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𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒!

HEY !! HEY YOU, YEAH YOU!! remember to give these authors and the fics all the love they deserve! if u liked what u read, reblog it or comment or send in an ask !! cool, ty <3

a/n: hihi everyone! again, i wanted to extend my appreciation to all my fellow writers with this post (ik it's not a lot compared to how much all y'all do 😔), but if you'd like more fic recs, pls do check out my other blog @luv-beam!

**NOTE: lol 🤡 i do apologize if my bias(es) show per group !! i love every member of every group but some rot my brain a little more than others 🤧😭 i also haven't done a lot of reading lately ,,, this is an accumulation of like three months

NCT

his same, old, safe bet (jeong jaehyun) — @jaehunnyy

not finished just yet but it's off to a brilliant start !! we love yn's "bitch who r u" attitude toward jae lmaoo

swiper no swiping (lee donghyuck) — @xosimo

I WAS SWOOOOONING like omg hyuck is so attractive pls and just the unfolding of events and the build up? yes.

inevitable (na jaemin) — @korijime

dude the vibes r so immaculate in this piece, like the soft sort of atmosphere and the low-key confession style mwah

SVT

11:23pm (kwon soonyoung) — @xuhuihuis / @.maiademia

okay i admit i'm a little obsessed w this (maybe cuz it was my request so i must promote) but it was also written so well and hoshi is so nOm

love on the air (hong jisoo) — @suhnshinehaos

joshua hong 😔✨ ugh such a romantic,, both of them r two idiots in love but isn't that one of the best tropes?

pocket money (choi seungcheol) — @ethereal-engene

found this realistic in a good way!! cheol would be so cute all flustered and he *would* catch non-carat eyes too no doubt 👀👀

the way seventeen breaks your heart (performance unit) — @moonsolie

broke my heart </3 into seventeen+ pieces </3 if i love angst, then this was my ride or die

i less than three you (xu minghao) — @junshine (they deactivated unfortunately :( but i'll link my reblog!)

although op deactivated, pls do continue to read and enjoy their work :') it was so well written and i loved it so much

"i'm here. it's ok. you can cry. i've got you." (kwon soonyoung) — @holdinbacksecrets

comfort to the max ; i cannot tell u enough how much i loved this like ,, oh god i found this when i was not in a good spot and it just made me feel ,, seen?

order up (yoon jeonghan) — @leejungchans

my love for trickster jeonghan is thru the roof 😔😭 this was so so cute (and funny watching jeonghan not get the reaction he wanted skcjdj)

vernon heist au (chwe hansol) — @freakyfriedrice

i LOVED the uncharted movie and to be blessed with this au ?! like dream come true omg i loved this beyond words ; flustered vernon >>>>

TXT : i'm sorry txtblr i was and am in a beomgyu crisis.

nap of a star (choi beomgyu) — @blue-jisungs

omg literally mE WHEN?! (´Д⊂ヽ soft moment to the soundtrack of clownery, my favorite </3 u know u like them gyu õ_ó

8:55pm (choi beomgyu) — @4ure2

dUUDE the imagery in this one? i felt so many things, and this man goes and says this 😔 denial fr but sighs ,, that's love ig

balance game (choi beomgyu) — @yeonjunszn

low-key down bad for this trope, like /bruh/ u like ur best friend?? own it?? ; also this is funny asf even tho beomyn r lichrally dumbasses 🤕🤕

2:37am (choi beomgyu) — @ijhyo

now THIS was simply UNCALLED FOR my heart cannot take this like goodbye. this is all i want.

SKZ

king candy (han jisung) — @petrichor-han

how can i not put this hanji fic on here õ_ó READ IT, it's so cute and a holiday staple for me atp

poisoned fangs (kim seungmin) — @petrichor-han

i have so much to read from rain's m.list and i don't often read like horror-ish things? but i thoroughly enjoyed this one (i also have a weird thing for morbid reads 🤡)

probably up (bang chan) — @loveliestfelix

why we love christopher bang chan (´Д⊂ヽ ugh there was something so warm, mellow, and comfortable about this one and the ambiguity of potential lovers was also super refreshing

6:26pm (bang chan) — @daydreaminskz

i've actually never seen this kind of situation written before, and tbh i'm so here for it like the domesticity and chan being cute as always (i'm sorry but i might have laughed when he fell 😭💀)

10:43am (lee minho) — @cleyellow-wood

i honestly really love how this was written, like there was something abt op's style and the way lino was portrayed as well that hits the spot

tag, you're it (lee felix) — @loveliestfelix

read the warning so u aren't too surprised, but u will still need a box of tissues ; literally sHivers from this one

ENHA : lmao let's not talk abt my jungwon brainrot either 🤡

you're mine (yang jungwon) — @goldenhypen

em's stuff always makes me like 2489292x more delulu that's a fact like it's short but too sweet i 😔

bookmark (park jongseong) — @crystalsoobin

so so dang cute — even if he did call reader a nerd ig 🤕🤕

kisses nonstop (yang jungwon) — @goldenhypen

this woman posted this on my birthday as if it would not sHOOT ME THRU THE HEART ?!? LIKE U EXPECT ME TO BE OKAY AFTER THIS??

closer (yang jungwon) — @palajae

tbh read this during physics and i am not ashamed bc it was so cute and the pacing was mwah and oh god yANG JUNGWON (´Д⊂ヽ

ATZ

midnight kiss (kim hongjoong) — @i-write-some-stuff

i love whump aus part 28472993 OP U WROTE HONGJOONG SO WELL AND SO AHHHHH

11:54pm (choi san) — @stayarmytinyzenmoa-l

i will say this again and again but this lives in my brain rent free and i need to stalk crys' masterlists once i have the time 😔

june+july fic recs

the bore next door (j.ww)

Jeon Wonwoo is not dull, nor is he the clean and polite neighbor that your mother assumed he was when she set you up on this awful date. 

or the one where wonwoo takes you home on the first date and renders you unable to walk, hoping to god that you don’t expose him to your parents.

ao3 | minors dni! | kindly leave feedback and reblog, i will kiss your forehead so fucking fast if you do. 

WORDCOUNT― 8.8k

PAIRING― wonwoo x afab reader

CONTENT― strangers to fucking immediately to the possibility of dating later, reader is a teacher but this is not a school setting, mocking and making fun, sneaky sex, flirting and bullying in the same instance, cocky wonwoo, um…they’re kind of competitive in bed

WARNINGS― small mention of other teachers cheating on their spouses (very tiny mention), the resistance of pressure to fall in love/have children

NOTE― I repurposed an old wip for this because putting this mf in the main role hit harder than it should have. that being said, don’t expect me to write men often like this, i just thought it would be neat to make him take control. this is not proof read.

smut tags under cut:: 

Keep reading

i like you.

PAIRING ▸ dancer! niki x dancer! reader

GENRE ▸ dancer! au, a2ls, romance, fluff, humor

WORD COUNT ▸ 4.5k

SUMMARY ▸ a collab with one of the best dancers at your studio might not sound too bad. it would’ve been amazing, except for the fact that in the ten years you’ve known nishimura riki, you’ve only spoken a total of two words to your beloved dance partner.  

AKA a try not to be awkward challenge.

NOTES ▸ like one kiss? not proofread, if i missed anything please let me know! // a merry merry christmas to anyone who celebrates it:)))

PLAYING ▸ i like you by post malone (ft doja cat). | series masterlist.

AS THE MUSIC ENDS, THE SOUND OF YOUR HEAVY BREATHING FILLS THE AIR. 

Another day of practice, another day of exhaustion and a lot of sweating. Unbeknownst to you as you wipe your forehead with your shirt, a small group stands outside the door to your practice room, peeking in through the tiny window. 

They whisper in awe after experiencing your performance, just separated by a mere door from a few feet away. Your fluidity, attention to even the tiniest details, the look in your eyes, it was all different. 

No wonder it seemed like you were on another level, separated from the others since the beginning by an invisible barrier known as raw talent and skill. 

The only other ‘one’ like you was Nishimura Riki, or more commonly referred to as Niki. Between all the trainees at your dance company, you two were different. You just stood out the minute you walked into a room. 

If you were being honest, you’ve only interacted with Niki before at the company studio like... once. A total of five minutes in each other’s presence that consisted of bowing politely and greetings before he was called away by his sister. You forgot but probably said something along the lines of “good morning,” or literally anything else that couldn’t have made it any more awkward than it already was. 

That was your first impression of Niki. Before that, you only heard of his impressive skill when you first joined over ten years ago, especially since he was the studio founder’s son. You heard all about how he started dancing when he was three and had kept going since. 

Besides that, most of your time was spent practicing alone and occasionally with friends or instructors. And when competition season came around, it was even worse. 

That was when more than half your day was spent in one of the practice rooms, going over your multiple routines and rehearsing until you physically couldn’t anymore.

Today was no different. The first competition was in about a week and everyone had been on edge. That meant no time to waste on trivial matters like- in your case- watching others dance. 

Your friends understood how seriously you took dancing, because they were the same. Maybe they didn’t have as much passion as you, meaning they weren’t willing to sacrifice as much of their normal lives, but again that was what separated you from the rest.

There were plenty of events and sections that your studio entered in, and you yourself were no different, having entered in numerous ones already. All trainees were busy preparing for competition day, countless routines performed simultaneously. 

A figure coldly pushes past the small crowd of dancers, knocking only once on the door before entering the room you occupied. They whisper in alarm and shock at how urgently he entered. 

You gulp down water, head turning towards the sound from the entrance. You tilt your head in acknowledgment, “Instructor Woo. What’s up?”

The serious expression on his face sends alarms ringing through your body, but you try to keep calm. Maybe you were reading too much into it. Your teacher was always known as the cold and strict type when you first met, but after years your relationship had melted into a respectable junior-senior one. 

“Follow me.” 

Confused, heart rate beginning to pick up, you grab your stuff and follow him, ignoring the fellow bystanders waiting outside the door. 

Once you’ve reached the safety and privacy of his office, you falter. Mainly because you weren’t alone- it wasn’t just the two of you. 

Niki stands there with unreadable look as he  spots you the same time you spot him. Recognition flickers in his eyes for split second before he glances away. 

You cross your arms, barely addressing him. “What’s going on?” 

You give your instructor a purposeful stare as if to say, why in the world were you alone in a room with him and Nishimura Riki?

He sighs, clasping his hands together. “Two dancers who entered in a couple performance just got into a minor accident. They’re on bed rest for at least a week.” 

It was just like him to go straight to the point. You know exactly what he means, but you don’t understand why he’s letting you know.

You frown. “I’m sorry to hear that… but why are you telling us that?”

Niki side-eyes you, mumbling something along the lines of, “isn’t it obvious?” 

You glance at him for a second before returning your attention to Instructor Woo. 

“I apologize for bringing this upon you so late, but we need you two to sub in.” 

No. No one does that. No one is given an event with less than a week to prepare. Especially not, your eyes slide to the boy next to you again, especially not if you had to work with someone who was essentially a stranger to you. 

It’s like your instructor already knew what you were about to say before you opened your mouth, holding up a hand to stop you in your tracks. 

“I know we’re asking for a lot, but you two are the best dancers at the company. That’s a fact. We decided on you two for a reason- because we all know you can pull it off together.” 

You’re speechless while Niki just stands there. With no reaction, Instructor Woo sighs and pulls out his phone. He taps the screen before turning it to show you and Niki. 

Two people, you’re guessing the two that got in the accident, dancing to… 

Havana? 

Immediately, you shake your head. “No. I’m not doing that.” 

He sits up straighter, “You don’t get to make a decision-“

You turn to Niki, “No offense, but I barely know you, and there’s no way we’re dancing to that song together.”

He shrugs, “None taken.” 

“Y/n y/l/n.” At that, you almost shrink. 

“What happened to your professionalism? You have less than a week to learn a new dance, what other choice do you have?”  

Perhaps you should’ve taken the time before to watch Niki dance- even seeing him perform once would’ve helped and provided some familiarity. 

Regardless, the stubbornness in you just tells you that it doesn’t fit your own style, and you don’t want to- you just can’t do a dance if it won’t be executed up to your standards. You won’t ever be satisfied. 

You clench your hands into fists, “I’m sorry but I know I can’t possibly perform that dance as well as I want to in less than a week. Perhaps if I had more time to work on it, then I would agree but I don’t have the luxury, so I can’t. There’s only one other option we have and I’d rather take that risk for a better performance. I’m fully willing to take responsibility if it doesn’t work out.”

For the first time, Niki agrees with you, nodding along to your words. 

Your dance instructor grumbles and you look at Niki before speaking up again. 

“We’ll choose a song and choreograph it ourselves,” your voice sounded much more confident than how much confidence you actually had in yourself. 

He drops his phone on his desk, eyes widen and mouth set in a firm line. “Do you know what you’re saying? A whole new dance in six- technically, five days?” 

And you nod. 

By the end, Instructor Woo has given up and left it to you two to figure things out. You feel grateful for the immense trust he has in you because honestly, you don’t have even close to enough trust in yourself. 

The walk out of his office is silent. In all the times you’ve seen Niki around the company, this is the first time you’ve been so close to him. It’s strange seeing him up close, he was much more defined (and taller) than you thought. 

“Hey, uh,” you say hesitantly, “I just wanted to apologize for saying all that without discussing with you first.” 

Niki recognizes your words with a tiny nod and you bite your lip, unsure if you’re about to regret your next words. 

“If you really want, we can just do the previous dance.” 

But to your surprise, Niki frowns. “No, I’d rather make a new choreography that fits us better too.”

And he sees you smile for the first time. 

You were grateful for the fact that you spent the previous month practicing and getting the hang of your other routines. Only because originally, your plan was to spend the last week leading up to competition day just finalizing moves and reviewing until after the bombshell that Instructor Woo dropped on you and Niki and your plans were mostly scrapped. 

You supposed Niki’s plan was the same, due to one night that you walked into your planned meetings and caught the end of one of his performances. Judging by the slight shine off his skin and heavy breathing, he must’ve been dancing for a while. 

“Hey,” you reply meekly. He gives a short greeting back before focusing back on a certain part of the choreo. As you get your things settled and start warming up, you realize you can’t stand the silence. 

“Are you, uh, ready for competition? Besides our performance together?”

“Yeah. Maybe not as much as I would like but as Woo said, we don’t have a choice.” 

You nod silently. “Then… should we decide on a song?”

“Okay.” 

So far so great, you think internally with a grimace. You knew close to nothing about Niki and now you have to work with him for almost a week straight. Not to forget the fact that you’re almost always the first to speak to him. The long silence was starting to get to your head. 

“Since this is a couple performance…” you inhale, “what kind of song would you rather do?” 

Obviously his preference wasn’t the sensual and slower type, and if it was, it obviously wasn’t a dance he would want to do with a stranger like you (and neither would you). Even so, you could just tell that wasn’t a song he would pick. 

He drums his fingers on the wooden floor, seemingly in deep thought. You forgot he also knew close to nothing about you as well and was probably taking your impression into account. 

“How about Hip hop? RnB?” He looks at you questioningly, and you’re a bit shocked. Was that a lucky guess or did you just have similar styles? 

Niki must’ve noted the look on your face because he scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Do you not like that?”

You’re quick to shake your head, “No no, that’s not it at all! Actually, I’d prefer to do those.” 

“Oh. Cool.” He smiles thoughtfully to himself, although you miss it. 

You hum, “I like you?”

Niki suddenly shoots up, mouth gaping as he blinks at you. “E-Excuse me? I’m sorry, but I barely know-”

You roll your eyes, becoming a little flustered as you realize the double meaning behind your words. “I-I meant the song, you idiot. Who would suddenly confess like that..” your voice ends in a grumble. 

“It’s i like you by post malone,” your words come out unintentionally louder to get your point across. 

“Ah.” He pauses for a moment before agreeing, ears reddening. “Sure. I like his music.”

Then came the real challenge. Creating a whole new dance from scratch.  

Actually, you wanted to use that song for your own dance but seeing a bit of Niki’s dancing, you realized it would be a good fit for him too. You even brainstormed some moves but thinking about Niki’s reaction made you unsure. 

It’s fine, you reassure yourself. You’ll come up with something,  no matter what. The instructors chose you two for a reason. You needed to trust yourself and your partner. 

You suddenly clap your hands. “Let’s get to it.” 

You prided yourself on making others, especially strangers, comfortable with you. Even if it didn’t seem like it with your usual blank expression and valued independence. Yes you prioritized dance, but time with others was something you enjoyed. Niki wasn’t an exception, except that he was pretty shy by himself. 

It surprised you a little, as from what you’ve heard from others he wasn’t like that at all. Then again, people said he was scary and like an annoying little kid at the same time so you couldn’t form an opinion right off the bat. 

As you mapped out ideas, pieces began to fall into place. That was one of the things you enjoyed most about choreographing your own performance. The satisfaction as parts began to connect and your hard work began to show its efforts, it was the best feeling for you. 

It helped that you two had a lot of experience under your belt- but that didn’t mean it was easy. 

You both fall to the floor, drained. After more than 12 hours spent on experimenting new moves, you check the time. 4am. 

You were used to it but adding on the burden of knowing you had about four and a half days left, your body felt heavier. 

“How far did we get?” You breathe out, eyes closing. 

“Almost one minute.” The sound of his husky voice makes you shiver and your eyes open. He must be tired. 

You sit up, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey, that’s more progress than I thought. We’re almost a third done,” you remind. 

“You’re right.” He groans while sitting up and your forehead creases in concern. 

“Niki, here.” 

You toss him water and he thanks you with surprise evident on his face. “Thanks.” 

“How much sleep did you get?” Although your actions seemed like they were out of concern, you simply didn’t want your partner passing out on the dance floor. Not when you had several more runs to get through.

Niki runs a hand through his hair, “Three hours, maybe? I was practicing and didn’t realize the time…”

His words strike you in gut. Real hard, because you were the exact same. You don’t know the amount of times you had answered in almost the exact same way when others asked you. 

You huff, “Go home and get some sleep, Niki. I want us both to be in our best condition since we have such limited time.”

He lets out a half scoff and half laugh. “You sound just like Instructor Woo. Why should I listen to you?”

“Okay,” you hold out your hand, “I want the water back. I bought it with my own money since the water here tastes like the sewers.”  

He pauses mid gulp and you can’t hold back your laugh. Swallowing, he stares at you indignantly.

“Hey, take that back. Our company water is perfectly fine.” 

You forgot he was the son of the CEO, but that still didn’t change your opinion. You make a sound of disapproval, “I don’t ever see you drinking it.”

Okay, so you got him there. He makes an expression like he’s been caught before breaking out in laughter and you can’t help but join in. 

The song you chose, you think it really united your styles together. That could’ve played a factor in why you and Niki got along quickly. Or the shared pressure that you both felt in order to get this dance executed as close as you could to perfect.

It had only been a few days spent with Niki and yet you could (and would) already consider yourself friends. After 10 years of passing each other in the halls silently, it was suddenly like you knew him all that time.  

Practicing was fun with Niki. He got you. Your humor matched, and the fact that you both learned the choreo quickly lightened a bit of the heavy load off your shoulders and made you less pressured. Countless hours of working hard paid off, making your miniature breaks with him even more worth it. 

To the point you would go out for a treat to reward yourself for the hard work. 

When he suggested ice cream, you gladly agreed. You paid for the both of you as Niki protested, leading to hours of bickering that didn’t stop during your practices. It only ended with a promise of next time, he would get it. 

“I said it was fine, Niki.” 

Your hands are on your hips, lips blowing out exasperated air as you shake your head again. 

You knew he was stubborn but not this stubborn. He rolls over to lay on his stomach, eyes peeking up you. Even when half of his face was covered by his arms, you could see the displeasure written all over his face. 

“You didn’t even let me pay you back!” He childishly objects, kicking his feet off the ground. You bite back a smile, fingers hovering over the play button. 

“Are you done? So we can continue practicing?”

You hear a muffled no as he gets up, warming up his body. 

“I’m not gonna give up,” he reminds as you approach him, getting into position. “Sure,” you agree with a grin, waiting for the countdown. 

“Next time. I’m getting it.” 

Next time? Taken by surprise, you start a second too late, glaring as Niki watches you with an amused yet fond look. You didn’t mean to get flustered but the longer Niki gives you that sly smirk, the harder it is for you to continue going on. When the section ends, you shove him and he snickers. You’re both breathing heavily but with matching smiles on your faces.

“Why were you looking at me like that?”  You try your best to seem annoyed. 

“What do you mean?” The fake clueless shrug makes you narrow your eyes at him. 

“Oh, so now you’re playing innocent?”

“Who was the one that couldn’t focus again?”

It’s because of you, you think silently. 

You weren’t sure if you were the only one that looked forward to working with Niki all day, seeing his face light up and laughing for hours on end until your stomach hurt. 

You really enjoyed seeing the side of him that many others couldn’t see, because it meant you had reached a deeper level. 

It meant Niki trusted you- he trusted you to be a little more vulnerable and show more of himself to you. 

You weren’t sure if you were the only one that felt it. 

With about two days left, you two had been over the routine countless times. As much as you enjoyed the song, you were starting to get sick of hearing it again and again. 

Everyone else at the studio recognized it too. They saw your dedication and time spent together, the younger trainees whispering a lot in awe. 

Even at home in your bed quite late at night, while you were up texting your friends, they noticed it all too. 

Don’t you think you’re spending a lot of time with Niki?

I’ve never seen you around hang someone so much.. 

him neither-

You frown while reading the messages, fingers already flying across the screen to type out a response. Your reasoning? 

You both had an insane drive to win, and if that meant practicing 15 hours a day together, so be it. 

Your friends didn’t believe it. 

hmmmm nah 

We keep hearing that niki never spends this much time with someone else

like, not even with his friends 

You frown. You don’t even know what they’re getting at. With that, you leave their questions on read. 

But those messages stay in the back of your head leading up to the performance. You don’t think it’s a good idea to dwell, all your time and energy needed to be on this final performance and your other ones, and you didn’t want to break the groove. So you hold back. At least, you try to the night before competition day. 

The song ends and you don’t realize how much you’re ready to never listen to this song again. As much as you liked i like you (ironic, you know), the stress and trauma of the whole situation kinda ruined it. 

At least you had Niki to share it with. 

Satisfied with your performance, you look over at him and laugh, holding out a hand for a high five. He easily high-fives you back, grinning in content. 

“Good luck, partner.” 

Your smile unconsciously grows. “Good luck to you tomorrow, too.”

“Don’t sleep too late and stress about it, okay? We got this.” He must see through you and into the anxiety settled in your system since he was the one reassuring you, not the other way around. 

“Yes sir,” you joke. “You too, though,” you add warmly and he nods, almost shy? to the point where you can notice the sudden shift in the air. You cock your head-

“I just wanted to say thank you… and I’m glad that you’re my partner.” 

Your eyes widen at his confession, wandering around before deciding to settle on his shoes. You felt your heart pounding as the texts your friends sent echo in your head. 

“Me too,” you reply softly. 

The day of competition, you feel the familiar jitters in the pit of your stomach. Your duo with Niki came at the end after your solo performances, so you had some time to prepare yourself. 

With all the chaos of calling performers and getting hair and makeup done, you hadn’t seen him at all. But you knew he was going to ace it. You only hoped you would too. 

Your name is called and you exhale. It’s time. 

By the end of your solo performances, you’re exhausted. But you can’t stop now. Ten minutes until you’re supposed to be called for your duo performance and you don’t know where Niki is. You were already dressed and waiting for your partner. 

You asked several people if they saw him but to no avail. Just for a second, you decide to sit down somewhere with free space to rest your tired legs. Competition day was high energy and constantly draining, but that’s what you loved about it. 

“Y/n!” 

Your head whips up, glancing around to find the owner of the voice. Niki pushes past a few people, getting over to you while panting. 

“Niki!” You call out, surprised. 

He stops in his tracks. You say his name again, slightly concerned this time. 

“You look really good.” 

You cough, trying to hide your embarrassment at his sudden compliment. 

“You do too.” 

He fiddles with his hands, biting back a smile. “Thanks. Sorry I was late, my event ended 15 minutes later because of someone who didn’t show.”

You roll your eyes, “That’s sucks- I get it, don’t worry.” Eyes shining, Niki takes a step closer and your mouth falls shut. 

It felt like he was about to say something, probably something important, but you hear your names getting called. You give him a look as if to say, go ahead and say it quickly, but he shakes his head. 

Instead of words, Niki offers a hand and you gladly squeeze it, heart feeling like it was going to burst as you made your way to the stage. 

Showtime.

Needless to say, you aced it. The cheering crowd and endless compliments from your fellow friends and dancers made it even more obvious. You didn’t get much alone time with Niki after the performance, but it was okay because you knew you would see him at the award ceremony.

Even Instructor Woo approached you both, clapping with an impressed look. “No wonder you two are the best, you did not disappoint me. I’m proud of you guys, keep it up.”

You share amused looks with Niki, having already joked and laughed to the point of tears from Woo’s cold persona.  

The hardest part was the time for awards.

As they called out different categories and sections, you zoned out in your seat. How could you not? After a long week of practice, practice, and more practice, your mind flew through the past couple of days. 

Meeting Niki again, getting to know him, adjusting your dancing together, having fun together, stressing together- all in the span of a week. Yet as he sat a few chairs from from you, you realized you didn’t want it to end. 

You wanted to keep doing all those things with him. It felt like you had known each other for years, and besides the fact that most of those years were spent as strangers, you realize your time together was precious- it had just started. Regardless of if you won or not, you didn’t want Niki and you to be strangers again. 

You didn’t want to lose him.

Just as that realization hits you, you hear the announcer call out your and Niki’s section. Your breath hitches as your hands grow clammy. Unbeknownst to you, Niki’s eyes flick over to you. 

“And the first place is…” 

You can hear your heart pounding, blood rushing. In that second, your eyes meet his. Everything without any words, you understand with that single glance. 

You don’t, or do, expect your name to be called, followed by Niki’s. 

Without even thinking about it, you rise up from your seat, fellow trainees and dancers cheering so loud the sound echoed in your head for days after, and even through all of that you can only focus on Niki. 

People get out of the way as your body moves on its own, directing you towards him as he gets closer. Suddenly, you’re engulfed by Niki, his scent filling your nose as he picks you up and spins you around. That’s when you break out of it. 

He’s laughing, you’re smiling. 

“Congrats, partner.”

You laugh brightly, reaching to tussle his hair. “Congrats too. I’m proud of you.” 

His gaze sucks you in- it’s like you can’t even force yourself to look away. You could care less about the surrounding people. 

“Maybe after,” he starts carefully, and you swallow, “after the competition is over- do you wanna like, get out of here?”

A huge wave of relief washes over you. Maybe it’s the relieved pressure of finishing this performance or the way that Niki’s staring at you while biting his lips in what you think is nervousness. 

“I would very much like that,” you pause and Niki looks visibly happier at that compared to just seconds earlier when you two were just announced as the winners. You shyly cough, 

“-and I very much like you.” 

Niki freezes at you abrupt confession. You avoid his stare, swiftly regretting your heat of the moment decision.

Without realizing it in your embarrassment, Niki swoops down to give you a quick peck. Very much in front of your whole company. Gasps and squeals fill the air, unless you just imagined it. 

Now you’re the one taken aback. 

“Me too,” he smirks while murmuring, 

“I like you.” 

Those three words you thought you were sick of didn’t sound too bad coming out of Niki’s mouth.  

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𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐓 － ( 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 : 𝐈 )

[★] synopsis. Your grades are falling and your Professor suggests that Park Sunghoon help you out with your studies. Only problem is, you and Sunghoon are academic rivals. Spending three hours holed up in his dorm for weeks on end sounds like a living nightmare for both of you, but there is too much at stake for you and for him, so you really have no other choice. Somewhere in being forced to tolerate each other, you seem to develop a confounding change of heart towards each other. However, accepting that you might not hate each other as much as you claim to isn't as easy at it sounds. So how long will you and Sunghoon cycle through the motions of love and hate until you finally come to a conclusion? [★] pairing. sunghoon x fem!reader [★] genre. enemies to lovers, academic rivals!au, college!au [★] words. 10,878 [★] read time. 1 hour 12 minutes [★] contains. lots of cursing and name calling, underage drinking, smut : blowjob, slapping, intoxicated sex [★] notes. i'm so excited to finally be publishing this fic ! i decided to make it a two parter because 10k words is a lot to read at once and i wasn't confident i could wrap the whole thing up, proofread, and edit it all in the span of two days 😅 this was birthed from a request from an anon so shout out to them for planting this idea in my head ! reblogs and feedback are highly encouraged and appreciated (please don't be shy) ♡ story is under the keep reading 👇🏽 [★] fic taglist. ( @loves0ft ) • ( @svnoohe4rts ) • ( @rikkiloveskpop ) • ( @sunghoons-hand ) • ( @qimmylol ) • ( @pshveo ) • ( @sunghoonmybeloved ) • ( @viagumi ) • ( @ghoullett ) • ( @deobitiful ) • ( @bangchans-left-bicep ) • ( @lundabean ) • ( @kiillmeee ) • ( @andreaswrld ) [★] permanent taglist. ( @forjongseong ) • ( @enhabordercarnival ) • ( @lavanya239 ) • ( @museeofmoon ) • ( @heebuba ) • ( @love-4-keum ) • ( @sunsunghoon ) • ( @darkmoon-hoon ) • ( @laurasseditss ) • ( @skzenhalove ) • ( @23hoon ) ( 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 : 𝐈𝐈 ) － coming out : 11.20.2022

“Y/n, a word please,” Your professor motioned for you to step aside, waiting for everyone to leave the lecture hall before shutting the door and calling you over to her podium. Part of you already knew what this was about, but the other was curious and slightly fretful as to what she would have to say regarding it. Fumbling with your fingers, you cleared your throat, chewing on your bottom lip anxiously. 

“The recent assessment,” she sighed, joining her hands matter-of-factly, “What happened there?” The look in her eyes assured you that she wasn’t disappointed in you, because that was the last thing you would want. For a moment, all you could hear and think about was the way your heart was thundering in your chest. You had no idea what to tell her aside from the fact that you weren’t sure why you had done so bad. 

“When one of my best students doesn’t perform up to the mark, it concerns me y/n. What with having to declare your major around this time, I understand that school must be a little hectic. You can talk to me. If there’s anything you need to get off your chest so that I can understand your situation better, don’t be afraid to let me know,” She encouraged, although you weren’t sure what she could possibly do to help your grade in her class anymore. 

Frowning, you swallowed uncertainly, shaking your head. “I don’t even know where to start,” You admitted with a shrug. “I studied for the tests like I always do. But I don’t know what happened the day of. It was like I couldn’t remember anything at all.” 

She nodded, holding her hand out speculatively. “Were there perhaps any distractions in your life at the time? Break ups? Arguments? Noisy roommates?” She chuckled softly, prompting you to smile. 

“Not really, no. Maybe the distraction was in my head. I don’t know.” You were afraid you sounded very stupid right now, because you sure felt so. These past few weeks had been very weird for you. Each day felt unusually long and no matter how much caffeine you filled your system with, you were chronically exhausted. You had been showing up to class essentially in your pajamas and you kept half-assing all your assignments, doing the bare minimum to get a lousy hundred. The only thing you ever felt genuinely inclined to do was lay in bed and either nap or waste time on your phone all day. You were being uncharacteristically lazy and careless and the worst part was that you had no idea why. Your social life was perfectly fine. Whenever you were with your friends, you were happy, cheerful, and lively, nothing like the zombie-like state you transformed into whenever you were all alone in your dorm. 

“In my professional opinion, I’d say she’s just burnt out,” A familiar yet unwelcome voice suggested from behind you. You didn’t have to look twice to know who it was. Under your breath, you groaned in annoyance and rolled your eyes as you heard him slither into the room. 

“I’m having a private chat with y/n, Sunghoon. Please respect that,” Your professor chided, standing up straight. In response, he grinned nonchalantly and slapped a document on her podium. “The extra credit assignment you were talking about. I’d appreciate if you gave me some feedback about the organization of it all. I kinda experimented and tried something new in this.”  

God, he was such an arrogant prick. You wondered why the professor put up with all his crap. If you were in her place, you would have set him straight the second he pulled some shit like this. 

She glossed over the front page and nodded, setting his paper aside. He sent you a cunning smirk, making your hands ball into fists. He probably knew all about your falling grades, and he was definitely on a high horse because of it. But the fact that you were just letting him gloat really said a lot about your predicament. It meant that you had given up entirely, because ideally, you would have done whatever it took to surpass Sunghoon. That was how things always were between you two. You were constantly neck and neck, competing to be at the top of the class, and things always got nasty because both of you hated each other’s guts. 

“You know what y/n?” Your professor chimed. You could hear the gears in her mind churning. “Based on your results, I think you just haven’t understood the fundamentals of what we’ve been covering in class. Most of it builds off of a few basic concepts, which, if you’re thorough with, makes the rest fairly simple.” 

Okay, so? What was she getting at? Also why was Sunghoon lingering about? The bastard probably wanted to gather intel on you or something so he could humiliate you later. Unfortunately for him, you had accepted your failure and it was nothing you were ashamed of (unless your parents or another mentor/professor brought it up). 

“Now that I give it some thought, I believe Sunghoon might have been correct in suggesting that you’re burnt out. I’m well aware of the contentions between you two, but I think if Sunghoon helped you grasp these concepts, you would be more incentivized to learn and understand them better. Don’t ask me why though, because you’ll probably just refute my reasonings, but just trust me on this. I know you aren’t the most compatible pair, but Sunghoon’s a good tutor from what I’ve heard from other students, and I’m sure studying with him will make things a little more interesting and exciting for you,” She explained, looking between you both hopefully. 

“What contentions prof? I’d be more than happy to assist a fellow classmate! Heaven knows she needs my help,” Sunghoon chortled, giving you an ugly feeling. Grimacing, you shot your professor a pleading look. “Can’t I do something for extra credit as well? I’ll write however many papers you want me to. Just don’t ask me to study with him. I’ll lose whatever braincells I have left if I do.” 

Sunghoon scoffed in offense at your exaggeration, throwing his hands up in dismay. Your professor sighed, needing you to stop thinking of this as the end of the world. “Y/n, it’s gonna be alright. Sunghoon, if you don’t take this seriously and try sabotaging y/n, I won’t read this paper and you won’t get any extra credit. So you better be helpful and give her no reason to complain, got it?” 

The grin on his face dropped immediately, converting into a hurt frown instead. Before either of you could complain anymore, she clapped her hands together and gestured to the door. “Please leave now. I only have so much time to enjoy my lunch and I don’t need two immature students cribbing in here.” 

That sure felt like a punch in the gut. Scowling at Sunghoon, you turned on your heel and stormed out of the room, hearing your professor sternly telling him to get out as well. You checked the time, deciding you would stop by your favorite cafe to ponder on your options from here. On the walk there, you came to terms with the fact that you really had no say in what your professor was asking you to do because one, she was the one who had proposed to help you and two, she wasn’t stupid in the slightest. You trusted her judgement and after replaying her words in your head, you figured she had good reason for making this suggestion. 

Still, you couldn’t get over the fact that Park Sunghoon was going to be a total pain in the ass. Out of the many things you resented about him, you particularly loathed how much of a know it all he was. The thought of him mansplaining while you were trying to learn already made you want to rip your hair out. Hopefully you wouldn’t end up bald by the end of this. 

“Hey doofus, wait up.” － S. Why was Sunghoon texting you? You didn’t want to look over your shoulder, because confirming your suspicions meant having to string him along on your lunch outing if they turned out to be correct, and you weren’t looking forward to that. You wanted to be spending as little time as you could with him. But there he was, leisurely pacing a good distance behind you, waving his phone in the air when he met your eyes. Was he not going to catch up with you? Oh wait, he probably expected you to waste your time waiting for him to take his sweet time walking up to you, and you weren’t having that. So, turning on your heel, you continued walking to your destination, ignoring the string of notifications that went off on your phone with a triumphant grin. Just because being annoying was his specialty didn’t mean you refrained from dabbling in it every now and then. 

“I’ll have an everything bagel please,” You told the barista, handing her your credit card with a grin. Despite the breakfast bar you had scarfed down earlier this morning, by your third class of the day, your stomach had started rumbling unpleasantly. Just the smell of freshly baked breads in the cafe had you salivating like one of Pavlov’s dogs at the sound of a bell. 

“And I’ll have some gratitude from you because I’m still agreeing to do this even though I don’t need to,” Sunghoon’s offended voice announced from the door. You flashed the barista an apologetic look, taking your card back from her before turning to Sunghoon. “I don’t owe you anything. And you’re right, you don’t need to do this, so if you’re gonna act like you’re doing me a favor, go home. I can study by myself.” 

“I wasn’t finished,” He said, coming to stand by your side. “Would you like anything sir?” The barista asked apprehensively, glancing between you and Sunghoon much like your professor had mere moments ago. He shook his head, giving her a sweet smile, one that was unreserved for you. “I’m fine, love. But you remember to have yourself a lovely day.” 

This guy was embarrassing. You simply could not believe him. “You sound like a 40 year old when you talk like that,” You shared condescendingly. Clenching his jaw, Sunghoon tried to hide the damage he had taken from your jab. “Well at least people don’t think I’m Medusa reincarnate,” He retorted, narrowing his eyes at you. Returning his gaze, you folded your arms across your chest, “If that’s the case you shouldn’t look me in the eyes then.” 

“Every three days from 3 to 6 p.m. starting Monday. My dorm, I’ll text you the building and room number the day of. I like keeping my place a little cold so bring a jacket just in case,” He stated, seemingly done bickering with you. “Is that all?” You confirmed, raising your brows in case he had any last snide comments to make. He shook his head, giving you that obnoxiously fake smile of his and turned around, exiting the cafe without another word. You found yourself following his tall figure until he disappeared around the corner. If that was all he had wanted to tell you, why had he bothered following you all the way to the cafe? Maybe he was a little obsessed with you. You wouldn’t blame him. You had that kind of effect on people who supposedly hated you. 

“Tulmon Hall. 510. Be there or be square.” － S. 

Your stomach sank at the sight of Sunghoon’s message. You had almost forgotten about your study date today. “What’s wrong?” Your friend asked, noticing the damp expression on your face. Setting your phone back down on the table, you sighed loosely and shook your head, “Just Park Sunghoon trying too hard to be funny,” You shared, having already caught her up on the whole tutoring situation. Pressing her lips together, she smiled lightly, “Don’t have too much fun at his place. I’ll give you hell if you do something I wouldn’t do.” 

Scoffing, you rolled your eyes at her and stood up, slinging your bag over your shoulder before picking up your lunch tray. “Does murdering him count as something you wouldn’t do?” 

She shrugged with an unsurprised grin, rising with you as you both ventured to the trashcans to throw everything away. “Morally, yes. But if he does something to you first, then no.” 

Nudging her shoulder, you held the dining hall’s door open. “That’s my girl.” 

You still had about two to three hours until your meeting with Sunghoon. Until then, you figured you could go back to your dorm and do some preparatory reading so that you wouldn’t sound like a bumbling idiot while he went over things with you. He definitely already thought you were too stupid for your own good, and you would rather drink a gallon of piss than prove him right. 

After walking your friend back to her group study, you skipped on over to your dorm to do as you had planned. Sitting on your bed with your notes, you lit a candle and put your headphones on, letting out a quick breath before attentively skimming through each line, trying to form associations in your mind. By the end of the second page however, your eyes had become uselessly heavy. All of a sudden you felt so unexpectedly drowsy, and it made no sense. This was exactly what you had feared would happen. It had barely been five minutes since you had begun. How could your concentration dwindle so easily? Raising the volume of your upbeat music, you sat up straighter and huffed loudly, reading your notes out loud, hoping that would help your situation. 

Much to your dismay however, you couldn’t even finish your sentences. Your voice kept fizzling out everytime you completed a thought in your head, as if your mind wanted you to save your breath. Chucking your notes aside in defeat, you hopped out of your bed and paced about the room. Why was this happening to you now of all times? Were you really burnt out? You certainly felt that way, but you had no clue what could have led to it. This wasn’t going to do. Picking up your phone, you opened your messages with Sunghoon and texted him. “Can I come over now? I have time to spare and I wanna get this over with.” － Y. 

Thankfully, he read your message and started typing back almost instantly. “Sure. But I need to finish eating first. Unless you’re down for a live mukbang.” － S. 

You were down for anything as long as it meant escaping being all by yourself. You weren’t doing yourself any favors and you were confident that your soullessness was probably the reason why you weren’t able to do anything right as of recently. 

Grabbing your jacket in case you needed it, you got your keys and bag and headed out without a second thought. Sunghoon’s dorm building was a five minute walk from yours, so you stopped by the campus cafe on the way to get yourself a large coffee, not wanting to risk getting drowsy in front of him. He was the last person you trusted so naturally, you were not willing to fall asleep near him, even if it was on accident. 

Waltzing into his building, you stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor, keeping your eyes on the screen. When it finally read five, you stood by the door, ready to walk out as soon as the doors opened. Scanning your I.D. at the key fob, you yanked open the heavy door that gave access to the long row of dorms on this side of the floor. The dorms in this building were singles that were much larger than the double you lived in. He had definitely payed top dollar to get one of these. Maybe that was why he was living his best life. 

510 was at the end of the hall. You rapped on his door thrice, stuffing your hand in the pocket of your jeans and staring at the toes of your shoes while you waited for him to open up. A few seconds later, Sunghoon poked his head out from behind the door, raising his brows in acknowledgement. “Come on in. Shoes off by the door,” He directed, holding the door open for you. Furrowing your brows, you stepped inside and kicked your shoes off just like he had asked, standing by the entrance awaiting further instruction.

Letting the door wind shut, Sunghoon raked his eyes up and down your body scrutinizingly. “No sweats. That’s a good start,” He commented, sounding as if he was thoroughly impressed. You glanced down at your outfit in confusion. “And what if I had worn sweats?” You asked out of sheer curiosity. He simply shrugged and motioned for you to follow him inside. “I’d probably ask you to change or something. What you’re wearing while you’re studying greatly affects your ability to concentrate,” He shared, “We learned it in Psychology I. Unless you already forgot about that.” 

“I do remember. How could I forget when your annoying ass was there too?” You retorted defensively, glaring at the back of his head. Ignoring you, he plopped down on his bed, gesturing towards his desk. “I cleaned it up for you. That’s where you’ll be, and I’ll be here,” He said, patting his navy blue covers. You snuck in a quick glance of his interior design, slightly impressed by how neat and minimalistic it was. Setting your drink down on his desk, you placed your bag by his chair and took out your things, spreading them out accessibly. When you turned to him, he had a box of sushi in his hand, busy chewing on a piece as if he had been starved. Holding his wrist by his mouth, he raised a finger, needing a minute to swallow and clear his throat. “Before we start looking at the material, what about this chapter is most confusing for you? If we can work that out I’ll know just how to help you understand it.” 

You stared at his face, amused that he was actually taking this seriously. It seemed like he really wanted that extra credit. But then you wondered, did he really need it? His grade was probably perfect, so was the extra credit supposed to be a safety net in case it dropped? But why would it drop? Maybe if the class was only going to get harder from here on out, he had reason to be worried, and that meant you needed to be scared too. 

Noticing the change in your demeanor, he leaned forward, slowing his chewing into a more cow-like speed. “Whatever it is that you’re stressing about, stop it, and answer my question. I don’t want you having a whole ass panic attack while I’m trying to enjoy my sushi,” He complained mockingly, flicking your forehead with his thumb and middle finger before you could react. 

“Ow! What the fuck Sunghoon?” You moaned in pain, rubbing your forehead with a scowl. He could snicker all he wanted to, but that wouldn’t change the fact that your concerns were very valid. You made a mental note to bring it up with him once you were done for the day.  If your suspicions turned out to be correct, then at least you could have some “dirt” on him. Sunghoon hated admitting that something was too difficult for him, and even if he denied it, you knew him well enough to figure out when he was trying to hide something. And say your suspicions were wrong, well then you’d bring up his real intentions some other time, although you were pretty confident that he was only in this for personal gain. 

“Are you gonna say something or just sit there in silence? I know I’ve got a nice face but jeez y/n, can you tone down the ogling a little?” He complained, giving you a weird look. Furrowing your brows at his ridiculousness, you kicked his leg and turned to look outside the window. He was so lucky to have a source of natural light, but you would never tell him that. You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck, “I think the biggest issue right now is that I’ve jumbled up a bunch of the stuff I’ve understood. So basically, I’ve understood it incorrectly from the get go.”

Dropping a slice of pickled ginger on his tongue, Sunghoon hummed and nodded, covering his mouth as he spoke, “Okay, that means we’re gonna have to start from the bottom. Once you get the hang of this basic shit, all you have to do is apply it to the next few units. Just like prof said.” He grinned smugly, wiggling his brows. You had lost count of how many times he had made you roll your eyes just this very day. Setting his food aside, he dusted his hands and scooted forward, pulling out his own notes from his backpack. “Use these for reference. They’re much more concise and simplified,” He offered, tossing you the stack of pages. If there was one thing Sunghoon didn’t care about, it was saving trees. You picked the booklet up, wiggling it in your hand to find that it was unsurprisingly weighted. “There is nothing concise about this. It’s just one chapter and you wrote an entire short story about it.” 

“Look at you being a smartass when you don’t know diddly-squat. The exam was over four whole units and I aced them using this. It doesn’t just cover the information in the textbook, but also types of questions that might be asked regarding certain topics, things to keep in mind, relatable examples, everything that turns this baguette of a class into a quick and easy pb ’n j.” 

As much as you would have loved to, you couldn’t argue with that, although personally, you preferred keeping your notes as minimal as you could. “Fine,” You mumbled, opening the packet up. “Let’s get this over with.” 

“How are things going with Sunghoon?” Your friend asked while you were busy stuffing your face with cup noodles. Opening your mouth to let the steam from the freshly cooked noodles out, you groaned and frantically chewed your way through the big bite you had taken. “Surprisingly well. But I was seriously fucked. I feel like I’m learning this shit for the first time,” You shared, getting ready to take another bite. 

“You know, you haven’t complained about him since the tutoring’s started. Maybe the proximity is getting to you,” She teased, wiggling her brows suggestively. Glaring at her incredulously, you took a bite, chewed and replied, “More like I’ve gotten better at tolerating him. He shuts up when you ignore him. He’s like a dog in that matter, always starving for attention.” 

Your friend raised her brows, pretending to be unconvinced by your reasoning just to tease you further. “You’re meeting him today right?” She inquired, poking uninterestedly at a small cup of fruit. You nodded, having fallen into a routine by now. “Not for much longer though. We’re almost done with the unit. The way he’s dissected the whole thing up, you’d think he’s feeding a baby.” 

Your friend rolled her eyes at you, a knowing smirk adorning her lips. “There you go again, looking for an excuse to rant about him. Forget I ever said anything.” Narrowing your eyes at her, you shook your head mockingly. “I’m not ranting. I’m just telling you. You’re making it sound like I’m obsessed with him.” 

She scoffed, banging her fist against the table in amusement. “Oh you’d be surprised y/n. If I didn’t know that you hated Sunghoon, I’d think you were dating him, that’s how frequently you talk about him.” 

“What? No way. I think I make it quite clear that I dislike him,” You defended, knowing she was just pulling your leg. You felt silly for getting so worked up about this. You should have been playing along instead. Gosh, you were starting to lose your edge. Sunghoon had your brain turned to mush. You feared you were on track to turning into the ultimate nerd just like him. 

“Your face gives you away so easily y/n. I called you out and you’re so embarrassed. That should give you something to think about,” She added, rising from the table with her tray, even though you weren’t done eating yet. You wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but before you could say anything, she checked the time on her phone and gathered all her things. “My study group’s meeting at some cafe off campus. I’ve gotta blast.” Giving you an apologetic smile, she blew you a kiss and speed walked out of the dining hall, leaving you all alone at your lunch table. 

Having no reason to linger about anymore, you scarfed down the rest of your lunch and quickly made your way to Sunghoon’s dorm, not caring that you still had a good two hours to spare. On your way there, you kept wondering what your friend meant about you having something to think about just because she had managed to put you on the spot and embarrass you. Was she insinuating that you subconsciously liked him or something? The mere thought of having a crush on Sunghoon made you shiver uncomfortably. That was so far fetched. Although, you could admit that after having to spend so much more time with him than you normally would,  he was definitely irking you less that he usually did. But that was no fault of his own. You were the one who had a change of heart and mind. It was learned helplessness. The tutoring wasn’t going to go any easier on you if he kept crawling under your skin like he loved to. So you were merely cooperating. You were not developing feelings for Park Sunghoon, and you were never going to in the near future. 

The nature of your train of thought had left you a bit rattled and slightly agitated, hence why you were essentially pounding on Sunghoon’s dorm door. He opened the door seconds later, an unsurprised yet intrigued look on his face. “What’s up with you? Showing up earlier and earlier each day? Do you not have any friends to eat lunch with? Or better yet, do you like spending time with me?” 

Cringing in annoyance, you pushed past him and decided today you were switching places with him. Shifting the sushi he was eating to his desk, you sat down on his twin sized mattress and folded your legs, leaning against the wall as you took your laptop out. 

“Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on here?” He asked as he stepped back into the room, looming over you suspiciously. You were getting a little too comfortable in his house weren’t you? Maybe he needed to set you straight right this instant. “That chair of yours is too rigid. It’s like the padding’s stuffed with rocks or something,” You complained, keeping your eyes on your laptop screen so that he couldn’t use his bullshit detector on you. Regardless, he scoffed, perching himself against his chair, as if he were comforting the object because you had injured its sentiments. “Keep your lies to yourself thank you very much. And tell me, do you seriously have nothing better to do until three? Why do you keep barging in here like you own the place?” He confronted, sounding a lot more serious than he had back at the front door. This time, you couldn’t help but glare back at him. “You don’t seem to have too much of a problem with it. You know you could always just send me back on my way, but no. Maybe it’s you who likes my company.” 

Sunghoon chuckled in disbelief, humored by your words. He nodded condescendingly, “The only reason I let you in every time you show up is because of that stupid look you’re always wearing. You might deny it now but your face always gives you away. You look so eager to have someone to be with so that you won’t be rotting alone in your room. I find myself pitying you because I don’t wanna be an accomplice to the depression you’re on track for. I think you need to stop projecting your feelings onto me and come to terms with whatever the fuck is going on with your miserable life, because shit’s gotten so bad that even I can notice it without having to ask you first!” 

You stared at Sunghoon in utter shock, caught off guard by his outburst, essentially regarding this dark spell that had cast itself over your life. “Your face gives you away.” Those were the exact words your friend had used too. Whatever was going on with you, was it really that bad? Bad enough to leave Sunghoon catching his breath after getting mad at you? 

“You look so eager to have someone to be with.” No, you showed up to Sunghoon’s dorm because you wanted to get things over with, perhaps even clear out your afternoons. But not because you were lonely. So why couldn’t you tell him that? 

Triggered by your silence, Sunghoon pulled his chair out and took a seat. “You know what I think the real problem here is? It’s not that you can’t focus because this shit is hard to grasp. I’ve been watching you these past few weeks and you’re catching on a bit too easily for someone who claims to be confused about the concepts. I’m not accusing you of anything here, but tell me, what’s the most abnormal thing that’s happened in your life from the start of this half of the semester up until now?”

You blinked at him in confusion, bouncing from one train of thought to another. You were still so stunned from the rant he had directed at you that your mind was starting to lag. “Umm, I don’t know. Nothing eventful’s really happened,” You mumbled, wondering what he was trying to accomplish here. “I’ll tell you what,” He shared determinedly, “It’s this. This little studying thing we’ve got going on. That’s the most interesting thing that’s happened in your life in a matter of months now.” 

Furrowing your brows, you shook your head, not sure you were following his logic. “How is this interesting? I don’t get what you’re saying Sunghoon.” 

“Look, interesting doesn’t have to mean something you’re looking forward to. What I mean is that, you probably weren’t expecting that we, despite our differences, would be in an arrangement like this right? I think the cause behind your burn out was simply a mundane routine. Doing the same shit every day, nothing new, nothing exciting happening in your life. Even our rivalry wasn’t cutting it out for you anymore. Because you were getting used to it all. You were getting through each day merely because you had nothing else to do, not because you were looking forward to what the coming day held for you. But when this happened, when we had to start working together, I noticed how you bounced back to how you used to be. Snapping at me, coming up with witty comebacks. That’s the y/n I know. You just need a change of scenery, something to spice your life up. Once that happens, everything will get right back on track,” Sunghoon explained, a soft smile lingering on his face once he was done with his piece. 

You felt like you had been skinned raw. How were all of these things so obvious to him when you could barely come up with a single reason as to why your life was slowly coming apart at the seams? It wasn’t like you shied away from surprising yourself, but lately, you hadn’t had the chance to. The more you thought about what Sunghoon was telling you, the harder it was to deny that he was on to something. It was a bit odd that he was on your side for this one, but you had really needed to hear this, and it didn’t really matter whom from. 

There were still so many things to think about though. For now, you huffed and met Sunghoon’s eyes, unsure of what to say. He was still smiling at you, unfazed by how uncommon it was of him to do so. You sighed, “I think I’m gonna go back to my dorm. We can just make this up at our next meeting. I’m sorry but…” You trailed off, having a hard time staying in the moment. 

Sunghoon nodded, not seeming to object your decision. “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you Friday, three o’clock－or earlier, whatever you’d like,” He agreed, moving out of your way. Slowly, you put your laptop back in your bag and scooted off his bed, too overwhelmed to have any sense of urgency. Sunghoon sat back, watching in silence as you padded to his door and slipped out of his room without another word. Letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, he turned around to his desk, eyeing his lunch which he had now lost appetite for. He had no idea what had come over him for him to go all shrink on you, but he hoped you would hear him, because for some reason, he wanted to look out for you. After all, maintaining this rivalry was a two man job, and if he wanted to keep his life interesting enough, then he had to keep it going at all costs. 

On the other hand, when you got back to your dorm, you were oddly put off by everything that had just gone down. You and Sunghoon weren’t like that. You didn’t look out for each other, there was nothing friendly about your rivalry. Sure, it spurred you on to do well academically, but apart from that, you expected nothing from each other. Everything was fine up until he mentioned pitying you, because he was still cross with you then. But the shift in his demeanor, the concern that was flowing from his tongue, it was foreign and it made you feel so out of place. Who was he to tell you it was all going to get better? You still couldn’t understand what his intentions were, for agreeing to the tutoring, and now this. He was talking about your old self and your new self, the one he never pitied and the one he pitied, the one he hated and the one he cared about. When did he even have the time to make all these observations about you? You thought he was only interested in your faults, but it seemed not. And then there was all the stuff your friend had said about you and him. You had already been over this, but it was still bothering you. You were so confused by everything that was going on that you hardly had a clue how to make sense of things. You just needed things to go back to normal. Sunghoon said you were getting the hang of things, which hopefully meant that your arrangement would be coming to an end soon. After that, you wouldn’t have to see three hours of him, and your friend wouldn’t tease you about not complaining about him. You would go back to competing with and calling each other names, and everything would be alright again. 

Friday afternoon, three o’clock, you were standing in front of Sunghoon’s door, ready for a fresh start. You weren’t sure how you were going to combat your previous meeting. It partly depended on Sunghoon too. Would you talk about it? Or would you pretend like it had never happened? The thought of having shared such an emotionally intimate moment with Sunghoon was going to haunt you forever. But oh well, you could still live with it as long as he never brought it up. 

“Hey there. You’re actually on time,” Sunghoon greeted, his voice holding that bittersweet amusement that was meant to get under your skin. Perfect, it seemed like he was making an effort to restore relations between you both. As a reward for his remark, you characteristically rolled your eyes and pushed past him, entering his dorm. “If we’re doing the practice test thingy today, I’m sitting on your bed. I want to be comfortable,” You announced. 

Sunghoon shrugged nonchalantly, “If it keeps you from concentrating, not my fault. That just means you’ll have to spend even more time studying with me,” He sang, occupying the top half of his bed. Facing him, you took a seat at the foot of his bed, glad that he had a tall column of shelves strategically placed for you to lean against. Taking your laptop out of your bag, you checked the email he had sent you and opened the link to the test. 

“You get the whole three hours which is more than enough. Since this is practice, feel free to ask any questions. I’ll be right here, taking a nap,” He informed, placing his arm behind his head and letting out a tired groan. That basically meant that he was going to be of no use. You put your headphones on, preferring your favorite playlist as background noise as opposed to his snores, and finally, pressed the “start test” button. 

About ten minutes in, Sunghoon was actually out cold. You had been banking on him being an ugly sleeper, but he slept relatively normally. His lips were parted, letting out soft breaths, and his lashes were unmoving. You kept stealing glances at him throughout the duration of your test, not wanting to miss a chance to snag an embarrassing picture of him in case his statue like state happened to crumble. But it seemed he had taken a vow to not embarrass himself, otherwise why would he have even considered falling asleep before you? 

You finished the practice test with about fifteen minutes to spare, having found it pretty easy. Instead of waking Sunghoon up to let him know you were done, you decided now was the perfect opportunity to go snooping through his things. These past few weeks Sunghoon had the upper hand in your rivalry. He had way more dirt on you than you did on him, and you felt like you needed to level things out. So you carefully set your laptop down and got off the bed, creeping over to his shelves first to see what things he might have been hiding in plain sight. 

The top shelf was full of all his achievements. Medals, trophies, certificates, and plaques that he had won in college itself. He was such an overachiever, it was annoying to see. The next shelf under was full of mementos, pictures with his friends, bracelets, some type of wooden music box, a wilted rose. Dear lord, he was two steps away from becoming a hoarder. The next few rows were empty, and the last one just had a tall box. You crouched down, pulling the box forward, only to realize it was heavier than it appeared. It was placed sideways, so you couldn’t really read the gold engraved onto its front without bending your body to the side awkwardly. 

“Black Box Spirits: Vodka.” Holy shit. Sunghoon was stashing booze in his dorm. He wasn’t allowed to do that. You giggled mischievously, pulling out your phone to snap a quick picture of it as evidence. The kid wasn’t even twenty-one yet. What was he doing owning hard liquor like this? 

“What are you doing?” Sunghoon’s groggy voice coincidentally asked right that instant, unitentionally startling you. Losing your footing, you ended up stumbling on your ass. Staring at you intently, he glanced at the phone in your hand, then to the cabinet, and grinned knowingly. “Were you eyeing my vodka?” 

At least now you knew he wasn’t the brightest star first thing when he woke up. You smiled cunningly, showing him the evidence you had collected. “Oh worse, I’m gonna show this to the RAs. Then they’re gonna kick your ass to the streets,” You threatened waving your phone about teasingly. Sunghoon folded his arms across his chest, raising his brows because he was very alarmed by your taunting. “Or, we could crack it open, celebrate the hundred you just got on your practice test, and then you could delete that picture. What say? I know you won’t refuse free alcohol.” 

He was right. You would never say no to that. It was the weekend, and you had nothing better to do. Plus, it had been ages since you had last gotten drunk. Maybe you could let loose. “Alright. But let me just tell you right now, I’m no lightweight, so don’t blame me if we get through the entire bottle by tonight,” You warned, seizing the box before getting back on his bed. 

Stifling a yawn, he grinned and sat forward, watching you pick at the tape on the box’s opening eagerly. Once it was off, you pushed the top flap up, folding the edges along the rim and carefully pulled the heavy bottle out of its case. Sunghoon took the box and placed it on his desk while you twisted the cap off and took a swig. The bitter liquid burned as it descended down your throat, making you hiss. Sunghoon snickered at you, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “You’re an amateur. I’ll show you how it’s done,” He said, snatching the bottle from you. Raising it to his mouth, he poured the vodka into his mouth, eliciting a faint “glug” sound from the bottle. You could already tell this was going to be bad. Forcing the fiery substance down, he clutched his stomach, while wincing at you in pain. “See? Easy as that,” He choked out, curling up into a ball. 

“If you die, I’ll kill you myself,” You warned, taking another small sip from the bottle. “I’d rather get hit by a bus than die at your hands,” Sunghoon sneered, sitting up again. You sighed as you handed him the bottle, pulling your knees to your chest. “Tuesday was awkward, wasn’t it?” He asked, taking a more tame sip this time. Oh, so you were going to talk about it. Well, awkward was an understatement. Laughing under your breath, you pointed the bottle at him after he passed it over to you with a nod. “I think I was most shocked by the fact that you actually care about others. I thought basic humanity was beneath you.” 

Sunghoon gave you a sad look and pouted, “Oh come on now, I deserve more credit.” Scoffing, you shook your head at the way he was feigning hurt. “We’re not friends Sunghoon. We shouldn’t talk to each other like that.” 

He furrowed his brows, taking the bottle from you. “Dumbass, if you lose your marbles and become a failure, who am I supposed to compete against? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be the undefeated champion, but that would get really boring really fast.” 

“So your reason for boosting my moral was so that you’d have someone to entertain you. Did I get that right?” You asked, unable to believe the audacity he had. He shrugged and nodded, going along with your words. “I don’t think I couldn’t have said it better myself. You’re nothing more than a measly play thing to me.” 

Gasping in disbelief, you couldn’t help but smile. “Good to know we’re back to normal then.” 

“Heh. Yeah I guess.” 

Both of you continued drinking in silence after that. You were glad that you were able to get all that stuff out of the way, knowing it was better addressed than simply brushed off. The sky outside was gradually turning into a deeper shade of blue, indicating that you had definitely overstayed your welcome. Sunghoon didn’t seem to mind however, and the bottle wasn’t finished yet. So, not wanting to compromise your challenge of outdrinking him, you kept passing the bottle back and forth until you drank every last drop. 

It only took you both about forty-five minutes to get through the entire bottle one sip at a time. By then, the sun had just barely dipped past the horizon, illuminating Sunghoon’s dorm in a deep blue hue, and the two of you were definitely a little more than buzzed. As you stared at him from across the bed, you couldn’t help but feel bothered by the way he kept picking at his bottom lip. “What the fuck are you doing?” You asked, offended that he would dare do such a disgusting thing in front of you. 

“I don’t know, skin’s coming off,” He mumbled helplessly, dusting his fingers off only to replace them with his teeth instead. Cringing at him in disgust, you pretended to vomit and whined distastefully. “Don’t you have lip balm or something?”

Sunghoon looked around his room, shrugging, “I don’t know. Can’t find it.” 

“You didn’t even look for it,” You chided, slapping your forehead at his stupidity. 

“Why don’t you give me some of yours if it bothers you so much then? Always being such a fussy pants,” He mocked, sticking his tongue out at you childishly. “I might be a fussy pants but at least I have nice lips,” You defended, pulling out your tube of chapstick from your jeans pocket. “Give me your face,” You demanded, crawling up to his side of the bed. Popping the cap off the chapstick, you twisted it up and grabbed Sunghoon’s face between your fingers, softly rubbing the pad of your thumb over the red line that was splitting his bottom lip. “You made yourself bleed bitch,” You chastised, swiping the lip balm over his sore lips before rubbing it in with your finger since you didn’t trust what he would do if you asked him to rub his lips together. 

“Your eyes are pretty,” He giggled, grasping your hand before you could pull it away. Unamused, you met his gaze, staring into his dark brown orbs. “I know. I take good care of them,” You bragged insensibly, clearly in a drunken stupor. Sunghoon smirked, his eyes falling down to your lips. The way he was looking at you made you feel like you knew what he was going to do. But that didn’t change how stunned you were when he actually did it. For the slightest second, his lips touched yours, leaving behind a faint trace of your lip balm. 

Pulling your hand away from his, you touched your lips in disbelief. “What was that for?” You asked uncertainly. “I used your lips to kiss me better. Since I got hurt,” He explained deliriously. “That’s so stupid Sunghoon,” You replied, staring into his eyes again. 

If you didn’t hate Park Sunghoon as much as you did, maybe you would have been more elated that he had kissed you. But you still disliked him, so you grabbed his face in your hands and pulled his lips back onto yours, kissing him hard. Sunghoon seemed to still hate you too, so he immediately circled his arms around your waist, pulling you on top of him, making your chest press up against his. The instant you pulled away from your long kiss, his lips jumped right back to yours, making you arch your back as he leaned forward, wanting more. His lips moved hastily against yours, drawing more and more out of you. He tilted his head, shamelessly deepening the kiss as he moved his hands up the small of your back. Needing to catch your breath, you pulled away, forehead touching his as you tucked your fingers beneath the hem your shirt and lifted it off over your head. 

Without opening his eyes, his hand came forward to squeeze your bra covered breast. You placed your hand over his, sighing against his lips with furrowed brows. The way he touched you was so provocative. The space between your legs tingled with desire. As he resumed kissing you, Sunghoon pulled your bra down, exposing the breast he had so desperately been groping. Feeling his calloused fingertips pinch and tug at your nipple made you moan. 

Sunghoon took that as an opportunity to leave a trail of kisses from your chin, to your jaw, down to your neck, and lastly your collar bone. His mouth was so warm and wet it made every square inch of your skin ignite. You looked down, watching him kiss the top of your breast. The sight was so attractive that you found yourself reaching behind your back to unclasp your bra, wanting him to have more access to your skin, and also hopefully realize where you wanted him to kiss you most. 

Biting your lip, you tangled your hands in his soft hair, guiding his head down to your tits. He finally ran his tongue over your nipple, closing his lips around it soon after, allowing you to let out the moan that had been lingering on the tip of your tongue. The ache between your legs was starting to become insatiable. You weren’t exactly on top of him, so you had nothing to grind against. Him sucking on your boob wasn’t making anything easier for you. The more your frustration increased, the more restless you became. 

Sunghoon switched to your other breast, giving both of them equal attention. You were grunting softly and cursing at this point, finding it so hard to resist doing something. Before long, you grabbed his face and pulled him up to your level again, crashing your lips onto his while adjusting your position so that you were sitting on his lap properly. 

Almost instantaneously, you began grinding your hips against his crotch, letting out the most carnal groans as you kissed him. “I’m gonna cream my pants if you keep that up,” He warned, his voice barely a whisper. Something about hearing the lewd words from him tickled a spot in your brain that was better left untouched. Pulling away from his lips abruptly, your eyes bored into his as you caught your breath, and then, you tackled the waistband of his pants, not caring how needy you appeared. 

Sunghoon helped you pull them off his legs along with his boxers, kicking them off impatiently while you slid down his body, squeezing yourself between his legs. Lifting his partially limp cock in your fist, you released a ball of spit straight onto his tip, using your palm to spread the wetness around. It had been so long since you had felt a firm dick in your hands. This was so damn gratifying. Sunghoon watched intently as you started jerking him off, hardening his cock up with slow, long strokes. 

Once you were fairly certain that he was fully hard, you brought his cock to your mouth,  dragging your tongue over his tip. He looked so shameless, enjoying the way you were treating him. You lowered your mouth on his cock, closing your lips just a little underneath his tip, knowing damn well you couldn’t take him all the way. You were a college student, not a porn star, and your mouth could only occupy copious amounts of coffee, not dick. 

Slowly, you began bobbing your head up and down along his length, taking as much of him as you could while keeping a tight grip on the base of his cock so that the hefty mass of it would stay in place. It had been a hot minute since you had last sucked cock, so your skills were definitely a bit rusty. Thankfully, the expression on Sunghoon’s face was telling enough that you weren’t doing too shabby of a job. 

Feeling like you weren’t doing enough though, you squeezed his balls with your other hand, finally drawing out an audible moan from him. Releasing his cock with a pop, you resumed stroking his length, taking a minute to suck on his balls because you knew most men liked that, and it seemed like Sunghoon was no exception. 

You brought your mouth back to his cock, licking a stripe up his length before sucking on his tip like you would a lollipop. Sunghoon grimaced, too turned on by what you were doing. “Fuck, I can’t do this anymore. Take your pants off,” He urged, lifting your mouth off his cock. As you scrambled to unbutton your jeans, Sunghoon got up and retrieved a condom from one of his drawers. Tearing the silver square open, he slid the rubber over his cock, climbing back onto the bed and making you lay down on your back. You kicked your jeans and panties off, letting them join the pile of clothes that had formed by his bedside and spread your legs so Sunghoon could settle in between them. 

He slapped his cock against your pussy, aiming his spit perfectly so that it dribbled down to your slit. You wondered how many times he must have practiced that to make it seem so effortless. Holding your thigh, Sunghoon pushed his cocked into your entrance, placing both his hands on either side of your head before entering you up all the way. Whimpering, you brought your hands to his shoulders, glancing down between your legs to watch as he began slowly thrusting into you. 

His movements were so fluid, not rushed and frantic like most boys your age. Maybe it was the alcohol? Because you simply refused to believe he was actually good at sex. The antisocial snail within him made him seem nothing like the type to hook up with strangers, because the way he was fucking you right now, you could tell he had quite some experience with driving on unfamiliar terrain. Or he could have just been born with it, natural intuition and instinct. If it wasn’t obvious, you were trying really hard no to give him any credit right now. There was no way he could be good at everything he tried. 

You let your eyes fall shut, throwing your head back as moans poured out from your throat. He was making you feel so fucking good, sending your brain into an absolute frenzy. Hearing his grunts and groans from above you was making you even more wet than you had been to begin with. 

Sunghoon leaned down and started kissing your neck, gently slamming his cock into you, making you bounce steadily. Feeling your chest press up against his, his heartbeat thrumming in sync with yours, you felt so much closure. You wanted to hold him closer but you were afraid it would seem too desperate. The angel on your shoulder was telling you to stop this while you still could, while the devil on the other side wanted you to indulge shamelessly in the pleasure he was giving you. 

You were so conflicted and out of your mind that you were subconsciously praying Sunghoon would distract you from your dilemma. At least that way, paired with your inherent intoxication, you would have an excuse as to why you weren’t thinking straight. You didn’t mind regretting this in the morning, because right now it was the best thing that had ever happened to you in quite some time. Who knew that the solution to all your problems had been standing in front of you all along? 

“Please! Fuck me harder,” You begged, having reached some sort of resolution for the time being. Touching his forehead to yours, Sunghoon painted your parted lips with his hot gasps, smiling knowingly, “I was wondering when you’d fucking ask,” He laughed, pulling out of you so he could flip you around on all fours. 

Raising your hips, he slipped his cock back inside you with much more ease than before, pushing your head down into the mattress. “Stay just like that,” He instructed, snapping his hips into you from behind. You let out a high pitched gasp, caught off guard by the sudden thrust. Sunghoon did it again, gradually setting himself into a uniform rhythm. 

Moaning into his bedsheets, you clawed at them between your fists, curling your toes as the tip of his cock grazed deliciously over your g-spot, faintly enough to not be painful. You were going to start crying because of how good he was making you feel. The pleasure was unmatched to anything you had ever experienced before. Was there a possibility that you were exaggerating because you were drunk? Yes, there definitely was. But you couldn’t tell if the sex was sobering you up or giving you an even stronger high. 

Sunghoon gripped your hips tightly, using your own body as a rein to pound into you. “Who would have guessed that you of all people would have such a spectacular pussy,” Sunghoon spoke, giving your ass a loud, stinging smack. You were surprised by how satisfying the numbness that followed the pain felt. “God I can’t get enough of you,” He continued, grunting as he thrusted into you relentlessly. 

If you could form any coherent sentences or simply think straight, you would have said something back. But you couldn’t so you didn’t, and hopelessly resorted to your needy moaning since that was all you could manage to do in the moment. 

Your clit was throbbing so intensely that you reached a hand down between your legs and began rubbing it furiously, craving an orgasm like never before. “You getting ready to cum all over my cock? Bet you’ve never dreamed of doing it before,” He taunted, his ego having boosted to heights unknown. 

The stakes were higher this time. You weren’t trading off an orgasm for a stupid comeback. So you sucked it up like a champ and focused on your own pleasure, digging your knees into the mattress as you felt your orgasm fast approaching. “Mmh, just like that,” You moaned, encouraging his harsh thrusts to help push you over the edge. Your walls squeezed tightly around his cock, gushing with your sticky cum. Sunghoon slowed down just a bit, working you through your high while hissing through his teeth. 

Pulling out of you, he turned you around on your back again, tugging the condom off his cock before making you sit up so you could suck him off to his high. He kept a hand on the back of your head, using the other to hold his cock in place as he guided your mouth back and forth along it. Holding onto his thigh, you massaged his balls with your other hands, speeding up the process. Breathy groans, curses, and hisses all singled how close he was until finally, he pulled out of your mouth to let his jizz drip all over your chest, between your tits, and slowly trickle down your abdomen. “I made a mess,” He giggled, milking every last drop of his cum onto you before moving off of you. 

Swiping your fingers over your stomach, you collected the sticky white substance on your fingers, smearing it around. Sunghoon slipped his boxers back on, tossing you his shirt before disappearing into the bathroom. You heard the sink running, guessing he was probably washing his face or something to sober up a little. Before you put his shirt on, you got off the bed and snooped around for some tissue paper to clean yourself up. The only reason he could afford making such a mess was because he had the liberty of having a bathroom in his dorm. And where was his hospitality? He should have let you go in there first. 

You decided to put on your underwear on and wait outside the bathroom door, bunching his shirt in your fist. Minutes later, Sunghoon finally emerged from behind the door, the light from inside the bathroom at last giving you an opportunity to get a good look at his face. Seeing him clearly sparked a flame in flame inside your mind. You tilted your head, eyes following him back to his bed, where he laid down, leisurely tucking his arms behind his head. What on earth was going on right now? 

Stepping into the bathroom, you shut the door behind yourself and turned the tap on, cleaning his cum off of your body. Once you were done, you patted yourself dry with a towel and slipped his shirt on, meeting your own eyes in the mirror, which only seemed to strengthen the flame in your mind. You realized, everything that had just gone down had occurred purely out of impulse. You putting your lip balm on him instead of handing him to tube so he could do it himself, you resuming your kiss with him after he had merely touched his lips to yours, you undressing yourself, showing him where you wanted him to kiss you, using his body to relive the fire between your legs, wordlessly giving him a blowjob, asking him to fuck you harder－everything that had just happened, all of it was on you. 

Shocked, you gasped and covered your mouth, recalling the way you had rationalized your desire at every instance. There was no denying that you had wanted him. And it was so ironic because you swore the thought of doing anything like what you had just done with him, was utterly repulsive. Well, it seemed not. It seemed like you had been lying to yourself all along. What was the adage? You won’t know till you try. Well you had tried and you had liked it, so what did that mean for you? Did you like Park Sunghoon? Or did you like the way he made you feel? 

Turning off the light, you exited the bathroom and glanced at Sunghoon warily. This would be a lot easier for you if you could deduce how he really felt about you. Did he actually despise you as much as he claimed to? Because a lot of the things he had done in the past few days, and even now, weren’t hateful in the slightest. Sure, he had cussed at you a few times and made a few snide comments, but they were all devoid of the spite and malice he normally directed toward you. So, did that mean that he had a change of heart and mind as well?

“Everything alright?” He asked, noticing the confounded look on your face. You didn’t even know how to bring this up with him. Drunk words were sober thoughts, but what about drunk thoughts? “I’m just a little dizzy,” You fibbed, although it wasn’t entirely a lie. You knew you were intoxicated, for you wouldn’t have been this philosophical and deep in thought if you weren’t. Funnily enough though, lately, even without the influence of alcohol, you had been pondering over many things. 

Allowing a weak grin to take over your lips, you walked over to the pile of clothes, contemplating whether you should pull your pants on and leave, or linger about. Sunghoon eyed you keenly, aware of the dilemma you were facing. But he didn’t want to butt in or suggest anything. He had already prompted you once, and look at what had happened. And as much as he would have loved to order a pizza and make sense of the lovely evening you had just spent together, he was going to shut up and let you make the choice. He didn’t want to take the blame in case you regretted anything later.

Your phone screen lit up with a notification, snapping you out of your daze. You picked it up, seeing it was just a message from your friend asking if you wanted to go out and get some dinner with the rest of your friend group. See now this was what your life was supposed to be like. Not this unfamiliar scene with you standing in front of a half naked Sunghoon, wearing nothing but his shirt and your underwear. 

You retrieved your jeans from the mess on the floor, wordlessly pulling them up your legs. “I have to go. Sorry for getting carried away. It won’t happen again,” You found yourself apologizing for some reason. Before Sunghoon could come up with a response, you turned on your heel and slipped your shoes on, leaving his dorm without looking back. 

Sunghoon laughed to himself, glancing at your laptop and school bag that you had left behind on his bed. Your bra was still thrown on the floor in the midst of his pants and your chapstick was still resting by his pillowcase. 

Sunghoon was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid. You had stormed off still wearing his shirt too. You thought you were slick, but you really weren’t. You had just given yourself an excuse to come back to him, and Sunghoon couldn’t wait until he saw you next. 

© iiousim | hope you enjoyed! part two coming soon~

N.RK. — RUIN OUR FRIENDSHIP.

pairing. nishimura riki x gn reader

genre. fluff, best friends to lovers au, highschool au, a bit of angst, dancer au

warnings. food, mutual pining, slight themes of jealousy

summary. in which you'd gladly ruin your friendship with niki in favor of being lovers instead, but can't decide if niki feels the same way.

length. oneshot

word count. 5.5k+

taglist. @starlostseungmin @luvhyun3 @ilynaevis @dnadoublefelixx (send ask if you'd like to be added or removed !!)

a/n. to minimize confusion, please just assume that everyone mentioned in this au is in their senior year of high school 😭 also.. hwangsify enhypen writer debut?!? 😰😓‼️ it's my first enha au so please please please feel free to give me feedback / your thoughts about this piece !!

It is during your seventeenth May that you learn 3 things about Nishimura Riki, certified dance prodigy, bungeoppang enthusiast, and also your best friend. 

1) That he really has grown up, in more ways than one (and you can’t decide if you like it or not), 2) that longer hair suits him a little more than you’d like to admit (especially when he tackles you in a sweaty bearhug after practice just to annoy you and his damp bangs are falling artfully over his eyes in a very attractive way), and 3) you have utterly and absolutely fallen in love with him (and you’re not sure how to fall back out). 

If you’re being honest, you still don’t quite know how #3 happened. After all, this is Niki you’re talking about, who you have known since the two of you were pudgy first graders. You’ve watched him sob over Toy Story 3 and rip the seam of his pants while attempting a split during dance practice and just about a thousand other wonderfully embarrassing things that you, as Niki’s childhood best friend, are privileged to watch and observe Niki do. (You also have your own fair share of embarrassing moments but that’s a conversation for another day). 

The point is, it’s just a little alarming that Niki had to be the one you’d fall for. After spending so many years together, the two of you practically spend every waking moment together at each other’s throats. 

(“You two bicker like an old-married couple,” Heeseung tells you one day, after you spend half an hour complaining to him about how tall Niki has been getting recently. 

“I’m not even going to think about the implications of that statement,” you snap back, and pointedly ignore the complacent grin that makes its way across Heeseung’s face.)

If it were up to you, you’d probably choose to fall for someone like Jake, who’s something like boyfriend material personified and who also doesn’t make it his life mission to annoy you until you physically cannot stand him anymore. But instead, you had to go ahead and fall for Niki. And now there are stupid butterflies fluttering wildly in your stomach whenever you set your eyes on him and his insanely attractive bangs and your heart skips a beat whenever he touches you, even if only on accident. 

It’s annoying, you decide. Being in love is very, very annoying. 

It’s not like you can help it, though. You never could quite help yourself when it came to Nishimura Riki. 

“Buy me bungeoppang after dance practice,” Niki prompts, sweeping his bangs back from his forehead as he goes through the dance sequence for the thousandth time. 

He looks good today. You have trouble tearing your eyes off of him. 

“Sorry, what? I wasn’t listening.”

“I said, buy me bungeoppang after dance practice,” he repeats, turning to glance at you.

You sigh. “Remind me again why we’re getting bungeoppang at the expense of my wallet and not yours?” 

“I bought bungeoppang last time for both you and Sunghoon!” 

If you’re being honest, you are very tired of the fish pastries at this point. Niki insists on buying them every time you get off from dance practice (because he’s just that obsessed) and while you enjoy them, you’d also much rather get something else to eat. Preferably something salty— you’ve been craving Sajo Corn Dogs recently. 

But it gives you an opportunity to spend more time with Niki, and the smile that lights on his face every time he bites into the bungeoppang makes it all a thousand times worth it. So you choke down the pastries anyway and try your best to act as if you’re not exhausted from eating the same stuff every time you get off from dance practice. 

“Fine,” you sigh. “I’ll buy you bungeoppang. But you’re buying next time.”

Niki hums in agreement, a small smile gracing his lips. The door sounds from behind you and you turn to see Sunghoon trotting inside, accompanied by a pouting Sunoo. 

“What’s with the face?” you laugh. 

Sunghoon grins. “He’s sulking because Jay insulted his aegyo.” 

Niki audibly snorts from behind you, although he doesn’t look away from the mirror as he goes through the choreography. Sunoo rolls his eyes and clutches your arm imploringly. “At least you find me cute, right Y/N?” 

For a moment, you’re tempted to tease Sunoo, just to see him pout some more. But you decide that he’s gone through enough today, especially considering the fact that Jay really does not hold back when it comes to bashing Sunoo’s aegyo. Grinning, you reach out a hand to ruffle Sunoo’s pink strands of hair. “Sure. You’re pretty cute.”

Sunoo beams smugly at Sunghoon. “I told you someone finds me cute.” 

“Y/N doesn’t count!” Sunghoon protests. “You know they’ve always had a soft spot for you.” 

Niki turns around from the mirror, grinning. “Besides, it’s only Y/N that finds you cute.”

Sunoo’s eyes narrow as he glares at Niki. “Yah, are you asking for a beating?” 

You quickly grab Niki’s arm before the two of them can jump at each other, because after years of watching the two of them together, you’ve long since learned that Niki and Sunoo can only spend an allotted amount of time together before they start chasing each other around the room while screaming insults at each other. 

“Actually, me and Niki were just about to go buy some bungeoppang. Do you two want any?” 

Sunoo shakes his head. “Don’t you get tired of bungeoppang? I’ve eaten so much bungeoppang this past year that I feel like throwing up everytime I see one.”

“Have fun getting bungeoppang!” Sunghoon calls out. “Maybe find the guts to finally kiss each other in the process!” 

You turn around to properly flip the smug motherfucker otherwise known as Park Sunghoon off, cheeks burning. Niki is equally as flushed from next to you, eyes narrowed as he glares at Sunghoon menacingly. Hastily, you pull Niki out of the door before Sunghoon can go ahead and blurt out anything more damaging. 

“Are we going to the usual cart?”

Niki nods, reaching into his pocket to flip open his phone. You allow yourself a brief glance in his direction while he’s distracted, taking in his flushed cheeks and sweaty bangs. He really has grown up. It seemed like only yesterday that he stole your crayons from you in first grade, cheeks still round with baby fat, hair styled in that atrocious bowlcut of his that bore an uncanny resemblance to a coconut. It’s hard to believe that he’ll be off to college already by next year. 

By the time you’ve reached the bungeoppang cart, the sky has already darkened. You watch as the man pours the dough into the molds and adds in the red bean filling before flipping the pan over to allow it all to cook. Niki watches on with mild interest, although he’s seen it happen a thousand times by now. 

The fragrant smell of sizzling dough fills the air as the fish pastries cook. 

You sigh. 

You’ve really eaten too much bungeoppang these past few years. 

When the pastries have fully cooked, the man slips them into a paper bag and you bow your thanks, reaching into your wallet to grab a few banknotes in payment. The man’s eyes flick between you and Niki, taking in your barely touching shoulders. 

“By the way,” he says, grinning. “Are you two together? You seem close.”

You balk, cheeks burning as you purposely avoid Niki’s gaze. He gives a short laugh from next to you and shakes his head in denial. “Ah, no. We’re just friends.”

“Ah,” the man says. “I see.”

He hands you the paper bag of bungeoppang and you quickly pull Niki away before the man can say anything else. If Niki catches sight of your flushed cheeks, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he grabs the bag from you and pulls out a bungeoppang, taking a bite of the pastry with a sigh of bliss. 

Glancing at you, he holds out the pastry bag. 

“Do you want any?” 

You shake your head, smiling, although you can’t seem to keep your thoughts from straying back to the man’s words. 

God, maybe the two of you were just friends but you wouldn’t mind being something more. 

“Whoa, maybe I can choose..” you pause, squinting down at the screen of your laptop. “Bagpiping as my major.”

You grin. “Imagine how Sunoo would react if I actually decided to major in bagpiping.”

Niki sighs from next to you as he scrolls through his phone. “You’re really not going to take this seriously?”

“It’s a coping mechanism, okay?” you snap. “I’d rather think about taking bagpiping as a major than think about actually going to college next year. Besides, it’s easy for you. Your entire life was basically decided the moment you stepped into that dance studio for the very first time at the tender age of 3.”

“I mean, why not take dancing as your major? You’re good at it.” 

You grimace. 

“I just don’t know if I want to actually major in it or not. I mean, I like it a lot but not at the same level as you. You were practically born to dance.” 

There’s a note of envy in your voice. What you wouldn’t give to have Niki’s confidence in his decision-making. If you’re being honest, the very idea of college has you quaking. Normally, you’re the type to postpone any significant life decisions to the last minute, just because you rather not risk accidentally making the wrong choice. But college has forced you to make a multitude of decisions, each and every single one of them being pivotal to your future. 

To put it gently, you have come to possess an undying hatred for college applications. Even just the thought of the countless college pamphlets sprawled across your desk in your room makes your stomach hurt. 

“I mean, you can always change your major if you don’t like it,” Niki reasons, glancing up from his phone to look at you. “It’s not like your life would be ruined forever if you accidentally chose the wrong major.” 

“But I want to make the right decision from the start!” you protest. “I don’t want to go through all the trouble of starting a major just to realize I dislike it.” 

Niki shrugs and looks back down on his phone. Leaning forward, you catch a glimpse of his screen and let out a huff of exasperation. 

“Care to explain why you’re scrolling through the #softcats hashtag on TikTok instead of studying like you promised your mom you would?” 

“I’m taking a break!” Niki protests, tilting the screen of his phone away from you. “I get migraines if I stare at my physics textbook for too long!” 

“Bitch, the physics exam is tomorrow and you still haven’t finished studying the first chapter,” you sneer. “Hopefully your mom won’t beat your ass too badly when you come home with your 68 just like last time.”

“Yah, that was one time! Besides, this exam hardly even matters, especially since the finals are coming up in less than a month.”

You roll your eyes and wave your hand dismissively. “Whatever. It’s not like I care if you fail physics.” 

He sighs but flips open his textbook anyways. Knowing him, he’ll probably give up on studying in a matter of a few hours in favor of scrolling through some more cat Tiktoks. Even so, you doubt that he won’t manage to pass the exam. Despite that one time that he got a 68 on a calculus test, he’s always been a talented student. 

Your phone buzzes from next to you, vibrating with a notification from the groupchat. 

[4:56 pm] heeseung: sunghoon just told me that he wants to major in bagpiping can someone please come over and talk some sense into him

You let out a short laugh. “Sunghoon wants to major in bagpiping too! It’s not just me!” 

“Sunghoon probably gave up altogether at this point,” Niki snorts. “Besides, he’s got a whole career in ice skating ahead of him. He doesn’t need to worry about his college and major.”

That’s true. Sunghoon could probably get into the Olympics with his ice skating if he really tried. 

[4:57 pm] ngl i’m kind of tempted to major in bagpiping too  [4:57 pm] sunghoon: see !! it’s not just me !! y/n if u major in bagpiping we can be bagpiping buddies !!!  [4:58 pm] assuming that we get into the same college, that is  [4:58 pm] sunghoon: god why would u even MENTION college the very idea is gna make me sick

There are some times where you think it’s more than plausible that you and Sunghoon were soulmates in your past lives. 

“Wow,” Jay remarks after Sunoo pauses to take a breath during his long speech about how disappointing The Eternals was as a Marvel movie. “I never thought you could speak so passionately about anything other than mint chocolate ice cream.” 

In spite of the overwhelming amount of homework and college applications senior year throws your way, you still have to admit that there are benefits to being a senior. The most prominent of which being the fact that you’ve been able to spend a lot of time around the rest of your friends, especially Niki. 

Maybe it’s the fact that you’ve worked your asses off for the past three years in highschool or maybe it’s just the fact that this year will be your final year together as a group, but all your parents seem to have made a mutual agreement to ease up a bit on the studying to allow for you to spend more time together as a group. 

You suppose that’s why you find yourself sitting on the floor of Jungwon’s apartment, listening intently as Sunoo goes on and on about how mediocre The Eternals was. Jake had originally been the one to propose the idea of having everyone make a short speech regarding the things they learned during the time they spent together as a group to commemorate your friendship over the years as well as to celebrate your upcoming graduation. It wasn’t a bad idea, you admit, but ever since Jungwon came up and performed Tiktok dances as his speech, things kind of just went to shit. 

Jake looks like he regrets ever even mentioning his idea in the first place as Sunoo rants about how Ikaris and Sersi had zero chemistry as the main couple, even going so far as to pull up some random GIF on his phone to emphasize his point. The majority of you haven’t even bothered watching The Eternals, and the ones that have really can’t bring themselves to care, but Sunoo seems to have waited his entire life for this opportunity so you don’t bother breaking it to him that Niki has fallen asleep about halfway through his speech and Heeseung has been subtly scrolling through Instagram for the past 5 minutes by now. 

When Sunoo finally wraps up his speech, thoroughly winded from venting for 20 minutes straight (although he still finds the strength to smack a sleeping Niki hard on the shoulder and scold him for falling asleep), a silence settles throughout the apartment. For a moment, you all sit there until Jay abruptly clears his throat. “So… I guess this is our final year together, huh?” 

“You just had to say it out loud,” Jungwon sighs. 

“Someone had to say it!” 

Niki shifts from next to you, stretching forward to rest his head in your lap. You freeze for a moment, tensing from underneath Niki, and desperately hope that no one notices. 

Of course, they do, anyway. Heeseung catches your gaze and grins at you while raising his eyebrows suggestively, tipping his head towards the sleepy Niki lying in your lap. You mouth at him to fuck off, glaring at him menacingly. If the others notice, they say nothing, although they exchange glances between each other. 

There’s another long pause where everyone just stares at you and Niki for a long moment before Jungwon finally speaks up. 

“I can’t believe it’s all going to be over in like, 3 months.”

“It seems like yesterday that I first met you guys,” Jake shakes his head. “And now we’ll be in college next year.” 

Apparently, even Jake finds the idea of college intimidating, which is comforting considering the fact that he’s probably one of the smartest people you know. 

Jay groans and buries his face in his hands, evidently put off by the thought of college. You can’t blame him. Niki chuckles from your lap and you feel your stomach flip at the sound of his laughter. “Still scared of the thought of college?” 

Jay glares at Niki, eyes narrowed. “Maybe. Just like you’re scared of confessing to Y/N just because—” 

You hurriedly cut him off with a nervous laugh before he can deal anymore damage. Niki quickly sits up, raising his head from your lap to glower at Jay and Jungwon quickly steps in before the two of them start bickering. 

You can’t say it doesn’t bother you. These little comments your friends randomly throw in about you and Niki, as if it were a universally accepted fact that the two of you belonged together. The little jabs Jungwon randomly throws your way about “growing the balls to finally kiss Niki instead of sighing over him all the fucking time” or the teasing grins Sunoo shoots you whenever you’re within a ten foot radius of Niki. It almost seems as if everyone knows of your massive crush on Niki except for Niki himself, which is a little more disconcerting than you’d like to admit. 

After all, haven’t you been obvious enough? The iced americanos you leave by his desk at school whenever he falls asleep in class, the sweater you lent to him that one time he complained of being cold that you never bothered taking back. You wonder if it’s just because he’s impossibly slow when it comes to love, or if it’s because he really doesn’t care. 

You desperately want it to be the former. 

“By the way,” Niki says from next to you as the two of you stretch for dance practice. “Who are you partnering up with for the group project?” 

You pause, turning to stare at Niki. “Partnering up? Isn’t it a solo project?”

“No, dumbass,” he sighs. “It’s a group project. We’re doing it in duos.” 

Fuck. 

“Oh my god,” you groan. “I’m so fucked. I didn’t know we were partnering up! Everyone’s probably got partners already.” 

“Ah,” he says, reaching up a hand to touch his cheek, a nervous tic he’s developed over the years. “Well, then, partner up with m—” 

Before he can finish the sentence, you feel someone tap you on the back. Turning around, you jump at the sight of Hwang Hyunjin standing before you. 

Hyunjin’s handsome. Catlike eyes, godly physique, and a contagious laugh. If you didn’t already have the fattest crush on Niki, you’d most definitely have a crush on Hyunjin instead. 

“Y/N, have you found a partner for the project yet?”

“Ah,” you say, slowly. You spare a sideways glance at Niki but find him looking down, eyes trained to the ground. “No, I haven’t.” 

His eyes brighten as he smiles at you. “Well, do you want to partner up with me? I don’t think we’ve ever gotten the chance to work together yet.” 

You pause. 

You and Niki have been dance partners for as long as you can remember, but you’re not exactly against the idea of working with someone new for a change. Besides, maybe it would be beneficial for both of you if you took a small break from each other. Especially for you, you think. You really need to sort out your feelings over Niki. 

So you smile and nod. “Sure, Hyunjin. That sounds great.” 

Hyunjin grins back at you, eyes curved into crescent moons. You swallow down the sudden feeling of guilt that makes its way up your throat when Niki abruptly turns to walk away, head hung low. 

“I mean,” Niki complains, taking another sip of his melon bubble tea with cheese foam. “What’s so great about Hyunjin anyway?” 

“I don’t know,” Jungwon hums. “I think he seems like a pretty nice guy. Plus, he’s a great dancer.” 

Niki turns to glare at him. “Can you please just agree with me for once instead of simping over Hyunjin? He’s not even that good of a dancer.” 

(That was a lie, actually. Even Niki’s got to admit that Hyunjin’s a talented dancer.)

Jungwon sighs. 

“Well, what do you want me to say? I don’t think he’s a bad dancer, and he seems like a nice guy to hang out with. He even helped me with one of my choreos when I was having a hard time.” 

Niki scoffs and stirs his straw through his bubble tea moodily. 

“If you’re mad that Y/N chose to partner up with Hyunjin instead of you, you can just say it, you know. I can already tell, anyway.” 

“I’m not mad!” Niki protests unconvincingly. “I just don’t think Hyunjin’s an adequate dance partner for Y/N!” 

Even so, he finds his thoughts constantly straying to the image of you and Hyunjin together. He can’t help but feel annoyed at the very idea; after all, you and him have been dance partners for forever. 

“Whatever,” Niki mumbles. “It’s not like I care.” 

“Jealousy is a disease,” Jungwon informs him. 

Niki throws a dirty napkin in his direction. 

“By the way,” Hyunjin says, smiling brightly at you. “I accidentally bought two tickets to the newest Doctor Strange movie instead of just one, and I’ve been wondering if you wanted to come with me. It’s this Friday.” 

You flush. “This Friday?” 

Hyunjin nods eagerly. 

You had originally planned on going ice skating with Niki this Friday. You hesitate for a moment, unsure of how to respond, and Hyunjin’s face falls in disappointment. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to go,” he says. “I’m not trying to force you or anything, I just thought it would be nice to go see a movie together.” 

“Ah, it’s not that,” you say hastily. “It’s just that.. I’ve already got plans this Friday with friends.” 

“Oh, I see,” Hyunjin says. 

You nod, almost awkwardly. For a moment, the two of you stand there in tense silence before your phone vibrates in your backpocket. 

[6:42 pm] jake: u should come over to the dance studio. niki’s acting kind of off today

You grimace, before glancing back up at Hyunjin. “Do you mind if I cut our meeting short today? Something came up.” 

Hyunjin nods. “Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll text you a good time to meet up again sometime.” 

You nod your thanks and quickly exit the building, quickly making your way to the dance studio just a few blocks away. When you enter the building, you find Jake sitting by one of the tables, eyes glued to his physics book. 

“Where’s Niki?” you ask, looking around. 

“He’s in Dance Studio 3,” Jake says, without looking up from his book (because he for some reason enjoys torturing himself to an extent that he’d voluntarily study physics). “Sulking.”

“Why is he sulking?” you groan. “What did I do wrong now?”

Jake looks up to stare at you, studying you for a moment before shaking his head. “Do you really not know?”

“No, should I?”

Jake shakes his head again and tilts his head towards the dance studio. “Just go in and talk to him, I’m sure you’ll sort it out. 

When you slip into the dance studio, you find Niki sitting on the ground, back pressed to the mirror as he scrawls on a piece of paper— most likely choreographing. He doesn’t look up when you approach. 

“Niki.”

He pointedly ignores you, eyes trained to his lap. 

“Niki.” 

When he doesn’t look up for the second time, you squat down next to him, gazing at him quietly. “Hyunjin asked if I wanted to go see the newest Doctor Strange movie with him this Friday.”

Niki flinches as if you slapped him across the face and finally looks up, eyes hard and slightly glassy. 

“Ah,” he says, slowly. “That sounds like fun. I hope you have a really fucking grand time with Hyunjin, your new dance partner, since apparently I’m not good enough for you.”

You wince. “I never said—”

“You don’t have to say it for me to know it,” he snaps. For a moment, his indifferent facade falls apart and you catch a glimpse of the hurt written across his face, although it quickly fades away into anger. Scoffing, he looks back down to the paper and picks up his pen, preparing to continue whatever choreography he was previously working on. 

You quickly grab his hand before he can uncap the pen, gazing at him beseechingly. He freezes, staring down at the intertwined hands lying in his lap in surprise. 

“Niki, please hear me out,” you beg. “Besides, I told Hyunjin I couldn’t go.”

That grabs his attention. He stares at you, eyes wide with shock. “Why?”

“We were going to go ice skating on Friday together, remember?”

He doesn’t reply, but his eyes soften a fraction of a degree. 

“Just.. hear me out, okay?” you plead. 

You take his silence as a yes. 

Taking a deep breath, you think of the past few years you’ve spent falling in love with Niki. The countless days you have spent by his side in anguish, too afraid to confess in fear of ruining your friendship entirely. But you have come to learn that there are some things worth ruining and your friendship with Niki just happens to be one of them. Because there’s this aching in your chest whenever you set your eyes on him and the lightest dusting of freckles across his cheeks from going strawberry picking with you just a few weeks ago and every fiber of your being feels programmed to adore Nishimura Riki, with his stupidly attractive bangs and his strange obsession with bungeoppang. Because there’s this sensation that consumes you wholly whenever you’re around him, this weird feeling that yeah, this is it. I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of eternity by his side.

You clear your throat.

“Remember when we went hiking with the rest of the group a few months ago? On that mountain?”

Niki’s eyes flash with recognition, although he doesn’t say a word. 

“Sunoo had black hair at the time, I think.”

“I clearly remember him having pink hair.”

“No, he had—” you clear your throat. “Whatever. That’s unimportant. What I’m trying to say is, we were all so tired and sweaty when we were hiking and everyone was so annoyed at Jungwon because he had forced us to go hiking in the first place. And just when we were about to turn back, we finally reached the summit of the mountain and everyone just fucking froze there for like, a good 30 seconds because the view was just that gorgeous. And then we all took off our coats and just stood there, all sweaty and exhausted, admiring the scenery before Jake started chasing Jay around and then we all just started laughing and—” 

“Remind me why you’re telling me this again?”

“Shut up,” you snap. “I’m getting there. So anyways, we were all fooling around on top of this mountain in front of this gorgeous view and you had your camera with you so you were walking around snapping pictures of everyone. And Sunghoon kept on complaining because he thought your camera made him look way uglier than he actually was and everyone kept on bursting into laughter because Heeseung couldn’t stop laughing for the picture and he kept on doing that thing he does where he opens his mouth like a fucking frog to keep from laughing except it wasn’t working and we were holding hands—”

“I don’t ever recall us holding hands.”

“Well, I do, okay? Now, stop interrupting. So we were holding hands because I had complained that my hands were cold and I just remember thinking that like, even if college tears us apart and even if it’s all just downhill from here on out, at least I had this memory, you know? At least I had this memory of all of us gathered together on this mountain, all sweaty and shit, just feeling on top of the fucking world. And I also remember thinking that if I could freeze time and just die in this moment, I totally fucking would. Because, like, we were holding hands for fucks’s sake. And you were smiling at me all happy and— God, I just remember feeling like this must be my most beautiful moment in life. Up there on that mountain, holding hands with you, laughing my ass off just because Heeseung couldn’t stop cracking up to take a picture.”

Niki’s eyes have softened by the time you’ve finished. You’re all out of breath and anxious, gazing at him quietly. ”What I mean to say is, I’ve liked you for forever now, okay? And Hyunjin’s not going to get in the way of that.”

“You could have just said those last 2 sentences and been done with it. You didn’t have to go through that whole ass essay, you know?”

You roll your eyes. “I just poured out my fucking heart to you and that’s what you tell me?”

Niki ducks his head to hide the smile tugging on his lips. 

“Hm, I don’t know,” he says, feigning indecision. “I normally would have accepted your confession but given the recent circumstances with Hyunjin…”

You sigh and decide to resort to Plan B. Which is, to say, just fuck it all and go for it. 

Leaning forward, you cup Niki’s jaw and press your lips against his own. For a brief moment, you feel Niki tense from underneath you, all rigid muscle and smooth skin, but he relaxes into the kiss almost instantly, reaching out an arm to hook it around your waist, pulling you closer. You sigh into his lips and lean into his touch when he reaches up a hand to run a hand through your hair, impossibly warm as he tightens his arms around you. 

You eventually pull back after a long moment, leaning back to sit on your heels, panting. “Do you believe me now?” you breathe, staring at Niki. 

He laughs and nods as he leans forward, reaching for you. Just when you’re about to wrap your arms around him (and possibly kiss some more), the door bursts open and the rest of the group jostles in. You sigh as the air fills with cheers and catcalls. You should have known they’d do something like this. 

Jake slaps Niki on the back so hard in congratulations that he falls forward and most likely would have face planted right into the wooden floorboards of the dance studio had Sunghoon not caught him by the waist just in time while Heeseung grins at you almost triumphantly, as if he was the one that single handedly brought you and Niki together. 

Jungwon nudges Jay’s shoulder. “Yah, hyung, you owe me 20,000 won.”

Jay grumbles but reaches into his pocket anyways for his wallet to hand Jungwon a handful of banknotes. 

The realization hits you a few moments later. 

You narrow your eyes. “Were you two.. betting on whether or not me and Niki would end up together?”

Jungwon grins and holds up his handful of banknotes. “It was worth betting on!”

You decide to postpone beating the shit out of Yang Jungwon for another day, just because you don’t want to ruin this one. Especially since you just found the guts to finally confess to Nishimura Riki after years of pining. 

You lean into Niki’s touch when he pulls you down to the floor next to him and presses a kiss to your cheekbone, lips curving into a smile against your skin. Sunghoon lets out a very loud (and very exaggerated) groan of disgust while Jay yanks out his phone to snap a picture of you and Niki together (most likely for blackmail) and you can’t help but laugh at it all because it’s been a very long time since things felt so right. An even longer time since you’ve felt this happy. 

And yeah, you’ve still got a bunch of overdues to finish off tonight and you’re still terrified at the very thought of college but even so, with Niki pressed to your side like this as he snakes his arms around your waist, you can’t help but feel as if you’d gladly face whatever the future throws at you as long as he stays right here by your side. 

CUTE <3

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'♡' ENHA members reacting to you sleeping while hugging a pillow ! m-list! profile! A/N : took a break from writing BUT IM BACK TO SEE MY FIRST WRITE HITTING 100+.. wow. ( fluff and fluff + guess what more fluff.

lee heeseung - he would find you very cute and hoping that your thinking the pillow was him because if it was another one of those 2d characters.. he would start punching the air. He would just slip himself beside you, your back facing him as he wraps his arms around you. park jay - he would chuckle at the sight of you hugging THE PILLOW HE USES. He would slowly remove the pillow trying to not wake you up so that he can be that pillow you were hugging just a few minutes ago. He kisses your forehead as he hugs you trying to give you some warmth. sim jake - look.. instead of a pillow it would be layla your hugging, "uhm.. babe are you seriously cheating on me with layla..?" Jake said while pouting. You raise your head from the stacks of blankets you were under, "hm?" you said as he puts layla down from the bed being the only one you should cuddle. park sunghoon - same thing, he would slip the pillow out of your embrace but throw it across the room out of your reach. "baby you know you don't need a pillow while I'm here.." He said as he kisses your forehead and cuddles you. kim sunoo - He would be shouting. "UNACCEPTABLE!" he yelled as he opens the lights. "Baby..?" you said. He pouts "I should be the one your hugging.. me!! only me!! :<" he said in a cute baby like voice. "Then come here?" you said as he cutely waddles over to you and hugs you. oh boy you need to kiss his face a lot in the morning as an apology. yang jungwon - OH HIM!!! He doesn't want to wake you up so he tries his hardest to tiptoe to the bed and slip inside the covers as he hugs you. Well for his thoughts about the pillow and you.. he doesn't want to think about it too much or he'll get jealous I mean come on this sweet boy doesn't deserve to see you 'cheating' on him with a pillow! nishimura riki - no words. "Y/N-AH!!! Why are you cheating on me with a pillow huh? start spilling." He said waking you up. You were too tired to move so you just said, "then come hug me." he throws the pillow on the ground and stomps it before going in the covers and kissing your entire face.