Congratulations Again On Hitting 400 Lily!! I Just Saw Your Event & It’s Really Cute!

Sarah Lamb as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty (Royal Ballet 2014)

told my best friend i had a crush on this guy now they (my best friend and the guy) are acting like a couple 😍😍

── ❝ ꒰ 𝑆𝐼𝑃𝑃𝐼𝑁’ 𝒟𝐼𝐸𝑇 𝒫𝐸𝑃𝑆𝐼 .ᐟㅤ ៸៸﹙ 박성훈 ﹚ ᶻ𐰁

GENRE ៸៸ forbidden situationship ៸ oneshot ﹔ SYPNOSIS┆in which you’re the golden, ‘perfect’ rich girl and get yourself mixed up with the epitome of darkness, park sunghoon the street racer .ᐟㅤ ꒰ WORD COUNT﹕1162 ꒱── 𝓦ARNING(S) not edited ៸ tension ៸ pet names ៸ cocky hoon ៸ . ݁ ✦ ݁ . ⊱ LIBRARY . . . ﹕LUNA 💭 — honestly idk where i was going w this.. ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) anyways diet pepsi soty !!!! ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

THE NIGHT WAS THICK WITH THE SCENT OF GASOLINE AND ASPHALT, THE DISTANT ECHO OF ENGINES REVVING WILDLY IN THE DARKNESS.

you knew you shouldn’t have been here— the looks you were getting, you knew your dad would throw a tantrum once the news got to him, but you couldn’t find it in you to care anymore, not since you’ve met him.

guess that’s the effect he had on you.

you stood just outside the borders of the cracked and worn out road that doubled as a racetrack on nights like these, the air buzzing with anticipation and reckless roars from the crowd.

you could hear the murmur of the ones surrounding you, people eager to see the next race, to see— feel the thrill of speed and danger.

but your attention was far from the crowd, it was on him— park sunghoon. ─── 𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘊𝘜𝘛 .ᐟㅤ

sunghoon leaned against his sleek, black car a few feet away from you, a bottle of diet pepsi dangling loosely from his hand, his eyes sharp and attentive as he scanned his competition.

the faint neon lights from the surrounding cars cast a glow across his features, highlighting the sharp angles of his jawline and the dark, mischievous glint in his eyes.

he radiated an effortless coolness, a kind of quiet confidence that drew you in like a magnet.

he looked untouchable—dangerous, even—but you knew better.

he’d always had that effect on you.

you took a breath, trying to steady your racing heart as you made your way toward him.

every step felt weighted, charged with the tension that had been building between you for hours now.

you had tried to ignore it, tried to stay away from the intoxicating pull he had on you, but here you were, walking straight towards the darkness of park sunghoon— the one person you should stay away from.

sunghoon caught sight of you as you approached, his eyes darkening with a look you had grown all too familiar with.

his lips curled into a smirk, the kind that sent a thrill down your spine.

“you know you shouldn’t be here, princess” he said, his voice low and teasing, the sound of it sending shivers through you.

“your dad just might kill me if he finds out you’re here with me, you know?”

“and yet here i am,” you replied, your voice slow and steady despite the way your pulse was quickening.

he straightened up, his full attention now on you, there was a challenge in his eyes, a dare.

“you always were bad at following the rules,” he said, stepping closer.

his presence was overwhelming, the heat of his body radiating against yours as he closed the distance between you.

“i could say the same for you,” you said, your voice softer now, breathless.

you could feel the tension between you thickening, the space between you shrinking with every passing second.

it was as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of you—the noise of the crowd, the roar of engines, all of it faded into the background the second you two connected.

sunghoon’s smirk grew wider as he reached up to brush a strand of hair from your face, his touch gentle but electric.

“you think i don’t know what i’m doing?” he asked, his voice laced with the same quiet intensity that made your stomach flip.

“i think you know exactly what you’re doing,” you replied, your voice barely above a whisper.

his gaze dropped to your lips, and for a moment, everything seemed to stop.

the world held its breath, waiting for what would happen next. his hand lingered against your skin, his fingers tracing a slow, deliberate path down to your jaw, his touch sending sparks through your entire body.

“you like playing with danger, don’t you?” he murmured, his voice rougher now, filled with something darker, something deeper.

“something not even your daddy could buy for you, you want darkness, don’t you?”

“that’s why you keep coming back.”

you swallowed hard, your heart pounding in your chest as you looked up at him.

“maybe,” you said, your voice shaking slightly.

“or maybe i just like playing with you.”

sunghoon’s eyes darkened, and for a split second, you could see the fire that burned beneath his calm aura.

he stepped even closer, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered, “careful. you might get burned.”

his words sent a jolt of electricity through you, but before you could respond, the sound of engines revving to life broke the moment.

sunghoon pulled back, his eyes flicking to the track where the next race was about to begin.

the crowd’s energy shifted, growing louder as the cars lined up at the starting line.

“you’re up next,” you said, your voice a bit shaky from the tension that still hung heavy in the air between you.

sunghoon glanced at his car, then back at you, the same cocky smirk returning to his lips.

“stay close,” he said, his voice laced with promise.

“this won’t take too long.”

without another word, he turned and slid into the driver’s seat of his car.

you watched as he started the engine, the deep rumble vibrating through the ground beneath your feet.

he looked over at you one last time with that same smirk before shifting his focus entirely to the race, his expression hardening into the dangerous recklessness taking over him.

as the countdown began— you could feel the electricity in the air, the tension of the audience growing bigger with every second that ticked by.

and then, with a roar of engines and a blur of motion before you, the race began.

you watched, your heart in your throat, as sunghoon drove a speed that was almost terrifying.

the danger was real, raw, but there was something intoxicating about it—about him.

it was as if he was in control of the chaos, commanding it with ease.

minutes passed, though it felt like an eternity, and before you knew it, sunghoon’s car crossed the finish line first, a blur of black metal and speed.

the crowd erupted into cheers, but your focus was solely on him as he brought the car to a stop, stepping out with that same confident stance that made your heart race.

he walked over to you, his chest rising and falling with deep breaths, a glint of victory in his eyes.

without saying a word, he reached for you, pulling you close against him.

the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline clung to his skin, mixing with the tang of adrenaline that lingered in the air.

“you’re crazy,” you whispered, looking up at him, your heart still racing from the thrill of watching him.

his smirk returned, the glint in his eyes more dangerous than ever— your mind is telling you to run before it’s too late, but you know in your heart that you’re already in too deep, wrapped in the chains of park sunghoon.

“maybe,” he said, his voice a low, knowing whisper.

“but you love it, don’t you?”

yeah— you couldn’t argue with that.

© won4kiss 2024

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when the sun melts the ice — park sunghoon.

pairing. figure skater!sunghoon x figure skater f!reader

genre. childhood enemies to lovers, slowburn, angst, fluff.

warning(s). cursing, mentions of injuries and blood, both are very mean to each other at first.

summary. you hated park sunghoon, and it wasn't news that he hated you too, both of you were always at each other's necks, for you it all came down to who was better at ice skating and finding the slightest mistake to make fun of each other, but one day an accident and an injury make you change your view of him, proving that he really did have a heart after all.

note. this is my part for @emeraldenha's "unlikely" collab, please leave feedback, it's always appreciated !! teaser here.

wc. 12.6k

"okay, that's all for today guys! don't forget to come early tomorrow, we can't waste time!"

you let out a big sigh the second those words passed through your ears, you were tired, sleepy and the long practice was finally over, today you tried so much harder than usual and you could feel how your legs burned with every movement you made, all you wanted was to be in the comfort of your bed, even if it meant that when you got up your legs would shake.

from being relieved now you wanted to rip your ears off, you could hear how a small group of girls who were next to you didn't stop talking about how "beautiful" the boy who made your days a nightmare was. you just rolled your eyes in disgust, you didn't even know what they saw in him, he was arrogant, selfish, greedy, stupid and above all he had a bad temper, you weren't surprised to know that he had no friends when he treated everyone in an inferior way believing that he was better than the rest, who would want to be close to someone like him?

definitely not you, you couldn't even think of him as someone attractive when his personality already said everything about him as a person and didn't let you see beyond his frown that was furrowed 24 hours a day, the only times you could see him smile was when he beat you in some competition by making fun of you and you just wanted to erase any trace of happiness in him as if he were a picture of a fresh painting. not in a thousand years you could see yourself being friends with him, much less knowing all the things he said and did to you for the last 10 years.

while you were waiting for the rest of your teammates to leave the ice rink, your body almost ended up on the ground, you could feel someone bumping your shoulder sharply, causing you to almost lose your balance.

you turned to see who it was, and sure enough it was park sunghoon.

you cursed under your breath when you saw that arrogant smile of his peek over the edge of his lips, it was as if he had been listening to your thoughts all this time and wanted to take revenge, your friend yuna who was only a few meters from you watching everything could only laugh while covering her mouth. you had forgotten that you always had to be alert when you were around him.

you were about to say something to him but your coach's hand on your shoulder stopped you.

"hey i know you're tired but tomorrow you can stay up late training? i want to focus on you and sunghoon." if just the presence of him already put you in a bad mood, having to spend more time with him only made you want to drop off the earth.

"with sunghoon? is it really necessary?" you wanted him to be joking, you wanted to refuse, no matter what reasons mr. choi had for holding you back to share the same air as him.

"yes, you know that the olympics are close, i want to make sure that their routines are as perfect as possible," you let out another long sigh, turning your gaze towards yuna who was looking at you confused "i know that your relationship is not the best but you don't even have to speak, i will make you work until exhaustion and you know it. i only want the best for both and ensure that you win a medal, do not forget that you will be representing the republic of korea and that it is also one of your dreams, i'm doing this only for you."

and there was his speech again, you were tired of hearing it but as much as you hated the idea you knew he was right, besides for nothing in the world would you let someone like sunghoon ruin your chance to go to the olympics.

you will work hard, do better than him and win the gold medal. you wouldn't let him beat you.

"okay." your coach's smile lit up his face completely. when it came to skating he could be very tough but you knew he had a big heart, he was like your second father, after all you knew him since you were six years old.

"i'm happy to hear that, then i'll see you tomorrow." he gave a gentle squeeze on your shoulder and you just smiled back.

"what was that?" yuna was almost on top of your body waiting for an answer while you took off your skates.

"nothing, it's just that it seems that for the next few months i will have to spend more hours with sunghoon," you frowned "and every day, as if seeing him three times a week wasn't enough." you jerked your skates away but instantly regretted it, you didn't want them to be ruined.

yuna placed her finger between your eyebrows "you're going to get wrinkles," you couldn't help but giggle "and why are you so mad anyway? remember that this is not about sunghoon but about you and the olympics. i know that you will do great and win a medal."

"i guess you're right," you got up ready to go, with yuna walking by your side "and by medal you mean the gold one right?" you were joking but seeing that she was silent you hit her shoulder playfully "i can't believe that you are like my best friend and you are on his side." you put a hand on your chest pretending to be hurt.

she just laughed "i'm not! but you can't deny that he's pretty good too, you're not called the ice prince and princess for nothing. it's still hard to say who's better and anyone can win."

"yeah whatever you say, but i'm still better." you laughed but you couldn't help but feel some jealousy and insecurity.

you could see sunghoon talking to the coach in a corner, after all it wasn't the first time he beat you. you wrinkled your nose and went on your way, you didn't want to think about him anymore when you were more than sure that the following weeks would be insufferable, you had better things to do than think about him and his stupid face, just like how to improve your routine.

you were going to do your best, you just hoped you could beat him this time.

—

"just focus, try to do it one more time."

you bit your lip as you got up from the floor in frustration after falling for the fourth time trying to do a triple axel. you were angry, angry with yourself, with your coach, with sunghoon who kept sneering silently every time you made a mistake, you were angry with everything. and embarrassed too.

it was ridiculous that now you didn't get that jump when you had done it thousands of times before without problems, you didn't know what was wrong with you that day but you just wanted to do it right so you could stay calm, to stop tormenting your mind with the olympics and in the thousands of mistakes you could make when you were there.

you took a deep breath as you skated around the rink with your eyes closed trying to gain some confidence, muttering words of encouragement to yourself, preparing to do it one more time. you ignored everything around you, you forgot mr choi's expectant look and sunghoon's teasing one, you silenced the voices in your head and tried. it was only you

but you failed again.

"okay, that's enough." mr choi looked disappointed and couldn't even look you in the face but you didn't blame him, you couldn't do it either, the olympics were close and you were already doing everything wrong from day one. you weren't even able to show him your entire routine because you kept making silly mistakes.

you could hear sunghoon's bitter laugh in the distance "i don't even know why you focus so much on her and have so much faith when she can't even do a simple triple axel," you looked him in the eyes wanting to kill him and wishing he would shut his mouth "why is she going to the olympics with me anyway? she will never be good enough." his smirk just made you want to punch him in the face.

"sunghoon." the coach called his name with a frown, he was upset and he knew it but still didn't care, he just shrugged his shoulders pretending "stop talking, it's your turn."

tears threatened to come out of your eyes, you just sat waiting for sunghoon to finish so you could try a few more times, you closed your eyes and covered them with your hands, you didn't even want to see how he did everything perfectly, you tried to review in your mind everything you have prepared so far, but your plans are ruined when mr. choi sits next to you.

"you can go home for today," you could feel how the air left your lungs, you wanted to refuse but he kept talking "i know what you're going to tell me but the answer is no, it's clear that this is not your day, you aren't well and you have to rest because if you go there again," his finger pointed the ice rink "and you fall, you could hurt yourself and i'm sure you don't want that." he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for you to say something but you just stayed silent looking down "look, we still have a lot of time to train, but i want you to be focused for next time, okay? we can't work like this, come tomorrow with a cool head." his cold expression changed to a softer one as soon as he caressed your hair "and don't pay attention to what sunghoon says."

your throat was closed due to the force you exerted to avoid crying preventing you from speaking, you wanted to thank him for everything but you couldn't, although you were sure he knew it.

you focused on the last thing he said to you, you were already used to sunghoon's words but that didn't mean they couldn't hurt you, they cut deep and stayed with you, you focused your gaze on him but it only made you feel worse, you hated the way he could do everything effortlessly, he aced every move, he didn't need to do much because his presence already lit up the whole place.

ever since you can remember sunghoon was like that, he had an innate talent and you were always jealous for that, he was born with a gift and you had to work hard every day to even be able to be at his level, you wanted to curse him for that.

you remembered his words from a few seconds ago, you couldn't even clearly remember why it all started.

but you hated park sunghoon.

and he hated you too.

it was nothing new for the people who knew you, it was already well known that the two of you were always competitive with each other and that you tried to be better than everyone else, all that rivalry had started when you were kids and after years it still wasn't over, it was ridiculous but it seemed to have no end.

how you wished sunghoon would fall or make some mistake so you could make fun of him the same way he made fun of you, but that didn't seem to happen anytime soon. it was stupid to deny how good he was, you could rarely see him do anything wrong and for that reason it only embarrassed you more that you couldn't get a jump you had been doing for years, sunghoon had improved a lot in a few months and you felt like you were still stuck in the same level since you are 17 years old.

you wanted to laugh when you remembered that time you tried to be friends with him at 9 years old because you had been put together for a routine, everything had started well, both were shy so you didn't talk much at first but you already admired him because you used to see him from afar.

but because of a bad move you started yelling at each other.

sunghoon was rubbing his elbow with a pained expression on his face "it's all your fault! you don't know how to skate" you already apologized and were waiting for him to do the same because you hurt your knee, but instead he just blamed you everything and stuck his tongue out at you, and that was something you couldn't tolerate.

"liar! you're the one who made us fall!" watching two little kids fight could be fun, but his coach was quick to join you to stop the yelling.

"hey, it's okay, don't fight, we're all friends and these mistakes can happen, right? now i want you to apologize." she held you both by the shoulder and brought you closer so you were face to face "come on, what are you waiting for?"

"i already apologized and he was rude." you couldn't get the frown off your face and for nothing in the world would you apologize again.

"that's a lie." sunghoon just stuck his tongue out at you again and by that time you were already crying. you hated when people were mean to you.

"dumb!" maybe you shouldn't have said that, but it was too late.

"stop crying, you look ugly!"

that afternoon, in fact, you couldn't stop crying and your parents had to pick you up to take you home, you didn't want to go for a few days but you decided you wouldn't let a silly kid ruin your fun. and since then sunghoon always made fun of you at every chance he got, he even gave you the nickname "cry baby" even though you never stood idly by and that was just another reason for things between you to get worse. you still remember like it was yesterday when he told you that you would never become good figure skater even if you practiced your whole life.

you didn't even remember how it had been or if it was really his fault that you fell, but the fact is that everything had started because he didn't want to apologize and was rude to you, you used to be a very sensitive kid so you still had a grudge against him.

you were very different, sunghoon was someone cold, selfish and very hard on himself too, while for your part you were very different from him you always found the bright side of things, you helped your teammates no matter what and you enjoyed what you did, you could never understand him no matter how hard you tried, you were more than sure that he was an insensitive and heartless boy.

yeah, you hated park sunghoon.

—

it's been 2 weeks and you're still staying up late with sunghoon to train, there were other competitions coming up but you two were the stars for the olympics.

you were doing better every time, and he was not far behind.

you hated to admit it but he was good. he was so freaking good.

the way he moves is captivating, you could spend hours just watching him move, he was delicate but precise and marked his movements well at the same time, the elegance and beauty of the sport is portrayed in every aspect of him when he's on the ice, he was definitely made for it.

but you didn't except less, after all he was your competition for a reason.

his routine was too good, but you had confidence in yourself and that yours was even better, you would not let something similar to happen a few years ago, when they chose him over you for almost all the competitions they had to represent to the republic of korea, that was your last straw. you still remember crying almost every night because of it.

"excuse me guys, i have a call and i have to answer." you just nodded and kept looking at sunghoon.

he took advantage of that moment to start practicing his quad axel, ever since he saw his biggest idol do it he became obsessed with the idea that he could do it too, mr. choi always scolded him because it was a very dangerous jump and he could get hurt by whatever mistake he made, but he was stubborn and kept trying anyway but you weren't surprised, knowing his personality you were sure he thought he was better than the rest and it wouldn't take him long to handle it perfectly.

you looked to the side for a second diverting your attention from him and a loud noise made you turn back to him almost instantly, sunghoon was on the floor and you just hissed because it was sure painful "better luck next time!" you yelled at him as you saw how he turned around floor.

you brushed him off and just got ready to enter the ice rink, but he wasn't moving an inch and had his face hidden in his arms.

"sunghoon what the hell are you doing? get out so i can practice, you're on the way." you snorted. you thought he was faking it but it took you a couple of seconds to realize he wasn't.

ignoring the voices in your head you quickly approach him, kneeling beside him, you see how his knuckles were white from squeezing his hands so much. you didn't know what to do, he hurted himself? should you tell him something? help him up? call mr choi? all thought left your head the moment sunghoon's eyes collided with yours, they were red and his cheeks were wet with traces of tears, his brow was furrowed and his lip had a small trace of blood from how strong he had been biting all that time.

and you didn't like the feeling of your stomach wanting to come out of your mouth.

"get the fuck off." you didn't realize your hand was so close to his body until he pushed it away. you tried to ignore him and want to help him but he didn't even let you speak "where's mr. choi?"

"i don't know." you walked away from him, not wanting to deal with his bad mood any longer and call mr. choi to take care of him instead.

you saw him struggle to get up, but as soon as he wanted to rest his body on his right leg it vanished almost instantly, he threw a curse into the air. the great park sunghoon, the ice prince, lying on the ground crying from a silly fall? you could only think how pathetic he looked at that moment.

"stop doing that, god you look so stupid, i will just call an ambulance or something." you didn't even really know what you were supposed to do.

the only reason you wanted to use your phone was so you could take a picture of him without him noticing and make fun of it for all eternity. you knew that he was embarrassed by his photos of when he was a child that still circulated on the internet, so this was the perfect opportunity to have a good laugh every time you entered any social media, seeing him so vulnerable just gave you infinite ideas. but you didn't do any of them, and you weren't sure if he would have done the same to you.

"just call mr. choi, i don't need you." he ran his hands over his face and pulled at his hair in frustration.

"can you shut up? i'm trying to be nice, you know i could just leave you lying here suffering because you're an idiot who doesn't know his limits and doesn't accept help, right?" maybe you should have done what he told you instead of continuing to embitter your existence with his presence.

"did i ever ask you to come help me? stop acting like you're good now, i don't need your stupid pity and much less your help, i'd rather break my ankle than be another second near you." you were more than grateful that those feelings were mutual, you were just wasting your time trying to be nice to him.

and so you confirmed once again that you hated him.

but that annoying sensation didn't leave your chest, you hated sunghoon but you hated even more that feeling that you never felt for him invade your body before. was it pity? you were sure it was, it must also be the nerves of the moment. and you couldn't sit idly by, you didn't even know where mr. choi had gone, if you just left him alone there you wouldn't be much better than him.

and you don't want to be someone like him.

"well the thing is you probably did break your ankle." the look he gave you almost made you back away from him, you've never seen so many emotions run through someone's orbs before and it was overwhelming.

you didn't want to keep looking at him because of how uncomfortable you were starting to feel so you turned around looking for mr. choi, you didn't want to be there anymore, but you couldn't even get 2 meters away from him when he finally appeared.

"what happened?" his voice sounded scared, terrified. he hurriedly approached sunghoon and wasted no time taking off his skate and seeing the state of his body, you walked away while listening to his moans of pain. this was none of your business "y/n i already called an ambulance, you go with him i will follow you with my car behind."

"what?" you opened your eyes wanting to believe that you heard wrong, but mr. choi repeated it to you loud and clear "but-"

"no excuses now."

you couldn't say another word. everything had happened very quickly, you didn't even remember if it was your body that moved on its own but you were already in the back of the ambulance next to sunghoon. you wanted to die.

both are wrapped in a silence that surpassed the uncomfortable, the tension could be counted with just a knife no matter how sharp it was, you keep looking everywhere avoiding his eyes.

"you need to tell your family." you didn't realize those words came out of your mouth instead of staying in your head.

"i don't have my phone." his eyes closed and you had barely heard him speak.

"i'll call them for you, i just need you to give me a number."

"no you won't, god stop being so annoying, just let mr. choi take care of everything." and there was his annoyed expression again, you were already surprised to see him calm for so long.

you wanted to say so many things at that time, but not a single sound left your lips just out of pity.

you made a little mental note to yourself that this would be the first and last time you would try to help park sunghoon.

—

the atmosphere was tense, you felt how simply the air from those four walls crushed your body and cut the air from your lungs, your head was heavy and the vision in your eyes became blurred over time because you had only been looking at the same spot in the floor for the last 10 minutes.

you never felt that time passed as slowly as it does now.

you just wanted mr. choi to finish talking to the doctor and finish all his calls so you could tell him that you would leave that place to go home, if you spent just one more second next to sunghoon you would feel how your lungs would become intoxicated.

and he felt the same as you, it was uncomfortable having your presence so close and that neither said anything knowing that a single comment would be like dropping a bomb, and both knew that the damage it would leave couldn't be repaired.

but there you were, opening your big, silly mouth, unable to contain yourself "how do you feel?"

"are you seriously asking me that?" you rolled your eyes for the sixth time that day at his response, at least you no longer felt your throat burn.

"yes, that's what i just did, are you deaf?" you spat out your words

sunghoon's mood wasn't the best, it never was, and with everything he was feeling at the time, your words and your mere presence were enough to make him explode.

"god, can you just leave me alone and get the fuck out of here!? why would i want someone as useless as you here? i'm sick of you, you're not good at skating or doing whatever it is you want to do now! we're not friends and never will be don't even try it, get that into that head of yours at least that's how you use it for something, i don't even know why you're still here when all you do is sulk me up and be a nuisance here." his finger was pointing at you, his body moving closer to yours with every word he spat hatefully in your face and neither of you broke eye contact.

it was pathetic how his words still had such an effect on you, he meant nothing to you so why did it hurt so much? why did you want to cry and yell in his face for him to shut up? why did your body feel so weak, as if your knees would lose strength if you kept looking into his eyes?

for almost all your life you had to put up with his insults and mistreatment, you were sick of it, you didn't want to keep quiet anymore, he even screwed up your mind making you believe thousands of times that you could never be a good skater knowing how much it affected you and how much it meant to you, you both shared the same passion so what was his problem? every day you wished you had never met him.

you would travel to the past a million times changing the timeline as much as necessary to avoid meeting him, to avoid knowing his name that consumed so much time and energy, to avoid feeling the way you did now.

"fuck you sunghoon, you've been acting like a fucking idiot when all i wanted to do was help you! you're a selfish bastard who just likes to suck the life out of people, you can't and don't have the right to treat me like shit just because you want to, i'm tired of you and you know what? i'm thankful that you injured your ankle and you can't go to the olympics now because it was your big dream, right? well that's a shame because you really deserved it and i really hope you never get to skate again!"

you would go back in time to avoid becoming someone heartless like him who didn't measure his words and only spoke with the intention of hurting all the people around him.

your heart was threatening to burst out of its cage in the rage of the moment. those words came from the depths of you, you knew that everything you said was wrong but you didn't regret it, at least you no longer felt that annoying weight on your chest.

"hey why are you guys yelling so much? we're in a hospital." the moment mr. choi's voice reached your ears was when you finally looked away from sunghoon's eyes.

"get out." his voice came out weaker than before, you couldn't see him in the face, you wanted to give him the pleasure of seeing you doing something he asked you after so long and you just walked out of there without saying anything.

you did it, you really made the effort to get along with him not just once but twice already but now you regret even thinking about it in the first place, so many years had passed and you didn't know why you thought maybe he had changed.

—

you closed your eyes tightly in the hope that it would help you become invisible to mr. choi.

you knew that when he approached you with that look it was to ask you for something you didn't like. and you knew that it only meant one thing; park sunghoon.

"you don't know anything about him?" you looked at him with tired eyes, although you could understand his concern, what happened to him had nothing to do with you.

"no, why should i know?" you wanted to hit yourself when you noticed how rude those words had come out, he didn't have to pay for your bad mood in the last few days.

the words of the famous ice prince wouldn't leave your head and they didn't seem to want to do it soon either, you couldn't skate in peace thinking that maybe you could fall like him or remembering all the times he told you that you would never be a good skater, or that all your routines were mediocre.

you hated that despite not seeing him these days you still felt his shadow behind you in everything you did once you entered the ice rink, as if he were saying those cruel words in your ear all the time.

"great, because i need you to take the stuff he left here when he got injured, i would but..." he didn't continue saying anything else, you sighed when you thought that maybe he was doing all that on purpose, after all it wasn't the first time he did something like this so that you two would get along.

your silence was an affirmative answer for him, so he went to look for the bags and the skates, which was probably what he left behind. you turned your head finding yuna, instantly begging her with your eyes to come with you.

"don't even think about it." she turned her back on you starting to walk in the opposite direction and you already had your arms holding her against your body.

"please, please, don't leave me alone in this," you said in a whimper, your words muffled against her back, you didn't want to get your face out of there until she said yes "did you forget all the things i did for you?"

you thought you could easily manipulate her but she knew you too well for your liking "as much as i love you, it's not in my plans to go to his house, much less with you knowing what happened the last time you saw each other" you didn't want that either, go to sunghoon's house and alone? not even in dreams.

and in a blink there you were, in front of the door of his house.

completely alone.

on the way there all you did was curse yuna for letting you go to that hell alone and you cursed sunghoon too by the way because there was never a bad time to do it. why didn't he go get his things? or his parents?

the neighbors probably thought you were a freak for standing there for more than 5 minutes without even moving a bit. you had to work up the strength to see him and not shoot him with the first thing in your hand.

you gathered your strength and lifting your chest like a dove, you rang the doorbell praying that anyone but him would open it.

but your prayers were in vain when his weary face with dark circles under his eyes and crutches on both sides of his body were the first thing you saw.

you didn't even know what to say or do, your eyes widened in surprise, ever since you met him there wasn't a single time you saw him in such a... unfortunate state, his face was always perfect and groomed, you were sure he would always took the necessary time to look good at any time and especially in his presentations that finding any imperfection on his face was like looking for a needle in a haystack. you couldn't help but feel bad for him, he looked as if he had spent the whole night crying and only now was getting up from his depressive nest. you knew it because you were like that before and you weren't proud of it.

the sudden breeze hitting your face snaps you out of your thoughts, sunghoon had slammed the door in your face without saying anything and didn't even give you a chance to speak. you couldn't believe it, he was acting like a capricious child, you opened your mouth to yell at him but you just threw his things on the floor in anger not caring what was inside and you were ready to walk away, but a soft voice at your back stopped all your movements.

"oh, i'm so sorry! please excuse my son, he never behaves like that." you wanted to laugh at that, if only she knew.

ignoring that, you focused on her, you couldn't deny that her eyes and her black hair hypnotized you for a few seconds, it wasn't the first time you saw sunghoon's mother but the first time you were so close to her. the two of them were almost the same in appearance but from a distance you could already tell that she was much sweeter than him.

"it's okay, i just came to drop off the bags that he left behind the other day." your cheeks turned red at how soft your voice became.

"thank you so much and i'm sorry for the inconvenience, we couldn't find time to go look for them ourselves." she took the bags in her hands and started to go into the house, you thought she was going to say goodbye to you "please come in!" and you were wrong.

"but mom-" all that time sunghoon was behind her and only now did you notice.

"you just go in and stay there, i'll talk to you later." although she said it as low as possible just for him to hear it also reached your ears and you couldn't help but giggle, not even sunghoon's gaze could shut you up, but his mother turning to see you again did "please join us, we were about to have dinner as a family."

"oh no! no need-"

"please! you took the trouble to come here and you need to eat something, take it as an apology," you wanted to say no again, make up some excuse, any would be fine but the look in her eyes won you over and now you were standing awkwardly inside their house while you waited for mrs. park to close the door behind you "sunghoon take this to your room."

the expression he put on seemed amused, he made you want to laugh again, probably because it seemed like his room was upstairs and he, well... had crutches.

his mother disappeared from your sight and if before you were uncomfortable now with sunghoon by your side it was much worse.

"can you- uh, can you help me?" him asking you for help was the last thing you expected.

you hesitated, you didn't want to do it you still couldn't forget everything he told you days ago and that still hurt your chest when you remembered it, you wanted to see him fight to be able to carry the bags by himself and if it was possible that his ankle would hurt even more, you wanted to be just as shitty as him and tell him to his face all the things you still had saved.

but you couldn't.

you couldn't afford to stoop that low just because you were hurt, he needed your help so you would just do it. in complete silence you grabbed the largest bag and started to climb the stairs, you had to wait at the top of them for him to come to your side and tell you where to leave it, on that small path you couldn't help but look around you, it was full of family pictures and you noticed that downstairs there was a special place with all the medals and trophies sunghoon had won since he was a kid, up here there were a lot of pictures of him since he was practically a baby, you weren't that surprised because after all you knew each other since you were 6 years old and you still remembered how he looked at that time and he hadn't changed that much since then.

but what did surprise you was seeing his smile in all the photos, when you saw him he rarely smiled and in that hallway all the happiness and love he felt for figure skating was captured, something you had never seen in all the time that you knew him, he was always a private person so he probably only showed himself that way to his family, but it was reassuring to see that he wasn't always the moody guy who seemed to hate everyone and life itself.

"you can leave it here." you had been so immersed looking at the photos that you didn't notice sunghoon in front of the door of his room. you were surprised again to see that he wasn't so… cold. there were posters of his favorite skaters and probably his favorite bands, plus there were a few stuffed animals lying around as well.

sunghoon's mother's voice calling both of you from downstairs made you remember that now you had to have dinner with his family, your hands were shaking and he noticed that "don't be nervous, they aren't going to bite you." you snorted, wanting to kick one of their crutches out of sight.

"just shut up, I shouldn't even be here right now."

"hey be more respectful, be grateful that my family wants to have someone like you in our house, if it were up to me I wouldn't even have opened the door for you." you just ignored him and left his room, but the moment you were downstairs again the nerves consumed your body.

"come on sweetie, dinner is ready." mrs. park caressed your shoulder affectionately and led you to the table where there were already two other people, you quickly bowed.

contrary to what you thought, the conversation with his family was really nice they made an effort to make you feel at home and you appreciated that, although at first it was a bit awkward and it seemed that they asked you questions as if you were sunghoon's partner, you were able to talk with them as if you had known them all your life, his mother and sister were some of the sweetest people you have met so far, his father didn't speak much but still congratulated you as if you were his own daughter when you started talking about your achievements on the ice rink.

sunghoon didn't even speak to you the whole night, although most of the conversation was focused on you he managed to act as if you didn't exist, when he talked to his family he seemed like a completely different person from the one you knew, the tone of his voice was much softer with them and he laughed more often, you were sure his giggles would stay in your mind for a long time because as much as you hated to admit it, he was adorable.

that night something in your head changed, your perception of him still hadn't changed that much, his family was still much nicer than him however ignoring that you always thought he was someone arrogant who didn't care if he was the best or not because just it came naturally to him and he was unable to empathize with or care for anyone other than himself.

but maybe you were wrong.

he was still a jerk to you, but you got to know a part of him you didn't know existed.

—

"thank you so much for everything." you lost count of the times you bowed and thanked for everything.

"you can always come back whenever you want darling, next time I can make you your favorite food," you smiled at her, ready to go "are you going alone? It's quite late already sunghoon can accompany you so you don't go alone."

you wanted to throw up at that thought, you tried to say different excuses but none had convinced mrs. park enough to let you walk alone late at night, so the three of you agreed that it would only be a few blocks.

you were convinced that the awkward atmosphere between you whenever you were alone would never leave, you wanted that moment to end quickly but considering that he can't even walk properly it was kind of hard.

you had been walking side by side for several minutes in complete silence, you bit your lip as you watched the stars in the sky to distract yourself.

"my doctor said that I can skate again without much effort," he spoke out of the blue and you just left him, at least he had broken the silence "I won't be able to go to the olympics but at least it's not so bad that it leaves me without skating for the rest of my life."

you knew he was saying that because of what you told him that time in the hospital, you hesitated to apologize, you remembered the moment from years ago but you were no longer children and you had to be responsible for your words, after all you couldn't hold a grudge all your life.

"I'm sorry."

he shook his head denying "you have nothing to apologize for, that should be me."

"what?" you couldn't believe that, park sunghoon apologizing? you wanted to pinch yourself to make sure you weren't imagining it "you're apologizing because your mother asked you to, right?" you wanted to make fun of him because you didn't think his attempted apology was sincere, but his words silenced you.

"look, I'm only going to say this once," you had both stopped walking and now you were looking into each other's eyes, you had never paid them as much attention as now, he swallowed before speaking "I'm really sorry."

you didn't know what to say, your body went still and the words disappeared from your head, you realized how hard it had been for him to blurt out those words and part of it was funny, but on the other hand you couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he apologized to you. after years—after having said so many horrible things, this was the first time that you both let your true feelings show and were vulnerable.

you were both sorry and you noticed it.

both look into each other's eyes for a while longer until he finally leaves greeting you with a slight nod, leaving you stunned in the middle of the night, with the stars as the only witness of that rare moment.

maybe your perception of him had changed that day after all.

—

it had been almost 3 weeks since that little conversation you had and you haven't heard from him since.

for some reason now your mind felt more relaxed and you were able to feel freer with your movements, now you did everything 10 times better than before.

except today you seemed to have a problem again, you had been trying to do a toe loop for several minutes but you always landed wrong or didn't complete all the laps, you were already starting to get frustrated and mr choi didn't seem to be around at the time.

"you're doing it wrong." a soft voice behind you makes you turn your body almost completely towards him.

"what are you doing here?" It was the first thing that came out of your mouth when you saw him enter the ice rink.

"skating" he left without bothering to look at you and you sighed once more, it would always be difficult trying to talk to him, especially knowing the kind of complicated relationship you still had. not that you had become the best of friends for an apology.

but at least you were relieved that his ankle was okay, you still felt bad about what you told him at the hospital. although you couldn't stop thinking about the idea that this would be a chance to win because it left your way clear.

you tried it one more time, with the small big difference that when you landed sunghoon's hands were on you, you shivered when you felt the contact of his skin on your waist.

"you keep doing it wrong." you saw his smirk, surely he was making fun of you.

"I know." you wanted to walk away from the uncomfortable feeling of your heart starting to beat faster but his grip only tightened.

"yeah but you're not doing anything to fix it, you keep making the same mistake over and over again." feeling his breath against your neck sent shivers down your spine.

"what do you want?" you pushed his hands away from you more roughly than you meant to. now you were seeing each other face to face.

sunghoon rolled his eyes "nothing, I just want to help you" you narrowed your eyes, not fully believing in his words "you have to lift your chest more, you're very hunched over and you're just going to end up hurting yourself." he showed with his body how you had been doing it, giving you a quizzical look for not knowing something so simple "try again now."

you snorted but you listened to what he said, you did the same as before only changing your posture a little. and to your surprise you were able to achieve it perfectly.

"see? I told you." today he was very smiling, it was rare to see him like that.

"thanks but what are you? are you trying to be my trainer now?"

"so what if I want to be?" your body stopped moving just to look at him incredulously and instantly a big laugh came out of his mouth.

"what is so funny?"

"your faces," it took him a couple of seconds to calm down, by the time he finished he was on his knee while the other held his stomach "I'm serious, after all I won't be able to compete and you're the only one good enough out of here that can win, I won't let you lose just because you can't do a dumb toe loop."

he just said you were good? even though you thought the idea of ​​him was a bit stupid, you could feel how all the heat of your body was concentrated in your cheeks dyeing them red, why was he being nice to you so suddenly? did he forget all the things you said to each other? surely the blow he took made him dumber than he already was.

you could hear him laugh again "shut up."

—

"what, are you two a couple now?" you thought that that day would be quiet, but yuna had other plans for you.

"what are you talking about?" you complained, still sleepy on your body.

"don't look at me like that, a few weeks ago I could have sworn you guys were about to kill each other but now you're close together, what with the "you're doing it wrong, let me help you" bullshit just to hold your waist? because you were doing it perfect." she couldn't believe it.

"stop saying nonsense, i guess he just feel bad cause he can't skate at the olympics now, he's just helping me."

yuna rolled her eyes "if you say so."

she walks away leaving you alone with your thoughts, and you didn't like the feeling in your stomach.

despite having refused his proposal about 10 times, sunghoon ended up convincing you and whenever he could he helped you although it wasn't much since you were good enough at what you did, you had been spending time together at the ice rink for several days and surprisingly you didn't insult each other even once. or well, he hadn't insulted you because you had already lost count of the things you said to him for purposely tripping you up a couple of times. and now you find yourself enjoying his company, something you never thought was possible before, you two were still very different but you had found a way to be together without bumping into each other so much and it was through skating, both of you loved it so much that you began to get along little by little just because of that.

"you're fine, I know you'll be able to do it perfectly there, just try not to do the quad axel." If you had been told a few months ago that you would be laughing with sunghoon today while sharing a drink he bought for you, you would have laughed on their faces as loud as ever.

leaving that aside, you noticed him a little more discouraged than usual today, there were times when you saw him totally immersed in his thoughts or you had to repeat things twice when you spoke to him "is something wrong? I notice that you're distracted."

"I'm just thinking about you." you almost choked on the bottle of soda you were drinking, your stomach started to feel weird and your breathing was ragged.

"what?" you turned your face while touching your cheeks, noticing that they were hot, it was embarrassing and he just laughs.

"I'm sorry, what I mean is that- I'm really sorry" he looks into your eyes intensely and your whole body trembles at that, you've never seen so much shine in them "I'm really, really sorry... for everything. especially the day i got injured, this means everything to me and i was terrified that i would never be able to skate again because of my own stupidity, for being so stubborn and not listening to others, also because i had never hurt myself before and at that moment I could feel how my ankle was separating from my whole body, this injury scared the hell out of me." the crack in his voice reaches in and squeezes your heart so tight you can feel your eyes tearing up "you were right in all things what did you say, that I'm a heartless egoist who never thinks about what he says and I'm hurting the people around me-"

it was the second time you saw him cry.

"I didn't mean that." you blink the tears away as fast as they appeared, seeing sunghoon in that state and remembering all bothered you more than you liked to admit. before you might have enjoyed it but now it was different.

and it was the first time you cried in front of him.

"okay, I know I deserved it anyway," his eyes were now focused on the floor "I was just- I was trying to be the best but I realized quite late that that wasn't the way and everything I told you during years was really horrible and I'm sorry you had to endure all that, if I were you I would have hit myself several times already." he chuckled.

"i really wanted to," you hit him with your shoulder playfully "but I'm sorry too, I said horrible things to you."

"don't worry about me, I don't even know why I behaved like this for so long and I wish I could have seen how stupid I was much earlier." he moved his hand close to yours, wanting to take it in his but finally he ended up putting it in his pocket "I realized that skating means a lot to you too. maybe we're not so different after all." he looked at your face again with a smile on his face.

"maybe you're right, I mean, look at us now talking normally as if nothing happened."

"yeah but I don't want this to come to nothing, I really want you to forgive me." your heart jumped out of your chest "I was scared that you were so much better than me because I really think you could easily defeat me because of how much you try every day, even much more than me, the things I did and said to make you feel bad so that you stop skating are unjustified, but now I want to do things right and I hope we can start again." he sounded so sorry that he was really making it hard for you to hold a grudge.

"there were many years that we argued for nothing and you're not the only one to blame, you were ten times worse with me but I cannot hold a grudge or hate you all my life," he lifted his head with hope in his eyes waiting for you to keep talking "I think we're fine."

"thank you." his smile was accomplishing things inside of you, and you didn't like it "also, uh- I could see what a wonderful person you are and I was surprised that you treated me well after all, I was waiting for you to spit on me when you saw me or something like that," you raised your eyebrow wanting to really hit him this time "and I saw this as my chance to make things right."

"don't lie to me now, it was your mom that changed your mind so suddenly, right?" he burst out laughing, only to end up leaning his head against the wall staring up at the ceiling.

"maybe she played a big role in that." you couldn't take your eyes off his profile "you're a really good skater and i'll tell you all the time if need be in order to erase the bad things i said before and that probably are still in your head."

"what do you mean?"

"you don't need to pretend with me now, I can tell those little insecurities you have when you're on the ice." you wanted to get out of that place as fast as possible, you didn't think you were so obvious about it and sunghoon noticing made things worse.

he noticed that but he couldn't do anything else besides give you a smile, you simply remained silent with your eyes closed enjoying the silence and thanking that it wasn't uncomfortable like previous times, now both were a little more comfortable with each other's presence.

you needed to hear those words, you needed to feel that relief, as if the weight you had been feeling on your back all this time stopped squeezing your wounds, letting them heal.

if it wasn't for mr. choi who burst in, you both would have fallen asleep.

—

it was finally the day.

and there you were, at the winter olympics with your suit on waiting for your turn which was at any moment. you felt like throwing up since you took the plane to here and days had passed since that, your body was shaking—you could feel your blood flow through your veins and you were sure that at any moment you would pass out before entering the ice rink, mr. choi had been by your side the whole time trying to calm you down but your heart seemed to want to explode and you just wanted to dig your nails into your skin like a cat.

you kept going around and you were already making everyone around you nervous. you were so focused fixing your suit making sure there was no mistake that you almost didn't hear the sound of your phone, it was a call. and it was from sunghoon.

you pick it up quickly "hey." his voice sounded so calm in your ears that he helped you let out a sigh you didn't even know you were holding.

"hey." you noticed how even your voice trembled.

"I can feel from here how nervous you are," his laugh cleared your thoughts "relax, I know you can handle this and it will be great."

you bit your lip, not knowing very well what to say "thank you sunghoon, but if you were with me right now I would have already pulled your hair out to calm myself." his loud laugh forced you to move the phone away from your ear.

"you're so lucky, you're there with my biggest idol and you're wasting your time being nervous," you let out a sigh, silently thanked him for calling you and speaking to you so normally, maybe you'd even ask for an autograph to thank him properly. you talked for a while about a butterfly that had entered sunghoon's room the other day until mr. choi called you to get ready "I don't want to take up any more of your time but i want you to know that you don't have to prove anything to anyone, everything will be fine considering that you had the best coach," you smiled at that "you have the strength and talent to win all the medals in the world, good luck."

he hung up without letting you say anything and you could swear that a second before you heard him blow a kiss. but maybe it was just your imagination.

but sunghoon was right, you had worked hard day and night for this moment and would do your best. you were fulfilling your dream, and you were going to win that medal.

"what did sunghoon say to you to make you blush like this?" mr. choi teased you, you hadn't noticed how hot your cheeks felt until he pointed it out.

he had been very sweet to you and you couldn't help it. but quickly any thoughts left your head, you were ready to compete.

—

"congratulations! I knew you would make it."

arms around your waist were the first thing you felt when you opened your door in the middle of the night, sunghoon's hug was already leaving you breathless, besides you felt dizzy from the sudden warmth of his body against yours, which was still cold and tired, then he lifts you off the ground causing you to hold on tight to him as he spun you around in the air.

his laughter had lit up the night along with the stars and the sound of crickets in the background, when he left you on the ground and walked away from your body you couldn't help but watch him carefully, you had spent several days without seeing him after spending practically 24 hours together and only now did you realize how beautiful he was.

"thank you sunghoon," his smile really made your day so much better "why are you here?"

"well, you just arrived and I definitely had to be the first to congratulate you in person when I already sent you thousands of messages" his hand never let go of his waist "besides mr. choi obviously."

so pretty.

you never got to see his features as closely as now, but he really looked like a dream, now you could understand those girls on your team who never stopped talking about him, it had only been you who was clouded by the hatred that you felt that you never saw beyond his attitudes with you.

"my parents really wanted to see you today," his voice was full of emotion and you could feel how some tears wanted to come out of your eyes, not even your parents were there with you but you had all the support of his "but it's too late, they still want you to know that you did amazing and that you deserve it."

"that's so sweet," you ran your hand over his arm that was still holding you "tell them thanks for me, maybe I'll visit them again one of these days."

"they would love that."

you were both silent for a while, it wasn't annoying but you really wanted to talk to him more but nothing wanted to come out of your mouth.

"i think i should-"

"hey." he stopped any movement tightening his grip, he had been scared to see how you wanted to go back into your house.

"what's the matter?"

"uh, nothing, I..." he fills his other hand up to his neck scratching it "I'm really proud of you."

you giggled seeing him so nervous, giving compliments was still a bit difficult for him "thank you sunghoon, to be honest I never thought I'd hear that from you."

"but I'm serious, all those times I told you that you didn't know how to skate or that you did it wrong were a complete lie, you did it perfectly and I-"

"hey, it's okay," you caressed his arm looking for him to look you in the eye "you already apologized before, you don't need to do it again."

"okay," now he was so restless that with his movements he hit your shoulder lightly "I can't believe we spent years doing this stupid thing for nothing."

you both laugh and remain silent looking at each other under the moonlight. you felt the change in the air and now there was a different sparkle in his eyes that told you so many things you were terrified to take in.

sunghoon never knew when it happened but your existence began to weigh less and less on his head, you were still on his mind but now it was very different, he began to feel different every time he was with you and he was surprised to know that you weren't someone else completely different and you were the same girl he spent "hating" for years. was it really hate? he never believed that but he could never close his mouth when he saw you do something wrong, maybe he liked seeing you angry or seeing how you failed because after all you were the only competition he had.

his heart didn't lie but he was scared as hell of how things could turn out, he even talked to his mother about it but now he was questioning if it had been a good idea. he never fell in love, hell he hadn't even been as interested in a person as he does with you, the constant need he felt to want to help you improve and be with you all the time was beginning to be annoying for him. so many years alone and now his foolish heart wants to merge with yours? it was ridiculous.

but he liked it.

all these new sensations made him feel like a totally new person who was just discovering the world despite having lived 19 years. everything had been so gray for him that he was overwhelmed to see that there were millions of colors out there that he had refused to see.

suddenly sunghoon gets closer to your body, his fingers caress your cheek and your body begins to fail "what are you doing?"

"actually I have something else to tell you," you were scared by your heartbeat that didn't seem to want to control itself "I can't keep it anymore but I think- I think I like you."

time stops for a few seconds, your eyes open wide not believing what you just heard, you don't move or say anything and sunghoon thinks maybe he made a mistake, he wanted to speak again to apologize but you walk away from him, as if his touch burned you.

"I'm sorry I have to go." you closed the door in his face.

and sunghoon thought that he did everything wrong, that after all your wounds were still open and he had no right to have done that, that contrary to your words maybe your heart hadn't completely forgiven him. he wished he had cleaned his mouth with soap.

the overwhelming wave of feelings that hit you felt like a tsunami, and you were drowning.

—

you haven't seen sunghoon since then and your mind was a complete mess.

it was absurd that no matter what the reason was, he was always circulating your thoughts without letting you rest even for a single day.

"who are you waiting for?" yuna touched your shoulder surprising you.

"no one, why?"

"well you've been looking at the door for like ten minutes." you turned your whole body only to be in front of her with a marked expression of confusion on your face.

"no I wasn't."

"yeah you were," she just laughs "never mind, i guess you must have a lot on your mind right now." her raised eyebrows made you suspicious of her words.

"what do you mean?"

"don't play dumb, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about," you just looked to the side avoiding her face, you didn't want to think about it "did something happen between you two? you used to be together all the time and now I haven't seen him for several days around here although his ankle was already good enough to return his training."

you played with your fingers, scared to answer, scared of your feelings "I don't know."

she was silent looking at you with her eyes narrowed "you know that with that answer you already told me everything I needed to know, right?" your cheeks burned in an instant "it always bothered you that sunghoon was someone so stubborn, but you don't realize that you're almost the same." her finger lightly tapped your forehead for you to see and stop hiding.

"we are not the same." you wrinkled your nose, wanting to end that conversation.

"oh of course not dear, I've known you both for years and I could even say that you are opposite. but ones that attract each other." she smiled seeing your expression "and both are equally oblivion with your feelings."

she got up grabbing her things, you looked quickly and everyone was ready to go to her house "yuna!"

"bye!" she quickly advanced her steps to the exit, it was impossible to stop her.

what was she referring to? you let out a groan, you already had too much on your mind for her to confuse you even more.

could you really like him? you kept thinking that, just a few months ago you hated each other to death, was it possible to have those feelings now? It was ridiculous whichever way you looked at it.

"haven't you left yet? great," mr. choi sat next to you, preventing you from thinking "i need you to practice with sunghoon, it's just to help him and control him with his ankle, I don't want him to do anything risky."

you frowned visibly annoyed "what am I now? his babysitter?" seeing his expression made you regret your words "I'm sorry but everyone is already leaving and besides, shouldn't you be the one to help him with that?"

"oh come on, don't act like you never stayed up late practicing, it won't take long." he really didn't need to tell you anything else because you would do it anyway.

—

the air is sharp to breathe and there you were, again wrapped in that awkward silence.

which you had not missed at all.

"are you ready?" he doesn't even look you in the eye, but neither can you.

he entered the ice rink without saying anything, the music began to play and as soon as his body moved you couldn't take your eyes off him at any time, he became one with the music, he paid attention and dedication to every little thing detail and that was what made his presentations truly unique.

"try to slow down." still he was pushing himself too hard, and you didn't want his ankle to heal badly or worst case he hurt again.

when he finished he moved closer to your body, scared that he wanted to talk about that night, but also afraid that he would ignore you. but not a single word left his mouth, he just stood there in front of you looking at your face and then opened his arms, waiting for you to do something.

you shifted your gaze from his arms to his face a few times and your body turned on its own, enveloping him in a warm embrace. your arms find their place in him and your face seeks comfort in the space of his neck, you feel in heaven when he tries to wrap you around his whole body leaving not a single inch between you "can we skate together? it feels lonely."

both weren't even skating like you should, just spinning around nonstop while your arms constantly searched for your bodies not wanting to be even a second apart, it was as if you needed each other's warmth to live or else the ice below would consume you.

your body was at peace but at the same time full of nerves and doubts, had it been a mistake not to say anything at that moment and close the door in his face? why didn't he push you away after you behaved that way? you didn't know but you don't want the answer either, you didn't want to think about what would become of you if he just disappeared from your life, he was always there no matter if you couldn't stand each other before. he will always be a part of your life.

"actually I asked mr. choi to do this," you moved your head away from his chest, looking at him confused "I almost had to beg him to tell you to stay a little longer and let us be alone."

"why did you do it?"

his face came closer to yours "because I missed you." his breathing mixed with yours and you no longer thought you would be able to stay calm "besides because the last time I saw you you seemed to hate me again."

you hid your face again only to hit his chest, he didn't make a sound and the rage you had inside you made you hit him again and again and again. but he never pushed you away, his hands were still firm on your body, he knew he deserved it.

"you can't do this to me," you tried not to shed a single tear "saying that to me after everything you've put me through? it's not fair."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. I know you are and I hate you for it." when you stopped beating him sunghoon could only hug you tightly letting you sob into his shirt "I hate you for making me forgive you so easily despite everything."

"I'm really sorry." hearing sunghoon apologize had already become normal "it was my fault for saying that to you so out of the blue and thinking that you would reciprocate my feelings after everything I did to you, I-"

you cut him off with a kiss.

a shiver ran through your whole body, you had never felt your heart beat so fast to the point that it was the only thing you could feel, but the touch of his lips made you feel more alive than ever.

his lips were soft as winter, like snow that melted under your warm touch.

it was just like when the sun melts the ice.

"but above all I hate myself for reciprocating your feelings." sunghoon's soul returned to his body upon hearing those words, you can't help but smile as you see how the panic in his eyes fades.

"god you scared the hell out of me," his fingers wiped your tears gently "my crybaby," you laughed at that old nickname "since I started being with you more I could feel my heart beating faster whenever I was near you, look." he holds your hand to put it on his chest so you can feel his heartbeat "I feel so stupid for everything I did before."

you realize that back then you were drowning because you didn't swim far enough, but now you could breathe.

maybe liking him wasn't such a bad thing.

"as you should." you were silent for a while just feeling each other's heartbeat "i shouldn't have closed the door on you that day." he couldn't stop looking at your face fondly, his gaze drifting to your lips most of the time.

sunghoon took a deep breath "don't worry about it," he practically whispered on your lips, wanting another kiss "I like you a lot. I was so scared of losing you."

he closed his eyes letting his forehead rest against yours "I like you a lot too, I think I just needed time to think, I'm sorry."

"stop apologizing, just please let me kiss you again and again and again."

It was such an intimate moment, as if you were in your own bubble away from everyone and just showing each other affection.

none of you stopped until you were forced to pull away from lack of air "you made me see a lot of things differently." he brushed your hair behind your ear, caressing your cheek with the tip of his thumb.

you really noticed, sunghoon had changed a lot in such a short time to how he was just a few months ago, but you always thought it was because of his injury that had restricted many things, you never thought it was because of you. before he was cold and rarely smiled, he was alone most of the time and seemed not to want to make friends, he just concentrated on skating. but now it was as if he were a different person although deep down he was still him. the same sunghoon who pouted, didn't speak, and turned away from everyone when he was upset, the introverted but noisy boy who always made mr. choi laugh with his jokes, who worked hard everyday to be the best, the same sunghoon who always loved dearly. you laughed at yourself, you used to think he had no heart when in fact he has the biggest of all.

who would have thought that sunghoon was this loving? all the time wanting to be glued to you.

"you know, maybe I've won a lot of medals in the past, and all of them being better than you," you wanted to hit him for making fun of you at that moment "but nothing compares to you." he gives you a little peak "you are the most precious thing I've ever gained in all my life."

you laugh, running your hands over his neck "gained?" you gently tugged at his hair as you brought your face close to his lips, teasing him.

"just kiss me already."

and you did, enjoying the moment wishing it would never end and wishing your heart felt like this forever, more alive than ever.

"can i ask you out on a date?" god, you would never get tired of looking at his eyes and his moles.

"only if you don't slam doors in my face." he laughs, only for you to shut him up with another kiss, and another, and another.

"deal."

🐼 🧘🏻‍♀️ 🤺

what a handsome flirt

all for the sake of throne — psh (m)

pairing: king!sunghoon x queen!reader

genre: explicit, royalty au, marriage au, not minor friendly

synopsis: as a king, sunghoon was perfect. He was intelligent, kind, confident — basically everything a woman would want, not to mention how great he was in bed as the cherry on top. But why did his wife seemed to disagree? Did she really hate him or was it all an act? Sunghoon didn’t know, but he was for sure sick of hiding his feelings.

warnings: dom!king hoon, he’s a little annoying but in a hot way, lovers in denial, hint of e2l, small plot, bathtub s*x, unprotected s*x, mentions of kitchen s*x, cute love confession at the end, this is mostly cute imo

word count: 2.7k

note: this is practically my version of the even days on Queen Charlotte, enjoy 🫰🏼

Let’s get over with it, you thought to yourself, standing before the glorious gates of the king’s room as you pushed them open, walking inside with a confidence that was half fake. 

You did not like doing this, not one bit, yet you weren’t given the luxury of making your own decisions. 

After all you had one task — birthing a new heir for the throne, it couldn’t be that hard now could it? 

However it was, it really was hard with a person like him — with a person who’s not only a know it all but also as stubborn as a goat. 

Gosh, he was so annoying with his stupidly handsome face and no, you did not care if it was a treason to call him that. 

But the hardest part wasn’t the fact that you had to perform the “marital act” with him every other day on even days of the week, it was the fact that you had to hide that you actually liked it and that you were not being pretentious. 

Why the hiding, you wonder? Because he was a jerk, a great king for his nation, true, but a trashy husband to you. And if you were supposed to age together, he had to improve, whether he liked it or not. 

Which was why you were determined to get on his nerves just as much as he did to yours, thinking that it could make him question his perfect self, maybe for the sake of his marriage. 

And well, given that he also was tired of hiding his feelings for you, that sly plan of yours seemed to have hope. 

“We’re supposed to spend the night together.” You said as you stood before the bathtub that Sunghoon, who happened to be the mentioned king and husband, was bathing in, “It’s an even day today.” 

Oh yeah, right, even day, he thought as he eyed you up and down, lips curling up to a smug smirk which dictated the fact that he liked your nightgown. 

You looked astonishing, just like how you always did. 

It was really a shame that he won’t be telling you that though, since you were treating him as if he was your enemy ever since your first morning together, making him wonder what he did so wrong. 

I mean, you were newly wedded, both of you had given consent for this marriage so what was the issue? Why were you so mean to him? 

He honestly didn’t have a clue, but it was true that his patience was running out thanks to you, and your cute little grumpy face. 

“Leave us.” He ordered at the young man, his servant, who was standing by the door. 

As the young man followed his command, you slipped out of your slippers, trying to untie the knot above the tiny buttons of your gown to take it off of you, but failing miserably despite your continuous attempts. 

“Just get in.” Sunghoon bluntly spoke, eyes looking somewhat amused as he laid in the tub clothless, his muscular body full on display before you. 

Yes he was unbearable as a person, but let’s be honest, he was hot as hell — maybe even hotter thanks to his cockiness. 

Without rejecting, you did as you were told, stepping inside the warm water, letting it wet the long skirt of your gown as you kneeled in between his legs. 

He didn’t resist your touch once you wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer, lips resting merely an inch away from each other as you both sighed with expectation. 

He was the one that closed the unnecessary gap, pushing his plump lips that you secretly really liked kissing on yours. 

You leaned over as you kissed him back, placing your legs on both sides of his thighs, letting him pull you on his manhood with the grasp he had on your waist. 

He was eager, so eager, and why did you enjoy that? 

It felt like you were both in a rush to feel each other, almost as if you were doing this out of love and not because you were forced by the elders, aka his mom and her useless council of lords. 

Well, calling this love would be bold but one thing was for sure, and it was that no power in the world could force either of you into doing something you didn’t like. 

So yeah, despite the fact that none of you admit it, the even days of the week were for sure your favorite. 

The way you both hissed once his tip brushed over your entrance was a living proof of that as you broke the kiss for a brief second, wanting to take a look at his handsome face. 

He was frowning, biting his lips as you sank down on him, taking him more and more gradually until there was nothing left outside. 

Ugh that feeling — the feeling of him filling you up to the max, it was freaking perfect. 

His hands were now roaming on your body, caressing your back and playıng with your breasts over the thin fabric that weighed on you. 

He groaned once you started to rock your hips on his, digging his nails into your skin almost as if he was trying to leave a mark behind. 

The way you squeezed him tightly with your warmth was one thing, he was in love with it, true, but what drove him insane was the look on your face — the look of pure pleasure as you began to ride him, mouth gaping open to leave the most beautiful whimpers he has ever heard. 

Ugh seriously, how dare you could be so attractive when you were so rebellious? He couldn’t stand that, you know? 

You truly deserved a punishment for that, queen or not. 

Placing both hands on your hips, he led you into a faster pace, all the while sneakily making his way back to your lips, enclosing them with his needy ones. 

God he hated you, he hated to feel so needy for you, he hated the fact that he was burning for you while you treated him like shit, causing him to go mad all alone with the thoughts of you spiraling inside his mind. 

But he loved you, he loved you so much that he was enduring it for you, pretending to be okay with it all — pretending to be only doing this for the sake of the throne. 

Whereas he didn’t even care for an heir, not a single bit, no, he was just lying to not give you the upper hand. 

Because how could he just confess his wild love for you when you were complaining about how bothering it was to have him breathing in the rooms of your palace just the other day? 

Yeah, it was true that you made up for yourself after that with how you let him fuck you on the dinner table but let’s be honest, it was still really rude, even for you. 

He couldn’t just forget about that, could he? 

But honestly, he sort of really wanted to, especially when all he cared about was the way you made him feel every time he touched you, every time he made you his and every time he filled you up with his seeds — just like how he was about to do right now. 

“Close,” you mumbled, arching your back as you let your head fall behind, your lips separating from his to expose more of your gorgeous neck for him, “I'm close, do not slow down.” 

He scoffed, speechless at the audacity you had then again. You were giving orders to the king himself without a single care in the world, surely you were a mad woman, maybe as mad as him even. 

Or maybe you were his perfect match, just like his servant pointed out the other day. 

Giving a light squeeze to your buttocks, he trailed his hands on your body, reaching to your neck to wrap his hands around it. He didn’t forget to fondle your tıts on his way there, loving the way they were perfectly fitting in his palms. 

After his long fingers were placed tightly around your throat, he pulled you down, speaking against your lips before he kissed them, “You can be a lady for once and ask for it kindly, you know,” he whispered, sarcastic with his tone, “it won’t kill you, I promise.” 

“Please,” you replied, which was enough to surprise him as he froze in his spot, suddenly gulping down was an unmanageable task at the sound of your whiny request, “just don’t slow down, please.” 

Shaking his head, he tried to break the spell you just unknowingly casted on him, “See,” he cleared his throat, pretending his best to seem unbothered, “it was not that hard now, was it my queen?”  

“It was, actually,” you disagreed, pecking his lips with a shit eating grin on your face, “my heart almost stopped as I was saying the p word, my king.” 

He giggled, biting his lips as he moved closer to give you a proper kiss, his tongue melting on yours once he poked it inside your mouth.

Although the conversation between you could be called cute, his thrusts and his kisses couldn't be included in the same category. 

Guess he isn’t such a gentleman when it comes to making love, you thought, secretly enjoying this side of him. 

And by the passing second, he only became more and more aggressive, the pressure in between your legs increasing a crazy amount with every push of his hips. 

“Sunghoon ..” you called out for him in between sloppy kisses, struggling to keep yourself on your knees with the way they trembled. 

“I know, do not worry,” he whispered, feeling the same way as you, desperately craving his high, almost like a teen boy, “I won’t stop until you’re there, I promise.” 

And oh dear God, the list of things that he could sacrifice over the way you kissed him right now, it had no limit. 

This was the first time he’s seen you being so needy, so passionate and so defenseless with him that he couldn’t help but to wonder if the whole “I hate your existence” thing that you got going on with him was fake. 

Perhaps you were pretending just like him, but what for?

Now that he thought about it, maybe he hasn’t been a good husband to you and maybe — that was the reason behind your small riots. 

If that was the case, then there was hope for your marriage, which without a doubt was all he asked for.

For sure you had your reasons to be beefing with him, I mean he had many faults towards you — like leaving you all alone at the first night of your marriage just so he could ‘observe the stars’ in his private observatory, but in the bigger picture it really was not his fault either. 

He was raised to be a king, to be perfect, to be a scientist, to be a role model — not to be a husband unfortunately, and that hasn’t been a problem until after you’ve arrived.

Don’t get him wrong, he wasn’t complaining, it was just that your existence near him changed more than he thought. 

First of all it changed him and it really was harder than you could guess to adjust.

Just a few days back he was a young boy who did not care for anything else besides the planet Venus, yet today the only thing that he was thinking about was you, and what he could do to impress you, in hopes of making you hate him less.  

So to put it shortly, he just needed some time to make everything perfect, that was all. 

It was your pretty voice what pulled him out of his trans as you were calling for the name of god after his. Your body was collapsed on his, your arms wrapped around his neck while you were panting against his ear, putting your last drop of energy to your legs in order to be able to keep on bouncing upon him. 

“Shhh, you’re alright,” he whispered as he hugged your waist, taking some weight off your tired knees as he helped you with your movements using his strong arms, leading you up and down repeatedly, “I’ve got you y/n, it’s alright.” 

“I’m … I-I think I’m …” 

“Do it.” he cut your words, lips landing endless kisses on your neck as his grip tightened. His face was buried on your skin while he was trying to focus on his nearing high, hoping to arrange it at the same time with yours. 

And he was successful with it, the seeds of your future generation spilling from his thick shaft into you, filling you up all good like your previous times.

Neither of you were quiet with your climaxes as you both groaned and sighed, hands all over each other, desperately searching for a space to hold on. 

“Are you well?” he managed to utter after a while later, all breathless as he rested his face on your shoulders. You seemed just as exhausted as him, he could tell it from the way your heart was beating. 

Yes, it was so loud that he could hear it, wasn’t that so cute?

“Mhm, I’m .. uhh .. fine.” you replied, forcing out your words with your half closed eyes, trying to remove yourself from where you were sitting on top of Sunghoon with your weak arms. “I should leave you .. um, good night.”

Now that you were done with each other, it was time that you left, right? I mean, It wasn’t like you had any good reasons to stay anyway. 

Well, it looked like Sunghoon did not agree with you, not in the slightest bit. 

“Wait — ” he stopped you, raising his head from where it was resting on your chest to look you in the eyes. And your eyes, lord, they were so beautiful. “Don’t leave tonight, just stay,” he said, using his kindest tone, “please, y/n, I’m asking you.”

“But — ”

“No buts,” he shushed you, caressing your lips with his thumb as he pressed it on them, “enough with this cold war between us, let us put an end to it already, yeah?” 

You were left tongue-tied at his sudden offer, fluttering your lashes a few times as you observed his face. He was serious — sincere even, you could sense it with your heart, which was a first.

Were you surprised? hell yes, but this was a good thing. 

He was trying to show that he was willing to take the first step for you and needless to say, it was as impressive as it was cute. He was probably freaking out on the inside, hoping miserably for you to take a step towards him as well, so that the unbearable gap between you two would vanish. 

Clearing your throat, “Yeah,” you hummed, nodding your head,  “I’d love that.” 

“And no more even days or odd days,” he added, wrapping his arms around you even stronger, wanting to give you no space in case you tried to run away, “we shall have all of our days like this, together.”

Failing to stop your curiosity from getting the best of you, “But why now?” you asked. 

I mean this was sweet and all, like who wouldn’t want peace with their husband but, what happened out of nowhere? You wanted to know, you had to know so you repeated yourself,  “Why the change now?” 

“Because I want my wife every day of the week, regardless of the date,” he answered, his eyes never leaving yours as they burned a hole through your soul, “I love her too much to let another day go to waste without her near me, that’s why.”

Wait, did you hear that right? Did he just tell you that he — ohmygod, did he just confess?

“Y-you … you love me?” 

“I’m crazy about you, my queen,” he approved, a beautiful smile spreading all over on his handsome face as he leaned in to steal your breath with his lips once again before he whispered, 

“I’m as crazy as a mad dog for you, if only you could see.”

© hee-pster on tumblr, do not plagiarize.

koi no yokan | n.rk

genre: fluff, high school au, implied enemies to lovers, bad boy x good girl, reader and niki are in detention, content warning: a little profanity

“I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I am.” Niki teases, flicking a small paper ball at your back from his seat behind you, there were plenty of other desks available and the fact that he chose to sit so close to you made your blood boil.

You clench your jaw in annoyance at his childish antics, the sound of his voice only aggravating you further, you shut your eyes for a quick moment to compose yourself before turning around in your chair to face him. You were class president after all, you had to maintain your diplomatic reputation, “What is your problem with me?”

Niki leans forward in his chair, hands shoved in the pockets of his black slacks, “That’s funny, I was just about to ask the same thing.”

Your mind temporarily focuses on the fact that he’s closer in proximity now, not too close but close enough you could smell the musky scent of cologne wafting from his lean figure. You quickly snap back to reality when Niki chuckles at your lack of response, the little moment clearly giving him an ego boost.

You turn back around with a roll of your eyes, not wanting to give him anymore satisfaction,“I’m pretty sure you’re the reason I got detention.”

Niki scoffs in disbelief. “More like you’re the reason I got detention, you snitch.” He retorts.

Your mouth falls open at his insult, going against your better judgement you quickly whip back around to face him once again, eyes narrowing at the brunet boy, “I’m not a snitch! If you weren’t vandalizing school property like the delinquent you are we wouldn’t be stuck here!”

Niki’s eyes are narrowed back at you, hands still remain in his pockets though this time he’s leaned back in his chair. “You’re the psycho that attacked me! If you would’ve just let me run away like any other normal person we wouldn’t be stuck here!” He uses your own words against you and you swear no one has ever gotten under your skin quite like Riki Nishimura.

“Not only is vandalism against school policy, it’s also against the law, you lowlife criminal.”

“Well,” Niki begins sarcastically with a dramatic roll of his eyes, “Lock me up and throw away the key.”

“I hate you.”

“Yeah, take a number and get in line.”

Eventually thirty agonizing minutes passed by without another word from you or Niki, there was only ten minutes left of detention now and you had planned on spending the remainder of it finishing your game of Tetris on your old flip phone you snuck in prior to detention since the principal had taken away your smartphones.

You had gotten so immersed in your game you were oblivious to the boy behind you beginning to stir awake, he might’ve stayed in his deep slumber if it wasn’t for the harsh clicks of your fingers against the buttons of the phone and your whispered curses anytime you didn’t land a block exactly the way you intended but nonetheless nothing seemed to be going your way since you met Niki.

“I thought you were supposed to be a goody two-shoes.” He rests his chin on top of your head, larger frame towering over yours. His deep voice is slightly raspy from his previous nap making it all the more attractive and it causes a shiver to go down your spine.

You’re not sure what to say being caught red handed by none other than the devil himself, you knew he would never let you live this down. So you opt for swiftly attempting to shove the phone into the desk, but his nimble fingers snatch it.

“Hey, give it back!” You simultaneously jump out from your seat as Niki does.

He laughs, holding the phone away from your reach as you attempt to get it back, grabbing onto his arms though it does nothing, he’s able to easily overpower you by simply breaking free from your grip.

“Sneaking a phone into detention?” He tsks at you, “That’s against school rules. Looks like you’re a total hypocrite, miss president.”

“Why do you always have to be such an asshole?!” You huff, shoving his broad shoulders which barely had any effect on the boy as he continues to laugh but you won’t give up so easily.

Before Niki knows it, you pounce on him, causing you both to tumble down on the ground.

Much to your dismay you land right on top of him, your palms harshly smacking onto the wooden floor on either side of his head, your outstretched arms thankfully stopping your face from crashing directly into his, preventing what would’ve been a very awkward kiss.

You know you should get up and pretend nothing happened, you know it’s wrong to be staying in this position with him longer than necessary but for some reason you can’t bring yourself to pull away from him.

The way he’s looking at you right now has you in a daze, the constellations of tiny moles scattered across his face and neck takes you to outer space, his dark eyes like black holes, drawing you in with great force and you can’t escape. The multiple small silver hoops that adorned his ears like planetary rings, and the way his flawless ivory skin glowed like the pale moonlight is enough to have you feeling like a supernova just exploded inside your chest.

Despite the throbbing pain in the back of his head Niki smirks up at you, “You little pervert. Was this your agenda all along?”

Of course he had to say something stupid to ruin the moment and even though you should feel relieved a small part of you can’t help but also feel slightly disappointed.

You scoff at his accusation, “Fuck off, Nishimura.” Using his shoulder as leverage for pushing yourself off him, “I wouldn’t kiss you if you were the last man on earth-“ Your little rant is cut short when Niki suddenly lifts himself up, his long slender fingers wrapping around the wrist of your hand that once held his shoulder, tugging it towards his chest, his grip rough but gentle while forcing you closer to him.

“Go ahead,” The tip of his nose caresses yours, his plump lips lingering millimeters from your own, his thigh trapped between your knees as you kneel so you’re just barely hovering above him, “What were you saying?”

You’re absolutely mortified by the position you’ve let yourself be put in by Niki and even more ashamed at the warm sensation that runs through your entire body.

It’s wrong and yet the way his other hand is resting on your waist feels right.

He chuckles at your silence, before finally letting you go allowing you both to break apart and stand up. “Detention should be over by now.” You say, clearing your throat, hands straightening out the black fabric of your skirt, deciding to ignore the whole ordeal that just unfolded between you and Niki.

However, Niki seems to disagree with your decision, eyes scanning you up and down, a smirk still plastered on his face as he watches you adjust your school uniform, knowing it’s just nervous fiddling.

“Jake’s throwing a party friday night, you should come.” He offers, his intense gaze unwavering.

You avoid his eyes, but still manage to speak confidently, “I don’t go to parties.”

“Because you don’t get invited?” He teases once more, knowing exactly how to push your buttons.

You stomp your foot, giving the boy a pointed look as you meet his gaze.

He lazily raises his hands up in surrender, his silver chain bracelets clinking together on his wrist as he lets out a light laugh and you hate the way you chuckle along with him.

“You don’t get detention either but that didn’t turn out so bad, did it?”

“Says who?” You retort, crossing your arms over your chest, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Just think about it.” Niki shrugs before grabbing his backpack from his desk, flinging it over his shoulder, and leaving you alone in the classroom for your own thoughts to consume you.

This was only your second encounter with Riki Nishimura and as much as you hoped it would be your last you couldn’t shake the inevitable feeling that this was just the beginning.

author’s note: I’m thinking of writing a pt. 2 and possibly making a taglist pls lmk what u think

© taephrodite 2023 | do not plagiarize or translate any of my content

angel in the marble

after you fail to pickpocket him, the famous yet arrogant artist Jeon Jungkook takes you off the streets to make you his servant, and the more you know him, the more you realise he's not as detestable as everyone claims he is.

♔ PAIRING: michelangelo!jungkook x servant!reader

♔ GENRE: high renaissance au, angst, smut, humour

♔ WORD COUNT: 8k

♔ WARNINGS: homelessness, stealing, mild swearing/violence/drinking, 90% of this is bickering lmao, mentions of minor characters' death, jealousy and kinda possessiveness?, referenced unconsensual groping (not by jk), a bit of blasphemy, making out, groping, fingering, rough angry sexxx, choking, slapping

♔ AUTHOR'S NOTE: fun fact this is mostly historically accurate! jk's characterisation, the grocery list doodles, the sack of rome, the beef with his brother, the encounter with his rival (raphael)... are all taken from michelangelo's actual life, even some stuff is quoted from his letters lol. man was fanfic material.

1529, Rome

“How much for that one?”

“No, that one’s sold already.”

It was a lively morning. After days of heavy rainfall, those of high social class were eager to get out and meet under the gentle sun of spring, whose glare reflected on the precious stones of their jewellery; while those of low, out of necessity, couldn’t wait to reopen their businesses or set up their stalls and get back to work. You liked to eye them all as you strolled the streets of Rome.

“To whom?”

“Your friend Taehyung.”

“Agh… How much is that prick paying you?”

The point of the matter was that it was bustling, some colliding if they looked away from where they were going for more than a breath. It worked in your favour for it was then easier to make yourself scarce right after stealing bags of coins, such as those of the three men seemingly bargaining by a workshop’s entrance out of which a large block of marble was being dragged. Perfect.

“Three ducats.”

“Three?! He’s robbing you of two ducats. I’ll pay you the five it’s worth.”

You kept your head low as you approached the pair that seemed wealthier and with those stealthy hands of yours unfastened the bags tied to their belts. After all, pickpocketing was a skill you’d had under your own for some years now, so this was bound to go smoothly.

Because you didn’t realise there was a guardian with them, perhaps you’d grown arrogant.

“I’m sorry, maestro. It’s reserved.”

“But it’ll become a waste in his possession!”

As you slipped away into the crowd, mouth watering at the fresh-baked bread you were going to devour as soon as bought, this brown dog leaped up at you out of nowhere, ignoring your desperate efforts to shake him off. If anything, they caused him to bark.

No, no, no…

The three men turned to the scene playing out not so far, and thinking his dog was bothering you one of them shouted, “Bam, come here, boy!” but as he obediently ran to his owner, you were too slow to hide the bags in your hands. It only took the pair a second to make them out, check whether theirs still hung on their belts, find them not, work out you’d stolen them, look back up, and find you not either.

Of course, you’d made your escape by then, dived into the sea of people and swum through them as quickly as possible, only stopping when you reached an empty vaulted alley to catch your breath.

That was ridiculously close. If you weren’t more careful next–

Your train of thought was interrupted by someone grabbing you by the arm from behind and pushing you against the nearest wall. A grunt accompanied the thud, and a gasp followed at the sight of the two men from before—dog included. Pinned in place, it’d be a bad idea to fight back or attempt to run away again. Fuck’s sake.

“Do you know what happens to thieves?” the one cornering you asked so close that when the cold breeze rustled his hair, some strands grazed your face. You looked away to avoid the tickling rather than out of fear, or so you wanted to believe. “They have a hand cut off. Seems fair, doesn’t it, Jimin?”

By contrast, that Jimin didn’t look intimidating, otherwise still catching his breath from the chase, but he did snatch the coin bags from your hands. “It doesn’t have to be so, maestro. We got our money back. She’s… just a girl.”

“And that exempts her of crime?”

“Please, don’t report me,” you begged, humiliating as though it was.

“Why shouldn’t we?” the maestro scoffed. Maestro… You were being threatened by a damned craftsman, the other one probably his assistant.

“Because I don’t want to lose a hand?”

“Oh, but we wanted to lose money, did we?” You rolled your eyes, and he released his grip only to step away. “Take us to your father, brat. He’ll answer for you.”

It took you a moment to respond, “I don’t have a father, or anyone... Only I can answer for my actions.”

“You’re a beggar?” Jimin asked, taking pity as he studied your appearance for the first time. Dishevelled hair, tattered dress, unpleasant smell… Yes, they should’ve guessed.

“She doesn’t beg, though, does she? She steals.”

“Only from cunts.”

His head snapped to meet your glare, and Jimin laughed, “You seem to not know whom you speak to.” He could be Jesus for all you cared. Uninterested, you petted the dog, Bam, seeing as he’d leapt up at you again. “This is Jeon Jungkook.”

You froze. The Jeon Jungkook? The famous artist who painted and sculpted for the Pope? Whom faraway kings and even emperors commissioned? The one whose genius was said to be changing the world?

At the lack of attention, Bam returned to his master, and that snapped you out of your shock to ask, “Then why do you whine?” The two men frowned, having clearly expected an apology paired with the usual bootlicking. “As if you need that bag more than I!”

“What nerve,” he scoffed again, making you wince by grabbing your arm tighter than before and starting to drag you into the next street. “You’re going straight to the authorities!”

“Wait,” Jimin intervened, thank God. “Weren’t you in need of a servant, maestro?”

“So?”

Jimin pointed at you with his gaze as though it was obvious. “You’re in need of a servant, she’s in need of a roof.”

“I would rather have a hand cut off.”

“I would rather have her hand cut off too.”

Jungkook tried to resume dragging you, but Jimin blocked his way with a soft smile. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N…”

“Do you know how to take care of a household?” Slowly, you nodded, melancholy engulfing you at the memory of cooking or sweeping the floor with your mother once upon a time. Somehow, she always found a way to make chores fun... “Then you qualify for the job. You’ll have three meals a day and a bed to sleep on. And you, maestro, a servant who’ll work her hardest, lest you fire her and she ends up in the streets again.”

Both you and Jungkook reluctantly glanced at each other. Truth be told, you didn’t prefer losing a hand to living with him, you just didn’t like him. Despite being a celebrity, he was a stranger. It just wouldn’t work.

But then, why were you holding your breath, hoping he’d accept?

“We shouldn’t have left Namjoon’s workshop. The marble is about to be delivered,” he said walking away. The air left your lungs in disappointment. It seemed you were to remain a stray cat. Jimin pressed his plump lips apologetically as he gave you enough coins to buy that bread, and you nodded, grateful all the same for his trying. You watched him rush to Jungkook’s side but when this one saw him, he turned around. “Hurry up, brat. If Taehyung gets that block of marble, I’ll not take you in.”

Since the first day, you could attest to Jeon Jungkook’s nature being as rough and uncouth as the rumours claimed, and after living alone with him for two months still believed gossip such as that he’d got the scar on his left cheek in a tavern fight—in which, if you’d chanced to be present, you would’ve rooted for the other individual.

It appeared it wasn’t just others Jungkook was harsh to. However rich his talent had turned him, he behaved like a poor man, consuming food and drink sparingly and out of necessity instead of pleasure, spending only the money required to live decently, sleeping little in order to work on commissions from dawn to midnight…

Why he chose to take little care of himselfwas a mystery to someone who previously had not been allowed a choice, even if putting work before all was in order to thwart Kim Taehyung’s plans of ruining his career, as he claimed. You doubted his rival was obsessed with him so, but had learned to agree with whatever Jungkook grumbled to avoid disputes. Most times.

Deep down, you had a feeling your boldness amused him. Who else dared get on his nerves?

“I think all you artists fluttering around the Pope are no more than slaves to money,” you let drop once while making his bed. Bam was sleeping peacefully under the window, while Jungkook leaning against the door’s frame behind you, offended to the core. He could help, you thought, or at least loosen my corset a little…

“I, a slave? I’ll be damned… There is an angel inside every block of marble, and I’ll have you know I carve to set it free.”

“Is it the angel that charges the Pope, then, master?” You could feel him barely restraining the urge to throw you out the window, smiled as you finished smoothing out the blankets.

“You missed a wrinkle there.”

Hands on your hips and frown on your brows, you examined the neatly arranged coverings of his bed. “Where?”

“On your face,” he muttered before making his leave.

Not his finest jibe, but the metaphor did stay with you. An angel inside the marble… It perhaps applied to Jungkook himself, though you’d never tell him.

One instance it came to mind was recently, when his assistants and apprentices were invited over for dinner.

Usually, he’d tell you which meals he liked and you’d ask at the marketplace which ingredients to buy, but now that about ten meals were to be cooked a list was needed. So there he sat on his desk in his study, inking said list as you waited in front of him, fiddling with the undershirt that peeked out of your dress’ sleeves. Given that your eyes were fixed on it, you only learned Jungkook was done when the sound of his quill scratching the paper ceased.

“Be back no later than dusk,” he ordered, “I bet there are still Germans and Spaniards lurking about.”

A year had passed since the Sack of Rome, but the mention of it sent a shiver of fear down your spine. Whatever the political reasons for it, you hated everyone involved, for Hell itself would’ve been a more beautiful sight to behold those nine months when the Tiber’s waters remained painted red…

You were lucky to make it through. Your family wasn’t.

“Yes, maestro.”

“Here,” he said handing you the paper, then picked another letter from a pile of correspondence he’d been going through before your arrival. Jungkook was about to snap its wax seal when he looked up to realise you hadn’t moved an inch. “Why are you here? Away with you!” He saw the reason in the way you avoided eye contact. “You can’t read, can you?” Met with a silence charged with embarrassment, he leaned back in his chair and sighed, “Give me the list.”

Getting hold of the quill again, Jungkook began… doodling?

You tilted your head but couldn’t see well what he was drawing until he finished and returned the list to you. Then, your lips parted. Each item on the list was illustrated next to its name: ten loaves of bread, a jug of wine, tortellini, four anchovies, two fennel soups…

“I’ll teach you to read when I have time. This will do for now.”

“You’d do that?” For me?

Jungkook ignored you, before he went back to reading his letters complimenting the good gesture with an irritated, “Hurry up.”

That night his co-workers arrived one by one, Jimin the first. The sight of him when you opened the door brightened up your mood.

Unlike a certain someone he was always sweet to you, genuinely interested to know how you fared even if you were just a servant. He claimed that mattered not to him, that you were both commoners and thus equals.

“Look at this place, it’s spotless! And you know I’m furtive, so I won’t get in your way,” you told Jimin as you escorted him through a hallway, bright from the torches hung on the walls that you’d lit up earlier.

He laughed, “I cannot make you my servant, Y/N, you’re maestro’s.”

“But he’s going to drive me mad… To tell you one of many examples, he often falls asleep in his clothes, and who but I is to take his boots off so they don’t get the sheets dirty? If the chalk on his fingers or the dust from the chiseling on his hair won’t already. Bam is far cleaner…”

Jungkook had a workshop he barely set foot in, preferred his team made use of it instead to not be bothered by their idiocy. His words. So it was in a chamber on the ground floor of this house he gave way to artistic insanity. In your book, that meant constant cleaning.

Jimin looked at you fondly. “Sounds nightmarish.”

“It truly is!”

As soon as the two of you entered the dining hall, Bam ran from Jungkook’s side by the fireplace to Jimin, who was as excited to see him.

“Good night, maes–”

“Do you think I’m deaf, ungrateful brat?” Jungkook interrupted him to bark at you. “Rome is full of people begging to get a piece of me, so if you don’t like it here, I’ll just get someone else!”

“You say that and yet keep me like a prisoner!”

“As if you don’t have it better here than anywhere you’ve burdened with your presence before!”

“There, there…” Jimin interjected to de-escalate, kneeling to better stroke Bam. “Maestro, I’ve seen your latest sketch of the Virgin and Child. She resembles Y/N.”

Both you and Jungkook failed to fight off the embarrassment, gazes unable to find a place to settle. Sitting down on the large table, he explained, “It was just one time… I had used Yoongi as a model, but the Madonna looked too masculine... and rather than going through the trouble of finding some girl and hiring her, I had Y/N pose for me… So what! Why bring it up out of nowhere…”

“Because maybe you just need a bit of distance from time to time. With permission, I too would have Y/N pose for m–”

“Absolutely not.”

“Now, why the hell not?” you groaned stamping your foot, startling poor Bam. Hope had been born inside you in a second and cruelly crushed in the next.

“Because I say so. And watch your tone with me.” As usual, the mutual glaring would trick anyone into thinking the next step would be murder. Jimin, who knelt there awkwardly, certainly thought so, at least until the bell rang. “Now go answer the door!”

What happened later, though, rendered the fury Jungkook had evoked in your heart nonexistent and instead seized the thing in a clasp of distress.

In the morning, he walked in when you were sweeping the kitchen. At once you forced the sobs to stop and turned around so he wouldn’t see you wipe your tears.

“It’s past nine, where’s breakfast?” he asked in shock that you hadn’t even started making it, the table there empty.

You swore under your breath before leaving the broomstick leaning against the nearest wall, flushed face kept out of Jungkook’s sight, then in a haste fetched a plate, a knife, and a leftover bread loaf. “Apologies, master, I forgot. I’ll be upstairs in a minute.”

Sniffling betrayed you, at which Jungkook frowned. “Are you crying?”

Great, the question just about especially designed to make one well up. Not trusting your voice anymore, you shook your head. Jungkook approached, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from the task at hand, now cutting a few slices of the bread.

“Have you broken something?” You shook your head again, the suppressed sobs making your chin tremble. Jungkook took a deep breath before asking with a surprisingly soothing tone, “Then what’s wrong?”

“You won’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

Within an hour, he’d summoned a meeting consisting of all who’d attended dinner the previous night.

A seemingly calm Jungkook was sat at the head of the table, elbows sunk on it and fingers interlocked. You stood behind him, head still low out of shame. A tense silence had fallen in the chamber some time ago, and sick of it, Jimin shattered it.

“Have you anything to tell us, maestro?”

“I was waiting for Biagio to do so.”

The man was one of Jungkook’s favourite assistants who had worked with him for years, even longer than Jimin. And if it was possible for your position to be trickier, he belonged to some noble family.

“Me? But I’ve nothing to say, maestro.”

Jungkook leaned back in his chair. “My servant will, then. Y/N?”

Bastard. If you are going to fire me, why make me go through this?

“Last night, w-when I left this hall to go refill the wine jug… Messer Biagio followed me into the kitchen, and… h-he trapped me from behind, and started t-to touch me…” Your vision soon blurred, hence why you couldn’t see clearly how concerned Jimin was for you, or how Biagio jumped up in outrage. “I managed to push him away, and ran upst–”

“How dare you slander me, wench? Maestro, you do not believe this!”

“Do I not?”

“She’s lying! I caught her stealing sketches from your study, likely to sell them, so she’s trying to get rid of me!”

You almost scoffed. Only an idiot would choose the one occasion guests had come over and her absence would be noticed to carry out a theft.

Jungkook tilted his head. “I thought you had nothing to say. Why would you keep such a thing just now?”

Biagio gulped. “I deemed it best to mention it later, in private... You won’t believe a pickpocket before an old friend, will you?”

Silence returned, your breath still as you saw all the assistants and apprentices visibly take pity on him. The only one who didn’t was Jimin, but even on his face there was a hint of hesitation. Jungkook’s, you couldn’t see from behind, but after an eternity he stood up and walked over only to put a hand on the shoulder of Biagio, who smiled in relief.

A quiet sob broke through your lips, heart sinking. You’d needed Jungkook to believe you in this. Not because of the consequences his protection as your master could save you from, but because, like it or not… he was the closest thing to family you had.

It turned out he did believe you, judging by the punch landed on Biagio’s jaw out of nowhere. And the next one on his cheekbone, and on his nose. Before everyone around the table had barely stood up to stop Jungkook, he’d already thrown Biagio down and straddled him, pulling his doublet’s collar in a close, tight grip as he continued beating him up. Blood was drawn, but for once, you didn’t mind having to scrub it later.

Jungkook’s influence trumped a whole noble house’s, you learned in the course of the months Biagio tried his mightiest and failed most miserably to have him arrested. Perhaps because of the Pope sitting on his shoulder.

That he’d taken your side was still hard to believe, all he’d grumbled with a shrug when you thanked him while tending to his wounds from the fight being, “I’d been waiting for the chance. I always thought Biagio was a weasel.”

With the matter resolved, life returned to normal—well, whatever that meant in Jeon Jungkook’s household. Because calling for you at the top of his lungs like a madman was not normal. The first time he’d done it you’d raced downstairs, afraid something horrible had happened, only for him to have you close a window as it was getting chilly. Devil rot him. You rushed no longer after that, much to his complaints.

Today, he didn’t notice right away when you appeared under the cased opening, and good thing he didn’t, for he was polishing a bust with sandpaper… shirtless.

Product of hours carving stone into his desired shape or occasionally beating someone up, he could brag of having muscles, which the current task had covered in a layer of sweat and dust. The way they flexed with each movement had you compelled, wanting to reach out, feel if his skin was as hot as the blood pumping through your veins faster and faster. Then your gaze moved to the bust and whatever spell you were under broke.

Hardly an angel was that widowed noblewoman, whom you wished had stayed trapped inside a block of marble. Her name was Madonna Maddalena, and she’d come some weeks past to make a commission covered in pearls, gold, and boldness.

“My friends refused to accompany me today. You’re said to be… disagreeable, which I’m sure is untrue. However, all of them do want to know if you’re as fine-looking as is also rumoured, maestro” she told Jungkook within minutes of meeting him, still by the entrance!

Now you can tell them he’s not, you bit your tongue before it remarked, as this wasn’t Jimin but a patron not to be scared away by your bickering. It wouldn’t be true anyway. All your master lacked in manners, he made up for with looks… Which you’d never say out loud. You’d never say either that he looked even better when irked.

“I’ve heard many rumours about myself, most of them nonsense. My appearance was involved in none.”

She smiled seductively. “I suppose I’ll have to be the one to spread them.”

“The weather is pleasant today,” Jungkook changed the subject, flustered beneath the formal demeanour. “Shall we have wine in the garden?” You left to prepare it not before catching Maddalena raise her brow at you in disapproval. She must’ve been able to tell you thought she was a pompous cunt.

The beautiful flowers you cared for tried their best outside, but the air didn’t get any better.

Sat around a small table, Maddalena explained she wanted a bust of herself by his talented hand to decorate the main hall of her palazzo. You served them wine, not really listening until Jungkook started playing hard to get. The hundred times you’d told him it wasn’t a good tactic to make his labour out to be too prestigious had apparently fallen on deaf ears.

“Any other artist could carry this out, Madonna. I am working for the Pope these days…” he subtly scolded her, a mere mortal, for wasting his precious time. And he wondered why he had a reputation for being arrogant.

Maddalena put his thoughts into plain words, “So why should you stoop to taking commissions from an insignificant widow?”

“Correct,” you said under your breath, luckily heard by none from the background, where you stood holding a wine jug until the madonna raised her cup and you approached to refill it.

“It is then fortunate I’m to marry a nephew of the Pope’s.”

Swayed by her future influence, Jungkook smiled back. “So it is.”

“But not for another week. ‘Till then, I belong to no man.” The suggestion in her tone almost drove you to spill wine all over her. No, better yet: order Bam to sic on her. He’d do it.

Just, who did this woman think she was? And why did Jungkook not kick her out right afterwards? It made you wonder whether he’d enjoyed the flirtation. Whether he would’ve been the one to take things further had his inconvenient servant not been present. It was common for men to have affairs and lovers, but it didn’t sit well with you that Jungkook might. Not that you ever imagined him doing any of that, for goodness’ sake–

“What took you so long?”

Jungkook’s voice brought you back to the present, under the cased opening.

“I was lazing about, as always,” you quoted his favourite false reprimand, making him roll his eyes, your own dropping to the floor when he walked closer.

“In that case, prepare a bath for me.”

“Yes, master.”

You sighed at all the work ahead. That being a servant was worlds better than living in the streets didn’t mean you looked forward to collecting gallons of water from a well, carrying them back, heating them, transferring them to a tub, then washing Jungkook—because you did wash him.

Biagio had hurt his left shoulder bad and ever since, he’d needed assistance in certain activities. Curious how he could otherwise chisel a goddamned bust without problem.

Jungkook’s full nudity only made you blush if you stopped scrubbing, so knelt with tucked up sleeves before the wooden tub he was reclined on, scrubbing away the dirt on his skin with lavender-scented soap you were. Maybe all the stupid feelings you’d been suffering lately stemmed from there…

Head resting on the edge, he was exhausted from the long day of work, taking your rubbing as a relaxing massage. You, however, couldn’t ignore the stinging guilt, what with the scar on his shoulder right in front of your face. He probably felt your breathing on it.

“I’m sorry you got hurt…”

Jungkook fought heavy lids only to see you avoid him. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable in front of him was embarrassing, as when he’d caught you crying, but he didn’t take advantage of the fact to humiliate you. Jungkook may be an ogre, but he wasn’t cruel.

“I’ve received worse for less,” he assured you in a calm, low voice. It sounded soothing to your ears.

“That, I don’t doubt,” you scoffed, glancing at his other scar on the cheek. “Did you also get that one in defence of some lady?”

“You’re nowhere close to a lady.” It could be done, you mused. Drowning him. “This was courtesy of my brother.”

“You have a brother?” It dawned on you how little you knew of him. Surely, most had heard it all about the divine Jeon Jungkook, but you’d never cared enough to learn past the shell of gossip, even after months of living with him. In fairness, he’d never asked about you either. You preferred it that way.

“Brothers,” he corrected you. “The one who did this to me was a wayward fool. Had to teach him a lesson.”

“Looks like he taught one to you.”

“I left with a scratch, he with a limp.” The conception of two brothers hurting each other so harshly widened your eyes for a second, and Jungkook noticed, for he added, “He was whoring around, wasting the money I worked hard to send, bullying our other brothers as well.”

Much made sense about Jungkook all of a sudden. Not his personality, that was incomprehensible. But why he killed himself to earn money and yet barely spent it… He had a family to provide for. Once again, you were reminded of his metaphor. Could an angel be in there?

Carrying on washing Jungkook, you dragged the sponge over to his neck. Then his collarbones, his chest, his abs just peaking above the water... They did look like a sculpture’s, especially wet and soaped, reminiscent of polished marble when the light of the torches reflected on them. Swallowing hard, the back of your fingers gingerly graced Jungkook’s muscles, both soft and firm. Slippery. Whatever possessed you to keep feeling them, you lacked the will to expel from your body, and so without realising your grip on the sponge loosened until it fell to float away, fingertips now free to roam over his abs.

You were slowly trailing downwards, past the water’s surface, when your wrist was seized and held in the air in a warning manner, the startle almost making you scream.

Sat upright, Jungkook was glaring at you so fiercely you feared for your life. But he didn’t say anything and instead just breathed hard, jaw clenched… almost as if he was holding back. Your rising heartbeat was deafening in the silence waiting for something to happen, anything, but what did wasn’t what a side of you anticipated with excitement.

Jungkook just let go of your wrist and returned to his previous position, and you got hold of the sponge and finished washing him, albeit holding your breath the entire time.

Days later, you came dangerously close to being fired.

The Pope had summoned Jungkook—something about a portrait commission—and you were to carry his bag filled with sketches for him due to his shoulder injury. As you navigated the ever-busy streets of Rome with him, the cold autumn breeze made you regret not putting on an overgown. The cioppa you’d bought with your own salary and not stolen. It brought a smile to your lips that faded at the realisation your mother would’ve reminded you to put it on before going out.

The sorrow pestering you turned to confusion when Jungkook stopped walking and tsked, telling you loud enough to be heard by all, “Look at him, the chief of police, with such an assemblage.”

A well-dressed man and what appeared to be his entourage walked in your direction, halting near enough. You didn’t have to ask to know this was his rival, the renowned painter Kim Taehyung.

“Whereas you, like an executioner, walk alone,” he mocked Jungkook, then noticed you standing behind him like a timid child. “Not completely, my mistake. Maestro, where in your barren soil did you plant such a flower?” He walked over to you, intentionally bumping Jungkook’s wounded shoulder as he passed, causing him to grunt lowly. From up close one was bound to marvel at how handsome Taehyung was, but you didn’t need proximity to tell he was a prick. Miles away, you would’ve known. “Why don’t you come work for me, flower? I’ll make you my muse.”

Jungkook scoffed again, “What, for your horseshit paintings? She’d be a fool to.”

Taehyung turned around to face him, feigning confusion with a smile. “But, maestro, how could they be so if you were once heard saying that all I have in art, I got from you?”

"You naturally have to resort to plagiarising my master’s genius if all you do is horseshit,” you countered, earning surprised looks from every man present, some laughs too, you were proud to say. Jungkook was certainly smirking. Taehyung opened his mouth, but you walked past him uninterested before a response came out of it.

“Good girl,” Jungkook laughed while leaving the crime scene, and for some reason your cheeks burned hot.

The incident happened once inside the Vatican.

Its grandiose corridors alone made you feel small, too unimportant to walk them, whereas Jungkook did so with determination, knowing he belonged at the top of the world. What with your tempestuous relationship, it was easy to forget he was famous throughout Europe. His feet would still never be kissed by you. Someone had to humble the man, right?

At some point the two of you arrived at a door flanked by guards, and averse, you grabbed the sleeve of Jungkook’s doublet.

“Do I have to go in?”

“Too good for the Pope, are you?” He shook you off. “Come on.”

“Damn you…” you muttered.

“What did you just say to me?”

“After you, master.”

Telling himself he’d be late if he scolded you, Jungkook turned and nodded at the guards, who opened the door of a chamber whose walls were frescoed with angels and saints, likely by Taehyung, giving off the impression one was in Heaven. When you saw him sat on a golden chair, old and grey, enjoying the tune of a lute player, you felt as though you’d just entered Hell.

The audience lasted for ever. While you stood by the door, Jungkook showed the Pope some sketches of the portrait for him to choose his favourite and then they talked and talked of politics. All you could do was fix your gaze somewhere on the floor and sigh.

“Yes, Your Holiness, this is the servant I mentioned…” A frown proceeded your looking up to see Jungkook somewhat embarrassed, scratching his nose as if to hide his face. He talked of you to others? Doubtless to complain…

With a sweet voice as if he was talking to a little girl, the Pope asked you, “What is your name?”

“None of your business, Your Holiness.”

The musician’s tune ceased abruptly, allowing Jungkook’s faint gasp to be heard. Then fell a short silence spent by the Pope blinking, taken aback. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.”

Jungkook was quick to fake a laugh, though sweat formed at his temples. “A jest! She meant no offence, Your Holiness, but to make you laugh.”

You held the Pope’s glare in defiance, indifferent to the fact he was the most powerful man in the whole of Christendom.

By some miracle, he let it go, and you left that chamber minutes later with your head as yet attached to your body. Your arm wouldn’t be for much longer, though, given Jungkook was forcibly dragging you all the way out to the streets, pushing you into the first alley he saw.

“Are you out of your mind?!” he shouted, towering over you menacingly. Unlike the day you’d met, you weren’t scared, rather furious as him as you stood your ground. “That was the Pope, you fool!”

“So?”

Jungkook was in utter disbelief. “He could’ve ordered your execution– mine too!”

“Well, nothing happened!”

“Nothing?! I’m sure to fall out of favour!” He paced around, anxiety quickening his breath. “Years of pouring my soul into my craft, of grovelling before the right people, all thrown away! Good God, your attitude may cost me everything…”

“And what about me?! Everything lost to me does not matter?!”

Jungkook stopped to frown. “What the hell are you talking about?”

It was now you who walked up to him. “I didn’t have a job, or a reputation, or admirers. I had only a family, and I never wished for anything else! That monster you work for took them from me. When the foreigners’ armies came and everyone rushed to Castel Sant’Angelo, he gave the order to close the gates as soon as he was safe behind them! You must have been there with him, weren’t you? Well, we weren’t. We were left outside to be slaughtered. And I wish I had been, like my parents, so I didn’t have to suffer the likes of you any longer!”

Tears were streaming down your face by the end, Jungkook just staring back at you. It didn’t surprise him that your parents were dead or that they’d been killed during the Sack, but that it was so deep a wound left festering in your heart that you didn’t mind being put out of misery. He surmised your disrespectful behaviour towards him was also fruit of your pain, especially if you deemed him an ally of the one who caused it.

“The few things I own… They’re wasted on me. Throw them away or give them to your next servant,” you sobbed, taking for granted you were fired. Anyone with half a brain would indeed have you dismissed, and part of you knew it was bound to happen, that you would go back to breaking in fucking churches to spend the night.

So you turned around into the main street, set on wandering until your legs became too sore not to collapse. With any luck, a carriage would run over you. But warmth then surrounded your hand, and you looked down to see Jungkook’s holding it tight enough to force you to halt. Though still mad, a hint of compassion sparkled in his eyes.

“Let’s… Let us just go home.”

Home. His house had felt so for a while now, truth be told. Himself too.

After that, you non-verbally agreed on a ceasefire—avoiding quarrels, that is, which was quite the task for both.

Such as now that Jungkook had you inking down a letter in his name. First of all, did you look like a scribe? If you’d known in advance the lazy arse would teach you to read and write for this, you’d have chosen to remain illiterate. And second, this was your short break before making dinner, intended to be spent playing with Bam. The poor thing was also in the study, at least being stroked by his owner, who was sat beside you on the desk.

“… I send you my regards, may God keep you from all harm. Jeon Jungkook in Rome,” he finally finished dictating, and you recording. “Give it to me, I’ll seal it.”

He was melting the wax with which to do so when the bell rang, to his surprise. Sighing, you stood up and went to open the door to whom turned out to be Jimin. The sight of him brightened you up, and yours stretched his lips into a smile.

“Evening, Y/N.”

“Good evening! I didn’t know the master was expecting you.”

“He isn’t…” You welcomed him in, brows joining at how he continuously chewed on his aforementioned lip and breathed deep through his nose as he followed you. Had something happened…? A decision to eavesdrop was made en route to the study.

Though Jimin requested for you to stay once there, and nothing could have prepared you for the reason why.

“This actually concerns Y/N…” You and Jungkook exchanged confused looks, him leaning against the desk and crossing arms as though he didn’t like the sound of that. Jimin fixed his already perfect clothes before addressing him, “I’ve come to ask for her hand in marriage.” Your jaw dropped. “I know it’s sudden at the lack of previous courtship, but I thought I should ask for your permission before engaging in it, maestro. She’s a lovely girl… and I think she’d be happy as my wife. Worry not, I won’t ask for a dowry or for her to stop working… Although on second thought, fewer hours of service would be ideal.”

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be happening.

Jungkook must be thinking the same, for he squinted to ask, “Are you drunk?”

“N-No, of course not.”

“Are you sure? You want to marry a servant with little to her name.” He had a point, so you weren’t offended. If politics weren’t the reason for a union, did this mean… Jimin had feelings for you?

“Maestro, you say it as if I were a lord,” he chuckled. “I don’t care about Y/N’s possessions, I’ll provide for her anyway. I’ve… always been fond of her. And I dare say she shares the sentiment.”

Betrayal hid safely behind a look that asked if there was any truth to that. Obviously not! There was no romance in your own fondness for Jimin. If anything, you had thought he saw you as a younger sister to look after, therefore as a protective older brother you saw him. But so shocked were you still that no words managed to come out, and Jungkook’s gaze shifted back to Jimin.

“I’ll think about it. You may go.”

A curt tone was the norm for Jungkook, it was not being granted his blessing that disappointed Jimin. He knew for a fact he was an honourable man, so why wouldn't he entrust you to him?

“Quite well… I’ll show myself out.” he uttered, before making his leave failing to hide his low spirit by giving you one last shy smile you hadn’t the heart to return.

An awkward silence filled the air that even Bam daren’t break. Only once the front door was heard shutting did you walk closer to Jungkook.

“You won’t agree to this, will you?”

“Why shouldn’t I? I have to get rid of you at some point.”

“Rid of me? Like I’m a burden?” you asked, voice rising. How a servant could be so was unknown to you until, like wooden ship toys did when you’d submerge them in a bucket of water as a child, certain guesses surfaced in your thoughts. Trying to pickpocket him, the constant clashing, Biagio, that bath, the Pope… Yes, you may perhaps be described as a burden. But you didn’t want to leave. With a calmer tone, you pleaded, “I’ll behave from now on. I won’t cause any more trouble, I swear.”

Jungkook didn’t deign to look your way as he left, followed by Bam. “You have to marry at some point, Y/N. Otherwise people will gossip.”

Since when did he care about what people said of him? And why should you?

Winter having dropped its anchor, nightfall arrived early. Not early enough, you brooded as you cooked dinner, longing for the day to end once and for all. With any hope, all of this was a nightmare and upon waking up in the morning life would go back to normal. You didn’t even know why you wanted to stay with Jungkook, as the occasions in which you’d begged Jimin to employ you to leave this house were countless. The only certain thing was that you were upset.

Later, after washing all plates and cups, you began to put off all torches lighting the house, finding out in the hall that Jungkook hadn’t moved from the seat he’d dined in. You considered carrying on with your job and leaving him in the dark, but he wouldn’t find it as funny. Instead, you stood before him.

“Will that be all, master?”

The coldness in your expression made him sigh, “Y/N–”

“I shall retire, then.” You turned to leave but were made to stop in your tracks.

“It’s an advantageous proposal for you,” he lectured to whom he must believe an idiot. “Jimin works for me, he’s wealthy. A better match than you could ever aspire to. And he asks for no dowry because he doesn’t want money, he wants you…” His words were tainted with resentment. “He’ll take good care of you.”

Skirt of your dress swirling along, you faked a smile. “If you think so, master, then it must be so.”

He shook his head as he leaned back in defeat. “Suit yourself, but I won’t be the one to reject Jimin. You crush his heart.”

A laugh escaped you. “If you genuinely cared about him, you wouldn’t let him marry a woman in love with–” Oh no. It only hit you as you were saying it.

Jungkook had appeared annoyed, but now he was mad. “Who?” He stood up abruptly—chair’s feet scratching against the floor making you wince—and walked so close you were backed against the wall, face forced to turn to a side. In a low, deep voice, he repeated, less as a question and more as an order this time, “Who.”

There was no way in the nine circles of Hell you’d say it, when you didn’t want to believe it in the first place. For fuck’s sake, why? Jungkook only ever made you want to get away from him. That was the case right now, but then… why were your feet frozen?

Some unreasonable part of you seemed to have prevailed upon the others, casting away all resistance from your body and allowing yourself to indulge in Jungkook’s proximity. You met his eyes without fear, held his dark gaze. It didn’t take him long to work it out, yet he kept close, so close your unsteady breaths mingled, the effect akin to intoxication. He was visibly trying to hold back, telling himself it’d be a bad idea, but you prayed he wouldn’t care.

By God or the Devil, your prayers were heard.

Jungkook finally smashed his lips into yours, devouring them with a hunger you shared and felt growing as he gripped your waist to press you against him. A minute ago, you wouldn’t have imagined his tongue belonged inside your mouth, swirling around your own, and now you wanted it all over your body. As if reading your mind, Jungkook broke the ardent kiss to move down to your neck, which he licked painfully slowly before sucking hard, making you hiss with pleasure. He knew that would leave a mark, the bastard. You wondered if it was meant for Jimin, so he’d see you were Jungkook’s, and in such case you didn’t mind, let your eyelids close to enjoy it.

Steered by the lust possessing you, one hand grabbed his soft hair in a fistful, keeping his head in place where he was sweetly abusing your neck, while the other travelled southwards until it reached his crotch and held it over the trousers, feeling his cock stiffen. Jungkook groaned—a vibration to your skin—in retaliation lifting your skirt. You’d thought he'd take his time, tease you, but after ensuring you were wet enough by gliding his middle finger along your core, he slid it inside and began making beckoning motions.

“Master…” you moaned, legs shaking. Jungkook forsook your neck to pull back, watch how you struggled to keep it together as he added another finger, curling and uncurling them both, hitting all the right places, and unwilling to give him that satisfaction without consequences you groped his erection with the same vigour. Although he was in good control of his expression, his breath quivered against your lips, so he kissed them again, biting hard into your lower one.

He exhaled, “You’re driving me to sin…”

Indeed, the same fingers that held the brushes when he painted religious artwork were buried deep inside your cunt, bringing you the most sinful ecstasy. It made you chuckle. Jungkook took that as the mockery it was and, crossed, pulled his fingers out of you to drag you by the arm to the edge of the table, where he had you sit. Without delay he lifted your skirt again, only this time he also pulled down his trousers to reveal his cock, thick and throbbing, which he pumped as he watched you spread your legs eagerly, ready to take all of him.

With his free hand Jungkook cupped your cheek, thumb caressing your lower lip, coated with saliva and reddened still from when he’d bit it. He could sense your desire, that you craved him inside, had for a while. Desperately. And however much tempted he was to make you beg for it, his own arousal led his cock to your entrance and eased it inside already, another groan hitting the back of his bared teeth. You didn’t have time to gasp, his thrusts so quick they earned only moans, so wonderful did it feel.

Jungkook’s hand on your cheek then wrapped around your neck. “Do you know how often I’ve fantasised strangling you?”

You chuckled again as you slapped him across the face. Jungkook halted his movements in shock, glared at you. “And I slapping you?”

It took him a moment, but he scoffed and pushed you back so that you were lying down, climbing next atop you, confident that the wooden table was sturdy enough to hold both. So legs hooked around his torso and arms around his neck, you welcomed his thrusts, rough enough to make your eyes water. But it felt heavenly, how he ravished you... The mutual irritation and tension building up for over half a year translated into indescribable pleasure.

He kissed you again, flicking his tongue against yours as he pounded into you without mercy. Overwhelmed by the sensation, all you could do to express you were nearing your limit was sink your nails into Jungkook’s biceps at each side of you, moan inside his mouth. He took the hint and fucked you as fast as his body would allow, within mere seconds your walls clenching tight around him. The sight of you collapsing under him, overcome with bliss, made him reach his own highest shortly, spurting his warm seed inside you.

As his movements gradually ceased, so did your panting. Before a complete silence fell, you asked, “Am I still to marry Jimin?”

Jungkook grabbed your face and growled against your pouted lips, “You’re not going anywhere.”

prom for airheads

the struggle of asking your best friend out to prom is very, very real. (or: nishimura riki is the worst wingman around, yang jungwon is at his wit's end, and you have no clue what's going on.)

PAIRING. yang jungwon x fem!reader GENRES. romance, comedy, friends to lovers au, high school au WORDS. 5.0k WARNINGS. profanity, kissing, references to pride and prejudice by jane austen and little women by louisa may alcott

ONE 

It is a widely accepted and well-known fact that you and Yang Jungwon are practically attached at the hip.

It’s also a widely accepted and well-known fact that you and Yang Jungwon are head over heels for each other.

Were both of you too dumb to notice? Absolutely. Did both of you think your crush on the other is unrequited? Hell, yeah. Did it drive the rest of your friends batshit crazy? Of course. Have they tried to set you both up before? Hundreds of times. Were you both too dense to notice their attempts? Well, if you weren’t a pair of lovesick idiots, then you would have gotten together in elementary school.

It doesn’t help that Yang Jungwon has been pestering Nishimura Riki to help him out for weeks now.

Sure, Riki thinks to himself, now that it’s prom season, this loser is running around trying to get me to help him get a goddamn girlfriend.

“Did you just call me a loser?” Jungwon furrows his eyebrows at him.

“Oh, shit, did I say that out loud?” Riki glares at the boy opposite him, no hint of remorse in his face. “Maybe if you weren’t such a chicken, I wouldn’t refer to you as The Stupidest Airhead Around in my head. I even changed your contact number to that.”

“That’s unnecessary,” Jungwon says. “And mean.”

Riki sniffs disdainfully. “Do you want my help with asking Y/N out or not?”

“Yes. Sorry, I’ll shut up now.” Looking mildly chastised, Jungwon glares at the soggy peas on his lunch tray as though they would disintegrate due to his burning gaze.

Riki heaves out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. Honestly, he has no clue how to help his friend out. He doesn’t know what you like, what you don’t like, whether you prefer grand, romantic gestures, or whether you want something nice and quiet instead. Of course, the one person who actually knows about your preferences is currently sitting in front of him—but he’s just as clueless as Riki is. Still, asking him is worth a shot.

“Okay,” he begins slowly. Jungwon immediately perks up, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Do you know what kind of romance she likes?”

Jungwon looks stumped, with wide eyes and a mouth comically open. If Riki wasn’t kind of irritated already, he would’ve laughed at him. “Uh—”

“Jungwon, right now I’m seriously questioning how on earth you managed to land the position of class president when you’re this dumb.” Riki takes a sip of his orange juice, chewing on the end of his straw.

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be Mister Romantic Guy, or whatever?”

Riki pauses. That’s true, he supposes. He is the school’s resident romance expert—a title he gained by predicting most of their classmates’ current significant others. It was all a complete fluke, of course. There’s no way Riki is actually some kind of professional at giving love advice, but he can definitely see where the nickname came from. (He isn’t about to tell anyone that the only experience he has in the love department comes from watching To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before at least ten times.)

But that doesn’t mean he can read minds—he still doesn’t know what exactly you have in mind when it comes to a promposal.

“Ask her first,” he decides. “Tell me what she likes and then I’ll get back to you.”

Then he pushes his chair back, places his empty orange juice carton on his lunch tray and picks it up before turning around and dumping it in the crate meant for soiled trays.

Riki’s got a lot on his hands, because Yang Jungwon is dense as hell and for all he knows, you might not be much better.

TWO 

Jungwon should not be taking this long to send you a measly text.

In his defence, he has no idea what he’s supposed to text you. Hey, Y/N, I was just wondering what kind of romance you like so that I can ask you out for prom in the most perfect way possible? That sounds dumb even in his head.

He groans, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. Who knew asking someone out would take so much time and effort? He falls backwards onto his bed, his back hitting the mattress with a thump. Jungwon groans again, holding his phone in front of his face and squinting at the screen. His chat with you is open and the cursor in the empty text box blinks at him.

Oh, fuck it, he thinks. What’s the worst that could happen? You’re still friends; this is nothing more than a message he’s sending you. Besides, you and him have texted much weirder things to each other—like that time you sent him a picture of one of your favourite Thai BL actors posing shirtless and Jungwon replied by saying that he looked like he was about to sneeze. You didn’t talk to him for two weeks after that.

His fingers hover over the keyboard, and before he can overthink more than he already has, he types out a quick, casual message.

[Jungwon]: hey, do you have a sex?

Jungwon bites his lip, cheeks flushing red. Is he so nervous that he can’t even type out a simple three-letter abbreviation of a word correctly? He glares at his phone. Why are the letters x and c so close to each other? Someone should fix that. Thankfully, he hasn’t sent the message yet.

Jungwon shifts, trying to quickly delete the last letter and replace it with the right one. But with one sudden jerk, he drops his phone.

It falls straight onto his face, landing squarely on his nose. Jungwon curses under his breath, rubbing the stinging part and chucking his phone aside. A sudden ping from his phone makes him sit up straight immediately. Horror washes over him, along with an acute sense of mortification.

There’s no way he accidentally sent that message with the typo, right?

Wrong.

Gingerly, he picks up his phone.

[Y/N]: are u ok [Y/N]: do u have a fever or smtg

Jungwon’s cheeks heat up further. God, he’s so clumsy. You’re never going to let him live this down. He can picture you in his head, sitting on the swivel chair by your desk and actually laughing out loud at his typing mistake.

[Jungwon]: ?? unprovoked. all i did was make a typo.

[Y/N]: LMFAO. i want u 2 know that i have screenshotted this and it is now ready for me to use as blackmail material

He groans, running a hand through his hair. 

[Jungwon]: yeah yeah whatever [Jungwon]: are you free right now?

[Y/N]: sure. what’s up?

Jungwon takes a deep breath, exhaling loudly through his nose. How on earth is he supposed to ask you how you want to be asked out to prom? He needs to be sneaky about this—he can’t make it blatantly obvious that he would like you to be his prom date.

[Jungwon]: can i call you?

[Y/N]: yea ok

You pick up almost immediately after he presses the call button next to your contact name. 

“Hey.” Your voice sounds breathy on the phone, like you just jogged up your staircase before answering him. “So. What’s going on?”

“Do you want to watch Pride and Prejudice with me?” Jungwon asks as nonchalantly as he can. 

“Um. Sure, I guess. Why?”

“English Literature. We need to do that book report, remember? I want to write about Pride and Prejudice. I’m just too lazy to read the whole book, so, you know—might as well watch the movie instead.” It’s a big, fat lie—he’s already finished his book report—but Jungwon thinks it’s worth it.

“Cheater,” you say. “I wonder what Mr. Yoon will think, knowing the star of the grade is a sneaky little cheapskate.”

Jungwon rolls his eyes. “It’s not that deep. It’s just a book report.”

“Sure, sure. Is there any specific topic you want to write about?”

Fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt, he lies again. “Kind of. I want to write about romance—like, any classic novel which is based on romance.”

You hum. “That’s easy, then. Literally all classic novels are about romance. Except maybe Charles Dickens’ stuff.”

“Yeah,” Jungwon says, “which is why Pride and Prejudice is a really good choice. You can never go wrong with Jane Austen.”

“Yes, but won’t everyone think the same and go with Jane Austen too?” you say contemplatively. “You need something that would stand out.”

He sucks on a tooth, a triumphant grin forming on his lips. “Any ideas?”

“How about Little Women by Louisa May Alcott?” you suggest. “I know it’s not mainly about romance, but I think Jo and Laurie’s falling out and Amy and Laurie making up is really sweet. That bit mainly happens in Good Wives, but I think that’s just a technicality.” After a pause, you add, “I mean, not that bit about Jo and Laurie falling out; that sucks.”

Jungwon chuckles. “Yeah, I get what you mean.”

“I think it’s pretty cool that Laurie finally realises Amy’s the one for him, after all those years of her pining over him.”

Jungwon stills, thinking over your words. It almost feels as though you described his feelings towards you in one sentence. He’s liked you since middle school, and with high school almost coming to an end now that both of you are in your senior year, he figures it’s a pretty long time. 

“Okay,” he says softly. “I’ll do Little Women.”

“Okay.” Your voice is soft too.

THREE

“Quiet stuff,” Jungwon tells Riki decidedly, the next day. “She likes quiet, romantic gestures. Nothing big or fancy.”

“Wow,” Riki says, highlighting a word in his notebook with neon yellow. It hurts Jungwon’s eyes, but Riki claims it helps him remember. “How did you find out?”

“I just know.”

The other boy pauses for a moment, staring at Jungwon. Then he nods, seemingly impressed. “You sure seem to know a lot about Y/N.”

“She’s my best friend,” Jungwon says.

“Sure. Which is why you need my help to ask her out. Since, y’know, she’s your best friend and all.”

He rolls his eyes at Riki’s sarcasm, before leaning forward on his elbows. The library is pretty empty at this time, but Jungwon doesn’t want to break the silence by talking unnecessarily loudly. “So what should I do?”

His friend huffs and wrinkles his nose. “Flowers,” he says after a moment. 

“Really? Isn’t that… a bit cliché?”

“Like you would know, casanova,” Riki snorts. “Would you rather grab a bunch of bananas and write ‘I’m bananas for you, go to prom with me?’ on them with a Sharpie and give it to Y/N?”

Jungwon cringes. “Okay, okay. I get what you mean.” He sighs, staring down at the mahogany table and tracing stars on the worn-out wood. “But I want to be more original, you know what I mean? Flowers are nice but too overused.”

“Okay.” Riki taps his finger on the table. “I’m out of ideas. What do you have in mind?”

“Well,” Jungwon begins slowly, attempting his best oh-thou-art-my-saviour expression and aiming it at Riki, “I was hoping you could distract her tomorrow, while you, me, Y/N, and Sunoo try to get the gymnasium ready for the decoration team. Just, sort of keep her occupied while I try to figure something out.”

Riki narrows his eyes. “Are you planning to seduce her while I’m talking to her? ‘Cause that’s a really shitty plan, even for you, Yang. And more importantly, what do I get in return?”

“No,” Jungwon hisses, cheeks burning. “I’m not going to seduce her, don’t be dumb. And I’ll give you free passes to the basketball regionals next month. I know you’ve been wanting to diss the opposing team ever since they beat you and our soccer team last year.”

“Fine. But I want two passes. Jake’s been really antsy about it, too.”

“Done.” Jungwon holds his hand out, and Riki shakes it with his. “Thank you, Riki.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waves him away, uncapping his obnoxiously bright yellow highlighter again. “Go get your girl.”

Jungwon smiles. He certainly plans to.

FOUR

There’s a God-awful stench in the gymnasium.

You, Jungwon, Riki, and another friend of yours, Kim Sunoo, stand at the entrance, bags hanging loosely off your shoulders and identical expressions of disgust on your faces.

The gymnasium is more or less a huge rectangle on the first floor of your school building. Rough wooden floors and cream-coloured cement walls make the place appear like the inside of a cardboard box. It isn’t used much—Coach Kim prefers to take P.E classes in the large turf outside. Only occasionally, for events such as prom or Graduation Day, the school administration decides to host its guests in the gym, which is why Jungwon needs to clear it out by next week.

“Okay, it smells like someone just farted,” you say. 

“Wasn’t me,” Jungwon comments off-handedly. He is the first one to brave the gymnasium, dropping his bag next to the door and striding inwards while bringing a hand up to pinch his nose.

“They say that the one who smelt it, dealt it,” Riki says, glancing suspiciously at you.

“They also say that the one who denied it, supplied it,” you retort. Riki’s suspicious gaze immediately averts to Jungwon, who’s busy peering into a box placed at a corner of the room.

Sunoo drops his bag on the floor and takes a cautious step inside. “I think I know where it’s coming from. Coach Kim sometimes leaves his used shirts in that box over there.” He points at the box Jungwon is occupied with. 

Jungwon picks up a dirty, orange gym shirt from inside the box, wrinkling his nose and holding it as far away from his body as his fully-stretched arms would allow. You place your bag next to his and walk to him. Behind you, Riki follows you.

“How long has that even been here?” Riki asks.

Sunoo shrugs, standing by the corner opposite Jungwon. He’s sticking so close to the wall, it looks as though someone applied permanent glue all over his back and pressed him against the cement surface. “Days, weeks, maybe even years. Who knows? No wonder no one uses the gym.”

You step closer to Jungwon, and immediately regret it. The stench wafts around you, making you clap your hand to your nose and mouth. “Gross. I’m not touching that.”

“Lucky for you, you’re not the one holding it.” Jungwon flashes a sour look at you, and you give him an apologetic smile. “Sunoo,” he calls out. “Can you take this to the incinerator? Riki, Y/N and I will get started on moving all the yoga mats.”

Sunoo whines, “Why me?” But he peels himself off the wall anyway and takes the shirt from Jungwon, tilting his head away from it.

“Thanks.” Jungwon smiles gratefully at him.

You look at all the yoga mats strewn around the wooden floor. Dust and old balls of hair stick to each one of the faded rubber mats. You place your hands on your waist; you have a lot of work cut out for you.

“Okay,” Jungwon says, “Let’s get started. Riki, you and Y/N start moving the mats to the corner. I’ll get the broom so we can clean things up a bit.”

You smile at him. Jungwon’s leadership skills are no joke—there’s a reason he was elected class president, after all. He has a way of getting things done without seeming bossy or rude. He values everyone’s opinion and doesn’t make anyone feel bad about themselves.  

He is kind, compassionate and caring, and makes people comfortable around him. Being his best friend for over ten years has only made you appreciate him more and more with each passing day. And eventually, that appreciation turned into a crush, which you’ve been harbouring for a long, long time. You only hope that someday, he sees you the way you see him. Just like how Laurie finally looked at Amy.

Jungwon slips away, heading downstairs to the janitor’s closet, just as Sunoo appears again, hands devoid of Coach Kim’s smelly shirt. You and Riki exchange smiles, and Sunoo joins you two, brushing his hands on his pants.

FIVE 

When Jungwon enters the gymnasium again, broom and dustpan in hand, the first thing he sees is you laughing at something Nishimura Riki said. 

He feels something flare up in his chest—a tiny prick of something sharp that makes him grip the broom tighter. This is stupid, he tells himself. You asked Riki to play wingman for you.

He sees Sunoo standing a bit away, hands on his hips and lips pursed as he observes the pile of mats the three of you had cleared. Jungwon walks over to him.

Sunoo brightens as soon as he sees him. “Hey, Jungwon. What do we do with these?”

“Uh, I think we can roll them up and take them to the storage room sometime later. Right now—” he hefts the broom and the dustpan— “we need to clean this whole place up.”

“Got it.” Sunoo nods. “Hey, why don’t Riki and I take the mats down while you and Y/N clean up? Things will get done faster that way.”

“Sure. I’ll call Riki over and tell him.” Jungwon smiles gratefully at his friend, before walking over to you and Riki. 

You grin at him as soon as you see him approaching, and Jungwon’s heart lifts like a hot-air balloon. “Hello, Yang,” you greet him. “Finally back with the broom, I see.”

“Very funny,” he deadpans, letting the broom drop down on the floor by his feet. He jerks his thumb backwards. “Riki, Sunoo needs your help.”

Riki mock-salutes, flashing you a smile before heading over to Sunoo. You pick up the broom. “I take it I need to help you clean, right?”

Jungwon nods. “Do you want the broom or the dustpan?”

“I’ll start off with the broom,” you offer. “We can take turns.” You move to a corner of the gym, wasting no time in sweeping the place to the best of your abilities. 

Jungwon folds his arms and waits for you to collect a sizable amount of dust before leaning down and holding the dustpan for you to sweep everything in. It’s only then that he notices the tight grip you have on the handle, and the slight hunch of your shoulders. He frowns worriedly.

“Y/N?” he says. “Is everything okay?”

You glance at him with mild surprise, moving over to another area and starting to sweep. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t everything be fine?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Other than the fact that you look like you’re about to break the broom with nothing but brute force?”

You purse your lips and straighten up, loosening your hold on the broom’s handle. Jungwon offers a hand, ready to take the broom from you and give you a break. 

When you make no move to hand it to him, his eyes crease with concern. “Hey, seriously—what’s wrong?”

You hesitate before admitting, “I think Riki is going to ask me out to prom.”

A sudden chill washes over Jungwon, and he can feel it deep inside his chest. He stills, blood pounding in his ears and his heart racing like he just took part in a track and field race. 

“What—” he swallows— “what makes you think that?”

“It’s just—I’m probably overthinking it, I don’t know—but he seemed really into me, you know?” Your gaze drops to your shoes. “He was coming onto me pretty strong when you left. He used, like, three pickup lines on me, I think. They were all really bad, too.”

That little piece of shit, Jungwon curses in his head. He should’ve known better than to trust that sly little imbecile to butter you up for his promposal. 

(Admittedly, Jungwon still doesn’t have a concrete plan, but he was thinking of taking you to your favourite ice cream parlour after school and popping the question over a shared chocolate chip sundae—assuming he worked up enough nerve by then, that is.)

Instead, he says, “W-wow. I can’t believe it.” Can’t believe he’s hitting on you when he knows I have a crush on you, he wants to add.

You chuckle nervously, pushing a flyaway strand of hair away from your eyes. “Me neither, honestly. I feel bad now, because I have to turn him down.”

“Why’s that?” he asks, pushing down the jealousy that threatens to creep into his throat.

“There’s someone else I would like to go to prom with, if I had the chance,” you explain shyly.

“Oh,” is all Jungwon can say. A million thoughts start whirring inside his head. What if you didn’t want to go with him? What if someone—the person you wanted to go with—asked you first and you said yes? What if—

Riki and Sunoo saunter back in, having hauled all the yoga mats to the storage room. Jungwon narrows his eyes.

“Give me a sec,” he tells you.

SIX 

It wasn’t that hard to corner Nishimura Riki after all. All Jungwon had to do was ask Sunoo and you to check if there were any spare buckets and mops in the janitor’s closet and if there were, to fill the buckets up with water so you could mop the place.

Once you and the other boy exit, Jungwon advances on his friend menacingly. Riki—clearly noticing the sudden tension in the air—gulps and takes a step back.

“Hey, what’s with that face?” Riki tries to mask his sudden fear with light-heartedness. “I spoke to Y/N while you were getting the broom. She totally thinks you’re going to ask her out, by the way; you should thank me.”

Truthfully, he has no clue what he’s done wrong. But the best solution to everything is to play dumb, so that’s exactly what he does.

“Oh, really?” Jungwon’s face is eerily calm. “You’ve got her convinced, I’d say.”

“Y-yeah, I guess. I mean, I wouldn’t put it that way, but—”

“You didn’t let me finish,” he interrupts. 

Riki takes another step back, raising his palms placatingly. He opens his mouth, but upon seeing the way Jungwon’s eyes flash, no words come out.

“You’ve got her convinced that you’re going to ask her out to prom instead of me, idiot!”

The words tumble out of Jungwon’s mouth, heavy and scalding. He’s pissed off—rightfully so, seeing as the self-proclaimed “love expert” knows jack-shit about romance. Riki could give the trolls from Frozen a run for their money.

For once, Nishimura Riki is speechless. He closes his mouth, and then opens it, but closes it again. Jungwon gives up the tough boy act, letting his shoulders slump down and his head hang.

“For once,” he mumbles, “I thought shit would go the right way for me and Y/N. The way I’ve always wanted it to, at least.”

A twinge of guilt makes the other boy’s eyes widen with sympathy. Riki messed up—big-time—and now there’s no choice but for him to fix it. 

“You can tell Y/N I have no intention of going to prom with her,” he says. “I already have a date.”

Jungwon’s head shoots up. “You do?! You never told me.”

“That’s because I asked him five minutes ago.”

“That’s awesome, Riki.” Jungwon gives him a genuine smile, though his eyes betray his disappointment. “I’m really happy for you, you deserve—wait, him?”

“Yeah. I asked Sunoo if he wanted to go with me as friends. Neither of us could find a date, so we just decided to go together. The other option was going with my mom.”

“Oh. Good for you, then.”

“Maybe, but right now, we’re talking about you and your love life—”

“Which you screwed up for me.”

“—which is currently a wreck,” the boy finishes, disregarding Jungwon’s interruption. “Leave it up to me, Jungwon. I’ll fix this.”

Jungwon raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “You really expect me to believe that?”

“No,” he admits, “but I swear I will fix this. I’m sorry I screwed up.”

The other boy pauses and considers, carefully observing Riki. Finally, he nods. “Fine, I believe you. Besides, if you screw up again, I’ll just revoke your basketball tickets.”

Riki blanches, and Jungwon lets his lips curl up with the taste of sweet, sweet victory.

SEVEN 

Riki shepherds you and Jungwon into an empty classroom, opening the door for you and shoving Jungwon in when he looked quizzically at the boy. Calm down, he mouths. It does absolutely nothing to calm Jungwon down; his eyes widen comically.

“Okay, impromptu meeting.” Riki claps his hands, a slow, sly grin spreading on his lips. You open your mouth to say something, but Riki doesn’t let you speak. “And by that, I mean you two are going to talk.”

Jungwon starts, “This is how you plan to fix—”

Riki slams the door shut, twisting the doorknob from outside. You hear a click. Jungwon looks at you, huffing out a breath exasperatedly. You tilt your head, extremely confused. “Why did he lock us in?”

“Beats me.” But he sounds resigned, as though he already knows what’s going to happen. It does nothing to ease your bewilderment.

“Okay, listen up!” Riki calls from outside. “I don’t have much time because I need to get all of this out before Sunoo comes back from the restroom. Y/N, I’m sorry I had to lock you up, but Jungwon’s a real airhead, so I’m doing his job for him.”

(Jungwon rolls his eyes at that, but for some reason, doesn’t meet your eyes. You lean back on a desk, crossing your arms and trying to figure out what, exactly, Nishimura Riki is playing at.)

Riki continues, “Yes, people consider me the all-knowing expert on love, but the truth is, every single couple I predicted was just a wild guess—it helped my reputation if they got together, but there was no science or anything behind it.”

(You nod. It’s such an obvious fact that you’re surprised no one’s ever noticed it before. Jungwon shrinks into himself, head down and arms wrapped around himself. You wonder what he’s thinking.)

“But if there’s one couple that I am sure about—” He pauses. “Let’s just say they’re meant to be, and everyone knows it. And… I would be a real fucking idiot if I didn’t try my best with them.”

(You feel your heart burst into a million golden pieces, in a way that fills you with joy and hope and nervousness all at once. You stare, dumbfounded, at your best friend, willing your heart to piece itself back together. It doesn’t work; you’re not sure you want it to. Jungwon slowly glances up, but just as quickly, he moves his gaze down again.)

“Y/N, Jungwon really likes you. He’s liked you for a long, long time. He wants to go to prom with you.”

(If happiness could be personified, you would be its personification.)

You hear the shuffling of footsteps and deduce that Riki has left—presumably to give you two some privacy. And for you and Jungwon to talk, because you still need to clear the air between you both. (You also want to hear him say he likes you; a bit self-indulgent, you suppose, but people have dreams.)

“Is it true?” you ask, trying your best to appear nonchalant, as though you haven’t just found out the love of your fucking life likes you back.

Jungwon still doesn’t meet your gaze. “Yeah,” he mumbles, so softly, you need to strain your ears to hear him over the deafening silence.

Boldly, you take a step towards him. And another, and one more, until your knees bump against his. 

“Yang Jungwon,” you say—and your closeness forces him to look at you— “you are an absolute idiot.”

He swallows. “I know. Look, I’m sorry, okay? You don’t have to say anything, you don’t have to reciprocate my feelings or anything. I’m fine with being just friends, because I would rather be something for you than nothing at all, and—”

You cut him off by pressing your lips to his.

When you pull away—just a peck would suffice, you think—his eyes are wide. “Oh, my God,” he squeaks, “you just kissed me.”

You giggle, endeared by his sudden shyness. “It appears so.”

He pulls you close, fingers encircling your wrist and his other hand resting on your waist. “Can I do it again?”

“Later,” you promise. “Right now… we need to talk.”

Jungwon nods. “Well, what’s there to say? I’ve liked you since middle school.”

“I’ve liked you since the eighth grade,” you confess. “It was so painful, thinking you didn’t like me back. You are the one I want to go to prom with, by the way. And my favourite book is Little Women because I could relate to Amy so much.” You let out an embarrassed laugh. “I felt like I was her, waiting for Laurie to look at her the way he looked at Jo.”

He sucks in a breath. “Maybe if you’d opened your eyes a little wider, you would know that I’ve been looking at you that way all along.”

You smile, letting his words seep into your heart and engrave themselves into your soul. He smiles back, squeezing your hand.

“We should probably thank Riki afterwards,” you say. “I bet he’s really happy that one of his couples didn’t turn out to be a fluke.”

“Later,” Jungwon says, echoing your words. His eyes flicker to your lips and back. “I just really wanna kiss you right now.”

“So,” you challenge him, “do it.”

Jungwon leans forward and captures your lips with his, his mouth moving gently against yours. You bring your hands up and place them around his neck, carding your fingers through the hair against the nape of his neck. Time seems to still, and you and Jungwon appear to move in slow-motion.

When he pulls away, he knocks his forehead against yours, smiling widely. “Go to prom with me?”

Your answer is on the tip of your tongue. “Of course.”

Jungwon’s heart swells, and he swoops in and kisses you again. Riki may be right; he may be an airhead when it comes to romance sometimes, but right now, Jungwon feels like he’s on top of the world.