I KNEW IT, I KNOW YOU — L.CY
synopsis: who knew a random doom scrolling session could lead you to find the love (?) of your life? lee anton definitely didn't.
› pairings & contents: lee anton of riize x soloist!reader
✧ warnings: the dates mentioned do not reflect real life whatsoever. anton is an overthinker, riize members tease anton, but that's about it. mostly in anton pov!
1 — 2.
april 3rd, 2026
anton wasn't supposed to be watching your vlog.
if anyone asked, he was supposed to be asleep, actually.
the clock beside his bed had already passed one in the morning, and tomorrow's schedule started early enough that even scrolling through social media felt like a bad idea. the dorm was unusually quiet for once. wonbin had disappeared into his room hours ago, sohee's gaming setup was finally silent, and anton had every intention of putting his phone down and getting at least six hours of sleep.
instead, he found himself staring at a twenty-minute vlog from a soloist he had never paid much attention to before.
it wasn't even intentional.
a clip from one of your videos had appeared on his twitter timeline while he was scrolling through fan updates. someone had reposted a funny moment where you were arguing with your manager about coffee.
— "three americanos isn't that bad."
— "yes, it is."
— "for who?"
— "for everyone around you."
the clip ended with you laughing so hard you nearly dropped your camera.
anton had smiled.
then clicked on the original video. that had been nearly an hour ago. now he was three vlogs deep.
most idol vlogs felt polished. carefully edited, including riize's own, he'll admit. everything cuts down to show only the best moments. but yours? yours weren't like that. or maybe they were, but they didn't feel like it. half the footage seemed completely random.
you forgetting your charger.
you accidentally ordering the wrong drink.
you getting lost inside a building you'd apparently visited dozens of times before.
there wasn't anything particularly special happening, and yet anton found himself watching until the very end.
when the video finally finished, youtube immediately recommended another one. he stared at the thumbnail, then clicked it.
just one more.
april 12th, 2026
it became a habit before he realized it was one. whenever a new vlog appeared, he watched it. whenever your company uploaded behind-the-scenes footage, he watched that too.
sometimes it happened after schedules, sometimes during dinner, sometimes at four in the morning when he should have been sleeping & had schedules at 8 AM.
at first he told himself it was because your content was entertaining. like, you were funny — you had the ability to make someone laugh till their stomach hurt, naturally, and to his defense, you're gorgeous too!
but then he decided it was because your videos were relaxing.
eventually he stopped trying to explain it altogether.
he simply looked forward to them.
one afternoon, anton was sitting in the practice room waiting for the others to finish changing when a notification appeared on his phone.
a new vlog uploaded.
YouTube • 2m ago
Y/N'S DIGITAL DIARY
"come get iced coffee w me & talk about nothing & everything! 𖤐"
& his thumb moved before his brain could stop it.
"what are you smiling at?"
anton nearly dropped his phone. sohee sat down beside him, immediately suspicious.
"nothing."
"that's definitely not nothing."
"it's just youtube—."
"whose video?"
anton locked his screen, which, unfortunately, was the worst possible response.
sohee's eyes widened.
"oh."
"what?"
"oh my god."
"what?"
"there's someone."
"there is not."
"there is."
"there isn't."
sohee looked delighted, which was a problem, because the second sohee knew something, everybody knew something.
sure enough, less than five minutes later, anton walked into a room filled with grinning faces.
"hmm i heard our anton has a crush." sungchan teased.
"i don't, hyung! i was just watching youtube before sohee ran w his loud mouth!"
"you do."
"i don't."
"who is she?"
"there's no she, why did you guys assume i was watching a girl's video?!"
wonbin looked up from his phone, with the teasing grin on his face (that briize love)
"there's definitely a she."
anton considered leaving the practice room entirely.
the truth was, he wasn't even sure if it counted as a crush yet. you were still mostly a person on a screen. someone he'd never properly met, someone he only knew through edited videos and short clips, but somehow he'd started noticing little things.
the way you switched between english and korean without thinking.
the way you always thanked staff members, even in subtle moments.
the way your smile changed when something genuinely surprised you.
small things.
ridiculous things.
the kind of details people only noticed when they were paying far too much attention...
and anton was definitely paying too much attention.
april 21st, 2026
the first time he saw you in person felt strangely disappointing. backstage at some mnet thing.
not because you weren't pretty— if anything, you were prettier. fuck, you took his breath away. not because you weren't nice. he hadn't spoken to you long enough to know.
it was disappointing because he suddenly realized how little he actually knew you.
anton was walking through the backstage hallways at music bank when he spotted you.
for a moment he almost didn't recognize you. there was no vlog camera, or your phone in sight.
definitely no cheerful editing, subtitles & background music.
you just looked . . . tired.
your manager was talking about schedule changes while you listened quietly, nodding every few seconds. you weren't laughing. you were just... working. just another idol trying to survive a busy, brutally scheduled day.
something about that realization made his stomach twist. because in all honesty, for weeks, he'd felt like he knew you.
not completely, but enough.
and now, standing twenty feet away, he understood how ridiculous that was.
he didn't know you at all.
he knew videos, he knew edited moments, he knew what you or your company had chosen to show. nothing more.
as if sensing his stare, you glanced up. your eyes met briefly, anton immediately looked away, then mentally kicked himself. when he looked back, you were already approaching.
you stopped a few feet away and offered a polite bow.
"hello, sunbaenim! i'm a big fan of riize!,"your voice sounded exactly the same as it did in your videos. you gave him a smile, the same one you gave to your staff, your fans.
for some reason, that only made him more nervous.
"hello, Y/N-nim,"
smooth. very smooth. awkward, yes, but hopefully smooth? he sounded like he'd forgotten every language he'd ever learned.
thankfully, you smiled again. a small one, but a smile nonetheless. it was friendly. then continued down the hallway, after another polite bow, and anton bowed back.
the interaction lasted maybe three seconds, okay, maybe five.
but anton thought about it for the rest of the week.
may 9th, 2026
your first actual conversation with lee anton happened because of coffee, which felt fitting. anton was waiting in line between rehearsals when he heard a familiar voice nearby.
"i'm serious."
english.
your voice.
— "if i drink another americano this week, i'm pretty sure i'll achieve enlightenment."
anton laughed before he could stop himself.
you turned, recognition immediately crossing your face.
— "you heard that?"
"kind of hard not to."
you glanced down at the iced americano in your hand, then back at him.
"...okay, that's fair."
he laughed again. and suddenly, somehow, talking wasn't difficult anymore.
conversation flowed naturally. honestly, both of you speaking english made it easier, somehow. it was comfortable, familiar, even.
you asked about schedules & lollapalooza. he asked about promotions. one conversation became another, then another, and before anton realized it, the version of you he'd built from months of watching videos had slowly started being replaced by the real thing.
the real you laughed less often than vlog-you, if that makes sense. but when you did laugh, it felt more genuine. the real you got annoyed when you were hungry, which is very valid, the real you complained about schedules, the real you wasn't always cheerful, wasn't always polished.
and shit, he liked that too. truly, anton liked that version far more.
he liked every version of you. the one you were on stage, the one you were in your vlogs and definitely the one you were in real life.
well, fuck.
june 2nd, 2026
the kpop festival in osaka had finally ended. the crowd was gone, it was past 12 AM, the noise had faded. for the first time all day, everything felt quiet. weeks ago, when the lineup was announced and anton saw your name — he knew he had to get closer to you. in whatever way he could.
the universe seemed to be in favor of him.
anton sat beside you backstage while staff rushed around preparing for departure, neither of you had spoken much during the last few minutes.
you looked exhausted, so did he, but neither of you seemed particularly eager to move. your shoulder brushed his, very lightly, accidentally. you should've pulled away when you felt that little friction but neither of you pulled away. anton stared ahead for a moment before glancing sideways, you were already looking at him.
something shifted
it was subtle but impossible to ignore.
the air suddenly felt different, he couldn't explain it, he felt like a crazy person— maybe it was because the two of you had been spending more time together lately. texting & calling counts as spending time, no? you two sent each other memes & tiktoks back and forth, that must count. or maybe it was because your conversations lasted longer now.
or maybe it was because somewhere between random texts and shared coffees and late-night phone calls, anton had stopped pretending this was just a harmless crush.
whatever the reason, looking away suddenly felt impossible.
you smiled first. you were tired but your smile was soft, and oh so fucking beautiful. anton's heart immediately betrayed him. he smiled back at you, his eyes basically pouring with love— love?! whatever!
neither of you said anything, you didn't need to. the silence felt louder than any conversation you'd ever had, and when your gaze dropped briefly to his lips before returning to his eyes, anton forgot what he'd been about to say entirely.
your shoulder remained pressed against his. somewhere in the distance, staff members were calling out instructions, you heard your own manager's voice faintly too. but ofcourse, neither of you paid attention. all anton could think about was how close you were & how easy it would be to close the distance completely.
and judging by the way your breath caught, you were thinking the exact same thing.
"anton." your voice was barely above a whisper, you couldn't help it.
"yeah?"
you opened your mouth.
paused.
then laughed softly.
"nothing."
he didn't believe you, not for a second, but he smiled anyway. for once, he didn't think he needed the answer
not yet, there would be time for that later. hopefully.
and as you continued looking at him like that, neither of you making any effort to look away, anton found himself wondering if maybe this could be something more, something real, anytime soon.
💌 viv's note: sorry for the cliffhanger mwah 🤍🧚♀️
