SYNOPSIS: when one of your best friends mentions a specific k-pop group in the gc, your once disinterest toward the industry slowly softens as a certain idol catches your eye. but what happens when your simple celebrity crush turns into reality as you unexpectedly meet eye to eye with him at a university festival?
PAIRING: idol kim ryul x uni student/influencer fem reader
CONTAINS: written parts, swearing, down bad reader, multiple parts, use of yn, lee gawon fc, smau, slow burn, lowk slow plot in general...
A/N: hi guysss sorry for the lowkey late update but hopefully u guys will enjoy this chapter, i tried to make it a bit longer w more written parts! the chap switches from screenshots to written quite frequently, so keep an eye out as i didn't put a "warning"??? before every writing (just to make space for more ss) 😛 anyways enjoy !!
A/N 2: this might be the most ive every written even though its literally only 1k words 😭 im so burnt out after finishing this so its only like 75% proofread 😪
A/N 3: ryul performance pics from @/7foresure on twt
ss count: 26, word count: 1260
after quickly shoving a couple more essentials into your tote bag, you exit your dorm building and head towards the concert stadium.
following a short five minute walk, you arrive right on time, and meet your friends in the lineup. despite being almost three hours early, there's still around thirty students ahead of you guys.
"how long have these people been standing here?" you think, examining how far away you are from the entrance, "do they not have classes or something?"
"YN! there you are," stella exclaims, grabbing your wrist and dragging you closer to the group.
"why am i always the last one to arrive?? i swear i'm punctual guys..." you say, tucking a couple strands of hair behind your ear as you set your bag on the pavement. "have you guys started your makeup?"
"um..." ella looks to the other three, who have barely pulled out their makeup bags, "not quite, but now that you're here, let's get started!"
"yn can i borrow your lip liner? i think i lost mine i haven't been able to find it all week," moka asks as she starts pumping her skin tint on the back of her hand.
"yeah of course. don't we use the same one?"
"mhm, that's why i asked!"
after a couple minutes of pure focus, stella suddenly turns to leesol and lightly taps her shoulder, "soli, is my blush too much?"
after examining the soft pink on stella's cheeks, leesol shakes her head. "i think it looks pretty good. plus, the stage lights are probably going to make them look lighter than they are right now."
"you're right, thanks sol!" stella says, before putting her blush palette back into her cosmetics pouch.
eventually -- more specifically two hours later, all five of you have finished your makeup routines. surprisingly, it only takes you guys thirty more minutes to do your hair and any more touch ups.
with the remaining time, you guys unconsciously spend most of it checking yourselves out, filming thirst traps on tiktok or taking digicam selfies together.
finally, after three long hours of waiting, you guys make you way into the concert venue. like yesterday, the stadium is bustling with chatter and excitement for the final day of yonseifest26.
by some miracle, you guys all end up at the very front of the barricade section, granting the five of you an excellent view of all the performances to come.
amidst the loud cheering as cortis' electric and very energetic stage comes to an end, you take out your phone -- which had been sitting in your purse practically untouched since the beginning of the concert -- and check the notifications on your home screen.
right as your screen lights up, a new notification appears: a twitter message from @trustkimryul.
and even if you don't want to admit it, you can't help but click the banner as soon it pops up.
as soon as you turn off your phone, four boys come onto the stage and the venue immediately erupts into loud screams and cheers.
woojin runs out jumping up and down, passionately hyping up the crowd.
louis walks right beside him smiling cheerfully, despite his overall relaxed demeanor.
ohyul puts his arm around ryul's shoulder as he adjusts his microphone before yelling out an enthusiastic "WHAT'S UP YONSEIIII?"
he's looking right at you with the slyest grin ever. it's only worse that you already find yourself looking at him as you two make eye contact.
even without a single word, you can read his teasing right through his gaze as you nervously touch the back of your neck and realize how warm it's gotten.
turning around to leesol, moka, and ella who are standing directly behind you, you loudly whisper, "why the fuck is he staring at me??"
suddenly, stella starts aggressively slapping your shoulder, squealing, "oh my god yn, he saw you! ...oh my god, bro he's smiling SOO big!"
"turn around!" moka laughs, grabbing your waist and spinning you a quick 180 degrees to face the idols.
the group finally begins their stage, and as you watch ryul perform, any doubts you may've had going into this concert almost immediately disappear.
his minimal yet undoubtedly confident presence is hard to miss. and of course, his smooth and charismatic rap verses only make staying calm so much harder.
after a couple songs and amazing performances, the boys take a break to catch their breath and interact with the audience.
"hey shotties!" woojin exclaims, an energetic crowd cheering back at him, "are you guys enjoying the show?"
a loud "YEAHHH" echoes throughout the stadium.
a wide smile appears on ryul's face at the venue's enthusiasm; you hate how quick you notice it.
you swear ryul takes another glance your way before holding his microphone to his face. "okay yonsei.. who's ready for MOYAAAA?"
perfectly on cue, jay park, lngshot's ceo walks out as the intro for moya begins, and the five idols walk up to the edge of the stage to start the performance.
the song's infectious and upbeat melody spreads an exciting wave over the venue. as ryul starts off with the first chorus, stella looks over at you with a small, but teasing grin.
for the first time during the festival, you hold your phone up at the group, and snap a couple photos of the members -- somehow, your camera roll ends up with a significantly greater number of ryul pictures than the rest of the boys. how did that happen?
when ryul's verse begins, you feel the muscles in your lips tense as he walks over to your section -- which he had been doing a little too often -- and smiles to the crowd.
suddenly, you feel his eyes land on you as he raps the lyrics "i'm only interested in music and you". not trying to let his gaze get to you, you stare back at him, unconsciously poking your tongue in your cheek. despite your efforts to maintain your composure, he somehow sees right through you, and as he ends his verse, you hear him softly laugh into the microphone.
when lngshot's final song concludes, they say another short message to the crowd and wave a couple goodbyes before finally exiting the stage with their ceo.
as soon as the 10 minute break begins, your friends spin you around and look at you with an expectant and telling gaze.
"what. was. THATT???" ella yells.
"shh! people are looking at us!" you say as you lean in toward the group.
moka widens her eyes, smiling ear to ear, "oh my god that was insane. he was staring at you the WHOLE TIME."
"wait you should lowkey text him, like right now! while the performance is still fresh in his mind!" stella suggests, pointing to your phone's cracked dim screen.
"what? no i can't! also, he probably won't even see it."
"i mean, one of you guys are going to have to do it eventually, why not just get a head start?" moka shrugs with a laugh.
"a head start? at what?" you furrow your eyebrows with an awkward smile, "even then, what would i say?"
"you did good today? your rap was great? anything!" leesol answers, "we'll be here..! if you need, anything." she awkwardly smiles, before gathering the rest of your friends for a separate conversation.
a conversation that totally, isn't about you and ryul.
turning around, you open twitter and start typing out a message, ignoring how shaky your fingers are as they hover over the keyboard.
taglist: @h4chi @luvkeiiii @megamatt43 @dearestseraph @hiiiiiiiomomoko @lvrllit @hawarun @missdel @cortisean @ahnneyong @originalwindutopia @cheuerry @emisnotme @etherealid7 @avni-sarai @sanfluwer @woozarts @youngddariana
(im actually so touched i can't believe i have sm ppl on this taglist ilyg all sm 💗 thank u thank u THANK YOU)