Gunil walks through the doors of the cafe with an awkward smile on his face, his eyes scanning the room with a slight squint before settling on your frame. You smiled and waved gently, beckoning him over to sit at the table you were at. As soon as he was near enough, his eyes fell to the coffee and cake that sat on the table in front of him, and he looked at you questioningly.
"Oh, I texted Lilith to find out your usual order," you say, causing his jaw to fall slack and his eyes to widen.
"No you didn't," he spoke, breathless.
"No, I didn't. I did text Jiseok though," you chuckle and usher him to take a seat, he hadn't thought to do so in his surprise.
"I was going to say, I don't even think she would know my order. I was always the one buying our coffees," he laughed. You paused for a moment before shaking your head in resignation. Sounds like Lilith.
"So..." you begin.
"So..." he adds, unhelpfully.
"I think we went over the basics already," you start, hoping to steer the conversation.
"Yeah, uh, how did you two meet?" Gunil asks awkwardly.
"How nearly every college student meets someone, she was in one of my classes and we would study together a lot, for an option module it was a really difficult class," You gave a rather bittersweet chuckle, Gunil smiled in understanding. "We got close pretty quickly and it just went from there." Gunil nodded.
"We met in the cafe I work at," he began. "I don't make much off the gigs so I work part-time at a cafe on campus, she would come in and she was pretty so one day I asked her out."
"Jiseok doesn't seem to be a huge fan of her's," you remark causing him to smile bitterly.
"Yeah, none of my friends liked her. She never took an interest in them of the band and she would make these snarky remarks about them that I ended up trying to keep them apart most times," he tells. "They were trying to protect me because I guess they could see what I couldn't. I tend to fall fast and they know that," he looks down at his cake, poking at it as he speaks. "They thought she was taking advantage of me, for money," he admits with a frown.
"What, are you secretly rich or something?" you let out a quiet laugh, trying to lighten the mood slightly. He lets out a breathy laugh at that.
"No, but maybe she thought so. She would always call me saying she had no money for dinner so of course I would send her some. I'm not gonna let my girlfriend starve," he explains and you shake your head in disbelief as you'd never heard about her struggle with money. "We would eat together a lot so I didn't mind that but sometimes she would ask me to pay for her groceries, like the whole fridge full," he was the one shaking his head now, maybe in disbelief that he let it go on for so long. "She would also get these sickeningly sweet iced lattes with every extra you could imagine. It would end up being double the price of mine," he laughs lightly, it's tense but you can see the ridiculousness of the situation finally sinking in.
"I know exactly the one, it was like five pumps of caramel, extra shot, half whatever milk! There was this one time I got an iced latte too, just a regular one, but they somehow looked the same. I took a sip out of hers by accident and nearly threw up it was like putting a sugar cube in your mouth," You pulled your face into an exaggerated grimace, reliving the memory, causing Gunil to let out a loud laugh.
"I can only imagine the look on your face," he laughs.
"And she was pissed I took a sip of her drink!"
"I think that woman needs therapy or something, like that really expensive stuff that rewires your brain," he shakes his head and you chuckle along.
"But it's crazy because she never told me she was having money issues," you speak after a beat of silence. "Actually, she told me that her brother paid for her apartment and sent her some allowance since her parents aren't in the picture. But she would always have expensive bags and shoes and stuff," you shrug. Gunil looks bewildered at your statement. "You didn't notice her bougie lifestyle?"
"No, I don't know how much things cost!" he defends and you roll your eyes at him jokingly. "I guess she's not the angel she wants everyone to think she is," he nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, yeah," you hesitate on whether you should continue your train of thought or not, but, Gunil notices, looking at you expectantly. "Well, did you ever hear about her old best friend?" you ask hesitantly.
"No? I don't think so, why?" he replies, interest piqued by your reluctance.
"Well, I don't know all the details but we were drunk one night and we got around to talking about some of the bad things we've done and she told me she once spread a rumour about her best friend sleeping with faculty, a TA or something. But the girl went crazy, apparently she was super religious and her family found out and she spiralled and nearly dropped out," You explain, voice lowered in case there were any eavesdroppers nearby. Gunil's jaw was safely planted on the floor as he listened.
"Was it true?" he asked in an equally low voice.
"No idea," you shake your head. "But, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, I get being concerned that maybe she's being taken advantage of but a rumour is only ever going to hurt your friend," you sigh.
"I just.. I can't believe it. Well, I kinda can after talking everything through but wow," Gunil puffs.
"Yeah it kinda makes doing her homework and paying for her coffees seem like a small thing. I tried to ask more about it after but she wouldn't say a word," you tell.
"You did her homework too?" he laughs ironically.
"Occasionally, yeah," you laugh. "It just makes me wish that people like her could get what's coming to them."
"Some karma," Gunil nods.
"Exactly! Why does she just get to go around taking people for granted, they end up getting hurt but she can just find another friend or another boyfriend," you proclaim.
"Some good, cold revenge, it would be nice," he agrees and you nod along as you lift your coffee cup to your lips, dismissing the thought. Because that would be crazy. Right?
-> in which two broken-hearted, revenge-seeking college students team up against their ex and end up getting a bit more than they bargained for.
word count: 2.7k
warnings: cursing, alcohol, a capella
previous < masterlist > next
The shop tends to be slow on weekdays, with ample time to knock out the schoolwork you've been procrastinating all weekend. So, unfortunately, you were doing just that. Sat on a dingy black metal stool that creaks every time you so much as breathe, writing down notes on the twenty-page reading your professor had assigned you. The ding of the shop's front door breaks you from your focus, and your mouth starts to move before your eyes even leave the page. "Welcome to Chord Corner. Don't be afraid to ask if you need help finding anything!" A man around your age smiles as he walks up to the counter.
"Actually, I think I just might," you smile politely back at the man and stand to give him your full attention. "I was actually looking for some new drumsticks, wondering if you had any."
"Oh, yeah. Follow me," you say, walking from behind the counter, with him following close behind to the section dedicated to percussion instruments. Then, you show him the drumstick display. "These are all the variants we have in store."
"Nice. I wasn't expecting you to have so much in here," he speaks, looking around at the various instruments compacted into the small space.
"Yeah, it definitely doesn't look like much from the outside, but we get a lot of music students from the university, so we need the range," you explain. "So, the drums? You been playing long?"
He shrugs. "Not too long, only about eight years or something."
"Only?" you laugh, he chuckles in response.
"Well, when I say that, people always think I'm some master at drumming, and I am definitely not that," he muses, and you nod your head in understanding. "These look good, I think I'll take them," he points to a pair of drumsticks.
"Perfect! I'll ring you up over here," you point to the counter and you both walk back, chatting a bit more.
"Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it," the man smiles as he pushes the door open again, the bell ringing as he does.
"No problem. See you around," you wave as the door swings closed behind him. You ignore the squeaking stool's grating sound as you return to your work.
—
"Do you know what you're wearing?" Lily asks as she searches through her wardrobe, pulling dress after dress off their hanger only to throw them to the floor.
"Probably a pair of cargo bottoms and that new corset I got," you shrug, returning to doing your hair.
"Okay," she sighs. "As long as you wear flashy jewellery, this is your birthday weekend, and you need to dress up." You were starting to believe she cared more about your birthday weekend than you did.
"Okay, okay," you laugh. "Anything to make you happy," you smile forcefully, and she bit back a chuckle to stick her tongue out at you.
"Oh, and when is the she-wolf getting here?" That one earned a glare from you.
"Lilith called me earlier, actually. She said she couldn't make it tonight. She sounded pretty sick, so we just said we'd celebrate on my actual birthday instead," you explain.
"Aw no," Lily pouted, but it actually seemed half sincere. "Well, girlfriend or not, we're gonna still enjoy the night, okay?" You nodded in response.
"Oh, this one is perfect!" Lily exclaims as she runs to the mirror to hold the black dress to her frame.
"Hey! That's mine! Why was it in your room?" You exclaim, but Lily doesn't respond; she simply takes a few steps back into the hall and towards the bathroom, shaking her head as she shouts, 'Sorry, what'd you say? I can't hear you'.
"Are you two nearly ready?" Kevin booms from the hallway, walking up to the doorway of Lily's room and deflates upon seeing you only half ready.
"Don't worry about me. Lily is worse," you shrug as you douse your hair in hairspray. Kevin sits down on the edge of Lily's bed, resorting to scrolling Instagram. "You haven't even told me what we're doing tonight," you say as you turn around to Kevin.
"The bar beside campus is doing a one-for-one on cocktails and a guy I know, him and his band are playing there tonight."
"Oh, cool. Sounds like fun, and I could never turn down a free margarita," you laugh.
"They're not actually free, you know. They're so overpriced that you basically pay for two anyway," Lily remarks as she walks back into the room. You whistle at the girl as she twirls.
"Yeah, yeah, you look great. Now hurry, I need a drink," Kevin chuckles as he gets up from the bed and grabs the girl's arms, leading her to her vanity.
—
The three of you walk into the bar, Lily running over to the bartender immediately. You looked at Kevin who rolled his eyes, smile creeping up his face as he started to move his shoulders to the music, shimmying himself over to a booth. The place seemed surprisingly nice for a college bar. The lights were dimmed, a soft warm glow illuminating the large room. There were some stools at the bar, booths on one side and tall tables on the other. There were a few steps off to the side that you assumed led to the stage. The walls on one side were lined with this antique-looking mirror that Lilith would definitely be taking an aesthetic picture in if she were here right now.
Your eyes danced down to your phone that had lit up in your hand. Just an offer for ten per cent off the local pizzeria, usually an exhilarating deal, but slightly dampened by the fact that there was no word from your girlfriend. Well, what did you want? For her to send a text saying: hey babe, still dying sick but have a blast tonight!!!? You look up to see Kevin giving you a knowing look and he was about to say something when Lily came back unceremoniously balancing four margaritas in her hands while spilling them, surely leaving a trail of sticky tequila and lime goodness on the wooden floor behind her.
"You could have just called one of us over!" Kevin laughed. Lily shook her head.
"That's no fun," she replied as she gave out the drinks. "One for Kev, one for me, and two for the birthday bitch!" she sang. You laughed as you took the two glasses from her. Sticky stems in hand, you posed for some pictures of you sipping out of both your birthday cocktails at the same time.
"Cheers!" Kevin announced, "Happy birthday, I think this year is going to be a transformative one!" You all cheered at that and took a sip out of your drinks. You chatted like that for a while, you were still nursing your two drinks while Lily was probably on her third by now.
"Oh my god!" Lily squealed, "This is my song! Wait- hold my drink I'm gonna do the work," she rushed as she pushed her drink into your hands, throwing her bag in Kevin's lap as she backed up with a quick moonwalk and dropped down to the floor, successfully doing the worm, much to your and Kevin's surprise. You both cheer as tears come to your eyes because you can't stop laughing at the girl in front of you who is now dancing happily with a stranger who is expertly matching her energy.
Kevin looks down at his phone before turning to you, "We should probably head to the stage, my friend should start any minute now," he explained as he stood, allowing you to gather your jacket and drink as he grabbed Lily from what seemed to be a quickly forming dance circle. Kevin led the way up the few steps to an area which was much more secluded, although there were probably about fifty people in the crowd waiting for the band to come on stage in front of you.
It wasn't long before a few college-age men came on stage and started setting up, earning a couple of cheers from a group of girls in the crowd. One of the men you recognised.
"Oh my god! I know him," you tap Kevin's shoulder.
"What? Who?" he replies.
"That one, the muscular one, the drummer," you explain.
"Ah, Gunil? I don't know him too well but he's definitely a talented drummer," he tells, now you were even more excited to see this band, after all, you sold him the very drumsticks he was using now. That means that you basically kinda definitely made this performance better and you would definitely use this as your claim to fame if ever they got famous.
Xdinary Heroes were amazing, shockingly so. Music is something you love and you especially love finding new small artists to support but with the campus a capella group Tone Direction and all the sound cloud rappers, your hopes were rightfully on the ground. Xdinary Heroes had so much energy, no wonder they had managed to draw a large enough crowd to a small bar just off campus. The lead singer and bassist was running along the stage interacting with his bandmates and the people watching. Throwing his pick out into the crowd at the end of the show. It was like a wild animal feeding the way those people went feral trying to catch the pick. The bassist grimaced and slightly backed away. The men said their thanks and bid the crowd farewell and the energy was high. What a great way to spend your birthday, with your two best friends, listening to amazing live music.
Kevin dragged you and Lily towards the side of the stage after people had started to clear out, saying how he would introduce you to his friend and you could meet the band. You were chatting with your two friends when they started to come from behind the stage.
"Jiseok! Hey man!" he greeted one of the band members, his blue and pink hair still shining brightly in the dimly lit room. A wide smile overtook his face as his eyes met with Kevin's and they gave each other a bro hug. "I wanted to finally introduce you to y/n and Lily," he gestures to you both.
"Hey!" he smiles warmly, "Lovely to meet you both, did you enjoy the set?"
Without missing a beat Lily speaks, voice sickly sweet, "You guys are so talented, it was really amazing," she blushed, Jiseok beamed in response. You rolled your eyes playfully at your friend, of course she would already have a crush on one of the band members but you couldn't really blame her. They were all objectively hot.
"Here, let me introduce you to the rest," Jiseok smiles as he turns his head to get the attention of his bandmates. "Gunil! Get over here!" Gunil's head whipped curiously to his friend and he walked further forward from where he was at the back of the group. "He's our leader and honorary father figure." As Gunil weaved through his other bandmates to get to your group you noticed there was a woman attached to his side. You couldn't see her well as she was slightly shorter than the others but something about her seemed familiar. But once you caught a glimpse of her your heart dropped, as did the smile on your face.
—
It's quiet, for that split second, you didn't want to believe it but by now your friends had caught on and they were looking at you to do something, say something?
"Lilith?" you half laughed, not because it was funny, your ears were growing red and your heart was beating out of your chest because no matter how much your mind tried to justify the picture before you, the way her arm wrapped around him, perfectly manicured nails displayed on his chest, as if she was staking her claim. Keep away from my man you freaky groupie bitches.
"Y/n?" she chuckled awkwardly, unravelling herself from Gunil. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you two know eachother?" Gunil intersects, not completely aware of the tension between the two girls. He was ignored.
"What am I doing here? You told me you were home sick," you questioned. Kevin crossed his arms from beside you and started the girl down with a raised brow in support.
"Ah something came up," she pouted.
"Something? Does that something involve cozying up to the drummer of a fucking band?" you spat. Lilith is clearly taken aback at that one, Gunil clasping his hand in hers as to remind her that he's there, the opposite of comfort in reality.
"Hey I don't know what's going on but you need to calm down, you can't speak to my girlfriend that way," he tried his best to be civil but really, who did you think you were? Talking to her like that in front of him.
You laugh coldly. "Your girlfriend is my girlfriend," you say. Gasps sounded from around the room. "Ex girlfriend, sorry."
"What?" Gunil spoke quietly, looking from you to his girlfriend and back before asking again, louder this time, more stern. Lilith wouldn't look at him. Not even when his hand dropped hers. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Lily rolled her eyes. She looked up from beneath her lashes and upon seeing the complete absence of sympathy on anyone's faces, she let the dam burst. Muttering a dramatic 'I'm sorry' before speed walking out of the bar. Gunil shouted after her, seemingly finally realising what was going on and running after her, his neck bright red.
You stared at the place she had stood. Lily tried to soothe you but it just made your chest hurt more. "Thank you guys, I think I just need a bit of space," you spoke, Lily tried to argue but you cut her off. "Grab a pizza on the way back and save a slice for me." Kevin nodded and quietly led a very concerned Lily out of the bar, assuring her that you'll be fine and you'll come to them when you're ready. He was right. You just needed some time to process things.
You make your way over to the bar and take a seat at one of the stools. "Can I get anything for you?" the bartender asks, probably looking at you with sympathetic eyes after witnessing the night's drama. "Double shot of vodka, extra vodka," you reply lifelessly, like a man sitting down at a diner bar, who's worked his whole life but yet is empty. The bartender slides a large glass of water towards you, you take it gratefully. You take a sip and place the glass back down onto the counter, staring intensely into the water that sloshed around in it as if that would give you the answer to all your problems.
"Hey," you hear a voice beside you, when you look to see who was bothering you now, you recognise his face. "Uh, Jiseok," he spoke awkwardly, standing there with his hands wrung in front of him and a sort of grimace on his face. "From the- from earlier."
"I remember," you replied simply, turning your head back to the glass in front of you.
"Well, I- just wanted to say I'm sorry about your girlfriend," he speaks lowly. "I literally know nothing about you but even I can tell you that you deserve much better than her. I'm just sorry you had to find out this way." You turn back to look at him at that. You find it slightly amusing that you could imagine Lily saying those exact same words.
"Not a fan of her?" you ask.
"I don't think you need me badmouthing your girlfriend-"
"Ex," you correct.
"Ex girlfriend," he nods with a sympathetic smile. "Anyway, here's my number," he hands you a napkin with a series of numbers scribbled on it. "If you wanna vent or something. I can also put you in contact with Gunil if you wanted." You glanced to the paper in your hand and nod slightly before he utters a quick 'see you around' and dashes off. You typed the numbers into your phone, unsure if you actually wanted to go any further. What would be the point? You throw back most of the water left in the glass and jump off the stool, ready to take a nice long shower while singing only the emotional camp rock songs on repeat.
Hi!! Not trying to put pressure on you, just asking out of curiosity, really. Are you going to finish your Hyunjin × reader × Seungmin when you have time or did you put that one on hold?
The anxiety for the conclusion has me 😬😬😬
Hey I'm sorry that's my bad I must have forgotten to put the link for the last chapters
But good news IT IS FINISHED!
Here's a link to part 25 in case you need it and I'll check the rest of the links to make sure they work!!
And I hope this is where the confusion was otherwise did I bad ending that isn't obvious? 🤪
Also always ask! There's no harm in asking in a polite way
-> in which Stray Kids attempt to protect their image after an unexpected encounter with you, but, oh, Changbin is kinda hot? AND emotionally intelligent?? Oh no.
