[ 니키 ] LOVE DIVE ꒰ N.RK X F!READER

"MS.UGLY DUCKLING" ft SIM JAKE

SYNOPSIS : growing up "ugly" was not for the weak. Being absolutely ignored both in and outside of school was not for the weak. No one is ever ugly forever though. Changing schools and meeting new people, but most importantly meeting him might have been the best choice you've ever made in a very, very long time.

CONTENT WARNINGS : angst (with a happy ending) + bullying + insecurities + strangers to friends + friends to lovers + written in second perspective + self deprication + fluff + long + little rushed + partially proofread

ACTORS : ENHYPEN JAKE x FEMALE READER

WORD COUNT : ~ 4k

CHECK BOX !!

i. "WHY WON'T THEY EVER PLAY WITH ME," you asked your mother after returning home from a long and harsh first day of school. Your hair looked a mess, and dirt was scattered across your clothes, yet your voice sounded like childish innocence and pure wonder. Maybe it was too much for such a young child to realise that her newly made friends maybe weren't actually her friends?

(Read more under the cut)

"I'm sure they didn't mean to?" She replied, her voice sounding soft and vulnurable, feeling like she was responsible for the sorrows and grief that her child had been put through, since she was the one who had bought you into this world. Instead of confronting the problem, she told her child that the world wasn't as evil as it seemed, that thinking on the bright side, or the possibilities, were the correct way to live life.

Eight-year-old girl walked up the stairs with heavy weights glued beneath her feet after dinner was finished. You threw yourself onto your bed that was neatly made in the morning before you went to school happily, just to come home opposite of the way you left. The softness of the pillow and blanket laying on your bed was enough to comfort you as you buried your face deep into it and wrapping the blanket around you tightly. You wished for friends, and you wished to be happy, but most of all, you wanted to be like everybody else.

ii. ONE MORE DAY at school, the daily mistreatment never seeming to come to a halt. You walked through the corridors anxiously holding onto the straps of your backback tightly with your pair of eyes wandering all over the place in case of danger. This was certainly not nessecary for a child your age, but when nobody chooses to help, you've got to start taking care of yourself.

Maybe it was your nerves that made it feel as if everyone's eyes were on you, but their mouths would open to release a fit of laughter that they had held in until specifically you walked past them. You crossed your arms, feeling extra aware of yourself now, guessing that they were laughing and giggling at you, which you didn't appreciate, but you were also too insecure and scared to speak up against them.

You reached your locker, looking forward to being able to collect your throught, away from everyone else, the locker shielding you away from their piercing gazes and judgemental stares and whispers. As you look up from your shoes, you see piles of gum stuck onto your locker, the gum being pressed onto the metal aggressively by the people you wished you didn't see. It was them; the popular girls of the school, and few of many people who seemed to despise you. They saw you standing there, shooting you an all too familiar look before walking away with their hips swaying from side to side dramatically.

You approched your locker to finally see what they were doing up close, "UGLY!" it read. You felt embarrased imagining all the people who passed by and saw this. Did they laugh? Did they feel bad for you? What did they think? You wanted to run away and hide in a deep hole you'd dig up with all the stored up shame inside of you.

iii. "MOM, DO YOU THINK I'M PRETTY?" You asked your mother once more, years after the first, but soon to the recent encounter. "I think you're very pretty." She says, but your gut tells you another story. "Really?" You ask, awaiting her response that takes a long while before she hums lowly. That just confirms it, she wasn't being honest. "Thanks," you say, with no emotion in your tone. She looks away and eats her dinner quietly.

You quickly finish yours, and wash it in the faucet, the soap bubbling up and covering your fingers as you scrub and rub the plate, utensils and glass that you used. After finishing that up, you return to your room, locking it behind you. You hid under the covers for a while until it got too suffocating and warm, leaving you itchy and irriatted before sliding out and standing in front of the mirror. You inspected every inch and detail of your face, feeling not so content with some parts. You sighed at your reflection that looked back at you with tired, red eyes. At just fourteen years old, you began caring about how you looked, and how others precieved you, so you took matters into your own hands. That night, you stayed up all night searching for 'how to be prettier' and scrolled endlessly through social media.

The next day, you had decided to get a new hair cut to maybe fix the way you looked, you knew excatly what you wanted, and how to cut it. Before anyone else woke up, even before the first birds chirped their morning tune, you made your way to the bathroom and grabbed a pair of scissors in your grasp. You carefully cut strand for strand, the same way you remebered how the video showed. "It doesn't look too bad." You think to yourself, and then you hear footsteps outside the door. Your eyes quickly scanned the hair that layed on the tiled floor and faucet, wondering what to do with it.

Too late. The door slowly swung open and in came your mom. She was silent upon seeing the scene, the horror only showing in her eyes. "What happened here?" She asked like a sharp whisper. "I just cut my hair..." You reply equally quiet. You see her shake her head in disappointment, so you turn your head down, looking at all the hair that had been flying everywhere while you had fun cutting your hair, and suddenly you weren't as proud of your hair cut like you were before. "Go get the broom, y/n." You obeyed your mother's order and hurried out of the bathroom feeling tears of embarrassment reaching your eyes.

iv. YOU STARTED WEARING MAKE UP to cover up, but to everyone else, you told them that you wore make up becase you thought it looked pretty. Still, they'd give weird glances toward each others, which you knew was their way of judging you.

Each morning, you woke up early to sit in front of your mirror examining your appearance like you always did. Hoping and praying to somehow change over night, you hated how your features looked together. You opened the drawer of your vanity and picked up sponges and brushes, leaving them aside for later use while you chose the different essintials. You had prepared the whole summer break to look pretty. Every day, you followed a new tutorial, improving as you continued. You did all this to look presentable at school.

You thinly spread the foundation across your face, dabbing the liquid evenly all over as you moved onto the next step. You sat there for a long time, perfecting each detail and mole, brushing your brows and coating your eyelashes with mascara, and lastly smacking your lips together after applying lipstick.

You stood in front of your larger mirror that you had ignored and hidden away since you never wanted to see yourself ever, but now you felt prepared. In your eyes you looked prettier. You wore your hair differently, you had earrings and necklaces, the school uniform from last year looking a lot better than you remembered. The confidence boost put a smile on your face as you made your way downstairs and made yourself breakfast.

In the kitchen, your mum was sipping her coffee calmly, but as she saw you walk in, her eyes widened in shock, but she didn't say anything. "Good morning!" You greeted happily, and she waved her hand slowly, still trying to process what was happening. "You look different." She comments, and you are content with that reply, and answer, "Thank you, mum!" You proceed to eat your breakfast and then made your way to school.

At shcool, you felt everyone's eyes hooked on your face. The corridors got quiet when you walked by, and you heard murmurs and whispers about you, "Is that really y/n?" "No way..." "What happened." You didn't know what context to put it in and just walked with hurry in your steps, wanting to get to your class and focus on your studies.

Lunch also happened to be no different compared to before your make over, the group of three girls made their way to your table, cackling amongst themselves, planning what to do today. You, who already finshed your lunch stood up to walk away, not wanting to have an encounter with them, until one of them, the blonde barbie, knocked into you with her lunch tray, spilling her food and drink all over you. "oops!" he chuckled cheerily, enjoying the laughs and fingers pointed at you from around her in the cafeteria. You angrily stood up and rushed over to the bathroom, feeling embarrassed once again.

v. "I WANT TO CHANGE SCHOOLS." You say to your mother after a long while of thinking, fearing that you might make the wrong decision, but what could possibly go worse than how it already is? Your mother is sneering at you from the side as she puts down the bags of groceries by the sink. She hums, and you wait for her reply, feeling your heart beat through your ribs, beating so hard that you start belive it'd jump out of your body any second. To be fair, you'd rather for that to happen than to be rejected of this preposition. "Are you sure?" She asks with uncertainty in her voice after silence, and you nod your head, "Of course." "Think about it for a little more, and then we can ask your father when he returns home." She says and walks away. How much longer could you ponder it when you're already certain.

You help her organise the groceries, washing them in the sink to sterilise it of bacteria before placing it in either the fridge or freezer and taking your sweet time, not knowing what else to do other than lay in your bed or be on your phone scrolling through social media.

So, that's exactly what you did for the past hour or so after your chores.

Of course it was boring, but you had nothing else to do. Homework was done, your room was clean and you could only wait for dinner with your father. You heard the sound of the stove from your room, and rushed down to help prepare with your mother. You plated the dinner table, helped your mum with the dishes and washed them afterwards, now you waited in your seat for your father to arrive home from work.

You hear the door slide open, the sound of keys jiggling from the entrance. You sit straight in your seat, resembling a meerkat on its legs as you inspect the person who enters the kitchen. Your father walks in with his coat still slung over his shoulders, his briefcase slamming onto the kitchen counter while he sighs. "Hello, dad!" You greet him cheerfully, and he simply nods his head in your direction. Your mum rose from her seat to help him with his jacket and hat, but he just shrugs her off, and you notice both of their irritated moods.

Dinner was quiet - the sound of utenstils hitting each other and then being left on the plates filled the house. "y/n wanted to ask something." Your mum blurts out, wanting something to happen, being too awkward in this stale atmosphere. You see him look at you from the corner of your eye and he clears his thoat. "Really? What is it?" He asks, and you manage to utter the same statement from before. It takes a moment before you get a reply again, but he says, "I'll think about it." You pleaded with both your parents to let you change schools until they finally caved in with an extended sigh.

vi. YOU WALKED INTO THE FULL CLASSROOM feeling everyone's eyes glued on you, the feeling being vagualy familiar yet different. Some leaned over to their friend, whispering something, but as you saw them and they made eye contact with you, you wanted to shove yourself inside a locker. "Everyone, this new student ..." You zoned out her speaking until she placed her palm on your shoulder and asked you to intruduse yourself to everyone. "Hello, I am y/n l/n, and I really hope we can all be friendly," You said, and then walked over to the empty seat that the teacher pointed at.

As you take a seat, you take extra notice of your bench mate. Oh, how beautiful she was, her hair looked neat, her skin looked perfect and her eyes... You finally took a seat and did what everyone else did - copying what the teacher wrote. After class, you observed your schedule, confused by where to go. This school was big, and you were a new student who just joined, there was no way you could ask anyone else for help except the teachers, but the one in you room had already left. The girl from beside you tapped you on the shoulder and you turned your head curiously.

"Do you need any help?" She asked, and you nodded. "Help would be appreciated, thanks."

You spent the day with her, laughing and talking like never before. It was comforting to have someone like her beside you. At the end of school, she walked you outside of school and there you saw a group of other people gathered, and they waved in your direction. You turned to see your newly made friend, Yoona, waving back. Her pace quickened as she rushed over to the group, pulling you along by the sleeve of your uniform when she noticed you standing still.

It was a fairly small gang, but they still stared at you as you arrived. They all greeted each other, hugging and chatting till Yoona introduced you to the rest. Her voice sounding so smooth.

As she spoke, you noticed this guy. His hair was long and swept in waves, his eyes soft and brown filled with warmth and kidness. You learnt that his name was Jake from your friend's introduction. "Y/n, wanna come to karaoke with us?" She asked, and you shook your head. "Sorry Yoona, but I gotta head home now" you say, not wanting to interrupt the harmony established amongst the people. She nodded understandingly and let you go, waving her farewell.

On your way home you realised you had made a new friend. A real one at that, but thoughts of insecurities snaked its way into your mind. What if she was just being kind? To say that this could possibly be one of many occurrence was high, and the possibility that you'd fit in was low.

vii. YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN THE PARK with them. You've come to the realisation that a new start was exactly what you needed. Your feet swung you back and forth on the swing, hearing the laughter of everyone around you and feeling the warmth in your heart expand. You had gotten close to everyone, but Jake seemed to have a special place in your heart for some reason.

"Anyone wanna go to the arcade?" Someone called out, and everyone said yes, including you who never went along with them. On the way there, you walked along side Jake, chatting with him and joking. "So what made you change schools so suddenly." He questioned, and you shook your head with an awkward chuckle, "Nothing, I just wanted to." Jake had this friendly smirk on his face as he nudged his shoulder against yours, "you can't be serious. You probably had a lot of friends there." You had your eyes focused on the road as you tried to comply a decent reply. "I mean-" as you were about to answer, everyone had already arrived at the arcade. You found this to be the perfect escape.

Everyone rushed inside, being bombarded with games and bright lights. Almost immediately, you spotted the claw machines. You eyed it like it was candy. There were many plushies, but you really really wanted the bunny one. Jake who was close by saw the way your eyes lit up and approached you with his hands in his pocket. "If you beat me in any game, I'll get you that plushie." He says, and you turn to look up at, his lips being extremely close to your face. "Are you sure you wanna bet?" You asked and he nodded his head, "Go ahead, choose a game." You pointed at an air hockey board and Jake ushered you over there with his palm resting on your shoulder.

You played a couple of games, and you were determined to win. Jake, not so much. His eyes roamed everywhere except for the hockey puck, his eyes landed on your concentrated face a handful of times, observing your reaction to each goal. You easily won and rushed over to his side, cheering. Your smiles were contagious, and Jake laughed, exposing his pearly teeth. "You wanted that white bunny, right?" He asked, and you nodded. "You could get whichever one, really." He made his way to the machine, you standing beside him. Jake kissed his coin before inerting it into the machine. It took him many tries before he sighed and collected his calm once more. "You don't really need to continue, Jake." You tell him, but she shakes his head and stretches his arms and back. "I'll get it this time. I might need more luck though." You see him point at his cheek with a smug smile. "That's silly." You reply sarcastically and he pleads with you giving you the puppy eyes before caving in. You stand on your toes and quickly peck him on the cheek shyly. Your heart was pounding and you could feel your cheeks turn rosy at the act.

He winks at you once before turning to the machine with one last try. His focus is evident in his fierceful gaze and you also hope for him to win this time, mostly becuase you start to feel bad for all the coins he's lost.

While being consumed by your own thoughts, Jake celebrated his win. He turned around to hand you the bunny, but saw you spacing out. He snapped his fingers in you face and you shook you back into reality. You finally processed the fact that he had won after staring at the plush in his arms. Jake gently hands it to you and you take it with a smile. "Woah! Thank you so much!" You thank him over all the other people's conversations around you two.

The rest of the evening was spent with silent glances that held adoration between the two of you. and eventually, it was time to go home. You all gathered outside the arcade to wave each other off before going their separate ways.

You notice that Jake was taking the same way as you and you stopped in your tracks to let him catch up to you. "Do you also take this way?" You asked him. "Kind of, I actually wanted to walk you home." He rubbed the back of his neck before you two began walking again. "You could've told me before, you almost looked like a creep." Jake chuckled at your remark and said, "I would've, but I guess I got shy." with his thick accent seeping through.

The sound of crickets and owls hooting filled in the silence during the short walk to your front door step. "Thanks for walking me home, Jake." You say as you search for your keys in your purse. He was silent for a while as you unlocked your door. "Y/n, I have something to ask you." You turned to him curiously and arched an eyebrow. He was obviously nervous as you saw him fidgeting with his own fingers and clearing his throat over and over again to muster up the courage to ask,

viii. "WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME, Y/N?" It had totally slipped your mind that prom was soon. You stood there wide eyed at the question. "You're not joking with me right." You wonder if he's pranking you, but he shakes his head. "Why would I joke with a pretty girl like you." His tone sounds genuine, but you still can't shake this feeling of uncertainty. "There's many other people you could've asked, but instead you chose me." The identical feeling of hopelessness returned after finally being chased away. "Becuase I only want you. Y/n, please." It takes a while for you to open your mouth an reply, but you feel the cold sweat coat your hairline and seeing Jake's soft expression was not helping you to calm down.

"I need to think about it, sorry."

You take notice of how Jake's expression turns dark when you shut the door and lock it behind you. You rush up the stairs and sprint into your room, ignoring your mother's calls. The plushy you had gotten from Jake was thrown onto your bed as you hurry to look out the window, observing him walk away from you. To your surprise, you see him look back at your house. Hurriedly, you pull out a diary that you had hidden under your mattress and write about everything, it isn't until after you're done taking notes that you feel bad for Jake. How must he feel?

You take a look at the plush he gifted you, and groan at the dilemma.

ix. THE NEXT DAY at school you searched for Jake everywhere, but you never saw him. Your mood visibly worsened as the day had come to an end without seeing him once. Yoona took notice of this and decided to question you. "Is everything okay?" She asked you and you nodded your head with a hum. "Yoona, have you seen Jake today?" She shakes her head and pulls out her phone. "He sent me a text this morning that he wouldn't come today since he felt under the weather. Why?" "Nothing, just wondering." You quickly blubber, grabbing your stuff quickly. "Hey, what's the rush? Wait for me alright." You hear Yoona chuckle as she packs her stuff. You apologise and wait for her.

You two part ways at the split road with a hug, and you gradually start to jog your way to his place. You stand there on his door step, bag slung over your shoulder with your fingers twisting the hem of your skirt. "Is it too late to turn around?", you think you to yourself. You shake away these thoughts, and raise your curled up fist to knock, but to your surprise, Jake opened the door, his eyes looked equally as shocked as yours. "Uhm, so I wanted to talk to you." You utter, and see Jake sigh. "Sure, I'm going on a walk if you wanna follow along." You nod and walk behind him.

"So, I've been thinking." His interest perks, and he glances your way. "I'll go to prom with you, but I don't understand why me? I'm not pretty. I'm not that ....good." You voice comes out weak, and Jake stops walking. "Don't say that. Not only are you incredibly beautiful, but you're also so, so kind and caring." He approaches you, his hand gliding up your cheek. "Are you not angry at me?" You ask, trying to avoid his eyes. "Angry? At you? That's ridiculous." He scoffs playfully, and you finally get the courage to look him in the eyes. "I might've been slightly upset since I thought you rejected me, but i guess I have a date for prom!" He smiles brightly and you look at him awestruck. "Of course," you reply and kiss him on the cheek once again with your arms swung around his neck, and his arms instinctively wrap around your waist. "You make me so happy." He is smiling widely as he pecks your face with butterfly kisses.

TAGLIST :: @swaivy

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FACTS!! we need him biblically! in a way that is concerning to feminism 😞🫶

-Matchmaker Mishaps Masterlist-

Synopsis

Known for being great at setting people up, Y/n gets dared to find the perfect match for Sunghoon who has never shown interest in anyone before. After a series of hilariously failed dates, Y/N starts to realize that maybe the reason nothing worked is because Sunghoon’s perfect match has been her all along.

Pairings

Sunghoon x fem!reader

Genre

SMAU, fluff, oblivious ppl in love, slight angst

Belle’s notes

This will start as soon as ‘SYN’ finishes (rlly soon), send an ask or comment here to be added to the taglist!!

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Gossip Boys Cupid’s Center

Prologue

Chapter 1 - visual couple?!

Chapter 2 - that was a DISASTER (204 wc)

Chapter 3 - worst case scenario

Chapter 4 - where is the spark? (534 wc)

Chapter 5 - emo tweet (442 wc)

Chapter 6 - cupid but bitchless

Chapter 7 - lovergirl wya (674 wc)

Chapter 8 - tht shld be me

Chapter 9 - what r u scheming (508 wc)

Chapter 10 - NOT THE HEATHER NO (351 wc)

Chapter 11 - i hate idiots in love

Chapter 12 - i identify as a dog now

Chapter 13 - hmmm (612 wc)

Chapter 14 - why r we on koreaboo

Chapter 15 - atp we will all get fired

Chapter 16 - she has the brain of an austistic monkey (449 wc)

Chapter 17 - my whole body is twitching

Chapter 18 - we r going to be the spiderman brothers (1,2+ wc)

Chapter 19 - sunghoon.exe has stopped working

Chapter 20 - submissive n breedable

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TAGLIST - @jayjw16enxp @questionsdearreader @roy-sue @honeychocos @st1llm0nster @ikeulove @jiiyen @nshmurarki @shae00701 @andassortedkpop @t1iqaa @woorcve @kixri @mrchweeee @elegancefr @sol3chu @wave2hoon @en-verse @shuichi-sama @heekilrvs @manaah02 @mwahvvis @ribbioniki @ilovbeshotaro @who-tf-soddhi @n1k1mura @stvrriki @r1kification

(Bolded can’t be tag)

©honeybelleee on tumblr!

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AHHHHHHH!!!! this is EVERYTHING and a little more!

best part — 西村力.

© wonria — in which nishimura riki makes the decision to start attending university amidst his busy schedule, and soon realizes that it was the best decision he’d ever made, all thanks to you.

pairing idol!riki x fem!reader genre strangers to friends to lovers, fluff, angst, crack word count 11.2K warnings profanity, violence, arguments, riki loves the bee movie, mentions of underage drinking (not riki!!), slowwwburn

note this is a long one guys 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 anyways first work on tumblr!!! reblogs are sososo appreciated (:

00. DAMN YOU, YANG JUNGWON.

For the first time in Nishimura Riki’s eighteen years of life, he’d missed school. He didn’t know he was capable of feeling such strong feelings towards a place he barely ever entered, but here he was, scrolling through college vlogs with a frown downturning his lips.

FOMO was a disease, and Riki had most definitely caught it.

He envied how the students had so much fun in a place as horrific as school, and finally understood why his members had constantly wished to re-live their school days.

He had been cooped up in his room—binging college videos— for so long that none of his members had seen him the entire day. Jungwon was the first to notice his sudden disappearance, knocking on Riki’s door. When he didn’t answer, Jungwon had let himself in, his face wearing a confused expression after seeing Riki’s state.

He had been on his couch, with a bag of chips to his left and his knees up to his chin, hypnotized by the video playing on the television. Jungwon followed his line of vision, disbelief painting his face upon realizing what was going on.

“Riki,” Jungwon spoke, snapping the eighteen year old out of his trance. He turned his head towards him, letting him continue. “What have you been doing?” His question came out in a small chuckle, still dumbfounded by what he had just seen.

Riki sighed. “I want to go to school.” He took the remote of his television, pausing the Korea University Festival Vlog he had been playing. Jungwon’s eyes widened. “All of a sudden? I thought you hated school.”

“You know, I thought I did too! I probably still do,” Riki paused. “I just, want to experience it, but you and I both know that’s impossible.” He referred to the psychotic nature of their fans, ENGENE, who would definitely perform the unthinkable once they got their hands on the college Riki would attend, if he were to attend.

“Why don’t you ask the company?” Jungwon proposed, his voice optimistic, as opposed to Riki’s replying deadpan expression. “Are you going deaf, or did you just miss the part where I said that would be impossible?”

“You won’t know that until you ask,” Jungwon refuted, still positive as ever. “Who knows? The company might say yes, and they’d make sure of your safety if they do.”

“When have they ever insured our safety?”

“…Touché, but still!” Jungwon was insistent in pushing this crazy idea, for reasons he couldn’t even understand. “C’mon, Riki, there’s no harm in asking. It could be fun! You could make friends,” Jungwon nudged his shoulder, eye brows rising and falling repeatedly, “maybe you could fall for someone—”

“That’s enough, Jungwon,” Riki cut off his member’s delusions, following up with a scowl. “I’m not going to ask, this whole college thing will probably blow over in a few days, so please, let it go.”

Jungwon sighed, accepting his defeat. Riki was a stubborn guy, so once he speaks out on something, there was no changing his mind no matter what. “Well, I can’t force you to ask, so I’ll let you be,” the twenty year old kept a small smile on his face, making his way out the room. “Don’t sleep too late,” he joked as he shut the door, not waiting around to witness Riki’s eyes roll in response.

Riki knew himself better than anyone. Of course he would, there’s nobody who’s been around to know him well enough than himself. Despite knowing this, he couldn’t help but wonder if Jungwon could be right. What if he did ask his company to let him attend university? What if they said yes? What if it was actually everything he’d been admiring through a screen?

Safe to say, the boy was conflicted, for the first time in a long time. Damn you, Yang Jungwon.

“So what if, hypothetically, I were to ask you if I could start attending university, and I would be, hypothetically, really desperate,” Riki started rambling to his manager, Min, who was looking back at him blankly. “If this were the case, hypothetically, how would you respond?” He was not slick at all, Min knew exactly what he was doing.

“So, you want to attend college?”

“This is hypothetical, Min,” Riki whined, “just answer the question, please.”

“Well,” Min decided to play along with his “hypothetical” scenario, “I don’t see the problem in going to college, except for the fact that your safety may not always be guaranteed, and that your schedule might keep you from attending a lot of the time.”

“So I can go?”

“I’ll bring it up at the next meeting.” At this point, Riki knew that Min was answering non-hypothetically, but it didn’t bother him, especially after finding out that he had a shot at attending university. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He squealed, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Min shook his head, chuckling from Riki’s endearing reaction. “Of course,” he finished, leaving Riki alone with his thoughts.

He wasn’t planning to get so enthusiastic about the situation, but his heart managed to overpower his actions way more than his brain could, and he was hyped up in a way words couldn’t express. Maybe this would be fun, just like Jungwon had told him.

01. HYPEN PEOPLE..?

“What the hell is an ENHYPEN?” The name sounded so bizarre, it made you laugh. Your best friend, Nora, stared back at you, shaking her head with a deadpanned frown on her face. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t know the ENHYPEN?”

You shook your head. Pop culture was never your thing, you focused more on the fashion world. So when Nora started freaking out over a new student that was apart of a K-Pop group you couldn’t even repeat because of how odd it sounded, you could only stare blankly. “Why is an idol attending university so important? I don’t get it,” You asked. You furrowed a quizzical brow.

Nora sighed. “This is like, if Adriana Lima joined your yoga class,” she explained, mentioning names you would recognize. “This is a huge, huge deal!” It was then where you realized that this idol guy was probably super popular, and that classes tomorrow are going to be an utter disaster.

You couldn’t have been more correct. Walking onto campus, cameras were flashing like crazy, and hundreds of people were crowded outside the university’s entrance. Your eyes widened. “No way this many people are bunched up on a Monday for an idol,” you were in shock. Nora nodded, an I told you so smirk curling her lips. “Are you kidding?! This guy is one of the most recognized dancers in K-pop!”

“I would think he’d be a little older if he were that recognizable,” you argued. “I bet if you put him in front of an elder, they’d be puzzled.”

Nora shook her head. “His group is crazy viral. Did you know they’re the global ambassadors of PRADA right now?” She knew that would get you.

“Oh. Woah.”

“Yeah, woah,” Nora finished, parting ways with you to head to her classes, “See you later, girl.”

“Yeah.. see you.” Now you were interested in this idol. How could someone not only represent one of the most iconic brands in fashion, but also be an insanely-talented performer? It was intriguing, you wondered if you’d ever see him on campus one day.

Think about it: the chances of this guy being in your year, in your classes? Very low.

What you learned after today, was that even if the odds are low, they are never zero.

Your first class of the day was more packed than usual. You managed to find a seat in the back, where, thankfully, nobody was. You always preferred having your space during class, which was why you almost always went to the back seats for lectures.

The door of the lecture hall opened, revealing a tall guy with a presence so strong, the hall went silent. His outfit was well-styled, you thought. The black jacket he wore with baggy pants of the same color, layered with a grey hoodie under, along with hair that almost looks like it was done professionally.

You were impressed, you guessed he must’ve been majoring in fashion like you were. If that were the case, though, why had you never seen him before?

“Listen up everybody!” Your professor, Mr. Kang, gathered everyone’s attention. “As you all may know, we do have a new student here on campus. I ask you to be mature, and not act un-orderly near them.” He referred to the guy next to him, who, although stood six feet in the air, looked very small at the moment. So he was new.

“Moving on, take out your notes from the last lecture…”

The new guy quickly walked to the back of the room with his bag. Unfortunately, there weren’t that many free seats in the back like usual, the only free spot next to you. He sighed before sitting beside you, being careful not to disturb you.

He took glances at you from time to time, taking in your appearance. You didn’t do much with your outfit, putting on a tube top with baggy jeans and a jacket, but you made it look good. You were pretty.

A voice took him interrupted his staring.

“Prada,” the voice gasped quietly, their eyes trained on the logo sewed into his backpack. Your eyes were wide, it was then you realized who you were sitting next to.

“You represent them, right?” You continued, eyes moving to look at the guy beside you. “I— Yes?” The question was so sudden, it caught poor Riki off-guard. You took notice of this right away, going on quickly to apologize. “Ah, I’m so sorry!” you whispered, “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Riki panicked, shaking his head. “You’re with those K-pop guys, right?” You started, voicing your thoughts aloud. “The.. Hypen people!”

“…Hypen people?” Riki chuckled, he’d never heard that before. “Wait no— there was something before it, hold on..” You stuttered, mentally cursing yourself for not keeping this to yourself.

“ENHYPEN?” Riki helped you out, and you sigh in relief. “That’s the one! And you’re the dancer guy my friend was talking about, right?”

“I’m Ni-ki, but you can call me Riki.” He holds out his hand, and you shake it, going on to reply with your name. “I take it you don’t know much about K-pop,” Riki asked, and you nodded.

“I only found out you existed yesterday, I’m not that in-tune with all of that business.” That was humbling on Riki’s end. You scratched your neck sheepishly. “That’s alright,” he responded, “I can fix that.”

“Can you, now?” You smirked at his confidence.

“Watch me, [Name].”

02. A FIRST DAY TO REMEMBER

You and Riki were not paying attention at all.

Normally, you’d be able to focus during classes, since studying was therapeutic for you. However, with your new seat mate in the picture, and his newfound determination to teach you about the world of K-pop, there was no way you could even think to participate in the lecture.

“Wait, so, let me get this straight, you debuted from a survival show? What kind of dystopian bullshit is that?” Riki chuckled at your surprise, although he knew you were completely right. “Yeah, it was not fun, but it was totally worth the hard times.”

You shook your head in disbelief, unable to fathom how someone could endure such hardship and almost trauma at such a young age. Come on, he did all of that at fourteen years old? You almost broke out into applause.

“Anyways!” Riki whispered, quiet enough to hide his voice from the ears of the professor, but just loud enough for you to hear him. “I should show you some of the music now.”

“How would you play music right now?”

“Headphones, obviously.”

“You know those are forbidden in here, right?”

“WHAT?!” A loud whisper from Riki had you covering his mouth in haste, a small gasp leaving your lips at the volume of his voice. “God, Riki, not so loud!”

“I’m sorry, but how are headphones forbidden? They help me focus!” You shook your head, replying, “Professor Kang believes that they are a distraction, and are unnecessary during lectures, hence the big No Headphones! sign towards the door.”

“Aw, man,” he grumbled, his lips forming a small frown. “I’ll show you once classes are over, then” he quickly got over it, continuing, “Would the library be fine?”

You shot him a deadpan look.

“Yeah, it felt stupid after I said it, nevermind.” He scratched the nape of his neck, a sheepish smile on his face. “We could go to your house!”

“Riki!” You gasped. It was far too early in your friendship to invite him to your house; you just met the guy. “I’m out of ideas! I’m not good at making friends with normal people!” His frantic whispers made you hysterical, cracking you up at the back of the lecture hall. “Riki, we could just go to a café or something.”

“Too public.”

“A convenience store?”

“I think that might be worse than a café.”

“An alleyway? I don’t know!”

“Woah, I didn’t know you were a troublemaker, Miss [Name].”

“What do you do during the day?” You spoke in frustration, your hand running itself through your hair. “Do you just perform all day and sleep?”

“Well, I’m mostly at the company building, practicing and whatnot, but I— Wait!” His eyes widened in realization, “The company building! I can take you there!”

“Oh, no way, Riki,” You waved your hands at him, quick to disagree. “That’s too grand for a hangout!”

“Are you kidding? It’s the perfect place to hang out!” He laid his head on the table in front of him, turning to face you with a pleading look. “Just trust me, [Name], people hang out with their friends there all the time!” That was a lie, barely anybody hung out with friends at the company unless they were both idols under the company, but you didn’t need to know that just yet.

“Alright, fine,” you sighed. “But if I get caught going in with you and I get attacked, I will never speak to you again.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain!” Riki’s head sprung from the table, imitating a soldier salute to you right after. You chuckled lightly.

Then the professor dismissed the lesson soon after, “Perfect timing,” Riki smirked. “Let’s get going, friend!”

“If I run away right now, you’d probably catch me right away, right?”

“That was a lot of rights, but yes, I would catch you.”

You rolled your eyes before walking out of the hall with Riki, his shoulders purposely bumping yours every once in a while.

“This song is everything, Riki!” You were in shock. Matter of fact, shock might be an understatement for what you were feeling at the moment. Never in your life did you think you’d be listening to a K-pop song, and loving it, at that. “It’s my favorite track on the album,” He smiled, glad that you enjoyed Brought the Heat Back just as much as he did.

“I see why,” you nodded. “Also, the styling is insane, who styled these outfits?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. Probably our stylists.”

“Oh, wow.” Everything about that song, from the stages to the music video to the song itself, was simply incredible. “Who is that?” You pointed to the member that was currently in the center of the choreography formation, small beauty marks decorating his face as he sung his part.

“That’s Sunghoon, why—”

“Wrong. That’s the love of my life.” You kept rewinding the performance video, going back five seconds to replay Sunghoon’s part again and again. “He has such pretty moles!”

“Hey, I have moles, too!”

“But are you Sunghoon?”

“….You’re mean.” You chuckled at his sudden sulking, ruffling his styled hair. “I’m just kidding, you big baby.” You took time to search his face for the moles he had mentioned just a moment ago, immediately noticing a small one under his lips. “Your moles suit you, too, I guess.”

“You guess? That won’t do, I’m kicking you out.” He shook his head, immediately going to pick you up from the couch you were currently sprawled on in his practice room. “Wait, Riki, put me down!” You laughed as he started walking towards the door, trying to literally kick you out.

“You take it back!”

“Fine! Your moles are decent-looking! Please put me down!” You were eventually able to push yourself off of him, meeting gazes with him as the two of you laughed your asses off.

“AHH, WOMAN!” The door suddenly sprung open, revealing a stunned ENHYPEN before Jungwon slammed the door right away. Your laughter quickly ceased, and you looked to Riki, who was looking back at you with a confused expression on his face.

“Were those your—”

“Yeah.”

A knock on the door came, the voice of Jungwon following along with it. “Can we come in?”

Riki looked you for confirmation, and you just shrugged. Who were you to deny them access into their own practice room, anyway? He walked to the door of the practice room, letting his members in as you started gathering your stuff from the couch.

From the corner of your eye, you saw the members of ENHYPEN coming in one by one, and, God, you almost passed out watching Sunghoon walk in. “I can see you, [Name],” Riki mumbled suddenly from beside you, going to help you with your stuff. “Fuck! You scared me!” You paused for a moment to clench your chest with your hand.

“So when did you suddenly decide that you were leaving?”

“Since the moment your members came and looked all intimidating.”

“And by members, you mean Sunghoon?”

“That’s not the point.”

Riki shook his head with a chuckle, still going to see you out of the building nonetheless. “I had fun, [Name]. This was a first day of college to remember, for sure.”

You smiled, waving to him as you began walking away. “Bye, Riki!”

He stood there, watching you walk away until physically could not see you anymore. He sighed, a small grin on his lips as he turned to go back to the practice room, not expecting to see Jungwon waiting behind him.

“Fucking Hell!”

“A first day to remember, huh?” He smirked, his hand going to Riki’s shoulder. “You’re telling us every single detail when we get upstairs, you know that?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He rolled his eyes playfully, as he had not one negative bone in his body, especially not after today.

Perhaps the small bit of negativity he had within had come from you having to leave so soon.

03. SWEETS

“Holy shit.. Holy shit!” Nora exclamations only increased the more you told her about yesterday’s situation. “So, let me get this straight, not only did you meet the Nishimura Riki, but you made friends with him, went out with him, and met his members?! When’s the marriage?”

“I’m gonna ignore that last part,” Your face scrunched up in a small disgust. Of course, you enjoyed Riki’s company, and he was pretty funny, but after all, you did meet him yesterday; dating him was out of the question. “Was that his full name you said just now?”

“He never told you?”

“It never came up.”

“Wow,” Nora exhaled, disbelief etched into her features. “I can’t believe yesterday happened. Are you two going out again soon?”

You shook your head. “I truly doubt it. He wasn’t in class today, so I’m guessing he’s busy today.”

Nora sighed, “Ah, that makes sense. Can’t expect a guy like him to be here every day.”

Her words had you thinking all of a sudden. You made sure to keep yourself a proper distance from Riki so that you wouldn’t get attached. After all, he wouldn’t always be free, and getting clingy would only drive the two of you apart. Noted.

“Wanna have lunch at the local café today? I miss my croffles,” Nora asked, not forgetting to shoot you a pair of puppy eyes. “I’m not saying yes because of the puppy eyes, never do those again.”

“But is it a yes?”

“I, too, really want some croffles right now.”

“Woohoo!” Nora clapped her hands softly, skipping out of campus with her arm linked with yours.

The two of you suddenly stopped at the entrance. “What’s with all the cameras?” Nora’s head tilted in confusion, her brows furrowed. “I wish I knew,” you replied, looking at the camera crew that stood outside the café. “Are they shooting a commercial or something?”

One of the directors suddenly made eye contact with you, and signaled for you to go inside. You were hesitant, but still walked in with Nora.

The café was you and your best friend’s personal favorite. Not only was their coffee top-tier, but their specialty, croffles, or croissant-waffles, were unbelievably tasty.

Yet, when you met gazes with the seven members of ENHYPEN behind the counter instead of the usual baristas, all you wanted to do in that moment was run out of the building. However, there was no backing out of this, and you proceeded to the counter to order.

A member who you remembered to be Sunoo was taking your orders, and he was super sweet. You were shocked when you heard it was his first time working a part-time job, he was a natural. You didn’t think he’d recognized you yet, since he was surprisingly calm in front of you, and you prayed to the heavens that he wouldn’t notice.

However, the lingering gaze of Riki had caught your attention, and it made you incredibly nervous. The second yours and Nora’s orders were paid for, the two of you quickly went to find a table.

Nora didn’t spare a second. “Hello, what was that?!” She whispered, hoping the members wouldn’t hear her, and you shrugged. “Why are they suddenly working at a café? I thought they were singers!”

Nora shook her head, “They’re probably filming for En O’ Clock.”

“…En-O-What now?”

“Oh, God,” Your best friend chuckled, “It’s their variety show that they have. It’s basically just them playing games or doing random challenges to keep fans entertained while they prepare their next album.”

“Oh wow.” You didn’t know what to say. You knew being an idol was a handful, but you didn’t know that this much work and planning was put into everything they did.”

Nora suddenly tensed, her expression stiffened as her eyes darted behind you, catching you by surprise. “Nora, why are you—”

“Fancy seeing you here, sweets,” an arm suddenly wraps around your shoulder, the seat next to you being occupied by none other than Nishimura Riki.

“Wow, petname basis already, Nishimura? Don’t you think you’re moving a bit quick?” You play along with his sudden flirting, a smirk on your lips.

“I’m a man of haste,” he fires back with a wink, catching you, and Nora, by great surprise. You exchanged looks of surprise, amusing the guy beside you. “Anyways, where did you learn my full name? ‘Cause I never told it to you.”

“I think you forget you’re world-famous, Riki.”

“Me? World-famous?” He gasps, a dramatic hand on his heart, “I’m all but a mere barista!” You punch his shoulder playfully, and he laughs in response. “And you must be Nora, right?” He turns to Nora, his hand out for her to shake it.

“That’s me,” she chuckled awkwardly, shaking Riki’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Ni-ki.”

“Please, we’re friends now! Call me Riki.”

“Oh! Well, alright!” Nora’s dry responses were, though a bit painful to watch, extremely funny. You let out a small giggle, covering your mouth with your hand. “I think your food is ready, I’ll be back!” Riki got up from his seat, going over to the counter to pick up your orders.

“So, sweets?”

“Shut up.”

“Since when has he been calling you with petnames?” Any time Nora would hear about you and Riki, she’d always get super giddy, living her fangirl dreams through your interactions with him. “Since right now!” You whispered, “I had no idea he was this bold!”

“You better used to it, he’s an insane flirt.”

“Oh, lord.”

“Who orders this many croffles for themselves?” Riki suddenly chimed in from behind you, again. “Oh, my god!” You flinched at his voice, snapping your neck to look at him. “You get scared really easily, Miss [Name]. You should get that checked out.” You rolled your eyes as you helped him set the food on the table. “Anyways, I’m guessing you have a crazy sweet tooth.”

“Is that why you keep calling me sweets?”

“Well, yes. I also just want to,” he smiled, “but that’s a big part of it. I mean, come on— five croffles? Are they that good?”

“Are you kidding? They’re delicious, try some!” You took a knife from the table, cutting the croffle into a small piece before picking it up with a fork, passing it to Riki. He took a bite, and his eyes widened.

“Right?”

“Please invite me the next time you and Nora come here.”

“I thought cafés were too public?”

“I’d risk it all for these croffles, holy shit!” He quickly sat down, turning to you. “Can I eat one of your croffles?”

“Sure, whatever.” Riki smiled, cutting up a croffle from your plate, eating the pieces with the fork you’d given him. “Riki, you kind of took my fork.” He realized that you had been staring at him eat, and he quickly apologized, handing you your fork back and running to grab another one.

“He gave you his fork?” Nora gasped.

“It was my fork first.”

“And then he ate from it, and now you’re eating from it.”

“Nora, please.” Your best friend chuckled, shaking her head as Riki came back. “How’d you get back so quick?” Nora asked, a quizzical expression on her face. “As I said, I’m a man of haste.”

Conversation had flourished as the three of you ate together. Eventually, you’d ended up sharing the majority of your croffles with Riki, and you knew you weren’t going to hear the end of it from Nora, kind of similar to how Riki was going to be bombarded with questions by his members after the shoot was over.

Everything felt so natural, so peaceful, Riki had completely forgotten he was filming, and he didn’t care at all. There was no place he’d rather be at that moment than here, at the table with you and Nora, hanging out together.

“Riki, we have more customers!” Jay yelled from behind the counter, making the boy look back with a sad expression. “Okay I have to go now,” he sighed. “I’m going to leave my phone here with you guys, open the case!”

“Riki, what?”

“Bye!” He sprinted away, catching you and Nora by surprise. You chuckled with her, going over to take the case off his phone. You were met with a small piece of paper inside the case. You quickly unwrapped the note, reading what it said.

010XXXXX, text me ;) — nrk

ps: make a group chat with nora in it, we need to all hang out together again!!!!

“What does it say?” Nora walked over to you, looking over your shoulder to read the note. “Oh my god, Oh my god!”

You looked back at the counter, immediately meeting gazes with Riki. “Idiot,” you mouthed, to which he replied with a small chuckle. What a guy, Nishimura Riki.

03 1/2. THE GROUP CHAT

the three musketeers

opened 12:09AM

you: alright who came up with this name

riki: isn’t it cute?????

you: no

riki: oof.. tough crowd 😓

nora: LMAO

riki: everyone CHILL it’s not bully riki hour

nora: i fear it actually is.. 12:09 is bully riki hour

riki: YOU TOO??? i thought we were friends nora <\33

nora: i am loyal to [name] and [name] only 🫡

you: heh

riki: i gagged..🤢 nora get well soon

you: gagged your ass 😂😂😂 im her fr

-> 12:10AM — riki left the conversation.

nora: I CANT

-> 12:10AM — nora has added riki to the conversation.

riki: why

nora: because

riki: i understand

you: ???????anyways nora are we on for a movie marathon in two weeks

nora: OH MY GOD YES I’VE BEEN WAITING LETS DO IT

you: OKAY YES

riki: would you like to come riki? WHAT, ME? OF COURSE!!!

you: 😅😅😅whoops

riki: nono stand on that

riki: i’m pulling up to your house with a stink bomb

you: GOD NO IM SORRY RIKI PLSPSLSPSLS COME TO MOVIE NIGHT IN TWO WEEKS

riki: wow thanks!! ☺️☺️

nora: bro’s a master manipulator

riki: QUIET.

04. A LITTLE WHITE LIE

“You were so right, Jungwon!” Riki chuckled on the living room couch as Jungwon shook his head with a smile, taking in his younger member’s endearing acts. “These past few months have been so fun; I can’t believe I barely attended school in the past!”

“School is a good experience, believe it or not,” Jungwon shrugged, and Riki nodded in agreement. “So, tell me more about your little friend group. I know you’ve been talking to them nonstop.”

“Oh, yes! [Name] and Nora! They’re so funny, and they always…” The boy had been ranting without realizing, and Jungwon couldn’t help but laugh. It was cute hearing about the time you and him nearly burnt down Nora’s apartment trying to make your own croffles, and the time he had beat you and Nora in an intense round of Dress to Impress during what was supposed to be their movie marathon. He loved hearing all about it.

The truth was: Riki hadn’t been as lively lately. Before he started going to college, he’d been gloomier than usual, barely leaving his room and sleeping whenever he got the chance. Jungwon had proposed the idea to Riki so that maybe, just maybe, he would get that boost of energy he’d been needing for so long.

He was happy to see that Riki was having a good time at university, and almost felt indebted to you and Nora for reigniting back that spark of his that’d been dying out.

“They’re good friends, [Name] and Nora?”

“The best of friends.” Riki smiled, suddenly turning to his phone when it lit up with a notification from the three musketeers group chat. “Is that them?” Jungwon pointed to the phone, and Riki nodded. He watched as he texted with his friends, almost shocked at how immersed he was in the conversation.

“I’ll let you be.” Jungwon left Riki in the living room, walking back to his room.

the three musketeers

-> opened 8:38PM

nora: ALERT ALERT JAE HUANG IS THROWING A PARTY ON SATURDAY ‼️‼️

riki: who???😅😅

you: oh gosh

nora: jae huang is probably the most ICONIC party thrower on campus

nora: like seriously guys those parties are crazy fun

you: i’m not a big party person tho 😕😕

riki: sounds fun😈😈 i’m in

you: what.

nora: riki. you’re an eighteen year old in one of kpops biggest boybands

riki: i wouldn’t say biggest..😟 more ‘on the rise’

you: YOU CANT ATTEND THE PARTY😭😭

riki: WHY NOT

nora: i think you underestimate jae huangs parties… way too many ppl attend those and you’d be recognized right away

you: and how would it look if we brought you to a college party and paparazzi caught whiff of it

riki: guys seriously i’ll be fine😭 i already asked the guys and they’re fine with it as long as i don’t drink

nora: they agreed that easy??

riki: yes!! so there’s nothing to worry about!!! i’ll be there

you: ginger ale all night. maybe fanta if you want something strong.

riki: got it 🫡🫡 im more of a sprite guy though

you: gingerale and sprite

riki: does this mean you’re coming?????

you: somebody needs to babysit you🤷‍♀️

riki: … i’m gonna ignore that and just assume you’re coming bc u want to have fun!

nora: this is going to be a blast AHHH [NAME] LETS GO SHOPPING

you: i cant wait🫤🫤

Riki actually hadn’t asked the guys to go to the party, knowing the obvious answer would be no and maybe “Are you crazy?!” But he was determined to attend, he just had to lie a little.

A little white lie never hurt anybody, right?

“Holy fuck, is that Ni-Ki from ENHYPEN?!”

“No way…”

“Whatever, let’s drink!”

You had no clue who Jae Huang was, but he threw a mean party. Music blasted through the entire house, all the laughter and screams nearly overpowering the speakers.

“Something tells me that this house does not have ginger-ale,” Riki gulped.

You nodded nervously. “Tell me about it.”

It took about five seconds for Nora to get lost in the swarm of people in the house, her shiny dress immediately disappearing from your line of sight. “Oh, God,” you shook your head, and Riki laughed.

“The one and only Nishimura Riki!” A loud voice suddenly came from behind the two of you, the voice being none other than Jae Huang himself. You and Riki made eye contact for a brief moment, you shrugging before Riki went to greet Jae. “I hear you’re quite the party-thrower around campus,” he chuckled awkwardly, dabbing Jae up. “Ah, it’s nothing too big, just a small gathering.”

You mumbled to yourself, “a small gathering?” You shook your head immediately.

“This is a lively gathering,” Riki nodded, taking in the scene. “Who is this you came with?” Jae looked over to you, and your eyes widened in surprise. At the mention of your name, Riki's eyes lit up, immediately pulling you over to introduce you. "Oh, this is [Name]!" Jae grabbed your hand, kissing it as he introduced himself. “I’m Jae, nice to meet you, [Name].” You were quick to flush at the gesture, cheeks a deep red from the sudden action. “Mhm! Nice to meet you!” You failed to notice Riki’s small frown from beside you.

“Mind if I steal Ni-Ki for a moment?” You immediately nodded, letting Jae take Riki, his face quickly forming into a look of panic. He looked to you as Jae started pulling him away.

“No, I can’t!” He mouthed.

“I’m sorry!” You mouthed back, a pang of guilt suddenly hitting you. And it was almost as if it had been waiting for you, because as soon as you turned around, a glass bottle of beer stood in front of you, almost begging to be drunk.

You contemplated for a moment, was it a good decision? After all, you had to babysit, and someone had to be sober enough to call the cab (and it wasn’t going to be Nora).

“Ah,” you shrugged your shoulders, “One bottle won’t hurt.”

You should have stuck to babysitting.

“Want a drink?” Jae pushed a red cup of something that smelled so foreign it made Riki’s face scrunch in disgust. “You got soda, by chance?”

“I got you,” Jae took a can of sprite from the refrigerator, tossing it to the younger boy. “Ah, thanks.”

Riki was uncomfortable. Sitting on a couch with Jae and his friends, watching as they engaged in meaningless conversation. Seriously, what was so fun about knowing each other’s toe sizes?

The topic suddenly switched into something more serious, and it took everything in Riki not to sprint off that couch.

“You see that girl?” Jae pointed out one of the girls outside, dancing to the music that’s playing. “She’s hot!” Riki felt himself sinking into the couch as Jae’s friends laughed; this was not his crowd.

“Ugh, I need a girlfriend,” One guy said.

“Same, too bad everyone’s ugly,” Another guy replied.

“Hey, what about the girl you came with, Ni-Ki?” Jae turned to the boy, his arm around his shoulder. “What was her name, [Name]? She’d be fun to play with.” Riki was almost dumbfounded at Jae’s words, disgusted at his train of thought. Is that all those guys see in women? People to play with? No way.

“[Name] isn’t a toy, Jae. Calm yourself.” Riki took the older’s arm off of him, inching away from him on the couch. It didn’t do much, as Jae only came closer. “Are you kidding man?”

“One night with her, and I’d be a happy man.” That was it. A crowd suddenly gathered around the two once Riki’d thrown a nasty punch at Jae’s face, going at him with everything he had. “Don’t fucking talk about her like that!”

It didn’t take long before the majority of the house was deserted, everybody bunched together near the entrance, and naturally, you followed the crowd.

“A fight? With who?”

“Apparently it’s the singer guy!”

“Ni-Ki from ENHYPEN?! Shut up!” If you were drunk before, those words definitely sobered you up. Blood drained from your face as you began pushing through the crowd. You needed to get to Riki, and get him out of that party now.

When you got to the front of the crowd, your eyes widened. Jae and Riki were going at it, and they were both bloody in the face.

“Shit, is the famous one winning?”

“I don’t know, man. Jae’s got him good.”

“Eh, I think it’s a tie. Jae’s about to pass out, but dancer dude is perfectly stable.”

“He should’ve known not to drink so much before getting into a fight.”

“Who cares? This is crazy!”

You shook your head, running to Riki. “Riki!” you yelled from behind, and he quickly turned around. “[Name]?” Jae took this as the perfect time to take a swing at Riki’s face, landing a strong punch on his nose. “Fuck!” He turned back to Jae, sent one last impact to his cheek, and thankfully, he tapped out, flying to the couch.

“God damnit! I had my money on him!”

You stomped over to him, grabbing his wrist. “What the hell is your issue?!” Riki remained stoic, shaking your hand off. “It’s nothing, let’s go.”

“You think you can just walk away from this, Ni-Ki?! With that fucking whore?!”

“Hey, watch your mouth, asshole!”

“Riki, let’s go!” You had to drag him out the house before he went another round with Jae. You closed the door, leaving just you and him on the front porch. “What was that, Riki?! Why would you get into a fight with him?!”

“He’s a dick, that’s why!” He hissed. “He deserved everything that hit him!”

“God, Riki, do you realize how serious this is?! The public’s going to find about this, and you’re going to be in huge trouble—”

“I don’t care, [Name]! He said some fucked up things, and he got what he deserved, and that’s it!”

“I doubt it was that serious, Riki. Control your temper, for fuck’s sake!”

Riki laughed, shaking his head. Anger was obvious on his face, steam nearly shooting from his ears. “You should be glad I punched that asshole! This whole thing started because he thought it would be a good idea to start talking shit about you!”

“What?” You stopped, brows suddenly furrowing. “[Name], Jae said some really bad things, and it got me upset.” Normally, you’d hear him out, and apologize for lashing out, but with the current tension in the air, and the gallons of alcohol in your system, the only thing you could do was keep yelling.

“Who asked you to defend me?! I could have handled that myself!” You shouted, running a hand through your hair in frustration. “Give me a break, [Name]! With the way you were looking at him, I guarantee he could’ve sweet-talked himself out of trouble!” Your eyes widened. “What do you mean ‘the way I looked at him’?”

“You looked you wanted to eat his face off the second he kissed your hand!”

“What does that have to do with anything? I don’t like him like that, Riki!”

“It sure looks like you do!” He started walking off the porch, and you quickly followed behind him. “What is this about, Riki? Seriously, talk to me!”

“No, [Name]! I’m done trying to explain myself to you. It’s not like it’s working out anyway; You keep defending fuckass Jae, anyway!”

Tears were filling your eyes, the intensity of the argument getting to you. “I’m not defending him, I’m looking out for you!”

“You aren’t! You’re completely ignoring the fact that I did all of this to protect you, and instead coming at my throat for beating up your precious boy.” He turned to you with a scowl, almost disgusted by your presence. Riki sighed, “Have fun with him, [Name], I give up. I’m leaving.” He walked away, and you let him.

You quickly called Nora, and left with her in a cab soon after. Your head was pounding with everything going on, and it didn’t help that you were insanely tipsy.

Getting to your apartment, you immediately broke down into tears, sliding down your door with your face in your hands.

After tonight, you had no clue what was going to happen. And what you were sure of, was that you were dreading classes tomorrow.

05. SUE ME, HEESEUNG!

“It’s one in the morning, where have you been— What the fuck happened to your face?” Jungwon gasped at the sight of Riki’s face, bruised and bleeding. “I really don’t want to talk about it, I’ve had enough for one night.”

“Yeah, had enough doing what? Why the hell are you all beat up?!”

“Jungwon, please! Give me a break!” Riki suddenly lashed out, the events of earlier leaving him in a hostile position. “I shouldn’t have listened to you, I knew this wouldn’t work out!”

“Hey, no,” Jungwon scowled. “You don’t get to be angry right now. You show up in the middle of the night bleeding from your head with a black eye, and decide to blow up at me? The fuck did I do?! Do you know how much trouble you could be in if anyone saw you like that?!”

Riki held his head in frustration, his anger numbing the pain of all the bruises on his face. “I don’t care about what the public sees, Jungwon! I couldn’t care less!” He held his index finger up, pointing it in Jungwon’s face. “You want to know what you did, Jungwon? You convinced me to go to college, to make friends, to fall in love with someone, and I did! I fell in love with an asshole!”

Jungwon gasped. “Riki…is it [Name]—”

“Don’t even mention her name near me. I’m over it.” The boy shook his head, stomping towards his room with a huff. “Riki, we aren’t done discussing this!”

“No, I think we are, because I am!” He slammed the door, making Jungwon inch back at the noise. Even so, he wouldn’t give up, because this was how Riki was. He would hide all his feelings, and explode if he was pushed too far.

Normally, Jungwon would let Riki figure it out on his own, but right now, he could tell that he needed to be comforted. He slowly walked to his door, knocking on it.

Riki’s voice broke. “Jungwon—”

“You don’t have to tell me anything, just let me in.” Hesitantly, he opened the door, tears running down his cheeks as he sniffled softly. “I fought for her, literally. I fought for her, Jungwon, and she didn’t even care! She just blew up at me, some shit about my image; she didn’t even notice!” Jungwon patted the boy’s back as he fell to the floor, his sniffles shifting into loud sobs.

He’d never seen Riki cry this hard in his life, and it was heartbreaking. “I’m so sorry, Riki.” Jungwon sighed, his chest aching as he watched the boy beside him almost yell out in agony.

Hiatus. Riki had been put on hiatus.

It didn’t take long before the news spread all over the internet, and BELIFT was quick to handle the rumors, both confirming them and announcing that Riki would be put on hiatus until he could “control himself.”

Not only that, the poor guy was grounded.

After the rest of his members and his manager had found out about what had happened, they’d become livid. Not only had he gone to a college party, with alcoholic drinks, without their knowledge, he’d also decided to throw a few punches at the obnoxious host, who could not keep his mouth shut after the incident. After a long discussion with the members (Riki not included), they’d decided that letting Riki go outside with all these rumors was not a good idea.

And so, he was put on house arrest, grounded, punished. His phone was confiscated, he was suspended from his college campus, so even if he tried to escape, he couldn’t go to school and try anything, and his manager managed to take his shoes, all of them, so that he couldn’t go outside unless he was willing to walk out barefoot.

It seemed that he had it bad, but little did he know, you had it worse.

“[Name]! Over here!”

“How did you manage to enchant Nishimura Riki, [Name]?!”

“She isn’t even all that..”

“Bro, Ni-Ki couldn’t come up to me instead? I’m literally his type!”

Straight up torture. You had no clue how Riki did it. How he dealt with press and their snoopy selves like it was nothing, like it wasn’t so, so fucking annoying. Nora had her arm around your shoulder, guiding you to your classes as you could barely squeeze your way through the formed crowds on campus.

It didn’t take long for everybody to know what happened. After all, gossip spread fast at your university, and with an idol added to the mix, best believe people were filled in from the moment that party concluded.

And with gossip comes rumors. Lots of ‘em.

“I heard that she was two-timing Ni-Ki and Jae Huang!”

“No way! That little whore!” soft giggles came from the halls as students stared at you with Nora.

“You think she knows ENHYPEN?”

“Oh my god, I actually need Jake’s number, let’s ask!”

As if you’d been possessed, and Jesus had taken the wheel, you turned on your heel, running out of campus, through the whispering crowds, through the paparazzi, leaving Nora dumbstruck in the halls.

“Huh? [Name]!” By the time she had gone to chase after you, your figure was nowhere to be found, disguised amidst the tons of people outside. “Fucking hell.”

Clips of the ambush on you spread like wildfire on the internet, ENGENES scrambling to figure out who it was that “sabotaged their Ni-ki’s image.” You could only sit in your apartment in complete silence, only the sound of your sniffles being heard in the room.

Of all people that this could have happened to, why you? What was it about you that Riki found so interesting that he just had to talk to you?

You thought back to the argument you had with him, your face scrunching up in confusion.

“What does that have to do with anything? I don’t like him like that, Riki!”

“Well, it sure looks like you do!”

You thought the entire situation was uncalled for, especially this part. Why was he so concerned about whether or not you liked Jae Huang? If he really knew you, he would know that you’ve never once showed interest in the guy.

For fuck’s sake, it’d be more believable if you suddenly said you had a crush on Riki!

His name gave you migraines, both of them. You couldn’t believe what you had gotten yourself into, what he had got you into.

Never again. Like, ever.

The only entertainment Riki had was the television screen in his room, which, thankfully, had cable on it. Unfortunately, however, he only had two channels: Cinemax, and SBS News.

It was nine o’ clock at night, but he wasn’t tired yet. The boy was convinced he’d already seen all the movies on the movie channel at least thrice, and was so bored he decided to turn on the only other channel he had. He switches to the news channel with a sigh.

“…Olympian An Se-Young wins gold at the badminton competition, Oh! And breaking news, K-Pop fans have found out the identity of the girl who has seemingly put ENHYPEN’s Ni-Ki on an indefinite hiatus, saying that her name is [Full Name]. According to popular belief, she had…”

The television proceeded to show videos of you being bombarded by paparazzi on campus, calling you names, yelling questions at you, along with the clip of you running home shortly after. Riki couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and felt powerless.

Hearing what they called you, seeing your information all over his TV screen, it made him sick to his stomach. And knowing that he was the one who caused this made him feel terrible. He knew that he wasn’t able to leave the dorms since his shoes were confiscated, and even if he were to leave, chances are you wouldn’t even open your door for him.

He could only bring his knees up to his chin, sighing as he continued to watch. It was painful to see you so distraught; he hadn’t seen you like this before. It stung even more when another video played, this time a video of her apartment door, painted with messages that read Stay away from Ni-Ki! and Whore! in bright red marker.

He swore that he would learn to control his temper after the party, but looking at the video, he couldn’t stay at the dorms any longer.

Of course, he couldn’t go to your place. With everything going on, there was no way in hell you would open the door for him, but he knew someone who might.

He’d packed a luggage filled with at least a week’s worth of clothing, and waltzed into Heeseung’s empty room, picking up the first pair of slippers he came across.

“What the hell? Where are you going?” Walking out to the living room, he met gazes with said Heeseung, who was boiling ramen for himself.

“I’m leaving.” Riki responded nonchalantly, walking over to the kitchen counter to take a face covering. “Um, no, you’re not. You can’t leave.” Heeseung argued, shaking his head.

“Well, I have to go! Sue me, Heeseung!” He grabbed the face covering, and grabbed his luggage, and stormed out the dorm, making sure to take the stairs so the other members wouldn’t catch him in the elevator.

He walked for a good hour and a half, paying no mind to the weird stares he got by civilians. After long, he arrived to the apartment building, ringing up a random apartment with the excuse that he had a delivery so that he’d be let in.

He stopped at the door, a small sigh leaving his lips. What if she didn’t let him in? What would he tell the guys? Where would he stay then?

He shook his head, hesitating before knocking on the door. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long before the door opened, revealing a stunned Nora in front of him.

“What the fuck?”

06. RIKI AND NORA’S GRAND SCHEME

“Nora, hi..” Riki chuckled nervously, gulping at Nora’s stern expression. “No,” her hand went to close the door, but Riki quickly stopped the door before it could go completely shut. “Nora, please,” he begged, “I have nowhere to go.”

“You can’t go home? You know, where you actually live?”

“The thing is.. I ran away.”

“…Then go back?”

“I was grounded.”

Silence filled the hall for a good two seconds before Nora burst out into laughter. “At your big age! You got grounded! This is so funny!” She slapped her knee, and Riki could only roll his eyes. “Well, now you understand my situation, so can I please crash here for a couple of days?”

Her hand went to her chin, rubbing it as if she were pondering. “On one condition.”

“What?”

“You tell me what really happened between you and [Name].” Riki tensed at the mention of your name, and Nora was quick to notice. “Jesus.”

“She hasn’t told you?” Riki questioned, and she shook her head. “All I know is that you punched someone, I don’t know why, though. She also hasn’t told me why you two are disagreeing right now.”

“It’s a long story,” Riki looks a her with a small sigh, “I can tell you if I come in.” Nora rolls her eyes, “Fine, but you will leave no details out.”

“…Oh my.” She was rendered speechless, her only reaction being a small gasp. “So, you like her? Like, like-like her?”

Riki nodded. “Yes, I like-like her.” He was still coming to terms with the fact that he’d fallen for you.

He had realized during the movie marathon a few weeks back that he’d felt something for you, but only let himself accept it after the party.

FLASHBACK — A FEW WEEKS AGO…

“Oh my god, that outfit is horrendous, Riki!” You and Nora broke out into tears, the giggles leaving your mouth making Riki sulk. The three of you had been playing a random dress-up game you found online, and what you noticed was that, despite Riki’s impeccable fashion sense in real life, he did not know how to style himself in games.

“Oh, come on, guys! It’s not even that bad!” Riki whined, still pressing buttons to get his character to pose on the runway. “Are you kidding?” Nora started, “The full fur combo? Rookie mistake!”

“Hey, I’m a PRADA ambassador! It’s abstract!” Not even his brand deals could save him from yours and Nora’s teasing, as you continue to laugh out loud because of his outfit. “I quit!” He put his phone down on your couch, kicking his feet. “We should be watching movies right now, not bullying me!”

You shook your head, endeared by the boy in front of you. “Okay fine, you big baby.” You ran your hand through his hair, ruffling it with a laugh, and Riki found himself awestruck by you.

Was it the way you laughed, or how safe he felt under your touch, or how pretty you looked with your Snorlax onesie and your hair tied? He wasn’t sure, but he felt a warm feeling spread throughout his chest, and up his neck, heating up the entire area.

He suddenly leaned into your touch, moving his head to your shoulder as he grabbed the remote, “I vote for The Bee Movie!”

“No!” You and Nora shouted in unison, and he could only laugh.

TIME SKIP — PRESENT TIME…

“Lord, I hated that movie,” Nora shook her head at Riki’s taste in films, and, like always, he laughed again. “You don’t get it like I do!”

“Anyways..” He started again, his tone going serious, “the real reason why I came here was to ask you for help. With [Name].” Nora tilted her head, puzzled, and Riki continued.

“I saw everything that was happening to her on the news, and I was so worried. I felt terrible for causing her so much trouble, but I couldn’t apologize since I didn’t have my phone.”

“They really grounded you, huh?”

“I’m being serious, Nora!” Nora nodded with a small chuckle, signaling for him to continue. “So I was thinking that you’d help me apologize to her… in person.” Nora’s expression stiffened, in deep thought.

“I don’t know, Riki..” She sighed. “She won’t even fully open up to me— no offense, but if she won’t talk to me, there’s no way she’ll talk to you.”

Riki’s head hung low, his prior optimism slowly deteriorating. “I wish I could help you, Ki, I’m serious. I just don’t know if I can.”

He sat quietly for a moment, before speaking again. “Do you really think I’m that much of a lost cause?”

“She was really hurt that night, Riki. She’s still hurting, maybe worse than before.” Nora turned to him, a sudden glint of determination in her eyes. “I can’t say for sure if she’ll forgive you, but I’m willing to try for you.” Riki’s eyes lit up, and she smiled.

“You’ve become such an important person in her life; I truly haven’t seen her so upbeat until she met you, and I never want her to lose that momentum she has right now, so if you’re the one who can bring her back, then I’ll try my best to get you to her.”

Riki was beaming, immediately pulling Nora into a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” His smile was uncontainable, you could practically hear that grin when he spoke.

“Okay, Riki— You’re choking me. Riki!”

The plan was simple: Nora would ask you to hang out, and hopefully, you’d say yes, but instead of meeting up with her, Riki would show up in her place and save their friendship.

It was so easy, yet Riki still managed to screw it up. How?

ynnnnnieeeeee

-> coversation opened at 3:12PM

nora: [nameeeee] 😕 how r u doing

you: i’m as good as a girl being harassed by the public can be!!! not very good

nora: im so sorry babe :// this whole thing sucks

you: yeahhh but what can i do

you: i made the decision to associate myself with a popular guy 😂😂😂😂 regretting it heavy rn

nora: cmon [name] dont say that

nora: you know he is ur best friend,, you can’t just let him go so easy

you: WRONG! he WAS my best friend before he decided that he knew what was best for me

nora: [name]😕😕😕 how abt i take ur mind off things for a bit

you: ????

nora: your fav beach, 5pm today😉😉 you know u want to

you: ugh you know me so well😭😭 i didn’t even know i told u that

nora: what can i say 🤷‍♀️ anyways SEE U THERE!

you: see ya :))

big rik

-> conversation opened at 3:17PM

nora: [two screenshots] she lowk hates you rn but riki and nora’s grand scheme is a GO!!!

riki: HELL YES (FUCKKK😭💔💔)!!! she liked the beach idea right 😎😎😎

nora: dude she loved it so bad how did u even think of that

riki: she mentioned it to me a few weeks back and she was super passionate about it 🥹🥹 it was so cute

nora: ewwww loverboy im vomitting

riki: yeah bc i gagged ur ass

nora: …..

riki: THOUGHT SO!!!

Five in the afternoon was slowly approaching, and Riki made sure to get there before you, leaving the house at roughly 4:30 to beat you there.

Unfortunately for him, he’d made it at the same time as you, but you hadn’t seen him yet, even though he’d seen you.

You looked tired, your eyes bloodshot red, your feet practically dragging along the concrete as you walked, it was heartbreaking.

As if it couldn’t get worse, you’d been bumped into by a group of guys on the same sidewalk as you. Just as you were about to enter the beach, you were stopped by three guys, both of them oddly familiar. Then, you recognized them as Jae Huang’s friends, the same Jae Huang who’d—

“Well, if it isn’t Korea University’s top whore!” One of the guys laughed, the rest following along. “Wait until Jae hears about this— God, you look terrible!” You looked down, trying to walk past them, but one of them quickly pushed you back, causing you to stumbled backwards.

“C’mon, babe,” one of the guys started, “you don’t want to hang with us? Don’t be like that.” You nearly gagged, the sight of the three guys making you sick. Why did this have to happen to you?

“Please, can I just go—”

“You’re so annoying!” Another guy grabbed you by the wrist, yanking you away from the beach as you tried your hardest to wriggle your hand out of his grip. That was— until you were set free.

“That’s enough, you three.” You turned, shocked at the familiar voice. “Riki?”

“Aw, look! It’s prince charming coming to save you once again!” the three guys laughed, but Riki remained still. “Let her go,” he demanded, but they didn’t budge, keeping you in their grip.

“Not so fast, buddy. She’s ours.”

“In what world? Utopia?” Riki chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. “That Jae Huang really doesn’t learn,” he walked up to the guy holding your wrist, and harshly pulled his hand away, catching him by surprise. “What the fu—”

“Now, I want you to send Jae a small message for me, can you do that?” He had the man held by the collar, frightening the other two. They’d been there to see Jae’s ass get beat by Riki, so they knew not to get physical with him.

“You tell Huang to stay the fuck away from [Name], or I’ll make sure he never shows his face again.” He let go of the guy’s collar, and the three ran off, scared shitless.

He was quick to turn to you, eyes widening when he noticed you walking away from him. “[Name]! Wait up, please!” He gently placed his hand on your shoulders, stopping you in your tracks. “Please, just let me explain everything.”

“Where’s Nora?!”

“What? She’s at the house!”

“‘The house?’ What, are you two roommates or something?”

“What? No! Only for a little while until I’m ungrounded— That’s not the point, [Name]!” He sighed, the nerves nearly eating him alive. “I’m about to say a lot, so make sure you’re listening.”

“Wha—”

“I’m sorry, [Name]. Really fucking sorry.” He sighed. “When I was at the party, Jae had said some weird stuff about you, and it pissed me off, and I punched him. I didn’t know that the situation would escalate, and I really should have thought about how this would hurt you before I did anything. Now you’re being assaulted in public, being ridiculed for no reason online, and it’s all my fault. [Name], I feel terrible.”

“Riki—”

“No, [Name], let me finish.” You stopped so he could continue. “I’d understand if you still didn’t want to talk to me, but I just want you to know that you’re so important to me, and despite everything that’s happened, these past few months have been the best months in my life, all thanks to you. I truly do care for you, and I hate to see you hurting, so please, keep your head up, if not for me, then for Nora. Don’t let the public get to you— they like to break you down until you can’t get up, but I know you, and I know that you’re strong, and you’re better than all of them. I know you’ll be able to bounce back,” he chuckled, “you always do. Just never lose that pretty smile of yours, hmm?”

When he was met with silence, he nodded softly, turning on his heel to walk away when suddenly, you grabbed his wrist, engulfing him into the embrace he’d missed so much. He immediately wrapped his arms around you.

“Riki, I-I’m so sorry,” you sniffled, sobs getting louder the longer you stayed in Riki’s embrace. “You have nothing to apologize for, you could never hurt me.” He smiled, and you felt yourself mesmerized by the light in his grin. You nodded, slowly pulling away.

He held his hand out in front of you. “So, do you still want to go to the beach? It’s still light out.” You grabbed his hand, replying, “I’d love that.”

And the two of you walked down to the beach.

“You know, if my members find me, they might never let me outside again.”

“You’re an idiot, Nishimura.”

“Only for you, Sweets.”

07. BEST PART — FINALE.

“Nora, I’m out of clothes!” Riki paced around the living room, pointing to his luggage that now carried nothing but perfume and accessories. “I think that means that you need to go home now, Riki,” she replied, a small chuckle leaving her lips at his distress.

“You love seeing me suffer, don’t you?”

“It brightens my day.”

“Ugh!” Riki groans, running his hands through his hair. “How am I supposed to go home?! I’m going to get my ass beat!” Nora sighs, shaking her head. “Riki, you just need to go there and give them a damn-good apology! You obviously can’t stay here much longer.”

“Are you sure you don’t have any oversized clothes in your closet for me?”

“You’ve left me with no choice.”

“She kicked me out, [Name]! Like actually, kicked me out with her foot!” You laughed from the other side of the phone line, dumbfounded. “Now why would she do that?” Your tone was teasing, but Riki didn’t pick it up because of how badly he was panicking. “I don’t know! She wants me to go home, even though I’m going to get grounded again! Can you believe it?!”

“Okay, Riki, don’t freak out…” You spoke cautiously, “…but you know how you made me share my location with you?”

“Yes…it’s a safety precaution, why?”

“I don’t think you know this, but when I shared my location with you, it also shares your location with me.”

“Okay…what’s wrong with that?”

“Well, I may have shared your exact location to your manager, and he may or may not be coming to pick you up right now, please don’t kill me!”

“WHAT?!— Oh my god, I see his car!” You can hear panting over the phone, and can only assume that Riki is currently trying to outrun his manager’s van. “He’s right there, oh my gosh! This is it! My last words: “I died a warrior!””

“Ni-Ki, get in the car!” The last things you heard before the line got cut off were the sounds of Riki’s frantic shouts, along with the honking of his manager’s car. “Idiot,” You laughed to yourself, knowing full well that he was going to be just fine.

“You’re lucky you’re you, or else you’d be dead right now,” Riki pouted, shoving another croffle in his mouth, “Wow, these croffles are good!”

“Are you sure nobody saw you get the food from the café earlier? And nobody saw you come into my building? You’re still on hiatus, so I don’t know if you’re even allowed outside right now.” You spoke worriedly, but Riki was quick to shake his head. “First off, I posted a lengthy apology note on Weverse, and the ENGENES seem to be receiving it well, so I think I’m good! Also, I made sure to be very stealthy walking into the café.”

“So, about three ENGENES walked up to you?”

“Close, but two ENGENES.” You burst into laughter, wiping the tears from your eyes as you held your stomach. Somehow, Riki always knew how to make you laugh.

Matter of fact, he always knew how to make you happy, Riki made you happy. He watched you in admiration.

“Okay, movie time!” Riki announced, running to the couch to choose the movie. “We’re watching The Bee Movie again, by the way.”

“No more of The Bee Movie, please!”

“But, don’t you like jazz?”

“Riki!”

Eventually, the two of you had settled on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a rom-com classic, and were nearly finished the film. You had snuggled onto Riki’s chest (he pulled you there), and you didn’t object. You weren’t one for physical touch, yet you felt safe when you were near Riki.

“How do the actors not fall for each other?” You spoke your thoughts aloud, and Riki only hummed. “I’m not sure,” he replied. “Maybe they just aren’t made for each other.”

“But look at what Matthew McConaughey says about his experience on set with Kate Hudson! They seem so close— how did they not fall in love with each other?”

Riki shrugged, pulling you closer. “Maybe he didn’t feel that spark you feel when you’re in love. You know— when your heart beats out of your chest whenever you’re near someone, when you find yourself wanting to spend time with them all the time, wanting to spend the rest of your life with them, when you miss them the moment they leave you, and when your hands get all sweaty and clammy whenever you’re next to them. Maybe Matthew McConaughey just didn’t feel that with Kate Hudson.”

“Wow, Riki,” you chuckled. “You’re like, a love expert. Who’s the lucky girl?” He smiled, this was it, this was when he was going to say it.

“None other than the girl in my arms right now.” Your eyes widened, heat spreading from your chest to your cheeks. You sit up right away. “Me?!”

“Yeah, you,” Riki grinned from ear to ear, and you felt yourself slowly melting away. “When I first started thinking about attending university, I had my doubts, but when I met you, they all disappeared into thin air. You’re undeniably charming, and that spark I was talking about— I feel all of it when I’m with you, because I love you, [Name]. A lot.”

“Riki, I-” Your voice breaks, sobs threatening to escape after Riki’s confession. “I love you, too. A lot.” He chuckled, wiping your tears with his thumb. His expression softened, and slowly, he leaned in, “May I?”

When you nod, he connects your lips in a gentle kiss, cupping your face while you feel him smile against your mouth. The two of you pull away, and your cheeks are nearly about to burst with how wide your smile is.

“Will you be my girlfriend, [Name]?”

“Yes, I will, Riki.” He cheers and brings you back to his chest, leaning the two of you back on the couch. You laugh softly. “Now I feel like we’re in a movie, a rom-com of our own,” you start, watching the credits of the movie you had on roll.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Riki wishes he would stop smiling so much, but he truly can’t help it, he just loves you so much.

“It feels surreal, doesn’t it? The fact that we’re dating?” You nod in response, “if our life were a movie, I think this would be the best part.”

Riki shakes his head. “If our life were a movie, you’d be the best part.”

You giggle. “Always the biggest flirt, Nishimura.”

“You know you love it, Sweets.”

“Yeah, maybe I do.”

THE END.

taglist @sakiimeo @tinytan-gerine @riksboo @yangjungwonnie @heartheejake @lanapaz @heartsforjw @yourmyst4r @riksaes @yasssposts @catecita @onementally-unstabel-kid @forever-atiny @jxkluvr @sol3chu @istglevi-gotmesimping @moonpri @annoyingbitch83 @bee-the-loser (bold couldn’t be tagged!)

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THE CAR’S OUTSIDE ⊹ · YJW 양정원 WORK OF FICTION

🗯️ ━━━ 𝐲ou and jungwon have been stuck by the hip ever since kindergarten . he’d help you build your dollhouse , you taught him how to ride a bike . you were each others first kiss , you stood up to his bullies , he comforted you when you got hurt. ‎ 🎀🪽 ‎ 𝓼o who could blame you when his dimpled smile and sparkly eyes got to your heart , making you feel unexplainable flutters one summer of middle school . you chalked it up to teenage hormones . but you couldn’t deny the unexplainable pain when he suddenly started to drift apart from you and set his eyes on new girls ... a new reputation that left your heart in pieces in stead ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 📺

GENRE. fluff, angst, childhood best friends au, high school au, written series, mid-length works.

P𝓐IRING. childhood bestfriend!yang jungwon x fem!reader, player!jungwon x classmate!reader, friends to strangers / enemies to lovers, sullyoon from nmixx + other female characters ( brief flings )

WARNING ׂ  ׅ ' . jungwon and reader as kids playing around. jungwon becoming distant and meaner in highschool. player relationships, swearing, partying, drinking ( of age ), kissing, familial death, crying, jungwon shit-talk.

🎥 FEATURING! jay & heeseung 엔하이픈! sullyoon of NMIXX 🗯️ ILLIT YUNAH ( AESPA ) ningning and karina. the boyz sunwoo le sserafim chaewon. RICKY ZB1

DISCLAIMER this story is completely fictional, character portrayal is not based on the idols in real life. for the sake of this story, all the characters are the same age.

OOO. ❪ PRELUDE ❫ ❛ YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND, I LOVE YOU FOREVER. ❜ ━━━ best friend, never young forever. ( teaser! )

OO1. ❪ CHAPTER ❫ ❛ LOViN’ FROM AFAR. ❜ ━━━ 숨겨진 마음. ‎ you keep trying to get him out of your head, but why do you still like him after he turned sour. jungwon keeps trying to get away from you, but why are you sticking so sweet?

OO2. ❪ CHAPTER ❫ ❛ FOUR WALLS. ❜ ━━━ 당연한 장소 ‎ jungwon hates how familiar he feels in your room, he hates the comfort and your presence. he hates how you fit into his arms so right. he hates how his body yearns for your touch.

OO3. ❪ CHAPTER ❫ ❛ CLOSE THE WINDOWS. ❜ ━━━ 봉쇄된 마음. ‎ you hate how easily you fall. you want his attention at any time. even when it hurts so bad when he reminds you his heart is closed off, and worse, it’s only closed for you.

❪ BUNNY TALK ❫ been planning this for a while — so excited to release it finally ^^ this song makes me cry every time, I swear and it reminds me of all the angsty jungwon fics I read in 2021 - 2022 TT that era of won also makes me cry.. enough of my yaps, hope you enjoy guys!

❪ OO1 TAGLIST ❫ OPEN! fill in this google form, send an ask or comment on this post to be added! 🐇🪽

❪ PERM TAGLIST ❫ @w3bqrl @boowoowho @ahnneyong @kynrki @ixomiyu @yunki4evr @flwoie @bubblytaetae @ja4hyvn @dimplewonie @xiaoderrrr @trsrina @adajoemaya @stepout-09-15 zzegarki @ineedaherosavemeenow @lcv3lies @violetinferno @woncheecks @mijuuv @enhapocketz @hoonics @bubblytaetae @dimplewonie @isoobie @100203s @jiaant11 @yeomha @mosssi @j-wyoung @artstaeh @spilled-coffee-cup @cowsmicwu @nishislcve @laylasbunbunny @greentulip @enhacolor @hanniluvi

my secret garden ( ʚɞ ) yang jungwon x fem! reader

. . SYNOPSIS⌇you’ve only seen jungwon from afar, being worlds apart there was no need for a popular and non-popular to interact. when you’re assigned as desk mates for the year what will happen? will you find solace in one another or just tear each other down?

. . GENRE⌇high school au!, strangers to friends to lovers(?), fluff + angst

. . WARNINGS⌇some minor language :p (zoa of weeekly will be used for photo references!!)

. . STATUS⌇currently doing! | start date : 05.18.22

. . UPDATE SCHEDULE⌇every 3 days

. . TAGLIST⌇taglist is open. send an ask or comment to be added!

. . GRAPHIC⌇by @yeowooya

ʚɞ MASTERLIST ! — profiles one. profiles two.

prologue . . . new beginnings!

01 . . . after school shenanigans

02 . . . not the best idea

03 . . . accident central

04 . . . she’s a loser apparently

05 . . . screw you and your friends!

06 . . . confessions and apologies

07 . . . sudden feelings?

08 . . . it isn’t a date

09 . . . he posted what

10 . . . sweet as cake

11 . . . not so secret hangouts

12 . . . totally don’t care

bonus chapter . . . new characters

13 . . . you’re an idiot

14 . . . not used to this

15 . . . ignoring you!

16 . . . what is she even doing here

17 . . . why are you hesitant

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE A GOOD HOGWARTS AU! I BE EATING IT UP EVERY TIME!! (and a side of jungwon?? i was FED)

project binki masterlist

riki has a crush on you, which you’re totally oblivious to. but he’s not good with romance or relationships, or even talking to people outside of his personal bubble. so he turns to the least reliable group of people he knows for help; his friends.

pairing nishimura riki x gn! reader x yang jungwon

genre fluff, modern hogwarts au, humour, angsty, strangers to lovers

warnings cursing, acromantulas / spiders, empty threats, mentions of death

profiles

— lonely hearts club

— quidditch team support group

chapters

— one rihanna in 2006

— two i heart professor binns

— three just a little crush

— four the start of something new

— five jungwon?

— six why professor binns

— seven over Quidditch???

— eight my hero

— nine get one thing straight

— ten decalcomanie

— eleven dinner with sunghoon

— twelve aaand world play

— thirteen fall off your broom

— fourteen kind regards, riki

— fifteen gotta blast

— sixteen back in session

— seventeen cat factory

— eighteen ProfSlughorn

— nineteen wing people

— twenty book return due

— twenty one break a leg

— twenty two no take-backs

— twenty three the girls are fighting

— twenty four ridiculous details

— twenty five y/n playing quidditch

— twenty six niki is missing!!!!!

— twenty seven the wonki reunion

status complete!

enhypen nishimura riki social media au / smau. will include written sections as well as social media screenshots. warnings will be added to both the masterlist and at the start of each chapter, so make sure to read them.

taglist @jjikyuu @hobistigma @sunghonkers @envirae @yangyanghq @w3bqrl @youreverydayzebra @elicheel @hyunsunge @softkons @jungw8ns @yenart @bakukags @m1ng-how @uhhalexwashere @shotasgf

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project binki masterlist

riki has a crush on you, which you’re totally oblivious to. but he’s not good with romance or relationships, or even talking to people outside of his personal bubble. so he turns to the least reliable group of people he knows for help; his friends.

pairing nishimura riki x gn! reader x yang jungwon

genre fluff, modern hogwarts au, humour, angsty, strangers to lovers

warnings cursing, acromantulas / spiders, empty threats, mentions of death

profiles

— lonely hearts club

— quidditch team support group

chapters

— one rihanna in 2006

— two i heart professor binns

— three just a little crush

— four the start of something new

— five jungwon?

— six why professor binns

— seven over Quidditch???

— eight my hero

— nine get one thing straight

— ten decalcomanie

— eleven dinner with sunghoon

— twelve aaand world play

— thirteen fall off your broom

— fourteen kind regards, riki

— fifteen gotta blast

— sixteen back in session

— seventeen cat factory

— eighteen ProfSlughorn

— nineteen wing people

— twenty book return due

— twenty one break a leg

— twenty two no take-backs

— twenty three the girls are fighting

— twenty four ridiculous details

— twenty five y/n playing quidditch

— twenty six niki is missing!!!!!

— twenty seven the wonki reunion

status complete!

enhypen nishimura riki social media au / smau. will include written sections as well as social media screenshots. warnings will be added to both the masterlist and at the start of each chapter, so make sure to read them.

taglist @jjikyuu @hobistigma @sunghonkers @envirae @yangyanghq @w3bqrl @youreverydayzebra @elicheel @hyunsunge @softkons @jungw8ns @yenart @bakukags @m1ng-how @uhhalexwashere @shotasgf

---

Yang Jungwon — TRULY MADLY DEEPLY

You are a free spirit, untamed and adventurous. Jungwon is methodical, disciplined and completely predictable. Complete opposites, an unlikely match, Jungwon did not expect his existence would fascinate you, the troublemaker of his course.

PAIRING: — Good boy Jungwon x Bad Girl / Troublemaker Reader (f)

GENRE: fluff, super suggestive, smutyish (kinda), college au, good boy × bad girl trope (we love), strangers to friends to lovers.

WARNINGS: heavy making out, double meaning jokes, mentions of alcohol, skinship, reader falls first Jungwon falls harder, very suggestive in the end but overall fluff.

WC: 10.8k — masterlist - perm taglist

— Author Note: Since I had this idea with Jungwon I couldn't help but write for the last 3 days, he's been wrecking me so bad lately lol. It's my first work with Jungwon and it's a bit longer than my other works, but it's totally worth it. Also, I've been thinking of making a tag list for future works, if you want to be added please comment below. Hope you guys like it, If there are any errors please lmk.

The loud music in the house made Jungwon's eardrums tremble, the number of people increasing by the minute seemed to be slightly suffocating and the drink in his glass was already running low. Jungwon didn't have the habit of going to many parties, he was a little more reserved and liked to be that way. However, he made a few exceptions when Jay invited him saying that it would be legendary.

This time was no different, another party at Jake's house that Jay insisted would be legendary and Jungwon should go to meet more people. Not that Jungwon didn't have many friends, but Jay was way more sociable than him, so he always had someone new to introduce.

As he watched Ni-ki do a funny dance in the middle of the living room, he sat down on the couch that was miraculously free and picked up his phone. He had barely been there for an hour and was already wondering if he should have come.

“I can’t believe you’re already on your phone.” Jungwon looked at Jay, who was in front of him with a look of disbelief. “I’m enjoying the party,” Jungwon replied, “admiring Ni-ki’s beautiful moves.” His tone was laced with sarcasm.

“Man, you need to socialize more like actually talking to people.” Jay sat down next to him sighing “I’ve already met a lot of people thanks to you, thank you very much.” Jungwon saw how the room seemed even more crowded than it had been a few minutes ago.

“You’re impossible,” Jay shook his head negatively, “but at least try to enjoy the food and drinks, Jake chose the best ones.” Jungwon nodded and looked at his own glass, seeing that he would need to refill it soon. “Okay.” He had already passed his final exams so he would try to enjoy this night without thinking too much about studying.

“I'm going to get another drink, do you want one too?” Jay stood up asking uncertainly and Jungwon shook his head, clutching his red cup “I'll finish this one first.” He raised the cup, and Jay gave a side smile “Okay, bro. I'll be right back.”

Jungwon leaned his back against the back of the sofa and turned his gaze to the dance floor that had formed in the center of the room. While trying not to laugh at Jake and Ni-ki having the most hilarious dance battle in the world, his attention was diverted when he felt someone sit down next to him, a sweet scent exuding along with a loud laugh.

He turned around and saw you. Your hair was loose, with a glass in your hand and a – he squinted in the dark lighting and saw a – lollipop – in the other hand. The dark red leather jacket was extremely tight around your waist, contrasting with your black jeans.

“Wow, these guys are hilarious, right?” You commented as if you knew him while Jungwon was still staring at you “Yeah.” He replied automatically and you looked back at him, making him feel embarrassed.

Your eyes scanned his clothes, a perfectly plain dark blue sweatshirt over a white long-sleeved shirt, a thin gray necklace contrasting with his perfectly parted hair. His face was in perfect condition, practically sober. You bit your lower lip trying to contain a smile as you realized that he was clearly one goody two-shoes guy who must have been forced to be there by some friend.

“And why are you sitting here?” You asked curiously, moving closer and Jungwon moved back a little, surprised at how straightforward you were. “I’m enjoying the party.” He replied, looking away and you smiled a little, seeing his reactions.

“Enjoying the party while sitting down?” You raised your eyebrows. Your question made Jungwon run his hand through his hair lightly and give you a closed lip smile “Yeah, something like that.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you realized how right you were about your assumptions. He really was one goody two-shoes guy.

A very cute goody two-shoes.

Your curiosity grew when you realized that he couldn't hold your gaze for long. Ideas began to appear in your mind in a catabolic way while Jungwon remained looking at his cell phone, and then at the track, trying to distract himself.

“Maybe you should try dancing too.” Jungwon looked at you again, giving you a sarcastic smirk and you couldn’t help but notice his small dimple forming. “I can’t dance.” He replied, staring at you as you sucked on the lollipop. “Neither can I, but these are things we do for fun.” He saw your hands searching for something in your pants pockets. “It’s like eating candy while drinking, I know it probably cuts the effect of alcohol, but it’s cool at a party.” Jungwon saw you pull a lollipop out of your pocket and offer it to him. “For you, try it.”

'This girl is weird' was the first thing he thought before taking the candy as you stared at him shamelessly. He felt aware of your gaze and felt his cheeks suddenly heat up.

He wasn't used to interacting with many girls, especially girls who were strangely direct like you.

“Don’t put it away, you have to try it now.” Jungwon was almost putting the candy away when you came closer and held his forearm, making him nervous. He was already in the corner of the couch so he couldn’t move away any further. “O-Okay .” He quickly replied, opening the candy, trying not to look at you.

'Why does she stay so close?' he thought before putting the lollipop in his mouth and you pulled away slightly and clapped your hands slowly, satisfied with Jungwon's reactions. "So? Isn't it good?" You asked and he just nodded without saying a word.

“You’re kind of shy, aren’t you?” Jungwon noticed how you leaned back against the couch, your arm resting on the backrest as your temples brushed against the fingers of your hand. “What’s your name?”

Jungwon had a small internal debate as to why you seemed so interested in talking to him, but decided to introduce yourself anyway. “Jungwon, what’s yours?” He asked and you gave him an excited smile. “Jungwon... that’s a cool name.” You said, lost in thought. “You can create many nicknames. Jungwonie, Jungie, Won...”

With each version of his name being said, Jungwon was sure that you were clearly different from anyone he had ever met. A little crazy, but interesting at the same time. “AH! Wonie too!” Your gaze met his “Well, Jungwon, my name is y/n.” You finally introduced yourself “Nice to meet you, let’s get along well.” You took a sip of your drink, raising the glass like a greeting, making him think that the alcohol was probably cooperating with your actions.

“Sure.” He replied, thinking that your name seemed relatively ordinary compared to your over-the-top personality.

Your little interaction being interrupted by Jay who arrived and gave you both an excited smile “Oh? y/n? I see you finally met my friend Jungwon.”

Jungwon sighed. Of course you know Jay, now everything made sense.

“Hey Jay, it’s been a while.” You saluted Jay and looked at Jungwon. “Yeah, Jungwon is a really nice guy.” Jay noticed how you were looking at Jungwon curiously. “If I knew he was this cute, I would have met him sooner.”

Jungwon swore he felt his whole body stiffen. Did you just call him cute? The tips of Jungwon's ears turned red and you couldn't help but enjoy teasing the boy.

He completely fascinated you.

“Oh?” Jay gave a smirk “It’s because he doesn’t go out that much.” Jay walked towards the couch and you stood up at the same time “I figured.” Jungwon watched you walk “Well boys, now I have to go, but it was great seeing you again Jay,” You turned to Jungwon with a mischievous smile “And it was wonderful meeting you, Jungwonie.” You teased him and he looked away, scratching the back of his neck and nodding.

“See ya.” You gave one last smile and disappeared into the crowd.

Jay looked at Jungwon, laughing at the interaction he just witnessed, and sat down next to him. “I see I interrupted something.” Jay gave a teasing smile, nudging him with his shoulder and Jungwon sighed running his hand over his face “Man, I need another drink.”

Jungwon was relieved to think that he didn't have to worry about seeing you again as this would probably be the only and craziest interaction he would have with you.

That's what he thought.

The week had already started again and Jungwon had arrived early for class as usual. He methodically placed the materials on the table, checking if he had forgotten anything and smiled with satisfaction to see that everything was okay. He opened the laptop, turning it on as the teacher arrived in the room preparing the class material.

Jungwon was extremely responsible with his academic life, always being punctual and completing his assignments on time. He felt good about getting good grades at university and achieving all the goals he set for the future.

For Jungwon, there was nothing better than predictability and discipline in life.

As the teacher taught the class, Jungwon typed up notes on the topic, completely focused on the subject. Before he could write down the last topic spoken, his attention was snatched by your arrival, sitting next to him panting as if you had run a marathon.

“Am I late?” You asked in a whisper and his eyes widened in shock, staring at you in complete disbelief.

“y/n??? What are you doing here?” He asked, completely flabbergasted by the sight of you putting your backpack on your feet and a notebook on the table. The fact that you approached him to the point of sitting next to him as if you were great acquaintances was simply shocking to Jungwon.

You looked at him smiling, getting closer to him. “What do you mean, silly?” Jungwon’s stomach turned at your voice so close to his ear. “We’re on the same major.”

If he already thought you were crazy before, now, he was sure.

Jungwon didn't usually memorize the faces of everyone he had classes with, but he doesn't remember seeing you in any class before. How was it possible that you had the same classes, and your presence had gone unnoticed? You were like a hurricane that arrived and caught everyone's attention.

“I’ve never seen you in this class before.” He answers quietly, turning his attention back to the teacher’s explanation. “That’s because I sit in the back, Jungwonie.” You replied, poking his cheek with your index finger, making him give you a deadly look that amused you.

Teasing Jungwon has officially become one of your favorite hobbies.

“y/n, I need to focus on this class.” He said seriously and you smiled sideways “Sorry, I’ll let you study.” You straightened up and decided to write in your notebook while Jungwon sighed, running his fingers over his eyebrow .

'Is this a dream?' He wondered internally as he gave you quick, surreptitious glances at how you wrote things in such a messy pattern that it made him want to correct everything into an organized bulleted summary.

No margins, paragraphs or spaces. You simply wrote the way it came to your mind.

“You know Jungwon, you get super hot when you get serious like this.” Jungwon looked at you shocked again by your words taking away all the little focus he had. His ears and cheeks were clearly red. A heat rising up his neck.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind crazy?” He whispered back with a disbelieving look that amused you deeply. “Yep, I’ve heard it many times, I’m aware of it.”

Your smile intrigued him. How could someone act like that after just one interaction at a party? He sighed and turned away, trying to ignore your presence, even though he knew it would be impossible.

“This subject is important, it will be on the next tests.” He commented one last time trying to make you focus on the teacher and not on his profile.

“Okay, I’ll pay attention.” Your posture now resembled his, looking straight ahead, focusing on absolutely everything the teacher was saying.

After a few minutes, since Jungwon didn't say anything else, you felt curious and took the opportunity to watch how he typed on his laptop. The veins that ran from his forearm to his hands distracting you. You couldn't resist and sat a little further to the right, slowly approaching him until you could see the screen of his laptop, admiring how he managed to write everything down in such an organized way.

Your scent invaded Jungwon's senses, making him turn around slowly and be caught off guard by your face so close and move away again. "What are you doing?" He asked, seeing how you seemed to be practically glued to his side. "I'm seeing how you take your notes." He hadn't noticed before, but now he saw that you were chewing gum. "They're very organized."

He nodded and decided to ignore what you were doing and try to focus on what he was writing again. “You should do the same.” An idea popped into your head and you smiled. “I think you could teach me.” He scrunched his face at the suggestion. “No thank you, I pass.” He sighed seeing that the last few topics were incomplete due to the distraction that was your presence.

“Geez Jungwonie, don’t be so mean.” Jungwon jumped when he felt you quickly touch his left knee before crossing your arms and staring at him “I want to be a good student.”

“Then start paying attention in class and stop talking.” He gently brought his laptop more to his side and nodded at the teacher with his head.

You pouted playfully, but then smiled, enjoying how Jungwon seemed more expressive than he had been at the party.

Jungwon was more fun than you thought.

The rest of the class you decided to stay quiet and pay attention to what the teacher was saying. Jungwon, on the other hand, had his mind full, wondering how you could be like that. Even though you stayed quiet for the rest of the class, the fact that you were standing next to him and occasionally glancing at his summary to get an idea of what to write in yours took all of his attention away.

When class time ended, he mentally thanked himself that those minutes of mental torture were over. Your presence made him more nervous than any bad joke Jay ever told in his life.

“Jungwon, I loved sitting next to you, let’s do it more often.” You said and he sighed, feeling an absurd mental fatigue. “I hope not.” You laughed at his sincerity and pinched his cheek before grabbing your bag to leave. “Bye, wonie!” Every time you said a nickname for Jungwon, he felt a shiver run through his body.

He had no idea why you seemed so interested in him, but he knew your presence messed with his focus and he needed to be careful about that.

“Man, it’s been so hot lately.” Jake commented, fanning himself with his shirt as he and Jungwon walked towards a drink machine near the dorm. “It’s becoming unbearable.”

“I agree, I get thirsty all the time.” Jungwon stood in front of the machine pondering what he would choose to drink.

Jake chose a soda while Jungwon chose a natural orange juice “Nothing better than a cold drink to cool down.” Jake commented and Jungwon laughed as they walked to the campus building, but they stopped on the way when Jake pointed to a girl walking with an old lady by your side “Hey, isn't that y/n?”

Jungwon looked in the direction Jake was pointing and paid attention to the scene.

You were helping an old lady cross the street while she held onto your arm. Your smile was big as you interacted with the old lady. “Do you know her?” Jungwon asked and Jake nodded “She’s kind of peculiar, but she’s nice.” He replied and Jungwon watched the scene as you left the old lady in a safe place and then ran back to campus.

“She’s definitely peculiar.” Jungwon replied, continuing to walk with Jake before hearing you call his name “Jungwon!!”

You waved from afar and the boys watched you slowly approach. “What a coincidence to find you here.” You commented and Jungwon continued drinking his juice “We take the same course, it’s not that much of a coincidence.” He responded by turning his head to the side and you laughed at his answer.

“Indeed, you’re right. But it’s always good to see you.” You replied, making him look away and turned to Jake. “It’s nice to see you too, Jake.”

Jake chuckled “That’s good to know. Were you helping that old lady?” He asked, and you put your hands in the pockets of your jeans nodding your head “She seemed to be having trouble crossing the street, so I wanted to help her.” You commented, and he smiled “It’s nice how you took time to help her.”

“That’s what anyone should do.” You replied and turned to Jungwon “And you Jungwonie, where are you going?” He, who had been silent this whole time, looked at you confused “I’m going to the next class...” He commented as if it was an obvious thing that you should know since it was class time.

“Oh, you’re so disciplined Jungwon, I also have a class now, but I think I’ll go out for some ice cream since it’s so hot.” You replied as you stretched slightly “You’re going to ditch class?!” Jungwon widened his eyes in disbelief and you laughed “Relax, it’s an extra class that doesn’t have mandatory attendance.” Jungwon sighed at your response “Still...”

Jake was silently watching the interaction and Jungwon and chuckled when he realized the interesting mood between you two.

“Anyway, I have to go now. See you guys around.” You replied by waving goodbye with your right hand and left in the opposite direction, making Jungwon run his hand through his hair, shaking his head negatively.

“She’s so weird...” He spoke softly, but Jake laughed, putting his arm on Jungwon’s shoulder. “And what was this atmosphere between you two?” His friend asked, moving his eyebrows mischievously.

“What atmosphere?” Jungwon replied, walking ahead and Jake following behind. “Come on man, I could feel the sparks flowing between you two.” His friend said teasingly.

Jungwon sighed, deciding to ignore Jake's comment. "Let's go, I don't want to be late for class."

Jake just smirked and followed Jungwon "Alright sir, I'm coming."

It was late at night when Jungwon was in his room sitting at his desk, making his plan for the next weeks. He separated the curriculum for each subject and organized the subjects by day so he could get ahead and study in advance.

He contently smiled when he finally organized everything in his digital planner and could start to get ahead with all the subjects without stress for the next few days.

As he turned off his laptop, his thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone vibrated on the table and the screen lit up. He was surprised to see that he had received a message from an unknown number at this time of night, since his friends knew that he usually went to bed early.

When he unlocked his phone to check the messages he received, Jungwon couldn't believe what appeared in front of his eyes.

[Unknown] — Good night, Jungwonie.

[Unknown] — Are you awake?

22:31 pm

‘It couldn't be.’

[Jungwon] — How did you get my number?

22:32 pm

Read.

It seemed like an endless cycle, when he thought he was at peace, you appeared out of nowhere taking away all the focus he had.

He stared impatiently at his cell phone, seeing that you'd read the message and hadn't replied, making him anxious. His heart began to beat faster with the fright he got when his cell phone started ringing, and he saw that you were calling him.

Awkwardly he tried to lower the volume of the ringing that broke the silence in his room.

He could ignore you, block you and simply pretend nothing happened, but something inside him couldn't resist the curiosity he felt if he answered. What would be the reason for your call?

He struggled for a few seconds before accepting the call and putting the phone to his ear and hearing your voice on the other end.

"Oh?" You answered Jungwon "I thought you were going to ignore me." Your warm laugh tickled Jungwon's ear. "You didn't answer my question." His voice came out a little more serious than he intended.

"Oh, it was really easy, I asked Jay to give me your number because I wanted to talk to you." The sound of your breathing getting louder because the microphone was closer to your mouth.

'Of course it was Jay.' He thought looking at the ceiling.

"So? What do you want to talk about?" Jungwon leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking about what would be so important that you would get his number and call him late at night.

"Well, I was feeling so lonely, so I thought about you and decided to call you." Jungwon's cheeks heated up at the way you said it, even though it didn't have the double meaning that crossed his mind.

"So, basically, you just wanted to call to pass the time?" He wanted to confirm his suspicion, and you laughed "That's right!"

"Haa..." He let out a laugh through his nose and you managed to catch it over the phone "You're laughing now, aren't you?" Your voice sounded excited "I can't believe I'm not there to see your smile in person."

Jungwon decided to get up from his chair and go lie down on his bed, ignoring the whirlwind of sensations that always arose every time he interacted with you.

He couldn't understand how you managed to keep him hooked with your unexpected actions. Maybe it was the curiosity he felt about what kind of person you were and why you acted that way.

"You don't make any sense," He replied looking at the ceiling placing his arm over his forehead "shouldn't you go to sleep if you're bored? It's already late."

You laughed, amused by Jungwon's authoritative tone. He was so prudent.

"Jungwon, when I'm bored, I don't sleep, I do something to have fun." He closed his eyes again as he listened to you "And it's not even that late." You replied and he sighed feeling tiredness hit him "For me it is." Jungwon slept early, his sleep was sacred.

"Well then, let's talk until you fall asleep." You said and he thought how weird that was.

Never in his entire life had he stayed on the phone with someone until he fell asleep, this was completely new to him.

"I'm an easy sleeper, so you'll probably be talking to yourself soon." He didn't deny the proposal, but he didn't want to give in so easily. He knew you'd do whatever you wanted anyway.

You chuckled, "Hmm, that's fine by me." The way your voice seemed sweet despite the joking tone made Jungwon wonder how he ended up in this situation.

As you talked about random things and funny stories from your adventures, Jungwon, who was listening intently, felt his eyes grow heavy. He vaguely remembered you talking about running away from the police and how you had a pet rabbit that ran away before falling fast asleep.

"And then he said— Won?" You giggled when you heard his soft breathing on the other end and no response. "Have sweet dreams." You wished him hanging up the call, letting Jungwon rest for now.

Jungwon was coming back from the library when he saw you from afar and started to wonder when your presence started to become normal in his daily life. You started to sit next to him when you had classes together, but now you let him focus better. He was also used to it when you talked to him in the hallways or sent him a picture of something completely random during the week.

Little by little he was no longer scared when you appeared out of nowhere, but despite being so present, you had the gift of mysteriously disappearing, and he realized that he didn't know much about you other than the barbaric stories you told him.

As he walked to the classroom you stopped him in his tracks with a suspicious smile. Jungwon looked at you curiously wondering what you were planning this time.

“Good morning, Jungwonie. Where are you going?” Jungwon looked at you, noticing how different you looked today, wearing a black denim skirt and a white turtleneck while drinking strawberry milk. You looked almost angelic.

“To class, as always.” He replied, taking a step back as you approached him.

“So, I have an idea.” Jungwon eyed you suspiciously “I’m afraid of your ideas.” He replied, making you laugh and pull him by the shirt to speak in a lower tone “Let’s skip class.” You whispered, and Jungwon sighed “Are you out of your mind?” He decided to ignore you and keep walking, but you stopped in front of him again “Hear me out!! It would only be today, and you’re already advanced in the subject. One class wouldn’t be a big deal.”

Jungwon looked up at the lights on the ceiling wondering why he was still listening to you. Clearly you had ideas that involved - not being responsible - with college.

“And what are you planning?” He asked and you smiled seeing that he didn’t deny the idea immediately.

“It’s a surprise.” You grabbed Jungwon’s sleeve and he shook his head “Absolutely not.” He looked at you and noticed that you didn’t have a backpack “You didn’t even come with a backpack? Were you already planning this?”

“Jungwon, I promise it will be fun, pretty pleeease, just for today!” You pulled his hand, and his eyes widened “You won’t fail for missing a single class, you know that.”

He was shifting his weight from one leg to the other as he debated internally about what to do. If it were the old days, he would have refused and gone to class immediately, but now he was actually debating whether or not to skip class.

Jungwon picked up his cell phone and saw that the next class would be a subject he was good at. “I can only miss the next class, then I have to come back.” He looked back at you, biting his lip anxiously, and you gave him a blinding smile.

“You’re going to love it, Jungwonie!” You intertwined your fingers with his hand and pulled him out of the college, making Jungwon’s heart suddenly race at the contact.

'What the hell am I doing?' He thought in disbelief that he would actually skip class just because you suggested it.

☆

Jungwon stared at you silently, watching you play with a cat on your lap. Apparently, your big idea was to skip class to go to a cat cafe near campus, because according to you, it would be easier for Jungwon to get back to his next class.

It was funny how you showed a new side of yourself every time Jungwon interacted with you. A part of him didn't want to admit it, but he was having fun. The day was peaceful and the cats in the place were super docile.

“Do you like cats?” He asked as a kitten snuggled into his lap. “I never thought much about it, but they’re cute.” You replied seeing how relaxed Jungwon looked.

You looked at him with a side smile, noticing how he looked away. His reactions always amuse you to the extreme. How could he be so cute? Your desire to tease him grew even more.

Jungwon lowered his gaze and stroked the head of the cat that slept on his lap.

“You look like a cat.” You said out of nowhere and he looked at you quickly “A cat? Why?” He asked and you got closer “Because you’re cute and serious.”

Jungwon's cheeks heated up when he saw how you were staring at him. “You know what? I guess I really like cats.” You teased him and laughed, watching as he gave you an awkward smile. His little dimple showed, and you held yourself back from touching his face.

Looking at the time on his phone, Jungwon saw that it was almost time to leave. The kitten that was on his lap woke up, stretched and slowly left, making Jungwon get up.

Jungwon offered his hand so you could stand up, since you were wearing a skirt. You noticed his kind gesture and gave a sincere smile, thinking how considerate he was, even though you disturbed him daily.

“I really enjoyed hanging out with you, Jungwon.” You squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes as you stood up straight. Jungwon nodded, giving you a tight smile, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Yeah, it was nice.” Was all he said before turning to leave the place.

You let go of Jungwon’s hand and followed him in a comfortable walk back to campus. Even though you were silent, Jungwon’s presence alone was extremely comforting, and you had already teased him enough that day.

Deep down, he didn't want to come back to campus, but he wouldn't admit it.

You were finishing washing the cups when you heard the noise of the cafe door opening. Your eyes saw that it was Heeseung arriving late with a smile on his face “Sorry I'm late, thanks for saving me once again.” He commented as you took off your apron and handed it to him.

“You owe me one. This is the fourth time I’ve covered your emergency shift.” You stretched as you watched the night begin to draw in through the cafe window. Every now and then, you would do favors for Heeseung, partly because he was your best friend, but also because he always helped you out when you were in trouble.

“Here, to make it up to you.” You looked at two tickets in Heeseung’s hand “It’s an underground rock band. They’re playing later.” Your friend looked at you mischievously “You can go with Jungwon.” He whispered, making you quickly grab the tickets, seeing the band’s name.

You looked at him suspiciously at the mention of Jungwon's name. Ever since Heeseung saw you laughing on your phone while talking to Jungwon, he never missed an opportunity to tease you.

Even though the time was a little late, you smirked thinking about the vision of going to a concert with Jungwon in the middle of the night.

Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea.

“You’re a genius, Heeseung! Thank you!!” You grabbed your bag and left the place.

☆

Jungwon was in a deep sleep when he woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He rubbed his eyes, trying to read the name on the screen and saw that it was you. 'Of course it's her.' Sliding his finger across the screen, he answered while yawning slightly “Hello?”

“Jungwonieeee, were you sleeping?” Your loud voice made Jungwon move the phone slightly away from his ear “I was.” He turned on the light in the room trying to get rid of the rest of the sleep he had “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your sleep, but I have an invitation to make.”

“What is it?” Jungwon sighed, knowing he wouldn’t escape whatever you were planning.

“Let’s go out now.” You said directly, “My friend Heeseung gave me two tickets for a concert later, we need to go.”

Heeseung? Jungwon turned his head to the side at the mention of the boy. He remembered seeing him before at a few parties, but never interacted with him enough. A strange feeling formed in the pit of Jungwon's stomach, but he decided to ignore it.

“y/n, I should be sleeping.” He sighed, scratching his head as he looked at the schedule. “And we have class tomorrow! It’s still Wednesday.” You laughed at Jungwon’s worried tone.

“No problem, breakfast tomorrow is on me.” Jungwon was silent for a moment. “Is the place far?” He asked, getting out of bed. “Noo, it’s really close.” You cheered up seeing that Jungwon was interested “Come on, it’ll be cool.” Your voice seemed more seductive than usual at that moment.

“Okay, send me the location.” He said and you laughed “Silly, I’m already waiting for you in front of your building.” He widened his eyes and opened the curtain of the bedroom window seeing nothing on the street “I’m just kidding.”

Your laughter made him smile unexpectedly. “You’re impossible.” He headed towards the bathroom, knowing he would have to take a shower and get ready at the last minute.

“I send you the location, byee Jungwonie!!” You hung up, and Jungwon decided to get ready for yet another adventure you got him into.

☆

You were standing outside the bar where the concert would take place when you saw Jungwon arriving. Your eyes widened when you saw how much more handsome he looked than usual. He was wearing a black tank top with dark jeans and a leather jacket that adorned him perfectly.

When he gave a slight smile, running his hand through his hair, you felt a heat rise up your neck. He was so hot.

“Heyy, Jungwonie.” You pushed yourself off the wall and walked towards Jungwon. “So, you really came, huh?”

“I promised, didn’t I?” He stepped closer and you nodded with a small chuckle “Of course.”

He saw the door and stood beside you. “So, shall we go in?” You asked, and he nodded.

The night was just beginning.

The place was surprisingly full, with many people bumping into each other and Jungwon instinctively took your hand so that you wouldn't get lost in the place. The band was finishing adjusting the instruments on stage when you reached a good position to see the stage.

“Are you a fan of this band?” Jungwon asked beside you and you laughed “I’ve never heard of them in my entire life.” Jungwon leaned down slightly to hear you. Your whisper made him bite his lips trying not to laugh.

Going to a rock concert of a band you didn't know on a random Wednesday was so you.

“You're funny.” He spoke lowly, but you heard it anyway. The loud sounds of the instruments made your voices almost inaudible.

As the band began to perform their opening sets, Jungwon was thinking about how crazy this all was. He was at a bar, in the middle of the week, to see a show because you called him.

In a way, in the last few weeks, he had been living a lot more since he met you, but at the same time, it was scary. It was distant from everything he had planned, and it made him wary.

You were like a breeze that suddenly appeared when the sun was too hot, but at the same time disappeared just as quickly. Even though you had built a kind of friendship, he still wanted to know your dreams, more of your story... he simply wanted to know more about you.

His train of thought was interrupted when he saw that the place started to get crowded, and some guys started pushing you. Instinctively, he stood behind you, giving the rude guys a deadly glare.

You could tell he wanted to protect you, but he was too shy to touch you. His hands were in the air around you, and you smiled, pulling his hands to your waist. Jungwon was caught off guard, seeing you turn slightly to say something, “What a gentleman...” Your smile distracted Jungwon “That’s better.” He nodded, feeling his ears heat up.

When the show started, you didn't talk much, but you laughed a lot because you took the opportunity to scream when everyone else screamed and clapped madly at the end of each song. Jungwon would pull you into his chest occasionally when he saw that someone wanted to cross in front of you and you knew you made the right decision to invite him out.

☆

When the concert ended, Jungwon thought that he wanted to enjoy it more. As much as it was fun, you couldn't talk much because of the volume of the instruments.

“So Jungwonie, did you like it?” You asked as you walked down the street with him. “I liked it. It was very different from the concerts I’ve been to before.” Jungwon put his hands in his pants pockets as you both went to a part of the city that didn’t have many people at that time.

You walked up some steps that led to a small park that had a beautiful view of a part of the city. The place was empty, and Jungwon sat next to you on a small bench there.

“You know, I really admire you Jungwon.” You confessed as you looked at the moon that it looked particularly beautiful that night. “Why?” He asked curiously.

“You seem to have everything in order. You’re always so organized, I bet you have everything planned.” He looked at you intently. This time you were being sincere, as if you wanted to vent about something. “In a way, yes, but it requires a lot of sacrifices, so it’s not that simple.” Jungwon sighed, knowing all the daily sacrifices he makes for his goals.

“I wish I was like that,” You gave a sad smile. “It’s like I can’t follow through on the goals I set for myself.” Jungwon was silent for a moment, thinking about what to say. “I know we’re very different, but everyone has felt lost at some point in their lives.” You looked at him, seeing how kind his expression was. “Until you find your focus, it’s okay to fail and try again.”

You looked away, feeling your eyes water slightly. Maybe you just needed to hear that.

“And personally speaking,” He cleared his throat, “I also wish I could be a little freer like you, but it’s not easy for me.” You looked at him in surprise. Jungwon didn’t seem like the type of person to say something like that directly. “I like being disciplined, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to go out for a few days.” He gave a wry smile, scratching the back of his neck, and you laughed.

“Well, I told you it would be cool.” You laughed, standing up from the bench. “You’re actually a pretty nice guy, Jungwon.” Your gaze lingered on Jungwon’s figure who looked like an angel under the moonlight. “I hope you don’t change.”

Jungwon gave a cute smile that made you want to hug him “I promise I won’t.” He replied, standing up too “Now let’s go, because tomorrow you’ll pay for breakfast.” He went ahead and you laughed “Hey! Wait for me!”

And so, you had a peaceful walk back to the dorm in a wonderful mood that you both didn't want to end.

Jungwon didn't know how you ended up in his room, but you were there.

You looked around the room, analyzing each decoration and Jungwon felt aware of your presence. Everything was meticulously organized just as you expected.

Jungwon wasn't one to have a lot of things. He was a believer in necessary minimalism. His desk had only a few notebooks and books neatly stacked, a simple closet, and his bed had a dark blue sheet neatly folded.

His room was very clean, and you smiled seeing how he had a small frame with a family photo and some keychains next to it.

"Your room is nice..." You turned to Jungwon seeing how tense he looked. "It's just like you." He gave an awkward smile and looked away. "It's pretty plain, but I like it."

You approached slowly with your hands behind your back "Jungwon, I'm curious..." Jungwon looked at you, feeling his stomach churn "About what?"

Your gaze was firmly fixed on the boy who had rosy cheeks watching every step you took.

“Do you think I’m pretty?” Jungwon almost choked on your question as you ran your fingers down his shirt. “Be honest.”

He swallowed hard and looked away, "Y-Yes." You smiled, grabbing his chin and turning his gaze back to you, "You know, Jungwon, you're so cute." He took a step back and you got even closer.

"I like that." Your hands touched Jungwon's chest, who felt the back of his calf touch his bed. He walked backwards so much that he ended up sitting on his own bed, seeing you in front of him with an amused smile.

Your makeup was beautiful, your cheeks were flushed and your lips looked softer than usual. Jungwon couldn't speak at the sight, his heart racing at the way you bent down to be in his line of sight.

Jungwon was sweating, feeling a sudden heat rise through his body. He moved away slightly, leaning on his hands, unable to say a word.

This was wrong. He wasn't the kind of guy to take girls to his room, but he couldn't resist you. He knew he should probably be nice and find a way to get you out safely, but he couldn't say a word.

Not when you were climbing on top of him without any warning. Jungwon's breath hitched as you ran your hands down his chest, your face close to his.

He looked away and you giggled. "Have you done this before?" Jungwon felt a shiver run through his body when he heard your voice whispering in his ear. "Yes." He spoke quickly and you arched an eyebrow. What a surprise.

You chuckled, your breath fanning his face. You pulled his face up by his chin to face him, your thumb going up to Jungwon's mouth. “You have pretty lips." You whispered as you slid your finger across his bottom lip. "You too." He replied, staring at you.

You were surprised by his answer and gave a mischievous smile. Jungwon gasped when he felt your full weight on his lap, his heart was beating so hard with so much nervousness that he could only swallow dryly waiting for your next steps.

Your left hand was holding his shoulder, and you had such a deep gaze that he felt hypnotized. He would do anything you wanted if you kept looking at him like that.

With both hands you pushed his coat back, taking it off. He threw the coat to another corner while you noticed how red his ears were.

"Jungwonie," you called out to him and he looked at you eagerly "do you want to touch me?" Your question made Jungwon feel butterflies in his stomach. If you could read his mind right now you would know that was all he could think about right now.

"Yes." He sighed, closing his eyes as he felt your lips place a kiss on the corner of his neck.

Your hands pulled his hands to your hips. “You can.” He tentatively moved his hands from your hips to your waist, swallowing hard when you moved closer.

Your hands touched his cheeks, bringing his face closer to yours. He looked into your eyes, and you smiled, touching your noses. You were so close he couldn't think straight. Your breath mingled with his as you closed the distance and kissed him.

Jungwon felt the world stop with the movement of your lips on his. A soft, delicate kiss making him tighten your waist. You moved your hands to his hair, making him more desperate.

He brought your body closer to his and you smiled into the kiss, his cheeks redder than usual. He brought his face closer to yours again and you pulled away, teasing him.

He was so hot when he looked desperate.

"Easy, I'm not going anywhere." You replied and he felt slightly embarrassed, but that soon passed when you kissed him again, your hands going up under his shirt.

His breath hitched as he felt the touch of your fingers on his skin. His arm wrapped around you completely, the kiss becoming more desperate.

He pulled away to kiss your neck but was interrupted by a loud noise.

— BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP —

Jungwon's eyes widened as he woke up suddenly, his chest rising and falling in shock from the alarm as he stared at the ceiling of his own room. He was dreaming. It wasn't real.

He sat up in bed and ran his hand over his sweaty forehead. His entire body felt hot with the shame he was feeling at that moment.

A feeling of guilt invaded his chest. How could he dream things like that? Especially about you. His fingertips touched his own mouth thinking about how everything seemed so real. He couldn't forget.

The headache from having slept so little seemed unbearable as he tried to adjust to the brightness of the room. He pulled off his own sheet, throwing it to the side, trying to get up.

He had to face the reality that it wasn't real, and he would need to see you and pretend to be normal. He looked at his watch and broke out in a cold sweat when he remembered that you are going to have coffee together that morning.

'Great.' He thought indignantly to himself.

☆

After he got ready to go out, he looked in the mirror and realized how bad he looked. Dark circles under his eyes and his excitement on the floor.

He didn't know how to forget his dream, and much less how he would face you that morning. He sent you a message asking where you were. Maybe it would be better for him to ignore everything he dreamed and continue like nothing happened.

He walked into the campus and was greeted by Jake who looked at him confused "Man, you alright?" He noticed how Jungwon looked more dejected than usual.

"Just a rough night." He sighed, picking up his phone and seeing that you still hadn't responded to his message.

"You should take care of yourself, the heat is terrible. I heard that two people fainted today because of it." He commented and Jungwon nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind." He replied "By the way, have you seen y/n? I texted her earlier and she hasn't responded yet." Jungwon asked and Jake shook his head "I don't know, but you can ask her best friend." Jake looked back and pointed down the path "I just passed him, it was a boy in a red shirt and black pants, I think you know him, it’s Heeseung."

"Thanks, see you around." Jungwon left first and Jake smiled seeing how this time it was him who was looking for you, and not the other way around.

As Jungwon walked down the hallway looking for Heeseung, a part of him felt pathetic. He didn't understand why he seemed so desperate to find you, you could be busy and then you would answer, but he felt like he needed to see you.

He made a small run touching your best friend's shoulder who looked at him curiously. Heeseung recognized him instantly "You're Heeseung, right?" He asked worriedly and the boy smiled gently "Yes, and you're Jungwon, Jay's friend. I remember you." Jungwon just nodded before asking what he really wanted to know "Do you know where y/n is? I texted her and she didn't respond so I got worried."

Heeseung widened his eyes, understanding the situation. "Dude, didn't you hear?" Jungwon felt his heart tighten at Heeseung's tone. "What?" Heeseung sighed. "She fainted because of the heat. She's in the campus infirmary, I'm coming back from there."

Jungwon felt all the color drain from his face when he heard the news. You? Fainted? You, who has so much energy and never sit still?

“Where is the infirmary? I need to go now." He despaired and Heeseung grabbed his shoulder "Calm down, otherwise you'll be the next one to faint if you act like this." Jungwon let out the air he didn't know he was holding. All the worries he felt before disappeared because you were all that mattered right now.

"I'll take you there." Heeseung lightly squeezed Jungwon's shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you the way."

"Is she okay?" Jungwon asked on the way and Heeseung nodded. "Yeah, she was taking a nap when I went there. She must have been tired."

Jungwon felt a little more relieved, but he still wanted to see you with his own eyes. Heeseung took him to the place, leaving him at the entrance. "I need to go now, take good care of her." He said and Jungwon thanked him for his help. "Of course, thanks for showing me the way."

Heeseung gave Jungwon a friendly smile, "It's okay brother, don't worry." He replied and Jungwon felt a pang of guilt for harboring strange feelings towards Heeseung who seemed like a nice guy.

He said goodbye and Jungwon entered the infirmary looking for you. His eyes searched the area until he saw you lying on the bed with your eyes closed and sleeping peacefully. He carefully approached and sat down on the chair next to your bed.

He wouldn't leave until you woke up.

While you were sleeping, he noticed how long your eyelashes were and how relaxed your eyebrows looked when you slept. How angelic your face looked when you were expressionless.

He brushed a few strands of hair from your face, tucking it behind your ear. Your cheeks were slightly pale, perhaps from the weakness.

He looked around and saw that there was no food or water there, so he left his bag on the chair and went to buy some supplies from the machine outside the room. When he came back you seemed to have shifted position, your arm gently hugging the sheet.

He side smiled at how cute you were sleeping and started to think about how he ended up in this situation. You were just a strange girl he met at a party but now became important to the point where he watched you sleep in an infirmary ward.

Your presence was already part of Jungwon's life and he couldn't ignore it. His fingers lightly caressed your cheeks, warming the place.

Jungwon couldn't deny it, you were important to him.

When you started to move, he retracted his hand and looked at you curiously. You blinked your eyes slightly, stretching. Your gaze scanned the room, realizing it was the infirmary and finally noticing Jungwon's presence by your side.

"Jungwon?" You asked confused looking around "Why am I here?" Your head hurt a little and Jungwon made you lie down again.

"You fainted from the heat, you should stay here, rest and hydrate yourself." He said as he adjusted the pillow for you.

You searched your mind for your last memory and remembered that you had arrived at the campus gate before everything went dark out of nowhere. Jungwon looked at you intently, his shy persona being replaced by his comforting presence by your side.

"We were supposed to have coffee together." You mumbled sadly as you looked at him. Jungwon gave the first smile of the day, lightly caressing your forehead. "Your health is more important. We have all the time in the world for that." He answered gently and you felt your heart melt at that.

Jungwon looked even more handsome today. His presence was like an anchor you could rely on. He brought you unparalleled peace.

"You need to hydrate." He handed you a bottle of water so you could drink. "Okay." You replied, drinking the water and trying to relax. Your gaze fell on Jungwon who was staring at you, and you looked away, feeling self-conscious.

"You need to go to class." Jungwon snickered at your comment "I'm not leaving here." He replied taking the bottle back and giving you a cupcake so you could eat.

You gave Jungwon a mischievous look. “Oh? Jungwonie is going to skip class to take care of me?” You chuckled “I’m honored.”

He touched your cheek and smiled, "Looks like you're feeling better already." He commented and you nodded "Yes! Thanks to you Jungwonie, thank you very much."

"You're welcome." He saw how happy you looked and remembered the dream he had earlier. He looked away, feeling his heart suddenly race.

This was not a good time to remember that.

"I'll recover and I promise we'll have breakfast." Your voice was softer as you lay back down on the bed, closing your eyes as tiredness took over.

"Then recover quickly." Jungwon said smiling seeing how comfortable you looked to try to sleep again in front of him "Sweet dreams."

He let you rest while he played with his phone. As long as you were okay, nothing else mattered.

After you had fully recovered, Jungwon bombarded you with messages daily reminding you to eat regularly, sleep at the right times, and prioritize your health.

Since he was attentive and helped you over the past few days, you suggested camping with Jungwon over the weekend as a way of saying thank you.

You rented a car and bought a tent so you could enjoy the nice weather. While researching perfect camping spots, you found a great one that wasn't too far away, wasn't too crowded, and had a beautiful setting.

Jungwon was initially worried. Apparently, he wanted to avoid any scenario that could be dangerous for you, but you assured him that you were already recovered, and it would be fine.

Reluctantly he accepted, and now you were at the site setting up the tent until you noticed that the weather seemed cloudier than usual.

"The breeze is great." Jungwon said as he took a sip of water and rested after holding the heavy irons at the base of the tent.

"At least that." You replied, closing the tent's zipper and seeing that it had turned out great "It turned out perfect, we'll be able to enjoy it a lot."

Jungwon smiled "Yes. By the way, when are we going to set up the other tent?" He asked and you looked at him confused "There is no other tent."

The silence that hung in the air was embarrassing.

Jungwon was speechless and you began to realize that since you only bought one tent you would probably have to sleep in it together. His cheeks turned slightly pink and Jungwon cleared his throat trying to lighten the mood "I can sleep in the car, no problem."

"No way." You turned around and replied immediately "You did all the work, you're not going to sleep on the hard car seat."

Jungwon sighed at your stubbornness "y/n, I won't let you sleep in the car either." You gave him a smirk "Then let's sleep together."

Another silence filled the air.

Jungwon felt his throat close up, memories of the dream he had reappearing in his mind.

"It's fine with me, if you want..." Your voice sounded slightly hesitant, a little embarrassed. Something new for Jungwon, considering you always seemed confident.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking at you. "Absolutely." You returned his gaze and answered honestly.

He knew that there was no going back on this decision, so he accepted the consequences that would probably come from it.

"Come on Jungwon, the day is beautiful, and I saw that there is a small river there where we can take some pictures." You opened the tent and went out first, changing the subject.

He gave a smile, following you. “Show me then.”

You two walked around the place and realized that you were the only ones there. A small river ran through the place making the landscape even more beautiful.

"Jungwon, take some pictures of me." You said laughing as you posed holding your summer dress. He smiled as he recorded everything.

"Go a little to the left." He directed you and you smiled as if it were a professional photoshoot "Jungwon come too."

He walked over to your side and you pulled him closer so you could take a selfie. He smiled wider, showing off his dimple, and you put your faces together for a cute photo.

You swiped your finger on the screen looking at the pictures, feeling happy with the interaction while Jungwon looked at you from the corner of his eye. He couldn't ignore how much more beautiful you looked today.

Your loose hair and red dress matched perfectly. He stared at you, feeling butterflies in his stomach that were impossible to ignore.

He knew what that meant: he liked you. Not just a simple liking but liking you to the point of accepting any crazy idea you suggested, doing whatever it took to make you happy.

He was completely in love with you, and he couldn't deny it anymore.

"Jungwon, I loved these photos, let's try some with the phone horizontally." You said and he smiled taking the phone from your hand "Sure, whatever you want."

You smiled at his response as you took more pictures near the riverbank.

☆

Jungwon went to get some snacks from the tent while you dipped a part of your feet in the river. He came back smiling holding some snacks and you got excited.

"Oh, that looks good." You saw a sweet pepero and cheered. "I knew you'd want some candy." Jungwon commented and you smirked. "You know me so well, Jungwonie."

He smiled as he handed you the pepero, but before you could enjoy the snacks, the sound of thunder startled you and a sudden rain began to fall on the two of you.

Jungwon took your hand as you ran back to the tent when the rain suddenly got heavier. You went in first and Jungwon followed right behind you, zipping up the tent. The rain was so heavy that you were amazed at how strong the tent was.

"I didn't expect it to rain today." You commented, putting the snacks away in a container in the corner.

"Me neither." Jungwon turned to you and took off the light coat he was wearing to place on your shoulders. You looked wetter than him, maybe because you were wearing a dress.

"Here, so you don't get cold." He said and you looked at him. "I'll try to get a towel from the car." You held his arm. "No, the rain is too heavy. It's better to wait." Your gaze and Jungwon's met and a silence hung in the air.

Jungwon’s hair was wet, his bangs were plastered to his forehead, and his shirt was slightly see-through. You couldn’t help but check him out.

He noticed your gaze and felt his heart suddenly race.

Just like in his dream, you approached. Jungwon felt an unsettling sensation run through his body seeing how your eyes were looking at him with such tenderness.

“I’m not cold.” Jungwon swallowed hard as you took off his coat, letting it fall onto the mattress beneath you. He was paralyzed, as if he didn’t know what to say, enchanted by your gaze.

Jungwon's right hand touched your cheek, removing the small droplets of water that were there. "Are you sure?" His gentle tone made your stomach flutter. "Yes." You smiled, realizing that he kept his hand there on your face. His thumb made circles on your skin, an act that showed affection on his part.

He looked deep into your eyes and in an impulse, Jungwon lowered his hand to the corner of your neck and closed the distance, giving you a sweeping kiss. All the rest of his consciousness faded away when you pulled him by his shirt, running your hands through his soft black hair.

Your back hit the soft mattress as Jungwon climbed on top of you. The kiss was desperate, his hands roaming your body. Jungwon groaned into your mouth when you pulled the hair on the back of his head, making you smirk in the middle of the kiss.

When his hands went up your legs, you pulled away to breathe, Jungwon's mouth devouring your neck making you gasp. "J-Jungwon." You whispered, closing your eyes and he brought his face close to yours, looking into your eyes. For a moment he realized what he was doing and swallowed hard.

He wanted to say he regretted it, but the way your eyelashes adorned your eyes as you looked at him, your flushed cheeks and how the fabric of your dress seemed like a huge impediment to his hands made him sure he didn't want to stop.

“I’m sorry.” His lips brushed gently against yours. “I couldn’t help myself.” His fingers lightly squeezed the skin of your thighs and you smiled. “It’s okay, I want it too.” You responded by giving him a long peck.

He observed every detail of your face. Your eyes, your nose, your mouth, the line of your jaw, your collarbone that was now completely exposed. You were completely beautiful, and he could no longer contain the feelings that invaded his chest “y/n,” He whispered giving you a soft kiss “I like you.” He was the first to confess and you smiled entwining his hair between your fingers “I like you too, Jungwonie.”

He laughed at the nickname and kissed you slowly. You wrapped your legs around his torso, pulling him towards you as you felt him deepen the kiss with his tongue. Jungwon could only think about how he would enjoy this moment as if it were the last time.

“Can I touch you?” He asked, trailing kisses down your jawline. “You drive me crazy.” You moaned as you felt his lips on your neck. You just nodded desperately and felt your breath catch in your throat as he moved his hands up from your thighs to your back, under your dress.

“Jungwon.” You moaned his name involuntarily as he lifted the fabric of your red dress. He liked it when you called his name like that, as if you were desperate for something more.

The raindrops fell harder on the tent's material as you pulled Jungwon's shirt up, touching Jungwon's abdomen. You were surprised to feel how toned and soft it was. Jungwon's moan was swallowed by your mouth in the desperate kiss you gave him, your hands exploring his arms and back.

“Damn I really like you, like,” He started to say as he wrapped his arms around you tighter “I'm truly madly deeply in love with you.” Your stomach turned at his confession and how he kissed your collarbone. He moved his kisses up your neck making you see stars in the air.

“I don’t want to stop.” He confessed before kissing below your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. “Then don’t stop.” You replied as you felt the soft skin of his abdomen with your fingertips “Please.”

You looked at him like you had been asking for this for a long time. You gave him an obscene smile that made him want to sink you even deeper into the tent mattress and never come back to the surface again.

Jungwon's strong hands that once explored every skin on your body lifted all the fabric of your dress and you helped him take off his shirt. Every contact with Jungwon's skin lit a spark between you.

“You’re beautiful.” He pulled your face up by your cheeks and moved his hand down to your neck, his thumb gently caressing your throat as you tried to breathe since you were completely out of breath. “Please be mine.” He whispered against your lips “I already am.” You replied and he smiled before enveloping you in a completely passionate kiss.

☆

Jungwon hugged you while stroking your hair. You drew random patterns on his cheek thinking about everything that had happened.

“I didn’t know you felt that way.” You broke the silence by laughing “I was surprised when you kissed me, but I loved it.” Jungwon looked at you carefully thinking how beautiful you looked in his arms “I couldn’t resist.” He replied and you kissed his cheek.

“And to think that before you could barely look at me.” He smiled “You were impossible.” The way he looked at you made you feel so many feelings at the same time that you were speechless. You had never liked anyone the way you liked Jungwon, and this was new to you.

“I’m looking forward to seeing more sides of you, Jungwon.” You whispered, giving Jungwon a kiss. “You’re like a box of surprises.” He pulled you closer. “And I’ll show you everything you want to see.” The sound of the rain being the perfect soundtrack for the cozy moment between you.

Jungwon had to admit: Jake was right. There were sparks between you two after all.

.

.

---

loveeee 🎀

SOULMATE ‘❗️’ TRACKER — n. rk.

SCAMMERS… TRACKERS NEED TO LOVE TOO BUT NEVER SCAM ABOUT SOULMATES, YOUR SOULMATE COULD BE A VICTIM

・❥・After one lesson in soulmate mythology, you couldn’t help but figure out who your soulmate is. You’ve read books and articles yet you couldn’t find the love of your life. You nearly gave up until you encountered a business called “Soulmate Tracker.” You wasted all your money on this business and to your surprise, your soulmate was the one person you never wished for.

CHECK OUT … soulmate dilemma !

PAIRING ➸ enemy!niki x fem!reader

GENRE ➸ smau, crack, fluff, highschool au, soulmate au, enemies 2 lovers

WARNINGS ➸ profanity & scamming; each chapter has its warning

FEATURING ➸ enhypen eunchae of lesserafim liz of ive theo of p1harmony

NOTE ➸ THIS SMAU IS PURE FICTION, ALL THE IDOLS MENTIONED IN THIS DO NOT REFLECT WITH THEIR ACTUAL LIFE AND CAREER. THIS IS A NON-IDOL ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE

STATUS ➸ completed

↳ START ➸ 11/27/22

↳ END ➸ 03/02/23

AUTHORS NOTE ➸ omfg i’m finally making a fanfic for the loml. i felt like making an e2l enha smau so here i am. pls support this fic and enjoy !! (i always wanted to make an e2ls and there arent much niki e2l smaus) SONA SPEAKING !! (PLEASE READ) i changed my url but im afraid i can’t update the links bc tumblr isn’t letting me 😞 i will let u guys know that i update the links once tumblr lets me but for now please read st through the tags and hope that i’ll change the links soon :) thank you <3

TAGLIST ➸ taglist is closed thank you for the support !

☆ playlist — « unbelievable like tv ; a world of you and me »

PLEASE DO NOT SPAM LIKE :) SPAM REBLOGS = OK! ; SPAM LIKE = BLOCK!

PROFILES ➸ relationship status: single❗️soulmate scammers

STEP 01 — soulmate wya

STEP 02 — destiny

STEP 03 — unprofessional fr

STEP 04 — tf does that mean

STEP 05 — screaming rn

STEP 06 — biddy buddy

STEP 07 — furry allegations

STEP 08 — no social skills = no soulmate

STEP 09 — insert oh my reference

STEP 10 — not funny, did not laugh

STEP 11 — isn’t that…illegal?? 😨

STEP 12 — wanna know something cool

STEP 13 — jaw dropping rn

STEP 14 — evil laughs

STEP 15 — strings attached

STEP 16 — prayed for my downfall

STEP 17 — hands in head

STEP 18 — government name

STEP 19 — heeseung ftw

STEP 20 — soulmate tracker 2.0

STEP 21 — giggling my toes off

STEP 22 — HEESEUNG MOVE

STEP 23 — shitting my pants

STEP 24 — #firstdate #hearteyes

STEP 25 — jump if u enjoy my pain

STEP 26 — i sorry very

STEP 27 — painful to watch

STEP 28 — character development

STEP 29 — scammer x victim

LAST STEP — ummm what 🙈

enhypen masterlist

---

exact this! my only tao question is: when will he be in jail & who else knew? because i do not for a SECOND believe no one knew about it.

and they need to get some punishment/repercussions for not speaking out!

i’m in such disbelief right now and beyond disgusted.

i really hope y’all are choosing your morals over kpop; because we do not know these men at all. i will never side with or defend a predator and a criminal, even with little to no proof. even if there is the smallest chance he may be innocent, i will always believe the victim first.

some of you, as fans of the boys for years and him in general, i know you must be feeling disappointed and betrayed. you’re not dumb for previously supporting him, as we couldn’t have possibly known. but now is the time for a reality check and it’s time to wake up and take a step back. this just goes to show that we know absolutely nothing about them.

for sm to just outright put out a statement on their own before any rumors even surfaced and immediately kick him out? this has to be insanely serious and i’m terrified of what he could’ve done. the crazy thing is with everything currently happening in korea with the telegram situation, and korean women constantly being in danger in general because of the men there, i’m not at all surprised that celebrities are being exposed. sm has protected criminals before, and held onto lucas when his scandal came out as well as other artists who have been exposed for similar crimes. i can’t even imagine the severity of the current situation. we’ve seen what happened with the burning sun, and these men are not immune to being misogynistic, vile human beings.

members have already unfollowed him and deleted posts with him in them; his best friend of 17yrs has unfollowed him. the company taking the initiative and him getting kicked out of the group in less than a second before anything even came out, no denying the claims or even trying to defend him. that should be enough to tell you and understand how serious this actually is. i am beyond disgusted with him and this whole situation.

i sincerely hope the victim is doing okay and praying for them to heal and get the justice they deserve. and remember that your love for these celebrities should always be conditional, because we do not know them. it’s their job to put on a show and show you their public persona, but behind closed doors? we don’t know what they’re actually like. we put them on a pedestal and yet we don’t know what they’re really capable of. they are still men after all. i hope the police are taking this seriously. there needs to be consequences and these women need to be protected.

let this be a lesson to all of us. they don’t know us, and we don’t know them, not really, not at all.

ALWAYS choose morals over kpop. and as women, we should be standing with the victims.

maybe not all men, but enough of them. and maybe not all men, but somehow always a man. and going forward, i will of course still be supporting nct as a whole. however, keeping the situation in mind, i will be supporting from afar for a little bit. i hope the rest of the members are doing okay, and hopefully no other members were involved, but this today, just shows that they can always surprise us. you never think it’ll be your fave, until it is.

let’s hope this causes a domino effect and more of these people are exposed and charged for the crimes they’re committing.

sending love to anyone who has ever experienced sexual violence or has been targeted and been in a similar situation. it is not your fault and it never was!

love you all and my dms are always open if you need to vent. <3

❗️EDIT: also i wanna add that we need to not praise the rest of the members or any other celebrity for simply unfollowing him on social media. that is the least of anyone’s worries.

we don’t know if they were aware, we don’t know if they knew and were protecting him or turning a blind eye. it could be them trying to save themselves and clear their guilty conscience. maybe they didn’t know and are just as shocked as we are, we don’t know that either.

we blindly trust these people and believe they have good intentions but look at where that can lead to. fans being upset is valid, yes; but remember people with money and power will do whatever it takes to sweep things under the rug and make it go away in order to save face and keep their image and reputation.