An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Title: Good Kisser (Absolute Usher) by @hellishhouse
Fandoms: P1Harmony, RPF
Relationships: Intak/Theo, Keeho/Jiung, Soul/Jongseob
Category: M/M
Rating: T
Tags: Apocalypse, Superpowers, Time Travel, Falling In Love, Gay Awakening, introvert/extrovert, jongseob/soul is implied, awkward interactions, Bad Flirting, Obliviousness, Miscommunication, Happy Ending, Found Family
Summary:
Keeho teleports himself, Jiung and Intak through time. They end up in the time that Soul, Theo, and Jongseob are in, 12 years after the apocalypse started. Keeho gets spooked by the weird drones in the sky and accidentally grabs Jiung, jumping through time once again. Due to the nature of his powers, they can't return to get Intak for some time.
While left behind Intak finds himself meeting three unlike men and finding love with the most beautiful, yet intimating man, he's ever met.
But Theo doesn't like him back.... or does he?
Notes:
This is for my bestie! I have watched the P1H movie a while ago, but it was just the once. I played around with some things. Soul and Jongseob is more hinted at. This is super curated to her tastes. Hope you enjoy!
Powers each member has based on lore/movie:
Intak- rapid regeneration/ invincibility
Theo- perfect aim
Keeho- can manipulate space time and teleport
Jongseob- computer
Soul- (known- every power and he is immune to virus)
Jiung- telekinesis
The most recent chapter of Magical Girl Mechanical Heart hints at there being a reason Luna doesn't want to see her old (non-magical, non-mechanical) body.
I think the answer is obvious; Luna's always felt kinda trans. Also, chapter 58's flashbacks include what sounds like DIY HRT delivery and (checks notes) a doctor diagnosing Luna with autogynephilia and calling her a boy.
That's not subtext. That's just text.
And yet, comments on the most recent chapter question whether Luna's trans at all, or whether there might be some other reason she doesn't want to see her old body. Okay, chapter 58 was a few months ago, but come on.
It's bad enough when fans of something mock transgender (especially transfem) headcanons for non-canonically-trans characters. But it's so much worse when the author all but turns to the audience and says the main character is trans, and a chunk of the audience decides to ignore it.
Many of the staff made attempts to catch Lord Marius's eye. Emer had watched with her own eyes a competition for the most provocative method of picking up an artfully dropped feather duster. When the ladies failed to attract attention, several footmen and under-butlers tried displaying their strong arms and height to clean the chandeliers.
Once the Golden Cobra breezed in and tried to tell him. "Marius, there are five people dusting in here."
"Libraries need a lot of dusting," the Last Hope returned sternly. "Because of all the books."
CONTAINS: Romance, Friends to lovers, Insecurity, Jealousy, Chaotic Kid, Oblivious Oc, Near death experience, Yearning, Tension, Drama, Lil bit of Comedy, Enha ensemble cameos, Confessions. Light smut. Lmk if I missed anything.
an: Story Five of Seven. I love the coach in this, he's so nonchalant and funny.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Rinnie ( A few weeks later)
Rinnie wasn’t sure what heaven looked like, but she was pretty positive it smelled like baby shampoo, lavender diffuser oil, and fresh strawberry pancakes.
She slipped off her heels the second she stepped into the grand foyer of Jungwon and Yeji’s house, more like a luxurious child proofed wonderland and sighed in content.
“I’m home!” she called out, only half joking.
There was a shriek from somewhere down the hall, followed by a flurry of fast footsteps. Within seconds, a tiny body crashed into her legs.
“Auntie Rinnie!”
Rinnie laughed, immediately crouching down and scooping up the six year old like she weighed nothing. “Jaehee! My sunshine girl! You got taller!”
“I didn’t!” Jaehee giggled, gripping Rinnie’s cheeks with sticky pancake fingers. “I’m just stretchier!”
Another set of footsteps echoed this time slower, heavier, and Rinnie turned her head just in time to see Yeji walking in from the kitchen, a baby strapped to her chest and another cradled in one arm like it was second nature.
“You're late,” Yeji teased, though her eyes lit up at the sight of her. “And Jaehee’s been asking for you since yesterday.”
“Because she said she’d bring candy,” Jaehee said innocently.
“I did bring candy,” Rinnie whispered in her ear with a wink. “But only if you help me sneak it past your dad later.”
Yeji sighed, but she was already smiling. “You’re the reason Jungwon thinks I spoil her.”
“I mean…” Rinnie set Jaehee down and leaned in to kiss Yeji’s cheek, careful not to disturb the baby snoring softly against her chest. “You do. But it’s fine. I’m just the cool aunt who reinforces it.”
“You and Jay both,” Yeji muttered, motioning for her to follow. “You missed him this morning, he dropped off some sneakers for Jaehee and then ran off before I could yell at him.”
“That man is too rich to function,” Rinnie snorted as she followed her down the hall and into the sunlit living room. She paused, eyeing the baby gear and plush toys scattered everywhere. “This is new chaos.”
Yeji flopped onto the couch with a groan, expertly bouncing the baby on her chest while cradling the other in one arm. “This is my life now.”
Rinnie laughed and immediately dropped her purse before plopping down next to her. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Missed you too,” Yeji said softly, tilting her head. “You look happy. Exhausted, but happy.”
“I am,” Rinnie admitted, tucking her legs up. “Work’s been insane, but good. Jay’s been easy to manage so far, well, mostly.”
Yeji arched a brow. “Mostly?”
Rinnie bit her bottom lip. “He’s just…he flirts a lot.”
“He’s always flirted with you.”
“I know, but..” She hesitated, cheeks warming. “It’s different now. He keeps calling me peach and pretty and Berry and I’m just trying to do my job without combusting.”
Yeji burst into soft laughter, shifting to let the baby nap on the cushions. “Sweetheart…he’s not flirting. That man’s been in love with you for years.”
“No,” Rinnie gasped. “He’s just like that.”
“Rinnie,” Yeji deadpanned, “He flew to Bangkok for your birthday last year with a cake made of mangoes and a literal mariachi band. And you think he likes everyone the same?”
Rinnie opened her mouth, then closed it. “Okay, yeah. That was a little extra.”
“Babe, if he stares at you any harder, the sun’s going to file for jealousy,” Yeji said, reaching over to hold her hand. “And it’s okay to like him back, you know.”
“I…” Rinnie swallowed, heart doing something traitorous and stupid in her chest. “I’ve liked him since we were teenagers, Yeji. I just…I never thought someone like him would really like someone like me.”
Yeji squeezed her hand. “That man looks at you like you hung the moon and painted the stars. So maybe it’s time you believe it too.”
Rinnie blinked quickly and nodded, trying not to cry like a baby in the middle of a house full of babies.
“Now,” Yeji said, standing up and motioning to the twins. “You’re here, so you’re on bottle duty. Let me shower before I start smelling like yesterday.”
“I’m honored,” Rinnie said dramatically, already reaching for the babies. “Leave the children to me, mother of dragons.”
Jaehee ran back into the room with a tiara and wand. “You’re the queen now!”
Rinnie grinned. “Then I decree…today is candy day.”
Yeji groaned from the hallway, but her laughter followed after her.
And as Rinnie held one sleepy twin in her arms and let the other suck on her pinky finger, she felt something settle in her chest, something warm and soft and glowing.
This felt like home.
Rinnie had never claimed to be good with kids.
She was too soft, too easily swayed, and far too willing to hand over snacks before lunch and let the 'one more episode' turn into a full movie marathon. She wasn’t exactly what you’d call parent material.
But kids?
Oh, kids loved her.
And not in a “you’re cool” kind of way, no, children adored her like she was an otherworldly being sent straight from the clouds. Maybe it was her soft voice, or the way she matched their chaos without even trying. Or maybe it was the fact that she giggled at fart jokes and made up stories about talking frogs who wore Dior.
Whatever it was, Rinnie didn’t fight it. She embraced it usually while covered in baby spit and glitter stickers.
"Okay, tiny human, no pulling on Auntie’s earrings, ow, ow, ow baby! I need those!" Rinnie winced, laughing softly as one of the twins tugged on her hair with frightening determination while the other slapped a chubby palm against the bottle she was trying to hold steady.
She was currently sitting cross legged on the nursery rug, two warm baby bodies leaning into her, one with milk dribbling down his chin, the other blinking up at her like she was a deity. She’d tied her hair up into a half bun, but clearly underestimated just how strong tiny fingers could be.
Meanwhile, Jaehee resplendent in a rainbow tutu and plastic crown sat beside her with a glitter marker and was currently outlining their 'summer bucket list' on the back of one of Jungwon’s important looking printouts.
"And then we’re going to Paris. But only for a few days, because I told mommy I want to ride the elephants in Thailand too. And I want to get my own suitcase like yours with the shiny shell and the pink zipper, remember?"
"Of course I remember, baby," Rinnie cooed, juggling the bottle and bouncing a baby in one arm while trying not to cry from how sweet this child was. “You’re going to be the fanciest six year old traveler on earth.”
“I already am,” Jaehee said matter of factly. “Also, you smell good. Like marshmallows and flowers.”
“Thank you,” Rinnie whispered dramatically. “That’s exactly the vibe I was going for.”
They both giggled.
The twins made a squeaky, satisfied sound and finally settled against her chest. Rinnie took a deep breath, her heart swelling, overwhelmed in the best possible way. It was kind of funny, actually. She’d never imagined herself in this kind of chaos, with milk stains on her shirt and baby fingers in her mouth. But it felt so...soft here. Like she belonged.
She didn’t even hear the front door creak open or footsteps padding down the hallway.
"Well, well, well," came Jungwon’s smooth, familiar voice from the doorway. “Did I say you could move in?”
Rinnie blinked up, startled, and grinned immediately. “Daddy Wonton,” she singsonged, flashing her most innocent smile. “I was wondering when you'd show up.”
Jungwon sighed dramatically and made his way over, crouching beside her to scoop up one of the sleepy twins with expert ease. “Please stop calling me that. I beg of you.”
“Never,” she whispered proudly. “It brings me joy.”
He rolled his eyes but leaned over to kiss the top of Jaehee’s head, then gave Rinnie a one armed side hug as he reached for the second baby. “You’re lucky my kids like you. Otherwise, I’d be changing the locks.”
“Oh, come on,” she teased. “You love me.”
“No,” he said with a perfectly flat face. “I tolerate you. For my wife. And my children. And because Jay would cry if you went missing.”
Rinnie giggled, brushing her hands off on her shorts and letting her head fall against his shoulder for a second. “Aww, you’re sweet when you’re lying.”
“Daddy, guess what!” Jaehee interrupted, bouncing in place. “Auntie Rinnie gave me candy.”
Jungwon gave her a long, pointed look.
“...in moderation,” Rinnie clarified, hands raised in mock innocence. “And after breakfast! I swear.”
“Mmhm.”
Jaehee grinned. “It was sour! My mouth went like this,” she contorted her face dramatically, making both adults laugh.
Rinnie leaned down to kiss Jaehee’s head and whispered, “Snitches don’t get sparkly backpacks.”
Jaehee’s eyes widened. “I said nothing.”
“Good girl.”
Jungwon shook his head, adjusting the baby in his arm. “I swear, you and Jay are the same species.”
“Beautiful and irresistible?” Rinnie batted her lashes.
“Unhinged and exhausting,” Jungwon said fondly.
They both laughed.
And even though the house was a little messy and the twins were beginning to stir again and she was pretty sure there was baby spit in her hair, Rinnie’s heart was full.
She didn’t need anything else today.
She was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Jay
Jay was doing reps, muscles burning and tank top drenched, when he realized he was not alone in the gym.
Well, technically he wasn’t ever alone. Ni-ki had been there from the start, pushing through his own ridiculous regimen like the twenty something year old gym rat he was. But it was the third body sprawled dramatically across the yoga mats in the corner that made Jay squint between pull ups.
“…Why is Sunoo here again?”
“Don’t ask,” Ni-ki grunted through his squats.
Sunoo, flat on his back with his legs crossed and his phone raised high, didn’t even glance their way. “You two need to stop treating your lungs like they’re made of steel. Real men hydrate, moisturize, and dream of equity. I’m buying property in Busan.”
Jay dropped from the bar with a thud. “You already have three apartments.”
“Yes. And?”
Jay rolled his eyes but didn’t push it. He grabbed his towel, wiped the sweat from his brow, and leaned over the bench to grab his phone from the charger. He barely had time to see the screen flash before there was a buzz.
A photo popped up in his notifications.
From: JungPrick. Caption: Look what the fairy godmother’s doing. You’re welcome.
Jay’s thumb hovered.
He should’ve known better. Should’ve taken a deep breath. Should’ve braced himself.
Because the second the image loaded, he stopped breathing.
It was Rinnie.
In the middle of Jungwon’s living room, one baby strapped to her chest in a kangaroo pouch, the other half asleep in her arms. Her hair was tied in a loose bun that was definitely being tugged by tiny fingers, her cheeks flushed, her expression soft and glowing as she giggled at something off camera.
At her side, Jaehee clung to her like a koala, beaming with her missing front teeth. Rinnie’s white off shoulder top was crumpled, stained with juice or maybe baby spit, and her bracelets were halfway up her arms like she’d been playing dress up.
And she looked like she belonged there.
In that house.
In that moment.
In Jay’s future.
His phone slipped from his hand with a hollow clack against the rubber floor.
“Hyung?” Ni-ki turned, towel in hand. “You good....oh my God.” He snatched the phone off the floor before Jay could stop him. “Who sent this?!”
Jay didn’t respond. His soul had left his body.
Ni-ki burst out laughing so loud, even Sunoo looked up.
“What? What is it?”
“Bro.” Ni-ki shoved the phone into Sunoo’s hands and practically collapsed against the treadmill. “Look at her. She’s like some kind of ethereal baby whisperer. Jungwon’s kids are melting.”
Sunoo stared. Blinked. Then nodded slowly. “Okay. Yeah. I see it. She looks like a fairy.”
“She is a fairy,” Jay muttered, face blank, voice hollow. “A dangerous one. With pigtail pulling powers and eyes that make grown men question the meaning of life.”
Sunoo and Ni-ki exchanged a look.
“He’s spiraling,” Ni-ki whispered.
Jay finally moved, running a hand down his face and grabbing the phone back. “No. I’m fine. I just…wasn’t expecting that. Why would Jungwon do this to me?”
“Because he’s Jungwon?” Sunoo offered with a shrug as if that explained why Jungwon choose violence most days.
Jay glared at the screen. Then tapped the photo again, zooming in.
God, she was glowing. Literally glowing. And holding babies like she was made to do it.
“Do you think she’s even aware?” Jay asked, turning to his friends with actual panic in his eyes. “Like, does she know what that photo’s doing to me?”
Ni-ki shrugged. “She thinks you flirt with everyone.”
“I don’t!”
Sunoo nodded wisely. “And she thinks you smile at everyone like you smile at her.”
Jay looked genuinely wounded. “I don’t! Have you ever seen me look at someone the way I look at her?”
Sunoo stared him dead in the eye. “Sure Jay. Even I notice the difference.”
Jay groaned and collapsed on the bench, phone cradled to his chest like it might revive him. “I’m going to marry her. That’s it. It’s done. I’ve seen the vision.”
Ni-ki snorted. “Better make sure she doesn’t elope with some random man and steal Jungwon’s baby.”
“She called him Daddy Wonton once,” Jay grumbled, “and I still haven’t recovered.”
Sunoo cackled.
Jay just sighed, eyes still glued to the photo. And deep in his bones, he knew he was done for.
Totally, absolutely, irrevocably ruined by one Rinnie Thammasin.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
-
Jay wasn’t listening.
Well, he was, in the sense that he heard sounds coming from Rinnie’s mouth, and he nodded at the right places, even hummed his agreement when she gestured to her notepad and the ring light she’d already set up. But the words? No idea.
All he could focus on was the faint pink tint on her cheeks as she perched on the edge of his desk chair, explaining the next video she wanted him to film for their social media campaign. A Q&A. Harmless, interactive, just a few questions about racing, life, future plans.
Future plans.
That was all it took for his brain to completely abandon ship and start spiraling.
Because ever since Jungwon had sent him that photo of Rinnie holding a baby like it was born to sit in her arms, Jay had been wrecked physically and mentally. Utterly ruined.
This woman had been in his life for eight years, and now he couldn’t look at her without thinking about matching rings, shared bedhead, and juice boxes in the fridge.
She was tapping her pen against her lips now, focused on her checklist. “I was thinking we could open the floor with a ‘first impressions’ game and maybe get fans to send in assumptions about you. Then we can do a speed round of fun facts and end it with like…a cute question or two. You know, maybe something like, ‘where do you see yourself in five years’ or-”
“Do you want kids?” Jay asked suddenly. Rinnie blinked. “What?”
Jay didn’t even flinch. He was fully relaxed on the couch, arm tossed over the back, one ankle crossed over the other like he hadn’t just dropped a generational bomb into the air conditioned room.
She blinked again. “You mean…like, for the video?”
“No. Like, in general.”
Rinnie’s face did something between scrunching and blushing. “That’s random…” Jay leaned forward a little, pretending like he wasn’t sweating. “Humor me.”
She chewed on the end of her pen for a second, thinking. “I guess…if I meet the right guy, then yeah. I’d want a few. Maybe two or three. Not too many, though.”
Jay’s jaw dropped.
Not visibly. Not dramatically. But spiritually? Emotionally? Mentally?
Collapsed.
The right guy?
In front of his salad?
In front of his BLACK CARD?!
His whole brain lit up like the Vegas Strip. Was she seriously saying she wanted a family with someone else while sitting in his apartment, wearing his hoodie from three years ago that she stole and never gave back?
Jay cleared his throat, suddenly very serious. “Define…right guy.”
Rinnie laughed, completely unaware of the emotional devastation she’d just caused. “You know. Someone kind. Supportive. Makes me laugh. Good with kids. Can cook. Someone who feels like…home, I guess.”
Jay stared at her.
He could cook, check.
He made her laugh, check.
He was good with kids, that photo could be a goddamn billboard, check.
Supportive? He would fight the Pope for her. Check.
And kind? He hadn’t flirted with a single woman since 2019.
But all he said was, “Right. Sounds…generic.” She looked at him funny. “You okay?”
Jay smiled a little too tightly. “Peach, I’m great.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You only call me Peach when you’re annoyed.”
“I’m not annoyed.”
“You are. Your left eyebrow just twitched.”
Jay groaned and buried his face in his hands. “You make me crazy.”
She blinked, pink brushing her cheeks again. “What did I do?”
Breathed. Smiled. Looked like a wife yesterday. Everything.
“Nothing,” he muttered. “Just...keep talking about the Q&A, Pretty. I’m listening now.”
She raised a brow. “You better be, or I’m making Sunoo film it with you instead. he can give you pretty kisses.”
That made him snort.
Sunoo, who was definitely not gay (despite being more in touch with his skincare than Jay had ever been), was terrifying when serious and chaotic when bored. Jay would rather do five interviews with a sleep deprived Marco than one Q&A with Sunoo’s commentary in the background. Sunoo was terrifying, and always trying to steal their girls. Keep him away!
“Fine,” he grumbled, settling back as Rinnie lit up again, rambling about engagement metrics and ‘posting times for max reach.’
But in his head?
Jay Park was not listening to any of it.
He was too busy wondering if three kids would be enough or if five was too many.
He could see it now. Mini versions of her running around their backyard in little matching helmets. Maybe a baby seat in the back of the sports car. Maybe…
“Jay?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“I said, do you want to add the five year question to the end?”
His lips curved up. “Sure.”
He didn’t say it aloud, but he already had the answer.
Married to you.
Five kids.
Matching pajamas on Sundays.
And the whole world watching while I kiss my pretty girl in pit lane.
Rinnie
Rinnie was a professional.
Trained, focused, and celebrated for her digital strategy and fast editing work across multiple platforms. She’d managed entire media campaigns for brand launches in the middle of airports, juggled three interviews while rescheduling two others, and still had time to whip up a thirty second teaser that made grown men cry.
So why, why was it taking her an hour and twenty three minutes to edit a ten minute Q&A video?
She slumped back in her desk chair, pouting as her editing software lagged from the sheer number of unnecessary cuts she kept making. She blamed Jay. Obviously.
Because ever since she’d started this little campaign with him, her brain had been running on sleep deprivation, iced lattes, and one dangerously charming best friend who just had to wear tight racer jackets and call her Pretty like it was her name.
She sighed and dragged the video back to the start of the clip she was stuck on.
Jay was smiling on screen, lounging on that stupid gray couch with that stupid warm expression and that even stupider way he tilted his head when she asked him the last question of the day, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
At the time, she’d barely paid attention to his answer. It was just a filler question to round out the session. But now?
Now her fingers hovered over the keyboard, her eyes locked on his expression. He didn’t laugh. Didn’t shrug like he usually did when asked something personal. Instead, he just…leaned forward, eyes steady on the camera, voice soft.
Or maybe her, behind the camera.
“In five years?”
“Married, hopefully. Maybe with a few kids. I’d want to stay in Korea, buy a house just outside the city. Something quiet, with a big yard and a wraparound porch.”
Rinnie blinked.
Wraparound porch?
“I’d still want to drive, even if it’s just for fun. Probably teach my son how to race go karts. I’d cook dinner, maybe burn it on accident ‘cause I got distracted by my girl talking too much while she’s barefoot in my kitchen.”
“I want late nights and early mornings. I want to spoil her and take her to every city she’s ever dreamed of. I want to wake up and know I’m home because she’s beside me.”
Pause.
Silence.
Rinnie stared at the screen.
Jay her Jay just smiled faintly at the end of the answer, like he hadn’t just emotionally decimated her.
She scrubbed the audio back and replayed it. Once. Twice. Then a third time because apparently she liked suffering. Because what the hell?
Her hand slowly reached for her iced Americano as if caffeine could explain what she’d just heard.
“...Barefoot in his kitchen…?”
That wasn’t hypothetical. That wasn’t some vague, daydreamy wish.
That sounded like a plan.
A plan with someone specific in mind.
She replayed the part about the girl talking too much in the kitchen. Her brain, bless its slow processing ability, flashed to her ranting at him last week about air fryers while standing barefoot on the kitchen tiles of his home in one of his oversized tees.
The coincidence slapped her in the face.
She sat back, eyes narrowing.
“Oh my God…” she whispered. “Is he talking about…me?”
Rinnie blinked. Then blinked again. Then frantically minimized the editing window like the video might catch her staring and report back to Jay.
Her heart was pounding. She clutched the tumbler in her hand like it might give her answers, but all it did was sweat against her palm and remind her that Jay Park might not just be flirting.
He might be in love.
And suddenly, she wasn’t sure if she was editing a video or falling headfirst into something she had spent years pretending not to see.
-
Rinnie was watching Howl’s Moving Castle for the third time this week, curled up on the couch with a tub of strawberry yogurt in one hand and a fuzzy blanket pulled up to her chin like the weight of her self inflicted denial could be buried in fantasy magic.
Her big screen flickered with soft pastel tones, but her brain wasn’t processing a single frame.
Because her brain was full of Jay Park.
Jay Park and his wraparound porch. Jay Park and his “my girl” and go-kart kids and kitchen rants.
And that video? That stupid Q&A video she had so professionally been editing?
She should’ve left it on mute. She knew better.
Rinnie groaned dramatically, flopping onto her side with the grace of a sock being hurled across a room. Her long dark hair fanned across the throw pillow as her inner monologue went nuclear.
Yeji had to be lying. Or messing with her. Or teasing like she always did.
Because there was absolutely no way someone like Jay Park. Jay Park, as in world famous, sharp jawed, racecar owning, cooks steak better than chefs, smiles like sunlight Jay Park was talking about her.
Not in that way.
Not with that voice.
Not with that look in his eyes.
Nope. She sat up and pointed her spoon at her own reflection in the darkened TV screen.
“You’re being delusional.”
It was science, honestly. She was 25, sure, but most days she still felt like her brain hadn’t aged past nineteen.
She wore too much pink, cried at sad commercials, and literally once tripped over a stroller because she was too busy cooing at a baby inside it.
She wore berry flavored gloss, for God’s sake. Not lipstick. Not mystery red matte stain. No, Berry Glaze with tiny glitter flecks. The one Jay said made her lips look like candy but he probably meant in a friend way.
A friendly way.
She always talked too much when she was nervous, especially around him. She couldn’t cook to save her life...see: flaming French toast incident of the past week. And she got sad when people raised their voice at her in meetings. She gave up her umbrella once in a thunderstorm to an old lady who didn’t even say thank you. She always offered to help people carry groceries and literally let toddlers pull on her earrings like she was a jungle gym.
She was sweet and annoying and too soft and..
Jay deserved someone cooler. More poised. Someone who didn’t giggle at his jokes like a giddy teenage girl or melt when he called her Peach. Someone with matching luggage and business heels, not someone who packed her heels in bubble wrap because they were 'fragile little soldiers.'
She buried her face in the blanket.
“Nope. Nope. Nope.”
He was just like that. Flirty. Charming. Everyone said so. Girls fell in love with him left and right and Rinnie was not about to join the club and embarrass herself. She had a good thing going; years of friendship, the world’s best travel companion, a man who made her feel seen without even trying.
And now…?
Now they were leaving for Tokyo on Friday. First tour stop of the season. The start of seven months of press, campaign videos, and race circuits all across the globe.
And of course she was sharing a hotel suite with him. For six months.
Because apparently, Coach Kim had lost his damn mind.
“It just makes sense,” he’d said with a glint in his eye when she questioned it.
Weirdo.
All of them were weirdos. She was surrounded by handsome, chaotic weirdos. And the worst part?
She wasn’t ready.
Jay was going to smile at her all soft again, and lean too close when she was fixing his mic, and call her Pretty like it was his job, and laugh like her jokes were the best things he’s ever heard.
And she would just...
Die.
Probably.
A soft squeak escaped her throat as she rolled onto her back, clutching the yogurt like it could shield her from the emotional spiral.
Maybe if she ignored him hard enough, this feeling would pass. Maybe if she chalked it all up to Jet Lagged Delusion and a sprinkle of Yejis brainwashing, she could keep pretending that Jay Park was just her best friend and not the living, breathing man of her dreams.
Totally doable.
…Right?
Jay
Jay Park was not having a good time.
It had nothing to do with the plush business class seating or the quiet hum of the private charter jet his team was using to head to Tokyo. It had nothing to do with the fact that he had a glass of lemon water on one side, a neatly packed in flight menu on the other, and enough legroom to lie down flat.
No. This particular brand of suffering came from exactly one thing or rather, one person.
Rinnie.
She was five rows up, giggling in a cluster of sunshine and curls and glossed lips with the other two campaign managers from her company:. Ailee and Minyoung.
And she chose to sit with them.
She looked so damn happy about it too, curled up in her little seat in white jogger pants and a cream sweater she had somehow made look designer, even though he was pretty sure it had a small cartoon bear on it. Her long, dark hair was twisted up into a loose ponytail, a scrunchie looped around it like a cherry on top of her adorably infuriating head.
And she wasn’t looking at him.
Not even once.
He slumped into his seat beside Do-hyun, arms crossed, hood up, sunglasses on like he was about to release a diss track.
“Someone’s brooding,” Marco snorted from the aisle seat across from them, not bothering to hide his smirk.
Jay flicked him off without moving his head. “Shut up.”
Do-hyun, bless his soul, was entirely oblivious. “So, apparently Minyoung packed me a new wardrobe. Says I dress like a soccer uncle during interviews.”
Jay huffed a breath out of his nose, finally glancing over. “She’s not wrong.”
“I like my plaid shirts,” Do-hyun defended with a pout, sipping his soda. “And now she wants me in button downs and tight pants that itch my thighs.”
Marco leaned in. “You think that’s bad? Ailee hasn’t even raised her voice once. I poked her for twenty straight minutes in the van yesterday and she didn’t even flinch. I think she’s a monk.”
Do-hyun burst into laughter, and Jay shook his head as they all fell into an easy rhythm of jokes and stories. But his eyes kept flicking toward the front of the cabin, where Rinnie and the other two women were all talking in Thai of all things.
Thai.
As if she wasn’t already cute enough. Did she have to speak in sweet melodic syllables he couldn’t understand, laughing with her whole face like this was the best day of her life?
Did she want to ruin him?
Because mission accomplished.
Jay groaned under his breath, dragging a hand over his face.
She was Thai-Korean.
The most unfair combination known to man. Her golden, sunkissed skin glowed under cabin lighting like she'd walked out of a skincare ad, and her features were so delicately pretty, people often asked if she was an actress. Or a singer. Or someone who shouldn’t be real.
She was already his dream girl, and now she was just adding languages to the list?
Do-hyun jabbed his side with an elbow. “You’ve been sighing like a Disney prince for five minutes. Want to talk about it?”
“No,” Jay grunted.
“Is this about Rinnie?” Marco added, grin way too smug.
Jay stared at the tray table in front of him. “Maybe.”
Do-hyun wiggled his eyebrows. “So…when are you two getting together? Because if we’re placing bets, I got three weeks.”
Jay gave him a withering look. “Three weeks? You think it’s gonna take me three weeks?”
Marco snorted. “So you are working on it.”
Jay smirked, tilting his head just slightly. “Yeah,” he said casually. “I’m working on it.”
It was the truth. Slowly, methodically, hopelessly. Like he was laying track for a train she didn’t even know was coming.
They kept the conversation light after that, Marco mocking Do-hyun’s button up wardrobe while Do-hyun swore revenge via spicy ramen challenges, but Jay’s mind was already miles ahead stuck in the soft pink of Rinnie’s lips, the shape of her smile when she wasn’t paying attention.
He was absolutely going to win her over.
No more waiting. No more pretending. She just didn’t know how or when.
-
Jay really should’ve expected this.
The moment their crew stepped into the pristine Tokyo hotel lobby, it was like a scene from a sports documentary, coaches, drivers, and campaign managers clustered together like ants around sugar. The marble floors gleamed under the soft chandelier lights, luggage carts rolled in sync like choreography, and Jay just wanted to lie down somewhere and nap for fourteen hours.
Instead, he stood dead center of the chaos, arms crossed and hood up, trying not to roll his eyes out of his skull as Do-hyun ever the multilingual golden retriever chatted animatedly with the wide eyed Japanese front desk attendant.
The poor guy looked like he might pass out.
Jay leaned toward Marco, murmuring out the side of his mouth, “Coach Kim definitely recruited drivers by language just so he wouldn't have to deal with check-ins.”
Marco snorted. “He’s either lazy or evil. Probably both.”
Jay hummed. “Mystery man.”
Aileen and Minyoung stood beside their respective clients, looking put together despite the long flight. Rinnie his sweet, sleepy girl was somewhere behind him, probably swaying on her feet, half dreaming about her next bubble tea run. He could practically feel the warmth of her near him, her quiet yawns like little lullabies.
God. He was so in trouble.
The front desk handed over the room keys, and Coach Kim barely gave them a glance as he barked out pairings over his shoulder while scrolling through emails on his phone. “Aileen with Minyoung. Do-hyun, you're with that rookie. Marco and Taeyang. Jay you’re with Rinnie. Makes sense. Don’t bother me. Goodnight.”
“Thank you, Cupid,” Jay muttered, deadpan.
He didn’t miss the brief raise of Do-hyun’s brow or the way Marco smirked knowingly as they grabbed their keycards and scattered toward the elevators like a flash sale at a sneaker store.
Rinnie trailed after him like a sleepy baby duck, wheeling her tiny pink suitcase behind her, her bag barely clinging to her shoulder. Jay watched her from the corner of his eye as they stepped into the lift, her head resting briefly on the mirrored wall with a sigh so soft he almost missed it.
She looked like she could melt right there on the elevator floor.
By the time they reached the 18th floor, Jay had convinced himself this was the exact reason he hadn’t fallen for anyone else in the past decade. Because how could anyone measure up to the way she looked just existing? Messy ponytail. Hoodie swallowing her frame. Sleep still tugging at her lashes.
And that suitcase? Bright pink with cartoon stickers on it.
He needed help. Serious help.
They made it to their room a corner suite, sleek and modern, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the sparkling Tokyo skyline and before Jay could even crack a joke about flipping a coin for bed rights, Rinnie let out a soft gasp.
“Ooohh! Only one bed?” she mumbled, voice half asleep.
Jay turned toward her, ready to offer some gallant you take the bed, I’ll take the floor nonsense but she just face planted into the mattress like a sack of potatoes.
He blinked.
Then laughed.
Shoes still on, bag half zipped, makeup slightly smudged, his girl was out cold. And she didn’t even care that it was only one bed.
Jay shook his head, locking the door behind him and slipping his sneakers off beside hers.
They’d shared beds before. Shared couches, tents, cramped vans during college race weeks, even a hammock one miserable night in Bali. It was never weird.
Well…maybe it was weird. For him.
Because while she was passed out like a sleepy kitten in jeans and a hoodie, Jay was staring at her back, heart doing things it shouldn’t be doing.
He climbed onto the bed with a sigh, stretching his arms behind his head as he sank into the plush comforter.
Rinnie let out a soft snore beside him and curled in closer.
Jay looked up at the ceiling like it had answers.
It didn’t.
Of course it didn’t.
He was so fucked.
Rinnie
Rinnie was up before the sun.
Which wasn’t unusual she was always up before Jay. The man could sleep through a typhoon, a thunderstorm, or a full military parade. She’d seen him nap sitting straight up during meetings, with his eyes slightly open like some haunted doll, and once he climbed into an empty storage cabinet because he “needed a dark, womb like space” to recharge before qualifying rounds.
So yeah. She wasn’t surprised.
What did surprise her was how peaceful he looked like this. Tucked under the white sheets, one arm thrown over his head like he was in a shampoo commercial, face completely relaxed. His lips parted slightly, lashes fluttering every few seconds. His jet black hair fluffed in every direction like a K-pop idol post concert.
She stared.
Okay, maybe she was being a creep. But like…not in a bad way.
It was admiration. That was allowed. She was just…admiring Park Jongseong in his most pure and unfiltered form. That wasn’t a crime.
But then her fingers itched.
Cuteness aggression: activated.
She rolled over to grab her phone from the nightstand and slowly stealthily slid off the bed. She stood at the edge, camera pointed at his face, biting her lip to suppress her giggles as she snapped the first photo.
Click. Ugh, even his sleep face is annoyingly attractive.
Click. That one’s blurry, but still somehow good. Disgusting.
Click. Okay that one’s better, his mouth is open, one nostril is flared, and his hair looks like it got into a fight with a hairdryer. Score. Shes so sending that to Sunoo.
Still not satisfied, Rinnie climbed up onto the mattress, standing tall with her knees slightly bent to keep her balance. She aimed her phone down at him dramatically, like she was photographing a majestic wild animal in the jungle.
Then she started bouncing.
Just a little.
Click.
Bounce.
Click.
Bouncebounce.
Clickclickclick, “Yah, wake up, I’m making you famous!” she whispered.
But before she could snap another frame.
“Gotcha.”
A yelp flew from her throat as strong arms shot out lightning fast and wrapped around her knees, pulling her off balance. She tumbled forward with a squeak and suddenly she was not standing anymore.
She was sitting.
On top of a very awake, very smug, very smirking Jay Park.
Rinnie blinked down at him in complete horror as her phone flopped uselessly onto the bed beside them. “What the..how long have you been awake?!”
Jay just shrugged lazily, hands still locked around her waist, smirk inching wider by the second. “Long enough to know you took at least twelve photos. And bounced twice like a bunny.”
“I did not bounce like a bunny,” she muttered, cheeks pink.
“You absolutely did, Berry.”
“Don’t call me that-”
He leaned up on one elbow, eyes gleaming, voice low. “You keep waking me up like this, I might start to think you want to be on top of me.”
She let out the world’s tiniest shriek and smacked his arm.
Jay laughed like he just won the lottery. Which, to be fair, waking up to her did kind of feel like that.
She scrambled off of him and stomped toward the bathroom, muttering something about perverts and privacy and “next time I’m waking you up with a cold spoon.” But Jay just laid back, hands behind his head, grinning up at the ceiling like he’d just started a new race season with the perfect pole position.
Because he had.
-
If there was one thing Rinnie did well, it was everything. At least when it came to her job.
The Tokyo circuit buzzed with heat and energy, a hive of movement as staff scrambled to prep for the week long F1 event. Cars were still in crates. Team managers barked instructions in broken translations. The entire event grounds smelled like rubber, asphalt, sunscreen, and anxiety.
But Rinnie?
She walked in like she owned the track.
Hair twisted into a sleek clip, camera slung around her neck, APEX logo shirt tucked crisply into a short black skirt, (with under shorts, obviously; she learned her lesson after the last wind gusting disaster). And black heeled boots that clacked with a rhythm of confidence.
The summer sun made her cheeks glow, and every time she smiled? She looked like the human embodiment of a campaign shoot. Bright, beautiful, and lethal in the most unsuspecting way.
Still, it didn’t stop the murmurs.
“Is she just the social girl?”
“Probably influencer management or something.”
“Cute outfit, not sure she’ll last an hour in this heat.”
Rinnie heard it all. She always did.
But she also didn’t care.
Because within five minutes of stepping foot into the operations tent, she had three clipboards in her hand, a walkie clipped to her belt, a latte she ordered in fluent Japanese, and five men twice her age staring at her with wide eyed disbelief as she rapid fired camera lens specs, media deadlines, and crowd strategy timelines all while adjusting a hair tie on her wrist.
“Mr. Sakamoto,” she said sweetly, handing off a photo grid to the event organizer, “we’re going to need the far left wall of the sponsor booth cleared by noon. Lighting hits better from that angle. Trust me, I ran a test with the mockup and it’s the difference between ‘good’ and ‘viral.’”
The man blinked. “Yes, of course.”
She turned, heels clicking. “Minyoung how are the banners?”
“Delivered,” the woman replied, flipping her own tablet. “They’re waiting to be strung.”
Rinnie’s grin was radiant. “Perfect. Ailee, we good on the drone clearance?”
“Yup. Already filed for 2PM through 4PM airspace.”
“God, I love you,” Rinnie declared, and the three women dissolved into laughter as they high fived over a mess of camera cords.
The APEX girls. Rinnie, Ailee, and Minyoung were a dream team. They weren’t just marketing reps. They were the silent engines behind every fan post, live update, and viral hashtag. They weren’t just helping the team go viral, they were the team. Rinnie had been planning this launch for weeks, and now they were executing flawlessly.
Still. Something was missing.
“Where are the boys?” she asked, not looking up from her planner.
Ailee snorted. “Your boy’s hiding from the sun again. Marco’s watching an anime in the corner, and Do-hyun said he’s too hot to exist.”
They huddled close, pitching ideas like war generals at a strategy table. Rinnie scribbled on her iPad with a stylus, her pretty glossed mouth twitching at the thought of Jay Park doing a TikTok dance in full race gear.
“Here’s the plan,” she said, tapping the screen. “Split into three teams. Film six total. Use trending audio. Make it dumb, hot, and addictive. We'll premiere the best one on race day morning.”
She stood, lips in a glossy smirk, and raised her walkie. “Jongseong. Do-hyun. Marco. I need all three of you in media bay. Ten minutes. Wear something cute. That’s not a request.”
No one dared say no to her when she said it that sweetly.
Because Rinnie, sweet, soft hearted Rinnie was the quiet storm in the room. You could underestimate her all you wanted but you’d lose.
And she'd look hot doing it.
Jay
Jay was pretending to hate this.
He really was.
The whole TikTok challenge thing, the choreo, the lighting angles, the cutesy posing he was absolutely pretending to hate all of it.
But the second Rinnie tugged his hand and pulled him aside from the group with that soft, confident come here look in her eyes, he was done for.
“Stay still,” she said, quiet and sure, standing on the very tips of her toes to slip a black APEX cap over his head, brushing his bangs back with her fingers. Her eyes were trained upward, lashes curled, bottom lip caught lightly between her teeth as she adjusted it just right like he was her personal mannequin.
Jay, meanwhile, was having a full internal breakdown.
There were fireworks exploding in his skull. Her face was right there. Her perfume was some mix of citrus and sugar and dreams. And the soft smile on her lips was reserved only for him. It always was.
“Perfect,” she whispered, giving the brim a little tap, before leaning in. “Also…I know you know how to dance. Ni-ki told me. So don’t disappoint me, Jongseong.”
Would he ever?
Never in a million years.
Still, he smirked and leaned down a little so she wouldn’t have to whisper so high. “I don’t know, Berry… I think I forgot.”
Her ears flushed immediately.
Victory.
When they rejoined the group, Ailee was already in full chaos mode music queued, water bottles passed around, and the three boys in position like they were at a kindergarten dance recital. The girls stood opposite them, ready to teach the choreography to the trending Like I Do dance challenge. Simple, flirty, viral.
Easy.
Except the boys were being absolute brats.
Do-hyun was squinting at the movements like they were written in Morse code. Marco kept trying to freestyle during the tutorial, throwing in body rolls and hip thrusts that had Ailee throwing a water bottle at him. And Jay?
Jay was nailing the dance…and pretending not to.
“Left, right, turn, pop, no, Jay!” Rinnie groaned, stomping over. “You know that’s not it!”
“Huh?” he blinked innocently. “I thought I was killing it.”
“You’re doing Ni-ki’s footwork from his stage, not the challenge!”
“Oh. Damn. My bad.” He grinned, letting his eyes trace the red crawling up her neck.
She was flustered.
She was adorable.
And he’d do this forever if it meant watching her stomp around with her camera swinging and that pouty little frown.
By the time they actually got a decent take...on the eighth try the girls huddled to review the footage. Their laughter exploded through the track’s empty media bay. Jay leaned over Rinnie’s shoulder while she trimmed the clip, her fingers moving expertly over her iPad. He didn’t even bother hiding the way his chin brushed her shoulder or how close he leaned in.
“She’s gonna make me go viral,” he murmured low, and she swatted him away with a breathy giggle.
But they weren’t done yet.
Nope. Because Rinnie, in all her sugary evil glory, clapped her hands and announced:
“Now… ‘Blue Check’ time!”
The boys collectively groaned.
“That’s the one with the crazy footwork!” Marco exclaimed.
“Good luck,” Ailee added, cackling.
Except luck wasn’t needed.
Because within ten minutes?
Jay was gliding.
Marco had rhythm in his bones, turns out salsa footwork transferred beautifully to K-pop TikTok. Do-hyun’s tall frame moved like water. Smooth. Effortless. Freakishly elegant.
Even the girls were stunned, Rinnie blinking with her mouth half open as she whispered, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Jay caught her stare.
Tilted his head.
“Disappointed?” he murmured, eyes glinting.
Her jaw clicked shut. “A little.”
Liar. She was smiling.
And Jay?
He was already planning what dance they’d film next.
Because if getting Rinnie flustered meant spending every off day doing viral TikToks with her in a tucked in APEX shirt and those shiny, flushed cheeks then call him a dancer.
He’d do it every damn day.
Jay was calm.
Totally calm.
His arms were crossed, one brow slightly raised, mouth tugged into something that could pass as a smile if you didn’t look too close. If you did, though, you’d see the way his jaw kept shifting. The subtle bounce of his foot. The barely contained fury radiating off him in slow, quiet waves.
Because right now?
Rinnie was dancing.
With Marco.
Not just dancing they were doing a trend. A TikTok trend. A trend called Me Jalo. Which, Jay had come to learn in the last fifteen minutes of doomscrolling, was some kind of sultry Latin couples dance where people wiggled their hips and giggled and held hands and posed like they were in love.
And whose idea was this? Oh. Marco’s.
The traitor.
And Ailee sweet, calm, never ruffled Ailee had said, “It’s perfect for their vibe!” while sipping her green tea and smiling like the devil.
Jay was calm.
Cool. Collected.
…On the outside.
Inside, however, he was planning how to ship everyone in this room back to their birthplaces via catapult.
Marco? Straight to Mexico City.
Ailee? Thailand, with a stopover in purgatory.
The rest of the staff? He’d figure it out. One by one. Swift justice.
He watched as Rinnie stood across from Marco in her APEX shirt and little pleated skirt, legs out, obviously, because God had favorites and started bouncing in rhythm to the music, her laughter carried on the beat.
Back and forth. Hips swaying. She spun once, then again, throwing her head back as Marco matched her movements with ease.
Jay twitched.
This wasn’t dancing. This was treason.
And then came the end the horror movie finale where they took each other’s hands and made a heart pose. A whole heart. As if that wasn’t the very symbol Jay had been guarding like a knight for the last eight years of his entire life.
But the cherry on top?
Rinnie turned to Marco and said in the softest, brightest voice:, “If you try to kiss me, I’ll kick you so hard you’ll need new teeth.”
Jay’s chest swelled.
That’s right.
Still, as they wrapped the dance and everyone applauded, Jay didn’t move. Not even when Marco looked right at him with a smug little smirk, clearly enjoying himself way too much.
Jay just stared back, calm.
Still.
Unmoving.
Plotting twenty seven unique and legally questionable ways to end him.
But when Rinnie skipped over afterward, breathless and glowing and entirely too close for someone who just did a couples dance with someone else, Jay couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“You have fun?” he asked, voice light but deadly. Petty even.
Rinnie beamed. “You didn’t like it?”
“Loved it,” he replied, teeth clenched. “Watching you and Marco Polo over there sway like soulmates was the highlight of my week.”
She giggled, thinking he was joking.
He wasn’t.
She poked his side. “You’re so dramatic, Jongseong.”
And Jay? Jay just smiled down at her.
Because when he posted their dance later tonight, just him and Rinnie, her tucked into his chest, their fingers intertwined, he was going to use the caption: Not a trend. Just mine.
Let Marco try and outdo that.
Rinnie
Rinnie was in their hotel bathroom, the steam still lingering faintly in the air, her skin warm from the water. She had finished showering twenty minutes ago, but instead of changing into her usual pajamas, she’d grabbed one of Jay’s oversized black T-shirts from his suitcase.
She didn’t ask because when did she ever? And tugged it on over a pair of tight safety shorts. It hit mid thigh and smelled like his cologne, which wasn’t helpful for the butterflies in her stomach that she was doing her absolute best to ignore.
Her braid hung down her back in a loose trail, and her bare face felt refreshed as she toweled the ends of her hair dry.
Her phone had been buzzing non stop for the last five minutes, screen lighting up over and over on the bathroom counter.
She frowned and picked it up.
22 Missed Messages
Yeji (⚡️Unnie 1): OH MY GOD
Airi (💄Unnie 2): REALLY RINNIE? REALLY?
Seorin (🔥Unnie 4): YOURE TRENDING!!
Weiyin (🌸Unnie 3): My love, I think you should sit down.
“…What the hell,” she muttered, unlocking her phone.
Seconds later, four links from four different chat threads hit at once. TikTok. Twitter. Instagram Reels. TikTok again. And then her phone pinged with a preview:
@jaypark 🎥 “Not a trend. Just mine.” [🎶 Those Eyes - New West - Instrumental ver.] 2.3M views · 1.2M shares · 3.8M comments
Her heart dropped.
She clicked it.
It was the video. That video.
Jay had pulled her aside earlier that day and said, “Let’s do one more dance for my page, Berry. Just for fun, it'll be cute.” She remembered laughing, teasing him, “You want the world to see you lose to me again?” And then he'd smirked and spun her, arms locked tight around her when she lost balance and fell right into his chest. Their fingers had linked naturally, his touch warm and familiar. She hadn’t even noticed his phone was propped up nearby recording.
But now?
Now the video was everywhere.
It played in a dreamy slow motion edit. Jay pulling her in. Rinnie’s laugh echoing as she tried to regain balance. Their hands linking. The way he stared down at her like she hung the damn stars.
The caption didn’t help: Not a trend. Just mine.
“Oh…my god,” she whispered, mouth falling open.
Her phone vibrated again.
Yeji (⚡️): I. TOLD. YOU. SO.
Airi (💄): Not a trend just mine??? Girl. Girl. Do you even hear him?
Seorin (🔥): IS HE IN LOVE WITH YOU OR WHAT.
Weiyin (🌸): Okay deep breaths. What are your feelings? Start there. Also I recommend changing his contact name to something respectful now.
Rinnie collapsed onto the closed toilet lid in a daze.
Jay was in the other room watching TV or asleep blissfully unaware of the digital wildfire he had just started. Her pulse was racing, thumbs frozen above the keyboard as Airi kept texting.
You gonna kiss him or what?
Wait, you didn’t even know he posted this??
OH MY GOD SHE DIDN’T KNOW.
“Shut up,” Rinnie whispered aloud to her phone, cheeks burning. “Shut up shut up shut up-”
Yeji (⚡️): Tell him you saw it. Right now. Walk out there in his shirt and say: Jay Park are you in love with me?
Airi (💄): Or straddle him and ask like a grown woman.
Seorin (🔥): I’m at the bar watching this unfold with popcorn.
Weiyin (🌸): Maybe start with a calm conversation.
Rinnie didn’t reply. Her face was red, her ears were burning, her legs swinging helplessly like a kid with a crush.
Which, okay maybe she was.
Just a little.
Just a lot.
And now the whole world knew what she didn’t want to admit to herself.
Jay Park had been looking at her like she was already his.
And apparently?
The whole internet agreed.
Rinnie was sprawled out sideways on the hotel bed now, still in Jay’s T-shirt and safety shorts, braid slightly frizzed from drying in the humid air, legs kicking slowly behind her as she clutched her phone like it had personally ruined her life.
Which, honestly, it had.
She was doomscrolling. Hard.
💬 “Are they dating??”
💬 “Best friends don’t look at each other like that.”
💬 “I want what THEY have 😭😭”
💬 “She’s so pretty and he’s so obsessed with her I’m gonna scream.”
💬 “What do you think a Thai-Korean-American baby would look like? Asking for science.”
💬 “It’s always the quiet drops. Not Jay Park casually dropping his wife on the timeline.”
💬 “WAIT I FOUND A CLIP OF THEM FROM JAPAN LAST YEAR AT THE PADDOCK TOGETHER” (they weren’t even standing near each other)
💬 “Guys their ship name has to be Jinnie or Ray pick one now”
💬 “A wedding in Monaco just makes sense at this point.”
💬 “She stole his heart like she stole his soul 💀💀💀”
Rinnie stared at the screen in horror.
“How the hell did they find a clip from last year?” she whispered to the void. “I wasn’t even in that country.”
The edits had already started. Someone had made a cinematic F1 style trailer of their 'relationship' black and white footage of her holding a camera, cut with slow motion clips of Jay pulling off his helmet, their eyes never even meeting in the actual footage, but it was cut so well she started to doubt her own memory.
There was even one with soft jazz music overlaying her laughing while Jay looked at her from ten feet away in the background.
“This is not real,” she mumbled, trying to crawl deeper into the mattress. “This is not real life.”
But it was. It was very real.
Her phone buzzed again.
@rinnie.rin you’ve gained 24.1k followers.
Another notification. “JAY PARK JUST CONFIRMED HE’S IN LOVE Y’ALL. THERE’S NO OTHER EXPLANATION.”
She let out a strangled noise and pressed the phone to her face. "I'm gonna pass away right here."
It was happening.
It was happening and Jay didn’t even know it yet.
He was probably in the lobby gym right now, casually listening to music or doing pushups like he hadn’t just soft launched a marriage proposal.
And Rinnie?
Rinnie was having an identity crisis on a bed that didn’t even belong to her wearing his T-shirt, smelling like his shampoo, and reading comments from strangers online already asking what their third child would be named. She hadn't even had breakfast yet.
The internet had decided.
And honestly?
It didn’t feel like the worst thing in the world.
But she was still going to kick Jay’s ass the moment she saw him.
If her legs would stop shaking first.
Jay
Jay slid the hotel keycard through the lock and pushed the door open with his shoulder, the low click of the latch letting him in.
The room was dim, curtains drawn and lights off except for the soft glow from the bedside lamp Rinnie always left on. He was still lightly damp from his shower at the gym, a fresh glass of whiskey settling in his chest from when Minseok dragged him downstairs to drink one while waiting for her.
He hadn’t meant to take so long. But Rinnie hadn’t come out of the bathroom for almost an hour.
He'd peeked in earlier, door fogged up, lights glowing. He thought she was pampering herself with one of her ten step routines or humming in peace. Either way, he left her alone.
But now, there was a lump in the bed.
A suspicious, overly still, slightly fidgety lump under the blanket on his side.
Jay smirked. “What is she doing now…”
He set his phone down, kicked off his sneakers, and padded toward the bathroom, brushed his teeth and hair, and change into his pajamas. Loose sweatpants and an old gray tee, comfortable and worn definitely not the sleek black stuff he wore when fans were around.
He dried his hands with a towel lazily as he walked back out.
And immediately he was jumped.
“Wha..?!”
“YAAAH!”
A feral sound left the human shaped missile that launched from under the blanket. Jay yelped and stumbled backward as he was smacked in the chest with a pillow. Once. Twice. Then again with full offense.
He ducked and dodged as Rinnie, Rinnie, with her hair in a half braid and rage in her eyes attacked.
“What did I do!?” he laughed, shielding himself as she hissed like an actual housecat, batting at him with comically chaotic fury.
“YOU-YOU-YOU!”
“Okay, wait, I’m sorry. Wait what am I sorry for!?” he cackled, grabbing one of the pillows and blocking her weak but determined swings. She wasn’t trying to kill him. Not really. But she was trying to humiliate him with down feathers and vengeance.
And then he saw it.
His hands froze midblock. His chest rose and fell. His eyes fell down to her frame.
His shirt.
She was wearing his favorite black tee. The soft one. The one he’d worn just this morning. Oversized on her. Loose at the shoulders. Swallowed around her hips.
And she was wearing it like it belonged to her.
Jay blinked.
Still she whacked him once more before realizing he’d gone still.
He wasn’t laughing anymore.
His eyes were on her, wide, quiet, intense. And she suddenly realized the pillow war had stopped.
She looked down at herself.
He looked at her like she’d just shattered every last shred of patience he had left.
Neither of them spoke.
Not yet.
They were just staring now.
Jay didn’t even remember sitting down. One second he was being assaulted with a pillow, the next he was on the edge of the bed, hands slack in his lap, heart fully detached from logic and levitating somewhere above Tokyo.
She was wearing his shirt.
His favorite black T-shirt. The one that clung to his chest just right and smelled like his cologne no matter how many times it was washed.
And now it was hanging off her, paired with a messy braid, bare legs, and an expression that was equal parts angry and flustered.
She was panting from her pillow rampage. Her cheeks were pink. Her eyes were wide. She looked like she’d just fought a war and won.
And Jay?
Jay was a dead man walking.
The kind of dead man who blinked once, twice, and still couldn’t process how the hell he hadn’t kissed her yet.
God, he was down so bad.
His mind was a spiraling mess of She’s so pretty. She’s so cute. She’s wearing my shirt. Why haven’t I proposed? Is now too soon? Just nonsense on top of nonsense. Every cell in his body screamed do something, but his limbs were frozen in simp mode.
He was so gone.
And then she spoke.
“I cannot believe you posted that video!” she snapped, voice high and dramatic, as she crossed her arms. “You didn’t even tell me you were recording!”
Jay blinked. “The one of us dancing?”
“Yes, Jay. That one.”
She was glaring at him. And he could see the embarrassment blooming across her face even if she tried to act annoyed. The way she huffed. The way her foot tapped. The way she pouted. She was flustered his favorite version of her.
He smirked. Slowly. All smug and spark-eyed. “I figured if I looked that good in it, I had to post it.”
“You looked..? JAY.”
“And you fell into me like some K-drama scene. You can’t script chemistry like that, Berry.”
She made a noise between a whimper and a scream, turned redder than a chili pepper, and kicked his pillow straight off the bed. “Go sleep on the floor!”
Jay raised an eyebrow. “You’re banishing me?”
“Yes!”
“...For making you look adorable and beloved by the internet?”
She growled at him. Like, actually growled. But he didn’t budge. He simply stood, retrieved the pillow, tossed it back up, and then without ceremony jumped back into the bed like nothing happened.
Right next to her.
With zero hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her in like she was made to be there, nose pressing lightly against her temple.
She didn’t even resist. She just sighed, letting him squish her close.
“You’re stupid,” she muttered into his chest, voice muffled and exasperated.
“Yeah,” he whispered back, lips curling against her hair.
Happy Friday!! I would love to see something for "complimenting your best friend over small things, that realistically only someone who’s in love with that person would notice" from Best Friends to Lovers prompts — perhaps for Alistair?? Have fun :D
Happy Friday, darling!! 💜💜💜
For @dadrunkwriting
"That's a good color on you."
Alistair held his shirt up in confusion. "This? It's just standard Warden gear, so -"
"And it looks good." He smiled and patted Alistair’s bare shoulder as he headed toward the river for his own bath.
He frowned as Aedan wandered off. What was that about? And why do I feel so-
"He likes you." Leliana was suddenly behind him, and he yelped and jumped sideways, nearly dropping his shirt. She laughed apologetically. "I didn't intend to startle you."
Alistair raised one shoulder in a sheepish half-shrug, then frowned at the fabric in his hand. “I certainly hope he likes me, we’ve been togeth - traveling for weeks. And it’s just a blue shirt.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
What sort of answer was that? “Exactly what?”
She reached up to ruffle his damp hair. “You remember that lamp post question?”
That had been one of the strangest conversations he’d ever accidentally stumbled into and he was still mortified. “Oh, Maker, don’t remind me,” Alistair groaned and covered his face. “Why didn’t you stop me?”
“Would that have made it better?” she asked gently. “‘Excuse me, Aedan, but your fellow Warden is about to proposition you unintentionally and I need to save him from himself’?”
"I - point taken." He sighed. Talking with Aedan just felt so natural all the time that things just fell out of his mouth, and only later he would stare up at his tent wondering what possessed him to say things like that.
Leliana stood up on her toes to kiss his cheek then smiled. "You know, in Orlais, it's terribly bad manners to receive a compliment and not return one. Of course, it's become part of the Game now, and there are at least two land disputes in Verchiel that started over Cosinne de Montsimmard’s ugly shoes."
He pulled his shirt on. "That's absurd."
She cocked her head. "That's Orlais. But my point is you didn't say anything nice back."
Oh dear. Was this a nobility thing? Alistair was a royal bastard and didn't know any of these rules. Had Aedan been expecting . . . something from him? "What should I have done?"
She poked his chest. “Complimented him!”
“He has . . . nice hands?” It felt strange to say, but it was true. Aedan’s hands were calloused from sword work, but still lovely and smooth. Deft. Elegant.
She grabbed his shoulders, then turned him around and pushed him toward the river. “Tell him, not me.”
