coming back from the dead to say that jaeminâs new insta post is giving young coriolanus snow at the academy
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polaroid love | njm (4)
FOUR â face to face, heart to heart
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing
WORD COUNT | 4.3k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
A/N |
it was no longer just late nights jaemin spent talking to you. his early mornings were spent apologising for keeping you up late the night before and his afternoons full of mutual complaints about certain classmates, professors or assignments.
he would never forget to send a âhow was your day?â in the evenings even though youâd practically told him everything there was to tell, but he couldnât care lessâhe simply couldnât get enough of you.
at first, with how much he was texting you, jaeminâs roommates were worried he was going to become unhealthily obsessed and dependent on you, which, based on personal experience, was likely to lead to the last thing he wantedâheartbreak.
jaemin had seen it happen before, not to himself, but to his best friends.
renjun had fallen into a month-long slump after being cheated on by his girlfriend of almost three years; haechan once worked himself to exhaustion and earned himself a trip to the emergency room, all from trying to ignore the pain of being rejected by someone he thought was the one for him; jenoâs breakup with rina left him numbed to his core and convinced he was never going to be worthy of being truly loved.
although they were never his heartbreaks, it was painful enough to watch the people he held closest to him experience such heartache, what more if he went through it himself?
and so, in spite of jaeminâs longing for romance, he decided it was best to avoid getting entangled in the world of love and simply focus on other joys in life.
but family, friendships, and academic successes could only go so far in filling the romance-shaped hole in his heart, and every now and then, jaemin found himself envying the love that had made his friends so happy.
he often wondered what it would be to feel like that: to be so utterly and completely enamoured with someone and to have someone feel the same way about him, to be wholeheartedly appreciated by someone and finally receive the sheer amount of love that he was constantly giving everyone else.
as much as jaemin wanted to find that someone, to experience love, he knew it was too risky, and pledged to himself that he wouldnât be taking that leap of faith any time soon.
at least, he thought he wouldnât be.
your conversations eventually became less frequent as exam season approached; you were both too busy reviewing content and working to meet deadlines to talk as often as you had been doing. good morning texts turned into good luck texts and late night talks were replaced with late night study sessions, but, much to his best friendsâ relief, jaemin didnât seem to be too affected by the drop in your interactions.
with his melodramatic nature, they expected to see him moping around the apartment, writing âmr and mrs na jaemin <3â in his notes instead of actually studying, or at the very least, staring at his phone longingly waiting for a notification from you. after all, they had all done something of the sort before.
to their surprise, the only obvious difference was that, at the end of the night, jaemin was falling asleep in front of his textbooks instead of his phone. they were glad to see that, despite their worries and jaeminâs own concerns, he wasnât becoming too attached to you.
however, that didnât mean that he didnât miss seeing your name pop up on his phone. he would check his messages during every study break, and more often than not, he was met with nothing.
today seemed to be no different, but just as he was about to put his phone away, a ding resonated throughout the silent room. jaemin gasped, clasping his hands together and praying to whatever deities were listening that it was a message from you.
he quickly unlocked his phone, tapping the notification banner and letting it direct him right to where it came from.
and there it was, in the messages appâyour name at the top of his conversations.
but rather than excitement, jaemin felt his heart drop to his stomach as he read your text: âhey, jaem. this is a bit out of the blue, but can i call you?â
he instantly assumed the worst of the worstâyou were in danger. the campus was a safe enough space, but the city, especially late at night, definitely required more caution.
he typed out a response as quickly as possible, leaving autocorrect to fix his typos, âiâm just at home, you can call me. is everything okay? do you need picking up or something? i can come if you need me toâ.
as if jaeminâs heart wasnât already racing enough, the sound of his ringtone blasting from his phone had him jumping up from his seat in shock, tossing his phone in the air. after retrieving it from its unexpected flight, he read your name across the top of his screen and immediately pressed âacceptâ with his shaky finger.
âhello? jaemin? um, itâs a facetime. could you, uh, maybe put your phone down somewhere? i-i canât see you,â you said, your voice significantly less urgent than jaemin anticipated it to be.
âokay, okay,â he answered, balancing his phone against the pot of pens on his desk.
scrutinising your background, he breathed out a sigh of relief once he saw you in the comfort and safety of what looked like your bedroom. âoh, thank god, youâre okay.â
âwhy wouldnât i beâ oh, i just realised how you read my message. did you think i was in trouble? iâm safe at home, see.â you picked up your phone, swivelling the camera around to show jaemin there was nothing to worry about.
you turned the camera back around to face you, just in time to see him put a hand on his heart to calm his erratic heartbeat. âaww, iâm sorry for making you worried.â
of course, seeing jaemin all panicked wasnât ideal. but the fact that he was panicked and ready to save you from a potentially dangerous situation that he knew nothing about was somewhat⊠endearing. something about his frantic response and the way his entire body relaxed when he saw you were completely fine ignited a warmth inside of you.
you didnât realise he cared that much about you. nor did you realise how much you loved the idea of him caring about you so much.
he smiled at you, reassuring you that he was no longer in distress. your heartbeat sped up, drumming against your chest as if youâd just run a marathon. it had been so long since youâd seen that smile, you forgot just how beautiful it was.
âitâs okay,â jaemin said, snapping you out of your daze. âiâm glad youâre safe and sound. itâs been a while, how have you been?â
âyeah, it has. i mean, iâve been better,â you chuckled, your comment eliciting another of those heart-wrenching smiles from jaemin. âhow have you been doing?â
he sighed, running his hand through his hair. it was still that gorgeous honey shade youâd first laid eyes on all those weeks ago, but his darker roots were starting to show through. you briefly wondered what heâd look like with a full head of his natural colour, he would probably look just as good, if not better.
he cleared his throat before answering, alerting your attention and shifting your focus away from his luscious honey locks.
âwell, iâve been drinking more water and less coffeeâi hope youâre proud of me, by the wayâand spending most of my time either studying or working out the minimum mark i need to pass. as you can tell, i just love exam season,â jaemin said with a sarcastic smile, his nose scrunching up in a way that resembled a cute bunny.
you felt your cheeks burning up, immediately bringing your hands up to your face to cover any evidence of the effect he had on you. you quickly played it off like you were covering your mouth to laugh, forcing out a giggle.
âi am proud of you for that, jaem. so, uh, are you doing anything right now?â you asked, your eyes drifting to the notebooks and flashcards scattered across jaeminâs desk. âbecause if youâre busy, then itâs fine, i-iâll figure something out.â
now self-conscious of his messy set up, jaemin cleared his things away as he responded, âno, itâs okay. iâm not doing anything, how come?â
âreally? are you sure? i-i donât wanna take away from any of your own study timeâŠâ your voice trailed off, feeling more and more like a bother as you watched him move his materials out of the frame instead of putting them away.
âiâm sure, y/n. donât mind this,â he tilted his camera to show you the pile he pushed aside. âiâm just too lazy to put it all back. plus my next exam isnât for another four days. iâm all yours for now. what can i do for you?â he said, his face lighting up as he gave you a smile that shone with sincerity.
there it was again, that warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest.
âwell, i have an exam tomorrow, and i called you because i wanted to get one last study session in. usually, i get one of my roommates to test me on the content, but everyoneâs busy doing their own work. if itâs not too much to ask, could you spare like, maybe half an hour or so for me?â
âof course i can.â
âthank you, i really appreciate it,â you said, mirroring his contagious grin.
âno problem. so, which exam is this again? the religion one?â he asked, resting his chin on his hand.
you smiled, touched at his efforts to remember what exams you had coming up. âah, that oneâs in about a week. tomorrowâs is on the metaphysics of mind.â
âhuh? physics? what the heck does that even mean?â he said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
âyouâre about to find out,â you paused, giggling at jaeminâs intrigued face. âthis study method is essentially teaching someone else the topics you need to know. if i can remember enough to explain it to you in a way that makes sense, then it means that i know the content well.â
âooh, iâve never tried that before, but it sounds good.â
âyeah, iâve been doing this since high school and itâs really helped me no matter what the subject was. itâs been especially helpful in philosophy though since we have to know a bunch of theories in detail,â you explained.
âahh, that makes sense, i might give it a try one day. but, then again, i donât exactly know if my friends will be willing to sit and hear about, like, pharmaceutical science or whatever,â jaemin chuckled at the mere thought of it, unable to imagine a scenario where his friends would actually listen to him talk about medicine instead of making immature jokes about drugs.
you felt the corners of your lips curve upwards as you watched jaeminâs eyes crinkle with joy. the eyes that sparkled with each melodic laugh, the eyes that made you feel like you were the only thing worth paying attention to. those beautiful, beautiful eyes.
you shook your head, trying to clear your mind of the distracting thoughts so you could get back on track. âwell, if you ever wanna try it out, just know iâd be more than happy to listen.â
âthank you for the offer, iâll keep that in mind. now, professor y/n, are you ready to go or what?â he sat up straight, miming opening a laptop, hands at the ready to âtypeâ.
it took everything in you not to let his adorable actions distract you any further. you let out a light giggle, before clearing your throat and starting, âokay, iâm ready. so, first and foremost, there are two different types of theories of mindâŠâ
before you knew it, an hour had flown by and you were on to the last of the six theories that could come up on your exam. half an hour was a poor underestimate and you made sure to apologise to jaemin once thirty minutes had passed. understanding as always, he reassured you that there was nothing to apologise for and encouraged you to carry on.
you were surprised to see that he wasnât completely bored out of his mind. he seemed to be following along well, even asking questions to clarify what youâd said or summarising problems himself to make sure he had understood correctly.
jaemin raised his hands to his head, a gesture that youâd learned within the past hour meant that the content was about to click. âwait, wait, so the elimination materialsââ
âthe eliminative materialists, yes,â you corrected the cute mistake, letting him continue.
âoops, thatâs what i meant. so they essentially destroy their own theory by saying beliefs donât exist,â he fell silent for a few seconds before reaching his conclusion. âeven though their theory itself is a belief?â
you gasped, feeling a sense of pride at having gotten a non-philosophy student to understand the entirety of the metaphysics of mind in just over an hour.
âyes, yes, thatâs it, you got it. good job!â you exclaimed, giving jaemin a small round of applause.
âreally? thank you,â he beamed at your praise, âso⊠what, do none of the theories work then? thatâs a bit stupid, isnât it?â
your applause ended abruptly as your hands fell to your lap. you let out a splutter, taken aback by his bluntness.
his eyes widened in shock at your reaction. âwait! thatâs not, like, offensive to philosophers, right? oh my god, iâm so sorry, y/n. i take it back, please forgive me,â he bowed his head, making a big show out of apologising.
if it was anyone else, you would tell them to lift their head up because they looked silly and that they shouldnât call the content youâre spending extortionate amounts of money to study âstupidâ.
but, with jaemin, you couldnât help but laugh at his genuine reactions and his dramatic apology. you couldnât believe he thought it would offend you, but it was sweet that he was so worried about doing so.
if jaemin was being honest, he was exaggerating just a little bit, but you didnât have to know that. all that mattered to him was bringing out that beautiful smile of yours that he had missed so dearly. so what if he looked like a fool?
as your laughter died down, you finally answered, âno offence taken. youâre right, though, they all have their problems. but thatâs all the content we need to know so itâs not like we have to find one that works.â
âoh, weâre done? wow, that was a lot, but well done for getting through it all!â jaemin gave you your own round of applause, to which you played along with, bowing as if you had just received an award.
he laughed as you thanked your invisible audience, ever so grateful that you were too busy humbly bowing to notice the gigantic grin on his face.
âwere there, uh, any particular parts you struggled in? âcause as far as i know, you were super thorough with everything. you clearly know your stuff,â he said as you turned back to face him.
âthank you, jaem. i feel like i did pretty good too, but iâll check if i missed anything now,ïżœïżœïżœ you said, pulling out your notebook from your folder and skimming your notes. âuhh, i missed a few responses to some of the problems, but my professor said those are optional anyway. aside from that, i pretty much got everything!â
âwoah, iâm so proud of you. you should be proud of yourself too, your hard work seems to have really paid off,â jaemin said, giving you two thumbs up.
you beamed at his praise, that same feeling of warmth returning to your chest. âjaem, youâre so sweet, thank you. and i am proud of myself, i just donât wanna get overconfident and jinx myself for tomorrow.â
âah, okay, i get that,â he nodded, âi feel like, even after all these years, i never stop being nervous for exams.â
âoh, me too. it never gets easier.â
âyeah, especially when the stakes get higher and higher with each one,â he huffed, slumping down in his chair.
âoh god, thatâs right, i keep forgetting youâre in your last year.â
you owed your forgetfulness to the fact that you never felt a significant divide between you and jaemin. you werenât fourth year and second year, you werenât senior and junior, you were just friends. just friends.
âthereâs probably a lot more pressure on these exams for you, right?â you continued, in an attempt to distract yourself from thinking about whatever feelings you had for jaemin and spiralling.
âas much as i donât wanna think about it, yeah, youâre right,â he let out a soulless laugh, crossing his arms over his chest.
âoh, i didnât mean toâ i-i shouldnât have mentioned it. iâm sorry,â you said, your heart dropping to your stomach at the thought of making jaemin feel bad. you didnât know why, but it hurt to see him anything less than happy, and it hurt even more knowing it was your fault.
noticing the way your face fell, jaemin quickly swooped in to stop you from feeling any worse.
âhey, no need to apologise. fourth year is a lot of stress but, yâknow, i manage,â he shrugged, giving you a smile that didnât quite reach his eyes.
you tilted your head to the side, as if you were asking him âare you sure?â. at first, he refrained from elaborating, but there was just something about you that made him feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with you.
âwell, sorting out med school and stuff is definitely a lot, especially when iâm dealing with uni at the same time. plus, exam season doesnât make that any easier. oh, and i donât even wanna think about the crippling debt iâll be in after spending the next few years stuck in education whilst my friends are out in the worldâ and, that was a lot. i didnât mean to dump all of that on you just then, iâm so sorry,â jaemin stopped himself, smacking his mouth for letting himself go too far. he partly blamed you for being so easy to talk to and such a good listener.
âoh, jaem, you donât have to say sorry. remember, we promised that we can always rant to each other about anything, at any time. you can talk to me whenever you need it, okay?â you held your pinky out towards your phone, mimicking what jaemin had done in your first proper interaction with him.
he laughed, a genuine one this time, he seemed to have understood the reference. he lifted up his own pinky, pressing it against his camera and chuckling as he watched you do the same.
âthanks, y/n. itâs nice to be able to talk to someone about it, but itâs also nice to take my mind off of it completely, which is why i love doing photography.â
âoh yeah, you and jake call it your creative escape, right?â
âhe does, i just call it a hobby like a normal person,â he joked, your jaw dropping at his little dig. âplease donât tell him i said that.â
you laughed at his reaction, before nodding and miming the zipping of your mouth shut.
jaemin continued, âanyways, if iâm being honest, i really do love having some time every week where i donât have to hear about diagnoses, symptoms, anatomy, all that stuff. but i donât just like photography as a distraction, i love capturing the memories i make with my friends and family. itâs nice to have concrete reminders of the people i love and the fun times weâve spent together.â
âoh, i absolutely agree, iâm not as into photography as you or jake are, but i do love polaroids and i have a wall of them rightâŠâ you picked up your phone, flipping the camera to show him your collection, âhere!â
jaemin brought his phone closer so he could take a better look. he carefully examined each picture and noticed that they all contained a common featureâyou had the most carefree, joyous smile on your face in each and every one. no matter who you were with, no matter where you were, you looked completely and utterly content.
the longer jaemin spent looking at the pictures, the more he realised that he wanted to make you that happy.
âso, what do you think?â your voice broke through his reverie, and it was only then that jaemin noticed heâd just been staring at your wall without saying a word.
âsorry, i got distracted trying to look at each one, theyâre all so cute. oh my god, how old are you in that bottom left one? you look so young.â his focus locked in on a photo of you in your school uniform, soaring through the air as one of your friends stood behind you after pushing you on the swings.
âoh gosh, i specifically remember that was when i was fifteen, âcause taehyun pushed me so hard that i was fully convinced that i was gonna die. i told him it was his fault if i didnât make it to sixteen,â you laughed at the memory, a twinge of nostalgia hitting you as you realised just how much time had passed and how much had changed since then.
you sighed, flipping the camera back around to show yourself. âi just⊠i find it motivating to look up at my family and friends after hours working at my desk. it makes me feel less homesick too.â
âthatâs so sweet, and youâre soâ the pictures are so pretty,â jaemin said, internally cursing at himself for almost slipping up.
âwow, coming from photographer na himself? thank you, iâm honoured,â you proudly put a hand to your chest. âiâve gotta say, it is my favourite part of my room. not just âcause it looks so cute, but the memories it brings back too. thatâs what i love about polaroids, yâknow? theyâre so simple, no editing, no nothing, just a quick snapshot of a real moment. it reminds me that things donât have to be so complicated to be beautiful.
âoh god, that was a bit⊠deep, wasnât it? i blame professor kimâs philosophy of aesthetics class for doing this to me,â you facepalmed, cringing at yourself.
âhey, donât be embarrassed,â jaemin said, shaking his head. âthat was actually prettyââ
ây/n! sunghoon just came home with takeout to celebrate finishing his exams.â a shrill voice cut through jaeminâs words as the owner of said voice barged into your room.
you turned to see your roommate, yunjin, frozen in her tracks, âoops, sorry, i didnât know you were⊠preoccupied.â
she shyly waved at jaemin, muttering a âsorryâ for interrupting.
âitâs okay,â he chuckled as he caught you rolling your eyes.
you huffed, glaring at yunjin. âso you interrupted my call to tell me this, why?â
âso rude, this one, isnât she?â yunjin joked to jaemin, earning herself a light slap on the arm from you.
âsays you? you literally interrupââ
âgirl, calm down. i was just gonna tell you weâve got free dinner.â
âfree what now?â you raised your brow, your annoyance quickly dissipating.
âhoon bought enough food for all of us. he knows weâre not all done with exams yet but he got a better deal by ordering the combo meals. the boys are getting plates out now, come on.â
âoh, sweet! iâll be there in a sec,â you said, directing your gaze towards the door.
yunjin nodded, understanding your not-so-subtle signal and heading out, âokay, but be quick.â
you hummed in response, turning to jaemin as soon as sheâd left, âso sorry about that.â
âdonât worry about it, free food is way more important.â
âugh, you get it,â you laughed. âhey, seriously, thanks again for your help today. i know that listening to me teach you about the different theories of mind probably wasnât your ideal way of spending the night, but i really do appreciate it.â
âof course, any time,â jaemin smiled, âplus, it really wasnât as boring as you think it was with those silly analogies you kept throwing in. iâll definitely remember the octopus example.â
you couldnât help but smile, proud that he remembered the example youâd used and relieved that he enjoyed your little lecture.
âiâm glad they kept you entertained. i wish my prof did that, then maybe i wouldâve learned it quicker.â
âyou might be better off teaching the class yourself next time,â he teased. ânow go enjoy your meal, professor. iâm sure itâll taste better knowing you didnât have to pay for or make it yourself.â
âoh, it will, i canât wait, i can already smell it⊠i think itâs chinese!â you gasped, shaking your shoulders with excitement.
jaemin chuckled to himself at your reaction. âeat well and drink lots of water, oh, and try to go to sleep early! you need a good rest for tomorrow. good luck, iâm sure youâll do amazing on your exam.â
âthank you so much, jaem. you take care too, okay? iâll get going now, bye,â you waved, giving him one last grin before you went to end the call.
âbye bye,â he said, continuing to wave even after your face disappeared from the screen.
it was strange how, even though heâd just spent the last two hours talking to you, jaemin wanted⊠more. he shook his head, dismissing the calls of his heart and favouring his brainâs interpretation that he just liked your company instead.
but if he just liked your company, would he have sat through a voluntary lesson about a subject he didnât care about whatsoever? would he have made a fool of himself just to make you laugh? would he have wished to be one of those loved ones you spoke so dearly of and kept mementos of?
if he âjust liked your companyâ, would he be considering taking that leap of faith for you?
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (4)
FOUR â face to face, heart to heart
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing
WORD COUNT | 4.3k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
A/N |
it was no longer just late nights jaemin spent talking to you. his early mornings were spent apologising for keeping you up late the night before and his afternoons full of mutual complaints about certain classmates, professors or assignments.
he would never forget to send a âhow was your day?â in the evenings even though youâd practically told him everything there was to tell, but he couldnât care lessâhe simply couldnât get enough of you.
at first, with how much he was texting you, jaeminâs roommates were worried he was going to become unhealthily obsessed and dependent on you, which, based on personal experience, was likely to lead to the last thing he wantedâheartbreak.
jaemin had seen it happen before, not to himself, but to his best friends.
renjun had fallen into a month-long slump after being cheated on by his girlfriend of almost three years; haechan once worked himself to exhaustion and earned himself a trip to the emergency room, all from trying to ignore the pain of being rejected by someone he thought was the one for him; jenoâs breakup with rina left him numbed to his core and convinced he was never going to be worthy of being truly loved.
although they were never his heartbreaks, it was painful enough to watch the people he held closest to him experience such heartache, what more if he went through it himself?
and so, in spite of jaeminâs longing for romance, he decided it was best to avoid getting entangled in the world of love and simply focus on other joys in life.
but family, friendships, and academic successes could only go so far in filling the romance-shaped hole in his heart, and every now and then, jaemin found himself envying the love that had made his friends so happy.
he often wondered what it would be to feel like that: to be so utterly and completely enamoured with someone and to have someone feel the same way about him, to be wholeheartedly appreciated by someone and finally receive the sheer amount of love that he was constantly giving everyone else.
as much as jaemin wanted to find that someone, to experience love, he knew it was too risky, and pledged to himself that he wouldnât be taking that leap of faith any time soon.
at least, he thought he wouldnât be.
your conversations eventually became less frequent as exam season approached; you were both too busy reviewing content and working to meet deadlines to talk as often as you had been doing. good morning texts turned into good luck texts and late night talks were replaced with late night study sessions, but, much to his best friendsâ relief, jaemin didnât seem to be too affected by the drop in your interactions.
with his melodramatic nature, they expected to see him moping around the apartment, writing âmr and mrs na jaemin <3â in his notes instead of actually studying, or at the very least, staring at his phone longingly waiting for a notification from you. after all, they had all done something of the sort before.
to their surprise, the only obvious difference was that, at the end of the night, jaemin was falling asleep in front of his textbooks instead of his phone. they were glad to see that, despite their worries and jaeminâs own concerns, he wasnât becoming too attached to you.
however, that didnât mean that he didnât miss seeing your name pop up on his phone. he would check his messages during every study break, and more often than not, he was met with nothing.
today seemed to be no different, but just as he was about to put his phone away, a ding resonated throughout the silent room. jaemin gasped, clasping his hands together and praying to whatever deities were listening that it was a message from you.
he quickly unlocked his phone, tapping the notification banner and letting it direct him right to where it came from.
and there it was, in the messages appâyour name at the top of his conversations.
but rather than excitement, jaemin felt his heart drop to his stomach as he read your text: âhey, jaem. this is a bit out of the blue, but can i call you?â
he instantly assumed the worst of the worstâyou were in danger. the campus was a safe enough space, but the city, especially late at night, definitely required more caution.
he typed out a response as quickly as possible, leaving autocorrect to fix his typos, âiâm just at home, you can call me. is everything okay? do you need picking up or something? i can come if you need me toâ.
as if jaeminâs heart wasnât already racing enough, the sound of his ringtone blasting from his phone had him jumping up from his seat in shock, tossing his phone in the air. after retrieving it from its unexpected flight, he read your name across the top of his screen and immediately pressed âacceptâ with his shaky finger.
âhello? jaemin? um, itâs a facetime. could you, uh, maybe put your phone down somewhere? i-i canât see you,â you said, your voice significantly less urgent than jaemin anticipated it to be.
âokay, okay,â he answered, balancing his phone against the pot of pens on his desk.
scrutinising your background, he breathed out a sigh of relief once he saw you in the comfort and safety of what looked like your bedroom. âoh, thank god, youâre okay.â
âwhy wouldnât i beâ oh, i just realised how you read my message. did you think i was in trouble? iâm safe at home, see.â you picked up your phone, swivelling the camera around to show jaemin there was nothing to worry about.
you turned the camera back around to face you, just in time to see him put a hand on his heart to calm his erratic heartbeat. âaww, iâm sorry for making you worried.â
of course, seeing jaemin all panicked wasnât ideal. but the fact that he was panicked and ready to save you from a potentially dangerous situation that he knew nothing about was somewhat⊠endearing. something about his frantic response and the way his entire body relaxed when he saw you were completely fine ignited a warmth inside of you.
you didnât realise he cared that much about you. nor did you realise how much you loved the idea of him caring about you so much.
he smiled at you, reassuring you that he was no longer in distress. your heartbeat sped up, drumming against your chest as if youâd just run a marathon. it had been so long since youâd seen that smile, you forgot just how beautiful it was.
âitâs okay,â jaemin said, snapping you out of your daze. âiâm glad youâre safe and sound. itâs been a while, how have you been?â
âyeah, it has. i mean, iâve been better,â you chuckled, your comment eliciting another of those heart-wrenching smiles from jaemin. âhow have you been doing?â
he sighed, running his hand through his hair. it was still that gorgeous honey shade youâd first laid eyes on all those weeks ago, but his darker roots were starting to show through. you briefly wondered what heâd look like with a full head of his natural colour, he would probably look just as good, if not better.
he cleared his throat before answering, alerting your attention and shifting your focus away from his luscious honey locks.
âwell, iâve been drinking more water and less coffeeâi hope youâre proud of me, by the wayâand spending most of my time either studying or working out the minimum mark i need to pass. as you can tell, i just love exam season,â jaemin said with a sarcastic smile, his nose scrunching up in a way that resembled a cute bunny.
you felt your cheeks burning up, immediately bringing your hands up to your face to cover any evidence of the effect he had on you. you quickly played it off like you were covering your mouth to laugh, forcing out a giggle.
âi am proud of you for that, jaem. so, uh, are you doing anything right now?â you asked, your eyes drifting to the notebooks and flashcards scattered across jaeminâs desk. âbecause if youâre busy, then itâs fine, i-iâll figure something out.â
now self-conscious of his messy set up, jaemin cleared his things away as he responded, âno, itâs okay. iâm not doing anything, how come?â
âreally? are you sure? i-i donât wanna take away from any of your own study timeâŠâ your voice trailed off, feeling more and more like a bother as you watched him move his materials out of the frame instead of putting them away.
âiâm sure, y/n. donât mind this,â he tilted his camera to show you the pile he pushed aside. âiâm just too lazy to put it all back. plus my next exam isnât for another four days. iâm all yours for now. what can i do for you?â he said, his face lighting up as he gave you a smile that shone with sincerity.
there it was again, that warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest.
âwell, i have an exam tomorrow, and i called you because i wanted to get one last study session in. usually, i get one of my roommates to test me on the content, but everyoneâs busy doing their own work. if itâs not too much to ask, could you spare like, maybe half an hour or so for me?â
âof course i can.â
âthank you, i really appreciate it,â you said, mirroring his contagious grin.
âno problem. so, which exam is this again? the religion one?â he asked, resting his chin on his hand.
you smiled, touched at his efforts to remember what exams you had coming up. âah, that oneâs in about a week. tomorrowâs is on the metaphysics of mind.â
âhuh? physics? what the heck does that even mean?â he said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
âyouâre about to find out,â you paused, giggling at jaeminâs intrigued face. âthis study method is essentially teaching someone else the topics you need to know. if i can remember enough to explain it to you in a way that makes sense, then it means that i know the content well.â
âooh, iâve never tried that before, but it sounds good.â
âyeah, iâve been doing this since high school and itâs really helped me no matter what the subject was. itâs been especially helpful in philosophy though since we have to know a bunch of theories in detail,â you explained.
âahh, that makes sense, i might give it a try one day. but, then again, i donât exactly know if my friends will be willing to sit and hear about, like, pharmaceutical science or whatever,â jaemin chuckled at the mere thought of it, unable to imagine a scenario where his friends would actually listen to him talk about medicine instead of making immature jokes about drugs.
you felt the corners of your lips curve upwards as you watched jaeminâs eyes crinkle with joy. the eyes that sparkled with each melodic laugh, the eyes that made you feel like you were the only thing worth paying attention to. those beautiful, beautiful eyes.
you shook your head, trying to clear your mind of the distracting thoughts so you could get back on track. âwell, if you ever wanna try it out, just know iâd be more than happy to listen.â
âthank you for the offer, iâll keep that in mind. now, professor y/n, are you ready to go or what?â he sat up straight, miming opening a laptop, hands at the ready to âtypeâ.
it took everything in you not to let his adorable actions distract you any further. you let out a light giggle, before clearing your throat and starting, âokay, iâm ready. so, first and foremost, there are two different types of theories of mindâŠâ
before you knew it, an hour had flown by and you were on to the last of the six theories that could come up on your exam. half an hour was a poor underestimate and you made sure to apologise to jaemin once thirty minutes had passed. understanding as always, he reassured you that there was nothing to apologise for and encouraged you to carry on.
you were surprised to see that he wasnât completely bored out of his mind. he seemed to be following along well, even asking questions to clarify what youâd said or summarising problems himself to make sure he had understood correctly.
jaemin raised his hands to his head, a gesture that youâd learned within the past hour meant that the content was about to click. âwait, wait, so the elimination materialsââ
âthe eliminative materialists, yes,â you corrected the cute mistake, letting him continue.
âoops, thatâs what i meant. so they essentially destroy their own theory by saying beliefs donât exist,â he fell silent for a few seconds before reaching his conclusion. âeven though their theory itself is a belief?â
you gasped, feeling a sense of pride at having gotten a non-philosophy student to understand the entirety of the metaphysics of mind in just over an hour.
âyes, yes, thatâs it, you got it. good job!â you exclaimed, giving jaemin a small round of applause.
âreally? thank you,â he beamed at your praise, âso⊠what, do none of the theories work then? thatâs a bit stupid, isnât it?â
your applause ended abruptly as your hands fell to your lap. you let out a splutter, taken aback by his bluntness.
his eyes widened in shock at your reaction. âwait! thatâs not, like, offensive to philosophers, right? oh my god, iâm so sorry, y/n. i take it back, please forgive me,â he bowed his head, making a big show out of apologising.
if it was anyone else, you would tell them to lift their head up because they looked silly and that they shouldnât call the content youâre spending extortionate amounts of money to study âstupidâ.
but, with jaemin, you couldnât help but laugh at his genuine reactions and his dramatic apology. you couldnât believe he thought it would offend you, but it was sweet that he was so worried about doing so.
if jaemin was being honest, he was exaggerating just a little bit, but you didnât have to know that. all that mattered to him was bringing out that beautiful smile of yours that he had missed so dearly. so what if he looked like a fool?
as your laughter died down, you finally answered, âno offence taken. youâre right, though, they all have their problems. but thatâs all the content we need to know so itâs not like we have to find one that works.â
âoh, weâre done? wow, that was a lot, but well done for getting through it all!â jaemin gave you your own round of applause, to which you played along with, bowing as if you had just received an award.
he laughed as you thanked your invisible audience, ever so grateful that you were too busy humbly bowing to notice the gigantic grin on his face.
âwere there, uh, any particular parts you struggled in? âcause as far as i know, you were super thorough with everything. you clearly know your stuff,â he said as you turned back to face him.
âthank you, jaem. i feel like i did pretty good too, but iâll check if i missed anything now,â you said, pulling out your notebook from your folder and skimming your notes. âuhh, i missed a few responses to some of the problems, but my professor said those are optional anyway. aside from that, i pretty much got everything!â
âwoah, iâm so proud of you. you should be proud of yourself too, your hard work seems to have really paid off,â jaemin said, giving you two thumbs up.
you beamed at his praise, that same feeling of warmth returning to your chest. âjaem, youâre so sweet, thank you. and i am proud of myself, i just donât wanna get overconfident and jinx myself for tomorrow.â
âah, okay, i get that,â he nodded, âi feel like, even after all these years, i never stop being nervous for exams.â
âoh, me too. it never gets easier.â
âyeah, especially when the stakes get higher and higher with each one,â he huffed, slumping down in his chair.
âoh god, thatâs right, i keep forgetting youâre in your last year.â
you owed your forgetfulness to the fact that you never felt a significant divide between you and jaemin. you werenât fourth year and second year, you werenât senior and junior, you were just friends. just friends.
âthereâs probably a lot more pressure on these exams for you, right?â you continued, in an attempt to distract yourself from thinking about whatever feelings you had for jaemin and spiralling.
âas much as i donât wanna think about it, yeah, youâre right,â he let out a soulless laugh, crossing his arms over his chest.
âoh, i didnât mean toâ i-i shouldnât have mentioned it. iâm sorry,â you said, your heart dropping to your stomach at the thought of making jaemin feel bad. you didnât know why, but it hurt to see him anything less than happy, and it hurt even more knowing it was your fault.
noticing the way your face fell, jaemin quickly swooped in to stop you from feeling any worse.
âhey, no need to apologise. fourth year is a lot of stress but, yâknow, i manage,â he shrugged, giving you a smile that didnât quite reach his eyes.
you tilted your head to the side, as if you were asking him âare you sure?â. at first, he refrained from elaborating, but there was just something about you that made him feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with you.
âwell, sorting out med school and stuff is definitely a lot, especially when iâm dealing with uni at the same time. plus, exam season doesnât make that any easier. oh, and i donât even wanna think about the crippling debt iâll be in after spending the next few years stuck in education whilst my friends are out in the worldâ and, that was a lot. i didnât mean to dump all of that on you just then, iâm so sorry,â jaemin stopped himself, smacking his mouth for letting himself go too far. he partly blamed you for being so easy to talk to and such a good listener.
âoh, jaem, you donât have to say sorry. remember, we promised that we can always rant to each other about anything, at any time. you can talk to me whenever you need it, okay?â you held your pinky out towards your phone, mimicking what jaemin had done in your first proper interaction with him.
he laughed, a genuine one this time, he seemed to have understood the reference. he lifted up his own pinky, pressing it against his camera and chuckling as he watched you do the same.
âthanks, y/n. itâs nice to be able to talk to someone about it, but itâs also nice to take my mind off of it completely, which is why i love doing photography.â
âoh yeah, you and jake call it your creative escape, right?â
âhe does, i just call it a hobby like a normal person,â he joked, your jaw dropping at his little dig. âplease donât tell him i said that.â
you laughed at his reaction, before nodding and miming the zipping of your mouth shut.
jaemin continued, âanyways, if iâm being honest, i really do love having some time every week where i donât have to hear about diagnoses, symptoms, anatomy, all that stuff. but i donât just like photography as a distraction, i love capturing the memories i make with my friends and family. itâs nice to have concrete reminders of the people i love and the fun times weâve spent together.â
âoh, i absolutely agree, iâm not as into photography as you or jake are, but i do love polaroids and i have a wall of them rightâŠâ you picked up your phone, flipping the camera to show him your collection, âhere!â
jaemin brought his phone closer so he could take a better look. he carefully examined each picture and noticed that they all contained a common featureâyou had the most carefree, joyous smile on your face in each and every one. no matter who you were with, no matter where you were, you looked completely and utterly content.
the longer jaemin spent looking at the pictures, the more he realised that he wanted to make you that happy.
âso, what do you think?â your voice broke through his reverie, and it was only then that jaemin noticed heâd just been staring at your wall without saying a word.
âsorry, i got distracted trying to look at each one, theyâre all so cute. oh my god, how old are you in that bottom left one? you look so young.â his focus locked in on a photo of you in your school uniform, soaring through the air as one of your friends stood behind you after pushing you on the swings.
âoh gosh, i specifically remember that was when i was fifteen, âcause taehyun pushed me so hard that i was fully convinced that i was gonna die. i told him it was his fault if i didnât make it to sixteen,â you laughed at the memory, a twinge of nostalgia hitting you as you realised just how much time had passed and how much had changed since then.
you sighed, flipping the camera back around to show yourself. âi just⊠i find it motivating to look up at my family and friends after hours working at my desk. it makes me feel less homesick too.â
âthatâs so sweet, and youâre soâ the pictures are so pretty,â jaemin said, internally cursing at himself for almost slipping up.
âwow, coming from photographer na himself? thank you, iâm honoured,â you proudly put a hand to your chest. âiâve gotta say, it is my favourite part of my room. not just âcause it looks so cute, but the memories it brings back too. thatâs what i love about polaroids, yâknow? theyâre so simple, no editing, no nothing, just a quick snapshot of a real moment. it reminds me that things donât have to be so complicated to be beautiful.
âoh god, that was a bit⊠deep, wasnât it? i blame professor kimâs philosophy of aesthetics class for doing this to me,â you facepalmed, cringing at yourself.
âhey, donât be embarrassed,â jaemin said, shaking his head. âthat was actually prettyââ
ây/n! sunghoon just came home with takeout to celebrate finishing his exams.â a shrill voice cut through jaeminâs words as the owner of said voice barged into your room.
you turned to see your roommate, yunjin, frozen in her tracks, âoops, sorry, i didnât know you were⊠preoccupied.â
she shyly waved at jaemin, muttering a âsorryâ for interrupting.
âitâs okay,â he chuckled as he caught you rolling your eyes.
you huffed, glaring at yunjin. âso you interrupted my call to tell me this, why?â
âso rude, this one, isnât she?â yunjin joked to jaemin, earning herself a light slap on the arm from you.
âsays you? you literally interrupââ
âgirl, calm down. i was just gonna tell you weâve got free dinner.â
âfree what now?â you raised your brow, your annoyance quickly dissipating.
âhoon bought enough food for all of us. he knows weâre not all done with exams yet but he got a better deal by ordering the combo meals. the boys are getting plates out now, come on.â
âoh, sweet! iâll be there in a sec,â you said, directing your gaze towards the door.
yunjin nodded, understanding your not-so-subtle signal and heading out, âokay, but be quick.â
you hummed in response, turning to jaemin as soon as sheâd left, âso sorry about that.â
âdonât worry about it, free food is way more important.â
âugh, you get it,â you laughed. âhey, seriously, thanks again for your help today. i know that listening to me teach you about the different theories of mind probably wasnât your ideal way of spending the night, but i really do appreciate it.â
âof course, any time,â jaemin smiled, âplus, it really wasnât as boring as you think it was with those silly analogies you kept throwing in. iâll definitely remember the octopus example.â
you couldnât help but smile, proud that he remembered the example youâd used and relieved that he enjoyed your little lecture.
âiâm glad they kept you entertained. i wish my prof did that, then maybe i wouldâve learned it quicker.â
âyou might be better off teaching the class yourself next time,â he teased. ânow go enjoy your meal, professor. iâm sure itâll taste better knowing you didnât have to pay for or make it yourself.â
âoh, it will, i canât wait, i can already smell it⊠i think itâs chinese!â you gasped, shaking your shoulders with excitement.
jaemin chuckled to himself at your reaction. âeat well and drink lots of water, oh, and try to go to sleep early! you need a good rest for tomorrow. good luck, iâm sure youâll do amazing on your exam.â
âthank you so much, jaem. you take care too, okay? iâll get going now, bye,â you waved, giving him one last grin before you went to end the call.
âbye bye,â he said, continuing to wave even after your face disappeared from the screen.
it was strange how, even though heâd just spent the last two hours talking to you, jaemin wanted⊠more. he shook his head, dismissing the calls of his heart and favouring his brainâs interpretation that he just liked your company instead.
but if he just liked your company, would he have sat through a voluntary lesson about a subject he didnât care about whatsoever? would he have made a fool of himself just to make you laugh? would he have wished to be one of those loved ones you spoke so dearly of and kept mementos of?
if he âjust liked your companyâ, would he be considering taking that leap of faith for you?
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (3)
THREE â thinking about you
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, alcohol consumption
WORD COUNT | 3.8k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
A/N | sorry for being so inactive lately! iâve been busy preparing for uni and it was actually my first night last night đ hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and feedback is always appreciated <3
Y/N CAM âą REC
you stared at jake in silence, watching as he fiddled with his chopsticks whilst waiting for the food to come, âjakey?â
âhmm?â he answered, eyes fixed on the small tower he was making by stacking tiny, balled-up pieces of a napkin.
âyou okay?â you asked, your voice laced with concern, âyou didnât even squeal when you saw the turtle-shell grill, is everything alright?â
jake let out a quiet giggle at your observation, putting his chopsticks down and abandoning his napkin tower, âyeah, everythingâs fine, iâm just⊠tired.â
you raised a brow, not completely convinced by his answer. reaching across the table, you took his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, âhey, you know you can tell me when somethingâs bothering you, right? iâm not gonna force you to say anything if you donât want to, but iâm here to listen, okay? i donât like seeing you upset, what do i have to do to put a smile on your face, hm?â
you noticed jakeâs lips curve upwards at your words, but the smile had yet to reach his eyes. he squeezed your hand and met your gaze, âthank you, y/n, really, but i promise iâm okay. iâve just⊠had a long day, those morning classes are such a pain in the ass. ugh, i wish iâd taken up your coffee offer before.â
you still werenât a hundred percent reassured by his answer, but you decided it was best not to push him for the truth. instead, you settled with the reply he gave, âahh, okay, iâm glad nothingâs bothering you, but iâm still shocked you said no to free coffee.â
âi donât know what got into me, iâll be honest,â jake shrugged, retracting his hand from yours and running it through his hair.
âwell, donât you worry, iâll buy you some coffee next time you take me to photography club,â you bit your lip, trying to hide your growing smile at the thought of seeing a certain someone again.
ânext time? you wanna come next time?â jake cocked his head to the side, his face reminiscent of a confused puppy, âwhatâs with the sudden interest? donât tell me you expect free food in return for helping me, you know i donât have the funds for that!â
âactuallyâŠâ you paused, inwardly debating whether to tell your best friend or not. âokay, can i tell you something and can you promise not to judge me? or tell anyone else?â
âjudge you? i mean⊠depends how bad it is.â
âjake, iâm serious!â
âokay, okay, i promise! now, what is it, my dear?â he said, leaning in and placing a sympathetic hand on yours.
you pulled your hand out from under his, lightly smacking it, âi told you, youâve gotta stop calling me that in public, people are gonna think weâre dating.â
jake shrugged, âso? youâre the one who held my hand before, hypocrite.â
the exaggerated pout on his face told you that he wasnât being serious, but you didnât want him to think that you were joking, âokay, thatâs fair, but⊠it justâ it can scare guys away! which i donât have a problem with when it gets creeps to back off, but sometimes there are guys that i donât want to scare off, yâknow?â
your gaze trailed down to the grill on the table, unable to make eye contact with your best friend knowing your words were quite harsh. a few seconds went by with no reaction or reply from him, and although it seemed like you were too late, you scrambled to soften the blow.
âi-iâm not saying you have to stop doing those things, i still like the affection and the cute names but, maybe, i donât know, you could save that for when weâre, uh, not in such a public place?â
âwho is it?â jake asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
âwh-what do youâ who⊠what?â
âhey, first things first, iâm not upset. if saving that stuff for when itâs just us or just friends is what youâre comfortable with, then âcourse i donât mind doing that,â he shifted to lean his elbow on the table, relaxing his stance in hopes of relaxing you.
âwhat i meant was, well, i know you, y/n, and there must be a specific guy you donât want scaring off, and, ah! that must be the âthingâ you were gonna tell me about, thatâs why you didnât want me to judge you or tell anyone. am i right or am i right?â
you blinked once, twice, in disbelief that jake was able to read you so wellâit was a blessing and a curse. you opened and closed your mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out, earning you a loud giggle from the boy across you.
âyour silence is telling me iâm right,â he said with a smug smile.
âokay, fine, yes, youâre right. i hate how accurate that was,â you sighed, trying to regain your composure.
âso⊠the guy?â jake asked, fed up from the anticipation.
âpromise you wonât judge or tell anyone?â you held up your pinky in front of your best friend.
intertwining his finger with yours and placing his other hand on his chest as if he was swearing an oath, he declared, âi swear on my dogâs life, i wonât tell a soul.â
âgood,â you nodded, âwell, the guy is, uh, itâs someone you know well, heâs, hmmââ
âstop beating around the bush, who is it!â
âitâs jaemin!â
jakeâs eyes widened as his jaw dropped, âjaemin? like na jaemin? like the med student jaemin, the photographer jaemin? the jaemin you met not even a few hours ago?â
âshhh!â you launched forward, pressing your hand against his mouth. âthe whole restaurant does not need to know, and for the record, yes, it is that jaemin. and before you judge, which iâm pretty sure you already have, iâm not saying i like him or anything, iâm just, interested in him, letâs say.â
âinterested? go on,â jake said to the best of his ability while your hand was still covering his mouth, prompting you to remove your hand and wipe it with your napkin.
âokay, ew. anyways, i-i donât know, jaemin always sounded so sweet and funny whenever you told me about him, and, well, i saw that for myself today. heâs also, like, really really gorgeous, i couldnât stop staring at him, and when he came up close to talk to me, i swear i almost fainted right there and then,â you paused to catch your breath, surprised at how easy it was for you to gush over someone you had, like jake pointed out, just met.
âbut, like you said, i donât even know him that well, which is why iâm glad he asked for my number so we canââ
âhe asked for your number?â
âyeah, he asked for it so he could send the photos he took to me.â
âdamn, iâm stealing that move from him, thatâs smooth.â
ââsmoothâ? âmoveâ? y-you think heâs interested in me too? that he did it on purpose?â the mere idea of jaemin reciprocating your feelings had your heart rate speeding up.
âi-i donât know anything! i mean, whaaat? what were you saying before i interrupted?â jake blinked rapidly, poorly covering up how suspicious he sounded.
you decided to ignore whatever it was he was hiding in case it gave you any false hope, and continued your point, âas i was saying, iâm glad he gave me his number, that way i can get to know him and stuff before jumping into anything. he was just⊠he was really nice and everything, i just wanna see how it goes, yâknow?â
jake nodded, âahh, okay, that sounds good. i hope it goes well for you, really. jaemin hyungâs a great guy, i can vouch for that, so no need to spend your early talking stage trying to figure out whether heâs a red flag or not.â
you laughed, cringing as the boyâs words reminded you of a past, failed fling, âoh, trust me, i donât want a repeat of that. everything feels so much easier with jaemin, i have a feeling itâll be different with him.â
JAEMIN CAM âą REC
âget the drinks out, boys, weâre celebrating tonight!â haechan exclaimed, swinging the front door open and letting jaemin shuffle in behind him.
âitâs literally⊠thursday night,â jeno deadpanned, glancing up from the tv to give his roommate a look of concern, or was it confusion? jaemin was too preoccupied thinking about⊠someone else to tell.
haechan locked the door, passing jenoâs slumped figure on the sofa and making his way to the kitchen. scoffing, he muttered under his breath, âokay, when has that ever stopped you?â
unfortunately, he wasnât quiet enough, as jeno shot up from the couch, ready to crush that little coconut head of his, but was quickly stopped by jaemin pulling him back down to sit and renjun interrupting the petty squabble.
âcan you two shut the fuck up for a sec,â he looked up from what he was cooking, glaring as he pointed his spoon at jeno and haechan respectively. âyou said we should be âcelebratingâ, right? that means⊠it went well with y/n! how was it then, jaem?â
haechan gasped, placing the cans of cider heâd retrieved from the fridge onto the counter, âoh my god, would you believe jaemin actuallyââ
renjun sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he whipped round to face his infuriating friend, âsorry, is your name jaemin?â
jeno and jaeminâs (not so) muffled giggles broke through haechanâs silence, which spoke for itself.
nodding, renjun turned back to the boiling pot on the stove, âyeah, i thought so. go on, jaem.â
jaemin took a deep breath, trying to organise what felt like a million and one thoughts into coherent words, âto be honest, i-it felt⊠like a dream. i mustâve blacked out or something, it was like some super confident version of me took over. i still canât believe that i winked at her, practically held her hand, asked for her number and got it. oh, and she even gave me her instagram without me asking.â
âsorry, what? you got her number and held her hand and youâ my god, i need some time to process the fact that you did all of that,â jeno placed a hand on jaeminâs shoulder, before quickly turning it into a hug. âshit, man, iâm proud of you.â
âdamn, you go, jaem!â renjun cheered from the kitchen, his face beaming with pride for his best friendâs multitude of successes, âso y/nâs definitely single then? âcause youâre in a good position right now to start getting closer to her if she is.â
âyup,â haechan answered, âi checked with her friend jake, and jaeminâs got the green light. jake even said heâd help him out if he needed, but as if our jaemin will need his help, right?â
jaeminâs eyes widened, looking frantically from jeno beside him to the boys in the kitchen, âuh, well, youâre kinda overestimating my skills, hyuck.â
âoh no,â he shook his head, chuckling. âno, no, no, i know youâll need help but youâve got us! yâknow, since weâve actually gotten this far with girls before.â
renjunâs stirring slowed to a stop as his jaw dropped, and jeno whipped around, burying his face in the couch cushions to suppress his laughter.
âyah!â jaemin stood up, pointing a threatening finger at haechan. on any other occasion, he wouldâve found the teasing funny and laughed it off, but jaeminâs furrowed brows and stern tone told the boys otherwise.
âah, i crossed the line, didnât i? sorry, sorry,â haechan said, holding his hands up in surrender.
jaemin sighed as he slumped back down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, âno, iâm sorry. i really do appreciate your help and support, because, youâre right, i have no idea what iâm doing. i justâ i really really donât wanna mess up with y/n, and iâm grateful that you guys are willing to help me out, but it would be nice if you let me figure some things out myself too.â
jeno ruffled his best friendâs hair, giving him a supportive pat on the back as he replied, âof course we can do that! i know that sometimes we get involved in each otherâs business without being asked, but we do it because we care, even though itâs not always the best way of showing it.â
âyeah,â haechan added, abandoning the drinks and joining his roommates on the couch. âwe just want the best for you but we donât wanna get there by overstepping your boundaries or anything.â
âi agree! with both of those things,â renjun shouted from the kitchen as he plated their dinner, âsorry, they kinda said everything i was gonna say. oh, by the way, foodâs ready!â
jaemin chuckled, âthank you guys, honestly. uh, also, this might sound a little contradictory now, but i just realised that i never gave y/n my number. can you help me figure out how to word my first message to her? while we eat, of course, iâm not gonna let the food renjunnie worked so hard on go cold.â
âoh my god, yes!â
âiâve been waiting for this moment my whole life, not even kidding.â
âat least someone appreciates my hard work!â
the enthusiastic squeals eventually died down and the next thirty (yes, thirty) minutes were spent meticulously drafting a message to you, with the occasional distractions of renjunâs delicious stew and debates over what your contact picture should be.
âokay, iâm pretty sure you can send it now,â haechan said and was met with nods of agreement.
âpretty sure?! pretty sure isnât sure enough for me, iâm checking it one more time,â jaemin shook his head, placing his phone on the table and reading the text aloud.
ââhey y/n, itâs jaemin, just letting you know since i didnât get to give you my number before. by the way, i havenât managed to start editing the pics just yet but iâll let you know how they look once i do, smiley blushy face emojiâ. are we sure itâs not too much?â his fingers hovered over the screen, prepared to alter the message for the umpteenth time.
âjaemin, my guy,â jeno placed his hands on jaeminâs in reassurance. âweâve said it before and weâll say it againâit sounds fine. and itâs not too much either, the text isnât dry and the fact that you mentioned the photos means she can start a conversation about it, so youâre less likely to be left on read.â
âplus, yâknow, itâs too late now. jeno just sent the text,â renjun pointed out nonchalantly, directing everyoneâs gazes to the blue text bubble on the screen and jenoâs hand stacked clumsily on top of jaeminâs⊠on top of the phone.
jaemin yelped, yanking his hands away and turning his phone off. he squeezed his eyes shut, not ready to accept what happened nor even think about getting a response any time soon.
âi-iâm sorry! i was just trying to make you feel better, i didnât realise i was gonna press send. we can turn airplane mode on if you want so it doesnât send! or we canââ
in the midst of jenoâs flurry of apologies, a small ding resonated through the kitchen, followed by another, as the screen illuminated, showing two notifications from messages.
âno. way.â jaemin breathed out, eyes now open and glued to the notification banner. a quick glance over at his wide-eyed friends with their jaws hanging open told him that they were all anticipating the same thing.
âopen those notifications, open them right now, na jaemin!â haechan said, more of an encouragement than a demand.
jaemin quickly came to his senses, scrambling to unlock his phone, as the other boys leaned forward to get a closer look at your replies.
âmy god, sheâs quick,â renjun commented, shuffling closer to read the messages.
ââthanks for letting me know, saved it now hehe smiley faceâ. mission accomplished, jaem, she has your number and she replied!â
âooh, and it seems like your conversation starter worked,â haechan took over for the second, longer message.
ââspeaking of pics, jake never lived up to his âthreatâ and he took some photos of me at dinner, wanna help me pick which ones to post?â wait, is she talking about when jake said he would stop taking her instagram photos if she didnât listen to him?â
jaemin couldnât hide his wide grin as he nodded, remembering that he was the reason you were so preoccupied.
âwell, donât just sit there blushing like a tomato, answer! you donât wanna leave her on read for too long, do you?â jeno lightly smacked jaemin on the arm, prompting him to type out a quick âsure!â.
once again, they all gathered around the phone, waiting to see the three dots pop up or hear another notification alert. moments passed with no dots nor dings, all that could be seen was a faint âdeliveredâ as the screen slowly faded to black from lack of activity.
âitâs fine, itâs fine,â jaemin shrugged, forcing out a laugh. âsheâll respond later⊠probably, right? you know what, doesnât matter, i shouldnât be so bothered about it, does anyone want another cider?â
before he could even leave his seat, renjun gently tugged his arm, sitting him back down, âjaem, stop stressing, and donât say âiâm not stressing!â because we know you well enough to know that you definitely are. how about you turn your phone off for the time being, hmm? i know you want things to go well with y/n, but try not to let yourself depend on her too much, okay?â
âheâs right, trust me, itâs awfulâobsessively checking if youâve gotten a notification from a certain someone and letting it ruin your day when you havenât. yâknow, just speaking from experience,â haechan added, earning a nod of agreement from jeno.
âyeah,â jaemin sighed, turning his phone off as renjun suggested. âyou guys are right, thank you. youâre probably gonna need to remind me of that a lot, i justâ the last thing i want is to get heartbroken.â
jeno placed a hand on jaeminâs shoulder, âweâll do everything in our power to make sure you donât get hurt, jaem.â
for the next few hours, jaemin decided to keep himself busy and distract himself from thinking about you. but it was as if the universe didnât want him to get you out of his head.
washing the dishes reminded him of the lazy roommate you told him about earlier. showering with music on to block out his thoughts? the song that came on shuffle had played earlier while he was taking pictures of you. even reading through his stupid âethics in medicineâ textbook reminded him of you and your passion for your major. before he knew it, the thought of you had infiltrated anything and everything that he did, whether he liked it or not.
âfuck it,â jaemin muttered to nobody in particular, finally turning his phone back on. impatiently tapping his finger against the side of his case, he watched, waiting for the screen to load.
as soon as it turned on, he rushed to unlock it, his hands shaking as he went to click on the messages app. he would be lying if he said his heartbeat didnât speed up when he saw a â6â hovering next to the icon. before even opening the app, jaemin took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the worst.
those six messages could be from multiple peopleâit could be jaehoon sending the notes from the lecture he missed the other day, it could be his mum nagging him about not getting enough sleep, it could be renjun asking for more toilet paper because someone had forgotten to replace the empty roll earlier.
even as he considered all the completely rational possibilities, he still couldnât come to terms with the idea that the messages could be from anyone but you.
he squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the icon, slowly opening one eye, and then the other to confirm what he thought heâd seen. you had, in fact, sent jaemin six messages almost half an hour ago.
the knowledge that his mental torture could have ended earlier only passed his mind briefly, as he was more bothered by the fact that he had ignored you for so long.
he opened the messages, smiling fondly at the short apology you sent for responding so late because your data wasnât working. his eyes naturally drifted to the pictures youâd sent, the beat of his thumping heart rivalling that of a deafening drum as he looked closer.
it hadnât been long since jaemin last saw you but the way your enchanting smile shone like the bright, blazing sun made him feel like he was being welcomed into a brand new day. a giggle escaped his lips when he swiped to the last photo, depicting you mid-laugh, trying to cover your face with your hands but failing to hide those adorably crinkled, sparkling eyes of yours.
âas an extremely professional photographer, i personally think that theyâre all great and you should post them all but i think you look prettiest in the last one,â jaemin typed out and sent, exiting the app as soon as possible to stop himself from overthinking his response and stressing out about when youâd reply.
feeling the corners of his lips starting to curl upwards, he buried his face in his pillow in embarrassment, but even that couldnât stop the massive grin from growing. the ring of a notification had him darting upwards, letting out a little squeal when he saw your name on the banner.
âthank you, mr professional photographer na, the last oneâs my favourite too, iâll post them all with that one as the cover :) since ur such a pro, can you help me choose a caption too?â
never had a simple colon and closed parenthesis made jaemin kick his feet and giggle before, but the thought of you smiling so sweetly behind your screen as you messaged him had his heart racing and his cheeks reddening.
he quickly replied with an âof course!â and, before he knew it, there was no longer that anxious wait between him sending messages and you replying. as the conversation went on, jaemin gradually felt at ease talking to you, his responses coming naturally rather than being carefully crafted and analysed. although the beating of his heart was still erratic, there was something so comfortable, so natural about talking to you that made his worries and everything else around him simply drift away.
that was the first of many late nights jaemin chose to spend with you.
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love is soo gooddd <33 can't wait for more updates hehe they're so cute !!
omg thank u so much đ„čđ„č so so glad ur enjoying! đ«¶đŒ
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TAGLIST: @makiswrld @rksbae @sukistrawberry @i6renj
polaroid love | njm (3)
THREE â thinking about you
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, alcohol consumption
WORD COUNT | 3.8k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
A/N | sorry for being so inactive lately! iâve been busy preparing for uni and it was actually my first night last night đ hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and feedback is always appreciated <3
Y/N CAM âą REC
you stared at jake in silence, watching as he fiddled with his chopsticks whilst waiting for the food to come, âjakey?â
âhmm?â he answered, eyes fixed on the small tower he was making by stacking tiny, balled-up pieces of a napkin.
âyou okay?â you asked, your voice laced with concern, âyou didnât even squeal when you saw the turtle-shell grill, is everything alright?â
jake let out a quiet giggle at your observation, putting his chopsticks down and abandoning his napkin tower, âyeah, everythingâs fine, iâm just⊠tired.â
you raised a brow, not completely convinced by his answer. reaching across the table, you took his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, âhey, you know you can tell me when somethingâs bothering you, right? iâm not gonna force you to say anything if you donât want to, but iâm here to listen, okay? i donât like seeing you upset, what do i have to do to put a smile on your face, hm?â
you noticed jakeâs lips curve upwards at your words, but the smile had yet to reach his eyes. he squeezed your hand and met your gaze, âthank you, y/n, really, but i promise iâm okay. iâve just⊠had a long day, those morning classes are such a pain in the ass. ugh, i wish iâd taken up your coffee offer before.â
you still werenât a hundred percent reassured by his answer, but you decided it was best not to push him for the truth. instead, you settled with the reply he gave, âahh, okay, iâm glad nothingâs bothering you, but iâm still shocked you said no to free coffee.â
âi donât know what got into me, iâll be honest,â jake shrugged, retracting his hand from yours and running it through his hair.
âwell, donât you worry, iâll buy you some coffee next time you take me to photography club,â you bit your lip, trying to hide your growing smile at the thought of seeing a certain someone again.
ânext time? you wanna come next time?â jake cocked his head to the side, his face reminiscent of a confused puppy, âwhatâs with the sudden interest? donât tell me you expect free food in return for helping me, you know i donât have the funds for that!â
âactuallyâŠâ you paused, inwardly debating whether to tell your best friend or not. âokay, can i tell you something and can you promise not to judge me? or tell anyone else?â
âjudge you? i mean⊠depends how bad it is.â
âjake, iâm serious!â
âokay, okay, i promise! now, what is it, my dear?â he said, leaning in and placing a sympathetic hand on yours.
you pulled your hand out from under his, lightly smacking it, âi told you, youâve gotta stop calling me that in public, people are gonna think weâre dating.â
jake shrugged, âso? youâre the one who held my hand before, hypocrite.â
the exaggerated pout on his face told you that he wasnât being serious, but you didnât want him to think that you were joking, âokay, thatâs fair, but⊠it justâ it can scare guys away! which i donât have a problem with when it gets creeps to back off, but sometimes there are guys that i donât want to scare off, yâknow?â
your gaze trailed down to the grill on the table, unable to make eye contact with your best friend knowing your words were quite harsh. a few seconds went by with no reaction or reply from him, and although it seemed like you were too late, you scrambled to soften the blow.
âi-iâm not saying you have to stop doing those things, i still like the affection and the cute names but, maybe, i donât know, you could save that for when weâre, uh, not in such a public place?â
âwho is it?â jake asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
âwh-what do youâ who⊠what?â
âhey, first things first, iâm not upset. if saving that stuff for when itâs just us or just friends is what youâre comfortable with, then âcourse i donât mind doing that,â he shifted to lean his elbow on the table, relaxing his stance in hopes of relaxing you.
âwhat i meant was, well, i know you, y/n, and there must be a specific guy you donât want scaring off, and, ah! that must be the âthingâ you were gonna tell me about, thatâs why you didnât want me to judge you or tell anyone. am i right or am i right?â
you blinked once, twice, in disbelief that jake was able to read you so wellâit was a blessing and a curse. you opened and closed your mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out, earning you a loud giggle from the boy across you.
âyour silence is telling me iâm right,â he said with a smug smile.
âokay, fine, yes, youâre right. i hate how accurate that was,â you sighed, trying to regain your composure.
âso⊠the guy?â jake asked, fed up from the anticipation.
âpromise you wonât judge or tell anyone?â you held up your pinky in front of your best friend.
intertwining his finger with yours and placing his other hand on his chest as if he was swearing an oath, he declared, âi swear on my dogâs life, i wonât tell a soul.â
âgood,â you nodded, âwell, the guy is, uh, itâs someone you know well, heâs, hmmââ
âstop beating around the bush, who is it!â
âitâs jaemin!â
jakeâs eyes widened as his jaw dropped, âjaemin? like na jaemin? like the med student jaemin, the photographer jaemin? the jaemin you met not even a few hours ago?â
âshhh!â you launched forward, pressing your hand against his mouth. âthe whole restaurant does not need to know, and for the record, yes, it is that jaemin. and before you judge, which iâm pretty sure you already have, iâm not saying i like him or anything, iâm just, interested in him, letâs say.â
âinterested? go on,â jake said to the best of his ability while your hand was still covering his mouth, prompting you to remove your hand and wipe it with your napkin.
âokay, ew. anyways, i-i donât know, jaemin always sounded so sweet and funny whenever you told me about him, and, well, i saw that for myself today. heâs also, like, really really gorgeous, i couldnât stop staring at him, and when he came up close to talk to me, i swear i almost fainted right there and then,â you paused to catch your breath, surprised at how easy it was for you to gush over someone you had, like jake pointed out, just met.
âbut, like you said, i donât even know him that well, which is why iâm glad he asked for my number so we canââ
âhe asked for your number?â
âyeah, he asked for it so he could send the photos he took to me.â
âdamn, iâm stealing that move from him, thatâs smooth.â
ââsmoothâ? âmoveâ? y-you think heâs interested in me too? that he did it on purpose?â the mere idea of jaemin reciprocating your feelings had your heart rate speeding up.
âi-i donât know anything! i mean, whaaat? what were you saying before i interrupted?â jake blinked rapidly, poorly covering up how suspicious he sounded.
you decided to ignore whatever it was he was hiding in case it gave you any false hope, and continued your point, âas i was saying, iâm glad he gave me his number, that way i can get to know him and stuff before jumping into anything. he was just⊠he was really nice and everything, i just wanna see how it goes, yâknow?â
jake nodded, âahh, okay, that sounds good. i hope it goes well for you, really. jaemin hyungâs a great guy, i can vouch for that, so no need to spend your early talking stage trying to figure out whether heâs a red flag or not.â
you laughed, cringing as the boyâs words reminded you of a past, failed fling, âoh, trust me, i donât want a repeat of that. everything feels so much easier with jaemin, i have a feeling itâll be different with him.â
JAEMIN CAM âą REC
âget the drinks out, boys, weâre celebrating tonight!â haechan exclaimed, swinging the front door open and letting jaemin shuffle in behind him.
âitâs literally⊠thursday night,â jeno deadpanned, glancing up from the tv to give his roommate a look of concern, or was it confusion? jaemin was too preoccupied thinking about⊠someone else to tell.
haechan locked the door, passing jenoâs slumped figure on the sofa and making his way to the kitchen. scoffing, he muttered under his breath, âokay, when has that ever stopped you?â
unfortunately, he wasnât quiet enough, as jeno shot up from the couch, ready to crush that little coconut head of his, but was quickly stopped by jaemin pulling him back down to sit and renjun interrupting the petty squabble.
âcan you two shut the fuck up for a sec,â he looked up from what he was cooking, glaring as he pointed his spoon at jeno and haechan respectively. âyou said we should be âcelebratingâ, right? that means⊠it went well with y/n! how was it then, jaem?â
haechan gasped, placing the cans of cider heâd retrieved from the fridge onto the counter, âoh my god, would you believe jaemin actuallyââ
renjun sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he whipped round to face his infuriating friend, âsorry, is your name jaemin?â
jeno and jaeminâs (not so) muffled giggles broke through haechanâs silence, which spoke for itself.
nodding, renjun turned back to the boiling pot on the stove, âyeah, i thought so. go on, jaem.â
jaemin took a deep breath, trying to organise what felt like a million and one thoughts into coherent words, âto be honest, i-it felt⊠like a dream. i mustâve blacked out or something, it was like some super confident version of me took over. i still canât believe that i winked at her, practically held her hand, asked for her number and got it. oh, and she even gave me her instagram without me asking.â
âsorry, what? you got her number and held her hand and youâ my god, i need some time to process the fact that you did all of that,â jeno placed a hand on jaeminâs shoulder, before quickly turning it into a hug. âshit, man, iâm proud of you.â
âdamn, you go, jaem!â renjun cheered from the kitchen, his face beaming with pride for his best friendâs multitude of successes, âso y/nâs definitely single then? âcause youâre in a good position right now to start getting closer to her if she is.â
âyup,â haechan answered, âi checked with her friend jake, and jaeminâs got the green light. jake even said heâd help him out if he needed, but as if our jaemin will need his help, right?â
jaeminâs eyes widened, looking frantically from jeno beside him to the boys in the kitchen, âuh, well, youâre kinda overestimating my skills, hyuck.â
âoh no,â he shook his head, chuckling. âno, no, no, i know youâll need help but youâve got us! yâknow, since weâve actually gotten this far with girls before.â
renjunâs stirring slowed to a stop as his jaw dropped, and jeno whipped around, burying his face in the couch cushions to suppress his laughter.
âyah!â jaemin stood up, pointing a threatening finger at haechan. on any other occasion, he wouldâve found the teasing funny and laughed it off, but jaeminâs furrowed brows and stern tone told the boys otherwise.
âah, i crossed the line, didnât i? sorry, sorry,â haechan said, holding his hands up in surrender.
jaemin sighed as he slumped back down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, âno, iâm sorry. i really do appreciate your help and support, because, youâre right, i have no idea what iâm doing. i justâ i really really donât wanna mess up with y/n, and iâm grateful that you guys are willing to help me out, but it would be nice if you let me figure some things out myself too.â
jeno ruffled his best friendâs hair, giving him a supportive pat on the back as he replied, âof course we can do that! i know that sometimes we get involved in each otherâs business without being asked, but we do it because we care, even though itâs not always the best way of showing it.â
âyeah,â haechan added, abandoning the drinks and joining his roommates on the couch. âwe just want the best for you but we donât wanna get there by overstepping your boundaries or anything.â
âi agree! with both of those things,â renjun shouted from the kitchen as he plated their dinner, âsorry, they kinda said everything i was gonna say. oh, by the way, foodâs ready!â
jaemin chuckled, âthank you guys, honestly. uh, also, this might sound a little contradictory now, but i just realised that i never gave y/n my number. can you help me figure out how to word my first message to her? while we eat, of course, iâm not gonna let the food renjunnie worked so hard on go cold.â
âoh my god, yes!â
âiâve been waiting for this moment my whole life, not even kidding.â
âat least someone appreciates my hard work!â
the enthusiastic squeals eventually died down and the next thirty (yes, thirty) minutes were spent meticulously drafting a message to you, with the occasional distractions of renjunâs delicious stew and debates over what your contact picture should be.
âokay, iâm pretty sure you can send it now,â haechan said and was met with nods of agreement.
âpretty sure?! pretty sure isnât sure enough for me, iâm checking it one more time,â jaemin shook his head, placing his phone on the table and reading the text aloud.
ââhey y/n, itâs jaemin, just letting you know since i didnât get to give you my number before. by the way, i havenât managed to start editing the pics just yet but iâll let you know how they look once i do, smiley blushy face emojiâ. are we sure itâs not too much?â his fingers hovered over the screen, prepared to alter the message for the umpteenth time.
âjaemin, my guy,â jeno placed his hands on jaeminâs in reassurance. âweâve said it before and weâll say it againâit sounds fine. and itâs not too much either, the text isnât dry and the fact that you mentioned the photos means she can start a conversation about it, so youâre less likely to be left on read.â
âplus, yâknow, itâs too late now. jeno just sent the text,â renjun pointed out nonchalantly, directing everyoneâs gazes to the blue text bubble on the screen and jenoâs hand stacked clumsily on top of jaeminâs⊠on top of the phone.
jaemin yelped, yanking his hands away and turning his phone off. he squeezed his eyes shut, not ready to accept what happened nor even think about getting a response any time soon.
âi-iâm sorry! i was just trying to make you feel better, i didnât realise i was gonna press send. we can turn airplane mode on if you want so it doesnât send! or we canââ
in the midst of jenoâs flurry of apologies, a small ding resonated through the kitchen, followed by another, as the screen illuminated, showing two notifications from messages.
âno. way.â jaemin breathed out, eyes now open and glued to the notification banner. a quick glance over at his wide-eyed friends with their jaws hanging open told him that they were all anticipating the same thing.
âopen those notifications, open them right now, na jaemin!â haechan said, more of an encouragement than a demand.
jaemin quickly came to his senses, scrambling to unlock his phone, as the other boys leaned forward to get a closer look at your replies.
âmy god, sheâs quick,â renjun commented, shuffling closer to read the messages.
ââthanks for letting me know, saved it now hehe smiley faceâ. mission accomplished, jaem, she has your number and she replied!â
âooh, and it seems like your conversation starter worked,â haechan took over for the second, longer message.
ââspeaking of pics, jake never lived up to his âthreatâ and he took some photos of me at dinner, wanna help me pick which ones to post?â wait, is she talking about when jake said he would stop taking her instagram photos if she didnât listen to him?â
jaemin couldnât hide his wide grin as he nodded, remembering that he was the reason you were so preoccupied.
âwell, donât just sit there blushing like a tomato, answer! you donât wanna leave her on read for too long, do you?â jeno lightly smacked jaemin on the arm, prompting him to type out a quick âsure!â.
once again, they all gathered around the phone, waiting to see the three dots pop up or hear another notification alert. moments passed with no dots nor dings, all that could be seen was a faint âdeliveredâ as the screen slowly faded to black from lack of activity.
âitâs fine, itâs fine,â jaemin shrugged, forcing out a laugh. âsheâll respond later⊠probably, right? you know what, doesnât matter, i shouldnât be so bothered about it, does anyone want another cider?â
before he could even leave his seat, renjun gently tugged his arm, sitting him back down, âjaem, stop stressing, and donât say âiâm not stressing!â because we know you well enough to know that you definitely are. how about you turn your phone off for the time being, hmm? i know you want things to go well with y/n, but try not to let yourself depend on her too much, okay?â
âheâs right, trust me, itâs awfulâobsessively checking if youâve gotten a notification from a certain someone and letting it ruin your day when you havenât. yâknow, just speaking from experience,â haechan added, earning a nod of agreement from jeno.
âyeah,â jaemin sighed, turning his phone off as renjun suggested. âyou guys are right, thank you. youâre probably gonna need to remind me of that a lot, i justâ the last thing i want is to get heartbroken.â
jeno placed a hand on jaeminâs shoulder, âweâll do everything in our power to make sure you donât get hurt, jaem.â
for the next few hours, jaemin decided to keep himself busy and distract himself from thinking about you. but it was as if the universe didnât want him to get you out of his head.
washing the dishes reminded him of the lazy roommate you told him about earlier. showering with music on to block out his thoughts? the song that came on shuffle had played earlier while he was taking pictures of you. even reading through his stupid âethics in medicineâ textbook reminded him of you and your passion for your major. before he knew it, the thought of you had infiltrated anything and everything that he did, whether he liked it or not.
âfuck it,â jaemin muttered to nobody in particular, finally turning his phone back on. impatiently tapping his finger against the side of his case, he watched, waiting for the screen to load.
as soon as it turned on, he rushed to unlock it, his hands shaking as he went to click on the messages app. he would be lying if he said his heartbeat didnât speed up when he saw a â6â hovering next to the icon. before even opening the app, jaemin took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the worst.
those six messages could be from multiple peopleâit could be jaehoon sending the notes from the lecture he missed the other day, it could be his mum nagging him about not getting enough sleep, it could be renjun asking for more toilet paper because someone had forgotten to replace the empty roll earlier.
even as he considered all the completely rational possibilities, he still couldnât come to terms with the idea that the messages could be from anyone but you.
he squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the icon, slowly opening one eye, and then the other to confirm what he thought heâd seen. you had, in fact, sent jaemin six messages almost half an hour ago.
the knowledge that his mental torture could have ended earlier only passed his mind briefly, as he was more bothered by the fact that he had ignored you for so long.
he opened the messages, smiling fondly at the short apology you sent for responding so late because your data wasnât working. his eyes naturally drifted to the pictures youâd sent, the beat of his thumping heart rivalling that of a deafening drum as he looked closer.
it hadnât been long since jaemin last saw you but the way your enchanting smile shone like the bright, blazing sun made him feel like he was being welcomed into a brand new day. a giggle escaped his lips when he swiped to the last photo, depicting you mid-laugh, trying to cover your face with your hands but failing to hide those adorably crinkled, sparkling eyes of yours.
âas an extremely professional photographer, i personally think that theyâre all great and you should post them all but i think you look prettiest in the last one,â jaemin typed out and sent, exiting the app as soon as possible to stop himself from overthinking his response and stressing out about when youâd reply.
feeling the corners of his lips starting to curl upwards, he buried his face in his pillow in embarrassment, but even that couldnât stop the massive grin from growing. the ring of a notification had him darting upwards, letting out a little squeal when he saw your name on the banner.
âthank you, mr professional photographer na, the last oneâs my favourite too, iâll post them all with that one as the cover :) since ur such a pro, can you help me choose a caption too?â
never had a simple colon and closed parenthesis made jaemin kick his feet and giggle before, but the thought of you smiling so sweetly behind your screen as you messaged him had his heart racing and his cheeks reddening.
he quickly replied with an âof course!â and, before he knew it, there was no longer that anxious wait between him sending messages and you replying. as the conversation went on, jaemin gradually felt at ease talking to you, his responses coming naturally rather than being carefully crafted and analysed. although the beating of his heart was still erratic, there was something so comfortable, so natural about talking to you that made his worries and everything else around him simply drift away.
that was the first of many late nights jaemin chose to spend with you.
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (3)
THREE â thinking about you
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, alcohol consumption
WORD COUNT | 3.8k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
A/N | sorry for being so inactive lately! iâve been busy preparing for uni and it was actually my first night last night đ hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and feedback is always appreciated <3
Y/N CAM âą REC
you stared at jake in silence, watching as he fiddled with his chopsticks whilst waiting for the food to come, âjakey?â
âhmm?â he answered, eyes fixed on the small tower he was making by stacking tiny, balled-up pieces of a napkin.
âyou okay?â you asked, your voice laced with concern, âyou didnât even squeal when you saw the turtle-shell grill, is everything alright?â
jake let out a quiet giggle at your observation, putting his chopsticks down and abandoning his napkin tower, âyeah, everythingâs fine, iâm just⊠tired.â
you raised a brow, not completely convinced by his answer. reaching across the table, you took his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, âhey, you know you can tell me when somethingâs bothering you, right? iâm not gonna force you to say anything if you donât want to, but iâm here to listen, okay? i donât like seeing you upset, what do i have to do to put a smile on your face, hm?â
you noticed jakeâs lips curve upwards at your words, but the smile had yet to reach his eyes. he squeezed your hand and met your gaze, âthank you, y/n, really, but i promise iâm okay. iâve just⊠had a long day, those morning classes are such a pain in the ass. ugh, i wish iâd taken up your coffee offer before.â
you still werenât a hundred percent reassured by his answer, but you decided it was best not to push him for the truth. instead, you settled with the reply he gave, âahh, okay, iâm glad nothingâs bothering you, but iâm still shocked you said no to free coffee.â
âi donât know what got into me, iâll be honest,â jake shrugged, retracting his hand from yours and running it through his hair.
âwell, donât you worry, iâll buy you some coffee next time you take me to photography club,â you bit your lip, trying to hide your growing smile at the thought of seeing a certain someone again.
ânext time? you wanna come next time?â jake cocked his head to the side, his face reminiscent of a confused puppy, âwhatâs with the sudden interest? donât tell me you expect free food in return for helping me, you know i donât have the funds for that!â
âactuallyâŠâ you paused, inwardly debating whether to tell your best friend or not. âokay, can i tell you something and can you promise not to judge me? or tell anyone else?â
âjudge you? i mean⊠depends how bad it is.â
âjake, iâm serious!â
âokay, okay, i promise! now, what is it, my dear?â he said, leaning in and placing a sympathetic hand on yours.
you pulled your hand out from under his, lightly smacking it, âi told you, youâve gotta stop calling me that in public, people are gonna think weâre dating.â
jake shrugged, âso? youâre the one who held my hand before, hypocrite.â
the exaggerated pout on his face told you that he wasnât being serious, but you didnât want him to think that you were joking, âokay, thatâs fair, but⊠it justâ it can scare guys away! which i donât have a problem with when it gets creeps to back off, but sometimes there are guys that i donât want to scare off, yâknow?â
your gaze trailed down to the grill on the table, unable to make eye contact with your best friend knowing your words were quite harsh. a few seconds went by with no reaction or reply from him, and although it seemed like you were too late, you scrambled to soften the blow.
âi-iâm not saying you have to stop doing those things, i still like the affection and the cute names but, maybe, i donât know, you could save that for when weâre, uh, not in such a public place?â
âwho is it?â jake asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
âwh-what do youâ who⊠what?â
âhey, first things first, iâm not upset. if saving that stuff for when itâs just us or just friends is what youâre comfortable with, then âcourse i donât mind doing that,â he shifted to lean his elbow on the table, relaxing his stance in hopes of relaxing you.
âwhat i meant was, well, i know you, y/n, and there must be a specific guy you donât want scaring off, and, ah! that must be the âthingâ you were gonna tell me about, thatâs why you didnât want me to judge you or tell anyone. am i right or am i right?â
you blinked once, twice, in disbelief that jake was able to read you so wellâit was a blessing and a curse. you opened and closed your mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out, earning you a loud giggle from the boy across you.
âyour silence is telling me iâm right,â he said with a smug smile.
âokay, fine, yes, youâre right. i hate how accurate that was,â you sighed, trying to regain your composure.
âso⊠the guy?â jake asked, fed up from the anticipation.
âpromise you wonât judge or tell anyone?â you held up your pinky in front of your best friend.
intertwining his finger with yours and placing his other hand on his chest as if he was swearing an oath, he declared, âi swear on my dogâs life, i wonât tell a soul.â
âgood,â you nodded, âwell, the guy is, uh, itâs someone you know well, heâs, hmmââ
âstop beating around the bush, who is it!â
âitâs jaemin!â
jakeâs eyes widened as his jaw dropped, âjaemin? like na jaemin? like the med student jaemin, the photographer jaemin? the jaemin you met not even a few hours ago?â
âshhh!â you launched forward, pressing your hand against his mouth. âthe whole restaurant does not need to know, and for the record, yes, it is that jaemin. and before you judge, which iâm pretty sure you already have, iâm not saying i like him or anything, iâm just, interested in him, letâs say.â
âinterested? go on,â jake said to the best of his ability while your hand was still covering his mouth, prompting you to remove your hand and wipe it with your napkin.
âokay, ew. anyways, i-i donât know, jaemin always sounded so sweet and funny whenever you told me about him, and, well, i saw that for myself today. heâs also, like, really really gorgeous, i couldnât stop staring at him, and when he came up close to talk to me, i swear i almost fainted right there and then,â you paused to catch your breath, surprised at how easy it was for you to gush over someone you had, like jake pointed out, just met.
âbut, like you said, i donât even know him that well, which is why iâm glad he asked for my number so we canââ
âhe asked for your number?â
âyeah, he asked for it so he could send the photos he took to me.â
âdamn, iâm stealing that move from him, thatâs smooth.â
ââsmoothâ? âmoveâ? y-you think heâs interested in me too? that he did it on purpose?â the mere idea of jaemin reciprocating your feelings had your heart rate speeding up.
âi-i donât know anything! i mean, whaaat? what were you saying before i interrupted?â jake blinked rapidly, poorly covering up how suspicious he sounded.
you decided to ignore whatever it was he was hiding in case it gave you any false hope, and continued your point, âas i was saying, iâm glad he gave me his number, that way i can get to know him and stuff before jumping into anything. he was just⊠he was really nice and everything, i just wanna see how it goes, yâknow?â
jake nodded, âahh, okay, that sounds good. i hope it goes well for you, really. jaemin hyungâs a great guy, i can vouch for that, so no need to spend your early talking stage trying to figure out whether heâs a red flag or not.â
you laughed, cringing as the boyâs words reminded you of a past, failed fling, âoh, trust me, i donât want a repeat of that. everything feels so much easier with jaemin, i have a feeling itâll be different with him.â
JAEMIN CAM âą REC
âget the drinks out, boys, weâre celebrating tonight!â haechan exclaimed, swinging the front door open and letting jaemin shuffle in behind him.
âitâs literally⊠thursday night,â jeno deadpanned, glancing up from the tv to give his roommate a look of concern, or was it confusion? jaemin was too preoccupied thinking about⊠someone else to tell.
haechan locked the door, passing jenoâs slumped figure on the sofa and making his way to the kitchen. scoffing, he muttered under his breath, âokay, when has that ever stopped you?â
unfortunately, he wasnât quiet enough, as jeno shot up from the couch, ready to crush that little coconut head of his, but was quickly stopped by jaemin pulling him back down to sit and renjun interrupting the petty squabble.
âcan you two shut the fuck up for a sec,â he looked up from what he was cooking, glaring as he pointed his spoon at jeno and haechan respectively. âyou said we should be âcelebratingâ, right? that means⊠it went well with y/n! how was it then, jaem?â
haechan gasped, placing the cans of cider heâd retrieved from the fridge onto the counter, âoh my god, would you believe jaemin actuallyââ
renjun sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he whipped round to face his infuriating friend, âsorry, is your name jaemin?â
jeno and jaeminâs (not so) muffled giggles broke through haechanâs silence, which spoke for itself.
nodding, renjun turned back to the boiling pot on the stove, âyeah, i thought so. go on, jaem.â
jaemin took a deep breath, trying to organise what felt like a million and one thoughts into coherent words, âto be honest, i-it felt⊠like a dream. i mustâve blacked out or something, it was like some super confident version of me took over. i still canât believe that i winked at her, practically held her hand, asked for her number and got it. oh, and she even gave me her instagram without me asking.â
âsorry, what? you got her number and held her hand and youâ my god, i need some time to process the fact that you did all of that,â jeno placed a hand on jaeminâs shoulder, before quickly turning it into a hug. âshit, man, iâm proud of you.â
âdamn, you go, jaem!â renjun cheered from the kitchen, his face beaming with pride for his best friendâs multitude of successes, âso y/nâs definitely single then? âcause youâre in a good position right now to start getting closer to her if she is.â
âyup,â haechan answered, âi checked with her friend jake, and jaeminâs got the green light. jake even said heâd help him out if he needed, but as if our jaemin will need his help, right?â
jaeminâs eyes widened, looking frantically from jeno beside him to the boys in the kitchen, âuh, well, youâre kinda overestimating my skills, hyuck.â
âoh no,â he shook his head, chuckling. âno, no, no, i know youâll need help but youâve got us! yâknow, since weâve actually gotten this far with girls before.â
renjunâs stirring slowed to a stop as his jaw dropped, and jeno whipped around, burying his face in the couch cushions to suppress his laughter.
âyah!â jaemin stood up, pointing a threatening finger at haechan. on any other occasion, he wouldâve found the teasing funny and laughed it off, but jaeminâs furrowed brows and stern tone told the boys otherwise.
âah, i crossed the line, didnât i? sorry, sorry,â haechan said, holding his hands up in surrender.
jaemin sighed as he slumped back down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, âno, iâm sorry. i really do appreciate your help and support, because, youâre right, i have no idea what iâm doing. i justâ i really really donât wanna mess up with y/n, and iâm grateful that you guys are willing to help me out, but it would be nice if you let me figure some things out myself too.â
jeno ruffled his best friendâs hair, giving him a supportive pat on the back as he replied, âof course we can do that! i know that sometimes we get involved in each otherâs business without being asked, but we do it because we care, even though itâs not always the best way of showing it.â
âyeah,â haechan added, abandoning the drinks and joining his roommates on the couch. âwe just want the best for you but we donât wanna get there by overstepping your boundaries or anything.â
âi agree! with both of those things,â renjun shouted from the kitchen as he plated their dinner, âsorry, they kinda said everything i was gonna say. oh, by the way, foodâs ready!â
jaemin chuckled, âthank you guys, honestly. uh, also, this might sound a little contradictory now, but i just realised that i never gave y/n my number. can you help me figure out how to word my first message to her? while we eat, of course, iâm not gonna let the food renjunnie worked so hard on go cold.â
âoh my god, yes!â
âiâve been waiting for this moment my whole life, not even kidding.â
âat least someone appreciates my hard work!â
the enthusiastic squeals eventually died down and the next thirty (yes, thirty) minutes were spent meticulously drafting a message to you, with the occasional distractions of renjunâs delicious stew and debates over what your contact picture should be.
âokay, iâm pretty sure you can send it now,â haechan said and was met with nods of agreement.
âpretty sure?! pretty sure isnât sure enough for me, iâm checking it one more time,â jaemin shook his head, placing his phone on the table and reading the text aloud.
ââhey y/n, itâs jaemin, just letting you know since i didnât get to give you my number before. by the way, i havenât managed to start editing the pics just yet but iâll let you know how they look once i do, smiley blushy face emojiâ. are we sure itâs not too much?â his fingers hovered over the screen, prepared to alter the message for the umpteenth time.
âjaemin, my guy,â jeno placed his hands on jaeminâs in reassurance. âweâve said it before and weâll say it againâit sounds fine. and itâs not too much either, the text isnât dry and the fact that you mentioned the photos means she can start a conversation about it, so youâre less likely to be left on read.â
âplus, yâknow, itâs too late now. jeno just sent the text,â renjun pointed out nonchalantly, directing everyoneâs gazes to the blue text bubble on the screen and jenoâs hand stacked clumsily on top of jaeminâs⊠on top of the phone.
jaemin yelped, yanking his hands away and turning his phone off. he squeezed his eyes shut, not ready to accept what happened nor even think about getting a response any time soon.
ïżœïżœïżœi-iâm sorry! i was just trying to make you feel better, i didnât realise i was gonna press send. we can turn airplane mode on if you want so it doesnât send! or we canââ
in the midst of jenoâs flurry of apologies, a small ding resonated through the kitchen, followed by another, as the screen illuminated, showing two notifications from messages.
âno. way.â jaemin breathed out, eyes now open and glued to the notification banner. a quick glance over at his wide-eyed friends with their jaws hanging open told him that they were all anticipating the same thing.
âopen those notifications, open them right now, na jaemin!â haechan said, more of an encouragement than a demand.
jaemin quickly came to his senses, scrambling to unlock his phone, as the other boys leaned forward to get a closer look at your replies.
âmy god, sheâs quick,â renjun commented, shuffling closer to read the messages.
ââthanks for letting me know, saved it now hehe smiley faceâ. mission accomplished, jaem, she has your number and she replied!â
âooh, and it seems like your conversation starter worked,â haechan took over for the second, longer message.
ââspeaking of pics, jake never lived up to his âthreatâ and he took some photos of me at dinner, wanna help me pick which ones to post?â wait, is she talking about when jake said he would stop taking her instagram photos if she didnât listen to him?â
jaemin couldnât hide his wide grin as he nodded, remembering that he was the reason you were so preoccupied.
âwell, donât just sit there blushing like a tomato, answer! you donât wanna leave her on read for too long, do you?â jeno lightly smacked jaemin on the arm, prompting him to type out a quick âsure!â.
once again, they all gathered around the phone, waiting to see the three dots pop up or hear another notification alert. moments passed with no dots nor dings, all that could be seen was a faint âdeliveredâ as the screen slowly faded to black from lack of activity.
âitâs fine, itâs fine,â jaemin shrugged, forcing out a laugh. âsheâll respond later⊠probably, right? you know what, doesnât matter, i shouldnât be so bothered about it, does anyone want another cider?â
before he could even leave his seat, renjun gently tugged his arm, sitting him back down, âjaem, stop stressing, and donât say âiâm not stressing!â because we know you well enough to know that you definitely are. how about you turn your phone off for the time being, hmm? i know you want things to go well with y/n, but try not to let yourself depend on her too much, okay?â
âheâs right, trust me, itâs awfulâobsessively checking if youâve gotten a notification from a certain someone and letting it ruin your day when you havenât. yâknow, just speaking from experience,â haechan added, earning a nod of agreement from jeno.
âyeah,â jaemin sighed, turning his phone off as renjun suggested. âyou guys are right, thank you. youâre probably gonna need to remind me of that a lot, i justâ the last thing i want is to get heartbroken.â
jeno placed a hand on jaeminâs shoulder, âweâll do everything in our power to make sure you donât get hurt, jaem.â
for the next few hours, jaemin decided to keep himself busy and distract himself from thinking about you. but it was as if the universe didnât want him to get you out of his head.
washing the dishes reminded him of the lazy roommate you told him about earlier. showering with music on to block out his thoughts? the song that came on shuffle had played earlier while he was taking pictures of you. even reading through his stupid âethics in medicineâ textbook reminded him of you and your passion for your major. before he knew it, the thought of you had infiltrated anything and everything that he did, whether he liked it or not.
âfuck it,â jaemin muttered to nobody in particular, finally turning his phone back on. impatiently tapping his finger against the side of his case, he watched, waiting for the screen to load.
as soon as it turned on, he rushed to unlock it, his hands shaking as he went to click on the messages app. he would be lying if he said his heartbeat didnât speed up when he saw a â6â hovering next to the icon. before even opening the app, jaemin took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the worst.
those six messages could be from multiple peopleâit could be jaehoon sending the notes from the lecture he missed the other day, it could be his mum nagging him about not getting enough sleep, it could be renjun asking for more toilet paper because someone had forgotten to replace the empty roll earlier.
even as he considered all the completely rational possibilities, he still couldnât come to terms with the idea that the messages could be from anyone but you.
he squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the icon, slowly opening one eye, and then the other to confirm what he thought heâd seen. you had, in fact, sent jaemin six messages almost half an hour ago.
the knowledge that his mental torture could have ended earlier only passed his mind briefly, as he was more bothered by the fact that he had ignored you for so long.
he opened the messages, smiling fondly at the short apology you sent for responding so late because your data wasnât working. his eyes naturally drifted to the pictures youâd sent, the beat of his thumping heart rivalling that of a deafening drum as he looked closer.
it hadnât been long since jaemin last saw you but the way your enchanting smile shone like the bright, blazing sun made him feel like he was being welcomed into a brand new day. a giggle escaped his lips when he swiped to the last photo, depicting you mid-laugh, trying to cover your face with your hands but failing to hide those adorably crinkled, sparkling eyes of yours.
âas an extremely professional photographer, i personally think that theyâre all great and you should post them all but i think you look prettiest in the last one,â jaemin typed out and sent, exiting the app as soon as possible to stop himself from overthinking his response and stressing out about when youâd reply.
feeling the corners of his lips starting to curl upwards, he buried his face in his pillow in embarrassment, but even that couldnât stop the massive grin from growing. the ring of a notification had him darting upwards, letting out a little squeal when he saw your name on the banner.
âthank you, mr professional photographer na, the last oneâs my favourite too, iâll post them all with that one as the cover :) since ur such a pro, can you help me choose a caption too?â
never had a simple colon and closed parenthesis made jaemin kick his feet and giggle before, but the thought of you smiling so sweetly behind your screen as you messaged him had his heart racing and his cheeks reddening.
he quickly replied with an âof course!â and, before he knew it, there was no longer that anxious wait between him sending messages and you replying. as the conversation went on, jaemin gradually felt at ease talking to you, his responses coming naturally rather than being carefully crafted and analysed. although the beating of his heart was still erratic, there was something so comfortable, so natural about talking to you that made his worries and everything else around him simply drift away.
that was the first of many late nights jaemin chose to spend with you.
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
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PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
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HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
42 notes
·
View notes
polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
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PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
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HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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TAGLIST: @makiswrld @rksbae @sukistrawberry @i6renj
polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
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PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
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HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (2)
TWO â 1, 2, 3, đž
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. dreamies + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, stem student slander, inaccurate photography terminology
WORD COUNT | 3.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
Y/N CAM âą REC
âthanks for agreeing to come so last minute,â jake smiled, fiddling with the straps of his camera bag as you walked side by side to the film and media building.
âoh, itâs no problem,â you naturally mirrored his grin, âhow come hoon couldnât make it though?â
âah, he forgot his sister was performing at her schoolâs dance festival tonight, his parents came and picked him up before,â he explained, his steps slowing down as he checked the time on his phone.
you glanced over at your best friend and matched his new pace, âplease, i was gonna say, when would park sunghoon ever pass up the chance to be your model?â
âthatâs true, the manâs in love with his own beauty,â jake cupped his face with his hand, and you couldnât help but chuckle at the way he mocked your friend. âyâknow as his photographer, his confidence is so helpful when iâm shooting, but as his friend? it makes me want to bash my head into a brick wall.â
you threw your head back in laughter, placing a hand on jakeâs arm to steady yourself, âshould i be worried for my shoot then orâŠ?â
âabsolutely not, y/n, you could never annoy me to that extent,â he reached to grab your hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze. his touch lingered on yours for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and let go.
âwow, iâm flattered,â you paused to let three eager film students and their bulky equipment get past you, âalso, i was thinking we could go get dinner after this. iâll pay, since you did last timeâtake it as an apology for being embarrassing in front of your friend last week.â
jake winced at the memory of you rushing him and interrupting his conversation with jaemin, âwell, apology accepted, do i get to choose where?â
âsure! uh, within a reasonable price range though,â you quickly added, remembering the many packages that were on their way from nights of (un)necessary online shopping.
âhmmm, iâm craving meat⊠can we go to that korean barbeque place with the turtle-shell grills? i love it there!â the boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement, and you knew you could never say no to him.
âsounds good, jakey! yâknow my wallet happens to love it there too, they have a student discount,â you nudged him with your elbow, ending up accidentally winding him in the process.
muttering a few âsorryâs and gently rubbing the spot youâd hit a little too hard, jake opened the door to the studio eunjin had told them to meet in. as you laid eyes on a room of unfamiliar people, you subconsciously stuck closer to the only person you knew, bowing to eunjin just as jake had done, and following him to a spot where someone you thought you recognised was beckoning him over to.
âover here, jake!â the boy with the honey-brown hair waved, a pretty smile on his face that you couldnât seem to take your eyes off of.
âjaemin hyung! you know y/n, right?â jake nodded towards you, and you took that as a sign to detach yourself from his side, waving at the two older boys.
âahh yes, i remember,â jaemin waved back, and gesturing next to him, he introduced his friend, âoh, and this is haechan.â
âthe haechan that convinced your mutual friend that your name was âdaemanâ for three months?â jakeâs jaw fell open, recalling one of the many stories jaemin had told him about his best friends and housemates.
âyup, the man, the myth, the legend himself,â jaemin rolled his eyes at haechanâs announcement. âpleased to meet you both,â he took a dramatic bow, his humorous actions melting your nerves, âiâve heard a lot about you!â
âlee haechan!â jaemin gritted his teeth at his friend, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment, âhaha⊠what he meant by that was, uh, i, um, i sometimes tell the guys about what happens at photography club and youâre usually in those stories, jake.â
âwow, iâm honoured to be the main character of your stories, hyung,â jake proudly put a hand on his chest, âah, thatâs right, do you know why eunjin noona asked us to bring someone with us today?â
before jaemin could even answer, eunjin called for the roomâs attention, âgood afternoon, everyone! for those of you who came as models today, thank you and a warm welcome to you all. my name is kang eunjin and iâm the president of the photography club. iâll be leading todayâs session, where weâll be taking photos for split-personality portraits. however, i donât expect the models to be dressed for a split-personality look, instead, you will be paired with another photographer and model.â
out of the corner of your eye, you saw jake glance over at jaemin, tilting his head as if to ask him if he wanted to partner up, to which he was met with a nod and an eager thumbs up.
ânext week, using the photos from the two models, youâll be editing those photos to create a split-personality portrait containing each model. i recommend you choose someone who has a similar style to you, but what you decide to do with your models will be completely up to the two of you. you can create as much of a contrast between them as possible, or make them appear as similar as possible, whatever youâd like. we have enough backdrops set up so that none of the groups have to share. you have an hour so, go wild, and donât forget, you can come to me if you have any questions!â eunjin concluded, as everyone hurried to find partners that they were satisfied with.
meanwhile, your little group had already decided for themselves, claiming the white backdrop youâd been lingering by for the past few minutes.
you watched as jaemin and jake set up the lighting and discussed their ideas for the shoot whilst you stood to the side, checking your face in your phoneâs camera to ensure you looked, at the very least, decent.
âsorry if i was a bit much before,â haechan popped up behind you, making you jump. âmy friends always tell me to tone it down when iâm meeting new people but, well, i canât help but let my natural charm shine through.â
you laughed, his interesting sense of humour and overflowing self-confidence reminded you of your friend sunghoon, and the familiarity made you feel more comfortable, âthatâs okay, sunbae, it definitely helped me feel less nervous, since i donât really know anyone here except from jake.â
âno problem but, hey, none of that sunbae stuff,â he shook his head, âyou can just call me haechan. i know iâm a fourth year and all but it just⊠it makes me feel ancient.â
âokay then, haechan,â you felt much more at ease speaking casually, âwhatâs your major? iâm a philosophy major, second year.â
âooh, philosophy! i have a friend whoâs doing his masters in philosophy. i double major in business and psychology, since i wanna go into consumerist psychology after graduating.â
âwoah, that sounds so coolâ oh, um, i think youâre, uh, needed,â you tapped his shoulder and pointed at jaemin, who currently had his arms crossed and lips pursed, sending glares at the chatty haechan.
âwell, thank you, y/n! i was starting to think he was deaf or something,â jaemin stuck his tongue out at his friend, who was mocking him in a high-pitched voice as he made his way over to the backdrop.
you tried to hold back your laugh at their immature antics, covering your mouth with your hand. who wouldâve thought that those two were older than you, let alone grown adults.
the childish bickering didnât last long though; as soon as haechan had the lens pointed at him, his professionalism settled in and, if you hadnât known any better, you wouldâve thought he was actually a model.
your gaze, however, quickly drifted away from him and landed on the man behind the camera. you couldnât pinpoint it, but there was just something so charming about the way jaemin calmly led the shoot, instructing haechan on how to pose and adjusting the light to various angles to capture the perfect shots.
he looked just as enchanting, if not more, with a serious, concentrated expression on his face instead of a beaming grin, as he monitored his progress and shared his results with his partner.
âhey, jake, i know iâm sending haechanâs photos to you anyway, but i think it would be good if you got some shots of your own in, theyâll look more consistent and itâll make it easier for you when youâre editing,â jaemin stepped back, encouraging jake to take his place.
âokay, sounds good, weâll start y/nâs shots in a bit then,â you snapped out of your daze when you heard your name, giving your best friend a nod of understanding, even though you had no idea what he was talking about.
âsorry for keeping you waiting for so long,â the last thing you expected was the boy youâd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes to appear next to you. âiâm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff,â he let out a breathy laugh, drumming his fingers on top of his camera.
you placed a hand on your chest to calm your rapid heartbeatâcaused by the shock of jaeminâs unexpected presence, or maybe by jaemin himself; letâs just say it was both.
âoh, no worries, i actually enjoyed watching you⊠photograph! it was nice watching you, uh, work, yeah!â your little slip-up made you want to bash your head into a brick wall.
âi mean, i donât know much about photography, but you looked like a real professional back there,â you said in an attempt to revive the conversation.
your compliment brought a shy smile to his face, âthank you, but iâm no expert, i just like taking photos for fun.â
âwho said you canât be an expert at something you do for fun? itâs not like those things are⊠oh, whatâs the word! theyâre not, theyâre not, uhhââ
âmutually exclusive?â jaemin knew he had gotten exactly what you meant by the way your mouth fell open slightly and you nodded at him.
âyes, that! of course you knew, youâre a stem major, right?â you vaguely remembered jake mentioning how they had bonded over photography being their creative escape.
âyikes, is it that obvious? itâs not the eyebags, is it? i promise itâs not because of the heavy workload, itâs just âcause i have an awful habit of having coffee at night. jenoâs trying to help me limit it to the mornings butâ i-iâm so sorry, iâm rambling, arenât i?â jaeminâs lively speech came to an end as he forced a laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
his shyness from before quickly returned, but you had to admit, you liked his chattiness, and you didnât want him to stop any time soon. it was almost⊠cute?
you shook your head lightly, as if that would physically rid yourself of the thought, âitâs okay! iâm usually the one thatâs doing the rambling so i donât mind at all. plus, i only know you do medicine because jake told me that his brother was in the same biochem class as you last year.â
âahh, thatâs right,â the older boy sighed, âiâm guessing youâre an arts major, then?â
âhumanities, actually. i do philosophy, which some people think is a social science but i personally donât think it really fits, even though it has its links in psychology, and i guess sociology too if weâre talking aboutââ you brought your hand up to your mouth to stop yourself before you went any further, âhaha, y-you donât need to know all that. sorry, this is exactly what i meant before.â
âno, no, itâs fine!â jaemin reassured you, that pretty smile was back on his face, âoh, that reminds me, i was meaning to ask if you would mind giving me your number before, so i could send you the pictures we take today.â
it took you a moment to register what he had said, but once you did, you didnât waste any time. âo-of course, yeah, thatâs fine! iâll even give you my socials while weâre at it,â you took his phone that he held out to you and typed in your number.
âjust out of curiosity, how exactly did me going on about my major remind you to get my number? if anything, if i were you, i wouldâve been put off of asking.â
jaemin let out a giggle, taking his phone back from you, âwell, after you apologised, i was thinking, if you were ever desperate to have a long rant but had nobody to rant to, i wouldnât mind being the one to listen to thatâafter all, i met you properly like, what, not even an hour ago? but youâve already heard about my housemates and my crippling caffeine addiction, if you were anyone else, i canât guarantee i wouldâve even spoken.â
you would be lying if you said your heart didnât skip a beat when you heard jaeminâs answer, âoh, youâre so sweet, and, hey, same goes for you. you can ramble to me about anything, just promise me you wonât block me if i spam you too much?â
âyes, as long as you donât block me if i text you at ungodly hours of the night.â
he laughed as he intertwined his pinky with yours, the sudden warmth of his touch had your breath hitching at the back of your throat. it took a moment for you to regain your composure, and when he eventually responded, you could barely hear him over the deafening thumping of your heart.
âof courseââ
âahem, miss y/n!â jakeâs loud cough brought your attention to him, reminding you that you werenât in fact in a world of your own with jaemin, but a studio instead, âget here now or youâre losing your instagram photographer privileges.â
you were immediately distracted from your best friendâs empty threat when you felt jaemin press his thumb pad against yours, locking your promise. he leaned closer to you, lowering his voice slightly, âyou should go, if jake keeps his word and you ever need a photographer for your instagram pics, you have my number,â he flashed a smile at you as he let go of your hand, gesturing for you to join your impatient friend.
even as you positioned yourself against the backdrop, you couldnât take your eyes off of jaemin, nor forget the way his hand felt against yours.
JAKE CAM âą REC
jake clicked through the shots heâd taken, his eyes flitting between the screen and your face, checking for your approval, âyâknow, if youâre happy with these, then we donât need to do any more, iâve got enough pictures to choose from.â
you nodded, satisfied with your photos, âyup, theyâre all good! not that i expected anything less from you, jakey. does that mean weâre done then?â
the boy felt the warmth rush to his cheeks at your compliment, hiding his reddening face by immersing himself with the settings of his camera. he cleared his throat before answering, âi-i mean, iâve got all that i need but, hey, jaemin hyung, do you wanna get a few pics too?â
âoh, yeah,â jaemin was already picking up his camera and reaching to adjust the lighting after jakeâs reminder, âdonât worry, y/n, i wonât keep you too long.â
you giggled, making your way back over to your spot by the backdrop, âitâs fine, you donât mind waiting, right, jake?â
he looked up from his camera, nodding, âcourse not, iâll start putting my stuff away now so i donât end up being the victim of your hangry rage again.â
your jaw dropped at your best friendâs not-so-subtle dig, âhey, watch your mouth, unless you wanna pay for your own food later.â
even when you were trying to be intimidating, jake couldnât help but find you cute, his teasing scowl dissolving into a wide grin when you furrowed your eyebrows and glared at him, âsorry, sorry!â
âyou better be!â he heard you say as he went to return the lighting gels heâd used, sneaking a few glances at you every now and then to check how you were doing with jaemin.
âoh, youâre done already?â haechan said out of the blue, shocking jake to the point where he almost dropped his camera.
âhyung! ah, you scared me,â the younger boy steadied himself and placed his camera in its bag before he could do any damage.
âdamn, thatâs the second time thatâs happened today, am i that scary? or was i just that quiet?â haechan asked, more to himself than to jake.
âno, no, i just get spooked easily. trust me, my friends love taking advantage of that,â he chuckled, âbut yeah, we finished already, jaemin hyungâs just getting a few photos of y/n as well.â
âoh, okay, that was quick, you two must work well together, huh?â haechan looked down at the time on his phone, and then at you in front of the backdrop, following the poses that heâd been doing before.
jake followed his gaze, a smile naturally making its way onto his face, âyeah, iâve been using her for my photos since high school, so i guess sheâs just gotten used to what to do by now.â
âah, i was watching you guys take pictures before and you just seemed to work so well together. that, plus how you were teasing each other, had me wondering whether you were, yâknow, together,â haechan shifted his focus back onto jake, his eyes widening out of curiosity.
âoh, uhh, t-together, as in likeââ
âlike, are you and y/n dating?â
jakeâs face fell as soon as the question came out of haechanâs mouth. of course he knew what he meant by âtogetherâ, he just didnât want to believe it was what he thought. it wasnât like heâd never heard the question beforeâin fact, heâd been asked that countless timesâbut, my god, did he hate it.
noticing jakeâs uneasy expression, haechan was quick to apologise, âoh, was that too far? iâm sorry, i-i was just being nosy, i didnât realise it would make you feel uncomfortableââ
âno, itâs okay, i was just⊠surprised is all,â jake tried to cover his discomfort with a smile, eyes darting around the room to look at anything but you.
now, it wasnât the question itself that jake despised; if he was being honest, he secretly loved the assumption that you and him were dating. what he hated was the answerâthe fact that the answer wasnât yes.
âno, w-weâre not together,â jake mumbled, wincing as he spoke the words that shattered his heart.
âsorry, what did you say? your club president was yelling something, i couldnât hear you properly,â haechan leaned closer to him in an attempt to block out eunjinâs voice.
âweâre⊠not together,â jake said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
âohâŠâ haechan replied. his lacklustre response was followed by a few beats of awkward silence before he properly reacted, âwell, thatâs great!â
jakeâs head snapped up, confused at his unexpectedly positive reaction, âwh-what?â
âyeah!â haechan enthusiastically nodded. âi was just checking because, and you didnât hear this from me, but,â he lowered his voice, subtly gesturing towards you and jaemin.
âsomeone has taken an interest in y/n and wanted to know whether or not he had a chance with her before he went ahead and made a move.â
all jake could do was let out a quiet âreally?â, too focused on the fact that the broken pieces of his fragile heart had just been stomped on and destroyed.
âmhm, so, just making sure, you guys definitely arenât together, right?â haechan asked for confirmation, âoh, and she isnât with anyone else, is she? thereâs nobody else sheâs interested in or involved with right now?â
for a moment, jake considered saying yesâyes, there was someone else for you, someone youâd known and loved for years, someone who just didnât know it yet. it was just one little white lie, right?
but, would it really be worth it? would robbing you of the chance to be with a kind and caring partner who would cherish you and treat you right be worth a few more months of silent, aching pining? it would hurt him to see you with someone else, but his feelings had no right getting in the way of your happiness. your love life wasnât his to control, and he loved you too much to sabotage you like that.
taking a deep breath, jake faced haechan with a much more sincere smile, âno, thereâs nobody jaemin hyung needs to worry about, and iâm happy to, yâknow, help him out with y/n if he needs it.â
his eyes drifted over to you, huddled over jaeminâs camera, laughing at whatever heâd just said. jake felt his heart swell at the sightâeven if he wasnât the one behind that beautiful smile of yours, he was content knowing the person that was was someone he trusted and knew would make you happy.
âreally? thanks, man, i know jaem will really appreciate it,â haechanâs voice drew jake out of his distracted daze.
âof course,â he answered, his focus on you unwavering, âanything for y/n.â
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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polaroid love | njm (1)
ONE â ooh, someoneâs got a cruuush!
<- BACK | MENU | NEXT ->
PAIRING | na jaemin x female reader (ft. nct dream + enhypen 02z)
GENRE | fluff, angst, college au
WARNINGS | intended lowercase, cursing, mentions of sex, alcohol consumption, stem student slander
WORD COUNT | 2.5k
SUMMARY | inspired by enhypenâs âpolaroid loveâ â in his twenty-two years of living, na jaemin has never been in a proper relationship. after witnessing his best friends go through their fair share of complicated, devastating heartbreaks, jaemin decided he was better off investing his time and effort into his studies, rather than wasting his time falling in love. years of having fleeting crushes and being countlessly confessed to passed by and not a single person could tempt jaemin into the world of love. that is, until, he meets someone that he canât get out of his head no matter how long he stares at his anatomy textbooks. someone that reminds him of the hopeless romantic he once was. someone that can show him that love doesnât have to be so complicated to succeed.
A/N | iâve been waiting for the day to put this out and here it is!! i hope you guys enjoy this first part and look forward to the rest of the series :) feedback is always appreciated and please reply to this post or send an ask to be added to the taglist <3
FIC PLAYLIST LINK | click here to enhance your reading experience!
HEADER KEY | âą REC -> a characterâs point of view | â GALLERY -> a flashback from that characterâs point of view
JAEMIN CAM âą REC
âjaem, foodâs here, you can finish that later,â jaemin looked up from his computer after countless hours of meticulous editing to see jeno leaning against the doorframe, impatiently tapping his foot.
âmmm, yeah, be right there,â jaemin hummed, with absolutely no intention of getting up within the next few seconds.
jeno rolled his eyes at his housemate. he knew him well enough to know that he wouldnât be moving from his desk any time soon, âhmph, okay, but hurry up or renjun and haechanâll beat you to the couch and you know you get all huffy when you have to sit on the floor.â
âi donât get huffy,â jaemin scoffed, shutting off his computer and getting up from his chair, momentarily holding onto it for balance as heâd underestimated just how long heâd been glued to it, âiâm not getting up because you said that, iâm getting up because i donât want the terrible two to take my favourite soju flavours before i get there and leave me the strawberry one.â
jeno chuckled as he signalled for jaemin to snag their spots on the living room sofa whilst their other housemates finished laying out the pizza and chicken theyâd ordered.
once haechan had stopped complaining about how he deserved the best spot since he paid for the food, the four friends sat down and enjoyed their delicious meal accompanied by whatever show jeno had come across whilst flipping through channels. four full stomachs and five empty soju bottles later, the boys piled together messily on the couch, their drunk conversations drowning out the sound of the show playing and reducing it to background noise.
âsoooo, lee jeno, are we not gonna talk about the guest you brought home last night?â renjun teased, rubbing his flushed cheeks against his best friendâs side.
âahh, well, what was her name againââ
âyou forgot her name?â an equally red jaemin sat up from haechanâs lap, his droopy eyes now wide open, âyou brought her home and you donât know her name?â
jeno slowly shook his head, lightly hitting jaeminâs chest, âcalm down, sheâs an international student and she has an english name so it was harder to remember⊠ah! it was lila, she was at the bar last night when the basketball game was on, and she seemed kinda bummed when the team she supported lost soââ
âyou made her feel better about it by making her feel good blah blah blah, i donât care about how you worked your charm, what i wanna know is why she practically ran out of here saying âiâm sorryâ over and over,â renjun said, earning himself a slap from jeno for both interrupting and exposing him.
âi was getting to that,â jeno huffed as he recalled this morningâs events, âwell, uh, you see, when lila first came to korea she befriended⊠rina.â
âyour ex rina?!â haechanâs high-pitched exclamation had the rest of the boys covering their ears with their hands.
âno, the waitress at the sushi restaurant rina,â jeno deadpanned, âof course, my ex rina! lila didnât recognise me until this morning because, well, i-it was dark⊠and we, we werenât exactly fully sober. but when she did, she pretty much left as soon as she could, saying that she felt awkward for getting with her closest friendâs ex and that she wasnât gonna contact me again for the sake of their friendship.â
âdamn.â
âthatâs⊠unfortunate.â
âyikes.â
âi know,â jeno carelessly reached for another bottle of soju, taking a swig, âitâs rough.â
âyouâre not the only one going through it,â renjun piped up, holding a shot glass in front of jenoâs bottle, gesturing to pour him some. after tipping the burning liquid down his throat, he sighed, âi stopped talking to chaeyeon, well, more like she stopped talking to me. she said she was never really that into me and that she just needed someone to entertain her for a bit soââ
snatching the bottle from jeno, renjun took another pitiful sip, the rest of the boys giving him sympathetic pats on the back or reassuring him that heâd find someone soon enough or maybe it was for the best.
âseems like none of us are having much luck with relationships lately,â haechan said, âi asked hyeyoon if she wanted to go on a third date any time soon and⊠she ghosted me.â
âoh dear,â jaemin winced, the second-hand embarrassment sending shivers down his spine. ârenjun-ah, donât hog that bottle, give hyuck some too,â he gripped the green bottle, lowering his voice, âcome on, he needs this just as much as you do.â
he whined but gave in, handing the drink to his slightly more sober friend, âi assume you donât have any news regarding your non-existent love life, jaem?â
âthatâs meannnn, jun,â jeno lightly hit renjun again, this time for the snarky comment, âwait, jaem, whatâs that face for? surely⊠no, it canât be.â
the boy shrugged, the dreamy smile on his face completely unmoved. âwell,â he paused to grab their attention, âthere is this one girlâŠâ
those words alone seemed to sober up jaeminâs best friends, as they all sat up, jaws agape and anticipating gazes on him. it was rare for jaemin to ever contribute to these conversations besides from providing emotional support or advice, so the mere mention of a girl on jaeminâs mind had piqued their interest. as he opened his mouth to continue, the boys simply hoped that it was going to be more than just another of his fleeting attractions.
JAEMIN CAM â GALLERY
âand remember, next week youâre gonna need a model for what weâre doing, so donât forget to bring a friend along,â eunjin reminded the group before they all left, âooh, and iâll post a reminder on the clubâs instagram story in case youâre super forgetful!â
jaemin whipped his phone out of his pocket, quickly typing the reminder âbring someone to photography clubâ into his notes, already trying to figure out which of his friends would be the easiest to persuade to come along.
âah, hyung, iâll get going now, see you next thursday,â the enthusiastic second year engineering major jaemin had befriended waved goodbye to his senior, flashing a grin as he packed up his things and set off.
âsee yâ wait, jake! you almost left your camera bag,â jaemin called after him, handing him his belongings.âwhatâs got you in such a rush? youâd never leave your camera behind.â
the younger boy turned to retrieve his stuff, bowing to show his gratitude, âoh, thank you so much, hyung, i wouldâve gone insane if i left this. my best friendâs waiting for me and she did not appreciate the extra time eunjin noona took at the end of the sessionâsheâs impatient and hungry and itâs my turn to pay for dinner so if i donât hurry up, i have to deal with a hangry y/n for longer than iâd like.â
âsim jaeyun! come on!â the voice of who jaemin assumed to be the âhangry y/nâ caught his attention, however, the annoying image he had envisioned in his head did not match up with the beauty he laid eyes on.
âcalm down! i was just thanking jaemin hyung for giving me my camera back, which i wouldnât have forgotten if you werenât rushing me, geez,â jake rolled his eyes as he turned his back to you, mouthing a âsee youâ to jaemin as he hurried to the door, âiâm coming, iâm coming!â
after packing away all of his equipment, jaemin set off on his way home, not forgetting to bow to eunjin on his way out.
âsorry, jakey, i just couldnât wait,â he heard a much gentler version of the voice from before in front of him. looking up from his phone, jaemin recognised the two figures in front of him as the bickering best friends heâd encountered not even a few minutes ago.
âcouldnât wait to what? drain my bank account?â jakeâs joking questions were met with complete silence, âoh, i see how it is!â
âkidding! i meant that i couldnât wait to spend time with you now that youâre not busy with that big, mechanic⊠project, uh, thing. yes, i know what itâs called, i just donât want to say all those long sciency words,â your whining brought a smile to jaeminâs face, having heard similar words from his own arts major friends.
his smile only grew as he crossed the road and saw you almost trip over the curb from laughing so hard at whatever jake had said next, too preoccupied by your joyous laughter and the way you beamed at your friend to have heard.
jaemin sighed as he looked on, wondering how fulfilling it would be to be the cause of that pretty smile or the reason behind your contagious giggles. or, to put it simply, he wondered how fulfilling it would be to loved.
JAEMIN CAM âą REC
âna jaemin⊠are you joking,â haechan turned towards him, blinking slowly in disbelief at what heâd just heard, âanother random crush that you saw for a few minutes and never again? we thought it was gonna be different this time, man.â
before jaemin could even defend himself, renjun seemed to have had some sort of epiphany, âwoah, wait, slow your roll there, hyuck. i think our jaem might actually have a chance.â
âhe does?â
âi do?â even jaemin was ready to admit that you were just another brief attraction, but hearing that he had even the slightest chance with you had his cheeks burning redder than ever, âc-could you elaborate?â
âi could⊠if you show us what this y/n looks like,â renjun cocked an eyebrow, holding his hand out to see if jaemin would accept his offer.
âwh-why would you wanna do that?â jaemin didnât know if it was the drinks or the idea of his best friends potentially showing interest in you that had him fumbling over his words.
âcalm down, weâre not gonna steal her from you,â jeno wrapped his arm around his shoulder, nuzzling into his side, âwe wouldnât do that to you, man, weâre just curious, thatâs all.â
âmhm!â haechan chimed in, âwe just wanna give her the best friend stamp of approval before we proceed.â
jaemin took a moment to consider his friendsâ words, before retrieving his phone from the disgustingly messy table, âfine! but if any of you accidentally like any of her photos i swear iâm gonna⊠iâllâ i wonât be happy!â
the boys chuckled at their roommateâs sheer inability to get angry at them; his tolerance and kindness were just some of the things they loved about him, qualities they knew his future girlfriend would appreciate. they waited as jaemin opened instagram to find your page, haechan advising him to go through jakeâs following to make it easier.
âwhat? like none of you have ever tried to stalk someoneâs profile before,â haechan scoffed, leaning closer to the screen, âoh! right there, sheâs tagged in his most recent post.â
clicking on the small square, a smile unknowingly crept onto jaeminâs face as he stared at the candid photo of you laughing with jake and another friend he was sure heâd seen before on his account. although the gentle hues of the sunset made for a picturesque background, he couldnât help but think that you and your beaming smile were the most beautiful view of all.
âahem⊠earth to jaemin?â renjun frantically waved his hand in front of the dazed boyâs face, âif you wanna gawk at her pics so badly, i would recommend checking out her account.â
the sarcasm dripping in his words wouldâve normally had jaemin rolling his eyes, but he was too focused scrutinising every little detail of your profile. the aesthetically pleasing highlight covers were almost as eye-catching as the selfie youâd set as your profile picture, and the large array of posts featuring cute outfits, your friends, pretty views, and more selfies had jaemin curious to see more.
âooh, âhyu second year philosophy student,â a second year, ah, mark hyung does philosophy too,â jeno commented as he looked over your bio, âi donât see anyone tagged in her bio, and thereâs no dedicated highlight to a boyfriend or anything, so looks like sheâs single!â
ânot everyone documents their relationship on social media, that doesnât automatically mean sheâs singleâ renjun pointed out the obvious, smacking the back of jenoâs head. âbut, we can figure that out later. so now that y/nâs got our stamp of approval, do you wanna know the plan or not, jaem?â
âwait, wait, weâre still looking!â haechan continued to tap on jaeminâs phone and scroll through your pictures, âsheâs cuuute, pretty feed too.â
âi know, right?â jaemin sighed dreamily, earning a disgusted look from jeno, âsorry, sorry, go on, jun, whatâs the plan?â
âyou need to bring a model to photography club this week, donât you?â renjun paused for jaemin to nod.
âbased on what youâve told us, jake and y/n seem very close, close enough that heâll most likely bring her along as his model. if, and when, he brings her, you can actually go and talk to her, maybe get her number or something. as for making sure sheâs single, whichever one of us you bring along can just discreetly ask your friend jake if y/nâs taken, and drop the hint that youâre interestedâyou could get him to help you out with her.â
a few moments of silence passed before jaemin launched himself onto renjun, engulfing him in a tight hug, âthank you, thank you, thank you! wow, i never wouldâve thought that iâd actually have a chance with her but thanks to you and your genius mind, now i might. will you come with me on thursday, jun, please?â
âah, youâre welcome, but y-youâre squeezing me, youâre almost as bad as jeno,â renjun pleaded, dramatically placing a hand on his chest when jaemin loosened his grip.
âi would love to, but thursday? iâm working on a âglobal sculpture through the agesâ exhibition that afternoon. iâm sorry, jaem, but iâm sure these twoâll be happy to help!â
âooh, ooh, i am! iâm free then, and iâm happy to be your gorgeous model and your wingman all at once,â haechan mimed a hair flip, batting his lashes and grinning at jaemin.
jaemin knew he couldnât stand the exaggerated facial expressions any longer and answered him, âokay, fine, hyuck! justâ i know you can get very friendly, very quickly, so donât drift off-topic and just stick to the plan, please, for me. if you succeed, iâll buy you food after as a thank you.â
âwoah, thanks, nana!â haechan snuggled into said boyâs side, showing his gratitude by acting annoyingly adorable, âi guess this means that operation âget jaemin a girlfriendâ is a go!â
his declaration was met with whoops and cheers, with jeno pouring everyone another round of shots to celebrate their roommateâs potential romance. as they raised their glasses and downed their drinks, jaemin squeezed his eyes shut and hoped, with all his heart, that their operation would be a success.
© YOUR-WORLD-WITH-NCT, 2023
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