pairing ღ. yang jungwon x fem!reader ft nishimura riki x fem!reader
with appearances from nct’s park jisung, txt’s choi soobin, red velvet’s yeri, and more!
genre ღ. social media au, fluff, angst, crack, highsch!au, classmates to lovers.
synopsis ღ. you have been crushing on nishimura riki since your freshman year of high school. now in junior year, you finally gain the courage to confess to him with a love letter. trusting your friends sunghoon and sunmi to do it was the biggest mistake of your life. not only did they place the letter in the wrong locker—they gave it to the class president , yang jungwon!
profiles 🎸
[ the junior league ] [ the boyz ig🥶‼️ ] [ student counsel besties 🤪 ]
letter one: this ain’t to all the boys shi
letter two: locker 493
letter three: two people heartbroken
letter four: tall boy running
letter five: i hate my kids.
letter six: love square?!
letter seven: i love u with ur hair down.
letter eight: jungwon protector.
letter nine: my jaw.
letter ten: hugs from soobin.
letter eleven: thanks.
bonus: jungwon’s life + friendship
letter twelve: boy simp.
letter thirteen: tl being weird again.
letter fourteen: nvm bae texted.
letter fifteen: grade A asshole.
letter sixteen: go ahead, tell him.
letter seventeen: a talk with jungwon
letter eighteen: glassy eyes.
letter nineteen: mr. perfectly fine.
letter twenty: stars in his eyes.
epilogue: we fell inlove in october <3
PLAYLIST
— we fell inlove in october
— i love you so
— nothing (by bruno majors)
author note: i am very excited to share with u guys this smau that has been in my drafts for weeks! this honestly is gonna be similar yet different from my last smaus and i hope you guys will enjoy it as much as i will writing it !!
pairing: park sunghoon x fem!reader , lee heeseung x fem!reader
genre: enemies to lovers, fake dating au, high school au, childhood enemies (?) to lovers as well, fluff, angst, crack
synopsis: you hated park sunghoon. the snobby, annoying, vile, and cold ice skater. he’s been a nuisance ever since that one time in middle school when he tripped you in front of the whole class. but what happens when your teacher assigns you and sunghoon as partners for ‘the baby project’ — a project where you have to take care of a fake baby like actual teen parents. things couldn’t get worse right? wrong, park sunghoon just asked you to be his fake girlfriend so he could make his ex jealous. the big problem of it all? well, you liked his best friend, lee heeseung.
warnings: cursing (sometimes), sunghoon is a dense jerk at times
taglist closed
08.11.21
table of contents 🍶
— profiles (art and theater kids) ( 02z + hee and the 03 liners )
— one: not cool. not cool AT ALL.
— two: first day dilemma
— three: has she gone mad? BONKERS?!😦
— four: this isn’t an LMFAOOO, this is an attack on my life!
— five: Y/n simp for Won, confirmed!
— six: i never really liked them, anyways.
— seven: “kyeongie”
— eight: p-park sunghoon?
— nine: i am a y/n defender!
— ten: FINALLY.
— eleven: reunions (and heartbreak) with terry😏
— twelve: 1 step forward and 3 steps back.
— thirteen: we’re both traitors.
— fourteen: “kids are so tiring”
— fifteen: sexc australian guy’s advice
— sixteen: jake.
— seventeen: lee heeseung’s number
— eighteen: down bad.
— nineteen: and then the bomb exploded.
— twenty: we made progress.
— twenty one: ouch.
— twenty two: favorites.
— twenty three: baby.
— twenty four: jake’s stupid party.
— twenty five: hungover.
— twenty six: apologies (part 1)
— twenty six: apologies & butterflies (part 2)
— twenty seven: being inlove is hard.
— twenty eight: he does the bare minimum and she screams.
PAIRING ▸ lee heeseung x fem!reader (ft. enha and ningning from aespa)
GENRES ▸ social media au (smau), crack, fluff, mutual pining, college au, strangers to lovers
WARNINGS ▸ profanity, sexual jokes, zero braincells, catfishing (don’t try this at home), heeseung and mc are painfully dense, heeseung and seonghwa sound nothing alike but mc is bad with names, ignore timestamps!
SUMMARY ▸ in which heeseung accidentally becomes your sugar daddy, but funding a sugar baby is hard when you’re a broke college student.
TAG LIST ▸ at the bottom (send me an ask here or comment if you’d like to be added!)
PLAYLIST ▸ click here!
AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ hello !! i had a txt one of this but since it’s old i wanted to remake it for enha, so i hope y’all enjoy it! ♡ also Yes i used some random faceless pic for mc’s pfp but you can imagine whoever !
ღ — IN WHICH sunghoon tries to contact the girl he likes in order to get closer to her, but he doesn’t realise that he’s got the wrong number and that he’s actually texting you.. his best friend’s ex.
summary: Sunoo was going to do it. He really was going to confess to School Council President Y/N. He’s been planning his careful approach for WEEKS! However, fate is a bitch and one misunderstanding led to not only Sunoo FAILING to admit his feelings to the elusive Y/N, but also taking up a newer responsibility he was absolutely NOT ready for.
Why is being in love so hard?
includes: fluff, dear god the fluff, humor, crack (as it should) and Sunoo generally being a disaster around the love of his life lol.
warning(s): light angst and cursing 🧍🏻♀️
featuring: ENHYPEN, TXT, Weeekly, Aespa and Jang Wonyoung
brief cameos: StayC and Stray Kids
status: complete
a/n: we love a whipped Sunoo in this house! Also this is going to be Sunoo focused lol aka it’ll be told in his POV mostly. Why? Because I can and I wanted to switch it up MUWAH 😘
๑ GENRE smau, highschool au, angst, crack, fluff(?), reunited childhood friends to lovers, betrayal.
๑ SYNOPSIS with a new member recruited for the yearbook committee, y/n is excited for her senior year. She also plans on confessing to her crush of 3 years, jake sim, not knowing her school year will take a turn for the worst.
๑ WARNINGS lots of swearing hoho
๑ STATUS completed (08/21/21 — 09/30/21)
๑ FEATURING enhypen, itzy's ryujin
๑ NOTES
please note that these are NOT the actual representations of the idols.
ages of the members are adjusted for convenience.
this is my first smau! sorry if I'm a bit slow ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ̀ˋ.
Pairing: college student!yeonjun × college student!reader (fem)
Genre: fluff, angst, mostly slice of life
Word Count: 5.3k
Warnings: cursing, mentions of alcohol, unedited, idk what else lol
Description: Yeonjun finds himself needing a favor from you after Soobin tries but fails to cover for him.
A/N: i wrote this during this past week and it's the first thing I've finished in a while. I'm not sure how i feel about it but i am glad i finally finished something that i don't hate lol. I meant to post this sooner and then i remembered it and was gonna chicken out, but it's yeonjun's birthday in SK, so i figured i should do it as a sort of birthday present. Lol, happy birthday to our 4th Gen It-Boy 💕 - Admin Peachy 🍑
♡♡♡♡
A sigh left Mrs. Choi's mouth as her call to her son went to voicemail for the nth time that week. She had been trying to get in touch with him as his father was having a very important business dinner and his boss was hoping to see Yeonjun there. Not only that, but she herself was hoping to see her son after nearly two months of not seeing him. They lived in the same city, for crying out loud!
She had her suspicions that he was up to no good. He had been a troublemaker in high school. While he got good grades, he didn't apply himself enough, and she was certain this new freedom wasn't going to help that. But, she couldn't just confront Yeonjun. She didn't want to seem like a helicopter parent or make him think she didn't trust him, but she worried about him. She wanted him to be safe and healthy and get a good education.
But, if she couldn't speak to him herself about it, what could she do? After considering her options, she decided to call his best friend Soobin.
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Choi," Soobin said upon answering after just two rings. Gosh, if only her son was the same way. Not that the two were extremely different. Soobin was also a known troublemaker in high school, but it seemed getting a job in college had taught him more about responsibility. Maybe Yeonjun needed a job. "Is everything ok?"
Right, she was on the phone. "Hi, Soobin. I hate to call you so suddenly and just get straight to the point without asking how you are, but I've been quite concerned about Yeonjun lately," she confessed to him, getting right to business. "I've been calling him all week, and he isn't answering me. Is he doing alright? He's not hanging with that group of kids he got into all that trouble with in high school, is he? What about his classes? I just know he's skipping them."
Soobin gulped inaudibly, panicking because of the questions. Yeonjun wasn't hanging out with that group anymore, but he was certainly partying and getting drunk almost every night, which meant he was skipping classes because he was too hungover. Of course, he couldn't tell Mrs. Choi that. But, what was he supposed to say? He needed a good excuse that she would buy.
"Actually, Yeonjun has been going to his classes. He's just busy because he's studying so hard." That was an awful lie! She'd never believe that. Think, Soobin...think! "He's studying hard because he started dating this girl from one of his lectures. She's really studious, so she's been making sure he's staying on top of his work."
That seemed believable enough. "Really? A girlfriend?" Mrs. Choi asked, sounding pleasantly surprised. "Well, she sounds lovely! Why didn't he tell us this? Oh, that doesn't matter now. The important thing is that he's found himself a girlfriend and is doing well. Tell him to answer my calls, will you? Thank you so much, Soobin!"
She was quick to end the call, leaving Soobin's head spinning. Whatever the case, he was glad he saved his friend.
♡♡♡♡
"What the hell did you do?!" Yeonjun cried out as he burst through the door of his and Soobin's apartment. Soobin, who was sitting on the couch, jumped from shock. "Why the fuck would you tell my mom that I'm studying hard because I have a studious girlfriend?!"
Well, at least he finally answered her call. "What do you mean? To save your ass! Your mom called me today asking why you aren't answering her calls. She could somehow tell you weren't going to classes and being reckless, so I had to lie to make her think you're going to your lectures regularly and are just busy with something other than parties," Soobin informed him, not understanding why his friend was so pissed. "I told her you were busying studying, and then I added the studious girlfriend part so she'd actually buy it. You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you?! I should kill you! My dad has an important business dinner this weekend hosted by his boss, and now I'm expected to come with my new girlfriend. Do you know how fucked I am? How the hell am I supposed to just find a studious girlfriend in three days?! I mean, look at me! Smart girls aren't exactly rushing to date slackers like me."
Soobin hadn't been expecting any of this. Obviously, he would have come up with a different lie had he known the nature of Mrs. Choi's call. "Well...fuck!"
Kicking his shoes off, Yeonjun ran a hand through his hair. If he showed up at the dinner with no girlfriend, his mom would know something was up. He needed to pull this off so she wouldn't worry about him so much. But, how could he possibly do that?
"You just need to find a fake girlfriend," Soobin suddenly remarked, snapping his fingers. "Like in the movies! Ask a girl to be your fake girlfriend to trick your mom."
Yeonjun rolled his eyes. "This isn't a movie, and those movies are stupid. They set up two good-looking people to fall in love," he pointed out.
Waving him off, Soobin said, "Well, duh, it's a movie; that's supposed to happen. This won't be as complicated because you just have to trick your mom. Find a girl, bring her to the dinner, maybe stage some photos to send your mom for a couple of weeks, and then you can tell her you guys broke up."
He made a good point. As long as his mom was buying it, it didn't matter what others knew. The commitment wouldn't be as big as in the movies, and it wouldn't interfere with his daily life.
"Where am I gonna find a girl?"
That was how the two ended up in Yeonjun's English lecture the next afternoon. It was the only class that Yeonjun had where Soobin was free to tag along. They just hoped the professor wouldn't notice.
As students filed into the classroom, both boys began to size them up. Who seemed to fit the description Soobin gave Mrs. Choi best? Putting themselves in her mindset, which girl would she choose?
"Dude," Soobin said, sitting up a bit straighter after hitting Yeonjun's chest. Looking over, Yeonjun saw Soobin was staring at you. You were dressed in a simple blouse and cute skirt. "She's perfect...but I feel like I know her from somewhere."
Yeonjun thought you looked familiar, too, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Visually, you were perfect. You were cute, first of all, but you also appeared put together. Still, your intelligence level was the most important item on their checklist.
But, it became apparent quite quickly that you were quite smart and studious. You were one of the few students in the class that bothered to answer the questions. Aside from that, you remained quiet. Yeonjun couldn't quite gauge your personality, but that didn't really matter. All he cared about were your looks and brains.
"I remember how we know her," Soobin whispered to Yeonjun as the lecture was coming to an end. Yeonjun looked at his friend with a curious expression. "She was the class president our second year, remember?"
A look of realization appeared on Yeonjun's face. That was right! They never talked to you, but they naturally knew of you since the class president played a crucial role in the classroom. "Yep, she's perfect," Yeonjun remarked. The professor ended class and left. "Come on, it's go time."
Standing up, the two boys rushed over to your seat. You noticed the sudden presence, looking up and seeing two boys towering over you. "Um, can I help you?" you asked, feeling a bit nervous.
You didn't seem to recognize them. "You're Y/N, right?" Yeonjun asked, and you nodded slowly. "I'm Yeonjun, and this is Soobin. I don't know if you remember us--."
Cutting him off, you commented, "You're the guys that caused that explosion in the Chemistry lab."
Ah, so you did remember them. "Right. Hey, in our defense, it was an accident," Soobin remarked. "Plus, no one got hurt."
That didn't change the fact that they nearly destroyed the lab room. But, that was besides the point. "So, I know you didn't come over here to reminisce on old times...we weren't even friends in high school."
Smart girl. "I need a favor," Yeonjun informed you, getting straight to the point. "To make a long story short, I need a fake girlfriend by Saturday because of this idiot, and I think you'd be perfect for tricking my mom."
You finally stood up, hoisting your bag onto your shoulder. "Me? Why would I be perfect?" you asked, surprised by his words.
"You're smart and appear put together...that's really all it takes at this point."
Wow, how flattering. "No offense, but why should I help you? From the looks of it, you're the only one benefitting from this. You're the one that needs my help, after all."
Maybe you were annoyingly smart. Still, Yeonjun found it amusing. "I think you'll find that the dinner party you'd be attending would be quite beneficial," Soobin informed you on behalf of his friend. "You'd make many great connections."
Great connections? What was this dinner party? "I'll tell you what," Yeonjun spoke up. "If you find that the dinner party is beneficial enough for you, we'll call it even. If not, I'll give you two hundred bucks."
200 bucks? For some dinner party? That seemed like a lot. "How can I trust you?" you asked.
"Well, you're the one doing me a favor, so knowing that it's all fake is kind of collateral. If I don't hold up my end of the deal, you can tell my mom it was all fake and screw me over, so I kind of have to be a man of my word no matter what."
Hm, good point. "Are you busy right now? If you're interested, we can go somewhere and work out the details," Yeonjun added.
You were free, and you were finding this intriguing. Besides, you really wanted to know more about these potential connections through the dinner party. "Ok, let's go," you said.
Soobin left for work, leaving you and Yeonjun to discuss the details at a table in the main quad. He had ever so kindly bought you a lemonade that you were happily sipping on as you opened your notebook to a blank page.
"What's that for?" Yeonjun asked, drinking an iced coffee.
"The details. I mean, I think I should know what's expected of me if we're gonna pull this off, yeah?"
You were agreeing? "Mm, I love an obedient girl." You made a face at his joke, making him laugh. "I'm kidding...kind of. Anyway, does this mean you're gonna help me?"
Nodding you grabbed a pen from your backpack. "I mean, I have nothing better to do, and I'm intrigued by this dinner party. Now, tell me what kind of girlfriend would your mom want you to bring home?"
Yeonjun thought up a list of things his mom would look for in a potential daughter-in-law. Honestly, you thought it wasn't too demanding at all...just a nice, loving, smart girl.
"Oh, do you have any nice dresses? You'll want a nice dress," Yeonjun suddenly remarked. "We can go shopping for one together before the dinner. Besides, I think it'd be good for us to spend some time together and try to learn a little bit about one another to really sell this."
Wow, a free dinner, possible connections, possible money, and a free dress? This was a pretty sweet deal. "Yeah, that sounds good," you told him. "I think that we should also come up with a list of rules."
A small groan left his mouth as he said, "No! Don't tell me you're into those stupid movies. A list of rules is never good."
You giggled at how against it he was. "I don't mean rules like 'You must kiss me on the cheek once every couple of hours.' By rules, I mean things like 'Don't leave me alone for extended periods of time' or 'Don't mention this and that around my mom.'"
"Oh," Yeonjun said, not realizing at all that that was what you meant. "Yeah, that's smart. Let's do that."
Briefly, you guys came up with a set of basic rules that definitely needed to be followed. A smile appeared on your face as you wrote something down. "What? What are you writing?" he asked. You handed him the notebook and he read aloud, "'Absolutely no romance! Hand holding and hugs only! Don't fall in love!!!' Well, that goes without saying. You wrote that just to spite me, didn't you?"
As you nodded proudly, Yeonjun chortled and shook his head. Things were definitely seeming to go well. All he could hope was that the dinner would go smoothly.
♡♡♡♡
Yeonjun was in your apartment waiting for you to finish getting ready. He was looking around at all of your things when the door opened. "Y/N! Are you--oh, hell," a girl greeted him. It was Yeji, your best friend and roommate. "You must be Yeonjun, right? Y/N told me about you."
Well, not so much about him, but rather about the deal you two had. "It's nice to meet you," Yeonjun said, feeling a bit awkward all of a sudden. It was kind of pointless getting to know one another when this was a one-time thing.
"Ok, ok," you said, rushing out of your bedroom as you haphazardly put your earrings in. "Sorry, I'm ready. Oh, Yeji, good, you're home."
A big smile appeared on Yeji's face. "Y/N! You look so pretty!" she exclaimed. You were wearing black heels and a simple yet beautiful periwinkle dress. "This dress is gorgeous."
You couldn't hide your smile or your blush, never one that did well with compliments. "Thanks...Yeonjun picked it out for me."
Turning to look at him, Yeji found Yeonjun looking away as he shyly scratched the back of his neck. "I just thought it was a nice dress," he mumbled, unsure what to say. "I gave it to her, and it ended up looking really good."
Was he trying to compliment you? Yeji couldn't tell, and it seemed to go right over your head. "I'll, um, wait in the hall," Yeonjun added before leaving the apartment. He felt uncomfortable with Yeji around. There wasn't anything bad about her, but it almost felt like he was meeting your mom, which wasn't something he was used to.
"He's handsome!" Yeji exclaimed, somewhat lightly hitting your shoulder. "You're so lucky."
You giggled, shaking your head as you adjusted the new heels. They felt uncomfortable since they were new, but you'd manage. "Why? It's one fake date," you reminded her. "I hope you enjoyed looking at him while you could...you're probably never gonna see him again. Not around here, at least."
Ugh, sad. "Well, you shouldn't keep him waiting. Have fun and be safe, ok?"
Nodding, you two hugged before you joined Yeonjun in the hall. You were surprised to learn Yeonjun could drive, but you were definitely glad since it meant you guys didn't have to take the bus; you didn't want to risk ruining the dress.
"Nervous?" Yeonjun asked as he slid into the driver seat after he let you in first.
Were you nervous? "A little bit. I want to pull this off," you remarked. "Plus, I'll be surrounded by tons of people I don't know, so that's a bit worrisome. I'm sure I'll be ok, though."
Yeonjun watched you fiddle with your fingers nervously, making him chuckle lightly. His hand rested on your hands, stopping them from their movements. "It'll be ok. Besides, you'll have me there."
His words made you relax a bit, offering him a thankful smile.
The house you two arrived at belonged to Mr. Choi's boss, and it was the most beautiful mansion you'd ever seen. "I didn't even know there were mansions in Seoul," you said as you got out of the car. You always thought there were too many buildings to have mansions.
"Well, not downtown, of course, but in the outskirts of the city like this, they're quite a few," Yeonjun explained to you as someone went to park his car.
You suddenly felt underdressed, but Yeonjun had been the one to dress you. Glancing at him, you had to remind yourself of what he was wearing: pin-striped slacks, a white button-down dress shirt, and black loafers. It was a nice outfit, but a more casual business-like outfit.
"Are you sure I'm not underdressed?"
Yeonjun glanced at you, seeing that you seemed a bit worried. "You're definitely not underdressed," he informed you. "The parents and other employees tend to be overdressed, but you'll fit in with the rest of us."
That definitely made you feel better. "Ok," you said after letting out a shaky sigh. You held your hand out to him. "Let's do this."
He smiled, taking your hand in his own before you two entered.
"Yeonjun! You're here!" Mrs. Choi called out when she spotted her son, her eyes lighting up when she saw you two holding hands. He released your hand to give his mother a hug. "And you must be Y/N. I'd be lying if I said I've heard so much about you, but I'm certainly looking forward to getting to know you."
You hadn't been expecting her to hug you, too. Yeonjun laughed at your panicked expression. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am," you said when you separated. "I apologize that we didn't tell you about our relationship sooner. Yeonjun was just nervous about us meeting...you know how guys can be."
She nodded before saying, "Oh, yes, Mr. Choi was so nervous about me meeting his parents that we were practically engaged before it happened! I'm not surprised that Yeonjun takes after him...especially since you're his first girlfriend."
His first girlfriend? That was surprising. "Mom, I'm gonna take her to meet some of the others," Yeonjun said, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh, alright, but I will be stealing her from you later to get to know her."
He hummed in understanding before once again taking your hand in his own, leading you away. "Who are the others?" you asked, beginning to get used to the way his hand felt holding yours. It wasn't a stronghold, but it was a secure one.
Taking you up the stairs, he said, "There are other children of employees here. Most of them are younger and suck, but the boss's son Beomgyu is cool."
"Wait, you still haven't told me what company your father works for."
Glancing back at you, a smirk appeared on Yeonjun's face. It made your heart flutter slightly. "He works for SJ Group."
That made you nearly choke on your own spit. SJ Group was one of the biggest conglomerates in Seoul! No wonder Soobin said you could make great connections at the party. "I'm at a dinner party for SJ Group?!" you cried out in a hushed tone so no one else would hear you. He nodded, finding your reaction amusing. "How could you not tell me! This is a huge deal, Yeonjun! I haven't even had time to mentally prepare. Do you know how many questions I could have prepared?"
Reaching out, Yeonjun booped your nose. It made you stop talking, totally shocked by the action. "Calm down, nerd," he told you, making you scowl. "It'll be fine. Just getting on their radar is good. Plus, they'll remember you since you're here as my girlfriend."
Well, that was a start at least. Knocking at one of the doors, Yeonjun stuck his head in, finding Beomgyu on the couch in his room playing video games. "Hey, you're here!" Beomgyu exclaimed, happy to see his friend. "Right on time, too; I was starting to get really bored."
Just like Yeonjun, Beomgyu didn't care for work parties or the other children. "Oh," Beomgyu added when you followed Yeonjun into the room. "Who's this?"
"This is Y/N, my girlfriend," Yeonjun informed him.
Oh, he wasn't in on the plan? Beomgyu suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "This is your girlfriend? Yeah, right! Come on, dude, really, who is she?"
It made you feel insecure. Were you not good enough for Yeonjun? He was quite handsome, but you didn't think you looked that bad in comparison. "I fucking hate you. She's my fake girlfriend to trick my mom...it's a long story."
"I'm, um, going to use the restroom," you said, turning and leaving before either boy could say anything. You didn't even know where the bathroom was, but you didn't care. At least you'd have time alone to search for it.
Yeonjun hit Beomgyu's arm. "Dude, you probably hurt her feelings!" he exclaimed.
That made Beomgyu's eyes widen. "I didn't mean to! I just meant that there's no way a guy like you could land a girl like her," he explained to his friend. "Just based on appearance, you guys are opposite. She's all light and precious, and you're dark and gloomy. Plus, she's too hot for you."
Rolling his eyes, Yeonjun commented, "I could totally land a girl like Y/N...she's just not my type."
But, Beomgyu made a good point. You were far more put together than he was. Plus, his jet black hair, tattoos, and piercings made him seem emo to many people. Sure, he was a troublemaker in the past, but he wasn't like that anymore. He skipped classes and partied a lot, but he wasn't causing trouble. Still, just from the few hours he spent shopping with you, he could tell he wasn't your type, too. For some reason, that irked him.
Yeonjun sat down to play video games with Beomgyu. It wasn't until the end of their second-round that Yeonjun realized you hadn't returned. "Shit, I forgot about Y/N," he remarked, standing up.
"Wow, some boyfriend you are," Beomgyu teased, earning a glare from his friend. "Come on, let's look for her. I should make an appearance before dinner, anyway."
The two left Beomgyu's room to search for you. Thankfully, they didn't have to search for too long as you were out on the patio alone with Yeonjun's mother. She must have intercepted you.
"I guess I just worried Yeonjun would never find a girlfriend," Mrs. Choi told you, making Yeonjun's cheeks light up. Beomgyu had to stifle his laughter. "He never mentioned any girls before, and it seemed that he pushed them away. I always thought girls might be scared of his appearance or something."
She thought that? "Yeonjun was quite popular in high school. A lot of the girls in our year were into his bad boy appearance, actually. He always got the most gifts during Valentine's Day, too," you explained to Mrs. Choi. "His locker would be full of them by the end of the day, but I don't think he cares for the holiday because he always threw them out. Still, he made sure to do it when no one else was around, and I think he did it to spare their feelings."
You knew he did that? He always thought he was alone when he did. "I just think Yeonjun is a bit misunderstood. He may look intense and standoffish, but he's actually really kind and considerate. I remember one day in high school when it was raining. He had brought an umbrella to school that day, but he ended up leaving it on the desk of another student that had forgotten their own. Really, I noticed he was always doing sweet things for the others, but I don't think he ever thought much about it. I think he just saw it as something natural that he didn't need to gain anything from."
Mrs. Choi was surprised by the slight sparkle in your eyes as you spoke about her son. "I never knew about any of that. Well, I'm glad to hear he was so popular. I knew you were special the moment I laid eyes on you, Y/N, but I guess it makes sense since Yeonjun chose you out of all of those girls," she told you. It wasn't true at all, and, even if it was, he hadn't chosen you in high school, but you didn't say anything. "I'm just glad he met someone that can see the real him...someone that can see his pure heart."
Yeonjun had to recover from his shock, unable to listen to you talk about him any longer. "There you are," he spoke, going outside to interrupt. "I was starting to get worried, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my mom stole you."
After all, she said she would. "We were having a lovely conversation. Weren't we, Y/N?"
"Yes, I was enjoying it," you commented. You were surprised to find that you meant it, and Yeonjun was surprised that you sounded so sincere.
The four of you, including Beomgyu, went to join the main party for dinner. Surprisingly, you talked to many of the other guests, and you found that the conversations were quite interesting and enjoyable. You had expected to be alone most of the party, but the conversations just came naturally.
Time was slipping away from all of you, and you were only snapped back to reality by a loud clap of thunder. "I didn't even realize it was raining," one of the guests confessed, looking outside as it was pouring. "Was there any rain in the forecast?"
It seemed the storm was an unexpected one. With knowledge of the storm, everyone slowly but surely began to leave the party. "Yeonjun," Mr. Choi spoke, walking over to where the two of you were standing. "Your mother and I have decided the road conditions are too poor for you to be driving. We insist that you and Y/N stay the night with us. We can have someone bring your car home in the morning."
What? Staying the night? That was certainly not part of the plan. Then again, neither was the storm. You couldn't blame Yeonjun for any of it. "What? You want Y/N to stay the night?" Yeonjun asked, clearly just as flustered as you.
"Well, you don't expect her to hitchhike to Seoul or get a hotel, do you? She's your girlfriend, after all, son. Besides, your mother seems quite ecstatic about having her over."
His parents had a point; the road conditions were poor and only getting worse by the minute. The idea of driving home worried you. "I'm grateful that you'll have me, Mr. Choi," you said, unsure of what else to say. "They're right about the roads, Jun...especially at this time of night."
He was too caught off guard by the sudden nickname to argue. That was how you two ended up in his bedroom back at his parent's house. The house was huge. It wasn't as grand as Beomgyu's place, but it was still nicer than anything you were sure you'd ever be able to afford.
"I assume you two are fine sleeping in here together," Mrs. Choi said, fixing the bedspread. "I mean, you two are adults, after all. It's probably not your first time sharing a bed."
She laughed at her own words, happily teasing her son. "Mom!" Yeonjun cried out, making her laugh once more. "It's late, and I'm sure we're all tired."
It was his way of telling her to leave. Thankfully, she decided to give him a break. "Sleep well, kids," she said, gently smoothing your hair before leaving.
"Your mom is really nice," you commented.
He chortled. "Yeah, it must be nice for you when she's not saying something to embarrass you every five minutes," he pointed out, making you giggle. "I think it worked, though...she seems thoroughly convinced."
There had been times even he forgot momentarily that it was all fake. "Nice job with that nickname, by the way."
You beamed at him. "Thank you! I thought it would be a nice touch."
"Why don't you wash up first? My mom left some pajamas for you in the bathroom," he told you.
Nodding, you went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind you. Yeonjun grabbed his phone to text Soobin about how everything went. As he was doing so, he saw a text from Beomgyu.
It read: I take it back...you and Y/N even fooled me tonight. You guys look cute together, and she seems really sweet. Maybe think about everything before you "dump" her.
Beomgyu was admitting he was wrong? Geez, what a crazy night. Things went well, but almost too well...it was definitely an unexpected night.
"I should text Yeji before she worries," you mumbled to yourself as you sat on one side of Yeonjun's bed after you had both washed up. "She thinks you're hot, by the way. I don't know if you were interested."
Why were you telling him that? "I'm not interested in anyone else but you, angel," he said jokingly, gently caressing your face.
Your body was on fire, feeling embarrassed by the pet name and sudden affection. Worst of all, you didn't hate it. "Stop messing around."
He chuckled, watching you get under the covers. "My mom really likes you. In fact, you were a big hit at the party. I think the other moms were jealous." Turning the lamp next to his bed on, he shut the main lights off, climbing in next to you.
"Well, I really like your mom, and I enjoyed myself tonight. I had so many interesting conversations," you told him, and he was glad you had a good time. "Speaking of which...you've never had a girlfriend?"
He forgot his mom had said that. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he said, sighing softly.
You shook your head, turning on your side a bit to look at him. "No, I'm genuinely surprised. In high school, you were always the hottest guy in our grade...some girls made a list. I mean, I guess I never saw you with a girl, but I guess I just thought you dated."
"I don't really think being hot is a compliment. Like, obviously it is, but I feel like girls thought I was hot without knowing anything about me. They focused on my looks, so that was what they liked me for, nothing else."
That was actually sad, but he had a point...being hot wasn't some great compliment. "Well, I'm honored to be your first girlfriend, even if it is fake," you told him, making him crack a smile.
It reminded him of your conversation with his mom. "I heard you telling my mom you thought I was a good person in high school," he confessed to you. "I didn't know you were so obsessed with me."
You rolled your eyes and said, "Oh, fuck off. I was the class president, so I paid close attention to everyone. But, I really did think you were sweet, and I still do. I don't know why you act like you're not, Choi Yeonjun, but I can see right through you."
He sat up a bit to look at you, surprised by the effect that your words had on him. This was all supposed to be fake. Things weren't supposed to go this far...Yeonjun should have dropped you off at your apartment with no intention of ever seeing you again. He wasn't supposed to find you cute, and he certainly wasn't supposed to want to kiss you.
"Let's go to bed," he said, turning to light off.
You were surprised but didn't say anything, wondering what had gotten into him all of a sudden.
All he could do was lie awake in the darkness, unable to stop the voice inside his head telling him that he should have kissed you. But, what right did he have to kiss you? After all, you were only strangers.
❝ if you keep going down this path, you’re going to die, soobin. ❞
PAIRING ▸ choi soobin x fem!reader
GENRES ▸ fantasy, fluff, angst, royal au, elemental prince au, friends to enemies to lovers
WARNINGS ▸ soobin’s the water prince but he’s scared of water, mentions of character death, mentions of war, soobin becomes a dick for a while, one makeout scene, ft. elf prince park sunghoon
SUMMARY ▸ chaos was a ladder and its rungs were slick with blood. if you couldn’t save soobin, he was bound to fall.
PLAYLIST ▸ can’t you see me by txt • where’s my love - alternate version by syml
WORD COUNT ▸ 11283 words
TAG LIST ▸ @shiningstar-byulxx @jjuniefiles @wintermer @ladynightmareii @yeonjxnnie @mcu-incorrect @sooshibot @hyukacity
AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ hello !! i apologize for the wait but (finally) here’s my piece for @soobmint’s ‘the five princes’ collab! my storyline is going to be connected with @honeyju’s yeonjun piece! please check out the other author’s installments and i hope you enjoy !! ♡
FROM THE MOMENT YOU MET HIM, CHOI SOOBIN REMINDED YOU OF THE SEA.
The more time you spent understanding the infinite blue, the more you realized how unpredictable it truly was. One moment its waves could be a gentle wash over the shore, and the next it could be a strong current of water crashing against the rocks. Rough storms often angered the tides, the strong current sweeping away anything that would lay in its wake.
Yet, despite all that, the sea was the most beautiful sight to behold.
The Kingdom of Nymphe resided by the sea, so you had grown up observing its mysteries and wonders. Most children were born with a power based on their element. Yours was hydromancy, the ability to utilize water and see visions or insights of time. Thus, you weren’t expected to train like most elementalists. However, you longed to train alongside the other children at the shoreline, but the most you could do was observe their abilities. Water generation and aquatic breathing were relatively common amongst most kids, but you quickly learned that your ability was on another level.
Being born into nobility and having such a unique gift drew a lot of attention to your powers. Your parents were the Duke and Duchess of Nymphe, so you were expected to uphold expectations that exceeded far beyond what a normal elementalist was asked of. From a young age, your training was separate from the other children. Thus, you were distant from the other Nymphians (as the citizens of Nymphe were often called). Instead, you were individually trained by experts in divination and clairvoyance as no one had seen powers like yours before.
On top of that, it became your duty to befriend the crown prince, Choi Soobin.
pairings: model!kim sunwoo x model!reader (gender neutral)
genre: model au, enemies to lovers
summary: in which you are forced to work with sunwoo, your attractive sworn enemy who never fails to get on your nerves, in order to shoot your dream magazine cover.
word count: 3.6k
warning(s): none
note: happy birthday my lovely yena @junjungsunwoo!! i hope you enjoy this little fic i wrote for you and are having the most amazing day! 💜 also, this fic was kind of inspired by the lyrics of pose by red velvet, hence the title
masterlist
You knew it was inevitable that you would have to work with Sunwoo one day.
You and Sunwoo were both under TBZ, one of the most successful modelling agencies in recent years, and as such many of your fans wanted to see you do a photoshoot together. Despite the fact that you started modelling almost three years before him, Sunwoo was both more popular and more sought after than you. This was a fact that he never failed to remind you of, causing your manager to drag you away before you started cursing at him.
He was the most infuriating person you had ever met, but he was also absolutely gorgeous. This made for a rather dangerous combination. Of course he was attractive, there was a reason he was one of the most successful, highly-paid models in the industry. But not even his looks could overwhelm his charm.
Sunwoo seemed to be the whole package.
Effortlessly funny, approachable, and overbearingly captivating.
sonder – n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
summary: y/n lives a double life, where by day she’s just a student at belift academy with a side job at the nearby cafe, and by night she’s a faceless internet singer slowly gaining popularity. after a few months in, her interest is being piqued by the fanboy who keeps leaving her the sweetest messages, the mysterious customer that seems to always be around on her shift, and the one classmate that she can’t stop running into
genre: highschool au, humor, fluff, slow burn?, angst if you squint super hard
synopsis; due to some mistakes made by the dorm supervisor, y/n is forced to live with the boy that has tormented her since she was in elementary school. hopefully it’s not as bad as she thinks it’s going to be.
featuring members of; enhypen, tomorrow by together, aespa.
genres; fluff, angst, crack.
warnings; mentions of bullying, language, mentions of pretty bad parents.
disclaimer; these are not actual representations of idols. plz remember that!
started: august 4, 2021
completed: august 25, 2021
profiles; y/n and the crackheads | jay and the menaces
one; oh fuck no.
two; time to drop out.
three; moving day. 《 written》
four; up close.
five; mind ya business.
six; daddy they’re sorry.
seven; day one.
eight; i miss them so much.
nine; he can’t fool me.
ten; back on the bird app.
eleven; hand in marriage.
twelve; ramyeonz
thirteen; the choreo is not for the weak.
fourteen; now wait just a minute.
fifteen; its cuz we’re that good.
sixteen; i’m gonna go verbally assault his ass. 《written》
seventeen; simp mode activated.
eighteen; how did you know my usual coffee order? 《written》
nineteen; delusion is a disease.
twenty; my y/n senses are tingling.
twenty-one; dumbest bitch on the block.
twenty-two; hypocritical roommate check.
twenty-three; fan behavior.
twenty-four; i can’t deal with you right now. 《written》
✰ summary: jay park is a rich kid. it’s safe to say he has everything every broke college student on his campus could dream of and more. but the one thing he doesn’t have, which money definitely can’t buy, is a girlfriend. and his friends won’t see of it. literally.
so what happens when his friends bet him to date someone for more than three months? what happens when jay decides that fake-dating someone would be easier than actual dating (because god forbid Jay–the campus’ notoriously known fuckboy–decides to commit to something once in his life)?
and what happens when that someone is you, his childhood best friend he hasn’t spoken to in years..who has absolutely no interest in being in his life anymore?
✰ warnings: cursing, nothing suggestive but jay's a fuckboy so slightly suggestive themes, mentions of parental neglect/leaving, it's hella long (and i thought my last fic was long)
✰ wc: 14.7k (how did i get it this long oh lord)
✰ author's note: picture creds go to original owners/editors! peep that edit of jay that lowkey inspired this entire fic 👀also this took me so, so long bc i lost motivation half way thru and bc college is a thing,,,so i honestly don't know how to feel abt it so pls bare with me :')))) ALSO the dividers are weird bc idk how to add more than 10 pics for the dividers so pls excuse those ٩(× ×)۶i hope u guys enjoy!! <333
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Jay Park is a rich kid.
Jay Park has enough to buy every textbook he needs for his courses without having to look up the free versions online. Jay Park has enough to bribe his professors to let him pass every class with a perfect 4.0 GPA (but because the boy has morals, he doesn't). Jay Park has enough to afford a car to drive to his furthest class from his dorm building instead of walk or bike like every other college student, meaning he also has enough to afford a parking spot on campus (those things aren't cheap!).
Jay Park walks around your school's campus like he owns the place (and considering the amount of money his family has donated to the school, he practically does), looking like he just walked out of your local coffee shop's newest fashion magazine. His blonde hair is never seen untouched, his attire usually consisting of an undoubtedly high-end all-black fit, accessorized with multiple earrings and rings that probably cost more than all the overpriced textbooks you had to rent out this semester. It's safe to say that everyone knows Jay Park.
Bottom line is, Jay Park has everything.
Well, his friends beg to differ.
In their eyes, Jay Park has everything but a simple factor in the equation of love (or whatever love is to the minds of a couple of 19 year olds): commitment.
So yes, it's safe to say that everyone knows Jay Park. Because everyone knows he's the campus' rich fuckboy. (What's a college fanfic campus without one anyways?)
Jay doesn't go unreminded of this by his friends, to the boy's annoyance.
Jay is aware of this on a Sunday afternoon, in his dorm building's first floor lounge, where he and his said friends are having a study session.
They're doing anything but studying.
In fact, no one has any books out or anything. Not a single laptop in site.
"You don't think it's the slightly bit concerning?" Jake's words are muffled as he continues munching on the fried chicken that he spent majority of this study session debating if he should have it delivered through UberEats or not.
"I really don't, no," Jay shrugs as he continues mindlessly scrolling through his Instagram feed. They're having the same argument conversation that they've revisited multiple times over the course of their friendship, one that Jay has been lectured on too many times for his own good. He thinks his friends could become his new parents if they really tried.
"Look at it this way, okay. You're about to graduate college in a couple of years, into the big world. Like the actual, adult world. And that means you'll have to settle down. Which you can't do when you. have. no. commitment!" Jake punctuates each word with a single clap of his hands, desperate to get his point across.
Jay simply rolls his eyes. He looks over to Sunghoon, who's minding his own business, not bothered by the same topic he's heard over and over again. His eyes tell Jay you're on your own, in response to his blonde-haired friend's look of despair.
Jay thinks that maybe he should get new friends. Yes, that's the only solution here.
"My love life," Jay reaches across the table for a drumstick from the greasy tub seated in Jake's lap until Jake swats his hand away, "is none of your business. Also, ouch."
"Uh, it kinda is. Because of you and your reputation around campus, it kinda affects us, your best friends. How do you think we look, hanging out with the guy who's known to ghost every girl in existence after one night with them? No offense to you," Jake deadpans to him. Jay mentally reconsiders the term best friends.
Tough love. Jay tells himself it's tough love.
"Yes, because every girl totally hates Jake Sim, the teacher assistant of a physics class who volunteers at the pet shelter every Sunday and brings their pet golden retriever to campus every two weeks," Jay rolls his eyes at his Australian friend.
Jake sighs. "Okay, then I'm coming from a place of worry for you."
Jay groans. "Again, none of your business!" This doesn't stop Jake. He comes from good intentions, really, but Jay wants nothing more than to stuff the kid's mouth with some of that chicken to shut him up.
"What are you gonna do if one day you meet someone you like, genuinely like, and you screw yourself over because you've never been in an actual relationship before? A real, committed one. Like one that lasts at least three months."
"You don't think I can last three months in a relationship?" Jay questions the boy currently taunting him.
"Honestly? No. What's the longest relationship you've been in?" Jake cocks an eyebrow at his friend across from him.
One month and two weeks. But Jay's smart enough to not say that out loud.
"I can so last over three months," Jay mutters more to himself than Jake.
Jake laughs at that, pausing to take another bite of the drumstick in his hand. "Jay, I am willing to actually bet you. Bet that you wouldn't be able to." He leans back on the couch, the ball now in Jay's court.
Jay freezes, looking up from his phone, narrowing his eyes at Jake.
"Forget it, Jake. He's not gonna agree even if you offered him money," Sunghoon finally perches from beside him. Well he's not wrong. It's not like Jay is exactly in need of more money, per say.
"What kind of bet are we talking here?"
Sunghoon's right. Jay doesn't need the money, but he does hate being wrong. Even if it's over something as stupid as this matter.
Caught off guard by the blonde's answer, Jake blinks blankly at him and takes a second to think.
"Hmm..what about...what about if you can date someone for at least three months, and I mean an actual, committed relationship, then I'll do all of your physics homework next semester."
Jay's eyes sparkle at that. If there's anything he despises more than commitment, it's physics.
"And if I win, you have to buy all of my textbooks," Jake sits back from the edge of his seat with a smirk lying on his face.
Jay pauses to think about it. I mean, what does he have to lose? A couple hundred dollars over college textbooks? No. Because he just simply won't lose.
And maybe he'll learn what it'll be like to actually be in a committed relationship for once. Maybe he'll finally learn what it's like to actually devote yourself to someone, open up to them. He shivers at the thought. Never mind. He'll warm up to it. Baby steps.
Nonetheless, what could go wrong? Even if he does lose, at least his money would be going somewhere productive––towards his friend's education. Jay was probably gonna use that money on something useless like a blanket that resembles a tortilla (a burrito blanket, he calls it)––something he doesn't necessarily need, but must have, he would argue.
"Fine. Whatever, okay. Deal," he grabs Jake's extended hand in front of him and shakes on it.
Jake's impressively smiling at the boy as Sunghoon lets out a sigh, in disbelief with the two guys he calls his best friends.
Jay concludes that this will be easier than his Introduction to Photography 101 course he took his freshman year. How hard is it to find someone to date the Jay Park? Surely, everyone will be lining up once Jay switches his FaceBook relationship status from "it's complicated" to "single".
Turns out, it's not as easy as his class where all Jay had to do was take pictures of a pretty sunset, slap a VSCO filter on, and call it a day.
He comes to this realization on a Wednesday evening, as he's seated at one of the many study tables lined in the middle of the campus' library, staring down at his phone's dry iMessage app, with his laptop and blank sheets of scratch paper scrambled across the entire table, as an attempt to look half as studious as the other students studying in the facility.
Turns out, being known as the campus' fuckboy who ghosts every girl on campus isn't a good thing when it comes to wanting to find a real relationship.
He comes to this realization after failing to receive a single text back to the many ones he sent out throughout the first half of his day. The ghoster gets ghosted. Oh how the turn tables.
Jay groans dramatically as he tosses his phone on the hard surface of the table, earning himself a harsh shush from the librarian filing books in the aisle beside him.
He sheepishly smiles back as an apology, directing his attention back to his open laptop screen, where his untouched calculus homework stares back at him––his mind preoccupied with the looming threat of Jake's bet. Not that it was threatening in any way, per say, but Jay just hates losing. And from the looks of things, it's safe to say that Jay won't be celebrating any victories anytime soon.
Jay thinks he should just change his identity and just transfer to some boarding school in Switzerland. Yes, that's a much better solution than admitting defeat to Jake.
Jay sighs as he lies his head on the table, figuring he might as well just write the check for Jake's textbooks now. He wonders how he got here in the first place. Not how he got into the bet, and definitely not how he's sitting in the middle of the library, having yet to start his calculus homework due at 11:59PM tonight (he should really start that).
But no, he wonders how he gained the reputation as the campus' playboy. To be fair, his friends (mainly Jake), are constantly reminding him of his notorious habits. But how did they come a habit in the first place?
The idea of being in a relationship is nice, sure, but the commitment that comes with it? The idea of being dependent on someone? It's scary, vulnerable, and one that Jay can't picture for himself.
Maybe some people just aren't meant to be paired. Maybe some people, like Jay, like being independent and are meant to stay that way.
But Jay also likes affection. He likes the fleeting, warm feeling he gets every time he finds himself under someone's sheets. He likes the short-lived comfort he receives from someone else's touch, even though he knows it's going to cease to exist the second he steps out of those bedroom's doors. He just likes affection, simple as that.
That and he's a 19 year old teenage boy with needs, what did you expect?
And so what if he likes the idea of affection minus commitment? Is that so bad? Apparently it is, to people like his friends and the entirety of his school's campus, at least.
At this rate, he might as well pay someone to date him.
Wait. Jay lifts his head off the table's surface in realization.
He might as well pay someone to date him.
There's no harm in that, is there?
He wouldn't have to endure through an endless amount of dates to find someone he clicks with, then continue going on dates with said clicked person, all while trying to develop an actual, serious relationship.
He'll win the bet, get his physics homework done for an entire semester, and some lucky girl out there will be making profit for the small price of hanging out with Jay Park for three months.
And lucky for him, Jay knows the perfect candidate for this scheme.
Simple as that.
Just as long as said perfect candidate says yes.
And as long as Jake and Sunghoon don't find out. Or else Jay might really have to move to Switzerland after all.
You love your friends, you do.
Hana and Heeseung have been there for you when others haven't––they were by your side when you knew no one entering high school, and they were still by your side when you were all graduating said high school. Needless to say, you're eternally grateful for friends like them.
But right now, in this moment––with you seated in the middle of the campus' library, trying to write your essay, as your two friends blabber on and on about the most recent gossip across from you––your two friends could be your villain origin story.
But again, you love your friends, you do. So you don't have the heart to tell them to leave. You've managed to naturally tune out most of the conversation, anyways, for this––your friends coming to hang out while you're trying to study––is no rare occurrence by any means.
"Oh yeah, Jay Park texted me last night."
You hate how your brain's filter suddenly turns off at Hana's words.
You hate how your ears catch the sudden mention of Jay Park's name.
You hate how the thought of Jay Park gets to even occupy a single brain cell of yours.
You hate how you even know who Jay Park is. Well, knew.
Past tense. Because up until eighth grade––when Jay decided to just suddenly pretend you didn't exist––he was attached to you like a koala to a eucalyptus tree.
And if you had asked past Y/N, ideally, Jay would've never left your side. Ideally, he would've never left you to fend for yourself when entering high school. Ideally, he would've stayed your best friend through out all four years of high school and ideally, you would've eventually told him how you really felt about him after growing up with him all your life. And maybe it would've lead to a completely different story. But for the sake of this fic, we don't live in an ideal world.
So yes, if it wasn't for his attendance at the very same university as you, you would've forgotten about the boy who brought you the painful memories of your childhood.
And since the universe clearly doesn't work in your favor, avoiding Jay Park's existence like he's the plague would have to suffice. And it works.
For the most part.
Until some people, bring him up uninvited into your conversation. Like now, for example.
"When was the last time you guys talked anyways?" Heeseung mindlessly asks as he reaches across the table to grab one of the many snacks you usually bring to your study sessions.
"Uh..like a few weeks ago. Give or take. Whenever you threw your house party. Can't say there was much talking involved however," she teasingly says with a giggle and wiggle of her brows.
Heeseung's rolling his eyes as you scoff and chuck a nearby crumpled piece of paper that was once one of your many essay drafts at her.
She bats it away right as it's about to hit her face as she laughs. "Doesn't matter anyways. He ghosted me the next morning, as he does with everyone else. Telling you this now," she extends a finger right at you, "stay away from Jay Park. That kid's just bad news."
You nod in response, mentally telling her she has nothing to worry about.
Been there, done that.
College. Ah yes, the very concept of spending four years of your life imprisoned on a campus where you'll be tearing your hair out from stress and spending all your life's savings just for a laminated sheet of paper with a golden stamp at the end of it all. We live in a society.
Because of said college, and all the weight that comes along with it, you had adapted a strict daily schedule in order to not completely lose your mind. It's a simple schedule really, one of a typical college student who's just trying to get by everyday with as little mental breakdowns as possible.
Wake up, get ready, go to class, go to the library to do your homework, walk all the way across campus to get back to your dorm, shower, then sleep. Oh and eat, of course. And maybe if time permits, be an actual social being and socialize.
It's gotten you this far into the college life without dropping out so, you conclude, you must be doing something right.
Sometimes, if you're feeling nice to yourself, you'll tweak the schedule a bit to fit in some exceptions. Maybe squeeze in a little trip to the bubble tea shop that's on the other side of campus, or maybe get dinner at that one dining hall that you don't usually go to because of the unncessarily long lines (but because they serve ice cream, you go anyways). It doesn't matter what the exception is, you still plan it out to fit into your schedule somehow. Everything is planned out.
Sometimes, however, the universe disagrees with your schedule, to your demise. Such as today, for example.
Because what you didn't expect for today was for a particular blonde-haired boy who you haven't spoken to in almost six years (but who's counting?) to approach your table in the library––a table you were sure no one could find you at, as it was quietly tucked away in the back corner, right next to the Astrophysics shelves. Because who browses the Astrophysics aisle for fun? Actually, maybe Jake Sim would. Anyways.
You definitely didn't anticipate a visit from the boy you've been actively avoiding, so you definitely didn't expect the first words coming out of his mouth when he sees you for the first time in six years to be:
"Fake date me."
You blink up at him.
Yeah, definitely not expected.
But you only let it phase you for a split second, until you feel a slight annoyance beginning to bubble up deep inside of you.
"Wow, hello to you too Jay! It's been what––half a decade? Yeah I've been pretty good, thanks for asking!" The sarcasm is practically dripping off your tongue.
You don't know what runs through Jay's mind, but apparently it isn't common sense––or the ability to read the room. Because next thing you know, he's sliding the chair across from you out from underneath the table and making himself at home.
And he's smiling right at you.
Curse him and his smile.
But no, you're not giving into it.
Not yet, at least.
"What do you want?" You deadpan at him when he makes no sign of making the next move.
"A girlfriend," he deadpans right back at you, as if he was casually telling you what he wanted for dinner. As if you two were close-knit friends that could approach one another without any proper greeting. As if you two had kept your friendship all these years. As if you two even had a role in each other's lives.
"Can't help you there," you scoff, deciding to not even question his lack of manners on top of his uninvited presence.
"Aren't you gonna ask me why?"
"Well gee, seeing that the first few words you decided to say to my face for the first time in forever were a demand, a demand to date you no less, then....no," your monotone voice says as you keep your eyes focused on your laptop screen, not daring to look at the boy across from you.
In the Introduction to Sociology course you took your freshmen year, you had learned of one important term: interactional vandalism. Textbook definition being: "ignoring signals of disinterest in a conversation, leading it to an offense."
Your definition being: "are you oblivious or just plan dumb, read the room!"
This was interactional vandalism, alright. Whether Jay's truly oblivious or just trying to annoy you until your head explodes (it's really the former, but you're convinced it's the latter), he takes your signals of disinterest and tosses it right out of his head to continue the conversation.
"I'm stuck in this stupid bet with Jake--do you remember him? He bet me that I couldn't date someone for more than three months and I figured having someone fake date me would be easier than actually dating someone, right? That's where you come into the equation," he proposes as he leans back in his chair, as if he had just finished a sales pitch to a prospective customer looking to buy a car.
You couldn't believe this. You're 98% sure this has got to be a prank. You're mentally preparing for a camera crew to jump out from in-between the library's aisles any moment now and scream into your ears that you've just been punk'd!
The remaining 2% of you, however, wouldn't put it past the two boys to get themselves in such a situation. The last memory you had of Jay and his friends were pretty much their childish selves back in middle school. And by looking at the current scene unfolding in front of you...it's needless to say they haven't changed much.
"Again, can't help you there. Ask one of the many girlfriends I thought you had." Ouch.
"But Y/N, you've known me all your life--"
"Up until you dropped me a few years ago but sure, let's call it that."
"--and convincing other people is gonna make me look--"
"--desperate? Yeah."
"C'mon, Y/N. What do you have to lose anyways?"
"Uh..my dignity? Pride? Self-respect? Sorry Jay, not happening," you turn your attention back to your unwritten essay in front of you, mentally checking out of this conversation. This would be a good time for that camera crew to jump out now.
"Look, no one else is gonna do it, Y/N." Jay has always been stubborn, you suppose. But so are you.
"Yeah, because you've managed to push every being of the opposite gender away from you. You gave yourself this reputation in the first place," you give it to him straight. It's not like you had a relationship with him to uphold anyways––Jay himself broke that friendship years ago.
Jay hates that you're right.
You're always right. He remembers how he used to always go to you for advice and clarity on the world's biggest problems. Granted, the world's biggest problems to him at the time equated to what he should dress up as for the fifth grade Halloween party, but still. A tough decision, for the mind of a ten-year-old.
You abruptly stop typing and begin putting your laptop and textbooks away as you huff in frustration. There's no point in trying to get your work done now. The longer you stay arguing with Jay, the bigger your headache gets. The longer he continues to occupy any part of your brain, the bigger your headache gets.
Getting up from your seat, packed and ready to slam your head into your pillow, you turn to the blonde one last time.
"Look Jay. We went on our separate ways years ago. If you weren't so notoriously known around campus and my friends would stop talking about you, I would've long forgotten you. I'm sorry you're in this situation, really. If I were you, I'd just tell Jake I can't do it. Or don't, I can't tell you what to do. Just don't get some innocent girl involved in whatever stunt of yours this is."
Jay stares at you, mouth agape, as you find your way out of the library and through the main doors. By the time he comes back to his senses, he realizes how he looks plain stupid––standing in the middle of the library, the look on his face screaming befuddlement, to say the least. Jay quickly makes his way out of the building, in hopes of convincing you one last time.
Jay catches sight of your figure already half-way down the walkway that connects the library to the main quad of your school's campus. Geez, you walk fast.
Not fast enough to outrun Jay's legs, however. If Jay running after you through the middle of campus in order to convince you to fake date him doesn't show how desperate he is to win this bet, I don't know what will.
"Wait, Y/N!"
You groan to yourself before turning to face the boy who can't seem to take a hint and leave you alone. You stare at his out-of-breath state as he heaves up and down from the slight jog he had to endure to get to where you are. If you're humored by him chasing after you, you do a good job of hiding it.
He meets your unimpressed state before stating his final proposition: "I'll pay you. Five hundred dollars."
You nearly stop breathing.
Now this catches your attention––after all, you're but a broke college student who's just trying to survive. And preferably not by feeding yourself instant ramen cups every night.
And so, naturally, you begin rethinking about the opportunity presented in front of you. You narrow your eyes at the boy as you weigh your options.
The first problem being, it's Jay Park––the bane of your very existence. You spent the last few years of your life pretending he didn't exist...for good reason. Not only did he do you dirty when you were merely a couple of 13-year-olds, but you just didn't want to be involved with someone like him. Someone known for his nature, someone who left your own current best friend ghosted. And not that Hana herself would care, for she has called herself the "female Jay Park", but you're sure this would be breaking some rule in the girl code handbook. Plus, if you agree to this, you'd be betraying 13-year-old Y/N, the one who decided to never speak to nor think of Jay Park again––which by now you've failed, but you get the gist.
Second problem being, three months is a long time. Three months is practically the rest of this semester, and did you really want to spend the rest of the semester tied down to the label of being Jay Park's girlfriend? There would have to be some negative connotations that came along with that title, right? No offense to Jay, but being his first girlfriend since, what, high school could make you come off as..naive, for lack of a better term. As if the only person you could settle for was Jay Park. As if you barely had any standards for yourself. Again, no offense to Jay.
Needless to say, if your school's debate club had to argue on why you shouldn't be doing this, you're sure the negating side could win with these two reasons alone.
But before you're rejecting the boy currently standing in front of you one last time, you find yourself mentally listing rebuttals.
First of all, you'd be getting paid. And again, you're merely but a college student living the stereotypical broke college student life––burdened by the costs of tuition, textbooks, and midnight McDonalds runs for when you're out of aforementioned instant ramen cups. Five hundred dollars could provide you with more than enough chicken McNuggets to last you the semester, and maybe some more to treat yourself to an online shopping spree.
Second of all, it's not like you were going to do anything better with your next three months anyways. It's safe to say you were too busy being a diligent student to actually look for anyone to date, per say. And if anything, having a fake boyfriend might actually be helpful in your case. Your mom would be off your ass about how you're still single, for one. And two, your friends (though it's really just Heeseung) would stop trying to hook you up on blind dates with guys that you would choose Jay Park over any day (and that really says something).
Third of all, it's Jay Park. As much as you despise the kid, you still know him. He's not a complete stranger to you, no matter how much you try to deny it. It could be worse, it could be a complete rando asking you to date him. At least you two have some sort of history, which would take care of the typical small talk and getting to know each other bit of this equation. And truth be told, you'd be lying to yourself if you said you weren't a tad bit satisfied by the fact that Jay chose you, of all people, to pull off this stunt with him. You don't know if it's the nostalgia of your childhood memories rushing back to you, but it reminds you of the endless schemes you two used to plan behind your parents' backs all the time. Granted, your childhood schemes––such as the both of you faking sickness so you could skip school together––don't even fall close to being in a fake relationship with one another, but still. It's the thought that counts.
All of those reasons plus, Jay isn't the worst to look at. He may have a spoiled reputation, but at least he has his looks going for him, you'll give him that (you're still secretly wondering when and how did he get his glow up, but don't tell him that).
And so by the guidelines of a college student's logic that states the pros outweigh the cons, you come to the overarching conclusion that maybe, this won't be so awful after all.
"Five hundred?" You ask, just for clarification. Jay's immediately nodding at your words. You continue to ponder on your thoughts as he stares at you hopefully.
The silent atmosphere of your campus heightens the tension so much, you swear you're in one of those overdramatic pausing scenes that occur too many times in k-dramas.
You sigh, then nod.
"Okay," you're internally praying that you won't regret this decision. "I'm in."
The next time you see Jay is at 12:17PM on a Friday afternoon, as you're exiting the doors of the lecture building that's home to your awfully long Capitalism in the Western World class.
You're going down the steps of the building, mentally deciding where and what you're going to treat yourself to for lunch––as the three hour lecture you had just attended drained all the life and energy out of you––when you hear the slight call of your name.
Turning to the source, you're met with a waving Jay, leaning against the passenger's side of his car, parked in front of the lecture hall building you were currently leaving.
Great.
You walk over to where he's casually waiting––he's unaware of all the stares he's attracted from fellow students leaving the same lecture as you. Can you blame them? It's not everyday you see a sleek, black BMW that probably cost more than your tuition pull up in front of your Friday afternoon lecture. It's not everyday you see Jay Park waiting for anyone outside of his said sleek, black BMW that probably cost more than your tuition.
"Hi," you simply let out as you plant yourself in front of him, not sure whether or not to question him why are you here? Surely, he wasn't waiting for you?
"Hi," he smiles down at you. There's a beat of silence. "I was waiting for you."
Bingo.
"Oh. What are you, my chauffeur?" You raise an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Maybe. I am your boyfriend, after all," he says into the air, loud and clear, as if he wanted people to hear. Well that is the point, you suppose.
But still, all you want to do is smack the smirk right off his face.
Before you have time to put your next question into words, he answers it for you.
"I'm taking you out for lunch," he declares as if you have nothing else planned for the day. Well, to be fair, you didn't have anything else planned for the day. Except for your usual library run. But you figure the library could wait.
"Oh, like on a date?" You raise your eyebrows teasingly at him as you get into the car, Jay holding the door wide open for you. "Is Jay Park treating me to lunch as a date?"
Jay fights the scowl (or is that a smile?) growing on his face as he bends down to meet your eye level from inside the car. "Don't flatter yourself, princess. We've got fake lives to live."
"Call me princess one more time and you won't have a real life to live," you flash him a sarcastic smile and slam the door in his face.
Jay meets his own shocked reflection on the passenger's side window.
Cute.
"When you said you were taking me out to lunch, I expected like...I don't know...the diner on campus. Not whatever this is," you mutter to Jay as the two of you are brought to your table by a waitress at an upscale sushi restaurant, one that is undoubtedly out of your usual budget, but for sure an upgrade from your dining hall's pizza you were planning to have. You should've figured as much, the drive here was a little more than out of the way from campus, and who are you kidding, it's Jay Park you're eating with.
You stare down at your current outfit, which consisted of a hoodie you've owned since your junior year of high school and leggings that you threw on without second thought this morning––because you didn't exactly wake up and decide I'm going to go to a fancy sushi bar for lunch today!
"Why are we here anyways?" You ask him when you're both settled in your seats and the waitress walks away after listing the chef's specials for the day.
"Oh, they have killer dragon rolls here, you have to try it," Jay tells you nonchalantly as his eyes rake the menu in front of him, blocking your view of him.
How dense can one be? Your hand snatches his menu as you stare into his unamused eyes.
"No, Jay. I mean, why are we here? It's not like anyone's around to see us put on a show anyways."
"Oh. I figured," Jay's quick to grab the menu back from out of your hands as he continues, "that we should sit down and establish how exactly we're going to deliver this performance. After all, you're stuck with me for the next three months."
Again, smacking the smirk currently resting on his face would satisfy you beyond relief. Just once.
"If I drop out halfway through, do I still get $250?" You tease, leaning back.
"Ha ha. Funny. No," he narrows his eyes at you from across the table. "It's all or nothing."
You dramatically huff to make a show just for his annoyance.
"Worth a try. But sure, let's solidify this. What's the game plan?" You sit up in your seat, leaning over the table as if the two of you were hosting a secret meeting.
"It's simple really," Jay mirrors your actions, face leaning in close to where yours is hovering over the table. "Just pretend to be deeply in love with me for three months, and try not to actually be charmed by my cunning looks."
If someone gave you five dollars for every time you've already rolled your eyes at him today, you wouldn't even need to be in this deal for the five hundred dollars.
"Wow, smooth. Can I just remind you you're the one paying a girl to be in a fake relationship with you because you're just not competent enough to find an actual girlfriend?" You lean back, arms crossing over your figure.
Jay, unfazed, laughs, tongue briefly hitting the inside of his cheek. "Touché."
Your eyes go back to the menu in front of you as a silence falls over the table. Because you're not a loaded trust fund baby who comes to fancy five-star sushi restaurants for lunch on a daily, you don't recognize half of the entree names on the menu. You spot the dragon roll Jay suggested, but seeing that a basic California roll is less expensive, your natural broke-college-student-instincts figure the California roll shall do.
"Okay, in all seriousness," Jay begins as he puts his menu down. "It's simple really. We'll just go on weekly dates and post cute pictures of each other once in a while and a little after three months, I'll just say it didn't work out. I'll give you the five hundo and boom, we move on with our lives."
It's clear Jay's put some thought into this. Safe to say he's put more effort planning this out than the amount of work he's been putting into his classes. Someone's got their priorities straight.
You're impressed to say the least––you figured Jay would just be the kind to go with the flow and wait for the situation to unfold on its own and maybe blow up into flames. But seeing as he was just as serious about winning this bet as you were with making five hundred dollars, your doubts about this entire situation were slowly withering away.
Don't get it wrong, though, you still despise him. To an extent, at least.
"And don't worry about the dates. I'll pay on your behalf, as the loving, doting boyfriend I am," Jay finishes with a wide, cheesy smile you can't help but return a growing smile back at.
"Well then, as the loving, doting girlfriend I am, I shall gift you coffee, breakfast, all that fun couple stuff, whenever you please. Or maybe unannounced, if I'm feeling nice," you figure you should pitch in as much if he's paying for all your dates. And deep down, you find the idea kinda cute. But don't tell anyone that.
"Wow, look at us. We should become Dispatch's couple of the year already!" Jay exclaims, earning himself a small giggle from you, which pleases him to say the least. He thinks that maybe when this is all over, he'll hopefully make a good friend (well, for the second time) out of it.
And you're thinking that maybe the next three months won't be as bad as you initially had thought.
As the two of you delve deep into a debate about who would be the better significant other to each other, the waitress comes over to take your orders.
And because you're laughing and Jay's brightly smiling at you from across the table, you order the dragon roll.
The second time Jay takes you out––this time he gives you a heads up to get ready––it's at a, once again, high-class steakhouse.
The third time, you insist on the on-campus diner that's popular amongst the student population. Partially because you feel bad for the amount of money he's spent on you (even though he couldn't care less), but mostly because if you have to put on another fancy dress to just eat an overpriced meal that doesn't even fully satisfy your hunger, you might lose your mind.
And by this third time, Jake is aware of this newly blossomed relationship.
"Three dates! I didn't know you had it in you, going on three dates with the same girl!" Jake excitedly exclaims as he jumps into the empty spot on Jay's dorm bed and shoves his phone's screen into Jay's face.
The smaller screen displays Jay's most recent Instagram post: an image of you sitting behind your too-small-to-be-this-expensive-steak and smiling right into Jay's camera––a memory that brings a smile to his face:
~ ~ ~
"C'mon! We said Instagram posts would be a part of the deal! How else can we convince people we're dating?" A pout rests on Jay's face as he stares at you from across the table in the middle of the extravagantly decorated restaurant he picked out for your second date. You remember your eyes bulging out of their own sockets when you saw the "$$$$$" rating Yelp gave the place when you searched it up earlier.
"Okay, okay! One picture," you give in, already slightly annoyed that you were here instead of the comfort of your own bed, where you could be rewatching your favorite Netflix show for the third time. But because you made a deal and because you're desperate for money, you had to follow through––so here you were.
You flash an unconvincing smile to Jay's camera, which doesn't satisfy him, to say the least. "At least pretend you're somewhat enjoying this date," he frowns at you.
You sigh, until a thought crosses your mind and a smile grows on your face. "Only if you get me boba afterwards."
He narrows his eyes at you, but then meets your smile. "Sure, whatever you want. But only because I've been craving some mango milk tea lately."
"You're a fruit milk tea kind of guy? Sorry, but I might have to fake break-up with you," you tease as you take a sip of your overpriced drink to go with your overpriced meal.
Jay scoffs, feigning hurt by placing his hand over his heart. "Ouch. But before you break up with me, let me get this Instagram post in."
"Wow. Your priorities are so straight," you roll your eyes at him, eliciting a cheeky smile from him as he watches you through his held up phone screen.
"3,2,1."
"Hey, I wasn't ready! That was like mid-laugh!" You reach over the table to grab the phone, but not quick enough for him to put his phone back into his pants' pocket.
"Nope, nuh uh," he laughs as you quickly sit back down into your seat, not wanting to cause a scene in an establishment as proper as this one.
"It's fine. It's a good picture, you look cute," he casually lets out, unaware of the blush rising to the surface of your cheeks, thanks to the fact that you were suddenly interested in playing with the left-over food on your plate.
"Jay! Delete it, I'll let you take another one," you whine from your seat, imagining just how bad a candid picture of you could be.
"Ugh, fine. Ever so picky." He playfully rolls his eyes at you as he takes his phone out and opens the camera app as you prepare yourself.
"Okay, how's this?" Jay turns the phone screen to you after he takes a few snaps on his phone.
"I approve," you grin at him as he goes through the pictures himself, unaware of the smile growing on his face.
"Okay now delete the first one," you point your finger at him, narrowing your eyes at him.
"Okay, okay! Bossy," he laughs as he raises in hands in surrender.
When Jay gets home that night, he recovers the image from his Recently Deleted folder, telling himself it's for the sake of the memory.
Obviously.
~ ~ ~
"It's not that big of a deal," Jay mutters from his spot as his eyes go from the Instagram post to his Exile and Belonging in Modern Literature reading that's due tomorrow, bright yellow highlighter in hand. Typically, you'd find the reading buried deep at the bottom of his school backpack. But because Jay ran into you this morning and because he complained to you about the amount of work he's fallen behind on and because you had threatened him to do his work or else you're not going on another date––a fake date that is––with him, he figured he should at least get one reading done and annotated, despite his strong dislike for highlighters (they hurt his eyes, okay?)
What he doesn't know, however, is how your threat was completely full of bluff––but don't tell him that.
"It is so a big deal, for you at least!" Jake hops off the bed and lands on the wooden floors of Jay's dorm room so hard, Jay winces and sends a mental apology to the poor person who lives below him.
Jake suddenly gasps. "I have to meet her, Jay! As your best friend, it's practically mandatory that I meet her."
Jay opens his mouth to protest, but not before Jake interrupts him once again. "Oh! We can bring Sunghoon too, it'll be so fun! The best friends meet the girlfriend."
Jay can't think of anything worst. Jay imagines that bringing you to meet his best friends would just intimidate you out of dating him––fake dating him, that is. Obviously.
He stares at his friend in agony then back at the reading in front of him––the one Jake said he'd come over to help annotate, but the intention completely left Jake's head the second he heard about Jay's recent dating life.
"You don't have to meet her," Jay says pointedly. "Plus, you already know her."
Jake frowns at his friend's excuse. "Yeah, but that was in middle school! This is different."
Jay's hands shuffle through the reading's pages in front of him as he realizes there's no way the two of them are going to finish the assignment at this point. He supposes he'll have to save death by blindness from highlighters for another day and hope you still agree to go out with him.
Jake suddenly gasps in realization.
"Oh my gosh! Childhood best friends turned college sweethearts," Jake says so dreamily, he might as well plaster heart eyes on. Hopeless romantic, this one.
Before Jay can argue, the piercing sound of three loud knocks echo through the small room, followed with a:
"Jay, are you in? It's me!"
Jay stills at the sound of your sweet voice. He whips his head to Jake, who is also frozen in place.
But the widened-eye boy is quick to come to his senses––unfortunately quicker than Jay himself––because the next thing Jay knows, Jake's eyes are lighting up and he's running to the door, ignoring Jay's screaming whispers through this seething teeth that were somewhere along the lines of Jake––stop, I swear to god if you open that door I'm gonna fucking--
"Y/N!" Jake swings the door wide open, revealing an overly excited him and a frozen Jay half-way to the door, as if he was about to grab the very boy welcoming you in. It's as if we're living in a Sims game and the player clicked pause on this very moment.
Jake's eyes are wildly going back and forth between you and your supposed boyfriend, as if he was waiting for Jay to run over and smother you in hugs and kisses...or something couple-y like that. Jay wouldn't know.
"Uh––hi," you're awkwardly standing inside the room now, a relatively large paper brown bag resting in your palms as you look around for a surface to place it on. Jay makes his way to you without a second thought, quickly taking the bag out of your hold.
"You seemed stressed out earlier, so I figured I could bring you some food as a little pick me up. I didn't know what you liked, so I kinda just got a little of everything from the dining hall. Nothing fancy," you're rambling, but smiling so excitedly at him, Jay doesn't know what to say.
Instead, his mouth slightly drops open as he stares at you in awe, mostly because he's not used to being on the receiving end of such spontaneously generous actions––all while Jake's still excitedly looking back and forth between the two of you, as if he was expecting a marriage proposal to come next.
"Oh wow. Thank you. Really," Jay, still touched by your simple act of kindness, softly says as he places the bag on the limited amount of empty space on his desk surface––the rest of it is covered with his untouched textbooks and unfinished assignments. He wonders if you did this out of playing your role or just because you wanted to. He internally hopes it's the latter. "Seriously, you didn't have to do."
"Nah, don't worry. I wanted to," you shrug with such a genuine smile that Jay realizes he actually missed your smile.
Despite having seen you during your brief run-in this morning when you were fetching your morning coffee, Jay realizes he missed you. The two of you haven't been seeing each other recently because of your busy schedule and if Jay didn't realize it before, he's now sure he missed your company and presence around.
Weird.
"Well, you two have fun! Sunghoon needs me for something," Jake suddenly chirps from his place near the front door, halfway through with putting his shoes on already, breaking the comforting silence that fell between the two of you.
Jay frowns. "But you said you were free all da––"
"SUNGHOON IS CALLING BYE!" And before Jay can even register what's happening, Jake's out the door without another word.
"Er..sorry about him, he's...weird," Jay scratches the back of his neck as he returns to his spot on his bed, mentally setting a reminder to yell at Jake later for leaving the two of you alone. Jay doesn't know exactly why, but he's nervous at the fact that you're here in his room. It's not like you two are complete strangers––or whatever you guys were before––anymore. "Good job on your part, though. How'd you know Jake was here?"
"Oh uh, I didn't"," you let out an awkward laugh. "I just felt like doing it."
Heat rushes to Jay's cheeks and he's not sure 1) what this newfound feeling is and 2) how to respond, yet again.
Having expecting you to leave after dropping the food off, Jay's taken by surprise when you take your shoes off and come over to his bed to look at the pile of work he's spread out.
"Is this everything you have to do?" You question the stressed-out boy as you flip through the various assignments, readings, and essays he put off in the past week.
"More or less," he groans. This is no rare occurrence by any means––Jay being behind in his work––but this time, Jay realizes he may actually be in deep shit, considering he has no idea where to begin.
Right as Jay's expecting a scolding from you, he looks up to meet a look of sympathy on your face. "Well, I mean, I'm pretty much done with my day. I can try to help, I recognize some of these readings from last semester."
Jay thinks to himself that the universe has sent him an angel through the form of you.
"Really? Wow, you were't kidding when you said you'd be a good girlfriend," he sends you a surprised look.
"I'm just being nice, Jay. A concept I'm sure you're not familiar with," you remark back at him, causing his forming smile to grow into a laugh.
"I can too be nice! Need I remind you of who's paying you $500, covering all of our dates AND giving you rides to class everyday?" He remarks pointedly at you, a teasing look resting in his eyes as you're reminded of the first of many times he's come to pick you up before class:
~ ~ ~
You're late.
This never happens.
But then again, your life's been a series of unexpected occurrences lately. Such as the fact that you're currently known as Jay Park's girlfriend, for one.
You're scrambling out of bed once you take one look at your phone and realize shit, you're already late for class. Throwing on whatever articles of clothing your eyes land on first, you're already mentally groaning at the fact that you'll have to skip breakfast and run across your campus to get to said class.
Curse your professor for hosting her lecture at the furthest possible building away from your dorm. Curse the architect who decided to make your campus so large.
You're running down the steps outside of your dorm building's doors when you're abruptly stopped by a familiar sounding cough. You look up from trying to gather all your belongings together at once to meet the gaze of the source of the sound––Jay.
"Wow, you're a mess," he smirks as he gets up from the spot on his car he was leaning against to make his way over to you.
"Gee, thanks! Good morning to you too," you flash him a sarcastic smile before your default frown quickly makes it way back onto your face.
"Aren't you gonna ask me why I'm here?" He grins as he grabs hold of your backpack to sling it across his own back as the two of you walk towards his car.
"Why are you here, Jay?" you sigh, your sarcastic tone hard to miss.
"To give you a ride to class, of course!" He's beaming at you, as if he's a pre-pubescent teen who just won their first girlfriend a prize from the arcade's claw machine.
Oh. That explains the car, you figure. Deep down inside, you're relieved that you'll no longer be bursting through the lecture hall's doors as a sweaty mess––a result of having to run across campus to get to class.
Determined to not let your satisfaction completely show, you resort with a little smile directed towards Jay as he opens the passenger door for you.
The second your enter Jay's car, the strong scent of coffee hits you, and your attention is targeted at the two small cups of coffee sitting in the cupholders of the car.
"Breakfast?" Jay asks as he enters through the driver's side and reaches into the backseat to whip out a small pastry bag. A small, deliciously smelling, pastry bag.
Okay, well. You suppose you could drop the annoyed act now.
Your eyes widen with joy as you grab the bag from him and open it to reveal your favorite breakfast sandwich. He's been taking notes, you'll give him that point.
"Okay, you win. Thank you," you grace him with a soft smile before taking a bite into the glorious gift in your hands.
"Of course, I was just feeling nice," he grins at you as he starts his car. "But don't get used to it." His tone is serious, but his smile directed towards you says differently.
And the fact that he still showed up to drive you to class the next morning.
And the next.
~ ~ ~
"And need I remind you who has to date your dumb ass for the $500 in question?" Your eyes narrow at the boy who can't seem to get that damn smile off his face.
Jay sticks his tongue out at you, ending the conversation. Really Jay? What are you, five? Well, mentally––probably.
You're looking around his minuscule dorm room for a place to sit down, and Jay can't help but feel embarrassed now that you're here, in his messy single studio room that pretty much reflects how Jay treats every other responsibility of his oh so hard life: neglected.
"Uh...here, you can sit on my bed," Jay immediately offers as he moves to the side to make room for your presence––and it isn't much, considering the university only provided him a twin XL bed which is definitely not built for two grown college-aged kids.
If you told yourself a few weeks ago that you'd be shoulder to shoulder on a bed belonging to the guy you cringed at the very thought of, you wouldn't have believed yourself. You wouldn't have believed yourself if you said you were actually glad Jay let you stay instead of kicking you out after delivering the food. Huh.
Weird.
"You know, this kinda reminds me of when we were kids. I always carried us through those horrible multiplication tests in the fifth grade," you wink at him as you settle in the spot next to him, hands grabbing hold of the papers in his lap.
Jay let out a laugh, nudging your shoulder with his. "Hey! The twelve times table is hard, okay?"
You roll your eyes at him––a habit of yours he's noticed whenever the two of you are together, but more recently, he thinks it's been more out of fun than annoyance.
He wonders why.
When Jay had first brought up the idea of bringing you as his date to his father's company dinner, you had expected a fairly fancy five-star restaurant with a formal dress code––for you've become accustomed to Jay's lifestyle. Turns out, your expectations can continue to be exceeded. Because what you had expected to be a simple dinner with a few other business men and women turned out to be an entire party, hosted in a hotel whose interior resembled something close to a castle (Or what you assume a castle looks like, as you've never personally been into a castle yourself, but this hotel is close enough).
Your eyes sparkle at the extravagant columns and diamond chandeliers hanging high above you, and Jay smiles at the expression on your face; like a little girl being brought to the amusement park for the first time ever.
"Wow, this is...wow," you mutter as you drink in the scene in front of you: people dressed in formal attire likewise to yours and Jay's, mingling and drinking what you imagine to be beverages that cost more than your entire life's worth.
Jay laughs from behind you, "Yeah the company goes a little...extra when it comes to these company dinners."
You scoff as you look up at him. "Oh really, you don't say?" You look around and you're suddenly aware of the many people surrounding the two of you and the attention you've acquired ever since entering the building.
"Jay, people are staring." You shuffle closer to him, your voice lowering down to a whisper.
"Well, it's not everyday the son of the company's CEO brings his girlfriend with him, so...looks like we'll be the talk of the party tonight. Smiles on," he winks at you, and you just know he's loving the attention the two of you are receiving right now.
"Jay Park? Is that you?" You hear a warm voice call out from behind the two of you.
The two of you turn around to meet the owner of the voice, a middle-aged woman dressed in an evening gown that matches the pattern of high-end brands you've been recognizing ever since arriving.
"Mrs. Lee! It's so nice seeing you again," Jay cheerily addresses the woman as the two of you bow in greeting.
You internally giggle at the thought of your Jay being so picture-perfect in the eyes of his father's co-workers.
"This is Y/N," he continues, his hand finding its way to your back, protectively resting it there as you go to introduce yourself. "My girlfriend."
You swear you feel goosebumps rise from where he's lightly touching you, and more so when he introduces you as his girlfriend.
You tell yourself it's just your nerves. Yes, that's it, you're just nervous. I mean, you're in a room filled with people who could easily pay off all your college loans with just a snap of their fingers, who wouldn't be nervous? Right? Right.
"Y/N! It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you!" Mrs. Lee excitedly exclaims as you turn to Jay with a slightly confused look plastered on your face. He mirrors your expression as he shrugs, moving to stand behind you completely, bringing his hands to rest lowly at your hips.
His hands feel like feathers on the thin fabric of your evening gown, so light, so delicate, as if he's unsure if he's crossing a line. It leaves you wanting more, wanting to naturally lean against him and his warmth. You quick to shake the thought of your head as Mrs. Lee chirps up again.
"Jay's father is always talking about how you've been keeping Jay pleasantly busy nowadays! Good thing too, about time this poor boy settle down for someone as beautiful as you," the woman rambles on as you feel a blush creep up on your cheeks at the thought of Jay talking about you to his dad. If only they knew.
"We should probably go find our seats, I think the dinner is beginning soon," Jay says from behind you, saving the two of you from having to listen to Mrs. Lee's story of how she's known Jay ever since he was five years old and seeing him grow into this mature, loving, young man is so amazing. Oh look! I have baby pictures.
Yeah, he was more so saving himself from embarrassment.
The two of you bid your goodbyes before Jay gently uses the hand on your back to maneuver you through the crowd of socializing business moguls.
"She's not wrong, you know," you feel Jay dip his head so he's speaking near your ear, his warm breath tickling your earlobe, as the two of you make your way through the large foyer room.
"Hm?" You hum in question, turning your head up just enough to be able to make eye contact with him as he responds to your look of confusion.
"You look beautiful tonight," he says, eye contact not breaking once. You freeze in your steps.
You stare back at him in silence. Oh.
Your mind is panicking as it flips through your mental book of responses, unsure of what to say back. But because your mind is cloudy from staring at a put-together Jay in a dark navy suit to match your dress (mixed with the nervous butterflies in your stomach––have they always been there?), the only sound that's able to leave your lips is the small stutter of a:
"Huh?"
Wow Y/N, you had one job. A simple "thank you" could've sufficed! And you went with "Huh"?
You felt like a fifth grader who just learned from a friend of a friend of a friend that their crush likes them back.
"U-um. Mrs. Lee. What she said about you. You look good, really," somehow your nervousness made its way over to Jay now––his eyes flickering from yours to anywhere, anything, else in the room––the awkward tension growing tenfold each second.
Goddamnit Y/N, this is just Jay you're talking to, get a grip.
You're knocked back into reality when he slightly nudges your back to continue making your way to the main ball room, where the dinner is being held.
"Is that a compliment from the Jay Park?" Your smirk can't be seen by Jay, since he's still trailing behind you, but he can definitely hear it through your tone.
"Don't make me take it back," he chuckles, his words felt against your neck, leaving behind a tingly sensation you're not sure why you're feeling. You're glad he's behind you, so he isn't able to see the blush creeping onto your face for the second time tonight.
Jay gives a small nod to the people behind the check-in desk stationed at the entrance as the two of you waltz right into a large ball room lined with countless circular dining tables. So much for a small business dinner.
As the two of you approach one of the tables placed at the front of the room, you notice a familiar figure seated next to the seats reserved for you and Jay.
"Y/N!" Jake exclaims as he gets up from his seat to greet the both of you. "I'm so glad you made it, Jay was so excited to bring you tonight. Deadass would not stop talking about it."
Jay lets out a noise that falls somewhere between a cough and a goose being strangled, his widened eyes warning his talkative friend to just shut up. He's silently cursing the company for always seating his and Jake's family at the same table for these events.
"Aw, is that so? He's lucky he's cute or else I wouldn't have agreed," you grin, winking at your assumed boyfriend sitting next to you.
"Hey, YOU were the one excited to come! I recall a certain someone's face lighting up when I suggested we go shopping for tonight," Jay immediately retorts.
"Only because you were buying," you giggle, causing Jake to laugh as well.
"Damn, Jay. Tough," Jake jokingly adds as you laugh alongside him. The scowl sitting on Jay's face expresses the opposite of what he's feeling right now: warmth filling him up from the sound of your laughter and the image of you getting along so well with his best friend.
"I'm gonna get us some drinks, you two have fun making fun of me," Jay narrows his eyes at the two of you as he gets up from his seat. You bid him off with a smile before turning back to Jake.
"No but really though, this boy would not stop talking about you coming tonight. Then again, he doesn't really ever stop talking about you," Jake nonchalantly says, not knowing how much he was exposing his friend to you right now.
You raise an eyebrow up in response, "Oh really?"
"Seriously! I don't know what you did to him, Y/N, but this Jay I've been seeing recently is new. He complains a lot less about life nowadays, especially on the days he sees you," he leans back in his chair as his comment brings a smile to your face. Little does he know.
You stretch your neck up to find the boy in question and spot him right as he's returning to your shared table, two drinks in hand. You lock eyes with him from across the room and without a second thought, you're giving him a genuine smile that he's immediately returning.
Your heart beats faster at the view.
You wonder why.
It's 3:07AM when you hear the first ding.
You're not 100% sure as of why you're awake at this hour on a Tuesday night––perhaps a combination of your restless thoughts and feelings not letting you sleep plus the typical stress that comes hand-in-hand with the life of a college student.
It's 3:09AM when you hear the second ding, and you brush it off, assuming it was just Heeseung spamming you with memes again––something he does often when he also can't sleep (you found this out the hard way).
It's still 3:09AM when you hear the third ding, and at 3:10AM , you finally reach over and decide to acknowledge the being who's bothering you at this godforsaken hour.
Jay [3:07AM]: Y/N
Jay [3:09AM]: hi
Jay [3:09AM]: r u awake rn
Y/N [3:10AM]: unfortunately so
Y/N [3:11AM]: why are you up
Jay [3:11AM]: come outside
Y/N [3:13AM: jay it's 3am
Jay [3:13AM]: ye and? don't tell me ur a college student with a curfew
Jay [3:14AM]: plus im alrdy waiting for u outside so u have no choice
Jay [3:15AM]: :)
You groan at your bright phone screen currently illuminating your dark dorm room.
You ponder the consequences you may have to suffer tomorrow if you stay up any later than you already have. But considering the fact that you're probably just going to stay awake lying in bed for god knows how long anyways, why not?
(And you would like to point out that this decision has nothing to do with the fact that you haven't seen Jay in a few days and that maybe a tiny, tiny, tiny, part of you may have missed his presence. Nothing.)
And since that logic is obviously valid (you really gotta work on justifying your life choices), you're suddenly grabbing a hoodie from your closet and hoping it'll be enough to keep you, who's merely in an old band t-shirt from high-school and pajama shorts, warm.
The breeze hits your skin the second you open the doors to your dorm's building, and you're met with the view of Jay's sleek, black BMW that probably costs more than your tuition. He waves at you from the driver's seat, motioning for you to get in.
"To what do I owe you the pleasure at this hour," you deadpan at him with a stone-cold voice as you enter through the passenger's side door, hoping your tone was enough to hide the fact that you're giddy at the fact he invited you out at 3AM in the morning. Like a high-school girl sneaking out of her house to meet up with her bad-boy boyfriend that her parents dislike.
The second you enter his car, you're instantly comforted by the warm air blasting through his vents and his playlist softly playing in the background. Jay's pajama pants and messy hair give you more than enough information to know that he probably just rolled out of his own bed as well. You don't know why, but your view: Jay in his oversized hoodie with his unkept hair in front of your dorm building at 3AM on a Tuesday night, gives you comfort in weird ways you can't explain even if you tried.
But it's obviously just your cloudy, 3AM mind not thinking straight. Obviously.
"When I can't sleep, I go on drives around campus. It helps clear my mind," he says, looking over at you to give you a quick smile before starting his car. "Plus, SnapMap said you were still awake, so...figured you'd wanna join."
"Oh so what, you're my stalker now? You're not driving to the woods to kill me now, are you?" You tease, an eyebrow brought up. Jay lets out a laugh from beside you as he begins to drive further into your campus.
"Guess you'll just have to wait and see," he throws you a wink before reverting his gaze back to the road, mindlessly driving to wherever the road decides to take him.
A comfortable silence falls in between the two of you as Jay continues to drive endless routes around your campus. You look over to the boy driving next to you and take in his features––you don't know what changed, but you no longer feel the same anger or annoyance bubbling within you when you're around him. You're not sure when this changed, but you figure it's just the effect of desensitization. After all, you've been spending so much time with him, you're bound to get used to it. Right?
"Why were you up?" Jay finally asks after a few minutes of just the two of you silently basking in each other's presences.
"Ah, you know. The usual. Endless thoughts running through my mind, stress from school, nothing new," you sign, giving him a soft smile followed with a shrug.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
You answer him with silence as you search your head for the answer.
"I don't know. This is kinda weird, isn't it?" You don't know why you get a sudden surge of confidence, but before you can stop yourself, you find yourself rambling on. "If you had told me a month ago that I'd be here driving around with you when it's nearly 4AM, I would've laughed in your face."
Jay doesn't know whether to laugh or scoff. "Is the idea of hanging out with me that unappealing to you?"
You give him a serious look back. "I mean, up until a month ago when you needed me for whatever this game is, you literally pretended I didn't exist."
Oh. Awkward.
You freeze at your own words, mentally screaming at yourself for letting the words leave your mouth. Why, why, why.
"Y/N..." Jay says after clearing his throat after a few seconds of silence.
"No it's fine, it was a joke," you awkwardly cough and direct your attention to anything else around you right now. The view of your campus' buildings zooming by. The clicking of Jay's blinker when he switches lanes. The quiet roaring of his car's engine. The nervous tapping of his fingers against the steering wheel.
The rest of the ride is excruciatingly silent as he exits the main road and into an empty parking lot of some administration building made out of glass that has too many floors for you to count.
You don't know why you feel your heart beating in your throat as Jay puts the car into park––why you feel uneasy. You slightly turn towards him in your seat, hoping to pick up any sign of well...anything from him.
You don't know why you feel a twinge of guilt––it's not like what you said was necessarily wrong. If you were being honest, you were slightly bothered by how the two of you seemed to silently agree not to mention your past all this time. You were always one to seek answers, to seek closure. You couldn't help but bring it up––Jay was your best friend during those years. For him to just wake up one day and pretend you were nothing to him hurt you, and you couldn't help but still wonder what in the world you did to initiate his actions.
"I'm sor–" You're interrupted with his timid voice, as if he was almost afraid to speak.
"I'm not good with people." He's nibbling on his bottom lip, fingers nervously picking at a spot on the steering wheel.
You're opening and closing your mouth, unsure how to respond. You're 100% positive you look like a fish right now. Good for you.
"I don't know why. Jake calls it commitment issues but in order to have commitment, people have to stay in my life. And people just...don't. They're all bound to leave at some point. So what's the point of putting in effort into relationships if they're just going to leave you at the end?"
You're stunned by his sudden confession, not having been prepared for such a heavy topic to arise between the two of you. Up until tonight, your interactions had always been light-hearted and easy––you guys got along well. You didn't know this is how he felt all along.
But you knew where he was coming from.
You knew what Jay had gone through as a child––his mother having left him and his dad when he was young. You remember when your parents had told you the news at the young age of 13, and you remember the pain and sorrow you felt for your then friend. All you wanted to do was go to him and comfort him, but he had already cut you out from his life by then.
"Or maybe I'm the problem. My dad barely acknowledges my existence because he thinks giving me an allowance is all the parenting I need, my friends probably only stick around because they feel bad for me, you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the bet, and, fuck, I'm literally known as the campus' fuckboy," Jay continues, falling deeper and deeper into the hole he dug himself.
He hates this, he hates opening up and feeling vulnerable, so he doesn't know why he's doing it now. He doesn't know why he feels comfortable voicing out his fears and worries when he's around you. But he does know it's a new feeling––one he doesn't know how to deal with.
"Jay," you lace your voice with as much comfort as you can provide. None of this is his fault, you want to tell him. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything," he says with a hint of bitterness and you can't tell if it's directed towards you or the topic at hand.
You're completely turned in your seat now to face him––despite the fact that he refuses to meet your gaze, afraid that looking at you is gonna bring out the most vulnerable in him. "You can talk to me. Talking about it makes it a lot easier. I'll always be here for you, as a friend."
Jay doesn't know what it is or why, but something in him snaps at the sound of a certain word falling out of your lips. Friend. Friend.
Friends don't make his heart beat nervously whenever he's around them. Friends don't keep him up at 3AM in the morning, pondering about his feelings for them. Friends don't provide him with this new, warm comfort he's become accustomed to whenever he's around you.
Deep down, Jay knows you didn't mean to add fuel to the fire. But because he's strong-headed, stubborn, and hates how vulnerable he feels next to you, he unleashes his emotions without thinking about the destruction coming along.
"It's none of your business, Y/N. Forget I said anything. You're just a toy for this stupid game and when it's all over we can go back to our own lives and forget this ever happened."
His sudden words cut deep, but they hurt him more than you. The second the words tumble out of his mouth, he's hit with the feeling of instant regret washing over him, and the lump forming in his throat restricts him from finding the right words to take them back.
The silence that falls between the two of you this time is different. It's a cold silence. A loud silence.
Jay feels his walls coming back up around him––the ones you managed to get through––and all he wants to do is apologize but he's terrified. Terrified of seeing your reaction, terrified of losing you again. For the second time.
You tell yourself he doesn't mean it. You tell yourself that he's just enduring more pain that one should ever receive.
But you also tell yourself that this wouldn't be the first time Jay leaves you in the dust.
You tell yourself that you're foolish for ever believing a friendship, or more, could come out of this act at the end. That you're so naive for feeling those stupid, stupid butterflies you've started to notice in your stomach whenever you see, or even think of, him.
"Okay," you begin with a firm tone. You're hurt, but you refuse to show it. You won't let him hurt you for a second time. Not again.
"Just...find me when you need me. As your fake girlfriend or just...me. I'm still here for you," is the last thing you say before un-clicking your seatbelt and leaving his car, beginning your walk back to your dorm hall.
Jay is unsure about many things in life. He's unsure about what he wants to do in the future, he's unsure of where he's going to settle in life, heck, he's unsure about what to have for lunch tomorrow. But he's sure about one thing.
That he's wearing his heart on his sleeve right now, and it's all because of you.
That you've become this new lifeline and he has to choose between holding onto you or drowning.
When Jay wakes up the next morning, his first gut instinct is to get ready to pick you up for class. But today's different. Jay doesn't know where the two of you stand now, especially after last night.
Jay doesn't know how to deal with this combination of unknown emotions he's been feeling lately. They didn't come out of no where, by any means, he realizes. They've been slowly growing over the past month of seeing you so often––like a plant he's been watering overtime, not expecting it to bloom into a flower so suddenly––but he figured it was nothing more than just enjoying the company of a friend.
Until he realizes that the term friend just doesn't suite you anymore––not to him, at least. And that scares him. It scares him that you've made him genuinely smile more in this past month than he ever has in his 19 years of living. It scares him that when he's around you he can't comprehend his own thoughts, his feelings. It scares him that you make him vulnerable, that you've changed him. That you've managed to make the walls that he's spent so long building and polishing to crumble with a simple tap of your finger.
In a perfect world, Jay would have already told you all this––he would be unafraid of how you would react, unafraid of your rejection, unafraid of losing this growing relationship with you. But alas, we don't live in a perfect world. And so when Jay drives to class that day, he drives right past your dorm building.
"Where's Y/N?" is the first thing Jake questions when he enters Jay's car that morning, confused by your absence, having been used to you being in the front seat every morning when Jay goes to give Jake rides to class as well.
"I don't know," Jay mutters, unemotional eyes focused on the road in front of him, not interested in continuing a conversation that involves thinking about you.
Jake hesitates as curiosity gets the best of him. "Did you guys get into a fight or something?"
Jay's hands tighten around the steering wheel of his car. "Or something. Let's just leave it at that."
There are a few beats of silence before Jake speaks up again.
"Well, I guess this works out because I wanted to talk to you about something."
Jay continues to stare straight ahead of him, focusing on just trying to get by without mentally beating himself up at the simple thought of you.
The simple thought of you and your smile. Your witty remarks. Your stupid eye rolls. Your laughter. Your kindness. So much for not thinking about you.
"I'm calling it off," Jake's words catch Jay off guard.
"Huh? Calling what off?"
"The bet. I'm calling it off. I don't care about the textbook fees I'll have to pay next semester. Look, fight or not, you and Y/N are good for each other, everyone can see it. And I really don't want this to end up being one of those messed up teen TV shows where the girlfriend finds out the entire relationship was based off of a stupid game and then they break up and the boyfriend falls into eternal sadness and regret. And I don't wanna see you sad, dude. So yeah! Congrats," although he's admitting defeat, Jake's beaming widely, just content with the fact that his best friend has finally found happiness through the form of you. "You win."
But Jay feels like the opposite of a winner. Because even though his only intention coming into this was simply winning the bet, his life isn't as simple as it was a month ago. Because he discovered something much more valuable than some stupid textbook fees or five hundred dollars or getting his physics homework done for an entire semester.
Something he's scared he's already lost.
You.
⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺
The next time you see Jay is at the same time and place as when he first ever appeared to pick you up––at 12:17PM on a Friday afternoon, as you're exiting the doors of the lecture building home to your awfully long Capitalism in World History class. This time, however it's different.
Because this time, it's one month later, and Jay Park is no longer a forgotten side character in the story of your life. This time, you're frustrated because it's been three days since you've last heard from Jay. And because it's been three days since you've last heard from him, you can't focus on anything else, and because you can't focus on anything else, you're falling behind on every other aspect in your life. Jay's somehow managed to become the center of your life without even having to be present.
Well, up until now. Up until you go down the steps of your lecture hall's entrance and look up to be met with a figure leaning on a car you're far too familiar with. You freeze in your steps as you make eye contact with the boy you've been thinking about non-stop for the past month three days.
Your mind tells you to walk away, to just follow your flight instinct instead of fight, to just go back to your normal life. But here's the thing. Ever since Jay's made his way back to your life, it's been far from normal.
And if you're being honest, you had no interest in going back to your normal life. Normal's overrated anyways. You find your legs bringing yourself over to him, your heart leading the way.
"Hi," you simply say, planting yourself right in front of him.
"Hi."
"What are you doing here?" You already know the answer, but you want to hear him say it.
"Waiting for you," Jay doesn't hesitate in answering you. This time will be different, he tells himself.
"I can walk myself home, thanks," you state, but your actions tell differently, as you make no sign of moving from your spot in front of him.
Jay's mind contemplates telling you everything. About how he regrets that friendship-breaking decision he made that one fateful day in the eighth grade, about his true feelings, about how he first suspected these feelings when he was 11 years old and saw you in your fancy get-up for the sixth grade dance but put it off as a little crush, and about how the same feelings grew into something so, so much more in the present. But seeing that putting all these thoughts into words would involve more than one functioning brain cell (which is all he's convinced he has in the moment, for the view of you staring up at him, looking like that, has his brain short-circuiting), he settles with:
"He called it off. It's over. The bet."
"Oh."
Silence.
Okay, Jay. This is your chance. Say it.
"Is that it?" You lift an eyebrow, awaiting for more explanation. When it doesn't come, you slightly nod and start backing away. "I'll see you around then."
Is that it? Do the two of you just go back to your respective lives now? How can Jay do that, when he doesn't even recall what his life was like before you entered it––and especially when he has absolutely no interest in going back to that life?
Fuck it.
"Y/N!" He stands up straight, a newfound confidence taking over. This time will be different, he tells himself. Because now, he knows what he wants. For sure.
You turn towards him, to see him already making his way towards you, stopping in his steps when he finds himself close enough to you that he can't concentrate anymore.
"I'm sorry for ditching you in the eighth grade. I'm sorry for ignoring you since then. I'm sorry for dragging you into this stupid mess and for pushing you away and I'm sorry for calling you a toy. Because it's far from truth. I like you. A lot. And––and I'm scared. I'm scared of what this means for us, because I just keep messing things up and all I know is that I don't wanna wake up tomorrow and realize you're not in my life anymore and––"
"Woah, woah, Jay. Slow down," you look up at him, the corners of your lips threatening to curve up into a smile. "You're an idiot, you know."
Jay's never really confessed his feelings to anyone before, per say, so he doesn't really know what to expect. But he's watched enough Netflix rom-coms in this lifetime (which is still not that many) to know that hearing the words "you're an idiot" isn't what you're supposed to hear after pouring your heart and soul out. Surely not, right?
"I––I'm not sure how to respond to that," he quietly says, searching your eyes for a sign, for anything. You giggle at his sudden shyness as you grab both his arms and look at him right in the eyes.
"It's okay. I get it, if anything, I'm also scared. But you somehow got me wrapped around your stupid finger, and I hate it," you smirk at him, your hands slowly making their way up his arms to circle around his neck.
Jay's hands naturally fall at your waist as he lets out a breathe he didn't even know he was holding as he returns your smirk. "Well, I could say the same about you. And I also hate it, for your information."
"Hmm, is that so? I guess it cancels out then, right?" You smile at him as he's pulling you in so close, your head turns cloudy.
Jay grins at you, his eyes holding so much joy and endearment as they quickly flicker down to your lips before returning to your own eyes. "I guess this only means one thing then."
"Mm, and what's that?"
And before Jay can answer––and because your life's been anything but normal lately––you make the first move this time, moving your head up to close the small gap between the two of you.
His arms instinctively tighten around you as you capture his lips with your very own, and Jay swears he's about to lift off into space right now. He's on cloud nine, and he makes no plans to touch the ground ever again.
The kiss quickly becomes fervent, all the pent-up tension that the two of you had for one another finally finding its way out, all the words that were previously left unsaid finally expressing themselves. You don't even care if you're being judged by the conservative faculty members of your school right now, or by the looks of fellow students walking past the two of you.
You try your best to keep yourself from smiling as he continues to press his lips against yours, his hand moving to hold your chin, guiding your mouth with his.
Before you find yourself getting carried away, you step back to take a breath, resting your forehead against his chest as his hands rest against your back. He smiles at the sound of you giggling against him.
Jay takes a step back to take one look at you and realizes, in this moment, that change can be good. And he's willing to undergo this change. As long as it's with you.
⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺ ⸺
The next morning, you bounce down the steps of your dorm building's entrance to meet the wide, bright smile of your ex-childhood-bestfriend-turned-fake-boyfriend-turned-real-boyfriend waiting for you in front of his car, small pastry bag in hand. You smile back at him.
➳ Today is the day your best friend drags you to 25 years in the future. For fun.
↳ Pairing: Choi Yeonjun x Reader
↳ word count: 3.1k
↳ genre: fluff, mentions of sexual activities but eh, time travel
↳prompt: Y/N and Yeonjun use a time machine to go to the future, and they meet a kid that immediately recognizes them as their parents. Cue the awkwardness.
↳a/n: found this on a prompt generator while looking for something to trigger my ~brain juice~ and thought it sounded cute. Enjoy >v<
“This is it,” Yeonjun gasped as he marvelled at the sight in front of him. “the next big invention,”
“Yes,” Y/N answered skeptically, narrowing her eyes at the machine. “A giant metal donut,”
“No!” Yeonjun pouted at the girl, glaring at her. “This is a time machine!”
“Are you sure it’s not like,” Y/N started, doubtful eyes glancing around the lab. “a ghostly portal or something?”
“Sure, it’s a portal,” Yeonjun smiled, wiggling his eyebrows. “to the future,”
Stuck on You
➺ Like the night sticks to the moon, I’m stuck on you.
Part 3 of Easy Love: the Collection
pairing: choi soobin x reader
genre: social media, fake dating au, romance, fluff, angst
status: ongoing
➺ Heavily based off of the Netflix movie “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”
➺ INTRODUCTION
➳ PROLOGUE
➳ Bonus: The First Letter
➺ CHAPTER ONE
➺ CHAPTER TWO
➺ CHAPTER THREE
➺ CHAPTER FOUR
➺ CHAPTER FIVE
➺ CHAPTER SIX: DOUBLE TAKE
➳ Bonus: The Second Letter
➺ CHAPTER SEVEN
➳ Bonus: The Third Letter
➺ CHAPTER EIGHT
➺ CHAPTER NINE
➺ CHAPTER TEN
➺ CHAPTER ELEVEN
➺ CHAPTER TWELVE: NOT A LOVE SONG
➺ CHAPTER THIRTEEN
➺ CHAPTER FOURTEEN
➺ CHAPTER FIFTEEN
➺ CHAPTER SIXTEEN
➺ CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
➺ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: STEAL YOUR HEART
➺ CHAPTER NINETEEN
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: ILLUSION
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
➳ Bonus: Letters from Choi Soobin
➺ CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: CHASING THE BEAT OF MY HEART
➺ EPILOGUE
