Picturesque to Photogenic
synopsis. breaking up with popular, heartthrob Ni-ki was supposed to be a one and done thing. After all, it seemed like you weren’t the only girl in his life. Still, why is it so hard for the both of you to let go?
— ᨳ nishimura riki x reader ଓ wc. 2.1k
ˋ°• tags. *⁀➷ college au, smau + writing, [film student][female]reader, [drummer]ni-ki, exes, [band]enhypen, fluff, angst, second chance romance, multiple chapters₊
˚⊹ ᰔ a/n. while planning this chapter i giggled
tw: minor harassment
This whole week has been torturous to you. Your ex, who you still consider the love of your life, reached out again. You two met up. You had a conversation; albeit a brief one, it was a conversation nonetheless. You knew it was a mistake to go to that show after avoiding him for months. The fact that you felt bad that he wasn’t even there also disgusts you.
You yearn for an escape from this misery, but you had commissions and school work to complete. Drowning yourself in work and school only made the overthinking worse. ‘Did he really stop playing drums? Why me? Does he want me back? I do. No I don’t. It’s a horrible idea. But is it? I wanna reach out and tell him I lied.’
You need a break, and a long one.
The weight of all your emotions pushed you to admit everything that happened to your best friend one night. While she did scold you about only muting him, she also supported you emotionally for a while.
You’re now feeling a bit better, the racing thoughts calming down after some time. Still, you do want to live a little after everything that happened. Thankfully, your friend reaches out to you.
Riki’s condition isn’t far off from yours. Ever since that day, he’d been sulking the same way he did post-breakup. He replays the moments leading up to the breakup and then your conversation daily. The words, ‘I don’t want you anymore,’ also interrupt his thoughts occasionally.
His band members don’t know what to do with him because comforting him with words doesn’t work. They also still have that issue of finding a replacement drummer every time until he’s ‘back to normal.’
You’ve consumed a lot of media in your spare time and came to the conclusion that bad things always happen at parties. Your theory was also confirmed in your life too.
Considering the roots of your distaste towards these events, Friday night has you constantly praying for some sort of peace as you get ready in your room
You pick up the phone to a rather odd introduction. “I’m outside your house.”
You giggle at your friend’s antics, putting your makeup refill essentials in your bag before you leave. “Oh no, what ever shall I do?”
Despite being unable to see her, you imagine your friend rolling her eyes. “Oh, shut up. Do you want a ride or not?”
A small laugh leaves you. “Coming! I’m sorry, my favorite chauffeur.”
“You’re paying for my gas next time,” she counters while hanging up.
When you arrive at the party with her, the smell of alcohol hits you like a truck. You immediately send your friend a look of disapproval, to which she only replies with a grin. Taking your hand, she drags you around, greeting some mutual friends on the way to the dance floor of the small venue.
“Let’s dance!” your friend exclaims, letting go of your hand and hitting one of the cringiest moves you’d ever seen.
You shake your head in embarrassment, but you start dancing along with her.
Surprisingly, this distraction is working pretty well. You and your friend split up to network, and you meet a few people in your major, some outside of it too. You imagine the demand for commissions will go up based on the amount of people you exchange contact information with. You even begin to think that this isn’t a bad idea after all.
The key word is, ‘think.’ From the corner of your eye, you spot your godforsaken ex with his friends.
Instantly, you blend in with the crowd so he can’t see you and mentally berate yourself for showing up to this party.
You curiously perk your head up over someone’s shoulder to see what he’s doing and the sight only makes it worse. He’s standing beside his friend, who you believe to be one of the guitarists, Jungwon, talking to a girl. It makes your blood boil, how he never changes. You don’t even know why you’re so angry when he’s your ex, but you turn around and walk away anyway.
Little did you know that he spotted you at that moment.
While storming off you accidentally bump into someone. “Sorry.”
The man you bumped into turns around and smiles warmly. “It’s alright.”
You’re about to continue to the bar, when he extends his arm out. “Woah, you’re in a rush.”
“Not really. Just want a drink,” you reply curtly, not wanting to deal with this right now.
“A drink, huh?” The man doesn’t hesitate in the way he observes you. “I could get you one.”
You stop for a second, thinking maybe this could be another distraction. “Sure, why not.”
He sits you down by the bar and takes one order for you. Propping up an arm on the table and sitting closely next to you, he leans in smugly while looking you up and down. He’s shameless.
“So,” he begins as you two wait for your drink, “are you enjoying yourself?”
You keep your face as emotionless as possible. “Not really.”
“I hate parties,” you say with disdain.
He finds your response funny and brushes his hair back with his free hand while smirking. “Then why are you here?”
You cringe internally at the sight of him and something uneasy grows in your stomach. “To distract myself.”
“Oh? Distraction?” he questions, acting like your answer was an invitation.
“You know, when I first saw you, it seems like you were the distraction.”
You can’t help the small grimace that appears on your face. “No, that’s just how you perceived me.”
The guy doesn’t answer you and reaches out to touch your thigh instead. You flinch, push his hand away, and then stand up. “On second thought, I really need to go to the washroom.”
“You’re no fun,” he comments, standing up too.
The fear sinks in and you speedwalk towards the washroom, looking back to the sight of him following you still. You make a break for it once you see the sign properly, closing and locking the stall door.
Thankfully he didn’t follow you in, otherwise you’d scream for help. You stay there for a few minutes taking deep shaky breaths, trying to calm yourself before texting your friend. When you unlock your phone though, you get some unexpected reassurance.
For some reason, after reading that you felt calmer. You nervously unlock the stall and walk out, unsure of what awaits you. Once you exit the washroom, you scan your surroundings. The man from before isn’t there and neither is he.
Relief washes over you and you decide that maybe you need a breath of fresh air after what happened. You make your way to the small, calm terrace outside of the event area and pause by the doorframe when you spot the exact two people you’re actively avoiding.
You conclude in your head that fate is annoying, but attempt to stay hidden and listen in on their conversation.
As far as your eyes can see, you watch as the man who harassed you earlier rubs his cheek, cursing your ex out. “Fuck you dude. Why are you cock blocking when you’re the one that cheated on her?”
Riki sounds stern when he replies. “Don’t speak on things that ain’t your business. I hate baseless rumours.”
“Yeah right,” the man muses sarcastically, egging him on by shoving him.
Riki stays unmoving, a hand secure on the railing he’s leaning on. “Let her be, this isn’t about me,” he warns. “Do you want to get punched again?”
The man flips him off and spits on the ground right by his foot. “Didn’t want that bitch anyway.”
It’s too late when the man spots you as he heads back inside the venue. You’re scared he might hit you, but as he walks back in he completely passes you; not without giving you a scowl.
You turn your attention back to Riki, who hasn’t noticed you yet. He throws a relaxed arm over the railing, takes out a cigarette pack from his pocket, and puts it back in once he retrieves one. The way he lights it gives you flashbacks to before you started dating and you couldn’t help but approach him slowly. You’ve missed him too much to act like you hate him, especially since he just helped you out.
“I thought I told you smoking’s bad for you.”
He froze at the sound of your voice before breathing out a puff of smoke. “And I thought you hated parties.”
You shrug and lean on the railing beside him, but he doesn’t look at you. “Still do. Someone ruined them for me.”
He sounds a bit regretful when he asks, “Talkin’ bout that guy or me?”
“Both,” you reply simply.
Riki chuckles softly, then looks at you properly. His eyes soften at the sight of you and he takes another drag. “You okay now though?”
Suddenly you're reminded of the proximity between you two and avoid his eyes. “Yeah.. thank you.”
He hums in response, then an awkward silence follows. The night air feels colder than before.
“You’re dodging the party even if it means staying here with me,” he comments, breaking the silence.
You deny his bold claim that held some truth as a reflex. “There’s no other quieter place.”
“Right,” he concludes teasingly, playing with the cigarette in between his fingers.
You hate how easy it is to talk to him compared to others and begin to space out thinking about it, so the conversation goes quiet again. Riki understands that expression and lets his cigarette fall through his fingers, before carefully putting it out by crushing it under his shoe. It catches your attention and he takes the opportunity to close the distance somewhat.
Your heart rate increases as you tell yourself to leave, but your body doesn’t listen.
“I didn’t cheat on you,” he murmurs, looking you dead in the eye so you’ll believe him.
“What?” you react, but it comes out as more of a breath.
He sighs. “If you would’ve read my texts or DMs from that night, you would’ve known that.”
You gulp timidly, turning your head away again. “I don’t care. I saw photos. You still–”
His hand reaches out to cup your cheek and make you face him. It’s warm and slightly rough from all his years of playing drums. Just how you remember it. “I know. I know. This random girl who I rejected a while ago got all up on me at a party and someone snapped it. Okay?”
Riki doesn’t give up and you don’t remove his hand from your face yet. “I love you, I do.” His thumb caresses the side of your face as he continues, “I know that my reputation before wasn’t the greatest in terms of this love thing, but I swear.. I didn’t do it.”
You’re slowly giving in to his explanation, but deep down you know you deserve better. “And?”
“And I’m sorry for attending that kind of party even knowing what kind of people would be there.” He answers you like he was ready for it.
You place your hand on top of his, the one on your face. Carefully, you remove it and hold his hand in yours while reminiscing. “I won’t make you beg for forgiveness but regaining my trust will be difficult.”
He squeezes your hand gently and your heart only feels heavier. “I’ll wait for you to forgive me. Just know that I just… I miss my pretty girl.”
You take a good look at him after that, letting go of his hand with a disappointed exhale. “I don’t know if I could handle the heartbreak again. I’m sorry.”
Riki stares at you as if waiting for more. “[Name].. So you’re saying it really is over between us?”
You shake your head. “I don’t know. Just.. give me time.”
“And space?” he asks immediately.
A quiet, amused breath leaves you. “Well, I don’t hate your company. So I’ll allow it… in moderation.”
He almost beams at that. Almost. “I’ll do anything for you, baby.”
You physically cringe. “Ew, don’t call me that.”
“Right. Not yet,” he says, as if it’s guaranteed you’ll get back with him.
“Watch yourself,” you advise, taking a step back to leave. “I’m going, and you’re not following me.”
He has a cool expression on his face as he eyes you. “Yes ma’m.”
You roll your eyes as you turn to leave, not even saying goodbye. Although, you do leave him with one piece of advice. “Start playing drums again and I’ll consider forgiving you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
You had no idea the kind of spark you re-ignited in him.
When you left the party with your friend all happy, she thought you had finally gotten over your ex. She was clueless towards the fact that it was quite the opposite.
₊˚⊹ ᰔ a/n. oh my god i dont even bias riki and im folding
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