the dorm was quieter this time. Most of the lights in the corridor had already dimmed, and when you slipped down the hallway there were no muffled voices behind the doors, no laughter, no sign that anyone else was still awake. You barely even had time to raise your hand before Jungwon opened the door immediately, like he’d been standing there waiting for the sound of your footsteps specifically.
"Hi," you whispered, already smiling despite yourself. His answering smile was smaller, almost disbelieving in that way he still got around you now, "Hi," he murmured back, and then his hand caught yours before you’d even stepped fully inside. The door had barely clicked shut behind you when he pulled you toward him properly.
Jungwon’s hands slid immediately to your waist, guiding you backwards until your shoulders touched lightly against the door, and then he pulled you into him. The force of it startled a quiet breath out of you, because he shoved his head into your neck. His hands tightening slightly against your sides when you hugged him back instantly, and the reaction he had was a soft sound escaping him as he leaned closer, like he genuinely couldn’t help it.
"Missed me?" you whispered, lips curling against his head.
He pulled back to look at you properly. "Bad," his hair was still slightly damp from showering earlier, soft under your fingers when your hand slid into it automatically, and he reacted to that too. His forehead pressed briefly against yours as he exhaled shakily through his nose. It was honestly ridiculous how responsive he was to you now that he’d stopped pretending not to be.
"You have no idea what today was like," he muttered quietly, breathe warm against your lips. "Jake kept asking me why I looked happy."
A laugh slipped out of you. "And?"
"And I almost told him to mind his business." His hands slid slightly higher against your waist, "I hated not being able to touch you." he added. You felt your face warm immediately, which unfortunately only seemed to encourage him further. "There it is again," he murmured, visibly delighted.
"Shut up." He grinned properly at that, leaning in just enough to press a quick kiss to the corner of your mouth, and then resting his forehead against yours. For a second he just stayed there, forehead still pressed to yours, eyes flicking down to your mouth and then back up again like he was weighing something quietly in his head.
Then he kissed you properly this time. It wasn’t rushed, it was slow enough that it felt deliberate, like he was checking what was allowed and what wasn’t yet. His hand slid up slightly at your back, steadying you more out of habit than urgency, and he paused for a split second like he was waiting to see if you’d pull away. You only leaned further into him, so he kissed you again, a little easier this time. When he finally pulled back, it was only by a fraction, his lips ghosting yours and his thumb brushing absentmindedly over your side like he’d forgotten he was even doing it.
The room around you stayed dim and warm, lit only by the small lamp near his desk, rain still tapping faintly against the windows outside. Jungwon looked at you for another long moment before something softer crossed his face, almost sleepy.
"Come here," he muttered.
You barely had time to react before he was already pulling you away from the door, fingers still hooked loosely around your wrist as he pulled you toward his bed. He sat first and pulled you down with him without much ceremony, one arm sliding automatically around your waist like it had already memorised the shape of you there. A laugh escaped you at the sheer determination of it, but it dissolved quickly when he looked up at you again. Jungwon leaned back properly against the pillows, his arm tightening slightly around your middle once you finally gave in and tucked yourself against him fully. The moment you did, something in him visibly changed, tension he’d been carrying all day finally loosening as he exhaled slowly. "You’ve been like that all day," he said after a moment, voice softer now, almost accusing in the gentlest way.
"Like what?"
"Distant," he continues, like the word annoyed him. "Acting like I don't exist."
"Won, we're literally hiding."
"I know," he replied, but his hand tightened slightly at your waist anyway, because he didn’t care how reasonable that sounded. "Make it up to me?" he said again, quieter this time, but the grin on his face gave him away completely as his eyes flicked down to your lips like that was the only answer he was actually interested in.
"How?" you asked tilting your head.
"Don’t act like you don’t know," he murmured, and there was something almost amused in it.
"I don’t," coming out weaker than you intended. It's quieter in a way that betrays you, even in the dim light. "Liar," he mutters — even then, there was no real accusation in it.
You didn’t bother to argue with him. In the short, insignificant seconds that followed, your hands are ran up Jungwon’s chest with urgency — leaning in close, and kissing him. His breath caught instantly against your mouth, a small involuntary sound slipping out of him, like he hadn’t expected you to actually give in that easily. When you pulled back just enough to speak, your lips still brushing his, you murmured, "Maybe."
He hummed chasing your lips, deepening it almost immediately, lips parting yours with an ease he didn't have yesterday. His tongue licked into your mouth slowly, hands settling at your hips as his fingers pressed just enough to keep you closer without being rough, yours slid up into the nape of his neck, tugging lightly at his hair. He let out a low sound against your mouth, somewhere between relief and frustration and it had your thighs squeezing together, because fuck this was chipping away at your self control, and barely anything had happened.
Jungwon's restraint however, was hanging on by a thread because the moment he felt your thighs close he felt his brain begin to melt. "Y/n I can't—" he breathed, hands cupping your jaw, if only to keep you glued to his lips.
"What—" you started, but then Jungwon whined. Actually fucking whined dragging his face to your cheek. His body jerked forward, just a little. He had been impossibly hard for a while now, despite swearing he hadn't thought about anything crazy — but somewhere between your hands in his hair and your tongue..
The sound startled a quiet laugh out of you before you could stop it, completely unaware of what had happened. He groaned embarrassed at that, one arm wrapping around your waist. It only made you more aware of him pressed against you now, warm and solid and very obviously stiff in a way that had heat flooding between your legs.
That's also when you realised that he had just cum in his pants, untouched. "Oh," you breathed before you could stop yourself. Jungwon immediately buried his face deeper into your neck.
"I'm—sorry, fuck. I didn't mean to—you're just so fucking—hot," he mumbled, almost attempting to move back, but you kept him there.
"Look at me." you said, running a soothing hand over the back of his head. He hesitated and pressed deeper for a moment, and then pulled his head back. His cheeks were flushed, hair messed up in a way only he could pull off. His glassy eyes found yours after a moment, so afraid of what he'd find.
"You're not mad?" he mumbled. He looked so fucking cute and worried and for a moment you couldn't help kissing him, "No Won," you said between kisses, "I'm not mad." And despite already cumming, he was still hard and throbbing.
"This is me making it up to you, for today." you said, voice almost a whisper — as you flicked between his eyes. His lips parted almost in confusion and he just blinked for a moment, breathing hard — then he looked up to you with those big wet eyes, "We don't have to do anything."
You bit the inside of your cheek, "I know," you kissed him again, slower, pressing against him. At some point while you were making out, you shifted onto his lap with your tongues still twisted and, he gasped as he felt your tits press against his chest. His brows were pulled together, lips parted in something you could barely call a kiss at this point and Jungwon was so entirely overwhelmed that all you could hear was his sharp gasps as your lips trailed down to his jaw.
He was trying his absolute best not to move — then he felt your tongue, licking his ear-lobe, sucking softly. "Fuuuck," Jungwon exhaled, eyes fluttering closed, his hips bucked up at the feeling uncontrollably, his hardened length rocked against your clothed pussy and then — you moaned into his ear. Jungwon was barely there at this point, he could barely touch you back he was so dazed. He panted hard, feeling your hands guiding his to your hips, teasing as they brushed up your waist, and pressing them to your chest. He swallowed hard at your tits under his palms, by now his eyes were blown wide with desire, his chest was rising and falling harshly — cock twitching beneath his already soiled pants.
His long fingers brushed against your chest, twitching in your hold. "Can I?" he breathed, so mesmerised by how you looked on him.
"Mhm yeah," he pulled your top up, over your head — letting it fall somewhere.
You watched as his eyes dragged down, his tongue poked into his cheek, almost like he was hungry "So, so fucking pretty baby," he groaned, finally finding it in himself to move. You were slowly dragging your hips together in short tiny bursts, while his hands palmed your tits — you gasped shakily. "You like that?" he whispered, voice completely wrecked.
"Fuck yeah, take it off," you huffed, fingers tugging at the fabric. As he pulled off his shirt you undid your bra letting it fall away, the second his eyes locked onto your bare tits he could barely breathe. He glanced away for a moment as a poor attempt to compose himself. But your nipples were hard, and he couldn't help but let out a strained noise at the sight, "You're beautiful baby," his hands came up and cupped your tits, fingers brushing over them.
"Ah— fuck Won—" His head tipped back at your words, as if your words and pleasure were affecting him just as much. A shiver ran through you, your hips stopping the motions for a moment as your fingers trailed down his chest. Even in the dimmed light he looked gorgeous in a way you couldn't describe. "Pretty."
He then flipped you over, lips finding your jaw, tongue trailing down your collarbone. He kept going as your hand threaded through his hair again, pressing him closer into your chest, Jungwon made a muffled noise against you, stupidly drunk on your tits. He lolled his tongue out, flattening it and licking over your nipple — your back arched instantly, a drawn out gasp bursting out as your legs wrapped around his waist, because it was all too much. Too good. He drunk up all your reactions, hips rolling against you. His tongue found your sensitive spots and a thumb rubbed over once — then he flicked his tongue over your hard bud and sucked. "Mmmph," you moaned attempting to suppress your sounds.
"Mm—don't hide," Jungwon's eyebrows furrowed — displeased and in retaliation he sucked harder, teeth grazing your skin as he tried to take as much as he could into his mouth. You moaned close-mouthed and the sound vibrated against him, he only buried his face deeper with his own high whines.
"Fucking dreamt—of touching—you baby," he mumbles in-between sucks, "Came twice in the—shower," he rambled. That did something indescribable to your panties, especially when you could feel rigid his cock so blatantly rutting against your thigh.
"Shit—what'd you think about?" you managed to breathe out.
"Your taste—your tongue—those pretty lips."
You pulled him back up to your lips with urgency, ignoring the way your tits were now slick and swollen with his spit. His wet lips parted in a choked whine as your palm found his clothed cock, "Ah—fuck baby—" he hissed, fingers tracing against the waistband of your sleep shorts. You lifted your hips and he immediately pulled it down with one hand as your palm worked against him, his shaky breaths only grew louder, even as his fingers traced over the lace of your panties.
He cupped your pussy fully, feeling the heat and you were so fucking wet that your arousal was leaking through, Jungwon couldn't take it anymore, this entire time he'd been holding himself back, not because he didn't think you could handle him, but because he didn't think he could. "You're so fucking wet for me hm?" he tilted his head, wide eyes boring into yours as you instinctively arched into his hard, pathetically desperate for his touch now.
"All for you baby—please," your eyebrows furrowed and pleading.
He could hardly comprehend it. You were submitting for him. For half a second he didn't even move, just looked over your expression and tried to etch it into his brain — stamp it onto his forehead if he could. And then he pulled your panties to the side, not even bothering to pull them off and pressed two fingers to your slit, eyes on your every movement. But just as the contact came, it was gone, because his fingers were in his mouth, licking your slick off of one finger, eyes almost rolling back at the taste.
You lips were already parted watching, Jungwon took advantage of that and pressed his fingers to your lips but he didn't even have to speak. You took both into your mouth, sucking off his spit mixed with your cum. "So—fucking hot," he watched half-lidded, his free hand found your slit again as he gently thrust them up and down your tongue.
He then eased the tip of his finger into your entrance, your jaw loosened around his fingers — a sharp gasp leaving you. "God so fucking tight," he whispered, he hadn't stopped watching you once, not even as he sank further into your pussy. Broken breathes vibrated around him and then Jungwon finally removed his fingers from your slack mouth, a string of your spit connecting you — he wasted none of it and sucked it off, "You want my fingers baby?"
"Yeah—more, please," you barely managed.
"More?" he repeated, already starting to push in and out, slowly curling against the walls of your insides.
"—Shut—up," A breathy laugh bubbled through him in response and he pushed himself up to kiss into your mouth, which was hung open. Because he'd now added his middle finger into the mix, enamoured with the way your slicked cunt let him pump in and out effortlessly. And the noises were fucking filthy, the squelching wet sounds had heat crawling up to your ears.
His fingertips then brushed against that spongy bundle of nerves — he swallowed your high sounds with small kisses to your lips, "I knoww baby you're doing so good yeah?" he whispered against your lips, he trailed down and took your nipple into his mouth again, fingers working on your pussy — keeping that same devastating pace.
"Mm—fuckfuckfuuuck," you barely even registered what you were saying anymore.
The pressure built fast, a coil tightening — he felt your moans and babbling pick up and tensed his tongue, flicking your nipple over and over and over until your pussy was grinding against his hand, bucking into him desperately. "You like it when I fuck my fingers into you?"
"Fuck yeah I love it so much—fuck-please i'm—ah" you cried, head now tilted back lax against his pillow, your hand was raked through his hair, gripping it for dear life.
"Cum for me baby, give it to me." he spoke looking up at you. His thumb then found your clit and he rubbed harsh circles, neither of were even aware of how loud you were being at this point. Because you came hard, shaking — head spinning, and Jungwon didn't stop.
Jungwon scrambled down as you came and replaced his thumb with his lips — his arms were now hooking under your thighs, locking you in place as he sloppily licked and sucked on your nub like he'd never tasted anything better. He was also moaning and huffing into you, because he had cum just from touching you. "Won—can't," you whined tugging on his hair at the overstimulation.
"One more baby—" he breathed low into your folds, mewling at your tugging. Your legs wrapped around his head, practically using his face and he was beyond delighted to be your personal fuck-toy. He then shoved his tongue impossibly deep into your pussy, fucking into you as far as he could reach and you were simultaneously grinding your clit against the curve of his nose. Your second orgasm was practically ripped out of you and somewhere between his tongue and fingers taking turns on your shattered cunt, your milky arousal leaked straight onto his tongue.
He clamped his mouth around you and kept going, kept suckling and licking, not letting a single drop go to waste. "Taste so fucking good baby, you did so so good," he finally said, against your thighs, pressing small kisses along your soft skin. You made a small acknowledging whine in response tugging his hair again weakly, legs finally going limp against him. Jungwon kissed his way back up, up your stomach, chest, neck, jaw, finally your lips. He cupped your jaw "You're so perfect princess," he rubbed your side —soothing, a contrast to the pussy drunk blonde from a few minutes ago.
You grinned against his skin, fingers scratching lightly through his hair as he kept pressing absentminded kisses across your face, "I love you," you murmured. His lips curled against your jaw, a dimple peeking through,
"I love you too baby," he whispered back and there was still something almost disbelieving in the way he said it, like he'd been reminded this is something you both say now. Jungwon’s hands wandered slowly over your half-bare skin with obvious distraction, fingertips tracing along your waist and back while you kissed your way down the side of his neck. You took your time there deliberately, mouth brushing across warm skin before lingering at his shoulder again, because frankly, his shoulders were becoming an actual problem in your life.
"How the hell did you know how to do that?" you asked after a moment, you pulled back just enough to look at him properly, fingers still tangled loosely in his hair. For half a second Jungwon looked unbearably pleased with himself, but also somehow embarrassed too. His mouth twitched like he was debating lying, before he finally exhaled through his nose. "I did research," he admitted, trying very hard to sound casual and failing almost immediately when your expression shifted into open disbelief.
"You…studied how to give head?"
"Yes," he defended instantly, already laughing now because of the way you were staring at him. "I wanted make you feel good."
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, your forehead falling briefly against his shoulder. "That might be the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Jungwon made a quiet, flustered noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh before hiding his face immediately against the side of your neck again. "Please don’t say that."
You were about to ask why, but the answer was pressed against your thigh. And even after having the breath knocked out of you. Twice. You couldn't help the renewed urge to make him feel just as good as he'd made you feel. "Why baby?" you hummed knowingly, coaxing him out of the comfort of your neck — your lips found his again, hands slowly making their way down to his waistband.
"Because I can't get enough of you," he breathed against you, cupping your jaw as the kiss deepened into something slow and so filthy it had your heads spinning.
"Take it off." you gasped into his mouth. It was funny actually, you'd both cum multiple times and you still hadn't even seen his dick yet. His hands impatiently ripped down his pants, as you freed him his cock recoiled against his stomach and you couldn't help the way your lips parted in shock. He was longer than he was thick, curved inwards and slick with cum. And he was fucking massive. Like, how the fuck had you never noticed kind of big.
"Baby, you don't have to," Jungwon mistook your shock for something else entirely. You answered by wrapping your hand around the base of his cock and it shut him up — immediately. So sensitive from cumming twice before, he breathed out shakily just at the contact. "God, your hand alone is gonna—" he couldn't even finish his sentence because you'd pushed him back and shuffled down to face him properly.
You flattened your tongue and licked up from the base to the tip of his dick, you could feel each ridge and vein along with the warm earthy taste of him. Jungwon's length had twitched at the first contact, his head falling back, hands eagerly pushing your hair back to watch you properly. "Goddd fuck babygirl," he groaned under his breathe, shaking slightly from overstimulation. You took his flushed tip into your mouth and hummed in response, the vibrations had him shuddering, and the thought that had him already biting his lip — fighting to last. Was that this was the first time you had a dick in your mouth and it was his. He would never have known with the way you took as much of him into your mouth as you could, spit gathering in the corners of your mouth.
"So pretty with my cock in your mouth princess fuuuck," he babbled. Jungwon was battling with everything he had, his eyes were knit shut, jaw was hung open — broken whines and whimpers along with rambles shaking through into the air. And then he made the mistake of opening his eyes — to you moving off him to catch your breath, spit connecting you and you took him fully into your mouth this time, cheeks hollowing as you bobbed your head. "Shit— wait—"with a buck to his hips and a drawn out moan his cum flooded into your mouth. His entire body jerked, head falling back as you swallowed, finally releasing him with a pop. "Holy fuck.." Jungwon breathed, completely wrecked, fingers pushing shakily through your hair "Baby, where did you learn to do that?"
"Research," you said against his thigh, lips curling when his head jolted upward so fast it almost looked painful. A grin spread across your face then, as you wiped the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand. "What? I wanted to make you feel good too."
For a second he just stared at you like his brain had completely stalled trying to process. Then his head tipped back slightly with a disbelieving laugh, one hand dragging down over his face, before returning immediately to you again, fingers brushing along your jaw. You grinned. "Why are you acting shocked? You literally admitted it first."
"That was different."
"How?"
"Because.. I’m me," he replied instantly, like that explained everything. You rolled your eyes immediately and Jungwon laughed in response, pulling you up properly against his chest until your legs tangled together beneath the blankets. The sound faded softer after a second, his hand moving slowly up and down your back absentmindedly while the room settled back into quiet around you. Rain still tapped faintly against the windows, gentler now, and the moonlight spilling through the curtains painted everything in silver that made Jungwon look unfairly pretty this close. His hair was messy from your hands, lips slightly swollen.
Eventually, after a long stretch of lazy conversation and kissing that kept dissolving halfway into quiet laughter, Jungwon forced himself to sit up with visible reluctance. "Shower?" he muttered, though he sounded deeply upset by the idea of moving at all. You let out a small breath of a laugh, pushing yourself upright too slowly — still half-tangled in the sheets, eyes barely open.
"We probably should." He lingered for a second longer, fingers loosely hooked around your wrist like he was testing whether he could reasonably convince you to ignore basic hygiene and stay exactly where you were, but eventually he stood anyway, pulling you up with him in the same motion
The walk to the bathroom was half-hearted at best, both of you still half-dazed, Jungwon bumping his shoulder lightly into yours in that absent, familiar way he always did when he was too tired to behave properly. The shower itself passed in a blur of sleepy warmth and quiet teasing, more soft touches than anything else, both of you too wrung out now to be anything except gentle. Jungwon then changed the sheets as you changed into some loose clothes and by the time you both finally made it back to the bed, Jungwon looked about two seconds away from falling asleep where he stood. Still, he waited until you were under the covers first before he climbed in beside you again, immediately pulling you closer. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you firmly into his chest until there was no space left to negotiate with, his hand resting at your back in slow, absent circle.
"Stay here," he murmured. "I’m not going anywhere," you replied softly, adjusting slightly so your head rested properly against him. You felt him relax fully a moment later, the tension finally leaving his body completely as sleep started to take him properly. His breathing slowed, his grip on you never loosening even as he drifted.
You woke up gradually in pieces rather than all at once, warm and disoriented, the kind of slow return to consciousness that didn’t immediately remind you where you were, until you shifted slightly and felt Jungwon’s arm tighten instinctively around you — like even in sleep he didn’t want to let distance happen. He was already awake, you realised a moment later, watching you with that quiet, half-lidded expression he always had when he was still caught between sleep and awareness, hair slightly messed, face softer than it ever was when anyone else was around.
"Morning baby," he murmured, voice rough and low, you blinked up at him, still too warm to think properly, and for a second you just stared at him like your brain hadn’t caught up with the fact that this was now your life, sneaking into his dorm, waking up in his arms, him calling you baby so easily. You shifted closer on instinct, burying your face briefly against his chest like you could delay existing for a few more seconds, and he made a quiet, pleased sound under his breath as his hand immediately slid up your back again.
"You’re too awake," you muttered against him, voice muffled. "I’ve been awake for a while," he admitted quietly, "I was just… not moving, because you looked comfortable."
That made something in your chest perk up immediately, you leaned up slightly and kissed him, slow and unhurried, the kind of morning kiss that didn’t feel like anything complicated. Jungwon responded instantly, hand sliding up to your cheek, and for a few seconds there was nothing else in the world except the quiet, the warmth, and the fact that neither of you seemed in any rush. "We should probably get up," you murmured, though you made no move to actually do it.
"Mm," he agreed instantly, not moving either, pressing a kiss to your forehead like that solved the problem. "In a minute."
"A minute turns into an hour with you."
"That’s fine," he said easily, pulling you closer again. "We have time."
You let out a quiet laugh, which he clearly took as encouragement because he kissed you again like that was a perfectly reasonable way to start the morning.
"Last night was…" you started, pausing as you tried to find a word that didn’t immediately set your brain on fire. Jungwon raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly already knowing where this was going, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over your knuckles.
"Good?" he offered, far too calm.
You let out a small laugh, hiding your face for half a second before looking back at him. "So good,"
That earned you a quiet, satisfied hum from him, like he’d been waiting for you to say it out loud. He shifted closer again, forehead briefly resting against yours. "Yeah," he agreed, voice softer now, "I liked taking care of you."
You rolled your eyes fondly, nudging his shoulder with yours. "Research paid off then?"
"Don’t start," he muttered, but he was smiling anyway, pulling you back in by your waist, "I just wanted you to feel good."
"I did feel good," you admitted, voice dropping a little, more honest now as your fingers traced absentmindedly along his sleeve. "Really good and I wasn’t nervous with you. I thought I would be, but I wasn’t."
"Me neither," he confessed. "I mean I was nervous about everything except you." After a beat he added, "Next time, we don’t have to stop there if you don’t want to.”
"Okay then... let's not stop," you whispered against his lips. Jungwon's brain physically lagged for a moment, "You— right now?" he swallowed softly. You nodded once and for a moment he just stared at you, "You're—"
"Yes baby I'm sure." you cut him off which only had him cheesing. His hand slipped into your hair, gently pulling you back just enough to kiss you, and you rolled your eyes even as you leaned into it willingly. His free hand drifted lazily down your side, to squeeze the plush flesh of your ass and finally settling on your thigh. You hummed into his mouth at the touch pulling him closer instinctively.
Jungwon pulled back first, just enough to look at you properly. There was still a trace of sleep in his eyes, but there was something else there too. His eyes were almost black, just from kissing and that almost made you laugh. "What?" Jungwon grinned catching your lips curl.
"Just how needy you get from a little kissing," you said rubbing absentminded circles on his biceps.
"You just told me you want me to fuck you," he deadpanned, which only had you exhaling a laugh at his blunt words.
"Besides," he starts, hand splaying against your thigh, guiding and resting it over his hip. "you seemed pretty needy last night." You glanced away heat crawling up your neck, "Aw, don't get shy on me now baby." he whispered as his hand cupped your jaw guiding you to face him again.
"Won—" it came out barely above a breath, cheek now burning against his hand.
"Yeah?" he tilts his head "tell me what you need princess."
You bit the inside of your lip, you weren't planning on giving in but unfortunately you already had, 5 minutes ago. "You know what I need." you said, eyebrows pulling together.
"Mm, want to hear you say it," his eyes flit between your features, lips stretched subtly in an almost grin.
You leaned in pressing a kiss to his jaw and then licked over his pulse point, "Need your cock, inside me."
Jungwon inhaled sharply, he pulled you onto his lap properly by your thighs — lips attacking the soft flesh on your neck because he couldn't tease you anymore, not when he was throbbing beneath you. You adjusted onto him pressing your core against his stiff length.
Jungwon's hands ran up and down your body, pulling you impossibly closer like distance wasn't allowed. His tongue found yours and he slipped his hands around to your lower-back, under the fabric of your loose shorts and squeezed. You swallowed his content groan as he pulled your clothes off, starting with those shorts.
You both stripped each other between wet filthy kisses, slick sounds and your shared pleasure vibrated between your mouths. He didn't bother taking his boxers off, too caught up in his fingers finding your pussy, he groaned low into your mouth once he did "I did this to you?" he breathed against your lips.
"Mhm, you make me so fucking wet," you gasped, one hand loose on his neck, the other gripping his bicep.
He practically moaned at your words pulling you up so your core was directly on the curve of his cock. You just watched as his hands drifted to your hips, he gripped gently and jolted you forward. Your breath hitched at the first contact, a shaky moan ripping out of you as he guided you back and forth over him.
His head fell back against the headboard as he continued grinding you back and forth, hips bucking uncontrollably. "Shit, I'm gonna cum just from this," he breathed, and between the slick of both your pre-cum and the feeling of your bare pussy on his barely covered cock, you both found yourselves becoming increasingly desperate.
At some point his length under the fabric of his boxers rubbed over your clit in a perfect rhythm, heat flooded through your stomach. "God, baby," you mewled, your hand on his neck tightened just a little.
"Ah- baby I'm—" Jungwon moaned high and filthy. He had no idea something as simple as your fingers around his neck could turn him on so much.
As his hips bucked and warmth spread through his boxers your own high crashed into you with a whine. "Holy fuck," Jungwon breathed after a moment, beads of sweat forming along his hairline, "..think you're ready?" he added after a moment, you exhaled a laugh leaning forward into his neck.
He grinned flipping you over, somewhere between messy kisses and wandering hands he threw his boxers off and of course he was still fucking hard. You hooked your legs around his waist as he reached down guiding himself to your slick entrance. Your foreheads rested together, eyes on your connecting bodies. "Tell me if anything feels off," he said looking between your eyes, stern despite the desire deep in his sockets.
"I will," you whisper back, he nodded and then rubbed his tip over your slit slowly, teasing you both into shudders. His eyes snapped back up to your face, taking in every tiny twitch as he gradually pushed in, inch by inch. His lips parted in a guttural moan and your eyes threatened to roll back just at the feeling of his thickness stretching you out.
"Good?" he gasped softly, barely halfway in. A noise from the back of your mouth spilled out, half moan half whine — which almost had him spilling right there. He knit his eyes shut in concentration, breath warm against your cheek.
After a moment of composing himself the best he could he continued pushing in. Your grip on his bicep only tightened as your back slowly arched with each inch. As he bottomed out you both gasped together, Jungwon traced the curve of your lower-back holding you there, letting you adjust. "It's like you were fucking made for me," he said almost under his breath.
"Feel so—so full Won," you managed, his parted mouth curled up just slightly and then he pulled out just a little, just to push right back in — every thrust creating a spark of friction, bursting low in your belly.
Your legs around his waist tightened instinctively, pulling him impossibly closer as his hand moved from your hip to the back of your head, threading through your hair. Every sound spilling from your lips had him speeding up, "Sound so—pretty— for me."
You clenched around him at his praise, and Jungwon's hips stuttered, "Ah— you're squeezing me princess—" he breathed.
Your arms wrapped around his neck pulling his mouth onto yours, he whined low into your mouth in response. For a moment you barely responded, because the added traction of your nipples against his chest had your mouth going slack and Jungwon just stared, taking in your dazed expression and then — faster than you could comprehend he pulled your leg from his hip to his shoulder, the new position allowing his cock to reach even deeper. He watched as your face contorted in pleasure — his pace only quickened, grinding as far as he could reach. "Won-fuck-fuck-fuck—baby," you babbled between breaths.
His blonde hair was tousled in that sweaty sexy way and his tongue was lolled out how it would be when he was concentrating. His gaze instinctively dropped to your stomach, "—Oh, fuck— look at how deep I am babygirl," he gaped, eyes on the clear bulge in your tummy. Your whimpers picked up as the pressure built, thrusts deepening, "Baby— I want you to cum on my cock" he breathed leaning down, "can you do that for me?"
"Yeah—yes, fuck," you whined, he started ploughing into you, a hand reaching down to rub fast circles on your clit — you clenched hard in response a chorus of babbling and whines echoing between you.
"Want you to cum in me." you gasped as you felt that familiar chord about to snap,
"— Ah my fuuck—," his hips snapped in response a content noise spilling out of him. Your orgasm crashed over you in waves, walls convulsing around his thick length and Jungwon groaned low into your neck fucking you through it, his own release following in thick spurts deep in your pussy.
You both panted as your movements stilled, Jungwon rolled over next to you pulling you into his arms, your face in his neck as his hand raked through your hair. "You're so perfect," he whispered breathy against your hair, you made an acknowledging noise "So are you."
He pulled you back just to peck little kisses all over your face, "Baby—" you started but the words quickly dissolved into giggles. "I love you," he grinned, finally pulling back.
"I love you," you responded tracing his jaw, glancing back up at his big eyes — which were softened and dazed all for you.
"Was that okay?" he said after a moment, eyebrows pulled in a nervous furrow for a moment.
You nodded automatically, "More than okay baby," you murmured, pressing a few reassuring kisses to his pink lips. Jungwon seemed more than satisfied with your answer, a sheepish grin stretching across his face before he dropped his forehead against yours with a relieved laugh.
The two of you stayed there for another minute, tangled together beneath the blankets, neither making any real effort to move. The room was warm, the early morning light spilling lazily through the curtains, and every time you shifted closer Jungwon's arms tightened around you automatically.
Eventually reality won. Jungwon let out an exaggerated sigh before forcing himself upright, earning an immediate groan from you as the warmth disappeared. "Come on," he said, reaching down to smooth a hand through your hair. "Let's get cleaned up before we accidentally sleep until dinner."
You made a dramatic sound of protest but followed him anyway, both of you moving slower than usual, still sleepy and content in a way that made everything feel softer around the edges.
You moved through the motions of cleaning up and getting yourselves sorted out while exchanging tired smiles every few minutes. Neither of you seemed capable of being more than three feet apart without immediately drifting back together again.
The rush from earlier had faded completely, leaving only the comfortable familiarity that had always existed between you. You stole one of his hoodies without asking, and Jungwon didn't even pretend to object when you climbed back onto the bed wearing it.
"That was mine," he pointed out weakly.
"Was." You smiled and opened your arms. Jungwon immediately gave up the argument and climbed back beside you. For a while he simply held you there, arms secure around your middle, the morning sunlight spilling across the room around you. You rested against his chest while he absentmindedly played with your fingers, occasionally pressing lazy kisses into your hair whenever he thought you weren't paying attention.
Then he pressed his face into your hair and mumbled, "Can we stay like this for another ten minutes?"
"Baby later, I've gotta go before the others wake up," you said, already laughing as his grip tightened immediately in protest. Jungwon groaned dramatically into your shoulder as though you had just delivered devastating news.
"You'll survive."
He lifted his head just enough to give you a deeply unimpressed look, which only made you laugh harder. The sight seemed to completely ruin whatever argument he was trying to make because a second later he was smiling too, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. He leaned forward and stole one last kiss before you could continue arguing, smiling against your lips when you made an offended noise. "There," he said, satisfied with himself. "Now you can go."
"Thank you for the permission."
"You're welcome, baby."
You rolled your eyes, but your chest felt warm anyway. You pressed a final kiss to his lips even as he made another half-hearted sound of protest, and only then did you manage to actually sit up properly. It took several more minutes than it should have to leave because Jungwon kept finding reasons to pull you back for one more hug, one more kiss, one more excuse to keep you there.
The castle was still half asleep by the time you finally slipped out of Jungwon’s room, the corridor dim and quiet enough that your footsteps sounded louder than they actually were. Behind you, Jungwon's door clicked shut softly. You were already smiling to yourself, and that should have been your first warning that the universe was about to humble you.
The sleeves of his hoodie hanging too long over your hands as you padded toward the kitchen with the vague hope of grabbing water before attempting the walk back to your own dorm unnoticed.
You were halfway through convincing yourself everyone was asleep when you stepped into the kitchen and nearly had a heart attack. Jake was already there, sitting at the counter with a mug in one hand like he’d been awake long enough to enter a different stage of consciousness. He looked up the second you walked in and visibly froze mid-sip.
You froze too and for a long second, neither of you spoke. Jake’s eyes dragged slowly over your appearance, your wet hair, the oversized hoodie, the fact it was very obviously Jungwon’s, the way you looked suspiciously rumpled for someone supposedly just passing through at sunrise. Then his eyebrows lifted so high they practically disappeared into his hairline.
"…No fucking way," he said finally, you immediately sighed,
"Don’t."
Jake leaned back in his chair. "Oh my god," he breathed, grinning now.
"I didn’t mean to fall asleep," you said far too quickly. Jake just stared at you, then his eyes dropped to your neck, then back at you again. "…Uh huh," he said flatly, heat crawled violently into your face.
"Jake." Before he could answer, another set of footsteps shuffled into the kitchen behind you and Jungwon appeared looking equally exhausted, hair still wet, shirt wrinkled beyond saving. He stopped the second he saw Jake’s expression and immediately knew, eyes closing briefly.
"Fuck."
Jake pointed between the two of you with genuine outrage. "You two are fucking monsters." You covered your face instantly but Jungwon, instead of denying it like a normal person, looked genuinely stricken for a completely different reason.
"I knew we were being too loud."
You whipped around fast. "Shut the fuck up."
Jake doubled over laughing immediately while Jungwon dragged a hand through his hair. "I’m just saying, I had a feeling."
"A feeling?" Jake repeated, wheezing. "Bro, the entire floor had a feeling." Jungwon looked deeply ashamed for maybe half a second before moving behind you and immediately hiding his face in your shoulder. His arms slid loosely around your waist without thinking, all warm and unfairly comfortable despite the situation. Which only made Jake point harder. "Two days since you 'made' up. TWO."
"We were going to tell you," Jungwon muttered weakly. Jake only stared at him. "After what?"
You groaned covering your face with both hands now. "Shut up." you said muffled.
Jake, unfortunately, was enjoying himself far too much now. "Do you understand how traumatic it is," he continued, "to wake up at like three in the morning thinking somebody is getting brutally murdered and then realizing no, it’s just Jungwon losing his virginity." Jungwon made a strangled noise into your neck. "Stop talking." he mumbled not even bothering correcting him.
"No, because I almost came in to check if—"
"Jake." He held both hands up immediately, still laughing. "Alright, okay, I’m done." He clearly was not done. The grin stayed permanently stuck on his face as he looked between you both again, softer this time beneath all the teasing.
"Seriously though," he said, shaking his head. "About fucking time." You felt your embarrassment ease just slightly at that but Jake ruined it immediately by narrowing his eyes at Jungwon "But I swear to god, if I hear even one suspicious sound again, I’m knocking on the wall like an old man."
Jungwon finally lifted his head just enough to mumble, "Can you keep your voice down before the others wake up?"
Jake gasped dramatically. "Oh, now we care about volume."
You scoffed turning your head to Jungwon, while he started laughing into you, shoulders shaking. "This is your fault," you told him immediately.
"My fault?” he repeated, offended now despite the grin tugging at his mouth. “You were the one making—”
"Finish that sentence and I’ll kill you." Jake nearly folded in half laughing again while Jungwon wisely shut his mouth, though the smug look on his face made it very clear he absolutely could finish that sentence.The kitchen settled after that into quieter laughter, the kind that came easier after the initial humiliation burned off and light conversation. Jake took another sip of coffee, still occasionally looking at the two of you with disbelief written all over his face, while Jungwon stayed tucked against your shoulder without an ounce of shame left in him anymore.
"We lasted barely two days," you said, turning to look at Jungwon again. He groaned into your neck, arms tightening around your waist. "I thought we’d at least make it a week," he said. "Yeah, no chance," you laughed.
"Worth it," Jungwon whispered, breath warm against your ear. You rolled your eyes automatically, though the smile pulling at your mouth ruined any attempt at annoyance. Behind you, Jake made a deeply offended sound into his coffee mug.
"I hate both of you."
Eventually, after Jake threatened violence if either of you stayed in the kitchen any longer, you finally escaped back to your dorm. The walk across the hall felt strangely light, maybe because the secret was already starting to slip out of your hands anyway. Your dorm was quiet when you slipped inside, still half asleep as morning light spilled weakly through the windows. You changed quickly, washing your face in freezing water in a failed attempt to wake yourself up properly.
By the time you finally made your way down to breakfast, the castle had properly woken up around you. Voices echoed through the corridors, footsteps overlapping against stone floors, the usual morning chaos settling back into place. Breakfast passed in a blur of pointed looks and carefully neutral behaviour, the kind where you and Jungwon sat just far enough apart to be technically innocent but close enough that Jake kept smirking into his drink.
The afternoon found you all together again, sprawled in a common lounge space near the library where people usually ended up when they had nowhere else to be. Ni-ki had claimed an armchair, Heeseung was half lying across the sofa scrolling on his phone, Kenny was arguing about something unimportant, and Jake was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch in a way that made it look like he was physically restraining himself from commenting on anything.
You ended up beside Jungwon without thinking, like it was muscle memory rather than choice. He didn’t say anything about it either, just shifted slightly to make space for you, his shoulder brushing yours in a way that felt entirely too natural for something you were supposedly hiding. It was almost working, until someone else walked in.
It was one of the older Slytherin students you vaguely recognised, confident enough in the way he carried himself to immediately head in your direction with an easy smile. You only realised he was speaking to you when he stopped directly in front of the sofa, asking your name with the kind of casual interest that didn’t quite match the way his eyes stayed on your face. "Hey," he said again, like repeating it made it smoother, "I’ve seen you around, I just wanted to say hi properly."
You answered politely, confused more than anything, and that was apparently enough encouragement for him to keep talking. Jungwon didn’t move at first, which was almost impressive, but the change in him was immediate anyway. You felt it, the shift in posture beside you, the way his leg tensed slightly where it was stretched out near yours, the subtle lean forward like he was suddenly very aware of the space between you and the stranger.
The guy laughed at something you said, just a little too familiar, and Jungwon finally looked up. "Can I help you?" Jungwon asked, voice calm in a way that didn’t match the look in his eyes at all.
The guy blinked, slightly thrown by the tone more than the words. "Oh, I was just talking to her—"
"I know," he said lightly, still smiling. "I heard." There was a beat of silence that felt like it stretched too long for comfort. Heeseung slowly lowered his phone. Ni-ki straightened in his chair. Kenny stopped talking mid-sentence. Jake covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders already shaking like he was physically fighting laughter.
The guy looked between you and Jungwon now, the confusion starting to shift into something more cautious. "Are you her boyfriend or something?"
Jungwon didn’t even hesitate. "No," he said easily, still smiling. Then he glanced at you for half a second, softer in a way only you caught, like the answer wasn’t meant for anyone else in the room.
"Not yet."
The room absolutely lost it in the most restrained way possible, like everyone was trying not to make it worse but failing miserably. Jake made a sound that suspiciously turned into a cough halfway through. Kenny’s eyes went wide. Ni-ki leaned forward, elbows on knees. Even Heeseung looked like he was trying very hard to understand if this was a joke or a confession.
The guy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… I’ll leave you to it then." He left faster than he arrived.
"Jungwon," you said under your breath, he finally looked at you properly now, expression completely unreadable for half a second before it softened again, like he couldn’t help himself.
"What? I was polite." he said quietly, too calm to be innocent.
"That was not polite," you laughed in disbelief, leaning into his shoulder without thinking, like your body had decided this was just normal again, completely forgetting for a second that everyone else in the room was currently reconstructing reality around you both. It only took you half a second to realise they had gone quiet in that very specific way that meant people were talking without actually speaking.
Jungwon didn’t even flinch at the contact, just shifted slightly so you fit against him more naturally. "It was," he insisted, still annoyingly calm about it, eyes flicking briefly down to you like he was more focused on you than the entire audience pretending not to exist
It wasn’t loud at first, more like a collective pause. The kind where nobody speaks because everyone is trying to decide who breaks first. Then Kenny finally leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowed like she was assembling a case in real time. "So," she said carefully, "just to clarify what I’m watching right now.”
Heeseung exhaled through his nose, already looking tired of being right about everything. "Don’t say ‘just to clarify’ like you’re not about to interrogate them."
"I am," Kenny replied immediately, not even looking away from you two. Ni-ki tilted his head, openly curious now. "So like.. you're together?"
Jungwon didn’t answer straight away. Not because he was hiding anything, but because he looked mildly amused by the fact that they were only just catching up. His hand stayed resting casually near your knee like it belonged there, thumb brushing once against your leg. Kenny didn’t even look up properly, just pointed vaguely at you both. "I knew it. I literally said it. No one listens to me in this house."
Jungwon finally sat up a little, still calm but noticeably less playful now that he could feel the full attention on him. "It’s not new," he said simply, like that answered anything.
That made Jake let out a quiet laugh from the floor. "That is the most unhelpful sentence you could’ve chosen."
Jungwon hummed quietly at that, glancing at you for half a second like he was sharing the joke only with you. "We didn’t plan for it to be… announced," he said, which made Jake snort again.
"Oh, it got announced,” Jake said. "Loudly. Multiple times."
You covered your face briefly, heat creeping up your neck. "Please stop talking."
Kenny looked between you and Jake now, fully locking in on something she wasn’t ready to let go of. "He knew??"
"Unfortunately," Jake mumbled, clearly enjoying your embarrassment far too much, leaning back into the sofa. "I’ve been carrying this knowledge alone."
Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, shaking his head a little. "That explains a lot, actually."
Jungwon shifted slightly beside you, still calm but now visibly more amused, like the whole thing had officially crossed into ridiculous territory he no longer felt the need to resist. "He’s been unbearable since this morning," he added.
"Excuse you,” Jake said instantly. “I have been supportive."
"You threatened to knock on the wall." you reminded him.
"I was setting boundaries," Jake replied without missing a beat.
Kenny pointed between all of you again, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, no, I’m still not done with you two."
"We feel like we are," you said.
"You’re not," she replied, and she wasn’t lying. The next twenty minutes somehow turned into a slow, ongoing series of questions that weren’t even really questions anymore, just observations disguised as curiosity. Heeseung quietly checking if you were both "Okay okay" after everything, Ni-ki asking far too many casual "So like when did you realise" questions, Kenny refusing to let any detail pass unexamined, and Jungwon answering everything with infuriating calmness like this was a group project he had already finished. You eventually stopped trying to defend anything and just leaned fully into him again, which only made them look more satisfied and by the time they finally let it go, it wasn’t because they were out of questions. It was because they were exhausted.
Jake was the first one to fully give up, getting up and stretching like he had just survived a long-haul flight, then walked over and flopped directly down between you both on the sofa like personal space was an outdated concept. "Alright," he announced, already reaching an arm around your shoulders and the other around Jungwon. "I approve of this relationship."
You made a sound of protest, half-laughing as his weight pushed you both closer together. "You don’t get to approve anything."
"I do," Jake said, completely unbothered, settling in like he was comfortable there for the rest of the day. "I suffered through the years of denial."
Jungwon leaned slightly into the chaos without complaint, glancing down at Jake’s arm like it was mildly inconvenient but acceptable. "You’re heavy," he said and Jake squeezed tighter just to be annoying.
"And you’re welcome."
Ni-ki was still watching like he was trying to decide if this counted as normal behaviour now. Kenny had her chin propped in her hand, looking way too pleased with how this had all resolved itself. Heeseung, as usual, looked like he’d already accepted the situation ten steps before everyone else caught up.
Then Kenny exhaled, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "No, seriously though," she said, eyes flicking between you and Jungwon, "I’m happy for you both." Ni-ki nodded immediately like that was the only logical conclusion. "Yeah. About time, honestly." Heeseung hummed in agreement, calm as ever.
Jake tilted his head back against the sofa, still wrapped around both of you like a human barricade. "Yeah," he added, quieter but sincere underneath all the noise, "I’m happy for you guys. It’s been… a lot watching you finally get here." That landed in a way that made your chest feel a little warm and too tight at the same time. Jungwon didn’t say anything straight away, just pat Jake's shoulder.
"Yeah," he said finally, softer than usual, "it was worth it."
Jake, of course, ruined the softness immediately by squeezing you both again. "Don’t get emotional," he said. "I will make it weird again if I have to."
Later that night, long after the teasing had finally died down and everyone had gone their separate ways, Jungwon appeared outside your dorm looking suspicious in a way that immediately made you narrow your eyes at him. The corridor was quiet, lit only by the warm dim glow from the wall sconces, and he stood there with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket like he was attempting innocence he absolutely did not possess.
"You look guilty," you informed him as you stepped out into the corridor, pulling your jacket tighter around yourself against the cold stone air. Jungwon’s mouth twitched immediately, blonde hair falling messily across his forehead from where he’d clearly been dragging his hands through it for a while now.
"I’m literally just standing here," he said, though the defensive edge to it only made you more suspicious. Before you could continue interrogating him, he reached for your hand, fingers slipping easily between yours with effortless familiarity. "Come with me," he added, thumb brushing absentmindedly across your knuckles. "I’m not doing anything illegal. Probably."
"That is not reassuring."
"It should be slightly reassuring," he corrected, already tugging you along the corridor. You let him pull you through the castle despite the growing certainty that he absolutely was planning something. The higher the staircases became, the more sceptical you got, until eventually you slowed to a stop halfway up another winding staircase and looked at him properly. "Jungwon," you said carefully, already trying not to laugh, "Why are we climbing seventy flights of stairs at midnight."
He laughed under his breath at that, squeezing your hand gently. "Can you trust me for five minutes, baby? Just five. I’m asking for very little here." he replied, tugging lightly on your hand until you started moving again. The pet name distracted you just enough that he managed to get you all the way to the top before you could continue questioning him. There was something annoying in his expression already, like he knew you were going to like whatever this was and was trying not to ruin it too early.
The second the tower door swung open, night air rushed around you, carrying the distant sound of wind through the castle grounds below and then your eyes landed on the setup waiting near the far side of the tower. Blankets and pillows looking ridiculously comfortable, spread across the stone floor beneath the stars, complete with snacks shoved into one corner and what looked suspiciously like one of the softer blankets stolen from the boys dorm. You stopped dead in the doorway staring at it while Jungwon immediately looked away like he physically couldn’t handle your reaction yet.
"Baby," you breathed.
"It gets cold up here," he says quickly, though the slight pinkness creeping into his face completely ruined any attempt at nonchalance. "And carrying all of this up here was genuinely horrible. I almost gave up halfway through and just invited you to the couch downstairs."
That startled a laugh out of you, warm enough that some of the tension visibly left his shoulders at the sound. You’d started noticing that recently too — how much he relaxed whenever you laughed now, like some deeply anxious part of him was still adjusting to the fact that he no longer had to wonder if you wanted him around.
"C’mere," he murmured after a second, reaching for you again. He pulled your jacket off for you before shrugging his own off and tossing both onto the blankets carelessly. You let him guide you over before dropping down beside him, both of you dissolving into quiet laughter when one of the pillows immediately slid out from underneath you and nearly sent you sideways. Jungwon caught you automatically, one arm wrapping around your waist as he pulled you securely against him, and the smug little smile that appeared afterwards made you grin immediately.
"Who knew you'd be such a sap."
“Baby I worked hard,” he replied, attempting to sound serious about it. “Do you know how difficult it is to sneak this many pillows through the castle without people asking questions. Jake watched me walk past and just went, ‘If you’re not proposing up there don't tell me about it after.’"
You exhaled a laugh. "That sounds like him."
The wind moved softly around the tower after that, the blankets warm beneath you while Jungwon shifted until you were tucked comfortably against his chest, his arm draped around your waist beneath the layers of fabric. For a while neither of you spoke. You just sat there together watching the dark grounds stretch below the tower while his fingers traced lazy patterns against your side through your top. Eventually though, Jungwon let out a quiet breath, the kind that gave him away instantly.
You tilted your head back slightly to look at him. "What’s going on in that brain right now."
Jungwon groaned softly before dropping his head back against the stone wall behind him. "I had this planned better in my head," he admitted.
A laugh escaped you immediately. "That's not an answer."
His fingers tightened around yours beneath the blanket before he looked back down at you again, expression slowly melting into something quieter. "I just keep thinking about how everyone already calls you mine, and you are. And I know that sounds stupid, because everything is already obvious, but it’s been bothering me all day,"
You blinked at him once, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. "After wanting this for so long, I don’t want to do any of it halfway with you. I don’t wanna look back later and realize I skipped over asking because I assumed you already knew."
You squeezed his hand, smiling into his shoulder. Jungwon looked down at you then, fully this time, all soft and nervous honesty under the dim lantern light.
"So," he said carefully, "Baby, can I be your boyfriend, properly."
Something about the way he asked nearly ruined you on the spot. That after years of almosts and misunderstandings and loving each other so quietly it physically hurt, you had somehow ended up here instead.
"You’re ridiculous."
"That's not a no," he said immediately, grinning way too much for someone trying to act calm. You kissed him, laughter dissolving against his mouth when he melted into it instantly, one hand sliding up to cup your cheek while his relieved smile pressed warm against your lips.
"Yes," you whispered once you pulled back enough to breathe. "Obviously yes."
He exhaled hard through his nose before pulling you impossibly closer into him, forehead pressing against yours while he laughed quietly under his breath. "Okay good," he murmured. "Because I’ve actually been stressed about asking you for, like, six hours."
"You did not think I was going to say no," you teased, brushing your nose lightly against his.
"Mmm. I considered the possibility," he replied with a tiny shrug that immediately ruined the seriousness of the moment. You swatted at his shoulder and he laughed properly this time, catching your hand before you could do it again and pressing a quick kiss to your knuckles.
"Boyfriend," he said suddenly, testing the word out loud, and unfortunately your face betrayed you immediately.
"Oh," his eyes widened, and then he laughed softly.
"Jungwon."
His grin only widened as he wrapped both arms around your waist and pulled you against him properly. "My girlfriend," he whispered, sounding entirely too pleased with himself now. You groaned and buried your face in his shoulder, which only made him laugh harder, his chin resting lightly on top of your head.
For a second you just held his eyes, looking into the same boy who used to love you silently from across rooms, from hidden glances and overthought conversations and years of wanting without knowing what to do with it.
The story had never been about falling in love. It had been about realising you already were. Jungwon tilted his head slightly when he noticed you staring.
"What?"
You smiled and leaned forward and kissed him again beneath the stars, beneath the endless sky that had watched every version of you both become this one.
And when you finally pulled away, the future didn't feel frightening anymore. It felt familiar. It looked like stolen hoodies and sleepy mornings, like a boy with messy blonde hair looking at you as though he'd never quite believe his luck.
And beneath a sky full of stars, surrounded by the quiet magic of a world that had brought you together long before either of you understood why, you stayed there a little longer.
Just two people who had spent four years finding their way home.
V 𓄧 wowowowow. i'd already written 17k words when i posted 4poison1 so i was like, yo this is not gonna take me long at all......... a month later. . .imsorry ok i hope this makes up for it AND JS KNOW i will NAUT be writing long ass fics for a while omg this took me from FEBRUARY TO JUNE. i love you x
i don’t even have the words to properly describe how amazing it has been to watch this series go from creation to completion. you’ve put your heart and soul into it and it’s just so incredible to read.
the part where jake found out cracked me UP tho 😭 you’ve done so well veevee!!!
KENNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY truly oml i loved writing you into my baby and i really hope i did you justice!! im so grateful to have had so many people doing the absolute most to help me with her, genuinely i cant even put into words what that means to me. i'll forever appreciate you babygirl.
i too loved writing that part im saaauurrr glad it got a giggle out of you kenken xx
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
pairing: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader word count: 28k+ — series ★⋆ content: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearning, possessive!won. avoidant!reader. miscommunication. jungwon is lowk pathetic but..in a hot way. secret relationship. they're disgustingly cute. ⦸ kissing. tongue sucking. spit play. dry humping. switch!jungwon, switch!reader. dirty talk. big dick won. premature ejaculation. tit play. petnames(baby, princess, babygirl). fingerfucking. finger sucking. overstimulation. kinda condescending. oral (m+f). cum eating (f+m). face fucking? (m receiving). pussy drunk won. slight size kink. multiple rounds. light choking. bulge kink. loss of virginity (m+f). unprotected sex. creampie.
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 1
V𓄧 helloooo!! it's the end of an era. i hope the wait was worth it❤️🩹and thank you soo much to miss @kissued for proof-reading!! your input was truly so helpful babygirl!
You started your morning the same way you always did, routine first, thinking later. Preferably never if you could help it. Pull the robes on, adjust your hair multiple times and mess it up again because trying too hard felt embarrassing in your current state of mind. Pause in front of the mirror longer than usual and then immediately regret it, because there’s something behind your eyes you don’t want to unpack right now.
So you looked away before you could start spiralling into one of those cruel little internal monologues about how unnatural you looked, opting to grab your things and leave instead.
But there was this dull ache sitting in your chest, quiet but persistent, like it was waiting for you to acknowledge it — and you don’t because if you don’t name it, it doesn’t get to be real. That was the system, a deeply flawed system, apparently, because despite your best efforts the ache stayed exactly where it was, tucked somewhere beneath your ribs and growing increasingly difficult to pretend wasn’t there.
The air felt heavier, like the space isn’t as easy to exist in anymore. Even the idea of sitting with your friends this morning felt strangely exhausting, and you hated that more than anything. Hated that something so normal had become something you had to think about first.
The room was already loud with morning chatter when you stepped inside, sunlight pouring through the enchanted ceiling in pale gold streaks while students crowded around long tables — balancing unfinished homework and toast. Your friends were already there, they looked up almost immediately when you approached, conversations faltering just slightly as their attention shifted toward you.
There was tension sitting there beneath everything, thin enough that nobody else would notice it, but obvious to you in the way all uncomfortable things became obvious once you were already hurting. It settled awkwardly between all of you like a conversation waiting to happen and you suddenly understood, with painful clarity, how easy it would be for someone to ask the wrong question this morning and ruin you completely.
"Morning, Y/n," a few of them said, their eyes lingering just a second too long. "Morning," you replied evenly, your voice smooth enough to pass for normal. You reached for a piece of toast, eyes flicking briefly across the table before you turned slightly like you planned on leaving immediately.
Jake frowned first, "—You're not gonna sit?" he asked. Jake knows you, he knows your way of handling things that actually hurt is by avoiding it, but he didn't know how bad it was going to get. You paused for half a second before shrugging lightly.
"No, It's a nice day," Which was objectively true, also completely irrelevant. The silence after your answer stretched just long enough to feel deliberate. You turned and started toward the entrance hall again, already feeling the weight in your chest ease slightly at the thought of escaping.
Unfortunately, the universe had apparently decided suffering built character, you made it halfway across the entrance hall before you had to slow your pace hearing footsteps. "Hey—" Jungwon stood a few feet away, slightly out of breath like he’d hurried after you without fully meaning to. His blonde hair still looked messy from sleep, collar crooked in that careless way nobody else seemed capable of making look good, and his eyes, they were already fixed on you in that open way that always made your resolve feel embarrassingly fragile.
"Hi," you said, narrowly avoiding his eyes.
"You’re not eating with us?" he asked, and there was the faintest pout pulling at his lips out of habit, so natural he probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. You glanced away, settling on the floating candles somewhere behind him instead.
"No," you answered, forcing a small smile onto your face before pressing your lips together quickly like you regretted it immediately. "I’m going for a walk." A poor attempt really, Jungwon’s brows pulled together slightly, like he noticed you were already off, despite you barely exchanging a few sentences.
"I’ll see you guys later." You added quickly, pre-emptively, before he could ask to come.
"Oh," he said softly. "Okay… bye." the words trailing as you turned and you didn’t look back. Because one glance would’ve ruined whatever pathetic amount of self-control you still had left. You would’ve seen that familiar look before he caught himself too late, and suddenly all this distance you were trying so hard to create wouldn’t make sense anymore.
So you kept walking, even when every part of you wanted to stop. You wanted to turn around, grab his sleeve like you’ve done a hundred times before, mumble something sarcastic about fresh air and have him follow without question. You wanted him next to you, matching your pace, letting the silence speak for him like he always does.
You wanted things to feel normal again and maybe that was the problem, because you’d spent so long putting other people’s feelings before your own that hurting quietly had become second nature to you. You always swallowed your emotions down before they became inconvenient. Always convinced yourself you could handle it because seeing other people uncomfortable somehow felt worse than carrying the hurt yourself. That was still true, but right now it felt too big to push down.
Behind you, Jungwon stayed standing there for another second longer than necessary. He watched as you left, there was something in his chest, something off — he didn’t reach for it. Didn’t question it, just frowned faintly as he headed inside with his mind stuck on you. He greeted the others automatically, barely registering their responses and his attention kept drifting elsewhere despite himself, replaying your expression over and over trying to figure out why something about it unsettled him so much.
He dropped his gaze to the table. People filtered out slowly after breakfast, one by one, until it was just the three of them. Jake cleared his throat loudly, "So.." Heeseung started, already watching the blonde. "Did you tell her?" Jake cut in, blunt and straight to the point.
"Dude—" Heeseung shot a look at the younger, who only shrugged. Jungwon didn’t react right away, his finger traced the rim of his glass, slowly, distracted. "No," he said finally. "I didn’t."
"Why?" they asked in unison, he exhaled, shoulders tensing slightly.
"She didn’t care," he said, eyes fixed downward on the glass. Jake leans back in his chair, staring at Jungwon like he’s just said something objectively stupid.
"You cannot actually be this stupid," he muttered, Jungwon frowned slightly.
"She told me to tell her," he says, quieter now. "You don’t tell someone to confess to someone else if you—"
"If you what?" Jake cuts in. "If you like them? Yeah, you do. All the time. It’s called being a masochist."
"That’s not—" Jungwon stops, frustrated, dragging his hand down his face. "You didn’t see her," he muttered. "She was fine." The boys looked to each-other and then back at him.
"Jungwon she clearly-" Heeseung started.
"No." The word came quick, defensive in a way he doesn’t usually get. He shook his head, sitting up slightly. "No I need to stop doing this" he let out a breath, sharper this time.
"Doing what?"
"Convincing myself that she'd feel the same." The honesty in his voice made the table fall silent, immediately he let out another sharp breath before leaning back again — exhausted already by thoughts he clearly hadn’t wanted to say out loud.
Jungwon had considered it, yes, maybe you were a little bit of a masochist and he'd seen you downplay your feelings enough times. But how the fuck could he know what's real or not anymore. For years he’d survived almost entirely on implication and hope. Now he had a choice, he could keep doing this to himself, keep taking every small thing you did and stretching meaning into it until it hurt, or he could finally accept that maybe he’d just wanted you too much to think clearly. He could finally start reading between the lines but even then, some pathetic part of him had still tried replaying your expression over and over searching for something hidden underneath it. Regret. Jealousy. Anything. Because wanting you had long since stopped feeling rational.
"I’m not bringing it up again." he said firmly. Then Heeseung glanced toward Jake briefly before speaking carefully. "Jungwon.. she doesn't even know you were under Amortentia," Heeseung said carefully.
"I know." He said quieter now, tired. "Please don’t tell her." That made them both pause because now it’s not just pride, it’s fear and if you find out, everything changes.
Heeseung studied him for a moment, something conflicted in his expression. "…We won’t," he said finally. "But only because she should hear it from you." Jake nodded once in agreement. Jungwon didn't respond, he just stared at the table, like if he stayed still enough, he wouldn’t have to choose between fixing it or losing you completely.
That first day, you avoided people, not in a dramatic way and definitely not enough for anyone to call attention to it. You still showed up where you were supposed to, still answered questions when professors called on you, still sat beside your friends during class when there weren’t enough excuses left to disappear entirely.
After breakfast, you walked instead of going straight to class. You took the longer routes through the castle automatically, choosing quieter corridors and empty staircases, slipping around crowds before they formed properly. Every decision became calculated in this quiet subconscious way you hated noticing. You’d pause briefly at intersections listening for familiar voices before turning elsewhere. Not because you were hiding, at least that’s what you kept telling yourself. You just didn’t trust your ability to look at him normally right now.
Everything continued moving with the same rhythm it always had, and there was something strangely isolating about that. The world should’ve at least paused for a second out of respect for your emotional humiliation because fuck, everything is so loud.
You ended up in the library for a while, tucked into a corner table no one really used. A book open in front of you, something dense and complicated enough that it required just enough concentration to occupy your hands if not your thoughts. Your eyes moved over the words, sure, but you absorbed absolutely none of it. Your mind kept drifting, kept replaying that moment over and over like your brain was trying to fact check it.
"I think I love her." The memory hit differently every time it replayed, sometimes sharp enough to feel like a stab, other times quieter, almost numb, like your brain was trying to dull the edges for self-preservation. You blinked, forcing your attention back to the page. Right, don't think just read, you lasted maybe twenty minutes before closing the book.
You skipped lunch, not intentionally. It just, happened — you told yourself you weren’t hungry, which was half true, the other half was that you didn’t feel like sitting across from him and pretending you hadn’t heard what you heard. You kept picturing him smiling, talking about her and every single time it felt like something folding painfully inward inside your chest. Pathetic.
You’d spent years carefully avoiding this exact situation. Years making sure your feelings for him stayed manageable enough to survive if things ever went wrong. You never pushed too hard, never let yourself fully believe anything between you meant more than friendship because you knew how dangerous hope became once it rooted itself properly. So why did this hurt like you hadn’t been?
By late afternoon, you found yourself back in the Room of Requirement almost without realizing you’d gone there. The door appeared quietly against the stone wall after your third pass, opening into something emptier than before, something quieter. A curved window stretched across one side of the room overlooking distant hills washed gold beneath the late afternoon sun. There was a wooden desk nearby, shelves lined with books you wouldn’t read and a sofa tucked into the corner beneath dim lantern light.
The room felt less like comfort today and more like permission to exist somewhere without being perceived for a while. You sat by the window eventually, knees pulled slightly toward your chest as your gaze drifted absently across the landscape outside. You tried thinking about it logically instead because logic had always been easier than emotions. People fall for other people literally every day, entire populations survive this experience regularly. He likes someone else, it's fine, that’s normal and you’ll get over it… Who were you fooling.
That persistent ache that had sat there all day had only grown heavier, spreading slowly through you in ways that made concentrating impossible. You pressed your lips together tightly before dragging a hand over your face with a quiet exhale. This is so fucking stupid.
You’re not the kind of person who spirals over things like this. You didn't build entire fantasies in your head just to mourn them afterwards. You kept yourself guarded specifically to avoid ending up here — sitting alone in a magical room feeling devastated over something that technically was never yours to lose in the first place. You’d imagined it all. Had to have because otherwise none of this made sense. You let out a breath and stood, not giving yourself more time to sit in it.
The Great Hall was loud, plates clinking, chatter. Someone a few seats down was laughing entirely too hard at something that objectively could not have been that funny. Everything felt alive in that messy, ordinary way Hogwarts always did at the end of the day. You hated how disconnected from it you felt. You slipped into the empty seat beside Jake, movements automatic, almost rehearsed at this point. He glanced at you the second you sat down, concern flickering across his face before he tried covering it with something lighter. "Hey," he said, nudging your shoulder gently with his own.
"Hi," You gave him a small smile in return, quick enough to miss if someone wasn’t paying attention.
"You okay?" he asked, head tilting like he was about to run diagnostics on you.
"Mm." you nodded, your attention shifted elsewhere, fingers wrapping around your glass of water mostly just to avoid looking directly at him. You could feel the weight of observation today, everyone glancing too carefully around you like they were trying not to step on something fragile.
You lifted the glass to your lips slowly, eyes drifting absently across the room over the rim until they caught on Jungwon almost by accident. He was already looking at you, not subtly either, there was something behind his eyes that looked like it ached. You didn’t acknowledge it and just started eating. Around you, conversation moved naturally enough, your gaze eventually wandering again until it landed somewhere across the hall.
Penelope, she was watching Jungwon. Not the way people usually watched attractive boys from across rooms at parties or meals or gatherings, there was hesitation in it, like she was actively debating whether to walk over to him right now, whether to cross that space between them. You could see it, that slight shift forward, that pause. Your chest lurched uncomfortably, so you stood a few seconds later and muttered your goodbyes, barely waiting for a response as you walked.
"I’m gonna go," you muttered quickly, barely hearing Jake call after you as you turned away from the table, because suddenly you could picture it too clearly. Her walking over, him smiling with that same smile you thought was yours. You left faster than you meant to, like if you don’t, something would catch up to you, a voice, a hand on your wrist — your own stupid instinct to stay.
The corridors blurred slightly as you walked, your pace quick and uneven while the noise of the Great Hall faded further behind you. Cold air drifted through open archways as the evening settled outside the castle windows, painting the stone floors in dim blue grey light.
You found yourself at that same abandoned classroom and sat on the stone steps despite the cold, exhaling slowly. There’s something in your heart that just won’t settle, worse now — like it’s pressing against you it, asking to be acknowledged. Footsteps echoed softly behind you not long after and you had to physically suppress a sigh.
"Hey, Y/n." Beomgyu said gently. You glanced toward him briefly as he approached before sitting beside you carefully, leaving enough space between you that it didn’t feel suffocating.
"Hi," you replied quietly. He paused, studying your face, "Are you alright," The question came carefully, like he already knew the answer and was asking anyway just in case you wanted to be honest.
"I’m fine," you said, too quickly but he didn’t call you out on it. Instead he leaned back slightly against the wall beside you and nodded once.
"We don’t have to talk about it," he said instead. It made something loosen, just slightly because he didn’t push or probe, where they immediately started trying to solve it or force it open like your feelings were some sort of problem needing repair.
You breathed in slowly, though the inhale caught unevenly halfway through. Was it really that obvious?
Silence settled between you not an awkward silence, just the kind that didn’t ask anything from you but unfortunately, quiet left too much room to think.
The way Jungwon looked at her, not the way he looked at you when he was teasing you softly or trying to figure out what you were thinking without asking outright. This had been different, it was certain as though he knew without hesitation that it was her.
With you, there was always something just under the surface. Something unsaid, but there. You felt it. You know you did, you didn’t imagine that. Right? Your fingers curl slightly into your sleeves. You could handle jealousy, honestly, you could — it was ugly and humiliating, but manageable. It was the other part, the part where something in you rearranges itself around the idea that maybe you misunderstood everything.
Jungwon, on the other hand, was losing his mind. He didn’t know what to do. All day, you’d been just out of reach, not gone but not there either and it didn’t make sense. In four years, you had barely left each other’s sides. It had never been something either of you questioned, it was just how things were, until now. Now every hallway felt too empty whenever you weren’t in it and the more distance you put between yourself and him, the more aware he became of how much space you actually occupied in his life.
By evening, the restlessness inside him had sharpened into something unbearable. He needed to talk to you, he needed to explain — even if he didn’t fully know how. Because somewhere between the potion wearing off and watching you avoid him all day, Jungwon had started realizing something terrifyingly simple. Losing you felt worse than embarrassing himself ever could. But even if he walked into it telling himself he wouldn’t say it, he knew it wouldn't last, because the truth was if you looked at him the way you always did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. So when he saw you again later that evening, he stopped walking immediately.
You were sitting with Beomgyu. Not close, not leaning in, you weren’t laughing or touching his arm or doing anything that would make people question it. There was space between you, intentional — noticeable if you knew what to look for. It was wasn't anything anyone else would look twice at but to him, it was loud, because you didn’t let people sit like that with you. Not in that quiet, unguarded way. Beomgyu wasn’t filling the silence nervously or trying to pull reactions out of you. He was just sitting there beside you while you stared ahead quietly and you were letting him.
That kind of stillness, that kind of ease was something you reserved. Something he thought, stupidly, had always been his. He stood there in the hall for way longer than he should have, watching something small and quiet and completely non-dramatic feel like it was tearing something open inside him and the realization settled in. You weren’t just pulling away. You were letting someone else in.
It didn’t fix itself the next day, or the day after that. If anything, it settled — into something quieter, more permanent. It sat behind every conversation, every glance across the room, every moment your brain instinctively searched for him before remembering why it shouldn’t.
You kept moving through your days exactly the way you always had because if you stopped long enough to properly examine what was happening to you, you might actually have to admit how badly this affected you, and frankly you refused to become the kind of person who unravelled over a boy. Especially not in a castle full of emotionally observant adults with absolutely nothing better to do than romanticize other people’s suffering.
You arrive just late enough that there’s no space beside him anymore, slipping into whatever seat is open without comment. If there is space, you take it — never close enough for your shoulders to brush, never the easy proximity you used to fall into without thinking and the second conversations started thinning out, the second things became quieter and more intimate and dangerous, you left first.
"Anyway, I’ve got something to do," becomes your exit line, like it means nothing, like he means nothing. Which is almost funny, because you’ve built your entire day around not being alone with him.
Kenny doesn’t bring it up right away. She had this deeply concerning habit of collecting emotional evidence silently before confronting people with it like some sort of terrifyingly perceptive prosecutor. You almost made it through dinner, and then.. "Hey," she says, stepping into your path just enough that you have to stop.
"Walk with me." It’s not really a question. You hesitate, just for a second like maybe if you wait long enough, this won’t happen. "..Okay."
She walks beside you in silence for a while, matching your pace easily, hands tucked into the sleeves of her jumper. It’s usually comfortable, the kind of quiet you don’t have to work for but today, it feels almost watched. "You’re doing that thing again," she says finally, you don’t look at her. "What thing?"
"The pretending nothing’s wrong thing." You let out a small breath, almost amused. #
"I’m not pretending." Kenny hums, unconvinced. "Right." A few steps pass.
"You know you’re allowed to be upset," she adds, softer this time.
"I’m not upset," you say, automatically.
"You are," she replies just as quickly. "You’re just… being weird about it." That makes you glance at her, a slight frown pulling at your brows.
"I’m not being weird."
"You left breakfast, lunch, and dinner early yesterday," she lists. "You’ve been dodging eye contact like it’s going to kill you, and you literally turned around and walked the other way when Jungwon came down the corridor earlier."
"…I had somewhere to be." Even you don’t believe that, Kenny stops walking and you take two more steps before realizing and turning back, sighing slightly. "What?" She just looks at you.
"We established you like him," she says plainly. It twists your stomach more than it should and you look away almost immediately, shaking your head.
"It doesn’t matter."
"That’s not what I said."
"It’s the same thing,” you mutter.
"No, it’s not," she pushes. "You can like someone and still admit it sucks when they like someone else." You cross your arms loosely, more to have something to do than anything else.
"He doesn’t like someone else," you say, quieter now. "He’s in love with her." you add, like it costs you nothing.
"Did he actually say that?" You don’t answer, because yeah he did and worse — you heard it, and saw it.
"I just don’t get it," she says after a moment. "Everything was fine. You two were—" she gestures vaguely between you, searching for words that apparently didn’t exist. "Whatever that is."
"Friends," you say quickly, Kenny gives you a look so unimpressed it almost made you laugh. "Friends don’t look at each other like that." A humourless breath escaped you. "Apparently they do."
She nudges your shoulder lightly. "You’re allowed to be a little dramatic about this, you know."
"I don’t think I’d survive being dramatic right now."
"Fair." She pauses, "But you also don’t get to pretend it didn’t hurt,"
"I’m not pretending," you say. "I just— don’t want to make it a bigger thing than it already is."
Kenny tilts her head. "It already is a big thing, you just won’t look at it." You swallow and look away, at the brick, the portraits, anything else, she watches you for a moment longer, then sighs quietly.
"Just… don’t shut him out completely," she says. "Whatever happened, he’s still him."
That almost makes you laugh because that’s the problem, he's still the person you default to. Still the one your brain looks for in every room before you can stop it. "Yeah," you say finally, voice quieter than before.
Your eyes dropped briefly to the floor, "That’s exactly why I have to."
Jungwon saw it, obviously, not immediately or all at once, but in fragments. The way your replies have gotten shorter. The way you don’t reach for him anymore, not even absentmindedly, the way your attention no longer defaults to him.
You used to reach for him constantly without thinking about it. Tugging lightly on his sleeve when you wanted his attention while pretending you didn’t care whether he looked at you or not. Brushing past him in crowded corridors without hesitation. Shoulders knocking together casually like his space belonged to you as much as your own did. Leaning closer during conversations until your knee pressed against his under tables.
Now every movement around him feels considered first and somehow that hurts more than if you’d just started avoiding him outright. Because he catches the almosts. The split second moments where your body moves automatically before your brain catches up. When your hand lifts slightly toward his sleeve before stopping midway and dropping back to your side instead or when you start stepping closer to him while talking before correcting yourself subtly, shifting your weight away at the last second like you suddenly remembered something important.
You’re aware of your closeness to him in a way you never used to be before, and maybe worse than the distance itself is the fact that he can tell you’re thinking about it too.
Not to mention the silence. God, the silence. It used to be his favourite thing — sitting beside you without needing to speak, knowing you were there, that it was enough. But now if silence did settle between you both for too long, you leave before it can fully form, like being alone with him in stillness has become dangerous somehow. Maybe it has, he doesn’t know anymore.
By the third day, it’s unbearable. In a constant, gnawing that doesn’t let him focus on anything else. He catches himself looking for you automatically before remembering you’ve started making sure he can’t reach you properly anymore.
He tells himself to leave it. That if you wanted to talk, you would’ve and that maybe you just need space, and pushing you will only make it worse. He repeats it enough times it should start sounding logical, but not enough to settle the panic growing in his chest every time you avoid looking at him directly.
After class that afternoon, the group settled into one of the common areas near the courtyard, conversations messy in the familiar way they always become when everyone’s exhausted and avoiding assignments together. You’re already there by the time Jungwon arrives, tucked casually into a seat beside Kenny while Jake and Ni-ki argue loudly about some Quidditch match like they’re discussing a professional league.
You tilt your head like you’re listening, drop in a quiet, "That’s not even how that works," and it lands, Jake laughs, Ni-ki protests, it’s easy. You smile, and it looks real enough that no one calls it out. Which is almost funny, because you’re not here at all.
You’re hovering somewhere just outside yourself, aware of everything except what’s being said, because what you are aware of is him. The way Jungwon hasn’t stopped looking at you, not in passing but staring, like he’s trying to figure you out all over again.
He leans forward slightly every time you speak, like your voice still pulls him in automatically, like he’s waiting for something more, something you’re not giving him anymore. You pick at the edge of your sleeve, thumb rubbing over the fabric again and again, grounding yourself in something small, repetitive. "…Y/n?" Kenny nudges you lightly.
You blink, "Hm?"
"We’re talking about whether Ni-ki would survive playing against professionals," she says slowly, like she’s checking if you’re actually present.
"Oh," you nod, forcing yourself to engage. "No, he’d get destroyed."
"Oi—" Ni-ki starts immediately, he starts complaining while the group laughs around him, and you huff out a quiet laugh too, automatic and just believable enough to blend in with everyone else.
Across from you, Jungwon’s jaw tightens just slightly, subtle enough that no one else would clock it, but you know him, and even without looking properly you can feel it.
From where he’s sitting, it doesn’t look like you’re hurt, it looks like you don’t care. Like whatever you heard, whatever you think you know about him and Penelope, it didn’t matter enough to actually affect you and that stings more than he expected, because if you cared even a little, wouldn’t you react differently?
Instead you just left, over and over again — as if he’s easy to walk away from. Before he fully decides to, he leans forward again, elbows resting against his knees as his eyes settle directly on you, fixed on you in a way that makes it impossible to ignore. "Y/n."
You hate that you look up before you can stop yourself and the second your eyes meet his, it hits harder than you expect because he doesn’t look indifferent, he looks frustrated and confused, a little hurt and underneath it holds that same softness that’s always been there when he looks at you. "Yeah?" you say.
Jungwon holds your gaze for a second longer than necessary before speaking again. "…Can I talk to you for a second?" The question sounds casual on the surface, but there’s too much weight underneath it to mistake this for something meaningless. Your stomach drops anyway, because this is it, this is the conversation you’ve been dodging, the one where he says something you don’t want to hear. Where maybe he says her name again and you have to stand there and take it like it doesn’t ruin you a little.
You feel Kenny shift beside you, feel the way the table quiets just slightly. Jake stops moving entirely, Heeseung leans back slightly with the exhausted expression of someone realizing a disaster he predicted has finally arrived. And Ni-ki? That guys lost. Not a clue in the world.
"About?" you ask instead. It throws him and you saw it, the way he blinks for half a second because you’ve never made him work this hard just to talk to you.
"Just.. to talk," he says quieter this time, and something about the sincerity in his voice almost weakens your resolve completely. You tilt your head slightly like you’re considering it carefully, forcing your expression into something neutral enough to survive this. Like this isn't killing you.
"Yeah, later," you say, a soft no dressed up as a maybe. Then before he can respond, before you can lose your nerve and agree just because he’s looking at you like that, you stand and grab your things. "Anyway, I’ve got something to do." There it is again. Jungwon’s jaw tightens visibly this time as he watches you move away from the table.
You don’t look at him, not once. "See you guys." And then you’re gone, disappearing down the corridor before anyone can stop you, leaving Jungwon sitting there with the same awful question looping endlessly through his head for the third day straight. Why does it feel like you don’t care at all?
The silence you leave behind is deafening. The kind that settles over a group slowly enough for everyone to notice at different times, conversations dying unevenly until all that’s left is the sound of chairs shifting and someone tapping their fingers awkwardly against the table. For a second, nobody says anything, Ni-ki’s the first one to break, his eyes flick between the corridor and Jungwon before his brows pull together slightly. "Did you piss her off or something?"
Kenny's staring straight at Jungwon now, eyes sharp, assessing, because she’s been watching this build for days. She’s been filling in the blanks with the only version she has, that he told you he’s in love with someone else, and that's only explanation she’s been working with this entire time.
Heeseung stays quiet beside him, arms folded loosely across his chest, but his attention is fixed on Jungwon in a way that feels far too deliberate to be casual, Jake notices it too immediately. The two of them exchange a look that lasts barely half a second, but it’s enough and now they’re watching the consequences unfold in real time, knowing exactly where it went wrong.
And Jungwon doesn’t answer straight away. He’s still looking at the door, like if he stares long enough you might walk back through it and undo the last thirty seconds. Something restless and frustrated bubbled under his skin, because nothing about this is lining up the way it should.
"…I didn’t do anything," he mutters finally, but it’s hollow, even to his own ears.
Jake lets out a short breath through his nose. "Yeah, that’s kind of the problem."
Kenny’s head snaps toward him. "What does that mean?"
Heeseung glances at Jake once, a silent warning, but Jake doesn’t look away from Jungwon. He hesitates, just for a second, then leans back — rubbing the back of his neck. "It means doing nothing is also doing something."
Jungwon drags a hand down his face, frustration starting to bleed through properly now because everyone in this room keeps acting like he missed something obvious, like there’s a conversation happening around him that he somehow wasn’t invited to.
"That makes literally zero sense," Ni-ki cuts in, frowning. "Can someone speak in normal sentences?"
Kenny ignores him, eyes still locked on Jungwon. "You told her something," she says flatly. Jungwon finally looks at her, something defensive flickering in his expression. "I didn’t—"
"She told me you said you’re in love with Penelope" she cuts in immediately, Ni-ki’s brows shoot up. "Wait— what?"
"Then why would she think that?" Kenny presses without backing down. There’s something protective underneath her voice now, something simmering with irritation on your behalf. "She wouldn't just make that up."
Jake exhales slowly, glancing at Heeseung again. This is the point where either they explain or this keeps spiralling until everyone ends up miserable, Heeseung tilts his head once in silent agreement. Jake looks back at Kenny, voice dropping just enough to shift the tone. "Because what she heard wasn’t real." Kenny frowns immediately, "What does that mean?"
Jake hesitates for half a second longer before finally saying it. "Penelope slipped him Amortentia at the party." They sit there, hanging, like the room needs a second to catch up.
Ni-ki blinks, "She what?"
Kenny doesn’t react immediately — her expression goes completely still, like her brain is rejecting the information before it can fully settle. "That’s not funny."
"It’s not a joke," Heeseung says quietly.
Kenny’s gaze shifts back to Jungwon, slower now, recalculating everything she thought she knew. "So when you said—”
"I wasn’t in my right mind," Jungwon cuts in, sharper than he means to. His hands drag through his hair again, restless. "I didn’t even know what I was saying."
Ni-ki lets out a disbelieving noise, "That’s actually insane."
Jake huffs, "Yeah, tell me about it."
Kenny’s still looking at Jungwon, but now there’s something else in it, not just suspicion, something closer to realization. "She doesn’t know that, does she?"
Jungwon doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. She exhales softly, something almost sympathetic flickering through her expression now. "She thinks it was real," Kenny says, quieter now. "She thinks you meant it."
Jungwon’s jaw tightens again, because yeah. Jake leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "And from her side? You said it, clear as day and you couldn't correct it after. And you didn't explain, so what was she supposed to think?"
Jungwon’s frustration spikes. "I tried to talk to her."
"No," Heeseung says calmly, "you waited for her to come to you." That shuts him up.
Jungwon goes quiet, leaning back, staring at the ceiling like it might give him a better answer than anyone in this room. His chest feels tight in a way he doesn’t like, because now it’s not just confusion, it’s clarity.
You heard him say he loved someone else and instead of fighting him on it, instead of demanding answers or getting angry or making him explain himself, you just quietly stepped away from him piece by piece. Like he wasn't worth the argument.
"Why didn’t she say anything?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "If it mattered, why didn’t she just—"
"Because that’s not how she works," Kenny cuts in, softer now but firm. "She doesn’t fight for people she thinks she’s already lost."
He drags a hand over his face, slower this time. "If it actually mattered," he mutters, voice quieter now, "she would’ve said something. She would’ve— I don’t know been upset, or angry. Anything."
Jake’s head tilts slightly, watching him carefully. Heeseung’s expression shifts too, something almost pitying flashing across his face for a second, because that’s where Jungwon’s wrong. "She doesn’t care," Jungwon adds, more to himself than anyone else, like he’s trying to settle on it, trying to make it make sense. Kenny’s brows pull together immediately. "You actually think that?"
Jake looked like he wanted to say something else, probably something annoyingly insightful that Jungwon absolutely did not have the emotional capacity for right now, but Jungwon was already pushing himself up from the sofa before anyone could stop him.
"Where are you going?" Jake asked immediately.
Jungwon hesitated near the doorway for the briefest second. "I don’t know."
But apparently his body did because less than twenty minutes later, Jungwon caught sight of you just outside the courtyard near the covered archways leading toward the Astronomy Tower, where the stone path narrowed enough that avoiding him would take effort obvious enough to feel cruel. It isn’t planned, not really.. at least that’s what he tells himself.
"Y/n." You stop immediately because pretending not to hear him now would say too much. The corridor is quieter here, evening light filtering weakly through the tall windows and stretching long shadows across the stone floor. Somewhere further outside, rain taps softly against the courtyard fountains.
"Yeah?" you ask, and the casualness of it irritates him instantly because he knows you too well to believe it’s genuine.
"I—" he starts, then falters, something unfamiliar catching in his chest. "Can we just talk?" Your expression doesn’t change but there’s something in your eyes, something distant. Your eyes flicker over him, then settle somewhere just past his shoulder. "About what?" you ask.
That question should not be difficult to answer, instead it completely derails him. Because there’s too many versions of this conversation rotting in his head at once, and none of them feel safe enough to say aloud. The truth feels messy and unfinished and dangerously fragile, like if he explains it wrong he’ll lose whatever still exists between you permanently.
Just… us," he settles on. Your gaze flickers at that, just slightly,
"There’s nothing to talk about," you say and you mean it, or at least, you’re trying to.
"Yes, there is," he insists, taking a step closer. "You’ve been weird with me this whole week."
"I've been acting weird?" The response comes sharp and immediate, slipping out before you can soften it, and the silence afterwards lands hard between you both.
Jungwon stares at you, searching your face almost desperately now for something familiar, something that tells him this hasn’t become as bad as it feels. "I didn’t mean—" he starts.
"You did," you cut in.
"I don’t even know what happened," he says, frustration bleeding through now because none of this feels fixable anymore and he doesn’t understand why exactly everything between you changed. "You barely look at me anymore."
"Seriously?" you scoff, looking up to the archway as though it can save you.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" he asks.
"It means you don’t get to act confused now," you say, your composure slipping slightly. "Not after the shit you said."
Jungwon drags a hand through his hair roughly, agitation building under his skin because every version of this conversation keeps collapsing before he can explain himself properly. "I didn’t—" he stops again, "I don’t even know if I meant it." The second it leaves his mouth, he regrets it.
Your laugh comes out quiet and edged enough to sting. "That’s worse."
His expression tightens. "How is that worse?"
"Because at least if you meant it, it would’ve been real," you say, finally looking at him fully. And fuck, he wishes you hadn’t because now he can see it, — the hurt sitting under everything else. "—But now it’s just… what? Something you’re unsure about? Something you can backtrack because it got awkward afterwards?"
"That’s not what I'm doing—"
"You told me you were in love with her," you interrupt, steadier than you feel. "You looked me dead in the face and said it like it was obvious. Like you’d known for ages and I was just the last person catching up"
"I thought I was sure," he says, quieter now.
"Great," you nod, another silence drops between you both, sharper this time. You fold your arms tighter across yourself, trying desperately to hold onto the control slipping through your fingers because this conversation is going exactly where you didn’t want it to.
Jungwon exhales hard through his nose, pacing half a step before turning back toward you again, "You told me tell her." he says.
You nod once, and exhale "Yeah."
"No, listen to me," he shakes his head, stepping closer again, urgency creeping in. "That’s what you told me I should do."
"Because you like her," you say, your voice finally tightening. "What was I supposed to do? Stop you?"
"Maybe," The word comes out before he can filter it. Your stomach drops so suddenly it almost makes you angry and he sees it, the way your eyes widen just slightly before something else replaces it. "Maybe I wanted you to," he adds quietly. Rain taps steadily against the windows somewhere behind you while your brain scrambles desperately for solid ground because no part of this conversation is safe anymore. You stared at him for a second too long, and in that time it feels like something might finally open between you. But then you shake your head, taking a small step back.
"You don’t get to say that now."
"Why not?" his voice lifts, frustration breaking through. "Why can’t I?" he furrows his brows, looking between your eyes.
"Because you didn’t say it then!" you snap, control slipping hard enough that your voice echoes slightly down the corridor. "You said you loved her. You don’t get to come back now and act like I got it wrong when you spent days letting me think you meant every word."
"I was messed up," he says, the words coming out harsher than intended.
"Messed up?" you repeat. He hesitates, just for a second but it’s enough. Your expression shifts — something closing off completely. "Right," you say, nodding slowly. "Of course."
"That’s not what I meant—"
"No, it is," you cut him off, your voice flattening. "You didn’t mean it. You were confused, it doesn't count"
"That’s not—"
"Then what is it?" you ask, finally looking at him again, something raw breaking through. "Because from where I’m standing, you said something you can’t take back and now you’re upset I believed you." He opens his mouth but nothing comes out, because the real explanation sits lodged somewhere behind his teeth alongside every other thing he’s spent years not saying to you. Things dangerous enough that once he says them aloud, there’s no pretending anymore — and the terrifying part is he still has absolutely no idea whether you’d feel the same way or just stare at him politely before destroying him completely.
So instead, he reaches for the only thing he can. "You heard one thing and disappeared," he says, stepping closer again despite the tension radiating off you now. "You didn’t ask me anything. Didn’t even give me a chance to explain properly."
"A chance to explain what exactly?" you ask quietly. "That I somehow hallucinated the conversation?"
"That’s not what I said." he says glancing away for a moment.
"Oh, sorry," you laugh bitterly. "Did I misinterpret the part where you said you were in love with her?"
The anger in Jungwon finally breaks through. "You don’t get it," Jungwon says finally, dragging frustrated hands through his hair again. "You’ve been acting like I’m some random guy you accidentally shared a table with for the past week and it’s doing my fucking head in." he snaps, voice roughening. "You won’t even look at me anymore."
Your throat tightens painfully because the worst part is he’s right. Every horrible inch of distance between you. For a second both of you just stand there breathing too hard in the narrow corridor, years of almosts and swallowed words sitting heavily between you while rain crashes endlessly outside.
"I was trying to make this easier."
"Well it’s not." he replies instantly. You stare at him, then look away first, eyes drifting toward the water beyond the arches because suddenly the pressure in your chest feels unbearable.
"I don’t know what you want from me," you say quietly.
Jungwon huffs once under his breath, frustrated and exhausted all at once. "That’s the problem, isn’t it?" he mutters. "You never even considered there might’ve been something worth asking me about."
Your head snaps back toward him immediately. "You don’t get to do that," you say immediately, anger flaring hot now because it feels like he’s rewriting this entire situation in front of you. "You do not get to stand there acting like I’m the one who handled this badly when you’re the person who said all of that in the first place."
"I wasn't thinking straight."
"And I was supposed to magically know that?" The words crack out of you harder than intended and Jungwon falls silent immediately. "You don’t get to blame me,"you continue, voice unsteady despite your efforts to control it. "You spent days watching me pull away and didn’t say a word."
"I tried talking to you."
You cut in instantly. "No, you waited for me to come to you first." That one has him exhaling, shakily — because he knows you’re right. Outside distant thunder rolls low somewhere beyond the grounds while the corridor fills with the sound of both of your harsh breathing.
"I’m trying to—"
"I don’t need you to fix it," you say, quieter now. "I’ve already adjusted." He falters, like the words physically knock something out of him. Adjusted, like what you had is something you’ve already started letting go of.
You freeze for a second too, glancing away like it hurt you just as much to say it and the worst part is you didn’t even mean to sound cruel. You just needed him to understand that he doesn’t get to ask for you back toward now, after spending days pulling yourself apart trying to move around this.
"You don’t mean that," he says, but there’s less certainty in it now. You don’t answer right away and somehow that silence hurts him more than if you had.
"I have to go," you say finally.
Of course you do. You always do but this time when you step around him, he doesn’t stop you. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because for the first time, he’s not sure you’d stay even if he tried. And you don’t look back, because if you do, you’ll see it — the way he’s looking at you like he’s losing something he doesn’t understand.
Behind you, Jungwon stands frozen beneath the archway, jaw tight enough to hurt while thoughts crash violently through his head all at once. I should've told her. About how wrong everything felt that night. About why he even asked you to go out there in the first place. What he was actually going to say.
Now he’s left standing there with every important thing still trapped inside him, watching your figure disappear slowly down the corridor.
It settles for long enough that the distance between you to feel more permanent than either of you want to admit. It follows him around for hours like a headache sitting behind his eyes, dull at first and then suddenly sharp whenever his brain replays your face in that corridor, the look you gave him right before you left, exhausted and angry and so fucking done with him.
The corridor outside the Potions classroom sat mostly empty now, quieter than usual with students already filtering toward dinner. Torchlight flickered against the stone walls, shadows stretching long across the floor while rain hammered softly against the high windows near the staircase. Jungwon stood with his back against the wall beside Jake and Heeseung, jaw tight enough to ache, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat because if they weren’t there, he’d probably start pacing.
Heeseung looked calm in the way people do when they’re trying very hard not to lose their temper. Jake wasn’t bothering to hide his irritation at all, arms folded tightly while his foot tapped against the floor in uneven bursts. None of them were speaking anymore because everything worth saying had already been said three times over. Then Penelope turned the corner.
She slowed the second she saw them standing there waiting, though she recovered quickly enough to fake confidence again, expression smoothing over as she approached with that same polished composure that suddenly made Jungwon feel vaguely sick. "Well," she said lightly, glancing between the three of them, "this looks cheerful."
No one smiled back, Jungwon pushed himself off the wall before he really thought about it, eyes fixed on her in a way that immediately made her smile falter. "You drugged me." There wasn’t even anger in his voice at first which somehow made it worse. Just blunt, exhausted certainty dropped between them hard enough that the corridor seemed to narrow around it.
Penelope blinked once, then laughed under her breath like she genuinely couldn’t believe he was serious. "Right," she said slowly, crossing her arms, "and you came to that conclusion on your own?"
"You used the Amortentia from class," Heeseung cut in before Jungwon could answer, voice level and controlled. "Snuck some from the batch."
Penelope didn’t look at him immediately. She kept her eyes on Jungwon, as if she could manipulate the situation with her eyes. Her eyes flicked toward him briefly before returning to Jungwon again, calculating now, trying to figure out exactly how much they knew. "That doesn’t mean I poisoned anyone."
Jake let out a sharp humourless laugh. "You’re actually gonna stand there and call it poisoning like that somehow sounds less mental?"
"Nothing happened that wouldn’t have happened eventually." That got Jungwon moving before either of the others could react.
One step forward, close enough now that the air between them turned tense immediately. "Don’t," he said quietly, anger finally starting to seep through. "Don’t do that thing where you try to make this sound normal."
Penelope lifted her chin defensively. "You were happy."
"No, I wasn’t." he retorted immediately,
"You seemed pretty convinced at the party."
"That wasn’t me." Her expression shifted then, irritation replacing whatever performance she’d been attempting before. "Oh, please," she snapped. "You can’t blame every stupid thing you said on a potion just because it embarrassed you afterwards."
Jake swore under his breath while Heeseung’s posture stiffened beside him, but Jungwon barely reacted. If anything, he just looked more tired. "You don’t get it," he said flatly. "You don’t even understand what you actually did."
Penelope scoffed quietly, though there was something less certain underneath it now. "I didn’t force words into your mouth."
"No," Jungwon replied immediately, "you just messed with my head enough that I couldn’t tell what was real." Silence cracked briefly between them before she looked away first and there was a tiny flicker of guilt she couldn’t quite hide quickly enough.
Jungwon saw it immediately and something inside him finally snapped properly into anger, because suddenly all he could think about was you standing there on that balcony, listening to him say things he never should’ve said, watching you in real time while he stood there too far gone to realise what was happening.
"You dragged her into it," he said, voice rougher now. "You knew exactly what you were doing." Penelope’s eyes narrowed. "I didn’t do anything to her."
"Except let her think I meant all of it." he snaps.
"She heard one conversation," Penelope shot back defensively. "If your relationship falls apart that easily, maybe it wasn’t that solid to begin with."
Jake stepped forward at that, furious now, "Careful."
"You’re all acting like I committed murder because he fancied someone else for five minutes." she continued, anger spilling over now that she realised nobody here was buying the innocent act anymore.
"I didn’t fancy you. I don't even like you as a person," Jungwon said immediately, the speed of it landed harder than shouting would have.
Penelope went completely still, something genuinely angry flashed across her face then. Hurt too, buried underneath it. "Right," she laughed bitterly. "And let me guess, this is all because of Y/n." He didn’t answer quickly enough.
"Oh my god," she breathed, looking at him like she’d finally solved something. "You’re actually pathetic."
Jake swore again while Heeseung muttered, "Penelope—"
"No, seriously,” she interrupted sharply, looking back at Jungwon now with open disbelief. “You spent years following her around like some lovesick idiot and she still didn’t want you, so now suddenly this is all my fault?"
Jungwon’s expression darkened instantly. "Don’t talk about her."
"Why?" she snapped. "She’s clearly not interested. She heard you say you liked someone else and walked away without even fighting for you." That was the part still sitting under his ribs making him feel half sick all week.
"You don’t know a fucking thing about her," he said, quieter now, though somehow angrier for it.
Penelope scoffed softly. "Please. If she actually wanted you, she would’ve done something." Something cold flashed across his face then.
Jungwon stared at her for a second too long then laughed softly under his breath, "Yeah?" he said flatly. "Well at least she didn’t need to spike my drink to get me to pay attention to her."
Penelope opened her mouth again but footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor before she could answer. The kind that immediately changes the atmosphere of a room. Everyone looked up. A professor stood at the far end of the hall flanked by two Ministry officials, unreadable beneath the torchlight. Penelope’s face drained almost instantly.
"Miss Clearwater," Professor Park said calmly. "You’ll come with us." Her composure cracked properly then. "Are you serious?" she demanded, looking between them all. "You reported me?"
"It’s done," Heeseung said simply, shrugging.
"You can’t be serious," she said, her voice tightening. "It was one potion, one mistake—"
"It was manipulation," Jake snapped back. "What part of that isn’t clicking for you?"
"This is insane," she said, voice rising now as panic finally started replacing anger. "Nothing even happened." By the time Penelope was led away down the corridor, protesting angrily the entire time, Jungwon was barely paying attention. He just stood there staring at the floor, chest tight with the awful realisation that the hardest part of this was never going to be the potion. It was you believing him.
By the time evening rolled around, the argument had calcified into something heavier than frustration. It wasn’t just about what happened anymore. It was the fact that neither of you had managed to fix it. Every conversation somehow made things worse, like the two of you had spent years learning each other perfectly only to suddenly start speaking completely different languages.
Jungwon found you after that and this time it wasn’t accidental. The Room of Requirement gave him away the second the door opened, warm light spilling out into the corridor. Bookshelves climbed all the way to the ceiling, candles flickering low between stacked piles of parchment and half-open novels, the entire place carrying that quiet stillness it only ever seemed to have when you were in it. It looked exactly the same as it always had, painfully familiar.
And there you were, curled into the corner of the sofa with a book in your lap like none of it had happened. You didn’t look up when he came in, just turned a page slowly and said, quiet but flat, "I thought I told you I didn’t want to talk."
"I know," he said, shutting the door anyway. He stayed where he was for a moment, shoulders tense, clearly trying to hold onto whatever speech he’d planned before it completely fell apart on him. The silence between you wasn’t familiar anymore. It felt stiff now, crowded with too much pride and too many things neither of you had said when you should’ve.
Eventually he exhaled hard through his nose and looked at you properly. "I need you to actually listen to me this time Y/n." You let out a breath, eyes still on your book.
"I mean it."
That finally made you glance up properly and the irritation sitting on your tongue faltered slightly because he looked awful. His blonde hair was tussled in the way that it is when he's stressed, his habit of ruffling the front of his hair showing. He looked worn-down in that way people got when they were running entirely on nerves. You sighed, folding the corner of your page over before setting the book aside. "Alright," you muttered, "Talk."
He crossed the room slowly, cautious in a way you’d never seen from him before. "What I said that night…" He stopped halfway through, jaw clenching. "It wasn’t real."
Your face barely moved. "If this is your attempt at damage control, you're a bit late."
"I was drugged." The rain outside started hitting harder against the windows and for a second all you could hear was that. You stared at him for a second, waiting for the backtrack, the part where he admitted he was exaggerating because surely he didn’t actually mean— "Amortentia," he said quietly, and the way he said it made it impossible to dismiss.
Your face went still in that dangerous sort of way where he couldn’t tell what you were thinking anymore. "What?"
"She slipped it into my drink at the party." His voice dipped, "Heeseung and Jake figured it out after.. they reported her earlier" You looked away from him then because your brain suddenly felt too full, the last week rearranging itself in ugly sharp pieces. "What— Why didn’t you tell me straight away?"
"I tried." he shot back immediately, "Every time I saw you, you were halfway out the door." He dragged a hand through his hair before exhaling through his nose. "And then I saw you with Beomgyu and I just—" He stopped, eyes shutting for a second like the memory physically pressed down on him. "I felt so fucking angry."
Beomgyu?" confusion cut clean through the exhaustion in your voice. "The way he was sitting with you," Jungwon muttered, frustration bleeding back into his voice now that he’d started. "The way you looked comfortable with him."
"Jungwon. Nothing’s happening with Beomgyu." you said, still entirely lost on why this matters.
"I know that now." he said it immediately, but there was still irritation buried underneath it, stubborn and lingering.
"No, you clearly don't because you’re still saying it like he committed some sort of crime by existing near me." He huffed through his nose before he nodded once.
"Alright. Maybe I lost my head a bit."
"A bit?"
"And that doesn’t mean I enjoyed watching him sit where I used to."
The words came out before he could soften them and your stomach turned despite yourself. "You don’t get to say things like that after everything that happened."
"I know." he spoke, barely above a whisper. "I know it doesn’t suddenly fix anything. I’m not pretending it does."
"Then why are you here?" you asked, finally looking at him properly again. "Why tell me now?"
His eyes met yours instantly. "Because you think I chose someone else. For a moment you could barely process the words, because he couldn't mean it like that. God, hope needs to die.
"..And you didn’t?" you finally replied, voice unwontedly soft.
"No." he says immediately, certain in a way he hadn’t sounded once this entire week. "I never liked her. Not before that night, not after. Whatever you heard, it wasn’t me," You watched him carefully, searching his face for the part where he might pull back, make it less direct. He didn’t.
"And me?" you asked before you could fight it. That was a question he didn't expect, he suddenly looked exhausted — like he'd spent days fighting himself. "You’ve always been different."
You rolled your eyes immediately, leaning back into the sofa. "That is such a shit answer."
A quiet breath escaped him, almost humourless. "I didn’t say anything because I thought you didn’t care." His gaze dropped briefly before finding yours again. "You literally told me to go tell someone else how I felt, Y/n. What exactly was I supposed to take from that?"
You laughed once under your breath, bitter and disbelieving. "What was I meant to do? You stood there talking about being in love with her."
"I thought you didn’t care." he repeated.
"I cared too much, actually." Both of you froze. Your jaw clenched, "Don’t," you started immediately, shaking your head a fraction.
"No." He stepped closer again, something desperate creeping into his voice now. "Please, don’t take that back, that’s the first real thing either of us has said in days," You looked away quickly, pulse suddenly too loud in your ears.
"You really thought I didn't care?" you asked eventually.
"You stopped looking at me." He breathed, "You pulled away like it was easy. Like I was embarrassing you."
Your face twisted immediately, "Easy?" you repeated sharply. "You think that was easy?" You stood up too fast, anger finally cracking through properly.
"I spent the entire week avoiding you because every time I looked at you I heard you saying her name again, and I couldn’t stand there pretending it didn’t bother me."
"Y/n—"
"No, seriously, do you know how humiliating that felt?" Your voice shook despite your best efforts. "You told me that she lived in your head," You scrunched your nose slightly, expression tightening like the words physically pained you to say, "I can't—"
For a second neither of you spoke, the room suddenly felt too small for the amount of tension sitting between you both. Then he stepped close enough that you instinctively sat back down and lowered himself in front of you, kneeling while he looked up at you properly.
"Look at me," he said gently, and you didn’t, not straight away anyway. Your eyes stayed fixed on your hands, stubbornly avoiding him. Eventually, against your better judgement, you lifted your face to his and there it was again. That look. Warm and steady and devastatingly familiar, like no matter how badly the two of you had handled this, he would still look at you like you were the first thing he searched for in every room. And that was the worst part really, not the argument, not her. It was this, the way your body still reacted to him before your pride could catch up.
He searched your face, "The things I said that night, about someone living in my head all the time?"
"None of that was fake."
And then just as that familiar pain was about to settle, "I just had the wrong name in my mouth." And for a moment your eyes bored into each of his as it settled. Jungwon watched the realization move across your face carefully.
"I was so confused after," he admitted, voice low. "Because the feelings were real. They were always real.. I just didn’t understand why saying her name felt so wrong."
The irritation you’d been clinging to was barely holding together, unravelling thread by thread underneath something dangerous. He was still kneeling in front of you as though hadn’t even noticed, eyes fixed up on your face with this unbearable amount of care written all over him, like your reaction mattered more than his own embarrassment, more than his pride.
Jungwon was now fully ignoring the fact his knees had probably gone numb, too focused on you despite the fact your entire face was practically screaming what the fuck is happening right now.
"The stupidest part is I genuinely thought none of it mattered to you." he continued. "We’d sit practically on top of each other for hours and then you’d casually call me your best friend like that wasn’t completely destroying my ability to think straight." He glanced away briefly, words coming easier now that he’d started. "You’d play with my rings when you were tired, steal my jumpers, look for me first in every room and somehow I still convinced myself I’d imagined all of it."
"Do you know what actually messed me up?" he said eyes not leaving yours for a second. "Even after all this, after the argument and all the avoiding and how angry you were with me, the only thing I could think the entire time was that I just wanted you back beside me again." Jungwon shifts slightly closer without fully standing, still grounded in front of you, then hesitates like he’s debating something, before finally lifting a hand slowly, stopping just short of your face, waiting for any sign you’d move away. Your eyes flickered to it instinctively and your stomach twisted painfully at how careful he was being with you now.
You don’t move away and that seems to decide it for him more than anything else. His palm settles carefully against your cheek, warm and steady. Your lips parted a little, leaning into his touch — barely, but he felt it. His hand shifts, the other coming up too now, gently cupping your face properly this time, both hands holding you now.
"I’m not good at this," he mutters, almost like he’s talking to himself now more than you, "I’ve spent years not saying anything because I thought if I did, it would ruin whatever this was, whatever we are, and I thought I could live with that."
He leans in a fraction more, not enough to touch your forehead, not quite, but close enough that your breathing stills because suddenly there’s no pretending there’s distance left. His eyes studied your face, slower now, more deliberate, you could feel the warmth from his face.
"But I can’t," he says, just something raw and undeniable sitting underneath every word.
"I can’t do it anymore because I’m completely in love with you, and I have been for ages."
For a second he just looks at you like he’s bracing for impact, like he’s expecting you to step away, to laugh, to tell him he’s completely misread everything the same way you’ve both been misreading everything for years but you don’t move, you can't. Your eyes stay fixed on his almost helplessly, searching his face for something that looks uncertain or unsure, some indication that he doesn’t fully mean it. But there's nothing, just him — completely terrifying in his sincerity.
"And I know that probably changes everything," he adds, "but I couldn’t keep pretending it didn’t exist, not after almost losing you." His forehead finally rests against yours then, just barely, and the contact is so gentle. His gaze drops briefly to your mouth before returning to your eyes almost immediately, like he couldn't help it. Yang Jungwon — who moves through most things with quiet confidence, who always seemed so composed, so certain.. looks so genuinely scared right now.
"Say something," he whispers, not demanding, or pushing, just honest in the way that hurts. Your fingers twitch once in your lap before you finally lift one hand, not pushing him off, just catching his wrist lightly, grounding yourself in something solid because your head won’t stop spinning properly.
"Jungwon…" you start, then stop, your voice catching before you can force the rest out, like your thoughts can’t decide which one of them to turn into words first.
Jungwon doesn’t move back. If anything, he leans in more, eyes searching yours carefully now as though was already preparing himself for rejection anyway — despite not pushing him away. "I’m not expecting anything," he says quietly "I just needed you to know."
Your thumb brushes lightly against his wrist. "You’re an idiot," you say, and it comes out shakier than you mean it to, his brows pull together slightly, confused, already pulling back a fraction like he’s misread you again, "Right, yeah, I thought that might—"
"I’m in love with you," you cut in, quieter this time. He stays locked on you, unblinking, as though he’s waiting for you to finish the sentence properly. His hands are just hovering in place like he’s suddenly unsure if he’s allowed to keep holding you at all.
"What?" he says, but it barely makes it out of him, more breath than voice.
"I said—" your voice wavers, softer this time but steadier in its honesty, "I’m in love with you." you catch his hands and guide them properly against your cheeks instead of letting them hover uncertainly. There’s a pause where disbelief breaks through into his face, then something underneath it that looks almost helpless.
Then he leans in — careful, almost hesitant and his forehead finally presses against yours properly. "Fuck," he mutters, but there’s no conviction in it — just awe, like he’s overwhelmed by how real you are. A laugh slips out of you, because he sounds so completely undone it almost feels unfair.
"You’re actually going to ruin me." His hands finally shift, holding you comfortably now.
"You’re so dramatic," you whisper, but there’s no bite to it. His eyes open again at that, still too close, still pressed to yours in a way that makes the rest of the world felt like it's been turned down to nothing.
"Yeah," he murmurs, "But you still look at me like that anyway." Your brows pull together slightly, instinctively defensive, but it doesn’t really land because your hand is now curled in his shirt and you’re still not moving away.
"Like what?" you ask, quieter — pretending you don't know exactly what he's talking about.
"Like you notice things," he says, softer. "Even when you don’t say them out loud." That hits something uncomfortably accurate. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," you murmur, which is a lie, and you both know it. He hums faintly like he doesn’t believe you, but there’s no pressure in it, just affection spilling over the edges of him in a way he’s not even trying to hide anymore.
"I love the way you go quiet when you’re thinking too much," he continues, "And I love the way you always act like you don’t care," he adds, a quiet exhale slipping through his words like he’s smiling a little at the memory of it. "Like you’re completely unaffected by everything, but then you’ll sit there for five minutes staring at something like it’s the most important thing in the world."
His thumb brushes lightly against your wrist where he’s still holding you, slow and absentminded. "And I love the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching."
Your lips part slightly, like you mean to respond, like you mean to deflect it the way you usually would, turn it into something smaller, something safer but nothing comes out cleanly enough to save you.
So it just breaks, "I love you so fucking much." It spills out of you before your brain can negotiate with it, far too honest to take back. His eyes glaze over and then he shifts forward on his knees, barely even thinking about it, like the distance between you has become physically unbearable.
His thumb presses into your jaw and then he pulls you in. His lips press against yours and it's consuming, with an urgency that had you feeling weak. Your fingers tighten in his shirt and that’s all it takes. "I love you. So much" he breathes between kisses. There’s something almost pathetic in how desperately relieved he feels.
"Mm," You tilt your head and the kiss deepens. He exhales into it and the sound of it makes your grip shift, a hand sliding into his hair. A small, broken sound slips out of him, almost stunned, he leans into you anyway, forehead dipping slightly — like he’s trying to be closer than is physically reasonable.
"Fucking hell," he breathes against your lips, your stomach flips violently at the sound.
"You have no idea," he murmurs softly between kisses, almost dazed, "what you do to me."
You smile into the kiss and when you both finally pull back just enough to inhale properly, neither of you really lets go. Your foreheads rest together, noses brushing slightly, his hands still holding you. And then you do it again — soft, quick kisses against his lips. It was careless in a way that feels completely unlike how careful everything has been between you until now. He actually freezes for a second, then laughs, so familiar it made your chest ache.
"You’re so…" he starts, trailing off with another disbelieving laugh as you kiss him again before he can finish properly. "So what?" you murmur against his lips. "Mine," he says softly. You can’t help the quiet laugh that escapes you, despite the raging tricks your stomach was playing.
Then, after a second, quieter now, "Can I sit with you?.. My knees are actually killing me."
You laughed despite yourself, "You’re unbelievable."
"Yeah, yeah." he grins, you shift on the sofa, making space.
"Get up here before you pass out or something." He doesn’t need to be told twice and moves fast for someone who just complained about his knees, sliding up beside you. The second he sits, his shoulder bumps yours gently — accidental or not, neither of you acknowledges it.
"There," he says quietly. His leg is pressed lightly against yours, warm and solid, and it’s embarrassing how quickly your body relaxes around him now that you’re finally letting it. There’s a beat of silence before his hand shifted slightly against the sofa cushion between you. Then his pinky brushed yours, you looked down at it once and thread your fingers through his properly.
You couldn’t help but think, god I’d go through all of that again, as long as I end up here. Jungwon seemed to realize it at the exact same time because the second you settled beside him properly, he exhaled through his nose like he’d finally stopped bracing for something.
You then let your head fall onto his shoulder, the movement slow and unceremonious "You're not let off completely though," you muttered, voice muffled slightly against him.
"I know." he says, his own head resting on top of yours.
"And I’m still angry."
"You should be," he said without hesitation, just quiet acceptance as his shoulder shifted slightly under you to get more comfortable with you, adjusting himself to make sure you stayed there.
"And you might suffer for a while." you add, quieter now. Fully aware he probably wouldn't.
"Okay." he said simply. You lifted your head just enough to look at him properly, narrowing your eyes in suspicion.
"That was a bit too easy."
He huffed a small laugh through his nose, the corner of his mouth tugging upward as he glanced at you like you were the most predictable thing in the world. "I’m choosing my battles carefully." That made you smile properly and Jungwon looked genuinely relieved by it.
The rain ran down the window behind you as Jungwon turned to you — his hand came up, landing on the base of your shoulder. "Hi," he said as you turned to face him properly, catching the glimmer of something playful.
"What now?" you huff, attempting to look annoyed, it clearly wasn't convincing judging by his lips curving in retaliation. His hand slides up, below your jaw now.
"Can I kiss you..again," he asked, grinning now. You pressed your lips together, pretending to think about it. "Hmm."
A dramatic groan left him immediately, his forehead falling against yours. "You’re evil."
You laughed softly under your breath and before he could complain again, you nudged his head forward slightly, pressing your lips to his yourself. The kiss barely lasted a second before he smiled into it, warm and helplessly fond.
"Right," he murmurs against your mouth, "that’s definitely up there with my favourite answers you’ve given tonight."
You hum against his lips, smiling when he immediately kisses you deeper like he’s been waiting for the smallest bit of encouragement. One of his hands stays warm against your jaw while the other settles carefully at your waist, hesitant for all of half a second and then pulling you closer against him.
The sound he makes when you shift halfway onto his lap is somewhere between surprise and relief, and it nearly makes you laugh again. "Don’t laugh at me," he mumbles instantly.
"You make it pretty easy."
"Yeah?" The curve of his nose brushes yours briefly before he kisses you again, slower this time. Your fingers slide into his hair at that and he exhales sharply into your mouth, grip tightening at your waist. The reaction goes straight to your head. "Jungwon," you whisper, mostly because you like what it does to him.
His eyes flicker open for a second at the sound of his name "You're doing that on purpose," you tilt your head in response. Every touch feels careful and greedy at the same time. The rain was still tapping softly against the windows somewhere in the background, but it all felt far away compared to the warmth of him pressed against you.
His thumb strokes absentmindedly against your side beneath the fabric of your top. The kiss deepens naturally after that, unhurried and messy in the way kisses that have been delayed for years usually are. Every time you pull back for air he chases instinctively.
You laugh softly, breathless, but the sound cuts off when his lips find your jaw instead. The shift is slower this time, deliberate. Your breath catches almost instantly when he kisses just below your ear, warm and lingering enough to make your fingers tighten in his hair. "There," he says quietly against your skin, "That one got you."
"Shut up," you whisper, though there’s no real bite to it when you pull him back up by the collar to kiss him again. You tilted your head, letting your tongue graze the seam of his lips. You swallowed a high needy noise, opening up immediately. He pulled you into his lap fully now — lips still attached as you settled against him properly, arms steadying themselves against his shoulders and sliding around his neck.
Your tongue slid against his messily and then he pulled back, breathing hard. "Still okay?" he whispers. You respond with a nod taking in Jungwon's eyes, which were blackened with desire
"Words Y/n," he grins tilting your chin up, you couldn't help the heat that flood into your stomach, "Yeah— yes I'm okay,"
His grin widened as though he knew what was going through your mind and then he chased your lips again, catching you in an open mouthed kiss — trying to memorise your mouth in a way he couldn't before. His hand creeped into your hair, fingers curling in. He bobbed his head forward, capturing your tongue and sucking on it with a low groan. You gasped, eyes scrunching together as a involuntary moan slipped out of you. Jungwon's breath hitched hard, panting now, "God I've fucking dreamt of how you'd sound," He pushed his head into the crook of your neck, "This is so much better."
"Better be," you managed, fingers running through his hair slowly.
"Let me stay here," he starts pressing kisses to your neck, taking in your scent — your taste.
"Mmm tempting Won," you said tilting your head back.
"I missed that so fucking much," he groans. You tried to respond, you did, but you couldn't because his lips were dragging up your neck, wet and desperate. "Shit," you breathed, shivering.
You lay your hands flat on his chest and push him back against the sofa. He lets himself fall back against the sofa without resistance, like he trusts you completely to take the lead, his hands instinctively tightening at your sides as you follow him down. Chest to chest.
You falter for a second as if you’re both realizing, at the same time, how far this has gone. His blackened eyes flick between your now swollen lips, and your eyes. He breathed out, harsh — revelling in the fact that he's the reason your lips are flushed and shiny with spit.
Then an almost frightening thought slipped into his head, sudden enough that it made him hesitate halfway through speaking. "Have you ever…" he started, then stopped abruptly, like he already regretted asking. You looked at him for a second, brows pulling together slightly as you tried to place where his brain had just gone.
"What?" you asked. His eyes flickered away briefly before returning to yours again, visibly trying to decide whether to commit to the question or bury himself alive instead.
"Have you ever—" he stopped again, jaw tightening faintly. "Like… with anyone…"
"Fucked anyone or kissed anyone?" you asked flatly, fingers tracing his jaw. Jungwon nearly choked on his own breath, but you were completely calm despite the way his entire face shifted into instant embarrassment.
A disbelieving laugh escaped him despite himself, one hand dragging down his face briefly before he looked at you again, visibly trying to recover. "You know what, never mind."
"No," you said immediately, sitting up on him slightly, now that you’d caught onto the fact he was genuinely nervous. "You asked. Commit."
"I just—" he stopped again, visibly frustrated with himself now. "I don’t know, I started thinking about it and then I realized I actually have no idea if there’s been someone else."
The honesty of it knocked some of the teasing right out of your face. Fuck, Jungwon looked unfairly sincere when he was jealous. "I mean, obviously there could’ve been," he continued quickly, words speeding up now. "You’re—you, and I wasn’t exactly doing anything, so it’s not like you owed me—"
"There wasn’t," you interrupted softly, cupping his jaw now.
"There… wasn’t?" he repeated carefully. You shook your head once and his shoulders visibly loosened. The relief that crossed his face was so immediate and unfiltered it. "Thank fuck," he breathed before he could stop himself. You stared at him, eyebrows lifting. "You don’t understand," he said immediately, catching your stare. He sat up slightly, pulling you up with him like this was extremely serious now. "I was about thirty seconds away from ruining my own night imagining some random guy kissing you, or even touching you." You let out a quiet scoff through your nose, but your face warmed anyway.
"If I'm honest," you started, already regretting the vulnerability halfway through it, "I felt sick thinking about whether or not you'd end up in her room," your voice got quieter near the end, eyes fixed somewhere near his shoulder instead of his face despite how close he was sitting. You missed the way his whole face changed, he genuinely looked wounded by the thought of you sitting with that alone.
"Y/n," he said almost pained. You shrugged one shoulder slightly, pretending it didn’t matter nearly as much as it did. "It’s embarrassing now, actually."
"No," he said immediately, firm enough to make you look at him again. "No, don’t do that. I need you to understand something," he says, serious in a way that steadies the entire room around you.
"There was never going to be another person for me once I met you."
You blink at him slowly. "That— is a crazy thing to say to someone." by now the butterflies erupting in your belly were normal.
"It’s true." He actually smiles then, hopelessly, like even your avoidance is something he treasures.
"You’re cute when you’re overwhelmed," he murmurs, your eyes narrow instantly.
"Don’t piss me off again."
His smile widened immediately, completely unafraid now. "See? Cute."
"Jungwon you’re about five seconds away from being shoved off this sofa."
"You wouldn’t do that," he said easily, leaning closer anyway. You opened your mouth to argue but he kissed you before you could, arms wrapping around your waist. "So fucking annoying," you mumble against his lips,
"Mhmm, yeah?" he grins.
A loud crack of thunder suddenly echoed somewhere outside the castle walls, the sound rattling faintly through the windows of the common room a second before rain started hammering hard against the glass. You glanced toward it instinctively. "It’s pouring." Jungwon barely looked up, still half-sprawled into your space. "Mm," he murmured, completely unbothered, thumb absentmindedly tracing slow circles against your knuckles.
Another rumble of thunder followed, louder this time. You exhaled through your nose, leaning back slightly against the sofa cushions as your gaze flicked toward the clock mounted near the fireplace.
"You’re joking." You shook your head a little, starting to shift your weight as if to stand. "I’m serious."
"No, you’re not," he said instantly, tightening his grip on your hand when you shifted slightly like you might stand.
"Jungwon—" A laugh escaped you. "No," he whined quietly, forehead falling against your shoulder dramatically. "I don’t wanna move yet."
"You’re acting like I’m not gonna exist tomorrow."
"I'll miss you" he mumbled into your shoulder immediately, completely shameless about it. You rolled your eyes, though your fingers automatically slipped into his hair again. He visibly relaxed at the feeling. "I just got you back," he continued, voice quieter now, almost pouty despite how ridiculous he sounded. "Can’t we stay here for like… another hour."
"Won, it’s nearly midnight."
"So?" he said instantly. You laughed under your breath and tilted your head enough to look at him properly.
"You're clingy."
Another crack of thunder echoed outside and Jungwon sighed before finally lifting his head. "…Fine," he muttered unhappily.
He stands up with you still in his arms, the sudden movement making you instinctively tighten your hold around his neck. "Jungwonn—" you huff into his shoulder. He just giggles, the sound soft and breathy, pulling his head back to look at you properly. There’s something bright in his eyes, something you wished you could see every time you opened your eyes.
Without much thought, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the side of your head, still a little dazed. "What?" he murmurs, far too innocent for the way his hands are still holding you close. You narrow your eyes, "Put me down."
"Don’t wanna," he shrugs lightly.
You let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking your head. "You’re so annoying."
He just laughs again, clearly pleased with himself, before finally lowering you back onto your feet. You both pause and glance at each other and then you both laugh. Quiet at first, then a little louder, the kind of laugh that spills out when something feels almost unreal.
"We don’t have to rush anything," he says after a moment, searching your face, "but I’m not… pretending that didn’t happen either."
"Good," you say, barely above a breath. That earns you the smallest smile — not smug, not teasing. His fingers curl a little into yours.
"What do we do about them?" you asked, more to yourself than him, something almost bashful tugged at the corners of Jungwon's mouth despite the way he was still holding you close.
"I don’t really want to share you yet," he admits quietly, the faintest pout appearing like he was slightly embarrassed.
"Then let’s keep it to ourselves for now," you say. The relief on his face was immediate, the idea of this being something private between the two of you mattered more to him than he expected.
His arms snaked around you slightly before he leaned in again, stealing another kiss like he genuinely couldn’t go more than thirty seconds without one now. "You realise," you mumbled against his lips, trying and failing to sound unaffected, "everyone’s going to figure it out eventually."
"Mhm." He kissed you again, entirely unbothered. "Future problem."
"You’re very relaxed for someone who just said he didn’t wanna share."
"I don’t," he said immediately, pulling back just enough to look at you properly again. "But hiding you and keeping you close aren’t the same thing" Your heartbeat betrayed you immediately and, judging by the tiny smile tugging at his mouth afterwards, he knew it.
"C'mon," you said pulling him towards the door. It’s reluctant. His hand slips from your waist slower than it should, fingers brushing yours one last time before letting go.
By the time you finally left the Room of Requirement, your lips still felt warm. Which was a problem, a massive one, actually, because Jungwon looked even worse. His hair was a mess from your hands, mouth pink and slightly swollen, melted in a way that would immediately get him interrogated if anyone saw him. Every so often the corridor would flicker with distant lightning, briefly carving both of your shadows into sharper versions of yourselves before letting them soften again.
As you reached your dorms he stopped you, a gentle hand on your wrist "Don’t take forever," he said, though it lacked any real bite.
You gave him a look that tried for annoyance and failed somewhere halfway. "Get inside."
"I am getting inside," he grinned, but he still didn’t move right away. That earned him a quiet exhale from you, something almost like a laugh, before you finally stepped back and slipped inside, the door closing softly behind you.
You immediately bee-lined for the mirror, "Shit." you definitely looked kissed. You pressed cold hands to your cheeks, trying to ignore how warm your skin still felt. Your hair looked equally suspicious, slightly mussed from his hands, and there was absolutely no hiding whatever was settling over your face.
Outside, you could faintly hear the distant hum of the castle settling into sleep. But underneath all of it, there was still him — lingering at the edge of your thoughts the same way he had been all evening, like he hadn’t quite stopped being near you just because a door had closed between you.
When you finally pulled on something a bit more comfortable, you rested your hands briefly at the edge of your desk, exhaling a little more slowly than before. Within the last day you’d gone from moping, avoiding your best friend, to confessing, to kissing him, and now you were standing in your room trying to make your face look normal enough to walk into a his dorm like nothing had happened. The worst part was that your body still felt like it hadn’t caught up with your decisions yet.
By the time you made your way down the corridor, you were actively rehearsing neutrality. Their dorm door already had voices spilling through it before you even opened it properly. Jake’s laugh came first, loud and unfiltered, followed by Heeseung saying something that sounded like he was trying to sound serious but failing halfway through. Ni-ki’s voice cut in after that, flatter and more observant. Of course they were awake.
It all felt so normal for a second it almost made you forget you were about to walk in carrying something that felt like it had weight. You adjusted your expression once more, like that would somehow make you harder to read, and pushed the door open. It smelled faintly like coffee and whatever food Jake had apparently forced everyone into eating at midnight again.
Jungwon was sitting on the arm of the sofa like he always did, one arm draped lazily over the back. Something shifted in his face before he smoothed it away — a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth, he was fighting a smile he absolutely should not be having in front of people, and then he looked away again, too casually, like nothing at all had just passed between you. You, on the other hand, made a point of not looking at him too long at all.
You forced your face into that something neutral you'd been rehearsing and walked in further, closing the door behind you with a soft click that felt way too loud. All of them looked up almost at once and there was a half-second of silence that did not feel accidental.
"Oh, Y/n," Jake said first, squinting slightly with a grin. "You’re up?" You nodded once, carefully closing the door behind you.
"Yeah. Couldn’t sleep."
Heeseung hummed softly from where he was stretched across the other end of the sofa, one eyebrow lifting just slightly as he looked between you and Jungwon with a level of perception that felt actively threatening to your well-being. You suddenly became hyper aware of the fact Jungwon had gone unnaturally silent.
Ni-ki was lying half upside-down across the rug, but he glanced up briefly. "Thought you were still mad at him." he said as you settled down between Jungwon and Jake.
You shrugged one shoulder, forcing yourself getting comfortable, like your pulse wasn’t suddenly trying to kill you. "I’m capable of being civil."
At that, Jungwon coughed suddenly into his fist, poorly disguising what was very obviously the beginning of a smile. Jake’s eyes narrowed immediately, he didn’t say anything yet, but you physically watched suspicion enter his body. Heeseung looked between the two of you slowly. "You guys are weird," he said casually, you took this as a sign he was letting it go, the relief that flood through you was almost embarrassing.
"Thank you," Jungwon replied dryly before you could. You turned toward him automatically, already prepared to glare at him for making this harder than it needed to be, but the second his eyes met yours, something in him melted before he could hide it, it was so genuine that your stomach dropped straight through the floor.
And the worst part was that he realised it too. His gaze flicked downward almost instantly afterwards, jaw tightening faintly as he reached for the drink sitting beside him like suddenly becoming very interested in literally anything else might save him but Jake was looking between you both again.
“…Okay,” Jake said after a beat, suspicious in a way that made your skin prickle.
"What?" you replied flatly, crossing one leg over the other.
He pointed vaguely between the two of you like he was trying to physically grab hold of a thought before it escaped him. "Something happened."
"Nothing happened," you said immediately. At the exact same time Jungwon said, "What are you talking about?" The silence afterwards was catastrophic, it had Ni-ki actually sitting up — Jake’s mouth fell open in genuine disbelief as he looked between the two of you again.
"That was bad,"
You closed your eyes briefly, beside you, Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite laughing yet but visibly close to it. "You two used to lie better than this."
"We’re not lying," Jungwon said quickly, finally looking up again, though the slight tension in his shoulders completely ruined the effect. Jake pointed at him immediately. "Why do you sound nervous?"
"I don’t sound nervous." Ni-ki was openly staring now, gaze moving slowly between you both with growing fascination. "Wait, are you guys secretly fine again?"
Jake’s expression softened first. "You guys actually talked?" he said, slower. Your eyes flicked briefly toward Jungwon before you could stop yourself.
"Yeah," you admitted finally, voice calmer now. "We did." The room quieted properly after that, Heeseung leaned back slightly against the arm of the sofa, studying both of you carefully now, and you knew instantly what he was really asking. Whether the damage sitting underneath all of this had finally been dragged out into the open instead of festering quietly the way it had been the last few days.
Jake looked between you both again before exhaling dramatically, shoulders dropping in visible relief. "Thank god," he muttered. "You two were making everyone deeply uncomfortable."
"That sounds like a you problem," you replied with the fainest hint of a grin, "It was bad." Ni-ki cut in, now fully invested. "Every time someone mentioned you he’d go all quiet and weird for like ten minutes after."
Across the room, Jungwon groaned immediately. "Can we not."
Jake ignored him completely. "And you were terrifying."
"I was keeping to myself." You said flatly. "Exactly," Jake said, like that proved his point perfectly. "That’s how we knew it was serious." Still, you could feel Jungwon relaxing now that the interrogation had mostly passed, though every so often your eyes would accidentally meet again and you’d have to look away immediately before Jake started screaming.
At one point, while Heeseung was distracted arguing with Ni-ki about something stupid, Jungwon glanced toward you again over the rim of his drink. This time, he smiled properly, it was small — a dimple barely peeking through and then, like he physically couldn’t help himself, his foot nudged lightly against yours underneath the coffee table. You didn’t react outwardly but your heartbeat immediately lost all structural integrity anyway.
The first couple days felt strangely unreal, the two of you had slipped sideways into a version of your lives that looked exactly the same from the outside while quietly changing everything underneath it. You learned very quickly that Jungwon had absolutely no concept of subtlety when it came to you, and it wasn't even intentional — that was the problem.
He reached for you without thinking and he'd smile before he could stop himself whenever you walked into a room, like his body had developed some involuntary response to your existence. The first morning after everything, you’d barely made it halfway into Potions before catching him already looking at you from across the table with this annoyingly cute grin that had you wanting to pull him close and kiss his stupid face off.
But instead you kicked his shin under the desk and the blonde looked genuinely confused for a full three seconds before realisation hit him all at once, followed immediately by the smallest, guiltiest smile imaginable.
After that, it became pattern… for a few days. Late-night walks through quieter corridors after everyone else had gone to sleep. Jungwon appearing beside you in the library like he’d "accidentally" ended up there despite very obviously following you. Your fingers brushing under tables during study sessions when nobody was looking. Sitting slightly too close whenever you thought you could get away with it and then immediately shifting apart whenever Jake narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The secrecy itself should’ve been exhausting, instead, it became something strangely addictive.
There was something dangerously intimate about it, about the constant awareness of him even in crowded rooms, the tiny hidden smiles exchanged over everyone else’s heads, the feeling of his hand briefly finding yours behind the cover of someone else’s conversation. You started understanding very quickly why people lost their minds over this kind of thing.
It also didn’t help that Jungwon was completely gone for you in a way that was becoming increasingly difficult to manage privately.
By the second night, you were in his dorm after a lot of whining from Jungwon about how unbearable the boys had been the night before. Thankfully, the dorm was quieter this time. Most of the lights in the corridor had already dimmed, and when you slipped down the hallway there were no muffled voices behind the doors, no laughter, no sign that anyone else was still awake. You barely even had time to raise your hand before Jungwon opened the door immediately, like he’d been standing there waiting for the sound of your footsteps specifically.
"Hi," you whispered, already smiling despite yourself. His answering smile was smaller, almost disbelieving in that way he still got around you now, "Hi," he murmured back, and then his hand caught yours before you’d even stepped fully inside. The door had barely clicked shut behind you when he pulled you toward him properly.
Jungwon’s hands slid immediately to your waist, guiding you backwards until your shoulders touched lightly against the door, and then he pulled you into him. The force of it startled a quiet breath out of you, because he shoved his head into your neck. His hands tightening slightly against your sides when you hugged him back instantly, and the reaction he had was a soft sound escaping him as he leaned closer, like he genuinely couldn’t help it.
"Missed me?" you whispered, lips curling against his head.
He pulled back to look at you properly. "Bad," his hair was still slightly damp from showering earlier, soft under your fingers when your hand slid into it automatically, and he reacted to that too. His forehead pressed briefly against yours as he exhaled shakily through his nose. It was honestly ridiculous how responsive he was to you now that he’d stopped pretending not to be.
"You have no idea what today was like," he muttered quietly, breathe warm against your lips. "Jake kept asking me why I looked happy."
A laugh slipped out of you. "And?"
"And I almost told him to mind his business." His hands slid slightly higher against your waist, "I hated not being able to touch you." he added. You felt your face warm immediately, which unfortunately only seemed to encourage him further. "There it is again," he murmured, visibly delighted.
"Shut up." He grinned properly at that, leaning in just enough to press a quick kiss to the corner of your mouth, and then resting his forehead against yours. For a second he just stayed there, forehead still pressed to yours, eyes flicking down to your mouth and then back up again like he was weighing something quietly in his head.
Then he kissed you properly this time. It wasn’t rushed, it was slow enough that it felt deliberate, like he was checking what was allowed and what wasn’t yet. His hand slid up slightly at your back, steadying you more out of habit than urgency, and he paused for a split second like he was waiting to see if you’d pull away. You only leaned further into him, so he kissed you again, a little easier this time. When he finally pulled back, it was only by a fraction, his lips ghosting yours and his thumb brushing absentmindedly over your side like he’d forgotten he was even doing it.
The room around you stayed dim and warm, lit only by the small lamp near his desk, rain still tapping faintly against the windows outside. Jungwon looked at you for another long moment before something softer crossed his face, almost sleepy.
"Come here," he muttered.
You barely had time to react before he was already pulling you away from the door, fingers still hooked loosely around your wrist as he pulled you toward his bed. He sat first and pulled you down with him without much ceremony, one arm sliding automatically around your waist like it had already memorised the shape of you there. A laugh escaped you at the sheer determination of it, but it dissolved quickly when he looked up at you again. Jungwon leaned back properly against the pillows, his arm tightening slightly around your middle once you finally gave in and tucked yourself against him fully. The moment you did, something in him visibly changed, tension he’d been carrying all day finally loosening as he exhaled slowly. "You’ve been like that all day," he said after a moment, voice softer now, almost accusing in the gentlest way.
"Like what?"
"Distant," he continues, like the word annoyed him. "Acting like I don't exist."
"Won, we're literally hiding."
"I know," he replied, but his hand tightened slightly at your waist anyway, because he didn’t care how reasonable that sounded. "Make it up to me?" he said again, quieter this time, but the grin on his face gave him away completely as his eyes flicked down to your lips like that was the only answer he was actually interested in.
"How?" you asked tilting your head.
"Don’t act like you don’t know," he murmured, and there was something almost amused in it.
"I don’t," coming out weaker than you intended. It's quieter in a way that betrays you, even in the dim light. "Liar," he mutters — even then, there was no real accusation in it.
You didn’t bother to argue with him. In the short, insignificant seconds that followed, your hands are ran up Jungwon’s chest with urgency — leaning in close, and kissing him. His breath caught instantly against your mouth, a small involuntary sound slipping out of him, like he hadn’t expected you to actually give in that easily. When you pulled back just enough to speak, your lips still brushing his, you murmured, "Maybe."
He hummed chasing your lips, deepening it almost immediately, lips parting yours with an ease he didn't have yesterday. His tongue licked into your mouth slowly, hands settling at your hips as his fingers pressed just enough to keep you closer without being rough, yours slid up into the nape of his neck, tugging lightly at his hair. He let out a low sound against your mouth, somewhere between relief and frustration and it had your thighs squeezing together, because fuck this was chipping away at your self control, and barely anything had happened.
Jungwon's restraint however, was hanging on by a thread because the moment he felt your thighs close he felt his brain begin to melt. "Y/n I can't—" he breathed, hands cupping your jaw, if only to keep you glued to his lips.
"What—" you started, but then Jungwon whined. Actually fucking whined dragging his face to your cheek. His body jerked forward, just a little. He had been impossibly hard for a while now, despite swearing he hadn't thought about anything crazy — but somewhere between your hands in his hair and your tongue..
The sound startled a quiet laugh out of you before you could stop it, completely unaware of what had happened. He groaned embarrassed at that, one arm wrapping around your waist. It only made you more aware of him pressed against you now, warm and solid and very obviously stiff in a way that had heat flooding between your legs.
That's also when you realised that he had just cum in his pants, untouched. "Oh," you breathed before you could stop yourself. Jungwon immediately buried his face deeper into your neck.
"I'm—sorry, fuck. I didn't mean to—you're just so fucking—hot," he mumbled, almost attempting to move back, but you kept him there.
"Look at me." you said, running a soothing hand over the back of his head. He hesitated and pressed deeper for a moment, and then pulled his head back. His cheeks were flushed, hair messed up in a way only he could pull off. His glassy eyes found yours after a moment, so afraid of what he'd find.
"You're not mad?" he mumbled. He looked so fucking cute and worried and for a moment you couldn't help kissing him, "No Won," you said between kisses, "I'm not mad." And despite already cumming, he was still hard and throbbing.
"This is me making it up to you, for today." you said, voice almost a whisper — as you flicked between his eyes. His lips parted almost in confusion and he just blinked for a moment, breathing hard — then he looked up to you with those big wet eyes, "We don't have to do anything."
You bit the inside of your cheek, "I know," you kissed him again, slower, pressing against him. At some point while you were making out, you shifted onto his lap with your tongues still twisted and, he gasped as he felt your tits press against his chest. His brows were pulled together, lips parted in something you could barely call a kiss at this point and Jungwon was so entirely overwhelmed that all you could hear was his sharp gasps as your lips trailed down to his jaw.
He was trying his absolute best not to move — then he felt your tongue, licking his ear-lobe, sucking softly. "Fuuuck," Jungwon exhaled, eyes fluttering closed, his hips bucked up at the feeling uncontrollably, his hardened length rocked against your clothed pussy and then — you moaned into his ear. Jungwon was barely there at this point, he could barely touch you back he was so dazed. He panted hard, feeling your hands guiding his to your hips, teasing as they brushed up your waist, and pressing them to your chest. He swallowed hard at your tits under his palms, by now his eyes were blown wide with desire, his chest was rising and falling harshly — cock twitching beneath his already soiled pants.
His long fingers brushed against your chest, twitching in your hold. "Can I?" he breathed, so mesmerised by how you looked on him.
"Mhm yeah," he pulled your top up, over your head — letting it fall somewhere.
You watched as his eyes dragged down, his tongue poked into his cheek, almost like he was hungry "So, so fucking pretty baby," he groaned, finally finding it in himself to move. You were slowly dragging your hips together in short tiny bursts, while his hands palmed your tits — you gasped shakily. "You like that?" he whispered, voice completely wrecked.
"Fuck yeah, take it off," you huffed, fingers tugging at the fabric. As he pulled off his shirt you undid your bra letting it fall away, the second his eyes locked onto your bare tits he could barely breathe. He glanced away for a moment as a poor attempt to compose himself. But your nipples were hard, and he couldn't help but let out a strained noise at the sight, "You're beautiful baby," his hands came up and cupped your tits, fingers brushing over them.
"Ah— fuck Won—" His head tipped back at your words, as if your words and pleasure were affecting him just as much. A shiver ran through you, your hips stopping the motions for a moment as your fingers trailed down his chest. Even in the dimmed light he looked gorgeous in a way you couldn't describe. "Pretty."
He then flipped you over, lips finding your jaw, tongue trailing down your collarbone. He kept going as your hand threaded through his hair again, pressing him closer into your chest, Jungwon made a muffled noise against you, stupidly drunk on your tits. He lolled his tongue out, flattening it and licking over your nipple — your back arched instantly, a drawn out gasp bursting out as your legs wrapped around his waist, because it was all too much. Too good. He drunk up all your reactions, hips rolling against you. His tongue found your sensitive spots and a thumb rubbed over once — then he flicked his tongue over your hard bud and sucked. "Mmmph," you moaned attempting to suppress your sounds.
"Mm—don't hide," Jungwon's eyebrows furrowed — displeased and in retaliation he sucked harder, teeth grazing your skin as he tried to take as much as he could into his mouth. You moaned close-mouthed and the sound vibrated against him, he only buried his face deeper with his own high whines.
"Fucking dreamt—of touching—you baby," he mumbles in-between sucks, "Came twice in the—shower," he rambled. That did something indescribable to your panties, especially when you could feel rigid his cock so blatantly rutting against your thigh.
"Shit—what'd you think about?" you managed to breathe out.
"Your taste—your tongue—those pretty lips."
You pulled him back up to your lips with urgency, ignoring the way your tits were now slick and swollen with his spit. His wet lips parted in a choked whine as your palm found his clothed cock, "Ah—fuck baby—" he hissed, fingers tracing against the waistband of your sleep shorts. You lifted your hips and he immediately pulled it down with one hand as your palm worked against him, his shaky breaths only grew louder, even as his fingers traced over the lace of your panties.
He cupped your pussy fully, feeling the heat and you were so fucking wet that your arousal was leaking through, Jungwon couldn't take it anymore, this entire time he'd been holding himself back, not because he didn't think you could handle him, but because he didn't think he could. "You're so fucking wet for me hm?" he tilted his head, wide eyes boring into yours as you instinctively arched into his hard, pathetically desperate for his touch now.
"All for you baby—please," your eyebrows furrowed and pleading.
He could hardly comprehend it. You were submitting for him. For half a second he didn't even move, just looked over your expression and tried to etch it into his brain — stamp it onto his forehead if he could. And then he pulled your panties to the side, not even bothering to pull them off and pressed two fingers to your slit, eyes on your every movement. But just as the contact came, it was gone, because his fingers were in his mouth, licking your slick off of one finger, eyes almost rolling back at the taste.
You lips were already parted watching, Jungwon took advantage of that and pressed his fingers to your lips but he didn't even have to speak. You took both into your mouth, sucking off his spit mixed with your cum. "So—fucking hot," he watched half-lidded, his free hand found your slit again as he gently thrust them up and down your tongue.
He then eased the tip of his finger into your entrance, your jaw loosened around his fingers — a sharp gasp leaving you. "God so fucking tight," he whispered, he hadn't stopped watching you once, not even as he sank further into your pussy. Broken breathes vibrated around him and then Jungwon finally removed his fingers from your slack mouth, a string of your spit connecting you — he wasted none of it and sucked it off, "You want my fingers baby?"
"Yeah—more, please," you barely managed.
"More?" he repeated, already starting to push in and out, slowly curling against the walls of your insides.
"—Shut—up," A breathy laugh bubbled through him in response and he pushed himself up to kiss into your mouth, which was hung open. Because he'd now added his middle finger into the mix, enamoured with the way your slicked cunt let him pump in and out effortlessly. And the noises were fucking filthy, the squelching wet sounds had heat crawling up to your ears.
His fingertips then brushed against that spongy bundle of nerves — he swallowed your high sounds with small kisses to your lips, "I knoww baby you're doing so good yeah?" he whispered against your lips, he trailed down and took your nipple into his mouth again, fingers working on your pussy — keeping that same devastating pace.
"Mm—fuckfuckfuuuck," you barely even registered what you were saying anymore.
The pressure built fast, a coil tightening — he felt your moans and babbling pick up and tensed his tongue, flicking your nipple over and over and over until your pussy was grinding against his hand, bucking into him desperately. "You like it when I fuck my fingers into you?"
"Fuck yeah I love it so much—fuck-please i'm—ah" you cried, head now tilted back lax against his pillow, your hand was raked through his hair, gripping it for dear life.
"Cum for me baby, give it to me." he spoke looking up at you. His thumb then found your clit and he rubbed harsh circles, neither of were even aware of how loud you were being at this point. Because you came hard, shaking — head spinning, and Jungwon didn't stop.
Jungwon scrambled down as you came and replaced his thumb with his lips — his arms were now hooking under your thighs, locking you in place as he sloppily licked and sucked on your nub like he'd never tasted anything better. He was also moaning and huffing into you, because he had cum just from touching you. "Won—can't," you whined tugging on his hair at the overstimulation.
"One more baby—" he breathed low into your folds, mewling at your tugging. Your legs wrapped around his head, practically using his face and he was beyond delighted to be your personal fuck-toy. He then shoved his tongue impossibly deep into your pussy, fucking into you as far as he could reach and you were simultaneously grinding your clit against the curve of his nose. Your second orgasm was practically ripped out of you and somewhere between his tongue and fingers taking turns on your shattered cunt, your milky arousal leaked straight onto his tongue.
He clamped his mouth around you and kept going, kept suckling and licking, not letting a single drop go to waste. "Taste so fucking good baby, you did so so good," he finally said, against your thighs, pressing small kisses along your soft skin. You made a small acknowledging whine in response tugging his hair again weakly, legs finally going limp against him. Jungwon kissed his way back up, up your stomach, chest, neck, jaw, finally your lips. He cupped your jaw "You're so perfect princess," he rubbed your side —soothing, a contrast to the pussy drunk blonde from a few minutes ago.
You grinned against his skin, fingers scratching lightly through his hair as he kept pressing absentminded kisses across your face, "I love you," you murmured. His lips curled against your jaw, a dimple peeking through,
"I love you too baby," he whispered back and there was still something almost disbelieving in the way he said it, like he'd been reminded this is something you both say now. Jungwon’s hands wandered slowly over your half-bare skin with obvious distraction, fingertips tracing along your waist and back while you kissed your way down the side of his neck. You took your time there deliberately, mouth brushing across warm skin before lingering at his shoulder again, because frankly, his shoulders were becoming an actual problem in your life.
"How the hell did you know how to do that?" you asked after a moment, you pulled back just enough to look at him properly, fingers still tangled loosely in his hair. For half a second Jungwon looked unbearably pleased with himself, but also somehow embarrassed too. His mouth twitched like he was debating lying, before he finally exhaled through his nose. "I did research," he admitted, trying very hard to sound casual and failing almost immediately when your expression shifted into open disbelief.
"You…studied how to give head?"
"Yes," he defended instantly, already laughing now because of the way you were staring at him. "I wanted make you feel good."
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, your forehead falling briefly against his shoulder. "That might be the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Jungwon made a quiet, flustered noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh before hiding his face immediately against the side of your neck again. "Please don’t say that."
You were about to ask why, but the answer was pressed against your thigh. And even after having the breath knocked out of you. Twice. You couldn't help the renewed urge to make him feel just as good as he'd made you feel. "Why baby?" you hummed knowingly, coaxing him out of the comfort of your neck — your lips found his again, hands slowly making their way down to his waistband.
"Because I can't get enough of you," he breathed against you, cupping your jaw as the kiss deepened into something slow and so filthy it had your heads spinning.
"Take it off." you gasped into his mouth. It was funny actually, you'd both cum multiple times and you still hadn't even seen his dick yet. His hands impatiently ripped down his pants, as you freed him his cock recoiled against his stomach and you couldn't help the way your lips parted in shock. He was longer than he was thick, curved inwards and slick with cum. And he was fucking massive. Like, how the fuck had you never noticed kind of big.
"Baby, you don't have to," Jungwon mistook your shock for something else entirely. You answered by wrapping your hand around the base of his cock and it shut him up — immediately. So sensitive from cumming twice before, he breathed out shakily just at the contact. "God, your hand alone is gonna—" he couldn't even finish his sentence because you'd pushed him back and shuffled down to face him properly.
You flattened your tongue and licked up from the base to the tip of his dick, you could feel each ridge and vein along with the warm earthy taste of him. Jungwon's length had twitched at the first contact, his head falling back, hands eagerly pushing your hair back to watch you properly. "Goddd fuck babygirl," he groaned under his breathe, shaking slightly from overstimulation. You took his flushed tip into your mouth and hummed in response, the vibrations had him shuddering, and the thought that had him already biting his lip — fighting to last. Was that this was the first time you had a dick in your mouth and it was his. He would never have known with the way you took as much of him into your mouth as you could, spit gathering in the corners of your mouth.
"So pretty with my cock in your mouth princess fuuuck," he babbled. Jungwon was battling with everything he had, his eyes were knit shut, jaw was hung open — broken whines and whimpers along with rambles shaking through into the air. And then he made the mistake of opening his eyes — to you moving off him to catch your breath, spit connecting you and you took him fully into your mouth this time, cheeks hollowing as you bobbed your head. "Shit— wait—"with a buck to his hips and a drawn out moan his cum flooded into your mouth. His entire body jerked, head falling back as you swallowed, finally releasing him with a pop. "Holy fuck.." Jungwon breathed, completely wrecked, fingers pushing shakily through your hair "Baby, where did you learn to do that?"
"Research," you said against his thigh, lips curling when his head jolted upward so fast it almost looked painful. A grin spread across your face then, as you wiped the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand. "What? I wanted to make you feel good too."
For a second he just stared at you like his brain had completely stalled trying to process. Then his head tipped back slightly with a disbelieving laugh, one hand dragging down over his face, before returning immediately to you again, fingers brushing along your jaw. You grinned. "Why are you acting shocked? You literally admitted it first."
"That was different."
"How?"
"Because.. I’m me," he replied instantly, like that explained everything. You rolled your eyes immediately and Jungwon laughed in response, pulling you up properly against his chest until your legs tangled together beneath the blankets. The sound faded softer after a second, his hand moving slowly up and down your back absentmindedly while the room settled back into quiet around you. Rain still tapped faintly against the windows, gentler now, and the moonlight spilling through the curtains painted everything in silver that made Jungwon look unfairly pretty this close. His hair was messy from your hands, lips slightly swollen.
Eventually, after a long stretch of lazy conversation and kissing that kept dissolving halfway into quiet laughter, Jungwon forced himself to sit up with visible reluctance. "Shower?" he muttered, though he sounded deeply upset by the idea of moving at all. You let out a small breath of a laugh, pushing yourself upright too slowly — still half-tangled in the sheets, eyes barely open.
"We probably should." He lingered for a second longer, fingers loosely hooked around your wrist like he was testing whether he could reasonably convince you to ignore basic hygiene and stay exactly where you were, but eventually he stood anyway, pulling you up with him in the same motion
The walk to the bathroom was half-hearted at best, both of you still half-dazed, Jungwon bumping his shoulder lightly into yours in that absent, familiar way he always did when he was too tired to behave properly. The shower itself passed in a blur of sleepy warmth and quiet teasing, more soft touches than anything else, both of you too wrung out now to be anything except gentle. Jungwon then changed the sheets as you changed into some loose clothes and by the time you both finally made it back to the bed, Jungwon looked about two seconds away from falling asleep where he stood. Still, he waited until you were under the covers first before he climbed in beside you again, immediately pulling you closer. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you firmly into his chest until there was no space left to negotiate with, his hand resting at your back in slow, absent circle.
"Stay here," he murmured. "I’m not going anywhere," you replied softly, adjusting slightly so your head rested properly against him. You felt him relax fully a moment later, the tension finally leaving his body completely as sleep started to take him properly. His breathing slowed, his grip on you never loosening even as he drifted.
You woke up gradually in pieces rather than all at once, warm and disoriented, the kind of slow return to consciousness that didn’t immediately remind you where you were, until you shifted slightly and felt Jungwon’s arm tighten instinctively around you — like even in sleep he didn’t want to let distance happen. He was already awake, you realised a moment later, watching you with that quiet, half-lidded expression he always had when he was still caught between sleep and awareness, hair slightly messed, face softer than it ever was when anyone else was around.
"Morning baby," he murmured, voice rough and low, you blinked up at him, still too warm to think properly, and for a second you just stared at him like your brain hadn’t caught up with the fact that this was now your life, sneaking into his dorm, waking up in his arms, him calling you baby so easily. You shifted closer on instinct, burying your face briefly against his chest like you could delay existing for a few more seconds, and he made a quiet, pleased sound under his breath as his hand immediately slid up your back again.
"You’re too awake," you muttered against him, voice muffled. "I’ve been awake for a while," he admitted quietly, "I was just… not moving, because you looked comfortable."
That made something in your chest perk up immediately, you leaned up slightly and kissed him, slow and unhurried, the kind of morning kiss that didn’t feel like anything complicated. Jungwon responded instantly, hand sliding up to your cheek, and for a few seconds there was nothing else in the world except the quiet, the warmth, and the fact that neither of you seemed in any rush. "We should probably get up," you murmured, though you made no move to actually do it.
"Mm," he agreed instantly, not moving either, pressing a kiss to your forehead like that solved the problem. "In a minute."
"A minute turns into an hour with you."
"That’s fine," he said easily, pulling you closer again. "We have time."
You let out a quiet laugh, which he clearly took as encouragement because he kissed you again like that was a perfectly reasonable way to start the morning.
"Last night was…" you started, pausing as you tried to find a word that didn’t immediately set your brain on fire. Jungwon raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly already knowing where this was going, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over your knuckles.
"Good?" he offered, far too calm.
You let out a small laugh, hiding your face for half a second before looking back at him. "So good,"
That earned you a quiet, satisfied hum from him, like he’d been waiting for you to say it out loud. He shifted closer again, forehead briefly resting against yours. "Yeah," he agreed, voice softer now, "I liked taking care of you."
You rolled your eyes fondly, nudging his shoulder with yours. "Research paid off then?"
"Don’t start," he muttered, but he was smiling anyway, pulling you back in by your waist, "I just wanted you to feel good."
"I did feel good," you admitted, voice dropping a little, more honest now as your fingers traced absentmindedly along his sleeve. "Really good and I wasn’t nervous with you. I thought I would be, but I wasn’t."
"Me neither," he confessed. "I mean I was nervous about everything except you." After a beat he added, "Next time, we don’t have to stop there if you don’t want to.”
"Okay then... let's not stop," you whispered against his lips. Jungwon's brain physically lagged for a moment, "You— right now?" he swallowed softly. You nodded once and for a moment he just stared at you, "You're—"
"Yes baby I'm sure." you cut him off which only had him cheesing. His hand slipped into your hair, gently pulling you back just enough to kiss you, and you rolled your eyes even as you leaned into it willingly. His free hand drifted lazily down your side, to squeeze the plush flesh of your ass and finally settling on your thigh. You hummed into his mouth at the touch pulling him closer instinctively.
Jungwon pulled back first, just enough to look at you properly. There was still a trace of sleep in his eyes, but there was something else there too. His eyes were almost black, just from kissing and that almost made you laugh. "What?" Jungwon grinned catching your lips curl.
"Just how needy you get from a little kissing," you said rubbing absentminded circles on his biceps.
"You just told me you want me to fuck you," he deadpanned, which only had you exhaling a laugh at his blunt words.
"Besides," he starts, hand splaying against your thigh, guiding and resting it over his hip. "you seemed pretty needy last night." You glanced away heat crawling up your neck, "Aw, don't get shy on me now baby." he whispered as his hand cupped your jaw guiding you to face him again.
"Won—" it came out barely above a breath, cheek now burning against his hand.
"Yeah?" he tilts his head "tell me what you need princess."
You bit the inside of your lip, you weren't planning on giving in but unfortunately you already had, 5 minutes ago. "You know what I need." you said, eyebrows pulling together.
"Mm, want to hear you say it," his eyes flit between your features, lips stretched subtly in an almost grin.
You leaned in pressing a kiss to his jaw and then licked over his pulse point, "Need your cock, inside me."
Jungwon inhaled sharply, he pulled you onto his lap properly by your thighs — lips attacking the soft flesh on your neck because he couldn't tease you anymore, not when he was throbbing beneath you. You adjusted onto him pressing your core against his stiff length.
Jungwon's hands ran up and down your body, pulling you impossibly closer like distance wasn't allowed. His tongue found yours and he slipped his hands around to your lower-back, under the fabric of your loose shorts and squeezed. You swallowed his content groan as he pulled your clothes off, starting with those shorts.
You both stripped each other between wet filthy kisses, slick sounds and your shared pleasure vibrated between your mouths. He didn't bother taking his boxers off, too caught up in his fingers finding your pussy, he groaned low into your mouth once he did "I did this to you?" he breathed against your lips.
"Mhm, you make me so fucking wet," you gasped, one hand loose on his neck, the other gripping his bicep.
He practically moaned at your words pulling you up so your core was directly on the curve of his cock. You just watched as his hands drifted to your hips, he gripped gently and jolted you forward. Your breath hitched at the first contact, a shaky moan ripping out of you as he guided you back and forth over him.
His head fell back against the headboard as he continued grinding you back and forth, hips bucking uncontrollably. "Shit, I'm gonna cum just from this," he breathed, and between the slick of both your pre-cum and the feeling of your bare pussy on his barely covered cock, you both found yourselves becoming increasingly desperate.
At some point his length under the fabric of his boxers rubbed over your clit in a perfect rhythm, heat flooded through your stomach. "God, baby," you mewled, your hand on his neck tightened just a little.
"Ah- baby I'm—" Jungwon moaned high and filthy. He had no idea something as simple as your fingers around his neck could turn him on so much.
As his hips bucked and warmth spread through his boxers your own high crashed into you with a whine. "Holy fuck," Jungwon breathed after a moment, beads of sweat forming along his hairline, "..think you're ready?" he added after a moment, you exhaled a laugh leaning forward into his neck.
He grinned flipping you over, somewhere between messy kisses and wandering hands he threw his boxers off and of course he was still fucking hard. You hooked your legs around his waist as he reached down guiding himself to your slick entrance. Your foreheads rested together, eyes on your connecting bodies. "Tell me if anything feels off," he said looking between your eyes, stern despite the desire deep in his sockets.
"I will," you whisper back, he nodded and then rubbed his tip over your slit slowly, teasing you both into shudders. His eyes snapped back up to your face, taking in every tiny twitch as he gradually pushed in, inch by inch. His lips parted in a guttural moan and your eyes threatened to roll back just at the feeling of his thickness stretching you out.
"Good?" he gasped softly, barely halfway in. A noise from the back of your mouth spilled out, half moan half whine — which almost had him spilling right there. He knit his eyes shut in concentration, breath warm against your cheek.
After a moment of composing himself the best he could he continued pushing in. Your grip on his bicep only tightened as your back slowly arched with each inch. As he bottomed out you both gasped together, Jungwon traced the curve of your lower-back holding you there, letting you adjust. "It's like you were fucking made for me," he said almost under his breath.
"Feel so—so full Won," you managed, his parted mouth curled up just slightly and then he pulled out just a little, just to push right back in — every thrust creating a spark of friction, bursting low in your belly.
Your legs around his waist tightened instinctively, pulling him impossibly closer as his hand moved from your hip to the back of your head, threading through your hair. Every sound spilling from your lips had him speeding up, "Sound so—pretty— for me."
You clenched around him at his praise, and Jungwon's hips stuttered, "Ah— you're squeezing me princess—" he breathed.
Your arms wrapped around his neck pulling his mouth onto yours, he whined low into your mouth in response. For a moment you barely responded, because the added traction of your nipples against his chest had your mouth going slack and Jungwon just stared, taking in your dazed expression and then — faster than you could comprehend he pulled your leg from his hip to his shoulder, the new position allowing his cock to reach even deeper. He watched as your face contorted in pleasure — his pace only quickened, grinding as far as he could reach. "Won-fuck-fuck-fuck—baby," you babbled between breaths.
His blonde hair was tousled in that sweaty sexy way and his tongue was lolled out how it would be when he was concentrating. His gaze instinctively dropped to your stomach, "—Oh, fuck— look at how deep I am babygirl," he gaped, eyes on the clear bulge in your tummy. Your whimpers picked up as the pressure built, thrusts deepening, "Baby— I want you to cum on my cock" he breathed leaning down, "can you do that for me?"
"Yeah—yes, fuck," you whined, he started ploughing into you, a hand reaching down to rub fast circles on your clit — you clenched hard in response a chorus of babbling and whines echoing between you.
"Want you to cum in me." you gasped as you felt that familiar chord about to snap,
"— Ah my fuuck—," his hips snapped in response a content noise spilling out of him. Your orgasm crashed over you in waves, walls convulsing around his thick length and Jungwon groaned low into your neck fucking you through it, his own release following in thick spurts deep in your pussy.
You both panted as your movements stilled, Jungwon rolled over next to you pulling you into his arms, your face in his neck as his hand raked through your hair. "You're so perfect," he whispered breathy against your hair, you made an acknowledging noise "So are you."
He pulled you back just to peck little kisses all over your face, "Baby—" you started but the words quickly dissolved into giggles. "I love you," he grinned, finally pulling back.
"I love you," you responded tracing his jaw, glancing back up at his big eyes — which were softened and dazed all for you.
"Was that okay?" he said after a moment, eyebrows pulled in a nervous furrow for a moment.
You nodded automatically, "More than okay baby," you murmured, pressing a few reassuring kisses to his pink lips. Jungwon seemed more than satisfied with your answer, a sheepish grin stretching across his face before he dropped his forehead against yours with a relieved laugh.
The two of you stayed there for another minute, tangled together beneath the blankets, neither making any real effort to move. The room was warm, the early morning light spilling lazily through the curtains, and every time you shifted closer Jungwon's arms tightened around you automatically.
Eventually reality won. Jungwon let out an exaggerated sigh before forcing himself upright, earning an immediate groan from you as the warmth disappeared. "Come on," he said, reaching down to smooth a hand through your hair. "Let's get cleaned up before we accidentally sleep until dinner."
You made a dramatic sound of protest but followed him anyway, both of you moving slower than usual, still sleepy and content in a way that made everything feel softer around the edges.
You moved through the motions of cleaning up and getting yourselves sorted out while exchanging tired smiles every few minutes. Neither of you seemed capable of being more than three feet apart without immediately drifting back together again.
The rush from earlier had faded completely, leaving only the comfortable familiarity that had always existed between you. You stole one of his hoodies without asking, and Jungwon didn't even pretend to object when you climbed back onto the bed wearing it.
"That was mine," he pointed out weakly.
"Was." You smiled and opened your arms. Jungwon immediately gave up the argument and climbed back beside you. For a while he simply held you there, arms secure around your middle, the morning sunlight spilling across the room around you. You rested against his chest while he absentmindedly played with your fingers, occasionally pressing lazy kisses into your hair whenever he thought you weren't paying attention.
Then he pressed his face into your hair and mumbled, "Can we stay like this for another ten minutes?"
"Baby later, I've gotta go before the others wake up," you said, already laughing as his grip tightened immediately in protest. Jungwon groaned dramatically into your shoulder as though you had just delivered devastating news.
"You'll survive."
He lifted his head just enough to give you a deeply unimpressed look, which only made you laugh harder. The sight seemed to completely ruin whatever argument he was trying to make because a second later he was smiling too, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. He leaned forward and stole one last kiss before you could continue arguing, smiling against your lips when you made an offended noise. "There," he said, satisfied with himself. "Now you can go."
"Thank you for the permission."
"You're welcome, baby."
You rolled your eyes, but your chest felt warm anyway. You pressed a final kiss to his lips even as he made another half-hearted sound of protest, and only then did you manage to actually sit up properly. It took several more minutes than it should have to leave because Jungwon kept finding reasons to pull you back for one more hug, one more kiss, one more excuse to keep you there.
The castle was still half asleep by the time you finally slipped out of Jungwon’s room, the corridor dim and quiet enough that your footsteps sounded louder than they actually were. Behind you, Jungwon's door clicked shut softly. You were already smiling to yourself, and that should have been your first warning that the universe was about to humble you.
The sleeves of his hoodie hanging too long over your hands as you padded toward the kitchen with the vague hope of grabbing water before attempting the walk back to your own dorm unnoticed.
You were halfway through convincing yourself everyone was asleep when you stepped into the kitchen and nearly had a heart attack. Jake was already there, sitting at the counter with a mug in one hand like he’d been awake long enough to enter a different stage of consciousness. He looked up the second you walked in and visibly froze mid-sip.
You froze too and for a long second, neither of you spoke. Jake’s eyes dragged slowly over your appearance, your wet hair, the oversized hoodie, the fact it was very obviously Jungwon’s, the way you looked suspiciously rumpled for someone supposedly just passing through at sunrise. Then his eyebrows lifted so high they practically disappeared into his hairline.
"…No fucking way," he said finally, you immediately sighed,
"Don’t."
Jake leaned back in his chair. "Oh my god," he breathed, grinning now.
"I didn’t mean to fall asleep," you said far too quickly. Jake just stared at you, then his eyes dropped to your neck, then back at you again. "…Uh huh," he said flatly, heat crawled violently into your face.
"Jake." Before he could answer, another set of footsteps shuffled into the kitchen behind you and Jungwon appeared looking equally exhausted, hair still wet, shirt wrinkled beyond saving. He stopped the second he saw Jake’s expression and immediately knew, eyes closing briefly.
"Fuck."
Jake pointed between the two of you with genuine outrage. "You two are fucking monsters." You covered your face instantly but Jungwon, instead of denying it like a normal person, looked genuinely stricken for a completely different reason.
"I knew we were being too loud."
You whipped around fast. "Shut the fuck up."
Jake doubled over laughing immediately while Jungwon dragged a hand through his hair. "I’m just saying, I had a feeling."
"A feeling?" Jake repeated, wheezing. "Bro, the entire floor had a feeling." Jungwon looked deeply ashamed for maybe half a second before moving behind you and immediately hiding his face in your shoulder. His arms slid loosely around your waist without thinking, all warm and unfairly comfortable despite the situation. Which only made Jake point harder. "Two days since you 'made' up. TWO."
"We were going to tell you," Jungwon muttered weakly. Jake only stared at him. "After what?"
You groaned covering your face with both hands now. "Shut up." you said muffled.
Jake, unfortunately, was enjoying himself far too much now. "Do you understand how traumatic it is," he continued, "to wake up at like three in the morning thinking somebody is getting brutally murdered and then realizing no, it’s just Jungwon losing his virginity." Jungwon made a strangled noise into your neck. "Stop talking." he mumbled not even bothering correcting him.
"No, because I almost came in to check if—"
"Jake." He held both hands up immediately, still laughing. "Alright, okay, I’m done." He clearly was not done. The grin stayed permanently stuck on his face as he looked between you both again, softer this time beneath all the teasing.
"Seriously though," he said, shaking his head. "About fucking time." You felt your embarrassment ease just slightly at that but Jake ruined it immediately by narrowing his eyes at Jungwon "But I swear to god, if I hear even one suspicious sound again, I’m knocking on the wall like an old man."
Jungwon finally lifted his head just enough to mumble, "Can you keep your voice down before the others wake up?"
Jake gasped dramatically. "Oh, now we care about volume."
You scoffed turning your head to Jungwon, while he started laughing into you, shoulders shaking. "This is your fault," you told him immediately.
"My fault?” he repeated, offended now despite the grin tugging at his mouth. “You were the one making—”
"Finish that sentence and I’ll kill you." Jake nearly folded in half laughing again while Jungwon wisely shut his mouth, though the smug look on his face made it very clear he absolutely could finish that sentence.The kitchen settled after that into quieter laughter, the kind that came easier after the initial humiliation burned off and light conversation. Jake took another sip of coffee, still occasionally looking at the two of you with disbelief written all over his face, while Jungwon stayed tucked against your shoulder without an ounce of shame left in him anymore.
"We lasted barely two days," you said, turning to look at Jungwon again. He groaned into your neck, arms tightening around your waist. "I thought we’d at least make it a week," he said. "Yeah, no chance," you laughed.
"Worth it," Jungwon whispered, breath warm against your ear. You rolled your eyes automatically, though the smile pulling at your mouth ruined any attempt at annoyance. Behind you, Jake made a deeply offended sound into his coffee mug.
"I hate both of you."
Eventually, after Jake threatened violence if either of you stayed in the kitchen any longer, you finally escaped back to your dorm. The walk across the hall felt strangely light, maybe because the secret was already starting to slip out of your hands anyway. Your dorm was quiet when you slipped inside, still half asleep as morning light spilled weakly through the windows. You changed quickly, washing your face in freezing water in a failed attempt to wake yourself up properly.
By the time you finally made your way down to breakfast, the castle had properly woken up around you. Voices echoed through the corridors, footsteps overlapping against stone floors, the usual morning chaos settling back into place. Breakfast passed in a blur of pointed looks and carefully neutral behaviour, the kind where you and Jungwon sat just far enough apart to be technically innocent but close enough that Jake kept smirking into his drink.
The afternoon found you all together again, sprawled in a common lounge space near the library where people usually ended up when they had nowhere else to be. Ni-ki had claimed an armchair, Heeseung was half lying across the sofa scrolling on his phone, Kenny was arguing about something unimportant, and Jake was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch in a way that made it look like he was physically restraining himself from commenting on anything.
You ended up beside Jungwon without thinking, like it was muscle memory rather than choice. He didn’t say anything about it either, just shifted slightly to make space for you, his shoulder brushing yours in a way that felt entirely too natural for something you were supposedly hiding. It was almost working, until someone else walked in.
It was one of the older Slytherin students you vaguely recognised, confident enough in the way he carried himself to immediately head in your direction with an easy smile. You only realised he was speaking to you when he stopped directly in front of the sofa, asking your name with the kind of casual interest that didn’t quite match the way his eyes stayed on your face. "Hey," he said again, like repeating it made it smoother, "I’ve seen you around, I just wanted to say hi properly."
You answered politely, confused more than anything, and that was apparently enough encouragement for him to keep talking. Jungwon didn’t move at first, which was almost impressive, but the change in him was immediate anyway. You felt it, the shift in posture beside you, the way his leg tensed slightly where it was stretched out near yours, the subtle lean forward like he was suddenly very aware of the space between you and the stranger.
The guy laughed at something you said, just a little too familiar, and Jungwon finally looked up. "Can I help you?" Jungwon asked, voice calm in a way that didn’t match the look in his eyes at all.
The guy blinked, slightly thrown by the tone more than the words. "Oh, I was just talking to her—"
"I know," he said lightly, still smiling. "I heard." There was a beat of silence that felt like it stretched too long for comfort. Heeseung slowly lowered his phone. Ni-ki straightened in his chair. Kenny stopped talking mid-sentence. Jake covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders already shaking like he was physically fighting laughter.
The guy looked between you and Jungwon now, the confusion starting to shift into something more cautious. "Are you her boyfriend or something?"
Jungwon didn’t even hesitate. "No," he said easily, still smiling. Then he glanced at you for half a second, softer in a way only you caught, like the answer wasn’t meant for anyone else in the room.
"Not yet."
The room absolutely lost it in the most restrained way possible, like everyone was trying not to make it worse but failing miserably. Jake made a sound that suspiciously turned into a cough halfway through. Kenny’s eyes went wide. Ni-ki leaned forward, elbows on knees. Even Heeseung looked like he was trying very hard to understand if this was a joke or a confession.
The guy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… I’ll leave you to it then." He left faster than he arrived.
"Jungwon," you said under your breath, he finally looked at you properly now, expression completely unreadable for half a second before it softened again, like he couldn’t help himself.
"What? I was polite." he said quietly, too calm to be innocent.
"That was not polite," you laughed in disbelief, leaning into his shoulder without thinking, like your body had decided this was just normal again, completely forgetting for a second that everyone else in the room was currently reconstructing reality around you both. It only took you half a second to realise they had gone quiet in that very specific way that meant people were talking without actually speaking.
Jungwon didn’t even flinch at the contact, just shifted slightly so you fit against him more naturally. "It was," he insisted, still annoyingly calm about it, eyes flicking briefly down to you like he was more focused on you than the entire audience pretending not to exist
It wasn’t loud at first, more like a collective pause. The kind where nobody speaks because everyone is trying to decide who breaks first. Then Kenny finally leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowed like she was assembling a case in real time. "So," she said carefully, "just to clarify what I’m watching right now.”
Heeseung exhaled through his nose, already looking tired of being right about everything. "Don’t say ‘just to clarify’ like you’re not about to interrogate them."
"I am," Kenny replied immediately, not even looking away from you two. Ni-ki tilted his head, openly curious now. "So like.. you're together?"
Jungwon didn’t answer straight away. Not because he was hiding anything, but because he looked mildly amused by the fact that they were only just catching up. His hand stayed resting casually near your knee like it belonged there, thumb brushing once against your leg. Kenny didn’t even look up properly, just pointed vaguely at you both. "I knew it. I literally said it. No one listens to me in this house."
Jungwon finally sat up a little, still calm but noticeably less playful now that he could feel the full attention on him. "It’s not new," he said simply, like that answered anything.
That made Jake let out a quiet laugh from the floor. "That is the most unhelpful sentence you could’ve chosen."
Jungwon hummed quietly at that, glancing at you for half a second like he was sharing the joke only with you. "We didn’t plan for it to be… announced," he said, which made Jake snort again.
"Oh, it got announced,” Jake said. "Loudly. Multiple times."
You covered your face briefly, heat creeping up your neck. "Please stop talking."
Kenny looked between you and Jake now, fully locking in on something she wasn’t ready to let go of. "He knew??"
"Unfortunately," Jake mumbled, clearly enjoying your embarrassment far too much, leaning back into the sofa. "I’ve been carrying this knowledge alone."
Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, shaking his head a little. "That explains a lot, actually."
Jungwon shifted slightly beside you, still calm but now visibly more amused, like the whole thing had officially crossed into ridiculous territory he no longer felt the need to resist. "He’s been unbearable since this morning," he added.
"Excuse you,” Jake said instantly. “I have been supportive."
"You threatened to knock on the wall." you reminded him.
"I was setting boundaries," Jake replied without missing a beat.
Kenny pointed between all of you again, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, no, I’m still not done with you two."
"We feel like we are," you said.
"You’re not," she replied, and she wasn’t lying. The next twenty minutes somehow turned into a slow, ongoing series of questions that weren’t even really questions anymore, just observations disguised as curiosity. Heeseung quietly checking if you were both "Okay okay" after everything, Ni-ki asking far too many casual "So like when did you realise" questions, Kenny refusing to let any detail pass unexamined, and Jungwon answering everything with infuriating calmness like this was a group project he had already finished. You eventually stopped trying to defend anything and just leaned fully into him again, which only made them look more satisfied and by the time they finally let it go, it wasn’t because they were out of questions. It was because they were exhausted.
Jake was the first one to fully give up, getting up and stretching like he had just survived a long-haul flight, then walked over and flopped directly down between you both on the sofa like personal space was an outdated concept. "Alright," he announced, already reaching an arm around your shoulders and the other around Jungwon. "I approve of this relationship."
You made a sound of protest, half-laughing as his weight pushed you both closer together. "You don’t get to approve anything."
"I do," Jake said, completely unbothered, settling in like he was comfortable there for the rest of the day. "I suffered through the years of denial."
Jungwon leaned slightly into the chaos without complaint, glancing down at Jake’s arm like it was mildly inconvenient but acceptable. "You’re heavy," he said and Jake squeezed tighter just to be annoying.
"And you’re welcome."
Ni-ki was still watching like he was trying to decide if this counted as normal behaviour now. Kenny had her chin propped in her hand, looking way too pleased with how this had all resolved itself. Heeseung, as usual, looked like he’d already accepted the situation ten steps before everyone else caught up.
Then Kenny exhaled, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "No, seriously though," she said, eyes flicking between you and Jungwon, "I’m happy for you both." Ni-ki nodded immediately like that was the only logical conclusion. "Yeah. About time, honestly." Heeseung hummed in agreement, calm as ever.
Jake tilted his head back against the sofa, still wrapped around both of you like a human barricade. "Yeah," he added, quieter but sincere underneath all the noise, "I’m happy for you guys. It’s been… a lot watching you finally get here." That landed in a way that made your chest feel a little warm and too tight at the same time. Jungwon didn’t say anything straight away, just pat Jake's shoulder.
"Yeah," he said finally, softer than usual, "it was worth it."
Jake, of course, ruined the softness immediately by squeezing you both again. "Don’t get emotional," he said. "I will make it weird again if I have to."
Later that night, long after the teasing had finally died down and everyone had gone their separate ways, Jungwon appeared outside your dorm looking suspicious in a way that immediately made you narrow your eyes at him. The corridor was quiet, lit only by the warm dim glow from the wall sconces, and he stood there with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket like he was attempting innocence he absolutely did not possess.
"You look guilty," you informed him as you stepped out into the corridor, pulling your jacket tighter around yourself against the cold stone air. Jungwon’s mouth twitched immediately, blonde hair falling messily across his forehead from where he’d clearly been dragging his hands through it for a while now.
"I’m literally just standing here," he said, though the defensive edge to it only made you more suspicious. Before you could continue interrogating him, he reached for your hand, fingers slipping easily between yours with effortless familiarity. "Come with me," he added, thumb brushing absentmindedly across your knuckles. "I’m not doing anything illegal. Probably."
"That is not reassuring."
"It should be slightly reassuring," he corrected, already tugging you along the corridor. You let him pull you through the castle despite the growing certainty that he absolutely was planning something. The higher the staircases became, the more sceptical you got, until eventually you slowed to a stop halfway up another winding staircase and looked at him properly. "Jungwon," you said carefully, already trying not to laugh, "Why are we climbing seventy flights of stairs at midnight."
He laughed under his breath at that, squeezing your hand gently. "Can you trust me for five minutes, baby? Just five. I’m asking for very little here." he replied, tugging lightly on your hand until you started moving again. The pet name distracted you just enough that he managed to get you all the way to the top before you could continue questioning him. There was something annoying in his expression already, like he knew you were going to like whatever this was and was trying not to ruin it too early.
The second the tower door swung open, night air rushed around you, carrying the distant sound of wind through the castle grounds below and then your eyes landed on the setup waiting near the far side of the tower. Blankets and pillows looking ridiculously comfortable, spread across the stone floor beneath the stars, complete with snacks shoved into one corner and what looked suspiciously like one of the softer blankets stolen from the boys dorm. You stopped dead in the doorway staring at it while Jungwon immediately looked away like he physically couldn’t handle your reaction yet.
"Baby," you breathed.
"It gets cold up here," he says quickly, though the slight pinkness creeping into his face completely ruined any attempt at nonchalance. "And carrying all of this up here was genuinely horrible. I almost gave up halfway through and just invited you to the couch downstairs."
That startled a laugh out of you, warm enough that some of the tension visibly left his shoulders at the sound. You’d started noticing that recently too — how much he relaxed whenever you laughed now, like some deeply anxious part of him was still adjusting to the fact that he no longer had to wonder if you wanted him around.
"C’mere," he murmured after a second, reaching for you again. He pulled your jacket off for you before shrugging his own off and tossing both onto the blankets carelessly. You let him guide you over before dropping down beside him, both of you dissolving into quiet laughter when one of the pillows immediately slid out from underneath you and nearly sent you sideways. Jungwon caught you automatically, one arm wrapping around your waist as he pulled you securely against him, and the smug little smile that appeared afterwards made you grin immediately.
"Who knew you'd be such a sap."
“Baby I worked hard,” he replied, attempting to sound serious about it. “Do you know how difficult it is to sneak this many pillows through the castle without people asking questions. Jake watched me walk past and just went, ‘If you’re not proposing up there don't tell me about it after.’"
You exhaled a laugh. "That sounds like him."
The wind moved softly around the tower after that, the blankets warm beneath you while Jungwon shifted until you were tucked comfortably against his chest, his arm draped around your waist beneath the layers of fabric. For a while neither of you spoke. You just sat there together watching the dark grounds stretch below the tower while his fingers traced lazy patterns against your side through your top. Eventually though, Jungwon let out a quiet breath, the kind that gave him away instantly.
You tilted your head back slightly to look at him. "What’s going on in that brain right now."
Jungwon groaned softly before dropping his head back against the stone wall behind him. "I had this planned better in my head," he admitted.
A laugh escaped you immediately. "That's not an answer."
His fingers tightened around yours beneath the blanket before he looked back down at you again, expression slowly melting into something quieter. "I just keep thinking about how everyone already calls you mine, and you are. And I know that sounds stupid, because everything is already obvious, but it’s been bothering me all day,"
You blinked at him once, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. "After wanting this for so long, I don’t want to do any of it halfway with you. I don’t wanna look back later and realize I skipped over asking because I assumed you already knew."
You squeezed his hand, smiling into his shoulder. Jungwon looked down at you then, fully this time, all soft and nervous honesty under the dim lantern light.
"So," he said carefully, "Baby, can I be your boyfriend, properly."
Something about the way he asked nearly ruined you on the spot. That after years of almosts and misunderstandings and loving each other so quietly it physically hurt, you had somehow ended up here instead.
"You’re ridiculous."
"That's not a no," he said immediately, grinning way too much for someone trying to act calm. You kissed him, laughter dissolving against his mouth when he melted into it instantly, one hand sliding up to cup your cheek while his relieved smile pressed warm against your lips.
"Yes," you whispered once you pulled back enough to breathe. "Obviously yes."
He exhaled hard through his nose before pulling you impossibly closer into him, forehead pressing against yours while he laughed quietly under his breath. "Okay good," he murmured. "Because I’ve actually been stressed about asking you for, like, six hours."
"You did not think I was going to say no," you teased, brushing your nose lightly against his.
"Mmm. I considered the possibility," he replied with a tiny shrug that immediately ruined the seriousness of the moment. You swatted at his shoulder and he laughed properly this time, catching your hand before you could do it again and pressing a quick kiss to your knuckles.
"Boyfriend," he said suddenly, testing the word out loud, and unfortunately your face betrayed you immediately.
"Oh," his eyes widened, and then he laughed softly.
"Jungwon."
His grin only widened as he wrapped both arms around your waist and pulled you against him properly. "My girlfriend," he whispered, sounding entirely too pleased with himself now. You groaned and buried your face in his shoulder, which only made him laugh harder, his chin resting lightly on top of your head.
For a second you just held his eyes, looking into the same boy who used to love you silently from across rooms, from hidden glances and overthought conversations and years of wanting without knowing what to do with it.
The story had never been about falling in love. It had been about realising you already were. Jungwon tilted his head slightly when he noticed you staring.
"What?"
You smiled and leaned forward and kissed him again beneath the stars, beneath the endless sky that had watched every version of you both become this one.
And when you finally pulled away, the future didn't feel frightening anymore. It felt familiar. It looked like stolen hoodies and sleepy mornings, like a boy with messy blonde hair looking at you as though he'd never quite believe his luck.
And beneath a sky full of stars, surrounded by the quiet magic of a world that had brought you together long before either of you understood why, you stayed there a little longer.
Just two people who had spent four years finding their way home.
V 𓄧 wowowowow. i'd already written 17k words when i posted 4poison1 so i was like, yo this is not gonna take me long at all......... a month later. . .imsorry ok i hope this makes up for it AND JS KNOW i will NAUT be writing long ass fics for a while omg this took me from FEBRUARY TO JUNE. i love you x
you cheering me on this whole time has been the best motivation i could ever ask for maemae thank you for being there and encouraging me anytime i had doubts xx
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him. Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant. Until a love potion changes everything.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ PART1 fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut > 20k. hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearninggggg, possessive!won. avoidant!reader, miscommunication.. a lot of it, plot twists, feat. beomgyu of txt, enhypen & my beautiful wife @hueningskais ⦸ alcohol, love potion drugging, masturbating (m).
༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆ PART2 fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut > 28k. hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearning, possessive!won. avoidant!reader. miscommunication. jungwon is lowk pathetic but..in a hot way. secret relationship. they're disgustingly cute. ⦸ kissing. tongue sucking. spit play. dry humping. switch!jungwon, switch!reader. dirty talk. big dick won. premature ejaculation. tit play. petnames(baby, princess, babygirl). fingerfucking. finger sucking. overstimulation. kinda condescending. oral (m+f). cum eating (f+m). face fucking? (m receiving). pussy drunk won. slight size kink. multiple rounds. light choking. bulge kink. loss of virginity (m+f). unprotected sex. creampie.
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
pairing: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader word count: 28k+ — series ★⋆ content: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearning, possessive!won. avoidant!reader. miscommunication. jungwon is lowk pathetic but..in a hot way. secret relationship. they're disgustingly cute. ⦸ kissing. tongue sucking. spit play. dry humping. switch!jungwon, switch!reader. dirty talk. big dick won. premature ejaculation. tit play. petnames(baby, princess, babygirl). fingerfucking. finger sucking. overstimulation. kinda condescending. oral (m+f). cum eating (f+m). face fucking? (m receiving). pussy drunk won. slight size kink. multiple rounds. light choking. bulge kink. loss of virginity (m+f). unprotected sex. creampie.
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 1
V𓄧 helloooo!! it's the end of an era. i hope the wait was worth it❤️🩹and thank you soo much to miss @kissued for proof-reading!! your input was truly so helpful babygirl!
You started your morning the same way you always did, routine first, thinking later. Preferably never if you could help it. Pull the robes on, adjust your hair multiple times and mess it up again because trying too hard felt embarrassing in your current state of mind. Pause in front of the mirror longer than usual and then immediately regret it, because there’s something behind your eyes you don’t want to unpack right now.
So you looked away before you could start spiralling into one of those cruel little internal monologues about how unnatural you looked, opting to grab your things and leave instead.
But there was this dull ache sitting in your chest, quiet but persistent, like it was waiting for you to acknowledge it — and you don’t because if you don’t name it, it doesn’t get to be real. That was the system, a deeply flawed system, apparently, because despite your best efforts the ache stayed exactly where it was, tucked somewhere beneath your ribs and growing increasingly difficult to pretend wasn’t there.
The air felt heavier, like the space isn’t as easy to exist in anymore. Even the idea of sitting with your friends this morning felt strangely exhausting, and you hated that more than anything. Hated that something so normal had become something you had to think about first.
The room was already loud with morning chatter when you stepped inside, sunlight pouring through the enchanted ceiling in pale gold streaks while students crowded around long tables — balancing unfinished homework and toast. Your friends were already there, they looked up almost immediately when you approached, conversations faltering just slightly as their attention shifted toward you.
There was tension sitting there beneath everything, thin enough that nobody else would notice it, but obvious to you in the way all uncomfortable things became obvious once you were already hurting. It settled awkwardly between all of you like a conversation waiting to happen and you suddenly understood, with painful clarity, how easy it would be for someone to ask the wrong question this morning and ruin you completely.
"Morning, Y/n," a few of them said, their eyes lingering just a second too long. "Morning," you replied evenly, your voice smooth enough to pass for normal. You reached for a piece of toast, eyes flicking briefly across the table before you turned slightly like you planned on leaving immediately.
Jake frowned first, "—You're not gonna sit?" he asked. Jake knows you, he knows your way of handling things that actually hurt is by avoiding it, but he didn't know how bad it was going to get. You paused for half a second before shrugging lightly.
"No, It's a nice day," Which was objectively true, also completely irrelevant. The silence after your answer stretched just long enough to feel deliberate. You turned and started toward the entrance hall again, already feeling the weight in your chest ease slightly at the thought of escaping.
Unfortunately, the universe had apparently decided suffering built character, you made it halfway across the entrance hall before you had to slow your pace hearing footsteps. "Hey—" Jungwon stood a few feet away, slightly out of breath like he’d hurried after you without fully meaning to. His blonde hair still looked messy from sleep, collar crooked in that careless way nobody else seemed capable of making look good, and his eyes, they were already fixed on you in that open way that always made your resolve feel embarrassingly fragile.
"Hi," you said, narrowly avoiding his eyes.
"You’re not eating with us?" he asked, and there was the faintest pout pulling at his lips out of habit, so natural he probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. You glanced away, settling on the floating candles somewhere behind him instead.
"No," you answered, forcing a small smile onto your face before pressing your lips together quickly like you regretted it immediately. "I’m going for a walk." A poor attempt really, Jungwon’s brows pulled together slightly, like he noticed you were already off, despite you barely exchanging a few sentences.
"I’ll see you guys later." You added quickly, pre-emptively, before he could ask to come.
"Oh," he said softly. "Okay… bye." the words trailing as you turned and you didn’t look back. Because one glance would’ve ruined whatever pathetic amount of self-control you still had left. You would’ve seen that familiar look before he caught himself too late, and suddenly all this distance you were trying so hard to create wouldn’t make sense anymore.
So you kept walking, even when every part of you wanted to stop. You wanted to turn around, grab his sleeve like you’ve done a hundred times before, mumble something sarcastic about fresh air and have him follow without question. You wanted him next to you, matching your pace, letting the silence speak for him like he always does.
You wanted things to feel normal again and maybe that was the problem, because you’d spent so long putting other people’s feelings before your own that hurting quietly had become second nature to you. You always swallowed your emotions down before they became inconvenient. Always convinced yourself you could handle it because seeing other people uncomfortable somehow felt worse than carrying the hurt yourself. That was still true, but right now it felt too big to push down.
Behind you, Jungwon stayed standing there for another second longer than necessary. He watched as you left, there was something in his chest, something off — he didn’t reach for it. Didn’t question it, just frowned faintly as he headed inside with his mind stuck on you. He greeted the others automatically, barely registering their responses and his attention kept drifting elsewhere despite himself, replaying your expression over and over trying to figure out why something about it unsettled him so much.
He dropped his gaze to the table. People filtered out slowly after breakfast, one by one, until it was just the three of them. Jake cleared his throat loudly, "So.." Heeseung started, already watching the blonde. "Did you tell her?" Jake cut in, blunt and straight to the point.
"Dude—" Heeseung shot a look at the younger, who only shrugged. Jungwon didn’t react right away, his finger traced the rim of his glass, slowly, distracted. "No," he said finally. "I didn’t."
"Why?" they asked in unison, he exhaled, shoulders tensing slightly.
"She didn’t care," he said, eyes fixed downward on the glass. Jake leans back in his chair, staring at Jungwon like he’s just said something objectively stupid.
"You cannot actually be this stupid," he muttered, Jungwon frowned slightly.
"She told me to tell her," he says, quieter now. "You don’t tell someone to confess to someone else if you—"
"If you what?" Jake cuts in. "If you like them? Yeah, you do. All the time. It’s called being a masochist."
"That’s not—" Jungwon stops, frustrated, dragging his hand down his face. "You didn’t see her," he muttered. "She was fine." The boys looked to each-other and then back at him.
"Jungwon she clearly-" Heeseung started.
"No." The word came quick, defensive in a way he doesn’t usually get. He shook his head, sitting up slightly. "No I need to stop doing this" he let out a breath, sharper this time.
"Doing what?"
"Convincing myself that she'd feel the same." The honesty in his voice made the table fall silent, immediately he let out another sharp breath before leaning back again — exhausted already by thoughts he clearly hadn’t wanted to say out loud.
Jungwon had considered it, yes, maybe you were a little bit of a masochist and he'd seen you downplay your feelings enough times. But how the fuck could he know what's real or not anymore. For years he’d survived almost entirely on implication and hope. Now he had a choice, he could keep doing this to himself, keep taking every small thing you did and stretching meaning into it until it hurt, or he could finally accept that maybe he’d just wanted you too much to think clearly. He could finally start reading between the lines but even then, some pathetic part of him had still tried replaying your expression over and over searching for something hidden underneath it. Regret. Jealousy. Anything. Because wanting you had long since stopped feeling rational.
"I’m not bringing it up again." he said firmly. Then Heeseung glanced toward Jake briefly before speaking carefully. "Jungwon.. she doesn't even know you were under Amortentia," Heeseung said carefully.
"I know." He said quieter now, tired. "Please don’t tell her." That made them both pause because now it’s not just pride, it’s fear and if you find out, everything changes.
Heeseung studied him for a moment, something conflicted in his expression. "…We won’t," he said finally. "But only because she should hear it from you." Jake nodded once in agreement. Jungwon didn't respond, he just stared at the table, like if he stayed still enough, he wouldn’t have to choose between fixing it or losing you completely.
That first day, you avoided people, not in a dramatic way and definitely not enough for anyone to call attention to it. You still showed up where you were supposed to, still answered questions when professors called on you, still sat beside your friends during class when there weren’t enough excuses left to disappear entirely.
After breakfast, you walked instead of going straight to class. You took the longer routes through the castle automatically, choosing quieter corridors and empty staircases, slipping around crowds before they formed properly. Every decision became calculated in this quiet subconscious way you hated noticing. You’d pause briefly at intersections listening for familiar voices before turning elsewhere. Not because you were hiding, at least that’s what you kept telling yourself. You just didn’t trust your ability to look at him normally right now.
Everything continued moving with the same rhythm it always had, and there was something strangely isolating about that. The world should’ve at least paused for a second out of respect for your emotional humiliation because fuck, everything is so loud.
You ended up in the library for a while, tucked into a corner table no one really used. A book open in front of you, something dense and complicated enough that it required just enough concentration to occupy your hands if not your thoughts. Your eyes moved over the words, sure, but you absorbed absolutely none of it. Your mind kept drifting, kept replaying that moment over and over like your brain was trying to fact check it.
"I think I love her." The memory hit differently every time it replayed, sometimes sharp enough to feel like a stab, other times quieter, almost numb, like your brain was trying to dull the edges for self-preservation. You blinked, forcing your attention back to the page. Right, don't think just read, you lasted maybe twenty minutes before closing the book.
You skipped lunch, not intentionally. It just, happened — you told yourself you weren’t hungry, which was half true, the other half was that you didn’t feel like sitting across from him and pretending you hadn’t heard what you heard. You kept picturing him smiling, talking about her and every single time it felt like something folding painfully inward inside your chest. Pathetic.
You’d spent years carefully avoiding this exact situation. Years making sure your feelings for him stayed manageable enough to survive if things ever went wrong. You never pushed too hard, never let yourself fully believe anything between you meant more than friendship because you knew how dangerous hope became once it rooted itself properly. So why did this hurt like you hadn’t been?
By late afternoon, you found yourself back in the Room of Requirement almost without realizing you’d gone there. The door appeared quietly against the stone wall after your third pass, opening into something emptier than before, something quieter. A curved window stretched across one side of the room overlooking distant hills washed gold beneath the late afternoon sun. There was a wooden desk nearby, shelves lined with books you wouldn’t read and a sofa tucked into the corner beneath dim lantern light.
The room felt less like comfort today and more like permission to exist somewhere without being perceived for a while. You sat by the window eventually, knees pulled slightly toward your chest as your gaze drifted absently across the landscape outside. You tried thinking about it logically instead because logic had always been easier than emotions. People fall for other people literally every day, entire populations survive this experience regularly. He likes someone else, it's fine, that’s normal and you’ll get over it… Who were you fooling.
That persistent ache that had sat there all day had only grown heavier, spreading slowly through you in ways that made concentrating impossible. You pressed your lips together tightly before dragging a hand over your face with a quiet exhale. This is so fucking stupid.
You’re not the kind of person who spirals over things like this. You didn't build entire fantasies in your head just to mourn them afterwards. You kept yourself guarded specifically to avoid ending up here — sitting alone in a magical room feeling devastated over something that technically was never yours to lose in the first place. You’d imagined it all. Had to have because otherwise none of this made sense. You let out a breath and stood, not giving yourself more time to sit in it.
The Great Hall was loud, plates clinking, chatter. Someone a few seats down was laughing entirely too hard at something that objectively could not have been that funny. Everything felt alive in that messy, ordinary way Hogwarts always did at the end of the day. You hated how disconnected from it you felt. You slipped into the empty seat beside Jake, movements automatic, almost rehearsed at this point. He glanced at you the second you sat down, concern flickering across his face before he tried covering it with something lighter. "Hey," he said, nudging your shoulder gently with his own.
"Hi," You gave him a small smile in return, quick enough to miss if someone wasn’t paying attention.
"You okay?" he asked, head tilting like he was about to run diagnostics on you.
"Mm." you nodded, your attention shifted elsewhere, fingers wrapping around your glass of water mostly just to avoid looking directly at him. You could feel the weight of observation today, everyone glancing too carefully around you like they were trying not to step on something fragile.
You lifted the glass to your lips slowly, eyes drifting absently across the room over the rim until they caught on Jungwon almost by accident. He was already looking at you, not subtly either, there was something behind his eyes that looked like it ached. You didn’t acknowledge it and just started eating. Around you, conversation moved naturally enough, your gaze eventually wandering again until it landed somewhere across the hall.
Penelope, she was watching Jungwon. Not the way people usually watched attractive boys from across rooms at parties or meals or gatherings, there was hesitation in it, like she was actively debating whether to walk over to him right now, whether to cross that space between them. You could see it, that slight shift forward, that pause. Your chest lurched uncomfortably, so you stood a few seconds later and muttered your goodbyes, barely waiting for a response as you walked.
"I’m gonna go," you muttered quickly, barely hearing Jake call after you as you turned away from the table, because suddenly you could picture it too clearly. Her walking over, him smiling with that same smile you thought was yours. You left faster than you meant to, like if you don’t, something would catch up to you, a voice, a hand on your wrist — your own stupid instinct to stay.
The corridors blurred slightly as you walked, your pace quick and uneven while the noise of the Great Hall faded further behind you. Cold air drifted through open archways as the evening settled outside the castle windows, painting the stone floors in dim blue grey light.
You found yourself at that same abandoned classroom and sat on the stone steps despite the cold, exhaling slowly. There’s something in your heart that just won’t settle, worse now — like it’s pressing against you it, asking to be acknowledged. Footsteps echoed softly behind you not long after and you had to physically suppress a sigh.
"Hey, Y/n." Beomgyu said gently. You glanced toward him briefly as he approached before sitting beside you carefully, leaving enough space between you that it didn’t feel suffocating.
"Hi," you replied quietly. He paused, studying your face, "Are you alright," The question came carefully, like he already knew the answer and was asking anyway just in case you wanted to be honest.
"I’m fine," you said, too quickly but he didn’t call you out on it. Instead he leaned back slightly against the wall beside you and nodded once.
"We don’t have to talk about it," he said instead. It made something loosen, just slightly because he didn’t push or probe, where they immediately started trying to solve it or force it open like your feelings were some sort of problem needing repair.
You breathed in slowly, though the inhale caught unevenly halfway through. Was it really that obvious?
Silence settled between you not an awkward silence, just the kind that didn’t ask anything from you but unfortunately, quiet left too much room to think.
The way Jungwon looked at her, not the way he looked at you when he was teasing you softly or trying to figure out what you were thinking without asking outright. This had been different, it was certain as though he knew without hesitation that it was her.
With you, there was always something just under the surface. Something unsaid, but there. You felt it. You know you did, you didn’t imagine that. Right? Your fingers curl slightly into your sleeves. You could handle jealousy, honestly, you could — it was ugly and humiliating, but manageable. It was the other part, the part where something in you rearranges itself around the idea that maybe you misunderstood everything.
Jungwon, on the other hand, was losing his mind. He didn’t know what to do. All day, you’d been just out of reach, not gone but not there either and it didn’t make sense. In four years, you had barely left each other’s sides. It had never been something either of you questioned, it was just how things were, until now. Now every hallway felt too empty whenever you weren’t in it and the more distance you put between yourself and him, the more aware he became of how much space you actually occupied in his life.
By evening, the restlessness inside him had sharpened into something unbearable. He needed to talk to you, he needed to explain — even if he didn’t fully know how. Because somewhere between the potion wearing off and watching you avoid him all day, Jungwon had started realizing something terrifyingly simple. Losing you felt worse than embarrassing himself ever could. But even if he walked into it telling himself he wouldn’t say it, he knew it wouldn't last, because the truth was if you looked at him the way you always did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. So when he saw you again later that evening, he stopped walking immediately.
You were sitting with Beomgyu. Not close, not leaning in, you weren’t laughing or touching his arm or doing anything that would make people question it. There was space between you, intentional — noticeable if you knew what to look for. It was wasn't anything anyone else would look twice at but to him, it was loud, because you didn’t let people sit like that with you. Not in that quiet, unguarded way. Beomgyu wasn’t filling the silence nervously or trying to pull reactions out of you. He was just sitting there beside you while you stared ahead quietly and you were letting him.
That kind of stillness, that kind of ease was something you reserved. Something he thought, stupidly, had always been his. He stood there in the hall for way longer than he should have, watching something small and quiet and completely non-dramatic feel like it was tearing something open inside him and the realization settled in. You weren’t just pulling away. You were letting someone else in.
It didn’t fix itself the next day, or the day after that. If anything, it settled — into something quieter, more permanent. It sat behind every conversation, every glance across the room, every moment your brain instinctively searched for him before remembering why it shouldn’t.
You kept moving through your days exactly the way you always had because if you stopped long enough to properly examine what was happening to you, you might actually have to admit how badly this affected you, and frankly you refused to become the kind of person who unravelled over a boy. Especially not in a castle full of emotionally observant adults with absolutely nothing better to do than romanticize other people’s suffering.
You arrive just late enough that there’s no space beside him anymore, slipping into whatever seat is open without comment. If there is space, you take it — never close enough for your shoulders to brush, never the easy proximity you used to fall into without thinking and the second conversations started thinning out, the second things became quieter and more intimate and dangerous, you left first.
"Anyway, I’ve got something to do," becomes your exit line, like it means nothing, like he means nothing. Which is almost funny, because you’ve built your entire day around not being alone with him.
Kenny doesn’t bring it up right away. She had this deeply concerning habit of collecting emotional evidence silently before confronting people with it like some sort of terrifyingly perceptive prosecutor. You almost made it through dinner, and then.. "Hey," she says, stepping into your path just enough that you have to stop.
"Walk with me." It’s not really a question. You hesitate, just for a second like maybe if you wait long enough, this won’t happen. "..Okay."
She walks beside you in silence for a while, matching your pace easily, hands tucked into the sleeves of her jumper. It’s usually comfortable, the kind of quiet you don’t have to work for but today, it feels almost watched. "You’re doing that thing again," she says finally, you don’t look at her. "What thing?"
"The pretending nothing’s wrong thing." You let out a small breath, almost amused.
"I’m not pretending." Kenny hums, unconvinced. "Right." A few steps pass.
"You know you’re allowed to be upset," she adds, softer this time.
"I’m not upset," you say, automatically.
"You are," she replies just as quickly. "You’re just… being weird about it." That makes you glance at her, a slight frown pulling at your brows.
"I’m not being weird."
"You left breakfast, lunch, and dinner early yesterday," she lists. "You’ve been dodging eye contact like it’s going to kill you, and you literally turned around and walked the other way when Jungwon came down the corridor earlier."
"…I had somewhere to be." Even you don’t believe that, Kenny stops walking and you take two more steps before realizing and turning back, sighing slightly. "What?" She just looks at you.
"We established you like him," she says plainly. It twists your stomach more than it should and you look away almost immediately, shaking your head.
"It doesn’t matter."
"That’s not what I said."
"It’s the same thing,” you mutter.
"No, it’s not," she pushes. "You can like someone and still admit it sucks when they like someone else." You cross your arms loosely, more to have something to do than anything else.
"He doesn’t like someone else," you say, quieter now. "He’s in love with her." you add, like it costs you nothing.
"Did he actually say that?" You don’t answer, because yeah he did and worse — you heard it, and saw it.
"I just don’t get it," she says after a moment. "Everything was fine. You two were—" she gestures vaguely between you, searching for words that apparently didn’t exist. "Whatever that is."
"Friends," you say quickly, Kenny gives you a look so unimpressed it almost made you laugh. "Friends don’t look at each other like that." A humourless breath escaped you. "Apparently they do."
She nudges your shoulder lightly. "You’re allowed to be a little dramatic about this, you know."
"I don’t think I’d survive being dramatic right now."
"Fair." She pauses, "But you also don’t get to pretend it didn’t hurt,"
"I’m not pretending," you say. "I just— don’t want to make it a bigger thing than it already is."
Kenny tilts her head. "It already is a big thing, you just won’t look at it." You swallow and look away, at the brick, the portraits, anything else, she watches you for a moment longer, then sighs quietly.
"Just… don’t shut him out completely," she says. "Whatever happened, he’s still him."
That almost makes you laugh because that’s the problem, he's still the person you default to. Still the one your brain looks for in every room before you can stop it. "Yeah," you say finally, voice quieter than before.
Your eyes dropped briefly to the floor, "That’s exactly why I have to."
Jungwon saw it, obviously, not immediately or all at once, but in fragments. The way your replies have gotten shorter. The way you don’t reach for him anymore, not even absentmindedly, the way your attention no longer defaults to him.
You used to reach for him constantly without thinking about it. Tugging lightly on his sleeve when you wanted his attention while pretending you didn’t care whether he looked at you or not. Brushing past him in crowded corridors without hesitation. Shoulders knocking together casually like his space belonged to you as much as your own did. Leaning closer during conversations until your knee pressed against his under tables.
Now every movement around him feels considered first and somehow that hurts more than if you’d just started avoiding him outright. Because he catches the almosts. The split second moments where your body moves automatically before your brain catches up. When your hand lifts slightly toward his sleeve before stopping midway and dropping back to your side instead or when you start stepping closer to him while talking before correcting yourself subtly, shifting your weight away at the last second like you suddenly remembered something important.
You’re aware of your closeness to him in a way you never used to be before, and maybe worse than the distance itself is the fact that he can tell you’re thinking about it too.
Not to mention the silence. God, the silence. It used to be his favourite thing — sitting beside you without needing to speak, knowing you were there, that it was enough. But now if silence did settle between you both for too long, you leave before it can fully form, like being alone with him in stillness has become dangerous somehow. Maybe it has, he doesn’t know anymore.
By the third day, it’s unbearable. In a constant, gnawing that doesn’t let him focus on anything else. He catches himself looking for you automatically before remembering you’ve started making sure he can’t reach you properly anymore.
He tells himself to leave it. That if you wanted to talk, you would’ve and that maybe you just need space, and pushing you will only make it worse. He repeats it enough times it should start sounding logical, but not enough to settle the panic growing in his chest every time you avoid looking at him directly.
After class that afternoon, the group settled into one of the common areas near the courtyard, conversations messy in the familiar way they always become when everyone’s exhausted and avoiding assignments together. You’re already there by the time Jungwon arrives, tucked casually into a seat beside Kenny while Jake and Ni-ki argue loudly about some Quidditch match like they’re discussing a professional league.
You tilt your head like you’re listening, drop in a quiet, "That’s not even how that works," and it lands, Jake laughs, Ni-ki protests, it’s easy. You smile, and it looks real enough that no one calls it out. Which is almost funny, because you’re not here at all.
You’re hovering somewhere just outside yourself, aware of everything except what’s being said, because what you are aware of is him. The way Jungwon hasn’t stopped looking at you, not in passing but staring, like he’s trying to figure you out all over again.
He leans forward slightly every time you speak, like your voice still pulls him in automatically, like he’s waiting for something more, something you’re not giving him anymore. You pick at the edge of your sleeve, thumb rubbing over the fabric again and again, grounding yourself in something small, repetitive. "…Y/n?" Kenny nudges you lightly.
You blink, "Hm?"
"We’re talking about whether Ni-ki would survive playing against professionals," she says slowly, like she’s checking if you’re actually present.
"Oh," you nod, forcing yourself to engage. "No, he’d get destroyed."
"Oi—" Ni-ki starts immediately, he starts complaining while the group laughs around him, and you huff out a quiet laugh too, automatic and just believable enough to blend in with everyone else.
Across from you, Jungwon’s jaw tightens just slightly, subtle enough that no one else would clock it, but you know him, and even without looking properly you can feel it.
From where he’s sitting, it doesn’t look like you’re hurt, it looks like you don’t care. Like whatever you heard, whatever you think you know about him and Penelope, it didn’t matter enough to actually affect you and that stings more than he expected, because if you cared even a little, wouldn’t you react differently?
Instead you just left, over and over again — as if he’s easy to walk away from. Before he fully decides to, he leans forward again, elbows resting against his knees as his eyes settle directly on you, fixed on you in a way that makes it impossible to ignore. "Y/n."
You hate that you look up before you can stop yourself and the second your eyes meet his, it hits harder than you expect because he doesn’t look indifferent, he looks frustrated and confused, a little hurt and underneath it holds that same softness that’s always been there when he looks at you. "Yeah?" you say.
Jungwon holds your gaze for a second longer than necessary before speaking again. "…Can I talk to you for a second?" The question sounds casual on the surface, but there’s too much weight underneath it to mistake this for something meaningless. Your stomach drops anyway, because this is it, this is the conversation you’ve been dodging, the one where he says something you don’t want to hear. Where maybe he says her name again and you have to stand there and take it like it doesn’t ruin you a little.
You feel Kenny shift beside you, feel the way the table quiets just slightly. Jake stops moving entirely, Heeseung leans back slightly with the exhausted expression of someone realizing a disaster he predicted has finally arrived. And Ni-ki? That guys lost. Not a clue in the world.
"About?" you ask instead. It throws him and you saw it, the way he blinks for half a second because you’ve never made him work this hard just to talk to you.
"Just.. to talk," he says quieter this time, and something about the sincerity in his voice almost weakens your resolve completely. You tilt your head slightly like you’re considering it carefully, forcing your expression into something neutral enough to survive this. Like this isn't killing you.
"Yeah, later," you say, a soft no dressed up as a maybe. Then before he can respond, before you can lose your nerve and agree just because he’s looking at you like that, you stand and grab your things. "Anyway, I’ve got something to do." There it is again. Jungwon’s jaw tightens visibly this time as he watches you move away from the table.
You don’t look at him, not once. "See you guys." And then you’re gone, disappearing down the corridor before anyone can stop you, leaving Jungwon sitting there with the same awful question looping endlessly through his head for the third day straight. Why does it feel like you don’t care at all?
The silence you leave behind is deafening. The kind that settles over a group slowly enough for everyone to notice at different times, conversations dying unevenly until all that’s left is the sound of chairs shifting and someone tapping their fingers awkwardly against the table. For a second, nobody says anything, Ni-ki’s the first one to break, his eyes flick between the corridor and Jungwon before his brows pull together slightly. "Did you piss her off or something?"
Kenny's staring straight at Jungwon now, eyes sharp, assessing, because she’s been watching this build for days. She’s been filling in the blanks with the only version she has, that he told you he’s in love with someone else, and that's only explanation she’s been working with this entire time.
Heeseung stays quiet beside him, arms folded loosely across his chest, but his attention is fixed on Jungwon in a way that feels far too deliberate to be casual, Jake notices it too immediately. The two of them exchange a look that lasts barely half a second, but it’s enough and now they’re watching the consequences unfold in real time, knowing exactly where it went wrong.
And Jungwon doesn’t answer straight away. He’s still looking at the door, like if he stares long enough you might walk back through it and undo the last thirty seconds. Something restless and frustrated bubbled under his skin, because nothing about this is lining up the way it should.
"…I didn’t do anything," he mutters finally, but it’s hollow, even to his own ears.
Jake lets out a short breath through his nose. "Yeah, that’s kind of the problem."
Kenny’s head snaps toward him. "What does that mean?"
Heeseung glances at Jake once, a silent warning, but Jake doesn’t look away from Jungwon. He hesitates, just for a second, then leans back — rubbing the back of his neck. "It means doing nothing is also doing something."
Jungwon drags a hand down his face, frustration starting to bleed through properly now because everyone in this room keeps acting like he missed something obvious, like there’s a conversation happening around him that he somehow wasn’t invited to.
"That makes literally zero sense," Ni-ki cuts in, frowning. "Can someone speak in normal sentences?"
Kenny ignores him, eyes still locked on Jungwon. "You told her something," she says flatly. Jungwon finally looks at her, something defensive flickering in his expression. "I didn’t—"
"She told me you said you’re in love with Penelope" she cuts in immediately, Ni-ki’s brows shoot up. "Wait— what?"
"Then why would she think that?" Kenny presses without backing down. There’s something protective underneath her voice now, something simmering with irritation on your behalf. "She wouldn't just make that up."
Jake exhales slowly, glancing at Heeseung again. This is the point where either they explain or this keeps spiralling until everyone ends up miserable, Heeseung tilts his head once in silent agreement. Jake looks back at Kenny, voice dropping just enough to shift the tone. "Because what she heard wasn’t real." Kenny frowns immediately, "What does that mean?"
Jake hesitates for half a second longer before finally saying it. "Penelope slipped him Amortentia at the party." They sit there, hanging, like the room needs a second to catch up.
Ni-ki blinks, "She what?"
Kenny doesn’t react immediately — her expression goes completely still, like her brain is rejecting the information before it can fully settle. "That’s not funny."
"It’s not a joke," Heeseung says quietly.
Kenny’s gaze shifts back to Jungwon, slower now, recalculating everything she thought she knew. "So when you said—”
"I wasn’t in my right mind," Jungwon cuts in, sharper than he means to. His hands drag through his hair again, restless. "I didn’t even know what I was saying."
Ni-ki lets out a disbelieving noise, "That’s actually insane."
Jake huffs, "Yeah, tell me about it."
Kenny’s still looking at Jungwon, but now there’s something else in it, not just suspicion, something closer to realization. "She doesn’t know that, does she?"
Jungwon doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. She exhales softly, something almost sympathetic flickering through her expression now. "She thinks it was real," Kenny says, quieter now. "She thinks you meant it."
Jungwon’s jaw tightens again, because yeah. Jake leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "And from her side? You said it, clear as day and you couldn't correct it after. And you didn't explain, so what was she supposed to think?"
Jungwon’s frustration spikes. "I tried to talk to her."
"No," Heeseung says calmly, "you waited for her to come to you." That shuts him up.
Jungwon goes quiet, leaning back, staring at the ceiling like it might give him a better answer than anyone in this room. His chest feels tight in a way he doesn’t like, because now it’s not just confusion, it’s clarity.
You heard him say he loved someone else and instead of fighting him on it, instead of demanding answers or getting angry or making him explain himself, you just quietly stepped away from him piece by piece. Like he wasn't worth the argument.
"Why didn’t she say anything?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "If it mattered, why didn’t she just—"
"Because that’s not how she works," Kenny cuts in, softer now but firm. "She doesn’t fight for people she thinks she’s already lost."
He drags a hand over his face, slower this time. "If it actually mattered," he mutters, voice quieter now, "she would’ve said something. She would’ve— I don’t know been upset, or angry. Anything."
Jake’s head tilts slightly, watching him carefully. Heeseung’s expression shifts too, something almost pitying flashing across his face for a second, because that’s where Jungwon’s wrong. "She doesn’t care," Jungwon adds, more to himself than anyone else, like he’s trying to settle on it, trying to make it make sense. Kenny’s brows pull together immediately. "You actually think that?"
Jake looked like he wanted to say something else, probably something annoyingly insightful that Jungwon absolutely did not have the emotional capacity for right now, but Jungwon was already pushing himself up from the sofa before anyone could stop him.
"Where are you going?" Jake asked immediately.
Jungwon hesitated near the doorway for the briefest second. "I don’t know."
But apparently his body did because less than twenty minutes later, Jungwon caught sight of you just outside the courtyard near the covered archways leading toward the Astronomy Tower, where the stone path narrowed enough that avoiding him would take effort obvious enough to feel cruel. It isn’t planned, not really.. at least that’s what he tells himself.
"Y/n." You stop immediately because pretending not to hear him now would say too much. The corridor is quieter here, evening light filtering weakly through the tall windows and stretching long shadows across the stone floor. Somewhere further outside, rain taps softly against the courtyard fountains.
"Yeah?" you ask, and the casualness of it irritates him instantly because he knows you too well to believe it’s genuine.
"I—" he starts, then falters, something unfamiliar catching in his chest. "Can we just talk?" Your expression doesn’t change but there’s something in your eyes, something distant. Your eyes flicker over him, then settle somewhere just past his shoulder. "About what?" you ask.
That question should not be difficult to answer, instead it completely derails him. Because there’s too many versions of this conversation rotting in his head at once, and none of them feel safe enough to say aloud. The truth feels messy and unfinished and dangerously fragile, like if he explains it wrong he’ll lose whatever still exists between you permanently.
Just… us," he settles on. Your gaze flickers at that, just slightly,
"There’s nothing to talk about," you say and you mean it, or at least, you’re trying to.
"Yes, there is," he insists, taking a step closer. "You’ve been weird with me this whole week."
"I've been acting weird?" The response comes sharp and immediate, slipping out before you can soften it, and the silence afterwards lands hard between you both.
Jungwon stares at you, searching your face almost desperately now for something familiar, something that tells him this hasn’t become as bad as it feels. "I didn’t mean—" he starts.
"You did," you cut in.
"I don’t even know what happened," he says, frustration bleeding through now because none of this feels fixable anymore and he doesn’t understand why exactly everything between you changed. "You barely look at me anymore."
"Seriously?" you scoff, looking up to the archway as though it can save you.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" he asks.
"It means you don’t get to act confused now," you say, your composure slipping slightly. "Not after the shit you said."
Jungwon drags a hand through his hair roughly, agitation building under his skin because every version of this conversation keeps collapsing before he can explain himself properly. "I didn’t—" he stops again, "I don’t even know if I meant it." The second it leaves his mouth, he regrets it.
Your laugh comes out quiet and edged enough to sting. "That’s worse."
His expression tightens. "How is that worse?"
"Because at least if you meant it, it would’ve been real," you say, finally looking at him fully. And fuck, he wishes you hadn’t because now he can see it, — the hurt sitting under everything else. "—But now it’s just… what? Something you’re unsure about? Something you can backtrack because it got awkward afterwards?"
"That’s not what I'm doing—"
"You told me you were in love with her," you interrupt, steadier than you feel. "You looked me dead in the face and said it like it was obvious. Like you’d known for ages and I was just the last person catching up"
"I thought I was sure," he says, quieter now.
"Great," you nod, another silence drops between you both, sharper this time. You fold your arms tighter across yourself, trying desperately to hold onto the control slipping through your fingers because this conversation is going exactly where you didn’t want it to.
Jungwon exhales hard through his nose, pacing half a step before turning back toward you again, "You told me tell her." he says.
You nod once, and exhale "Yeah."
"No, listen to me," he shakes his head, stepping closer again, urgency creeping in. "That’s what you told me I should do."
"Because you like her," you say, your voice finally tightening. "What was I supposed to do? Stop you?"
"Maybe," The word comes out before he can filter it. Your stomach drops so suddenly it almost makes you angry and he sees it, the way your eyes widen just slightly before something else replaces it. "Maybe I wanted you to," he adds quietly. Rain taps steadily against the windows somewhere behind you while your brain scrambles desperately for solid ground because no part of this conversation is safe anymore. You stared at him for a second too long, and in that time it feels like something might finally open between you. But then you shake your head, taking a small step back.
"You don’t get to say that now."
"Why not?" his voice lifts, frustration breaking through. "Why can’t I?" he furrows his brows, looking between your eyes.
"Because you didn’t say it then!" you snap, control slipping hard enough that your voice echoes slightly down the corridor. "You said you loved her. You don’t get to come back now and act like I got it wrong when you spent days letting me think you meant every word."
"I was messed up," he says, the words coming out harsher than intended.
"Messed up?" you repeat. He hesitates, just for a second but it’s enough. Your expression shifts — something closing off completely. "Right," you say, nodding slowly. "Of course."
"That’s not what I meant—"
"No, it is," you cut him off, your voice flattening. "You didn’t mean it. You were confused, it doesn't count"
"That’s not—"
"Then what is it?" you ask, finally looking at him again, something raw breaking through. "Because from where I’m standing, you said something you can’t take back and now you’re upset I believed you." He opens his mouth but nothing comes out, because the real explanation sits lodged somewhere behind his teeth alongside every other thing he’s spent years not saying to you. Things dangerous enough that once he says them aloud, there’s no pretending anymore — and the terrifying part is he still has absolutely no idea whether you’d feel the same way or just stare at him politely before destroying him completely.
So instead, he reaches for the only thing he can. "You heard one thing and disappeared," he says, stepping closer again despite the tension radiating off you now. "You didn’t ask me anything. Didn’t even give me a chance to explain properly."
"A chance to explain what exactly?" you ask quietly. "That I somehow hallucinated the conversation?"
"That’s not what I said." he says glancing away for a moment.
"Oh, sorry," you laugh bitterly. "Did I misinterpret the part where you said you were in love with her?"
The anger in Jungwon finally breaks through. "You don’t get it," Jungwon says finally, dragging frustrated hands through his hair again. "You’ve been acting like I’m some random guy you accidentally shared a table with for the past week and it’s doing my fucking head in." he snaps, voice roughening. "You won’t even look at me anymore."
Your throat tightens painfully because the worst part is he’s right. Every horrible inch of distance between you. For a second both of you just stand there breathing too hard in the narrow corridor, years of almosts and swallowed words sitting heavily between you while rain crashes endlessly outside.
"I was trying to make this easier."
"Well it’s not." he replies instantly. You stare at him, then look away first, eyes drifting toward the water beyond the arches because suddenly the pressure in your chest feels unbearable.
"I don’t know what you want from me," you say quietly.
Jungwon huffs once under his breath, frustrated and exhausted all at once. "That’s the problem, isn’t it?" he mutters. "You never even considered there might’ve been something worth asking me about."
Your head snaps back toward him immediately. "You don’t get to do that," you say immediately, anger flaring hot now because it feels like he’s rewriting this entire situation in front of you. "You do not get to stand there acting like I’m the one who handled this badly when you’re the person who said all of that in the first place."
"I wasn't thinking straight."
"And I was supposed to magically know that?" The words crack out of you harder than intended and Jungwon falls silent immediately. "You don’t get to blame me,"you continue, voice unsteady despite your efforts to control it. "You spent days watching me pull away and didn’t say a word."
"I tried talking to you."
You cut in instantly. "No, you waited for me to come to you first." That one has him exhaling, shakily — because he knows you’re right. Outside distant thunder rolls low somewhere beyond the grounds while the corridor fills with the sound of both of your harsh breathing.
"I’m trying to—"
"I don’t need you to fix it," you say, quieter now. "I’ve already adjusted." He falters, like the words physically knock something out of him. Adjusted, like what you had is something you’ve already started letting go of.
You freeze for a second too, glancing away like it hurt you just as much to say it and the worst part is you didn’t even mean to sound cruel. You just needed him to understand that he doesn’t get to ask for you back now, after spending days pulling yourself apart trying to move around this.
"You don’t mean that," he says, but there’s less certainty in it now. You don’t answer right away and somehow that silence hurts him more than if you had.
"I have to go," you say finally.
Of course you do. You always do but this time when you step around him, he doesn’t stop you. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because for the first time, he’s not sure you’d stay even if he tried. And you don’t look back, because if you do, you’ll see it — the way he’s looking at you like he’s losing something he doesn’t understand.
Behind you, Jungwon stands frozen beneath the archway, jaw tight enough to hurt while thoughts crash violently through his head all at once. I should've told her. About how wrong everything felt that night. About why he even asked you to go out there in the first place. What he was actually going to say.
Now he’s left standing there with every important thing still trapped inside him, watching your figure disappear slowly down the corridor.
It settles for long enough that the distance between you to feel more permanent than either of you want to admit. It follows him around for hours like a headache sitting behind his eyes, dull at first and then suddenly sharp whenever his brain replays your face in that corridor, the look you gave him right before you left, exhausted and angry and so fucking done with him.
The corridor outside the Potions classroom sat mostly empty now, quieter than usual with students already filtering toward dinner. Torchlight flickered against the stone walls, shadows stretching long across the floor while rain hammered softly against the high windows near the staircase. Jungwon stood with his back against the wall beside Jake and Heeseung, jaw tight enough to ache, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat because if they weren’t there, he’d probably start pacing.
Heeseung looked calm in the way people do when they’re trying very hard not to lose their temper. Jake wasn’t bothering to hide his irritation at all, arms folded tightly while his foot tapped against the floor in uneven bursts. None of them were speaking anymore because everything worth saying had already been said three times over. Then Penelope turned the corner.
She slowed the second she saw them standing there waiting, though she recovered quickly enough to fake confidence again, expression smoothing over as she approached with that same polished composure that suddenly made Jungwon feel vaguely sick. "Well," she said lightly, glancing between the three of them, "this looks cheerful."
No one smiled back, Jungwon pushed himself off the wall before he really thought about it, eyes fixed on her in a way that immediately made her smile falter. "You drugged me." There wasn’t even anger in his voice at first which somehow made it worse. Just blunt, exhausted certainty dropped between them hard enough that the corridor seemed to narrow around it.
Penelope blinked once, then laughed under her breath like she genuinely couldn’t believe he was serious. "Right," she said slowly, crossing her arms, "and you came to that conclusion on your own?"
"You used the Amortentia from class," Heeseung cut in before Jungwon could answer, voice level and controlled. "Snuck some from the batch."
Penelope didn’t look at him immediately. She kept her eyes on Jungwon, as if she could manipulate the situation with her eyes. Her eyes flicked toward him briefly before returning to Jungwon again, calculating now, trying to figure out exactly how much they knew. "That doesn’t mean I poisoned anyone."
Jake let out a sharp humourless laugh. "You’re actually gonna stand there and call it poisoning like that somehow sounds less mental?"
"Nothing happened that wouldn’t have happened eventually." That got Jungwon moving before either of the others could react.
One step forward, close enough now that the air between them turned tense immediately. "Don’t," he said quietly, anger finally starting to seep through. "Don’t do that thing where you try to make this sound normal."
Penelope lifted her chin defensively. "You were happy."
"No, I wasn’t." he retorted immediately,
"You seemed pretty convinced at the party."
"That wasn’t me." Her expression shifted then, irritation replacing whatever performance she’d been attempting before. "Oh, please," she snapped. "You can’t blame every stupid thing you said on a potion just because it embarrassed you afterwards."
Jake swore under his breath while Heeseung’s posture stiffened beside him, but Jungwon barely reacted. If anything, he just looked more tired. "You don’t get it," he said flatly. "You don’t even understand what you actually did."
Penelope scoffed quietly, though there was something less certain underneath it now. "I didn’t force words into your mouth."
"No," Jungwon replied immediately, "you just messed with my head enough that I couldn’t tell what was real." Silence cracked briefly between them before she looked away first and there was a tiny flicker of guilt she couldn’t quite hide quickly enough.
Jungwon saw it immediately and something inside him finally snapped properly into anger, because suddenly all he could think about was you standing there on that balcony, listening to him say things he never should’ve said, watching you in real time while he stood there too far gone to realise what was happening.
"You dragged her into it," he said, voice rougher now. "You knew exactly what you were doing." Penelope’s eyes narrowed. "I didn’t do anything to her."
"Except let her think I meant all of it." he snaps.
"She heard one conversation," Penelope shot back defensively. "If your relationship falls apart that easily, maybe it wasn’t that solid to begin with."
Jake stepped forward at that, furious now, "Careful."
"You’re all acting like I committed murder because he fancied someone else for five minutes." she continued, anger spilling over now that she realised nobody here was buying the innocent act anymore.
"I didn’t fancy you. I don't even like you as a person," Jungwon said immediately, the speed of it landed harder than shouting would have.
Penelope went completely still, something genuinely angry flashed across her face then. Hurt too, buried underneath it. "Right," she laughed bitterly. "And let me guess, this is all because of Y/n." He didn’t answer quickly enough.
"Oh my god," she breathed, looking at him like she’d finally solved something. "You’re actually pathetic."
Jake swore again while Heeseung muttered, "Penelope—"
"No, seriously,” she interrupted sharply, looking back at Jungwon now with open disbelief. “You spent years following her around like some lovesick idiot and she still didn’t want you, so now suddenly this is all my fault?"
Jungwon’s expression darkened instantly. "Don’t talk about her."
"Why?" she snapped. "She’s clearly not interested. She heard you say you liked someone else and walked away without even fighting for you." That was the part still sitting under his ribs making him feel half sick all week.
"You don’t know a fucking thing about her," he said, quieter now, though somehow angrier for it.
Penelope scoffed softly. "Please. If she actually wanted you, she would’ve done something." Something cold flashed across his face then.
Jungwon stared at her for a second too long then laughed softly under his breath, "Yeah?" he said flatly. "Well at least she didn’t need to spike my drink to get me to pay attention to her."
Penelope opened her mouth again but footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor before she could answer. The kind that immediately changes the atmosphere of a room. Everyone looked up. A professor stood at the far end of the hall flanked by two Ministry officials, unreadable beneath the torchlight. Penelope’s face drained almost instantly.
"Miss Clearwater," Professor Park said calmly. "You’ll come with us." Her composure cracked properly then. "Are you serious?" she demanded, looking between them all. "You reported me?"
"It’s done," Heeseung said simply, shrugging.
"You can’t be serious," she said, her voice tightening. "It was one potion, one mistake—"
"It was manipulation," Jake snapped back. "What part of that isn’t clicking for you?"
"This is insane," she said, voice rising now as panic finally started replacing anger. "Nothing even happened." By the time Penelope was led away down the corridor, protesting angrily the entire time, Jungwon was barely paying attention. He just stood there staring at the floor, chest tight with the awful realisation that the hardest part of this was never going to be the potion. It was you believing him.
By the time evening rolled around, the argument had calcified into something heavier than frustration. It wasn’t just about what happened anymore. It was the fact that neither of you had managed to fix it. Every conversation somehow made things worse, like the two of you had spent years learning each other perfectly only to suddenly start speaking completely different languages.
Jungwon found you after that and this time it wasn’t accidental. The Room of Requirement gave him away the second the door opened, warm light spilling out into the corridor. Bookshelves climbed all the way to the ceiling, candles flickering low between stacked piles of parchment and half-open novels, the entire place carrying that quiet stillness it only ever seemed to have when you were in it. It looked exactly the same as it always had, painfully familiar.
And there you were, curled into the corner of the sofa with a book in your lap like none of it had happened. You didn’t look up when he came in, just turned a page slowly and said, quiet but flat, "I thought I told you I didn’t want to talk."
"I know," he said, shutting the door anyway. He stayed where he was for a moment, shoulders tense, clearly trying to hold onto whatever speech he’d planned before it completely fell apart on him. The silence between you wasn’t familiar anymore. It felt stiff now, crowded with too much pride and too many things neither of you had said when you should’ve.
Eventually he exhaled hard through his nose and looked at you properly. "I need you to actually listen to me this time Y/n." You let out a breath, eyes still on your book.
"I mean it."
That finally made you glance up properly and the irritation sitting on your tongue faltered slightly because he looked awful. His blonde hair was tussled in the way that it is when he's stressed, his habit of ruffling the front of his hair showing. He looked worn-down in that way people got when they were running entirely on nerves. You sighed, folding the corner of your page over before setting the book aside. "Alright," you muttered, "Talk."
He crossed the room slowly, cautious in a way you’d never seen from him before. "What I said that night…" He stopped halfway through, jaw clenching. "It wasn’t real."
Your face barely moved. "If this is your attempt at damage control, you're a bit late."
"I was drugged." The rain outside started hitting harder against the windows and for a second all you could hear was that. You stared at him for a second, waiting for the backtrack, the part where he admitted he was exaggerating because surely he didn’t actually mean— "Amortentia," he said quietly, and the way he said it made it impossible to dismiss.
Your face went still in that dangerous sort of way where he couldn’t tell what you were thinking anymore. "What?"
"She slipped it into my drink at the party." His voice dipped, "Heeseung and Jake figured it out after.. they reported her earlier" You looked away from him then because your brain suddenly felt too full, the last week rearranging itself in ugly sharp pieces. "What— Why didn’t you tell me straight away?"
"I tried." he shot back immediately, "Every time I saw you, you were halfway out the door." He dragged a hand through his hair before exhaling through his nose. "And then I saw you with Beomgyu and I just—" He stopped, eyes shutting for a second like the memory physically pressed down on him. "I felt so fucking angry."
Beomgyu?" confusion cut clean through the exhaustion in your voice. "The way he was sitting with you," Jungwon muttered, frustration bleeding back into his voice now that he’d started. "The way you looked comfortable with him."
"Jungwon. Nothing’s happening with Beomgyu." you said, still entirely lost on why this matters.
"I know that now." he said it immediately, but there was still irritation buried underneath it, stubborn and lingering.
"No, you clearly don't because you’re still saying it like he committed some sort of crime by existing near me." He huffed through his nose before he nodded once.
"Alright. Maybe I lost my head a bit."
"A bit?"
"And that doesn’t mean I enjoyed watching him sit where I used to."
The words came out before he could soften them and your stomach turned despite yourself. "You don’t get to say things like that after everything that happened."
"I know." he spoke, barely above a whisper. "I know it doesn’t suddenly fix anything. I’m not pretending it does."
"Then why are you here?" you asked, finally looking at him properly again. "Why tell me now?"
His eyes met yours instantly. "Because you think I chose someone else. For a moment you could barely process the words, because he couldn't mean it like that. God, hope needs to die.
"..And you didn’t?" you finally replied, voice unwontedly soft.
"No." he says immediately, certain in a way he hadn’t sounded once this entire week. "I never liked her. Not before that night, not after. Whatever you heard, it wasn’t me," You watched him carefully, searching his face for the part where he might pull back, make it less direct. He didn’t.
"And me?" you asked before you could fight it. That was a question he didn't expect, he suddenly looked exhausted — like he'd spent days fighting himself. "You’ve always been different."
You rolled your eyes immediately, leaning back into the sofa. "That is such a shit answer."
A quiet breath escaped him, almost humourless. "I didn’t say anything because I thought you didn’t care." His gaze dropped briefly before finding yours again. "You literally told me to go tell someone else how I felt, Y/n. What exactly was I supposed to take from that?"
You laughed once under your breath, bitter and disbelieving. "What was I meant to do? You stood there talking about being in love with her."
"I thought you didn’t care." he repeated.
"I cared too much, actually." Both of you froze. Your jaw clenched, "Don’t," you started immediately, shaking your head a fraction.
"No." He stepped closer again, something desperate creeping into his voice now. "Please, don’t take that back, that’s the first real thing either of us has said in days," You looked away quickly, pulse suddenly too loud in your ears.
"You really thought I didn't care?" you asked eventually.
"You stopped looking at me." He breathed, "You pulled away like it was easy. Like I was embarrassing you."
Your face twisted immediately, "Easy?" you repeated sharply. "You think that was easy?" You stood up too fast, anger finally cracking through properly.
"I spent the entire week avoiding you because every time I looked at you I heard you saying her name again, and I couldn’t stand there pretending it didn’t bother me."
"Y/n—"
"No, seriously, do you know how humiliating that felt?" Your voice shook despite your best efforts. "You told me that she lived in your head," You scrunched your nose slightly, expression tightening like the words physically pained you to say, "I can't—"
For a second neither of you spoke, the room suddenly felt too small for the amount of tension sitting between you both. Then he stepped close enough that you instinctively sat back down and lowered himself in front of you, kneeling while he looked up at you properly.
"Look at me," he said gently, and you didn’t, not straight away anyway. Your eyes stayed fixed on your hands, stubbornly avoiding him. Eventually, against your better judgement, you lifted your face to his and there it was again. That look. Warm and steady and devastatingly familiar, like no matter how badly the two of you had handled this, he would still look at you like you were the first thing he searched for in every room. And that was the worst part really, not the argument, not her. It was this, the way your body still reacted to him before your pride could catch up.
He searched your face, "The things I said that night, about someone living in my head all the time?"
"None of that was fake."
And then just as that familiar pain was about to settle, "I just had the wrong name in my mouth." And for a moment your eyes bored into each of his as it settled. Jungwon watched the realization move across your face carefully.
"I was so confused after," he admitted, voice low. "Because the feelings were real. They were always real.. I just didn’t understand why saying her name felt so wrong."
The irritation you’d been clinging to was barely holding together, unravelling thread by thread underneath something dangerous. He was still kneeling in front of you as though hadn’t even noticed, eyes fixed up on your face with this unbearable amount of care written all over him, like your reaction mattered more than his own embarrassment, more than his pride.
Jungwon was now fully ignoring the fact his knees had probably gone numb, too focused on you despite the fact your entire face was practically screaming what the fuck is happening right now.
"The stupidest part is I genuinely thought none of it mattered to you." he continued. "We’d sit practically on top of each other for hours and then you’d casually call me your best friend like that wasn’t completely destroying my ability to think straight." He glanced away briefly, words coming easier now that he’d started. "You’d play with my rings when you were tired, steal my jumpers, look for me first in every room and somehow I still convinced myself I’d imagined all of it."
"Do you know what actually messed me up?" he said eyes not leaving yours for a second. "Even after all this, after the argument and all the avoiding and how angry you were with me, the only thing I could think the entire time was that I just wanted you back beside me again." Jungwon shifts slightly closer without fully standing, still grounded in front of you, then hesitates like he’s debating something, before finally lifting a hand slowly, stopping just short of your face, waiting for any sign you’d move away. Your eyes flickered to it instinctively and your stomach twisted painfully at how careful he was being with you now.
You don’t move away and that seems to decide it for him more than anything else. His palm settles carefully against your cheek, warm and steady. Your lips parted a little, leaning into his touch — barely, but he felt it. His hand shifts, the other coming up too now, gently cupping your face properly this time, both hands holding you now.
"I’m not good at this," he mutters, almost like he’s talking to himself now more than you, "I’ve spent years not saying anything because I thought if I did, it would ruin whatever this was, whatever we are, and I thought I could live with that."
He leans in a fraction more, not enough to touch your forehead, not quite, but close enough that your breathing stills because suddenly there’s no pretending there’s distance left. His eyes studied your face, slower now, more deliberate, you could feel the warmth from his face.
"But I can’t," he says, just something raw and undeniable sitting underneath every word.
"I can’t do it anymore because I’m completely in love with you, and I have been for ages."
For a second he just looks at you like he’s bracing for impact, like he’s expecting you to step away, to laugh, to tell him he’s completely misread everything the same way you’ve both been misreading everything for years but you don’t move, you can't. Your eyes stay fixed on his almost helplessly, searching his face for something that looks uncertain or unsure, some indication that he doesn’t fully mean it. But there's nothing, just him — completely terrifying in his sincerity.
"And I know that probably changes everything," he adds, "but I couldn’t keep pretending it didn’t exist, not after almost losing you." His forehead finally rests against yours then, just barely, and the contact is so gentle. His gaze drops briefly to your mouth before returning to your eyes almost immediately, like he couldn't help it. Yang Jungwon — who moves through most things with quiet confidence, who always seemed so composed, so certain.. looks so genuinely scared right now.
"Say something," he whispers, not demanding, or pushing, just honest in the way that hurts. Your fingers twitch once in your lap before you finally lift one hand, not pushing him off, just catching his wrist lightly, grounding yourself in something solid because your head won’t stop spinning properly.
"Jungwon…" you start, then stop, your voice catching before you can force the rest out, like your thoughts can’t decide which one of them to turn into words first.
Jungwon doesn’t move back. If anything, he leans in more, eyes searching yours carefully now as though was already preparing himself for rejection anyway — despite not pushing him away. "I’m not expecting anything," he says quietly "I just needed you to know."
Your thumb brushes lightly against his wrist. "You’re an idiot," you say, and it comes out shakier than you mean it to, his brows pull together slightly, confused, already pulling back a fraction like he’s misread you again, "Right, yeah, I thought that might—"
"I’m in love with you," you cut in, quieter this time. He stays locked on you, unblinking, as though he’s waiting for you to finish the sentence properly. His hands are just hovering in place like he’s suddenly unsure if he’s allowed to keep holding you at all.
"What?" he says, but it barely makes it out of him, more breath than voice.
"I said—" your voice wavers, softer this time but steadier in its honesty, "I’m in love with you." you catch his hands and guide them properly against your cheeks instead of letting them hover uncertainly. There’s a pause where disbelief breaks through into his face, then something underneath it that looks almost helpless.
Then he leans in — careful, almost hesitant and his forehead finally presses against yours properly. "Fuck," he mutters, but there’s no conviction in it — just awe, like he’s overwhelmed by how real you are. A laugh slips out of you, because he sounds so completely undone it almost feels unfair.
"You’re actually going to ruin me." His hands finally shift, holding you comfortably now.
"You’re so dramatic," you whisper, but there’s no bite to it. His eyes open again at that, still too close, still pressed to yours in a way that makes the rest of the world felt like it's been turned down to nothing.
"Yeah," he murmurs, "But you still look at me like that anyway." Your brows pull together slightly, instinctively defensive, but it doesn’t really land because your hand is now curled in his shirt and you’re still not moving away.
"Like what?" you ask, quieter — pretending you don't know exactly what he's talking about.
"Like you notice things," he says, softer. "Even when you don’t say them out loud." That hits something uncomfortably accurate. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," you murmur, which is a lie, and you both know it. He hums faintly like he doesn’t believe you, but there’s no pressure in it, just affection spilling over the edges of him in a way he’s not even trying to hide anymore.
"I love the way you go quiet when you’re thinking too much," he continues, "And I love the way you always act like you don’t care," he adds, a quiet exhale slipping through his words like he’s smiling a little at the memory of it. "Like you’re completely unaffected by everything, but then you’ll sit there for five minutes staring at something like it’s the most important thing in the world."
His thumb brushes lightly against your wrist where he’s still holding you, slow and absentminded. "And I love the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching."
Your lips part slightly, like you mean to respond, like you mean to deflect it the way you usually would, turn it into something smaller, something safer but nothing comes out cleanly enough to save you.
So it just breaks, "I love you so fucking much." It spills out of you before your brain can negotiate with it, far too honest to take back. His eyes glaze over and then he shifts forward on his knees, barely even thinking about it, like the distance between you has become physically unbearable.
His thumb presses into your jaw and then he pulls you in. His lips press against yours and it's consuming, with an urgency that had you feeling weak. Your fingers tighten in his shirt and that’s all it takes. "I love you. So much" he breathes between kisses. There’s something almost pathetic in how desperately relieved he feels.
"Mm," You tilt your head and the kiss deepens. He exhales into it and the sound of it makes your grip shift, a hand sliding into his hair. A small, broken sound slips out of him, almost stunned, he leans into you anyway, forehead dipping slightly — like he’s trying to be closer than is physically reasonable.
"Fucking hell," he breathes against your lips, your stomach flips violently at the sound.
"You have no idea," he murmurs softly between kisses, almost dazed, "what you do to me."
You smile into the kiss and when you both finally pull back just enough to inhale properly, neither of you really lets go. Your foreheads rest together, noses brushing slightly, his hands still holding you. And then you do it again — soft, quick kisses against his lips. It was careless in a way that feels completely unlike how careful everything has been between you until now. He actually freezes for a second, then laughs, so familiar it made your chest ache.
"You’re so…" he starts, trailing off with another disbelieving laugh as you kiss him again before he can finish properly. "So what?" you murmur against his lips. "Mine," he says softly. You can’t help the quiet laugh that escapes you, despite the raging tricks your stomach was playing.
Then, after a second, quieter now, "Can I sit with you?.. My knees are actually killing me."
You laughed despite yourself, "You’re unbelievable."
"Yeah, yeah." he grins, you shift on the sofa, making space.
"Get up here before you pass out or something." He doesn’t need to be told twice and moves fast for someone who just complained about his knees, sliding up beside you. The second he sits, his shoulder bumps yours gently — accidental or not, neither of you acknowledges it.
"There," he says quietly. His leg is pressed lightly against yours, warm and solid, and it’s embarrassing how quickly your body relaxes around him now that you’re finally letting it. There’s a beat of silence before his hand shifted slightly against the sofa cushion between you. Then his pinky brushed yours, you looked down at it once and thread your fingers through his properly.
You couldn’t help but think, god I’d go through all of that again, as long as I end up here. Jungwon seemed to realize it at the exact same time because the second you settled beside him properly, he exhaled through his nose like he’d finally stopped bracing for something.
You then let your head fall onto his shoulder, the movement slow and unceremonious "You're not let off completely though," you muttered, voice muffled slightly against him.
"I know." he says, his own head resting on top of yours.
"And I’m still angry."
"You should be," he said without hesitation, just quiet acceptance as his shoulder shifted slightly under you to get more comfortable with you, adjusting himself to make sure you stayed there.
"And you might suffer for a while." you add, quieter now. Fully aware he probably wouldn't.
"Okay." he said simply. You lifted your head just enough to look at him properly, narrowing your eyes in suspicion.
"That was a bit too easy."
He huffed a small laugh through his nose, the corner of his mouth tugging upward as he glanced at you like you were the most predictable thing in the world. "I’m choosing my battles carefully." That made you smile properly and Jungwon looked genuinely relieved by it.
The rain ran down the window behind you as Jungwon turned to you — his hand came up, landing on the base of your shoulder. "Hi," he said as you turned to face him properly, catching the glimmer of something playful.
"What now?" you huff, attempting to look annoyed, it clearly wasn't convincing judging by his lips curving in retaliation. His hand slides up, below your jaw now.
"Can I kiss you..again," he asked, grinning now. You pressed your lips together, pretending to think about it. "Hmm."
A dramatic groan left him immediately, his forehead falling against yours. "You’re evil."
You laughed softly under your breath and before he could complain again, you nudged his head forward slightly, pressing your lips to his yourself. The kiss barely lasted a second before he smiled into it, warm and helplessly fond.
"Right," he murmurs against your mouth, "that’s definitely up there with my favourite answers you’ve given tonight."
You hum against his lips, smiling when he immediately kisses you deeper like he’s been waiting for the smallest bit of encouragement. One of his hands stays warm against your jaw while the other settles carefully at your waist, hesitant for all of half a second and then pulling you closer against him.
The sound he makes when you shift halfway onto his lap is somewhere between surprise and relief, and it nearly makes you laugh again. "Don’t laugh at me," he mumbles instantly.
"You make it pretty easy."
"Yeah?" The curve of his nose brushes yours briefly before he kisses you again, slower this time. Your fingers slide into his hair at that and he exhales sharply into your mouth, grip tightening at your waist. The reaction goes straight to your head. "Jungwon," you whisper, mostly because you like what it does to him.
His eyes flicker open for a second at the sound of his name "You're doing that on purpose," you tilt your head in response. Every touch feels careful and greedy at the same time. The rain was still tapping softly against the windows somewhere in the background, but it all felt far away compared to the warmth of him pressed against you.
His thumb strokes absentmindedly against your side beneath the fabric of your top. The kiss deepens naturally after that, unhurried and messy in the way kisses that have been delayed for years usually are. Every time you pull back for air he chases instinctively.
You laugh softly, breathless, but the sound cuts off when his lips find your jaw instead. The shift is slower this time, deliberate. Your breath catches almost instantly when he kisses just below your ear, warm and lingering enough to make your fingers tighten in his hair. "There," he says quietly against your skin, "That one got you."
"Shut up," you whisper, though there’s no real bite to it when you pull him back up by the collar to kiss him again. You tilted your head, letting your tongue graze the seam of his lips. You swallowed a high needy noise, opening up immediately. He pulled you into his lap fully now — lips still attached as you settled against him properly, arms steadying themselves against his shoulders and sliding around his neck.
Your tongue slid against his messily and then he pulled back, breathing hard. "Still okay?" he whispers. You respond with a nod taking in Jungwon's eyes, which were blackened with desire
"Words Y/n," he grins tilting your chin up, you couldn't help the heat that flood into your stomach, "Yeah— yes I'm okay,"
His grin widened as though he knew what was going through your mind and then he chased your lips again, catching you in an open mouthed kiss — trying to memorise your mouth in a way he couldn't before. His hand creeped into your hair, fingers curling in. He bobbed his head forward, capturing your tongue and sucking on it with a low groan. You gasped, eyes scrunching together as a involuntary moan slipped out of you. Jungwon's breath hitched hard, panting now, "God I've fucking dreamt of how you'd sound," He pushed his head into the crook of your neck, "This is so much better."
"Better be," you managed, fingers running through his hair slowly.
"Let me stay here," he starts pressing kisses to your neck, taking in your scent — your taste.
"Mmm tempting Won," you said tilting your head back.
"I missed that so fucking much," he groans. You tried to respond, you did, but you couldn't because his lips were dragging up your neck, wet and desperate. "Shit," you breathed, shivering.
You lay your hands flat on his chest and push him back against the sofa. He lets himself fall back against the sofa without resistance, like he trusts you completely to take the lead, his hands instinctively tightening at your sides as you follow him down. Chest to chest.
You falter for a second as if you’re both realizing, at the same time, how far this has gone. His blackened eyes flick between your now swollen lips, and your eyes. He breathed out, harsh — revelling in the fact that he's the reason your lips are flushed and shiny with spit.
Then an almost frightening thought slipped into his head, sudden enough that it made him hesitate halfway through speaking. "Have you ever…" he started, then stopped abruptly, like he already regretted asking. You looked at him for a second, brows pulling together slightly as you tried to place where his brain had just gone.
"What?" you asked. His eyes flickered away briefly before returning to yours again, visibly trying to decide whether to commit to the question or bury himself alive instead.
"Have you ever—" he stopped again, jaw tightening faintly. "Like… with anyone…"
"Fucked anyone or kissed anyone?" you asked flatly, fingers tracing his jaw. Jungwon nearly choked on his own breath, but you were completely calm despite the way his entire face shifted into instant embarrassment.
A disbelieving laugh escaped him despite himself, one hand dragging down his face briefly before he looked at you again, visibly trying to recover. "You know what, never mind."
"No," you said immediately, sitting up on him slightly, now that you’d caught onto the fact he was genuinely nervous. "You asked. Commit."
"I just—" he stopped again, visibly frustrated with himself now. "I don’t know, I started thinking about it and then I realized I actually have no idea if there’s been someone else."
The honesty of it knocked some of the teasing right out of your face. Fuck, Jungwon looked unfairly sincere when he was jealous. "I mean, obviously there could’ve been," he continued quickly, words speeding up now. "You’re—you, and I wasn’t exactly doing anything, so it’s not like you owed me—"
"There wasn’t," you interrupted softly, cupping his jaw now.
"There… wasn’t?" he repeated carefully. You shook your head once and his shoulders visibly loosened. The relief that crossed his face was so immediate and unfiltered it. "Thank fuck," he breathed before he could stop himself. You stared at him, eyebrows lifting. "You don’t understand," he said immediately, catching your stare. He sat up slightly, pulling you up with him like this was extremely serious now. "I was about thirty seconds away from ruining my own night imagining some random guy kissing you, or even touching you." You let out a quiet scoff through your nose, but your face warmed anyway.
"If I'm honest," you started, already regretting the vulnerability halfway through it, "I felt sick thinking about whether or not you'd end up in her room," your voice got quieter near the end, eyes fixed somewhere near his shoulder instead of his face despite how close he was sitting. You missed the way his whole face changed, he genuinely looked wounded by the thought of you sitting with that alone.
"Y/n," he said almost pained. You shrugged one shoulder slightly, pretending it didn’t matter nearly as much as it did. "It’s embarrassing now, actually."
"No," he said immediately, firm enough to make you look at him again. "No, don’t do that. I need you to understand something," he says, serious in a way that steadies the entire room around you.
"There was never going to be another person for me once I met you."
You blink at him slowly. "That— is a crazy thing to say to someone." by now the butterflies erupting in your belly were normal.
"It’s true." He actually smiles then, hopelessly, like even your avoidance is something he treasures.
"You’re cute when you’re overwhelmed," he murmurs, your eyes narrow instantly.
"Don’t piss me off again."
His smile widened immediately, completely unafraid now. "See? Cute."
"Jungwon you’re about five seconds away from being shoved off this sofa."
"You wouldn’t do that," he said easily, leaning closer anyway. You opened your mouth to argue but he kissed you before you could, arms wrapping around your waist. "So fucking annoying," you mumble against his lips,
"Mhmm, yeah?" he grins.
A loud crack of thunder suddenly echoed somewhere outside the castle walls, the sound rattling faintly through the windows of the common room a second before rain started hammering hard against the glass. You glanced toward it instinctively. "It’s pouring." Jungwon barely looked up, still half-sprawled into your space. "Mm," he murmured, completely unbothered, thumb absentmindedly tracing slow circles against your knuckles.
Another rumble of thunder followed, louder this time. You exhaled through your nose, leaning back slightly against the sofa cushions as your gaze flicked toward the clock mounted near the fireplace.
"You’re joking." You shook your head a little, starting to shift your weight as if to stand. "I’m serious."
"No, you’re not," he said instantly, tightening his grip on your hand when you shifted slightly like you might stand.
"Jungwon—" A laugh escaped you. "No," he whined quietly, forehead falling against your shoulder dramatically. "I don’t wanna move yet."
"You’re acting like I’m not gonna exist tomorrow."
"I'll miss you" he mumbled into your shoulder immediately, completely shameless about it. You rolled your eyes, though your fingers automatically slipped into his hair again. He visibly relaxed at the feeling. "I just got you back," he continued, voice quieter now, almost pouty despite how ridiculous he sounded. "Can’t we stay here for like… another hour."
"Won, it’s nearly midnight."
"So?" he said instantly. You laughed under your breath and tilted your head enough to look at him properly.
"You're clingy."
Another crack of thunder echoed outside and Jungwon sighed before finally lifting his head. "…Fine," he muttered unhappily.
He stands up with you still in his arms, the sudden movement making you instinctively tighten your hold around his neck. "Jungwonn—" you huff into his shoulder. He just giggles, the sound soft and breathy, pulling his head back to look at you properly. There’s something bright in his eyes, something you wished you could see every time you opened your eyes.
Without much thought, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the side of your head, still a little dazed. "What?" he murmurs, far too innocent for the way his hands are still holding you close. You narrow your eyes, "Put me down."
"Don’t wanna," he shrugs lightly.
You let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking your head. "You’re so annoying."
He just laughs again, clearly pleased with himself, before finally lowering you back onto your feet. You both pause and glance at each other and then you both laugh. Quiet at first, then a little louder, the kind of laugh that spills out when something feels almost unreal.
"We don’t have to rush anything," he says after a moment, searching your face, "but I’m not… pretending that didn’t happen either."
"Good," you say, barely above a breath. That earns you the smallest smile — not smug, not teasing. His fingers curl a little into yours.
"What do we do about them?" you asked, more to yourself than him, something almost bashful tugged at the corners of Jungwon's mouth despite the way he was still holding you close.
"I don’t really want to share you yet," he admits quietly, the faintest pout appearing like he was slightly embarrassed.
"Then let’s keep it to ourselves for now," you say. The relief on his face was immediate, the idea of this being something private between the two of you mattered more to him than he expected.
His arms snaked around you slightly before he leaned in again, stealing another kiss like he genuinely couldn’t go more than thirty seconds without one now. "You realise," you mumbled against his lips, trying and failing to sound unaffected, "everyone’s going to figure it out eventually."
"Mhm." He kissed you again, entirely unbothered. "Future problem."
"You’re very relaxed for someone who just said he didn’t wanna share."
"I don’t," he said immediately, pulling back just enough to look at you properly again. "But hiding you and keeping you close aren’t the same thing" Your heartbeat betrayed you immediately and, judging by the tiny smile tugging at his mouth afterwards, he knew it.
"C'mon," you said pulling him towards the door. It’s reluctant. His hand slips from your waist slower than it should, fingers brushing yours one last time before letting go.
By the time you finally left the Room of Requirement, your lips still felt warm. Which was a problem, a massive one, actually, because Jungwon looked even worse. His hair was a mess from your hands, mouth pink and slightly swollen, melted in a way that would immediately get him interrogated if anyone saw him. Every so often the corridor would flicker with distant lightning, briefly carving both of your shadows into sharper versions of yourselves before letting them soften again.
As you reached your dorms he stopped you, a gentle hand on your wrist "Don’t take forever," he said, though it lacked any real bite.
You gave him a look that tried for annoyance and failed somewhere halfway. "Get inside."
"I am getting inside," he grinned, but he still didn’t move right away. That earned him a quiet exhale from you, something almost like a laugh, before you finally stepped back and slipped inside, the door closing softly behind you.
You immediately bee-lined for the mirror, "Shit." you definitely looked kissed. You pressed cold hands to your cheeks, trying to ignore how warm your skin still felt. Your hair looked equally suspicious, slightly mussed from his hands, and there was absolutely no hiding whatever was settling over your face.
Outside, you could faintly hear the distant hum of the castle settling into sleep. But underneath all of it, there was still him — lingering at the edge of your thoughts the same way he had been all evening, like he hadn’t quite stopped being near you just because a door had closed between you.
When you finally pulled on something a bit more comfortable, you rested your hands briefly at the edge of your desk, exhaling a little more slowly than before. Within the last day you’d gone from moping, avoiding your best friend, to confessing, to kissing him, and now you were standing in your room trying to make your face look normal enough to walk into a his dorm like nothing had happened. The worst part was that your body still felt like it hadn’t caught up with your decisions yet.
By the time you made your way down the corridor, you were actively rehearsing neutrality. Their dorm door already had voices spilling through it before you even opened it properly. Jake’s laugh came first, loud and unfiltered, followed by Heeseung saying something that sounded like he was trying to sound serious but failing halfway through. Ni-ki’s voice cut in after that, flatter and more observant. Of course they were awake.
It all felt so normal for a second it almost made you forget you were about to walk in carrying something that felt like it had weight. You adjusted your expression once more, like that would somehow make you harder to read, and pushed the door open. It smelled faintly like coffee and whatever food Jake had apparently forced everyone into eating at midnight again.
Jungwon was sitting on the arm of the sofa like he always did, one arm draped lazily over the back. Something shifted in his face before he smoothed it away — a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth, he was fighting a smile he absolutely should not be having in front of people, and then he looked away again, too casually, like nothing at all had just passed between you. You, on the other hand, made a point of not looking at him too long at all.
You forced your face into that something neutral you'd been rehearsing and walked in further, closing the door behind you with a soft click that felt way too loud. All of them looked up almost at once and there was a half-second of silence that did not feel accidental.
"Oh, Y/n," Jake said first, squinting slightly with a grin. "You’re up?" You nodded once, carefully closing the door behind you.
"Yeah. Couldn’t sleep."
Heeseung hummed softly from where he was stretched across the other end of the sofa, one eyebrow lifting just slightly as he looked between you and Jungwon with a level of perception that felt actively threatening to your well-being. You suddenly became hyper aware of the fact Jungwon had gone unnaturally silent.
Ni-ki was lying half upside-down across the rug, but he glanced up briefly. "Thought you were still mad at him." he said as you settled down between Jungwon and Jake.
You shrugged one shoulder, forcing yourself getting comfortable, like your pulse wasn’t suddenly trying to kill you. "I’m capable of being civil."
At that, Jungwon coughed suddenly into his fist, poorly disguising what was very obviously the beginning of a smile. Jake’s eyes narrowed immediately, he didn’t say anything yet, but you physically watched suspicion enter his body. Heeseung looked between the two of you slowly. "You guys are weird," he said casually, you took this as a sign he was letting it go, the relief that flood through you was almost embarrassing.
"Thank you," Jungwon replied dryly before you could. You turned toward him automatically, already prepared to glare at him for making this harder than it needed to be, but the second his eyes met yours, something in him melted before he could hide it, it was so genuine that your stomach dropped straight through the floor.
And the worst part was that he realised it too. His gaze flicked downward almost instantly afterwards, jaw tightening faintly as he reached for the drink sitting beside him like suddenly becoming very interested in literally anything else might save him but Jake was looking between you both again.
“…Okay,” Jake said after a beat, suspicious in a way that made your skin prickle.
"What?" you replied flatly, crossing one leg over the other.
He pointed vaguely between the two of you like he was trying to physically grab hold of a thought before it escaped him. "Something happened."
"Nothing happened," you said immediately. At the exact same time Jungwon said, "What are you talking about?" The silence afterwards was catastrophic, it had Ni-ki actually sitting up — Jake’s mouth fell open in genuine disbelief as he looked between the two of you again.
"That was bad,"
You closed your eyes briefly, beside you, Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite laughing yet but visibly close to it. "You two used to lie better than this."
"We’re not lying," Jungwon said quickly, finally looking up again, though the slight tension in his shoulders completely ruined the effect. Jake pointed at him immediately. "Why do you sound nervous?"
"I don’t sound nervous." Ni-ki was openly staring now, gaze moving slowly between you both with growing fascination. "Wait, are you guys secretly fine again?"
Jake’s expression softened first. "You guys actually talked?" he said, slower. Your eyes flicked briefly toward Jungwon before you could stop yourself.
"Yeah," you admitted finally, voice calmer now. "We did." The room quieted properly after that, Heeseung leaned back slightly against the arm of the sofa, studying both of you carefully now, and you knew instantly what he was really asking. Whether the damage sitting underneath all of this had finally been dragged out into the open instead of festering quietly the way it had been the last few days.
Jake looked between you both again before exhaling dramatically, shoulders dropping in visible relief. "Thank god," he muttered. "You two were making everyone deeply uncomfortable."
"That sounds like a you problem," you replied with the fainest hint of a grin, "It was bad." Ni-ki cut in, now fully invested. "Every time someone mentioned you he’d go all quiet and weird for like ten minutes after."
Across the room, Jungwon groaned immediately. "Can we not."
Jake ignored him completely. "And you were terrifying."
"I was keeping to myself." You said flatly. "Exactly," Jake said, like that proved his point perfectly. "That’s how we knew it was serious." Still, you could feel Jungwon relaxing now that the interrogation had mostly passed, though every so often your eyes would accidentally meet again and you’d have to look away immediately before Jake started screaming.
At one point, while Heeseung was distracted arguing with Ni-ki about something stupid, Jungwon glanced toward you again over the rim of his drink. This time, he smiled properly, it was small — a dimple barely peeking through and then, like he physically couldn’t help himself, his foot nudged lightly against yours underneath the coffee table. You didn’t react outwardly but your heartbeat immediately lost all structural integrity anyway.
The first couple days felt strangely unreal, the two of you had slipped sideways into a version of your lives that looked exactly the same from the outside while quietly changing everything underneath it. You learned very quickly that Jungwon had absolutely no concept of subtlety when it came to you, and it wasn't even intentional — that was the problem.
He reached for you without thinking and he'd smile before he could stop himself whenever you walked into a room, like his body had developed some involuntary response to your existence. The first morning after everything, you’d barely made it halfway into Potions before catching him already looking at you from across the table with this annoyingly cute grin that had you wanting to pull him close and kiss his stupid face off.
But instead you kicked his shin under the desk and the blonde looked genuinely confused for a full three seconds before realisation hit him all at once, followed immediately by the smallest, guiltiest smile imaginable.
After that, it became pattern… for a few days. Late-night walks through quieter corridors after everyone else had gone to sleep. Jungwon appearing beside you in the library like he’d "accidentally" ended up there despite very obviously following you. Your fingers brushing under tables during study sessions when nobody was looking. Sitting slightly too close whenever you thought you could get away with it and then immediately shifting apart whenever Jake narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The secrecy itself should’ve been exhausting, instead, it became something strangely addictive.
There was something dangerously intimate about it, about the constant awareness of him even in crowded rooms, the tiny hidden smiles exchanged over everyone else’s heads, the feeling of his hand briefly finding yours behind the cover of someone else’s conversation. You started understanding very quickly why people lost their minds over this kind of thing.
It also didn’t help that Jungwon was completely gone for you in a way that was becoming increasingly difficult to manage privately.
By the second night, you were in his dorm after a lot of whining from Jungwon about how unbearable the boys had been the night before. Thankfully, the dorm was quieter this time. Most of the lights in the corridor had already dimmed, and when you slipped down the hallway there were no muffled voices behind the doors, no laughter, no sign that anyone else was still awake. You barely even had time to raise your hand before Jungwon opened the door immediately, like he’d been standing there waiting for the sound of your footsteps specifically.
"Hi," you whispered, already smiling despite yourself. His answering smile was smaller, almost disbelieving in that way he still got around you now, "Hi," he murmured back, and then his hand caught yours before you’d even stepped fully inside. The door had barely clicked shut behind you when he pulled you toward him properly.
Jungwon’s hands slid immediately to your waist, guiding you backwards until your shoulders touched lightly against the door, and then he pulled you into him. The force of it startled a quiet breath out of you, because he shoved his head into your neck. His hands tightening slightly against your sides when you hugged him back instantly, and the reaction he had was a soft sound escaping him as he leaned closer, like he genuinely couldn’t help it.
"Missed me?" you whispered, lips curling against his head.
He pulled back to look at you properly. "Bad," his hair was still slightly damp from showering earlier, soft under your fingers when your hand slid into it automatically, and he reacted to that too. His forehead pressed briefly against yours as he exhaled shakily through his nose. It was honestly ridiculous how responsive he was to you now that he’d stopped pretending not to be.
"You have no idea what today was like," he muttered quietly, breathe warm against your lips. "Jake kept asking me why I looked happy."
A laugh slipped out of you. "And?"
"And I almost told him to mind his business." His hands slid slightly higher against your waist, "I hated not being able to touch you." he added. You felt your face warm immediately, which unfortunately only seemed to encourage him further. "There it is again," he murmured, visibly delighted.
"Shut up." He grinned properly at that, leaning in just enough to press a quick kiss to the corner of your mouth, and then resting his forehead against yours. For a second he just stayed there, forehead still pressed to yours, eyes flicking down to your mouth and then back up again like he was weighing something quietly in his head.
Then he kissed you properly this time. It wasn’t rushed, it was slow enough that it felt deliberate, like he was checking what was allowed and what wasn’t yet. His hand slid up slightly at your back, steadying you more out of habit than urgency, and he paused for a split second like he was waiting to see if you’d pull away. You only leaned further into him, so he kissed you again, a little easier this time. When he finally pulled back, it was only by a fraction, his lips ghosting yours and his thumb brushing absentmindedly over your side like he’d forgotten he was even doing it.
The room around you stayed dim and warm, lit only by the small lamp near his desk, rain still tapping faintly against the windows outside. Jungwon looked at you for another long moment before something softer crossed his face, almost sleepy.
"Come here," he muttered.
You barely had time to react before he was already pulling you away from the door, fingers still hooked loosely around your wrist as he pulled you toward his bed. He sat first and pulled you down with him without much ceremony, one arm sliding automatically around your waist like it had already memorised the shape of you there. A laugh escaped you at the sheer determination of it, but it dissolved quickly when he looked up at you again. Jungwon leaned back properly against the pillows, his arm tightening slightly around your middle once you finally gave in and tucked yourself against him fully. The moment you did, something in him visibly changed, tension he’d been carrying all day finally loosening as he exhaled slowly. "You’ve been like that all day," he said after a moment, voice softer now, almost accusing in the gentlest way.
"Like what?"
"Distant," he continues, like the word annoyed him. "Acting like I don't exist."
"Won, we're literally hiding."
"I know," he replied, but his hand tightened slightly at your waist anyway, because he didn’t care how reasonable that sounded. "Make it up to me?" he said again, quieter this time, but the grin on his face gave him away completely as his eyes flicked down to your lips like that was the only answer he was actually interested in.
"How?" you asked tilting your head.
"Don’t act like you don’t know," he murmured, and there was something almost amused in it.
"I don’t," coming out weaker than you intended. It's quieter in a way that betrays you, even in the dim light. "Liar," he mutters — even then, there was no real accusation in it.
You didn’t bother to argue with him. In the short, insignificant seconds that followed, your hands are ran up Jungwon’s chest with urgency — leaning in close, and kissing him. His breath caught instantly against your mouth, a small involuntary sound slipping out of him, like he hadn’t expected you to actually give in that easily. When you pulled back just enough to speak, your lips still brushing his, you murmured, "Maybe."
He hummed chasing your lips, deepening it almost immediately, lips parting yours with an ease he didn't have yesterday. His tongue licked into your mouth slowly, hands settling at your hips as his fingers pressed just enough to keep you closer without being rough, yours slid up into the nape of his neck, tugging lightly at his hair. He let out a low sound against your mouth, somewhere between relief and frustration and it had your thighs squeezing together, because fuck this was chipping away at your self control, and barely anything had happened.
Jungwon's restraint however, was hanging on by a thread because the moment he felt your thighs close he felt his brain begin to melt. "Y/n I can't—" he breathed, hands cupping your jaw, if only to keep you glued to his lips.
"What—" you started, but then Jungwon whined. Actually fucking whined dragging his face to your cheek. His body jerked forward, just a little. He had been impossibly hard for a while now, despite swearing he hadn't thought about anything crazy — but somewhere between your hands in his hair and your tongue..
The sound startled a quiet laugh out of you before you could stop it, completely unaware of what had happened. He groaned embarrassed at that, one arm wrapping around your waist. It only made you more aware of him pressed against you now, warm and solid and very obviously stiff in a way that had heat flooding between your legs.
That's also when you realised that he had just cum in his pants, untouched. "Oh," you breathed before you could stop yourself. Jungwon immediately buried his face deeper into your neck.
"I'm—sorry, fuck. I didn't mean to—you're just so fucking—hot," he mumbled, almost attempting to move back, but you kept him there.
"Look at me." you said, running a soothing hand over the back of his head. He hesitated and pressed deeper for a moment, and then pulled his head back. His cheeks were flushed, hair messed up in a way only he could pull off. His glassy eyes found yours after a moment, so afraid of what he'd find.
"You're not mad?" he mumbled. He looked so fucking cute and worried and for a moment you couldn't help kissing him, "No Won," you said between kisses, "I'm not mad." And despite already cumming, he was still hard and throbbing.
"This is me making it up to you, for today." you said, voice almost a whisper — as you flicked between his eyes. His lips parted almost in confusion and he just blinked for a moment, breathing hard — then he looked up to you with those big wet eyes, "We don't have to do anything."
You bit the inside of your cheek, "I know," you kissed him again, slower, pressing against him. At some point while you were making out, you shifted onto his lap with your tongues still twisted and, he gasped as he felt your tits press against his chest. His brows were pulled together, lips parted in something you could barely call a kiss at this point and Jungwon was so entirely overwhelmed that all you could hear was his sharp gasps as your lips trailed down to his jaw.
He was trying his absolute best not to move — then he felt your tongue, licking his ear-lobe, sucking softly. "Fuuuck," Jungwon exhaled, eyes fluttering closed, his hips bucked up at the feeling uncontrollably, his hardened length rocked against your clothed pussy and then — you moaned into his ear. Jungwon was barely there at this point, he could barely touch you back he was so dazed. He panted hard, feeling your hands guiding his to your hips, teasing as they brushed up your waist, and pressing them to your chest. He swallowed hard at your tits under his palms, by now his eyes were blown wide with desire, his chest was rising and falling harshly — cock twitching beneath his already soiled pants.
His long fingers brushed against your chest, twitching in your hold. "Can I?" he breathed, so mesmerised by how you looked on him.
"Mhm yeah," he pulled your top up, over your head — letting it fall somewhere.
You watched as his eyes dragged down, his tongue poked into his cheek, almost like he was hungry "So, so fucking pretty baby," he groaned, finally finding it in himself to move. You were slowly dragging your hips together in short tiny bursts, while his hands palmed your tits — you gasped shakily. "You like that?" he whispered, voice completely wrecked.
"Fuck yeah, take it off," you huffed, fingers tugging at the fabric. As he pulled off his shirt you undid your bra letting it fall away, the second his eyes locked onto your bare tits he could barely breathe. He glanced away for a moment as a poor attempt to compose himself. But your nipples were hard, and he couldn't help but let out a strained noise at the sight, "You're beautiful baby," his hands came up and cupped your tits, fingers brushing over them.
"Ah— fuck Won—" His head tipped back at your words, as if your words and pleasure were affecting him just as much. A shiver ran through you, your hips stopping the motions for a moment as your fingers trailed down his chest. Even in the dimmed light he looked gorgeous in a way you couldn't describe. "Pretty."
He then flipped you over, lips finding your jaw, tongue trailing down your collarbone. He kept going as your hand threaded through his hair again, pressing him closer into your chest, Jungwon made a muffled noise against you, stupidly drunk on your tits. He lolled his tongue out, flattening it and licking over your nipple — your back arched instantly, a drawn out gasp bursting out as your legs wrapped around his waist, because it was all too much. Too good. He drunk up all your reactions, hips rolling against you. His tongue found your sensitive spots and a thumb rubbed over once — then he flicked his tongue over your hard bud and sucked. "Mmmph," you moaned attempting to suppress your sounds.
"Mm—don't hide," Jungwon's eyebrows furrowed — displeased and in retaliation he sucked harder, teeth grazing your skin as he tried to take as much as he could into his mouth. You moaned close-mouthed and the sound vibrated against him, he only buried his face deeper with his own high whines.
"Fucking dreamt—of touching—you baby," he mumbles in-between sucks, "Came twice in the—shower," he rambled. That did something indescribable to your panties, especially when you could feel rigid his cock so blatantly rutting against your thigh.
"Shit—what'd you think about?" you managed to breathe out.
"Your taste—your tongue—those pretty lips."
You pulled him back up to your lips with urgency, ignoring the way your tits were now slick and swollen with his spit. His wet lips parted in a choked whine as your palm found his clothed cock, "Ah—fuck baby—" he hissed, fingers tracing against the waistband of your sleep shorts. You lifted your hips and he immediately pulled it down with one hand as your palm worked against him, his shaky breaths only grew louder, even as his fingers traced over the lace of your panties.
He cupped your pussy fully, feeling the heat and you were so fucking wet that your arousal was leaking through, Jungwon couldn't take it anymore, this entire time he'd been holding himself back, not because he didn't think you could handle him, but because he didn't think he could. "You're so fucking wet for me hm?" he tilted his head, wide eyes boring into yours as you instinctively arched into his hard, pathetically desperate for his touch now.
"All for you baby—please," your eyebrows furrowed and pleading.
He could hardly comprehend it. You were submitting for him. For half a second he didn't even move, just looked over your expression and tried to etch it into his brain — stamp it onto his forehead if he could. And then he pulled your panties to the side, not even bothering to pull them off and pressed two fingers to your slit, eyes on your every movement. But just as the contact came, it was gone, because his fingers were in his mouth, licking your slick off of one finger, eyes almost rolling back at the taste.
You lips were already parted watching, Jungwon took advantage of that and pressed his fingers to your lips but he didn't even have to speak. You took both into your mouth, sucking off his spit mixed with your cum. "So—fucking hot," he watched half-lidded, his free hand found your slit again as he gently thrust them up and down your tongue.
He then eased the tip of his finger into your entrance, your jaw loosened around his fingers — a sharp gasp leaving you. "God so fucking tight," he whispered, he hadn't stopped watching you once, not even as he sank further into your pussy. Broken breathes vibrated around him and then Jungwon finally removed his fingers from your slack mouth, a string of your spit connecting you — he wasted none of it and sucked it off, "You want my fingers baby?"
"Yeah—more, please," you barely managed.
"More?" he repeated, already starting to push in and out, slowly curling against the walls of your insides.
"—Shut—up," A breathy laugh bubbled through him in response and he pushed himself up to kiss into your mouth, which was hung open. Because he'd now added his middle finger into the mix, enamoured with the way your slicked cunt let him pump in and out effortlessly. And the noises were fucking filthy, the squelching wet sounds had heat crawling up to your ears.
His fingertips then brushed against that spongy bundle of nerves — he swallowed your high sounds with small kisses to your lips, "I knoww baby you're doing so good yeah?" he whispered against your lips, he trailed down and took your nipple into his mouth again, fingers working on your pussy — keeping that same devastating pace.
"Mm—fuckfuckfuuuck," you barely even registered what you were saying anymore.
The pressure built fast, a coil tightening — he felt your moans and babbling pick up and tensed his tongue, flicking your nipple over and over and over until your pussy was grinding against his hand, bucking into him desperately. "You like it when I fuck my fingers into you?"
"Fuck yeah I love it so much—fuck-please i'm—ah" you cried, head now tilted back lax against his pillow, your hand was raked through his hair, gripping it for dear life.
"Cum for me baby, give it to me." he spoke looking up at you. His thumb then found your clit and he rubbed harsh circles, neither of were even aware of how loud you were being at this point. Because you came hard, shaking — head spinning, and Jungwon didn't stop.
Jungwon scrambled down as you came and replaced his thumb with his lips — his arms were now hooking under your thighs, locking you in place as he sloppily licked and sucked on your nub like he'd never tasted anything better. He was also moaning and huffing into you, because he had cum just from touching you. "Won—can't," you whined tugging on his hair at the overstimulation.
"One more baby—" he breathed low into your folds, mewling at your tugging. Your legs wrapped around his head, practically using his face and he was beyond delighted to be your personal fuck-toy. He then shoved his tongue impossibly deep into your pussy, fucking into you as far as he could reach and you were simultaneously grinding your clit against the curve of his nose. Your second orgasm was practically ripped out of you and somewhere between his tongue and fingers taking turns on your shattered cunt, your milky arousal leaked straight onto his tongue.
He clamped his mouth around you and kept going, kept suckling and licking, not letting a single drop go to waste. "Taste so fucking good baby, you did so so good," he finally said, against your thighs, pressing small kisses along your soft skin. You made a small acknowledging whine in response tugging his hair again weakly, legs finally going limp against him. Jungwon kissed his way back up, up your stomach, chest, neck, jaw, finally your lips. He cupped your jaw "You're so perfect princess," he rubbed your side —soothing, a contrast to the pussy drunk blonde from a few minutes ago.
You grinned against his skin, fingers scratching lightly through his hair as he kept pressing absentminded kisses across your face, "I love you," you murmured. His lips curled against your jaw, a dimple peeking through,
"I love you too baby," he whispered back and there was still something almost disbelieving in the way he said it, like he'd been reminded this is something you both say now. Jungwon’s hands wandered slowly over your half-bare skin with obvious distraction, fingertips tracing along your waist and back while you kissed your way down the side of his neck. You took your time there deliberately, mouth brushing across warm skin before lingering at his shoulder again, because frankly, his shoulders were becoming an actual problem in your life.
"How the hell did you know how to do that?" you asked after a moment, you pulled back just enough to look at him properly, fingers still tangled loosely in his hair. For half a second Jungwon looked unbearably pleased with himself, but also somehow embarrassed too. His mouth twitched like he was debating lying, before he finally exhaled through his nose. "I did research," he admitted, trying very hard to sound casual and failing almost immediately when your expression shifted into open disbelief.
"You…studied how to give head?"
"Yes," he defended instantly, already laughing now because of the way you were staring at him. "I wanted make you feel good."
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, your forehead falling briefly against his shoulder. "That might be the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Jungwon made a quiet, flustered noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh before hiding his face immediately against the side of your neck again. "Please don’t say that."
You were about to ask why, but the answer was pressed against your thigh. And even after having the breath knocked out of you. Twice. You couldn't help the renewed urge to make him feel just as good as he'd made you feel. "Why baby?" you hummed knowingly, coaxing him out of the comfort of your neck — your lips found his again, hands slowly making their way down to his waistband.
"Because I can't get enough of you," he breathed against you, cupping your jaw as the kiss deepened into something slow and so filthy it had your heads spinning.
"Take it off." you gasped into his mouth. It was funny actually, you'd both cum multiple times and you still hadn't even seen his dick yet. His hands impatiently ripped down his pants, as you freed him his cock recoiled against his stomach and you couldn't help the way your lips parted in shock. He was longer than he was thick, curved inwards and slick with cum. And he was fucking massive. Like, how the fuck had you never noticed kind of big.
"Baby, you don't have to," Jungwon mistook your shock for something else entirely. You answered by wrapping your hand around the base of his cock and it shut him up — immediately. So sensitive from cumming twice before, he breathed out shakily just at the contact. "God, your hand alone is gonna—" he couldn't even finish his sentence because you'd pushed him back and shuffled down to face him properly.
You flattened your tongue and licked up from the base to the tip of his dick, you could feel each ridge and vein along with the warm earthy taste of him. Jungwon's length had twitched at the first contact, his head falling back, hands eagerly pushing your hair back to watch you properly. "Goddd fuck babygirl," he groaned under his breathe, shaking slightly from overstimulation. You took his flushed tip into your mouth and hummed in response, the vibrations had him shuddering, and the thought that had him already biting his lip — fighting to last. Was that this was the first time you had a dick in your mouth and it was his. He would never have known with the way you took as much of him into your mouth as you could, spit gathering in the corners of your mouth.
"So pretty with my cock in your mouth princess fuuuck," he babbled. Jungwon was battling with everything he had, his eyes were knit shut, jaw was hung open — broken whines and whimpers along with rambles shaking through into the air. And then he made the mistake of opening his eyes — to you moving off him to catch your breath, spit connecting you and you took him fully into your mouth this time, cheeks hollowing as you bobbed your head. "Shit— wait—"with a buck to his hips and a drawn out moan his cum flooded into your mouth. His entire body jerked, head falling back as you swallowed, finally releasing him with a pop. "Holy fuck.." Jungwon breathed, completely wrecked, fingers pushing shakily through your hair "Baby, where did you learn to do that?"
"Research," you said against his thigh, lips curling when his head jolted upward so fast it almost looked painful. A grin spread across your face then, as you wiped the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand. "What? I wanted to make you feel good too."
For a second he just stared at you like his brain had completely stalled trying to process. Then his head tipped back slightly with a disbelieving laugh, one hand dragging down over his face, before returning immediately to you again, fingers brushing along your jaw. You grinned. "Why are you acting shocked? You literally admitted it first."
"That was different."
"How?"
"Because.. I’m me," he replied instantly, like that explained everything. You rolled your eyes immediately and Jungwon laughed in response, pulling you up properly against his chest until your legs tangled together beneath the blankets. The sound faded softer after a second, his hand moving slowly up and down your back absentmindedly while the room settled back into quiet around you. Rain still tapped faintly against the windows, gentler now, and the moonlight spilling through the curtains painted everything in silver that made Jungwon look unfairly pretty this close. His hair was messy from your hands, lips slightly swollen.
Eventually, after a long stretch of lazy conversation and kissing that kept dissolving halfway into quiet laughter, Jungwon forced himself to sit up with visible reluctance. "Shower?" he muttered, though he sounded deeply upset by the idea of moving at all. You let out a small breath of a laugh, pushing yourself upright too slowly — still half-tangled in the sheets, eyes barely open.
"We probably should." He lingered for a second longer, fingers loosely hooked around your wrist like he was testing whether he could reasonably convince you to ignore basic hygiene and stay exactly where you were, but eventually he stood anyway, pulling you up with him in the same motion
The walk to the bathroom was half-hearted at best, both of you still half-dazed, Jungwon bumping his shoulder lightly into yours in that absent, familiar way he always did when he was too tired to behave properly. The shower itself passed in a blur of sleepy warmth and quiet teasing, more soft touches than anything else, both of you too wrung out now to be anything except gentle. Jungwon then changed the sheets as you changed into some loose clothes and by the time you both finally made it back to the bed, Jungwon looked about two seconds away from falling asleep where he stood. Still, he waited until you were under the covers first before he climbed in beside you again, immediately pulling you closer. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you firmly into his chest until there was no space left to negotiate with, his hand resting at your back in slow, absent circle.
"Stay here," he murmured. "I’m not going anywhere," you replied softly, adjusting slightly so your head rested properly against him. You felt him relax fully a moment later, the tension finally leaving his body completely as sleep started to take him properly. His breathing slowed, his grip on you never loosening even as he drifted.
You woke up gradually in pieces rather than all at once, warm and disoriented, the kind of slow return to consciousness that didn’t immediately remind you where you were, until you shifted slightly and felt Jungwon’s arm tighten instinctively around you — like even in sleep he didn’t want to let distance happen. He was already awake, you realised a moment later, watching you with that quiet, half-lidded expression he always had when he was still caught between sleep and awareness, hair slightly messed, face softer than it ever was when anyone else was around.
"Morning baby," he murmured, voice rough and low, you blinked up at him, still too warm to think properly, and for a second you just stared at him like your brain hadn’t caught up with the fact that this was now your life, sneaking into his dorm, waking up in his arms, him calling you baby so easily. You shifted closer on instinct, burying your face briefly against his chest like you could delay existing for a few more seconds, and he made a quiet, pleased sound under his breath as his hand immediately slid up your back again.
"You’re too awake," you muttered against him, voice muffled. "I’ve been awake for a while," he admitted quietly, "I was just… not moving, because you looked comfortable."
That made something in your chest perk up immediately, you leaned up slightly and kissed him, slow and unhurried, the kind of morning kiss that didn’t feel like anything complicated. Jungwon responded instantly, hand sliding up to your cheek, and for a few seconds there was nothing else in the world except the quiet, the warmth, and the fact that neither of you seemed in any rush. "We should probably get up," you murmured, though you made no move to actually do it.
"Mm," he agreed instantly, not moving either, pressing a kiss to your forehead like that solved the problem. "In a minute."
"A minute turns into an hour with you."
"That’s fine," he said easily, pulling you closer again. "We have time."
You let out a quiet laugh, which he clearly took as encouragement because he kissed you again like that was a perfectly reasonable way to start the morning.
"Last night was…" you started, pausing as you tried to find a word that didn’t immediately set your brain on fire. Jungwon raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly already knowing where this was going, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over your knuckles.
"Good?" he offered, far too calm.
You let out a small laugh, hiding your face for half a second before looking back at him. "So good,"
That earned you a quiet, satisfied hum from him, like he’d been waiting for you to say it out loud. He shifted closer again, forehead briefly resting against yours. "Yeah," he agreed, voice softer now, "I liked taking care of you."
You rolled your eyes fondly, nudging his shoulder with yours. "Research paid off then?"
"Don’t start," he muttered, but he was smiling anyway, pulling you back in by your waist, "I just wanted you to feel good."
"I did feel good," you admitted, voice dropping a little, more honest now as your fingers traced absentmindedly along his sleeve. "Really good and I wasn’t nervous with you. I thought I would be, but I wasn’t."
"Me neither," he confessed. "I mean I was nervous about everything except you." After a beat he added, "Next time, we don’t have to stop there if you don’t want to.”
"Okay then... let's not stop," you whispered against his lips. Jungwon's brain physically lagged for a moment, "You— right now?" he swallowed softly. You nodded once and for a moment he just stared at you, "You're—"
"Yes baby I'm sure." you cut him off which only had him cheesing. His hand slipped into your hair, gently pulling you back just enough to kiss you, and you rolled your eyes even as you leaned into it willingly. His free hand drifted lazily down your side, to squeeze the plush flesh of your ass and finally settling on your thigh. You hummed into his mouth at the touch pulling him closer instinctively.
Jungwon pulled back first, just enough to look at you properly. There was still a trace of sleep in his eyes, but there was something else there too. His eyes were almost black, just from kissing and that almost made you laugh. "What?" Jungwon grinned catching your lips curl.
"Just how needy you get from a little kissing," you said rubbing absentminded circles on his biceps.
"You just told me you want me to fuck you," he deadpanned, which only had you exhaling a laugh at his blunt words.
"Besides," he starts, hand splaying against your thigh, guiding and resting it over his hip. "you seemed pretty needy last night." You glanced away heat crawling up your neck, "Aw, don't get shy on me now baby." he whispered as his hand cupped your jaw guiding you to face him again.
"Won—" it came out barely above a breath, cheek now burning against his hand.
"Yeah?" he tilts his head "tell me what you need princess."
You bit the inside of your lip, you weren't planning on giving in but unfortunately you already had, 5 minutes ago. "You know what I need." you said, eyebrows pulling together.
"Mm, want to hear you say it," his eyes flit between your features, lips stretched subtly in an almost grin.
You leaned in pressing a kiss to his jaw and then licked over his pulse point, "Need your cock, inside me."
Jungwon inhaled sharply, he pulled you onto his lap properly by your thighs — lips attacking the soft flesh on your neck because he couldn't tease you anymore, not when he was throbbing beneath you. You adjusted onto him pressing your core against his stiff length.
Jungwon's hands ran up and down your body, pulling you impossibly closer like distance wasn't allowed. His tongue found yours and he slipped his hands around to your lower-back, under the fabric of your loose shorts and squeezed. You swallowed his content groan as he pulled your clothes off, starting with those shorts.
You both stripped each other between wet filthy kisses, slick sounds and your shared pleasure vibrated between your mouths. He didn't bother taking his boxers off, too caught up in his fingers finding your pussy, he groaned low into your mouth once he did "I did this to you?" he breathed against your lips.
"Mhm, you make me so fucking wet," you gasped, one hand loose on his neck, the other gripping his bicep.
He practically moaned at your words pulling you up so your core was directly on the curve of his cock. You just watched as his hands drifted to your hips, he gripped gently and jolted you forward. Your breath hitched at the first contact, a shaky moan ripping out of you as he guided you back and forth over him.
His head fell back against the headboard as he continued grinding you back and forth, hips bucking uncontrollably. "Shit, I'm gonna cum just from this," he breathed, and between the slick of both your pre-cum and the feeling of your bare pussy on his barely covered cock, you both found yourselves becoming increasingly desperate.
At some point his length under the fabric of his boxers rubbed over your clit in a perfect rhythm, heat flooded through your stomach. "God, baby," you mewled, your hand on his neck tightened just a little.
"Ah- baby I'm—" Jungwon moaned high and filthy. He had no idea something as simple as your fingers around his neck could turn him on so much.
As his hips bucked and warmth spread through his boxers your own high crashed into you with a whine. "Holy fuck," Jungwon breathed after a moment, beads of sweat forming along his hairline, "..think you're ready?" he added after a moment, you exhaled a laugh leaning forward into his neck.
He grinned flipping you over, somewhere between messy kisses and wandering hands he threw his boxers off and of course he was still fucking hard. You hooked your legs around his waist as he reached down guiding himself to your slick entrance. Your foreheads rested together, eyes on your connecting bodies. "Tell me if anything feels off," he said looking between your eyes, stern despite the desire deep in his sockets.
"I will," you whisper back, he nodded and then rubbed his tip over your slit slowly, teasing you both into shudders. His eyes snapped back up to your face, taking in every tiny twitch as he gradually pushed in, inch by inch. His lips parted in a guttural moan and your eyes threatened to roll back just at the feeling of his thickness stretching you out.
"Good?" he gasped softly, barely halfway in. A noise from the back of your mouth spilled out, half moan half whine — which almost had him spilling right there. He knit his eyes shut in concentration, breath warm against your cheek.
After a moment of composing himself the best he could he continued pushing in. Your grip on his bicep only tightened as your back slowly arched with each inch. As he bottomed out you both gasped together, Jungwon traced the curve of your lower-back holding you there, letting you adjust. "It's like you were fucking made for me," he said almost under his breath.
"Feel so—so full Won," you managed, his parted mouth curled up just slightly and then he pulled out just a little, just to push right back in — every thrust creating a spark of friction, bursting low in your belly.
Your legs around his waist tightened instinctively, pulling him impossibly closer as his hand moved from your hip to the back of your head, threading through your hair. Every sound spilling from your lips had him speeding up, "Sound so—pretty— for me."
You clenched around him at his praise, and Jungwon's hips stuttered, "Ah— you're squeezing me princess—" he breathed.
Your arms wrapped around his neck pulling his mouth onto yours, he whined low into your mouth in response. For a moment you barely responded, because the added traction of your nipples against his chest had your mouth going slack and Jungwon just stared, taking in your dazed expression and then — faster than you could comprehend he pulled your leg from his hip to his shoulder, the new position allowing his cock to reach even deeper. He watched as your face contorted in pleasure — his pace only quickened, grinding as far as he could reach. "Won-fuck-fuck-fuck—baby," you babbled between breaths.
His blonde hair was tousled in that sweaty sexy way and his tongue was lolled out how it would be when he was concentrating. His gaze instinctively dropped to your stomach, "—Oh, fuck— look at how deep I am babygirl," he gaped, eyes on the clear bulge in your tummy. Your whimpers picked up as the pressure built, thrusts deepening, "Baby— I want you to cum on my cock" he breathed leaning down, "can you do that for me?"
"Yeah—yes, fuck," you whined, he started ploughing into you, a hand reaching down to rub fast circles on your clit — you clenched hard in response a chorus of babbling and whines echoing between you.
"Want you to cum in me." you gasped as you felt that familiar chord about to snap,
"— Ah my fuuck—," his hips snapped in response a content noise spilling out of him. Your orgasm crashed over you in waves, walls convulsing around his thick length and Jungwon groaned low into your neck fucking you through it, his own release following in thick spurts deep in your pussy.
You both panted as your movements stilled, Jungwon rolled over next to you pulling you into his arms, your face in his neck as his hand raked through your hair. "You're so perfect," he whispered breathy against your hair, you made an acknowledging noise "So are you."
He pulled you back just to peck little kisses all over your face, "Baby—" you started but the words quickly dissolved into giggles. "I love you," he grinned, finally pulling back.
"I love you," you responded tracing his jaw, glancing back up at his big eyes — which were softened and dazed all for you.
"Was that okay?" he said after a moment, eyebrows pulled in a nervous furrow for a moment.
You nodded automatically, "More than okay baby," you murmured, pressing a few reassuring kisses to his pink lips. Jungwon seemed more than satisfied with your answer, a sheepish grin stretching across his face before he dropped his forehead against yours with a relieved laugh.
The two of you stayed there for another minute, tangled together beneath the blankets, neither making any real effort to move. The room was warm, the early morning light spilling lazily through the curtains, and every time you shifted closer Jungwon's arms tightened around you automatically.
Eventually reality won. Jungwon let out an exaggerated sigh before forcing himself upright, earning an immediate groan from you as the warmth disappeared. "Come on," he said, reaching down to smooth a hand through your hair. "Let's get cleaned up before we accidentally sleep until dinner."
You made a dramatic sound of protest but followed him anyway, both of you moving slower than usual, still sleepy and content in a way that made everything feel softer around the edges.
You moved through the motions of cleaning up and getting yourselves sorted out while exchanging tired smiles every few minutes. Neither of you seemed capable of being more than three feet apart without immediately drifting back together again.
The rush from earlier had faded completely, leaving only the comfortable familiarity that had always existed between you. You stole one of his hoodies without asking, and Jungwon didn't even pretend to object when you climbed back onto the bed wearing it.
"That was mine," he pointed out weakly.
"Was." You smiled and opened your arms. Jungwon immediately gave up the argument and climbed back beside you. For a while he simply held you there, arms secure around your middle, the morning sunlight spilling across the room around you. You rested against his chest while he absentmindedly played with your fingers, occasionally pressing lazy kisses into your hair whenever he thought you weren't paying attention.
Then he pressed his face into your hair and mumbled, "Can we stay like this for another ten minutes?"
"Baby later, I've gotta go before the others wake up," you said, already laughing as his grip tightened immediately in protest. Jungwon groaned dramatically into your shoulder as though you had just delivered devastating news.
"You'll survive."
He lifted his head just enough to give you a deeply unimpressed look, which only made you laugh harder. The sight seemed to completely ruin whatever argument he was trying to make because a second later he was smiling too, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. He leaned forward and stole one last kiss before you could continue arguing, smiling against your lips when you made an offended noise. "There," he said, satisfied with himself. "Now you can go."
"Thank you for the permission."
"You're welcome, baby."
You rolled your eyes, but your chest felt warm anyway. You pressed a final kiss to his lips even as he made another half-hearted sound of protest, and only then did you manage to actually sit up properly. It took several more minutes than it should have to leave because Jungwon kept finding reasons to pull you back for one more hug, one more kiss, one more excuse to keep you there.
The castle was still half asleep by the time you finally slipped out of Jungwon’s room, the corridor dim and quiet enough that your footsteps sounded louder than they actually were. Behind you, Jungwon's door clicked shut softly. You were already smiling to yourself, and that should have been your first warning that the universe was about to humble you.
The sleeves of his hoodie hanging too long over your hands as you padded toward the kitchen with the vague hope of grabbing water before attempting the walk back to your own dorm unnoticed.
You were halfway through convincing yourself everyone was asleep when you stepped into the kitchen and nearly had a heart attack. Jake was already there, sitting at the counter with a mug in one hand like he’d been awake long enough to enter a different stage of consciousness. He looked up the second you walked in and visibly froze mid-sip.
You froze too and for a long second, neither of you spoke. Jake’s eyes dragged slowly over your appearance, your wet hair, the oversized hoodie, the fact it was very obviously Jungwon’s, the way you looked suspiciously rumpled for someone supposedly just passing through at sunrise. Then his eyebrows lifted so high they practically disappeared into his hairline.
"…No fucking way," he said finally, you immediately sighed,
"Don’t."
Jake leaned back in his chair. "Oh my god," he breathed, grinning now.
"I didn’t mean to fall asleep," you said far too quickly. Jake just stared at you, then his eyes dropped to your neck, then back at you again. "…Uh huh," he said flatly, heat crawled violently into your face.
"Jake." Before he could answer, another set of footsteps shuffled into the kitchen behind you and Jungwon appeared looking equally exhausted, hair still wet, shirt wrinkled beyond saving. He stopped the second he saw Jake’s expression and immediately knew, eyes closing briefly.
"Fuck."
Jake pointed between the two of you with genuine outrage. "You two are fucking monsters." You covered your face instantly but Jungwon, instead of denying it like a normal person, looked genuinely stricken for a completely different reason.
"I knew we were being too loud."
You whipped around fast. "Shut the fuck up."
Jake doubled over laughing immediately while Jungwon dragged a hand through his hair. "I’m just saying, I had a feeling."
"A feeling?" Jake repeated, wheezing. "Bro, the entire floor had a feeling." Jungwon looked deeply ashamed for maybe half a second before moving behind you and immediately hiding his face in your shoulder. His arms slid loosely around your waist without thinking, all warm and unfairly comfortable despite the situation. Which only made Jake point harder. "Two days since you 'made' up. TWO."
"We were going to tell you," Jungwon muttered weakly. Jake only stared at him. "After what?"
You groaned covering your face with both hands now. "Shut up." you said muffled.
Jake, unfortunately, was enjoying himself far too much now. "Do you understand how traumatic it is," he continued, "to wake up at like three in the morning thinking somebody is getting brutally murdered and then realizing no, it’s just Jungwon losing his virginity." Jungwon made a strangled noise into your neck. "Stop talking." he mumbled not even bothering correcting him.
"No, because I almost came in to check if—"
"Jake." He held both hands up immediately, still laughing. "Alright, okay, I’m done." He clearly was not done. The grin stayed permanently stuck on his face as he looked between you both again, softer this time beneath all the teasing.
"Seriously though," he said, shaking his head. "About fucking time." You felt your embarrassment ease just slightly at that but Jake ruined it immediately by narrowing his eyes at Jungwon "But I swear to god, if I hear even one suspicious sound again, I’m knocking on the wall like an old man."
Jungwon finally lifted his head just enough to mumble, "Can you keep your voice down before the others wake up?"
Jake gasped dramatically. "Oh, now we care about volume."
You scoffed turning your head to Jungwon, while he started laughing into you, shoulders shaking. "This is your fault," you told him immediately.
"My fault?” he repeated, offended now despite the grin tugging at his mouth. “You were the one making—”
"Finish that sentence and I’ll kill you." Jake nearly folded in half laughing again while Jungwon wisely shut his mouth, though the smug look on his face made it very clear he absolutely could finish that sentence.The kitchen settled after that into quieter laughter, the kind that came easier after the initial humiliation burned off and light conversation. Jake took another sip of coffee, still occasionally looking at the two of you with disbelief written all over his face, while Jungwon stayed tucked against your shoulder without an ounce of shame left in him anymore.
"We lasted barely two days," you said, turning to look at Jungwon again. He groaned into your neck, arms tightening around your waist. "I thought we’d at least make it a week," he said. "Yeah, no chance," you laughed.
"Worth it," Jungwon whispered, breath warm against your ear. You rolled your eyes automatically, though the smile pulling at your mouth ruined any attempt at annoyance. Behind you, Jake made a deeply offended sound into his coffee mug.
"I hate both of you."
Eventually, after Jake threatened violence if either of you stayed in the kitchen any longer, you finally escaped back to your dorm. The walk across the hall felt strangely light, maybe because the secret was already starting to slip out of your hands anyway. Your dorm was quiet when you slipped inside, still half asleep as morning light spilled weakly through the windows. You changed quickly, washing your face in freezing water in a failed attempt to wake yourself up properly.
By the time you finally made your way down to breakfast, the castle had properly woken up around you. Voices echoed through the corridors, footsteps overlapping against stone floors, the usual morning chaos settling back into place. Breakfast passed in a blur of pointed looks and carefully neutral behaviour, the kind where you and Jungwon sat just far enough apart to be technically innocent but close enough that Jake kept smirking into his drink.
The afternoon found you all together again, sprawled in a common lounge space near the library where people usually ended up when they had nowhere else to be. Ni-ki had claimed an armchair, Heeseung was half lying across the sofa scrolling on his phone, Kenny was arguing about something unimportant, and Jake was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch in a way that made it look like he was physically restraining himself from commenting on anything.
You ended up beside Jungwon without thinking, like it was muscle memory rather than choice. He didn’t say anything about it either, just shifted slightly to make space for you, his shoulder brushing yours in a way that felt entirely too natural for something you were supposedly hiding. It was almost working, until someone else walked in.
It was one of the older Slytherin students you vaguely recognised, confident enough in the way he carried himself to immediately head in your direction with an easy smile. You only realised he was speaking to you when he stopped directly in front of the sofa, asking your name with the kind of casual interest that didn’t quite match the way his eyes stayed on your face. "Hey," he said again, like repeating it made it smoother, "I’ve seen you around, I just wanted to say hi properly."
You answered politely, confused more than anything, and that was apparently enough encouragement for him to keep talking. Jungwon didn’t move at first, which was almost impressive, but the change in him was immediate anyway. You felt it, the shift in posture beside you, the way his leg tensed slightly where it was stretched out near yours, the subtle lean forward like he was suddenly very aware of the space between you and the stranger.
The guy laughed at something you said, just a little too familiar, and Jungwon finally looked up. "Can I help you?" Jungwon asked, voice calm in a way that didn’t match the look in his eyes at all.
The guy blinked, slightly thrown by the tone more than the words. "Oh, I was just talking to her—"
"I know," he said lightly, still smiling. "I heard." There was a beat of silence that felt like it stretched too long for comfort. Heeseung slowly lowered his phone. Ni-ki straightened in his chair. Kenny stopped talking mid-sentence. Jake covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders already shaking like he was physically fighting laughter.
The guy looked between you and Jungwon now, the confusion starting to shift into something more cautious. "Are you her boyfriend or something?"
Jungwon didn’t even hesitate. "No," he said easily, still smiling. Then he glanced at you for half a second, softer in a way only you caught, like the answer wasn’t meant for anyone else in the room.
"Not yet."
The room absolutely lost it in the most restrained way possible, like everyone was trying not to make it worse but failing miserably. Jake made a sound that suspiciously turned into a cough halfway through. Kenny’s eyes went wide. Ni-ki leaned forward, elbows on knees. Even Heeseung looked like he was trying very hard to understand if this was a joke or a confession.
The guy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… I’ll leave you to it then." He left faster than he arrived.
"Jungwon," you said under your breath, he finally looked at you properly now, expression completely unreadable for half a second before it softened again, like he couldn’t help himself.
"What? I was polite." he said quietly, too calm to be innocent.
"That was not polite," you laughed in disbelief, leaning into his shoulder without thinking, like your body had decided this was just normal again, completely forgetting for a second that everyone else in the room was currently reconstructing reality around you both. It only took you half a second to realise they had gone quiet in that very specific way that meant people were talking without actually speaking.
Jungwon didn’t even flinch at the contact, just shifted slightly so you fit against him more naturally. "It was," he insisted, still annoyingly calm about it, eyes flicking briefly down to you like he was more focused on you than the entire audience pretending not to exist
It wasn’t loud at first, more like a collective pause. The kind where nobody speaks because everyone is trying to decide who breaks first. Then Kenny finally leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowed like she was assembling a case in real time. "So," she said carefully, "just to clarify what I’m watching right now.”
Heeseung exhaled through his nose, already looking tired of being right about everything. "Don’t say ‘just to clarify’ like you’re not about to interrogate them."
"I am," Kenny replied immediately, not even looking away from you two. Ni-ki tilted his head, openly curious now. "So like.. you're together?"
Jungwon didn’t answer straight away. Not because he was hiding anything, but because he looked mildly amused by the fact that they were only just catching up. His hand stayed resting casually near your knee like it belonged there, thumb brushing once against your leg. Kenny didn’t even look up properly, just pointed vaguely at you both. "I knew it. I literally said it. No one listens to me in this house."
Jungwon finally sat up a little, still calm but noticeably less playful now that he could feel the full attention on him. "It’s not new," he said simply, like that answered anything.
That made Jake let out a quiet laugh from the floor. "That is the most unhelpful sentence you could’ve chosen."
Jungwon hummed quietly at that, glancing at you for half a second like he was sharing the joke only with you. "We didn’t plan for it to be… announced," he said, which made Jake snort again.
"Oh, it got announced,” Jake said. "Loudly. Multiple times."
You covered your face briefly, heat creeping up your neck. "Please stop talking."
Kenny looked between you and Jake now, fully locking in on something she wasn’t ready to let go of. "He knew??"
"Unfortunately," Jake mumbled, clearly enjoying your embarrassment far too much, leaning back into the sofa. "I’ve been carrying this knowledge alone."
Heeseung let out a quiet breath through his nose, shaking his head a little. "That explains a lot, actually."
Jungwon shifted slightly beside you, still calm but now visibly more amused, like the whole thing had officially crossed into ridiculous territory he no longer felt the need to resist. "He’s been unbearable since this morning," he added.
"Excuse you,” Jake said instantly. “I have been supportive."
"You threatened to knock on the wall." you reminded him.
"I was setting boundaries," Jake replied without missing a beat.
Kenny pointed between all of you again, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, no, I’m still not done with you two."
"We feel like we are," you said.
"You’re not," she replied, and she wasn’t lying. The next twenty minutes somehow turned into a slow, ongoing series of questions that weren’t even really questions anymore, just observations disguised as curiosity. Heeseung quietly checking if you were both "Okay okay" after everything, Ni-ki asking far too many casual "So like when did you realise" questions, Kenny refusing to let any detail pass unexamined, and Jungwon answering everything with infuriating calmness like this was a group project he had already finished. You eventually stopped trying to defend anything and just leaned fully into him again, which only made them look more satisfied and by the time they finally let it go, it wasn’t because they were out of questions. It was because they were exhausted.
Jake was the first one to fully give up, getting up and stretching like he had just survived a long-haul flight, then walked over and flopped directly down between you both on the sofa like personal space was an outdated concept. "Alright," he announced, already reaching an arm around your shoulders and the other around Jungwon. "I approve of this relationship."
You made a sound of protest, half-laughing as his weight pushed you both closer together. "You don’t get to approve anything."
"I do," Jake said, completely unbothered, settling in like he was comfortable there for the rest of the day. "I suffered through the years of denial."
Jungwon leaned slightly into the chaos without complaint, glancing down at Jake’s arm like it was mildly inconvenient but acceptable. "You’re heavy," he said and Jake squeezed tighter just to be annoying.
"And you’re welcome."
Ni-ki was still watching like he was trying to decide if this counted as normal behaviour now. Kenny had her chin propped in her hand, looking way too pleased with how this had all resolved itself. Heeseung, as usual, looked like he’d already accepted the situation ten steps before everyone else caught up.
Then Kenny exhaled, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "No, seriously though," she said, eyes flicking between you and Jungwon, "I’m happy for you both." Ni-ki nodded immediately like that was the only logical conclusion. "Yeah. About time, honestly." Heeseung hummed in agreement, calm as ever.
Jake tilted his head back against the sofa, still wrapped around both of you like a human barricade. "Yeah," he added, quieter but sincere underneath all the noise, "I’m happy for you guys. It’s been… a lot watching you finally get here." That landed in a way that made your chest feel a little warm and too tight at the same time. Jungwon didn’t say anything straight away, just pat Jake's shoulder.
"Yeah," he said finally, softer than usual, "it was worth it."
Jake, of course, ruined the softness immediately by squeezing you both again. "Don’t get emotional," he said. "I will make it weird again if I have to."
Later that night, long after the teasing had finally died down and everyone had gone their separate ways, Jungwon appeared outside your dorm looking suspicious in a way that immediately made you narrow your eyes at him. The corridor was quiet, lit only by the warm dim glow from the wall sconces, and he stood there with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket like he was attempting innocence he absolutely did not possess.
"You look guilty," you informed him as you stepped out into the corridor, pulling your jacket tighter around yourself against the cold stone air. Jungwon’s mouth twitched immediately, blonde hair falling messily across his forehead from where he’d clearly been dragging his hands through it for a while now.
"I’m literally just standing here," he said, though the defensive edge to it only made you more suspicious. Before you could continue interrogating him, he reached for your hand, fingers slipping easily between yours with effortless familiarity. "Come with me," he added, thumb brushing absentmindedly across your knuckles. "I’m not doing anything illegal. Probably."
"That is not reassuring."
"It should be slightly reassuring," he corrected, already tugging you along the corridor. You let him pull you through the castle despite the growing certainty that he absolutely was planning something. The higher the staircases became, the more sceptical you got, until eventually you slowed to a stop halfway up another winding staircase and looked at him properly. "Jungwon," you said carefully, already trying not to laugh, "Why are we climbing seventy flights of stairs at midnight."
He laughed under his breath at that, squeezing your hand gently. "Can you trust me for five minutes, baby? Just five. I’m asking for very little here." he replied, tugging lightly on your hand until you started moving again. The pet name distracted you just enough that he managed to get you all the way to the top before you could continue questioning him. There was something annoying in his expression already, like he knew you were going to like whatever this was and was trying not to ruin it too early.
The second the tower door swung open, night air rushed around you, carrying the distant sound of wind through the castle grounds below and then your eyes landed on the setup waiting near the far side of the tower. Blankets and pillows looking ridiculously comfortable, spread across the stone floor beneath the stars, complete with snacks shoved into one corner and what looked suspiciously like one of the softer blankets stolen from the boys dorm. You stopped dead in the doorway staring at it while Jungwon immediately looked away like he physically couldn’t handle your reaction yet.
"Baby," you breathed.
"It gets cold up here," he says quickly, though the slight pinkness creeping into his face completely ruined any attempt at nonchalance. "And carrying all of this up here was genuinely horrible. I almost gave up halfway through and just invited you to the couch downstairs."
That startled a laugh out of you, warm enough that some of the tension visibly left his shoulders at the sound. You’d started noticing that recently too — how much he relaxed whenever you laughed now, like some deeply anxious part of him was still adjusting to the fact that he no longer had to wonder if you wanted him around.
"C’mere," he murmured after a second, reaching for you again. He pulled your jacket off for you before shrugging his own off and tossing both onto the blankets carelessly. You let him guide you over before dropping down beside him, both of you dissolving into quiet laughter when one of the pillows immediately slid out from underneath you and nearly sent you sideways. Jungwon caught you automatically, one arm wrapping around your waist as he pulled you securely against him, and the smug little smile that appeared afterwards made you grin immediately.
"Who knew you'd be such a sap."
“Baby I worked hard,” he replied, attempting to sound serious about it. “Do you know how difficult it is to sneak this many pillows through the castle without people asking questions. Jake watched me walk past and just went, ‘If you’re not proposing up there don't tell me about it after.’"
You exhaled a laugh. "That sounds like him."
The wind moved softly around the tower after that, the blankets warm beneath you while Jungwon shifted until you were tucked comfortably against his chest, his arm draped around your waist beneath the layers of fabric. For a while neither of you spoke. You just sat there together watching the dark grounds stretch below the tower while his fingers traced lazy patterns against your side through your top. Eventually though, Jungwon let out a quiet breath, the kind that gave him away instantly.
You tilted your head back slightly to look at him. "What’s going on in that brain right now."
Jungwon groaned softly before dropping his head back against the stone wall behind him. "I had this planned better in my head," he admitted.
A laugh escaped you immediately. "That's not an answer."
His fingers tightened around yours beneath the blanket before he looked back down at you again, expression slowly melting into something quieter. "I just keep thinking about how everyone already calls you mine, and you are. And I know that sounds stupid, because everything is already obvious, but it’s been bothering me all day,"
You blinked at him once, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. "After wanting this for so long, I don’t want to do any of it halfway with you. I don’t wanna look back later and realize I skipped over asking because I assumed you already knew."
You squeezed his hand, smiling into his shoulder. Jungwon looked down at you then, fully this time, all soft and nervous honesty under the dim lantern light.
"So," he said carefully, "Baby, can I be your boyfriend, properly."
Something about the way he asked nearly ruined you on the spot. That after years of almosts and misunderstandings and loving each other so quietly it physically hurt, you had somehow ended up here instead.
"You’re ridiculous."
"That's not a no," he said immediately, grinning way too much for someone trying to act calm. You kissed him, laughter dissolving against his mouth when he melted into it instantly, one hand sliding up to cup your cheek while his relieved smile pressed warm against your lips.
"Yes," you whispered once you pulled back enough to breathe. "Obviously yes."
He exhaled hard through his nose before pulling you impossibly closer into him, forehead pressing against yours while he laughed quietly under his breath. "Okay good," he murmured. "Because I’ve actually been stressed about asking you for, like, six hours."
"You did not think I was going to say no," you teased, brushing your nose lightly against his.
"Mmm. I considered the possibility," he replied with a tiny shrug that immediately ruined the seriousness of the moment. You swatted at his shoulder and he laughed properly this time, catching your hand before you could do it again and pressing a quick kiss to your knuckles.
"Boyfriend," he said suddenly, testing the word out loud, and unfortunately your face betrayed you immediately.
"Oh," his eyes widened, and then he laughed softly.
"Jungwon."
His grin only widened as he wrapped both arms around your waist and pulled you against him properly. "My girlfriend," he whispered, sounding entirely too pleased with himself now. You groaned and buried your face in his shoulder, which only made him laugh harder, his chin resting lightly on top of your head.
For a second you just held his eyes, looking into the same boy who used to love you silently from across rooms, from hidden glances and overthought conversations and years of wanting without knowing what to do with it.
The story had never been about falling in love. It had been about realising you already were. Jungwon tilted his head slightly when he noticed you staring.
"What?"
You smiled and leaned forward and kissed him again beneath the stars, beneath the endless sky that had watched every version of you both become this one.
And when you finally pulled away, the future didn't feel frightening anymore. It felt familiar. It looked like stolen hoodies and sleepy mornings, like a boy with messy blonde hair looking at you as though he'd never quite believe his luck.
And beneath a sky full of stars, surrounded by the quiet magic of a world that had brought you together long before either of you understood why, you stayed there a little longer.
Just two people who had spent four years finding their way home.
V 𓄧 wowowowow. i'd already written 17k words when i posted 4poison1 so i was like, yo this is not gonna take me long at all......... a month later. . .imsorry ok i hope this makes up for it AND JS KNOW i will NAUT be writing long ass fics for a while omg this took me from FEBRUARY TO JUNE. i love you x
You return to Hogwarts expecting everything to feel the same — especially him.
Yang Jungwon, your best friend of four years. Your constant.
Until a love potion changes everything.
PAIRING: gryffindor!jungwon 𝓍 slytherin!femreader WORD COUNT: 20k+ — series ★⋆ CONTENT: fluff ⋆ angst ⋆ eventual smut hogwarts au, love potions, jealousy, yearninggggg, possessive!won. avoidant!reader, miscommunication.. a lot of it, plot twists, feat. beomgyu of txt, enhypen & my beautiful wife @hueningskais ⦸ alcohol, love potion drugging, masturbating (m).
| PLAYLIST | LIBRARY | PART 2
V𓄧 I did not want this to be two parts . .forgive me juseyo. the second part is coming shortly. i'll make it up to you. thank you soo much @hueningskais and miss anna for proof-reading and doing so much for me, i appreciate it so so much MWAH. thank you miss @heedimples too, your input was soo helpful my girl⋆
The castle was a home like no other. You had never felt so welcome in a place that belonged to all — portraits that often gossiped to you, halls that invited you to explore them, passages that opened in time of need. The castle was a friend you welcomed into your heart without protest.
You were not someone who let things in easily, never had. People came with expectations, questions, and noise you did not always have the energy to answer. Hogwarts came naturally to you it all settled around you so easily it stopped feeling new almost immediately. Portraits whispering like bored aunties with nothing better to do, staircases shifting as if they had moods, doors opening for you like they were in on something you were not. You let it all in.
You received your letter at eleven years old. Being a half-blood — it was simply standard procedure. You stayed on for university like a lot of people did, but unlike most of them it didn’t feel like a choice. It felt like returning to something that had already claimed you.
And somewhere in the middle of it, you met him. It was annoying at first because your life was perfectly fine. Up until then it was quiet, controlled with minimal emotional risk — exactly how you liked it.
You had known Yang Jungwon for four years now, but it had not always been that way. You met in your sixth year after being paired up by Professor Snape for a three day run on Felix Felicis.
Snape paired you together like it was funny, like he didn’t just throw a Slytherin who avoids eye contact like it’s a sport with a Gryffindor who… looks.
The moment your names were called you had looked across the room, already mildly irritated, to the black-haired Gryffindor — only to find he was already looking at you. You vaguely recognized him. He was someone you had passed in corridors, one of those people who existed in your peripheral vision. You two had never spoken as there had never been a reason to, until then.
His expression did this small thing — eyebrows lifting, like he expected literally anyone else. The moment your eyes met, he looked away, offering a small, tight-lipped smile. He looked a little nervous.
You weren't too bothered to be paired with him, he seemed to be a good enough partner — at least he wasn’t Seamus.. low bar, but still.
The seat beside you was already taken. So you gathered your things without hesitation and moved — sliding into the empty space next to him instead. As you settled into the seat you had looked over to your old table. You were only a seat behind — with a perfect view of your previous place.
"Y/n right?" His voice pulled you out of your thoughts. You turned slightly, catching the way his eyes couldn’t decide where to land, like looking at you directly might be too much. Flickering between you and the chalkboard at the front of the room. You almost smiled.. almost.
"Yeah," you answer, a little softer than intended. He nods, almost immediately, like that confirms something for him. Even though he already knew.
Yang Jungwon was popular, though not in the loud, attention-seeking way others were. Known as the composed, hard-working Gryffindor, he carried himself with a kind of steady confidence that people trusted. Down to earth, reliable, kind but not soft. Never someone you could easily push around. He had made that clear and yet sitting beside you now, with your attention fully on him, he felt something in that composure slip.
He had never been someone easily taken by others. He had never found himself captivated by someone’s presence, never caught himself returning to the same person in his thoughts without reason, until you.
The first time Jungwon had noticed you, he had been half-listening in Herbology. His attention slipping as the professor droned on about Venomous Tentacula. His gaze had wandered, unfocused — until it landed on you.
You were seated a row ahead. Not directly in front of him but just off to the side, angled enough that he could see the curve of your profile. Your head rested against your hand, posture relaxed in a way that suggested you were not entirely paying attention either. Looking like you could not care less about Venomous Tentacula trying to eat someone two tables over.
All he knew about you was your house, Slytherin. Obviously. He had his own assumptions about you, but not in the obvious way. Most people assume all Slytherins are calculated and cold. They decide before you even utter a word — that you are aloof and detached. It's not that you don't feel things — it's that you feel them too much and learned the hard way that not everyone deserves access to that.
But you didn't seem to care for what others thought. You let them have their assumptions about you.
The plant in front of you swirled around your fingers as though it had chosen you. You did not react nor did you pull away either. You just let it weave between your fingers. Watching like it was mildly interesting at best. It was subtle.
The kind of moment no one would notice unless they were already looking.
Jungwon raised an eyebrow with something alike to curiosity flickering across his expression. Before he realized it, his own lips mirrored yours without his knowledge. Afterwards, it became a habit.
Not an intentional one — he never sought you out but his attention found you anyway. His gaze would drift in the middle of lessons, between notes, during long stretches of nothing. It would settle on you without a second thought.
Often times, he didn’t even let himself think about it long enough to question it. It was easier to let it exist as it was — something small and unspoken. You existed in his subconscious.
Which is why, when he heard your name called alongside his — it didn’t feel real. You were not supposed to exist like this, not in front of him, not real in the way everything else was. Not close enough to talk to or look at properly.
"Jungwon?" you said his name like it wasn’t a big deal, like he wasn't suddenly aware of everything. The way you tilted your head, the almost-smile you gave him as if you were being polite, not trying too hard.
"Oh! yeah, that's me." he replied rather fast. Realization settling in that he had spent more time thinking about you as an idea rather than as a person.. and now you were both.
You nodded, turning back to your notes and pulling out the correct pages as Snape rambled about ingredients.
You fell into a comfortable rhythm. Passing ingredients without speaking, writing notes like you shared a brain cell for a few hours. You had found yourselves to be great partners. Often times passing things between you wordlessly or having the answers the other didn't have.
By the second day, conversation came easier. You talked about things that had nothing to do with potions, debated topics you didn’t need to care about...and agreed on almost all of it. Almost.
"You Gryffindors and your pride" you rolled your eyes in faux annoyance as he passed you a serrated knife, a quiet scoff leaving him in return.
"I do not have pride! Besides you lot are practically evil." he shot back, leaning slightly against the desk. You dropped your jaw, exaggerated and offended like he had just personally offended your entire bloodline.
"That is a serious accusation." you deadpan. The Murtlap tentacle squelched unpleasantly under the blade — you winced at the texture, just a little, trying not to let it show. He noticed.
"Your stereotyping wounds me." you added flatly, beginning to write notes into both your books without thinking.
"Yeah, that was bad rage-bait," He grinned sheepishly while waiting for the knife, "Besides," you said flatly, glancing up at him with deliberate intent, "do I look evil?" you teased.
Jungwon scoffed automatically, ignoring the way he couldn't look away, fingers fumbling as you handed him the blade, just slightly in a way he hoped you didn’t notice.
"Yeah," he said, clearing his throat as he adjusted his grip on the knife, "Completely. The devil in disguise." he responded as he added the cut up ingredients into the cauldron, focusing a little too hard on the task.
You laughed under your breath and smacked his arm, with no real force behind it. He laughed too but quieter.
From that day forward, you were rarely apart. It wasn’t something either of you planned, it just happened. One day turned into the next and suddenly it felt natural to look for him without thinking. The unregistered expectation of him beside you like he had always been there.
In the library, you would sit across from each other with books spread out between you, the intention to study long forgotten. He would kick your foot under the table just to get a reaction. Which, annoyingly — you let him.
Other times, he would be sprawled across your bed, entirely too comfortable in your space, half-listening as you rambled about assignments, deadlines, anything that crossed your mind.
You found yourself seeking him out without realizing it. Waiting for him and measuring parts of your day by whether or not he was there to share them.
Even on the days when everything felt slightly off, when something sat heavy in your chest or doubt crept in quietly — you found yourself at his door. Not to soothe you or to push your burdens on him, but to exist beside someone who didn’t need you to explain anything for it to feel easier. Because his presence made you feel better without trying.
You didn’t rely on people like that. Didn’t need people like that. Well, apparently you did.. at least when it came to him, which is… deeply inconvenient.
When you'd show up at his door, quieter than usual, a little distant, eyes not quite focused — he would let you in, something in his chest tightening at the sight of you like that. Because your upset, somehow always became his.
He wouldn't speak to you different nor did he make you speak, he would just sit besides you as you watched the life outside his window. You always said his view was better along with some bitter comment about Gryffindor privilege. He’d laugh every time, and just like that.. something would lift, just enough.
It scared him how easily you fit into his life. He found himself looking for you without meaning to, glancing toward the places you usually were, expecting to see you there like it was a given.
When he would find you, a grin would take over before he could stop it, because somehow — no matter how big the castle got, no matter how many people filled it, Jungwon always found you.
One time, he found you in your common room. He’d walked in with Ni-ki, half-listening to whatever he was saying. His attention had already started drifting, and then it landed on you.
You’d picked the far corner sofa — the one slightly too close to the fireplace, where it was warm enough to make people leave you alone after five minutes. You were curled into it, book open, fully committed to looking unapproachable. Which, ironically, had never worked on him
"Hey, miss," Jungwon greeted as he made his way over, dropping onto the sofa beside you without hesitation, close enough that your shoulders brushed.
You didn’t look up immediately. You let the page sit there for a second longer, like you were deeply invested in whatever paragraph you hadn’t actually been reading.
You shifted just enough to turn your knees toward him, the book still half open in your lap. "Hey, Won." you'd return lazily, not thinking about it. He did.
That was the first time you had called him that. He stiffened — just for a split second, as though he hadn’t just short-circuited internally over one syllable. You hadn't noticed because he had pulled his arm free between you and rested it along the back of the sofa, fingers brushing against your shoulder like it was nothing. Tracing small, idle patterns against your sleeve as his gaze dropped to the pages.
He also didn’t comment on the fact you hadn’t turned a page in five minutes.
Over time, you became familiar with his friends and him with yours. It just happened, the way everything else between you did. Conversations overlapped with introductions blurring into inside jokes. Before long, there wasn’t really a separation between your friends and his.
Your "friends" being Kenny, she was your best friend from day one, she was the type of friend that would go to war for you — loud where you weren’t, reactive where you were measured. The kind of person who would absolutely escalate a situation on your behalf without hesitation. If you felt something, she felt it louder.
And then there were Jungwon’s friends. Jake, a Ravenclaw Astronomy nerd. Somehow capable of making constellations sound like gossip. You didn’t understand half of what he said, but you listened anyway.
Ni-ki, a Slytherin Quidditch Seeker. Sharp and quick in a way that kept everyone on their toes.
And Heeseung, a Gryffindor Transfiguration major. Annoyingly perceptive, he always carried himself with an ease that made it seem like he understood more than he let on.
The two of you fell into an easy friendship with the group, however they did question your new found friendship. "You two look good together." Heeseung said casually, like he was commenting on the weather, tossing the words into the air without warning.
Jungwon choked — coughing as he turned too quickly, nearly twisting his neck to stare at him. "We're friends," Jungwon managed, the words coming out uneven, far less composed than he usually sounded.
A chorus of groans followed immediately. "Yeah, obviously," Ni-ki muttered. "Painfully obvious," Jake added under his breath. Jungwon frowned, defensive now. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Heeseung said easily, though the look he exchanged with the others said otherwise. They didn’t press it because, technically Jungwon was right.
You were just friends.
Then, quieter this time, "So," Heeseung started, leaning slightly forward, voice low enough that it didn’t carry beyond them, “What’s her friend’s name?”
Jungwon blinked, "…Kenny?" Heeseung hummed and Jake smirked faintly.
"So.. you don't like him?" Kenny’s voice came from somewhere behind you as she sprawled across her bed. She’d been watching you for months now, watching the way your friendship with Jungwon had unfolded and she wasn’t quite convinced there wasn’t any foul play going on between you.
"Kenn," you sighed, not even looking up from where you lay on your own bed, "How many times do I have to say it? He’s just a friend." She groaned and turned over to stare at you upside down. Her hair falling messily over the edge.
"Sure. Yeah." she muttered, entirely unconvinced. You rolled your eyes, used to this by now. "So what’s the pink-haired guy’s name?" she added, quieter this time.
You blinked. Then laughed loud, thanking her mentally for switching the topic as she grinned, unapologetic.
As your groups grew closer, so did Kenny and Heeseung who had fallen into something of their own. It hadn’t been sudden, by the time it became official, it felt almost expected. A year after you met Jungwon, they started dating. And somehow nothing really changed. Not in the ways that mattered, at least. Other than your teasing.
She once said "You know, I thought you and Jungwon would have gotten together before me and Hee— " she paused, catching your bewildered look.
"Jungwon?" you said suddenly feeling your oxygen supply run out, "Nah it's not like that." you said simply, even then she didn't press — only pressing her lips together in response.
At first people also thought your friendship with Jungwon was something else entirely, tossed out with knowing smiles and raised brows. "You two look really good together." And every time you both reacted the same way. With immediate denial, you'd dissolve into small shakes of your heads, overlapping explanations, a little too quick to correct them. It became routine.
Sometimes people didn’t ask you at all. They went to Kenny. "Is Jungwon actually taken?" someone had asked her once, leaning in like it was some kind of secret. She had only blinked at them, unimpressed. "Ask him yourself," she replied simply. She never clarified and never denied it either.
Jungwon got it too. Only he had no idea how to respond. Guys would approach him casual, like it meant nothing and he’d pause because he didn’t know how to answer. The obvious response was easy, "No, we’re just friends. Go for it."
But Jungwon didn't want to say that, nor did he enjoy the thought. Didn’t like the idea of someone else approaching you, talking to you like that, looking at you like that. So instead, he’d shut it down."We're friends." he’d say, not waiting for a follow-up, not giving them space to ask more. Not that they ever went through with it, because where you were, so was he.
Over time, the questions faded. People stopped asking and not because they stopped noticing but because they’d already decided. After all you'd been best friends for 4 years and you were together more often than not. And neither of you corrected them anymore.
You returned to Hogwarts after two years. This time as a University student or survivors, in a way. Those two years hadn’t been spent learning in classrooms or complaining about assignments. You had stayed —worked alongside the professors, helping keep the castle standing in the shadow of Lord Voldemort.
Even if no one had seen him. Even if he had vanished again like smoke slipping through fingers — the disappearances said enough.
Those two years had changed everything. Not loudly, not in ways anyone else could fully understand — but in the quiet, constant ways that mattered. You had learned each other in survival. It brought you all closer in ways no one else could comprehend. Every worry was shared, every fear met halfway. There was no space for pretending and no room for distance. The Room of Requirement became something more than just a hidden space. It became yours, it offered escape when the rest of the castle felt too exposed.
Jungwon knew where to find you, he always did. If you weren’t checking the protective shields or burying yourself in work no one else wanted to touch, you were there, trying to keep yourself busy, trying not to think and he never let you stay like that for long.
"Enough," he’d say, quieter than it sounded and you’d argue, of course. But he didn’t listen, he’d drag you back to his dorms if he had to, ignoring your protests until the exhaustion settled in properly. Watching over you after you'd finally given in. You always did.
Over the years, you had both grown into yourselves. It wasn’t something you noticed all at once it came in passing glances, in the way people started looking at you a little longer than before.
"Do I have something on my face?" you muttered to Kenny as you walked through the halls toward your dorms. Hogwarts University students no longer had to share quarters within their houses, they could room with whoever they like. Which is how you’d ended up at the very top of the university tower with Kenny.
She turned to you immediately, eyes narrowing as she scanned over your features — eyebrows knit in concentration. "Nope," she concluded after a moment, straightening. "You’re good."
You hummed, only half-convinced as you continued up the winding staircase beside her. You waved at a passing portrait that greeted you by name.
"—You’re just hot," she added casually. You scoffed turning to her, "Be serious."
"I am serious," she insisted, nudging your shoulder. "Did you not see the way Beomgyu was staring at you earlier?"
"Heeseung's friend? the Quidditch player?" you said as you turned your head slightly. Kenny groaned at your reaction. "Yes, that Beomgyu."
"He was totally eyeing you earlier." she winked as you reached the top floor. You hummed, any retort dying on your tongue when you saw that there were only two dorms on the top floor, most the other floors had 4 or more on each of them. You had no idea what you’d done to deserve that kind of luck but you weren’t about to question it.
Two doors stood opposite each other, a large curved window decorated the space at the end of the hallway, the light spilled through, inviting and warm. Making the space feel almost intimate.
You had both arrived early, eager to settle in — to decorate, to breathe in the castle before the chaos of the Sorting Ceremony began. As you neared the doors you heard voices from one, men specifically. You and Kenny slowed at the same time, sharing a look as if to say oh god. Kenny, unfortunately, looked far more interested than she should’ve been.
You, on the other hand? Already considering turning around and pretending you got the wrong floor. As if on cue the door swung open, a blonde haired boy walked out. You barely spared him a glance at first, too focused on reaching your own door until he made a noise.
"Y/n??" he gawked, you froze for a moment, then turned. "Jungwon?" you both spoke with raised voices. He laughed still a little startled but there was no hesitation in what he did next — he stepped forward and pulled you into a hug. It was immediate, familiar and not.
Because the second his arms wrapped around you, you noticed it. His arms felt, stronger.. broader. There was more of him than you remembered. His frame filled out, solid in a way that made your breath hitch just slightly.
Since when was he built like this? And then you breathed in. Bad idea.
He had always smelled good.. annoyingly so but now it was something warmer, deeper… addicting. As though someone had personally curated a scent just to mess with your composure.
"How did you guys know we're here?" he asked as he pulled back from you, still grinning. His hands lingering on your arms like he wasn’t quite ready to let go. You smiled automatically, your body was on autopilot while your brain was still catching up.
Your eyes instinctively scanning over him. You hadn't seen him in what felt like forever, your only form of communication had been letters, since you had been on holiday with Kenny for the summer. Letters didn’t prepare you for this version of him.
His hair caught your attention next. Once dark, now an ashy blonde that fell just enough into his eyes to make him blow it away every few seconds. It softened his features in a way that made him look different but still him. He caught you staring and smiled — smaller this time, almost shy. Like he knew and didn’t at the same time.
"We didn’t," you said, letting out a quiet laugh as you nodded toward the door behind him. "That’s our dorm." His smile only widened. Beside you, Kenny raised an eyebrow, her gaze flicking between the two of you, lingering on where his hands still rested against your arms. Clocked, immediately.
Before he could respond the other boys filtered out, coming to investigate the commotion — his hands left your arms almost reluctantly. "This year is going to be so good." Jake declared the moment he saw you both, his excitement immediate and infectious.
You huffed out a quiet laugh, leaning back slightly against the wall as the hallway filled with noise — overlapping voices, half-made plans, people talking over each other like they hadn’t just had an entire summer to do exactly that.
It was easy, like slipping back into something that already fits and yet — your eyes flicked back to Jungwon without meaning to. He was already looking at you. Of course he was. You looked away first, because you were not about to unpack that in a hallway at like… 10am. Still, your lips pressed together to hide a smile.
This year was definitely going to be something.
After greeting everyone you opted to decorate your room and unpack. Deciding unpacking was safer than socialising for more than ten minutes straight.
Barely 5 minutes had passed with your absence when you heard the door open. You were midway through murmuring an enchantment, flicking lazily as your clothes lifted from your suitcase and sorted themselves into your wardrobe.
You didn’t even need to turn to know who it was but you glanced over your shoulder anyway. Jungwon stood there, grinning like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.
"Hey Won." you hummed, turning back like your heart didn’t just do something weird and unnecessary. Another flick of your wand sent books gliding into place on a shelf.
He stepped inside slowly, he noticed your posters already stuck around the walls — most of your possessions already found their home in your room. The fact that you’d basically moved in within five minutes because you hated living out of a suitcase.
"It feels like I haven't seen you in years." he said, stopping in front of you. You paused, setting your wand down before turning to face him properly. He was already looking at you. Not casually either — like he was actually looking, as though he was updating some kind of mental file on you. Or like he was taking note of everything he hadn’t been able to see through letters alone. Stop that.
Jungwon had always been like that though. Quiet about it, but present. He didn’t need a room full of people — just one. You.
He was the kind of friend who showed up without being asked, the second something felt off. The kind who would sit with you through your half-finished thoughts, letting you find your way to the point without rushing you there.
No pressure, no "Just say it already." Just there, annoyingly perfect. He knew he had a soft spot for you, you're his best friend. The one who challenged him without hesitation. The one who never raised her voice, even when hurt. The one he had missed more than he’d expected over the summer.
"I know," you said, a lazy smile pulling at your lips. "I missed you." you added. He tilted his head slightly, something softer settling into his expression.
"Come here." he murmured, it wasn’t really a request, he pulled you into him, arms wrapping around you before you could respond, and you melted into it almost instantly — a quiet, content sigh leaving you.
"I missed you too," he murmured into your hair. You hummed, your fingers drifted up to play with the soft blonde strands at the back of his head — like it was muscle memory.
He slid his hand from your back to your waist, his grip tightening around it. Just for a split second, but you felt it. He pulled back, and your arms fell away reluctantly as you stepped out of his space. He looked over you with narrowed eyes as though something wasn’t adding up.
"What are you looking at?" you teased stepping forward just to mess with him. Just enough to throw him off, he faltered before rolling his eyes in faux annoyance. You almost laughed.
"You look different." he spoke, not moving despite you being close enough you could see every detail on his sun lit face. The light spilled over half of his face, highlighting the soft curve of his lips as they parted in quiet amusement.
"Is that good or bad?" you questioned, he’d always thought you were beautiful but now there was something more. You were almost glowing — confidence and charisma, you’d grown into yourself in a way he hadn’t been there to see.
"Good," he said. "You look pretty—" he paused, then added quickly, "I mean, you’re always pretty." Right.
You turned your head, hiding the smile that tugged at your lips. You were not letting him see that.. he saw it anyway and exhaled through his nose at your reaction.
"Your hair…" you started, glancing back at him and looking over the strands falling over his forehead, the light catching in them.
"What about it?" he challenged.
"Suits you, it's pretty" you nodded. He gasped dramatically, falling back onto your bed. You laughed, shaking your head as you went back to finishing your room.
Conversation came easily after that. "Also, Kenn and I went clubbing, and I got so paranoid at one point because of this guy—" you started, pacing slightly as you spoke, wand flicking absentmindedly as objects whizzed past. Jungwon watched you.
"He was a muggle, I think… anyway, he kept trying to get between me and Kenny, and I got so pissed I could’ve hexed him—" you continued.
That was all Jungwon heard before he zoned out. Something tight had settled in his chest, something he didn’t want to name. "and then I went to get a drink and he just followed us—"
"Won?" He blinked, refocusing, still leaning back against your bed, propped up on his elbows. "Mm?" he hummed. "So he’s dead now, right?"
You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, we killed him Dexter style." He huffed out a quiet laugh as the last of your belongings floated into place.
You heard a knock and a chestnut head peeked around the corner. "Heyy guys." Jake spoke with a goofy smile as he stepped into the room, "Hi Jake." you greeted, settling onto your bed beside Jungwon. "We’re all going to The Three Broomsticks, if you want to come," he said, his eyes flicking briefly to Jungwon — who was playing with the hem of your sleeve.
Since when does he do that. Jungwon glanced at you, he was surprised to see your eyes already on him. "Yeah I'm down." you said, dragging your attention back to Jake before your brain can start over analysing like it's paid to do so.
"Won?" you added, quieter now, turning back to him — searching, though you didn’t know for what. For the little time you'd been back in his presence, you had felt a shift — it was was barely noticeable, like the world had tilted slightly off its axis. It wasn't something you listened to, even as your brain screamed that things were different. Even as it grabbed you by the arms and shook you, you ignored it.
Throughout your friendship you hadn't dated. Not seriously. Not even accidentally. It’s not that you couldn’t, you just… didn’t care to. There had been moments — people who almost asked, words that almost formed but something always stopped them.
You hadn't seen Jungwon staring holes into their eyes, his fingers curling into his palms. One boy had spewed apologies as he scrambled off, leaving you with an eyebrow raised and a "That was weird."
"Yeah, let's go," he hopped up, extending his hand out for you and without thinking, you took it.
But he didn't let go. Instead, he guided you gently behind Jake, your hand still in his, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like it’s nothing and it should have been, but something unfamiliar threaded through the familiarity. His hand in yours felt comfortable but now you were aware of it. Which is annoying because you were perfectly fine not being aware.
You also had never over-thought anything physical with him before, not that that's what you were doing…
Kenny looked between you both, her eyes immediately dropping to your hand in his loosely. Her smirk was instant, like she just unlocked a new form of entertainment.
"You okay?" Jungwon murmured, leaning down so his voice brushed against your ear. He pulled back, just enough to look at your lips as you talked.
"Mhm," you nodded quickly and then, you slipped your hand from his — stepping forward to urge the others along. You didn’t look back at him, didn’t see the way his hand lingered in the air for just a second longer than it should have.
Didn’t know if he noticed the way your fingers had twitched before you pulled away. Definitely didn't think about the fact that for the first time in four years — being around him doesn’t feel simple, and that might be a problem.
The air was crisp, fresh in a way that made everything feel lighter, clearer. The hills stretched endlessly in the distance, and the pristine lake sat below you as you walked along the bridge.
You slowed, falling a step behind the others without realizing it. Your gaze softened as you took it all in, a small smile settling on your lips at the quiet beauty of it. You breathed out, shoulders dropping a little.
Jungwon looked around mid-conversation, half-listening to Jake ramble about something irrelevant, and when you weren’t there, something in his chest did this annoying tight thing. Like when you forget something but don’t know what.
Until he turned and there you were, a few steps behind, walking like the world had paused just for you. It was the same thing that had caught his attention the very first time. He hated how that got him, as though every time was the first time.
He slowed without thinking, letting the others move ahead as he fell back into step beside you. He didn't speak — his arm brushing lightly against yours as he followed your gaze out toward the horizon.
The Three Broomsticks had a comfortable amount of people wandering in and out, it smelt faintly of butter-beer and a woodsy scent you couldn't quite put your finger on.
Your group took to the corner booth as usual, you sat besides Jungwon at the end of the booth and ordered a butter-beer as you all settled into chatter and laughs sipping your beers. As your cup emptied, you leaned back with a quiet sigh, the warmth of it settling heavily in your chest.
You slumped sideways until your weight rested against Jungwon’s shoulder. His shoulder shifted just slightly to fit you better, like it was muscle memory. His voice kept going, talking to the others, but softer now, closer. He smiled small, fond but you didn’t see. You felt the faint vibration of his voice and his hand settle on the small of your back against the seat.
"Sleepy?" he asked, brushing against your hair. "Mm, no," you mumbled, lifting your cup slightly before setting it down with a quiet clink. "Just recovering from this, it was so filling." You pushed yourself upright, pulling away from his shoulder — acting like your heart didn’t just do a weird little thing.
But his hand didn’t move. He just hummed, fingers moving in slow circles like it was the most normal thing in the world, and the annoying part? It was normal, it’s always been normal.
The front door swung open, the bell chiming lightly as a group of Quidditch players walked in, their voices loud and easy, already caught up in talk of the upcoming season. Many of them were back with hopes of becoming successful professional players.
That included Choi Beomgyu. Heeseung and Ni-ki were up instantly to greet the Chaser, shoulders knocking together in greeting. As their chatters died down he was pulled into your table and then into the seat beside you.
"Hey Y/n." he sent you a lazy smirk as he settled into the seat "Hey." you returned with a slight tilt to your head. You’d always known him — never closely, but enough. Passing smiles, casual greetings. You'd often see him around since he was also a Slytherin — he always sent you a boyish smile if he saw you sat in the Quidditch stands.
His eyes flit from yours to your lips and then over the rest of you. You noticed that too. "How was your summer?" he asked after taking a long sip of his butter-beer. "It was great, How was yours?" As he spoke, you felt it.
Jungwon's hand had stopped its lazy motions and now rested fully against your lower back, fingers spread like he’s anchoring you there without making a show of it. Your eyes flickered to him for just a second. He was leaning closer now.
"Hey, you guys wanna get going?" Jake called, breaking the moment. Voices overlapped in agreement, chairs scraping as everyone stood. Heeseung invited Beomgyu along without hesitation. Jungwon said nothing.
He bumped against you as you walked, your friends gathered ahead of you as the path stretched back toward the castle. Beomgyu glanced back once, eyes flicking between the two of you. Taking in the space, the distance, the way it didn’t quite feel like distance at all.
Jungwon looked to you and while you took in the world, he took you in.
"I’m doing the re-run on potions tomorrow," you groaned, dragging your attention back to him. He barked out a quiet laugh. "Me too."
"Snape?" he added — amused. "Hey! Snape loves me." you laughed swatting at his arm. "Of course he does!" He teased, "his bias towards you Slytherins is too obvious."
"Whatever." you rolled your eyes, yelping as he poked your sides. "I really missed this," he spoke low.
"I missed this too." you responded easily, he smiled flashing his dimples and for a moment, you just looked at him — really looked. Eyes catching on the curves of his cheeks and the flicker of mischief in his eyes. He seemed to have to same idea, looking over the details on your face. Pupils dragging side to side, you both looked away after a moment without a word.
As you reached the dorms your friends all turned, stopping you in your tracks "Thoughts on going to the lake, we have time to kill before the sorting ceremony?" Heeseung suggested, glancing between you all.
"…Yeah, okay," you nodded with the others, like you weren’t internally negotiating with yourself. Everyone else agreed easily, except Beomgyu who waved it off with something about joining later. You all filtered into your rooms.
You pulled out a bikini you’d bought over the summer, layering it with loose joggers and a top. Low effort, high reward. Soon enough, you were all heading down together arms full of towels and drinks, laughter echoing through the halls.
"Give that here." Jungwon’s voice came from behind you as he took the bag from your shoulder, without waiting for permission. He looked almost offended that you’d been carrying it yourself.
"Thanks, Won," you said glancing back and sending him a smile. You didn’t see Jake’s smirk. Kenny, however, absolutely did. "You’re getting boyfriend privileges," she sang under her breath.
You rolled your eyes, "He’d do that for anyone." Even as you said it, something in your brain went …would he though? She only groaned, unconvinced.
The Great Lake stretched endlessly before you, framed by rolling hills that dipped into the distance. It had been a while since you'd been here, not by choice. Between N.E.W.T.s and those two years confined to the castle, moments like this had been rare — almost unfamiliar.
But now the air was light, warm — the sun was out. It hung high above you as you laid out blankets, dropping your things with a satisfied sigh before standing over one of them — kicking off your joggers, pulling your top over your head.
You stretched, rolling your shoulders, fingers combing through your hair — completely unaware of anything beyond the sun on your skin.
Jungwon had been standing near the water, looking out across the lake and zoning out like he does when he’s thinking too much. Until he turned and saw you. He just, stopped.
His gaze locked without meaning to and dragged, slowly, over you as you moved — unthinking, unguarded. He didn’t even notice Jake walking up behind him. He followed his line of sight and smirked.
"She looks good, hm?" Jake murmured clapping a hand on Jungwon's shoulder, "Shit— don’t do that," Jungwon exhaled, his body jolting slightly, a faint flush crept up his neck.
Jungwon turned back toward the lake quickly, "She always looks good," he said, too fast, too dismissive like he needed to neutralise it. "Just friends?" Jake asked incredulously. "Yeah."
"So you wouldn’t care if I tried something with her?" That did it. Jungwon turned fully, deadpan. The look he gave Jake was enough. Jake laughed, clapping his shoulder. "Thought so. What are you waiting for?"
"I’m not— that’s not—" Jungwon cut himself off, jaw tightening. "We’re friends, Jake." he finalised. He opened his mouth and then stopped when he saw you walking towards them.
You weren’t paying attention to any of that, obviously. You were looking at the water, already halfway mentally in it, and you reached out, fingers wrapping lightly around his wrist, then slid down intertwining with his fingers like it was muscle memory.
His breath caught for a second, before he tightened his grip, grounding himself in it. You stepped into the water first, testing it with your toe before wading in fully. When you deemed it safe you stepped in completely. Then you turned back to him, smiling. He followed without hesitation.
Jake watched for a moment, turning around with a shake to his head "Idiots."
"Ah— fuck," Jungwon muttered as the water climbed higher, soaking through his clothes. You laughed, pulling him further in until the water reached your waist, he wrapped his other hand in yours.
The breeze danced through your hair, sunlight catching on the ripples around you as you tilted your head back slightly, eyes closing for just a second. The water was warm and inviting, the blonde in front of you inched closer. Without thinking his hand slipped from yours only to rise to your face. Your brain went very quiet. Which was rare, concerning, even.
He brushed a stray piece of hair away but his fingers lingered at your jaw. Careful, like he didn’t quite trust himself. Your lips quirked at his touch, then he dropped his hand and a drop of rain hit your shoulder. Another followed.
"Do you wanna go back inside?" he asked. You shook your head immediately, a grin spread across your face and before you could act normal about it you stepped back and splashed him square in the chest.
He gasped dramatically standing there for moment in shock. "Oh.. you’re dead." you barely had time to laugh before he lunged forward, sending water crashing back toward you, enough to make you shriek.
"Jungwon!—" you huffed, you stumbled backwards through the lake while your hands flew up too late to defend yourself. "You started it!" he shouted back, his laugh cracked loudly across the lake, messy and breathless and so stupidly pretty it made your chest hurt a little.
The others sat near the shore watching like this was the most entertaining thing they’d seen all week. Which, to be fair, Hogwarts was basically just academic trauma and near death experiences, so your standards for fun got weird here.
Both of you were soaked within seconds. The rain picked up, steady now — but the sun hadn’t disappeared, casting everything in a strange, golden haze, like a memory while it was still happening.
By now all of you were completely drenched, you waded through the water to the shore and grabbed your wand — relief settling in as you saw your belongings still dry beneath the shield you’d cast earlier.
You flicked your wand, casting a shield overhead to block the rain like a makeshift umbrella. The others immediately crowded underneath it with grateful groans, wrapping towels around themselves, you opted to do the same but Jungwon had beat you to it.
He picked it up and wrapped it around your shoulders rubbing against your arms. Your breath caught slightly and only then did you notice how his black shirt clung to him, soaked through — defining the lines of his arms, his shoulders, the shape of him in a way you hadn’t seen before.
You looked away, back to his face. This was safer.. right. Not really, because he was staring at you with this soft concentration that somehow felt worse. He was entirely too focused on drying your arms, still rubbing. You shivered, exaggerating it just slightly with teeth chattering sounds as you leaned into him, wrapping your arms around him.
"So dramatic," he snorted, but he didn’t pull away. If anything, he held you closer — his hands moving up and down your back, warming you through the fabric.
"Wait— I’m an idiot," you laughed after a few moments, suddenly pulling back. He blinked. "That’s not new—"
You ignored him and grabbed your wand, flicking it with practised ease. A warm gust of air spilled out, surrounding you instantly. Everyone huddled around you like a pack of penguins, they all groaned in relief.
"Thank fuck for you" Jake sighed as he leaned against you without thinking. The flicker in Jungwon's expression was brief but it was there.
After a hot shower you changed into your new robes, which were a lot more flattering than the school attire. Still house colours, still mildly humiliating, but at least you only had to wear them in classes.
You made your way down to the Great Hall with your friends, the familiar hum of voices growing louder with every step. As usual, you all split at the entrance — murmured "See you laters." and fleeting touches before heading toward your respective house tables. Jungwon gave you his signature smile, his hand brushing over your shoulder in passing. Then he was gone, slipping toward Gryffindor's table.
Kenny slid in beside you as Ni-ki took the seat across, already reaching for something on the table. A moment later, another presence settled at your side, Beomgyu.
"Hey," he greeted, offering you a soft, easy smile. "Hey," you returned, turning toward him.
He asked about the lake, about the afternoon, interested in a way that didn’t feel forced. You didn’t notice the way Jungwon’s eyes had already found you across the hall or see his gaze narrowed slightly, settling on the back of Beomgyu’s head. Lingering there, unmoving, even as the Sorting Ceremony began.
The first student was sorted into Slytherin. Which had you turning to stick your tongue out to Jungwon — how you usually would. Only he was already looking, his expression softened the second your eyes met, a small smile tugging at his lips. You faltered for a moment and then he threw you an eye-roll at the announcement.
Beomgyu had watched the exchange, curious. He leaned in close to your ear, "Are you and Jungwon dating?" he whispered. The question hit differently this time, it felt louder, like a ringing in your ear. You felt as though you'd been snapped out a daydream.
No, Jungwon isn't your boyfriend, it had never been discussed between you. Never defined but then your brain, traitor that it is, starts listing things.
You didn’t let anyone act the way he did with you. No one else held you like that. Looked at you like that or knew you the way he did and yet that didn't change the fact that, the label had never wavered.
Four years. No confusion. No weirdness. No “What are we?” conversations at 2am like some tragic situationship. Just… him and you.
Which, logically, should’ve been comforting but lately it felt like wearing something that used to fit perfectly and now it sat just slightly wrong — not enough to throw it away, but enough that you couldn’t stop noticing it.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe you were overthinking like a normal person who refuses to be embarrassing out loud. And you weren’t about to be the girl who ruined a perfectly good thing because she couldn’t keep her thoughts in check.
"No," you said finally, shaking your head. "We’re just friends."
Beomgyu’s grin widened slightly. "Okay." he replied, leaning back in his seat.
Jungwon had of course seen your exchange. Not the words but enough. His jaw was tight, teeth grinding faintly as his gaze flicked between you and Beomgyu, something restless settling beneath his skin.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. By the end, you were full, tired, and mildly overwhelmed by your own thoughts, which was honestly rude. You all trudged back to your dorms with light chatters. At the doors you said your goodnights and split off again.
Sleep came easily. It always did when your brain decided to emotionally clock out instead of process anything.
The morning came quietly. Soft light filtered through the windows as you got ready, rubbing at your eyes and stifling yawns as you moved through your routine. Half on autopilot, hair, robes, minimal effort because you refuse to be perceived this early in the morning.
By the time you made your way down to the Great Hall with Kenny, the familiar buzz of voices had already settled in.
You slid into your usual place, picking at fruit and sipping your tea as conversation drifted lazily between your friends. Jungwon sat across from you at some point, without asking, he reached over taking your cup and bringing it to his lips.
He hummed satisfied, before setting it back down in front of you like it was his to begin with. You stare at him for a second. Right. We’re doing that now.. You nudge his foot under the table anyway, because apparently you love enabling it.
Beomgyu slid in besides you, all easy smiles and bumps your shoulder “Morning.”
"Morning." you replied. "We should get going." Jungwon said suddenly, his tone firmer than necessary.
"Yeah, lets go." you agreed, already standing. "See you guys later."
Kenny gave you a pointed look, knowing, you ignored it. Jake didn’t miss the shift either, his eyebrow lifted slightly as his gaze flicked toward Jungwon.
The classroom felt the same as you settled into your seat beside Jungwon, a strange sense of deja vu washed over you. You turned your head slightly, studying him. He was already looking at you, his head tilted in recognition, almost curious.
"Deja vu." you whispered, he nodded, lips catching briefly between his teeth, like he felt it too.
"Hogwarts University students," Snape’s voice cut cleanly through the room, "you are here for a two-week re-run course on unnecessary, ineffective, or unneeded potions." His chalk scratched sharply against the board as he listed them.
"Babbling beverages. Stupid potions. Confusing concoctions." A pause. "And Amortentia. An arguably unneeded and unethical love potion."
Beneath the title, bold and unmistakable, he wrote,
"NOTE THAT AMORTENTIA DOES NOT CREATE TRUE LOVE BUT A TEMPORARY OBSESSION."
Your eyes lingered on it. Temporary, right. The first class was simple, babbling beverages and unsurprisingly, you were paired with Jungwon.
You fell into your usual rhythm of cutting the ingredients and writing in turns as though no time had passed at all. You stewed the Alihosty leaves first and added the Billywig stings as Jungwon stirred counter-clockwise, then went in the bile and leech-juice.
You potted the light brown substance into a vial and handed it to Jungwon so he could cork it properly. Snape sauntered over past each station with sharp disinterest. Sniffing and prodding at the goop in each pot. He sent some glares with flares to his nose until he reached yours.
"This is.. sufficient." he spoke looking between you both, "Thanks sir." you both hummed in return.
"Think that's the nicest he's ever been to me." Jungwon murmured in your ear as Snape retreated to the front desk. That earned him a laugh.
The next classes blurred together in similar patterns. You went through the same motions except Beomgyu lingered more and talked more, finding reasons to be near your group. You didn't mind, he was easy to talk to.
But Jungwon was becoming almost restless, he lingered more. Looked at you like he wanted to say something like the words were right there but he just… didn’t.
By the time you made it to the Quidditch stands, the air had turned crisp. You sat with your friends, eyes following the players as they darted across the sky. Jungwon besides you as usual. It was Slytherin vs Ravenclaw, which meant Ni-ki and Beomgyu were playing.
Beomgyu slowed mid-air as he passed your section, hovering just long enough to wave but then he waved again. Smaller, directed at you. You smiled back automatically because… you’re not rude and also because it would be weird not to. Social norms are exhausting.
You didn’t notice Jungwon’s quiet huff, didn’t feel his gaze settle heavier on you. You sniffed a little at the cold before turning to him. "What?" you asked with amusement tinged in your voice. He didn't falter, if anything his lips curved just a little more.
"Nothing," he said. "You cold?" You nodded, about to say you’re fine but before you could do anything about it, he was already pulling you closer.
Your side pressed against his, your hand lifted and placed in his lap, his fingers threading through yours like it was instinct. Oh okay.
He rubbed slow circles into your skin, then lifted your hand slightly, bringing it closer to his lips blowing warm air against your fingers. His eyes never left yours. You bit the inside of your lip without realizing, holding something back — something you couldn’t quite name.
His gaze dropped to your lips and stayed, for a second too long. Then he tore it away, lowering your hand back to his lap — but not letting go. By now you were mentally somewhere else entirely.
Above you, the game continued. People were yelling, Jake was probably commentating like he’s being paid for it, Ni-ki was doing something illegal on a broom but neither of you were really watching anymore.
At some point Beomgyu circled back around and this time — he noticed. The way you were pressed into Jungwon’s side. The way your hand rested, laced with his, something in his expression shifted.
His jaw tightened slightly, eyes narrowing as he flew past. You didn’t notice but Jungwon did and for a brief second, his lips quirked up.
The fourth and last class was on Amortentia, the strongest and deadliest love potion. As Snape had so bluntly put it, the most unethical and you're just.. casually brewing it on a random Tuesday.
You stood at your usual station with Jungwon sleeves pushed up, already moving before you even think about it.
You started by heating the water, steam curled softly into the air as the scent of something faintly sweet lingered beneath it. Jungwon added the bruised peppermint flower heads and you added the peppermint leaves. The two of you moved in quiet sync.
"Apparently it smells different for everyone," you murmured, glancing over your shoulder briefly. Like you’re not even slightly curious what his would be.
He hummed in response, tipping the crushed moonstone into the cauldron as you stirred anti-clockwise, adding the rose thorns with careful hands. The potion shimmered faintly, suspiciously pretty and definitely illegal in at least five countries.
From then it was a waiting game, he placed the cauldron in a dimly lit closet as instructed. Snape’s voice cut through the room once more. "You’ll return later," he said. "Let it settle."
You pack up your things, already halfway out the room, when you heard her.
"Jungwon," Penelope Clearwater’s voice slid in, sweet but sharp around the edges. She talked of him helping her in potions. You didn’t need to hear the rest, you already knew.
And then you decided… yeah, no. You were not doing this today, so you didn’t wait, didn’t interrupt. You just left. It wasn't dramatic — it was just easier.
Because she has this way of talking that makes you feel like background noise and you don’t do that. Not for anyone, but Jungwon had noticed too late. He was already suppressing a sigh as Penelope spoke, his patience thinning. "Can you just ask Snape?" he said flatly. "Or your partner."
"Seamus?" she scoffed. "That bloody idiot couldn’t tell a moonstone from a bezoar." she huffed in annoyance. Jungwon barely heard her, he was already looking around for you but you weren’t there.
"I’ve got to go,” he cut in, not waiting for a response. "I hope you find the help you need."
You hadn’t meant to go anywhere in particular. Your feet carried you toward the dorms out of habit, your mind quieter than it should have been until you heard a noise, low and grinding almost — like bricks moving.
You paused and stepped back and there it was. The Room of Requirement. Waiting for you, you exhaled slowly before stepping inside.
Bookshelves lined every wall, filled to the brim. A fireplace crackled softly along one side, casting a golden glow across the room as though the room was actively telling you to relax. In the far corner was a nook, carved into the wall like it had always been there. Soft blankets, scattered pillows, a large window framing the view beyond — rolling hills, the lake stretching endlessly beneath the sky.
You walk over, running your fingers along the spines of books until one caught your attention — Extinct Creatures. Good enough. You then kicked off your shoes and climbed into the nook, the cushions sank beneath you, welcoming, familiar.
You barely made it a few pages in before your eyes began to drift. Your breathing slowed.
Jungwon had walked back into the classroom in search of you, and then he tried the dorms. As he went back to the stairs, he saw it, the outline of a door that hadn’t been there before.
He stood directly in front of it and closed his eyes thinking you. The next moment he opened them the door had changed — larger now, curved, silver handles gleaming softly under the light. He didn’t hesitate. His eyes moved quickly, scanning the bookshelves, the fireplace and then you.
Curled with your knees against the window, your head against a fluffed pillow. As he walked closer he felt relief wash over him — your chest moved up and down gently as you breathed deeply in sleep. He couldn’t help it. The way his eyes moved over you as he climbed into the nook beside you — careful, deliberate, like even the smallest movement might wake you.
Not touching you, not until you stirred and turned. A soft sound left you, something content — unaware as your head found his chest. Your hand rested against his hip like it had always belonged there. Jungwon’s breath hitched, uneven now — completely out of sync with your slow, steady breaths.
He froze completely. Unsure where to put his hands, what to do, how to exist without disturbing you. One arm was trapped beneath you, already beginning to go numb. The other hovered awkwardly at his side.
Then you moved again, your leg slid over him, settling across his lap as you buried your face into his neck, exhaling softly against his skin. He sucked in a quiet breath, sharp and careful like even breathing too loud might ruin this.
He shifted slightly, freeing the arm pinned beneath you and finally he hesitantly wrapped it around your back, holding you.
You mumbled something incoherent, your voice warm and drowsy against his neck, and he let his head fall back slightly trying, desperately to relax into it.
Trying not to think and trying not to feel everything all at once. He didn’t know how long passed, minutes maybe more until you stirred again. You groaned quiet against him as you shifted, pressing closer without meaning to.
Your eyes didn't even open yet but your brain caught up real fast. You don’t panic, you're not someone who panics, you process and pretend you meant to do this. Fuck.
"Jungwon?" you murmured, your voice thick with sleep. "Hm?" he replied softly, forcing a lazy smile into his tone. "Morning."
You shifted again, this time pushing yourself up just enough to swing your leg fully over him, settling on top of him without hesitation. Chest to chest. Your head dropped back into the crook of his neck like it was instinct.
His jaw clenched, a quiet, strangled sound left him as though you'd wounded him. You lifted your head slightly, brows knitting. "You okay?"
His cheeks were flushed now, his breathing uneven and shallow. You didn’t understand. Couldn’t. Your hand came up, cupping his cheek gently, your thumb brushing against warm skin. "You’re so hot," you murmured, frowning slightly as if trying to figure it out. Then you shifted again and he exhaled sharply.
"Don’t— move," he said quickly, his hands gripping your thighs — firm, grounding, tense. You blinked at him, slowly.
He forced himself to breathe through it, his hands sliding slightly higher before stilling again, like he didn’t trust himself to move any further. Before you can even decide how to recover your dignity, the door creaked open.
Kenny stepped in and froze. Her eyes landed on you and then on him, then back again. Her jaw dropped — slowly giving way to a smirk. "Oh?" she said, dragging the word out. You stilled as heat creeping up your neck.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked, her gaze flicking over Jungwon’s dishevelled state with barely concealed amusement. You sit up like this is completely normal behaviour.
"We’re actually about to check on our Amortentia," you replied and you slide off him like nothing happened.. because nothing happened.
Completely unaware of the situation you’d just left him in. Jungwon sat up behind you, hunched slightly, hands braced at his sides. His shoulders tense, like he’s trying to reboot his entire system.
Kenny hummed, clearly entertained. "Right," she said, already turning. "Have fun with that." Something about a date followed as she disappeared through the door, laughter lingering behind her. "Won, are you good?" you tilted your head. He nodded quickly, a tight-lipped smile pulling at his mouth.
"Yeah— I’ll meet you there," he said, voice just slightly off. You don’t question it. You should but you don’t. "Don’t take too long," you added lightly, offering a small wave as you stepped out. The second you left Jungwon had sighed, loud and harsh — almost frustrated. He checked the corridor, making sure you were gone, before heading straight for his room.
He locked the door and stripped himself of his clothes — which were uncomfortably sticking to him.
He had successfully hidden his raging boner from you b ut he couldn't find it in himself to enjoy it — he groaned as he looked down at the reddened angry tip of his length which was refusing to go down. He turned on the shower and stepped in. The water ran cold, biting against his skin as he stepped under it, bracing his hands against the glass. His head dropped forward.
"Fuck…" he muttered under his breath, voice low and strained. His lip caught in his teeth as his hand wrapped around the base of his cock, his mind wandered to your chest flush against his.
Everything about that moment replayed too vividly. He pumped his hand up and down, slowly — a groan caught in his throat. His eyes were knit shut, the image of your body on his urged him to fasten his hand. You looked so fucking pretty on top of him — his teeth bit down harder.
He turned so his head was now leaning back, pressing his weight against the glass. He released his lip as his hand sped up — small fast breaths echoing through the room.
One image in particular was stamped in his head, his hands gripping your thighs like they were his to claim. The way your skin felt on his, the warmth of your touch — your breath against his neck. His hips stuttered as the coil snapped, his jaw slacked with shaky breaths as his high took over, ropes of his cum leaking out onto his hand and stomach.
He breathed heavily trying to catch his breath, he felt guilt flood his mind. He had thoughts of you before — thoughts of how you'd sound, how you'd taste, but he had never let himself do this. That restraint he had before had snapped in one moment.
His breathed in harsh again, sharper this time, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. He stayed there longer than he needed to. By the time he walked back into the classroom, his hair was still damp, water clinging to the ends as it curled slightly at his neck.
You stood at your stand, writing in the notes you hadn't done earlier when Jungwon walked in. He kept his eyes anywhere but you at first.
"Hey," he said, stepping up beside you, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to look casual. "Hey," you replied lightly. "Good shower?" you asked with your eyes still on the pages in front of you.
He froze for half a second, too quick for you to notice. His eyes flicked to you — searching your face for something, any sign that you knew, "Er— yeah," he said, forcing a small, sheepish grin. "Woke me up."
You hummed in response, like that made sense. Still focused on your notes, Snape swept back into the room — robes trailing behind him. "Go get your cauldrons" he drawled as he wiped the chalk board.
Jungwon moved instantly like he needed something to do and grabbed the cauldron from the shelves — setting it down with a thud.
You removed the lid and sighed in relief at the pearlescent liquid staring back at you. The potion had settled perfectly. Pearlescent and smooth, it shimmered with soft spirals of steam curling into the air like something almost alive.
Jungwon leaned over the cauldron and took in the scent, his head tilted for a second, "Vanilla musk…" he murmured, almost to himself. He paused and breathed in deeper, "Star jasmine… and…" his voice softened, quieter now, "fresh parchment." he finished, it was almost enchanting, he found his eyes fluttering shut, to completely seal himself into the confinement of the aroma.
When he opened them again, they found you. Then the potion, then you again.
"That smells so, so good." he exhaled, tipping his head back slightly. He watched you for a second as you stood in front of him towards the cauldron, without thinking he stepped closer. Resting his chin lightly against your shoulder. Your hair brushed against his face, soft familiar.. and there it was again.
The same aroma from the cauldron hit his nose, subtle and alluring but unmistakable. His breath catching as he leaned just slightly further in, his nose brushing the side of your neck. You felt it more than you saw it, the slight pause in his breathing. The way he didn’t pull back straight away.
"That tickles— what are you doing?" you laughed turning toward him but before your brain could overanalyse it into oblivion, he had jerked back.
"Wha— nothing!" he said too quickly, scratching the back of his neck as he stepped away. His mind was racing, of course it smelled like you. Of course it did, and the potion didn’t lie. No matter how much he had tried to.
You shook your head in amusement as you leaned over the cauldron and let the aroma seep into your nostrils. "What can you smell?" he asked, you knit your eyebrows together.
"It smells like, autumn" you started slowly, "Fresh strawberries— and rain.." you trailed off. "Smells good," you added, almost absentmindedly. "That good?" he spoke as he potted the substance. Needing something to ground himself. You nodded with a hum.
Snape once again walked over each station and arrived at yours, he took one look at the potion and nodded once — then walked back to the board. You looked at each other at the same time and broke into quiet, stifled laughter.
And then you noticed Penelope, walking over, you sighed internally. She had a stack of papers in hand, posture perfect as though she rehearsed this in a mirror beforehand. "We’re having a party tonight," she announced, placing a flyer neatly in front of Jungwon like she’s presenting a case. "Room of Requirement, for whoever wins the game."
She doesn’t look at you and you don’t look up. Mutual understanding, or maybe sly hatred. You focus on the vial in your hands instead, like you cared deeply about whatever you were pretending to do. "You’ll come, right?" she added, her tone shifting — directed only at him. Shock.
Jungwon barely glanced at the paper before his eyes flicked to you. Your brows are pulled together slightly — not dramatically, just enough that someone paying attention (him, apparently) would catch it.
"Y/n are you coming?" he asked instead. That caught you off guard, you looked up to see Penelope smiling at you. "Everyone's invited." she added with that strained smile, "I’ll think about it," you said, returning your attention to the vial in your hands.
"We'll be there." Jungwon said easily, still scanning the paper. Penelope seemed satisfied with that so she turned and walked off and you looked at him immediately. "Who says I'll be there?" you challenged. "C’mon," he grins, completely unbothered. "I’ll drag you if I have to."
"Yeah?" you shot back, arching a brow. "Try it." He leaned in slightly, voice dropping just enough "Don’t start whining when I do." Your stomach did a small, very annoying flip. You scoffed, nudging him lightly. "I don’t whine." He hums like he knows better.
You both walked back to the dorms as you talked, conversation was light, easy as it drifted between the upcoming game and whatever else came to mind. Jungwon split off to his room to change, and you did the same — stepping into your dorm and closing the door behind you.
Your hands were slower than usual as you picked out something to wear — something casual, but fitted just right. Something that sat on you well. Your favourite jewellery settled against your skin and a quick swipe of lip-gloss, a glance in the mirror and then you were out again.
The living room was already alive when you stepped in. Voices overlapping, laughter spilling out between your friends as drinks were passed around and poorly mixed concoctions were tested. Your eyes found him instantly. Jungwon sat sprawled against the sofa, one arm thrown lazily over the back, a backwards cap resting low on his head. Grey hoodie, black pinstripe pants — effortless.
Dangerously so. He looked—
No. We're not doing that. You averted your thoughts and slipped in beside Kenny at the counter instead. Across the room, Jungwon’s voice faltered mid-sentence, Jake kept talking but Jungwon had stopped. His eyes found you the second you walked in and stayed and they moved slowly, taking you in like he was trying to memorize something he hadn’t noticed before.
Like you were different or maybe like he was. You tipped the drink back with Kenny and immediately scrunched your nose, pulling a face. "Fuck, that’s disgusting," you laughed, nudging the glass away. Kenny snorted beside you.
"Yo, Jungwon?" Jake’s voice cut in, barely holding back laughter. "Hm?" Jungwon responded, not looking away from you. "You’re staring." you turned. Their expressions shifted instantly too quickly to catch fully, but enough to notice something. You walked over anyway, slipping into the space beside Jungwon like it was second nature.
"What’s wrong with you?" you grinned, your leg brushing his as you sat. His breath hitched barely and the gloss on your lips caught the light. You leaned in without thinking nudging the glass near him. "Nothing," he said, a little too quick. "Thanks." He reached for your drink, taking a sip — his eyes still flickering back to you. You didn’t stay long and you stood again, moving back toward the kitchen to fix the drinks for the others.
"I'm doing it later." Jungwon’s voice was low, almost absentminded. Jake turned to him slowly. "…And just so we’re clear," he said carefully, "by it you mean—"
"I’ll tell her." he said quieter this time like he was certain. Jake blinked, he breathed out a laugh. "Wow," he muttered. "didn’t think I’d see the day." He then slumped back against the sofa with a breath of disbelief.
Jungwon didn’t respond, he was still watching you because lately it had become impossible not to. Every day, it got harder to ignore. Harder to pretend, harder to act like you didn’t pull him in without even trying.
Across the room, you laughed softly at something Ni-ki said — but your attention shifted when you caught Kenny’s eye. "Can you help me with something?" she asked already moving, you nodded following behind.
"I’ll be right back," you called over your shoulder. The door clicked shut behind you and Kenny turned immediately, leaning back against it — arms crossing as she stared at you. For a moment she just looked at you, perplexed. "Kenny?.." you said cautiously, a nervous smile tugging at your lips. "What the fuck is going on with Jungwon?" she asked, her voice sharper than intended. Your brows lifted, "Jungwon?"
"That man is staring at you like he’s never seen you before," she continued, watching you closely. You exhaled slow, because you knew. You’d noticed it too, you had felt it and avoided it. Hearing it out loud was too much and yet somehow relieving. "It’s nothing," you start.
"Y/n, he’s crazy about you, he—"
"What if you’re wrong, Kenn?" you cut in, quieter now. Your expression tightened but Kenny didn’t hesitate. "And if I’m right?" she asked. "Can you live with that?" The question landed heavy, like they had an ache behind them. You paced, hands restless at your sides because you saw it. The way he looked at you. The way everyone else looked at you both and the way your chest flood with something warm when he got too close and worse, it feels right. That’s the problem.
To answer her question, no. You couldn’t live with not knowing, with pretending. "Okay." Your voice was sudden and firm. Kenny blinked. "Okay?" she echoed. You nodded, the slight buzz running through your body did nothing but assure your current thought process.
"Yeah," you said, more certain now. "I’m going to test it." Kenny narrows her eyes. "How?" You shrug lightly. A small smirk pulling at your lips. "Observation," you say. "Field testing." She didn’t interrupt or move. "And by the end of tonight," you continued, "If I feel like he does — if there’s anything there…"
"I’ll confess." She stood still for a moment as though any sudden movement would change your mind then she broke. A grin spread across her face, wide and disbelieving. "Wow," she laughed. "Did not see that coming."
The conversation with Kenny had been playing on your mind as you walked towards the kitchen. No matter what, tonight would change everything.
You had a plan for the night, not a good one and it was not a foolproof one but it was something. How to figure out if your best friend of four years has feelings for you—101.
Eyes. Jungwon loves eye-contact he fiends for it. He held it longer than most people, like he was always searching for something just beneath the surface.
Body language. He was subtle with everyone else but not with you. He leaned in, closed space without asking, existed just a little closer than necessary like proximity was instinct when it came to you.
Touch. Initiating more contact, that was the biggest one. He'd nudge your shoulder, brush against your arm, pull you forward when you lagged too far behind.
Jungwon was always the one to initiate it, so tonight you’d flip it. You'd hold his gaze longer than usual. You don’t look away first. Close the distance before he can, be the one to reach for him.
It made your stomach twist just thinking about it, because this isn’t just observation anymore. It’s risk and if he pulls away, or if he hesitates. You’ll have your answer.
Your friends made it to the game a couple minutes early to get the best seats for the upcoming game, Slytherin V Gryffindor. You hang back just long enough to knock back a shot, purely medicinal.
Once you made it to the game there were a few empty seats besides your friends. He sent you a small wave, like he hasn’t been subconsciously tracking your existence since you walked in. You settled besides him — making a point to sit with your leg flush against his. He paused briefly and relaxed, this wasn't unusual. Not yet.
You then turned to him looking between his brown feline eyes. "Hi Won," you said. He looked between your own, his eyes widened for a flicker of a moment. "Hey Y/n," he returned with a mischievous smile, confusion twisting into his brows.
"What are you up to?" he said leaning in slightly. You leaned in even closer and tilted your head, just a little. Play dumb, "What do you mean?" you replied, eyes still trained on his.
"I- What?" he stammered. You only feigned ignorance, perplexing him further. Was it always this obvious?
Jungwon had been convincing himself he'd been thrown into an alternate dimension, the one he'd dreamt of once where you would flirt, shameless.
It was the kind of reality he’d never let himself linger on for long, too aware of how easily it could blur into something dangerous. Something that would make it impossible to go back to what you were.
So instead of questioning it, he leaned into it. A small grin graced his lips, your eyes dilated as they looked into his and you pulled back to sit back in your chair. He sat back with the sleeves of his hoodie rolled back — his forearms on show. He watched as you shook your head in amusement and disbelief, trying your best to focus on the game that was about to begin.
Shortly after, the balls were released into the air along with a whistle to signal the start of the game. As the players all flew around the pitch you couldn't help but notice Jungwon's gaze when he was convinced you weren't looking.
You turned to face him watching as his eyes flit over your face in response, "What are you looking at?" you asked holding his eyes with yours again. "You" he said simply, you rolled your eyes at his words, but despite that you felt it. That warmth spreading in your chest, traitorous and loud.
You look back at the blurs of red and green in the distance. Relishing in the warmth, instead of filing it away. You all talked about the game as the breeze picked up and your shoulders caved in, as if to shield yourself from the cold.
You then felt an arm snake around your shoulders, Jungwon pulled you into him and rubbed up and down your arm, you pressed further into his warmth. "Comfy?" he smiled looking down at you. You nodded looking up at him, "Me too." he said, with a sheepish grin — making a point to rub harder against your arm for a moment.
Your friends snickered at the two of you, but neither of you noticed — too caught up in the quiet little world you always seemed to fall into together. Conversation flowed easily, effortlessly, the kind you’d forget the details of later but remember the feeling of.
His chest vibrated under you as he spoke, sneaking glances at you. Every so often, his voice would dip, like he was saying something just for you — even when it wasn’t anything important at all.
It's not like you hadn't been in this position before, you had been enough times that this wasn't new. Only it was. Your heart beat faster now, harder against your chest. You were certain he could hear it.
You also knew, somewhere along the way, that this was another shift — another quiet turning point in something that had always felt steady. A new line drawn without either of you acknowledging it, one that would change the shape of everything after.
The game blurred by, you and Jungwon cheered and whined at each-others teams as each of them scored points. He would never admit it but he was secretly rooting for Slytherin to win. For… morale. Just so Ni-ki could come back flashing that boyish grin you all inevitably cooed over, that was the reason.
Not the way you leaned forward with every play, eyes lit with excitement or the way your hand tightened in his sleeve whenever the score shifted. Not the way your voice carried just a little louder when it was your house pulling ahead. Definitely not that.
The commentator was drowned out by Jake's own commentary, full body reactions, dramatic gasps, like he was personally responsible for the outcome. It’s funny, it is, but you’re only half there because Jungwon’s hand is still on you. "Oi, focus!" Jake’s voice cut through as he pointed wildly at the pitch, "Ni-ki’s about to lose his mind—" You laughed softly, but your attention didn’t fully leave Jungwon.
Not when his hand slid just a little further down your arm — not unfamiliar, just more intentional than before as though he was testing something too. The last few minutes of the game had you all perched at the edge of your seats — tension coiling tighter with every second, every pass, every near miss.
It peaked when Ni-ki suddenly dipped — sharp and brutal, a near 90-degree dive as his eyes locked onto a fleeting glint of gold. "OH—" Jake practically folding over the railing, "—HE’S GONE—WHERE IS HE—" Just as you all stood up to look over the banister. He shot back up, a grin splitting across his face, fist clenched tight around the Golden Snitch.
The stadium erupted as the Slytherin team crowded around the blonde seeker, Beomgyu pulled him onto his shoulders and they all chanted the house name. But somewhere in the chaos, Jungwon grabbed your hand, you hadn't even register when it happened.
One moment you were cheering, the next — his fingers were laced with yours, his other hand thrown into the air with the crowd. The cheers mellowed like it had been pushed underwater. Your eyes trained on the space connecting you both, like they might explain themselves. He looked over at you, noticing your silence following your gaze to your hand in his. Your eyes snapped up to his, he didn't let go, he didn't pull away. He only looked over your expression carefully.
"Hey." he spoke softly, quietly — just for you. "Hi." you returned, feeling that familiar flutter in your stomach, the one that the buzz of alcohol had barely dampened.
"Is this okay?" he asked squeezing your hand for a moment, your heart stuttered. "This is okay." you nodded. A smile stretched onto his face as his thumb circled your skin. Enough to quiet the doubt that had been clawing at you all day.
As the players all made their way back inside and the cheers had subsided you all hurried inside, to the warmth. "The party then?" Heeseung said making you groan. "You don't whine remember?" Jungwon said catching your wrist as you pulled away.
"Wasn't whining." you muttered, he rolled his eyes. "You're not actually gonna drag me?" you scoffed, your voice trailed off with a hint of doubt as you watched an evil grin mould onto his lips.
"You can make this easy and just come with me— us." he tilted his head with a hint of a pout on his lips. You stared at him for a second.. debated your life choices.
"Whatever." you rolled your eyes letting him drag you along to the Room Of Requirement because apparently your free will stopped working around him. The doors of the Room of Requirement opened to something entirely different this time vast and open, the ceilings stretching high above with dark stone beams crossing overhead. Fairy lights draped between them, casting a warm, golden glow that softened everything it touched.
Sofas were scattered across the room in uneven clusters, already claimed by groups of students, laughter spilling between them. In each corner, makeshift bars lined the corners, bottles everywhere, drinks being poured like consequences weren’t real.
"See?" he murmured, leaning slightly toward you, his voice low enough that it barely carried past your ear. "Not so bad." But he wasn’t looking at the room. He was looking at you.
The soft buzz that had been carrying you through the evening was starting to dull at the edges, thinning out into something far less convincing. You needed more than this half-hearted warmth for what you had planned. You grabbed a couple of bottles and some glasses from the bar, weaving your way back to the corner your friends had claimed earlier.
"I was about to come look for you," Kenny said the second she spotted you, her voice half-laughing, half-knowing. "Thought you’d already wandered off."
When you drank, you wandered. That was just a fact. Slipped away from conversations, from rooms, from people. Chasing distraction wherever it led, no real destination in mind. Your laugh came out as a exhale through your nose as you set everything down. "Not yet," you murmured, already reaching for a glass.
Everyone was sprawled out on a corner sofa, Jungwon sat at the edge with a twinge of amusement playing on his lips — he watched as you topped some unknown liquid off with some coke. You took a safety sip. Your sip turned into another as you deemed it drinkable. The room pulsed with low, bass-heavy music, something nostalgic bleeding through the speakers as your friends broke into loud, overlapping chatter about the game.
You looked up from your glass and caught his eye, and just like that — he tilted his head, a quiet invitation. Come here. You hate that it works. You moved without thinking, slipping into the space beside him at the edge of the couch. It was closer than usual.
His hand snaked around your back settling on your hip. "Got enough space?" he murmured, leaning in close enough that his voice brushed against your skin instead of reaching your ears. You blinked once. twice, suddenly your brain wasn’t keeping up with your body. "Yes— yeah I do" you said softer than you'd anticipated. Your voice had given you away. His eyes held yours for a second too long, lips curling up. "Good."
His gaze dipped, catching on the dark liquid in your glass. You followed it, then nudged it slightly toward him, tilting your head just a fraction. He took it, fingers brushing with yours, eyebrows furrowing for a moment as he sniffed experimentally. His eyes were on yours the whole time, he took a sip from where your lips touched the glass — expression morphing into subtle delight at the taste.
"Strong," he muttered, lips quirking slightly. You nodded like you hadn’t just noticed that and let your gaze drift across the room, swaying slightly to the music as the alcohol settled warm beneath your skin.
Jungwon didn't look away once, not when you turned, not when you laughed, not when you lost yourself in the rhythm. His eyes stayed on you like you were the only thing in the room worth watching.
It didn’t take long for the winning team to burst through the doors, loud and electric with energy. Ni-ki and Beomgyu led the way, the golden trophy gleaming under the soft glow of the fairy lights as cheers erupted around them. You smiled easily, stepping forward with the others.
"Your drop was insane, Riki," you added, nudging him lightly. He broke into that familiar boxy grin, pulling you into a quick side hug before being dragged into more congratulations. You poured another drink not long after, feeling the buzz deepen as the night went on. Enough to make the world feel lighter, hopefully enough to make you braver.
You got up at some point as someone asked the room to create a dance floor in the centre of it. The room shifted, glowing softly as it cleared, colours flickering across the floor like something alive. People flooded in almost instantly, laughter rising with the music. You were about to stay exactly where you were because, realistically, dancing in a crowd wasn’t usually your thing — but then you felt Jungwon stand beside you.
"You wanna dance don't you?" he grinned reading you. You turned to him, a small laugh slipping out. "I think I’m at that point." He reached for your hand and you let him. He guided you to the floor with a smile that was tugged between his teeth, one you couldn't see as you walked hand in hand. You also didn't notice the figure that stood somewhere along the side of the room with a glare directed at you.
Jungwon turned as he reached the dance floor and pulled you closer, you took his other hand in yours. Whatever this feeling was, you concluded you liked it and then the music switched and you gasped.
[ SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK > JOJI ]
"Fuck, I love this song." you smiled. Jungwon pulled you closer, hands now safely on your waist. "I know." he said, softer now. "Did you—" you started, but he cut you off with a playful roll of his eyes, spinning you once before pulling you right back in. A laugh slipped out of you anyway, bright and unfiltered, dying the second your body met his again. Your arms found their place around his neck without a second thought.
"Hi." he whispered. So close, close enough that you could feel his breath, see the way his eyes flickered not steady but blown out and uncertain in a way you’d never seen before. "Hi," you echoed, your fingers drifted to the hair at the nape of his neck as the lights shifted over his face in soft, changing colours.
"You've been different today" he started carefully. You tilted your head slightly, studying him. "Good or bad?" you asked. "So good" he said with no hesitation, "Yeah?" you murmured, a hint of a smile pulling at your lips.
"Yeah," he nodded, hands pressing lightly into your waist — like he needed to be sure you were still there. Jungwon’s thoughts tangled over themselves, something settling in his chest but not from the alcohol. It had him finally thinking, what if she feels what I feel?
"C'mon let's grab a drink." you said stepping back and taking his hand. He pouted just for a second, at the loss of your weight against him but it vanished the moment your fingers slipped into his. His grip tightened instinctively, like it settled something in him. You caught Kenny’s smile as you walked back, that knowing one she usually threw at you. This time, you didn’t brush it off. You smiled back.
You were halfway through your drink when you felt it, that familiar prickle of being watched. The universal experience of someone staring at you too hard, with one look around the group your eyes met Beomgyu's.
Too late to pretend you didn't notice. He tilted his head slightly, subtle, motioning toward the door. You hesitated for half a second, stomach dropping and then you nodded.
You turned to Jungwon, whose eyes were already on you, like he’d been waiting.
"I'll be right back." you said to him, squeezing his hand. A silent promise more than anything, he nodded once — squeezing back, thumb brushing lightly against your knuckles before letting go.
You got up and headed to the door, walking through and leaning against the wall as you and Beomgyu settled outside — the sound of music being drowned into silence as the door swung shut. You leaned against the wall as Beomgyu joined you, hands shoved into his pockets, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips.
"Hey," you said, tilting your head. "What’s up?" He exhaled through a small laugh. "I just—" he scratched the back of his neck, glancing at you, "I wanted to ask about you and Jungwon. Again." You huffed out a quiet breath, already knowing where this was going. "I noticed things felt… different," he added.
You looked down at your hands for a moment, fingers fidgeting slightly. "Yeah.. there has been a development" You glanced back up at him. "On my side, at least" Beomgyu didn’t even hesitate. "It’s reciprocated," he said with a small laugh, nodding like it was obvious. "Like— painfully obvious." You breathed in sharp at that.
Good to know you’ve been the only one missing that for four years. "But I just wanted to make sure," he added quickly. "I wasn’t lying before," you said, frowning slightly. "I just— didn’t realise," You started.
"No, no," he cut in, shaking his head with a small smile. "You’re good. We’re good." Relief flashed across your face "Okay, I'm glad."
"You should say something to him though." he added. "I will," you murmured, more to yourself than to him.
"Soo," he dragged out, nudging your shoulder lightly, "what are you waiting for?"
That question followed you all the way back inside. Through the noise, past the lights and the crowd that blurred around you as your eyes searched and found him.
Jungwon. Stood with Penelope, not too close. Nothing anyone else would question but close enough that it feels intentional. Close enough that you noticed. "You came," she said, soft, almost relieved like his presence meant something specific. Like he came for her. Your stomach turned and something bitter ran up your throat.
Your chest ached in this dull, persistent way like something was pressing there, not hard enough to break anything, just enough to be constantly noticeable. Which was worse, honestly. You could deal with sharp. You told yourself it was nothing. Jungwon’s expression was neutral — polite, attentive in that way he is with people he doesn’t want to be rude to. He’s listening, nodding slightly, but there’s no real weight behind it.
She says something else, quieter this time, leaning in just slightly like she doesn’t want anyone else to hear. He glances around for a second — quick, then back at her, responding with something short.
He’s not pulling away or shutting it down. He wasn’t doing anything that would let you go oh, I’m being dramatic. That’s what got you, not what he did, but what he didn’t do.
Your jaw tightened as you turned away, slipping back into your group like nothing had happened. As though you hadn’t just stood there analysing every second of that interaction like it meant something. You grabbed a drink, didn’t even register what it was — just needed something to do with your hands.
Don’t look, not at her handing him a drink. Not at him hesitating, then taking it anyway. You didn’t see him notice you were back or the way he excused himself with something vague, already moving before she could respond. "Hey," he said, quieter now, like the room had shrunk down to just the two of you. "Hi," There was a beat. A shift.
"I didn't see you come in," he started, sitting besides you. Wonder why. The thought came automatically, dry and sharp, but you didn’t let it show. Your eyes flicker to her, just for a moment. He followed your line of sight, not obviously. "Just got here a couple minutes ago." you said.
"Yeah, I—" he huffed a small breath, like he’d rather skip over whatever explanation he could give. "She just stopped me." You didn’t respond, didn’t ask. "She was asking about something for class," he added anyway, quieter this time.
Your fingers tightened slightly around your glass. "Right," you said, like it mattered. He paused watching you, "I wasn’t… staying." He said, softer. That made you glance at him properly. He looked like he wanted you to understand something he wasn’t fully saying. Your chest tumbled in that same dull, frustrating way and you looked away first.
"Okay," you said, a little too quick. He didn’t call it out, he just nodded once, like that was enough — for now. "I was looking for you, actually," he added after a second, almost like it was an afterthought.
"Yeah?" you said, trying to keep your tone even. "Yeah," he repeated, quieter. That was all it took, the quiet certainty in his voice, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing he’d meant to find — for that nagging ache in your chest to loosen, easing just enough to finally let you breathe.
"I was—" he started, then stopped, huffing a small breath. "Do you wanna—"
"The balcony?" you said at the same time. You both paused and then laughed, caving into each other a little. "Yeah," he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "The balcony."
He walked quieter than usual with that drink he had already taken a few sips from. Tonight, you were going to say it. Penelope doesn't matter, that didn't mean anything. You closed your eyes briefly, inhaling. Nerves crept in as you reached the balcony behind the tinted glass doors. He reached for your hand as you stood before the stone railing of the balcony. You had never felt so vulnerable, never entrusted something as fragile as your feelings to another person.
The cool air kissed your skin, a relief against the heat crawling up your neck and then you turned to him. Your fingers curled into his, his grip tightened almost instantly. "Y/n," Jungwon breathed, there was a flush across his cheeks, spilling down his neck. His hand held yours too tightly, almost desperate. "Yes?" you said, unaware you were holding your breath
"I don’t know how to say this…" he murmured, more to himself than to you, a quiet, almost shy smile tugging at his lips. "I think you know what I’m going to say," he added, letting out a small, breathy laugh. He took a sip of his drink and placed it down the stone railing. "I think I do too," you replied carefully, a smile breaking through despite yourself.
He mirrored your smile pulling you a little closer. For a second, everything aligned, like maybe all the overthinking, avoidance and quiet longing hadn’t been one-sided delusion. Then, something shifted. His eyes flickered. Not to you, but past you. Through the glass doors as though something had caught his attention. Your brows knit, your gaze followed his instinctively — but you didn’t understand what he was looking for.
You just knew you’d lost him for a second, his attention had slipped through your fingers. Your brows pulled together, your brain already scrambling to justify it. When he looked back at you, his expression had changed. Brighter, a full smile broke out, stretching across his face. Like whatever he’d been working up to wasn’t heavy anymore.
It was contagious, you couldn't help but smile at his smile, only yours came with a tilt to your brow. "Right— sorry, where was I?" he said, voice suddenly lighter, confidence replacing the earlier nerves like they’d never been there. "I think…" he started, taking a quick sip of his drink, like he needed it, like he couldn’t quite stay still, "I think I really like someone."
Your chest tightened but not in a bad way. Not yet, because obviously he meant you. You nodded, amused "Right, who is she?" you spoke, still smiling — even as something inside you began to sink.
"Ah, you know our potions class?" he said, almost fond. "Penelope." He looked over at the glass again, at her. You faltered for a moment, then you held your smile for a second longer, letting it settle into something softer, something that took effort to be there. Hope is so rude. It shows up uninvited and then ruins your life.
You didn’t shatter or explode or break in any loud, dramatic way. You just felt, disoriented — like missing a step in the dark. That sudden, disorienting lurch where your body forgets where it’s supposed to land.
"Oh." you exhaled letting your hand drop. Your heart ached in a way that felt… unauthorised, almost. As though it had no right reacting this strongly to something you were never promised in the first place.
He didn’t seem to notice. "Yeah," he continued, almost giddy now. "I noticed her a while ago… sometimes it feels like she just — lives in my head." Eyes soft and sparkly. How they would be for someone in love. That look, the one you thought meant something. The one you thought was yours.
You thought you were being smart. You had the upper hand because you weren’t saying anything but now you don’t even get to be angry. There’s no betrayal, he didn't lie or trick you. You had built something out of moments of eye contact and hope, which is actually humiliating when you put it like that.
And you smile, of course you do. You ask questions and play the part you’ve always played. The best friend, the one who listens because that’s what you are. That’s what you’ve always been.
Push it down before it has the chance to become visible, before it turns into something he might notice — because the last thing you want is for him to look at you and realize. That you’re not as unaffected as you’ve spent years pretending to be and somewhere between him talking about her eyes, her laugh, the way she made him feel — your mind drifted. Your gaze lifting past him, to the clouded night sky, stretched out above the castle.
"Y/n?" Jungwon laughed softly, the sound light and open. "Yes?" you breathed. Something in your chest had gone strangely still. "I think I love her" he said almost dazed. You felt sick, It wasn't even just jealousy. It was the realization, that whatever you were holding onto — hope maybe or just the possibility of more, it didn't exist how you wanted it to. The realization that you were never part of the equation.
"You should tell her." you said, in a voice you barely recognised as your own, stepping back towards the door. He didn't register anything you said, he just stared through that same glass and gawked. For a moment you stood still and forced your eyes to his profile, his parted curved lips, his glittering eyes.
Your heart ached at how easily he held that look for her. It was steady, unguarded. There was no hesitation, no flicker of self-consciousness, no quick glance around to see who might notice. It was simple. Just him and her. It was real, and it wasn’t you.
You turned on your heel and walked, because you were not about to let him see what that did to you. Not now, not ever. Past the dancing students and past your friends who weren't aware of anything that had happened.
Your stomach flipped in slow, nauseating waves and suddenly you were too aware of everything. Your voice. Your hands. How long you’d been avoiding eye contact with the world. You kept your expression neutral on autopilot, years of practice kicking in. Survival instinct, if you don’t react, it didn’t happen.
You wondered if you saw him clearly at all, or if you were just filling in the blanks with what you wanted to see. You found yourself in a barely lit abandoned classroom and sat down on the steps near the window. The window was cracked open, letting in cold air that didn’t help but felt deserved somehow. It probably hadn't been long, probably minutes, but it felt you had been there for hours.
At some point your hands had started shaking, small at first, then enough that you had to press them flat against your thighs to make it stop. Your jaw locked, teeth pressed together like you could grind the feeling out of your system if you tried hard enough.
You were angry, you didn’t do anger. You did quiet and distance You did the slow, controlled kind of detachment where things stopped mattering because you decided they didn’t but you were angry, because you had allowed this. You let yourself believe it meant more, more than friendship but this this was different. This was sharp, embarrassing because none of this was technically his fault.
You let the lines blur. You let yourself sit a little closer, stay a little longer, read into things you knew you shouldn’t. You let your friends talk, let Kenny look at you like she’d already written the ending, let Jake’s stupid comments sink in like they meant something, like it wasn't just in your head.
You sat with your shoulders slightly caved in, your leg bounced repeatedly. In the time you were sat dissociated you were stuck. Cutting your thoughts off as they crowded in, not letting them finish their sentence. Redirecting them to something, anything else but it kept coming back.
He didn’t hesitate. You tried focusing on anything else, the rough breaths you could barely manage. You swallowed hard, blinking rapidly when you felt pressure build behind your eyes. No, I'm not doing that. You ignored it, even when your vision blurred slightly — even when a tear slipped free anyway, trailing down before you could stop it.
You didn’t wipe it right away, you just let it happen like it didn’t belong to you. Eventually, you stood because sitting there felt worse and staying meant thinking and thinking meant feeling.
Jungwon felt as though someone had dimmed the lights in his head, except nothing felt wrong, in fact it all felt overwhelmingly right. At some point his thoughts had narrowed quietly, to her. Penelope. She became his centre without him allowing it. His body followed without his mind understanding or questioning the reality of why. Which is why he didn't notice your faux smile the way he would have, the way it held a second too long.
He would have once, you knew that. He would’ve tilted his head, narrowed his gaze just slightly, like he was trying to read something between the lines. He would’ve asked, "What’s wrong?" even when you insisted nothing was.
He sauntered into the room with the kind of confidence only deeply intoxicated people and stupidly pretty boys possessed. Music pulsed through the room walls, low enough to feel in your chest more than hear properly. Everything looked slightly blurred around the edges, Jungwon placed his half-empty cup down on the nearest table carelessly, some shimmering pearlescent liquid sloshing over the rim.
He then walked over to her with a set of nerves he had no memory of harbouring. She stood glancing over at him with a knowing smirk. The type of girl who looked like she collected secrets for entertainment. "There you are," she hummed and Jungwon smiled instantly, helplessly.
"Hey," Jungwon said, eyes wide in that soft, open way — the same ones she had wished, not long ago, had been on her instead. The one you’d spent weeks trying not to fall apart over.
"Hey handsome," Penelope replied smoothly, like she’d tested it beforehand. She set her drink down and passing him a refilled cup of the same pearlescent liquid, he took it without even looking.
It was around then that Jake and Heeseung had circled back after getting some air, expressions already exhausted from dealing with drunk idiots all night. Jake was mid-sentence when he noticed Jungwon, Heeseung followed his line of sight and both of them went quiet for a second. "Oh, for fuck’s sake," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Heyy Jungwon.." Heeseung started carefully, voice cautious in the way people spoke to someone standing too close to the edge of a cliff. His gaze flicked to the girl beside him — unfamiliar, unimpressed by the interruption.
"Hi guys." he grinned looking between them. The grin alone was enough to concern everybody involved. "This is Penelope!" he added, gesturing toward her as he shifted slightly closer, like it was obvious.
"Oh… hi?" Jake said slowly, exchanging another look with Heeseung.
"Uh—where’s Y/n?" For a fraction of a second, Jungwon went still — he inhaled, sharp as though he was discovering your existence for the first time and then it slipped away again. Gone so quickly Heeseung almost thought he imagined it.
"Oh, Y/n?" he said vaguely, already turning his attention back. The way he said your name made Jake’s eyebrows cock immediately, like he was recalling someone from a class roster.
"I don’t know, she left earlier." he mumbled unbothered before turning right back toward Penelope again, already distracted by whatever she whispered next. She giggled beside him and he looked at her like the sound made perfect sense. Jake physically recoiled, "What the fuck." Heeseung stepped in immediately, pulling Jungwon slightly aside. "Hey- what are you-"
"Did something happen?" Heeseung asked carefully, watching him with increasing concern. "Like before this. With Y/n or something?" Jungwon blinked at him, like the question was irrelevant. "Realised I'm in love with her" Jungwon said nodding, his eyes didn’t even leave Penelope. Heeseung shot him an appalled look, open mouthed and on the edge of annoyance.
"What?" he said flatly, disbelief breaking through. "In love with who?" Jake whisper-shouted, leaning in sharply. Jungwon barely reacted, his eyes held a softened mushy glint as he waved dozily at Penelope, who was giving his friends pointed looks. Jake immediately pushed Jungwon's head back down.
"Who the fuck is that?" he snapped, gesturing toward her. "Penelope," Jungwon repeated patiently like Jake was struggling academically (he was not). Jake snatched the cup out of his hand immediately.
"Alright. Enough, come with us." Heeseung said grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the exit, ignoring his whines and pleas. Penelope stepped forward quickly. "He wanted to stay—"
"Didn’t ask,” Jake snapped instantly." Jungwon continued whining the entire way out while Jake muttered increasingly aggressive threats under his breath, clutching the cup like evidence in a murder trial. Somewhere beneath all the haze clouding his mind, buried deep enough to almost disappear entirely, your name still sat quietly in Jungwon’s chest.
Jake also did the damage control, he spotted Kenny near the drinks table laughing at something Jay said, entirely unaware her night was about to get violently worse. "Kenny." Something in his tone made her smile drop immediately.
"We found Jungwon with some girl," Jake whispered quickly, glancing over his shoulder like he expected the walls themselves to start listening. "Talking about being in love and shit and Y/n is nowhere to be found." Her face shifted rapidly through about seven different emotions in under three seconds.
They both ran out the room, in opposite directions. Heeseung and Jake practically hauled Jungwon down the dungeon corridors toward the nearest empty potions classroom while he complained the entire way.
"Guys! Let me go-"
"Shut up." they snapped. The classroom door slammed shut behind them loudly enough to rattle the shelves, bottles clinking around the room. Jungwon stumbled slightly as they shoved him into a chair near one of the worktables.
Jake lifted the glass to his nose and inhaled, immediately pushing the glass away once the smell hit his nose. "It's Amortentia." he concluded, letting out a long suffering sigh before setting it back down. "Jungwon?" Heeseung crouched in front of him. "Can I see Penelope now?" Jungwon groaned dramatically, throwing his head back against the chair.
"If you tell us what happened with Y/n," he said steadily, holding his gaze, "then yes." he lied, Jake nodded supportively anyway.
He made a concentrated thinking face at the ceiling "I took her to the balcony, I think- I wanted to tell her.. about Penelope and I did and then I looked back and she was gone." he rambled.
Jake and Heeseung looked at each other with pained expressions. "Fuck." Jake breathed, because suddenly he could picture it too clearly — you standing alone on that balcony listening to Jungwon talk about loving another girl after everything, after the lingering touches, all those painfully soft moments neither of you knew what to do with, and worst of all. Jungwon probably sounded sincere when he said it.
You probably stood there hearing every word and believed him completely.
"Can I see-" "—No!" they shouted immediately.
You lent against the cold stone of one of the many balcony's around Hogwarts, the air was sharp and prickly — you could feel the goosebumps, it soothed you. "Y/n." Kenny’s voice cut through the silence gently, though there was an edge of exasperation underneath it. You don’t turn immediately, didn't trust your face yet, your eyes bored into the stillness of the night — across the Great Lake.
"Y/n." she repeated softer this time as she approached. A hand settled carefully against your shoulder, you turned around meeting her worried eyed with your tired ones. "It's just me," she spoke quieter, taking in the exhaustion behind your eyes. "Oh, sorry." you said, "No," Kenny sighed almost instantly, offering you a small smile. "Don’t apologise."
You didn't answer, the wind pushed through your hair softly as your eyes drifted back toward the lake. Kenny leaned against the railing beside you after a moment, careful not to crowd you too much.
"Where did you go?" she asked eventually. "A walk." you replied simply. Kenny hummed softly, "You always come back weirdly philosophical after walks." Her eyes moved over your face carefully, like she was trying to piece together what kind of damage had already been done.
"He told you about her, didn't he." you said as though you were talking about something casual. She paused, "Yeah. Well.. Jake did," Kenny replied gently, turning to you. You nod softly, attempting to look unbothered. "Don't do that," she murmured immediately, tilting her head. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," you say, too quickly. "He just likes someone." Kenny blinks "Wait," she frowned. "Like actually?" You shrugged lightly like the conversation bored you. "Yeah." like it’s nothing. "He told me earlier."
"And you’re just… fine with that?" You lets out a short breath that almost sounds like a laugh. "Why wouldn’t I be?" Kenny turned toward you fully now, leaning forward slightly against the railing. "Because, you like him." The thing everyone apparently knew except the one person you wanted to know it. You shake your head, eyes dropping back down.
"It doesn’t matter."
"It does matter."
"He doesn’t feel the same," you say, firmly this time. "So it doesn’t matter." There’s something in the way you say it, like you're trying to convince yourself more than anyone else. She watches, carefully "Who is it?" You hesitate, just barely "Penelope."
"Who?" She raises a brow "She's in our potions." You say calm straight to the point. "And you’re okay?"
"Yeah." You shrug small "I told him he should tell her." The words tasted awful coming back out but that’s what a friend says, that’s what you are. Kenny's expression shifts "You told him that?"
"Of course I did," you say, like it’s obvious "That’s what you’re supposed to say."
"Not if it hurts you." You finally looks up at that, and there’s a flicker of something raw before it dulls. "I’m not hurt," you say. It’s quiet and you almost believe it. Kenny doesn’t call you out on it right away, she just studies you for a moment, then asks softly.
"What did you expect him to say?"And that was the question you weren't ready for, because your brain instantly reminds you how sure you were.
Your throat tightens, and for a second you can’t answer. Can’t even form the words without everything else slipping out with them. "Nothing," you says eventually. "I didn’t expect anything." A lie.
"Right." Kenny frowns almost sadly. A silence forms between you. Uncomfortable and loud, you clear your throat. "It's not a big deal," you add, stepping back, already closing the conversation before it can open into something dangerous. "So let’s not… do this again." You both know it’s not okay but it’s enough, for now. So instead she nods, "Let's go inside, get you warm."
The night blurred by the time you made it back to your room. You moved through it on autopilot, same routine, same steps, as if nothing had shifted or as if something hadn’t.
It took significantly more effort than either Jake or Heeseung would ever admit out loud to get Jungwon back to his dorm. Mostly because he would not stop talking.
And by the time they finally shoved him through the dormitory door, all three of them had looked seconds away from collapse. Jungwon stumbled toward his bed dramatically while Jake slammed the door shut behind them.
"I hate this school," Jake muttered immediately, "You say that every week," Heeseung replied tiredly, preparing something in the bathroom, "Because every week this castle invents a new problem." Jungwon dropped face first onto the mattress with a groan. "Penelope would understand me." he said muffled, Jake actually lunged towards him, "Don’t make me hit you."
Heeseung returned a moment later from the bathroom holding a glass filled with something dark purple and deeply suspicious looking.
"Drink," He said, pressing a glass of something dark and purple into his hand, Jungwon looked up slowly. "What is that." he frowned.
"Drink the fucking potion before I throw you into the Black Lake myself." Jake huffed, Heeseung nodded once in agreement. "Honestly at this point I’d help him." Their expressions — tired, worn down, entirely over it, left little room for argument. He sighed and drank it.
"Goodnight," Jake said flatly, the effect was instant, his body went slack as he dropped back against the pillows, breath evening out into a heavy, unnatural sleep.
Both of them exhaled, Jake dragged a hand down his face while Heeseung pushed Jungwon’s legs properly onto the bed. "That should keep him out until morning," Heeseung muttered. "It’ll wear off by then." Jake only nodded, quieter than usual.
Something about the entire situation sat heavily in the room now that the chaos had died down. The silence after disaster always felt worse somehow.
Morning came too loud, too bright. Jungwon groaned, dragging a hand over his face, pressing the heel of his palm into his eye as a sharp, splitting ache pulsed at the back of his skull. His mouth tasted awful, he blinked once, twice. Then he froze.
He sat up abruptly, breath catching as the night came rushing back in fragments — words, expressions, the certainty he’d felt. It had felt real, so real.
The party, Penelope’s face.. the overwhelming certainty sitting inside his chest every time he looked at her, intense enough to make him dizzy even now in retrospect. He remembered saying he loved her. Remembered meaning it in the moment with horrifying sincerity. His stomach turned. Did I mean it? No. No, that’s not right. Why did I say that?
And then, you. The thought hit harder than the headache and a mix of emotions followed in — anger, sharp and immediate at the realization that someone had drugged him.
Embarrassment, heavier, settling in his chest as he replayed what he’d said. How he’d said it, but beneath all of that, one stray thought, quiet and devastating in its simplicity.
She told me to tell her.. She didn’t care. Jungwon stared blankly at the floor now, jaw tightening slowly as another ache spread through his chest entirely separate from the headache splitting his skull open.
She doesn’t feel the same.
V 𓄧 lore accurate jungwon and riki ^. once again im sorry for making this 2 parts pls i wasn't going to i had no choice don't hurt meimsorry. she's alr at least 70% done. DAS RED RED DAS RED U SHOULD COME MESS WITH THE TEAMM EEE.