#server! jeongin x regular! y/n | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy (13+)

There are many different kinds of people who come and go from your life. Some will stay constant and sturdy like a river, growing alongside you, others will come like a whirlwind who wreaks havoc and leaves just as quickly, then there is everything in between. In this twisted maze of connections, that is where our story begins. A steadfast boy, a girl with a past, a little bit of alcohol, mistakes, and some love. Where can you go wrong with that?

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.1k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And what if-”

“Yang Jeongin, use your words carefully. I will not entertain ideals,” I snapped although my heart was in my throat.

Damn it. I thought I had the hope controlled but now it’s going haywire. It may just be me reading into things again but too many things are saying that this might be it. For once I wanted to stop being a cynic and try that cup-half-full crap. He paused as if to taste the words on his tongue before speaking carefully.

“You’re important to me y/n. You came crashing into my life and I didn’t know how to handle the mess once you were gone. Of everything I messed up, you were the one I was the most scared of losing. I keep saying that I have no right to ask for you to stay in my life… but on the inside I pray that you don’t think the same. I don’t need you in my life but I want you in it, every part.”

“Is it really that hard to say that you like me?”

My hand flew to my mouth as my eyes widened at what I just said. Why do I have to short circuit at such a bad time… and why does it automatically turn on confident flirty mode?! A few beats of silence passed between us as my words hung in the air and I literally wanted to die. If that was a confession I completely ruined the mood. Once the overthinking started to hit its peak, Jeongin’s laugh shattered the tension. I think the shock of my statement finally wore off.

“You’re right what’s so hard about it?” He cleared his throat of the rest of the laughter before continuing, “I like you y/n.”

“Wait, don't look at me with that sunny smile of yours. That’s cheating. This isn’t real, you’re not serious-”

“I’ve told you both indirectly and directly, how else do you want me to say it?”

“Don’t get cocky and tease me! I just- just give me a second to think.”

My gaze dropped to the ground as my eyes darted around the pavement as if following little specks on the floor would help follow a coherent train of thought in the chaos that was my brain. I understood the words he said but the meaning wasn’t sinking in. That little voice in my head keeps telling me this isn’t real but he’s right in front of me and he has always been honest but what if- The spiral was cut off as I noticed a pair of shoes enter my line of vision before I felt a gentle hand on the crown of my head. And yet again I was met with those determined brown eyes looking back into mine. Why does he do this to me? To just look at me and everything feels right… When he spoke this time it was softer, quieter, as if it was for my ears only.

“I like you y/n. I like you. I like you. I lik-”

“Stop that,” I mumbled as I held my hand over his mouth to stop him from speaking.

His hand moved from my head to tenderly remove my hand from his mouth, the spot that pressed against his lips burning the palm of my hand. This wasn’t like him but it wasn’t an unwelcome change… I just can’t handle that on top of a confession.

“Your answer?”

“You already know…”

“Is it that hard to say you like me back?” He straightened himself and repeated the words I said before.

“We both know that’s not true. I’ve constantly told you since we met at the pub and after.”

“That’s fine I’ll just keep telling you until you say it back.”

“Nope. Nope. No. Stop. You might kill me from heart failure like that.” With a deep breath I stepped into his space and leaned in close to his ear, “I like you, I have since the beginning.”

In a quick motion I turned my head and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before bouncing away, finally letting a smile come to my lips. I love his surprised face. He made a move to pull me back in but I danced away from his grasp.

“I believe you still have a job you’re in the middle of sir. You can get me back for that later.”

“Shit I forgot I just ran out. It’s fine, I’ll just let sunbae know something came up and I’m leaving.”

“That is unbecoming behavior from a future CEO,” I teased.

“Well good thing I’m not gonna be one then,” He said as he caught me and pulled me in.

“As long as you’re happy I don’t care what you are,” I smiled until I felt the burn of watchful eyes and remembered where we were. I cleared my throat before asking, “Since you’re ditching, do you want to take this elsewhere or did you want to continue the show for the onlookers?”

At this it seemed he finally remembered that we were in fact still on the sidewalk, outside, for everyone to see. With a blushed he nodded and pulled me back towards the coffee shop. There’s the Jeongin I loved the most. After settling into a table with new drinks, I continued our conversation.

“So are you gonna stay after the project is finished or do you feel like business just isn’t you?”

“Maybe not upper level business. After the project I’m gonna be an intern at the planning department. Sunbae is my team leader.”

“Oh what he said makes sense now.”

“And what did he say that makes sense?”

“Since he’s your team leader he was worried you were being a workaholic but I think after that text he can relax,” I smile.

Silence settled on us once again but this time it was peaceful. Turning away from the view out the window, my eyes locked with Jeongin’s which stayed trained on me. It was fine at first but as it went on it made me squirm until I had to call him out.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I’m just happy you gave me a second chance.”

“That was never a question but your biggest obstacle has yet to come. It’s hard to get off of Changbin’s black list.”

“I’ll grow on him, I do have that charm,” he joked.

“Just get off the list. I don’t want to fight off my best friend from my boyfriend. Once you become one of his favorites, you can’t get rid of him. Look at me,” I laughed.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

11 notes · View notes

blizzardfluffykpop · 4 years

Text

Like-like

Summary: It takes time to heal from a broken heart, but you will eventually move on.

Jeongin X Reader

Requested by an anon btw

Prompt: 23. “Everyone who drinks on Christmas is sad, so what’s your story?”

A/n: Jeongin is gonna be 25 so it works for the story :)

I work as a bartender, the store owner, rain or shine, holiday or not, I’m open. Most people like to drink on holidays to forget the holidays, and I don’t blame them. I listen to people tell me about how their wives left them for another woman, or their child moved out, or their pet ran away. You name it, I've probably heard the sob story, but it’s not that they are sob stories, it’s much more of their life story. Surprisingly, seeing as today is Christmas, no one is here. Then again the storm is coming and most people rather like to stay in the comforts of their home or enjoy some time with their loved ones.

I’m cleaning a glass when I get my first and only customer. I smile at him, and ask, “What can I get you?” “Anything” “So a glass of chocolate milk?” I joke and they roll their eyes at my antics and I quickly make a special drink that is sure to take the edge off. “Everyone who drinks on Christmas is sad, so what’s your story?” They sigh as I hand them a drink, and curse under their breath after drinking it.

“My girlfriend of five years cheated on me… I broke up with her immediately, of course, I just had to come home for Christmas to see that. Best Christmas present I’ve ever received… And to think I was going to propose to her” He sighs and puts his head into his arm, “She was stupid to cheat on a man like you, I’ll just be honest, you’re very dashing… -” He peeks his head out of his elbow, "Thank you, I'm Jeongin." I grin, "I'm (Y/n), she must have been a special girl to you if you were going to marry her." He groans, "I thought she was the girl for me,... I've know since I was seventeen, I started dating her at twenty. I became a professional singer at twenty-one, and when I started going on tour I noticed a change. I wasn't sure what it was, but she was seeing someone while I was on tour for four years and didn't break up with me. I was buying her love it felt,..." his eyes are glassy as he looks away, "How long ago did this happen?" He is on the verge of tears when he says, "Three days ago, and this is my first Christmas without her in years. I miss her,..." that's when he breaks down, this is the first time I had someone cry at the bar. I look around trying to figure out what to do and then, I snap my fingers. He looks up at me, the tears streaking down his face.

"I have a great idea why don't we talk it out"

That was three years ago and man he was a mess in the beginning. His eight other friends had to drag him out of a few bar fights. His relationships with people, in the beginning, were unsteady and toxic for him. He had been through more lovers in a month than most people will in their lifetime. But then he suddenly stopped and as I heard from Seungmin he cried for a week and suddenly he felt better. He let it all out and he got back into the groove.

The Jeongin I know now is nothing like the Jeongin I knew back then. He doesn't like to drink, he smiles all the time, and nothing gets him down. He makes fun of Changbin's height when he is still shorter than Hyunjin. Chan and Woojin always baby him and he loves it. I would be denying it if I said I didn't have a slight crush on him.

Every time the gang comes into the bar I make them all a glass of coke. Because all of them together are even more of a mess when they drink. Unless one of them has a bad day I won't serve them alcohol. Johnny, my server, laughs at their antics and Ten, my cook, rolls his eyes and keeps working.

Today is one of those days but they had to come near closing didn't they? I close my bars as the rest of my regulars leave. "What do you nine want?" They laugh, "To hang out" I roll my eyes, "Well, you'll have to wait until after the bar is closed okay?" As I'm washing dishes o hear the nine get louder and louder and Seungmin comes I'm running shutting the door. He yells so everyone in the lobby can hear, "My friend likes you!!!" I point at myself and he nods, I shrug, "I like you guys too?" He shakes his head, "No, he likes-likes you" my mouth forms an 'o' shape and I nod, "Are you going to tell me or do I have to figure it out?" I ask quietly, "Look out the little window," he says to me softly and I sneak a peek.

I see Jeongin swatting at Chan, "I was gonna tell them at my pace!" I smirk and yell out the window, "I like-like you too Jeongin!" He looks at the window directly at me, "You wanna get milkshake together?" He asks, putting his hand at the back of his neck, "I would love too" Ten glares at me, "I wanna go home go back to the dishes so you can go on your date."

With vigor I quickly finish the dishes as Ten and Johnny clock out, I open the kitchen door and only Jeongin is left. I blush and clock out putting on my coat and head out the door with him, and he carefully grasps my hand. Looking at me for permission and I grin at him before interlocking our hands.

51 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (6/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.7k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first words I heard from the call were “I’m sorry,” followed by an explanation and an “I got you.” I didn’t trust those words as the only other person he could ask in this situation is the one person I didn’t want involved. I tried to argue but Jaehyung had already sent the boy my way so with a defeated sigh I went to finish getting ready. By the time I finished my makeup I had come to terms with the fact that he sent Jeongin and once the doorbell rang I put on a smile before opening up. Lo and behold there he was, fitted in some black dress pants with a matching blazer with a white tee underneath.

“Hey… Is this okay? I wasn’t sure what to wear,” he started awkwardly.

“Yeah that’s perfect, thanks for coming with me,” I lightly smile.

“Oh before I forget. Here. It’s a birthday gift and an apology for being so harsh yesterday...”

“If you’re talking about Gahyeon, I deserved it but if you mean the rooftop then I accept,” I laughed as I took the box from his hands, “all jokes aside though, you didn’t have to.”

In the adorably wrapped box were a cute little pair of cherry blossom earrings. Seeing how tense he seemed it was the perfect opportunity to pick on him, it’s not my fault he was just so full of openings. Controlling my face to hold my smile, I looked at him and carefully spoke.

“My ears aren’t pierced… ” His face flushed and he stuttered as he tried to take it back but I pulled it away with a giggle, “I’m kidding. Thank you, I love it.”

“They were just something I picked up on the way,” he mumbled, pout still resting on his lips.

“But they’re still a gift that you chose with me in mind and that alone makes me happy.”

Color made its way back to his cheeks and although I did say it for that exact reaction, I genuinely meant it. I turned over to my doorway mirror and eagerly put them on with a content smile, then we were off. That little interaction at the door knocked off a few of the nerves twisting in my stomach but not by much.

“So what’s up with your family?” Jeongin asked, his voice cutting the silence of the cab ride.

God is so cruel to me. I’ve had to watch Jeongin chase after the girl he likes while I have feelings for him and now I’m not even allowed to keep my skeletons in the closet. It’s only fair for me to tell him, since he is about to enter the wolves’ den with me. I guess we can call this an equivalent exchange for all the shit he told me when he was drunk. I leaned back in my seat and looked at him square on, here we go.

“Okay so the abridged version is that I’m my father’s illegitimate child. Due to circumstances my father took me in and his wife despised me while I was treated as a ghost by the rest of the extended family. My dad passed away a few years ago and his wife jumped at the chance to throw me out. Although I loved the thought of getting away from her hellish treatment, I was also forced to cut ties.”

“I- That’s a lot. Okay, so let me get this straight, after all that we’re now going to…”

“My dad’s wife’s house.”

“Why? Didn’t you just say she hates you?”

“Yup, you aren’t the only chaebol here. My family’s company has been having a successor battle, which my half-brother is a part of. My role tonight is to garner favor from my paternal grandmother who’s taken a liking to me.”

“Why are we even going there if they’re just using you? It’s obvious you don’t want to either.”

“I would rather not find out what would happen if I didn’t. You saw how my brother was, let’s just say that wasn’t the worst that could be done… to me or my life,” I pointed at him before adding, “Don’t even ask about this part though, this is something I’m not unpacking anytime soon.”

He raised his hand in surrender before sighing, “Isn’t that a bit much? Is this a drama or something?”

“That’s what I’m saying,” I sigh.

“And I thought my family was bad,” Jeongin mumbled but my ear perked up at this.

“Tell me about them.”

“Huh?”

“Your family, tell me about them… it’s only fair right?” I tried to coax.

I remember Gahyeon talking about his dad’s company and although I asked him about joining it, I wasn’t even sure what that meant. Now that I think about it he’s never spoken about his family from what I’m aware of… Look at that we actually have something in common, albeit family problems but that still uhm… counts?

“I don’t know…”

“I mean you’ve already told me your love issues when we first met, but I won’t force you. How about instead, one sentence with no context.”

“You keep telling me about how we first met but I really can’t remember, can’t you just tell me?”

“I mean I can… but not yet, the ambiance has to be right,” I joked.

“Fine. I’m the estranged son of a CEO from his first marriage.”

“I- Okay maybe I overestimated my curiosity control but a deal is a deal. I won’t ask anything.”

Not like I had a chance to anyways, the taxi driver pulled up to the house and I readied my mind for the uphill battle ahead. False pleasantries were exchanged before dinner was served and everyone started chatting while I silently played with my food. From across the table I felt a menacing aura and dared not look up from my plate. I knew who and what she wanted me to do but it’s hard to put on an act when it’s hard to breathe, unhappy memories resurfacing and unhelpfully flashing through my mind. It wasn’t until I felt a knee bump against my own did I realize that although my brain was going through the past, the present was still moving on. Looking up at the culprit, Jeongin was answering one of grandma’s questions with a smile. I’m not alone this time. I smiled and started to participate in the conversation with grandma and Jeongin when suddenly step-mother cleared her throat and her kids seemed to take the hint.

“So y/n how is the freelance work going for you? You’re taking care of yourself and not over working right?”

“Yes… mother… work’s been steady and I’m caring for myself properly.”

“That’s good, I wish I could say the same for Youngho, he works too hard but it is for his father’s legacy after,” she cooed and cautiously glanced at grandma.

“But y/n you look thinner than the last time I saw you, make sure you eat up,” grandma added but the nerves had long destroyed any appetite I had going into this so I just smiled and nodded.

“Unnie, who is this again? Is there a reason he came? Not that I’m complaining,” Younghee said as she gave a flirty smile to Jeongin who awkwardly looked anywhere but her.

“He’s a friend from college. We had plans and it would’ve been rude to cancel,” I lied.

“Really? He seemed like more when I saw you two the other day.”

“I think anyone would have a similar reaction running into a situation like that,” Jeongin added, his motions pausing and his facade faltering at Youngho’s nonchalant tone.

"Exactly so just drop it, it's none of your business anyways."

“You’re such a secretive one, y/n. Sometimes I wish you were like how you were when we were kids, cutely following me around and doing what I asked.”

“Well Youngho-oppa we all had to grow up and see the reality behind the fairy tales.”

“But everyone should know their place in the story, don't you think? How embarrassing would it be to think you're the damsel when really you're just a side character?" Younghee bit back.

"Everyone is the main character in their own story so why would it be embarrassing?" Jeongin countered.

"What a beautiful sentiment, so encouraging yet naive. When you get older you'll learn that everything is all part of a bigger picture."

I glared at Youngho who was smirking happily. That obnoxious prick, why the hell is he provoking me when he wants my help? Even the golden customer service boy over here is having a hard time keeping up his face. What's he so worked up for, because he isn’t the type to bicker back like this and I'd be stupid to think that it's one hundred percent for my sake. Regardless, I could feel the irritation rolling off my step-mother so it was my turn to calm Jeongin as I tugged at his blazer from under the table.

"Well in the end everyone gets what they deserve because that’s life," I stated.

“You kids have such a roundabout way of talking nowadays this old lady can’t keep up,” grandma laughed and so did everyone else.

“Speaking of life, yours’ seems to be busy right Youngho-oppa?”

I forced a smile and felt a tinge of relief wash over me as he eagerly took the bait to talk about his work at the company. The rest of dinner was Jeongin saving me from even more trouble than I already was, for the earlier banter, as I danced between wanting to blow up and getting lost in the past. They tried to convince grandma to stay later to chat, she was tired and excused herself for the night. As we saw her to the door she pulled me into a hug before whispering into my ear.

“You’ve grown up well and I’m happy you have good people around you.” She pulled away and held something in my hand with both of hers before saying, “Happy Birthday dear.”

As she said that her eyes darted to Jeongin and I was glad my back was toward him. I made a face at grandma who only smiled knowingly at me before my family jumped at the chance to talk highly of themselves to her till the very end. I placed the gift, which was most likely money, into my purse and steeled my nerves for what will come after grandma walks out that door.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

10 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (5/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.5k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment the girls were out the door I turned to Gahyeon and snapped, my impulse control failing me because of the earlier consumed alcohol.

“You’re really cruel, you know that?"

"Huh?"

"There is a lot of good in your life and you just take it for granted, not knowing anything. It’s annoying."

"What do you mea-" I cut her off.

"Of course you wouldn't know when you're stuck in your bubble full of sunshine and rainbows" I scoff. "Do you know how much it hurts to watch the pain unfold across people's faces because of ignorance like that? Don’t you think that’s too selfish? Why does it have to be you that he-”

“Y/n don’t cross the line,” Jeongin warned, his hand wrapping around my wrist and anchoring me to reality.

I had gotten out of my seat and subconsciously started closing in on Gahyeon who’s eyes were trembling and her brow furrowed in confusion. My vision was clearing from the blinding red and I realized the scene I caused. My eyes caught Younghyun and Chan easing the apprehensive patrons who stared at us three before my mind fully focused on the boy next to me and his hardened glare. I know it was my fault but why does this situation hurt so much? I bit my lip as I tried to control the tears pricking at the back of my eyes as I looked back at him.

“I was in the wrong but of all days, today… can’t you be a little nice to me?”

It wasn’t supposed to sound so desperate… I mean I think- I knew I was going to be shaky but… At least I wasn’t the only one caught off guard by my quiet plea. For a moment, Jeongin’s eyes softened in confusion before he steeled his glare on me once more. My ability to pull myself together was dulled even if this was a sobering moment, my head was still spinning and the warm buzz on my skin was prominent. The tremble of my lip under the hold of my teeth was growing so I pulled my arm from his grasp before zeroing in on my only escape. I looked at Gahyeon with a weak smile.

“I must be more drunk than I thought,” I awkwardly laugh, “Please don’t take it to heart, I’m a bit sensitive because every year this day is just a bad day. I’m sorry for acting out like that.”

I made a beeline for the stairs to the rooftop and thanked God Jaehyung made it an employees only area because I didn’t need any more eyes on me. I plopped down at the break table and threw my head back, dabbing at my tears in annoyance. I did not waste mascara and eyeliner today for it to be messed up from something like this. Ugh I want to go home… Why the hell did Jaehyung even call me here in the first place? After taking some time to control my tears, I sent an annoyed text asking where he was. A few moments later I got a call and thinking it was Jaehyung, I picked up.

“I’m surprised, you said you didn't pick up calls from unknown numbers,” the voice mocked.

“I’m really not in the mood right now, Youngho-oppa.”

“Well since you don’t like pleasantries, I only called to see if you’ll come willingly to dinner or will mother have to drag you over?”

“I’ll go to your stupid dinner but I’m bringing someone. I can’t sit through a whole dinner with you people without wanting to gouge one of your guys’ or my own eyes out.”

“What? Bringing your little boyfriend from last time?”

“He’s not my boyfriend. If that’s all you called for then delete my number.”

"Be there by si-"

I let out a frustrated sigh as I ended the call and slammed my phone on the table. I was too optimistic to think that this year would be different just because I found Jeongin again. I slump back in defeat… this is by far one of the worst so far.

“Yet another birthday gone to shit,” I say with a bitter chuckle.

Someone cleared their throat and I immediately sat up as my head snapped in the direction of the sound. I scoffed as the last person I wanted to see right now approached me.

“Great,” I threw up my hands in exasperation, “ how much did you hear?”

“From the end of the call…”

“I’m telling you now Jeongin, I don’t want your pity.”

“Who said I was going to give it to you?”

A childish retort; I know for certain his mind was probably forming some stupid words of pity on the tip of his tongue. A smile tugged ever so slightly at the corner of my mouth as I looked at the boy now leaning against the table facing me.

“Just making sure… I know you’re not happy with me because of earlier, so why are you here?”

“Jaehyung-hyung is back and told me to come get you.”

“Didn’t the others tell him about what happened?”

“Yup and yet he still chose to send me.”

“That man needs to learn to read an atmosphere,” I rolled my eyes and hesitated for a moment as I looked at Jeongin before cautiously adding, “Are you taking her words to heart?”

“Honestly? Yeah…”

It was written all over his face when she said it but I didn’t expect him to be so honest with me. My muddled brain was thankfully sober enough to think of all the reasons why this was a bad idea but sadly it wasn’t sober enough to filter my mouth. Mistake three.

“Do you really think working at your dad’s company is going to change anything?”

“Nothing else has worked and this is the only way to have her finally look at me.”

“And it was a thoughtless remark. Are you really betting your happiness on a half baked sentence said on a whim?”

“What would you know about what I want or what my happiness is?” he snapped back.

“If it did make you happy you would’ve gone there from the beginning but right… I’m just an outsider who doesn’t know anything,” I scoff. I do know but of course that knowledge is forgotten with everything else he told me on that drunken night. I wouldn’t act like this otherwise but with how she looks at Jaehyung… it's a fruitless effort on his part.

“She gave me a purpose when I thought I lost everything. If there is a chance I can’t not try.”

His eyes held desperation that burned with this broken determination that I just couldn’t bring myself to undermine, even when I know how much is at stake. I’ve seen the way his eyes shine when he’s happy, I saw it the night we first met. It may have been the case before but that light isn’t as prominent in his eyes with Gahyeon as he believes… Hopefully he’ll figure where his happiness truly lies soon… or at least before it’s too late to come back.

“Not like you’ll weigh my opinions anyways but being grateful and clinging to her are two different things. I hope you learn to differentiate the two before it becomes too late and you won’t be able to go back anymore…”

I hope he knew I didn’t say this out of malice and judging by the silence that passed between us rather than a guarded defense, I would say he understood my intentions… at least seventy-five percent?

“Thanks…” he finally responded then lightheartedly added, “I’m so used to you bothering me all the time I might actually miss you.”

“Why are you treating this like goodbye? Fate has made us run into each other far too many times for it to be a coincidence, we’ll run into each other somehow,” I smile.

Even if we pretend to bury this hatchet, the air is still charged with words left unsaid but that is for another time. There are things both of us are trying to hide that neither wants to be brought to light and I’m not selfish enough to uncover those secrets when I have my own skeletons in my closet so although this conversation left a bitter taste in my mouth, I swallowed it down before we headed downstairs together.

Jaehyung salvaged the night with a small surprise party, cake and everything so I mean… I didn’t completely strike out. In the time I was simmering upstairs, the others had closed the pub early and quickly threw everything together because Jaehyung didn’t account for how close my location was. Jaehyung must have brought everyone up to speed on my unlucky birthday streak because Gahyeon had changed back to how we were before my little tantrum. Amidst the fun and laughter of the evening, I couldn’t fully enjoy it knowing what tomorrow brought. I mean Jaehyung happily agreed to accompany me but there was a bad feeling that I couldn’t shake and that feeling is usually never wrong. A fact proven yet again once I finished changing into my pink floral wrap dress for dinner the next day.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

8 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy (13-)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The silence that passed between us was deafening and it was the only answer I needed. To solidify the fact, Jeongin couldn’t even look at me. I matter in his life… as a friend. If this was any normal crush that would be fine but maybe it was the fact that he has learned most if not all of my secrets or I got close enough to see the real him, it’s not enough. I can’t stop wanting more and a small part of me, the little bit of selfishness, doesn’t want to settle for less but I value both myself and him far too much to do that to either of us. The only problem is, cutting him out was not an option either. I would basically just be running away and in that kind of condition if we run into each other afterwards I’ll just be hit by this hurricane of feelings once again. It still hurts but it’s nothing I didn’t expect and I was already at peace with that. I can’t fault him for his feelings so it’s time to fill my role once again, not only for him but for the me of the future who would be eaten by regret if I burned the bridge after all we’ve been through. After putting on the best smile I could muster I called out to him.

“Jeongin. Look at me.”

“Y/n I-” I shook my head, cutting him off.

“I just got a bit emotional but it’s fine. It’s not something I didn’t already know from the beginning. Let me rephrase what I just said. I can’t be friends with you like we were before, for my own sake there needs to be a bit more distance.”

His face was riddled with guilt and although I hated seeing him like that there was nothing I could do to soothe the situation without putting me at a disadvantage I would have to pay for in the long run. Now it was his turn to smile at me, a dim one compared to his usual one but how could either party smile fully in this situation?

“I meant what I told Changbin, where we stand is up to you. I mean as long as we can see each other from time to time that would be nice.”

“I think I’m able to do that much,” I chuckled lightly.

‘You are one of the few people I trust and I’d hate to lose that… so thank you. That means I’m forgiven right?”

“I blame that refreshing aura of yours Jaehyung-oppa always talks about but yes… and you’re just as important to me even without the feelings since you’ve already seen my quirky family situation,” I tried to joke.

“I’ll happily play fill-in best friend if Changbin isn’t able to make it when you have to face them.”

“Don’t worry I’ve faced them on my own plenty of times before.”

At this his face soured similar to how Jaehyung’s does when I say I have to see them. I mean I get he seemed to squirm a bit at the mention of them but it only made sense since he practically has the full picture after the argument anyways.

“But still… you shouldn’t go alone,” he paused to drop his gaze before mumbling out, “I’m sorry, I asked Jaehyung-hyung to tell me about the last birthday incident.”

“No need to apologize, it was bound to come out sooner or later. Just don’t nag me, I have one person per ear and that’s enough.”

Didn’t think he would get the story from Jaehyung but it is what it is, he probably told Jeongin cause he’s the only other person who knows about my family. At this point there was no need to hide anything anymore. All my cards are shown. He was about to reply but was cut off by the buzzing of his phone and in that instant it was like a switch flipped.

“Shoot I just ran out!”

“Let me handle it. Phone.”

“Huh?”

“Just hand it over.”

Hesitantly he handed me his phone and I answered the message for him saying that something urgent came up. Luckily his supervisor was the manager I ran into earlier so he happily accepted it saying to enjoy our “date”... at least it’s nice to know I had at least one person on my side. Was this a smart move? Probably not, but just one more time I’ll indulge myself because it won’t be like this anymore. I handed him back his phone and gave him a brighter smile, it may not have reached my eyes but I was trying.

“You got approved leave so c’mon let’s catch up.”

Walking the shops, talking, messing around, laughing, joking; falling into a familiar normal. Neither of us wanted to acknowledge the bittersweetness of the moment because that also meant we had to acknowledge that this would be the last. The last to pretend that things were simply monochromatic, that this would be easy and that being like this didn’t shatter a little piece of me because words that are so simple to say, I would never get to hear them from the one person I wanted to…

Being able to end on a sweet note is probably more than most people can ask for from a one-sided crush. Changbin is going to call me a fool again and he’s right because I am too nice. I still choose to walk the tightrope rather than stay safely in my bubble but how can I when he’s tried so hard… Albeit it was for more than just me but there was an effort put forth for my sake so how could I turn him away? That’s why I can at least try this acquaintance type friendship for him, my final gift. Carrying the memory of that last hang out, days turned to weeks which grew to months and finally after a few years the aching in my chest faded out. The gaze that once burned my soul now barely warmed my skin and the smile that was my everything gives little bubbles of happiness like any other smile. A man who was a whirlwind in my life became a person like a gentle breeze that comes and goes.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

5 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy (3/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 2.1k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summer lectures, design deadlines and no focus because of that brat. It’s been three years, they shouldn’t have this effect on me anymore… Even if I tell myself that, that woman has such a strong oppressive energy. I always feel like I’m suffocating. Ugh just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach. Needing a change of pace I decided to walk to the pub to wait for Changbin. The bustle of the city was a comforting white noise to drown out my thoughts since I really needed to just… not think for a bit. That is, until I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand. With this new sense of anxiety I finally noticed the black car, not so subtly, following me. Luckily the street the pub was on was too narrow for cars and it was entering my line of sight. I checked my phone reflection as a man got out and of course it would be him. Picking up my pace to get away did nothing as he still caught me and forced me to turn around, keeping a hold on my wrist.

“Why are you running away from me?”

“I don’t know, maybe because some random car was following me, a girl who is alone, for over five minutes?” I reply sarcastically.

“I’ve been calling you but you weren’t answering.”

“Call? I probably blocked your number. Look, I’m not interested in pretending to rekindle some broken bond.”

“Y/n… don’t be like this you know I-”

“Don’t pull the remorseful brother act, Youngho-oppa. If you really cared you would have looked for me after I left,” I spat.

Unlike his sister Younghee who openly showed her indifference, not hearing from him was worse than being thrown out. Youngho was the only one in the entire family that showed me a smidge of kindness, let alone acknowledging my presence when no one else did. It wasn’t until a year after being kicked out did I learn I was nothing more than a stray puppy he played with cause he was bored.

“Don’t be like this y/n. Mom hasn’t been in the right state of mind since dad died. She didn’t mean to hurt you and she’s trying to make it up to you,” he coaxed, pulling me in to stop the wandering ears from hearing.

“That’s a load of shit and you know it. That woman never liked me the minute I was brought in and she made sure everyone but dad knew that. Will she give back the shares to dad’s company that are rightfully mine?”

His eyebrow twitched and I caught the crack in his facade. Every single one of them are selfish creatures and they will never betray their true nature, a fact I learned the hard way and will not underestimate again.

“Y/n things are sensitive now as is, you can’t just ask for something like that. Why would you want something like those? Aren’t you studying design?”

“Wow, someone did their research. If design doesn’t work I should at least have the shares to give me some support. It was a decent portion wasn’t it?” I pushed.

“Stop acting like a child there are bigger things going on so just cooperate. The faster you do the less we have to see each other. Do you think I have time to chase you around like this?”

And his true color shows. By now his hold on my arm had turned into a vice grip and it hurt like hell but I couldn’t show weakness now, they don’t get to win after everything.

“Ha… I can’t believe I waited six months to hear from you like you actually cared. Sometimes you really are worse than your mother.”

My head snapped to the side in an instant and it was numb for a moment before the stinging settled in. I knew something of this caliber would happen… for his own reasons he hated his mother. Who knew it would tick him off that much? Before either of us could come back from the shock, a hand broke the hold on my wrist and my line of sight was covered by someone’s back. The mystery person shielded me from my brother and I immediately recognized the ring on their pinky. Should I be glad or panicked that Jeongin’s here?

“Sorry I’m late, is this person bothering you?”

“Oh? Is this your boyfriend?” Youngho smirked, eyeing him up and down.

“No.” I roll my eyes, trying my best to mask my unease. Jeongin doesn’t need to be dragged into my family drama. I tug at his hand lightly and he turned to look back at me, “Come on, we’re late meeting the others. This conversation is over anyways.”

Once in front of the pub, Jeongin turned to examine my face. Seeing such concern in his eyes I couldn’t stop the surge of emotion that came over me as tears started to fall.

“Are you okay?! You must’ve been scared…” he panicked and I shook my head.

“Thank you,” I sniffed.

“You still got hit… I can’t believe-”

“It’s whatever.” This was not the first time someone from that family raised their hand to me, I expected nothing less… and I did purposefully push his buttons. “I deserved it. I provoked him.”

In an instant my gaze that was trained on the ground was forced to meet his piercing eyes by the gentle force of his hand nudging my chin. He had leaned in so that we were eye level and my brain nearly short circuited at his close proximity. Well that’s one way to stop tears.

“It doesn’t matter if you provoked him, that shouldn’t have happened y/n. No one deserves that, do you understand?”

It surprised me how serious he was about this. I don’t know if it was the butterflies from how close he was or the unsettling feeling of being… perceived, but I couldn’t think. Instead I numbly nodded, my eyes never leaving his as if under a spell. The corner of his lips quirked up at my response before he ushered me into the pub and sat me in my usual seat. He tossed a bag to Chan, that I hadn’t noticed he had, before disappearing to the back. Jeongin re-emerged with some ice and placed it on my face causing me to wince a bit. Taking it from his hands, he reached for my arm but I instinctively pulled away.

“Is your arm okay?”

“It’s fine. Probably slightly bruised at most but nothing serious.”

He eyed me suspiciously but before he could say anything Jaehyung barged over, worry written all over his face.

“Y/n! What happened?!”

“It’s nothing,” I smiled. He immediately whirled on Jeongin and gave him a pointed look.

“I caught some guy bothering her when I was out buying Chan-hyung some Advil and he… slapped her,” he responded guiltily.

I don’t know if I should admire or be annoyed by his honesty. I tiredly rubbed my forehead, already feeling the anger rolling off of Jaehyung.

“Don’t feel guilty Jeongin,” I smiled before turning to Jaehyung. “Thanks for getting mad for me but it’s not worth it Jaehyung-oppa.”

“Was it your fam-”

“Yes,” I cut him off, but that was more than enough for Jeongin to put the pieces together. Not wanting to hear anything from either of them I add, “I’m fine, really. Plus Changbin is coming so don’t worry okay?”

“Not worry? You usually end up home drunk and always make bad decisions with him.”

“Ninety-six percent of the time it’s me, bad decisions help relieve stress you know,” I smile like a child trying not to get in trouble.

Jaehyung ruffled my hair with a resigned sigh before telling me not to come home too drunk and went off. Jeongin kept me company but I had to ignore his eyes that were filled with questions I didn’t want to answer. Luckily Changbin came soon after but his eyes zeroed in on my cheek and was ready to square up with Jeongin before I intervened.

"Nope. I'll explain later, let's go." I gave him no time to argue as I waved Jeongin goodbye and sped to the door.

Knowing that I’ve come from a deprived childhood, Changbin’s lenient with me and my impulses. That being said, tonight is a total bust. Instead of somewhere fun, we’re at some restaurant because as Changbin puts it, he needs to “gage my recklessness�� since I “act up more” when my family is involved.

“I ordered some food… and alcohol since I promised to take you out to have fun but before that, what the hell happened? Who hit you? Wh-”

“Are you going to keep going or do you actually want me to answer the questions?”

“Obviously answer them you smart ass. ”

“Long story short it was Youngho and the guy from the pub basically saved me more or less.”

His eyes softened at the mention of my brother. The first six months I was kicked out I stayed with Changbin until Hyorin, my mom's best friend who had been acting like an actual guardian for me since my dad died, helped me find an affordable place. He’s the one who saw the emotional toll it took when the one person I believed to be on my side threw me away.

“I would’ve thought he would be too busy with company stuff to come out, especially since he is under a microscope right now with the chairman’s health issues and all.”

“That’s why wicked stepmother and her children are on my tail. They’re trying to exploit our relationship, tied by nothing more than my father’s blood, to try to win grandma over cause she is fond of me and has a big share.” I ran an annoyed hand through my hair before whining, “so can we go clubbing?”

“Yeah… no. I’ll be having to pry off some guy from trying to take you home because you’re wasted.”

“No. That only happened like… four? times…”

“Four times too many. But drink your fill here and let Mr. Neighbor know that you’re staying at mine. If I bring you home drop dead drunk again I think he would actually kill me.”

“You’re probably right,” I laugh before shooting a quick text to Jaehyung. Once I put my phone down, the waitress came in with our order and I pointed at Changbin, “no talking about the unholy trinity or I’m leaving to go be unsupervised.”

“Yes, yes. I spoil you too much,” he sighs before adding, “how is the chairman anyways?”

“Grandpa still wants to believe I don’t exist and last I heard from grandma was that his heart isn’t in good health. It’s hard to treat when they’re trying to hide it from the company. Everyone knows he’s sick but not how bad,” I respond flatly.

“... Okay one question and I’ll stop. Who are the other runner ups other than… you know who?”

I downed my second shot in annoyance. Changbin and Jaehyung could be good friends if they let it happen, they’re both so nosy… I could care less about company drama though so I tell him. Not like I’ll get in trouble.

“I- Are you asking me to leave?”

“Oh come on, if they’re this desperate that means there are other strong candidates right?”

“Fine.” I glare, shoving some food in my mouth before answering, “They’re looking into my cousin Wooin and a long-term director Jihyo. They have high performance with successful big projects under their belt in addition to having the favor of various important people.”

“Okay, so what’s this about finding Loverboy? It’s been what? A year with no contact?”

“Of course I do. That was the first time I formed a fat crush on a guy I just met,” I roll my eyes. “It’s the guy you wanted to beat up, Jeongin. It’s been a few months but he’s been working at Jaehyung’s pub.”

I don’t know if it was the alcohol doing its job but I started to get sentimental as I thought back to our first meeting. That night was during a relatively low point in my life and I was losing touch with the world around me, but he was the first thing I found interest in after a long time. As if my brain wanted to torture me, the image of his face mere inches from mine popped back into my mind.

“Did something already happen?! Your face is red!”

“Shut up. He still has a girl he likes so no.”

“Still?” Changbin whistles in surprise, “That’s what I call devotion. Does he remember you?”

“Nope. To make matters… interesting, she works there too and has a crush on Jaehyung-oppa.”

“Wait that cute new waitress? On that old man? And I thought you had problems,” he laughs.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

7 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (2/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.7k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve been spending more and more time at the pub, partly because I was still trying to coax the weary Jeongin into friendship but also Jaehyung has been inviting me to come over more, his nosy-neighbor-senses kicking in. I’ve nearly broken Jeongin though cause he’s warmed up sufficiently since running into him. Gahyeon on the other hand seems to be cautious around me but as the saying goes “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” It wasn’t like she was any bad, if anything I could see why Jeongin was so infatuated with her. She gives off girl-next-door vibes minus the naivety. Like Jeongin, she brought in a lot of customers with that personality but as the only female server a lot of guys come through in hopes to be served by her. That meant Jeongin’s eyes were constantly on her, ready to step in at any given moment.

“It’ll be faster if you just start barking at people. Then everyone would think you’re crazy and people won’t pay attention to her. Are you trying to burn holes into her skull?”

“Can you not for one day y/n?” he rolled his eyes.

“I’ll stop if you stop first,” I wink before adding, “If anyone so much as looked at her the wrong way Chan, Younghyun, and Jaehyung would be there in seconds you know.”

“There’s just been a lot more creeps lately and it’s been really packed.”

“It can’t be helped. It’s summer vacation for college students so everyone’s going out to de-stress from exams. Why so overprotective anyways?”

“She got bullied in high school. She’s the type to say what she wants so a lot of the girls didn’t like her and a lot of the guys bad mouthed her because she rejected them bluntly.”

“Oh? she looks so pleasant I would’ve taken her as a pushover.”

“Wait why am I even telling you this?” He blinked a few times at the realization.

“Because we’re good friends obviously,” I leaned forward with a smile.

“Whatever, I’m telling the hyungs you dropped the honorifics.”

“No you aren’t.”

There was a call from the kitchen and he briskly walked away. I shrugged it off since he was still working after all but as I watched his figure disappear into the kitchen, the next thing I knew Jaehyung bursted from the door and stormed over. My mouth fell agape at Jeongin who was watching me from the kitchen door snickering to himself. Snitch.

“l/n y/n!”

“Jaehyung-oppa listen-”

Safe to say I was thoroughly lectured but it was worth it to know I made him smile… albeit because of my sorrow but minor details. Jaehyung asked to go home together again so I sat quietly in my corner seat as they had a store meeting. Watching them interact, now and throughout my time here, their dynamic was really something. Jaehyung and Younghyun act like they hate each other and are at each other’s throats yet they match each other’s energy to work perfectly together, Chan is like the middle child who acts like the youngest but will step up when needed, Jimin always butts heads with everyone but she still makes sure everyone is cared for, and lastly there are the two newest members Jeongin and Gahyeon… long term friends from school with the same sunshine type energy that every one of the older employees love to dote on like some dysfunctional… family…

Allowing my mind to fill itself with thoughts of Jeongin recently, I nearly forgot what time of year it was. Almost. My thoughts betrayed me and not wanting to make Jaehyung’s worrying/nagging worse I stepped out into the summer night. First it was just the loneliness setting in but it's different now with certain annoyances making an appearance last year. It’s like they’re watching and waiting… haunting me to make sure I can’t be happy for the rest of my life. All because of something I had no control over. As I tried to collect myself before I went down the family trauma rabbit hole, I received a text notification and rolled my eyes at the message. A strong urge to throw my phone came over me as my vision blurred red for a second and felt my arm raise for a moment, phone in hand, before a voice brought me back to my senses.

“Regardless of whatever you saw on there, I would advise you not to break your phone unless you can afford a new one.”

Of all the people, he was not the one I pegged as someone who would’ve followed me out here. My brain was racing to pull itself together, still spiralling from the earlier train of thought, that my response exposed how confused I was.

“Jeongin? What are you doing out here? Aren’t you guys having a meeting?”

“Yeah but hyung keeps looking to make sure you don’t leave so I decided to take one for the team and tell you to come back in so he can focus.”

“And here I thought you came out for me,” I joke as my arm falls back to my side, my snarky smartass persona finally loading up again.

“Whatever makes you happy,” he rolls his eyes before asking, “Is something going on though? You almost threw your phone and hyung usually isn’t this antsy with you.”

He noticed? I couldn’t help the small surge of happiness that shot through me but of all the things why did he have to notice this? As tense as I was at his observation, I threw on my usual smile and did what I did best.

“Awww so we really are friends, you care,” I tease and he glared back at me. “Everything’s fine, really. Jaehyung-oppa thinks I get kinda weird around this time of year cause something happened last year. He’ll be back to normal by next week.”

“... okay. Are you gonna stay out here? We’re basically done anyways,” he responded as he glanced at the group inside before eyeing me suspiciously.

“Yeah, let him know please. Also let him know to stop being a worrywart.”

“Tell him that yourself.”

With a huff he walked back in and I was finally able to relax. Leaning against the window with a sigh, I wished it was winter so I could watch the smoke curl from my lips into the air. It’s oddly calming to watch it disappear and to feel the chill set in my bones. Instead I’m left with the stifling heat of summer and the slightly unsettling thought that Jeongin possibly saw through the act… I’m such a mess. I want him to pay attention to me and now that he has I’m getting antsy. Well this is the only exception I guess, Jaehyung only knows cause he saw it happen. If I had it my way no one would know. Once in the safety of my four walls, I fell into my bed with a groan. Today kinda sucked but I knew it would only get worse until that day comes. Looking at my desk in the corner of the living room with unfinished work strewn across its surface, I let out a sigh. Might as well work to get my mind off it.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Drowsily raising my head from my desk, I rubbed my eyes in annoyance. The sun was up and Jaehyung knew my door code so who is being so irritating this early? Looking at the intercom monitor, I should’ve known it would be one of those vermin. With a groan I went to “greet” my half-sister, clad in her expensive private school uniform, as I glared and leaned against the door frame.

“To what do I owe the honor of a visit from the princess herself?”

“You weren’t answering mom’s messages and she wanted to make sure you’d be coming home for dinner this weekend.”

“Let me guess. Grandma is invited so I have to show up to make you people look good? Not interested so leave.”

“Don’t act so high and mighty. If you didn’t want to be a part of this family you shouldn’t have-”

“Get it right,” I sneered. “Your mother kicked me out for being a reminder of her husband’s infidelity and was forced to sign away my rights to the family and shares left to me in dad’s will just so I could get the money he left me for college. I’m sorry I actually care to visit dad besides his death anniversary and happen to run into grandma, nothing changes the fact that I’m the illegitimate child right? So run along before you’re late.”

She stamped her foot and huffed at my indifferent face and challenging tone before turning on her heel and stomping to the elevator. I tiredly rubbed my face before running a frustrated hand through my hair. I did not need this first thing in the morning. Back inside my apartment, I grabbed my phone and called my best friend.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this early morning wakeup call?” He groaned in annoyance. We both weren’t morning people.

“How early can we hang out?”

“Depends. On a scale of “I miss you” to “I want to pull my hair out,” how bad is it?”

“Younghee blew up my doorbell at seven in the morning to tell me to have dinner with them.”

“Oof. I’m shadowing my dad today but tomorrow night for sure, okay? I promise we’ll have fun and you can forget about them. ”

“Our handsome Changbinie is so great~ This is why you’re my best friend.”

“Shut up, I’m still two years older and I’m your only friend y/n.”

“No, I have Jaehyung-oppa and the others from the pub!”

“How can you be friends with someone who doesn’t like your best friend? I didn’t even do anything to Jaehyung-hyung to be hated like this.”

“I don’t like you and you are my best friend.”

“I- Nope, you love me by default because I’m the only one who knows all your secrets,” he countered.

“Who said you’re the only one?”

“Lover boy doesn’t count. He was drunk and probably doesn’t remember plus it’s not like you’ll see him again.”

“Wrong. I can since I have~”

“Young master, President Seo says you must get ready.”

“That’s me,” he groans, “you better catch me up! Maybe your life won’t be a revenge drama afterall," he gasped teasingly. "Is it a romantic comedy?”

“Shut up, does that make you the second lead dearest best friend?” He faked a gag and I chuckled, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

11 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (12/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: two words short of 2.6k 😃

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve been staying at Changbin’s for a week and a half now because we both knew that me alone wouldn’t be a functioning person at the moment. After initially talking to Jaehyung to let him know not to expect me in my apartment for the time being, I’ve tried to avoid him. Always scared that the next call or message would be my bright neighbor’s weakened voice telling me he lost the building… What I hated the most about my current state though was the fact that I’m still worried for Jeongin even after everything. If I told Changbin he would call me a fool but I couldn’t help it. He was a good kid aside from the fact that he is blinded by his… “love”… There was a small hope that he would change his mind as if salvation had found him and opened his eyes but there are no miracles. Why don’t I ever learn? Safe to say I didn’t go out much for the time being and maybe skipped a class… or three. Sadly Changbin coerced “encouraged” me to go at least to the pub so here I was back in my usual corner and watching everyone move about the pub. A reminder that life continued even if I wished it stopped. Seungmin was the one to take my order and once he brought it over he sat across from me.

“Hi?”

“I wanted to check in since you’ve been hiding.”

“You and everyone else. Get in line,” I quip playfully.

“Seeing as though I’m the most involved, I have rights,” he shot back.

“I see your point… I’m fine I guess, there’s nothing more I can do on my part after all.”

“I meant you personally, not the situation. I heard it got a little… complicated.”

“It’s not a big deal, I’m already over that. Not like he’s the reason for the response in the first place, wait that doesn’t make- well you know what I mean.”

“Can’t really say it's good you’re better when you aren’t, no matter how hard you try to play it off, but I did want to say thank you.” Seungmin is perceptive as usual, maybe that’s where Jeongin learned it from.

“For being dumb and getting my feelings hurt? I think “sorry” is more appropriate, but what did I do to deserve such thanks?”

“You got the clock turning again, I see things getting better soon.”

It was nice to talk to Seungmin because he never tried to avoid talking about Jeongin like everyone else but I hated myself for that feeling. I said I couldn’t watch him do it yet I’m grasping at any thread of news about him. Please you idiotic heart, when will it be enough before you stop chasing after this guy who doesn’t want us? Swallow down that surge of hope, experience has shown it’s nothing but bad news.

“I’m too sober for cryptic messages and empty promises, Seungmin.”

“I’m serious. You know better than anyone that the people involved tend not to see what’s going on right in front of them. He kept a lot of it to himself but he is working for a change.”

“Good for him.”

I couldn’t help the edge in my voice. It’s frustrating to know that it took me blowing up and leaving for him to finally get his act together. It almost feels like I was a stepping stone and I’ve served my purpose… will there be no way back to him? No y/n, not again. Don’t get sad when you’re the one who burned that bridge. I’m pretty sure Seungmin saw the change in my mindset because the conversation slowly changed directions. When I got back to Changbin’s I flopped down on the couch, tired out from trying to appease Jaehyung and his whining to visit him more often. Just as I was wondering where Changbin was he came storming in, fuming.

“Hey, hey, hey,” I stopped him from going to his room. “What’s up? You seem actually angry and not like… slightly annoyed kind of angry.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You know you’ll lose out in a game of persistence, just save yourself the trouble.”

“It’s just work stuff, you don’t want to hear it.”

Ah. He specifically doesn’t want to tell me. Of course that means he probably had some type of interaction with Jeongin. It was inevitable with a new project coming through with him at the head of it… it’s gonna need to be advertised. I roll my eyes and turn him to face me before crossing my arms.

“You know that “all-knowing” thing in best friendship is a two-way road right? What did Jeongin do? I can’t avoid the topic forever and it’s not like he can say anything else that could hurt me.”

“I hate you… Okay don’t get mad...”

“I-” I stop myself to mentally prepare not to get mad. “Talk.”

“I told him to stay out of your life.”

“Did he say something to you to prompt this?”

“No?”

“Seo Changbin you’re lucky best friend privileges are keeping you alive right now. Why would you say that when it’s been pretty clear that that’s how things were going already?”

“I wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page.”

“I both love and hate your overprotective ass,” I sigh. “But anyways, that doesn’t explain why you’re so peeved.”

“Well… He said it was your choice where your friendship went and I had no say.”

“I mean… he has a point.”

“Are you really gonna forgive him after everything?! Not even gonna consider your best friend’s warnings?”

“Of course I will but you have a one-strike-you’re-out rule while I have a three-strike-”

“He’s gone past three strikes if you ask me,” he grumbled.

“AND I consider the positives that counteract the strikes,” I continued with a roll of my eyes.

“But he sent you into pattern four and you’ve only ever done that like once.”

“There were other things and you know that, although yes it was all based on his actions but-”

“You’re too nice for your own good, if he comes back you're willing to forgive him aren’t you?”

“I mean if there were changes made before then yeah… forgiveness doesn’t mean everything is swept under the rug though.”

“Fine, fine. You won’t listen to me anyways. Just don’t let yourself get hurt again because if there is a next time I won’t hold back even if you beg.”

I jokingly pulled him down for a hug as he whined and complained. After a bit I let him go do what he needed as I retired back to the guest room. Jeongin is doing… something… From what Changbin says it seems that he wants to apologize and Seungmin was hinting that there was a positive change. Now, whether that positive change is a good thing for me or not is the question. Aside from hearing things from all these outside sources, the man himself has yet to speak to me so is it all a bluff? Then there is the thing with the pub and all that business stuff… was he able to put a stop to it? He did combat me on that though saying there was nothing he could do so maybe not? Things are too vague, I won’t be able to come to any conclusions. Can I handle seeing him? A week’s definitely not enough time but I do miss him. With a groan I ruffle my hair in frustration. Make up your mind y/n! Or better yet let’s sleep and think about it another time, my brain chimed in as I buried my face in my pillow and that I did.

Days ticked away as I was still stuck on all of this. Everything has been quiet and I couldn’t help the sliver of hope that flickered to existence. I didn’t let it grow any bigger though. Just because he saved the pub doesn’t mean everything between us, whatever mess we’ve made of it, is fixed. After a few days Changbin, fed up with me lost in thought constantly, advised me to go outside… meaning he literally took me out then abandoned me. His response, after a long chain of “choice” messages I sent, was I needed fresh air and sunlight like some plant. At least Changbin dropped me in a semi-familiar area so once I spotted a familiar café name I bought myself a pastry and a coffee and sat by the window. My mind started to drift off as I started people watching. Might as well try to enjoy the outside. There was the pair of high schoolers giggling amongst themselves and running off to the arcade across the street. Then there was the tired office worker who entered the café, probably sent to pick up coffee for the team because- wait. Why does that worker look familiar? As I racked my brain, I hadn’t realized I was staring at him until we made eye contact and he waved at me. The drunk night.

“Hey Jeongin’s friend. It’s been a while, are you here to surprise him?”

“Haha no, I was just in the area,” I forced a smile.

Why didn’t I notice why I knew this area? Of all places, why did Changbin leave me here?! His stupid ass probably didn’t realize… ugh. And of all things why did this man approach me?! I mean my bad for staring but you could've just ended with the wave.

“Well if you’re free you should check in on him, he’s been working so hard lately. You kids need to learn how to take a break every now and then.”

“I just might,” I responded cheerily.

After that his order was called and we said our goodbyes. My body slumps back into my chair as a sigh passes through my lips. Whatever, I don’t care if this is near Jeongin’s work, I’m not leaving. It’s not like I did anything wrong so why do I have to hide? Plus if that manager already grabbed coffee it's not like he would show up… Stop. We are here for coffee, don’t play those stupid “what if” scenarios right now. So what if he shows up? He doesn’t own this place so I can be here if I want, why do I have to worry? With the renewed confidence I sipped my drink and finished off my pastry as I continued my game of people watching. It was back to having a good time until I saw a tuft of hair weaving around the crowd. Hmm, who's chasing that person? The moment the person broke through the crowd I instinctively turned away as they hunched over to catch their breath. How in the- why is he- I quickly moved, hoping he didn’t catch me at the window. God, I tried so hard to hype myself up but here I am still running. Moving close to the door, the moment his figure entered and started looking around I took the opportunity to slip out. As my feet took me further from where he was, the tension slowly seeped out of my shoulder as well. That is until I heard it and although everything in me screamed to keep moving my heart had control of my feet which froze in place.

“Y/n wait!”

Against better judgement I turned to his disheveled figure approaching me although he stopped a few steps away. His hair was a tousled mess and his chest huffed for the oxygen all that running had deprived it of. Unsure of what all this was for, I opted to keep quiet and let him settle a bit so he could make the first move.

“Uhm… hi…”

“What are you doing Jeongin?”

“I don’t know… sunbae said he saw you at the coffee shop and I felt like if I didn’t try to see you now, I don’t know if I would ever see you again.”

“And do you think that’s because of me or your own cowardice?” I didn’t want to be so icy but all my energy was going towards protecting my heart so none was spared to protect his feelings.

“Probably my own cowardice. Things were left in a bad state so I didn’t think I had a right.”

“If you know then why are you here?”

“I may not have the right but I don’t want to lose you-”

“Don’t. Stop making it sound like there’s something when there isn’t.”

“Sorry… but those are my honest feelings, you are important to me y/n.”

“But what’s changed other than your mindset? Sadly there were a lot of other pressing matters that caused such an… explosive dispute.”

“I know, believe me. To ease what I’m sure you’re most worried about, I was able to convince my dad of a better location to open his franchise so the pub is safe.”

Relief immediately washed over me but I steeled my expression to hide it. Be strong y/n at least try to keep your word to Changbin and not forgive him so quickly, there are still things that hurt you personally that haven’t been addressed.

“I’ve also had a proper talk with Gahyeon, which included properly confessing and getting rejected although it didn’t hurt all that much cause you were right… I was clinging to something that wasn’t there anymore.”

“Well that’s all good for you and everyone at the pub… If that’s it I’ll just-”

“Wait! You haven’t heard the most important one yet!”

He took a deep breath before looking me dead on and there was that gaze again as if he could see me and not just see “me”. Although he’s rambling he is trying, I’ll give him that. Giving him an apprehensive look over, he took that as an okay and continued.

“I’m sorry… for a lot of things.”

“What? Did Seungmin tell you about what I said the other day?” I responded flatly.

“Wha- no! I’ve felt sorry since the argument. I didn’t mean to let things escalate to that level.”

“If you’re referring to my reaction I’m already over it. You weren't the one who created that response so no need to blame yourself for it.”

“It shouldn’t be like that though y/n! That shouldn’t have to be your normal but I should have known better, as you said, especially after seeing how you act around your family. But more than that I never stopped to really consider your feelings in all of this and acted so selfishly.”

“Well thanks for the apology then. I’ve already served my purpose though, right? You’ve started to move forward so I can just-”

“Y/n why are you doing that? I mean… I can’t ask you to forgive everything and go back to how things were but you aren’t even-”

“Jeongin. I have to be distant. The more you’re around me the more I see what I can’t have and I can’t put my heart through that anymore, I just like you far too much to stay friends…”

My feelings spilled out before my mind could process them but it was honest. This feeling for Jeongin is so intense it sent me into a pattern I only fell into once before because of my brother. It's selfish but there is no going back to friends right now with my feelings as they are… not unless through some miracle that throughout all his changing, his feelings for me changed as well.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

5 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (11/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.7k

tw: mentions/ allusion to abuse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeongin's POV

What just… my mind was reeling at everything going on as I stared down at the folder in my hand. When did I get it back? How- No, shake it off I have to attend a meeting when I get back. But y/n, she- Stop, gotta get back now…

Safe to say everything blurred by after that. I didn’t even really realize I was home until I heard the door slam behind me before I was greeted with silence yet again. I collapsed on the couch with a sigh as I covered my eyes. Although I was tired and just wished to sleep, instead my mind played back today’s incident. This wasn’t the first time we’ve argued but this was different, it was the full force of our frustrations and anger. Then there was the fear… the flinch playing back in my mind on an endless loop. After seeing her brother do that then everything at the dinner, I should’ve known but I never thought- don’t make excuses for yourself… What am I even doing right now, arguing with myself?

A couple days passed and it felt like I was woken from a haze. There were certain aspects of this job I liked but a lot was just something I didn’t want to do. I knew this from the beginning but why has it been so much more prominent in my mind now? Then there was the topic of Gahyeon. For as long as I’ve had my feelings for her, she equaled my happiness. I’ve always wanted to have that smile so filled with love turned to me but when I started to notice it faced someone else, I started to panic. Was it because I was losing her or was it because I was losing what I considered to be my happiness? My head was a mess but thankfully Seungmin invited me over for dinner today and maybe it could take a break before my brain fried itself. Seungmin noticed my worries as I was pulled from my thoughts by him knocking on the table.

“If you keep staring at the fire like that it’ll end up eating you. What’s on your mind?”

“Hyung…” I explained the whole argument, leaving out the part involving buying the building, to Seungmin who silently nodded along. A few beats of silence passed when I finished before he spoke.

“This was probably inevitable considering both of you are stubborn but it did escalate further than needed. After having a few days to think about it, do you have some regrets?”

“I mean yeah but the more I think about it the more confused I get. Maybe hearing an outside view would help? I don’t know. I mean my brain can’t burn out more than it already has right?”

“It’s okay using your brain was never your strong suit.”

“Yah hyung!”

“But anyways,” he ignored, “since you’ve been at the company have you been happy? In general or with yourself?”

“Not really…”

“Well when was the last time you were?”

“When I was working at the pub.”

“Why?”

“Everyone treated me as an equal.”

“And?”

“And everyone one was really nice.”

“And?”

“And what else?! Seungmin-hyung, get to the point.”

“Really not your strong point,” He sighs as he continued, “you were happy there because they treated you like family. Something you haven’t felt since the divorce I may add.”

“Ouch…” That one stung.

“Hey, don’t make me look like the bad guy. We’ve gone over the whole “family” issue enough through our friendship that I can at least say that much. Now the subject of Gahyeon, as your best friend I think whatever thing you had for Gahyeon died.”

I wanted to argue but I can’t wholeheartedly deny that fact. I’ve felt the doubt in regards to my feelings swimming in my mind since before the argument but I’ve lived like that for so long I didn’t know how to stop myself. I groaned.

“Am I an idiot?”

“In this situation and in general… yeah. I’m sure you didn’t notice but when I asked why the pub made you happy, you didn’t mention Gahyeon.”

At the realization I ruffled my hair in frustration. He’s right yet again. Why did I think talking with Seungmin would make me feel better? Our friendship was built off tough love. Now the only thing he hasn’t jabbed at me for was y/n… All I ever do is accuse her whenever we disagree, like a child throwing a tantrum. I’ve only been thinking about myself this whole time and ignored her feelings, like an ass. Before my brain could spiral down to the flinch once again, Seungmin snapped me out of it once again.

“So are we gonna talk about the biggest fault or are you gonna pretend you don’t see that too?”

“I know I shouldn’t have accused her like that… or entered her space so suddenly. I was selfish and hated the thought of losing the argument.”

“At least you know why you were wrong, one less lecture on my part.”

“Wow, whose best friend are you?” I rolled my eyes.

“Yours, that’s why I’ll call you out when you need to be. Y/n never took advantage of your weak moments when something happened with Gahyeon and I’ll tell you this, whenever we talk about you it’s because she’s worried.”

“Thanks… you’re really helping me feel better.”

“Tone down the sarcasm and maybe I’ll help you fix things.”

We continued to talk over the grilled meat and by the time I came home, I knew what I had to do. The first being to find out explicitly what happened in y/n’s past while I try to fix the biggest mistake. After a few days I met Jaehyung in a café, might as well start where I first heard it right? We caught up a bit with him complaining I needed to come by more often before I brought it up.

“Hyung I don’t mean to be nosey but what happened last year that made you so worried about y/n on her birthday?”

“Ah! Did something happen when you went to dinner with her?!”

“Nothing like last time,” I quickly reassured before clarifying, “they were just very… condescending to say the least.”

“Sorry, I worry about y/n cause she’ll never say anything if something happens,” he apologized as the tension that shot to his shoulders left just as quickly.

“Yeah she does, that’s why I ended up coming to you.”

“She wouldn’t like me talking about it but it’s because you guys are so close and you practically know already that I’ll tell you.”

Although he said that as a compliment I felt it jab at me. No, we’ve been over this. Hating yourself won’t fix anything and we have a plan so let’s just stick to it.

“Thanks hyung.”

“Other than the incident from last year, a lot of it is speculation on my part. I was only given the bare minimum because I saw it happen so I don’t have much.”

Y/n has been a bit skittish lately for some reason. I know it’s around her birthday but she never acted like this, although it wasn’t really her favorite day either. She has been ignoring someone it seems though. There are times at the pub where her phone rings and her nose scrunches in distaste before she rejects the call or deletes the text. I’ve heard hushed arguments pass through our relatively thin walls but I can never really catch what was going on. That girl really worries me, she doesn’t let anyone in and hides behind snarky comments and sarcasm. I grabbed her some cake on the way home, hopefully she’ll feel a bit better. Exiting the elevator, groceries in hand, I was surprised to spot unfamiliar people leaving y/n’s apartment since she only has a small circle of friends that hasn’t changed much since I’ve known her. Judging by the older woman and two others who look like her, were they y/n’s family? Before I could call out to y/n, my voice caught in my throat at what happened at that moment and my body froze. The older woman grabbed a fist full of y/n’s hair, forcing her to face her, and that was when I noticed the other marks along her face and arms. In that instance our eyes connected and her eyes widened in fear as she shook her head ever so slightly. The woman noticed the motion and cocked her head. Y/n didn’t want me seen so before the woman turned to look I turned the corner and pressed myself against the wall. As I heard their footsteps approach me I quickly pushed the elevator button to make it seem like I just got off. I breezed by them with my head down and practically threw my groceries in my house before ringing y/n’s bell. Silence. With a sigh I entered her code and stormed in. There she was, sitting on the floor of her living room. It was the first time she ever looked so weak, even flinching as the door closed.

“You know how she is. Y/n doesn’t like to show her weakness to others and rarely does she cry in front of someone. That day she cried her eyes out and stopped putting up her act for once.”

“So they really…”

“Mhmm. Can’t say for how long but it was enough. Probably had it worse too, seeming as though the cut on her lip, nail marks on her arms, and the bruises didn’t phase her all that much.”

“Sorry hyung, it must be unpleasant to bring it up again but thank you for telling me.”

There was a lot to process with that and a lot of things were starting to connect clearly now. God, I suck. I can’t ask her to forgive me but maybe at least with what I have planned she can hate me a little less? I’m not sure what I’m trying to accomplish with this but I do know I don’t want to lose y/n as a friend.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

5 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (10/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 2.1k

A/N: sorry for missing last week’s update, life was kinda a mess then but we’re back in business!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that, everything felt more… natural. We’ve grabbed coffee and had lunch a few times… mainly because I forced my way, but he is less reluctant than before. The boy needs a break from all that company stuff; I heard some staff are trying to screw him over since he entered because he’s the president’s son. It's not like he’s complaining… too much, but I can visibly see the tension leave his shoulders when he steps out of the building. In addition, our conversations no longer circle around our crushes and it was somewhat surreal to be so normal and friendly when he was so apprehensive before. A few weeks passed like this but because of exams I haven’t visited Jeongin recently. It was yet another night of studying when the lo-fi playlist I had been playing was interrupted by my ringtone. Grabbing my phone I was surprised. He never calls.

“Hello?”

“Uhm hi… I’m Jeongin’s coworker. You’re the girl who eats lunch with him occasionally right?”

“Yeah… is there a problem?”

“Jeongin is drunk and can’t get himself home. Could you come pick him up?”

“No problem, just text me the address.”

Once I got there I saw Jeongin sitting on the curb as a man in a suit stood beside him on his phone. I jogged over and apologized to the man on Jeongin’s behalf.

“It’s fine, it’s only natural something like this would happen. A few of the higher ups wouldn’t stop giving him more.”

“Well thank you for caring for him. If I may ask, how did you know who I was?”

“Your message about grabbing lunch again was in the notifications. Please get home safe you two, that’s my cab,” he pointed at a car pulling up.

I called a cab after the co-worker left before turning to Jeongin. They give him a hard time, he isn’t happy and yet he won’t let go of this stupid job. With a sigh I crouched down in front of his face and he looked up at me in confusion. Before he could ask I grabbed his face with one hand to make sure he was focused on me.

“Yang Jeongin, where do you live?”

“Down the street from that cute bakery,” he mumbled.

“Which one? What area?”

“The one with a stray that always walks by and I buy cat treats to… Area? Uhmm…”

Lord. I tried to get it out of him but by the time the cab came I had no address to give the cab driver so I gave him mine, there were no other options. Once I finally situated him on my bed I sat down next to him with a sigh. I’m glad my weak ass could get him into the apartment without collapsing. Looking at his figure, he buried his face in my pillow and was mumbling incoherently as his eyebrows furrowed. Out of instinct my hand moved to smooth out his brow, which seemed to relax him. After a moment, I got up to grab him water and aspirin for his impending headache in the morning but a sudden tug of my wrist had me tumbling to the ground. In the process of internally thanking God for the rug cushioning my fall, my heart stopped at his sudden desperate plea.

“Gahyeon… Don’t go… I don’t want to be alone again…”

I couldn’t breathe. It took a moment for the words to register in my brain, causing my eyes to glaze over. Gently, I tried to pull away from his grip but it was too strong, still so desperate… but I couldn’t stay here. After a few moments of no escape my free hand went to muffle my mouth as everything came crashing down. I was stupid. I forgot why he was doing all this and got too eager since we’ve gotten closer, getting ahead of myself again… Time and time again he keeps telling me she’s his everything and I was dumb enough to think that I actually stood a chance. It felt like ages until his grip loosened and I bolted, closing the door behind me. My lungs shakily dragged in desperate breaths they weren’t able to in that stifling room as part of my mind desperately tried to reign in the overthinking so the tears could subside. I got complacent and started to hope, which meant I started to expect and the worst thing about expecting… is the disappointment that comes when you realize you were wrong.

Sleep eluded me, my mind mocking me on an endless loop and the last thing I wanted to do right now was face him. Luckily I had morning class so I got ready with the sun and moved about my apartment quietly. Making something quickly for Jeongin while I was at it before leaving a note and heading out. Later I received a text from Jeongin apologizing and saying that next time lunch would be on him. I’ve gotten too greedy and wanted more of him than I was allowed to have and right now I just can’t. I gave some half-hearted enthusiasm and left it at that.

“So why are you avoiding Jeongin? He said you’ve been busy with school but last I checked you’re here since your hard exams are over.”

“. . . Did you tell him?”

I was caught so there was no point. I had been dodging Jeongin for a few days but of course Seungmin called me out. He was quick-witted, easily putting the pieces together about my crush after seeing a few interactions. Not like it was a secret because everyone, minus the dense Jaehyung and Gahyeon, practically knew.

“No but he knows something’s off, he thinks he did something when he was drunk.”

“He didn’t do anything I’m just stupid,” I sigh.

“Did you do something to him?”

“Of course not! Let’s just say I’m being petty.”

“Be petty later then. Apparently his dad wants him to lead some project so he’s gonna be busy soon. Something about buying out a building and business stuff, I don’t remember. ”

It wasn’t until another few days did I call Jeongin out for lunch again. I didn’t want to cause the pain but I also miss seeing him… feelings are so fickle. At the restaurant Jeongin’s body language screamed anxious; fidgeting, shy glances when he thinks I’m not looking, awkward bursts of conversation, the works.

“Just say it. You’ll give yourself an upset stomach like that,” I prompted as I sipped my water.

“I forget how sharp you are,” he chuckles awkwardly before continuing, “Uhm… did I do something the night you picked me up? It’s just… you aren’t your usual self lately…”

Why did he have to be so perceptive with the things I’m trying to hide? I wanted to be honest but how could I tell him that I got upset on my own? No matter how up front I may be, even I have my limits.

“You didn’t. I’ve just been out of it and didn’t want to rub off on anyone, especially you, Mr. I-got-a-big-job.” I tease before adding, “I heard from Seungmin.”

“When did you two get close enough to gossip about me?”

“Why wouldn’t I talk about my favorite person to his best friend who knows all his secrets?”

“Geez, “ he sighed, “I’m glad I didn’t do anything to upset you though.”

“What is this? Am I someone you don’t want to lose?”

“I- stop playing around and eat before the food gets cold.”

I smiled and continued to eat, pretending to ignore the red creeping its way to his face. My heart fluttered and I wished he wouldn’t be misleading like this… it's already hard to keep myself in check as is. As the meal continued everything fell back into place albeit I now have to remind myself not to get lost in the moment but besides the point. Jeongin paid and as he was organizing his things to go back to work he handed me an important folder to hold. On this breezy day an especially strong one blew by, causing me to hug the folder tight as one of the papers tried to escape. Once the wind calmed I went to place it amongst the other papers when… Wait. That address… that building number shouldn’t be here…

“Hm? Y/n? Why did you stop-”

Guilt flooded his face as he noticed the open folder in my hand, even after all my warnings… How could he? If he knew what that building meant to Jaehyung- no wrong is wrong. He can’t come back from this. I need to stop him, but not with an audience. I grabbed his hand and dragged him down a secluded alleyway before trying to control my temper.

“Jeongin… what’ve you done?”

“You weren’t supposed to see that…”

“You weren’t seriously planning on going through with this were you?” I hissed.

“It’s my job, what else am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.”

“It’s not like he’s getting cheated and changing locations isn’t a big deal-”

“Yes it is! It has to be there.”

“Why?!”

It wasn’t my place to say this but there was just so much anger and frustration built up from that night, ignored warnings, the shit going on in my own life, I just couldn’t hold my tongue or the venom anymore.

“That’s the building he chose with his best friend… who died back in college.”

“. . . Things are already moving ahead, there is nothing that can be done anymore.”

“Do you hear yourself right now?! Jaehyung treated you like a brother and I know you felt the same. You’re doing this to get Gahyeon's attention but do you really think things will be fine once she finds out?”

“What else am I supposed to do?! My only chance is as my father’s heir and to do that this project is necessary!”

“Just don’t do it! You’re betting all these relationships on a statement made on a whim!” I gave an exasperated shout.

“Y/n you just don’t get it I need-”

“This obsession needs to stop! She may have saved you but no matter how much you lie to yourself, she isn’t the reason you’re living. When has she been there knowingly after ‘saving’ you? You live for yourself and other things have brought you meaning. You need-”

“Other things? Like what? You?” He scoffs and everything in my body freezes over.

“I meant someone like Chan or Seungmin. Do you not know how far they would go for you if you simply just asked? Before getting defensive you should see what's around you, asshole.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“I am… cause not once have I stopped my life or abandoned who I was, for you.”

“Right… like there was no ulterior motive cause you CARE SO MUCH-”

Yelling was fine until that moment. He had closed in with arms flailing in frustration and my immediate response was to flinch away. A moment after that the tremors came, spreading like a plague through my body, and my vision began to blur with premature tears. My brain knows Jeongin would never but after living in that house for so long it’s become a conditioned reflex. The air grew heavily silent as I felt his presence pull back and I struggled to see him through the tears. His words stumbled as he cautiously reached out for me but I moved out of reach.

“Y/n… wait, what just- I’m sorry I-”

“What? Now you feel guilty? I told you, I hate pity,” I scoff before continuing, “After everything you’ve seen you should’ve expected something like this. Although I can’t ask you to care about my feelings when you never really did anyways and don’t try to give me shit for saying it. You know I like you but it’s always about Gahyeon and it hurts because the further you chase her the less “you” you become.” I shook my head as he stood there like a deer in headlights. “It’s partly my fault for being so indulgent but it doesn’t matter. I’m not gonna watch you destroy yourself… Just know there’s no turning back after this.”

I couldn’t process anything, my brain let whatever come out of my mouth as long as I got out of there. The alleyway suddenly felt too narrow as my feet desperately carried me wherever as long as it was somewhere with more space. The haze had blurred things together but I vaguely remember calling Changbin, a silent car ride, and falling asleep on the couch.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz imagines #skz #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

6 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy (9/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.5k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know. I mean it's a good thing that my grandma is actually caring about me now right? But why do I have a bad feeling about it?”

“She’s an old woman who lost her only son. You learn things after someone dies, one of them is who was truly genuine and who had ulterior motives. From what I know she was the nicer few of the bunch to begin with, what’s wrong with her finally treating you like her own? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Well yeah but that was when my dad was still alive and my life wasn’t such a mess. I feel like this is just some calm for yet another storm to hit me.”

“Hey now, your life hasn’t been that bad.”

“Changbin. I was practically kicked out and for the first six months I was mooching off of you until Aunt Hyorin found me an affordable place. I couldn’t live off of the money I was left forever so I had to start working on top of going to school. My life has been living by solving one problem after the next. Now I’m set for university with my scholarships AND my estranged grandmother wants to love me? Too many “good” things are happening lately, something is bound to go wrong.”

“Stop being such a pessimist. Is it wrong to finally get what you deserve, a good life?”

“Optimism doesn’t keep you alive my friend. Pessimism is what allows me to still be sane even after all of that.”

“And this is why I’m taking you out drinking. You need to loosen up and unwind. Life doesn’t ever follow a set path so why worry when it hasn’t happened yet, especially when you have so many back up plans for this unknown inevitable,” he joked as pushed me yet another drink once he noticed mine had finished.

“Well last I checked, when I tried last time you got mad at me.”

“Those are two completely different things. I said loosen up not go wild. You were challenging people to drinking contests and the loser paid for the drinks. I had to literally guard you from guys trying to cop a feel at your drunk ass and don’t get me started on what happened when I took you home and accidentally put your code in at your neighbor’s door.”

“Okay the whole thing with Jaehyung-oppa was completely your fault. I’ve lived there for how long? And you still mistook his apartment for mine?”

“Well I’m sorry I was tired after having to drag your drunk self around as you whined and tried to fight me to let you stay out longer.”

“But hey, I never lost.”

“Half the guys let you win cause every time you did you would jump around and hug them before rubbing it in their face,” he rolled his eyes.

“Fine, yet here you are taking me to drink once again so why are you questioning me?”

“This time isn’t one of your patterns though so we’re safe. Last time was pattern two because your brother-”

“Ah- we are not speaking about that or I will go back into pattern two just to spite you,” I warned. “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to use the restroom.”

I know Changbin is trying, he’s watched me fall apart after my brother who I thought was my only ally in that family iced me out like the rest of them. He was also beside me as I forced myself back up but I knew he could tell I wasn’t completely myself. All my motivation has since been drained and I’ve just simply been… living. Not like I didn’t have goals, it's just, I can see it within reach yet my feet refuse to move towards it as if they’ve rooted themselves to the ground beneath me. As I came back, Changbin was nowhere to be found and the bartender let me know he had stepped out to take a call. With a sigh I slumped back into my seat at the bar as I ordered a new drink. It felt like time ticked slowly as I waited for Changbin to come back. My eyes scanned the room, taking note of a few interesting characters until I noticed someone approaching. From the look in his eye and the sleazy smile on his face, his intentions were very clear. I immediately stood and made my way over to the first person at the bar that I saw alone and called out immediately.

“OMG is that you?! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“I’ve never met you before though?” the boy mumbled.

“I’m sorry but please work with me. That guy over there is making me uncomfortable,” I dropped my voice so only he can hear, “you can just continue to mumble to yourself, don’t mind me. ”

“ By myself? But my friends were just-”

He moved his head around as if he had just noticed his friends were no longer there. Well the place was crowded and he wasn’t there earlier so my guess is that they got separated by accident and no offense but thank god for that. Casting a glance I could tell the guy wasn’t buying it so I turned to talk to the boy in front of me yet again.

“So what’s up with you that your friends took you out and let you get this wasted?”

“It’s nothing big, I just can’t get over a girl…”

“What was it? Break up? Rejection?”

“Neither, I can’t even tell her I like her to begin with but now I can’t because she has a boyfriend. Not like she would consider me anyways.”

“Well you seem like a decent person so I don’t see why she shouldn’t but tell me about her. I’ll give you a girl’s perspective. ”

I wasn’t planning to be so invested in our conversation but there was something about him that had me so captivated. I mean yeah he was my type but then there was how his features softened, and there was this sparkle in his eyes when he spoke about this girl… In the midst of it all I got a text from Changbin, teasing me for “going after a guy” while he was away and told me he’ll be waiting back at our seats. On the other hand, the boy had poured out his history with this girl, from their odd meeting to his inevitable downfall into love. There were ghosts of facts about himself as well but never enough to build a full picture of his character. Although his main focus this whole conversation was this mystery girl… above all reason, I started to have a crush on this boy. Dumb, I know. My heart literally chose to play the fool in this story. It’s just… There is something about how he talked and the starry look and the gentle smile and then my brain just kinda went “I wish he looked at me like that” and then I hated myself for doing this to myself. Luckily not long after my brain had realized, his friend had found him and apologized before dragging him back to his group, leaving me to go back to Changbin.

“Wait so you knew all that when you met me again? That’s fraud you said you could just tell.”

“I can just tell. That night you weren’t really descriptive when you talked about her, you were a little too into the “woe is me” thing so all you really said was that she was pretty,” I rolled my eyes. “So when your eyes practically followed her every move during your shift, I was able to connect the dots.”

“And after knowing that you still chose to have a… crush… on me?”

It felt foreign to hear it from him himself. I’m usually the one bringing it up, it’s weird to see him acknowledge it for once. Seeing how careful he is about bringing it up, can I say that we’re close enough that he cares about my feelings? Wait no. Okay y/n let’s not be pathetic now. You are better than that. No need to grasp at crumbs.

“It wasn’t really a choice. I think you can agree with me on this, it was more like a virus. You just kinda plagued my mind that night and you never left after that.”

“I literally just talked about Gahyeon though, you didn’t hear anything about me unless you’re not telling me something. ”

“I told you everything but there is something called reading between the lines, you wouldn’t get it,” I answered. He doesn’t need to know that the love in his eyes sparked me back to life because I wanted to feel like that about something or someone again. I smiled at him and jokingly added, “But I will say I liked you from that night but after getting to know you I really~ like you now. ”

“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

5 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (8/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.3k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taking a curious peek between the railing proved my suspicions to be right. Although he looked defeated, I couldn’t help but be happy to see Jeongin after going so long without. Moving from my little hiding spot I spoke up to draw his attention from burying his face in his hands.

“Told you I’ll be seeing you around, stranger.”

He jumps slightly at the sudden sound but relaxes a bit when he notices it’s me. When he made no other movement I sat down next to his figure which had crouched down on one of the bottom steps. Aside from the guilty look on his face, fatigue was written all over his features.

“I thought you were supposed to be better off after going to a big company but you seem worse than when I last saw you.”

“Do I make it that obvious?”

“I mean… not that obvious, but I pay attention to these things.”

“You really know how to make a guy feel special,” he responded dryly.

“I only ever tell you the truth. If that’s all it takes to ruffle your feathers you won’t be surviving in this corporate world but judging from the face you’re making at me, you already know.”

“I’ve practically heard all that can be said in regards to me using nepotism so yeah, I know,” he states as he rubs his face with a groan.

“Okay but moving on from boring company things, what did you do?”

“You heard?”

“That and you practically look like a puppy who accidentally bit their owner.”

“I messed up. We were playing a drinking game and I kept asking Jaehyung loaded questions which may… have… pointed at… Gahyeon’s crush…,” he trailed off.

Knowing where it was going, I took a moment before speaking. There were thousands of things I could say, but only one which felt the most appropriate. I was never one to beat around the bush.

“I see you went to the get together… You noticed didn’t you? That there’s been a change between them?”

“How’d you know?”

“I’m still a regular you know and I told you, I’m more attuned to these kinds of things. You’re scared of losing your chance aren’t you? Especially after everything…”

“Of course I am but that's no right to be a dick. I don’t know what came over me…”

“You had alcohol. You felt the disparity of your chances stronger than normal because of it and you hated feeling helpless so you lashed out,” I stated nonchalantly.

“How did you know? I mean it’s not a hundred percent but that was better than anything I could come up with to explain myself. ”

And there was the proof of the alcohol. That first night we met proved that Jeongin was an honest drunk and it’s showing with how open he is right now.

“That’s what I felt when Gahyeon was talking with those girls. It’s like rubbing salt into a wound, of course the normal response is to bite back.”

“That’s why I told you to not like me…” he mumbled.

“That’s not the point of what I said,” I rolled my eyes as I poke his forehead irritatedly. “And I told you feelings don’t work that way… You know what? Stay here and don’t move.”

I got up and made my way back into the café. Screw this project, I’ve put in more than enough work for the time being so now I'm taking a break. I made some half-assed excuse as I grabbed my stuff, ignoring any protests. They don’t get to have a say when they barely put in the work. After slinging on my backpack I made my way back to Jeongin who was waiting obediently where I left him. Grabbing his hand I pulled him up and started walking off.

“C’mon, no more moping. I’m taking you somewhere.”

“Huh? Wait but-”

“Just trust me. If you keep stewing in the past, time won’t let you go back and fix it, so let it go and be in the present.”

He stopped fighting me and followed willingly. We made a quick stop at the convenience store before making it to our destination, the park. I sat him down on the slide before handing him a water bottle and a snack. He looked up at me quizzically but I just leaned against the slide next to him, taking out my own snack and taking a bite before answering his unspoken question.

“I want you to be sober enough to remember this time so drink up. ”

“Remember what? I’m not that drunk…”

“Remember us, this moment, hanging out together, I don’t know everything? Maybe because it’s been a bit since I last saw you and I’m kinda feeling sentimental… so just humor me will you?”

“It’s only been a couple of weeks, not a couple years,” he responded flatly.

“Hey I’m a creature of habit and patterns. My system doesn’t take to change well, sir.”

“How have you been though? Your family hasn’t bothered you anymore have they?”

“Nope everything’s been handled. You don’t need to worry about them, I always have things under control with those people.”

“Yeah cause that dinner looked completely handled,” he rolled his eyes.

“Okay not one of my finest moments I admit but you’ll just have to take my word for it. I have dealt with this for almost four years and lived with them for longer. I know how they work, plus my grandma is helping me so they won’t be coming around for a while.”

“They were throwing out some pretty ominous threats so that’s good to hear. Especially when you say they could get worse than that.”

“Yeah…”

Thankfully he didn’t ask for more details and we fell into silence, basking in the white noise of the night: the squeaking of the swing, the occasional sound of a car driving by, the gentle buzz of nature. Looking over at Jeongin I could tell that he was getting lost in that head of his, probably still beating himself up for what happened earlier. He calls his actions childish but it's just something love makes you do sometimes. I’ve done plenty of embarrassing and childish things to Jeongin just to get him to properly look at me. Even now I want to act up because in this perfect atmosphere with just us two in the night ambiance, he’s still thinking of her. So that may or may not be what I did… I mean it’s two birds with one stone, and even I can’t be selfless all the time. I’m human after all.

“You know… you were like this that night too.”

“That night? You mean when we first met?”

“The one and only,” I chuckle lightly.

“What? You're gonna say that if I remembered I would remember some words of wisdom you left me that time too?”

“Can you not ruin the moment with your mockery? I actually wanted to talk about it, thank you.”

"What made you change your mind? You've been milking it for months," he questioned skeptically.

"I told you when the ambiance was right I would tell you,” I teased. He gave me a flat look so after taking a swig of my drink I added, “Eh, it's boring now and I'm tired of dancing around it."

I shrugged, not looking at him. It's the truth… minus a few details. It is getting boring using it to make him think of me cause obviously it isn't working plus, it’s not fun talking about something only you know about. I could feel he wasn't completely buying it but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Okay so when did it happen?"

"Hmmm, give or take a year and a half now? I forgot the occasion but it was busy that night and it was a pretty decent bar."

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

6 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (7/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.6k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment the door closed the air immediately changed as if a blizzard suddenly blew through. I pursed my lips and threw a glance at Jeongin but he was already looking at me in concern. He needs to leave. Step-mother will act out as she wishes regardless of who is here, unless it’s dad’s family, and I don’t want him to see. Dinner was enough. Before I was able to open my mouth to speak, step-mother was one step ahead.

“How is it you only had one simple job but even then you can’t even do that right?”

“Well it’s my birthday, of course she would want to talk about m-”

“It’s not that hard to throw your brother’s achievements into a conversation,” she snapped with a scoff, “still as incompetent as when you left.”

Don’t lash out y/n… not now in front of Jeongin. This woman won’t hesitate to use physical means and you have nothing to prove to her. What she says has no effect anymore so keep the trembling in check and don’t start reliving the past now.

“Since I… left the family, I hadn’t really paid much attention to what goes on in the company so I don’t really know many of your son's achievements.”

“Don’t get smart with me. You knew why you were here tonight, you should’ve prepared,” she hissed, taking a step closer to me.

I saw Jeongin’s body step to make a move but I slyly moved to block his path and held my hand out behind me to stop him. Thank god my body thought that stopping Jeongin was more important than flinching back. Of course of all the people to catch it though, it was Youngho.

“Aww does your little boyfriend want to protect you? Is that why you brought him? Does he think we’re this big bad family?” he mocked in a babying tone.

“Can you just shut up with the-”

“Don’t you speak to my son like that!”

I grit my teeth at her response and turned to Jeongin, nudging his arm, before dropping my voice and asking, “Can you wait for me outside?”

“Y/n the whole reason I came was because-” he responded in the same hushed tone.

“I know… just please?”

I gently grabbed his sleeve and pleaded. This was more than enough. Anymore than this and the signs might start showing, him being here is only provoking her more. She can't stand the sight of “the cause of her misery” getting generosity I supposedly didn’t deserve. Couldn’t you throw me at least one bone after all of the shit I’ve gone through God? Please let me have this one at least.

“No.”

“Excuse me, I’m talking to you here.”

That woman growled as she grabbed my shoulder and forced me to face her. I winced as I felt her nails dig into the skin on my arm. The grip on Jeongin’s sleeve tightened as I felt him try to move once more at the sound of my pain. Why does he have to choose to be stubborn at the worst times? If my mind wasn’t dealing with several things at once I would’ve acknowledged the flutter of my heart at Jeongin trying to stand up for me. Instead I have to deal with my crazy family.

“Of course sticking to a man just like your-”

“I’m sorry for wasting your time and food on me when I wasn’t able to do it so I’ll talk to grandma on my own and do it properly, okay?” I cut off before she started on her tirade about my mother.

“I expect results this time, not like last year where all you gave us were lies. I don’t think you want a repeat of that now do we? Or will you run to one of those boys you keep around? This one, the neighbor… or will it be that boy you went to after you were thrown away?”

“Don’t bring up unrelated parties just because I didn’t do what you want.”

“Watch your tone brat. Everything you have now was built off of my late husband’s money, don’t forget that. If it wasn’t for that witch liking you so much you would’ve stayed as the garbage you are.”

“I understand, may I take my leave now?” I caught myself falling back into my formal speech pattern and internally scolded myself getting scared back into old habits.

She turned on her heel and waved her hand in dismissal. Once we were outside it felt like the elephant on my back finally decided to leave and my legs nearly gave out on me. The only reason I was still standing was because Jeongin had a cautious hold on me. After a moment I straightened up as I tried to center myself again but Jeongin’s watchful eyes stayed trained on me to catch a falter which pushed me to hide it deeper.

“You okay?”

“For the most part,” I smile weakly before trying to joke it off. “Well that could’ve gone worse.”

“Worse than that? That family really is something isn’t it?”

“You don’t even know the half of it.”

Once the cab came we were submerged in silence as I closed my eyes and rested my head against the window, listening to the sound of cars driving by. Jeongin asked if I wanted to grab food or something since he noticed I didn’t eat much at the manor but I just shook my head. Most of his attempts to check my condition were answered with a movement of my head, my mind too tired to function. I know there was a lot he wanted to ask, the questions bubbled behind his eyes, but I was glad he refrained. Too much had already happened, I didn’t really feel up to reliving my dark past with someone on top of that. There was a long pause before he tried to speak again but what he chose to speak about made me wide awake.

“My parents got divorced and shortly after both of them found new families. As proof of their broken marriage, neither of them knew what to do with me so they let me do what I wanted without much of a care. On the other hand my new siblings were policed and catered to.”

I looked at him but his eyes were trained out the window but that only gave him an even lonelier glow every time light streaked across his face from the streetlights. I don’t know what came over me, but the question slipped out without much thought.

“Do they love you?”

“Yeah… I guess. Now whether it’s out of obligation or genuine love, who knows? I’ve been left alone for far too long to figure it out.”

“Is that how Gahyeon comes in?”

“She brought color back to my life. I am who I am today because of her.”

“You said that last time too,” I smiled softly.

This time it was his turn to look at me in surprise. Well this is the first time I’ve hinted at what was said that night, I had no energy to play games right now so it is what it is. With the direction this conversation was going there was one more thing I wanted to ask.

“There’s no way to convince you not to leave the pub, is there?”

“Not really… What happened to your big talk about fate? Won’t I still be seeing you?”

Even though his tone was light hearted there was a finality to his words. Even though I hated pity and the look on people’s faces as they give it to you I couldn’t help but look at Jeongin like that. That girl’s feelings are already so strong for Jaehyung and knowing who he is, there won’t be any red flags that would deter her affection. This was like fighting a one-man battle with only a sword while everyone else had guns. Before he could notice, I turned away and looked out the window.

“Of course you’ll still see me, even if fate didn’t allow it,” I mumbled the second half to myself as we fell back into silence.

Over the next few weeks a lot of things changed. Jeongin resigned from the pub and helpfully offered his close friend Seungmin to fill his place. Through Changbin I heard that Jeongin had secured a place in his dad’s company although he’ll have to build his way up. These were the times I was glad I was best friends with the son of a big advertising firm that represents various companies. I also did as told and talked up Youngho to grandma a few times when we met for tea but she knew what was going on. Luckily she said she’d handle it and I’ve been left alone so far. Although that was only a small plus with all this work this semester is bringing since it’s filled with my major courses. Thus my life became work, when I had the chance, and studying.

Like tonight. I should be at the welcoming party they’re finally holding for Seungmin but instead I’m stuck in a café working on a group project. I was either doing their work for them or proofreading every little thing and my stress level was at maximum. After having to practically rewrite another paragraph from one of my groupmates, I excused myself for some air and went to hide beside the stairs that were next to the café. I stuck close to the wall hidden by the base of the stairs to pretend I didn’t exist for a bit and regain my sanity. The white noise of my surroundings gave me a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt in a while. Taking in the sound around me with my eyes closed, I caught heavy steps coming down the stairs close to me before they abruptly stopped and I heard a voice I would recognize anywhere.

“I can’t believe I did that…”

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

5 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (1/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.6k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn’t think I would see him, here of all places, but at the same time somehow it seemed appropriate. We did meet for the first time when he was drunk confessing his problems to me after all. Who knew he would start working at one of my favorite pubs? Taking my usual seat by the window in the corner, he came by and took my order. Of course because he was drunk when we met he doesn’t seem to recall our encounter at all. “Jeongin” the name tag says… After receiving my order I took my time enjoying my food and subconsciously my eyes followed him around all night. The first thing I noticed was his line of sight. Whenever he had a spare moment to breathe, his eyes scanned the room for a specific person. Watching them interact though made things very clear. Definitely knew each other before working here and he likes her. I think he started to notice my gaze at some point because he would occasionally throw a confused glance at me which turned irritated as time went on. It wasn’t until it got slow and there were only a few people besides me in the pub before he got frustrated and confronted me as he brought my bill.

“What are you?”

“Someone who has feelings for you?”

I innocently cock my head to the side, leaning forward and resting my chin on my hand as I smiled up at him. I saw annoyance flash across his eyes before it was replaced with the polite customer service shine again.

“I'm sorry but-”

“You have feelings for her?” I point to the girl manning the cash register before continuing, “I know. If you're someone like me, you can easily tell.”

“Someone like you?”

“How would you say it? Someone who is in love with love? How long have you liked her anyways?”

“I don't think that’s appropri-”

“It's just a question.”

“... Four years,” he mumbled out as he cast a nervous glance at the girl.

“Ah, I see…”

“Yeah so you should just give-”

“Wait,” I hold up my hand to stop him. “Don’t misunderstand. That doesn't change my feelings for you. That’s not how it works.”

“Feelings? We've only just met.”

“We've met before though, don't you remember?”

I gave him a cheshire-like grin as his face turned into one of questioning before he shook his head to focus on what he was originally doing, rejecting me.

“Well regardless I'll still like her so you're wasting your efforts.”

“With the few facts about me you’ve just learned, do you really think I would like someone who is only capable of shallow feelings? Don't worry, I know fully well what I'm getting myself into. It was nice chatting with you, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”

With my bill paid I walked off, knowing I left the boy baffled. As I made my exit, his voice carried over the sound of the few patrons in the pub and a pleased smile crept to my face.

“Who was that?”

“That’s y/n, she’s a regular. She’s sometimes hard to deal with cause of her straightforwardness, you’ll get used to it,” Jaehyung, the owner, laughed.

I didn’t go to the pub any more than I usually did but true to my word I saw Jeongin every time I was there. Nothing underhanded, apparently fate just decided to align our paths for the time being. I’ve also had the chance to meet and talk to Gahyeon, much to the dismay of Jeongin whose careful gaze eyed me every time I spoke to her. Because of this, every time I try to talk to him, he’s apprehensive as if I would extort money from him or something with this information. He has yet to figure out our first meeting too. I know it's a ridiculous notion to expect him to remember a drunk night, but he wasn’t even trying and I couldn’t say it didn’t hurt a little. Especially because he hasn’t left my mind from that night on. My monologue was cut short by Jaehyung’s voice calling out to me.

“How’s my favorite neighbor?”

“I’m your only neighbor Mr. apartment-at-the-end-of-the-hall.”

“As prickly as always I see. How have you been?”

“The same as I was two days ago when you last asked,” I roll my eyes.

“I know you secretly love me bugging you. You’d probably forget how to speak if I didn’t.”

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes, “how’s business been?”

“Pretty good lately, we’re getting a lot of regulars now because they love the newbies. Like look at that smile, refreshing and endearing.”

With that our eyes both glanced over to the table Jeongin was serving and it was like literal flowers were blooming over there. It can’t be denied he had that youthful charm to him but I couldn’t fully appreciate his ambiance when there were girls so obviously flirting.

“If you aren’t careful he might take your self-proclaimed spot as the face of the pub because his looks definitely top yours, especially since he’s fresh and young,” I teased to divert my attention from the scene ahead.

“Okay you brat I get it, you want the old man to leave you alone. You don’t have to attack me to tell me,” he whined.

“I’m only stating the facts, don't be a baby.”

We both laughed and continued to chat more but from the corner of my eye I caught a different watchful gaze. As my eyes fluttered in that direction for a moment, Gahyeon had dropped her gaze frantically. In the next beat my eyes darted to Jeongin, finding him in an instant since I looked for his figure so often, and of course his gaze was on her. Looking back at Jaehyung as he was still rambling and this whole entanglement was going straight over his head but then again he was always a dense one when it came to things like this. Well isn’t this quite the predicament?

Since I stayed later than usual today Jaehyung told me to wait for him so we could go home together, something about it not being safe. I can literally take a taxi but I’m not one to argue with him, I always lose somehow. I went to help with the dishes while everyone was cleaning the rest of the pub and some time in the middle, Jeongin came in.

“When will you stop this?”

“What? Being a regular? Hate to break it to you but I was a regular before you worked here so I technically have seniority,” I stated lightly.

My eyes darted to the side to examine his face as my hands moved on muscle memory. He seems to fidget at my response, casting a nervous glance back to the front of the shop. Ah… and here I thought I was getting under his skin and finally had a fraction of his mind for myself.

“I make you uncomfortable don’t I? Not because I like you but because I know, and I’ve been friendly with Gahyeon right?”

If his eyes widening as big as saucers was any indication, I hit the nail on the head. I felt my pettiness come up and I couldn’t help but scare him a little so that maybe I could occupy his mind just a bit.

“Instead of worrying about what I might say, worry about what I know. You were quite talkative on the night we first met… but I won’t say anything to her. I’m not one to meddle just because I like the person.”

“Ah… uhm, well-”

“You aren’t the confrontational type are you? Cat got your tongue already?” I laugh.

“Well how am I supposed to respond when you already know?” He mumbled.

“Hmm?”

“My bad, sorry. Gotta go.”

I smirked at his flustered exit, his reactions are so cute. I was half way through drying the dishes when Jaehyung caught me, forcing me to sit on the counter in his line of sight as he finished the rest since I’m “not on his payroll.” Of course, like a magnet, Gahyeon appeared and used chatting with me as an excuse to watch Jaehyung. She has it just as bad as Jeongin does for her except this is new to her… either that or she just doesn’t know subtlety.

“Oh so how do you guys know each other? You seem close," Gahyeon asked.

“We’ve been neighbors for three years, he’s the nosy aunty I never asked for. Right Jaehyung-oppa?”

“Hey, I’m no aunty, there’s only a five year age gap.”

“You are when you nag me about eating and my social life all the time.”

He scoffs at my snarky comment and I roll my eyes with a smirk. Focusing back on Gahyeon, her smile seemed to be pulled a bit tighter than before. Obviously this interaction only seemed to fuel her suspicions in addition to it not answering her underlying question of our relationship so she tried again.

“You must be a regular because of him then,” she laughs just as Jeongin comes up behind her.

“Of course. It has my two favorite things, good food and my favorite person.”

My eyes connected with Jeongin’s as the reply fell from my lips, my mixed message registering in Gahyeon’s mind. On the other hand Jaehyung gasped.

“I’m your favorite person?!”

“Who said it was you?” I tested.

“I- If not me, it better be Jimin cause Chan and Younghyun are off limits!”

“Who knows, why does it have to be Jimin-noona?”

My eyes drag back to Jeongin again and the corner of my lip quirks up just a smidge more as I catch him rolling his eyes at me.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz aus #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server jeongin x regular y/n #my writing #wslwe?

15 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 4 years

Text

Hidden Meanings

Prompt fic: cafe owner! lee know x barista! y/n

fluff

w.c: 1.8k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So hear me out. What if we blew him up? Poisoned him? Maimed him a little?”

“For fuck’s sake, no? He’s our boss.”

“Not even one punch? Come on Jisung, you can’t tell me he isn’t a vexing person.”

“He’s… peculiar but he still pays us so we, as in you, cannot assault him. Plus I thought you were happy with the job.”

“I am. It’s just… he’s so confusing! Sometimes he just pleasantly minds his business ordering whatever here and there and other days he has me all over the place ordering ungodly amounts then having me help him finish them!”

“... He’s just like that y/n. After working for him for 6 months I thought you figured that out.”

“I’ve long figured that out, doesn’t mean I like it though. I’m just getting some serious whiplash from his constant back and forth and taking him out would give me one less headache with my thesis coming up. You’re his friend Jisung, do you know how to keep him in a good mood?”

As I let out a frustrated sigh, Jisung gave me a smile which made me narrow my eyes at him. Why does he look like he knows something I don’t?

“I think Minho’s been in quite a good mood for a while though.”

“In what world do you call him randomly screaming in the middle of closing a “good mood”? It made one of the new part-timers drop a mug at how terrified he was.”

“Like I said, he’s peculiar plus we’re a cafe. We have tons of mugs. You’re bright y/n, you’ll figure things out… eventually.”

“Excuse you, just cause you're the manager doesn't mean you can talk condescendingly to me you’re still a year younger than me.”

I rolled my eyes when suddenly the front bell jingled. I got up from the seat I had taken on the edge of his desk, and made my way to the front.

“Oh no I got this, Manager Han,” I mocked as he didn't even bother to get up.

“Yeah yeah yeah. It's around the time Minho comes, don’t keep him waiting.”

He gave me a wink which I returned with the finger as I headed out, to make it worse of course Jisung just had to be right. Minho stood at the register with a smile which turned teasing the moment his eyes landed on me. All I could do was give a polite one in return.

“Afternoon boss. Do you want your usual or do you want to change it up again?”

"Let’s change it up, you should know my tastes by now right? Surprise me." He smirked and if this were an anime you would see the little anger symbol on my head.

"Will you drink it still if I get it wrong?"

"Hmmmm, maybe?"

With a sigh I turned my back to him as I moved around to make him a drink, rolling my eyes when my face was safely out of sight. Or so I thought.

"I see that y/n," he chuckled before walking away.

He took his usual seat at the table with the most sunlight by the window. Maybe because I'm like a cat and get sleepy with direct sunlight like that, I don't know how he can sit there unfazed. Mentally cursing at myself for getting caught, I went to actually make his drink this time. Thinking back I've noticed he's tried most of our strawberry flavored items, both drinks and treats. Please don't let this flop. I placed the drink in front of him with a slice of strawberry shortcake, in case he didn’t like the drink.

"Hmmm, strawberry?" He thought aloud after taking a sip before a smirk pulled at his lips, "So you have been paying attention to me."

I prayed that my face felt warm because of the sun and not because of the blush that totally isn't burning my face right about now… come on y/n don't let him get to you, pull yourself together!

"Of course sir, you're a regular. It's hard not to when you come so often."

"So you remember all of the regulars' tastes?"

"The ones I've ran into often enough, yes."

For a moment his smile twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something but didn't. That's odd. Minho usually says what he wants, literally. He's said gibberish to me before without batting an eye. Silence passed between us as the air began to feel uneasy, back to my station at the cash register it is. As time passed he just continued to sit there with his order quietly… Once the new part-timer Jeongin came for his shift, and Jisung came out to supervise, I went to take my break after casting my god-knows-what-number concerned look at Minho who just stayed in his daze. Going out the back door, I went up the side alley towards the front of the cafe but made sure I was still out of sight as I took my rightful place on an old crate that has been deemed my break time spot for months now. That is because of a certain black furry four-legged reason who’s familiar meow echoed down the alley as soon as I took out my food, his blue eyes looked at me as he approached.

"There you are Siren. You only come when you smell my food you little bugger," I smiled.

I pulled some cat food from my lunch and placed the opened can in front of him. For a moment we ate in peaceful silence Minho’s behavior kept floating in the back of my mind until I could no longer focus on eating. Putting my half-eaten sandwich down triggered Siren to look up from his food curiously.

"You know my boss came in again. He didn't quite seem himself today, even more so after I made him a personalized drink. He acted like I got it right but maybe I got it wrong?"

"Meow!"

"Why are you getting mad? It’s not like you know his tastes either. Okay, if he isn't upset over that then what could it be? He started acting like that after I mentioned he's like other regulars-"

"Meow."

"Don't use that flat tone with me. What was I supposed to say? "Hey you're kinda cute so I can't help it"? He's also annoying and misleading, remember?"

"Hssssss."

"Wow okay. Fine, I'll go talk to him and maybe make things clear, MAYBE, okay? Happy?"

At that Siren purs before going back to his meal. With a shake of my head I went back to eating my sandwich. I mean it wasn't the most conventional conversation, and if anyone saw or heard they would think I'm crazy, but hey it cleared my head.

"See you tomorrow, One day we won't be having these conversations in public, got it? Just a bit more saving and then you're coming home with me buddy."

I gave Siren a little love as I rubbed his head before going back inside and back to my shift. After washing my hands Jisung ushered me back to the front cause we got busy and it wasn’t until things slowed down that Minho motioned for me to come over and he ordered two more drinks. Nothing else said. Setting the two drinks in front of him I assumed he wanted to be left alone again since he seemed to be in a bad mood today but at the small tug at my wrist I stopped. My eyes trailed down to catch his hand firmly around my wrist.

"Sit with me."

"But I'm on the clock and-"

"And I'm the boss. Jisung and Jeongin will be fine for now so sit with me."

This new serious and charismatic side of his threw me off and I could do nothing but oblige to his wishes. Sitting in the chair across from him, he pushed one of the drinks to me and I realized it was one of my favorites. Not really complaining, although a bit unsettled with this weird air around us, I eagerly took the drink. His question was abrupt and blunt that my immediate response may not have been the best.

"Do you know why I come here so often?"

"Just to torture me?"

I had intended it to be a joke, thinking my sarcasm was evident, but the slight hurt look on his face cut my heart. He's being so serious about this, I feel shitty for trying to joke around… I'm just not used to interactions like these between us.

"Hehe... I was joking… well you come here a lot cause you own the place right?"

"That's not the only reason… Then do you know why I always sit here?"

"Because you like the warmth from the sun?"

"No, it's because I like the view from here."

"The view of other buildings? Minho what’s going on, why are you asking all these questions?"

At my responses he just smiled at me and shook his head. This smile wasn't like the playful ones he often gave me, this was different, there's something softer about this one.

"Okay fine, last question. Have you realized that you're the only one who services me?"

"Huh? I may be here more often cause I have more availability but-"

As I spoke this my mind raced through my past time at this job. Every time Minho came in I helped him and when I asked others when I came after a day off they never mentioned Minho coming in…

"Wait, why is that then? Did someone mess up your order before so you stick to one server?"

"You know y/n for a student working on your grad thesis you aren't bright in other areas."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

My temper started to flare but the minute the words fell from his lips any fire was immediately put out, the warm smile didn't help my beating heart either.

"Let me take you on a date, preferably not a coffee one."

"Wait so you…"

All he did was nod. The pieces began to fall into place in my brain but one didn't seem to fit. I snapped my head and scanned his general view from this spot and was confused why this was his favorite until I noticed a flick of a black tail. Looking closer, from this angle you would be able to see into the alleyway. My head whipped back to the boy in front of me.

"Have you been-"

"You never answered my question," he cut me off.

Remembering my short conversation with Siren at lunch, I nodded my head. His smile grew bigger and I had to look away before my stupid blush reflex acted up again, his smile is quite the trigger. This was definitely not the direction I thought this conversation would go but I'm kind of not complaining.

"Good. Then on the date I can tell you about how I fell for a girl in an alley who fed a stray cat."

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids blurbs #skz #skz imagines #skz scenarios #skz blurbs #lee know #lee minho #lee know imagines #lee know scenarios #lee know blurbs #my writing #skz gc writing prompts #skz gc prompts

111 notes · View notes

k-writer1998 · 3 years

Text

Who Said Love Was Easy? (4/12)

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.7k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I groan at the light shining from the window, increasing the massive headache that decided to drill its way into my skull. Turning my back to the light, I allowed my eyes to adjust to the less bright, dull grey walls of Changbin’s guest room. When I felt stable enough to get up, I trudged to the livingroom to see Changbin drinking a cup of coffee.

“Breakfast?”

“Food sounds terrible right now,” I responded as I curled up on the couch next to him. My stomach turned at the thought of eating.

“Not eating is gonna make it worse. I got hangover soup for you so go clean up then eat.”

“Ugh, give me a minute. How embarrassing was I this time?”

“More than usual but not as bad as that one time when-” my hands flew up to cover his mouth.

“Hey! We do not speak of that but let me guess, I just went on about Jeongin.”

“Bingo. Every detail and thought when you first met him again until last night where you wished he kissed you,” Changbin teased, making kissy noises.

“It's not my fault his face was so pretty up close… Lord never let me get drunk at the pub before I dig myself a grave in front of him with drunk talk.”

“I mean you already told him you liked him, what more damage could you do?”

“Accidentally confessing to his four year crush for him? I would rather he not hate me. Remember that one time I almost did that to you?”

“I- yeah… noted, now up. You have your summer classes and I have work soon.”

With a groan I got up and went to the bathroom to get ready as Changbin went to the kitchen to heat up the food. After freshening up we chatted together while we ate, he irritatingly made sure I ate every last bite, before pulling out a wrapped gift and sliding it to me.

“Early? Are you not going to spend my birthday with me?”

“I wish I could but dad is having me go with him on a business trip for three days so I won’t be here.”

“Wow, my own best friend is abandoning me on my birthday. Who am I supposed to hang out with then?” I ask dramatically.

“I thought you said you have other friends?” he mocks.

“You know my birthday is different- wait three days?! You aren’t gonna be there for the cursed dinner?”

“You're gonna go?”

“I’m more scared to know what would happen if I didn’t. They already found out where I live and I’m lucky I’m freelance so they can’t harass any co-workers but my brother saw Jeongin, I don’t want unnecessary people dragged into my mess.”

“Now who’s the one thinking they're living in a revenge drama?”

“Still them, thank you, and that’s why I don’t put underhanded things beneath them because of that fact.”

“Whatever makes you happy kiddo, but don’t go in it alone. Even if they’re putting up a front for your grandma I don’t trust them. Now open your gift.”

He changed the subject after getting the last word, typical. I knew he was right though so with a roll of my eyes I complied. I would just have to figure out the dinner thing later. As I unwrapped the box my mind sped through possibilities. I didn’t need anything nor did I want anything recently so what could he have gotten me? When I pulled off the lid, I didn’t know what to expect but I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Are these Felix brownies?!” I squealed with excitement as I took the container out. Although see through, it was decorated in a very Felix-esque manner with multi-colored sparkly paper along the edges.

“Hey! I helped too!”

“When we cooked together you literally almost burned spaghetti and you were only boiling the noodles,” I rolled my eyes.

“Okay it wasn’t a lot but I still helped! What else am I supposed to get you? You don’t let me buy you stuff…” he grumbled.

“It’s fine,” I giggle, “I’m so glad my best friend has a best friend who can bake.”

On the way to the office Changbin gave me a ride home to freshen up before class, which was a total bore. Regardless of the lesson I just couldn’t focus with the impending doom around the corner. Now that Changbin was out of the question that only left two options. I already decided that Jeongin should NOT get anywhere near my childhood trauma so there was only one answer… sorry Jaehyung. The next morning was just like any other day except for the fact it wasn't. The flashy birthday message from Changbin was a very obvious sign. It’s not like I hate my birthday but I have an ongoing record of bad luck on this day. No Changbin meant there shouldn’t be too much misfortune today since I won’t be doing much. Just in case though I should still keep my head down. Classes went by without a hitch until a few girls from my department came up to me. Recognizing one of them from a previous group project, I smiled.

“Hey, y/n are you free later?” My old groupmate asked.

“Yeah, what’s up Jisoo?”

“I know we aren’t really close but could you do us a favor? We are having a mixer with a few guys from another university. The thing is Somi got sick and won’t be able to make it a-”

“And it’s bad to go with uneven numbers so you want me to fill in?”

“Yes please! If you have a boyfriend that’s fine too- I mean of course it's not but you don’t even have to flirt, Hyein just has a big crush on one of them so we’re just there to help out and if you’re single who knows? Maybe you’ll like one of them.”

I forgot how much Jisoo tends to ramble. All these names were going over my head but I mean it’s free food and drinks right? Well even if it’s not, it wouldn’t hurt to at least do this much for my birthday right?

“That’s fine. You still have my number right? Just text me the details,” I agree.

My phone received the details by the time I got off campus. I wasn’t really there to catch anyone’s attention, so I decided to go with a silky slate grey off the shoulder crop top and black skinny jeans. I won’t stand out but I also won’t look horribly out of place. After slipping on my black heels, I grabbed my purse and headed out. Aside from the obvious match up of Hyein and her crush, the girls had gravitated toward their pick which left me with a lanky guy with glasses and long hair pulled into a ponytail. Luckily he was also dragged here since he "agreed to the mixer already, who cares if you found yourself a girlfriend. Are you trying to rub it in?" The guy apologized but I brushed it off telling him I wasn't looking for anything either. Once that was out of the way we stuck to ourselves, occasionally joining the conversation to keep the mood up. For once no incident happened on my birthday so I indulged myself with a little too much alcohol… the first mistake of the night. Amidst the merry making I got a text from Jaehyung.

To: Reckless Child

You NEED to come to the pub ASAP

To: Nosy Neighbor

Is it urgent?

To: Reckless Child

Not life threatening but if you don't come I will cry from heartbreak

To: Nosy Neighbor

No you won't 🙄… but fine.

It wasn’t hard to act drunk with the alcohol working through my system already, throw in pretending to feel sick and we were set. The girls worriedly asked if I needed to go home and I gave them a weak nod, the guys immediately jumped at the chance to get rid of the loose wheel and pushed my partner to take me home. Once we were outside I pulled myself together and gave the guy a mischievous smile.

“Sorry to do that to you but I’m fine I just didn’t feel like being there anymore.”

“Are you okay to go back on your own? You did drink quite a bit, I can escort you home.”

“That’s sweet but I’m fine, my neighbor’s shop is around here and he asked me to stop by.”

When I arrived I had forgotten it was Friday, meaning the pub was very busy. My usual spot by the window was taken so I took the first empty seat I saw. He literally begged me to come here so where is Jaehyung? He was nowhere in sight so I turned to the register beside me to ask Jimin but instead my eyes locked with Gahyeon. Before I could ask her anything some girls came up to pay their tab and started chatting with her. From what I caught from the conversation they were high school classmates who wanted to catch up. I could tell both were tipsy or neither would be so forward in bringing up her and Jeongin’s relationship.

“So what’s up with you two? Jeongin was always around but even after high school? Working at the same place? There is something going on isn’t there? He treats you so well,” One girl snickered.

“What are you guys on about? He’s been a close friend since middle school,” Gahyeon chuckled.

“C’mon, you can tell us. If you want to keep it a secret, we won’t tell.”

This time it was the other girl. By now Jeongin noticed the girls around her and edged closer. He did say she got bullied in high school, so it's understandable why he is so antsy with old classmates suddenly chatting with her.

“Well yeah he’s great. Caring, sweet, reliable… but we’re just friends, he wouldn’t like me like that anyways.”

“You just named amazing qualities! So if you say he doesn’t like you then do you like him?”

“Me? I’m more into the mature confident types who have their life together,” she giggled before adding with a coy smile, “if he became a hotshot at his dad’s big company maybe things would change.”

They all laughed together and I felt irritation bubbling within me. My eyes immediately darted to Jeongin who was trying to pull his face together as pain, defeat, and heartbreak danced across his face. As someone called for a waiter he forced a smile before moving to the table and that irritation in me sparked into frustration… and that was the start of mistake two.

#stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids au #skz #skz imagines #skz au #yang jeongin #jeongin imagines #jeongin au #server! jeongin x regular! y/n #my writing #wslwe?

4 notes · View notes