HELPPP LILYMA SOUNDS SO GOOFY

HELPPP LILYMA SOUNDS SO GOOFY 😭😭

lily x ema 4ever for realz!!!

LMAO WRONG ACC BAE HOW DID U GET HERE 😭😭😭

✧˖°. 10:52 p.m. — choi soobin

genre: fluff, college au, a couple of introverts at a party LOL

wc: 1.2k

soobin isn't particularly fond of parties.

it's something that he’s made abundantly clear — raucous music results in a miserable headache; cramped, sweaty crowds cause his heart to pound and his stomach to twist in the worst way. soobin despises parties, really. his housemate, yeonjun, is more than well aware after soobin yelled at him the first time he threw one of the impromptu variety. the question is: does yeonjun care?

another bass-boosted edm song rattles the entire house. soobin gets his answer.

he drags a pillow over his face with an exasperated groan. there seems to be no sign of this particular party ending any time soon, much to his own displeasure. he purses his lips, sits up, and grabs his phone from the nightstand next to his bed. it looks like he won’t be getting much sleep tonight.

the rest of his room remains relatively dark while he cycles through the myriad of apps on his phone, yet none of them keep his attention for very long. he’s engrossed in a youtube video about some dog when his door swings open with a flourish of light and a wall of sound before promptly slamming shut. heart racing, he watches a complete stranger slide down his bedroom door with their face buried in their hands.

unsure of what to do, he sits frozen on his bed, staring down at your curled up form. he hears an almost inaudible sniffle come from you, a shock of concern shooting down his spine. though his mouth falls agape, he pauses before words can escape.

his eyes widen and his stomach flips when he realizes it's you — not a stranger, but, in soobin's eyes, something much worse: his pathetically long-term, same-major-as-him crush. what's worse: you barely know him, only ever having brief conversations in class if absolutely forced to. you've had more than a few classes together, sitting near each other but never too close. he finds it difficult to strike up conversation with you when you seem just as reserved as him.

despite it all, vines began to curl around his heart, squeezing every time he would see you, or speak a few words to you, even if those words simply pertained to an assignment. even now, those feelings don't seem to want to recede. though quiet, he's found you to be kind, bright, your smile lighting up his heart in a way that he's never felt before. again, he thinks of himself as pitiful, knowing that there is a slim to none chance of you ever getting together due to his own insecurities.

another one of your sniffles, louder now, shakes him from his thoughts. he gulps, steeling himself, and says, "are you okay?"

you flinch, and panic singes his nerves. he doesn't even realize that you've stood up, spouting apologies as your hand shoots for the doorknob. "i didn't realize i wasn't alone, i'm s-"

"w-wait!" he interrupts. your movements halt as you stare at him for a second, regarding him with an odd expression painted on your face. a beat of silence passes, two, as you stare at each other. he notices the sheen of tears that line your waterline despite the dimness of the room. it makes you look prettier, somehow — like dewdrops clinging onto spiderwebs.

"really, are you okay?" he tries again, praying that you don't try to bolt this time. he's nearly ready to jump out of his own skin when you choke a sob down.

"i…" you trail off for a moment, wringing your fingers. you look around his room, avoiding eye contact now, blinking away the tears. "yeah, um, i guess. just a little overwhelmed right now."

your face twists in confusion for a moment before you speak again. "you're…you're soobin, right?"

jumping at the sound of his name passing your lips, he scrambles to respond as nonchalantly as possible. "yeah! yeah, that's me. um, we have a class together, right?"

"a few classes, actually," you answer a little too quickly, gaze finding the floor. the smile you wear doesn't quite reach your eyes. you offer him your name, but he replies that he already knows. "well, um, it's nice to formally meet you, despite the circumstances."

"same here," he says, ignoring the frenzied beating of his heart. he never thought this would ever happen — you, standing in his room and actually talking to him. he sees you shuffling back towards the door, and his lips purse for a second. should he?

(you look about ready to say goodbye, but he's not sure when he'll ever be able to talk to you again.

he should.)

"um, if you'd like to chill in here for a bit, feel free. i mean! you don't have to, but um-"

your giggle has the words fading from his tongue in an instant. "thanks, but i wouldn't wanna intrude."

"you wouldn't!" he exclaims, cringing at his voice's volume. "you wouldn't. you don't really seem like the rager type."

"i'm not," you agree, moving closer to him. he moves to switch a light on, and when he looks back, you stand at the foot of his bed, front teeth worrying your bottom lip. "you mind if i, um, sit on your bed?"

"not at all," he says, but he does, he so does. he thinks that he might just pass out at this rate, but as you begin talking — everything from classes and favorite colors to what you dream about for your futures, you moving closer until your sitting knee-to-knee — he somehow begins to relax.

you lean closer in a moment of boldness, asking if he'd like to hang out sometime, just the two of you. he finds himself admiring your lips, the urge to kiss you unable to win over his logical mind. he wants to take things slow with you, find out all of your little quirks, your likes and dislikes, the way you like your coffee, if you even like coffee. he wants to believe that maybe, just maybe, you like him back when you grin at his acceptance.

the mirage of peace is broken by a ding! from your phone, your friend telling you that she's ready to go and where the hell are you? you literally disappeared. you sigh, apologizing, as you rise from his comforter. he stands up to walk you out, and you turn around as you exit his room, him leaning against the doorframe.

"if you ever come to another of yeonjun's parties, you know where to find me," soobin jokes, causing you to smile. you tell him you would, and that you're looking forward to your classes together on monday. you leave with a gentle squeeze of your hand entangled in his and a demure smile, and he watches you disappear down the stairs before his door clicks shut.

collapsing back onto his bed, soobin decides that he may dislike parties, but he thinks that he may be able to bear them if you're there, too.

masterlist

© to agustdiv1ne. do not copy, repost, steal, and/or translate.

Perfect Harmony ‣ cbg

‣ pairing: palace attendant!beomgyu x princess!reader

‣ genre: implied f2l, royal!au, fluff, some angst, sorta slice-of-life

‣ wc: 5.7k

‣ summary: “A perfect harmony… that’s what they are”; alternatively, you're slipping and stumbling for with anyone but Choi Beomgyu—but maybe it's a good thing…

‣ warnings?: reader keeps worrying about an upcoming event (a ball) and experiences near-humiliation surrounded by a group of people, lots of question asking (overthinking?), ending might be rushed bc I write at like 4 in the morning

‣ an: this was cuter in my head :( and I rly just pulled this outta nowhere because I wanted to write something but thanks to @hoonieji for helping me a bit with this

The ball happening at the end of the week was all for you. Its purpose was to find a gentleman that was to take the place of the king once your mother chooses to step down as the queen. This was why your mother was making a great deal out of everything. So great, that you can almost see the veins popping out of her forehead from stress.

The entire situation was bittersweet. 

Although, you admit that it is more bitter than it was sweet.

It was sweet because you loved big gatherings. You loved spending time with people who have travelled miles just to attend your party, as well as the people who resided in your own kingdom. There was also a small part of you that was rather curious about the gentlemen your mother deemed candidates and the fact that any of them can be your future spouse.

It was bitter because this wasn’t how you wanted to find love (or at least, what people defined as love). You always imagined yourself finding love on your own. Whether it be by accident or having seen it from afar… you just wanted to find it on your own. Not through the judgment of your mother. 

You were afraid that these ‘gentlemen’ would turn out to be roach-like, or put into simple terms, disgusting. But you wanted to give your mother the benefit of the doubt. If she was able to choose a kind-hearted man like your father, then she would also have the ability to do the same for you. 

Or at least you hope.

“Princess!” 

You’re knocked out of your thoughts by the sharp voice of Mr. Geum, who was impatiently standing at the centre of the ballroom. He had his hands on his hips, weight shifted to one leg while he tapped his foot against the cool floor, “I am here to assist you with your ballroom dancing. Not watch you get lost in your daydreams.” 

Moving swiftly, you stand up from the chair placed at the corner of the room and towards Mr. Geum. One last reason that this all falls under bitter. 

You had to dance.

When you were younger, your mother would point out how dancing was often related to elegance and how elegance was a significant trait that every princess must possess. You remember thinking that all of that was nonsense. Only because elegance could be indicated by many other things. Not just dancing. 

And although dancing didn’t always signify the elegance of a princess, you started to realize that it did play a role in the trait. Especially when ballroom dancing was one of the most considerable parts of a ball. It created opportunities to showcase yourself, and you figured that knowing how to ballroom dance was important in finding your future Prince. 

“Today’s lesson is close to finished,” Mr. Geum points out, “We need to use all the time we have to see improvement, Princess.” Smoothing out his shirt, he gestures for you to raise your elbows as he’s taught, and along with your arms, you straighten your back. 

You don’t say a word. Instead, you sigh and follow Mr. Geum’s orders. One of the ladies at the side of the room starts the music, and through muscle memory, you begin moving your feet. They move in a box-like motion, the waltz, while Mr. Geum leads you across the dance floor. 

You follow proper ballroom dancing etiquette, counting by fours in your head. Although you’re certain you’re following the steps right, you begin stumbling over Mr. Geum’s feet, which causes him to trip over yours. He tries his best to correct you, pulling and pushing you in a way to fix your positions. This doesn’t work.

“I apologize, Mr. Geum,” you say at the song's end. If you’re doing this horribly with the waltz, you can’t imagine how terrible you will be with the foxtrot. The corners of your mouth turn down into a frown, brows furrowing in frustration, “That was all my fault.”

Mr. Geum waves off your apology, “No need to apologize, princess. You’re learning, so it’s understandable that you make mistakes. I have noticed that you’re following the steps well.” 

“That’s what I don’t understand, Mr. Geum,” you say, “I’m not uncoordinated. I can comprehend everything you’ve taught me and translate them into dance moves. I don’t understand why I can’t complete the dance.”

Mr. Geum nods in sympathy, bringing a hand up to his chin as he’s sucked into thought, “I have taught many students who have gone through similar situations as you have… it sounds absurd, but partners do affect how the individuals act together within a routine. You can think of it as two different notes creating a perfect harmony.” You watch as he goes back into his thinking pose, spinning on the spot. 

As if on queue, Beomgyu, the palace’s attendant, and one of your best friends, enters the room, layers of cloth napkins in his arms. He’s out of breath and restless. But even so, Mr. Geum calls on him, “You! Boy! What’s your name?” He waves Beomgyu over, to which Beomgyu complies. 

“It’s Beomgyu, sir,” he answers quietly, trying to catch his breath, “Princess.” He bows to you, and although he normally doesn’t do this when it’s only him and you in the room, he still makes sure to show you respect when there are others around. 

“Do you know how to waltz?” Mr. Geum continues, “The princess needs a partner that may help her prove her skill.”

Beomgyu nods, “Yes, sir, I do.” He looks between you and Mr. Geum, still slightly nervous. 

Mr. Geum claps his hands together, “Ah, perfect! Let’s see it!” He makes his way to the music player, motioning for you to set yourselves up. His attention is kept on you and Beomgyu, and you admit that it’s a bit nerve-wracking. 

“You know how to waltz?” You ask Beomgyu, “What other secret talents do you have?” Raising a brow, you take one step forward towards the boy. The space between the two of you is small. You would feel Beomgyu breathing on your forehead if you stood up straight. 

“It never really came up,” he says quietly, “May I?” His left hand hovers above your waist, closer to your shoulder blade, raising the other hand at the level that you would be holding your right hand. 

“Of course,” you grinned. With one hand you take his raised hand in yours while bringing your other up to his shoulder.

Mr. Geum counts down and begins the music. When it was time, the both of you began moving your feet in sync, Beomgyu leading and you following. 

Almost instantly, you feel a difference between the way Mr. Geum leads and how Beomgyu leads. When Mr. Geum leads, you can feel that he was much more commanding. The push and pulls were forceful, though they weren’t forceful in such a way that was considered rough. In the way you danced with Mr. Geum, it was evident that he lives up to his role as your instructor, leading you as if you had no knowledge of what you were doing. You guess it made sense, but you weren’t an amateur. 

You liked the way Beomgyu led. 

Instead of simply leading you, or almost dragging you along like Mr. Geum, Beomgyu made sure to move you along with him. It was almost as if he was waiting for you to follow in his footsteps although you both had to execute moves at the same time. Beomgyu was gentle. He knew how to move as if you both were one piece. 

The way Beomgyu leads lets you show off the knowledge that you have managed to acquire over the lessons you have taken. Your confidence is heightened, and you can’t help but feel relieved because you now know that you have the ability to dance with elegance. It all just simply depends on who you’re dancing with. 

You look up at Beomgyu, who is already looking down at you. His eyes are glistening—you don’t know why. You smile. You wish you could dance with Beomgyu at the ball. 

You’d probably feel the most confident with him.

“Beautiful!” Mr. Geum exclaims from the side. He stops the music and approaches you and Beomgyu quickly. He has a smile on his face, hands clasped together with pride, “That was a perfect example of what it looks like to find someone you, with lack of words, harmonize with.” He pauses and continues, “You two looked wonderful!”

You drop your hand from Beomgyu’s shoulder and turn to your dance instructor. Your eyes light up at the compliment, a smile following it, “Thank you, Mr. Geum. I’m glad I can show you what I learned from you.” Mr. Geum nods and begins to list what he’s prepared for tomorrow’s class, seeing that you’ve finally reached his current expectations. 

As you nod along to the upcoming plans, you don’t realize that you’re still holding onto Beomgyu’s hand. He’s looking down at your joined hands, unsure whether or not he should let go. He tries loosening his grip, but that’s when he realizes that it’s you that is maintaining the hold.

Finally, Mr. Geum concludes the class, “The lesson is over for today! I will see you next time, Princess.” He goes in for a fatherly hug and that’s when you let go of Beomgyu’s hand. 

Even then you don’t realize, and Beomgyu’s left confused.

°•. ✿ .•°

Beomgyu feels like a fool. 

And not because he was sitting on the filthy floor of the stables. 

He feels like a fool because he can’t get the feeling of you holding his hand out of his head. He shouldn’t even be feeling this way towards you but he can’t help it. He blames you, but not in a way where he’s angry at you.

Sighing, he shifts in place and glances out at the setting sun. He can feel his clothes getting filthy by the second, but he also doesn’t mind because he knows the day’s almost over. He can change into his pyjamas and then he can go to sleep. And by then, he hopes he can forget about the things that happened in the morning. 

“There you are!”

Beomgyu jumps slightly and his head turns quickly towards the direction of the voice. He sits up a bit, hands pushing him up so he’s not laying on the unused pile of hay.

Beomgyu’s eyes widen at you making your way into the stable. You shut the stable door behind you and make your way down towards Beomgyu, who’s evidently confused. 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” You halted in front of him, “And turns out you’re just here.” You plop down to his right, using the back of your dress as a makeshift blanket to sit on. “What are you doing here?” 

Beomgyu stretches his legs out and shrugs, “Thinking.” He has no other way to put it. He’s been sitting here for the past hour just… thinking. His eyes flicker to your crossed hands, then to his toes, “What are you doing here?” 

“I wanted to talk to you,” You say nonchalantly, “I want to get my mind off of the ball.” You almost shiver at the thought of the anticipated event. 

“So I’m just here to distract you?” Beomgyu jokes. He raises an eyebrow, “Am I just that to you?” 

You lean forward and push him lightly, though it’s still strong enough to make him fall back into the hay piled up behind him, “Of course not, Gyu.” Sitting back up into your original position, you continue, “It’s just… every single person in the palace… hell, even anyone I encounter in the town… all they want to talk about is that ridiculous ball. I feel like you’re the only person I can talk to that will talk to me about anything else and understand.” 

Beomgyu hums a response, a sound that lets you know that he’s listening and, just as you said, that he understands. “Well… what do you want to talk about?” 

“Anything but the ball,” you snort, “You suggest something.” The sun has sunken deeper under the horizon, though it’s still peeking over it in the slightest. The blue of the sky is more light than it was navy. There was still plenty of time to talk.

For a moment, Beomgyu’s stuck with no topic to talk about. To be fair, his head has practically been occupied by you, and only you, for the past hour. Then he suddenly remembers, “How about Mr. Geum’s toupee?” Beomgyu looks over at you with a knowing look, trying not to burst out laughing at the image of Mr. Geum’s toupee that had been sliding off of his head. 

“I wasn’t the only one who noticed?” You let out a hearty laugh, “I couldn’t stop looking at it! I swear that that was the reason why I kept losing my footing with him! I wanted to fix it so bad.” This wasn’t just a one-time thing. During the past few classes, you constantly kept getting the urge to push Mr. Geum’s toupee up higher on his head. You were unsure whether it would have been more embarrassing for the man to have you do that for him, or have it flop to the floor without warning.

Beomgyu lets out a laugh, “It was the first thing I noticed when he called on me.” He grabs a handful of hay and crunches them up, “How could I not? It doesn’t look even close to his real hair!” 

You continue to laugh, “I’m telling him that you said that!” Beomgyu doesn’t sense that you’re joking, and at this, he feels the need to poke your rib. 

“Ow!” you whine, using one hand to clutch your side, “I was joking!” You’ve sunken closer to Beomgyu, almost laying down. You fix yourself up, clearing your throat, “That reminds me… where did you learn how to dance? You were good! I think you’re better than me.”

Shrugging, Beomgyu purses his lips. “It’s not really a special story.” He’s actively recollecting the moments related to dancing.

You furrow your brows, “I still want to hear it.” 

Beomgyu looks at you as if he wanted to make sure that you were fine with him taking over the conversation. You gesture for him to begin. He nods, “You know how my mom would always bring me to the balls the queen held when I was younger? When I wasn’t obligated to be there?”

Your face lights up, bringing a hand up to your mouth, “Of course I do.” Beomgyu’s mom was your mother’s lady-in-waiting, so she would often be found at her side, waiting for any orders. Your mother never minded Beomgyu tagging along with his mom, just as long as he didn’t cause any disturbances. She was lucky that Beomgyu was a good kid. 

“Whenever it was time, I would always watch everyone dance, and I memorized it all by observing. It sounds odd, but I stood back and watched the same routine be performed every ball.” Beomgyu looks over at you, “And when you see it happen tens of times a year for many years, I guess it just makes sense for me to memorize it without being taught it.”

Beomgyu finishes his short story, and you're left finding it endearing how Beomgyu had actually managed it memorize the ball dances simply through watching. Many people would see these dances happen would but would not bother watching the entire routine. “That’s amazing.” 

Even though you asked Beomgyu not to direct the conversation towards the ball, you decide to do it. “I want to save you a dance at the ball.” 

It was an impulsive suggestion, although you wouldn’t even consider it a suggestion. It was more of a statement, a sure one at that. It should have been a question, but there was a great part of you that truly wanted Beomgyu to dance at the ball. 

Beomgyu’s slightly dumbfounded at what you just said, not quite certain if he heard you properly, “What?” He didn’t mean to come out as disrespectful. He was genuinely confused. He needed you to repeat yourself.

“I want to save you a dance,” you say, “Dance with me at the ball.” 

Eyes widening, Beomgyu shakes his head, “Y/N, I can’t do that.” 

“And why not?” You raise a brow, sitting up straighter before crossing your arms. He better have a good explanation. Beomgyu tended to lie to get out of situations. You can still recall the times he admitted to lying to his mom to get out of certain duties. It was simply Mrs. Choi’s mistake for believing the boy every single time. 

Beomgyu flicks up some straws of hay towards you, “I’m part of the staff… I have a job to fulfill during the ball.” He shakes his head again and starts fiddling with more hay. He’s somehow grown nervous over nothing. 

“I can tell them to let you—”

“And I don’t want to take the spots of the gentlemen the queen has lined up for you, Y/N,” he interrupts, “Imagine what they’ll say if they see that someone from your staff is taking up time that someone else could be using?” 

If Beomgyu was going to be honest, having the chance to dance with you at the ball would be… nice. Sure, he already his chance to be your partner during your lesson, but the atmosphere at the event will be different. There would be people watching, you both would be dressed in formal attire, and there would be live music. Everything about the idea of dancing with you at an actual ball is perfect, but there undoubtedly were factors standing in the way of it happening. 

You frown, “I don’t care about them, Beomgyu. That just says something bad about them if they’re like that. Besides, I think I’d enjoy it more if you were there with me.” It was true. Despite the fact that your friends will be present at the ball, Beomgyu being there would help ease the stress you already knew you would be feeling that night. 

I think I’d enjoy it more if you were there with me.

How can Beomgyu react to that? 

Beomgyu thinks fast. He mentally rakes through all the luxuries that will be present at the ball, all the people you loved building relationships with, and the music. He feels as if all those things would easily drown him out. Then he scoffs. “There’s no way you would enjoy the ball more with me there.” 

“Of course, I will,” you sighed, “Why would I not?” You look at Beomgyu as if he’s said something remarkably ridiculous. 

Before Beomgyu could think up an excuse, you hear a voice call for you from the palace. Only then do you realize it’s much darker than it was when you first found Beomgyu. You stand up in haste, brushing off the back end of your dress, “I need to go… Please consider it, Gyu.”

Only to please you, Beomgyu nods his head, “I will. Goodnight, Princess.”

You roll your eyes at the title, “Goodnight, Gyu.”

°•. ✿ .•°

The guests will be arriving soon and despite the fact that you should be looking forward to it all, you were sitting in your room lacking the spirit to leave. A list of the gentlemen, the suitors, that your mother invited for you is staring right back at you, and you couldn’t help but grimace at some of the names on it. 

Sure, there were some names that you weren’t as displeased with, but there was still that one name lingering at the back of your head that you wish you could easily substitute for a name on the list. 

Your finger plays with the corner of the list, pursing your lips. 

“Y/N?” Your lady-in-waiting, Chaeryeong, knocks at the door, peeking her head in, “The first guests are arriving. The queen asked me to tell you to get ready for your entrance.” She knows how you feel about the event, hence the hesitant smile on her face. 

Your heart briefly tightens at the mention of the guests, your stomach twisting soon after. You turn to her, presenting an uneasy smile,  “Thanks, Chae. I’ll be in position in a bit.” She nods before slipping back out of the room, leaving you alone.

You take a few moments to relax and catch your breath. You want to admit. Although you’ve attended and hosted many galas and promenades before this one, you have never felt this nervous about a ball. It was the purpose of this ball that snatched away the carelessness you often had when attending these celebrations. 

Sighing, you stand up from your chair and smooth out your ball gown before leaving your room, still feeling your heart pounding against your ribcage. Opening the door, you squeeze your eyes shut as if it’ll help you ease your worries. And even if it doesn’t, you use it to help you focus on your breathing. Then in one motion, you step out and swing the door closed behind you. 

This is just another ball, you convince yourself, There is nothing to worry about.

Expecting there to be an empty hallway, maybe a knight or two standing guard as normal, you’re startled by the presence of Beomgyu, who’s patiently standing, waiting, against the wall across your room. Your eyes habitually scan his attire, which is what all the other male staff were wearing—a white dress shirt, a suit vest, slacks, and black dress shoes. 

“I’m here to escort you,” he smiles, holding out his arm, “You look beautiful.” 

Your heart leaps just for an instant, “Thank you.” Grabbing onto his forearm, he begins leading you down to the top of the staircase, which is the place you were to be for your introduction. Many of the other staff you pass compliment you on your appearance. Their comments bring you temporary solutions to your current predicament. They almost help you forget that you were expected to keep an eye out for a possible future spouse in less than an hour. 

Others comment on how the invited gentlemen are going to swoon, and that’s where you’re taken back to the reality of it all. You turn to Beomgyu, “Are you… sure you don’t want me to save you a dance?” At this point, you don’t care if you appear desperate. 

No. “Yes, I’m sure,” Beomgyu replies, tapping his index finger against the back of your hand, “My reasons are still the same. I don’t want to cause any conflict between you and the gentlemen.” 

“But you saw how well I danced with you the other week,” you reason quietly, “What if I mess up with the suitors and they decide that they—”

“If you mess up and they don’t like it, then they don’t deserve you,” Beomgyu says in a hushed tone. He’s not looking at you but at the staff members waiting for your queue to enter, “Remember that, okay?”

Everything, in the beginning, went by in a blur. You were only aware of the conversations you had with your friends, the delicious food, the lovely music—you wished it was like this the entire ball. But once your mother had announced the commencement of the special portion of the ball, everything was back to its normal pace. Maybe it was just your mind doing you a favour. Only because you did have to choose carefully.

You were instructed to proceed to the centre of the ballroom, and once the music started the gentlemen were allowed to approach you and ask for a moment with you. 

You didn’t think anyone would have the courage to be the first to dance with you. Many pairs of eyes settled on you, awaiting the suitors to come up and ask for a dance. But once the music started, a handful of the suitors approached you swiftly. You decided to go for the one directly in front of you, “May I have this dance, Princess?” 

You nodded, almost reluctantly, offering a gentle smile. 

“My name is Sungchan,” he introduces, “Jung Sungchan.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sungchan,” you reply. You couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was. His smile was eyecatching, and he had this mysterious glint in his eye that enticed you. You now wonder what criteria your mother used when inviting these suitors. 

Was it through appearance? Success and wealth? Personality? 

He holds out his hand, and you accept it, taking this as a sign that he was going to begin dancing. Just as you were taught, you start following the steps that you practiced many times, counting mentally, while simultaneously listening to the things Sungchan was telling you.

“How has your night been?” He drops his hand from your waist and he spins you, “Good, I hope?”

You giggle nervously, “It’s been… busy.” Unexpectedly, you step on Sungchan’s toes, causing the two of you to stumble slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry! It’s–“

“Don’t apologize,” Sungchan interrupts, “Accidents happen.” 

You feel a sense of relief in your chest. Even if there shouldn’t be any excuses for such mistakes, you’re thankful that Sungchan seems to genuinely understand the occurrence. 

He leans forward, “I’m nervous, too.” Sungchan squeezes your hand and continues to make conversation. His movements are quick and sharp, which makes you feel like you’re obligated to move along to his tempo. Unlike Mr. Geum, he makes sure that you’re caught up with him before making the next move, and you believe this is why you aren’t tripping any more over his feet.

After you and Sungchan have danced together, another gentleman approaches, “May I take it from here?” He’s bold enough to bring a shoulder to Sungchan’s shoulder. 

Sungchan nods, “I hope to see you again, Princess.” He brings your hand to his lips and kisses it, backing up to give you space.

You smiled genuinely, nodding him goodbye before moving on to the next suitor. You know who he is. Yoon Jaehyuk. 

You’ve heard of many things about Jaehyuk from your friends. He’s got the reputation of being stubborn especially when it comes to business deals. If he wants it, then he gets it. You think that this was likely why your mother had invited him as a suitor. He was powerful when it came to connections and was rich as well. 

“Let me sweep you off your feet,” he winks, “I’m Yoon Jaehyuk.” 

Immediately, you feel Jaehyuk push and pull you similar to how Mr. Geum often did in your lessons. It felt like he will quite literally sweep you off of your feet, and you’re worried. Your mind flashes back to your lessons with Mr. Geum and how you did poorly with your instructor, and just as you expected, you step on Jaehyuk’s toes. 

You apologize quickly, eyes widening, “I apologize!” Jaehyuk shakes his head and tells you not to worry about the accident, continuing to lead you with the dance. Jaehyuk doesn’t seem to understand, nor regard, that you were struggling to keep up with his movements. But then again, ballroom dancing required two people, and you weren’t fulfilling your half of the sequence.

Jaehyuk brings up the topic of his travels, having travelled from two kingdoms over just to be here, “Your region is the prettiest.” He comments, “The flowers here are beautiful and they are unique compared to those in the others.”

Before you could reply, you stagger in your footsteps and interrupt the tempo that you both were following. The unexpected disruption causes Jaehyuk to pull you towards his own body a bit harder than anticipated, and before you know it, you’re falling into his chest. 

You regain your balance on your own, trying to catch sight of Jaehyuk who made a noise of frustration. 

“I’m sorry,” you repeat frantically, “I just–”

Jaehyuk doesn’t say another word, instead, he lets go of you and he walks away, shaking his head. You can’t tell if it was out of irritation, disappointment, or embarrassment, but you felt a huge sense of remorse for what just happened. 

If you mess up and they don’t like it, then they don’t deserve you. Beomgyu’s words echo in your head. 

You squeeze your eyes shut and then open them again, scanning the crowd for the other suitors. All of the room’s attention was on you, and after what just happened, you didn’t like it. 

“Next suitor?” You hear your mother’s voice bound from behind you. The music is still playing, waiting for bodies to dance to its melody. 

Your heart was beginning to beat faster and you felt as though the temperature in the room was rising rapidly. Again, your eyes scan the crowd, and to your left, you see Jaehyuk whispering to the other men words that you cannot hear from where you stood. And although you don’t want to assume the words are about you, his eyes continue to flicker to you, almost signifying that you were the topic.

“Next suitor?” Your mother repeats, voice wavering. No one dares to move forward and you’re not sure why. 

Was it because of your mistake? What was Jaehyuk telling them? Were you simply imagining everything?

Then, your mother’s voice appears in your head. The ability to dance signifies elegance. 

Did that one misstep give them the impression that you didn’t have elegance? Why did this even matter?

Questions are running through your head and you’re unable to stop them. Not when everyone’s staring at you. Not when no other gentleman is willing to take his turn. Not when you think you’ve actually blown your chances of finding someone that will take place as king. 

Your head falls in between your shoulders and you close your eyes, only hoping for all of this to end. Why couldn’t this all go by in a blur? Where was Beomgyu when you needed him?

As the music continues on quietly in the background, you start to hear commotion somewhere in the crowd. You choose not to look, afraid that whatever is happening will only cause you more stress. There’s whispering, though you can hear it gradually increasing in volume. 

Then you feel a hand on your shoulder.

You lift your head, opening your eyes so that you could graciously face whoever it was saving you from your embarrassment.

“Y/N.”

You open your mouth but nothing comes out. And you know he understands the reason for this. Without hesitation, you took a big step towards him, the front of your dress pressed up against his legs, and you let your forehead fall onto his chest. 

You close your eyes. “Beomgyu…” 

You feel like crying. It’s not clear whether you want to do it out of humiliation or built-up stress, but you know for sure that part of the urge is from relief. You’re relieved that someone’s here to join you at your side, despite the numerous people watching, and judging. You’re even more relieved that this someone was Beomgyu—the boy who you want to admit brings you comfort no matter what the situation.

“Still have that dance saved for me?” He whispers. He nudges your forearm with the back of his wrist in attempt to lighten up your mood. Beomgyu can feel all eyes on him as much as they were on you. But he turns a blind eye to them, his priority being you and making sure you are okay. 

Lifting your head, you nodded, “Always.” 

A smile rises upon Beomgyu’s lips at your answer before he steps back to bow, “May I have this dance, Princess?” 

You nod, mirroring Beomgyu’s smile.

In one swift motion, you and Beomgyu bring your hands up to  appropriate positions. Once you both were set and ready, your feet begin to move along to the music, counting to fours mentally. Your eyes travel from Beomgyu’s chest and up to his eyes. He’s already staring back at you, lips permanently propped into a gentle and comforting grin. 

Anyone who’s watching from the surrounding crowd can see how well you and Beomgyu danced together. As if the floor was ice, you both glided across the dance floor with ease, almost as though you practiced the routine for endless hours. 

As the song continued, you feel the worry in your chest begin to diminish, your confidence level slowly increasing as moments go by. The guests soon start to disappear from your peripheral view, almost as though as you and Beomgyu were the only ones in the room. Your mother was gone, your friends were gone, Sungchan was nowhere to be seen, and Jaehyuk? You couldn’t care less about where he went. 

It was just you and Beomgyu. 

As you and Beomgyu waltzed, your mind wanders back to the words that Mr. Geum had described how two people connected when they were dancing. You couldn’t help but ponder over his metaphor because here you were, dancing almost perfectly with Beomgyu, when not even minutes ago, you were stumbling roughly over, not just your own feet, but even another’s. 

If you were a musical note, you simply did not harmonize with Jaehyuk or Sungchan. And although it was a shame that you may not even get a chance to dance with the other gentlemen, dancing with Beomgyu made it evident that your notional musical note is compatible with his. 

Unbeknownst to your knowledge, Mr. Geum stands at the edge of the audience, a sense of pride growing steadily within his chest. His hands are crossed together, palm-to-palm, and brought up to his chin as he watches the two of you in endearment. 

“A perfect harmony.” Mr. Geum says this under his breath—so quiet that he believes that he is the only one who is able to hear his statement. Only, he doesn’t take notice of the queen who quietly positions herself at his side.

“Perfect Harmony?” She has a brow raised as she looks to Mr. Geum for an explanation. She says this out of curiosity, not quite understanding the meaning behind the instructor’s words. 

Mr. Geum nods and repeats himself, “A perfect harmony… that’s what they are.”

°•. ✿ .•°

hope you enjoyed this!

tags: @k-radio @whipped-kpop-creators

not what it seems

➳ You’ve signed up for a VR company’s beta testing for their new innovation, but you would have never thought that you and Jay - the son of the CEO - would be the two testers who actually get stuck inside the game.

➳ Characters: rich boy!Jay x reader/you

➳ Genre: experiment au, game au, kind of futuristic au, biotech au, action, comedy

➳ Words: 10.1k

➳ A/N: The levels are inspired by the settings in the Enhypen MVs in order, namely Given-Taken, Let Me In, Drunk-Dazed, Fever and Tamed-Dashed. Merry Christmas @dat-town! I love you more than words could explain! 💖

➳ A/N: Click here to be added to the TAGLIST and to let me know about your fic preferences. 💖

➳ Check out: my Enhypen masterlist

Keep reading

kayla ate again LITERALLY SCREAMED THIS WAS ALL SO GOOD?!?! SO MUCH HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER WTF AGHHHH RIKI. im gonna kms kayla WHY DO I ALWAYS LOVE THE SECOND CHOICE PLEASE I SECRETLY WANT RIKI TO END UP W YN NOW. THIS IS SO 💔💔💔 AND SROP why was jungwon so cold to them at first 💔💔 like ik hes in his emo era btu DAMN YN WAS BEING SO SWEET . JUNGWON SHUT UR TOMATO ASS UP ugh . and ofc FUCK HYUNG LINE HE ALREADY MOVED SCHOOLS CUZ OF YALL CMON WHYRE THEY BEATING HIM AGAIN ☹️☹️ i’m so glad yn and riki punched them I WASNT EXPECTING A FULL FIGHT THO DAMN. mc so slay w her taekwondo??? anyways. im honestly curious ro what’s happening next like WONS REPUTATION BETTER GET FIXED 😞 IM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAP KAY U BETTER SEND IT TO ME FIRST BECAUSE IM THE BEST ‼️‼️‼️

bravery at my nightmares — yang jungwon

SYNOPSIS > after being expelled from his old school for something he didn’t do, life for jungwon only got harder. everyone avoided him and claimed that he was “bad energy” or a “terrible influence.” so, why did you have to be different than everyone else and actually try to get close to him while gnoring all the rumors about him?

PAIRING > junior!jungwon x junior-fem!reader (ft. enhypen hyung line + jungwon and ni-ki, hoshi from svt, nagyung from fromis_9, and taeil from nct).

WARNINGS > EVERYTHING IS FICTIONAL (severe?) bullying, blood, swearing, toxicity, fighting, the staff force jungwon to open his backpack, a teacher almost hits jungwon, the school staff are really rude, angst, fluff, mentions of cigarettes, and mentions of food.

WORDCOUNT > 6394 words

NOTE > act 1 is finally here!! (it’s been like thirty minutes PLSS) still this is mainly all fluff (?) TRUST ITS GOOD 🤞 my fave scenes r in here so.. ENJOY!!

TEASER / PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4

ACT 01.

Jungwon got only a day off from school before having to attend a new one because of his father. Jungwon’s father was aware of what his son was going through but couldn’t do anything to help and felt awful for son.

“Just trust me, this school will be better.” Jungwon’s father's words replayed in Jungwon’s head as his grip on his backpack's straps tightened. His father had also said that about Decelis but it ended up being way worse than middle school.

Surprisingly, he had hope for this school, BeLift Academy. It even sounded promising. 

He walked up the front steps of the school as other students did the same. He stood in front of the entrance, staring at the building. It was huge and covered in moss, leaves, and vines. 

He shook his head as he got himself together. He looked around, noticing all the weird looks he was getting from the other students. Ah right, he wasn’t wearing their uniform. 

He looked down at his outfit and then back at them. They were pointing at him and whispering to each other; it confused him. What else could they possibly be staring at? He headed towards a window to see his reflection as they all moved away from him, clearing the area. 

Oh, his hair. It was red. 

He forgot about him dying it the other day — he thought changing his appearance could make him more confident in himself, but that didn’t seem to help in his case. He combed his fingers through his hair while sighing. Maybe he shouldn’t have done this. If only he knew about the weird looks he would get from the other students, he wouldn’t have done it. Oh, well, too late now. 

He stuffed his hands in his sweater pockets and entered the front doors of the school. The more steps he took to the school, the number of students that moved out of his way increased. It was weird. Why would they move out of the way for him? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“Isn’t that Yang Jungwon?” A student from the nearby staircase whispered. “Who?” Another whispered in more of a questioning tone. “I’m not sure if it’s really him, but, I heard from a friend that he’s the student that got expelled from Decelis for robbery, severe bullying, and he even broke a teacher's car!” They exclaimed as their friend covered their mouth from the random outburst. Jungwon looked over at the two friends; a male and a female, that looked back at him. 

“Shh, he’s looking over here!” The boy whisper-shouted as the girl apologized. Jungwon’s look didn’t mean to be stern or scary, it only recently became a habit after his last ‘fight’ with Sim Jaeyun. They bowed, apologizing for their gossip, and ran up the stairs as they disappeared in plain sight. 

Jungwon raised his brows out of shock after letting their words sink in. The urge to reveal to everyone that all those rumors were lies and that he was the one who got bullied and forced to ‘confess’ about doing those things felt overpowering. He wanted to tell everyone the truth so badly but he also didn’t want them to know about his past, he wanted to forget about it himself. 

Although he hated the thought of lying about himself to others, it was the only way he could keep these secrets hidden. It was already too late to change his reputation and deny the rumors anyway. The whole school seemed to know about what happened back at Decelis. But in a different way and not the actual truth. More of a lie. 

Jungwon continued his walk down the school hallway, ignoring the stares he received from the other students, either because of his hair, uniform, and/or the rumors spreading about him. It wasn’t bothersome, but it was awkward. He wasn’t used to getting stared at in fear. It was always students looking at him pathetically and him being the one to stare back in fear. 

Was he even scary looking to fit those rumors?

“Riki, chill! It wasn’t even that serious,” a familiar voice exclaimed while running down the stairs, clearly out of breath. “You stepped on my shoes, I just got them!” Another voice exclaimed while running down the stairs. 

Jungwon looked over at the commotion only to see a teen boy chasing another teen girl down the stairs. “Okay! I’m sorry. Here, let me wipe it.” The female said while crouching down to wipe the light brown mark. “See, it’s all gone! Not that bad, was it?” She said as the male playfully rolled his eyes. “Whatever, you’re lucky it was muddy outside or it would’ve been worse.” He replied as the female kneed him in his shin. 

“Hey?! What was that for!” He exclaimed while limping after the female who ran with a cheeky smile on her face. “Y/n, wait up! I can’t run that fast anymore.” He attempted to pick up his speed and chase after his friend. 

“Wait, be careful!” Riki tried to warn Y/n, but he was too late. You were brought to an abrupt stop as you felt your body collide with another. You let out a humph sound as your face smashed right into their chest. 

“Y/n,” Riki exclaimed while running to her and rubbing his shin. He grabbed your arm while pulling you back toward his figure. “Be careful next time, you could’ve gotten seriously injured.” He placed his hands on your shoulders while examining your figure for any injuries. “I’m fine, I promise.” You reassured while letting out a short laugh. You looked at the body beside you, apologizing for your previous mistake. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to — wait a minute. You look very familiar,” your apology cut short as you stared at the familiar boy with narrowed eyes. “Don’t bother with him, he’s bad news anyway,” Riki said while sending Jungwon a glare and grabbing you by the arm. “Aren’t you that boy from the convenience store? Right, you are!” You pointed at him with a smile after remembering the memory.

That was you? You were the cashier who helped with his wounds? 

“What are you talking about?” Jungwon asked with a raised eyebrow. Even if he knew exactly who you were, he couldn’t let everybody know about his past just because of you. “You’re the boy who had multiple wounds on your face, right? Wow, who would’ve thought we’d meet again!” You smiled as Jungwon and Riki both looked at you weirdly. 

“Y/n, are you okay?” Riki questioned as you looked at him with a confused expression. “What do you mean? I’m perfectly fine,” you said, causing Riki to shake his head. “Let’s go, I think you’re low on food or something,” Riki said while grabbing your hand, pulling you away from Jungwon, and heading towards the cafeteria nearby. 

At least your friend pulled you away before things escalated. He didn’t have any excuses left to say if you had stayed any longer. Man, the whole school must really hate him by now.

— 

Cafeterias weren't Jungwon’s favorite places to be. At least not anymore. After the incident back at Decelis, they just always felt uncomfortable. He sat alone at a table near the exit door while everyone watched his every move. It felt too awkward to take a bite of his food. They could see everything he did, maybe he should’ve sat somewhere where nobody could see him. 

“Come on,” a voice from in front said. “I told you I don’t want to go! Y/n, he’s not good to be around, why won’t you listen to what I say?” Another voice said. “Riki, you always believe rumors! What if he’s not what they really say he’s like?” The footsteps that approached him got louder, causing him to look up from his food tray. 

“Hey, I’m not sure what your name is so… Tomato head it is!” You said with a smile while taking a seat. “His name’s Jungwon, Yang Jungwon,” Riki said while placing his food tray on the table and taking a seat too. He sent a glare to Jungwon as you nudged his shoulder. “Can you stop? At least get to know him better,” you whispered at a level so only Riki could hear. He rolled his eyes and whispered back a ‘fine.’

You looked back at Jungwon as your eyes examined his figure. “The bandaids, they’re still there. Were the wounds that bad?” You questioned as he stared back at you. His gaze wasn’t frightening nor was it mean. It was neutral. A few moments of silence went by with no response from Jungwon. “Aren’t you gonna answer? She asked a question,” Riki said with narrowed eyes and a harsh tone. 

“Lay off of him, would you? He doesn’t have to respond to everything I say,” you looked at Riki with a stern expression as he looked away and ate his food. “Well, do you have a uniform?” You asked, trying to get an answer out of him somehow. “Then, why were you expelled from your old school? Are the rumors really true–”

“Why are you asking so many questions? Gosh, you’re so nosy.” He muttered while looking away. Riki looked up from his food and grabbed him by the collar. “I don’t know what you did at your old school, but, I’m not letting you repeat that here.” He warned as they both stared into each other’s eyes while gasps erupted in the cafeteria. “Riki, let go of him.” You grabbed him by his waist and pulled him back down to his seat. “He’s right. I’m sorry for being nosy, I was just curious.” You apologized while Riki grabbed his food tray and rose from his seat. “Let’s go, Y/n. Clearly, he doesn’t want us here.” Riki started walking away as you rose from your seat with your food tray in hand. 

You waved goodbye to Jungwon, turned around, and ran to Riki. Jungwon looked back at his food tray in disappointment. He could’ve made a friend just now but his word choices made things worse.  

“Why do you even bother with him? He seems like an ass,” Riki scoffed as you sighed. “I don’t think the rumors are true. Trust me, who comes to a convenience store at 11:47 PM with multiple wounds and blood dripping from any open spots on their body?” You said while thinking back to the night. “A boy who just got into a fight? He must’ve got his ass beat by other people after what he’s done,” Riki said as you softly pushed him to the side. “Hey, what was that for?! I almost dropped my soup,” you laughed at him as he looked down at you and rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever, I’m not becoming friends with him. I don’t care about your opinion,” he shrugged his shoulders as the two of you exited the cafeteria. “Doesn’t mean I won’t!” You said with a smile. 

Your new main goal was to become friends with Jungwon, but clearly, that would take a lot of attempts. 

—

Although lunchtime was only an hour long, it still felt too short. In English class, you were assigned to bring today’s homework to the teacher’s office, and despite how tired you were, you had no option but to agree.

You walked down the hallways of your school while your eyes read over the notebooks in your arms. Some notebooks were labeled ‘English,’ while others only had the owner's names on them.

“You’re not wearing the school’s uniform, you show up with your hair in a vibrant shade of red, and you have piercings?” The principal's voice was loud but muffled through the door. You stopped in front of the office doors after the sudden outburst. 

“Leave my office,” Mr. Choi said while chair scraping echoed in the room. You backed away from the door as you watched the doorknob turn with Jungwon appearing right after. “Oh, Jungwon, hey.” You said with a smile, attempting to make the fact that you heard him get yelled at less obvious as his head turned to face you. 

Your eye contact only lasted a few seconds before he looked and walked away. “Wait up,” you exclaimed while catching up to him. “You’re really bothersome, you know?” He said after you reached beside him. 

“That won’t stop me from at least trying to become friends with you.” Your grip on the books tightened as you looked ahead. Jungwon looked down at you with slightly raised brows. 

Friends? That was the first time he heard someone say that word to his face. “Friends,” he muttered, causing you to look up at him. “Did you say something?” You asked in a confused tone. He shook his head and looked away as you raised a brow at him. “Okay then, I have to stop here. Get to class safe!” You smiled while pointing at the sign beside Jungwon that read ‘Faculty office.’ 

You waved at him and walked into the already-opened entrance, greeting the teachers while closing the door behind you. 

Jungwon continued to walk down the hallways while shaking off his previous thoughts. “Jungwon,” a voice from behind him called out, but he ignored it and continued walking. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” they muttered as their speed increased. Jungwon heard the footsteps behind him become louder. It felt like déjà vu. Out of instinct, Jungwon’s footsteps also rose in speed. 

Their hand gripped Jungwon’s shoulder and pushed against the wall. Everything was happening too quickly for Jungwon to comprehend. All he saw was the face of a familiar boy standing in front of him. 

“You heard me didn’t you?” He questioned as Jungwon’s eyes grew in size. “Look, I don’t know why Y/n is trying to get close to you, but I don’t like it. If you mess with her, I won’t forgive you.” He said while tightening his grip on Jungwon’s top. 

The door down the hall opened with a click, alerting the two boys. He removed his hand from Jungwon’s top and straightened it for him to pretend that nothing bad happened. “Riki and Jungwon? Shouldn’t you both be in class, what are you doing out here?” You questioned while heading their way. 

“I went out for a walk after finishing up a test in chemistry and I ran into Jungwon,” Riki explained with a smile as he patted Jungwon on the back. Jungwon was baffled. How could he act as if nothing happened not even a minute ago? “Ah, how was the test?” You asked while standing in front of them. “It was pretty good, I probably got a few questions wrong. How about we head back to class now? I don’t want my teacher to worry or anything.” He said as you nodded in agreement. “Bye Jungwon!” You smiled and waved as he did the same. 

You walked ahead of Riki as he watched you walk with a smile. He turned around, sending Jungwon another glare before looking away and walking behind you. 

Did Riki really not like him or did he just really like you? 

—

Walking home at night always scared Jungwon. He was never sure when he’d run into those boys again and he wasn’t prepared for it to happen. 

You closed the front door of the convenience store as you locked it. Work for the day was finally over. You let out a sigh of relief while opening one of the ice creams in your hand. 

You popped it into your mouth as you walked down the bumpy pathway. Streetlights and the store signs illuminated the area. The books for English class weighed you down as you adjusted your backpack on your shoulders as you walked.

The neighborhood was peaceful. There weren’t many incidents that happened here which attracted a lot of residents. 

You looked up from the ground to be met with a familiar figure. “Jungwon?” You squinted your eyes at the boy who walked in front of you. “Ah, it is you!” You muttered while running up to him. “Hey,” you tapped his shoulder from beside him as he flinched in return. 

“Oh,” he said while looking at you. “Hi,” he greeted as he looked away. “Do you want?” You questioned while holding out the second ice cream you had. “I’m fine,” he shook his head as you shook yours too. “I doubt I’d eat it myself, here take it before it melts.” You pleaded while pushing the ice cream into his hand. He refused again as you titled your head at him. 

Growling.

You both stared at each other out of shock. “What was that?” You asked in a cautious tone. “Uh,” Jungwon started while thinking of an excuse. “Oh, was that your stomach?” You stifled a laugh as realization hit you. He looked away, embarrassed. “It’s not that funny,” he defended as you stopped yourself. “You’re right, I guess. But clearly, you’re hungry, so take the ice cream!” You urged him to take the ice cream for a third time. 

He hesitated for a few moments out of embarrassment but eventually accepted it. 

The wrapper crinkling echoed through the empty streets as you both walked side by side. “Knowing that this is where we first met is kinda crazy. You even said we wouldn’t meet again!” You exclaimed while looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Well, I thought we wouldn’t. I didn’t plan on meeting you again either,” Jungwon responded while taking his first bite of the ice cream. 

“What even happened that night?” You asked, catching Jungwon off guard. Should he really tell you what happened or should he lie? “Well, Riki had a thought and said you probably lost a fight. But you know, he’s really self-centered and really protective of me.” You explained while looking up at the stars as Jungwon stiffened beside you at the sound of your friend’s name. 

You looked over at him with a puzzled face. “You good?” You questioned as he nodded in response. “Yeah, don’t worry. But I can see that he’s very protective of you.” He said, ignoring your whole question, but you paid little mind to it. “Literally! He knows I can fend for myself but still doesn’t trust me. Do you know those overprotective siblings? He’s like that but worse,” You took another bite of your ice cream and Jungwon looked at you confused.

“Fend for yourself?” He asked while looking down at you. “Yes, I’ve been doing Taekwondo for 2 years now. I’ll tell you this, I’m pretty good at it!” You cheered with a smile. “Ah, I tried doing that before. I gave up after a week, it became tiring and didn’t work out well.” He chuckled at the memory of his 4-year-old self complaining to his father about it almost every day. 

“But you know the basics, right?” You asked as he shook his head in response. “I always got hurt instead. I was pretty different from the other kids, you know? I was always flimsy and weaker than them, and still am.” He said as he took his last bite of the ice cream. “Really? Then what are the rumors for?” You raised a brow at him as you took your last bite too. 

“Oh, yeah.” He mumbled. He spoke too much about his past, it definitely blew his facade. “Wait, I don’t think I have any time for that.” You said as he looked over at you with a confused expression. “My house,” you pointed at the structure beside the two of you as his eyes averted from you to the structure. “Oh‌, okay. Bye.” He waved at you as you did the same. You walked up the pathway to your door as Jungwon stood there in silence. 

“Hey, wait,” he started, causing you to turn around. “Thanks for the ice cream. I enjoyed it,” he thanked you as you smiled. “You’re welcome! See you tomorrow, Jungwon!” You cheered and waved goodbye to him again. You continued your way towards your front door as Jungwon looked at the ground while a smile grew on his face.

This was the first time Jungwon was excited to go to school tomorrow. Maybe the thought of having a friend doesn’t sound all too bad.

—

Jungwon stood at his locker as he placed his belonging into an open spot. He let out a sigh while shutting his locker shut as you and Riki appeared from behind it. “Jungwon!” You exclaimed as he flinched. “Did I scare you? My bad,” you apologized as he waved it off. “It’s fine, what’s up?” He asked. “Riki and I–”

“I didn’t agree to this, don’t include me,” Riki said while looking away. “Okay then... We’re going to do karaoke after school and I decided to invite you as well!” You smiled at him as he looked at you, surprised. “Invite me as well? Why?” You looked at him dumbfounded. “We’re all friends are we not?” You asked.

“I never said I was friends with him—Fine, I guess we are, but that still doesn’t mean I trust you,” Riki said, switching his sentence midway after the warning glare you sent him. “Wait, are you even free?” You asked again as he nodded. “I’m free, so why not.” He said with a slight smile. “That’s great! Meet at the convenience store at 6:50 PM?” You questioned as he agreed. “Great!” You cheered while raising your hand. 

In return, Jungwon flinched slightly out of habit. You and Riki both looked at him cluelessly. “High-five…?” You said while reaching for his hand and raising it to meet with yours. “Oh, right,” Jungwon said while regaining his composure and clearing his throat. Riki watched things unfold with a confused expression but shook it off a few moments after. 

“Weird,” Riki whispered.

—

The clock on Jungwon’s phone read 6:53 PM. He reached the convenience store only a minute ago and was shocked that nobody else was there. He leaned against the walls of the store while scrolling on his phone. 

The sound of panting and rushed footsteps grew in sound, causing him to look up from his phone. He watched you and Riki slouch over while catching your breaths. “How long have you been here for?” You asked as Jungwon slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Not long, maybe 1 minute.” He responded as Riki groaned. “And you made me run for nothing?! We were barely late, Y/n!” He exclaimed between pants. “Not my fault! I thought it would take longer, alright?!” You argued back while Jungwon smiled. 

“It’s fine guys, let’s just go now.” He suggested as you both looked up at him. “Alright but, could we walk a bit slow? I need to regain my energy,” Riki asked as you and Jungwon agreed. 

The walk to the karaoke place wasn’t bad. It was only tolerable if Jungwon ignored the looks Riki gave him. Before they even started walking, Riki placed himself in between the two so that he was in the middle instead. Recalling his words; “I’ll stand in the middle so I can hear both of you when you say something,” it was stupid but you both didn’t think too much about it. 

“Who’s going first?” You asked while grabbing the remote control. “Can’t we just do a duet?” Riki asked as you looked over at him. “Then what about Jungwon?” You cocked your head at Jungwon as he stared at you. “I’m fine! Don’t worry, you two can do your thing.” He reassured you as you nodded. 

“Okay! Riki, what song?” You waited for a response as your fingers hovered over the remote control. “Uh, ‘Tell me’ by Wonder Girls?” He suggested as you agreed. 

“Now playing ‘Tell Me’ by Wonder Girls,” the machine spoke as the song began to play in the background. You placed down the remote control on the coffee table while grabbing a mic. “I call the first verse, like always!” You exclaimed while rising from your seat. Riki rolled his eyes but agreed as he also grabbed his mic. 

Jungwon watched the both of you with a small smile. If this is what having a close friend looked like then he was ready for it anytime. “5, 6, 7, 8!” You counted as Riki stood beside you. You both started dancing together at the beat drop while Jungwon watched from his seat on the couch in disgust. This will be embarrassing. 

“Hey, I’m gonna head to the bathroom for a bit.” Jungwon said, excusing himself from the embarrassing scene. You held up an ‘ok’ sign as he rose from his seat and headed towards the door. 

On the other side, the song and your voices were slightly audible but mainly muffled. He walked away from the entrance as he headed towards the male bathrooms. He didn’t need to use it in any way, he was only trying to escape from that atmosphere. He really did want to become close friends with you guys but it seemed as though it would be a little harder than expected. It was obvious that Riki didn’t take a liking to him but it’s not like he could change that.

Jungwon walked with his head low as he tried to get rid of his overwhelming thoughts. 

“Hurry up, I’m starving!” A voice exclaimed as he kicked the vending machine. “Clearly, I’m trying. Be patient or you won’t get anything in return,” another voice said in an annoyed tone. 

Jungwon was brought to an abrupt stop by another figure. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” A voice warned from in front of Jungwon. He backed up as he prepared to apologize but instead, was now met with the eyes of a familiar boy. “Wait a minute, guys look! It’s shithead,” he laughed, alerting the boys who stood next to the vending machine.

Jungwon stiffened at the familiar nickname as he looked up he was met with the four familiar faces. Park Sunghoon who stood in front of him as Lee Heeseung, Park Jongseong, and Sim Jaeyun all stood around the vending machine. 

They all looked at Jungwon then to each other and let out a laugh. “What did you do with your hair? And the piercings, woah you changed.” Sunghoon said while touching small pieces of his hair and looking at his earrings. 

“I heard you’re known as a ‘bad boy’ at your new school, seems like you let the little title get to your head, huh?” He said as he poked Jungwon’s forehead. “Glad to see the title of ‘asshole’ hasn’t gotten to your head yet,” Jungwon muttered, causing Sunghoon to stop for a moment. “What did you just say?” He asked while raising a brow at Jungwon. 

Jungwon looked up with a ‘glare’. “I said, I’m glad to see the title of ‘asshole’ hasn’t gotten to your head yet.” He repeated as Sunghoon clicked his tongue and looked away. “You little shit,” he mumbled while slapping Jungwon across the face. Jungwon held his reddening cheek with his hand.

“I guess you forgot to change your stupidness while changing your features. You still don’t know when to watch your mouth,” Jaeyun said as he walked over to the duo. “Could we take this outside? Just looking at him is making me mad.” Jaeyun looked at the two boys who stood behind him and Sunghoon as they nodded in agreement.

Fuck, here we go again. 

Jungwon wobbled on his feet as he tried to keep his balance. “Why won’t you just stay down?!” Jaeyun said while kicking Jungwon in his guts. He let out a nasty cough as droplets of blood fell from his mouth. 

“You’ve became even more annoying, you know?” Jongseong headed over to Jaeyun and Jungwon while pressing his lit cigarette onto the walls nearby. “It’s only been a week ever since your last appearance at Decelis, your new school must’ve changed you, hm?” He questioned in a teasing tone. He watched the droplets of blood fall from Jungwon’s lip in satisfication. 

“I think it’s best for us 4 to remind you of who you truly are,” Jongseong raised his fist as he pulled it back. “Stay still for this one, it’s gonna hurt.” He warned while aiming for Jungwon’s cheek. 

Jungwon prepared himself for the next hit, he wasn’t going down that easy. He waited and waited but nothing came. Opening his eyes, he was met with a shadow. He tried catching his breath from the previous hits as he watched with squinted eyes and a blurry sight. 

Thud. 

“Wow, I haven’t done that for a while.” The person in front of Jungwon said while dusting off their hands. “Are you okay?” They asked while turning around to face Jungwon with concerned fill in their eyes. They held out their hand to Jungwon as he hesitated. 

“...Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Riki.” He said while taking his hand into his. Riki helped him straighten up as he dusted off Jungwon’s clothes. “You’re bleeding a lot,” he said in a lower volume as Jungwon coughed again. 

“What the fuck was that for?!” Jongseong’s voice reeked with anger as he stood up, recovering from the previous attack. “Aw, looks like you have people to stand up for you now, don’t you?” Heeseung teased from the sidelines with crossed arms. Riki turned around while stretching his limbs.

“Look, I have no clue who you four are, but that doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to hurt my…friend.” Riki said with some hesitation in his voice. Heeseung scoffed while pushing himself off the wall. “Is this some joke?” He asked with knitted brows. Riki looked at him cluelessly while raising a brow. “No?” He said unsure if that was the right answer. 

“Aren’t you sweet, defending your little ‘friend.’ I wouldn’t trust him if I were you, he caused many problems back at Decelis. I’m sure you know of them too,” Sunghoon said while helping Jongseong from his previous spot. 

“I don’t like you,” Jaeyun said from beside Jungwon with his hands in stuffed into his sweater pocket. Riki turned around to see Jaeyun kicking Jungwon in his shin. Jungwon fell to the ground after losing his balance. “Don’t touch him,” Riki warned. He was too distracted by the sight in front of him that he wasn’t aware of the fist that was heading his way. 

“Pay attention to your surroundings,” Heeseung said as he watched Riki slouch over from the sudden attack. Riki looked up at Heeseung with a fresh new cut on his bottom lip. It was a 4v2, how was that fair? Those boys were way stronger than those two combined, especially with Jungwon’s strength. They were bound to lose. 

“What’s taking you guys so long!” Your voice rung out, alerting all the boys as you’d hit Jaeyun. “Riki, I sent you to go find Jungwon in the bathroom, not outside!” You exclaimed while looking at Jungwon’s fragile figure and Riki’s slightly injured one. “I can never leave you two alone,” you mumbled as a smile grew onto Riki’s face. The possibility of them losing reduced by 10%. With your help, something could be done. 

“Not my fault he wasn’t there, be grateful that I found him anyway!” Riki argued back as he spat out blood. “You’ve got to be lying. A girl, really?” Sunghoon laughed from beside Jongseong. Riki looked away from you as he narrowed his eyes at Sunghoon. 

“Focus,” you said to Riki as he stood up while wiping his bleeding lip with his thumb. He threw a punch at Heeseung as he stumbled over his feet. Riki fought the other three boys as you ran over to Jungwon. 

“Hey, you okay?” You asked while helping him up. He coughed to the side as he nodded. “I’ll help with your wounds after, alright? Just… hang in there for now?” You ressaured him while rushing. The rustling noises from beside the two of you caused you to look over at the slightly injured boy. “You see, just because you’re a girl. That doesn’t mean I won’t hold back,” Jaeyun said as you patted Jungwon on the back. “I wasn’t asking you to but okay!” You stood up from your previous spot and walked towards Jaeyun. 

You stood in the fighting stance as Jaeyun stood in front of you. He scoffed at the sight, “Are you really going to fight with m—” 

You threw a jab at his jaw as he backed up from the impact. Jungwon’s eyes widened at the sight of both you and Riki fighting against his ‘bullies’. It was something he could never do but it was still cool to watch. 

“You did Taekwondo? No wonder why your moves are so familiar,” Jaeyun mumbled while rubbing away the pain from your hit. You didn’t let his words get to your head as you waited for another opportunity to strike. 

“Well, me too.” He said while getting into the same fighting stance. He went in with an uppercut which was blocked by your forearms while you kicked him on the neck. 

You and Riki were too busy fighting the four boys and didn’t hear Jungwon’s warning. He stood up from the ground while gaining his strength again. “Guys, the police,” he said but it was too faint for anyone to hear. He placed his hand on the bricked wall beside him for more stability while the other rested on his knee. 

“The polic–” Jungwon cut himself off as the sirens of the police cars became audible. “Shit,” Jaeyun said while stopping mid-attack. You, Riki, and Jungwon all looked at each other with widened eyes. “What should we do?” Riki mouthed to you. “I’d say we run,” you mouthed back. 

He pushed Sunghoon and Jongseong away from him while you ran over to Jungwon, grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him along with you. All three of you ran at full speed with Jungwon falling behind by a little bit. 

“Why are we running so fast?! Shouldn’t it be the other way around!” He exclaimed in between breaths. “No, silly! That only happens in shows, but who said we had to follow the rules?” You said with a smile heard in your voice. 

“She’s right, it’s okay to break rules sometimes. They’re there for a reason!” Riki said while grabbing you by the arm. “I think we might need to go faster, what if they rat us out!” He panicked as he picked up the speed with both you and Jungwon now falling behind. 

—

The three of you sat at the table outside of the convenience store. The ointment bottles, used cotton swabs, and bandaid wrappers were scattered on top of the table as you all ate your ice cream. “Feels nice, doesn’t it?” You asked while smiling at the night sky. Jungwon looked at you with curious eyes. “What does?” He inquired, causing you and Riki to look at him.

“Actually, I’m not sure. But just the three of us sitting here together feels comforting.” You explained as you looked at them back. “So, Riki. Are you two finally ‘friends’ now?” You teased while leaning over the table. He playfully rolled his eyes at you with a warning glare as you laughed in return. “Don’t push it,” he said, causing Jungwon to chuckle. 

It felt like the world shifted at the sudden sound. You and Riki both looked at Jungwon with shocked and judging expressions. “Just ‘Heh?’” You both mocked in unison. “‘Heh?!’” You said again while Jungwon looked up at you with confused eyes. “What’s so shocking…?” He asked, unsure. 

“You literally just laughed! Nobody has ever heard you laugh yet. There’s even a rumor about you never laughing for years!” You pointed at him still in shock. “I’m human too, you know. I’m supposed to laugh eventually,” Jungwon said back as Riki nodded in agreement. “He’s got a point, Y/n.” He said, resulting into the two of you to start an argument. 

Jungwon was thankful. He was thankful to have met you that day, his birthday. It felt as though you were supposed to be his gift instead of that beating he got. 

He was glad that he had people to call friends. 

—

It was cloudy and slightly gloomy outside. 

“Alright, hit me.” Riki said as Jungwon looked at him confused. “You can at least throw a punch right?” He asked while Jungwon shook his head. “So, you have no fighting experience?!” Jungwon nodded as both you and Riki facepalmed. “Gosh, okay. Y/n, I’m gonna need your help for this one.” You stood up at the sound of Riki’s words and headed over to the two boys. 

“Okay, Jungwon. Hold your hands like this,” you grabbed his wrists and positioned them to shield his face. “This will help at the start of fights. Since I learned Taekwondo, I’m not able to teach you combat fighting, so Riki will do most of that.” You explained while backing up from him. 

“Now, to throw a hit at someone, just swing forward. Still try and have power into that swing and hit for a critical spot! For example, the face.” Jungwon nodded as he took in all your words.

You moved out of the way, causing him to face Riki again. “Try hitting me now,” Riki insisted as Jungwon hesitated for a while. “Just do it already—”

Jungwon threw a punch at Riki’s jaw, cutting off his sentence. His eyes widened while watching the impact his hit had on Riki. “Was that too hard? Are you alright?” He questioned as he placed his hand on Riki’s back.

“Could Have warned me, you know?” He said with pain lingering in his voice. “Sweet! That was perfect, Jungwon. Keep practicing those and you’ll eventually be able to fight Riki! Maybe even beat him,” you whispered the last bit but it was still audible to Riki. 

“Pardon?! Don’t boost his ego, he can’t get past me yet!” He exclaimed while straightening up. “Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s you with a boosted ego.” You retorted as he rolled his eyes. “Moving on, let’s do that again! This time, I’ll for sure block it.” Riki said while getting back into position. 

© haknom 2023 - do not copy, translate, or plagiarize my work on other platforms!

TAGLIST: @soov @redm4ri @ox1-lovesick @urszn @feeeli @taejays @hanniluvi @dakkisz @dimplewonie @ddenoudepression @xiaoderrrr @ja4hyvn @mmaplepastries @essmarye @w3bqrl @axartia @yjjungwon @jennaissantes @yenqa @chaechae-23 @annoyingbitch83 @hawkins-hs @shinsou-rii @wanna-live-yn-life @luvhyun3 @astrae4 @naddii @4yjwonnn

S𝗔ND BL𝗔NK𝗘TS ── yjw.

✶ : 0.6k, yang jungwon & gn!reader, angst and slight fluff, one-sided pinning, no set au. ⚠ : very brief mentions of food (s'mores) & drinking (jack daniels), but neither of the main characters are taking it, lowercase intended. ੭ : this was Very experimental since i absolutely suck at angst but yeah!!!!!

when the sun nudged the horizon line, bounded by the calm waves of twinkling water and sea foam, there was peace. innocent laughs bounced against the rocks surrounding the beach, committing to memory the afternoon of july eleventh.

with your feet buried in the warm sand, you snorted at jake and riki play wrestling in the sea and sunoo cackling loudly while floating around. heeseung was dead asleep on a hammock while jay and sunghoon had a drinking contest. 

your group chatted far away by a bonfire, and a distinct silhouette brought a shy smile to your lips. one of your friends — who you had been cultivating feelings for — clumsily burned themselves with their s'mores, blowing on their own hand with a pout.

the chilly wind nipped at your exposed skin, quietly reminding you of your current setting, and that the night would soon arrive. you shuddered, considering approaching your friends and crush before a person came to your side.

jungwon stood beside you with a fluffy blanket over his shoulders, preventing his own warmth from escaping. he had a white muscle shirt and shorts hidden below the fabric.

an adorable smile stretched his lips, long eyes imitating crescents as he glanced at you. “hi,” he sat down next to you on the tree stump, knees and arms touching.

“hey,” you beamed back, softly shoving his side. “eventful day, wasn't it?”

“don't even get me started.” jungwon feigned annoyance by rolling his eyes, but ended up bursting into a fit of giggles. his focus switched quickly to the two young adults downing cups of jack daniels, “i bet ten bucks that sunghoon's alcohol tolerance is better than jay's.”

“you're insane.” a gasp went past your mouth — you knew he was just teasing you. “sunghoon winning against jay? you better have that money on you.”

yang bit his lip to contain more laughs, turning to your shivering form, “you'll catch a cold like this.” he reprimanded you, wrapping your body with his arms and blanket. “you need to be more careful.”

watching him card his fingers through his damp hair, covered with sea salt, you muttered, “alright… thanks.”

“it's okay.” he waved you off.

your eyes rested, and you could only hear the calming sound of water and distant chatter lulling you into a deep slumber. the skies progressively got darker with each passing moment, and the weather got colder, but the temperature ceased to bother you as jungwon's coziness embraced you.

while in your best friend's hold, he pressed his chapped lips to your temple, basking in your presence. he let out little laughs when you groaned and shifted around to find a more comfortable position to rest.

in sequence, you ended up with your head on his lap. admiration filled his gaze to the brim, fixed on your side profile. a voice calling out for jay snapped him out of his trance, his eyes traveling to the person you loved the most.

his throat clamped at the sight of your crush walking around so freely, unaware of your mutual sentiments for them, but he was already conscious of the lovesick problems you were enduring because of this friend — you had broken jungwon's heart unknowingly early that morning, ranting your soul out about how you were fond of them.

if that wasn't enough, yang noticed the liking they had for you, ever so caring and kind. it was obvious how they would be the perfect partner, offering everything you deserved and so much more. they would do everything jungwon wished he could do for you. they would love you and long for you, though not as much as him (or, at least, that was what he liked to think).

jungwon could also be a good boyfriend, if given the chance. he would take you to adorable dates, litter your skin in tiny kisses, bring you over to meet his family and pets, and cherish you unconditionally like how he had been trying to do for the past years. however, that was not his case, and he could merely watch you sleep on his lap whilst your mind dreamed of someone else.

despite knowing that you didn't reciprocate his feelings, jungwon caressed your cheekbones as if you were his lover, heart crushed like the sand beneath his feet, though still alive and threatening to jump out of his ribcage. after all, maybe someday he would manage to sweep you off your feet, and you'd finally see him in the same lights he saw you.

⠀ ⠀ © soov, 2O23.