𐔌՞. .՞𐦯 keonho (grounded) attempts to communicate with seonghyeon (not grounded) via student gmail. a few wrong numbers entered leads to him flirting with y/n (stranger) through an email thread! what could go wrong hahaha (a lot)
ᝰ.ᐟ nonidol!keonho x fem!reader | friendgroup!cortis | jju and y/n are.. connected 🤔
ᝰ.ᐟ smau mini series! fluff, humor, cussing
ᝰ.ᐟ 01 02 03 ❤️
ᝰ.ᐟ a/n: pt 2 yayayaya
𐔌՞. .՞𐦯 yawnmi writes:
okiii pt 2 sorry if this was unfunny… story is coming to a close next part keonyn so cute!! lets hope bth bad happens hahahhahahagsgs
You were standing in the practice room, scrolling on your phone, completely unaware that Martin was eyeing you from across the space. 6 feet tall, he had this effortless way of towering over everyone, and he knew it. Meanwhile, you at 5’5 were the perfect target for one of his favorite habits.
Without warning, you felt a sudden weight press lightly on your head. You glanced up only to see Martin’s long arm casually draped across the top of your head like it was the backrest of a chair.
"Really?" you said, glaring up at him.
Martin smirked down at you, clearly amused. "What? You're the perfect height for this. It's comfortable."
You rolled your eyes, shifting side to side, trying to throw his arm off, but he kept it balanced like he'd practiced it for years. "I'm not your human armrest, Martin."
"Yes, you are," he replied with zero hesitation, his deep voice laced with playfulness. "You're exactly the right height. It's almost like you were made for it."
You gasped dramatically, pushing at his chest. "Excuse me? Don't act like I'm furniture just because you're built like a lamp post!”
He laughed, the sound bouncing off the studio mirrors. "A very handsome lamp post though."
"More like a giraffe," you shot back.
Martin tilted his head, still resting his arm on you like it weighed nothing. "Better a giraffe than a penguin. You know... since penguins are short and waddle." He gave you a pointed look, clearly teasing.
"Did you just compare me to a penguin?!" you exclaimed, smacking his arm, though he didn't budge an inch.
"Yes. But a very cute penguin." His grin widened, eyes sparkling as he watched your expression shift from fake annoyance to trying not to laugh.
You let out a huff, crossing your arms. "One day, Martin, I'll wear the tallest heels I can find, and then I'll rest my arm on your head."
He chuckled, finally moving his arm to wrap it around your shoulders instead, pulling you closer. "Sure, but until then... penguin armrest privileges are mine."
Despite your protests, you leaned into him slightly, your pout giving away to a smile. "You're ridiculous."
"And you're short," he teased again, earning another playful shove. But even as you pushed him away, you caught the warmth in his eyes, the kind that said this little height joke of his was just another way of being close to you.
—A/N
Thank u for reading and pls lmk what I can do better and send request pls🥰🌸
eom seonghyeon x fem!reader | drabble | non idol au | fluff | established relationship
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
the fitting room door clicked open for the tenth time in the last forty five minutes, and seonghyeon stepped out, looking like he belonged on a billboard, even if his expression said he was undergoing a mild existential crisis.
he smoothed down the lapels of a charcoal gray blazer, turning to face you with a mix of desperation and intense concentration. "okay, be honest. is the charcoal too serious? does it look like i’m attending a corporate meeting instead of your brother's wedding? because i can change back into the navy one."
you leaned back against the plush velvet sofa of the boutique, letting out a soft laugh. you had been holding a half empty iced coffee in your lap for an hour, acting as his official, one person judging panel. "seonghyeon, you’ve looked incredible in literally every single thing you’ve tried on. i told you, the navy was great, the black was classic, and this one makes you look like a movie star. you literally cannot lose here."
he let out a stressed huff, stepping closer to the three way mirror and adjusting his collar for the hundredth time. "you’re just saying that because you’re biased. i need objective journalism right now, not a supportive girlfriend." he turned sideways, frowning at his own reflection. "is the fit around the shoulders right? what if i go to hug your dad and i rip the seams? that would be a terrible first impression for the extended family."
"you’ve already met my parents, they love you," you reminded him, amused by how worked up he was getting. "and my brother is the one getting married, no one is going to be looking at your shoulders."
"your aunt from busan is going to be there," he countered, completely serious as he turned around to check the back of the jacket. "the one you said notices everything. what if she thinks i look sloppy? this decision is high stakes. i’m representing you in front of the whole family tree in a few weeks. i need to look respectable, stable, and like the best choice you’ve ever made."
you set your coffee down on the side table and stood up, walking over to him. the boutique was quiet, the gentle jazz music playing in the background contrasting heavily with seonghyeon’s internal panic. you stepped into his space, reaching up to smooth down the shoulders of the jacket he was worrying so much about.
"hey," you murmured, looking up at him until his anxious eyes finally locked onto yours. "you could show up in a vintage tracksuit and my family would still love you, because they see how happy you make me. but for the record?" you ran your hands down the front of the blazer, patting his chest. "this charcoal suit is definitely the winner. it’s perfect."
a small, relieved smile finally broke through his serious expression. his hands came up to rest gently on your waist, pulling you just a little bit closer. "you promise you’re not just saying that so we can finally leave and get dinner?"
"well, i am starving," you teased, leaning your head against his shoulder for a second. "but i’m also telling the truth. you look handsome."
he laughed softly, the tension finally leaving his frame as he pressed a quick, affectionate kiss to the top of your head. "fine. i'll take this one. but if your aunt makes a comment about the lapels, i’m telling her it was your executive decision."
𝔀arnings. mentions of a bear attack, getting stung, mention of losing a finger, mentions of fire, lowercase intended ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝘆𝗻𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗌. not proofread, i had this idea after watching gravity falls idk why
୨𝑒 james zhao 𑙕
“i promise you it will be fun! we can heat up marshmallows, sing by the fireplace, take a bath in the lake–”, you interrupt him “we’ll get bitten by bugs, going to the toilet will be a nightmare and we’re going to sleep in a tent in the middle of the forest”.
james sighs and keeps driving, “come on! we haven’t arrived yet, i’m sure you’ll learn to love it, plus, i’m basically an expert at this” he says with a proud grin.
once you two park your car, he takes a deep breath of fresh air, “ah, can you feel it babe? the smell of the nature is always refreshing”, you nod unsure as you watch a centipede crawl on a tree “yeah… the nature is so… beautiful”.
james rummages in the trunk of his car, pulling out a box with a brand new tent he bought just for the occasion, “stay back babe, let a real man handle this”, you sigh, a hint of a smile on your lips “are you sure you don’t need any help?”, he scoffs lightly “of course not! relax and let me handle this”.
“ok!” you reply, taking a seat by a small bench nearby, partially glad you get to sit and watch your boyfriend totally struggle with the tent.
hours go by, and james has set up for now one pole, his hair is messy because of his hand constantly running in it, he has put on glasses to read the instructions, and he’s sitting on the ground trying to find all the pieces, he groans “ugh! when i was younger the instructions seemed much clearer!”.
you smile softly at him, getting up from your seat and kneeling down at his level, “still don’t need a hand?”.
james stays quiet for a few seconds “...maybe i do”. you chuckle softly, and with your help, you both successfully set up the tent, with you laughing whenever he’d get confused and irritated at the instructions or at the way he’d groan when he’d place a piece wrong, but maybe camping wasn’t so bad after all.
୨𝑒 juhoon kim 𑙕
you and your boyfriend have decided to take a break from the busy city life, and went camping. the problem? juhoon isn’t very fond of it. “babe, i think this frog is going to jump at me” he mumbles, holding your hand tightly as you both take a walk in the forest, “babe relax, it’s probably scared of you twice as much”. the frog croaked, and your boyfriend basically jumped in your arms.
it was an eventful day for juhoon: he got stung by a few bees, he fell into the lake and he tripped in a mud pond. he was already done with this outdoor adventure, but you seemed so genuinely aligned with nature, and relaxed too, so he didn’t want to ruin your fun. that night, as you both are in your tent, you try to medicate his bee stings, feeling sorry for how his day had turned out, “ju, listen, i… i’m very sorry, i know it was a hard day for you. we can go home if you don’t feel like sleeping here”.
juhoon takes a deep breath “no i… we can stay, despite all that has happened you were still there for me, even now you’re tending to my bee stings” he smiles softly at you. you slightly smile back at him, “if a bear decides to attack us tonight i’ll get in front of you to defend you, he has to step on me first” you say, puffing out your chest to make him smile. he chuckles and pinches your cheek softly “hey, slow down lion heart, and don’t make me think about this possible scenario”.
you smile and peck his cheek, you turn off your lamp and you lay down to sleep, but this time, he is the one safely tucked in your arms.
୨𝑒 martin edwards 𑙕
summer time is your favorite period of time, why? because you get to plan fun adventures with your overly energetic boyfriend. this time, you two decided to head to a camping site downtown.
“ah! beautiful nature!” your boyfriend exclaims with a proud grin as you start to unload the car. you look at the sky, it’s starting to tint with shades of pink and orange “uhh babe, we should start making a campfire, the sun’s about to set”, “oh, right” he says a bit sheepishly. you raise your eyebrow at him “...you do know how to start a campfire?”. a moment of silence stretches between you two, then he huffs out a laugh “babe, of course i know how to start a campfire”.
he did not know how to start a campfire.
you helped him gather some stones and wood to set it up, he insisted on starting the fire. at first, he claimed to do it the “natural way”; with two wooden sticks. “babe i don’t think–” “i promise it’s almost there! give it time”.
then, he tried rubbing two rocks together, but the moment he saw a sparkle, he threw them on the ground “phew, i almost lost a finger”.
the sky was starting to tint with darker hues, and the cold of the night was beginning to set. you rub your arms “babe, can’t we just look for a lighter–” he says, still focused on the tiny mountain of wood “i got this babe, don’t worry, you will be warm by the fire in a few seconds”.
as he’s sat on the ground, trying to look for a way to light up the fire, you sneakily head to the car, and rummage under the seats for a lighter, once you finally find it, you settle next to him. “babe, i love you, but we’ll be freezing cold at this rate” you say, handing him the lighter. he sighs “ok… you’re right, i guess. i just wanted to impress you by taking the lead” he says, as he begins to set fire to a smaller piece of wood. you smile, and reach by the tent you set up earlier for his guitar “well, i know what always impresses me” you say, handing him his guitar to play.
୨𝑒 seonghyeon eom 𑙕
as you and your boyfriend are exploring the campsite you decided to spend a weekend in, you find a tiny lake near the forest. you gasp excitedly “we have to go take a bath! it will be so refreshing!”. your boyfriend scrunches his nose “are you sure it’s safe babe?” you wave a hand at him, dismissing his statement “yeah babe, there’s the sign right there! what could go wrong?”
lots of things could go wrong.
while you are taking a relaxing swim inside the lake, feeling the sunlight on your skin and little fish swimming besides you, you suddenly hear your boyfriend scream. who knew, that your brave boyfriend, was terrified of the water? specifically, what is inside of the water?
you chuckle at the sight of him struggling to get in, and you swim by the shore “babe, i promise you nothing scary is hiding underwater”. he gulps “no i.. i know, nothing scary…”.
you smile, you had to admit, seeing your boyfriend so scared and vulnerable made your heart soften.
you stand up, holding out your hand for him to hold “come on, one step at a time”.
he reluctantly takes your hand, and as soon as the water reaches his calves, he jumps a bit “something touched me! babe we have to get out no–” you hold his shoulders “breathe, it’s seaweed. see?” you reach for it in the water and hold it up for him to see. he takes a sigh of relief “phew, you never know… these things, they snuggle everywhere”.
after what felt like an eternity, you managed to get in the lake, the water level reaching just above your bellybutton.
you turn to him with a smile, still holding his hand “see? wasn’t so bad”. he’s still tense, but definitely less scared than before “yeah… but i’m still not sure this is a good idea”.
you roll your eyes playfully at him “oh come on babe, you’re no fu–”, in that exact moment, a wave of water completely covers you. you rub your eyes and take a deep breath, looking at your boyfriend, who is laughing and holding his belly “ you should have seen your face!”. he quits laughing the moment you push him and make him fall underwater, the moment he gets up, he moves his wet hair from his forehead, “war it is then!”
୨𝑒 keonho ahn 𑙕
“are you really sure you know how to do this?” you ask your boyfriend as he begins to gather the coal for the barbecue “hey! i promised you i’d take care of the meat while you relax! don’t worry about it” he says with a proud grin as he pours the coal in the barbecue.
you thought it would’ve been a good idea to take your boyfriend to this campsite, a breath of fresh air never hurt no one. but now, he seems convinced that he’s the nature man just because he helped a little bird get back in his nest the moment you stepped foot in there, and he hasn’t let you raise a finger ever since.
you shrug, “alright, i’ll just sit back then”. you relax by the hammock, closing your eyes and enjoying the peace of the nature. from time to time, you sneak a glance at your boyfriend making sure he’s alright and doesn’t need your help, but after a few minutes, sleep takes over you.
you are woken up by a strange smell, you scrunch your nose and groggily open your eyes, only to find your boyfriend trying to turn off the fire that has set by the barbecue. you sit up quickly “babe! i was asleep for a few minutes?!”, you exclaim, quickly rushing up to help him. he’s full on panicking “the meat was taking too long so i added more coal! i didn’t know it would go on fire!”.
“do something babe! or we are going to go on fire!” you say, looking around for something that can stop the small yet scary fire. keonho takes a deep breath “you’re right, what could stop a fire? oh! maybe an extinguisher! …but i don’t think there are many in the middle of the forest… oh! maybe we can put a cover over it! …but what if the fire burns it down?”
he is so deep in thought he doesn’t notice you rushing to grab one of your water bottles and pouring it all over the now carbonated meat.
“...yeah that could work too, thanks babe” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. you take a sigh of relief, then turns to him, ruffling his hair “next time, we can just eat a sandwich”
synopsis: eom seonghyeon has blocked you after annoying him for the nth time. ironically, you two have been assigned as partners for a project. using this chance, you do everything in your power to make him unblock you and realize why you‘ve been annoying him
notes: reader has a given name (yani aka my yn), reader is lowk an airhead, seonghyeon is mean and a crybaby, everyone is rooting for something - we don‘t know if its good or not, school au
1: PULLING ON HIS PIGTAILS
a/n: i have a writer‘s block so i thought if i did a stupid no brainer smau i‘d go back to the flow (i have multiple drafts that are slowly going into a black hole)
★: hiii guys, uploading finallyy omg i've been procrastinating sm and the writer's block lwk standing outside my door fahh💔ALSO SOMEONE GET IT BUT ISN'T STUPID SONG AND DROP DEAD SO JUHOON-CAMILLE CODED AAAAAAAAAAA and like keshi's soft spot is so juhoon coded, please somebody get me or i'll start crying.
prev part : next part
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
the sixth coincidence.
The reactions had gone about as well as expected.
Which was to say, horribly.
Moka had stared at her for approximately three seconds before starting to scream. Y/N had stared at her for approximately ten.
The latter had somehow been worse.
Camille had spent twenty minutes trying to explain that she and Juhoon were fake dating and another twenty trying to explain why she had said Juhoon's name in the first place. Nobody had accepted any of her explanations.
At one point Moka had actually pointed at her and said, "See, this is why I don't trust people."
“What did I do?”
“You accidentally acquired a boyfriend.”
“Fake boyfriend.”
“See? You're doing it again.”
The conversation had deteriorated from there. By eleven thirty, Camille had escaped to her room under the guise of being tired. This was technically true. She had experienced enough embarrassment in one day to power a small city.
Camille shut the door behind her with relief. The room was blissfully quiet. No Moka. No questions. No one saying the words ‘fake boyfriend’ with entirely too much enthusiasm.
She changed into an old university hoodie, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and attempted to convince herself that her life had not become significantly more complicated. The attempt failed.
By the time she collapsed onto her bed, all she wanted was eight uninterrupted hours of sleep and perhaps temporary amnesia. Her phone lit up on the bedside table. With a sigh, she reached over and picked it up. The notification made her blink. And then, despite herself, smile fondly.
juhoon:
hey
camille:
yes?
juhoon:
we should meet tomorrow to discuss our fraudulent activities
camille:
no
juhoon:
okay
camille:
wait
not okay
juhoon:
?
camille:
why did you agree that fast
juhoon:
you said no??
camille:
yeah but you were supposed to fight for us
juhoon:
us 😭
camille:
don't piss me off
juhoon:
mb mb
camille:
i need you to understand this is not a normal situation for me
juhoon:
it is also not normal for me
camille:
wrong
you're chill
juhoon:
i'm literally involved in your lie
camille:
but like emotionally you're weirdly stable in this
juhoon:
i don't know if that's a compliment
camille:
it's not
juhoon:
okay
camille:
anyway i keep forgetting you exist as my boyfriend and then remembering and wanting to die
juhoon:
that's new
camille:
it's not new it's recurring
juhoon:
how many times
camille:
like 6
juhoon:
that's impressive
camille:
don't praise me
juhoon:
i'm not
camille:
you're smiling through the screen
i can feel it
juhoon:
👍
camille:
get that thumb out of my face
juhoon:
anyway meet tomorrow
camille:
bro you're like a dog with a bone
juhoon:
i don't think that's the saying
camille:
wtv
we need relationship lore
juhoon:
wow relationship lore
we have reached levels of fraud previously thought impossible
camille:
realest shit have i ever heard
juhoon:
tmr 6, bookstore cafe?
camille:
sure
juhoon:
👍
camille:
oh brother
juhoon:
what
camille:
this mf
juhoon:
?
camille:
every time
EVERY TIME
juhoon:
what did i do
camille:
i pour my heart out
i bare my soul
i share my deepest fears
and this bitch hits me with the 👍
juhoon:
okay
camille:
goodnight juhoon, i hope both sides of your pillow are warm.
—------------
The next morning arrived far too early. Camille became aware of consciousness in stages.
First came the sunlight.
Then the uncomfortable realization that sunlight implied morning.
Then the even more uncomfortable realization that morning implied responsibilities.
She kept her eyes closed. Perhaps if she ignored the problem long enough, it would leave. To her dismay, the problem remained.
Sunlight filtered through the dorm window. It slid in through the thin dorm curtains and settled over the desk, the chair, the pile of clothes she had abandoned there last night. Her blanket had somehow wrapped itself around her legs during the night. The room was pleasantly cool everywhere except the patch of sunlight stretching across her bed.
Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed. A burst of laughter followed. Then the muffled sound of someone complaining in a voice that suggested they had been wronged by the morning.
Camille stayed still for a second longer, one arm draped over her face, listening.
There was something peaceful about the first few seconds after waking up. Peaceful in the sense that reality had not fully caught up yet and was still deciding whether to bother her today. She believed that it was the perfect in-between.
With a sigh, Camille finally pushed herself upright. Her hair immediately fell into her face.She moved toward the bathroom, shoulders still heavy with sleep.
Camille stared at her reflection for a second.
Her hair was doing something unhelpful. Her face looked exactly like it felt: half-awake, mildly annoyed, and not ready for the kind of day where she would have to look Juhoon in the eye and pretend this whole thing had not already become the most ridiculous item on her list of responsibilities.
The shower helped, as it usually did, though mostly in the sense that warm water made the world feel temporarily less hostile. Steam softened the glass. By the time she got out of the shower, she had let her thoughts drift into useless little circles.
Camille stood in front of the wardrobe and stared into it for far too long. After trying on several outfits, she decided on a striped fitted shirt and jeans. She was adjusting her cuff when she heard Moka say:
“I think I'd become evil if I had money.”
“You already become evil when you have twenty dollars.” Y/N says without looking up
“Exactly. Imagine if I had billions.”
“You'd be dead within six months.”
“What?”
“You'd buy a submarine.”
“I would NOT.”
“You absolutely would.”
“I literally wouldn't.”
Camille finally looks up, “You bought an air fryer because it looked lonely.”
Moka freezes. “...That feels unrelated.”
“It isn't.”
“You named it.”
“It needed a name.”
“YOU NAMED IT.”
“Kevin gets nervous.”
“Oh my God.” Y/N looks up at Moka
“Okay but what's your billionaire scandal then?”
“I wouldn't have one.” Her answer comes fast, fast enough it makes Camille chuckle.
“You absolutely would.” Moka defended
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Y/N points. “Okay. Name one scandal I would do.”
“You know how rich people fund research?”
“No.”
“You're already defensive.”
“I'm not.”
“You'd fund some weird penguin study.”
“I WOULD NOT.”
“You absolutely would.”
Camille was now very invested. She set down her makeup and focused on the rest of the explanation Moka had come up with.
“No, because imagine opening the news. ‘Local graduate student receives thirty million dollars to investigate whether penguins experience workplace drama.’”
Camille folds forward laughing.
“THAT'S NOT A THING.” Y/N tried to defend herself.
“How do you know?”
“Because they're PENGUINS.”
Camille climbs onto Moka's bed.
“No, because imagine being a penguin. You show up to work.”
“What work?”
“Penguin work.”
“THAT'S NOT A REAL JOB.”
“Maybe not to you.”
Camille was already losing it.
“You show up and you see Gary.”
“Who the fuck is Gary?”
“The penguin.”
“There wasn't a Gary.”
“There is now. Anyway, Gary stole your fish."
“What?”
"Gary stole your fish."
“Okay?”
“You hate him. And then some random researcher is taking notes.”
Moka pretends to type. “‘Subject appears engaged in interpersonal conflict.’”
Camille immediately joins in, “‘Potential fish-related power struggle.’”
“‘Gary remains a bitch.’”
The rest of the day passed in fragments. Camille spent most of it moving from one building to another.
A lecture in a room so cold it felt personally targeted. Another in a classroom with broken blinds that let sunlight hit her in the eyes for an hour straight. A seminar where one guy raised his hand every five minutes and somehow managed to say absolutely nothing each time.
University, in other words.
By lunchtime the campus was crowded.
Students drifted between buildings in clusters. Music leaked from somebody’s speaker near the fountain. A group of first-years sat on the grass.
Camille ate lunch with Moka and Y/N.
By three o’clock, Camille was in the library. By four, she was pretending to work. By four-thirty, she was actually working, mostly out of guilt.
Outside the windows, the afternoon slowly softened into evening.
Weak sunlight stretched across the floor between the shelves. Conversations grew quieter. Students started packing up their things. Camille always loved this time of the day.
Camille finished the last paragraph of her notes and glanced at the time.
5:08.
At 5:27 she gave up. She packed her bag, slipped her notebook inside, and headed out.
The bookstore wasn’t far from campus. The walk took about ten minutes.
The evening air was pleasant. Warm enough that nobody needed a jacket, cool enough that walking felt nice. The sidewalks were busy with students, commuters, and people who were in a rush to keep up with their schedules.
The bookstore came into view near the end of the street.
Large windows.
Warm lights.
The familiar sign hanging above the entrance.
Camille pushed open the door. A small bell chimed overhead. The scent of coffee and paper hit immediately.
Something about bookstores always felt quieter than they actually were. Conversations became softer. Movements slowed down. Even the sounds of cups being set down seemed gentler.
She ordered an iced latte and claimed a table near the back.
Then she checked the time.
5:46.
Camille stared at the screen when the bell above the door chimed. She looked up automatically and there he was.
Juhoon stepped inside, paused just long enough for the door to swing shut behind him. The bell above the entrance was still settling into silence when his gaze moved until it landed on her.
“You’re early, catastrophe.” he said as he settled into the chair across her.
Camille moved her bag off the table and on to her lap. “Oh, yeah…Being early and waiting seemed more tempting than studying, so.”
That earned a chuckle from him, “Right, you still have to do that.”
“Absolutely no need to rub it in my face like that.”
“I wasn’t rubbing it in,” he said, leaning back slightly. “I was just..recollecting that fact.”
Camille narrowed her eyes at him before deciding to drop it, which felt like a bad decision because she didn’t know what else to say. She spoke after a long silence.
“So, uh, how was work?”
“Work?” Juhoon echoed, trying to suppress his amusement.
“You don’t need to laugh at that, you jerk.” she said, rolling her eyes.
Juhoon leaned back in his chair. “Anyway, we should probably start…brainstorming?”
She cleared her throat once.
Right. Fake dating. Relationship lore. Fraudulent activities.
“Uhm okay, let’s start with how we met.”
“What about the same thing but a little tweaked? Childhood friends. Lost contact. Met again here.”
Camille blinked. “That was… suspiciously smooth.”
A beat.
She tapped the table once. “Then at the bookstore café. I’m reading. You show up, pretend you don’t see me.”
Juhoon nodded. “That’s believable.”
Camille continued. “Then we start talking again.”
He added, “We text that night.”
Camille nodded. “Just a ‘what are you doing now’ that somehow turns into five hours of talking about nothing important.”
“Then again the next day.”
“And the next.”
He leaned back slightly. “We meet here again.”
Camille looked around the café like it was suddenly part of the story instead of just furniture. “And it becomes… our place.”
Juhoon hummed. “Regular spot.”
Camille tapped the table lightly. “And then we actually start dating for real, right?”
Juhoon didn’t answer immediately, just looked at her.
“…Yeah,” he said finally. “That’s good. Seems believable.”
“Classic us.”
There was a brief pause before Camille narrowed her eyes. “Who confessed?”
“You did,” he replied immediately.
Camille snapped her head up. “Excuse you, I would never.”
“You would be more believable as the impulsive one.”
“I am not impulsive.”
“You told someone I was your boyfriend.”
“I think that falls into that category of ‘survival instinct’.”
“That’s impulsive.”
Camille leaned back. “No. I think YOU confessed.”
“That doesn’t sound accurate.”
“It’s vibes, you know?”
“I don’t think that’s a category.”
“It is now.”
Juhoon exhaled. “Fine. I confessed.”
“Good. I knew you had it in you.”
“I didn’t.”
“What else do we need?” Camille took a sip of her coffee as she thought.
The crowd had become thicker now, with more people coming in as the sky turned gray. There was a steady bustle, with the thick smell of coffee and that comforting smell every bookstore had.
“Maybe an anniversary date?” Juhoon suggested.
“Right. How do we get that?”
He shrugged, “Just pick a date from the last month.”
After a few minutes of arguing, they decide on October 13th. Mostly because Camille had found it a ‘pretty’ date and because the others Juhoon suggested weren’t ‘actual’ dates.
Juhoon gave a tiny shrug, like he was already regretting agreeing to any of this. “Good. Now we need the rules.”
That pulled her attention right back. She straightened in her chair, “Right. Rules. Because apparently we are now running a fully licensed fraud operation.”
“We are not calling it that.”
“Too late. It has a name now.”
He looked at her, expression flat but eyes very amused. “Have you ever been normal for one minute, catastrophe?”
“No.”
That was enough to get them both properly into it. Camille reached for her drink.
“Okay,” she said, “rule one. We need to know what we’re allowed to do in public.”
Juhoon paused. “So like PDA?”
“...I guess?”
“Okay, tell me what you’re comfortable with.”
Camille suppressed the weird feeling in her stomach and said, “Okay maybe… handholding? For public. That’s fine right?”
Then immediately regretted having a mouth.
Juhoon looked at her for like half a second. Then just nodded. “Yeah. That’s good with me, catastrophe.”
No hesitation. No debate. Just accepted it like it was on a checklist.
Camille went very still.
“…cool,” she said, way too quickly. Like she had not just offered her entire nervous system for inspection.
She reached for her drink immediately, because suddenly the table was very interesting and her brain had decided to pack up and leave. Handholding. Normal thing. Extremely normal. People did it. Frequently.
Juhoon, meanwhile, was just sitting there like this was all very reasonable. “So handholding is allowed.”
“Yep,” Camille said, voice slightly delayed, like it had to travel through traffic.
“Okay.”
That one word. Okay.
Camille nodded again, a little too hard. “Okay.”
And then she had absolutely nothing else to say, which was criminal considering she usually had too many opinions about everything. So she just stared at her drink like it might start talking first.
Juhoon glanced at her once, like he noticed the pause, then didn’t comment. Just leaned back slightly. “Next rule?”
Camille blinked. Still mildly buffering.
“…yeah,” she managed. “Next rule.”
“You have to meet my parents, every two weeks.”
“What?”
“Mhm.”
“Don’t mhm me.”
“Deal’s a deal, catastrophe.”
“You fucking suck.”
Juhoon hummed. “Good. Then we should probably think about telling people.”
That made her look up. Not in a dramatic way. More like the sentence had simply wandered into the room and sat down.
“Yeah,” she said after a beat.
They both went quiet for a second, not because it was awkward, just because it was one of those things that suddenly felt real enough to take up space. Camille poked at her drink, then glanced at him. “I mean, we could do the whole soft launch thing.”
Juhoon nodded like he had already been circling the same thought. “Letting people connect the dots.”
“So we’d basically be telling people without telling people.”
“Exactly.”
She looked at him, then let out a tiny breath that was almost a laugh. “That is so stupid.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I kind of like it.”
Juhoon smiled. “I knew you would.”
Camille pretended not to notice that and sat up a little straighter. “What kind of post though? Because if we do this, it cannot be cringe.”
“Agreed.”
“Like no giant paragraph. No ‘so grateful for this person’ nonsense.”
“No.”
“And no weird hand photo with fifty hearts.”
He glanced at her. “That was never on the table.”
“Good. Because I would have denied knowing you.”
That got the smallest laugh out of him, and Camille, annoyingly, felt that in her ribs for no good reason. She looked back down at her drink, then said, quieter, “Maybe just something normal. Café picture. Something where people can see us and go oh.”
Juhoon nodded once, already on the same page. “That works.”
Camille stared at him for a second, then gave a tiny nod of her own. “Okay. That feels less stupid.”
“Still stupid,” he said.
“Yeah,” she admitted. “But less.”
They got to work quickly. Work as in Camille had taken over his phone and taken a photo of herself, only half of her visible, her face turned away from the camera, the bustling bookstore behind her. Row of books behind her, and her coffee in front of her. Juhoon stay simply watching, he knew better not to interrupt her, so he happily sipped his coffee.
Camille handed him the phone after she decided on a picture from the ten she took and told him that the rest was ‘up to him’.
Juhoon looked down at it. Then at her. “Up to me how?”
“Caption. Posting. Whatever people do.”
He hummed, thumb hovering over the screen. “You’re not supervising?”
“I refuse. I have dignity.”
He opened the gallery. Stopped at the one she picked. Simple. Café light doing most of the work.
“Don’t make it weird,” she added, softer this time.
“I won’t.”
She picked up her phone and started scrolling pleasantly.
Juhoon stared at the picture for a few minutes. Then typed something, then scrolled to find music. Finally, when he was done, he looked at Camille and showed her the story like a small child showing his mother a drawing.
Camille stared at the phone. The photo she took stared back at her, on which Juhoon had typed:
“soft launch?
@camillemntrl ❤️”
Music played from the phone’s speakers. She recognised the song instantly. Superpowers by Daniel Caesar. Her stomach did somersaults inside her body.
She just stared at him. For a long second, the café noise filled the gap where her thoughts used to be.
Juhoon tilted his head slightly. “Too much?”
Camille looked back at the screen. The caption. The tag. The stupid little heart. The song like it had been carefully selected to ruin her entire ability to act normal.
Then she sighed.
“…no,” she admitted, quieter. “It’s actually kind of perfect.”
Juhoon nodded once, like that was the only acceptable outcome and hit upload.
And Camille, against all her earlier rules about dignity and emotional stability, just went back to scrolling her phone like nothing in the world had changed.
