𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 | 𝐘.𝐉𝐌
SUMMARY If it hadn't been for the mischievous game that you came up with, then maybe just maybe — Karina would have been able to keep her mouth shut about the crush she had on you for years. Especially since the two of you were supposed to enjoy your time, walking on the long beach at night as nothing but friends.
Pairings: Yoo!Jimin x F!Reader
Genre: wlw, fluff, 6th!member au, she fell first and she fell harder trope
A/N: STAYC GIRLS.. IT'S GOING DOWN ‼️(this is my apology for deleting the Newjeans series. Feel free to send requests if you want, so I don't feel guilty)
WORD COUNT 3.1K
Karina had been struggling, clearly — judging from the way she had been sighing nonstop the whole day with a frustrated look on her face. She was your best friend(along with your very best roommate, but you weren't gonna admit that), so you thought it'd be kind to come up with the idea of just strolling and chatting. Location? The beach just a couple walks away.
Plus, you low-key needed an excuse to get away from the rest of your chaotic members. Thank god time has been so kind to the both of us. You thought. Karina, of course, took notice of the way you had been staring at her so intently. The young leader felt more panicked than worried. Did you possibly figure out why she had been acting differently? She hoped not.
"Jimin?"
Great. She walks over to you, biting her lips out of habit due to the nervousness that she had been feeling the entire day.
"Yeah?" She asks, hoping you had a different question from what she had in mind.
"Up to filling up your storage?" You ask, smiling sheepishly, before putting the Polaroid camera up in the air whilst waving it like it was some sort of flag.
Blinking in confusion, she tilts her head. "I'm sorry? I mean, yeah— but where exactly are we going with this?" Winter enters the frame, shoving Karina while doing so as an attempt to not question your motives. It's clear you want to spend some time alone elsewhere. Everyone in the room knew that. Everyone except Karina.
"I was thinking we could stroll together since it seems our muscles are tightening," you thoughtfully said before adding on, "Are you down? You seemed to have quite a lot on your plate."
"What about our manager? Does the company know?" Karina unintentionally asked, her nervousness building up more than her worries.
An amused chuckle was all she needed to hear for her worries to disappear. Although her nervousness changed into butterflies that freely flew in her stomach. "We'll be fine, Jimin. I've been in this industry for enough years, too. Trust me."
Ningning, who had been on her phone, scrolling endlessly while laying her head on Giselle's shoulders, finally looked up to see the both of you putting on your shoes and coats. "Stay safe. Beware of the stalkers.. and what not," She jokingly warned, adding effects to her voice by deepening it, "we don't know who could be roaming around.." She continued. Winter took a seat right beside the two, slapping Ningning on the thigh for her horrible attempt on scaring the two of you, "Ghosts aren't real idiot."
"Hey now," Ningning shrugged before eyeing the lead vocalist up and down, "You're breathing. That's enough evidence."
A slap landing on her thigh harder than last time was all Ningning to immediately apologize and shut up. Winter smiled in satisfaction as Giselle ignored the two, switching the channel every now and then to find something that she'd actually enjoy.
"We'll be gone for a few." Karina stated, as if the rest of them hadn't been listening to your conversation the entire time.
"Have fun!"
"We'll try not to burn the house down."
"I'll keep an eye on the both of them."
—
"What made you suddenly have the need for fresh air?" Karina jokingly asked, finally easing up.
The two of you had been currently making your way to the beach, hand-in-hand with your masks and hoodie covering your faces very well so not a single soul could tell it was the two of you. You shivered, wanting to answer, but failing because of how cold it had gotten all of a sudden. L.A. air is seriously no joke. Karina skillfully took notice of this as if it was on the back of her mind, taking one of your hands and letting it slip into the hole of her coat. The other hand? She had been holding onto it still, hoping her own warmth would provide you with warmth.
"Thanks.." You muttered, feeling more assured knowing your hand wouldn't fall off from the numbness, "and I figured the two of us could enjoy it. Free stress life."
You're so caring. And I find that annoying.
"I'm certainly enjoying it." She mumbled. "Sorry?"
Her cheeks reddened, too embarrassed to even utter out another reply. You thought it was cute, giggling at the way she still managed to act awkward despite the two of you knowing each other ever since your predebut years. For Karina, the moment you had giggled at her awkwardness, it reminded her as to why she even caught feelings in the first place.
"Do you want to get drinks? You can pay." Are you seriously gonna make a girl pay after asking to get drinks?
You scrunched your nose, thinking of something else to say so it'd be a perfect cherry on top. "We can call it a date."
Because it's working and Karina doesn't mind.
"Okay—" Pause. "—but only because I'm feeling nice and not because you added the date part."
"You're cute, Jimin, but it's a friendly date. You have nothing to worry about." Oh. It was absolutely wrong to even have the high hopes that you were referring to something else. "I'm joking. You're literally buying us drinks, and we're about to take a whole walk on the beach at night."
She begins to tense.
"Tell me," you begin, "what friendly dates involve these things anyway? Can you believe how dense some people are?" It was certainly aimed. The way you had been staring pointedly at her with no emotion to share made her feel small. As if you were trying to hint at something.
Karina actually thought about it for a few seconds before you stopped her — huffing and puffing at the fact that she had actually thought about it. Just how dense can this girl be? You knew of the feelings she harbored for you, but a miracle would have to happen for her to actually confess her feelings.
You were sulking. Sulking hard.
"We're almost there. What drink do you want?" She had been so considerate to ask.
Though she already knew what you wanted.
"The same drink I've been getting since predebut days thank you very much." You answered, slightly raising your eyebrows. "They should have that here. It's almost everywhere."
"Right.." She chuckled, taking out her card to pay.
—
"I didn't think the beach would need a couple more miles to reach wow." You sighed in exhaustion before taking a long sip of your drink in hopes of getting energy from it.
"Eh. We're really not far away.." Karina squinted her eyes, acting as if it'll help with zooming in more. "Yeah, we're dead close."
She had been correct. The beach wasn't too far, and you could smell the salty air already. Though it kinda creeped you out, growing up at the thought of meeting some sort of siren that could possibly lure you into the ocean and drown you. Odd fear, but everyone must have had this sort of thought growing up.
"Did you seriously have to get ice cream, though?" You, for some reason, warily eyed the ice cream cone in her hand.
Karina pursed her lips into a thin line, unsure of how she should reply to that. "Um, yes? It's tasty."
"It's not that. It's the fact that you're a messy eater when it comes to ice cream." You stated, gesturing for her to wipe the bits of ice cream on her chin for her to miss it horribly.
Annoyed, you decide to do it for her yourself. "Uh.." Karina goes breathless, "thank you. But I could have done it myself?" It was more of a question than whatever she was trying to prove, showing that she could have not.
Finally reaching the sandy beach, the two of you admired the small waves that would form every now and then. You took out the Polaroid camera, feeling somewhat proud that you didn't forget it. Karina continued to admire the view, noticing how the sky painted itself onto the sea.
If anything, what she had been currently looking at couldn't compare to you. The way your hair swayed the same motion as the wind. The way you laughed at her jokes despite them all being unfunny — at least that was what she thought. Nothing could certainly beat the way you managed to come around like autumn, making her fall every time.
You were honestly captivating.
"So, what do you think?" You snapped her out of her own thoughts. Shit.
"It's pretty." She admitted.
"Really?" You tilted your head out of habit. "I think it's more than pretty."
You paused. Trying to find the right words to describe how beautiful it looked. Especially since the lights added onto the whole thing, making it the perfect cherry on top. "Ethereal?"
This time, she looked away to look at you. Hinting that the word wasn't aimed at the sea, but at you.
"Yeah.." You trailed off. "Yeah. Ethereal."
"Wow, the stars look pretty." You aimed the camera at the night sky, hoping you'd get a good shot.
Karina simply nodded, waiting for you to put the camera down to at least look her way. Because even if the sky managed to hold that amount of stars in its possession, it certainly couldn't beat the ones in your eyes that had always been on display oh so effortlessy.
"Random. But are you up for a game?" Your tone sounded mischievous, causing her to silently gulp. "List the things you like, and then list the things you don't."
She frowned, not understanding why you would even want her to do such a thing but because you said so. She will do so.
"I like uh, food. Shopping. Green tea. Animals. Mint chocolate. Pineapple pizza." She added the basics of what she liked before pausing a bit, "I dislike—"
"I don't see me on that list. I'm truly disappointed." You fake sighed.
Were you messing with her? Karina couldn't tell, but she swore she could somehow see a smirk forming under all that fake disappointed sadness.
"But.. I like you too." She found herself blushing at that statement — cursing herself mentally for not wording it correctly. "I meant I like you too, with the list of things I like. But you're not a thing! Don't get me wrong. And I mean it in a platonic way. Because that's what we are. Basically pla—" you stopped her by putting your index finger over her mouth, smiling so fondly at her, "Jimin, I know what you mean. Although it's sad because I like you too, definitely not platonically."
Silence crept up, and she couldn't find the right words to reply to that. She was happy, more than happy, actually. You obviously were waiting for any sort of reaction, but all you could find was a shocked look that could probably stay on her face forever if she could.
"Say cheese." A camera click stopped her from processing at the thought of you liking her back.
She was confused at that moment.
"Wait, do you like me or not?"
It was an obvious answer. Did she think you were playing with her? Probably. You literally took a picture of her, catching her even more off guard. She felt perplexed. Very unsure of whatever message you were trying to send her way.
You pretended to ignore her, humming whilst continuing to walk as if what you said earlier didn't affect her a big amount. She was down bad, and she wanted actual answers from you even if it meant making you repeat it. Evil. That was what she had been repeating endlessly in her mind while staring at that pretty smile of yours. Asshole. I hate that I let you get away with such things.
Karina continued to walk along too — behind you this time. She was tempted to whisk you away in order to get her questions answered. You stopped your place, waiting for the clueless latter to catch up. Karina did eventually — still questioning your motives.
"I said what I said," you grinned from ear to ear. "I like you too."
"How?" She asked, still feeling dumbfounded.
You knew she was leaning towards the question of how you even knew instead of when you harbored the same mutual feelings for her.
"It was obvious." A lie.
Truth be told, you were as clueless as her. That was until the day Ningning and her big mouth spilled the young leaders secret by asking whether you liked her back or not.
"You were just too obvious with it." Another lie.
It felt wrong to feel, but she still couldn't tell whether you were lying to her face or not. She wanted reassurance. Anything.
"You don't seem to believe me." You pointed out.
"That's right," Karina bravely admitted, "Unless you have something that could prove that you do — in fact — like me back."
The teasing tone in your voice made her wanna cave in. "How smooth. Really. If you wanted a kiss, then you could have said so."
"What? I don't—" Not even halfway through to finish her words, you cut her off by taking your mask off and kissing her right on the lips that had been attracting you the entire night. It's almost like a moth to a flame.
Karina's eyes widened, eventually melting towards the kiss afterward. It was good that nobody had been around because the two of you would have gotten in big trouble if a paparazzi or fan caught the both of you, sharing each other's first kiss under the moonlight.
Finding your hands during the kiss — Karina finds herself smiling against your lips as soon as she successfully interlocks her own hand with yours. Pulling away, you looked for any sort of reaction. She was cute. The way she had been currently covering her face, trying not to show how giddy she had felt from that single kiss, made your knees feel weak.
"Was that enough proof?" You had the audacity to ask after fulfilling her lifelong dream.
"Are you even real?"
You laughed at how serious she sounded. If anything, she should be asking herself that. Karina held such a strong aura that intimated other people around her. That was your first impression of her. Now, in your very own eyes, she looked as though she could be related to a puppy.
Deciding to call it a night, the two of you made it back to your dorm, unsure of the reaction from the other members if they had found out that the two of you were something more than just friends. Karina wasn't nervous, rather annoyed, already imagining how badly they were gonna tease her.
"We should keep it a secret for a bit. You softly muttered to her, already reading her mind. "We know we can't survive their teasing. Plus, they'll find out eventually."
"Secret? What secret is there to keep?" She grinned, expecting a smart reply from you.
"Haha. Funny." You deadpanned, realizing that the two of you didn't really make it official other than kissing each other. Did the kiss count? You sure hoped so.
Karina noticed the frown on your face, half smiling and sighing. "I get it. We're now uh.. girlfriends?" She tried not to stumble over her words, ears reddening. "You're so smooth." You giggled, which sounded like music to her ears. "I'll have you know this is my first relationship. Be supportive of that thought." "I don't think I will." "Seriously? You're already a bad girlfriend."
"And it's the first few minutes to our relationship and you're already annoying." You snorted, obviously joking.
Okay. Wow. How romantic.
Karina jokingly scoffed, "You're joking."
Not a reply after that, the wind being the only kind thing that somehow replied.
"You're joking."
Ignoring her words that were meant to convince the opposite of what you had just told her, you continued to fasten your pace, Karina following behind at an even more faster pace. Though she kept trying to convince you to answer(a proper one at that) her back. Forgetting her own words the moment she saw how perfect the moonlight illuminated your face, she had been left breathless.
"You're quiet all of a sudden." Jeez. Thanks captain obvious I certainly didn't know that.
"Yeah," She nodded, biting her lips, "yeah I guess I can see why those other male idols are always staring."
A fake frown formed. "You guess?"
"Don't start." Karina rolled her eyes, smiling uncontrollably afterward.
You mockingly did the same, "Okay, I won't."
"Just to be clear you're the annoying one."
"I am not afraid to break up what lasted a few minutes."
"I take it back."
—
"So? How did it turn out?" Winter asked, seemingly to have waited the entire time with that question in her mind.
You were the first to put down the already unnecessary items, along with your shoes so you were given no other chance but to reply. "Fine. Just two friends enjoying each other's company."
Since Karina's back had been facing all of you, she rolled her eyes, cringing at the word "friends". Ningning appeared out of nowhere with marshmallow stuffed in her mouth, resembling a chipmunk.
"How'd ittt gooaoao?" She asked, basically speaking nonsense from her already stuffed mouth.
Giselle appeared after, judging the younger latter with no remorse. "Don't speak with your mouth open."
"Daunt speek with yourr mowth open." Ningning mocked, swallowing all of it in one go. "I am officially a legend."
Karina sighed, "We'll be in our room if you need us. Which if you do, we'll be ignoring you." It was almost obvious. We? They all raised their brows at her statement, suspicious as to what she meant by that. "What she meant was that we're both TIRED from walking. My feet feels wobbly." You tried to save yourself, to which they nodded in acknowledgment to because you were a great liar.
"Giselle, you're in charge. Again. Don't let them near the stove."
Winter and Ningning frowned in annoyance, wondering why they even needed someone in charge knowing damn well that they were the reason for why the last dorm had fire almost everywhere. Giselle nodded, eyeing the two odd pair in a judgemental way.
Heading upstairs, Karina followed from behind. Winter and Ningning glanced at each other before sighing in disappointment.
"I win." Giselle proudly stated, taking her hand out for the money that they promised to give if she won the bet.
The two groaned before doing so, handing over their hard-earned money to the older latter. It was bad to place their bets on the two of you but it was the funny-entertainment kind. Nobody would pass up on that opportunity. Obviously — for the fun of it.
"I still can't believe it." Ningning was the first to speak after handing her money.
"Right I expected the both of them to at least go on like this for at least another few years."
"You think too low of them."
"When it comes to stuff like this? Yes we do."