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bermudas · 2 years

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vanilla salt

↳ summary: the entire school thinks you’re in love with kim sunwoo, but only you and sunwoo seem to know that’s not the case.

↳ prompt: “and i’m thinking that at this point, we’re so terrible that we deserve each other.“

↳ pairing: sunwoo x gender neutral reader

↳ genre: fluff, angst

↳ themes & tropes: friends to lovers, high school au, matchmaker au, implied love triangle?

↳ warnings: the word “damn” is mentioned once

↳ word count: 4.1k

↳ notes: if you understand what the title is referencing i love you <3 this fic is loosely based on toradora and was originally written as a birthday present for a mutual but life got in the way for me and then they deactivated… ira if u see this, this one’s for you!!! there’s also a brief tense switch in the second scene to emphasize that it’s a flashback, so i hope that’s not confusing either.

[this fic has been reuploaded]

“So you and Sunwoo…” Eunbin pries, her face lighting up in curiosity as she peers around your locker.

“We’re not together,” you say, exasperated, grabbing your lab notebook before slamming the door shut.

“But you like him, right?”

“We’re just friends!”

Before you can turn to leave, she pulls you back by your sleeve, leaning in to whisper in your ear. “I’ve never seen you exchange more than two words with Kim Sunwoo outside of class until last week. I’m your best friend and even I find it strange.” She pokes you firmly in the chest as if to further drive her point home. “You’re hiding something, I’m sure of it.”

You don’t know why the entire school seems to think you’re in love with Kim Sunwoo. Under different circumstances, you might’ve found the situation amusing, especially considering the person you really like is Eric Sohn, Sunwoo’s best friend, and the person Sunwoo likes is Kwon Eunbin, your best friend—the very same Eunbin who’s convinced the two of you are hiding something from her.

Then again, you and Sunwoo are the only ones who know the truth. That’s the reason why you’re in this mess in the first place.

The classroom was empty, lights dimmed and doors closed. You took one more glance at the hallway, making sure that no one else had come back from lunch early before slipping into the room without a sound. Your grip tightened on the note in your hand as you made a beeline for Eric’s desk, the edges of the envelope starting to fold under the pressure. Crouching down, you unzipped his backpack quietly.

“What are you doing?” a voice called out, causing you to jump up in surprise.

“Nothing,” you squeaked, attempting to conceal your confession before the intruder could catch a glimpse of it. A hand shot out to grab your wrist, and with a sudden tug, you found yourself face to face with Kim Sunwoo, the star of the boys’ soccer team—and the school’s resident heartthrob. He plucked the piece of paper out of your grasp, a smirk on his lips.

“What were you doing in Eric’s bag?” he asked, holding your letter in front of him.

“None of your business,” you snapped, snatching it out of his hand. Thankfully, he hadn’t even bothered to open the note, saving you from any future embarrassment.

Or so you thought.

When Sunwoo opened his mouth to speak again, you wished the ground would swallow the both of you whole, dread filling the bottom of your stomach.

“Do you like Eric? Is that what that was? A confession?”

“I said, mind your own damn business,” you hissed, crumpling the envelope in your hand as you turned to leave the room.

“Wait! I think we can help each other out!”

You stopped in your tracks, eyeing him curiously across the room. “What do you have in mind?”

“You like Eric, right?” Sunwoo didn’t even bother to wait for an answer, instead launching straight into his next point. “You know, I’m his best friend. I can set you two up.”

“What’s the catch?” you retorted, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Well uh…” Sunwoo started, his voice trailing off as he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, the tips of his ears turning red. “Do you know if Eunbin likes someone?”

“Wait. You like Kwon Eunbin?” you exclaimed, despite Sunwoo’s frantic gestures for you to keep quiet.

“Do you have any other friends named Eunbin?”

Your jaw dropped open in shock. Kim Sunwoo, who could have anyone he wanted at the school, was asking you, a virtual stranger, to help him win someone over? You almost laughed at how absurd it all sounded, half expecting someone to come barging through the door to tell you it was all a prank.

“Why do you look so surprised?” he questioned, brow furrowed in confusion.

“To answer your first question, no, she isn’t seeing someone. I’m just surprised you asked, that’s all. You don’t seem like the type who needs advice on how to talk to girls.”

“She’s not just any girl! She’s your best friend!”

“I’m sure you can manage to talk to her without my help.”

“If you help me, I won’t tell anyone about your crush on Eric. One best friend to another, deal?”

“Fine,” you muttered, reluctantly shaking Sunwoo’s hand. “Just don’t tell anyone about what you saw today.”

Sunwoo tilted his head to the side, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

By the time you head down to the cafeteria for lunch, Sunwoo’s already waiting for you, pulling out the chair next to him as you place your bag down.

“Our class trip is this weekend,” he says.

“Eunbin thinks we’re hiding something from her,” you blurt out at the same time.

Sunwoo stares at you blankly. “We are hiding something from her.”

“She thinks I have feelings for you!” you continue. “How are you going to ask her out then?”

“Just tell her you like Eric! Problem solved!”

You catch a glimpse of Eric out of the corner of your eye, quickly shushing Sunwoo as you fix a pleasant smile on your face.

Eric places his tray down across the table from you, glancing up in your direction. “This seat isn’t taken, right?”

“Not at all!” Sunwoo chimes in. “I was just talking to Y/N about the trip this weekend. You’re coming with us, right?”

“Sure, if it’s fine with you guys. I can always hang out with the baseball team.”

“Don’t worry about it! Y/N’s planning on bringing Eunbin too,” Sunwoo insists, his face lighting up with a grin.

“I am?” you ask, earning yourself a nudge from Sunwoo’s elbow. “Oh yeah, I am!”

“Oh, that sounds good then,” Eric replies with a small smile.

Ever since your encounter with Sunwoo a week ago, he and Eric have become familiar faces at your usual lunch table, making themselves at home amongst your friends. Today, however, Eunbin is nowhere to be seen.

She must be running late because of calc, you muse, stealing a fry off of Sunwoo’s plate.

“Hey!” Sunwoo protests, moving his tray further away from you as you make a face at him in return. “Get your own!”

“What are you guys up to?” Eunbin interrupts. Both of you turn around to find her standing behind you, her backpack left half open in her rush to get down to lunch in time. Sunwoo pauses, a blush starting to blossom on his cheeks, and you quickly step in.

“We were just waiting for you! You’re free this weekend, right? I was hoping you were gonna come on the class trip with us.”

“Sure, that sounds fine,” Eunbin responds, shrugging off her bag as she takes the seat next to Eric’s.

“What do you think they’re going to do this year?” Eric asks.

“I don’t care as long as it’s better than last year’s trip,” Sunwoo offers, leaning back in his chair. “That sucked.”

“Oh god, I remember that,” Eunbin adds. “It rained the entire time and we were crammed into the bus.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” you counter. “At least we were dry.”

“It was lame, Y/N,” all three of them say in unison, causing the four of you to break out into a fit of laughter.

“Not that I mind hanging out with them, but since when were you, Sunwoo, and Eric a ‘we’?” Eunbin muses after school, stopping in front of her car to look for her keys.

Taking a deep breath, you briefly glance around the parking lot, making sure you’re out of earshot from anyone nearby. “Ok, promise not to laugh,” you reply, recalling Sunwoo’s advice to you earlier that day.

Eunbin sends you a confused look, a small frown forming on her lips. “I’m not going to laugh at you.”

“Sunwoo’s setting me up with Eric.”

Eunbin pauses, her grip on the car door loosening as she whirls around to face you. “You like Eric?” she screeches, the words practically ringing in your ears. You wince, hoping no one was close enough to hear her.

Lowering your voice to a whisper, you mutter, “Yeah, I like him, not Sunwoo.”

“How come you told Sunwoo before me?” Eunbin pouts, throwing her bag haphazardly into the back as she climbs into the driver’s seat. “I’m your best friend!”

“It’s not like I wanted him to know!” you respond, shutting the passenger door closed. “He caught me trying to sneak a letter into Eric’s backpack during lunch last week.”

“You were going to confess to him?”

You wave your hands in front of your face, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “Yes! No! I wasn’t going to put my name on it, think of it like a secret admirer.”

“You must really like him then,” Eunbin murmurs as she starts the car, her eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“Let’s check out the haunted house!” Eunbin calls out, dragging you ahead of the group. Looking over your shoulder, you can’t help but notice how Sunwoo lags behind his peers, bending down to retie his already tied shoelaces in an attempt to slow you all down.

While the rest of your group excitedly lines up in front of the venue, you wait for Sunwoo, nudging him gently with his shoulder as he passes by. “What are you worried about?” you start. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

Sunwoo doesn’t respond, biting his bottom lip in apprehension.

“Come on, let’s catch up to the rest of them. You don’t want to get stuck in the back, do you?” you tease, taking his hand in yours.

Despite your valiant attempts to maneuver Sunwoo towards Eunbin, it seems like fate has it out for you. As soon as you reach the rest of the group, Eric shouts, “Rock paper scissors to see who has to go in the back!”—prompting a chorus of groans to erupt around you. None of your friends seem to have any better ideas, though, which is why you end up having to endure the entire haunted house sandwiched between both Eric and Sunwoo.

By the time you manage to make it out (alive, you might add, no thanks to the both of them), you think you might have to get your ears checked out later, especially with the amount of screaming emitted from the three of you two of them. Your heartbeat pounds erratically in your ears, and you can’t tell if you’re feeling the residual effects of the adrenaline rush, or if it’s because of the way Eric still clutches onto your hand like a lifeline. Next to you, Sunwoo practically falls to his knees in relief the minute he steps foot outside, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“What took you guys so long?” Eunbin exclaims, pushing herself off the wall to help Sunwoo back up.

“Sorry, we got separated! These two”—you gesture at the two boys at your side—”were screaming so much that even the workers started to get worried.”

You don’t miss the way Eunbin’s eyes widen at the sight of your hand in Eric’s, your fingers tightly interlaced together. She winks in your direction, flashing you an inconspicuous thumbs up before she whisks Sunwoo away.

Seems like we didn’t need as much help as we thought we would, you think, watching Eunbin and Sunwoo dissolve into a fit of giggles as they wait in line to order their food.

Eric clears his throat next to you, letting go of your hand as he glances in the other direction sheepishly. “We should probably get lunch soon too,” he says, interrupting you from your thoughts. “We don’t want to fall behind again.”

A quick look around the area confirms his suspicions. It seems like most of your group has already branched off to get their own food, and while you can spot a few familiar faces nearby, you don’t feel like intruding.

“Ah, we should… Does this sound alright to you?” you ask, pointing at the menu of a nearby food stand.

Eric beams at you, his smile as warm as the sunlight on your skin. “I’m down for anything,” he replies, taking hold of your hand once more as he leads you to the line.

Your gaze lingers on your hands. What does this mean? you wonder, attempting to quell the thunderous heartbeat in your chest.

Your phone clatters on the library table, cutting through the sounds of shuffling papers and clicking keyboards as you stare at Eunbin in shock. A few people glance up, surprised by the sudden noise, but thankfully, most of them don’t even bother to lift their heads from their work. Eunbin avoids your eyes, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Youngkyun asked you out?” you hiss, repeating the words she had uttered only moments before, making sure to keep your voice down.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, taking the seat next to you. “We started hanging out after we worked on that history project this month. Right around when you and Sunwoo started hanging out.” She props her chin upon the palm of her hand, her cheeks flushed.

Ah, you do remember her mentioning his name before. It makes sense that the two of them grew closer while you spent more time with Sunwoo and Eric. It’s not like you expected her to wait around for you.

Speaking of Sunwoo…

“I didn’t think much of it at first,” Eunbin continues, “but now, I think I like him too. ‘Kyun’s really sweet,”—the corners of her lips twitch up into a shy smile—”and cute.”

Both of you chuckle at that, and you lean in closer, silently prompting her to provide more details. There’s no denying that Eunbin cares about Youngkyun. Her face seems like it’s bathed in a celestial glow, even under the library’s harsh lighting, and her eyes shine like the stars as she gushes about him.

Despite this, your cheeks feel heavy as you muster up a grin in her direction. You’re happy for your best friend—you really are—but why does it feel like you’re betraying Sunwoo?

You spot Sunwoo in front of the school the next morning, his hands tucked into his pockets and the tip of his shoe scraping against the pavement. When he spots you walking through the gates, a broad grin breaks out across his face as he waves in your direction.

Glancing briefly around the area, you pull Sunwoo aside, away from any possible eavesdroppers. You take a step back, making sure to maintain a good distance away from him, lest people get the wrong idea.

You dread what’s about to come next.

“I understand if you don’t want to help me anymore,” you mutter, eyes fixed on the ground as you avoid his gaze, guilt pooling in your stomach.

Sunwoo takes a step forward, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean?”

He probably hasn’t heard the news yet, you think, taking a deep breath. “Oh, um...”—you twist the strap of your bag in your hands—”Youngkyun and Eunbin are together now, so you don’t have to help me with Eric anymore since I can’t help you. I’m—”

Sunwoo shakes his head, chuckling softly under his breath. You stop mid-sentence, taken aback by his reaction.

You don’t know how you expected him to act, but despite all of the possible scenarios that ran through your head the night before, Sunwoo still manages to surprise you.

“Are you laughing at me?” you sputter, shoving him in the shoulder.

Sunwoo catches your hand before you can land another blow, his grip light around your wrist. “That’s not your fault,” he replies, his gaze softening. “Besides, I’d rather see her happy. She’s my friend now too.”

“I didn’t know you were such a romantic,” you scoff, rolling your eyes.

“Don’t worry about holding up your end of the deal. We’re friends, so I’ll help you anyways.” He gives your hand one more squeeze before releasing it from his grasp, just as the bell rings.

“I’ll see you at lunch!” Sunwoo calls out over his shoulder, turning back to head inside.

“See you!”

You glance down at the palm of your hand. What was that about?

“Is Sunwoo running late?” Eric asks, scanning your surroundings. The two of you are standing in front of a local cafe, both of your bags filled to the brim with textbooks and notebooks. With exam season drawing closer, Sunwoo had suggested the three of you meet up to go over notes and quiz each other—and yet, he’s nowhere to be seen.

As if to answer Eric’s question, both of your phones light up simultaneously, text messages popping up on your screens.

sunwoo: sorry i cant make it

sunwoo: something came up w my sister

sunwoo: u guys can study wo me

“He’s not sorry at all,” you mutter, your face heating up in embarrassment. Way to be subtle, Kim Sunwoo.

“What was that?” Eric glances up from his phone.

“Nothing!” you blurt out, waving your hands in front of you. “Do you want to head inside?”

“Sure. I mean, it’s not like Sunwoo was going to be that helpful anyways,” he jokes, his eyes crinkling up with his smile as he holds the door open for you.

While the two of you wait in line to order, Eric nudges you gently with his arm, leaning over to whisper in your ear. “You can go find us a table. Just tell me what you want, I’ll pay for it.”

“You don’t have to!” you protest, fumbling through your bag for your wallet.

He places his hand over yours, offering you a reassuring smile. “You can pay next time!”

Next time?

In fact, there is a next time, and a time after that—and a time after that. Soon enough, you and Eric don’t even need to make plans, not when both of you regularly show up to the coffee shop at the same time each week, like clockwork. But as the weeks go by, you can’t shake the feeling that Sunwoo’s starting to avoid you.

You shouldn’t think twice about how Sunwoo goes out of his way to push you and Eric together at every opportunity he gets. It’s a ridiculous notion—especially considering the nature of your relationship in the first place—but Sunwoo’s your friend now too, and you care about him.

Maybe it is a bit strange that Sunwoo always seems to avert his gaze whenever your eyes meet, as if he’s guilty of something. Maybe it’s also strange that Eric no longer makes your heart race when the two of you are alone—at least, not like he used to. (You chalk that up to the fact that you and Eric have grown closer to and more comfortable with each other over time though.)

As much as you enjoy spending time with Eric, your days feel empty without Sunwoo’s presence at your side, even though your paths cross frequently in the halls and you exchange small talk between classes.

(He smiles at you like nothing’s changed. It feels like there are oceans between the two of you, like the two of you are on opposite sides of a bottomless chasm held together by a fraying rope bridge. You can’t even fathom crossing it.)

You miss him.

You miss Sunwoo.

In hindsight, you probably should have realized that you have feelings for Sunwoo sooner. You should have noticed on your class trip, after you instinctively reached out to him in the darkness of the haunted house, holding onto him for comfort (both his and your own). You should have noticed when Eunbin tells you about her feelings for Youngkyun and your first thoughts are of Sunwoo’s happiness, not your best friend’s—nor your own. You should have noticed as Sunwoo rubs gentle circles onto the back of your hand in the school courtyard, even as he tells you that it’s ok that you can’t help him anymore because Eunbin has a boyfriend now, and he can’t control her feelings any more than you can. You should have noticed your disappointment every time Sunwoo blows off your plans so that you can spend more time with Eric, and you can’t bring yourself to admit that you would have rather spent time with him.

There’s no epiphany, no eureka moment, no precise instant where the sheer force of your emotions barrels into you, forcing you to come to terms with your newfound reality. Instead, the realization trickles into you slowly, like water dripping from a leaky faucet: slow enough for you to compartmentalize it and save it for another day—until you can’t possibly ignore it anymore.

You’re in love with Kim Sunwoo, and he still thinks you have a crush on his best friend.

We need to talk,” you say, pulling Sunwoo into an empty classroom while everyone else heads down to the cafeteria.

“What is there to talk about?” Sunwoo responds, his voice flat as he leans against the door. “All you have to do now is ask Eric out. I’ve done all that I can do for you.”

With that, he slides open the door, slipping out of the room before you can get another word out.

So much for not letting the deal ruin our relationship, you think bitterly, your gaze drilling holes into his back as he turns the corner and disappears from your line of sight. Swallowing your pride, you run after him.

The staircase door slams shut, echoing throughout the empty hallway. You head towards the sound, your breath coming out in quick huffs as you pick up the pace, not willing to let this chance slide out of your grasp.

As soon as your fingers graze the handle, the door swings open. You crash into Eric’s chest, his eyes widening in surprise as he grabs ahold of your shoulders to steady you.

“Whoa there,” he says, grinning widely once he realizes it’s you. “I was just looking for you. Do you have a minute?”

“Not right now, sorry. Have you seen Sunwoo?” you ask, craning your neck over Eric’s shoulders.

“Oh.” You don’t know if it’s your imagination, but Eric’s smile falters a bit. He releases his hold on your shoulders, gesturing upwards. “I didn’t see anyone on my way here, but I think I saw someone heading up to the roof.”

“Thanks! I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Eric shouts after you as you run up the stairs.

Slamming the door open, you lean against the wall to catch your breath, scanning the roof for Sunwoo. When he sees you, he starts in surprise, taking in your disheveled appearance and the rapid rise and fall of your chest.

“You ran after me?”

“We weren’t finished talking,” you grumble.

“But I saw Eric coming upstairs! I thought you would have talked to him instead. I mean, you like him,” he rambles, as if he still can’t believe the sight in front of him.

With a sigh, you push yourself off the wall, marching up to him. “Can we stop talking about Eric?”

Confusion flickers across Sunwoo’s face briefly as he pauses, his response dying down in the back of his throat.

“I want answers,” you continue, your voice cracking under the weight of your emotions. “You said this arrangement wouldn’t change anything between us, that we would still be friends. But why have you been avoiding me for the past month? Please, Sunwoo, please just talk to me.”

Sunwoo takes a deep, shuddering breath, his eyes meeting yours once again. “I’m selfish, that’s why. I don’t think I could have watched someone I cared about fall in love with someone else, even if I cared about them too much to interfere with their personal happiness. I thought putting some distance between us would make things easier. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“You made me miserable, you know—” you laugh mirthlessly. A poignant silence hangs between the two of you. Your eyes trace his features carefully, committing him to memory in case you shatter what is already hanging by a thread.

“—and I’m thinking that at this point, we’re so terrible that we deserve each other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I like you, Sunwoo. Not Eric,” you reply, a shy smile spreading across your face. “We’re terrible at this matchmaking thing, by the way. I mean, look at how this turned out. We both ended up falling for each other instead of our best friends.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” Sunwoo laughs as he takes your hand in his, lacing your fingers together. “I like you too, in case you didn’t know.”

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taem-min-archived2 · 2 years

Text

soured up || l.tm

PAIRING || Taemin x Female Reader

GENRES || Best Friends to Lovers AU, Bartender!Taemin, Humour

SUMMARY || After your last relationship failed, you turned towards your best friend, Taemin, for comfort. Only that he too was hiding something, something he could not disclose unless he wanted to become your ex too.

Or, in which Lee Taemin tries not to sour up his status as a best friend.

COLLAB || Part of the Crimson Aurora Hotel and Spa collab by @myeoning-call. Thank you for letting me take part in this collab! Check out the other authors here!

WORD COUNT || 3.1k

A/N || Finally writing something so long please bear with me if it isn’t the best TT

WARNINGS || Mentions of breakup

TAGLIST || @shrutiajit @exoxobsession @nctisthecity @woo-minhee02 @semanticbias @buttvi @vllxchor @stayinzencity @watsonparker @joepomonerof @imdamnconfused @ahtisa02 @moonchilddfics @spacebyuns @xavi-in-kpopland @midnightmoi @whatudoing @fifty-shades-of-mischeif @softmark1999 @myluv-yeonjun @cara-18 @ongshimi @xuxibelle @soobin-chois @yerimezzy @trashlord-007 (If you want to be added to my taglists, fill in this form)

“What are you doing here again?”

The woman in question just smiled at him as she sat on the stool opposite him, causing him to sigh. It wasn’t that he was irritated by her because no way the woman across from him could ever irritate him, but rather, he was worried about her. Worried about what would become of her if she kept on living like this.

“Can I not visit my best friend?” She asked.

“You aren’t visiting me. You’ve booked for overnight again, haven’t you?” He grumbled, getting ready to make her drink.

“Ah, Lee Taemin. You know me so well.”

He ignored the sarcasm in her voice and continued with his work. Of course, he knew her well. He was her best friend, and that position came with the heavy responsibility of having to know almost everything about the said person.

“What do you want?”

“The usual, of course.”

“No I mean, what do you want from me?” He asked, placing her drink in front of her.

“You are so mean.” She pouted and took the glass in her hand, swirling the liquid content slowly. Taemin sighed once more and rubbed his temples, feeling that consoling her today would take much longer than other days. Then, in a much sadder voice, she added, “When did you become so mean? When did everyone become so mean?”

At this, Taemin felt his heart clench painfully. Seeing her down like this was already painful, but when she talked like that…he felt like it was all his fault that he couldn’t protect her. After all, the two of them met each other because of him.

“Don’t- don’t say that.” He said, reaching out to hold her hand. He clasped her fingers in his and she looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes once more. “You know I’ll always love you right?” His statement held double meanings but he doubted she could even see through it, especially in her given state.

Y/N took in a shaking breath and forced a smile at him, leaning closer to him. “Yeah, yeah I know I’ve always got you. Which is why I always come here!”

“Really?” Taemin faked a gasp. “Not for some other reason?”

“Hmm, maybe it’s mostly because the beds here are really comfortable?”

“Y/N!” He pouted at her, looking visibly upset while deep inside he was glad that she was not thinking about her breakup anymore. Even though he doubted this was the right coping mechanism, he wanted her to let go on her own. “How can you choose something materialistic over me!”

She just laughed at this and looked at her drink once more, before finishing it up in one go. Then, she looked at Taemin softly, causing his stomach to drop once more. He really wished he wasn’t in love with his best friend, but it was something that had never been in his control. He wasn’t even sure when or how he had fallen in love with her or if he had been in love with her all along.

"So what are you going to do tonight?" He asked. Usually, when she came over, she hung out in the bar with him until his shift was over, after which she went to her room and him to his.

"Me? I'm not sure, to be honest. I haven't seen the swimming pool yet even though it's my eighth visit. Or maybe I’ll just get a massage. Jongin’s still there, right?" Y/N replied, picking up her second drink. "Where's Sinjae though? I'll try to avoid wherever his shift is."

Taemin set down the glass he was cleaning and sighed. He had hoped she wouldn't ask this question but of course, she did.

"Hey what's wrong with you today? Why are you sighing so much? Seriously, your customers will think you've hit a mid-life crisis in your 20’s already." She said jokingly.

"I'm having a midlife crisis and a headache right now because of you though. "

"Sheesh if you can't bear with me then you should just tell me to get lost."

"I can?" He asked, sounding too eager. He laughed at her hurt face as she stuck out her tongue at him. She motioned him to come closer to her and he leaned in, catching her familiar scent. The same scent which comforted him when he was upset and crying in her arms, the same scent that he breathed in whenever they engulfed each other in hugs and whilst cuddling on the sofa watching some cheesy rom coms.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She whispered to him like it was something top secret. “I promise you that I’ll stick with you forever, no matter what.”

“Then I guess I’ll need to start piling up on those aspirins, huh?” He smirked at her.

She waved her hand as though warding off evil. “Do whatever you want. Take whatever precaution you want because you and I are going to be together for a very very long time.”He could feel his heart racing at her sincere words, even though she meant it platonically. He wondered for the millionth time if she would ever feel the same way for him as he did. “Also, why am I not getting drunk tonight? Are you sure you are giving me alcohol and not coloured water? I’ll complain to your manager if you try to cheat me like last time.” Y/N glared at her cup as Taemin stared at her. After a while of concentrating, she set the cup down and looked up at him, causing him to nearly blush as she caught him staring. “Do I have a booger on my nose?”

Her question caught him off guard. “What?”

“Do I have a booger on my nose?” She repeated her question, looking at him

He looked at her with an annoyed expression. “You didn’t know? It has been hanging there since you walked in. Did you even look in the mirror before coming or did they all crack due to your ugliness?”

“Hey!” She smacked him lightly. “Then why were you staring at me?”

“Who said I was staring at you?” Taemin countered back, the lie coming very easily to him over the years of practice. “I was staring at the art behind you.” He pointed at someone behind her with his chin and Y/N turned back to look at the art. One of the guests, who was sitting on the seat next to the windows, waved at Taemin and he smiled back at her. She was just a guest he had gotten to know a little better due to her prolonged stay, but there was definitely nothing between them. Y/N then turned back to him, with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Are you sure you were looking at the art? Or…her?”

To this, Taemin snorted. “Get lost. I have other customers to attend to. Go back to your room and get some sleep, it's already too late.”

She shook her head sadly, as though pained by Taemin’s annoyance. “And Mr. Midlife Crisis strikes again. Oh God, when did you get this old? Loosen up, Taem! Get a girlfriend, stay out till late at night! And who goes to bed at 10 PM? For starters, I don’t think you do.”

“Well, for starters, my shift starts at 9 PM?” Taemin countered back, unable to contain his smile. Y/N was very tiresome but for some reason that made her endearing. “Also, if you are so good at this, why don’t you become a professor on this subject? Might as well publish Ph.D. papers?”

Y/N’s eyes lit up, like no one had ever told her a more brilliant idea than this. She snapped her fingers and pulled him closer by his sleeves. “You know what, that’s an amazing plan! Why don’t we start with you then?”

“Me? Oh no, I’m happy with the way things are going-”

“First things first, I’m going to invite that girl over there and you both better get talking-”

“Don’t you dare!” Taemin snapped, pulling her by the arm as she tried to get up. She was taken aback by his sudden temper and he sighed, cursing himself to get angry at her. “I’m just- Don’t okay? I’ll get fired or-”

He stopped when she raised an eyebrow at him. Taemin ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of some good reasoning. “Really, I’ll get into huge trouble. Also, I just- I just don’t feel comfortable for some reason. Flirting isn’t my thing and I- uh, I really- you know about my views on love, don’t you? I don’t like-”

“Taemin!” Y/N gasped, as though realising something important. “You like someone, don’t you?” She asked softly and he looked at her, surprised. This time, she sighed and took his hands in hers.

“How did you-”

“It's written all over your face. Oh my god. How come I never realised this? I’m so sorry Taem. I should be better at this. Oh my god, I’m such a bad best friend.” She said, sounding so sad that he was worried she would burst out in tears, which she tended to do whenever she was drunk. Taemin wanted to say something comforting to her, that she wasn’t a bad best friend at all but he caught his breath when he looked up at her again. The yellow dim lights of the bar were throwing a warm shade on her face and he felt his heart squeeze, making him fall for her even more, if that was even possible.

“I’m so sorry.” She kept blabbing, which he kind of found cute, jolting him back to the present. “I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have tried pushing you towards her. You could have gotten into trouble because of me-”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter really. She isn’t interested in me, anyways.” He said, hoping she would leave out the topic. Taemin didn’t want to risk her finding out about his feelings in case it ruined their friendship. He rather stayed friends with her than make her feel completely uncomfortable.

Y/N looked at him apologetically, drumming her fingers on the counter trying to think of something. “Fine then, leave the girlfriend part. I won’t press you about it since you don’t feel like it. But how about having some fun? You could go clubbing-”

“Please don’t talk about clubs in front of me.” Taemin groaned. Serving drinks all night had made him give up drinking and the last thing he needed to do was go to a place filled with loud music and drinks.

“Then go to a cafe. You might meet someone in your zone. Someone…who’s as sweet as you and a soft lover as you.”

“You think I’m sweet?” He asked, smiling a little at her words. Y/N rolled her eyes, causing him to chuckle.

“Yes. How much ever I hate you, I cannot deny that you are sweet. And to some extent, a ninety percent boyfriend material man.”

“Only ninety?”

She ignored him and continued. “You are super sweet, romantic, passionate, a good listener, you take care of me well, give me warm cuddles and hugs…what else does a girl need?”

“Hmmm. But apparently, I’m not enough.” He muttered, wondering why she couldn’t see his feelings ever. Was she that clueless? Or was it his fault for never dropping a single hint?

“Who is this girl though? Who is this person who thinks she’s better than my beloved best friend?” Y/N demanded, looking at him angrily. He smiled at her weakly before shaking his head.

“It’s not that she thinks she’s better than me. It's just that our circumstances…haven’t allowed me to express my feelings for her.”

“Huh?” Y/N looked really interested now. “What was the circumstance? Maybe I can help you?”

Taemin narrowed his eyes at her, snatching away her cup from her and glaring at the waiter serving her. “Help yourself first. Get yourself out of this mess and move on. Sinjae was a loser and didn’t deserve you.”

She sighed heavily at his words, and for the first time in the evening, she looked tired, her face losing all the charm. Slowly, she nodded, agreeing to his words. “What can I do? What can I do Taem when he broke my heart this way? I really try moving on but-” She took in a shaky breath, her eyes brimming with tears now. Taemin looked at her shocked, as a single teardrop slid down her cheek. “I really try moving on and that’s why I come here but you always are in a rush to drive me out and I don't know where to go or whom to hold onto or whose shoulders to cry on. I know why you don’t want me to come here but still, I just- I just want to be with my best friend. With you.”

“Hey.” Taemin whispered, taking her hands in his. “Let’s go up to your room, okay?” She looked up at him as though to protest that she was fine enough to stay but he shook his head firmly. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone. I’ll meet you up there too, okay?”

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself in her room, changing into his pair of pyjamas she had stolen from his house. Once he was done, he walked out of the bathroom to find Y/N had already changed and was sitting on the bed. She smiled at him when she saw him and patted beside her for him to sit. Taemin sat down, making sure to keep a little distance between them but she just wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. He stiffened a little at her touch but hoped that she hadn’t noticed that.

“Taemin, my Taemin. What would I do without you, my best friend?” Maybe it was his buried feelings, but she seemed to use the term ‘best friend’ a little too much today.

“Well, you probably would have trouble tying your shoelaces too if it weren’t for me.”

“Ugh, so true. What else does one need in a best friend apart from the ability to tie their shoelaces for them?”

He rolled her eyes at her and tried shrugging her off, but she just clung on to him more tightly, laughing at his attempts.

“Get.” He grunted, as this turned into a pulling and pushing competition instead. “Off. Me”

“No. Never. Ever.” Y/N laughed, finally landing in a position where she was on his back as Taemin was on his stomach, pressed against the sheets. He could feel her chest rumbling against his back as she laughed, causing him to smile too as euphoria bubbled in his chest.

"You always enjoy torturing me." He whined, though he didn't want her to get up. Taemin felt her rest her cheeks against his shoulder blade, wrapping her arms around him. Her body weight pressing down against him was so comforting, reminding him of all the times they spent together, lying down beside each other.

She rolled off him but pulled him along with her so that they were lying on their side now, with Taemin's back pressed against her chest and she hugged him like her personal teddy bear.

"You never answered my question, you know." She said.

"Which one? You ask too many."

"Where's Sinjae?"

Taemin froze, hating the fact that they were back to the beginning of their conversation; her ex-boyfriend. He felt that lately, all their conversations were in loops. They would begin with her breakup, talk about something else for a while to distract her, and then come back to Sinjae. Nonetheless, he turned towards her.

"Sinjae…left. Fired actually."

"What?" She looked at him shocked, an expression Taemin was expecting. He looked at her worriedly before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

"Do you…still love him?"

She blinked at him, before burying her face in his chest. Gently, he stroked her head to calm her down. "I don't really know. I guess I did move on but there are some days where I might be doing something which reminds me of him and then there's this pain in my heart."

"Don't worry." Taemin whispered. "It will go away too. Soon everything that reminds you of him would just be a happy memory."

"I hope so. It's just that…I've realised I share happier memories with someone else."

He wanted to ask her who it was but didn't think this was the time to press her. "I'm sorry I'm barely there with you when you need me nowadays."

"But you are always there." She muttered. "You are the only one who's there to hold me no matter what."

"Still. Sometimes I wish…I was more to you." He said, the words out before he could stop himself. He felt as though his heart might explode

"You are, Taemin. You are my everything, you know."

"I love you."

Y/N looked up at him surprised, as Taemin tried to comprehend what he had just said. His cheeks burned and he tried apologising to her furiously.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-" but he never got to finish his sentence because the next moment, her lips were against his.

Now it was Taemin's turn to be surprised. He stared at her as she moved her lips against his, before his eyes fluttered close and he kissed her back.

He pulled her in closer by her waist and she gently cupped his cheek. He was sure she could hear his heart hammering because it felt like it was trying to escape from his chest. Taemin kissed her gently firstly, and then a little more deeply, all the feelings he had felt over the years crashing into the kiss.

Finally, they broke apart, gasping for breath. He felt his cheeks automatically pull into a smile and Y/N did the same, mirroring the same happiness he could feel. He really wanted to kiss her again, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining, but he felt that they both had something to say to each other.

"Did you know," she whispered, "we both talked about each other today without knowing it was each other?"

"No." Taemin whispered back, feeling too elated to express any other emotions. "I did not know. Did you?"

"Me neither." Her smile was too much for him to take and he felt like he might die if he didn't kiss her again.

And so he did.

"I love you. I've always loved you." He whispered against her lips. She chased his lips and he felt himself smile finally the feeling of love fully sinking into him.

"I love you too. I always will."

A/N: Please do tell me what you think about this story!! I worked really hard on it and I would love to know everyone’s thoughts on it~ Comments and reblogs are appreciated!

#╼ 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 ↺ ❝ 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐑𝐇𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐌 ❞ ღ 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 ⇝ 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏 #taemin x reader #kwritersworldnet #wkcnet #ficscafe #supermnet #prism.nw #k-radio!#lee taemin x reader #superm x reader #shinee x reader #taemin fluff #lee taemin fluff #taemin angst #lee taemin angst #taemin x yn

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honeyhuii · 1 year

Text

Make My Heart Race

Sports Au, Nascar Au, Illegal Street racer Au, Journalist Au, Strangers to Lovers

Genre:Fluff, seriously don't know how i managed to not even add an ounce of angst

Pairing: NascarDriver!Xu Minghao x Journalist!Reader

Wordcount: 9.2k

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of food, illegal street racing, breaking the law, possibly wrong nascar termiology

Rating: PG-13 for swearing and breaking the law lmao

A/n: This is for the Sport Au Collab hosted by @gyukult! Thank you so much Gyu for letting me apart of this amazing collab. I made some wonderful friends and thank you to those who helped me figure out plot and which banner was better. You guys are the best! I also want to thank @sungbeam for helping me with the outline, without you I would seriously still be struggling where to go with this! I would also like to thank @heeracha for letting me use her all eyes on me line! I also hope you don't mind the awkward pov switches. I tried to space out the places when I would switch them. Also, some of the parts are purely self induldge and Hao is a bit oc...

Engines rev as they wait for the chequered flag to wave signalling the start of the race. Loud music blasted from the several cars, all of different types, but all doing the same thing…making the person behind the wheel hellbent on winning the race. One racer stood out amongst the crowd, She was notorious for winning and was one of the fastest racers Seoul has seen in years. She however, could care less about winning because she just wanted to feel the adrenaline course through her veins as she sped through the streets, she just happened to win every single time. This time was no different. She sped through the streets, turning tight corners, zooming past red lights. She just loves the thrill of racing.

You quickly looked over your outfit in the mirror in front of you, making sure it is deemed appropriate for a journalist interview. This was it. You were finally going to interview the people you’ve been dreaming of meeting. You gave yourself another look in the mirror before confidently nodding to yourself and grabbed your keys off the table, heading out the door with a confident walk.

Once you looked at the building in front of you, you felt your previous confidence leave your body. You’ve never felt so intimidated by a building before until now. But, you had to present yourself with confidence, so you took a deep breath and let your anxiety release as you breathed out. You let your false confidence return to you as you walked towards the arena with a notepad and pen in your hands. You flashed the security guards your press pass and walked through the doors. You could hear the sounds of engines roaring as you walked to the pit stops in hopes of catching one of the racers . Cars would zoom past you and you could feel the gush of cold air fly past you just as the cars did.

You let a grin take over my face as you spotted the very racer you were hoping to be able to interview. He was just getting out of his car as you made your way towards him, as his best friend sauntered over to him with a big grin stretched across his face. The very racer you were making your way over to, notices you walking towards him and cocks his head in confusion.

He watched as she made her way over to him. There was something fascinating about her, the way she carried herself. Full of confidence and intimidation, but the man did not feel an ounce of fear or nervousness as she continued to make her way towards him. No, instead it made him curious about her. He wanted to know…No, he needed to know more about her. He was compelled to walk over to her. To start a conversation, to talk to her. It was like he was under a spell or some magnetic force that pulled him towards her. He couldn’t even hear a word his best friend was saying. Not even when she was right in front of him, looking directly into his eyes. He only started to pay attention when she opened her mouth and started to talk to him.

“Hi! I’m Y/n, I work for the Daily Carat. I’m a journalist there and I was asked to come interview you and the upcoming Indy 500. Are you able to answer questions right now or do you need to get back to practising, I don’t mind coming back another time or scheduling an interview,” you say, trying to be confident with my words.

“No worries, I’m available to talk now. Is it me you want to interview or Seungcheol,” Minghao asks with a slight smile on his face.

“Well, both if you don’t mind. I originally came here to interview you, but I don’t mind interviewing The Quickest Lane Switcher either,” I smirk looking over at Seungcheol.

“Yeah, yeah. Of course you would call me that,” He rolls his eyes, but there’s mischievous glint in them.

“Do you two know each other,” Minghao asks, confusion written over his face.

“Yeah, just a bit. I’ve run into him a few times,” I reply, “Anyways, let’s get on with the interview. You guys are probably very busy with the race only being next month.”

“Right, so what do you want to know,” Minghao sits on the hood of his car.

You pull out your notepad and look over the questions you had previously prepared beforehand. “Well, I want to know how you feel about being a third time winning racer going for his fourth win. It must be pressuring for you to have to live up to big expectations. Especially with everyone expecting you to win. How do you try to not let the pressure get to you and push forward?”

“Yeah, there is a lot of pressure with people trying to constantly expect me to win for the fourth time. I feel like I’d disappoint them if I didn’t strive to always win because it’s just expected of me. I try to not let it get to me and use it as motivation. I want to be able to surpass everyone’s expectations and go fast each time. I want to surprise people,” Minghao looked away from me, jaw clenched in frustration. Something must be bothering him.

You write down key notes about what Minghao has said and move onto the next question, ‘Seungcheol, what about you? I know you might not be going for your fourth win, but going for a third one is still a big deal. Is there a lot of pressure around it? Especially, since this time you have to go up against your best friend. Are you planning on taking it easy on him,” you let a teasing smirk play on your lips at the last comment.

“Haha very funny, you think you’re very funny because you beat me. Don’t get so cocky, I’ll win next time,” he rolls his eyes with a cocky smirk.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Now answer the questions Choi,” You rest your hands on your hips, fully confident in yourself. Your anxiety has completely left and you feel completely in my element.

“Fine, Lee. I would say there is and there isn’t a lot of pressure. I think I mostly put the pressure on myself because much like Minghao, I want to surpass people’s expectations of me. I don’t want to be seen as only one thing. I want to be able to surprise people with a variety of skills. And no, I’m not going to go easy on Minghao just because he’s my best friend.”

You continue asking them questions and they continue answering them, but every once in a while you couldn’t help but look over at the cars driving by. The way that they would speed past you was thrilling. You couldn’t help but let a small grin take over your face whenever they would drive past.

Minghao noticed the way her eyes would gleam whenever they drove past them. He was growing even more curious about her. He wanted to know her secret. He wanted to know what she loved about racing and why she loved watching people race. He was also rather curious to know how she knew Seungcheol and what the hell they were talking about. He was so enthralled by her and the way she spoke that he failed to realise that the interview was over and that she was walking away from them now. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would see her ever again as he watched her figure leave the arena. Damn it, he should’ve asked for her number before she left.

Seungcheol whacks him on the back of the head, “Dude, you’re staring, she’s not coming back. Who knew Xu Minghao would be the type of guy who would fall in love at first sight.”

“I’m not in love with her,” Minghao replies, rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh yeah, definitely not. I’m also not an illegal street racer,” Seungcheol rolls his eyes at the obliviousness of his friend.

“Whatever, I’m just curious about her. I’ve never met anyone quite like her before. I just…I don’t know how to explain it, but she has the magnetic aura about her that pulls me to her.”

“That’s the first step, then boom next thing you know you’re in love getting married and having kids and-”

“Choi Seungcheol.”

“Sorry man. I was just trying to make a point. But, speaking of Illegal street racing. There’s another race tonight. You should come with me. I’ll even drive you there,” Seungcheol says, hoping to convince Minghao to finally go.

“I don’t know Cheol. You know how I feel about those races. I’ll have to think about it.”

“C’mon man. It’ll be fun, I promise. How about this, if you don’t have fun or enjoy it, I’ll drive you home immediately no questions asked. I will never ask you to attend another race again.”

“Why do you want me to go to this race so bad?”

“Well, I’ll be racing in one of the events tonight plus I think it might surprise you about who else will be there tonight.”

“Who else?”

“Come and you’ll find out. Don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

“Fine. One race and that’s it.”

Evening finally rolled around and Minghao couldn’t believe how many people showed up to an illegal street race. He would think that there were famous people here with the amount of people that showed. Well, not counting himself and Cheol because they were technically celebrities. “Seungcheol, what’s up with all of these people? You would think it would be a bit more discreet…Is there some sort of celebrity coming to the race or something,” Minghao asks, eyes widening as he sees even more people join the neverending crowd.

“Hush! Don’t call me that here, call me S.coups. People don’t know me as that here, can’t let them know I’m a famous racer, otherwise they would think that I’m cheating, they don’t take that shit lightly either,” Seungcheol, quickly hushes his friend.

“Alright, Alright. Calm down. You didn’t answer my question nor did you tell me that before we arrived here,” Minghao couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Seungcheol’s stupidity.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” He rubs the back of his neck, “Well, somewhat famous people. At least what we consider famous in the illegal street race community. First, there’s DK, but you know him as Seokmin, yes a lot of nascar racers do illegal street racing. Then there’s Woozi, he’s known for his speeding tricks. He’ll speed up and pass someone just to slow down right when they are behind him. It pisses everyone off when he does it, but it’s a brilliant way to always stay in first. Lastly, the one even more famous than you and I, Zero Light. She always wins because no one seems to be able to beat her. She also happens to be DK’s sister so she grew up behind the wheel, racing is in her blood. It’s my dream to be able to go against her in a one on one and win. Ah, here she comes, that’s her car.” As Seungcheol was talking, a car sped down the street. It was jet black and had white racing stripes.It was the coolest car Minghao has ever seen, but the comment about Seungcheol wanting to win against her made him confused. Because Seungcheol was a literal nascar driver, she can’t possibly be that good, right?

Once everyone noticed the car, they surrounded the car, and started to whoop and holler. Two people got out of the car and because everyone was surrounding them, Minghao couldn’t make out their faces. But he could definitely feel the change in the atmosphere when they showed up. Before everything was chill and people were just vibing, but now people are buzzing with excitement.

“Hey! Zero Light, over here! I have someone I want you to meet. Bring DK with you,” Seungcheol shouts, waving his arms hoping to get their attention, which it somehow does.

They start weaving their way through the crowd to him and Seungcheol. And Minghao couldn’t believe who was in front of his eyes, “Y/n? What are you doing here?”

Her lips curved up to a smirk and he swears he’s never seen anything more attractive than the confidence he could feel surrounding her, “Ah, Minghao! I see S.coups has finally convinced you to come to one of these. And please, refer to me as Zero Light. Can’t let anyone know my real name in case the cops catch someone from one of these races. We should give you a nickname in case too. Do you have a nickname someone calls you that you like?”

“Uhm…”

“How about The8, for his love of infinite speed,” Seungcheol pipes in, “Also, where’s Woozi? Isn’t he supposed to be racing tonight?”

“I think it’s perfect,” you say, “Yeah, he’s on his way. He said he should be here in a couple of minutes. We won’t start the race without him anyways. What’s a good race when Woozi isn’t there.”

“I like it,” Minghao replies, a confident smirk on his pretty lips, “Whose Woozi? S.coups mentioned him before, and said he was some sort of illegal street racing celebrity.”

“Cool. Woozi’s my best friend. Yeah, he’s well known amongst the community here in Seoul, not quite sure if he’s as well known outside of it as we mostly do our races here. Oh, right. This is my brother DK. You probably recognize him, but because of him I’ve been able to see every single race of yours. Gotta say, I’m quite the fan. S.coups also talks quite a bit about you and wanted you to come to one of these. Glad you finally decided to come.”

“Really? Every single one? And you talk about me, they better be good things or I’ll-”

“Haha. Don’t worry, he only says the best things. Well, maybe a few embarrassing stories here and there, but that’s what friends are for. They gotta embarrass you sometimes and you them otherwise, are you true friends?”

“I guess you do make a good point.”

“Oh, Zero Light. I wanted to ask you if we could hold a one vs one tomorrow night. I don’t think there’s any scheduled illegal races for next week,” Seungcheol asks, butting into the conversation.

“You really want to lose that bad, huh?”

“I don’t think I’ll lose. I am a nascar driver after all,” Seungcheol smirks, confidence blooming in his chest.

“Although that may be true, how many times have you lost to me? I mean the same goes for DK here. He’s my brother so he would hate to lose to me at something he does for his career,” you rest your hands on your hip, cocking your head with a mock.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. What do you say? You in?”

“Sure, why not. I could use a break from all the tough competitors,” you smirk as Seungcheol scowls.

“Oh fuck off will you. Anyways, I can’t wait to finally win against you and rub it in.”

“Confident are we? Speaking of racing, where the fuck is Woozi. He said he’d be here soon, we can’t wait all night for him.”

Soon enough another jet black car comes barrelling down the street and instead of white racing stripes, it has a single red stripe down the centre of the car. When everyone notices that car, they start shouting yet again and the already buzzing energy gets even higher as someone new makes their appearance.

“Ah, Woozi’s here. Perfect timing as always,” you roll your eyes and look over at the car that’s currently parking.

“That’s Woozi? I’m not going to lie..I expected him to be a lot more-”

“Intimidating? Taller? He’s very intimidating when you first meet him, but once he warms up to you, he’ll be someone you never forget,” you say, looking over at the short male with a smile on his face as he greets others while he makes his way towards us.

“Hey guys! Who's the newbie? I swear I’ve seen you before, are you a model or something,” Woozi asks, looking up at Minghao.

“That’s The8,” you lean closer to Jihoon’s ear, “His name is actually Minghao and he’s a nascar racer. He’s S.coups best friend and has raced against DK before.”

“Ohhhh. Wow, I’ve heard so much about you from Zero-” Woozi starts to say until I elbow him before he says too much.”

“That’s enough out of you. We’ve got a race to start now that your ass has finally arrived,” you roll your eyes.

“Oh, it’s starting now? Good luck Zero Light! You too Woozi and S.coups,” Minghao says, smiling with sincerity.

“Baby, I don’t need luck,” you wink and leave a flustered Minghao behind as you head back to your car.

“I do, thanks The8,” Woozi says, “Especially if I’m going up against her.”

Minghao couldn’t even respond to Woozi because he was so caught up in his thoughts of her. His heart sped up just like the very cars he was surrounded by. Maybe Seungcheol was right. Maybe he did fall in love at first. “Come on lover boy, quite staring at my sister. You’re not going to want to miss this,” He lets Dk pull him somewhere they can see the race and just ignores the comment he made because again, it might very well be true.

Engines revved as they waited for the chequered flag to wave. Loud music blasted from all the cars, pumping up both the racers and the viewers. Minghao could hear Villain blasting from her car. He was excited to see how she would race. Since he’s never been to one of these, he’s not quite sure how they work. But he’s pretty sure you aren’t supposed to wait for everyone to speed off while you wait behind. Except that’s exactly what she did. She stood at the start line for five seconds before she finally sped off.

You could feel the bass of the song thrum against you as it blasted through the speakers. You waited for about five seconds before you decided that it was long enough for everyone to get a good distance from the start line. You waited so that you could feel the real adrenaline race through your veins as you raced through the streets desperately trying to catch up. But for you, it was nothing.

You zipped through the streets, fast as the speed of sound. You could hear the tires screech against the asphalt every time you took a tight turn left. You drove up next to a jet black car with a red racing stripe and you knew exactly who you just caught up to.. you looked to your left and saw Jihoon flip you off and grinned from ear to ear. You could hear his laughter ring through my ears as you finally drove past him, making me come in first.

Watching her drive the way she did ignited something in Minghao, something he hasn’t felt in a while. He wanted…he craved to know what it felt like to drive the way she does. He wanted to be both the passenger and driver. He wanted to feel the thrill she felt. And he could tell she loved the adrenaline by how excited and how her smile beamed into the night as she celebrated her new victory.

You climbed out of the car. A grin present on your lips as you bask in the glory of your win. Minghao pulled you into a tight hug, congratulating you on the win. Woozi even came over and joined the crowd to congratulate you, though he did tease you and tried to say that you cheated. You could still feel the adrenaline pump through your veins. There was nothing more thrilling than racing down the street reaching new speeds.

The glory and excitement was cut short as soon as you and everyone else heard sirens race through the streets desperate to find you and where everyone was hiding. Everyone quickly scrambled to get out of there before the cops showed up. Everyone was so panicked about getting caught that Seungcheol forgot to grab Minghao. DK and Woozi must've sped off together because they were nowhere to be found in the vicinity.

Minghao still hadn't registered what was happening even when you pulled up next to him furiously trying to get him into the car. "Hao, fuck. Come on get in the fucking car, we don't have time for you to look like a cute lost puppy!"

"What? What's going on Y/n-" you didn't let him finish his sentence and opened the passenger side and yanked him in the car. You see flashing red and blue light's behind youand siren's blaring, "FUCK!"

You hurriedly shift your car into gear and speed down the street. Cops seemed to catch on that you were one of the racers and started to follow you, "Fuck, fuck. Okay, Hao...We are currently getting chased by cops, so I'm going to need you to duck down, so they don't see you. Can't have you going to jail."

Minghao listen's instantly and ducks down, hiding himself from the view of cops. You grip your steering wheel so tight that your knuckles start to turn white. You keep taking several left and right turns to throw the cops off your track but it doesn't last long enough.

You quickly turn left into an alley. Fortunately, the cops were far enough back that they didn't seem to notice the sharp turn, so you quickly turned off the car and ducked down to remain hidden. You look over at Minghao to gauge his reaction. To your surprise, he looked like he was having the time of his life. He let out an elated laugh and you couldn’t help but start laughing alongside him. “I think we’re safe now. I don’t hear the siren’s nor do I see flashing lights. I’ll take you home, where do you live,” you sat up in your seat and pulled out of the alley and drove Minghao home.

You walk up to Minghao and tap him on the shoulder, “Hey. My boss didn’t think we got enough questions yesterday, so I’m back again. Is Cheol not here today? Also, if you aren’t free right now, I can come back another time, schedule a lunch with you if need be.”

“No! No. It’s fine. I have time now. Yeah, Seungcheol is still a bit shaken up from last night, so he wants to take the day off from practising, especially since he has the race against you tonight,”Minghao sits on the hood of his car, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Ah, typical Cheol,” you reply playfully, “Anyways, some fans want to know how you got into racing in the first place. I’m not going to lie, I’m also curious as to how you got into the whole nascar racing scene as well.”

“Well, Seungcheol would be the reason. He’s my best friend and he’s been doing illegal street racing since we were teenagers. I went only once to one of those and it was an amazing experience. I know I said I haven’t gone to one before, that is mostly true. I haven’t been to one since that one because after that I started to do more research about Nascar racing and just fell in love with everything. The way that there is no limit to how fast you can go. What about you?”

“Huh? What do you mean,” you look up from your notepad and give him a quizzical look.

“What do you love about racing? Why don’t you become a Nascar racer instead of doing illegal ones?”

“Hey, I’m the one supposed to be asking the questions, not you. You can’t take my job like that,” you tease, trying to fight off the embarrassment.

“Awh, please? I won’t ask anymore questions. I’m just curious to know more about you,”Minghao takes his hands out of his pockets and folds them over his chest.

“I was just teasing you,” you sat next to him on the hood of his car. ”Jihoon actually got me into it. That’s Woozi’s real name, don’t tell him I told you,” you point your pen at him and he puts his hands up in surrender, “You would think it was my brother, but it wasn’t. He was a Nascar racer and sure that was cool too, but there were too many rules, plus tell me how many women Nascar drivers you see. But anyways, much like you. Jihoon was an illegal street racer as a teenager too and at first I was terrified of being at one of those races. Then he convinced me to and instead of being on the side lines, I was in the car with him. I got to feel the air whip through the car as we went faster and faster. I was so scared that we were going to crash any time we took a tight corner. However, it was the most fun I’ve ever had and I just loved the rush of adrenaline.”

“Wow…that’s amazing,” he truly looked like he was in awe of what I told him. you felt extremely touched that he wanted to learn more about you. You also felt your heart pick up the pace.

“I guess..Anyways, are you ready for the Nascar race next month?”

“Yeah, I guess I’m excited,” Minghao lets out a breathy sigh and looks a bit dejected.

“Is everything okay? You can talk to me if something’s bothering you…”

“No, I’m fine! Don’t worry. Are you excited for the race against Seungcheol?”

“I mean, it’s Cheol. How excited can one be? I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” you say when you notice the look he was giving me. “Yeah, I’m excited. I'd be even more excited if I were to know whether or not you would be making an appearance there.”

“Honestly? I love being a Nascar driver and being able to go fast. But when we were speeding away from the cops? What I felt then? That was something entirely different. The thrill and rush of getting caught was so exhilarating. I want to experience it again. Seungcheol didn't ask me to go, so I wouldn’t know where it was being held and-”

“I could take you,” you quickly chime in.

“You want to take me?”

“Yeah! It would be fun to have a passenger, someone that isn’t my brother or Jihoon,” I let out a chuckle, causing Minghao to smile.

“They, hell yeah!”

“Cool! What time should I pick you up?”

“I’ll give you my number and you can text me a time you think would be good.”

Score! “Cool, I’ll text you then. I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tonight. Bye Hao!”

“Bye…”

The ride to the new area, where the race will be held, was a silent one. Not an uncomfortable or suffocating silence, but rather one that you basked in. You felt so comfortable around Minghao and you’ve only known him for two days. It’s crazy to think about how you’ve gotten close over the span of 48 hours, but you guess if you are getting chased and fleeing from the cops, it does that. Not that I’m complaining. It was somewhat a magical night, one that you will commit to memory forever. You wonder if he would do the same.

You pulled into the lot and everyone crowded around your car once they noticed you had arrived. You told Minghao to stay in the car until you gestured for him to get out. You spotted Seokmin, Jihoon, and Seungcheol walking towards your car, so you waved for Minghao to get out of the car. Everyone gasped in surprise when they saw Minghao get out of the car, you even noticed your friends making confused faces, but you ignored them.

“Hey S.coups. Ready to lose,” you ask, taunting him.

“I don’t think so. Tonight is the night I finally beat you,” Seungcheol smirks.

“You think? Want to put a bet on it?”

“Sure. Loser buys dinner?”

“How about dinner for the entire group, your friends and mine?”

“Deal. But before we start the race, I want to know why you guys arrived together?”

“Yeah, I’m also curious. Last I checked, you only ever brought us two,” Seokmin points to him and Jihoon, “Are you guys a thing?”

“What? No,” both Minghao and you shouted together, causing some onlookers to stare.

“Uhm no. I asked if Minghao was coming and he said that he wanted to but you didn’t invite him so I did. I took your personal cheerleader, jealous?”

“Well, I thought after last night he wouldn’t want to come to one of these things again. Or maybe he didn’t come to see me race, but rather someone else,” Seungcheol looks over at Minghao, hinting at something.

“Who? It’s only us racing tonight,” you ask obliviously.

Seungcheol rolls his eyes at your response which confuses you more, “No one, no one. Speaking of races, Minghao, are you prepared for the race next month? I still feel like I haven’t gotten enough practise in and I’m doing these illegal street races. I can’t imagine what it would be like for you.”

“I’d rather not talk about it right now. You have a race to lose,” Minghao quips

Seungcheol looks absolutely baffled to the point where you want to take a picture to laugh at in the future, “Wow. I thought you were MY best friend…”

“I am. Also try not to get too angry when I sit with her in her car,” Minghao starts walking backwards towards my car.

“Wait, what? I thought you would’ve wanted to ride with Seungcheol,” you replied.

“And be on the losing team? Nah, plus after the experience from last night, I want to experience that again with you,” Minghao gives your a toothy smile, that just maybe, just maybe makes your heart flutter a little.

“Suit yourself,” Seungcheol walks past my car to his, not before passing by Minghao whispering something in his ear.

You could hear music blasting from Seungcheol’s car as he revved the engine. The grip on your steering wheel tightened. You could feel the adrenaline start its course through your veins. You took a deep breath in and let it consume you. You felt a hand on yours, took it off the steering wheel and intertwined it with another. You look over and see Minghao’s hand interlaced with yours. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, you were about to question it, but Minghao squeezed your hand in reassurance. Silently, he was cheering you on. Your heart definitely did flips that time. The chequered flag waved, but you were too caught up in Minghao to notice, that was until he released his hand from yours and pointed. Oh fuck…you were going to have a hard time explaining this one.

It took everything in Minghao to hold back his laughter. He didn’t want to throw her off her game. But as soon as she noticed she went flying down the road. Instinctively, he grabbed the handle and held onto it for dear life. He could tell that as soon as he did that, that Y/n was trying to hold back her giggles. As the car continues to pick up speed, Minghao starts to let loose a bit. He lets go of the handle and rolls down the window to truly feel air whip through his hair. He takes a deep breath in and truly tries to feel how she’s currently feeling. He pictures himself behind the wheel instead of her. He breathes in every sight, feels every turn, and can taste victory around the corner. Well, he could. That was until Seungcheol came speeding down the street, fast as lightning. Seungcheol quickly took the spot as first place. Minghao looked over at Y/n and noticed the panicked look on her face. This must not happen very often. Minghao did the first thing he could think of that would ground her. He put his hand on her arm, causing her to look over at him. Her eyes widen in surprise as she continues to look forward to the road ahead of her. She took one of her hands off the steering wheel and interlaced it with Minghao’s. He felt his heart speed up as the car began to speed up. They both secretly conveyed their thoughts and feelings to each other without murmuring a word. They could tell just by how someone would squeeze their hand. Minghao was cheering on and motivating her without having to say a word because all she had to do was look over at him and see the emotions in his eyes.

To celebrate your win with Minghao, the both of you went to a fast food place to grab a bite to eat. “Hey,” you hear in a soft voice and look up from your burger to see Minghao staring at you with a curious gaze. You blink in confusion. “Yeah? You need something?”

“I was wondering if you knew a place where we could chill out for a bit. I don’t really want to go home yet, you know?”

“Yeah, I do. I’ll take you there after we finish eating. Is that good with you? If not, I can bring our food with us.”

“I don’t mind waiting for you.”

You park the car on the grassy hill away from city life. You stepped out of the car and let the cold breeze fill your lungs as you breathed in the fresh air. Minghao also stepped out of the car and took in the surroundings around him. You could see a soft smile greet his lips., causing you to smile at his contentment. You sit on the hood of your car and put your hands behind your head as you lay down to look at the stars above. You feel the car shift in weight as Minghao lays next to you. You look over and see him already looking at you. You take one of your hands from underneath your head and innerlace them with his. At this point, when your hand isn’t in his, it feels strange. Like a sense of lostness. Your hand feels like it belongs in his. You feel at home when you're with him. you can’t help wondering if he feels the same as you do.

“Why didn’t you want to go home? Is there something bothering you,” your voice is soft and not above a whisper. You continue observing his face as he looks away from you and towards the city in front, oblivious to love blossoming in the air.

Minghao lets out a deep sigh, “there’s a reason I didn’t really want to talk about the race. I’m not all that happy racing anymore. It’s kind of become a burden to me instead of a fun career. I don’t really feel the same passion and energy that I used to feel. I think it’s because people nowadays only care about winning and will do whatever it takes to win, even if that means cheating. I’m actually thinking this will be my final season as a Nascar racer.”

You sat up in shock, “What? Really?”

He nods his head, “I haven’t made a final decision yet, but it’s something I’ve been thinking of. My passion for racing is dwindling everytime I go to the race track to practise for my upcoming race.”

“What if I help you get your passion and love back for racing? I mean these past two days, I’ve seen you smiling and you look so light and free than I’ve seen you in your past races. What if I help you get your love back? You can maybe try illegal street racing and if you don’t want to physically be in the driver's seat, you can sit next to me. I really really want to help you. Maybe even use this as practice for the Indy race instead of actually practising. Get away from the race track and the rules for a bit.”

“Yeah…Okay. That sounds like a good idea. Let’s do it,” Minghao warmly smiles towards you and your stomach does somersaults.

It’s been two weeks since you had that talk with Minghao. You’ve been going to illegal races almost every day, minus a few breaks here and there. But it’s sort of become a tradition that after every illegal race, you would go grab some greasy food and go up on the hill away from the city. Some of those nights were the best nights of your life. You would just sit and talk about anything and everything that came to mind. Those nights were your favourite because you get to listen to him talk about his life.

Tonight was no different. You guys were chilling on the hood of your car staring at the stars talking about life. “Y/n,” he quietly speaks up.

“Yes Hao?”

“I think I’m ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“I want to race in an illegal street race,” he looks over at you, eyes full of anxiety.

“Are you sure,” you ask and he nods his head, “Well, why don’t we make an announcement at tomorrow night’s race? Hell you can even race it! I’ll let you take my spot for tomorrow night’s race!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to race one last race?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I mean I can always join you in the car if you are that worried I would get bored,”

“What? I wasn’t worried, I just didn’t want your fans to get mad that you aren’t racing.”

“I could use a break. They’ve seen me win enough times. So, don’t worry about them.”

The evening rolled in faster than you thought it would. You could feel the excitement and adrenaline radiating off of Minghao as he sat next to you on your way to the illegal street race. It was his debut night as an illegal street racer, so to see him not anxious in the least bit surprised you to an extent. He was a nascar racer after all, but you think he would be a little bit nervous about racing in an actual street race where he could potentially go to jail for. But no, you could see the confident smirk and glint in his eyes.

You arrived at the parking lot where others were currently parked and waiting for you to arrive. The spectator’s and your friends surrounded your car as you parked, whooping and hollering as soon as they saw you exit, but their cheers grew when Minghao stepped out. Minghao walked over to your friend group while you thought now was a good time to announce Minghao’s debut because everyone was all fired up by his arrival. But first you had to get their attention.

“ALL EYES ON ME,” you shout, cupping your hands around your mouth to make your voice louder.

“ALL EYES ON YOU,” everyone shouts in return except there’s a faint voice yelling, “my eyes are always on you.” You could’ve swore it was Minghao saying that but why would he.

“Alright, now that I have everyone’s attention. I have a few announcements about tonight’s race. I know some of you might be a little disappointed with some of the news I’m going to share, but I don’t care,” you playfully tease, hands on your hips and a growing smirk on your lips.

“The first announcement is that tonight, I am not racing.” You could hear a series of groans come out of people’s mouths. You also noticed Jihoon and Seokmin furrow their eyebrows in confusion, meanwhile Seungcheol is raising an eyebrow towards Minghao, but he chooses to ignore him. “I know, I know. You’re all mad and upset because you took the time out of your night to come and see me. I appreciate it, I really do, but I’m going to be taking a break from racing for a bit, Not for too long, but a small break, like around a week.”

If that didn’t confuse everyone then what you’re about to say is going to definitely elicit surprises and confusion. “Since I’m taking a small break, someone’s going to need to take my place for the race tonight. I want to introduce you to one of my good friends who will be taking my place tonight and for future races. I know you all have been quite curious about him, so why don’t I let him introduce himself? The8, come here please”

Everyone turned to look at the man you pointed to; and the previous disappointment everyone felt vanished, instantly replacing it with excitement. Cheers surrounded Minghao as he made his way towards you. He had a rather shocked face at all the cheers…it was really cute.

“Hello everyone! I’m The8 and I’m taking Zero Light’s place for the time being. I hope you guys won’t be too upset about your future losses and your upcoming loss tonight,” Minghao says with a cocky smirk, firing up the crowd even more.

“Alright, alright. That’s enough boasting, why don’t you actually show them what you’re capable of? Because you may be able to talk the talk but it doesn’t mean you’ll walk the walk. How about it ladies and gentlemen? Are you ready for the race to start,” you shout, screams encompass the parking lot, bouncing off the walls echoing through the small neighbourhood.

Minghao grips the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. He hasn’t felt the rush of adrenaline like this in a really long time. He’s been craving for another taste ever since he lost his love in racing. This. This feeling is what he’s missed for so long. He can’t even say he’s nervous because he’s not. Although he should be with you watching, however, it brings him a sense of comfort knowing that you’ll be watching him race. Watching him win. He let his confidence take the wheel and stepped on the gas as soon as the flag was waved.

Minghao sped down the streets as quickly as he could. Zooming through the streets, weaving through the cars, passing obvious stop signs, and doing his damned best to win. There was no way he was going to let someone show him up. Racing was in his blood after all. It’s what he lived for. It was what drove him to be the person who was. So there was no way he was going to lose.

Minghao had to do a double-take when he saw Jihoon sitting on the hood of his car, waiting for his fellow racers to show up. He didn’t even see Jihoon pass him. How the hell did he get there before him? Minghao storms out of the car, or correction, your car because you oh so graciously let him borrow it, but not without threatening him if he puts a scratch on your precious baby. He marches his way over to Jihoon, “Dude, when did you even get here? I never saw you pass me?”

Jihoon shrugs his shoulders, “maybe you just weren’t looking for me. Slipped right past you, near SVT Street.”

“That far?! Seriously, how did you do it? You have to teach me, but I still can’t believe I lost.”

“Well this is your first street race. You may be a Nascar racer, but you don’t know the streets like we do. We know what streets we can skip, plus we aren’t afraid to play dirty,” you walk up behind Minghao, “don’t be too sad that you lost. It was more than likely you were going to lose against Woozi.”

“I could teach you a couple of tricks if you would like,” Jihoon suggests.

“Yeah, okay. Who knows, they might help me in Nascar racing too. It wouldn’t hurt to try,” Minghao tries not to pout, but couldn’t help it. He genuinely thought he would win. You walk up to him, and without thinking about it, you press your lips gently to his cheek, hoping that you will slightly cheer him up. When you pull your face away from his cheek, you find him staring at you, an unknown emotion swirling around his eyes. You’ve never noticed how his eyes are a vast ocean that will pull you under. It’s almost as if you could find all the answers to the world hidden inside.You would’ve stared longer, but you quickly moved away from Minghao as soon as you heard Jihoon clear his throat behind you. You spun on your heels and practically sprinted to your car.

Jihoon looks over at Minghao to question him about what just happened, but he could tell the man was lost in thought, staring at your faded silhouette. Jihoon just shakes his head at the obliviousness between you two. “Dude, are you just going to stare at her longingly and let her keep waiting for you? Or are you going to follow her? Maybe ask her what the fuck just happened,” Jihoon says, mumbling the last part.

“What?” Minghao furrows his eyebrows and lets confusion fill his features.

“She’s going to leave your sorry ass behind if you don’t hurry up and get it together.”

“Shit,” Minghao sprints after your car, waving his hands hoping to get your attention.

Jihoon sighs, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose, “idiots to lovers I tell you. Oblivious idiots.” He rolls his eyes and sticks his hands into his pocket and jumps off the hood of his car to head home.

Jihoon has been training Minghao in the art of street racing, alongside you. He’s definitely changed since you first met him at the track. At first he was so reserved, reluctantly answering your questions, but now he can’t stop talking about himself. In a positive way, of course he always remembers to ask you questions in return. Usually, those questions are asked while the both of you are laying on the hood of your car, your head on his chest, and his arm lazily wrapped around your waist. Those nights were your favourite because it’s become some sort of tradition that the both of you would head there after one of Minghao’s street races, but not before grabbing some greasy food to eat while staring at the far city lights, surrounded by thousands of glittering stars.

It was hard to believe that a month has passed since you struck up the deal together. You’ve noticed that not only is he not as reserved, but he’s gotten his spark back. You can see it in the way he smiles while his hands are on the steering, shifting gears, and zooming past cars. He’s finally found himself and his love of racing. However, there’s a few problems that you’ve come to realise.

You realised that you were madly in love with Xu Minghao, especially the Minghao you only got to see. You couldn’t determine whether or not he felt the same, but he had to at least feel something during those nights when he would sing to you, gently kissing your forehead and stroking your cheek while you accidentally fell asleep on the hood of your car.

But the next problem you ran into was a major one. If you were to ever tell Minghao your feelings and he returned them, he would easily forget about you. Afterall, tonight is his final street race before he has the Indy 500 the next day. And once he’s done with the race, he’ll probably go back home, continuing his life as a Nascar racer. Meanwhile, you’ll be left alone in a giant city.

“Hey Minghao! Are you ready for your final race tonight? Even if it’s up against me,” you smirk, walking up to Seokmin’s car. Seokmin let him borrow it for the night because he wasn’t going to use it, not if you, Jihoon, Seungcheol, and Minghao were all planning on racing. No, he valued his life much more than his car.

“Yeah, hope you’re ready to lose this time,” Minghao returns your smirk.

“Against you? Never. Remember who you’re talking to baby, I am Zero Light, the undefeated,” you lean in closer, breath tickling his ear.

“How about this, if I lose against you, I’ll tell you a secret,” he whispers, bringing his hand up to your face, resting his palm on your cheek, gently grazing it with his thumb.

“And if I lose? What will I have to do,” you ask, leaning into his touch.

“Nothing because that’s how confident I’ll win against you,” he pulls his hand away from your face, grabs your hand, kissing your knuckles. His smirk widens when he looks up and sees the light red hue spread across your face.

“I better get back to my…uh… car….the race will…um… be starting soon,” you back up away from the car accidentally bumping into a stranger, “Oh my god, I am so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” You keep apologising to the stranger, while Seokmin, Jihoon, and Seungcheol all collectively sigh watching both you and Minghao act stupid in front of each other.

You swung open your car door, stomping your way over to him. You swing his door open and yank him out of the car after he unfastens his seatbelt. You bring him into a bone-crushing hug and hold him tight. Tears well up in your eyes and you slightly pull away from him, “I can’t believe you.”

“Can’t believe what? That I won and that you lost,” Minghao teases, looking deep into your eye, mapping every detail of your face.

“No. I can’t believe how far you’ve come during this month. I’m going to miss you when you leave to go home,” you wrap your arms around his neck, drawing his face closer to yours so that you can truly stare into his eyes forever.

“It wasn’t without yours and Jihoon’s help, thank you for everything. I’m…” you can see the hesitancy within his eyes. He wants to say something…he needs to tell you…

“Hao? What is it? You can tell me anything,” you take his face into your hands and gently brush your fingers against his cheek, much like you did before, he leans into your touch.

“I’m going to miss you too…I’m going to miss you more than you can imagine,” you can hear the sincerity in his voice and it takes every last bit of self-control in you to not smash your lips onto his, so all you could offer him was a comforting smile.

Minghao was anxious, you could tell even far up in the bleachers. You wanted to be in the pit with him, cheering for him, but you couldn’t. You were only allowed down there when they weren’t busy getting ready for a race, 1 minute left, you noted, and when it was appropriate for journalists and reporters to ask their questions.

He was pacing back and forth. The anxiety chewed him up inside. He got so used to racing in the street races, that he seemed to forget some of the basic rules. He has to go over them before the race starts. What was it? What was the first rule? Shit…He can’t remember.

Then his phone rings. He knew it was you. He could tell because he purposely picked out a ringtone for you, so that he always knew it was you calling him. “Y/n?”

“Hao…breathe for me. Just remember you’ve got this,” your voice soothes his growing anxiety.

“But what if I accidentally forget that this isn’t a street race and it’s an official one?”

“You won’t. Do you know how I know,” you see him shake his head from a distance, “Because on the track you are Xu Minghao, not The8. You are just yourself and not some persona you put on for others. Because if you lose, I won’t tell you a secret.”

“A secret?”

“Yeah, if you win…I’ll tell you one of my deepest secrets.”

As if a switch was flipped, in that very moment, you could feel the fiery energy radiate off his aura. Even though he was going up against his best friend and your brother, he had confidence in his ability to race. He knew he would win. He had to win. He’s never felt this desire to win this strong before. Not until you gave him a reason to want to win. When he races, he doesn’t care if he wins or loses, as long as he’s feeling the adrenaline pump through his veins he’s okay with losing. But now? You telling him one of your precious secrets? He has to win.

Lap after lap, it felt like the race was never going to end. You felt anxiety raise each time someone overtook Minghao’s first place, but he always seemed to be able to kick it into gear and steal his spot back. You were at the edge of your seat, hanging by a thread. Sometimes, it looked like Minghao wouldn’t even be able to take his spot back, but then suddenly he would use a move Jihoon taught him and it was like appeared out of thin air and was back in first place.Once the race was truly over, you were over the moon excited that Minghao was able to secure his fourth win. But more anxiety came once you realised you had to tell him your secret.

“Hao! Congratulations! I’m so proud of you! After you're done taking pictures and celebrating, can we go to our spot?”

“Of course! I can’t wait to celebrate my win with you,” Minghao sends a wink your way.

“Do you remember what I said to you over the phone before the race started,” you ask, voice barely heard over the whisper of the lofi radio. The gentle glow cascades you both in a paint-like-lighting. Your question pulls Minghao out of his thoughts.

“How could I forget? It was my motivator…the reason I wanted to. It was the first time I ever really felt a desire to win that much,” Minghao looks over at you, but you are avoiding all eye contact with him, just staring out at the setting horizon in front of you, “what is it? The secret?”

“I don’t want you to leave and go back home. I want you to stay here with me…with all of us.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m in love with you. I don’t know when it happened, maybe when I was first introduced to you as a racer or maybe it was after I truly got to know you…” you finally gather the courage to look at Minghao, only to find him already staring at you. There that unknown emotion is again. It’s ever so present, swirling and mixing in his eyes.

You take his long silence as rejection and hop off the hood of the car, you can feel the tears well up and slowly slide down your face. You don’t know where you're walking to and frankly you don’t care, you just want to get as far as you can from MInghao.

You feel gentle fingers grasp your wrist, you turn around to see Minghao crying. Why is he crying? You’re not sure, but you know that you’re crying along with him. “Y/n…you didn’t wait for my answer.”

“You took too long to answer, so I took it as a rejection.”

“Only an idiot would reject you and I am not one. But I am an idiot for not saying something sooner. I wanted to tell you that I loved you last night, but I just couldn’t form the proper words or sentences. I was also going to tell you that I was planning on staying…over the course of the month, Seoul has become my place because you are my home.” Tears start to slide down your face again after his heartfelt confession. He brings a comforting hand and lightly wipes your tear stained cheeks with his fingers…“Beautiful…as always,” slowly his face gets closer to yours. And as you stare into each other's souls, Minghao searches your eyes for any hesitancy and when he doesn't find any; he tilts your chin up, bringing your lips closer to his, finally letting them meld together like two puzzle pieces meant to find each other.

Taglist for Seventeen: @mhyori1117

Networks: @the-k-neverland @cacaokpop-fics @timenote-library @k-radio

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hy6ck · 2 years

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11:52 pm !

childhood best friend!jaemin x gn!reader. fluff. 0.5k. warnings : mentions of a kiss.

“jaemin, look! another shooting star!”

your eyes are closed tightly as you make your wish, hands clasped together in front of you. you think that your best friend, jaemin, is doing the same thing next to you, his own eyes shut tightly as he makes his wish. unbeknownst to you, jaemin’s eyes have been wide open and looking at one thing the entire time – you.

the way the starlight illuminates your face perfectly or how cute you look with your nose scrunched in concentration as you think of your wish all add to the way his heart beats a little faster the longer he watches you. you open your eyes, turning to see if your best friend had finished making his wish, only to see him already looking your way.

“jaemin? are you okay?” you ask, snapping him from his daze. he quickly brushes your question off, reassuring you with a sweet smile. “so what did you wish for?” you follow up, eyes gently scanning over the face you had grown up with.

“i can’t tell you then it won’t come true,” he replies, looking back up at the stars. his eyes widen and he quickly points up at the stars, another shooting star streaking across the sky. “quick! make another wish!” he exclaims quickly, lacing his fingers together.

the moment your eyes close, his eyes are back on you, chewing his lip. when you had practically dragged him out to watch the meteor shower on the night he had been planning on confessing, he had taken it as some kind of sign from the stars that he should just go for it, but every second he sat there, the more he second-guessed himself. childhood friends falling for each other is common, sure, but what if he makes a fool of himself? he curses softly under his breath, deciding that it was now or never. if this really was a sign, he’d be an idiot to miss out on it.

as you make your wish, jaemin slowly moves closer to you, your legs now touching. jaemin gulps, taking in a final, shaky breath before leaning in. he’s hyperaware of how close your faces now are, his eyes scanning over all of your pretty features before one of his hands gently comes up to cup your cheek. you instantly lean into his palm, the familiar warmth spreading across your cheeks as your eyes flutter open.

“jaemin?” you whisper softly, eyes meeting his as he gives you the familiar smile that has butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

his breath is warm against your lips before he’s leaning in again, lips meeting yours. the kiss is slow and sweet, every little bit of adoration the boy felt for you being put into it. your lips fit together like missing puzzle pieces – perfect. you pull away, cheeks warm with a shy smile on your lips, face still resting in jaemin’s palms. he smiles, little stars in his eyes as he looks at you, whispering loving words against your lips that make your heart race more.

“to answer your question, that’s what i wished for”.

#ficscafe #kshop net #prism.nw #nct #nct dream #jaemin #nct jaemin #na jaemin #jaemin imagines #nct dream imagines #jaemin fluff #nct dream fluff #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct dream scenarios #nct scenarios #nct reactions #nct dream reactions

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svchengss · 2 years

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bad habit | k.dy

doyoung moved his gaze from the dimly lit phone screen towards the motion of people walking in and out of the shiny glass doors. he can’t help but think of your voicemail from last night. perhaps, the last voicemail ever since you’re moving to a new state for your studies.

“and uh, i’ve been thinking of this for a really long time but we should be transparent. we’ve been best friends for more than a decade even, so no judgements, okay? i may have, um, had feelings for you since, i don’t know, a few years back? and, i’m not expecting anything from you now, just decided to let some stuff off my shoulders. guess i’ll see you when i see you, bye doyoung. take care,”

why now? why in the world did you only come clean about your feelings now when the both of you are about to be busy with your own lives and maybe about to meet new people?

god, i wish i knew you wanted me, y/n.

#MY WRITING COMEBACK #nct imagines #nct doyoung #nct fluff #nct angst #doyoung imagines #neoturtles #ankathia #nshitty-frathouse #prism.nw #kwritersworldnet #kdiarynet #ultkpopnetwork #ficscafe

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soonyoungblr · 1 year

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six — ice cream solves everything

pairing: yoon jeonghan x gender neutral reader

warnings: none

genre: angst, comedy, fluff

previous • masterlist • next

taglist: @honeyhuii @soobin-chois @fylithia @enhacolor @ja4hyvn @bambisgirl @hiqhkey @its-madi @snowwonnie @yizhoutv @shuatm @end-hyphen @yeosangiehwa @kayleeshinee @joonsytip @justasoftstan @strawberri-uyu @avidcasualreader (bold cannot be tagged)

a/n: i took another tiny hiatus. i don't cope with grief very well which is why i'm off schedule for a few weeks. hoping to get back on track soon <3

#—when our paths cross again ♡#kwritersworldnet #prism.nw #kdiarynet #seventeen smau #seventeen social media au #seventeen sm au #svt sm au #svt smau #svt social media au #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fanfiction #seventeen fic #seventeen fake texts #svt fic #svt fanfiction #svt fanfic #svt fake texts #yoon jeonghan x gender neutral reader

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armysantiny · 2 years

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Midnight Ice Cream – HHJ

Summary; It’s late. Hyunjin wants ice cream. Midnight convenience store shopping ensues.

Staring at the ceiling long after the movie had ended and with his head comfortably resting in y/n’s lap, Hyunjin furrowed his brows. Why was he having cravings at stupid o’clock at night? And why did he not know what it was that he was supposedly craving? Shifting around until he made eye-contact with y/n, Hyunjin beckoned his partner closer, a content smile on his face when y/n reciprocated his affection.

“You doing alright Hyun-ah?”

“Am I not allowed to kiss you without an ulterior motive?” Hyunjin whined, sitting up and turning to face y/n’s loving gaze. Pouting until y/n gave him an apology kiss, the artist huffed. He still wanted his answer after all.

Okay, maybe he might have had an ulterior motive, but that wasn’t the point here.

“Course you are love, but you look like you’re trying to stare through the ceiling.” Y/n reasoned, gently poking Hyunjin’s forehead. The couple’s poor ceiling had to endure his staring for so long. Lightly scoffing at his own behaviour with his lips pursed into an unimpressed straight line, Hyunjin wordlessly wandered over to the freezer, peering his head inside before his head poked back out again.

“We don’t have ice cream.” Huh?

“We – what?” Joining their boyfriend by the fridge-freezer, y/n followed Hyunjin’s line of sight. Why were they looking for ice cream again?

“Y/n, I wanna get ice cream.”

“Now?” Peering around to check the clock, y/n’s jaw nearly hit the floor. They had been awake for that long? Granted, it was the weekend, and Hyunjin was a freelancer, but the realisation still hit like a truck. “Hyun baby, it’s one-thirty in the morning…”

“There’s a 24/7 convenience store down the road though? C’mon, let’s get some now! It’ll be fun~!”

Sighing with an exasperated smile as they found themselves in the apartment block lift, y/n turned to the very excitable Hyunjin. How they had ended up in this situation was beyond them…but a happy Hyunjin was a cute Hyunjin, and there was little anyone could do when faced with the puppy eyes and pretty mole that belonged to Hwang Hyunjin. Stretching out a yawn, they watched the electronic display count down towards the ground floor, humming the last song they heard. That last song, of course, being the soundtrack of their favourite drama.

Walking down the pavement, the road the couple lived on looked rather pretty at night. Admiring the way moonlight danced and fell across the buildings and vehicles they walked past, y/n couldn’t resist the urge to snap a few pictures for whatever boredom-induced photoshop project they had next. Switching the camera mode to record when Hyunjin started skipping, their heart fluttered at the sound of laughter, all ferret-like and sweet.

"Someone's excited~” ending the recording and jogging to catch up, y/n pocketed their phone. They could watch the footage again when they got home.

“We’re getting ice cream; I have every right to be excited darling.”

“That you do.”

Walking into the 7-11, Hyunjin quickly greeted the part-timer working the graveyard shift before making a beeline for the ice creams, y/n in tow. Filling a basket with a quantity that definitely could not be eaten in one sitting, Hyunjin hummed to himself as he looked for an ice cream he could eat on the walk back home. Stuck between far too many good options, the brunet jumped when a certain y/n popped out from behind him.

“Make noise, will you?!”

“Hyun-ah…I’ve been standing here for the past five minutes.”

“Oh.”

A satisfied grin on his face as the two left the store with a bag full of ice cream, Hyunjin hooked his arm around y/n, reaching into the bag with his free hand. Passing one over to y/n and tearing off the wrapper of his own sweet treat, Hyunjin finally indulged his midnight cravings, the trademark happy dance following soon after. The ice cream was good, and in the secrecy and quiet of the night with y/n by his side, it was even better.

Still nibbling on their ice cream, as they re-entered the shared apartment they called home, y/n chuckled as they nearly struggled to put everything away. There was enough to last the couple longer than y/n could frankly imagine, but the late-night trip was worth it. Humming when a pair of grateful arms wrapped themselves around their waist, y/n shuffled in place, leaning forward and kissing a now very tired Hyunjin.

“I wanna sleep…”

“You do? And here I was thinking that you were wide awake~!” biting back giggles at their boyfriend’s unamused face, y/n continued. “Fine, fine~, let’s go to sleep.”

“I’m the big spoon tonight!”

“Sure thing, Hyun-ah~”

Networks: @kwritersworld, @kdiarynet, @ultkpopnetwork, @whipped-kpop-creators, @prism-nw, @k-library, @knet-bakery, @kpclub, @k-mysticsnet, @stayhavens, @districtninewriters

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! Consider reblogging, leaving some feedback or donating to my kofi!

Taglist: @teeztheflag, @jeonqquk, @mikailo666, @babyboobean, @taem-min, @xavi-in-kpopland | Taglist form

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solneur · 1 year

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##☆ OOH LA LA! — S.JY

SYNOPSIS. what do you do when you’re lonely and desperately want a boyfriend? you ask the first guy you see to be your boyfriend, of course!

PAIRINGS. jake x gn!reader

GENRE. college!au, high school!au, strangers to lovers!au, fluff, slight angst, comedy, drama, smau with some written parts

WARNINGS. language, suggestive/dirty jokes (nothing too crazy), death jokes (never made or taken seriously), slight age gap but they are both of age (jake is in college while reader is in high school), appearances of other idols, will add if there are more!

STATUS. coming soon!

AUTHOR’S NOTE. this smau will be on the shorter side ,,, i’m looking at about 15 chapters but we’ll see what happens 😃 this is also based off of the original manhwa with the same name ! enjoy^^

PROFILES.

y/n and the squad 😜‼️

suffering college students 🙏

PARTS.

one.

two.

three.

more coming soon...

TAG LIST. open :D send an ask to be added ! (not accepting replies or dms)

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bikerjongho · 2 years

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set the bar | choi jongho

genre: realistic fiction, romance

pairing: gn!reader x biker!jongho

description: Y/N’s attraction for the biker gang leader Jongho gets in the way of the friendship they have with surfers, but what’s the harm in a little bit of flirting?

word count: 2.6k

warnings: suggestive comments (once)

author’s note: jongho leather jacket brain go beep boop brrrrr. jongho beep boop brrrrrr

taglist: @itsapapisongo @mangomingki @irehlevant @blueprint-han @doievoir @bvlnoriyas

There had been many times in Y/N’s life when they had to put on a mask to hide their true intentions. When they had stolen an entire case of sticky notes from their art teacher in middle school, they had stayed after school to help her look for them even though they were safe inside their backpack. When Y/N had snuck out of the house to go to a party and came back late at night, they told their flamed parents that they had been at the library studying for a test. The next day, they aced the exam.

In many ways, it was Y/N’s reputation of being a responsible person that allowed them to get away with so many things like this – they were the last person anyone would suspect of doing any awful deeds. That was what made them so good at being bad. But sometimes, the mask to hide their intentions was used for things that weren’t tangible, but it was the same practice as any of their capers. They had to put that mask to good use when Jongho walked into the bar where they worked.

Y/N was laughing with surfer friends and passing out drinks to customers when he walked through the door in all of his leathered glory. They made eye contact and Y/N flushed, both out of fear and attraction. They had never interacted with both their surfer friends and Jongho at the same time. Their friends had a different reaction.

“Oh, wonderful,” Beth groaned, sitting at a large table on the opposite side of the entrance to the bar. “Him. This just ruined my night.”

“For real,” Y/N laughed while making ferocious eye contact with Jongho. He noticed, and they minutely tilted their head toward their surfer friends and gave a stiff smile. Jongho’s eyes widened, but the mild panic disappeared as quick as it came, and he seated himself at the front of the bar and tossed his leather jacket off, then turned to where they were standing. Y/N realized what he was doing.

Almost like he knew what was going through their head, Mingi echoed their thoughts. “Well, have fun serving him,” he said with genuine sorrow, and the surfers’ nods around him echoed the feeling in his voice.

“It’s my job after all,” Y/N shrugged and gave a meek smile to Beth, who was glaring at Jongho’s back. “See you later.”

“Let me know if he bothers you,” Yunho said to them seriously and Y/N tried their best to sigh with relief.

“Thank you,” they said, but their words weren’t genuine. They walked towards the bar table with a little too much glee in their step.

“What are you doing here?” Y/N said, schooling their face into a scowl when all they wanted to do was smile. “Don’t mind my face. I know my friends are staring at me.”

Jongho understood their cues immediately and smirked. “I wanted to see you, Y/N.”

“I didn’t know I’d see you today,” Y/N said, grabbing a glass and wiping it clean with a cloth. “I wanted to see you, too. This is a treat.” The truth of the matter was that Y/N had seen Jongho just last night. They had seen a lot of him then. Now, with clothes on, there was less to admire, but it pleased them nonetheless that he had gone out of his way to come to the bar. The only issue was their surfer friends that were watching them like hawks as if Jongho would suddenly leap over the bar table and throttle them.

If he was affected by their words, he didn’t show it through his face. Though, by the way that he adjusted himself in his seat, throwing his arms to the table and giving them a warm smile, he was clearly out for a kill because he knew what they liked. Y/N pretended like they didn’t notice his hulking biceps or his gorgeous facial structure as he raked a hand through his red hair.

“Jongho,” Y/N hissed, turning away. “We’re in public.”

“And I’m not allowed to stretch?” Jongho smiled, raising his arms for a stretch. The sleeves of his black shirt slid down with the stretch. Y/N looked very intently at a saltshaker on the table beside him. “Y/N, I’m just existing.”

“And your existence hurts me,” Y/N said and pulled out their notepad to take his order. They pretended he didn’t have arms. That made them feel better.

The face Jongho put on was pure arrogance as he put his arms down and folded them across his chest, signaling that he had completed whatever goal he had in his head. The move only highlighted his muscles. “I know.”

While Y/N jotted down his order, they tried their best to imitate discomfort for their surfer friends that were watching. Although they weren’t a couple, they very well could have been because of their mutual feelings and genuine chemistry. The only block to their relationship was Y/N’s reluctance to leave their surfer friends. Luckily, Jongho found pleasure in keeping their relationship down low. There was something dastardly about secret love, and he thrived in it.

As Y/N gave Jongho’s order to the cook and started on his drink, they glanced over at their surfer friends. To their dismay, their eyes were all on them. It made sense – Jongho was someone that they all hated, and they assumed that all of them wanted to get up and hurt him had the environment been right. Instead, it was all a standoff. Y/N looked back to Jongho and saw his eyes on them. Their stomach tightened.

“Jongho,” Y/N said, coming to the counter, “don’t pay attention to them.”

“They’re paying attention to me,” Jongho said, not looking back at them. His cold glare irked them, both because they didn’t think the surfers needed attention, and also it wasn’t worth it for him to do so.

“And they’re not worth your attention,” Y/N said, waving a hand in front of him. “Pay attention,” they said with no real intent for romance or teasing, “to me.”

Jongho finally released his gaze from the surfers to look at them. His eyebrows raised as he looked them up and down slowly. He smiled. “All right.”

And they really felt his eyes on them. They had been making his drink while they talked, but now that he was looking at them they could barely concentrate. Idly, they wondered if there were any stray hairs or blemishes on their face.

“Okay, never mind, I literally cannot concentrate,” and they could only hear him chuckle because they refused to look up and see the blatant satisfied look on his face from their comment.

In the corner of their eye, there was movement from the other side of the restaurant. Y/N’s stomach lurched – Yunho was on his way towards them with resolve in his eyes. “Oh my God,” Y/N whispered and hoped Jongho would see him and realize what was going on before he got to them.

And Yunho was there in a flash. He glowered over Jongho and leaned against the counter of the bar while he folded his arms. Y/N imagined his height came in use right now, he looked intimidating and terrifying over Jongho. Then, he lost the scariness of himself as he looked up at Y/N with kindness in his eyes.

“Is he bothering you, Y/N?” Yunho said softly, raising his eyebrows.

“No,” Y/N said too quickly, smiling as they finished up Jongho’s drink and slid it over to him. He caught it with one hand and was looking at Yunho with mild amusement. Perhaps he thrived in Y/N’s answer to Yunho like he was pleased that they did not resent him like a majority of the people currently in the restaurant.

“We were just talking, don’t worry,” Y/N said. “He’s not scary to me.” They said this to remind Yunho of their neutrality, but Y/N realized the implication of their words only after they had said them.

In the corner of their eye, Jongho was using all of his willpower to remain in a neutral expression, but they could still see hints of a laugh threatening to overtake it.

If Yunho caught a whiff of their attitude towards Jongho, he didn’t say anything about it. Y/N assumed he was too wrapped up in his own dislike for Jongho to notice Y/N’s more than friendly nature to him. He looked at Jongho, then Y/N, then back to Jongho before sighing. “Just wave to me if you need anything, okay?”

“Of course,” Y/N said, smiling at him. “Thanks for caring. I have other orders to do though.” They laughed a bit and waved him goodbye, even though they didn’t have any in actuality.

“So you don’t think I’m scary?” Jongho said immediately after Yunho had left, his eyes sparkling. He leaned off of the stool he was sitting on to get closer to Y/N and smirked. “Hm, you’re fearless. That’s attractive, you know.”

Y/N glared at him while a blush formed on their cheeks. “No, you’re not scary,” they said, turning away from him briefly to give themself a moment to collect themself.

“Then what am I to you?” Jongho continued, eternally riveted and not lowering himself back onto his stool. He took a dubious sip of his drink.

“You certainly look scary,” Y/N said and opened their mouth to continue.

“Good to know,” Jongho mused.

Y/N glared at him. He smiled. “You look scary,” they continued. “And I guess it would be strange if you didn’t. But I’ve known you and I’ve seen you in private, you’re not scary at all. You’re a bit of a softie.”

“Because I like you,” Jongho said, and Y/N shrugged. They both knew that already.

“Yeah?” They said, “I didn’t notice.”

Jongho readjusted himself on the counter. He was painfully close to them now, so close that he could have taken their hand and kissed it had he so desired. But instead of the flirty look in his eyes, there was something darker in them now.

“I’ve hurt people before,” Jongho said, not losing eye contact with them. “That's not scary to you?”

Y/N looked over at the surfers, who were now laughing with each other. “They’ve hurt people too,” they said. “That’s the nature of a feud like this, isn’t it?”

“But it’s not scary to you?” Jongho asked again with an urgency to his voice, like he needed to hear a certain answer from them. Y/N looked at him dead in the eyes. They saw something in there that they hadn’t seen a minute ago.

“No,” they said finally. “It’s what you have to do to make your opinion seen. It doesn’t define you or make me think less of you. It’s just something you have to do.” They believed what they said was truthful, but it was also hard to tell the complete truth when a face as handsome as Jongho’s was looking at them so intently. Truthfully, Y/N was neutral for a reason because they hated the conflict. But getting to know Jongho, from his favorite foods to how much he loved his family to how passionate he was to how his lips felt on them, they knew that even something as awful as murder was not so black and white. The intention of it mattered, and the person behind it mattered. They knew that the bikers weren’t good, but the surfers also weren’t the angels that they painted themselves to be. They were just better at hiding it.

Y/N knew what was coming next. “So then be my lover, Y/N,” Jongho said. “Because you’re right. Most people aren’t as wise as you are, they look at everything at face value. You don’t hate me, you like me, and I like you. Doesn’t it just make sense?”

Y/N was silent, and Jongho noticed that. He rephrased his words. “But it’s always your choice,” he said. “I don’t want to force you to date me, and I know you care about your surfer friends. It’s not an easy choice to make.”

It’s not an easy choice because dating you would be an enormous and public spectacle, Y/N wanted to say, but Jongho knew that already. They had tossed around this conversation so many times in the past.

But at the same time, what they had said was truthful. They didn’t see him as a terrible person, and they wanted to be with him so badly. There was just a surfboard-sized block in-between them, and Y/N didn’t have enough strength to break their hearts just yet.

“It’s not,” Y/N said finally. “And it’s a no,” they said, and they watched his face fall. “But,” they said slowly, “your persistence in my life is something that certainly is coercing and convincing me to say something different.”

Y/N pulled out a slip of paper from their pocket and scribbled something onto it with the cheap ballpoint pen behind their ear. They slid it over to him. Jongho took it, and his eyes widened when he registered what it was.

“That’s my apartment,” they said. “I’m not affiliated with either side, but I suppose I am affiliated with you. If you need any help,” they said, “you can come to me, and I will try my best to help. Because you’re right,” they said, glimmering. “I do like you. More than I’d like to admit. Congratulations.”

Jongho, who had maintained a cool aura the entire time he was in the bar, broke into a painfully cute smile at those words. “I’m a little nuisance in your life,” he teased. “You can’t rid me from your mind.”

“Uh-huh,” Y/N smiled. They looked over at the surfers. “I’d give you a kiss, but there are surfers around.” Jongho began to stand from his seat, and Y/N shook their head. “And wouldn’t it be suspicious if we both went into the back room together?” They clarified, raising their eyebrows.

They tapped at the piece of paper they had given him. “Come and meet me tonight, we can talk then. Or not do any talking at all.”

There was a fire in his eyes now, and a smirk tickled his lips. Y/N could see the essence of a biker leader in him, more clearly than they had seen this entire evening. “I’ll make you mine at some point or another, Y/N,” he said, nodding his head. “Trust me.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Y/N smiled, their eyes lingering on him for a little too long, his doing the same. “Now get out of my bar before I carry you out myself.”

“I’d like that,” Jongho said, but he stood up anyway and put his jacket back on. He gave them one last smile, a smile that made their heart hurt. “I’ll see you tonight, then,” he whispered with a glimmer in his eyes. He used a moment to brush his hair back, looking at Y/N for any sign of being flustered. they had lost their shield to his charms long ago. Satisfied, he left the restaurant in a flurry of leather, bright hair, and allure that left Y/N at the bar, missing him dearly.

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