“Were you moaning my name while you were getting off?”
The subtle shift next to you in bed stirred you slightly, but not enough to shake you out of your sleep. The heavy breathing and the muffled groans almost did it but you were still floating between the lines separating dreamland and real life. It was the unmistakable sound of your name, the suppressed grunts sounding almost painful that got you opening your eyes to assess the situation.
"Dowoon?"
Silence. And a slight stutter, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"
Another moment of silence. Hands on your eyes as you rubbed the sleep away in a haste, you spoke, “Were you moaning my name while you were getting off?”
Dowoon swallowed uncomfortably, his hand going rigid in his pants.
"I.. I had a dream."
Smirking, you turned to wrap your hand around his middle, "Really, what was it about?" Gently pushing his shirt up you followed the curvature of his veiny arm until your hand joined his, resting awkwardly inside his boxer.
"You were in it."
"Was I now?" You hummed as you pushed his hand away and started tracing his erection. "What was I doing?"
He sighed, feeling you stroking him, swallowing to continue speaking, "We were together, and you were on top of me, and it was so hot."
You pressed a kiss on his shoulder, pulling your hand out of the confinements of his pants and pulling yourself up to straddle him, eliciting a hiss out of his mouth when your clothed center brushed against his hard one.
"And what did I do next? Tell me everything. In details."
A Day6 collab series with @noona-clock! Thank you to everyone who read along!
Genre: College & Soulmate!AU
Pairing: Dowoon (Day6) x Reader
Part 1 | 2
When you woke up that Saturday, you tried to focus on getting ready one step at a time.
Push yourself out of bed.
Wash your face.
Brush your teeth.
Get nervous about meeting Dowoon in person.
Wait. That wasn’t part of your routine.
Get dressed.
Do your hair and makeup.
Grab your phone and drumsticks.
Wonder what brand drumsticks Dowoon used.
Whoops.
Ever since you had found out that Dowoon played drums AND that his band was competing at Battle of the Bands too, you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him.
Well, it wasn’t as if that was anything new though. He was your in-game husband after all.
When you’d met in the game and he had suggested pairing up, you hadn’t given it another thought. It’s not as if it needed to be a real relationship, it felt more like a battle partnership.
But as you had fought alongside each other, you’d gotten to know your husband on the other side of the screen.
He was soft spoken at first, only messaging to talk. It had taken him a while to warm up to the idea of talking through headsets, and even longer to be comfortable enough to curse around you.
Even though the first time had technically been by accident.
He was competitive and funny and brilliant, so it was safe to say you weren’t planning to break up your marriage anytime soon.
But you also hadn’t thought of ever meeting in person. You had found out early on you two were on the same campus, but neither of you had mentioned meeting up in person, almost like it was a taboo topic. Even if you thought about what it would be like, you never asked.
So when you not only heard he played the drums like you, but would also be at the same competition, you were actually really excited. It was like the universe was trying to pull you two together.
And who were you to go against the universe?
You kept that calm and positive mentality as your band members picked you up to drive to the Battle venue. You even managed to keep it when you all checked-in and you noticed that Day6, Dowoon’s band, had also already checked in. You didn’t lose it until your band walked to check out the stage and saw a group doing a sound check.
Well, technically you lost it when you heard one of the front-men call the drummer’s name - Dowoon.
You actually dropped your drumsticks, as cliche as it sounds.
Your band members just gave you an odd look - you hadn’t told them what was going on exactly, just that you knew a drummer in another band. You just waved off their looks and moved backstage, distracting yourself by playing around and flipping your sticks around while you waited for your own sound check.
And that was just how Dowoon found you.
Or I guess technically it was you who still found him.
You tapped him with one of your sticks as his band was walking by.
“Hey Dowoon, it’s me - Y/N.” you said, averting your eyes and scratching your head with your drumstick because wow he was just too handsome up close and in person.
“Y/N?” he said, looking like an excited puppy. “It’s really you?? Oh my god this is awesome!”
One of his bandmates came up and slung an arm behind him.
“Yo Dowoon, who’s your friend?”
But the voice sounded a little familiar to you, so before Dowoon could even answer, you cut him off.
“Wait, are you Jae?”
“Um, do I know you too?”
“Well I guess you may not remember. I did knock you out pretty hard,” you said with a smirk pointed at Dowoon who was clearly enjoying your teasing his bandmate.
“You beat me up? Really??”
“Jae, meet Y/N - my friend from online.”
It took Jae a beat or two, but once he got it he got it.
“This is your wife?! She’s so cool though! Did you come to check out our band? My girlfriend can save you a seat if - ”
“She’s not here to watch.” Dowoon said, cutting him off with a smile before nodding at you to finish his thought.
“Yeah. I’m actually in one of the bands that is competing. It’s our first year.”
“Your girlfriend is in one of our competitor’s bands?” some guy said as he walked up to the group. “That’s pretty cool.”
“She’s not my girlfriend, Brian,” Dowoon said, acting like he’d said this a million times already. “She’s just - “
“His wife,” you threw out as a joke, making him blush red instantly.
“Y/N! We’re up for check - you coming?” one of your bandmates yelled.
“That’s my cue,” you said, flipping a stick between your fingers and causing Dowoon’s eyebrows to shoot up. “I’ll see you guys after the show? I’ll probably get called an traitor if I hang around any longer.”
Walking away, you heard Jae say “I like her!” while someone else shushed him, making you laugh as you walked behind your drumset and fell into your groove.
From sound check to backstage prep to the performance, everything flew by. There were only two times when time seemed to actually stand still.
The first was when you were playing live. Seeing everyone clapping at the end of your set, a set where you had played better than you ever had before, had felt so good you didn’t want to leave the stage.
The second time was when you watched Dowoon play. Specifically their closing song - ‘What Can I Do.” It has such a strange beat to it. It drove the song perfectly, but you couldn’t help but be impressed by Dowoon because each part, the verse lines and the chorus and the bridge and the final, all seemed to need completely different beats driving them. But Dowoon knew them all and the song sounded amazing!
Your crush may have been cemented in that moment.
You wanted to run and give him a hug as they came down from the stage, but his band was too busy clapping and hugging each other and you didn’t want to interrupt anything. So you just stayed off to the side with your own band, clutching their hands and waiting to hear the results while your eyes kept darting off to the side, betraying you.
But maybe that was a good thing. It distracted you so that you didn’t hear them call your band at first - for fourth place.
You all ran up on stage when they called it out, waved to the crowd with smiles on your faces, then trudged back down the stairs. It really wasn’t that upsetting - I mean all the bands were really good. But fourth place? Good enough you beat a bunch of bands but not quite good enough to get a medal? It was a bit of a weird feeling.
“You know,” Dowoon said after you got off stage and his band had moved closer to the stage, “we got fourth last year.”
“Yeah?” you asked, trying not to look gloomy.
“Yep! It kind of sucked and felt awesome at the same time. I don’t know how you feel about it, but I will tell you this. It was a great motivator for us when it came to moving forward.”
“Are you really comforting me while they are announcing the top three?”
Rubbing at the back of his neck, Dowoon looked down before he spoke again.
“I just saw you looked a little sad, and that didn’t sit right with me.”
This man was being so sweet, you almost crushed him into a hug right there ont he spot, but you got interrupted.
By his group getting called up for first place.
Dowoon’s head shot up and his shocked eyes locked on yours as his bandmates pulled him backwards by the shoulders and up the stage.
You were laughing and clapping uncontrollably, even throwing a couple “Woos” in there. One of Dowoon’s bandmates started giving a little speech, looking a little shell-shocked himself while Jae and the pianist bandmate hugged each other and cried. Brian had his arm around the speaking member, with the trophy hoisted up in the air with the other.
They all looked so happy that you decided to whip out your phone and take a candid shot of the moment for them for later. When you checked it you noticed Dowoon had the biggest grin on, pulling an even bigger smile across your own face.
When they thanked the crowd and judges one last time and came off stage, you couldn’t help yourself. Without a word, you jumped Dowoon, wrapping him up in the tightest hug.
And it felt amazing.
This was hands down THE best hug you had ever had. Dowoon stood shocked for a second and then returned the hug, making you feel all warm and cuddly inside in a way you had never felt when hugging family or previous boyfriends.
You nuzzled your face into the crook of Dowoon’s neck, snuggling into the hug some more as you felt his hold tighten on you. You had zero plans to leave this hug, absolutely none.
And that was when you realized it. And Dowoon must have too.
Both of your heads pulled back, just your heads because still neither wanted to let go, and you just locked eyes.
It was clear that both of you knew.
Everyone and everything else could wait. What couldn’t wait was more snuggling. Dowoon tightened his arms around you some more and cupped your head against his chest, resting his own on top of yours and starting to slowly rock back and forth.
Maybe the two of you should have talked about it. Maybe you should have excitedly turned around to tell your bandmates while Dowoon explained to his why he was hugging a girl. But Dowoon had never been one who needed a lot of words, and frankly neither were you.
One touch was all it took.
And just like that your in-game husband became your soulmate.
//
DaySense Series: Jae | Sungjin | Young K | Wonpil | Dowoon
Take an aspiring song writer, a rebellious high schooler, a sassy English teacher, a passionate painter and an adventurous tour guide. What’s the same in all of them? They’ve all just had their heart broken.
Heartbreak Hotel is a DAY6 angst one-shot collection with 5 members & 5 songs & 5 stories.
Sungjin | Dowoon | Young K | Wonpil | Jae
II. Dowoon + I Smile
A bittersweet love story in 1487 words for our birthday boy, the one and only Yoon Dowoon. He has feelings for his best friend (OC) but does she feel the same? No triggers, no warnings, just the usual angst. ^^
You were the first girl in my life but I would never admit it.
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that we’ve known each other since the day we were born. Our mothers were best friends in college and they didn't drift apart, not even when they moved houses and got their first jobs. They attended each other’s weddings and spent every Sunday together because it was “girls’ day”. The news that we would be born almost the same day didn’t take them by surprise, let alone the fact that we were born exactly the same day at the same hospital.
You were my first friend but I would never admit it.
After we were born, our mothers were pretty occupied with their parental duties, so they didn’t stay in contact as much as they used to.
I grew up as an aggressive kid who would take the toddlers’ toys without permission and hit them with the good old plastic hammer just to see them suffer. Small wonder why everyone hated me in kindergarten. I had no friends and this tiny little fact made me more selfish and aggressive. Not even the neighbourhood kids wanted to play with me because my parents were fairly wealthy and they didn’t want me to play with the less fortunate.
I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I acted according to my role until I met you in elementary school. You were my one and only true friend and I had no idea what you saw in me – really, no matter how many times I protested, deep down I know that I was an annoying and dumb kid −, you still kept me company and played with me.
You were my first tutor but I would never admit it.
I had slight ADHD when I was younger and you were the only one who assisted me with school projects and homework. Even the teachers gave up on me stating that I was a hopeless case and to make matters worse, I was arrogant and disrespectful. You didn’t care and although I hurt you lots of times and called you stupid for spending your time with me rather than playing with our classmates, you didn’t budge.
Mum said it must have been fate because they were just as close friends with your mother as we were. You didn’t only help with reading but also with writing and basic calculations. Whenever I needed something, you spent the whole afternoon with me, teaching me in your cute, high-pitched voice and your absolutely ridiculous drawings. Nevertheless, they were all effective and I soon became one of the smartest kids in class.
You were my first crush but I would never admit it.
I remember playing in the corridor around 4th grade, pulling your hair and laughing when you pouted oh so sadly and thinking how lucky I was to have a friend like you. I adored watching your cheeks burning up at my bold statements and your ears turning red whenever you were asked to read your homework out loud. I remember your little floral dresses that I mocked you about because I claimed that they all looked the same, even though my favourite was the one with little pink cherry blossoms. I remember laughing at your braces the first time I saw them and you thought that I was trying to make fun of you, yet I was only thinking how cute you looked in them.
Little did I know that these thoughts turned into something more serious a few years later.
You were my first best friend but I would never admit it.
We enrolled in the same high school too since our mothers didn’t want us to part ways, not when we were closer than ever. I was beside you when you first had your period and no matter how disgusted I was at the thought of you bleeding beside me − not to mention that I made a total fool of myself when I accompanied you when you bought your first ever liners−, I didn’t want to back away. You were beside me when my parents divorced and I had a tough time but I was never good with words, so I wanted to suppress it. Yet, you saw through me and embraced me while I was crying in front of you for the first time in my life. I was there with you at your grandfather’s funeral, holding your hand so tightly that I was almost sure that I broke your fingers. You were beside me when I got kicked out of the soccer team because they thought that I wasn’t good enough and I was there when you received your first ever D on a test and thought that the apocalypse was nearing. You were there when one of the guys wanted to punch me in the face because I didn’t let them copy my homework and I was there when your first boyfriend said that you aren’t pretty enough for him and he wants to break up with you. (That jerk!)
You were my first love but I would never admit it.
I think I already knew that I fell for you when you helped me overcome the divorce of my parents but I was sure only when I was accused of stealing the Chemistry test’s results and everyone turned their back on me, except you. Of course it was revealed later that I wasn’t the culprit but you didn’t even need evidence to believe that I was innocent. You rather believed me than the teachers or our classmates.
After realising that I was in love with you, I started to see you in a whole new light. Now I was the one who blushed when you showed up in a pretty dress or held my hand by accident when we were watching a horror movie. I cracked a little smile whenever I heard your favourite song on the radio or walked by your favourite bakery. Whenever I couldn’t fall asleep, I listened to your old voicemails that I’ve never deleted but you had no idea because I always kept them to myself. I was worried about you whenever you spent your holidays out of town and I demanded you to give me a call when you arrived and keep me updated with your whereabouts. You scared the hell out of me when you once slipped down the stairs in your high heels and I insisted on calling an ambulance, just to make sure that you didn’t sprain your ankle.
You were my first heart-break but I would never admit it.
No matter how hard I tried to deny, I was in love with you and it seemed so obvious to everyone but you. Nevertheless, when you were preparing for a date with your new boyfriend and asked my opinion regarding your dress, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and the words slipped through my mouth.
“Why are you going on a date with that jerk when I’m the one who’s in love with you?”
My confession was followed by a bewildered expression and a regretful sorry. I saw tears shining in the corner of your eyes while my heart was falling into little pieces. I’ve never felt so much pain like I did that day. It wasn’t like losing a loved one because you were still beside me yet you weren’t mine. I saw you with him, you holding his hands like you used to do with mine, you smiling at him like you used to do at me and you leaning onto his shoulder like you used to do onto mine.
We talked it through and eventually drifted apart. We agreed that it would be the best for both of us but you can’t even imagine how much it hurts to see you with him. I smile, of course, that’s my duty. But deep inside, my heart is breaking again and again and I’m afraid that it might not never stop.
So we just keep on smiling like nothing has happened. After all, I can be with you. Not in the way we used to be together in the past and not in the way that I would like us to do but at least we can see each other again. And I… I just keep on smiling. I have to. I finally have a chance to see your face again and I can only do that if I smile, no matter the constant pain and the hurtful memories.
You are the reason behind all my smiles but I would never admit it. Happiness is not the reason behind all those smiles but I would never admit it. I want you to be happy and that’s why I smile.
Maybe deep down you also now but you would never admit it.
Mosquito Bite | Dowoon | fluff, college!au | 900 words
requested
Laptop in one hand, you walked over to the couch, where Dowoon was splayed out, his focus on the shooting game he was playing on his phone. Sensing you, he sat up, making space for you to sit before putting his head on your lap. His eyes were fixated on his screen and yet the way he just naturally found his place to lay his head in your lap was endearing to you.
You awkwardly balanced your laptop over his head, before putting it on the couch armrest, slightly leaning to the side.
“What time are you leaving?” you asked, typing away.
Dowoon pouted, creases on his forehead forming from concentration and slight frustration at the prospect of having to leave you, “In an hour or so.”
He exited his game, opting to bury his face in your shirt, “I wish you could come to the party.”
“I could. Let’s switch places, you do my assignments and I go party.”
“Ha. ha.” He sat up, pecking you on the cheek.
You sighed, “I really wish I could go though.”
Now Dowoon started to feel bad, and a slight panic. He didn’t mean to make you feel sad, and he definitely had no idea how to help you out of your situation. So he did the one thing he knew would make you feel better, leaning in, he took your face in his hands and pressed a kiss to your lips.
Your eyes fluttered close, enjoying the way his lips felt on yours, as you kissed him back softly. He pulled back for a moment, to catch his breath and adjust your positions, pushing you down onto the couch, his face inches above you.
You ran your index finger over his slightly blushing cheeks, noticing his even redder ears, “You’re so pretty.”
Dowoon let out a “Hmm..” bringing his lips down, attaching them to your neck. You giggled, it was a classic Dowoon move, avoiding eye contact when he was flustered. But your amusement didn’t last long as you felt his teeth grazing your skin.
His kisses were subtle but progressed dangerously and you found yourself grabbing his shirt for something to hold on to. You sucked in a breath, holding it in, only for the moment to be interrupted by his phone ringtone blaring through the silence.
Both of you sighed, Dowoon muttering a meek “Sorry.” as he clambered off of you, picking up the call and fixing his hair and jacket.
He leaned over to give you one last kiss and you narrowed your eyes at him, “You said an hour.”
He gave you his signature sheepish smile, “Or so.” Quickly pecking you on the lips he ran out.
Your eyes followed him, a soft smile tugging on your lips before you shook your own head, bringing yourself back to reality and focusing on your tasks at hand.
Two hours later, neck sore and joints stiff, you stretched, stifling a yawn. Your phone vibrated, and you craned your neck to look at the caller.
Brian Kang is calling...
You picked up the call and was greeted by an overly enthusiastic Younghyun, “Hellooo sister in law..., come pick up your man, he’s drunk as shit!”
There was a muffled shuffling noise as the phone exchanged hands, “Jae here! Come get Dowoon kthanksbye!”
You chuckled, standing up to get your keys, “Will be on my way~”
You arrived, seeing Jae and Younghyun practically scruffing Dowoon by the neck and dragging him into the passenger seat of your car, Jae howling a “Have fun!” before leaving back to the party.
You went into the driver’s seat and leaned over to put his seatbelt on. Seeing you coming closer towards him, Dowoon puckered up his lips. And when you didn’t kiss him he took your face in his hands, squishing your cheeks together, forcing you to look at him.
You stared at him, waiting for him to say anything, just to see if he was capable of saying anything in his drunken state.
Dowoon looked you in the eyes, alcohol buzzing in his system. He squinted, struggling to form sentences, “You.... Why didn’t you...,” His eyes travelled down your face to your neck, where he saw an angry red mark, “Oh no, mosquito bite!”
You gave him a confused look, you couldn’t lie, you were entertained by the state he was in.
He ran his hand over the mark, “Which mosquito did this to you...”
You flitted your gaze downwards, looking at the fresh hickey he left a couple hours ago, “You did it.”
“I’m, I’m gonna- wait... me?”
Now it was your turn to look him in the eyes, “Yes you. This isn’t a mosquito bite. This is a hickey.”
“O..Oh...” he laughed, “That makes sense...” He took your face, holding it between his hands again, “You know...it makes so much sense...”
You nodded, stifling a laugh. “Yes Dowoon, it does.”
He went on like a broken record, “It make sense...you see...” He tilted your head slightly to look at him, “I.., I looove fucking you.”
You pushed him away gently, inserting your keys in the ignition and starting the car, “I think you meant to say ‘I fucking love you’, but I’ll take it.”
“So are you going up the middle then?” Dowoon said into his headset, eyes trained onto his computer screen.
“No, I had to regenerate. Cyprus and TerraX are on the right though if you want to join them and sweep the route” a voice answered.
“What if I circle back and then we take the left while they keep pushing forward? We’ll have to be careful so we don’t lose ground though.”
“That works! I’ll grab a few more hp potions from the seller and meet you right before the red teams left gate?”
“I’ll be there! Do you think - “
“Dowoon! Go to bed!” Jae yelled, throwing a pillow and knocking Dowoon’s headset off.
“Dude! We were in the middle of something!” Dowoon yelled back, leaning off his chair to grab his headset while keeping an eye on the screen and moving his player into position.
“Hang up with your girlfriend and go to bed I want to sleep!” Brian chimed in before pulling his blankets over his head.
Setting the headset back on, Dowoon heard someone calling for him?
“Dowoon? Are you there? Megora appeared and has already crossed the line. I’m going in.”
“I’m back I’m back. Let’s pull the guys over and take her out fast - my roommates are hounding me to quit soon.”
“I already sent them a message to group up. Let’s do this so someone can get their beauty rest,” you laughed out.
“If we weren’t on the same team I would kick your butt for that comment.”
“How about you give it a shot tomorrow?”
“Game on. Now let’s finish this.”
By the time Dowoon’s head hit the pillow, he had a smile on his face and some rare armour in his inventory.
He’d met you online a few months ago, and had to admit marrying you was the best decision he had made.
Marrying you in the game that is. More quests, better quality items dropped, and his wife was kickass and fun to play with. Dowoon definitely wasn’t complaining.
Even Jae had to admit you were good - mainly because you’d destroyed him one night when everyone had been online together. Jae had in turn thrown a tantrum - something about how it would be better if he was just a burrito inside all day?
You and Dowoon hardly got to hang out online anymore though. You kept saying you had to practice for something in the evenings and Dowoon was constantly prepping for the Battle of the Bands coming up. Dowoon was extra frustrated because last night had been the first battle you’d teamed up on in over a week.
And his dumb roommates had made him quit.
So for a little payback, Dowoon hid Jae’s cereal the next morning and started copying everything Brian said, just because he could.
Sungjin nipped it in the bud after a little though.
“Dowoon, we perform at the Battle this weekend! You should be sleeping instead of staying up all night playing video games!”
“It’s not like you guys are resting up or anything! Wonpil was on the phone with his girlfriend until what time in the morning the other night?”
‘I just didn’t want to hang up on her,” Wonpil said.
Jae made a gagging noise at that, but then pulled himself together.
“I get it Dowoon,” Sungjin started, “but this is the crunch time. It’s been a whole year for us and we’re ready, but we need to be mentally preparing so we can deliver.”
Getting up from the table, Dowoon started to head back to his room.
“Remember we’re doing a dry run tonight!”
“I know I know,” he answered “but my class got canceled today so I’m going to go see if my partner is online so I can apologize to her for bailing last night.”
“What a nice husband,” Jae teased in a dreamy voice.
Dowoon just kept walking without looking back. Partially because the comment wasn’t worth acknowledging, but also because he wouldn’t be able to handle what they would say if they saw he was blushing.
He didn’t like to admit it, but sometimes he did feel like the nice husband his roommates all joked he was. He may or may not have started developing a bit of a crush on his in-game wife.
Totally because of your gaming skills of course.
Well, those and the jokes.
But that was it!
Well and the soft humming voice you had.
But really that was it!
Dowoon shook his head to snap himself out of whatever weird path his mind was going down and powered up his monitor instead.
Just about as soon as he logged on, he heard you in his ear.
“Hey! I was wondering if you would show up to duel today.”
“Yeah, sorry about last night. You were probably annoyed I had to log off so fast.”
“It’s really fine! I get it! Heck, my own roommates were giving me the stink eye to go to bed. They complain I’m constantly making noise whether it’s my music or battling online.”
“Wait, you play music?”
“Hehe, yeah.” you said, and he could hear how shy you were through his headset.
“What do you play? Piano?”
“No. The drums actually.”
Dowoon’s heart jumped.
“You play the drums?!”
“I’m even cooler than you had imagined aren’t I?” you teased.
“Um yes! I play the drums too!”
“Wait what?”
“Yeah! I play the drums for a band my roommates and I are in.” Dowoon said, nearly bouncing in his chair.
“You’re in a band too?!”
“What do you mean too? Are you?”
“Wow you play the drums and you can rhyme,” you joked with him.
“Focus!” Dowoon yelled, too excited to be sidetracked by your lame joke.
Laughing, you decided to put him out of his misery.
“Yes, I’m in a band too. Not with my roommates though, but with some friends from my school. We’ve got a huge performance coming up though, so we’ve been practicing all the time. I swear my wrists would snap off if I weren’t used to playing this much.”
Dowoon got silent all of a sudden.
“You’re...performing? Where?”
“Battle of the Bands in town. Have you ever been?”
Scrubbing his palms down his face, Dowoon tried to calm down.
“We’re playing there this weekend too.”
The headset went quiet for a beat, and stayed quiet for another. Dowoon was just about to break the silence himself when you finally did.
“Well I guess it was about time we battled in real life.”
This ended up being longer than I anticipated but so so worth the read I think. Enjoy!
It was 3am and, of course, you were up. Your 5 year-old-daughter, So Young, was normally good at sleeping through the night, but since her dad had been on tour with his band Day6 for so long, she seemed to be having trouble sleeping.
So here you were, singing ‘I Like You’ in her ear, since you knew it was one of the only ways to get her to sleep - thinking of her father singing it softly to her when he was home.
Normally the two of you would only ever have to deal with him being gone for a few weeks at a time, if any. But this time the band was on the European leg of their world tour.
To his credit, he had asked if it was okay for them to pack so many tour dates into the schedule. When it came down to it, you knew how much the fans wanted to see them perform AND you knew you’d rather they packed the dates together than for him to keep flying back and forth. So you’d said it was okay.
And that had been a month and half ago.
You hadn’t realized how much of a toll it would take on you. I mean you’d handled time apart before. You had started with a long distance relationship for crying out loud! But since your daughter had been born, he was never gone for more than two weeks max.
So it fell to you to take care of her little tantrums when you couldn’t get her Daddy on the phone - because she didn’t understand that the timezones really messed with calls. And it meant having basically a photoshoot when she started school so that you could send all of the pictures to her Dad, and Uncles because they were just as involved in her life.
But as you sat there, singing softly and wiping a few dry tears from your daughter’s cheeks, you knew you couldn’t keep this up much longer. Noticing she was sound asleep again, you carefully got up and went to the computer.
It was time to book a flight.
//
You had told the school So Young would be absent for a few days and had called Day6′s manager so he could help you surprise your husband. You packed one suitcase for the two of you, since you were only able to get a few days off for the trip and, before you knew it, you and So Young were buckled in a plane ready to go.
You stroked her hair to help her relax as she clutched her Day6 merch - a bunny actually. All the members found it hilarious, or they were just jealous, that she liked Wonpil’s toy the best. You just told the other Uncles to step up their game whenever they argued you should change out her toy.
Their manager had arranged for a ride to pick you up at the airport. You had a hat and glasses on both you and So Young. Fans were fine with your marriage, but that also meant they kept an eye out for you. And since the group was already in the city, you didn’t want to chance the surprise getting out.
You had texted your husband that you were taking So Young to visit his parents for a few days since she’d been a bit down. Considering how often she cried for his hugs, it was no secret to your husband she was having a hard time being apart from him, so it was an easy white lie to excuse you being off the grid for a bit.
When you were in a taxi with your bags, you noticed So Young starting to bounce around, asking when she could see Daddy.
“So Young-ah, do you want to surprise Daddy?”
“Yes!” she screamed, making the driver laugh.
“Well then you’ll have to wait a little bit longer and listen to Mommy, okay?”
She started bobbing her head, only to freeze and throw herself against the window as the cab passed a Day6 poster.
“Look! It’s Daddy!”
Pulling her back into the right sitting position, you just laughed at her, knowing she was going to be a handful to contain, just like her dad sometimes.
You dropped your luggage off in a room by your husbands that the manager had got for you and then went over to the venue, arriving just after the show had started. You had dressed So Young and yourself in the black hoodies, wanting to represent for your husband.
While waiting backstage, you could hear your husband’s voice clear as day. And so could So Young. She was actually crying a little, so you took her over to a monitor so she could watch.
“Look Daddy’s playing the guitar!” she said.
He’d been trying to teach her since he had found her toddling in his music room one day a year ago. She clearly saw a guitar and instantly thought of her father.
You were a bit mesmerized yourself, but not at the guitar. You never could get over the image of your husband on stage doing what he loved to do - playing for crowds with some of his best friends. You could see him laughing with Young K and backing up to play alongside Dowoon.
“Y/N,” the manager called to you, “they’re getting ready to do their comments.”
You nodded, knowing he wanted you to get So Young ready, so you took one last look at your husband before going to stand behind a stage curtain.
They each took turns talking. First Wonpil, then Young K, then Dowoon. You could feel your hands getting sweaty as the surprise got closer and closer. You knew from previous concerts that Sungjin, as the leader, always talked last. So you steeled yourself, and So Young, ready to release her on her unsuspecting father.
Right as he picked up the mic, the curtain covering you pulled back and the crowd went wild. I mean WILD. He was stunned, not sure why everyone was getting so excited when he hadn’t even said anything yet.
So Young was like a ball of energy waiting to be released, so you leaned down to whisper to her.
“Park So Young-ah, go get Daddy!”
As if she needed any encouragement, your daughter shot off like a rocket straight for her dad’s legs.
“DADDY!!!!!”
Her voice peeled over the crowd and you saw your husband’s head whip around as she crashed into him. Stunned, he looked up and saw you also walking towards him.
*my gif*
Jae bent down instantly to grab his daughter, then ran the rest of the way to you. You barely had time to see the tears on his face before you were in his arms, him burying his head in your neck as he started crying.
“Wha- what? How are you both here? I thought you were going to California?”
You pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before pulling back just enough to look him in the eyes.
“We missed you. And I know you missed us.”
Jae pressed his forehead to yours as he hiccuped through his cries, so surprised and overwhelmed that he didnt even know how to process anything. So Young was latching onto his neck so hard that when her Uncles came over to give out hugs, it was hard for them to pull her away.
Once Sungjin had her, he tossed her up in the air to distract her and make her laugh, then carrying her over to the mic.
“So Young-ah? Want to say hi to the rest of your family?”
If you weren’t already in tears holding onto your husband after a long time apart, watching your daughter politely say “Hi” to an entire concert hall while bowing would have sent you overboard.
Jae just said “Oh god” as he threw his head back into the crook of your neck, leaving you to pat his head to soothe him as you held back tears, watching So-Young play with her Uncles and MyDays.
A/N: this is pretty much all fluff and i think this is a cute concept. i also did not intend for it to be this long… i hope you all like it. xx
~R
The arts had never sparked any pleasurable interest to Yoon Dowoon. He was a year three science major and loved everything about the sciences. He was a fan of it all, from microbiology to organic chemistry. Art history was not in Dowoon’s interest.
Dowoon found art history to be a slight drag and he struggled to get himself even remotely interested in the subject. This was why he absolutely dreaded his Study of Global Arts class this semester. It was a required class for graduation from his Liberal Arts University, meaning Dowoon had no way of getting out of it. He had considered dropping the class but that would just mean he would have to take the class the next semester.
The first day of classes rolled around and he’s already started to talk himself out of attending class. But who knows, maybe it wouldn’t actually be as bad as he made it out to be. Endless talks about paintings and buildings, papers filled with repetitive descriptions of different paintings that look all the same to him… fascinating, right?
He sat at a desk towards the back, waiting for the professor to finish his seemingly endless introduction to the class while his mind returned to the debate on whether this class was really worth taking.
“This class is definitely going to be worth your while, you will not regret art history.” Professor Han said as if he was inside Dowoon’s own mind. Dowoon rolls his eyes at the cheesy line of introduction, I’m betting it won’t be worth my while, he thought to himself.
By the next class day, he found himself closer to the idea of just dropping the class. Maybe he’d be more interested by the next semester anyways. But those thoughts changed the moment the classroom door opened swiftly, interrupting the professor and his unexciting lecture.
All eyes landed on you, the latecomer, and when he saw you, his heart skipped a beat. The debate about the importance of this art history class ended and Dowoon stayed.
“Ah, we have a latecomer here.” Professor Han addresses you with a seemingly deeming tone.
“Right. Sorry, I just registered for this class yesterday.” You shyly admit, finding a seat in the middle of the classroom towards the back.
The professor releases an unimpressed grunt before continuing on with his lecture.
Between the talks of Jackson Pollock and Salvador Dalí, Dowoon’s eyes constantly found themselves glancing your way. He watched the way you gazed at the slides, displaying different art pieces. Your eyes would light up every once in while and he found himself smiling softly at how captivated you were.
Dowoon wanted to be as captivated by the arts as you were. He wanted to talk to you, to be with you and listen to you talk about all the things you love and don’t love. He felt slightly childish for having these thoughts about you after only seeing you for two minutes, but you made him feel different and he liked that.
Several weeks later and Dowoon had tried numerous times at speaking to you. Most times he usually failed, opting for the genuine admiration from afar tactic. He’d talk himself into giving you a simple ‘hi’, but shyness overcame him every time.
You were strikingly beautiful and he wasn’t even sure you’d ever noticed him. After all, the very few times that he’s mustered up the courage to greet you, your gaze always seemed to look past him, interested and focused on something else. So with that, he stayed silent about his feelings, resorting to being the nice guy in your art history class.
Admittedly Dowoon was never really on your radar, he was cute and quiet, often on the timid side but that was all you knew about him. You two never held a proper conversation, but even the simplest of words that were exchanged between you and Dowoon sent his heart into an abyss of happiness. And he was fine with that.
The following week, Professor Han began discussing one of his all-time favorite paintings which sent the entire class into a long-winded lecture from details of the artist to the reasoning behind the use of reds over blues or greens. He lost himself in the narrative of the piece, explaining to you all that this was the actual epitome of art.
Personally, you weren’t really fond of it, yourself. You found it to be one of the lesser exquisite pieces of the renaissance era, and there just wasn’t anything striking about the piece which made this lecture more dreadful than the others. Soon, Professor Han opens up the lecture for a discussion on this unpleasant piece.
A few students ended up repeating Han’s own words, not really sounding like they knew what they were saying but still trying to get on his good side. You kept your eyes on this piece, desperately trying to see what was so profound about the fact that a woman and a man standing in a room holding hands is the epitome of Renaissance art.
“Y/N, what about you? Do you have any input? An interpretation?” Han asks, breaking your concentration, you were screwed.
You tried to follow suit of your other classmates, “Um, the balance of the lines and form of the painting is lovely,” you say with a monotonous and unsure voice. Getting on Han’s good side was the ultimate goal but he wasn’t buying it.
He asks you to try again, to which you simply replied, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“And why not?” He asks. “This is an art lecture and I’m grading you on participation, Y/N. Go on and please tell me your interpretation of this piece.”
You let the room fill with an uncomfortable silence, hoping he’d just skip right past you but he was not budging. Reluctantly, you comply with his request, sitting up at your desk and preparing yourself as you began.
“Well, to be honest, I don’t really think that this is the ‘epitome of renaissance’, sir. It’s sort of lacking.” You bravely responded.
“And why not?” He asks, slightly offended. Before letting you continue, Professor Han started going on a tangent, talking about art and how it should be appreciated, not disrespected with such a negative insight.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad piece,” you finally manage to say, defending yourself, “I’m just saying that compared to the other works we looked at in this era, this specific one doesn’t seem like it should be the face of the Renaissance. There are other paintings to better define the era.”
You could feel the awkward rage boiling in Professor Han. At this point, he was too one-sided and peeved. He starts to drill you on art, testing your own factual knowledge. None of which were you given a fair chance at answering, he simply wanted to make you feel bad.
At this point, you know he was being an ass, trying to make you look bad and make himself feel better. You normally don’t care for professors disagreeing with you, but Han was relentless and he started to make you feel on edge.
Meanwhile, Dowoon is sitting just a few rows over, feeling completely horrified and sorry for you. Seeing your cheeks turn red and your eyes screaming truce he wanted to say something but would he, was the question.
“Isn’t that the point of an interpretation?” A voice from a few rows over interrupts.
The room quickly falls silent as all eyes are now on Yoon Dowoon.
He swallows the lump in his throat as he notices everyone looking at him in shock. Oh shit, what’d I get myself into? he thought to himself.
Breaking the silence, Dowoon continued, “I mean, isn’t that the point of art in general? That art is subjective and up for different opinions and interpretations. Right?”
“W-well, yes. That’s-that is true.” Slightly shocked to hear Dowoon speaking in class, Professor Han stumbles over his words.
“Or are we all supposed to conform to one line of belief just to please someone?” Dowoon’s mind was begging himself to just stop talking, but his lips kept moving. “Y/N at least offered her opinion, a great one in fact. I agree with her, this painting is pretty mundane and doesn’t seem worthy of being anything but a simple piece found in this era.” Dowoon is about ready to drop into the pits of hell, feeling like that is where he belonged now.
He’s never spoken up against a teacher in a manner like this before and he has certainly never stood up for a girl that he has developed a crush on like this.
Professor Han tries to turn the topic back to the painting, finally agreeing with Dowoon’s words on subjectivity.
The air is thick as the class returns their attention to the lecture, but your attention falls back on Dowoon as you turn to look at him. You feel so relieved and happy that someone had stood up for you, instead of letting you burn at the stake. He looks back at you, smiling at him you mouth a simple ‘thank you’ his way before returning your attention to the lecture.
He had the softest of smiles on his face as he appears so calm and poised, but his heart was on fire on the inside.
A week later, you’re cramming for your midterms in the library when your study session is quickly cut short as you notice Dowoon taking a chair at the other end of your table.
You awkwardly smile at him before returning to your notes, wondering why he chose to sit here and not at any of the other five empty tables around the two of you.
“Hi,” he whispers to you, “I know all these tables look the same, and those five are empty but this one’s actually my favorite spot.” He’s dorky and it’s cute. “So, I hope you don’t mind me sitting here,” he chuckles nervously.
You don’t answer him, just sitting there staring back at him, suddenly becoming shy. Dowoon begins to talk to you about God knows what. You don’t really hear a word he’s said to you because you were still too focused on figuring out why you suddenly felt so shy around him.
Quickly you stood up, scrambling to gather your books and dropping a few in the process. He stands up, picking them up and handing them to you with a soft smile. The space between you two suddenly closes, your eyes slowly move up and lock onto his gaze, noticing how soft his features are.
“Thank,” was all you could get out of your mouth before your legs were pulling you away and out of the library. What the hell was that? you thought to yourself. You’d never imagine running away from a boy in a heat of shyness, this was new to you.
Despite the day’s earlier events, you now found yourself being dragged out to some party by your roommate. Arriving at the house party, you noticed your roommate quickly disappeared into the crowd of drunken college students, leaving you standing against a wall. Not in a socializing mood, you decide to keep to yourself on one of the sofas in the living area.
As you sat there watching people drink their weight in alcohol, singing and flirting like no tomorrow, you feel the couch sink in. You’re soon joined by Seungjin, the flirty boy that always likes to hang in your art department.
He has some unpleasantly preconceived notion that he could woo any girl he came across because he was a musician. However, you were one of the few that never really had an interest in him, finding him to be more arrogant than charming which only made him want to pursue you more.
“Y/N! I have missed you, my dear,” a drunken Seungjin tells you, leaning over onto your shoulder.
“That’s very sweet of you, Seungjin.” You tell him, trying to push him off of you but his drunken weight is too much to bear.
“Did you miss me?” He asks, leaning so close to you the smell of vodka burns your nose.
“You know what, not really, Seungjin.” Your voice becomes stern as you pull yourself away and off the couch. You start walking around the house, trying to find a bathroom, a sanctuary to seclude yourself from your drunken classmates.
“Ah, don’t run away so quickly, Y/N. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.” Seungjin drapes his arm over your shoulders, stopping you in the middle of the hallway.
You don’t respond, not even sure of what you could even say to get him to leave you alone so you just gave in and let Seungjin build his drunken ego.
After a few seconds, you feel someone bump into you from behind, “Oh, I’m sorry!” The familiar voice apologizes and your eyes light up when you recognize Dowoon standing in front of you, practically like a knight in shining armor.
“Oh! Y/N!” His smile spreads across his face and he’s hoping you can’t see how fast his heart is beating through his shirt at this moment.
“Hey, dude. Watch it next time, yeah? You almost knocked my girl out my hands.” Seungjin says as his drunken body leans closer to yours. You’re still trying to push him off of you but to no avail, he keeps his grip tight.
“Oh really? Looks to me like she’d rather be in a pile of dirt right now than in your arms.” Dowoon states, eyeing you. Seungjin, clearly offended, rolls his eyes at Dowoon and attempts to walk away with you in his arm.
“Can’t you see she’s clearly not okay with this?” Dowoon asks, looking at you, making sure you’re okay.
“And what would you know? Who even are you anyways?” Seungjin asks, leaning towards Dowoon but his arm becomes heavier around you, pulling you into him.
Another wave of confidence filled Dowoon as he was now determined to get this buzzed jerk away from you.
“Alright, man. Just lay off,” Dowoon tells Seungjin, pulling him away from you as Seungjin starts to resist. Lucky for him, Seungjin wasn’t really as heavy to Dowoon as he was to you.
Seungjin stumbles back a few steps from you huffing and puffing with frustrated anger. Before Seungjin could even react, two girls call out his name taking his attention away from you two.
Dowoon takes this moment to steal you away, leading you out to the front porch of the house.
“So, are you okay, Y/N?” Dowoon asks you, chuckling at the incident that just happened. “You know, I never thought of Seungjin as such a lightweight.”
“Y-yeah, he was what, three beers in and already a basket case.” Your voice was low and he moved closer to hear your voice. The smell of his sweet cologne softly stinging your nose.
You two share a few laughs with each other and it was beautiful to hear his laugh ring in your ears. “Okay, well, be careful, Y/N. I gotta go.” Dowoon squeezes your arm, leaving you with a warm smile.
You find yourself frozen, yet again, and at a loss for words around him. Before you can manage a ‘thank you’, he was already gone.
The next few days were pretty calm, leaving you plenty of time to let your mind wander. And the funny thing is, your mind always seemed to linger around Dowoon. You just didn’t know much about him, yet he practically saved you twice, and that slight mystery made you more intrigued by him.
He was a sweet guy with kind eyes and his soft curled dark hair complemented his face beautifully. His smile, the most beautiful part of him, radiates in your mind so perfectly. And there goes your heart, beating hastily at the thought of him.
Little did you know, Dowoon’s mind was occupied by the thoughts of you and whether you think about him the way he thinks about you. Do you get the same little butterflies when he crosses your mind? Does your heart skip a beat every time you think about his smile? Because that’s the way he feels every moment you appear in his mind.
His brain tells him to let you go, that he never had you and he doesn’t think you are interested in him. But his heart pushes him to keep going because when you’re with him, it all feels right and he hopes that you feel it too.
Do you feel it?
It’s Wednesday morning, you’re walking through campus, butterflies swarming in your stomach at the thought of seeing him. You wanted to talk to him, to be with him and see what this feeling really is.
Just as you’re thinking about what you’d say, you find him sitting in the campus courtyard, his dark hair moving with the rustles of the winds. He looks radiant, and you do feel it.
He’s sitting there at a small picnic table, eyes peeled to his book in front of him. You begin to walk towards him, and take a seat at the opposite end of him on his table, fingers tapping the tabletop until you get his attention. He looks up at you, eyes widening in sweet surprise, he didn’t expect you to be sitting at his table.
“I know all these tables look the same but this one happens to be my favorite.” You joke, repeating the same line that he told you in the library a few weeks ago.
You watch as his smile reveals his cute white teeth and his eyes sparkle different hues of brown under the sun’s light.
Bashful and with rosy cheeks, Dowoon gestures his hand towards the seat in which you’ve already taken, “this is a really great table, you chose a perfect one.”
Smiling back at him, you let the silence build, watching the way he shifts nervously in his seat. “You know, I never got a chance to thank you for the night at the party. Seungjin just doesn’t understand that some people may not favor his ego.”
Your hand reaches forward to touch his hand resting on the table and all of his focus directs towards the warm feeling of your hand on his.
“Y-yeah, you’re welcome. It’s really no problem. It was pretty much the highlight of that night.” He chuckles nervously. His laugh intoxicates your ears in all the best ways. Dowoon looks away all too quickly and you’re smiling at the way he looks so incredibly shy.
“Would you like to get some coffee together? There’s a shop around the corner that most people don’t really know about, but it is the best place. Hands down.” You ask him.
Dowoon quickly agrees and the butterflies flutter in your stomach as Dowoon’s heart beats through his chest.
It’s such a sweet and cute rest of the day for you and Dowoon as you both find yourselves at this rustic coffee shop. No matter how cliche this moment felt, your heart couldn’t stop beating. He was too cute, too soft, and quiet. His silence makes you wonder what the thoughts are that fill his mind. What gets his heart fluttering, what are his deepest desires, what does he admire most, and does he ever think about you?
“So, what’s your major?” You asked. You still didn’t know much about him, other than his name and that he’s basically been your knight in shining armor, standing up for you twice already.
“I’m a biology major,” he responds after taking a sip of his coffee.
“Whoa, a science guy. Intriguing,” you exclaim, “I know absolutely nothing related to science. That all went out the door after my first year here. Art is more my thing.”
“You know,” he chuckles, “I almost dropped out of that art class.”
“Oh, how come? Not your style?” You’re not surprised as most people you’ve met couldn’t find pleasure with art.
“I don’t know, I just can’t get interested.” He shrugs, leaning back in his chair, eyeing you with soft eyes.
“Well, good thing you didn’t drop the class, or I would have been burned alive by our professor.”
“Hmm, fate,” Dowoon teases, but your heart skips a gentle beat. “He was a total ass for grinding you like that.”
“Eh, he doesn’t like me,” you confess, “I wrote a research paper on an art piece last semester that he did not particularly favor.”
“Wow, you really know how to piss him off.” He starts to laugh at the thought of you purposefully pushing Professor Han’s buttons.
“It’s fun watching him get worked up when someone doesn’t kiss his ass,” You tease. “Anyways, enough of him. Tell me, are you free tonight? There’s an art opening at this museum downtown. Would you like to come with me?”
“Trying to change my mind about art?”
“Trust me, you have no idea what you’re missing out on,” you send a wink his way.
“Wow me.” Dowoon challenges.
You meet him downtown and he absolutely takes your breath away in his simple black t-shirt topped with a brown leather jacket and ripped, black jeans.
“You ready to convert my science brain to art?” Dowoon asks, approaching you at the entrance of the museum.
“Ha! Get ready to say goodbye to dna and mitochondria.” You joke, leading him through the glass doors and down the spacious gallery.
You lead him throughout the different exhibits, pointing out some of your favorite pieces, explaining their significance and what you loved about them. He’s watching you with interest, smiling every time you light up around your favorite piece.
Dowoon still doesn’t understand much of the art that he is looking at, but he’s so interested because you are interested. He asks about different pieces and you’re smiling at his efforts in trying to understand some of these artworks.
It hits him in waves at the realization that he’s finally with you. All these bottled up feelings about you are filling to the brim of Dowoon’s heart tonight.
You look so radiant while in your element and he wants nothing more than to stay here with you forever.
Is he crazy for thinking this? Do you see him the way he sees you?
You lead him down one of the stairwells until you both come up to a neon-lit tunnel that leads to another part of the museum.
The lit tunnel takes Dowoon by surprise with the single pathway leading from one door to the other. The simple black pathway is contrasted with the neon lights shining on the sides, giving the illusion of the absence of walls.
It looks like an abyss of neon blue and if you walk off the black pathway, then you just might fall into a sea of neon blue air.
Dowoon is in awe at this lit tunnel and the atmosphere around him, he’s never seen anything like it, causing him to utter a simple “wow.”
On the other side of the tunnel, you bring him into your favorite room of the museum.
“And this,” you start, “is my little heaven!” You tell him as you continue to lead the way into the room. A sea of lights greet the two of you as you enter.
Numerous clusters of crystallized lights hang on strings, filling the entirety of the room. The black walls contrast beautifully with the lights that are illuminating the room with pinks and purples, softly painting you and Dowoon in these soft colors.
Dowoon notices your smile and follows your gaze to the hanging lights, all the way from up above and down to the ones right next to the two of you.
You and Dowoon stand in this forest-like area of pink and purple lights floating around the two of you. His hand aches desperately to stay next to his body, but he wants nothing more than to hold onto yours.
He continues to watch you, completely entranced by your soft beauty. His heart beats fast, thumping to a different rhythm and before he knows it, his brain subconsciously lets the words slip past his lips.
“I like you,” Dowoon’s voice whispers towards you.
Your heart flutters at his words.
Those words brought about a new wave of happiness and hearing them made this moment seem all the more magical. You reach for his hand, intertwining your fingers with his.
He lets out a sigh of relief and softly holds your hand as you watch him look around the room, mouth agape. You let out a soft giggle at his adorableness, this was everything you had been wanting, and to know he feels the way you do is riveting.
“It’s like we’re in a room filled with stars,” you hear him whisper in amazement.
Dowoon turns to look back at you, noticing the way your skin glows next to the lights. You’re the most beautiful person he’s ever seen.
To see you next to the stars makes him realize that you’re his favorite artwork.
He feels himself closing the space between you two, while his gaze wraps you up in a sweet embrace. Dowoon slowly leans in until his lips are an inch away from yours.
And he’s waiting for any sign of disapproval, like maybe this is all a mistake and maybe you don’t like him as much as he likes you. But all those worries wash away the moment he felt your lips touch his and your hands cup his face.
You don’t know where the confidence came from, but kissing him next to the stars felt so right. His soft lips gave you butterflies that you’d never want to end.
“I like you too,” you tell him kissing his lips one more time before burying your head in the crook of his neck.
Dowoon’s smile radiates next to the stars with you in his arms.