after you and byounggon kiss he probably does the smile™️ where all of his teeth show and his dimple is in maximum dimple and he’s all like 😊 and he probably laughs a little bit afterward and pulls you back towards him and that makes me S O B
summary : yunho is sick and you’re the only one available to take care of him
pairings : oc!reader x yunho (ateez) ft. hongjoong
word count : 1,554
warnings : none
a/n : is this my comeback piece after not writing anything for months? mayhaps.
(previous / next)
reminders
regular text is english
bold text is korean
italicized bold text is korean with honorifics
—
You sat in your home music studio playing random chords trying to find inspiration for the next track for Ateez’ album. After what felt like years of not working with the boys, you were finally helping them work on their first full album which had to be completed in just a few short months.
After playing the same chords for a while, you sighed and turned off your computer and moved to sit in your living room.
Your phone buzzed in your pocket the second you sat down on the couch and you quickly answered it without reading the contact name.
“Hello?” you asked.
“Maknae, are you doing anything right now?” Hongjoong asked.
“No, why?” you asked.
“Well...Yunho’s sick and he’s alone at the house with Seonghwa but Seonghwa can’t really help him because of his foot so...” Hongjoong trailed off.
“So...” you urged him to continue.
“I was hoping that you’d be able to put your mom’s nursing knowledge to use and take care of him for the next few hours.”
“What’s in it for me?” you joked.
“You get to do something for your favorite leader.” you could hear the smile in Hongjoong’s voice.
“Do you know if he likes chicken noodle soup? My mom has been sending me a lot of canned soups lately.”
“He might like it. Bring some over just in case.”
“Alright. Send me your dorm’s address after we hang up, okay?” you asked Hongjoong.
“Alright. I’ll bring you some takeout when we get home. Do you want the usual?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
“Thanks, Maknae.”
“No problem, Leader.”
----------
You entered the password to the Ateez dorm and walked into the apartment hesitantly after taking your shoes off at the door.
“Is anyone still awake?” you half-yelled into the dorm.
You heard two yeses from the back and walked further into the apartment where the rooms are.
“Yunho, where are you at?” you asked.
“In here.” he groaned from behind the door you were in front of.
“Are you dressed?”
“I’m too weak and sweaty to put a shirt on.” Yunho responded. You sighed.
“I’m gonna come in, alright?”
“Alright.”
You opened the door and saw a sweaty, red-faced Yunho under tucked under his duvet.
“Aw Yunho.” you frowned at him. He gave you a tired smile.
“How long have you been like this?” you asked as you pushed some of his hair away from his forehead.
“Since last night.” he responded.
“And no one thought to call or text me?” you shook your head. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, Yunho. I’ll do my best to make sure you feel better.”
He nodded and closed his eyes.
“Okay maknae.”
----------
The two of you found yourselves on the couch of the Ateez dorm after eating a few bowls of chicken noodle soup. Yunho’s head rested in your lap and you absentmindedly ran your fingers through his faded blue hair as you watched a drama rerun on the television.
“Maknae?” Yunho asked as he turned to look up at you.
“Hmm?” you responded as you watched the fruit commercial.
“How do you like being in Korea?”
You took a breath as you tried to come up with an answer.
“It’s not as scary as I was afraid it was going to be.” you answered. “I’ve found that the longer I stay here, the easier it is to adjust to the culture.”
He hummed in response.
“Did you miss us while we were gone?” he asked.
You lightly tugged at his hair. “Of course I did. I wish I could have gone to New York and Sydney with you guys.”
“We should all go next year.” he suggested.
“I agree.”
The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a while as you watched the drama.
“What did you do while we were gone?” Yunho asked after a while.
“A few days after my sister left, I went to a debut showcase.”
“Ooh~ How were you able to go?” Yunho turned towards you again.
“I’m especially close with one of the members.” you smiled to yourself.
“Who is it? Do I know them?” Yunho perked up.
“You might know of them. Don’t worry about it though.” you dismissed him.
“Honestly, I didn’t think that you would have friends outside of us.” Yunho joked.
“Yunho, that’s mean.” you whined as you playfully poked at his temple.
“Yunho, leave Maknae alone!” Seonghwa yelled from his room.
“Stop poking my head.” Yunho said as he swatted at your hand. “Seonghwa, did you hear how she spoke down to me?”
“You deserved it.” Seonghwa responded. “And stop yelling, you’ll make your head hurt more.”
“Did you hear Seonghwa, Yunho?” you laughed.
“I would go back to my room so that I could avoid this abuse but your lap is too comfortable.” Yunho sighed.
“Sounds like an excuse to me.” you said in a sing-song tone.
“SoUnDs LiKe An ExCuSe To Me.” Yunho mocked you.
-----------
“Maknae, you’re relieved of your duties!” Hongjoong yelled as soon as he and the other six Ateez members entered their dorm. He was quiet for a moment as he waited for your response. He quickly took off his shoes and attempted to look for you.
“Maknae, we brought foo-”
“Shh. They’re asleep in the living room.” Seonghwa stuck his head out from the kitchen.
“They?” Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa nodded before eating another spoonful of soup. “Yunho and (Y/N).”
Hongjoong’s eyebrows furrowed. “Where’d you get soup from?”
“Maknae brought some soup. There’s still some left if you want.” Seonghwa nodded over to the large pot sitting on the stove.
“Ooh~ look at these two.” Wooyoung and San laughed quietly as they stood next to the couch.
“They look pretty cozy.” Yeosang added as he walked through the living room to get to his room. Hongjoong walked into the living room to see what all of the commotion was.
You were laying on your back on the couch with Yunho on top of you, his head nested in the space between your shoulder and neck and his arm haphazardly thrown around your waist, a fleece blanket strewn across the two of you.
“Seonghwa, did you add the blanket?” San asked.
Seonghwa limped into the living room, bowl-in-hand, and shrugged. “They looked cold.”
“Seonghwa, what if one of the managers came in here and saw them like this?” Hongjoong complained.
“We get yelled at for a little bit. So what?” Seonghwa shrugged.
“So what? We could lose one or both of them and we can’t afford to lose either of them, especially right now.” Hongjoong’s voice gained volume. “Why am I the only one who cares about this?”
“Hongjoong, calm down. Nothing would have happened.” Yunho mumbled. You woke up from the noise.
“What’s wrong?” you rubbed at your eyes sleepily.
“N-n-nothing’s wrong.” Hongjoong stuttered. You looked at him suspiciously.
“Wooyoung, what’s wrong?” you turned to the boy.
Wooyoung looked at Hongjoong’s desperate facial expression and bit back a smile. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Sure.” you responded, unsatisfied with the responses you were receiving. You looked down at Yunho and playfully pushed at him. “Get off, you’re heavy.”
“You’ve been mean to me all day.” Yunho groaned as he tightened his hold around your waist.
Seonghwa looked over at Hongjoong’s growing frown and decided to intervene. “Yunho let Maknae go so she can eat.” Seonghwa said in a stern voice.
“Fine.” Yunho said before releasing you.
“Let’s eat!” San cheered. Everyone else cheered in agreement.
“Hongjoong, I’m so glad you bought food.” you smiled at the boy. He smiled brightly at the comment. San snorted at your interaction.
“Hongjoong, let’s talk in the kitchen.” Seonghwa grabbed the man’s wrist before dragging him in the kitchen.
“You need to learn how to handle your emotions better. Everyone can see that you’re jealous.” Seonghwa poked at his friend’s shoulder.
“I’m not jealous, Seonghwa.” Hongjoong swatted his hand away.
“Yes, you are~” San quipped as he walked past the pair to get plates and bowls.
“Fine then, here’s a test to see if you’re really not jealous. Maknae is really close to a member of CIX.” Seonghwa stated.
“Ooh~ does Maknae have a boyfriend?” San ribbed.
“I don’t know, but she went to their debut showcase. She was probably around even more boys.” Seonghwa added.
“How does that make you feel, Ho-”
“Stop saying I have a boyfriend,” you said as you entered the kitchen. “San, you’re taking too long and everyone else is hungry.”
“See, she said it herself, she doesn’t have a boyfriend.” Hongjoong rebutted, making a face at the other two while your back was turned.
“It’s nice to know that you care about my dating life, Joongie. You’re such a good friend.” you patted the man’s cheek as you exited the kitchen.
San gave Hongjoong a pained expression as he passed him. “That’s gotta hurt.”
“Just a reminder, Hongjoong.” Seonghwa gained his friend’s attention. “Neither you or Yunho are able to date her because of the fourth clause in our contract. Remember? ‘No romantic or sexual relationships between two or more parties within KQ Entertainment, regardless of job position or status.’ Alright? So no more of this jealousy and assertion of dominance bullshit because we can’t afford to lose anyone from this team or from the producing team.”
beauty and a beat 9: exita acta probat//multigroup crossover
title translation: (latin) the result justifies the deed
summary : you attend cix’s debut showcase and make some new friends.
warnings : none
pairings : oc!reader x byounggon and oc!reader x hyunsuk (feat. the silver boy gang, ab6ix, and daniel kang)
word count : 2,073
a/n : after like 12 years,,,here’s a chapter i’ve been putting off writing
—
reminders:
plain text is english
bold text is korean
italicized bold text is korean with honorifics
—
Your phone buzzed in your pocket as you sat in one of the seats in the VVIP portion of the South Korean olympic handball gymnasium’s balcony.
18:54 : New Snap from ¡vanessa!
You swiped on your screen to see what your friend sent you. You pressed on her name and saw a blurry photo of your currently wide-eyed friend in her pitch black room, the only light source coming from her laptop with the caption, “ARE YOU NERVOUS?????”
You tapped your screen once to close the photo and took a blurry photo of your own face with the caption “WHY ARE YOU STILL AWAKE??? IT’S ALMOST 5AM” and sent it.
She quickly opened it and responded with a photo of her laptop screen with the vlive website opened to the “waiting room” of CIX’s debut livestream.
You shook your head and turned off your notifications before pocketing your phone. You decided to take a quick look around the area just to see your surroundings. Some masked figures stood around the area while others who you assumed were the group’s parents and family members sat in their seats.
You looked back to the stage and tapped your fingers in expectation. Suddenly, the seat next to you was filled, spooking you a bit.
“I’m sorry if I startled you.” the person bowed apologetically.
“It’s okay.” you bowed in response.
The two of you stood up and cheered as the lights on the stage dimmed.
After watching your friends perform their debut song, the person next to you, who you assumed was an idol because of their mask and cap, turned to you.
“So who are you here for?” he asked.
You hummed for a second as you thought. “Everyone.” you answered. “How about you?”
“Everyone.” he copied your tone. You smiled at him before turning back to look at the stage.
“How’d you know that I spoke Korean?” you questioned.
“No one on that stage knows English well enough to get you a seat up here.” he laughed.
“What makes you think that I speak English?” you teased.
“I saw you Snapchatting someone and the app was in English.” he responded.
“You’re really sharp.” you noted.
“I have to be, especially in my field.”
You nodded in agreement.
After a couple more minutes of standing, you sat down as the CIX members started their talking segment. After realizing just how short your shorts were, you tried to tug the hem down to stop them from riding up. After a couple of seconds of adjusting your shorts, the man sitting next to you took off his jacket and offered it to you.
“No, it’s okay.” you shook your head and sat still. The man sucked their teeth and sighed before proceeding to lay his jacket over your lap. He held his hands over yours when you tried to give him his jacket his back.
“You need it more than I do. Just give it back to me later, alright?” he bargained.
You frowned but agreed anyways. “Alright.”
The two of you talked throughout the rest of the showcase, the person next to him chiming in every once in a while with some kind of quip or a giggle.
Twenty minutes after the arena was cleared out, a few security guards came to the VVIP area to escort its occupants to the backstage area.
“Did you watch Treasure Box?” your seat-neighbor from earlier asked you.
“YG Treasure Box?” you whispered. The boy laughed and nodded.
“You don’t have to whisper it. Nothing bad will happen.” the other boy laughed.
“I didn’t want to bring back bad memories.” you explained. “But yes, I did watch it.”
“Did you have any favorites?” your seat-neighbor asked.
“From the final line-up?” you asked for clarification purposes.
The two boys shared a look before nodding.
“Hmm...Hyunsuk and Junkyu are cool.” you answered absentmindedly.
The two boys shared another look.
“We think so too.”
When you finally made your way to the backstage area with your two unnamed friends, you met eyes with Byounggon. His eyes lit up when you smiled at him and widened a bit when he saw who you were with.
“I just realized that I still have your jacket.” you turned to the shorter boy and handed him his jacket. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
“No problem.” he answered.
Byounggon finally made his way over to the three of you and flicked the smaller boy’s hat up a bit to get a better look at him.
“So I see you met Hyunsuk and Junkyu.” Byounggon threw an arm around your shoulder.
“Hyunsuk and Junkyu?” you asked. The boys in question took off their hats and masks and revealed themselves to be Choi Hyunsuk and Kim Junkyu.
“Why didn’t you guys say anything?” you asked them.
Hyunsuk shrugged. “You never asked.”
“I thought it was weird that you guys asked about Treasure Box but I didn’t think that it was you guys.” you sighed.
“It made us laugh, so you’re fine.” Junkyu smiled at you.
“So what did you guys think of the show?” Byounggon asked the three of you.
“It was really good! I’m very proud of you.” you smiled at him.
“She teared up at the fanmeet part.” Junkyu informed him. Your eyes widened.
“No I didn’t.” you reassured Byounggon.
“She was t o t a l l y crying. You could probably hear her blubbering from the stage.” Hyunsuk teased.
“Oh so that’s what I heard on stage.” Byounggon played along. “It’s nice to know that you care about me.” .
“I can’t believe I’m being bullied like this by. Mashiho and Yedam have taken your places as my favorites.” You turned to face Byounggon. “And Yonghee is my favorite CIX member.”
All three of the boys gasped dramatically.
“We were joking, please take us back!” Junkyu begged.
You playfully rolled your eyes before moving Byounggon’s arm from it’s place over your shoulders.
“I’ll let you guys talk. I’m gonna go find somewhere to sit down.” you said before walking away.
“I’ll find you later.” Byounggon yelled over his shoulder. You hummed in response.
After searching around the area, you found a free spot on a couch and sat down. You greeted the other occupant, Daniel Kang, and he replied with a polite bow before turning back to his phone and typing, barely-audible laughs leaving his mouth every couple of seconds.
“I think you and Jihyo are really cute together.” you whispered to him.
“Thanks,” he smiled.
You pulled out your own phone and checked your messages.
“Hey!” you heard a high pitched voice say from in front of you. You looked up and met eyes with Daehwi and Woong.
“Daehwi!” Daniel quickly stood up and hugged the boy tightly. He turned to the other boy and greeted him. “Jeon Woong, right?”
“Stray Kids Chan?” you asked in confusion. Daehwi nodded hesitantly.
“He said that we’re dating?” you felt nervous.
“Well...no...but I just assumed because- nevermind.” Daehwi shook his head.
The two other boys watched the exchange curiously.
“That’s Chan’s girlfriend?” Woong attempted to whisper to Daehwi.
You and Daehwi shook your heads at the same time.
“Definitely not.” you clarified.
Woong and Daniel shared a look before looking at you again.
“Anyways...I’m Daehwi and this is Woong-hyung.” Daehwi introduced himself and his groupmate. “But you already knew that, right?”
You nodded. “Of course. Your debut was really good by the way.”
The two boys thanked you.
“So who are you here for?” Woong asked you.
“All of them.” you answered.
“Hmm...I don’t know. You and Byounggon looked pretty close earlier~” Woong teased.
“Ooh~” Daehwi instigated.
“I see why you and Daehwi are in the same group.” you laughed. “But we’re just friends. I’m only friends with everyone.”
“That’s debatable.” Jinyoung chimed in from behind Daehwi, patting himself with a towel as he stood next to Woong.
“That’s a second source.” Daniel said as he put his phone in his pocket.
“Byounggon and (Y/N) have an interesting...relationship.” Jinyoung wriggled his eyebrows at you.
You cleared your throat.
“Enough about Byounggon and I’s relationship...” you diverted. “Or lack therof. Let’s talk about Jinyoung’s relationship with the stage. You were amazing up there.”
“Aw thanks.” Jinyoung sat next to you on the couch. “You should debut too.”
You snorted. “This industry wasn’t made for me. I’m fine with making music behind the scenes.”
“You make music?” Daniel asked.
“She used to make music with with Stray Kids but now she works with Ateez. She made a bunch of other songs too.” Daehwi answered. You smiled shyly.
“Weren’t you signed with JYP?” Jinyoung asked. You nodded.
“I was on a contract for two mini-albums just to see how we would work together.”
“They didn’t offer you a full producing contract?” Daehwi gasped.
“They did but KQ Entertainment had a better offer so I took theirs.” you replied. “And it’s not like I’m too far away from JYP anyways so I can visit my friends if they’re available. My mom was really worried about me being alone while I’m here so she made sure I that wouldn’t be too far away.”
“How old are you?” Woong asked.
“My Korean age is 19 but I’ll be 20 in November.” you answered.
“So you’re my noona, right?” Daehwi leaned forward.
You cringed. “I’m just a few months older than you, don’t worry about honorifics.”
“Hey, (Y/N)!” you looked up and saw Byounggon waving you over as he stood against the wall.
“The boyfriend calls~” Jinyoung snickered. The boys you were sitting with let out a collective “Ooh~” as you stood up.
“I’ll see you guys later.” you said while shaking your head with an embarrased smile.
You walked over to where Byounggon was leaning against the wall.
“So...” you started.
“What did you think of the showcase?”
“I already told you. It was amazing to see you up there.” you assured him.
“Really?” he smiled. You nodded.
“I’m really proud of you.”
He turned to face you. “Would you come to our first comeback showcase?”
“Depends on when it is.”
He leaned in closer and you leaned back.
“Aren’t you being too bold?” you laughed.
“Am I?” he smirked. He looked you up and down once. “I like your outfit.”
“Thank you.” You looked him up and down. “I like the white.”
“I do too but it gets dirtier than the blue does.” he sighed. “The coordi-noonas scold us a lot.”
“I guess you have to be more careful.” you shrugged.
“I guess I have to since you’re telling me.”
“You wouldn’t listen to anyone else?”
“I’d listen to you first.”
You looked down and shook your head.
“I’ll have to leave soon. It’s getting late.” you informed him.
He pouted slightly but nodded in understanding.
“Do you want me to get you a taxi?” he asked.
“No it’s fine.” you assured him. “I’ll text you when I get home, alright?”
“Okay.” he pulled you into a goodbye hug. You hugged him back.
“Aww~” the boys on the other side of the room chorused.
“I’m really really proud of you. Congrats on your debut, Byounggon.” you whispered.
He tightened his grip around your waist.
“Thank you for coming to support me.” he whispered back.
“Thank you for getting me tickets to come support you.”
“You still owe me for that.” he said as he pulled away from you.
“What do I owe you?” you asked him.
“I’ll figure it out.” he tapped your nose. “Get home safely, alright?”
“Good luck with your music show performance tomorrow.” you pat his shoulder.
—
“You’re gonna leave without saying goodbye?” you heard as you left. You looked over and saw Hyunsuk and Junkyu waiting in the lobby of the concert venue.
“I thought you guys left already!” you walked over to them. “Are you guys leaving soon?”
Junkyu nodded. “Our manager is coming to get us.”
You nodded in understanding.
“Will you watch our debut showcase too?” Hyunsuk asked you.
“Of course. I’ll even rearrange my schedule just to see you guys.”
“What if we don’t debut?” Junkyu asked. Hyunsuk elbowed him.
“Then I’ll put in a good word for you guys at Seven Seasons.” you countered.
They laughed.
“We’ll see you around, (Y/N).” Hyunsuk smiled at you.
“For sure.”
—
ayy lmao things have been kinda busy this summer and i’ve been doing a lot of procrastinating but,,,i updated!!!
this update kinda sucks but i promise it’ll get better!! these are just the filler chapters until i get to the good part (spoiler: a reality show)
summary : byounggon wants to know if he’ll get to officially meet your older sister while she’s in south korea and your older sister is,,,being an older sister
warnings : mild sexual references
pairings : (oc) reader x byounggon (ft. oc!reader’s sister)
word count: 978
a/n: ayyy lmao i finally updated this story after like three months so the timeline is kinda off but it be like that,,,enjoy
—
reminders:
plain text is english
bold test is korean
italicized bold text is korean with honorifics
—
“Will I be able to meet your sister while she’s here?” Byounggon asked as soon as you pressed the green button to accept his call.
“Good morning to you too.” you laughed. “And probably not.”
“Why?” he whined.
“She’s leaving in a week and a half which is also the time that you’ll be preparing for your debut showcase.” you responded.
“Why are you responsible one? That should be my job.” Byounggon laughed.
“One of us has to be responsible when the other one is slacking.” you said as you turned the volume up on your earbuds.
“Are you coming to my, I mean, our showcase?” Byounggon asked.
You sighed.
“I wanted to but tickets sold out too fast.” you explained. “I was about to put in my card information but the seat was sold.”
“I can get you in...for a fee.” you could hear the smirk in his voice.
“What’s the fee?” you asked him.
“I’ll let you know once I figure out what I want.”
“Should I be worried?” you laughed nervously.
“No. It’ll be good.” Byounggon promised. “Is your sister going to meet Ateez?”
“I don’t think so. She’s leaving the day after they get back from New York and I think they’ll still be pretty sleepy from the time difference.”
“Good, because I want to meet her first.”
You smiled down at your lap. “You have met her first though.”
“Not face to face though.” Byounggon corrected you. “What’s your sister doing anyways?” you could hear Byounggon shift a bit on the other line.
“Who are yooooou talking to, (Y/N)?” your sister asked as she walked past you while you sat on your couch.
“She’s supposed to be sleeping.” you groaned. “Good morning, Aaliyah.”
“Is it your booooooyfriend?” she asked as she sat down on your couch while eating your honey butter chips.
“No.” you answered.
“What did she ask?” you could hear the smirk in Byounggon’s voice.
“Nothing~” you said shyly.
“So it is your boyfriend?” your sister leaned towards you.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” you spoke through gritted teeth.
“Not yet.” Byounggon answered in a sing-song tone. You tried to bite back a smile but failed.
“What did he say?” Aaliyah asked.
“Oh? Did I fluster you?” Byounggon asked.
“Shh, both of you.” you rested your head against the back of your couch.
“Overload?” Byounggon asked in accented English.
“Overload.” you agreed.
“Aw, you guys have a thing, that’s so cute.” Aaliyah cooed. You pushed at her thigh with your foot.
“Your break is almost over so I’ll let you go.” you told Byounggon.
“Fine. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
You hummed in response.
“I’ll talk to you later.” you smiled, quickly dropping it when you noticed your sister staring at you with an evil grin.
“Have a good day~” the man trailed off on the other line.
“You too.” you responded.
“Will you miss-”
“Gon, you have to go.”
“Fine.” he laughed before hanging up.
You pulled your earbuds out of your ears and looked over at your sister as she crunched away at your chips.
“I’m telling mom that you have a boyfriend.” your sister teased you.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.” you turned back to face your television.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Then what would you call someone who you admitted your shared feelings for and made out with on your kitchen counter?” your sister poked you.
“A close friend?” you responded unconvincingly.
“You were minutes away from ending up pregnant.” she furrowed her eyebrows.
“I’m not dumb, Aaliyah.” you assured her.
“I know you aren’t. Which is why I brought you something.” she said as she stood up from your couch. “Follow me.”
You follow her into your spare room and she quickly opens up her suitcase. She pulls out a black plastic bag and hands it to you. You try to open it but she holds your hands in place.
“Promise me you’ll keep this for a year before you decide to throw it away.” she begs you.
You hesitate before agreeing and she releases your hands and nods for you to open the bag.
You open the bag and stare confusedly at the contents before sucking your teeth and giving your sister a disapproving look.
You pull out one of the condoms and throw it at her.
“I hate you.”
“You promised not to throw it away.” she smiled. “Plus, that’s not all that’s in there.”
You pushed your hand back in the bag and swept your hands across the sea of condoms before finding a bottle. You pulled it out and looked at it before quickly placing it back inside of the bag.
“It feels better with lube.” she gave you a knowing look. “Especially since you’re a vir-”
“Why are you like this?” you groaned.
“I don’t want you to slip up.” she used her older sister voice on you.
“I appreciate the sentiment but what you’re implying is probably isn’t going to happen for another year.” you said as you retied the bag.
“You said probably. That wasn’t a definite no.” she sat on the bed. “I just wanted to take care of my baby sister that isn’t a baby anymore.”
You sat down next to her and hugged her.
“I appreciate it.” you mumbled.
“I can’t believe you’re gonna be nineteen this year.” she sighed. “I was eight years old when you were born.”
“Yes, I get it, you’re old.” you teased her. She flicked your forehead.
“I’m twenty-seven years old, don’t make me feel bad.” she said as she leaned her head against yours.
“I’ll stop being mean for the rest of the day if you promise to never talk about what is in that bag.” you suggested.
“Fine.” she agreed. “Now re-teach me how to use your shower so we can go to a cafe and get pretty drinks.”
episode summary : 9 rappers from some of south korea's most popular rookie groups join forces with south korea's most up and coming producer to create a strong opening song for MAMA 2019. what can go wrong?
(a beauty and a beat sub-fic)
pairing : oc!reader (naya) x byounggon, oc!reader x hongjoong, oc!reader x hyunsuk
warnings : misogyny, racism/xenophobia
word count : 2,315
a/n : did i come back to tumblr after 6 years to finish this fic? yes. has some of the stuff in this fic *aged like milk? also yes. check my series masterlist for some background, this gets really juicy. (sorry to any vanner fans, I needed this for the plot)
guide:
plain text is english
bold text is korean
bold italicized text is korean with honorifics
__
Monday, September 9, 2019, at 10:17 AM
You stood silently as an MNet production staff member placed a microphone pack in your back pocket.
"Are you nervous?" she asked, her lithe fingers working wires and battery packs around your form.
You nodded.
"Is this your first time on camera?"
You nodded again. She smiled softly, professionally feeding the mic wire under your black and yellow printed sweater.
"It'll be okay. Just be as natural as you can. Calm, cool, and collected." she reassured you. You nodded again. She grabbed the mic from where it dangled at the collar of your sweater and clipped it in place.
"You don't talk much do you?" she joked. You smiled shyly.
"Not really. That's why I stick to production."
"It'll be okay." she repeated.
"I know." you agreed. She nodded proudly before turning you towards the door.
"There's gonna be a cameraman set up just outside of the door. Just give him a smile and a wave and then you'll go to the conference room that's furthest down the hall. There's even more cameramen set up in there but there should be someone else."
You turned to face her. "Who?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you." she winked. "But don't be nervous, Naya. You got this."
When you opened the door, your gaze immediately locked onto the camera in front of you. You hesitated slightly before blowing a kiss at the camera and walking away. A laugh bubbled up at your previous action, but you quickly slapped a hand over your mouth to cover your smile. Long strides carried you down the hallway until you stood before the door or the conference room.
You glanced back and saw the staff member nodding at you. You gave her a small smile before opening the conference room door.
Cameramen and production staff sat at every corner of the conference room. Multiple small digital cameras sat atop the large meeting table, looking to catch every angle. You noticed even more cameras attached to the ceiling.
Taking a shaky breath, you bowed to all of the camera staff.
"Hello. I'm one of KQ Entertainment's producers, LVNDR."
Everyone nodded.
You pointed to the large oblong table. "Should I sit down?"
Everyone nodded again.
"Alright."
You opted for the chair close to the head of the table, quickly sitting down and facing the door. Your palms slid along the sides of your dark jeans as you crossed and uncrossed your legs nervously.
The door swung open suddenly and you locked eyes with Onewe's Giwook. You quickly stood up, watching as he entered the room. He stood in front of you as you bowed.
"Hello." you greeted him.
"Hello." he returned the greeting before looking at you nervously.
"I speak Korean," you informed him. He visibly relaxed as the two of you shared a laugh.
"Ah, you could tell I was nervous."
"I get looks like that all the time."
You gestured at the table, "I think they want us to sit down."
"Works for me," he shrugged, taking the seat across from you.
"My name is Naya, by the way."
"Mine is Giwook."
You nodded as if you didn't know.
The door opened again and you locked eyes with Ateez's Hongjoong. A relieved smile spread across your face.
"Joong? What are you doing here?" you gasped, standing up to greet him.
"What are you doing here, Naya?" he retorted, a silly grin spreading across his handsome features as he walked towards you.
Giwook looked between the two of you with a raised eyebrow.
Hongjoong threw an arm around your shoulder. "We're under the same company, she's my group's producer." He said, grinning proudly.
Giwook nodded in understanding, his eyebrow falling back into place.
"They want us to sit down," you whispered to Hongjoong motioning towards the table. He opted for the seat to your left, placing his right ankle atop his left knee once he sat down. His right knee brushed your thigh underneath the table as you turned your chair. He gave a sheepish apology, quickly moving his legs so that they wouldn't touch yours.
"You're fine, dude." you whispered. The corners of his lips raised into a small smile.
You opened your mouth to speak but paused as the door opened again.
AB6IX's Youngmin entered. He gave brief smiles towards everyone in the room as he walked towards the table. Once his eyes locked on you, they widened in recognition.
"Oh, we've met before! I remember you," he pointed out as he sat next to Giwook. You nodded in agreement, another shy grin spreading across your face.
Both Hongjoong and Giwook looked confused between you two.
"Where did you guys meet?" Hongjoong piped up. Youngmin opened his mouth to respond, but you cut him off.
"One of my friends had a showcase," you clarified, trying to catch Youngmin's eye. He winked in understanding.
"Yeah. A friend," he smirked. You closed your eyes and sighed.
Hongjoong looked back at you. Before you could respond, the door opened again.
Trei's Changhyun entered next.
"Hongjoong? Is it really you?" he questioned as he entered the room.
"Changhyun?" Hongjoong pointed at the man. They embraced once Changhyun approached the table.
"It's been, what? Two years?" Changhyun grinned widely as they detached.
"How do you guys know each other?" Youngmin asked.
"We were on the same survival program," Hongjoong explained. Youngmin and Giwook, still seated, nodded in understanding.
Hongjoong directed Changhyun to the chair on his left and both sat down.
The door opened again, and Vanner's Gon entered. The bright atmosphere shifted as he trudged into the room.
"Hi," Youngmin nervously greeted the redhead. He mumbled a greeting and bowed towards everyone except you. You snorted and nodded in understanding.
Youngmin met your eye, and you shrugged at the man, giving him an 'oh well' smile. Hongjoong nudged you with his foot, and you met his worried gaze with a calm smile, moving your hands in an 'I don't know either' motion.
The door opened again and 1team's BC entered. A gaggle of "No way!" and "That's crazy!" spilled from the pair to your left. A wicked grin spread across the man's face as he sped over to your side of the table.
"They have anybody in here, huh?" he laughed as he gave separate hugs to Hongjoong and Changhyun.
He turned to face the rest of the group.
"Hi, I'm Sungho," he greeted everyone, including you.
"All of you guys were on the same show, huh?" Youngmin quipped.
The trio nodded.
Youngmin turned to Giwook. "Is Keonhee coming?" he whispered to the boy. Giwook shook his head.
"Cruel world," Youngmin murmured to himself.
"You speak Korean?" BC asked. You nodded. "That's crazy."
"She's really good," Hongjoong piped up.
Gon scoffed. The room went quiet momentarily as everyone's eyes shifted towards the man.
"Anyways-" Hongjoong started as the door opened again.
"Wow," Treasure's Hyunsuk said as he entered, looking at the occupants of the table.
"Hyunsuk?" you questioned, in disbelief.
"Naya?" he responded, smiling.
"Naya?" Hongjoong and Chaehyun echoed.
"They met at their friend's showcase," Youngmin explained. You nodded. He embraced you in a side hug as he went to greet the three men to your left.
"I didn't know you were so popular, Maknae." Hongjoong nodded.
You shrugged. "I know a lot of people."
The door opened again and X1's Seungyoun entered. Your jaw dropped but you quickly fixed your facial expression. He had been your favorite Uniq member and you remembered begging every member of Ateez and Stray Kids to vote for him when Produce X 101 was still airing.
Hongjoong kicked you again as Seungyoun walked closer to the table. Your eyes shifted from him to the table as he approached the seat next to yours.
He introduced himself to everyone before turning to you.
"EDEN said you'd be here," he chirped towards you as he sat down. "I'm excited to work together, you're really talented."
You pointed towards yourself. "Me?"
He nodded and smiled.
"Of course."
You opened your mouth to speak but the door opened one final time, causing your eyes to widen in shock and horror.
CIX's BX entered, his sharp gaze landing on everyone at the table as he introduced himself. You looked away, trying to hide your face.
Seungyoun looked between the two of you. "What's this?" he wondered out loud.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Byounggon huffed as he walked up to you. "Because I know you don't think you're unrecognizable."
"That's the friend," Youngmin whispered loudly to Giwook.
Byounggon leaned against the spot on the table between you and Seungyoun, blocking your view of the other man.
"Hey Byounggon," you trailed nervously, still avoiding his gaze, opting to make eye contact with the camera in front of you on the table.
"Should I move or-" Seungyoun started.
"Yes," Byounggon replied while still looking at you.
"No," you responded while still looking into the camera with wide eyes. "EDEN would want you to sit there."
Byounggon slunk away towards the other end of the table, sitting at the head of the table across from Seungyoun. The rest of the table, save for Gon, looked between the two of you curiously.
You continued to make awkward eye contact with the camera in front of you.
A staff member cleared his throat.
"Youngmin, there should be a stack of folders in front of you with everyone's name on them. Would you mind passing them out to everyone?" Youngmin nodded, standing up to dispense the folders to everyone and returning to his seat. Both you and Giwook had red folders with your names on them while everyone else had yellow folders.
"Please open up your folders and read the contents of your contracts." the producer directed.
All ten of you opened the folders. 'PRODUCER' was printed in bold letters across the top of your first page. You looked across the table at Giwook's folder and saw the same thing in his folder. You looked at Hongjoong's folder and saw 'RAPPER' written across the top of his first page. In fact, a quick glance around the table confirmed that everyone else's first pages contained the word 'RAPPER'.
"The two youngest are producing," Seungyoun proudly informed the table as you skimmed the rest of the paperwork.
"No way." Gon complained. You couldn't help but roll your eyes.
"Come on, it's not like they'll be bad," Seungyoun encouraged the man.
"He's not the one I have a problem with," Gon snarked before pointing at you. "It's her. Why is she even here in the first place?"
Hongjoong went to open his mouth but you stopped him, placing a hand on his folder and shaking your head when he looked at you. Gon scoffed at the interaction.
"Like look at that shit," he pointed. "He's so fucking whipped for her, she has to be sleeping with him."
"Well if that's how you feel, you don't have to be here." you retorted.
"Who are you to tell me where I can and can't be? You can't even read the contract, why should I expect someone so useless to make a song for me by herself?"
"I can't read the contract?" you argued. "Clearly you can't because if you had just flipped past the first fucking page, you would have seen the words 'collaborative project' on the pages."
"How dare you speak down to me like that?" he badgered. Everyone's head snapped towards him.
"That's rich coming from you, man. Your first assumption about me was that I was sleeping with these guys to earn my position, which I'm not. I'm sorry if that's what you had to do to debut but-"
He stood up angrily, shouting, "Fuck you, you black bitch."
"Do you wanna hit me?" you goaded.
His fists clenched at his sides. You looked down at them smirking.
"I'll let you get the first hit in if you want. But I guarantee that'll be the only one you get so make it count," you taunted. He threw his papers in your direction.
"You really think-" he started to walk around towards you. You stood up to meet him. Hongjoong quickly tugged you down onto his lap as Seungyoun and Youngmin moved to block Gon's path.
"No, come hit me." you dared him. "Joong, let me go right now."
"Nope," he said, wrapping his arms around you tightly. (Byounggon looked on jealously.)
"Oh, come on, Joong! I'll be fine." you pleaded, trying to wriggle out of his surprisingly tight grip.
Security guards immediately flooded the room and plucked the man away. He hurled insults at you as he was dragged out.
The room went silent as everyone looked at you.
"You can let me go now," you whispered harshly at Hongjoong.
"Promise me you won't get up and follow him," he begged.
You laughed dryly. "Nah that would be a stupid idea, I'm too pretty for jail."
He released you reluctantly. You stood up, adjusted your outfit, and smoothed your curls back down against your scalp before bowing in apology to everyone.
"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't expecting things to escalate like that." You glanced around the table and were met with wide eyes and reddened faces.
"That totally wasn't your fault," Youngmin disagreed.
"Yeah," Sungho concurred. "You held your own though."
You turned to the producer. "I could go, if you want-"
He shook his head. "Nonsense, sit down."
You sat down quietly, sinking into yourself like a kid who just got scolded. Hongjoong's hand found your knee under the table, giving it a comforting rub.
"What a first episode," Seungyoun joked, attempting to clear the air.
You sighed.
"Let's just sign the papers."
--
Episode 2 Preview:
Selfies and photoshoots and profiles, oh my! Join the team as they get to know each other while taking promotional photos.
