Summary: Neo Culture Technology University (aka NCTU) has a radio station that is run by students, for students. The hosts Xiaojun and Kun, under the names DJ and Gege, announce a song-submission contest with the prize of touring the studio and meeting the elusive crew members. y/n, long time listener with a massive crush on DJ, enter the contest in hopes of meeting the man. The ad revenue goes to charity, so why not?
Tags: smau, college au, fluff, sex jokes, pining, slow burn, kys/kms jokes, references ru pauls drag race, silly goofy jokes n memes
Disclaimer: it goes without saying that this story is not at all representative of the real life people and that this story does not reflect my views towards them!
status: finished! (started may 8, 2025. finished oct. 27, 2025)
taglist: open!
✬ profiles
✬ chapter one
✬ chapter two
✬ chapter three
✬ chapter four
✬ chapter five
✬ chapter six
✬ chapter seven
✬ chapter eight
✬ chapter nine
✬ chapter ten
✬ chapter eleven
✬ chapter twelve
✬ chapter thirteen
✬ chapter fourteen
✬ chapter fifteen
✬ finale (not formatted. maybe ill go back and format it but prob not)
Summary: Most days, y/n goes to the library right when it opens at 6am. Choosing to study in the psychology textbook section, she picks up a book and leaves a silly note for the next person. What begins as old school communication through notes eventually turns into something more…
Tags: strangers to lovers, college au, fluff, sex jokes, pining, unfortunate timing, miscommunication, angst (but it’s barely there), sexual content, my poor attempt at comedy, and just a silly story overall!
a/n: and here is chapter one!! if you read my previous smau, you'll know that my chapters arent as long as other smaus. but i hope its still worth the read haha. lmk if you wanna be added to taglist!
a/n: hi darlings!! next week ill be going in a cross country road trip with my bf so updates may be sporadic! trying to plan in advance for this but my parents were like “omg vicky graduates college next summer and may not be home so we need to capitalize on this summer!!” i love my family, so this is a-ok, but ive been busy hanging out with my mom :3
also chapter thirteen (i believe) is written and although my brain knows exactly whats gonna happen, i have to actually sit down and write it lolll. therefore, chapter thirteen might not be posted until july… but i love you all!! wear sunscreen and drink plenty of water this hot summer!!
a/n: hey guys how is summer for you pretty people? it was my 21st bday this week and it was chill :p my internship is unpaid and even though i love love looove it, really wish it was paid. anyways talk to you pretty people in the next one!
a/n: hello guys! sorry its been a whole week since the last upload. as i said in a post im home alone for a whole week and tbh ive been lonely and therefore depressed ha ha! also my dogs are lowkey a hassle. my family rescued one in january and even though shes the sweetest girl, she is not potty trained 😭
i know this lowkey seems like a filler chapter but its important to the plot i promiseeeeeee
a/n: hi darlings! just to reiterate what i said in the last chapter, the next few updates will be sporadic since im going on a cross country road trip with my bf! chapter fourteen is the written one. i'll see you in the next update (whenever that is lol)!!
summary: you're stressed all the time and have been getting shit sleep. you turn to your last resort: melatonin. you go to a drug store and meet the cashier thats always half-asleep: kun. you visit the store in the middle of the night, and kun thinks he is dreaming when you come in.
tags: pg-13 i guess. strangers to lovers, fluff, light angst, talks of (undiagnosed) anxiety and insomnia, reader has a dog, brief mentions of weed, guanheng is readers brother, reader shares a house with sicheng and ten, lmk if more tags should be added.
word count: 2340
taglist: @blondiedae, @yang4ever
You haven’t slept properly in days. 3:56 am, you crane your neck to read from the red lights of your alarm clock. Slumping your head back against your pillow, you figure that it only makes sense to make use of the time. You leave your bed, grabbing a throw blanket to wrap around your shoulders to fight off the cold in your room. Your yorkie, Appa, raises her head at the sound, eyes blinking into the darkness.
“Shh, go back to sleep baby,” you reach over and pet her back. The feeling of your hand on her fur must do the trick, as she immediately curls back up and starts snoring.
Its exam season in your second-to-last semester of university and senioritis has been kicking your ass. You mark off every day on your wall calendar, counting down until graduation. But with finals comes anxiety, and while you are no stranger to stress, your body doesn’t react to it in a healthy way. Not that anyone’s body reacts to high amounts of stress in a healthy way, but you have stress-induced insomnia, which only adds fuel to the fire.
Growing up, your parents had been the type to dismiss painkillers and other such drugs, opting instead for teas and herbal remedies. They weren’t anti-vaxxers, but this habit of not treating ailments with medicine has stuck with you. But everyone reaches their limit eventually.
You pick up your phone to check what drug stores are open nearby. The closest one, you notice, is called Jaemin’s Drug Store and has a rating of 1.27/5. Despite the low rating, you don’t seem to have any other options. Making sure to grab your pepper spray, you put your headphones on and slip your feet into your shoes. You blow a kiss to Appa before locking the door.
The door to Jaemin’s Drug Store chimes when you enter. It is immediately clear to you why this store has a low rating, it smells like someone sprayed air freshener to mask the smell of weed, unsuccessfully. Unfamiliar with the store, you approach the man at the register. Kun, his nametag reads, looks to be about your age, despite the dark circles under his eyes. He’s a very attractive man, even with the black roots growing in contrast to hiswavy blonde hair. Elbow propped up on the counter with his head in his palm, he slowly opens his eyes when you walk over. You don’t want to startle the resting man, so you try to make your presence known with loud footsteps. He blinks up at you wordlessly with unfocused eyes.
You take off your headphones and wrap them around your neck. “Hi, um, sorry to bother you. Where can I find melatonin?” you question, not quite meeting his (unintentionally) strong stare.
“Aisle 5, on the right,” Kun replies, closing his eyes again. You turn around to search for melatonin. You feel a slight sense of guilt, knowing how your parents would feel about you purchasing drug store melatonin. But that guilt soon gets smothered as you pick up a small plastic bottle of reddish gummies. And it’s not like this is an impulse buy. You had tried everything the last couple of days to fall asleep, from increasing your amount of physical activity to following a strict night-time routine. Plus, you had already looked online for reviews of different melatonin supplements. And the small bottle is just to see if it will actually help. Everyone has their limits.
The sound of the bottle hitting the countertop in front of Kun made him jolt. It wasn’t as if the sound were loud; in fact, you noticed that the man was dozing off so you placed it down as lightly as you could. He looked up at you, blinking in silence again. You didn’t know what to do, so you left the gummies on the counter and walked away quickly to grab a box of sleepy time tea. You return to the counter with the tea and Kun straightens up, pushing aside his fading blonde bangs. He picks up the scanner and rings up your items, reading your total balance aloud.
You reach over to tap your phone on the card reader, pausing when Kun clears his throat. “Are you, uh, having trouble sleeping?” He tilted his head, bangs falling into his eyes again. He almost resembled a puppy, seeming genuinely curious about your state of wellbeing, despite being a stranger. He looks cute, you think.
“Yeah, it’s finals season,” you reply, not really wanting to get into it. Kun’s unfocused gaze softens a bit, and now you feel embarrassed. It’s obvious that the man is half asleep, running on fumes of whatever shitty weed had previously been smoked in here. But you can feel his pity when he looks to the side and releases a deep breath.
“Not being able to sleep is shitty. I hope it works for you.” He tears the receipt from the machine, puts it in the plastic bag with the items, and hands it over. You accidentally graze his hands as you grabbed the bag, but Kun didn’t seem to notice, so you didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, I hope so too.”
☆☆.
A few weeks have passed. You have been sleeping better, partially from the melatonin and tea, but mostly the result of exams being finished. Nevertheless, you find yourself walking down the street with Appa in your side purse to get more melatonin gummies. Your brother, Guanheng, was coming tomorrow to stay for a few nights, and your sleep was getting worse. You love your brother, truly, but just the thought of the man’s loudness and high energy makes you exhausted. While eating breakfast earlier, one of your roommates, Sicheng, asked if you had ever considered that you have anxiety. And the idea of something being wrong with you sent you down a spiral.
This isn’t the first time you have returned to Jaemin’s Drug Store since the initial visit. You stopped by a couple of days ago, hoping to find the sleepy worker during the daytime, maybe strike up a conversation with him. He was cute, after all. You noticed that the smell of badly covered up weed was stronger at this time of day. But sadly, the man you were looking for was not there.
The chime rings overhead as you open the door, and Appa’s head perks up. You hear a loud breathing sound from where Kun sits at the counter. He looks like he conked out, head on the surface, eyes closed, and mouth open overtop some papers. You would feel awful if you woke him up just to get a sleep aid. You turn around and try to leave as quickly as you come in. But to your surprise, a snore interrupts the (mostly) quiet, and that’s all it takes for Appa to start yapping.
You pick up your dog out of your bag, attempting to shush and coddle your dog before the drug store worker wakes up. However, when you turn back around to check on the man, he is wiping his eyes and trying to fix his mussed-up hair. He looks over at you as you finally manage to quiet down your dog.
“Oh!” His voice cuts through the awkward silence. Then he looks downward and tries to organize the papers on the counter. “I must be dreaming because there’s that cute girl again,” he murmurs to himself and looks up. “And she brought a friend,” he tilts his head a little bit, looking more like a cute puppy than the last time you were here. “Hi, friend,” he smiles at the dog in your hands.
You stand still, frozen with amusement, embarrassment, and some other emotion that you can’t quite place. And then Appa’s squirming acts as a reminder why you’re there, and sends you down aisle 5 in search of the medicine.
“I don’t need a bag,” you say, as you put the bottle on the counter.
“No tea this time?” The blonde asks, scanning the item and returning it to you.
“No, I still have some packets left,” you place the bottle in your bag and pay.
“I really like tea and could recommend you some, if you want.” You shake your head and thank him. You ignore the slight sting of loneliness as you leave the store.
☆☆.
A combination of knocking on the door and distant yaps wakes you the next morning. You glance at the alarm clock and a panic makes you sprint towards the door. You don’t even need to check who is at the door before you scoop up your dog and swing the door wide open. Guanheng is standing there, looking the most mad you think you’ve ever seen him. He says something as he walks in, but you can’t hear it.
“What?” You don’t try to yell, but you have to in order to be heard above your dog’s barks. He says something again, and it’s only then that you decide to put Appa in the bathroom with the door closed. You can hear her nails scratching against the wood as you return to your brother and offer to hang his coat.
“What happened man? I thought we agreed you were going to pick me up after my flight. I had to order an Uber, and you know how I feel about those.” He doesn’t look as pissed as he did a moment ago, likely because he notices how scattered and disheveled you look.
“I know, I know. I’m genuinely so sorry Dery. I- I-” you start to stutter. Guanheng cuts you off by putting his arm on your shoulder, reminding you to breathe. And so you do. Three seconds in, hold, three seconds out. You repeat this a few times before you feel ready to speak again.
“Ok. I’m so sorry Guanheng. The last month or so has been really rough and I basically turned into an insomniac. And I don’t want to hear it,” you put up a hand in between the two of you. “But I tried melatonin and it’s actually helped so much. It’s, like, I can actually function during the day and not feel like I am moving through molasses because my body is so exhausted.”
“Like a zombie?”
“Sure, man, I guess,” you bring your palm to your forehead and squeeze your eyes closed, searching your brain to find the correct words. Although at this point, it feels more like fighting your brain, especially as the words tumble out of your mouth and the rambling starts. “Anyways, I ran out of the gummies last night and hadn’t realized until, like, 3 am. I am trying not to become reliant on it, so I try to sleep. But every night, I inevitably give up. But I went back to Jaemin’s Drug Store last night, since I knew it would be open and I had been there before. So I go back and bring Appa because, you know, I’m so tired that I figure having to be responsible for another life will keep me awake during the walk. But when I get there, she surprisingly didn’t even bark at Kun.”
You open your eyes and have to turn around to face your brother - you’d been ramble-pacing, of course. And when you look at Guanheng, he looks thoroughly confused with a pinch of intrigue.
“Who’s Kun? Unless you have more friends other than Ten and Sicheng and you haven’t told me,” your brother says with a teasing lit to his voice and a smirk on his face.
“No, no. Kun is the cashier guy at the store. He seems like a zombie way more than I do, always half asleep.”
“But obviously you’ve talked to him enough to know his name.”
Your eyes widen, suddenly realizing what it sounds like. “Oh, no Kun just has a nametag. I mean, I guess is weirdly nice to me. He even called me cute last night, but again, I think he was half asleep and didn’t even realize what he said.” You shuffle around the room to start boiling water in the kettle. It’s only then that Guanheng’s face shifts to one of shock.
“Wait wait. Did you say that Appa didn’t bark at this man? Are you sure she wasn’t asleep?” The man questions with eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
“Did my words only just now register?” Despite still being groggy and cranky, you manage to lightly laugh at your brother. He’s never going to beat the himbo allegations. “But yeah, Appa was definitely awake and didn’t bark when he said hi to her. I mean, he was behind the counter the entire time, but yeah.”
Your brother then walks over and grabs two mugs out of the cabinets as the kettle starts to whistle. “I think if you finally met a man that Appa doesn’t immediately hate, you should marry him, even if he’s ugly. You don’t know if you’re ever going to find someone like this again, she’s a cockblock.”
Guanheng is, of course, joking. But as he sifts through the cabinets looking for tea boxes, you find yourself thinking about his words. You can’t deny that the guy is cute, borderline handsome. If he got some proper sleep, took care of those roots, and you saw him in anywhere else than those sterile fluorescent lights, he’d probably cross into sexy territory. And, Guanheng has a point about Appa being a major cockblock when it comes to men.
It isn’t until the two of you are sitting at the counter and your brother taps his spoon loudly against his mug that you realize how stupid you sound to yourself. It’s just a side effect of the melatonin, some sort of daytime delusions. You can’t seriously be thinking this much about a random cashier. (you’re lying to yourself. you did your research before buying the medicine and know there is no such side effect. but you let yourself stay delusional.)
authors note: GUYS i've been talking about this since mid october and i am finally posting the first part!! there will be a part 2 soon! i tried to make the conversation/ talking bits as realistic as possible.
lmk if anything should be added to the tags above and if you want to be added to the taglist! mwah~
