somewhere between yours, and his
chapter one ā what we donāt talk about
summary. you and jungwon are just best friends. housemates. you know, the kind who kiss when no oneās looking. the kind who sleep too close and never talk about it. the kind who swear itās nothing, even when itās everything.
then jakeās cousin sunghoon shows upāquiet, sharp, a little too pretty, and acting like heās above it all. heās only supposed to be visiting. just passing through. but he stays. and he watches you. and he starts saying things no one else dares to say.
jungwonās the one whoās always been there. sunghoonās the one who makes your skin burn. youāre stuck in the middle of something that isnāt quite loveābut itās not not love, either. itās messy. itās reckless. itās kind of a problem. but it might also be the best kind of trouble youāve ever been in.
pairing. jungwon x reader x sunghoon.
genre. college!au, angst, fluff, slow burn, smut.
themes. love triangle, messy relationships and decisions, love or lust?
authors note. really hope you all enjoy this. i love a good love triangle with a complex plotānothing hits harder than wanting two people for completely different reasons. this oneās close to my heart, so buckle up. itās soft, itās messy, and nobodyās playing fair.
the morning smells like cinnamon, overcooked eggs, and the same damn candle jake always insists on lighting when girls are coming overāvanilla something. you hate it, but you never blow it out.
light filters through the living room windows in wide, lazy rectangles, catching on dust in the air like static. itās a thursday that feels like a sunday. slow. syrupy. too warm inside, too cold outside.
youāre sitting on the kitchen counter in shorts and someone elseās hoodie. youāre not sure if itās jakeās or jayās or jungwonās, but itās oversized and smells like detergent and boy, so you keep it. bare legs swinging. phone in your hand. not texting anyone back.
thereās music playingālofi, soft and beatlessābecause jungwon hates silence in the mornings.
heās in the kitchen with you, halfway through scrambling eggs heās already messed up once. tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek like heās solving a puzzle harder than breakfast. his sleeves are pushed up. hair still messy from sleep. he hasnāt shaved.
his voice is hoarse when he says, āyou could help, you know.ā
you look up from your phone. blink at him, bored. āi could. but i like watching you struggle.ā
he cuts you a look, quick and half-smiling. he always does that when you flirt with him like it doesnāt mean anything. you do it more than you admit.
āyouāre the worst,ā he mutters, but heās smiling for real now. you see the dimples.
āand you love me.ā
he doesnāt answer. just hands you the first plate and turns back to the stove.
jungwon and you have this⦠thing. it isnāt a thing. but it is.
youāre best friends. but not like āhaha weāre bestiesā best friends. more like i-know-how-you-like-your-toast, i-know-what-time-you-cried-last-week, i-know-you-well-enough-to-sit-in-your-silence best friends. you have history, but not the kind you tell people about. not the kind you even tell each other about.
just moments. stacks of them. sleepovers that turn into shared beds. movie nights that end with you curled into his chest pretending not to feel the way he stiffens when your hips shift.
he never pulls away. he also never makes a move.
you bring the plate to the couch, plop down cross-legged. he follows, and sits beside you, thigh to thighā remote in hand like always, already queuing up something silly on youtube.
āwhy do we watch food vlogs while we eat food?ā you ask.
āmotivation.ā
āyouāre literally eating.ā
ādoesnāt mean iām not planning my next meal.ā
his knee bumps yours and doesnāt move. youāre not paying attention to the screen. youāre watching his hands.
he doesnāt wear rings like jake or bracelets like jay. just clean wrists, long fingers, callused in the places his engineering tools left behind.
you like his hands too much.
breakfast turns into scrolling. scrolling turns into dozing. youāre not sure who falls asleep first, but when you open your eyes, youāre leaning into him, his head tilted against yours. breathing even. heās warm. always so warm.
you donāt move. just stay there, eyes half open, watching the soft rise of his chest beneath his crewneck. watching the light move across the floor.
his arm shifts. wraps around you. not tight. just enough. like habit.
like he forgets heās not supposed to do that.
you stretch. slowly. limbs falling away from jungwonās like you werenāt just nestled against his heartbeat. like you havenāt had his mouth on yours before.
not that it means anything. just drunk. just heat and music and mouths moving too close.
just that one night in jakeās room after everyone else passed outāwhen you ended up on top of him, grinding slow to whatever song is playing. his hands stayed on your waist. yours in his hair. his breath breaking when you moaned into his neck like itās nothing.
or that second night in the hallway, when he kissed you so hard you almost fell overāhalf-dressed, gigglingāuntil he pulled away too fast and said,
āwe should stop.ā
so you stop. you never tell anyone. he never brings it up. but it lingers like a bruise you keep pressing.
you blink hard, shake the memory off, and look over at jungwon. his hand rests against his stomach, head tipped back on the couch. his eyes meet yours. soft. unreadable.
the front door opened. you heard it before you saw it.
then a voice,
āyo.ā itās jake.
ācouch potatoes,ā jake called from the kitchen. āmy cousinās coming soon.ā
jungwon grunted. āhuh?ā
āsunghoon. remember? i told yāall. heās visiting for a few days. thinking about transferring.ā
āoh. yeah.ā
jungwon sits up. rubs his eyes with the heel of his palm like he didnāt just almost hold you all the way to sleep. he sees what youāre wearing. the hoodie. oversized and too familiar. not his.
āyou should change,ā he says.
you raise a brow. āwhy?ā
āyouāre wearing jayās.ā
you smirk. ājealous?ā
ājust saying.ā
but there it is. the flicker in his eyes. that flash of memory neither of you ever name.
you pull the hoodie tighter around you anyway.
that moment hums in the space between you. like an unanswered question. like something half-written.
jake walks into the living room like he owns the place. (which he kind of doesāhis nameās not on the lease, but somehow he always has the aux and the fridge key.)
heās barefoot, eating dry cereal out the box. he glances at you on the couch, then at jungwon, whoās now pretending he wasnāt just emotionally undressing you with his eyes.
āso listen,ā jake starts, crunching mid-sentence, āyāall know that party at gamma tonight?ā
you raise an eyebrow. jungwon grunts like yeah.
jake waves it off. āyeah, well, iām thinking we skip it. bring the party here. you feel me?ā
you blink. āwait, what?ā
he shrugs, like itās nothing. ājust for the vibe. for sunghoon. broās swearing weāre lame over here. like we donāt got it. like this whole schoolās boring as hell.ā
āso you wanna throw a whole function just to prove a point?ā you ask.
jake points at you with a finger full of cereal. āexactly.ā
you glance at jungwon. he shrugs like heās indifferent, but heās already pulling out his phone to text jay.
āi mean,ā jake continues, flopping down into the armchair like heās pitching a business plan, āweāre already here. itās our house. no oneās gotta worry about getting home drunk. and heāll get the vibe. and maybe finally shut up about how ālitā the city is compared to this place.ā
āwhat city is he even from?ā you ask.
āmalibu, by way of seoul. but, like, the rich part,ā jake says, making a face. āhe thinks heās better than everybody.ā
āis he?ā jungwon mumbles.
jake throws a cushion at him. you dodge it instead.
ānah, heās cool,ā jake says after a beat, āheās just got that face, you know? the kind you wanna punch even when heās being nice.ā
you snort. āsounds promising.ā
ādonāt worry. youāll love him.ā jake grins at you. you do not return it.
jungwon taps something into his phone. ājay says heās down. sunoo too.ā
you sigh. āso itās really happening.ā
āoh, itās happening,ā jake says, standing up and already heading toward the bluetooth speaker like a man with a mission. āby the weekend, this house is gonna remind sunghoon exactly why we donāt need to transfer anywhere.ā
he disappears down the hall, yelling something about liquor and chips.
you and jungwon sit in silence for a second, and the air changes.
he stretches his arm behind the couch, eyes on the ceiling. āyou gonna get cute for him?ā
you look at him sideways. āwho?ā
he doesnāt look at you. just shrugs, like the question was nothing. āthe rich cousin.ā
you smirk. lean back against the cushion, letting your bare leg press against his jeans. āyou want me to?ā
he doesnāt answer. but he doesnāt move away either.
the silence stretches.
not awkward. not yet. but thickālike youāve both just remembered something youāre supposed to forget.
the tvās still on, playing some random food vlog neither of you are watching. your leg stays pressed to his, warm through the denim. his hand is right there. resting on the couch cushion between you, fingers curled slightly like heās about to move but doesnāt.
you glance down at it. then at him. his jaw is tight. his eyes are still on the ceiling like heās trying not to look at you. you slide your fingers across the space. slow. just enough to brush his. and when you feel his pinky twitch against yoursāyou donāt stop.
your hand finds his. you donāt hold it, not really. just⦠let your fingers tangle halfway. and he lets them.
his breath hitches, barely audible.
you look at him. heās already looking at you. eyes low. soft. like heās scared to blink.
you both lean in at the same time.
no one speaks. your nose brushes his. your fingers tighten just a little. his lips partājust enough. your eyes flick to his mouth.
and thatās when it happens.
his phone rings.
itās loud in the silence. ugly and immediate. the default ringtone, buzzing across the table like itās mad.
jungwon jolts back like he got burned. you both jump a little, breath caught mid-moment. he pulls his hand away fast, clearing his throat like it helps.
āā¦itās jay,ā he mumbles, already grabbing his phone.
you sit back slow, trying to look chill while your heart hammers against your ribs.
he answers.
āyo⦠yeah, weāre here. no, sheāsāsheās right here. yeah, we told her. yeah, itās fine.ā
you stand quietly. walk past him. donāt say a word. you head straight for your room, the door clicking shut behind you.
he watches you go, phone still pressed to his ear, heart in his throat. he doesnāt say it out loud, but itās all over him. he wishes the phone hadnāt rung. he wishes you had kissed him. he wishes heād let it happen.
even though you never talked about it, you still slept in his bed that night.
he didnāt say anything when you walked past your room and climbed under his coversājust lifted the blanket like he always does, turned off the light, and let you curl into his chest like nothing almost happened.
he held you all night. he didnāt try anything. he didnāt say anything, either.
but you felt him kiss your forehead when he thought you were asleep. and when he finally drifted off, you stayed awake a little longer, watching the way his fingers twitched against your arm like he was dreaming about holding you tighter.
you didnāt bring it up the next morning. neither did he.
and then last nightāsame thing. no talking. no explaining. just his bed and his body curved around yours like a habit that never got broken.
now itās friday, and jakeās tearing through the house like a man possessed.
heās blasting music from the kitchen, half-dressed, holding two bags of red solo cups and yelling about how no oneās done anything he asked.
āwe literally skipped class for this,ā he shouts, tossing chips onto the counter like that solves something. āthe least yāall can do is act like youāve been to a party before.ā
sunoo is lighting candles in the living room like itās a spa retreat, muttering to himself about ambiance and scent mixing.
jay in his room changing for the third time.
jungwonās wiping down the kitchen counters, pretending like he doesn't get the best sleep of his life when it's you on his chest. like he isn't utterly in love with you. it doesn't help that you're still in his hoodie, the same one you've been sleeping in for the past two nights. all he can think about is how youāre so...beautiful, and so his. at least that's how it makes him feel when you crawl into his arms. when you wear his clothes. when you kiss his cheek in the middle of the night because you think he's sleeping. so why can't he just...go for it?
and you? youāre sitting on the edge of the armrest, sipping something pink and dangerous out of a plastic cup, watching the house shift into something new.
the lights are dimmer. the musicās louder. the vibeās getting blurry around the edges.
thatās when you hear itā the knock at the door.
not loud. just one, then another. like heās not here to make a scene. like he doesnāt have to.
jake practically leaps across the room to open it, and there he is.
sunghoon.
black jeans, black hoodie, black duffel slung over one shoulder like he didnāt try but somehow still looks better than everyone in the house. his expression is blank. his face is sharp. he gives jake a nod, steps inside, eyes sweeping the room.
and then he sees you.
he doesnāt smile. he just looks.
and something about it makes your skin feel too tight.
you donāt say anything. neither does he. but the shift is immediate. like the airās not yours anymore.
heās taller than you expected. taller than jake, even. but leanābuilt like someone who moves fast but never runs. he doesnāt look like someone youāre supposed to be impressed by. he looks like someone who knows you already are.
his face is sharp. every angle defined like it was drawn with a ruler and no eraser. a high nose bridge. cut jawline. straight brows that make his expression unreadable. but itās not just the bone structureāitās the stillness. the way he doesnāt fidget. doesnāt smile too fast. doesnāt feel the need to do anything but exist.
your eyes meet for half a second. long enough to register how clear his skin is. how cold his stare feels. you look away first.
āthis is my cousin,ā jake announces, slapping a hand on sunghoonās shoulder. āsunghoon. just got here from cali. heās here for the weekend. maybe longer, if he likes it.ā
sunghoon nods. looks around, taking in the living room like heās scanning for threats. his eyes settle on you again.
āyo,ā he says, voice low and casual. he nods once. āyouāreā¦?ā
jake says your name at the same time you do. sunghoonās mouth twitches like he wants to smile, but doesnāt.
ācool,ā he says. ānice to meet you.ā
his voice isnāt cocky. itās calm. a little too calm. you just nod. no words. just sip your drink and look somewhereāanywhereāelse.
but he keeps looking. not long. not creepy. just⦠like he sees something he doesnāt quite get yet. and heās deciding whether or not he wants to.
āyou good?ā jake asks him, grabbing a cup off the counter.
āyeah.ā sunghoon sets his bag down by the door. ājust tired. this place is nice though.ā
āhe thought we were lame,ā jake tells you, clearly offended. ātexted me last week like, āif your schoolās so fun, whyās everyone online acting depressed?āā
āi said that once,ā sunghoon mutters, taking the drink jake hands him. āand i wasnāt wrong.ā
āheās a hater,ā jake says, then points at you. āsheās gonna change your mind.ā
you blink. āwhat?ā
āyou got main character energy,ā jake grins. āyouāll bring him around.ā
you scoff. āhe looks like heād hate main characters.ā
sunghoon actually smiles at that. just a little. and then he says, ānot always.ā
jungwon watches from the kitchen, still wiping the same spot on the counter thatās already clean.
heās not eavesdropping. not really, he just⦠hears everything.
the way jakeās hyping sunghoon up. the way your voice dips when you respond. the way you donāt say much, but your body shifts to face him just a little more than usual.
youāre still holding your drink. still wearing his hoodie. but itās like youāve already floated somewhere else.
sunghoon doesnāt say much, but thatās the part that bothers jungwon the most.
he doesnāt need to. heās got that lookācool and unreadable, like he knows exactly how heās being perceived. like he knows the effect he has.
and youāre not falling for it, not really, but jungwon can see it. the little spark of curiosity in your eyes. the way your lips twitch at sunghoonās joke. the way you sip your drink slower now, like youāre giving yourself a reason to stay planted in that moment.
he presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek.
he knows heās not allowed to feel some type of way. he had chances. too many. he never says the right thing.
but watching sunghoon look at you like heās already picking you apartālike heās interested and not even pretending otherwiseāit makes something cold settle in his chest.
he wipes the counter again, but he doesnāt realize his grip on the cloth has tightened. fuck.














