Talk, Snuggles, And Kisses - P.J

damn, made me feel all kinds of emotions 😭😭😭

⌗ 𝖬𝖸 𝖮𝖭𝖫𝖸 𝖫𝖮𝖵𝖤𝖲 …

SUMMARY. Confessions are made, bonds are mended, the past is left where it belongs — and at the end of it all, is the promise of a new beginning.

WARNINGS. drama ( it gets worse before it gets better ), a lot of talking, pretty long chapter, some angst ofc, and also keep in mind that things may not be resolved exactly the way you want them to

NOTES. so it’s finally here 🥺 you guys, it’s the end of the rmu series 😭 when i first started it, i never would have expected to grow so attached to it 🤧 thank you for staying up to this point and for all your love and support! without further ado, let’s go! 🩷 — includes: mila cover of “only” by lee hi request — “bold italics” speech is in chinese, but bold italics without speech marks are lyrics

PT. 1 | PT. 2 | PT. 3 | PT. 4 | PT. 5 | PT. 6 | PT. 7 | PT. 8

SO THIS WAS IT?

Mila found it somewhat hard to believe. On one hand, it was a long time coming — but on another hand, no one could have guessed that after weeks of pining and forlorn love sickness, Mila would finally see the end to the dark and seemingly endless tunnel of feelings.

She had spoken to the boys already — or rather, the four that she had made her relationship official with — and they all came to the same conclusion.

“We should tell the others…”

Mila hummed as she ran a hand through Niki’s hair, who laid his head on her lap. She was gathered in her room with Niki, Jake, Sunoo, and Sunghoon (since Kiara had mysteriously disappeared again), after the eventful past few days. That was when Jake suggested coming clean to the other members.

And surprisingly, the others agreed.

“The more of us there are,” Sunoo said, “the more difficult it is to sneak around. And I think it’s good if we tell them rather than let them walk in on one of us.”

Mila’s hand stopped running through Niki’s hair. Feeling that she halted her soothing movements, Niki looked up at her.

“I agree,” Mila said.

At that moment, Niki and Sunghoon both assumed that it was out of consideration. Because of the way they both stumbled upon Mila with one of the others. But little did they know that there was another layer to it.

And it was the fact that Mila understood what it was like — more than they could ever imagine.

Sunghoon nodded.

“Then, let’s do it.”

Mila looked around at the living room, where everyone was starting to get settled down. That meant everyone — as in, all nine members of Enhypen gathered for this one moment that would change everything between them. And of those nine people, four of them had no idea of what had been happening under their roof the past few days.

On one side, there was Mila, Sunoo, Sunghoon, Jake and Niki.

And on the other side, there was Jay, Jungwon, Kiara… and Heeseung.

“Noona?” Jungwon asked as he took a seat next to Jay on the couch. “What did you want to talk about?”

Mila bit her lip. “Well…”

She fiddled nervously with her fingers, before a hand reached out from her right and enveloped hers, before squeezing it gently. She looked up to meet Sunoo’s reassuring smile as he mouthed, ‘It’s okay.’

He turned to face the others.

“We have something to tell you,” Sunoo said.

Jay raised an eyebrow as his gaze flickered to Sunoo and Mila’s hands. Jungwon furrowed his eyebrows before leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced together.

“‘We?’” Jay asked passively, not giving anything away as to what he was feeling inside.

Mila turned her head to look at Sunghoon, Jake and Niki, who sat in a consecutive line down the couch on her left side. Sunghoon reached out and placed a hand on her knee, before rubbing circles soothingly onto her bare skin, which was left exposed by the shorts she was wearing.

Mila didn’t miss the way that Jay, Jungwon and Heeseung all gave it a cursory glance. The youngest of tro began to bite the inside of his cheek, with Jay remaining stone-faced, and Heeseung staring intently at where his hand lay on her.

The tension in the air was becoming too thick, Mila was scared she would choke up on her words and run out of the room in fright.

But she couldn’t. Not from this.

Kiara cleared her throat. “So… what did you want to talk about?”

Mila bit her lip.

It was probably better to get it over with, right? No more stalling.

She took a deep breath.

“We’re dating,” she blurted out. And before the others could recover, she clarified by saying, “And by that, I mean that I’m dating Sunoo, Sunghoonie-oppa, Jake-oppa and Riki.”

It was dead silent.

For a second, Mila wondered if she had simply said the words in her imagination rather than out loud — but one look at Jay and Jungwon’s faces and she knew that wasn’t the case.

Jay’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to wrap his head around Mila’s words. Mila could never be afraid of Jay. Never. But at that moment, she found herself fearing what he thought and what he would say. Because if there’s anything she wouldn’t be able to stand, it was to see his — or any of the boys’, for that matter — ire directed towards her.

“So you’re saying… that you’re dating all four of them?” Jay asked. He then looked at the boys in question. “And you’re all okay with it?”

Sunghoon shared a look with Jake and Niki before turning to Mila.

“Well, it wasn’t easy to accept at first — for me, at least,” Sunghoon admitted. “But we all agreed to try our best to make it work… the last thing we wanted was to regret anything.”

‘Regret.’ What a strong word that was.

Mila couldn’t help the way that her eyes drifted towards Heeseung. This would be the first time she was able to look straight at him since they’re disagreement in the kitchen, and because of that she only just got a clear look at him. 

He had dark circles and a distant look in his eyes, and the whole time they had been there he hadn’t said a word. He looked like someone who had lost a lost sleep. And the thought made Mila’s heart clench.

Was he really that affected by what she said that day? Would she really not regret cutting him off like that? 

She supposed she would have to find that out by herself.

Before Heeseung could catch her staring, Mila quickly looked at Jungwon. He bit the inside of his cheek as he looked across the row of them, from Sunoo down to Niki. And though Mila wasn’t a mind-reader, she could tell he wasn’t thinking anything good.

In his eyes, she could sense… Anger? Sadness? Betrayal?

“So you decided it together?” Jungwon asked. “All five of you?”

Mila felt herself shrink at his tone of voice. He was definitely not happy — and why would he be? Something this big was happening behind his back, when he was supposed to be the leader.

Mila felt a pit form in her stomach as she thought about the moment they shared together, when Jungwon had opened up to her and even went so far as to ask for a kiss. Would he go back to being distant with her? What if he never talked to her again? She already lost Heeseung… she didn’t think she could handle losing him, too.

In her desperation, Mila turned to Jay, her eyes hopeful. However, he didn’t seem that much better.

It would be one thing if he looked angry, the same way Jungwon did — but he didn’t seem to have a single emotion on his face, as if keeping them all locked behind an undeterred mask. Perhaps she was too spoiled… but it was not a look that she was used to seeing on him. Nor was it one she wanted to be used to.

“How long?” Jay asked, his disturbingly calm voice intimidating Mila more than any yelling ever could.

“I-it’s been a few days now,” Mila explained, her voice wobbling. “Um, around two to three days for Sunoo, Sunghoonie-oppa, and Jake…” Mila inhaled, “but Niki was just yesterday—”

“Okay, Noona, that’s enough,” Niki said, reaching over to place a comforting hand on her thigh. “It’s okay.”

“Let’s not make this an interrogation,” Jake said, equally concerned about Mila’s overwhelmed state. “We wanted to tell you first so we could avoid something like this.”

“Well, what did you think would happen?” Jay ask Jake, his jaw clenched. He inhaled deeply, finally giving away the frustration he felt. “It’s one thing if it was just one or two of you. And it’s another if you guys want to start something. But for all four of you to go ahead with something like this without saying anything, when you all knew—”

Jay stopped in the middle of his speech. He turned to look at Mila — as if just remembering she was there — before sighing. 

Mila’s eyebrows furrowed. “Knew what?”

There was another silence. And when Mila turned to the boys at her side to see them all avoiding eye contact with her, instead opting staring at each other down (Heeseung, Jay and Jungwon against Sunoo, Sunghoon, Jake and Niki), Mila realised there was a lot more to this than she thought.

Kiara sighed. She stood up before putting her hands together.

“It’s obvious that you guys have something to sort out among yourselves, so I don’t think me or Mila really need to be here right now.”

Before Mila could protest, Sunghoon interrupted her.

“You’re right,” he replied, though his eyes were still on Jay. (And for a moment, Mila could have sworn that his eyes flickered over to Heeseung.) “There is.”

Sunoo shook his head with a defeated sigh, before turning his attention to Mila.

“Do you mind giving us a second?” Sunoo asked quietly. “I promise it won’t be long.”

“Right,” Sunghoon said. He turned to her, before brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “Just give us a little time to talk about it between us, hm? We’ll be done before you know it.”

There was a small scoff from Jungwon, as if to say he disagreed with that statement.

Mila frowned. But when she looked around the room again, she had a feeling nothing would progress if she stayed in the room. Kiara was right; it seemed that the boys did have something to sort out between them.

And whatever it was, it looked like they needed to sort it out quickly.

With a small nod, she relented. “Okay… I’ll go.”

And she did. She wordlessly followed Kiara to their shared room, but not without one last worried glance over her shoulder.

The last thing she saw was Jay standing from his seat, before Kiara closed the door behind them.

“OKAY, LET’S TALK.”

Jay crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the four in front of him. Jungwon remained sitting, but gave them a similar disapproving look from behind Jay. Heeseung shifted, leaning forward in his seat and propping his elbows on his knees.

“What’s there to talk about?” Niki asked, his eyebrows furrowed in genuine confusion. “We already told you what happened.”

“That’s what. What you said right now is the problem,” Jay said heatedly. “It’s not even about the fact that the four of you are dating Mila now — it’s the fact that you knew we all had feelings for her. But none of you ever mentioned that you were going to pursue her, or that you were fine with an open relationship to begin with.”

“If you had known that we were,” Sunghoon interjected, “would you have done something? Even if she didn’t feel the same way?”

Jay nodded resolutely, leaving not a single doubt to be had.

“I would have. I would have tried anything at all to make her love me back. Because that’s who I am, I do whatever it takes to get what I want. But I didn’t. Because I knew that if I did, one of us was going to get hurt.” Jay laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “I thought you guys would have had the same consideration.”

There was a silence where no one dared to say anything. Jake hung his head and Niki bit his lip in thought. It was true: they all had a silent understanding of everyone’s feelings for Mila, but none of them voiced what they were going to do about it.

And in the great mess of emotions and impulses they acted upon in their desperateness to make some sort of progress in their relationship with her, they jumped at the chance to make her theirs. But they didn’t consider what it would be like for each other. 

How could they? Love was both selfless and selfish; something that made you want to give everything up… but also to keep all of it to yourself.

“It was my fault.”

Every head turned in Sunoo’s direction as he clenched his hands in his lap.

“What do you mean, hyung?” Jungwon asked, speaking for the first time since Mila left.

“I was the first one to make a move,” Sunoo admitted. “Mila was never going to do anything to begin with, but I convinced her to date me by saying I wouldn’t mind if she wanted you guys as well. That’s why she agreed to all of it. And then when Sunghoon-hyung walked in on us kissing—“

“You kissed?!” 

Jay, Jungwon and — surprisingly enough — Heeseung all yelled in unison.

“Yes,” Sunoo replied. “And I’m not going to apologise for it, because I’m not sorry that I kissed her.”

Sunoo had a fierce look in his eyes, full of burning determination. If there was any doubt of his strength, that one look disproved all of them.

“But think of it this way: if I never did anything when I found out that she liked us all equally — as in all seven of us — then none of us would have stood a chance,” Sunoo reasoned.

It was logical reasoning, too. What he said was true: if he hadn't gotten Mila to accept her feelings and open up to the prospect of dating more than one of the boys, none of them would be with her now. And they likely never would be. Because the chances were, Mila would never choose between them, and instead decide to wallow in self-resentment while keeping them all at arms-length to save the trouble.

If that happened, no one would be happy.

Everyone in the living room was starting to realise this as well.

“She likes all of us?” Jungwon asked quietly.

If one looked closely, they could see a spark of hope in his dark eyes. And if they looked at Jay, they would be able to see the same thing — a burning desire to act upon the feeling he had been withholding for so long.

“All of us,” Sunoo affirmed.

Jake sighed. “I get that you’re upset that we did all this behind your back… and I’m sorry we didn’t think of your feelings like you did with ours. But we can’t really take back what’s been done.”

Niki nodded. “Right. What’s done is done. There’s no use crying over spilled milk.”

In another situation, the boys might have smiled and teased their youngest for his improving Korean. But not this time. None of them particularly felt like joking around this time — even Niki himself.

“Niki’s right.” Jungwon sighed. “There’s nothing we can do about what’s happened.”

“So?” Sunghoon asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “Since we can’t go back in time, let’s just focus on the future now. The four of us—” (Sunghoon raised his chin and notions towards himself, Sunoo, Niki and Jake.) “—have already made our decision.”

“Now it’s time for you guys to make yours,” Sunoo finished.

With that, all attention was focused towards them. Surprisingly enough, the first one to say anything was Jungwon.

“I want to be with her too,” he confessed. “More than anything.”

Sunoo, Niki and Jake all smiled at his confession. Sunghoon immediately looked at Jay, urging him to give his response. As if this was the final verdict on a trial, and there would be no turning back from whatever decision he made at this moment.

Now or never, his eyes seemed to say.

Jay sighed before lifting a hand to his forehead, massaging the skin there as if he were getting a headache.

“I don’t like how rushed this all was… but I’m not going to give up the chance to be with Mila.”

Sunghoon raised an eyebrow, sending there was a ‘but’ hidden somewhere. And he was right.

“But…”

For some reason, Jay looked over at where Heeseung was sitting. The eldest had his head bowed and was fidgeting tirelessly with his hands. At that moment, they realised that he had barely said a word throughout the whole conversation — something very out of character of him, considering he was usually the one who urged them to reach an understanding whenever there was a disagreement.

“Hyung?” Jungwon asked worriedly. “Why don’t you say something? This concerns you, too.”

Heeseung let out a dry chuckle. If only they knew just how much this issue really concerned him. Heeseung could sense the worried look that Jay was sending him, but Heeseung didn’t pay it any attention.

This was something he needed to do himself.

“I also have something I need to tell you,” Heeseung started, piquing the others’ curiosity. “It’s something I should have mentioned a long time ago…”

Jungwon and Niki shared equally confused looks. Jake, too, seemed like he had no idea of what was going on. But Sunoo and Sunghoon had looks of deep concentration, as if turning the cogs in their head. Jay, on the other hand… he knew exactly what was coming.

 “So?” Sunoo asked on behalf of the others. “What is it?”

Jungwon then asked, “Is it something to do with Mila? You know… about why you guys were being so distant around each other.”

All eyes turned to Heeseung, ranging from suspicion to curiosity. It seemed everyone there was aware of the rift that came between Heeseung and Mila, and Heeseung wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He knew things were far from good — but for everyone to be aware of it…

Heeseung sighed. He nodded.

“I never told you guys. Only Jay knows about this, because I told him the other day. But me and Kiara dated.”

“WHAT?!” Almost everyone exclaimed in unison.

“When?!”

“Why?!”

“How did we not notice anything?!”

As questions filled the air, voices overlapping each other in surprise, Heeseung sighed. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy — but he had to do it if he wanted the others to understand why things were the way they were.

“Before you say anything, can you hear me out first?” Heeseung asked. “I want you guys to get the full picture — but at this rate, we might be sitting here all day.”

There were some looks being exchanged, as if in silent communication. Another day. Heeseung might have felt pride swell in his chest at how clear the bond between his members was. But now, he was too tired — and too determined to power onwards while he could.

They all nodded, agreeing to let him speak.

So Heeseung did.

He told them everything from beginning to end: the arrangement between him and Kiara, the way Mila had stumbled upon them kissing, the confrontation that led to Mila essentially cutting ties to him… Everything.

Heeseung expected to feel shame, to feel embarrassed by what he was saying. And some part of him was. After all, how could he not? His actions had led to Mila’s heart being broken — the one they could all swear they loved. 

But more than anything, he just felt relief. Like he was breathing in air for the first time after having his head submerged in water. 

And by the end of it, all was silent. The end of a storm. No crashing waves, no chirping birds, just complete and utter silence.

The first to speak was Jake.

“What a mess,” he said.

And no one disagreed with him.

‘A mess’ was exactly what this — what all of this — was. A mess of Heeseung’s own making, whether he intended it or not. Heeseung looked at the others, waiting for them to unleash their anger, their frustration, their insults at him…

What he got was very different from his expectations.

“You know…” Sunghoon ran a hand through his hair, a dry chuckle leaving his lips. “When I first noticed that you and Mila were distant, I was happy.”

“Hyung!” Sunoo shouted.

“What?” Sunghoon asked. “I was. And don’t act like I wasn’t the only one. Who here can honestly say that weren’t jealous of Heeseung-hyung?”

The room was silent.

“See?” Sunghoon asked, having proved his point. “It’s sick, I know— but a twisted part of me was hoping that you guys would stay like that.”

“Sunghoon,” Jay warned. “That’s enough.”

Before Sunghoon could respond, someone else beat him to the punch.

“No.” To everyone’s surprise, Heeseung was the one who said this. “I want to hear what he has to say.”

After all — first it Mila’s feelings for him, then Mila’s relationship with four other men, now this? What other struggles of his members was he blind to this entire time? Heeseung needed to know.

“Well, you heard me,” Sunghoon said. “I was selfish and I wanted to keep you guys apart, because I thought that meant I could have Mila to myself.” After a moment, Sunghoon scoffed and lowered his head in shame. “…But that wasn’t how I should have thought of things.”

Sunoo smiled as he realised where Sunghoon was going, a feeling of pride bubbling in his chest as he watched the older male come to term with his faults. Sunghoon, as if sensing his gaze, looked up and shared a small smile with him.

“Thanks to Sunoo, I realised how wrong it was to think like that…” Sunghoon turned his head and looked at Heeseung. “Nothing matters more than making Mila happy — and as much as I hate to admit it… she’s happier when you’re together.”

The other members couldn’t help but watch in awe of the maturity that Sunghoon displayed when he spoke. But none more than Heeseung himself.

“Sunghoon…”

Sunghoon smiled. “I guess what I’m saying is… despite everything, I want you guys to fix things between you.”

Jay nodded at his friend’s words. “We all do,” he said.

“I mean— Who are we?” Niki asked coolly. “We’re Enhypen.”

To say Heeseung was shocked was an understatement.

“You’re not mad at me?”

“How could we be?” Jungwon asked. “It’s not your fault. Yes, Mila was hurt, but… who’s to say you’re the only one capable of it? It could have been any of us that made the same mistake. It’s just that this time, it was you.”

“That’s right,” Jay said in agreement. “We all make mistakes. What matters now is what you’re going to do to fix it.”

Heeseung’s eyes scanned the expressions of the others in the room, his heart slowly freeing itself from its cage. He never would I have expected something like this — but he was all the more grateful. And for the first time after a long few days…

He felt hope.

“SO THIS IS IT, HUH?”

Mila turned to look at Kiara. As much as it was awkward between the two of them before, Mila couldn’t really stand to sit in silence. Not when the boys were making her anxious with their prologiend conversation (which still hadn’t ended by this point) and not when she wanted to be close to the older female again. The way they always have.

Kiara nodded. “I guess so… a lot has happened.”

Mila bit her lip. “Yeah.”

“I know it’s been kinda weird between us and all that. But just so you know…” Kiara turned to face Mila. “I missed talking to you like this.”

Mila smiled. “Me too.”

It was strange how easy that managed to get back on track. How easy it was to fall into conversation, as if everything that happened the last few days was nothing. But Mila supposed that’s how they always were: the two girls of the group, the two who always had each other’s backs.

They talked and talked, and suddenly, the anxiousness Mila felt about what the boys must be talking about was starting to fade away. And along the way, Mila even finally got to learn the reason why Kiara had been so consistently absent from the dorms recently.

“Youre dating Choi Yeonjun?” Mila let out a laugh. “You’re dating the legend, I’m dating four of our members… we came a long way from single teenage girls on I-Land.”

Kiara smiled. “You’re still a teenager, though.”

Both the girls giggled, before a comfortable silence overtook them. However, there was still an underlying question there, lingering between them —  one Kiara had been meaning to answer for a while.

“Are you still mad at Hee?” Kiara asked.

Mila was quiet.

Was she mad at Heeseung? She couldn’t really tell. Her emotions were a mess — one moment she was happy, the next moment she was sad, and then after that she felt too tired to feel anything. But nothing confused her more than Heeseung did.

Actually, no — nothing confused her more than the boys did.

She hadn’t met any people who challenged her heart and her thinking the way they did. The fact that seven distinct individuals, all so different in nature all had an equal hold over her heart was unimaginable. The Mila of a year ago never would have imagined it. It was hard to say what was what when nothing she had gone through was like anything she ever experienced before.

Mila hummed as she thought of Kiara’s question.

But before Mila could say anything, there was a knock at the door.

“Angel?”

Mila’s eyes widened. She immediately sat up on her bed, the action making her heart feel like it would fly out of her mouth. Mila shared a look with Kiara, before the latter quickly helped Mila fix her hair.

The boys were finished talking now? And that voice — it was Jay! Why was he here? What was happening?

“Just a second!” Mila yelled out panickedly, her heart beating rapidly against her chest. Once Kiara was done fixing her hair, she kept off the bed and flew towards the door.

She swung the door open.

And when she did, she almost choked on her spit.

“Heeseungie-oppa?!” she exclaimed in surprise.

“Sorry. I asked Jay for a hand.” Heeseung smiled awkwardly. “Can I come in?”

Mila swallowed nervously, unable to form words in her shocked state. She had just been mulling over how conflicted her feelings about him were — but now he had to show up at her door? What was she supposed to say?

That she hated him? That she didn’t want to see his face?

Or did she say that she loved him? That she didn’t want to go a single day longer pretending like he was a stranger?

“I— well— I mean—?”

But then there was a different matter: Jay was standing there, and she had no idea what to say to him either. Was he still mad? Was he mad at her? Did he—?

“I’ll leave you two to it.”

Mila’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when Jay brought Mila into his arms, his hand finding the back of her head and bringing it to the crook of his neck. She got a noseful of his scent, the strength of it making her weak in the knees, so she had to grasp onto the back of his shirt for support. They stayed there a little bit longer, with his hand stroking her hair. And then, as if that weren’t enough to send Mila’s senses into overdrive, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“We’ll talk more soon,” he whispered.

“S-sure…?” Mila replied in a daze.

(At least she now knew he wasn’t mad at her —  but she wasn’t sure if her heart could handle whatever that was either.)

With that, Jay left. As if that weren’t enough to boggle Mila’s mind, Kiara suddenly stood up from the bed.

“Wel, I guess that’s my cue to go,” she declared. Before Mila could protest, she was already making her way out the door. “I’m going to visit Yeonjun-oppa. If you need anything — don’t call. You have seven other people in this house you can ask for help.”

“Wha— Eonnie?!” Mila protested. 

But it was too late. Kiara had left without so much as a glance over her shoulder.

And Mila was left alone with the man that both broke her heart and made it race.

Heeseung sighed, seeing Mila’s conflicted expression. 

“Milana,” he said softly. “I know we’re not on the best terms right now… but can we please just talk?” Heeseung pleaded. “I don’t care if you don’t want to say anything to me — just please listen to what I have to say? And if you still don’t want to hear what I have to say… I’ll leave you alone.”

Mila frowned. 

One on hand, she wanted to turn up her nose at him and kick him out the door. But on the other hand… she didn’t want to leave things as they were. Even if things were awkward, and even if things could never go back to how they were — at the very least, she wanted to end things with no regrets. She wanted them to say everything they had to say.

Mila nodded and sat down on the end of her bed. “Okay. You can talk.”

Heeseung sighed. For a few moments, he stood there, unsure of what to do. But then, he took her by surprise.

He got down on one knee, so that he was in front of Mila, looking up at her, his arms on either side of her legs.

Mila’s eyes widened. “What—?”

“I’m sorry.”

Mila’s heart became still. Did she just hear that right?

“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt,” Heeseung said. His eyes were wide and earnest as they gazed up at Mila, pleasing her to hear him out. “I made a mistake— I admit it. And because of it, you… your heart was broken.” 

Mila frowned. On one hand, he was apologising… but on another hand, what was it for? Mila could curse him out all she wanted as the bad guy, but the truth was he was anything but that. Frankly, Heeseung was free to make his own decisions. That meant kissing who he wanted, when he wanted, regardless of what Mila felt about it. She knew that. Deep inside, she knew it all too well.

But the heart wanted what it wanted. And Mila wanted him — so when she couldn’t have him… her heart convinced itself that she despised him for it. That it was his fault.

But it wasn’t. Not one bit. Deep inside, Mila knew this. And now it was time she accepted it too.

“Why are you sorry?” Mila asked quietly, her voice unnervingly calm. “Why would you be? You don’t really mean that, do you?” She furrowed her eyebrows. “I mean, you got to be with Kiara-eonnie. You should be happy—“

“No.” Heeseung's voice was firm in its denial. “No… she’s a good friend, yeah. But she doesn’t make me happy like you think she does. Not the same way you do.”

Mila’s heart skipped a bit. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I was an idiot,” Heeseung said. “You asked why I’m apologising? Because I was too stupid to realise that you’re the one I wanted all this time—“

“No!” Mila shot up from her bed. She couldn’t control the way her voice shook, despite her efforts to keep it stable. She shook her head as if trying to erase the words from her kind. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that again.”

She witnessed him kissing another woman with her own two eyes — and that broke her heart into bits. It took her forever to get to this point. To be able to talk to him without breaking down into tears. But he was going to tell her that she was the one he yearned for all this time? What sort of cruel, twisted joke was this?

“Say what?” Heeseung whispered gently. “The truth?”

“Lee Heeseung, you’re the worst!” she said, tears stinging her eyes.

“I know,” he replied, his voice soft as ever, despite Mila’s rising tone. “I’m the worst because I never realised how much you meant to me until it was too late.”

“You liar!” Mila exclaimed. “I don’t believe you!”

Heeseung stood, tilting his head down to look at Mila so that he was a breath’s width away from each other. His eyes were sad, his heartstrings tugging painfully at the sight of Mila denying his feelings for her. And why wouldn’t she? He has done nothing to give her reason to believe him, and he wanted to change that more than anything.

“What do I do to make you believe me?”

He lifted a hand, as if to sweep back Mila’s hair, but she took a step back to avoid his touch.

“Nothing!” she said. “Just— I—ugh— I don’t know! Okay? And I don’t care! I don’t want to see you!”

Heeseung’s heart twisted as Mila edged away from him, until her back was against the wall, and her head was hung low. But there was no turning back now. No matter what Mila hurled at him, he was here to stay.

“Mila…”

“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Mila said, her voice shaking as tears fell down her face. “You kissed another woman in front of me and now you’re saying you love me and not her?” Mila let out a humourless laugh. “You’re crazy. I’ll never believe you.”

Mila was losing her mind. That much was clear. When Heeseung attempted to step closer to her, she grabbed one of the plushies on her bed and threw it at him. Heeseung caught it without batting an eye, before setting it down gently on the bed where it belonged.

“I can’t believe you—“

Another plushie thrown.

“You heartless—“

And another one.

“Inconsiderate—“

… And another one.

“Jerk!”

One by one, plushies were thrown. But each and every time, Heeseung would catch them and place them back on the bed until Mila had run out of both plushies and distance between herself and Heeseung. Before she could make a grab across the bed for more ammo, Heeseung pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

“Where did you learn all those curse words from?” Heeseung whispered into the top of her head. “They don’t suit you.”

Mila ignored him. She weakly hit his chest, her sobs even more apparent.

“Let me go!” she said. 

Heeseung simply hugged her tighter. “I can’t. I don’t want to.”

He didn’t want to lose her. Never again.

“I—“ Mila hiccuped. “I hate you!”

A tear fell down Heeseung’s cheek. “I know.”

He buried his nose into the top of her head, as more and more tears started to build up. He had forgotten what it was like to hold her like this — to feel her heart so close to his and the warmth radiating from her figure, to feel the way she so perfectly fit in his arms. It was like coming home after a long trip away. It felt right.

“I said I hate you!” Mila sobbed.

Heeseung closed his eyes. “And I love you.”

Silence.

Heeseung sniffled as his eyes became flooded by tears, streaking down his face like rain down a window. His body shook slightly with each breath, causing him to hold Mila closer — if that was even possible.

“I don’t care how long it takes,” he said. “I don’t care if you end up hating me forever… I’m too selfish, and no matter what I do I can’t let you go.”

Heeseung tilted his head back so that he was looking down at Mila. Her eyes were all ready from crying and her cheek flushed from how much yelling she had done, but he couldn’t care less. There was nothing he found more beautiful than her, no matter what she looked like — whether she had just woken up, whether she had just finished crying, or whether she was looking at him like he was the worst of the worst. He loved every side of her that she could possibly show him. And he wasn’t going to give up because of a few insults.

“You can hate me and insult me all you want,” Heeseung said. “You can fight me too if it makes you feel better. Just whatever you do… please don’t push me away.”

Heeseung brought a hand up to wipe Mila’s cheeks, despite the fact that his own were wet too from crying.

“Please,” he whispered, as if in prayer. “Just let me stay like this with you.” He leaned forward so that his forehead was leaning against hers. “Please… my love, I’m begging you.”

For a few moments, Mila couldn’t say anything. Then, she sniffled, glaring weakly up at Heeseung. “I still hate you.”

“And I still love you.”

Silence.

And then…

“S-say it again,” Mila said weakly.

Heeseung inhaled. “I love you,” he croaked out.

“Again.”

Despite himself, Heeseung let out a laugh.

“I love you.”

And no matter how long it took for Mila to see it, he would never stop reminding her. And even after that… he would never stop saying it. It might take forever, but that was okay. He had time. Besides…

Any wait was worth it, if it was for her.

“WELCOME BACK.”

Mila and Heeseung had both just left her bedroom when she found all of the boys in the kitchen, waiting for them. She couldn’t help the way she rushed over, throwing herself at Jake, who had his arms wide open for her.

Jake chuckled and rubbed her back.

“We have something to ask you,” Jake said. 

Mila sniffled and pulled back from the hug to look at Jake questioningly. She then realised what was happening: the boys standing in a semicircle around her — with Heeseung joining them to stand at the end — while looking at her with smiles on their faces.

“Why are you all up to?” she asked sceptically.

At her question, Jake slowly let go of her before moving to stand in line. Mila, confused at why he was suddenly walking away, whined and followed after him, causing the others to chuckle fondly at her.

“No, no,” Jake said, smiling so wide his cheeks must hurt. He placed his hands on her shoulder and walked her back to the centre of the semi-circle. “Stay here.”

“Why?” Mila asked. “What’s happening?”

There was some more laughs, before Jungwon slowly walked up to Mila, his cheeks burning bright red.

“Wonnie?” she asked.

“We all decided he should be the one to ask you,” Jay said with a smile. “After all, he is the leader.”

Mila’s eyes widened. Her heart started to palpitate in anticipation, butterflies threatening to flow from her mouth as they flower around hysterically in the out of her stomach. She couldn’t believe this was happening — but at the same time, she very much wished she wasn’t dreaming.

“A-ask me what?” 

Jungwon went to stand in front of Mila, before clearing his throat. “Mila-noona.”

Mila blinked. “Yes?”

“I…” Jungwon started, his face serious, albeit very red from the blush on his cheeks. But after a few seconds, he started to giggle. “I had a whole script I was supposed to say… but now that you’re here, I forgot.”

The other boys laughed around the duo. “Ayeeeee.”

But Mila couldn’t help herself. Her eyes started to water — and nothing had even started yet. Perhaps she was jumping the gun a bit… but she couldn’t help the overwhelming wave of joy that swept over her.

“What is it?” Mila asked softly.

Jungwon but his lip, before reaching out to touch Mila’s arm. Then slowly, he dragged his fingers down, sending goosebumps across her skin, as his hands latched onto hers. He peered up at her through his eyelashes, eyes sparkling with unsaid emotion.

“I like you,” he whispered. “A lot.”

Mila’s knees felt weak at the sudden confession. But Jungwon wasn’t finished.

“We all do, actually,” Jungwon said. “We fell for you — harder than you realise.”

Mila’s eyes went across the room, observing the warm gazes in their eyes. There was no denying it; Jungwon was telling the truth. But then again, he was never one to lie about things like this — it was just that Mila had taken so long to realise what was in front of her.

But it was better late than never. And she was here now.

“I fell, too,” Mila confessed back. “For all of you.”

And it wasn’t easy, either. There were as many tears as there were smiles; as much pain as there was happiness. But it was worth it, Mila decided. They were worth it.

Jungwon smiled, his eyes holding a galaxy of stars within them.

“Then in that case… will you be willing to accept us — all of us — as yours?” Jungwon bit his lip before looking down shyly.

“I know we don’t have much at the moment,” Jay said. “If we could, we would have waited a bit so we can take you somewhere nice and then give you a gift—“

“No.” All eyes fell on Mila as she spoke. She swallowed, her eyes watering as a wide smile broke out on her face. “I don’t need any of that… all I need is you all with me.”

Sunoo stepped forward. “Well you do. You have us all — if you want us.”

Mila didn’t need to think twice.

“Of course I do!” Jungwon stumbled back in surprise when Mila suddenly threw her arms around him, but quickly caught himself in time and wrapped his arms around her in reciprocation. “Yes, yes, yes — a million times, yes!”

There was laughter. And then, one by one, all the boys gathered to hug her in the centre.

At that moment they knew, they were complete.

— 1 YEAR LATER —

“What’s this surprise you were talking about?”

Jay smiled as Mila tugged his sleeve, the other boys behind him as they followed her to the living room. It was April 21, 2022, marking a year since they all became official, and the moment the clock struck midnight, Mila was dragging them to the living room, claiming she had a special gift for them.

“Just wait and see!”

Mila softly pushed Jay onto the couch before rushing over to grab the TV remote. As she fiddled with a HDMI adapter cord to connect to her phone, the boys whispered among each other.

“What’s going on?” Jake asked. “Do any of you know what she planned?”

All eyes turned to Sunoo.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t know anything, either — I’m just as clueless as you.”

“Even Sunoo-hyung doesn’t know,” Niki said. “I guess she was serious when she wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Now I’m even more curious,” Jungwon said.

Before anyone else could say anything, Mila started to shush them, as she tapped away rapidly on the screen of her phone. “Okay!” she exclaimed. “Here it comes!”

At that moment, all eyes turned to the screen.

And what they saw shocked them.

It was a YouTube video — and not just any, either. It was a newly uploaded video on their channel that they were only now just seeing. And on the thumbnail was Mila, holding a microphone.

And judging by the title, was a video of Mila doing a cover of ‘Only’ by Lee Hi.

“What’s this?” Heeseung asked, his voice soft with awe.

Mila smiled as the boys all turned to her with questioning looks.

“I secretly asked the company to let me record this… because I wanted to give you something special for our anniversary.”

Without letting the boys ask anything else, she played the video.

Immediately, soft piano began to play… followed by Mila’s voice, sweet and soothing as she sang the words to the song, her eyes conveying every emotion that she felt.

No one would know. They wouldn’t know the song was for the boys, that the ones she was singing about were those in front of her right now. But the boys did. They knew. And they couldn’t tear their eyes away from the screen as they watched their girl give her heart and soul through her performance.

The reactions were varied. But none conveyed anything less than unconditional love.

On rainy nights…

Heeseung swallowed, realising just how far he — how far they all — had come with Mila. But especially after what happened between them… he didn’t know if he’d ever have the chance to witness such a beautiful moment like this. But here he was.

Or on lonely daytimes…

Jay smiled, as he reminisced all the feelings he felt the day that they came together as one. He remembered his desperation, the heartache he felt when he first thought he no longer stood a chance with her — all replaced by the gratitude he felt for having her now.

Please colour me with your shiny light…

Jake couldn’t help the giddiness in his stomach, as he thought of the words that Mila was saying in the song — and what he would give to hear them all the time. To always be with her, whenever he could. To be able to wake up to her smile and fall asleep with her in his arms.

I’ll do better…. 

Sunghoon lowered his head with a soft smile, as he realised the things that brought them all together, were one of the things he was lost grateful for. And despite his initial reservations, he couldn’t be more happy that they were all in this together.

When you promise we will stay together…

Sunoo teared up as his mind conjured all the memories that they had made together — and the prospect of all the memories they had yet to make, in their bright future together, wherever it was that future would take them.

Now I believe…

Niki bit his lip, as he thought of just how much had changed since he came to Korea. From that young, brash kid, trying to make his way in the world — to the young man he was now, who finally knew where he belonged.

With the one I was desperately looking for…

Jungwon inhaled deeply, his eyes watering, as he was unable to contain the feeling of pride for his members — and for himself. For how far they all came not only as individuals, but a group. How they all grew, because of the simple, but complicated, thing that was love.

My oh, my oh, my oh, my love…

Mila looked at all the boys, whose eyes were fixed on the screen, a tear falling down her cheek as she realised just how lucky she was to be with them in this life. How grateful she was that she got to meet them — got to love them.

Be my only love…

At that moment, they all — one by one — turned to face her. A smile crossed Mila’s face, before running over to them. Without a word shared, they came together in a hug not unlike the one they shared one year ago.

Every step we take, it’s like a dance we perform together…

But if one looked closely enough, they would notice that they held each other tighter, and closer than they did before. A testament to how strong their bond had gotten.

My oh, my oh, my oh, my love…

It wasn’t easy — but nothing worth doing ever was. They would have their highs and their lows; there would be the good times and the bad. They would cry, they would laugh; they would fall and they would fly. But no matter what it was that came at them, they would get through it — the same way they always had.

Together.

Be my only love.

— THE END… FOR NOW —

taglist: @lanamoonroh @3amstarlight @nikitopia @nee-issaire @one16core @onlyuyu @xinikons @clar-iii @shinrjj @curly-fr13s @euniceruiz11 @dearyjw ( couldn’t be tagged )

the art of love

hyunjin x reader

warnings: established relationship, hyunjin takes reader on a pottery date, very fluffy, reader isn’t the best at art, hyunjin is whipped

please remember to reblog and leave your feedback!

The two of you had tried to get a little creative with your dates recently. You loved art although you admit it’s more for fun than it is serious for you.

You can’t draw to save your life. You’ve tried teaching yourself. You’ve tried following tutorials. Even poor Hyunjin has tried to help you but it was hopeless because most of the time it ended up with your lips on one another and completely forgetting about the anatomy he was trying to teach you in favor of exploring a more hands-on way of learning.

Long story short you and creating things did not mix. But that didn’t mean that you didn’t love to try. Hyunjin, god bless his soul, had praised everything you made and kept it all, saying that they were more precious to him than anything else in the world.

When Hyunjin had proposed a pottery date you had been a little iffy.

“You saw the monstrosity I made on our toy pottery wheel at home. You really think this is a good idea?”

“You made a beautiful planter pot,” he assured you, patting your head gently.

You pouted as you stared down at your shoes.

“It was supposed to be a mug.”

Hyunjin cleared his throat before retracting his hand.

“And what a beautiful mug it was.”

You whined before hitting Hyunjin softly in the shoulder causing him to wince and dramatically clutch his arm.

“It’s alright love you don’t have to make anything from scratch if you don’t want to. They already have things made that you can paint.”

You nodded.

Painting, you could do painting.

Hyunjin beamed as you took his offered hand in yours.

The shop had many things to choose from—ranging from flower pots to large vases and even small figurines.

You decided to paint Hyunjin vase since you knew he liked to keep fresh flowers in his studio. However, once the paints were laid out in front of you, you began to draw a blank.

Hyunjin was working at the wheel, opting on creating something from scratch while you painted.

You bit your lip as you contemplated what to draw, then it hit you.

Laying out a bunch of different paints in a variety of colors you began coating the pottery. You took your time with the strokes, making sure that it was perfect. It would take a couple of weeks to get back to you since it had to be glazed as well, but that worked since you wanted to put some flowers in it before showing Hyunjin.

Minutes turned into an hour and suddenly you felt a presence looming over your shoulder.

“Whatcha painting?”

You jumped before letting out a whine and shielding the vase from Hyunjin’s curious gaze.

“You can’t look! It’s a surprise.”

Hyunjin’s eyes glinted with a bit of mischief but he relented, taking a step back from you.

“I can’t wait to see it baby. I’m sure it’s perfect,” he pressed a kiss to the top of your head before heading back towards the wheel.

You really hoped he would like it.

A couple of weeks later, a box arrived at your doorstep with the word ‘FRAGILE' stamped in big letters at the top.

You took it into the apartment, making sure to take extra care in unboxing the contents.

You gasped as you examined the cups that Hyunjin had made, completely in awe of their beauty.

Then you unboxed your vase and while it wasn’t perfect you were pleased with it. You had painted the image of the night Hyunjin had taken you out on your first date.

He had brought you a single flower then—one you didn’t know at the time had meant everlasting love. It was one of your favorite memories and you wanted to give that moment you held so close to you back to him.

You left soon after to visit a flower shop, getting an arrangement of the exact flower he had gifted you to put in the vase. Once you arrived back home and arranged the flowers to your liking, you made your way to his studio before placing it on his desk.

You squealed happily at the final product, hoping that he would like it despite your clumsy brush strokes. 

When Hyunjin arrived home that evening he took note of his pottery sitting on the table.

“Oh wow! They turned out really nice.”

“They did,” you exclaimed as you pressed a greeting kiss to his cheek. 

“You did amazing, my love.”

Hyunjin flushed slightly under the praise before setting the pot down and turning towards you. 

“Does this mean that I get to see what you made now?”

Suddenly you felt nervous.

“Y-Yeah it’s in your studio.”

Hyunjin barreled down the hall and into the room in search of your gift.

When he finally spotted it he let out a soft gasp before carefully lifting it to inspect it.

He was quiet for several moments which made you worry.

“It’s um—,” but before you could tell him he was turning to you with glossy eyes.

“Our first date.”

You nodded as you watched him examine the vase.

You had tried your best to paint a perfect image of that night. Two figures, one slightly taller than the other and a slight flower being held out between the two. 

“This was the flower I gave you. You even put them in the vase for me?”

You nodded as you shifted on your feet.

“Do you like it? I-I know it’s not perfect but—.”

Your words were silenced with the soft press of his lips against yours. 

“It is perfect baby. I love it so much—I love you so much. Thank you.”

You smiled against his lips before pulling him into another kiss.

Maybe your art wasn’t so bad after all.

first time using a petname ㅤ⊹ㅤ all of enha

femreader ( fluff smau ) content. bsf / friend!enha, honestly you're more in a 'talking' stage of a relationship rather than friends but i digress, mentions of throwing up in sunoo's texts, heeseung overuses his petname oopsㅤ𖹭ㅤ 🗒

---

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 (𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇)

🏐 — tsukishima kei x f!reader

— synopsis: something about the stars has always intrigued tsukishima, how even in the dusk of the night, the brighest star would light up the world and burn itself in the process. he also didn't know what to do when that star had turned into the person who seemed to make his days just a little bit better.

— warnings: nothing much, except angst. just soft yet also mean tsukishima who doesn't know what to do with those feelings of his. maybe he's a little ooc. based on "andromeda" by weyes blood.

stars, so miniscule, so far away from his touch, so beautiful even with the stygian waters that it swims on.

every night, after practice, tsukishima would walk his lethargic body home with his headphones in his ears, his neck bent backwards it could snap. but he didn't care, he wanted to watch the stars move and follow him.

he wanted to watch all the dead stars who shined the brightest, the stars that had turned into supernovas, the stars that are created. and he felt at peace— the soft rhythm and reverb of the song humming in his ears, and the stars that lead him home.

and occasionally, adding to his visual and auditory senses, a sweet drink on the palate of his tongue made his evenings better.

tonight was no different.

he had just bid his goodbye to his teammates, although timidly and without masking that annoyance he'd always bore against the little tangerine boy who always had a little too much energy.

tsukishima begins his journey, using the stars as his map, putting his hands in his pockets. yamaguchi hadn't joined him for tonight. actually, he hasn't joined him in a while, always walking yachi home, using her "safety" as an excuse (it really was the reason, but obviously there was another one).

still, he didn't mind the absence of his friend.

anri's soft doo-wop brings pleasantries in his ears as the song begins. his fingers tap inside the pocket of his gym shorts. he looks up at the night sky and connects his own constellations. tsukishima wonders if those stars ever know that they're being admired by millions of people in this planet, even if they'd died billions of years ago.

as a child, he used to think that the stars were the meteors that had killed his beloved dinosaurs. and every night, he would refuse to look up. but then akiteru, despite finding humor in his little brother's childish belief, had decided to tell him the difference between meteors and stars. and then added more information about those stars.

so now tsukishima loved three things: dinosaurs, strawberry shortcake, and stars.

his feet patter softly on the cobblestone that serves as a pathway to his home, the cool air drying the sweat off his temples and cooling his back, which reminds him to wipe his sweat when he gets home before he showers to avoid getting sick.

and then he suddenly comes in contact with a small body.

just outside of sakanoshita market, tsukishima's chest bursts in sudden (but light) pain from the person's elbow. and that person had emit a small noise of surprise and pain, stumbling backwards.

tsukishima was just about to snap, tell the person to look where they had been going and call them an idiot when his eyes met yours.

they're wide, irises darkened from the night's haze, and you're clutching your elbow, headphones askew. you rub the soft skin, a small pout on your lips and tsukishima wonders how painful was it for you to pout like this.

then you look at him and he feels the air stuck in his throat.

pretty.

"oh! sorry. i didn't mean to bump into you." you bow in front of him, hands pliant at your sides. tsukishima's at lost for words, lips only parted and looking at you. he still hasn't said anything when you bring yourself back up again.

"it's- it's okay." he finally stammers out, pausing his music and moving his headphones off from one ear. "sorry for not looking either." tsukishima bows slightly, just tilting the top half of his body.

you smile lightly at him, hanging your own headphones around your neck, scanning his figure. he suddenly feels shy under your curious gaze, watching as you read the print on the left side of his chest.

"karasuno...? ka-karasuno! i go there," you laugh lightly, like that discovery was the greatest news you'd ever heard. "i don't think i've seen you around. well, maybe because i'm new. i'm such a dumbass."

though the last sentence being a whisper, tsukishima contradicts: "n-no. i haven't seen you around either." he takes one step forward towards you, didn't expect himself to be nearer than he'd planned. "tsukishima kei."

you tell him yours in a polite manner, with a smile so bright you'd beat the stars that hover both of your bodies. "you're part of the volleyball club, aren't you?"

he hopes you don't see his wavering blush in the dim lights. "yes."

"cool! what position?"

"middle blocker."

"that's so cool," you face him, neck bent upwards to meet his eyes, hands forming into excited fists in front of you, like how hinata would get enthusiastic about something. "you're really tall. i bet, i mean if you could, you'd hit the streetlights when you jump."

that theory piques his curiosity. his eyebrows raise. "i haven't given it a thought. i will try it soon though." tsukishima finally removes his headphones and leaves them around his neck. he points to the bag in her hands. "what'd you buy?"

"chocolate milk. ukai-chan is your coach, right?"

"how'd you know?"

"i see him enter the gym everyday after classes. he owns this store," your head motions behind you. "can you tell him his mom is a little mean? i actually preferred it when he was watching over the store."

tsukishima smiles a little. "can't. he's our coach. he might actually drop us for his store."

your laugh may be brighter than anything else in existence.

"okay, well, see you around tsukishima-san." you smile at him, the pearls of your teeth glinting in the moonlight, the whiskers of your eyes denote the glee you've obtained from him and tsukishima softens just a little. you wave at him and walk past him.

he turns around, and even though your back was to him, his hand lifts and waves at you.

tsukishima walks home happier than he expected, a small smile lingering on his face.

🏐 —

"who you looking for, tsukki?"

yamaguchi serves his friend a teasing smile, holding the tray carefully in his hands. tsukishima looks down at his friend and deadpans:

"shut up, yamaguchi."

"sorry tsukki."

they sit down on the table hinata and kageyama sit on, the two bantering quite loudly on which flavored milk was the best and is advisable to increase their energy. kageyama says: "banana, you dumbass."

hinata argues that: "it's chocolate! it makes people hyper for a reason. could you watch your language?!"

tsukishima and yamaguchi sit beside each other, their backs to the window of the cafeteria, which meant that tsukishima has a view of the entire room, his height being an advantage despite the large crowds.

he blindly brings his bento out of his box, his eyes never leaving the heedless crowd. yamaguchi, ever the curious, most specifically the friend who always wondered what it is that ran through tsukishima's mind, asked again: "seriously, tsukki, who are you looking for?"

tsukishima huffs. "just sawamura-san. i need a-advice. on my blocks." the lie slips easily off his tongue that yamaguchi can't decide between believing him or forcing the truth out of him.

but tsukishima is slightly disappointed that even after five minutes, he still can't see the color of your hair amidst the throng of students. though his face might say otherwise (rbf), he can't help but feel a little sad.

maybe the star isn't shining so bright today.

he pokes and prods at the vegetables placed on top of his rice, stabbing the carrot and shoving it in his frowning mouth. he doesn't notice that hinata has been observing– no, looking at him. because hinata was never the type of person who could be discreet.

"stingyshima, you look sad," he doesn't know if it's a tease or not, but maybe it is. "is he looking for someone, yamaguchi?"

"i don't know," he shrugs. "he says he's looking for sawamura-san."

"he's right there," kageyama jabs his finger behind him, seeing daichi in line for the cafeteria food. "your blocks haven't been good? figured."

"sorry if i haven't lived up to your standards, king." tsukishima sneers. yamaguchi and hinata laugh, kageyama burning in his seat.

eating his lunch ended quite faster than he thought it would, and soon he finds himself walking along the hallway of the school building waiting for the remaining free time to end. so his boredom drags his feet towards the nearest vending machine.

the device on his ears blocked out all the haze and noise of the world, which left him in his own environment. it eased the nerves that trickled along his veins, rubbed the tension off his shoulders. in his own milieu, he could think whatever and say whatever and do whatever.

just like how stars form themselves however they please, explode and die whenever they want to. tsukishima didn't have better knowledge of stars than he knew of dinosaurs, but it was his own thought and he had the freedom to think whatever it is (although of course, with just a little bit of accuracy and validity).

tsukishima's eyes scan the plastic divisions for the sight of any strawberry drinks. when they land on one, he types the number and slips the cash in. the conveyor belts begin to twist.

but much to his dismay, when the drink was pushed, it never fell.

he tuts in frustration, his head falling backwards to release a tired, irritated sigh.

and then you pop up beside him.

tsukishima jumps lightly when he sees you put your head out and smile at him, clutching his heaving chest. somehow, your laugh had managed to drown out the song in his ears; he doesn't mind though. he thinks your smile was the most beautiful orchestra ever conducted.

he puts his headphones around his neck. "they're incredibly annoying, aren't they?" you smile up at him. "here, i'll help you."

suddenly, you begin to violently shake the vending machine. tsukishima almost feels embarrassed for you, but the lack of audience has rid that feeling. you, with your height, looked like a child angrily throwing a tantrum and had transferred your anger towards an object.

nonetheless, adorable.

finally, the strawberry drink fell down, and you squat to pick it up from the port to give it to him. tsukishima takes it from you and says: "thank you."

"no problem!" you beam at him. "i was actually looking for you earlier. i couldn't see you. did you eat at your classroom?"

tsukishima removes the plastic of his straw. "no. i was at the cafeteria." he doesn't want to admit he's looking for you too, but he hopes you can see it in his eyes.

(you don't. to you, he looked uninterested and entertained at the same time. very hard to read)

"aw, alright. well, i was just wondering if you'd like to, uh, switch emails?" you're shy and he finds it amusing. "not switch like i use yours and you use mine, but switch like i take yours and you take mine... so we could text each other..."

he wants to say that he knows, he's not dumb. but you– your eager eyes of softness look up at him and he forgets how to be so cruel and cold. like you were the kind of fire to melt the falling snowflakes. tsukishima nods.

"sure." he pulls his phone out with one hand from his pocket and hands it to you. you take it and give your phone to him, and it felt smaller in his hands.

when you exchange phones again, there's shyness written across your face. tsukishima can't help but blush with the way the sun kisses your skin the way it would to tainted windows– radiating colors so beautiful he can't help but simply be at awe towards you.

a star is created somewhere far away. tsukishima's heart skips a beat.

"i was actually looking for you, too. earlier." he admits, putting his phone back in his pocket. "i couldn't see you. sorry."

"don't be sorry!" there goes that smile again, always making his heart flip. "we both struggled anyway."

"do you want anything?" he points to the vending machine. "chocolate? banana? strawberry?"

"can i try yours first?"

tsukishima pauses, the straw in his mouth just finishing his sip. there's innocence in your eyes that riles him up the wall in ludicrous ways. he slowly takes the straw out between his lips and hands it to you, with you greedily taking it from him before his hand met you halfway.

he swears he could've been redder than any other person in the world when you so shamelessly put his straw in your mouth.

should i be worried about the germs or the fact that we kind of just kissed but not really?

when you sip, you swallow and he can see your brain ponder on what decision you were going to make. you hand it back to him and say: "yeah, i like that one, too."

how could you act like you didn't just drink from his straw?

tsukishima gets you one, this time without shaking the vending machine and hands it to you.

"thank you." you say, your smile adding to your gratitude.

though it seems as if time has reached its end and a familiar sound rings across the hallway that reminds the both of you that the free time was over. tsukishima sees your pout but you don't directly show it to him.

"well, see you around, tsukishima!" you wave goodbye to him, walking away.

tsukishima stands still, staying at his place. his drink was no longer cold, the condensation dripping down his fingers.

somehow, the colors are brighter, the drink was sweeter, the tension from his body had disappeared, and everything else felt lighter. and even if you were no longer standing in his proximity, that luster you left behind etched itself to him.

you were now his new environment.

🏐 —

you. hi tsukishima! 3:13pm

when his phone dings, he places his waterbottle to his side, tuning out the sound of squeaking shoes and bouncing balls. he sees your name on the screen. he doesn't hesitate to text back.

tsukishima. Hi. 3:13pm

his palms sweat from simply typing that greeting. but his heart seems to beat faster and his chest feels light. he didn't expect that you'd text right away. nevertheless, he feels elated to see you text him.

you. didnt see u at the gates earlier during dismissal, do u have training today? 3:15pm

tsukishima. Yes. 3:15pm

you. oh really? until what time? 3:18pm

tsukishima. 7. 3:18pm

you. okay! thats kind of tiring haha. 3:20pm

tsukishima. It is. 3:20pm

he winces at the possible tone he may deliver, so he adds:

tsukishima. Haha. 3:20pm

"bruh, you text so lame."

it seems that tanaka had been peaking over his shoulder as the conversation ensued. tsukishima hugs his phone to his chest and glares at him. "that's invasion of privacy."

"and that's how to lose a girl," he points at his phone. "you text like you're so uninterested."

yamaguchi looks at the two. "who's tsukki texting?"

"some girl named, uh,–"

"no one." tsukishima snaps. "no one."

"oh, it must be the one tsukishima was looking for earlier," hinata runs– or skips towards them. "stingyshima flirting? i wonder how you look like. i'm smart, but i won't tell you that i'm a smartass because i wanna impress you with my blocking skills. i'm so cool and so tall."

tsukishima hates how hinata mimics him. he bites back. "oh, i'm hinata. i'm so small."

much to his dismay, even sugawara had joined in. "you could tell her that, you know, i'm so tired. but i'm drinking water so that's good enough for me already."

he responds with respect, though dripping his annoyance. "sugawara-san, please don't mimic me."

his phone vibrates again, and everyone else leans in to look. tsukishima snarls and moves away from them, clutching his dear phone to his chest.

you. any chance we could drink later? 3:27pm

you. not alcohol, of course. just milk or juice, or a shake, even yogurt. although, we can't drink yogurt... 3:27pm

tsukishima feels yamaguchi peer over his shoulder, and he knows its him because of that distinct smell of his. he doesn't hide the phone away even when yamaguchi says: "she's asking you out! go!"

"calm down, yamaguchi."

he shakily types his response.

tsukishima. Sure. By the store again? 3:27pm

three dots, he's awaiting for your response.

you. okay! see you there :) 3:28pm

🏐 —

his practice ends at 7 on the dot. tsukishima has never left faster in his life.

though he was always the first to leave, bidding them goodbye before walking his way home. this was different– his goodbye bore that sense of urgency with a twinge of excitement as he clumsily slipped his regular shoes on, walking as fast as he could away from the school campus.

coach ukai had actually offered that they go back to the store together, but tsukishima was in a rush.

it was an eight minute walk to the store. he got there in five.

you were no longer wearing your school uniform. you had your hands at your sides, rocking back in forth from the heels of your feet, your headphones bobbing along with your head as you listened to your song. tsukishima wonders how he would approach you.

a tap on the shoulder? yell your name? appear in front of you? should he turn you around violently and smile awkwardly? should he–

"tsukishima-san!"

he didn't realize that he had spaced out, blinking. you approach tsukishima as you discard your headphones to hang them around your neck, stopping just a few friendly feet from him.

"how was practice?" you pip. "you look exhausted."

tsukishima reddens. "i'm alright. same practice anyway," he rubs the back of his neck. "should we go inside? i'm thirsty."

he hopes he doesn't sound too demanding. but you reacted normally, gave him a pretty smile, and led your way towards the store.

coach ukai's mother sat behind the counter, sporting the same cigarette in her mouth, a garbled greeting escaping her without bothering to look up as she read her newspaper. you and tsukishima find your way to the back where the drinks are.

he opens the door for you, the appliance bulb casting a white glow over your face as you bent and searched for what drink made your veins twitch with excitement.

"by the way, you know yachi hitoka?" you balance your hands on your knees, looking up at him. "she's your manager right? i'm in her class!"

"really?" he queries, swallowing thickly. "you're really smart, then. it's one of the higher classes."

"i try," you shrug shyly, looking back at the selection of drinks. "anyway, i asked her about you. she said that you were a middle blocker, 6 foot something, and that she liked your friend yamaguchi? i don't know, she said it then she denied it."

"oh, she likes him alright," he chuckles. "he walks her home every night."

"really?!" you pick up two cans of coke and clutch them to your chest, standing upwards. tsukishima shyly reaches for another strawberry drink. "i'm mad at her for not telling me that."

you make your way to the front with tsukishima following behind you. you place the contents on the counter, the woman behind muttering something you can't discern as she scanned your orders.

"are you allowed to stay out a little longer?" you ask him, the soft beeps of the drinks grazing his ears. he shrugs again, reaching for his wallet.

"yeah, sure. do you want to do something?" he places the payment on the counter before you were able to take your own cash out. you pout.

"i was going to pay for mine."

"it's alright. it wasn't that expensive, anyway." he smiles a little at you. and it was the first time tsukishima had ever smiled kindly at anyone, except yamaguchi, his mom, and akiteru. "you were saying?"

you pop open your can. "i found this really nice spot where you can stargaze. and, honestly, i'm bored and tomorrow's the weekend. i would have invited you to do this tomorrow, but we're here now!"

he laughs through his nose. "i'm free anytime."

when you both approach the exit, coach ukai and the team stand by the open doors. tsukishima stops on his tracks, his mouth parted the slighest as you tip your head back to drink your soda. when your head comes back in place, your eyes settle on the crowd upon you.

"oh, hello ukai-san!"

tsukishima looks at you through his peripherals before darting his eyes back front. they all snicker, eyes widened at the sight in front of them— cold, narcissistic, mean tsukishima kei, with probably the nicest girl in all of karasuno. yachi waves at you.

"is that why you were rushing to get out, tsukishima?" ukai teases, a cigarette hanging loosely off his lips. "i see you've met my number 1 customer."

he blushes when he's exposed, and he ignores the way you give him a surprised glance.

"so you must be the girl he was texting earlier," tanaka approaches you, offers his hand. "forgive him. he sounds lame when he texts, but trust me if you saw his face he looked like–"

"tanaka-san." tsukishima almost pleads.

while shaking his hand, yachi approaches you with yamaguchi behind her. "this is why you asked me about him!"

"shut up, yachi."

tsukishima could die right then and there. melt into a puddle of sweat and embarrassment. there were words exchanged between you and his ever loving team, the heat on his face becoming hotter and hotter at every second.

he wishes he could leave now.

by the time hinata begins to ask you a question about tsukishima's attitude, he sighs loudly. "excuse us, but we have to head out now."

you look at him again. "we do?"

"yes, we do," he looks down at you. "you told me, remember?"

you smile at him, recollecting your invitation. "oh, yes! we should get going."

you offer your goodbyes to the curious group. tsukishima wallows in discomfort, walking away with his shoulders slightly slumped and a hand in his pocket.

"i like them," you tell him, drinking your coke. "they're nice."

"they're really not," he takes a sip of his drink. "if you hung out with them, you'd be just as annoyed as i was."

his "joke" makes you laugh. first he thinks what could be so funny about his comment, then he realizes you don't actually know that he wasn't joking. the thought makes him swoon just a little.

"so why stargazing?" his and your feet are synchronized, stepping on the uneven cobblestone to the destination that tsukishima still doesn't know. your shoulder is closed to his when you walk; he resists the urge to put his hand out so that they'd graze your fingers, feeling the heat rub on his calloused skin.

"yesterday, when you walked home, i looked back and saw you look up at the sky," you reply. "and i realized that "oh, he stargazes too!" so i decided to bring you to my spot."

"your spot?" you hum in agreement. "why?"

"because it's nice to share the feeling of looking up at beautiful stars." you throw your now empty can onto a nearby bin, opening your second one. "i figured maybe you might feel the same way i do."

if it was admiration then yes, he felt the same way you did.

🏐 —

tsukishima realizes the walk was 10 minutes away from his home. now you're both standing at a hill where you can see all the houses nearby and karasuno at the other side.

you sit down on the ground, he copies you. his bottom sits on the soft soil, his fingers prickled by the grass, and the cold smell of the meadow enters his nostrils.

he thinks that everything is happening a little too fast – he had only met you yesterday, exchanged emails earlier, went out to buy drinks, and now you're both sitting at a hill stargazing like it's a date. your optimism and kindness shakes him a little, leaving him with an unknown thought of what he could possibly do as of this moment.

yet he's still here, watching you gaze at the stars, the sheer glow of the moon kissing your cheeks, the stars reflecting off the mosaic of your eyes. you're radiating this cordial heat that wraps around his right arm that rests just millimeters away from you.

"told you it's pretty," you beam, lips parted, never sparing him a glance. "you see that? that's cassiopea right there."

you point to the sky and squint, and it's only then tsukishima takes his eyes off you and follow the direction of your fingerprint.

you trace the invisible strings that connect each star to one another. blearily, his imagination turns those strings into silver. tsukishima draws nearer towards you, his shoulder now bumping yours, his pinkie grazing the skin of your finger.

"andromeda isn't here yet. but it's the one i've been waiting for the most," you turn your head to look at him.

tsukishima's breath hitches when he realizes that he may have underestimated how close the proximity he had created was, your breath fanning his face. he senses your surprise, the way the bottom of your eyes twitch lightly and your nose scrunches a little.

"i figure maybe they arive in a few weeks," he murmurs. he can sense your surprise and says: "you're not the only one who knows about stars."

"yeah? figured you were more into dinosaurs."

"that's true," he sniffles, you giggle. "when i was a kid i thought that the stars were the ones who killed the dinosaurs. so every night, when i see them, i would always cry 'cause i thought that they might fall here and kill us all."

"pessimist, huh?" when your head tilts up, your chin bumps his shoulder. "anything else i should know about you?"

"there's one thing i want to tell you but i've been making it plainly obvious."

"you have a knack for strawberries."

"yes," he smiles a little, the whites of his teeth appearing between his thin lips. "i like music."

"so do i."

"yeah? what genre?"

"...anri..."

"really?" tsukishima's eyes brighten, maybe even brighter than the stars. "i like her music."

"i thought you were kind of a japanese rock kind of guy."

"i can be many things," you look back up to the sky, your eyes darting between each individual star like you're tracing another constellation. tsukishima's tracing the features of your face like it was his constellation.

"yachi says you're mean, but in a way that brings up the team's drive to play harder," you say into the wind. "please don't be mean to me. i cry easily."

tsukishima wonders if he can even smile more than he is now. "i'll try my best. you're giving me a lot of reasons to be mean right now."

"but you're not being mean to me right now," you poke his glasses and shove them to his face, hurting the bridge of his nose. albeit tsukishima doesn't mutter a single complaint. "you're just being dorky."

"i am not!" he balances his body with one hand behind him, the other tugging on the end of your hair.

"now you're just being childish!"

your laugh beats out all the songs he had to search for to complete every single of his playlists. it was as soft as silk, as dulcet as violins; it was something he'd play on repeat when it played on his headphones. and your sweet laughed matched the way your face became even more beautiful.

tsukishima feels his heart beat a little bit faster.

a star explodes. supernova.

he no longer feels wearied from practice, his body languid from comfort in your presence. and just like last night, he was happy his day ended with something that lacked the usual bothersome feeling in his chest, but something that decompressed every constraint muscle in his body and think of something else that made the corner of his lips smile and his heart elated.

that's why when he went back home, when his mother and akiteru (who was visiting) were dead asleep, he silently descended to his room with a smile on his face, brushed his teeth with the sound of your laugh echoing in his ears, changed his clothes with your scent somehow lingering, and went to be thinking about you.

🏐 —

the past few weeks were more eventful than the days he had to train for the inter-high preliminaries.

the more he saw you, the more he felt himself unwinding like a diurnal motion, every trust and rigor travelling through his veins whenever your aura touched his opalescent skin.

you were the succor to his weary bones. you were the happiness that he never truly found in others. you were the light brighter than the stars could ever give him in the dark.

secrets were passed the way notes would in classes.

you got a sweet tooth? what dessert do you like?

strawberry shortcake, tsukishima said. no regrets, no embarrassment. pure adoration.

did you know that velociraptors aren't actually that big?

yeah? how'd you know that, tsukishima?

it's called reading, he'd roll his eyes. you're in the highest class and you don't read?

his retorts were never used to add insult to injury. that's what he liked about you– you knew when he was serious and when he wasn't despite the fact that tsukishima believed that he was hard to read. it seemed like you were able to read him better than yamaguchi has.

his heart aches at the thought. the ache, painful but so good, but something that he could not discern the true intention.

but he could never let you in him. never in his life.

you. saw a frog and it looked like you. loser. 12:51pm

you and tsukishima had exchanged countless of texts that contained topics that he never expected himself to be indulging in. that familiar ding! of his phone reminded him of you already, because you'd been the only one who constantly texted him more than yamaguchi has.

(also because, well, he set up a different tone for you.)

tsukishima sees your name pop up in a rectangular notification on his screen. he opens it with sweaty hands and a towel over his head, his thumbs typing out a snarky reply.

tsukishima. How could a frog look like me, (y/n)? That's dumb. 12:51pm

he ruffles his towel over his damp curls, the sweat on his temples being sucked into the cloth. he watches the three bubbles appear on your side and you say:

you. because i said so. look! 12:52pm

the attached image looked far from what tsukishima looks like. it was a regular frog, beside a pond, with no thoughts. he rolls his eyes.

tsukishima. I don't see it. 12:53pm

you. thats because youre not LOOKING. do u see his eyes? literally you. i think its the mouth, haha 12:54pm

he laughs either way despite not having seen any similarities. but laughing seemed to be a mistake, as he forgot where he was at the moment.

"quit laughing, tsukishima. you'll slack off," kageyama taunts from afar, face etched into an arrogant smirk. yamaguchi approaches him, peeking over tsukishima's shoulder to snoop on the conversation.

"are you worried i'll ruin your game, king?" tsukishima rubs the back of his neck, tilting his chin upwards. "my apologies."

you send him another text: omw there to see u :p 12:59pm

the latter's growl was overpowered by yamaguchi's hum of interest. "tsukki, that frog does look like you."

"yamaguchi, how nosy are you?"

"nosy enough to ask when will you tell her that you like her?"

tsukishima's eyebrows furrow. he did not like you. during those weeks, the both of you did more than just exchange texts in any time of day– often you'd meet after classes and buy a drink when he didn't have practice; sometimes you'd wait for him until seven in the evening so you'd both go up the hill again and talk mindlessly about things that tickled your brains.

in those few weeks, he had learned more about himself than he ever had with anyone else.

and he feels, though never actually given any attention to, that his days ended with a smile on his face rather than feeling boredom creeping up his shoulder like a grim reaper would on a dying soul.

instead, it felt like he was resurrected; tsukishima felt like a shooting star falling through evening, the fire pulsing through his veins as he fell. with you, he felt like everything else had color, that everything else made sense.

his life became brighter that it seemed like hinata's hair was actually on fire from the bright orange hues.

so no, he did not like you.

"i don't like her." he wipes the sweat that dripped onto his glasses. "don't be ridiculous."

"yesterday, when you were eating, you kept talking about how this (y/n) girl told you how the dinosaurs from jurassic park were created. and all of us were talking about one piece."

"so? it's way more interesting."

"but not her?"

"yamaguchi," he bemoans. "nothing is interesting about her."

that lie. that sickeningly, macabre, heartbreaking lie that it even hurt him to say it. tsukishima also doesn't understand why yamaguchi has a horrified face plastered on him, but he realizes he wasn't looking at his friend, and was looking behind him.

he whips his head around.

the tips of your shoes had mud on them from the dampened soil. your umbrella hung loosely around your wrist and dripped on the ground. your fingers clasped around a small contained with what seemed to be strawberry shortcaked that looked delectable enough to make his stomach hurt. and your chest heaved from what he assumed was the aftermath of rapid walking.

despite the sight that had made his head spin, the affliction that twitched from your frowning lips and the gloss that made your eyes shine from dejection had turned the situation into something so monotone he feels like his soul had just left life.

a star dies in the middle of the galaxy.

tsukishima thinks the regret plastered on his face may be seen. he hopes that it is.

the sound of squeaking shoes and ricocheting balls continue, but the ringing of his ears are louder. you swallow thickly, shuffling on your feet, and approach him hesitantly like he'd burn you if you were near him.

"i brought you this because you looked so pale yesterday after you practiced," you say softly, though he could hear the pain in your tone. tsukishima takes the container from your reaching hand, and swears he sees your breath hitch when his fingers graze yours.

"thank you–"

"see you around, tsukishima," you bow, before you hurriedly leave the gymnasium.

it felt like the room was shrinking rapidly on him, his muscles pressing in on his body in a suffocating manner. yamaguchi puts his hand on tsukishima's shoulder, leaning down to check in on his distraught friend.

"tsukki," his eyebrows are raised in concern, voice loud enough to snap tsukishima out of his pity daze but low enough that everybody else remained distracted. "hey..."

"i'm fine," he looks up at him. "it's nothing. i'm- i'm fine. let's just go back to practice."

his fists clench when he shoves the cake into his bag and walks back into the court. his blocks are futile when he thinks of your eyes. his serves hit the net when he thinks of the frown pasted on your lips. and he feels himself at the bottom of the game when another star dies.

he just doesn't know if it was his or yours. could a heart break two times?

🏐 –

tsukishima had a crisp trepidation towards the true veneer of love.

he believes he was too young for that, that he was in a stage where he would have this deep passion for things that were alive albeit something that he can't touch nor interconnect with– hense is unfathomable love for dinosaurs, stars, and strawberry shortcake.

so whatever it is that he was feeling for you – he doesn't know if it's love. tsukishima feels like he could die if he didn't see you for a single day; his feet and his body restless up until you both meet after practice.

tsukishima is even more restless now.

there wasn't a single text from you since 12:59 in the afternoon.

there was almost a hundred texts from tsukishima since 3:00pm, the time he had excused himself early from his practice.

he lays on his bed, his headphones on but no music. he wasn't in the mood to put himself up in brighter spirits. his back rests uncomfortably on the thick mattress, his curls splayed across his pillow, a hand on his chest and a hand holding a fork, his feet spread apart.

and the strawberry shortcake you gave him rests on his chest, half eaten, his mouth chewing sadly on the sweet delicacy.

"do you think stars have thoughts?" you asked. tsukishima found this beguiling and preposterous simultaneously, however the curiosity that happened to lift his lips into a dazed smile made him release a teasing retort:

"you certainly don't."

you threw a grape at him. he caught it with an open mouth. the sun was about to set, but the warmth was enough to prevent the both of you from shivering idiotically on the hill at the cold breeze. "i'm approaching an epiphany, asshole."

your vulgarity made him smile more. "celestial bodies, more specifically stars, do not have thoughts. but they're alive, and they function into a cycle."

"unorthodox minds like mine go out of the box," you rolled your eyes. "sorry, i'll put it in simpler terms so you could understand. i have a very creative mind."

"oh yeah?" tsukishima tilted his head sideways to present his interest. "and what'd you mean by that?"

"you know how stars die and create themselves?" you queried. "it's like how phoenixes rise from the ashes as they're reborn. but when a star resurrects, they're called "zombie stars," right?"

"yeah."

"and i'm not saying that they have a mind of their own, but if you were to input your own thoughts into a star, then yeah, it's like they resurrect themselves to live on with life over and over again, and don't you think that's exhausting? they're like dead stars, and they still shine brightly, and it's ironic, right? because something that has been dead billions of years ago still shine. it has a meaning into it that people just... completely ignore."

"so an analogy?" his eyebrow raised.

"yeah, something like that," you licked your lips. "when you see a bright star, and you don't know if it's a dead star. but imagine stargazing and finding love in something that has been dead long ago."

tsukishima's body softened. "uhuh."

"but what if you keep loving that star? and that star just receives so much of that love that they're able to resurrect themselves. well, obviously loving a star isn't actually gonna bring it back to life because there's a separate scientific explanation for that, but i'm saying that– that if you love something, or someone, hard enough that you're able to bring light into their lives, then that's possible.

and they take all that love for the benefit of their life and... they burst into something beautiful called supernovas."

tsukishima stared at you, his gaze ever so adoringly. "and what's the point of this epiphany of yours?"

"that loving someone that has been gone inside their body is possible to save them and bring them back to life to turn them into someone even more beautiful."

tsukishima sits back up, a whiplash from the quick commotion.

it was already night when his thin curtains were tainted black from the dark glow of the evening.

he pushes himself off his bed, slip his way out of his home and clumsily puts his shoes on to find you.

and he knows exactly where you are.

so it's no surprise when he sees you all alone, laying down on the meadow of the hill, blooming flowers grazing your cheeks in any way the wind blows. tsukishima stands and stares at you longingly, his fingers twitching beside him.

"(y/n)."

he says your name like an oath to the stars. you sit up, hearing his voice, cheeks dry with tears melting onto your skin. tsukishima's heart breaks the slightest when he brings himself up the hill.

"what are you doing here?" you ask him, voice so small he'd think you were whispering.

to his surprise, tsukishima falls onto his knees in front of you. he finds it endearing that despite the reduce of his height, you still look up at him. then he takes your hands into his, his thumbs tracing every ridge of your knuckles, looking deep into your eyes.

"i didn't mean what i said." he declares like he was under jurisdiction of the judge. "you are–... the most interesting woman in the world. the most beguiling, the most entrusting, the most beautiful."

your eyebrows furrow, hands shaking in his grasp. "what are you saying?"

"that i'm an asshole." he admits. "you are so interesting that every epiphany of yours pulls me back on the ground and into you. that epiphany you had about dead stars that resurrect themselves from getting so much love? shit, (y/n), that may be me."

you let out a tiny gasp, maybe a breath of reliefz his face is so close to yours, his knees in between your legs, bumping the side of your thighs. "what?"

"i–... i don't know if you love me. you don't have to. but you've made my days brighter and gave my life meaning that i felt like i was resurrected. like all the pieces in me were brought back together. and everything else just felt... alive."

finally, you smile. just a little, but it was enough to make the grass greener and the color of your shirt turn pastel, your eyes vibrant in the night. "yeah?"

"yeah," he laughs, idiotically he may add. "i like you. i like you so much. i like you more than i like dinosaurs."

you guffaw, throwing your head back, hands never letting go.

a star resurrects. a supernova explodes.

"i like you more," you say, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

it was enough for him to jump on you to press his lips on your awaiting mouth, gently pressing you down on the grass, his hand on the back of your head to soften the blow as he settles himself in between your legs.

his mouth, sweet with strawberries and ardor, his hair soft like flowers when your fingers tangle on the golden locks, his glasses pressing against the space between your eyebrows and the bridge of your nose, his tongue that hovers respectfully on top of your bottom lip.

innocent, lips full of solicitude, he kisses you deeper and with care, his head tilting to open his mouth the slightest so that he could get closer to you. the small sound that emits from your mouth makes him pull back and smile shyly.

his eyes had the galaxies reflected off his eyes that it made space seem like they were golden from his irises. you take his glasses off, placing them beside you, and let your hands rest on his face; tucking his hair behind his ear as you do so.

and above your intertwined bodies, andromeda swims across the stygian night sky, traced by invisible strings. just as tsukishima predicted.

tsukishima could stare at you for the rest of his life.

tsukishima loved four things: dinosaurs, strawberry shortcake, stars, and most especially:

you.

reblogs and feedback are appreciated!

---

bye I was so confused I thought it was about y/n posting the pics not the other way around 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

"PICTURES I POSTED ON MY IG STORY JUST FOR MY CRUSH TO SEE" TREND W/ JAKE

pairing! non-idol!jake x gn!reader

genre! fluff, college au, social media au

warning! nothing, just teeth rotting fluff

notes! found this trend to be fricking adorable so I wanted to do it with jake cuz I feel like he'd do this type of thing lmao, enjoyyy

@ boigyu 2024. don't plagiarize, steal or translate my work

✶ৎ SMARTER BABY

📄 ────𝗂𝗍’𝗌 𝗇𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝗂𝗅𝖺’𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗉𝗌 𝖽𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝖾

2024 pairing. poly!ot7엔하 x fem!member oc cw. suggestive themes, profanity, mentions of alcohol, making out; hyung line-centric req. mila dancing to lsrfm ‘smart’ & engenes/enha reaction ❨ BACK to LIBRARY ?! ❩

“YOU LOOK PRETTY.” Riki wrapped his hands around Mila’s waist form behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her apply lip gloss in the mirror. “What’s the occasion?”

Mila was usually the type to dress up, but today it seemed she put a bit more effort into her appearance than usual — not that he was complaining.

She wore a cropped long-sleeve wrap top that showed off the curve of her waist where his large hands rested on her bare skin, just above a chain that hung loosely her like a belt and was decorated by several charms that chimed whenever she moved. She wore a matching white wrap skirt with layers of chiffon that were arranged like flower petals around her waist and a pair of white platform sandals that would make the shorter members of the group cry with the added boost it gave to her already impressive height.

It just so happened that when she got back from he schedules for the day, Mila had been invited to film a challenge for Le Sserafim’s new song, ‘Smart’. “You would actually eat this up, not gonna lie,” was the exactly phrasing Yunjin had used— which, to be perfectly honest, Mila wouldn’t argue with.

So of course Mila had accepted the request, because what else was she supposed to do? Besides, she had already wanted to do one in the first place: the song was constantly on her mind from the moment it released, and had her wishing that she was able to do a similar concept in the future.

“I’m going to film a challenge today with the girls,” Mila replied to Riki’s question. She looked at Riki after applying her lip gloss, their noses brushing against each other. “How does this look? It’s a new one.”

Riki’s eyes flickered down to her lips, a deep hum reverberating in his chest. He leant down and stole a kiss from her sweet lips. Mila gasped before slapping the young man in the chest, causing his chuckled to bounce off the bathroom walls with her giggles. As Riki leaned away from her hand trying to clean the lip gloss from his mouth, he furrowed his eyebrows as he swiped his tongue across his plump lower lip.

“Oh- strawberries?” he muttered in fascination.

Mila laughed at the younger’s expression. “That’s not edible, you idiot. Don’t go eating it while I’m gone.”

“Gone where?” Mila and Riki turned to see Jungwon standing at the door of the bathroom, his arms over his chest as he looked between the two. If Mila had looked, she would have noticed the way the younger male’s eyes raked over her appreciated, taking in the way her clothes perfectly complimented her figure.

“A challenge,” Mila said. “It was last minute, but Le Sserafim wanted to do one for their new song.”

She gently patted Riki’s hands, signalling for him to let go. Jungwon tilted his head as he and Riki followed the girl like lost puppies when she ventured into the kitchen, grabbing her handbag from the table. They had been so eager when their eldest noona had gone to her boyfriend’s dorms and their hyungs (save Sunoo, who was currently with one of his many non-idol friends) decided spend the night out drinking, thinking that it meant more time to spend for them to spend with Mila. But apparently, that was too much to ask of their workaholic girlfriend.

“What song are you doing?” Jungwon asked. He pulled Mila to him by the hips, lips jutted in a small pout as he rubbed his thumb against the home of the skirt, only to blink in surprise when it got caught in her waist chain. His breath caught in his chest as he slipped his finger away from the cold metal, letting it fall back onto the soft skin of Mila’s stomach. “This looks nice on you…”

Jungwon’s thumb traced a light path over the chain, smirking when he observed the slightest flex in the muscles of her abdomen. “Thanks,” Mila whispered.

Riki, not one to be forgotten, quickly, stepped behind Mila and took a seat on the chair behind her. In one swift tug, he brought the girl down on his lap. He hugged her closely with his chest against her back and his arms wrapped around her.

“I think I can guess the song,” he whispered as he placed a chaste kiss on her neck. He smiled cheekily as he slipped a finger under the chain around her waist and playfully tugged on it, evoking the childlike imagery of a young boy who would pull a girl’s pigtails to get her attention. “This doesn’t look like something you’d wear for ‘Easy’.”

Mila smiled at the youngest’s astute observation. It was hard to imagine the girl wearing such feminine clothing for a hip hop choreography. “You’re right. I’m doing ‘Smart.’”

Mila couldn’t help but be amused at the frown on Jungwon’s face as he took a hold of her hand. He gave it a light squeeze when she asked what was wrong. “Just try not to make it too sexy,” he said sulkily, “we already have too many Engenes trying to steal you away.”

“Awww, don’t worry. They’d have to get your permission first.” Mila cooed as she cupped the boy’s face and brought it down for a kiss on the lips. Mila turned to give Riki a kiss, leaving sugary lipstick marks on both of their lips as a reminder of her affections. “I have to go soon, but don’t miss me too much! Once I get back, we can cuddle and watch movies, promise.”

The two maknaes agreed (albeit sulkily) to let their girlfriend go for the night, watching as she walked away in her cute little outfit, her long legs carrying her away faster than they could turn to each other and think, The hyungs are going to go crazy.

THEY DID INDEED GO CRAZY. They were on their second button of soju when Sunghoon had pulled out his phone to check a notification he had received, only to end up freezing completely when he had clicked on it. The last thing he expected was to be directed to a video of Mila swaying her hips sensually in a miniskirt and waist chain like some sort of hypnotic effect pendulum meant to put viewers under a spell.

“What the fuck?” Sunghoon muttered under his breath, unable to tear his eyes off the screen of his phone— because damn it, why was she looking like that?

“What is it?” Jake asked, leaning over his best friend’s shoulder. The Australian male almost fell off his chair when he saw what was on Sunghoon’s screen. Jake cursed as he spilled his drink over his lap, reaching for tissues to dry the damp soaked his jeans over his thigh. “Shit!”

“What even?” Jay asked as he watched the man, both he and Heeseung having been distracted from their conversation because of Jake’s outburst. That’s when they noticed what was happening.

Sunghoon was holding his phone so close to his face it might as well be glued there. The way his eyebrows furrowed in concentration only made the two eldest males look at each other in confusion. Jay leaned forward, trying to peek at the younger male’s screen. “What are you doing?”

Sunghoon showed them the screen with a blank expression, as if saying, Look. We leave her alone for five seconds and she pulls this shit.

And like Sunghoon, the two eldest male’s had a similar initial reaction of complete silence.

Her tongue peeked out from between her plump, glossy lips and her eyes held a sultry look in them as she trailed the movement of her own hips while she turned her back to the camera. She bundled the long strands of her hair in her hands and lifted it to reveal the expanse of her back and shoulders, that damned red tattoo inked on the back of her neck.

And where did they even get started on the way her skirt (despite not being nearly as short as the stuff her stylists put her in) managed to draw attention to the curve of her ass, beset by the pinch of her waist in a way that made it impossible to look away, especially with how her hips were moving to the song.

For a while, it was completely silent and all of the completely still. But when a pair of college students in the booth next to the boys had looked over and managed to throw a not-so-discrete appreciative glance of the video on Sunghoon’s phone, the Ice Prince hastily shut it off and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans. He took his glass of soju and emptied it in a single shot, throwing his head back with the aggressiveness of which he tipped the alcohol into his mouth.

“I’ll be back,” he said, before walking towards the exit of the restaurant like a man on a mission.

“What even?” Jay turned to watch the younger man leave. “Where are you going?”

Jake eyed his best friend for a moment. He quickly excused himself to go bathroom while Jay and Heeseung were distracted by Sunghoon’s sudden exit. Then he grabbed his phone from his pocket, his fingers typing a quick message after locating Mila’s phone contact.

You: i saw your new tiktok by the way

You: how come i didn’t get a warning?

Jake bit back a smile at his girlfriend’s reply.

Baby ❤️: surprise 😘

Jake almost fell off his chair when a Weverse notification followed her text, and he opened it to find a selfie of Mila in the outfit she wore during the TikTok. It was shot at a high angle and featured a very intentional focus on the low cut of her satin top, which dipped to reveal the slightest bit of cleavage and the tattoo that trail of stars tattooed from her left shoulder to her upper left breast. The caption: ‘Hope you like my gift~’

Fuck, Jake thought as he downed another drink. His girl was going to be the end of him.

From across the table, Jay looked over Heeseung’s shoulder while the latter scrolled through the comments of the TikTok, thinking the exact same thing.

user1. HELLO?? MILANA?? BAI MINGLU?? 😭

user2. okay but why did mila have to go so hard on this

user3. GYAAATT DAYUM

user4. mila rlly be risking hip replacement surgery with those moves and i’m here for it 🙌🙌

Heeseung laughed at the last comment. He wouldn’t be lying if he hadn’t thought about just physically impossible it seemed that Mila could move the way that she did — especially when it came to her hip movements — and he got to see her dance almost everyday. He closed the comments to focus back on the video, eyes drinking in every detail and every movement.

“I’m smarter, baby, smarter~” Heeseung’s eyes drifted for he chain around her waist, watching the charms as they moved with ever sway of her hips, the way her skirt would accentuate her movements and lengthen her legs. There were two other girls in the frame with her — Kazuha and Yunjin — and yet his eyes remained on her the entire time. It was like the song was made for her, and yet she wasn’t even part of the group who sang it.

As Heeseung continue to smile down at his phone with pride and adoration, Jay turned his focus to his own phone, waiting the reply to the text he had sent Mila a few seconds ago.

You: make sure you get home safely ❤️

The reply came sooner than he would have thought.

천사  ❨ angel ❩ : is that all? nothing else? ☹️

Jay chuckled at her obvious attempt to coax praise from him.

You: get home safely first and then i’ll tell you anything you want

천사  ❨ angel ❩ : okay 💔

천사  ❨ angel ❩ : then i’ll rush home as soon as i’m finished here 💨

천사  ❨ angel ❩ : safely ofc

Jay smiled.

You: good girl ❤️

At that moment, Sunghoon appeared again, taking his seat next to Jake. Upon close inspection, one would notice the slight frown on his lips as he filled his glass again, silently speaking of what occurred while he was outside.

Sunghoon wasn’t going to admit that he had sulked about his girlfriend not inviting him to a private rehearsal of the ‘Smart’ choreography.

But, well, his members knew him well enough to infer that was what happened.

MILA KNEW HER BOYFRIENDS enough to know that by the time she got home, she was in for a mixture of sulking, praise and every other thing that lay in between those things. She had her phone to her ear as she unlocked the apartment, smiling as she spoke to Sunoo on the other end of the line, as the boy was yet to arrive home from his outing with his friends.

“You could have given us a warning before you sprung that on us,” Sunoo said. “I wasn’t mentally prepared.”

“Well, I didn’t know I was doing it either until a few hours ago.”

Sunoo laughed, followed by the sound of a car door opening. “What did I do to get such a sexy girlfriend? I think your hips are going to be the only thing in my mind for the next three days. You need to let me breathe before you pull something else like that again.”

Mila hummed. “I was thinking of doing an encore performance though,” she teased. “Maybe I should cover Yunjin-eonnie’s part on the floor?”

“Byeol-ah,” Sunoo said in a serious tone, causing Mila to pause on the middle of taking off her shoes. But his next words immediately erased any worry she might have had that something was wrong. “If you get on your knees in front of a camera, don’t expect the hyungs to be able to control themselves.”

Mila burst out into laughter. “And what about you? Are you included with the ‘hyungs’?”

There was a small silence before Sunoo replied, “You know I’d last longer than any of them.”

There was a sly undertone in Sunoo’s remark, as if he were both pointing out a known fact as well as proving a point. Mila’s face heated up at the suggestion — and yet, she couldn’t find it in her to deny it. Sunoo may not be as eager to show off as the others, but that didn’t mean he had nothing to show off if he wanted to… And, well, Mila would admit Sunoo was not as easy to drive insane as her other boyfriends were.

Speaking of the devil, Mila thought amusedly, when Heeseung appeared in front of her, arms wide for a hug. Mila laughed as she wrapped her arms around his middle, letting him hug her tightly to his chest and rocking their bodies back and forth. It was clear that he wasn’t fully sober. But Mila simply let him be, allowing the older to shower her in face with aggressive kisses and giggling when he bit her cheek.

“Mila is home,” Jay announced as he walked over to the duo, eyes warm with mirth as he looked Mila up and down. “You’re back now?”

Mila nodded. “Safely,” she said, reiterating their conversation through text earlier on. Jay smiled and stroked the top of her head.

“Good job today, you were perfect.”

Mila chirped a thank you in response, basking in the older male’s praises. At that moment, Sunghoon and Jake appeared from inside the shared bedroom of Sunoo, Sunghoon, Riki and Jungwon. Heeseung pulled away from Mila, allowing her to be swept away by Sunghoon who wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and and pulled her to his chest.

The front door to the dorm opened, indicating that Sunoo finally arrived form his own outing. The two eldest members dismissed themselves to greet the younger male, leaving Mila with Sunghoon and Jake.

“Finally,” he mumbled as he rested his cheek against hers. “Your TikTok filming took forever.”

Jake reached out to her waist, his eyes trained on the chain around her waist much like Jungwon had before Mila left. He didn’t say anything, simply admiring her while Sunghoon clung to her, seeking her affection. Mila giggled and kissed him on the lips. She only intended it to last for a second, but Sunghoon cupped her jaw, turning her head to him to grant him better access to her lips.

He swiped his tongue across her bottom lip, causing Mila to emit a small whine when he nibbled on the soft flesh with the point of his canine fangs. Sunghoon chuckled, before pulling back, unable to contain his amusement at her reactions.

“What was that for?” she protested. She looked at Heeseung. “Oppa, he bit me. Look.”

Heeseung chuckled. “Where? Let me see.” He tilted her chin up, his thumb brushing against her plush lower lip which jutted out as she pouted. Meanwhile, Sunghoon scoffed, lightly knocking away Heeseung’s hand. It just so happened that the door to the dorm opened, signalling Sunoo’s return from his outing.

“Oh, he’s back,” Sunghoon said. “I’m going to see if he bought the thing I asked from him.”

“Anyway,” Jay said with a smile, “Sunoo’s back now. Why don’t you get changed so we can watch a move together like you mentioned before? I’ll go get the movie set up.”

Heeseung followed him. “I’ll come with you.”

“Okay, then I’ll go get changed,” Mila said.”

Jake suddenly snapped out of his reverie, as if someone slapped him in the face. “Oh— wait a second… Why not wear it for a little longer? And you know… maybe even show us the dance again.”

Jake’s words caused Mila to burst out laughing. She playfully pushed him by the shoulder, but he chuckled his hand gripping her by the waist and pulling her with him as he staggered backwards.

“What?” Jake asked with a pout. “Don’t you love us anymore? Your poor boyfriends want to see you dance, is that too much to ask for?”

Mila rolled her eyes, pushing the male down onto the couch. “I doubt dancing is the only thing you want to see.” Mila smiled as she took a seat on Jake’s lap, her arms around his neck. She smiled sultry as she leaned into his ear, her lips brushing against his earlobe. “See if you can leave the movie early. I’ll show you then.”

Jake was almost embarrassed at how quickly he agreed. But then again, who was he to refuse? He had to play it smart.

BONUS SCENE. ‘WORK HARD IN SECRET’

“I’m smarter baby, smarter. Smarter baby, smarter.” Mila sang softly as she walked to her room, taking her earrings off along the way. She couldn’t wait to get changed into her pyjamas and cuddle with her boyfriends. She opened the door, only to jump in surprise when she saw Jungwon lying on her bed.

Mila laughed. “You scared me.” She walked to the bed and placed her earrings on the bedside table. “What are you doing in here? I thought you and Riki went to buy ice cream.”

They had texted her just as she was nearing the house that they went on a walk together, so she hadn’t expected to find Jungwon waiting for her inside her room. “We got back not long before you. Ni-ki went to shower and the hyungs were too loud so I decided to hide here until you got back.”

Mila hummed, not suspecting anything of the younger boy’s explanation. But she didn’t know the full story behind why Jungwon was here: in truth, since watching her TikTok challenge for ‘Smart,’ he already had a feeling that one of the hyungs would steal her away for the night. So naturally, he decided to get to her first, so that they could have alone time together.

But that was neither here nor there.

Jungwon sat up on Mila’s bed, watching as she removed the bracelet from her wrist. She began to reach for the clasp of their waist chain, only to be stopped by Jungwon’s hand reaching out to grasp hers. The girl raised a questioning brow as Jungwon pulled her towards him.

“Leave it on,” Jungwon said. He smiled as he pulled her in between his legs, his hands resting on her waist where the chain lay. “I like how it looks on you.”

Mila smiled, leaning towards him, so that her hands rested on his neck. They then smoothed their way down the breadth of his shoulders, reminding her of just how broad they were. “Yeah?”

Jungwon hummed deeply. “Especially when you were dancing.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, dark eyes taking in the sight of Mila before him. He was reminded of the way she moved when she danced, hips swaying rhythmically and effortlessly. His hands tightened around her waist, thumbs seeking the coolness of her chain. Mila smiled, endeared by his expressiveness. She leant down to place a soft kiss on his lips with the full intention of making it short and sweet.

But she was taken off guard when he suddenly hooked his hands behind her thighs and tugged her down on to his lap so that she straddled his waist, her skirt hiking up to expose more of her thighs and their bare skin to his touch. But despite her surprise, she didn’t fight him. Nor did she want to.

Mila could only surrender to the strength of his hold on her, knowing well she wouldn’t be able to escape — not that she wanted to anyway. She fully welcomed the possessive touch of his mouth as it devoured hers, lips locked in a passionate exchange of strawberry lip gloss and traces of vanilla ice cream.

Jungwon hummed when Mila’s nails scratched against his scalp and her slender fingers dragged their way through his hair, bringing his mouth closer to hers. At the same time, he pulled her even closer than before, his fingers massaging their way up her soft thighs and beneath her skirt, until the palms of his hand rested just underneath the curve of her ass.

He kept his hands there, using them to press Mila even closer against him, her soft breaths pressed against his firm chest and soft thighs bracketing both of his own. The only barrier between them was their clothes. As his tongue swiped across her fleshy pout, licking the taste of strawberries clean from her lip, she mewled softly against his mouth, melting against him completely.

And later, when Mila left her room with a pair of swollen lips and a poorly hidden hickey, Jungwon’s hyungs were left wondering when their baby leader became such a cunning feline.

Perhaps, they thought, he was the real smart one here.

NOTE jokes on the hyung line, they got upstaged by one of their maknaes 🥴 but srsly jungwon is drelt becoming such a problem - like he turned 20 and chose violence… that man needs to stop 🫠 on another note it’s my first time writing smth this spicy for him since he became an adult last year, funny it took me this long to even write about him making out with know touching and stuff 😆

TAGLIST. @em1ejiee @menichoi

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enhypen; how they’re protective over you

ot7 x reader | fluff/comfort | how they’re protective over you | tw: implied past sexual harassment, some violence

heeseung;

heeseung is always incredibly aware of your sensitivity and emotional state

so his protectiveness mostly comes in the form of protecting your happiness and joy

if he knows that somebody who’s judgmental of you or gives you anxiety is around, he’ll immediately try to distract you

he’ll make you face him; he’ll put a finger under your chin and make a silly face or crack a stupid joke, and you’ll be so entertained (or confused) by his antics that you won’t even notice the girl who hates you just walked in the room

“what are you doing? there’s people…” you breathed as heeseung held your chin, his face far too close to yours considering the fact that you were sitting with him on the set of a photo shoot where several other people were working

in reality, as soon as heeseung noticed the makeup artist who insulted you to your face, he instantly remembered how she made you cry last week and couldn’t stand the idea of having to see you hurt again

he focused all his anger towards her into love and care for you, which definitely pissed her off; not that either of you noticed anymore.

he focused all his anger towards her into love and care for you, which definitely pissed her off; not that either of you noticed anymore.

“how do you know i’m not a robot too?” you asked.

“hmmm…” heeseung pulled your face even closer to his so that your foreheads were touching.

“heeseung!” you giggled quietly, as if you were reprimanding him for the PDA that made you shy, but the hand you brought up to his neck said otherwise.

the makeup artist who insulted you had left the area by then, hating to see you look so happy and in love, and the director of the photo shoot had just called heeseung over.

“you’re too pretty to be a robot.” he declared, as if that made absolute sense, kissing your cheek before getting up to get back to the photoshoot, “coming!” leaving you blushing in your seat.

sometimes, if he can, he’ll try resolving conflicts so that you don’t have to.

even though he knows you’re better at arguing than him or more persuasive than him.

if he knows the friend who’s not agreeing with you, he’ll offer to talk to them so you don’t have to.

even if you say no he’s probably going to act so different around that friend or vaguely mention that you were trying to do the right thing to where they would know he’s on your side anyway, always.

jay;

if you asked jay if he was protective over you, he would probably say something like, “yeah, sure.”

but if you asked anyone else who knew him, it would be an ABSOLUTELY!!!

it’s second nature to jay to physically protect you.

whether that be through standing on the outside of the sidewalk so you’re not too close to the street;

or literally feeding you food from his chopsticks when he feels like you didn’t eat enough;

it’s so natural for him to be close to you and nurture you that he doesn’t even realize what he’s doing when he gets up just to move his chair at the restaurant next to yours.

“yah! she’s not gonna run away from you!” sunghoon teases him from across the table.

you laugh and jay’s just like ? “why would she run away from me?”

“you didn’t need to move your chair so much closer to hers.” sunoo laughs too.

jay just shrugs, “she was too far. right babe?” he turns to look at you, placing his hand on your thigh under the table and caressing it, like he always does.

you smile and resist the urge to kiss him. “right, baby.”

despite the fact that he should be grateful you didn’t kiss jay on the spot, sunoo cringes at how adorable and smiley you two are, right in front of his salad. “eww…”

jake;

jake is such a loyal guardian puppy boy that he’s always being protective over you in the way he hovers.

because creeps don’t even want to think about approaching you when jake is always touching or holding you somehow, hanging onto every word you say and laughing a little too hard at your half-assed jokes.

but if you’re feeling upset or sick, and jake can’t necessarily be bright and giggly, you’ll notice the intensity of his love for you and the protectiveness that follows.

even though he knows and loves the fact that you can take care of yourself, you won’t be lifting a finger as long as he can help it.

usually you’d go visit him at the dorm late at night when he’s finally free from his schedule, waiting on the couch with whoever else was there until he appeared

but if you had just been released from surgery, jake expected you to be knocked out at home and was planning on going to visit you instead.

“ahhh!!” jake practically screamed when he saw you chilling on the couch with jungwon, as if there weren’t a 8% chance you wouldn’t have survived the surgery (you tried to tell him it was a tiny number, but that didn’t stop him from freaking out). “what are you doing here?!”

“nice to see you too,” you laughed.

“oh my-“ jake rushed over and grabbed your face, kissing your forehead quickly, “god, baby, you should be lying down.” he kept kissing all over your face, overwhelmed with how incredibly relieved and concerned he felt at the same time.

“i feel fine!” you laughed, long and slow, and jake noticed something was off. “i’m still under some anesthesia sooo…” you tried to reassure him, but it only sent him into overdrive.

in no time, jake carried you off the couch, kicked his roommate out, lay you down on his bed, fed you dinner you both didn’t even realize he was capable of making, and gave you a massage until you fell asleep.

he continued squeezing and kissing your shoulders even after you were asleep, glasses on and phone in hand as he googled the best way to take care of someone who had just gone through your surgery.

because if you weren’t going to be gentle with yourself, at least he was going to be.

and god help anyone who tried to enter the room or be louder than a single decibel…

sunghoon;

sunghoon is a free-spirited person, a free-spirited friend, and a free-spirited lover. he has always been independent and loved your independence as well

which is why it was shocking to see the way a switch flipped in him whenever he sensed you were uncomfortable, or in danger

“what is it?” sunghoon asked worriedly, as he saw you frown over your phone for what felt like the 100th time that day

“it’s just… you remember what I told you about that guy from class?”

“is he bothering you?” the stern tone he asked this with alone made you feel protected

he rubbed your back soothingly as he took your phone from your hand, scrolling through hundreds of creepy messages from the classmate who had been harassing you

when his caller id appeared, sunghoon didn’t even think twice before answering, “hello.”

“did you change your voice?” the boy stupidly asked. “i know this is your number. you can’t hide.”

hearing that pissed sunghoon off so much. he couldn’t stand knowing that someone was stalking you to where you felt fear, and like you couldn’t escape them.

sunghoon would do anything to make sure you always felt safe, which was part of why he immediately got up and stepped outside to finish the phone call, not wanting you to hear the aggression in his tone.

you would never find out what sunghoon had said to him. he didn’t want you to know— that’s just how he rolled. all you knew was that whatever he had said was so powerful that you never saw the boy ever again. anywhere. he had even dropped out of school.

“please tell me if anyone ever causes you trouble, okay?” sunghoon made you promise.

jungwon;

jungwon is someone who greatly appreciates things like manners and propriety, which is why it was almost amusing to witness him throw all respect for someone out the window the moment they hurt you.

“you’re not sitting there.” jungwon said to the man who had taken a seat on the opposite side of you in the waiting room of a music show. jungwon knew he was pushing it by saying that to someone older than him, who he worked with, but he didn’t really give a shit if he knew they were scaring you.

“excuse me?” the man asked. “who are you to tell me where to sit?”

jungwon was incredibly rarely the type to do any form of PDA, but he instinctually wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his chest.

“who are you to be a creep towards every girl you work with?” he retorted without hesitation.

the man had no choice but to grumble and leave, knowing it wasn’t a good idea to piss off the leader of the group he was working with, but little did he know it was wayyy too late. jungwon decided right then and there that the man was done.

you were so afraid of the man that you were still shaking after he got up and left, and jungwon was surprised by the intensity of your reaction. it broke his heart and made him tear up a little as he held you. he had a feeling you didn’t feel comfortable telling him the full reason why the man scared you, but he never pushed you to tell him.

jungwon rubbed his hand up and down your arm, pressing a long kiss to your hair and whispering, “you’re okay, i’m here,” until you stopped shaking.

he did not hesitate to get that man fired with his leader card the second he had the chance to speak to the managers, to say the least.

sunoo;

sunoo can and will end a motherfucker for you.

he’s not afraid to speak his mind, but especially when it comes to you.

however, his first priority is to validate you and wipe that frown off your face.

you sat across him at a cafe explaining what your so-called friend had said about you with tears streaming down your face, and sunoo was nothing but gentle as he squeezed both your hands in his, thoroughly listening to every word you said

“i’m so sorry he said that to you. you’re amazing and he’s stupid.” sunoo’s praise of you and insults of your ex-friend made you laugh. “he wouldn’t know how to do your job even if he had five years of experience. he’s an idiot. and he looks like squidward.”

you giggled. “he does kind of look like squidward…”

sunoo reached up to wipe your tears away with his thumb, pausing a bit to stare at you. “ugh. he wishes he had even 2% of your beauty.” he was being sassy, but he meant it.

you laughed again, forgetting all about your ex-friend the more you hung out with sunoo

and if you let him, sunoo would lovee to say all those things to that guy’s face. but only if you let him. (please let him.)

niki;

niki can be compulsive when it comes to you

as opposed to sunoo, who wouldn’t say anything unless you let him, niki will be throwing hands as soon as he finds out something happened to you.

okay, maybe he won’t always literally fight someone, but he will not think twice about confronting your manager himself if he notices you’re being overworked, or telling your friends their offensive jokes aren’t fucking funny.

he’ll even tell his own friends that, and he won’t care if they’re older than him if they’re talking shit about you.

“hey, stop talking about her like that.” niki said, the second he heard some trainee friends having the audacity to objectify and complain about you in the same sentence. “that’s my girlfriend.”

“and? your girlfriend’s hot, but she’s a fucking bitch sometimes.”

they should NOT have said that.

if jay hadn’t entered the room moments later, it would have been a lot more difficult for him to lie to you about his knuckles being red from exercising with a punching bag.

you didn’t even know niki wasn’t friends with those guys anymore until you saw them on the street a couple months later.

you pointed at them openly, “hey, isn’t that—“

niki grabbed the hand you were pointing with. “don’t point at people, it’s rude.”

“but aren’t those your friends?”

“no.” as they got closer, niki glared at them and subconsciously squeezed your hand tighter.

for a moment, his jaw had set, he started seeing red again as he remembered what they said about you, and he genuinely thought about hurting them again until—

“ow, hey, you’re gonna crush my fingers!”

niki was so angry that he didn’t realize how hard he was squeezing your hand. he immediately turned to you and brought your hand up to his lips. “i’m sorry.”

you paused a bit, stunned by how unlike himself he was being “it’s… okay…”

niki pat your head, deciding then and there that he not only had to protect you from other people, but from himself, as well

nap time w/ ENHYPEN (hyung line)

pairing: ENHYPEN hyung line x gn!reader (established relationship)

genre: fluff & slice of life // warnings: none // WC:~2.24k

summary: as the title suggests nap time with hyung line! 

note: I hope you enjoy this as & that it reminds you that rest is just as important work.

──・──・・ ♡ ・・──・──

Heeseung

Nap time with Heeseung is mix of comfort and chaotic-ness. He loves cuddling with you which is no surprise. Something tells me before you two actually nap, he’s probably on his phone playing a game. Trying his best not to disturb you as you give into your tiredness.

Let’s be honest though, he isn’t the best at being quiet for too long. He’s cheering as he passes this level of the game he’s been grinding on for god knows how long. With that being said though, you’ll pat his chest softly as a reminder that he needs to be more quiet. Muttering a sorry to you and goes back to his game.

Did I mention, he loves having you lay on his chest? It makes him feels all warm and that he can protect you from things. A somewhat foolish belief but it helps him feel better. If there’s one thing he can do for you, it’s making sure you get rest when you need it. Y’all are both hard-workers, so it’s quite easy for you two to get so lost in the zone leaving no time to actually sit down & live life.

Before he joins you in dreamland, he’ll pepper your face with kisses. To the best of his ability, he’ll also try to bring the blanket closer to cover you - wanting to make sure you don’t get to cold. Somehow throughout the nap time, you get off of Heeseung’s chest and end up next to him. But whenever he feels like you’re the tiniest bit too far away from him, he brings you in closer.

In the case that he wakes up before you and realizes that it’s now dinnertime. Instead of waking you up gently, Heeseung decides to jump on the bed and shake you awake. Besides at this point in y’all’s relationship, he knows that you’d sleep through the gentle shaking or nudging. He unfortunately has been left with no choice but to wake you up as a child would. Not going to lie though, he sometimes enjoys it.

When your eyes finally flutter open to be met with Heeseung’s eyes glaring at you, you try not to scream. Lightly hitting him and asking what time it is. Only for you to hear what time it is and hitting again with “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?? Now I’m not going to sleep tonight”. This always end up with him shrugging and telling you that he did try. Don’t worry, you end up apologizing as always and Heeseung knows you mean well. Sleeping at night with him is just as easy as it for both of you during nap time. Sure it might take a little longer but before you know it, the sun is already starting to rise when you wake up.

↓ rest of hyung line below ↓

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wallpaper (≧▽≦) pjs

s you see jay's wallpaper for the first time g fluff p jay x reader

you rested your head against jay's shoulder while he flipped through tons of movies. it was a rainy day, which meant nothing to do. jay suggested a cuddle time and you immediately agreed.

you closed your eyes and listened to the rain hit the windows and hit the floor. it was quite soothing.

jay had finally found a movie to watch so you opened your eyes. the movie started off kind of slow so you closed your eyes again. suddenly jay shifted and started to move away from you.

"what are you doing?" you asked. "i'm going to pop some popcorn, i'll be right back." you nodded and layed your head back on the couch.

you watched the movie for a couple of seconds but then jay's phone started ringing. you quickly searched for his phone until you found it. you didn't recognize the number so you declined the call but when you did you noticed jay's wallpaper.

you stared at it for a moment. a smiled crept on your face as you looked at the picture on his screen. it was a picture of you. it was your birthday the day the picture was taken. jay had put icing on your face and took a picture of you.

you stared at his screen for a while. joy and happiness spread through your body. you didn't expect him to have you as his wallpaper but knowing he did had you feeling very loved.

love me back ✶ sjy female reader word count 0.8k genre romance high school popular!jake ✉️ @okwonyo

love was something special, woven from the fragments of old heartbreak and first experiments. you could say you experienced love, in one form or the other. however, falling in unrequited love seemed to be your specialty at this point.

it was your third rejection and you couldn’t help but wonder what was so wrong with you. was it the way you approached them? the way you talked? did you spit when you spoke to them? or was it the way you fidgeted with your skirt when confessing?

all in all you found comfort in the quiet classroom as you stared out the window watching the life of others. the box of cookies in front of you were soggy and cold, the pink bow taunting you once again. this would be your third batch of cookies tossed into the garbage bin.

perhaps it was the cookies? what if they didn’t like cookies and preferred cupcakes? or a chocolate bar even. or no pastries at all?

while in the midst of your complicating thoughts, jake—your best friend, slid the classroom door open, smiling instinctively when he saw you.

“thought you went home already?” jake’s voice snapped you out of your daze, startling you slightly. “i was gonna wait for you,” you pointed towards the window indicating his soccer practice.

he was clad in his black jersey and shorts, a bit of sweat lined his forehead but he still managed to look ethereal in the dim light.

“oh,” he once again smiled walking over to sit beside you. “you didn’t have to, i know how tired you are.” jake snuck a piece of hair behind your ear as you sulked in your palm.

“what’s the matter, hm?” he noticed you toying with the box of cookies, eyes droopy and lips jutting out dejectedly.

you sighed before laying your head down on your desk, looking away from jake and hoping he didn’t notice your flushed cheeks. “do you think there’s something wrong with me?”

“it what way?” he continued to play with your hair, fingers running through your locks.

“i don’t know, in like a love way. i tried confessing again and i got rejected, again.”

jake’s fingers halted in your hair, eyebrows furrowing before he spoke, “you confessed? to who?” jake bit the inside of his cheek thinking about how you had eyes for everyone else but him—when he was right in front of you.

“some kid from my art class, he’s on your soccer team. i thought he liked me.” you turned to face jake.

it was jake’s turn to sigh, “i know why you’re being rejected all the time.” your head perked up at his statement and you moved closer to listen to him.

would you finally have a cure to this madness?

“i told every boy in the school you were off limits.” jake almost looked proud of himself as he spoke, a small smirk beginning to grow on his lips.

“jake! why would you say that?” you were absolutely appalled to hear that your best friend was the reason behind your nonexistent love life.

“because i’ve been waiting for you to love me back.” jake said it like it was the easiest thing in the world, and to him, loving you was.

for you, you could feel the years of forcing yourself to like someone else other than your best friend brewing. you had told yourself that it wasn’t normal to like your friend—he was a friend for a reason.

jake pulled your chair until you collided with his legs—trapping you between them. “you don’t know how many threats it took for it to actually get through their heads. i couldn’t have someone else taking my girl away from me.” his hand rested on your exposed thigh drawing circles on your warm skin.

“why didn’t you stop me from making a fool of myself to all of those boys?” half of you felt flustered about his confession while the other felt angry—you looked like a idiot!

“oh my god! you were there when i was making those boys all these cookies! do you know how expensive all of that supplies was? you’re paying me back every cent—!”

your words were cut short when jake smashed his lips into yours, he snaked his hand towards your nape to keep you in place as he desperately and longingly kissed you. jake smiled cockily at the way you tried backing away from him but reluctantly melting into him, finding a comfortable pace.

“as your boyfriend, you can cut me some slack, no?” jake rested his forehead on yours after pulling away, softly running the pad of his thumb on your cheek.

“you’re not my boyfriend.” you scowled at him.

“not yet, but i will be.”

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