#was gonna ask this in inbox but didn’t want to be figured who I was mainly for privacy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chaatandchai · 5 months ago

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primrose lane | wjh (UNFINISHED)

hi everyone !! this is a fic i had started writing a long time ago when i had a different account here on tumblr, and over time i lost track of where i wanted the fic to go and consequently lost motivation to write it, too. i'm posting what i've written so far (it's a lot) so people can read if they want.

details: coming of age au, wen junhui x gn!reader, friends to ???, college au, alcohol consumption, i think there's some swearing

wordcount: 19.16k

-- this is my first official post ever on tumblr so please come drop feedback/advice in my inbox or just come say hi !! i'd love to make new friends <3

Maybe it had all started with that newly bloomed patch of bright red camellias.

That was where you had found Seungkwan, crouching among the flowers with his hands over his knees. At the tender age of ten, you could not figure out why he was sitting there like that, so you did what you knew best how to do: ask.

“Um, what are you doing here?”

The boy had glanced up at you like he’d just realized you were towering over him, almost losing balance.

“I’m playing hide and seek! Isn’t this such a good spot? Jeonghan’s never gonna find me!”

You had looked him dead in the eye. “I could see you from all the way over there. You’re gonna lose.”

“That’s mean! I’m not gonna lose!”

He rose to his feet at this point, and you immediately felt bad seeing the small pout on his face.

“Okay,” you relented. “Sorry. But it’s true. The flowers aren’t gonna hide you.”

“But —”

He was interrupted by loud footsteps that came quickly down the sidewalk, and a little boy who seemed to be about your age approached the flower bed, laughing delightedly. Behind him was another boy, running a little slower with something bundled up in his arms.

“Seungkwan!” the faster one hollered, almost tackling his friend to the ground. “Found you! See, I told you, I’m really good at this.” Then he turned to you, a little confused and blinking slowly like he’d only just realized you were standing there.

“Hi,” you’d broken the silence. “I’m Y/N. I live in the small yellow house over there,” you twisted to point somewhere behind you.

“The one with the pretty purple flowers in the front?”

“Yeah!”

The third boy finally approached your little group, and you finally saw what he was holding: a small gray kitten, curled up and fast asleep.

“I thought that one was empty though,” he said curiously. “Mom said nobody’s lived there for a long time.”

“We moved our stuff in yesterday morning,” you explained. “I’m starting school tomorrow.”

The boys had expressed their joy at this, promptly making you promise to hang out with them more. Friends, they said with bright smiles on their faces. You’d all exchanged names, sitting in the grass watching the sun slowly sink down in the sky, admiring those same red camellias that had just recently bloomed.

At some point you’d scooted closer to the boy holding the now-awake kitten, reaching out to gently stroke its head. His name was Junhui, you recalled, and when you turned to look at him he was looking right back at you.

“He’s so cute, right?” The boy looked fondly down at the kitten. “I wish we had a cat, but my mom thinks we can’t handle having a pet at home.”

“He’s not yours?”

Junhui shook his head. “No. I just found him while I was hiding from Jeonghan. He was all tangled up in the rose bushes, poor little guy. Good thing he didn’t get any scratches.”

You nod, agreeing. “Yeah, that would be bad.”

He watched as the kitten moved to climb over your own leg. “Do you like cats too?”

“Are you kidding? I love them,” you sighed. “I wish I had one, too, but my brother’s allergic so we can’t.”

“You have a brother?”

You wrinkled your nose. “Yeah. He’s two years older than me and he’s really annoying! He thinks he’s so cool even though he’s not.”

“Wow,” Junhui laughed. “Mine is six years old. He’s really cute, but I wish I had an older brother. Like you!”

“No, you don’t,” you told him earnestly. “They’re horrible!”

“Hey, I’m an older brother,” he said patiently. “Am I horrible?”

You looked at him carefully.

“No,” you answered. “I don’t think so.”

“See?”

“Okay, fine, you win,” you grumbled, laying down on your back. The little kitten had meandered over to Seungkwan, who was trying and failing to teach it how to give a high five while Jeonghan watched and laughed.

Junhui didn’t say anything for a while, but then he turned to look at you again.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s really stupid?”

“What’s stupid?”

“That this is Primrose Lane but there aren’t any primroses?” He gestured to the flower beds scattered through the neighborhood. “There are camellias everywhere, and there’s a few rose bushes behind Jeonghan’s house, but no primroses. The name doesn’t even make sense.”

You thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, that’s dumb. But it sounds pretty.”

“Hm. You’re right.”

A few more moments of quiet passed by before Seungkwan finally stood, brushing the dirt off his pants.

“It’s getting dark,” he told you. “Mom said I have to be back before it’s completely dark outside. I think we should go home.”

“Yeah,” Jeonghan added from behind him, brushing the dirt off of his shorts. “Y/N, we’ll see you tomorrow right? At school?”

“Yes!”

“Nice!”

Junhui slung an arm around your shoulder and cracked a grin. “Race to the far stop sign? Last one who gets there has to buy snacks for everyone tomorrow!”

“I’m in,” you raised your hand, followed by the other two. “I guess Seungkwan’s buying our food then.”

“Hey!”

Jeonghan broke out into loud laughter, pulling Seungkwan into him for a quick hug. Beside you, Junhui chuckled softly as he prepared to run, shooting you a bright smile as you matched his stance and got ready to go too.

“Three, two, one —!”

Growing up with Seungkwan made you realize that he was far more perceptive than he ever let on to anybody else.

“Jun has the biggest crush on her,” he said suddenly at lunch one day. Your friend in question was picking up his food while speaking to one of your classmates, a girl from your shared science class.

“Really?” You picked up another piece of meat with your chopsticks. “Jang Yeona? I didn’t even know they knew each other.”

“Yeah, but I know him, and I can tell. Look, he’s so far gone already.”

And you weren’t sure why your stomach dropped a little bit when you looked and saw that Seungkwan was sort of correct. You knew Jun well enough, too: you easily saw how he hung onto her every word and looked at her like she put all the stars in the sky. For some reason, it made you a little nauseous.

“Good for him,” you said bluntly. “She’s pretty.”

If you weren’t so intently staring at your food, you would have seen the peculiar look Seungkwan threw your way.

“Hey, what did I miss? You two looked awfully serious from over there.” Jeonghan slipped into the seat across from you, balancing a juice box and a blueberry muffin on his tray.

“Secretly planning your murder,” you said dryly.

“Oh, cool. At least make it interesting, please.”

“You have become way too comfortable with this,” Seungkwan muttered, giving you both the side eye.

“That’s because he doesn’t have a choice other than to get used to it,” you explained, placing your share of smoked salmon into Jeonghan’s tray. “You’re all stuck with me now.”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes. “And that’s because when we were ten we didn’t know what a complete lunatic you would grow up to be.”

“He’s kinda right.” Jun’s voice came floating out of nowhere as he took the empty seat beside you. “Also, I will help you plan his murder. Where do you need me to drag the body?”

“To be determined. I’ll let you know later.”

“Noted. Just text me.”

“So,” Seungkwan started, clearly trying to change the topic, “Jun, you’re friends with Jang Yeona now, huh?”

“Eh?” He looked like a deer in headlights, caught off guard with bread in his mouth. “I donfo whafur talkin buf.”

You sent him a mildly disgusted look. “Wen Junhui, please finish chewing that before you speak.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he repeated once his mouth was empty. “She was just asking me about an assignment she missed yesterday. I’ve literally never talked to her before.”

“Uh huh,” Seungkwan nodded along. You could see the gears turning in his head reflected in the mischievous look on his face.

Of course, you weren’t surprised when Jeonghan picked up on it immediately . “Do you like being around her?”

“Are you guys friends?”

“Do you think she’s pretty?”

“Those are, uh, a lot of questions,” Jun chuckled nervously, nudging your elbow. “Um, can I finish eating first?”

Seungkwan tsked, but left him alone anyways. You knew what he was trying to do, and you didn’t know why you hated the idea of it. Why did you suddenly find the idea of Jun crushing on someone so unpleasant?

Later that day, you found yourself alone with Seungkwan after the last class, waiting for the other two boys so you could all walk home together.

“You look… down,” he observed, kicking a pebble. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It is so obviously not nothing,” he probed. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

You didn’t look back at him. “I think so. Just… realized something and I don’t know if I like it or not.”

Seungkwan exhaled and leaned back on the railing, bag falling off of his left shoulder. “Is this about Jun?”

“What?”

“I can’t think of anything else!” He threw his hands up. “Nothing else happened today, unless you did really badly on that math test and you aren’t telling me about it.”

“No, it’s not the test,” you sighed. “I studied way too much to fail that.”

Seungkwan frowned. “Y/N, I can’t help you if I don’t know why you’re upset. And don’t tell me you’re not, because I know you are, and I’d rather you weren’t. I hate seeing you upset.”

“How touching.”

“I’m serious!” He folded his arms. “So it is about Jun, then?”

You hesitated. Even you didn’t really know the answer to that question. Yes it was, but why? What part of it? You couldn’t put a finger on what exactly was bothering you in the first place.

“I guess so?”

“Why, you like him or something?”

You shot him a look, dismissing the idea immediately. “You are so nosy!”

“Well, am I right or wrong?”

“I don’t have a crush on him. That’s stupid,” you insisted, rubbing your eyes. “I don’t really know why I’m annoyed. Just… I know for a fact this is gonna work out for him, because,” you shrugged, “Jun is everything. Everyone likes him. He’s so smart, he’s popular, he’s the sweetest, and it’ll never be my turn because I —”

“If you’re about to say that you aren’t any of those things, I’m going to strangle you myself.”

Again, you glared at him. “I am not opening up to you so that you can threaten me with murder!”

Seungkwan rolled his eyes. “First of all, you’re being extremely dramatic, because we’re in middle school and just because you’re single and lonely now doesn’t mean you’re gonna be single and lonely forever.”

“You sound like my brother, except Mingyu is always telling me the opposite.”

“Yeah, well, Mingyu is wrong and sometimes also an asshole.”

And then you were interrupted by Jeonghan sneaking up and scaring the living daylights out of you, and Jun greeting you with a wave and the book you’ve been wanting to check out for quite a while from the school library. But you thought about it on the way back, silently watching the world around you while the boys fooled around on the sidewalk.

Yes, that was it. You’d just been slightly jealous that you had never been the object of someone’s affections — you weren’t anymore, but you felt that way for a little while, and you sort of hated yourself for it. It was stupid, Seungkwan was absolutely correct, and you needed to slow your brain down and stop worrying.

“Wow, you look exhausted,” Jeonghan remarked, just as the four of you approached your street, that familiar green sign growing closer now. Primrose Lane. “You look like you need a good long nap.”

“I do, and I’m going to take one,” you announced. “Nobody knock on my door until seven o’clock or I will end you.”

Seungkwan frowned at this. “Didn’t we say we were gonna work on homework together at four?”

“Can we do it at seven? Please? Come wake me up and we can work on stuff at my house, my parents won’t mind and Mingyu’s gonna be home late,” you said. “Jeonghan has soccer practice, so he would have missed it, anyways.”

“Fine by me,” Jun agreed. His hand came up to ruffle your hair, something you usually absolutely hated, but for some reason you didn’t really mind when it was him. Actually, there were a lot of things about Jun that you didn’t mind. Things that you often welcomed, in fact, when he did them.

And again, if you weren’t trying really hard to keep staring at the ground, you would have noticed Seungkwan watching you with a concerned look on his face.

“Okay,” he’d said finally, tearing his eyes off of you. (Something was off, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what.) “That works. I’ll be there.”

Not much to your surprise, Jun was the first at your door that evening, which also meant that he was the one to see you with extremely messy hair and haphazard clothes. Usually you’d be incredibly embarrassed, but in the moment you were so tired that you couldn’t feel anything other than irritable.

“Did you just wake up?” he asked, removing his shoes and promptly subjecting himself to one of your death glares.

“Don’t even start,” you hissed, marching up the stairs. “Give me ten minutes. Stay here and forget everything you just saw.”

Jun laughed at this, fondly aware of your post-nap crankiness.

“Okay,” he agreed, watching you disappear around the corner. “I’m gonna get started on math while you’re up there!”

“Good!” came an echo of your voice. “Don’t wait for Jeonghan, he needs to figure out that stuff for himself!”

He only laughed again, louder and clearer this time, and you could hear him from behind your bathroom door. You liked the sound of his laugh. There had always been something so warm and real about the way he expressed his joy that never failed to comfort you as well.

When you’d washed up and finally decided that you looked decent enough to head downstairs again, Jeonghan was sitting at the table with Jun, notebook propped up like he’d only just begun.

“There they are,” Jun clapped. “Finally. You look a little less like a gremlin than when I first got here.”

“I told you not to mention it!”

You went to punch his shoulder playfully, but he caught your fist, gently encircling your wrist with his fingers. His skin was soft, and comfortingly warm, but the contact caught you off guard and you pulled back sharply, not exactly liking how it made you feel.

Which was, good. But it was a weird good that you weren’t sure you should be feeling, and you were glad that Seungkwan wasn’t there to witness it again.

Ignoring the slightly hurt look on Jun’s face, you plastered on a smile.

“Uh, do you guys want something to drink? I’ve got a few cans of soda left, actually.”

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t those Mingyu’s?”

“Ah, who cares. He can go get more on his own. I’m sick of him bossing me around all day.” You pulled open the door to the fridge. “So?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll take one.”

Your gaze flitted to the boy beside him. “Jun?”

“I’m fine,” came his clipped reply.

“You sure? Not even water?”

“Okay,” he relented finally, shrugging. “Just a bit, though.”

Your doorbell rang while you walked back to the table balancing both drinks — once, twice, and then a third time just for good measure. You already knew who it was, just based on how impatient they seemed to be let in.

“I’ll get it,” Jun offered, rising from his seat. He opened the front door to your exhausted looking brother, and Seungkwan who’d arrived not long after him.

“Oh,” Mingyu said at the sight of your friends gathered around the table, slipping his backpack off. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“Went to grab groceries,” you answered. “Why don’t you ever take a set of keys with you? You could just let yourself in that way.”

Mingyu shrugged. “Eh.” Then he narrowed his eyes at the can on the table. “Seriously, Y/N, How many times have I told you to stop drinking my soda?”

You rolled your eyes.“It’s one can! And let him have it, Dad’s gonna bring home more, anyway.”

Jeonghan raised his hand in apology. “Sorry, dude.”

When Mingyu was done grumbling and finally left to hole himself up in his room, you plopped back down onto the couch and sighed. “Sometimes I despise him. Exceedingly.”

“Hey, it’s kinda funny watching you guys, though,” Seungkwan said. “Like a soap opera. Except it’s real.”

“I wish I had an older brother,” Jun added gloomily.

“You’ve been saying this to me ever since we met,” you pointed out, still unable to look him in the eye. You didn’t know why. You didn’t know whether you wanted to find out. “And no, you don’t. Be grateful you don’t have to deal with an idiot like Gyu.”

Jun would have said something else (effectively starting another one of your petty little arguments) but Jeonghan interrupted your conversation, tapping his pencil on the table.

The three of you turned to look at him slowly and were met with a small, sheepish grin.

“Hey, how do you solve double inequalities?”

You hated summer.

Jun loved it, of course, and he could never understand why you preferred winter so much. You let him have that, though, because you liked to watch him be happy. That boy was made to be joyful, you thought sometimes, with how even the smallest of smiles seemed to light up his face.

So, yes. With a few exceptions, you generally disliked the summer, but this one was exceptionally worse than every single year in the past.

For one, Seungkwan had gone to visit his uncle and aunt in Europe, which meant you would be left without one of your closest friends until the start of the next school year.

He promised to call your landline every week, and he kept his word, but even that wasn’t enough sometimes. You cherished the time you spent talking to him, but that never meant you didn’t miss him dearly.

Jeonghan was still in town, but you saw him less and less as summer vacation went on, and you didn’t know why. You rarely ran into him anymore, didn’t see him at the park like you always used to, and he almost never answered the door when you went looking for him.

“He’s asleep. Taking a nap,” his little sister told you the one time she’d opened the door instead. You couldn’t tell if she was just covering for him or not. “Do you want me to wake him up?”

“No! No, it’s okay,” you’d said. “Thanks, though, Jeongyeon.”

And as if that wasn’t enough, you’d started to feel like Jun might be slipping through your fingers too. He’d just gotten a cell phone, his mother’s old one that she let him use, and he spent quite a lot of time on it.

You knew he was texting Yeona — there was no mistaking the smile on his face at every notification, or every time you asked who he was talking to and he refused to tell you, a shy smile on his face.

There had never been anything Jun wouldn’t tell you, at least not until now. If nothing else, this was the clear indicator that something was up with him.

He was still there for you, though, and you appreciated that. As much as he seemed to love talking to Yeona, you knew you could always count on him. Each time you knocked on his door, he was there with a smile, ready to go do whatever you had in mind.

Maybe you’d just been exaggerating in your head. Maybe you were just a little bit jealous.

You’d confided in him about your worries for Jeonghan too, as you did with everything. (He had always been one of your go-to people, after all.) He wanted to ask Seungkwan for advice as well, but he was on the other side of the world, and the two of you weren’t keen on troubling him when he was supposed to be on vacation.

“It’s okay,” he had comforted you instead. “It’ll be fine.”

And it was fine for the most part — Jun was generally right, and you tended to trust his intuition. This time was no exception.

You’d both run into Jeonghan not long after on the street, and even though you were least expecting it, you were extremely glad to see him regardless.

“Whoa,” he said when you launched into him for a hug. “Looks like someone’s very happy to see me.”

“Duh, it’s been a while,” you said, muffled against his shirt. “Where have you been?”

You felt him stiffen for a second. “Oh, you know, just… needed some alone time,” he mumbled. “Lots of stuff going on.”

You chose not to press him further, though you couldn’t understand what kind of stuff could make you hide from your friends for weeks and have your little sister lie to them when they came over.

“We missed you,” Jun added, joining the group hug. It felt nice after so long, and even though Seungkwan was on the other side of the world, you could imagine he was there with you in spirit.

“Were you about to go home?” you asked when you pulled away.

“Oh, yeah,” Jeonghan ran a bruised hand through his hair and smiled tentatively, “but we could just hang out if you want? I don’t really have to be home for another hour.”

That was all you had wanted, really, to spend time with him, and that was enough for you. You smiled watching your best friends fool around and wrestle in the grass (Jun had probably started another argument again) just like you were kids again.

Even if everything else changed, your constant would be this. You knew that everyone would grow up, and maybe grow away, but your fourteen-year-old heart held it certain that these precious moments would never leave you with time. One day the hastily braided bracelets that sit on your wrists would be gone, but the meaning would never be lost on you.

“Y/N!”

You turned around to Jun holding up his phone directly at you.

“Look at the camera!”

His words came through, and you heard him loud and clear, but you could only focus on his bright, beautiful grin you knew you loved to death. You saw his sparkling eyes, you saw Jeonghan sitting up behind him with wet grass in his hair, making silly faces to try and get you to laugh. And you did. How could you not?

The sun was in your eyes when you smiled, but it could not have been more perfect.

Click!

It had always been extremely hard to keep secrets from Boo Seungkwan, but it was even more difficult to tell him that he was wrong.

“What do you mean you don’t like Junnie? You’re glaring daggers at Yeona right now. You should see yourself, dude.”

Were you? Maybe, but right now you were glaring daggers at Seungkwan, practically fuming.

“How dare you insinuate such a thing,” you hissed, aiming your pencil at him. “I would never develop feelings for my best friend!”

He merely raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Why is it that you’ve become way more violent ever since we started high school?”

You had to admit that his observation was correct, but in your defense, it was only two weeks into freshman year and he’d already managed to get on your nerves on this topic — a new record that you were sure only Jeonghan had the capability to break.

“Maybe if you would stop acting like you can read my mind,” you muttered, eyes flitting over to where Jun and Yeona were talking yet again. For some reason, you felt bitter about it.

Seungkwan clicked his tongue. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“That thing where you scowl at Yeona like you think she shouldn’t be anywhere near Jun.”

“Because I do!” you whisper-yelled, making sure nobody else in the library heard you. “She’s nowhere near good enough for him. He deserves someone who can, you know, match his energy and make him happy, but she can’t even put in the basic effort to sound interested when they talk! Isn’t it obvious?”

That seemed to make Seungkwan think. “You know, I never really noticed before, but I guess you’re right.”

You crossed your arms triumphantly. “See?”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he practically worships the ground she walks on,” he added. “I know he won’t tell us how he really feels, but you can’t tell me you don’t see it too.”

“No, I know.” You sighed. “I do. You’re right.”

The look Seungkwan sent you made you feel so vulnerable in that moment — there was a little bit of pity, a little bit of love he had for you as a friend, but there was also that pure sadness. He was sad for you, because you were one of his best friends, but so was Jun. It felt like maybe he wanted to help you, but he didn’t know how.

You tried distracting yourself by downing the rest of your water bottle in one go, doing your best not to look out of the corner of your eye where Yeona was pulling Jun, your Jun, into a tight hug. You weren’t going to look. You shouldn’t. You wouldn’t.

“I’m gonna go insane. There’s way too much happening,” you said, crumpling the plastic bottle in your hand. “God, where is Jeonghan when we need him?”

“Why, am I not helping?”

You shot him another look that was sufficient to answer his question.

“Fair. Well, I hope he’s feeling better,” Seungkwan told you, digging through his backpack. You knew, too, that Jeonghan hadn’t been in school for days — out sick with a high fever, Jeongyeon had told you when you ran into her in the neighborhood yesterday.

“Me too. I need both of you to survive this hellhole,” you groaned. “Ideally all three, but he’s having his moment with Yeona so I guess I won’t get in his way.”

“There you go, sounding all spiteful again.”

You didn’t bother responding to him this time. Maybe it was because you knew that he was right. As much as you liked to think that he was just coming to random conclusions, you were aware of your shifting feelings. You didn’t like Jun, not like he liked Yeona, you just… it was something different there. It’d changed. When, you didn’t know. It just did.

And you weren’t really surprised when you started seeing them together more outside of school. Your group of four had just dwindled to three now, sometimes two on those days that Jeonghan just didn’t show up. You were happy to have Seungkwan, but the frequent absence of the other two boys never failed to make you a little uneasy.

Because you’d always thought that this would never change, but what if you were wrong?

You let the worry live at the back of your mind. For now, at least. You couldn’t let something so small take over your head, not when you had schoolwork to focus on, and it definitely began to pick up as the weeks flew by.

“By the way,” you said at lunch one day, “what’s going with you and Yeona?”

Jun widened his eyes mid-bite and Seungkwan immediately shook his head like he knew what was coming.

“The last time we asked you about this you avoided the question,” he said. “I think we all know what you’re trying to hide from us, anyway, so there’s really no point.”

“True,” Jeonghan gestured with his chopsticks. You looked at him for a moment and you could swear the cut on his nose wasn’t there the last time you spoke to him.

Jun sighed and set his food down.

“We’re… not dating,” he said carefully. “I just, I don’t know. I think she’s great. I really like her, man, and I think she likes spending time with me too. So that’s really it right now.”

He looked so happy. You hated that you felt nearly the exact opposite. Sitting there in the cafeteria, you couldn’t help but feel those sharp pangs of guilt that struck you, because what was wrong with you? Why couldn’t you be happy for your best friend?

“That’s great, dude,” Jeonghan laughed as he offered the other boy a fist bump. Seungkwan smiled but said nothing, and he eyed you suspiciously as you pretended to remain unaffected.

“Yeah, that’s great,” you echoed mindlessly. “Really great. Hope it works out.”

From across the table, you locked eyes with Jun. Just looking at him made you feel better; somehow the sight of his face made the uneasiness in the pit of your stomach go away. It was nice, for a few moments.

Then you looked away sharply, because a manicured hand came down on his shoulder as an unfamiliar voice called out his name, and you really didn’t want to watch their… whatever was going on with them.

“Hi,” Yeona giggled. “What happened to lunch together?”

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow and leaned over to whisper to you. “They were gonna eat lunch together?”

“Oh… Sorry, I forgot,” Jun mumbled shyly. “Couldn’t ditch my friends last minute.”

“Aw, I’m sure they’ll live through one lunch period without you.”

Yeona flashed the rest of you a sickly sweet smile, like she was pitying you, almost. You felt a hot rush of anger flow through your body, and if you had any less self control you would have left the cafeteria then and there.

For Jun, you told yourself. You’re doing this for his sake.

“I’ll sit with you tomorrow,” you heard Jun say.

“Okay, Junnie, I’ll see you there. Text me later, okay?”

“Yeah, see you.”

She left with another one of her smiles and waved to the three of you, effectively taking any sense remaining in Jun’s brain with her. He sat in silence, quietly eating and smiling down at his tray while you watched him trying to understand why you felt so dismayed.

“Well, that was interesting,” is all Seungkwan said before taking the last bite of his food. You were very glad he didn’t look in your direction, because you weren’t sure you could put on a good enough poker face for him to believe.

Needless to say, you did not see Jun at lunch the next day. Or the day after that.

Lunchtime without your best friend lasted a long, agonizing forty-seven days. You saw him around everywhere else, and not that you were counting (you were), and not that you cared (you did), but having that empty seat next to you for so long did feel quite off.

That forty-eighth morning, you managed to corner Jun in the hallway before classes started, a mischievous smile plastered on your face.

“You haven’t been giving us any Yeona updates,” you told him, his back still turned to you. “So? How’s it going?”

“Good,” he said shortly, slamming his locker shut with a loud bang.

The smile on your face dropped immediately. Jun was patient, sweet, and nothing but lovely, but sometimes his temper was not to be trifled with.

“Whoa. Are you sure, dude?”

“Yep.”

“You’re really not being convincing at all right now.”

He sighed then, and he looked so tired that you instantly felt bad for him. “Y/N, I’m fine. Stop worrying about me, okay?”

And if there was one thing you knew about Jun, it was that he was never fine when he said he was. You could tell from the way his half-smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and the way he slouched as you headed down the hall with him. Yeah, you wanted to know what was up, but with him like this, you weren’t going to push any further.

“Okay,” you said quietly. Jun only smiled softly in response, ruffling your hair like he usually always did.

“See you later,” he said, walking off. From where you were you could see Yeona across the hall, nearly glaring daggers at you as she ran a few fingers through her perfectly straight hair. What her problem was with you, you would never really understand, although you were perfectly happy to reciprocate the feeling if that was what she wanted.

While you were deep in your thoughts, an arm came around your shoulder and you almost reflexively kicked the person behind you until you smelled that unmistakable citrus scent, realizing it was Seungkwan.

“You have got to stop doing that,” you warned him. “Or I’ll send you to the hospital someday.”

He just shrugged. “Eh. Your reaction is always worth it.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

Seungkwan didn’t respond, just grabbed your shoulder and steered you away from a crowd of boys you were about to walk straight into at the corner of the hall.

“Jeez,” he muttered, glancing back at them, “It isn’t that hard to get out of the fucking w— Is that Jeonghan?!”

“Huh?”

“Over there,” he directed your gaze to the distinct yellow hoodie that you knew belonged to your friend. “Didn’t know he was friends with Choi Seungcheol. That’s crazy, man.”

That didn’t need an explanation at all. Nobody in the entire school messed with Seungcheol, and you knew that. He had a reputation, and a whole lot of respect that stemmed from it.

“Who’s that one standing next to Han?”

“No idea,” Seungkwan said.

You couldn’t not look at Jeonghan; how he looked so small among the group, how he couldn’t stop staring at the ground and the way he loosely held an unlit cigarette in his right hand. It was hard to tell whether he hated it or not. He had always been that way, ambiguous and slightly impossible to read.

You told Seungkwan so, and he only shook his head.

“If he wants our help, he’ll come ask us. You know he always talks to us when he feels like he really needs it.”

And that was correct, so instead of taking a step in Jeonghan’s direction you turned around and walked away instead. You trusted that he would be fine, but what you were less certain about was your fate if you walked into geometry class late yet again this week.

The real surprise of the day, however, came when you arrived at your usual seat at lunch only to be met with Jun sitting to your left, already digging into his box of noodles. You blinked several times to make sure you weren’t hallucinating, then turned to Seungkwan.

“Are you seeing this?”

“I’m just as surprised as you are!”

Jun didn’t look up, or respond to either of you, so you put your stuff down and set a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, what happened?”

“Nothing,” came the monotone reply.

“Obviously it’s not nothing, Jun, how come you’re here? Weren’t you, you know…”

He shook his hair out of his face and looked up at you. “Well, you guys better get used to it again.”

“Wait, are you and Yeona still a thing, or…?”

“Fine,” he sighed. “No, okay? There were a few issues. Will you two stop asking questions so we can sit down? It’s been a month and a half and I just really want to eat lunch with my friends again.”

Jun never spoke to or about Jang Yeona again after that. Every now and then you would attempt to get something out of him, but he absolutely refused to speak about her no matter how hard you tried. At some point, like all aspects of life, it became a thing of the past.

Nobody would be surprised to learn that Wen Junhui’s contact was the first one to be saved in your phone when you finally got one.

It was a beat up, old model that your father had found at the bottom of some drawer, and it barely functioned other than to call and text, but you were content with it anyway. As long as you had a means to communicate with your friends, you were more than happy.

“Who have you been talking to for the past three hours?” Mingyu asked one day, opening your door and peeking through.

You pulled the phone away from your ear. “Jun! Now get out of my room, you doofus.”

“Hah, loser.”

If he thought so, you didn’t care. It ended up being Jun that you called in your free time the most anyways, since Seungkwan had taken up volleyball and Jeonghan was out and about doing nobody knew what.

He was certainly changing with the years, growing out of the Jeonghan you used to know — a few extra piercings, longer hair, more unkempt uniform. But you just attributed that to the phase of life you were in right now. He still spoke to you often, but things had become slightly more distant.

It made sense. Maybe he needed it. It was best that you gave him space.

You were changing too, all of you. It was just a fact. Seungkwan was three inches taller than you, now, something he took immense pride in, and puberty had hit Jun like a truck.

“You’re literally a tree,” you told him one day. “I can’t believe I have to look up to make eye contact with you.”

“Come on, it’s not that bad!”

“That’s because you’re looking down!”

It wasn’t just his height. His features were much sharper now, and you weren’t sure what on earth he was doing with his hair but you hoped he would keep up with it. He looked good, and you didn’t know if he knew it, but you did, and you were unsure how to feel about that.

A blessing came to you finally in the form of a shared chemistry class with Jun in your junior year. This was a surprise, after years of not being in any together, so you were quite happy as you were looking over your schedules.

“Oh, I’ve got calculus with Jeonghan,” you remarked later, looking at the screenshots your friends had sent in the group chat. “Can’t wait to get humbled.”

“He’s come a long way from needing to be tutored in middle school, hasn't he?” Jun chuckled. “I don’t know how he does it. He’s barely ever in class but still manages to ace the tests.”

“His attendance is pretty spotty, isn’t it? I guess that’s Yoon Jeonghan for you.” You looked at the rest of the blocks. “Do we have literature together?”

“Nope.”

“You’re really leaving me alone with Seungkwan?” you joked.

“Well, I have both physics and art history with him, so I don’t wanna hear any complaints from you, Y/N.”

“Fair.”

As it was your junior year, learning your curriculum was no easy feat. Except for Jeonghan — you couldn’t understand how he was breezing through all his classes — the three of you had your fair share of troubles navigating your course load.

“Between volleyball and calculus, I honestly think I’m just gonna drop dead one of these days.”

“You scored a ninety-six on last week’s test, Seungkwan. You’re doing fine.”

This was the year you ended up making a few new friends through some of your classes, too, since bonding over struggle seemed to be a pretty efficient way of connecting with others. You’d known of Seoyun and Ryu for a few years, but you’d never spoken to them until this year, when the three of you were thrown together for a literature project and none of you knew what to do.

You enjoyed their company. It was good to surround yourself with people you were comfortable with, and aside from the few inevitable bumps in the road, you could say you were doing pretty good for yourself.

Until that one horrendous calculus quiz.

You’d never failed before. Never. You weren’t the absolute best student by any means, but you were good. An F was something you never saw on your papers, and never expected, but here it was, big and red on the top left corner.

It was more shock than anything else going through your head. You didn’t know how to react, so you just stared down at it until you could feel the tears coming in.

“You okay?”

You looked up at Jeonghan beside you and he immediately winced.

“You’re not okay,” he decided quickly. “What happened? Bad test?”

“Bad test,” you nodded, hoping he wouldn’t probe further and taking a deep breath so your tears wouldn’t spill over.

“It’s okay. It happens,” he said gently, reaching out to rub your shoulder. “One terrible grade isn’t going to ruin your entire academic career, right? You’re doing fine.”

“But college is right around the corner, and I really need everything to just be right —”

“Don’t have to be perfect to do well,” Jeonghan cut you off with an encouraging smile. “I promise you. You’re gonna be okay, Y/N. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

“Says you, Han.”

He pushed his bangs back and frowned. “I mean it,” he told you earnestly. “I’m not lying.”

“You really think so?”

“I know it.”

That was able to alleviate your worries a little bit, but when you went home and remembered you had a chemistry test the next morning, you immediately went into panic mode again.

“Hey, Jun?”

“Yeah?”

You balanced your phone on your knee. “Have you been reviewing for the chem test tomorrow?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you want to study together? I kinda forgot about it,” you said, embarrassed. “I think I spent too much time worrying about calc.”

“That’s okay,” he said kindly. “Want me to come over?”

He had listened to you rant about your calculus test after school with all the patience in the world, and offered his help if you ever needed it. That was the thing about Jun; he was always patient with you, and he encouraged you to go at your own comfortable pace. You admired that about him.

You let him in happily when he rang your doorbell and the two of you spent hours poring over worksheets and labs, redoing problem sets and memorizing chemical formulas. It was a hard class, there was no doubt about it, but it seemed a little easier with Jun by your side.

Everything did, you mused as you watched him work on a question. Life felt a whole lot lighter when you knew he had your back.

“Wait, I don’t understand why this solution doesn’t work here.”

Jun glanced over at your paper. “Ah, you’re using the wrong formula for two of the calculations. It’s the other one with silicon you need to use.”

“Oh!” you laughed. “Sorry. I can be stupid sometimes.”

“You’re not stupid, Y/N,” he said gently. “You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

“You know, Jeonghan said the same thing earlier today.”

“He’s right,” Jun said simply. “Because you are.”

“I just want you to know you’re speaking to the person who fell asleep walking to class on multiple occasions.”

“Trust me, I’m aware.”

Time passed easily like that with him. It was a wonder, really, how hours could feel like just a few minutes.

“Thanks for the help,” you told him when he started packing up to leave. “I really needed that moral support for a little while.”

“Anytime, Y/N.”

“Sorry about bothering you for so long.” You handed him his bag. “I know this took up your whole evening, so…”

Jun looked at you like you were speaking another language entirely. “Dude, you gotta stop acting like you needing help is a burden.”

“Are you sure that it isn’t?”

“Not to me. Not if it’s you.”

Jun looked at you sincerely, like he really meant it. You knew that he meant it, which kickstarted something in you that you didn’t even realize was ready to go. It was like something unlocked, finally, and now you knew exactly what had been going on in your heart for the past few years.

The second he was out of your house, you stared at the wall in horror, coming to a belated realization.

“Oh my god, Seungkwan was right!”

The boys had, after some long deliberation, placed bets on who Jun would end up taking to senior prom.

Jeonghan had put five dollars on you and called it a day, after which you called him delusional and an idiot. Seungkwan had decided to one up him and put ten bucks on himself, which you tried to talk him out of while Jeonghan was laughing his ass off, but you couldn’t deter him in any way.

Seungkwan had valiantly tried to defend himself. “Jeonghan’s got the school’s entire female population at his feet and Y/N will end up with some hottie, so obviously me and Jun should go together!”

Jeonghan snorted. “Rethink that part about Y/N.”

You shot him a look. “Just because you’ve gone all classic bad boy now doesn’t mean you’re the main attraction here!”

“What do you think this is for, then?” he retorted, vaguely gesturing towards himself

“Yoon Jeonghan, if you seriously think that scar on your nose and all those chains are doing anything for you, I don’t know what to say.”

They had tried coaxing out your own personal opinion, but you remained vague, and you certainly weren’t about to put money into their random musings. On top of that, you knew Seungkwan knew how you really felt, and you didn’t want to put any more emphasis on that than there already was.

“We have got to get you a date,” Seungkwan said during physics. “I can’t have you moping around over J —”

“I am not moping!”

“Yeah, right, like you aren’t staring at him right now instead of listening to me or paying attention to class.”

“I’m going to strangle you.”

“Have fun doing that,” he said, flipping his page, “but I’m not letting you borrow my notes when you call me at midnight because you didn’t take any.”

It was like everything and nothing had changed at the same time, after you had admitted your feelings to yourself all those months ago. You still spent the same amount of time around Jun, and you still bickered and argued like before, but now you were aware of a lot of things you chose not to perceive earlier.

Like the soft touch of his fingers, for example, on your shoulder as he comforted you after a bad day. Like the way he smiled and told you everything was going to be okay. You believed him, because how could you not? This was your Jun, your best friend, and every word he said was a mantra in your brain.

It was such a wonderful feeling, but it stung at the same time, because you knew you were only falling deeper into something that could never happen.

You couldn’t resent Jun for it. None of it was his fault. You could only blame yourself.

“Hey,” he greeted you at lunch the next week. “What’s up?”

“Well, I just had one hell of a chem class,” you replied, cheeks flushing at the earnest look he was giving you. “Kwon Soonyoung accidentally set the ends of Lily’s hair on fire. It was crazy.”

“Aren’t you supposed to have your hair tied up during labs?”

“You’re also not supposed to fool around holding a lit match.” You took your chopsticks out of your bag. “But it doesn’t end there. Hansol spilled an entire flask of hydrochloric acid on himself and had to go home.”

Seungkwan snorted. “Hansol would do that.”

Jun shot him a look and turned back to you. “Is he okay now?”

“He’s fine. It’ll probably burn for a bit, but he’s gotta shower and wash that stuff off.” You shrugged. “Tell me about your day.”

“It was alright. I feel like I haven’t seen you all morning, though,” he said. “It was weird.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Jun, we walked to school together this morning.”

“I know, I just missed you anyways,” he replied. You made the mistake of looking at him when he said those words, and your breath caught in your throat when you made eye contact, because holy shit was your heart beating faster than ever.

The sensible thing to do would be to look away, but you couldn’t, because it was Wen Junhui, and how could you not look at the very person who made each moment feel like home?

He opened his mouth again and he looked like he was about to say something to you but Seoyun dropped by just then, inviting you to hang out on the weekend. You would have said it was a welcome distraction, to think about anything but him, but you kind of liked it when he was on your mind.

“I’ll be there,” you told Seoyun, heart doing backflips in your chest.

“Two o’clock, Y/N, don’t forget!”

“I won’t!”

“What are you two getting up to?” Seungkwan questioned while trying to pick up a misshapen sushi roll.

You winced a little when the wrap started to fall apart entirely. “Just, you know, dress shopping.”

“Oh,” he drawled, and you didn’t miss the not so subtle look he threw your way. You knew exactly what that meant. “You got a prom date now?”

“Well, no,” you admitted, “but I’m not gonna hold off on buying a dress for that. I’ll probably end up going with some friends anyway.”

Jun raised an eyebrow. “Like… us?”

“I meant Ryu and Seoyun,” you clarified. “You’re all gonna end up with dates, so I’m not getting in the middle.”

You could see the slightest disappointment in his face when he processed what you said. “We’re not all gonna go together?”

“Junnie, you’re saying this like we aren’t gonna be with each other for the whole night. Besides, I don’t think Seungkwan is planning on letting you go with anybody else.”

Seungkwan nodded proudly in confirmation.

“Well,” Jun leaned forward in his seat, “I mean, what would you do if someone did ask you?”

The sudden question threw you off a little bit, and you had to take a sip of your water before you could answer.

“Depending on who it is, I’d probably say yes? Ryu and Seoyun already agreed that if any one of us happens to get a date, it’s fine, so... Yeah.” You shrugged. “Why?”

“Oh,” he coughed, shaking his head. “I was just wondering. You know, just in case.”

You gave him an odd look. “In case of what?”

“By the way,” Seungkwan cut in suddenly, “any of you know where exactly Jeonghan is or do I need to hunt him down again?”

You and Jun looked at each other and shrugged, coming up blank, but one of the boys from the volleyball team that had just passed by seemed to overhear you.

“Probably at the back corner of the soccer field smoking with his buddies. Or at home skipping class, but that first one’s more likely, honestly.”

“Thank you, Eunwoo.”

You turned back to your friends, shocked. “Smoking? Jeonghan? Are we even talking about the same person?”

“I’m not exactly surprised,” Jun muttered. “Considering who he’s been hanging out with lately.”

Seungkwan nodded. “Yeah, they can be real jerks sometimes. Now that I think about it, it’s no wonder Jeonghan always showed up with those scars everywhere.”

“Those were from them?!”

It felt like every day you were learning new things you hadn’t seemed to notice before. How is it that you never saw your own friend suffering?

“I don’t see any other explanation. This is exactly why nobody can say no to Seungcheol and his posse.”

The three of you fell silent, looking at each other with uneasy expressions on your faces.

“Unless any of you really want to go yell at Seungcheol,” Seungkwan added, “which… good luck with that.”

Maybe you should have intervened back then, but you didn’t know any better. You were used to Jeonghan not needing any of you to look after him; it was always him subtly caring for the rest of you, and it didn’t even occur to you that maybe he needed some checking in, too.

“Well,” you said after a few moments, “I’m gonna head to class now. You guys wanna come with?”

“Yeah!” Jun exclaimed, shooting to his feet. “Yeah, I’ll come. Give me just a second.”

Seungkwan sent you a sly look as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’ll let you be,” he said. “Get some alone time.”

“Seungkwan.”

“Maybe you could benefit from some one on one —”

“Boo Seungkwan!”

“Just saying, we are never done talking about this, Y/N,” he replied in a singsong voice before walking away. You rolled your eyes at his back. Typical Seungkwan behavior.

“Ready to go?”

You would never not have butterflies looking at Jun, and this time was certainly no exception. There was no escaping this feeling. He was your best friend for life.

“Yeah, c’mon.”

He smiled warmly at you before ducking through the doorway, and it made your heart skip a beat, even more so when he slung his arm around your shoulders and started telling you about his biology class. It was simultaneously one of the best and worst feelings you’ve felt in your entire life, and that just confused you even more.

It was official — you were so going to kill Seungkwan later.

Thwack!

That was the fourth time over the past few minutes you’d heard that sound against your window. At first, you were set on ignoring it and going back to sleep, but now you were fully awake and very annoyed at whatever was making that goddamn noise.

Thwack!

You swore under your breath, tossing your covers off and marching over to the window. Moving aside the curtain, you pulled it open, and —

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me right now.”

“Hello to you, too,” Jeonghan grinned, like the little demon he was. “Please let me in, it’s so cold out here.”

“What the hell are you doing?” you hissed. “How did you even climb up?”

“I’m good at a lot of things. Now will you let me in? I might fall off if you make me stay here any longer.”

You rolled your eyes at him, but let him climb through anyways, making sure he didn’t knock anything over and cause a ruckus. Mingyu was home from college on his break for the next week and had the room right next to you, and you didn’t want to be interrogated by your brother in the middle of the night.

“So,” you said, arms crossed, “are you going to tell me why you’re in my room at one in the morning?”

“Because you let me in?”

“Yoon Jeonghan.”

“Okay, fine,” he relented. “I really need your help.”

“It couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

You couldn’t at all understand why he was being so vague. “Alright. Shoot.”

Jeonghan watched you for a second then shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Go to prom with me.”

“Eh?” You raised your eyebrows. “Me? Why? Wait — ”

“As friends,” he said quickly, raising his hands. “Let me just clarify that first.”

“Okay, good to know,” you said, relieved. “Han, this really couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?”

“No! What if you already had a date tomorrow?”

“And why do you have to go with me of all people?”

“Because, well…” He trailed off and shrugged. “I mean, I don’t have plans, and you don’t have plans. Yet. Also, Taehyung is trying to set me up with someone and I really don’t want to go with her.”

This piqued your curiosity. “Really? Who?”

“Lee Hyojin.”

“Ohh,” you said, understanding why. “Yeah, you two haven’t gotten along since middle school. Bad idea.”

“Yep.” He rubbed his hands together and pulled them further into the sleeves of his jacket. “So, what do you say?”

“Didn’t you bet Seungkwan that it’d be Jun taking me to prom instead?”

He thought about this for a moment, then said, “Yeah, but he’ll lose too, so I’ll get my five dollars anyway. It doesn’t matter.”

You were still slightly reeling from how random it all was, but… it was Jeonghan, after all, and he was right that neither of you had plans, so why not?

“You know what? Alright,” you gave in. “I’ll go with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you big idiot,” you rolled your eyes again. “Can we talk about this later? I’d like to go back to sleep before we have to be at school tomorrow.”

Jeonghan sat cross-legged on your floor and looked up at you with a fake pout. “Aw, you’re kicking me out already?”

“Please leave before Mingyu comes in wanting to investigate.”

“Oh, come on —”

“Out!”

The two of you shared a laugh as he climbed out of your window, and you made sure he didn’t hit his head on something going back down. Once he was safely in your yard, you clambered back onto your bed, exhausted and ready to doze off.

Maybe if you weren’t sleepily staring at your ceiling, you would have noticed your phone light up on the desk just a few feet away.

junnie <3: hey idk if ur awake rn butjunnie <3: can we talk for a moment?

“Y/N, can you hurry the fuck up?”

“I’ve been in here for ten minutes, calm down!” you yell back from in front of the mirror, frantically trying to brush through your tangled hair.

You had, in a moment of weakness, hit the snooze button on your alarm this morning, and then woke up an entire hour later to Mingyu slamming his bedroom door shut. In hindsight, a terrible idea, but you blamed Jeonghan’s midnight visit for how tired you had been.

When you finally opened the bathroom door again, Mingyu was standing right there with your bag in one hand and your phone in the other.

“Here’s your stuff. I’m assuming you already ate, but if not I made breakfast. It’s on the kitchen table.”

“Why are you being so helpful?” you asked suspiciously as you took your stuff from him.

“Can’t I just be nice to my little sister for once?”

You sent him a look.

“Okay, fine,” he sighed. “You got me. I’m just trying to get you to leave a little faster.”

“There you go.” You gave a small smile when Mingyu ruffled your hair and stepped into the bathroom, door locking behind him. He annoyed you immensely at times, but he was your brother after all. He couldn’t not care for you, and vice versa.

Heading out, you scrolled through your phone to catch up on any notifications you missed. There were a few texts from the group chat with Ryu and Seoyun confirming weekend plans, and others from various classmates and friends asking about homework.

cha eunwoo from calc: hey y/n sorry to bother u but what are all the trig identities again

eunjoo: is mr. kyung crazy a 5 page paper due in two days ??????

kwan: girl send bio hw answers PLS i’m literally begging

junnie: deleted a message

junnie <3: deleted a message

Huh?

You squinted at your screen. There were no texts from Jun after that, and those were sent at nearly one in the morning. Based on when you fell asleep, probably after Jeonghan had left your room.

That was weird. You’d have to ask him what it was about later — later being a few minutes, considering the daily ritual you had of walking to school together.

Sure, some of you could drive now, and it would be a lot easier, but… somehow, this had just stuck over time.

As predicted, you saw the boys approaching in the distance just several moments later. You waved to them, effectively getting Seungkwan’s attention:

“Y/N, I can’t believe you didn’t answer my texts! I was really struggling!”

“Sorry!” you called back. “If it helps, I didn’t reply to Eunwoo either!”

“I’m your best friend, you can’t compare me with Cha Eunwoo!”

Jeonghan merely snorted and Jun let out a laugh, the one that was loud and high pitched and impossibly contagious. You could never get tired of hearing him laugh.

“I don’t even know how he has that much energy in the morning,” he said when they reached you. “I barely got any sleep last night, so I’m dead exhausted.”

“You must be if you texted me at one o’clock,” you teased lightly, bumping his shoulder. “What did you want to talk about? I saw this morning that you deleted it.”

“Oh,” he said, blinking. “It was nothing. It’s fine.”

You frowned at the uncertain expression on his face. “Are you sure?”

“Uh huh.”

“Jun, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“I know,” he agreed gently, carding a hand through his still damp hair, “but it’s alright. It wasn’t that important, anyways.”

It still somewhat bothered you that he suddenly didn’t want to tell you what he’d sent, but you let it be for the moment. If he said it was fine, then it was fine. You weren’t going to push him.

“Looks like none of us slept very well aside from Seungkwan,” Jeonghan remarked, fiddling with one of his earrings. “I feel like all the energy has been sucked out of my soul, too.”

You raised your eyebrows. “That’s on you for sneaking into my room when you should have been asleep.”

Seungkwan gasped. “He did what?”

“Relax,” Jeonghan snorted. “I wasn’t committing a crime or anything.”

“Trespassing is a crime!”

“Well, they let me in, so I think I’m clear of any charges.”

Seungkwan just looked between the two of you, completely baffled.

“You two are insane,” he shook his head. “Nothing has changed since we were kids.”

“Thanks.”

Jun spoke up then, his smooth, honey-like voice in your ear. “I think you skipped the most important part,” he said, frowning. “Why was he in your house in the middle of the night?”

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t that big of a deal,” you patted his shoulder to calm him down a little bit, “basically, we —”

“Y/N’s my prom date!”

You heard Jun choke on absolutely nothing, coughing violently behind you, and Seungkwan nearly tripped over his own feet. Luckily, you managed to yank him back in time before he fell into the pavement face first.

“Whoa,” Seungkwan said, balancing himself again. “Sorry, I was expecting literally anything else but that”

“You look really surprised,” you observed with a laugh. “We’re just going as friends, guys. It’s chill.”

He immediately turned to Jeonghan. “You had to sneak into their room in the dead of night to ask them to prom as friends?”

Jeonghan winced. “Okay, when you put it that way…”

“See?”

“Guys, it’s fine,” you repeated. “I didn’t have a date, anyways, so I guess this worked out for the best.”

Seungkwan nodded finally. “Well, I didn’t see that coming, but good for you two! When I finally convince Jun to go with his best buddy, Jeonghan is gonna owe me ten bucks, so I’m just waiting on that.”

The two boys started bickering again and you realized Jun had gone completely silent behind you. He walked with the group quietly, staring at the ground and occasionally kicking along the loose rocks in the sidewalk.

You fell back a little, matching his pace. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” His head snapped up and he looked at you, hair falling haphazardly over his forehead. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

“Okay,” you smiled softly. “You’ve been pretty quiet today. Usually you’re up there arguing with those two about something or the other. Or me.”

The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly, but it was a little sad, just a little wistful. You missed it entirely, glancing off to the side instead of the momentary crestfallen look on his face.

“Well, you know I didn’t sleep that well,” he answered, “so… that’s probably what it is.”

You simply nodded, taking him for his word. Pushing him wouldn’t get you anywhere, and the last thing you wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable.

Jun never brought it up either. Regardless of how urgent it may have seemed to be the night he texted you, the subject was never heard of again.

Everything else seemed to be going great. College acceptances began to roll in. Your course load started letting up, finally, with the impending arrival of graduation. And — you couldn’t discount the small victories in life — you’d managed to find the perfect prom dress while out shopping with Ryu and Seoyun.

You loved how you looked. The sudden rush of confidence had never been better — you felt so pretty in the soft yellow fabric, thin straps resting snugly against your shoulders. It was simple, but more than enough, and you absolutely adored it.

On the contrary, Jeonghan seemed to have a few qualms about it.

“Yellow?” he asked when you told him the next day. “Like bright yellow?”

“Not super bright, but just… it’s yellow, Han, I don’t know how else to explain this. Is there a problem?”

“Nope,” he grinned, tugging on his ear cuff, “but a yellow tie might mess with my look. You know I have a certain image to uphold.”

You sent him an exasperated glare.

“I’m just kidding!”

“Yoon Jeonghan, be serious, I’m literally begging right now.”

The days leading up to your prom passed quickly and without much occasion. In fact, all of the chaos was only happening inside your head. You couldn’t deny that you desperately wanted to know who Jun was going with, but you didn’t want to bother him about it and be weird. The two of you didn’t speak much either, only a few words here and there and all of your texts left unread.

After all, you were only his best friend. What was the use of spending so much time wondering who he was taking to prom when you knew it was never going to be you? It was absolutely pointless to keep wondering and imagining. You were starting to think Seungkwan was right about you being delusional.

And yet, you just couldn’t let go.

“Oh, Yoon Jeonghan, you never disappoint.”

“Anything for the lady,” he said graciously, but his eye roll gave it away. (He could only pretend to be annoyed with you, and you knew that.) “If Taehyung questions this at all, I’m going home and dyeing this tie black immediately.”

“You will do no such thing!”

“Yeah? Try me.”

Jun only laughed from his spot behind Jeonghan, the one that lit up his entire face, the one you loved, and you would have been able to enjoy it a little better if not for the brown-haired girl hanging off his arm who was desperately talking his ear off.

You grabbed Seungkwan’s sleeve and pulled him a little closer to you. “Do you know who that is?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he admitted after a few seconds. “Literally never seen her around school, but it doesn’t matter because now I owe Jeonghan five bucks either way.”

“Your fault for making a dumb bet,” you shot back.

“What? Who’s betting?” You gasped, not expecting Jun to butt into the conversation, and nearly tripped over your own dress. “Why do you look so terrified?”

“Stop sneaking up on me like that,” you grumbled, smoothing down your hair as he steadied you with one hand. “I’m going to have a heart attack if you three keep this up.”

“You’re going to be fine.”

“Shut up, Seungkwan.”

Banter was not uncommon between you, but the back and forth was suddenly awkward in the presence of a newcomer in your group. It didn’t look like Ryu and Seoyun knew her either, since neither had spoken to the girl at all, so you were truly wondering where Jun knew her from.

Another thing he never told you. You didn’t know how to feel about that, because there were no secrets between you and him. Jun would tell you anything and everything, so this was oddly new.

“Oh. Guys, this is Heejin —”

“Heather,” she interrupted with a loud laugh, fingers twisting the hem of her purple dress. “I don’t go by my legal name anymore.”

“She’s from New York,” Jun continued, a little disgruntled. “A family friend of mine. She happened to be here for vacation, so I brought her here.”

Everyone went around introducing themselves and saying their hellos, but you couldn’t help but dislike her even more the longer she spent with you. You were starting to feel the way you did in middle school again, burning indignantly under Yeona’s arrogant smile.

Jeonghan didn’t seem to notice, too preoccupied with having a good time. And that was fine — great, because you weren’t ready for a confrontation with him, and you were sure he was going to interrogate you if he ever doubted your feelings for Jun.

“Hey,” Seungkwan found you at the edge of the dance floor, looking a little concerned. “Feeling okay?”

“Yeah? Why?”

“I think you forget how well I know you sometimes,” he sighed, straightening out his tie. “Do you really think I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now?”

“I’d rather you didn’t. It’s pretty embarrassing.”

“It isn’t,” he insisted sincerely. “But clearly it’s just putting you in a worse mood. I was all the way over there, and one look at your face told me something was up.”

“Maybe you’re just paranoid,” you tried deflecting.

“No,” Seungkwan said, smiling gently, “I’m your best friend.”

You let him walk you to the small balcony, claiming you would be fine after a little bit of fresh air, and he didn’t question or push you any further after that, leaving you to yourself quietly. The wind stung your bare arms, but you found that you didn’t mind it all that much. After all, you’d experienced a more searing kind of pain lately while grappling with your feelings for a certain someone. In the face of that, this was basically nothing.

“Y/N?” Speak of the devil. “What are you doing out here?”

You brought your arms around yourself a little tighter as Jun approached you, leaning against the railing.

“What are you doing here?” you asked in turn. “Shouldn’t you be dancing with Heather and keeping her company?”

“Maybe I should,” Jun shrugged. His hair was all tousled now because of the wind, but he still looked handsome as ever. “But she seems like she’ll be fine on her own. It’s you that I was looking for.”

It was gradually getting colder, and you shifted closer to him in search of some body heat. Jun had always been the epitome of warmth, radiating it like the sun itself, and so you felt infinitely better standing by his side in the night breeze.

Neither of you spoke for a while, and it could have been nice, but you knew that the silence was heavy. So many unanswered questions about the future that you hadn’t addressed were laying there, on top of the slight tension the two of you had experienced over the past week.

What came next? None of you had brought up college yet, and even though the deadline to make a choice wasn’t quite over, you knew all of your friends had to have an idea of where they were going. And what would become of you then? Your precious group, all those memories you’ve collected for years…

Jun let out a deep sigh from beside you. “I just want to make it clear,” he started softly, “that I haven’t been avoiding you. Or Seungkwan, or Jeonghan. Not on purpose. And I know I haven’t texted any of you guys back in forever, but —”

“Junnie, it’s okay —”

“It’s not okay,” he said, more forcefully. “You guys didn’t do anything, but I’ve been making you second guess it for like, a week now. I feel terrible about it.”

You placed a hand on his arm to try and comfort him. “That’s not true, Jun.”

“You don’t have to tell me these things for me to know, Y/N. I’ve been your friend for years,” he answered, and you knew he was right.

“Jun, it’s okay,” you repeated. “You don’t have to explain yourself. We don’t blame you for anything.”

He only lowered his head, eyes shut, like he was absorbing your words, juggling them around in his mind. Every second that passed in silence made your heart beat faster. Had you said something wrong again?

“Lots of things were going on. It was just hard,” he admitted. You hated seeing him like this, anxious and troubled. You rarely saw this side of him, anyway — he was always very good at concealing his negative thoughts, but at times like this he felt comfortable enough to open up to you. “Just — my brother was sick, and then school stuff, and then, you…”

You held your breath, waiting for him to finish that sentence. There were a thousand possible things he could have said, for a thousand different reasons, but you wanted to hear the one in his mind at the moment.

“I?”

You would replay this moment for the rest of your life. For years from now, you would be recreating the way Jun looked at you for those few seconds. Not quite fondly, but more like he was in awe as his eyes were trained on you. Like he was left speechless, like you were something unreal. You weren’t sure what the look in his eyes meant, and you wouldn’t know until he said something, anything.

“... Never mind.”

Crash, went your heart, shattering into infinite pieces on the balcony floor, the frozen moment cracked, just like that. You could say nothing, couldn’t give yourself away, so you only plastered a small smile on your face, hoping he’d understand. (He wouldn’t. How could he?)

All you could do was watch him as he went on with his apology, all shiny eyed and simply gorgeous under the dim lighting, trying to ignore how you felt like you could barely breathe anymore.

“... I’m so sorry.” Jun paused when he was done to look up at you again, and he seemed startled at your expression. “Y/N? Are you okay?”

You hadn’t realized you had tears welling up in your eyes, but you could feel them threatening to spill now. Silently you willed them not to fall, blinking quickly to get rid of them.

“Yeah,” you managed. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Do you need me to do anything for you?”

“Go inside,” you told him, maybe a little harsher than he deserved. He didn’t know, after all. He had no idea.

“Y/N —”

“I just wanna be alone for a while,” your voice came out in a shaky whisper. You hated how vulnerable you felt and sounded, and as much as you hoped Jun wouldn’t pick up on it, you knew he would.

And you knew Jun. You were well aware that he was the kind of person who wouldn’t believe you whenever you said you were fine, because he saw right through your lie every time. He was a rather persistent kind of friend, trying time and again in small ways to do anything, everything, for you.

But he just nodded now, head lowered, and slowly walked away from your trembling figure. You couldn’t know why — maybe he sensed you truly wanted some space, or maybe he was just sick and tired of you not knowing what you wanted or how to deal with yourself. You would be, if you were him.

It was only after the door slid shut behind him and his footsteps faded away into the liveliness of the night that you let your tears freely fall.

You hadn’t contacted Seungkwan in a while. To be exact, it had been nearly a day since you last interacted with him. Some would call you dramatic, but you didn’t care.

To you, it felt like an eternity. You couldn’t call him now — he was probably busy — but you were looking at an old picture in your camera roll, a shot taken of the four of you sitting side by side on one of the benches at your high school. It made you feel nostalgic, a little bittersweet, and you wished you knew about his plan to go to college abroad a little earlier. You would have felt like you had more time with him.

A loud knock at your bedroom door startled you suddenly, and you dropped your phone on the floor with a yelp.

“Y/N!”

“Yeah?”

Jun pushed the door open slowly as you checked your phone screen for any cracks. “Are you ready to go yet? Our stuff’s all loaded, we’re just waiting on you.”

Oh, right. You stared around at your room, your belongings all packed in cardboard boxes that were now stacked on top of each other in the trunk of your parents’ car, leaving your walls and shelves nearly bare.

Seungkwan might be halfway across the world right now, but your friends were all attending the same university not too far from where you lived, and you were moving in today, leaving behind the street and homes you’d known for most of your lives.

You didn’t feel ready, and maybe you never would be, but you knew that you couldn’t possibly delay this moment any longer.

“Jeonghan’s driving, by the way,” Jun told you as you followed him down your staircase. He waved hello to your parents as they were tidying up in the living room, and you couldn’t help the way your chest tightened at the small gesture. “I didn’t have much of a choice. He got my keys and was in my car before I was even out of the house.”

“Jeonghan? Really?”

“I’m dead serious,” he said, opening your front door. “Look.”

There he was, Yoon Jeonghan in all his glory, leaning back in the driver’s seat with his feet propped up on the dashboard. As far as you could recall, he had not driven once since first getting his license (on the fourth attempt), so you weren’t sure if you were going to survive this hour-long car ride.

“Don’t you want shotgun?” you asked as you approached the car. Jun had already headed for the backseat but stopped short at your question.

“Nah,” he shook his head. His hair looked so fluffy, and it made him seem more adorable than usual. “It’s better if you sit in the front with your motion sickness. Don’t want you throwing up on move-in day, do we?”

You hadn’t expected him to remember that. In fact, you didn’t really remember mentioning it to him, so the fact that he knew had you a little bit stumped. (And slightly flustered, if you were going to be completely honest.)

“Oh, you’re here,” Jeonghan greeted you with a devious smile when you were buckled in, lowering his sunglasses dramatically. “I’ve been waiting for like, thirty minutes. What took you so long?”

“Feet off my dash, please,” Jun reminded him from the backseat. With a groan, Jeonghan returned to a normal sitting position, finally starting the car.

“You’re no fun,” he grumbled, making you and Jun chuckle, and pulled out of your driveway. “Have our parents left yet?”

“I think they’re gonna get going in a few minutes.”

“Great. We’ve got a head start.” Jeonghan winked at the rearview mirror, and Jun made a gagging noise from the back. Their antics made you laugh, as always — some things would never change, and your dynamic seemed to be part of that category.

After a harrowing seventy-six minutes, several close calls on the highway, and a lot of swearing from Jeonghan, you finally pulled into the parking lot in front of the university residence halls. Jun had somehow fallen asleep amidst all the chaos, so you shook him awake gently.

“Hey,” you whispered, brushing his hair off his forehead. “We’re here. You gotta get up and unpack.”

“Hmm?” Oh, the sight of him looking up at you with sleepy eyes and half messed up hair made you feel a certain way, had you in a death grip.

“Let’s go, or Jeonghan is going to lock you inside your own car. You know he can and will do it.”

Jun nodded his agreement and followed you further into the campus. Your parents wouldn’t be here for quite a while, Jeonghan was telling you, so you decided to scope out where your dorms were for the time being.

You were conveniently located on the ground floor, but Jun was on the fourth floor in the same hall that had no elevators, and Jeonghan was in the next hall over. The three of you decided to camp out in your room, so you unlocked the door and propped it open, letting them file in.

“Your roommate’s not here yet,” Jeonghan observed, taking in the blank walls. “So I guess you get first pick, then.”

“For what? Both sides are identical.”

“I don’t know, don’t you want to establish a power dynamic early on?”

“No?” You sent him a funny look. “You’re a menace through and through, Yoon Jeonghan.”

“Thanks. I’ve been practicing.”

While you were busy thinking of something to say in response to that, you heard someone walk in through the door you left open. Maybe it was your roommate, you turned around expectantly, but you froze at the sight of a tall, handsome man in your room. He looked rather frazzled, you noticed, as if he’d just been running through the hall.

“Hey, have any of you seen another dude ‘round here, around this tall and carrying a blue leather notebook with a Cinnamoroll sticker on it?” he asked, the words rushed out of his mouth.

All three of you just stared at him blankly.

“Is he your roommate?”

“That was oddly specific.”

“You like Cinnamoroll?”

Immediately, you pinched Jeonghan’s side for the last comment and smiled warmly at the newcomer as your friend let out a pained yelp.

“Sorry, we haven’t seen your guy,” you told him apologetically. “Was the notebook important?”

“Well, kind of. It’s my recipe book that I’ve been keeping for a while,” the mystery man explained, sighing.

“Oh,” you said at this information. “Do you want us to help you find it?”

“Eh, it’s alright. He just likes messing around with me every now and then, he’ll return it soon,” he shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “I’m Mingyu, by the way.”

You went around doing your introductions, and by the time you had him sitting on the floor in a circle with the rest of your friends, you found that you liked Mingyu very much. What was not to like? He was good-looking, smart, and funny — not to mention he was an exceptional cook as well. The last time you were in a kitchen with your friends, they’d managed to burn the ramen and set off your fire alarm. This was a welcome change, and a distraction from Jun that you were very grateful for.

“Wonwoo’s finally done pulling my leg,” Mingyu said after a while, reading his texts with a chuckle. “I guess I’ll get going now. I’ve still got some stuff to put away.”

You walked Mingyu out into the hallway while your friends looked on, one in amusement, and one in an unexplained bitterness he couldn’t quite place.

“It was nice meeting you,” you said, fiddling with the hem of your T-shirt. “You should come around more often. I can tell Jun and Jeonghan really liked getting to know you. Maybe you can bring your roommate over, too.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I take you up on that offer,” Mingyu replied, flashing you a charming smile so wide you caught a glimpse of his sharp canines. “Can I get your number? I-I mean, to contact you, you know… just that —”

You chuckled softly at how nervous he seemed to be and readily swapped phones so you could exchange your numbers.

Mingyu handed yours back with a contented grin.“See you around, Y/N.”

“See you.”

When he was finally gone, you spun around to face your friends, waiting for them to say something. Jeonghan was staring at you with his jaw dropped, and Jun had his arms crossed with an expression that reminded you of a grumpy cat.

“Man, how are you pulling within thirty minutes of pulling up to your dorm?”

“Shut up, Han.” You settled back down in your seat and looked straight at Jun. Unflinchingly, he gazed right back at you. His brows were furrowed and he seemed slightly put off, but you still thought he was one of the most beautiful people you’d ever laid your eyes on.

You cleared your throat with a cough. “Why do you look so upset, Junnie?”

“I’m not upset, I’m just worried for you,” he defended, a small pout on his face. “You don’t know anything about Mingyu! He could just be a really shitty guy who works out for the clout and pretends to be a good cook so he can get phone numbers from pretty girls like you!”

Everything that was in your brain automatically wiped itself when you heard the last part of his sentence, but you quickly hid how flustered you were behind a pointed smirk.

“You think I’m pretty?”

Jun rolled his eyes and flicked your forehead. “That’s not the point, dummy.”

“Ow, what the fuck?”

Jeonghan always had a good time watching the two of you bicker, but now, leaning against the wall, he wondered exactly how long the two of you were going to dance around each other and do nothing about it. Months? Years? When were you both going to just wake up?

Honestly, he was starting to second guess what he thought he knew about both of your feelings.

“Okay, I’m gonna head out for a moment,” he announced when the two of you quieted down a little. “Mom just texted, said they’re gonna be here soon. I’ll just let them know where we are.”

You and Jun nodded, in sync, at the well-told lie. Jeonghan made sure to slip away quietly, leaving you to quarrel in peace and saving himself from the awkwardness of being an unverified third wheel until your parents really did show up.

Before he left the room, he looked back for a quick second. He saw clearly the way you looked at Jun, understood perfectly what was in your heart even though you had never told him. He only hoped he was right that Jun felt the same.

To your utter and complete dismay, it didn’t take all that long for your seemingly perfect group to fall apart.

You rarely saw Jeonghan after the first few weeks, if at all. Every time you scanned a crowd or street for that familiar black jacket and silver earring, you were left disappointed, and every time you called it was left unanswered. It was like he chose to vanish from your day to day life, and you didn’t know why.

It was a little better with Jun: you still saw each other when you could, and texted often, but it was still hard. After your first semester was over, it was more difficult to align your schedules. He was an engineering major, and you were in graphic design — you didn’t have any classes together as time went by, and most of the things you did outside of class to further your careers were entirely different as well.

The very first time you visited home after moving in, it was three of you in Jun’s beat up car. The second time you went back, it was only you and Jun.

By the time your second year rolled around, it was just you on the short train ride to the station closest to your street.

You wanted to tell Seungkwan every time he called and you talked for hours, confide in him about your worries. Look, you wanted to say, look what’s become of us. You’re in Boston, Jeonghan basically disappeared, and I barely ever see Jun even though we’re both on campus all the time.

But you couldn’t. Seungkwan always sounded so happy, so cheerful, that whenever you heard that telltale ‘what about you?’, it was impossible to actually tell the truth.

So you didn’t.

The one thing that seemed to be going well for you was your relationship with Mingyu. You met him several more times after move-in that day, and when you found out you shared quite a lot of courses with him, an animation major, falling into an easy friendship with him just felt like the right thing to do.

You’d befriended his roommate in the process, too — Wonwoo was secretly unhinged and wore a quiet facade, and he quickly became very good friends with Jun, who seemed to enjoy the former’s company a lot. They were both in engineering, after all, so you figured they would have found each other someday if not through you and Mingyu.

Things were alright. But they could be a little better, you thought whenever you scrolled through old pictures on your phone, or stared a little too long at the photo of the group you always kept in your wallet.

“Aw, that’s cute.”

You snapped your head up so fast you thought you might break your neck. “Mingyu!”

“Hi,” he laughed at your surprised reaction, sliding into the empty seat in front of you. “Where’s that picture from?”

“Oh, this?” You smoothed a finger over the top of the Polaroid fondly. “It’s from our first day of high school. I’ve got one from graduation in my phone, too,” you flipped it to show him, “so it all goes full circle, kinda.”

“Can I see?”

Gingerly, he took your phone and the Polaroid as you handed it to him, and examined it intently. You watched as he smiled softly at the sight of your adolescent selves, happy and free of the troubles of growing up.

“Who’s that?”

“Who?” You scooted closer so you could see. “Oh, Seungkwan,” you chuckled. “He’s gone abroad for college, living it up in Boston now.”

“You miss him, don’t you?”

You hugged your knees to your chest and tried to ignore the hollow feeling in your chest. “Yeah,” you admitted. “He’s one of my best friends, and we still keep in touch and stuff, but…”

“It’s not the same?”

“Exactly.”

“Man, Jeonghan looks like a whole different person with short hair,” he remarked, moving on to the picture on your phone. You were grateful for the diversion, and you happily poked fun at Jeonghan’s drastic change in style with your new friend while he pulled up old photos of him and Wonwoo to show you in exchange.

It was nice, to talk about the old times. You missed the simplicity of high school, and how close you all were — it was always just a two-minute walk over to Jeonghan’s front door. Now it was thirty-two missed calls, and no response.

“Hey, my design class is in ten minutes, so as much as I loved bonding over embarrassing high school memories, I do have to go,” Mingyu said after nearly an hour of reminiscing over your childhoods. “You don’t have anything else tonight, right? Should we meet in the dining hall at nine?”

“Nine should be good,” you agreed, checking your phone. “I’ll see you at dinner, Gyu.”

“Bye!”

You sighed when he left, finally focused enough to get back into the groove of doing all the work you’d been procrastinating on all day. Unwisely, you had chosen to take a three hour nap in the middle of the day, which meant all your work was getting pushed to tonight.

You opened up a file and were just about to type the first word when your phone started buzzing.

“So much for productivity,” you grumbled to yourself, flipping it over, and your breath caught in your throat when you checked the caller ID. It was always you texting, calling, to try and coordinate plans. How long had it been since he contacted you first?

“Jun?”

“Hi,” came his breathless voice. “Um, are you at your dorm right now?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Jun, have you been running?”

“No,” he said, but you always knew when he was lying and the inflection in his voice didn’t help his case at all. “I’m, uh, I just got out of class and I don’t really have much else to do tonight, and — do you want to eat together?”

“Huh?” You almost dropped your phone. “Aren’t you busy?”

“Y/N, I wouldn’t be asking if I was.” He paused, and all you could hear was the wind on his end of the line. “I just… wanted to see you. I know it’s been a while since we’ve properly spent time together.”

You weren’t sure how to feel. On one hand, you were slightly hurt that he hadn’t reached out to you earlier, couldn’t make time for you just once — but he was doing it now, and that had to count for something, didn’t it?

Then again, this was Jun. You always had it in you to forgive him, because no matter how upset you were, you couldn’t help the fact that you loved him, plain as day.

“Alright,” you said finally. “Text me where and when, okay?”

“You got it.”

With that, you ended the call, and shot Mingyu a quick sorry, something came up text. He wouldn’t read it until after he was out of his class, but you stared at it long after it went through, trying to process all of your messy feelings about Jun.

How had it come this far? Why had you let it get this bad in the first place?

Fifteen minutes passed until you realized you had gotten no work done and were still lost in your thoughts about your best friend. With a frustrated groan, you hid your face in your hands, frustrated to the verge of pulling all of your hair out.

So much for productivity.

You hadn’t realized a person could change so much over the course of a month or two. Sure, it’d been a while since you’d seen Jun, really seen him, but you weren’t expecting for it to hit you this hard.

For one, he’d dyed his hair so that now there were brown streaks in it, and you couldn’t deny that it was an extremely good look on him. Not only that, he seemed more serious, more mature, like he’d finally grown into himself and was confident about who he was.

“You keep eyeing your phone,” he remarked now over a plate of cold noodles. “Did you ditch a date to be here or something?”

You winced, tucking your phone further under your bag. Close. “Not exactly, but I did have to reschedule with Mingyu, so...”

“Mingyu?” A weird expression came across Jun’s face, one you couldn’t comprehend. “Huh. I didn’t know you were into guys like him.”

“What? Jun, I’m not attracted to him or anything, if that’s what you’ve been thinking for the two years he’s been our friend,” you dismissed the idea. How could it be true, when you only had eyes for Jun?

And you’d tried, really. You tried so hard, but Mingyu had always remained a friend, and Jun had remained in your heart, rooted to the ground so deep you could never cut him away and replace him with somebody else.

“Well, I don’t know,” Jun shrugged, eyes trained on his food. “He’s tall, good-looking, smart, makes amazing kimchi jjigae…”

“We’re just friends, Junnie,” you said softly. “That’s all Mingyu’s ever been to me. So don’t worry, okay?”

“I’m not worrying, I’m just saying that he’s a nice guy.” You had no idea where all this was coming from, but it sort of stung for some reason. “And you deserve that, you know. A good person.”

All too soon, you felt your cheeks heat up, and suddenly you were looking everywhere but right in front of you.

“I — thanks,” you said, “but really, Jun, you don’t have to concern yourself about this. At all. Like, I haven’t dated anyone, and I don’t think I will anytime soon, so…”

“Why not?”

You froze at this, not really knowing how to respond. How were you supposed to react? There were multiple things you could say but none of them were appropriate for the relationship you currently had with Jun.

I’ve been in love with you since we were in eighth grade. You’re the only one who’s always on my mind. I don’t want to go on a date if it’s not with you.

“Never got around to it,” you ended up saying nonchalantly. If your act was good enough, Jun would probably buy it. “What about you?”

You regretted the question as soon as it left your mouth, and you internally berated yourself for blurting it out the moment it popped into your head. Jun, however, took the question and ran with it.

“Me?” he chuckled softly, setting his chopsticks down and looking back at you. He was silent for so long you’d started to think you’d touched on something he didn’t particularly want to share, but then you met his gaze again and it took you back.

All of a sudden, it was the night of senior prom again, you out on the balcony and Jun standing beside you with the wind in your hair and a multitude of words on the tip of his tongue that you wouldn’t get to hear.

“Never got around to it.”

Again, you masked your disappointment behind a mildly amused smile.

“Foul,” you said with a shake of your head. “Can’t believe my best friend of almost ten years is keeping secrets from me.”

“I’m telling you the truth!” Jun exclaimed, laughing at your expression. “Seriously, Y/N! If I ever get a girlfriend, I’m telling you first. Okay? I promise.”

You weren’t sure how you would react if you ever did hear that news, but for now you just nodded and let the conversation move on to a less personal topic. Jun deserved love too, the pure, sweet kind, and you didn’t know if you could give him that. Maybe what you felt for him wasn’t enough.

“I’m glad we did this,” Jun told you once you finished your meal and were walking out of the dining hall together. It was a lovely evening, cool and breezy, and with his fluffy hair and gentle smile you could almost convince yourself that he was yours, for the moment. “We should do it more often, Y/N. I missed hanging out with you.”

It was like he could read your mind. “I missed you, too.”

You watched him walk away after you hugged him and promised to meet soon with an odd, heavy feeling in your chest, like it was tightly squeezing against your heart and you couldn’t breathe anymore. Jun walked away with your heart in his hands once again, and you could only hope that he would handle it carefully, after all these years —

“Shit, where did I put it,” you muttered as you scrambled to find your ringing phone. Finally locating it in your bag, you pulled it out and had to stare at your screen for a few seconds to figure out whether or not you were hallucinating.

At last, you decided to pick up. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Y/N?”

That was most definitely not Jeonghan’s voice, you realized, frowning. “Yes? Where is Jeonghan?”

“Um,” the man on the other line paused for a moment, “he’s right here, but I think he’s had a little too much alcohol already and he probably shouldn’t stay any longer. You were the first number in his emergency contact list, so I thought I’d call.”

“Okay,” you let out a relieved sigh you didn’t know you had in you. “Okay. What’s your name?”

“Jihoon.”

“Alright, Jihoon, just… send me your location and hold on to him for a bit, okay? I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

“Sure thing.”

The notification arrived as soon as you hung up on Jihoon. On the verge of panicking, you entered the address into your GPS and set off in the direction of your destination before you realized you hadn’t brought your car to campus and stopped right in your tracks.

It was only fifteen minutes away by foot. Technically, you could walk… but you didn’t know if you really wanted to head through the residential part of town alone this late at night.

Do I really have to do this right now?

You debated on it for a while, and then pulled out your phone again.

you: hey

junnie: hii

you: i know its a bit late but can u do me a quick favor pls

junnie: sure whats up!

you: u have ur car right? can u come with me to pick jeonghan up?

junnie: yes i’ll be there asap

junnie: wait what????

you: i’ll explain later i promise

junnie: where are u

you: still by the dining hall!

junnie: ok on my way

It was getting colder the longer you waited outside, and you were on the brink of deciding to go wait in the lounge when that familiar black car pulled up in front of the parking lot. You didn’t need a text to come through to know it was Jun, and you all but ran to the passenger side.

“So,” he started, eyes on the road as he drove, “what’s going on?”

“Um…” You stared at your hands clasped together in your lap. “I got a call from Jeonghan. Well, it was his friend, but he’s incredibly drunk right now and…”

“Oh.” Jun glanced at the time out of the corner of his eye. “Already? It’s just a quarter past ten.”

“That’s Jeonghan for you, I guess,” you snorted, shivering slightly as your bare skin tingled from the chill. Jun let his eyes shift to you briefly, taking in your frigid state.

“Are you cold?”

“Kinda,” you said, “but it’s fine.”

Jun shook his head, taking a hand off the wheel. “I brought a spare hoodie,” he informed you, gesturing towards the backseat. “Should be over there, if you can reach it, or I can pull over for a second.”

“No, keep driving.” You easily grabbed the hoodie lying on the backseat, and you recognized it as one of his favorites, the beige one with a koi fish pattern on the front. Your stomach felt like it was flipped upside down, and you didn’t know how to comprehend it, so you just pulled it over your shirt in silence.

Every time you thought you were done, Jun would do something like this. He would care for you, show you how much you meant to him, and then you were done for all over again. It was a vicious cycle.

“This is the place, right?”

You shifted your gaze away from him and to the GPS open on your phone. “Yeah,” you said, unbuckling your seatbelt. “I’ll just go in and grab him. Be right back.”

“Wait, I’ll come with you!”

“It’s fine —”

Jun leaned back in his seat and frowned at you. “They’re likely all drunk out of their minds, Y/N. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m nearly twenty, I can handle it,” you assured him. You would never actually admit that the real reason you wanted to go alone was that he made your head spin so intensely, you just needed a few moments to breathe.

“Are you sure?”

“Junnie, I’ll be okay,” you smiled. “I’ll be back with Jeonghan, okay?”

He rolled his eyes, almost comically, and folded his arms over his chest — you had forgotten how dramatic he could be at times, and you chuckled silently at the sight of this side of him again.

“Alright,” he mumbled. “Text me if you need me, okay?”

You promised him you would with a firm nod and headed towards the house. You could hear the loud music even from where you were and inwardly sighed as you knocked on the door.

No response. You knocked again, much harsher this time, and then it finally opened to a very confused-looking guy with bright blue hair.

“Almost didn’t hear ya,” he remarked, eyeing your attire suspiciously. “Y’need something, or?”

“Um,” you didn’t know how to navigate this situation. “I’m here to pick someone up… Do you know where I can find Jihoon?”

The guy perked up almost instantly at the supposedly familiar name. “Jihoon? ‘Course. C’mon, follow me,” he said, propping the door open wider so that you could step inside.

The first thing that hit you was the overwhelming bass in your ear, and the second was the strong smell of alcohol and sweat that you had never experienced before. You wrinkled your nose as you tried not to lose the blue-haired guy in front of you.

“I’m Yeonjun, by the way,” he told you, and you couldn’t really tell whether he was drunk or not. You could barely even hear him over the music.

“Cool,” you managed to respond. “I’m Y/N.”

“Well, Y/N, there’s your guy,” Yeonjun stopped walking and nodded over to a more secluded corner. You immediately spotted Jeonghan, sitting on a stool with his head in his hands and accompanied by a much more sober-looking person. “Not sure whatcha need him for, but good luck.”

“What do you mean?”

“See ya!” he called over his shoulder, and he was gone before you could question him further. But you didn’t really care, not when Jeonghan was right there just a few feet away from you.

The man beside him raised his head as you approached them, eyes narrowing before his expression relaxed in recognition. “Y/N?”

“That would be me,” you sighed. “Jihoon, right?”

“In the flesh.”

You glanced down at your friend, still silent and hunched over. “Uh, is he doing alright?”

“He can barely walk, but otherwise he’ll be okay. I got him to drink some water, if that helps.”

“Yes. Amazing, thank you,” you told Jihoon, gently shaking Jeonghan’s shoulders. He just groaned and shifted his head to the side, shoulder-length black hair falling into his face. It would be a silly sight if the context was any different.

“How are you so wasted at ten o’clock on a Wednesday,” you muttered, trying to get him to open his eyes. “Han, we gotta go, okay? I’ll help you get to the car, but you have to work with me here.”

“Nooo,” he groaned again, almost faceplanting onto the granite counter. “Don’t wanna go.”

You pursed your lips. “Yoon Jeonghan, if you cooperate with me right now I swear on my life I will buy you any Lego set you want. With my own savings. Please.”

That seemed to get his attention — you were very aware of Jihoon watching you with amusement the whole time — and he blinked slowly as he sat up on the stool.

“Eh… Junnie?”

That damn sweatshirt. “It’s me, Han, Y/N.”

“Oh!” He laughed then, loudly, and his breath smelled strongly of the alcohol he’d been drinking. “Y/N’s buying me Legos.”

“They are, but only if you make this easy for them,” you said under your breath, helping him stand and looping his arm around your shoulder. “Thanks for keeping an eye on him, Jihoon.”

“No problem,” he replied, still watching the both of you. “You want help bringing him out to the car?”

“Actually, yes,” you admitted, struggling to support both yourself and Jeonghan’s weight. “That would be great.”

After a lot of struggling and many, many swears from Jihoon, you finally managed to get Jeonghan to the car, propping open the door so you could get him into the backseat. Jun was already out of his seat by the time you left the house, and he buckled Jeonghan’s seatbelt carefully so you could catch a break.

“Is he alright?” he asked you quietly once Jihoon had gone back inside.

“He’ll be fine. Do you know where he lives?”

“Not on campus, probably, but I could probably get in touch with his roommate. Hold on.”

You sat beside Jeonghan as Jun typed away furiously on his phone, keeping an eye on your drunk friend as you burrowed yourself further into Jun’s hoodie, if that was even still possible. It was cold out, and the dread you felt creeping up on you wasn’t helping at all.

“Bingo!” Jun turned around in his seat and held his phone out to you. “Got an address. Just a few minutes away.”

You squinted at the screen, skipping the texts and reading the contact name instead. “Joshua Hong?”

“Roommate,” Jun explained, starting the car again. “Do you wanna come sit up front? Your motion sickness is generally way worse when you’re in the backseat.”

He knew you so well, and you hated how it made you fall just a little bit more in love with him each time.

“It’s fine,” you said, those other thoughts dying on your tongue. “It’s not that long of a drive, anyway, and someone’s gotta keep an eye on this one.”

“Okay, but move up after we drop him off, alright?”

The short drive to the apartment was pretty silent, save for Jeonghan’s occasional drunk babbling — you had no idea what he was saying, but you figured once he got some water into his system, as well as some sleep, he would be good as new.

It wasn’t long before Jun was parked in front of a four-story building and the two of you were supporting your friend up one flight of stairs. You hadn’t realized exactly how unstable Jeonghan was until now; he could barely walk up the stairs without nearly tripping over nothing at all.

“Finally,” Jun remarked, pushing open the door to the second floor with a grunt. “Can’t believe the elevator was broken. We have great timing.”

You just nodded along as Jun counted the apartment numbers down the hallway.

“207, 209, 211… Here! 213.”

It didn’t take more than one knock for the door to swing open to a tall, blond-haired, very concerned looking man.

“Oh, come in — here,” he said, propping the door open and helping you bring Jeonghan to the couch. “I did tell him to stay home tonight, but he never does listen, does he?”

“That’s Jeonghan for you,” Jun replied, the look on his face a strange mixture of fondness and pain. “He had some water, so I think he should be fine after some sleep.”

“His hangover’s gonna be so bad,” his roommate chuckled, turning to face you both with a gentle smile. “I’m Joshua, from the biological sciences department. You guys must be Junhui and Y/N, right?”

The two of them spoke for a few minutes, and you let them bond while you sat on the couch beside Jeonghan’s sleeping figure. Carefully, you brushed a few strands of stray hair away from his face and mourned the loss of time you could have spent with him, like you did when you were children.

You couldn’t believe how distant he had become over the past two years, like you and Jun were strangers. Radio silence, and then a call from Jihoon to come pick him up. And that was it? Could you ever really go back?

Mid-conversation, you caught Jun’s steady gaze. Do you want to leave? his eyes said.

You looked back at him with all the love in the world that he would never notice. Yes.

The drive back was mostly silent — not the awkward kind, but the easy quiet that you had always had with him. It was always during moments like these when you thought that you and Jun would be good together, in another universe where things were a little different. The two of you had just clicked in a way you never really did with anyone else. The idea that it would likely never be anything more than that made your heart ache, sitting there on the passenger side of your best friend’s car.

Jun pulled up to your dorm sooner than you would have liked. A few more minutes, you had thought, but even that wouldn’t have been quite enough.

“Get some sleep,” he said gently as you stepped onto the sidewalk. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You knew as well as he did that that was a lie disguised as a trite platitude. You weren’t going to see him tomorrow, or the day after. Maybe in a few weeks, if you were lucky, or a month.

“See you,” you told him anyway. “And thank you for driving me, Jun.”

“Always, Y/N,” he smiled. “Anytime.”

That was a lie, too, even though you knew he wouldn’t ever intend it as such. Over the past year, you had gotten used to Jun’s earnest promises that usually turned up empty. When you did see him, he was always so caring that you could almost forget how you felt in his absence. Things felt like they were just a few years ago, but in reality you anticipated that they would never be the same again.

Your roommate was asleep when you gently shut your door, kicking off your sneakers and shuffling over to your desk, still cluttered from an earlier study session in the morning. While putting some pens away, your gaze fell to the framed photo on your desk, the sunlight in the picture pushing some warmth into your heart.

You looked at it for a while. Those had been good times. Some of the best, even. As children, you had all dreamed of what college would be like, how much better things would be as adults, but this was the one thing you could not have anticipated.

No, it was no good reminiscing now. It was already nearly two in the morning. You sighed and turned the frame over, setting it face down on your desk. It was time for bed.

soo here it is! currently i have no plans to continue this in the near future, but we will see! feel free to come discuss it with me if you like :D

-vedya

#svt fanfic #svt fic #kpop fanfic #svt x reader #jun x reader #junhui x reader #wen junhui #junhui #junhui fanfic #junhui fluff #jun fluff #jun angst #junhui angst #svt friends to lovers #svt college au #svt imagines

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lushta1es0nm3 · 2 years ago

Text

Victon:

When your ex tries to get back with you (kinky version)

So I started emptying out my stash. Better late than never, I was going to wait but considering the situations, I said fuck it, post that shit and try not to regret anything.

You looked at your phone after receiving a notification from Snapchat. You only used the app for its filters, you never posted on it because what was point of that when you can just put it on Instagram? An ex that couldn’t seem to take a hint messaged inboxed you on snap. You replied that you were in a relationship and this guy took that as an opportunity to flirt when you legit told him off.

Throwing your phone down on the couch you stood up with a sigh “I’m gonna go get pizza you want some baby?” You announced to Seungwoo, he was in the bathroom cleaning makeup off his face, but he answered with a cute little “yes please.” You grabbed your purse and keys left, forgetting to grab your phone. You realized it when you stopped to get something to drink, so you grabbed whatever soda you remembered him liking and headed back home.

“Hey,” you announced walking into your apartment, “I forgot my phone,” you went about explaining as you placed everything down in the kitchen, “but I picked up some soda and snacks on the way back……” your words trailed off when you turned round and looked at Seungwoo standing on the kitchen doorway. He wasn’t saying anything. He was just staring at you and the look in his fox-like eyes said you were in trouble.

You stared at back at him and then your eyes followed his hand movements as he held up his right hand showing you your phone screen with a message displayed on it:

“We were amazing together, the sex was good and the love was real. I can still treat you like a queen, no more of the childish nonsense. I really do miss you. Ditch him and come hangout with me, I promise you won’t regret it.”

“Babe,” he started slowly, “who is this?” He asked as he started walking towards you.

“An ex from years ago,” you quickly blurted out the truth, “he’s been bugging me for a week, all because of one picture I posted on accident,” he kept walking and you began backing up until you reached the counter, “I’ve told over and over again that I don’t even like him even in the slightest way,” Seungwoo had you caged in now, his tall figure looming over you, “I even told him I had a whole hot ass, fine ass boyfriend,” he smirked down at you and you fell silent.

Shit, you thought, I fucked up, I should’ve just blocked his ass.

“I read all the messages,” Seungwoo stated, making you look away from him, “does he really think he can beat me up and take you from me?” He giggled, “and he called me little. I’m not little.” You did your best to not look at him but whichever way your head turned he followed.

It was quiet for only a few seconds, making your knees feel weak. Ah shit, I’m in some deep shit, was all you could think. You didn’t even realize that he, Seungwoo, had taken off his shirt or the fact that he had turned on your Snapchat camera. He gently pulled you into a kiss and just as you felt his tongue in your mouth, you heard the shutter sound from your phone. You pulled away from him and reached for your phone, but he had other plans. Him being taller than you he held your phone up in the air and you watched as he sent the picture to your ex.

You sighed and before you could say anything about anything, Seungwoo had left you up onto the countertop and ripped your shirt off. The normally gentle Seungwoo had become someone else, “what the he-” your words failed and a moan escaped your lips when he placed an open mouth kiss onto the base of your neck.

Your head fell back and he smirked against your skin, he had you open. He knew your weak spot and you never thought he’d ever use it like this. You mumbled his name and let out a sharp breath, he was placing a huge passion mark on the spot. He suckled on the spot, all the while taking pictures of how open you were to him and how you belonged to him. He let go of the spot, his hot breath fanning your neck and just when you thought he would stop, he picked another spot and went to town.

Just this alone could make you orgasm. You were so wet and needy now, your arms went around his waist instinctively, trying to pull him closer. He was now doing a damn good job of placing yet another huge hickey below your collarbone. Shit, that was it, your legs went around him bringing him even closer to your needy core. You felt him smirk and pull away, he looked down at you, he had a glint in his eyes you’d never seen before.

Seungwoo grabbed your chin and turned your face towards the camera, he timed it just right. Just as he started marking up the other side of your neck, he took another picture of how needy and fucked up you were, “Seun-” you couldn’t get his name out, you yelped, he had taken a bite of your neck. It was the last straw for you because you creamed all over yourself. And trust me, he knew it, he licked and sucked at the spot a little more before pulling away completely.

You stayed on the countertop, and watched as he leaned against it beside you. You could only stare at him, unable to fully fathom the fact that he made you cream from just hickies. Son of a frappe, you thought looking at Seungwoo, who was busy typing away on your phone.

“That was hot.” You remarked after a few seconds had passed. It was the only thing you could think to say. Seungwoo looked at you and smirked, with one eyebrow raised, knowing exactly what he had done.

He handed you your phone and pecked you cheek, “You might wanna wear sweaters for a while,” He started to walk away, “next time, don’t respond to guys like that.”

And as if a switch had turned back on in your head, you remembered why this all happened in the first place. Looking at your phone, you saw all the pictures AND a video of you creaming yourself at the end. Followed by a final message:

“She’s mine, leave her be. I’m more obsessive and shameless than you can believe. Go play somewhere else or find something safe to do.”

Your mouth hung open in disbelief, this man was a real piece of work, you thought. Just as he called out from the living room “What movie do you wanna watch?” As is nothing ever happened.

“I’m just saying,” your ex tried to reason, “we could hang out sometimes, it would be so lit.” He looked you up and down and you rolled your eyes doing everything in your power to not throw your drink in his face. This guy really, at a very important event, at a company you used to work for, with your husband a few feet away talking to some big name people, who’s name you forgot.

Sighing inwardly, you took a small sip from the glass of wine you held before speaking, “That’s real cute and all, but I think you forgot,” you said coldly, “I’m married and my Seungsik is coming this way. That and the fact that I think you’ve forgotten about my temper.”

Once Seungsik had finally reached you, he smiled and tilted his head a little as if he was asking what’s going on. Your ex frowned at the loving look you gave Seungsik as you ignored his presence and asked Seungsik how his conversation went.

“Wow,” your ex started, trying to pick a fight, right in front of Seungsik, “is that all you two talk about, business and work. It makes it seem like you married each other for convenience.”

“I know the fuck he just didn’t?” You mumbled only enough for the three of you to hear, you took a step forward and Seungsik knew what you were about to do, so he took the wine glass from you and passed it off to a server walking by, “listen you simple mined fuck,” you started, Seungsik was holding you back, “you’re an ex, get over it you pathetic little bitch.”

“You weren’t saying that when I used to break your back in.” He remarked, now getting a rise out of your beloved husband.

The hold you didn’t know you had on Seungsik’s arm became tighter, “don’t play yourself like that, you need to pick yourself up off that small ass ego you just tripped on. Honestly, your dick game is trash,” a few people standing nearby had heard you because you had raised your voice an octave, “I suggest you find something safe to do before I hurt your little feelings.”

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it really was your temper getting the best of you. Most of the time you kept it in check but the wine just loosened it up a little. Seungsik grabbed your hand and began to lead out of the event hall. You knew he was upset but, you didn’t give a shit at the moment the only thing you could think about was socking your ex in the face.

After a few twists and turns you realized that Seungsik had dragged you a good distance away and into a empty room, he turned and looked at you, his hand on his hips, you watched as he took a deep breathe, “Sweetheart,” he called you lovingly, “I want to knock him out too,” he looked you over, “but can you blame him when you look so hot in that dress,” he paused for a second before continuing, “I told you not to wear it. But you did anyway and you caused a scene-“

“Hold up,” you cut him off, “baby, you know I wear what I want. And,” you rolled your neck a little, ignoring the look Seungsik was giving you, “I wish you would’ve let me get one swing in,” you continued, going on about how your ex cheated on you in the past and you even let it slip out that said ex had been bothering you since forever ago. That, my dear, was all it took for Seungsik to grab hold of you and push you up against the door. Your words got caught in your throat and your eyes widened at the sudden action.

“My love,” Seungsik started pinning both your hands over your head, “stop it,” his voice was low and his face was inches away from yours, “I’ve told you, multiple times, I don’t like it. And now you’re telling me that he has been bothering you,” he paused and looked you over slowly, as if he was about to eat you, “that bastard even bragged about breaking your back in. You,” he spoke slowly, “are mine.”

Your chest rose and fell, and your breath caught in your throat when you felt Seungsik’s free hand going up your leg and under your dress. Your face flushed red, as lowered your eyes, but you didn’t miss the smirk on his face. Yes, he indeed moved your panties to the side and was now playing with your inner folds. Enjoying your expressions, he knew what you liked and how you liked it. But that was beside the point, what he wanted to do was mark you like he did when you first got together.

He let go of your hands and you instinctively wrapped them around his neck. He lifted you up and sat down in a nearby chair, he stopped torturing your folds and sat you on his lap, you started kissing his neck feverishly. Your ears fell dead to the sound of the door opening but Seungsik’s didn’t, he looked up at the intruder, who was none other than your ex. He locked eyes with him and smirked, mocking him for what he lost and could never have.

Seungsik enjoyed the look of shock and devastation that crossed over the man's face as he took in the sight before him. Yeah, serves him right, he should’ve stayed in his lane. The man closed the door and Seungsik pulled away from you. He kissed your lips gently, his hands were feeling up your ass the whole time. He placed a finger on your chin and stared into your lust filled eyes as he spoke.

“We should head home and finish this,” he rested his forehead against yours and placed a hand behind your head, and continued, “I don’t want anyone else catching us.”

It took a moment for his words to register in your mind, when they did, you pulled back and stared at him in confusion, “Don’t worry about it,” he added standing you both up, he took your underwear and shoved them in his pocket after looking at them for a second, “let’s go, I need that as bad as you do right now.”

You blinked still confused, but nonetheless you fixed your dress and followed him out of the room, stepping into the hallway, you nearly tripped when you saw your ex standing with his back to you. Seungsik grabbed your hand and smirked “You should mind the business that pays you.” Seungsik remarked to your ex as he pulled you along as he walked away with you in tow. You glanced back and caught ex’s expression, why is he sad, you thought but brushed it off immediately when you felt Seungsik’s eyes on you. You looked up at your better half and smiled, no one can drive you crazy like this man.

Setting across the table from you, Chan stared at you. He wasn’t talkative like his normal self, he was quiet and expressionless. You huffed and leaned back in your chair folding your arms. It wasn’t that serious, was it? It couldn’t be, I mean all you did was go up to the counter and order your iced coffee and his boba tea, how the hell were you supposed to know your ex worked here? All you did was give the man a fake smile as you shot him down when he asked you out.

“Chan,” you called his name with a sigh, “it’s not that serious.” he bit his lip and looked off for a second before looking back at you, “come on,” you whined a little and he looked off again, “we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, forget about him.”

Chan finally looked back at you, but something wasn’t right. You ignored that though, when he finally smiled at you, making you think he got over it. Ha, yeah right, homie had other plans. He could see your ex looking at you, your back was to the counter. So you didn’t know. He stood up and sat beside you, placing an arm around you, you smiled and kissed his cheek.

You both started talking about everything under the sun, but only you seemed to forget about your ex watching your every move from across the room. The drinks you ordered were ready and none other than your ex was bringing them over to you. Chan saw him and decided it would be the perfect time to whisper something dirty in your ear. He started snickering when you looked at him in shock and pushed him away playfully.

“One melon boba tea and vanilla iced coffee add cream and three sugars, with light ice.” Your ex called out your order without blinking.

You looked up at him and smiled a fake smile “Thanks,” Chan spoke for you both before looking back at you, “come on,” he started again, ignoring the man standing in front of you both, “you know you’d like it.” Chan whispered, his lips brushing your ear, making your face turn red, “I could lick it off.” He stated loud enough for your ex to hear

“Chan stop,” you giggled out a little when he wrapped his arms around your waist, “you play too much.”

“Who says I’m playing?” He quizzed looking dead at you. Your ex had finally dismissed himself because he couldn’t take watching you both flirt and because he knew Chan was playing dirty and it worked. But it wasn’t just Chan, you, yourself couldn’t look at anybody else but the person you're with. And right now, you were in a relationship with Chan, so you couldn’t help but to only look at him. Your ex knew that but he nonetheless still tried anyway and failed of course.

“Chan,” you looked at him with a small smile playing on your lips, you poked his dimpled cheek, “that’s sound like fun but not right now.”

You picked up your phone and started showing Chan a picture of a jacket you were planning on ordering offline. Meanwhile he had looked over his shoulder at your ex and smirked, waving at him as if he were making fun of him. The man frowned, he was getting angry, so he began walking forwards to your table.

Chan had looked back down at your phone, as if he didn’t just provoke your ex, “that’s cute babe,” Chan remarked, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m actually thinking about how good you’d look covered in chocolate syrup.”

You spit your drink out, some of it coming out of your nose, you coughed as Chan patted your back and handed you paper towels. Your ex was standing right behind you and he had frozen in place, he heard every word.

“Wow,” you choked out, “damn,” you tried to clear your throat, “you win, let’s go home.”

I mean sis, honestly, this man may like to talk but his head game was on point, A mutherfucking one. He knew that it, and he also knew that was what could drive you over the edge but he only gave it when he felt like teasing and torturing you. He enjoyed watching you squirm and beg more than fucking your brains out.

Chan started laughing under his breath as he glanced at your ex and then back to you, “I didn’t think that’d make you choke. Slow down baby.” He sounded so concerned as he helped wipe up the mess. He kissed you and apologized, watching as your ex made a final retreat back to the counter.

You stood up, “Chan,” you ordered, “get your ass up, we're going home. You started this, now finish it.” You were unknowingly loud enough for other people to hear, but you didn’t give a damn, who says no to something like that? Grabbing Chan’s hand, you started pulling him along, making him laugh even more. But he had other ideas, this man somehow ended up pulling you back to the table. He legit waited until no one was looking and snuck you into the bathroom. Where he licked and ate until he got his fill and you did everything in your power to hold back every moan almost failing. And best believe he made sure your ex could hear every last bit of it.

Sitting on the couch watching Sejun laughing it up with one of his friends, you shook your head a little at the sight. He was having hella fun at this party, you almost didn’t come. But just watching him being happy made you happy, you smiled and just as you did, your phone began ringing. You looked down at it, an unknown number, you disregarded it and looked back at Sejun, who was now walking towards you. He plopped down on the couch next to you and planted a kiss on your forehead.

“Having fun,” you questioned with your head tilted to the side a little.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he smiled back, he sighed a little and looked at his watch, checking the time, “ready to go home, cause I am.”

You nodded and he stood up, he reached his hand out towards you to help you up. Lacing your fingers with his, you both made your way to the door. Your phone began ringing, just as you both made it into the hallway.

Frowning as you looked at your phone, that same unknown number flashed across the screen. You stopped walking unknowingly and decided to answer it after whoever it was hung up and called again.

“Y/N, I’ve been trying to reach you, how have you been?” It was none other than your ex and he was drunk as fuck.

You stood there, your frown growing deeper, Sejun was now beside you looking very concerned, “What’s the matter?” He asked you searching your face.

You looked at him finally and shook your head, “nothing.” You hung up the phone and grabbed hold of Sejun’s arm and proceeded to head home.

Two weeks later……

“Stop,” you hollered out at Sejun laughing, “my stomach hurts. I quit, you win!”

He stopped a look of victory all over his face, his dimple showing. Which was the whole reason you both started wrestling in the first place. You stood up from the floor and he looked at you with curiosity. Smiling down at him, you poked his dimple again and took off running, knowing he was going to chase you.

No one was in the practice room, so you both were free to play around as you please. The other members had disappeared as soon as you arrived, but that was cool, more time to play like children.

You didn’t make it far before Sejun had grabbed you yet again, this time he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder. You cried out laughing, begging to be put down, he did, but after spinning you around and scaring you a little. He sat up down on top of the table next to your bag and grinned down at you.

“I’m glad you came,” he whispered out, smiling like a child, “I’ve been kinda down for the last two days.”

You cupped his face in your hands and made a pouty face, “I missed you too darling,” You stated, he went to kiss you, but your phone began to ring, cutting into the mood. Rolling your eyes, you blindly reached over and answered your phone “Hello.” You sighed.

“Y/N, it’s me,” it was your ex again, “I know I fucked up, but can I please have another chance.” He begged, “I promise, I’ll do better this time.”

Sejun heard every word and before you could hang up, he snatched your phone out of your hand “Who is this?” He questioned the man.

Your ex ignored the question and demanded you to be back on the phone. Sejun was getting angry and you could see it, so you went to jump off the table. But Sejun blocked you from moving, “Why are you calling my girlfriend,” Sejun frowned, “she’s not interested, if she was she’d be with you!”

“Jun-ah,” you called his name and tried to take your phone from him but he pushed your hands away, “please stop, hang up the phone.”

“Look dude, put her back on the phone,” your ex yelled out, when you had tried again to reach for the phone, you accidentally hit the speaker button, “I don’t give a damn who you are, I made her the way she is, she’s mine!”

Now it was your turn to get angry, “Hey,” you yelled out loud, your voice echoed across the room, “I don’t belong to anyone. You didn’t make anything you pompous asshole,” Sejun stared at you as you spoke, a deep frown on his face, “we dated two years ago, are you fucking kidding me!”

“Y/N,” your ex called your name twice, “please, listen to me, I’m sorry, I love yo-”

Sejun had hung up the phone and was now glaring at you as if he could bite your head off. You folded your arms and looked away, because you knew you needed to explain. After taking a deep breath, you pushed your hair back and looked back at him.

“So,” he started, “who the fuck was that?”

“My ex,” you answered with a huff, it was a long time ago,”

“Is he the one that called you that night at the party?” He questioned, now leaning towards you. Yes, sis, he was all up in your grill, leaving you no other choice than to answer him, he had you caged in between his arms, “why didn’t you tell me, I could’ve told him off then,” he paused for only a second, “has he been calling you since then?”

“Yes,” you sighed out, annoyed because your happy mood was now ruined, “I haven’t answered since that night,” you further explained, “I was planning on blocking him but I’ve been busy with work.”

“Why didn’t you tell me back then,” he asked, “is he the same one that caused you all that pain?”

Your face changed from annoyed to hurt at the simple thought of what your ex had done to you. You looked away but Sejun grabbed your chin, making you look at him. You took a deep breath, the tears you were holding back fell, as you looked him in the eyes. Sejun’s expression became soft, he took it upon himself to kiss your tears away.

“It’s okay,” he whispered between kisses, “I’m here with you now, I’ll never hurt you like he did.” He assured you, making you wrap your arms around him to bring him close. It was true, your ex hurt you in more ways than one, that man ripped you into complete shit. It took some time and just when you thought you were ready, you met Sejun. He made you feel whole and he loved you despite your flaws, why would you risk losing someone like him.

Unbeknownst to you, Sejun’s kisses had become more eager and you, my dear, were adding more heat to the fire. Shit, you couldn’t breathe, so you pulled away, you could feel Sejun’s bulge on your inner thigh, his face was buried in your neck “Not here,” you whispered softly, your hands had found their way under his shirt, “someone might see.”

He looked up, just as the lights in the practice room had gone off, “I think everyone’s gone home now,” He whispered back, running his hand through your hair, “but we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

You kissed his lips gently and pulled away, you low key wanted to feel him inside you but you didn’t want to get caught. Sejun grinned, his mischievous manners were showing up now. He pulled you closer until his bulge was right up against your clothed folds. He kissed you deeper and held you tightly against and he grinned into you, you took it upon yourself to break the kiss, hoping he wouldn’t stop because it felt so damn good.

“You play so mu-” your words caught in your throat when he grinded into you harder, “Sejun,” you moaned out his name, “just fuck me already.”

He smirked, “I’ll do more than just fuck you.” He promised as he freed himself and lifted up your skirt. He pushed your panties to the side and just as he kissed you, he put his full length into you, “let me fill you with my love,” with every word he spoke; he thrusted in and out gently, “and give you more, I’ll make love to you.”

Shit, he kissed you and fucked you deeper. You couldn’t breathe but your heart felt full, he was doing it how you liked, nothing could interrupt this moment. It felt too good, not even your phone ringing could make you stop. Sejun had left both your legs up, making you hold yourself up, your hand had brushed your phone, but you were too wrapped up in getting the best dick in your life to care. You had accidentally answered the phone, just as a moan escaped your lips. Your ex was on the line, he called your name but it fell on death ears. He was instead greeted by the sound of lust filled love and heavy breathing.

“I love you baby.” Sejun whispered out, he as nearing his end and so where you.

Looking in his eyes with parted lips you went to reply, but he had placed a hand around your neck and rammed into you deeply making you cream so hard, you cried out his name as your body shook, he followed shortly after, cumming deep into your folds. He held you close. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you, past or present.” He kissed your lips gently and you nodded, whispering back about how much you loved him. He glanced over at your phone and smirked when he saw that your ex was on the phone listening. He played it off and discreetly hung up the phone, knowing he didn’t have to worry about that asshole very again.

The room was quiet but the only sound that could be heard was your heavy breathing, while you sat on top of Hanse staring down at him. You both were tired but neither of you would fold, this was a fight for dominance and you were getting your ass handed to you.

Hanse was looking up at you with a smirk, he knew was winning. So, he was gonna take the time to provoke you until the very end. What was crazy was that it started because your ex thought it would be a good idea to show up to your apartment unannounced. And Hanse was the one to open the door, he looked scary to others but not to you. So when he came face to face with your ex, the man froze in place before asking where you were and if it was the right apartment.

You ended up coming to the door to see what was going on, yeah, sis, you were only wearing a shirt you stole from Hanse. That and the fact that you wrapped your arms around him from the back before looking over his shoulder to see who it was. You sighed, the smile on your face almost vanishing.

“Why on earth are you here,” you asked your ex coldly, “I thought I told you to get lost and never come back.”

Hanse looked at you then back at him, “You know him?” He questioned putting his hands in his pocket.

You looked off and ran your hands through your hair, “I used to know him,” you stated coldly, leaning on to Hanse to add emphasis to that you were happy.

“You moved on pretty fast.” Your ex remarked, sounding hurt, but what was he to expect. You broke up well over a year ago, or rather it was more like, you had an argument about him cheating and then ghosting you, not even bothering to actually cut it off. So you being the bad bitch you are, you shot him a text saying never to show his face around you again after a little over a month after he disappeared.

You met Hanse a few months after, you were in the middle of a rush at the cafe you work at, no manager was on duty and everyone else seemed clueless as to what to do. So you stepped up and started giving orders, making everything run smoothly. Hanse was sitting at a table alone, he was watching the entire thing go down. You could feel his sharp catlike eyes on you, so you glanced in his direction. You ended up locking eyes with him and he smirked, making you look away. Damn, he got you good, because you almost fucked up and gave someone the wrong order. After that moment you felt like he could see through you almost, but that’s what made him seem sexy to you. So you brought him his drink and asked him out at the same time.

A small laugh escaped Hanse’s lips as he looked back at your ex, before slamming the door in his face. Somehow, Hanse managed to drag you to your bedroom and strip you completely naked, I mean, you guys were already in the middle of something before your ex knocked on the door. This just added to pile of things that was making him want to fuck your lights out.

So, here you were in a heated battle with a man who was normally warm. He flipped you over in one swift motion and stared down at you, you couldn’t help but to look at his lip piercing, you thought it was so sexy. Especially when he smirked, shit, fuck it, you thought, I’m not gonna win this one, I quit, I fold.

It was as if he could read your mind, Hanse let out a small laugh and got closer to your face. You were basically breathing each other’s breathe, he was now taunting you by not kissing you so you could feel the coldness of his piercing.

“You don’t play far.” You remarked with a small frown.

“All of far in love and war.” was his response,he buried his face in your neck and nipped at your skin. You let out a breathy sigh, arching your back into him. You both were sweaty but honestly sis, who gives a damn. Hanse was enjoying how you squirmed around under him begging for him to fuck you even more.

But sis, just when you thought you’d get to ride the pounding you needed, someone thought it would be a wonderful idea to come home on time. Whom you may ask, none other than your roommate, and ole girl was loud as fuck for no reason today.

Hanse let you go and you huffed as you sat up, “This bitch has some superb timing.” You grumbled saracastly as you climbed out of bed and started putting on clothes.

Your roommate knocked on the door, “Y/N,” she called out, it sounded like she was crying “I need some company, I just caught my boyfriend cheating with my best friend.”

“Oh fuck.” You sighed as you watched Hanse finish getting dressed.

“We can finish this some other time,” he promised, kissing your forehead, “I’m far from finished.” He remarked as he grabbed and squeezed a helping handful of your ass. He let go and smacked it, liking how it jiggled, “I’ll see you later babe.” He whispered opening the door and walking out of your room.

You followed behind him, biting your lip, you liked jealous Hanse. He it made him dangerous and you licked it. Exiting your room behind him, you ran dead into your roommate, who by the smell was drunk. You knew how you’d spend your night, and it wasn’t how you wanted.

A month later………

“Why are you here?” You frowned at your ex. You were at work, doing your job as usual, it was almost time to get off. Thus, the day was going good until he showed up. The man was persistent and wouldn’t take no for an answer, but what you both didn’t know, was Hanse was there watching the whole thing play out.

Sis, your man had came in right behind your ex, he would’ve intervened. But he wanted to see how you would handle it, because I mean, you are a big girl, you take care of yourself, right?

“Please just hear me out,” your ex pleaded, good thing it was slow and he was the only one in line, “I was wrong and selfish and I’m sorry.”

You blinked at this man with a straight face, before replying. You folded your arms and took a deep breathe, “Look man,” you finally started, “get over it. You disappeared after I caught you cheating. I’m in a relationship,” you pointed your finger at him, “and don’t start talking about how you’ve changed. I accept your apology, but I’m not getting back with you. And ex is an example of what not to do again. So, do me a favor and get over it.”

He went to speak, but a hand on his shoulder caused him to stop and look. At some point, Hanse had made his way over, “how pathetic.” Hanse remarked with a small shake of his head, he looked over at you, “ready to go babe.”

The grim look you once had was replaced by a soft smile as you nodded “let me clock out, I didn’t know you were picking me up today.” Your tone was excited, he was just the person you wanted to see.

Now sis, when you took off to he back, Hanse took the opportunity to be very clear with your ex. He wasn’t about to spare any feelings.

“Look dude, she’s happy, why are you being a parasite and trying to fuck that up,” Hanse sighed and sized him up really quick, “I’ve been nice about it, especially when you showed up at her house, slamming the door was a small part of what I want to do to you,” He had placed a hand on the mans shoulder and spoke lowly into his ear, “I want to break your face in, for the shit you did to her. Right now I want to break your damned legs. You are a pathetic little piece of shit, you didn’t deserve her, she’s too good for you. If I see or hear about you bugging her again, you’ll have to deal with me,” Hanse stepped back when he saw you coming back, “do me that one favor while I’m being polite.”

Your ex was a mix between scared and angry, you walked up to Hanse who was smirking slightly at the man. Daring him to try it, whatever it was. But the man never moved. You on the other hand ignored your ex and grabbed Hanse’s hand, pulling him along because you were so ready to go.

Now, sis, let’s just say, you guys picked up where you left off. I mean, shit happened really fast when you got home, considering you guys stopped at a few places. But nonetheless, girl, you were right back in the same position, naked, sweaty and heated. But this time, neither of you held back. Getting fucked with those kinds of emotions does something to you. The pressure behind each thrust and thoughtless minds mixed with feelings of the heart, while getting dicked down made you climax in no time. But so what if you were going to be sore for a few days, no fucks were given.

The night was young, but the breeze was cold, which was okay with you. You were headed home anyway, sleep was calling your name in all capital letters. Sighing you rounded the corner that lead to your house, you froze when your eyes landed on your ex standing on your door step holding flowers.

What the fuck is he doing here, you thought. Like seriously, you haven’t seen the man in months. Last time you checked he said you were too boring and easy to read for him. The day you broke up played in your mind like a broken record.

It was sunny out, you woke up that day feeling good but something was off. He texted you and asked to meet up at a cafe, so you did. You dressed up and headed out. Sitting in the cafe, he stared at you with a cold expression, before telling you it was over and blaming you for not being exciting enough. Well shit, that stung like a bitch. You put your all into the relationship, you were together so long but what really hurt was he fact the he didn’t realize he didn’t put any effort into it. You almost cried, but you held back and stood up from the table, snatching the necklace he had bought you off and throwing it at him. You left without a word, I’m your mind you said fuck it and let it go.

So, why was he standing in front of your house, holding flowers. You sighed and walked up to him, your hands in your jacket pocket, you looked him up and down as he turned towards you. He smiled at you a held the flowers out for you to take, but you didn’t make a move to grab them.

“Y/N,” he started, “I’m sorry, I was wrong. It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I should’ve treated you better-.”

You sighed loudly, cutting him off, “Thanks,” you rolled your eyes, “but you're late, I moved on already. But even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t come back to you.”

He dropped the flowers, he face was a mix between sad and upset. He sighed about to say something when a very familiar laugh reached your ears. You looked behind you, ByungChan was walking towards you, his nose was red and his eyes were watering. He was still sick, but why on earth did he come out, when you just left his house after putting him to sleep, or you thought.

“Byung-ah,” you called his name worriedly, “why are you here, I thought I left you at home asleep.”

He coughed a little and threw an arm around you, “I couldn’t let you walk home alone,” he replied sounding as stop up as ever, “I followed you,” he sneezed and sniffled.

You pushed him off and glared at him, “Dude, seriously, you sneezed in my hair.”

He laughed at you and looked at your ex, “Who is this guy?” He asked ignoring your protest, he was still trying lean on you.

“You’re sick and you’re asking me about him,” you shoved him off one last time and reached into your purse pulling out a small pack of Kleenex. You grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled his face to your level so you could clean his nose.

“I’m sorry, babe, but some random dude is trying to give you flowers, I don’t like that.” ByungChan explained still standing eye level with you.

“Look Bunnie,” you called his pet name, and touched his forehead, “you’re still sick! Go home!” You yelled, he was about to become childish, you could feel it.

“You're right,” he smiled, “I’m sick, sick on your love.” He looked over at your ex and smirked before he sneezed again, “she is so loving isn’t she,” he kept laughing and teasing, “too bad you let her go.”

You sighed, you knew he was playing stupid and he was aiming to provoke your ex, it was working. You didn’t want to see a fight or an argument between the two men, so you decided to cut that shit short.

“Choi ByungChan,” you called his entire name, “just get in the house,” you started pushing him towards the front door, you glanced at your ex, “as you can see, I’m busy taking care of my sick boyfriend,” ByungChan was about to say something but he couldn’t because he started coughing, “goodbye and take care of yourself.”

You had managed to unlock the door and shove ByungChan in. You closed the door and looked at your beloved boyfriend about to start nagging, but froze in place when you saw his expression. His face was completely blank, something you only saw once, right before he lost his cool.

Huffing, you folded your arms and started talking again after swallowing, “Have you lost your mind,” you said, “you can become sicker if you go outside like that, it’s cold out,” you looked him over, “you didn’t even put on a jacket or proper shoes.”

“Has he come here before?” ByungChan asked, ignoring all your concerns for his health.

You huffed and looked off then back at him, “Forget about him, he’s not important!” You yelled

“He is if he comes to your house,” he yelled back, “what if he had tried something!”

“Are you hearing yourself,” you were getting angry, because he wasn’t taking his sickness seriously, “I don’t care about him, you're standing in front of me, your nose is running and your temp is high. I don’t give a fuck about that guy!”

“He came to your house unannounced, at night, he could’ve been drunk or something. He could’ve tried to kidnap you!”

You sighed, he wasn’t hearing you but you were hearing him, so you blurted out what the problem was. It had been going on for a while, he just wouldn’t say it, so you just blurted it out, “You keep thinking I’m going to leave you for someone else!”

He fell silent, you had the courage to say it out loud and that hurt. Adding that to the fact that he tried to hide it from you, but you knew anyway, he low key wondered when you figured it out. His mind as running but no words could come out.

“I figured it out a month and a half ago,” you explained, “when that guy asked for my number as if you weren’t standing there. I found out then.”

ByungChan dropped his head, he had been feeling so insecure since before then. He saw how the good the other men looked and he couldn’t help but compare. You took a step towards him and he took one back, you went to call his name but he shook his head and walked out of the door. He was holding back tears, and he did his best to not show them, but you saw them and went behind him, calling his name at the top of your lungs.

You ex was still lingering outside, he tried to stop and talk to you, but you shoved him off “Get the fuck out of my face!” You yelled, you noticed ByungChan stop to look back. You ex had kept grabbing you and you kept pushing his hand away, your were becoming frustrated. How could such a good day go down the drain all because this piece of shit showed up?

A firm hand pulled you completely away from your ex, followed by a fist flying straight at his faces. Shit, ByungChan had punched your ex in the nose. Blood was dripping, you were shocked as you watched your stumble while covering his leaking nose.

“Get lost, don’t show your face around here again,” ByungChan wasn’t like this, so you were very much shocked, “if I see you again, I’ll fucking rip your face off, how dare you touch her like that! Have you lost your mind!”

Surprisingly, your ex left after apologizing, ByungChan had turned back towards you, he looked you over and just as he was about to say something. He started coughing up a storm, bringing you back from the cloud you had landed on. This side of him was way too sexy for you at the moment, but you weren’t going to say it.

Instead, you started nagging him a little and ushered him back inside. Where you made him lay in your bed while you made some honey lemon tea. You freshened up quickly while the tea was brewing, listening to him sneeze and cough made you move faster. You quickly made the tea and brought it to him.

Walking into your bedroom, you could’ve sworn he was asleep, so you sat the cup down on the nightstand, beside the bed and sat down next to him. Placing a hand on your forehead and the other in his, you sighed. He was burning up, a hand on top of yours made you look at him. He didn’t say a word, but you knew what he was thinking. So you expressed yourself clearly, without yelling.

“I would never leave you for some other guy,” you started, he looked away from you and huffed, but you kept going, “I don’t know where you got that stupid idea, but forget it. It’s me and you together forever, reminder? Cause I do,” emotions started coming out with each word you spoke, “you picked up a random weed as a joke and gave it to me, to make me laugh,” you started listing the senseless sweet things he had done, “you wrote that I was pretty on a napkin you used. You always show up when I start feeling like shit about myself. You fucking idiot, you almost had a heart attack because I got bit by a misquote,” you were on the verge of tears now but you kept going, “we even played in the park because I was drunk and didn’t want to go home,” a tear fell and his heart dropped, the last thing he wanted was to hurt you.

He placed a hand on your cheek and sat up in bed, he hugged you. But you pushed him a little “You're sick and you’re worried about some loser taking me from you, ByungChan, you fucking idiot!” You were crying, but you had to get it off your chest now, it was the best to do it now, “why would I drop and my ace for a joker, I’m not stupid!”

“I’m sorryY/N,” he whispered, “I didn’t know you felt that way. I thought you would’ve liked someone who’s the opposite of me, I shouldn’t have thought that way.”

“My eyes are only on you, don’t forget that.” You mumbled looking up at him, “now your sick, you need to-,” your complaints were cut short by a gently kiss.

You went to pull away but he wasn’t having that, he pulled you closer and needless to say before you knew it, you were naked and he was on top of you. Fucking you deep and slow, you forgot about him being sick and so did he.

“That’s cheating,” you frowned at Subin pouting at the screen in front of you. He smirked and looked off as if he didn’t just blow air on your neck to distract you from winning, “you know what,” you suggested, “I bet I can beat you in basketball.” You challenged him with a smirk of your own.

He rolled his eyes, but you both stood up anyway and headed to the court outside of your apartment. The game was going good, you were kicking his butt, but he didn’t mind because he was having fun. The sound of loud laughter hit both of your ears causing you to stop and look up. A group of familiar faces was walking towards you, you sighed inwardly. It was your ex and his friends.

“Y/N,” your ex called your name, and stood in front of you , “it’s been a while, I see you’re still hopping and still with this kid. How cute.”

His tone got under your skin but you let it slide, “I see you’re still the same,” you replied, “all talk and no play.”

He went to say something, Subin cut him off, “I’m going to get something to drink, what would you like?” He wasn’t fazed by your ex because he knew you could handle it on your own, no need for him to back you up.

You looked at Subin and smiled at him adorably before answering, “Yes, babe, I’ll take a flavored water.” You always looked at Subin admiration, he was the only guy that could make you swoon. Something that pissed off your ex every time he saw you and him together, “I’ll just sit over there and wait for you to come back, my love.” You added swaying back and forth a little, still holding the ball.

You ex scoffed, but you ignored him until Subin walked away and he did it again, “What,” you sighed out, “can I help you with something?”

Your ex smirked, “let’s play, one on one.” He dared, “I bet I could beat you.”

Shaking your head, you watched Subin leave the court and head for the store, you were going to ignore your ex, but he said something that made you want to prove him wrong. Alas a game started between you and your ex, you were kicking his butt. Leaving him feeling saltier than his sweat.

You shot a three point and watched as the ball went into the net with no problem. Subin was coming back up, he had been gone for about twenty minutes, he wasn’t surprised to see you kicking your ex’s ass. He smiled to himself, you were so cute to him. His smile dropped when he saw your ex smack your ass right when you threw the ball up, the ball missed and you spun around and pushed your ex as hard as you could.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” You yelled in his face, “have you lost your mind!”

Your ex smirked, acting all cocky because his friends were in the background cheering him on, “It’s still as soft as I remember.” He stated with a smirk, “I can still take you from that kid, he’s a nobody.”

This was you broke up with him I’m the first place, he was so full of himself. He talked a lot of shit but couldn’t fuck for shit. He was good at sports but that was about it. He was a complete asshole, who did anything to make others feel small and you hated it. Your breaking point was when he was picking at some random guy for no reason, he poured water on the guy and acted as if it was an accident. You cursed him out that day and then told him it was over.

“You little bitch,” you started but your ex had forcefully kissed you, shoving his tongue in your mouth. You bit his lip just as you felt him being snatched off of you. Subin eyes were set in a straight line, he was pissed to say the least, your ex stared back at him in a daring manner.

“What are you gonna do, you little punk bitch?” He started antagonizing him, “your a weak little kid, she needs a grown man.”

“Dude-” Your words fell short when you saw Subin land a punch in your ex’s mouth.

“Don’t ever touch her again,” Subin was beyond angry, he had had enough of your ex’s shit for the day.

Your ex wanted to act like a tough guy and swung a punch at Subin, he landed it but Subin swung and landed yet another punch to his jaw. You started to try and break it up, but it was little too late for that. You thanked you stars that your ex’s friend weren’t trying to see a fight, they helped pull them apart.

Subin’s lip was bleeding but you ex was looking wrecked. Why, because he couldn’t fight for shit. You was so overly concerned about Subin lip, that you didn’t see how hurt your ex was. Not like you cared though, serves him right, he fucked up and he knew it. He lost a good woman all because of his cockiness.

“You’ve crossed the line,” Subin yelled trying to go at your ex again, “she’s my girl, how dare you put your disgusting lips on her, you have any idea how long it’s going to take to wipe that off.”

“Let’s go, Subin!” You yelled at him to get his attention. He looked down at you and grabbed your hand aggressively and angrily pulled you along with him. You mind was still on the fact that Subin was bleeding, even though it wasn’t much, just a little but that hurt your heart. No one wants to see someone they love hurt. You were brought back from your running thoughts when you heard your apartment door shut behind you.

Just as you looked up at Subin, he basically tossed you onto the couch, “Subi-,” you stopped talking when he took off his shirt and threw it to the side somewhere.

Your eyes widened when he got on top of you, caging you in. He somehow managed to snatch your shirt off in one motion, you clenched your legs together, but to no avail. Subin was already between your legs, no escape. He went for your sweet spot and you folded, but he was so rough and aggressive. Not that you’d complain. He placed hickies from your neck to your stomach, he then ripped your shorts off, well they were his but who gives a damn, they were gone along with your panties. The cold air was replaced by his hot lips on your folds, he’d never gone down on you before.

You were trying to protest, but he wasn’t having it. He pinned your legs wide open, this was new to you. So it was no surprise as to how your body would react, he ignored how your legs shook and trembled. Where did he learn this from, your hands were in his hair, pulling at the strands, trying to get him to stop, but your grip loosened when you felt yourself about to cream. He stopped and licked his way back to your neck, you opened your eyes and stared directly into his, just as you felt him enter you roughly with no warning. He started pounding into you, not giving anytime to breathe or think.

Again, you tried to stop him but he had you pinned wide open, “I let it slide one two many times,” he stated as he pounded into you deeper and harder, “I can’t believe he touched you,” he rammed into you balls and layed flush against your chest, Subin grabbed your jaw squeezing it. You opened your mouth and he spit in it before kissing you roughly.

Subin pulled away and slammed into you a few times, “This pussy is mines, say it.” He ordered, but you were too far gone to speak, he did it again, harshly pounding into you with no mercy, until you said it.

When you finally said it, he placed two fingers on your clit and rubbed it to the rhythm of each thrust. Until you creamed, your hips shot up and your legs shook, but Subin paid no mind as he continued, reaching his peak, he came. And as he did, his kissed you yet again roughly, covering up your whimpers and moans.

A little after Midnight……..

You lay there on your bed, still naked from earlier, Subin lay beside you, in the same condition, asleep, you assumed. You sat up and looked over at his sleeping form, wondering what had gotten into him. That was so unlike him, but you low key liked it.

Sighing, you climbed out of bed and grabbed your phone and left your apartment to get some air. You were sore down there, but you need the air to help clear your thoughts. You made it to a an empty bench and sat down, looking at the time on your phone, you decided to stay out for only thirty minutes and then head back in. The sound of footsteps coming towards you caused you to look up into none other than your ex’s face.

You sighed and rolled your eyes, so much for getting some air, you thought about to stand up. He stopped you holding out his hands, showing he meant no offense, “Y/N,” he started, “I’m sorry.” He apologized, taking you by surprise. He never apologized for anything. So this was very new to you.

Sighing yet again, you rolled your eyes, “I’m being serious,” he said, making you look up at him, he pointed to the empty spot beside you, “can I sit down, I promise I won’t try anything.”

You stared at him for a few seconds before nodding your head, your ex sat down at the other end of the bench before he started talking again, “I’m really sorry,” he began again, you picked up on how sincere he was by the time of his voice, “I shouldn’t have kissed you or touched you in that manner,” he took a deep breath before continuing, “I just couldn’t believe I lost you to someone else. I really do love you, I’m being shameless, but I have to be honest with you and myself,” at this point, neither of you saw Subin standing within listening distance.

He had woken up, wondering where you were, he came outside in hopes of finding you. He did, but before he made his presence known, he wanted to hear what you would say when he wasn’t around, he was beyond curious, despite the fact that he was deep down scared of how you’d reply.

“You were the best thing to happen to me,” your ex continued, “I fucked up bad. All because I wanted to look like a cool tough guy in front of you. I feel so stupid for treating you like I did, please forgive me,” he paused for a second before he continued, “I’m being self right now, but, please give me one more chance, I promise I’ll be different, I’ll treat you so much better.”

“Wow,” you started, “that’s real sweet,” Subins heart dropped a little at your first few words, “but, I can’t,” you said honestly, “I’m happy, I love Subin, he’s my world,” you sighed, swooning over him, “you messed up, that’s on you,” unknowingly Subin had started walking towards you, “But,” you continued, “I’m glad you saw your flaws, hopefully you fix them. I accept your apology and I hope you find happiness with some other girl who’d be happy to be with you, but it’s not me.”

Subin was now standing beside you, causing you to look up, you smiled unknowingly at him. Your eyes told your emotions, anybody could see that you were in love. Subin smiled back and reached his hand out to you and you grabbed it.

You went to stand up but faltered a little, Subin laughed a little and turned around “Come on,” he pointed to his back and you hoped on, like a happy child, “why didn’t you wake me?” He quizzed as he began walking, leaving your ex sitting there.

“Because,” you answered, laying your head on his back, “you were asleep, I just came out to get some air.”

“Ah, is that so,” he said with a smile of his own, “I was worried for nothing.”

“You worried, does that make any sense,” you playfully responded, “what is this world coming too to make you worry.”

He didn’t respond for a few seconds, he hoisted you up onto his back higher, you were sliding down, he laced his fingers together under your legs to make sure you wouldn’t fall, “Y/N,” he called your name sweetly, “I love you.”

You looked up grinning from ear to ear, “I love you too.” You responded. You could tell he was blushing, so you took that opportunity to blow your breathe on the back of his neck. He panicked and almost fell.

“Hey, be careful,” he scolded you, “what if I drop you.”

You giggled and did it again, this time placing a quick hiss on his cheek when he turned his head to scold you again. He put you down and turned towards you and you playfully ran off. You both ended up playing, despite your ex sitting there watching it all go down. He stood up and smiled accepting his loss but happy to see you smile so brightly. He left without a word.

#kpop boys #victon #victon seungwoo #victon sejun #victon subin #victon hanse #victon byungchan #victon seungsik #kpop smut #victon scenarios #victon reactions #lush #ot7 smut #ot7 #ot7 x you

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heavenlycloud · 1 year ago

Text

the veil~ ღཾཿ༉ ༘჻ღཾཿ჻

four: you think i’m cute ‧₊˚ ⋅ ༘☆*.ﾟ

warnings: swearing, crying

pairing: huh yunjin x aespa 5th member! fem reader

summary: to be in the same place at the same time looking for the same thing is one hell of a coincidence. you both hope to find one another and the mutual ties of friendship may guide your way. so close to finding one another, just hope you don’t fall short and miss the opportunity.

author notes: its been SO long since my last update because i was traveling, in classes, now working, AND my laptop FUCKING BROKE ON ME???? so i managed to throw this chapter together using my phone and a glitchy ass version of google docs. there’s probably spelling errors i didn’t catch so sorry in advance!

this chapter might seem messy and not cohesive with the way it starts and ends but it’s because this chapter did get extremely long so due to that + mobile only letting me post 10 photos at a time—i have to split the chapter into two which will be posted soon as the next update. tag list is still open for those of you all who want to be added in, just comment or drop an ask in my inbox! lastly, feedback, comments, reblogs, questions, literally anything but hateful speech is welcome and very much appreciated!

̟ ̇ ˖ಎ˚˖࿔ masterlist 𓂅୨⊹ ₊˚๑

you jolted awake when you heard the front door to your dorm slam shut followed by muffled sobs and hurried steps to the bathroom. sleep clouded your thoughts and you tried to figure out what was going on elsewhere in the dorm when you went to move your laptop off your bed. you glanced over and noticed you were alone on the video call, and your match was gone. at first you were disappointed and part of you had clung onto the delusion that she’d stay on the call until you woke up. however, that feeling of disappointment was replaced with full blown panic when you saw your camera was turned on when you were 99.99% sure you’d left it off. the only thing keeping you from completely losing your shit was despite the camera being on, your image was blurred by default of the app settings. but, that in no way guaranteed that your identity remained unknown. the screen blur worked when people were sitting a considerable distance from their camera, not a few inches away like you had when you fell asleep. even after you hung up, you racked your brain trying to think about what you could do until you heard a quiet knock at your door.

aeri slipped into your room with tearstained cheeks and swollen eyes as she stood in front of you like a lost puppy. her entire body trembled and her breathing became erratic while she looked down with unfocused eyes. you asked in a serious tone, “are you hurt?” aeri shook her head and you pulled back your blankets and made room for her beneath the covers. she slipped in beside you and you brushed back a piece of hair that fell into her face. the scent of her coconut-apricot shampoo and herbal body wash watered down the lingering odor of alcohol that clung onto her words. there was a small silence before aeri sniffled, “why do i feel like such shit? i thought i would be over all of this by now but i feel the fucking same.” you frowned and ran a hand over her hair before replying softly, “gigi, it’s only been four weeks. you were with him for two years, it’s gonna take time.” you debated on adding on more, but you knew she’d have to hear the truth eventually, “and i know you don’t want to hear it but….running off to other boys and getting white girl wasted isn’t helping much either you know?” she sighed into your shoulder and admitted, “yeah yeah i know but i don’t know what else to do.” you pulled away and looked aeri in the eyes, “you have all of us here, and you can reach back out to your therapist. remember that you have people around you that are here and want to help you when you need it okay?” she nodded slowly and rested her head back on your shoulder before humming, “i will, i promise this time. but right now, i just wanna sleep okay?” you smiled weakly and pressed a kiss to your member’s head, “of course.”

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✭・彡♡・✫.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

in the morning you found minjeong sitting alone in the kitchen poking at a bowl of fruit she’d cut up earlier that morning. she looked up and made eye contact with you before looking back down silently. you knew the reason for her being upset so you didn’t bother asking because it’d really only rub salt into the wound. instead, you tried to lighten the mood with another question, “are you excited for the Gucci Cruise Show tonight?” minjeong cracked a smile and responded, “elizabeth olsen is coming and IU sunbaenim! i’m gonna try to get pictures with them if i can.” you gave her a look and she scoffed, “i’m serious this time, i’m not gonna just stare at them from afar. ningning and aeri unnie are rubbing off their extrovert energy on me, i can feel it already.” you shook your head and laughed, “so i’m not going to get a call from you 10 minutes into the after party begging for me to bullshit up an excuse to our manager so you can leave?” minjeong’s face dropped and she glared at you, “shut up.” you threw your head back with laughter and she changed the subject, “how was your date last night? has she talked to you since then?” she saw how you suddenly stiffened at the mention of your match and awaited your reply nervously, “i think she knows who i am.”

aeri walked into the kitchen and sleepily rubbed her eyes, “who knows who you are?” she moved to sit on your lap but shot up when minjeong answered, “her match.” aeri already had her phone out with ningning on FaceTime so you could explain to them both: “i was watching the movies with her last night and it got super late and i guess i dozed off at some point. when i fell asleep my camera was off but when i woke up it was on. the screen blur was on but i was super close to the camera so like i don’t know if she could tell it was me…and i’m starting to think she knows because she hasn’t texted me at all this morning and usually she’s up now.”

ningning tried to offer a consolation, “well your hair isn’t a vibrant color right now and your lights were off so if she saw anything it probably wasn’t much.” aeri chimed in, “yeah and she might have had an early practice this morning and hasn’t had a chance to text you.” minjeong nodded in agreement and told you, “they’re right. it’s probably nothing to worry about.” you sank back into your chair again and picked at your cuticles as you let your mind wander to a world of negative ‘what ifs’. ningning snapped her fingers in front of your face and placed her hand over yours, “hey! stop that. everything is going to be fine so stop letting yourself worry about this girl. instead think about how you might see her tonight at the party.”

minjeong perked up and asked, “what party?” jimin emerged from the hallway while she answered, “it’s choi jisu’s birthday party. every year she has this massive celebration for her birthday.” aeri clapped her hands in excitement and continued, “there’s always a cool theme to go with it. last year it was Starry Night and she hosted it in a literal planetarium! this year’s theme is Masquerade Ball. it’s admission by invitation only and this year we’ve been invited AND management is actually letting us go!” the younger singer furrowed her brows and asked, “for an event so exclusive why is she inviting us when we’ve only met her in passing?” ningning chimed in, “when y/n and i were trainees jisu was also training here with us.” you pointed to her then added, “yeah jisu and i were close back then. it was only a few months because she left SM and we lost touch after that…but like i said we were close.” minjeong stared at you suspiciously and asked, “how close?” aeri snorted and slapped ningning’s arm as the two doubled over laughing. you whined, “not like THAT WINNIE OH MY GOD?!” the latter shrugged and plainly said, “hey i never know…people get around.” her gaze fell to jimin for a millisecond then to the floor as if she never said anything. ningning coughed awkwardly then blurted out, “okay well i uh…i have a thing.” the rest of you all scattered as well to go about your mornings before you had to start getting ready for the big night.

all you wanted to do this morning and afternoon was focus on the upcoming party, but you had to practice. you dragged your feet against the floor of the company building hallways until you reached your destination. music was already playing in the practice room when you opened the door and a blonde woman called out to you, “you’re late.” you turned to check the time on the wall clock just to see it’d been unplugged. instead you made a move to check your phone but the woman swiped it out of your hand before you got the chance to look at it. she playfully mocked the sassy retort you always gave her, “by two minutes.” when you scoffed in feign offense she reminded you, “which still means you’re late. get warmed up, i have to make a few calls.” the older woman walked out of the studio and you did as you were told, starting with some stretches to warm up your muscles.

four hours passed and it was just around lunchtime when you finished the main part of practice. you spun in a circle before falling to the floor in a dramatic dip earning a laugh from your mentor. she stared at you from above and shook her head in amusement before holding her hand out to help you up. when you held out a finger for her to give you a moment, she instead joined you on the floor. your chest slowly stopped heaving but the burning ache in your abdominal muscles remained. you rolled onto your stomach and let your face rest on your forearms with your eyes closed. the older woman patted your behind and praised you warmly, “you did really well today. i can see you’ve been working hard.” for a few moments you both sat in silence as she let you catch your breath before moving to stand up. you followed behind her and hesitated before asking, “wait- hyoyeon unnie….can i ask you something?” your mentor turned around and answered, “what’s wrong, babydoll?” the old nickname she gave you years ago slipped off her lips effortlessly bringing you a sense of security that washed away your nerves.

you tugged at the fabric of your pants and a smile grew on hyoyeon’s face, she loved when you got shy and embarrassed over things because it meant she could tease you about it later. slowly you asked, “can you teach me how to dance? you know how they do in the princess movies? like ballroom dance?” the older woman put her bag back down and clarified, “a waltz?” when you nodded eagerly and excitedly followed her back to the center of the room she laughed. she showed you the moves and explained them simply as you started to get the hang of it within a few short minutes. when she added music to it she started asking more questions, “why do you suddenly need to know this?” you followed her lead and answered as you both moved, “there’s a party tonight and the theme is Masquerade Ball…i just wanna know in case.” hyoyeon could see the way you were trying to hide your smile as you clearly pictured she was someone else. your mentor then prompted, “so it’s not in case you happen to dance with a certain someone?” you shook your head in refusal but she could see right through your lies, yet she didn’t question you. you told her about your outfit for the evening and how your members, minus minjeong, we’re going together as well.

when you both finished dancing to the song, she picked up your phone and handed it back to you. hyoyeon pulled you into a hug, “good work today, babydoll. have fun this evening and take pictures, okay.” you nodded and headed down opposite directions of the hallways as she tacked on, “good luck with your dance, im sure you’ll charm your princess.” you whipped around just to see her smiling at you as she shot a wink over her shoulder. she pointed to her phone then walked around the corner leaving you stunned to a silence. you realized what she meant and checked your lock screen which had numerous notifications that read: Lyra 🪐

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✭・彡♡・✫.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

“god- soobin wait! shit fuck- i can’t breathe take it out! somi save me!” yunjin rasped out as her best friend squeezed the last breath out of her lungs while tying up the back of her gown. he let the ribbons go and threw his hands in the air, “somi you’re up. my hands are cramping from the last four times i did it..” somi huffed, “you’re being dramatic. jen come here.” she walked over to her and took a deep breath before yanking the ribbons to the back of the ball gown and tying it tightly. she patted yunjin on the shoulder, “see not so bad right?” yunjin coughed dramatically and winced, “i think you broke one of my ribs…” somi beamed “then i did it right. come on the car is downstairs.” kazuha, chaeyoung, and chloe were already waiting in another room for the other three and the six made their way down to the garage.

chloe gathered more handfuls of her dress’ lilac tulle topped with lavender and silver flowers as she walked and tried not to stumble over her own feet. she asked while looking around for somi’s car, “somi, remind me again how you expect to fit all of us in your car?” the blonde simply pointed to two black Cadillac Escalade trucks, “i got drivers.” the five friends looked at each other with shared glances before remembering this was their best friend they were talking about. chaeyoung helped kazuha into the truck first, picking up her forest green dress so not to ruin it. chloe followed behind her then chaeyoung filled in last, adjusting her navy blue blazer that was lined with silver hearts around the cuffs and trim. from the front seat, keeho turned around, “we waited down here for like an hour.” the girls rolled their eyes and ignored him, insisting that the music be turned up louder instead. meanwhile, soobin was busy helping somi and yunjin into the truck. yunjin went in first and somi followed in suit. her bubblegum pink gown took up a seat and a half, some of the tulle spilling onto beomhan’s lap when he sat behind her. soobin sat in the passengers seat before letting the driver know that everyone was here and they were ready to go.

“who did you invite tonight?” yunjin asked as she watched cars go by in the other street lanes. somi, who was in charge of jisu’s guest list, replied easily, “everyone in jisu’s address book…more or less.” yunjin asked in a more serious tone, “hold on, you didn’t invite jimin did you?” somi looked confused as she slowly answered, “yeah, why?” everyone in the car collectively started speaking over one another causing somi to raise her voice, “STOP YELLING AT ME AND TELL ME WHATS GOING ON!” beomhan lowered his voice as he told her, “she has a thing with ryujin while ryujin also has a thing with jisu. and before you ask yes jisu also has a thing with yeji. i don’t even know what it is honestly. the whole dynamic is a little weird she said. but apparently yeji and jisu are cool and they have their own little…thing. jisu also has a thing with ryujin too though and yeji knows obviously they like live together. but jisu says that she doesn’t really care who else ryujin wants to be with because they aren’t an exclusive thing, right. but then when someone tries to talk to jisu, ryujin gets all territorial, even when it’s yeji sometimes. she said ryujin will act like she’s only hers and her feelings get all hurt when jisu reminds her that they aren’t really a thing. and then in the same breath ryujin turns around with karina and acts like she didn’t even want jisu to begin with. i dunno it’s all just messy.”

yunjin frowned and asked curiously, “i thought karina had a thing with chaewon?” somi added on with a confused look too, “i thought she was messing around with winter?” beomhan pursed his lips as he explained further, “technically you’re both right. karina just has girls she messes with but nothing exclusive. ever since she and ryujin broke up a few months back she’s just been friends with benefits with a couple different people…including ryujin. i’m pretty sure all of them know they’re not the only ones she’s seeing.” soobin offered from the front seat, “well ryujin won’t be there tonight. she has that Gucci event. so even if karina does show up, ryujin wont be around to entertain her.” yunjin added with a shrug, “neither will chaewon.” the rest of the car ride everyone noticed yunjin in her own little world, completely ignoring when taylor swift came on the shuffle.

somi waved her hand in front of yunjin’s face, “jen? hellooooo???” the american singer then snapped out of her trance, “what? my bad what happened?” soobin pointed to the radio and said, “you didn’t sing to the past three taylor songs. are you okay? what are you thinking about?” she tried to play it off but even with the mask over her face it couldn’t hide the smile that pulled at her lips. beomhan glanced at her phone and noticed her Veil app open then he giggled, “she’s talking to her match.” the rest of her friends cooed and teased her before getting her to admit, “jasmine said she’ll be at the party.” somi gasped then questioned, “do you know what she’s wearing?” yunjin shook her head, “nope. she barely even told me she was coming.” soobin asked just as the car pulled into the lot, “do you know if she’s here yet?” yunjin once again refused, “nope.” all of them adjusted their masks over their eyes and secured the ribbons on the backs of their heads before heading into the building to find the massive ballroom. while the ballroom was on everyone else’s mind, all that was on yunjin’s was finding you.

⚠️‼️extra tweets and messages (important) ‼️⚠️

♡‧₊˚˘͈ᵕ˘͈‎ 彡♡ ༘*.ﾟ .·:¨༺ ʚ♡ɞ༻¨*:·.﹢࿐ ☆

authors notes: since i’m posting on mobile (my laptop is still being repaired) i can’t post all the messages and tweets id usually do for a chapter. that being said i can’t post the FULL chapter until i get my laptop back. HOWEVER i think it’ll be ready for pickup tomorrow. but cuz i’m working and i have a hectic week ahead i don’t wanna deprive you all of what i do have ready. and idk if i’ll be able to post again tomorrow even tho i’ll have my laptop back ☹️ so just know something big is coming and it is ready to be posted, i just need to get back on desktop! thank you all for being so patient and understanding i know i’ve been breaking promises with my updating schedule since may 😭 but thank you for sticking with me!

#kpop fanfic #girl group imagines #girl group scenarios #kpop imagines #girl group fluff #kpop reactions #kpop scenarios #girl group reactions #the veil au

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ktownshizzle · 10 days ago

Note

Alright, K, here I am, sliding back into your inbox after you made me cry so hard that my room is basically a saltwater aquarium now. Seriously, I’m flooded in tears.

So, tell me, were you just sitting there waiting for me to tell you how much I love this? Were you? Huh? Because I’m sure you knew it was coming.

But honestly, after reading this, my soul just kinda... left my body. It’s out there, wandering in the dark, because this hurt that much. Let’s start with the beginning, shall we?

First of all, can we talk about how AMAZING best friend Namjoon was? I mean, he was the literal definition of best friend goals. He did everything he could to help the OC. The way he shielded her from everyone and didn’t hide anything from her? Ugh, perfect. Just perfect. He was the friend we all wish we had.

And then there’s OC. My poor girl, my heart really goes out to her. She was hurt and confused, and who wouldn't be? A years-long relationship ending with someone saying, "I don’t want a family"? Nah, that would mess anyone up. And the fact that she already had childhood abandonment issues? Oof. That hit me right in the feels.

But what I really loved was how she worked on herself first. Like, I’m sitting here just cheering her on, because that’s exactly what you should do. You need to figure out you before trying to figure out the mess that is the relationship. And Yoongi... oh, Yoongi. The way you wrote him—his own confusion and pain, still thinking about Haneul, still being the caring dad? Beautiful. I get why he didn't just swoop in and declare, "I want you!" He was torn, trying to think about everyone, not just himself. And honestly, I don’t blame him one bit. Also, I swear that capybara mascot was him. I’m sticking to that theory.

And even with all his emotions being a mess, Yoongi still tried. He thought about OC, he reached out, and even though it didn't fix anything, he tried. And that's what matters. Effort, K. Effort.

Now, let’s talk about that rain scene. That kiss. You’re going to kill me one day, I swear. The words, the lines, the way you described it... I can’t even. It was beautiful. It hurts how good it was. I loved it. AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

And then, just when you thought you’d completely shattered my heart, you hit me with that tiny ray of sunshine when she says she wants to talk. Like, seriously? The audacity! I was screaming, crying, dying. The END. I can’t.

Long story short: I loved it. All of it. Thank you for the tag, you’re the absolute best. Keep writing and breaking me like this, and I swear, I’ll end up flying to you just to smack a kiss on your lips. Love youuuuuuu.

I love youuuuu, Jae! 💕🫶🏼 I need to print and frame your asks, because they’re just the affirmations I need to live life.

YOU JUST GET ITTT. The way you’re breaking down my character motivations like you have access to my pea-sized brain. I can’t. You are amazing.

Yasssssss someone who loves the rain scene. I hug you. That was so special to me because rain scenes are like iconiccc movie and kdrama moments, so I needed to give it justice if I’m gonna ride that cliche.

I wish I had a bestie like Namjoon. Ngl i might fall in love with him in a real world scenario. 😅 He just knows what MC needs.

Yall already know whose peachy ass is sweatin’ inside the capybara costume tho

Thank you, my lovely ray of sunshine 😘 I hope you have a fabulous weekend ahead!

#lovely: kookiewithluv

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unhetalia · 2 months ago

Note

I’m the anon who was ranting about Americas body issues. Hi! Thank you for the go ahead, and sorry that I’m about to use your inbox as my own personal mcdonalds play place for my thoughts! Again content warning for food issue things.

I’ve never done this before actually. I have a 12 page note in my notes app that’s just various ideas, concepts, and headcanons about god knows what. It’s like, a serious problem. Unfortunately I think a lot, and then I write a lot, and that writing is utterly disorganized and lengthy so I figure this is the easiest way to go about this? Blah blah blah whatever basically I’m going to be rewriting my hcs to be more coherent and I’m just gonna… slowly introduce my related thought clumps in their own little asks. Like an endangered fish to a pond. I figure I’ll get some of the facts and things that influenced my opinion about this out of the way first

You wouldn’t know it by looking at modern stats. When people think of the US and weight concerns, obesity is the first thing that comes to mind for most. This is, in the grand scheme of its history, a pretty recent phenomena for the United States. The truth of the matter is the United States has a long history of starvation. Famines happened frequently, from the second settlers made their homes in the 1600s to the beginnings of the 1900s. America was brutal during the industrial rev, and expansion never seemed to cease. Food safety didn’t exist as a federal right to the people until the 1900s. Often you’d find that the food you could get your hands on wasn’t necessarily food you’d want to eat. And of course, constant rationing. An estimated 223 years at war. An actively growing population with not enough decent food to go around. It paints an ugly picture. Because, yeah, it’s ugly. The US is a country built on food insecurity. All this to say, America has been hungry for a very, very long time.

Hello! Once again, I have to apologise for the late reply. Work and also my desire to really give this ask some attention!

I'm with you on having a million headcanons. That's actually how this blog was born! Hetalia just breeds headcanons. I look at a lamp and my brain goes 'I bet Matthew doesn't own any lamps. He doesn't believe in lamp owning. The house comes with lights, there's no need for additional lights'.

I did a little bit of research on hunger in America and found that 1 in 7 households experience food insecurity in the U.S. - which is around 47 million people. In a shocking turn of events, this still has the U.S. as the 13th most 'food secure' nation in the world. I need a lot more time to look up anything historically, but am really interested in your sources and also how America's relationship with food insecurity in the past impacts Alfred in the now.

(I really wanted to talk about fatphobia as well but I didn't want to derail you, so I'll put that in a separate post.)

#reply.

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artemismoorea03 · 2 years ago

Text

Building Trust (Chirp AU)

MY TURN TO TALK HI GUUUUYYSSS aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HOLY SHIT MY INBOX HAS BEEN EXPLODING LATELTY W H A T . HOW DID WHATAMSDREP IJTRYTHMKL,JHGFDS ONE IM SUPER HONORED TO BE WORKING WITH ARTEMIS ON THIS FIC MAN I JUST. . .. . Y E AH THIER SO COOL EVERYONE.

TWO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE COMMENTS AND KUDOS AND STUFF. IF YOU LIKE THISS STUFF YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT OUR SOLO FIC SERIES TANGLED STAR AND THE MONKIES DESERVE BETTER .

Anyways thank you guys so much for all the love we both really appreciate it and love reading ur comments. Im sitting here at 2am writing this and i already know by the time i wake up yall are gonna be crowding up my inbox.

Again thank you all so much for the appreciation. Cant wait to share all artemis and i have planned :D Grabs Macaque and fucking squishes him WHO WANTS BLORBO CONTENT?!?!??!

Anyways lmao enjoy the chapter !!!

MK wasn’t sure what had happened that day with Macaque and Wukong but what he did know was that it was only the beginning of a lot of changes. Both personally and in his day-to-day life. For starters, he began to chirp at everything almost instinctively.

Stub his toe? Chirp.

Drop something on his foot? Chirp.

Get frustrated or overwhelmed? Chirp.

It got so frequent and often that the other people in his life even began to take notice and question it. Pigsy asked about it and was quick to understand that it was another ‘monkey thing’. Tang thought it was a new type of stim that he was adjusting too and said, ‘it probably feels nice and calming to let out all those frustrations and anxieties so you might be chirping more and more as a buildup of stress’ which made MK feel a bit better about chirping as much, but he still worried about the effect it could have on Macaque and Wukong if they were around.

Speaking of which, both of them were beginning to make appearances around the restaurant more and more since that day. Macaque was quick to check in on him first thing in the morning before MK even properly left his apartment, his shadow figure was standing in the hall of the restaurant. He never stepped out of his shadow, only asking if he was alright, how he was feeling, and checking to make sure his head wasn’t giving him any issues. Macaque would then vanish just as quickly as he showed up just for Wukong to show up a short time later asking the same questions.

Though Wukong had the added question of “ Any sign of that rat Macaque? ”

Something MK quickly decided to lie to his mentor about. He didn’t know what happened that day but did know that he hadn’t really seen his mentor looking that vicious before. He didn’t know if Wukong could tell he was lying but if he did notice he never pointed it out.

This continued for about a week, getting visits from Macaque and Wukong every other day, though there was once where Macaque visited twice in a row just so he and Wukong started visiting on different days to avoid seeing one another. But each time something similar began to happen until a new pattern formed.

Macaque would stay in the shadows (more so under MK’s bed once he invited the demon into his apartment) and talked to him from under there while avoiding too much light as he talked to MK or just listened to MK ramble. He also occasionally slipped pieces of paper out of the bed that were recipes, notes and even a cut out ad from a magazine.

“What’s this for?” MK asked, looking at the ad. “ Hair-and-fur shampoo? That’s a thing?”

“Yep. It’s how Wukong keeps his hair all ‘ fabulous ’ or whatever.” He said sarcastically. “If the chirping has any implications of anything, bud, you might be changing. I’m not sure how or why, but if you are starting to change I’d look into getting some of that. Normal fur shampoo will destroy your hair and hair shampoo will make your fur sticky.”

“Oh, okay thanks… but what do you mean ‘changing’?”

“Well, think about it. Chirps are the first sounds a cub knows how to make when they’re born. Could be signs that you’re turning into a monkey. Though we probably can’t be sure until you start to chatter… or sprout a tail.” Macaque said, his glowing eyes looking towards the door. “Your dragon friend is here. Cya, bud.”

Then, like that, Macaque slipped out of sight as Mei walked into the room.

“Hey, monkey man~! Are you ready to dance until your feet fall off?!” She said, then looked at MK. “Why are you sitting on the floor?”

“Huh? Oh! I dropped this.” He said, holding up the paper, “Then I sat down and started reading it.”

“What is it?” Mei walked over, looking down at it with a smirk. “ Hair-and-fur Shampoo ? Maybe you should buy some of that for Macaque. Who knows the last time he bathed.” She teased.

“Mei.” MK sighed, “You sound like Wukong.” He got up, putting the paper onto his bedside table.

“Hey, let’s keep the insults to a minimum now.” She said with a huff, “But seriously, what’s with that?”

“Uh… just started thinking, I guess. Since I started chirping I might be changing, so might as well be prepared.”

“Changing? Like what? Monkey puberty?”

MK shrugged, “Something like that. Now, let’s go before the arcade gets too crowded. I don’t want to stand in line forever.”

“Oh! Right! Leggo~” She said, taking his hand and pulling him out of the apartment.

The next day Wukong showed up in the restaurant itself.

“It always smells so good in here~” He said, sniffing the air as he sat at the stool.

“You sure have been showing up here a lot lately.” Pigsy commented, “Not that I don’t mind the business, I mean at least you pay.” He said, shooting a glare at Tang who seemed offended while MK chuckled. “Something going on?”

“Nah, just making sure Macaque keeps his grubby little hands off of you guys. I don’t know what he’s up to lately but if I show up here enough he’ll eventually get tired or face me himself. Either way, MK will be safer if I show myself sometimes.”

MK frowned, tightening his grip on the broom as he began to sweep again.

“I thought Macaque changed? Plus, he didn’t do any serious damage to MK, so… why are you out for blood, Monkey King?” Tang pointed out and Wukong frowned, then sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Macaque has ‘changed’ before.” Wukong said, quietly thanking Pigsy for the noodles and fruit dumplings in front of him. “I don’t want to think that this was like any of the other ‘changes’ but I can’t risk it, plus Macaque being near people - for any reason - is dangerous. For everybody involved.”

“You keep saying that, but what does that even mean?” MK asked, throwing his broom to the ground before he could even process that he was getting mad enough for this. “You say he’s ‘dangerous’ you say ‘he can’t be trusted’ but he saved me from you ! That’s enough for me! He saved me, helped me save you, and yes he did some bad things but he’s not a bad guy!”

Wukong tensed, looking back at him before he sighed. “Listen, bud. There’s a lot about Macaque that you don’t know-”

“THEN TELL ME!” MK said, stomping his foot with rage as the ground trembled slightly. “I don’t know anything about Macaque but I also don’t know anything about you! All I know about you, I read but I… I don’t know you Wukong.” He said, trembling as his eyes burned with frustrated tears. “I don’t know anything other than you picked an everyday, average, boring noodle delivery boy to be your successor…”

“Kid…” Pigsy began, walking around the counter. “Take a breath, you’re going to make yourself sick if you keep working yourself up.” He gently put his hand on MK’s shoulder.

“MK has a point.” Tang hummed, scratching his chin like an older gentleman would rub a beard. “All we know about the Six-Eared Macaque is some of his abilities, the Shadow Play stunt he pulled, and the way he helped us. But on a research standpoint, the Journey to The West only tells us that Macaque is one of four Celestial Primates and that he tried to use your appearance to seek out immortality. We also know that you killed him with your staff before reuniting your group and continuing your journey. Other than that one instance we have no idea what Macaque has done, and weighing the ‘good’ and ‘bads’ of the situation he’s helped more than harmed.”

Wukong popped a dumpling into his mouth, his tail swishing in a way that almost implied frustration like a cat read to pounce. “Well, there’s more to it than that. A lot more. But, no matter what that filthy monkey’s done… I have a promise to keep to him.”

“A promise?” Pigsy said as MK rubbed tears out of his eyes.

Wukong nodded, “Yeah, a promise. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you about why he’s dangerous but I promised Macaque that I wouldn’t mention it to anybody… though that was a long time ago. Before I killed him…” He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, “But for respect to the Macaque of the past I’m going to keep my mouth shut. Sorry, bud…”

MK shook his head, “Whatever… I’m going on my break.” He said, his voice wavering as he walked out of the building.

MK stomped down the street, trying to calm his heart which was pounding so hard in his chest he felt dizzy. The world was so loud when he was this upset, it was like everybody in Megapolis had microphones and big speakers attached to their backs and were all screaming at the same time. It was loud, crowded, and overwhelming.

His hands found their way to his hair, pulling at the strands as he tried to distract himself from how busy his mind was becoming with each step.

‘ He promised Macaque not to say, that means he’s doing it for Macaque, but it’s also hurting Macaque! Shouldn’t a promise not count if the person you made that promise to is suffering?! ’ He thought, tugging his hair again. ‘ Macaque needs people too, and you keep chasing everybody away from him all for a promise? Unless that promise was to make sure he was alone forever I don’t think he should keep it, and even if it was… shouldn’t the ‘respect for the past Macaque’ carry on now? If the past Macaque is hurting like the Macaque in the present then we should help him. ’

Mk took a sharp breath in, the afternoon air filling his lungs and attempting to calm him. Yet that incessant pounding in his chest wouldn't cease.The pounding was beginning to hurt, his breathing was unsteady and his eyes blurred with tears threatening to fall. It was all so frustrating. Every time Wukong did this it was like…no matter how much they go through, how close they get Wukong just won't talk to him. First the Lady Bone Demon, then the Samadhi fire, and now this! Mk let their breath out and ungripped his hands. Letting go of his hair and letting his arms fall to his sides.

He tried to steady his breathing but it wouldn't work with him, the frustration and anger grew within him with every new thought crossing his mind. He wishes he was strong enough to face Monkey King and get him to tell him everything, with no lies or excuses. The complete and utter truth, yet that seems too hard for Monkey king to do.

Mk’s walk is blinded by his thoughts and the tears that drip onto the concrete. He doesn't really know where he’s going and he doesn't care much. He just keeps walking while his frustrated mind and pounding heart guide him through the city. When he finally stops it's because he can't walk anymore. His legs have become sore and his frustrations have become too much for him. He needs to sit down.

Mk raises his head to look for a seat and something calms in his when he notices Macaques dojo not too far from him. He doesn't know how he made it all the way here yet he doesn't seem to care. His legs move on their own, walking towards the dojo with every step becoming quicker by the second till he’s full-on sprinting towards the dojo. When he gets there he throws open the door and finds Macaque in the main training room.

He’s panting while standing in a fighting stance, he’s not wearing a shirt so he must have been solo training. Mk knows he doesn't look good or okay, he wishes the thoughts weren't so deafening so maybe he could have thought to wipe away the tears and snot. Breathe the red out of his cheeks and nose. Then walk into the dojo with his usual big bright smile so Macaque didn't have to deal with this. With him.

Mk doesn't realize he chokes on his breathing, little sobs that escape him as he tries to breathe normally again. So he definitely doesn't notice the sad chirp he makes and what it does to Macaque the moment he hears it.

He doesn't have to know anything wrong, he shouldn't have to burden himself with his issues, it's not his problem, Mk’s just too sensitive for his own good and gets too upset over every little thing. It's really pathetic and stupid an-.

Arms wrap around Mk and pull him into a warm embrace, Mk is quick to throw his arms around Macaque and sob into dark fur. Between sobs, sad chirps continue to escape his lips. He lets Macaque pick him up and carry him somewhere. He doesn't know exactly where since dark fur covers his eyes as he continues to cry out his overwhelming frustrations. He’s suddenly set down in the middle of something familiar and soft. Mk opens his eyes and recognizes the familiar blankets and pillows beneath him.

It's the nest he and Macaque made the first time Mk had started chirping. He had kept it here? Mk’s hiccups and sobs crawled up his throat again as he was suddenly left alone without him ever noticing. He looks around the dim room for Macaque but doesn't see him anywhere, not in the room, not in the shadows. He’s nowhere to be found. What, did he just dump him in here to cry so he didn't bother Macaque with his annoying crying. He should have known, he should have known not to come and just cried it out on his own like he normally does. Instead of burdening other people with his issues. He should have known that he wouldn't get the comfort he sought for most.

He chirped again, this one louder than any he’s ever done before, then he sobbed and after another chirp. This repeating pattern of sobs and chirps as he curled up and hid his face into his knees is what causes something to drop outside. He grips onto his hair again, hands desperate to do anything while he sobs.

Suddenly something breaks closer to him and then hits the wall, before Mk can register what exactly that sound was he’s being pulled into those same warm warms and soft frantic apologies.

“I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry.” Something else warm and fluffy wrapped over Mk’s back and then around Macaque.

“Im wasn't gonna be gone for long. I'm sorry, see I grabbed a blanket for you. I'm sorry.” Macaque wrapped an arm around Mk’s back rubbing gentle circles and his other hand combed Mk’s hair.

“Shhh, it's okay, let it out, let it all out.”

Mk grabbed onto Macaque as if his life depended on it, letting out frustrations even he didn't think he was still holding.

First Wukong not talking to him, avoiding the subject like he always did, leading to the Lady Bone Demon disaster, his best friend almost burning alive within the samadhi fire, Wukong getting possessed. Anything and everything going wrong till their on their last legs, barely coming up with a plan to save the world from being completely destroyed.

It all weighed so heavy on him, sure everything is okay now…but it isn't. It's not okay, nothing is okay and it hasn't been for a long time.

So he cries, he cries and he cries till his throat is sore, till his arms become too stiff to hold on anymore and he leans limp against Macaque. Face red and stained with tears. Macaque grabs something off to the side and brings it close to Mk’s face, he wipes away the snot and tears then throws the tissue in a random corner to deal with later. Mk isn't crying anymore, tears still build and fall down his face but he can't bring himself to care. He’s too tired to care at all over something as small as a tear.

Mk blinks and looks around, Macaque's house is the same as ever, he doesn’t know if that's a good or bad thing. The nest is mostly the same, a few pillows in different places but that's the only difference. Mk wonders for a moment if Macaque’s been sleeping in the nest since they made it, if it's still here then it must be being used. Right? Mk hums to himself with that thought and looks at Macaque. He can't really see his face since he’s leaning against his chest, but because of the angle, he notices scar’s on Macaque's chest. Weirdly placed scars that seem familiar but Mk cant-

Oh.

“Macaque?” Mk croaks, his voice sore and quiet due to all his crying.

“Hmm, yes? Do you need some water, another blanket?”

“Your trans?” Mk asks, looking up at macaque now, still leaning against him.

Macaque stared down at Mk, taking a breath in before answering. “...yeah,” he says, tightening his hold on Mk just slightly. Mk hums, putting his head back down.

“Me too.” he yawns, fighting the urge to let his eyes close.

“Really?” Macaque asks gently, combing through Mk’s now untangled hair. It wasn't much of a real question as it was to keep Mk distracted. Macaque had his suspicions but didn't comment on it. Felt it best not too.

“Mhm,” Mk hums, relaxing into the touch on his scalp. Something about the gentle caresses through his hair is just so…relaxing. So comforting. More so than any other form of comfort he’s experienced. It's soothing enough to just, fall asleep.

“Mei…Mei helped me get binders…and” Mk yawns “cut my hair….”

“I think you make a fine young man Mk.” Macaque hums, resting his head onto Mk’s head.

Mk sighs and finally closes his eyes “hmm, thanks…Momma.”

Macaque’s breath hitches, his fingers in Mk’s hair pauses and his tail lightly thumps against the floor.

“M…Mk?”

Mk deosnt reply.

“Kid?”

Mk breathes slowly and gently against his chest.

Macaque resumes his combing, letting his cub sleep. He needs the rest after crying that much. He can't bring himself to wake him up just to….

Momma

Macaque breathes, shaken and unsteady. His head still atop Mk’s. he doesn't know what to do when his heart leaps and something unfamiliar and scary builds in his chest. Yet it doesn't hurt, it doesn't make him cry. It's warm and protective. So he lets the feeling stay as he holds Mk against him. And with a sigh, he closes his eyes and lets himself rest.

Macaque stays there for a moment, not wanting to move MK from where he was clearly comfortable but after what happened last time MK was here he wasn't so sure. So after a moment of hesitation, he grabbed MK’s phone, but this time he didn’t bother just texting Pigsy or even calling him. Instead, he sent Pigsy’s contact to his own phone, then used his phone to call the restaurant.

“ Pigsy’s Noodles, home to the world's longest noodle. We’re not currently doing take-out orders but pick-ups are available. ” Pigsy’s voice said and Macaque hesitated.

“Pigsy, it’s Macaque. Don’t say anything, please, I know Wukong is there.”

A bit of silence, “ I see, how can I help you? ” Pigsy asked and Macaque let out a relieved sigh.

“MK just showed up at my place crying his eyes out. I don’t know what happened but I can guess… I just didn’t want you guys to worry. He’s with me, he’s safe, he’s just sleeping.”

“ Got it. Alright then. ”

“Do you want me to bring him back? I can take him to his apartment after Wukong leaves.”

More silence before Pigsy let out a sound that almost sounded like a sigh of acceptance. “ You know what, I don’t think we’re interested tonight. How about you keep the delivery at your warehouse tonight and drop it off tomorrow? I’m not sure we have the room in storage for it. ”

Macaque felt his eyes start to burn with tears as his tail flicked slightly. “Really?”

“ Yeah, why not. Other than a few bruised veggies I’ve never had any issues with your company. Just know that I’ll be keeping my eye on you and I’ll be sure to check the goods for bruises and damages upon drop off. Understood? ”

“I understand. Thank you, Pigsy… thank you.”

“ Don’t thank me. Enjoy your day off. ” Pigsy said then hung up.

Macaque looked at his phone before he put it down and relaxed.

Pigsy trusted him? After everything he’d done, Pigsy still trusted him? It was amazing and made his chest feel tight. Pigsy trusted him with MK, and he trusted him enough with him that he was letting MK stay the night. Though this did come with a bit of preparation.

Moving slowly he formed a clone to take his spot as MK’s pillow, continuing the pattern of hair petting that Macaque had been doing before Macaque left the room. He went to a more lofted area where his hammock was spread out and his clothes were discarded all around the room. He scrunched his nose, going towards the wardrobe as his tail swished. He didn’t have a lot of clean clothes left but he had a long-sleeved red shirt and black sweatpants with a blue and black “RavenClaw” patch on the left thigh.

‘ They’re all I’ve got to work with so he can use these. I just hope they’re not too big. ’ He thought, grabbing them both and taking it to the nest. He then put the clothes down on the corner of the nest, checking on the clone who gave a smile and a thumbs up telling Macaque that he can keep doing what he was doing.

Macaque smiled softly walking back into the main part as his tail swished.

‘ Now… dinner. What do kids eat? Noodles? It's too risky with Wukong there. Uh… maybe I have something ?” He thought, walking over to his cupboards.

Moldy bread, soggy old crackers, rice that had been gotten into by mice (gross), the milk could have been categorized as its own ecosystem just by looking at it through the carton, and there was something growing in a tupperware at the back of the fridge. Macaque’s ears drooped slightly, as he began to dump all of the food into the trash. One trash bag turned into two, then three. Finally, all that was left was canned soups that expired nearly a year prior. Hell, there was even a can that expired 5 years ago.

‘ What is this my emotional support can of soup? Why did I bring this everywhere with me? ’ He thought, flicking his tail with annoyance as he held it over the trash bag. ‘ It’s probably still good though. ’ He decided, putting it back in the cupboard.

Once the cupboards and fridge were clear of old and rotten food he took the bags out towards the alleyway dumpster. He then got to work on clearing the counter of old, broken, moldy, or plastic/paper dishes were either thrown away or put in the sink to be washed.

‘ When was the last time I cleaned? Why am I cleaning now? I guess it’s a good idea, MK could get sick if I don’t. I need to make sure the dojo is at least safe for him to walk through and stuff. ’ He thought, tying off another bag once it was full.

He continued cleaning the dojo, little by little making mental notes about broken glass, broken pieces of floor, and anything that was growing in corners. The longer he worked the more comfortable got until finally, he reached a point of comfort in the situation that he even began to sing and hum to himself.

Songs from musicals, old songs he’d caught others singing or new songs he’d heard over the radio. It didn’t matter, he sang whatever came to mind as he cleaned.

The dojo - for the first time since he trained MK - felt light and warm. A new kind of safety, comfort, and joy seemed to flow through the broken windows and empty halls. But why couldn’t he have done this when MK wasn’t here? Why could he only do it now that MK was sleeping in the other room? It didn’t make sense but honestly, Macaque didn’t need it to make sense.

Because it felt right.

It felt safe .

‘ Mama… ’ He thought again, ‘ I think I could get used to that… ’

When MK woke up it was to the sound of singing from another room. He blinked open his eyes, whimpering at the tightness in his chest where his binder sat as he sat up and rubbed his ribs. He then went to speak to Macaque who was now sitting behind him just to pale slightly when he realized by the slightly off appearance that it was a clone.

“Macaque?” He asked hesitantly as the clone picked up some clothes from the edge of the nest and held it out to him. The clone then tapped his shoulder where the binder straps sat. “You want me to change?”

The clone nodded.

‘ Macaque’s clones are strange… they’re not like mine but they’re not like Wukongs. It’s weird. ’

MK grabbed the clothes then got up as the clone dropped into the shadows and slipped out of the room without saying a word. MK then shook his head, pulling off his shirt before putting it on the nest. He then rolled up the binder slightly, slipping his thumbs under the shoulder straps as he pulled it up then over his head. The shirt that had been given to him was a bit dusty but not unbearably so and thick enough to hide himself. He shook the dust out of it, before pulling it on, the large shirt going down to his upper thighs making him feel like a little kid in his dad’s shirt. It was fun! He then pulled off his jeans, replacing it with RavenClaw pajama bottoms.

‘ RavenClaw, huh? ’ He thought, tying the strings so that they were snug around his waist. The only problem was that the pants had a small hole in the back for Macaque’s tail, but at least the shirt covered the hole. ‘ This is nice… but why? ’ He thought, picking up his phone as he looked at the messages he’d received since falling asleep.

Wukong had sent; Sorry, bud. We’ll talk about it someday, I promise. I hope you’re not too mad. Please be safe.

The message had hurt a bit, but knowing that it was as close to an answer as he was going to get for a while he just let out a sigh and went to the other message he’d gotten.

Pigsy had said; Told the monkey to watch after you tonight, that being said your window is unlocked if you want to come home. Take care of yourself, kiddo. We’ll see you tomorrow.

MK smiled, that explained some things at least. If Macaque was told to let him stay then of course Macaque would try to find him something to sleep in. Though, that didn’t tell him what the singing was about.

Walking towards the door he slowly peeked out and into the main area of the dojo. To his surprise it was clean. Something that MK hadn’t seen since he had been training with Macaque. Though there was something even more surprising and that was the fact that Macaque was the one singing as he swept the floors. He looked and sounded so happy.

‘ Did he want a sleepover that badly? ’ MK thought, stepping the rest of the way out. “M-Macaque?”

Macaque quickly turned, then cleared his throat. “O-oh! Hey, bud. How’d you sleep?” He asked, looking a bit sheepish.

“Good, how long was I out?”

“Uh, about an hour or two? How do the clothes fit?”

“They’re a bit big, but they’re cozy.” MK said, gently flapping the sleeves of the shirt as they fell over his hands.

To both the surprise of MK and Macaque the dark-furred monkey let out a soft almost purring-like noise before he coughed into his fist.

“Great! Uh, so I don’t have a lot of things to eat so I hope you can at least tolerate some of this canned stuff?”

MK looked at the options, eventually picking up one of the cans. “I’ll try this one. Pigsy spoils me quite a bit so I don’t eat a lot of canned things.” He laughed.

“That’s good. Canned shit isn’t good for people to eat all the time.” Macaque said, grabbing a can and opening it with the can opener before gently taking MK’s can and popping it open too. He then poured the contents of MK’s can into a pot and put it on the stove while he just grabbed a fork and began to eat straight out of the can.

“You’ve done a lot of cleaning, it looks really good.” MK said, watching as Macaque’s tail flicked at the praise.

“Yeah? Don’t know what got into me if I’m being honest. Just kinda started and didn’t stop, y’know?”

MK nodded, “Yeah, I get it. You should have woken me up though, I could have helped.”

“No way, cub. You’re a guest, you don’t get to clean.” He said, stirring the pot for a moment. “So… wanna talk about what made you so sad?”

MK looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “I… was arguing with Wukong. It was dumb and I lost my temper so I stormed off like a child.”

Macaque shook his head, “Cub, you are a child, that doesn’t mean that you’re acting childish. You were hurt, mad, and sad. Your fight-or-flight kicked in and you chose flight until you could calm down. Knowing when to walk away, especially when you’re pissed , is important.” He said, booping MK’s nose with his tail, making MK giggle.

“Really?”

“Of course, bud. If you never knew when to walk away from an argument then every little squabble would turn into a fight to the death. It’s just as important to know when to walk away as it is to know when to keep on fighting.” Macaque said, pulling the food off of the heat, pouring it into a bowl with a spoon that he sat at an island for MK to eat.

“But… I thought heroes were never supposed to back down from a fight?”

Macaque shook his head, “Nah, the real heroes are the ones who know which fights need to be fought to the end.” He said, taking another bite of his cold still-canned food.

MK nodded slowly, sitting at the island as he began to eat his food. “Macaque… why does Wukong keep saying you’re dangerous?”

He regretted asking the question as soon as it came out, watching the way the monkey bristled slightly then looked down as though avoiding the scolding of a parent.

“Because I am dangerous, MK. Sun Wukong… he’s right about that. I’ve hurt people, a lot of people including him… especially him. Wukong isn’t wrong for trying to keep me away from you and honestly if I could stand breaking your heart even just a little I would be staying away from you because I know that Wukong is keeping his eyes on me. He doesn’t trust me, and he has no reason to.”

“But you’re different, you’ve changed! You’re-”

Macaque put his can in the trash before he walked over, gently taking MK’s face between his hands. “I’m dangerous. Even if I’m not a danger to you at this moment… I’m still dangerous.”

“But how ? What aren’t you guys telling me? Why do you guys insist on keeping secrets from me to protect me but don’t explain when they hurt me?” He asked, not as angry as before but still just as hurt.

Macaque’s golden eyes scanned MK’s face sadly, “Okay… I’ll tell you a little, but I can’t tell you the full thing. Okay?”

MK relaxed, he would finally get answers? Really? Or was this just another trick? Gods, he was sick of tricks.

“Remember that story I told you; the one about the Hero and the Warrior?”

MK shuddered and Macaque shrunk down on himself slightly.

“I’m going to take that as ‘I wish I could forget’.” He said sadly, fixing MK’s hair before he jumped up onto the counter and sat down. Macaque rubbed his hands on his face, “Well, do you remember the part where I mentioned ‘the sun and the moon’?”

“I think so?”

“‘ The Hero and the Warrior were like the Sun and the Moon. Their light a protective glow shining upon the world. Together, there was nothing that could stop the two of them. Either in the Celestial Realms or on Earth’ .” He said and MK frowned, wondering where this was going. “It wasn’t all… metaphorical. I mean, most of it was but… not all of it. See… the moon itself has no light of its own. It doesn’t glow or shine at all without the help of the sun. But if the sun left the moon could - hypothetically - get other light from nearby stars. Does that make sense?”

“Not at all.” MK said as Macaque let out a soft laugh.

“Alright, more direct then. My powers are weak, bud. I have very little power compared to Monkey King - to you - but I am able to absorb access powers that more powerful Demons and Celestials put out in their day-to-day lives. It’s how I was able to do all that stuff with your powers the first time we met. But that was ‘the moon’ forcefully stealing light from the ‘sun’ and the ‘stars’.”

‘OH, I’M A STAR! Okay, things might make a bit more sense now.’ He thought but kept listening.

“With more casual and comfortable friendships and relationships and whatever I can gain power even faster. But… at a cost.”

“What kind of cost?” MK asked.

Macaque hesitated, ruffling his hair. “Story for another day, bud. Eat your food, that stuff tastes terrible cold.”

“Oh, okay… Wait, then why did you eat yours cold?!”

Macaque laughed, “Lack of self-preservation, don’t worry about it.”

“I’m immediately worried about it.” MK said with a soft scowl.

Macaque placed his hand on Mk’s face and gently pushed, chuckling at the way Mk’s face scrunches up and he stumbles in place. “Don't.” Macaque removes his hand and jumps off of the table. Then sets his empty bowl into the sink.

“I will.” Mk retorts immediately, staring down Macaque.

Macaque takes the empty dish from Mk’s hands and boops his nose, again chuckling as his face scrunches up cutely.

“ Ack, stop doing that!” Mk demands, watching Macaque put the dish in the sink.

“Hmmm.” Macaque approaches Mk.

“No,” he says, booping Mk’s nose again and earning the same reaction. Mk shakes his head and glares up at Macaque with no real venom while Macaque just smirks. Macaque reaches up to do it again but is stopped when Mk grabs his arm and then slaps his hand onto Macaque's face. Macaque lets out a surprised noise and brings up his other hand to grab at Mk but he lets go of Macaque and runs off laughing.

Macaque huffs and chases him, back into the room where the nest is. He vaguely recognizes how broken his doorknob is. Look he’s not accountable for the things his instincts do, he heard a crying baby. He's gonna break anything and anyone to get to the crying baby.

Suddenly Macaque is attacked by a heavy pillow hitting him in the face

“Hah payback!” Mk yells pointing at Macaque with another pillow in hand. Macaque pulls his pillow down and raises an eyebrow at Mk’s giggling shenanigans.

“Ooooh you do not want to go down that route kiddo,,” Macaque says playfully. Mk’s glare on Macaque hardens.

“Bring it. Old man. ”

Macaque gasps with half fake offense “you little-” Macaque leaps towards Mk and Mk yelps, jumping away from Macaque with his pillow.

Macaque is quick to drop the pillow and chase Mk on all fours, jumping on different tables and chairs as Mk continues to scream and run through the room. Dodging Macaques every ‘attack’. Till finnaly Mk trips on a blanket and Macaque leaps to grab Mk, they both yell and tumble into the nest laughing. They end up in the middle of the nest, Mk laying on Macaques side and both of them laughing till their lungs hurt.

“Haha…who’s old now… squirt, ” Macaque said between laughs and breathes.

“Still you.” Mk laughed out.

Macaque grabbed Mk by the middle with a fake roar and pulled him close. Again Mk yelped and faked an attempt at escaping.

“Nooooooooo!” Mk laughed while Macaque dug his head into Mk’s head.

“Yeeeeeeessss!” Macaque grumbled.

Macaque smiled, loosening his grip on MK slightly, before running his finger through the kid's hair once again. “As fun as all of this is, if you keep picking a fight I will have no choice but to bring out the big guns and break my promise to your father~”

“Big guns?” MK tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you keep calling me old, I’ll have to do this. ” He grabbed MK’s headband, using it to turn his head to the side before he blew a raspberry on MK’s cheek.

MK let out a shriek, kicking his feet as he laughed, grabbing at his headband. “Stop! Mercy! You win!”

“Oh? Are you sure? Because there’s a lot more where that came from, I’ve been saving them.” Macaque said as MK chuckled.

“I’m sure.” MK said, “You’re not old.”

“Good.” Macaque let him go and relaxed.

“You’re ancient. ”

“OI!” He said, grabbing MK again. But this time he rolled Mk over forcefully and pulled him into his chest. The little cub squirmed a bit but Macaque didn't let go, even as his tail grabbed the nearby blanket and pulled it over them. Mk finally freed his head from Macaque's hold and took a deep dramatic breath in.

“You stink.”

“What?”

“Your old and your stinky,” Mk said digging his face back into Macaques fur.

“Am I really?” Macaque chuckles lightly.

“Yeah and I bet you snore like an old man, an old stinky man.”

“Your so kind.” Macaque sighs.

“Mhm, I know.” Mk smiles, wrapping his arms around Macaque. Macaque does the same, then commands a shadow to reach up and flip the light switch. Turning off all the lights of the room.

The moonlight is now the only thing illuminating the room. Macaque traces its light with his eyes and how it leaks through his windows and over the various pieces of furniture and blankets till it reaches Mk. His cub really is adorable, especially with the light illuminating his features. If Mk didn't look like he was trying to fall asleep Macaque would pinch his cheek right here and now bit decided against it to let him sleep peacefully.

Macaque wrapped his tail around Mk and sighed, again noting how the moonlight covers his cub. His cub, normally illuminated by the sun’s blinding light. Now here resting within the moon's dim lights, happily content and comfortable.

Macaque only wishes he could experience this more often.

Mk slurps loud and obnoxiously on his cheese tea, then munches down on a fresh and hot croissant.

Macaque had nothing good or fresh to eat for breakfast, he should probably get some for the next time Mk comes around. As long as other food things. He’d sure like to try some new snacks along with making sure Mk was fed well whenever he was around. But since he didn't have any good things to eat this morning he decided to buy himself and Mk some breakfast. Mk had insisted on cheese tea while the croissant was Macaque's idea.

“Thanks, Macaque!” Mk said, muffled by the croissant stuffed into his mouth.

“Sure.” Macaque tapped Mk’s back with his hand, gently pushing him “but maybe you should try taking smaller bites”

Mk leans over due to the push and his face scrunches up, he then straightens up and with his eyes closed tightly he swallows the entirety of the croissant. Macaque silently prepares himself to care for a choking cub, he’s sure that after this Pigsy is going to beat him away with a wooden spoon the next time he comes around. Although it seems Mk’s just fine as he throws a thumbs up with his free hand

“Hah, did it!”

“Why?” Macaque asks. Mk hums

“Because I can!’ He decides and Macaque chuckles to himself while shaking his head.

When they get to the noodle shop Macaque tenses, searching for any sign of Wukong yet he finds none, and most-not all he’d be a fool if he let down his guard tension falls.

“Hi, Pigsy!” Mk yells out, waving to the pig demon at the front of his shop messing with the open sign.

“Hey kid” Pigsy waves. Mk runs over to Pigsy leaving Macaques's side empty. As he approaches the two talking he takes notice of how empty it feels without Mk beside him, his tail gently grazing the ground where Mk once stood beside him. He dug his hands into his pockets and looked around the street. Trying not to feel awkward as Mk and Pigsy talked.

That is until the pig approached him with a white bag in his hand.

“Good job with the kid,” He said, holding the bag on his side. Macaque nodded.

“Y-yeah, anytime…for him,” Macaque said, watching as Pigsy stared him down. He almost felt like he was on the chopping block as Pigsy searched for something within him. Whatever he was searching for he seemed to find because the next thing he knows Pigsy is shoving the white bag into his arms.

“The kid likes you, I don't know why…I don't know what he sees in you but it's something…”

Macaque notes how the bag is warm with a container inside.

“Whatever it is for his sake I hope he’s right…about you”

Macaque sniffs the air and realizes its noodles, fresh and warm noodles.

“Don't disappoint him, okay,” Pigsy says. Letting Macaque grab the bag and removing his own arm from his chest to step back.

Macaque looks up from the bag and to Pigsy. Something clicks in him. Seeing Pigsy confront him while Mk stands a bit of a ways behind him. Just enough so that their conversation is private but Mk is still present. Pigsy cares for Mk just as much as Macaque does. Protective and warm. He wants to hold onto this feeling. He never wants to let it go. Not again. He can't ever let his light fade from his life again.

“Okay…”

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Hehehe i wrote the breakdown scene btw hehehhee If ur from my fics YOU KNOW THE DRILL LINE UP Kicks bucket TEARS GO IN HERE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FOR COMPENSATION YOU GET A WEIGHTED BLANKET AND A HOT DRINK. Thank you so much for reading. See you guys next time!!! -Stella

(Stella is so awesome, if you haven't checked out their stuff you should. Their writing and art is just absolutely amazing! I also hope that these chapters help make up for the lack of chapters of Monkies Aren't Alright lately. I'm trying to give the Season 4 Specials/Season 4 to come out in English. But I'm still working on it, I promise :D) - Ari

#Chirp Au #lmk fanfic #lego monkie kid fanfic #Monkiebois #Momcaque

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