“Hey everyone it’s gossip girl here did you miss me? Well I sure missed you” 𓂃𓈒 ⊹ ° 📞 GOSSIP GIRL
➤ SYNOPSIS ꒰ 🕷️ ꒱ in this life you only live once so why not make the most of it by ruining others lives instead? After all are you really the one in the wrong if they had it coming ? Karma is karma and your just the deliver. or in which in attempts to avenge your best friend you dig deep into the mystery of Sunghoon which leads you to discover something much more grim.
“You are toxic, sink into me” ❦༄ sunghoon x fem reader!
GENRE : Strangers to enimies to lovers | collage au | inspired by the series “gossip girl “ | lots of scandalous behaviour, revenge and backstabbing and betrayal | angst
WARNINGS: cursing , drugs, alcohol and some suggestive scenes nothing to crazy 😛 and this story is in no way trying to paint any of the enha members or other K-pop idols in a bad light the topics, personality traits and how thier being portrayed it’s just for the plot and fictional purposes only !!
AUTHORS NOTEY 📝 : Since I’m now on summer break the chapters won’t take too long to come out so I’ll try to post regularly. Anyways I hope you enjoy 𖤐!!
SYNOPSIS. When Jungwon is sent to the Alfea school for Fairies for a week to work on a project for his midterm, he didn’t expect he would enjoy it all that much. After all, he had gotten dumped by an Alfea fairy not too long ago. However once he arrives, he’s immediately infatuated with a girl who he figures is the girl of his dreams. Even after finding out that she’s the Princess of Domino who’s supposed to be married off to someone else in the future, Jungwon can’t help but be stuck to her by the glue.
GENRE. Winx Club AU, fluff, angst
PAIRING. Specialist! Yang Jungwon x Fairy! Reader
FEATURING. ENHYPEN, SUNGCHAN + SHOTARO from NCT, BEOMGYU from TXT, SIEUN from STAYC, MINJI from NEWJEANS, CHAERYEONG from ITZY, INTAK from P1H, CICI (@muhwaa), YUN (@amakumos), LILY (@jennaissantes), FAE (@haerinz) , YEN (@yenqa) , & ELY (@enaus)
WARNINGS. will be added once the story starts !
STATUS. releasing on 3/10
TAGLIST. send an ask or dm to be added ! it’s hard for me to keep track of replies :)
PLAYLIST. listen to the playlist here ! :)
A/N. im so excited for this !! winx was literally my childhood & ik many of urs asw. but if u haven’t seen winx u can still understand the story, as long as u read the side notes i put in the chapters :) also thank u for my friends for agreeing to be characters ! i hope u enjoy <3
STAR RACER － ENHYPEN GREASE AU SERIES EPILOGUE // 🚦
racer!enhypen & flaggirl!reader
TITLE: ST★R-RACER
PLOT: in a small town during the 1950s, seems the only thing keeping careless teenagers entertained are drag races where only the elite participate. and those elite are known as star racers.
NOTE: enhypen, txt, and other groups may appear in this story! let me know if you want any of your favs and ill bring them in. this is my first fic on tumblr so im sorry if its formatted weirdly. i've had this idea for a while while i rewatched grease and the outsiders. this story is inspired by western influences so it won't include traditional Korean school routines or shops. stay tuned!
"on your marks... get set... go!"
engines roared and the smell of diesel burned while a cloud of dust flew behind the two impatient vehicles. they zoomed past, like a slingshot being released from a tight pull. leaving the flag girl standing alone with nothing but tire marks tattooed into the imprinted ground.
the swarms of teens around the poor excuse of a race track were injected with excitement. after all, they had a good line up tonight. park sunghoon and sim jake were the first of the night, the pair going against choi yeonjun and kang taehyun from the neighbouring school.
your school had been clashing with theirs since the beginning of drag racing in the town. and for god sake was it hard to hate them. you had to admit yeonjun and taehyun were pretty nifty, in both looks and racing skills. that compliment was hard to achieve when dreamboats such as sunghoon and jake in your crew actively circulated near theirs.
although none of those boys could even come close to the star racers of their school. lee heeseung and choi soobin. the very two boys on that very track in front of you. the last race for the night and would set the tie straight.
star-racer was a tough title to earn. it would be gifted to the most impressionable, speediest and greatest racer in the school. this changed every month so it was not only difficult climbing social ranks but also maintaining it.
take park jay for example.
that stud was the biggest daredevil on the road you'd ever seen. though you'd never seen it happen, rumours had spread that he raced against the biggest cheaters on the block. the opponent kept ramming into the side of jay's vehicle so he unlocked his door and kicked it open so hard the other car almost skimmed off track. he won the race so triumphantly, only costing the door off his new jacked ride. you recalled another perspective saying the knucklehead walked out with a limp but he still wouldn’t admit it to this day. but aside from the incident, he was proud of his win streak. that was until he was flogged the race after and lost the next vote to heeseung.
the makeshift race track was nothing more but a dried up dam with smooth concrete walls sloped so perfectly that you could sit on them comfortably. and although you couldn't see the racers when they swerved past the first corner, it was hidden form authorities, had a good length for an abandoned rivulet and a perfect spot for the after parties.
"who d'you thinks gonna win?" your imaginative head turned to a familiar face beside you, beauty mark under his left eye and a boxy smile from his direct question. you politely smiled back, shaking your head and looking back at the empty track in front of you.
"lee, obviously," you replied while rolling your eyes at even considering the rival school's victory. the opposition's barracks sat at the opposite side of the concrete wall. a scoff left your lips as your distracted gaze surveyed each one, "look at all those daisies," the last word mocking their private school uniforms and high academics.
riki laughed quietly, deep voice at the back of his throat as he leaned his forearms on his knees, facing the same direction as you were. spotting two extremely close students, mouths glued to one another while they made out as if they were fish out of water. your watch widened as you slowly craned your head towards riki to see if he was also witnessing the disgusting view. your question was answered when he was already facing you, mirroring your expression with a dropped jaw.
a huge surge of laughter hit the both of you, holding onto your stomach and folding yourself forward. the laughter almost started to hurt as you couldn't stop, only piling on heavier when riki recreated the couple's way of kissing by positioning his hands in front of him, like he was holding the nape of an invisible person, and flicking his tongue up and down unflatteringly with a scrunched nose.
"stop! i can't!" you squealed while kicking the soles of your white sneakers against the hard concrete. it was as if you were on laughing gas and somehow transferred the effect to the black-haired boy beside you.
"thats so nasty. i hate that school," riki remarked as his high of laughter calmed. you breathed out soft and smooth, sore gut disappearing with each meditative breath. eyes returning on hopefully anything but the animalistic couple several metres across from you.
"got that right. only good thing coming out of it is their race lineup," you replied and leaned back on your palms, your thin, long skirt draped across your thighs. the male only groaned, sick of hearing your ramble on the collection guys you found attractive.
"oh but for their cars right?" he sarcastically asked, deadpanned expression with straight brows raised like he was really curious. you knew of his gags and hummed with pursed lips, acting as though you needed to think of the answer.
"absolutely. i wouldn't mind a little bit of back seat bingo, if you get me," playful remark resulted in a tongue falling out of riki's mouth, disgusted. you giggled with a hand over your lips, tapping his shoulder to get him to stop pulling faces at you.
"is there a way i can get you banned from these kind of things? hello?" his head perked up and he tossed his head back and front like he was frantically looking for security. you shut him up and called him dramatic, despite finding his playfulness really entertaining.
"can't do that to me, our schools renowned flag girl? didn't think so," you proudly reminded him while sliding the tips of your fingers against your shirt's collar like you wanted to sell the material.
"flag girl who looks like shes about to go to bible study," he corrected while stapling his thumb and index finger to the hem of your white skirt which ended just above your knees. clearly he was comparing you to tonight's flag girl who was wearing tight black pants and a busty red top, matching neck scarf and all. you ushered him off with a gesture of your flat hand waving away, clicking your tongue.
"shut up, you know my mom doesn't like it past quarter of the thigh. and these kinds of skirts are so in these days," you huffed and covered your very clad outfit with both your arms, wrapping the limbs around your torso. he just chuckled and playfully undid his fingers around the fabric by jerking his finger upwards, letting your skirt fall like a feather in air.
"look, its so long its almost air resistant," referring to your skirt still taking its time laying flat. you raised a clutched fist at the boy, wanting to rip the boyish grin off his face.
"its just the wind!" you complained and stretched forward to flatten your hands against the layer of now puffy clothing. he found your comment silly, shaking his head with a silent laugh, "bugging me like you've done any races recently." eyes rolled in arrogance before placing back on the boy's face to see his reaction.
he furrowed his eyebrows, hands suddenly tightening, "we don't go there," his tone had no ounce of humour but you didn't bite the hook.
"bit of banter alright, but when it's on you we don't go there?" an eyebrow raised on your suspecting face, one corner of your pink lips curved into a mean smirk. a yawn of a groan poured from his throat and he laid his back against the concrete. sprawled out like a starfish.
"we don't go there because it doesn't leave my head," he pressed his tongue against a side of his mouth, a lump forming on one side of his cheek as though he was agitated.
"really riki? it's been months. no one talks 'bout it anymore," you soothed with a slouched position. you didn't mention it to intentionally hurt the boy. he averted his gaze and looked to a group of people a few metres apart from the two of you. the sudden loudness of their laughs had him on edge with the current topic.
"yeah, sure a no one," he answered back and you stayed quiet for a minute, processing what he was saying as you day dreamed off into the sky. then the realisation that he was actually calling you a nobody washed over.
"achin' for a breakin' today, riki?" your eyebrows knitted together while you started to straighten your back from previously slouching. holding one of your fists with the other free hand and acting like you were roughly grinding something between the two. riki could only see himself between your fist and hand and he immediately slid his elbow back to prop himself upwards, crouching in a position easy to jump up from.
"not really, boss. hey, did anyone compliment you on your skirt yet?" he acted a fake chuckle with a hand pressed to his stomach as though he were part of some theatre. except you didn't find it funny one bit before reaching forward to grab any part of the boy. perfectly predicting this, as it happened countless times before, riki scampered up to his feet and started to run in the opposite direction with a ripping high scream.
you laughed out at his girly scream, one eye fluttering shut as you ran behind him with the long skirt flowing behind you like a bed sheet hung up to dry on a windy day. his black, brushed hair would bounce with each step he took and he was hopping on his feet to dodge the sitting viewers who scoffed and glared in your direction. riki was getting further away from the race track, leading you towards the, also makeshift, parking lot. the sudden change of direction had your foot kicking over someone's bottle of pop.
really the parking lot was just a flattened rectangle of grass that had been parked and driven on so many times it started to turn brown and die, leaving powdery dirt as a floor. you quickly found riki's reasoning for leading you to the parking lot when you found three tall figures standing in an incomplete circle leaning against their rides. park sunghoon didn't expect your arrival at all when his eyes widened so did yours.
riki, still smiling, let out a small out of breath giggle while hopping over a door to one of the roofless cars seat's. "woah there riki, not angering the missus here are we?" sunghoon commented with raised eyebrows and a small smile on his face. a burning stick between his middle and index finger as he lifted it to his lips and inhaling it before he sighed it out and peered down at his shoes.
“she's throwing a fit ‘cause i made fun of her nightgown,” riki, still refusing to quit the disrespect, explain to sunghoon and he just smiled, taking another intake.
“s’not anything like a nightgown. she rolls it up anyway,” sunghoon playfully added to riki while keeping eye contact with the younger. guilty as charged, you dropped the subject.
"oh park, i told you to quit those," your brows furrowed in heinous irritation that the silver haired boy disregarded your warning the first time. he shrugged his shoulders upwards for a moment before letting them drop as though he had been caught.
"hey, out!" jay's rough voice demanded, throwing a strict thumb past his sharp shoulder as he leaned back on-top the car door. the older's request falling on deaf ears as riki acted as though he didn't hear the older male. instead, his hands holding on the steering wheel and mocking a race by violently swerving his body left and right.
"sorry dolly, i'm not best with directions," sunghoon replied as his grin showed his friendly sharp fangs. oh how that nickname coming from sunghoon's lips had an effect on you. returning that innocent smile back to him, you leaned on your toes to snatch the cigarette from between his lips.
"i know. i saw your loss to yeonjun," his smile dropped and you weren't sure whether it was because of your words or his cigarette which now lived on the racing track as you chucked it behind you. a snort sounded in the boy beside jay and riki as he laughed with a toothy smile. couldn’t help it, playback for exposing your skirt secret to everyone.
"y/n's right, that sucked to see," jake supported your argument, one of his feet across the other while he leaned his back on jay's back door. sunghoon just scratched his head, still a hint of amusement, but he was too busy scrambling the packet of cigs he had in his pocket to think of what to say.
"park, seriously," you deadpanned while he threw his hands up as though he surrendered and backed away from his previous spot. a feeling of relief gave way to you and you only wondered why they hung around the car park. your first guess is solely to smoke but seems as though sunghoon was the only one. the absence of pressed ashes in the dying grass below was enough evidence to back your theory.
"let me say i had a bad glint in the mirror and it was blinding me the entire time," sunghoon appealed himself, only to be shut down immediately by jay.
"oh because its soo bright on a friday night," the male retaliated in thick sarcasm, with emphasis on the word so. the silver-haired male just breathed through his nose, not taking in the atmosphere.
"the sun hasn't set yet, news reporter jay," sunghoon appeased while squinting his eyes at the other. jay just cocked a smirk, finding the bit humorous. your eyes flew to jake, knowing you'd get a somewhat tame answer to your question.
"what's the occasion for you three leaning here and not with your girl-friends over there," you held onto the hem of your cotton tee, head tilting back momentarily to gesture the direction of the area crowded concrete walls. jakes lips parted and his sweet dark eyes followed your indication as he licked his bottom lip to answer.
"ay, i love my girl friends but some of 'em only wanna be on the make with me so i'm camping here," jake answered while shifting in his skinny jeans uncomfortably. sunghoon just peered at through his lashes, a thick eyebrow raising in suspicion.
"like that's the end of the world. i'm just out to have a smoke," he answered as well, sarcasm evident almost like he was jealous with jake's reply. you purposely didn't react to his reason and then turned to jay. you didn't mind getting his answer, seeing as his two best friends had already.
"no crime in being a follower," jay lifted his shoulders and tucked his hands into his leather jacket's pockets. your head nodded in affirmation to his words. couple of minutes passed containing jay trying to string riki out of his race car by his wrists, sunghoon fighting to urge to light another cig and jake observing the race from afar.
"hyung's 'bout to eat dust," jake announced with a parted mouth and relaxed brows. your hands clasped over your lips in plain surprise, switching position when you hopped atop jay’s bunk of his black and blue car. the automobile bounced lightly upon your arrival, polished to a shine. jake’s shoulder was right beside you and it was stiffening while keeping a close eye on who was in the lead.
“s’gotta goose it or lose it,” jay chimed in soft encouragement to his senior as though heeseung was with them. there was a long collective silence, the four of us waiting nervously for someone to pass the finish line.
the crunch of gravel and stones rolling in the dirt wasn’t the arrival your group was wishing for. so when yeonjun, beomgyu and taehyun shortly made their appearance, there was a lack of excitement in the air. yeonjun had his hands tucked into his blue denim jeans, combed back hairstyle that contained way too much hair gel, so much in fact his race started and ended with his hair kept in the same place. foxy eyes scanning the four of us from left to right. though that strong gaze wavered on your appearance, stilling while his pouty lips free into a wide grin.
“hey there, y/n,” the brunette boy greeted with a playful tongue poking out one of the corners of his pink lips. you were thrown off by their unprecedented arrival on your turf. they were bold to do this, especially before the race was finished. this was a sign of cockiness if they decided to walk here like soobin had already beaten heeseung to the finish line.
"eyes off the candy, choi," sunghoon carelessly warned while playing with the cuffs of his race jacket as though he were getting ready for another drag. yeonjun's dark pupils flicked to sunghoon for a split second before landing back on you and he was setting himself beside you, clearly overstepping the boundary by leaning his arm over both your shoulders and treating jay's ride like it were his.
your hunching shoulders tensed at the contact, eyes blinking when you stared at his face that was leaning intimately to yours. you're certain that from an outside perspective, someone would think you're a couple of teenage lovebirds. his gaze was concentrated while he was slowly scanning your features as though you were a book. when he stopped at your lips and your face tilted away slowly, he smirked at the effect he had on you.
he didn't make a sound yet that message in his eyes were telling you he wanted you to ditch your gang and go on the make with him instead.
and for some reason, that idea didn't seem all that shabby to you at all. "if you wanna pick me up, do it in your chariot instead," your voice calmly mocked while looking opposite to yeonjun's advances and towards a familiar face like riki's who was intently tuned in listening to you.
a quiet sound like a laugh gorged from the three men’s throats as though they were holding back from bursting out loud. yeonjun’s eyebrows knitted while his lips pouted with a discrete frown, “i can give you a better ride than that. car not included,” he responded with a sickly innuendo and aside from his pretty little looks, was the only thing turning you off.
“i’ll be waiting,” you playfully reacted while rolling your eyes. he got the sudden sense that you didn’t like him unless he was in a race car and you’d have to agree with that.
“is choi always this aloof?” jay questioned with crossed arms, less than pleased with the enemy treating his car like a bench. taehyun’s wide eyes placed themselves on yeonjun’s broad shoulder while he wanted to interfere, unable to take his older’s flattening advances seriously.
“always,” taehyun responded less than proud, “babes bring the worst out of him,” he added and jake chuckled at that while he carefully hooked his forearm around your clothed waist and gently slid you closer to his side. yeonjun’s arm ripped off of you and placed his hands on the trim of the vehicle, stubborn and reluctant to give up like that.
“shot down by our angel y/n here. that's rare,” jake’s voice joked while referring to your infatuation with the racers that he was always versing. you quietly giggled while your legs delicately kicked back and forth, skirt loosely in the air, leaning into jake’s side. you didn’t precisely want yeonjun to stop trying but he was too bold to do so in front of the three men beside you.
“that's a sight i’d never thought i’d witness,” riki’s voice chimed from behind jay’s car door, elbows propped on the car door.
“beat it yeonjun,” jay advised while he glanced at the two lackeys behind the mentioned male.
“wise words coming from the sell-out in the parking lot,” yeonjun rudely retaliated, clearly referring to jay’s race which cost him his title. your known pride-smitten friend abruptly stood straight, black converses molding the dirt below as he trudged towards yeonjun. you stayed quiet at that, knowing how out of your mind you had to be to mention jay’s loss.
“you crusin’ for a bruisin’, greaser?” jay rhetorically asked, his face not sparing an ounce of joke. clearly, the greaser comment was directing to the amount of gel spiked in yeonjun’s hair. you’d seen it before, getting on jay’s bad side was like asking to be sent to the hospital. his fists clenched and the cuffs of his denim jacket doing a poor job hiding them. yeonjun looked disinterested at his appearance, looking to his companions as though it was a signal.
and before the wind even blew, there was a shove that sent jay stumbling backwards and into the headlock of beomgyu, a boy who you last saw not even close to yeonjun. you and the other three boys, suddenly alarmed, rose in your posture to get between the scuffle.
yeonjun wailed out, dropping on one of his palms as he hunched over holding his spine, a familiar white shoe pressed into his back that belonged to none other than riki who had been sitting in the front seat the entire time. despite choi seating on the bunk of jay’s car, riki’s legs were long enough to reach over the backseat and kick the boy off when he raised his body upwards.
jake, still seizing hold of your midriff swiftly, and as gently as he could, raised you off the car door you sat on to make room for riki. the younger boy took the vacant opportunity to hop over the back car door, one hand holding the vehicle as his legs extended in front of him.
you unintentionally stole a glance at jake’s face, his teeth clenched together in a competitive grin, “might wanna agitate the gravel, ay y/n?” he kidded while setting you to the side so you wouldn’t get hit. you crossed your brows at that, not possibly believing jake would join in the squabble. his bleach-blonde hair faced away from you when he circled and grabbed hold of taehyun’s shoulder who was an incoming threat to riki.
the flicking of a lighter behind you was made in sunghoon’s hand, lowering his head to bring a flame to his cigarette, opposite hand cupping a side of his mouth so the wind wouldn't snuff the flame. you eyed him, frustrated at his incompetence to throw all your advice out the window like you weren't on his neck for smoking earlier. he tensed as he puffed the tobacco in and out and you watched silently, odd the silver haired male was so calm as his buds were tussling on the dirt a metre away from you.
“too absorbed in that cancer stick to help your friends out park?” you questioned while reeling his attention in like a fish and bait. his brows softened and it may have been the cig in his mouth that had that effect.
“oh, no. a three-verse-three is fair enough,” he laughed while observing the fight with you. you pressed a bundle of your fingers against your giggling mouth as the short-tempered men fought like it were a street fight.
jay had busted out of beomgyu’s suffocating headlock and held his elbow out to rut it into the other boy’s ribs. with the aforesaid male staggering back to claw at his sore chest, jay was dashing towards his vehicle to get his itching hands on yeonjun who was turned around seizing riki’s collar like he’d tear it off him.
“hey, heeseung’s crew is fighting soobin’s!” someone announced, a collective ring of students forming around the said boys. murmuring and the loud buzz of excitement almost drowned out the loud thwack of jay’s fist colliding with yeonjun’s face.
the impact so forceful his hands around riki’s collar released him and let him drop back on his heels. the younger’s face astonished at his older and with an excessively cheerful smile, he patted jay’s back like he’d done charity work.
“nice one, hyung,” he complimented, palm still on his back and jay felt his pride skyrocket. the clueless pair of eyes looking at him in praise widened when a jumble of fingers dug holes in jay’s scalp to yank his head back from yeonjun’s recovering body.
when jay tried turning his head he locked gazes with none other but taehyun who had jake coughing down in the dirt, “dude!? the fuck, you fight like a girl!” jay yelled, holding back a girlish scream while the grip on his hair didn't loosen. you kept your composure to not laugh like a manic at the scene, jay wrestling taehyun off his hair like his life depended on it.
riki immediately came to jay's aid, sidestepping past the glued pair and discovering an opening between them. he dipped his head low as he catapulted himself off his feet to tackle taehyun to the dirt and tear his grasp from jay. the amateurish fight looked almost like a game of knockout, one boy falling and getting back up just to be tumbling to the ground again.
to think yeonjun's flirtatious advancements towards you would've resulted in a scrap to the death like this, you should've shut him down immediately.
had this been the first fight you witnessed your clique instigate? absolutely not. yet, a feeling of worry was hard to shake off everytime at how easily they can be injured.
take a boy who thought it'd be funny to hide behind the backdrop of the station you were taking school portraits in and came forward to only when the camera flashed and held up your loose shirt up for the whole world to see. let's just say jay's car wasn't the only thing rolling on the ground that afternoon.
the attention on the fight in the carpark was disregarded as a yell of celebration exploded at the first-place victor. you were so lost in the squabble you’d almost forgotten all about the star race. the rowdy boy’s froze in their position, only heads simultaneously turning to see who had won. yeonjun’s neck in the grasp of jay silent for once and riki’s head stopped forming static electricity from beomgyu’s fist for a sec. hearts all racing at the same pace.
the familiar red and white painted car pulled in, stopping with a loud screech to gain everyone's attention. the swarm of people went silent as the layer of dust clouded from the harsh stop slowly cleared a view of the winner.
you dashed forward, clearing a path for yourself to get a closer view of the track from the edge of the grass.
the door slowly unlocked and a tall figure stepped out, tilting their sunglasses up to their head. black hair tussled messily from the high speeds and that golden smile plastered from one cheek to another belonged to none other but lee heeseung.
SYNOPSIS: who knew being angry and impulsive can get the captain of the hockey team to notice you? cussing them out when they were losing wasn't the best idea, but it definitely made lee heeseung's head turn, leading to him making a deal with you to win a game in order to get your number. but that wasn't enough for him, he was determined to make you his.
PAIRINGS: ice hockey player!heeseung x afab!reader
GENRE: strangers to lovers, college sports au, romance
WARNING(S): profanities, violence (fight), suggestive content (no smut), heeseung is a retired fuckboy turned good + y/n is a party goer, drinking, partying, jake being a footballer aka a soccer player ( NOT american football )
WC: 14k
AUTHOR'S NOTE: aaaa it's finally here ! hope y'all enjoyed it and PLEASE let me know how it was, give me some feedbacks and thoughts, it's been A LONGG WHILE since i've been writing so i'm worried i'll be crusty. anyway, enjoy !
part 1 of "no competition" series | series masterlist
Friday nights were always preoccupied by hockey and hockey only. It has never changed ever since Yunjin, your best friend, gave you an introduction to the school’s ice hockey team. Being the massive sports fan you were, you obviously got hooked on watching their games live. But there were downsides to being a fan which includes witnessing the team losing.
You swore you were already in a foul mood that day, courtesy to your professor and shitty customers, you found yourself seeking solace in the hockey game, which turned sour almost instantly. Just your luck for the day, huh?
“It’s just the first period, Y/N,” Yunjin sighed, glancing up at the jumbotron, wincing a little at the scoreline. They were currently 3 goals down and Yunjin's reassurance didn't help at all.
“I suppose so,” you replied glumly.
The second period rolled by in a flash, but there wasn’t much of a positive outcome either. The team managed to score two goals, but the opponents out performed them and scored one more goal, continuing their lead.
You groaned loudly, along with many other disappointed students. 15 minutes of intermission ended rather quickly, bringing everyone back to reality.
“Oh come on, score already!” you shouted out in irritation, stirring other students to yell out in agreement as well.
The game was going slow and your patience was eventually growing thin. The clock was ticking, meaning the game was about to end soon with the team losing tragically. You shook your head in defeat, wrapping an arm around Yunjin’s shoulder and placing the other on your hip.
“For fuck’s sake, score already, idiots!” you yelled out.
Just when you did so, someone skated by, his head turned to look at you, meeting your eyes for only a brief second before disappearing into a sea of hockey players. You blinked. Did that just happen? You whipped your head to find Yunjin staring back at you, as if asking the same question.
“Did–”
“That–”
The two of you paused.
“Yeah,” you both said in unison, returning your attention back to the game.
As expected, the game unfortunately ended with a defeat for the home team. You and Yunjin decided to leave the arena immediately since it was already getting late, but you two also made sure to have a quick stop at the cafeteria to get some pizza before continuing the journey back to the dorms.
“I heard someone’s throwing a party soon,” Yunjin said through a mouth full of pepperoni pizza.
“Who is that ‘someone’?” you wiped your hand clean of pizza grease, then threw yourself on Yunjin’s bed, causing her to let out a grunt.
“That made me choke and I would’ve died. I don’t want my cause of death to be something related to pizza,” she grumbled, closing the pizza lid and taking the napkin you handed her.
“I thought you loved pizza?” you blinked innocently, flashing her your best smile and she threw you a dirty look.
“Think we got a little side tracked,” Yunjin mumbled thoughtfully. “If I’m not wrong, it was by one of those football chads? Was it Jake?”
“Jake might play football but he’s so not a chad,” you argued, unknowingly defending said boy.
Jake sim was, in fact, another popular athlete in your school who unsurprisingly turned out to be another playboy. You remembered the small heartbreak you had when you discovered his true identity, secretly wishing he was like any other non-fuckboy guy in the campus. But life’s unfair sometimes and somehow, that didn’t stop you from being acquainted with that golden retriever-like boy.
“You’re only saying that because he gives you free booze and free passes to football games,” Yunjin raised an eyebrow at you and you feigned ignorance. “Anyway, I think it’s that Yeonjun guy who’s throwing that party. He’s that rich kid, remember?”
“Yeah, I do. I saw him multiple times at games,”
“Didn’t he flirt with you?”
“Correction, he tried. Luckily Jake was there to stop him or else I would’ve given him a black eye,” you frowned.
“Would’ve loved to see that happen,” Yunjin shrugged while you narrowed your eyes at her.
“You’re praying on my downfall,”
“Never. Also, are we going to talk about that hockey player staring deeply into your soul just now?”
You rolled your eyes at her words. “I don’t think I would count 2 seconds anything—”
“Of course it does! Have you seen those love at first sight tropes in romcoms?”
“I think you watched too many of them, Jen,” you squeezed her cheek and she slapped your hand, deadpanning at you. “Who is he anyway?”
“If I’m not wrong, he’s number one, Lee Heeseung, the captain. I think he’s in your English class too? Ring a bell?” Yunjin raised an eyebrow at you.
“I think I do remember him. He’s the one with fangirls lining outside, right?” Yunjin nodded at your words and you laughed, thinking back to the time where your professor had to chase a group of girls away before class started. Why? Because of Lee Heeseung’s sheer presence.
“Let’s not forget his messy hookups. Yikes,” Yunjin shuddered at the thought, suddenly rubbing her chin with a small frown. “Don’t you think we’re a bit uneducated when it comes to their players?”
“I mean,” you hummed, nodding a little. “I guess you’re right, we’re always there for the game and some beers and we barely bothered to find out which player is which,”
“We should pull up their Instagram profiles next game,” Yunjin suggested with a wink.
“Oh, I think you’ll definitely be on it,”
“Obviously,” Yunjin smirked. “Anyway, up for a facemask?”
You huffed, a small smile appearing on your face. “You know I wouldn’t say no to that.”
“THIS IS SUCH A TYPICAL CHAD THROWN KIND OF PARTY,”
You found yourself complaining once more as you and Yunjin entered a big house. The living room was basically filled to the brim, along with loud music booming throughout the room and the smell of alcohol invaded your nostrils, this was pure hell. You turned to look at your best friend, silently cursing at her for bringing you here. Yunjin gave you her typical shrug as though she had read your thoughts, dragging you away from the vicinity.
"It's Yeonjun, what did you expect," Yunjin hissed, taking you further into the house.
"I also can’t believe you put me in this slutty dress,” you groaned. At this point, you were practically pulling your dress down every ten seconds from the way it kept riding up and you started getting beyond irritated by it.
“If not, you’ll turn up in your casual crop tops and denim shorts,” she shook her head in disapproval. “I can’t let that happen, not when there's rich guys here,”
"I'm here for a party, not to choose my next rich bachelor," you said in distaste, the last thing you wanted was a frat boy. “So, what are we going to do now?” you asked, holding tightly onto Yunjin’s hand as if your life depended on it.
“Enjoy ourselves, duh? I’ll go get some drinks. Sprite for you?”
You nodded, a little bummed out that you were missing out on some good booze since somebody, aka you, had to be responsible and drive back to the dorms without risking getting pulled over. You were already a broke college student, a fine would definitely not help your case.
Now here you are, stuck helplessly in the middle of a party with people you don’t know. Great. You thought about the possibilities that could've been if you decided to stay at home instead of leaning against a wall in a skimpy black dress and it had you groaning internally.
It was then the universe had heard your pleas of boredom and decided on some ‘fun’, except that ‘fun’ consisted of someone’s back bumping into you and their drink splattering all over onto your dress. You jumped in surprise and the boy who was practically pushed onto you had let out a small “oof” before fully realising what he had done.
“I’m so sorry,” he placed his cup aside and picked up some napkins from a table nearby. For a split moment, he was about to wipe your dress, then he paused, turning flustered when he realised what he was about to do, and instead, handed the napkins to you.
You gently dabbed the napkins on your soaked dress, a frown on your face as you felt the sticky substance stick to your skin uncomfortably. “It’s fine, you didn’t mean it anyway,”
You looked up from your dress, finally meeting his eyes. He blinked, seemingly trying to register who you were.
“It’s … you,”
“Me?” you pointed at yourself, a little dumbfounded at his words.
“I didn’t expect you to be here,”
That’s when it hit you. The very same eyes that stared back at you during the hockey game, the one that Yunjin had told you about. “Lee Heeseung?”
He resembled a bambi, his large innocent brown eyes gazing back at you, a look of curiosity behind them. He had a tall stature, his hair covering his forehead and it was styled plainly, not to mention his loosely buttoned up shirt clinging comfortably onto his frame. Now you understand why Yunjin said he has fangirls, you were shamefully about to be one too.
“Yeah … that’s me. What about you? Why’re you here?”
“Do you … recognize me?” you cringed a little at the memory of you practically cussing his team out, praying he would somehow forget it all.
“How could I not? You’re from English right? Shakespeare presentation, eh?” Heeseung recalled and you nodded, impressed that he remembered something from so long before, but most importantly, he remembered you.
“But of course, how could I forget, you’re also the person cussing us out on Friday too. I’m charmed, actually,” he chuckled nonchalantly as though it was nothing, but you, on the other hand, panicked a little and eyes only widened in a mix of horror and embarrassment.
Heeseung seemed to notice the panic in your eyes, waving his hands in reassurance. “Don’t worry though, I thought it was funny,” At his words, your shoulders relaxed, breathing out a sigh of relief.
You let out a nervous laugh. “You guys did your best. There’s always a next time,”
“Right,” he nodded, then averted his gaze back to your dress, instantly coming back to reality as he remembered the current problem in front of his face. He removed his jacket in a flash, carefully placing it over your shoulders. The sudden proximity had you gasping quietly, the waft of his cologne infiltrating your senses.
He was close, so so agonisingly close. A wave of shock passed through your body as you felt his gentle touch, almost feather-like as it lasted only just a second, but now with his hugging your body, you could finally breathe an air of comfort once warmth engulfed you.
“Sorry about your dress,” he pulled away, flashing you a genuine apologetic smile. “I thought the least I could do was give you my jacket,”
“No worries, you didn't do it on purpose anyway, it’s not your fault,” you assured him, being a little self aware that numerous wandering eyes were now on you and the campus’ popular hockey team captain. You felt like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Actually,” Heeseung started, “I can borrow one of my friend’s shirts so that you can change? I don’t think it’s a good idea walking around like that, plus my friend lives in this frat house anyway,”
“If you insist,” you gave in, not wanting to reject his help as he seemed so keen.
You silently followed Heeseung through the crowd of bodies, trying your hardest to not get swallowed with the way people were shoving around. Heeseung noticed you lagging behind and smoothly took hold of your hand, pulling you closer to him. You didn’t say much, letting him guide you up the stairs into someone’s room.
You glanced around the room. From the way it was decorated with random posters, sports magazines stacked on the bedside table and dirty clothes littered the floor, you were instantly convinced that this room belonged to a frat boy.
Heeseung surprisingly continued to keep his hand in yours, using the other to dig through a pile of clothes until he found an oversize shirt and a pair of pants. “Here,” he handed you the clothes, finally letting go of your hand, stepping away with his hands in his pockets. “I think all the bathroom’s full so it’s best to just change here,”
“You think so?”
“I know so, I’ll leave it up to your imagination to think about whatever that happens in there,”
“Right …” you faltered at his comment, the two of you remained staring at one another. That’s when you cleared your throat, fumbling with your clothes. “I would appreciate it if you turned around … unless you want a show?”
“For free? I can't say no, can I?”
“You wish. Now turn around,”
Heeseung shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face as he threw his hands up in defence and faced away. You stood behind him, cheeks flared while you practically yanked your skimpy black dress off. Yunjin would not be happy knowing she’ll have to do laundry.
You reached over to the back of your dress, practically yanking forcefully onto the zip that was unwilling to budge even for a bit. God, why me? Why now? Internally conflicted, you didn’t know whether to bear the shame and ask Heeseung for help or to just stay silent. But to your luck, the zip was stuck no matter how you pulled it.
“Heeseung?”
He hummed in response.
“I need your help,” you swallowed, trying your best to not shrivel up and dig a grave in that moment. “My zip is stuck.”
Momentary silence filled the air. It seemed Heeseung, too, was having some internal conflict. In a second, you heard shuffling behind you, feeling the warmth of his body close as his fingers reached for your zip, his other hand on your waist. You felt his fingertips grazing against your bare skin as he dragged the zipper down, hearing a faint gulp from him. You squeezed your eyes shut, swearing to never come to parties again.
“You’re good to go,” he whispered, coughing awkwardly.
“Thanks,” you met his eyes in the reflection of the small mirror placed on top of a dresser in front of you. Realisation seemed to hit him and he averted his gaze, taking a look around the room instead.
You practically yanked the dress off, pulling the shirt over your head and the pants on, stumbling a little from the sudden hit of nervousness. Could it be his presence that made you nervous? You hated this feeling.
“I’m done,” you declared, suddenly feeling the tension in the air.
“So, I can look now?” Heeseung joked and you rolled your eyes, but smiled at him.
“Keep your eyes closed forever then,” you bumped his shoulder, sitting down on the bed.
“Should we stay here instead?” he suggested and you narrowed your eyes at him in suspicion, to which he scoffed. “Of course no funny business, who do you think I am?”
“Playboy Lee Heeseung, no?”
He groaned. “That’s what people think of me even though it’s completely false,”
“You do have fangirls, don’t you?”
“But I don’t date them, do I?” he retorted. “I don’t even go to parties much these days, coach has been up my ass,”
“Sucks to be you,”
Heeseung scoffed, turning to look at you with a question in mind. “You’re a big hockey fan?”
“Ever since I was a kid. Why?”
“I notice you’re always there every game night with your friend,”
“So, I’ve caught your attention?”
“A pretty girl like you surely wouldn’t go unnoticed in my eyes,” he was close now, a challenging glint in his eyes as his gaze fell to your lips from time to time.
“You’re funny, Hee,” you couldn’t resist smiling.
“How can I make it up to you?” his eyes met yours, a sly grin on his face. “About your dress, I mean,”
You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes, knowing damn well what lies in his words. Maybe he was just like every other campus athlete, but at that moment, you didn’t seem to care, your interest only increasing and you couldn’t tell if this was his plan all along.
You thought about his question for a moment, pursing your lip. “How about you win the next game? I think that’ll help a lot,”
Heeseung nodded thoughtfully. “If I do, can I get your number too?”
“Why not?”
“Shall this be a deal?” he smirked, ready for a challenge.
“Sure,” you shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’ll win the next one, just you wait,” Heeseung's words were filled with utter determination and confidence. He was definitely ready to tell you 'told you so' and prove you wrong.
“Well, I’ll be waiting,” you glanced down at your phone, noticing over ten messages from Yunjin. Shit. “The clock’s ticking and I need to go. See you, captain,”
“Wait,” he caught hold of your wrist, stopping you in your tracks. You turned to look at him, a big question mark written over your expression, anticipating his next words. “Can I at least know what your name is?”
You grinned. “It’s Y/N,”
"Get ready with your phone number, Y/N. I'll be looking out for you at the next game. Keep the jacket too," he winked and you waved a small goodbye, exiting out the door and dashed down the stairs with your dirty clothes in hand, wearing Heeseung's jacket, completely unaware how quick your heart was beating.
When you spotted Yunjin, you practically fell into her arms as she started ranting about why you shouldn’t run away without her knowledge, but all of it eventually drowned out into white noise. The only thing you could think of suddenly was Heeseung. Lee fucking Heeseung.
"Y/N," she sang out your name, tapping your head to catch your attention. “Why are you in a different outfit? You got laid didn’t you?” she gasped and you slapped her arm.
“Heeseung spilled a drink on me and took me to his friend’s room to change, that’s all,”
“Heeseung?” she gasped again, a teasing grin slowly forming and you knew that trouble was in that mind of hers. “You and him didn’t smoochy smooch … right?”
“We’re not there yet, hello?”
“There’s something called a hook up, you hopeless romantic,” Yunjin shook her head. “This sounds like the start of a hockey romance based on the books I've read," she squealed and you only sighed.
"Please read some self help books too,"
"Never," she huffed, leaning in and dropping her voice so that only the two of you could hear what she was about to say. "What did you two talk about? A private hook up after games? We need some spice in your hockey romance plot!"
"Oh my god, I rather drown than fuck that man. You do realise he has fangirls chasing after him? They'll choke me in my sleep if I slept with him,"
Yunjin wrapped her arm around you. "I'll choke you first if you don't bag that man. He's tall, hockey captain, hot most importantly," she winked. "One down part is that I'm pretty sure he used to fuck around quite a lot too. But then a messy hook up traumatised him,"
"How so?"
"She was crazy from what I heard. That's why no fangirls will come at you for revenge, they know he's a whore, but they'll just line up instead," she led you out to a flight of stairs, where there were some questionable couples making out, but that didn't stop you and Yunjin from sitting on the landing.
"Totally not a red flag," you said sarcastically. "I don't know how to feel about him. He was nice, quite flirty. Maybe he's like those Wattpad cliches where he's actually a nice guy?" You said, sipping onto the drink Yunjin got you.
"Who knows? Judging from the past rumours I've heard here and there, he definitely was a manwhore, but he’s also a sweet and genuine one," Yunjin clicked her tongue. "I did hear he's quite a sweetheart aside from his fuckboy tendencies."
"A manwhore with a kind heart! Just my type!" You clapped your hands and Yunjin chuckled at your comment. “Anyway, I swore I'm done with hockey boys a long time ago. I don't want to like him,"
Ice hockey has always been one of your favourite sports, but hockey boys? They were a whole different story for you. A core memory from highschool that you wished to never revisit was the fact that you had your heart broken by a hockey boy. He was considered your first love, a best friend, that ended up breaking your trust.
"This is why you should date a footballer,"
You snapped out of your momentary daze, looking up to meet Jake Sim’s eyes.
“Present to me a perfect candidate then,” Yunjin crossed her arms, frowning at Jake. She wasn't a big fan of him, considering his notorious playboy tendencies, but over time he did gradually warm up to her.
"Me!"
"I'll rip your head off first before you get a chance with Y/N,"
"Ouch,"
You and Yunjin shared a look, then burst out laughing.
"What's up, Sim? Do you have something for me?" You questioned Jake, wondering what his purpose was for his sudden appearance.
"Nothing, I'm just bored," he said plainly, though you and Yunjin were a little unconvinced.
"Okay? Any games coming up?"
"It's currently a short break for us. I'm glad or else my legs will snap in half soon," Jake pouted, resembling a puppy, which you couldn't help but find endearing. "You should totally come and learn to kick some footballs soon. Jake Sim is always up for some training," he winked.
"I'll be the next running candidate to take over Messi, right?" Yunjin joked and you nudged her side, giggling.
"Only if you learn at Jake Sim's personal training," he shrugged, a small smirk on his face. "Anyway, I really want to watch the hockey team and I heard you guys were regulars. Mind if I join?"
You raised an eyebrow at Yunjin, shooting her a wordless question. Yunjin scrunched her nose, thinking for a moment before shrugging. All while that was happening, Jake was just standing there staring, a little unimpressed.
"Hello? I don't appreciate this mind linking conversation that I'm not a part of," he placed his hands on his hips, his head tilted to the side.
"Alright, sorry," Yunjin mumbled.
"Fine, you can tag along," you said, watching the boy before you grin.
"Let's go!"
"IS IT NORMAL TO BE FREEZING COLD HERE?"
Jake had his arms around himself, shivering slightly even though he was already in layers. You and Yunjin followed the boy to your seats as he marvelled at the size of the rink.
"I barely watch hockey games, I'm more of a summer sports kinda guy," he tucked his hands into his jacket pockets.
"Well, it's just your lucky day, you'll be witnessing a win too," Yunjin winked, passing you a knowing glance.
"How do you know?"
"Team captain over there–" Yunjin nodded over at Heeseung, who was practising on the rink with the team, looking good as always, which only further annoyed you. "–made a deal with Y/N. I'm sure his determination will mix well with his competitiveness,"
Yunjin glanced over at you, a small smirk on her face. "And here he comes," she sang and you whipped your head just in time to meet his eyes.
Heeseung skated over, a small smile on his face. You felt Yunjin nudging your side in excitement and you slapped her hands away, ignoring her giddy expression and you returned a lopsided smile to Heeseung.
“Y/N!” you managed to hear his muffled voice through the glass, which he tapped on a couple times to get your full attention.
“I’m going to score one for you tonight,” you were surprised with the determined glint in his eyes, proving Yunjin's statement immediately, and after a quick wave from him, he skated away to join his team, preparing for the game to start.
Jake whistled, fanning himself. “I definitely felt the tension.”
“Shut up.”
The second period ended with a draw, both teams were not willing to back down for just a little, even creating small brawls on ice from time to time, causing the tension to be heightened. The third period was equally heart stopping and gut twisting. You had to occasionally grip Yunjin's arm whenever there was a close chance to score.
There was a sudden switch in the atmosphere, the home team had dominated possession of the puck, the blades of their skates working overtime trying to reach the other end to the opponent’s goal post. One hit after another, the puck travelled from one player’s hockey stick to another, until it reached star player Park Sunghoon, who had defenders swarming him and it left him no choice but to pass to his captain, Lee Heeseung.
With one swift hit to the oncoming puck from Sunghoon, it shot into the back of the net, leaving the goalie absolutely defenceless. The arena erupted with shouts and cheers, not expecting the sudden turnover from their home team, the speakers were blaring music, followed by announcing Heeseung’s name, which was welcomed with deafening screams. Shamelessly, you, Jake and Yunjin were part of the screams, clapping and jumping.
The team jumped onto Heeseung, but somehow, he escaped them all and started skating towards your direction, pointing his stick at you and shooting a wink. 'For you' he mouthed slyly at you before rejoining his teammates.
“See, I told you Heeseung will win it for Y/N,” Yunjin said, seemingly pleased.
“MVP,” Jake clapped, a shocked expression on his face.
You, on the other hand, were trying to digest everything that just happened. The moment where he dedicated the goal to you had you unintentionally blushing, realising a sudden change in feelings. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t be so bad if you gave him a chance. Countless thoughts swarmed your head even until the end of the game.
Now, here you were, waiting for Heeseung at the parking lot, your friends peeking in the car from a distance.
Yunjin shot you an encouraging thumbs up while Jake only laughed at Yunjin’s efforts. You glared at them, waving them off and you reciprocated back with a middle finger. That’s when you heard a rough cough behind you. Fuck.
“Y/N?”
You turned around slowly, looking as though you were just caught in the middle of commiting something you're not supposed to. “Heeseung,” you laughed nervously. "Congrats on the game! You played well,”
“Thank you,” Heeseung grinned. “I’m glad you came. I mean, you always do, what am I even saying?” he rambled, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.
You couldn't help laughing, finding the way he got nervous was cute. He was cute too. Undeniable. "That was a nice goal by the way,"
"Well, I did say I wanted to score one specifically for you. I'm a man of my words, you know?" He chuckled, getting shy eventually. "I'm glad you liked it though,"
"Of course I did," you gave him a small smile, fidgeting your fingers slightly.
He straightened up, regaining his composure. “So … our deal,”
“You’re lucky I like you enough to actually stick to it,” you grumbled, shoving your hand into your pocket to dig out the piece of paper.
“You like me, huh?”
“Not in that way yet,”
“‘Yet’. So I do have a chance. I’m happy to know,”
“Do you want my number or a black eye?” you threatened rather unseriously, a teasing tone laced in your words.
“I’d prefer a kiss, but your number shall do for now,” he grabbed the small note from your hand, unwrapping it to find a candy in it. “Apple flavoured, what a nice surprise,” he mumbled under his breath.
“You’re cute, you truly have a way to my heart huh?” he looked up from the candy, storing away your number safely into his pocket.
You caught yourself speechless from his words. On average, you were typically unfazed by these comments. Countless boys had tried them on you and all of them turned out to feel icky instead of making you kick your feet, giggling. But this time, Heeseung proved you wrong.
"Coming from Lee Heeseung himself, should I be flattered?" You tried your best to stay nonchalant, keeping your heart rate down as much as you can.
"I don't know? You tell me," Heeseung leaned down, his face close to you now, making you slowly grow flustered.
"Count me a little flattered," you took the clothes from the other night from your bag, pushing it into Heeseung's hands, catching him off guard. "Here, relay my thanks to your friend,"
"Only to my friend? What about me?" Heeseung crossed his arms, staring accusingly at you.
"My number already counts as a ‘thanks’, doesn’t it?"
Heeseung narrowed his eyes at you, a smile itching at the corner of his lips. “Not enough. A date might suffice,”
“You are demanding, Lee Heeseung,” you huffed, but not rejecting his suggestion either.
“I’ll text you, pretty girl. I have a plan in mind, so you better clear your schedules,”
“Alright, captain.”
“FOR ONCE, I DON'T REGRET COMING TO A PARTY YOU SELECTED,”
You’ve always avoided frat parties, specifically frat boys, but this time, Yunjin managed to accomplish the unexpected by convincing you to a frat party. You had to admit, there was a small motive behind your agreement, which was to visit the richest frat house on the campus. Free expensive booze, a big pool, big everything, it was definitely going to be more than a party. All you had to do was avoid the frat boys and your night shall be made.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yunjin snapped, but you were too busy checking out the vicinity to listen to her grumbles.
“They have a huge ass yard and pool,” you whispered to Yunjin, weaving through the growing crowd. The house was too extravagant, even the air in there seemed richer. The tiles were completely marbled, there were stairs leading up to almost four floors. You wondered how it was even owned by a frat.
“This is a rich frat, what did you expect?”
“Touche.”
You and Yunjin didn’t bother waiting for a second before taking some pregame shots. The vodka burned your throat, making you wince a little, but it didn't stop you from more. The moment Jake found the two of you, it was already clear you were already on the way to being completely shit-faced.
"Oh come on, you already started without me?" Jake whined, downing two shots of vodka straight.
"Couldn't resist," Yunjin pressed her lips into a thin line, shrugging slightly.
"Also, did you guys hear?" Jake leaned in, dropping his voice. "The hockey team from our rival school is coming to this party,"
"What?" You hissed, frowning slightly. "Who invited their asses?"
"I don't know," Jake shrugged, picking up another glass of alcohol from a tray.
"Speaking of hockey," Yunjin cleared her throat, passing you a knowing smirk. "Aren't you going to find Heeseung?"
"I–why would I?" You stammard, avoiding Yunjin's piercing gaze.
"He's clearly into you. Didn't you see him pulling that stunt that day? Scoring a goal for you and winning just for your number? That's the most commitment I've seen from him or just any man in general,"
"Hear hear," Jake raised his glass in agreement, then proceeded to down it without a second thought.
"I'll see what happens tonight," you said, but your eyes decided to go against you, unconsciously scanning the room hoping to see him.
"Tonight will be full of opportunities," Yunjin marvelled, throwing her arm around your shoulder and winking. "If you know what I mean," she whispered.
"The first you'll see is me getting drunk, not getting laid," you let out an exasperated sigh, pursing your lips and pausing as something caught your eyes. You furrowed your eyebrows, instantly noticing a group of guys filing into the room. They must be the rival team Jake had mentioned.
“Must be them,” Yunjin pointed out, taking a big gulp from her cup. Jake whipped his head around, scanning the group of guys that were yelling loudly, dabbing up one another and seemingly unlikeable as a whole.
He made a sour expression. “Great, hockey jocks,”
“As though your group of football guys are any better,” Yunjin quipped, only earning a sharp glare from Jake and he cleared his throat, gaze focused on a specific person.
“That guy there must be their captain,” he nodded at the group and you had to squint your eyes to see who Jake had his attention trained at. Almost immediately, your smile dropped, along with your heart. It was him.
You froze the moment your eyes landed on a tall figure, it definitely was him. He stood out from the rest, being the taller and bulkier one with messy hair and undeniable charm from the way he was already surrounded by different girls. Yup, that’s 100% Matthew, your high school lover, the hockey boy that traumatised your love life.
“Oh fuck me,” you cursed under your breath, the other two turning to stare at you.
“You want to fuck him?” Jake shrieked in surprise and Yunjin slapped the back of his head, causing the boy to hiss in pain, silently cursing.
“No, dipshit. That’s her …” she glanced at you and you nodded, giving her a green flag to continue, “ex.”
“Him? Matthew Son? Your ex?” Jake was flabbergasted, panning back and forth between your ex and you.
“Unfortunately. High school ex, to be exact,” you grumbled, pushing away the ill thoughts and bitter feelings that lingered for Mathew. You were a new person, you were never someone to be stuck in the past, you weren’t about to be affected by him. Never.
“I might need more drinks,” you rubbed the side of your head, slipping away before the other two could even say anything. Though the voice in your head was constantly affirming that his presence wasn’t affecting you, you still couldn’t help feeling unnerved. Seeing him was unnerving too.
The kitchen was unsurprisingly glamorous and the space was huge. Everything in there screamed fancy and expensive. The counter was made from marble, cupboards were also probably made from high quality wood and the wide variety of food in there could literally make it resemble a grocery store. Best of yet, you had it all to yourself. For once, your ex made himself useful enough by helping you attract everyone to the main room.
You spotted some leftover bottles of gin and decided to give your bartender skills some try. It wasn’t your first rodeo thanks to Yunjin. Ever since she started bringing you to parties and being someone who’s easily impressed, you found yourself learning some tips and tricks on how to mix drinks from a rando in a party one day. Soon, it became your favourite party activity.
It was quite peaceful being all by yourself. The songs playing on the speakers reverberated across the house, but you didn’t mind it as you mixed a concoction of gin and juice on the counter, praying it would turn out fine.
“You’re here?”
You turned around at the sound of the voice, almost toppling over your glass in shock, but the moment you met a familiar set of doe eyes, you released a breath of relief, your heart unknowingly beating faster.
“You’re here too? I thought no parties for Mr Hockey?” you leaned back onto the counter as he walked to your side.
“Thought I’d give myself an off day after yesterday’s win,” Heeseung shrugged, glancing at you from time to time. “Surprisingly, I always see you at every party I go to,”
“I was dragged to every said party by force,” you thought of the she-devil, Yunjin, who somehow successfully convinced you to attend every party with her. “Do you want a drink?” you offered, nodding towards your half made drink.
“You’re making them?” Heeseung eyed the bottles.
“I am a woman of many talents,” you said smugly, continuing your drink mixing, feeling Heeseung’s piercing stare on you.
“A woman who wouldn’t poison me right?” he peeked over your shoulder, closing in on your face, his body only inches away from yours till the point where you could feel the heat radiating off him. Lee Heeseung definitely knew what he was doing.
“You’re doubting my abilities now then?” you kept your cool, pouring alcohol into a new glass for Heeseung.
He smiled. “Just trying to make sure,” he murmured into your ears and you could tell he was enjoying teasing you. Sly fucker.
“No promises,” your voice came out in a whisper, turning a little to the side to meet his pair of bambi eyes and your breath hitched suddenly upon realising how close the two of you were, you were only an inch apart from touching each other’s noses. You were scared to move even the slightest, shying gradually from his eyes sweeping your features.
“What if I said I wanted to kiss you,”
You scoffed, growing immune to his charms. “I thought you were a gentleman, Lee? No candlelit dinner first?”
He cracked a grin, chuckling slightly. “Sometimes I skip that part and jump to dessert first,” he winked and you rolled your eyes, pushing his face away and he burst out laughing. “I’m playing with you. I’m obviously a gentleman, can’t you tell?”
You hummed, raising an eyebrow at him in scepticism. “I can’t.”
“You love breaking my heart, Y/N. I’m hurt,” he frowns, feigning innocence as he laid his head on your shoulder, clutching at his chest and you found yourself smiling unknowingly at his dramatics.
You decided to play along, patting Heeseung’s head in so called “comfort”. “Oh, what can I do to fix your broken heart, Heeseung?” you exclaimed.
“Come to Jay’s birthday party with me?” he stared up at you with pleading eyes. Those bambi eyes will eventually be the death of you.
"Why?"
You've heard of Jay Park one too many times. From the campus cafes to the local club, he was everywhere, and you didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. He was another one of the popular hockey players from Heeseung's team which you've seen at almost every party you attended ever since your first year.
Yunjin told you only one thing upon seeing Jay Park: "don't meddle with him" and you've stuck to it.
"That's a bold invitation," you considered for a moment, still quite unconvinced. "Isn't it just a bro only party?"
"He's the one asking us to bring a plus one," Heeseung huffed, removing his head from your shoulder, a small pout on his face. "Worse part is that it's in a club,"
"Are you trying to persuade me or dissuade me?"
"What I mean is, I'll be with you there. It's also a VIP lounge given how loaded Jay is and knowing him, he probably rented it out too. Plus, they'll finally get to meet the girl who cussed them out!"
You buried your head into your hands in shame, embarrassment burning your cheeks red. "You can't be serious,"
"Unfortunately, I am. But they'll love you, don't worry, pretty,"
You glared at him while he only returned a cheeky grin back at you. “Fine,” you groaned out, ultimately succumbing to his words, unable to deny the effect he had on you. Curse him. “When and what time?”
“Next Saturday night,” his grin widened at your words, satisfaction washed over his face. “I’ll pick you up at 7?”
“Sounds good,”
“That’s that then,” he glanced over at his shoulders, hearing faint shouts of his name outside of the kitchen and passed you an apologetic smile, as if expressing that it was a shame he couldn’t stay longer and you couldn’t lie, you wanted him to stay longer. “Remember to send me your address, gorgeous.” he waved his phone in the air before backing away and disappearing out the door.
It was about to be a long week ahead.
“SET ME UP WITH ONE OF THEM, PLEASE. I NEED THE MONEY,”
Saturday, to your dismay, unfortunately and eventually arrived. You didn’t know whether to be excited or absolutely dread the party, a certain feeling of anxiety clawing at your insides just when you think about meeting new people. Yunjin could only roll her eyes at you as she added more eyeshadow.
“It already sends shivers down my spine thinking that I’ll be speaking to them in person and you expect me to go ‘hey guys, my friend needs someone to be her sugar daddy, you up’?” you deadpanned, applying a layer of lip gloss.
“That’s exactly it,” Yunjin smiled pleasantly and you feigned gagging, making Yunjin laugh and almost poking the mascara wand into your eyes. “Also, do you consider this a date?”
“He did say he wanted to take me out, but having him take me to a club as a date? I don’t think he’s the sleazy type to do so. I take it as him taking me as his date … like a friendly invite,”
“Friendly invite?” Yunjin exclaimed incredulously, inching closer to check on the details of your makeup. “Did you see the way he looks at you? There's nothing friendly about that, he’s hooked,”
“You’re giving me false hope, Jen,” you sighed, standing up to change into an outfit Yunjin picked which, in her words,was definitely ‘life changing enough to have Heeseung on his knees’.
“Not false hope if it’s literally just the truth,” Yunjin shrugged, helping to clasp a necklace around your neck. “Come on, give me a twirl,” she squealed excitedly once you were done struggling balancing on one leg putting on the dress and shoes.
You complied with Yunjin’s request, begrudgingly giving her a small twirl. At the same time, you took the chance to glance down at your dress, satisfied that for once an impulsive purchase benefited you. The dress was a shade of midnight blue, hugging your body tight and showing off your curves in the best way as if it was custom made. All in all, as Yunjin would describe, it was simply ‘pants dropping’.
At the ‘ping’ of your notification, you saw a text from Heeseung saying he had already arrived and your heart jumped. With one swift hug from Yunjin and an ‘encouraging’ saying along the lines of ‘hooking up’ and ‘protection’, you were pushed out of the door and soon into Heeseung’s car.
“Hi, pretty girl,” Heeseung greeted, a half smile on his face as his hands rested on the steering wheel. He paused when his eyes landed on your figure, his gaze sweeping you from top to bottom, making you a little self conscious. He whistled under his breath, blinking slowly.
“Eyes up here,” you stared pointedly at him, crossing your arms, but you had to admit, you were checking him out shamelessly as well, the smell of his vanilla cologne in the air and his loose button up shirt wasn’t helping either.
“My bad. I was just admiring you. You look pretty,” he turned his attention back to the road, heading to wherever the club was located, just in time to not notice the slight blush to your cheeks.
“Really? You don’t look too bad yourself either, Lee,”
“Why thank you. I’m flattered,” he shot you a wink and you could only roll your eyes at his antics.
The rest of the conversation continued in a casual flow, making you feel at ease and your anxiety eventually lessened. The jokes he cracked made you laugh and with the way he answered your questions, you knew he wasn’t anything like the playboy people made him up to be. As much as you hated to admit, you were giving him the benefit of the doubt. Will it hurt you? Maybe.
After Heeseung pulled the car into park, you got out and you were instantly in awe at the exterior of the club. This was in fact a place where rich kids party, judging from the amount of ferraris, mercedes and other luxurious cars parked outside, you made sure to keep yourself away from the snobby rich kids or who knows, Yunjin’s wish might even be granted tonight.
Wordlessly, Heeseung offered you his hand and you intertwined your fingers with his, letting him guide you further into the club as you pushed yourself through the crowd, and soon arrived in a large room that was almost the size of someone’s living room. “You’re kidding,” you murmured, amazed by the size of the room and the decorations littered across every wall.
“Told you Jay was blessed with money,” he leaned down to whisper in your ear, shooting a sweet smile.
“I should set him up with Yunjin,” you said thoughtlessly and Heeseung chuckled.
“He’ll like that roommate of yours,”
“Heeseung!”
You were interrupted by an approaching figure who was easily recognizable with that head of freshly dyed white hair. Park Sunghoon, another ace of the hockey team. Thanks to Yunjin’s valiant effort in finding every player’s instagram profile, you were now able to recognise who was who.
“Hoon!” Heeseung greeted back, giving his best friend a side hug.
Unfortunately for you, Sunghoon was quick to turn his attention to you instead. “Y/N right? Heard many good things about you,” he extended his hand, a sneaky grin on his face.
You accepted his handshake, fighting the urge to roll your eyes at his words. “That’s me,”
“You’re a regular at the hockey games, how are they?” Sunghoon kept you company now that Heeseung went away to greet the others, but you didn’t mind, finding yourself growing comfortable with the Jack Frost look alike.
“Do you wish to listen to my boring five hour analysis on each game?”
“I think it would be longer than five hours,”
“Exactly,” you clicked your tongue, then narrowed your eyes in suspicion at him. “Plus, how do you know I’m a regular? It’s not like I score front row seats every game,”
Sunghoon glanced around as if searching for anyone who’s eavesdropping, then he gestured for you to come closer, which you did, though clearly confused. “I think Heeseung will kill me for saying this,”
“Why?” you whispered back, your smile twisting into a frown. “Oh god, is Heeseung a stalker?”
“What?” it was Sunghoon’s turn to be utterly confused, staring back at you as though you’re the crazy one. He shook his head. “Heeseung might fool around sometimes but he’s definitely not a stalker or a Ted Bundy wannabe.”
“Thank heavens,” you let out a sigh of relief, but Sunghoon definitely wasn’t done yet.
“Anyway, what I was about to say was, Heeseung has always paid attention to you, Y/N. English class, hockey games, he’s got sharp eyes, ace for a reason eh? He’s genuine about you. Believe me, I’ve heard about you since day one, and I mean this in a nice way, but I’m sick of him constantly talking about you without doing anything at all,” a small grin appeared on Sunghoon’s devilishly handsome features.
“I must admit, he was a player, but I can see he’s changing and I don’t think it’ll hurt to give him a chance. He’s a sweetheart, so just don’t break his heart, will you?” he glanced behind his shoulders, noticing Heeseung entering the room with one of his teammates and a girl. “Heeseung’s back and I know he’s going to kill me if he finds out. It’s nice meeting you, Y/N. My date’s here, see you!”
Sunghoon gave you a small pat on the shoulder before walking away, leaving your head in a frenzy state. Lee Heeseung, captain of the hockey team, the school’s ace and pride, basically Mr Popular, was into you? Yunjin was going to strangle you in either excitement or surprise when she found out.
“What were you guys talking about?” he slithered smoothly to your side, bumping your shoulder gently.
“Hockey. Was wondering if he wanted an analysis on each game,”
Heeseung grinned, shaking his head gently. “You’re a menace,”
There were basically zero chances to be alone together, which you suddenly craved after Sunghoon basically dropped a big bomb on you, till now you still couldn’t swallow. Heeseung had you close to his side as he introduced you to each of his teammates and their dates, including the birthday boy Jay, and somehow all of them remembered you from that fateful night on Friday.
“So, how did you meet our dear Heeseung here?” Jay wiggled his eyebrows, passing you a glass of champagne that probably costs way more than you imagine.
“Oh, it was magical, I fell into his arms and he confessed his love for me,” you sighed dreamily, fanning yourself. At your words, Jay nudged you, a wide smile on his face and you waved your hand, stifling your giggles. “Kidding, it would totally be a wattpad cliche if that happened. He’s in my English class and we met at a party,”
“I’m surprised he’s somewhat won you over,” he raised a questionable eyebrow at you. “You are aware of how he was right? Or are you the type to scream and cry after figuring out his past fuckboy history?”
You gave him an unamused stare. “If I minded his past, I wouldn’t be here anyway. But he does seem like a changed person, I’ve heard stories from my roommate and they were … interesting,”
Jay let out a soft laugh at that. “I can tell he’s serious about you, trust me, he’s the type to not back down when he sets his mind to something. Let his hockey be an example,” he shrugged. “I know my best friend, Y/N. Unless he fucks up then I’ll punch him for you,”
You placed a hand on your chest, a bemused grin lit up your features. “You’re truly a gentleman, Jay,”
“Hey, I’m supposed to be your gentleman!” Heeseung appeared behind you, his arm thrown around your shoulder. If you could explode right now, you would. The amount of skinship you had with Heeseung was unhealthy and unknowingly, you found yourself succumbing to it each time. “Let’s go to the dancefloor outside? The guys really want to go,”
Now you were in the middle of the dancefloor, swaying your body to the beat of whatever song the DJ was playing and it was nice that it felt like you were in your own world, carelessly and mindlessly dancing to your heart’s content. You were surrounded by the boys’ dates, who you’ve found yourself befriending quickly, while Heeseung was nowhere to be seen after dancing for only a few minutes. Rude.
“Hi,” you snapped your head to find Jay squeezing through towards you, trying his best to not get his expensive shoe stepped on. “Where’s Heeseung?”
“That’s a question I’d like to ask too. He’s definitely not with me though. I thought he was with you at first … but I guess not,” you shrugged, frowning slightly as you wondered where that man would have run off to.
“I thought he was with you,” Jay huffed, annoyance clear in his features. “I swear if he’s out there wasted, coach is going to—wait…” he faltered, his gaze trailed over your head and being naturally curious, you followed his gaze, turning around and from a distance, you couldn’t tell what Jay was even looking at, until you pinpoint a familiar someone in a dress shirt you saw not long before.
There he was, sitting at the bar, back facing the dancing floor as he sat close to a girl, whispering into each others’ ears and laughing. You swore you didn’t care, but the heart doesn’t lie, you were jealous and it wasn’t helping how Sunghoon was just saying Heeseung was serious about you only hours before this. It was comical.
“Oh,” Jay said under his breath, taking a big gulp from the glass in his hand.
“Yeah, ‘oh’,” you said flatly, not realising you were practically shooting daggers into the back of Lee Heeseung’s head. Jay let out a small laugh that eventually turned into a cough once he saw you giving him a side eye, an apologetic smile appearing on his face.
“You know, Y/N, I have a plan,” his smile slowly turned into a smirk and it dawned on you, Park Jong Seong’s gears were in work and you didn’t know what you’re about to get yourself into. “Don’t give me that look, my plans are the best,”
Your frown deepened, resuming to give Jay a sceptical look as his smile continued to get more playful. Oh you were in for a treat. “Why don’t we make Heeseung … jealous? I mean, it is clear that he likes you, a little push won’t hurt can it?”
“Have you been watching too many romcoms?” you shot him a look of exasperation, noticing the similarity between him and Yunjin. One was already enough, you didn't need two. Jay nudged you softly, wiggling his eyebrows in encouragement for disaster.
“I bet you the moment he sees you with me, he’s going to burst and before you know it, you’ll be celebrating your one year anniversary—”
You held a hand up, silencing Jay before he could continue further. You started chewing on your bottom lip, a small habit of yours, as you found yourself in disbelief once these words left your lips. “Fine, why not?”
Jay shot you a wink, closing in on you and you placed a hand on his chest, raising an eyebrow. “No funny business, Jay,”
“You have no faith in me. It’s common bro code to not get with your best friend’s girl,”
You let Jay dance close to you, appreciating the fact that he was maintaining a respectful distance to you, setting a clear boundary between the both of you. Contrary to popular beliefs, he might actually seem not too bad. “I feel like Lee Heeseung might’ve been peeking at us,”
“You think so?”
Jay glanced at the direction of the bar, catching Heeseung’s piercing gaze and he smirked, leaning close to you. “Oh, he’s so watching us,”
"You're kidding," you turned around, still moving your body to the music, squinting your eyes to find Heeseung staring back at you, jaw clenched and lips pressed into a flat line, practically glaring daggers into Jay's head.
"You're not," you said mindlessly, hearing Jay burst out laughing behind you, but it all faded to grey as your eyes followed Heeseung's figure disappear behind a corner.
"He's leaving," you spun around, meeting Jay's panicked expression. "I'll go find him,"
"Did our plan work a little too well?"
"We’ll find out soon," you patted Jay's shoulder, whispering a quick thanks before welcoming the challenge of squeezing past sweaty bodies.
You figured Heeseung was heading back to the private room from the looks of where he was going, so you followed his trail around the corner, stumbling slightly and immediately regretting the amount of drinks you had. In the very next moment, you regretted more than just the drinks, you were contemplating your existence.
"Y/N?"
Son Matthew was staring back at your limp figure leaning against the wall for support, a mix of shock and confusion in his face. You, on the other hand, was about to sink into the ground in shame. Being tipsy and struggling to stand was already a moment you would never want anyone to see, let alone your cheating ex.
You cleared your throat, gripping onto the wall to straighten up, avoiding his wandering eyes as much as you could. The awkward tension in the air was palpable, you were aware how rigid the man before you was and you knew he probably didn’t think of bumping into you here out of nowhere.
“So…how are you—”
“Save the small talk please,” you interjected, sighing deeply at the usual post breakup ‘how are you’s and awkward catching up.
“Look, I never got to apologise and I know you hate me for it—”
“Of course I do!” you exclaimed, getting heated gradually and the alcohol in your system wasn’t helping one bit. “I walked in on you and her in the bedroom and you expect me to stand there to wait for your apology? It’s the fact that you never bothered to apologise after anyway,”
He looked down in shame, knowing every word you said was true and undeniable, meanwhile his silence only hurt you further. First loves always hurt, and seeing him here again after many years made you realise that you truly deserved way more than a hockey jock like him.
“I’m playing against your school’s team next week,” he said weakly, trying to change the subject. Great, another day to dread when it was supposed to be you and your best friend’s day.
“Good luck,” you didn’t know what to say, finding yourself in an awkward position. “Or not really,”
Matthew nodded slowly, clearly getting uncomfortable and you were too. “So, are you talking to someone now—”
“Yeah, she is,”
You felt an arm snaking its way around your shoulder, tensing for a minute until you realised whose voice it was.
“Lee Heeseung?” Matthew’s demeanour changed in a flash, suddenly seeming more spiteful and filled with jealousy. This was giving you deja vus of the red flags you’ve experienced in your past relationship. It made you feel sick.
“Son Matthew,” Heeseung cooed, eyeing him readily. Heeseung and Matthew had always been somewhat rivals ever since they started playing hockey. Matthew had mentioned a ‘rival’ once too many times in the past and lucky you, you were able to piece it together after entering college where you’d watched their teams play against each other once for a cup competition.
“Long time no see,” Heeseung said coolly, a small smirk on his face as he stared back at your ex, whose expression was twisting into a foul look. “Ready for the next game?”
At Heeseung’s mocking tone, Matthew scoffed. “You haven’t changed, eh? Still the usual overconfident Lee Heeseung,”
“They don’t call me ‘ace’ for no reason, right? Hey, I deserve some bragging rights,” you rolled your eyes at Heeseung’s words, which seemed to tick your ex further. He really knows how to rile someone up, doesn’t he?
“See you on the ice,” Matthew grumbled, walking past Heeseung and you, making sure to mumble ‘jerk’ loud enough for Heeseung to hear, prompting him to let out a laugh as he waved your ex tauntingly goodbye.
“How friendly,” Heeseung gritted out through a forced smile, his eyebrows furrowed, obviously annoyed but then he turned to you, a quizzical look replacing his previous agitated expression. “How do you know this guy? He’s a complete douche,”
“He’s my ex,” you admitted not so happily, noticing the slight surprise in Heeseung’s face.
“He wasn’t trying to do anything to you right?” Heeseung asked at once, his eyes flashed with worry as they darted around your face to your body. You softened at his words, shaking your head and reaching over to take his hand in yours.
“I’m fine, really. It was really awkward though,” you tried to laugh it off, but in reality you were so ready to dig yourself a grave. “You’re not wrong, he is a jerk and I don’t know what I even saw in him when he literally cheated on me,”
“Speaks a lot about his character for being so shit off and on ice. I’m sorry, Y/N, you deserved more than someone like him,” Heeseung squeezed your hand gently, passing you a consoling smile.
“It’s alright, Hee, I’ve gotten over him years ago. I hope you guys beat his ass next game,” you swung his hand lightly, beaming at his presence, but not noticing the fact that he was trying his best to hide a smile.
Heeseung cleared his throat. “I’ll trash him for you, Y/N,”
“Sounds like another challenge. I’ll take you up on it,” you smirked.
“You have to stop tormenting me, I swear,” Heeseung sighed wearily at your antics, but he couldn’t resist a lopsided grin. “Anyway, where were you even going?”
“To get a drink,” you blatantly lied through your teeth, unwilling to admit that you were actually looking for him. There’s one thing that Yunjin always preached and it was to never let a man know you’re chasing him. In times like this, you were about to listen to her teachings.
“You had fun dancing with Jay?” Heeseung smoothly brought up, completely having zero intentions of either sugar coating nor hiding his jealousy, and you were stunned by his straightforwardness, a small grin tugging at your lips.
“He offered me company, so I took up that offer. Someone here was off flirting with someone else, no? I thought you were a gentleman?” you said teasingly, but in secret, you had to admit you were a little upset. Just a little.
Heeseung stared back at you, a look of amusement and deadpan on his face.“I wasn’t flirting, Y/N. She was asking what drink I got since it looked funky and being the gentleman I am—” he gave you a smirk and winked, “— I answered her question, but she couldn’t hear me so I had to lean in. It’s genuinely a misunderstanding from someone else’s point of view,”
Noticing the slight lingering doubt in your features, he smiled at you reassuringly, throwing his arm around you and started guiding you back to the private room. “You do know I’m yours for the night, right? I won’t leave you for someone else. I told you I’ll have you by my side and I’ll stick to it,”
“Just for tonight?” you said curiously, peering up at him.
“What are you trying to say, Y/N?” he raised his eyebrow at you quizzically, but you just brushed it off, flushing a little at your own words, meanwhile Heeseung sneaked a small smile after noticing your panicky behaviour.
“Let me take you home,” Heeseung offered, pushing the door open to a room scattered with people here and there, some making out on the couch and some at the corner having small talks. The contrast was certainly there.
“What about the whole birthday celebration for Jay? Cake?”
“Oh he’s too drunk for that,” Heeseung waved his hand dismissively, as if this was a common occurrence. “Sunghoon will help him out, don’t worry,”
“If you say so … then I won’t decline your kind offer,” you furrowed your eyebrows, pursed your lips and stared pointedly at Heeseung. “Did you drink?”
“Mocktails, Y/N, mocktails. I’ve been pulled over before and trust me, I want none of that again,”
“Bad boy Heeseung … interesting,” you nodded slightly, a mischievous smirk on your face, to which was met with Heeseung unamused laugh.
“I’ll dump you here if you call me that again,” he huffed, picking up your jacket and bag.
“What happened to being yours for the night?” you said in a sing-song tone, looping your arm around his and pulled him through the door, making sure to wave a half-drunk Jay along the way out.
“Might have to make some adjustments then.”
“Mean.”
NEVER IN YOUR DREAMS WOULD YOU EXPECT YUNJIN TO absolutely embarrass Heeseung the moment he dropped you off at your doorstep. But that was exactly what had happened.
"Oh Heeseung," Yunjin opened the door with a hand placed on her hip, staring straight at Heeseung with a vague smile.
"Uh … hi?" Heeseung greeted back with uncertainty, panning back and forth between you and your roommate.
"Kissed Y/N yet?"
You and Heeseung immediately froze on the spot, blinking in question back at Yunjin, and you swore to yourself that you couldn't take anymore embarrassing moments for the night or else you'll soon be six feet under. You felt heat travelling up to your face and embarrassment crawling onto your skin.
"Well! Goodnight, Heeseung. Thanks for the ride!" you instantly pushed Yunjin back inside, closing the door but just enough for you to peek your head out.
"Don't mind her, she likes to think … outside the box sometimes!" you whispered to him, an apologising half smile on your face and ears burning a scarlet red, which Heeseung mirrored and finally after a last goodbye, he left and you were alone with Yunjin.
"I'll kill you, Huh Yunjin."
"Fuck."
It's been a few days since that interesting exchange and you've already texted Heeseung about it, being able to sigh a breath of relief when he was cool about it and sparing the trouble of chasing Yunjin around. Soon, with the mountain load of work, it was already Friday night hockey in a blink of an eye.
“You whore! You lying whore," Yunjin hissed, sucking her teeth. "I heard a specific someone is done with hockey boys? Is she in the room with us now?”
You were caught guilty at once, passing Yunjin a dirty look as you pulled Heeseung's jersey over your head. "It just … happened. Oh my God, am I actually in love?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions first, genius," Yunjin poked your forehead. "Do you like him?"
"Yes."
"No hesitation. I've truly lost you to him, huh?"
"You're always my number one, Jen," you rolled your eyes at her antics, picking your stuff up and starting to make your way out to the arena with Yunjin clinging onto your arm.
“But the problem now is who’s going to make the move first?” Yunjin hummed, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip.
“I’m hoping he would,”
“Why don't you do it?”
“This isn’t the first day we’ve been friends, Jen,”
“Right …”
Being somebody who's afraid of confrontation, you find yourself stuck in the middle. Currently torn between wondering if you were finally ready for something new and worrying if Heeseung would treat you right. 'He's serious about you' rang in your head from time to time and you couldn't lie, you started reciprocating the interest he had in you over time.
"If you like him, just go for him," Yunjin spoke out of the blue after a moment of silence, as if reading your thoughts and sensing something off. "I'm serious, Y/N. He's a nice, genuine guy, and seeing the way he treats you, you deserve someone that gives you their all,"
"Yunjin I'll cry right now," you stopped in your tracks, pouting at your best friend while she could only laugh, throwing her arms around you and continuing to drag you towards the arena.
"Aren't they playing our rival team today?" Yunjin recalled, frowning a little upon realisation. "That means he's there too, no?"
"Unfortunately," you pressed your lips into a thin line, breathing out slowly. "You do remember me telling you that Heeseung and I bumped into him at the party right?"
“Yeah?”
“They’re definitely going to cause a scene tonight, I can feel it in my bones,”
“It’s not that serious,”
“Remember Matthew’s lifelong rival since high school that I’ve mentioned before?”
“Don’t tell me it’s …”
“Heeseung. Small world, right?”
Yunjin raised her eyebrows in surprise, whistling quietly under her breath. "Quite unexpected," she said breathlessly, not realising that you were now already at the arena. "I'd love a fight,"
"You just love chaos,"
"And you're right," Yunjin smiled sweetly at you and you pushed her face away, earning a laugh from her. "Is Heeseung not meeting you pregame?" She nudged your side, raising her eyebrows expectantly with a knowing smirk on her face as she led you down to your usual seats in the arena.
"He did text me…" you said, seeing Yunjin's eyebrows rising higher. "But he said his coach is more strict for today so no pregame meetings,"
"Lame," Yunjin booed.
"He also said he's treating dinner tonight after the game,"
"Not lame," Yunjin switched up and practically almost jumped out of her seat, clapping her hands. "Let's feast tonight. Go team!"
"MAN, I NEED SOME POPCORN FOR THIS,"
Nervousness started creeping up on you as you witnessed the heated start of the game, both teams clashing roughly into one another and fouling left and right. Yunjin was entertained; you were worried and stressed.
"They keep fouling our team and no time outs, you're kidding," you threw your hands up in frustration, noticing other students grumbling as well.
"Are we surprised? Big games are like this," Yunjin shook her head, crossing her arm and leaned back into her seat.
Two periods went by rather quickly, both teams were tied and obvious vexation hung in the air. You noticed Heeseung was practically flying around, chasing the puck with vigor, bumping hard into other players in order to reach the goalpost, but to his dismay, he missed the shot, earning groans from many, you included.
The third period rolled over in a blink of an eye, the tension heightened as the two teams were finding ways to score desperately. Your eyes instinctively followed Heeseung's speeding figure, but something in your stomach told you things were about to turn sour real quick.
Heeseung was zooming across the defenders with ease, guiding the puck towards the goalpost, until a distinct figure, who happened to be the one and only, Matthew, skated up next to him and started causing trouble. You couldn't tell what was exactly happening, but the aggression between the two was getting heavier by each second.
Next thing you knew, Heeseung rammed into your ex, sending him flying to the glass panels, but that wasn't all. Heeseung completely forgo the puck, throwing his gloves to the side and skated up to Matthew, sizing him up.
Both teams were extremely caught off by this sudden fight between them, everyone started panicking the moment Heeseung grabbed Matthew by the neck, but your ex seemed unfazed and continued uttering something to him, leading up to the part where Heeseung punched the latter in the face.
You and Yunjin audibly gasped and so did everyone else in the arena, including the players on the bench and the coaches who were yelling over the noise. Those on the ice made their way to the fight, trying their utmost best to rip the two apart, but Heeseung had his hands practically glued on Matthew, not wanting to let go as he was seen screaming at him.
"I mentioned wanting a fight but not like this …" Yunjin muttered, now standing and occasionally tip-toeing to see what was happening. "Matthew obviously egged him on and pissed Heeseung off,"
"Heeseung has the worst temper on ice, he knew what he was doing," you frowned, getting worried as you watched the referee sending both of them to the penalty box. Heeseung threw his helmet on the floor in frustration, his wet strands of hair sticking onto his forehead.
"Well, at least the team is winning," Yunjin pointed out to the score line, where a glorious 3-2 was showing on the jumbotron. The home team managed to score the winning goal after the game was resumed, taking advantage of the opposition's bewilderment from the fight to mess their strategy up.
The crowd was cheering and jumping, food got scattered around onto the floor and the away fans could only leave in silence. Towards the end of the final period, Heeseung's penalty ended and he joined the team in exiting the ice, face still a little sour as his coach started telling him off.
“You should find him after this,” Yunjin tapped your side and you nodded in agreement, making sure to text him beforehand.
‘Locker room’ was the only thing he texted back and you slowly got anxious, curious as to what had really happened between him and your ex on ice. One thing’s for sure, it definitely wasn’t something good.
You stormed up to the doors of the locker room, heaved a breath of courage and pushed your way in. Lucky for you, by the time you got there mostly everyone was gone, except for Heeseung and Sunghoon, both sitting on a bench, whispering aggressively at one another. That was until Sunghoon caught your approaching figure, giving Heeseung a final word before standing up.
“Y/N,” Sunghoon passed you an awkward smile, a first aid kit in his hands. “I’ll leave him in your hands, I have an appointment with someone now,” he basically thrusted the box into your hands, whispering a quick apology and thanks before scampering away.
You felt helpless and confused as the box sat in your hands, then you started advancing slowly towards Heeseung and soon, you were standing directly in front of him, prompting him to stare up at you, still managing to crack a smirk even when his face looked rough. His left eye was bruised, lips cut and cracked and practically bleeding, his knuckles red and bruised. Overall, he was quite literally a mess.
"You're wearing my jersey,"
"And you're bleeding right now, is that important?"
"To me it is,"
"You're a fool. You have a bruised eye now," you fingers grazed against his cheeks, gaze travelling from one end to the other of his face.
"Do you still think I’m cute?"
"One more word and I'll add a bruise on the other eye," you gave him a side eye and he only responded with a chuckle, patting the empty spot beside him and you complied, sitting down and your shoulder touched his, leaving zero space between the both of you.
“What happened?” you hissed, staring pointedly at him as your hands dug through the items in the first aid kit.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Heeseung grunted, nodding at your actions and you only returned an unamused look.
“I do, now stop avoiding my question,” you hissed, applying some ointment on his knuckles, causing him to flinch in pain, face screwed in discomfort. “What happened, Hee? I saw,”
Heeseung was reluctant, but he gave in eventually, anger evident in his gaze and tone. “It was your ex,”
“I know you are rivals, but you could’ve just ignored him—”
“No, you don't get it, I can’t! He was talking shit about you,” Heeseung ran a hand through his hair in frustration, adam apple bobbing as he tried not to burst out. "'Go back to that slut', 'do you enjoy my leftovers'. I can't just continue playing after the shit he said, there's no way I'll stand there and do nothing,"
"It's okay, Hee—"
"It's not," he huffed, his frown deepened, running a hand across his face. "It's not okay and I wasn't going to let that man call you names and walk free,"
You couldn't resist a smile, your heart thumping against your chest and your gaze softened, placing a hand on his. "Thanks for standing up for me. Really."
"I always will at any time, I care about you, Y/N, and I don't want anything bad happening to you," Heeseung blurted out, his face gradually turning red upon realising his own confession, making sure to seem nonchalant as he switched the topic. "You should've seen his face when I actually punched him. He was all talk only,"
"He's like that, unfortunately," you sighed as you finished wrapping some compressible bandages over his knuckles, whispering a quick 'sorry' when he winced.
“Honestly if you keep pulling these tricks on ice, I might think you’re into me,” you added boldly, referring to the other time where he dedicated a goal to you and he, too, realised the same, the tip of his ears turning a slight red.
“What if I told you I am?”
“Oh, I know,”
Heeseung leaned back, an amused grin plastered on his face. You couldn't tell if he's glad you knew or if he's in horror. "Am I that obvious? Am I too transparent?"
"Well, would you rather me be dumb and not take the hint?"
"Definitely not that," Heeseung leaned back closer to you, letting you clean the small cut on his lips. "I have a feeling someone ratted me out to you,"
"Partially, but I did have a feeling,"
"Motherfucker," he hissed under his breath, then his eyes widened, a look of panic flashed across his face. "So … you know I liked you before this, then do you … like me?"
You rolled your eyes, in disbelief these words were coming from the fuckboy himself. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be sitting here," you were finally done patching him up, placing everything back neatly into the box as he watched your every move. "You're fantastic at hockey but you're terrible at feelings, Hee,"
"I'm easily intimidated,"
"I didn't see you being intimidated while fighting,"
"Intimidated by pretty girls, I mean,"
"How charming," you mused, bumping his shoulder softly. "When and how did it even start, I thought you were the type to fuck around,"
"I've noticed you since English class and after some time, I saw you at my games too. I didn't want to approach you since I was worried you'd think of me differently because of my past—"
"Fuckboy-ness?"
"You could put it that way," Heeseung clapped his hands, leaning forward to rest his arms on his thighs. "I just liked you. You were funny at presentations, charming, passionate in things you liked. I wanted to get to know you better and after meeting you, it just … clicked,"
"But at the party, why did you even bother asking my name when you already knew who I was?"
"First impressions matter, Y/N. I didn't want to seem like a whole ass stalker,"
"You could've mentioned that you knew my name from English. 'Oh you're Y/N from English', there,"
"Are you teaching me how to flirt?"
"I'm teaching you how to flirt with me,"
"Alright then," Heeseung turned his body to fully face you now, a look of seriousness on his face. "Y/N from English, I like you. So much till the point where I feel suffocated. I don't care if you'll beat my ass after we lose and I'll listen to all of your analysis, will you go out with me?"
"Yes and I like you too, jackass. Now shut up and kiss me already," you wrapped a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him in towards you and attached your lips to his, instantly melting against his touch the moment he snaked a hand across your jaw.
You couldn't believe this was happening, it felt like a dream. His lips were soft, the taste of mint on his tongue lingered, the feeling on his lips on yours was intoxicating. He was intoxicating.
Heeseung broke away momentarily, his forehead remained pressed against yours and you could feel his breath against your lips. "You're really romantic, Y/N,"
"You bet," you giggled in between kisses, your hands pushing him back a little as he practically chased your lips like a starved man. "You should go change,"
"Fuck, you're right," he glanced down at his hockey gear clad body. "It's getting late too, I'll drive you back. Want to stop by a drive through? I told you tonight's my treat,"
"I'm down,"
"Let me get my clothes, wait here," Heeseung stood up, ready to walk away but halting abruptly. "Tomorrow night, dinner, is that okay?"
"Are you asking me out on a date?"
"It's whatever you like,"
"Pick me up at 7,"
"On it," Heeseung nodded slowly, taking note of it mentally. "Also, does Yunjin want some food too?"
"If you buy her some, you'll immediately be on her good list, just saying,"
"You two are so alike, it's scary,"
"We're besties for a reason."
IT'S BEEN FIVE MONTHS EVER SINCE THAT NIGHT IN THE LOCKER room. You remembered coming home with Heeseung tailing behind you after, a bag of food in his hands and a welcoming Yunjin greeting him at the door.
"You two finally kissed, didn't you?" Yunjin mentioned carelessly in between bites of her burger and you swore you saw Heeseung's soul escaping his body. "That's the shade of lipstick Y/N wears on the side of your lips,"
Heeseung's hand flew to the side of his lips, touching the spot where you gave him a small peck of encouragement before getting off of the car.
"I'm glad you two are together," Yunjin continued, not noticing the flushed state you and Heeseung were in. "It's been months—oh God, I need to tell Jake this,"
And she did, leading to Jake calling you up the day after where he basically shouted through the phone. Since then, you had a plus one to every football game Jake played in.
"You guys are so annoying," Yunjin grimaced at the sight of Heeseung leaning his head onto your shoulder.
It was currently a Saturday night just after Heeseung's playoff match in which he scored three goals, so now, the team and your friends were at a nearby bar celebrating the victory.
"Stop being jealous," Heeseung defended, dropping his voice and closing in. "That's why I told you to go for Jay,"
"Him? Only God can put up with him, I barely know him and I already couldn't stand him,"
"Someone will eventually," you shrugged, taking a sip out of your mocktail.
"Good luck to them," Jake mumbled, holding his cup up for a toast and downed it all within the next second.
The night ended with a very drunk Yunjin along with many other drunk hockey players stumbling over their feet. Jake offered to take Yunjin home and she could only splutter out some responses, while you and Heeseung went by yourselves.
"If we can win the playoffs, I'll literally explode," Heeseung was currently the happiest man in the world, one hand holding his girlfriend while the other was close to touching the playoff trophy. He could ask for nothing more.
"It'll happen, Hee," you assured, running your thumb across his finger softly. "It's bound to happen, the team is strong. You have to believe my analysis too,"
"Pfft, fairs, your analysis does always hit the spot,"
"See? I'm always right,"
"Yeah yeah," Heeseung chuckled, pulling the car to park once you've arrived at your dorm's carpark and you two just sat there naturally, a sense of ambiance in the air as the radio played quietly in the background.
"I love you,"
Those three words were the first to break the silence. Heeseung looked like he was in disbelief although he was the one who said it first. Meanwhile, you were starting to smile like a fool.
"Did I—"
"I love you too, you idiot," you grabbed his face before he could continue, knowing well he'll end up rambling in the end. You pressed a chaste kiss on his lips, earning a stunned look from him until he eventually returned the favour.
"Was it too soon?" He mumbled against your lips as he gradually pulled away.
"I was actually wondering when you'll crack,"
"Fuck off," he scoffed, squeezing your cheek gently upon seeing your playful smirk. His gaze softened, eyes evidently filled with affection, anyone could literally vouch for how whipped this man was."I love you, stay by me forever, please,"
"Say less, captain."
Hockey boys might've scared you once, but this time, one of them ended up mending your broken heart and won you over instead, and thankfully, he was here to stay. For a long time.
➞ pairing: quarterback!best friend!jake x fem!bestfriend!reader | FEATURING. sunghoon, jay and yunjin.
➞ prompt/type of au: college!au + best friends to implied lovers (again… smh ela.)
➞ genre: fluff.
➞ w.c: 2.2k words. (i got carried away hashtag rip)
➞ tw: idk a thing about american football tbh i just googled what i needed to know for writing lmao. jake calls reader “pretty” and “sweetheart.” a kiss happens. nothing else that i can recall?? except that quarterback!jake is enough of a tw… him wearing an uniform… no one speak pls i Need time alone with my thoughts.
ela says💬: people seeing me on their dashboards again like 🙁😔😣 ohhh man, tumblr lost today folks!! hashtag ela just go away!! / i had a drabble halfway done but i didn’t end up liking it so i was like nahh and straight up deleted it so that’s why it took me longer to post this one lol. // feedback is welcomed and deeply appreciated<3
i made cherie fall in love with fratboy!jake and i promised her i would write smth like a college au so😋 here it is @ikisswoo 🫶 just for u mwahhh
DAY 3 OUT OF 7 — the season of love. ♡
The loud chatting and the vibrating noise can be heard even from two blocks away, thousands of students dressed in your institute’s colors and some others using the rival’s pantone coming and going.
“I told you, Y/n,” Yunjin says beside you in despair, her arm linked with yours so she wouldn’t fall because of the rocky path. “I told you that we should’ve left earlier, but no! miss ‘I’m not sure if I should wear Jake’s jacket or not’ made us arrive late!”
You roll your eyes at your best friend’s nagging, finally visualizing the crowded place where the match would be taking over.
“Stop already, you know that Jay said he was saving us seats.”
You hear the blonde girl scoffing, “but we still had to walk a lot because we couldn’t find a place to park the car! Who’s fault is that, hm?”
“But we’re here already, why are you nagging so much?”
Yunjin clicks her tongue in disapproval, giving you a side eye and muttering a “whatever” under her breath.
“You’re just lucky that I’m rooting for you and Jake, because if I wasn’t, I would’ve ended you.”
The mention of Jake for a consecutive time makes you more nervous about all of this, but hearing the joking tone in her voice, you just roll your eyes again in a playful manner.
“Whatever, let’s just find Jongseong.”
Standing at the bottom of the stands, you try to look around in search of the aforementioned boy without being successful, (“I’ll be wearing the school’s colors on both cheeks,” you hear Yunjin scoff at this. “Jay, everyone will be wearing those colors too.”) and Yunjin —being Yunjin— one of the most impatient people you know, she decides to phone the boy up instead.
Three beats after, Jay picks up.
“Hi Jay… Yes, we’re here– yes, where are you?” The girl stretches her neck a little bit so she can look around too, and frowns at hearing the boys answer. “Hey! You can’t nag at me! If anything, nag at miss lover girl!— I— Jay! Out of topic, just raise your fucking hand!— Or your banner, whatever,” the blonde girl scans the place again, and you finally see her smile while she points at someone sitting right on the first row of bleachers. Directing your gaze there, you see a smiling Jay waving at the both of you. “Yes, I see you—Yes, bye.”
Your friend drags you by the hand, and after fighting —read: pushing back— people that would push you, and saying lots of “excuse me, I need to pass” sentences, you finally arrive with your black haired friend, Yunjin sitting on his right, while you sit on his left.
“Aye Jongseong, nice seats, first row and all,” Yunjin greets him, Jay just shrugs as he playfully moves both of his eyebrows up and down at you.
“Of course, I did it for our lovestruck girl,” he slightly pushes your shoulder with his, laughing when he hears you scoffing. “Nice jacket, by the way.”
The comment makes a memory flash in your mind: Jake went to your house on thursday, the loveliest smile imprinted on his pretty features as he gave it to you and asked you to wear it for his weekend game. You bite back a smile at the memory of your best friend looking at you with fondness behind his eyes. You told Jake you would definitely wear it, and he simply replied with a tight hug and a kiss on your temple.
But now, as you were sitting while waiting for the game to start, you began thinking that this was a bad idea since everyone’s eyes were on you and the quarterback’s jacket you were wearing.
Uncomfortably shuffling around in your seat, you stare down at the oversized garment. “I’ve been the center of attention because of this jacket… Might as well just take it off—“
“What? No, you won’t!” Yunjin is quick to interrupt, putting a hand over your arm and shaking her head in denial. “Trust me, Jake will love it when he sees you wearing his jacket. Let people stare,” she shrugs, “at the end of the day, you’re the one that has Jake’s letterman jacket… and heart–“
“Enough,” you interrupt the blonde girl, a blushing starting to raise to your cheeks. “I won’t take it off, just– don’t say that kind of stuff in public, what if someone else overhears? Jake and I are just best friends.”
Jay scoffs in annoyance, “yeah… If being best friends includes being down bad and throwing heart eyes all the time you look at each other.”
You feel the need to tell Jay off, to prove him wrong and explain that Jake and you were strictly best friends and only that.
But the feeling gets quickly disregarded and long forgotten as you start hearing the loud cheering when everyone caughts a glimpse of your university’s representative football team, making you go tunnel vision as you see the quarterback leading everyone while sporting the most beautiful smile ever.
You feel your heart do a somersault when you see your best friend looking around in search of something —more like someone— and when his eyes land on you, his eyes shine brighter and his smile widens at seeing your presence.
Everyone with two eyes would’ve seen the way your stares longed for each other, the both of you sharing a moment where no one else was invited to join.
The boy feels butterflies inside him at seeing you’re wearing his jacket proudly. He felt invincible now that he saw you were there for him and only him, cheering his name as you only dedicated him the prettiest of your smiles.
You thought you were hallucinating when you see him jogging your way, but when Jay elbows you and Yunjin gives you a not so subtle smile, it’s when you realize that the uniformed boy is now right in front of you, leaning his arms against the fence as he gives you a dazzling smile.
“Hey, pretty,” he calls for you as he extends his hand, you intertwine his fingers with yours. “Nice jacket.”
You giggle, “thanks, I came to support number two.”
“He must be a lucky guy, then.”
Jake’s eyes are especially shiny tonight, and the way he’s looking at you literally gives away the deep feelings the boy’s heart holds for you.
With his free hand, he cups your cheek, his eyes go down to your lips for a millisecond that it’s almost imperceptible to notice, and then, he nods at you.
Jake’s about to open his mouth to add something, when he hears his name getting called by his teammates. Rolling his eyes, he gives you a last glance.
“See you after the game?”
“Only if you win this one, dear quarterback,” you say jokingly, but Jake takes it as a challenge.
He’s quick to leave a kiss on the back of your hand to seal the promise, his toothy smile showing at seeing your cute blushing cheeks.
“Anything for you, sweetheart.”
You see the boy walking backwards towards his place. He’d like to stay with you, but he has to guide his team to the victory, so as he’s standing right beside his teammates, he just meets your eyes for a last time before putting his helmet on, throwing a flying kiss your way along with a wink.
The girls around you are either shrieking and losing their mind, or just plain glaring at you, but being honest you couldn’t care less, still processing Jake’s antics that got displayed in front of everyone.
(You can hear Jay laughing at your flushed state, snickering along with Yunjin at seeing the scene develop. “So, what were you saying Y/n?” Yunjin rolls her eyes at the comment. “Shut up Jay, let her live her kdrama moment, best friends to lovers era.”)
There’s only one minute and thirty seconds more to go before the match is over, you’re anxiously picking at your nails and your elbows are leaning against your thighs. Jay, Yunjin and you are watching in expectation at how this match could turn out in the end.
You see your university’s team gathering up, Jake patting some of their backs in reassurance as he reminds them of their strategy on the field.
“I’m so nervous,” Jay mutters beside you, a hand combing his hair as he sighs deeply, “and I don’t even like fucking football, man.”
“No, because same,” Yunjin nods, “I just came here as a plus one and I’m so invested now.”
You’d have laughed if this was a different situation, but the seriousness of the atmosphere just makes you nod in quietness. Getting a glimpse of the boys walking back to the field, Jake searches for your eyes again, immediately smiling when he sees you’re the one sending him a flying kiss, as if you’re letting him know you will always be there to cheer for him.
Turning around and jogging towards his formation while putting his helmet on, he immediately makes up his mind.
He was going to confess his feelings for you after he wins this one.
The narrator keeps explaining things that you can’t seem to completely understand, your eyes glued on the boy you came to see as he gives orders.
Everything happens in a blur after that; Jake takes the ball and starts running, the crowd start cheering and screaming in expectation, Yunjin gets a hold of Jay’s arm and the aforementioned boy gets a hold of yours.
A beat of white noise, and then, everyone’s standing up and screaming in excitement, including your friends, your university’s team is running towards Jake while celebrating, and you feel confused for a second, before the narrator screams into the mic.
“Another victory for Hybe’s U!”
“We won?” You stand up to meet your friends in a hug, your confused tone making Yunjin laugh.
“Yes! Your boyfriend scored a touchdown!”
“Great!… And what the fuck does that mean?”
Jay laughs too as he shrugs, the three of them raising their voices due to the loud sounds.
“The fuck we know! We won!”
After jumping in excitement with your two friends, you quickly make your way towards the special quarterback that owns your heart so you can congratulate him yourself (not without encouraging comments coming from Yunjin while Jay squeezes your hand to try and reassure you that everything would be okay), wincing a little at seeing him almost at the center in a sea of people. You’re trying your best to reach out to him without having to push a lot of people, but it’s almost an impossible task when everyone is trying to catch his attention.
But again, to Jake, you’re not just everyone.
Glancing around, you find that his eyes are already looking at you, smiling when he finally finds you there.
Jogging his way to you, he’s quick to embrace you in his arms so he can spin you around, your arms encircling his neck and his heart doing a counterassault at hearing your joyful laugh.
Jake separates himself a little from you, his hands still on your waist as his eyes shine so bright that it looked like they held stars. His hair is all tousled around because of the helmet, the boy’s cheeks are kinda flushed and he’s sweaty due the game, but he still looks as gorgeous as ever. The breathless “hi there” that leaves his lips is laced with honey, his voice being soft just for you. You know that you shouldn’t act on your impulses, but the excitement that was still lingering inside your veins because of the events that just occurred plus the way he’s smiling at you makes you cup his cheeks, closing the gap between you and capturing his lips into a sweet kiss.
You hear the small, surprised gasp that leaves his lips when you kiss him, but even if he’s shocked at your bold move, he still answers by tilting his head a little to deepen it, one of his hands raising to cup your cheek as the other pushes you closer to his chest.
You feel his teeth nibble softly on your bottom lip, but a wolf whistle coming from behind you, along with some cheering and clapping, reminds you that you’re still very much in public. You quickly separate from the boy, a hand coming to cover your mouth as Jake gives a side-eye towards his team members.
“Fucking finally!” A dark haired boy, who you identify as Sunghoon, cheers. “Now our quarterback is going to shut up about the massive crush he has on you! Thanks for putting an end to our misery, Y/n!”
You see how the boy starts flushing at the teasing remark, making you coo in endearment while his teammates start sniggering at their quarterback’s reaction.
“Y’all better shut up right now if you don’t want me to make you run ten laps around the field monday morning!” Jake’s voice calls them out, his tone sounding threatening, but the corner of his lips fighting back a smile making it known that he was joking.
The other boys feign to look away from the both of you, making you laugh in the process. Jake directs his gaze again to you, cupping your face once more as his thumb pressed softly against your lower lip.
“So?”
You raise an eyebrow playfully at him. “So?”
Biting down on his lip, he cheekily smiles at you. “Does this mean that I can take you out on dates and finally call you mine?”
You giggle, raising your head to meet his lips in a quick peck. Jake’s eyes flutter a little bit at the feeling.
“I don’t know, did that answer your question?”
Humming in feign thought, Jake connects his lips against yours again in a chaste kiss.
“I think I’ll need more of those so you can make your point across, pretty.”
“Deal.”
PERMANENT TAGLIST (bold can’t get tagged): @pshchives @squiishymeow @hqrana @wonielvr @sunoksunny @chaerybombs @strwberrydinosaur @reinahwanggg @stepout-09-15 @ahnneyong @j-wyoung @yjjungwon @ghostiiess @boowoowho @taejays @ddenoudepression @peachenle @ja4hyvn @julyy07 @sunoosult @jaekiths @w3bqrl @en-chantedtomeetyou @ynjimenez (if you’re interested in joining pls send me an ask or fill this form out!)
"hey heeseung, i know looks can be deceiving but i know i saw a light in you / hey heeseung, i've been holding back this feeling so i've got some things to say to you / hey heeseung, i could give you 50 reasons why i should be the one you choose" - hey stephen by taylor swift
part of the 100 kisses event
pairing. best friend's brother!heeseung x fem!reader
genre. 6-part series, fluff, eventual angst and smut, f2l, bfb au
part 1. gorgeous - prompt 45, “we shouldn’t do this” but they do so anyway
Heeseung comes back from his first year of university a new man - forget nervous, fidgety, dorky Heeseung and say hello to confident, teasing, flirty Heeseung. This change of attitude doesn’t help your longstanding crush on your best friend’s brother, and neither does the rising tension between the two of you - a tension that is bound to explode.
part 2. prompt 19, "if we're caught kissing we're most likely dead but let's risk it"
part 3. prompt 4, breaking the kiss, your lover instantly pressing their lips back to yours
part 4. prompt 84, trying to deny your feelings but attraction gets and you push them up against the wall
part 5. prompt 26, "i was supposed to take a shower, alone, but go ahead jump right in"
part 6. prompt 78, pushing your lover onto the bed, kissing down their stomach
(prompts might change around, this isn't fully planned out just yet!)
“i don’t know if this is weird to say but, you’re truly someone special to me.”
synopsis : Does love at first sight exist? Apparently. You noticed a boy your age while helping a family move in. Your family made you hang out with him more. In result, you fell in love with your new neighbor, the boy next door. Who wouldn’t? Now, what if he feels the same way?
pairing — neighbor!jungwon x neighbor!fem!reader
genre — fluff, neighbors to lovers, strangers to lovers
author’s note — now if you think the heeseung wc was a lot…you’re wrong 🤕 this def took longer then expected..so sorry abt that 😭 i’ll try to get the rest out asap, can’t guarantee it though!
masterlist to valentines day event !
001 — THE MOVE IN
You're in your room, sorting through some random items. Scraps of paper, stickers, letter paper—you name it. You raise the volume of your speaker once more, only to lower it again when your mother calls your name. You walked out to greet her, turning off the music. Your mom smiles at you, pleased that you came out so quickly.
You noticed her optimistic demeanor; perhaps she received a raise. You grab a glass of water while you wait for her to say something. "Dear, have you heard about the new people moving in next door?" You pause to think about it. There’s a new family? You exclaim and nod in response. "Oh, yeah, I saw those moving trucks when I was walking to school two days ago. Why?”
"Are you free right now?" You nod hesitantly, unsure what she expects from you. "Let's help them move!" You stopped getting ice from your refrigerator. You quickly turned to face her, a shocked expression on your face. "Mom, do you know who these people are? They've only recently moved in!"
“Of course I do, silly. Also, put that cup down before you drop it.” You slowly place the cup on the counter, following your mom to convince her.
“Okay..maybe I am busy.”
“Busy doing what? Being locked up in your room? Well sorry, that excuse isn’t going to work right now.”
“But I’m cleaning my stuff!”
“Why do that now? You never do it. Plus, you can do it another time.”
“Come on, you know I can’t get along well with new people.” Your mom ignores your excuses, quickly putting on her shoes. “And I’m here to fix that.” You groan as her response, knowing you have to come along anyways. “Hurry up! I can see them moving in boxes already!” You ran upstairs, grabbing the nearest hoodie you could get. “Okay, okay I get it!”
Here you are, dragging your feet along the sidewalk, wishing the time would fly by so you wouldn't have to help the new family. There was no personal grudge; you simply dislike interacting with new people. Your mother quickens her walking pace, forcing you to sprint to catch up. She cheerfully greets the family's mother, or so you assume. The lady greets you while holding two large bags.
"We're delighted to help out!" You stood behind your mother, giving her a small wave and an awkward smile. "This is my child. Say hello, there's no need to be shy." You shot your mother a quick glare while she smiled back. “Nice to meet you yn!” “Hello, Miss.” “Oh, call me Mrs. Yang.” “Oh, sure. Thank you Mrs. Yang.” You flashed an awkward smile to lighten up the air.
You stand there awkwardly listening in on your mother's conversation with Mrs. Yang. Your mother exclaims, catching your attention as you pick at your nails. "You should meet Jungwon, YN. He and you are the same age!" She gestures to the boy in the distance who is carrying a box into the house. You squint your eyes, unable to make out his facial features. "Why don't you introduce yourself?" Mrs. Yang follows you two from behind as she brings you to the boy before you can say no. Great, you are now about to embarrass yourself.
“Hi Jungwon!” your mother says cheerfully. The boy sees her, gives a small smile and says hello back. He spots you next to her, making him nervous all of a sudden. He broke off eye contact with you, looking around the truck cluelessly. Did he find you a bother? Well, you didn’t care—it was just gonna be a one time thing. “YN, go help Jungwon bring the boxes in!” She leaves you standing with Jungwon, you awkwardly make eye contact with him.
"Let's just get this out of the way." You sighed as the boy nodded and followed you behind. You noticed a box with Jungwon's name written on it. You reach for it, but he also tries to grab the same one. He pauses, drawing your attention to him. He pulls away shyly, grabbing the next box and walking away. He's definitely out of the ordinary. Despite the fact that you didn't know him, he exudes a comforting aura.
You notice Jungwon walking up the stairs to his room and decide to follow him. His room appeared to be quite simple once you entered. There were white walls, white bookshelves, and a mattress with a black cat plushie on top. He quickly hid it under his blanket because you suddenly stared at the plush. "Why hide it? It's cute," you said as you set the box of his things down. "Do you like cats?"
"Yeah," he says, the word barely escaping his mouth. You had no idea why he was nervous—you guessed it was because a random stranger was trying to talk to him and was in his room.
“What do you like, then?” In an effort to continue the conversation, he questioned.
"I really love stars. I enjoy the way they sparkle in the night sky when I see them in videos, of course. I never spent any time stargazing or staying up late to do so. I don’t think I’ll ever have the time or patience to do all of that. But, they seem really pretty.” As you took a seat on his floor, you said. He nods in silence, perhaps noting your preferences for the next time.
"I met her when she came to visit my family. "She's nice," he says as he begins to take items from the box. He took out posters and even small figurines. You went to take a closer look. You're right behind him, and he stiffens up. You give him an odd look that causes him to clear his throat. He walks away, his cheeks flushed. "What's the deal with him?" You thought to yourself.
You've noticed that he enjoys being well-organized. He gets irritated if his posters aren't straight and has the perfect number of books on his shelf. He's definitely not like the other guys you'd meet. You tried having small conversations with him here and there, but he only responds briefly. You kept going because you found him interesting. Something about him pushed you to speak with him even more.
The minutes flew by. You and Jungwon were still in his room, which was awkward. But you and him continued to talk until it was time for you to leave. You looked at your phone screen when you heard your mother call your name. It lights up, revealing 4:30 p.m. "Oh, it's kinda late," you say, making eye contact with him and letting him know you have to leave.
“I’ll see you later?” As you stood up, you said. He nods, a solemn expression on his face. Didn't you just meet today? Why is he so upset about you leaving? And why was your heart beating faster than usual? No, you had to gather yourself together. You walked out of his room, ignoring your original thoughts, not noticing him following you.
“Wait-“ You heard him call out. You turn around, seeing the sight of the nervous boy. "Thank you for hanging out with me even though I was awkward. And you know, you kept the conversation going with your questions, so really I’m grateful for that. I thoroughly enjoyed all of our conversations! Thank you...?"
“Oh yeah. YN. call me YN.”
“Thank you YN. See you tomorrow?” His face turns bright red, with a hopeful expression. He really wanted to see you again.
“See you tomorrow.” You smiled and waved him goodbye. When he returned your smile, the first thing you noticed were his dimples. Your stomach flipped. Is that normal? You walked back home with your mother, smiling at your short interaction earlier.
Your mother notices your cheerful mood and immediately suspects you. "You must like the family I see," she says in her sentence. You lift your eyebrows slightly, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "Especially Jungwon." You hurried to deny her claims, saying, "What—just he's cool, I think."
“That’s what they all say! Kids these days..” As she passes by your room, you hear your mother's voice fading away. You forced yourself not to consider what she said. You didn't care about him. There is no way that after only meeting today, you have already begun to feel something like this.
Your mind said otherwise. All night, you couldn't stop thinking about his smile. As soon as you got into bed, you hoped that these thoughts would fade. As you were about to close your eyes, Jungwon's presence forced you to open them right away. The image of him being stuck in your head wasn’t helping. At this rate, your eye bags will show up tomorrow. Did you really like him? Even if you did, you believed that these emotions would go away. Not wanting to think about your feelings, you relaxed into sleep, turning off the light on your nightstand.
And you weren't the only one who was thinking about the incident earlier.
So was Jungwon.
002 — SECOND MEETING
When your alarm went off, you sluggishly hit the snooze button. You sat up, one hand rubbing your eyes. You only got 4 hours of sleep and had school today—wonderful. You went to the restroom to conceal your visible eye bags. You didn't want anyone to make a comment about them, especially on a Monday morning. The aroma of coffee permeates your room as you get ready.
You dashed downstairs when you noticed a cup of iced coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. "Thank you for the coffee, mom," you sighed, relieved. "You've saved my life." As you take a quick sip, she smiles. "I know your sleep schedule is messed up—really it's the least I could do."
"See you later, Mom!" You said this with your mouth full of food. "Be careful, dear!" Before you walked out the door, you heard her say. You checked your watch: 6:55 a.m. Okay, you might be able to catch the bus on time. In fact, you were extremely early.
You liked going to school early and killing time by going to the shops nearby for some reason. You're not sure why you do it, but it's enjoyable for you. You walk to the bus stop with your hands in your pockets. As you approached your neighbor's house, you noticed the brown-haired boy hurrying out the door.
His clothes were a little sloppy, and his hair was a mess. Someone appears to have just awoken. You noticed he was dressed in the same color uniform as you. Did he go to the same school as you? You saw the yellow pin with the school's logo, confirming your predictions. You kept looking at him, getting closer to him.
You laughed as you watched him almost trip over his shoelaces. Jungwon turns to investigate the source of sound. He makes eye contact with you and panics. He straightens his clothes and hair before bending down to tie his shoe. Oh, how he wished you'd leave. It’s embarrassing for you to see him like this.
You, however, did not. You simply moved closer to him, waiting beside him. He looks at you, puzzled. You gave him a look, breaking the strange silence. “Um?”
“What? I don't mind waiting for you."
“Why…?”
"We attend the same school. We should walk together. "Please hurry up." He quickly ties his shoes and dusts his pants from kneeling. You walk ahead of him, causing him to trail behind you. He's wary, but he really wants to speak with you. He's been looking for a way to talk to you comfortably since last night. Something about you makes him want to be your friend.
You two have already arrived at the bus stop, where you are waiting together. The only sounds were the wind and the vehicles passing by; nobody cared to speak. Your face went red from the cold, and you weren't even wearing a hooded jacket.
Jungwon notices; he has a keen eye for details. He was brave enough to give you your scarf when he saw that you were shivering from the cold. He timidly moves closer to you while removing the gray scarf. It's the first time he's given someone permission to borrow something of his personal belongings, especially to someone he only met yesterday.
You give me an odd look after seeing Jungwon offer you the scarf.
“Huh?”
“What? Are you not cold?”
“Oh, hold on, don't give me the scarf; it is yours. Is it strange that you’re—" Sighing, he moves closer to your side. He makes you face him, wrapping the scarf around your neck. Even more redness appears on your face, but Jungwon doesn’t appear to notice it. He finishes covering you with the scarf and smiles, revealing the dimples once more.
"It's fine; I believe we are getting quite close actually. Even if we just met.” He glances at you while putting on his hood. “Plus, I have this whereas you do not.” You grinned, flushing, while he kept his triumphant grin.
Finally, the bus arrived at the bus stop. He let you board the bus before him and followed closely in your steps. Fortunately, there are enough open seats for just two people. As you motioned for him to join you in sitting, you turned to face him. He nods, his face showing just a hint of blush.
You choose to take a seat beside the window. There wasn't much room between you and him at this point; your legs were practically touching. You glanced quickly to check what Jungwon was doing as you heard a zipper pop open. He pulled out his wired headphones and phone.
You fixed your gaze on him as you saw him with one of the earbuds in his ear. He motions for you to join him in listening while holding out his earphone. You take the earbud after agreeing. The warmth in your stomach returns as he moves further closer to you.
He presses play, staring at you to see whether you like the song. He exhales with relief once he notices that you're humming along. You let out a small chuckle, gaining the boy’s attention. “You listen to songs like this?” He asks with a quick nod, “Who doesn’t love Twice?” “That’s true.”
Along with the music, you guys bop your heads while laughing heartily with one another. He looks at you lovingly and longs to hear your endearing laughter repeatedly. He has already fallen head over heels for you on day two. You looked adorable wearing his scarf, and he wanted to see you wearing it every day.
You are forced to return the earbud back when the bus arrives at your school. You couldn't get out first because there wasn't enough space between your seat and the one in front of you. He stands up after noticing your glance. You noticed he quickened up his speed, leaving you behind in the bus seat. Isn’t this his first day of school? What if he has no friends? You followed him so that you wouldn't make him feel the same way you did on your first day.
As you ran from a bus stop to the campus, you quickly caught up with him, breathing a little harder than usual. He sure was fast. When he sees you rushing over for him, he starts grinning. You asked out of breath, "What are you smiling for?" “Nothing. I just noticed how far you sprinted to catch up with me from there.”
“Whatever!” You puffed, trying to get rid of the tightening pressure in your chest. When you noticed him taking his schedule out of his folder, you asked, "What's your first period?" His schedule was well-organized, with the classes being emphasized in every color imaginable, including red to purple. The words "chemistry" and "first period" were underlined in this bright green, making it simple to see what he had.
He sighed, "Chem," as if he hadn't noticed you looking at his schedule. “Oh, our classes are the same.” His attention was drawn to your terribly disorganized schedule. The paper had folded corners and appeared to be crumbled. It looked like you pulled it out of the bottom of your bag (which you did). He saw that you seemed unbothered, though. You kept double checking your paper and his. Lucky you—the same classes both showed up on his and yours.
You made him forget about your crumpled paper by saying, "That's great!" He grinned when he noticed how your eyes took on a crescent shape. It was enough to make his heart ache to see how happy you are. He joins in on your laughter, which fills the busy hallway. It seemed like it was just you two in your own little world. You forgot about your friends and so did he. But who cares—you want to spend time with him as much as you can.
You saw one of your friends out of the corner of your eye while you were walking in class together. When you see Jungwon approaching a group of six people, your worries about him vanish. After all, he had connections, which is great. “Who was that guy you walked into school with?” Leeseo pulls curiously on your sleeve.
“Oh him? the boy who yesterday moved in next door. We decided to walk together to school today.”
“Damn, I should visit your house more often.” Liz jokes, receiving a little slap on the arm from you. “Not funny.” They were staring at you after you said that. It was easy to tell you apart, anyone could tell whether you actually liked or hated someone. You spotted Leeseo and Liz exchanging glances as they made an effort to communicate with their brows and eyes.
Confused, you finally understood what they were doing. You made a little gasp that was audible to the two. When Liz discovers that you are speechless, she struggles to contain her laughter. It was way too much watching you like this. “You like him?”
“What—no! We just recently met, like yesterday! That is not possible.” You babbled while doing random gestures with your hands in the air.
“How come not?” Leeseo remarks while putting her chin on her palm. You recline, mumbling to yourself. Liz arches an eyebrow in an effort to understand what you said. "You know, falling in love with the new kid isn’t that bad. Probably could just be love at first sight.” Liz and Leeseo both nod in agreement.
“But that's so cliché!” You mutter into your palms as you groan. “I didn't want to fall in love this way.” you said.
“Well too bad! Now, will you help me with this worksheet?”
You didn't need much time to start looking for Jungwon. You searched everywhere, even every staircase and the areas around the lockers. You just wanted him to walk home with you, that's all. You swear you glanced at him briefly when the bell sounded, and then he vanished into the crowd. Five minutes have passed; time was moving much more quickly as normal.
You sighed and decided to go home by yourself. You hoped to see a boy with cat-like features running down your path as you dragged your feet along the concrete pavement. You kept turning around, but there was no boy in sight. He might have actually left. You put in your earbuds and started listening to the same song you did with him on the bus to get here.
It was a mistake to put your earbuds in. You were unaware that the boy you were searching for was chasing you. Even though he was gasping for air, he ran. You certainly moved too quickly for him. He constantly called your name but got no reaction from you. He seemed foolish—it looked like he was attempting to get back with his ex or something.
“Please have the red light turned on, please.” He spoke quietly to himself. Fortunately, the red light turned on, causing you to stop moving. He was relieved that you stopped as he was catching up to you. He touched you on the shoulder while gasping for air. You jumped when you noticed the boy's face was covered with sweat.
"What the hell?" you say. You remove your earbud and put it back in the case for your airpods. "You're drenched in sweat. Literally.” "I'm aware," he said. When Jungwon wipes off his sweat with his sleeve, you can see a red flush forming on his cheeks. “I literally ran all the way from there to catch up.”
“I didn’t even see you!”
“"Listen, I didn't even see you either! I felt as though I was being drawn into a blackhole—a blackhole packed with people—as soon as the bell rang. I was too busy searching around to look for you.”
“It took you that long to get out?”
“Yeah, I was stuck at the other side of the school.”
“Oh. Forgot to search that area.” He gave himself a forehead slap, which made you laugh. “My bad!”
“Whatever. We have each other now.” A smile was plastered on his face, looking at you once more. You nod, returning back the smile. You knew this school year was going to be a long one.
003 — SNEAKING OUT?
You and Jungwon were hanging out every day at this time. Your relationship became closer and closer every time you saw one other. Really, you now face-time each other for hours on end as part of your daily routine.
But things are different now. You didn't call him, and he didn't call you. During the walk to school and back home, all you did was talk. You were aware that the upcoming exam week would be busy. You guys couldn't stay on call for hours talking about who knows what because studying was a top priority.
You yawn after spending two hours poring over your textbooks. As you stretched, the message alert you had been waiting to see appeared. You quickly reach for your phone as you notice Jungwon's contact with a heart emoji appear. You grinned and quickly read his message.
“look outside :]”
You rushed to your window, seeing the boy wave with his phone flashlight on and a grey sweatshirt on. You glanced at the clock, 11:30 PM. You caught a quick glimpse at the time—11:30 PM. Oh my god, it's already very late and your parents are sound asleep. You went to message him, “it’s late :(“
“it’s my only time to actually see you </3 it wouldn’t hurt to hang out for a bit!” You took a flimsy sweater from the closet and climbed out the window, knowing that your mother wouldn't mind. That's what you wanted to believe. He was keeping an eye on you from above to make sure you didn't trip.
Once you got down, you hardly saw his smile, but you were aware that his dimples were showing. When he's happy to be around you, you love to see his dimples, which was one of his best features.
“Hi.” Jungwon says in a sweet tone, making you fold instantly. “Where do you wanna go?”
“Oh you’ll see. Come on YN!” YN! He took hold of your wrist and led the way. Your stomach was besieged by a strange but warm sensation. Thank god it was dark outside since your cheeks were flushed with a light pink hue.
You two arrive in a grassy location not too far from your separate homes. “I've always wished to come here with someone.” He said it excitedly. “I’m glad I’m here with you.”
He had a huge tote bag that he brought along. He retrieved a plaid mat and set it down for you and him. He invited you to sit down with him by gently tapping the ground. You accept the iced coffee he offers and ask, "So...what are we doing here?" Oh my goodness, he was ready for this.
“We’re here to look at the stars.” He smiles broadly as he turns to face you. He recalled everything, including your two of you's very first chat. You and your crush are here under the stars gazing for constellations, you couldn't help but feel all giddy. Not to mention that you had never done it before.
You two kept talking and laughing together as usual. There was something about his voice today. As you continued to listen to him, you realized that his voice was enticing you to just shut up and listen to him rant all day. It was soothing and pleasant to listen to—why have you only recently paid attention to his wonderful voice?
As the laughter dies down, you two made the decision to maintain silence while allowing the breeze to fill the space. You two kept waiting. White dazzling stars begin to appear just when you're about to give up. “Wow, those are lovely.” You uttered the words reverently while holding your breath. As you continue, Jungwon nods in agreement. He is happy that he chose to invite you for this.
Jungwon noticed that your eyes sparkled like the stars above. That warm sensation returns to his chest. He's not sure why, but he feels strange whenever he's near you. You just have this effect on him that makes him want to hug you and fantasize about being in a relationship with you. He paid even more attention to you this time, seeing the wind beautifully blow your hair.
He examines your facial features; you were truly special. Seeing you this enthralled makes him want to see you like this every day—he's in big trouble. He realizes why he is feeling this way—he only wants to be with you.
That's right—being here with you under the moonlight makes him realize how much he adores you. Oh, you're going to have to pay for his next hospital visit— his heartbeat keeps increasing per second.
You lay down on the mat, hoping to get a better view of the stars. He joins you shyly, both of your heads touching. When you saw Jungwon point into the sky, you heard him chuckle. "Doesn't that one look like it's going to make a cat?"
You fixed your gaze on what he was pointing at. He wasn't mistaken—the lines did create those cat ears. "Oh, I see what you mean. Just a cat meeting another cat," You teased him again. You turned your head to see him, and his ears turned red. You return your gaze to the sky, a wide smile on your face.
"Do I really resemble a cat?" You respond with a nod. "You really do! The way you act at times, your features—particularly your eyes—uh, you're cute like a cat, too." Fuck, you used the word "cute" way too casually. You came to a halt and cleared your throat as Jungwon processed what you said. Did you just say he was cute? In shock, he thought to himself.
You're all flustered this time, while he gets cocky. "Do you really mean it? You know—about my cuteness."
“Take a look at that big dipper over there.” He leaves you alone, chuckling at the abrupt change of subject. All he knew was that his heart was racing, and it was all because of you.
It was becoming very late, and as much as you wanted to continue gazing up at the brilliant sky, you didn't want your parents to get angry with you. Additionally, it was starting to get a little chilly. Crossing your arms, you were rubbing your arms as you came down the road. That flimsy sweater was not going to help keep you warm. Jungwon notices, he was worried that you were going to get sick. He reaches for your arm, stopping you in your tracks. You turned around, looking to see what he wanted from you.
He gives you his tote bag. He quickly slings it on your shoulder after noticing your slow reaction. He removes his hoodie, gaining gasps from you.
"What are you doing, Jungwon?" He grabs the tote bag strap and drops the hoodie into your arms. While you fiddled with the material of his hoodie, he held onto the tote bag. He looks at you and smirks slightly.
“What? Do I have to put it on you now? Like I did when I helped you put on the scarf?" His voice was teasing, and deep down inside he wished you had said yes. He didn't know where the confidence came from—he probably just wanted to see you blush. Even though you were at a loss for words, you still didn't put on that hoodie. He reaches back for his hoodie, only to put it on you. He inserts both of his hands into the clothing, making it easier for him to put on you. When he put it on your head, you stuffed your arms into the sleeves.
He lets you do the rest, you pull the hoodie down to your stomach. His hoodie was quite large—he must prefer baggy clothing. Jungwon smiles fondly at you while you're all comfortable. You looked adorable in his hoodie—why is he like this?
Ba bump. Ba bump. Your heart beats faster with each stride. You want to kneel down in the middle of the sidewalk at the mere thought of you wearing this. As you’re making up random scenarios in your head, you hear a faint purring sound. You scanned around the area, looking for the source of the sound.
A black cat can be seen moving toward the lamp post. As you drew nearer to the cat, you gasped in awe. Jungwon keeps an eye on you from a distance, hoping the stray cat won't hurt you in any way. As you knelt down, you cooed to get the cat's attention. The cat slowly makes its way towards you, letting you easily pet it.
You gave it a little scratch under the head, and it purred in answer. As you continue to pet the kitten, Jungwon unexpectedly reaches into the bag. He approaches you and lowers himself alongside you.
Click! When the polaroid camera made a loud noise, you unexpectedly turned to face Jungwon. He takes out the polaroid and fans it in hopes of getting a photo. Once the image shows up, a small smile creeps onto his face. “Didn’t it turn out nice?” He shows you the polaroid, allowing you to see you and the cat. You said with a smile, “Where did you get that camera from?”
“I’m just a magician.”
“Oh cut that out.”
“Seriously though, I wanted to take pictures of us earlier. I forgot about it until now.”
“Then let’s do it now.” You motion with your hand for him to get closer. He is now crouched next to you, wondering what you’ll ask him to do next. You tug his sleeve lightly, making him move even more near you. You carefully picked up the cat and placed it into your arms. You held it with one arm while the other was free. You hold out a peace sign, waiting for Jungwon to snap a quick picture.
He notices that you’re ready and extends his arm into the air. He pressed the button twice, the sounds of the polaroid coming out was heard. He smiles at the picture—it looked like you two were owners of one cat. It was like you guys were in a small little family.
“Can I use that camera real quick?” Getting a yes from him, you grabbed his camera. He sipped his coffee as you held up the device. The light hits his eye, making him blink his eyes a bit. You took the polaroid, satisfied with the outcome.
“I’m keeping your polaroid.” You told him, showing him his picture one last time before putting it into the back of your phone.
“Only if you allow me to keep yours.”
“Deal.”
You reached his house first—but he wanted to walk you back home. So, instead of refusing, you let him come along. Before entering the front door, you looked at him one more time.
“Thank you for today, Won.”
He smiles, “Thank you for making my night better. Don’t get yelled at, alright?”
“You too. Goodnight!”
You say your goodbyes as you enter the house, him slowly walking away. You moved slowly up the stairs, closing your room door behind you. You took another look at the polaroids—you and Jungwon in one, and just Jungwon in the other. You collapsed onto your bed, giggling a little too loudly.
Meanwhile, Jungwon delicately held the two polaroids. He decides to put them in a glass frame and display them on his desk. He sits on his bed, looking at the photos you took.
Tonight was the day you realized you both liked each other.
A lot.
004 — LETTERS, LETTERS, LETTERS!
It wasn't surprising to hear your mother yelling your name. She always does that when she needs something done for her or wants to talk about school. You removed your earbuds after hearing a faint noise.
“WHAT?” You responded by yelling back at her. There was a brief pause before she continued. "YOU RECEIVED SOMETHING FROM JUNGWON!" You were perplexed—what had Jungwon gotten you?
You took a brief break from your homework to look for your mother. When you walked downstairs, you noticed her smirking slightly. You notice a white envelope in her hands when you look at her strangely. She hands you the letter quietly, allowing you to read the words "To: YN <3, From: Your Won!" You took it from her hands with a slight smile.
"Did my dear receive a love letter?" Your mother made you laugh, causing you to roll your eyes. "I did not."
"No matter what you say, the drawings on the envelope say otherwise." She exits the kitchen and goes to her room. You dashed upstairs to your room after she left. You sat in your chair and carefully examined the envelope. You flipped it over and noticed a slew of doodles on the blank side. There were hearts, smiley faces, and whatever else you could think of.
You carefully ripped the washi tape off, hoping not to tear the envelope apart. You noticed a letter, as expected. You took it out, stickers strewn across your desk. You quickly opened it, skimming over the words.
To… YN !
hihi! It's Jungwon, your next-door neighbor :]
Okay, enough with the greetings. Anyway, you might be wondering why you got this letter, so I'm here to tell you!
I think writing letters to each other would be a lot of fun, and we live right next door, so why not? When we can't call or, who knows, when we lose our wifi... We can use these letters! (Jk, I'm just trying to improve my writing...I think it's getting worse.)
all jokes!! I'm sure this letter is becoming increasingly difficult to read. But don't worry—our future letters will not be like this. (hopefully).
So, don't be afraid to leave a few letters nearby—I promise to read them all and keep them safe. (If you send one back, I'll show you proof!)
For the time being, goodbye :)
waiting your letter hehe ^^
From... your only won <3!
You squealed to yourself after rereading the letter several times. Unfortunately, your mother walks in on you doing so. She slowly raises her brow, looking at you and your reaction a few seconds ago. "Look at who's happy. Look, who helped you feel this way about a guy?"
"Oh, please, Mom, stop." You said this while covering your face with your hands. "Don't worry, I've got your back!" Besides, there's a reason I forced you to accompany me that day." You cringe as she sends you a wink. She laughs and walks out of your room with what she needs.
You looked over at your desk, where all of your writing supplies were piled up in the corner. You took out a piece of paper and a pen. These supplies will be put to good use.
You're writing a letter to the boy next door instead of doing your homework.
So productive.
005 — LOVE IS STRESSFUL
Without a doubt, Jungwon was going crazy every day. He worries that one day his heart may spring out of his chest, and seeing you every day didn't help. Almost everyone is aware of his and your romantic interest. And you and him? too terrified to act at all. You guys actually believe you're doing it slowly and carefully, which is a giant lie!
“Hm.. so—Ow!” One of his friends, Sunoo, hit Jungwon with a notebook. “What’s my dearest friend thinking hard about?”
"Not much at all." He sighed and admitted that he had been lying. He was debating whether to ask you out or not; perhaps he would postpone asking you out for a while.
“No need to lie.” He was exposed by Sunoo, who forced Jungwon to concede defeat. “I know you’re worried about ruining your ‘friendship’ with her, but maybe it’s better to get your feelings off your chest before it’s too late.”
“Right.” Jungwon sighed. He closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. This was simply too much for him. He only had to confess, which shouldn't be too difficult, right? Wrong—the anxious feeling reappeared.
"However, I'm not sure about my feelings." Sunoo rolled his eyes as watched him lie straight through his teeth. "Jungwon, are you serious? Everyone knows you two have something going on at this point—hey, if I didn't know you two, I'd think you two were dating!" Sunoo rambles on, forcing Jungwon to take in everything.
“You’re in denial. Too much denial.” Sunoo walked back and forth, an open palm and a fist hitting against it each time. He appeared to be far more stressed than Jungwon—what was Sunoo up to?
"You know, Jungwon is constantly in denial. Ever since she showed up." Niki appears from nowhere, snickering. The sounds he makes then fade as a result of Jungwon's glare. "Calm down, I was joking." He raises his hands, signaling his surrender. Jungwon rolls his eyes and settles back into his chair.
How should he approach you? He wanted this moment to be perfect not only for him, but also for you. But he knew he had to act quickly. Sunoo was right.
Just maybe, Jungwon will finally have a Valentine's Day date this year.
006 — TASTE OF VICTORY
Today was a big day. Jungwon finally mustered the courage to ask you out. That doesn't mean he isn't scared—his palms are sweating. He's nervously biting his nails and looking at his phone screen every time it lights up.
Ding! A text message. When he sees the contact name, he grabs his phone quickly. "future gf <3" was displayed, prompting him to take a deep breath in. Every day, seeing your text messages was nerve-racking. He reads the words "in front of your house rn!" as he clicks on your message. He rushes out of his room, opening the front door for you.
He opens the door to reveal you standing there. You give him that big smile he wishes he could see every day. He lets you in first, then walks up the stairs right behind you. He observes you as you relax on his bed. He's all over the place while you're calm.
"So, what do you want to do?" You broke the silence with your words. "Anything you want." He says. He needed to lighten the mood by playing video games or doing crafts—anything to calm his nerves.
"All right then." You handed him the video game console. "In Mario Kart, I'm going to beat you." You smiled at him, and he smirked back. "I'd like to see you give it a shot."
It was about time that he should confess. He notices you reading a book from his shelves. You were reading together, which you did frequently after playing games. "Let's listen to some music." You respond with a hum, forcing him to say something quickly. "Of course, to listen while reading." Okay, he's pretty smooth with it.
He hands you an earbud and starts playing a song he chose after hours of deliberation last night. He chose ‘I WANT U BABY’ by STAYC, a song that relates to his current situation. He kept an anxious eye on you as you turned the pages of the book. He probably assumed you wouldn't be paying attention to the lyrics, but you would. You were always interested in the songs he played around with you. Jungwon was never the type to make a big move first, unless he really wanted to.
How do you know that? You don’t know—you guess people seem to pay more attention to their crushes instinctively.
Playing it off normal, you just stayed silent and listened to the song.
Even if I toss and turn in my sleep, when I wake up.
I smile today due to your words from that day too
When did this start? Insane (-sane)
It's funny because it's similar to what both of you are going through right now. Every time he compliments you, it follows you wherever you go. Where did this blossoming feeling come from? The exact same question you tried to ask yourself.
Now I feel I'm floating all day
Everything seems to be floating, like a dream, yeah
Everything feels like a dream—as if he's not real. Everything appeared to be too good to be true.
I want you, baby
On a starry night, I want you to pick a star for me
Just want you, baby
Your cheeks warmed up as you recognized the lyrics. Isn't it amusing that you went stargazing a few weeks ago? Is he trying to tell you something? Is it all just a coincidence?
I want you to fill my empty heart up, I love ya
'Cause I'm crazy in love, crazy in love, I'm crazy in love
Crazy in love with star
If only he knew you were crazy in love with him too.
I want you baby
On a night like this
I knew that you were thinking 'bout me
He’s pretty much reading your mind at this point. Yes, you did want him—you hoped he caught the signal from you. You’re just humming along to prevent awkwardness.
Tonight will end, but I'm fine
I'll shine on you and me
Love might be a little bit foolish, but all right
You could be my only star
This song really hits home. You kept listening, feeling as if you could relate to every word. There was a brief pause after the song ended. You smiled, not wanting to get your hopes up, and said, "That was a really good song." Jungwon was nervous but relieved when you finally made eye contact with him.
“You think so?” You nodded, making him smile shyly.
“I picked that song for you.” He’s fiddling with his fingers, while you pretend to be clueless. “Hm?”
“Did you pay attention to the lyrics?” He pretends to fix his sleeves, trying to say what he wanted to say to you. “Those lyrics are the same thing I wanted to tell you.” You were shocked because you had been waiting for this for a while. You admire Jungwon's decision to confess since he was always such a shy person.
“Jung-“
He spoke quickly and cut you off, saying, "It's okay if you don't feel the same way, I just wanted to tell you this before it was too late." He gives you a frightened face since he undoubtedly expects you to reject him.
“I feel the same, Jungwon. I like you too.” You extended your hand and clasped his with your own. He was going to experience heartache because of the red color of his cheeks. You both hesitantly exchange glances while allowing the space to become silent.
What are we, then? He looks at you while clearing his throat. "Whatever you like, Won." You look at each other with admiration in your eyes.
As your faces move closer, your foreheads touch. He brings you further closer by placing his hand on your chin. Then, he places his soft lips on your lips. It was exactly right—not too fast, not too slow. You were both simply moving at your own rate.
After that, you two started to break apart while clearly blushing. It felt just right for Jungwon—the taste of victory. He tastes the strawberry lip balm you applied as he licks his lips.
“I’m gonna need to borrow that lip balm.” He chuckles, getting a shy response from you.
“You and I on Valentine's Day?” You answered yes when he asked. “You’re my first date, by the way.” Being your first, his heart flutters with happiness.
“I’m glad.”
You rested your head on his shoulder, playing around with his fingers. With the earbuds still in, he plays the song one more time.
“This will be our song now.” He smiles like a fool, while you laughed at him.
“Our song only.”
007 — YOUR MOON, HIS STAR
Finally, the day you've been looking forward to has come. It was Valentine's Day, a day you didn't usually celebrate. You never went on a date; you just hung out with your friends.
But this time, you actually got a date, and it was with your ideal guy. He is essentially everything you could ever want. It has been two weeks since you two started dating. He still tries to be with you everyday and leaves you love letters in your mailbox. Sometimes, you can’t even believe he’s yours.
You two have yet to tell your friends, but you will do so today. Although you were both anxious, the time had come for you to make your relationship known by them. They were already suspicious of you guys, so informing them now would be better before they discover it for themselves.
“You ready?” When you nodded in response to his query, he squeezed your hand firmly. “I bet they are gonna freak out.” Swinging his arm back and forth, you laughed. “I can see them from here…and why is Niki wearing a fish hat?”
“At least we had no trouble finding them.” As you moved toward the friend group, you spoke. When he sees you two holding hands, Niki is the first to catch you and lets out a startled gasp. He points at your hands with one hand while covering his mouth with the other.
The others soon catch on and begin to gasp. “FINALLY!!” Sunoo applauds, making the other people around him chuckle. “Congrats!” Liz says with a smile.
“Was sort of anticipating this”, While donning heart-shaped sunglasses, Leeseo remarks. “Hurry—let's go on some rides!” After putting on heart accessories, the group bolted off, heading to a ride they had their eye on.
As soon as you noticed Jungwon was exhaling, you turned to face him. “I’m glad that went smoothly.”
“Of course it would—they supported us in the beginning.”
“Oops, really?”
“Yes, I'll fill you in on everything when we finally catch up with them. Let's go, shall we?”
“Of course.”
“That roller coaster was fun!” Liz exclaims, locking arms with Leeseo.
“It really was—oh and Sunoo looked like he was about to pass out there!”
“Shut up Niki! This is literally why you don’t have a Valentine’s date!”
“Hey!”
You laughed along with them until you came across a merchandise store. "Ooh, let's stop by!" When you walk into the store, everyone walks in with you. It was a small but comfortable space. You split up into pairs to see if there was anything you wanted to buy. While you're amazed by everything in the store, a specific item catches your boyfriend's eye.
He taps your shoulder before lightly dragging you by your arm. He points to the silver star and moon necklaces, as well as the matching bracelets. "Wow, this is gorgeous!" You examined the jewelry by bringing it closer to your face.
"I think we should get it because it reminds me of us."
“You think so? Why?”
"If you like stars, you'd be my star, and I'd be your moon. I believe the moon and stars complement each other." He says, causing you to flush. "Then I'll agree with you."
"All right, I'll get it for us. We will get each other’s bracelets but keep our own necklaces that represent us. Just so we have something to remind us of each other wherever we go."
"You're so adorable, Won."
"Your adorable boyfriend only," he says shyly.
"All right, I cringed."
“Come on, you knew that was a good one. See you’re blushing right now!”
“No I’m not!”
"Whatever you say!" he chuckles. “I’m checking things out; you can keep looking."
You and your friends wanted to take pictures after a couple of rides and shopping. You came across three photo booths, all of which were empty. You asked your friends what they wanted to do. You only caught a glimpse of Niki smirking, which turned you and Jungwon around.
Your friends pushed you and Jungwon into the same booth, leaving you both perplexed. “What?”
“What?” Niki raises a brow. "The lovebirds must be in the same booth! Take pictures with him first, yn—you're his Valentine's date!" His voice fades as he enters a different booth.
You chuckled at his words as you straightened your hair. "All right, let's take a few pictures!"
You both decided on a photo strip with a light pink border and white hearts all over it. In no time, you both found props to use.
One. You both are wearing heart sunglasses, making peace signs as well. You both were close together—your faces were touching.
Click!
Two. Pushing the glasses to the top of your head, you made a hand heart with Jungwon. He completed your heart, with a heart sticker with him.
Click!
Three. You both grab the paper mustaches, holding the stick attached to it. You held it close to your face, so did he. He made a fake gun with his free hand, making you do the same as well.
Click!
Four. You quickly grabbed his waist once the 10 second timer appeared again. You brought him closer to you, making him flustered. You press your lips against his cheek, feeling his dimple appear.
Click!
When you’re finished taking pictures, he takes both photo strips from the booth. He gives you one copy and keeps the other. He smiles as he looks at the picture. "Another picture for my room." You noticed his cheeky smile and couldn't help but smile along with him.
You reached out for his hand again, grabbing his attention. He kisses the crown of your head, getting a small giggle from you. “You know, I’m glad you moved in next door.”
“I’m glad too.” He looks at you again, smiling, this time showing his teeth. You couldn't help but want to pinch his cheeks right then and there. He takes your hand in his and lightly kisses it. Oh, how deeply you both loved each other.
synopsis, you’ve had a crush on park sunghoon for the longest time. all you’ve ever wanted was sunghoon to notice you, or at least pick you out of the dozen other girls throwing themselves at his feet. you can’t believe it takes a zombie apocalypse for him to notice you.
genre, zombie apocalypse au, aouad au, strangers (?) to lovers, mutual pining to lovers
warnings, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, swearing, lots of death, minor character death, open/ambiguous ending, reader gets cut with a knife, lots of mentions of blood, stabbing, mentions of guns.
word count, 16.4k
author’s note, heavily inspired by all of us are dead, like there might be some similiar scenes from aouad in this fic😨 please enjoy reading this it was A Lot To Write. i also watched a the last of us gameplay while writing this…so theres some tlou influence in this fic as well. maybe i’ll write a tlou au who knows?! also this fic is heavily unedited, pls mind my mistakes Lol! this fic is for daphne, ily the hoonerz to my jake🫶🫶
Your life is like a wave brushing against the shoreline. It’s full of routine. It’s full of gentle actions and gentle words. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. Your life isn’t remarkable; you spend your days at school and in your apartment with your mother. You spend nights eating at the chicken restaurant your friend’s parents own. You study until you pass out. Rinse and repeat.
Your life is like a steady wave brushing against the shoreline. It’s a natural occurrence. You stay in the routine you’ve known your whole life. Wake up, take a shower, have breakfast with your mom, walk with Seeun to school, sit next to Kim Sunoo and listen in on his conversations hoping you’ll hear a word about Park Sunghoon, you sit with Seeun in the cafeteria at lunch and watch Park Sunghoon, you go back to class. After school you walk home with Seeun, study at the chicken restaurant her parents own, go to the karaoke booth next door for an hour, walk back to your apartment with Seeun, and study until you pass out. Rinse and repeat.
Today is nothing out of the ordinary. You kiss your mother goodbye and wait outside your apartment for Seeun. The door next to you swings open and Yoon Seeun steps out, a white ribbon tying her hair back. “Y/N!” Seeun cheers, reaching for your hand. “Sorry I’m late. Are you ready to go? I think we’ll have enough time to make it before they start handing out detention slips.”
You hum. “You better wish for that, Seeun. We’ve cut it close before, but never this close. C’mon, I want to at least get to school and have a few seconds to stare at Sunghoon from afar.”
Seeun giggles and you ignore her. You know what Seeun thinks of your crush, she thinks you should just confess your feelings to Sunghoon. “There’s no harm, Y/N!” Seeun’s always told you, but she just doesn’t get it. There’s so much to lose when it comes to facing someone like Park Sunghoon who was built by the hands of Earth.
Park Sunghoon is a widely-known name in the province. He’s an up-and-coming figure skater, his visuals are akin to the K-pop idols you see at university festivals, his body proportions are those of a model’s. His personality, well, that’s a part of the mystery called Park Sunghoon. His name may be widely spoken about, but no one has helpful information about Park Sunghoon. If he’s ever talked about, it’s either about his figure skating career, his looks, or his friends. Sunghoon’s never spoken to anyone outside of his family and close friends as far as you’re aware. You’ve been going to the same school as Sunghoon ever since you could remember and he’s always hung out with the same six boys.
Your crush on Sunghoon started when you were fourteen. Puberty was a crazy time for you. The girls and boys were maturing and separating into groups, it wasn’t the same anymore. You stuck with Seeun, of course, because she was the only friend you ever made. You remember the day you started liking Sunghoon with clarity. It was after school, you were at Seeun’s chicken restaurant and Sunghoon entered. He was laughing with his friends over something, and you swear you’ve never seen anyone laugh prettier than Sunghoon. It was like time had slowed as you watched Sunghoon laugh. It was then, you realized you wanted to see Park Sunghoon laugh for the rest of your life.
Too bad the world wasn’t on your side and as years passed, Sunghoon became more withdrawn and seeing him laugh became something of the past. Now, you rarely ever saw Sunghoon. The only times you were given chances to see Sunghoon was before school started and at lunchtime. You took those moments and cherished them.
You thought this year would change everything; you were assigned to sit beside Kim Sunoo, one of Park Sunghoon’s closest friends. But most of the year has passed and you haven’t said anything more than four sentences to Kim Sunoo. Darn you and your social awkwardness. Soon you’ll have to resign and admit the truth; you’re nothing more than another one of Park Sunghoon’s fangirls.
You and Seeun rush across the street and through the school’s gates hand-in-hand. Only a few minutes left until school starts and detention slips are handed out. Breathing heavily as you slow down into a walk, you glare at Seeun. “That was extremely close, See.”
Seeun rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Y/N. Let’s go find your loverboy.”
You did not get to see your loverboy that morning. You slouch in your seat that morning, pouting lightly as you drew random stars all over your textbook. You’ll always have lunchtime to stare at Sunghoon from afar and wonder what it would be like to sit next to him and listen to him laugh. Beside you, Sunoo stares out the window, sunlight washing across his face. You’ve always thought Sunoo was handsome. His visuals are sharp and fox-like, it’s no wonder he’s the most admired boy on campus behind Park Sunghoon. (He’s often referred to as the Handsome Oppa of your class.)
A chair scrapes back drawing your attention away from Sunoo. Kang Suyeon stands, her hands resting against the desk in front of her. Suyeon’s face was extremely pale and sweat dripped down the side of her face. “Excuse me, could I please go --” Suyeon couldn’t even finish her sentence because she faints and panic spreads through the classroom.
“Kim Sunoo! Kim Y/N!” The teacher gestures for you to help her lift Suyeon up. “Let’s go to the nurse’s office.” The teacher says after both of Suyeon’s arms are wrapped around your and Sunoo’s shoulders. Together, you and Sunoo struggle under Suyeon’s weight to take the fainted girl to the nurse’s office.
“Poor Suyeon,” Sunoo says gently, his eyes darting over to you, “I hope she’s okay.”
You nod slightly in response. “Me too.”
Entering the nurse’s office you freeze up -- why is Sunghoon here?
“Y/N?” Sunoo asks, looking at you questioningly. A blush spreads over your face and you stumble forward, placing Suyeon on the bed next to where another student lies, face also pale and sweating. Park Sunghoon and Sim Jaeyun stand next to the boy watching as Nurse Jeon checks whatever needs to be checked.
One look at Suyeon and Nurse Jeon glances at your teacher. “Another one?”
“What do you mean, Sooyoung?”
Nurse Jeon drags your teacher out of the office leaving you alone with Sunoo, Jaeyun, Sunghoon, and two unconscious students. Afraid to glance around the room, your eyes never leave Suyeon. Her chest rises and falls at a rapid rate, and she’s sweating more than she was in the classroom. You stare at her hands, the area around her cuticles was bleeding pretty badly. Suyeon must’ve been picking at her skin before she fainted.
“Did she also faint, Sunoo?” Jaeyun asks. “Joon also fainted. Fell right out of his seat.”
Sunoo nods. “Suyeon stood up to ask the teacher something, but fainted halfway through her sentence,” Sunoo glances at the doorway of the office and then leans across the bed Suyeon lay on, lowering his voice. “I heard a rumor a couple of days ago. Apparently, Suyeon’s pregnant.” Sunoo looks back at Suyeon, “that’s probably why she fainted.”
It’s silent for a few moments before Sunghoon snorts. “You don’t believe that bullshit rumor do you, Sunoo?”
“Hey!”
You hear a chuckle. Looking up, you find Sunghoon grinning as his shoulders move. He was laughing and your insides curl up. You’re finally hearing the laugh you’ve been dying to hear for years.
“You’ll be eating your words soon, Sunghoon,” Sunoo scowls. “Nurse Jeon will walk back in and check Suyeonie and say she’s pregnant. You’ll owe me ten thousand won.”
Sunghoon laughs again. You really like his laugh.
Suyeon jolts awake suddenly, shattering apart the joyful mood in the room as everyone jumps back. “Suyeon --” your voice stops sharply when Suyeon grips your wrist, her fingernails digging into your skin and you cry out. You use your other hand to try and pry off Suyeon’s hands but to no avail.
Another hand appears and helps pry off Suyeon’s hand. “Jaeyun,” Sunghoon calls out, “hold her down. You too, Sunoo.” He calls for nurse Jeon after, taking your wrist into his hand as blood trails down from where Suyeon’s nails had dug into your skin and drops onto the white bedsheet. His hand is warm. “You’re hurt.” His eyes dig into yours. You feel uncomfortable beneath Sunghoon’s gaze because it doesn’t hold the same warmth that was there when he talked to Sunoo.
“Right,” you say, your voice shaking.
Sunghoon leads you over to a chair as nurse Jeon subsides Suyeon with some sort of injection. Kneeling down in front of you, Sunghoon cleans and bandages up your wrist. Pressing lightly, he looks back up at you. “Replace the bandage with a new one tomorrow morning.”
“O-Okay.” You internally curse yourself. Why did you have to be so awkward around Sunghoon?
“Y/N,” Sunoo calls out, “it’s time for us to head back.”
Nodding your head, you scramble up out of your chair and step around Sunghoon. His touch burns your skin and your heart quickens. You pinch yourself. No. You weren’t dreaming but this certainly felt like a dream.
“Are you okay, Y/N? Suyeonie was gripping you really hard,” Sunoo asks, concern shining on his face.
You smile, your cheeks burning beneath his attention. “I’m okay Sunoo, thank you for asking.”
Sunoo beams. He really does remind you of the sun. “Seatmates care for each other!” Warmth floods your chest and your cheeks burn even more. Sunoo’s sincere words circle your mind even as you settle back down in your seat next to Sunoo.
—-
It was finally lunchtime. You watch Sunghoon from afar as he laughs with Lee Heeseung, throwing some food at the older boy. Beside you, Seeun admires the bandage Sunghoon placed on you. “Wow, this is like a relic, Y/N. I bet if you auction it off it could go for a high price. I don’t think anyone has ever been bandaged up by Sunghoon before.”
You huff and rip your wrist out of Seeun’s hands. “I forgot to say thank you to Sunghoon. I should probably go do that now because what if he thinks I’m impolite? Oh, I would never sleep at night if I knew he thought that.”
Seeun laughs. “Well, go on then, thank loverboy for bandaging you up. Gift him with a kiss while you’re at it.”
You scowl and take your eyes off Sunghoon. “Seeun, shut up.”
Seeun giggles and reaches out to pinch your cheeks. “Hey! It’s just a suggestion! And I didn’t mean on the lips, you crazy girl! The cheek would do just fine.”
You ignore Seeun and turn back around to stare at Sunghoon, only to find him gone. The table where he sits with his friends is abandoned and you slump, looking back at Seeun. “I missed my chance. Now he’s going to think I’m impolite for the rest of his life.”
Seeun laughs and rubs your back. “Y/N, I’m sure he doesn’t think that.”
You ignore Seeun and push the food in front of you around on your plate. “I’m doomed for eternity. He’ll probably tell Sunoo he thinks I’m impolite for not saying thank you to him and Sunoo will gossip about it and soon --”
You never get to finish your sentence because students rush into the cafeteria, terror plastered across their faces. Seconds later, you see the reason why they were terrified.
Zombies.
Zombies only ever existed in your imagination. They only ever existed in books, movies, and TV shows. Not once did you ever think you would be an active participant in a Zombie apocalypse. You couldn’t move a single muscle as you watch students around you scramble to the exit or get tackled to the ground by a hungry Zombie. Beside you, Seeun screams in terror.
The Zombies were grotesque. Their faces were mutilated; like someone had punched them over and over. Blood covered their faces, eyes were gorged out and hanging, teeth were missing, cheeks were cut open, the eyes that remained in the eyesockets were the darkest black you had ever seen, and their skin was a terrifying pale green color.
“Y/N!” Seeun screams, terrified.
You snap back into reality as the fire alarm goes off and the sprinklers turn on. You and everyone else in the cafeteria are drenched in seconds. You survey the carnage going on around you. Zombies were pouring in through every available entrance and exit. In all honesty, you believed that this would be where you would die.
Windows.
You pinpoint a window, and then a table beneath it. You could stack chairs on top of the desk. Grabbing Seeun, you both slip across the wet ground, narrowly avoiding the Zombies that were once people you knew. Seeun sobs loudly behind you, shrieking whenever a Zombie strayed too close to the both of you. Your main priority was Seeun, you needed her safe.
Reaching the window, you tell Seeun to help you push a table up against the wall. Behind you, screams of terror filled the silence. You heard snarling and bones cracking, you heard other students crying out the names of their friends dying in front of their eyes. You needed to get out. You needed to find safety -- an adult. You needed an adult.
Grabbing a chair, you climb onto the table and smash open a window. Seeun climbs onto the table next to you, her sobs now muffled by the palms of her hands. You place the chair on top of the table and step onto it peering out the window. It was safe. Far safer than the cafeteria. “You first,” you tell Seeun.
“Y/N --”
“Seeun,” you cut your friend off, gripping her tightly, “I need you safe. You’re going first.”
Seeun nods her head. “Okay. Okay. Me first.” With a shaky inhale, Seeun climbs onto the chair, grips the window pane, and pulls herself out of the cafeteria. “Your turn!” She calls out and relief floods your body. Glancing behind you, you see the carnage -- it’s a sight you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
You drop down next to Seeun and grab her hand. “Let’s go to the nurse's office,” you say to Seeun. “Nurse Jeon will know what to do.” Together you both run away from the cafeteria and out into the courtyard, not expecting other places to be swarmed with Zombies -- but they were everywhere.
You begin to wonder how this was even possible -- where did the Zombie army come from? How were they able to turn that quickly? A Zombie lunges for both you and Seeun and with a quick yank, you pull the both of you away.
“Y/N!” Seeun calls out, but you ignore her. Surely Nurse Jeon is alive. She has to be. If not, maybe you and Seeun could seek refuge in the nurse’s office. You drag Seeun toward one of the entrances to the school building, but it’s immediately blocked by Zombies. You divert to another path, but come up short and terror begins to flood your body at a faster rate.
You didn’t want to die -- you couldn’t. You still had so much left to do.
But everywhere you went, there were Zombies and at every wall, Seeun sobbed louder. Anger and terror flood your veins, it blinds you, and you take Seeun down to a quieter place. Leaning against the wall, you turn to Seeun. “Seeun --”
“Y/N,” Seeun interrupts, “it’s hopeless.”
“Seeun, don’t say that,” you say, taking her other hand into yours. “I’ll look for another way in -- surely there’s a window we can climb into --”
“Y/N!” You’ve never heard Seeun scream louder. Suddenly, you’re yanked behind Seeun and watching a Zombie tackle Seeun to the ground. The world slows. There’s a loud ringing in your ears as you watch the terror occurring in front of you. Seeun’s screaming, desperately reaching for you, but you can’t hear her. You drop to your knees and crawl forward. Tears drop onto your hands. You didn’t even know you were crying. When did you start crying?
Desperately, you try to pull the Zombie off Seeun but it’s no use. You aren’t strong enough. The world is still quiet. Seeun stills beneath the Zombie, her hand falling limply to the ground. The Zombie’s eyes focus on you and you give in. This is how you die. Abruptly, there’s another hand on your shoulder that slips down to your forearm and is yanking you up onto your feet.
“Y/N!” Someone shouts right next to you. Everything slams back in focus and you finally hear everything -- you hear someone sobbing loudly but Seeun’s dead? Who is the one crying now? You touch your face. Oh, you’re the one crying.
You’re yanked forward as the Zombie pounces your way. You stumble over your feet, but the hand on your forearm keeps you steady. You focus on your savior; silver hair, long legs, and a familiar warm grip. It’s Park Sunghoon -- what was Park Sunghoon doing?
You try to say something, but all that comes out is a sob. You don’t know what is happening. One moment you were sitting in the cafeteria with Seeun, and the next you were watching her die. Your arm hangs limp in Sunghoon’s grip as he drags you through the outside of the school. Zombies and lifeless bodies litter the ground. Loud screaming and snarls fill the air and you wonder if Seeun could make it out of this alive even if you did just watch her die. Seeun can’t be dead. Sure, you saw her arm fall to the ground, but Sunghoon had pulled you away too soon.
Seeun can’t be dead. With that thought, you rip your arm out of Sunghoon’s hold causing the older boy to top in his tracks. He whirls around, eyes wide as he focuses all his attention on you. In another situation, you would be frozen beneath this kind of attention, but right now, all you want is Seeun by your side once more.
“Y/N --”
“Seeun’s not dead. I need to go back for her.” You like to think you sound more articulate and calm, but all that comes out are sobs and jumbled-up words. You watch Sunghoon’s eyes droop in sympathy. “Seeun -- she’s not -- she can’t be --”
“Y/N,” Sunghoon takes your hand. “I’m sorry. But we have to keep moving. They’re waiting for us.” He springs back into action with you following behind, sobbing even louder. You don’t even remember how you make it into the school building. Tears fill your vision and Seeun’s death is repeated in your mind. The more you watch it, the more hopelessness fills you. Seeun’s really dead. There’s no denying it anymore. Seeun’s dead and you just watched her die.
The running stops. Sunghoon bangs on a door and it slides open. You and Sunghoon step into a familiar classroom filled with unfamiliar faces. Sunghoon drops your hand and helps whoever was behind you stack the chairs back on top of the desks keeping the door shut.
Once again, ringing fills your ears and the world quietens around you. Seeun’s death is still playing in your mind. Your eyes drop down to look at your hands, and you see the blood that wasn’t there before. You wail loudly and drop to your knees, bunching up your skirt and hurriedly scrubbing off the blood from your hands. It doesn’t work. The blood won’t come off your hands and you continue to sob.
There are voices.
“...Sunghoon what the fuck….”
“....../N? Why is she here, Sunghoon? You said you were getting…..”
“......just pick up random people!”
“….is she doing? Someone stop her, Y/N……”
Hands pull your skirt away. The rubbing stops and you look up. Sunghoon’s kneeling in front of you again, his mouth poised to speak when you shriek and scramble back from Sunghoon, your butt sliding across the floor. “Don’t touch me!”
Silence rings through the room.
You finally glance around the room. Lee Heeseung. Park Jongseong. Sim Jaeyun. Nishimura Riki. Kim Sunoo. Yang Jungwon. All of Sunghoon’s friends are gathered in one room. And now you’re here. You’re here, and Seeun’s out there. Lying all alone. You’re alive and Seeun’s dead and you watched. You watched Seeun die. Hot tears stream down your face and you desperately wipe them away with the back of your hand, not caring if blood is smeared across your face.
“Y/N,” it’s Sunoo. Your sweet seatmate settles in front of you. He reaches out and guides your hand away from your face, wiping the tears himself. There’s a gentle smile on his face. “You’re safe now.”
You ignore the purposeful cough after Sunoo’s words. You can worry about safety later -- for now, you’re in a classroom that isn’t full of Zombies. “Sunoo,” your voice cracks and you lean forward, your cheek pressed to Sunoo’s chest as he wraps you into a hug. “Seeun’s dead.”
“Oh, Y/N,” Sunoo’s hand rubs your back. “I’m sorry.”
There’s a loud bang on the door and everyone in the room jumps. Sunoo squeezes you tightly, his chest not moving beneath your cheek. The silence in the room is overwhelming. Seconds pass and there’s no other bang. “Let’s get you up, Y/N, come on.” Sunoo helps you up, wiping your face with his hands again.
Sunoo helps you to a chair, and as soon as you sit down, you notice everyone in the room looking at you. Bowing your head, the tips of your ears turn red.
“Y/N,” Sunghoon says and you peer at him. “Are you okay?”
Nishimura Riki snorts. “That’s a stupid question to ask, Sunghoon.”
“What else am I supposed to ask? ‘How’s your day going so far?’”
Jaeyun snorts, clearly amused but covers it up with a cough.
Sunghoon looks back at you, but you avert your eyes, opting to stare at your shoes instead. A heavy silence settles over the group. Noises that were still unfamiliar to you floated through the open window in the classroom. Goosebumps spread over your skin as you hear heavy footsteps run down the hallway. Everything happened so fast that you’re still running the events that lead up to this moment through your head.
The cafeteria. You were watching Sunghoon. Seeun was beside you. The Zombies came and you escaped out a window with Seeun.
The back exterior wall of a building. You and Seeun. Watching Seeun die. Sunghoon appears out of nowhere and drags you with him to some kind of safety.
The classroom. You’re with Sunghoon. And Sunoo. And their friends -- the friends everyone talks about. The world is muffled around you once more and your breathing grows shallow -- how are you supposed to get home? How are you supposed to look Seeun’s parents in the eye and tell her their daughter is dead and you watched.
“Y/N?” Sunoo’s gentle fingers brush hair behind your ear. He looks concerned as he holds your chin between his fingers. “Hey, it’s okay.” It’s not okay -- you don’t think it will ever be okay because Seeun’s gone. Your best friend is gone. And you hate how her death is the only thing you can see whenever you close your eyes.
You tune back into the conversation happening beside you. Jongseong sounds exasperated. “We’ll stay here until tomorrow. We have no plan, Heeseung. And Sunghoon decided to add one more person to our party of seven.” Jongseong sounds more than exasperated, he sounds resentful. You curl into yourself even more because it wasn’t like you asked to join Sunghoon, he was the one who pulled you away from your death sentence.
“Having Y/N doesn’t mean the end of the world, Jongseong,” Jaeyun says, sighing after his sentence. “Since Sunghoon brought her here, she’s his burden.”
Burden. That’s all you were to these seven boys. A burden. And no one wants to bear the burden.
Sniffling, you wipe your nose with the sleeve of your school cardigan and stand up. The chair scrapes against the ground and all attention is pulled to you once again. You stalk over to the corner of the classroom and slide down the wall, curling up into a ball, and pressing your face against your legs desperate to sleep because when you wake up, hopefully, you’ll be back in your seat beside Sunoo with the sun shining on your face and Seeun’s familiar giggles floating through the classroom.
—-
It’s night when you pull your face away from your legs. It’s gotten oddly quieter, the only noises are from the Zombies. Looking out into the darkened classroom, you find Jaeyun, Riki, Heeseung, and Sunoo playing a card game, using the light from the lamp outside the classroom as a way to see.
Someone drops down beside you. Park Sunghoon. He holds out half a slice of Tiramisu wordlessly. He holds the other half. You hadn’t realized how hungry you were until it was in your mouth. Instantly, you’re savoring the flavor and your taste buds are begging for more.
“How are you feeling, Y/N?” Sunghoon asks, his voice low.
You shrug. You didn’t know the answer to that question because you were feeling so much that it felt like nothing. Turning your head slightly you stare at Sunghoon, his silver hair standing out in the dark classroom. You don’t think you’ve ever seen anyone as perfect as Park Sunghoon. It was like his existence was written in the stars because no one has ever shone as brightly as he has. Sunghoon has everything anyone’s ever wanted.
“I’m sorry about Seeun,” Sunghoon says again, his eyes meeting yours.
“It’s okay,” you whisper, your finger tracing shapes on the dirty ground beneath you. Sunghoon’s uniform looks perfect like he had just put it on. His shoes, though, give it all away. They’re bloody, just like your skirt and your hands. “Can I call my mom?” You hate how your voice trembles. “I miss her. I want to hear her voice.”
“Oh,” Sunghoon glances over to his friends playing cards in the lamplight. “We don’t have any phones with us, Y/N.”
“Oh.” Your eyes burn again and you blink them away. You’re starting to grow sick of crying. “Do we know anything about this situation at all?”
Sunghoon shakes his head and his knee bumps yours. You feel the familiar warmth you felt back in the nurse’s office when Sunghoon bandaged you up.
The Nurse’s office.
“Sunghoon,” you start tentatively, his name rolling out of your mouth awkwardly. “What about Suyeon and Joon?”
Sunghoon looks at you confused.
“This morning. They both fainted and looked really pale and were sweating lots and what if they’re patient zero and one and --” Your heartbeat increases with each word you say, and it peaks as Sunghoon interrupts your sentence by grabbing your arm and peeling off your bandage.
Where there were four bloody scratches before, there was now nothing. It was as if you had never been scratched.
Your heart stills and you look up at Sunghoon who was already looking at you. “Sunghoon, I --”
A loud thud interrupts you. And another. And another. The silence in the classroom is loud. Sunghoon’s hand tightens around your wrist. Terror seeps through your blood and you adjust your position on the floor to be closer to Sunghoon.
Then, it happens all too fast; the window on the door to the classroom is smashed open and somehow, all the chairs stacked up on the table in front of the door go tumbling down onto the ground revealing a young boy. The snarling of the Zombies grows louder and the young boy, bleeding and terrified, pulls himself through the broken window of the door.
“Taki?” Nishimura Riki knows the boy. He’s looking at the unfamiliar boy with excitement, relief, and apprehension.
Turning around, the boy smiles when he spots Riki. “Riki! Hey!” He holds up his hand and waves and that’s when you, and everyone else see it. A bite. His hand is bloody and there, clear as daylight, is a bite.
Sunghoon’s hand is firmer around your wrist when he pulls you up off the ground. You keep your eyes on the scene unfolding in front of you -- Taki waving enthusiastically with a wide smile while Riki regards him in disbelief which turns into sadness.
“Taki,” Riki starts softly as Sunghoon leads you over to the rest of the group. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Riki!” Taki replies, still cheerful as ever.
The groans and snarls of Zombies grow even closer.
“Taki,” Riki says again, his voice still soft and eyes shining in the dark.
“Yeah?”
The first tear falls down Riki’s cheek. “You’re my best friend, you know that?”
“You’re mine too!” That’s when you notice it: Taki’s skin is beginning to turn green. Beside you, Heeseung and Jongseong exchange words in a low mumble.
“Sunghoon,” you whisper, “his skin. Look.”
“Y/N,” you look up at Sunghoon, his eyes rake over your face and even though you’re in the middle of imminent death, you feel warm. “Stick close.” His fingers brush over your wrist and somehow your stomach is still able to produce butterflies.
Heeseung walks closer to where Riki and Taki stand and lays a hand on Riki’s shoulder. “Riki,” Heeseung speaks, “we can’t stay here.” Behind you, a window clicks open. The tension in the room rises and you begin to feel unsettled. The groans of the Zombies are closer than ever.
“Heeseung --”
“Riki. We have to go.” Heeseung’s voice is hard and you see his hand digging into Riki’s shoulders.
“But Taki --”
“We can’t save him, Riki.”
There’s a loud snarl and that’s when you see it. One of the many Zombies crowding the door’s broken window. Flashes of Seeun’s death run through your mind and you can’t breathe. This feels all too scary and you want to escape. You want to go home. You want to be walking to school with Seeun again. You want to be fourteen and see Park Sunghoon laugh for the first time again.
“Riki? What’s going on?” Taki is confused. He doesn’t realize his skin is turning a light shade of green. He doesn’t notice the black liquid pouring out of his eyes. He doesn’t realize how black his eyes are turning. Taki steps closer as Riki and Heeseung step back.
“Taki,” Riki’s sob is heartbreaking. You hate this, you hate watching Riki have to come to terms with the fact his friend is turning into a Zombie. “You’ve been bitten.” Riki’s voice is thick as he speaks through the tears pouring down his face.
“What? No I’m not. Why are you saying these things, Riki?”
Behind you there’s movement. Glancing over your shoulder you find Yang Jungwon climbing out the window and slipping into the night.
There’s another thud and you find Taki on the ground with Heeseung gripping Riki tightly as the younger sobs loudly, adding more noise to snarling and groaning coming from the Zombies pressed up against the locked door.
In the next second, Taki is rising up from the floor and launching himself at Heeseung and Riki. Riki’s thrown out of the way and Heeseung tackles Taki down onto the floor. It’s like the Zombies are excited with the way they throw themselves at the door, eager to enter the room and take down the seven occupying the room.
There’s a flurry of movement behind you and you watch as Jongseong ushers Sunoo out the window. “You have to be careful, Sunoo,” Jongseong warns the boy, “one wrong move and you’re dead.”
Sunoo snorts. “That’s assuring, thanks, Jongseong.” And Sunoo’s gone, slipping into the night the same way Jungwon did. Suddenly, you’re being ushered forward, Jongseong’s sharp eyes slipping to you and immediate disdain creeps over his face.
“Y/N next,” Sunghoon demands from behind you.
“Sung--”
“She’s next.” Sunghoon’s voice leaves no room for argument and Jongseong huffs. You wonder how they both could be so calm in a situation like this. Behind you, you hear Heeseung grunt and Taki, the newly turned Zombie, growl. Riki’s sobs are loud and Jaeyun’s calming words aren’t doing anything to subdue the younger.
“What do I do?” You ask hesitantly, your voice quiet under Jongseong’s gaze.
“Climb out of the window and across to the broadcasting club’s room.”
Sunghoon’s hand slips from your wrist as Jongseong pulls you harshly towards the desk in front of the window. You look at him expectantly. “What?” Jongseong asks, “do you want to die?” You steal a glance at the horde of Zombies still pushing up against the door, their arms reaching through the window. You look at Heeseung, his school uniform getting torn beneath Taki’s needy hands, Jaeyun and Riki on the ground, and Sunghoon, who is behind you frowning.
When you look back at Jongseong, there’s shock hidden in his eyes. You wonder how he was able to figure out what you were thinking. You seriously wouldn’t mind dying right now. Jongseong’s reaching out and pulling you closer to him. You’ve never been this close to him. He looks extremely handsome.
“You’re not dying Y/N,” he whispers harshly, it’s hard to hear him over the noise echoing throughout the classroom. “And if you do die, it’ll be my own hands.” You never do get to ask Jongseong what he means because he’s pushing you towards the window and forcing you out. “Hold on, Y/N, and don’t look down. You’ll know when you’re at the broadcasting room because Jungwon will be waiting for you.”
The coldness of the night seeps through your school uniform. It does nothing to make the sweat on your hands evaporate, though. The ledge is not wide enough for a school kid to be inching their way across the outside of the school building. There’s little to nothing for your hands to grab onto and you don’t heed Jongseong’s advice. Looking down was your greatest mistake.
You’re so far up, and everywhere you look there’s a Zombie walking. One wrong step and you’re dead. You’re dead, and you won’t ever see Sunghoon again. One wrong step, and you’ll see Seeun again. Pushing yourself against the cool wall, you squeeze your eyes shut as tears form again. You didn’t want to be here in this situation. How did this all even happen? How did people you know turn into bloodthirsty monsters?
Opening your eyes, you see what Jongseong had meant when he told you Jungwon would be waiting for you. Light floods through an open window and there Yang Jungwon was, with fiery red hair, peering at you as he leans out of the window.
You don’t know much about Yang Jungwon; you just know the basics. He’s class president and head of the taekwondo club. He’s very good friends with Kang Taehyun and he works at a cat cafe. He’s also Park Sunghoon’s neighbor.
You inch your way over to the broadcasting club’s room, your hands sweatier than they’ve ever been. The horror that lay beneath you kept your heart rate beating at a rapid speed and kept terror streaming through your bloodstream.
Jungwon helps you into the broadcasting room, it’s much nicer in here and you spy a few water bottles resting on the desk. Instantly, you’re reminded of how thirsty you are. “Can we drink that?” You ask, making eye contact with Sunoo who spins around on a chair, his fingers fidgeting with whatever was in his lap.
“Go for it,” Sunoo says, “I think there’s enough for the eight of us.”
Riki is the next to join the three of you with bloodshot eyes and a runny nose. Sunoo, with pitying eyes, hands Riki a tissue box and gently cards a hand through the younger boy’s hair. Riki instantly melts into Sunoo’s touch and you feel your heart tugging in despair for the boy.
Jaeyun follows after Riki also looking incredibly disheveled. He converses with Jungwon in a low voice and you begin to grow restless waiting for the remaining three boys. It hasn’t even been a full day and you’re already exhausted. You’re ready for this to all be some kind of fucked up prank because you can’t take this anymore. You want to survive to see your mom again, but you’re already tired that the thought of giving yourself to the Zombies doesn’t scare you as much anymore.
Jongseong is the next to join. He doesn’t look happy, “they forced me to go. The door is about to break down and Taki’s only just been restrained --” There’s a loud cry, silence, and then a bone-shattering thud. You, along with the five boys, crowd the window and look out into the dead night. Someone’s lying on the pavement, their limbs bent in awkward angles and your breath catches.
Riki’s the first to turn away, Jaeyun following after. Sunoo’s hand snakes around your elbow and pulls you away from the window. “Come on, Y/N, let’s go sit and wait.” You could hear the desperation in Sunoo’s voice so you comply, also desperate for some sort of distraction from the fear telling you that body was Sunghoon.
“Sunoo,” you say in a hushed voice, your knees pulled up to your chest, “I was talking to Sunghoon before. We know nothing about what’s going on but what if Suyeon and Joon were the ones who started it? Think about it, Sunoo.” You were desperate to have some kind of answer because maybe then you could figure out a way to end this all, to bring everyone infected back.
Sunoo stares at you, his face morphing through many emotions. That was one thing you always loved about Sunoo, he was always transparent about how he felt. “Y/N,” Sunoo says in amazement, “oh my god. Suyeonie. She was pale, but I thought she looked kind of green, and Joon -- they were both sweating a lot and then --” his eyes drop to your wrist that was no longer bandaged.
“Y/N,” you immediately hide your wrist from Sunoo. “Y/N, Suyeon made you bleed.” His eyes meet yours and you see the fear.
“Sunoo --”
“Heeseung!” Jungwon exclaims, hurriedly pulling the oldest through the window. Seconds later, Sunghoon also lands in the broadcasting room and his eyes immediately seek you out. His and Heeseung’s uniforms were in tatters. There were big gaping holes in their blazers and buttons missing, blood covering their pants and white blouses, and their ties had been ripped off.
“Are you okay, Heeseung? Sunghoon?” Jaeyun asks, “you aren’t hurt?”
Behind them, Jongseong slams the window shut quite loudly, and follows it up with a loud shout of “fuck!” The response from the Zombies is almost instant -- they begin to snarl and groan, moving in the direction of the window that had just been shut.
Of course -- no one pays attention to that response except for Jaeyun who furrows his eyebrows.
Jungwon hands Jongseong the last water bottle full of water. “This is all we have,” Jungwon speaks gently, “we’ll need to venture out tomorrow to find supplies. We can’t stay in here forever.”
“There was plenty of food in that classroom,” Sunoo says forlornly. “Everyone’s bags had secret snacks for nighttime studying.”
“We also need a phone,” Sunghoon speaks up, “some form of communication. We’re in the dark, we have no clue what’s going on, and,” Sunghoon cuts himself off, sighing deeply, “there may be. .Infections beyond the school.”
Everyone inhales sharply, their worst fear coming true.
Jongseong slumps down in defeat, hanging his head. “Jungwon’s right. We can’t stay here forever. We have to leave and try and reach somewhere safe, like a quarantine camp. But first, we need a phone.”
“The only information I know is that Suyeon and Joon may have started the outbreak at school, but how they got it themselves is still a mystery,” Sunghoon continues, his eyes holding yours.
“How do you know that, Hoon?” Heeseung asks, resting beside Jongseong.
“Because when they were in the infirmary they were acting weird,” Sunghoon says, “before Joon knocked himself out, he was moving weirdly and always trying to bite Jaeyun and I. I don’t know much about Suyeon, but I know when she woke up, she grabbed onto Y/N and made her bleed.”
All attention is directed back to you again.
“I bandaged her up, the scratches were pretty bad. Before Taki came, I checked her wrist. The scratches aren’t there anymore. It’s almost like she wasn’t scratched.”
The silence is too loud.
“Suyeon’s fingers were bleeding,” Sunoo says in a hushed voice, “when she scratched Y/N, her blood must’ve come into contact with Y/N’s.”
“So, Y/N’s a Zombie,” Riki says.
“What?” You croak, taken aback by the accusation. “No. I’m not.”
“We don’t know that Y/N,” Jongseong backs up Riki. Of course he does. “You could be some weird evolved Zombie for all we know.”
You scowl, hot anger surging through your veins suddenly. You don’t know where the change in mood came from. “If I were a Zombie, you’d be dead already, Jongseong.”
Jongseong scoffs. “You wouldn’t even be able to land a single finger on me. I’d take you down before you even get the chance to bite me. You’re weak compared to me, Y/N.”
All you see is red. It’s like you don’t have control of your own mind as you lunge for Jongseong ready to prove him wrong. Before you could even touch the boy, an arm wraps around your waist and holds you back. You struggle in the person’s arms, and you spit at the ground in front of Jongseong. “I’ll kill you,” your mouth is moving without your consent and spitting out words you don’t want to say. “I’ll fucking kill you.” With one last struggle, you’re pushing arms holding you back from Jongseong off you. The next thing you hear is a loud thud and a groan.
Glancing over your shoulder you see Sunghoon crumpled up on the ground, the locker that stood behind him was caved in, marking how he was flung into the metal. You stop breathing and register the silence and eyes staring at you in terror.
“I’m not a Zombie,” your hands clench, fingernails pressing into your palm. “I don’t even know how I did that!”
“We can’t trust you,” Jungwon repeats. “But I don’t think we should be pushing you out to be with the Zombies,” he gestures to the recording booth. “Go in there.”
“You want me in the recording booth?”
“Just until morning. If by morning, you haven’t changed or done something weird, we’ll let you out, but, if something happens overnight, we’re leaving you here for good.” Jungwon’s tone sounds final and you can’t find it in you to rebut his idea because, if you think about it logically, it’s what’s best for both you and the seven boys.
Entering the recording room with Jungwon locking you in, it grows deathly quiet. You’re alone with your thoughts for the first time today and you don’t know what to do.
—-
“Y/N.” You don’t know how much time has passed when Sunghoon steps into the recording room. Your head snaps up at the sound of his voice and immediately you’re spewing your apologies. You didn’t mean to throw Sunghoon into the lockers. You hope he’s not too injured, otherwise you won’t be able to sleep at night knowing you had hurt Sunghoon unintentionally.
Something of a smile appears on Sunghoon’s face as he sits in front of you. “It’s okay, Y/N, I know you didn’t mean to push me that hard.” His hand reaches for your wrist and you let him take it, his fingertips gently tracing the patch of skin that was once covered by scratches.
“Sunghoon?” You ask, not raising your voice above a whisper.
“Hmm?”
“Are you scared?”
It’s silent for a moment. The moonlight washes over Sunghoon’s face and you’ve never wanted to kiss someone this badly before. “Of you? Never,” came Sunghoon’s response, and your body burns. It burns so intensely you can’t breathe.
“Oh. I was asking if you were scared of the situation. Not me.”
Sunghoon looks up at you, his hand slipping from your wrist to hold your hand. “Oh. I meant what I said, Y/N. You don’t scare me.”
You smile softly. You don’t know how, but being with Sunghoon like this brings some sense of comfort to you. “Oh. Thank you, Sunghoon.”
Sunghoon smiles softly. It’s the first real smile you’ve seen on his face since this whole Zombie situation began. Warmth settles in your stomach and your shoulders sag, the weight you were carrying around slides off. “Are you okay, Y/N? How are you feeling?”
You snort lightly. ”That’s like the third time you’ve asked me if I was okay.”
“I ask because I care, Y/N.”
“Oh. Sunghoon, I--” you stare at Sunghoon, unblinking. Your stomach feels weird. It’s way too loud in the recording booth and you want out. You slip your hand out of Sunghoon’s and push your face into your legs. Did Sunghoon know about your feelings? Or was he being honest? You couldn’t believe that you were at the beginning of a Zombie apocalypse and still thinking about Sunghoon and how much you liked him.
“Y/N?” Sunghoon asks, sounding hesitant.
“I’m okay,” you mumble.
“Okay.” Awkward tension floats through the room. You don’t make any move to disperse the awkwardness and instead, you let it simmer.
“Right, I came in here because Sunoo told us the debate team was supposed to go on their annual school trip tomorrow, but obviously that isn’t going to happen, but in the classroom where they meet up, there’s a cupboard full of food and some water,” Sunghoon tells you and you don’t think you’ve ever heard him talk this hesitantly before.
You look back up at Sunghoon and instantly regret it because he’s so beautiful. “Oh. Okay. Do you have a plan yet? Am I even included in that plan? Because I can leave you all alone if you want. It might be easier since I’m probably a burden to you.”
Sunghoon stares at you. He stares at you for a long time that it becomes uncomfortable. “Do you think you’re a burden, Y/N?”
You shrug half-heartedly. “It’s easy to tell when I’m not wanted.”
“You’re wanted, Y/N,” Sunghoon says intently, his eyes never drifting away from yours.
You don’t say anything in response. How could that be true? It’s clear to see you’re a burden in the way the boys regard you, it’s clear to see you’re a burden in the way Jongseong talks to you, and it’s clear to see you’re a burden when you heard Jaeyun’s words.
“Y/N. .” Sunghoon says softly. You’ve never heard him speak like that before. It’s gentle like he’s coaxing a cat from underneath a car. It’s a comforting voice, one that makes you want to dive into and soak forever in. “You’re wanted.”
You scoff and look away, your heart tremors beneath your ribcage. Butterflies bloom and stick themselves to your gut. “How do I know you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
There’s a pause.
“Because I --” Sunghoon falters. His eyes slide away from your face and you feel your heart burn. “You should get some sleep, Y/N.”
“Right. Of course. Goodnight, Sunghoon.”
“Goodnight, Y/N. Sleep well.”
You don’t get any sleep that night.
—-
You’re allowed out of the recording booth when you wake up. You’re still regarded with caution, but you don’t care, you’re just glad to be out of the room. Sitting on the floor next to Sunoo, you listen to the conversation happening around you. They’re discussing a way to get to the debate room without alerting any Zombies to their presence.
“I have useful information if anyone wants to hear it,” Jaeyun says, raising his hand.
“What is it, Jaeyun?” Heeseung asks. “We’ll take anything at this point.”
“I think I know how to get past the Zombies.”
Everyone leans in and listens eagerly. “Sound attracts Zombies,” Jaeyun starts to explain. “And we’re in the broadcasting room. This is where the morning school announcements are made which means there are speakers all over school connected to this exact room. So, if we play a song, all the Zombies will move to wherever that sound is coming from. It’ll give us a clear path to the debate room.”
“I love it when you speak like that, Jaeyun,” Sunghoon comments, wearing a teasing smile. Seems like someone got a goodnight's sleep, you think bitterly to yourself. You were so sure Sunghoon was going to say something last night that was going to completely change your relationship. You were proven wrong, though.
“Someone needs to stay back though, right?” Riki asks, “because who will turn off the music?”
“I’m sure we can keep it going until it stops,” Sunoo pipes up.
“Yeah, but how will it stop?” Riki presses, “there’s no timer. It would keep on playing and we’d all go crazy.”
“I don’t think any of us should separate from the group,” Jungwon says firmly. “Separation is the last thing we want to do now.”
“What song should we play?” You ask, “because I suggest Red Velvet. Playing Zimzalabim would be so funny.”
Beside you, Sunoo giggles.
“I was gonna suggest Ring Ding Dong by SHINee,” Riki says, a wicked grin appearing.
“We’re immediately vetoing that idea,” Jongseong says, scowling in Riki’s direction.
“What about classical music?” Sunghoon asks, “that shit doesn’t get too repetitive, right? It’s just a bunch of instruments playing over and over again. No lyrics, just vibes.”
“No lyrics, just vibes,” Jongseong mimics and Sunghoon whacks him in retaliation.
“Let’s try to find some music, surely they have some in here,” Jaeyun says, standing up.
“First, I need to use the toilet,” Riki announces. “Should I pee out the window?” Riki earns disgusted groans in return and a small giggle from you.
“No. No peeing out of windows,” Jongseong says firmly. “We may be in an apocalypse but that doesn’t mean we don’t do our best to remain hygienic. We need to set up some kind of toilet, maybe in the recording booth? We’re not going to use it anymore, right?”
“I sure hope not,” you mutter, folding your arms over your chest. “Because there’s no way I’m going back in there under suspicion with it smelling like shit and piss.”
“The recording booth it is,” Jungwon says, “I did boy scouts when I was younger, let me build the toilet.”
“Me too!” Sunoo pipes up, eagerly pushing himself off the ground, “I was your group leader, remember Wonie?”
Jungwon’s smile is fond as he remembers his past memories, and together he and Sunoo begin to build the make-shift toilet. All around you, everyone falls into conversation to pass the time leaving you alone with your thoughts once more.
You begin to wonder how hard you had pushed Sunghoon to make a dent in the metal lockers to the left of you. In fact, you’re 100% certain you aren’t even that strong. You’re pretty weak so for you to be able to make a permanent mark on metal terrifies and oddly intrigues you -- what more can you do? Surely the small bit of blood on Suyeon’s that infected your bloodstream carries some kind of weird mutation causing you to be this way -- you hope you get answers soon because all this uncertainty is driving you insane.
“Get a good sleep, Y/N?” Sunghoon asks, sitting down in front of you.
“Yeah. You?”
Sunghoon hums. “The best I could get.” There’s a lull in the conversation. You immediately think back to earlier in the recording booth -- you were so sure Sunghoon was going to confess, or something because the way he was looking at you, and the way he was phrasing his words, made you believe. It made you find hope in this bleak apocalypse. “How are you feeling?”
You give Sunghoon a deadpan look. “This question? Again?”
Sunghoon shrugs. “I think it’s warranted in a situation like this.”
You smile softly. “Yeah. I suppose. And I’m feeling a bit nervous because we don’t know what’s out there. I hope Jaeyun’s right. I hope this plan works. I hope --” you sigh heavily, your chin resting on your knee.
Sunghoon reaches forward and takes your hand into his. “We’ll make it, Y/N.”
“Okay,” Jungwon and Sunoo step out of the recording booth. “Who is first?”
“Y/N,” Sunghoon says loudly, “ladies first. People who need to shit go last.”
“Riki, you’re going last then!”
“Shut the fuck up Sunoo.”
It took quite a while for all seven boys to use the toilet. After numerous rock-paper-scissor games and fights, Heeseung left the recording booth with the nastiest look on his face. “When we make it to a safety zone you all better sleep with one eye open.”
“Even me?” You ask, pouting.
“They’ll call me Misogynist Heeseung.”
“Alright, Misogynist Heeseung, do the honors,” Jaeyun gestures to the booth, “go back in there and turn on the music.”
Heeseung hisses at Jaeyun and turns on his heel, taking a deep breath before entering the recording booth once more and turning on the classical music you’d found in one of the dented lockers. With the first note of Four Seasons playing, the school speakers become a target for the Zombies limping through the school grounds.
You, along with the others, watch out the window in awe. Jaeyun was right, Zombies are attracted to sound.
“It’s showtime,” Jongseong rolls his shoulders back and rolls his sleeves up. “I will do anything to make it to the room of treasures even if it means leaving you weaklings behind.”
It’s silent. Overwhelmingly silent.
“Sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
“Yeah,” Riki hums, “we all know you’d be the first to die.”
“We’re running out of time, let’s go already,” groans Sunoo heading over to the door. “I’m opening up this damn door and running all the way to the debate room. I am about to eat Y/N/’s hair.”
You touch your hair, frowning. “Why my hair? Why not Jaeyun’s?”
Sunoo shrugs. “First name that came to mind was yours. Okay, opening the door in 3. . 2. . 1 --”
“-- WAIT --”
Sunoo wrenches open the door.
Nothing happens.
There’s a pause in the music. And then it starts all over again.
The look Sunoo gives the rest of the group is one of pure jubilation. “Last one to the debate room is Zombie bait for our next mission!” And then he’s flying out the door, Jaeyun and Jongseong shouting after him.
“Do they think the music will drown out the noise they’re making?” Jungwon asks with a shake of his head. “Stupid. Idiots. All of them are.” He steps out the door, Heeseung following behind. Sunghoon reaches for your hand and smiles down at you. Behind you, Riki groans, “keep the heart eyes to a minimum around me, please.”
“Let’s go, Y/N.”
Stepping out, you stare around you in amazement. Zombies are desperately trying to reach for the speaker, climbing and standing on top of each other to try and satiate their hunger. At the end of the hallway stood the rest of the ground. Jaeyun was holding Sunoo by his collar.
“We have to climb up two flights of stairs,” Jungwon explains quietly, but loud enough for you to all hear over the music. “Be aware of your surroundings. There might be a few Zombies who haven’t gone towards the speakers.” With one final shared look, you begin your long ascent to the room full of food and water.
You were nearing the end. Sunghoon’s hand was tightly gripping yours and you could see your final destination in sight. You realized you truly had nothing to worry about because Jaeyun’s plan was foolproof --
And then you’re being yanked back by your hair.
With a loud shriek, you go flying backward, your hand losing Sunghoon’s. Pain explodes as you land on your back harshly. Standing above you with their hand still curled in your hair is Joon. The boy from the nurse’s office. His face is bloody and there’s a long cut down the middle of his face, the sight of it makes you retch. His eyes are the darkest black you’ve ever seen.
“Sunghoon!” You cry out, desperate to get away. Your stomach churns and you wonder why Joon specifically targeted you, and how Joon was still a functioning human. Reaching up, you try to pry Joon’s hands away from your hair, but he was too strong.
Snarling, the older boy yanks your head back harder, a harsh pulsing pain beats rapidly against your skull. Is this how you die?
“Joon?” Jake sounds astonished. “You’re alive?”
You had no clue what was going on. Fear creeps into your bloodline and sets your heart alight. You struggle in Joon’s grasp and cry out, a sob wrenching itself free from your throat. Maybe you didn’t want to die. Maybe you wanted to survive because there was still some hope deep within you that everything will be okay if you make it out of this alive. (Maybe you were feeling this hope because of Park Sunghoon.)
“Of course I’m alive, idiot,” sneers Joon, his hand tightening in your hair. “Why would they kill patient zero?”
You reach up and claw at Joon’s arm, your nails snagging his skin, cutting the boy open and he begins to bleed. “You’re such a bitch, Y/N,” Joon growls, his other hand wrapping around your neck and dragging you up from the ground, your breath hitching as you struggle to breathe.
“Let Y/N go, Joon,” Sunghoon demands, his eyes only focused on you. You feel pathetic, you’re unable to do anything -- you can’t even breathe. Maybe it would’ve been better if they left you in the broadcasting room.
“Why should I let her go?” Joon’s voice was close to your ear. You could practically taste the black blood spilling out of his mouth and onto your clothed shoulder. “She’s just like me. She’s another Zombie and you’re willingly keeping her in your group?”
“Zombie or not, let go of Y/N,” Sunghoon says, his voice low, and his eyes finally looking at Joon. He steps forward and then takes another step, and another, and another -- and then Joon snarls. It’s not loud enough to be heard over the music pouring out of the speakers, and yet, all the Zombies turn and focus their deadly black eyes on the group of seven boys, with Sunghoon in the front.
Terror floods your veins and you struggle in Joon’s grasp. You couldn’t let more people fall victim to Zombies because of you. With all eyes focused on the seven boys, a chill creeps up your spine. “One move,” Joon begins, his voice threateningly low, “and you’ll join them.”
Joon lets go of you and you instantly gasp for air, your chest heaving in delight. “You don’t believe me, do you?” Joon says, a hand reaching out to grip the back of your blouse. “Y/N’s a Zombie. The moment Suyeon’s blood entered her bloodstream, Y/N began to turn.”
“We locked her in the recording booth for a night,” Jungwon says, his eyes carefully passing over every Zombie looking at them with hungry black eyes, “nothing happened. Nothing changed.”
Joon laughs. It’s loud, but the Zombies don’t move. “But something did happen, didn’t it, Y/N?” He yanks you back towards him and you shriek, desperation filling your veins again. “What happened, Y/N?” His fingers curl through your hair, brushing it away from your face gently.
“I -- I pushed Sunghoon.” You struggle to speak, fear hindering your every move, and every word. “And he dented the lockers in the broadcasting room.”
Joon hums. “That’s an oddly inhumane amount of strength, don’t you think?”
“Please let me go,” you beg.
“Do you believe me now?” Joon asks, ignoring your begging.
“Y/N’s not a zombie,” Sunghoon says, and it sounds like he truly believes it.
“Sunghoon,” you whisper, crestfallen.
“Fine, I’ll make you believe.” Without warning, Joon’s hands settle on your chest and rip your blouse apart, your eyes widen and immediately your arms come up to cover your bare torso. One hand wraps around your neck while the other produces a knife. It’s one from the kitchen in the cafeteria and you’re paralyzed by fear.
“Watch me,” Joon growls, “or I’ll kill Y/N.”
Seven sets of eyes settle on your bare body and if this was any other circumstance you would blush. You look at Sunghoon again and it’s hard to make out what he’s feeling as he stares back at you. You want to say something to him, you want to comfort him, you want to tell him to run and leave you here, but you don’t. You feel the cool touch of a blade against your abdomen, settled just beneath your bra, and then you’re being cut open, the blade digging into your skin and you cry out.
A long line is cut into your abdomen and blood flows out of the cut. It’s dark red and it matches the blood already on your hands. You collapse to the ground once Joon lets go of you and you continue to cry, the pain overwhelming. You push your hands against the wound to stop the bleeding but to no avail.
You were dying and no one was helping you. It was a picture-perfect scenario because you did nothing to help Seeun. “I’m sorry,” you whisper to the ground. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” And then, little by little, the pain lessens. Little by little, you stop bleeding. Little by little, the cut on your abdomen heals itself.
Grabbing you roughly by the hair, Joon forces you up and your hands away from your now-healed cut. “Do you believe me now?”
You look over at Sunghoon. His eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly ajar. You don’t dare look at anyone else. For the final time, Joon lets go of you and you collapse back onto the ground. Your head pounds and your upper body feels overwhelmingly hot. “I’ll be back,” Joon warns. “This is only a warning.” He snarls again, and every Zombie in the hallway trails after him, their black beady eyes never leaving the group of seven boys.
“Y/N,” Sunghoon says, darting forward. He rushes to your side, crouching down in front of you and reaching out. You quickly back away, tears pouring down your cheeks as you keep your head down and arms wrapped around yourself.
“Leave me alone Sunghoon,” you say, your voice thick with tears. “I’m a Zombie, don’t you understand?”
“Y/N, look at me,” Sunghoon says softly, he takes off his blazer and covers you with it. “Zombie or not I still want you with me.” Hesitatingly, he reaches out to brush strands of hair behind your ear. He then cups your cheek and his thumb brushes your cheek. “Come on, Y/N, I bet you’re hungry.”
“Yeah, for brains,” you mutter under your breath, angry at the world. Looking back up, you see Sunghoon smiling. “Why are you looking at me like that?” You feel shy beneath Sunghoon’s gaze.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Sunghoon answers, “Jongeong’s brain can be the first to get eaten.”
—-
You reach the classroom that holds all of the debate club’s food and water for the trip they were supposed to take today. Your eyes stare at the food stacked up, and the water lying on the ground. You felt like you were in heaven.
Jaeyun’s the first to move. He darts forward, swipes the Home Run Balls, and the rest follow, squabbling over who gets what. Sunghoon nudges you. “What do you want, Y/N?”
“I don’t know,” you answer, hugging Sunghoon’s blazer tighter around you
Sunghoon smiles and steps into the cupboard. A few seconds later he reappears with a chocolate bar and water. “Here, you’ll probably need a lot of water after what happened, Y/N. And chocolate just because everyone loves chocolate.” After handing you the water and chocolate bar, Sunghoon takes some snacks for himself and leads you over to some chairs.
You both eat silently, letting the loud yet quiet voices of the others fill up the silence. You didn’t know what to say -- what were you supposed to say after a situation like that? You feel Sunghoon’s shoulder brush your’s and you instantly become aware of how close he is.
“Sunghoon?” You ask hesitantly.
Sunghoon glances over at you, humming slightly. His stare pins you to your seat. He still looks beautiful, you think to yourself, like a star. He still looks like he was hand crafted from heaven above, and he still looks so out of your league. No matter the time, no matter the place, no matter the situation, the answer will always be the same; Sunghoon will never be yours. He’s destined for things bigger than your small village, and he’s destined for someone better than you. And yet --
And yet he’s sitting next to you.
And yet his school-issued blazer is wrapped around your body.
(You remember bringing Park Sunghoon up to your mother one night. She laughs and shakes her head, finishing dishing the takeaway chicken she bought after work onto your plate. “Park Sunghoon, that boy is destined to be a star, Y/N.”
He’s out of your league is unsaid. You’re no good for him is unsaid.
“There’s no point loving someone like that, Y/N,” your mother warns gently. “He’s a star. And you know how bright they shine.”)
If this is how a star shines, you think, eyes trailing over Sunghoon, then I want him in every way possible.
“Thank you,” you say, smiling slightly.
“For what?”
You shrug and glance away from Sunghoon.
“Ah,” Sunghoon can read between the lines. He reaches for your hand and squeezes. “I’d do it again, Y/N.”
“Sunghoon?” You turn back to him. “You’d do what again?”
Sunghoon’s ears burn red. “Don’t make me say it, Y/N.”
You grip Sunghoon’s hand tightly. You don’t want to let this moment slip away like last time in the darkness of the broadcasting club’s recording booth. “Sunghoon,” you say, your eyes hold the unspoken desperation.
There’s a scrape of a chair being pushed back, and then Jongseong’s voice echoes through the room. No, you think, no, no no, this can’t be happening.
The moment is over. Sunghoon’s hand falls from your grip and you watch him slip away from you for the second time. You reach after him, but you capture nothingness.
“We need a phone,” Jongseong says, “and we need it now.”
The music flowing through the speakers shut off. An unsettling chill lingers in the room and everyone’s thinking the same thing; Joon. “We need a phone,” Jongseong repeats, “any ideas?”
Looks are shared and nothing is said. Jongseong groans, “come on. Give me something to work with here!”
“My phone,” Riki says, “it’s in Mrs. Jang’s room.”
Jaeyun snorts in amusement. “Now how did that happen, Riki?”
Riki scowls. “Apparently learning English is more important than Alice in Borderland.”
“Okay, and how far away is Mrs. Jang’s room?” Jongseong asks, looking slightly more alive ever since Riki’s announcement.
“Since we’re in the debate club’s meeting room,” Sunoo thinks aloud, “the floor beneath us.”
Jongseong looks at Riki and scowls. “And you didn’t let us know any sooner? We literally walked past her room on the way here, Riki! And Joon is probably there waiting for us!”
“No one asked,” Riki answered, “so I didn’t provide.”
“You’re going to be the reason for my death, mark my words.” Jongseong’s eyes fall on you and you feel uncomfortable. “Y/N. Joon can somehow command the Zombies to do whatever he wants, can’t you do that? Y’know, considering you’re like, half Zombie-half human or some shit like that.”
It’s a weird silence you sit in after Jongseong’s remark. “I mean. . It’s cool if you can’t though,” Jongseong chuckles awkwardly. You find you quite like this situation; Jongseong awkward beneath your bland stare, it’s a situation that should happen more often.
“Speaking of,” Heeseung pipes up, “shouldn’t we talk about what happened back there?”
“What is there to speak about?” Jungwon asks, “Y/N is a Zombie. But she’s also a human.”
“Clearly,” Heeseung responds, “we should also find Y/N a shirt, but what about Joon? How he came to be. . . That, is unknown and what he said? ‘Patient zero’? Isn’t that at least a little bit concerning?”
“Obviously Joon and Suyeon were some experiment,” Sunoo says, “gone wrong. And now everyone is paying the consequence.”
“Someone was probably trying to make a superhuman,” Jaeyun jokes, his eyes sparkling, “Y/N and Joon have enhanced strength, which is super cool, and Y/N even has enhanced healing! I would suspect Joon does too, but from his appearance. . I don’t think so.”
“Superhuman,” Jongseong mutters under his breath like it was the missing piece to a puzzle.
“Boring. Let’s talk about this later,” Riki says suddenly, “it’s getting dark. Who volunteers as tribute to go and grab my phone? It has a pink sparky case and a small little Yuuji sticker on it. From Jujutsu Kaisen. I say let Y/N go. She can self-heal and can push people off her and into lockers.” Riki winces after being on the receiving end of many glares. “Too soon for jokes?”
“It’s okay, Riki,” you wave him off, too tired to involve yourself into this conversation. “Wake me up when you make your decision, I’m feeling sleepy.”
“Right, of course,” Jaeyun hums, “obviously there are side effects. You can sleep, Y/N, we’ll make sure nothing disturbs you!”
You smile at Jaeyun, thankful.
——
When you come to, it’s pitch black. The only light source is a yellow-tinged light shining on Jungwon and Sunoo who are seated together and whispering to each other. The light is sourced from a flashlight, how they acquired said flashlight is unknown.
Sunoo catches your movements and beckons you over. You shuffle over to the two boy and carefully take a seat beside Sunoo, scared to wake up the sleeping bodies lying around the room. “Sleep well? Feeling any better, Y/N?” Sunoo’s words are kind, and his gaze is kinder.
“It was a good sleep. I’m feeling much more energized.”
“That’s good,” Jungwon says, “because Sunghoon’s the one who went to search for the phone.”
You stop breathing. “What?”
“He left an hour ago and he’s not back,” Jungwon informs you, the yellow-tinged light shining on Jungwon’s face makes the boy look older than he actually is. “Heeseung always says to not think of the worst, but I’m thinking of the worst right now.”
Images of Sunghoon lying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood flash through your mind. Images of Sunghoon as a Zombie flash through your mind. Images of Sunghoon with Joon’s hands wrapped around him flash through your mind. You can’t let Sunghoon slip through your grasp for the third and final time. You need Sunghoon safe and you’ve never needed anything this desperately before.
“I’ll go find him,” you say to Jungwon, your words oddly sounding like a goodbye. And a promise.
“Y/N --” Sunoo starts.
“Sunoo,” you cut him off. “Let me do this. Let me not feel like a burden for once.”
“Okay,” Sunoo whispers, “okay.”
You rise to your feet and pad over to the door. “Y/N,” Sunoo hisses through the dark, “be safe.”
You want to laugh at Sunoo’s words. Your palm touches the cool handle of the door and you gently slide it open, cold air from the hallway rushing into the room behind you. You begin to feel uneasy and goosebumps spread across your skin as you step out of the warm classroom and into the unknown. The last thing you see as you shut the classroom door is Jongseong staring at you.
You don’t know what to expect as you slowly walk down the dark hallway that’s only illuminated by the night sky. The moon and the stars hang above you, unintentionally guiding you to where Park Sunghoon lay. Keeping your hands pressed close to your chest and your eyes focused on your surroundings, you do your best to not bring attention to yourself by any means -- one noise and it’s all over for you. You wander down a familiar hallway that has become unfamiliar and you truly begin to question how this all happened; how easily your hometown succumbed to a Zombie apocalypse.
A loud bang shakes you out of your thoughts. It came from inside the classroom next to you and terror floods your senses. You hold your hands tighter against your chest and try to even out your breathing. There’s another bang and you quickly stride past the classroom, making your footfalls as quiet as possible.
Everything felt so off; not a single Zombie roaming down the hallway you were in, not a single Zombie chasing you down -- you were expecting the worst would come when you find Sunghoon. Your heart races at the thought of something bad happening to Sunghoon. You don’t want anything bad to happen to Sunghoon, he’s the only good thing you have left in your life right now.
You pad down the steps and enter the hallway Riki’s phone was supposed to be on. Here, you finally see the Zombies you were looking for. A sudden cold chill lays itself over your skin as you dare to enter the hallway crowded with Zombies.
Even though you know you shouldn’t, you hold your breath as you maneuver around the Zombies in complete silence. Sometimes, they let out random groans and it frightens you, but you keep your terrified shrieks contained within you. One single noise and you’re a goner.
You reach Ms. Jang’s office and a Zombie is blocking the door. Inhaling quietly, you step around the Zombie and reach for the cold silver doorknob. As you twist the doorknob it makes a shrill sound and you halt, not daring to move another inch. The Zombie right next to you lets out a groan and steps closer to you, their arm brushing yours and suddenly they’re latching onto your arm.
You can’t help it and cry out, ripping yourself out of the Zombie’s grasp and throwing yourself at the door. Growls fill the air and the Zombie in front of you begins to sniff, seeking out a smell. You could smell the death on the Zombie and begin to pray that this isn’t how your life ends -- you don’t want to be a Zombie because what happens then? You become Zombie and then what? Where does your soul go? Your conscious?
A tear trails down your cheek and the Zombie is stepping away, wandering back down the hallway and leaving you pressing up against the door, your hand curled around the doorknob. Without hesitation, you open the door and jump inside, letting the door shut gently behind you.
The first thing you see is Park Sunghoon lying on the ground, unresponsive -- but breathing. Immediately, you drop to your knees and shake the boy, “Sunghoon,” you whisper, not liking the odds of this situation. There’s a cut on his temple that’s bleeding. “Fuck sake. Sunghoon!” Your shaking gets more aggressive as each second passes and Sunghoon doesn’t shoot up, gasping for breath.
Desperate times call for desperate measures so you slap Sunghoon. You weren’t sure what you were expecting to get out of this action, but it certainly wakes Sunghoon up. His eyes fly open and his hand comes up to clutch his cheek. Scrambling to sit up, Sunghoon looks at you with wide eyes. “Did you just slap me?”
“What? Was I supposed to kiss you awake?”
It’s silent for a moment. “I mean. I wouldn’t have been opposed to a kiss, Y/N.”
You glare at Sunghoon and slap his bicep. “You are such an idiot! Why were you unconscious? And why are you bleeding? Sunghoon, what happened? We were -- I was worried.”
“Y/N, you -- you were worried?” Sunghoon asks, a little breathless.
You scowl and slap Sunghoon’s bicep again. “Are you even listening to me? What happened?”
“I got scared and fell over, hitting my head on the way down,” Sunghoon explains sheepishly. “I did dream of you saving me though, Y/N.”
“Dork. You’re a fucking clumsy dork, did you know that, Sunghoon?”
“A dork for you,” grins Sunghoon and you push him away, falling onto your bum and feeling hot, taken aback from Sunghoon’s sudden flirty nature.
“Consider us even, then,” you say, “you saved me and now I’m here to save you.”
Sunghoon’s smile is soft, a small dimple peeking in the curve of his cheek. “I have Riki’s phone, though, you ready to go?”
“What about your temple?” You gesture to Sunghoon’s head, “you’re bleeding, Sunghoon.”
“Don’t worry, Y/N, we’ll patch it up later. I don’t know about you, but I still feel uneasy being by ourselves and separated from the group. It’s better we get back quickly before Joon sniffs us out.”
You hum and stand up, holding out your hand for Sunghoon to take. His hand is warm in yours and you ignore the gentle squeeze he gives your hand as you pull open the door slowly. “Remember, be quiet,” you whisper to Sunghoon.
“Of course, Y/N.”
You both step out into the darkness.
The sight that awaits you both is unexpected. Suyeon’s body is sprawled out in the middle of the hallway, her eyes falling out of their sockets and her head smashed in. You immediately avert your eyes as your stomach lurches.
“Oh shit,” Sunghoon hisses, “her throat was slit. Gross. Do you think it was Joon who did this?” Sunghoon’s question is answered soon enough as Ahn Yujin steps out of the shadows, her black hair falling across her shoulders angellically, and bloody covering her hands and splattered across her face. In one of her bloodied hands, she holds a knife. “Oh shit,” Sunghoon repeats, but this time more terrified.
No words are spoken as Yujin charges towards you and as you push Sunghoon away. You weren’t going to let someone else die because of you. You willingly let Yujin’s knife enter your body as she flings her body into yours. You crash into a wall behind you and you hiss in pain, which turns into a bloody cough.
“Y/N!” Sunghoon calls out, but you ignore him.
“Yujin,” you croak, seeing humanity left in her eyes, “Yujin. Don’t do this.” You already know the stab wound is futile, you could feel your wound healing around the knife still stuck in your body. It’s a weird sensation, one you can’t describe.
Yujin twists the knife and you cry out, your hand reaching for Yujin’s hair you tug hard, momentarily taking the girl off guard. You push her away and rip the knife out of your stomach, blood splattering the ground and you hear Sunghoon gasp.
Yujin growls and charges again. You muster up all the strength you have and backhand her, flinging Yujin into the wall. There’s a loud crack and Yujin slumps to the ground, blood trailing down the wall to her slumped figure, her head hanging.
You reach for Sunghoon’s hand again. “Let’s go.” Sunghoon doesn’t hesitate and you both fly down the hallway, not caring if you were loud enough for the Zombies to find you.
—-
To stay the other’s were surprised that you didn’t come back with just Sunghoon and Riki’s phone would be an understatement. The bloodied knife was handed off to Heeseung, and Jungwon had simply sighed, shaking his head. “We really need to get you a new top, Y/N,” Jongseong says, “maybe like a whole pack because you like ruining clothes, don’t you?”
“It’s not like I chose to be stabbed,” you huff bitterly.
In the midst of all of this, Riki falls to his knees and cries out. Instantly, you all fear the worst. “What? What happened, Riki?” Jaeyun asks, his eyes wide and his hand coming to pet Riki’s head. “Is everything okay?”
“My Yuuji sticker!” Riki cries, “it’s not here!”
Sunoo mimics strangling the boy with wild gestures and Sunghoon snorts. “That sucks, but we got a phone for a reason. Don’t let me going unconscious for a few minutes and Y/N getting stabbed by some psycho girl to all go to vain.”
“It wasn’t a few minutes, Sunghoon!” You exclaim, whacking the boy again, “it was an hour!”
“It felt like minutes to me,” Sunghoon shrugs, “though I would love to wake up to your face more often.” The silence that follows after that declaration is awkward.
“Right,” Jungwon says, ripping Riki’s phone out of the crying boy’s hands. “Let’s see what the internet is saying, shall well?” A few seconds later Jungwon is groaning, “why is everything in Japanese? Jongseong? A little help?”
“But it’s Riki’s --” Jongseong cuts himself off as he looks at the unresponsive, crying boy curled up on the ground and Jaeyun hovering beside him awkwardly. “Right.”
“Well?” Sunoo says after a few seconds of silence, “what does it say?”
“It’s loading, Sunoo, patience,” Jongseong snaps, glaring at the younger.
“Old people are so slow,” Sunoo moans.
“You brat --”
“Translate for us, Jongseong,” Jungwon cuts off the older boy, thrusting the phone into his grasp.
Jongseong’s eyes trail over the phone screen in front of him. “Well, the electricity and power and phone service is getting cut off in twenty-one hours.” A heavy silence settles over the group, “so, that means we’ll have no contact to the outside world in twenty-one hours.”
“Well that fucking sucks,” Sunghoon mumbles from next to you.
“Hurry up then, Jongseong,” Sunoo rushes, “see who is still alive. And where the nearest quarantine zone is. I want to get out of here and see my family!”
“Alright, alright,” Jongseong sighs, “get comfortable, it’s going to be a long night. Did you happen to bring a charger with you, Sunghoon? Y/N?”
The two of you share a look. “Uh. . We were supposed to?” Sunghoon replies.
“Airhead. We have two fucking airheads in this group,” Jongseong grumbles and Jungwon comforts him with a look of amusement.
Ignoring Jongseong, you take Sunghoon’s hand into yours again. “Let’s get you patch up, dork, where’s the first aid kit again, Heeseung?” After Heeseung points you in the direction of the first aid kit, and you settle onto the floor a bit away from the group with Sunghoon, you get to work on cleaning up the cut to Sunghoon’s temple.
“How clumsy are you, Sunghoon?” You mutter, slightly amused. “How were you able to hit your head that hard?”
“I get scared easily!” Sunghoon defends himself, pouting slightly. “You would too! Being all alone, surrounded by Zombies and with the threat of a murdererous weird Zombie-person running around hanging over your head!”
You snort and shake your head, tilting Sunghoon’s head to the side slightly. “But,” Sunghoon continues, his voice more softer. “Thank you. For saving me. Twice. The slap wasn’t nice, though.”
“I was desperate, okay,” You say, scowling, “and worried. And concerned -- you weren’t waking up, Sunghoon.”
“I know. And I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize Sunghoon. This might hurt.”
Sunghoon hisses and you send him a smile in apology. “You care about me, Y/N?”
“Of course I do,” you mutter, “you are all I have left. And the others.”
“But mostly me?” Sunghoon smiles a cheeky smile and you scowl, purposefully pushing down on his cut harder.
“Don’t push it, Park.”
Sunghoon reaches up and pinches your waist, making your yelp in surprise. “Sunghoon! I’m cleaning your wound! Don’t make me make it worse on purpose!”
Sunghoon laughs. It’s the laugh you’ve been dying to hear ever since you were fourteen. His smile is wide across his and his eyes crinkle up. He really shines like a star in moments like these. You can’t help but smile, it’s all soft and fond, and love is what makes your smile curve wider. He’s a star that’s shining for you.
“I like it when you laugh, Sunghoon,” you blurt.
Sunghoon holds eye contact with you for what feels like the longest time. “I like it when you smile, Y/N. And I like it when you get so focused your tongue pokes out of your mouth. And I like it when you blow your hair out of your face. And I like your eyes, especially when you’re laughing and I -- I just like you, Y/N.” Hesitancy spreads across Sunghoon’s face and he averts his eyes, cheeks turning a soft red. “I know this is all sudden but -- but you’re not a burden, Y/N, and I hope you don’t think of yourself as one. I care about you, Y/N, and I want you with me, Y/N, that what I wanted to say that night in the recording booth. If I didn’t want you with me, then I wouldn’t have pulled you away when I did.”
The cold, jarring truth strikes you. Sunghoon could’ve left you to die, but he didn’t.
“I want you with me, Y/N, all the time,” Sunghoon admits, more certain of himself now. “So, thank you. For saving me. For patching me up. For being with me.”
“How could I not?” You respond, shaking your head and laughing breathlessly, “you’re all I think about.”
“Y/N --”
“I wasn’t joking when I said you were all I had left. Seeun’s a Zombie and my mother probably is too.” Your voice quivers and you sniff, Sunghoon’s stare getting too intimate for you, so you glance at a spot over his shoulder. “Please don’t leave me either, because I don’t plan on leaving you.”
“Y/N,” Sunghoon whispers, “why would I ever leave you?”
That’s all it takes for you to dissolve into a sea of tears. Sunghoon wraps you up into his arms and holds you close to his chest, his hand gliding through your hair, over the nape of your neck, and down your back.
“Y/N,” Sunghoon cups your chin and tilts your head up, wiping your tears away, his eyes soothe you. “I know this might be a bad time, but there’s nothing better than the present. Can I kiss you? I’ve always wanted to kiss you, did you know that?”
Your heart skips a beat. All the air is knocked out of your lungs. Sunghoon is a star. He’s unbelievable. He makes wishes ceom true. “Sunghoon,” you whisper, “you don’t even have to ask.”
Sunghoon kisses you and the world explodes. His lips are warm. Everything about Sunghoon is warm. He makes you feel warm. He makes you feel special. Sunghoon makes you feel less alone. Sunghoon settles you onto his lap, an arm slipping around your waist while the other cradles the back of your head. He keeps you close to his chest as your mouths move.
Maybe suriving the apocalypse is worth it since it brought you to the exact moment; Sunghoon kissing you.
“Wait,” Sunghoon’s pulling away, sounding breathless, “you like me too, right?”
You giggle. “I like you too, dork,” and you pull him back in for a kiss.
—-
Having a phone works wonders. Jongseong finds out where the nearest quarantine zone is, and he finds out that the apocalypse has spread throughout your small province. Jongseong also found out damning news; in forty eight hours, the school and everything around it would be blown up by bombs dropped from the skies above.
“We need to move quickly,” Jungwon addresses the group. “Today, we need to leave the school and get to the forest. From there, we’ll hopefully have some cover, and be able to reach the zone a couple hours before the bombs are expected to drop, but we have to move quickly.”
“I will move the quickest out of anyone in the group,” Sunoo proclaims confidently. “I want to get out of this hell hole.”
So with the first rays of sunlight peeking through, you and the seven boys move out of the classroom, a backpack strapped to Heeseung and Jungwon’s backs full of enough food and water to make the eight of you last the two day journey.
“At the first sign of Joon, just run,” Heeseung tells the group gravely, “we don’t have time to engage with him. He’ll be blown up shortly anyway.”
As you pass through the hallway where you were stabbed by Yujin, your hand in Sunghoon’s warm embrace, you find her body missing. You share a glance with Sunghoon but neither of you point it out the rest of the group, not wanting to unsettle the happy mood everyone was in today.
Today was full of luck. Everyone was silent and you were all able to easily slip past Zombies. The knife you hold in your free hand didn’t need to be used. Your new t-shirt was bright white and clear of blood. It made you feel good, feeling slightly clean.
You reach the school gym in no time, finding it clear of all Zombies. There, you decide to take a rest, and Jungwon decides to call Kang Taehyun. The dialing tone rings throughout the gym and it’s picked up seconds before the last dial tone rings.
“Riki?” Taehyun asks in disbelief.
“Taehyun,” Jungwon cries out, tears welling in his eyes. “You’re okay.”
“Won,” Taehyun repeats, still in disbelief. “You’re okay? Oh my god, what about the other’s --” a loud clamor takes over Taehyun’s side of the phone. You hear the familiar voices of Yeonjun, and Soobin, and Beomgyu, and Kai. The boys on Jungwon’s side of the phone all crowd around the phone and everything is a mess. (A happy mess, you think.)
After the phone call ends with promises of seeing enach other soon, Jungwon looks over at you. “Y/N? Do you have anyone to call?”
You smile and shake your head. “I have no one, Jungwon.”
“Oh, sorry I asked,” Jungwon seems a little embarrassed and you laugh him off with a wave of your hand.
“It’s okay. Thank you for asking, though.”
“You have us, Y/N,” Sunoo says with a smile. “You’ll always have us, now. Our bond is thicker than blood!”
You laugh, “thank you, Sunoo. I’m glad I have you.”
—-
It rains that night. It pours, but Jungwon doesn’t let up. Loud thunder booms through the sky and the lightning lights up the darkness. You continue to creep around the Zombies in silence, the storm masking any loud noise you make. The storm was a blessing in disguise.
You had entered the forest a few hours ago but none of you had wanted to stop, especially as it began to rain. You all wanted to reach the quarantine zone desperately, already tired from all the running and surviving you had been doing.
Sunghoon squeezes your hand. “Are you doing okay, Y/N?” His voice was close to your ear.
You squeeze back. “Yeah!” You shout over the storm, and that’s when you somehow catch a glimpse of it. A white ribbon. Your breathe stutters and you stumble over, Sunghoon keeping you upright. “Seeun,” you breathe. She moves carelessly through the forest, stumbling over like many of the Zombies you had seen do before. You face the truth you had subconsciously been denying this whole time; Seeun’s a Zombie.
Slipping out of Sunghoon’s grasp and ignoring everyone’s loud calls, you walk over to Seeun. You need to see her one last time. You need to say your apologies one last time, and if you die trying, then so be it. You reach within an arms length distance of Seeun and watch her stumble about quietly. “I’m sorry,” you shout over the storm. “I’m sorry, Seeun.”
She turns towards you and snarls, stumbling forward and stopping in front of you. She copies the movements of the Zombie who you stood face-to-face with in front of Ms. Jang’s office. She sniffs the surrounding area of your body, and then turns away. She lets you live, like that other Zombie did.
Turning back around, your eyes meet Sunghoon’s and the sympathy he holds make tears slip down your cheeks. No one says anything when you return to the group and stick yourself to Sunghoon’s side.
The further you all went into the city you grew up in, the further reality sinks in. Zombies fill every nook and cranny, and the loneliness of the city makes your skin crawl. You all push on, and your eventually have to begin to hide and use your knife as the Zombies become more ruthless and pick up on every small sound.
You grow tired, but you still push on. With Sunghoon beside you, holding you and keeping you safe every step of the way provides you with the strength and energy to push on.
“Would you believe me if I said I was looking for you that day, Y/N?” Sunghoon asks during one of your short breaks, his finger twirling your hair.
“I don’t know. Were you?” You respond, smiling.
“Well. I was looking for any sign of an adult, and also for weapons, but when I saw you, Y/N, all I thought about was keeping you alive and safe.”
You melt against Sunghoon, your head resting on his shoulder. “I like you a lot, Sunghoon,” you whisper, “and maybe if we weren’t in a situation like this, we could be going on a date right now.”
“What kind of date?” Sunghoon asks, oddly interested.
“We’d go ice skating,” you say, “because you’re good at ice skating and I’m shit. You would help me skate, and we’d hold hands, and then we’d go eat something warm and spicy. You’ll make me laugh, and I’ll make you laugh, then you’ll take me home and kiss me goodnight.”
Sunghoon kisses you temple. He doesn’t say anything and you just bask in the silence and the warmth of Sunghoon. “That’s if either of us confessed,” Sunghoon says, “because I don’t think I would’ve ever confessed.”
“Me either,” you admit. “You felt so out of my league, and I never had your attention, so the thought of confessing frightened me.”
Sunghoon laughs and you peer up at him, perplexed. “What’s so funny?”
“You always had my attention, Y/N,” Sunghoon says, and he kisses you.
—-
You reach the quarantine zone and you’re met with guns pointed at you. With your hands raised, you all shuffle into a line and are being tested with a thermometer device. It’s raining again and you shiver, missing the warmth of Sunghoon’s hand holding yours.
“What are you doing?” Jongseong asks the soldier.
“A colder temperature means you’re a Zombie,” the soldier informs Jongseong.
“But what if someone is sick?” Jongseong asks, “then what if you’re leaving someone out to die?”
The soldier smiles, but it isn’t a nice smile. “Would you like me to show you what happens when this thing identifies a Zombie, and then what we do after?”
Jongseong’s immediately shaking his head.
Sunghoon’s herded into the zone before you, and the smile he sends you is a sweet one. It calms you down as only thoughts of Joon’s words fill your head. You hope you’re able to pass this test. You hope you’re able to live a relatively normal with Sunghoon by your side.
But, luck runs out at some point.
A high pitched squealng sound emits from the thermometer device and the world shifts and everything happens at once.
“She’s a Zombie!” The soldier yells, raising his gun and pointing it at you.
“Y/N!” Sunghoon shouts, running to you, his arms wrapping you up as more soldiers swarm the area. “Y/N, everything will be okay, the device probably made a mistake, they just need to do it again --”
“Sunghoon.” You cut him off.
“No,” he says, “I can’t lose you, Y/N, you said you wouldn’t leave me.”
“I don’t want to leave you, Sunghoon,” you admit, “but I have to.”
“How are you so calm about this?” Sunghoon asks, his voice low, “I feel so desperate, Y/N, I feel desperate enough to kill --”
“I was expecting the worst, Hoon.”
Sunghoon stares at you. There are so many emotions flooding his face, your stomach churns. Suddenly, he’s ripped away from you and he struggles, calling out your name. “Y/N! I love you! I love you, and I’d save you again. I’d save you again and again if I had the choice.”
You did your best to keep your tears at bay. You couldn’t have them falling over now. You couldn’t cry. You had to remain strong, even with a gun pointed at your head.
Sunghoon breaks free from the soldier’s grasp and flings himself into your embrace again, clutching you close.
The rain falls harder, soaking you both to the bone.
“Y/N, I love you,” he kisses you so passionately and desperately it makes your heart break. “And I’ll come for you. I’ll find you, Y/N, I promise. I promise that once I find you, I’ll take you ice skating and catch you every time you fall.”
“Of course you will,” you laugh as the tears begin to fall. “You’ll always catch me, no matter what, Hoon.”
“And we’ll be the happiest people on earth, Y/N.”
“Of course we will, Hoon,” you say softly, cupping Sunghoon’s face, “you will always make me the happiest.”
Sunghoon’s ripped away from you and you instantly shiver, the cold overwhelming you. “I’ll find you, Y/N!” Sunghoon shouts, his words tearing your heart apart. “I promise I will!”
You watch as Sunghoon and the rest of the six boys are pulled away from view. You refuse to look at the others because it’ll only break your heart more.
A gun is pointed at your head.
You close your eyes.
“I’m sorry,” you whisper to whoever is listening. “Please forgive me.”
author’s note, well that was wild and crazy and goofy and im sorry if the pacing seems rushed but i wrote most of this at 1/2/3am when i was tired and sad and completely delusional. there are lots of unanswered plot points like omg what happened to joon?? and suyeon?? and yujin?? why was she so crazy🤣🤣 and how did the infection start?? and did y/n really die?? and i left some of those points unanswered in case i ever decide to write a part two in the future..Gasp😨😨 anyway. i hope u enjoyed reading this mess. i hope u love it😆😆
genre: college!au | fratboy!au | fluff, established relationship | some suggestive content at the end
word count: 5k
warnings: lots of drinking, profanity, sexual themes, fake frats, more semi-unhumorous banter, sunghoon biceps
༄࿔˚✧ synopsis: “a collection of moments with sunghoon, shared over meals, snacks, and drinks. a riff off of timestamps. not in chronological order. a continuation/epilogue of captain’s log.”
There wasn’t a lot you could do when it came to football game weekends. You knew the drill. Your roommate Yunjin would be pestering you to “Can you please show at least a little school pride?” as she posed you for pictures, dressed in your university’s sanctioned colors. Sunghoon would be off doing god knows what to prepare for the HYB tailgate. However, today’s game was much later in the day, and you were saved from the tragedy of drinking at 8am like last time.
Sunghoon had warned you that he’d be busy that morning, buying groceries for the pre-game, the tailgates, and the afterparty. You decided you’d return to the library, cramming a couple assignments (like usual) before the chaos of the upcoming afternoon.
Not even an hour into your studies, and uncharacteristically, Sunghoon began sending you a string of messages.
sunghoon: is this a good juice brand *photo attached*
you: its orange juice i dont think you can go wrong but yes
sunghoon: is 1kg of strawberries enough
you: why did they let you buy groceries by yourself this time
sunghoon: *photo attached* I’m with riki
you: …
you: remind me to not consume whatever you guys are trying to make
*Sunghoon disliked a message you sent.*
The festivities of the day included a pregame at the HYB house, carpools to the main stadium parking lot for the tailgate, and cheering alongside everyone else at the actual game. Naturally, the night would end at HYB.
You were still shy about letting yourself inside the house, even though you knew they never locked the doors on days like this. Sunghoon once insisted on giving you a key, to make it easier for you when you came over. And though the other guys that lived at the house gave him permission to do so, you - maturely - explained that you had to respect their spaces as a guest. Sunghoon met you with a pout and a reluctant nod of understanding.
I’m outside, you texted your boyfriend, stepping up the stairs to the front doors. You heard yelling and music, and you were surprised the fun had already begun.
You stepped back as the door swung open, meeting your boyfriend’s sheepish smile and Jay’s bright one. Sunghoon grabbed your hand, brushing a quick kiss on your forehead.
“Alright, Y/N, so we fucked up the jungle juice,” Jay stared at you expectantly, his face fully flushed already.
You made a face, “How is that possible?”
Sunghoon laughed, “Just wait.”
Next to the two large tubs of their creation, the kitchen’s island was littered with empty juice cartons and several empty liquor bottles.. and many beer bottles?
One of the other HYB brothers followed your gaze, “We put beer in it to make it bubbly.”
Sunghoon passed you a cup. You stared at the little strawberry floating within an unnervingly bubbling red-orange concoction. Safe to say the beer was not a good choice, the ratio was definitely off - how can something so fruity taste so bitter? “Yeah, it does taste like shit.”
“Okay, but who drinks jungle juice for enjoyment?,” Riki suggested, shuffling through the songs playing from his phone to the speakers.
Jay, sarcastic, stated. “Jungle juice should be treated as a delicacy.”
Sunghoon, amused, replied, “Then why did you defile it by adding cheap beer?”
“I saw it on TikTok, leave me alone.”
Some other guys arrived later and called for help to set up, so you and Sunghoon were left to figure out what to do with the drinks.
Your guys’ solution was to just add more orange juice, which didn’t exactly mask the beer taste, but it made it more tolerable.
The pregame wasn’t eventful, mostly HYB guys and their significant others taking shots before packing everything (and everyone) into a few cars to take to the university stadium.
The parking lot was crowded, different Greek groups mingling with each other. You and Sunghoon sat in the back bed of a friend’s pickup truck, next to the tubs of jungle juice, watching the chaos unfold.
People were grilling meat, passing lettuce wrapped morsels amongst each other. Everyone was decked out in school colors, some holding signs cursing out the other team.
Sunghoon laid a drunken head on your shoulder, taking a hand into his. You felt him shake with laughter as some of the boys wrestled over a football. Other guys were funneling shots and you thought of your boyfriend, certainly the least chaotic (in terms of drinking) out of all of them.
“Hoon, I wish you’d just own up to your true frat potential.”
“The way you tease my friends for being alcoholic fuckboys really holds me back from that.”
You paused, “You’re the exception to the rule. It’s not anyone’s fault Jay has a new flame each week - he’s just embracing who he is - a HYB brother.”
"I think it's time I hang up the frat paddle and just be a wholesome student."
“Dude, you just picked up a Little, what are you talking about?" Riki interjected (the Little in question).
Sunghoon sighed dramatically, “And I regret it everyday.”
Your school’s team won, and everyone traveled back to celebrate appropriately at the HYB house. The daytime festivities (and drinks) left you tired, and you pulled Sunghoon away from the action to selfishly have him help you to sleep.
It was only 9 pm and you knew there were still drinks to be drunk, but it was getting difficult for you to keep your eyes open.
Sunghoon led you to his bed, climbing in shortly after. You two were silent as he took you into his arms, the warmth of his chest lulling you into darkness.
You woke, the wisps of your hair clinging to your forehead with sweat. You were surprised to find Sunghoon’s limbs still intertwined with yours, considering the bass of the party’s music downstairs still vibrated his bed frame. He definitely did not mean to fall asleep. You brushed the loose hairs out of your face, staring at your boyfriend’s features in the glow of his LED lights.
Sunghoon’s sleeping face was so peaceful, and you often took pictures to relish at the image if you missed him. You were so content. You burrowed your face back into the heat of his neck, not minding how his proximity literally made you sweat. Just being able to be with him… you couldn’t care less.
tiramisu
Your third real date - you could not consider invites to his parties actual dates - Sunghoon wanted to take you to his favorite dessert cafe downtown. The last time he took you out, he offered to drive, picking you up right on time, and with a single tulip sitting on the passenger’s seat.
This time, however, he asked if it was okay if you two could just walk and ride the bus together. Sunghoon had his moments of pure charisma, teasing you smoothly, and finding a way to break out a smile from you. There were other times where you were absolutely astonished at his clumsiness. While Sunghoon was in the final stages of crossing over into HYB, some of the things you had to witness him go through… thank god he was handsome.
The midday sun was beaming brightly, a gentle wind passing through your thin layers - not offering you much comfort to soothe the beads of sweat on your forehead. Sunghoon was dressed casually, a short sleeved button down - revealing just enough of his toned chest, and some loose trousers.
“You know, I asked to walk with you today so that I could have more time with you, but I’m kinda regretting it,” he said pointedly, gesturing at the hot spring rays of the sun.
“Wow, are you saying time with me isn’t worth a couple minutes of sweat?” you said, with a blank face.
Sunghoon’s face contorted to one of apology, his lips opening to ramble a sorry, but then stopped and broke into a smile. “Yeah, you’re less cute when you’re sweaty.”
You scoffed as you pushed his shoulder, discreetly swiping a hand across your forehead.
The bus was packed, and you two were left with the option of standing body to body with other passengers. Sunghoon grabbed a hanging handrail for support before the bus took off, but the others in your section were occupied. The bus jolted forward and you stumbled into Sunghoon’s torso, his free hand catching your shoulder.
Your cheeks burned with embarrassment, and you peeked up to see him bite back a smile. After stabilizing your stance, Sunghoon’s free hand traced down your bare arm. He gently grasped your hand and directed it to his bent arm, offering you his bicep to hold for support.
“You’re sly, Park Sunghoon,” you whispered. His arm was toned, and it felt firm under your grasp.
“Hey, I hit a PR at the gym yesterday, this is a reward for both of us. You should thank me really.”
After making it out of the bus, you didn’t bother to let go of his arm. He coolly slipped his hands in his pockets as he led you to the cafe - you stared at his red ears and knew the impact you had on him.
You picked a table in the back corner, the cafe was decorated brightly and had walls lined with bookshelves. You let Sunghoon order for you. He returned with a bright smile, setting the order pager on the table.
“This place has the best cakes,” Sunghoon was beaming with excitement. You laughed, his giddy expression was so endearing it was hard not to reciprocate.
Sunghoon stood to pick up the order when it was ready, and passed you your pink smoothie. He set a green tea cake and slice of tiramisu in the middle, taking a sip of his Americano.
“So they make tiramisu the authentic way.” Sunghoon began to explain how tiramisu is supposed to be made (who knew he was such a fanatic?), and you spared him of the knowledge that you too knew how it was actually made. “The owner says they get imported coffee beans especially for their espresso, so the flavor is super strong!” He used his spoon to point out the different creamy layers.
The cake did look delicious, but the sight of Sunghoon’s eyes glowing staring at his favorite dessert was more satiating. You sipped your smoothie as he finished his ramble.
Sunghoon slowly carved into the cake with his spoon, and held it out to you.
“Are you really feeding me right now?”
He smiled, “I know you want it.” He was right. You did.
The cake was creamy and soft, just as it looked, but you scowled at the clashing taste.
“I don’t think fruit smoothies with tiramisu is a good pairing…” you smiled sheepishly.
He passed you the cup of his Americano to wash the flavor away before scooping another bite for you. Sunghoon smiled as he noted your expression of approval. The taste of the espresso was bitter, but the cream and cocoa melted to coat your tongue with sweetness.
Sunghoon didn’t mind that he traded his Americano with your smoothie. He didn’t mind that the tartness of the fruit totally ruined his favorite dessert. Your happy expression was enough for him.
somaek
Being in a relationship with someone so popular, and so involved with his social circles, unknowingly pulled you into many social events and gatherings. You were intertwined with his organization, and joining some of their philanthropy events led you to become a desired member in some sororities.
You simply explained you didn’t have the time to commit to anything. You had your own orgs, your own part-time job, and your own studies.
Probably the first problem that you two faced early in your relationship had to do with just that - balancing each of your respective responsibilities. Being in Greek obligated him to attend many events, and him living in a frat house didn’t make things easier when it came to alone time.
You loved his friends, and truly saw some of them as your own now, but spending time with your boyfriend in a room right between Jake and Jay drove you mad sometimes.
There was knocking at Sunghoon’s door. You two were sitting on the floor, your laptop propped up, educating your boyfriend with iconic Vine compilations. “It’s Jake!”
Sunghoon stood to open the door and see what his friend wanted. Naturally, Jake pushed inside disregarding Sunghoon.
“Dude, I’m right here?”
“Hey, Y/N, can you explain the post-lab that’s due tomorrow? The summary part seems so redundant… I don’t get how it’s different from the analysis.”
You blinked at him, half-eyeing the soju and beer bottles you and Sunghoon were peacefully sharing just a minute before. Sunghoon sighed and you snorted.
“Jake, can I please just have a night with my girl? You see her like four days a week in class, and could’ve gotten help then.”
Jake made an O with his lips, realizing his brashness and laughed. “My bad! And I’ve actually seen her everyday this week because of supplementary labs!”
Sunghoon basically dragged his friend out, locking the door behind him.
“Sorry about him.” You shook your head, amused, pretty much accustomed to this behavior already.
You refilled Sunghoon’s beer glass, and poured in a shot of soju right after. “If it makes you feel any better, that post-lab was actually due today.”
Sunghoon downed the drink in one shot, his cheeks cherried from the alcohol. “This is why I love you.”
He paused. That was the first time he said I love you to you. You snickered, “That still counts even if you’re drunk.”
He pouted his lips, then smiled, “Honestly, I consider that a win.” He stuck his tongue out at you. “Ha! I said it first.”
suggestive content in the end of this last section - feel free to skip!
peppermint hot cocoa
Sunghoon was always patient with you, pausing to make sure you were enjoying yourself, never hesitating to ask if you were alright. He was gentle and caring, and never rushed.
However, your first time with Sunghoon consisted of a lot of moving parts. Clashing limbs and rushed whispers, you were out of breath before even really starting.
You’d had your share of one night stands, purely lust filled nights: chaptered with drunken exchanges, entangled bodies, and the dreaded walk of shame the morning after. Only rarely were you lucky enough to have snuck out before the rise of the sun.
Since you two started talking, you had access to HYB and hockey club parties, which were at least every other week. It was still fun to party with your girlfriends, before sneaking away with Sunghoon to play pool or some drinking games.
Each night was riddled with ST and for better or for worse, he never advanced anything further than a couple sessions of making out.
Hell, there was one night where you made out for what felt like two hours straight. One of his hands was finally on the inside of your panties, rubbing you expertly, but as soon as you reached for the front of his jeans, Sunghoon stood up. You two were drunk, but even then you could tell that his “phone call from Heeseung-hyung” was nothing more than him pulling up the calculator app and putting it to his ear.
“I just don’t know why he doesn’t want to sleep with me?” You brought up to Yunjin the next day. “He had a girl in his bed and he pretended to call Heeseung.”
Yunjin bit her lip, and looked at you with the most serious expression. “Y/N, that’s so fucking tragic. Me, personally, I’d stop talking to him.”
“It’s not that I want to just have sex with him!” You whined. “I like him. But you know, we just keep stopping right before.”
She continued, “Imagine getting hot and bothered with a girl on top of you and the thing he thinks of to get out of it is Heeseung. Your tongue was down his throat and his best out was Heeseung.”
“Okay, now this just feels like a jab at Heeseung.”
“He ghosted me, Y/N! I was supposed to do that.”
You rolled your eyes at your best friend. “What do I do?”
“You said the only times you’ve gotten close were when you two were drunk right? Maybe he gets whiskey dick.” She grins.
You pause to think about the things you’ve felt, the times where you’ve run a palm down the front of his pants, just to hear a pretty gasp from him. Or the times where you straddled him, and he grabbed your hips to push you further onto him.
“Yeah… I don’t think so.”
“Honestly, he’s probably just nervous. Anyone can tell just how headass you two are for each other. Or maybe he doesn’t want to do it drunk.”
Yunjin then muttered, “Couldn’t be me. Drunk sex is…”
During a lecture - as you and Jake were hunched over his laptop, going over the practice case scenarios together - you saw a text message pop up on Jake’s screen.
hoonhoon bro: should i just ask her out again
Jake cleared his throat and slowly turned his screen towards only him, “Lemme check something real quick.”
You snickered, “Very subtle, Jake.”
He gave you a look, “I could just lie and say you told me you aren’t into him anymore.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Jake smiled brightly, “Yeah you’re right, I like you guys too much.”
You then received a text message.
park sunghoon: Are you busy tonight?
you: yes i’m going on a date
park sunghoon: what
Jake looked up from typing on his laptop. In a hushed whisper, “You’re seeing other guys!?”
You kept your eyes on your phone and continued.
you: yeah i started talking to him from a hockey club party
Jake poked your arm angrily, and turned his screen to show you the texts between himself and Sunghoon.
hoonhoon bro: SHES SEEING SOMEONE ELSE WHAT THE FUCK
me: WTF DUDE LET ME ASK HER
hoonhoon bro: wait dont
hoonhoon bro: THEY MET AT A HOCKEY CLUB PARTY?? IVE LITERALLY KEPT MY EYES ON HER AT EACH PARTY I never saw her speak to any other new guys
You covered your mouth to silence your laugh. Jake was seething, waiting for your explanation but you still typed on your phone.
you: yeah his name is sunghoon
park sunghoon: ???
park sunghoon: oh
park sunghoon: We’re going on a date tonight?
you: aren’t we? you asked if i was free lol
park sunghoon: I’ll pick you up at 6
You heard Jake sigh in relief, “I seriously went through all the stages of grief just now.”
When the lecture finished, Jake turned to you one more time. “If things ever go south… Just let him down easy? I like you, dude, but I can’t guarantee your safety from Jay if Sunghoon comes home crying one day.”
All you could do was gently smile and nod.
That evening, fresh from the shower and loaded with the jitters of the impending date in about an hour, you received a text.
park sunghoon: Are you craving anything
you: you
park sunghoon: huh
you: can surprise me
You laughed out loud at yourself. You saw your roommate stare from the corner of your eye. “Embarassing,” she teased.
When Sunghoon notified you of his arrival, you took a deep breath before exiting the dorm building. This was only the second date - sure you’ve had many hours of drunkenness with him at parties - but it didn’t settle the nerves of a date any less.
He smiled at you when you opened the passenger door, a single pink tulip waiting for you on your seat.
Sunghoon’s car always smelled deeply of him, so clean and fresh. He smelled of soap, or crisp linen, and sometimes, like today, you noticed hints of coffee.
“So, I was thinking, does sushi sound good?”
“It’s not really a surprise if you tell me before we go,” you quipped. “But yes, of course.”
He poked your cheek. Sunghoon shared details about his day, discussing a couple of hours at the rink before class.
He snorted, “It’s always awkward giving lessons to kids who have tiger parents. This little boy today ate shit on the ice practicing his loop and his mom yelled at him from the stands.”
Sunghoon grimaced, “Then she yelled at me…”
Your conversation flowed throughout the drive into downtown. He asked you about your day, and you left out the flurry of texts you read about yourself, courtesy of Jake.
“Another girl dm’ed me asking if I wanted to rush next semester. And then she explained she could guarantee me a bid.”
“They must be desperate if they’re asking you.”
“Yeah, like I don’t know if I’d want to ru- wait. What are you trying to say?” You punched his shoulder as he cackled.
“Don’t hit the driver! Very dangerous.”
The restaurant was packed, but since Sunghoon had called ahead of time, you were seated very quickly.
“What would you have done if I didn’t agree to sushi?”
“I would’ve brought you here anyway. Surprise!”
The sashimi was delicious; and you and Sunghoon, shamelessly, audibly groaned at the taste. You two argued over which fish was best, obviously the salmon, and though he disagreed, he happily scarfed down the last piece of salmon when you offered it.
You let Sunghoon guide you through the streets of downtown for a couple blocks, thinking you were just aimlessly walking, before he stopped abruptly.
“You haven’t been here have you?”
He brought you to the skating rink. Sunghoon followed your hands with his gaze as you gripped the ends of your thin long sleeve.
“Don’t worry, I have a jacket in my work locker!” He took your hand as he led you inside.
His coworkers greeted him brightly, a couple of them squinting at him suggestively when they noticed you were holding hands.
Sunghoon helped you select some skates, before taking your hand again to lead you to the back area to his locker. He grabbed the skates out of your hands to exchange them for his hoodie, grinning as you slipped it over your body.
He balanced the two pairs of skates in one arm, still gripping your hand as he took you to the actual rink.
You sat down at a bench on the outskirts of the stands and stared as Sunghoon squatted down in front of you.
“Here, I’ll help you lace them up,” he said, smiling up at you.
“Ok, dad.”
He rolled his eyes, and you blushed as he took one of your feet in his hands to guide it into the skate. He said nothing as he tightened the laces, and tied them expertly with his long fingers.
You gulped. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of his hands as he put on his own skates.
Sunghoon on ice was a different version of him altogether. He took both of your hands into his, gliding backwards. Effortlessly, he kept his eyes on you, while you stared at the ice at his stable feet and your shaky ones.
“Look up at me; it helps with balance,” he said as he tilted your head up with a finger.
In efforts to hide your embarrassment, you responded, “Ice skating seems like the perfect way for you to charm women.”
He grinned, “Yeah, and judging by the look of you… It’s working, isn’t it?”
If you weren’t so uncoordinated on ice, you’d have grabbed his shirt and kissed him right there.
After freshening up in the bathroom, wiping away the sniffles from the cold and fixing up your hair, you found Sunghoon chatting with his coworker at the skate counter.
“You don’t have anywhere to be early tomorrow do you?”
You thought of the 9 am study session you were invited to go to before class. “… Nope, I’m free.”
“That sounded like a lie, but I’ll take it because I feel selfish today,” Sunghoon joked. You thought of how attentive he was today. He was anything but selfish. “Let’s watch a movie, we didn’t properly use my surround sound last time.”
For once the HYB house was quiet and peaceful. The walls were still lined with funny banners, or old decorations. Each time you were at the house previously, it was at night, the rooms only illuminated by LEDs or strobe lights. This time the front of the house was brightly lit by the chandelier. You noticed the fond remains of a certain poster.
This was the first time being in Sunghoon’s room, without the excuse of tequila or rum or a “loud party” ushering you two inside. You could actually make out the couple trophies that were set on a shelf. First Place Park Sunghoon. Another one reading: Runner Up National Champion - Novice.
“Did you ever think of going pro? Making it your full career?”
Sunghoon smiled softly, “Everyday since I started when I was 9, and until I was 17.”
“Injury?”
“Man, we’re getting into the deep stuff… but no, actually. I think I just started getting tired of skating being the only thing I knew. I had like 3 friends on a good day.”
He sat on his bed, patting the space next to him for you, and continued, “I still skated in comps up until last year before I transferred… But it hadn’t felt the same since high school.”
You placed your hand on his knee in support, saying nothing to let him continue if he wanted.
“Now, I’m just trying new things, learning more about what’s out there. I still skate, obviously, but I think I feel better about just having it a hobby than making it my whole life.”
“You’ve gotta show me your old competition videos.”
Sunghoon frowned, “Too embarrassing.”
“Totally googling you later.”
“I’ll show you under one condition,” his hand shifted onto your lap, and leaned towards you. You could almost feel his breathing.
You nodded slowly, “And what would that be?”
He leaned back and grinned, “You share something equally embarassing of course! Your face is so red… Jeez, what did you have in mind, Y/N?”
You couldn’t take it anymore. The flirting, his suggestive eyes, his teases.
“Kiss me,” you stated. “Please.”
Sunghoon blinked in surprise, his teasing smile fading into one of confidence, of pride.
“Well, only since you said please,” he whispered.
You fluttered your eyes closed and you gripped one of his arms as your lips catch his.
Sunghoon smiled and pulled his lips away for a second, “I can’t believe you ordered mint hot cocoa. I can taste it,” his forehead resting against yours.”
“Don’t like it?” you teased.
He kissed you, before saying, “Normally, never. On you? I guess I can tolerate it.”
You pulled him back in, teeth clashing and eager eager hands reaching for the nape of his neck. One of Sunghoon’s arms snaked around your back, guiding you to lay flat on his bed, his other arm leaning by your head to support his weight above you.
He traced kisses down the side of your jaw and you sighed.
“Please,” you hushed, tugging on the hem of his shirt. As he pulled his top over his head, your fingers eagerly glided up his toned abdomen, over his chest, before settling on his wide shoulders again. He leaned down to brush trails over your neck with his lips, his tongue slipping out to fully taste you.
“Seeing you in my clothes…” he mumbled against your skin. You were indeed still wearing his hoodie from the rink.
A worried thought crossed your mind, which was jarring since your only other thoughts were how good his lips felt on your skin, and how nice his fingers were as one of them teasingly toyed with the waistband of your pants.
“Hoon.” His body stopped moving and he looked up seriously at you with hooded lids.
“Why haven’t we ever … gone all the way?”
Sunghoon leaned back, and then laid next to you on his side. “I didn’t want the first time we did anything more to be when we were drunk. I… wanna really remember it. I’m sorry for not explaining that each time I’ve stopped us…”
“Yeah, not sure Heeseung would appreciate being tangled in a lie.”
“OK. That time, I admit, I don’t even know why I did that. I was so nervous,” he covered his eyes with a hand.
“You’re more sappy and sentimental than you look,” you traced a finger over his lips and kissed him, his eyes still covered.
“Alright,” he finally looked at you, his eyes dark. “What do I look like?”
You smirked, “Someone who looks good underneath me.”
And it was true. Sunghoon looked real good. And he was well worth the wait.
synopsis: jungwon had many things on his mind; school, essays, exams, school events, sleep, and most importantly, you. his one and only love interest. he’s not sure what being “lovestruck” is, but when it comes to you, it all makes sense. but since he thinks this is onesided, who’s gonna tell him it’s not?
pairing: stuco-pres!jungwon x gn!reader (ft. jay from enhypen, harua from &team, choi yihyun, and kazuha from le sserafim.
authors note: i adore stuco aus (i’ve never been in stuco before) sm so ignore how many times i’ll be doing them! this is also inspired by the english lyrics of love line by twice <3 longest fic i’ve written so far tbh!! heres a playlist for fun!
warnings: one mention of dying, one mention of fainting, many mentions of overthinking, mentions of food, hints of overworking, jungwon is really stressed, accidental confession trope (it’s so cute i love it), lmk if i missed anything! wordcount: 2822 words
CHAPTER ONE. THE ROUTE TO JUNGWON
Jungwon was an awkward guy.
Those who saw him from afar would think he was intimidating and unapproachable because of his serious demeanor, but that was the complete opposite of what he was like. He was often quiet and fumbled with his words a lot—especially around you. When you were near him, his heart raced above average, sweat droplets formed on his forehead, and he would often check his pulse to see if he was dying—or another way of saying this; he felt a random gush of adrenaline.
He was practically lovestruck. Lovestruck because of you and you only.
The gestures you gave him, the way you called his name, and your smile? It was all too much for him to handle.
Another problem Jungwon has was his constant overthinking. He overthinks about homework, grades, you, and your feelings for him. Let’s just say, he was sure that you didn’t like him back. And because of that, he decided to keep shut, put his ‘feelings’ aside, and never bring them up to you.
He constantly tries to hide his trembling voice, thumping heart, and reddening cheeks while acting cool, but his heart fails him every time. The words he wanted to say the most are, “I think I’m falling for you,” but he’ll never get there in this state.
“The conjugation of this verb results in,” Mrs. Lee said, but it all sounded like mumbles to Jungwon who was busy writing in his notebook. His head rested in his palm while his other hand wrote and scribbled on the page. It read, ‘Y/n to Jungwon?’ With stick figures that represented the two and a wavy line to represent the route.
“Hey, Jungwon.” A voice whispered from beside him. “Jungwon,” it said again as he looked up from his notebook. “Are you okay?” they asked with worried eyes. He was doing fine until you questioned him.
“I’m… I’m fine, yeah. Why do you... Ask?” He responded a little nervous. There was nothing to be nervous about but the effect you had on him made matters worse. You laughed at his nervous state, teasingly. “Why are you so nervous? I only asked if you were okay.” You questioned as Jungwon averted his eyes from yours.
Another thing Jungwon can’t do is hold eye contact with people, mainly you. It puts him under so much pressure and felt overwhelming, it’s almost impossible for him to continue what he was doing before.
“I’m fine, so, there’s nothing to worry about.” He reassured you as you nodded at his words. “Jungwon and Y/n, want to explain what’s so important to talk about during this lesson?” Mrs. Lee asks while writing on the board.
“Ah, sor–” Jungwon stopped after being interrupted by your voice.
“It’s my fault, Mrs. Lee. I was just asking him for a pencil to write notes on! I couldn’t find mine,” you explained while reaching for the pencil on Jungwon’s notebook. He stared at you as Mrs. Lee nodded, understandingly. You flashed him a smile and he swore he was going to faint on the spot. He looked away to find another pencil in his backpack.
While doing so, he saw the doodle on his notebook from earlier. Panicking, he flipped the page violently as you glanced at him from the corner of your eye while everyone turned to look at him. He lowered his head in embarrassment while mumbling a sorry to those around him as they turned back around to continue with what they were doing.
“You must’ve seen the doodle,” was all that played in his mind for the rest of the class.
CHAPTER TWO. STUCO PRES NEEDS A REST
Student council was Jungwon’s favorite place to be. It was fun to hang out with the club members and plan the school’s future. Only problem was, you’re in it and he cannot keep a straight face when you’re always sitting beside him.
It's a huge problem. How was he supposed to be serious if you’re the one thing that can break him?
“Class comps?” Harua suggested as Jungwon looked up from the sheets in front of him, looking at Harua. “That could work–” Jungwon hiccuped as your shoulder rubbed against his. “Oh, my bad.” You apologized as he looked at you, surprised. “That… It works.” He agreed as Harua nodded, writing into his planner.
“Any—” Jungwon's voice cracked. He cleared his throat out of embarrassment. “Any other suggestions?” He questioned while trying to keep his composure. “Well, there are school dances,” Kazuha said, eyes lighting up right after. “Oh! What about a school dance with a certain theme?” She snapped her fingers, pointing directly at Jungwon. “That’s not all bad.” You’d say as Kazuha smiled, giving herself an invisible pat on the back.
“It works! Valentine is next month, but who said we had to do it in February?” Yihyun exclaimed while grasping both of her hands together. You’d smile at her action then look over at Jungwon. “What do you think? Is it a good idea?” He shifted in his seat, nodding. “…It’s good. Harua, make a note of it.” Harua smiled as he wrote it down.
“Alright! Are we settling on that as the next event?” You asked while twirling your pen between your fingers. Seeing nobody suggest any other ideas satisfied you. Randomly, the whole table began to shake. At first, you all thought it was an earthquake, looking at each other with panicked eyes—but if you call Jungwon an earthquake, then I guess you’re right.
“Jungwon?” Yihyun called out to the boy who sat stiffly. Sweat droplets trickled down his forehead, the red from his ears moved to his face, and his foot frequently tapped against the floor. You were so close to him right now. If he did one wrong move, your shoulders would rub against each other again.
“Jungwon,” You called from beside him, leaning in a bit closer. “Jungw—”
“Ye-Yes! That’s a great idea,” He exclaimed, catching all of you off guard. “That’s not what we’re talking about now..” You’d say but he didn’t care. Please just move away from him or he will for sure fall apart.
“Ah, r..really? Then… Uh,” He stuttered out of embarrassment. “You’re turning really red, are you sure you’re fine?” Kazuha questioned as he looked over at her. “What?! I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s just a little hot in here.” He said, fanning himself with his hand. “It’s not even hot..?” Harua looked at Jungwon in confusion. He slowly dropped his hand from his face as he looked around for another excuse.
“Let’s just… Let’s wrap things up today!” He smiled while quickly packing up his notebooks. Everyone looked at each other in confusion but quickly followed through with the cleanup.
“See you guys next meeting!” Jungwon rushed out of the door with nothing left to say. “He’s been acting a little weird lately, don’t you think?” You asked as the others nodded. “Maybe he’s going through it? I don’t know, it’s Jungwon. He’s unpredictable.” Harua said with a shrug as Yihyun covered her mouth while letting out a small laugh.
CHAPTER THREE. JUNGWON, GET IT TOGETHER.
“When are you going to tell Y/n?” Jay questioned while spooning a spoonful of rice. “Ugh, don’t even remind me of it.” Jungwon replied with a groan while picking at his food. “Well, is it anytime soon?” Jay asked again, eating the spoonful of rice.
“Ah, I don’t know, I don't know.” Jungwon waved his hand in front of Jay who looked confused. “Jungwon, hiding your feelings won’t help you get over them even if you think they don’t like you back.” Jay scolded. “It’s not gonna make any difference. Have you seen how you act near them?” Jay scoffed as Jungwon looked at him while slowly chewing his food.
Footsteps approached him from behind as Jay looked up to stare at the figure. “What?” Jungwon questioned Jay's widening eyes while taking in a deep breath. His eyebrows raised at a familiar scent. Turning around, he’s met with your eyes. “Oh! How long were you there for?” He exclaimed out of shock.
“Not long, but I just wanted to ask when the next meeting is. You sorta rushed out of the club room the other day without telling us..” You shifted the weight on your feet as you’d wait for an answer. “Oh yeah.” He averted his eyes to the floor at the realization.
“Uh, can we make it Thursday at lunch ? If that works for you! Of course.” He blurted, looking at you again. You’d let out a small laugh while Jungwon’s ears started to turn red as Jay facepalmed in embarrassment. “That’s fine with me, I’ll inform the rest of the members!” You smiled, waving goodbye to Jungwon who does the same.
“You’re helpless,” Jay sighed, continuing to eat his lunch. Jungwon rolled his eyes at his words, “Whatever.” He scoffed, digging into his lunch tray with a smile.
CHAPTER FOUR. DID I REALLY JUST SAY THAT?!
Today was not a good day for Jungwon. All his assignments were due as well as the Geography test he had today and it’s too overwhelming for him. Not to mention the student council meeting as well. He just wants to go home and sleep. Catch up on all the sleep that he missed from last night which was full of homework and study sessions.
Student council, English, Science, Geography.. Math. It all sucked. Usually, he felt calm when he caught sight of you but not today—he doesn’t see you until the afternoon and he was sure he wouldn’t last. The weird stares he got from students as he walked down the hallway explained everything.
“Jungwon?” A cautious voice spoke from behind. Footsteps followed him while his shoes dragged against the floor. “Jungwon, you good bud?” It spoke again. Jungwon flinched at the tap on his shoulder as he turned around hastily. “Woah, what happened to your face?!” Jay exclaimed as he examined the dark circles and Jungwon’s drooping eyes. It was so unlike him.
“Oh, hey,” Jungwon said dryly. “We have Math first today, right?” He questioned, ignoring Jay’s question from earlier. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He questioned again as they walked alongside each other. “I’m fine,” he stared at the end of the hallway blankly. “You don’t look like it. What happened?” Jay asked with some concern in his tone.
“School is so tiring, I hate it. I have three assignments due today, including a Geography test, and I had to stay up to finish the assignments and study for the test. Let’s just say, I only slept for an hour.” He ranted as Jay listened.
“And there’s a student council meeting today, I regret scheduling it today.” He sighs as they both enter the classroom. “Ah, well... I’m not sure what I can do to help you. Just tell me if you need anything, alright?” Jay reassured, patting Jungwon on the back as he walked to his seat.
He was thankful to have a friend like Jay. He was always by his side, comforting him whenever he needed it. Jungwon smiled to himself as he took his seat while everyone waited for their teacher.
. . .
The bell went, signaling that it was finally lunch. Jungwon was glad to be out of Geography class. But that didn’t mean he had a break since there was still the student council meeting to go to. Yes, it was tiresome but the thought brought a smile to Jungwon’s face. He finally got to see you after waiting forever.
“Life just gets better,” he said with a smile, entering the club room. The silence was drowned out by the rain from outside as he stared at the empty space. Was he that early? He must’ve lost track of time which wasn’t normal of him.
Ding!
His phone went off, catching him off guard. He reached into his pocket to see what the sound was, but maybe he shouldn’t have. There were two new assignments from Geography for their new unit, both due tonight.
Forget what he said about life getting better.
He'd let out a frustrated sigh while heading to an empty seat at the table in front of him. Maybe it would be best to start the homework now instead of letting it pile up. He’d start the assigned work, timing himself with his phone as he waited for the other members.
About ten minutes passed by before Jungwon started to stress about the assignments. Nothing made sense to him and it only made him more frustrated. Not to mention that you kept flooding his mind as well. It still bothered him; did you like him or did you not? If you didn’t, why do you keep leading him on?
His thoughts kept going on and on to the point where the sound of the door opening was silent. “Jungwon, why were you here so early? There’s fifteen minutes before the meeting.” You said, heading his way. “Are you alright?” You questioned his still state as he looked at you. “I’m fine,” he responds.
That must’ve been his favorite phrase to say because he’s been saying it a lot lately, more than usual.
“What’s on your mind?” “You,” Jungwon confessed without hesitation.
You were taken aback by his words as both of your eyes widened. “Did I really just say that?!” He exclaims in disbelief while covering his mouth with his hand. “Forget what I said just now, it doesn’t mean anything—”
“What do you mean?” You questioned with blown eyes as you felt the butterflies in your stomach double. You already had a few just from seeing him when you first walked in. “Just… Just forget I said that.” He said, looking back at his laptop to continue his homework.
He panicked. He didn’t mean to let that out, it was only a thought. Now, look where he’s at now. An accidental confession was definitely not what he had imagined his first love confession to be—especially not towards you.
“Jungwon,” you called out his name with sincerity, causing chills to go down his back. He looked at you as you looked down at him with a look he’s never seen before, and knowing him, he’s not really good with reading facial expressions either.
Did he just ruin your friendship with each other? That’s the reason why he didn’t want to confess in the first place.
“If that was a confession just now... I want to say that I also have feelings for you. Not friendly feelings but romantic feelings.” Your heart was thumping really fast to the point where you could hear it in your ears. It was shocking that he couldn’t hear it himself.
“Yeah, I’m sorry—Wait what?!” He exclaims out of shock, now facing you. “What?” You questioned as you slowly started to regret your confession. Did you misinterpret what he said? “You like me…too?” He questioned while pointing at himself as relief flowed through his body.
“Yeah, for quite a while now. I never thought of confessing because it didn’t really seem like you returned my feelings.” You admitted as he scoffed. “Really? I was so obvious about it! Did you not see how different I was whenever you were around me?” He questioned while you shook your head.
“But you’re like that around everyone, no? Whenever I was with you or near you, you always acted like that. I even thought you liked Yihyun!” You exclaimed as he stared at you in confusion. “You do know, all of those times I've acted like that, you were with me right?” He questioned while realization hit you.
Awkward silence went by for a few moments as you two avoided eye contact with each other, still trying to take in what’s going on.
“So.. What are we now?” He asks while looking around awkwardly. “Um, I’m not sure..” You responded.
A few seconds of silence went by with Jungwon looking at you as if he had something he wanted to say. After mustering up the courage, he decided he was ready.
“Do you.. Do you want to, you know..” He hesitated as you smiled at him. “Date?” You’d finish his sentence as his face flushed red.
He nodded at your words as you took a seat beside him. The two of you smiled to yourselves like dorks in love. After realizing what you were doing, you cleared your throat, facing Jungwon again. “Okay, enough of that. What were you really stressing over before?” You asked, changing the topic. He looked at you with an innocent expression as he ranted about his struggles and worries while you listened.
What a dream come true for Jungwon and you! Although he still had a bunch of homework to finish and classes to attend, it was all good now because the main goal was success.
SUMMARY ! the last thing you expected was to find a boy sniffing your flowers at past midnight. but when you see him pluck a harmless rose from it’s stem, of course you must furiously chase after him. if only you knew that it was the prince of your kingdom whom you’d just tackled to the ground..
PAIRING ! prince!jungwon x gardener!f!reader
WC ! 2.5k
GENRE ! fluff ft teasing princewon ^^
WARNINGS ! reader gets called a ‘filthy thing’
a/n: i suppose you can take this as a lil thank you for 1.7k followers ^^ please enjoy and lmk what u think :D
with knees planted in the deep layers of powder, you exhale peacefully and emit a cool cloud of smoke from your mouth. the moon has only appeared to you in a crescent form tonight, yet it still brings wonderful shimmers of light down onto your plants.
as a gardener, winter wasn’t the most eventful time of the year, nor the season you ever found yourself looking forward to.
for one, there were much less species of plants that you could choose to nurture in comparison to spring or summer. not as many blossoms would thrive under snow and longer hours of moonlight; the crushing winter wind and snow breaking most flower’s delicate petals.
and secondly, when you did decide to plant one of your winter flowers, you’d have to gear up in jackets and mittens and hats all so you wouldn’t shiver and chatter to death.
though, considering it was your first week working at the great yang family’s palace, you were absolutely determined to be the best gardener their home shall ever have. it is also how you were to be found outside in the middle of the night; snow flowers much preferred moonlight and darkness rather than sun and light.
you already had a plan for the front of the castle. there’d be some of the larger and elegant snow lavenders near the entryway and all adorning the path leading up to it, then there would be some snow lilies prohibiting the edges of the river. what you were planting right now would soon become a small, delicate witch hazel, one that needed much attention; something you took note of as you continued patting the seed into the snowy ground.
once the seed become firmly seated, you proudly pick up your shovel again, about to move on and plant more when the sound of footprints nearby makes you pause.
your breath hitches in your throat nervously. you weren’t exactly the biggest threat right now; a young girl at midnight with nothing but a shovel and some seeds in her laced basket.
only a few lights were around the outside of the castle, rusty lanterns attached to lampposts that gave off dim light underneath it’s surroundings.
and below one of them a great distance away was a young man sniffing your flowers.
his side profile was extravagant; an eye closed and lips shut as he inhaled the scent of one of your snow roses. he had fluffy, coal shaded hair, body attiring a matching set of white satin pyjamas. he would look like any other town boy if it weren’t for the way he appeared extra tidy and well kept; hair combed and recently washed and face without a speck of dirt on it unlike most commoners.
his beauty didn’t stop a frown from moulding onto your face.
“hey you!” the boy’s head snaps up at your booming voice, his feline-like eyes gaping adorably. before you can finish stomping your way through the snow towards him, he’s plucked one of your roses and ran off.
you audibly gasp, the sight of only an empty stem remaining making your heart shatter and only encouraging you to jolt after the criminal, shovel tightly grasped in your hand. he’s annoyingly fast, holding your flower close to his chest as he sprints through the castle garden. your garden.
“get back here at once, coward!” you demand, boots plodding annoyingly through the heavy powder.
when he turns a corner around a line of tall bushes, you growl in amusement. there is no point in trying to lose me, i know this garden like my own home. you snort, the amount of time you’ve spent surrounded by these plants in the past week alone was enough to name it that.
when you turn around the snow covered bushes just as the boy had, you pause at the sight of him nowhere in sight. however, the sound of running had come to a stop, indicating he must be hiding nearby.
you look down, and a laugh leaves your lips.
“ah.. i wonder where you could be..” an evil smirk is plastered on your lips as you drag your shovel eerily through the snow, being extra careful as to not touch the perfect trail of footprints leading you right to your target. how sad.
you don’t know why, but this little game was getting more and more thrilling for you. how ready you were to bring this little thief to the castle guards, your decapitated rose stolen back from his defeated hand.
and there the boy sat, eyes closed behind a particularly round bush with his arms around his legs, breathing heavily in prayers that you’d lost him.
“gotcha!” before he knew it, you had pounced on him like a predator would to it’s prey, a strangled yelp leaving his mouth as you pin him to the ground. your legs straddle either side of his waist while you hold his upper half in place with your hands, shovel dropped lifelessly next to your figures.
you both pant in recovery from the tiring chase, simply surveying each other's features. you find yourself cussing inwardly at the fact that he’s even more perfect up close.
eventually, he licks his lips before speaking up, “who are you?” you press his body further into the snow out of rage, and the boy winces as if he’d never been touched so harshly in his life.
“who am i?” you bark, “who are you?! and why were you in my garden?!”
at that, his lips perk up as if you’d just told him a ridiculous joke. “your garden, huh?” he taunts, “you really don’t know who i am?”
“why would i?”
instead of answering your question, he sighs. “y’know, you’re quite cute. if you’d just stop screaming in my face..”
you’ve had enough of this boy.
you remove your arms from his, reaching down to grab your weapon with a frown. at the threatening sight, the raven haired boy quickly begins squirming beneath you in a pathetic attempt to escape.
“woah woah— hold on, i’m sorry! i’m- i’m jungwon!” he blurts, raising his hands in defence. you lower your shovel an inch. you’ve definitely heard that name before, but you couldn’t quite put your thumb on it.
jungwon seemed to notice that his name didn’t ring a bell, and for whatever reason, this emitted another entertained giggle from his throat. “look, if you just get off of me, miss — not that i mind you sitting on me — it’s just.. i’m getting a bit chilly.” you roll your eyes, making no effort to move. “in return for my freedom, i can offer you absolutely anything you need.”
you raise an intrigued but untrusting brow, and jungwon only smirks further at your hesitance, leaning his head against his hands casually despite the icy frost below him. in all honesty, he didn’t look that weak, you began to wonder why he didn’t just throw you off of him.
“what could some town boy like you have to offer?” you inquire.
he chokes, “town boy?” suddenly he’s laughing again, eyes turning into crescents as he kicks his feet childishly below you. feeling riled up, you point your shovel at his throat again frustratedly. he swiftly quiets down at the raised gardening tool, but a mocking grin and dimple continues to pierce his features. “you’d be surprised, miss. say..”
before you can even process his movements and pin him down again, jungwon has fully sat up, resting his hands in the snow with his face so close to yours that you could feel every exhale. “if you tell me who you are, tomorrow i’ll bring you a new set of gardening tools.” he glances down at your rusty, old shovel disapprovingly. “i promise they will be much better and stronger than this.. artefact.”
you gulp, feeling distracted by the unwanted heat rushing to your cheeks at the close proximity of the boy. by the smug glint in his eyes, you’re sure he has noticed it as well. “a-and why should i believe you’d keep that promise?”
he ponders for a moment before looking down at you with a grin. “i can offer you something now as proof.” before you know it, his face is inching closer breath by breath.
the stolen rose long forgotten, you close your eyes as his hands finally come up to brush your waist, anticipating the plush of his lips against yours.
but it never happens.
“would you like to come have a drink in the castle with me?”
you snap your eyes open, watching as his face tilts mere centimetres from yours.
“oh, did you expect something else?” he sneers in delight.
feeling a tad humiliated and disappointed in yourself, you hurriedly remove yourself from the boy’s lap, boots rooting into the snow as you march your way back to your previous planting spot.
forget the flower, this was clearly just a waste of your time (and pride).
“w-wait!” jungwon stutters in the background, “i’m sorry, if you really want a kiss i wouldn’t be opposed!” he offers, quickly getting himself back on his own feet to catch up to you.
you simply huff, thrusting your shovel deep into the ground. “leave me alone. i have no interest in you,” you grunt mid-sentence as you stomp your foot onto the tool’s edge, ploughing dirt and snow to the side of the crater, “or your plan of sneaking into the royal family’s home,” you finish strictly.
jungwon facepalms at your obliviousness, watching as you crouch down to scavenge through your seed basket. “please, just trust me,” he pesters. “c’mon, when was the last time you had hot chocolate? or perhaps a boiling cup of tea? the dining room has everything you could crave!”
“how would you know anything about the—“
“your majesty?” a high pitch voice calls out suddenly.
both your heads snap towards the castle’s giant entrance nearby, pausing your movements against the snowy ground.
jungwon stiffened from behind you, his black locks bouncing as he swivelled around in a desperate search for an escape. “shit, shit!”
before you could even get a word out, the boy had already raced off to hide behind another bush just as a young woman in a maid dress approached you.
“ew..” she mutters, scanning your figure. you glance down in confusion, taking in your awfully filthy clothes and appearance; bits of dirt, snow and leaves were stuck to your jacket and overalls, and you cringe inwardly when you pick a blue flower petal out of your hair.
“are you homeless?” she asks with a strikingly rude tone, “you know trespassers are strictly forbidden, right?”
you clench your jaw, resisting the urge to defend yourself with just as much sass. “no, ma’am. i was hired by the queen to be the palace’s gardener.”
for whatever reason, the maid rolls her eyes, staring off into space as if you weren’t worth a single glance or speck of her time. “whatever. anyways, have you seen the prince? it seems he’s snuck out once again, and if i don't find him soon, we’ll have to call a search party,” she yawns.
the prince? what on earth would his highness be doing out at a time like this, especially in such chilly weather?
“um, i don’t think so. what does he look like?”
at that she chuckles, crossing her arms over her chest. “oh, of course you wouldn’t know anything about the prince,” she sighs. “he’s about 5’9, black hair, should be wearing all white pyjamas..”
you freeze. white pyjamas..? the rest of the woman’s words fade out, mind turning blank. it couldn’t be.
“..and his hair is also a bit curly, but at night it gets—“
“what’s his name?” you interrupt desperately.
she gives you the most judging stare she could muster, but you didn’t care much anymore. “seriously? yang jungwon, you filthy thing.”
and right on queue, jungwon magically appears from behind the bushes. he doesn’t give you a glance, eyes piercing with rage in the direction of the maid. at the sight of the prince, she smiles brightly for the first time all night, quickly running over to give him an awkward side hug.
“your majesty! i was so worried,” she exclaims cheerfully, “come now, you must get changed out of these grimy rags.”
jungwons grits his teeth, trying his best to gently push her body away. “sooha,” he snaps, voice drastically changed from the playful tone he’d used with you, “please refrain from speaking to my personal gardener that way again, or i will not hesitate to have you fired at once,” he spits unmercifully before turning to face you.
sooha’s smile drops, spinning around to watch as you move to bow on one knee nervously. his gardener? you gulp, but what if he has you fired for calling him a town boy? or perhaps executed for threatening him with a shovel to his throat?
“your- your majesty, i’m so, so sorry for everything.” it was tranquil, the only sound being light footsteps travelling your way. you squint harder, anxiously gripping your bent knee.
unexpectedly, a warm touch suddenly covers your gloved hand, fingers intertwined with yours while the prince lifts you back up to your standing height. your heart instantly melts at the knee-quivering smile plastered across his face, glancing down at your intertwined hands and the snow rose poking out of his pants pocket.
“there’s no need for that, i had lots of fun tonight,” he whispers before abruptly reaching for your hair, pulling out yet another tangled flower petal and giggling cutely. “see you tomorrow, my flower?”
you involuntarily blush, scoffing as you look away sheepishly. “maybe.”
jungwon seems to be satisfied with that, ever so gracefully removing his hand from yours with a final nod of goodbye. you watch in a slight daze as the stunning boy makes his way towards the castle, uncaring to wait for sooha to catch up with him.
“your majesty! wait!” she sends you a final dirty glare, stomping desperately through the snow after him.
as the castle doors shut tightly behind them, you embrace the newfound silence of the once chaotic night. the only remaining evidence that leads you to believe it wasn’t all just a dream is the decapitated snow rose snuck into your jacket pocket, and your poor old shovel, soon to be eagerly replaced tomorrow.
that is, if you choose to indulge in whatever the prince had in store for you.
if you enjoyed, reblogs and comments are very appreciated <3 if you want a part 2, at least say you liked it as well, and maybe what you’d want in it T-T
▪︎ synopsis: a group of brothers, all CEOs of different company branches founded by their family are now being forced by their grandfather to give him an heir.
▪︎ warnings: mentions/allusions to sex, (accidental or planned) pregnancy, heavy suggestive themes (no smut), mentions of alcohol, severe angst, hospitals, mentions of surgery. more tba
▪︎ release date; tba
—three different stories inspired by three different songs from the singer NIKI.
pairing: ceo!park jongseong x brother's best friend!fem!reader
genre: arranged/forced marriage, slow burn au, accidental pregnancy, brother's best friend/best friend's brother, slight age gap (reader's 22 and jay's 24), drama, angst, fluff and kinda second chance love.
word count: estimated 29k to 35k words
story settled one year before sunghoon's and jake's
summary: Just a year ago, you were forced to marry Park Jongseong, CEO of the Southern Branch, part of the vary famous Park Enterprises. It was all for the sake of your family, a marriage for the benefit of gaining more traction as a company. Jongseong was attentive, caring, sometimes even sweet, but your relationship was more about sex than it was about the marriage itself. At some point, everything got bad, and it was just mere sexual intimacy that anything else, and just when you were close to ending things...you found out you were pregnant.
status: writing...
teaser here
full work here
pairing: ceo!park sunghoon x coffee shop owner!fem!reader
genre: one night stand, fake relationship, strangers to lovers, comedy, angst, fluff and accidental pregnancy.
word count: estimated 9k to 12k
story settled after jay's and before jake's
summary: Park Sunghoon was done with his grandfather begging for an heir. Being the CEO of the Northern Branch, Sunghoon wasn't ready for a relationship just yet and neither was he ready to have a baby. So, after being arranged a blind date, he meets you, and soon convinces you to run away with him far away from your dates, as you were arranged a blind date as well with a different guy. And after a night of talking, flirting and alcohol, you both ended up in an hotel bed. Being attracted to an stranger wasn't in your plans, but soon everything goes to hell when you discover that you are pregnant with sunghoon's child.
status: planning...
teaser here
full work here
pairing: ceo!shim jaeyun x childhood best friend!fem!reader
genre: childhood best friends to lovers, planned pregnancy, angst, fluff, and slight age gap (reader's 23 and jake's 25),
word count: estimated 7k to 8k
story settled after jay's and sunghoon's
summary: Ever since you were six years old, Jake had been your very best friend, your parents being best friends had a lot to do, but also the fact that you were both the middle child of the family. Years later, Jake is the CEO of the Western Branch and soon asked to have an heir to follow the family business as soon heir of Jake's branch. Being in a complete state of desperation, Jake bluntly asks you to have his child...the fact that you agreed instantly was surprising to him.
ぬ̳ ‣ SYNOPSIS ♡% !ㅤㅤthey always say that opposites attract, and this may be the theory on why someone like you, a crowd pleaser who cares so much about every details, finds yourself falling for your best friend’s older brother— park jongseong, a member of the band “ecstasy”; someone whose known for only caring about the good things and doesn’t give a fuck about the negativity people give off. you knew all the reasons to stay away, but playing with fire is fun, isn’t it?
ぬ̳ ‣ PAIRING ♡% !ㅤㅤsinger ! jay x chaebol ! reader
ぬ̳ ‣ FEATURING ♡% !ㅤㅤenhypen members, yunjin of le sserafim, wonyoung of ive (more will most likely be added)
ぬ̳ ‣ TAGS & GENRE ♡% !ㅤㅤsmau, non-idol au, hints of fake dating, best friend's brother, strangers to lovers, slight love triangle, arranged marriages, fluff, hints of crack/humor, angst
ぬ̳ ‣ DISCLAIMER ♡% !ㅤㅤthe characteristics of the idols involved are only for the plot, you shouldn't base on this smau on how they actually are. characters and their traits are purely fictional.
status : to be releasedㅤ ㅤㅤtaglist : open!
release date : 11.30.22ㅤㅤ updates : weekdays, gmt +8
warnings : toxic parent-children relationships, controlling parents, depressed teenagers, alcohol intake (everyone in this story is aged up, everyone mentioned will be 19+ in this smau), my shitty attempt at writing after a long time
SYNOPSIS: park sunghoon, being one of the school's heartthrobs, knew a lot about love. he knew that your stomach would feel weird around your crush. he knew that your face would get red at the mere thought of the person you love. and he also knew that if you liked someone, your pupils would expand upon seeing them. so when he spots you looking at him with big eyes that seem to be extremely dilated, he figures you've fallen for him at first sight. however, as far as you were concerned, you had just come back from an eye appointment and couldn't even see the man in front of you clearly.
or wherein, you had just gotten your eyes checked and park sunghoon believes you’re another girl he has to reject.
PAIRING: popular!sunghoon x f!reader
GENRE: fluff, angst, crack, university!au, smau
WARNINGS: cursing, (more to be added soon)
TAGLIST: open! reply to this post or send a message to my inbox to be added!
STATUS: updating!
STARTED: 09/01/22
ENDED: ???
A/N: rts and likes are appreciated!! ty for reading!!
GENRES: includes smut (minors dni), heavy angst, hurt no comfort, slowburn, one sided pining, fluff at the end, friends with benefits, classic communication issues trope, university au
WARNINGS: smut, profanity, making out, implied alcohol use, smoking, semi graphic descriptions of smut (fingering, thigh riding, handjobs, cunnilingus, slapping), one line for dirty talk, reader calls jake baby a lot, name calling (bitch and whore directed at someone), jake constantly gets played, made up female character, jake is hopelessly in love with reader (pls get up), reader is a walking red flag invented by park jaeeon, cheating if you squint, one sexual joke lol, other idols have guest appearances (yeonjun of txt, isa / chaeyoung of stayc, mentions karina of aespa), heeseung doesn’t talk much i apologise 🙏🏻
SYNOPSIS: in which yn and jake are in a friends with benefits situation. sort of.
WORD COUNT: 9320 words.
PLAYLIST: here.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: aaaand it’s finally here !!!! this was originally written for itzy which is still published on my ao3 acc , however , i decided to rewrite it for enhypen to get over my writer’s block rhksjdjed . i hope you enjoy it regardless <33 the dialogue jake says in june is from richard siken’s masterpiece “crush”, which i suggest you read because it is a very good book. jake stans this one’s for you !!! :DD
「how to: be a subby male」 en— hyung line | kinktober special !
pairing: sub!enhypen hyung line x dom!afab!reader
genre: smut, minors do not interact!
about: this is going to be a series of fictions with individual storylines using the concept of "sub!idol". Taglist of each fiction is open, please feel free to send and ask or comment to be added on the taglists! I hope you enjoy <3
What started of as hate was bound to turn into love, cause you and Heeseung were made for each other — missing half of one other, you could say. He was a popular guy with a secret that no one knew, living two lives as he tried his best to keep it that way. A student by day and a camboy by night, he was in peace, until you've caught him. Turns out one of his biggest fans was you behind the cameras and you knew him so well — maybe too well, to not even miss a small detail even he, himself didn't pay any attention to. But his carelessness didn't go unnoticed by you, which caused his nemesis — aka you, to figure out his real identity that he tried so hard to hide behind his cute kitty mask on screen.
seperate taglist: pending ..
manslut — p. js
TEASER | READ HERE
As a girl who always wondered about the city life in big towns, you were more than happy to be moving into one for college. There were so many things you wanted to try and so many hopes that you had about your new life, but of course, there had to be someone who'd put obstacles in your way all the time — which was none other than your neighbor, Park Jay. Him and his crazy sex — *cough cough* night life, was ruining everything for you, making your life miserable even before it started. So, what was it gonna be? Were you going to accept his crazy offer and gain your life back in return of your virginity or were you gonna contuine living a shitty life, all alone and sad, by yourself?
seperate taglist: @wonyofanclub
love & leashes — s. jy
TEASER | READ HERE
Jake Sim was a guy who's lucky about almost everything except his love life. He had everything; money, good looks, academic success, the talent and charisma of a CEO — all of it. Yet he seemed to lack what it takes to find himself a right partner, which was starting to bother him. He knew, most girls he has hooked up with expected him to be dominant in bed just the way he was in real life, but the poor guy just wanted someone to step on him — to rule him and claim his just the way he was. After being let down by his partners one by one, he was at the point where he almost lost all his faith in finding the right one for himself — until he met you, the woman who changed everything for him, the woman who cut his feet from off the floor. The relationship you had with each other was new to you both but, you were more than ready to do whatever it takes to make it work.
seperate taglist: @wonyofanclub
lines of you — p. sh
TEASER | READ HERE
What do you think the ideal type of a playgirl would be? Nerds, with icy looks, bonus point if the name is Sunghoon. Y/n — you, were sick and tired of your monotonous sex life, even Heeseung's horsecock wasn't enough to satisfy you. But just before melancholy got its hold on you, someone caught your eyes — the guy with ice prince visuals, the class president, Park Sunghoon. Maybe you shouldn't have underestimated the power of manifestation because just when you desired him, you got him; freshly virgin, untouched and waiting for you to be corrupted. He wanted one thing — for you to make him your personal pleasure toy, teach him how to be a good boy only for you. But while you were thinking you were the one who's teaching him something, turns out you were the one who's learning — learning how to love, from Sunghoon.
