I

[id: a light blue  userbox with a pastel blue border and pastel blue text that reads “this user loves chococat ” on the left is an image of sanrio’s chococat. /end id]

hyunjin for marie claire (december 2021)

from my japanese stream: another yuzu/xinyu princess spin ✨

<33 elly thanks for feeding me my daily dose of sunghoon brain rot babe

[8:02 PM] THE SIXTH STAGE OF GRIEF EXISTS, YOU KNOW? (PSH)

— THIRD INSTALLMENT of 'let the rain be our witness' series. [ series masterlist ] | [ previous installment ]

KOREAN TITLE: 너 때문에, 갑분싸 됐잖아! | (meaning: it got awkward all because of you!)

SYNOPSIS: ❝Park Sunghoon only came to the convenience store for some coffee ice cream. He wasn't expecting to find you, his archenemy, sitting at the corner of the store with swollen eyes and a cup of hot ramen crying over a breakup. But to be honest, he never liked your ex-boyfriend from the start.❞

GENRE: humour/crack, fluff, enemies to lovers, highschool!au.

PAIRING: park sunghoon x fem!reader.

WORD COUNT: 2.3k+ words.

KEYWORDS: (L/N) = Last Name | (H/C) = Hair Colour | (H/L) = Hair Length | (F/C) = Favorite Clothing | words in italic are thoughts + dramatized words!

WARNINGS: informal language, mentions about hall monitor!jungwon (lmao), one mention about fake spiders, light-hearted death and violence jokes, talks about a breakup and reader's ex-boyfriend, nameless cashier involuntarily becoming the third wheel (somebody save him 🧍).

AUTHOR'S NOTE: i am back at it again with my questionable humour but i tried my best!! i didn't expect this to get over 2k+ words (no it's not because sunghoon just recently dethroned jake from my biaslist... ok maybe it is 😔 /j and the fact that i have a ghost!sunghoon fic wip too?? HELP). nonetheless, i hope you guys will enjoy reading this and i look forward to seeing you on the next installment!! MWAH kisses from elly 🌹

[8:02 PM] Ding! Ding! Sunghoon swore in the name of his figure skaters, the sound of the doorbell jingling never felt like such a lifesaver to him before. He had been walking in the rain with nothing but the hood of his hoodie to shelter his head for God knew how long. The hood felt soggy in his hands as the male allowed it to fall off his head, a slight grimace on his face at the damp and spongy texture of his hood. Such a shame this was one of his favorite hoodies too.

But nevermind that. Alright, time to hog all the coffee ice cream — "Park Sunghoon?”

Oh no. Anything but this. Please, God, he thought he already prayed that last week would be the last time he would ever hear that voice again. But of course, who else would it be if none other than you, his oh-so mighty archenemy, (L/N) (Y/N)?

Forget the devil, you had begun replacing the demon in his sleep paralysis ever since you accidentally splashed a slushie on him in the hallway at the start of highschool. As payback, he splashed his own slushie back on you and the feud between the two of you never ended since. Even the hall monitor, Yang Jungwon was unofficially declared the only one who could separate the both of you from tearing each other apart in public (verbally, of course).

The both of you had an interesting story, that’s for sure.

And yet at that moment, when Sunghoon turned around with his mind already preparing for the worst — only to find you sitting down on the table in the corner, with your eyes red and (H/L) (H/C) hair almost resembling a bird's nest. No, God forbid, he was not becoming soft. He was just… worried, yep.

Although Sunghoon would be lying if he said he wasn't used to this, since he was more used to seeing you at school with your arms crossed against your chest and that fiery scowl on your face. And oh, did he mention how he almost thought you were a banshee, if it weren’t for the fact you called out to him just now?

“What are you doing here?” Your tone was sharp; well, as sharp as it could seem like with those swollen eyes and runny nose of yours. Sunghoon couldn’t help his habit of biting back with a retort. “Ice cream. What are you doing here?” Arguments between the two of you were normal, that was nothing new. But seeing you like this? This was definitely a whole new world for him. After all, not everyday you got to see someone you suspected was preparing to murder you at any second eating a cup of steaming ramen while sniffling their nose.

"None—,” He almost snorted at the way you took a moment to brush your nose with the sleeve of your (F/C) before continuing your riposte. “...None of your business.” And yet, a moment of pondering came upon him. In all honesty, Sunghoon could’ve just turned his back away from you and carried on his initial plan to smuggle the whole ice cream aisle. But he couldn’t help from sneaking worried glances at you. Why on Earth was he getting this urge to sit down and… comfort you? (God, he almost threw up just thinking about saying this word out loud.)

You were supposed to be his archenemy, he was supposed to relish in your failure — wait no, that made him sound like an antagonistic villain instead. Fine, maybe he just watched too many movies. Should he just turn around and go? Or should he make his way forward towards you?

Sunghoon must’ve looked as if he was having an existential crisis. He was just standing there spacing out like a malfunctioning robot. But, you know what? Sunghoon decided he was going to man up. Oh, and that he surely did; because Park Sunghoon bolted straight towards the ice cream aisle, leaving you staring absolutely dumbfounded at the spot where he was at a moment before. Not to mention, the male cashier behind the counter just quietly watching this entire mess of an interaction unfold.

The universe, once again, was reminding you of how much you had to prevent yourself from poking Park Sunghoon’s eyes with the chopsticks in your hand. But you didn’t have enough energy for that right now, you only came here for a cup of ramen after finding out your ex-boyfriend dumped you. Yes, that happened almost two weeks ago but can’t a girl grieve? Your ex-boyfriend was an absolute ass, and it was your first relationship too — so needless to say, it sucked.

A worn out exhale slipped from between your chapped lips, bleak eyes inertly counting the strings of ramen noodles floating in the cup in front of you. Before you, yet again, erupted into a burst of cries. Goodness gracious, Sunghoon could hear the faint noises of you sobbing all the way from the ice cream aisle — please, he just came here for some ice cream, not to make good life decisions involving his nemesis.

The male gathered a few packets of coffee ice cream in his hands, sliding the glass pane of the ice cream freezer to a shut. Sunghoon craned his neck over the aisle gingerly, wanting to see if you were still there. But luck was not on his side. Yep, you were still weeping into your palms like a banshee in the same spot and Sunghoon, instead, caught the deadpanned eyes of the cashier. He immediately broke eye contact (of course, he’s not a psychopath who would keep staring back).

But then again, he had to face the cashier again in order to safely escort his precious ice cream home. See, it all got awkward because of you! Oh, he’s so about to put fake spiders in your locker for this. Sunghoon mentally schemed as he made his way back to the front counter, each footstep felt so heavy from the embarrassment on his shoulders.

He just had a brief argument with you, and then proceeded to make an eye contact with the cashier while craning his neck over the aisle like a goose on the loose. Somebody, just dig a hole for him already, please.

“Ahem, just these, thank you.” The way Sunghoon hastily placed the ice cream packets on the counter made it so evident that all he wanted was just to get this over with and go home. The male cashier didn’t mention anything and only continued to scan the packets of ice cream without another word (much to Sunghoon’s relief). Beep! Beep! Beep! The beepings from the counter were consistent, unlike Sunghoon’s vision as he kept glancing at you back and forth.

He was utterly astonished — because what sort of Super Saiyan eyes did God give to you for them to still be able to shed tears?

“That’d be 7,500 Won, thank you.” Oh, he almost forgot about his ice cream. Sunghoon slipped out his money from the pocket of his hoodie, whispering a ‘thank you’ and grabbing the biodegradable plastic bag with his purchase inside. Thank God, he could finally go home. The exit was just right there. What was he waiting for? He could just go home and pretend tonight never existed. But Park Sunghoon ended up trudging in your direction anyway.

To be honest? He himself didn’t even know what he was doing but maybe the sight of you crying ceaselessly was bothering him a little too much.

The chair across from you lightly screeched as Sunghoon pulled it back before sitting down on it with a haughty huff. “Hey, are you okay?” The way you shot a glower at him was so piercing he almost winced in response. Wow, who could be so stupid to even ask someone who was obviously crying if they’re okay? Right, him, apparently.

"Bad question, sorry." Sunghoon cleared his throat awkwardly. You only scrutinized him up and down, wondering to yourself if this menace had something up his sleeve.

Was he planning to take a picture of your messy face and share it with the whole school to make fun of you? But the fact that he was scratching the back of his neck so bashfully while averting his gaze briefly from you was a bit questionable. The Park Sunghoon… being shy? Did you look so miserable to the point he felt the need to sit across from you just to flex his beauty? (Nope, you definitely didn’t just call him pretty… Anyways.)

“What do you want? Shouldn’t you go home already?” Your voice came out meek and muffled since you still had your face buried in the palms of your hands, refusing to glance at him with your face clearly swollen and red. Sunghoon let out an innocuous scoff, Alright, he had enough of this gentleman act. "You’re obviously crying, dumbass. Do you wanna talk about it?" Well, this side of him was something that you were certainly used to.

You grumbled involuntarily, "Why does it even matter? You’re gonna see him at school, anyways.” The word ‘him’ was as vague as it could be, but it still got Sunghoon’s attention nonetheless. "Wait, are you talking about Woohyun?" He squinted his eyes suspiciously, not at you but more towards the imagery of the ‘him’ you were referring to. No, he was concerned, actually.

He knew Woohyun. The both of them were in the same class and he talked to him multiple times — well, enough times to prove that he really did not like the vibes he was getting from Woohyun. Sunghoon had caught wind that you got into a relationship with him from other people. And yeah, so what if Sunghoon did feel sad about it for a few days? All that mattered right now was that he was undeniably going to beat Woohyun into a pulp soon.

"He cheated on me.” Hesitantly but gradually, you opened your palms and let them rest on your cheeks, words of the truth felt bitter coming out of your mouth. Oh, Woohyun was really going to taste his fist now. Sunghoon’s response was instantaneous, “That freaking jackass.” So instantaneous to the fact you had to make a way out for a little laugh. “Pfft, why are you cussing him out? Aren’t you supposed to be his friend or something?” He was silent for a moment and you wondered why — until you saw him staring at you with such... awe? You couldn’t quite fathom it properly because he immediately rolled his eyes afterwards. “Don’t put me on the same level as him. But, tell me everything.”

It felt weird conversing with him like this. Sunghoon and (Y/N) sitting at one table without trying to throw a chair at each other? Jungwon would no doubt cry if he heard about this. But for some reason, you weren’t really against the idea right now as you told him more. “Well, at first, I didn’t think it was true. Maybe I expected better of him but when I found out the truth, I was gonna march to his house and strangle him.”

Sunghoon nodded nonchalantly, “Justified. Anyways, continue.”

You couldn’t help but smile at his little remark. You rarely got to have an actual civil conversation with him before (actually, you never did). Was he always this funny? It was helping you feel a tad better, if you were to be honest. “I kinda accepted it after a few days. But sometimes, you can't really resist the urge to feel sad about what happened, you know?” But Sunghoon suddenly pulled out his hand, “Hold on, that’s… one, two, three, four, five…” Needless to say, you were completely dumbfounded, stupefied, astounded — all of the above and more after hearing his next words. “Oh, you’re somewhere on the fourth or fifth stage.”

Just as you thought you were going to have a civil conversation with him, then he went ahead and did this.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Was this man really diagnosing you with a disease at 8 PM inside a convenience store? You didn’t think breakups could actually lead to diseases, but okay. “I meant the stages of grief, there are five commonly known ones.” Sunghoon rolled his eyes again, you started to ponder if his eyes would ever reach the ceiling if he kept rolling them that much.

“But the sixth stage of grief exists, you know?” The devilishly impish grin that suddenly appeared on his face insinuated a scheme you were dubious of. He raised a conniving eyebrow, “—It’s called revenge.” No words could explain how much brain cells you had lost just by listening to his speech. You blinked stonily, “...I’m starting to think you spend too much time on TikTok.”

Sunghoon chuckled at your answer, breaking his prior mischievous character as he leaned in towards you with a hand under his chin and a playful smile playing on his lips. “I’m offering you a deal here. I could sneak in something in Woohyun’s food tomorrow, you never know…” Your sullen expression was instantly replaced with amusement, you snorted with a frisky leer. “Your ice cream is gonna melt, you know?”

Sunghoon only shrugged his shoulders with such blasé, but he was silently relieved that you couldn’t hear how fast his heart was marathoning inside his chest. At this point, Sunghoon didn’t even care about his ice cream melting into puddles of sweet flavour, nor did he care about how he was going home with the rain still tapping against the transparent glass of the entrance door — he was too busy admiring the way you were laughing (like the simp in denial that he was) to care about them anymore.

That one night led to many more night escapades involving cups of hot ramen, some ice cream, light-hearted footsies and two lovesick people in denial.

It was safe to say everyone choked on air when they saw Park Sunghoon and (L/N) (Y/N) walking together to school without having a glaring contest. But of course, everyone could tell Yang Jungwon was the happiest because he didn’t have to deal with you two almost brawling each other to death in the school hallway anymore.

TAGLIST (open!): @jungwoniics | @markdebutslimitlessly | @heejojo | special feature: @odxrilove (i wasn't sure if you wanted to be tagged specifically on this installment only or the whole series. but don't worry, you're a special feature! hehe <33)

thank you so much for reading.

© meraniki. do not repost, plagiarize and translate. likes and reblogs are extremely appreciated!

the gose videographers really love his side profile <3

ITZY ♡ Pokémon

things that sound like fake subs but are actually just sunwoo

current status: vv sick and coping by simping🤩

　　　　∿　　　🩰　　　 ♡ 　　　 . ⁺　　𑁍

Hsdsaamnjjss juliettt nourrr don’t cry babiee😭 u are so precioussss

not Chan calling her a mouse that was so random ✋ but yessss chanliet is hereeee

our first snow

juliet’s masterlist

set in early january, 2021

note: the mediocre gif is mine

warning(s): intrusive thoughts, allusions to stalking (aka dispatch), some weather inaccuracies probably ;-;

summary: more confessions are made during the first snowfall of 2021.

a/n: juliet’s finally getting her man ayyyyy 🤪

— taglist: @ateez-elena @shinyddeonghwa @skzfairies @nayuyeons @bat-shark-repellant @nctdream-minji @wayvisionz @atinymonster @mythicalamphitrite @slytherinthedms @atzaria @yunascular @ggukkiedae (send an ask to be on/off the taglist <3)

[ heavily rewritten; reposting from @/starlightjoong ]

Seoul during the winter is beautiful.

Even though she’s been living in Korea for six, almost seven years, Juliet thinks she can never get tired of seeing snow. Something about it is just so utterly magical and charming, transporting you into a winter wonderland you’d only see on Christmas cards. Sure, it’s freezing and the snow sticks to everything—her hair, parka, boots, even her lashes, but it’s still one of her favourite things about living in Seoul.

Juliet still remembers the first snowfall she experienced in Korea. She remembers how Yeri, her close friend and the first one she made at her former company, immediately dragged her out to the sidewalk so they could admire the way snow elegantly floated down from the sky, eventually enveloping the city in a pristine white blanket.

Though, she supposes that at the moment they’re experiencing more of a snowstorm than a snowfall. Purely bad luck—okay, maybe there was some negligence in which she forgot to check the weather forecast—on her part. By the time she gets back home, her parka, socks, and shoes will surely be soaked.

She also briefly wonders what the boys are doing, if they’re also enjoying the snow or staying inside to shield themselves from the biting cold. Even now, she can already hear Seonghwa’s gentle nagging about her not wearing more layers or having the wrong kind of boots on.

A particularly strong gust of wind blows the hood of Juliet’s parka off her head, causing snow to immediately start landing on her newly-dyed purple hair. A gloved hand that doesn’t belong to her instantly pulls the hood up so it sits snuggly on her head once more.

“Thanks, Channie.”

She watches his eyes curve into crescents, an indication that he’s also grinning behind his mask.

“C’mon,” he says, nudging her softly, “the snow’s getting heavier, let’s get you home before we’re both stranded out here.”

Secretly, she thinks that she wouldn’t mind, even if it meant turning into a human popsicle. Not that she’d admit it out loud, though, or she’d never see the end of his teasing.

Despite the late hour, Juliet doesn’t want to go home. At least, not now, even though she knows she probably should. Both of their schedules for the next few months are absolutely packed, from award shows to comebacks and miscellaneous projects. God knows they need the sleep, yet here they are.

Strangely enough, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Perhaps it’s the unspoken knowledge that this is the only time of the day they have to themselves—just themselves—that makes her want to stay out longer to retain a sense of normalcy. Over the years, she’s learnt to cherish the short-lived moments away from the cameras and prying eyes. Right now, she wants to be Baek Minyoung, not Juliet of ATEEZ, who also happens to be spending time with a certain someone named Lee Chan instead of Dino from SEVENTEEN.

Ah, yes, the glorious double life. Very Hannah Montana of her.

“You’re being very uncharacteristically quiet.”

Juliet huffs out a laugh, her breath condensing into a small misty cloud. “I was quiet until I met you. Then suddenly all my decorum went out the window.”

“Pretty sure you lost all your decorum way before you met me,” Chan grumbles at her teasing, “don’t think I haven’t watched compilations of you doing… uh… questionable stuff.”

“Oh my gosh, a fan! You want an autograph?”

He lightly shoves at her shoulder. “You’re so annoying, God.”

“Think you meant ‘charming’ instead, or maybe ‘captivating’, or ‘a delight to be around’,” Juliet corrects, her delivery exaggerated and almost theatrical.

“First two I can maybe get behind, but a delight to be around…” his voice trails off as he pretends to think, “needs a little more observation.”

“Aw, Channie,” Juliet coos, “if you wanted to spend more time with me, you could’ve just said so.”

It’s funny. She’s never been one to open up to people quickly, preferring to keep her walls up until she’s certain they can be trusted with the most vulnerable parts of her; pieces of her that she tucks far, far away as a form of self-preservation.

By some stroke of luck—and perhaps fate as well—Lee Chan not only came into her life, he also somehow managed to effortlessly weave himself deep into the seams of her heart in the blink of an eye. Juliet thought they’d just be friends, she really did; but it didn’t take long for her to start falling for the spirited boy with a heart of gold and a passion for what he does that burned stronger than any flame.

And before either of them knew it, the line between friendship and romance blurred little by little, day after day, like winter melting away in a gentle transition to spring. Sometimes, Juliet wonders if they’ve been subconsciously pushing the limits of said line, taking it as far as they can until it threatens to disappear entirely like sand slipping in between fingers. Then apprehension struck; neither of them dared address this shift in dynamic until that one night months ago by the Han River.

“I don’t… I don’t think I’m worth the wait.”

Chan’s voice drops to barely above a whisper. “Says who?”

“I don’t know… myself mainly, I guess…”

His touch is featherlight as he carefully brushes a small lock of hair away from her face to tuck it behind her ear. “You’ll always be worth it.”

There are days when Juliet questions everything, one of them being if Chan truly meant those words. But then she remembers the unequivocal sincerity shining in his eyes, the way he looks at her like she put all the stars in the sky despite her never having done anything remotely special… They ease her doubt and calm the choppy waves crashing in her head.

She wanted to say yes that night so badly, and as sickeningly cheesy as it sounds, she wants to be his. But like she told Seungkwan the month prior, she’s scared and there are things holding her back from doing so, like heavy weights around her ankle.

“—say about the first snow?”

Confusion is written all over Chan’s face at her lack of response. Juliet blinks blankly at him. “What?”

He groans loudly in mock exasperation. “Were you seriously not listening to anything I was saying?” he whines.

“Sorry, I spaced out!”

“I’m not going to be friends with you if you keep ignoring me like this!”

Before the boy has time to react, Juliet grabs a small handful of snow from the ground and flicks it at his face, giggling when he splutters while brushing off the frozen flakes from his mask. But her glee doesn’t last long when he reaches for a larger handful of snow.

Juliet shrieks and jogs away from him, which she immediately realises is not as easy as she thought it’d be due to the slippery ground. “Wait! Wait! Stop! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“You have to keep it down,” Chan laughs, tossing the snow back onto the ground, “we can’t be out here screaming and drawing Dispatch’s attention.” His tone may be light, but they both know there’s definitely weight behind it, and the mention of the gossip outlet makes her wrinkle her nose in distaste.

Though she can’t help but find it funny that if someone from Dispatch is actually following them right now—she prays they’re not—all they’d get would be footage of them throwing snow at each other. Imagine seeing that on the front cover.

“You’re right,” Juliet agrees as they continue walking, “let’s not give them more business. What were you saying earlier, by the way?”

“I asked if you know what people here say about the first snow.”

“No, not really. Enlighten me?”

Something in his gaze shifts, leaving her wondering if he saw through her lie. He continues regardless. “People—well, some of them, anyways—say that if you confess to someone during the first snow, you’ll… stay together for a long time.”

“Is this—”

“Yes,” Chan blurts out before she can finish her sentence, eyes erratically darting from one point to another, “I, uh… I-I want you to be mine. Officially.”

Perhaps she would’ve giggled at his nervous fumbling under other circumstances, but it’s the stunned silence that renders Juliet unable to speak, and she can only stand shell-shocked while all the words she’s been longing to say die at the tip of her tongue.

Understandably, he takes her speechlessness as a sign of rejection. Soft curses leave his lips, though they appear to be directed more so at himself than her. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, features wounded and voice sincere, and it only makes that sinking feeling in her gut intensify. Why can’t she speak? “I-I know we talked about this before… hell, I was the one who said we should wait. I didn’t mean to rush you, I’m sorry—”

It’s the small crack in Chan’s voice at the end that wakes Juliet from her daze, and one of her hands darts out to take hold of his wrist. “No!” she squeaks, the high-pitched yelp shattering the hushed atmosphere enveloping them. She sticks her other hand into the pocket of her coat, though she suspects its trembling has less to do with the biting cold, and more to do with the nervous tension in her body that makes her feel like a string pulled taut.

The falling snow grows heavier and swirls around them in a flurry of icy pellets, but he waits patiently for her to gather her thoughts.

“I—there’s so much I want to say,” Juliet finally chokes out, chest constricting achingly as more and more of her worries are now brought to the forefront. “And I don’t know how else to explain it other than… I’m afraid. I’m so scared…”

Something is wet on her cheeks, and she realises, much to her horror, that they’re hot tears when her fingers reach up to feel her face. Immediately, she ducks her head from humiliation to shield herself from him. How pathetic to always be the first one crying. How can she be strong for people if she so callously wears her heart on her sleeve like this—

A soft murmur of her name pulls her away from the intrusive thoughts. It sounds distant, but it reaches her ears nonetheless.

“Minnie, look at me.” Gloved hands reach up to cup both sides of her cheek, gently tilting her head up so she has no choice but look right into his eyes.

A part of her brain is screaming at her to keep walking. The longer they stay stationary, the easier it is for prying eyes to spot them, it’s like they’re inviting a scandal to happen. But a soft brush of the pads of his fingers against her jaw pulls her back to him, sending waves of fleeting tranquility to wash over her.

“Talk to me,” Chan urges tenderly, “tell me what’s on your mind. Everything. I want to listen to it all.”

An odd sense of security bubbles within, and suddenly she feels like she can tell him all that she’s been too afraid to. It’s a nice feeling, when someone’s presence is so comforting that you feel not a sliver of fear even if you’re laying your heart bare.

“I don’t want to mess anything up,” she whispers, subconsciously leaning into his touch, “for us, for our members, for our groups. I’m just… so scared that one wrong move could turn everything to dust. What if we get exposed and create difficulties for our groups? What if we end things horribly and make things awkward between our members? What if it doesn’t work out and I lose you, even as a friend? Maybe it’s because I’m a greedy person, but I don’t want to lose any of this. Idol relationships… they’re more prone to being short-lived, I guess…”

Interfering companies, invasions of privacy, the slew of hateful comments that most idol couple aren’t lucky enough to be spared from… it’s hard to fathom how something so private can have seemingly the whole world go against it. There were many nights where Juliet stayed up late thinking if it was easier to just stay friends than to take the next step.

‘Easy’, yet everything about this is far from that.

The sound of Chan exhaling heavily brings her back to the present, his hands still caressing the sides of her face, perhaps an attempt to soothe the swelling emotions within both of them.

“I can’t guarantee things will turn out the way we want to,” he breathes out regretfully, “if it were up to us, I’m sure we’d save ourselves all the doubt and worry we’ve experienced these past months. But… I want to try… and while I can’t promise everything will be perfect, I can promise that I’ll try my hardest to show you how much I’ve wanted this.”

Her chest blooms with something akin to unadulterated happiness, and her eyes turn misty at the sight of the ardency in his own.

The warmth of his touch is favoured over the shelter of her coat pockets, and her hands come up to rest over his on both sides of her face. “What is it that they say?” Juliet muses quietly. “Better to have love and lost—”

“—Than to never have loved at all,” Chan finishes.

A gust of frigid wind whips past them, and before either of them know it, a high-pitched sneeze escapes her. They blink at each other in surprise at the sudden interruption before dissolving into laughter.

“Sorry, I think I ruined the moment,” Juliet gasps in between giggles, “I can’t believe that happened.”

Chan grins. “No, no, that was cute. It sounded like a tiny mouse squeak.”

“Here we go again with the mouse comparisons…”

“It’s because you’re cute!” he defends before taking her hand, “now c’mon, let’s get you home before you catch a cold.”

“Don’t you wanna hear my answer, though?”

A rosy pink tints the tips of his ears at the reminder that she, in fact, has yet to give him an official answer. “Right, of course…” he murmurs shyly, eyes cast down on the snowy ground instead of at her.

Juliet takes his moment of distraction as an opportunity to intertwine their fingers, smiling to herself when he looks up at their securely-joined hands in surprise.

“Yes,” she says softly, “my answer is yes.”

B O N U S

“You know…” Juliet begins thoughtfully, earning an acknowledging hum from Chan, “I think the couples thingy only counts if it happens during the first snowfall of the season, not the year. So technically, today’s not the first snow.”

Her words merely earn a light chuckle from him, and she feels him adjust his firm yet gentle grip on her hand in the pocket of his coat.

“Shhh. No one has to know.”

a/n: hgghghgh i’m not gonna lie…the older version of this on starlightjoong made me cringe when i reread it 💀 so moving blogs was a great opportunity to rewrite this aghshw ;;; and tbh i’m really happy with how this turned out :’) as always feedback is highly appreciated!! 💗