ꨄ.. ⠀⠀hyung line x gn! reader. bunker / apocolypse au.
#성호 SUNGHO
the bunker has a specific rhythm to it, and sungho made sure it was kept in time.
breakfast at eight (even if breakfast was just stale crackers and a tin of something mushy and questionable), water filtration check at four in the evening, lights out (or rather, dimmed out, because riwoo gets squirmy if its complete darkness) at ten. the routine settles around you like a blanket - and you reach for it, its warmth, comforting, it helps you pass the time while the world continues to crumble to dust above you.
he’s the oldest of the bunker, the only one who had some remembrance of the world before it all went to crap, before all of you had to bundle into someone’s underground sanctuary. he came from a cushy background - knew all sorts of things: how to play piano, speak second languages, old world history. he taught everyone all sorts of things, how he’d speak about the old world that you didn’t remember - because why would you? the old world was already gone by the time you were born.
he’d sit by your beds, voice low as he shuts his eyes and begin reciting pieces from memory: about the plate tectonics and the french revolution and old architecture. things that are completely useless but you grasp onto them like dandelions in the wind.
that’s the version of sungho people usually see. the one who meditates arguments between taesan and leehan with the patience of a saint and who helps jaehyun with his maps. then there’s the version that you can’t help but notice.
you’re out with sungho during a surface run. it’s nothing too out of the ordinary - a quick run because the pantry is growing worryingly empty and riwoo’s on the edge again and leehan has been gone for a few hours already. you had cornered a wild boar into a dilapidated tunnel - but it had lunged at you with a ferocity that comes with owning the city. you froze - something you weren’t exactly proud of.
but sungho didn’t.
he moved with such composure and assuredness you didn’t truly process it until it was over. sungho had click back his rifle and wiped his hands clean on his jacket, looking at you with the simplicity that came with something like filling up a glass of water rather than shooting a bullet in between the eyes of a boar.
“are you okay?” he asked softly.
“fine,” you stuttered.
sungho acted akin to a domesticated cat, but he had that instinct underneath anyways - that human desire to stay alive, no matter what it took. he didn’t even flinch at the creatures with human faces either - the ones that had the wrong shape and limped at you. sungho puts them down clean and doesn’t lose sleep over it. they’re gone anyways, he said, wiping down his rifle with a rag, we’re doing them a kindness.
you toss and turn at night, trying your best not to rouse the other members curled up in their kots.
“can’t sleep?” he towers over your makeshift bed like a statue, the faint glow of the light casting his shadow over you as his hair falls into his face. he casts a look at woonhak, who is curled up next to your head, inches from falling off the edge of his mattress.
“i’m too old for bedtime stories,” you whisper, scooting up until you’re sitting up against the wall. he sits down anyways, and you curl into him, his arm coming up to wrap around you.
he tells you them anyways, his voice quiet so he doesn’t wake up woonhak who is snoring away beside the two of you.
“sungho.”
“mm?”
“we’re not going to sleep, are we?”
he looks down at you.
“do you want to?”
you look him in the eyes.
“no, not really.”
then you kiss him, unhurried like you have all the time in the world.
his hand moves to your jaw, and the bunker around you disappears completely.
when you break for air, he nudges his forehead against your’s, mumbling against your lips.
“since you don’t intend on sleeping, why don’t we do something fun? you’ll have to be quiet, though.”
#리우 RIWOO
the thing about riwoo is that he’s actually funny.
it’s like his brain never switches off - he jumps at any opportunity to crack jokes and entertain you. if this was before, he’d probably have an audience of thousands - but he’s stuck doing stand-up for seven people in a reinforced basement and they love him for it possibly more than any crowd ever could.
for a brief moment, when he comments on woonhak’s stumbling of words or make noises nobody expects, it feels normal - your concrete home turns momentarily human with riwoo in the center.
chef riwoo claims the makeshift kitchen as his own. its a poor excuse of one - a few stacked cardboard boxes and rusted tins. riwoo makes do with what you have, which isn’t a lot to begin with. he’ll spend an hour on a can of beans, coaxing them into something that tastes like deliberation. he’ll somehow scrounge up a bundle of sad, dried herbs from behind a shelf and savour them like how a sommelier might with wine. a sprinkle of rosemary, he says, deadly serious, even though it smells like nothing to you. he’ll serve you it on a platter, paired with our evening crackers. you’ve realised he likes to watch while you eat, a set line in his forehead until you take that first bite of food and smile.
the other thing about riwoo is that he doesn’t like it here.
you realised when, two months in, he cheerfully gestured to the bare walls and laughed. it’s like summer camp! he says lightly, and we’re all dorms mates. isn’t this basically just a very underground camp? leehan played along, laughing, and riwoo’s face had a flash of something that looked like relief.
he doesn’t talk about outside, even though he’s probably old enough to remember something like sungho. he reroutes any conversation that edges in that direction with a precison of a surgeon with a scalpel. he hums loudly when jaehyun tries to walk through logistics, and when sungho starts talking about skyscrapers he pointedly gets up and walks away, or produces a story wholly unrelated, usually involving himself in some comedic situation, and usually very successful in changing the subject.
you catch him one day, standing in front of his corner, not moving - his face doing something it rarely does - stock still and serious.
he clocked you in about two seconds and the smile came back up like a blind snapping shut.
“oh, good. it’s just you,” he says, “we’re… running low on some stuff.”
you cast a look at the empty shelf, pitiful with just a few cans of who-knows-what.
“hey,” you say, stepping closer and taking his hand.
he looks at it, and then drops his forehead onto your shoulder, like how a tree branch might fall under it’s own weight. your arms naturally come back up, encircling around him.
“i don’t know what to do,” his voice is muffled against your skin.
“it’s okay.”
“it’s not -”
“it’s fine.”
he’s quiet for a long time, simply breathing in your space. when you pull back he flinches, but he doesn’t run. the edges of his eyes are rimmed red, but when you lean back in he doesn’t turn away.
you give him a chaste kiss on the lips, his eyes fluttering shut at the sensation.
when they open back up, he has a smile on his face again - not the one from earlier, but something more gentle and tender.
“chef riwoo -” he says, pulling back, “- is going to need a minute.”
“take all the time you need.”
#명재현 MYUNG JAEHYUN
jaehyun’s natural inclination to leadership is both a blessing and a curse, and jaehyun carries it with grace - and that’s the most terrifying part. he doesn’t look tired, he doesn’t crack under the pressure, he holds it together with an air of practice that scares you.
he’s good at it, being a leader. he’s so good at it he might be the best in the world - and since the world is so small right now, that phrase might actually be true.
jaehyun authority is embodied in his maps - the ones spread across the rickety table in one corner of the room. it’s littered with his handwriting, covered in symbols and dots only he can decipher and you try to understand. you sit with him while he thumbs at the edge, constantly reworking, rewriting, redrawing - trying to make sense of a world that is constantly shifting and is far too threatening.
he used to bury his head in his arms and sleep directly over the maps, almost like if he could splay out on the map he could control the world that lays under his fingertips. then you’d come over, place a hand on his back as he shuts his eyes, then, fifteen minutes later, he’d pull himself back together and sit up again.
“i’m glad you’re here,” he whispers one night, when everyone is asleep and your shadow casts your figure across his maps, “you’re the only one who understands me.”
you find his hands under the table and he brings them to his lips, kissing them like how a knight would to his grace. then he intertwines your fingers and turns back to his map, picking up his pen. romance blossoms under the dim light of a lamp that’s running out of time.
“you’re rerouting,” you point out quietly.
“i need you to be safe,” he squeezes your palm, “i - i…”
“i know,” you say softly, “it’s okay.”
he doesn’t look at you, his eyes still downcast as he draws an assertive line across the green.
“you need to drink,” you push the cup towards him.
“later.”
“now.”
he frowns at you but acquiesces, pulling the cup towards him. eventually it becomes half empty, and eventually jaehyun picks up his pen again.
you cup his cheeks and turn him towards you.
“tell me.”
“the east route -” he falters, “it’s… worst than i thought.”
“how bad?”
jaehyun stops, “i don’t know.”
you can tell by the scrunch in his nose that he hates himself for saying it. he’s supposed to be the one who always knows, the one who understands, the one who has a plan.
he not supposed to not know. he can’t afford to.
you run your thumb across his cheek and he leans into it, his eyes fluttering shut in the warmth.
“we’ll figure it out.”
“you don’t know that.”
“no,” you press your forehead against his, “but i know you will.”
jaehyun’s eyes blink open, and he shifts, ever so slightly, so his lips graze against the palm of your hand. he stays there for an exhale, then two, and three, and then he finds it in himself to pick up the pen again.
maknae line later
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ꨄ.. ⠀⠀hyung line x gn! reader. bunker / apocolypse au.
#성호 SUNGHO
the bunker has a specific rhythm to it, and sungho made sure it was kept in time.
breakfast at eight (even if breakfast was just stale crackers and a tin of something mushy and questionable), water filtration check at four in the evening, lights out (or rather, dimmed out, because riwoo gets squirmy if its complete darkness) at ten. the routine settles around you like a blanket - and you reach for it, its warmth, comforting, it helps you pass the time while the world continues to crumble to dust above you.
he’s the oldest of the bunker, the only one who had some remembrance of the world before it all went to crap, before all of you had to bundle into someone’s underground sanctuary. he came from a cushy background - knew all sorts of things: how to play piano, speak second languages, old world history. he taught everyone all sorts of things, how he’d speak about the old world that you didn’t remember - because why would you? the old world was already gone by the time you were born.
he’d sit by your beds, voice low as he shuts his eyes and begin reciting pieces from memory: about the plate tectonics and the french revolution and old architecture. things that are completely useless but you grasp onto them like dandelions in the wind.
that’s the version of sungho people usually see. the one who meditates arguments between taesan and leehan with the patience of a saint and who helps jaehyun with his maps. then there’s the version that you can’t help but notice.
you’re out with sungho during a surface run. it’s nothing too out of the ordinary - a quick run because the pantry is growing worryingly empty and riwoo’s on the edge again and leehan has been gone for a few hours already. you had cornered a wild boar into a dilapidated tunnel - but it had lunged at you with a ferocity that comes with owning the city. you froze - something you weren’t exactly proud of.
but sungho didn’t.
he moved with such composure and assuredness you didn’t truly process it until it was over. sungho had click back his rifle and wiped his hands clean on his jacket, looking at you with the simplicity that came with something like filling up a glass of water rather than shooting a bullet in between the eyes of a boar.
“are you okay?” he asked softly.
“fine,” you stuttered.
sungho acted akin to a domesticated cat, but he had that instinct underneath anyways - that human desire to stay alive, no matter what it took. he didn’t even flinch at the creatures with human faces either - the ones that had the wrong shape and limped at you. sungho puts them down clean and doesn’t lose sleep over it. they’re gone anyways, he said, wiping down his rifle with a rag, we’re doing them a kindness.
you toss and turn at night, trying your best not to rouse the other members curled up in their kots.
“can’t sleep?” he towers over your makeshift bed like a statue, the faint glow of the light casting his shadow over you as his hair falls into his face. he casts a look at woonhak, who is curled up next to your head, inches from falling off the edge of his mattress.
“i’m too old for bedtime stories,” you whisper, scooting up until you’re sitting up against the wall. he sits down anyways, and you curl into him, his arm coming up to wrap around you.
he tells you them anyways, his voice quiet so he doesn’t wake up woonhak who is snoring away beside the two of you.
“sungho.”
“mm?”
“we’re not going to sleep, are we?”
he looks down at you.
“do you want to?”
you look him in the eyes.
“no, not really.”
then you kiss him, unhurried like you have all the time in the world.
his hand moves to your jaw, and the bunker around you disappears completely.
when you break for air, he nudges his forehead against your’s, mumbling against your lips.
“since you don’t intend on sleeping, why don’t we do something fun? you’ll have to be quiet, though.”
#리우 RIWOO
the thing about riwoo is that he’s actually funny.
it’s like his brain never switches off - he jumps at any opportunity to crack jokes and entertain you. if this was before, he’d probably have an audience of thousands - but he’s stuck doing stand-up for seven people in a reinforced basement and they love him for it possibly more than any crowd ever could.
for a brief moment, when he comments on woonhak’s stumbling of words or make noises nobody expects, it feels normal - your concrete home turns momentarily human with riwoo in the center.
chef riwoo claims the makeshift kitchen as his own. its a poor excuse of one - a few stacked cardboard boxes and rusted tins. riwoo makes do with what you have, which isn’t a lot to begin with. he’ll spend an hour on a can of beans, coaxing them into something that tastes like deliberation. he’ll somehow scrounge up a bundle of sad, dried herbs from behind a shelf and savour them like how a sommelier might with wine. a sprinkle of rosemary, he says, deadly serious, even though it smells like nothing to you. he’ll serve you it on a platter, paired with our evening crackers. you’ve realised he likes to watch while you eat, a set line in his forehead until you take that first bite of food and smile.
the other thing about riwoo is that he doesn’t like it here.
you realised when, two months in, he cheerfully gestured to the bare walls and laughed. it’s like summer camp! he says lightly, and we’re all dorms mates. isn’t this basically just a very underground camp? leehan played along, laughing, and riwoo’s face had a flash of something that looked like relief.
he doesn’t talk about outside, even though he’s probably old enough to remember something like sungho. he reroutes any conversation that edges in that direction with a precison of a surgeon with a scalpel. he hums loudly when jaehyun tries to walk through logistics, and when sungho starts talking about skyscrapers he pointedly gets up and walks away, or produces a story wholly unrelated, usually involving himself in some comedic situation, and usually very successful in changing the subject.
you catch him one day, standing in front of his corner, not moving - his face doing something it rarely does - stock still and serious.
he clocked you in about two seconds and the smile came back up like a blind snapping shut.
“oh, good. it’s just you,” he says, “we’re… running low on some stuff.”
you cast a look at the empty shelf, pitiful with just a few cans of who-knows-what.
“hey,” you say, stepping closer and taking his hand.
he looks at it, and then drops his forehead onto your shoulder, like how a tree branch might fall under it’s own weight. your arms naturally come back up, encircling around him.
“i don’t know what to do,” his voice is muffled against your skin.
“it’s okay.”
“it’s not -”
“it’s fine.”
he’s quiet for a long time, simply breathing in your space. when you pull back he flinches, but he doesn’t run. the edges of his eyes are rimmed red, but when you lean back in he doesn’t turn away.
you give him a chaste kiss on the lips, his eyes fluttering shut at the sensation.
when they open back up, he has a smile on his face again - not the one from earlier, but something more gentle and tender.
“chef riwoo -” he says, pulling back, “- is going to need a minute.”
“take all the time you need.”
#명재현 MYUNG JAEHYUN
jaehyun’s natural inclination to leadership is both a blessing and a curse, and jaehyun carries it with grace - and that’s the most terrifying part. he doesn’t look tired, he doesn’t crack under the pressure, he holds it together with an air of practice that scares you.
he’s good at it, being a leader. he’s so good at it he might be the best in the world - and since the world is so small right now, that phrase might actually be true.
jaehyun authority is embodied in his maps - the ones spread across the rickety table in one corner of the room. it’s littered with his handwriting, covered in symbols and dots only he can decipher and you try to understand. you sit with him while he thumbs at the edge, constantly reworking, rewriting, redrawing - trying to make sense of a world that is constantly shifting and is far too threatening.
he used to bury his head in his arms and sleep directly over the maps, almost like if he could splay out on the map he could control the world that lays under his fingertips. then you’d come over, place a hand on his back as he shuts his eyes, then, fifteen minutes later, he’d pull himself back together and sit up again.
“i’m glad you’re here,” he whispers one night, when everyone is asleep and your shadow casts your figure across his maps, “you’re the only one who understands me.”
you find his hands under the table and he brings them to his lips, kissing them like how a knight would to his grace. then he intertwines your fingers and turns back to his map, picking up his pen. romance blossoms under the dim light of a lamp that’s running out of time.
“you’re rerouting,” you point out quietly.
“i need you to be safe,” he squeezes your palm, “i - i…”
“i know,” you say softly, “it’s okay.”
he doesn’t look at you, his eyes still downcast as he draws an assertive line across the green.
“you need to drink,” you push the cup towards him.
“later.”
“now.”
he frowns at you but acquiesces, pulling the cup towards him. eventually it becomes half empty, and eventually jaehyun picks up his pen again.
you cup his cheeks and turn him towards you.
“tell me.”
“the east route -” he falters, “it’s… worst than i thought.”
“how bad?”
jaehyun stops, “i don’t know.”
you can tell by the scrunch in his nose that he hates himself for saying it. he’s supposed to be the one who always knows, the one who understands, the one who has a plan.
he not supposed to not know. he can’t afford to.
you run your thumb across his cheek and he leans into it, his eyes fluttering shut in the warmth.
“we’ll figure it out.”
“you don’t know that.”
“no,” you press your forehead against his, “but i know you will.”
jaehyun’s eyes blink open, and he shifts, ever so slightly, so his lips graze against the palm of your hand. he stays there for an exhale, then two, and three, and then he finds it in himself to pick up the pen again.
maknae line later
♡ or ↻ if you enjoyed, support your writers, thank you!!
what did you think? drop your thoughts in my inbox!
junebug junebug junebug!!! have you seen the teaser for viral yet!?? (I am on the train trying not to fall down rn btw aksvajjab)
yes!!!! pink sungho... i scrumpt... the beat sounds amazing too SOUNDS LIKE SOTY AOTY TO ME i love when a boy group gets a lil loud with their feelings
YAYYYY IM GLAD YOU ENJOYED!! omg i hope your next home is just as safe and coy and comforting too <33 and LITERALLY i wrote that line and i was like PAUSE. wait a minute. 😭😭
and YESSSS oh my god it was the greatest adventure !! i Remembered how much i love spiderman again 😭😭 and myung jaehyun truly would be spiderman and i just love how u portrayed him 🥺🥺🥺 u deserve it all!!!!
💖💖 me too but i'm excited to start this new journey as corny as it sounds... AND YES we are all spideymyung enjoyers in this house
kiss-gate (closed)!
six boys battle to the death for the attention of their favourite idol: button's y/n l/n.
ꨄ.. ⠀⠀ot6 as parasocial fanboys! [ prev ]
pick me, choose me, love me!
six boys battle to the death for the attention of their favourite idol: button's y/n l/n.
ꨄ.. ⠀⠀ot6 as parasocial fanboys!
a/n: sound off if you wanna see this as an entire (occassional) series ^^
i am !! i hope u are too !!! also yayyy lmk what u think when u do hehe
! i finally had the time to sit down and read it. it was so... like bittersweet (positive). especially as i'm literally packing up what was my home for the past few years as well 😢😢 love how you portrayed how home isn't a concrete place but rather a feeling. i love the part about the room in your parents house ough... idk why that line hit hard for me!!
ps. i read all your reblogs too hehe love how you went through the entire spideymyung journey 😭😭 thank you so much for all the sweet comments aylin i'm so happy you like him 🥺🥺
⋆｡°✩ pairing platonic!friend group!bnd x gn!reader wc 0.678k tw none genre fluff, uni au, nostalgic i think, the tiniest hint of angst if you squint.
⋆˚꩜｡author's note hihi everyone long time no see! the past semester was lowk kind of tough so i didnt have time for writing... anyway hopefully i'll get back into it soon lol. anyway it's still may 30th where i live so happy 3rd anniversary to boynextdoor!!!!!! i'm so so grateful to call this group my favorite <3 this fic isn't like my other ones, it's inspired by the film essay for their upcoming cb and my own thoughts about what it means to define home as a uni student. not proofread at all lol but enjoy and happy reading <3
⋆˙⟡ synopsis when so much is changing around you, what does it mean to call a place home?
⋆⭒˚.⋆ reblogs + feedback very much appreciated! ^^
you let the door swing closed behind you, shivering as a cold gust hits your skin. goosebumps rise across your arms, and you rub your hands together for warmth as you make your way over to the edge of the rooftop of your apartment building.
tonight is the last time you’ll see this view.
you gaze out over the glimmering skyline of your college town, the buildings and houses bright in the dark night that envelops the rest of the world. tomorrow you leave for your home, leave your roommates and your friends and the places you’ve come to inhabit over the past year for a summer back where you grew up. and come the next year, you won’t be back - you’re moving to a new apartment, one that’s closer to campus but not nearly as generous with the view.
so here you are. braving the cold night one last time.
you sigh, resting your forearms against the railing. the metal is cold, and you wince as the sensation bites into your skin - but it’s not nearly as painful as the lump in your throat, and for the life of you, you can’t figure out why. it’s not as if you’ll never see your roommates again. it’s not as if you’re going to leave forerver. so why does everything feel like its slipping through your fingers, and you can’t hold on?
you’re leaving home.
a new message buzzes on your phone, and you pull it out of your pocket, the white glare of the screen lighting up your field of view. it’s a new message from woonhak, in your group chat with your college friends.
hakathon: have a good summer guys! when you’re all home lets keep talking lol
you’re going home.
the place where you grew up somehow doesn’t feel like home anymore. not anymore, when you’re living life on your own terms. now that you have the freedom and independance to live as you please, take the classes you wanted to, spend time with whomever you like for as long as you wanted to.
wooriwoo: yeah!!
myungjae: leehanie you better be checking the gc fr
wooriwoo: and yn dont forget to send us a tour of your new apt
wooriwoo: you should do a before and after of when you first move in and later when it’s all decorated and like home lol
giant mountain: oh yeah that would be cool
you smile to yourself.
home.
a barren apartment turning into your safe space. what a concept.
in truth, though, hasn’t it always been like that? you take a space and make it your own. over and over and over again.
what is home?
perhaps home was your bedroom in your parents’ house that would remain a time capsule of someone you once used to be. perhaps home was the many library tables you’d spent hours studying at. perhaps home was your bunk bed in an apartment that was never going to be forever and yet is at the same time.
you pause.
no.
no matter the amount of decorations you put up, your apartment hadn’t started to feel like home until you’d been sharing it with people you could call friends.
what is home?
home is the people you share these places with. friends, family. friends who become family. it’s only because of them that these places hold meaning to you. they’ve been there long before you were born, and will still be there long after you pass through. it’s arbitrary to call them yours, and yet they are. perhaps places like those belong to everyone who ever smiles or cries in them.
you exhale slowly, watching the stars twinkle in the sky above you. somehow, you feel as through you can breathe a bit easier.
you: wait i’ll do that lol
you: also jae is right leehanie please check the gc
park sungho: bro he’s literally too busy starinf at his fish we’re never going to see him again
you laugh to yourself.
home is the people you share your life with.
⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚ want to check out the planetarium's other exhibits?
you’re definitely something.
ꨄ.. ⠀⠀myung jaehyun x gn! reader. spider-man au. part one / part two.
sypnosis: in between late night texts and museum visits, myung jaehyun gains a feeling he doesn't have the words for just yet. (wc 10.4k)
a/n: THIS IS A PREQUEL. also there might be a pt. 2.... okay anyways congrats spidermyung for the second place finish. i predicted you'd win but not even spider powers could stop hydrogen bomb woonhak.
“[y/n]! it’s been way too long!”
15-year-old blonde extraordinaire, girl-next-door, little miss perfect gayeon sim nearly loses her balance trying to tackle you in a bone-crushing hug.
"okay - i missed you too, now let me breathe!”
gayeon detaches from you and beams.
“but surely this sign isn’t for me?”
you point at the cardboard sign she’s holding, WELCOME HOME LOSER written in thick marker across the sign.
“no - it’s definitely for you,” she grins, looping her arm around your’s, "it’s been way too long!”
“three years,” you sigh wistfully, letting gayeon drag you by the arm.
"can’t believe you left me back here!”
"sorry, gifted kids programme. you know it was too good to pass up,” you quirk, "besides, i left you at home - not prison. i was totally stranded in the middle of nowhere.”
gayeon regards you with a quick side eye, "i think you’ve changed, yn, really.”
"good way or bad way?”
"good way!” gayeon gasps, "like - you’re seem really, what’s the word… grounded! confident! um - stuff like that!”
"way to boost my ego,” you grin, dragging your suitcase behind you, "so, what’s up with you? how’s - you know - him.”
"y/n!” she gasps before looking around, as if anyone in the airport was awake enough to care about a silly schoolyard crush, "there’s nothing!”
you grin, "really? so what was all that he’s so cute texts about?”
gayeon blushes, "i mean… h - he is cute! he’s in my chemistry and maths class and - god, he’s so cute. he’s the student council president, you know? leads the economics & business club, captain of the soccer team, won poetry competitions, volunteers at the community centre -”
"gayeon, breathe.”
"- and he’s just so nice to everyone!” gayeon barrels on like she didn’t hear you, “like - genuinely nice. one time, i dropped all my books and he helped pick it up for me. and then he smiled at me and i swear i forgot how to function for like five minutes straight.”
"isn’t that just something anyone would do?”
"no! i mean - you just don’t get it!”
"i don’t. you’re down bad.”
"i know!” gayeon wails, "and he doesn’t even know i exist! okay, he probably does. he talks to me in class. but - he's one of those people who somehow knows everyone's name and asks how your day is going and actually listens to the answer. it's kinda infuriating how perfect he is.”
"nobody’s perfect, gayeon,” you muse.
"myung jaehyun is!” she protests, "the entire school has a crush on him!”
"right…”
"last week he stayed after school to help the janitor clean up after someone pulled a prank in the cafeteria. nobody asked him to do that! he’s just so -”
"- perfect?”
"exactly! it’s been a year since he transferred here and i'm still trying to work up the courage to actually have a real conversation with him that doesn't involve me stammering like an idiot.”
"a whole year’s gone by and you haven’t even talked to him?”
"okay, listen - i have talked to him. just not, like, talked talked. you know?”
"not sure i do.”
"you'll understand when you see him,” gayeon says sagely, "he’s amazing. j - just don’t fall in love with him, okay? you’ll ruin my chances.”
"okay, gayeon,” you laugh at her sincerity, “i’m sure he’s lovely.”
"he is,” gayeon sighs lovingly, "he really is.”
gayeon’s mom picks you both up, and the drive back to your house under the sunrise is filled with more stories - some new to you, some old ones you’ve heard about over text before, 60% of which seem to orbit around this jaehyun guy in some way or the other.
by the time you get home, you feel like you already know him. perfect student. perfect smile. perfect grades. perfect personality. helps old ladies cross the street and probably rescues kittens from trees in his spare time. knows how to bake a mean banana bread and says thank you when getting off the bus.
some guy this is, myung jaehyun.
“look - dinosaur kid is back,” someone snickers to your right.
“they think they’re so cool just because they spent three years in egypt or something,” someone else whispers.
gayeon bristles on your behalf, “isn’t it amazing your passion got acknowledged by the literal national museum?”
she loudly proclaims as she side eyes your classmates, “some people don’t even get the chance, but they sure do like to talk anyways.”
you catch gayeon’s arm before she can continue rattling off, "it’s fine, gayeon, just leave it.”
"it’s not fine,” she grumbles, helping you unpack your textbooks into your locker, "madison is just jealous because the only thing she’s passionate about is making other people feel bad.”
"gayeon -”
"no, seriously! you got accepted into this super cool program and all people can talk about are dinosaurs and - like - jurassic park! like, do they even know you were studying paleontology with actual professionals?”
"it’s just important that i know,” you say grimly, trying to wedge your english textbook in between the wall of your locker and the chemistry textbook.
"but -”
"- it’s the first day of school,” you say firmly, "i’d rather be stressed out about remembering where all the classrooms are than what other people have to say about me.”
gayeon huffs but relents, steering you toward the main building with a firm grip, “fine. but if she says anything else, i'm not holding back.”
the hallway are cram packed with students reuniting after summer break. some of them familiar, some faces completely new to you. gayeon keeps an iron grip on your arm, pulling you down the hallway with relentless speed.
"’cuse me, people,” she mutters through gritted teeth, "coming through - oh my god!”
gayeon screeches to a halt and you look up from the floor at gayeon’s sudden outburst, "what?”
"there -” gayeon breathes out slowly.
in a scene that’s almost ridiculous, the crowd in front of you parts, revealing a cluster of students coming down the stairwell. in the middle is a boy with dark hair and an easy smile, laughing at something someone said. he's wearing the standard uniform - white shirt, navy blazer, tie slightly loosened in a way that screams ‘it looks like i just threw it on, but actually i spent a few minutes in the mirror making sure it looks good’. when he laughs, his whole face lights up, eyes crinkling at the corners.
as if sensing he’s being watched, jaehyun’s eyes scan the hallway and land directly on you and gayeon.
"oh my god,” gayeon whispers, "he’s looking our way!”
he raises up a hand in a wave, breaking off from his group as he turns in your direction -
and promptly falls flat on his face.
the entire hallway gasps as jaehyun crashes to the ground, his books and papers flying into the air as he lands with a loud thud. his copy of pride and prejudice slides across the floor and hits the side of your shoe as the rest of his books and papers scatter.
you swear the entire hallway is afraid to breathe.
“sorry! i’m such a klutz!” jaehyun yells out faster than you can blink as he jumps up from the floor, dusting off his trousers and laughing.
the entire hallway giggles uncertainly alongside him, exchanging glances until jaehyun reassures the crowd around him that’s he’s fine. eventually, the crowd thins out as they disappear and file away into classrooms, still looking back over at the seemingly infallible student council president who somehow face planted onto the floor.
you stare down at the book by your foot, then back up at jaehyun, who is still frantically trying to pick up his scattered papers while still maintaining that easy-going smile, but you can see the red creeping up his neck, his hands shaking as he shoved loose sheets into his folder.
“your book,” you bend down to pick it up.
jaehyun looks up, and you can see his brown eyes widen in embarrassment.
“i - yeah - just,” he scrambles to his feet, “i wasn’t looking and my shoelace was untied and -”
“are you okay?” you interrupt him, handing him his book.
“oh,” jaehyun breathes out, “i - i’m fine.”
“that’s good,” you point at your cheek, “you have a bit of dust here.”
jaehyun’s face explodes into a rose as he quickly swipes at his cheek with the back of his hand, “did i get it?”
you stifle a giggle, “yeah.”
beside you, gayeon has completely frozen, but she finally finds her voice and snaps back to reality, “h - hi, jaehyun!”
“oh! gayeon!” jaehyun’s entire face brightens, red fading slightly, “how was your summer? did you end up going to that science camp thing you mentioned?”
“you remember that?” gayeon squeaks.
“yeah, you seemed really excited about it,” jaehyun shoves pride and prejudice into his backpack with finality and zips it shut, “how was it?”
“it was good!” gayeon rushes out, almost too quickly, “we - we did biochemistry! chemistry and stuff like that!”
“sounds cool, you should tell me about it during class,” he smiles, “you’re [y/n], right? the one who got scouted for the leading youths in palaeontology course?”
“you know who i am?” you’re slightly taken aback.
“yeah! read about you in the school newsletter.”
you laugh incredulously, “you read the school newsletter?”
“i’m the student council president,” he shrugs, “i have to keep up with stuff.”
you look at him - really look at him now that he’s not as red as a tomato. he really does have that wide-eyed, puppy-eyed look gayeon gushed about over text.
“you’re definitely something, myung jaehyun.”
jaehyun tilts his head, “what’s that supposed to mean?”
“ask me again sometime,” you just smile.
“w - what?” jaehyun stutters, “when?”
you raise an eyebrow at him as you literally pick gayeon’s jaw off the floor. the bell tolls the start of your first period back at school and it’s your turn to pull gayeon down the hallway. you can hear jaehyun scoff to himself behind you as you disappear down the hallway.
“i’ll hold you to that!” he yells after you.
english is probably your least favourite subject.
you sit at the back of the classroom, content at staying out of sight of mr. kim’s whiteboard dictations and spending the entire class reading about deep sea animals instead of a literary analysis of ozymandias.
“you’re supposed to be analysing the poetic devices employed instead of looking at fossils from the crustaceous period,” someone whispers into your ears, and you jump when your eyes meet with jaehyun’s bright ones.
“it’s boring,” you whisper back as you scrunch back into your seat.
“did you know that ophiodon ozymandias is an extinct species of lingcod? it’s named after this very poem.”
you squint at jaehyun’s screen, “are you reading the list of organisms named after works of fiction wikipedia page?”
“i - um… no!” jaehyun quickly closes his tab and angles his laptop away from you, pouting.
“do you even know what a lingcod is?”
jaehyun chews on the inside of his cheek, “uh.”
“it’s a type of fish,” you go back to annotating your fossils, “it still exists, you know? ophiodon ozymandias is a larger species, identified through fossils from the late miocene. and by the way, it isn’t the crustaceous period, its the permian period.”
“i only understood, like, half of that,” jaehyun deflates.
“well, that’s not too bad. most people understand zero,” you say back.
“you’re good at this.”
you freeze, “well, it’s not like i’m good at anything else. like literary analysis? and i’m barely passing maths.”
“is that such a bad thing?,” jaehyun tilts his head, “it’s pretty cool that you’re so… passionate about it, you know?”
“myung jaehyun, are you making fun of me?”
jaehyun recoils in shock, “huh? what? of - of course not! i - i was giving you a compliment!”
you laugh, “relax. focus on your work, okay?”
"you’re making it really hard for me to focus,“ jaehyun grumbles as he pokes at the keys of his laptop.
“why did you sit here then?” you tease.
“it was the only seat left!”
“no, it definitely wasn’t,” you side eye him.
“well… as student council president, it is a part of my duty to make sure all the new students get settled in!”
“but i’m not new.”
“… you’re new to me!”
"why do you even care so much?“
jaehyun doesn’t answer, and when you peer at him through your peripheral, you see him with his cheeks puffed out, head buried into his notebook. you can’t help but laugh, but when jaehyun whips his head around to look at you accusingly, you’ve already returned to doodling ammonites in the margin of your textbook.
you’re busy reading the plaque under the statue of the founder of the museum when jaehyun slips away.
"bathroom break,“ you hear him announce to the rest of the field trip group as he jogs away.
ten minutes later, he comes back, bending down and placing his hands on his knees as he heaves.
"h - hey! where is everyone?“
you look up from scrutinising the narrative on the history of the city and shrug, "i think they moved on to the arctic exploration section.“
you check his pale face and his heavy breathing.
"are you okay?“
"i - i’m fine,“ jaehyun wipes the sweat from his forehead, "just got lost trying to find my way back and ran around like a headless chicken for, like, ten minutes. what are you looking at?”
“the founder,” you turn back to his statue, “apparently it took him thirty years to build the museum, and he donated his entire collection to it.”
jaehyun shuffles over to stand closer to you. the hallway is empty, there’s plenty of space, yet you let him press into your bubble.
“thirty years,” he repeats, scanning the plaque.
“he was twenty-five when he started,” you summarise, “spent every penny trying to build something that resembled a collection. his entire family thought he was crazy.”
“do you think he did the right thing?”
you look around you, at the high walls and bright lights and people milling about. the fossils, artifacts, and writing on things that existed for far longer than thirty years. a person’s stubborn love for something immortalised forever.
“i think he probably knew what he wanted to do with his life, and then did it.”
jaehyun looks at you instead of the plaque.
“did you know - what you wanted to do with your life?”
“yes,” you answer immediately, “since i was eight.”
“how?”
you look at him briefly, “i was over at my mom’s. she brought me to a natural history museum. there was a triceratops skull in the main hall and i just stood in front of it. i got scared - this idea of something so… enormous existed, and then didn’t anymore. and the only reason we knew is because we found the evidence and someone cared enough to preserve it. i got so excited about the prospect of exploring the unknown. what other things are out there that we don’t know about because nobody cared enough to look?”
jaehyun is quiet for a moment, like he’s ruminating and actually thinking over your words.
“i’m jealous of your dinosaurs,” he eventually says.
“they’re dead, myung jaehyun, not much to be jealous of.”
“i mean - it must be nice to have… something you want to do with your life,” he looks down at his scuffed loafers.
“hey, if gayeon’s right about what she says about you, you’ve got that too. student council president, poet, athlete. she went on and on about it.”
jaehyun laughs humorlessly, leaning against the base of the founder’s statue, “that’s different. it’s like running a race just because everyone’s cheering for you. sometimes, i don’t know if i’m running towards something or just running because i don’t know how to stop.”
you look at him, brown hair falling into his eyes as he stares at the floor. he looks like a puppy left out in the rain rather than the all perfect student council president you’ve heard about.
you reach out and flick the name tag pinned to the lapel of his blazer, “you’ll find it eventually. something to live for, a mission to go by. there’s no rush to this type of stuff.”
jaehyun groans and buries his face in his hands, “how are you so good at this type of stuff?”
“sitting in a dirt hole gave me a lot of time to think about myself,” you say gravely, “but don’t tell my supervisor. i wasn’t supposed to be distracted when sweeping.”
jaehyun laughs, straightening up as he fixes his collar and name tag.
“come on, we should go catch up. mr. kim is going to count heads soon.”
by the time you make it back to the main group, they’re discussing the big bang.
gayeon took one look at jaehyun’s face and immediately grabbed your arm after he melts back into his usual friend group.
“i told you not to get technical about the classifications of organisms!”
“i did no such thing,” you say in mock offence, “i don’t just speak about dead things, gayeon.”
“then why does jaehyun look like he’s about to throw up?”
“how would i know?” you shrug out of her grip, “maybe he had a really bad time in the toilets here.”
“ew,” gayeon recoils at the mental image, “yeah - um. let’s not talk about that anymore.”
you watch jaehyun reintegrate into the group, sliding in easily as he laughs at something one of his friends whisper into his ear.
whatever that was back there, you could not tell gayeon.
unknown heyy
you who’s this?
unknown its jaehyun
unknown sorry i got your phone no from the gc
myung jaehyun is that okay?
you thats fine
myung jaehyun :D
myung jaehyun i had fun talking to you today
people say myung jaehyun has his mother’s eyes - bright, wide, always warm. aunt miran showed him a picture of her once - all he thought was… it’s nice to have a name to the face.
he hissed as his shoulder tweaked the wrong way.
for a week now, myung jaehyun has been spider-man.
someone asked him in class once: why do you keep doing the things you do? after he tidied up the entire classroom by himself when nobody asked.
when i can do something, but i don’t, and then bad things happen, they happen because of me. he said, like it was the most normal thing in the world. that was something i learnt a long time ago.
that’s why he keeps on running - not stopping - because if he has the power to do thing, why doesn’t he?
“i - i’m fine, everything’s fine,” he says through the mask at the police officer, pushing him away.
the bus driver he pulled out is still blubbering, the police are calming down the passengers. no one’s hurt, everyone is safe - hell, even the bus is intact.
but still, everything’s decidedly not fine, and jaehyun knows that better than anyone else.
get out before they notice - before they figure out the new superhero in town is some wimpy 16 year old in a handmade costume who hasn’t had dinner yet. jaehyun shoots out a web from his web shooters and swing away before anyone can stop him, the shaking in his arms screaming at him to slow down even though he won’t.
he eventually crashes into the side of the building, only his new spider-like reflexes and stickiness stopping him from plummeting twelve stories down. instead, he flips over the edge and tumbles into a generator, scaring the pigeons away with his stumbles as he tears off the mask and breathes heavily.
the entire world is shaking before his eyes, the spider emblem across his chest pressing down into him, making it hard to breathe. jaehyun heaves, falling to the floor as he clutches at his chest. he knows what this feeling is - panic. cold, hard fear pressing down into his bones and seizing his limbs like some kind of bind that he can’t get out of.
breathe, jaehyun. in, and out. he repeats to himself in his hand, still shaking as his vision blurs.
his phone buzzes and for a moment his heart stops beating, seized by some sort of panic and fear - what if it’s another news report about how much he fucked up? but what if it’s a citizen looking for help? what if -
he fumbles in his pocket for the phone, nearly dropping it when he pulls it out.
instead of some obtuse news headline or a series of s.o.s. messages, it’s just a name that flashes across his screen.
y/n l/n hey
y/n l/n i know it’s late but i’ve been thinking about what you said last week - about the dinosaurs
jaehyun’s fingers are drifting aimlessly across the screen with how much they’re shaking, but he focuses on the three dots - the bubble that keeps drifting up lazily as you type. he manages to fumble back a response.
myung jaehyun what about it?
y/n l/n well, you said that you felt like you running for really no reason right?
myung jaehyun i remember
y/n l/n and like
y/n l/n most dinosaurs didn’t choose to be dinosaurs
y/n l/n like a t-rex didn’t just wake up and decided to eat other dinosaurs
y/n l/n it just did what it had to to survive
y/n l/n ate when it was hungry, protected its territory, lived its life
y/n l/n no grand purpose
y/n l/n just existing and doing what felt right
y/n l/n what im saying is that dinosaurs also didn’t know what they were doing
y/n l/n so maybe we don’t always have to have everything figured out
jaehyun settles against the generator, watching your messages float up one after the other.
myung jaehyun but what if we do the wrong thing?
y/n l/n dinosaurs literally went extinct and we’re still making movies about them and build museums for them
y/n l/n they arguably did like the most wrong thing to do wrong
y/n l/n okay not EXACTLY but you get what i mean?
y/n l/n failures not the end all be all
myung jaehyun the dinosaurs literally went extinct and all died tho
y/n l/n hey
y/n l/n some of them turned into birds!
y/n l/n thats what we do - adapt and evolve to the situation when it calls for it
myung jaehyun so
myung jaehyun when things go wrong, become bird?
y/n l/n thats one way to put it
y/n l/n the dinosaurs just kept going - even if it meant being in a different identity. different face. different shape.
jaehyun looks out into the city, it’s lights blinking below him as the air tousles his hair. he takes a deep breath in before typing in a response.
myung jaehyun you sure?
y/n l/n trust me.
myung jaehyun i think i really needed to hear that tonight
y/n l/n rough night?
myung jaehyun yeah
y/n l/n wanna talk about it?
myung jaehyun not really
y/n l/n fair
y/n l/n i’ll be here
y/n l/n in whatever shape 🐧
jaehyun stares at the last message for a long time before he finally cracks something that resembles a smile.
myung jaehyun yeah
myung jaehyun me too
you’re loading up your tray with fries as gayeon rambles your ear off.
“did you see? spider-man saved that bus full of people!”
“i saw. i watch the news,” you say, poking around for the perfect apple to finish your lunch assortment.
gayeon carts you off to a lunch table, still yapping about the red and blue clad superhero from tv. you try to balance your fruit juice boxes on your tray as you weave through the crowd.
jaehyun hears you before he sees you.
your indignant hey! cuts through the chatter of the cafeteria, and jaehyun jumps into action before he can think, a hand shooting out to grab the lunch tray and another reaching out to cut a fall. apples, a bowl of pasta, and a milk carton flies into the air and jaehyun manages to catch them all in the green plastic tray in a show of superhuman speed. the entire cafeteria falls silent.
“woah, that’s crazy,” gayeon breathes from where she is in his arms.
“gayeon! are you okay?” you hurry over, lunch tray and fries abandoned as you whirl onto madison, “hey! what the hell are you doing?”
“tripped the wrong nerd,” madison snickers as gayeon leaps out of jaehyun’s arms in a blushing mess, finally aware of what exactly she landed in.
gayeon watches as your eyes narrow and you get that expression that could strip paint off a wall.
“wait!” gayeon grabs your arm in a panic, “d - don’t give her any attention.”
you scoff as madison and her posse drifts away, already bored. you seethe, fists clenching and unclenching at your side.
jaehyun is still holding gayeon’s lunch tray.
“um, here,” he offers it back, “everything’s still on it. except the milk - didn’t catch that one.”
gayeon takes it from him, avoiding eye contact and rather staring at the perfectly balanced bowl of pasta and rescued apples.
“how did you even -”
“lucky catch,” jaehyun says easily.
“that was way more than a lucky catch,” you turn back from glaring at madison’s retreating figure and look at the tray.
“i play a lot of sports,” jaehyun says breezily.
you make that sound that you make whenever you don’t really believe something but can’t be bothered to think about it enough.
gayeon’s still stuttering through her next sentence when you tell jaehyun to sit with you two.
“um,” jaehyun looks back at his usual table - loud even without him, “sure. why not?”
you’ve killed gayeon.
she’s probably mentally shut down by now, staring intensely at the edge of her tray as she dutifully eats through her bowl of pasta without a peep. jaehyun, however, has stolen one of your fries without asking, and you had to smack his hand away two times after.
“so,” you ask through a mouthful of fries, “you two doing anything next week at the fair?”
gayeon chokes on her milk, “like - together?”
you shrug, “together, alone, separate or not so separate. heard the ferris wheel is nice at night.”
you wink at gayeon as jaehyun stumbles through his sentence.
“i - well, i wasn’t - maybe - uh,” jaehyun stops and starts like a record player glitching out, “the fair.”
“yeah, the fair,” you confirm, stabbing your straw into your juice box.
"i think my aunt’s helping to run the ring toss - for the charity,“ jaehyun mumbles, "and i promised i would help, so…“
"wow, that’s perfect! gayeon loves ring toss!“ you clap your hands together.
"i do?“ gayeon questions unhelpfully.
"yeah! we were just discussing ring toss strategy a few nights ago, remember?“
"uh, yeah!“ gayeon’s never been a good liar - her entire face flushes red.
jaehyun raises an eyebrow, “well, um, if you two want to drop by, i’ll probably be free after six”
"oh, we definitely will,“ you chuckle.
"cool,“ jaehyun grins, "see you there.“
"thanks a lot, miss subtle,“ gayeon kicks your foot under the table as jaehyun walks away, lunch tray in hand, "we totally scared him away!"
"hey, i just scored you a date!“ you steal an untouched fry off gayeon’s plate, "you should be thanking me!“
"what if it goes to crap?“ gayeon frets, putting her head into her hands.
"then we’ll buy some cotton candy and go on the bumper cars, no big deal,“ you shrug as you finish off the rest of your juice box.
"very big deal,“ gayeon groans.
"hey, where’s gayeon?“ you’re sporting the world’s ugliest hat and a ice pop dangles in between your teeth as jaehyun walks over, still in his bright red and yellow fair uniform.
"oh,“ he double takes as you turn around, "uh, nice.. hat?“
"i won it from the hammer,“ you point behind you and flex your arms, "guess i’m stronger than i look!“
jaehyun laughs, “really? you’re going to have to show me then. speaking of - like, do you want to -”
"y/n! jaehyun!“ gayeon's yells interrupt him, running up to you and clutching your arm as she huffs, “sorry, am i late?”
“nope,” you pop the p, “jaehyun just got off shift, right?”
“uh, yeah,” jaehyun looks pointedly at you, “but i was thinking -”
“so, ferris wheel?” you interrupt, linking your arm with gayeon and steering the two of them towards the main attraction.
“uh, um,” gayeon says almost breathlessly, “why not?”
“amazing,” you shove the two of them into the line, “i’m scared of heights, meet you later!”
somehow - you manage to slink away before either of them can protest, your outrageous glowing hat bobbing away until it melts into the crowds.
gayeon kicks the floor awkwardly with her shoes.
"they’re lying, by the way,” gayeon mumbles, "they aren’t scared of heights at all.”
"oh, really?” jaehyun is reading the safety instructions like it’s the most interesting thing in the world, "i didn’t know that about them.“
"yeah,” gayeon bites her lip, "they aren’t scared of much, really. i’ve been trying to find something for years.”
"i could tell, they never seemed to be freaked about about anything,” jaehyun mumbles as the line inches forward ever so slowly, the ferris wheel an infinite cog of people and couples that sneak kisses at the top.
“yeah, total opposite of me,” gayeon sighs, “they’re totally… what’s that? the eye of the storm?”
“the anchor to your ship?” jaehyun offers.
“yeah, that,” gayeon groans, “i’ve never seen them scared! it’s like they don’t even know how to feel fear!”
"a - anyways,” gayeon coughs loudly while looking down at her shoes, “do you want to share a gondola? or something?”
"huh? i - i guess,” jaehyun coughs through the sentence, "listen, gayeon, i -”
a scream interrupts him, shriek rippling through the line as people immediately whip their heads around at the sound.
something groans and splinters - the rollercoaster! someone yells, another person shrieks about the sandman and jaehyun’s brain immediately flips into spider-man mode.
"j - jaehyun?” gayeon squeaks, gripping onto the sleeve of his jacket, "what’s going on?”
"just stay put,” jaehyun absentmindedly says, pulling his jacket out of her grip and pushing against the crowd towards the rollercoaster, "i need to go.”
"go?” gayeon’s voice rises, "where? jaehyun? where are you going?”
but jaehyun is already tuning her out, wading through the throngs of people and running towards the storm of chaos.
spider-man lands on the roof of a nearby building. people continue to scream and scatter as the wind picks up, flinging sand into the air and creating a haze that jaehyun has to squint to see through.
i need to get to the people, he thinks to himself, hopping onto the next roof over.
the rollercoaster groans again, the screech of metal against metal drawing spider-man’s attention. he pinpoints the people stuck in the cars at the top, frozen in place precariously as the rollercoaster sways like a tree in the wind.
"okay, everyone stay calm!” he yells as he swings, landing softly on the rollercoaster. ripping up the safety bars was like ripping paper at this point, and he offers a hand to a panicked mother and son to help them out of the car.
the boy cries as the rollercoaster trembles under their feet, falling to his knees in terror.
“woah, buddy, be careful!” jaehyun catches him, pulling him back up to his feet.
sandman emerges from the cloud of dust, his massive form towering over the fairgrounds.
"spider-boy," he growls, his voice like grinding stone, "always showing up where you're not wanted.”
"yeah, well, you're kind of ruining date night for everyone," jaehyun snips, his voice far too light for the way his heart hammers away in his chest, "mind taking this somewhere else?”
he shoots a web at the rollercoaster’s support beam and prays to whatever entity is listening to just give him a chance.
"spider-man, help me!” a young girl pushes at her restraint, fear evident in her voice.
jaehyun whips his head between the girl and sandman, carefully crawling towards her as he keeps the sandy storm in his peripheral.
"i’m gonna get you down, okay? i just need -”
“you just need a hand,” someone finishes for him, voice carrying over the wind.
from seemingly nowhere, a pair of figures rise from the metal bars of the rollercoaster.
"i’ve got you,” one of them - a girl - says, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around the young girl and somehow pulling her out of the car without even touching the restraints, her body melting into the vehicle like an object through an illusion before popping out the other side.
"i’ve secured civilians,” the other - a boy armed with a tablet and a sense of authority that makes jaehyun’s skin prickle - speaks, a finger pressed to the earpiece in his ear.
he nods to the girl, "get them down.”
her face contorts into something unreadable before she nods, taking the hands of the civilians and melting through the floor like solidity was a suggestion instead of reality.
jaehyun stares at the boy - and at the spot where the girl melted through the floor. he was probably around his age, his face partially obscured by a visor. the girl and him were wearing the same uniform - yellow spandex with an obnoxious red x across their belt. what was this - some type of child military unit?
sandman hisses, "x-men! i thought i killed you mutants all the way back then!”
"you made an attempt,” the boy says calmly, tapping away on his tablet, "it constituted barely a scratch.”
“you said you wanted a hand? i’ll give you a hand!” sandman raises a giant, sandy fist, intent on crushing both jaehyun and the boy. jaehyun flips away in an instant, his spider-sense setting off alarm bells in his nerves.
"what are you doing? move!” he yells at the boy, who stays rooted on the beam, staring defiantly at sandman.
the fist doesn’t land. instead, just as his fist is an inch away from crushing the boy, sandman disappears into a cloud of dust, leaving behind what sounds like a slurp and a pop. jaehyun blinks, the sand around him settling onto his suit like a second layer. the boy simply sighs and dusts off his clothes, not moving an inch from his place on the groaning coaster track.
"hey! what the hell was that?” jaehyun yells. the boy ignores him like he was just another howl in the wind.
"no, i have this under control,” the boy utters into his earpiece as he taps away on his tablet, back turned deliberately to jaehyun, "no need to send sakura.”
finally, he regards jaehyun - "spider-man.”
his voice is clipped, professional, like he’s at some kind of board meeting instead of a fight with a giant man made out of sand. jaehyun feels weirdly scrutinised.
"uh, yeah, hi. that’s me. that’s for the assist and all, but i had it under control -”
"you were going to be squashed like a bug,” the boy replies, "if we didn’t help, the support beam would’ve snapped. three casualties. you injured with a broken arm. we teleported him in time."
jaehyun raises an eyebrow - though he probably couldn’t see under his spider-man mask, "you’re really confident talking about something that didn’t happen.”
"i saw it,” he says, like its the most simple thing in the world before pressing a finger to his earpiece again, "phase - status?”
the girl from before materialises from the floor, slightly of breath, "all evacuated. ground team has them.”
the boy nods, fingers flying across his tablet, "good.”
"woah woah woah,” jaehyun holds out an arm, "who the hell are you guys?”
"x-men,” the girl says simply, “this is our part of town.”
"how come i’ve never heard of you guys?”
the boy shrugs, "unlike some people, we don’t do backflips on social media for attention.”
"wow, that one stung,” jaehyun mock winces, "i guess not much happens around here.”
the boy ignores him pointedly, speaking into his earpiece again, “rendezvous at point b, we’re pulling back.”
"pulling back?” jaehyun splutters, "while sandman is - uh - he’s still out there, right?”
"he’s near the log ride,” the boy raises an eyebrow, "you understand right?”
"i mean - yeah. water. but -”
"in two minutes and forty six seconds,” the boy begins, "you will rupture the water pipes and stop sandman.”
"what are you -”
"saw it,” the boy says impatiently, "now go. you’re wasting time.”
phase tilts her head, a grin playing on her lips, "can you do a flip?”
"not the time,” the boy warns, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it, "time to go, spider-man. try not to kill sandman with your cringe kitty litter comment.”
jaehyun groans and swings away as screams erupt from the direction of the log flume.
“professor. bugboy is handling it. we’re clear to extract,” he hears the boy murmur over his earpiece.
“bugboy,” jaehyun scoffs to himself, “very creative.”
but jaehyun doesn't have time to think about it more. sandman is terrorising the fair, and spider-man has water pipes to rupture.
it’s only after - after the police has arrived and captured sandman, and after the news vans, and after jaehyun swung into a dark corner of the fair and stripped off his costume - does he remember.
“shit, gayeon,” he curses, pulling his phone out of his pocket. fifteen missed calls from gayeon light up his screen.
he wades through the crowd, pressing his phone to his ear as another call from gayeon comes through.
“jaehyun!” gayeon more or less yells into the receiver, “where the hell are you?”
“uhh,” jaehyun looks around, “near the photobooths!”
“okay, okay, good,” jaehyun hears shuffling from her end, “i’m here! turn around!”
jaehyun whips around to see gayeon, mouth set into a thin line as she storms up to him.
“you left me!”
“i know - gayeon, i’m sorry -”
“sorry doesn’t cut it! i could’ve died! what type of person just ups and leaves a girl alone while a super villain is attacking?”
“gayeon - please. it was important, i had to go -”
“what was so important, jaehyun? tell me!” gayeon demands in frustration, stepping into his space and forcing him up against the side of the photobooth behind them.
“i - it’s complicated,” jaehyun tries again, pushing himself back into the wall.
“then uncomplicate it!”
“gayeon -”
“no!” gayeon’s voice cracks, and she takes a sharp breath, “i was scared, okay? i didn’t know where you went, i couldn’t find [y/n], i was completely alone while sandman was literally throwing people around and you just disappeared.”
“i know. i know. i’m sorry -”
“quit saying sorry and explain already!”
jaehyun inhales.
the fair is still buzzing with a particular post-disaster energy. news crews setting up, police taking statements, people pointing in the sky recounting what they saw.
jaehyun exhales.
“okay, but you have to promise me something.”
he pulls back the curtain of the photo booth and steps inside, “and i can’t let other people hear.”
“uh,” gayeon stares at him from the outside, “jaehyun, you’re freaking me out.”
“just - hear me out to the end. before you say anything.”
gayeon searches his face.
“fine,” she says, accepting the hand he offers as he pulls her into the booth and let the curtains swish close.
“now what,” gayeon crosses her arms.
jaehyun reaches into the front pocket of his jeans. pulls out something crumpled that’s red and blue and tucked hastily behind his phone. he presses it into her hands.
gayeon looks down.
“i’m spider-man. surprise!” jaehyun says weakly, his mask dangling from gayeon’s fingers.
gayeon looks at the mask, then back up at him, then back down at the mask.
“this isn’t funny,” she says flatly.
“no - i’m telling the truth! look - i can shoot webs and stuff,” he curls his middle and ring finger to press onto the button on his wrists, a jet of webbing shoots out and covers the camera of the booth.
gayeon gasps scandalously.
“you’re - you’re spider-man?”
“please don’t yell -”
“you’re spider-man!” gayeon’s voice goes up by about three octaves, “you - you? you’re spider-man?”
“gayeon, not so loud!”
“oh my god,” gayeon slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide, “the bus! last week! that was you -”
“yes.”
“and the house that was on fire -”
“also me.”
“and the bridge -”
“still me.”
“jaehyun!” gayeon grabs the front of his shirt with both fists, the mask still clutched in one hand, “why didn’t you say anything?”
“what was i supposed to say? hey, i’m spider-man?”
“that’s not - that’s -” gayeon sighs, “that’s why you ran towards the rollercoaster!”
“yeah - i… i had to.”
the fair churns out outside the booth.
“does anyone else know?’ gayeon says quietly, releasing her grip on his shirt.
“no,” jaehyun says, gently taking his mask out of her hands and stuffing it back in his pocket, “just you.”
“damn,” gayeon lets out a breath, “not even [y/n]?”
jaehyun pauses, “where are they?”
gayeon lights up like a switch, “wait - yeah! that’s why i was so panicked! i’ve been calling them since forever and their phone kept going to voicemail and i couldn’t find them and -”
jaehyun feels something in his stomach drop.
“where did you last see them?” he pulls out his own phone.
gayeon gestures at the phone, “they sai]d they were going to check out the haunted house last time i heard.”
“okay. let’s go,” jaehyun is already moving, whipping open the curtain as gayeon scrambles to keep up with him.
“jaehyun?” she says, half-jogging beside him.
“yeah?” he says, looking up over the crowd to see if he can spot you.
“thanks for telling me. even if i had to find out this way. we'll talk about this later. but first -”
“first,” jaehyun agrees, “[y/n].”
they find you twenty minutes later, sitting outside the medical tent with a new hat - a bedazzled cowboy hat - perched lopsided on your head and a square bandage over your left knee, your shattered phone in your lap. you look deeply unbothered - unbothered enough to still have a red solo cup in your hands, half full with a mysterious neon green liquid.
“the haunted house was crazy,” you say as a greeting, jaehyun and gayeon out of breath.
“what the hell is wrong with you?” gayeon all but launches herself at you, shaking you by the shoulders, “we’ve been looking around for you for ages!”
“phone died,” you hold it up, the cracks of your screen looking like fireworks, “some guy bumped into me, i dropped it, and it went under someone’s foot. i’m fine, by the way.”
“um, you call that fine?” gayeon gestures at your knee.
“i told you, the haunted house was crazy,” you say gravely, “are you two okay?”
“i’m fine,” gayeon bites her lip, “and jaehyun…”
the two of them look each other other, a beat of understanding exchanged.
you grin, “looks like the two of you are doing great.”
jaehyun chokes as gayeon flushes, “not what you’re thinking of!”
“sure, sure,” you hold out a hand, “now pull me up.”
“make sure she gets home safe!” gayeon calls, pushing her grinning mother back into the house behind her.
“i will!” jaehyun replies dutifully, giving her a mock salute as the two of you step down the porch.
the walk back is quieter than you’re used to.
jaehyun keeps pace with you easily, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket as the two of you navigate post-sandman streets - faint sirens, news helicopters hissing overhead, a cluster of teenagers recounting animatedly about the encounter between the x-men, sandman, and spider-man.
“i have to admit, i was pretty scared,” you break the silence, kicking a rock down the street. it skitters loudly.
“really?” jaehyun raises an eyebrow, “you looked pretty not-scared. gayeon said you weren’t scared of anything.”
you laugh, “of course i’m scared of some things. just - less things than most people. it’s hard not to be spooked when you come out of a haunted house with a bleeding knee and everyone is screaming.”
jaehyun stares at the bandage across your knee, “so you really got that in the haunted house?”
“i tripped over a fake skeleton,” you wince, “and i’d rather not revisit that. thank you.”
jaehyun stares, then bursts into laughter.
“hey!” you say, slightly miffed, “i have a complicated relationship with bones, okay!”
your defense only seems to make him double over even more.
“you done?” you frown when jaehyun finally straightens up, wiping at his eyes with his knuckles.
jaehyun looks up at you, then dissolves into giggles again.
“okay, okay,” jaehyun holds up a hand, still half wheezing, “i’m done, i promise.”
you cross your arms, “really?”
“okay, not really,” jaehyun grins.
you shove him by the shoulder and keep walking. he laughs, unperturbed as he quickens up to step up next to you.
“i’m glad you’re okay,” jaehyun says, once the last of the laughter settles out of his voice.
“i had a bandage, a new hat, and a mysterious green drink within ten minutes,” you say, “i was always going to be fine.”
“you know what i mean.”
you look over at him.
“i know,” you say, softer, “i’m fine. are you?”
jaehyun pauses, the glow of the street lamps bathing his face in a honey gold.
“i think so,” he eventually says, “i am.”
you tilt your head at him, “sure?”
jaehyun chews on his bottom lip, “you really know how to make a guy question himself.”
you smile mysteriously, “one of my many talents.”
“i’m sure.”
“remember,” you stop in front of your apartment building, “the dinosaurs made it. sixty-six million years of doing freak all. not knowing if they’re doing okay, but living anyways.”
you tilt your ridiculous bedazzled cowboy hat at him, “and some of them turned into birds.”
jaehyun stands on the pavement and looks at you.
“get home safe,” you say, disappearing behind the front door before he can find the words to respond to you.
jaehyun stares until the door swings shut with a rattle.
above him, a helicopter cuts through the sky - the clouds trailing after it.
jaehyun is walking down the hallway when a hand suddenly darts out, clasping around his wrist and pulling him into a nearby classroom.
jaehyun reacts immediately, pulling himself out of their grip and backing up into the door in a fighting stance.
“calm down, it’s just me!” gayeon holds up her hands in surrender and jaehyun deflates into relaxation.
“gayeon? is something wrong?”
“give me your web-shooters,” gayeon holds out her hand expectantly.
jaehyun’s grip on his backpack straps tightens, “w - why?”
“i want to take a look!” gayeon explains exasperatedly, “let me give them a look over!”
“i -” jaehyun shrinks into himself, suddenly shy, “okay, but - but you have to promise to be nice about them! i made them myself!”
“just give them over already!”
jaehyun cautiously pulls up the sleeves of his cardigan, and gayeon immediately latches onto the watch-like device strapped down to his forearm.
“hmm, not bad for a home project,” she mumbles, more to herself than him, “could be optimised into a sleeker design. i’ve seen you hold up stuff like buses with these synthetic webs - so the tensile strength is acceptable for your current needs. i could up the strength of these - add a little co2, if it’s possible. faster swings, more impact…”
a finger on jaehyun’s hand twitches and gayeon jumps back like she’s been electrocuted.
“ugh, sorry. i was totally rambling, right?”
“it’s fine,” jaehyun pulls down his web-shooters, pushing the trigger pad to the middle of his palm, “i usually do it like this.”
he aims it out the classroom and a thin strand of web shoots across the desks and chairs, sailing gracefully out the window.
“okay,” gayeon says carefully, stepping forward again, “have you thought about other modes? like - a web grenade, or - or a multishot!”
“uh,” jaehyun scratches his cheek, “not - not really. didn’t really think that was neccessary yet.”
“okay - that’s fine!” gayeon says breathlessly, hands flying as she explains, “and - and i could streamline the design so you don’t have to wear long sleeves all the time and stuff and -”
“gayeon,” jaehyun interrupts, “i appreciate the help - really, but that’s where it has to end. i don’t want you more involved than this.”
“h - huh?” gayeon stops, hands stilling in front of her, “what do you mean?”
“it’s just that -” jaehyun picks his words carefully, “it’s dangerous. you knowing my identity is already dangerous. so don’t go around being my guy - uh, girl-in-the-chair.”
“oh,” gayeon’s face falls slightly, “i - i mean, if that’s what you want! i know being spider-man is seriously tough and all, don’t wanna make it harder for you and i know you didn’t ask ask me for help! and -”
jaehyun pinches her sleeve, “gayeon. it’s okay. i’m just happy i get to share this with someone. it’s nice having someone to talk to.”
“yeah,” gayeon says nervously, chewing on the inside of her cheek, “i’m glad you trust me.”
silence. then her phone beeps with the ringtone jaehyun has come to associate with you.
“crap, [y/n],” gayeon pulls out her phone, frowning.
“i’ll tell her i have chemistry club stuff and work on these -” she holds up his web-shooters, “over lunch.”
“you sure? you still have to eat, you know?” jaehyun frowns.
“i’ll buy a sandwich or something next period,” gayeon waves him away, “now go - genius takes time and solitude - as someone smart probably said once.”
jaehyun finds you at your usual lunch table, stirring the ice in your drink with your straw absentmindedly while you watch something on your phone.
“you okay?”
you raise your gaze up at jaehyun at his question.
“i’m okay,” you say, “just stressed.”
“yeah?” jaehyun tilts his head, “about?”
you purse your lips, “i don’t need any help.”
“i’m not saying you do,” jaehyun catches on quickly, “but i just want you to know you can talk to me, you know? like how i talk to you.”
you stare at him.
"seriously. i'm fine."
"but -"
jaehyun is cut off by your phone vibrating furiously on your desk, and for the first time since he met you, jaehyun sees something akin to doubt flash across your face.
"i - i have to get this," you say quickly.
you pick up on the fifth ring, nearly dropping the phone before you haphazardly press it to your ear.
"hello? dad? yeah - i heard about mom coming over. no - i didn't know... i don't know. no - i'm fine by myself. seriously, you don't need to come, and i know you don't want to either. okay, sorry. i'll call you back, i'm about to head to class."
the bell to go to class doesn't ring for another 20 minutes, but you press the end call button frantically and slam the phone facedown on the table with finality.
"it's fine," you mumble, your face falling into your hands, and jaehyun isn't sure if you're talking to him or yourself, "everything's fine."
jaehyun swears the temperature dropped the moment you picked up that phone.
what should he say?
'are you okay?' - you just said i'm fine like five times.
'is your mom coming over?' - way too direct and touchy.
'my parents are dead -' ugh, what are you thinking, myung jaehyun?
instead, he quietly places his own phone on the table, face down next to yours.
a moment of silence later, you finally crack.
"what are you doing?" you mumble stiffly, peeking up from your palms.
jaehyun shrugs and just sits, watching you twitch in your seat, looking at the back of your phones like it’s some kind of electronic gravestone.
“i hate it,” you finally whisper, “i hate how i still crave for my mom’s attention like i’m some kid.”
you stare at your hands, “they divorced years ago. mom packed up and left, and dad ended up sending me to a three year long program for weirdos obsessed with dead things and now it seems like he’s more used to be not being around than me being around.”
the cafeteria continues to churn around you like you didn’t just spill your heart out to a guy you’ve known for half a year.
“sorry,” you eventually say, “i didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”
jaehyun doesn’t say anything.
you look up and he’s looking at you - not with pity or sadness - but with that same look that you’ve seen before: when you’re reading the founder’s plaque; when you saw that triceratops skull for the first time; when his eyes first met yours on that stupid hallway floor.
“it’s not stupid,” he eventually says, softly, “you’re just human. things don’t just… stop because they hurt.”
he thrums his fingers against the table, “but that’s the thing - isn’t it? you’re human - you have the ability to do whatever you want. we can’t really… change how people look at us, just how we look at ourselves.”
he reaches over to gently flip over his phone, face up like it means something. you can see your reflection in the darkness of the screen and you’re frowning.
“besides, you’re not doing it alone. i’ll tell you how awesome you are everyday - gayeon probably does already - until you think so too.”
you lean back in your seat, and watch jaehyun fiddle with his phone until he looks up, his brown eyes catching in the sunlight and turning gold.
“when did you get so wise?” you joke quietly, watching a light pink dust across his nose.
“you must be rubbing off on me,” he says softly.
the cafeteria continues to churn, and you continue to stare at jaehyun.
then, the bell actually rings.
you lean forward to pull your phone off the table, pocketing it quickly before shooting a small smile at jaehyun.
“thanks. i’ll… think about what you said.”
you take off before jaehyun can reply - with the same commitment and speed you throw into everything else.
jaehyun swears he’s not trying to be a creep, but sticking to the side of your apartment building (that he only happened memorised from the last time he walked you home) isn’t exactly helping his case right now.
he’s trying to be a good friend, he reasons to himself as he crawls across the brick, trying to locate your apartment, he’s just making sure you’re doing okay.
he locates your flat through the glint of the sequins of your bedazzled cowboy hat, reflecting the light of the street lamps in a series of bright flashes. against his better judgement, he navigates around the window, pivoting until he’s peeking over the top of your window and down into your room.
jaehyun has never seen your apartment, but he never would’ve guessed that it would look something like this - a man cave with plaid and leather and a mountain of energy drinks and cans of beer in the corner. the ridiculous hats, collection of rolled up boy band posters, and stack of books tucked under the window is the only proof you lived here.
‘he’s more used to be not being around than me being around.’ your voice echoes in his mind. your father - he assumes - is sprawled out on the sofa while, looking done at the woman shaking her finger at him. he can hear bits and pieces of the argument - about how you were responsible for the safety of our child and you don’t get to call them your child after you abandoned them.
but where the hell were you?
jaehyun crawls around the corner - nothing, not even a wisp of your hair and a glimpse of your shadow.
okay, think - they could be anywhere. in that coffee shop they like, or their second trip to the museum this week, or maybe even gayeon’s house.
jaehyun ends up flipping over the ledge of the roof, pacing back and forth as he contemplates which direction of the neighbourhood he should jump in, and whether he should test that funny communicator gayeon fixed into his suit yesterday and ask if she’s seen you -
“spider-man?”
jaehyun whips his head around at the sound.
“uh,” he backs up like a dog cornered as you emerge from behind the door to the stairs, “hey there, citizen!”
you regard him suspiciously, and jaehyun wonders if you could see his expression under the mask, “what are you doing here?”
“j - just making my usual rounds,” jaehyun frantically looks around and points at a pigeon that’s perched on the ledge, “there’s been super villain who i suspect has been using pigeons as a form of communication!”
you scrutinise the pigeon, who chirps like it’s personally offended by jaehyun’s baseless accusation.
“okay…” you say slowly, stepping closer.
“w - what are you doing up here?” jaehyun stutters as he backs himself into a corner, “it’s not safe.”
you shrug, “i… i just wanted to see the sky.”
you flop down onto the concrete with the grace of a disgruntled cat, legs splayed out as you stare out across to the sky. the wind tugs at your hair and the air smells faintly of cut grass and car exhaust. spider-man stands stock still a few meters away, but you can still feel him watching you through those big white cutouts on his mask.
jaehyun scratches his head, “there aren’t stars out yet, though?”
you hum thoughtfully, “better than becoming collateral damage in my divorced parent’s third argument of the night.”
“it is,” you pick at a seam on your shirt, “can’t do anything about it.”
“you seem like you handle messes well,” jaehyun says before he can stop himself.
you shoot him a smile, “you’ve been watching me, spider-man?”
“n - no!” jaehyun raises his hands and shakes them furiously, “i’m not a stalker, i swear!”
“sounds like something a stalker would say.”
“i’m spider-man!”
“okay, do a flip then.”
jaehyun lets out a frustrated groan.
“kidding,” you say, before shivering lightly, the night wind catching your hair in a way that blows it in your face. you huff as you pull your hair out of your eyes, and spider-man notices, moving his body to shield you from the icy onslaught.
“you should head inside soon,” he says gently as you wrestle with your hair, “it’s getting cold, and dark. even if your parents are still probably yelling.”
“yeah, probably,” you draw circles in the dust of the ground.
jaehyun offers you a hand and you stare up at him.
“you’re strange, spider-man,” you say as you accept it, letting him pull you up to your feet.
“is that a bad thing?”
you look at him - and for a moment jaehyun wonders if you’ve already figured out who’s behind the mask - he wouldn’t put it past you, you were one of the smartest people he knows.
you tilt your head and smiles, “not really.”
jaehyun doesn’t even realise he hasn’t let go of your hand until you clear your throat and gently pull it out of his grasp.
“sorry!” he squeaks, shooting straight up, his hand clasped behind his back, “i - i should go patrol - make sure sandman is still behind bars and things. are you going to be okay?”
“i always am,” you dust off your palms, “don’t get beat up too badly, spider-man.”
“i’ll let green goblin know you said that,” he grins under his mask, “have a good night, citizen!”
“you too, spidey.”
with a flick of his wrist, jaehyun launches into the air, swinging onto the next building and down an alleyway, disappearing into the night with a few graceful swings. he leaves you with web fluid still stuck to the pipes and the faint smell of whatever cologne spider-man was wearing under that suit and the fabric softer he uses to wash it.
“gross,” you mumble to yourself as you swipe a finger through his webs. it sticks to you and you fling it off, your face crinkling at the unpleasant sensation.
jaehyun thumbs hover over your chat - he’s fresh out of the shower after a night of patrol and standing like an idiot in the middle of the bathroom overthinking about a single text. he squeezes his eyes shut and stabs the send button before he can overthink himself into a stomach ache.
myung jaehyun: are you okay?
your reply comes quicker than he expected.
y/n l/n yeah
y/n l/n i met spider-man tonight, isn’t that cool?
y/n l/n what did you do?
jaehyun scratches his cheek, chewing on his next words.
myung jaehyun student council paperwork
myung jaehyun booooring 👎 meeting spider-man is so much cooler
y/n l/n sounds boring!
y/n l/n idk, spider-man seemed kinda lame
myung jaehyun ????
y/n l/n he kept stuttering and stuff
y/n l/n you think he has a crush on me or something? love at first sight? 😄
jaehyun tilts his head. did spider-man have a crush on you?
wait - what the heck is he thinking? he’s spider-man, and he definitely doesn’t have a crush -
y/n l/n whatever, probably not
y/n l/n only nerds like you and gayeon would like someone like me
y/n l/n i’m going to bed, goodnight jaehyun!
jaehyun hastily types back a goodnight message before switching off his phone, looking up at the mirror. his face is flushed, red blooming across his nose and down to his cheeks - and it certainly isn’t due to the steam of the bathroom. heat crawls up his neck and he has the urge to throw his phone across the room and collapse into bed and never get up.
jaehyun’s eyes widen.
hell, spider-man probably did have a crush on you.
and he wouldn’t even blame the guy for having one.
woonhakie next <3
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okay, admittedly, that makes jaehyun sound like a creep - spying on you through the glass of the shared apartment from the fire escape of the building across from you, but he can't help himself.
his heart does that thing - the thing were it squeezes, flips, and threatens to explode out of his chest if not for the embroidered spider across his chest - as he watches you. you pull your hands up to rub at your eyes - in the way where he knows you're trying to keep yourself awake for him.
for him. jaehyun's brain echoes.
8.3 billion people in the world, and somehow, somewhere, by some chance, you chose him. him - just some guy, myung jaehyun, spider-man, always pathetically yours - somehow, he had enough luck to love someone like you, and he wakes up pinching himself everyday because of it.
jaehyun's hands twitch against the railing he's leaning against, his eyes softening behind the mask as you yawn, your cheek is pressed against your pillow as you wrap your blanket tighter around yourself.
wait for me. jaehyun thinks. i'll be home soon.
it's an hour later when jaehyun finally slips through the window, the lamp on the bedside table still warm with glow. he tiptoes around the room, shutting himself into the bathroom to peel his suit off. he takes stock of the injuries - there's an ache growing in his shoulders and a bruise on his right thigh. nothing too crazy.
he struggles into one of his shirts and switches off the bathroom light, pulling himself back into bedroom.
and, somehow, jaehyun catches himself watching you again.
you're already asleep, sprawled across the bed on your back, and jaehyun places a hand gently on your stomach, feeling it rise and fall with each exhale and inhale.
"you kicked the blanket off again, silly," he whispers like you can hear him in your sleep, tucking you back under the covers as he slides in next to you.
he gathers you in his arms, pulling you flush against himself. you're warm - a stark contrast against the cool tinge of his skin from swinging in the night air. jaehyun melts into you, burying his face into your hair as you turn in your sleep towards him.
"jae?" you murmur into his shirt.
"it's me," he presses a kiss against your hair, "i'm home."
"good," you say groggily, "i was waiting."
"i know, baby," jaehyun smiles against your hair, "i'm sorry for keeping you up."
"it's okay," your words slur together, "wasn't sleepy any... anyways."
"i know," jaehyun just says despite your yawn, running his hand through your hair. you murmur something incoherent before you do that thing where you tuck yourself into him and tangle your legs together.
seriously - he thinks to himself as your breathing evens out again. how did i get so lucky?
jaehyun's arm tighten around you, cocooning you in the feeling of him. he can hear your reply - it isn't luck, jae, it's just because i love you, just like how you love me.
and what did i do to deserve all that? his hand stills in your hair. i keep you up all night, wake you up before the sun is up, disappear on dates and still -
he breathes you in with a shudder - and still you love me. what's that all about?
god. jaehyun shuts his eyes. i still don't understand. i can't understand - no matter how many times you've explained it to me. i don't deserve you. i don't deserve to come home to you. i don't deserve your love. but, fuck, i'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to.
