out of everyone in the group, seonghwa and haeun share a very deep love for one another. he was the first person to make her feel welcomed when she joined KQ and made sure to make her feel loved.
there isnât a day that they donât speak to one another, especially now that they live in separate apartments. they spend majority of their days off together going shopping or visiting new restaurants together. ïżŒ
they are basically apart of each others families now, haeun will spend holidays with seonghwa and his parents. haeunâs uncle and aunt always invite him over for dinners as well which seonghwa is more than happy to attend.
they understand each other on a deep level, they can tell how one another is feeling from just a look and there is nothing that they donât tell one another.
hongjoong will always say he doesnât have favourites but it is very clear to everyone that haeun is his favourite. he is very protective over her and sometimes acts like her own personal bodyguard which haeun always finds amusing.
constantly babies her, making sure sheâs resting and eating enough, especially during busy periods. buys her things sheâs mentioned in passing and then pretends itâs no big deal but he loves watching her light up.
if haeun is ever having an issue with something the first person she turns to is hongjoong. he always makes time for her and will listens to her, no matter how small the issue is.
haeun will try and visit him in the studio often to keep him company, she usually just sits quietly doing her own thing but will drag him outside in heartbeat if heâs been cooped up too long.
yunho has been a steady presence in haeunâs life since she joined KQ. he always made time for her to go over any sort of choreography before evaluations or just to boost her confidence.
he never wants to see her upset or sad so will make it his mission to get at least a smile out of her if he knows sheâs having a rough day.
very much two nerds when theyâre together and will constantly buy each other little gifts about their current fixations.
yunho usually keeps his feelings to himself but haeun learned very quickly how to get it out of him and will always sit and listen to him no matter when.
they were both painfully shy with one another when they began training together, which made for some very funny moments for the rest of the group but now they are very wholesome with one another.
haeun is yeosangâs biggest fan despite what san says. any chance she gets she will compliment him or express her love for him. yeosang always blushes. she always wants him to know how loved he is.
in true sisterly love she will find away to tease him or annoy him a little, just to get a reaction out of him.
like hongjoong, yeosang is another one of haeunâs personal bodyguards and will happily scare anyone off for her.
ê° đđșđŻđ°đ±đŽđȘđŽ ê±âa small complication of keeho and angel moments that p1eces think about on the daily.
bold dialogues are spoken in english
indented italics are voice overs
Hello P1eces, and welcome to another video! Today, weâre diving into the chaos that is Keeho and Angel and the moments they blessed us that quite literally keep me awake at 2am.
Letâs relive some of the funniest Keeho and Angel moments that live rent-free in our heads. Letâs get it~!!
âź â ââWAKE UP, WAKE UP.â
[In episode 4 of Harmonission, one by one the members had each do a wake up call for the fans.]
Keeho was last to go:
đ” âWake up! Wake up! Wake up right now!â
They all die of laughter. Angel holds onto to Intak for support but canât help but fall to the floor laughing. Still fighting her laughs, she mocks Keeho:
đ” âWake up! Wake up! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!â
Keeho frowns and begins to mock herâs from earlier:
đ” âLike you did any better. âOppa~ wake up~ââ
Angelâs fits of giggles faded away, replaced by a deadpanned stare, fully ready to kill him.
âź â ââIS OKLAHOMA EVEN A REAL PLACE?â
[The two are sitting silently in the vocal room. Keeho scrolls through his phone, while Angel is humming to the fans as she reads the comments.]
Angel starts to sing a song from Oklahoma the Musical:
đ” âOklahoma~ where the wind comes sweepinâ down the plain, and the wavinâ wheat can sure smell sweet. When the wind comes right behind the rain~â
Keeho slowly turns to her just as she finishes:
đ” âIs Oklahoma even a real place?â
Angelâs mouth drops open. At first, they look at each other, then turn to look at the camera like theyâre on an episode of The Office.
Angel smacks his shoulder:
đ” âGirl, Iâm from there! What do you mean is it a real place?!â
Keehoâs mouth forms a thin line, serious:
đ” âThe place with Dorothy and the wizard?â
Angel is completely done:
đ” âKansas. Thatâs Kansas!â
Keeho shrugs:
đ” âSorry guys. Iâm bad at geography.â
âź â ââANIMALđ«MEATâ
[The group was sat down to eat before heading on a road trip, slurping down on their bowls of ramen.]
Angel barely looks at Theoâs plate then continues to eat her own food:
đ” âYa know when people look at a cow and automatically want a burger or something? I canât stand those kind of people.â
Jongseob nearly chokes on his food, croaking out a few coughs while the other members chuckle at the sudden and unwarranted words.
Keeho shakes his head, making a stink face. He then points to her with his pair of chopsticks:
đ” âNo one thought of that until you said it.â
âź â ââVAMPIRE FROM SOUTH SOUTH WESTâ
[For their Halloween VLive, each of them dresses as vampires. When it was Keehoâs turn, he walked in frame of the camera, crouching low on the floor.]
Keeho pretends to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear:
đ” âHey, yâall! Itâs your vampire from the South South West!â
[Keeho retreats onto of the chairs behind him. Jiung makes no reaction, instead withdrawing himself to the other end of the sofa.]
She stretches the hem of her cape out and smiles to show her fangs, proud of herself. Keeho canât help but laugh, whilst Jiung is embarrassed by the two of them.
âź â ââHEâS HAVING A MOMENTâ
[Angel is recording the boys while on train in NYC. The camera pans from Soul waving a peace sign then to Keeho with his airpodâs in. His head pressed against the glass, watching as the tunnel lights flash past them.]
Angel snickers, zooming in:
đ” âYou good, Stephen?â
Keeho, in character, pinches the bridge of his nose:
đ” âIâm in my feels right now.â
Angel blinked slowly, and nonchalantly says:
đ” âWeâre on a subway that smells like mildew.â
âÂ°ïœĄâ synopsis: todayâs gift: your first real glimpse into the hewon depressionâą.
just a little vulnerability, a stolen after midnight moment, an ice-cream run, and two ex-lovers who will swear it was âjust the July heatâ instead of the unresolved feelings simmering under their skin.
the kind of scene where they laugh, touch, pull back, and pretend nothing happenedâbecause denial is free and they are so committed to it.
a taste of what they were, what they lost, and what still aches quietly between them.
âÂ°ïœĄâ timeline: 2023
âÂ°ïœĄâ word count: 6.6k
âÂ°ïœĄâ WELCOME! I had a mini crash out session about how far I wanted to take this drabble last night, but I think this was the best route. I know everyone's really scared for the hewon depression, but there are some perks! this period is more about them exploring their feelings for each other, newly developed and older while giving each space.
the heat was keeping her up this late, making her heart thump in her ears as if she were still on stageâlights blinding, crowd screaming, adrenaline roaring through her veins. the July heat, she reasoned, nodding to herself in the dark. that made perfect sense. completely scientific. absolutely reasonable.
It was the heat.
obviously it was the heat.
ENHYPEN had gotten back from their first stop of the Fate TourâSeoul. home turf. emotional turf. the kind of night that could split a soul open if you werenât careful. It was perfect. fans louder than thunder. energy crackling like static. for the first time in months, heran felt alive in a way she could actually feel in her bones.
the heat was messing with her brain, filling her head with memories that belonged to another lifetime, pushing her toward the brink of delirium. yes. the heat was the problem.
IT WAS THE HEAT!
âŠuntil that moment.
a brush of her hand against jungwonâs as they passed each other in the dressing room. accidental. barely a second long. a stupid, nothing interaction that shouldnât have meant anything.
except it did.
because of course it would.
of course her brain would pick the most inconvenient moment of her career to replay something like that on loop.
now she was lying here at 2:17 AM, heart sprinting like it was late to rehearsal, and her thoughts refusing to shut up.
sheâd looked up at him at the same time he looked at her. short. hesitant. familiar in a way that made her ribs ache.
he didnât yank his hand away. he pausedâjust enough for her to notice. just enough for her to feel.
she tossed. she turned. she kicked her blanket away like it was personally responsible for her suffering. she took off her shirt because it was hot, obviously, and not because she felt like her skin was made of static electricity and regret.
but none of it helped.
none of it did anything to push jungwon out of her mind.
heran slapped her pillow with both hands and groaned into the mattress. she missed him, missed hisâ
his handâhis warm, steady handâbrushing hers.
his eyes flicking up.
that breath he took.
the tiny, barely-there hesitation.
âOH MY GOD, WHAT WAS UP WITH THIS HEAT?!
heran pressed her bare feet against them anyway, grumbling under her breath as she yanked open the freezer like salvation lived inside it.
the kitchen tiles were cold. orâno, they were supposed to be cold.
right now they felt like they were personally participating in global warming.
empty.
âjay,â she whispered like a curse, forehead hitting the freezer door with a soft thunk. âhe forgot to refill it again. Iâm gonna strangle him with a dish towel.â
no ice tray.
No ice cream tub.
not even a single pathetic freezer-burned popsicle.
she was overheating. inside, outside, mentally, spiritually. her skin felt too tight for her body, thoughts looping around one specific personâs hand brushing hers like her brain was trying to emotionally waterboard her.
she rummaged through cabinets, opening every drawer like cold air might magically appear.
she did not expect the sound of a soft footstep behind her.
heran froze, and slowly, very slowly, she turned.
jungwon stood in the doorway.
hair messy. shirt clinging to his chest from the humidity. eyes slightly wide like he had not anticipated this either.
for a full two seconds they just stared at each other, both looking like theyâd been caught committing tax fraud in the company kitchen at 2:30 AM.
ââŠhi,â jungwon said softly.
âhi,â she replied, equally soft, equally awkward, equally about to pass out because WHY DID HE LOOK LIKE THAT.
they both cleared their throats at the same time.
âIâuhâsorry,â she said first, because of course she did. âfor⊠being in here.â
jungwon blinked. âyou live here.â
âright,â she murmured.
âI couldnât sleep,â he said quickly, eyes flicking away, then back to her in a painful loop. âthe heat⊠itâs crazy.â
heran nodded. her throat felt too tight. âthereâs no ice. jay forgot to refill the trays.â
âof course he did,â jungwon said with a tiny laugh, stepping further inside.
he stopped a few steps away, and the kitchen felt smaller. hotter. like the air thickened around him specifically. he ran a hand through his hair and heranâs brain went static. she could practically hear a sizzling sound like she was on a stove.
and oh.
oh no.
this was worse.
or rather, he wasnât supposed to look at her like that.
they werenât together.
they were on a break.
they werenât supposed to look at each other like thisâ
his eyes dragged over herâthe sleep shorts, the thin tank top now plastered to her skin from the heat, her flushed face, her hair tied into a messy ponytail. he looked away instantly, biting his lip as if heâd been caught staring at something he shouldnât.
heran swallowed. hard.
âyou okay?â jungwon asked, voice lower than usual, like he was afraid to be too loud near her.
âyeah,â she lied. âjust hot.â
he nodded, still not meeting her eyes, jaw flexing ever so slightly. âyeah. me too.â
heran leaned against the counter, pretending not to feel the sweat at the back of her neck.
silence.
heavy. charged.
the kind of silence where every unspoken thing sits between them like a thick fog.
jungwon pretended to examine the fridge magnets, which wouldâve been more convincing if his eyes didnât keep flicking back to her like he couldnât help it.
but right now he looked at her like she was both the problem and the cure.
maybe the heat was getting to him.
maybe it was something else.
she needed to break the tension. Immediately. before she did something stupid like remember what his hands felt like on her waist last year orâNOPE. abort. brain, stop.
and heran?
she was dangerously close to forgetting they were on a break.
âdo youââ she blurted out, voice cracking like a prepubescent middle-schooler, ââwant ice cream?â
silence.
jungwon blinked.
heran blinked back.
they were still in front of an empty freezer.
she wanted to punch herself in the face.
but then jungwon startled slightly, like heâd been yanked out of a daydream he definitely should not have been having. his ears flushed. he looked at the floor. then the ceiling. then the microwave. anywhere but at her.
âIâuhâyeah,â he said, one hand awkwardly fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. âyeah, we can⊠go. for ice cream. If you want.â
he winced the second the words left his mouth, visibly cringing at himself. he tried again, flustered: âI meanâyou asked me, so you do want to. obviously. or else you wouldnât have asked.â
heran stared at him like heâd just tried to explain quantum physics.
he stared back like he was reconsidering all life choices that led him here.
the air felt thick again, like the heat crawled between them and refused to leave, wrapping around her arms and making her breath shallow.
she saw the moment he realised heâd been caught too.
jungwon shifted his weight, clearing his throat.
she caught him sneaking a quick glance at her tank top againâjust half a second, blink-and-miss-itâbut she saw it.
heranâs heart kicked hard against her ribs. âright,â she said quietly, using every remaining ounce of self-control. âIâm gonna⊠go put a shirt on.â
his eyes widened.
he snapped his gaze to the floor so fast it was almost comical.
her words made his head jerk upâand he IMMEDIATELY looked away again, ears burning, caught so red-handed he might as well have been holding a stolen diamond.
ây-yeah! cool!â he said too fast, nodding like a malfunctioning bobblehead. âIâll just, umâwait here. or something. thatâs fine. Iâm fine.â
he was very much not fine.
heran turned toward her room, mentally screaming into the void. every step felt loaded, like the heat was mocking her.
behind her, jungwon inhaled sharply, probably giving himself a silent lecture.
she almost smiled. almost. because no matter how messy the break was, how awkward this was, how much they pretendedâhe still looked at her the way he always did. like she was the beginning and end of something he never fully figured out how to let go of.
and she hated how much she felt it too.
when heran came back into the kitchen, tugging the hem of an oversized t-shirt down to her hips, jungwon straightened so fast he almost knocked over the dish rack.
he tried to act normal. he failed. his eyes flicked up to her face, then away again like her presence was sunlight he couldnât look at directly.
âokay,â she said softly. âletâs go.â
they stepped into the hallway, the dorm unusually quietâtoo quiet. the kind of silence that made every footstep sound louder, every breath feel like an intrusion. they walked side by side, an invisible wall between them, the heat still clinging to the building like a stubborn ghost.
neither spoke.
the elevator ride was even worse.
heran watched the glowing floor numbers tick downward, painfully slow, while jungwon stared ahead with his jaw clenched, hands shoved in his pockets like he was keeping them from doing something stupid.
when the doors opened, they almost tripped over each other trying to step out first.
âsorryââ
âno, you goââ
they both stopped.
looked at each other.
looked away immediately.
outside, the night air was marginally cooler, but the tension between them stayed suffocatingâthick, sticky, electric. the streetlamps painted warm pools of light along the pavement, and they walked through them in silence, shadows stretching and merging, never touching.
perfect.
fantastic.
world-class awkward.
the convenience store appeared like a neon oasis.
Inside, the hum of refrigerators filled the space where their conversation shouldâve been. heran crouched before the freezer, staring at ice cream options like they were life decisions.
she grabbed a mint chocolate bar. of course she did.
jungwon didnât commentâhe never teased her about her mint choco obsessionâbut she caught the ghost of a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. the kind of smile that used to be hers.
he picked a vanilla cone.
classic. safe. him.
they paid, thanked the clerk in overly polite voices, and stepped back into the warm summer night.
still no words. just the crinkle of plastic wrappers and the faint chirp of crickets.
they walked toward the small park a block away, a place theyâd visited a hundred times beforeâlate-night schedules, early morning rehearsals, stolen minutes in between.
but tonight felt like walking through a memory they werenât supposed to be in anymore. they reached the empty swings, sat down on opposite ends of the same benchânot too close, not too far. neutral territory.
the silence gnawed at them while they ate.
heran took a bite of her ice cream. too cold on her overheated skin.
jungwon unwrapped his cone slowly, as if giving himself something to do so he didnât look at her again.
a minute passed. maybe two.
every breath felt loud.
Instead she said nothing.
she wanted to laugh.
or cry.
or shake him.
or kiss him.
the park around them buzzed with faint electricity from streetlights, cicadas humming like background static. everything looked normal. too normal. like the universe was mocking how not normal this was.
they sat like thatâeating, quiet, pretending the space between them wasnât a battlefield of unspoken things.
eventually, jungwon cleared his throatâquiet, but sharp enough to cut through the suffocating silence. he couldn't handle it.
âsoâŠâ he started, staring straight ahead at the empty playground, âare you excited? about the tour.â
heran blinked, the question landing too gently and too heavily at the same time. âyeah,â she said, her voice soft but steady. âso excited. something to keep my mind busy.â
she didnât mean to sound that honest. she really didnât. but the heat had melted half her filter.
he nodded, biting the top of his cone like it had personally offended him. âyeah, same.â
she turned her head just slightlyâenough to catch him in her peripheral vision.
he felt it. he immediately felt it. and his entire body stiffened like someone had plugged him into a socket, and he blurted out in a frantic rush, âItâs the heat.â
heranâs brow furrowed. âhuh?â
âthe heat,â jungwon repeated, louder, faster, like doubling down would make it normal. âthe heat is making me⊠think things. and stuff.â
âand stuff,â she echoed, lips twitching. âsolid scientific phrasing. well done.â
he exhaled a laughâawkward, breathy, embarrassingly fond.
she took another bite of her ice cream.
It dripped.
he watched her lick the drip away.
she pretended not to notice.
he pretended he wasnât noticing.
they both failed miserably.
âyeah bro,â she said, breaking the spiral in her head. âsame.â
they both laughed againâforced at the start, then accidentally real near the end. a shared moment of mutual delusion. two idiots clinging to the same fake excuse. because if they didnât blame the heat, theyâd have to blame the part of them that never really stopped wanting each other.
and that was dangerous.
the laughter died out, softening into quiet. the night wrapped around them like warm waterâthick, humid, pressing against their skin. a lone streetlamp buzzed above, throwing a faint yellow glow across jungwonâs profile.
heran looked away, too aware of how beautiful he looked like that.
jungwon kicked his shoe against the dirt, too aware of how close her knee was to brushing his.
and thenâeverything went quiet again.
the cicadas screamed on.
the heat pulsed.
their hearts raced loud enough to fill the silence.
the kind of quiet where both of them were internally collapsing in real time.
not comfortable quiet.
not peaceful quiet.
what the hell is going on right now?
why is this happening?
why does it feel exactly like it used to?
why does it hurt that it feels like it used to?
they sat there, two nineteen-year-olds, pretending it was normal to sit in a park at midnight eating ice cream while trying not to think about how close theyâd once beenâor how close they still felt.
heran took a shaky breath.
jungwon swallowed hard.
the heat pressed in from all sides. but it wasnât the heat making their chests feel too tight. It wasnât the heat making jungwon glance at her every few seconds. It wasnât the heat making heranâs fingers tremble just slightly.
and they both knew it.
for months, their lives had been shaped around avoidance. the kind of avoidance that wasnât loud or dramatic, but bone-deep. passing each other in hallways with half-nods. fitting on opposite ends of rehearsal rooms. speaking only when necessaryâprofessional, polite, almost painfully civil. every now and then, one of them would slip: a glance that lasted too long, a joke that sounded a little too familiar, a laugh that came too easily. but then theyâd catch themselves. retreat. fortify the walls.
It wasnât that they had stopped loving each other. that was the problemâthey hadnât. not even a little.
breaks were brutal like that. you couldn't remove someone from your life when they were still in your choreography, your vocals, your daily schedule, your dorm. especially when they were nineteen and exhausted and still learning how to exist as individuals outside of the âyou and Iâ they had created too early and too intensely.
the air between them thickened againâquiet, but not peaceful. heavy. the kind of silence that settled on your shoulders like humidity, reminding you of everything you werenât saying.
It stretched, lingering with the faint hum of traffic from the main road, the soft glow of streetlights painting their shadows long across the park bench. their ice cream was halfway melted, dripping onto the wrappers they still held like props in a scene neither of them knew how to finish.
and in that stillness, in the weight of breathing next to someone who used to feel like home, the last few months pressed into the momentâuninvited, but impossible to ignore.
because being apart had never really meant apart.
not for them.
a slow ache disguised as distance.
they hadnât ended in flames or screaming or anything dramatic.
just⊠exhaustion. misunderstood frustration. two teenagers carrying too much, trying to give each other space but ending up cutting themselves off in the process.
and now here they wereâside by side, chewing mint chocolate and vanilla like they hadnât spent months avoiding being alone in the same room.
heran broke the silence first.
âIâm excited to show you guys around Glendale, though.â
jungwon looked up, surprisedânot by the sentence, but by her voice choosing now to soften. âoh?â he asked, trying to play it casual.
âyeah.â she nudged at the gravel with her shoe. âI mean⊠thatâs where I grew up. but stillâitâll be weirdly cool? for you guys to see it.â
a small smile pulled at her mouth, the kind he hadnât seen in weeks. It made his chest tighten before he could help it.
âyouâll finally see where I was tucked away for thirteen years,â she continued, âbefore the universe dragged me back here permanently.â
âdragged?â jungwon echoed with a breathy laugh.
âwhat, you wanted me to say led me gracefully by the hand? no. dragged. kicking and screaming. I was a dramatic twelve-year-old.â
âyouâre still dramatic.â
she nudged his shoulder with hers without thinkingâthen froze, realising what sheâd done.
he felt the contact like a static shock. but instead of pulling away, jungwon glanced down at his half-melted ice cream and said quietly, almost fondlyââIâd like to see it.â
jungwon huffed a tiny laugh. âsounds very you.â
and her chest warmed, because he said it like he remembered everything about her.
like he always would.
they walked back slower than necessaryâan unspoken mutual stalling. the kind where neither of them said I donât want this to end yet, but their footsteps did.
by the time they exited the elevator to the dorm, the hallways were dark and quiet, the hour too late for anyone else to be awake. the air felt different insideâstill hot, but sharper, more intimate in the way only a shared home at night could be.
In the kitchen, the overhead light hummed faintly, too bright for their exhausted eyes. heran opened the freezer out of habit, rememberingârightâno ice. she sighed and started refilling the trays.
jungwon leaned against the counter opposite her, arms loosely crossed, pretending to examine the magnets on the fridge instead of her profile.
âso,â he said, voice lazy, warm with the softness that crept in only at night, âany childhood boyfriends I donât know about?â
she glanced over her shoulder, and the look she gave himâhalf amused, half something elseâwas unfair.
âyou know there arenât any,â she said.
It came out teasing, deeper than usual, that smooth drop in tone she didnât even know she did. and jungwon had to genuinely remind himself to breathe.
but he kept his face neutral, only nodding with a drawn-out, âright⊠right,â like that hadnât just hit him in the chest.
wow. okay.
he did not miss that.
his whole brain short-circuited like a cheap sparkler.
heran turned back to the sink, filling the tray compartments with practiced ease, humming a little under her breath. the song was familiarâsomething they used to listen to while getting ready for schedules. something that still made him think of her lip balm, her bracelets clinking, her tapping his shoulder to fix his collar.
she shook off her t-shirt a moment later, tossing it over the back of a chair so she was just in her tank top again, and he immediately regretted ever teasing her about childhood boyfriends because now he was suffering.
he realised with a disorienting kind of clarity: when theyâd been together, heâd been so wrapped up in the feeling of loving herâthe affection, the worry, the wanting to take care of herâthat he hadnât really slowed down to take her in like this.
the neckline dipped from her bending over the sink, the faint sheen on her collarbones from the heat, the curve of her shoulder as she pushed her hair behind her earânot to objectify her. he wasnât.
but holy hell.
he swallowed. âyouâre really saying there wasnât even⊠like, one little crush?â he tried again, more to ground himself than to actually pry.
and now that they were olderâjust a year but somehow feeling like fiveâhe was seeing her fully.
the way she moved.
the quiet confidence she didnât even realise she carried.
the grown-up softness in her face that made something warm settle heavily in his chest.
heran shut the freezer and faced him, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed casuallyâmirroring him.
âI was busy being a gifted program burnout,â she said dryly. âmy only crush was sleep.â
âthatâs relatable.â
âplus,â she added, eyes flicking up to him just a fraction too deliberately, âI donât think anyone wouldâve survived dating me back then.â
jungwon scoffed. âwhy, were you terrifying?â
âum, yeah?â she gestured at herself. âlook at me.â
he was looking. that was the problem.
heran didnât notice the way he swallowed, or the way his fingers tapped the counterâhis only outlet for the restless energy in his chest.
âwellâŠâ he said, trying for light, failing slightly, âsomeone survived dating you now.â
âbarely,â she deadpanned.
he laughedâquiet, breathy, but real. the kind of laugh that only came out when she was involved.
and she smiled, relaxing without meaning to, the air between them warming againâbut in a different way now. not heavy or awkward, but alive with something familiar. something they used to live in without noticing.
a soft, dangerous closeness.
heran pretended to rearrange things in the fridge, even though nothing needed rearranging. the cold air fogged around her hands, giving her a few seconds to collect herselfâor try to. because she could feel him behind her. not physically, but in that way you feel someone when theyâre looking at you like theyâre trying not to.
she shut the fridge softly. and without turning around, she said, almost to the room itselfââI must look fucking gorgeous tonight.â
jungwon blinked. âhuh?â
she finally faced him, leaning her hip against the counter, arms still crossedâbut her expression was relaxed, confident in that low, dangerous, amused way she got when she was done pretending.
âyouâve been undressing me with your eyes for over an hour now.â
his soul left his body. âwhaâIâI wasnâtââ his voice actually cracked. âI wasnâtâundressingâwhatââ
heran raised a brow. âjungwon.â
he shut his mouth.
silence.
then: ââŠokay, maybe a little.â
she smirkedânot cruelly, but knowingly, the way someone smirks when they catch you in red-handed.
âa little?â she echoed.
he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away like the magnets on the fridge suddenly needed deep contemplation. âyouâre⊠youâre wearing a tank top,â he muttered, as if that explained anything.
heranâs laugh was soft and disbelieving. âso I put on a tank top and you forget how to act?â
âno,â he said too quickly.
then, quieter: âyes.â
It was the honesty that got her. not the words. the fact that he didnât try to hide it. the fact that he said it like a confession he didnât mean to give.
she pushed off the counter and stepped closerânot too close, but enough that his eyes flicked briefly to her face, then down to her mouth, then away again.
âso,â she said lightly, âIâm right.â
âI never said that.â
âyou didnât have to.â
heranâs voice dipped again, that low nighttime tone that never failed to get him. âyouâve been staring at me since we got up.â
âthatâs not true,â he tried, then immediately caved. âokay, maybe itâs a little true.â
she bit back a laugh. âdo you want me to turn around so you can get a better look?â
âheranââ his voice cracked again, utterly betrayed by his own throat.
she grinned, stepping backward slowly, deliberately, giving him space to breatheâor making it worse. probably the latter.
jungwon let out a slow exhale, like heâd been underwater.
âyouâre irritating,â he said quietly, but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
âand youâre obvious,â she shot back.
the air between them tightened againânot awkward this time, but charged. warm. dangerous. he looked at her, really looked at herâeyes lingering, soft, conflicted, wanting.
she held his gaze without flinching.
and for a moment, they just stood there in the dim, humming kitchenâtwo people who had loved each other too hard, messed it up, and still hadnât figured out how not to orbit each other.
finally, jungwon said, almost under his breath: âI wasnât undressing you with my eyes.â
heran tilted her head. âno?â
he shook his head slowly. âI was⊠remembering.â
something hit her chestâhard, unexpected. and before she could form a reply, he added, barely audible:
âyou do look gorgeous tonight, though.â
heranâs breath caught. and the kitchen, for one dizzying moment, felt hotter than July ever could.
she let out a quiet, disbelieving laughâthe kind that slipped out before she could catch it. âyou flirting with me right now?â she asked, lips tugging into something half-tease, half-challenge.
jungwonâs answering smile was slow, small, but devastatingly sure of itself. âyou complaining?â
and it hit her, with a quiet, startling clarity: he never used to look at her like this.
the question hung there between them, soft but thick with meaning.
and Godâshe missed this.
missed him like this.
not just himâthough God, obviously himâbut them. their rhythm. their spark. the push-and-pull that always felt like stepping too close to the edge of something thrilling. the way tension curled around them like a familiar hand sliding up her spine.
when they were together, heâd always been careful with herâgentle, respectful, sweet in that way that made her heart trip over itself. he flirted, sure, but in whispers against her hair, in shy smiles behind closed doors, in the safety of being alone.
but now?
now he held her gaze boldly.
now his voice dropped half an octave when he talked to her.
now he didnât seem afraid to want things. to show it. to let the tension sit there, thick and humming between them like it belonged.
not that sheâd admit that out loud.
and she was loving it.
God, she was so loving it.
heran shook her head, eyes narrowing like she was trying to study himâlike he was suddenly brand new. âwhy would I be complaining,â she said slowly, deliberately, âwhen youâre looking at me like that?â
jungwon blinked once. twice. and then he actually laughedâquiet, incredulous, like wow, she got me there. âI wasnât looking at you like anything,â he protested, weakly.
âliar.â
he huffed. âokay, maybe I was looking a little.â
âdonât âuh-huhâ me.â
she stepped closerâbarely half a step, but he felt it like a shockwave.
âuh-huh.â
âI will âuh-huhâ you if I want to.â
âthat doesnât even make senseââ
âyou donât make sense.â
he stared at her, incredulous, lips twitching. âthatâs your comeback? really?â
she shrugged, folding her arms. âdid it work?â
he opened his mouth, then closed it again. ââŠyeah. unfortunately.â
heran smiledâslow, warm, dangerously soft. the kind of smile sheâd used to hide in the collar of his hoodie because she didnât want him to see how much he affected her.
the kind of smile he had always wanted to see more of.
jungwon shifted his weight, leaning back against the counter as if he needed something solid behind him. his eyes drifted over her face, lingering with a hunger he wasnât trying hard enough to hide.
âyou know,â he said, voice dipping, âif this is you being normal⊠Iâm terrified to see you actually try.â
she raised a brow. âtry what?â
âflirting.â
her lips parted, amused. âyou think this is me flirting?â
âI hope this is you flirting,â he shot back, meeting her gaze straight on.
heranâs pulse jumped. âwhy?â
electric.
It was actually electricâthe air tightening between them until it felt like one wrong move, one wrong breath, would snap something they couldnât take back.
jungwonâs eyes flicked downâher mouth, her collarbone, back to her eyes. he looked at her like she was heat and gravity and every bad idea he wanted to make.
âbecause,â he said softly, âif youâre not flirting with me right now⊠then Iâm the only idiot who is.â
her breath caught in her throat. she swallowed, eyes dropping for a secondâonly a secondâbefore lifting back to him.
ârelax,â she murmured, tilting her head. âI wasnât complaining, remember?â
âyeah?â his voice sharpened with something warm. âgood.â
âgood?â
he nodded once, slow. âmeans I can keep going.â
heranâs stomach flippedâtraitorously, overwhelminglyâbecause that tone, that look, that small flash of confidence?
that was new.
she leaned one hand on the counter beside him. close enough that he could feel the warmth of her skin. âthen go on,â she said, soft, teasing. âkeep going.â
and she liked it.
a lot.
dangerously.
and for the first time in monthsâwith the humming kitchen light above them, and the heat of July pressing through the windowâ
jungwon actually, truly let himself grin.
like he was ready to cross every line theyâd been tiptoeing around.
one clean, decisive movement.
his grin shiftedâslow at first, then blooming into something sharp with confidence he didnât used to wield so openly around her.
and before she could process the shift, he stepped in.
he turned her, guiding her back until she was the one pressed lightly against the counter. her breath caughtânot from surprise, but from the thrill that shot through her like static meeting gasoline.
âsince when,â he murmured, leaning in close enough that she felt the warmth of his breath on her cheek, âare you the one telling me what to do?â
heranâs laugh came out softer than she meant it toâlow, breathy, dangerously close to a sound sheâd make somewhere far more private.
she let her hips rest against the edge of the counter, fingers curling behind her just to keep her grounded. âyou looked a little lost,â she teased, tilting her head. âfigured I could help.â
jungwonâs eyes flicked downâher mouth, her throat, the line of her collarbone disappearing beneath the thin straps of her tank topâand when they lifted again, they were darker.
âoh?â he said, smiling like heâd already won something. âyou wanna help?â
heran opened her mouth, but that was the moment his hand found her waist.
a full, warm, intentional touchâpalm flat against her side like heâd been thinking about doing it for months.
not accidental.
not brushing.
not hesitant.
she inhaled, sharply.
It was ridiculous how fast her body respondedâhow everything in her lit up, how her pulse jumped under her skin, how the heat sheâd been complaining about all night suddenly felt like it was coming from him instead of the weather.
and it was electricâintoxicating, every nerve ending suddenly awake.
his thumb brushed the small space of skin exposed where her tank top had ridden up. just a small circle. testing.
remembering.
relearning.
âtell me how you wanna help, then,â jungwon said quietly, voice dipping, hand tightening the smallest bit on her waist. âgo on.â
heran swallowed, a smile tugging at her mouth despite how breathless she felt. âyouâre⊠awfully confident all of a sudden.â
oh, he was bold tonight.
and she loved it.
loved seeing the edges of him sharpen like this. loved that he wasnât pretending anymoreâwasnât hiding how badly he wanted to touch her.
his other hand lifted, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face. âam I?â he murmured. âor am I just finally saying what Iâve been thinking?â
he said it like a confession disguised as a tease.
heranâs breath hitched, and her fingersâtraitorouslyâcame up to sit on his chest, not pushing him away, just⊠holding him there. feeling the warmth of him. the softness of his shirt. the beat of his heart, faster than he wanted her to notice.
his hand slipped from her waist to her hip, fingers curving around it like he was remembering the fit.
heran shivered. actually shivered.
ânervous?â she teased, but her voice was low, her eyes dark.
âonly if you are.â
âIâm not.â
he smiled, small but wicked. âthen why are your hands shaking?â
he stepped closer. just enough that their bodies brushed, barely, but enough for her breath to stutter. his hands roamed slowly, teasinglyâfrom her hip, to the curve of her waist, up her side just enough to make her exhale a shaky laugh.
she scoffed, even as her fingers curled tighter into his shirt. âItâs the heat.â heran bit her lip. that was a mistake.
jungwonâs eyes followed the motion like it physically pulled his attention.
she leaned back against the counter, chest rising a little too quickly, every inch of her alive with the proximity, the history, the months of wanting-but-not-having.
âyouâre enjoying this,â he murmured, leaning in just enough that his nose brushed her cheek.
âobviously,â she whispered, breath ghosting against his jaw. âwhy wouldnât I?â
he let out a soft, disbelieving huff.
like she had no idea what she did to him.
but she was starting to see it nowâin the way his hands kept drifting like he couldnât stop touching her, in the way he watched her like she was something heâd spent months trying not to think about.
and maybe she didnât.
not fully.
âheran,â he said quietly, almost like a warning. but his hands didnât move away. and neither did she.
she moved in closer, the air tightening between them like a pulled thread. heeranâs smile turned slow, feline, wicked in the way only someone who knows exactly how much power they hold can be. her hands slid upâlight, deliberateâbrushing the warm skin at the back of his neck before curling there. her breath ghosted over the shell of his ear.
âwhat?â she whispered, playful, coaxing. âI thought you wanted to flirt a little.â
he inhaled sharplyâbarelyâbut she felt it against her collarbone. felt him react, felt the shift in him, that spark rising from his chest straight into the palms resting at his nape. heâd missed this. she could tell. missed her. missed everything theyâd been too scared to touch for months.
her voice softened further, syrup-sweet and devastating. âI got told youâve been having a really hard time being around me lately.â
he frozeâjust for a beatâbut it was enough to make her grin widen. he didnât pull away. didnât deny it. his fingers only pressed firmer at her waist, as if grounding himself, or maybe as if he finally didnât want to pretend anymore.
âI almost forgot,â she murmured, tilting her head so her lips nearly grazed his cheek, âjust how much you liked me.â
his forehead dipped the smallest bit closer, instinctive, helpless. heran could feel the tension rolling off him in waves, that careful self-control he always clung to slipping like water through his fingers.
jungwonâs hands, which had been politely lingering at her waist as if asking for permission he already had, finally movedâone sliding up her spine, the other bracing at her hip, pulling her closer by a fraction he convinced himself she wouldnât notice.
but she did.
of course she did.
heran laughed softlyâquick, breathy, the kind of laugh that trembled right through him. âI donât think your hand is supposed to be there,â she murmured, eyes flicking downward in pointed amusement.
he didnât move it. If anything, his fingers flexed slightly, betraying him. âI donât think Iâm supposed to be here at all,â he whispered back.
It wasnât a joke.
but It wasnât not a joke.
It hung in the air between them, a hot, dizzying truth they were both pretending not to recognize.
and they both felt it. the wrongness. the relief.
because thisâwhatever this wasâwas temporary. borrowed. fragile.
a moment stolen from a break neither of them ever really wanted.
heran tilted her head, smiling up at him. âso why are you?â
he held her gaze like she was something dangerous. something heâd convinced himself he could handle. âheat makes you do stupid things,â he said lightly. âI read that somewhere.â
âwhere? a fanfic?â she teased.
âmaybe.â
she giggledâthis small, bright, helpless soundâand jungwonâs expression cracked, his grin slipping out before he could stop it. his thumb brushed the small of her back, almost an apology, almost a promise. nothing about it was accidental.
they were close. too close. close in the way that didnât feel new, just familiar and missed.
âyouâre being bold today,â she said, voice low, almost proud.
âand youâre acting like you donât like it.â
heran snorted softly. âI never said I didnât.â
âexactly,â he murmured.
their breaths mingled, warm and unsteady. his forehead was inches from hers nowâcloser than friends stood, closer than exes should be. but they werenât friends, not really. not right now. they were something rawer. something they hadnât named yet.
heran poked his chest lightly, trying to break the spell before it consumed her. âyou know weâre gonna go back to being weird tomorrow, right?â
âoh, for sure,â jungwon said immediately, nodding. âIâm probably gonna avoid eye contact all day.â
âand Iâm gonna pretend this didnât happen.â
âexactly.â
the honesty shouldâve hurt. Instead, it made them laughâquietly, softly, the way people do when they realise theyâve both been grieving the same thing.
and for the first time in months, standing in this overheated room with his hand on her waist and her fingers curled behind his neck, they didnât feel like strangers.
because they didnât just lose the relationship.
theyâd lost each other.
jungwon leaned in again, eyes flicking from her lips to her eyes and back. âweâre⊠blaming the heat, right?â
âoh, absolutely,â she said, dead serious.
âcool. cool. just checking.â
her smile turned devilish. âyouâre really using weather as an excuse?â
âthis is survival,â he insisted, grinning. âyouâreâway too close.â
âyou pulled me.â
âyou let me.â
heranâs laughâlight, disbelievingâcurved the corner of jungwonâs mouth like a hook pulling him closer. they stared at each other then, really stared, eyes locked in that silent dare. the room around them went still, humming refrigerator and all, as if the night itself was holding its breath.
a soft, reckless confession.
his jaw flexed once. twice.
then he said itââfuck it.â
he dipped his head a little, voice low enough it felt private even in a kitchen they shared with six other people.
for a second she genuinely thought she misheard him. her laugh burst out, startled. âdude, donât be an idiot.â
âam I gonna have to beg orâŠ?â
he meant kiss me.
he meant tell me you want this too.
âoh, I can do idiot,â he murmured back, thumb brushing her waist slow enough to make her swallow. âfive seconds. I swear. you can even count.â
she laughed againâcaught between flattered and flustered and dangerously close to letting him win. she didnât move away. If anything, she leaned in, grin bright enough to burn right through him.
her lips parted just the smallest bitâand then a door down the hallway clicked open.
they jumped apart like teenagers caught behind a shed, putting a meter of cool air between them so fast it was embarrassing. jungwonâs hand flew back like it had been burned; heran pretended the fridge magnets were the most interesting things sheâd ever seen in her life.
sunoo dragged himself into the kitchen in pajamas and fuzzy slippers shaped like rabbits, hair sticking up like he lost a fight with his pillow.
âoh my god,â he groaned dramatically, fanning himself, âI swear I am dissolving. It's so hot Iâm about to evaporate and leave only my Dior lip oil behind.â
heran cleared her throat, face warm for entirely not heat-related reasons. âyeah, we just got up to get something to drink.â
jungwon stayed by the island, posture suspiciously uprightâlike his body couldnât decide whether to run or collapse. his ears were red. his thoughts were loud enough you could practically hear them.
sunoo opened the freezer, looked inside, then whimpered. âthereâs no ice? no ice?! ughâthis is hell. I need like a tub of mint chocolate ice cream right now."
he turned to heran and pointed accusingly. âheran, put a shirt onâletâs go to the convenience store before I melt into the tiles. I refuse to die in this dorm looking like a dehydrated sea monkey.â
but she slipped into the role effortlessly, not a flicker of what just happened crossing her face. âokay, give me a sec.â
heran blinked.
convenience store.
mint chocolate.
she had literally just gone for ice cream with jungwon.
she grabbed her abandoned t-shirt from the chair, pulling it over her headâher movements quick, casual. too casual. like she needed the fabric as armor.
jungwon watched her fingers settle the hem.
his chest felt too tight.
he wanted to curse out loud.
sunoo yawned, oblivious to the storm heâd interrupted. âjungwon, you coming?â
theyâd been right there.
five seconds. maybe less.
he shook his head a little too quickly. ânah, IâuhâIâm just⊠gonna cool off.â
heran stood by the doorway, looking back at him without meaning to. a shared flash of what-could-have-been sparked through the space between them, fragile as glass.
cool off.
sure.
he was burning.
and jungwonâjust for himself, just for a momentâlet his eyes linger. her hair still messy from the heat. her cheeks warm. that almost-kiss still hanging between them like a taste he didnât get to try.
she smiled the smallest smile. âsee you in a bit.â
sunoo tugged her toward the hall, rambling something about ice cream flavors, and she followedâbare feet padding away, heartbeat loud in her chest, throat tight with want and frustration and something intoxicatingly alive.
jungwon stayed frozen where sheâd left him.
staring at the empty space sheâd filled.
hand flexing at his side like it still remembered her waist there.
he dragged a palm over his face and exhaledâquiet, wrecked, amused at himself like he deserved it.
Pairing: Sam Monroe x female!oc
Word Count: 1052
Kink: Overstimulation - too much pleasure to handle
Warning(s): Explicit (18+, NSFW), overstimulation, begging/denial, rough sex, oral (female receiving), fingering, protected sex, power play, a bit of degradation, soft aftercare
Beyond Limits
The house was quiet in a was Sam didn't usually get to experience. His mom, stepdad, and the two little half-brothers were gone for the afternoon - some family thing George had dragged them to. Sam had made up an excuse to stay behind, claiming homework and a headache, but in truth, he had a different plan entirely.
The second Lana walked through the door, his nerves buzzed. His dark eyes flicked toward the clock, then back to her. Brown hair falling over her face, the way she smirked like she already knew what was coming. She dropped her bag by the couch.
"We've got about three hours," Sam muttered, stepping close, his lip piercing catching the light as he half-smiled. "Think I can make you scream before then?"
Lana's lips parted, a shaky laugh leaving her throat. "Three hours? You planning on killing me?"
His hand was already sliding up her arm, tugging her flush against him. "Maybe." He kissed her hard, mouth hot and insistent, his tongue pressing between her lips like he had something to prove. When she gasped, his hands slid down to grip her ass, hauling her up until her legs wrapped around his hips.
They didn't make it far. Sam carried her into his bedroom, dropping her onto the bed with a bounce. He stripped his hoodie off in one rough motion, black shirt rucked up over his lean torso. Lana's eyes roamed, biting her lip. He watched he watching him, his cock already straining against the front of his jeans.
"You gonna undress for me, or should I rip it off?" he asked, voice gravelly.
She tugged her shirt over her head, bra soon after, baring herself with a shaky exhale. Sam's pupils blew wide. He didn't bother with patience; he ripped her jeans down, tugged her panties off, and sank between her thighs.
"Sam - fuck-" Lana's back arched as his mouth latched onto her pussy, tongue flattening against her clit in firm, relentless strokes. He ate like he was starving, piercing gaze fixed up at her face even as she writhed.
Her hand tangled in his dyed hair. "Oh my god - don't stop - please don't-"
He smirked against her, two fingers pushing inside without warning, curling hard against the spot that made her see stars. She yelped, thigh clamping, but Sam only groaned, the vibrations rattling through he cunt.
It didn't take long. She came hard around his fingers, trembling, voice cracking as she cried his name. He didn't let up, didn't slow, tongue flicking mercilessly as he pumped through her orgasm and right into another.
"Sam, I - fuck - it's too much-" Her hips jerked, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as the aftershocks burned raw into oversensitivity. She tried pushing at his head, but he caught her wrists in one hand, pinning them above her against the sheets.
"Thought you liked it when I ruined you," he rasped between licks, spit shining her folds. "Don't tell me you're done already."
Her body betrayed her, clenching down around his fingers again ever as she sobbed out, "Please - please - s'too much-"
Sam only crooked his fingers harder, pushing her over again, her thighs shaking violently as another orgasm ripped out of her.
By the time he finally pulled back, his chin was wet, lips swollen, and Lana was a wreck - panting, flushed, thighs sticky with slick. He crawled up her body, kissing her messy mouth, letting her taste herself on his tongue.
"You think I'm stopping before I fuck you?" he muttered, already tugging his belt open.
Her eyes widened, still glassy. "I - I can't-"
"You can," he growled, rolling a condom down over his length with one practiced hand. His cock pressed thick and heavy against her entrance. "And you will. Gonna take me like a good girl while I get off."
The first thrust made her cry out, body arching off the bed. She was already so raw, every nerve overstimulated, but Sam sank into the hilt anyway, groaning as her walls spasmed around him.
"Shit - you're so tight - clenching like you're about to break me-" He set a brutal rhythm, hips snapping against hers, hands gripping her thighs so hard he'd leave burises.
Lana clawed at his shoulders, nails dragging down his back. "Sam - please - please-"
"You begging me to stop?" he panted against her ear, thrusts unrelenting.
"Yes - fuck-" she sobbed, overwhelmed, tears sliding down her temples.
He kissed the wet streaks, voice a low snarl. "Too bad. Not stopping 'til I cum, filling you with my dick until you're ruined for anyone else."
Her cries turned into broken moans as another orgasm wrenched out of her, body convulsing beneath him. She screamed his name, shaking, overstimulated beyond reason - and still he fucked her through it, using her wrung-out body like she was his anchor.
"Good fucking girl - take it - take all of me-" His pace grew erratic, groans spilling out between clenched teeth. One more snap of his hips and he buried himself deep, spilling hot into the condom with a guttural growl, her name torn from his throat.
For a moment, the room was nothing but ragged breathing, the distant thud of his pulse in his ears. Sam collapsed against her, careful not to crush her, his forehead pressed to her damp neck.
When he finally pulled out, he stripped the condom off, tossing it aside, and looked at her. She was trembling, eyes red, lips kiss-swollen. And yet, she smiled weakly up at him.
"Jesus Christ, Sam..."
Something softened in his chest. His kissed her gently this time, nothing like the rough claim from before. Just slow, tender.
"You okay?" he murmured, brushing damp hair off her face.
She nodded, though her voice was hoarse. "Yeah... wrecked, but okay."
He tugged the blanket over them, pulling her into his chest. His fingers tracing idle patterns on her back, grounding her. "Didn't mean to push too far," he admitted quietly, surprising himself. "I just... couldn't stop."
Lana nestled closer, sighing against his skin. "I liked it. Even when I begged. I knew you'd take care of me after."
They lay tangled together, the outside world forgotten, until the sound of the garage door rumbling open signaled the family's return. Sam only held her tighter, not ready to let go.
WARNINGS: after sex moment. I tried to make something different and wrote on JK's pov so we can understand more about his long love for Somi. hope you like it!
masterlist đ»Â requests are open
feedback is always important to me! Â
Somi collapsed against Jungkookâs arm, coming undone once again.
His room breathed sweat, alcohol, and sex. The aftermath of dragging her home from Calvin Kleinâs after-party celebrating their new collection, where both had been promoting. The night had seemed harmless enough: two idols orbiting each other, existing in the same space. But Somi made sure Jungkookâs eyes never left her.
Especially when one particular actor approached, far too charming for Jungkookâs liking. He clenched his jaw as Somi laughed at something the man said, her head thrown back, hair slipping loose from its clip. Later, when they stepped out of the clubâs bathroom, facing each other, Jungkook couldnât let that slide.Â
âYou going home with him?â he asked, his voice low and hoarse.Â
Somi laughed, already a little high, instantly catching his meaning.
âWhat if I am?â she teased, closing the distance, fingers toying with his shirt collar. âIâm single, remember? You think Iâm supposed to sit around waiting for you to decide if Iâm worth the risk?â
The words hit Jungkook like a slap. He bit the inside of his cheek, nodding silently. Somi chuckled, stealing a quick kiss before leaving him standing there, blood surging through his veins, her perfume lingering like a taunt.
Weeks of fooling around had led them here. Secret meetings without excuses, late nights bleeding into early mornings, shared drinks to dull exhaustion while they pushed through their solo careers. And Jungkook realized one thing: there was no turning back now.
It was never supposed to cross that line. They had promised each other it wouldnât, swearing their friendship would survive untouched, because they knew the moment they acknowledged what simmered between them, the foundation they built for years would begin to tremble.
But now, with Somi curled against his arm, skin warm, bare, and far too familiar, he knew they had already crossed every invisible line they pretended existed. He stared at the ceiling, chest rising slowly, trying to ground himself while Somi shifted beside him, tracing absent-minded circles on his chest, also trying to recompose herself.
This was supposed to be casual. Something they could put back in a box when morning came and their hectic agendas reclaimed them. But it wasnât.
Somi looked at him at the same moment he looked at her, their gazes locking. And that terrified him.
Her makeup was smudged, hair a mess, eyes warm with that familiar sharpness that always made him feel seen and exposed all at once. She didnât look like someone heâd accidentally slept with, but someone he had chosen.
Yet he knew the truth.
She had chosen him.
There was something about Somi he could never quite explain. Every time the topic of ideal types or interests came up, somehow, she was always the reference point for every guy.
She wasnât loudly extravagant or intimidatingly fancy, she was just enough. Enough to make even the simplest outfits look expensive, effortless. But beyond the physical, Somi was kind.
The kind of kindness you arenât taught, the kind youâre born with.
And that⊠that was his Achillesâ heel. The one thing heâd never truly found in any girl heâd dated, or even tried to.
Somiâs image lingered in his mind like a ghost ever since the first time they spoke. A quick break in the Music Bank hallways. She still carried that sharp, intense aura from the Wolf era, dressing the same as her members, while he was barely past his rookie days. And still, sheâd been the sweetest person in the world when she noticed him struggling with his mic pack, stepping in without a second thought.
A few months later, they grew closer through mutual friends, the circle that would eventually become the so-called â97 line.
He tried to bury those feelings for years. Tried to ignore them, minimize them. He even tried, in a twisted way, to use her presence to get other girlsâ attention. Especially when she started dating Taemin, the moment that stripped him of any remaining hope.Â
No one knew about his feelings but his members.
Until the day Somi sent a message to the group chat, saying she had broken up with Taemin, something about him being an asshole, for as long as Jungkook could remember. His heart raced, palms sweating, and suddenly he was sixteen again, transported back to the hallway where sheâd helped him fix his in-ears.
Still, he couldnât do much, not because he didnât want to, but because he didnât know how.
Instead, their group did what they always did. Went out. Dragged her through every club in Seoul they could think of, trying to find the one where she could dance her feelings away, one of the many contradictions about her shy personality that never failed to amuse him.
Eventually, they ended up at a convenience store, sitting under fluorescent lights, eating ramen while he, Yugyeom, BamBam, Mingyu, and Jihyo tried to comfort her.
That was the day he told Yugyeom and Mingyu the truth. Right after dropping her off at her dorm, finally accepting he would do something about his feelings.
He forgot one small detail: their agenda.
EXO kept growing bigger every day, while BTS began working their way out into the world. With that, they grew distant for a while, their schedules refusing to align except for quick interactions backstage, in crowded hallways at the countless award shows both groups were competing for.
And yet, she was always there. Coffee trucks whenever he had a big schedule. Flowers to celebrate his comebacks. Surprise gifts. Press kits she made sure he received before almost anyone else.
Then she started college, and EXO entered their unofficial hiatus as her members prepared for enlistment. For the first time in a long while, time was finally on their side.
But, out of the blue, G-Dragon came into the scene.Â
And of course, in between all her relationships and his failed attempts to show his feelings, Jungkook didnât forget to live his own life, ironically enough, with Somi playing cupid more times than he could count.
It was always someone connected to her: a friend of a friend, a manager here, a stylist there, some dancer she thought heâd look cute with. Sheâd laugh, tease, and push him toward them, never realizing how much it stung.
Eventually, he opened his heart to his other friends, confessing the truth he had carried for years. They all gave him the same advice.
âWhy donât you just tell her how you feel?â
Even her own members caught wind of it. Jongin teased him one night when they were out together.
âSomi has absolutely no idea, Jungkook-ah. I promise you.â he said, clapping him on the shoulder. âDo you really think sheâd be single all this time if she knew you were in love with her? Sheâs your friend, but trust me, sheâs still a girl who wants to be loved.â
Even with all the encouragement, it took Jungkook another year to finally gather the courage. One more year of silence, of stolen glances, of pretending his feelings werenât clawing at him.
It happened after the â97 Line party, when Somi casually mentioned she had broken up with G-Dragon. Her words were simple, almost careless, but to Jungkook they felt monumental. That was it. That was his chance. And this time, he took it.
Still, it took him two dates to finally kiss her, and one more before she ended up like she was at that moment, wrapped against his arm after a heavy, breathless, and unrestrained makeâout session.
He was pulled back to reality when Somi suddenly got up, slipping into his shirt and twisting her hair into a bun.
âWhere are you going?â he asked, his voice soft, almost sleepy.
âDrink that wine.â Somi answered, a mischievous smile on her face as she glanced over her shoulder, leaving Jungkookâs room and making her way to his kitchen.
Jungkook followed her, of course. A quick glance at his phone told him it was just past 3 a.m. Wasnât she going to sleep? He laughed at his own thoughts before pulling on the first pair of shorts he could find, not really caring about underwear or anything else.
He heard Somi opening his kitchen cabinets, the clink of glasses followed by a sharp pop. When he entered the kitchen, she was pouring an imported white wine into one of the glasses.
âWill you join me?â she asked, holding up the bottle. âNothing better than good wine after good sex, right?â
Somi bit her lip. Not in a seductive way, but to hold back her laughter. She knew that kind of dirty talk didnât really suit her.
âJesus, woman.â Jungkook chuckled, making her giggle. He walked over, kissed her lips, and buried his face in her hair, a habit he was starting to develop.
âDo your parents know you like to drag the party out until the last minute, even after amazing sex like that?â he teased.
Somi shrugged, taking a long sip of her drink.
âWe donât really talk about my afterâpartyâafterâsex habits at family lunch, Jungkookâssi.â she replied, making Jungkook laugh out loud. He gave her a light smack on the butt before leaning against the counter, facing her.
âJK,â she said softly. âcan I ask you something?â
Jungkook frowned at her sudden change in tone.
âOf course.â
Somi opened her mouth a couple of times, as if stumbling, trying to find the right words.
âWhat are we doing?â
Suddenly, there was silence. It stretched. Not awkward, but honest.
Somi let out a breath that sounded like sheâd been holding it for weeks. No. That conversation wasnât meant to happen that night. Not when they had just shared an amazing moment together.
âSee?â she said, chuckling, almost mocking. âThatâs exactly why Iâm scared. I donât know if I can keep doing the inâbetween anymore.â
Jungkook frowned harder, stepping closer.
âSomi, youâre drunk. Letâs sleep and talk things out tomorrow.â He tried to pull her by the waist, but she stepped back.
âNo.â she said firmly. âYou know Iâm not drunk.â
He sighed, running a hand through his freshly cut hair.
âThe inâbetween?â
âYeah, this.â Somi said, gesturing between them. âUs pretending we donât care. Acting like itâs casual when itâs clearly not. Iâve been there before, Jungkook. I stayed too long and fell hard.â she locked her gaze on his. âIâm not going through that again.â
Jungkook stared at her, dead serious for a few seconds then he laughed.
Somi frowned instantly.
âDo you think this is funny, Jungkook?â she asked, her voice firm, unamused.
He shook his head, stepping closer and cupping her face with both hands, gently squishing her cheeks without realizing it. All those years⊠and how could she not see it? How could she not know how truly, madly, deeply in love he was with her?
âSomi,â he said her name softly, but it made her flinch anyway. âI love you.â
She opened her mouth to answer, but he was faster, silencing her with a kiss. His hands slid down to her shoulders, grounding her, as if every touch was finally saying what heâd buried for years.
âI would never, ever, hurt you,â he said, his voice steady, almost fierce. âIâve been in love with you since the first day we met. Iâve been dying to share even the smallest moments of my life with you.â he let out a breath, forehead resting against hers. âEveryone knows it.â
He pulled back just enough to look at her.
âI donât know what you felt with Taemin or Jiyoung. But Iâm not them.â his thumb brushed her jaw, gentle. âI love you, Somi. Iâve been loving you for years. And having the chance to be here, to have this version of you, is something Iâve dreamed about for longer than I can admit.â
Somi didnât speak right away.
For the first time since heâd known her, she looked unsure of what to say. Her eyes searched his face like she was trying to find the lie, a crack, an hesitation, but finding none only scared her more.
She let out a shaky breath, resting her forehead against his chest. For a moment, she stayed like that, listening to his heartbeat, steady and warm, grounding in a way she hadnât felt in years.
âYouâre really serious about this, arenât you?â she asked, somehow pouting. Jungkook laughed as he pulled her into a hug. Somi laughed, soft, broken, the kind that comes right before tears, before finally looked up at him.
âI always have been, Somi.â
She studied him one last time, then reached for the empty wine glass on the counter, lifting and offering it to him.
âWell,â she said, a small smile pulling at her lips as she poured some wine for him to. âhereâs to making it complicated.â
Jungkook clinked his glass against hers, eyes never leaving her face.
âTo choosing each other. I love you.â he repeated.
âI love you too.â she confessed.
They drank, and in the quiet that followed, surrounded by half-empty glasses, tangled clothes, and a future neither of them had planned. With no urgency or fear. Just the certainty that whatever came next, they wouldnât face it alone.
âDispatch will love us.â Somi said, breaking that atmosphere, Jungkook giggling and nodding, agreeing with the girl.
Long before the sirens, before the soot that clung to his skin like second thoughts, before the weight of a cityâs trust settled onto his shoulders, Rafe Cameron had a dream.
Not the kind born from privilege or expectation, though he had plenty of both. No, this one was different. It wasnât handed to him, and it wasnât for show. It lived in him quietly, a small flame that flickered brighter every time a fire truck roared down the street, lights splitting the night like a pulse.
He wanted to help people.
He wanted to save them.
He wanted to matter.
And in this universe, one kinder to his demons, gentler to his choices, Rafe Cameron actually made it. He became a firefighter. And for a while, that was enough.
Across the city, sometimes close enough to feel its heartbeat, sometimes too far to hear it, Emily Cravitz was chasing a different kind of dream.
Runway lights. Camera flashes. A life stitched together by glamour and confidence.
But dreams donât always unfold the way they should.
Sometimes they tangle.
Sometimes they tear.
For Emily, the break came quietly: a rejection, then another, then the slow understanding that the world sheâd imagined for herself wasnât the one waiting for her. Agencies saw her as too short, too unconventional, too âalmost.â And âalmostâ was never enough.
So she shelved her dream.
She folded it, tucked it away, pretended it didnât ache.
Two beings.
Two dreams : one lived, one broken.
Two paths that shouldâve never crossed.
But fate, mischievous, persistent, impossibly precise, has a way of drawing lines between people who need each other, even before they know it.
And on a night when smoke curled into the sky and sirens painted the streets red, Rafe Cameron and Emily Cravitz were about to meet for the first time.
Not as a hero and a model.
Not as success and failure.
But as two souls, quietly unraveling.
And maybe, just maybe, ready to stitch something new together.
