↳ synopsis: you and your husband are looking for a third participant in the bedroom. enter baekhyun — the adorably awkward, innocent, younger man you meet one night at a bar.
↳ wc: 8.3k of almost pure smut
↳ contents: Junmyeon x f!reader x Baekhyun | smut (MDNI) | husband!Junmyeon, younger!Baekhyun; jm and reader have an open relationship | kinda mean dom!junmyeon, switch/subby!reader, subish!baekhyun, masturbation (m solo), fingering, oral (everyone receiving yay!), facetime sex, dirrrttty talkin, degradation, praise, raw p in v threesome sex (eiffel tower sil vout plait), a bit of edging, dacryphilia, face fucking, cum eating (like… a lot of it lowkey), *jm and bh do interact sexually
↳ a/n: jesus christ. if you've been here for a minute you know that i first mentioned this fic in the beginning of november and was supposed to post it by the end of that month. well... i got stuck several times and it also spiraled out of control (believe it or not this was supposed to be like 3k words and now it's this... what is wrong with me!!!) i also want to preface by saying i don't have any personal experience with open relationships so this is probably an inaccurate portrayal. pretty freaky for my standards i'm like almost embarrassed omg... hope you enjoy, minors go away this is pure filth
Baekhyun doesn’t know what he’s doing here.
He’s slightly underdressed, even in his black slacks and light brown sweater. All around him are glamorous women in cocktail dresses, hair pinned up high with perfectly curled pieces framing perfectly made up faces. Every man dons a blazer, expensive watches adorning their wrists. There’s a mirror perfectly situated behind the bar that Baekhyun can see his own reflection in, and he grimaces at just how young he looks. Out of place, with his wire-frame glasses and disheveled hair, a far cry from the general aura of sophistication that surrounds him on all sides.
He tries to shake the feelings of inadequacy out of his head and does what he came here to do: drink. He almost recoils on instinct when the alcohol touches his tongue. It’s sharp and bitter, and burns on the way down. I thought expensive alcohol wasn’t supposed to go down easily.
He’s just about to call it a failure of a night out and retreat back home, back to his shithole apartment where he wouldn’t be the youngest person in the room by about five years, when someone clears their throat behind him.
“Is this seat taken?”
He turns, and his jaw nearly drops. And that’s when he meets you. You, with your perfect hair and perfect face, the dark emerald fabric of your dress draping elegantly over your body like it was tailor-made for you. Even your nails are perfect: perfectly filed ovals with a shiny, clear coat.
“No. You can sit.”
You sit on the stool next to him, waving slightly to get the bartender’s attention. “I’ll have a vodka soda, please. And…” you turn to him expectantly, eyebrow raising.
Baekhyun’s eyes widen, an embarrassing heat passing over his face. “Oh, I’m okay. Thank you.” Inside, he wants to die. Should he have offered to buy you a drink? Wouldn’t that come off as presumptuous, though? Who is he kidding, there’s no way in hell that a woman like you would —
You’ve just said your name, and now you’re looking at him with that expectant eye again.
“I’m Baekhyun,” he manages to sputter out. Good going, Baek, at least you can do one thing right.
“Baekhyun,” you say, smiling. His name sounds like magic coming off of your lips. “You’re very cute.”
Baekhyun clears his throat, staring so hard at the glass in his hand that he thinks it might just explode. “Thank you. You’re beautiful.”
“I’ve never seen you here before,” you say, taking your drink off the bar counter when it arrives. “Is this your first time?”
He nods. “My labmate recommended this place to me. He forgot to mention that it’s way fancier than the usual places we go too.” He laughs, a little self-consciously.
“Labmate? Are you a scientist or a student?” you ask.
“Student. Third-year PhD.”
“So you’re basically a scientist.” Baekhyun gulps when you take a sip of your drink, leaving a dark red lipstick stain on the rim of your glass. “Do you like it?”
“Most of the time. Not right now.” Suddenly, the events of the last few days come flooding back, and his shoulders start to tense automatically. “It’s always rough this time of year. There’s a lot of deadlines and such, plus this is my first semester teaching so it’s been hard adjusting to all the grading and having to be on in front of a room of eighteen year olds all the time. And…”
“And?” you prompt.
Baekhyun sighs. “I just got dumped last week. We weren’t together very long but you know, it still stings. So yeah. It’s been a lot.”
You frown, reaching out to put your hand on top of his. Your hand is cold, and he nearly jerks away at the touch. “I’m so sorry. It’s their loss.”
“But it’s okay. I feel like I’m ready to move on.”
You stare at him for a second, and the weight of what he’s just admitted settles onto him like an anvil. Baekhyun wonders if walking out of this bar and into oncoming traffic would be a faster and more painless death than whatever humiliation ritual this is. But then you giggle, covering your mouth with the back of your hand.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at you but… I’m just laughing because, why did you feel like you needed to tell me that?”
Now Baekhyun feels the tips of his ears turning bright red, and he pointedly avoids looking into the mirror because he knows that he would just collapse into a puddle if he saw his own flustered expression right now. “Well, because, I didn’t want you to think that I wasn’t attracted to you.”
You lean in, close enough for Baekhyun to smell your perfume coming off of your neck. Something sweet and dainty, but with a darker musk underneath it. He has a feeling that he’ll be trying to remember this scent all night. “Are you attracted to me, Baekhyunnie?”
Baekhyun swallows, the nickname sending all sorts of confusing feelings swirling around in his gut. “Yes,” he breathes.
“I’m glad,” you say. “I’m really attracted to you too. Are you done with your drink? Wanna get out of here?”
The night air is chilly, and Baekhyun wishes that he had a jacket to offer you, but any sort of self-conscious thought vanishes from his head when you press him against the exterior brick wall of the bar. Your hands are light, delicate on his chest, sliding up slowly to wrap around the back of his neck. You look at him through your lashes, the streetlight casting your features in a soft glow.
“Kiss me,” you say softly, your heady gaze drifting down to his lips.
And how could he deny your request?
His hands rest on your lower back, holding you close to him as he meets your lips, kissing you gently. The alcohol on your mouth tastes sweeter on you, an addicting taste that he can’t get enough of. You slip your tongue inside his mouth, and he has to stop his knees from buckling beneath him, suddenly dizzy with want. He’s surrounded on all sides by your touch, your scent, your taste, and it makes him nearly melt.
He nearly has to pull away to compose himself when you moan softly against his lips, a noise so faint and so sweet that he thinks he might have imagined it. But then you press yourself against him before making that sound again, and Baekhyun thinks he might just die from how fast his blood is pumping straight to his cock.
You pull away, lipstick smeared at the corner of your mouth, grinning at him, breathlessly. “I like you,” you exhale.
He’s about to respond with something probably incredibly stupid and way too soon when a sleek black car pulls up behind you and stops. “Ah, he’s early,” you say, tucking your hair behind your ear. A man steps out of the driver’s side and steps onto the sidewalk to greet you. He’s incredibly handsome, one of those faces you only see on billboards and magazines. He’s dressed casually, but he still looks so expensive in an effortless way.
“Baekhyun, this is Junmyeon,” you say, and Baekhyun’s stomach drops in horror when he wraps an arm around your waist familiarly. Too familiarly. “My husband.”
The times throughout the night that Baekhyun wishes that the ground beneath him would open up and swallow him whole don’t compare in the slightest to the feeling he has right now.
“H-Husband?!” he squeaks. “But we… I…” He looks from you, to Junmyeon, then back to you.
“It’s okay, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon says. God, even his voice is handsome. “We’re in an open marriage.”
His face must still be frozen in an expression of utter shock, because you cut in, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spring this on you. I was going to tell you before he got here, but someone wasn’t supposed to arrive for another fifteen minutes.”
“Dinner ended earlier than expected, I’m sorry, darling.” Junmyeon kisses your temple, and a hot feeling of… something floods Baekhyun’s stomach. Is it jealousy? Discomfort?
Arousal?
“So, what, do you want me to be your third or something?” Baekhyun asks. His tongue feels a bit like lead, sitting heavy in his mouth.
“If you want,” you say. “But it can be just us, if you’d prefer.” Your cheeks are dusted with pink, and Baekhyun realizes suddenly that you’re flustered too. “Our arrangement is flexible. I wouldn’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable with, so if you’d rather Junmyeon not be there, it’s totally okay.”
“Honest, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon chimes in. “We’ve had a lot of time to sort out our feelings about doing this. And if you’d rather just forget this ever happened, that’s fine too.”
Baekhyun feels like his head might explode. “Can I think about it? I’ve never… I’ve never done anything even remotely like this before.” Part of him thinks that this is just too bizarre for him. He can count the amount of partners he’s had on one hand, and he nearly combusted just fucking kissing you. How would he be able to handle being with you… with both of you?
But part of him looks at the pair in front of him and flashes of the possibility flit through his mind. It’s enough to ignite a low heat deep within him.
“Sure.” You hand him your phone and he types his number in with shaky hands. “And Baekhyun,” you whisper. “It really is okay if I don’t hear from you again, but…” You learn forward, planting a kiss on his cheek. “I hope I do.”
He refuses a ride home from Junmyeon, claiming (and lying) that his apartment is just around the corner. When he finally steps through his front door, he looks at his reflection in the hallway mirror. Your lipstick is smeared all over his lips, and a perfect outline of your kiss is stamped on his right cheek.
It doesn’t take long for him to shuck off his slacks and boxers, nearly tripping on them on the way to his bed, cock already throbbing and angry. As he jerks himself off, grip so hard that it nearly hurts, he pulls the neckline of his sweater over his nose, the faint notes of your perfume still lingering there. He gets off to the thought of you, to the memory of your body pressed against his, the taste of your lips. But also things that might be in your future: him settling between your thighs, making you cum on his tongue. Hearing your sweet voice cry out as you shake. But what finally tips him over the edge is a flitting, fleeting image of you, mouth stuffed full of cock— not his, someone else’s— while he fucks you, muffled moans spilling out as you cum around him.
His hips rock into his fist as his cum spills over his knuckles, and it isn’t until after he’s cleaned himself up that the guilt from jerking off to a married woman settles in.
Junmyeon, for the few brief moments that Baekhyun had met him, doesn’t seem like he’s harboring any ill will towards him. If anything, if Baekhyun allows himself the delusion for one second, he might have looked at him with… curiosity. Interest, even. The thought of it sends a confusing, hot feeling through Baekhyun’s stomach, his spent cock twitching with mild interest.
His phone chimes in his hand and breaks through his thoughts. He opens the notification to see a text from an unknown number.
no pressure, but junmyeon likes you too :)
goodnight baekhyunnie <3
“You like him,” is the first thing Junmyeon says to you when you climb into the car.
“Isn’t he a cutie?” you ask, turning in your seat to look back at Baekhyun. He looks like a deer caught in headlights, your lipstick smeared on his face, staring dumbfoundedly at the car.
Junmyeon agrees. It really had been an accident: he was meant to pick you up later, but Minseok had to deal with a late-night office emergency, leaving him with nothing to do. When he pulled up, he saw Baekhyun’s flushed cheeks, his glasses hanging low on his nose, permed dark hair unruly and mussed. But Junmyeon doesn’t want you to know just how eager he himself is with your new choice of a partner, so instead of any affirmation, he says, “A little young, no?”
You tsk your tongue at him. “Barely. He’s in his mid-twenties. You act like being thirty is a crime.” You fall silent for a while, before saying, “So you don’t think he’s cute?”
“When did I say that?” he replies, staring straight at the road ahead.
“I knew it!” you grin. “He’s exactly your type, right? When I saw him I thought that you’d really like him.”
“Hey now, don’t get too excited. Let Baekhyun decide how he wants this to continue and with whom.”
The final interaction between the three of you was hard to read, but Junmyeon fears it’s taken a turn for the worst when you don’t hear from Baekhyun for a week. He can see that it’s affecting you, even though you try to hide it. The way you jump each time your phone gets a notification, only to put it back down with a slight frown.
“I won’t be mad if you’re disappointed, sweetheart,” Junmyeon says, plopping down next to you on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. He chuckles when you open your mouth, obediently feeding you a few kernels.
“I don’t know why I’m being like this,” you groan, tucking your face into his shoulder. “We’ve had people ghost us all the time. It never mattered.”
“I think you have a little crush,” Junmyeon teases.
You whine petulantly, hiding your face from him. “Stop, Myeon.”
“It’s so adorable. Reminds me of when we first met. When you kept ‘running into me’ on campus only to get so shy when I finally asked you about it.” He has to kiss away your pouts before the movie starts.
Even though your crush on Baekhyun is extremely evident, as plain to see as the fact that the sky is blue, Junmyeon doesn’t feel an ounce of worry. Your relationship has been open for longer than it’s been exclusive, and any sort of bumps in the road have been sorted out years ago. At the core of your arrangement is a deep mutual love and respect for each other, and the expectation to communicate thoroughly. He has never been threatened by your feelings for a third partner, and you’ve never felt any ill will towards any of Junmyeon’s feelings for partners past.
Another week passes, and Junmyeon is starting to think that it’s time to give up hope when you come out of the bathroom, freshly showered, with a wide grin stretched over your face. “Junmyeon, look!” you squeal before running over to where he’s sitting in bed. You give him your phone and he scrolls through the text chain with Baekhyun.
Hi! I’ve been thinking a lot about everything and I think I’m ready
I do want to do this I think
But I’m pretty inexperienced haha so I’m nervous…
Hi Baekhyun!
I’m sososo happy to hear this
No need to be nervous I’ll be nice ;)
Just me? Or Junmyeon too?
Both of you
Omg I can’t believe I just sent that
Yeah both of you
“When can he come over? We should probably all have a discussion first, right? Ah, we have to clean the house,” you babble.
Junmyeon laughs, urging you to straddle his lap. He gives you a chaste peck on the lips, his hands settling onto your waist. “You’re so cute when you’re excited,” he says.
“You wanna feel how excited I am?” you ask, a teasing lilt in your voice. Your fingers go to undo the tie of your robe, the cloth slipping off of your shoulders and down your back, exposing your body to him.
Junmyeon sighs softly, reaching out to cup your tits, then dragging his hands down your stomach and dipping his middle finger through your folds. “Oh, baby you’re soaked,” he coos, catching your lips in another kiss. He pulls on your bottom lip with his teeth, your gasp heading straight to his cock, slowly twitching to life. “Your little boytoy’s got you all riled up, hm?”
“It’s not just that,” you say, slowly grinding your hips onto his hand. “It’s the thought of having both of you together.”
“Greedy,” he murmurs. He pulls his fingers out of you and lays you on your back, hovering on top of you. “What do you want us to do to you?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” you reply, whining when Junmyeon’s mouth descends to your tits, catching a nipple in between his lips. “I want… ah… I just want him to have a good time.”
Junmyeon reaches over to your nightstand and hands you your phone before continuing his path down towards your core, nudging your legs apart. “Why don’t you ask him what he wants?”
“Hmm?” you ask, your gaze flicking towards your phone. “What do you mean?”
“I mean call him,” he replies, licking a stripe up your slit. “Right now.”
You mutter a curse under your breath, but you obey all the same, shaky fingers tapping on your phone’s screen. A flicker of satisfaction and pride blooms in Junmyeon’s chest. He knows how you’ve presented yourself to Baekhyun thus far: an untouchable goddess, the charmer who had him pressed against the wall within minutes. While all of these things about you are undoubtedly true, he has yet to see you the way that Junmyeon loves to have you: stuttering over your words, legs shaking, mind going blank with pleasure.
“Hi, Baekhyun,” you say, pressing your phone to your ear, and oh the strain in your voice is so fucking cute. Junmyeon taps on your thigh and makes a gesture towards his face before he buries his tongue in your folds. Eyes on me.
“Oh, nothing.” You suck in a breath through your nose, your hand reaching out to bury your fingers in his hair. “I just wanted to know what you wanted Junmyeon and I to do to you.”
Junmyeon can picture his reaction — dark eyes going wide, a fiery blush rushing to his cheeks. Maybe even dropping his phone in surprise. Your thighs twitch around his head as you suck your bottom lip between your teeth, hips jerking when Junmyeon flicks the tip of his tongue against your clit.
“Don’t be shy, baby,” you purr. “Tell us what you want, and we’ll make it happen. Pinky promise.”
Junmyeon slips two fingers into you and you stifle a gasp, your fingers abandoning his head and twisting into the sheets. He’s got you right where he wants you, just right on the edge of complete surrender. But you’re nothing if not stubborn. “I bet you want us to decide, hmm?” you say, your voice shaking but determined. “I bet you just want us to have you how we want it, just take whatever we want from you? Position you however we want?”
His cock twitches with interest underneath his pajama pants. Goddamn, you’re good. He can only imagine how Baekhyun’s taking it on the other end.
“Are you touching yourself, Baekhyunnie?” you whisper. As soon as the words leave your mouth, you throw your head back, squeezing your eyes shut. Your pussy is squeezing around his fingers, and Junmyeon’s doubtful that the sounds of your wetness aren’t audible on the other end. You’re so close, he can feel it. “Me?” you ask, your eyes flying open to shoot Junmyeon a silent question. “Not quite,” you reply, taking the phone away from your ear. Junmyeon sees your thumb hovering over the FaceTime button. He nods at you, sucking your clit with renewed determination. “Wanna see?”
The FaceTime audio chimes, and Baekhyun gasps. “Oh, fuck,” he groans.
“Hi, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon says, curling his fingers inside of you. You moan, finally able to let your noises flow uninhibited. “This one was so excited to hear that you wanted us both that she got so wet and needy. Did you know that you had that effect on her?”
“No,” he breathes. The angle makes it a little hard to see, but Junmyeon is able to make out Baekhyun laying in bed, shirtless, the camera shaking slightly.
“Well, you do,” he replies, “She’s soaking all over my fingers. She wants to cum so bad, I can feel it. Baby, tell Baekhyunnie just how badly you want to cum.”
“I want it, I want it,” you whine, arching your hips into Junmyeon’s waiting mouth. “It feels so good.”
“Do you think she should?” His thumb passes over your clit, sending another shockwave of pleasure through your body.
“I-I don’t know.” The flush on Baekhyun’s cheeks is apparent even in the darkness of his room.
“Please Baekhyun.” Your voice goes all breathy, and you give those eyes, that look that’s pushed Junmyeon over the edge countless times, to the camera. “I want to cum. Please let me cum for you.”
“Oh my fucking God,” he swears. His tongue darts out to wet his lips. “Cum for me.”
Your back arches off the bed, a loud cry leaving your lips. “Fuck, Baekhyunnie—” Your phone slips from your grasp and Junmyeon reaches up to grab it, flipping the camera so that Baekhyun has a perfect view of your folds, reddened and slick with Junmyeon’s spit and your cum.
“Isn’t she perfect?” Junmyeon hums, slowly dragging the pad of his thumb over your sensitive clit, making your thighs twitch. “All for you.”
“And you too,” you say weakly. “Both of you.”
“Will you fuck her for me?” Baekhyun asks, voice raspy and thick with arousal.
Junmyeon swallows, nodding slowly. It takes some maneuvering, but he positions you and the camera perfectly: your phone propped up on the nightstand and you on your elbows and knees, facing the camera. Baekhyun’s done some adjusting too and now you and Junmyeon are faced with the image of the younger man with his sweatpants pulled down to his thighs, his needy, pink cock curved against his stomach. One hand is wrapped around the base, squeezing himself lightly.
You’re needy, already pushing your hips back into Junmyeon’s touch the second his hands make contact with your hips. Your back is arched so prettily, sticking your ass up invitingly. Putting on a show, Junmyeon realizes.
“I didn’t think you’d be so…” Baekhyun trails off.
“Submissive?” Junmyeon supplies, slowly pushing the tip of his cock inside of you. You clench around him, already mewling for more. “If there’s one thing she likes more than finding pretty things like you, it’s begging.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Baekhyun asks, just a ghost of a playful tone underneath the lust in his voice.
“Of course I do, Baekhyun.” Junmyeon flicks his gaze up to the phone to admire the image of him. “You’re the prettiest yet.”
“Stop talking,” you whine. “Fuck me.”
Junmyeon raises his hand and smacks your ass, relishing in your pretty gasp before driving into you hard. Your mouth falls open, your head dropping onto the pillow in front of you, already falling apart so pretty for him. He’ll never get tired of this, those first moments when he enters you when you have to adjust to his considerable length, surprised as if this was the first time he’s fucked you. But Junmyeon also likes what comes next the best, when you snap back into reality, into this moment, and get lost in the throes of your own pleasure.
He grabs a fistful of your hair and pulls you up, making you arch so good for him but also allowing Baekhyun to see your face. The younger man groans, jerking himself off slowly, eyes wide and transfixed on the view in front of him.
“You’re so gorgeous,” Baekhyun breathes. He pants lightly, hips jerking into the tight circle of his hand. “Fuck, I need you.”
“I— I need you too,” you whimper. Junmyeon can see your fucked out expression in the camera, your wide, glassy, needy eyes. “Want to suck Junmyeon off while you fuck me.”
Junmyeon groans, digging the tips of his fingers into your hips. “Jesus, baby.”
“It would be so good,” you whine, looking back at him over your shoulder, batting your eyelashes so invitingly. “Both of you just holding me there and making me take it. Making me your fucktoy.”
With a loud growl, Junmyeon buries your face in the covers with one hand on the back of your head, driving into you with brutal force. The wet sounds of your pussy are absolutely obscene, married with the slick sounds of Baekhyun’s hand sliding over his cock over the speaker. “Such a greedy little slut,” he mutters. “Begging for two cocks like this so shamelessly.”
“Shit, I’m gonna cum,” Baekhyun says suddenly, voice thick with desperation. He bites his bottom lip and tips his head forward, eyes screwed shut against the onslaught of sensation.
“With her, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon commands, snaking a hand between your legs to circle your swollen clit. You look up from your position to lock eyes with Baekhyun’s image as your orgasm hits you, shaking and trembling.
Your walls constrict around him so perfectly that it doesn’t take much time at all for Junmyeon to spill inside of you too, holding your hips flush against his. You sigh happily, arching into it subconsciously in that way you do that has spurred on round two countless amounts of times. But tonight isn’t the night for that, Junmyeon thinks as he looks up at the phone. Baekhyun pants, catching his breath, ropes of cum spilled out onto his stomach.
“So good, baby,” you say dazedly.
Baekhyun shivers. “You two are insane.”
“Why don’t you come over sometime soon and we’ll show you how insane it can really get?” Junmyeon asks.
Baekhyun’s tongue darts out to lick at his lips nervously. “Yes. Yeah, I’ll text you guys when I’m free next.”
“Sounds good,” you giggle. “Goodnight, Baekhyunnie. Dream of us.”
“Bye,” Baekhyun replies, and the last thing Junmyeon and you see before the call ends is his flustered, blushing face.
It takes about a week for Baekhyun to text you back.
At first, you think you’ve scared him off. Maybe the whole FaceTime thing was coming on way too strong.
“It seemed like he enjoyed it though,” Junmyeon frowns, stroking your hair while you lay your head in his lap.
“He can enjoy it and still change his mind,” you sigh. “It’s probably a lot for him.”
“Don’t worry about it too much. He’ll come when he’s ready.”
Of course, you’re overthinking it, and Junmyeon’s right (which happens more often than you’d like to admit). Baekhyun texts late on a Thursday night, your phone pinging mere moments before you were about to fall asleep.
I’m so so sorry I didn’t mean to ghost
Things just got so crazy with school
But I’m free this whole weekend!
Yay!! :))
But oh no that sounds stressful
Yeah it’s been pretty hectic haha
But some stress relief would be nice
I think we know how to help with that
You decide on spending the weekend at your house, assuring Baekhyun that he could leave before that if he wanted and the two of you wouldn’t be upset with him. All day you feel like a tornado around your place, cleaning up things that you would normally never think to keep clean, like the back of the fridge, or underneath the couch cushions. Junmyeon watches you with an amused eye, but he scrubs every inch of the bathtub just the same.
Evening rolls around and you’re in the middle of plating dinner when there’s a knock at your door. “I got it,” Junmyeon jumps off the couch a bit too eagerly and towards the front door. You check your reflection in the mirror one last time before you hear them rounding the corner, talking softly amongst themselves.
Baekhyun looks so cute, wearing a nice cream sweater and jeans, his glasses sliding low on his nose. His hair looks so fluffy and he runs a hand through it self-consciously, his other hand fiddling with the strap of his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. “You have a beautiful house,” he says warmly, though the small anxious habits give him away: he’s nervous.
“Thank you.” You beam at him and wipe your hands on the kitchen towel before going to give him a friendly hug, kissing him briefly on the cheek. “And thank you for coming, Baekhyun. It means a lot to me. To us. Junmyeon will show you where you can put your stuff.”
Dinner is about as normal as it could be under these circumstances. In the past, you’ve had guests who just wanted to skip past the whole formality and just go straight to the bedroom, and others still have been too nervous to even get through dinner, making up an excuse to end everything early. Baekhyun, to your relief, is neither of those things. He actually seems much more relaxed here than he had at the bar, his chatting growing more and more animated as dinner goes on.
Junmyeon clears the dishes away, leaving the two of you at the table. “I just want to thank you again for giving us a chance,” you say softly.
Baekhyun smiles, blushing into his wine glass. “I really should be the one thanking you. I never would have thought that I would be able to do anything like this.”
“What do you mean?”
Baekhyun laughs, making a vague gesture with his hands. “I mean, look at all this. Look at you. Look at Junmyeon. And then look at me.”
“I’m looking.”
Both of you turn your heads towards Junmyeon, who neither of you realized has re-entered the room. You recognize that look in your husband’s eyes: sharp, perceptive.
Hungry.
He crosses the room towards Baekhyun and lets a hand trail across the back of his shoulders, before taking his previous seat between the two of you. “I’m looking, and all I see is someone that we’re both interested in. So there’s no reason for you to be self-conscious about anything.”
Baekhyun swallows, nods. Fidgets with the edge of the tablecloth for a second before settling his hands in his lap. You lean forward and rest your chin in your hands, tilting your head at the younger man.
“Bedroom?”
He follows the two of you silently, the air between you thick with anticipation. The bedroom door clicks shut behind you with an air of finality, sounding much too loud in the silent room. Baekhyun watches intently as you fall into Junmyeon’s embrace, leaning into him. He kisses you, slipping his tongue past your lips with a quiet determination, the way he knows you liked to be kissed.
Blindly, you reach out a hand to your side and wrap it around Baekhyun’s wrist, pulling him in closer to you. You move your head to the side and kiss him too, cupping the side of his face with your hand. His kisses are softer, less practiced, but oh so sweet. He exhales through his nose when you deepen the kiss, moaning softly when you run your fingers through his hair.
You turn your attention firmly towards him, pulling his sweater over his head while Junmyeon steps behind you to unzip your dress. You drink in his image: broad, broad shoulders and the lean muscle of his chest, down to the softness of his stomach.
“You’re so beautiful,” you say, running your hands down his front appreciatively.
He keens at the praise, his eyes fluttering shut as he blushes. He reaches out to touch you as the fabric of your dress falls to your feet, soft hands brushing against your waist. You shiver when Junmyeon steps closer, pressing himself against your back, kissing the side of your neck. Their touch is everywhere, surrounding you on all sides, and it’s enough to make you feel weak even in these few short minutes.
Hooking your fingers in the belt loops of Baekhyun’s jeans, you turn the two of you around until his back collides with Junmyeon’s front, switching spots with him. He freezes when Junmyeon wraps his arms around his torso holding him in place as you sink to your knees. He moans softly when you reach up to pull down his pants, his leaking cock springing free from his boxers.
“Look at her,” Junmyeon whispers, his hold around Baekhyun firm and unyielding. “She looks so pretty when she does this.”
You wrap your hand around the base and lick at the underside of his tip, soft kitten licks while you look up at him through your eyelashes. Baekhyun’s breath stutters in his throat, throat bobbing as he swallows. “Shit,” he breathes.
“I’ve barely even started, Baekhyunnie,” you coo. You wrap your lips around him and slowly sink down onto his length, agonizingly slow. It’s torturous, the way you’re teasing him, not quite taking all of him in just yet. The main focus is on getting his nerves to settle, watching him slowly unravel in Junmyeon’s arms.
You look up just in time to see your husband settle his chin on the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, whispering something in the younger man’s ear that you can’t quite hear. It must have been something good, because Baekhyun shivers, his fingers twitching at his side. You take that as your cue to sink down all the way around him, your lips meeting your fingers at his base. You hollow your cheeks as you pull back, pulling out to run your tongue under his tip.
“You’re teasing him, baby,” Junmyeon purrs.
“Mhm.” You gather up spit in your mouth and let it dribble down his member, jerking him off slowly.
“Are you just gonna let her do that?” Junmyeon murmurs, turning his attention to Baekhyun.
He blinks, shaking himself out of his daze. His face and chest are flushed so prettily, lips slightly swollen from where he’s been biting down on it. “I don’t— fuck.”
“Here, let me help you.” Junmyeon releases him from his hold and reaches around to place a hand on the back of your head. After giving you a second to prepare, he applies pressure, sliding your mouth down, down, down until Baekhyun hits the back of your throat.
“She likes a little bit of direction,” Junmyeon hums, holding your hair in a loose ponytail to pull you back up. You cough, looking up at the two with watery eyes. “Verbal and nonverbal.”
Baekhyun reaches down, his hand taking the place of Junmyeon’s on your head. He uses his grip on your hair to keep you in place while he thrusts forward, fucking your face shallowly. You even out your breathing, focusing on keeping it slow and controlled, relaxing your jaw and throat as he grows bolder and bolder, pushing in with more speed and force.
Junmyeon leaves Baekhyun’s side and crouches down next to you, slipping a hand in between your thighs. You’re unable to stop the muffled whimper that leaves your throat as he drags his fingers through your folds. “Oh, she’s soaked,” he says. “You like letting Baekhyunnie use your throat like this?”
You moan around him, nodding your head as best as you can. Your vision is swimming with unshed tears, the weight of Baekhyun’s thick cock stretching your lips wide.
But it feels so good, seeing all of the reservations of the shy, unsure man that you met in the bar slowly drop away. The tension in Baekhyun’s shoulders is gone now as he fucks your face with motions that grow more confident by the second. The muscles in his thighs flex with each push forward. His noises, which at first were more restrained, now fall uninhibited from his mouth.
He pulls out fully and you cough, spit dripping down your chin and onto your chest. Your throat feels a little raw, but it’s worth it to have Baekhyun so worked up. “Wanna eat you out,” he murmurs, dazed.
You let him take you by the hand and lay you on the bed, settling between your thighs like it’s second nature. Junmyeon joins your side and kisses you just as Baekhyun licks a strip up your slit, stopping at the top to suck on your clit. He swallows your soft cry when Baekhyun pulls away to suck a hickey into your inner thigh, his slight bite stinging your skin.
“You taste so good,” Baekhyun says, hooking his arms underneath your thighs and burying his face against your cunt, his tongue dipping into your wet hole. “Can’t get enough.”
Junmyeon unhooks your bra and takes your tits into both hands, massaging the mounds and sucking one nipple into his mouth. Your lips fall open, your breath coming in short gasps from the dual stimulation. Junmyeon’s teeth catching against your hardening nipple, Baekhyun’s tongue swirling around your sensitive nub: it’s all too much but not enough at the same time.
“Ahh, fuck.” You screw your eyes shut when you feel Baekhyun’s long, slim fingers prodding at your entrance, slipping inside in one smooth motion. He curls them inside of you right when he sucks on your clit, ripping a sharp gasp from you. He pumps them in and out as he flicks his tongue against you.
“I thought you— mm— said you weren’t very experienced,” you say breathlessly.
Baekhyun laughs. “I guess I’m a fast learner.”
It doesn’t take long at all for your hips to start bucking against Baekhyun’s mouth, your body chasing the friction all on its own. “Gonna cum already?” Junmyeon asks, amused. “He’s that good?”
“Yes,” you pant. “Yes, so good, Baekhyunnie.”
Baekhyun moans against you, looking up at you to watch you fall apart. His glasses are crooked, askew in the most adorable way. It’s a stark contrast to the absolute sin of his lips, dark and kiss-swollen, wet with you. He curls his fingers inside of you, brushing his thumb against your clit. “Cum for me,” he says breathily, eyes wide and awestruck.
Your thighs clamp around Baekhyun’s head as you cum, your back arching off the bed. Junmyeon holds you in place, one hand splayed on your hip and the other holding the back of your head up, forcing you to lock eyes with Baekhyun as your orgasm ripples through you. He devours you with his gaze, staring intently as he continues to fuck you through it, curling his fingers against your walls.
“Need you both,” you say breathlessly. “Please.”
Junmyeon positions you on all fours and stands in front of you, undressing himself until he stands fully bare. Your mouth opens on instinct, obedient, and he rewards you by slapping his cock on your tongue. “You did so well, love,” he murmurs, reaching out to cup your chin with his other hand. “Such a good girl for us.”
You arch into Baekhyun’s touch, pushing backwards onto him when you feel his hands roaming appreciatively on your ass. The tip of his cock presses against your entrance.
“Can I?” he whispers.
“Please.” You hardly recognize your own voice, high and breathy. “Need it so bad.”
He enters you slowly, his length stretching out your slick and sensitive walls. Your mouth falls open, and Junmyeon takes the opportunity to push his cock inside, instantly pressing against your throat. Unlike Baekhyun, he’s not nice with it at all. He knows your limits, if only to know just how far to push you. His hands move to the back of your head, holding you still as he thrusts into you.
“Holy fuck,” Baekhyun groans from behind, hands gripping your hips like a vice. He buries himself inside of you with each thrust, filling you to the brim. Your eyes roll back with the force of it, surrounded on all sides by the overwhelming pleasure, the slick sounds of sex filling the room and echoing across the walls.
“Feels good?” Junmyeon asks Baekhyun through gritted teeth, stilling when your nose is practically touching his skin, relishing in the sound of you gagging around him.
“Fuck, yes. She’s so perfect.”
Junmyeon pulls out and you gasp for breath, high pitched mewls leaving your hoarse throat when he slaps the side of your face with his cock, leaving a wet trail of spit across your cheek.. “What do you say to Baekhyunnie, hm?”
“Th-Thank you,” you sob, pressing your hips back to meet his thrusts. The walls of your sensitive cunt are already fluttering, tightening around him as the familiar pressure in your abdomen builds once more. “Can I— Can I cum?”
“Greedy,” Junmyeon tuts his tongue at you, thrusting into your mouth. “You just came. Hold it.”
You feel the tears beginning to well in your eyes, your thighs and arms shaking from holding yourself up as the tension becomes impossible to ignore. You know you’re an absolute wreck, drool slipping down your chin and onto the bed, clenching the sheets in your fists, trembling between them, stretched out on both ends.
“So pretty when you’re needy like this,” Junmyeon grunts, holding your hair in a loose ponytail with one hand and wiping away the tears that are falling with the other. “You wanted this, right? I thought you wanted to be our fucktoy.”
You nod, arching your back when you feel Baekhyun’s touch, following the curve of your spine up your back to grab onto your shoulder. His pace is stuttering, growing increasingly more erratic with each thrust, low groans punctuating his heavy exhales.
“Good girl,” he murmurs, almost dazed. “You’re taking it so well.”
Your orgasm threatens to overtake you at his words and you blink up frantically at Junmyeon, trying to wordlessly convey your desperation. He lets you breathe, and the words tumble out of you of their own volition.
“I can’t— I can’t, please. Please, I need to cum.”
Junmyeon laughs, low and mean. He cups your chin with one hand and forces your gaze upward. “So pathetic.”
You whine. “Jun, baby, pleasefuckplease.”
“Cum then.”
It hits you like a clap of thunder, your body immediately going taut as it ripples through you, endless waves of white-hot pleasure overtaking your body. You scream, your chest falling onto the bed as you collapse under the weight of your orgasm, holding onto the sheets for dear life as Baekhyun continues to pound into you.
“Fuck,” he groans shakily. “I’m close.”
“Inside me,” you whimper, pulsing back onto his cock. “Cum in me, please, please.”
Baekhyun gasps, his grip tightening on your waist. “Can I?”
“If she’s gonna ask so nicely then why deny her?” Junmyeon says. He presses his hand against the back of your neck, pushing your head ever so slightly into the mattress. “You can.”
He holds you in place as Baekhyun rocks into you, cumming with a low, needy moan. You feel his cum filling you, painting your walls. You sigh in contentment, head and body feeling hazy and pliant, thighs twitching as he catches his breath.
Baekhyun barely has time to pull out before Junmyeon is tugging on your wrist, pulling you up onto the bed and situating you so that you’re on top, back facing him. His strong hands settle on your waist and pull you down onto the thick head of his cock.
“Jun,” you whine, hands scrambling at his thighs to find a place to hold on to as he pulls you down onto him. Your hips settle against his and you moan, dazed. You’re sensitive, so sensitive, but you find your body seeking the friction on its own, fighting through the ache in your muscles.
Baekhyun comes to your front and cups your face while you ride Junmyeon, rocking back and forth on top of him. “You did so good, baby,” you coo, dizzy and drunk with the aftershocks of your last orgasm coursing through your body. He doesn’t look like he’s faring much better— eyes half-lidded and nearly glazed over, “So fucking good for me.”
He keens, leaning in to kiss you messily, hands wandering down to cup your tits. “You’re so wet,” Junmyeon groans from behind you.
“It’s not all from me,” you breathe, rising up a little higher and slamming your hips down. “It’s Baekhyunnie, too.”
Baekhyun’s gaze flits down to where you and Junmyeon are connected and groans sharply, like the noise is being punched out of him. “Fuck, it’s leaking out of you.”
You look down to see that he’s right, Baekhyun’s cum is spilling out of your spent pussy, dribbling down Junmyeon’s cock and making a mess between your legs. You reach out and tug Baekhyun’s hair, his head jerking up with a yelp. Your lips connect with his once again, and you pull him close to whisper, “Why don’t you clean it up for me?”
Baekhyun’s eyes widen and he swallows, but sinks down between Junmyeon’s spread legs obediently. It takes a bit of maneuvering and readjusting the angle on your part, but soon he’s lying on his stomach, pink tongue darting out to lap at the mess while you continue to rock back and forth on Junmyeon’s cock.
“Jesus, fuck,” Junmyeon hisses, nails digging into your hips. Baekhyun’s tongue laves against the underside of his cock as well as your clit, giving both of you an extra jolt of stimulation. His cheeks are flushed, and he looks up at you with hazy, pleasure-drunk eyes.
“Good boy,” you coo, burying your hand in his hair. “You want to clean up Myeon’s too?”
He nods eagerly, leaning back when you prompt him so that you can have more room to ride Junmyeon. You grind down on him the way you know that he likes, arching your back as you pick up speed.
Behind you, Junmyeon pulls your hair, making you cry out. “You’re so nasty,” he groans.
You laugh breathlessly. “You love it.”
He answers by thrusting up into you hard, once, twice, three times before he’s spilling into you, hips jerking against your cunt. Baekhyun ducks his head down and flicks his tongue against your clit, making you gasp.
“You got one more in you, don’t you, angel?” Junmyeon says breathlessly, voice straining at the overstimulation. His hands hold you in place as Baekhyun continues to give soft kitten licks against your leaking cunt, pushing you over the edge for the final time. You tremble between them, too spent to do anything more than tuck your chin to your chest and whimper as your thighs twitch.
Your legs feel like jelly, but they both help you down, laying you onto the sheets. Junmyeon brushes your sweat-damp hair out of your face and kisses you sweetly. “You did so good,” he murmurs reverently.
“You were perfect,” you smile. You turn your attention towards Baekhyun, who’s fiddling with the comforter between his fingers, looking at you expectantly. “You were perfect too.”
He perks up, not unlike a puppy would, and smiles. “Thank you. I’m glad.”
Junmyeon heads to the kitchen, leaving the two of you alone. You grab a few tissues from the bedside table and start to clean Baekhyun up. He makes an embarrassed, high-pitched sound in the back of his throat. “I should be doing that for you,” he says. He goes to grab some for himself but you push him down gently, silencing his protests with a kiss.
“Let me,” you say. “You did good, Baekhyun.”
He stays still while you clean him, only moving when you’re done to return the favor. The shyness has returned to his touch, still unsure about the ways in which he’s allowed to touch you. You want to tell him that nothing’s off limits, especially now, but you figure you have the rest of the weekend to convince him of that fact.
Junmyeon returns with a couple glasses of water, his sweats hanging low on his hips. He sets them down on the nightstand and crawls into bed on your other side.
Baekhyun looks between the two of you, an indescribable, uncomfortable expression crossing his face. “Should I… Where should I sleep?”
You blink at him. “Here?” you say, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Are you sure?” he asks. “I don’t wanna intrude.”
Junmyeon snorts. “Baekhyun, if it were even possible for us to feel like you were intruding it probably would have been before you licked your own cum out of my wife while I fucked her.”
Baekhyun’s ears burn bright red and he groans, hiding his face in your neck. You lightly whack the back of Junmyeon’s head, wrapping an arm around the younger man. “Don’t embarrass him, Jun, what’s the matter with you?”
He laughs, reaching out to card his hand through Baekhyun’s hair affectionately. “I’m sorry, Baek, I’m just messing around. But seriously, this bed has more than enough space for all three of us.”
Baekhyun makes a sound that’s halfway to acceptance against your skin. Junmyeon continues, “And if it really matters that much to you, I can set up the couch for you but,” he makes a big show out of pretending to yawn, “It’s really late and I’m tired and wouldn’t you just rather fall asleep right now?”
“Well when you put it like that…”
Junmyeon turns off the light and the three of you settle into bed, Baekhyun on your left and Junmyeon on your right. As you get comfortable in between them, drifting off into a peaceful sleep, you can’t help but hope that in the future you have many, many nights just like this one.
thank u for reading! for more, check out my masterlist.
genre: fluffy college!au, sister's (not best) friend suho x reader, chanyeol x reader (not really)
summary: you get rejected by your crush and ask your sister for help to talk to boys </3 lots of misunderstandings and miscommunications heheheheh
7.3k words
You’re pacing back and forth in front of your sister’s room, debating in your head. This feels insanely stupid and childish. You were close to Stephanie. This shouldn’t be hard to ask.
“I can hear you drag your feet out there.” She finally calls out to you, tired of the incessant noise you were making.
“Sorry.” You open her door and carefully shut it behind you. “I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” She continues to type on her laptop. Her nails are freshly done in her classic pink shade. Her hair is curled so effortlessly. Her lash extensions look so natural on her. She’s beautiful. She’s always been so beautiful.
“Um,” You find a spot on her freshly made bed and find a plushie to hug to ease your nerves. “There’s this guy...”
The typing is put to a halt and Stephanie slowly turns around to face you, jaw dropped. You have never been interested in boys before. You asked your parents to enroll you in an all-girls high school, that’s how uninterested you were in them. Stephanie cannot believe her own ears. “Say that again.”
“Steph... Please, it’s so embarrassing.” You hide your face in the plushie.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You’ve just never been into guys like that before.” She sits next to you on her bed, wrapping an arm around your shoulders comfortingly. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I told a guy I liked him and...” You can’t even say it. It’s too humiliating. “He said I was too... ‘sweet’.” You groan, wishing that the memory of your crush rejecting you dissipates from your mind.
“And what’s wrong with that?” She rubs your back gently. She’s so comforting and warm, sometimes you wonder if all sisters come built like this.
You finally sit up straight and pout in her direction. She tilts her head with a consoling smile.
“Nothing’s wrong with being sweet. Kindness is a strength and anyone would be lucky to have someone as kind as you are.” She gently places a hand on your cheek. “He doesn’t know what he passed on.”
You feel like crying. She is one of the sweetest people you have ever met. She is the definition of perfection. You don’t know what you did in your previous life to deserve a sister like her.
“It’s just...” You think for a second, biting your lips nervously. “I realize I don’t think I even know how to approach guys. Can you teach me?”
Your sister’s brows rise in surprise.
“You’ve had boyfriends before and you have guy friends.” You try to explain the logic behind the thought. You watch her think for a bit, examining your pitiful state (you imagine but you know she’s too sweet to think that of you).
Then, like the fairy godmother that she is, she perks up and agrees.
You have no idea what you just signed up for.
--------
Stephanie, or as her friends call her: Tiffany, invited you to come study with her and her friends at the library. You hadn’t put too much thought into it. So, really, you should have expected this.
You were met with a room of four men and your sister. Sorry, you forgot to add a bit more context. You were met with four extremely attractive men. How your sister met all these guys. You have no clue.
“You found it!” Your sister stands up excitedly, hands settling on your shoulders. “Guys, this is my sister, Y/N. Please take care of her as if she was your own.”
She introduces you to them individually.
There was Minseok: the sports science major with fox-like eyes you wonder how many people have fallen in love with him just by staring into them, Yixing: the fine arts major who smiled sweetly at you before he went back to work, typing away on his laptop, Chanyeol: the music major with the loud voice and who was by far the friendliest and welcoming, and finally Junmyeon: the poli-sci major who immediately caught your eye – you couldn’t tear your eyes off him.
You gulp nervously when Junmyeon smiles at you, his eyes look like they're shining. You weren’t aware how beautifully handsome someone could be. You wonder if he and your sister have ever dated. You feel like they would be the picture-perfect couple.
“Sit here.” Your sister sits you beside Chanyeol who is already beaming at you. It’s kind of freaking you out. You cautiously take out your laptop and shoot him a nervous smile. Were all guys this friendly?
"You look terrified.” Chanyeol grins at you. He’s right. You are. You have never been in the same room as these many guys before. “Don’t worry, we don’t bite.” He says before shooting you a comforting smile and putting his headphones back on.
Curiously, you peek a glance at his screen. Your mouth opens in amazement when you see a complex looking screen with a bunch of colourful bubbles that you don’t think you’ll ever quite understand. Chanyeol feels your stare and pauses his work. “Do you want to hear?”
You nod timidly. He smiles and puts the headphones over your ears. He presses play for you, biting on his lip in anticipation. Your eyes immediately widen in amazement. His voice was the perfect mix of smooth and raspy. Your ears couldn’t believe what you were hearing.
“You made that?” You can’t tell if you’re yelling but Chanyeol is laughing at you and you can’t help but smile back. Interacting with a man seems easy. He nods, shoulders shaking from laughing. “It’s really good!”
Chanyeol loses his shit and throws his head back before taking the headphones off.
“Sure, Chanyeol, destroy my sister’s hearing.” Tiffany says sarcastically before she turns back to Junmyeon who laughs subtly through his nose. She listens intently to him as he gets serious again and explains a concept to her. You watch as his lips purse as he talks – pink and glossy, likely from the constant licking he was doing from talking so much. Your sister doesn’t even look at him when he explains. It’s blowing your mind. This is the first time you are seeing your sister do something wrong. Because Junmyeon looks absolutely stunning. You don’t think you would even be able to concentrate if he was your tutor. You don’t even notice that Chanyeol is asking you a question.
“He’s handsome, huh?” Chanyeol leans in closer so only you could hear him. You jump in your seat and almost fall off when you see how close he is to you. He catches you before you fall.
“What did you think of my song? It’s my final project.” He asks as if he didn’t just catch you ogling his friend.
"I-It was really good!” You stutter like an idiot. You make the mistake of glancing at Junmyeon and your sister who are both staring at you with concern. Of course they are. They’re perfect people. Perfect people who check on the condition of others.
You avert your attention back to the comforting presence that is Chanyeol.
“Ohh! Thank you! I’m so glad you like it.” He cheers and grabs something from his pocket. “Here, have a candy.”
“Are you Pavlov-ing her to like your music?” Junmyeon finally talks loud enough for you to hear and your ears melt. His voice is soft but not in the way that makes him look weak, more in the way that makes people want to listen to what he has to say. But most importantly, you melt because he’s funny too.
“No! She genuinely likes it. Right, Y/N? You’re not lying to be polite?” Chanyeol looks at you expectantly, head tilted playfully with big eyes staring into you.
“N-No! I would never!” You shake your head quickly and turn to Junmyeon to show him that you do enjoy Chanyeol’s music.
When you do, your hearts races.
He’s fully smiling at you, eyes crinkled into crescent moons, wrinkling the corners of his eyes beautifully. You don’t think you’ve ever seen someone smile so brightly like that before.
“I’m just teasing, Y/N.” He laughs it off before returning his attention to your sister.
The heavy feeling in your chest returns as you spend the entire study session sneaking glances at your sister and Junmyeon.
--------
Stephanie’s first step in her guidebook to getting familiar with men is a success. She’s happy to see that Chanyeol has made an impression on you.
“Oh, hey Chanyeol. What’re you doing in my kitchen?” She asks in her pink silk set and matching fluffy pink slippers. She just woke up, yet she looks so put together.
“Chanyeol and I are going to go for a run!” You exclaim, blender in hand.
“That explains the headband.” She taps Chanyeol’s head teasingly before she clicks on the kettle to start boiling her water. Stephanie has a glass of warm water every morning, says it’s good for her metabolism and gut health.
Your sister takes care of her body with a fragility and femininity touch, focusing on what feels right for her body. You take care of your body by putting it through heavy lifting and tracking your macros.
Stephanie does pilates and spin while you powerlift and jog.
“That’s good. You finally found a jogging buddy.” She scrunches her nose at you, booping it affectionately. “Chanyeol, I didn’t know you ran.”
"Not as fast as Y/N.” He smiles in your direction as you pour your magic smoothie that boosts your energy before a run. He has a taste of the green coloured mix, still skeptical. You watch the light in his eyes return and his ears perk up realizing that you haven’t poisoned him. “This is delicious!”
Chanyeol chugs the rest of the drink while you giggle, pouring yourself a glass.
Stephanie stops the kettle midway as not to get to a boil and eyes you both as she drinks her warm water.
“Hm...” She hums, small smile appearing on her lips.
“What’s so funny?” You raise an eyebrow in confusion.
“Nothing.” Her grin doesn’t get any smaller.
Weird.
--------
Stephanie had texted you that the group would be meeting at the same study room you’ve all grown accustomed to. You arrive a lot earlier than the others, opting to study a bit more before you had to be in the same room as Junmyeon. You were in for another distracted session for sure.
You find a spot on the couch near the room that’s still being used by other students. You check the time and pull the tiny coffee table closer to you and get settled. There’s still lots of time to get some work done. You manage to get a head start on your final essay at the end of the semester, drafting the structure and topics you want to highlight. Maybe you should do a bit more of the reading too.
A hand waves in your face, disturbing the current flow state you were in.
You raise your gaze at the culprit in annoyance, brows furrowed.
They quickly raise in surprise instead when you see Junmyeon’s bright smile directed at you. Your mouth is slightly agape. Your hand shakily moves your headphones from your ears, wrapping your neck instead. It’s a bit hard to breathe when he’s looking at you so prettily.
“Can I sit with you?” Junmyeon gestures the empty spot next to you and you scooch a bit to make space.
“O-Of course! Come sit!” You feel like hitting yourself on the head. If Stephanie was here, she would 100% be giggling to herself with how ridiculous you’re acting around him. But how can you act normally when he smells like a fresh basket of laundry and his smile is bright enough to light the city?
“Looks like there’s still people in there.” He makes small talk as he situates himself beside you. He gets comfortable in his seat. He’s wearing the university’s hoodie paired with baggy denim jeans. It’s a simple outfit most people throw on lazily but on him, it looks curated and intentional like he was going for the college boyfriend look. You must be going crazy. Junmyeon’s chuckle breaks you from your reverie.
“Sorry? I wasn’t listening.”
“I figured. I was asking what you were working on.” He’s amused by you. You would too if someone acted a fool around you.
“Oh.” You say, as if you couldn’t believe he would be interested in what you were doing. “My final essay for intro to psych. I was just drafting it. I figured I’d start early so I don’t rush it later.”
“Psych?” He tilts his head. “I thought you were a Kinesiology major.”
You’re surprised he knows this. He’s never asked you this before. Stephanie probably told him when introducing you to the group.
“It’s just an elective my advisor suggested.” You shrug. It wasn’t your first choice but you were growing to like it. It’s just a course to get through the first semester.
“I took it my first semester too. Let me see.” He scoots closer to you and turns your laptop slightly to see your notes. The whole library probably heard the sharp breath you just took the second he got close to you. “Relax, I’m not going to judge.”
He scoffs at your reaction; the edge of his lip rising in amusement. You wonder if the library also hears how loud your heart is racing right now.
“Colour-coded notes... Cute.”
Your hand flies to your mouth to cover the ridiculous smile growing on your face. Your cheeks were burning and hurting. You look around the library, anything other than Junmyeon’s unnecessarily perfect and smooth face and pursing lips as he concentrated to read your notes. Your eyes set sight on Chanyeol and you can’t help but feel relief, letting go of the breath you were holding.
“Chanyeol!” You exclaim, jumping up to greet him. He raises an arm for you and you give him a side hug.
“Hey Y/N.” His smile eases the tension built in your chest. “Hey Junmyeon. Were you guys studying together?”
Junmyeon slowly leans away from your laptop and gives Chanyeol a small nod. “I was just looking at her notes.”
“Ah.” Chanyeol says, shifting his eyes between you two. “The study room’s empty if you guys want to move in there.”
Junmyeon nods politely, closing your laptop. He grabs it and your backpack too.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” You reach to take your stuff from him but he pulls it slightly away, insisting.
“It’s right there, Y/N. I got it.” He reassures you with that warm smile of his.
If the library didn’t hear your heart before, you’re sure they’ve heard it now.
--------
“I don’t know about this, Steph...” You pull down on Stephanie’s skirt she lent you for this party.
“It’ll be fun! Chanyeol will be there.” Your sister hooks an arm around yours excitedly. She’s like a puppy the way she yaps and jumps around you.
“Okay?” You raise an eyebrow at the mention of Chanyeol. You didn’t want him to see you like this either.
“All I’m saying is this could be the perfect opportunity to practice how you flirt with guys.” She explains, dragging you to the front entrance where a line has already been formed to get in.
“It’s a frat house.” You say, scanning the crowd of beautiful women and attractive men. She is throwing you into the ocean and you can’t even swim.
“They’re normal guys too, you know.” She senses your judgement.
“No, they’re not! They drink and party, probably do keg stands too!” You try to say it as lowly as possible as not to offend literally everyone here tonight.
“Not all of them.”
“Name one.”
“Junmyeon.”
“Oh.”
“Tiffany! Y/N! Come inside!” Minseok’s voice disrupts the moment, waving for you both to come in. You hear a bunch of groans and complaints behind you that you will choose to ignore. Of course your sister had an in to this party. You just didn’t know it would be because of the same boys you formed a study group with.
“Just try to have fun. If you feel uncomfortable, find me or Chanyeol.” It’s the last thing she says before she’s being dragged in all sorts of directions by different people. You don’t even get the chance to respond. This is her second time mentioning Chanyeol. Did she like him or something?
The reminder sets off something in your head and you’re met with the realization that you really don’t want to be here. Your skirt was way too short. There were too many people screaming, drinking and dancing. You just don’t fit in.
You try scanning the crowd for Chanyeol but you don’t find that giant head of his anywhere. Feeling hopeless, you go up the stairs. It might be a bit quieter there. Without thinking, you open the first door you see.
“Oh, sorry!” You say when you see a pair of legs on a bed.
“Y/N?”
You freeze at the door then come to your senses when Junmyeon leans forward, guitar on his lap. He waves you in with a smile on his face. He removes his headphones and puts his guitar back on the stand. You enter, closing the door behind you.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in here.” You apologize and sit at the edge of his bed, pulling on your skirt before it rides any further. His room is a bit messy which was not what you expected of him. He just seems like such a clean guy – he does smell like one after all.
There was a chair with a bunch of clothes on it. There were also a bunch of rock posters plastered on his walls: The Beatles and Coldplay for instance. You thought he’d be more into classical music or maybe musicals. Something classy. He is full of happy surprises.
“Don’t worry about it.” He waves you off. He gets up from his bed and grabs a hoodie and sweatpants from the pile of clothes. “You look uncomfortable. Do you want to borrow these?”
Your heart races once again.
You nod and Junmyeon hands you his clothes before turning around to let you change. You wear the sweats over your crop top and skirt. It smells so ridiculously like him. You take one last sniff before sitting criss-cross on his bed, a lot more comfortable now.
“You play guitar?” You try to avert your attention from the overwhelming feeling in your chest.
He turns around, hearing you get on his bed. He’s staring at you with a glint in his eyes. His cheekbones pop out when he grabs the guitar again.
“Yeah! Do you want to hear?” He sounds so excited to show you, grabbing the headphones and handing them to you. You smile and let him put them over your ears instead - his fingers brushing over your red ears. You’re glad your hair is covering them.
“Tell me if it’s too loud.”
You nod, biting on your lip unconsciously. The more you got to know him, the more your attraction for him grew. He was different from your expectations in the best way possible.
He starts playing a beautiful riff. There is something about the electric guitar that makes it sound as sensual as it is romantic. You stop yourself from leaving your mouth agape, biting on your cheek nervously. There’s a pit growing in your stomach that you’ve only ever felt once in your life when you read a explicit book for the first time. You avoid eye contact with him when he stops.
“Was that bad? You didn’t seem to like it.” Junmyeon’s smile is present, but his brows show you that he seems a bit embarrassed.
"No!!” You shake your head vigorously and finally meet his eyes. It’s taking a lot in you not to cry, finding it frustrating that you don’t know how to be comfortable around him. “It was genuinely beautiful. I’ve never heard that song before.”
“Oh, thank you. I wrote it.” He tells you casually.
This man can’t be real.
“You wrote that? You’re so talented! Why aren’t you in music with Chanyeol?” You ask in disbelief. He shrugs, leaning forward to help you take off the headphones.
“It’s just a hobby. I want to be a lawyer.” He places the blue strat back on the stand next to his bed and leans against the headboard. The image is a bit too much for you. Seeing him in an oversized t-shirt and pyjama pants feels too intimate. You stare into his eyes, distracting yourself from how good he looks sprawled out on his bed.
“Ohh, well I think you’re really gifted.” You compliment him one more time. “What other hidden talents do you have?”
He laughs, his eyes smiling at you brightly once again. “You’re cute.”
You swoon. You’re shocked you haven’t fallen off his bed over that comment.
Maybe it’s because making him laugh feels like one of your greatest accomplishments. You hope you can make him laugh over and over again so you can hear that beautiful sound nonstop.
“Just the one. What about you? Can you play?”
“No, no. I only listen to music. I can’t make it.” You wave your hands embarrassingly. You don’t really have hobbies, unless you count the gym as one.
“Sure you can. Here, I’ll show you.” He moves off the bed and nudges you to turn your body to the left. You follow, letting your legs fall off the bed. He places the guitar on your lap and crouches in front of you. His fingers wrap around your wrist and places them on the neck.
“Relax your fingers.” He taps twice on your knuckles and for the first time tonight, he eases your tension even with the next thing he says. “Good girl.”
He does all the work, placing your three fingers on three strings in a row. There’s something so calming with the way he touches you. He’s being so gentle with you.
“Strum.”
You listen to him, strumming the guitar with your thumb like you see musicians do all the time. You’re shocked to hear a cohesive sound.
“Woah.”
“Not bad, right?” He beams as he looks up at you with those dark and glossy eyes. You’ll probably dream of them tonight.
“No. It was really fun-”
“Junmyeon, have you seen-”
Your head turns to see Chanyeol at the door, holding onto the doorknob. He blinks once, twice, before saying something.
“... Y/N.” He finishes his sentence with a blank stare. You’ve never seen him like this before. Chanyeol was always so perky and happy to see you.
“Hey Chanyeol! Junmyeon was just teaching me a chord.” You say innocently, not putting too much thought into it. Junmyeon stands up from the ground and that’s when you see Chanyeol’s eyes widen ever so slightly.
“You’re wearing his clothes.” He says, completely ignoring what you just said.
“She looked uncomfortable, so I lent her some clothes. I hope that’s okay.” Junmyeon clears up any misunderstanding for you.
“Of course it’s okay.” Chanyeol’s usual tone and facial expression returns. “Your sister is looking for you.”
“Ah.” You try to put the strat back on the stand but Junmyeon grabs it for you. “Thank you for spending time with me, Junmyeon.”
“No, thank you. Good night, Y/N.”
You shoot him one last smile before disappearing behind the door and back into the loud party with Chanyeol. Your heart is still in disbelief of what just happened.
Chanyeol escorts you to the kitchen where Stephanie is talking to some other friends. She finally sees you by Chanyeol’s side and tilts her head curiously with a sly smile. You wonder what she’s up to with that mischievous grin on her face.
“Hi Y/N~” She says with a little playful tone. She must be tipsy. She suddenly looks up at Chanyeol with the brightest smile. “Thanks, Chanyeol, for bringing my sister to me~”
“It’s no problem.” He replies, tone still a bit different than you’re used to.
Stephanie hooks her arm around yours with the same cheeky grin she’s been sporting since you got here.
“I’m so happy for you!” She randomly squeals in your ear, making you laugh at how silly she’s being.
“Happy for what?” You indulge her, just happy that she’s happy.
“Come on, you’re wearing Chan-”
“SHOTS!!” Yixing comes out of nowhere with a tray full of tiny cups and shoves them in our faces. Your sister grabs two: one for her and another for presumably you. She doesn’t say much, only winking at you and downing the drink.
You follow her lead and immediately gag at the awful taste and burn in your throat.
You wish you could sneak back into Junmyeon’s room and learn the guitar just a bit longer.
--------
You can’t stop thinking about Junmyeon. Even as you’re highlighting notes in your textbook, you don’t halt your thoughts for a second. The way his fingers were delicately touching yours. The way he smiled when you complimented his song. And the way he noticed immediately how uncomfortable you were in Stephanie’s clothes. Junmyeon was making it insanely hard to get over this silly crush on him.
“Y/N.” Chanyeol calls your name and your bubble bursts. He smiles when he sees you come back down to Earth. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.” You say, adding the cap back on the highlighter and put all your attention onto him.
“It’s a bit out there. And I hope this doesn’t affect our friendship.” Chanyeol looks really nervous. He’s rubbing his pen with his thumb and you can feel his leg shaking under the table.
“It won’t. I can’t afford to lose a jogging buddy.” You joke, taking a sip from your bottle.
“I just want to make sure I’m not reading this wrong. But do you like Junmyeon?”
Caught off guard, you choke on your drink. You tap your chest to clear the liquid from your throat. Chanyeol also helps, patting your back.
“W-What- How did you?”
“You’ve liked him since the day we all met, right?” Chanyeol cuts you off. He’s looking at you expectantly like he’s being a good cop and you’re the criminal he’s interrogating. “I can tell by the way you look at him. And I’m saying this to you as a friend who wants to give you advice - which you can take or not of course.”
You didn’t know you were being that obvious around Junmyeon.
“You should tell him how you feel.” Chanyeol’s eyes soften and he looks... sad? He isn’t - hasn’t been his usual jolly self since the party and you’re unsure why.
“But what if he rejects me? Like the other guy? I’m so scared, Chanyeol.” Your gaze lowers to your hands on your lap. This is embarrassing. Chanyeol was able to read you at first glance and you were still stuck in square one, unable to talk to your crush without dysfunctioning and having your heart jump out of your chest.
“You won’t know how he feels until you tell him. You have to tell people how you feel when you feel them, Y/N.” He stops and thinks for a second before resuming. “Otherwise... You might miss out on other opportunities.”
“I can’t even be myself with him. I get so nervous and jittery. I’m not ready.” Your head falls onto your textbook in embarrassment. “I just want to be as calm with him as I am with you.”
Chanyeol scoffs and makes you turn your head so your cheek was on a page and you were facing him instead.
“I promise you you’ll get there with time. That’s just what having a crush feels like.” He pats your head gently and smiles at you comfortingly. You could always count on him to cheer you up.
You straighten yourself and go for a hug. “Thank you so much Chanyeol.”
It takes him a second before wrapping his arms around you tightly. His head rests at the top of your head while his hand rubs your back.
“Don’t mention it.”
The hug is cut short when you hear the door to the study room open.
“Oh, sorry we didn’t mean to interrupt.” Stephanie comes in with the same twinkle in her eye as that time at the party. Junmyeon is right behind her. He shoots you a faint smile before shifting his eyes to the floor, not even greeting you or Chanyeol with enthusiasm like he usually does.
Did you offend him somehow?
Maybe you accidentally said something at the party. You think hard to that night. But nothing comes to mind. You thought Junmyeon and you had a really good time for the short time you were together.
You purse your lips, trying not to let it get to you. What if you missed the window of opportunity like Chanyeol warned you?
“Oh shoot. I forgot my textbook in my locker. I’ll be right back.” Stephanie says as she rummages through her purse. “It’s so far though…”
“I’ll walk with you.” Chanyeol stands up and follows your sister out the door, passing you with a comforting pat on your back. You exhale as you realize what he’s doing.
Your eyes follow Junmyeon as he sits in his usual spot across from you. He’s still quiet, refusing to look at you.
A thought crosses your mind.
“Um, Junmyeon…”
He lifts his head instinctively, finally meeting your eyes. You can tell he’s silently regretting it. There’s a gloomy look in his gaze and you really want to make him feel better.
“I just wanted to thank you for lending me your clothes on Friday. It was really nice of you.” You clear your throat to calm the nerves. Somehow you’ve convinced yourself that the reason he won’t reply and probably hates you is because you haven’t returned his clothes yet. “I promise I’ll get them back to you. I just wanted to wash them first.”
“There’s no need for that.” Junmyeon’s smile returns but it’s too polite… too nice. It doesn’t feel like him. His genuine smile is contagious and warm, not cold and foreign. His gaze goes back to his laptop as yours don’t leave his form.
You’re pouting now. This somehow feels worse than the first time you got rejected. Probably because you actually know the guy this time.
You have to tell people how you feel when you feel them.
“Junmyeon!”
His eyes widen and he’s staring at you all freaked out. You don’t think you’ve ever raised your voice at anyone before.
“I- I-” The confidence is quick to fade away but you have to keep going. “I like you. And I’m sorry if I’ve offended you somehow but I thought we got along really well on Friday and- and whatever it is you have a problem with, please tell me now because I’m going crazy here.”
Junmyeon stares at you in what you think is a look of disbelief.
“Or don’t. Please ignore what I said.” You sit back down and focus on your laptop, moving your cursor all over your screen, not necessarily clicking on anything.
“You like me?” He breaks the silence, lips curving into a smile.
But it’s quick to leave his face. And there’s a pit growing in your stomach.
“Yes.” You say nervously, biting on your lip. It feels like an eternity waiting for him to say anything else. He’s thinking really hard, you can tell by the way he purses his lips. The face is all too familiar. It’s the same face your first crush had when he was rejecting you. You want to bury yourself under a bunch of sand and let the ocean take you out with a big wave. “I-It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I won’t take it personally-”
“Wait, no.” Junmyeon’s eyes shift to you then to the door. “Um, come.”
Before you knew it, Junmyeon grabs your wrist and pulls you up and out of the study room, leaving all your belongings behind.
“My laptop...” You pout as he brings you to one of the empty aisles of the library.
“They’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.” Junmyeon comforts you but it’s not enough to ease the anxiety that’s blown out of proportion inside of you. You just want to shake out the rejection from his mouth. He brought you here so you wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of your friends. That must be it. You’re Stephanie’s inexperienced younger sister, of course he wouldn’t want you-
“Listen,” He starts and you hold your breath. “You’re really nice and sweet.”
Here it comes.
“I just... want you to think about this a little bit more. We’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks. You’re just getting over a different guy. I don’t want to rush into things so quickly...” He says a bit too fast, like he’s trying to get rid of the words and get this over with. He’s looking at you with a softened gaze like he’s handling a dried bouquet of flowers and trying not to make a mess before he throws it into the trash.
“Oh, no worries. I get it.” You wave him off like it’s no big deal; the sting in your eyes burning extra hard. The shake in your voice isn’t hard to ignore either. “I’m sorry for making things weird.”
“Y/N... Wait, that’s not-” He tries to reach for you but you retreat first.
“No, really, it’s okay.” You force a smile before turning back and rushing to the study room. The tears come out a lot easier than it is to stop them.
You open the door and are met with four pairs of eyes staring at you.
Stephanie is the first to get up and check on you. You dodge her and grab your things, slinging your bag onto your shoulder before you head to the door.
“Y/N? What’s wrong? Where’s Junmyeon?” You hear Chanyeol’s voice behind you and his chair screech to check on you too. Overwhelmed, you leave the room and head anywhere else.
“Y/N, slow down.” Your sister is quick to follow you. She’s always been fast to be by your side. You don’t slow your pace though, walking even faster so she doesn’t see the tears running down your face.
So she follows. She’s with you the only way you’re letting her.
She trails behind you when you finally walk out the doors of the university and stop, unsure where to go next. She places a hand on your back and pulls you in for a side hug.
“Come, my car’s this way.” She says, pulling you in the direction of her parking spot. It’s not a far walk but it’s enough to calm you down from the heightened emotions.
“Tell me what’s wrong, Y/N. So I can help you.” She asks when you finally get inside her car, giving you a moment to settle your breath before speaking.
Stephanie’s voice is filled with warmth and comfort. She feels like the sun and you can’t help but look her way.
“I confessed to my crush.” You tell her shyly. “And he rejected me. Again.”
You can’t believe you let this happen again.
She frowns.
“But you came in crying and Chanyeol was in the room.”
It’s your turn to raise your eyebrow at her.
“What do you mean by that?” You ask, unsure what she’s hinting at.
“Your crush? Isn’t it Chanyeol?” She asks like you’re the one who is lost.
You blink at her, once, twice.
“… Junmyeon. I told Junmyeon I like him and he rejected me.”
You can see the horror flash in Stephanie’s eyes and she covers her mouth.
“What?” You ask, mirroring her reaction. “Why’s this so hard to believe?”
“I’ve… I’ve been telling Junmyeon how you’ve been crushing on Chanyeol…” She says quietly, voice low and ashamed of what she’s done. You frown. When have you ever told her you were into Chanyeol?
You’re just getting over a different guy. Suho’s voice rings in the back of your mind. And that sentence finally starts to make sense to you. You thought he was talking about the first guy who you were definitely over.
“Y/N… I am so sorry. I can fix this!” Stephanie immediately goes on her phone and starts typing on her phone.
“Steph, what are you doing?” You watch as she nervously types, erases, types and erases.
“I’m texting Junmyeon right now.” She says frantically. You’ve never seen your sister so stressed out before.
“What? Why?” You take her phone and delete the message. “He doesn’t like me! That's not going to change.”
She steals her phone back and puts it away on her lap.
“No, Y/N, I think he does.” She deadpans.
“I was so fixated on you and Chanyeol. I didn’t put two and two together that you would be interested in Junmyeon. Oh god, I think I made a mess.” She continues. Her face is mixed with embarrassment and an eagerness to share her new-found revelation. “But Junmyeon definitely likes you.”
You don’t even know how to respond to her. She must have lost her mind. As if she sees the confusion on your face, she persists.
“He’s always asking about you.” She insists.
“Stop lying. He’s just being nice.”
“No, before I introduced you to the guys, he’s never once asked how my sister was, what your major was, what your schedule was or if we were meeting with you and the study group - even though I’m pretty sure you’re very comfortable talking to the opposite sex now and the study group is very much not needed anymore.” Stephanie looks very serious and… convincing. You can’t tell if this is just Stephanie’s communications bachelor’s talking.
“Y/N, how exactly did he reject you?”
You fold your lips into your mouth nervously.
Now that you think of it… You can’t remember the exact words.
It felt like a rejection.
Stephanie sees the hesitation in your face and for the first time, you see your sister get annoyed with you.
“We’re fixing this.”
--------
Stephanie has you pacing back and forth in front of Junmyeon’s fraternity house. She had dropped you off under the premise that you were going to a cute coffee shop to study for the upcoming midterms.
It’s been 15 minutes and she still hasn’t returned. She really did abandon you at the front steps like some stray cat. You feel your stomach turn as you approach the door. With a big gulp, you ring the doorbell.
You release the tension from your shoulder when Minseok opens the door with a bright smile.
“Y/N! Tiffany said you’d be stopping by.”
Your shoulders tense up again. You hope she didn’t tell them anything. Although, they did see you walk into the room with tears in your eyes. It would be weird if they hadn’t figured it out on their own.
“Junmyeon’s the first to the right.” He invites you in and throws a hand in the direction of the familiar room. So he does know. Great.
“He hasn’t really talked to any of us about what happened. Just been cooped up in his room playing the guitar.” Minseok pats you on the back and lead you to the stairs. “Just talk to him.”
You nod and find your way up the stairs that brought you to him the first time. You open the door to find him in the same position, legs straight on the bed, his cute feet covered in socks and moving to the rhythm of his music. You peek your head through to let yourself be seen but find his eyes closed and headphones on. Unsure how to approach this, you shut the door a little harder than you would usually.
He doesn’t budge, still strumming along the blue strat.
You bite your bottom lip and do the unthinkable.
You tickle his foot.
Junmyeon almost kicks you, eyes wide in surprise. Once it registers that it’s you, his body relaxes and he rushes to take off his headphones.
“I’m so sorry! Did I hurt you?” He comes to your side and inspects you for any damage he might have done.
“You didn’t even touch me.” You reassure him, offering him a small smile. You don’t let him say another word before you let yourself ramble.
“Junmyeon, I came to say I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I rushed out of there and didn’t let you finish. I really do enjoy spending time with you and I hope that we can still stay friends. And maybe you can still teach me the guitar?” You finally say the words you had been practicing in your head this whole week. The heavy weight on your chest has finally been lifted and your conscience is now cleared. It’s now up to Junmyeon to accept being your friend. You wait for him to smile and say no worries, let’s just forget alllll about it. And you can try to move on from his beautiful brown eyes that disappear when he smiles.
“But I don’t want to be friends.” He frowns.
And the heavy feeling returns.
“Oh.”
“No, no.” He approaches you, hands reaching your sides awkwardly as if he didn’t want you to run off in tears again. “Please don’t misunderstand. I like you. Like, really really like you.”
“Oh.” You were so ready for him to reject you kindly that this didn’t feel like an actual option. You didn’t think Stephanie would be right, but of course she was. It’s Stephanie.
“Please stop saying oh.” He bites onto his lip nervously, almost looking like he’ll cry right then and there.
“I’m sorry. I’m just having such a hard time believing any of this is real. But that’s my problem not yours.” You say, backing away from his hold.
Junmyeon pulls you in for the hug, wrapping his arms around you and refusing to let you run away again. It takes you a couple seconds to react but you snake your arms around once you’ve come to your senses that Kim Junmyeon is hugging you. You rest your cheek against his chest and you smell the familiar scent of his laundry you’ve grown addicted to. You feel his every tense muscle soften around your body.
“I’ve liked you ever since you walked into that study room looking all nervous to meet a bunch of guys. To be honest, when Stephanie first approached me, I thought it was a bit weird. We had only been study partners, and suddenly, she wants me to help her with her inexperienced sister.” He pulls away a bit so he can look at you as he confesses to you how he feels. Your heart stops when his lips curve into a smile and he laughs at the memory of Stephanie being Stephanie and doing the most to help you.
“But when you were yelling at Chanyeol with those headphones on, I was hooked. You looked so cute. I couldn’t wait to talk to you. I wanted to know more. I’ve never felt so curious about a person before.” He admits, resting a gentle hand on your cheek. “I couldn’t understand how someone so cute could ever get rejected.”
You gulp when his eyes flicker to your lips.
“Cute.” He mutters to himself before kissing your cheek and making your face unintentionally burn up. “So no, I don’t want to be just friends with you, but I would love nothing more than to take you out on a date and take our time getting to know one another.”
Your heart races at an impossible speed.
“And maybe guitar lessons?” You manage to mutter out like an idiot.
Junmyeon’s smile quickly morphs into the one you love so much, brightening the room and warming your heart.
“Maybe.”
Unable to contain your happiness, you return the smile and give him a quick peck on his lips.
“Well, it’s a definitely, now.”
✰ bonus ova here ✰
chananyeol bong: y/n is sucha big fluff ball omfg shes so oblivious that two men are fighting for her affection. if only that was meeeeee </3 (not really i would hate that) i hope you guys enjoy!!!! this was supposed to be 2k words MAXXXX but idk i let the writing gods take the wheel on this one. 🙏🏼😊 there's going to be a part 2 but the story is basically done!! part 2 is just a bonus for us!! 💓💘
and of course a happy early birthday to kim junmyeon!!! ilysm ty for being the rock of the family you sweet sweet boy!!! 🥹😭💖💗💌💘
Pairing: ? (at this stage undecided) x Reader or is it Baekhyun x Reader ?
Warnings: 18+ fic, minors DNI! angst, fluff, suggestive text, making out, confessions of feelings. Not many warnings for this one but she's deeply in her head for a decent portion of this chapter.
Word Count: 22,599
A/N: Here it is. The final chapter. Like most of my writing in the back half of this fic, it was supposed to be considerable shorter but then I let the brain worms control my fingers and now you get this behemoth of an ending. It's only had one very quick edit so I hope it makes sense and isn't a let down.
7 years ago I knew the ending for this fic, but when I was plotting out the chapter that ending simply didn't fit anymore so we've got a new ending and I hope it doesn't let you down.
The flight home left you with a lot of time to think. You had asked Minseok and Baekhyun to let the rest of the guys know about your meeting, telling them that Junmyeon could probably fill in more of the details that you’d left out when you’d broken the news to them. Your mind had been focused on getting to Minseok’s reward at the time, so discussing the feedback you’d received in great detail was not front of mind.
Feeling overwhelmed with your own thoughts, you’d also asked them to tell everyone that you had requested some space. From them. You just couldn’t handle any of them right now. You’d assured Minseok & Baek when you’d all woken up the next morning that they hadn’t overstepped or done anything, but that your mind was too busy and too much for you right now. The internal storm had been brewing for quite some time but you’d constantly pushed it down, too busy to deal with silly things like the future, feelings and relationships. But once the tour ended and the rewards were completed (inconveniently on the same night) it all came crashing down on you. The floodgates had been opened and you didn’t know how to act normal and not drown in your own mind at the same time. You needed space to simply exist. Space to sort out your mind before you did something utterly stupid and reckless. You’d promised to never disappear on them again without talking to them, and whilst you felt a bit guilty for withdrawing from them like that you had provided warning, and as much context as you could. Baekhyun refused to let you leave until you promised him you weren’t self-destructing. That you weren’t going to disappear and not respond to them.
“You said you wouldn’t do that again. You said you’d lean on at least one of us when you were struggling.” He said, his eyes full of concern as he watched you nervously pace around the room.
“It’s different this time. I’m not sad, or feeling lonely or headed to a dark place mentally.” You stopped in the middle of the room as you tried to hold off the panic attack that you could feel building within you. You needed to go. You needed to be away from it all. You needed them to understand. “It’s just loud. And overwhelming. And I need time to be by myself to sort through everything.”
“But you’re asking us to not contact you.” He looked down at his hands. “How will we know if you’re ok?”
“It won’t be for long. I hope. Just give me a week, then Minseok or Kyungsoo can check in to make sure I’m ok.” You said.
“Why not me?” He asked so quietly that you barely heard the words.
“Because I know they’ll just check in with me and nothing more until I’m ready to chat.” You smiled at him. “You wouldn’t be able to help yourself. You yap. It’s just part of who you are.”
“I hate this.” He grumbled.
“I don’t like it either, but I’ll do it.” Minseok replied. He looked worried for you as well, but he could tell you weren’t going to bend on this request. He didn’t want to back you into a corner. He knew if any of them did that, they ran the risk of you running from them. He hated to see you struggle with your thoughts but he hoped he knew you well enough to know that you’d reach out if you needed to lean on them. Even if you weren’t ready.
“Fine. I’ll do it as well, but know that I truly do not like this. Not one bit.” He sighed, resigned to your decision. He realised his words may have come across too harsh when he saw guilt flash across your features. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad. I’m just worried and wish I, or any of us, could help.”
You nodded. “I get it. I would hate it if any of you did this to me. Trust me I feel shitty about it, but I need to go deal with some stuff that I’ve been putting to the side because I simply didn’t have time to process it.” You shifted nervously on your feet, itching to leave the room. You felt your heart rate increase, and breathing was becoming difficult. You had to leave before your panic was obvious to them. You weren’t sure why you were so wound up this morning, but you knew you just needed to get away from the people who paid too much attention to you. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
You knew that they had conveyed your wishes when the group chat you’d been added to, one that had been busy that morning with members arguing over the best American breakfast sandwich, just stopped. The messages just abruptly ended. It left a bittersweet feeling in your heart. On one hand, they were only respecting your request for space to think, but on the other, having nine large personalities all fall quiet at the same time made you feel lonely. You hadn’t realised how much they had integrated themselves into your life, and you theirs until then. You might not see them every day but their presence was always felt. Through messages bickering with each other, reminding you to eat, dumb selfies, silly jokes, recommendations for movies or tv shows, unflattering photos of the others. They were always there. Until now. Now it was as though they’d all simply ceased to exist. It was weird. It felt wrong.
You’d travelled back to Korea with the other staff members. No one found that strange as there was no reason for any of the guys to request your presence for a lesson - the tour was over. You mindlessly watched movies until you fell asleep. Dealing with the onslaught of thoughts and feelings was not something you were going to do on a long haul flight. Having a breakdown 30,000 feet above the ocean was not on your bucket list. Did you shed a tear or two at certain scenes in the movies you watched because they reminded you of certain people? Maybe. But lucky for you the staff were all equally exhausted and happy to sleep for the majority of the return trip. Once you landed the guys were called to the company whilst you and multiple other staff members were told to go home and rest. You were beyond thankful to be told to go home because that was the only thing you wanted to do. You wanted the safety of the familiar four walls of your apartment. The comfort of your bed. Maybe all you needed was a really long sleep and then you’d be less of an emotional wreck. You didn’t think you’d overworked yourself but maybe you were wrong?
It was quiet in your apartment. Not that that was a new thing. No, the new thing was that you knew it would remain quiet. There would not be a knock on your door from a bored neighbour who wanted to raid your snack cupboard and hide from their roommates. There would be no flurry of messages to your phone or late night calls. It was probably a good thing. If this feeling that you were experiencing, like teetering on the edge of an abyss of panic, was anything to go by then you were probably deluding yourself if you thought it was purely related to being exhausted from work.
No, if you actually thought about it, you realised that it was the culmination of a few things. First there was the fact that your contract was over and you didn’t know what was next for you, or how their CEO would respond to the work you’d done. Second was the fact that you had been sexually intimate with each of the members. You thought you’d kept the interpersonal relationship side of things separate from the sex but now your mind was throwing every ‘what if’ in the book at you. Were they your friends?, were they colleagues?, did any of them now want nothing to do with you because you’d been with the others?, did any of them want more from you?, did you want more from any of them?, did you ruin everything? Your mind was in full spiral mode, with no exits in sight. You were unfortunately in for the ride, even if you did not want to be.
You knew you needed to sit down and dwell in your thoughts and work out what to do about the nine very special men who were woven into your heart, each one you had slept with, but did you feel something more than friendship and attraction to any of them? Was it simply a working relationship that you’d sprinkled some highly unprofessional fun into or did you have romantic interest in any or all of them? You’d avoided thinking about this very thing for weeks now, always telling yourself that you were too busy with lessons. Now you were forced to address it. No one would come distract you, and there was no work to be done, and if you didn’t address it? Well it seemed like you were destined for a full blown mental breakdown if you left it to fester.
You were officially off the clock until the CEO summoned you so you had nothing but time to sit and dwell on your thoughts and feelings. Naturally you decided to clean your apartment instead. Then reorganise the kitchen, do all of your washing, make your bed and organise your desk. It was when your thumb was hovering over the call button for your parents that you snapped out of your procrastination spiral and forced your brain to start unraveling the mess that was your relationship with the EXO members.
Like every other time you’d had to solve a seemingly large problem, you took out a notebook and pen and began to make notes. It wasn’t a pros and cons list, rather, it was your jumbled thoughts spewed out onto a page. You’d always worked best with problem solving when you had something to annotate. You needed visual logic cues if you were to concentrate on this long enough to deal with it. When you looked down at the page it was one very messy web of unfiltered thoughts. Seeing it all on the page didn’t ease your worries like it usually did. For some reason this felt bigger, like it was more important than you could perceive.
The crux of the issue still seemed to be that they were your friends before you took on the role of teaching them English, then after they became colleagues you rather quickly implemented the reward system. Then came the issue of involving sex, but honestly, apart from some prying and joking the guys hadn’t changed in how they acted towards you. If anything some were more affectionate with you but that was never in a sexual way. They understood that the system was there for the lessons and if you excluded Minseok and Baekhyun - all sex acts were contained within the lesson rewards or punishments. Yixing was playful, but only because he knew he could get away with it. He never tried for more than being close to you, and you knew he cared about you (especially since the day at the Han River, and because he wasn’t always around), but you didn’t think he was pining for you though it was sometimes difficult to gauge what he was feeling. Junmyeon was a gentleman and rarely brought up anything to do with the reward arrangement. Chanyeol, Jongdae and Sehun liked to make suggestive comments and jokes but that was mostly in. Sehun had been clingy before all of this anyway. Kyungsoo was another who was difficult to read. He’d never tried anything after the reward, but he was sweet to you, and very familiar with you in a way he hadn’t been beforehand. Jongin was a sweetheart before and after, and you were pretty sure his reward was just an experience for him and nothing more. Minseok and you… well that has basically been a friends with benefits situation however neither of you appeared to be trying to push that arrangement into something more at present. You were both more than capable of hanging out and not fucking.
Baekhyun presented a whole other problem. Your relationship with him had never been normal. The sexually charged banter had been there from the very beginning and only built as things went on. The day at the Han River proved that he cared about you enough to find you and help you. You enjoyed his company which wasn’t to say you didn’t enjoy all of their company, but with him it was different. Wasn’t it? You weren’t sure. The relationship that grew between the two of you had been sexually charged thanks to your drunken flirting very early on in the scheme of things but he’d never shied away from it - as long as you weren’t a drunken mess. The flirting had continued and your encounters always seemed to teeter on the precipice of taking that next step, but ended in delayed gratification so it was impossible for you to decipher if you had felt so strongly because you’d craved his body and his touch or if it was something more.
You paused in your deliberations to order some food. All this thinking was making you hungry and your mother had always told you to never make important decisions while hungry. It was something you’d lived by and you weren't about to stray from it now. A decision made while hungry could very well just be the impulsive choice rather than the choice you might make once hunger wasn’t making you impatient. Hangry was never a helpful state to be in.
What were you even trying to figure out? Did you want to date all of them? Was that even a possibility? It would be hard enough to date one idol, let alone nine of them. How would that work? You knew people back home who were in successful polycules but like, they were on the smaller side and had a more even split of gender. That and the fact that they weren’t also hugely famous in a highly conservative country and would receive backlash for anyone they dated. If you dated all nine of them, you would be the only woman and as far as you were aware, none of them were all that interested in exploring each other in that way. Did you feel that way about them? I felt like it had to be an all or nothing situation for it to be fair. You didn’t ask your brain what kind of logic that was because it made sense to you at the time. So would you be ok if you didn’t pursue anything more with any of them? Would remaining close friends with them be enough for you, or them? God you hadn’t even considered if any of them were romantically interested in you. How embarrassing would it be to make a decision only for it to be the opposite of their decision? Could your heart handle that rejection if you were dealing with freshly discovered feelings? You stood up and did a full body shake in a feeble attempt at releasing the building anxiety from your body. You needed to focus on one question at a time. Were you romantically interested in all of them?
You weren’t sure. It was complicated.
If you didn’t want all of them, would you be fine with just being friends with them?
Again, you weren’t sure. All this thinking was making your head hurt. The lack of answers you were providing yourself wasn’t helping your anxiety in the slightest. Maybe you should just finish your food, go to bed and try again in the morning? You probably had jet lag. That couldn’t be helping.
Did you want any of them in that way? Did any of them want you in that way? If you were just friends with them, would you be ok watching them date other people? Could you be happy for them? Your heart felt heavy and you were no closer to working out why. You closed your notebook and got into bed, hoping the cocoon of your blankets could wash away some of the worries and panic.
Sleep was elusive. You tossed and turned for what felt like the entire night because you could not switch your brain off. It wasn’t supplying any new information nor was it being productive in any way. No, instead it was showing you all of the worst case scenario outcomes from your possible decisions. Thoughts of being doxxed for dating any of them, sasaengs hurting you or any of them, calls from antis to have the group disband or certain members thrown out. All of it haunted your sleep deprived brain. When your thoughts drifted to the possibility of you being deported over dating any of them, you finally heaved a sigh, called your mind an idiot and somehow fell asleep. It was more likely that you passed out from exhaustion at that point, too drained mentally to remain conscious. The dreams were just snapshots of all these awful thoughts. Your subconscious must have felt bad for you as it sprinkled in small glimpses of the happy endings where everything worked out. Little bursts of colour surrounded these moments, like it was really trying its best to show you there could be good outcomes.
Warmth and laughter in their company, locked lips and entwined limbs, waking up in someone’s arms, secretive dates, happy smiles. Small glimpses of building a happy home together, of not dating but still hanging out and enjoying being with your friends. Feeling whole, and loved. Even dreaming you were no closer to a resolution than before.
A new day brought distractions. So be it if those distractions were ones you forced upon yourself, they were still distractions dammit. You took yourself out for a walk in a feeble attempt at clearing your mind only to find yourself standing in front of an aquarium in Gangnam. Water always grounded you when your thoughts became too loud, and since you couldn’t sit at the beach, staring out at the waves for hours like you could in your hometown, an aquarium was the next best thing. Something about walking through enclosures below the water with sea life surrounding you was calming. It was serene and quiet. You allowed your mind to go blank as you made your way through the different exhibits, reading the fun facts that were put next to each enclosure.
You learned about the sharks that could reproduce asexually, never needing the company of others to keep themselves afloat. Sharks were always so interesting to watch. A terrifying predator who seemingly feared nothing, but to you they were also these goofy looking creatures because of their teeth. There were too many and they were too sharp but it also made them look kind of ridiculous when they were simply existing. You had an appreciation for them. They were unbothered creatures, content to simply exist, only attacking for survival whether that be for sustenance or to defend themselves. They let specific creatures into their personal space, never attacking them, but seeming to simply coexist. Those suckerfish - that you now found out were actually called Remora - helped the sharks and in turn the sharks helped them. It seemed like a simple relationship. You imagined that one day they just attached themselves to the sharks and never let go and for some reason, the shark just let it happen.
The tropical exhibit was vibrant and massive. You had to stop yourself from reciting lines from Finding Nemo lest you appear like a crazy foreigner talking to themselves. You knew a lot of the facts about these creatures from your studies at school but there were some things they had left out of your textbooks, probably to avoid teachers having to explain certain concepts to children. Concepts like polyamorous fish. Yeah, those existed. Well, technically the marine biologists simply documented that certain species of tropical fish mated with multiple partners. So one couldn’t explicitly state that the fish were polyamorous, but maybe that term was better than saying the fish were swingers. It was a ridiculous concept to think about. The inner working relationships of fish. Maybe you were losing your mind.
You moved on to see the seals being fed. You always found them to be a deceptive creature. ‘Looks like a friend but is most definitely not a friend’ was the label you’d always associated with them. Growing up you’d been to a marine park and been in awe of the cute seals who did tricks for rewards in the form of fish. You even had a photo with a seal posed next to you. You remembered that it was heavy, very wet and its breath stank of fish, but it was pretty chill. Your cousin snuck you into a section you weren’t supposed to go to, where they were rehabilitating other animals - mainly dolphins and seals. He knew about a specific seal species that looked adorable and said he wanted to show it to you. He left out the part where this particular species ate penguins and other seals. He waited until you were home, talking to anyone who would listen about the world’s prettiest seal, about how they must be the sweetest and most amazing seals to ever exist. He waited until you were so enamoured by them that you were almost going to claim them as your new favourite animal to show you a section of a documentary of that specific species hunting. You had nightmares for weeks. Thankfully the seals in this enclosure were not the leopard seals of your childhood nightmares. It did remind you to call your cousin to catch up and remind him of how much he terrorised you as a child.
You spent way too long watching the penguins in the arctic exhibit. They appeared to be nesting, at least that was the conclusion you arrived at. There were penguins lying in little circles made of rocks and ice, a nest you supposed, while their mate searched the enclosure for the perfect pieces of ice and rocks before bringing them back and placing them in the nest (you assumed they were mates since they kept returning to the same nest, never straying to a different penguin. That and you knew penguins mated for life, so if they weren’t mates then they were definitely courting the penguin they thought could be their mate). It was such a simple act but you found that you simply couldn’t leave the viewing window, entranced by such a simple act of love.
When you finally left the aquarium a few hours later you felt more at peace than you had in weeks. By no means was your mind clear, but the chaotic tornado that had taken up residence in there was now more of a light breeze as all your worries quietened down, allowing you to logically sift through them. You allowed yourself to believe that you had in fact, been successful at teaching EXO English. The tour was successful and you hadn’t been required to step in very often during their ments or interviews. For a group with poor prior experience with learning English you had basically done the impossible. You managed to let go of the stigma that had clouded your mind for the past few weeks that was constantly telling you they were only succeeding because of the sex, but really if all they took from your lessons was the sex then they still would have failed miserably at their ments and interviews. Something you did stuck, and whether it was because you were someone they knew and trusted was kind of beside the point. You took the time to learn how each of them would learn the best from you, and tailored sessions to maximise their recall of their ments. And it fucking worked. You should really allow yourself to feel your oats more often than you did. The cloud of self depreciation that had been looming and trying to take root was dissolved. You did a good job. Others had told you so, you knew it to be true. You just had to be consistent in telling your self doubt to go fuck itself when it next tried to diminish your achievements. You felt a little lighter than you had this morning, one less voice causing chaos in your mind.
Riding on your good mood, you decided to take a walk through the nearby night markets, enjoying food from the street vendors and looking at the pretty wares others had on offer. You resisted the urge to buy gifts for the guys - this was a day for you, not a day for you to revert to stressing over if you would be giving a gift as a friend, as a romantic partner, or as a farewell. For now you simply took in the craftsmanship of the trinkets, clothing and jewellery on offer - deciding that you would go to more night markets in the future. The streets were so full of life, bustling with a palpable energy that was infectious. You loved it. The streets were illuminated with soft and pretty lights, making you feel like you were walking through a little fairytale rather than the streets of Seoul. It was an impressive feat for this small section of such a bright and bustling city to achieve.
Eventually you decided it was time to begin the journey back towards your apartment. You wanted to call your family, possibly a friend as well, just to update them on your life as a translator overseas. Now that you actually recognised the work that you had done you knew you could feel confident talking to them about it. Talking about it to someone outside of the business might also help bring other things you were worried about into focus. You headed home with your head held high, finally feeling good about the work you had done these past months.
Speaking with your parents and your closest friend back home helped you unpack more of your thoughts. Ones you wouldn’t have realised if you hadn’t had to conceal certain aspects of your life over here. Describing the boys as acquaintances then colleagues felt weird and wrong, but you knew you had to hide the friendship to an extent. After all, they didn’t know how damaging that kind of news could be if it got out and they would not feel the need to keep that information to themselves. You knew they’d just say you were overreacting if you told them not to tell anyone about it, so you simply kept that from them. It was easier this way even if it felt off. They meant more than you could tell your parents.
You’d always worried that your family wouldn’t be proud of you for taking a job in a foreign country and leaving as quickly as you did. You’d expected to cop an earful from your mother for not calling her more often but you were pleasantly surprised to hear how many questions she had about your work - how was your boss, how did they assign clients, were they treating you well, were the hours humane, were the conditions fair, did you get sufficient pay and time off. The list was endless. You answered all of her questions to the best of your ability without breaching your contract or giving away incriminating details. Your father wanted to know all about your living conditions, was it in a good neighbourhood, was the security good, were you safe, were you being smart when you left the house. You allowed him to nag you since that was his love language - fretting about his daughter's safety. He even convinced you to hang up and call again on video so you could show him your apartment and so they could see your face, to make sure you were being truthful about eating and sleeping well. Definitely not because they also missed you terribly. Once you had appeased them, promising no less than five times that you were keeping out of trouble, were eating well and getting enough sleep, did they allow you to ask them questions about life after you left home. It was comforting to talk to them, even if it made you miss them terribly - you longed for a warm hug from each of them more than you wanted to admit. You dodged questions of romance, citing that you were far too busy with work to date. You also had to explain how dating culture was different here, and once they knew how much faster relationships began your father was much happier to know that you weren’t dating. You’d die if he knew what you had been doing though.
You eventually told them that you were at the end of the current contract you were on and that you were awaiting a final evaluation to see if the company you had been on contract with wanted to keep you on for other projects or if your boss would be assigning you to a new company to work with new artists. Your father could tell from your voice that you were feeling anxious about being in limbo. He told you to rest assured that you did the best work you could, and that your successes would be noticed. He told you that if they renewed your contract that would be great because you already had rapport and knew your way around the company building, feeling comfortable with that environment but he also told you that if they didn’t, that it wouldn’t take long for your boss to find you a new company because of your achievements on your current contract, and that change wasn’t a bad thing. It could lead to bigger and brighter things. Your mother was always good at talking out the minutiae of a problem with you but your father could pinpoint what you needed to hear and ease your busy mind. It was a trait you were thankful he had because it was what you needed right now. You talked for a long time after that, catching up on everything you had missed in their lives, on tv shows, the news, gossip around town. Your mother could harp on about anything if you let her. Eventually you had to try and wind up the conversation, you did have another call to make after all. After promising to call more often they let you go so you could call your closest friend.
Speaking with her went exactly as you thought it would. First there was a lot of nagging about how you never called or told her anything, how you’d abandoned her for the rich and famous clients you had. That you’d probably snagged some uber rich and hot guy and forgotten all about little old her. Then came the endless I miss you’s followed by all the things she’d been dying to tell you. You got wildly sidetracked as you caught up on her life, her new boyfriend, her work, her plans and seemingly endless tangents. She was the kind of friend who could easily take over a conversation, something she had often had to do in the past. There were times where you just preferred to go quiet and let others lead the small talk. You preferred topics that interested you when meeting new people because you had something to contribute, and surface level conversation kind of bored you. You could do it, and did when work required it of you, but in your personal life you were often much more reserved in conversation with strangers. There was probably something to unpack there but you chose to ignore that for now.
You went through a similar interrogation about work and life in Korea with her, though she pressed for far more details than your parents did since she had some idea that you were working with idols. You managed to avoid incriminating yourself in any way but you knew this would not be the last time she pressed you for information. She had a knack for knowing when things were left unsaid, and boy did you leave a lot of things about your situation unsaid. When you got to the topic of your current employment potentially coming to an end she made similar points to your father, though she added that the more people you worked for in the entertainment sector, the more likely it was for you to meet some amazing guy. You almost choked on your laughter at that. Once again you had to promise to contact her more often before she would let you get off the phone with her.
[9:21PM] Your bestest friend in the world: Don’t think for a moment that I didn’t pick up on the fact that something is going on with you.
[9:21PM] Your bestest friend in the world: I won’t push you for an explanation yet, but know that I’m here for you love. Anytime.
She was too perceptive for her own good. You hated and loved her for it.
[9:21PM] You: Nothing gets past you does it? I should have known you’d pick up on it. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, still wading through my thoughts etc. But thank you bby. ILYSM <3
[9:21PM] Your bestest friend in the world: <3 Talk to me when you’re ready to unpack everything in that pretty little head of yours. ILYSM2
The calls left you feeling even more grounded and settled in your emotions. Your mind continued to be quiet and calm as you got ready for bed, hoping you would get a decent night's sleep and continue your ‘me’ time tomorrow. After all you still had to wade through your feelings about the guys, where everything between the lot of you stood now and where things were going. You weren’t sure that you could fully work out your feelings without talking to them, which could go horribly wrong but you were just too confused. You knew one thing for certain, you had to tell them that there had to be no more sex related things between any of you until this whole thing was worked out. That obviously meant no stress relief fucking with Minseok, but also had to include suggestive comments and jokes. You just weren’t sure if anything could be taken at face value, or if there was more to it.
You promised yourself that if you still felt calm and clear in your thoughts by tomorrow afternoon that you would reach out to the guys. Sure they were giving you space now, but you weren’t so naive to believe that this would continue if you reached a week with zero contact. Sure Minseok or Kyungsoo would message you but you’d rather not let it reach that point if you could help it. You knew them well enough to know that they’d start to worry, and then they’d jump to conclusions that it was somehow their fault that you weren’t talking to them. That was something you wanted to avoid. You weren’t the only one capable of spiralling in your thoughts.
***
Thankfully sleep came easily for you. The bed was comfy, the sheets a perfect texture and the room was cool, allowing you to snuggle into a blanket burrito and sleep deeply. You awoke the next day feeling well rested and more at peace than you’d felt in weeks. You promised to give yourself until the afternoon to make contact and you planned on honoring that self imposed promise so you headed out on another stroll since the weather was yet again pleasant. First stop was the coffee shop for your daily dose of sugar in liquid form (also known as an iced chocolate) and a flaky pastry. Today that was a blueberry danish. With your tasty treats in hand, you set off through the closest park, hoping to find a duck pond to sit by while you ate. There was no reason or tradition for the dunk pond, you just liked being near water when you wanted to get lost in thought.
As luck would have it, you did find a pond, sadly barren, with no ducks, but it still had the desired effect of being an idyllic backdrop for you. You made a mental list of the things you needed to complete before returning to your apartment. 1. Get groceries so you could cook yourself some meals for the next week. 2. Buy some new clothes and accessories before the season changes so you wouldn’t be caught out. 3. Visit a nearby corgi cafe so you could give some fluffballs your love. 4. Buy a couple of gifts to send home to your parents and closest friend. It wasn’t too overwhelming, but it should keep you occupied until it was time to reach out to the guys. You probably wouldn’t check off the final item today, that would require a future visit to the night markets.
Groceries were reasonably simple. After talking with your family you suddenly craved a simple western meal so you’d decided on some pan cooked chicken with roasted vegetables and a salad. If you seasoned each chicken breast slightly different it would change up your meals enough each night for you to not grow bored of them. You managed to successfully buy some new clothes and accessories to put away for the next season and then spent two blissfully happy hours at the corgi cafe. You were constantly being prodded with little paws or wet noses asking for pats and treats. You were quite literally covered in fur but you didn’t care. They were so cute and getting to spend time with them really filled the part of you that desperately wanted a pet. You’d have one one day, when the time was right and you could dedicate yourself to training and giving them all the affection in your being.
With a little tri-coloured corgi resting his head on your lap you let your thoughts drift. When would you get the call from Mr. Kim? At this point you just wanted to have your meeting so you could stop weighing up the uncertainty of your professional future. Once that was set then you knew you could much more easily discuss where things either should or should not progress with the guys. That moment of clarity for what you wanted in that respect remained elusive. You knew that you wanted them in your life, and whilst the thought of nothing more than friendship didn’t entirely sit well with you (you still couldn’t pinpoint why that was), you knew you could do that if that’s all they wanted from you. You felt something for each of them but you hadn’t fallen hard for anyone, a feat that you thanked your guarded heart for immensely. There was closeness, attraction and lust but no deep romantic love. You could see yourself falling if you opened your heart to it and if it was reciprocated by them, but for now you were safe from heartbreak if they didn’t have interest in you like that.
You’d thought about what you’d do if more than one, or oddly if all of them wanted some sort of arrangement with you. You’d decided that you weren’t opposed to the idea, but only if certain ground rules were in place to keep everyone safe. If they were opposed to a more polyamorous relationship then you would step back and remain their friend. You refused to allow them to fight and potentially damage their relationships with each other - both personally and professionally - over dating you. It could be seen as a clinical approach but the reality was that they were at the peak of their careers right now and you would not allow the prospect of dating you to get in the way of that. You weren’t that important, you couldn’t be. There was also the secretive nature of whatever relationship you all moved forward with. Male idols were not supposed to be close with other women, that only led to dating scandals which was another thing you wanted to avoid at all costs.
Ultimately you had to talk to the guys and lay all of your thoughts out for them. They had to know where you stood and then you had to give them time to work out where they stood and what they wanted. Would that be an awkward as fuck conversation? Yes. Was it necessary? Also yes. It was time. No more radio silence. No more dwelling. You quickly sent off a message before you could talk yourself into taking another day to sit with your thoughts.
[6:13PM] You: Are you guys busy?
The response was almost instantaneous. You hoped that didn’t mean they were hanging out by their phones waiting to hear from you.
[6:13PM] Junmyeon: Noona! It’s nice to hear from you :)
[6:13PM] Junmyeon: We all just got home. Do you need something?
His words calmed you a little. It was his usual routine to check his phone as soon as he got home. Then he did his best to ignore it for a few hours, only answering if a manager or family member called.
[6:14PM] You: I was hoping I could come up and have a chat with everyone?
[6:14PM] You: But like, only if you’re all free and ok to have me over. I’m sure you’re all still tired.
You might be offering to have this meeting but that did not mean you weren’t incredibly anxious about it. You’d kept your thoughts at bay for almost two days but as soon as you put the talk on the table all of your fears resurfaced. What if they were mad at you? What if you’d read too much into this relationship? What if you caused a rift in the group? You didn’t want to be EXO’s Yoko.
[6:14PM] Junmyeon: Nonsense. Come on up.
[6:14PM] Junmyeon: They’d kill me if I didn’t invite you up here and you know it.
[6:14PM] Junmyeon: All I’ve heard since we boarded the plane is whiny men. Get your ass up here and put me out of my misery!
You laughed at that. You could practically see him pouting as he typed the messages out to you. It didn’t seem like they were mad, but a small part of you also began to worry that they were too prone to overreacting. You shut that down when you reminded yourself that you’d basically cut them off cold turkey right at the end of the tour. The only people who had spent time with you after that final concert were Minseok and Baekhyun, and only them and Junmyeon knew about your meeting, unless they’d told the others about it. After all you had said they could do that.
[6:15PM] You: It’s barely been 36 hours. You guys are maybe a little too codependent on me.
[6:15PM] You: But fine, I’ll be up in like 30 mins. Is that enough time for you to round everyone up?
[6:15PM] Junmyeon: You know we love you, but it was the radio silence and request to not contact you that sent them in a tailspin.
[6:15PM] Junmyeon: Not that I’m mad, just to be clear. I get it, but they lowkey freaked out.
Yeah, that checked out. You needed to just get home and go see your ragtag bunch of idiots who seemed to care about you more than you ever thought they would. However you also need to stop whatever attempt at ‘down with the cool kids’ lingo Junmyeon was trying to achieve. He already got teased enough for being the old man of the group and poorly inserting lingo that was clearly out of place in his vernacular was not going to help him.
[6:15PM] You: Don’t say lowkey, that’s not who you are.
[6:15PM] You: Sehun is probably the only one of you who can get away with saying that. Chanyeol and Baekhyun think they can, but the jury is out on whether or not they can.
[6:15PM] Junmyeon: I’m going to ignore that slander of my character. I’m up on current slang.
You actually facepalmed. Why was he like this? WHY.
[6:16PM] You: Seriously. STOP. You are in no way helping yourself here.
[6:16PM] Junmyeon: 30 minutes is fine. See you soon.
[6:16PM] Junmyeon: Just to check though, should I be emotionally prepared for some heartbreaking and serious talk? You rarely ask to speak to all of us at once.
You supposed it could come off as a we need to talk moment given the lack of context you’d provided. And it kind of was that, but also not? You really didn’t want them to freak out. Nine guys fretting would be too overwhelming for you.
[6:16PM] You: Semi serious, but nothing heavy. I just want to explain myself and where my head has been at so you all understand why I kind of just disappeared.
[6:16PM] Junmyeon: Bet. See you soon then <3
[6:17PM] You: You are too old to be saying bet. Who is teaching you this shit? You know what. Don’t answer that. Just stop saying ‘trend’ words. We both know you’re not cool enough to pull them off. No offence.
[6:17PM] You: See you soon. <3
[6:17PM] Junmyeon: Wow noona. Harsh. My lingo is on fleek, it's rude of you to not realise that.
[6:17PM] You: I’m never going to speak to you again.
[6:17PM] You: And I might have to cause bodily harm to whoever taught you this lingo.
You locked your phone before you cringed at any further attempts at current slang were sent to you. It was go time for you. Whether you were ready or not (you were not), the conversation was happening. Time to get your butt home and face the music. So to speak. You just hoped you weren’t about to fuck it all up.
***
Nine pairs of eyes stared back at you from the various spots in the living room. You stood awkwardly in front of the tv as you contemplated whether or not to find yourself a chair or if you were just going to stand here and speak. The choice ended up being made for you as Yixing brought a chair in for you to sit on. It was still placed in the centre of the room facing all of them, but it felt a little less intimidating to sit before speaking. Yixing’s fingers brushed over your shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, before he moved back towards his place on the lounge.
You cleared your throat and decided to approach this as you would remove a bandaid - quickly. You knew the guys were all wondering what the cause of your no contact rule was and the sooner you put them out of their misery the better. It would be better for you as well because you would get at least this part of the conversation out of your brain. Your time at the aquarium had helped clear your thoughts, as had your walk through the city. You weren’t so sure if the evening sitting in your apartment spiralling in your thoughts helped, so this was your attempt at preventing that from happening again tonight while still putting some space between them and you while you sorted your shit out.
“I uh, I want to apologise for not speaking with any of you properly before we flew back from the tour.” You held up a hand to stop the immediate chorus of responses that were coming from the guys. “Please let me get all of this out before any of you speak otherwise I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through it.” Nine heads nodded at you and waited for you to continue.
“I got really in my head about everything and needed to take a step away from all of it, from everyone, while I tried to settle my thoughts.” You started. “First I worried that I hadn’t done a good job because I’d been unprofessional, but after I let myself spiral I realised that wasn’t true and that I had done a great job. I didn’t get to tell you after the last show ended but I could not be more proud of each and every one of you. Your English improved SO much and whilst a certain amount of that is on me, a huge part of that is on you for applying yourselves to the lessons and the study in order to make those improvements. You should also all be really proud of yourselves for the progress you’ve all made.” You couldn’t help but smile at them, pride shining through you. You were truly impressed at the work they’d put in and the results they’d shown in such a small timeframe. “Were part of the lessons and some of my conduct unprofessional? Yes, but I now believe that none of those things hindered your progress, nor were they the sole motivation for your improvements. Whether I’m wrong or right about this, I’m now choosing to believe that they were a pleasant bonus to all of this.”
Time for the big reveal. The thing that had been weighing on you, causing you to nearly have multiple panic attacks. The thing you were most scared about admitting to them. Would they thing you were overreacting or crazy? Would they understand? “My relationship with all of you also began to get muddled in my head by the end of the tour. We all met before I took on the role of teacher and prior to that we were all friends, and with more than one of you there was also an undercurrent of flirtation - regardless of whether any of us were going to act on it or not. Then I became someone who worked for you, who was quite literally on call for if you needed a lesson, in any setting and at any time of day. We were still friends but it did alter the relationship with you. Then I added in the reward/punishment system and that kind of threw a spanner in the works. We were all close, but inevitably when you add physical intimacy or sex to the equation it blurs the lines. My brain kept spiralling between ‘are we friends, colleagues, fuck buddies, in a relationship, did you never want to see me again, were you going to fight if any of us wanted a romantic relationship…’ so yeah, after the last night in America I withdrew into my head and just needed to be with my thoughts - as much as I really really really did not want to sift through them. I knew I needed to for the sake of my mental wellbeing. I hadn’t realised it but those thoughts had been building for quite some time and after all the lessons were over and all rewards or punishments received, those thoughts were relentless and overwhelming. I couldn’t ignore them any longer.”
You couldn’t stop talking. If you did, you were pretty sure you’d bottle everything up until you did what you were best at, running. It wasn’t a fair thought to have, but sadly you were in no state to control the cruelty of your thoughts. You just had to keep speaking and once you finished you hoped they understood. “As I’m sure Minseok and Baek told you, I had a meeting with the managers and Junmyeon to discuss my work and for feedback to be provided. Without going into too much detail, the meeting went well, but my future with SM hangs on your CEO. He was sent video of your ments and interviews while overseas to review as well as feedback from the managers, staff and yourselves. I will either be let go and my boss will find me a contract with another company - which will mean we won’t see each other as much or as freely - or I’ll be kept on one of two contracts with SM. Either an exclusive contract with EXO with allowances for freelance tutoring in my free time within SM, or a contract with SM where I would not be assigned any specific group but would be available at the company to provide lessons for existing artists and trainees. Either of those options would mean we would see more of each other, but the latter would mean we would not be able to speak as freely as we do now with each other.”
“I spent a lot of time stressing about what I wanted to happen and what possible scenarios could happen but I guess professionally any option is good for me as all options mean I remain working in this field and helping others improve their language skills. I stress over large changes in my life, not sure if that is something I’ve ever mentioned, but it’s a thing. Obviously.” You scoffed as you made a vague gesture at yourself and the clear state of stress you were in. “Personally, I don’t want to lose what we have. I cherish each of you and love that we’ve still been able to hang out and play around while we’re all working. I know we’d make it work if I have to go to another company but I know we would see each other significantly less than we do now.”
You took a deep breath. You hadn’t looked at any of them while you spoke. You knew if you saw their eyes you’d stop speaking. So you just couldn’t. Not yet. What if they looked at you with pity, anger, happiness, disgust, or worse - indifference. You could rationalise it if they felt something, but seeing them feel nothing when your mind had been fucking chaos might just be the straw that broke the camels back. You didn’t look at them. “So to sum up, I overthought everything, stressed, spiralled and withdrew from all of you which may or may not have been the right thing to do but I’m here now. I should know in a few days where my future lies work-wise but wanted to open the floor to discuss whatever this relationship we all have now is because I don’t think it is something I can resolve by myself. We don’t have to discuss it now, but I want you to think about it. I don’t know if you view me as a friend or as someone you want to pursue something with, or someone you no longer wish to see. I’m sorry to just dump all of this on you but I need to put it all out there, as much as I can right now anyway.”
You’d done it. You’d told them what had been going on in your mind. Mostly. You hadn’t discussed your feelings but you’d mentioned all possibilities so that had to count for something. You really just wanted to run and hide, to become invisible rather than be perceived right now, but you knew you had to remain in your spot and hear what they had to say. No matter what it was.
Chanyeol was the first to speak. He ran his hands through his hair as he tried to keep his tone even. “Not going to lie, this is a lot. I think I speak for all of us when I say that, and I think you know that. I appreciate you opening up to us about what was going on in your head, I'm sure we all do, even if it does leave us with more questions and discussions to have.”
You nodded. It was a lot. You knew it. You’d lived with all of it in your brain. It was only fair to give them time as well. That’s why you’d said you didn’t need to discuss it now.
Minseok was next to speak, he smiled softly at you, his own way of trying to calm your nerves even now. “I don’t think it’s something we should talk about tonight. You know as well as we do that we can be impulsive and that discussions can get heated quickly if we haven’t had time to choose our words. As weird as it will be I think we all need to take some time to think about what we want, and what will work best moving forward.”
You nodded again. You’d used all your words in speaking to them and now could bring yourself to speak.
“This is going to sound shitty noona, and for that I’m sorry but I don’t think there is a diplomatic way to put it, well at least not one that I can think of right now,” Junmyeon said, sighing as he had to be the guy to say it. “but we do need to consider how it might affect the group if one or more of us are interested in pursuing you, especially if it means some may be rejected. At the end of the day, EXO has to come first, and god I know that’s a shitty thing to say, but it’s something we need to think about and probably talk about amongst ourselves. No offence.” You knew someone would have to raise that point, and it was a valid one, one you’d thought about as well. It did make sense that it was their leader who was the one to say it. After all, he always did put the group above everything else.
You had to speak, nodding wouldn’t suffice in response to that. It would only make him feel like a jerk and that was the last thing you wanted him to feel. You cleared your throat and hoped you said the right things. “All valid points, and don’t worry, there’s no offence taken, Junmyeon. I’d also thought that you should all take some time away from me to think over what you want and to discuss with the group. If one or more of you wanting to pursue me would negatively affect the group then I don’t think anything more than friendship is possible.”
You paused. Would they think of this option if you didn’t raise it? You weren’t sure. But if it helped them with their deliberations then it was worth the level of embarrassment you were about to feel by simply suggesting it. “I guess the last thing for me to put out there is that after some thinking, I’m not opposed to exploring the possibility of a polyamorous type of situation if that is something you guys land on. However, I’m also not opposed to monogamy or just friendship with all of you. It might sound like I either don’t care that much or that I don’t know what I want, and the latter is somewhat true, but I did draw a line between what we were doing in the rewards versus hanging out outside of that and it prevented me from allowing too many feelings to take root. I’m not sure where any of you stand and I don’t want to know right now either since all of this” You gestured with your hand, waving it vaguely to indicate all of you. “Is so fresh and we all have a lot to consider, or not consider. I don’t know.” Breathe you told yourself. You had to breathe or you’d panic before this conversation ended. “I’ll hopefully have a follow up meeting in a couple of days and then will know what will be happening with the work aspect of my life. I think we should meet once I know that side of things and chat again? But if you need more time, I would completely understand.”
Not much was said after that. The air was tense and awkward as you all kind of forgot how to act around each other. You stayed for a little while to hear about the plans for their encore concert but as soon as that conversation topic dwindled, you said your goodbyes and headed back to your apartment.
It might be time to call your friend. You were more confused after that meeting and once again on the precipice of a breakdown. You couldn’t wade through this on your own and you couldn’t ask one of the guys for help because this was about them. You couldn’t tell your friend every detail, but you could tell her enough.
[10:49PM] You: So uh, are you free for that chat?
[10:49PM] Your bestest friend in the whole world: For you? Always.
***
You awoke the next morning to the sound of a text message notification on your phone. You rubbed your eyes as you tried to focus on the name of the contact who sent the message. You sat up in your bed as soon as your eyes managed to make out that the message was from your boss. Hopefully it was the message you’d been waiting for.
[7:42AM] Mr. Kim: Good morning, I hope you have had sufficient time to relax since returning from the overseas tour with EXO. I had a meeting this morning with SM’s CEO, Lee Soo Man about your performance under the current contract you have with SM and what his thoughts were for your potential future prospects at the company. I’ve scheduled a meeting for us at midday at my office. I’ll see you in a few hours to discuss.
If you were half awake at the start of that message, you were wide awake now. Of course a meeting is called the day after you dropped what felt like a literal bomb on your nine upstairs neighbours. You had just over four hours to freshen up and get yourself over to his office. Not that you were nervous… not at all… not even a little bit. It wasn’t like the outcome of this meeting determined the future of your career or anything. No, shut up. You tried telling your mind as it attempted to spiral before any form of carb or sugar entered your system. You repeated your father’s words over in your head as you picked out clothes for the meeting, a simple and professional outfit that you would not anxiety sweat through before you even reached Mr. Kim’s office. You showered and got yourself ready for the day and whatever it would bring. Maybe it would be better once it was all over, then you could stop overthinking and fretting about every possible outcome. That wasn’t how you liked doing things but it seemed to be what happened whenever it was important to you. When you cared.
Just before you left the apartment you sent a message to the group chat so that everyone was kept up to date.
[10:25AM] You: Hey, just a heads up that I’m on my way to a meeting now. LSM has made his decision and I’ll know my work fate in a couple of hours. I know I suggested meeting again after I had my meeting but given I literally only proposed everything to you last night, I’ll bench our talk until you guys have had time to deliberate and all that. Just reach out when you want to chat and I’ll make myself available.
It felt clinical and not how you’d ever spoken to them when there was no one to overhear your conversations. It felt like how you spoke to them when one of their managers was present. It felt wrong and something in your heart hurt. There was no response, but you could see the members slowly reading your message. Sehun reacted to it with a thumbs up message which then spurred everyone into chatting, mainly to scold Sehun but seeing the chat alive again felt right.
You put your phone on do not disturb mode as you approached Mr. Kim’s office, coffee in hand. Not the iced variety that was so popular among idols. No, the purpose of this coffee was not to keep you awake, rather it was to give you a caffeine hit as well as comfort you with its warmth. You were always nervous when it came time for a performance review, but unlike last time with Blackpink, you were a lot closer with the members of EXO and their staff. Unlike last time you knew that you had done your job successfully, you’d been present to witness the members grow in their language skills and watched them deliver their ments to their American audiences with little to no translation required. The only slip was the night Baekhyun forgot his lines, but the following shows he required no assistance.
Once you arrived, Mr. Kim’s secretary ushered you into his office, telling you he was just finishing up a meeting in another room and would be with you shortly. Thankfully you did not have to wait long before he entered the room. He smiled and greeted you warmly then moved to sit at his desk. You’d been in this room a few times now and it was always nerve wracking.
“Once again I can tell that you are eager to hear your evaluation.” He chuckled.
You nodded. “Apparently my face hides nothing from you.”
“Actually your face is not what gave you away, it was the fidgeting fingers this time.” He pointed at your free hand which was unfortunately fidgeting with the buckle on your handbag.
Your fingers stilled, but you itched to keep busy with something. Anything to get the frenetic energy out of your system. “You got me. Now please put me out of my misery already and give me my evaluation.”
Lucky for you, he prided himself on business and got right to it. You never had to endure too much small talk with him. It was a much more pleasant experience than the managers you had back before moving here. They seemed to want to spend up to ten minutes chatting about nothing before switching to business mode. That was not the Mr. Kim way. His way was better. For you at least. Mr. Kim pulled a file up on his computer and turned the screen so that you could see it as well. “As you already know from the last time we did this, we assess you in three areas. 1. How well the tasks were performed 2. How you worked with the clients and 3. Work ethic/professionalism. I’ve reviewed the recording of the last meeting you had during the tour as well as received feedback from the SM CEO.”
He clicked on a file and opened it. “This is a review of the tasks performed. As you can see, it was unanimous across the board that you have excelled in this area. You successfully prepared the members for their interviews and concert ments, improving their English significantly. You joined the group on tour and no issues were reported by staff or the members, nor did you appear in any fan reports or cause any scandals.” He paused to look at you, a knowing smile on his face. “But you already know this from your meeting with the managers and Junmyeon. I’ll only add the feedback from their CEO. He said he was impressed that someone of your young age was able to successfully complete these tasks to the level that you did, he made special mention of the tailored lessons as a genius move on your part. He noted that whilst it would be an arduous task for all clients, it worked for EXO in ways no one expected. They have not had this level of success in teaching a group that didn’t already have a member with a decent grasp on English or a native English speaker. He was also very impressed that you were able to fit in and work seamlessly with a well established team.” Mr Kim paused, signalling that you could now speak before he addressed the next criterion.
So far things were going well. Logically you knew that you had succeeded in your role, but it was always a relief to hear it. Hearing from your boss and the head of the group's company eradicated the last of the anxiety you felt about your ability as a teacher. “Thank you Mr Kim. I felt that I was succeeding in my role and I am glad to have that confirmed by the head of their company, but I do have to ask what he meant about my age?”
“Most translators or teaching staff that are brought in are older than you. Especially when it comes to English. There is a greater risk when idols are involved and most companies specifically request someone over 40 to be assigned so that there could never be any misunderstandings around the nature of the relationship.” He replied.
Your brow furrowed. “Then how did I get the job? I’m significantly younger than that, even if I’m still older than the members.”
He smiled smugly. “Ah well that was me. I know companies prefer older staff, especially when they are working with the opposite sex, but I had a hunch that you would succeed where others had failed with EXO. Their CEO reluctantly agreed to trial you and had to admit he was pleasantly surprised after receiving the one month evaluations of the members progress.”
Noticing that you weren’t going to add any more to that discussion, Mr. Kim moved on. He scrolled through the document until he reached the heading indicating the second criterion. “Before I move into discussing the external evaluations I would like to say that I am personally very impressed that you took on the feedback provided after your time with Blackpink and applied it to EXO. You managed to become more familiar with them and it shows in the reviews from the others. I strongly believe that this improvement is what made this job such a success for you.” He gestured towards you. “So I wanted to commend you on the large improvement in this area.”
You smiled. “Thank you Mr. Kim. Your advice was intrinsic to the development of the tailored lessons as well as my comfortability in becoming closer with the members so that we could work together to the best of our abilities.”
“As you know from the feedback from both managers and members, you exceeded expectations in this area, and everyone benefited from your approach. The CEO questioned whose idea it was for you to become closer to the members and expressed the concerns he had about it. Once I explained that it was feedback that you had been given from myself and the reasons why I felt it would improve outcomes, especially given your closeness in age to any 2nd or 3rd gen idols in comparison to the on staff teachers who were usually around the same age as the idols parents he understood. He stated that whilst he had his reservations about that kind of approach given the potential issues that could arise, dating scandals, sasaeng accusations, unprofessionalism etc. he could see how it worked in the members favour. The group had undergone quite a few hardships prior to this comeback, with members leaving and dating scandals damaging their public image. He stated that they were likely to be quite reserved and untrustworthy of someone new to their staff and that it would take a long time for them to begin to trust a new staff member. However, you managed to make them feel comfortable and not lose the authority you had over them as their teacher, whilst remaining respectful at all times. He said he was very pleasantly surprised by this.” He sat back in his chair while you processed his words. Mr. Kim had only had meetings with you a handful of times before this, but he already knew to let you take a moment while his words sunk in before having you respond.
A weight lifted off your shoulders. Yes, you recalled the nature of the meeting you had with the managers and Junmyeon whilst overseas, but your brain had managed to twist their inarguably positive feedback into statements that you had turned over in your mind repeatedly as you second guessed every moment you’d spent with the members. Knowing that the CEO was reviewing all of the work you had completed overseas had stressed you more than you had realised. It was as if you could feel the tension leaving your body every time Mr. Kim read out his feedback.
“I’m glad my efforts have been recognised, and that I’ve shown improvement in this area. I also understand the concerns their CEO had. We had meetings with the members and their managers regarding safety and security of both the members and myself to ensure no photos were snapped if we were not on a schedule. The last thing any of us wanted to do was bring negative attention to this working relationship. We also discussed at length the boundaries we should draw in order to not become overly familiar with each other and I believe that assisted greatly.” It wasn’t a lie as such. You really did have those meetings and you really did discuss those boundaries. It was just the managers weren’t present for the third meeting which involved you and the members working out how to put each other in line if any of you slipped and a glimpse of how close you really were slipped through. It was a miracle nothing ever happened in view of other staff or the public, but there were a couple of close calls. You’d all been very lucky in that regard.
Mr. Kim powered on. “On to the final point, we’ve never had any issues with your work ethic or professionalism, and neither have the members or managers. Their feedback was passed on to the CEO, who praised you for being available at short notice in order to fit with the members busy schedules. He was also very happy that the members did not abuse this clause in your contract but rather made sure the others were aware if one of them had required you early in the morning or late at night so that they could avoid overworking you.” Mr. Kim closed the document. “I’ll be honest, he got rather sidetracked at this point and spent a good ten minutes praising his EXO boys. I can assure you that he was very pleased with both your work ethic and professionalism. He agreed with the manager's statements that you clearly succeeded at your role, exceeding all expectations that were had of you.” He chuckled as he shook his head. “But once he starts talking about those boys it is hard to shut him up. You’d think they were his sons sometimes.”
You allowed yourself a pleased hum at the feedback you’d received. High marks in all areas of assessment. Exceeded expectations, exemplary results. “Thank you Mr. Kim. I’m very glad that my hard work paid off and that my approach was successful for the members.” You paused. “However, as much as I want to just bask in this feedback, I am too curious about my contract. Did their CEO happen to mention if he planned to renew my contract, or are you finding me a new group to work with?” You needed to know, and you needed to know like two weeks ago at this point.
Mr. Kim, to his credit, did not outright laugh at your impatience. Instead he opened a drawer and pulled out a manila folder. “I understand that this must have been weighing on your mind these past few weeks.”
You nodded. “You would be very correct.”
“He did come to a decision. I won’t draw this out as I can tell you just want me to get to the point. He was incredibly impressed by your determination and competency, and as we all know, the results speak for themselves. He does want to offer another contract, however it would differ from your current one.” He stated.
“How so?” You asked.
“Firstly, this contract would not commence until three months from now.” He explained. “They want you to continue your work with the company, working with all of their artists. EXO would take priority if and when they have any overseas schedules that would require them to speak English. The rest of the time you would assist whichever groups or artists he deems in need of your skills. You would also offer lessons in the company like you did whilst EXO were in Japan during your contract.” Mr. Kim slid the folder across the table for you to pick up and look over.
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue to work with SM. Like I said in my meeting overseas, I have been treated exceptionally well by their company, its staff and idols and welcomed the opportunity to continue working with EXO, be assigned to another group within the company or as an in-house teacher/translator.” Well there it was, they had offered another contract. You could keep working for SM, potentially with the guys as long as their schedules required English, but you’d still be in the same building as them. There was a decent break before commencement which was nice, but you did have concerns about your income. Not working for three months would be a struggle for you financially. “I do have questions regarding the three month break in between contracts though.”
“I believe my next statement should cover whatever concerns you have.” He directed your attention to another section of the new contract. “During that time, SM has stated that they will contact you for freelance work if/when required but that you are also not exclusively bound to the label during that time, so you can assist other companies and artists. This will allow you to continue to earn income and gain further experience in this field. I will also say that you will find in the proposed contract that your fees have increased. I did not consult you on that, but felt that you had every right to request a higher rate given the success of your work thus far. I would encourage you to take a break for a couple of weeks, more if you wanted to take this opportunity to visit home, before letting me know you are ready for some more work with other artists. I do have one group in particular that I think would work for this short timeframe. They have not yet debuted but they do have varying levels of proficiency in English, varying from fluency to what is taught in our schools here.” He waved a hand in front of his face as he realised he’d said too much. “But that is a discussion for another date, I’m getting ahead of myself.”
You smiled, genuinely too. This was wonderful news and it settled a large part of your anxiety to have secured more work, especially work that would require little change. “Thank you Mr. Kim. I’ll take this contract home to review but it sounds promising. I think I will take a couple of weeks off to rest and recuperate, but I would like to request a clause be added to this contract. I understand that I may have some further changes to request, but I’m reasonably certain this one won’t already be in there.”
“What would that request be?” He asked.
“An allowance for one or two weeks of consecutive leave within the next 6 months for me to visit my family. I’m not ready to make a trip home yet, but I know I will be during that time period and I don’t wish to be told that I cannot go. I would provide sufficient notice for the leave, unless there was an emergency, so as to not hinder the progress of their artists' lessons.” In your mind it sounded reasonable, and you’d heard of difficulties with obtaining leave from work in Korea, so you wanted to safeguard yourself as best as you could.
“I’ll have our lawyers make the addition. We’ll hold off sending it to SM until you’ve read through the contract and made any other amendments.” He stood and shook your hand. “You’ve done well so far, and I continue to be impressed with your work.”
The meeting ended shortly after that which you were glad for. The feedback was self esteem boosting, and proved to yourself that you had done a great job, that your hard work had not only paid off but had been noticed. You also managed to tell yourself that your closeness with the guys wasn’t the sole factor for your success, they really did suck at English before your lessons and whilst the sex during the rewards and punishments was great, you were pretty sure you couldn’t learn a language purely from fucking. Somewhere along the lines, your lessons struck a chord with them and they wanted to learn, so they did, and it stuck. That was a job well done by you.
After you left Mr. Kim’s office you put your phone back in normal mode.The group chat had been busy these past few hours. Message notifications flooded your phone as you began the commute home. They had pinned a message so that you wouldn’t miss it once you finally checked your phone.
[11:48AM] Minseok: Please tell us when you finish your meeting. Kyungsoo wants you to come up for dinner so you can tell all of us what the outcome was.
The messages after were a chorus of predictions and bickering.
[11:51AM] Jongin: I think SM will do another contract.
[11:51AM] Sehun: Well duh. They’d be stupid to let her help our competitors.
[11:52AM] Jongdae: Noona could make some sweet demands if they offer a new contract.
[11:52AM] Kyungsoo: Yeah, make SM work for it. Lord knows they’ve fucked over too many idols in contracts. If they offer a new one MAKE A LAWYER LOOK AT IT.
[11:53AM] Yixing: Make demands of your own too. Make that thing benefit you, coz if they offer a new contract it means they want to stop you from working with other companies.
[11:53AM] Chanyeol: MAKE. SM. WORK. FOR. YOU. You’ll have the upper hand and they don’t want you to know that.
[11:54AM] Baekhyun: Yeah, fuck SM!!!
[11:54AM] Junmyeon: Guys…
[11:54AM] Minseok: Idk man, all I see is valid points being made.
[11:55AM] Junmyeon: I… you were meant to be on my side Minseok.
[11:55AM] Minseok: I never promised that.
[11:55AM] Minseok: Fuck SM.
[11:56AM] Kyungsoo: So I think we might be doing the opposite of encouraging you to consider taking another contract with them if they offer. What we mean to say is, have someone look over the contract, make some demands (because they have to acknowledge your worth now) and know that our disdain for our company comes from the nature of idol contracts which are VERY different to the kind of contract you would be offered.
[11:56AM] Junmyeon: Thank you!
[11:57AM] Kyungsoo: Stop making me do your job man.
There were another 500 messages after that (which you did not read), but you made sure to send one as requested
[3:30PM] You: Holy crap that is a lot of messages. No offence but I am not reading through all of them. As requested, I’m letting you know that I’ve finished my meeting. I’m heading back to the apartment now. What time do you want me up there for dinner?
[3:30PM] Kyungsoo: Food should be ready at 7 PM.
[3:30PM] You: I’ll see everyone then.
***
“Noona, can we talk before you come up for dinner?” You’d picked up on the first ring when you’d seen Baekhyun’s name pop up.
He sounded unsure of himself, which was a rarity. “Sure Baek. Is everything ok?”
“I think so? I hope so.” He groaned in frustration. “Ugh I don’t know.”
Now you were getting concerned. Was he ok? “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been thinking about everything you talked about last night and I think I understand why you had to just unload everything all at once to us.” He took a deep breath. “My brain has been working too much and making too many scenarios for me to keep up with.”
Well that you could relate to. You really didn’t wish the clusterfuck that had been your thoughts over this past week on anyone, so you empathised with Baek if he was suffering with the downward spiral that too many thoughts inevitably brought. “I get that. Would it help if you just tell me everything?”
He was quiet for a moment as he thought over his options. Quite likely he was worried that speaking to you would only make things worse. That’s precisely what made you a nervous wreck before you word vomited all over their living room last night. “Maybe. Might make everything worse, I don’t know.”
You tried to sound reassuring. It was always easier for you to provide comfort in person or via text. Over the phone was some strange middle ground where you didn’t always stick the landing. “It’s just me. Since when have we ever not been able to talk to each other?”
“You’re right.” He said. “Fuck. Ok.” Yeah, he was nervous. Should you be nervous? Was he about to reject you? Was he going to confess? No. You needed to remain as calm as possible. He was the one allowed to freak out right now, not you.
You pushed your growing anxiety down and said as reassuringly as you could. “I’m right here. Promise.”
You heard him take a steadying breath before he started speaking. “I guess I’ve been trying to work out where things stand between us.” He said. “It’s never just been friendship between you and I. There was always flirtation and we only got bolder with it as time went on until we had sex, which I know was as a result of my lesson, but I don’t know, we only had the lesson because we were about to fuck and you stopped it from happening until after that. I guess it felt like more than just because of the reward stuff I guess. It felt like something that was inevitable, like we were orbiting each other until we would ultimately collide.” He took a breath, meanwhile your heart was hammering in your chest.
“I know we’ve discussed it and both agreed that there was something more there, some kind of feelings neither of us had addressed. I don’t know how you feel now, but for me, after we slept together those feelings only intensified. I still didn’t know what they were so I just assumed they were born from lust but when you asked for space and then went silent for days I realised that they weren’t feelings of lust. I realised that I care deeply for you and the very thought of you not being in my life hurt me to my very core. I know it was just sex for you and everyone else but for me, I can’t say for sure, but I think I like you as far more than a friend and would not be satisfied just being a fuck buddy. I know I said I would never entertain us ever being able to actually be a real thing but I want that so much that it is physically painful. I needed to tell you before we all talked tonight because I want to be selfish and pursue you myself but I don’t know where you stand. I don’t know if I’m making a fool of myself right now and you’re thinking of the nicest way to reject me or if you don’t know how you feel or if you feel the same. All I know is that I barely slept last night after I realised all of this and I had to say something.”
“Baek,” You started.
He didn’t let you get the words out, not that you even knew what those words would be. So maybe him interrupting you was for the best right now. “I know this is a lot to dump on you, I know that, but I needed to say it.”
You weren’t sure if you were ready to tell him everything you realised on your call last night. It was still too confusing. Still too fresh. But you also couldn’t leave him hanging with nothing after he just poured his heart out to you. “You know I have feelings for you, just that at the time I didn’t know what those feelings were.”
“Have you worked it out since then?” He all but whispered, as though he was scared of what your response would be.
You couldn’t say it yet. You couldn’t say it until you believed it yourself. It wasn’t fair to him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to utter the words back to him. Not yet. “I think so but I’m not sure. I am so scared of ruining everything Baek.”
“I’ll let you think some more, but I want you to know that for me it is about much more than sex now. So think about how you feel and ask yourself if you feel the way you feel about me with anyone else?” He tried his best not to sound deflated, but you didn’t miss the pang of hurt in his voice as he spoke. He’d just confessed to you and whilst you hadn’t rejected him, you hadn’t reciprocated his feelings. You felt overwhelmed. You needed to say something, but what? What could you possibly say when you weren’t ready to admit how you felt, when you were too terrified to ask for what you wanted.”
You had to say something. For him, you couldn’t just leave him with nothing. “I -”
He cut you off again, though this time it was probably out of fear that you would reject his confession. “Don’t answer now. Just think about it and we’ll talk later. Bye noona.” He hung up before you could attempt to speak again.
You hung your head in shame. Why couldn’t you just tell him? You didn’t realise you were crying until you felt a tear hit your hand. You sank to the floor and let yourself cry for a few minutes, too overwhelmed with emotion to even try to stop the tears from falling. You felt guilty for not being able to tell him how you felt, for feeling like you were toying with his heart. This sweet, funny and endearing man, who had been so good to you. When he needed you the most, you’d choked. You didn’t deserve the feelings he harboured for you, how could you if you couldn’t even respond to him. How could you be deserving of that love when you all but pushed him away.
By some stroke of luck your eyes weren’t too red or puffy when you checked them before leaving your apartment. You really hoped your night didn’t end with you returning to this apartment to cry over a ruined relationship. There was only one way to find out, and in order to do that, you needed to walk out your front door and head upstairs.
***
“Alright, how did the meeting go?” Sehun broke the silence that was permeating the dinner table. Everyone had greeted you when you’d arrived, and made some small talk about their day. That felt strange. You’d never lacked for conversation with these men, but now they seemed to be walking on eggshells around you and you weren’t sure if it was because they were trying to protect themselves or you from where this evening went.
Regardless, you decided to put on a brave face and do your best to hear them out without breaking down. You felt exposed, fragile and breakable. But you pretended otherwise as best as you could. You just hoped they couldn’t see through the facade. “Really well. The feedback was all very positive and everyone agreed that I did an excellent job. Your CEO expressed his concerns about my boss and the managers suggesting that we be more personable but he agreed that the fact that we did that probably served as a catalyst for the success of the lessons.”
“That’s fantastic news!” Jongin said, far louder than he or anyone else at the table were prepared for. Everyone, Jongin included, jumped a little at his volume. He muttered a bashful apology afterwards, stating that he was just really happy for you.
You smiled at him. He was so very different to what the general public saw when he was onstage. He was soft spoken and endearing beyond words. “I’m also really grateful for the feedback you guys provided. I didn’t get a chance to say it before so I’ll say it now, thank you. Your words meant so much to me.” It was the honest truth. You had no idea that they would be asked for feedback about your work, and while they could have provided generic positive feedback they didn’t. Instead they provided in depth feedback about your abilities and how well you had worked with them. You would be forever grateful for the kind words contained in their feedback.
Kyungsoo decided to add to the conversation, his soft yet commanding voice cutting through your thoughts. “Bias aside, you earned that feedback. We did our best to only give the facts and not let our friendship cloud our opinions of you.”
“You cannot deny that we sucked at English before you noona.” Chanyeol quipped, laughing as he spoke.
Junmyeon looked personally attacked by his words. “Speak for yourself!”
“No, he’s right. We were bad at it.” Minseok laughed. “Like really fucking awful.”
Yixing pushed the food around on his plate with his chopsticks. “Anyway, uh, not to be pushy or anything but did you talk about what’s next for you?” He briefly locked eyes with you before diverting his gaze back to his plate.
“Yeah we did. Uh, they offered me another contract.” You saw all nine heads suddenly turn towards you and felt their gazes on you. “I do have to read over it and make sure it's fair but essentially they want to put me on contract for another 2 years. If EXO has schedules requiring English, then me teaching you takes priority over other groups, otherwise I’m free to work with any artists under the SM umbrella. Your CEO may assign me a group to work with, or managers may request my help. If no one requests then I’m kind of an in-house teacher/translator.”
Jongdae grinned. “I’m not going to lie, I’m glad they offered you more work, they would have been idiots not to, but it does mean you won’t be a stranger.”
Minseok was more hesitant as he spoke.“What are your thoughts on it, just based on the offer given you haven’t read it yet.”
You sat back in your chair, contemplating your response. “I’ve only had good experiences with SM so far, so the offer sounds good to me. I know a lot of the staff, I know the building, the resources, I know some of the artists, obviously I know all of you and work well with you. It feels like a good choice over starting anew elsewhere and hoping that I’m treated as well as I am here.” You smiled a little. “Plus, I get to see you guys if I’m still here, that’s a bonus.”
A smile finally formed on Minseok’s face. “I know we may have come across a bit brash earlier but,”
“Oh don’t worry. I already had a copy sent to a lawyer to look over it, and I also made a request for a leave allotment to be added into the contract.” You cut him off, already guessing what he was referring to from the earlier flood of messages. “Once I read through it myself I’ll discuss it with my lawyer and make any other changes that need doing then return it to Mr. Kim to negotiate for me.”
The unanimous response that came from all of them was creepily synchronised. “Good.”
You thanked all of them for their kind words again. “The contract won’t start for a few months, so until then I’m likely going to be freelancing. Mr. Kim has an idea of another group I can work with briefly before I become exclusive to SM. I think I’m going to take a couple of weeks off before committing to any of that though. I need some time to recalibrate.”
“Uh I guess that brings us to the elephant in the room.” Junmyeon said.
You waved your hands in front of you, not sure you would ever be ready for this conversation, but after how well the contract renewal offer had just gone you were apprehensive about the ‘what are we’ conversation. “Oh, we really don’t have to talk about it yet. I only mentally unloaded on all of you last night so if you need to take more time before discussing with me, please do.”
He chuckled awkwardly. “That’s the funny thing I think. Without really realising it we have discussed it over the past few months as things progressed.”
“Oh.”
He straightened in his seat and looked directly at you. “Yeah. We kind of realised that last night when we started trying to discuss it.” He shifted, trying to get comfortable in his head. That was the only sign you had that he was equally as nervous about this conversation as you were. “I think we should each just speak for ourselves and then go from there?” He offered.
All you could do was nod. “That seems fair.” This was happening. You weren’t sure you were prepared for it, regardless of what they said.
“As the leader I’ll go first.” He shifted again, this time his eyes looked everywhere but you as he spoke. “I, well, uh, I’ve actually just started seeing someone. It’s very early days but I really like her and want to pursue things with her. My parents introduced us and weirdly we kind of hit it off, which is not what usually happens when my parents play matchmaker.”
You thought you’d feel sad at being told someone wasn’t romantically interested in you, because that’s what this was right? He was dating someone and he really liked them. But rather than feeling like you’d been stabbed in the heart you felt happy for him. “So at present, pursuing anything other than friendship with you isn’t something I’m interested in. I also think we work better as friends and don’t want to lose the relationship we’ve got. We did have the least amount of sexual interaction so I don’t think it will have any impact on our friendship moving forward.” Once he finished speaking he lifted his gaze to you, apprehensively since he wasn’t sure how you’d react, but he visibly relaxed when he saw you beaming at him. “As long as a potential relationship with another member or members doesn’t leave anyone unsatisfied from the start then I give my blessings.”
“Are we going in age order?” Sehun asked.
Chanyeol replied. “That’s boring, just go in seating order.”
“Fine.” Sehun sighed, resigned to his fate of being the next to speak. “Noona, I cannot deny that my punishment was fun and that I experienced more than I ever thought I would. But for me it was never that deep I guess.” He shrugged. “The punishment/reward was an opportunity to explore some fantasies with no strings attached with a person who I trusted. I think I’d be a shitty boyfriend to you as well, I can barely take care of myself, and it wouldn’t be fair to you to put up with that burden. I’m not boyfriend material yet.” He wasn’t wrong about that. He always turned up unannounced, never read the room, stole all your chocolates and sulked if he wasn’t the centre of attention. Well, not always, but it happened more than it probably should. Maknae privileges. “However, I am excellent bestie material. So I’d like to remain a very good friend to you.” You’d been rejected as a romantic partner but once again, you didn’t feel sad. Sehun was an excellent friend to have. He loved chatting so he always had good gossip and he was so beloved that he could almost get away with murder. He smiled softly at you, hoping you weren’t disappointed in his choice.
Kyungsoo took a sip from his glass of water before grounding himself and speaking. “There are circumstances where I could see myself truly falling for you. You have a lot of the qualities that I look for in a partner. But I have to be truly honest with myself, and if I do that then I have to say that right now, I am so insanely career driven - both with music and acting. It doesn’t leave much time to fit in a relationship in a way that is fair to either person.” Logical reasoning. You understood that, but much like you had forced yourself to do last night, you wondered where his heart lay in this. “Our reward was incredibly fun, and something I would do again in a heartbeat, but it would be with no strings attached. I value your friendship above everything else and I also think that whilst you put poly on the table as an option, and it is not something I’m opposed to, I can’t ignore the fact that Baekhyun clearly has feelings for you that run deeper than I originally thought. So I think it would be unfair to pursue anything with you to see if feelings develop when one of us is already carrying that torch for you.”
You were shocked. Baekhyun barely even reacted to Kyungsoo’s words, something that unnerved you. You could feel him staring at you. Was he that obvious to them? Had he told them? Kyungsoo wanted to simply remain friends, and if he wasn’t so aware of how Baekhyun felt then he would have been fine to have a friends with benefits kind of situationship going on. You weren’t really sure what to do with that information. It was very flattering, but did you want to entertain someone who wasn’t sure if they had feelings for you?
Too impatient to wait to see if you were going to respond to anything that had just been said, Jongin began speaking. “You have been one of my closest friends since the start. You looked after me when the guys were on tour while I was injured and we hung out so much. I think we bonded over fried chicken and movies.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “You were one of the first people that I’ve met since we debuted who wanted to know me for me, not for who I was as an idol. I agree with hyung, there is a future where I could see myself falling for you under the right circumstances, you’re kind of loveable like that noona, but I would trade that possibility in an instant for your friendship. It means the world to me. I also think there’s one of us who has real feelings for you and it makes me giddy to think of the two of you together.” Did he also mean Baekhyun or was there another member harbouring feelings for you?
The chair next to Jongin scraped on the floor as Jongdae tried to adjust his sitting position. If he’d been going to cool, calm and collected - he’d failed. He looked stressed beyond belief. Was it him? Did he have feelings for you? “Ok so, like the others I cannot deny how highly I value your friendship,” Ok so not him then. “or the fact that I am a person with two working eyes and have spent too much time around Baekhyun to not notice his feelings for you.” You glanced at Baekhyun who still seemed to be checked out of the conversation, even with his eyes locked on you. His gaze was somehow blank and intense at the same time. Did he not care what anyone else was saying about you? Was he really going to be that selfish? He said he wanted you to himself but did that mean that if anyone else at this table confessed that you’d have to reject both of them? Because if he was going to be this indifferent, especially when they kept talking about his feelings for you, then surely picking one person would only lead to a rift forming within the group. “All of that said, I’ve also kind of been seeing someone. And I like her, like a lot, like an insufferable amount.
Minseok saw the opportunity to chime in. “He dreamt about having kids with her last night.” He smirked.
Jongdae looked mortified. “SHUT UP. Um, yeah. So that’s a thing and I just want my friend who I can ask questions to when I’m about to fuck everything up with my possible future wife. God I sound lame, I’m just going to stop talking now.” He sunk down in his chair, put his forehead on the table and banged it against the wood a few times. Minseok and a few others tried really hard not to laugh at him, but they failed miserably.
Chanyeol’s eyes darted around the table as he decided to try and pull focus from Jongdae, who appeared like he was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. “I uh, yeah I’m not dating anyone per se, but I’m also not looking to be tied down in a relationship right now.” Sehun snorted. “God, I sound like such a fuckboy saying that, but I think you kind of awoke some sort of confidence in me and I just want to play the field.” You heard a muttered “And absolutely no one is surprised you moron.” from Kyungsoo and had to stifle a laugh as Chanyeol continued to speak.
“I care for you a lot, and I know one of us cares deeply for you so I want to leave things with us as friends. You’re interesting and fun to be around, you’re competitive in silly games and aren’t a sore loser. Hah, I could probably learn a thing or two from you there. Anyway, yeah. That’s me done.” Again someone saying that another member had feelings for you, but not specifying who. So did he mean Baek or did Yixing or Minseok also harbour feelings for you? You were surprised how at peace you felt with everyone only wanting friendship from you - so far. Kyungsoo admitting he’d fuck you again in a heartbeat had shocked you. That man was usually much more reserved than that.
Yixing was sitting next to you so he turned to you as he spoke. “Ah my sweet lady. I like you a lot,” He took your hand, his thumb caressing the back of your palm gently. “and honestly if I let myself I could so easily fall for you, but I’m also a workaholic to a fault. I have such high ambitions and drive for myself that I tend to fill up every minute I’m not on a schedule with more work.” He laughed. “If it weren’t for these guys, I’d probably forget to sleep.” He paused and you felt the room somehow grow even quieter. What the fuck was he about to drop on you that everyone else this still? “I’m also headed back to China in a few weeks and, ah this sucks,” He hung his head, clearly upset about having to leave Korea again. “I don’t know when I’ll get to come back this time. The political climate has never been great between our two countries but right now it is really tense.”
Ah, that explained the feeling in the room. He was leaving and no one knew when or if he would return. You felt sad. You were going to miss him a lot, as were the rest of the guys. He always worked too hard when he was away from the group because no one on his team in China seemed to grasp how hard he would work himself unless they forced him to stop and take a rest. You returned your attention to the man in front of you. He sighed sadly. “So I’m going back and working on music as a soloist, working on some acting projects and would hopefully be back next year for our new album, but it's all kind of up in the air. I couldn’t burden you with any of the long distance crap and it wouldn’t be fair to either of us to even try to date and explore any feelings we may have when there would be such difficulty actually seeing each other. It will be a big enough strain on our friendship so whoever does end up dating you has my full support as long as they let me smother you with hugs when I return.” You were confused. His words made it seem like if it weren’t for returning to China, that he would want to date you, but he hadn’t said that he had feelings for you, just that he could see himself having feelings. Was it kind of like Kyungsoo’s situation? You let go of his hand as Chanyeol pulled him backwards into a big hug.
Minseok tapped you on the shoulder to get you to turn towards him. He smiled softly at you then took a deep breath. “Alright then.” He started. You knew he hated airing his business in front of others so regardless of what he was about to say, it was likely stressing him out. “Ah, well you and I probably had the most sex out of the group given the fuck buddy arrangement we’ve had going on. It was mostly stress relief and if we weren’t to have a physical relationship anymore, I don’t think it would drastically change our relationship. I value my movie nights with you over sex so ultimately I don’t want to lose my friendship with you. I trust you implicitly and we’ve both seen each other's ugly sides and haven’t run away from them. I could see circumstances where we pursue a romantic relationship, but like yourself, I haven’t really allowed my feelings to come into play so I’d be content just being your friend.” He glanced towards Baekhyun, who was staring at you. “Like the others, I also cannot ignore Baekhyun’s feelings towards you. I in no way want to come between what could be something beautiful between the two of you.”
Baekhyun doesn’t speak. He hasn’t said a word since you set foot in the dorm and he hasn’t averted his gaze from you the entire time. You could feel it boring into you while everyone spoke. He hadn’t said anything to correct anyone about his feelings for you and it seemed like he had no plans to speak in front of them either. You gave him a few moments to see if he was going to say anything, and noticed the way the others all looked towards him when he chose to remain silent.
You decided to respond to everyone else. Just because Baekhyun was choosing to be silent for the first time in his life didn’t mean it was fair to leave the eight other men in the lurch after they had all just told you how they felt. They needed to know how you were feeling about everything. “Well ok, this makes everything easier. After we spoke last night I did a lot more thinking about our relationships and where I wanted to stand with each of you. I came to the conclusion that your friendship means more to me than anything else and so with that, I was going to say that I think it is for the best that we don’t sleep together anymore. It kind of worked out well that all of you landed on that conclusion as well. Like some of you said, there are circumstances where I could see myself falling for you, but I’m also aware of how that would not be fair to explore, given everything. I love each of you in my own way, and I’m so happy that I get to keep my friends.” You could actually hear the en masse exhale that they let out once they heard you speak. They hadn’t hurt your feelings and everything was going to be ok. “The only thing I’ll ask, actually no - it’s more of a demand at this point - is that you stop being so awkward around me now. Things can go back to how they were, just don’t cross the line into being too inappropriate.”
They all laugh and agree, and just like that the strange tension that had surrounded the dorm disappears. However, one cloud of tension remains, concentrated solely around Baekhyun. He dropped his gaze when you’d spoken and hadn’t lifted it from the floor since. If anyone was worried about Baekhyun’s silence, they didn’t show it. You’d have to take him aside and speak with him soon enough. You’d promised to talk to him tonight.
You continued to tell everyone how happy you were that they all wanted to remain friends with you, whilst also pressing Junmyeon and Jongdae for details about their dating life. You can practically see the hearts in their eyes when they talk about the new women in their lives and honestly, you couldn’t be happier for them. Poly was a fun idea to put on the table but it was never going to work long term for these guys. Logistically, emotionally or publicly. So it was for the best that none of you decided to venture down that path.
Once everyone began to disperse you moved towards Baek and asked “Baek, can we speak privately?.” He shrugged but didn’t say no. He didn’t say anything. You walked towards his room and he followed you. You weren’t sure what the shift in him was from earlier this evening. Earlier he seemed like he wanted to date you, but now he wouldn’t even look at you and he looked so dejected and sullen, like he was fighting off tears. “Hey, Baek. Are you ok?” You asked. You wanted to reach out to comfort him but you weren’t sure if that would make matters worse. You had no idea what he was feeling.
He nodded in response, still not uttering a word.
“Sweetie, you need to speak to me if you want me to believe you.”
“I’m just.” He sighed, “I guess I’m just struggling. Like of course I want to keep you as a friend, not having you in my life would be too hard, but I guess I was really hoping you’d work out your feelings for me as more than that.” He stared at the ceiling as he tried to remain calm but you could tell he was beginning to crack. “I know it wouldn’t be easy dating me, not because of who I am as a person, but because I’m an idol. Like we’d have to be secretive and couldn’t be all couply and go on normal dates like normal couples and maybe you don’t want to date someone who has to hide you. It’s just hard coz I realised all these feelings recently and now I’ve gotta reconcile with them and stuff them away. Which I will do, you are too important to me to not still be friends, but not gonna lie, it’ll be hard for me for a while I think.”
He just wanted to be friends now? But when he’d spoken to you earlier, he said he wanted so much more than that. You were so confused. “Baek, what are you on about?”
His head snapped back to stare at you incredulously. “What am I on about?!” He exclaimed, clearly frustrated and hurt. “You just told all of us that you want to remain friends with us. After I told you about how I felt earlier. So I guess I am not doing great with the rejection ok?”
Oh. Oh. Oh no. He’d misunderstood horribly. You’d responded to the others because they’d spoken. None of what you said at the table was for him because he hadn’t spoken. “No, oh my god no, you’ve misunderstood.”
He looked so hurt, close to breaking as he responded. “What?”
You tried to remain calm, hoping it would make him calm. “Baek, I want to remain friends with the eight of them. I didn’t want to announce my feelings for you in front of them because you weren’t speaking. I didn’t know if you’d told any of them how you felt or if they’d all just worked it out, but then you didn’t speak. You stared at me the entire time but then you said nothing.” You paused as you took a step closer to him. “Plus my confession should be for your ears only first.”
He staggered backwards, not at all prepared for the words you’d said. “Wait, what are you saying?”
You locked eyes with him and did not break eye contact as you spoke. You needed to be certain that he heard you loud and clear. You’d been too weak to say it earlier, even though you knew how you felt. He deserved to hear it hours ago, but you couldn’t turn back time, so hearing it now would have to do. “Byun Baekhyun, I like you, a lot. Way more than is healthy for me I think. I want you in my life, I want to have you as one of my closest friends but I also want so much more. I want to be able to hold you, flirt with you, do domestic as fuck things with you, date you in whatever capacity we can date. I know that won’t be easy, I’m not naive about the secrecy that dating would require but to me you’re worth it. I want all of you, and I don’t want to share my romance with anyone but you. I’m not against bedroom scenarios that involve guests but I want you and only you as the person I fall even further for.”
“Fuck.” He whispered.
“Yeah. I want to do a lot of that too. You have no idea, but this is supposed to be romantic, not a confession from a horny teenager.” You both laughed. “I don’t know when my feelings changed or if I’d just ignored the way I felt about you for a long time but once I sat down and thought about my options with all of you, and spoke very discreetly with my best friend back home, I realised how sad I was every time I thought of not being able to be anything other than a friend to you. For every other member I was fine with the prospect of just friendship, but with you, it made me inexplicably sad.”
“Are you sure? Because don’t get me wrong, I want this, but it would be stupid of me to not understand the reality of it. Like you said, we won’t be able to go out on dates like a normal couple. We would have to be so careful. So unbelievably careful.” He paused as he took a couple of steps towards you, closing the distance between the two of you. “I think at this point a dating scandal wouldn’t ruin my career nor would it ruin EXO, but I’d be so worried about you.” He reached out to brush a stray strand of hair behind your ear, his hand lightly resting on your cheek afterwards. His eyes shone bright with emotion. He cared so much about you. “People can be so cruel, and I don’t want to see you hurt by their words should anything leak.”
You placed your hand over his, your eyes glistening with emotion. You knew his feelings for you, and he knew how you felt about him yet he still took the time to worry when he could be kissing you. “I don’t know that there is any way to prepare for the hate that would come my way if something got out about us, but I think that unless there was evidence of us in some compromising position it would be easy for SM to deny the rumours. In some ways working for the company and with the group allows for us to be seen together. We’d just have to keep things very work oriented when we aren’t in the safety of our homes.”
Baekhyun let out a shuddering breath. “I’m, fuck, why am I scared?”
You smiled. “Because. We really like each other. Fear is natural when you have something to lose but I think that just means trying to hang on to that special thing, or person in this instance, is worth anything that could be thrown at us. I’d like to think you wouldn’t just abandon me the moment a rumour comes out.”
He shook his head instantly. “I wouldn’t. I promise.”
“Then yeah, I’m all in on trying this thing. You and I. Exclusive. Together.”
His eyes widened at your words, like he still couldn’t quite believe this was happening. All the bravado you’d seen throughout the rest of your relationship with him was gone. The man who stood before you now was Baekhyun stripped bare. He was beautiful, inside and out. You don’t know how you denied yourself these feelings for so long, but if you continued to do so the sheer weight of what you felt might just consume you. “Is this really happening?” He asked.
“It is if you agree to it.” You replied. You stared up at him as you waited for him to accept your feelings and close the gap between you.
He leant in. “I can’t believe you actually like me. Didn’t you once say I was the most annoying person in the world?” He whispered. He was so close you could feel the ghost of the movement of his lips as he spoke.
“Maybe you’ll be less annoying if I get to call you mine.” Did he expect you to kiss him? Was he waiting for you to make the first move like you were waiting for him to do?
“Oh. No. That’s where you’re wrong.” He smiled against your lips, the sensation of them touching but not kissing you was driving you insane. “I will be even more annoying if I’m yours.” His hand moved from your cheek to the back of your head, holding you in place.
“Still a risk I’m willing to take.” Baekhyun’s fingers tightened against your neck, stretching up into the edges of your hairline. He felt like he was trying to bring his own body as close to yours as possible.
You waited for him to agree to date you, but he kept seemingly dodging a response. It was beginning to make your anxiety spike. What if he really liked you, admitted his feelings, yet still did not want to date you? Could you handle that? You didn’t think you could, not after laying your heart on the table for him like that. “Baek?” You asked.
“Yeah?” He replied as his free hand snaked around your waist, pressing your bodies against each other. You could feel your heart hammering in your chest as your breath hitched.
“Please don’t leave me hanging.” You pleaded. You needed to hear him say it now that he knew how you felt. You felt light headed, and like your knees might buckle.
“What?” He sounded confused. The butterflies in your stomach felt like they were caught in a hurricane for how tingly you felt.
“I’ve told you what I want, confessed my feelings to you. B-but, you. You haven’t -” You struggled to get the words out.
He must have realised what you were trying to say as his grip on you tightened. “Fuck! Sorry noona, shit. I want to date the hell out of you.” You could feel how hard he was miling against your mouth as he spoke. “I’m excited for all the silly domestic things we can do. I want to buy couple pyjamas for us. I want to smother you with kisses and affection as much as I can when we are alone. If I don’t, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle my shit in public. I’m scared. I’m so so soooo happy, also a bit horny but that’s nothing new, mostly I’m just waiting to wake up from this dream.” You could feel yourself tremble, all the pent-up anxiety and fear and self-loathing having no other way to exit your body. The physical manifestation of the nerves wasn’t something you could control.
“Well could you hurry up and kiss me then?”
“Gladly.” Baekhyun closed the nonexistent gap between you as he pressed his lips against yours. The kiss started out softly, carefully and full of what could be referred to as love. He was kissing you with all the pent up emotion that he was now allowed to set free. You’d never been kissed like this before. Never been kissed in such a way where you could feel the emotion being poured into you. You felt desperate for him. It felt so good.
Baekhyun pressed harder against you as he kissed away all of your worries and doubts. You could feel how much he wanted you, more than just sexually, as his tongue swept across your lips, requesting entrance. You granted it readily, equally needing to devour him and reciprocate how you felt about him through the kiss. The raging butterflies in your stomach had morphed into tingling sensations that fluttered across every nerve ending.
He pulled back just enough to cradle your face in his hands as he gazed at you with so much affection that you felt like you might combust. “I feel like I’ve gone crazy,” he chucked. “He didn’t allow you space to speak before jumping in to continue kissing you.
You continued to kiss and hold each other for a while, trying to make up for lost time as you attempted to express every emotion via kisses. Some soft and loving, others rough and demanding. It’s you who pulled away the next time, as you both tried to catch your respective breaths. “We should tell the others.”
Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah, and then can we please go to your apartment? I just want to spend time with you. I don’t care if we just hold each other and make out or if we do more, I just want to be close to you.”
“That sounds perfect to me.” You pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before you grabbed his hand. “Let’s go before we change our minds and they find us in here.”
The two of you headed back out towards the living area hand in hand. The others all appeared to be caught up in various discussions but they stop once someone notices yours and Baekhyun’s intertwined hands. Baekhyun cleared his throat, unable to keep the smile off his face as he exclaimed. “We’re dating, and I hope all of you can be happy for us because, speaking for myself here, I’m really happy right now. I thought I’d lost her earlier tonight but as usual I misunderstood.” He smiled down at you. “Thank fuck it was a misunderstanding, otherwise all of you would be dealing with me being mopey and heartbroken.”
One by one the members got up and came forward to embrace the two of you. You were over the moon with the outcome from this evening. You’d secured a new contract, didn’t have to move companies, got to keep some of the best friends you’d ever had and gained a boyfriend. Pretty productive night if you said so yourself. However, you couldn’t help but notice that neither Minseok or Kyungsoo had approached the two of you since Baekhyun’s announcement.
In fact, neither of them were even in the room. Suddenly the lights dimmed and the two missing members entered the room, holding a cake. It wasn’t anyone’s birthday. What was the cake for? As they got closer you heard the other members giggling and grew suspicious. Any of these men giggling was never a good sign. Finally the cake came into view as the two of them stood before you and Baekhyun. “Yah!” Baekhyun laughed as he tried his hardest to sound mad. “Did you fucking plan this?!”
“Dude, you could not have been more obvious in your affections as far as we were concerned. “Kyungsoo deadpanned. “After we all talked last night it became pretty obvious that none of us felt the same way you did, and whilst some of us could see ourselves reaching that point, we weren’t there now. We were always expecting you to confess, and well, noona, you were always closer to Baek than any of us. There was always something brewing under the surface there so we had faith that you’d reciprocate his feelings. So we figured baking a cake for the occasion was a sure bet.”
“You did have us worried when you didn’t say a single word at the table but I’m glad to see it all worked out. We did change the message on the cake just in case you hadn’t confessed to each other by the time you came back out of the room.” Minseok smirked. You finally diverted your gaze to the cake. And laughed. You laughed so hard that you struggled to breathe.
Hurry up and confess to each other so we can celebrate.
“This was your amendment?!” You managed to splutter in between laughs.
Kyungsoo grinned. “Yeah. The original message said Congratulations on realising your feelings.”
“I hate all of you, just so you know.” Baekhyun grumbled, though it was not even remotely convincing what with the huge smile on his face.
“You love us.” Minseok said. “And we’re very happy for you.”
“Now eat the damn cake. I baked it with love.” Kyungsoo said as he thrust the cake towards the two of you.
“You baked for us?” You asked as you smiled.
“Of course I did. I’d only let the others bake if I wanted you to be poisoned. I don’t know how he’d manage it but Junmyeon could give you food poisoning even if all the ingredients were in date. What do you take me for, a monster?” He replied, unable to wipe the smile off his face.
***
After the cake had been eaten,you and Baekhyun decided that it was time to take your leave and head down to your apartment for the night. You made your way around the room to bid each of the members goodnight, and to give each of them a warm hug. You held Yixing extra tight, promising to come have a movie day with him before he had to return to China. You also made him promise to schedule video calls with you so you could keep in touch. He swore that we would and you planned to hold him to that promise.
Minseok walked the two of you to the door. The three of you chatted easily as you and Baekhyun put your shoes on. You were enveloped in a strong embrace as Minseok held you and told Baekhyun to take good care of you because you now had eight friends who would gut him if he hurt you. The weight of his words was diminished when he posed the exact same threat to you. Baekhyun laughed at his protective hyung, cooing at how cute he was for threatening the two of you.
He didn’t let go of you as he reached out to playfully slap Baekhyun. To his credit, Baekhyun let the two of you have your moment as he watched you both silently.
You should have known better. Silence and Baekhyun were never a good mix. “So what if I want Minseok to join in every now and again?” He said as though he was talking about the weather.
“What?!” You both spluttered.
Baekhyun shrugged. “Noona, Hyung, you should see your faces.” He giggled. “I’m only half kidding though.”
“Yeah, you are going to have to say more than that dude.” Minseok groaned.
Baekhyun smiled at both of you. “I don’t know about either of you, but if I had to take a wild guess - we all had a better than good time during hyung’s reward. I’m just not opposed to something like that happening again, obviously not a frequent thing, but yeah. I’m sure you are more than capable of taking charge in the bedroom noona but it was really fucking hot watching both of you and being told what to do. So uh, yeah, just saying I’m happy to leave that door open for a future session.”
“Baek, you can’t just say things like that as though it's normal conversation.” You replied.
“What made you decide to bring that up now of all times?” Minseok asked as you spoke.
“To answer noona - Is that a no to my idea then? Coz like, that’s also fine. To answer hyung - I was reminded of it when the two of you were hugging.”
Minseok shook his head at the younger man. “You’re fucking weird dude.”
“You like it.” Baekhyun quipped.
“I don’t dislike it.” He agreed. “Look, I’m down as long as it doesn’t become weird. It was fun, it was deeply satisfying and it was hot, but not something I’d be willing to ruin our friendships over.”
You finally found some words, not quite believing where the night had taken you. “I feel the same. So uh, I guess at such a time when we want to involve a third, we know who to call…”
“This cannot be my life.” Minseok shook his head in disbelief and pointed towards the door. “Can you two leave already so I don’t get sprung with any more headache inducing conversation topics?”
Baekhyun grabbed your hand and led you through the door. “Let’s go angel.”
You were content, more than content as you stepped across the threshold with Baekhyun, who was now your boyfriend, you supposed. You’d have to discuss labels later. You wanted to spend the entire night in his arms, and like him you did not care if that was while you watched movies, played games, talked, or expressed your feelings for each other in a much more physical manner. All you knew was you felt right, you felt loved and cherished and you felt like you were in a state of utter bliss.
A/N: Thank you if you've stuck with me over the course of the past 7 years. I simply don't have the words to express my gratitude to everyone who made it to this point of my lil fic. Well it was supposed to be little. It was supposed to be 9 chapter of pwp and only take me a couple of months to write but then all of this happened. I grew as a writer through this fic and explored different aspects of what I could write. I'm proud of this fic and glad that it didn't become another one of those unfinished fics on the internet.
It would mean the world to me if you could leave a comment. I love you all.
Summary: Professor Kim Junmyeon has a crush–a crush on the newest addition to the history department. Taking fate into their own hands, some light-fingered students make it their mission to get these two together.
A/N: I’m almost done with requests from back in June so I present a Junmyeon request. I’m not even going to pretend that Junmyeon’s legendary “Playboy” solo performance wasn’t the inspiration for this fic, despite it being fluff central up in here. Hope you enjoy!
Tagging @cxsmicmyeon because I promised! 😊
~*~
Neon lights flashed. Pins scattered. Balls crashed down waxed, wooden lanes. The smell of pizza intermingled with the tang of floor polish.
The neon lights glared off the shiny, waxed floors of the bowling alley and Junmyeon was accosted by the intermingling smells of pizza and floor polish–a stark contrast to his usual habitat. The harsh lines and dark wooden panels of the lecture hall have vanished and in their place, an 80’s-reminiscent wonderland remains. Buttery leather shoes traded for rubber soles, the hum of student voices for the whir of the ball machine. This wasn’t the type of place Junmyeon usually frequented, much more accustomed to mood lighting and a crisp, fine wine.
It was the start of a new school year, which was marked as per usual, with a department-wide celebration encompassing both research faculty of the university’s history department, as well as their student lab workers. His department head was an avid bowler, which was precisely how Junmyeon found himself bowling in a three-piece suit and clown shoes.
A voice shouted his name and a hand beckoned him forward to take a ball. His sometimes most and sometimes least favorite graduate student, Sehun, plopped a ball into his hands with a wink, and pushed him towards the front. The little punk. Junmyeon made a mental note to assign Sehun to cleaning duty next week. After all, the archives had been looking extra dusty lately.
Looking around, he noticed the number of faces that had gathered to watch the game. He wanted to maintain his reputation–respected, dependable, and worthy of admiration–and vowed he won’t lose that by sucking at bowling. You can do this, Jun. Strength. Poise. Precision. With that in mind, he straightened his arm and swung it back, releasing the ball down the waxed, wooden lane.
It went…and went…and went…straight into the gutter. Not quite.
Junmyeon stood there in shock, not really believing he launched his ball exactly the opposite of where it was supposed to go. The hooting and hollering of the onlookers reached his ears and he turned around, feeling heat on the back of his neck. Sehun chose this time to tell a particularly biting joke, causing Junmyeon to blush profusely.
I guess he wants two weeks of cleaning duty, he mused to himself, leveling the taller man with a half-hearted glare.
In the middle of stewing, he almost missed the breezy laugh that made its way to his ears, the slew of voices behind him quieting to a low buzz. He watched as a woman stepped forward, walking with confidence to snare a ball from the machine. He tried not to stare, but couldn't help himself, frozen in place like he’d been turned to stone.
Pushing her hair behind her ear, she toyed with the little baby hairs at the crown of her head to keep them out of her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed an enchanting rosy pink, from the heat or from one too many beers, he didn’t know.
As he passed her on his way to sit down, she patted his arm gently. A jolt of electricity ran through his body, the sting of humiliation temporarily forgotten.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. We all throw a gutter ball once in a while,” she sympathized, offering him a smile that made his heart skip a beat.
Without conscious thought, he found himself nodding in agreement to her words, flashing her a gummy smile so wide it hurt his cheeks. He took a seat beside his colleague, Minseok, AKA the other Professor Kim, who grinned and slapped him on the back, clearly amused at his lack of athletic prowess.
Junmyeon watched as the mystery woman took position.
Like a seasoned pro, she took several intentional steps forward and swung her arm back, like the movement of a pendulum. She released the ball low, holding her position as the ball barreled down the lane with impressive speed. A perfect shot. The pins fell, clattering to the ground, before being swept back by a metal arm. Animated bowling pins danced all over the scoring screen, declaring “Strike! Strike!” in chipmunk-like voices.
“Who is that?” he breathed, leaning over to whisper in Minseok’s ear.
Minseok raised an eyebrow, surprised at Junmyeon’s sudden interest.
“Her? That’s Professor____ ____, the newest tenure-track hire in our department. Heard she came here over the summer from some big-shot university abroad. Boss’s excited because she’s apparently gained a reputation as “The Grant Fairy”, and you know how much he loves additional funding.”
Junmyeon nodded, but he barely heard what his friend was saying, too caught up in his newest colleague’s radiant smile and silly celebration dance. A strange sense of pride washed over him as you sank ball after ball in just the right spot. His skin prickled when you reached up to high-five the other, other Professor Kim, Ki-bum, beaming up at him in a way that made something inside Junmyeon twist.
It wasn’t rational. Not rational at all to feel this way about something he’d only just met. And Junmyeon lived by facts and figures. True or false. Black and white, but never gray. He fleetingly wondered if this rollercoaster of emotions was caused by excessive consumption of alcohol, but then quickly remembered he’d been drinking club soda all night. Sadly, no wine to be found in a place like this.
~*~
A smirk crossed Sehun’s handsome features. Watching Professor Kim Junmyeon lose his mind over the department’s newest addition was the unexpected highlight of the evening. As by-the-book as they came, the older man has little tolerance for the times–the very, very minimal times–that he’d caught Sehun filming Tik Tok dances during work hours. He scratched his chin, sure that a romantic diversion such as this might loosen the older man up for the greater good. Having worked in his lab for several years, Sehun considered himself an expert on the illustrious academic’s quirks and characteristics. Unfortunately, where Junmyeon was smooth with a pen, he wasn’t smooth with words, at least outside of a lecture hall, that is.
The cogs in Sehun’s brain started to turn, and a plan took shape behind his eyes. Sehun couldn’t help but pat himself on the back for having such a brilliant idea. Slipping off unnoticed from the party, he shot off text messages to his future accomplices. This wasn’t a one-man job, but rather a collaboration, one might say. All he had to do was sit back and watch as the fun began.
~*~
“Okay, let’s go through this one more time, Jun,” Minseok instructed, pulling Junmyeon over to face the mirror. “You walk into her office and you say…”
“Hello Professor ___. I was…um…wondering if you wanted to…go out for dinner sometime?” Junmyeon stared at himself in the mirror, feeling awkward–like a high school student nervously practicing a confession to the girl he likes while hiding in the boys’ bathroom.
Minseok hung his head in mock shame. “Say it with confidence, Jun! Again–and like you really mean it this time!”
Junmyeon tried once more, feeling silly. He spoke passionately and eloquently to hundreds of students everyday, so why now was it so hard to string a simple sentence together?
Minseok was speaking, but Jun could barely hear him–his mind elsewhere–on you.
Picking up the leather-bound book on the table, he ran his fingers over the slight grooves in the spine. It was this simple, non-assuming object that had started it all.
The air had been heavy with anticipation, as it always was at 3:30 PM on a Friday. His students were preoccupied, thinking only of the Netflix they’d binge, the pizza they’d demolish, and the alcoholic beverages they’d consume–much too distracted to appreciate his riveting lecture on the intricacies of black holes.
The bell had rung and he’d sent them off with a reminder to complete their homework, unheeded in their haste to depart. In the still silence of the empty lecture hall, he’d noticed an abandoned book on one of the desks–no doubt forgotten by an absent-minded student in the flurry of activity moments before.
Opening to the cover, he hadn’t expected to find your name scrawled in the corner, but to his surprise, there it was. Since that day, the book has taken up residence in his office. He’d enjoyed having it with him and he often caught himself glancing at it, smiling like a giddy school boy because it reminded him of you. But he knew he had to give it back–it wouldn’t be right to keep something that wasn’t his. It was this unassuming object that would give him the excuse to talk to you–at least beyond the occasional exchange of words in the hall or at the coffee pot in the teacher’s lounge.
“ –so then you…Junmyeon!” Minseok cut off mid-sentence, impatiently waving his hand in front of Junmyeon’s face.
Junmyeon apologized for his lack of focus, grateful Minseok’s as forgiving as he was. Not just any friend would give up his afternoon to talk him through how to be smooth with the ladies. And Minseok was smooth with the ladies. The other Professor Kim had zero inhibitions when it came to romantic partners–suave, well-dressed, and always ready with a witty comeback–Minseok was never without someone adorning his arm.
Junmyeon wished he could have even half that amount of confidence.
~*~
The light glowing from your office drew Junmyeon like a moth to a flame. It was way past the usual time he’d leave from work, but lately he found more and more reasons to stay. Light drifting out from under your door? Term papers to read. Passed by you in the hall on his way out? Oops, those tests needed to be graded tonight.
Today was no different, the moon shining high in the sky as Junmyeon made his daily pilgrimage to you, the leather tome he’d harbored uncharacteristically heavy in his hands. Standing outside your door, Junmyeon’s nerves flared. He practiced this over and over with Minseok and he told himself it would all be okay. He raised his hand to knock on the door, knowing it was now or never or he'd lose his nerve. Your voice sounded from within, spurring him forward and through the door.
~*~
You looked at the clock, shocked to see the hours had passed so quickly. It had been several weeks since you started your position here and you finally felt like you had some space to breathe. It was a big change leaving your old job, but you could happily say now that it was worth it. This job provided you with things you didn’t have before–a team of student researchers of your own, a promise of tenure, and the type of salary that would keep you traveling for years to come. Your colleagues had been welcoming too, and your mind wandered to one in particular. Dark hair, slightly curled at the end, bright eyes, and pretty, pink lips. They looked so soft and you wondered if they’d feel that way against your–
A knock sounded at the door and the spell was broken. You shook your head, reminding yourself to keep it out of the gutter. You called for them to enter, wondering who could possibly still be at school at this late hour.
The door opened and in walked the man you’d just been fantasizing about not 30 seconds before. You rubbed your eyes, wanting to make sure this wasn’t some kind of sleep deprivation-induced fantasy. But no, he was still there when your gaze cleared, a small smile on his handsome face, and looking better than anyone had a right to in a three-piece brown tweed suit.
Your cheeks warmed in response and you hoped it wasn’t obvious to him. Yes, you had a crush, as much as you didn’t want to admit it. All the signs were there: heartbeat racing when you ran into him in the hallway, sweaty palms when you exchanged pleasantries in the break room, thoughts of him swimming in your head at all hours of the day. You remembered the night you met him, some weeks ago at the welcome party. He’d just sent the ball straight to the gutter, but you’d barely noticed, too enchanted by his expressive eyes and squishy smile.
From then on you’d thought about ways to approach him. Unsatisfied with all of them, you wished you were more extroverted, then maybe you wouldn’t even need a reason to talk to him. You could just do it. You supposed your introversion was a contributing factor to your choice in career; after all, not everyone would be thrilled to spend their time digging through dusty libraries, pouring over antique books and documents in the pursuit of answering a question you’d dedicated your entire career to answering. You had settled for staying late at work, the light in his office your guide for when it was time to leave.
Now, seeing Junmyeon here amongst your things, you thanked the universe for this divine intervention. Gesturing for him to take a seat, noted the familiar book he clutched in his hands. An awkward silence fell over the room and you waited for him to say something, anything to drown out the thump, thump, thump of your beating heart.
“Good evening, Prof. ____. I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I…uh…found this book of yours and wanted to return it. In case you were really missing it.”
He laid the book on your desk, pushing it towards you, chuckling at the last bit.
“Ah yes, thank you Prof. Kim, I have been looking for that everywhere. Where–uh–ever did you find it?”
You, in fact, hadn’t been looking for it everywhere, but you decided he didn’t need to know that. To be honest, you hadn’t even noticed it was gone. However, you were curious how it came into his possession. You had just moved into your office, but all your books had been packed away in boxes until recently.
Junmyeon cleared his throat.
“Honestly, it was the strangest thing. I found it left on a desk after I’d finished one of my lectures. I was surprised to find it belonged to you.”
“Hmmm, that is strange,” you agreed, scratching your chin in thought. “Well, thank you again for returning it…” you trailed off, blindly scrounging for a way to make the conversation last longer.
“Yeah, no problem at all, just happy I could help.”
Junmyeon slowly got up from his chair and headed toward the door. He paused at the threshold, staring at you like he had something to say. He shook his head, causing dark locks to spill across his forehead, and resumed motion.
“Well, Professor ____, I guess I should go now. It was lovely talking to you.”
With that, he opened the door and quickly stepped through it, the door closing behind him with a gentle thump.
You stared at the door for several seconds after he’d gone, wishing you’d had the spine to say what you really wanted to say. Hey, you want to go for coffee sometime? It’s not that hard, right? Right! You could have said that instead of just saying “thank you” a hundred times!
You sighed and grabbed your book, the one Professor Kim had been so kind to return. Stroking the soft leather, you went to your bookshelf, placing it at home amongst the many others there. Behind you, the door creaked, causing you to jump in surprise. You whirled around to find Professor Kim standing there, his mouth set in a firm line.
“Oh, Professor Kim, you scared me!” you said, patting your hand over your chest in an attempt to calm your racing heart.
“My apologies Professor ____, but I couldn’t just leave without saying–couldn’t just leave without asking–”
Professor Kim took a deep breath through his nose before continuing: “ –if you wanted to go out sometime. Coffee…maybe dinner…whatever you want.”
He bit his lip before glancing down at his shoes, that bashful squishy smile gracing his handsome features again.
You stuck your finger under your nose, just to check that you were still breathing. The hand still over your heart assured you of its beating. Oh my god. It’s real. He’s asked you out on a date! Say something, you idiot!
“Coffee…maybe dinner…sounds good,” you said with a small smile. Good, yeah, that’s good. Very natural.
Junmyeon scratched his head. “Oh–okay, well that’s great…uh…when are you free? I mean, I’m free now…are you free now?” he asked, stumbling over his words.
You smiled at his endearing nervousness, so much like your own. “Yeah, I’m free now…should we…?” you trailed off, raising your eyebrows in question, nodding towards the door.
You grabbed your coat, struggling to put it on as you’d suddenly forgotten how arms work. Professor Kim–Junmyeon–as he told you to call him, held it out for you to slip your arms into. You walked together down the deserted hallway towards the Java Hut, which was blessedly open late, and you wanted to hug the universe for giving you this opportunity.
“Hey, Junmyeon?” you started, waiting for him to look at you. “After this, would you want to go bowling sometime?”
You watched as a range of emotions poured over Junmyeon’s face–embarrassment, surprise, to name a few–his shooting wide like saucers. You honestly couldn’t hold it in anymore, the look on his face was too much for you to bear, and you dissolved into a fit of giggles. Even in the dark, you could see Junmyeon’s cheeks darken to an attractive hue of pink, evidence that he wasn’t used to being teased like this.
“No shade, no tea, but I feel with a few pointers, there could be vast improvement,” you joked.
Junmyeon purses his lips, stroking his chin in mock thought.
“Well, I suppose I could be persuaded to go bowling–with the right coach, that is.”
~*~
Two sets of eyes watched silently as you and Junmyeon exited the building. Sehun held out his hand and high-fived Baekhyun, his partner in crime. It was a genius plan, really, though Baekhyun had almost gotten caught “borrowing” that book from Professor____’s office. Sure, it had taken Professor Kim several annoyingly long weeks to work up the nerve to return the book to its rightful owner and Sehun would be claiming all that over-time on his next paycheck, but it was worth it. He patted himself on the back for a job well-done, not for the first time considering a change in careers to match-making.
~*~
Thank you so much for reading Bound to Happen! Please remember to interact and re-blog as it really helps others find and enjoy these stories more easily!
Synopsis: Ten years ago, Nabi matched with two people via the Marriage Pact survey: her best friend, Junmyeon, and the university heartthrob, Baekhyun. In the present day, despite agreeing to forget about the pact, Nabi has to choose between her boss, Junmyeon, and the local flower shop owner, Baekhyun.
promt: stargazing, sleepy kisses, first loves with junmyeon
word count: about 2k
a/n: please excuse this lame-o title xD thank you, dear Starry @cxsmicmyeon, for the promts~ i had the best time writing this little thinggy for you ^^ as always, i am my own beta reader and english isn't my first language, so bare with me and the mistakes you may or may not find xD
~
“You’ve got your sleeping bag and extra blankets?”
“Yes.”
“The sleeping mat?”
“Yup.”
“Have you packed enough food and water?”
“Yes, Mom, I double checked everything. I’m good to go, really, no need to be worried.”
It was very sweet of your Mom to look out for you like that, so you suppressed rolling your eyes at her nagging. Besides, she kind of had a point (- of course she had, moms always do), knowing your tendency to forgetfulness all too well. But it wasn’t like you would be all alone on this little camping trip. Nope, Junmyeon would be there. Charming, dutiful and organized Junmyeon, who would certainly have thought of everything the two of you might need on your four-day-vacation. The mere thought of him painted a little smile on your face.
And apparently, it could also summon the man, you thought to yourself at hearing the sounds of an approaching car. When it came to halt in front of your house, you pulled your mother in one final goodbye-embrace. She swayed a little from left to right as she held you tightly and gave you a soft peck on your cheek, which made it really hard for you to be annoyed when you heard her whisper next to your ear.
“Do you have a tent?”
“Junmyeon brings the tent, Mom. It’s gonna be fine, please, let me go? He’s waiting outside already.”
“Okay, darling,” your Mom said, giving you a final squeeze before she gave you space to grab your coat and oversized backpack.
“Does he want to come in for a moment? You two could stay for a cup of coffee or tea?”
You snickered at how chipper your Mom suddenly sounded at the mention of Junmyeon. She really adored him and how he was always polite and always on time and always respectful and reliable. He was the best boyfriend a mother could want for her child. And also the perfect son-in-law - you were quite aware of that yourself and suspected your Mom had already dreamt of a perfect wedding.
But that wedding would definitely stay a dream for some more time. Junmyeon and you were only together for a few months now - far, far away from any wedding plans - and he was your first serious boyfriend. Your first, great, world-shaking love and all you wanted was to take your time to experience all of its beauty fully and as naturally as it came. You felt no pressure to rush any steps, only the security that Junmyeon thought the same way about your relationship and the fact that he considered your bond equally precious as you did, multiplied the butterflies in your stomach by a thousand.
“I don’t think we have time, we need to be at the camping site no later than 5,” you explained, giving your Mom a last quick peck on the cheek before opening the front door. Junmyeon had gotten out of his car already and was rummaging through the trunk to make a little more space for your things.
“Have fun, sweetheart,” your Mom smiled and gave a wave to Junmyeon who had emerged as soon as he heard your mother’s voice.
“I will,” you smiled back at her, “Bye, Mom, see you in a few days.”
“Bye-bye”, she squeezed your hand, then you went to finally greet your boyfriend with a soft kiss.
“Hey,” he said and instantly took your hand in his with the warmest smile.
“Hi,” you responded a little shyly, feeling all kinds of bubbly at his lovely action and the sound of his sweet, gentle voice.
“Your mom seems quite happy you are leaving for a few days, huh?” he teased as he took the huge backpack from you.
You snorted. “Mh right, if you want I can drive alone and you’ll stay here with her. I’m sure she’d be delighted to have you around,” you joined in on his joke and watched him loading your backpack in the trunk with swift movements.
“Yeah, she would, I’m charming like that. But I’d be much more delighted to have you around, so no last minute changes to the plan.”
His words made you blush a little. How dare he make your heart all soft and mushy like that, your inner voice squealed while you made your way to the passenger seat.
“Have fun you two!” your Mom shouted one last time before she went back into the house, to which Junmyeon replied with one of his nicest smiles and a happy “Thank you, we will!”
Your heart fluttered even more seeing him being just as excited about this trip of yours as you were and by the time Junmyeon had taken his place in the driver’s seat, starting the engine, you were grinning like the happiest person on the planet. And who knows, maybe in that moment, you were.
The drive itself was calm, filled with nice music and easy-flowing talks, and even setting up the tent once you had arrived, worked out perfectly - well, at least after one of the camping site’s staff offered a helping hand. But it was fun, and filling the interior with mats and blankets and all kinds of different pillows felt a lot like building a cozy blanket fort.
You were surprised by how soon the sun was setting though, getting the tent to take shape must have taken longer than you had thought. There were a couple of trees that casted long shadows over the otherwise quite empty site. It had been a smart idea to plan the trip a few weeks before the actual summer break, so that there were no families crowding the place. And the two of you had picked a spot a bit more secluded from the few other campers anyway.
You actually had pretty much forgotten that there must be others around somewhere and didn’t bother thinking more about them as Junmyeon hurried towards you to show you the pictures he took of the stunning sunset. He handed you his phone so you could thumb through his camera roll to pick your favorites as he put his arms around you to hug you from the side, finally pressing a kiss against your temple.
“You hungry?” he mumbled, his lips still grazing your skin. You nodded as an answer, still immersed in the high quality pictures Junmyeon’s phone could make and the fact your high quality boyfriend was hugging you with seemingly no intention to let you go again. No that you wanted that. If you had it your way, Junmyeon would never stop hugging you ever.
“Good, because I’m starving,” he chuckled, “What do you think about a dinner-picnic?” You loved the idea. But you hated the fact that it made Junmyeon let go of you after all. A little sulky about the prompt end of your hug, you quickly sent the pictures you’ve selected from Junmyeon’s phone to your own before joining him in setting up the picnic while the light was fading more and more.
When the two of you finally sat down on the picnic blanket, munching happily on the dishes both of you had prepared, you caught a glint in Junmyeon’s eyes that told you he had planned for exactly this. A picnic under the starlit sky - the sole idea had “Junmyeon” written all over it, really, and you wondered how you didn’t realize before.
“Hey, what are you laughing about?” Junmyeon must have noticed the little giggles you let out as you began to see through his little plan.
“Nothing, just… I was just thinking about how a picnic under the stars just has to be the most you-thing ever.”
You suspected that comment made him blush, you couldn’t really see in the growing dark, but the way he didn’t answer you for a little moment spoke for itself.
“Is it… umm… do you like the idea?”
You couldn’t tell if he was stammering out of embarrassment or because he was actually insecure if you’d be into something romantic like that. Whatever it was, it had to be fixed with a kiss, you decided and quickly huddled up against him.
“I love it, Junmyeon,” you said quietly, “I love you.” And gently, you cupped his face, pulling him closer for your lips to meet. You could feel how he was smiling against your kiss, how he shortly pulled back to tell you he loved you too, how he caught your lips again. The romance of it all made you feel like floating, swimming in emotion, wrapped in nothing but comfort and love.
Soon enough the dark of the night had engulfed you fully, the dishes put aside so you could lie down and get comfortable. Your head was resting on Junmeon’s shoulder while his arm was wrapped around you, his fingertips grazing along your arm in slow movements.
“Can you recognize any constellations?” Junmyeon almost whispered into the quiet night and you nodded in reply.
“The basic one’s. Here’s Cassiopeia… and there’s the Big Dipper… and that’s Orion.”
You lifted your arm and pointed towards the sky, moving your finger along with your explanations.
“Right next to Orion is Taurus, look!” Junmyeon added and pointed upwards as well. “And I’m pretty sure that’s Leo right there, but no guarantees,” he laughed.
“I wouldn’t know, I’m always getting lost in all the stars up there, I’m already happy I can spot three constellations in this mess,” you chuckled along, taking the night sky in once again.
In comfortable silence, you looked at the twinkling lights a little longer. It was mesmerizing and beautiful and overwhelming. You couldn’t remember when you saw the sky like this for the last time, without light pollution or clouds blocking the view, and you wanted to remember this for a very, very long time. How the sky seemed to be expanding only, how bright the starlight shone upon your face, how good it felt to feel Junmyeon just breathing next to you, sharing the warmth of your bodies in the cool night air.
It was unfair how quickly you felt your eyelids growing heavier and heavier, how often you caught yourself already halfway headed into a dream. Junmyeon sighed and like a stubborn child you clung to his side. You didn’t want him to get up, you didn’t want this to be over already. But then he mumbled your name, his voice a bit hoarse from not using it for a while, and one by one you started to pay attention to your aching limbs, to how cold it had become and with a little whine you loosened your grip on him, allowing him to sit up as you did the same.
“Maybe we should get in the tent,” he spoke the words that were hanging between the two of you. You agreed with a simple humm, clearly hating the necessary change of location.
“Don’t pout, we can do this again tomorrow, you know?” Junmyeon said softly, stroking your cheek before giving a little peck to your pouty bottom lip.
“I guess we can,” you sighed, a little more dramatic than you actually felt, making Junmyeon laugh brightly. Man, he really outshone all these stars up there when he was happy like that, you thought to yourself.
This thought gave you a last burst of energy, which you and Junmyeon used to quickly clean up your picnic space and get changed into warm pajamas before you let yourself sink into the pillow paradise you had built earlier that day. Or yesterday. You had lost track of time completely and thoroughly enjoyed the feeling, knowing that it didn’t matter at all. Not for the next couple of days. Not with Junmyeon laying down next to you, looking so very kissable as he was about to turn off the last flashlight.
“Good night kiss?” you asked, the tiredness from before coming back at you all at once.
Without hesitation, Junmyeon leaned down to you and moved his lips lazily against yours for the last time before your mind drifted off into much needed slumber.
“Sleep well, baby” were the last words you heard before you sank into pleasant dreams.
Pairing: Kim Junmyeon x Reader
Genre: Fluff, Suggestive
Word count: 585
Summary: Your boyfriend had planned to make you breakfast in bed but got a little distracted.
Author's note: Happy birthday @cxsmicmyeon! Thank you for encouraging me to begin writing and supporting me along the way. I hope you enjoy this little piece 💞
As you were drifting awake, a smile bloomed across your features. You took a deep breath and inhaled the familiar scent of your boyfriend, letting it take over all your senses and snuggling yourself further into his sheets.
Junmyeon and you had been dating for a few months now and yesterday was the first time you spent the night. Being ever the gentlemen and caring boyfriend, Junmyeon had gone above and beyond to ensure you were as comfortable as possible. You giggled when you saw a little care basket of toiletries he had prepared for you in the bathroom, just in case you had forgotten anything. A new toothbrush, a hairbrush, some hair ties, even your preferred brand of shampoo and conditioner. Your heart warmed when you noticed he had also purchased some menstrual products for you.
You could hear the faint sounds of music and general kitchen noises from the other side of the door but you just weren’t quite ready to get out of bed yet, sinking deeper beneath the blanket. Almost falling back asleep until the music suddenly got a little bit louder, enough for you to recognise the song that was playing and you knew you just had to get out there and see for yourself what you already knew was happening.
When you reached the end of the hallway and the kitchen came into view, there, in all his shirtless glory stood one Junmyeon Kim. Facing the stove and back to you as he watched the eggs frying, hips swinging side to side as his hands were raised up and waving along to the choreography of his favorite girl group tunes.
You held up your phone and began recording, slightly jumping when he had suddenly spun around and immersed himself fully into the vocal performance as well as visual. When he finally opened his eyes after belting out a particularly high note, they landed on you and although some might be embarrassed being caught by their partners in such a scenario, he was anything but. His actions only became bigger, now fueled by the giggles spilling from your bright smile, putting on a real show for the camera.
The entire room was filled with laughter until you suddenly noticed the excessive smoke that was beginning to cloud your vision.
“Jun! The eggs!”
“Oh no!”
He quickly turned off the stove and turned around to you, head lowered and shoulders dropped.
“I’m so sorry babe,” he said with a big sigh, “I just wanted to bring a nice breakfast in bed since we were up so late last night.”
You quickly made your way over to him, circling your arms around his middle, leaning your chin on his chest as you looked up at him with a smile.
“It’s okay, I appreciate the thought.” Leaning up to press a sweet kiss to his pouting lips, “Now we can make it together!”
His eyes turned into crescent moons smiling back at you before he slightly bent down to pick you up and seat you on the counter.
“That sounds good but I think I could just eat you instead,” he said as he eyed your figure, rubbing his hands on your thighs, “looking like a whole meal wearing my shirt like this.”
“Jun!” you playfully landed a smack on his taut chest. “Breakfast first, we have plenty of time for other things later.”
You winked at him and hopped off the counter, gathering more ingredients before he had any time to protest.
