#<- groupmate who follows me if you see this i promise I will actually do it dw <3

[bookwyrminspiration]

just realized at some point in the future I could have study sessions to a real and true kotlc movie soundtrack

[purplesurveys]

1777

Do you feel bored with your life? Yes honestly a little bit. I feel like all I do is complain about work and be anxious about work, that I'm making a complete waste of my life. 2023 definitely feels like a not-well-spent year lol, but I know it's also my quarter-life crisis calling. I promise I have plans on leaving, but since I was titled with the new position already I might as well make the most of it and achieve 1 or 2 big things that I could put on my resumé.

Who’s someone you miss that you haven’t talked to in years? Katreen. We were very close...then after college, nothing. What's weird is that she'll always be the first one to follow me on whatever social media, but occasionally I'll reply/react to her posts and she just never replies. Our threads are all one-sided, lmao. I know she's an introvert so I give it a pass but it sometimes also already comes off as does she hate me?? Why'd you even follow me if you'll never talk to me or reply to my messages? lol.

Do you miss anyone who was mean to you in the past? Why should I?

How do you feel right now? I feel like I'm on cloud nine, lol. I have a box of palm-sized chocolate chip cookies, I'm alive to bask in the return of CM Punk in WWE, there's only 199 days before Jin comes back, I have no work tomorrow, and I'm seeing my friends for an exhibit viewing + dinner.

Work hasn't changed and several deadlines are actively plaguing my mind, but nothing can make me pissed right now and I'm allowing myself the rare opportunity to ignore all responsibilities first.

Do you have severe withdrawals from medications? I've never experienced withdrawal.

What’s the most weight you’ve ever gained from a medication? I've never gained weight from a medication, either.

Do you have a doctor you can trust? Not really, because I don't have a regular/go-to doctor.

What’s the stupidest decision you ever made? Staying in and fighting for a relationship longer than I should've.

How many tattoos do you have, and what are they of? I don't have any. Needles are scary.

How do you get through hard times? I just have to be in the headspace of telling myself that I've gotten through everything in the past, and the present won't be different. The pandemic also did wonders in letting me put things in perspective – I simply don't stress about difficult times as hard as I used to.

Have you ever been suicidal? I have.

Do you pray? If yes, to whom? Nope.

Do you ever feel lost and alone? When I'm stressed and my hormones get all over the place, I get tempted to drown in feelings of loneliness; like thinking that everyone's out to get me or how helpless I feel in my (work) position. Those are the only times I ever feel lost and alone, and I hate that my stance about work has evolved to such a state; I'm well-aware of how unhealthy it is so trust me, I am actively counting down the clock until I can set myself free.

Everything else about my life is wonderful though.

What do you miss about high school? Only having to worry about papers and deadweight groupmates.

What do you miss the most about college? Having all that time, freedom, and even avenues (orgs, rallies, after-school activities) to simply get to know yourself better.

Did you like high school? I liked the experiences and memories I got out of it, but I hated the actual system. I went to a Catholic school and they definitely did their best to make sure everyone felt suffocated 24/7.

What was the name of the first dorm you lived in? I never stayed in a dorm. I lived close enough from my school that it sufficed to just drive to and from.

What was the last flavor of tea you drank? I had this peach tea last Friday that I only drank because I was super thirsty and it was the only drink being served at the event I was in.

Do you feel like youtube’s gotten boring lately? Not at all. I go along with the trends as much as I can so I'm always able to find something to enjoy, whether it's video podcasts or ASMR stuff or vlogs or K-pop stuff or whatever.

What would you change about your hair if you could? I'd bring back the super pigmented purple hair I had back in June. My last stylist dyed my hair only a really faint purple and I'm not happy with how it looks now.

Are you jealous of anyone? Those who get to resign from the company for greener pastures, lol.

What was the best date you’ve ever been on? I know there should be one but I've already blocked most memories from my previous relationship that I really can't tell you anything even if I wanted to.

What’s the last great song you discovered? I'm really into That Feeling When by Enhypen these days.

Has facebook gotten boring lately? It is, and it's better that way. Facebook can be a toxic cesspool when trending topics come up, especially political ones.

Do you feel free to post how you feel on facebook? For the most part yes, but I still ultimately watch my mouth because I'm friends with a few members of the media and I don't want to end up an unruly representative of my workplace.

Which stereotype do you fit the most? Jaded corporate slave devoid of happiness and work-life balance.

What is the most beautiful landscape you have ever seen? Watching the sun rise in Sagada.

What was the first CD you bought? I Am...Sasha Fierce by Beyoncé.

How old are you? 25.

What year were you born? 1998.

Did you go to prom? I had to, it was required lol. I would have happily skipped it.

Are you jealous of people who are ten years younger? Not really. I had my time to be 15 and I don't feel the need to go back.

If you could rewind time ten years, would you? Nope.

What do you miss the most about your past? Mostly just the fact that I could be more carefree then because for the most part I had little to no heavy life responsibilities. In general though I feel zero desperation to go back to my past; it's not something I cling to.

Do you like getting older? Kind of, yeah.

What hard thing are you going through right now, if applicable? I feel helpless in my job and it's just starting to become a place I hate staying in. I've told my superiors that the last thing I want is to wind up resenting the company that gave me a chance from the very beginning so they're also aware that I plan on leaving the first chance I get.

Have you made any progress toward going after your dreams? Kind of, yeah.

Who encourages you to go after your dreams? Just me. My friends, too.

Do you like pineapple on pizza? No.

What song are you listening to right now, if any? I'm listening to Taehyung's live and he's playing some song I don't recognize, so that.

[k-llama-llama]

Never My Type

Stray Kids AU: 9th member

Tori x Stray Kids

Tori watches some reactions to her debut and has some fun with the boys.

A/N: Please check out my PATREON (patreon.com/kllamallama) for exclusive posts you can’t get anywhere else, as well as lots of other cool benefits!

Requests are OPEN and your feedback is still greatly appreciated!

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“I really don’t know if I want to watch this.” Tori closed her computer screen for the third time.

“This was your idea.” Jisung opened it. “So we’re watching it now, or I’m leaving.”

“What if they’re mean?” Tori chewed on her pinky nail.

“Then we dislike the video and move on.” Hyunjin pulled up the youtube playlist.  “Besides, all of the people in these thumbnails look really nice.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Tori sighed. “Do we have to?”

“You said you wanted to!” Jisung exclaimed. “It was your first solo song and you didn’t get to interact with any fans because of the Covid protocols.”

“Your first fansign is tomorrow and you said you wanted to see what some of the international fans thought before you talked to them tomorrow.” Hyunjin reminded her.

“Yeah…but…” Tori bit her lip. “Okay, okay. Just hit play before I chicken out again.”

“Thank you.” Jisung hit the spacebar to play the first video.

The first one was from a reaction channel that featured tons of different reactors, and Tori chewed on her nails as they did an intro and hit play.

“She’s so pretty!” One of the guys exclaimed.

“See, Tor.” Hyunjin nudged her. “They think you’re pretty.”

“She looked really familiar…wait, is she from Stray Kids!” A girl exclaimed. “Is this Tori? I didn’t know she had her own song.”

“We promoted it everywhere, how did you not know.” Jisung scoffed.

“Don’t be mean.” Tori kept her gaze trained on the video as it moved towards the chorus section.

“Wow.” Someone said. “I wasn’t expecting her to go so hard with the choreography, but this girl can dance.”

“I can dance!” Tori exclaimed in a tiny voice.

“They love it, Tor.” Hyunjin smiled. “See? You didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Shhh…” Tori leaned closer to the screen, smiling as the reactors seemed to enjoy her video.

When it finished, she sat back in relief, a huge burden lifted off her shoulders. “I can’t believe they liked it.”

“Of course they liked it!” Hyunjin wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s amazing.”

“I just really didn’t know if they would.” Tori smiled. “I mean….you never know what international fans are going to like.”

“They like good music. And you wrote, choreographed and did the concept for that, so I think you get to take the credit for it.” Jisung leaned back on her bed.

Tori gave him a wicked grin and poked his stomach. “Jisung…was that a compliment?”

“Maybe.” She thought he blushed. “Probably not.”

“Admit it, you’re proud of me.” She grinned down at him.

“Not a chance.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m just glad you didn’t embarrass us.”

“You could never embarrass us.” Hyunjin promised her, flopping back on the bed to lay next to Jisung.

“Don’t suck up to her.” Jisung scowled.

Tori rolled her eyes. She had to hand it to the boys, they’d all been so incredibly supportive of her solo debut. They’d come to her promotions, hyped her up on livestreams, and been so wonderful no matter how tired she was from balancing group practices with her solo activities.

She closed her laptop and lay down between the two, sighing deeply as she stared at the ceiling.

“Are you sighing because you’re sick of Hyunjin being a kiss-ass?” Jisung asked.

“Yah.” Hyunjin tried to smack him but ended up hitting Tori instead. “She loves me.”

“I do love you.” Tori nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I actually love both of you.”

She looked over at Jisung, who started rapidly shaking his head. “No, no, no.”

He tried to scramble away, but before he could Tori grabbed his face and kissed him obnoxiously on the cheek.

“Thank you for being such a supportive sweetheart.” She teased as she pulled back.

He wiped his face. “I hated that.”

“I know.” Tori laughed, linking arms with both of them. “But you deserved it.”

“Why? For being nice to you?”

“Yup.”

“Fine, I’ll go back to being a bully.” Despite his words, he leaned his head over to rest on her shoulder.

Hyunjin’s phone went off, and he glanced over at it on the nightstand, before looking back at the ceiling.

“Aren’t you going to check that?” Jisung asked.

“No. We’re having a moment.” He said simply.

“Right,” Tori gave him a knowing look. “But what if it’s your girlfriend.”

“She’ll understand.”

“I wouldn’t.” Jisung said. “I mean, if I were your girlfriend, I would be very annoyed if you were ignoring my texts.”

“She’s not going to know if I wait five extra minutes.” Hyunjin protested.

“I think she’ll probably find out when I tell her.” Tori teased. “Hey, Sara, you know that guy you’re dating, who also happens to be my groupmate-“

“Who used to be in love with you. You can’t forget that.” Jisung added.

“Right, your current boyfriend who used to be in love with me is ignoring your texts. How do you feel about that?” Tori looked at Hyunjin, a teasing smile on her face.

“You wouldn’t.” His eyes narrowed.

“I’m a very active participant in your relationship.” Tori grinned. “Just looking out for my friend.”

“But you-“

“Good lord just text her back!” Jisung shouted. “Figure out what she wants and ask her to bring over more of that soup she made before.”

“Ooh, and that bread she baked.” Tori exclaimed. “It was so good. Make sure she brings some of that.”

“I’m not letting you use my girlfriend for food.” Hyunjin protested.

“Why? That’s totally one of the best things about her.” Jisung said. “I mean…that’s like the main reason I’m not dating Tori. All she can make is eggs, cinnamon buns and hot chocolate.”

“Exactly. No one would date me.” Tori said. “Sara’s a catch. You break up with her and you break all of our hearts.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes and sat up. “You guys are the worst. I’ll be back.”

He stood up and walked out of the room.

The other two lay in silence for a few minutes.

“For the record,” Tori said finally. “Even if I could cook like Sara, I would not date you.”

“Oh, me neither, don’t worry.” Jisung snorted. “You are not my type.”

“Same for me. You’re too arrogant.”

“Too naïve.”

“Too loud.”

“Too flighty.”

[bffsoobin]

Never Not

↳life in the entertainment industry is grueling. You and your friends with benefits, Soobin, know this better than almost anyone. When you seek comfort in one another, it’s easy to forget the faults in the system. How long can you trust Soobin with your heart?

➤ idol!soobin x trainee!reader, smut, angst, some fluff

Word Count: 5,004

Requested?: yes

Warnings: this includes mature content! Please do not read past the illustrated line divider (not the keep reading) in the story if you are under 18 years old or uncomfortable. There is no happy ending to this story, so keep that in mind. Use of some mature language, my awful attempt at coming up with believable Korean names. Smut warnings include: fingering (female receiving), riding, multiple orgasms, mentions of overstimulation, unprotected sex (please use protection, y’all), some dirty talk, praise kink.

A/N: This fic got away from me and came out way longer than I planned and I’m lowkey insecure about it. Also my normal notes that I didn’t proofread or edit (laziness) and that I suck at titles obviously apply!

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:••:•.•

Your bathroom was not nearly private enough. The lock on the door had long been broken, so you and the other girls you’d lived with for close to a year had agreed on a rule of mutual respect and trust. A rule that Minjee was currently abandoning. She busted into the bathroom as you brushed your teeth, nearly knocking you over with her force. Her petite features were soaked in panic. 

“What’s wrong?” your toothbrush hung loosely in your mouth, forgotten as you worried over your younger friend. 

“Your phone has been ringing off the hook since you got in the shower. And you didn’t answer, so now he’s here!” 

“He? Who are you-” a smooth and unforgettable voice sounded from the hallway just outside. Soobin. Your eyes widened. Soobin? Your hair was still dripping, your face red and splotchy from the heat of the shower. Not to mention the toothbrush still dangling precariously. You heard him talk again, muffled like he had moved to the kitchen and you noted that Sooyoung probably ushered him into the small dining space to let you gather your thoughts. You thanked whoever was listening for your thoughtful friend as you cleaned out your mouth, toweled down you hair and did your best to soothe the heat in your cheeks. At least you were fully dressed.

Minjee still looked like a deer caught in headlights, and you shot her what you hoped was a reassuring smile as you left the bathroom. It was hard to miss Soobin’s presence as you turned into the kitchen. He towered over all of your friends, a slightly awkward smile on his face as he waved off offers for snacks left and right. 

“Soobin?” you questioned, and all other conversation stopped. He whirled around to see you and you shrunk under his gaze. He was intimidating in every way, yet you found him oddly charming. 

“Hey! I wanted to talk to you and you weren’t answering your phone. And I knew you were here so,” he shrugged. 

“Let’s talk somewhere else, okay?” you turned without seeing his agreement and led him toward your room. You knew your roommates were all huddled in the common areas of the house, whispering about Soobin. Thankfully, the lock on that door wasn’t busted. 

“What are you doing here?” you hissed as he dwarfed your bed under his body. 

“Missed you. Do you wanna go get something to eat?” he picked at your sheets mindlessly. You raised an eyebrow and began to tap your foot.

“That sounds a hell of a lot like a date, Soobin.” you accused, already planning an outfit in your head. You could never say no to the handsome boy in front of you. 

“It’s not a date, Y/N. We’re just friends. We can erase and add back on the “with benefits” whenever we want, remember?” you scowled at him in place of admitting that he was right. 

“Get out. I have to change.” you glanced down at your lounging attire pointedly. 

“Nothing I haven’t already seen, princess,” his eyes sparked at his own teasing before you picked up one of Sooyoung’s beloved plushies and flung it at his infuriatingly charming face. 

“Get. Out.”

With Soobin standing guard outside the door, you quickly changed into a better outfit and tried to make some semblance of your face before slipping back out. Your friends eyed you questioningly, but you waved them off with promises of being back in no time. 

The blanket of night made Soobin bold. He wrapped his arm around your waist, guiding you down the street with a confidence you only see when- a thought cropped up in your mind. “We aren’t going to dinner, are we?” you questioned although you already knew the answer. 

“We are going to dinner! Just, in the dorm. In my room.” You were already in front of the familiar building when he finally owned up. You could have backed out, could have told him you were mad at him for lying, but you followed him up to his room anyway. He did have food, as he promised. A pizza box was situated at the foot of his bed when you walked in and settled onto the mattress. Soobin sat up against his pillow and motioned for you to sit on his lap. You brought the warm pizza box with you and laid against his broad chest. You two ate in relative silence and you couldn’t help but notice the lack of...boys. 

“Where are they?” Soobin didn’t answer your question and instead went to work running a hand up your leg. 

“Does it matter?” his voice ghosted over your ear as you pondered for a minute and then supposed it didn’t. Unlike your groupmates, Soobin’s were all privy to your relationship and exactly what it entailed. 

“I just missed you,” he mumbled into your skin, biting at the soft flesh under your ear. Soobin made a point to move the half empty pizza box to the ground as he continued his work on your neck. You melted into his hold, helpless to his sweet whispers and gentle touches in all the right places. For the rest of the night, all that mattered was the way Choi Soobin could work you up and bring you back down so gently. 

It had been almost two months since your fake dinner date with Soobin. He became busy with a comeback, and you became busy with general training duties. It was natural, you supposed. You both chose a hectic lifestyle and a relationship that required no actual commitment. While you missed seeing him, you understood that you chose this. That didn’t stop you from being upset, though. Sooyoung, your ever observant roommate noticed your sulking behavior and lack of interest in group activities. 

Having had enough of your change in attitude, she cornered you in the kitchen one day while the rest of the girls were still training. 

“What’s up with you? I know we’ve been busy. But you’ve just been miserable. You know you can talk to me, right?” You just nodded and crossed your arms. She sighed at your stance and placed a hand on your shoulder. 

“Seriously. Why don’t you at least try to hang out with someone, or leave the house? I know Soobin is busy, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a visit?” The sound of his name made your insides burn. Too many confusing thoughts circled your being when you thought of him. Deciding to humor Sooyoung, you announced that she was right; and that you were going to get ready and treat yourself to a donut and coffee at the little cafe down the block. 

The smell of blueberry muffins and coffee invaded your senses as you ordered a large iced coffee and a sprinkled donut to sulk over as you thought about Soobin. Sitting at a hightop table, your legs swung in the air as you debated over calling Soobin to check up on him or simply letting him go until he contacted you. You weren’t dating Soobin, but would it be so wrong for a friend to reach out? Did you just miss having someone to fool around with? The longer you thought, the more you had to forcefully push down the thought that you really had feelings for Soobin. Maybe his goofy smile and clumsy compliments had really hatched in your brain and created- you shuddered at the thought- love. There was no way he would ever feel the same, you convinced yourself. It is much easier to believe that the famous and loved Choi Soobin would never like you the way you have started to like him. 

The donut tasted bland in your mouth and your coffee had certainly been watered down in your thinking, but you finished them both. You wiped your hands on your jeans and made way to get down from your elevated seat until a cheerful voice called your name. Looking around, you spotted the form of a girl you couldn’t quite remember the name of. She had been a trainee in the very early stages, but she had to leave due to family troubles and you hadn’t thought of her since. The back of your neck burned with embarrassment as you waved to the girl you didn't remember. The uncertainty must not have shown on your face as the mystery girl propped herself right next to you and grabbed your arm. 

“I just had to talk to you when I saw you! I still talk to Sooyoung every once in a while, and she told me you’re friends with Soobin,” you nodded but felt suspicion creep into the corners of your mind. “Anywho, since I ran into you and you’re friends with him I was wondering if you could confirm something for me.” She plopped a phone onto the table in front of you and hit play on a dark, shaky video. It looked like a club of some sort and you squinted at the screen wondering what this had to do with Soobin. You were about to voice your confusion when someone's phone flashlight illuminated the form you knew all too well crowding a girl against the wall, kissing her neck and pressing the length of his body into her. You body heated at the knowledge that you knew exactly how that felt. Tears stung at the corners of your eyes as the video ended and the unknown girl slid her phone back into her bag. 

“I don’t know her,” you mumbled, hurrying to find your purse hung on the back of the chair. “And I haven’t talked to Soobin lately, he’s been busy and-” she snorted as you got down from the chair. 

“Yeah, he’s definitely been busy,” she wiggled her eyebrows in a joking manner, but the gesture only broke your heart even more. Nodding tightly, you made up excuses for your sudden absence and walked back to your dorm with tears dripping down your cheeks. Everyone noticed your change in behavior when you returned; especially Sooyoung who was hoping to see you come back much happier. It was only about 4pm when you got home so you bargained with Jihyun to let you shower although she was already getting ready to do so. You tried to convince yourself that she agreed because of your persuasion skills and not because of the tear tracks on your face. The hot water didn’t do much to curb your upset. You ate dinner in silence and crawled into bed before the sun even started to set.

Being a trainee means pushing a lot of things aside. You had to forget about Soobin. Monthly evaluations started in about a week, and you had to worry about nursing a wrist you had accidentally hurt during practice. During the day, you put on a mask for your members and the staff, laughing along at jokes and throwing yourself into your work in a way they all seemed to admire. Not a single night passed where you didn’t think about the shaky video of Soobin and the mystery girl. Not a single night passed where your heart didn’t ache in two ways. One, for the love you harborded so dangerously, and the other for the fact that you knew you could never trust Soobin. That even if he liked you back, his reckless show of public affection when he was already in the eye of the media would make a real relationship impossible. It was too risky for either of you. 

News of their comeback traveled extremely fast. You had even seen Taehyun in the halls of the building and offered him a quick congratulations on their success. With every day that passed, you knew you were closer to the impending argument with Soobin; but you tried your best to push that to the back of your mind. Until you got a text from him. Seeing his name pop up on the screen after so long roused a lot of emotions you weren’t expecting. The message was nothing too remarkable, but you made plans to meet him the next day at his dorm. 

When you arrived at his door, you felt nerves you hadn’t since the very first time you visited. You laid two hard knocks on the door and stood aside; hoping that Soobin had heard you. The door swung open gently to reveal Soobin’s towering frame. Your stomach rolled in an odd mix of happiness and anxiety upon seeing him for the first time in weeks. He ushered you in, giving you no more time to process your whirling thoughts.

“I like your hair,” your voice sounded odd even to your own ears, but you hoped Soobin would be distracted by the complement of his purple locks. 

“Thank you!” he was beaming as he rubbed a chunk of hair between his fingers lovingly. His eyes shifted up and down your body as if examining every detail to find something new about you to compliment back. He remained quiet. The corners of your eyes began to burn under his scrutiny, and you felt something deep inside of you snap. 

“Soobin,” you looked around the dorm, finding it surprisingly empty. He must have kicked all of the boys out for a few hours to have you over. “I wanted to talk to you about some stuff.” The leather of his couch squeaked underneath you as you sat and waited for him to do the same. He settled right next to you, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating from his side into yours. For a fleeting moment you contemplated saying nothing and letting yourself fall back into your normal pattern; but you knew you would regret it. 

Sighing, you tried to ignore the way worry permeated every corner of Soobin’s face. “I saw a video of you uh,” a long pause “with another girl. Which is fine!” Your words became rushed as his face turned bright red. “It’s fine. I know we aren’t serious but the problem is,” your voice was starting to shake in a dangerous way. “The problem is that...I started to have real feelings for you. And when I saw that video I kind of lost it. I know it’s dumb but I just can’t keep pretending.” You had run this scenario so many times in your mind. You had imagined Soobin staying totally silent until you slipped out of the dorm alone. You imagined that he might argue with you, telling you that you were reckless for forming feelings over a friends with benefits relationship. What you never imagined was for him to lean over and attach his lips to yours in a fervor you had never felt from him. The rest of the world slowed as you kissed him. Really kissed him for the first time since the two of you started to hook up. 

You could taste toothpaste on his tongue, and if your insides weren’t fighting with emotion you would have smiled into the kiss. When you finally pulled apart, Soobin pressed his forehead into yours and shut his eyes. You could feel his eyelashes flutter along your skin. 

“I’m sorry,” his voice was the smallest you had ever heard it. “I’m sorry about the girl, the video, I just missed you and I was being stupid. I have feelings for you too.” What should have been a moment of celebration became a catalyst for war in your mind. You had prepared yourself for this possibility- repeating in a mantra that the relationship would only end badly for your public images. 

But all those times you ran this scenario in your head, you didn’t account for the weight of his body against yours. You didn’t account for the way his voice shook, or the feeling of his skin resting so intimately against your own. You didn’t account for how raw and vulnerable this moment would be. 

So you made a real life choice that theoretical you never would have been so weak as to consider. You wrapped your hands around the back of Soobin’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss. His surprise was evident at your move as he gasped against your lips. Every feeling you had toward him felt like it was bubbling over into a mess inside your brain. Fuzzy happiness was winning over until Soobin separated you from himself to cup your jaw in his hands. Taking the time to survey his face this closely made your heart break all over again. His face seemed to mirror back a similar sentiment as his fingers traced over your cheekbones. 

“Soobin,” you whispered his name weakly; trying to ignore the tears beginning to leak from the corners of your eyes. His face crumpled at the sight and he rushed to shush you. 

“Don’t cry,” he wiped the wetness away from your cheeks, “please don’t cry, why are you so upset?” His breath ghosted over your skin in a way that would haunt you for weeks to come. 

“Because,” you hiccuped in a breath, “because we can’t do this. We can’t date, and we can’t keep doing this. There’s too much on the line either way.” Soobin stayed silent as you worked through your thoughts. “I just want to be with you one last time.”

In a movement you almost missed, the boy nodded solemnly. With the knowledge of your last goodbye weighing heavily on your minds, Soobin guided you into his bedroom. While the lighting in the room didn’t offer much clarity, you still knew your way around. Soobin made short work of undressing you, making sure to pay attention- in the form of kisses or loving caresses- to every newly exposed strip of skin. His mouth traveled down your neck, leaving the most possessive marks he had ever left on your collarbones. You could do nothing but whine under him at the thought of bright purple bruises spotting your skin tomorrow. Most nights you would have whined at him for taking too long, but the air was different this time. The last time. 

You stood completely bare in front of him as he took a seat on his bed. He was still fully clothed although you could see a sliver of his smooth stomach where his shirt had ridden up. You could see the beginning of a bulge in his sweatpants and bittersweet excitement brewed within you. 

“You are so so fucking pretty, come here,” he pulled you into his lap forcefully so that you could feel him directly against your core. The praises falling from his mouth made you weak at the knees and pliable to any of his wishes. A needy whine left your throat as you ground down on him instinctively. Both of his hands flew to your waist and grabbed at the flesh there as you let yourself get lost in the feeling of him slowly hardening. He made a particularly hard squeeze on your waist and you took that as a message to stop. 

“Wanna finger you, baby,” Soobins usual shy and clumsy demeanor flew out of the window in a second. As you scrambled to lay down on your back, he finally stripped himself of his clothing. You openly stared at his body for much longer than normal and he let you, returning the gaze just as long. Memorizing. His cock stood proudly, as perfect as you always remembered it as your thighs rubbed together at the sight. Soobin tutted at you and pushed your legs apart forcefully. 

“Not yet, love. You know you can’t take my cock without me stretching you open first.” You knew he was right but you whined at him anyway as a new wave of arousal rolled through you. “God,” Soobin grunted at the sight of you laid out beneath him. His deft fingers danced down your stomach, causing your hips to jump up toward his approaching hand. A small chuckle fell from him lips and you would have complained had he not chosen that exact moment to run his thumb around your clit in slow circles. You cried out at the touch. Having gone weeks without release made you extremely sensitive, and Soobin was using that to his advantage. 

The slow circles sped up and then slowed down in an erratic pattern until you were so fed up with him you wanted to cry. “Soobin please, please stop teasing me, I need more!” You knew you were being loud but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. 

“I’ll give you whatever you want, baby. Just use your words,” his voice was velvety smooth, pitched deeper with lust. 

“Your fingers!” The request was clumsy as it came out of your mouth but you couldn’t have cared less because he finally sunk one long finger inside of you. You wanted to thank him, but your tongue felt too heavy in your mouth so you settled for clenching your inner muscles around his digit. He groaned to himself as he pumped the single finger in and out before finally adding a second alongside it. The stretch burned a bit but you welcomed the gush of wetness that had Soobin swearing under his breath. 

“Look at you. I was busy for a few weeks and suddenly your pussy can barely fit two fingers inside.” He began scissoring his fingers to widen your entrance. A string of pleas and curses fell from your lips constantly as he finally found your g-spot and continuously crooked his fingers over it. Your teeth sunk harshly into your bottom lip as you tried your best to keep it together but it was no use. Soobin had learned every tip and trick to getting you to cum. There was no eloquence left in your voice as you begged him for more and got just what you asked for. His second hand, which had been keeping pressure on your hips,  played with your clit in circles and figure eight shapes in various speeds. It only took a few more seconds under his movements for you to announce your release and gush around his fingers. Despite your obvious orgasm, Soobin kept working his hands against you until the overstimulation became way too much. Your mind was so fuzzy afterwards that you could barely hear his praise.  

“So good,” you vaguely made out as you came back to Earth to see his face hovering right over your own. He pressed kisses on every corner of your face until you were finally coherent enough to talk again. 

“Soobs,” you didn’t miss the way he flinched at the nickname. “Please fuck me.” The words were blunt, you knew. But there was no need to beat around the bush anymore. Soobin groaned loudly, unabashedly palming at his own cock as he sat back on his heels. His positioning gave you an idea that had heat rushing through your veins anew. “Lemme ride you,” you rushed the words out, unsure if he had even heard them until he cursed loudly and drew his hand away from himself. 

“That’s my girl. So good for me.” Soobin used your love for praise to his advantage as he settled at the head of his bed and waited for you to straddle his hips. His eyes were glazed with arousal as you held yourself over his cock and gave it a few experimental strokes. Soobin’s eyes fluttered shut and his reddened lips fell open in a sigh. In one swift movement, you began to sink down on him slowly. Your hands found support on his smooth stomach as you felt your knees buckle at the intrusion. Both of you whined loudly at the initial stretch. Fire coiled in your stomach as you worked yourself onto him in small increments. He was trying his best to let you take time to adjust, but his control was slipping more and more with every second. 

A growl emitted from the back of Soobin’s throat as he tightened a hand on your left thigh as a not so subtle hint to get moving faster. You already felt so full that the idea of taking his entire length felt impossible. Your head fell, hair creating a curtain around your face in the exact second that Soobin’s strong hand pushed you all the way down his cock. A burning mix of pain and pleasure flooded your veins and made your inner walls clench around him. Soobin’s cock twitched inside you and the feeling drove you wild. 

With the leverage your arms on his chest offered, you lifted your hips slowly before slamming them back down to connect your bodies. Pitchy whines escaped from your mouth with every single move you made. Soobin’s hands roamed all over, one traveling up to pinch at your nipples and another keeping a bruising grip on the flesh of your hip. 

“God, you’re so pretty,” Soobin’s grunted praises peppered between moans only heightened your pleasure to a point where you could no longer keep your thoughts straight. Every sensation he was providing you became so overwhelming that you could barely continue a steady rhythm on his cock. He seemed to catch on to your slipping as his face softened. Chest heaving, you leaned forward to lay yourself on top of him. Your head fit perfectly into his shoulder and for a second you missed being able to see his face until he took the initiative to thrust up into you. He wrapped his arms around you so there was no escape from the pleasure of him filling you up. Soobin worked magic on your body, rolling his hips expertly to hit every spot inside of you while he whispered dirty praise to you. 

“You feel so good, baby. So tight,” you clenched at his words and a breathy moan escaped his lips in a rush. Your clit ground against his pelvic bone; not enough to make you cum but enough to create more sparks in your core. Between his words and his hard and consistent thrusts you could feel your pleasure mounting to an intense high. The strong hold he had on you slipped away and he guided you to sit up once again. Seeing his flushed face drew out a desperate whine and buck of your hips. 

“Look at me,” Soobin’s voice was oddly calm and collected as you obeyed the request. He thrusted  up into you even faster and you had to fight to keep your eyes on his. 

“Soobs, I’m gonna cum,” your voice was strung out and breathy but it only pushed Soobin further. Without your realization, Soobin circled a thumb around your clit and you were soon hurdling off the edge of your orgasm, vision going blank with the pleasure. Although you were lost in a haze of pleasure, you could hear Soobin’s grunts growing louder and more frequent before he released inside of you; warmth flooding your insides as he came. 

Neither of you moved for several minutes. Your breathing gradually slowed to a normal rate and Soobin’s cock softened inside of you; but you stayed still on top of him anyway. No words were exchanged until he lifted your chin with two fingers. 

“You have to know that I really do like you. I’ve liked you since the first time we met.” The words sent a dagger through your heart and you would have looked away from him if it weren’t for the strong grip he had on your jaw. His breath hitched as he spoke again; “but I can understand why you don’t think I’m worth it.”

The way he worded it broke a dam of emotions inside of you and suddenly you were sobbing, struggling to even catch your breath. Soobin panicked a little, rubbing your sides and softly pulling out of you. Both of you ignored the stickiness the move created in favor of laying your back down on the sheets. He shushed you, producing some tissues out of nowhere to deal with the mess between your sensitive thighs. When the crying stopped, all that was left behind was cold emptiness. You redressed in stunning silence, hyper aware of Soobin’s eyes on you. You didn’t know what else to say to him. 

“I wish I had met you in another life,” you sniffled, “I’m going to miss you.” The words were supercharged and you clenched your teeth to refrain from crying again. Soobin reached out for your hand and you reluctantly let him lace his fingers through yours. 

“I’ll miss you too. You know that-” he swallowed audibly “You can come back here, back to me...whenever you want. I have a place for you,” he guided your clasped hands to hover right over his heart, “right here.” 

Leaving was the hardest part. Both of you stalled in every possible way. You pretended you lost your phone even though you knew it was in your bag. Soobin offered to let you take a shower before you went back to your own dorm. Eventually, it was time for the both of you to face the truth. At the front door, where the light was much brighter, you could see shiny tear tracks decorating Soobin’s puffy cheeks in a way you never wanted to see again. You felt like you could puke just at the thought of having caused him that pain. With one hand on the doorknob, you steadied yourself to say goodbye to him, goodbye to this one last time. 

“I’ll um, see you around? At work.” You didn’t even bother to smile at him. He simply nodded and fixed his gaze on the ground. He didn’t want to watch you leave. The door squealed as you pulled it open, shattering the quiet atmosphere into messy, anxious pieces. You rushed out of his dorm without another word and began your walk home. It was a clear night, so you stopped briefly to stare up at the stars. You would never not think about Soobin.

[sigillaria-svt]

More Than Enough (University AU)

Pairing: Dance Major!Lee Chan/Dino x Advertising Major!Reader

Word Count: 4,747

Warning: None

Genres: fluff, slice of life, University AU, schoolmates, Upperclassman/Friend!Vernon (minor appearance)

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Synopsis: All your life in university, you’ve focused on making sure that outputs were sent and tests were passed. You’ve never really had the time to go out with friends a lot with all the demands of your program. One night, you had to stay late with your classmates to finish a project at school. You decide to take a nap in one of the dance studios, thinking that no one would be able to disturb your sleep there. However, the practice room is not as empty as you thought it would be.

You type away at your laptop as you sit with the rest of your group at one of the study hubs in your building. It was during this specific time of the semester that your department would allow certain rooms to be usable 24/7 to help students pass the necessary requirements for the finals period. It was almost midnight when you decided to take a break from all the work. Although you were barely done, you knew you had to take a nap if you wanted to ensure that your report was at least readable. While your other members were in charge of the graphical and artistic side, you were in charge of the technical side of the report.

“I’ll be off in the nap room if you need me. If I don’t come back in an hour, please wake me up.” You say as you close the laptop and head over to the basement of your building.

The nap room isn’t literally a room that was specifically made for students to sleep in, but it’s an old and barely used dance room. Ever since the renovation of the building a few years ago, dance majors have been using the bigger and brighter dance rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors for practice. The old dance room is cold, dark, and to be honest, is on the verge of falling apart with a few broken floor tiles and blurry glass. The school decided to keep it to renovate it into a different room, but due to mismanagement, it never really happened and it just stayed there for years as a technically functional, but unused room.

It was a horrible place to practice in, but a perfect place to nap in.

When you and your friends discovered it when you were freshmen, you ended up using it as a secret space whenever you just wanted to take a break. Two years later, all of you now call it the nap room so that other students wouldn’t know that you were secretly using it. Usually, the main door would be locked, but there’s another door at the back of the room with a broken lock that leads to the back of the building. You enter through that back door and take your usual spot behind some cabinets. You pull out the camping bag that you’ve always kept at the side and snooze off.

Your sleep was mostly peaceful and uninterrupted. However, it is broken by the sound of feet on the wooden floorboards.

Initially, you thought it was one of your groupmates coming over to wake you up. However, no face nor voice makes itself known to you, only the sound of feet, alternating between light and heavy steps. You aren’t entirely sure what to make of it--for sure, there are at least one or two ghost stories that you heard from your upperclassmen throughout your student life, but you weren’t one to believe in the supernatural. Despite trying to rationalize your way through it, you couldn’t help but think that perhaps there really was something else going on.

You muster up the courage to slowly get yourself out of the sleeping bag with as little sound as possible, keeping yourself low as you try to peak from the side of the cabinet. From your position, you see a single person dancing in the dim light of a single cellphone flashlight. He seems to be dancing to the music from his earphones.

It baffles you why he would be practicing at this place and at this hour. Last time you knew, no dancer would want to use this room unless they absolutely had to. You wanted to get out and leave him to his business, but you didn’t want to freak him out either.

You plan on getting back to your sleeping bag, but the man ends his dance, taking off his earphones along with it. He collapses to the floor, breathing heavily as sweat falls down his face. Now that he has his ears open, you knew you had to be even more careful than before. With as little noise as you could, you slowly crawled backward, but the old creaky floorboards were not in your favor this time. As you put your weight on your knee in moving back, a sharp noise fills the room and the man immediately turns his head in your direction.

You meet him eye to eye, both of you equally shocked at the sight of one another.

“Ahhh!” He props himself up and moves back a few spaces. His hand shoots up to his mouth, scared that someone might hear him from the outside. “My goodness! Wah!”

“H-Hello.” You say with a small wave.

“Who--what, what are you doing over there?” He whispers, tiredness immediately replaced by adrenaline.

“I know, it’s a bit of a shocker, but I was taking a nap here at the back.” You say, putting both of your hands up. “Midterms week, you know how it is.”

He gets up and briskly walks to you, looking over the cabinet to see the empty sleeping bag by your feet.

“Are you even allowed to sleep here?”

“Who knows? No one outside my group has ever found out, well, except until now.” You get up as well, finally seeing how tall he actually was. “Shouldn’t I be asking the same question? Are you even allowed to practice here? Didn’t the department give you guys that fancier room upstairs?”

He shrugs. “Midterms week, you know how it is.”

You can’t help but smile a bit at his remark. “I should probably go back up. Keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing.”

Just as you were about to make your way out, he blocks your way with his arm.

“Wait, while you’re here I’m going to need your help.” He says with a slightly louder voice. “You’re the only one who knows I’m here, so I’m going to need your help.”

“What for?”

“Alright, here’s the thing. I want you to tell me how my dancing is, I feel like something is missing, but I don’t know what it is.” He goes over to pluck the earphone jack from his phone. “I’ll let you listen to the song, it won’t take long, I promise.”

Taken aback by his sudden burst of energy, you take a few steps backward. “I’m not a dancer, I don’t really think I’m in the position to say anything.”

“What’s your major?”

“Advertising...” You reluctantly reply.

“Then you’ve got a good eye. That’s more than enough. Better to have feedback from an audience of one than an audience of none, am I right?” He calls you over to listen to the music playing on his phone. “Please? If you do help me, I promise to dance to whatever you want me to if you need it for one of your projects.”

You wonder what kind of situation he could be in that he would need the advice of a stranger, but you were too carried away by his compliment and proposal to say no. Shaking your head, you walk to him and put your ear next to the speaker of the phone. With his energy, you thought that it would be some strong EDM or hip hop song, but you were surprised to hear a softer and slower song. 

After the song ends, he moves back enough for you to have a good view of him.

“I know it’s dark, but think of it as dramatic effect.” He says, putting himself into the starting position. “Can you play the song back to the start for me?”

You agree, increasing the volume to its maximum capacity. Instantly, you see him switch into performer mode. His entire expression changes as his body move fluidly in contemporary dance. As you listen to the song, you can see how much work he put into visualizing its story into a dance. Although you didn’t want to admit it, the dim light surely did create the dramatic effect that the song calls for.

He ends the piece with a pose and holds it for a few seconds before completely converting back to the ordinary college student he was before. “So, what do you think?”

“To me, it looks pretty good. I enjoyed watching you and I think your dance synced very well with the song. However, like, I don’t know if you’ll get what I mean but...” Your tilt your head from side to side, trying to shake your brain for the best way to explain it. “You weren’t? Your dance got the song, but you didn’t?”

He slowly nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Oh man, I’m so sorry, I don’t really have a better way of explaining it.” You say, guilty that you may have said something that didn’t really sit well with him.

“No, I get what you mean, kind of. I just want to know what part.” He shifts his weight on one of his legs, deep in thought.

“I don’t know, up to you to find out, I guess.” You shrug, handing him back his phone. “It’s just what I think, so you probably shouldn’t think too much of it.”

“No, it’s good. You got me thinking at least, thanks.” He says, taking his phone and putting it in one of his pockets. “I’ll just sleep it out and think about it more in the morning.”

“Now that I’ve told you what I think, I assume that your offer to become a dancer is now set?” You say, making sure that you seal the deal. Although it seems like nothing to him, you knew that this could be important for one of your outputs one day. You take out your own phone and open the notepad. “I’m going to need your contact details.”

“Is this your way of hitting on me?” He says playfully, followed by his own high-energy laughter. “Nah, I’m just kidding, hand it over.”

He takes your phone and types in a few lines before handing it back to you. You check it one more time to check if he didn’t put in some nonsense information.

Lee Chan, 3rd Year Dance Major

leechan_1999@gmail.com

Messenger: @LeeChan_1999 (please message me here)

“I’ll see you around!” He says, picking up the rest of his things before disappearing out the back door.

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The next few days go by in a flash. After spending a few sleepless nights, you and your group successfully pass your project with higher than expected grades. Now it’s the short silent period after the hectic midterms week where everyone just goes to classes, but without much really happening except for a few reminders and some feedback on recent outputs.

You sit at the round park table at the small park at the side of your building, watching students spend time with their friends while they still can for the short rest period. Across you, one of your upperclassmen and close friends, Hansol, types out something on his laptop.

You take a sip from the fruit drink you got from one of the stalls. “Still doing that paper you were cramming at the last minute?”

“Isn’t it fine though?” He says, looking up at his laptop. “I’d rather pass a finished but late paper than an incomplete mess. I’ll be done in a few minutes. Once I email it to our professor, we can go over to the movies with the rest of the guys.”

“Alright, go do your thing.”

You cross your legs and scroll through your phone. You had to meet up with your friends in around half an hour at the cinema nearby. Although you were used to Hansol pushing things to the last minute, you just wanted to hurry and get out of the campus.

You put down your phone and lie down on the bench, looking up at the canopy above you. The weather is just perfect to laze around and have fun. You knew that everything was going to get busy again starting next week, but you didn’t want to burn yourself out.

“Hey.”

Your view of the canopy and internal train of thought is broken by the face of Lee Chan--who you and your friends now like to call the Midnight Dancer--just above your face.

You jolt back, putting your hands up defensively. “Hey..?”

You sit up, looking at him as he takes a seat next to you. “I finally get what you mean!” Chan says, putting his hands on his knees. “I did a few adjustments to the dance, and guess what? I aced the performance, got enough good marks to last me until graduation.”

It takes you a few moments before realizing what he was talking about. “Oh, you mean for that dance you did?”

“Yeah! You don’t know how thankful I am for what you said. People always comment on the steps or the songs, but it’s the first time someone told me about getting the song myself.” He crosses his arms and shrugs. “Weird and absurd, but effective. By the way, I never really got to know your name. I’ve always referred to you as ‘that one girl from advertising’ when I tell my friends about it.”

“I’m glad it helped you out I guess. My friends always tell me that my thoughts don’t really make any sense.” You reply. “Oh, and my name is y/n. Easy to remember, I hope.”

“Good to finally have a name for the nameless character. Nice to meet you for the second time, y/n.” He leans his elbow on the table beside him. “Anyway, what are you up to?”

You look over to Hansol, then back to Chan. “We’re going out for a movie, getting off some steam after the midterm week. Want to come along?”

Chan’s mouth forms an ‘o’ as he raises his eyebrows. “Are you two... you know? I mean, I’m not really a big fan of being ‘that’ guy during a date.”

“Wait, it’s not what you think,” Your eyes grow big, flustered at the comment. Although you were 100% sure that you saw Hansol as a friend, bringing up the subject made you shy. “We’re going out with other friends, like a big group of friends.”

You see the corner of Chan’s mouth tilt up ever so slightly in amusement. "Alright, alright. I’d be happy to come along.” He takes out his phone and checks the time. “Just give me a few minutes to get my stuff at the dorm. Fifteen minutes, I think?”

You look over at Hansol, who still seems to be typing without a break. ��Sure, I think that’ll be more than enough.”

“Alright, wait for me.” He says one last time before quickly disappearing over the corner.

“So that’s the Midnight Dancer you guys have been talking about?” Hansol says, his eyes still focusing on his laptop screen. “I didn’t think that the story was actually serious.”

“Does it really sound like something I’d make up?”

This time, Hansol looks up from his laptop. “I mean... it kind of does.” He types in a few more lines before clicking away at something. “I’ll send this off real quick.”

Fifteen minutes later, Chan arrives at your table, just as he said. This time, he’s carrying a backpack with him. “Alright, let’s go?”

“What’s the backpack for?”

“I’ve got a rehearsal tonight. Thought I’d drop by after the movie. If you’ve still got time to waste, you can sit in and watch.” He says, putting his hands through the slings of his bag.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to make me give you absurd feedback again?”

“I’m sorry, was it obvious?” He lets out a big laugh, giving a wide smile afterward. “Nah, you can really just watch this time.”

“Alright, why not.”

The three of you make your way to the theatre, meeting your four other friends. Despite meeting them for the first time, Chan easily blends into the group. Although he’s loud and friendly, he puts care into his words and actions. In the movie theatre, the two of you sit beside each other. You laugh at the small snarky comments he says at the side, grateful for the small breaks in silence. Although he says it quietly enough not to disturb the people around him, your laughter may have been louder than you wanted it to be. This earns you a few nudges from your friends, but you manage to keep a hold of it for the rest of the movie.

Once outside, the two of you can’t stop talking about the movie. You never really had to worry about running out of things to talk about because Chan always had something to say about everything. Even on your way to his rehearsal, both of you ended up talking about anything and everything. To be honest, you found the conversations more fun than the movie you were watching.

Eventually, when you had to go home, all you thought about was the lightheartedness you felt when being with him. You think of it as the buzz you feel when making a new friend who you know you’d click with for sure.

Little do you know, you’re already looking forward to the next time you’d randomly bump into him.

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Just as you thought, the following week was leading back into the cycle of busy schedules. It was one project after another. You weren’t really one to complain--you had great friends that helped out well in whatever you were tasked with, but you miss having a person that you could just freely talk to.

Somehow, you end up looking for him in the random figure at a crowd, or the loud and distant laughter at the lounge. Even your friends were starting to see that you were always somehow checking out the periphery.

When you do happen to come across him, you find yourself unnaturally excited.

You and your classmates are currently gathered at the student lounge, waiting for the multimedia room to be open so that you could begin your presentations for a class. You decide to move a couple of meters away from the big group, reviewing all the things you had to say for class later on.

You are looking out at the parking lot, memorizing and spacing out at the same time. Yet, when you spot a familiar head of brown hair, your mind immediately trails away from your presentation.

After two weeks, you finally got to see him again.

Well, about a hundred meters away, that is.

As if he had known you were staring at him all along, he turns his head toward you and gives you a wide smile as he crosses the parking lot. You give a small wave in return.

You would have wanted to have a small talk with him, but he turns over at one entryway and makes his way up the stairs, presumably to one of his classes.

You didn’t really have much time to think of it. Just as Chan disappeared, the doors to the multimedia room open, all of your classmates flowing into it as the previous class makes their way out.

“Y/N, let’s go!” You hear one of your classmates call out.

“Ah, yeah. Coming.” You say, turning back with your eyes still lingering for a few seconds on the staircase.

Ever since then, you’ve been starting to meet him a bit more often. Usually, it would just be the small smiles and eye contact from across the hall. Sometimes, you’d get to walk across each other in the hallway and exchange a few greetings. However, he always seems like he’s in a rush to get somewhere. Although you knew that he has his own life to live, you were curious about how he was doing. After all, he was the kind of guy that practiced in the middle of the night in an abandoned dance room, then he has probably done other similar things.

You didn’t know you were starting to think a bit too much about it when Hansol actually pointed it out.

At one of the cafes outside school, you and Hansol just finished a small consultation session for a project you were doing. With all the schoolwork he has to do, it was a bit hard to find the time to sit with him, so you had to run to the cafe for a quick minute while your group mates continue drafting the project at the campus.

“Why don’t you just go ahead and send him a message? You have his contact details, right?” Hansol says out of the blue, making you almost spit out your drink.

“Who?”

“Come on, you know who I’m talking about.” He grabs a piece of tissue and hands it over to you. “Lee Chan. From what I hear, it seems like he’s a pretty good dancer. You talk about him a lot.”

You take the tissue and wipe your mouth with it. Of all the times, Hansol actually brings this up now. “I do not--you know what, maybe I do. I mean, I can, but...”

“You still have that deal with him where you could use him as a dancer for your project right? I think it would be good if you could use a dancer concept for the promotional video.” Hansol leans his arms on the table and nods. “I don’t think the other groups would think to go as far as to find a dancer to promote an imaginary sportswear brand, so maybe it’ll earn you some extra points.”

You feel a small drop of cold sweat break out. All this time, Hansol was talking about the project, not your growing affection for the hardworking dance student.

“Ah, you mean that?” You shrug, trying it play it off. “Alright, sure, why not? I’ll have to tell my groupmates about it first, though.”

“Oh, absolutely. Hitting two birds with one stone, right?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Go ahead and contact him. Is there anything else you want to talk about?” He asks, giving a small comforting smile.

You check the time on your laptop. “I’d love to talk, but I think I need to get back to my group mates. I promised I’d be there by 10:30 tonight.”

“Doing one of your late-night projects again?”

“The woes of an advertising major.” You say below your breath as you hurry to put your laptop back in your bag. “Thanks for the time. Don’t cram too much this time.”

When you get back to the room your friends were staying in, you tell them about the advice Hansol told you. They seemed to be completely fine with it, so you sent a message over to Chan. It was late into the night, so you were worried if he would even respond. During normal class days, the rooms would only be open up until midnight, so you knew you had to finish the draft if you wanted to pass it on time by tomorrow.

After a few minutes, he responds.

“Sure, I’m down. I’m over at the secret dance room if you want to talk about it.”

You quickly relay the news to your groupmates, and they make their adjustments to the output. Elated, you made your way downstairs. Now that the proposal was done, all you had to do was make the promotional video within the week. More than anything, you’re happy to be able to talk to him again, even if it was just going to be about school stuff.

From outside the back door, you could hear the same intense footsteps, dancing to their own music. You open the door, seeing Chan dancing away in the dark room. When he sees you, he gives you a small nod and takes off his earphones.

“Hey, still practicing late into the night in secret?” You say, remembering the first time you saw him.

“Same goes for you. Still making outputs late into the night, but not in secret?” He says with a laugh. “Let’s talk outside, I could need a breath of fresh air.”

Both of you find a spot on one of the benches surrounding a large tree.

“So, what’s the concept about?” He asks with a bit of tiredness in his voice.

You give him all the details of the video. You planned it to be short and impactful, heavily relying on whatever dance Chan could perform to make the output stand out. For the entire time, Chan listens silently, nodding from time to time. Once you were done, he gives his comments for the first time.

“Sounds pretty good. Let me know when you have the song decided and I’ll think of something.” He says, a little less energy this time.

The both of you sit in silence for a few moments, the late-night breeze flowing between both of you. Either you’ve been observing him too much, or Chan has been very obvious about it, but you notice that he’s not really as upbeat as he was before.

“How’s life going on?” You break the silence, hoping that he’d open up to you at least a little bit. “You don’t seem pretty good.”

“Well, it hasn’t been going as well as I thought it would be.” He says, trying to lift his tone, but failing terribly. “I don’t know. Would you care to listen?”

“Of course.”

That’s when he brings out a topic that you never thought he would talk about. On most days, he had to work at a part-time job and would only really have to practice at night. He always felt that something was lacking with the way he danced, which is why he would always practice in secret at the dance room downstairs in fear of judgment. On top of that, he works hard to do performances for the dance group he’s in. He lets it all out, all the insecurity and burnout that comes along with all the responsibilities that he’s taken on.

“I’m sorry, I’m talking too much. You should get back to your project.”

“No, it’s alright. There’s nothing to be sorry about. We’re done for the day anyway.” You take in a deep breath. You keep your eyes straight, looking at the row of trees in front of you. “How long have you been doing this?”

“I don’t know, perhaps since the start of my freshman year? I’m actually surprised that we only met now when I’ve been using the dance room for years. Apparently, it’s because we always use it at different times.” He leans back and puts his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. “Thanks for listening, anyway. Doesn’t really change my situation, but at least it makes things lighter.”

“Sure, anytime. I really don’t think you should be keeping your burdens all to yourself. It can get pretty lonely.” You say. You turn your head to look at him, finding out that he had been looking at you all this time. “What is it?”

“Does it ever occur to you that there are people who you are just meant to meet?” He says in a low voice. “Thank you for being that person.”

You feel your face heat up despite the cold temperature. You weren’t exactly sure how to take his words. He looks at you for a little longer before getting up and returning back to his normal, energy-filled self.

“Well, anyway. Let’s head back before the monitors come by and see us hanging out beyond the closing time.” He says, offering his hand to help you up.

You take the offer, and he helps you up. Instead of letting it go, he keeps your hand in his. This time, you really aren’t able to hide the redness forming over your face. All you hope is that it wouldn’t be too obvious under the moonlight. He lets out a small chuckle before bursting out in his usual reverberating laughter.

“Come on, let’s go.” You say, walking in front of him to keep him from seeing your face. He moves along with you, hand still linked with yours.

“Seeing you flustered never gets old.” He says between his laughs.

For someone with a lot of words, his actions were more than enough to make you understand. Just this was enough to make you happy, enough to make you believe that there really are people you are meant to meet. - END -

[arckook]

around and around - three

pairing: cho seungyoun x reader, kim wooseok x reader

au: idolverse

warnings: none

wordcount: 4.1k

description: you’ve had a one-sided crush on your close friend seungyoun for who knows how long, but things don’t stay so black and white when he introduces you to his new groupmate kim wooseok.

next

It’s November now, which means it’s a little chilly. The first few days of being back in Korea were a dramatic change from the warmth of Hawaii- you’d gone outside without a coat, and were immediately shocked by the prick of cold air, having to run back inside to get something to put over your outfit.

You’d almost done it again today.

Where are you :( 

It’s cold!!!!!!!!

You send the texts one after the other, then quickly tuck your hands under your arms, shivering. You can handle the cold during the day, but at night, it feels like it really gets into your bones.

Your phone buzzes in your hand, so you pull it out to look.

Pink coat + beret?

You glance around to see if you can spot him, but you guess he’ll just pop out of nowhere like last time.

That’s me!!

Kim Wooseok doesn’t respond, and you’re right in your guess that he’ll appear at your side within thirty seconds. It takes you a moment to get that it’s him, since he’s wearing not only a mask and those glasses, but a hat too.

“You look like you’re hiding from the police or something,” you tell him, sticking your phone in your back pocket.

“And you look like you’re trying to make yourself recognizable.” he retorts, reaching up to pull his mask down. “Better?”

You nod, smiling. “Yup. It’s weird talking to someone when you can’t see half their face. Anyway, I wore this so you could find me easier, so if I were you, I’d be saying thanks.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Wooseok deadpans, then glances around, almost looking nervous. “Let’s start walking.”

You shrug, following his lead when he starts going down the street. “Did you pick a place to eat?”

“No,” he says simply, which explains why it feels like you’re just walking without a destination.

“Hey!” you exclaim, frowning over at him. “You had three weeks and you still didn’t decide?”

Wooseok glances sideways at you. “You don’t like my favorite food, so you can just pick.”

“Huh?” you tilt your head. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Chicken feet,” he answers, and you almost physically gag. Wooseok cracks a smile. 

“How’d you know I don’t like those?” you ask, shaking off your disturbance at the thought of eating that cursed dish. You’d tried them when you first moved into the dorm with Jiseo, Eunmi, and Soohyun- who all like them. That was an experience that, regretfully, you’ll never forget.

“The youngest in our group won’t eat them either. Seungyoun mentioned you while we were all talking about it.” Wooseok says, which catches your attention.

“Seungyoun mentioned me?” you ask, holding back a smile. “Did he say anything else?”

Wooseok glances at you again, with a sort of vague expression. “No, sorry.”

You nod, looking back towards the street. “Oh, okay.”

“...Well, what do you like to eat?” he asks after a few seconds. “We should go somewhere unpopular.”

Since he actually met you closer to your dorm, you know the area pretty well.

“Oh!” you grin. “There’s a really good budae-jjigae place nearby! The lady who owns it has known me since forever so she’ll give us a discount, and there’s a private room if you’re nervous about being seen together.”

Wooseok nods. “Sure.”

“Looks good,” Wooseok remarks after your food arrives, the pot of stew steaming hot. “How many calories do you think this is?”

“I don’t know and I’m not going to think about that,” you tell him, picking up your chopsticks and digging in right away, putting some of the meat and tofu in your smaller bowl so it can cool off faster.  

He snorts, probably at your brazen response, but you deal with people questioning how much you should be eating practically every single meal, and once in a while, you’d like to ignore that you have to watch your weight.

Wooseok takes some of the stew for himself, mentioning something to you about eating the noodles quickly so they won’t get soggy. 

You eat in silence for a little while- you think he must have been hungry and just hadn’t said anything about it. And you were definitely hungry too, after having been busy shooting photos for a pictorial the entire day.

“So,” Wooseok eventually starts, surprising you. “How was your trip to Hawaii?”

You sit back in your chair and finish chewing as you nod. “It was fun. The scenery was so beautiful, I’ve always wanted to go there to see everything for myself. It lived up to what people say about it.”

He hums, sipping some of the soup. “Guess I’ll have to go there someday.”

“If you ever get the chance, you should,” you say, starting to eat again. “It was really relaxing. I think being in nature like that puts your mind at peace.”

Wooseok sighs. “I could use that.”

You frown, teeth latching onto your bottom lip as you watch him dip his head down towards his bowl to lift some noodles into his mouth. You didn’t notice before outside in the dark, but in here with the bright lighting, you can see that the skin under Wooseok’s eyes is dark with fatigue, and his posture seems weak.

“Wooseok-ssi,” you say, a little quieter than before. He looks up to meet your eyes and you almost say nevermind, but you force yourself to go on. “I really meant it when I said you could vent to me. I’ll still pay for the meal.”

He pauses, in what you think might be consideration. For a second, you’re expecting him to set down his chopsticks, and start letting out all of the things that are bothering him.

Instead, Wooseok offers you a hint of a smile. “I’m doing fine, Y/N-ssi.”

“Alright,” you mumble, looking down at your bowl and beginning to scoop more of the stew into it. 

Wooseok clears his throat. “...Did you want to hear anything else about Seungyoun?”

Remembering that that was the whole original deal you two had made, you glance up, mouth full. “Yeah, tell me!” you try to say, but you’re pretty sure it comes out unintelligible. Despite that, you guess Wooseok understood that you were saying yes, because he nods and starts talking.

“Besides the chicken feet thing, I got Seungyoun to talk about you another time.”

You swallow quickly, then start coughing, then choke a little, desperately grabbing a napkin and ducking away so that Wooseok can’t see you dying in front of him. Once you’ve recovered, you set the napkin down and smile. “What’s the context? What’d he say?”

Wooseok gives you a look of plain disgust, shaking his head. “How can you have possibly told me that you’re not weird, with confidence?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you say, still smiling. “Go on about Seungyoun?”

He rolls his eyes, but obliges. “I asked him if you’d sent him any pictures of you in Hawaii, and he said you sent them in your friend groups’ groupchat but he hadn’t seen them yet. I asked if he could show me since you hadn’t put any on your social media yet, so we looked at them together-”

“What’d you two think of the one where I’m on the mountain, and I’m pointing at the sky?” you interrupt, squinting. “Eunmi-unnie took that one literally, and I’m not exaggerating, thirty times, so I was worried it would come out looking unnatural.”

Wooseok gives you yet another look, this time just seeming tired. “I thought it looked fine, if that’s what you’re asking. Seungyoun didn’t say much, he just said that he thought it looked really refreshing there.”

You stare at Wooseok for a second, wondering if you just heard what he said right, and then remembering how few times Seungyoun has really said anything about how you look in photos, you look back down at your bowl, pushing what’s left around inside it. “Ah.”

You hear Wooseok sigh, and the sound of him setting down his chopsticks. “Y/N-ssi, are you sure you really want me to tell you these things? Isn’t it just making you feel worse?”

You shake your head, trying to smile at him briefly. “No, I appreciate it. Maybe hearing this stuff will put me in my right mind.”

Wooseok is quiet. 

You don’t really have much of an appetite anymore.

“Wooseok-ssi,” you say, sitting straight again. “Am I wrong for wanting him to say that I look pretty in a photo? I hear it often, but I just want to hear it from him.”

The man across from you looks at you with a vague expression, but you think, by the way he hesitates, that Wooseok feels bad for you. “I think that’s just what liking someone is.”

“...I guess so,” you say after a moment, doing your best to smile again. 

Wooseok sends you off in a taxi when you’re both done with the meal, promising to meet up with you again soon, when you have time.

“Again,” 

Your dance coach’s voice is sharp when it rings out. She’s said the word ‘again’ probably a hundred times in the last hour. You sigh, but walk to your starting spot.

“Wait a minute,” 

You look to the side, surprised to hear Jiseo speak up. Your leader has her hands on her hips, her bangs are stuck to her glistening forehead. She looks exhausted.

“The kids are all tired,” Jiseo says, gesturing to the other three of you. “We’ve run this a thousand times in the past two days, and it’s eleven pm. Ssaem, don’t you want to go home too?”

“Are you kidding?” your coach stands up from where she’d been sitting in front of you. You don’t know what’s been up with her, but lately she’s been getting antsy and harsh so easily with the four of you. “Award season is starting soon and you want to go home without making sure it’s perfect? You have three more dance breaks to learn, and you think you can slack off on the first one? Park Jiseo, are you a leader or not?”

“Am I a leader?” Jiseo snaps back. You match eyes with Soohyun, who looks visibly distressed. “I’m trying to take care of the members, because ever since we got back from Hawaii, we’ve been worked to the bone every day! We’ve been here for thirteen hours, the routine looks perfect in the mirror- it’s not going to get any better if we do it again right now!”

Your coach’s jaw is clenched tight, and her arms are crossed over her chest. “...Fine. You think it looks perfect, then you don’t need to practice that one until the day you perform it. I hope it looks perfect then, too, for your own sake.” she snatches her bag off the floor next to her, and stalks out the door.

“Ssaem, you know that’s not what I was saying-” Jiseo gets cut off by the slam of the door. 

The four of you stand there in a tense and thick silence.

“Did her husband cheat on her or something?” Eunmi mutters, and you crack a smile, then Soohyun chuckles behind her hand, and even Jiseo lets out an amused puff of air from her nose.

“Sorry that I probably just made tomorrow’s dance practice ten times harder,” Jiseo says, running a hand through her hair. “I just wanted us to have time to eat some dinner tonight.”

“It’s okay, unnie,” Soohyun chirps, already looking brighter now that the mood has been lifted. “I want fried chicken, does anyone else?”

“Sounds good to me,” Eunmi says, stretching out her limbs. “Is Dowoon-oppa gonna be at the apartment when we get back? ‘Cause if he is, we need to eat it here.”

“He’ll probably make us get on the scale when we go back anyway,” Jiseo rolls her eyes. “Let’s just go home and pretend we ate. I’ll make sure he leaves, and then we can order chicken.”

“Mmm,” Soohyun throws her arm around your shoulders, and you smile at the youngest’s antics. “Unnie, doesn’t it sound so good? Some crispy chicken… mmmmmmmm…”

“It sounds good,” you nod, patting her cheek. “Let’s get going, then.”

“Y/N!” Seungyoun’s voice calls out brightly into your earphones. “I didn’t think you’d pick up, honestly.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” you joke, setting your phone on the dashboard of the treadmill so you can actually see his face. “And also sorry that I’m answering at the gym.”

“I thought you’d be at dance practice,” Seungyoun says, brows turned up. “Why are you at the gym?”

“Because I’m not at dance practice,” you answer, knowing it’s going to annoy him ever so slightly.

“Just answer the question,” Seungyoun whines.

You sigh, slowing down the speed of the treadmill so you can talk easier. “Jiseo-unnie argued with our dance coach last night, and I guess she got mad enough to cancel practice today. She said we should dilly dally since that’s what we want to do anyway.”

Seungyoun cackles, and even though you know he’s about to tease you and your group members for always being so stubborn, his laugh makes you smile. 

“I should send a bouquet to Jiseo for never letting anyone mistreat you,” he says, still chuckling. “It seems like you guys always have something to say to your staff.”

“That’s not true at all!” you frown at your phone, hoping the connection is good enough that Seungyoun can see your scrunched up face. “We loved Sungjoon-oppa, and we love all of our makeup artists and stylists and the female managers, and our CEO is nice to us, too. Something’s just up with Haeyoung-ssaem lately, and our new manager Dowoon-oppa is frustrating too.”

“Tell me in person!” Seungyoun says, surprising you. 

“Huh?” you frown deeper. “In person?”

“Yeah, let’s hang out today,” he says, smiling that peaceful, Seungyoun smile at you through the screen. “You promised, remember? And you just exposed yourself for having a day off.”

“Oh, well, I was still going to work, though,” you say, and then mentally smack yourself. Why did you not immediately accept his offer? 

“On what? You’re really going to work on a day off?” Seungyoun’s bright look fades. 

“Well… I figured since it wasn’t really meant to be a day off, I’d go to my studio and work on some music or something.”

“To your studio?” he pipes up again. “When? I’ll meet you there.”

You laugh. “Oppa, do you even know where it is?”

He shrugs. “It’s in your company building somewhere, right? I can find it!”

“If you really want to come, just meet me in the building lobby at five,” you say, smiling. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Seungyoun says, winking. “Don’t leave me stranded alone in another label’s headquarters, Y/N!”

“I won’t,” you tell him. 

Seungyoun smiles again, that smile.

Ugh.

“I’ll see you later, then.” he says, and waves. “Bye!”

“Bye,” you say back, and he hangs up.

“Excuse me,”

You look to the side, seeing what looks to be about a thirty-five-year-old woman in a Gucci tracksuit and diamond earrings standing by you.

“Uh, yes?” you ask, taking out one earpod. 

“You’ve been on there for forty minutes, dear, and the maximum is half an hour. I know you’re some celebrity, but you’re not all that. Let’s give other people a chance.”

You smile, grabbing your phone and your water and hopping off the treadmill. “Yes, ahjumma.”

Her eyes widen, and she sputters something about not being old enough for you to call her that. You chuckle as you walk to the showers, thinking that you’ll have to tell Seungyoun later.

You walk up to your company building a few minutes before five, pushing your sunglasses up onto your head with one hand, and digging in your bag for your ID with the other, not really looking where you’re going.

“Oof!” 

You smack into someone, and nearly fall as you step back to try and balance yourself. The person spins around, and your eyes widen when you see that it’s Seungyoun, reaching out to grab and steady you.

“What a greeting,” he says, holding both your arms and helping you back to your feet. He grins, letting go to pat your head. “What if I hadn’t been there to catch you?”

“Catch me?” you roll your eyes, but give him an appreciative smile. “What if you hadn’t been standing in front of the door?”

“What?” he exclaims. “The door is at least a few feet away! You just weren’t watching where you were heading.”

You shrug, finally getting a hold of your ID, and flash it to the secretary. You don’t know why you even still need to do that- you’re pretty sure they all know your face around here. “That’s true.”

You start walking, heading through the first door into the room with the elevators and some seating. “I thought I’d have to wait for you, why’d you come so early?”

“I only got here a couple minutes before you did,” Seungyoun says, looking around the room. You press the up button on the elevator.

“Oh, good.”

You hear Seungyoun breathe in to start talking, but the elevator doors open right at that moment, and a few trainees at your company get out.

“Sunbaenim!” one of them says, and you recognize him after a moment as the oldest, who your CEO always talks about being “the next big thing”, or something dramatic like that. 

“Oh, hello,” you smile, bowing your head slightly as they bow to you. “Are you all going to eat?” 

“That’s right,” the main boy says, his grin half-crooked. “Sunbaenim, do you want to join us?”

Surprised, you can’t help but laugh at how confidently he just asked you that. “Thank you for the invitation, but not this time. I’ll treat you all to a meal when you debut. Enjoy your meal.”

The boy winks as the other trainees seem to cringe at him. “Thank you, sunbaenim,”

They all bow to you and you bow your head back as they leave. 

“They seem to like you,” Seungyoun comments, pressing the up button again as the elevator doors closed while you were talking to the trainees. The doors open up quickly, and the two of you step in. 

You reach forward to press the number 8. “I try to look after some of the trainees. Lately they’ve all been practicing a lot. It’s always nice to hear some encouragement from your seniors.”

Seungyoun hums. You glance over, and he meets your eyes, smiling. 

The elevator dings, and the doors slide open. You look away and walk out, gesturing to the hallway you stepped out into with pride. “This is where all of our studios are!”

Seungyoun chuckles. “I feel like I’m going somewhere top secret.”

You raise a brow at him. “You totally are. Pretty much our whole discography comes from that room right there.” you point to Jiseo’s door, which is plain and undecorated aside from the standard plate with her name on it.

“Where’s yours?” Seungyoun asks, walking leisurely a bit ahead of you.

“End of the hall,” you say, trailing him. “You can’t miss it.”

And indeed you can’t. Nobody can. Seungyoun definitely doesn’t.

He laughs, pointing at the door. “Yah, L/N Y/N! Who does this?”

“I’m not accepting criticism,” you tell him with an amused look. “I worked really hard on this door.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” he says, shaking his head. 

“You don’t like the balloon hands?” you ask, flicking one of the blown up plastic gloves that is taped to the door. “Or the distorted mirror?” 

“Y/N-ah,” Seungyoun says, turning to you. He wipes his hands over his face, still laughing a little bit. “This might be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. When did you have time for this?”

You shrug, pulling out the key from your bag. “I don’t know, it was when we first debuted. People kept knocking on the door and bothering me so I decided to make it creepy and hard to approach.”

You haven’t thought about how truly bizarre your studio door looks until now, and you’re kind of regretting showing Seungyoun, but, well, you can’t change things now. At least it’s funny, you hope.

“Anyway,” you say, opening the door. “It’s only weird on the outside.”

You lead him into your studio. You wouldn’t say you’re the most amazing interior decorator, but you do follow a lot of aesthetic pages on instagram, and have taken influence. It’s mostly white, with light wood accents, and a lot of knick-knacks and photos that have good memories.

“You can sit down wherever,” you tell Seungyoun, setting your purse down on the desk where your computer and other equipment are.

“It’s nice in here,” he says, looking around. He sits down on the small couch you have pressed against the wall. 

“Thanks,” you smile, adjusting the framed picture of you and your group members that’s sitting on the desk. “Sorry it’s kind of cramped. Jiseo’s the only one who has a big room.”

Seungyoun shakes his head as you sit down in your computer chair, spinning around to face him. “No, I like it. It suits you.”

“...So,” you say, tugging at your fingers. You feel a little awkward alone with Seungyoun. He had said that it’d been a long time since just the two of you met up, but you honestly aren’t sure if you ever have. Vernon is the one who introduced you two, and in the beginning of yours and Seungyoun’s friendship, he tagged along a lot. 

“I thought you said you wanted to do something fun next time we see each other,” you finally finish. “There’s not that much to do in here. I was just going to work on a melody for a track that Jiseo started a few weeks ago.”

Seungyoun shrugs. “Yeah, I guess I did say that, but I just wanted to see you.”

You try to hide your smile, heart racing as you subtly spin your chair back around to face the desk so Seungyoun can’t see the expression on your face. How can he just say things like that, nonchalantly? “Oh, well, thanks.”

“Play me the song!” he says, and you hear him stand up. Seungyoun leans on the desk, looking down at you. “I’m curious.”

“Alright,” you say quietly. Your heart is beating painfully fast with him so close to you, after he just said he wanted to see you, and the way his hair is falling over his forehead…

Shit. Focus.

You unlock your computer and open up the music program Jiseo works on (you just followed her lead on all this production stuff). “There’s no words or anything,” you tell Seungyoun as you connect the sound to your speakers, and press play. 

It’s one of Jiseo’s simpler instrumentals- it begins with a low distorted vocal sample and some soft, pulsing chords. Then the beat comes in, the kind that hits right on the hits of the music, and sporadically after that, light bells and occasional piano decorating the atmosphere of the song. It’s slow enough to have a somewhat sensual vibe, but fast enough to keep your foot tapping along. 

You play through the end of the first chorus, and then pause it, not wanting to bore Seungyoun as the song is a little repetitive without vocals. 

“Pretty good, right?” you ask, leaning back in your chair and looking up at Seungyoun. His eyes are on the computer screen, trailing the different tracks showing in the music program.

Seungyoun hums, then reaches over you to the keyboard, tapping a few keys that pull up a menu on one of the instrument tracks. “I think it’ll sound better if the chords drop out right before the chorus, just for two counts. And a snare roll would work right at the drop, too…”

He adjusts things naturally, easily. You weren’t expecting Seungyoun to add some input to the song, but you can’t say no now that he’s leaned down right beside you, brows furrowed in concentration, a hand coming up every few seconds to push his hair back. You almost do it for him, but catch yourself before lifting your hand.

“Okay, listen to it now,” Seungyoun says, pressing the spacebar without moving. He’s looking at you, so you feel pressured to look away, instead pretending to watch the movement of the screen. 

You nod once it finishes. “I like it.”

“Got a mic around here?” he asks, standing back up to his full height and glancing around. “I think you should sing a little. I’ll help you figure something out to add.”

“Are you sure?” you frown, not reaching for the mic that’s under the desk. “Oppa, this might not ever even make it on an album. You shouldn’t waste your time.”

He shrugs, smiling over his shoulder at you as he continues looking around. “Y/N-ah, we both love music. What’s more fun than doing something we love together?”

And, like always, you can’t turn him down.

[unmanageable-day]

01. Between a friend and another friend

When you are friends for so long, and it has never come across your mind to date one of them. Until one particular guy friend of yours came to offer you a relationship, a new chapter of life like no other before.

Doyoung, Taeyong, and 'you' as Choi Jooyeon

Genre: angst, friendzone, from friends to lovers AU

🔸 — — — — — 🔸

You arrived early at Seohyun's wedding party. You wandered around not knowing where to go except the food bar. You already said hi to the bride and you promised to go back to her with your friends. Yet your friends were still nowhere to be found. When you went outside the ball room, that was when you bumped into Doyoung.

"Doyoung!" you exclaimed cheerfully, stomping towards him.

He accepted your hug. "Jooyeon, hey, how are you?"

"I'm great. How are you?"

You two ended up catching some updates and recalling old memories. How you two used to be chairmates and groupmates, and how he always asked to borrow a pen from you which ended up missing. You also remembered how you liked to switch your food items from your lunchbox, since his mom's cooking somehow matched to your liking and vice versa.

"I miss your mom's radish kimchi and the braised beef. I tried recreating it at home, my mom did too. But your mom is just another level."

Doyoung grinned. "Speaking of which.. Jooyeon, you're not married, are you?"

You almost choked on your apple juice. "I beg your pardon?" You quickly wiped your mouth before roaring to Doyoung. "We haven't met for years and you have to ask if I'm married or not? You really are something, Kim Ddong."

"Okay, that's a no. Great."

You narrowed your eyes at him. "Excuse me? What's so great about it?" you asked, feeling somewhat offended not in a serious way.

"Are you currently seeing someone?"

After grasping a bit of the sudden topic change, you finally showed some enthusiasm. "Are you going to introduce me to one of your friends?"

He rubbed his chin while his face looked like he was thinking. Or making something up in his head. "Well, not technically my friend but, yeah, you can say I'm friends with this guy."

"Who is it?" You playfully wiggled your eyebrows.

"You're looking at him. He's standing right in front of you."

You widened your round eyes, trying to look around. "What? There's only you."

He nodded with a big smile.

You gave him a face. "Haha. Very funny."

Your conversation with Doyoung was interrupted by your upcoming friends joining you. Taeyong was one of them. He came with his girlfriend. Fiance; that was what you'd been told. Ahn Hyemi. This girl never really liked you. Simply because you were close with Taeyong. Or you were used to be close, to be precise. And almost everyone knew Taeyong used to like you, like, a lot—which the feelings were not mutual in your case, and he had a difficult time to move on. He thought staying away from you would help. You were sad, of course. But you respected his decision, hoping things would be alright after giving him some time. Until he started dating Hyemi. This girl was another reason why Taeyong kept his distant even further from you.

"Next month it's Changmin's and Siwon's wedding, the month after that it's Kyungsoo's wedding. Gosh, I think Johnny will follow their path very soon," Sehun commented, followed by the cackles of you and your friends, somewhat agreeing to his statement. That Johnny guy did seem like a family guy.

"Honestly, the good thing about these wedding party invitations in a row is that we get to gather like this," said Chanyeol in his sassy tone.

"To those who do not have their plus-one, we should hang out more," stated Jaehyun. "Oops, sorry to Johnny hyung and Taeyong hyung."

While the others laughed, Taeyong could only smiled bitterly.

You took a glimpse at him. You really wished to be able to talk with him like the old days. But you knew Taeyong himself wouldn't let it happen. His classic reason was he didn't want to make Hyemi worry. Luckily these thoughts in your head got distracted by Doyoung and Yerim who dragged you to an ice cream corner.

Doyoung and Yerim left first while you were still standing in front of cake bar. Cakes were always hard to choose. Until someone appeared next to you and put a mini chocolate cake on your plate. You looked up and found Taeyong. He remembered your all time favorite cake.

"Thanks," you muttered as you flashed him a soft smile.

"How are you?" he quietly asked.

"I'm good. I see you're doing great too." You tried to sound as cheerful as possible, while you were actually quite anxious whether Hyemi was spying on you with her eagle eyes. "I hope to hear from you and Hyemi very soon."

Taeyong pursed his lips and curved it into a little smile. "Are you ...still single?"

"And ready to mingle," you answered with chuckle escaped your mouth.

He paused as his smile faded away slowly. "I hope you find the right one soon," said him after quickly drawing up a smile again.

"Thank you." You disguised the disappointed feeling with a smile. How you wished he could stay longer talking with you. It was quite disturbing you that the smile on his face wasn't as genuine as it used to be. You watched him walk away from you in silence.

I'm sorry I can't reciprocate your feelings. It's still a mystery to me as well, why I can't like you the way you like me.

—»»» next

[rkxsicheng]

MGA4 | EP 4 | NEW

MGA4 Episode 4 | New Classics Team G | 장미와 가시 [ @rksxngyeol , @rksomi , @rkchungha , @rkssoojin ] Song: Bad Boy by Red Velvet [line distribution] Outfit/Hair/Make-up: [x] 

 Sicheng feels his confidence growing. He’s not given himself to delusions of grandeur by any means, but when his team places third out of nine, he begins to think himself competent enough to do well, at the very least, and that’s most certainly a step up from uncertainty. 

 His teammates had been strong competitors, of course, and he didn’t know what was coming next, but he hoped that if he poured himself into rehearsal, if he did his absolute best, he just might make it another round.

 It’s only a matter of keeping up his streak. 

 When the episode airs, he watches eagerly. He can’t help but be happy about the fact that he’s at least featured a bit more, but finds himself cringing at how Yerim is portrayed. Sicheng knows that the girl is...difficult, she’s a good friend of his and he’s aware that she can be prickly even at the best of times, it’s kind of what he likes about her so much, her refusal to sugar coat that which is bullshit, but it still hurts a bit to see her made into some sort of villain. 

 She’d been kind of a brat, to be sure, but she hadn’t really been quite as bad as the show, which leaves out her softer moments, illustrates, and it claps on a light bulb in Sicheng’s brain. 

 Although he hadn’t exactly been neglected, he realises that perhaps he hadn’t given the show much to work with. So he promises to be a little less shy, a little less timid in the practice room this week. To push himself a little more to be friendly.

 It’s a taller order than it seems, of course. He was excited to find out who his new teammates were, but notably less excited for the first day of working with them. He’s always nervous meeting new people, and their initial introductions are awkward because he can only manage shy smiles and deep bows and soft-spoken nice to meet yous, although he does make a deal with himself to initiate a conversation with every one of his new groupmates by the end of the first day, to break the ice that he might work easier with them over the subsequent week.

 The leader is selected rather quickly, it’s Soojin, a cute, fairly unassuming girl, Sicheng thinks initially. The song selection takes a bit longer as they cycle through options, discussing their skillsets, crossing options off their list based on the group’s strengths and weaknesses until they decide on Bad Boy. A good choice, Sicheng thinks. It hasn’t got a rap part, because nobody in this group is a great rapper, but it still manages to exude a strong, dark energy that Sicheng thinks makes up for that. It also allows him to showcase a very different colour, versus what he presented to the judges last week, and he’s eager to do so. 

 Once the details are ironed out, they divide up lines, work through the beginning stages of learning the choreo, and during their first break of the day, Sicheng decides to try and challenge himself, to greet his teammates.He tries this with Sungyeol first, who is apparently also quite awkward. They exchange an awkward how are you, I’m fine thank you, and then sit in a near-painful silence for a moment before Sicheng giggles and apologises, 

“Ah hyung, I’m sorry, I’m so shy...”

 Sicheng is beet red, but Sungyeol is very kind about it. 

 Later, he tries the same thing on Somi, a rascally thing with an enormous amount of very cherubic energy, asking her how she’s doing over lunch, and she knocks him far off his game, telling him about how pretty and shiny he is, and he’s reduced once more to a redfaced, giggly mess. 

 It’s here that he largely gives up on this quest, although he does find that as the day wears on, it happens naturally, that the ice is broken. Chungha, who is initially intimidating, is actually quite cool, and Soojin, who he first thought was cute based solely on her appearance, proves a stern leader, running them like he imagines an actual coach might, although she doesn’t go as far as to make practice miserable, by any means, simply...very well-organised. 

 She in particular, helps Sicheng quite a lot. She gives him lines that stretch the limits of his vocal ability, but also takes the time to sit him down, seeming to recognise that he’s a young singer, without much experience, and give him a few short, impromptu vocal lessons, a dozen or so very important pointers. How to control your breathing for better control while dancing, for one, which Sicheng grasps quite easily; he’s danced much more intense dances his entire life and is thusly in quite good shape. She gives him advice on oral posture, as well, and teaches him how to project for more volume. 

 On the second day, the two of them sit crosslegged in one corner of the room and she runs through a vocal exercise with him, wherein she sings a note, and he matches it in pitch and volume as best he can. It starts out seriously, but eventually dissolves into the two of them getting louder and sillier, culminating with Soojin doing her best impersonation of an opera diva and Sicheng attempting to follow suit only for his voice to immediately crack into a low wail, which sets the two of them off into a fit of laughter. 

 Soojin runs a tight ship, certainly, but she’s no cruel captain. There’s room to enjoy practice a bit, too, sometimes even a lot. 

 He warms to everyone in his group, over the course of the week. Chungha and Soojin at one point reassure him when he expresses worry about the sultrier vibe of the song that it’s less about being “sexy” and more about rocking it in a confident way, and that he’s doing well and really just needs to relax a bit. 

 Sicheng can’t help but follow their lead, trying to study the ease with which especially Chungha performs, putting on an attitude that suits the track and the dance. It’s impressive.

 He’s always been one who appreciates an opportunity to learn, and he’s sure to express his gratitude every time someone takes the time to help him where and when he needs, doing his best to return the favour where he can, helping the others with their vocals a bit, using what Soojin’s taught him, suggesting ways of bettering the impact of their dance. He gives Soojin a few pointers when it comes to performing when she expresses a bit of anxiety over being overshadowed.  

 They carefully select their costumes, and even do a fun little runway, cheering for one another as they one by one do their little dance on the catwalk and strut their stuff. Sicheng can’t help but believe that he looks good, and it’s a much-needed boost of confidence, even as he blushes so profusely that his face pulses with each heartbeat.

 Sungyeol brings his daughter, an adorable little thing. Sicheng doesn’t know why, but he’s shocked to learn that he’s a father. He seems so young. Sicheng loves children, though, and interacts well with them, and so whenever he gets a chance that day, he crouches down to her level to ask her how she’s doing and coo at her just a little bit, even playfully sneaking her the biscuit he’d brought for himself as a treat with lunch.

 On the final day of practice he is sure to take a minute to speak to his group. 

 “I just...would like to thank you for working so hard with me this week, and for teaching me things. Let’s do well together!” and although his Korean is slightly accented, and perhaps a little childish, he does his best, although he still blushes at the sentiment. It’s a little corny, is all, but he still means it. 

 By the time Friday rolls around, he’s surprisingly confident in his part. Not entirely lacking in nervousness, by any means, but confident that him and his group are capable of giving a worthy performance. They were awfully thorough, especially compared to his last group, who were much more laidback, even laissez-faire about certain things, whereas with Soojin’s guidance, they’d left no stone unturned in their quest to improve this performance. They’d gone about every decision with a discussion, with logic, allocating lines based on skill, thinking about who should be in the centre and when, what to wear, how best to deliver Bad Boy to their audience in every way. Sicheng hoped it had been enough.

 It’s incredible how fast this week had passed, how it seemed like one second he’s stepping into the KT practice room for the first time, and the next, he’s on stage, the lights dimmed as they stand in their starting formation, and then they raise, and the track begins and they begin to move, and sing, and perform. 

 Sicheng has a few key moments in the centre of the performance, and he does his best not to waste a second of it, finding his cameras, painting on an intense expression, half-envisioning how he might look to a fan on the other end of it, and adjusting accordingly. He’s always been photogenic, at least, having good camera sense as a result of being sat for more photoshoots with his dance company back home than he can count. Tilt your head back a bit, stick your chin out, tense your forehead. Even when he’s not in the centre, he’s flanking the person who is for much of the performance, and is thusly sure to keep the intensity up even when the focus shouldn’t necessarily be on him. 

 He keeps the pointers Soojin gave him in mind every time he sings, as well, and is surprised with how much a few technical improvements can go to really making one a better vocalist, and when the performance winds down, and they’re in their ending poses, he finds himself at peace with what they’ve achieved. 

 As they make their way backstage he bows in greeting to the next group waiting, giving them a friendly hwaiting. He’s happy, and hopeful.

[spring-emerald]

Kurodai, delivery :)

Apologies for taking a while to answer this dear anon! I was trying to come up with something different for the word since I got a similar request for another ship. Thankfully there’s already some inspiration! 

I would like to thank @multifandomsfujoshi who sent this and of courseheadcanons ensued. I would like to thank @roronoaxd and @kythen for their notablecontributions. You know what they are. :)

Kuroo waits for therest to settle down on their seats, before he stands up from his own and clearshis throat to get their attention.

“Thank you all, forcoming here today,” he says, meeting the eyes of his fellow former captains andnodding his head perfunctorily at them in greeting; and here being a rented conference room in the university library. “Pleasemake yourselves comfortable, as I’m about to begin my presentation.”

He steps away fromthe table and stands a little to the left side of the whiteboard to giveeveryone else a clear view of the still blank presentation slide beingprojected. He takes a deep breath, and starts speaking again.

“Good afternoon,gentlemen. I’m here to present a pitch about ‘Why Sawamura Daichi,” he pointsat Daichi, who is sitting at the foot of the table, for emphasis, “should dateme’”.

He tips his head atBokuto, who is seated on his right side and has the honor of moving the slidesalong, clicks on a key and the title appears on the screen on top of twopictures. The left one being a full-body aesthetic shot he’d taken as an OOTD,while the other, larger picture, is his high school yearbook photo that has acaption of “Ahh, youth~”

Daichi snorts fromhis seat, while Oikawa, seated on Kuroo’s left side says “This is incrediblydesperate of you, Tetsu-chan,” with a slight shaking of his head. Ushijima andMoniwa, who’re sitting opposite each other, just remained silent, with theformer looking all attentive and serious.

Kuroo gives a pointedlook at Oikawa, before resuming. “Anyway, I will now present the attributesthat I deem necessary for your decision.”

The slide the followsis titled ‘Pros of dating me’ and the first item on the outline says ‘cuddles’.

“First off, cuddles.Multiple reliable sources have said that you’re a creature of physical affectionand that you love cuddles. I’m a creature made for cuddling, so what better wayto spend our free time together by cuddling, right?

“Next,” the nextbullet- ‘sometimes I’m funny’, appears. “Just think of it this way, I made youlaugh, and I get to see how beautiful you are when you laugh. Win-win.

“I’m always kind –I thinkthere’s no need for further explanation on that one. Next please,” the line ‘pets’shows up. “Ahhh, yes. Pets. Contrary to what most people think and believe, Iactually prefer dogs over cats, just like you very much do.”

Bokuto clicks onbefore he even gets a cue from Kuroo, but he didn’t seem to mind, as he readilydiscussed the next bullet point: ‘I’ll let you play with my hair’.

“See, I don’t let alot of people touch my hair –since they don’t always reach it anyway- but ifyou date me, I’ll let you have exclusive rights to mess it up even more than itusually is. And I’ll guarantee that you’ll enjoy it,” he says, sending a wink atDaichi.

“Basically,” hecontinues, as the last bullet: ‘I have GREAT ASSets’ finally shows up. (Moniwa,bless him, chokes on something when the last line appeared. Oikawa on the otherhand, just rolls his eyes.)

“I have a great ass-I mean, a lot of great assets thatyou’ll surely come to love.”

Daichi almost laughsout loud at this, but managed to curb the urge, and instead bites his tongue tohold off even a small smile.

The succeeding slideshows up. “My other, special talents include: can eat a lot, without gettingfat; can sleep again, after just waking up; can cram a project last minutebefore the deadline; and can make a one day allowance last for the whole week.

“Of course, shouldyou agree to date me, I can promise you that I will never…” the motions forBokuto to move to the next slide, while Daichi and Oikawa groan at the sametime, clearly knowing where it is going. And not unexpectedly, the slidecontains the header of ‘Will Never’, followed by two bullet points that says ‘gonnagive you up’ and ‘gonna let you down’, then Bokuto clicks on a key once againand a considerably old picture of a foreign looking guy pinwheel-ed on thescreen.

Bokuto snickers at thejoke, while Ushijima, not completely getting it, just nods earnestly at whatthe slide says. Moniwa, on the other hand lets out a long suffering sigh.

“Lastly, I have includedtestimonials from friends to further convince you.”

The first testimonialcame from Bokuto (who else) who occupied the whole slide with a message thatsays:

“KurooTetsurou? My bro? That’s 👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀 good shit go౦ԁ sHit👌 thats ✔ some good👌👌shit right👌👌th 👌ere👌👌👌right✔there ✔✔if i do ƽaү so my selｆ 💯i say so 💯thats what im talking about right there right there (chorus: ʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ) mMMMMᎷМ💯👌👌👌НO0ОଠＯOOＯOОଠଠOoooᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒ👌 👌👌 👌💯 👌 👀👀 👀 👌👌Good shit”

The next one is acompilation of shorter ones, coming from different people.

“You’rea pain in the ass, Kuroo-san” – Akaashi Keiji

“…Idon’t know you.” – Kozume Kenma

“Getlost.” – Tsukishima Kei

“FwwaaaAAHHHH??!YOU’RE SO COOOOL, KUROO-SAN!! THAT BLOCK WAS SO…GWAAAAH!!!” – Hinata Shouyou

“Dude,you look so hot.” – Random guy in my mirror

“And that ends mypresentation for today. Thank you very much!”

The last slide showsa picture of a baby with a smug face, complete with the word ‘Success’ on thetop right of it.

The silence in theroom was broken when Ushijima slowly claps his hands, very much like how onewould after a good movie, or in their case, a presentation.

“That was a very commendablepresentation, Kuroo-san,” he compliments rather seriously. They cannot tell ifhe’s being sarcastic or not, but Oikawa actually leans forward on the table andgives him a clear ‘Are you kidding me?’ look. “What the…”

He gapes at him for afew more seconds before he closes his mouth with a snap. “Well, whatever.Anyway, you’re done right? Right.” So Oikawa stands up without waiting for anyreply, grabs his bag from the floor and says a quick goodbye to all of them,before he exits the room.

“Ah, Ushijima-kun!”Moniwa exclaims all of a sudden. “We need to meet with our groupmates in a fewminutes. We have to leave now.” Ushijima nods at him, then at Kuroo and Daichi,before he stands up and heaves his bag on his shoulder, while Moniwa does thesame with his backpack.

“Anyway,congratulations, Kuroo. And well, good luck, Sawamura,” Moniwa waves themgoodbye then exits the room, with Ushijima behind him.

“Bokuto-san,” Daichispeaks for the first time. “Could you please leave us for a moment?” Bokutolooks at Kuroo, who only nods at him, then stands up, gets his bag and leavesthe room, not without giving Kuroo a friendly tap on the shoulder.

Kuroo remainsstanding, while Daichi remains seated. He leans forward on the table with hiselbows, folded his hands together and gives Kuroo a serious look that makes himnervous.

“You’ve made somecompelling arguments, and the delivery was good,” Daichi says. Kuroo relaxes alittle, releasing a breath he wasn’t aware he’s holding. “However,” Kuroostiffens again at hearing this. “I’m not entirely convinced. I think I mightneed some…proof of those assets that you’ve mentioned.” Daichi ends his statementwith a smirk.

It takes a while forKuroo to understand what he means, but Daichi could pinpoint the exact momentthat it did, because Kuroo’s eyes widened and the nervous look of it isreplaced with a playful glint despite the light blush on his face.

“Well… I’m sure wecan arrange something.”

[prismofwords]

Three Wishes

Umimaki Month Day 14: “I Love You”

The first time they said it to each other was on a clear summer night. The words felt foreign on their tongues, and their hearts felt like they might explode like the fireworks above.

It’s the last festival of the summer after the third-years’ graduation, and the former members of μ’s decided to go together, their last chance before the future starts really pulling them apart. No one mentions it, of course, not even Honoka, probably because if nothing else she doesn’t have the money to buy them all drinks again. The streets are full of people, but the nine girls all stay together, enjoying the revelries. It’s been a while since they’ve all been in one place, after all. They all laugh as Nico utterly fails at goldfish scooping, and as she takes in their smiling faces, she congratulates herself for a job well done. Maki steps up to demonstrate how it’s really done. Honoka and Hanayo eat an amount of food that’s equal parts impressive and concerning. Rin almost gets lost in the crowd a few times, but luckily Nozomi’s able to keep an eye on her former groupmate. Loud, cheerful, bright--no matter how much time passes, they’ll never change.

It’s Kotori that points out that the fireworks will be starting soon, so the nine of them start looking for a place to watch from. They head to a spot not too far from the shrine, but there’s only room for seven. Before Eli can even start to discuss what to do, Umi raises a hand and, with the other, takes hold of one of Maki’s.

The younger girl glances behind her, but she already has lost sight of their friends. “Is this really alright? We were supposed to stay together all night, weren’t we?”

The one walking ahead doesn’t even look back. “There’s not enough time left to look for another spot. Besides, it’s not like we won’t see them again after this.”

They end up at a small park, some ways away from the festival streets but still close enough to have a clear view of the fireworks show. It’s empty, and the two of them sit down on a plain wooden bench to rest their tired feet that have done nothing but walk all through the evening. “Actually,” Umi starts, looking up at the stars, “it’s selfish, but I was sort of hoping it’d end up like this. I’ve always wanted to go to a summer festival with someone...important to me.” Her hair dances in the soft breeze, and Maki feels something welling up in her chest.

“Geez...I’m surprised you can say something so embarrassing.”

Umi still doesn’t look at her and continues. “Am I...Do you think that I’m someone important to you?” As the last word leaves her lips, something whistles across the sky, and the heavens explode in a shower of light. For a moment, they both forget how to speak.

“Ah, they’ve started,” Maki says simply, following the next volley with her eyes. “It’s been so long, I’d forgotten how beautiful fireworks are.” She keeps her eyes on the flowers blooming and fading in the sky. Umi just nods. Maki can tell she’s unsure if she should say anything. The younger girl tightens her grip on her partner’s hand. “As for your question...well, if the sound of the fireworks can drown out my voice, then maybe I could say my feelings out loud.”

Umi takes her attention back down to earth, giving her partner a questioning look. “Just kidding,” Maki adds quickly, sticking her tongue out. “Look, there are more going up.”

When she’s sure the older girl has turned her head back to the sky, she leans over and rests her head on Umi’s shoulder. “Maki...?”

She watches as the next volley shoots up towards the stars, wondering if they’ll drown out her voice. She’s not sure if she wants them to or not. “You know, I _____ you.”

Umi’s eyes widen. She glances at the girl on her shoulder, her face ablaze and her eyes pointedly not looking at her. Maki holds her breath, and as more fireworks pierce the night--

--something sets off much closer to her. “...Yeah, I ____ you too.”

The second time was on the first snowfall of the winter that followed. Their words tumbled out clumsily, their true emotions ringing out in the halating snow.

Umi can’t help feeling uncertain as she rings the doorbell. She has a perfectly sound reasoning for being here, but maybe it’s weird after all, she thinks. After all, who just shows up unannounced 20 minutes before Christmas Day? Especially since they already had a μ’s Christmas Party at Honoka’s house earlier. Maybe Maki doesn’t even care about Christmas as much as she thinks. And why does Maki have to have such an intimidatingly large house? Umi reminds herself that the younger girl still believes in Santa Claus, and really isn’t against spending time with her, and she herself has a rather large home. Besides, she can’t get a certain image out of her head...

She’s broken out of her thoughts by the door swinging open. “Umi? What are you doing here?”

Fighting the urge to take off down the street without explanation, the ocean-haired maiden forcibly plants her feet on the ground. “Well, it’s Christmas Eve, and my parents are out of town, and yours are too...I thought you’d like some company?”

A mischievous smile appears on the other girl’s face. “My, Umi, I didn’t think you were that kind of girl.”

It takes Umi a second to figure out what she means. When she does, her face heats up so much she swears some of the snow piling up around her melts. “Maki! You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Just teasing! Come on in.”

It’s not her first time in the Nishikino household, having come over many times before to work on songs. As she takes her shoes off, though, it suddenly occurs to Umi that she’s never been over just to spend time together. She wonders why Maki’s never invited her over before. Has she ever invited anyone over?

Walking further inside, she also notices that Christmas is most definitely not ignored here. The living room is dominated by a massive Christmas tree, decked out in layer upon layer of bright little lights and angels and stars. A mountain of presents lie underneath it. In the middle of the room, a miniature train rolls through a long and complex loop of tracks. Wreaths and garlands adorn the walls and railings, and the fireplace is barely visible behind the three large red stockings hanging in front of it.

“Pretty impressive, right? We always go all out for Christmas.”

Umi nods. It’s a stark contrast to her traditional Japanese home, where the holiday is barely even acknowledged. She walks into the dining room and gasps. “You have a banquet laid out here!”

“Yeah, the three of us can eat quite a bit after all the hard work of setting up the decorations. Like I said, we always go all out for Christmas!” Maki’s voice suddenly turns cold. “Of course, if it’s just me it’s still too much.”

Umi looks at her, noting the way her fists tremble at her side. Whether it’s anger or frustration, she can’t tell. “Maki?”

The princess of the mansion shakes her head. “It’s nothing. They’re usually home for Christmas Eve, but this time something urgent came up at work...it can’t be helped, right? It’d be selfish of me to ask them to stay.”

Standing there all alone in the middle of a house meant to be full of a family’s love and laughter, Maki looked like a doll abandoned and forgotten. Umi crosses the floor to be at her side. “U-Umi...why did you come here?” It’s not a hostile question, but a searching one, as if the younger girl couldn’t possibly comprehend why anyone would be there for her.

A certain image, of Maki’s devastated look when she first got to Honoka’s house that morning, flashes through Umi’s mind again. It was gone soon enough--it’s hard to stay upset around all that infectious cheer--but Umi can’t let it go. She knew right away that Maki was more upset about being alone than she had let on. “I had a feeling you needed someone. That you’d need me. Call it a premonition, if you want.”

“You came all this way based on a ‘premonition’?” Maki looks at her incredulously. “What, are you Nozomi now?”

“I promised you, remember? ‘When you feel troubled/I’ll come running right away’.”

That manages to get a smile out of Maki. “Just quoting our own song lyrics doesn’t help at all, you know.” She sighs. “To be honest, I...was hoping you’d come. I had a feeling, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.” She pulls out her phone and unlocks it, showing it to be on the Contacts page for Umi. “I was going to call. Say, I don’t know, ‘Come here, come quick, please...’, or something, but I didn’t want to be selfish.”

“You know I would’ve come the moment you asked me to.”

“Yeah. But I hate being a burden, especially on you.”

“You’re never a burden.”

The grandfather clock in the living room cuts in then, slowly and steadily booming to announce the new hour, end of the night and the beginning of the morning. Umi is the first to remember what that means. “Merry Christmas, Maki.”

Maki nods. “You too.” She pauses. “And Umi...thanks for saving my Christmas.” Umi has to strain to hear her over the continuing chiming of the clock.

Umi leans in close, bringing the tip of her nose to meet Maki’s. She can’t tell if the noise in her ears is from the clock or from her own heartbeat. “I ____ you, you know.”

Maki looks down, but doesn’t push her away. The snow is falling hard outside, but all the two of them feel is warmth. “...Yeah. I ____ you too.”

The third time was by the piano in the room they’d spent countless eternities together in. It was cloudy, as if not even the sun’s light was allowed to intrude in their sacred moment, their last chance to make a wish.

Maki stares at the object being held out to her. “...What’s this?”

Umi blinks. “It’s my blazer button. Don’t tell me you don’t know what it means.”

The pianist takes it gingerly, as if it might shatter if she holds it too tightly. “Of course I know. I just...wasn’t expecting you to actually give this away. I mean, did any of them last year actually give theirs?”

“Eli and Nozomi exchanged theirs. Nico said something about belonging to everyone, you know how she goes. She gave it up when Kotori unleashed her forbidden technique, though.”

Maki laughs, remembering walking in on the aftermath of that scene. “Ohh, that’s what happened? Nico looked so shaken up when I got there, I thought Kotori just took a sewing needle and ripped it off her.”

They fall silent. Maki pockets the treasure she’s been given and lifts the piano cover. Her hands hover above the keys, but they do not fall. Her partner sits down next to her, and for a moment she expects her to pull out a notebook and start writing. “Two years, huh...I didn’t expect to have anything to do with music, but somehow some of my fondest memories were right here. To be honest, I might miss this room more than the archery range.”

“Yeah, I’ll miss it too.”

“Huh?” Umi looks at her. “You’re still here for another year.”

“Between my studies, the student council, and the Idol Research Club, I’ll probably be too busy to keep coming here if I don’t have a reason to. I’ve got my piano at home anyway. Besides, it wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Maki, you shouldn’t give up something like that because of me.”

“Don’t feel guilty. It’s the promise I made myself. We said μ’s wasn’t right without all nine of us, didn’t we? Well, for me, this room isn’t right without you here with me.” She starts playing, a piece Umi doesn’t recognize but it still kindles a sense of familiarity and nostalgia in her, and a realization that days have passed by.

The ocean-haired girl notices how tightly the pianist’s eyes are shut, more than just being lost in the music. “Maki--”

“I won’t cry,” the younger girl says, softly. She isn’t even sure who she’s telling that to. “This isn’t a heartless farewell, so I won’t cry. Even if it’s not here, from now on we’ll still meet up just like always.” Frantic movements, a steady crescendo, she hits every note without a single glance. She doesn’t need to look, even though she knows she can’t mess up. --That’s because it’s impossible for her to mess this up. “Because it’s not an illusion. What we have won’t just disappear. No matter how distant our skies, I’ll always run after you.” The storm breaks as the last note rings out, quiet but deafening. “I...I love you. You’ll wait for me, right?”

The response is as immediate as it is resolute, the answer already obvious to the only person the song is for. “Neither one of us is waiting.” Umi stands up and extends her hand. There’s no button in it anymore, and in its place lies a promise. There’s nothing and there’s everything, and most importantly there’s everything that Umi was and is and ever will be. “You’re right, this isn’t a heartless farewell. Because whether I’m feeling happy or sad, no matter when, I want to be by your side. It can’t disappear, it’s only just begun, we’ve yet to reach our goal. I want to look at the same stars as you. We’ll run forward together, just like we always have, even amidst the storm.” At that moment, the sun breaks through the clouds outside, its brilliant light crashing into the room as if to illuminate everything that’s being laid bare. “Maki, I love you too much to run ahead without you. Wherever I go, you’ll be right there with me, right?”

The pianist is surprised for only a second, before nodding and grasping hold of the outstretched hand, betting her everything on their fervent wish as well. “Now come on, we’re keeping everyone waiting.” Maki nods, and they leave the music room behind them, taking with them the dreams they found and promises they made in its walls.

[bangtanslady]

halcyon days [ 1 ]

halcyon days, a suga x reader fanfic part 1

hey guys! so this is my first bts fanfic, actually my first fanfic overall, so i hope it’s alright. feedback and commentary is welcome and appreciated! this part’s a little slow, it was originally going to be a prologue but im all over the place so i just decided to post.

info ; You’re a semi-successful model in Seoul trying to reconnect with your childhood best friend as you hold the memories of you two together closely. (slow burn, fluff, angst, maybe smut later lmao)

 “Oh no! Yoongi, I’m stuck in the tree!” The young girl, around the age of seven screamed with a smile on her face. Giggling, she swung her legs from the low branch; she was active enough and could have easily jumped off on her own.  “Don’t worry my princess, I’ll save you!” The young boy, Yoongi, yelled back. He looked up at her, holding his arms out wide and meeting the girl’s smile with a grin of his own. The two friends were spending the afternoon playing in the park together, and had already spent a good amount of time running around. Even so, they were still energetic.  “Catch me!” She shouted down, immediately sliding off her position on the branch and into Yoongi’s arms. He failed to hold her up, and the two ended up in a pile on the grassy floor, laughing.  “I wasn’t ready! I wasn’t ready!” Yoongi defended himself. The girl shook her head.  “You couldn’t catch me, but you softened my fall so you’re forgiven, kind prince.” She smiled, speaking with fake authority. The girl shifted positions so Yoongi could get up. After doing so, he dusted off his shorts and held out a hand to help her up too. She took it, standing up. “Thanks! You’re a good prince, Yoongi. You’re always so nice.” She patted the dirt off her shorts as well.  “Yeah. I’ll always be here to help you, (Y/N). Let’s go find our moms, I think mine made those sandwiches you like!” Yoongi grabbed the girl’s hand and the two ran off together with big smiles.

 Almost 15 years later, too much has changed. The girl and the boy from all that time ago are practically gone with how different you two act now. Until highschool, you and Yoongi had been extremely close, but it seemed as though a rift had randomly appeared in your relationship during your second year. You had done everything together when you were younger; Yoongi was your first kiss, and your best friend. But unlike Yoongi, who had mostly kept to himself aside from his small friend group and his basketball team, you were pretty sociable and your studies combined with the clubs you joined kept you pretty busy. He was there for you when you sprained your ankle doing sports, and when you were stressing about giving your first speech to your peers. But at some point.. he just stopped. He wasn’t there when you went through your first breakup in second year, or when you cried over being rejected from an American university. You tried really hard to stay close to him but it almost seemed as though he was pushing you away. Things weren’t the best for you at home, either, but you knew Yoongi went through a lot of stuff too. When you two had met up the day after his graduation, it had been the first time you saw him in almost two months, only for him to tell you he was moving to Seoul to persue his music career. Deep down you were hurt he was leaving you, but you didn’t want to hold him back and you sent him off with your encouragements.  A year later, you graduated and moved to Seoul too to enter the modeling business. You stayed in touch of course, texting a few times a month to check in on eachother. Now, you were extremely proud of his progress in his career with BTS and you sent him congratulations texts after most of his performances. Even so, your relationship has felt strained for the past few years. Finally, because he was taking a break, and your schedule wasn’t extremely busy this month, you two would be in the same city for a while and with some free time. It was you who had pitched the idea of spending some time together to reconnect. You’d met a couple of the boys seperately while hanging out with Yoongi, but tonight would be your first time meeting them all together. They had just returned from tour and you offered to take them out on a welcome-home style dinner.  Outside of the restaurant, you stood in a black knee-length dress with a leather jacket and your purse. To avoid attention you had also worn a black facemask; though you weren’t the most popular model in the world, your face was on the cover of a few magazines, and you would rather not be disturbed tonight. You planned on waiting outside for the group but it was a bit cold and your dress wasn’t really helping much so you decided to go inside.  The interior of the restaurant was pretty, not unlike the outside. It wasn’t a 5-star, but it was a bit on the fancy side. Approaching the reception, you pulled down your facemask and smiled to the staff working there. “Table for eight, please. Oh, and I’d prefer if it was a bit secluded, away from any windows.” You requested. That sort of thing was normal for you now, with how recognizable you became. The lady smiled at you and guided you to a large table. She set the menus and napkins as you sat and pulled your phone out.

you - inside now :) - table’s in the back to the left of the entrance

yoongs ✌ - Okay - We’ll be there in 2min

 You shrugged off your jacket onto the back of the chair and set your purse down, scrolling through your phone and texting back some friends who you had neglected to respond to throughout your busy day. You enjoyed the soft music playing over the restaurant’s speakers, and moments later you glanced to the entrance to see the boys filing in and approaching you. You stood up, recognizing all of them as Yoongi’s groupmates.  “Hey,” Yoongi was the first to get to you, a small smile on his face. You leaned in to hug him and he seemed to stiffen up a bit, but wrapped his arms around you nonetheless.  “I missed you,” you said as you squeezed him. Pulling back with a grin, you examined him head to toe. “Back to dark-brown hair? I kinda liked the red from the last time we saw eachother.” He nodded at you, shrugging.  “Yeah.. I missed you too.” He said in a low tone, probably to avoid letting his friends hear this. You could see over his shoulder that a couple of them were grinning at you two and whispering things, so you could only imagine what kind of stuff they said about you. You tried not to be self conscious as Yoongi moved aside and stood by.  Next, Namjoon and Jin approached you. Both smiled and said something akin to it being good to see you again, having had met you before. You were glad to be meeting with them again too, since they seemed to be cool people that had an impact on Yoongi’s life, but you suppose all of them do. You also introduced yourself to the rest of the Bangtan boys, who seemed very enthusiastic.  “It’s really nice to finally meet you,” Jimin said with a charming and cute smile. You giggled as he continued, “I’ve seen your modeling portfolio! It’s really nice, and Yoongi talks about you a l-” Jimin was cut off by a harsh pat on the back from Namjoon, causing him to jump. “Hyung! Are you trying to break my shoulder?” Jimin pretended to raise his fist, but the two laughed it off and Namjoon said something to him that was too quiet for you to hear. Jimin shrugged, smiling at you and taking a seat at the table. Everyone followed suit, sitting down and unfolding their napkins. You sat down in your seat next to Yoongi, unfolding your napkin as well. Pleasant chatter ensued, with the boys excitedly telling you about how touring in the United States was. Jungkook spoke of a particularly funny incident in the hotel they were staying at for a night that caused you to laugh really hard. They asked you many questions about how modeling was working out for you, which you spoke positively of, though in truth you were a bit stressed out recently.  Dinner with the boys was overall a very pleasant experience and you felt as though you got to know them a little better. It was also really nice to be hanging out with your childhood best friend again, though you didn’t get into any thorough conversations at the dinner table. Watching him laugh and smile with his friends made your heart ache a bit.. you realized you missed seeing that kind of thing everyday. You didn’t dwell on this feeling too much though as you were enjoying yourself as well. When all the food was finished, you payed as promised and everyone got ready to leave. As you all exited the restaurant, Yoongi offered to walk you to your apartment that was about fifteen minutes away.  “I’m gonna make sure she gets home safe, you go ahead,” he spoke to the others as you slid your hand onto his elbow with a small smile. You waved the boys goodbye as they piled into a black van and you and Yoongi began your walk. It was silent for a bit. The silence was comfortable, but you were still eager to talk with him more.  “It’s very pretty out tonight..” You said before realizing how mundane your comment was. The sun was setting, creating beautiful colors above you. “Yeah. It is.” He agreed in a dull tone. You looked up to his features, smiling, which caused a small smile to form on his face as well. “So.. how’s your sister doing?” He questioned, though he seemed a bit inattentive. You stayed silent for a moment.  “Fine, I suppose. Actually.. I haven’t checked up with her in a couple weeks, I should call to tell her that the famous Min Yoongi is spending some of his precious time with me again.” You joked, and he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “But really, thanks for reminding me. How about you, have you spoken to your brother recently?”  The conversation continued like this for the duration of your walk, travelling from tedious topic to tedious topic. Small-talk felt extremely natural between you two, even if it was a little boring, you just enjoyed being able to talk to him at all. Eventually you arrived at the lobby of the apartment complex you lived in, and you paused for a moment. “Um.. you don’t have to go yet. You can come up if you’d like.” Your heart skipped a beat as you spoke up to Yoongi, who paused before shaking his head.  “No.. I think I should go, I’m really tired.” He responded, looking a little disinterested. You gave a little pout.  “You can crash here, I don’t mind. I kind of want to spend more time with you..” You persuaded. You and Yoongi used to have sleepovers all the time, and it wasn’t uncommon for one of you to crash at the other’s when you were having problems at home in highschool. But that was years ago.  “Don’t you think that’s a little odd?” He asked rhetorically. You were about to respond that no, you thought it was perfectly normal, but he spoke up again. “It’s fine, I already texted my driver. I’ll text you tomorrow though, okay? We can find more time to hang out later, there’s no rush.” He patted your head, ruffling your hair slightly. You couldn’t help but smile at the sensation, feeling a bit childish. “Okay, if you say so. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.” You hugged him again, and this time he didn’t stiffen up, but instead squeezed you back. As you parted ways, you bowed your head slightly and swiped the card to open the front door of the building. “Thanks for walking me home, Yoongs. Goodnight!” You said, waving goodbye. He simply nodded and smiled in response, watching you through the glass doors as you disappeared into an elevator going up to your floor.  As you unlocked your door with the key again, you contemplated what had just happened. You tried to avoid overthinking things as you knew it caused unnecessary stress, but you were just a naturally analytical person and couldn’t help but think too hard about some things sometimes. It seemed as though Yoongi was a little uncomfortable with you tonight, but did Jimin try to tell you that Yoongi talked about you to them? That might not’ve been the case, but you kept his little blunder in the back of your mind. You didn’t know if you were offended or not about Yoongi rejecting you and calling your request odd a moment ago. Furrowing your brows as you changed into more comfortable clothes, you also realized you probably seemed a little desperate in front of him. Was he not as fond of you as you were of him? Just how fond of him were you anyways?  After some brief pacing, you decided to just get ready for bed and call it a night a bit earlier than usual to avoid thinking about this anymore.

[k-llama-llama]

Baby Cheese

TXT AU: 6th member

Sara x TXT

Sara has to stand up for herself during an awkward encounter.

A/N: Please check out my PATREON (patreon.com/kllamallama) for exclusive posts you can’t get anywhere else, as well as lots of other cool benefits!

Requests are OPEN

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“Noona, you’re feeling okay?” Beomgyu tapped her on the shoulder as they walked off stage. 

“I’m good.” She promised, shrugging out of her jacket. “I’m just going to sit down for a second.” 

As soon as they entered the backstage area of the award show, Sara headed straight for one of the couches. She wasn’t really feeling that bad, but she wanted to sit down and collect herself for a few minutes. 

She sat down on the couch, happy that she was wearing pants and didn’t need to worry about adjusting her skirt as she settled into the cushions. 

“I’ll see if there’s food.” Soobin said. “You guys help me. Soo-ji, you’re good?” 

“Yup, go ahead.” She pointed towards a table in the corner. “I think the food is there.” 

The boys hurried off, and she smiled when she saw Taehyun grab an extra plate. Though she’d eaten before going out for the award show (Yeonjun had threatened to dismember her if she didn’t eat a sandwich), she was still starving, and honestly the table of tiny cheeses and carrot sticks was looking pretty delicious at this point. 

“Hi, you’re Sara, right?” A male voice said, a hand landing on her shoulder. 

She turned, finding a male idol smiling down at her. She recognized him, but she couldn’t place a name to his face, and was fairly certain that she’d never actually met him. Still, he was definitely interested in meeting her. 

“Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you.” She bowed her head, hoping he would introduce himself. 

He didn’t, instead he dropped down onto the couch beside her. “This award show has been kind of lame, right?”

 “Oh, um…I don’t mind it.” She glanced over, hoping that the boys would be heading back. They probably knew who this was. Alas, they were still trying to spoon different kinds of dips onto their plates. 

“No?” He tilted his head. “We’re going to check out the dessert table in the other room. Do you want to come?”

 “No thank you.” She said politely. “I’m just waiting for my group….so…” 

“Ah, okay.” He stood. “See you around, I guess.” He walked around the other side of the couch and away from her.

 Sara shook her head, focusing back on her incoming plate of food as Taehyun set it in her lap. 

“You’re the sweetest.” She smiled as her sat down next to her.

 “I got you a little bit of everything.” He said. “I hope you feel better.”

 “I feel fine, but I’m sure this will be delicious.” She grinned, taking a bite of a baby sausage. 

“Who were you talking to?” Hueningkai asked. 

“I couldn’t remember his name.” Sara said. “But he seemed nice.” 

“I don’t know man, I asked her but she didn’t want to.” A conversation from behind the couch reached their ears. 

“It looked like she was waiting for you to go away.” Someone else said, a laugh in their voice. 

“I guess she’s too good to talk to us.” The guy who’d been talking to her grumbled. “Didn’t really expect her to be such a bitch.”

 They all turned around, finding the guy who had been talking to Sara relaying his version of events to his groupmates. 

“You know we can hear you, right?” Yeonjun said, causing them to face TXT. 

The guy shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s true. I was just being nice and she didn’t give a shit.” 

“Probably because she’s-“ Soobin started. 

Sara held up a hand, facing the guy herself. “I’m sorry if you thought I was being rude. I was just waiting for my group to come back.”

 “Please, you practically looked like you were falling asleep when I was talking to you. And then you didn’t want to come for dessert with us? At least pretend to have a real excuse.”

 “Her excuse is that she’s-” 

Again, Sara cut Soobin off. “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I didn’t feel like going. You didn’t introduce yourself to me so why wouldn’t I prefer to eat with my friends then with a complete stranger?” 

“You…I….” He sputtered. “You didn’t have to be so rude about the whole thing.”

 “I seem to remember being perfectly polite the whole time. You’re the one who’s being rude right now. If you’re going to talk trash about people, maybe don’t do it right where they can hear you.” 

“I can say whatever I want.” 

“Sure you can.” Sara smiled. “But go somewhere else and do it. Dessert’s in the next room.” 

She turned back around, picking up a piece of cheese and ignoring them as they walked away. 

“Was he being creepy when he was over here?” Soobin asked. 

Sara shrugged. “Not really. I just didn’t feel like going anywhere. If that was his attempt of coming on to me he really needs some practice.”

 “But seriously….” Yeonjun shook his head. “Since when do you confront people like that. You’re usually all ‘sorry for inconveniencing you and what can I do to make it right?’. I’ve never seen you actually call someone out.”

 “I call you guys out all of the time, what are you talking about?” Sara shook her head, trying to build a tiny cheese and cracker sandwich. 

“Yeah, but you’re normally mean to us. Since when do you do it to other people?” Beomgyu crossed his arms. 

“Aw, Gyu. You jealous?” Sara teased. 

“No.” He rolled his eyes. 

“I promise to be only mean to you from now on.” She laughed. 

“I don’t want that.” But he looked a little bit like he wanted that. 

“Whatever, Sara’s a bitch now.” Yeonjun stole one of her celery sticks. 

“Eat up so we can go raid the dessert table.” 

“Diets.” Sara warned. 

“There she is.”

[k-llama-llama]

Flower Boys

BTS AU: 8th member

Sumi x BTS

Sumi visits Tae on the set of his very first drama

A/N: I’ve wanted to write this forever...so here you go!

Requests are CLOSED, but I still love love love to hear your feedback!!!!!

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“Your pass?”

Sumi’s eyes widened. “I don’t have a pass. My friend works here. Can I call him?” She pulled off her mask.

The security guard looked at her and blinked. “You can go in.”

“Really? Thanks!” Sumi explained, stepping around him and onto the set of Hwarang.

Taehyung had started filming a few weeks ago, and Sumi hadn’t had a chance to visit him yet. She was terrified of embarrassing in front of his co-stars, all of whom were quickly becoming his best friends.

She’d dressed casually, but still nicely. Her shirt was loose and tucked in on one corner to her black skirt, and she was wearing strappy sandals. Her hair, died faded blue for Wings was up in a pony tail to combat the heat.

She asked a stage hand where to go, and quickly hurried to find Taehyung before he had to get back to work.

She found him seated at a folding table, clearly were the actors were waiting and grabbing a snack.

She cleared her throat. “Taehyung!”

He turned around, his long hair whipping around his head. “Sumi?”

“Hi!” She hurried over. “I came to visit!”

“Why?” He looked confused.

Sumi bit her lip, quickly turning to the other actors “Hello. I’m Taehyung’s groupmate, Lee Sumi. Nice to meet you all!”

“Nice to meet you.” Park Hyung-Sik gave her a polite nod. “Please have a seat.”

“Thank you.” She slid into the seat next to Taehyung. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting. I can always come back another time.”

“You aren’t interrupting.” Park Seo-Joon reassured her. “We were just having lunch.”

She nodded, gesturing for them to continue eating. She looked over at Taehyung’s plate, noticing that he wasn’t eating a lot.

“Tae?” She asked quietly. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“I’m on a diet.” He pouted.

“Says who?” She demanded. “Screw your diet. Go get more food.”

“Yes, Noona.” He stood without a word.

“Yah, why are you calling me Noona?” She asked. “I’m barely older than you.”

“He’s pouty because filming today got delayed.” Hyung-sik explained.

“What do you mean?” Sumi tilted her head. “Is something wrong?”

“The actress responsible for doing the court dance, which is a very important scene, sprained her ankle.” Seo-Joon told her. “So they need to find someone else.”

Sumi nodded in understanding. Tae arrived back at the table, carrying a sandwich, when a man who looked to be the director hurried up.

“Any luck?” Hyung-sik asked.

“No.” The director sounded frantic. “We just need to find someone who can dance, why is that so hard?”

“Sumi can dance.” Tae took a bite of his sandwich. “Get her to do it.”

“Tae.” Sumi hushed him. “Don’t be silly.”

The director looked at her for the first time. “You’re a dancer?”

“Technically. I mean, I can dance.” She shrugged. “But I’m not great.”

An assistant director hurried up. “Sir, the acting agency didn’t have anyone available.”

The director waved him off. “What do you think about her?”

They both looked at her for a moment.

“She’s pretty enough to be a court dancer.” The assistant conceded. “But her hair is blue.”

“We have wigs.” The director reasoned. “And she’s about the same size as the other girl.”

“Okay, I’ll let the stylists know.”

“Ahem.” Seo-Joon cleared his throat. “Shouldn’t you ask Sumi if it’s alright with her?”

“Right. Miss Sumi, are you willing to play this role. It involves a short dance sequence and a single speaking line. You will be compensated.”

Sumi looked at Taehyung. “Are you okay with this Tae?”

He understood the silent implication to her question. This drama was his thing, and she didn’t want to step on any toes. However, to him, it wasn’t an intrusion. He loved Sumi, and the idea of having her in the drama was amazing to him.

“Sure!” He grinned. “You’ll do great.”

“Okay, let’s go!” The director clapped his hands. “I’ll show you to wardrobe and get you a video of the dance.”

Sumi winced, realizing she’d need to memorize a dance in a very small amount of time.

For Tae. She whispered to herself.

“Sumi!” Tae was cheering. “That was amazing!”

They’d finished filming her dance scene, and now only needed to film the scene where she thanked the queen for the honour, and Choi Minho’s reaction to seeing the queen.

Sumi’s hair had been piled on top of her head in a traditional style, but her hanbok wasn’t like the style she was used to. It has wide, sheer sleeves, and the bodice was made to look strapless. The skirt wasn’t full like a normal hanbok, but flowy, and made to move as she danced. 

The dance itself hadn’t been difficult. It was based on traditional korean dance, which was probably the one style that Sumi was actually good at.

“You think?” She smiled as a stylist dabbed away her sweat. “It looked okay?”

“It looked amazing.” Minho promised. 

Sumi winked at her friend. “Now I just have to avoid stealing the show from you in our next scene.”

“Looking like that, it won’t be hard.”

“I can’t tell if that was a compliment or not!” She called after him as he walked away.

“You look really pretty, Soo.” Taehyung promised her. “I’m really glad you’re going to be a part of this.”

“As long as I’m not messing anything up for you, Tae.” She smiled. 

“You’re not.” He laughed. “You’re showing everyone what a good dancer you’ve become.”

“Yah, like I wasn’t always great.”

He gave her a look, and she burst into laughter. “Fair, fair.”

He linked arms with her and walked her towards a table set up with bottles of water. “Thirsty?”

“Always.” She grinned at her joke. “Anyways, when are you going to let me see you act?”

“When the show airs.”

Sumi pouted. “But Hyung-sik was saying that you’re really good. I want to see it for myself.”

“Nope.” He looked pointedly away.

“You’re annoying.” She grabbed her phone from her chair. “Come on, I want a selca to post when this is all over.”

“We can post it now.” He reminded her. “Photos are already out from the set, and the news broke an hour ago that you were having a cameo.”

“I’ll post it after.” She leaned close and snapped a picture, Taehyung’s adorably blank face fitting his character perfectly.

“Oh, I want a picture!” Hyung-sik walked around the table, carrying his own phone.

Sumi leaned in, poking one finger at his dimple and looking cute to the camera. As soon as she was done, she reached for the bottle of water.

“Are you posting that now?” Taehyung asked him.

“Already did.” Hyung-sik held out the phone.

“Yah.” Taehyung frowned. “Why do you have to do that?”

“What?” Sumi collected her skirts and walked over, peering at the post. “Seriously? What’s with this caption?”

“What?” Hyung-sik demanded. “It’s a good caption.”

Underneath the photo of the two of them, he had written ‘The prettiest girl in Silla’.

Sumi snorted. “Flirt.”

“I don’t have a chance, do I?” Hyung-sik looked sadly at Tae.

Tae rolled his eyes. “Don’t even think about it. Sumi isn’t allowed to date.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that.” She stuck her tongue out. “Come on boys, we’ve got acting to do.”