— 황인탁 DESK GRAFFITI ; HWANG INTAK
pairing⊹ ࣪ ˖ student!intak x student!reader. genre: fluff, slightly suggestive. mentions of giselle and ningning from aespa and jiung. intak being downbad.
THE DESK WASN'T EVEN YOURS initially. You'd just begun to sit there because your assigned desk was missing a leg and tilting every time you moved. But it was yours—not officially—because of what you found carved and doodled into the wood.
At first, it was innocuous. Just song lyrics. Some doodles.Nothing too outrageous, just doodling that looked like a boy passed through and left a piece of himself behind.
"You're the song I can't get out of my head."
"You ever hear something so good it makes you bite your lip?"
"She's sunshine with brass knuckles."
You had blinked at that one. Was it meant for you? No, couldn't be.
"Whoever sits here before me is either hopeless romantic or a Soundcloud artist," you had said jokingly and flipped open your notebook to take notes for class.
"Or both," she giggled and was looking at the writing. "Kinda mysterious too. You think he's hot?"
You rolled your eyes. "I don't even know who he is."
But someone did.
Intak sat three seats behind you, chewing on a straw and watching you trace the graffiti with your finger tip. The second he heard your laugh, something caved in his chest—like an ache, dull but stubborn. He blew out a breath through his nose and turned to Jiung beside him.
"She thinks it's cute," Jiung whispered teasingly.
"I didn't say that," Intak muttered, continuing to look at your back.
"No, but your face did."
Class had barely started, but the sun shone through the windows right on your table. You squinted at the sunlight beaming through as you waved your hand lazily in front of your eyes. Intak noticed your brows got all scrunched together. You looked annoyed but still pretty as hell.
Before he even processed what he was doing, he stood up—acting like he was stretching—and strolled over to yank the curtain down. Instead of heading back to his desk, however, he smacked the back of Minjae's head, who was sitting directly in front of you.
"Don't be a dumbass and move over. I told you to bring me the notes."
"Not my fault you skipped last week," Minjae groaned.
You didn't even glance his way. Not even once. That annoyed Intak. He wanted your attention. Hell, he closed the curtain for you. So when you slumped down, head resting on arms like a pillow, and went to sleep, he blinked in disbelief.
Seriously?
Still, as the lights came down and your breathing came to an even cadence, he couldn't help but keep staring.
The way your hair fell down your back, loose strands curling by your cheek... the soft sound of your breathing... the way your lips parted just slightly...
It made him lose his mind.
The bell rang. You stirred awake. Giselle immediately leaned in, whispering something causing your eyes to widen.
"No way," you whispered. "Wait, she cheated on him?"
"She swears she didn't cheat," Giselle said, "but like... they kissed."
You gasped, hand to your chest, and Intak almost laughed. He should have minded his business. He should've gone back to sketching beats in his notebook.
But then you said, "I'm craving fried egg bread so bad. The street kind, you know?"
And now he was wondering where to buy that. Maybe he would make it? Was that weird? It was weird. He didn't care.
Later that day, at break, you walked out of class with Giselle, Ningning, and a few of the girls. Intak stayed back in the hallway, pretending to check something on his phone as you all passed.
"We should do hotpot after school," Giselle said, linking arms with you. "Barbeque makes me smell like smoke."
"Free food is free food," you said with a light laugh.
Ningning leaned in to look at your lips. "Your gloss is fading again. I told you to buy the one I use. That overpriced one you bought is crap."
You said, "Alright, alright. Shopping trip after hotpot then?"
"I was hoping you would say that," she smirked.
He was listening. You expected him to. Then just as you laughed and walked ahead, you stumbled. There was an odd dip in the tile—always had been—but you caught yourself before you fell, giggling like you always do when this happens.
"Again?" you muttered to yourself as you brushed down your skirt.
He was smiling to himself—you always trip there.
But then when your eyes flickered up and caught him looking—just for a split second, he looked away, pretending that he wasn't looking at you at all.
You definitely didn't mean to look at him.
But you did.
Just a brief glance—one long heartbeat—before quickly averting your gaze. But Jiung noticed. Jiung always took notice. He started elbowing Intak before you even got halfway down the hall.
"Bro. Bro. She looked at you."
"She looked in the general vicinity of me," Intak grunted, shoving past him, trying not to ramble on while his heart ravenously hammered away against his ribs. "I was right next to the fire extinguisher. She could have been looking at that."
"Oh, sure?" Jiung scoffed. "And did the fire extinguisher also have messy bangs and smell like cigarettes and expensive cologne?"
Intak shoved him upside the head.
The nearby convenience store was always jam-packed after second period, especially on warm days. You fidgeted between Ningning and Giselle, joking around about what snacks to buy while Ningning absentmindedly played with your hair.
"I swear if they are out of my strawberry milk again, I'm sueing this place," Ningning muttered.
"You said that last week," you said with a grin as you linked arms with her, causing her to blush slightly.
"I'm serious, this time."
Giselle raised her brows. "Can we at least get those crispy mini gimbaps again? I'm starving."
All of you chuckled to yourselves; quiet, yet bright energy nestled smoothly in the loud presence of your friends. Granted, you were not typically the one that turned eyes like that, but he made sure you were always taking front and center. Especially now, when you had been glowing lately—shine in your hair, softer smile. Something was changing.
And he noticed.
Intak was already inside, idling by the soda fridge with Jiung and two others from their group. When he saw you step through the door he muttered a curse under his breath.
"Act normal, bro," Jiung advised before shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I am," Intak snapped back.
"You're standing like you're about to fight someone."
He blinked and relaxed his shoulders. Although he was still focused on you. The way your hand reached for the bread aisle. The way you scrunched your nose trying to read. The smell of your shampoo, faint but still overwhelming when you passed. He swore he could live off that smell.
Jiung was now grinning and nudged Intak—hard. "Go. She's at the bread aisle. Coincidence? I think not."
"Don't push me-"
Too late.
And that's how he ended up shoulder to shoulder with you, pretending to scan the shelf when really he was having a mild breakdown over how close your hand was to his. You turned around when Giselle called your name, and your hair brushed his shoulder. God. He could've died then and there.
Fast forward to the next day, you walked into class as usual, but you stopped in your tracks when you saw something on your desk waiting for you.
A lunchbox.
A pretty lunchbox, with a little sticky note taped onto the front. Written in messy black ink it read: "You've got me playing your name on loop in my head like a favorite track."
You eyes went wide. Your heart was all but stumbling out of your chest.
"Giselle," you whispered, eyes glued to the lunch box. "Is this... for me?"
"Of course it's for you," she responded matter-of-factly. "It's literally on your desk."
"But it could be yours," you said.
Giselle rolled her eyes. "Girl. Please. Open it."
And you did. There, unwrapped, the fried egg breads, with little fruit cuts on the side. You blinked once, and could already feel your face heating up.
"I'm gonna die," you whispered, immediately hiding your face in Giselle's shoulder. "This is too cute. WHO did this?"
"Better question," she smirked. "When you gonna kiss him?"
You groaned.
Intak was pretty much at the back of the classroom now pretending to be on his phone. Jiung had been constantly looking at you with a smile beside him.
"She liked it," Jiung whispered quietly.
"She doesn't even know it's from me."
"She will. Look how shy she is being. You've literally turned her a cherry tomato."
Intak took the chance to look again. What a sight. You were sitting there nibbling on the edge of a toast, your face shoved into Giselle's shoulder while Ningning teased you from her other side. So soft. So freaking cute. He couldn't deal.
And then the worst thing happened. Two guys from a different class walked over, chatting to you out of the blue.
"Hey, do you have the sheet for Mr. Han's class?"
"Can you explain questions 6 to us, you're good at explaining."
You being sweet and helpful as always gave them your full attention. And then a question from one of them was muttered out of the blue. "So what's your type?"
You blinked, "Huh?"
"Just curious," one of them grinned.
You hesitated, then said, "Um, I like tall, good looking guys... cute and hot at the same time."
Giselle instantly turned to the boys with a devilish smile. "She likes guys who can dominate her."
"Giselle!" you exclaimed, slapping a hand over her mouth. "That's NOT what I meant-!"
The boys burst into laughter.
"I-I mean like, someone who knows what they're doing. Like someone who leads the relationship, but isn't controlling. You know?" you continued, flustered.
Intak was biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to possibly draw blood.
"Bro," Jiung muttered under his breath, "did you hear that? She's basically saying she wants someone like you."
"She's saying she wants someone that won't screw it up," Intak said, though he was red at the ears.
One of the guys leaned in closer to you. "What if someone like that asked you out, though? Hypothetically?"
You tilted your head. "I guess... I'd say yes."
Jiung shook his head. "Bro, if you don't do something now, I'm disowning you."
Intak stared at you, and didn't answer. He was too busy watching how your lips curved around the straw in your drink. The way you smiled when Ningning leaned into you. How Giselle was fidgeting with your fingers, like she always did.
You were handsy, soft, and kind—and you didn't even know how easily you could wrap people around your finger.
Especially him.
The minute you felt Intak take a seat at the open desk behind yours, everything shifted in the atmosphere. You didn't turn to look at him, but you could feel it, the pull of his gaze, the way he leaned back in the chair and seemed to own the damn space. His smell before his voice: cologne and smoke, warm and dizzying. He was near now, closer than ever, and it made your stomach flop.
Jiung, always the chaos instigator, saw his opportunity.
He joined in as if it was completely natural. "So tell me, who's the secret admirer?"
You blinked. "What?"
He pointed at the lunchbox, the contents stale and withering, the sticky note still exuberant in the open window breeze.
"That? What do you mean?"
Jiung grinned. "Fried egg bread? Fruit? And that lyric? Sounds like somebody's got a crush."
You were suddenly mortified, and blushed bright red. "It's probably a prank."
"On you?" Jiung leaned on the table. "Nah, you're too cute to prank."
Giselle cackled. "She's blushing again! She totally loved it!"
A boy from one of the groups around the table joined in, flashing a wide grin, "Bet it's somebody in this class. Someone who's been watching you the entire semester."
Intak swallowed, looking down at the table for a second. He swore Jiung was going to get punched in the face if he didn't calm down, but he knew what his friend was doing. And damn it, it was working.
Another boy, Minjae, laughed, "I dunno, that lyric was pretty bold. Kinda sounds like something you'd write if you were imagining her in your bed."
Your jaw dropped. "Wh—!"
"Minjae!" Giselle slapped his arm, but she was grinning anyway, clearly not bothered.
But you were laughing, and hiding your face behind your hands, feeling far too warm in the cheeks—and that sound of yours. That sound, that soft, airy laugh of yours? You broke him. Intak's fingers twitched on the desk behind you.
Jiung leaned back, throwing a look at Intak like your turn, bro.
And then, finally, after a long few seconds of silence, Intak opened his mouth.
"So," he said cooly, voice low and gravelly, "what's your type?"
The whole table froze.
You looked up, blinking as you finally met his eyes for what felt like the first time, this close. Dark, unreadable. His messy hair fell over his brows just slightly, and you noted how nice the angle of his jaw was from this way. Your lips started to part just a little bit.
Giselle's mouth dropped open, Ningning slapped your thigh under the table.
"Oh?" Ningning said sweetly, "We're participating now?"
"I just thought it was an interesting topic," he said, lazy shrug, his knee brushing yours beneath the table. "You said tall and good-looking, right?"
You cleared your throat, waking your brain up a few moments too late. "Uh... yeah. Cute but... hot. Confident. Someone who leads but doesn't... control."
"And..." Jiung jumped in, teasingly, "... dominating."
"You guys are the worst." You half covered your face again.
"C'mon," one of the boys teased. "Dominate... in which way, though?"
"In bed, obviously," Minjae teased.
Your eyes widened and your mouth opened; you had started to argue, deny protest—but Intak, who had not said a word thus far, abruptly sat up.
His voice dropped deep, just for you.
"That what you like?" he asked while staring intensely at your face. "Someone that takes control?"
You caught your breath.
You couldn't even construct a sentence like the idiot you are, not when his eyes looked like that, and his lips twitching slightly like he was holding back something darker. The air around you grew warmer.
You looked down, nervously chuckling. "You guys are seriously messing with me."
But internally, your heart was beating way too fast, your body acting in unimaginable ways to you that you have never felt in school before. And it was him—the boy who never spoke to you and now he was, with his low voice and calm sense of confidence, as if he knows what he is doing to you.
The bell rang.
Everyone started moving, laughing, packing up—but you stayed frozen for a moment.
As the other students filed out of the classroom to head to lunch, Jiung clapped Intak on the shoulder. "You good man?"
Intak didn't answer. He was still sitting behind you, jaw tight, eyes following the contours of your neck while you leaned over to grab your things.
You were too distracted laughing with Ningning, but Intak's head was already somewhere else. To him, it was not your hair falling on your shoulder—it was your tank top slipping down. It wasn't your lip gloss being touched up—it was him smearing it.
God, he wanted to take you somewhere only he could take you and he wasn't going to last much longer pretending he didn't want to take you.
Eventually, you exited the classroom, your bag feeling heavier than it had all semester—full of extra books and notebooks due to your assignments piling up. And guess who noticed?
Intak.
You didn't notice the way his gaze flickered over to your shoulder dipping from the weight. His friends saw it, Jiung saw it, who elbowed him.
"Go on, be a gentleman Jiung grinned, elbowing him again. "Walk her home, carry her bag. Girls love that."
Intak rolled his eyes, but couldn't fully suppress the twitch of his lip corners.
Just as you were preparing to walk away from your group of friends, Giselle mentioned shopping. "We're going to the city shopping. Olive Young, maybe a clothes store."
"I'll go!" one of the guys blurted out.
"...I mean, we'll all go." Minjae added way too quickly.
You raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Okay..." you mumbled, unsure, but quite honestly too distracted by your phone to question them.
While you and your friends were distracted, Giselle and Ningning had made their way over to Intak, leading him away from the group enough that you wouldn't hear.
"Be honest," Ningning smirked. "It's you, right? The sticky notes? The fried egg bread? The lyrics written on her desk?"
He paused, eyes flicking toward you.
There wasn't any reason to lie anymore.
He bit on his lip, and then nodded.
Giselle grinned. "I thought so."
"You two would be super cute together," Ningning whispered, nudging him. "She's quiet, you're not. You'd pull her out of her shell."
Minjae popped in with a grin. "With those vibes? Yeah, he'd definitely loosen her up. In more ways than one."
"Bro-" Intak groaned, but the blush spreading on his neck said it all.
Back on your end, you were responding to your text when a warm hand brushed your shoulder. Your bag slid off of your arm before you could really think. You looked up and saw Intak casually carrying it as if it didn't weigh anything.
"I got it," he said casually, as if he did this all the time.
You brain kind of short-circuited.
His hand—literally—grazed your skin. Combine that with everything that was said earlier? Yeah, your mind was going to places it shouldn't be, especially out in public in broad daylight.
Before you could spiral too much, Giselle bumped her shoulder into yours. "Where're we going first?"
You blinked. "Oh-uh, Olive Young. I need new lip gloss. I think maybe a clothing store after, and the makeup place near it."
The commute was Jiung's genius idea. "Let's just take the subway, it's faster."
Fast, yes. Comfortable? Not even close. The carriage was packed, and you were gripping the overhead bar tightly, praying not to fall. You barely managed to hold on when the train jerked—but before you could stumble, his hand was on your waist, steadying you.
Your heart was pounding loud in your chest.
You looked up at him. He didn't say anything, didn't even smirk. Just sorta stared ahead like it was no big deal.
Was he always this unfazed? Or just around you?
By the time you made it to the shopping complex, the guys trailed you three like puppies. You dragged him and the others straight to the lip product aisle, trying out every color that Ningning insisted that you swatch. But there were so many colors, and you didn't want to use your own hand because it would be hard to tell what they looked like.
"I don't wanna swatch it on my hand..." you muttered.
"Use mine," a voice said beside you.
You turned. Intak, again.
"You sure?"
He nodded. "Go for it."
You hesitated, and slowly grasped his arm. He stared down at you, biting his lip as you swatched colors on the inside of his forearm. The touch was minor, but you could feel heat flourish on your cheeks.
He followed you through the entire section as you donned swatches—some too bold, other too pale. You couldn't choose.
He didn't mind.
He looked you over. The way you bit your lip when you were deep in thought. How you absentmindedly tucked your hair behind your ear. The tiny grimace you made whenever a shade didn't suit your taste. He was learning you in real time, and he looked like he enjoyed every second of it.
Jiung and the others feigned shopping behind you and weren't doing a great job hiding the grins that were spreading across their faces.
"Dude," Jiung leaned to Minjae after watching the whole thing unfold, "he's so gone for her."
Minjae leaned in. "She just doesn't know it yet."
"What do you think I should buy?" You looked up at Intak, your eyes darting from the basket in your hands to the varying shades on his arms, and on the back of his hand. He was still holding your bag like it weighed zero, while you were cradling your little plastic basket with more lip products than you need.
He examined the shades, idly running his thumb over one of them, glancing down at you. "I would get this one," he gestured towards a muted rose shade. "And I would get that one." He gestured towards a peachy gloss. "You would look great in those."
You raised a brow. "You say that like you've thought about it."
He shrugged, his eyes gleaming just a little. "Maybe I have."
And maybe, he thought, if he ended up bagging you, he would get to see those marks on more than his arm. Your lipstick on his jaw. A little gloss smudged on his lips. Perhaps even some faint stains on his collarbone or neck. The very idea nearly had him chewing on his tongue just to keep himself from being too presumptuous.
Eventually, you had somehow filled your basket to overflowing; lip tints, glosses, lipsticks in every finish, and the two of you moved on to skincare. You browsed the serums and moisturizers while he followed behind you like a loyal, golden retriever puppy, holding your bag without a single complaint.
Your friends had kept a distance to not be obvious, but were still close enough to see. Ningning was hiding behind an aisle holding a toner, while Giselle pretended to try out an eye cream. Somewhere in the chaos, a staff worker was passing by, stopped dead in her tracks while looking at the two of you.
"You two are a cute couple," she smiled warmly.
You immediately shook your head and waved your hands. "Oh no, we're not-"
"Yes we are," Intak cut in, sliding his arm around your shoulder and steering you towards the cashier.
You stared blankly at him. "Why did you say that?"
He just nodded at the entrance. You followed his gaze and noticed a bright pink flyer taped to the door.
Couple discount: 20% off your total purchase.
"Oh."
At the cashier, you started digging into your bag for your wallet, but before you could even unzip your purse, he took your bag out of your hands, dug into his pocket, and pulled out a credit card. "Hey!" you shouted.
"I'll pay." His tone was casual, but that smug look painted across his face was anything but.
You glared at him as he handed over his card, easily bagging all the items while you stood next to him like a confused (and slightly flustered) ghost.
As the two of you walked out of the store together, friends that you found waiting for you.
"Whoa," Ningning teased, eyeing Intak's arms smeared with swatches. "You really did a number onigde on him, huh."
Your cheeks flushed. "I can wash it off-"
"No," Intak chimed in with a slightly smug smile, his eyes darting to you. "I think I will keep it."You blinked up at him, mouth slightly agape as your heart raced.
Giselle snorted. "God, I can't tell if I'm witnessing a soft rom-com or some sexy enemies-to-lovers fanfic."
"Well," Ningning added, linking arms with you. "I did say her type is guys who lead the relationship."
And Intak? Yeah, he was already doing exactly that.
The next day arrived and there was sunshine pouring through the windows of your classroom, the regular throng of students pouring in through the door with tired faces and messy hair. The day before, you had also walked into the classroom wearing that new lip gloss—the one that Intak told you to get.
Giselle caught on right away.
"Ohhh," she said smugly as she leaned in close, narrowing her eyes. "Is that the Intak seal of approval?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," you mumble, eyes glued to your desk.
And your desk wasn't empty.
More lyrics. Messy and scribbled and a little off-kilter, but unmistakably his.
But this time they weren't just flirty; they were risqué. They were the lyrics to a song everyone kind of knew, but the way this song was crafted and the way you were incorporated into it really made your stomach flutter.
Giselle and Ningning instantly leaned in and read it together.
"Oh, he's so cheesy for this," Ningning chuckled, "But like, kind of hot."
Intak? Pretending to be fast asleep at his desk two rows behind you. Head down. Hood up. Jiung was shaking with laughter next to him and whispering things like "you're so gone for her, bro."
You ran your fingers over the new graffiti, your lips twitching up despite yourself.
Sure, maybe he was your type.And maybe you were his type as well.
You glanced over your shoulder. Intak peeked up through the crook of his arm just long enough to meet your eyes.
You didn't look away.
Instead, you mouthed Lunch?
He raised a brow, slow grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. Then he nodded.
Yeah, that was enough for you.










