Lovestained - Lee Jeno
Genre : uni!au, crushes to lovers, slowburn, fluff.
Word count : 3.2k
Playlist : Crazy - Hope Tala
Where two university students fall in love
Lee Jeno. The heartthrob of the school, the one everyone adored and admired. The romantic songwriter and guitarist in the school's band, Resonance. Jeno was always shy about it, not really acknowledging his popularity but his friends knew better. Girls would have heart eyes at him whenever they passed by him and act flirty around him but he always brushed them off as he wasn't interested in any of them. That is, until he met you.
You just finished your lecture and was about to head to the library to finish some of your assignments that were due next week. The library was more packed than usual so you couldn’t sit at your usual seat since it was already occupied. You settled with sharing a table near the window with a handsome boy who looked up at you when you shuffled into your seat. His hair was a dark blue, accentuating his pale skin and charming features. He was wearing a white t-shirt with grey sweats and a black jacket draped over him, keeping himself warm from the atrocious cold temperature in the library. His confused eyes looked over to you, taking in your form and presence before making eye contact with your soft brown eyes.
His mind was in a daze at the sight of you in your fuzzy pink sweater before you pulled him out of it. “Is this seat occupied ?” you softly asked, careful to speak softly in the quiet environment. “Uh, no it isn’t.” he shook the thoughts off and gave you his eye smile. You mouthed him thanks and proceeded to get your laptop out and work on your assignments.
Oblivious, you weren’t one to join in on school events so you had no idea who the boy seated next to you was which was refreshing for Jeno. It was tiring at times, as girls would purposely sit next to him in lecture halls making him uncomfortable but he never did anything about it, being the gentleman that he is. Being in a band meant that Jeno had to work extra hard on his studies as he would spend most of his free time practicing with his other band members (which were also his best friends), Haechan, Mark, Renjun and Jaemin. Hence, he planned to spend the entire afternoon in the library to catch up on some of his classes. Just thinking about it made him groan. After all, it wasn’t an ideal situation when he could be writing a new song or listening to Haechan and Mark bicker for the hundredth time while he devoured a tub of ice cream.
Turning back to his laptop, Jeno found it hard to keep his eyes off you. Your dark brown hair cascading down your shoulders made him want to run his fingers through it. Jeno had never felt this way for someone before, he had just met you for god’s sake. He almost jumped in his seat when you tapped him on his shoulder. “Hey, do you happen to be an economics major ? I just can’t seem to get this question.” you squinted your eyes at your laptop, awaiting his reply. “Lucky for you I am actually.” he replied calmly although surprised that you were majoring in the same subject. He scanned the question before looking at his own laptop and coming to a realization.
“I happen to be doing the same set of questions as you, love” Jeno told her. He usually wasn’t this confident but it felt right. Your eyes went wide and you blushed under his stare before blinking and saying “O-oh, do we happen to be in the same class then ?” you then realized the proximity of the two of you, with his arm draped over your chair and chest so near you could feel the body heat radiating off him. Suddenly, the room felt hot as you tried to avoid his gaze.
“Hm, maybe. I tend to miss class a lot so you might not have seen me before” he said while rubbing the back of his neck timidly. You nodded at his response, cheeks still flushed. He found you adorable, finding himself unconsciously smiling. “My answers might not be right but here’s what I came up with so far.” he scooted his chair closer to you and showed you his answers. Before you know it, hours have passed and it was time for the both of you to part ways. Both of you truly enjoyed the time you spent together and felt closer after learning each other’s names and having long conversations even though you both had to be quiet, resulting in a lot of whispering and giggling. It was nice for you to gain a new friend, though you wanted something more (even if it was too soon) not knowing if Jeno felt the same way.
Jeno had to leave first because he had practice with the band as usual. He really wanted to meet up with you again but didn’t know how to ask for your number so he left a note in one of his books and purposely left it on the table for you before leaving. You both waved at each other before Jeno winked and turned around before you could react.
You were left flustered and in an attempt to cool down, you touched your cold palms to your face, trying your best to stop your heart from beating uncontrollably.
What are you doing to me Lee Jeno ?
Soon you packed your bag to head home and noticed that there was an unfamiliar book on your table. Must be Jeno’s you thought. It was too messy to notice it earlier under all those sheets of paper. Just to make sure it was his, you flipped the book open to check for his name before finding a note stuck in it. His number was written on it and under it he wrote, call me love <3.
Even if it was too early, you knew it was in that moment that you fell for him.
Fast forward to 3 months later, y/n became a regular visitor at the band’s practices. “Renjun !” the boy could only giggle and hold his stomach in laughter. You looked at him threateningly, furrowing your eyebrows at him. “It’s not funny” you told him. You got bored waiting for the other members to arrive so you asked Renjun to teach you some guitar and unsurprisingly, you hit more than a few wrong notes in the process making the entire piece he taught you sound different.
“Okay, okay. Look, your boyfriend can teach you instead” he says gesturing to Jeno coming through the front door. “For the last time Renjun, we are not dating” you deadpanned. “Hi y/n” Jeno smiled at you while taking off his coat. Jeno looked adorable in his glasses and black sweater and all you wanted to do was run your fingers through his hair. “Hey, I missed you” you went up to him and gave him a hug, taking in his scent. “Me too, love” he replied as he bent down to return the gesture and smiled into your shoulder. The both of you haven’t seen each other in a while as Jeno was preparing for his band’s concert and he insisted on you not visiting as he would get “distracted”. Thus, it was the first time seeing him in 2 weeks other than the occasional FaceTimes at night.
“Guys, I’m here you know” Renjun said as he dismissed your conversation with Jeno. “C’mere” Jeno giggled and opened his arms wide which Renjun made a face at before settling down in the studio. Soon after, Mark, Haechan and Jaemin all rolled into the studio and it soon drowned out into a soft noise of chatter. Tomorrow was the day of the concert and the band was just sneaking in a last minute practice to make some adjustments here and there. During practice, you noticed that there was a song on the bottom of the list titled ‘7 days’. You tried to recall if you ever heard it before but nothing really came to mind. You assumed it was a surprise gift for their fans tomorrow to which you thought these guys are the sweetest ever.
Practice went smoothly and was soon over after a few hours as everyone said their goodbyes to each other.
“Bye y/n” the bandmates warmly waved at you except for Jaemin that winked instead. You waved at back at them and laughed at Jaemin’s gesture before rolling your eyes playfully at him. As they left, the only people remaining in the studio were you and Jeno. The studio suddenly felt really cold as it was still raining outside and the warmth provided from the other boys were gone. You felt yourself scooting closer to Jeno as he was sat on the other end of the sofa.
“Hey”
“Hey”, you giggled.
Jeno was adoringly looking into your eyes while tucking a strand of your hair behind your face. You felt your face heat up and cleared your throat before moving away slightly.
“So, are you excited for the concert tomorrow?” you asked to avert the attention, eyes desperately avoiding his face.
“Yeah, I’m a bit nervous to be honest” he replied timidly. He found it cute that you got flustered so easily, even more when he is the reason behind it.
“Don’t be, you’re immensely talented so you have nothing to worry about. Plus, with the amount of time you spent practicing its gonna pay off tomorrow” you comforted him, rubbing circles on the back of his hand.
“Thanks y/n. You always know what to say” he smiled fondly, squeezing your hands in return.
You really didn’t want to leave the studio yet in hopes of spending more time with Jeno but it was quite late and you didn’t want to worry your parents so you suggested to get to his car after packing your things.
“We should get going, its late” you told him. He simply nodded and held hands with you on the way to the car. Holding hands with you was one of his favourite things to do as it gave him a sense of comfort somehow. His excuse for you was that there was a possibility for you to get kidnapped at any time (dramatic much). Obviously, you didn’t buy it but let it slide as you enjoyed the gesture just as much as he did.
After the ride which included the soft hum of the radio and warm silence, it was time for you to temporarily part ways with Jeno.
“Goodnight, y/n” Jeno waved with the side window rolled down, the engine silently buzzing.
“Goodnight Jeno” you answered with a stupid smile on your face.
Oh, you were definitely going to have good dreams tonight.
The day of the showcase seemed to pass by in a blur and before he knew it, Jeno was given the 5 minute cue backstage. He was slightly jumpy as a result of being nervous but the thought of you sat in the crowd eased his nerves a little. His bandmate Jaemin picked up on his fidgety behaviour and rubbed his shoulders to calm him down a bit.
“You’re gonna do just fine, Jeno-yah. And don’t worry about the song, y/n’s gonna love it. I swear that girl cannot get any more lovestruck” he assured Jeno, amused seeing his friend act this way.
Jeno, a bit startled that Jaemin could pick up on his antics so easily replied with widened eyes “Thanks Jaem, but if this goes horribly wrong you are SO buying me ice cream”.
“Easy win then, since you’re losing you might as well get some cash ready for a brand new set of polaroid films ” Jaemin said confidently while teasing his best friend, putting his arm around him.
“Hey, this was not supposed to turn into a bet !” Jeno punched Jaemin’s side.
“What’s the bet about?” Mark and Renjun chimed in curiously.
Jeno groaned in response. He gave Jaemin a I’ll get you later look before Jaemin proceeded to explain their banter earlier.
“Phew, just in time guys. I must be the world record setter for going to the washroom in under a minute” Haechan interrupted.
Everybody erupted into laughter before Mark huddled them together to say their rituals before going up on stage.
“Yo dream, joddeo, juja, hwaiting !”
You were anticipating their performance for tonight, already seated in the audience with Mark’s girlfriend, Min Jung, 5 minutes prior to the show. Even though you were offered free tickets from the band, you refused them and opted to buy their tickets instead. “I’m getting the true fan experience” you said.
You weren’t lying you thought. You were truly a fan of their music and being friends with them only skyrocketed your love for the band.
Maybe a little too much for one in particular. Oops.
Mark and Jeno especially nagged you about it but seeing how you were so adamant on buying them, they eventually let go of it.
A sudden flurry of lights made you squint your eyes as the audience started to scream and cheer. The band started to walk onto the stage and stand in place before the music started to play.
You were definitely guilty of being the loudest one in your row but you could care less about being embarrassed. As the show went on, you made sure to take tons of pictures and videos to remember the special moment. You even got to snap a photo of Jeno winking directly into the camera when the others weren’t noticing. The gesture made you smile and blush hoping that it was too dark for him to see it.
Soon enough, the show was coming to an end and it was during the interval that the boys’ introduced their newest song. You were anticipating Mark to explain the song considering it was always his job to do so but was taken by surprise as Jeno stepped up to the microphone and stood in the spotlight.
Jeno tapped the microphone to check whether it was working well before speaking up. “Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed your night so far” he spoke, to which gained a round of applause and cheers from the crowd. Smiling, he continued “This last one I want to dedicate it to someone who’s been a constant support for me in the time that we met, and for making me feel things that I didn’t know I could feel. The song’s title is ‘7 days’, explaining how lucky she makes me feel day by day.”
The audience started murmuring amongst themselves, curious as to who stole the guitarist’s heart. Min Jung nudged your shoulder, “Looks like Jeno has a secret crush on someone” she giggled. You laughed along with her but in reality weren’t really listening as your eyes were focused on Jeno’s figure feeling all sorts of emotions swirling in your chest.
Was it the girl who always sat in front of the both of you in Intro to Marketing class ? Or was it the girl who constantly sent him flirty looks during Finance class ? Either way, you were disappointed that he didn’t tell you about it.
Eventually, his gaze towards you pulled you out of your thoughts. “Hope you all enjoy this last track before we say goodbye. Especially y/n, whose been the inspiration behind it” he said, looking into your eyes.
Min Jung squealed beside you excitedly while you could only sit there in shock trying to comprehend what just happened. The song had a slow R&B melody to it, giving it a romantic feel. Haechan and Renjun’s voice made the song sound magical with their shared harmonies with Mark’s piano adding to it even further while the sounds from Jeno and Jaemin’s guitars complimented the melody with a sultry feeling. However, you were paying attention to the lyrics of the song that basically said I love you in 398264 different ways.
During the song, the boys were glancing at you the entire time checking for your reaction making you feel extremely shy. Well, apart from Mark who was admiring his girlfriend sat beside you. When the song eventually ended, you felt warmness in your heart and couldn’t wait to see Jeno who locked eyes with you on stage with an emotion you haven’t seen from him before.
After the show, you and Min Jung went backstage to meet up with the boys. She was telling you how romantic Jeno’s confession was, compared to Mark’s dorky attempt at a surprise picnic that had been rained on. The both of you were making small talk until she caught sight of her boyfriend standing at the end of the hallway. Min Jung ran to Mark who gave her a big hug and a peck on her cheek. Laughter could be heard from the both of them, sweetness right in front of your eyes. You smile at the interaction, until someone stood in front of you and blocked your view of them.
“Hey love” Jeno stood there with his stage jacket still on, making him look even more handsome if that was even possible.
“Hey” you played with your fingers to stop the nerves from bubbling over.
“Did you like the song?” he asked nervously.
“Yeah, definitely something I’ll listen to a lot from now on” you averted your gaze from him, feeling your cheeks getting hot.
Jeno, feeling a surge of confidence lifted your chin to meet his smiley eyes. “I’m glad you like it. I really meant what I said about the song you know, every time I see you I get this feeling in my chest and I have this strong urge to make you mine. And if you’re okay with it, would you do me a favour?”
“Yes” you said breathlessly feeling overwhelmed by his presence.
“Be my girlfriend y/n” he said seriously while caressing your face.
“Okay” you said, barely a whisper.
The look on Jeno’s face made you want to kiss him so you did exactly that. The feeling of his lips on yours was better than you could’ve imagined. The softness of it, mixed with the vanilla scent from his lip balm was addicting to say the least. He grabbed the back of your head with one hand, pulling you closer to him by the waist with the other while smiling into the kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck, wishing for the moment to last forever.
A shout from Jaemin was what made the two of you pull away in the end. Jeno grunted in response, annoyed that his best friend ended the moment. You hid your face under his strong arms, feeling shy. “YOU OWE ME A STACK OF FILMS MR. LEE !” he shouted and sent a cheeky grin your way before leaving the two of you alone again. Jeno muttered something under his breath before turning his attention back to you.
“Should we head home, baby? I can tell you’re tired” Jeno spoke while intertwining your hands.
You nodded your head, sensing your tired eyes even though you were still full of adrenaline from the kiss. Jeno kissed your forehead before walking the both of you to his car under the night sky, your hearts filled with warmth.
