— hi ! welcome to your-world-with-nct, where you can find anything from blurbs to fics with the neos ft. a few occasional rants + lots of fangirling 🤭
↳ 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐌𝐄
↳ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
↳ 𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒
↳ 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒
↳ 𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐒𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌
↳ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 — polaroid love ch.4
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Imagine you wake up with nothing left.That's exactly what happened with us .we moved from having everything to having nothing.In a blink of an eye ,we lost everything, our house ,dreams, memories belongings and our works. We are starting from zero and need your help to climb the leader step by step from scratch.
All the positive words cannot express how generous you are, especially in sharing my posts to inform other donors about the people of Gaza who are still suffering from the terrible conditions caused by the unjust war on Gaza!
Please continue to support us by donating directly or by sharing the link to let others know. Don't hesitate to help people in difficult and miserable times until the dark days are over. 🙏🏻🍉
https://gofund.me/c4c2cf82
i’m so sorry to hear about your awful situation :( i hope you can reach your goal and turn your life back around soon ❤️
go fund me link for those who can donate ! as always, if you can’t, please reblog so those who are able to donate can see this :)
, I'm Karam Al Nabih from Gaza. My home, dreams, and university have been destroyed by the war. I'm a software engineer in my final semester, and I'm urgently seeking your support to rebuild my life and help my sick mother.
Please consider donating, even a small amount like 10 or 15 £, as every contribution makes a difference. If you can't donate, please share my story to help me reach my goal. Your support means the world to me.
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Vatted by @nabulsi @90-ghost
i’m so sorry to hear about the situation you’re in :( i hope you can get the help you need and deserve as soon as possible ❤️
go fund me link for those who can donate! and for those who can’t, pls reblog so this can reach ppl who can :))
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out with a heartfelt plea to help my family find safety and reunite with our mother. 😞
The ongoing war in Gaza has torn my family apart. My mother and newborn sister are stranded in Egypt, while I, along with the rest of my sex family members, am trapped in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. We have not only been separated but have also lost our home and are enduring unimaginable hardships. 💔
Your support can make a difference. Whether by reading our story, donating, or sharing our campaign with others, you can help us reunite, find safety, and start anew. 🙏🕊
Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your kindness, compassion, and solidarity during this difficult time. ❤🍉
https://gofund.me/58268669 🔗
hello, i’m so sorry to hear about your situation, i hope you get the help you need and deserve soon ❤️
go fund me link for those who can donate! and if you can’t, reblog and share this to spread it to people who are able to donate :)
Dear friends 🫂 happy new year 🙏🙏❤💚🖤🤍🎄🎁🎁🎄I am Mohammed Ayyad, a resident of Gaza. I live in very difficult circumstances because of the war that the Gaza Strip is experiencing. Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, we have been displaced. Then the journey of suffering and separation began, as my children were separated and evacuated from our home without cover or clothes, and from here they became ill. What increased our fatigue was the continuous upbringing due to the different areas to which we were displaced. We were displaced 9 times, and this was very costly. The last time was on August 9 from Hamad City. In addition to that, we live in the winter season in a tent that does not exceed three meters, closed with nylon. It is similar to the atmosphere of strong winds that we have never experienced before. The weather is very cold. Overall, we are living difficult days that no human being can bear. We have no work because of the war and we do not have any kind of money. This is accompanied by a crazy and terrible increase in prices. Although the water is not suitable for drinking, this is the cause of many diseases. The last suffering is that we are outside Hamad without taking our belongings or tents. Now we are searching the ground in the streets and our children and the elderly are suffering. Therefore, we use direct donations, including what they can, or sharing the links completely so that people know our tragedy and pain. Remember that a small contribution can make a difference in the lives of many children who are dealing with their health condition. Leave their details and make them happy with your generous contribution.
thank you for your well wishes, i’m so sorry to hear about your awful circumstances and i hope you get the help you need soon! praying for your safety ❤️
if anyone can donate, the link to their gofundme is here! and if you can’t, please reblog this :)
🍉I am a Palestinian from Gaza😭😭 , coming from an extended family ❤❤that have been suffering😭😭 for 300 hard days of an aggressive war. Our life is dire and tough as we lack all the basic necessities of life . Everything has become rare and hard to get.
So, I am asking you to help me keep my family safe and a life especially after we had lost all our livelihood sources.
please don't leave my family struggle and suffer these dire days alone. You can support my campaign by donating whatever you can or by sharing my posts to reach out to others who can help us survive the war to safety and peace. you help the souls of many people with your small contribution. ❤❤🍉🍉
Don't spare this moment to be beside us in this incredibly hard and tough times.
if anyone can donate to help this lovely family out please do so here! if not, then please reblog and share this with anyone who can 😊
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing
WORD COUNT | 4.3k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
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A/N |
it was no longer just late nights jaemin spent talking to you. his early mornings were spent apologising for keeping you up late the night before and his afternoons full of mutual complaints about certain classmates, professors or assignments.
he would never forget to send a ‘how was your day?’ in the evenings even though you’d practically told him everything there was to tell, but he couldn’t care less–he simply couldn’t get enough of you.
at first, with how much he was texting you, jaemin’s roommates were worried he was going to become unhealthily obsessed and dependent on you, which, based on personal experience, was likely to lead to the last thing he wanted—heartbreak.
jaemin had seen it happen before, not to himself, but to his best friends.
renjun had fallen into a month-long slump after being cheated on by his girlfriend of almost three years; haechan once worked himself to exhaustion and earned himself a trip to the emergency room, all from trying to ignore the pain of being rejected by someone he thought was the one for him; jeno’s breakup with rina left him numbed to his core and convinced he was never going to be worthy of being truly loved.
although they were never his heartbreaks, it was painful enough to watch the people he held closest to him experience such heartache, what more if he went through it himself?
and so, in spite of jaemin’s longing for romance, he decided it was best to avoid getting entangled in the world of love and simply focus on other joys in life.
but family, friendships, and academic successes could only go so far in filling the romance-shaped hole in his heart, and every now and then, jaemin found himself envying the love that had made his friends so happy.
he often wondered what it would be to feel like that: to be so utterly and completely enamoured with someone and to have someone feel the same way about him, to be wholeheartedly appreciated by someone and finally receive the sheer amount of love that he was constantly giving everyone else.
as much as jaemin wanted to find that someone, to experience love, he knew it was too risky, and pledged to himself that he wouldn’t be taking that leap of faith any time soon.
at least, he thought he wouldn’t be.
your conversations eventually became less frequent as exam season approached; you were both too busy reviewing content and working to meet deadlines to talk as often as you had been doing. good morning texts turned into good luck texts and late night talks were replaced with late night study sessions, but, much to his best friends’ relief, jaemin didn’t seem to be too affected by the drop in your interactions.
with his melodramatic nature, they expected to see him moping around the apartment, writing ‘mr and mrs na jaemin <3’ in his notes instead of actually studying, or at the very least, staring at his phone longingly waiting for a notification from you. after all, they had all done something of the sort before.
to their surprise, the only obvious difference was that, at the end of the night, jaemin was falling asleep in front of his textbooks instead of his phone. they were glad to see that, despite their worries and jaemin’s own concerns, he wasn’t becoming too attached to you.
however, that didn’t mean that he didn’t miss seeing your name pop up on his phone. he would check his messages during every study break, and more often than not, he was met with nothing.
today seemed to be no different, but just as he was about to put his phone away, a ding resonated throughout the silent room. jaemin gasped, clasping his hands together and praying to whatever deities were listening that it was a message from you.
he quickly unlocked his phone, tapping the notification banner and letting it direct him right to where it came from.
and there it was, in the messages app—your name at the top of his conversations.
but rather than excitement, jaemin felt his heart drop to his stomach as he read your text: ‘hey, jaem. this is a bit out of the blue, but can i call you?’
he instantly assumed the worst of the worst—you were in danger. the campus was a safe enough space, but the city, especially late at night, definitely required more caution.
he typed out a response as quickly as possible, leaving autocorrect to fix his typos, ‘i’m just at home, you can call me. is everything okay? do you need picking up or something? i can come if you need me to’.
as if jaemin’s heart wasn’t already racing enough, the sound of his ringtone blasting from his phone had him jumping up from his seat in shock, tossing his phone in the air. after retrieving it from its unexpected flight, he read your name across the top of his screen and immediately pressed ‘accept’ with his shaky finger.
“hello? jaemin? um, it’s a facetime. could you, uh, maybe put your phone down somewhere? i-i can’t see you,” you said, your voice significantly less urgent than jaemin anticipated it to be.
“okay, okay,” he answered, balancing his phone against the pot of pens on his desk.
scrutinising your background, he breathed out a sigh of relief once he saw you in the comfort and safety of what looked like your bedroom. “oh, thank god, you’re okay.”
“why wouldn’t i be— oh, i just realised how you read my message. did you think i was in trouble? i’m safe at home, see.” you picked up your phone, swivelling the camera around to show jaemin there was nothing to worry about.
you turned the camera back around to face you, just in time to see him put a hand on his heart to calm his erratic heartbeat. “aww, i’m sorry for making you worried.”
of course, seeing jaemin all panicked wasn’t ideal. but the fact that he was panicked and ready to save you from a potentially dangerous situation that he knew nothing about was somewhat… endearing. something about his frantic response and the way his entire body relaxed when he saw you were completely fine ignited a warmth inside of you.
you didn’t realise he cared that much about you. nor did you realise how much you loved the idea of him caring about you so much.
he smiled at you, reassuring you that he was no longer in distress. your heartbeat sped up, drumming against your chest as if you’d just run a marathon. it had been so long since you’d seen that smile, you forgot just how beautiful it was.
“it’s okay,” jaemin said, snapping you out of your daze. “i’m glad you’re safe and sound. it’s been a while, how have you been?”
“yeah, it has. i mean, i’ve been better,” you chuckled, your comment eliciting another of those heart-wrenching smiles from jaemin. “how have you been doing?”
he sighed, running his hand through his hair. it was still that gorgeous honey shade you’d first laid eyes on all those weeks ago, but his darker roots were starting to show through. you briefly wondered what he’d look like with a full head of his natural colour, he would probably look just as good, if not better.
he cleared his throat before answering, alerting your attention and shifting your focus away from his luscious honey locks.
“well, i’ve been drinking more water and less coffee—i hope you’re proud of me, by the way—and spending most of my time either studying or working out the minimum mark i need to pass. as you can tell, i just love exam season,” jaemin said with a sarcastic smile, his nose scrunching up in a way that resembled a cute bunny.
you felt your cheeks burning up, immediately bringing your hands up to your face to cover any evidence of the effect he had on you. you quickly played it off like you were covering your mouth to laugh, forcing out a giggle.
“i am proud of you for that, jaem. so, uh, are you doing anything right now?” you asked, your eyes drifting to the notebooks and flashcards scattered across jaemin’s desk. “because if you’re busy, then it’s fine, i-i’ll figure something out.”
now self-conscious of his messy set up, jaemin cleared his things away as he responded, “no, it’s okay. i’m not doing anything, how come?”
“really? are you sure? i-i don’t wanna take away from any of your own study time…” your voice trailed off, feeling more and more like a bother as you watched him move his materials out of the frame instead of putting them away.
“i’m sure, y/n. don’t mind this,” he tilted his camera to show you the pile he pushed aside. “i’m just too lazy to put it all back. plus my next exam isn’t for another four days. i’m all yours for now. what can i do for you?” he said, his face lighting up as he gave you a smile that shone with sincerity.
there it was again, that warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest.
“well, i have an exam tomorrow, and i called you because i wanted to get one last study session in. usually, i get one of my roommates to test me on the content, but everyone’s busy doing their own work. if it’s not too much to ask, could you spare like, maybe half an hour or so for me?”
“of course i can.”
“thank you, i really appreciate it,” you said, mirroring his contagious grin.
“no problem. so, which exam is this again? the religion one?” he asked, resting his chin on his hand.
you smiled, touched at his efforts to remember what exams you had coming up. “ah, that one’s in about a week. tomorrow’s is on the metaphysics of mind.”
“huh? physics? what the heck does that even mean?” he said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
“you’re about to find out,” you paused, giggling at jaemin’s intrigued face. “this study method is essentially teaching someone else the topics you need to know. if i can remember enough to explain it to you in a way that makes sense, then it means that i know the content well.”
“ooh, i’ve never tried that before, but it sounds good.”
“yeah, i’ve been doing this since high school and it’s really helped me no matter what the subject was. it’s been especially helpful in philosophy though since we have to know a bunch of theories in detail,” you explained.
“ahh, that makes sense, i might give it a try one day. but, then again, i don’t exactly know if my friends will be willing to sit and hear about, like, pharmaceutical science or whatever,” jaemin chuckled at the mere thought of it, unable to imagine a scenario where his friends would actually listen to him talk about medicine instead of making immature jokes about drugs.
you felt the corners of your lips curve upwards as you watched jaemin’s eyes crinkle with joy. the eyes that sparkled with each melodic laugh, the eyes that made you feel like you were the only thing worth paying attention to. those beautiful, beautiful eyes.
you shook your head, trying to clear your mind of the distracting thoughts so you could get back on track. “well, if you ever wanna try it out, just know i’d be more than happy to listen.”
“thank you for the offer, i’ll keep that in mind. now, professor y/n, are you ready to go or what?” he sat up straight, miming opening a laptop, hands at the ready to ‘type’.
it took everything in you not to let his adorable actions distract you any further. you let out a light giggle, before clearing your throat and starting, “okay, i’m ready. so, first and foremost, there are two different types of theories of mind…”
before you knew it, an hour had flown by and you were on to the last of the six theories that could come up on your exam. half an hour was a poor underestimate and you made sure to apologise to jaemin once thirty minutes had passed. understanding as always, he reassured you that there was nothing to apologise for and encouraged you to carry on.
you were surprised to see that he wasn’t completely bored out of his mind. he seemed to be following along well, even asking questions to clarify what you’d said or summarising problems himself to make sure he had understood correctly.
jaemin raised his hands to his head, a gesture that you’d learned within the past hour meant that the content was about to click. “wait, wait, so the elimination materials–”
“the eliminative materialists, yes,” you corrected the cute mistake, letting him continue.
“oops, that’s what i meant. so they essentially destroy their own theory by saying beliefs don’t exist,” he fell silent for a few seconds before reaching his conclusion. “even though their theory itself is a belief?”
you gasped, feeling a sense of pride at having gotten a non-philosophy student to understand the entirety of the metaphysics of mind in just over an hour.
“yes, yes, that’s it, you got it. good job!” you exclaimed, giving jaemin a small round of applause.
“really? thank you,” he beamed at your praise, “so… what, do none of the theories work then? that’s a bit stupid, isn’t it?”
your applause ended abruptly as your hands fell to your lap. you let out a splutter, taken aback by his bluntness.
his eyes widened in shock at your reaction. “wait! that’s not, like, offensive to philosophers, right? oh my god, i’m so sorry, y/n. i take it back, please forgive me,” he bowed his head, making a big show out of apologising.
if it was anyone else, you would tell them to lift their head up because they looked silly and that they shouldn’t call the content you’re spending extortionate amounts of money to study ‘stupid’.
but, with jaemin, you couldn’t help but laugh at his genuine reactions and his dramatic apology. you couldn’t believe he thought it would offend you, but it was sweet that he was so worried about doing so.
if jaemin was being honest, he was exaggerating just a little bit, but you didn’t have to know that. all that mattered to him was bringing out that beautiful smile of yours that he had missed so dearly. so what if he looked like a fool?
as your laughter died down, you finally answered, “no offence taken. you’re right, though, they all have their problems. but that’s all the content we need to know so it’s not like we have to find one that works.”
“oh, we’re done? wow, that was a lot, but well done for getting through it all!” jaemin gave you your own round of applause, to which you played along with, bowing as if you had just received an award.
he laughed as you thanked your invisible audience, ever so grateful that you were too busy humbly bowing to notice the gigantic grin on his face.
“were there, uh, any particular parts you struggled in? ‘cause as far as i know, you were super thorough with everything. you clearly know your stuff,” he said as you turned back to face him.
“thank you, jaem. i feel like i did pretty good too, but i’ll check if i missed anything now,” you said, pulling out your notebook from your folder and skimming your notes. “uhh, i missed a few responses to some of the problems, but my professor said those are optional anyway. aside from that, i pretty much got everything!”
“woah, i’m so proud of you. you should be proud of yourself too, your hard work seems to have really paid off,” jaemin said, giving you two thumbs up.
you beamed at his praise, that same feeling of warmth returning to your chest. “jaem, you’re so sweet, thank you. and i am proud of myself, i just don’t wanna get overconfident and jinx myself for tomorrow.”
“ah, okay, i get that,” he nodded, “i feel like, even after all these years, i never stop being nervous for exams.”
“oh, me too. it never gets easier.”
“yeah, especially when the stakes get higher and higher with each one,” he huffed, slumping down in his chair.
“oh god, that’s right, i keep forgetting you’re in your last year.”
you owed your forgetfulness to the fact that you never felt a significant divide between you and jaemin. you weren’t fourth year and second year, you weren’t senior and junior, you were just friends. just friends.
“there’s probably a lot more pressure on these exams for you, right?” you continued, in an attempt to distract yourself from thinking about whatever feelings you had for jaemin and spiralling.
“as much as i don’t wanna think about it, yeah, you’re right,” he let out a soulless laugh, crossing his arms over his chest.
“oh, i didn’t mean to— i-i shouldn’t have mentioned it. i’m sorry,” you said, your heart dropping to your stomach at the thought of making jaemin feel bad. you didn’t know why, but it hurt to see him anything less than happy, and it hurt even more knowing it was your fault.
noticing the way your face fell, jaemin quickly swooped in to stop you from feeling any worse.
“hey, no need to apologise. fourth year is a lot of stress but, y’know, i manage,” he shrugged, giving you a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
you tilted your head to the side, as if you were asking him ‘are you sure?’. at first, he refrained from elaborating, but there was just something about you that made him feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with you.
“well, sorting out med school and stuff is definitely a lot, especially when i’m dealing with uni at the same time. plus, exam season doesn’t make that any easier. oh, and i don’t even wanna think about the crippling debt i’ll be in after spending the next few years stuck in education whilst my friends are out in the world— and, that was a lot. i didn’t mean to dump all of that on you just then, i’m so sorry,” jaemin stopped himself, smacking his mouth for letting himself go too far. he partly blamed you for being so easy to talk to and such a good listener.
“oh, jaem, you don’t have to say sorry. remember, we promised that we can always rant to each other about anything, at any time. you can talk to me whenever you need it, okay?” you held your pinky out towards your phone, mimicking what jaemin had done in your first proper interaction with him.
he laughed, a genuine one this time, he seemed to have understood the reference. he lifted up his own pinky, pressing it against his camera and chuckling as he watched you do the same.
“thanks, y/n. it’s nice to be able to talk to someone about it, but it’s also nice to take my mind off of it completely, which is why i love doing photography.”
“oh yeah, you and jake call it your creative escape, right?”
“he does, i just call it a hobby like a normal person,” he joked, your jaw dropping at his little dig. “please don’t tell him i said that.”
you laughed at his reaction, before nodding and miming the zipping of your mouth shut.
jaemin continued, “anyways, if i’m being honest, i really do love having some time every week where i don’t have to hear about diagnoses, symptoms, anatomy, all that stuff. but i don’t just like photography as a distraction, i love capturing the memories i make with my friends and family. it’s nice to have concrete reminders of the people i love and the fun times we’ve spent together.”
“oh, i absolutely agree, i’m not as into photography as you or jake are, but i do love polaroids and i have a wall of them right…” you picked up your phone, flipping the camera to show him your collection, “here!”
jaemin brought his phone closer so he could take a better look. he carefully examined each picture and noticed that they all contained a common feature—you had the most carefree, joyous smile on your face in each and every one. no matter who you were with, no matter where you were, you looked completely and utterly content.
the longer jaemin spent looking at the pictures, the more he realised that he wanted to make you that happy.
“so, what do you think?” your voice broke through his reverie, and it was only then that jaemin noticed he’d just been staring at your wall without saying a word.
“sorry, i got distracted trying to look at each one, they’re all so cute. oh my god, how old are you in that bottom left one? you look so young.” his focus locked in on a photo of you in your school uniform, soaring through the air as one of your friends stood behind you after pushing you on the swings.
“oh gosh, i specifically remember that was when i was fifteen, ‘cause taehyun pushed me so hard that i was fully convinced that i was gonna die. i told him it was his fault if i didn’t make it to sixteen,” you laughed at the memory, a twinge of nostalgia hitting you as you realised just how much time had passed and how much had changed since then.
you sighed, flipping the camera back around to show yourself. “i just… i find it motivating to look up at my family and friends after hours working at my desk. it makes me feel less homesick too.”
“that’s so sweet, and you’re so— the pictures are so pretty,” jaemin said, internally cursing at himself for almost slipping up.
“wow, coming from photographer na himself? thank you, i’m honoured,” you proudly put a hand to your chest. “i’ve gotta say, it is my favourite part of my room. not just ‘cause it looks so cute, but the memories it brings back too. that’s what i love about polaroids, y’know? they’re so simple, no editing, no nothing, just a quick snapshot of a real moment. it reminds me that things don’t have to be so complicated to be beautiful.
“oh god, that was a bit… deep, wasn’t it? i blame professor kim’s philosophy of aesthetics class for doing this to me,” you facepalmed, cringing at yourself.
“hey, don’t be embarrassed,” jaemin said, shaking his head. “that was actually pretty—”
“y/n! sunghoon just came home with takeout to celebrate finishing his exams.” a shrill voice cut through jaemin’s words as the owner of said voice barged into your room.
you turned to see your roommate, yunjin, frozen in her tracks, “oops, sorry, i didn’t know you were… preoccupied.”
she shyly waved at jaemin, muttering a ‘sorry’ for interrupting.
“it’s okay,” he chuckled as he caught you rolling your eyes.
you huffed, glaring at yunjin. “so you interrupted my call to tell me this, why?”
“so rude, this one, isn’t she?” yunjin joked to jaemin, earning herself a light slap on the arm from you.
“says you? you literally interrup—”
“girl, calm down. i was just gonna tell you we’ve got free dinner.”
“free what now?” you raised your brow, your annoyance quickly dissipating.
“hoon bought enough food for all of us. he knows we’re not all done with exams yet but he got a better deal by ordering the combo meals. the boys are getting plates out now, come on.”
“oh, sweet! i’ll be there in a sec,” you said, directing your gaze towards the door.
yunjin nodded, understanding your not-so-subtle signal and heading out, “okay, but be quick.”
you hummed in response, turning to jaemin as soon as she’d left, “so sorry about that.”
“don’t worry about it, free food is way more important.”
“ugh, you get it,” you laughed. “hey, seriously, thanks again for your help today. i know that listening to me teach you about the different theories of mind probably wasn’t your ideal way of spending the night, but i really do appreciate it.”
“of course, any time,” jaemin smiled, “plus, it really wasn’t as boring as you think it was with those silly analogies you kept throwing in. i’ll definitely remember the octopus example.”
you couldn’t help but smile, proud that he remembered the example you’d used and relieved that he enjoyed your little lecture.
“i’m glad they kept you entertained. i wish my prof did that, then maybe i would’ve learned it quicker.”
“you might be better off teaching the class yourself next time,” he teased. “now go enjoy your meal, professor. i’m sure it’ll taste better knowing you didn’t have to pay for or make it yourself.”
“oh, it will, i can’t wait, i can already smell it… i think it’s chinese!” you gasped, shaking your shoulders with excitement.
jaemin chuckled to himself at your reaction. “eat well and drink lots of water, oh, and try to go to sleep early! you need a good rest for tomorrow. good luck, i’m sure you’ll do amazing on your exam.”
“thank you so much, jaem. you take care too, okay? i’ll get going now, bye,” you waved, giving him one last grin before you went to end the call.
“bye bye,” he said, continuing to wave even after your face disappeared from the screen.
it was strange how, even though he’d just spent the last two hours talking to you, jaemin wanted… more. he shook his head, dismissing the calls of his heart and favouring his brain’s interpretation that he just liked your company instead.
but if he just liked your company, would he have sat through a voluntary lesson about a subject he didn’t care about whatsoever? would he have made a fool of himself just to make you laugh? would he have wished to be one of those loved ones you spoke so dearly of and kept mementos of?
if he ‘just liked your company’, would he be considering taking that leap of faith for you?
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing
WORD COUNT | 4.3k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
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A/N |
it was no longer just late nights jaemin spent talking to you. his early mornings were spent apologising for keeping you up late the night before and his afternoons full of mutual complaints about certain classmates, professors or assignments.
he would never forget to send a ‘how was your day?’ in the evenings even though you’d practically told him everything there was to tell, but he couldn’t care less–he simply couldn’t get enough of you.
at first, with how much he was texting you, jaemin’s roommates were worried he was going to become unhealthily obsessed and dependent on you, which, based on personal experience, was likely to lead to the last thing he wanted—heartbreak.
jaemin had seen it happen before, not to himself, but to his best friends.
renjun had fallen into a month-long slump after being cheated on by his girlfriend of almost three years; haechan once worked himself to exhaustion and earned himself a trip to the emergency room, all from trying to ignore the pain of being rejected by someone he thought was the one for him; jeno’s breakup with rina left him numbed to his core and convinced he was never going to be worthy of being truly loved.
although they were never his heartbreaks, it was painful enough to watch the people he held closest to him experience such heartache, what more if he went through it himself?
and so, in spite of jaemin’s longing for romance, he decided it was best to avoid getting entangled in the world of love and simply focus on other joys in life.
but family, friendships, and academic successes could only go so far in filling the romance-shaped hole in his heart, and every now and then, jaemin found himself envying the love that had made his friends so happy.
he often wondered what it would be to feel like that: to be so utterly and completely enamoured with someone and to have someone feel the same way about him, to be wholeheartedly appreciated by someone and finally receive the sheer amount of love that he was constantly giving everyone else.
as much as jaemin wanted to find that someone, to experience love, he knew it was too risky, and pledged to himself that he wouldn’t be taking that leap of faith any time soon.
at least, he thought he wouldn’t be.
your conversations eventually became less frequent as exam season approached; you were both too busy reviewing content and working to meet deadlines to talk as often as you had been doing. good morning texts turned into good luck texts and late night talks were replaced with late night study sessions, but, much to his best friends’ relief, jaemin didn’t seem to be too affected by the drop in your interactions.
with his melodramatic nature, they expected to see him moping around the apartment, writing ‘mr and mrs na jaemin <3’ in his notes instead of actually studying, or at the very least, staring at his phone longingly waiting for a notification from you. after all, they had all done something of the sort before.
to their surprise, the only obvious difference was that, at the end of the night, jaemin was falling asleep in front of his textbooks instead of his phone. they were glad to see that, despite their worries and jaemin’s own concerns, he wasn’t becoming too attached to you.
however, that didn’t mean that he didn’t miss seeing your name pop up on his phone. he would check his messages during every study break, and more often than not, he was met with nothing.
today seemed to be no different, but just as he was about to put his phone away, a ding resonated throughout the silent room. jaemin gasped, clasping his hands together and praying to whatever deities were listening that it was a message from you.
he quickly unlocked his phone, tapping the notification banner and letting it direct him right to where it came from.
and there it was, in the messages app—your name at the top of his conversations.
but rather than excitement, jaemin felt his heart drop to his stomach as he read your text: ‘hey, jaem. this is a bit out of the blue, but can i call you?’
he instantly assumed the worst of the worst—you were in danger. the campus was a safe enough space, but the city, especially late at night, definitely required more caution.
he typed out a response as quickly as possible, leaving autocorrect to fix his typos, ‘i’m just at home, you can call me. is everything okay? do you need picking up or something? i can come if you need me to’.
as if jaemin’s heart wasn’t already racing enough, the sound of his ringtone blasting from his phone had him jumping up from his seat in shock, tossing his phone in the air. after retrieving it from its unexpected flight, he read your name across the top of his screen and immediately pressed ‘accept’ with his shaky finger.
“hello? jaemin? um, it’s a facetime. could you, uh, maybe put your phone down somewhere? i-i can’t see you,” you said, your voice significantly less urgent than jaemin anticipated it to be.
“okay, okay,” he answered, balancing his phone against the pot of pens on his desk.
scrutinising your background, he breathed out a sigh of relief once he saw you in the comfort and safety of what looked like your bedroom. “oh, thank god, you’re okay.”
“why wouldn’t i be— oh, i just realised how you read my message. did you think i was in trouble? i’m safe at home, see.” you picked up your phone, swivelling the camera around to show jaemin there was nothing to worry about.
you turned the camera back around to face you, just in time to see him put a hand on his heart to calm his erratic heartbeat. “aww, i’m sorry for making you worried.”
of course, seeing jaemin all panicked wasn’t ideal. but the fact that he was panicked and ready to save you from a potentially dangerous situation that he knew nothing about was somewhat… endearing. something about his frantic response and the way his entire body relaxed when he saw you were completely fine ignited a warmth inside of you.
you didn’t realise he cared that much about you. nor did you realise how much you loved the idea of him caring about you so much.
he smiled at you, reassuring you that he was no longer in distress. your heartbeat sped up, drumming against your chest as if you’d just run a marathon. it had been so long since you’d seen that smile, you forgot just how beautiful it was.
“it’s okay,” jaemin said, snapping you out of your daze. “i’m glad you’re safe and sound. it’s been a while, how have you been?”
“yeah, it has. i mean, i’ve been better,” you chuckled, your comment eliciting another of those heart-wrenching smiles from jaemin. “how have you been doing?”
he sighed, running his hand through his hair. it was still that gorgeous honey shade you’d first laid eyes on all those weeks ago, but his darker roots were starting to show through. you briefly wondered what he’d look like with a full head of his natural colour, he would probably look just as good, if not better.
he cleared his throat before answering, alerting your attention and shifting your focus away from his luscious honey locks.
“well, i’ve been drinking more water and less coffee—i hope you’re proud of me, by the way—and spending most of my time either studying or working out the minimum mark i need to pass. as you can tell, i just love exam season,” jaemin said with a sarcastic smile, his nose scrunching up in a way that resembled a cute bunny.
you felt your cheeks burning up, immediately bringing your hands up to your face to cover any evidence of the effect he had on you. you quickly played it off like you were covering your mouth to laugh, forcing out a giggle.
“i am proud of you for that, jaem. so, uh, are you doing anything right now?” you asked, your eyes drifting to the notebooks and flashcards scattered across jaemin’s desk. “because if you’re busy, then it’s fine, i-i’ll figure something out.”
now self-conscious of his messy set up, jaemin cleared his things away as he responded, “no, it’s okay. i’m not doing anything, how come?”
“really? are you sure? i-i don’t wanna take away from any of your own study time…” your voice trailed off, feeling more and more like a bother as you watched him move his materials out of the frame instead of putting them away.
“i’m sure, y/n. don’t mind this,” he tilted his camera to show you the pile he pushed aside. “i’m just too lazy to put it all back. plus my next exam isn’t for another four days. i’m all yours for now. what can i do for you?” he said, his face lighting up as he gave you a smile that shone with sincerity.
there it was again, that warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest.
“well, i have an exam tomorrow, and i called you because i wanted to get one last study session in. usually, i get one of my roommates to test me on the content, but everyone’s busy doing their own work. if it’s not too much to ask, could you spare like, maybe half an hour or so for me?”
“of course i can.”
“thank you, i really appreciate it,” you said, mirroring his contagious grin.
“no problem. so, which exam is this again? the religion one?” he asked, resting his chin on his hand.
you smiled, touched at his efforts to remember what exams you had coming up. “ah, that one’s in about a week. tomorrow’s is on the metaphysics of mind.”
“huh? physics? what the heck does that even mean?” he said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
“you’re about to find out,” you paused, giggling at jaemin’s intrigued face. “this study method is essentially teaching someone else the topics you need to know. if i can remember enough to explain it to you in a way that makes sense, then it means that i know the content well.”
“ooh, i’ve never tried that before, but it sounds good.”
“yeah, i’ve been doing this since high school and it’s really helped me no matter what the subject was. it’s been especially helpful in philosophy though since we have to know a bunch of theories in detail,” you explained.
“ahh, that makes sense, i might give it a try one day. but, then again, i don’t exactly know if my friends will be willing to sit and hear about, like, pharmaceutical science or whatever,” jaemin chuckled at the mere thought of it, unable to imagine a scenario where his friends would actually listen to him talk about medicine instead of making immature jokes about drugs.
you felt the corners of your lips curve upwards as you watched jaemin’s eyes crinkle with joy. the eyes that sparkled with each melodic laugh, the eyes that made you feel like you were the only thing worth paying attention to. those beautiful, beautiful eyes.
you shook your head, trying to clear your mind of the distracting thoughts so you could get back on track. “well, if you ever wanna try it out, just know i’d be more than happy to listen.”
“thank you for the offer, i’ll keep that in mind. now, professor y/n, are you ready to go or what?” he sat up straight, miming opening a laptop, hands at the ready to ‘type’.
it took everything in you not to let his adorable actions distract you any further. you let out a light giggle, before clearing your throat and starting, “okay, i’m ready. so, first and foremost, there are two different types of theories of mind…”
before you knew it, an hour had flown by and you were on to the last of the six theories that could come up on your exam. half an hour was a poor underestimate and you made sure to apologise to jaemin once thirty minutes had passed. understanding as always, he reassured you that there was nothing to apologise for and encouraged you to carry on.
you were surprised to see that he wasn’t completely bored out of his mind. he seemed to be following along well, even asking questions to clarify what you’d said or summarising problems himself to make sure he had understood correctly.
jaemin raised his hands to his head, a gesture that you’d learned within the past hour meant that the content was about to click. “wait, wait, so the elimination materials–”
“the eliminative materialists, yes,” you corrected the cute mistake, letting him continue.
“oops, that’s what i meant. so they essentially destroy their own theory by saying beliefs don’t exist,” he fell silent for a few seconds before reaching his conclusion. “even though their theory itself is a belief?”
you gasped, feeling a sense of pride at having gotten a non-philosophy student to understand the entirety of the metaphysics of mind in just over an hour.
“yes, yes, that’s it, you got it. good job!” you exclaimed, giving jaemin a small round of applause.
“really? thank you,” he beamed at your praise, “so… what, do none of the theories work then? that’s a bit stupid, isn’t it?”
your applause ended abruptly as your hands fell to your lap. you let out a splutter, taken aback by his bluntness.
his eyes widened in shock at your reaction. “wait! that’s not, like, offensive to philosophers, right? oh my god, i’m so sorry, y/n. i take it back, please forgive me,” he bowed his head, making a big show out of apologising.
if it was anyone else, you would tell them to lift their head up because they looked silly and that they shouldn’t call the content you’re spending extortionate amounts of money to study ‘stupid’.
but, with jaemin, you couldn’t help but laugh at his genuine reactions and his dramatic apology. you couldn’t believe he thought it would offend you, but it was sweet that he was so worried about doing so.
if jaemin was being honest, he was exaggerating just a little bit, but you didn’t have to know that. all that mattered to him was bringing out that beautiful smile of yours that he had missed so dearly. so what if he looked like a fool?
as your laughter died down, you finally answered, “no offence taken. you’re right, though, they all have their problems. but that’s all the content we need to know so it’s not like we have to find one that works.”
“oh, we’re done? wow, that was a lot, but well done for getting through it all!” jaemin gave you your own round of applause, to which you played along with, bowing as if you had just received an award.
he laughed as you thanked your invisible audience, ever so grateful that you were too busy humbly bowing to notice the gigantic grin on his face.
“were there, uh, any particular parts you struggled in? ‘cause as far as i know, you were super thorough with everything. you clearly know your stuff,” he said as you turned back to face him.
“thank you, jaem. i feel like i did pretty good too, but i’ll check if i missed anything now,” you said, pulling out your notebook from your folder and skimming your notes. “uhh, i missed a few responses to some of the problems, but my professor said those are optional anyway. aside from that, i pretty much got everything!”
“woah, i’m so proud of you. you should be proud of yourself too, your hard work seems to have really paid off,” jaemin said, giving you two thumbs up.
you beamed at his praise, that same feeling of warmth returning to your chest. “jaem, you’re so sweet, thank you. and i am proud of myself, i just don’t wanna get overconfident and jinx myself for tomorrow.”
“ah, okay, i get that,” he nodded, “i feel like, even after all these years, i never stop being nervous for exams.”
“oh, me too. it never gets easier.”
“yeah, especially when the stakes get higher and higher with each one,” he huffed, slumping down in his chair.
“oh god, that’s right, i keep forgetting you’re in your last year.”
you owed your forgetfulness to the fact that you never felt a significant divide between you and jaemin. you weren’t fourth year and second year, you weren’t senior and junior, you were just friends. just friends.
“there’s probably a lot more pressure on these exams for you, right?” you continued, in an attempt to distract yourself from thinking about whatever feelings you had for jaemin and spiralling.
“as much as i don’t wanna think about it, yeah, you’re right,” he let out a soulless laugh, crossing his arms over his chest.
“oh, i didn’t mean to— i-i shouldn’t have mentioned it. i’m sorry,” you said, your heart dropping to your stomach at the thought of making jaemin feel bad. you didn’t know why, but it hurt to see him anything less than happy, and it hurt even more knowing it was your fault.
noticing the way your face fell, jaemin quickly swooped in to stop you from feeling any worse.
“hey, no need to apologise. fourth year is a lot of stress but, y’know, i manage,” he shrugged, giving you a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
you tilted your head to the side, as if you were asking him ‘are you sure?’. at first, he refrained from elaborating, but there was just something about you that made him feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with you.
“well, sorting out med school and stuff is definitely a lot, especially when i’m dealing with uni at the same time. plus, exam season doesn’t make that any easier. oh, and i don’t even wanna think about the crippling debt i’ll be in after spending the next few years stuck in education whilst my friends are out in the world— and, that was a lot. i didn’t mean to dump all of that on you just then, i’m so sorry,” jaemin stopped himself, smacking his mouth for letting himself go too far. he partly blamed you for being so easy to talk to and such a good listener.
“oh, jaem, you don’t have to say sorry. remember, we promised that we can always rant to each other about anything, at any time. you can talk to me whenever you need it, okay?” you held your pinky out towards your phone, mimicking what jaemin had done in your first proper interaction with him.
he laughed, a genuine one this time, he seemed to have understood the reference. he lifted up his own pinky, pressing it against his camera and chuckling as he watched you do the same.
“thanks, y/n. it’s nice to be able to talk to someone about it, but it’s also nice to take my mind off of it completely, which is why i love doing photography.”
“oh yeah, you and jake call it your creative escape, right?”
“he does, i just call it a hobby like a normal person,” he joked, your jaw dropping at his little dig. “please don’t tell him i said that.”
you laughed at his reaction, before nodding and miming the zipping of your mouth shut.
jaemin continued, “anyways, if i’m being honest, i really do love having some time every week where i don’t have to hear about diagnoses, symptoms, anatomy, all that stuff. but i don’t just like photography as a distraction, i love capturing the memories i make with my friends and family. it’s nice to have concrete reminders of the people i love and the fun times we’ve spent together.”
“oh, i absolutely agree, i’m not as into photography as you or jake are, but i do love polaroids and i have a wall of them right…” you picked up your phone, flipping the camera to show him your collection, “here!”
jaemin brought his phone closer so he could take a better look. he carefully examined each picture and noticed that they all contained a common feature—you had the most carefree, joyous smile on your face in each and every one. no matter who you were with, no matter where you were, you looked completely and utterly content.
the longer jaemin spent looking at the pictures, the more he realised that he wanted to make you that happy.
“so, what do you think?” your voice broke through his reverie, and it was only then that jaemin noticed he’d just been staring at your wall without saying a word.
“sorry, i got distracted trying to look at each one, they’re all so cute. oh my god, how old are you in that bottom left one? you look so young.” his focus locked in on a photo of you in your school uniform, soaring through the air as one of your friends stood behind you after pushing you on the swings.
“oh gosh, i specifically remember that was when i was fifteen, ‘cause taehyun pushed me so hard that i was fully convinced that i was gonna die. i told him it was his fault if i didn’t make it to sixteen,” you laughed at the memory, a twinge of nostalgia hitting you as you realised just how much time had passed and how much had changed since then.
you sighed, flipping the camera back around to show yourself. “i just… i find it motivating to look up at my family and friends after hours working at my desk. it makes me feel less homesick too.”
“that’s so sweet, and you’re so— the pictures are so pretty,” jaemin said, internally cursing at himself for almost slipping up.
“wow, coming from photographer na himself? thank you, i’m honoured,” you proudly put a hand to your chest. “i’ve gotta say, it is my favourite part of my room. not just ‘cause it looks so cute, but the memories it brings back too. that’s what i love about polaroids, y’know? they’re so simple, no editing, no nothing, just a quick snapshot of a real moment. it reminds me that things don’t have to be so complicated to be beautiful.
“oh god, that was a bit… deep, wasn’t it? i blame professor kim’s philosophy of aesthetics class for doing this to me,” you facepalmed, cringing at yourself.
“hey, don’t be embarrassed,” jaemin said, shaking his head. “that was actually pretty—”
“y/n! sunghoon just came home with takeout to celebrate finishing his exams.” a shrill voice cut through jaemin’s words as the owner of said voice barged into your room.
you turned to see your roommate, yunjin, frozen in her tracks, “oops, sorry, i didn’t know you were… preoccupied.”
she shyly waved at jaemin, muttering a ‘sorry’ for interrupting.
“it’s okay,” he chuckled as he caught you rolling your eyes.
you huffed, glaring at yunjin. “so you interrupted my call to tell me this, why?”
“so rude, this one, isn’t she?” yunjin joked to jaemin, earning herself a light slap on the arm from you.
“says you? you literally interrup—”
“girl, calm down. i was just gonna tell you we’ve got free dinner.”
“free what now?” you raised your brow, your annoyance quickly dissipating.
“hoon bought enough food for all of us. he knows we’re not all done with exams yet but he got a better deal by ordering the combo meals. the boys are getting plates out now, come on.”
“oh, sweet! i’ll be there in a sec,” you said, directing your gaze towards the door.
yunjin nodded, understanding your not-so-subtle signal and heading out, “okay, but be quick.”
you hummed in response, turning to jaemin as soon as she’d left, “so sorry about that.”
“don’t worry about it, free food is way more important.”
“ugh, you get it,” you laughed. “hey, seriously, thanks again for your help today. i know that listening to me teach you about the different theories of mind probably wasn’t your ideal way of spending the night, but i really do appreciate it.”
“of course, any time,” jaemin smiled, “plus, it really wasn’t as boring as you think it was with those silly analogies you kept throwing in. i’ll definitely remember the octopus example.”
you couldn’t help but smile, proud that he remembered the example you’d used and relieved that he enjoyed your little lecture.
“i’m glad they kept you entertained. i wish my prof did that, then maybe i would’ve learned it quicker.”
“you might be better off teaching the class yourself next time,” he teased. “now go enjoy your meal, professor. i’m sure it’ll taste better knowing you didn’t have to pay for or make it yourself.”
“oh, it will, i can’t wait, i can already smell it… i think it’s chinese!” you gasped, shaking your shoulders with excitement.
jaemin chuckled to himself at your reaction. “eat well and drink lots of water, oh, and try to go to sleep early! you need a good rest for tomorrow. good luck, i’m sure you’ll do amazing on your exam.”
“thank you so much, jaem. you take care too, okay? i’ll get going now, bye,” you waved, giving him one last grin before you went to end the call.
“bye bye,” he said, continuing to wave even after your face disappeared from the screen.
it was strange how, even though he’d just spent the last two hours talking to you, jaemin wanted… more. he shook his head, dismissing the calls of his heart and favouring his brain’s interpretation that he just liked your company instead.
but if he just liked your company, would he have sat through a voluntary lesson about a subject he didn’t care about whatsoever? would he have made a fool of himself just to make you laugh? would he have wished to be one of those loved ones you spoke so dearly of and kept mementos of?
if he ‘just liked your company’, would he be considering taking that leap of faith for you?
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | • REC -> a character’s point of view | ■ GALLERY -> a flashback from that character’s point of view
A/N | sorry for being so inactive lately! i’ve been busy preparing for uni and it was actually my first night last night 🙈 hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and feedback is always appreciated <3
Y/N CAM • REC
you stared at jake in silence, watching as he fiddled with his chopsticks whilst waiting for the food to come, “jakey?”
“hmm?” he answered, eyes fixed on the small tower he was making by stacking tiny, balled-up pieces of a napkin.
“you okay?” you asked, your voice laced with concern, “you didn’t even squeal when you saw the turtle-shell grill, is everything alright?”
jake let out a quiet giggle at your observation, putting his chopsticks down and abandoning his napkin tower, “yeah, everything’s fine, i’m just… tired.”
you raised a brow, not completely convinced by his answer. reaching across the table, you took his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, “hey, you know you can tell me when something’s bothering you, right? i’m not gonna force you to say anything if you don’t want to, but i’m here to listen, okay? i don’t like seeing you upset, what do i have to do to put a smile on your face, hm?”
you noticed jake’s lips curve upwards at your words, but the smile had yet to reach his eyes. he squeezed your hand and met your gaze, “thank you, y/n, really, but i promise i’m okay. i’ve just… had a long day, those morning classes are such a pain in the ass. ugh, i wish i’d taken up your coffee offer before.”
you still weren’t a hundred percent reassured by his answer, but you decided it was best not to push him for the truth. instead, you settled with the reply he gave, “ahh, okay, i’m glad nothing’s bothering you, but i’m still shocked you said no to free coffee.”
“i don’t know what got into me, i’ll be honest,” jake shrugged, retracting his hand from yours and running it through his hair.
“well, don’t you worry, i’ll buy you some coffee next time you take me to photography club,” you bit your lip, trying to hide your growing smile at the thought of seeing a certain someone again.
“next time? you wanna come next time?” jake cocked his head to the side, his face reminiscent of a confused puppy, “what’s with the sudden interest? don’t tell me you expect free food in return for helping me, you know i don’t have the funds for that!”
“actually…” you paused, inwardly debating whether to tell your best friend or not. “okay, can i tell you something and can you promise not to judge me? or tell anyone else?”
“judge you? i mean… depends how bad it is.”
“jake, i’m serious!”
“okay, okay, i promise! now, what is it, my dear?” he said, leaning in and placing a sympathetic hand on yours.
you pulled your hand out from under his, lightly smacking it, “i told you, you’ve gotta stop calling me that in public, people are gonna think we’re dating.”
jake shrugged, “so? you’re the one who held my hand before, hypocrite.”
the exaggerated pout on his face told you that he wasn’t being serious, but you didn’t want him to think that you were joking, “okay, that’s fair, but… it just— it can scare guys away! which i don’t have a problem with when it gets creeps to back off, but sometimes there are guys that i don’t want to scare off, y’know?”
your gaze trailed down to the grill on the table, unable to make eye contact with your best friend knowing your words were quite harsh. a few seconds went by with no reaction or reply from him, and although it seemed like you were too late, you scrambled to soften the blow.
“i-i’m not saying you have to stop doing those things, i still like the affection and the cute names but, maybe, i don’t know, you could save that for when we’re, uh, not in such a public place?”
“who is it?” jake asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
“wh-what do you— who… what?”
“hey, first things first, i’m not upset. if saving that stuff for when it’s just us or just friends is what you’re comfortable with, then ‘course i don’t mind doing that,” he shifted to lean his elbow on the table, relaxing his stance in hopes of relaxing you.
“what i meant was, well, i know you, y/n, and there must be a specific guy you don’t want scaring off, and, ah! that must be the ‘thing’ you were gonna tell me about, that’s why you didn’t want me to judge you or tell anyone. am i right or am i right?”
you blinked once, twice, in disbelief that jake was able to read you so well—it was a blessing and a curse. you opened and closed your mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out, earning you a loud giggle from the boy across you.
“your silence is telling me i’m right,” he said with a smug smile.
“okay, fine, yes, you’re right. i hate how accurate that was,” you sighed, trying to regain your composure.
“so… the guy?” jake asked, fed up from the anticipation.
“promise you won’t judge or tell anyone?” you held up your pinky in front of your best friend.
intertwining his finger with yours and placing his other hand on his chest as if he was swearing an oath, he declared, “i swear on my dog’s life, i won’t tell a soul.”
“good,” you nodded, “well, the guy is, uh, it’s someone you know well, he’s, hmm—”
“stop beating around the bush, who is it!”
“it’s jaemin!”
jake’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped, “jaemin? like na jaemin? like the med student jaemin, the photographer jaemin? the jaemin you met not even a few hours ago?”
“shhh!” you launched forward, pressing your hand against his mouth. “the whole restaurant does not need to know, and for the record, yes, it is that jaemin. and before you judge, which i’m pretty sure you already have, i’m not saying i like him or anything, i’m just, interested in him, let’s say.”
“interested? go on,” jake said to the best of his ability while your hand was still covering his mouth, prompting you to remove your hand and wipe it with your napkin.
“okay, ew. anyways, i-i don’t know, jaemin always sounded so sweet and funny whenever you told me about him, and, well, i saw that for myself today. he’s also, like, really really gorgeous, i couldn’t stop staring at him, and when he came up close to talk to me, i swear i almost fainted right there and then,” you paused to catch your breath, surprised at how easy it was for you to gush over someone you had, like jake pointed out, just met.
“but, like you said, i don’t even know him that well, which is why i’m glad he asked for my number so we can—”
“he asked for your number?”
“yeah, he asked for it so he could send the photos he took to me.”
“damn, i’m stealing that move from him, that’s smooth.”
“‘smooth’? ‘move’? y-you think he’s interested in me too? that he did it on purpose?” the mere idea of jaemin reciprocating your feelings had your heart rate speeding up.
“i-i don’t know anything! i mean, whaaat? what were you saying before i interrupted?” jake blinked rapidly, poorly covering up how suspicious he sounded.
you decided to ignore whatever it was he was hiding in case it gave you any false hope, and continued your point, “as i was saying, i’m glad he gave me his number, that way i can get to know him and stuff before jumping into anything. he was just… he was really nice and everything, i just wanna see how it goes, y’know?”
jake nodded, “ahh, okay, that sounds good. i hope it goes well for you, really. jaemin hyung’s a great guy, i can vouch for that, so no need to spend your early talking stage trying to figure out whether he’s a red flag or not.”
you laughed, cringing as the boy’s words reminded you of a past, failed fling, “oh, trust me, i don’t want a repeat of that. everything feels so much easier with jaemin, i have a feeling it’ll be different with him.”
JAEMIN CAM • REC
“get the drinks out, boys, we’re celebrating tonight!” haechan exclaimed, swinging the front door open and letting jaemin shuffle in behind him.
“it’s literally… thursday night,” jeno deadpanned, glancing up from the tv to give his roommate a look of concern, or was it confusion? jaemin was too preoccupied thinking about… someone else to tell.
haechan locked the door, passing jeno’s slumped figure on the sofa and making his way to the kitchen. scoffing, he muttered under his breath, “okay, when has that ever stopped you?”
unfortunately, he wasn’t quiet enough, as jeno shot up from the couch, ready to crush that little coconut head of his, but was quickly stopped by jaemin pulling him back down to sit and renjun interrupting the petty squabble.
“can you two shut the fuck up for a sec,” he looked up from what he was cooking, glaring as he pointed his spoon at jeno and haechan respectively. “you said we should be ‘celebrating’, right? that means… it went well with y/n! how was it then, jaem?”
haechan gasped, placing the cans of cider he’d retrieved from the fridge onto the counter, “oh my god, would you believe jaemin actually—”
renjun sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he whipped round to face his infuriating friend, “sorry, is your name jaemin?”
jeno and jaemin’s (not so) muffled giggles broke through haechan’s silence, which spoke for itself.
nodding, renjun turned back to the boiling pot on the stove, “yeah, i thought so. go on, jaem.”
jaemin took a deep breath, trying to organise what felt like a million and one thoughts into coherent words, “to be honest, i-it felt… like a dream. i must’ve blacked out or something, it was like some super confident version of me took over. i still can’t believe that i winked at her, practically held her hand, asked for her number and got it. oh, and she even gave me her instagram without me asking.”
“sorry, what? you got her number and held her hand and you— my god, i need some time to process the fact that you did all of that,” jeno placed a hand on jaemin’s shoulder, before quickly turning it into a hug. “shit, man, i’m proud of you.”
“damn, you go, jaem!” renjun cheered from the kitchen, his face beaming with pride for his best friend’s multitude of successes, “so y/n’s definitely single then? ‘cause you’re in a good position right now to start getting closer to her if she is.”
“yup,” haechan answered, “i checked with her friend jake, and jaemin’s got the green light. jake even said he’d help him out if he needed, but as if our jaemin will need his help, right?”
jaemin’s eyes widened, looking frantically from jeno beside him to the boys in the kitchen, “uh, well, you’re kinda overestimating my skills, hyuck.”
“oh no,” he shook his head, chuckling. “no, no, no, i know you’ll need help but you’ve got us! y’know, since we’ve actually gotten this far with girls before.”
renjun’s stirring slowed to a stop as his jaw dropped, and jeno whipped around, burying his face in the couch cushions to suppress his laughter.
“yah!” jaemin stood up, pointing a threatening finger at haechan. on any other occasion, he would’ve found the teasing funny and laughed it off, but jaemin’s furrowed brows and stern tone told the boys otherwise.
“ah, i crossed the line, didn’t i? sorry, sorry,” haechan said, holding his hands up in surrender.
jaemin sighed as he slumped back down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, “no, i’m sorry. i really do appreciate your help and support, because, you’re right, i have no idea what i’m doing. i just— i really really don’t wanna mess up with y/n, and i’m grateful that you guys are willing to help me out, but it would be nice if you let me figure some things out myself too.”
jeno ruffled his best friend’s hair, giving him a supportive pat on the back as he replied, “of course we can do that! i know that sometimes we get involved in each other’s business without being asked, but we do it because we care, even though it’s not always the best way of showing it.”
“yeah,” haechan added, abandoning the drinks and joining his roommates on the couch. “we just want the best for you but we don’t wanna get there by overstepping your boundaries or anything.”
“i agree! with both of those things,” renjun shouted from the kitchen as he plated their dinner, “sorry, they kinda said everything i was gonna say. oh, by the way, food’s ready!”
jaemin chuckled, “thank you guys, honestly. uh, also, this might sound a little contradictory now, but i just realised that i never gave y/n my number. can you help me figure out how to word my first message to her? while we eat, of course, i’m not gonna let the food renjunnie worked so hard on go cold.”
“oh my god, yes!”
“i’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life, not even kidding.”
“at least someone appreciates my hard work!”
the enthusiastic squeals eventually died down and the next thirty (yes, thirty) minutes were spent meticulously drafting a message to you, with the occasional distractions of renjun’s delicious stew and debates over what your contact picture should be.
“okay, i’m pretty sure you can send it now,” haechan said and was met with nods of agreement.
“pretty sure?! pretty sure isn’t sure enough for me, i’m checking it one more time,” jaemin shook his head, placing his phone on the table and reading the text aloud.
“‘hey y/n, it’s jaemin, just letting you know since i didn’t get to give you my number before. by the way, i haven’t managed to start editing the pics just yet but i’ll let you know how they look once i do, smiley blushy face emoji’. are we sure it’s not too much?” his fingers hovered over the screen, prepared to alter the message for the umpteenth time.
“jaemin, my guy,” jeno placed his hands on jaemin’s in reassurance. “we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—it sounds fine. and it’s not too much either, the text isn’t dry and the fact that you mentioned the photos means she can start a conversation about it, so you’re less likely to be left on read.”
“plus, y’know, it’s too late now. jeno just sent the text,” renjun pointed out nonchalantly, directing everyone’s gazes to the blue text bubble on the screen and jeno’s hand stacked clumsily on top of jaemin’s… on top of the phone.
jaemin yelped, yanking his hands away and turning his phone off. he squeezed his eyes shut, not ready to accept what happened nor even think about getting a response any time soon.
“i-i’m sorry! i was just trying to make you feel better, i didn’t realise i was gonna press send. we can turn airplane mode on if you want so it doesn’t send! or we can—”
in the midst of jeno’s flurry of apologies, a small ding resonated through the kitchen, followed by another, as the screen illuminated, showing two notifications from messages.
“no. way.” jaemin breathed out, eyes now open and glued to the notification banner. a quick glance over at his wide-eyed friends with their jaws hanging open told him that they were all anticipating the same thing.
“open those notifications, open them right now, na jaemin!” haechan said, more of an encouragement than a demand.
jaemin quickly came to his senses, scrambling to unlock his phone, as the other boys leaned forward to get a closer look at your replies.
“my god, she’s quick,” renjun commented, shuffling closer to read the messages.
“‘thanks for letting me know, saved it now hehe smiley face’. mission accomplished, jaem, she has your number and she replied!”
“ooh, and it seems like your conversation starter worked,” haechan took over for the second, longer message.
“‘speaking of pics, jake never lived up to his ‘threat’ and he took some photos of me at dinner, wanna help me pick which ones to post?’ wait, is she talking about when jake said he would stop taking her instagram photos if she didn’t listen to him?”
jaemin couldn’t hide his wide grin as he nodded, remembering that he was the reason you were so preoccupied.
“well, don’t just sit there blushing like a tomato, answer! you don’t wanna leave her on read for too long, do you?” jeno lightly smacked jaemin on the arm, prompting him to type out a quick ‘sure!’.
once again, they all gathered around the phone, waiting to see the three dots pop up or hear another notification alert. moments passed with no dots nor dings, all that could be seen was a faint ‘delivered’ as the screen slowly faded to black from lack of activity.
“it’s fine, it’s fine,” jaemin shrugged, forcing out a laugh. “she’ll respond later… probably, right? you know what, doesn’t matter, i shouldn’t be so bothered about it, does anyone want another cider?”
before he could even leave his seat, renjun gently tugged his arm, sitting him back down, “jaem, stop stressing, and don’t say ‘i’m not stressing!’ because we know you well enough to know that you definitely are. how about you turn your phone off for the time being, hmm? i know you want things to go well with y/n, but try not to let yourself depend on her too much, okay?”
“he’s right, trust me, it’s awful—obsessively checking if you’ve gotten a notification from a certain someone and letting it ruin your day when you haven’t. y’know, just speaking from experience,” haechan added, earning a nod of agreement from jeno.
“yeah,” jaemin sighed, turning his phone off as renjun suggested. “you guys are right, thank you. you’re probably gonna need to remind me of that a lot, i just– the last thing i want is to get heartbroken.”
jeno placed a hand on jaemin’s shoulder, “we’ll do everything in our power to make sure you don’t get hurt, jaem.”
for the next few hours, jaemin decided to keep himself busy and distract himself from thinking about you. but it was as if the universe didn’t want him to get you out of his head.
washing the dishes reminded him of the lazy roommate you told him about earlier. showering with music on to block out his thoughts? the song that came on shuffle had played earlier while he was taking pictures of you. even reading through his stupid ‘ethics in medicine’ textbook reminded him of you and your passion for your major. before he knew it, the thought of you had infiltrated anything and everything that he did, whether he liked it or not.
“fuck it,” jaemin muttered to nobody in particular, finally turning his phone back on. impatiently tapping his finger against the side of his case, he watched, waiting for the screen to load.
as soon as it turned on, he rushed to unlock it, his hands shaking as he went to click on the messages app. he would be lying if he said his heartbeat didn’t speed up when he saw a ‘6’ hovering next to the icon. before even opening the app, jaemin took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the worst.
those six messages could be from multiple people—it could be jaehoon sending the notes from the lecture he missed the other day, it could be his mum nagging him about not getting enough sleep, it could be renjun asking for more toilet paper because someone had forgotten to replace the empty roll earlier.
even as he considered all the completely rational possibilities, he still couldn’t come to terms with the idea that the messages could be from anyone but you.
he squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the icon, slowly opening one eye, and then the other to confirm what he thought he’d seen. you had, in fact, sent jaemin six messages almost half an hour ago.
the knowledge that his mental torture could have ended earlier only passed his mind briefly, as he was more bothered by the fact that he had ignored you for so long.
he opened the messages, smiling fondly at the short apology you sent for responding so late because your data wasn’t working. his eyes naturally drifted to the pictures you’d sent, the beat of his thumping heart rivalling that of a deafening drum as he looked closer.
it hadn’t been long since jaemin last saw you but the way your enchanting smile shone like the bright, blazing sun made him feel like he was being welcomed into a brand new day. a giggle escaped his lips when he swiped to the last photo, depicting you mid-laugh, trying to cover your face with your hands but failing to hide those adorably crinkled, sparkling eyes of yours.
‘as an extremely professional photographer, i personally think that they’re all great and you should post them all but i think you look prettiest in the last one,’ jaemin typed out and sent, exiting the app as soon as possible to stop himself from overthinking his response and stressing out about when you’d reply.
feeling the corners of his lips starting to curl upwards, he buried his face in his pillow in embarrassment, but even that couldn’t stop the massive grin from growing. the ring of a notification had him darting upwards, letting out a little squeal when he saw your name on the banner.
‘thank you, mr professional photographer na, the last one’s my favourite too, i’ll post them all with that one as the cover :) since ur such a pro, can you help me choose a caption too?’
never had a simple colon and closed parenthesis made jaemin kick his feet and giggle before, but the thought of you smiling so sweetly behind your screen as you messaged him had his heart racing and his cheeks reddening.
he quickly replied with an ‘of course!’ and, before he knew it, there was no longer that anxious wait between him sending messages and you replying. as the conversation went on, jaemin gradually felt at ease talking to you, his responses coming naturally rather than being carefully crafted and analysed. although the beating of his heart was still erratic, there was something so comfortable, so natural about talking to you that made his worries and everything else around him simply drift away.
that was the first of many late nights jaemin chose to spend with you.
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | • REC -> a character’s point of view | ■ GALLERY -> a flashback from that character’s point of view
A/N | sorry for being so inactive lately! i’ve been busy preparing for uni and it was actually my first night last night 🙈 hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and feedback is always appreciated <3
Y/N CAM • REC
you stared at jake in silence, watching as he fiddled with his chopsticks whilst waiting for the food to come, “jakey?”
“hmm?” he answered, eyes fixed on the small tower he was making by stacking tiny, balled-up pieces of a napkin.
“you okay?” you asked, your voice laced with concern, “you didn’t even squeal when you saw the turtle-shell grill, is everything alright?”
jake let out a quiet giggle at your observation, putting his chopsticks down and abandoning his napkin tower, “yeah, everything’s fine, i’m just… tired.”
you raised a brow, not completely convinced by his answer. reaching across the table, you took his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, “hey, you know you can tell me when something’s bothering you, right? i’m not gonna force you to say anything if you don’t want to, but i’m here to listen, okay? i don’t like seeing you upset, what do i have to do to put a smile on your face, hm?”
you noticed jake’s lips curve upwards at your words, but the smile had yet to reach his eyes. he squeezed your hand and met your gaze, “thank you, y/n, really, but i promise i’m okay. i’ve just… had a long day, those morning classes are such a pain in the ass. ugh, i wish i’d taken up your coffee offer before.”
you still weren’t a hundred percent reassured by his answer, but you decided it was best not to push him for the truth. instead, you settled with the reply he gave, “ahh, okay, i’m glad nothing’s bothering you, but i’m still shocked you said no to free coffee.”
“i don’t know what got into me, i’ll be honest,” jake shrugged, retracting his hand from yours and running it through his hair.
“well, don’t you worry, i’ll buy you some coffee next time you take me to photography club,” you bit your lip, trying to hide your growing smile at the thought of seeing a certain someone again.
“next time? you wanna come next time?” jake cocked his head to the side, his face reminiscent of a confused puppy, “what’s with the sudden interest? don’t tell me you expect free food in return for helping me, you know i don’t have the funds for that!”
“actually…” you paused, inwardly debating whether to tell your best friend or not. “okay, can i tell you something and can you promise not to judge me? or tell anyone else?”
“judge you? i mean… depends how bad it is.”
“jake, i’m serious!”
“okay, okay, i promise! now, what is it, my dear?” he said, leaning in and placing a sympathetic hand on yours.
you pulled your hand out from under his, lightly smacking it, “i told you, you’ve gotta stop calling me that in public, people are gonna think we’re dating.”
jake shrugged, “so? you’re the one who held my hand before, hypocrite.”
the exaggerated pout on his face told you that he wasn’t being serious, but you didn’t want him to think that you were joking, “okay, that’s fair, but… it just— it can scare guys away! which i don’t have a problem with when it gets creeps to back off, but sometimes there are guys that i don’t want to scare off, y’know?”
your gaze trailed down to the grill on the table, unable to make eye contact with your best friend knowing your words were quite harsh. a few seconds went by with no reaction or reply from him, and although it seemed like you were too late, you scrambled to soften the blow.
“i-i’m not saying you have to stop doing those things, i still like the affection and the cute names but, maybe, i don’t know, you could save that for when we’re, uh, not in such a public place?”
“who is it?” jake asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
“wh-what do you— who… what?”
“hey, first things first, i’m not upset. if saving that stuff for when it’s just us or just friends is what you’re comfortable with, then ‘course i don’t mind doing that,” he shifted to lean his elbow on the table, relaxing his stance in hopes of relaxing you.
“what i meant was, well, i know you, y/n, and there must be a specific guy you don’t want scaring off, and, ah! that must be the ‘thing’ you were gonna tell me about, that’s why you didn’t want me to judge you or tell anyone. am i right or am i right?”
you blinked once, twice, in disbelief that jake was able to read you so well—it was a blessing and a curse. you opened and closed your mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out, earning you a loud giggle from the boy across you.
“your silence is telling me i’m right,” he said with a smug smile.
“okay, fine, yes, you’re right. i hate how accurate that was,” you sighed, trying to regain your composure.
“so… the guy?” jake asked, fed up from the anticipation.
“promise you won’t judge or tell anyone?” you held up your pinky in front of your best friend.
intertwining his finger with yours and placing his other hand on his chest as if he was swearing an oath, he declared, “i swear on my dog’s life, i won’t tell a soul.”
“good,” you nodded, “well, the guy is, uh, it’s someone you know well, he’s, hmm—”
“stop beating around the bush, who is it!”
“it’s jaemin!”
jake’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped, “jaemin? like na jaemin? like the med student jaemin, the photographer jaemin? the jaemin you met not even a few hours ago?”
“shhh!” you launched forward, pressing your hand against his mouth. “the whole restaurant does not need to know, and for the record, yes, it is that jaemin. and before you judge, which i’m pretty sure you already have, i’m not saying i like him or anything, i’m just, interested in him, let’s say.”
“interested? go on,” jake said to the best of his ability while your hand was still covering his mouth, prompting you to remove your hand and wipe it with your napkin.
“okay, ew. anyways, i-i don’t know, jaemin always sounded so sweet and funny whenever you told me about him, and, well, i saw that for myself today. he’s also, like, really really gorgeous, i couldn’t stop staring at him, and when he came up close to talk to me, i swear i almost fainted right there and then,” you paused to catch your breath, surprised at how easy it was for you to gush over someone you had, like jake pointed out, just met.
“but, like you said, i don’t even know him that well, which is why i’m glad he asked for my number so we can—”
“he asked for your number?”
“yeah, he asked for it so he could send the photos he took to me.”
“damn, i’m stealing that move from him, that’s smooth.”
“‘smooth’? ‘move’? y-you think he’s interested in me too? that he did it on purpose?” the mere idea of jaemin reciprocating your feelings had your heart rate speeding up.
“i-i don’t know anything! i mean, whaaat? what were you saying before i interrupted?” jake blinked rapidly, poorly covering up how suspicious he sounded.
you decided to ignore whatever it was he was hiding in case it gave you any false hope, and continued your point, “as i was saying, i’m glad he gave me his number, that way i can get to know him and stuff before jumping into anything. he was just… he was really nice and everything, i just wanna see how it goes, y’know?”
jake nodded, “ahh, okay, that sounds good. i hope it goes well for you, really. jaemin hyung’s a great guy, i can vouch for that, so no need to spend your early talking stage trying to figure out whether he’s a red flag or not.”
you laughed, cringing as the boy’s words reminded you of a past, failed fling, “oh, trust me, i don’t want a repeat of that. everything feels so much easier with jaemin, i have a feeling it’ll be different with him.”
JAEMIN CAM • REC
“get the drinks out, boys, we’re celebrating tonight!” haechan exclaimed, swinging the front door open and letting jaemin shuffle in behind him.
“it’s literally… thursday night,” jeno deadpanned, glancing up from the tv to give his roommate a look of concern, or was it confusion? jaemin was too preoccupied thinking about… someone else to tell.
haechan locked the door, passing jeno’s slumped figure on the sofa and making his way to the kitchen. scoffing, he muttered under his breath, “okay, when has that ever stopped you?”
unfortunately, he wasn’t quiet enough, as jeno shot up from the couch, ready to crush that little coconut head of his, but was quickly stopped by jaemin pulling him back down to sit and renjun interrupting the petty squabble.
“can you two shut the fuck up for a sec,” he looked up from what he was cooking, glaring as he pointed his spoon at jeno and haechan respectively. “you said we should be ‘celebrating’, right? that means… it went well with y/n! how was it then, jaem?”
haechan gasped, placing the cans of cider he’d retrieved from the fridge onto the counter, “oh my god, would you believe jaemin actually—”
renjun sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he whipped round to face his infuriating friend, “sorry, is your name jaemin?”
jeno and jaemin’s (not so) muffled giggles broke through haechan’s silence, which spoke for itself.
nodding, renjun turned back to the boiling pot on the stove, “yeah, i thought so. go on, jaem.”
jaemin took a deep breath, trying to organise what felt like a million and one thoughts into coherent words, “to be honest, i-it felt… like a dream. i must’ve blacked out or something, it was like some super confident version of me took over. i still can’t believe that i winked at her, practically held her hand, asked for her number and got it. oh, and she even gave me her instagram without me asking.”
“sorry, what? you got her number and held her hand and you— my god, i need some time to process the fact that you did all of that,” jeno placed a hand on jaemin’s shoulder, before quickly turning it into a hug. “shit, man, i’m proud of you.”
“damn, you go, jaem!” renjun cheered from the kitchen, his face beaming with pride for his best friend’s multitude of successes, “so y/n’s definitely single then? ‘cause you’re in a good position right now to start getting closer to her if she is.”
“yup,” haechan answered, “i checked with her friend jake, and jaemin’s got the green light. jake even said he’d help him out if he needed, but as if our jaemin will need his help, right?”
jaemin’s eyes widened, looking frantically from jeno beside him to the boys in the kitchen, “uh, well, you’re kinda overestimating my skills, hyuck.”
“oh no,” he shook his head, chuckling. “no, no, no, i know you’ll need help but you’ve got us! y’know, since we’ve actually gotten this far with girls before.”
renjun’s stirring slowed to a stop as his jaw dropped, and jeno whipped around, burying his face in the couch cushions to suppress his laughter.
“yah!” jaemin stood up, pointing a threatening finger at haechan. on any other occasion, he would’ve found the teasing funny and laughed it off, but jaemin’s furrowed brows and stern tone told the boys otherwise.
“ah, i crossed the line, didn’t i? sorry, sorry,” haechan said, holding his hands up in surrender.
jaemin sighed as he slumped back down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, “no, i’m sorry. i really do appreciate your help and support, because, you’re right, i have no idea what i’m doing. i just— i really really don’t wanna mess up with y/n, and i’m grateful that you guys are willing to help me out, but it would be nice if you let me figure some things out myself too.”
jeno ruffled his best friend’s hair, giving him a supportive pat on the back as he replied, “of course we can do that! i know that sometimes we get involved in each other’s business without being asked, but we do it because we care, even though it’s not always the best way of showing it.”
“yeah,” haechan added, abandoning the drinks and joining his roommates on the couch. “we just want the best for you but we don’t wanna get there by overstepping your boundaries or anything.”
“i agree! with both of those things,” renjun shouted from the kitchen as he plated their dinner, “sorry, they kinda said everything i was gonna say. oh, by the way, food’s ready!”
jaemin chuckled, “thank you guys, honestly. uh, also, this might sound a little contradictory now, but i just realised that i never gave y/n my number. can you help me figure out how to word my first message to her? while we eat, of course, i’m not gonna let the food renjunnie worked so hard on go cold.”
“oh my god, yes!”
“i’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life, not even kidding.”
“at least someone appreciates my hard work!”
the enthusiastic squeals eventually died down and the next thirty (yes, thirty) minutes were spent meticulously drafting a message to you, with the occasional distractions of renjun’s delicious stew and debates over what your contact picture should be.
“okay, i’m pretty sure you can send it now,” haechan said and was met with nods of agreement.
“pretty sure?! pretty sure isn’t sure enough for me, i’m checking it one more time,” jaemin shook his head, placing his phone on the table and reading the text aloud.
“‘hey y/n, it’s jaemin, just letting you know since i didn’t get to give you my number before. by the way, i haven’t managed to start editing the pics just yet but i’ll let you know how they look once i do, smiley blushy face emoji’. are we sure it’s not too much?” his fingers hovered over the screen, prepared to alter the message for the umpteenth time.
“jaemin, my guy,” jeno placed his hands on jaemin’s in reassurance. “we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—it sounds fine. and it’s not too much either, the text isn’t dry and the fact that you mentioned the photos means she can start a conversation about it, so you’re less likely to be left on read.”
“plus, y’know, it’s too late now. jeno just sent the text,” renjun pointed out nonchalantly, directing everyone’s gazes to the blue text bubble on the screen and jeno’s hand stacked clumsily on top of jaemin’s… on top of the phone.
jaemin yelped, yanking his hands away and turning his phone off. he squeezed his eyes shut, not ready to accept what happened nor even think about getting a response any time soon.
“i-i’m sorry! i was just trying to make you feel better, i didn’t realise i was gonna press send. we can turn airplane mode on if you want so it doesn’t send! or we can—”
in the midst of jeno’s flurry of apologies, a small ding resonated through the kitchen, followed by another, as the screen illuminated, showing two notifications from messages.
“no. way.” jaemin breathed out, eyes now open and glued to the notification banner. a quick glance over at his wide-eyed friends with their jaws hanging open told him that they were all anticipating the same thing.
“open those notifications, open them right now, na jaemin!” haechan said, more of an encouragement than a demand.
jaemin quickly came to his senses, scrambling to unlock his phone, as the other boys leaned forward to get a closer look at your replies.
“my god, she’s quick,” renjun commented, shuffling closer to read the messages.
“‘thanks for letting me know, saved it now hehe smiley face’. mission accomplished, jaem, she has your number and she replied!”
“ooh, and it seems like your conversation starter worked,” haechan took over for the second, longer message.
“‘speaking of pics, jake never lived up to his ‘threat’ and he took some photos of me at dinner, wanna help me pick which ones to post?’ wait, is she talking about when jake said he would stop taking her instagram photos if she didn’t listen to him?”
jaemin couldn’t hide his wide grin as he nodded, remembering that he was the reason you were so preoccupied.
“well, don’t just sit there blushing like a tomato, answer! you don’t wanna leave her on read for too long, do you?” jeno lightly smacked jaemin on the arm, prompting him to type out a quick ‘sure!’.
once again, they all gathered around the phone, waiting to see the three dots pop up or hear another notification alert. moments passed with no dots nor dings, all that could be seen was a faint ‘delivered’ as the screen slowly faded to black from lack of activity.
“it’s fine, it’s fine,” jaemin shrugged, forcing out a laugh. “she’ll respond later… probably, right? you know what, doesn’t matter, i shouldn’t be so bothered about it, does anyone want another cider?”
before he could even leave his seat, renjun gently tugged his arm, sitting him back down, “jaem, stop stressing, and don’t say ‘i’m not stressing!’ because we know you well enough to know that you definitely are. how about you turn your phone off for the time being, hmm? i know you want things to go well with y/n, but try not to let yourself depend on her too much, okay?”
“he’s right, trust me, it’s awful—obsessively checking if you’ve gotten a notification from a certain someone and letting it ruin your day when you haven’t. y’know, just speaking from experience,” haechan added, earning a nod of agreement from jeno.
“yeah,” jaemin sighed, turning his phone off as renjun suggested. “you guys are right, thank you. you’re probably gonna need to remind me of that a lot, i just– the last thing i want is to get heartbroken.”
jeno placed a hand on jaemin’s shoulder, “we’ll do everything in our power to make sure you don’t get hurt, jaem.”
for the next few hours, jaemin decided to keep himself busy and distract himself from thinking about you. but it was as if the universe didn’t want him to get you out of his head.
washing the dishes reminded him of the lazy roommate you told him about earlier. showering with music on to block out his thoughts? the song that came on shuffle had played earlier while he was taking pictures of you. even reading through his stupid ‘ethics in medicine’ textbook reminded him of you and your passion for your major. before he knew it, the thought of you had infiltrated anything and everything that he did, whether he liked it or not.
“fuck it,” jaemin muttered to nobody in particular, finally turning his phone back on. impatiently tapping his finger against the side of his case, he watched, waiting for the screen to load.
as soon as it turned on, he rushed to unlock it, his hands shaking as he went to click on the messages app. he would be lying if he said his heartbeat didn’t speed up when he saw a ‘6’ hovering next to the icon. before even opening the app, jaemin took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the worst.
those six messages could be from multiple people—it could be jaehoon sending the notes from the lecture he missed the other day, it could be his mum nagging him about not getting enough sleep, it could be renjun asking for more toilet paper because someone had forgotten to replace the empty roll earlier.
even as he considered all the completely rational possibilities, he still couldn’t come to terms with the idea that the messages could be from anyone but you.
he squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the icon, slowly opening one eye, and then the other to confirm what he thought he’d seen. you had, in fact, sent jaemin six messages almost half an hour ago.
the knowledge that his mental torture could have ended earlier only passed his mind briefly, as he was more bothered by the fact that he had ignored you for so long.
he opened the messages, smiling fondly at the short apology you sent for responding so late because your data wasn’t working. his eyes naturally drifted to the pictures you’d sent, the beat of his thumping heart rivalling that of a deafening drum as he looked closer.
it hadn’t been long since jaemin last saw you but the way your enchanting smile shone like the bright, blazing sun made him feel like he was being welcomed into a brand new day. a giggle escaped his lips when he swiped to the last photo, depicting you mid-laugh, trying to cover your face with your hands but failing to hide those adorably crinkled, sparkling eyes of yours.
‘as an extremely professional photographer, i personally think that they’re all great and you should post them all but i think you look prettiest in the last one,’ jaemin typed out and sent, exiting the app as soon as possible to stop himself from overthinking his response and stressing out about when you’d reply.
feeling the corners of his lips starting to curl upwards, he buried his face in his pillow in embarrassment, but even that couldn’t stop the massive grin from growing. the ring of a notification had him darting upwards, letting out a little squeal when he saw your name on the banner.
‘thank you, mr professional photographer na, the last one’s my favourite too, i’ll post them all with that one as the cover :) since ur such a pro, can you help me choose a caption too?’
never had a simple colon and closed parenthesis made jaemin kick his feet and giggle before, but the thought of you smiling so sweetly behind your screen as you messaged him had his heart racing and his cheeks reddening.
he quickly replied with an ‘of course!’ and, before he knew it, there was no longer that anxious wait between him sending messages and you replying. as the conversation went on, jaemin gradually felt at ease talking to you, his responses coming naturally rather than being carefully crafted and analysed. although the beating of his heart was still erratic, there was something so comfortable, so natural about talking to you that made his worries and everything else around him simply drift away.
that was the first of many late nights jaemin chose to spend with you.
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | • REC -> a character’s point of view | ■ GALLERY -> a flashback from that character’s point of view
A/N | sorry for being so inactive lately! i’ve been busy preparing for uni and it was actually my first night last night 🙈 hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and feedback is always appreciated <3
Y/N CAM • REC
you stared at jake in silence, watching as he fiddled with his chopsticks whilst waiting for the food to come, “jakey?”
“hmm?” he answered, eyes fixed on the small tower he was making by stacking tiny, balled-up pieces of a napkin.
“you okay?” you asked, your voice laced with concern, “you didn’t even squeal when you saw the turtle-shell grill, is everything alright?”
jake let out a quiet giggle at your observation, putting his chopsticks down and abandoning his napkin tower, “yeah, everything’s fine, i’m just… tired.”
you raised a brow, not completely convinced by his answer. reaching across the table, you took his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, “hey, you know you can tell me when something’s bothering you, right? i’m not gonna force you to say anything if you don’t want to, but i’m here to listen, okay? i don’t like seeing you upset, what do i have to do to put a smile on your face, hm?”
you noticed jake’s lips curve upwards at your words, but the smile had yet to reach his eyes. he squeezed your hand and met your gaze, “thank you, y/n, really, but i promise i’m okay. i’ve just… had a long day, those morning classes are such a pain in the ass. ugh, i wish i’d taken up your coffee offer before.”
you still weren’t a hundred percent reassured by his answer, but you decided it was best not to push him for the truth. instead, you settled with the reply he gave, “ahh, okay, i’m glad nothing’s bothering you, but i’m still shocked you said no to free coffee.”
“i don’t know what got into me, i’ll be honest,” jake shrugged, retracting his hand from yours and running it through his hair.
“well, don’t you worry, i’ll buy you some coffee next time you take me to photography club,” you bit your lip, trying to hide your growing smile at the thought of seeing a certain someone again.
“next time? you wanna come next time?” jake cocked his head to the side, his face reminiscent of a confused puppy, “what’s with the sudden interest? don’t tell me you expect free food in return for helping me, you know i don’t have the funds for that!”
“actually…” you paused, inwardly debating whether to tell your best friend or not. “okay, can i tell you something and can you promise not to judge me? or tell anyone else?”
“judge you? i mean… depends how bad it is.”
“jake, i’m serious!”
“okay, okay, i promise! now, what is it, my dear?” he said, leaning in and placing a sympathetic hand on yours.
you pulled your hand out from under his, lightly smacking it, “i told you, you’ve gotta stop calling me that in public, people are gonna think we’re dating.”
jake shrugged, “so? you’re the one who held my hand before, hypocrite.”
the exaggerated pout on his face told you that he wasn’t being serious, but you didn’t want him to think that you were joking, “okay, that’s fair, but… it just— it can scare guys away! which i don’t have a problem with when it gets creeps to back off, but sometimes there are guys that i don’t want to scare off, y’know?”
your gaze trailed down to the grill on the table, unable to make eye contact with your best friend knowing your words were quite harsh. a few seconds went by with no reaction or reply from him, and although it seemed like you were too late, you scrambled to soften the blow.
“i-i’m not saying you have to stop doing those things, i still like the affection and the cute names but, maybe, i don’t know, you could save that for when we’re, uh, not in such a public place?”
“who is it?” jake asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
“wh-what do you— who… what?”
“hey, first things first, i’m not upset. if saving that stuff for when it’s just us or just friends is what you’re comfortable with, then ‘course i don’t mind doing that,” he shifted to lean his elbow on the table, relaxing his stance in hopes of relaxing you.
“what i meant was, well, i know you, y/n, and there must be a specific guy you don’t want scaring off, and, ah! that must be the ‘thing’ you were gonna tell me about, that’s why you didn’t want me to judge you or tell anyone. am i right or am i right?”
you blinked once, twice, in disbelief that jake was able to read you so well—it was a blessing and a curse. you opened and closed your mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out, earning you a loud giggle from the boy across you.
“your silence is telling me i’m right,” he said with a smug smile.
“okay, fine, yes, you’re right. i hate how accurate that was,” you sighed, trying to regain your composure.
“so… the guy?” jake asked, fed up from the anticipation.
“promise you won’t judge or tell anyone?” you held up your pinky in front of your best friend.
intertwining his finger with yours and placing his other hand on his chest as if he was swearing an oath, he declared, “i swear on my dog’s life, i won’t tell a soul.”
“good,” you nodded, “well, the guy is, uh, it’s someone you know well, he’s, hmm—”
“stop beating around the bush, who is it!”
“it’s jaemin!”
jake’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped, “jaemin? like na jaemin? like the med student jaemin, the photographer jaemin? the jaemin you met not even a few hours ago?”
“shhh!” you launched forward, pressing your hand against his mouth. “the whole restaurant does not need to know, and for the record, yes, it is that jaemin. and before you judge, which i’m pretty sure you already have, i’m not saying i like him or anything, i’m just, interested in him, let’s say.”
“interested? go on,” jake said to the best of his ability while your hand was still covering his mouth, prompting you to remove your hand and wipe it with your napkin.
“okay, ew. anyways, i-i don’t know, jaemin always sounded so sweet and funny whenever you told me about him, and, well, i saw that for myself today. he’s also, like, really really gorgeous, i couldn’t stop staring at him, and when he came up close to talk to me, i swear i almost fainted right there and then,” you paused to catch your breath, surprised at how easy it was for you to gush over someone you had, like jake pointed out, just met.
“but, like you said, i don’t even know him that well, which is why i’m glad he asked for my number so we can—”
“he asked for your number?”
“yeah, he asked for it so he could send the photos he took to me.”
“damn, i’m stealing that move from him, that’s smooth.”
“‘smooth’? ‘move’? y-you think he’s interested in me too? that he did it on purpose?” the mere idea of jaemin reciprocating your feelings had your heart rate speeding up.
“i-i don’t know anything! i mean, whaaat? what were you saying before i interrupted?” jake blinked rapidly, poorly covering up how suspicious he sounded.
you decided to ignore whatever it was he was hiding in case it gave you any false hope, and continued your point, “as i was saying, i’m glad he gave me his number, that way i can get to know him and stuff before jumping into anything. he was just… he was really nice and everything, i just wanna see how it goes, y’know?”
jake nodded, “ahh, okay, that sounds good. i hope it goes well for you, really. jaemin hyung’s a great guy, i can vouch for that, so no need to spend your early talking stage trying to figure out whether he’s a red flag or not.”
you laughed, cringing as the boy’s words reminded you of a past, failed fling, “oh, trust me, i don’t want a repeat of that. everything feels so much easier with jaemin, i have a feeling it’ll be different with him.”
JAEMIN CAM • REC
“get the drinks out, boys, we’re celebrating tonight!” haechan exclaimed, swinging the front door open and letting jaemin shuffle in behind him.
“it’s literally… thursday night,” jeno deadpanned, glancing up from the tv to give his roommate a look of concern, or was it confusion? jaemin was too preoccupied thinking about… someone else to tell.
haechan locked the door, passing jeno’s slumped figure on the sofa and making his way to the kitchen. scoffing, he muttered under his breath, “okay, when has that ever stopped you?”
unfortunately, he wasn’t quiet enough, as jeno shot up from the couch, ready to crush that little coconut head of his, but was quickly stopped by jaemin pulling him back down to sit and renjun interrupting the petty squabble.
“can you two shut the fuck up for a sec,” he looked up from what he was cooking, glaring as he pointed his spoon at jeno and haechan respectively. “you said we should be ‘celebrating’, right? that means… it went well with y/n! how was it then, jaem?”
haechan gasped, placing the cans of cider he’d retrieved from the fridge onto the counter, “oh my god, would you believe jaemin actually—”
renjun sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he whipped round to face his infuriating friend, “sorry, is your name jaemin?”
jeno and jaemin’s (not so) muffled giggles broke through haechan’s silence, which spoke for itself.
nodding, renjun turned back to the boiling pot on the stove, “yeah, i thought so. go on, jaem.”
jaemin took a deep breath, trying to organise what felt like a million and one thoughts into coherent words, “to be honest, i-it felt… like a dream. i must’ve blacked out or something, it was like some super confident version of me took over. i still can’t believe that i winked at her, practically held her hand, asked for her number and got it. oh, and she even gave me her instagram without me asking.”
“sorry, what? you got her number and held her hand and you— my god, i need some time to process the fact that you did all of that,” jeno placed a hand on jaemin’s shoulder, before quickly turning it into a hug. “shit, man, i’m proud of you.”
“damn, you go, jaem!” renjun cheered from the kitchen, his face beaming with pride for his best friend’s multitude of successes, “so y/n’s definitely single then? ‘cause you’re in a good position right now to start getting closer to her if she is.”
“yup,” haechan answered, “i checked with her friend jake, and jaemin’s got the green light. jake even said he’d help him out if he needed, but as if our jaemin will need his help, right?”
jaemin’s eyes widened, looking frantically from jeno beside him to the boys in the kitchen, “uh, well, you’re kinda overestimating my skills, hyuck.”
“oh no,” he shook his head, chuckling. “no, no, no, i know you’ll need help but you’ve got us! y’know, since we’ve actually gotten this far with girls before.”
renjun’s stirring slowed to a stop as his jaw dropped, and jeno whipped around, burying his face in the couch cushions to suppress his laughter.
“yah!” jaemin stood up, pointing a threatening finger at haechan. on any other occasion, he would’ve found the teasing funny and laughed it off, but jaemin’s furrowed brows and stern tone told the boys otherwise.
“ah, i crossed the line, didn’t i? sorry, sorry,” haechan said, holding his hands up in surrender.
jaemin sighed as he slumped back down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, “no, i’m sorry. i really do appreciate your help and support, because, you’re right, i have no idea what i’m doing. i just— i really really don’t wanna mess up with y/n, and i’m grateful that you guys are willing to help me out, but it would be nice if you let me figure some things out myself too.”
jeno ruffled his best friend’s hair, giving him a supportive pat on the back as he replied, “of course we can do that! i know that sometimes we get involved in each other’s business without being asked, but we do it because we care, even though it’s not always the best way of showing it.”
“yeah,” haechan added, abandoning the drinks and joining his roommates on the couch. “we just want the best for you but we don’t wanna get there by overstepping your boundaries or anything.”
“i agree! with both of those things,” renjun shouted from the kitchen as he plated their dinner, “sorry, they kinda said everything i was gonna say. oh, by the way, food’s ready!”
jaemin chuckled, “thank you guys, honestly. uh, also, this might sound a little contradictory now, but i just realised that i never gave y/n my number. can you help me figure out how to word my first message to her? while we eat, of course, i’m not gonna let the food renjunnie worked so hard on go cold.”
“oh my god, yes!”
“i’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life, not even kidding.”
“at least someone appreciates my hard work!”
the enthusiastic squeals eventually died down and the next thirty (yes, thirty) minutes were spent meticulously drafting a message to you, with the occasional distractions of renjun’s delicious stew and debates over what your contact picture should be.
“okay, i’m pretty sure you can send it now,” haechan said and was met with nods of agreement.
“pretty sure?! pretty sure isn’t sure enough for me, i’m checking it one more time,” jaemin shook his head, placing his phone on the table and reading the text aloud.
“‘hey y/n, it’s jaemin, just letting you know since i didn’t get to give you my number before. by the way, i haven’t managed to start editing the pics just yet but i’ll let you know how they look once i do, smiley blushy face emoji’. are we sure it’s not too much?” his fingers hovered over the screen, prepared to alter the message for the umpteenth time.
“jaemin, my guy,” jeno placed his hands on jaemin’s in reassurance. “we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—it sounds fine. and it’s not too much either, the text isn’t dry and the fact that you mentioned the photos means she can start a conversation about it, so you’re less likely to be left on read.”
“plus, y’know, it’s too late now. jeno just sent the text,” renjun pointed out nonchalantly, directing everyone’s gazes to the blue text bubble on the screen and jeno’s hand stacked clumsily on top of jaemin’s… on top of the phone.
jaemin yelped, yanking his hands away and turning his phone off. he squeezed his eyes shut, not ready to accept what happened nor even think about getting a response any time soon.
“i-i’m sorry! i was just trying to make you feel better, i didn’t realise i was gonna press send. we can turn airplane mode on if you want so it doesn’t send! or we can—”
in the midst of jeno’s flurry of apologies, a small ding resonated through the kitchen, followed by another, as the screen illuminated, showing two notifications from messages.
“no. way.” jaemin breathed out, eyes now open and glued to the notification banner. a quick glance over at his wide-eyed friends with their jaws hanging open told him that they were all anticipating the same thing.
“open those notifications, open them right now, na jaemin!” haechan said, more of an encouragement than a demand.
jaemin quickly came to his senses, scrambling to unlock his phone, as the other boys leaned forward to get a closer look at your replies.
“my god, she’s quick,” renjun commented, shuffling closer to read the messages.
“‘thanks for letting me know, saved it now hehe smiley face’. mission accomplished, jaem, she has your number and she replied!”
“ooh, and it seems like your conversation starter worked,” haechan took over for the second, longer message.
“‘speaking of pics, jake never lived up to his ‘threat’ and he took some photos of me at dinner, wanna help me pick which ones to post?’ wait, is she talking about when jake said he would stop taking her instagram photos if she didn’t listen to him?”
jaemin couldn’t hide his wide grin as he nodded, remembering that he was the reason you were so preoccupied.
“well, don’t just sit there blushing like a tomato, answer! you don’t wanna leave her on read for too long, do you?” jeno lightly smacked jaemin on the arm, prompting him to type out a quick ‘sure!’.
once again, they all gathered around the phone, waiting to see the three dots pop up or hear another notification alert. moments passed with no dots nor dings, all that could be seen was a faint ‘delivered’ as the screen slowly faded to black from lack of activity.
“it’s fine, it’s fine,” jaemin shrugged, forcing out a laugh. “she’ll respond later… probably, right? you know what, doesn’t matter, i shouldn’t be so bothered about it, does anyone want another cider?”
before he could even leave his seat, renjun gently tugged his arm, sitting him back down, “jaem, stop stressing, and don’t say ‘i’m not stressing!’ because we know you well enough to know that you definitely are. how about you turn your phone off for the time being, hmm? i know you want things to go well with y/n, but try not to let yourself depend on her too much, okay?”
“he’s right, trust me, it’s awful—obsessively checking if you’ve gotten a notification from a certain someone and letting it ruin your day when you haven’t. y’know, just speaking from experience,” haechan added, earning a nod of agreement from jeno.
“yeah,” jaemin sighed, turning his phone off as renjun suggested. “you guys are right, thank you. you’re probably gonna need to remind me of that a lot, i just– the last thing i want is to get heartbroken.”
jeno placed a hand on jaemin’s shoulder, “we’ll do everything in our power to make sure you don’t get hurt, jaem.”
for the next few hours, jaemin decided to keep himself busy and distract himself from thinking about you. but it was as if the universe didn’t want him to get you out of his head.
washing the dishes reminded him of the lazy roommate you told him about earlier. showering with music on to block out his thoughts? the song that came on shuffle had played earlier while he was taking pictures of you. even reading through his stupid ‘ethics in medicine’ textbook reminded him of you and your passion for your major. before he knew it, the thought of you had infiltrated anything and everything that he did, whether he liked it or not.
“fuck it,” jaemin muttered to nobody in particular, finally turning his phone back on. impatiently tapping his finger against the side of his case, he watched, waiting for the screen to load.
as soon as it turned on, he rushed to unlock it, his hands shaking as he went to click on the messages app. he would be lying if he said his heartbeat didn’t speed up when he saw a ‘6’ hovering next to the icon. before even opening the app, jaemin took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the worst.
those six messages could be from multiple people—it could be jaehoon sending the notes from the lecture he missed the other day, it could be his mum nagging him about not getting enough sleep, it could be renjun asking for more toilet paper because someone had forgotten to replace the empty roll earlier.
even as he considered all the completely rational possibilities, he still couldn’t come to terms with the idea that the messages could be from anyone but you.
he squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the icon, slowly opening one eye, and then the other to confirm what he thought he’d seen. you had, in fact, sent jaemin six messages almost half an hour ago.
the knowledge that his mental torture could have ended earlier only passed his mind briefly, as he was more bothered by the fact that he had ignored you for so long.
he opened the messages, smiling fondly at the short apology you sent for responding so late because your data wasn’t working. his eyes naturally drifted to the pictures you’d sent, the beat of his thumping heart rivalling that of a deafening drum as he looked closer.
it hadn’t been long since jaemin last saw you but the way your enchanting smile shone like the bright, blazing sun made him feel like he was being welcomed into a brand new day. a giggle escaped his lips when he swiped to the last photo, depicting you mid-laugh, trying to cover your face with your hands but failing to hide those adorably crinkled, sparkling eyes of yours.
‘as an extremely professional photographer, i personally think that they’re all great and you should post them all but i think you look prettiest in the last one,’ jaemin typed out and sent, exiting the app as soon as possible to stop himself from overthinking his response and stressing out about when you’d reply.
feeling the corners of his lips starting to curl upwards, he buried his face in his pillow in embarrassment, but even that couldn’t stop the massive grin from growing. the ring of a notification had him darting upwards, letting out a little squeal when he saw your name on the banner.
‘thank you, mr professional photographer na, the last one’s my favourite too, i’ll post them all with that one as the cover :) since ur such a pro, can you help me choose a caption too?’
never had a simple colon and closed parenthesis made jaemin kick his feet and giggle before, but the thought of you smiling so sweetly behind your screen as you messaged him had his heart racing and his cheeks reddening.
he quickly replied with an ‘of course!’ and, before he knew it, there was no longer that anxious wait between him sending messages and you replying. as the conversation went on, jaemin gradually felt at ease talking to you, his responses coming naturally rather than being carefully crafted and analysed. although the beating of his heart was still erratic, there was something so comfortable, so natural about talking to you that made his worries and everything else around him simply drift away.
that was the first of many late nights jaemin chose to spend with you.
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | • REC -> a character’s point of view | ■ GALLERY -> a flashback from that character’s point of view
Y/N CAM • REC
“thanks for agreeing to come so last minute,” jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
“oh, it’s no problem,” you naturally mirrored his grin, “how come hoon couldn’t make it though?”
“ah, he forgot his sister was performing at her school’s dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,” he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, “please, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?”
“that’s true, the man’s in love with his own beauty,” jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. “y’know as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when i’m shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.”
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jake’s arm to steady yourself, “should i be worried for my shoot then or…?”
“absolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,” he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
“wow, i’m flattered,” you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, “also, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. i’ll pay, since you did last time—take it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.”
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, “well, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?”
“sure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,” you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
“hmmm, i’m craving meat… can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!” the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
“sounds good, jakey! y’know my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,” you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few ‘sorry’s and gently rubbing the spot you’d hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
“over here, jake!” the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off of.
“jaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?” jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
“ahh yes, i remember,” jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, “oh, and this is haechan.”
“the haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was ‘daeman’ for three months?” jake’s jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
“yup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,” jaemin rolled his eyes at haechan’s announcement. “pleased to meet you both,” he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, “i’ve heard a lot about you!”
“lee haechan!” jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, “haha… what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and you’re usually in those stories, jake.”
“wow, i’m honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,” jake proudly put a hand on his chest, “ah, that’s right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?”
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the room’s attention, “good afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and i’m the president of the photography club. i’ll be leading today’s session, where we’ll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i don’t expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.”
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
“next week, using the photos from the two models, you’ll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever you’d like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and don’t forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!” eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop you’d been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phone’s camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
“sorry if i was a bit much before,” haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. “my friends always tell me to tone it down when i’m meeting new people but, well, i can’t help but let my natural charm shine through.”
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, “that’s okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i don’t really know anyone here except from jake.”
“no problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,” he shook his head, “you can just call me haechan. i know i’m a fourth year and all but it just… it makes me feel ancient.”
“okay then, haechan,” you felt much more at ease speaking casually, “what’s your major? i’m a philosophy major, second year.”
“ooh, philosophy! i have a friend who’s doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.”
“woah, that sounds so cool– oh, um, i think you’re, uh, needed,” you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
“well, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,” jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who would’ve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didn’t last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadn’t known any better, you would’ve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
“hey, jake, i know i’m sending haechan’s photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, they’ll look more consistent and it’ll make it easier for you when you’re editing,” jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
“okay, sounds good, we’ll start y/n’s shots in a bit then,” you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
“sorry for keeping you waiting for so long,” the last thing you expected was the boy you’d been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. “i’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,” he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeat–caused by the shock of jaemin’s unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; let’s just say it was both.
“oh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you… photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!” your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
“i mean, i don’t know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,” you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, “thank you, but i’m no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.”
“who said you can’t be an expert at something you do for fun? it’s not like those things are… oh, what’s the word! they’re not, they’re not, uhh—”
“mutually exclusive?” jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
“yes, that! of course you knew, you’re a stem major, right?” you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
“yikes, is it that obvious? it’s not the eyebags, is it? i promise it’s not because of the heavy workload, it’s just ‘cause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jeno’s trying to help me limit it to the mornings but— i-i’m so sorry, i’m rambling, aren’t i?” jaemin’s lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didn’t want him to stop any time soon. it was almost… cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, “it’s okay! i’m usually the one that’s doing the rambling so i don’t mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.”
“ahh, that’s right,” the older boy sighed, “i’m guessing you’re an arts major, then?”
“humanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally don’t think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if we’re talking about—” you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, “haha, y-you don’t need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.”
“no, no, it’s fine!” jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, “oh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.”
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didn’t waste any time. “o-of course, yeah, that’s fine! i’ll even give you my socials while we’re at it,” you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
“just out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i would’ve been put off of asking.”
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, “well, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldn’t mind being the one to listen to that—after all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but you’ve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i can’t guarantee i would’ve even spoken.”
you would be lying if you said your heart didn’t skip a beat when you heard jaemin’s answer, “oh, you’re so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you won’t block me if i spam you too much?”
“yes, as long as you don’t block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.”
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
“of course—”
“ahem, miss y/n!” jake’s loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you weren’t in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, “get here now or you’re losing your instagram photographer privileges.”
you were immediately distracted from your best friend’s empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, “you should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,” he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldn’t take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM • REC
jake clicked through the shots he’d taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, “y’know, if you’re happy with these, then we don’t need to do any more, i’ve got enough pictures to choose from.”
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, “yup, they’re all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean we’re done then?”
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, “i-i mean, i’ve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?”
“oh, yeah,” jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jake’s reminder, “don’t worry, y/n, i won’t keep you too long.”
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, “it’s fine, you don’t mind waiting, right, jake?”
he looked up from his camera, nodding, “course not, i’ll start putting my stuff away now so i don’t end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.”
your jaw dropped at your best friend’s not-so-subtle dig, “hey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.”
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldn’t help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, “sorry, sorry!”
“you better be!” he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels he’d used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
“oh, you’re done already?” haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
“hyung! ah, you scared me,” the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
“damn, that’s the second time that’s happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?” haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
“no, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,” he chuckled, “but yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyung’s just getting a few photos of y/n as well.”
“oh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?” haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that he’d been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, “yeah, i’ve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess she’s just gotten used to what to do by now.”
“ah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, y’know, together,” haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
“oh, uhh, t-together, as in like–”
“like, are you and y/n dating?”
jake’s face fell as soon as the question came out of haechan’s mouth. of course he knew what he meant by ‘together’, he just didn’t want to believe it was what he thought. it wasn’t like he’d never heard the question before—in fact, he’d been asked that countless times—but, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jake’s uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, “oh, was that too far? i’m sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didn’t realise it would make you feel uncomfortable–”
“no, it’s okay, i was just… surprised is all,” jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasn’t the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answer—the fact that the answer wasn’t yes.
“no, w-we’re not together,” jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
“sorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldn’t hear you properly,” haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjin’s voice.
“we’re… not together,” jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
“oh…” haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, “well, that’s great!”
jake’s head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, “wh-what?”
“yeah!” haechan enthusiastically nodded. “i was just checking because, and you didn’t hear this from me, but,” he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
“someone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.”
all jake could do was let out a quiet “really?”, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
“mhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely aren’t together, right?” haechan asked for confirmation, “oh, and she isn’t with anyone else, is she? there’s nobody else she’s interested in or involved with right now?”
for a moment, jake considered saying yes–yes, there was someone else for you, someone you’d known and loved for years, someone who just didn’t know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasn’t his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, “no, there’s nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and i’m happy to, y’know, help him out with y/n if he needs it.”
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaemin’s camera, laughing at whatever he’d just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sight–even if he wasn’t the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
“really? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,” haechan’s voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
“of course,” he answered, his focus on you unwavering, “anything for y/n.”
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypen’s ‘polaroid love’ — in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he can’t get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesn’t have to be so complicated to succeed.
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HEADER KEY | • REC -> a character’s point of view | ■ GALLERY -> a flashback from that character’s point of view
Y/N CAM • REC
“thanks for agreeing to come so last minute,” jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
“oh, it’s no problem,” you naturally mirrored his grin, “how come hoon couldn’t make it though?”
“ah, he forgot his sister was performing at her school’s dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,” he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, “please, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?”
“that’s true, the man’s in love with his own beauty,” jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. “y’know as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when i’m shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.”
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jake’s arm to steady yourself, “should i be worried for my shoot then or…?”
“absolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,” he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
“wow, i’m flattered,” you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, “also, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. i’ll pay, since you did last time—take it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.”
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, “well, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?”
“sure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,” you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
“hmmm, i’m craving meat… can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!” the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
“sounds good, jakey! y’know my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,” you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few ‘sorry’s and gently rubbing the spot you’d hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
“over here, jake!” the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off of.
“jaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?” jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
“ahh yes, i remember,” jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, “oh, and this is haechan.”
“the haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was ‘daeman’ for three months?” jake’s jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
“yup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,” jaemin rolled his eyes at haechan’s announcement. “pleased to meet you both,” he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, “i’ve heard a lot about you!”
“lee haechan!” jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, “haha… what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and you’re usually in those stories, jake.”
“wow, i’m honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,” jake proudly put a hand on his chest, “ah, that’s right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?”
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the room’s attention, “good afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and i’m the president of the photography club. i’ll be leading today’s session, where we’ll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i don’t expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.”
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
“next week, using the photos from the two models, you’ll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever you’d like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and don’t forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!” eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop you’d been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phone’s camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
“sorry if i was a bit much before,” haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. “my friends always tell me to tone it down when i’m meeting new people but, well, i can’t help but let my natural charm shine through.”
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, “that’s okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i don’t really know anyone here except from jake.”
“no problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,” he shook his head, “you can just call me haechan. i know i’m a fourth year and all but it just… it makes me feel ancient.”
“okay then, haechan,” you felt much more at ease speaking casually, “what’s your major? i’m a philosophy major, second year.”
“ooh, philosophy! i have a friend who’s doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.”
“woah, that sounds so cool– oh, um, i think you’re, uh, needed,” you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
“well, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,” jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who would’ve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didn’t last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadn’t known any better, you would’ve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
“hey, jake, i know i’m sending haechan’s photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, they’ll look more consistent and it’ll make it easier for you when you’re editing,” jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
“okay, sounds good, we’ll start y/n’s shots in a bit then,” you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
“sorry for keeping you waiting for so long,” the last thing you expected was the boy you’d been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. “i’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,” he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeat–caused by the shock of jaemin’s unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; let’s just say it was both.
“oh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you… photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!” your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
“i mean, i don’t know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,” you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, “thank you, but i’m no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.”
“who said you can’t be an expert at something you do for fun? it’s not like those things are… oh, what’s the word! they’re not, they’re not, uhh—”
“mutually exclusive?” jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
“yes, that! of course you knew, you’re a stem major, right?” you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
“yikes, is it that obvious? it’s not the eyebags, is it? i promise it’s not because of the heavy workload, it’s just ‘cause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jeno’s trying to help me limit it to the mornings but— i-i’m so sorry, i’m rambling, aren’t i?” jaemin’s lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didn’t want him to stop any time soon. it was almost… cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, “it’s okay! i’m usually the one that’s doing the rambling so i don’t mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.”
“ahh, that’s right,” the older boy sighed, “i’m guessing you’re an arts major, then?”
“humanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally don’t think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if we’re talking about—” you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, “haha, y-you don’t need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.”
“no, no, it’s fine!” jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, “oh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.”
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didn’t waste any time. “o-of course, yeah, that’s fine! i’ll even give you my socials while we’re at it,” you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
“just out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i would’ve been put off of asking.”
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, “well, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldn’t mind being the one to listen to that—after all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but you’ve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i can’t guarantee i would’ve even spoken.”
you would be lying if you said your heart didn’t skip a beat when you heard jaemin’s answer, “oh, you’re so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you won’t block me if i spam you too much?”
“yes, as long as you don’t block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.”
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
“of course—”
“ahem, miss y/n!” jake’s loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you weren’t in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, “get here now or you’re losing your instagram photographer privileges.”
you were immediately distracted from your best friend’s empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, “you should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,” he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldn’t take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM • REC
jake clicked through the shots he’d taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, “y’know, if you’re happy with these, then we don’t need to do any more, i’ve got enough pictures to choose from.”
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, “yup, they’re all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean we’re done then?”
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, “i-i mean, i’ve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?”
“oh, yeah,” jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jake’s reminder, “don’t worry, y/n, i won’t keep you too long.”
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, “it’s fine, you don’t mind waiting, right, jake?”
he looked up from his camera, nodding, “course not, i’ll start putting my stuff away now so i don’t end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.”
your jaw dropped at your best friend’s not-so-subtle dig, “hey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.”
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldn’t help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, “sorry, sorry!”
“you better be!” he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels he’d used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
“oh, you’re done already?” haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
“hyung! ah, you scared me,” the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
“damn, that’s the second time that’s happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?” haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
“no, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,” he chuckled, “but yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyung’s just getting a few photos of y/n as well.”
“oh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?” haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that he’d been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, “yeah, i’ve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess she’s just gotten used to what to do by now.”
“ah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, y’know, together,” haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
“oh, uhh, t-together, as in like–”
“like, are you and y/n dating?”
jake’s face fell as soon as the question came out of haechan’s mouth. of course he knew what he meant by ‘together’, he just didn’t want to believe it was what he thought. it wasn’t like he’d never heard the question before—in fact, he’d been asked that countless times—but, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jake’s uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, “oh, was that too far? i’m sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didn’t realise it would make you feel uncomfortable–”
“no, it’s okay, i was just… surprised is all,” jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasn’t the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answer—the fact that the answer wasn’t yes.
“no, w-we’re not together,” jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
“sorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldn’t hear you properly,” haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjin’s voice.
“we’re… not together,” jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
“oh…” haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, “well, that’s great!”
jake’s head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, “wh-what?”
“yeah!” haechan enthusiastically nodded. “i was just checking because, and you didn’t hear this from me, but,” he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
“someone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.”
all jake could do was let out a quiet “really?”, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
“mhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely aren’t together, right?” haechan asked for confirmation, “oh, and she isn’t with anyone else, is she? there’s nobody else she’s interested in or involved with right now?”
for a moment, jake considered saying yes–yes, there was someone else for you, someone you’d known and loved for years, someone who just didn’t know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasn’t his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, “no, there’s nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and i’m happy to, y’know, help him out with y/n if he needs it.”
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaemin’s camera, laughing at whatever he’d just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sight–even if he wasn’t the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
“really? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,” haechan’s voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
“of course,” he answered, his focus on you unwavering, “anything for y/n.”
