When everything you know falls apart, what will you do? Move across the world, obviously. New country, new job, and everything is sad and blurry and unfamiliar until you met... him. Where actions speak more than words ever could.
pairing: Idol!Chenle x staff!fem.reader
genre: slice of life, strangers to friends to lovers
wc: 14k
content: fluff, suggestive
authors note: This was written with a lot of care, so i hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it hehe, sending lots and lots of love <3
“Could life get any shittier?” had become your go-to phrase. Not just once or twice, you said it literally every day of the week. Honestly, things were so tragic that if they got even a little worse, your life might’ve crossed the line from drama to dark comedy.
The layoffs started without warning. Major companies, one by one, shutting down, their names evaporating from the building doors, like they were never there. ‘Making space for new opportunities’ they said, without care that half the population was left jobless until those magical new opportunities arrived.
You find it kind of funny now, standing in front of the airport with a beat-up bag filled with more memories than clothes, and a one-way ticket to Korea crumbled in one hand. When you started looking for a job, you considered another country, but a whole another continent? Like, imagine going from a small city in some insignificant European country (that you loved with your whole soul and being) to the famous Seoul, full of towering buildings on every corner, 24/7 convenience stores filled with unfamiliar flavors, alive in a way your hometown never could be.
You wanted to keep your expectations realistic, but the fear you felt was more real than anything. You thought of the ways this could be good for you, the ways it could fix the many broken parts. You knew you couldn’t love it yet, but you secretly hoped that being swallowed by a place that big might hurt less than being stuck somewhere you loved with no potential. And maybe someday, Seoul would love you back.
The announcement for your flight cuts off your thoughts, and you hurriedly collect yourself to walk to the gate. Multiple unfamiliar faces walk with you, different purposes but same path, and you wonder, how do they feel? Are they also terrified? Are they going to see their loved ones? Are they filled with grief, fearing of the worst? Or do they feel overwhelming joy while thinking of all the things they love in Seoul.
You wonder: the next time you come back, when it’s time to leave again, will you be excited too?
You don’t even remember how long you have been flying, until the stewards announce that you are nearing your final stop. You look out of the window on your right, at the bright lights below you, looking like a starry sky. You feel your breath being taken away by the beauty of it all, the sparkles looking endless. You realize, this isn’t just a city you will visit for a few days and go back home, this is your home for the foreseeable future, and even though you don’t want to admit it, you feel a wave of excitement rush through you.
As you collect yourself for the landing, you start to wonder about your life here as a foreigner, will there be many more like you? Maybe you might meet someone from your hometown, also living the life the only way they currently could. Maybe you make many more memories and friends there that leaving might hurt a little less.
Before your thoughts can settle, you are already standing on the concrete of the big Seoul, hailing a cab and clumsily giving the driver a slip with the address. The drive is quiet, which gives you the opportunity to look at the city a bit closer. It’s enormous, full of life, and you haven’t even seen the best parts of it. Lost in your thoughts, you wonder what exactly awaits you here.
By the time you get to your apartment, it’s already 3am there. You are actually kind of glad the only available flight had such a late arrival, since you’re not sure how well you could have handled human interaction in your current state. You pick up the key from under the welcome mat, like the owner promised, and you take a deep breath before unlocking the door and bringing all your stuff inside.
The place is small, but with a separate bedroom which you heard is rare here, and it has everything you could ever think of needing. You decide to leave the unpacking for tomorrow, for tonight, you will just change your sheets and rest.
Now, your Korean was not exactly bad, you had a period in middle school where you were obsessed with Korea and K-pop, which you still enjoy but not in the same way you did as a kid. That being said, your Korean is a bit rusty, but nothing a little practice can’t fix. You can’t help but think how ironic it is — living your childhood dream, not because it’s still your dream, but because life decided to lead you here.
When you wake up the next morning, you decide to get breakfast somewhere before you start cleaning up around your new home, deciding to make it feel as homey as possible.
As you get your shoes on, you decided to check out google maps to get an idea about breakfast places around your area. After a bit of searching, a small bakery caught your eye, so you decide to walk over there.
Inside, a cashier greets you with a gentle smile, and as you dwell on your order, with her recommendation you decide to get their special cheesy croissant with a cup of coffee, something light for new beginnings.
You sit in the far back, looking over the bakery and enjoying its ambiance. You think about the big shopping you will have to do for your home, and since planes aren’t really tolerable about liquids, you dread the amount of cleaning and hygiene products you will have to get.
While being lost in your thoughts once again, you lock your eyes with a man sitting in a booth on the other side of the bakery. You try to steady your expression, so you don’t weird someone out with your sheer panic, but you can see under his face mask how his eyes crinkle into a smile, and you sheepishly look down at your croissant. The fear in you is slowly dissipating, surprised by the kindness of people on the literal first interaction of your new life.
As you walk back home, bags full of said supplies, you prepare for the day of work ahead of you. Not the work in your new company though, that starts in a week because they were kind enough to give you some time to settle. The real work awaiting is the dreaded unpacking, and you genuinely don’t know where to start.
After around 4 hours, you can finally, kind of, call this place your home. It has your old life on every corner, but also a generous space saved just for the new memories.
You decide to make a habit of visiting that breakfast place every morning, to have at-least one consistent thing until you settle.
The funny thing is, the man that smiled at you on your first day seems to be a regular, sometimes in a big group, sometimes alone, but he seems to remember you too. Always giving you a polite smile, although through a mask, but you do enjoy the routine.
After a week of breakfasts in the bakery and polite smiles, your first day at your new work place finally comes. You have been e-mailing with who you assume will be your mentor in the beginning, and you must admit they prepared you well.
You dressed for the day, a professional yet simple two piece suit you bought when you finished high school, that you genuinely loved more than most fashionable, expensive things you owned. The suit was a greenish color, with gold details in some places, enough to make you seem professional but still undoubtedly you.
The mentor was waiting for you in the hall of the company, which was, by the way, enormous. You actually didn’t research the building as much as you did the company itself, but everyone had their personal cards for entrance and multiple elevators, which was not common in your experience.
The mentors name was Emily, and she was also a foreigner, but she has been working for the company for a long time. She had your personal card already prepared, and took you around to get to know your new workplace. It’s an entertainment company, and you were placed with the marketing department thanks to your degree in English literature. Your position was there to expand their content abroad, and honestly you didn’t expect much with your degree so you were pleasantly surprised.
“So, basically, you are here to help with the international content and interactions, and also to help the idols improve their conversational skills. Most of them are good but not really confident, so you will just have to help them with that, eventually some phrases and slang that could be useful for better understanding with international fans,” Emily spoke while you two were walking around, preparing you for your future tasks. “I think you will get comfortable here right away, especially now when i take you to meet your colleagues.” She laughed, portraying the close bond employees here had.
As you took the elevator to the seventh floor, you spoke with Emily about work and life, enjoying the energy and feeling at ease. When the elevator bell dinged, you both walked out in a vast space full of cubicles.
“Cubicles are basically here for decorations, since most of us move around the company constantly, but you will have your own where you can keep your personal stuff and other documents you might need. We are mostly here during breaks to socialize and eat if we are not already going out for lunch.” Emily said while leading you to the resting area in the corner you didn’t even notice at first, filled with cushions and couches. Everyone was resting there, obviously on a break.
After talking and getting to know your colleagues for a bit, you were shown your cubicle. You placed your bag in there, just carrying your card with you and kept going around with Emily.
“Now,” she started excitedly “you will meet the idols you will be working with for the foreseeable future!” She was yapping as she led you to yet another elevator, this time going to the 12th floor.
“This meeting will be a bit more formal, not in a professional way, but they all decided to take an hour long break to socialize with you. Since you will be spending as much time with them as their managers, they hope you will get along well.” After that explanation, you started to get nervous again. You knew they were nowhere close to being your bosses but still, you were fearing making them annoyed and them deciding to get you fired or framed or worse.
Well, as soon as you entered the room, you realized you were worrying for no reason, because the very obvious managers were scolding a big group of grown men. You couldn’t fully understand what they were because you never heard Korean spoken in such an angry tone, which crossed your mind at that moment, but you clearly heard stuff like ‘fool’, ‘childish’ and ‘grow up’.
Emily laughed as she walked in, “great first impression guys, congratulations!” And at that moment, everyone looked at you. You scanned the room, at the still annoyed but a bit calmer now managers, some members looking at the ground uncomfortably while others tried to hold their laughter in, and a specific boy your eyes landed on, because as soon as he looked at you his eyes widened.
You were confused, why was he so surprised? But then again maybe he was unfamiliar with your arrival. You decided to introduce yourself right away, and they all, including the managers came to you to shake your hand.
“I’m sorry you walked in on that, Y/n, but these boys can be a bit too much sometimes.” The head manager named Jihoon commented, “they are great people but sometimes they play around like toddlers.”
You smiled, shaking your head. “No need to apologize sir, that was very refreshing to see, you should consider their first impression perfect.”
He laughed out loud, obviously comfortable, and kept the conversation going. After a few minutes of laughing, you looked around again, and similarly to last time your eyes landed on that one boy from earlier, looking carefully at you. As soon as your eyes connected though, he smiled. And you smiled back, although confused, until it clicked. He had quite similar eyes to the man you kept seeing in the bakery for the past week.
The realization was probably evident on your face since his smile turned into a smirk, but you decided to keep quiet because what are you gonna do? Tell an Asian man his eyes look familiar? That would be a terrible first impression.
After chatting until the end of the break, you and Emily packed up to leave. You spent some more time exploring the company with her before getting ready to leave.
“tomorrow will be your official first day working, so you will get the feel of how our department works. Also, i wanted to say earlier,” Emily says, while picking up her bag, “you don’t have to dress so formally, it’s actually even encouraged here to be comfortable.”
“Oh,” you said, now remembering that everyone really was wearing casual clothes, “okay, thank you for telling me.”
Emily laughed, before pulling out her phone and giving it to you. “Put your number in, so we can keep in touch.”
After coming home last night, you just showered and went to bed, to be ready for your official first day as Emily called it.
Before work, you decided to visit your dearest bakery, and after ordering your usual, you were about to pay before the same cashier from the first day stopped you.
“It’s all taken care of, don’t worry!” She said with a tease in her voice, winking. You were confused, insisting on paying but she just ushered you to your usual spot and kept laughing.
After quickly eating, you packed up to finally go to work, this time actually excited and dressed accordingly. You decided to take a walk unlike yesterday, because you realized how close it actually was. Congrats to anyone who was in charge of picking your apartment, they did such a good job.
After leaving your stuff at your cubicle, you went searching for Emily. She sent you a massage last night about today’s plan, since you two will be working together in the beginning. After finding her, you sat down in the common area with your laptops ready. You typed out the itinerary for the following week.
After that was done, you went up to where the group was to make content. The idea was to film them doing various trends and also to practice interactions since there was a fan call scheduled for tomorrow. As soon as you entered, the room quieted down and their attention was on you. As soon as they recognized you, the room erupted in a various versions of greetings.
This time around, the members were in a working mode, right away discussing ideas and asking questions. You interacted with everyone, although you let Emily lead the meeting just so you could see first hand what was expected of you.
You were listing ideas and taking notes until one of the members, Haechan, started teasing someone.
“Guys, Chenle hasn’t said anything for like half an hour, can you believe that? Be prepared everyone, bring out the masks and vitamins, he must be sick.”
He kept laughing like he just made the best joke world has ever heard, but Chenle, the boy who you saw every morning at the bakery, just kept looking at you.
You made a sorry face at him, trying to convey your empathy for him, but he just dramatically rolled his eyes and laughed, portraying that he doesn’t care about the teasing, which was a relief.
After finishing up with the group, Emily and you sat down to discuss how the first task of the day went.
“I’m pleased with how much they cooperated, i was expecting them to be on the edge since they rarely do something like this.” Emily commented, fidgeting with her fancy purple pen.
“What do you mean they don’t usually do this?” You asked, confusion evident on your face. “Isn’t this the whole point of the department?”
Emily looked at you with confusion, obviously not believing you asked that. “What do you mean what do I mean? you’re the first person we recruited, this is a newly invented position and you fit all the requirements.” Emily said like it was the most obvious thing ever.
You processed this, “so in some time, i will be doing all this alone?” Emily laughed at that, shaking her head. “Not really, but since you are the first you will be basically assigned the tasks of deciding how this department will work, and i will go back to the marketing department.”
You sulked, because you genuinely began to like Emily. She let out nothing short of a snort at your reaction. “Don’t be dramatic, we will still be working together since our departments are intertwined. You won’t miss me too much.” She winked at you and you just pushed her shoulder laughing.
The most amazing thing at the company is your 10am start time. Bakery opens up at 8am so you always have time to go and chill out before work. This morning, as you walked in, the waitress had your order ready, and you already predicted the conversation you will have.
“It’s all taken care of, miss.” She said with a polite smile. You sighed, letting out a weak laugh. “If this keeps happening, I will stop coming.” The worker laughed for real this time, shaking her head. “Please don’t, we enjoy having you here.”
At that, you felt touched, so you just thanked her and went to your seat. As soon as you sat down, someone joined you.
You looked up, and after seeing the familiar eyes, you froze. You almost called him by name, but you stopped yourself. He seemingly noticed, so he smiled even more.
“What are you doing?” You whisper-yelled, so the other people wont hear. He pretended to be shocked, placing a hand on his chest. “You wound me, I buy you breakfast two days in a row, and instead of thanking me, you have decided to scold me!” He sighs dramatically, feigning hurt.
You freeze at that, but only for a second, growing even madder. “What do you think you’re doing buying random people breakfast? What if the waitress knows who you are? What if she sells the information to dispatch that you are going around paying for a girl’s breakfast?” You huff, overly annoyed.
He laughs, getting closer, “relax, that’s my friend’s sister, shes not selling info to anyone, and even if she does, I’m just being a good colleague buying my new friend-employee a breakfast, just taking care of the company.” He says all smug, like that solved all his problems.
You roll your eyes, relaxing. “Whatever, just be careful, some patrons might recognize you.” He shook his head, still unserious, “with this good of a cover up? Impossible.”
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in practice now? It’s 9am” you look at your clock, remembering their schedule. He shakes his head no, “we are divided in multiple units, mine is currently free” he says, finally a normal tone to his voice, and you think you hear an accent, but who are you to judge? Especially since his name also doesn’t sound Korean.
But you decide to ask anyway. “You’re also not from here, right?” He shakes his head, a nostalgic smile on his face. “But how long I’ve been here, it’s almost like I am.”
“Im Chinese,” he starts, “but i moved here when i was really young, i would say too young.” He laughed but it didn’t reach his eyes. You frowned, feeling heartbroken for him. “Do you visit home often?” You asked, curious.
He nodded, but it didn’t seem very happy. “When it’s about home, often isn’t enough.” He said, stirring the coffee you just now realized he had.
You sulked even more, “I’m starting to think it will never get easier then.” He lets out a breathy laugh, eyes crinkling. “You have never been far for home?” This time, it is you who shakes your head. “If you’re not counting vacations then yes. And for this long…” you sighed.
He tried to transfer conversation to the more positive side. “Where did you usually vacation? Which continent?” A smile slowly appeared on your lips, thinking of all the places you visited with your friends.
“During summer, we almost always went to Greece, our family friend had a vacation home there, and if we didn’t work we’d go and stay for months.” You hold these memories close to your heart, sandy beaches and ankle bracelets, flowy dresses and sandals. “But, in winter,” you continued, even more excited now, “in winter we usually went skiing in our country, the mountains there are gorgeous.”
He just stared at you while you were describing your hometown, in awe about how much love a person could hold for a place. “How long will you be staying here?” He asked, but what he really wanted to ask was how will you survive being so far from the place you love for so long.
You shook your shoulders, picking cuticles just thinking of it. “For a long time I guess, i don’t know how long though.”
He let out a shaky laugh, evidently compassionate. “You and me both.”
Soon after, it was time to go. Chenle offered you a ride but you refused, telling him you will see him at the company.
Today, you and Emily sat behind the screens while the members were doing their fan calls, helping from the back. Everything was going smoothly, you were walking around checking if anyone needed help.
But then, at one moment, you looked at Chenle and saw the way his eyebrows were close together, obviously annoyed. You calmly went to stand in front of him, waiting for a sign. He looked up at you, almost relieved.
You raised your eyebrows, trying to ask him what was wrong, but the call ended. He looked at you, mouthing ‘sasaeng’ before starting the next call. You frowned, annoyed that someone was bothering him, and making a mental note to discuss it later with him.
After the calls were done, Emily and you went to the office to print some things you needed for the next week’s schedule. Soon after it was lunchtime so you went up again to take a break with the members.
“What kind food do you want me to order?” Mark asked while playing on his phone. Other units left so there were only dreamies here.
Chenle turned to you, asking what would you prefer, and Jisung started teasing him for being unusually kind. Chenle rolled his eyes and said “she just got here, we should be respectful.”
You shrugged, “I’m okay with anything, but if you have some good Chinese place id prefer that.” It was now Renjuns turn to look at you, surprised by your pick.
“You like Chinese food? That seems kind of unexpected for some reason.” You laughed, trying to explain, “there are many Chinese fast food places where I’m from, so i enjoy it quite a lot.”
“Okay stop chatting, give me your orders before i die from hunger.” Mark groaned, and you could hear his stomach rumble. Everyone laughed at him but they told him their wishes anyways.
After eating, you helped Emily around with the tasks for her department because there is still not much for you to do. After helping her for a while, you packed up to go home.
The next day, as you were opening the doors of the bakery once again, you saw Chenle, waiting for you in your spot. Your eyes met so you slowly walked over to him and sat down.
“Will this be our thing now? Eating breakfast together every day?” you joked, but he nodded, not minding. “Why not? We both eat our breakfast here anyway.”
“I wanted to ask you,” you started, “before you used to come in a group, why are you alone everyday now?” He glanced up at you, from his mug. “I honestly forced the members to come here with me everyday because i love their coffee, but now since you’re here every morning anyways, I don’t have to.”
You snorted, not believing him. “What? Because you like their coffee? What kind of coffee do you get anyways?”
He rolled his eyes, playing offense, “iced vanilla late obviously, what else would i drink?” He looked at you, waiting for your response.
And you did not know what to say, because why is this boy drinking vanilla flavored cold milk every morning? What was wrong with him?
He noticed your disgust so he asked about your coffee order, which was the basic double espresso with cold milk and one sugar, and he pretended to vomit in his mouth. Very classy.
“You’re disgusted by my order? After drinking vanilla syrup with milk? How many pumps of vanilla do you get, 15? Tsk…” you teased him, but he did not let you win.
“Better to drink vanilla syrup than juice from the devil himself, what century are you in?” He rolled his eyes and swatted his hands like you were an inconvenience.
“Just admit you don’t like coffee and go away.” You told him as you burst into laugher together.
After going separate ways with the same destination, since you still refused to drive with him, you reached your cubicle.
And there, in your famous cubicle, waited a big to-go cup of coffee with a note reading ‘don’t judge it ‘till you try it’ and a phone number.
You discreetly saved the note in your phone case for later, hoping that no one saw who placed it there.
Emily was with you again today, but she mentioned that you will be doing this alone from tomorrow, which now didn’t seem that scary. After practicing English with the members and filming a few tiktoks per Haechans request, it was time for a break. As you sat down in the lounge, Chenle passed by you and cautiously pointed at his phone, probably signaling you to text him.
Overthinking what to send him would be obvious, and you did not want him to get ideas so you just sent a simple ‘hey?’
He responded within seconds, though.
Chenle: did i change your mind? ;)
You: it is not the worst thing ever, i will give you that
You: but i will stick with my order
Chenle: rude… but tomorrow i will try yours, deal?
You: deal.
He left you on read after that, probably going to practice, as his schedule said (not that you remembered it on purpose or anything, just an observation.)
That night, after showering, you decided to call your mother. You talked with your family almost every night, but time zones were weird and it was kind of hard to keep up with it. Your mother answered quickly, as she always did no matter the time, and as always, seeing her face made you relax and feel peaceful, until she started talking.
“Hey dear, how was work today?” She said with a smile on her face, but her voice sounded rough, like she has been crying.
“Mom, is everything alright home? You sound weird…” worry evident in your voice. She just shook her head, trying not to worry you, “it’s fine love, mom just went to the doctors today and had to do some more tests, but everything will be fine.”
You could already feel the tears brimming,knowing that she is lying just so you don’t worry. “I won’t pressure you mom, speak to me whenever you feel ready. Do you want to rest for the night?” You asked, trying not to show the tears. She just nodded, telling you that she loves you and to call tomorrow.
After the call ended, you couldn’t stop the tears. You wished you were home, so you could hold her and tell her you will help her with everything, but you were so far away that she didn’t even want to tell you what was wrong.
After crying your soul out, you changed into your exercise clothes and picked up your headphones to go on a run. You decided to go next to the river since it will be mostly empty this late at night.
After running for god knows how long, you sat down at a bench overlooking the bridge, and started to cry again. This time it was silent, just tears streaming down your face, but no sound coming out at all. Also, the song currently playing did not help at all.
I'm counting down the days
With my suitcase packed
All my built-up saudade could hardly fit
I can see the garden from the blue
Just behind the wing
Mom, look out the window, I'm coming home
I'm coming home
I'm coming home
I'm coming home
As you were looking at the grass, suddenly a shadow came looming over you, and you shot your head up quickly. After focusing your eyes, you realized there was Chenle in front of you.
He noticed the tears right away, but did not want to say anything, instead: “what are you listening to?” He asked casually, while sitting down next to you.
Instead of just answering, you handed him an earbud, so you could listen together, shoulder to shoulder. “Want me to show you the translation?” You offered, and then both of you were staring at your phone, feeling the lyrics more than reading them.
No matter how it may seem
I'll never belong to that city
The sea of people, the different sun
The concrete hills don't stir anything in me
They don't feel like home
When this part came on, you could notice it was not easy for him either. He was also a foreigner in an unfamiliar country, and even though he has been here for years, there is no place like home.
You listened to a few more songs together, just looking at the river sparkling with Seoul lights, so pretty yet so cold to you both.
When he got up, you expected him to go, just say goodbye and leave, but he turned to you. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go try your famous coffee.” Your eyes widened in shock. “At 1am? Where in hell could we get coffee?” He rolled his eyes, like you were stupid. “7-11, obviously?”
After entering through mechanic doors, you could only complain about the bad quality of coffee in grocery stores, and after a few minutes of you basically talking to yourself about arabica percentages and types of coffee and calling 7/11 a disgrace to the coffee culture, he just turned to you and asked “are you always this picky about coffee? How many times have we said coffee tonight anyways?” And honestly you were picky so there was nothing else you could do except shamefully nod, which made him burst into laughter.
After getting your coffees, you sat down at the booth in the corner, which seems to be the habit both of you have, you looked expectantly at Chenle while he was preparing to finally try your coffee order.
“I cant believe i agreed to this…” he sighed but you could only point out that this was his idea, which made him glare at you.
After he finally got the courage to try it, he made a sour face before looking confused, and with that same confusion he looked at you and said: “its actually not the worst thing I’ve ever drank.”
You grinned in victory, but couldn’t stop yourself from commenting “now imagine if it was in a proper cafe, how good it would be?”
He raised his eyebrow, offended, “who said i will try it again? This is a one time thing.” And now it was your turn to glare at him while he made fun of you.
After drinking your coffees, he walked you to your building and waved goodbye, but before you entered, he called for you.
“Yes?” You turned around, waiting for what he had to say. “Send me that first song we listened to!” He yelled across the street, and you laughed and showed him two thumbs up. He waited for you to walk inside before going his way, happy that you got home safe.
After sending him the link to the song, one thing led to another and you ended up texting the whole night, even falling asleep with your phone. Next morning when you arrived at the company, Emily looked at you like you were a ghost.
“Girl, are you sick? You seemed fine yesterday.” She asked, worry evident, but you just shrugged her off, yawning. “Everything is fine, i just slept terribly.” You said, leaving out an important detail.
“More like you haven’t slept at all…” Emily mumbled, still worried but a bit less now knowing you were okay.
At your cubicle, there was a to-go cup again today, but this time, your own order. You were too tired today to get up early enough for the bakery, which you assume Chenle was too, since on the note under the cup was written ‘your coffee is the right option for today only. Xoxo’
You saved this note too, discreetly hiding it in your wallet this time.
After finishing up with some paperwork, you headed up to visit the group. This time around, everyone was there.
The first one to greet you was the head manager, who was not there yesterday. “Hi, Y/n, were they tolerable these days?” He asked, feigning annoyance but obviously joking.
“They were amazing, you take care of them well sir.” You bowed to Jihoon, out of politeness. It was obvious how much he cared about the group.
“Y/n, can you come over here?” Haechan called you over to him, gesturing for you to hurry. You walked to the sofa where he was sat and hummed.
“Chenle and I want to sing a cover on the rooftop, can you film it?” He begged you with his hands, but you nodded right away. “Okay, do you guys want to change or?” But he shook his head, saying he wanted it to be ‘candid’.
As you were walking over to the elevator with them, you realized you have never been to the rooftop. But considering how tall the company building is, you were excited for the view, and Chenle noticed.
He pushed your shoulder gently, raising his eyebrows. And you just sheepishly looked at him mumbling “i love rooftops.” He took a mental note of that.
As soon as you exited the elevator, you gasped. “You can see the whole city from here!” You were still in awe, leaning on the edge. Chenle and Haechan just exchanged glances, finding your happiness endearing.
They called you over to the makeshift garden with benches on the other side of the rooftop, explaining that this is where they wanted to film it.
You started setting up the tripod and the small blue-tooth speaker, and Chenle went ahead and connected to it. “What will you guys sing?” You asked out of curiosity.
“Oh, Chenle insisted on this one song he found a few nights ago, what is it called? Forsake?” Your eyes landed on Chenle right away, and he gave you a confirming look. The song from your playlist you listened to that night.
“Are you guys sure? That song is not very popular…” you scratched your head in wonder, thinking of pros and cons. Chenle just sighed, “don’t go all professional now, Czennies will like whatever we post.”
“If you say so, i wont argue.” You smiled and finished setting up. They filmed three takes before they were pleased, and to be fair you expected this to take much longer. As you sat on the grass to watch the takes with them, Chenle scooted over to you, almost leaning on your shoulder. Haechan started rising his eyebrows and making hearts with his hands but Chenle ignored him and so did you.
After getting back down, you filmed some more dance trends with them before packing up to go home.
You have been laying in bed, freshly showered and about to fall asleep when your phone dinged.
Chenle: u up?
You: …yes?
Chenle: wanna go for a drive?
Chenle: im already outside :D
You: ….On my way
You got up and quickly got dressed, hair still wet from the shower, but since it was middle of June you honestly did not care.
As you ran out of the building, Chenle lowered his window and you hissed, running to his car. “You fool, what if someone sees you?!”
He just casually brings the window back up, not looking away from you. “Relax, it’s 1am, no one who is outside right now is sober enough to see me.” Then, his face darkened. “Why is your hair wet?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, because i showered?” You looked at him quizzically. “What, you don’t own a hair dryer?” He raised his eyebrows even more somehow…
“I do, i just didn’t want you to wait for me.” He just scoffed, like you said the most irrational thing ever, and started driving. But after a minute, a sweater landed on your head. “Wear it, you’ll catch a cold.” You didn’t say anything, just placing the sweater around your shoulders, enjoying its smell.
After some time, he tossed you his phone too. You looked at him waiting for an explanation but he just glanced at you, one hand on a steering wheel. “Be my DJ for the night.”
You were in your own world, not talking, just enjoying the music together until he pulled over. You saw him opening his car door so you followed him outside. What you were not ready for was the view.
You didn’t usher a single word, just looking straight ahead, at the sparkly lights. “I left you speechless, didn’t I?” He smirked, obviously proud, and when you turned around to look at him, you couldn’t decide which view you liked more.
He noticed the unending awe on your face, slowly walking over to you. You couldn’t move your eyes away from him but he didn’t care. As soon as he was in front of you, he held out his hands to reach the zipper of your (his) sweater. “I told you to wear it properly, what if you get sick?” He sulked for a second before zipping you up to your neck, and walked over to the trunk of his car.
You were still looking at him, wondering what was he doing. He pulled out a blanket and a 7/11 bag. Now your trance was kind of broken so you asked him “what is that?”
“We are having a picnic, obviously.” He didn’t even glance at you, setting the blanket on the ground. “But what if someone sees us?” He rolled his eyes, “I’ve got a mask in my pocket and a cap on my head, and we will hear them before they see us.”
He just sat down, stretching his legs on the blanket as he looked expectantly at you. You joined him, music still playing from the car and you two just sat there, looking at the lights of Seoul that felt warmer every day.
You shared the snacks he bought, talking about your hometowns and things you missed, and the ways you cope with loneliness. But it wasn’t depressive, it wasn’t pitiful, it was sharing love for something new, and the paths you two ended up crossing.
After all the snacks were gone, Chenle fully laid down on the blanket, motioning for you to join him. “Do you like looking at the sky?” You nodded, half absent, “what is your favorite constellation?” He glanced at you, surprised by the question. “I don’t know whats it called in Korean…” you let out a dry laugh, “yeah, me neither.”
He shifted closer to you, fingers in front of your face, pointing at the sky. “I’ll just show you then.” And at that moment, you realized that language might be the most unnecessary thing in the world.
After he dropped you off, he got out of the car to walk you to the entrance. “Will you be able to get up early enough for our breakfast?” He nudged your shoulder. “I’m not the one who has to get up at 6 for practice, Chenle.” You nudged him back, laughing.
“Hey, it’s not my fault i have my first break before you even start working.” he pointed an accusatory finger at you, but his eyes were still smiling.
“See you tomorrow Chenle.” You said, about to take his sweater off. He held your hands in place though, just patting your head. “See you tomorrow, Y/n.”
You surprisingly woke up with ease in the morning. You got ready for the day and picked up your phone from the counter. There was only one notification, from Chenle.
Chenle: good morning dreamer, i arrived at our spot.
You typed out a quick response notifying him you will be arriving shortly. You couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach that erupted when he called it your spot. Trying to calm your blushing face down, you exited your apartment and hurried to the bakery.
As usual, your coffee and breakfast were at the table along with masked Chenle.
You made yourself comfortable in your seat, waving at him. “You slept well?” He asked, leaning on his hands. “Yeah, i actually woke up quite easily.” He just smiled at that.
“What about you,” you questioned, “how did you sleep?” He stretched his arms above his head. “Not bad, but i wish i had more time.”
You laughed sheepishly at that, mouthing sorry. He argued right away, “not your fault, it was my wish.”
You hummed, remembering a question you had for him. “What do your colleagues tell you when you walk out like that at night?”
He shrugged, “I don’t live in the dorms with them anymore, i moved out some time ago.” You nodded, “that’s the choice I would have made too in your place.” He just laughed. “You have no idea, trust me.”
Today the members were going to a talk show and you were supposed to accompany them. This was your first time going somewhere with them so you were curious about how it could go.
You drove with the managers, and Emily joined you today. As soon as you got there managers sat down to hang out while the band was ushered inside a beauty room to get ready. After about an hour of chatting with Emily, the boys emerged.
Chenle walked over to you right away, asking for opinion. This was your first time seeing him with makeup and lenses so it was an understatement that you quite liked how he looked. You were still just staring at him so Emily decided to vouch for you. “Y/n is at a loss for words Chenle, the makeup artist did so good today!” He just nodded at her and kept looking at you, waiting.
You finally, kind of, pulled yourself together. “They did so good, Le, you look amazing.” Chenle thanked you, a small smile on his face as he left. But, you could feel Emily’s eyes on you. “What?” You questioned, “Le? Really?” She wiggled her eyebrows, teasing you.
You just rolled your eyes, but had no excuse except “that’s the only part of his name i can pronounce properly.”
As soon as you finished talking with Emily, your phone dinged.
Chenle: didn’t realize you liked me that much :p
You blushed, realizing he will not let you live this down anytime soon.
You: makeup looks really good on you, Lele
You:i especially like the green lenses
Chenle: it’s not just makeup though, is it? ;)
You: quit teasing
You put your phone in your bag after that, deciding to make some content with the other members that weren’t currently being filmed. After packing up, everyone was sent home, which usually happens with schedules like this, so your work day was cut short.
The personal driver dropped you all off in front of the company, and as you were walking home someone beeped at you. When you turned to the side, you saw Chenle, Haechan and Mark in Chenle’s car.
You waved at them and they called you over. “Is everything okay?” They were blasting music and dancing. Mark started yelling “we rented a basketball court for today, want to come with us?” Chenle was looking at you from the drivers seat, basically begging you with your eyes.
“Why not, give me the address and i will go change.” You told them, but Chenle just said, “nah, we will wait outside your place, it’s along the way.”
After he left you in front of your building, you hurried inside to change into something comfortable, when you realized Chenle indirectly told them he knew where you lived.
In the car, Chenle couldn’t hear the end of it. “What do you mean her place is on the way? How do you know where she lives?” Haechan probed, not accepting Chenle’s dismissal. “Stop speaking, she will be back any minute, don’t make it weird.”
Mark gasped, “have you been seeing her outside of work?” Chenle slapped his forehead in distress. “Guys, i will tell you everything later, just don’t be dramatic in front of her, you’re making us look like fools.”
Haechan pouted, annoyed. “She already knows we are foolish, who are you trying to trick…”
The court was enormous with multiple gadgets, there was even an equipment used for solo playing that sent the balls back to you. You were glancing around, impressed, while the trio started playing right away. They tried to get you to play with them so they could play in pairs but you refused.
Your refusal was short lived though, because Haechan came running to you after 20 minutes begging you to join him. “They are ganging up on me, Y/n, this is bullying, you have to help me win!”
So here you are, running around the court with two amateurs and Chenle, which was unexpected. Like, Chenle was so good you wondered why is he even wasting time as an idol. This is a totally new side of him you never expected, but you did enjoy it quite a lot.
After 2 more games, you took a collective break. You picked up your phone to check for any mail, but as per usual, there were only messages from chenle.
Chenle: I’m accepting compliments all night, so keep them coming!
You tried hard not to laugh, typing out a quick message.
You: only tonight?
Chenle:well, every night, but you gotta admit that dunk was impressive
You: i would have been impressed if i wasn’t on the losing side :(
As soon as you sent him that, Chenle ended the break. “This time, Y/n will be playing with me.” Mark and Haechan complained, but it was useless.
This game was even more fun than the last, with Chenle passing you almost every single ball. He knew he was too good that you wouldn’t lose even with you leading the game, and you couldn’t call him cocky for that since it was technically true.
You were joking around, throwing the ball and attempting to do a three-pointer. Mark and Haechan were unserious too, just having fun, until Chenle decided to pick you up and make you dunk.
They looked at each other and burst out laughing. You got scared and started wiggling so Chenle almost dropped you.
“You fool, what are you wiggling around for?” You looked at him with wide eyes, “Me? Let me see how you react when a bear picks YOU up from your back!” He rolled his eyes, calling you dramatic while Mark and Haechan were still laughing.
When everyone calmed down, you sat down to rest once again, before getting ready to leave. As you were exiting, Mark quipped, “I didn’t know you two were so close.” Haechan winked, “how could they not be close, they are both grumpy!” Which earned him a in-sync side eye from both you and Chenle, but a dramatic nod from Mark.
Today you had a day off, so you already had a checklist in mind about everything you had to do. You have been slacking off around the house the last few days because of Chenle, so you decided that today was the day for cleaning.
You started your favorite playlist and got to work. After about an hour of cleaning, your phone started ringing. Obviously it was Chenle.
“Hey Y/n, we will be having lunch together at the Chinese place next to the company, wanna join?” Chenle started over the phone.
“What time? I still have some things to finish up.” You asked, looking around your living room.
“In like, two hours tops?” He guessed, and you just told him to text you when they got there.
After you cleaned up some more, you decided to start getting ready. The place wasn’t fancy but you still wanted to look nice. You picked out a long-sleeve dress and some flats, did your makeup as quickly as you could and let your hair air dry with a few clips holding it in place.
After Chenle sent you a text that they arrived, you exited your apartment.
As soon as you got there, the waitress asked you about the reservation. Chenle already texted you that it was under his name so you got in no problem. The waitress led you to a private room you didn’t even know existed, but being the closest place to SM ent., it made sense.
As soon as you entered, everyone got up to greet you. You sat down between Chenle and Renjun since that was the space that was saved for you. The food was already on the table, everyone sharing. You chatted for a bit, asking them about their activities as a group. Chenle transferred some meat to your bowl and you thanked him, but Jisung couldn’t keep quiet. “What is this, hyung? Since when were you so chivalrous?” But Chenle just ignored him, talking about the weather.
You bonded with the other members some more, since you really didn’t have a chance before. You and Renjun surprisingly hit it off really well, making other members joke about how you were his long lost twin.
By the time you guys decided to go your separate ways, it was already dark outside. The other members hailed a cab to go to their dorms, but Chenle said he parked kind of far so he started walking with you. The members obviously didn’t believe him, but they started to get used to your weird friendship with their co-member. And although they decided they wouldn’t say anything, everyone noticed Chenle was happier than before.
“Do you want me to pick you up again tonight?” Chenle mindlessly asked, still walking. You just nodded, the late night drives already became a habit.
“We should make our playlist, for the drives.” He pointed at his phone, and you pulled yours out right away, creating a mutual playlist on spotify and sending him the link.
He just smiled, telling you to prepare your favorites for tonight, before waving you goodbye right in front of your entrance.
He did pick you up later that night, and this time there were no stops, just constant driving and enjoying the music. You unlocked your phone, about to change the song, when Chenle called you.
You looked at him, expecting a recommendation, but he instead requested you to play some songs in your language. The one that first came to mind was a ballad you loved dearly, so you decided to play it for him.
No chance for us to reconcile
I will wait for you
Until your ruby lips speak no more
I will love you
Until my tears cloud the gloomy paths ahead
Who is it that no longer loves me, my worry,
And says they are leaving with another.
Be well, my fairy
May every path you walk be paved in gold.
You were looking at the streets, feeling the song in your bones. “What is it about?” Chenle inquired, and you had no better words to explain it than “loving someone while they are walking away, waiting for them to come back.”
He just nodded, appreciating the perspective. After a few more sad songs you decided to play around and play some fun summer hits. You both started singing and making choreographies in the limited space you had, laughing so much Chenle had to pull over.
After he stopped the car, the music stopped too, so you decided to use the opportunity to talk some more. You talked about your lives, about your dreams and places you would want to visit.
“that reminds me,” Chenle jumped, “this is still classified though so keep quiet!” he pointed a finger at you. You rolled your eyes but waited for this special information he had for you.
“Next week we will be going to Jeju for a beach project, and you will be coming with us.” He gave you a look that seemed happy.
“What am I supposed to do there?” You asked, thinking about what could they possibly do at the beach.
“It’s actually very casual, it’s an ep for our show, so we will just go there to play games and film regular content.” You nodded, remembering seeing the show a few times on youtube. You side-eyed him. “Should i bring a bathing suit?” He raised his eyebrows like you just said the stupidest thing ever, like he usually did. “Obviously, you should!”
Like clockwork, the next day you were notified about a three-day trip to Jeju with the group. They said your leave was scheduled five days from now, so you had enough time to prepare.
After going to the practice room for your meeting with the group, they asked you right away if you were notified about the trip. You nodded, and saw their excitement. Renjun ran up to you and held your hands. “We are going to have so much fun there, have you ever been to Jeju?” You shook your head. “This is my first time in Korea, remember?” Renjun just laughed, telling you what you needed to bring.
Chenle joined you two, and they told you about the best things in Jeju, including the food, and how excited they were to go there. Other members joked that you guys became a trio, but you couldn’t deny it.
The week passed by quickly, and before you knew it, you were already packing your bag for the work-trip. Chenle offered to video-call you to help with packing, but expectedly, he wasn’t very helpful.
“Have you packed socks?” Chenle asked while fixing his hair. You just stood there, looking at your phone that was leaning on a mug, hands on your hips. “Obviously, Chenle. That’s usually the first thing people pack.”
He feigned offense, “hey, we are going to an island, people often forget socks when going there!” You sighed, scratching your head. “I think that’s just you, Chenle…”
“Whatever,” he smiled. “What about our drive tonight?” You raised your eyebrows, in the middle of folding your sweats. "We have to get up at 5, are you mad?”
He just winked at you, still smiling. “Like that ever stopped us.”
Fast forward one packed suitcase later, you were on the passenger seat of Chenles car, already connected to the player. “What are your plans for tonight?” You asked mindlessly while searching for a song to play.
“Actually…” Chenle glanced at you sheepishly “I still haven’t packed.” You looked at him, deadpan. “That is somehow something i expected from you.” You messed up your hair to move it away from your face. “Need help?” He just grinned, nodding. “I thought you’d never ask.”
This was your first time going to his place, but you were excited because, Daegal, obviously. You haven’t had a chance to meet her yet but you received many pictures.
As soon as chenle swiped his card, you heard little taps of paws, and tiny barks. He didn’t even get to open the door before you were on your knees waiting for Daegal to jump in your arms. “If i knew you loved dogs this much, i would have brought her to our walks.” Chenle smiled endearingly, secretly very happy you loved his dearest pet.
Half an hour later though, he wasn’t as happy. “You said you came here to help me, yet here you are, cuddling with my dog…” you looked up at him, offended.
To be fair, you and Daegal were sat down on his bedroom floor, playing, and every time he asked you for opinion you mindlessly replied, too focused on the furry sweetheart in front of you.
He actually found it endearing, but he would never tell you that to your face.
You decided to be a good friend and help him after all. “I don’t even understand why are you packing, wont the stylists bring all the clothes you need? Like, pack a pair of sweats and some socks and let’s go.”
He just laughed at your rant, enjoying the view of your pouty face. “What if we decided to go out for dinner one night, you want me to go in sweats?” He raised his eyebrows, but you honestly saw no issue with that. “But you always go out in sweats and a mask, how will this be different?”
He just winked at you, “you will see when time comes.” But instead of being excited, you looked scared. “Does this mean i have to get something proper too?” Chenle just smacked his forehead, mumbling about you being a lost cause.
After Chenle packed, you chatted for a bit before deciding to go for one more drive before dropping you off at home to sleep. You dreaded waking up at five but it had to be done.
The flight was at 8, and the company organized a van to pick up staff in front of the building and to take them to the airport, but since you lived 15 minutes by foot from the company, and your bag was heavy, obviously Chenle offered to pick you up.
“This feels kind of weird.” You mumbled, glancing at the backseat full of your stuff. “Isn’t it weird that we are going together to the airport?, like, i know this is classified but what if someone leaked information about your flight and there are multiple fans there?”
Chenle just looked at you, “do you ever not panic?” You shot him an offended side-eye at that. You couldn’t say he was wrong, though.
As soon as you parked, Chenle pulled out a mask and a cap, his favorite disguise. You laughed at him but he just rolled his eyes, flipping you off. So chivalrous.
As soon as the word ‘chivalrous’ passed through your mind, though, you saw Chenle picking up both of your bags. You protested, asking him for your bag back, but he just ignored you. “Just walk with me and be pretty, that’s all you have to do.”
Turns out, it was a private plane too. Meaning, there were no other passengers on your plane. ‘How is that possible?” You ask, but who knows, genuinely. Just enjoy it while you can.
Also, the fact that it was a private plane also meant that Chenle took it upon himself to sit next to you. You noticed that other staff were looking at you, but they didn’t look annoyed, more-so pleased, so you felt at ease.
The flight wasn’t that long, around an hour, so you two just listened to music until Jisung joined you, complaining that Donghyuck has been bothering him.
You just laughed at that, patting his shoulder. “It has only been twenty minutes, is he really that mean?” Jisung just rolled his eyes. “It’s not that he is mean, he is just too loud. It’s too early in the morning to interact with him.” So you spent the rest of the flight listening to the two of them describing Jeju to you.
As you landed, you smelled salt in the air right away. You almost bounced with excitement, missing the beach. Chenle, obviously, noticed. He just patted your head while smiling.
There was a van waiting for you to take you to the hotel. The hotel itself was very close to the airport, but even closer to the beach which you found perfect. You realized you were not here on a break, but a little fun never killed a person.
As soon as you entered the hotel, managers said you had half an hour to rest and shower before getting to work. As you collected your room key, Jihoon, the manager, walked up to you.
“How are you feeling, are you not stressed?” He patted your back. Over time, you grew quite fond of him. He was always there to check up on you and see how you were doing.
You thanked him for asking, appreciating the gesture. He just nodded before adding, “also, i made sure you got a solo room if you get overwhelmed, you are the youngest on our team so i know it must be hard finding a mutual language with others.”
You felt your heart stutter at that, this man always shocked you with his kindness. “I could never thank you enough sir, thank you for taking care of me.”
“Don’t be silly, there’s nothing to thank me for. Also, boys might also appreciate being close to you, so i picked a room closer to them. You all get along well and are around the same age anyways” you thanked him for the millionth time for taking care of you before entering your room.
As you were getting out of the bathroom, you heard your phone ding.
Chenle: whats your room #?
You texted him the number and started getting dressed. A minute later there was a knock. You opened the door feigning annoyance “can i help you, sir?” He just rolled his eyes, entering past you.
“No one could help me, not even you.” Chenle dramatically exclaimed as he dropped on your bed. “Oh, stop being so dramatic.” You joked as you grabbed your hair brush.
So he just laid there while you were getting ready, just enjoying each-other’s presence.
When you met up with others in the lobby, there was already a van outside waiting for you. Today you will just be filming the intro for the show. Basically the filming crew was already there setting up. You just had to be there to film behind-the-scene content and help the boys with anything they might need.
The filming ended fairly quickly, and thankfully you brought your laptop there so you already prepared the files to forward to Emily on the drive back. The rest of the night everyone was free.
As soon as you entered the lobby, everyone went their separate ways, dreamies were running around for the intro so they were in need of a shower.
You were laying in your bed, scrolling mindlessly through social media when a notification popped up.
Chenle: wyd?
Chenle: can i come over? boys are leaving
You just replied with a thumbs up, not wasting time typing since you will see him in a second anyways.
As soon as you opened the door, he waltzed past you straight to the bed. “Since when do you ask for permission? You usually just notify me when you want to do something.”
Chenle just laughed, placing his arms underneath his head. “I can be nice, you know?” You shook your head gently. “Never said you weren’t.”
He laughed under his breath, motioning to you to come closer. As soon as you neared the bed, he patted the space next to him.
You tied your hair up while he made space for you, grabbing the headphones you always shared from the bedside table. He didn’t even blink, just reached out for the other one , their actions intertwined so naturally you’d think they were one.
“Any wishes?” He nudged you, his phone already connected. You just reached over and typed the name of the song that resonated with you currently.
You look so beautiful in this light
Your silhouette over me
The way it brings out the blue in your eyes
Is the Tenerife sea
And all of the voices surrounding us here
They just fade out when you take a breath
Just say the word and I will disappear
Into the wilderness
Should this be the last thing I see?
I want you to know it's enough for me
'Cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need
Chenle was humming to the melody, while you played with your hands, enjoying the moment. You turned towards him, question on your tongue.
“Where are your bandmates? I thought they’d come with you.” You asked while taking out the headphones, motioning him to do the same. He just shrugged, “they wanted to drink, i wasn’t in the mood.”
You raised a brow. “And I wasn’t invited? Rude.” There was a flicker of warmth in his glance, “You were, I just wanted you here with me.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” A smile tugged on your lips while you leaned your head on his shoulder. “Your turn, DJ.”
In the morning, the sound of fists banging on your door woke you up. Your first reaction was to be annoyed, until realization settled that you were not home. A few seconds later, another realization came in a form of a body leaning on you.
You glanced at his sleeping face, panicking. “Chenle… wake up.” You shook him gently. He just groaned, curling into himself like a cat. You had no time to react before you heard scratching outside. “I really fucking hope you two are decent” was the last thing you heard before Renjun waltzed in with a pair of sweats in his hands.
He seemed kind of glad when he saw you two tangled up with the headphones, like he was granted another day of peace. “Of course,” he said with a chuckle, holding up the sweats. “Somehow, this is always how it goes with you two.”
Chenle finally started waking up, whining at the noise. Renjun didn’t even blink at that, just tossing the sweats at his head. “You were on a run, that’s why you weren’t in our room. Understood?” Chenle just covered his already-covered face with his hand, mumbling a “yessir.”
As soon as Chenle snuck out, Renjun looked at you mischievously. You dreaded the second his mouth opened.
“So…” you cut him off right away. “Don’t get ideas. We accidentally fell asleep.” His gaze lowered, but the smile on his lips was still evident. “I know, I’m just teasing you.” He swung his arm over your shoulders. “Thank you for being there for him, you are… exactly what he needed.”
You softened at that, turning to hug him. “He’s making this whole ‘moving across the world’ thing easier for me.” At that, Renjun just squeezed you tighter. “Trust me, you are doing the same for him.”
After Renjun left, you went to get ready for the day. You skipped makeup this time, since the spot for today was the nearest beach. You left your hair to air-dry and picked the only beachy dress you brought for the trip.
You were surprisingly the first to arrive in the lobby, which you didn’t expect after this morning’s fiasco. You suppose Renjun planned the whole ‘on the run’ thing in advance.
Unsurprisingly, Chenle and Renjun were next to arrive. “Guess I’m early. I didn’t expect to beat you two here.” Renjun smiled proudly. “You see, i like to plan ahead. Unlike some people.” Chenle just laughed dryly, unable to look you in the eyes. “Sorry I’m not a professional schemer.”
The schedule was hectic today, which means you didn’t get many opportunities to interact with Chenle. You felt it in your gut that he was being distant, but you didn’t want to overthink.
You didn’t want to pressure him, so you just continued with your daily tasks. Every time he passed by, though, he would look at you but never say a thing. You figured he was just focused on work so you didn’t panic.
By the time everything was done, it was already dark out. You returned to the hotel with the same van as this morning. As soon as you entered your room, you went to shower, secretly expecting a text from him by the time you got back. But there was nothing.
You got ready for bed, pretending you didn’t glance at your phone every five seconds, waiting. You were already giving up, almost drifting to sleep when you heard the specific ding.
Chenle: you still awake?
You:yes, everything okay?
You waited for the following text, but instead there was a knock. You hurried to get up, not thinking of your attire.
As you opened the door, the lights still off, only the hallway lamp showed your silhouette. He just looked over you, a slight glimmer in his eyes. “Not expecting me?”
You raised your eyebrows, confused, until you remembered you wore your cat pajamas to bed. Oh well…
All the tension that was there slowly dissipated. “Cute fit.” He said, leaning on the doorframe while trying (and failing) to keep a serious expression. You just rolled your eyes. “Ha-ha, very funny, Mister ‘never-had-a-bad-fit’.”
He just shook his head, coming closer to you. “Sorry for being distant, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” You were genuinely shocked at this, eyes widening.
“What gave you the idea that i was uncomfortable?” You asked, bewildered.
You saw him fidgeting with the sleeve of his shirt, obviously stressed. “I thought i overstepped… You always remind me to be discreet and distant, i was starting to think that that was your way of pushing me away.” His hand moved to his hair. “Renjun… he talked some sense into me.”
You felt your heart breaking at hearing his words. You moved closer to him, closing the door behind. “I would never, there is nothing i need more than you next to me,” you stepped even closer, placing your hands carefully around him. “It’s just… hard, you are an idol, i don’t want your life to fall apart just because i snuck in.”
He pulled you even closer, looking deeply into your eyes. “How dare you even think that? I’d let everything burn just so i could be with you.”
You stood like that for a while, savoring the proximity you never let yourself explore before this moment. He started swaying left to right, lulling you gently into calmness.
You closed your eyes, letting the warmth of his body sink in, every breath in sync. He gently lowered his lips on top of your head, a silent promise of devotion.
“This is different…” you mumbled, your head buried in his chest. “No…” he said softly, lifting your chin so your eyes met his. “This is how it was meant to be.”
The realization dawned on you, you can’t run. The intensity of your feelings is too much, that’s what scares you, but it is also what makes this whole thing so good. So, you don’t even want to run. Even if it burns, you’d burn with him, if it meant that you would find him in the flames.
So you don’t run. You stay put, breathe deeply and close your eyes. Waiting for the moment for him to make you his, and him yours.
And he does, kissing so gently it almost brigs the tears to your eyes, because, to be loved like this? That is priceless.
The next morning, you aren’t startled awake. Because this time, you expected it- you set the alarm. This morning is different.
Your first morning together.
Also the last day in Jeju. So you start packing to go home. Everyone is sleepy, there is that strange, buzzing feeling in the air that lingers at the end of every trip—even though this wasn’t exactly a vacation.
Everything is the same as always, meeting up in the lobby and getting in the van. Except this time Chenle is carrying your bag. And you are not complaining.
Renjun notices. Renjun notices everything. Renjun is also cocky. So Renjun naturally thinks this is his victory. (It is, but shh)
The van today has three seats in a row, so Chenle decided to sit next to you, and the third person in the row was, guess who? Renjun!
Chenle leaned over you, grabbing your seatbelt and pulling it across your lap, locking it in place. That earned him a loud snicker from Renjun, obviously.
“So…” Renjun started. “You two have worked it out?” He dramatically raised his eyebrows. “There was nothing to work out, Injunie, everything was fine.” Chenle sighed while locking his own seatbelt.
Renjun laughed even more “tell that to you from yesterday, i don’t think he was all that fine.”
When you landed back home, Chenle asked you to spend the evening at his place. “We don’t have work tomorrow anyways, and you already have all you might need for a sleepover in your bag.” You nodded, enjoying the sound of his engine. At first you thought it was crazy that he decided to leave his car at the airport for three whole days, but now? You are very much appreciating it.
Somewhere in the middle of the drive home, his hand found its way to your thigh, casual but deliberate. Without a word, you placed your palm over his, letting your fingers trace absent patterns across his knuckles. He smiled to himself, silently thanking whoever convinced him to get an automatic car.
He used every excuse to touch you. His fingers slipped into yours as you got out of the car, tangled gently in your hair as you walked to the door, then found your hand again in the elevator. It was like he’d finally been given the green light to be close to you, and he wasn’t about to waste a second of it.
As you entered his apartment, the quietness embraced you. He led you in, your bag on his shoulder still. Daegal was at the pet-sitters so she wasn’t able to welcome you back.
He placed your bag on the couch, and you got everything you needed for a shower out.
By the time you finished, the whole room felt transformed—lights dimmed, the bed neatly made, the TV humming softly with a movie queued, and bowls of popcorn waiting.
“You keep leaving me speechless.” You slowly moved closer to him. “All of this is for me?” He leaned close, kissing the corner of your lips. “Everything I do, is for you.”
He led you to the couch, immediately wrapping you up in a blanket. Pulling you close, he let you rest against his chest as the movie played. Your fingers absentmindedly traced his hand, caressing each digit with quiet care. Every so often, he would lift your hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to a knuckle—a small, tender reminder of his presence.
During movie breaks, he peppered your face with soft kisses, savoring the little giggles that escaped you.
The next morning, you woke with your limbs tangled together. You glanced at his face, savoring the calmness of his expression. He looked beautiful while sleeping- you thought he always did, but this moment felt different, special, etched into your heart.
When he awoke, he insisted on making breakfast himself. You were worried, to be fair, until you walked into the kitchen and saw him working the stove.
“Do you know how good you look right now?” You gasped, slowly hugging him from the back. His free hand landed on yours, caressing gently. “I’m not so sure, can you prove it?” That earned him a smack on the head.
“That reminds me,” he started. “I have a date planned for us today, we are supposed to pick Daegal up at 4, so would you like to go to your place to get ready, or is here okay?” He recited while stirring the vegetables.
“Actually,” you started, still ogling the delicious-looking food, “i have a nice dress I packed because specific someone said we will go out while in Jeju… and yet we did not.”
He sheepishly scratched his head, “so i take that as a ‘no, I’m fine here’?”
“Yes, if you can handle it.” He just raised an eyebrow at that, thinking how bad could it be?Actually very bad, my friend, but not in a way you expected.
You still had clean clothes you didn’t get to wear in Jeju so they were used for picking Daegal up. She was so happy when she saw you two what she couldn’t stop jumping around. She cried so hard on the drive home because she was alone in the backseat.
The real problem for Chenle appeared when you started getting ready for the date. You had prepared the dining room table in advance as a makeup station, and Chenle found that detail endearing. He was waiting for the day he would have bits and pieces of you all around his space and this seemed like a first step.
What was the second step, you ask? He didn’t like that one as much. Actually… he liked it too much. Because how could he not? You, sitting down in his chair, with his towel around your body, legs crossed and hair damp, drawing the most sinful cat eye he has ever seen… how could he be a gentleman in these conditions?
He tried, desperately, not to stare, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He was on the verge of canceling the reservation multiple times just so he could keep looking at you like this.
But what’s the point of looking and not touching?
“Let me stop you there,” he walked over to your makeshift makeup station. “Follow me?” He asked while holding out his hand, his eyes sinful. But you werent that easy.
“But, where to?” You feigned innocence, “my makeup is still not done, i can’t go out like this.” He just moved closer, his face in front of yours. “Don’t play silly love,” his hand grabbed your cheeks gently, pursing your lips into a pout.
“To the bedroom, now.” He helped you up while leading the way. “We have more important things to do.”
The dinner was going great, Chenle rented a private room again, but that was to be expected. You shared a bottle of wine, since he wasn’t driving for a change, and you could proudly say you were enjoying yourself. One thing lead to another and Chenle convinced you to stay over again.
Daegal was waiting for you back at his apartment, and she was so excited when you got back, so you spent the rest of the night in the living room watching movies and cuddling with her. Both you and Chenle had work tomorrow so you decided to go to sleep early.
He was the first to fall asleep and you used those moments of solitude to consider your relationship. It’s not like you doubt his feelings or even your own, you are very sure of what you feel. You were just wondering, how will this work? With him being an idol and all? Your relationship will have to be a secret, obviously, but for how long? Will that secret ever end? Will you go to work tomorrow and pretend like you barely know each other? Who will he tell about you? There were so many questions you had no answer to. And you did not want to bother him with your insecurities but seriously, how will this work? That is a question for tomorrow, you guess, as you slowly drift off to sleep.
Chenle made breakfast again in the morning. You ate together and brushed teeth together and showered together, and then went your separate ways when you arrived at the company. You guess that is how your relationship will work too, both of you going your own ways while at work. That is not the issue, you prefer being professional anyways, the issue is… Pretending that there is nothing.
Chenle never directly told you to pretend, but its to be expected, right? You should be smart enough to know that, after all. You collected the papers from your cubicle while sighing deeply when Emily noticed you.
“Long time no see, how was the trip?” Emily pulled you into a hug and you sighed again but with relief. “It was really nice, Jeju is quite pretty.” She smiled, holding your shoulders. “I knew you would like it, but what’s wrong? You seem down?”
You just shook your head, ignoring your thoughts. “Nothing, really, just tired and all.” She just nodded, understanding it could be draining to travel for content. She has gone through that multiple times before you arrived, after all.
You arrived at the practice room where the members currently were, and they greeted you warmly. You just smiled, placing the papers down on the nearest table before feeling a presence behind you. You were about to turn around until you felt arms around you so you froze in place.
“Yo, Chenle, are you sure she accepted to be your girlfriend? She looks grossed out!” You heard Donghyuck yell from the other side of the room, and if possible, you froze even more. You were still unmoving when Chenle leaned his head on your shoulder, almost pouting. “I don’t know whats wrong with her, she was normal an hour ago.” He joked, but you still were shocked. You turned around, breaking his hug. “Can we talk? Privately?”
He led you to a storage room close by, seemingly worried. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I should have discussed it with you before publishing our business to everyone…” He was ranting but you just hugged him tightly, which shut him up.
“I wasn’t uncomfortable, I expected you to keep it a secret from everyone.” You confessed and you saw his eyebrows furrow together. “You are never a secret to me, Y/n. Not everyone will know, sadly, but you are nowhere close to a secret in my life.” You felt your eyes tearing up so you just buried your head in his chest. “How is everything so easy when I’m with you?” you mumbled but he just pulled you closer.
“You’re the only place I’ve ever felt at home.” and you could only nod, because what was there left to say?
divider by: @viviansturns
