(개요) After a failing mark in Music, you find yourself getting tutored by the one and only, Martin Edwards.
(note) Yes, there’s a kissing scene (first time written one kind of nervous)
Music was a complete nightmare of a class.
Now, usually you would never be the type to be caught dead anywhere near it, but to your divine misfortune, it was a mandatory elective that every class had to do.
“I just don’t get it.”
You had complained to your two friends, Stella and Ian as you sat in the large classroom (if you could even call it that).
It looked more like a theater hall, with instruments strung up on the wall like costumes.
“You don’t get what? Music?” Stella chuckled, an amused expression on her face.
“Kind of? I mean, obviously I like listening to it, but making it is a whole other process.”
Ian nods, seeming to agree with your statement. “I get that. Making music is hard when you’re not particularly passionate about it.”
“I guess.” Stella shrugs, only to open her mouth again when an idea strikes her mind. “If you’re really struggling just ask Martin.”
“Who?”
She responds to your question by turning around, presumably to look for this ‘Martin’ fellow.
When she does find him, she points and turns her head back around. “Him.”
You realise soon enough that it’s kind of hard to miss Martin.
He’s tall, with blonde hair that’s easy to spot in the sea of brown and black hair. Plus, you would be lying if you said you didn’t find him attractive.
“He’s kind of a genius when it comes to music. Although don’t expect anything else.” She adds begrudgingly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She thought that because he was so smart at music, he could tutor her for math.” Ian answered for her.
Stella huffs. “I failed the exam because of him.”
You look over, watching as he talks to his friends.
You think about it for a moment–it wouldn’t hurt to ask for a bit of help, but a part of you would rather rot away than ask for help in music composition.
“It’s fine, I think I’ll manage anyway. How hard could music composition even be? All you’re doing is arranging beats.”
It was, in fact, harder than you thought.
“42.” Your teacher says as she hands the marking paper back. “Not the lowest mark I’ve seen in this class, but at least you tried your best.”
You look dumbfounded as you look at her feedback–
‘Beat is incoherent. Too many bass lines.’
‘Drums are all over the place.’
‘Did you use the metronome like I said?’
Stella reaches out, looking at the paper.
She stifles a laugh and points at the feedback, showing it to Ian as you stared into space.
Failing a subject was bad enough, but failing music?
You would like to call yourself an avid listener of music, but that horrendous mark proved the exact opposite. If you couldn’t even understand basic scales and tones, how the hell were you ever supposed to pass this subject?
In the midst of your silent panic, Stella taps your shoulder with an incredulous laugh. “Hey, I think it’s time for you to ask Martin for help.”
Those words are how you find yourself in the cafeteria at exactly 1:37 in the afternoon.
Your uniform suddenly feels too big, you're too aware of the strange smell the food gives off, and your hands feel like they're sweating way too much.
All you’re doing is going up to a guy and asking for help.
So why is your body reacting like you’re about to ask him out?
Nonetheless, you take a deep breath and walk up.
He sits with his friends, loudly talking to them about something while everyone else just seems to ignore it.
You stand behind him, tapping his shoulder lightly.
He whips his head around fast, a look of surprise on his face.
“Can I talk to you?”
The two boys who you recognise as Keonho and Seonghyeon look at you with the interest of a zoo photographer. They looked at each other with a smirk before immediately bursting out laughing, making you even more nervous.
Martin nodded, saying a quick ‘see you later’ to his friends before following you to the hallway.
“What did you wanna ask me?”
Suddenly you’re very aware of how tall he is, and how you basically had to crane your neck up to look at him.
His Adams apple bobs up and down as he looks down at you, like he was the nervous one.
“I need your help with music.”
His right eyebrow raises slightly in surprise.
“Music? Uh, okay but why’d you ask me?”
“You’re the top student in it. Plus, Stella is busy with her student council stuff.”
He seems to accept that answer. “Okay then. Do you want me to like, tutor you? I can show you how scales and chord progression work, but you could really just go on youtube and search it up.”
“I deleted youtube.”
His eyebrows knit together. “Why?”
“Too many ads.”
Martin
we can meet at my place
i can teach you there properly
“I can’t believe the first time you spend one-on-one time with a boy is because you’re failing at music.” Ian had said to you after class, waiting as you locked your phone and packed up your books.
“Well it’s not like I want to date the guy.”
“Yet.”
You roll your eyes at her. “I don’t like the guy.”
“Right, and the sky is green. You can lie to others all the time but don’t act like you don’t find the guy attractive.” She folds her arms, like she fully caught you in a lie.
“Yeah because I want to shove my tongue down his throat. Just go to your reading club and leave me alone.” You joked.
She holds her palms up like a caught criminal. “Okayyy, but don’t blame me if you guys suddenly make out or something.”
It was only meant to be a fleeting comment, but for some reason, those words were burned into the back of your skull.
You walked her to her club room, saying a quick bye before walking out of the school’s gates.
He had already sent you the location to his place, which was surprisingly only a ten minute walk.
Once you had reached his place, you pressed the doorbell as a cool breeze blows past.
You didn’t bother changing out of your uniform, seeing as he had already told you the session wouldn’t take long.
The small ring sounds across the whole house, making you curious as to what it looked like.
It was clear by the grass that his dad was probably one of those serious lawnheads, and the flowers around the door added a cute touch.
After a few seconds, the door roughly opens, revealing an out of breath Martin, like he had run down just to not keep you waiting.
“Hey, you can come in.”
You give him an awkward nod, taking off your shoes as the smell of vanilla envelopes you.
“My mum is kind of on another baking spree, so if you smell something sweet that’s probably just another one of her desserts.”
He had changed out of his school uniform, now in comfortable sweatpants and a hoodie.
You follow him around–family photos hang perfectly on the walls, making you curious as to what the tall boy once looked like.
You see a photo of him in a choir, then another where he was in Kindergarten. You have the slight urge to laugh at how adorable he used to look but decided against it.
After a few seconds, he leads you straight to the kitchen.
“Martin! Taste this–oh hello!”
A sweet voice said from the counter. You look from behind Martin, finding a very nice woman with an apron covered in flour.
Even though she was just taller than you, it was clear how strong the Edwards’ Genes were.
“You didn’t tell me you were inviting someone! What’s your name?”
You tell her your name, feeling a little embarrassed as she ushers you to come taste some of her treats.
“These are what you teenagers call ‘Brookies’! I tried my brownie and cookie recipe, so hopefully you’ll like it.” She cuts a piece out of it, offering it to you on a pretty plate.
Martin doesn’t say anything, just seeming to wait around until his mother is finished.
After she hands you six more desserts, she pushes you towards Martin and tells you to go upstairs.
“Don’t do anything stupid!”
Martin’s ears turned slightly red at her statement, but you were too busy eating her brookies (which were absolutely delicious) to notice.
You reach his room in no time–it was surprisingly clean, seeing how most teenage boys his age would at least have a couple of clothes on the floor.
You shiver, remembering the stories Stella told you about her exes.
He gestures for you to sit next to him on what you assumed was a small bench. His setup was surprisingly big too–two monitors and even the whole recording setup you would see in an artists booth.
“Uh, so what specifically do you need help with?”
You sighed, running your hands through your hair. “Just about everything.”
“Oh. So you’re pretty much hopeless?”
“Hey!” You lightly smack his shoulder. “I’m not hopeless, I just need more help than most people.”
He chuckles, the sound of his raspy voice suddenly sending a warmth up your neck.
“Okay, I guess I’ll teach you scales–these pretty much decide the mood of the song, depending on which notes you use of course. Uh, do you know the notes of a piano?”
You shake your head. “No, I don’t even know how to play that instrument.”
“…right. What’s your grade in this class again?”
“I got 42 in the last assignment.”
You can basically see his soul leaving his body.
“Nevermind my score though, just teach me how this works!”
“Alrightt.”
To no one’s surprise, it took you two hours just to understand how scales worked. Although, during that time you had truly understood how good Martin really was.
He explained it in an easy way, even for someone who was completely clueless like you to understand. He was patient too, answering your questions with a calm and gentle voice that made you feel at ease.
He even showed you a few of his tracks, which in your opinion (although you don’t think it really mattered much to him) actually sounded really good.
“I don’t get how that took so long.” Martin mumbled.
“Well, not all of us were born with musical talent.” You say, chewing through another brookie while tweaking a track he wanted you to work on.
He told you that he intentionally messed up the chords, and wanted you to fix it into a ‘jazz’ piece.
It was a bit of an exercise, but it wasn’t that hard.
He shoots you an unimpressed look.
“Is that the last one?” He points to the dessert in your mouth.
“No, there’s two more.”
He leaned over, his arms just barely reaching the edge of the plate. You hadn’t noticed how close he had gotten, as you were too focused on what was on the screen.
After a few more replays, you decided it was good enough and turned your head in his direction.
Although as soon as you did, your lips met his.
The touch was so brief you almost couldn’t even tell it happened, but as soon as he flinched back and touched his lips, you knew.
He turned red fast, the light coming from the computer making him look an odd shade of purple.
“Uhm, I’m sorry.” He quickly said, sliding himself to the edge of his bench.
Oddly enough, you didn’t seem to care, like at all.
Although, that’s just what he thought.
Inside, every single muscle and bone inside your body felt like it was on fire.
“It’s fine. Uh,” you cleared your throat, rubbing the back of your neck. “Can you tell me if this sounds good?”
“Yeah, sure.” He went back to his original position, although this time he kept inching away as he listened to the track.
For some reason, the moment kept replaying in your head.
He was so close…
During that short moment, you had noticed the way his mouth was slightly parted, and how soft and plump his lips felt against yours.
Maybe it was because you hadn’t ever kissed anyone else in your teen years, but a part of you wanted to kiss him again.
You look over to the side–his jawline looked sharper in this lighting, and his hair fell over his face perfectly.
For some reason, you felt yourself missing how close he was.
At the end of the track, he nods in approval. “You fixed it up nicely. I don’t have many notes but do you want to try another one? Maybe rock or hiphop?”
He looks over to the side, making eye contact with you.
You snap your attention back to the screen, looking at the notes and bars staring at you.
“Uh, I think I can try hiphop.”
He nods shortly after that, checking his folders in case he already had something for you.
You look at the desserts, which were basically the whole reason why you felt this way in the first place.
They mocked you, staying perfectly still while that strange flush crawled up your neck to your cheeks.
Get yourself together! You didn’t even know he existed until two days ago!
After a few seconds of waiting, you snatch the plate up and offer them to him, almost forgetting that he wanted them in the first place.
He looks down at them, but he shakes his head.
“It’s fine, I already tasted them from you.”
You snap your head in his direction. His expression hasn’t changed at all, but you can tell that a smirk was tugging at his lips.
“Are you…teasing me?”
He doesn’t look at you, still looking at the screen. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
You don’t respond, too dumbfounded to even think of your next words.
A silence settles between the two of you, although surprisingly it doesn’t feel awkward.
After one more hour, you were finally done.
Even though your thoughts had gotten sidetracked, you had learned a lot from him.
“Thanks Martin. I really don’t know what I would do without you.” You say, putting your shoes on. “I promise I’ll repay you soon.”
Even though the connotation behind those words were innocent, you can’t help but look up to see his expression.
His eyebrows had slightly raised at that sentence, sending the butterflies in your stomach in a frenzy. “Why not repay me now?”
“Huh?”
He chuckles at your expression. “It’s not anything bad.”
He leans down to your height, his cheek directly in front of your face.
“Just a kiss.”
Your mind goes blank.
Seriously? Martin Edwards was asking you for a kiss on the cheek.
You wanted to hit him in the face, but another part of you wanted to comply.
“Well?” His raspy voice snaps you out of it.
Now, you weren’t sure what thoughts led you to doing the next few actions (you probably weren’t even thinking of anything), but you reach up and grab his jaw, twisting his head to make him face you.
You then leaned in and pressed your lips against his, hard.
Fuck, you were really doing this.
You shut your eyes fast, not wanting to see his expression. Your other hand snaked up into the back of his neck, pushing him further into the kiss.
A surprised noise escaped from his mouth, but he leaned into it, placing his hands on your waist.
He pulled you against his chest, his thumb rubbing against the material of the uniform. He kissed you like he had been waiting for it for years, the touch of his lips warm and filled with need.
You stay in that pose for the next few seconds before parting, roughly pushing him away.
“Bye, Martin.” You said, turning around before he could say anything else.
You could feel the warmth in your cheeks more clearly now, your head still full of the feel of his lips.
You had just walked a few strides away when you looked back around, finding him standing completely still at the doorway.
He looked completely red, his hands held out in front of him like he was missing something.
You chuckled, the cool night air calming your nerves.
You ended up getting a 98 on your next assignment.
slice of life type thing going on, chapter loosely follows the timeline of their documentary, reader is a rlly good cook, seven members: five guys, two girls.
(notes) this is a rewrite of the original seven members fic so a lot of things will be different! i’ll be tagging the people who used to be on the taglist here! (hopefully they’re still out there 🥹)
SERIES MASTERLIST.
JULY 2024
“I like Yuju.”
“…What?”
“I like Yuju.”
You blink.
“Okay.”
You push the door to close it, only to have it stopped mid movement by Keonho's hand.
“I need your help.”
“Yeah, you do need help. A rehab centre could do it.”
He pushes the door wider, suddenly revealing a second Keonho in the dark right next to him.
You almost jump back in surprise–oh, nevermind. It’s just Seonghyeon.
You rub your eyes, still half asleep as it was 4:50 in the morning. “Why’s he here?”
“Emotional support.” Seonghyeon supplies very unhelpfully.
“Can you let us in? We wanna sleep in here. And I kind of need your help.” He adds that last part quickly, making you internally groan.
“No.”
Besides your very clear words, Keonho barges in anyway, although it only ends up with him stubbing his toe against the door, hard.
You and Seonghyeon stifle a laugh as he lets out a silent scream.
He grimaces immediately but hops further into your room before falling into your bed.
You both hold in your laughs, trying not to be too loud in case it would wake someone up.
Although it doesn’t seem to work, as one of the doors just down the hall opens.
You pull Seonghyeon by the wrist inside the room and close the door carefully, trying not to make any more noise than you already had.
You look back at Keonho who still lays down on your bed, dramatically clutching his foot while looking out the window.
(Although you’re not too sure what he’s trying to look at, seeing as it was still dark the curtains covered up anything outside).
He lets out a few emotional wails, ones that you were sure would’ve landed him an Oscars nomination. You have half a mind to smother him with that pillow he brought along for some absurd reason, but decide against it when Seonghyeon speaks.
“It’s just our manager.” Seonghyeon says, his ear pressed against the door like he was in a spy movie.
He steps away from the door, his attention caught back onto the boy tragically sniffing on your bed.
“I just wanted to ask for help, and now I’m left, injured and hurt.” Keonho says, turning over and lying on his back while pressing the back of his hand to his forehead like those Victorian ladies in paintings.
Both you and Seonghyeon ignore him and fall into the bed next to him, turning over and staring at the ceiling.
“No but seriously, I need your help.”
“With what?” You yawn, tugging the blanket under him so you could be more comfortable.
He shifts his weight so you could grab it before answering your question.
“I just don’t know what to do. Like, I want to be with her, but I don’t think she sees me that way.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.” Seonghyeon mumbled out, trying to get under the blanket with you.
You spread the blanket between you two, gesturing for him to move closer. He listens and and moves, your shoulders now brushing up against one another’s.
Keonho furrows his eyebrows. “What do you mean by that?”
“He means that instead of a love interest, you act like that annoying little brother in every k-drama.”
Seonghyeon nods at your words, closing his eyes as Keonho whines.
“So how do I get her to not see me that way?”
“Uhmm, how about you do nothing?” You shift over to your right side, facing Seonghyeon. Keonho notices your change in position and slips his pillow under your head to make it more comfortable for you. “We’re only supposed to make music and you’re here trying to make love island.”
“What the hell is love island?”
“Nevermindd.” You drawled.
Keonho groans, shifting around so fast that it instantly makes your forehead collide with Seonghyeon’s shoulder.
“Bro!” You say in unison, lifting your heads up to face Keonho, who does nothing but snicker.
“My bad.” He simply says.
Silence finally settles between all of you, the only sound in the room being the occasional hum of the heater.
“Oh, and I think Juhoon likes her too.”
You snap your eyes open and lift your head up once again.
“Juhoon? Not Martin?”
“I thought he liked her too, but all his actions with her have been way too friendly for there to be any romantic tension.” He shifts onto his elbow. “Can I get under the blanket too?”
Seonghyeon shook his head fast. “Nooo, the heater’s already on. It’s gonna be too hot.”
Despite Seonghyeon’s refusal, you make space under. “Eomji, move.”
He complies with a sigh, moving forward as Keonho shifts under the blanket too. Keonho smiles, laying his head on the same pillow he laid under you.
Even though your bodies are unbearably close to each other, not a single one of you felt uncomfortable.
It felt like being a kid again, sharing a bed with your siblings.
You all lay in silence once more, closed eyes and breathing in sync.
You can feel yourself drifting to sleep, eyes tired and mind wandering off.
You’re all awoken by a soft knock to the door.
You open your eyes slowly, feeling a random weight over your shoulders.
It turns out that Seonghyeon and Keonho had migrated from their original positions, with Keonho’s arm and leg over you while Seonghyeon’s face was right next to yours.
You don’t mind the proximity, and just slowly sit up.
“What’s going on?” Keonho suddenly mumbled.
After a few seconds, your door is gently opened by your manager. “Oh, you’re all here…” he looks at you three with slight judgement in his eyes, but eventually sighs in acceptance. “Same schedule as usual, we might have a few interviews but overall just give it your best.” He gives you a thumbs up before closing the door.
Seonghyeon sits up, scratching the back of his neck. “What should we eat for breakfast?”
You look over at Keonho who seems to already have something in his head.
“Ramen?”
“Throw that packet at me one more time, Keonho. I dare you.” You point the chopsticks threateningly at him, watching as he slowly grabs the seasoning packet off the counter.
Seonghyeon stands next to you, mixing eggs together while you heat up the pan. A joint effort into making your shared breakfast–omurice.
“Fine.” He grumbles. “You guys are taking too long though.”
“Just wait two more seconds. You’ll get your ramen soon.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Seonghyeon finishes mixing shortly after, handing you the bowl.
Keonho walks over too, wanting to watch you make the omelette.
You pour the egg into the pan, quickly handing Seonghyeon the bowl and mixing the egg with the chopsticks.
One thing about omurice was that you had to be careful on how to cook it. If you got the egg too undercooked, it would be too runny, but if it was too overcooked it would be too dry.
You had perfected it years ago with the help of your parents, but this part always made you a little nervous.
You mix it perfectly and separate the edges of the deconstructed omelette from the pan.
Seonghyeon and Keonho watch in satisfaction as you move like a professional, flicking the omelette up with a carefulness that even they could tell you had done it over a hundred times.
After a few more seconds, you lay it perfectly over the rice, hearing the way Keonho and Seonghyeon wowed in amusement.
You grab the ketchup that you had convinced James to buy for you, and draw a tiny design of a cat.
Keonho visibly scrunched his nose. “I don’t get why you draw with the sauce. You just end up ruining the design when you cut into it.”
Seonghyeon nods beside him. “It just seems like a waste of time.”
“Seonghyeon, keep talking like that and you’re not getting a single bite.” You casually say, now drawing stars over the cat.
He makes a zipping action with his mouth, firmly shutting his mouth by pressing it into a thin line.
As soon as you cut into it, it was like everyone else spawned in.
“Why are you guys up so early?” Martin asked, his voice still hoarse.
“It’s eight.”
He shrugged. “Same thing.”
Yuju bounded over, stars already in her eyes.
“Can I perchance… have a bite?” She asks with the voice of an exaggerated anime girl voice, a running joke between the two of you.
You nodded with a snort and watched as Keonho had already fetched her a spoon.
Both you and Seonghyeon looked over at each other with a knowing look, stifling your laughs as Yuju said ‘thank you’.
“You’re welcome.” Keonho mumbled.
You had to physically turn away to not laugh out loud.
You take the plate to the living room shortly after Keonho finishes making his instant noodles, both him and Seonghyeon following closely behind.
As soon as you did, Juhoon entered the living room.
He doesn’t say anything, but as soon as he sees your breakfast, he stretches out his hand for the spoon.
You inch the plate closer to him while Seonghyeon sets something up on his laptop.
Juhoon crouches down next to you, cutting into the egg and taking a big bite. He chews and gives you a nod of approval before standing up and walking over to the kitchen.
“Where’s James?” Martin asks.
“I’m here.”
Both you and Keonho whip your heads around, finding James standing right in the hallway.
He enters the living room with the fashion of a zombie, swaying side to side and steps uneven.
He stretches his arms, letting out a groan while walking over to the couch.
“Where’s our manager?” His voice is, if not just as hoarse as Martin’s.
Seonghyeon looks up. “In a meeting.”
Just as he says that, you hear the faint clattering of pots and pans, presumably Martin trying to cook up his fifth egg fried rice breakfast in a week.
James hums in acknowledgment. “What’s the time?”
This time Juhoon answers. “9:20.”
“And what time do we leave?”
“Manager said 12.” Martin yelled out from the kitchen, although it was barely audible as he and Yuju were cooking something up at the same time.
James doesn’t seem to react, instead just staring into space before suddenly getting up and walking into the kitchen.
A beat passes before Keonho decides it’s his chance to talk.
“Do you guys think James likes Yuju?” He quietly asks, casually eating his noodles to make it look like life-changing information wasn’t about to be shared.
“I think he does. I saw him watching a movie with her last night.” Seonghyeon says without missing a single beat.
Keonho whips his head around, his thick eyebrows knitting together. “What?”
“Yeah, I even saw them doing that thing from the movies–y’know, when the main leads reach in for popcorn at the same time and their hands touch.” He says it all without looking up from the laptop screen.
You cringe, imagining the scene. “Wait, we had popcorn?”
He nods. “Martin bought some.” He turns in your direction with his mouth open, a sign you had come to know as ‘feed me’.
You cut into the egg and rice, making sure to get some parts of the ketchup and spoon feed him.
He chews, staying silent while Keonho silently panics beside him.
“They…watched a movie together?” He mumbled, his eyes falling from the previous happiness he once had.
You pat his shoulder, not really aiming to comfort him.
“It’s okay Keonho.” You say, looking at the laptop screen while Seonghyeon clicks on a track you worked on the night before.
He fake cries, even burying his face into his hands.
You and Seonghyeon ignore him, even as his fake crying gets louder.
“You should put the bass line onto the drums…”
“Do you think that would make it sound better?”
JULY 2024
“We need to decide if there’s a storyline and there’s no need for us to talk or lip-sync. We need to say something–I’m talking about the visual mood.”
You’re all sitting around the living room, holding a meeting for the ‘JoyRide’ music video.
“Like the situations we imagined while writing the lyrics,” Martin continued for James, already picking up on what he was saying. “Something like that, or we could also start here, acting like we’re eating and writing lyrics then suddenly run out the door.”
Seonghyeon comes out of his laying position and sits up, ready to give his input. “Even if we were to act, rather than lipsyncing on screen like that, I think it’d be better to just set the camera somewhere and capture us moving naturally.”
You sit next to Keonho on the couch, listening carefully to each word everyone is saying.
A music video is hard to plan out, especially when there’s already seven ideas that each person wants to share.
It’s difficult to hear everyone out, and considering that it was given to the responsibility of teenagers puts the pressure on everyone.
Despite that, everyone does their best.
Later that day, you’re all in a meeting with the A&R team–Jiyoon June Kwon, Sohee Lily Min, and Seoyoung Kim–right after another session.
Keonho starts. “While working on the lyrics for ‘JoyRide’, we wanted to express that ‘live wild, play wild’ vibe,” he shifts around in his spot, trying to think of his words. “We wanted to show our message exactly as it is in the video.”
“Our first stop is Griffith Observatory. There’s a path that leads to a trail nearby with a full view of LA. We’re thinking of shooting our outro scene there.”
You had all agreed on Griffith Observatory after seeing the location and views it offered online, plus the trail was pretty much open to everyone at any time.
The meeting ends shortly after, everyone standing up and bowing to each other.
That night, you’re all in the living room once again, still deciding on what to do about the music video.
“I’m not sure about where we should lie down or sit or what would look best.”
“We can figure it out when we get there tonight.” Keonho says, still looking at his laptop screen.
Martin whips his head around. “Good idea–that’s actually a good idea.”
As soon as he says that, one of your managers cuts in. “Then, are you pulling an all-nighter and heading there now? To check out Griffith and Sunset?”
Martin turns to the group. “I’m down.”
“Please decide amongst yourselves.” Your manager says before going back on her phone.
“Who’s in?” Martin and James immediately ask.
Juhoon nudged you to gain your attention, raising an eyebrow to see if you were going too.
You hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation much, as you were already feeling tired.
You look down on the floor, spotting Yuju kneeling next to the couch while talking to Keonho about something.
The two who asked raised their hands immediately. “Agreed?”
“Let’s all just go,” Keonho turns to face the manager. “We’re all going!”
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
A few more choruses of ‘yes’ and ‘lets go’ occur before the guys suddenly start clapping with their feet, leaving you even more confused.
Normally, you would usually match their energy and be excited that you were going to pull an all-nighter just outside, but for some reason you couldn’t even attempt to cheer.
Everyone seems to have the same idea of changing out of their clothes, all deciding to run down to their rooms.
You follow them, dragging your feet as you walk down the stairs.
For some reason, your mind was completely blank, like your brain was doing everything in its power just to keep you walking.
You changed into jeans and a long-sleeve, already missing your comfortable sweats.
After a quick stop at a 24-hour cafe, you’re all walking the trail to Griffith observatory.
It’s cold and dark, two things that would usually hinder everyone’s mood, and yet they all seem to be happy.
You can’t lie–it’s a beautiful sight. Spots from all over LA seem to be lit up with the same red and green lights, creating the beautiful ambiance of the city late at night. It still feels oddly alive at some point, with all the cars still moving around even at 1 AM.
James turns the camera on, fiddling around with the settings.
“Where are we now?”
He flips it to Seonghyeon in front of him who was drinking a vanilla-latte in the dark.
Seonghyeon turns, a smile of excitement already on his face. “We’re at Griffith Observatory.”
You watch from behind with Yuju, walking slowly as the cold night air seeps into your bones.
She shivers next to you, her breathing leaving behind fog.
“Should’ve brought my hoodie…” you hear her mumble. You nodded in agreement, your teeth chattering lightly as another gust of wind blew.
Everyone’s footsteps crunch against the dirt, creating an odd feeling of comfort as you spot their phones’ flashlights flickering everywhere. You hear Martin and Keonho talk in clipped and loud conversations, their energy oozing out from meters away.
You hold your phone up, trying to make sure you don’t accidentally bump into anything.
As soon as you reach a clearing, Keonho and James immediately start talking.
“Yo, it’s crazy up here.”
“It’s so nice.”
“Let’s go further.”
The filming finally starts when James writes JoyRide in the sand like it’s a permanent marker.
After getting a few clips of the city view, everyone starts to mess around again.
Seonghyeon especially decided to take off his hoodie, revealing only a tank top. Even though it’s cold and everyone keeps breathing right into their palms, he decides to keep it off, proving he could ‘stand the temperatures’.
You carry it for him, a little grateful that his body heat had rubbed off on it.
You all walk closer to the observatory, hearing James’ complaints about the sun not rising yet.
The view from the observatory is even more beautiful–it’s much wider compared to the clearing, and the crisp air feels like drinking cold water after playing around in the heat.
It’s nice.
Even though you feel tired and sleepy, your mind feels at rest here.
In just a few hours, you would have to go back to the rental and probably watch as James and Martin decided what to do with the clips.
But right now, at this very moment, you feel at peace.
You all film various parts of the experience–running down and up the hills, lipsyncing while walking, the sun rising–it’s all weirdly nostalgic.
Although, you’re sure that was what James wanted to capture with the music video.
You’re not sure why, but a part of you knows it’ll miss the simpler times like these–when you could just walk around freely and pull an all-nighter simply because you felt like it.
It didn’t feel like seven coworkers being forced to film their day, it just felt like seven teenagers having fun.
At some point you’re all walking back down, and Martin and Yuju have oddly decided to just lay down on the ground while James and Keonho film everything.
It’s fun, and you find yourself laughing as everyone just jumps and fools around.
You’re all cracking jokes left and right, and you can’t count how many times you doubled over and almost tripped over a rock.
Everyone is smiling as you keep walking back down–waves to the camera, up-close and funny shots that are sure to capture the essence of ‘JoyRide’.
It all feels too bittersweet.
You’re happy in the moment, but you know it won’t last.
The last part of filming comes at a random building, where all of you are sitting on a parapet.
You swing your legs around, following everyone’s advice to just act like a normal teen.
You look over your shoulder, finding the view of the sunrise.
You weren’t sure why, but a part of you wished that day that the sun wouldn’t rise that day.
Maybe it was because you didn’t want to feel the sweltering heat of the sun, or maybe it was because you didn’t want to go back to just working that monotonous schedule everyday.
But you knew that in that moment, all you wanted to do was laugh in the dark with them just one more time.
AUGUST 2024
“Juhoon you’re gonna make it spill!”
“Huh? Oh, sorry.”
You look up, finding his gaze wandering outside the dorm.
You were back in Korea now, but the title track still wasn’t there yet.
None of you were sure how to go about it, plus after the events of the song camp, you were even more sure that you weren’t just completely lost, you were down in the middle of nowhere with no map, no water, and not a single ounce of dignity.
“Are you gonna confess to her?” You quietly ask, not looking up as you pour the flour through the sifter.
It was obvious he was staring at Yuju.
After the events of last month's song camp, it became completely apparent that he liked her.
You weren’t sure how you didn’t notice it before.
The longing gazes, lingering touches, and the amount of time he kept spending around her honestly felt like watching a movie.
A painful one.
“I don’t think she views me that way.” He mumbled.
You finish pouring the flour and gesture for him to sift it while you grab the eggs.
“Are you sure about that?”
He silently shakes his head, a disappointment evident in his eyes.
“I’m not sure about anything with her.”
You grab two bowls, cracking the egg on the side before splitting it open and separating the yolks. “Well, you won’t know unless you try.”
He puts the sift into the sink, walking over and helping you with the eggs. “That’s what James said.”
You chuckled. “He’s right–what’s that one quote? ‘You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t make’.” He cracks an egg open, copying your movements of separating the yolks, although it turns out to be unhelpful as the egg white falls onto the floor.
You both stare at it for an awkward amount of time.
“You’re cleaning that.” You flatly say, walking around the egg accident and washing your hands.
“I know.”
“You dropped it.”
“I know.”
He immediately gets to work, grabbing a paper towel and wiping it off.
“How do I do it though?” He throws the crumpled sheet into the bin. “I don’t have anything special, and James and Keonho have a much higher chance of getting with her than me.”
You silently listen to him, cracking another egg and separating the yolks once again.
“I joined really late, and they’ve known her so much longer than I have,” He continued. “I just don’t think she’ll ever want me as much as I want her.”
“I don’t think it matters much. If you really wanted her, you would stop comparing yourself to others and just focus on her.” You grab the hand mixer, turning it on and letting the noise swallow your words.
You mix for 30 seconds and add the tartar before talking again. “I mean, the whole point is for you to get with her, and getting jealous and sad that the other guys have a ‘higher chance’ isn’t going to help you.”
You mix for another 30 seconds, adding sugar as it goes on. Once it’s done, you turn and face him. “If you really wanted her, you wouldn’t be complaining about it, you would be actually doing something about it.”
His facial expression is completely unreadable, and he gives you that blank stare he always did whenever he was trying to process something.
“You’re a good guy and she’d be stupid to not see it. Plus, there’s other fish in the sea.” You say as you squeeze a few drops of red food colouring into the meringue, mixing it until the colour turned into a light pink.
“But, I only want her.” He says. “She occupies my thoughts almost every day, and I can’t imagine my days without her.” He looks down at the floor clenching his fists.
“I don’t want her to be with another guy.” He whispered.
You stay silent, going back to the meringue. You want to cringe at his words but decide against it, primarily because Juhoon was never this open to you.
Who knew all you had to do was bake for him to tell you his feelings?
You grab a spatula and scrape it out of the bowl and into the batter.
“So go for it. No one’s stopping you other than yourself.”
“Okay.” He says faintly, walking over and watching as you mixed the two together.
It combines in a dry swirl, the batter smooth as the light pink tries to mix in.
“Do you want help with that?”
“Yeah, my arms are starting to hurt.”
AUGUST 2024
“Sometimes I get jealous of you.”
“How?”
You drag the brush over Yuju’s nails with a practiced swipe, making sure that the blue polish looks even. You are painting her nails with an assortment of colours, but the real treat was the glitter polish you were planning on using for the details. You were both sitting on her bed while a murder documentary played off of Martin’s laptop.
“It sounds dumb right? ‘Why would someone older than me be jealous?’ That’s what you’re thinking, right?” She lets out a pained chuckle, staring at the screen.
You don’t say anything, carefully painting her nails and making sure the polish didn’t get anywhere else.
“I don’t think it’s dumb.” You mumbled. “Envy is a pretty common emotion.”
She shakes her head, a sigh escaping her lips. “It is dumb. I shouldn’t be jealous of a girl younger than me, and yet I am.”
You look up from her nails, meeting her eyes. “What are you even jealous about?”
She presses her lips into a thin line, embarrassment evident in her narrowed eyes.
A few beats pass without an answer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it.”
“No, I brought it up. Of course I’ll say it.” She sits up, the bed slightly dipping from her actions. “It’s because of how close you are to the guys.”
Huh, not the answer you expected.
She notices your confusion and elaborates. “Seonghyeon and Keonho specifically. You guys are all the same age, so it makes sense that you three would get along the best, but it still stings whenever I see you three together all the time, and the rest of us are kind of just at the side.”
She sighs once again. “I shouldn’t be jealous, but whenever I hang out with Juhoon, Martin and James, I don’t get that same feeling you guys have. You guys are always laughing and smiling together like how teens should be.”
Yeah, because those three are pretty much in love with you. A part of you wants to say, but holds it back as she continues.
“Not to mention that you’re creative, and all the guys respect every single one of your opinions. You’re also nice, and you don’t even care that I’m saying all this. Even now, you’re painting my nails while I complain about how jealous I am.”
You look up, finding her looking at you with sad eyes.
“I wish I was like you.”
You stay silent, putting her nails under the portable nail lamp she had set up on a random book.
The murder documentary plays on in the background, one of the victim’s family members talking about their experience.
“I don’t think you want to be.” You mumbled.
She gives you a moment to elaborate, but you don’t take it.
She doesn’t say anything and lets the documentary take over the silence.
Then, she leans her head on your shoulder, a pained air now shared between you two.
Some days you liked being around the guys, but it was days like these you really appreciated, especially with Yuju.
SEPTEMBER 2024
Keonho lies on his stomach next to you, scrolling through another photo dump his mother had sent him of his dog, Cookie.
“So cute…” he mumbles, a lazy smile stretched over his face.
You’re both laying down in Seonghyeon’s bed, while the guy himself was reading a book on Keonho’s bed.
Time off like this was rare.
When the group didn’t have anything to do for a couple of hours, this was the way for everyone to calm down and have their own space.
You set your phone aside, deciding to take a break from staring at the pixels for so long.
As soon as you do, an idea seems to pop into Keonho’s head.
“Do you guys wanna sneak out?”
“This is such a bad idea.”
“You can literally turn back around, like no one is stopping you.”
Seonghyeon and Keonho bicker in front of you as you swing your leg over the gate, your ‘escape’ now successful.
“We’re going to get in trouble.” Seonghyeon said.
“If we get caught.” You and Keonho said in unison. You walk in between them, their bodies close to you as you walk through the roads. Although LA was still awake at this time, no cars ever ran through the neighbourhood you were staying in so late at night.
“What are we gonna do if we get into real trouble though? None of us have data.”
“I do.”
“How?”
“There’s an app that lets you get free data depending on how much you pay.” You simply shrugged.
“There’s an app for that?”
“Yeah, because some of us actually prepared.”
You walk around, the cool air of LA something you had already gotten used to.
This was your second song camp of the year, and what a surprise it was still in LA.
You had all gotten used to just being around the place and didn’t need a manager or staff around.
Seonghyeon rubs his hands together to warm them up. “What are we even going to do here?”
“Well, Keonho and I just wanted to visit the city.”
“But that’s a 40 minute walk?”
Both you and Keonho shoot each other a mischievous look.
“We’re pulling an all-nighter.”
You and Keonho laugh as you watch the light in Seonghyeon’s eyes basically disappear.
You all but dragged him to the city, intertwining your arms with both of theirs as you walked.
None of them mind physical contact like this, which was weird, because just a year ago you couldn’t even imagine getting close with them.
You walk through the streets with no purpose, just three teenagers wandering through LA.
“This oddly feels like vacation.” Keonho had said. You couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
You reach a 7/11, to which Keonho immediately tried going into, dragging you and Seonghyeon inside.
“I just want one slurpee.”
“No, you’ll get one slurpee and then finish it in five seconds, and then tell us you want two more.”
“Please! Just one! Just one and then we can go wherever you want.”
After much convincing, you all walked inside, the doors sliding open in a fast zip.
“I swear if you get–“
Your words are cut off when Seonghyeon grabs the back of your head and pushes it down, making you duck.
You look over to him. “Yo what the hell.”
He was looking outside the glass, so you followed his gaze.
“Is that…”
“Yeah.”
“I mean I knew that Martin liked her but damn..”
“Yeah.”
Martin and Yuju were walking outside together.
Martin.
And Yuju.
Were walking outside together.
The sun might as well have exploded on you.
They were walking with the same distance you had with Keonho and Seonghyeon–so basically none.
You watch as they tease each other, bright smiles and laughs carrying through the night.
“Oh, we forgot to tell you but Keonho’s kind of over her now.” He casually says, pulling your attention and walking over to the slush machine.
You whip your head back around. “Seriously?”
He nods, watching Keonho choose all his favourite flavours. “Kind of. He says he is, but I still see the way he watches her like he’s her favourite movie.”
“Ew.”
“That’s the appropriate reaction.”
“What are we talking about?” Keonho jumps in, walking over with a full cup.
“Who’s paying for your slurpee–Hyeon, go pay for his slurpee.” You push him towards the counter, a smile tugging at your lips.
He doesn’t complain, but a groan escapes him as he goes over to the counter with Keonho, his card in his hand.
DECEMBER 2024
“Martin, I swear if you drop my suitcase..”
“I won’t!”
You all walk up the stairs to your new dorms, where you guys would officially live in from now on. The elevator was somehow out of service, but the stairs were supposed to be a short walk.
You had played rock-paper-scissors with Martin, saying the loser had to carry the winner’s suitcases.
Of course he lost, which is why Seonghyeon and James were forced to hold his other suitcases.
And why you, were happily bounding up the steps, holding nothing but one of Martin’s light bags.
(You felt bad he had to carry so much, but not bad enough you wanted to carry your own suitcase.)
After much complaining and groaning, you reach the dorms.
Your manager says the door’s code to everyone, repeating it to make sure everyone remembers it.
As soon as you enter, everyone immediately bursts in surprise.
They get loud, leaving their suitcases in the living room and walking around the apartment. For some odd reason, they had about four different hallways all leading to their rooms.
You walk with Keonho to his, Martin’s, and Seonghyeon’s room.
“This is really big…”
“There’s a bathroom!”
You all wander around the place, finding sliding doors and rooms everywhere. You didn’t expect for the company to get them an apartment so good. Their shouts of excitement and joy pretty much echoed through the place as they found new random things that they never had before.
“New washing machine!”
“You can change faster with this door here.”
There was even an audio machine in the kitchen, which made all the guys try it out. They made random noises into the receiver and played it back, cheering when it did.
Then, your manager calls out for you and Yuju.
“Your dorm is right next to theirs!”
You grab your suitcase off the floor and follow his voice, walking out the apartment and into yours.
Your apartment was significantly smaller, seeing as it was really only supposed to fit two people.
It had everything you needed, so you couldn’t really complain.
Later that night, you sit on the floor as they set the Christmas tree up. They had bought it ages ago, and wanted to set it up now.
“You’re holding it upside down..”
“Wait, we don't have a star.”
You hung up a few baubles, humming a random Christmas song while chaos surrounded you.
“Did you get that star from the trophy?”
“Wait, we have fairy lights!”
“Turn off the lights then when we hang them up.”
It’s only after a few arguments, a few minutes of silence, and somehow a cracked bauble does everyone finally hang up the lights over the tree.
A Korean Christmas song plays from someone’s speaker as you get to work, holding up the cords as everyone moves.
“If you hold it like that it’ll get tangled…”
“It’s not supposed to be like that! I’m supposed to move here and you’re supposed…”
Almost 20 minutes later, Seonghyeon comes back into the apartment holding Jjajangmyeon.
You sit at the new table, quietly chewing on noodles as they chatter.
It was already late at night, so everyone was already tired.
“Has anyone heard when we’re debuting?” Martin asks, leaning back on his chair once he had finished.
“From all the meetings I’ve been in, it seems like we’ll just keep going until we’re ready.” James says. “So, there’s no need to rush. But, we should still aim to be a little better everyday.”
slice of life type thing going on, chapter loosely follows the timeline of their documentary, reader is a rlly good cook, seven members: five guys, two girls.
(notes) this is a rewrite of the original seven members fic so a lot of things will be different! i’ll be tagging the people who used to be on the taglist here! (hopefully they’re still out there 🥹) wc. 6k
SERIES MASTERLIST.
JULY 2024
“I like Yuju.”
“…What?”
“I like Yuju.”
You blink.
“Okay.”
You push the door to close it, only to have it stopped mid movement by Keonho's hand.
“I need your help.”
“Yeah, you do need help. A rehab centre could do it.”
He pushes the door wider, suddenly revealing a second Keonho in the dark right next to him.
You almost jump back in surprise–oh, nevermind. It’s just Seonghyeon.
You rub your eyes, still half asleep as it was 4:50 in the morning. “Why’s he here?”
“Emotional support.” Seonghyeon supplies very unhelpfully.
“Can you let us in? We wanna sleep in here. And I kind of need your help.” He adds that last part quickly, making you internally groan.
“No.”
Besides your very clear words, Keonho barges in anyway, although it only ends up with him stubbing his toe against the door, hard.
You and Seonghyeon stifle a laugh as he lets out a silent scream.
He grimaces immediately but hops further into your room before falling into your bed.
You both hold in your laughs, trying not to be too loud in case it would wake someone up.
Although it doesn’t seem to work, as one of the doors just down the hall opens.
You pull Seonghyeon by the wrist inside the room and close the door carefully, trying not to make any more noise than you already had.
You look back at Keonho who still lays down on your bed, dramatically clutching his foot while looking out the window.
(Although you’re not too sure what he’s trying to look at, seeing as it was still dark the curtains covered up anything outside).
He lets out a few emotional wails, ones that you were sure would’ve landed him an Oscars nomination. You have half a mind to smother him with that pillow he brought along for some absurd reason, but decide against it when Seonghyeon speaks.
“It’s just our manager.” Seonghyeon says, his ear pressed against the door like he was in a spy movie.
He steps away from the door, his attention caught back onto the boy tragically sniffing on your bed.
“I just wanted to ask for help, and now I’m left, injured and hurt.” Keonho says, turning over and lying on his back while pressing the back of his hand to his forehead like those Victorian ladies in paintings.
Both you and Seonghyeon ignore him and fall into the bed next to him, turning over and staring at the ceiling.
“No but seriously, I need your help.”
“With what?” You yawn, tugging the blanket under him so you could be more comfortable.
He shifts his weight so you could grab it before answering your question.
“I just don’t know what to do. Like, I want to be with her, but I don’t think she sees me that way.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.” Seonghyeon mumbled out, trying to get under the blanket with you.
You spread the blanket between you two, gesturing for him to move closer. He listens and and moves, your shoulders now brushing up against one another’s.
Keonho furrows his eyebrows. “What do you mean by that?”
“He means that instead of a love interest, you act like that annoying little brother in every k-drama.”
Seonghyeon nods at your words, closing his eyes as Keonho whines.
“So how do I get her to not see me that way?”
“Uhmm, how about you do nothing?” You shift over to your right side, facing Seonghyeon. Keonho notices your change in position and slips his pillow under your head to make it more comfortable for you. “We’re only supposed to make music and you’re here trying to make love island.”
“What the hell is love island?”
“Nevermindd.” You drawled.
Keonho groans, shifting around so fast that it instantly makes your forehead collide with Seonghyeon’s shoulder.
“Bro!” You say in unison, lifting your heads up to face Keonho, who does nothing but snicker.
“My bad.” He simply says.
Silence finally settles between all of you, the only sound in the room being the occasional hum of the heater.
“Oh, and I think Juhoon likes her too.”
You snap your eyes open and lift your head up once again.
“Juhoon? Not Martin?”
“I thought he liked her too, but all his actions with her have been way too friendly for there to be any romantic tension.” He shifts onto his elbow. “Can I get under the blanket too?”
Seonghyeon shook his head fast. “Nooo, the heater’s already on. It’s gonna be too hot.”
Despite Seonghyeon’s refusal, you make space under. “Eomji, move.”
He complies with a sigh, moving forward as Keonho shifts under the blanket too. Keonho smiles, laying his head on the same pillow he laid under you.
Even though your bodies are unbearably close to each other, not a single one of you felt uncomfortable.
It felt like being a kid again, sharing a bed with your siblings.
You all lay in silence once more, closed eyes and breathing in sync.
You can feel yourself drifting to sleep, eyes tired and mind wandering off.
You’re all awoken by a soft knock to the door.
You open your eyes slowly, feeling a random weight over your shoulders.
It turns out that Seonghyeon and Keonho had migrated from their original positions, with Keonho’s arm and leg over you while Seonghyeon’s face was right next to yours.
You don’t mind the proximity, and just slowly sit up.
“What’s going on?” Keonho suddenly mumbled.
After a few seconds, your door is gently opened by your manager. “Oh, you’re all here…” he looks at you three with slight judgement in his eyes, but eventually sighs in acceptance. “Same schedule as usual, we might have a few interviews but overall just give it your best.” He gives you a thumbs up before closing the door.
Seonghyeon sits up, scratching the back of his neck. “What should we eat for breakfast?”
You look over at Keonho who seems to already have something in his head.
“Ramen?”
“Throw that packet at me one more time, Keonho. I dare you.” You point the chopsticks threateningly at him, watching as he slowly grabs the seasoning packet off the counter.
Seonghyeon stands next to you, mixing eggs together while you heat up the pan. A joint effort into making your shared breakfast–omurice.
“Fine.” He grumbles. “You guys are taking too long though.”
“Just wait two more seconds. You’ll get your ramen soon.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Seonghyeon finishes mixing shortly after, handing you the bowl.
Keonho walks over too, wanting to watch you make the omelette.
You pour the egg into the pan, quickly handing Seonghyeon the bowl and mixing the egg with the chopsticks.
One thing about omurice was that you had to be careful on how to cook it. If you got the egg too undercooked, it would be too runny, but if it was too overcooked it would be too dry.
You had perfected it years ago with the help of your parents, but this part always made you a little nervous.
You mix it perfectly and separate the edges of the deconstructed omelette from the pan.
Seonghyeon and Keonho watch in satisfaction as you move like a professional, flicking the omelette up with a carefulness that even they could tell you had done it over a hundred times.
After a few more seconds, you lay it perfectly over the rice, hearing the way Keonho and Seonghyeon wowed in amusement.
You grab the ketchup that you had convinced James to buy for you, and draw a tiny design of a cat.
Keonho visibly scrunched his nose. “I don’t get why you draw with the sauce. You just end up ruining the design when you cut into it.”
Seonghyeon nods beside him. “It just seems like a waste of time.”
“Seonghyeon, keep talking like that and you’re not getting a single bite.” You casually say, now drawing stars over the cat.
He makes a zipping action with his mouth, firmly shutting his mouth by pressing it into a thin line.
As soon as you cut into it, it was like everyone else spawned in.
“Why are you guys up so early?” Martin asked, his voice still hoarse.
“It’s eight.”
He shrugged. “Same thing.”
Yuju bounded over, stars already in her eyes.
“Can I perchance… have a bite?” She asks with the voice of an exaggerated anime girl voice, a running joke between the two of you.
You nodded with a snort and watched as Keonho had already fetched her a spoon.
Both you and Seonghyeon looked over at each other with a knowing look, stifling your laughs as Yuju said ‘thank you’.
“You’re welcome.” Keonho mumbled.
You had to physically turn away to not laugh out loud.
You take the plate to the living room shortly after Keonho finishes making his instant noodles, both him and Seonghyeon following closely behind.
As soon as you did, Juhoon entered the living room.
He doesn’t say anything, but as soon as he sees your breakfast, he stretches out his hand for the spoon.
You inch the plate closer to him while Seonghyeon sets something up on his laptop.
Juhoon crouches down next to you, cutting into the egg and taking a big bite. He chews and gives you a nod of approval before standing up and walking over to the kitchen.
“Where’s James?” Martin asks.
“I’m here.”
Both you and Keonho whip your heads around, finding James standing right in the hallway.
He enters the living room with the fashion of a zombie, swaying side to side and steps uneven.
He stretches his arms, letting out a groan while walking over to the couch.
“Where’s our manager?” His voice is, if not just as hoarse as Martin’s.
Seonghyeon looks up. “In a meeting.”
Just as he says that, you hear the faint clattering of pots and pans, presumably Martin trying to cook up his fifth egg fried rice breakfast in a week.
James hums in acknowledgment. “What’s the time?”
This time Juhoon answers. “9:20.”
“And what time do we leave?”
“Manager said 12.” Martin yelled out from the kitchen, although it was barely audible as he and Yuju were cooking something up at the same time.
James doesn’t seem to react, instead just staring into space before suddenly getting up and walking into the kitchen.
A beat passes before Keonho decides it’s his chance to talk.
“Do you guys think James likes Yuju?” He quietly asks, casually eating his noodles to make it look like life-changing information wasn’t about to be shared.
“I think he does. I saw him watching a movie with her last night.” Seonghyeon says without missing a single beat.
Keonho whips his head around, his thick eyebrows knitting together. “What?”
“Yeah, I even saw them doing that thing from the movies–y’know, when the main leads reach in for popcorn at the same time and their hands touch.” He says it all without looking up from the laptop screen.
You cringe, imagining the scene. “Wait, we had popcorn?”
He nods. “Martin bought some.” He turns in your direction with his mouth open, a sign you had come to know as ‘feed me’.
You cut into the egg and rice, making sure to get some parts of the ketchup and spoon feed him.
He chews, staying silent while Keonho silently panics beside him.
“They…watched a movie together?” He mumbled, his eyes falling from the previous happiness he once had.
You pat his shoulder, not really aiming to comfort him.
“It’s okay Keonho.” You say, looking at the laptop screen while Seonghyeon clicks on a track you worked on the night before.
He fake cries, even burying his face into his hands.
You and Seonghyeon ignore him, even as his fake crying gets louder.
“You should put the bass line onto the drums…”
“Do you think that would make it sound better?”
JULY 2024
“We need to decide if there’s a storyline and there’s no need for us to talk or lip-sync. We need to say something–I’m talking about the visual mood.”
You’re all sitting around the living room, holding a meeting for the ‘JoyRide’ music video.
“Like the situations we imagined while writing the lyrics,” Martin continued for James, already picking up on what he was saying. “Something like that, or we could also start here, acting like we’re eating and writing lyrics then suddenly run out the door.”
Seonghyeon comes out of his laying position and sits up, ready to give his input. “Even if we were to act, rather than lipsyncing on screen like that, I think it’d be better to just set the camera somewhere and capture us moving naturally.”
You sit next to Keonho on the couch, listening carefully to each word everyone is saying.
A music video is hard to plan out, especially when there’s already seven ideas that each person wants to share.
It’s difficult to hear everyone out, and considering that it was given to the responsibility of teenagers puts the pressure on everyone.
Despite that, everyone does their best.
Later that day, you’re all in a meeting with the A&R team–Jiyoon June Kwon, Sohee Lily Min, and Seoyoung Kim–right after another session.
Keonho starts. “While working on the lyrics for ‘JoyRide’, we wanted to express that ‘live wild, play wild’ vibe,” he shifts around in his spot, trying to think of his words. “We wanted to show our message exactly as it is in the video.”
“Our first stop is Griffith Observatory. There’s a path that leads to a trail nearby with a full view of LA. We’re thinking of shooting our outro scene there.”
You had all agreed on Griffith Observatory after seeing the location and views it offered online, plus the trail was pretty much open to everyone at any time.
The meeting ends shortly after, everyone standing up and bowing to each other.
That night, you’re all in the living room once again, still deciding on what to do about the music video.
“I’m not sure about where we should lie down or sit or what would look best.”
“We can figure it out when we get there tonight.” Keonho says, still looking at his laptop screen.
Martin whips his head around. “Good idea–that’s actually a good idea.”
As soon as he says that, one of your managers cuts in. “Then, are you pulling an all-nighter and heading there now? To check out Griffith and Sunset?”
Martin turns to the group. “I’m down.”
“Please decide amongst yourselves.” Your manager says before going back on her phone.
“Who’s in?” Martin and James immediately ask.
Juhoon nudged you to gain your attention, raising an eyebrow to see if you were going too.
You hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation much, as you were already feeling tired.
You look down on the floor, spotting Yuju kneeling next to the couch while talking to Keonho about something.
The two who asked raised their hands immediately. “Agreed?”
“Let’s all just go,” Keonho turns to face the manager. “We’re all going!”
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
A few more choruses of ‘yes’ and ‘lets go’ occur before the guys suddenly start clapping with their feet, leaving you even more confused.
Normally, you would usually match their energy and be excited that you were going to pull an all-nighter just outside, but for some reason you couldn’t even attempt to cheer.
Everyone seems to have the same idea of changing out of their clothes, all deciding to run down to their rooms.
You follow them, dragging your feet as you walk down the stairs.
For some reason, your mind was completely blank, like your brain was doing everything in its power just to keep you walking.
You changed into jeans and a long-sleeve, already missing your comfortable sweats.
After a quick stop at a 24-hour cafe, you’re all walking the trail to Griffith observatory.
It’s cold and dark, two things that would usually hinder everyone’s mood, and yet they all seem to be happy.
You can’t lie–it’s a beautiful sight. Spots from all over LA seem to be lit up with the same red and green lights, creating the beautiful ambiance of the city late at night. It still feels oddly alive at some point, with all the cars still moving around even at 1 AM.
James turns the camera on, fiddling around with the settings.
“Where are we now?”
He flips it to Seonghyeon in front of him who was drinking a vanilla-latte in the dark.
Seonghyeon turns, a smile of excitement already on his face. “We’re at Griffith Observatory.”
You watch from behind with Yuju, walking slowly as the cold night air seeps into your bones.
She shivers next to you, her breathing leaving behind fog.
“Should’ve brought my hoodie…” you hear her mumble. You nodded in agreement, your teeth chattering lightly as another gust of wind blew.
Everyone’s footsteps crunch against the dirt, creating an odd feeling of comfort as you spot their phones’ flashlights flickering everywhere. You hear Martin and Keonho talk in clipped and loud conversations, their energy oozing out from meters away.
You hold your phone up, trying to make sure you don’t accidentally bump into anything.
As soon as you reach a clearing, Keonho and James immediately start talking.
“Yo, it’s crazy up here.”
“It’s so nice.”
“Let’s go further.”
The filming finally starts when James writes JoyRide in the sand like it’s a permanent marker.
After getting a few clips of the city view, everyone starts to mess around again.
Seonghyeon especially decided to take off his hoodie, revealing only a tank top. Even though it’s cold and everyone keeps breathing right into their palms, he decides to keep it off, proving he could ‘stand the temperatures’.
You carry it for him, a little grateful that his body heat had rubbed off on it.
You all walk closer to the observatory, hearing James’ complaints about the sun not rising yet.
The view from the observatory is even more beautiful–it’s much wider compared to the clearing, and the crisp air feels like drinking cold water after playing around in the heat.
It’s nice.
Even though you feel tired and sleepy, your mind feels at rest here.
In just a few hours, you would have to go back to the rental and probably watch as James and Martin decided what to do with the clips.
But right now, at this very moment, you feel at peace.
You all film various parts of the experience–running down and up the hills, lipsyncing while walking, the sun rising–it’s all weirdly nostalgic.
Although, you’re sure that was what James wanted to capture with the music video.
You’re not sure why, but a part of you knows it’ll miss the simpler times like these–when you could just walk around freely and pull an all-nighter simply because you felt like it.
It didn’t feel like seven coworkers being forced to film their day, it just felt like seven teenagers having fun.
At some point you’re all walking back down, and Martin and Yuju have oddly decided to just lay down on the ground while James and Keonho film everything.
It’s fun, and you find yourself laughing as everyone just jumps and fools around.
You’re all cracking jokes left and right, and you can’t count how many times you doubled over and almost tripped over a rock.
Everyone is smiling as you keep walking back down–waves to the camera, up-close and funny shots that are sure to capture the essence of ‘JoyRide’.
It all feels too bittersweet.
You’re happy in the moment, but you know it won’t last.
The last part of filming comes at a random building, where all of you are sitting on a parapet.
You swing your legs around, following everyone’s advice to just act like a normal teen.
You look over your shoulder, finding the view of the sunrise.
You weren’t sure why, but a part of you wished that day that the sun wouldn’t rise that day.
Maybe it was because you didn’t want to feel the sweltering heat of the sun, or maybe it was because you didn’t want to go back to just working that monotonous schedule everyday.
But you knew that in that moment, all you wanted to do was laugh in the dark with them just one more time.
AUGUST 2024
“Juhoon you’re gonna make it spill!”
“Huh? Oh, sorry.”
You look up, finding his gaze wandering outside the dorm.
You were back in Korea now, but the title track still wasn’t there yet.
None of you were sure how to go about it, plus after the events of the song camp, you were even more sure that you weren’t just completely lost, you were down in the middle of nowhere with no map, no water, and not a single ounce of dignity.
“Are you gonna confess to her?” You quietly ask, not looking up as you pour the flour through the sifter.
It was obvious he was staring at Yuju.
After the events of last month's song camp, it became completely apparent that he liked her.
You weren’t sure how you didn’t notice it before.
The longing gazes, lingering touches, and the amount of time he kept spending around her honestly felt like watching a movie.
A painful one.
“I don’t think she views me that way.” He mumbled.
You finish pouring the flour and gesture for him to sift it while you grab the eggs.
“Are you sure about that?”
He silently shakes his head, a disappointment evident in his eyes.
“I’m not sure about anything with her.”
You grab two bowls, cracking the egg on the side before splitting it open and separating the yolks. “Well, you won’t know unless you try.”
He puts the sift into the sink, walking over and helping you with the eggs. “That’s what James said.”
You chuckled. “He’s right–what’s that one quote? ‘You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t make’.” He cracks an egg open, copying your movements of separating the yolks, although it turns out to be unhelpful as the egg white falls onto the floor.
You both stare at it for an awkward amount of time.
“You’re cleaning that.” You flatly say, walking around the egg accident and washing your hands.
“I know.”
“You dropped it.”
“I know.”
He immediately gets to work, grabbing a paper towel and wiping it off.
“How do I do it though?” He throws the crumpled sheet into the bin. “I don’t have anything special, and James and Keonho have a much higher chance of getting with her than me.”
You silently listen to him, cracking another egg and separating the yolks once again.
“I joined really late, and they’ve known her so much longer than I have,” He continued. “I just don’t think she’ll ever want me as much as I want her.”
“I don’t think it matters much. If you really wanted her, you would stop comparing yourself to others and just focus on her.” You grab the hand mixer, turning it on and letting the noise swallow your words.
You mix for 30 seconds and add the tartar before talking again. “I mean, the whole point is for you to get with her, and getting jealous and sad that the other guys have a ‘higher chance’ isn’t going to help you.”
You mix for another 30 seconds, adding sugar as it goes on. Once it’s done, you turn and face him. “If you really wanted her, you wouldn’t be complaining about it, you would be actually doing something about it.”
His facial expression is completely unreadable, and he gives you that blank stare he always did whenever he was trying to process something.
“You’re a good guy and she’d be stupid to not see it. Plus, there’s other fish in the sea.” You say as you squeeze a few drops of red food colouring into the meringue, mixing it until the colour turned into a light pink.
“But, I only want her.” He says. “She occupies my thoughts almost every day, and I can’t imagine my days without her.” He looks down at the floor clenching his fists.
“I don’t want her to be with another guy.” He whispered.
You stay silent, going back to the meringue. You want to cringe at his words but decide against it, primarily because Juhoon was never this open to you.
Who knew all you had to do was bake for him to tell you his feelings?
You grab a spatula and scrape it out of the bowl and into the batter.
“So go for it. No one’s stopping you other than yourself.”
“Okay.” He says faintly, walking over and watching as you mixed the two together.
It combines in a dry swirl, the batter smooth as the light pink tries to mix in.
“Do you want help with that?”
“Yeah, my arms are starting to hurt.”
AUGUST 2024
“Sometimes I get jealous of you.”
“How?”
You drag the brush over Yuju’s nails with a practiced swipe, making sure that the blue polish looks even. You are painting her nails with an assortment of colours, but the real treat was the glitter polish you were planning on using for the details. You were both sitting on her bed while a murder documentary played off of Martin’s laptop.
“It sounds dumb right? ‘Why would someone older than me be jealous?’ That’s what you’re thinking, right?” She lets out a pained chuckle, staring at the screen.
You don’t say anything, carefully painting her nails and making sure the polish didn’t get anywhere else.
“I don’t think it’s dumb.” You mumbled. “Envy is a pretty common emotion.”
She shakes her head, a sigh escaping her lips. “It is dumb. I shouldn’t be jealous of a girl younger than me, and yet I am.”
You look up from her nails, meeting her eyes. “What are you even jealous about?”
She presses her lips into a thin line, embarrassment evident in her narrowed eyes.
A few beats pass without an answer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it.”
“No, I brought it up. Of course I’ll say it.” She sits up, the bed slightly dipping from her actions. “It’s because of how close you are to the guys.”
Huh, not the answer you expected.
She notices your confusion and elaborates. “Seonghyeon and Keonho specifically. You guys are all the same age, so it makes sense that you three would get along the best, but it still stings whenever I see you three together all the time, and the rest of us are kind of just at the side.”
She sighs once again. “I shouldn’t be jealous, but whenever I hang out with Juhoon, Martin and James, I don’t get that same feeling you guys have. You guys are always laughing and smiling together like how teens should be.”
Yeah, because those three are pretty much in love with you. A part of you wants to say, but holds it back as she continues.
“Not to mention that you’re creative, and all the guys respect every single one of your opinions. You’re also nice, and you don’t even care that I’m saying all this. Even now, you’re painting my nails while I complain about how jealous I am.”
You look up, finding her looking at you with sad eyes.
“I wish I was like you.”
You stay silent, putting her nails under the portable nail lamp she had set up on a random book.
The murder documentary plays on in the background, one of the victim’s family members talking about their experience.
“I don’t think you want to be.” You mumbled.
She gives you a moment to elaborate, but you don’t take it.
She doesn’t say anything and lets the documentary take over the silence.
Then, she leans her head on your shoulder, a pained air now shared between you two.
Some days you liked being around the guys, but it was days like these you really appreciated, especially with Yuju.
SEPTEMBER 2024
Keonho lies on his stomach next to you, scrolling through another photo dump his mother had sent him of his dog, Cookie.
“So cute…” he mumbles, a lazy smile stretched over his face.
You’re both laying down in Seonghyeon’s bed, while the guy himself was reading a book on Keonho’s bed.
Time off like this was rare.
When the group didn’t have anything to do for a couple of hours, this was the way for everyone to calm down and have their own space.
You set your phone aside, deciding to take a break from staring at the pixels for so long.
As soon as you do, an idea seems to pop into Keonho’s head.
“Do you guys wanna sneak out?”
“This is such a bad idea.”
“You can literally turn back around, like no one is stopping you.”
Seonghyeon and Keonho bicker in front of you as you swing your leg over the gate, your ‘escape’ now successful.
“We’re going to get in trouble.” Seonghyeon said.
“If we get caught.” You and Keonho said in unison. You walk in between them, their bodies close to you as you walk through the roads. Although LA was still awake at this time, no cars ever ran through the neighbourhood you were staying in so late at night.
“What are we gonna do if we get into real trouble though? None of us have data.”
“I do.”
“How?”
“There’s an app that lets you get free data depending on how much you pay.” You simply shrugged.
“There’s an app for that?”
“Yeah, because some of us actually prepared.”
You walk around, the cool air of LA something you had already gotten used to.
This was your second song camp of the year, and what a surprise it was still in LA.
You had all gotten used to just being around the place and didn’t need a manager or staff around.
Seonghyeon rubs his hands together to warm them up. “What are we even going to do here?”
“Well, Keonho and I just wanted to visit the city.”
“But that’s a 40 minute walk?”
Both you and Keonho shoot each other a mischievous look.
“We’re pulling an all-nighter.”
You and Keonho laugh as you watch the light in Seonghyeon’s eyes basically disappear.
You all but dragged him to the city, intertwining your arms with both of theirs as you walked.
None of them mind physical contact like this, which was weird, because just a year ago you couldn’t even imagine getting close with them.
You walk through the streets with no purpose, just three teenagers wandering through LA.
“This oddly feels like vacation.” Keonho had said. You couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
You reach a 7/11, to which Keonho immediately tried going into, dragging you and Seonghyeon inside.
“I just want one slurpee.”
“No, you’ll get one slurpee and then finish it in five seconds, and then tell us you want two more.”
“Please! Just one! Just one and then we can go wherever you want.”
After much convincing, you all walked inside, the doors sliding open in a fast zip.
“I swear if you get–“
Your words are cut off when Seonghyeon grabs the back of your head and pushes it down, making you duck.
You look over to him. “Yo what the hell.”
He was looking outside the glass, so you followed his gaze.
“Is that…”
“Yeah.”
“I mean I knew that Martin liked her but damn..”
“Yeah.”
Martin and Yuju were walking outside together.
Martin.
And Yuju.
Were walking outside together.
The sun might as well have exploded on you.
They were walking with the same distance you had with Keonho and Seonghyeon–so basically none.
You watch as they tease each other, bright smiles and laughs carrying through the night.
“Oh, we forgot to tell you but Keonho’s kind of over her now.” He casually says, pulling your attention and walking over to the slush machine.
You whip your head back around. “Seriously?”
He nods, watching Keonho choose all his favourite flavours. “Kind of. He says he is, but I still see the way he watches her like he’s her favourite movie.”
“Ew.”
“That’s the appropriate reaction.”
“What are we talking about?” Keonho jumps in, walking over with a full cup.
“Who’s paying for your slurpee–Hyeon, go pay for his slurpee.” You push him towards the counter, a smile tugging at your lips.
He doesn’t complain, but a groan escapes him as he goes over to the counter with Keonho, his card in his hand.
DECEMBER 2024
“Martin, I swear if you drop my suitcase..”
“I won’t!”
You all walk up the stairs to your new dorms, where you guys would officially live in from now on. The elevator was somehow out of service, but the stairs were supposed to be a short walk.
You had played rock-paper-scissors with Martin, saying the loser had to carry the winner’s suitcases.
Of course he lost, which is why Seonghyeon and James were forced to hold his other suitcases.
And why you, were happily bounding up the steps, holding nothing but one of Martin’s light bags.
(You felt bad he had to carry so much, but not bad enough you wanted to carry your own suitcase.)
After much complaining and groaning, you reach the dorms.
Your manager says the door’s code to everyone, repeating it to make sure everyone remembers it.
As soon as you enter, everyone immediately bursts in surprise.
They get loud, leaving their suitcases in the living room and walking around the apartment. For some odd reason, they had about four different hallways all leading to their rooms.
You walk with Keonho to his, Martin’s, and Seonghyeon’s room.
“This is really big…”
“There’s a bathroom!”
You all wander around the place, finding sliding doors and rooms everywhere. You didn’t expect for the company to get them an apartment so good. Their shouts of excitement and joy pretty much echoed through the place as they found new random things that they never had before.
“New washing machine!”
“You can change faster with this door here.”
There was even an audio machine in the kitchen, which made all the guys try it out. They made random noises into the receiver and played it back, cheering when it did.
Then, your manager calls out for you and Yuju.
“Your dorm is right next to theirs!”
You grab your suitcase off the floor and follow his voice, walking out the apartment and into yours.
Your apartment was significantly smaller, seeing as it was really only supposed to fit two people.
It had everything you needed, so you couldn’t really complain.
Later that night, you sit on the floor as they set the Christmas tree up. They had bought it ages ago, and wanted to set it up now.
“You’re holding it upside down..”
“Wait, we don't have a star.”
You hung up a few baubles, humming a random Christmas song while chaos surrounded you.
“Did you get that star from the trophy?”
“Wait, we have fairy lights!”
“Turn off the lights then when we hang them up.”
It’s only after a few arguments, a few minutes of silence, and somehow a cracked bauble does everyone finally hang up the lights over the tree.
A Korean Christmas song plays from someone’s speaker as you get to work, holding up the cords as everyone moves.
“If you hold it like that it’ll get tangled…”
“It’s not supposed to be like that! I’m supposed to move here and you’re supposed…”
Almost 20 minutes later, Seonghyeon comes back into the apartment holding Jjajangmyeon.
You sit at the new table, quietly chewing on noodles as they chatter.
It was already late at night, so everyone was already tired.
“Has anyone heard when we’re debuting?” Martin asks, leaning back on his chair once he had finished.
“From all the meetings I’ve been in, it seems like we’ll just keep going until we’re ready.” James says. “So, there’s no need to rush. But, we should still aim to be a little better everyday.”
You, a trainee who once couldn’t care less about debuting gets chosen to be a member in BigHits new co-ed group. Now, you are forced to face all the challenges that come with being in it.
or alternatively, CORTIS debuts with more members except it’s a little different.
(note) mentions of depression, injuries, cyber bullying, and swearing.
SYNOPSIS After getting a disappointing mark on your English exam, you go over to your friend’s place only to find the worst piece of information ever.
INFORMATION No interactions with the main leads for this chapter! Reader is a ‘study first’ girl.
SERIES MASTERLIST.
You are seven years old when you get your soulmate.
It happens to everyone–a small mark coloured in a random colour on a random part of your body.
Obviously your soulmate would have the same mark, but in a random colour on a random part of their body.
Your mark is a pink star.
Yes, it’s a bit of a basic shape, but you’re okay with it.
It sits on your shoulder, it’s hue making it almost impossible to see from far away.
Your parents had the moon as their mark, their crescents in silver and gold. They tell you that they were lucky, being born in the same hometown.
They told you that some people could spend ages looking across countries just to find their soulmates, the unlucky ones usually never being able to find theirs.
You were never really interested in romance.
Even when your mark first appeared, you pretty much ignored it.
You assumed your soulmate was just an average guy, maybe someone who you’d meet when you were in your 20’s or 30’s.
The only thing you really cared for was your studies.
Now, your hometown was big, but it wasn’t the best.
You recall more than enough days where your school made everyone volunteer for the homeless shelter, full with people desperate to find warmth.
You were mainly in the kitchens, cooking up food for them just so that none of them would go hungry.
You resented the government for failing them, seeing so many faces just freezing out in the open.
Your parents were hard workers, your dad working at an oil factory while your mother worked at a pharmacy.
Your parents wanted you to succeed, so they pushed you to dedicate yourself to your studies
They never forced you, but money was always tight and inflation was getting worse, so it felt like you were.
So you studied all throughout middle school and got into one of the best Highschool’s in the country–Chadwick International.
Even though you weren’t the best at everything, your scores were just sufficient that the school considered you good enough to accept.
Your parents celebrated your success, telling you that you would do great things.
But it all came crashing down when you had to move.
Your hometown was too far from the school, so commuting back and forth would take hours.
Your parents put you in a small apartment close to the school, which would make it way easier.
Even though it was slightly breaking the law, the landlord was an old lady who said that she would cover for you if the police ever called.
Although she only did all that when you cried to her about it.
So there you were, going to one of the best schools in the country with a less than ideal living situation, but it was okay. You were going to be okay.
Although you wished that was the end of it.
“76 percent. Just barely passed.” Miss Kang mumbles, handing you your paper back.
Although it was just a mock exam, the shame and embarrassment that came from those words made you feel uneasy.
Your seat mate, Yeo-rim sits next to you with a 65 percent, cringing at her failing score.
“At least you passed.” She said, checking through the sheet to see her mistakes and feedback the teacher wrote.
The red numbers stare at you, the circle outlining it making you feel worse as you check on what Miss Kang had wrote.
‘Wrong characters’
‘This sentence doesn’t make sense’
‘Translation wrong’
You sighed. The feedback was always vague, filled with one worded questions or phrases that made you annoyed at their lack of effort.
Although you felt bad, knowing that they marked the work all in their own time, the same could literally be said for you.
You had spent four days on that essay, and a measly 76 percent for all that work made you feel horrible.
You walked back to the apartment, gloomy and exhausted.
The city wasn’t exactly awake at this time, but for some reason, every time you looked up you saw couples all around you with their hands interlocked.
Ah that’s right. It was Valentine’s Day.
You manoeuvre through the pairs, just barely dodging a couple that was making out in the middle of the pathway.
You see their mark on the boys neck and the girls wrist–a feather.
Seeing that immediately makes you aware of your mark, the spot on your shoulder suddenly tingling.
You rub your shoulder out of habit, feeling annoyed all of a sudden.
When you were young, you just didn’t get why people wanted to find their soulmates so fast.
Now, you just weren’t sure why you hated the reminder of it.
Maybe it’s because you hated the idea that there was a possibility of having to love someone so much, and letting them into your heart without knowing whether they loved you just as much.
Sure, soulmates were romantic, but what if it all went wrong?
You’d seen the stories on TV, and you knew that soulmates didn’t always work out.
Sometimes there was even a rare case where people would leave their soulmates because they couldn’t find love with them.
What if you couldn’t find someone to love?
You shake your head and unlock the door to the apartment, your jangling keys echoing throughout the empty hallway.
Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.
Either you focused on your soulmate mark, or you focused on studying so you didn’t get kicked out of Chadwick.
You push into the small room, the faint smell of a cheap air freshener all around the place.
You dump your exam papers on your desk, ordering it from subject to subject.
Your best subject was History, with a 91.
Your worst was absolutely English with that 76.
You sighed.
Now I’ll have to pull another all nighter.
It took about six hours to study for all the subjects.
You had crammed so much English and History into your head you were sure you could recite every single passage from the notebooks. Maths gave you some trouble, but after a few tutorials on YouTube you remembered most things.
You come to school with a zombie-like appearance, Yeo-rim almost yelping as you turn to look at her.
“Oh! Uhm, is that a new…makeup look?” She gestured to your eyebags, making you cringe.
“No, I just stayed up studying.” You croaked.
“Right…”
The school day ends in a breeze, although maybe that’s just because you napped the entire time.
Yeo-rim invited you over to her home, saying that she wanted to study.
Although you were completely sick of studying, that 76 percent and all those 20 minute naps served as a reminder as to why you had to still do it.
Her house smelled of a sweet rose perfume and fried chicken.
An odd combination but nonetheless smelled good.
Her parents were both cooking something up, you having smelled it when you greeted them.
Yeo-rim told you that their soulmate marks were a circle, outlined in purple and orange. You eyed it as you walked away, both of theirs on the backs of their legs.
You weren’t sure why you were so conscious about soulmate marks now.
You slapped your face lightly to get those thoughts away, not wanting to think about them any longer.
She had dragged you to her room, setting all of her stuff on the coffee table before going downstairs and getting ‘study snacks’.
Her room was nice–light pink walls, framed photos from when she was seven, and medals she won from middle school.
It all served as memories for her, but a reminder for you that you left all of that behind the minute you got into the school.
You sighed, looking back down at the papers on the desk.
Both you and her needed immense help in English, so you hoped that nothing would distract her.
Although you jinxed it immediately.
To say she was unfocused would be like saying the sky was blue.
The minute she turned the TV on in her room, you knew you were absolutely done for. She was playing some obnoxiously loud k-pop performance, the lights from the shows flashing around the room constantly.
You tried to tune it out, although it was kind of hard to do when Yeo-rim would scream ‘That’s my man!’ every two seconds.
She even had lightsticks for each different group that came up, doing a fanchant and sometimes bringing out her albums to show them off to you.
You were never someone who was into k-pop.
The music was good, but you never really listened to music in general, even when you were studying.
But you tried to be supportive, even listening in when she would tell you about a group she particularly liked.
“Oh! This is that rookie group!”
She points to the screen, making you look up from your work.
The process was a bit slower than you liked, but at least you were getting a bit of rest from constantly staring at words.
“They debuted in August under the same company as BigHit.” She said, forking into a pear slice. “Y’know the youngest are the same age as us?”
“Seriously? Why does the industry debut so many children?”
She shrugged, staring at the screen as the first few beats of the group's song started playing.
For some reason, you found yourself painfully interested in their performance.
They were just rookies, but they were really good.
Unlike a few performances, they didn’t rely on having a million backup dancers, and just used their stage presence to fill up anything that seemed missing.
They were good, and didn’t seem like some rookie group at all.
You looked at the little popup on the top left–‘CORTIS’.
Cool name.
The members looked interesting too, all with unique features that made them easy to recognise.
“Uh, hold on I memorised their names–that one’s James!” She points to a guy with sharp features, doing exaggerated expressions that somehow looked good on him, and dance moves that looked sharp even to the untrained eye. “He’s the oldest, and he’s like everybody’s bias.”
She then points to another pair. “These two are Juhoon and Martin. They’re both born in ‘08. Martin’s the leader, I think.”
Then, she drags her pointer finger to two boys all the way on the other side, the camera angles suddenly changing as it showed the two.
“They’re the ones that are our age. That one’s Keonho,” she points to the one on the right. “And that one’s Seonghyeon.”
The minute your eyes landed on him, your breath hitched.
He was singing beautifully, his voice echoing through the venue. You noticed him a bit earlier, when they were all dancing together but for some reason your gaze kept moving to him at the back.
Now that the camera was fully focused on him, in your opinion, Seonghyeon was a really good looking guy. You can’t recall all the times your eyes traced the edges of his face and how your gaze always drifted towards him even when it wasn’t his part.
(Although you would never admit that to Yeo-rim.)
He looked like he was made to be on stage–the way he ran his fingers through his hair, the way he moved around the place like he completely owned it. You knew from the fans screaming his name that he was probably popular too.
He looked confident.
He looked exhilarated to be on that stage, and you were sure that if you were a fan of his group, you’d be screaming his name the loudest.
Their performance went on for about 14 minutes, the sweat on each of the members that accumulated during that time complete proof as to their hard work,
Then, just about as their last song was about to end, Seonghyeon’s
sleeve suddenly ripped as he was dancing.
The sleeve had ripped open to reveal his whole left bicep.
Yeo-rim had let out a small gasp-mixed-with-a-laugh as it happened, shoving another apple slice into her mouth.
His eyes had widened a fraction of an inch before he refocused, rapping his lines as he moved formation.
You weren’t paying much attention to it, but when you looked over, something immediately caught your eye.
Maybe it was just your imagination, maybe it was just a pixel problem, but just as the camera zoomed in on them one last time, you swear you spotted something grey right in his inner bicep.
Its shape was too familiar for it not to catch your eye.
A grey star.
It was the exact same size and shape, the colours so obviously different yet so obviously matched in everything else.
Your heart dropped to your stomach immediately.
It…can’t be true.
It was probably just something up with her TV.
“Is the video edited?” You immediately gulped after asking, still staring straight at the mark.
“No, it’s live.”
Fuck.
You can’t be soulmates with a fucking k-pop idol.
It just wouldn’t work. It couldn’t.
A k-pop idol?
You wanted to curse whatever higher being was out there, laughing at your demise. A k-pop idol was one of the top-ten worst people you could’ve gotten as a soulmate.
It wasn’t that they were horrible people, but they were more on watch than a criminal.
The media was constantly on them, and stalkers were constantly everywhere.
That was one of the main reasons why idols hid their marks, and seeing Seonghyeon’s mark in broad daylight made you feel an immense amount of dread you knew you could never get rid of.
Suddenly, your shoulder felt like it was on fire.
You rubbed the spot harshly, suddenly wishing it would just disappear. You never harboured any negative feelings for it, but at this very moment, you harboured so much hate for it that you would honestly volunteer to just burn it off.
SYNOPSIS After years of believing that soulmate marks were a complete waste of time, Eom Seonghyeon, a member of BigHits new boy group accidentally reveals his mark online, and interrupts your less than average life.
WARNINGS cyberbullying, injuries, swearing. This is a work of fiction, everything written is not real.
INFORMATION Seonghyeon is down bad, reader js wants to pass her exams.
(note)i’ll be posting my fics from @/mwiou as i have deleted the account. this is my only account now and if you’ve already reblogged this or have read it before you can ignore this!😅
CHAPTER 01: Your TV quality is shit.
After getting a disappointing mark on your English exam, you go over to your friend’s place only to find the worst piece of information ever.
CHAPTER 02: I hope you go to jail.
A convenience store in the middle of Seoul is nowhere near what you thought as a ‘meet-cute’.
hi my secret goat moot who wrote 7 members i talked abt u for ages (we alr talked abt this but im still in shock)
HAHA MADDYYY 😭😭 honestly i’m still in shock that we’re even moots and that you liked it so much 🥹 it’s actually rlly heartwarming to know one of my fav writers liked one of my works☺️ DONT WORRY THO I HAVE SOMETHING (maybe 7 members related 🤫 but who knows 🤷♀️) COMING UP SOON.
SYNOPSIS After Keonho catches a fever right in the middle of summer, it’s in your nature as a best friend to go over to his place to patch him up. It’s too bad he’s one of the most dramatic people ever.
Keonho being the drama queen he is, reader js having to deal with it.
(note) i’ll be posting my fics from @/mwiou as i have deleted the account. this is my only account now and if you’ve already reblogged this drabble or have read it before you can ignore this!😅
“I’n dying.”
“No you’re not.”
You stand right next to Keonho’s desk, the blanket that Martin had given him now covering his whole body.
“I literally am and you don’t care.” He groans, sniffing as he reaches for another tissue.
You sigh, taking the cold banana milk you were saving for later out of your pocket and pressing it against his forehead.
“It’s still cold, so just keep this pressed against you.”
He looks up immediately and snatches it out of your hand, pressing the bottle around various places on his face. He looks relieved with each press, even going so far as to roll it’s coldest surface around his forehead,
“How did you catch a fever in summer anyway?”
He shrugs, now pressing it against the back of his neck.
“I kept forgetting to dry my hair these last couple of nights, so maybe that’s the reason.” He says before blowing his nose very loudly into a new tissue.
You hum in acknowledgment before patting his head, making a quick effort to rub his hair harshly.
“Just try to survive till the end of the day, m’kay? If your parents or sister aren’t home, just text me and I’ll help you.”
Before he can say anything, you walk away, leaving him to whatever a sick person could do.
Later that afternoon, he sends you a quick text that was clearly typed with one hand.
Today 3:48 pm
Keo
| cme ober plase
| evryone s gne
You sigh, already grabbing your hoodie.
By the time you arrived at his place, it was already four.
You had stopped by a convenience store close to his place, purchasing a few cough drop packets and medicine.
You knock on his door roughly, pressing your ear against it if he says anything.
Soon enough, you hear very light footsteps on the other side. The door opens slowly, creaking loudly as Keonho finally appears.
You walk in immediately, taking off your shoes and closing the door.
He looked even worse–his hair looked way more messed up, like more than half of his back hairs were standing straight up.
He had a tissue shoved up his nose, and he was still wearing his school uniform, just now very wrinkled.
“Hi.” He awkwardly says.
You shake your head before dragging him over to the couch and forcing him to lay down.
“Have you measured your temperature yet?”
You ask, loosening his tie so that he could breathe better. He didn’t mind it at all, lying down while shaking his head.
“I was too tired to measure it.” He mumbled.
You lightly smack his shoulder before walking over to his room, finding the ear thermometer right on his desk.
As soon as you walk back into the living room with it, Keonho is already on the ground, his feet somehow the only limbs left on the couch. You’re a little surprised that you didn’t hear anything while you were in his room but shake it off and help the whinging boy.
You groan as you lift him up with all your might, grabbing him like he was some teddy bear.
As soon as he was back into place, you shove the ear thermometer into his ear, pressing the button as it read his temperature.
“40.4? Geez Keonho, dry your fucking hair.”
He coughs and groans slightly in response, not bothering to move at all.
You put him back into a laying down position, grabbing pillows and elevating his head. Just as you were about to leave his side, he grabs your hoodie sleeve, dragging you right back.
He calls out your name weakly, making you crouch so that you were face to face with him.
“I think…I’m going to die.”
You press your lips into a thin line before patting his head, just deciding to let him be.
He calls out your name again before softly whining, and then coughing all over again.
When Keonho was sick as a child, you remember that his mother would cook him a chicken noodle soup, something that later became almost mandatory for every fever he got, even as a 16 year old.
You got all the ingredients ready and lit up the stove, grateful that his mother had told you the recipe once and you had never forgotten.
You were done after about 20 minutes, the smell of the soup’s spices overpowering everything else in the kitchen.
You walked back into the living room, finding Keonho in the exact same place you left him, except this time more crumpled tissues were left on the table.
He hadn’t moved at all, but his uneven breathing told you that he was still awake.
“Keonho,” you tapped his shoulder, earning you a small whine. “I made you soup.”
He opens his eyes slightly at that before sniffing the fumes of the soup. You help him sit up, his groans becoming louder each inch he moves.
“My body feels like it’s failing.” He cried out, his posture slumped over as he rubbed his temples.
“Isn’t there a thing where true love’s kiss ends a sickness?”
You look over at him, his eyes squinting as he looks at the bowl in front of him.
“You should do that.”
You felt a small heat crawling up your neck, but you pushed it down immediately. Is he serious? No, he can’t be. Maybe he’s just high as hell on cough syrup.
You just shook your head at his antics, putting on an unimpressed expression.
“Right, because that’s totally 100% true.”
Just as you were about to leave him be and let him eat, he stops you once again.
“You can’t expect me to lift the spoon up in this condition.”
You almost roll your eyes but refrain from doing so. “Keonho, you’re just sick. You’re acting like both your hands are suddenly unusable.”
“But they are! They feel like jelly!”
After much arguing, you sit in front of Keonho as he lays down on the couch again, the spoon now held up by you.
Although this would usually be something seen as romantic, something like feeding your lover food and just taking care of them, you felt anything but. Every five seconds he just seemed to have another complaint. You wished his sister were here instead of you.
It felt like a parent having to feed their own child soup.
“You’re holding the spoon too low.”
“You’re holding it too high now.”
“It’s too hot!”
You had to physically stop yourself from wanting to throw the whole bowl on him until he fully finished it.
You washed the dishes quickly before grabbing a blanket from his room, throwing it over him and even giving him an old plushie he still had to make it more comfortable.
You had asked him if you just wanted to be in his room, but he whined again, saying that it would be too cold.
You had unpacked the medicine and cough drops for him, pushing a drop into his mouth before checking the time.
6:03 pm.
“Keonho, I’ll be leaving now.”
“No, don’t leave.” He wailed, reaching his arms out in your direction.
“It’s already six, plus your parents will be home soon.”
You turn, already slipping your shoes on before he calls out your name once more, making you peek into the living room.
He lifts his head up, his eyes slightly open as you tie your shoes.
“Take care.” He says softly, almost like a two year old saying bye to their babysitter.
SYNOPSIS When Seonghyeon comes home, he expects tears, hugs and maybe even a few new memories with his family.
not you eating açai on the kitchen counter.
INFORMATION reader is a bit cheeky, Seonghyeon is js trying his best.
(note) i’ll be posting my fics from @/mwiou as i have deleted the account. this is my only account now and if you’ve already reblogged this drabble or have read it before you can ignore this!😅
When Seonghyeon comes home, he expects his mum and dad at the door, welcoming him in.
Not his sister’s friend.
He holds the key in his hand, his eyes scanning you.
He recognised you–you were his sister's friend from school. Before he became a trainee, he thought you were pretty (but he would never admit that to his sister) and was always too shy to talk to you.
You sit in one of his old sleeping shirts, sitting on the kitchen counter with your phone. Beside you is an açai bowl, sprinkled with banana slices and strawberries.
His favourite combo.
You give him a smile before going back to scrolling.
Before he can ask questions, his sister walks over, drying her hair with an old towel before looking up, her eyes widening at the sight of him.
“Oh, you’re home.”
He nods, closing the door behind him and taking off his shoes. He knows that he and his sister aren’t the closest, but seeing as how rarely he got to her, he realised in the months and days apart how much he actually missed her.
Although he would never say that.
She gives him a quick side hug, making him smell the faint traces of the body wash they always used clinging to her arms. She walks over to you, grabbing a spoon and taking a bite of the açai.
“Mum and Dad are out right now, I’ll text them you got home early.”
His sister walks over to her room, leaving you and him in the same space together.
He stands there, his heavy bag hanging low behind him. He turns to you, watching as you hop off the counter.
“It’s been a while.” He says, seeing how much prettier you had gotten.
“Yeah, nice to see you again though.” You slightly bowed, a small piece of hair falling from behind your ear. You take the bowl and walk over to the dinner table.
“You too.” He rubs the back of his neck, walking behind you.
You sit down in the chair he always used to sit in, the one he always used to fight over with his sister.
He turns, walking into his old room.
The rain outside hasn’t eased up, still the same harsh drops now slapping against his window.
He places his bag down, plopping down onto his old bed. He realises his mother must have been cleaning, the room completely devoid of any dust. He had visited just months ago, but it still felt weird every time he came back.
He plops down on his old bed, looking at his desk. His old PC setup is untouched, the cords now hanging loosely off the table.
He falls back against his sheets, closing his eyes out of exhaustion.
He didn’t expect his first time coming home in weeks to be so anticlimactic, although he supposed this was better than when he was a trainee.
“How’s it like being an idol now?”
He sits up immediately, seeing you stand in his doorway. He should’ve closed the door, he thinks.
“Pretty good.”
He realises that he can’t really catch a break anymore, especially with you still in his house.
His sister has probably texted their parents already, so why are you still talking to him?
You casually take a bite out of the acai bowl, something that Seonghyeon had kind of been eyeing the minute he saw you with it. “How is it? Being an idol I mean. I know you worked really hard too, so it has to feel amazing now.”
He nods at that. “Uh, it’s nice. I get to meet a lot of people that I didn’t think I’d get to.”
You hummed at that. “But it has to be hard at times, right?” You walk into the room, getting closer to him.
“I guess.” He shrugged, his cheeks feeling a little bit warm as his childhood crush walked closer to him.
“What’s the hardest part about it?” You eyed a few things in his room–the drawings and clothes at the end of his bed.
He thinks for a moment before coming up with a quick answer that wouldn’t get him in trouble.
“Probably the training.”
“Really? Not the fans who constantly pry and claw their way into your personal life?”
Your response almost shocks him for a moment, making him awkwardly rub the back of his neck.
“Not all of them are like that..” He tries to defend, but he knows there are clips of him online revealing way more than he would like to admit.
You nod at that. “So how do you date?”
That question makes him snap his head up immediately, making him look at you standing around so casually.
“W-what?”
“How do you date?” You echo. “Surely it has to be hard.”
You take a few more steps forward, but apparently you hadn’t paid enough attention as something makes you trip over, resulting in you suddenly falling forward.
If anyone asked, Seonghyeon would swear that he caught you.
Although that would be a lie, seeing how his attempt to make you fall safely leads you to lie right on top of him.
Pain shoots up his back for a quick second, making him groan.
He was about to ask if you were okay but the words die on his tongue the moment he looks at you. Your face was just inches from his, and smelling his old shampoo on you made him feel a little dizzy.
You had probably tripped over his bag strap, making him curse himself five minutes ago for recklessly dropping it to the ground.
You were chest to chest, and his arms had somehow found their place on the small of your backside.
You didn’t look embarrassed or shocked to be right on top of him, you just looked a little surprised, like the way people did when someone they didn’t know said hi to them.
Not when they had just fallen into a celebrity.
He feels a heat crawl fast, right up his neck and probably already on his cheeks. He couldn’t get a single word out, his breaths quickening and uneven as you looked around you, your eyes cast around the ground.
“Oh, good.”
What- he looks at what you were looking at, only to find that the half eaten açai bowl landed upright, right under his desk.
Instead of getting off of him like a normal person would, you instead sit up, still on him and grab the acai bowl.
Seonghyeon almost dies inside as his shirt on you starts falling to the side, a quick reveal of your shoulder making him almost explode in embarrassment. His hands are now on your waist from your movements, and for some reason you don’t seem to mind one bit.
Get a grip! You’re an idol for fucks sake.
He should be more professional than this but the 17 year olds body clearly doesn’t listen to him as heat keeps rushing up his neck.
“Are you okay?”
You ask almost a little too worried, now leaning in much closer than you were just seconds ago.
He opens his mouth to respond, only to shut it once you press the back of your fingers to his head.
Seonghyeon is suddenly faced with the realisation that a very pretty girl is sitting in his lap with his hands around her waist, and now checking if he has a fever.
“You’re kind of burning up… are you sure rain didn’t get on you or something?” Your hand drifts lower, your warm fingers touching his even warmer neck. “I didn’t think people could get sick this quick..”
That’s because I’m not sick!
He clears his throat before speaking. “I’m not sick.”
Just as he was about to stand up and finally get you off of him, a gasp came from his doorway.
“Seonghyeon! What are you doing with my friend?” His sister scolds, now rushing in and pulling you off of him.
He stands up quickly and tries to defend himself. “I wasn’t doing anything! She just fell–“
“Right on top of you like some K-drama scene? That’s so gross!” His sister fake gags before walking off with you.
Although before you left his line of vision, you leaned back into his room, now giving him a cheeky smile.
“I’ll wait for your answer, Eom Seonghyeon.” You say, giving a quick wave of goodbye before walking off.
He sighs, running his hands through his hair.
He thinks that you must’ve tripped over his bag strap, only for him to realise that his bag was nowhere near where you had fallen.
Did she..trip on purpose?
Back in his sister's room, you sit on her bed, wondering if he had figured it out yet. His sister played some random game in front of you as you thought of the situation that transpired just moments ago.
You didn’t expect to fully trip right on top of him, but you didn’t mind it.
Seeing how nervous he looked reminded you of the days before he became an idol, making you remember all the tricks and pranks you used to play on him.
“He’s still so cute..”
“Did you say something?” His sister asks, still not looking up from her phone.
omg I loved your 6th member fic so much I was so devastated when I saw u deleted your account 😖😖 can’t wait for you to re upload it and to re read it!! 😁
thank you so much for loving it! it might take a while though for me to reupload some stuff so im sorry in advance 🥹
SYNOPSIS After a horrible headache leads you to skip school, it makes you fall straight into the arms of the one person you never expected.
INFORMATION Headaches, mentions of gang activity.
SERIES MASTERLIST.
19. Lee Wonhee, Baekje Middle School.
“At least you improved. You got higher than the girls at Silla.” You said, sitting down next to Wonhee as she brimmed with excitement.
She did a small fist pump, a wide grin on her face.
“Finally! Now they’ll stop making fun of me so much.”
Just as she said that, a tall girl from Silla bumped into her desk, knocking down her pens and pencils.
“Oops.” The girl mocked, walking away as her and her friends obnoxiously laughed.
“What’s their problem…” Wonhee grumbled, picking up her fallen items.
You picked up a pen that had fallen just under your desk before standing up, feeling a little thirsty.
“Want me to get mango juice?”
She nods, now a smile on her face. You walk out after that, your shoes squeaking against the polished tiles.
The vending machine was on the floor below, just in front of the stairs.
You were about to walk down when you heard a small commotion underneath.
“…just ignore him Seonghyeon! Just because he’s back doesn’t mean anything!”
“Just don’t talk to him. If the worst comes to worst, just run.”
You hear someone sigh. “It’s fine. I don’t want to involve you guys so I’ll deal with it myself.” It’s Seonghyeon’s voice, and instead of the all familiar disdain he usually has, it’s more of a soft and personal tone that he probably only used when he was around his friends.
You feel like you shouldn’t be there to hear that, seeing as how he clearly still didn’t like you.
You waited for a few more minutes until they left, their footsteps thudding in unison.
You pressed the button, waiting as the juice finally dropped into the box.
“There you are! Why’d you take so long?”
Trying to make it seem like nothing happened, you shrugged. “I went to the bathroom.”
You weren’t sure why you lied.
You didn’t like him very much either, but it seemed too personal.
If you were in his position, you wouldn’t want any more people to know about your own problems.
But, who was the ‘he’ they were talking about? Had Seonghyeon gotten into a fight with someone?
You shook your head. It wasn’t your business to think about.
After cram school was over, you immediately walked to the cafe close by.
The cafe didn’t have a site, so you had printed out a cover letter and a resume, hoping that they would accept you.
They still had the ‘hiring’ sign up, making you feel better as you pushed through the glass doors.
You walked in, going straight to the barista cleaning glasses behind the counter.
She was nice for the most part, happily accepting your papers. She did a small interview before looking at your resume, smiling sweetly at you as your meeting ended.
You were feeling a bit uneasy after it, feeling like maybe they wouldn’t accept you.
But after your mother suddenly surprised you with a whole bag of crispy green apples you forgot all about your anxiety and downed half of the stock.
Your mother yelled at you, but it was okay.
At least you weren’t met with the disappointment of having to see them be chopped up into a pie.
You shivered at the memory.
You woke up the next morning with a strange tiredness and a raging headache.
Apparently you were so tired that you had completely forgotten about Seonghyeon being next door, almost bumping right into him as you walked down the path.
As soon as you see his face, the memory from yesterday suddenly starts replaying in your head.
He gave you a dirty side-eye before walking off, his long legs carrying him to his horrid school.
You wanted to flip him off behind his back, but decided against it when the throbbing pain at the side of your head intensified.
You dragged yourself to the school, trying to feed off of Wonhee’s cheerful energy as she talked with you the entire time.
You felt like you were just drifting through, not even bothering to move and just let people bump into you.
You walked straight to your classroom, feeling worse than ever.
“You look dead.” Wonhee said, feeding on whatever new snack was stocked from the convenience store.
“I feel dead.”
You weren’t too keen on doing anything today, and a part of you wished you could just skip. Then you weighed your options and remembered that the comic store in the city was getting a whole new shipment, which would make a great place to hide out until school was over.
What if I just walked out right now…
You snuck out of school during lunchtime.
To Wonhee’s disappointment, she couldn’t skip with you, saying that she had to stay behind because your math teacher needed her to retake a test after school. So you just left without her.
Was it bad of you to do?
Yes, but if your head decided to hit you with another migraine, you were sure you would probably pass out.
One thing great about the school delinquents was that they were great at skipping school.
And especially for covering up for the others.
“Why are you skipping?”
Jeong Woo-jin was a nice guy who just happened to fall in with the wrong crowd. Even though he was kind to others, he was still part of a gang and would fight others on the streets.
In your first year, you had met him in detention after sleeping during an exam, a result of you staying up late to read comics.
He asked for your help for his homework, but ended up making you do all the work.
Since then, you’ve had a strange relationship between favours and actual friends.
“Because I have a raging headache.” You deadpanned.
He shakes his head. “You already said that. I meant, why are you skipping. It’s not everyday you see the top student of her grade just leaving school.” He pops a crisp chip into his mouth, chewing on it loudly as he seems to wait for your answer.
“Just cover for me? Please? If you don’t, I’ll snitch to the hallway monitors about you and your friends' uniform.”
He seems surprised at that last part before nodding, turning his head to face his friends.
He yells out a few words that you tuned out, the throbbing in your head suddenly getting worse.
“You know how to get to the side alley, right?”
You nodded, still grimacing in pain.
He stands up, looking concerned. “You alright? Want some water before you go?”
You shake your head. “It’s fine.”
“Alrightt.” He drawled behind your back as you walked off, some of his friends even saying bye as you went.
You waved them off, walking straight to the side alley.
The ‘side alley’ was the infamous alley that sat right between Baekje Middle School and Hwimun Academy.
Long story short, both schools used the alley to jump right out of school, but also used it to have one-on-one fights almost all the time.
You had used it once–on athletics day, when your period cramps had been absolutely horrible so Wonhee helped you over the wall, even sitting next to you the whole time as you complained.
Although it had got cut short the minute the security guard caught you and about seven other people.
You had all been forced out and got handed an after school detention.
The wall stands in front of you now, way too tall and way too dirty.
It’s been used for so many years by students who’ve jumped over it, some footholds even starting to erode into place. You could probably even tell a story from the amount of names that had gotten carved into the bricks.
You hopped up, feeling the way your bag slightly shifted sides.
You tense your arms as you force yourself up, trying to adjust your weight to make sure your feet wouldn’t slip. You reach another hand up, cringing as you feel dirt crushed against your fingers.
After a few more movements, you finally reach the top, swinging your leg over and now fully on the other side.
You feel your heart pounding against your chest, the adrenaline coursing through you making you sweat.
Just a few more steps…
“Why are you here?”
Those sudden words make you flinch, an unfortunate reaction that makes your foot slip.
You feel yourself falling for a full second–a second that makes you see nothing but straight blue skies.
It’s pretty.
Just as you thought you were going to get a concussion, your body hits something much softer than the floor.
You don’t realise what you’ve fallen on until you feel arms suddenly wrapped around your waist. You hear a groan pressed right against the back of your neck, someone’s face now buried in your ponytail.
You stand up immediately, a slight flush on your cheeks.
“Sorry..” you mumbled.
You look up behind your loose hairs, coming face to face with Eom Seonghyeon.
Seriously?
He obviously seems more annoyed and angrier than ever, his hair now messed up. He dusts himself off, a few scuff marks of dirt now visible on the bottom of his trousers.
He narrows his eyes over at you. “Watch where you’re going.”
“Why are you blaming me for falling?” You scoffed. “Your voice surprised me, that’s why I fell.”
He rolled his eyes at your excuse, already walking off.
You waited for a second before following him, not wanting to be too close in case he got pissed off.
Your footsteps follow each other in a patterned beat, the thuds against the dull pavement filling the silence between you two. You think about it for a moment–he had enough time to just move and let you fall, instead he caught you.
Eom Seonghyeon caught me.
Granted, he probably just didn’t want to see someone’s head smash against the pavement, but he obviously recognised you and still caught you.
Usually, that’s the type of thing comics would call ‘character development’.
You find yourself looking at the back of his head, his backpack hanging low over his shoulders.
“Hey! What are you kids doing over here?” A gruff voice cuts through the silence, immediately making you freeze.
You didn’t know how to react–this was your first time skipping, so your heart had already been racing faster than it had even been. What if your parents caught wind of this? How bad would the punishment be?
You can’t seem to move your body at all until a warm hand wraps around your wrist, pulling you in the opposite direction.
“Run!” Seonghyeon says, still pulling you with him.
You don’t have time to think as the security guard seems to be right behind you, his steps seeming to shake the floor.
You both run to the street, avoiding pedestrians as you try to escape.
“Hey! Come back here!” The voice calls out. You can hear a few passersby talking about you three, but you didn’t care.
You just needed to make sure you escaped.
Soenghyeon drags you behind a wall, wedged between stairs and a vent.
You don’t realise how fast you were really running when the ache starts to settle in your legs, making you drop down to the floor.
Suddenly, a throbbing pain hits the side of your head once again.
This time it’s worse, and it feels like a constant barrage of tennis balls going 70 kilometres an hour hitting you right on the brain.
You can’t think of anything, trying to keep your heavy breathing and whines quiet so that the guard didn’t catch you.
You cover your mouth, an action that makes it harder to breathe, but you’d rather that than have been caught because you inhaled too hard.
“Where did they go..”
The voice seems too close, and you hadn’t noticed how close his footsteps were until now. Your eyes widen immediately, making you press your hand harder against your lips.
You don’t think of anyone else right now, which is why you don’t notice how close Seonghyeon was next to you.
His arm keeps brushing up next to yours and he doesn’t seem to notice at all.
If this were at the cram school, he would’ve recoiled back and sent you one of the dirtiest side-eyes ever.
You hear the guard click his tongue before his footsteps finally fade into the background.
You want to sigh in relief, but the pounding pain in your head gets worse.
Instead of tennis balls, it felt like footballs getting punted at you at 80 kilometres an hour.
You clutch your head in your arms, squeezing your eyes shut and just wishing for your headache to stop.
“Hey, he’s gone now.” Seonghyeon’s voice cuts through your thoughts.
And suddenly you’re very aware how close he once was.
He stands up next to you, dusting himself off once again.
“Don’t talk about this to anyone–“
His sentence is cut short when you tug on his shirt.
“Wait. Please.” You meekly say, something you were sure you wouldn’t have ever said just five minutes ago.
Your head is still in your arms, so you don’t know what his facial expression is.
Does he look disgusted? Does he look angry? Or does he look like he actually cares?
What would he even look like if he cared?
After a few silent minutes, the headache finally settles to a small extent, still there but not enough to where you would complain.
You stand up, realising your hand is still clutched to his shirt.
You look up at him, finding his face completely indifferent.
He turns, but makes no effort to make you let go of him.
You follow him to a convenience store, the hot sun making your eyes sting just a little bit.
“Wait here.” He suddenly says, walking in without looking back.
You don’t know why you listened.
You waited there for about one minute until he walked back out with Tylenol and water, clearly meant for you.
He offers them out to you, still looking indifferent despite his actions. You take them, mumbling out a small ‘thanks’ before popping a tablet in.
You’re both silent the whole time.
You don’t make any snide remarks, and he doesn't seem to offer a single care in the world that he’s hanging out with you when just two days ago he probably would’ve left you there and let you get caught.
Apparently both of you had the same plan after getting out of school.
You both walked to the train station side by side, not a single word spoken between you two. It didn’t feel awkward, but it definitely didn’t feel amazing either.
The train came after seven minutes, the door stopping right in front of you in a dramatic creaky fashion.
You both walked in, still not looking at each other.
To your surprise, the train was packed–families and workers somehow filling up the whole cart.
Just as you were about to walk into another cart, Seonghyeon pulled you close to him. Your face was just inches away from his, and his hand found its way back onto your wrist. You tried to wrench your way free, but he clutched it tighter.
“What are you–“
“A bunch of adults are looking at us.”
It’s that remark that makes you realise the situation you’re in.
You can’t imagine how many people are judging you right now–two minors walking around freely in the city in their uniform when they should be at school.
You look around, suddenly spotting two men looking at both of you. One of them looks at you with a grin spreading on his face.
You grimace, stepping closer to Seonghyeon.
Seonghyeon doesn’t seem to mind your actions either, instead just deciding to pull you into another cart with him.
It’s just as crowded as the last one, but you were fine with it as long as those two guys weren’t looking at you anymore.
You look up at him.
His hair is a little bit messed up now, probably from all that running.
He doesn’t seem to care that you’re close to him now, which felt odd.
You were sure that he completely hated your guts.
For the first time in his life, Eom Seonghyeon is confused.
He doesn’t know why he’s standing so close to you right now, and he doesn’t know why he even bought you water and medicine.
Sure, he would usually do it for anyone he was close with, but with you?
He doesn’t hate you, he knows that.
But it was a confusing relationship.
First, he saw you falling and his body had immediately reacted, running under you to catch you. Then he saw that security guard and was sure he was going to run away, alone. But when he turned and saw that you were completely frozen in place with wide eyes, he knew that he had no choice but to bring you along.
She's going to get us both caught!
So in a pure rush of adrenaline, he grabbed you and told you to run.
He was only expecting to spend just a few minutes with you, but when you gripped his shirt, instead of seeing a girl that used to irritate him to no end, he saw a vulnerable girl that was obviously in pain.
Now, he stands in front of you, looking anywhere in the cart that wasn’t at you.
Just as he was about to put all of his focus on a baby staring just two feet away from him, the boy behind him bumps into him, hard.
Seonghyeon slips before grabbing onto a pole. He sighs in relief until he looks up, realising that he was now way too close to your face. Apparently you were just as surprised as him, your eyes wide and mouth slightly parted.
He was going to jump back, but the boy that bumped into him suddenly pointed at you two and started laughing.
“Ewwww, they’re gonna kiss!”
“No we’re not!” You both yell in unison.
He stands up straight immediately, a slight flush crawling up his neck. A few adults chuckle at you two, which makes Seonghyeon wish for nothing than to bury himself into a hole.
Once the train stopped at his station, he ran out the doors, completely relieved that he wouldn’t have to be around you anymore. He was about to walk away until he heard your voice yelling.
“Seonghyeon!”
He immediately turns, finding you stuck in a crowd of people trying to get into the train. You couldn’t push your way out, and the panicked look on your face made him instantly jump into action.
“Help me!” Your shrill voice yells out.
He spots your hand immediately.
He grabs it, pulling you out of the crowd. But he had apparently pulled you out too hard, seeing as how you had somehow stumbled right on top of him.
Second time today…
He groans once again, looking at how you seemed much more disheveled.
“Thanks.” You breathed out.
“Get off.” He grunts.
You both walk out into the city, still staying side by side. Tourists and locals bustle all around the place, the loud chattering something that Seonghyeon had gotten used to.
You stop in front of a comic store and then turn to him.
“Thanks for everything!” You bow, and then look up, a wide smile on your face.
Although it’s immediately cut short. “Just tell anyone about this, idiot.”
He walks off, his figure disappearing into the crowd.
You want to run after him and hit him, but seeing how many times he had helped you in just an hour restrains you from doing so.
The day ends with you thinking that Eom Seonghyeon might not be a bad person after all.
SYNOPSIS after that unfortunate first meeting with Seonghyeon, you now face a new problem with him: academics. You beat him out for first place, but that win over him brings even more bad blood between the two of you. Whatever! At least there’s a new neighbour moving in. Maybe you can become friends with them.
INFORMATION Seonghyeon faces academic pressure, (academic rivals to lovers?), reader really loves apples.
SERIES MASTERLIST.
It had been two weeks since you had officially met Eom Seonghyeon at that atrocious cram school.
Stares and murmurs followed you everywhere you went, all from private school kids who sneered at you. You weren’t someone who was particularly intimidated by them, but having to deal with whispers and conversations, all about how your school was ‘second-rate’ was bothersome.
Eom Seonghyeon wasn’t particularly loud about his hatred towards you.
Well, it was more like he treated you like some ugly pet.
He would mostly ignore you, but every time he had to face you, he would click his tongue and give you a dirty look.
With every interaction you had with him, this air of derogatory confidence seemed to spew out of him with every glance he spared you.
It was like he truly believed that he was better than you.
But for some reason, instead of talking behind your back or even just blatantly bullying you, he would come up to you and actually say that drivel to your face.
You weren’t sure if you appreciated it or absolutely abhorred it.
The only thing you were sure of was the fact that he was a rich spoiled kid who very clearly didn’t like you.
He’s also very dedicated to his studies–a quality that had surprised you a little too much. When he wasn’t sending you a harsh glare or laughing at you, he was always sitting at his desk and focusing on whatever task the instructor gave out.
Because the cram school was so prestigious, it made sense for the school to hand out rankings.
Much to Wonhee’s dismay.
37. Lee Wonhee, Baekje Middle School.
She stared at it in shock before almost passing out, her body rocking back and forth until she fell right into you. You caught her, watching as her face didn’t even go into one of sadness or anger, just pure shock.
You look up and scan quickly for Seonghyeon’s name, finding it almost right at the top.
Almost.
2. Eom Seonghyeon, Hwimun Academy.
Your name resides next to the number one, just above his. You grin, now knowing that all his efforts were put to shame because an ‘idiot’ beat him.
Was it bad to think you were better than him? Yes, but it definitely wasn’t as bad as his attitude.
The girls around you look at Wonhee, their stares being either one of fake pity or pure amusement at her frustration. A few even laugh, pointing right at her ranking.
“Bro my parents are actually going to beat my ass.” She said after you both safely returned to the back seats.
“If I’m last in cram school, what the hell am I going to do at our actual school?” She says, her voice muffled as she pressed her face against the desk.
She turns to the side, looking at you as you had cracked open a book amidst her complaining.
“You’re lucky you don’t have to study. Why did your parents even send you here? You get first place in like, every subject.” She whined.
You pat her shoulder to comfort her.
“But on the bright side, you got 78 out of 100! In the actual mock exam you got like 53.” You said. “The people here are just smart freaks.”
She whines, running her hands through her hair. “That’s true… you got first place didn’t you?”
You nod, now noting how a few other kids at the front started eyeing you (more like your uniform) as they looked up at the scoreboard.
You have the slight urge to stick your tongue out and make fun of them for losing against a ‘second rate’ student, but decide against it as you spot him moving to the front.
People move out of their way just to make space for him, like he’s a celebrity or something, and even shush others as soon as he and his friends reach the board.
You want to scoff at how obedient they all seem, like sheep to a farmer.
He stands at the front of his group, staying quiet while his friends either yelled in disappointment or disbelief.
“Baekje middle school? The school right next to ours?” A tall boy with blonde hair exclaims, making Wonhee immediately perk up.
A few of his other friends say a few things before walking back.
“How the hell is first place and last place from the same school?”
Hearing that, Wonhee sinks back in her seat in shame, making herself appear smaller.
Before his friends sat down, you felt an intense gaze from across the room, the hairs on the back of your neck suddenly standing up. You looked up in that direction immediately, only to find Seonghyeon staring right at you.
He doesn’t make a single facial expression, just his eyes glaring holes right into you.
You feel his eyes on you for the rest of the lesson. You don't feel particularly nervous under his gaze, but it does feel annoying when you can’t even look to the right without immediately spotting his dark brown eyes already on you.
At the end of the class, Wonhee leaves first as her parents needed more help at her family’s restaurant, leaving you to walk home all alone.
“I’m home!” You say, calling out to no one in particular.
You assumed that your mother was probably working late, seeing as how her familiar booming voice wasn’t heard anywhere.
But five minutes later, as soon as you had gotten dressed into some comfortable clothes, you hear the front door open.
Your name gets called out loud, making you almost want to cover your ears as you open your door.
You look down the stairs, leaning over the railing as you spot your mother standing just at the bottom.
“We have some new neighbours.”
“So?”
“So, I want you to help me bake a pie for them!” She urges, using her hand gestures to hurry you up.
You shoved your hands into your hoodie pockets and walked down the stairs, not really hurrying in the way she wanted you to.
She had already disappeared into the kitchen and was probably rummaging through the whole pantry for ingredients.
You can’t remember the last time you had baked something for the neighbours–maybe about seven years ago?
They were a married couple that always used to give you treats every time you came over, and sometimes their oldest daughter would come around to hang out with you. Although she had moved out two years ago, you still look back on those fond memories spent doing nothing but watching TV while she yapped about her new boyfriends and painted her nails.
Their house was very grand too, having a massive pool and a jacuzzi on their second floor.
The couple ended up moving back to their hometown, so you were wondering who could’ve moved in now.
You spotted their moving vans and fancy gear about a week ago, but your family hadn’t been able to introduce themselves yet.
To your disappointment, your mother had decided to bake a fresh apple pie, something that she hadn’t baked in months even when you pleaded for her to.
You had recognised the ingredients for it immediately, making you stand there in disbelief as she chopped up the delicious apples.
You could basically feel the apples crying out as she cut into them, their screams of terror echoing throughout the kitchen.
“They get to have the apple pie because at least I know they’ll cherish it, unlike you, who chows down on anything apple related without savouring it.” She had said, shortly after pulling the pie out of the oven.
It smelled really good, making you almost drool the minute she set it down on the table.
“Just one slice?”
“They’re going to notice a slice missing.”
“Not if we cut the whole thing into slices, and then arranged it into a smaller circle so it wouldn't look like there was a missing slice in the first place.”
“…how did you come up with that?”
You shrug. “So…can we do that?”
That earned you a smack to the shoulder immediately.
After carefully putting the pie onto a fancy porcelain dish, your mother promptly tried to send you out.
“Why do I have to be the one to do it? Wouldn’t it be better if it came from you?”
She shook her head, cleaning up the counter while you sat at the dinner table.
“Think of it as practice for you–I know you’re not very good at interacting with people, but it’s better to make friends with the neighbours now rather than hate them all later. Plus, I heard from Nari across from us that they have a very handsome son.”
You scrunch your nose in disgust, already knowing where the conversation was going. Your parents already knew about your blatant aversion of dating, something you had been doing the minute you hit puberty.
It wasn’t that you hated guys, it was just that you’d rather not go through the efforts of trying to date someone. You were fine with daydreaming of apples and comic characters.
At least they wouldn’t try to cheat on you.
You shivered, suddenly remembering the horror stories that your neighbour once told you.
“I think he’s single too.” She says, turning around to see your reaction.
You had just pressed your lips into a thin line before snatching the pie off the table and walking to the front door.
“Good luck!”
You waved her off, closing the door gently behind you.
The night air is as cold as you expected, making you grateful for the baggy sweats you had thrown on.
You shield the pie against the breeze, feeling the warmth of it through the ceramic.
As you walk up to their front door, shivers suddenly send up your spine.
For some reason, the house that you once almost spent a whole summer in suddenly felt much colder. You didn’t want to assume anything, but the warmth that the previous family once had was completely gone, despite them only moving out two weeks ago.
Instead of the overgrown vines and fancy bushes, the house was devoid of any plants, looking more like those modern houses that everyone hated.
It was like they had completely removed the whimsy of the old house, the original warm brown replaced by a cold white paint. The stained glass on the door was also gone, completely replaced by a clear minimal one.
You clear your throat before ringing the doorbell, feeling nervous as the seconds ticked by.
You could feel the dish getting colder and colder by the second, the impatience in you cracking.
You counted for a full minute, then two, then three.
As soon as you reached minute six, you rang the doorbell twice, hoping that someone would finally open the door up so that your mother’s hard work wasn’t for nothing.
Soon enough, you heard light footsteps thump on the other side.
The door handle then starts to twist and turn, making a few loud sounds before it finally opens.
You freeze in your spot immediately, making eye contact with the one person you thought it would never be.
Eom Seonghyeon stands in the doorway, wide-eyed and seemingly also having the same thoughts as you.
You both don’t say anything for a while, just staring as the previous coldness seemed to disappear.
Then, you shove the dish into his hands and pull the door closed, ripping the handle from the other side out of his hands slamming it right in his face.
You run out of the front garden, hurrying back home embarrassed and annoyed.
He was your neighbour.
He lived right next to you, meaning that you’d have to see him every morning and after noon.
He can keep the dish for all I care!
As soon as you open the front door, your mother yells out from the living room.
“How was it?”
“Fine!” You say, a little too brash.
You run up the stairs and run into your room, closing the door behind you lightly so that your other wouldn’t suspect anything.
You jump into your bed and scream into your pillow.
Wasn’t it enough that you had to see him at cram school?
When you wake up, a sudden anxiousness overcomes you as you look out the window.
There was a room in their house that faced yours, and it was close enough that you could probably jump in from. You had done it a couple of times, as it was the girl’s room.
Sometimes when she’d sneak out the house, she’d come through your window and talk to you for a few minutes before going off to a party or her boyfriend’s house.
You sigh, wondering how she was doing at University now.
The family living there had replaced the old pink with white and grey ones, making you almost annoyed.
Why ruin an already perfect house?
You assumed that no one was probably living in that room, so as you opened the window to let some fresh air in, imagine your surprise when that window opened as well, revealing a half-asleep Seonghyeon.
His hair was messed up, a few pieces sticking up as the back. He looked disheveled and unkempt, much different than he usually did at cram school. He rubbed his eyes as a small breeze blew past.
The minute you made eye contact, you both shut your windows in unison, the sound echoing slightly in the small space between you.
It was like every time you thought you were done with him, he suddenly popped back in like some annoying pimple.
After getting dressed you waited near the living room window, waiting for him to walk out.
You didn’t like having to avoid people, but it was clear that you would both rather not have to interact with each other again.
After a few minutes, you spotted his front door opening.
You waited for a few seconds, your breathing uneven and heart beating faster for no reason. Finally, you spotted him walking out.
He looks as polished and clean as he always does, his hair slightly parted to reveal his forehead.
You wait for another few minutes until he is completely gone before finally walking out.
The amount of interactions you already had with him in the past 24 hours was more than enough to have you sick of each other.
Slamming the door in his face was the first sign of that.
You wait for Wonhee at a convenience store, snacking on some breadsticks. She arrives shortly after, looking very pleased and excited.
“My dad hired another guy to work, so we’ll get to hang out more!”
During your walk to school together, you told her about how you slammed Seonghyeon’s own door in his face, how his room was basically right next to yours, and how you absolutely despised the situation.
“It’s…not that bad.”
You look at her with a deadpanned expression.
“Okay, maybe it is. But, just wait for a few more days and maybe it’ll get better.”
You walked into the school gates, spying the Hwimun guys close by. They all seemed to be minding their business, but every now and then you could see the way they looked down on all of the people from your school. They would laugh and point at any of the kids who looked poor–old sneakers, blazers or shirts two sizes too big.
“They’re so annoying…” you mumbled, Wonhee nodding beside you.
“I’m sure it’s like a thing with rich parents to raise their kids like they’re better than everyone else because they have money.”
Your morning classes were the same as always–Wonhee was either in your ear, feeding you the latest gossip or eating some random snack she got off of one of her other friends.
The trouble came during lunch–mostly everyone was in the cafeteria, eating the lunches they brought from home.
Then, a football smashed through the windows.
It was loud; its impact echoing through the whole place.
Everyone’s conversation had completely disappeared, now replaced by a worried silence.
You had looked up briefly, finding the ball rolling close to your feet.
It made its dramatic stop two feet away from you, the quiet tension between everyone thinner than skin.
Slapped right on top of the ball was a yellow sticky note.
‘Welfare freaks’.
The insult was pretty tame, but a majority of the kids here lived off of it.
It caused a ruckus immediately.
Kids were running from right to left, just to see what was written on the note. The ones that had seen it were mad, all already planning to storm the boys school.
The school couldn’t afford to replace the windows, meaning that it would have to come out of your principal’s own money. While no one appreciated having to come to school, the principal was one of the nicest people there.
Of course he was strict, but he had to be.
He was happily married to his husband, and rarely needed to scold the delinquents because they just all loved him.
But he wasn’t rich.
And everyone already knew how much of a pain it was to replace a window.
The teachers had rushed in immediately, forcing everyone to back away from the broken glass. Yells and shouts were now everywhere, a few people trying to run in and grab the ball.
You and Wonhee had finished lunch quickly, not wanting to get caught up in the chaos.
She was enraged at the fact that the private school kids still wanted nothing but to make fun of them.
“That fight already ruined our reputation–why the hell are they still bothering us?”
You shook your head, thinking of the situation.
It wasn’t enough for them.
It was like they enjoyed seeing you all squirm and scream.
To say you were just annoyed was an understatement.
After school and dealing with two whole hours of trying to ignore Eom Seonghyeon’s presence, you peacefully walk inside your house, fully prepared to jump into your bed and take a short nap.
Your parents weren’t home, again probably working late, leaving you in the house all alone.
You had finished your chores and had showered, now in a thin tank top and baggy sweats.
Just as you were about to walk up to your room, the doorbell suddenly rings.
You had audibly groaned, but walked back down and opened the door without looking at who it was.
It’s not until you’re staring at the pie dish from last night, completely empty, that you realise who is holding it.
Seonghyeon holds it out, an empty expression on his face. He wears a sweater with the word ‘Rats’ on it and casual black pants.
For some reason, that fact stuns you for a moment.
“My mum says thanks.” He simply says, shoving the dish into your hands before turning away, leaving you still at the door.
He walks straight back to his front yard, not even sparing a single glance back at you.
You hold the dish out, noting that it smelled faintly of a lavender dish soap.
At least they were nice enough to clean it.
Then you think about everything that happened during lunch and immediately retract that statement.
They probably had a maid that cleaned it anyway.
You scowl and slam the door loudly behind you, remembering how annoyed that Eom Seonghyeon was always going to make you.
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