Minhyuk is throwing a surprise birthday party to his best friend — Shin-Ae, and invited all of her friends to help with the preparation… yes, including "Yeong-Gi" who recently was out of prison. Well, he got himself dragged into this so why not just go along with it? That's what he thought at least. Shin-Ae noticed his old haircut is back since the last time she saw him in front of the hospital.
Dieter was told to bring a gift, Soushi tagged along him, Rika was helping Maya and Minhyuk on baking Shin-Ae's favorite Citrus Cake!
Hopefully the plan goes well for Minhyuk the prank mastermind!
[19/04/2025]
i have been developing a crush on rika from i love yoo since i saw her but i came out of the closet with the hospital sleepover scene and she falling asleep on shin-ae like ughhhhhhhhhhhh
I saw a request on I love yoo from your blog so may I please have one with Rika finding out her s/o lives double lives kinda like introverted and shy during the day with her but at night while away from each other the s/o is the complete opposite and is extremely popular during some private gathering that Rika tends to accidentally stumble upon. Thank you.
rika is just soft & good & i love her <3
headcanons for rika lau ( i love yoo ) with an s/o who leads a double life
Ever since you two get together, Rika makes sure you know she loves you for you.
And, I have to mention because Rika is adorable, but after nearly two years of pining, she confessed to you, your hands held safely in hers, as she told you how much she liked you with a confident smile on her face. You swear you can still feel the heat on your cheeks to this day.
She doesn’t mind that you’re shy, in fact, she finds it endearing and cute. She has no problem ordering food for you or speaking to others if you find yourself unable to do so. That’s not to say she doesn’t try to get you out of your shell and encourage you to speak up, it’s just that if you really don’t feel like it, she’ll be there for you!
Thinking you’re an introvert through and through, she didn’t actively invite you to the parties she always went to. So imagine her surprise when she sees you in one, mingling with everyone that just as much as looked at you.
Actually, Rika barely notices at first, with how many people were surrounding you, but when she spots those beautiful eyes of yours glinting through the large group, she abandons her own friends to squeeze through and confront you.
After you turn to her, surprise coating your features at the sight of her standing there, her own face turns red and she realizes that she had called your name quite loudly, everyone’s eyes on her now.
Embarrassed, she storms off. That bit of anxiety that is most prominent with you during the day creeps up for just a second after seeing Rika leave so abruptly, but with an exhale, you hand someone else your drink and chase after her.
You find her outside, looking like she’s contemplating her entire life. Usually, you’d find it hard to confront Rika when she’s upset (she nearly never is whenever she’s with you), but despite your rapidly beating heart, you were still filled with adrenaline from the party, so you ask if she’s angry.
She sighs. “I’m not angry with you,” pauses to pinch the bridge of her nose, then looks at you, a sad look in her eyes. “It’s just…are you uncomfortable around me?”
You ask her what she means by that and she tells you that you were acting so much more free here, completely unlike how you were around her. Was there something wrong with her? Was the real you here, in a party, surrounded by people and not…her? She’d mention the parties she’d go to all the time, if you liked the atmosphere, why would you never join her? Why didn’t you at least tell her?
There was a long pause, before you grabbed her hand and looked straight into her eyes. You explained yourself - whether it’s because of the looseness you found in a good party, or because the company that you’d keep would most likely never meet you outside said event, or whatever it is that helps you relax - and hoped she wasn’t too convinced that you didn’t like being around her. And even with your bold approach, you could feel your heart hammering in your chest at the unforseen misunderstanding.
“A- And, I can’t not be shy around you, you know…” You mutter, casting your gaze downwards. “I love you so much, being around you still makes me so nervous, I’m surprised you can’t hear how much my heart beats when I’m around you.”
While staring at her hand in yours, you fail to notice her cheeks turning red. You aren’t going to notice anyways, because she pulls you in for a hug, glad that you found the courage to sort this out the second she ran off.
After hugging it out, you both ditch the party and go to Rika’s place to watch movies and cuddle in your fancy event outfits instead.
Rating: T
Pairings: Nol x Shin-ae, Rika x Soushi
Word Count: 1219
Summary: we used music to bring them together, and found each other along the way.
Read it on ao3.
~ one ~ two ~ three ~
“Oh man, that was one of our best shows yet!”
Soushi slings his arm around Rika’s shoulders and pulls her into his side. Rika still flushes a little bit around him, but you can tell they’ve grown closer.
Tours do that to people. When you’re spending all your hours together–in the van, the hotel rooms, and on stage–you learn things about each other that you never knew before.
Or, in Shin-Ae’s and my case, you grow closer by spending the entire tour trying to set your friends up.
We’re about a month and a half into our tour and although it’s been crazy, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Tours are much more fun when you’re spending time with people you like, and let’s just say that I really like spending time with Shin-Ae.
I almost wish the tour was longer.
A small hand reaches out to grasp mine as we walk out the backstage door. Shin-Ae lightly grips the ends of my fingers as we walk side by side out into the night.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind,” She looks away awkwardly, and I can’t help but grin. She may not be the best at talking about feelings, but she is trying, and we’ve grown closer from it.
“I was just thinking about how much fun the tour has been so far.“ I swing our joined hands between us, grinning like a child and laughing when she rolls her eyes at me. “I don’t want it to end.”
“We still have a month and a half left guys,” Rika’s voice pierces the air from where she’s walking in front of us. “You’ll be glad to go home when it’s done.”
“You don’t know that,” I look down at Shin-Ae when she speaks up. “Maybe we’re adrenaline junkies and we love the chaos of the tour.”
“Girl, I know you. You love the music, but there’s only so much of the crowd you can take.” Rika stares at Shin-Ae over her shoulder unrelentingly. I catch Soushi looking down at her with a grin, and his face changes to a look of embarrassment when he realizes I caught him.
“Oi, you know you look at Shin-Ae the same exact way when nobody else is looking.” I choke, coughing violently. Soushi laughs and I turn away from Shin-ae. My face feels warm and from the look on Soushi’s face, my cheeks are colored a bright crimson.
“He’s not wrong Yeong-Gi.” Maya has this unnaturally sweet, innocent look on her face. It’s absolutely terrifying. I almost shrink away.
Thankfully, we’ve reached the hotel we’re staying at. It’s late at night, but the adrenaline from the concert is still running through my veins. There’s no way I can sleep now.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to sleep.” Maya yawns. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
“I think I’m gonna go up to the roof,” I turn away from them slightly. “I can’t sleep right now.”
I leave them there, in the lobby. I need to burn off some energy, so I take the stairs up. This hotel has six floors, and our rooms are on the third floor. I reach our floor and keep going, all the way up until I can see the stars.
They’re comforting to me. Knowing that they’re always up there, twinkling softly–it reminds me of home, of the clear skies in Ireland.
I’m so focused on the stars that I don’t even notice that I’m no longer alone.
“Yeong-GI?’
I jolt out of my trance, turning around to see who joined me on the rooftop. Rika smiles at me apologetically and moves to stand next to me.
“The stars are really pretty tonight, aren’t they?”
“Yeah.”
“I wanted to ask for advice,” I turn to her and she blushes. “But first I want to know if you’re okay. Is something bothering you?”
“Not really, I just couldn’t sleep. The adrenaline from the concert hasn’t worn off yet.”
“Are you sure that’s all?”
Her question makes me turn to her. I almost ask her what she means by that, but then I see the tiny smile on her face, and it hits me. She already knows what I’m thinking about.
“I–” I cut myself off, partially because of embarrassment, but mostly because I don’t know what to say. I don’t say anything for a few minutes, and she lets me think in silence.
Rika and I don’t talk that often, but she’s somehow still good at picking up little glimpses of how I’m feeling. When the first show ended and we parted ways, we didn’t text all that often. But whenever we did get the chance to talk, it was almost like no time had passed.
I’m really lucky to have her as a friend, even if she’s more of Shin-Ae’s friend than mine.
“I was thinking about the tour,” I say at last. I look out over the city line, taking in all the different sized buildings. “...I meant it when I said I didn’t want the tour to end. Plus—“ I duck my head down to hide my blush again. “I’ll miss seeing Shin-Ae.”
“You really love her, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Why don’t you tell her then?”
I don’t know how to answer. I don’t know if she feels the same way, I want to say. I’m lucky enough to be friends with her. But something tells me that that’s not what it is.
“I–I don’t know why Rika. I just can’t do it.”
She puts her hand on my shoulder again, offering comfort. I know she understands why I’m struggling because she’s in the same position. But I have a feeling one of them will speak up soon.
I turn to face her now. “You also wanted advice, right? Advice about what?”
“I–-” She cuts herself off, blushing a little again. “Way to change the topic, Yeong-Gi. I want to tell Soushi how I feel, but I’m not sure how. And you’re his best friend, so I thought I’d ask you–”
‘Rika, slow down,” I chuckle at her nervous rambling. ”Of course I’ll help you. Honestly, I think he can be dense as a brick, so you just need to say it to him. Everyone can see he likes you.” She blushes again.
“I’ll try it out...I’m just not sure when to say it.”
“You could tell him after the next concert? Or, if you wanted to be really romantic, you could write a song for him.”
Silence. For a second I’m confused as to why she didn’t respond, but then it all makes sense.
“You wrote a song for him already, didn’t you? Oh my God, you did–”
Her hand covers my mouth in an instant. “Yeong-Gi, can you be any louder–okay fine, but stop giving me that look.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Seriously though. Just tell him how you feel. Be honest with him.” Rika smiles at me.
“Thanks, Yeong-Gi. I owe you one. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
She leans in to give me a hug before smiling and walking down the stairs, back to her room. I turn to face the city line again, reveling in the cold air and the sounds of the buzzing city traffic.
