c.s. archive

It doesn't connect. He visibly deflates, walking back towards the boys and placing his phone down on the small table in the middle of the sitting area. He keeps staring at its screen, turning when he feels the pressure of everyone's eyes curiously on him.

"She didn't pick up." Seungcheol says sheepishly.

"She's probably busy." He continues, although nobody's asked him for explanations, but he's being completely serious by the pout set on his face. "She always answers otherwise." He nods to himself. "Because she loves me."

The others stare besides themselves, nodding as well and finding the situation the most amusing thing in the world.

"It's not like she would ignore me..."

"Yeah, she's probably busy." Joshua agrees appeasingly, and Seungcheol's pouting almost stops. "The time difference is like…" he trails off.

"It's like five in the morning." Mingyu sniggers. "She's busy sleeping, and you're being clingy." Apparently someone had no sense of self preservation today.

But the oldest member doesn't react. Instead, he's regretting having called you at all, thinking he might've bothered you so early.

"Five minutes!" someone counts down before it's time for them to go out on stage.

And just at that moment, his phone screen lights up with your contact, there's a picture of you and at least three different heart emojis. Seungcheol's face lights up too, almost dropping the phone in his haste to pick it up before he's heading into the hallway. Noise filters out as the others start to whoop and tease at his display of being down bad.

The door closes behind him, but not before they can make out Seungcheol's voice turning impossibly softer as he answers your call,

"Hi, baby. Did I wake you up?"

-

thank you for reading <3

Seungcheol’s holding his phone when it rings.

He’s supposed to be resting. That was the entire point of staying home tonight. He’s had an exhausting work week and is trying to kick the tail end of a cold that won’t die, so he promised he’d do nothing besides eat your delicious soup and go to bed early.

And he’s had the soup, but he’s definitely not in bed because it’s almost midnight and you’re still not home. So it’s understandable why, when he sees Joshua’s name flash on the screen, he answers with a short, “Where’s my wife?”

 Joshua chuckles at him through the speaker. “I knew you would still be awake.”

“Answer the question.”

“She is sitting on someone’s stoop and petting their cat.”

Ah. Seungcheol knows what that means. You’re likely drunk. Sober you can’t pass up a street cat so drunk you stands absolutely no chance.

When you told him you wanted to go to the art and drinks night at the museum, he was less than enthused.

“What’s so interesting there anyway?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out. I’ve left dinner in the fridge and medicine on the nightstand. You’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be fine,” he protested. “I won’t have my wife here with me.”

Sure enough, he’s spent the entire evening moping and waiting. And now Joshua’s on the phone instead of you and Seungcheol already knows he’s not going to like what comes next.

“It’s almost midnight. Why isn’t she home?”

“You are really crabby tonight, aren’t you? Look, there was a small misunderstanding.”

“Mhm.”

“I thought Hannie agreed to be the designated driver tonight but he thought I was going to drive, so…we both accidentally drank.”

“You really thought that Jeonghan would be a DD? When has he ever driven?”

“Okay, that is on me. But…that does not change the fact that we are all drunk and cannot drive. Any chance you haven’t chugged your cold medicine tonight?”

It’s a little unnerving how calm Joshua sounds when intoxicated. You’re the one who pointed out that Joshua loses the ability to form contractions properly when drunk; since then, Seungcheol can always tell.

“We knew that if we tried to stick her in an Uber you would kill us.”

“Damn right,” growls Seungcheol, grabbing his keys from the table.

“It was a joke, Cheol.”

Ignoring Joshua, he says, “I’m on my way.”

Stuffing a few tissues into his jacket as a precaution, he heads downstairs with the sole focus of retrieving you as quickly as possible. He can’t help but feel annoyed with his friends, who suggested the idea to you in the first place, thus ruining what would have been a perfectly good Friday night at home.

More annoying is that he had to see you done up all pretty to go out without him. The thought of other men flirting with you without him there to run interference has plagued him all night. His only comfort is knowing you’re more interested in a stray cat than another man.

He finds you only a block away from the museum. Joshua and Jeonghan are still standing, but that’s to be expected: they have a much better tolerance than you do.

The cat is nowhere to be seen, but you’re still sitting on the stoop in your pretty black dress, head leaning towards the wrought-iron railing.

“Hey, pretty girl.”

You blink up at him before breaking into a wide smile. “Cheollie!”

“Correct.”

“Are you here to take me home?”

“You bet, baby.”

Your legs are wobbly, so he hoists you up the rest of the way. You giggle at his show of strength, holding onto his forearms for support. If he wasn’t so tired and so addled, he’d be more of a show-off about it.

Still, seeing you again has already improved his mood. He just needs to get you home and in bed now. For purely innocent reasons. Judging by the way your eyes keep fluttering, you’re just as tired as he is.

“Any chance you can take us home, too?” asks Joshua. His delicate cheekbones and the tips of his ears are flushed. Jeonghan is resting his cheek against his husband’s back looking extra pathetic.

Sighing, Seungcheol says, “Fine, but you have to find your own ride back for your car tomorrow.”

“Fair.”

Seungcheol corrals everyone over to his car, feeling all too much like a mom after a soccer game. You seem to have found your second wind the moment he clicks your seatbelt around you.

“Three guys asked for my number,” you tell him, whispering loudly like it’s an exciting secret.

Seungcheol can’t help but feel miffed by your enthusiasm. “And what did you say?”

“That I have the strongest, hottest, smart…smartest husband in the entire fucking world!” you declare happily.

“She really did,” confirms Joshua. “The ‘f’ word and everything.”

Seungcheol sits a little taller, puffs his chest out a little more. “Well then.” A poorly-timed cough makes him buckle a bit.

“Cheollie…” Your suddenly anxious gaze is on him. “That doesn’t sound good. When we get home I’ll make you some soup,” you decide.

Never mind that you already did that and never mind that he’s not letting you near a kitchen in this state. It’s still sweet knowing that you care this much. “Okay, baby. That sounds good.”

Seungcheol’s barely started up the car when Jeonghan calls from the backseat, “I’m hungry.”

Of course he is. Seungcheol is ready to tell him that’s not his problem when you perk up again, raising your head from the seat belt. “Me too. That was mouse food!”

Only enough for a mouse, he thinks, quickly puzzling out what you mean. If you’re hungry, you’re definitely not going to fall asleep and he already ate all the soup. 

“Noodles, chicken, or burgers?” he asks.

“Noodles,” says Jeonghan.

“Noodles,” agrees Joshua.

“Burgers!” you call out.

Seungcheol flicks on his blinker. “Burgers it is.”

Laughter echoes from the back seat. Seungcheol doesn’t care if they want to laugh at him. What his baby wants, she gets.

You twist in your seat to smirk at the guys. “That’s called pretty privilege.”

Jeonghan scoffs. “If that was true, we’d be going to get noodles.”

“Listen, asshole–”

“That’s enough,” orders Seungcheol. His headache is creeping back in now. He’s desperately relieved that tomorrow–well, today really–is Saturday. All he has to do is get some food into everyone and then get home. And get you out of the dress and into some pajamas. And get your face washed. And…

There are still too many steps between him and bed. He pulls into the burger restaurant parking lot, which is still brightly lit despite the hour. Everyone scrambles out of the car. This late at night there’s one bored cashier, who’s likely used to encountering drunken groups, and one cook who’s slowly scraping down the grill with the enthusiasm of someone facing a firing squad.

Everyone squints at the brightly lit menu boards.

Jeonghan moves first, placing an order for a meal he won’t finish; Joshua follows immediately afterwards.

You’ve got a dazed look on your face. Seungcheol gives you a little nudge. “What sounds good, baby?”

“Four burgers,” you decide.

Seungcheol cuts off the cashier before she can enter the order. “No. One burger, please.”

Perhaps sensing his plight, the cashier looks first at you, then over at Joshua and Jeonghan, who are still leaning heavily against each other. Finally, she gives Seungcheol a subtle nod.

“Large fries,” you demand. 

“Regular fries,” Seungcheol tells the beleaguered cashier. Before you can pout, he says, “If you want more fries, I’ll buy you more to take home. Deal?”

You respond by snuggling up under his arm. If you eat more than three bites before falling asleep, he’ll be surprised. With you wrapped around his body like a drunken koala, it takes some effort to retrieve his wallet. Joshua and Jeonghan have already gone over to the soda machine to puzzle out the screen.

“Long night?” asks the cashier.

Seungcheol isn’t sure how he feels receiving sympathy from someone who works the night shift at a 24-hour restaurant, but it seems appropriate. He leaves an extra large tip and drags you over to a table.

Jeonghan’s gotten you a lemonade but hasn’t been able to fit the straw into the lid. After watching you make two painful attempts, Seungcheol takes the straw away from you and pokes it in.

You drink with both hands around the cup.

“How much trouble are we in?”

Before Seungcheol can answer Joshua’s question, the cashier calls their order. There’s no point in pretending anyone else is coordinated enough to get it right now. Seungcheol brings the food over and Jeonghan grabs for the first burger he can reach.

The three of you take your first bites with enthusiasm. Seungcheol is still mostly full from dinner, though he does steal a few fries while you’re occupied. Sure enough, after the third bite, you rest your head against his arm, burger still clasped in your hands. You haven’t even touched your fries.

Jeonghan has given up on his food, too, but that’s normal. He eats like a squirrel seventeen times a day. Going on a trip with him is impossible as it’s spent primarily on finding him food.

To his credit, Joshua eats his entire meal, taking forever to do so. Finally, he rests his napkin on the tray and sips at his Coke. “She hit a new record tonight,” he remarks. “She had a whole three drinks.”

“Two,” corrects Jeonghan. “The third one was literally just juice.”

“Really?”

“I know better than to send her home to Cheol with that much alcohol in her.”

Seungcheol rests his palm on your forehead, which has already cooled down substantially. If he can get some water into you tonight, you might wake up fine tomorrow. He steals another fry from your tray and munches on it tiredly.

Joshua gives him a sympathetic look. “Sorry, Cheol. We really didn’t mean to drag you out tonight.”

“It’s fine.” His voice sounds more petulant than he likes and it escapes no one.

“She missed you all night,” says Jeonghan, picking at his fries. “At one point she told someone that the real work of art was at home in bed.”

“Oh, God,” he laughs, tapering off into a cough. “She’s something else. Are you done yet?”

The food seems to have improved Joshua and Jeonghan’s constitutions quite a bit, but they’re closer to home now than to the museum, so Seungcheol still drives them the rest of the way. You’re fast asleep in the passenger seat, head resting on the seatbelt. Seungcheol’s draped his spare jacket over you, but you’re beyond noticing.

“Night, Cheol,” whispers Jeonghan, before shutting his door. “Good luck.”

It’s a short drive home from there. Exhaustion weighs on his shoulders; Seungcheol presses a tissue against his leaky nose and sniffles, trying not to wake you up. He’s going to be the biggest baby to ever be babied tomorrow. He wants your attention for the entire day.

Even with the car turned off, you’re curled up so soundly that he feels bad about waking you. Seungcheol rests his palm on your knee and shakes gently. “Baby. We’re home finally.”

He really hopes you wake up because he doesn’t have the energy to carry you inside. At this point all he wants is a swig of Nyquil and his pillow.

You come awake with yawn. “Cheollie?”

“Here, sweetheart. Let’s go to bed.”

Not only can you walk on your own, you seem to be doing it pretty well. He still follows you closely up the stairs, ready to brace you if you start to wobble.

You go straight into the kitchen and drink a massive glass of water. Sighing with relief, you say, “Okay, I’m better now.”

“Good, that makes one of us then.”

Seungcheol heads straight for the bed, curling up under the covers. He watches blearily as you unzip your own dress and put away your jewelry. 

“Wow,” you say, tugging on your pajamas. “In my underwear and you’re not even trying to make a move. You really are sick still.”

“My head feels like sand. You’re beautiful but I’m so tired.”

“And you still came out for us? Cheollie, you’re too sweet.”

He dozes while you wash off your makeup and brush your teeth. The bed dips a bit later and he smells mint and your moisturizer. He blinks at you for a moment, watching you rub lotion into your hands.

“Oh! I thought you were asleep. Go to sleep, baby.”

“Need my good night kiss.”

You lean over to kiss him, still waving your hands so they dry quicker. “I missed you.”

“I should have just gone with you. I was too worried about you to rest anyway.”

“The art was ass,” you say crossly. “One of the pieces was just a toilet in the center of a room. Like. Okay?”

When you put it like that, maybe he’s not so sad he missed it.

“Apparently you said something about the real art being at home in your bed?”

Covering your face, you giggle. “Oh, God. Did I really?”

“You don’t remember?”

“No. But it sounds like something I’d say.”

Wrapping his arms around your waist, he tugs you down against him, ignoring your delighted yelp. “Stay with me tomorrow,” he mumbles into your shoulder.

“You got me all day, promise.”

He should be used to that kind of welcoming from people like her. Still, he stuttered and stumbled over his words right there on the threshold, one arm still outstretched, the other clutching a couple of his books. When she rose a questioning brow, he finally snapped out of it, pushing his glasses up with his free hand. "I- I'm tutoring y/n." He stared down at his watch. "We set to meet at 4:30. This is her dorm, right?"

That seemed to have piqued her interest, before she grimaced and brushed him off. "Second door on the left. Her room." Without another glance, she walked past him and left, closing the door behind her.

He stood by the entryway lamely for a couple minutes, nervously looking around and clutching the class' books in his arm. It wasn't a big deal. He'd just be in the same room alone with the girl he had a slight crush on since first year. Emphasis on slight, okay? Her room that's filled with everything her, and her smell is bound to be everywhere overwhelming his senses. Totally fine. He gave a last glance around the small living room before walking over towards the second door to the left.

It was open, able to see inside only through a tiny gap. And for the second time in less than 10 minutes, his hand froze on its way to push it open, eyes blown wide behind his glasses.

You were on your bed, damp panties pushed down, a pillow between your legs as you grinded over it lazily. He swallowed, though his mouth had gone really dry. He really should've looked away instantly, but he couldn't move, eyes zeroed in on the scene in front of him. The only sounds he could hear were the tiny puffs of air coming out of your mouth turning into gasps whenever the pillow beneath you caused a delicious friction against your clit, the rustle of your bed sheets. When you bent slightly forward and your skirt riled up your ass, it gave him a complete view of your pussy.

"Fuck". He mouthed, still unable to tear his eyes away, voice lost and face growing hotter. It wasn't the only thing growing. He bit his lip hard, an almost painful expression in his face at how his pants were starting to feel really uncomfortable. At the same time, he was thankful he'd chosen to dress up a little more and wear jeans instead of his usual sweats.

You picked up a more desperate pace, and he could see the way your poor pussy clenched over nothing, wet and glistening with your slick, dripping down your thighs and onto the pillow.

"I want to come, I want to come." he heard your soft pleading whines and he swore he was going to cum in his pants when you also decided to bring the hand that wasn't toying with your nipples down, pushing a finger in. A sound alike a choked sob left your mouth, mixing with the lewd noise of you moving your finger in and out of your pussy. That's when he decided it was tortuous enough without adding the picture of you making yourself cum and hurried down the hall back to the living room, almost dropping his books and giving himself away as a total pervert in the process.

He plopped down on the sofa throwing his books beside him, unable to brush away the image of what you were doing a couple rooms away, and he closed his eyes for a beat in an attempt to calm himself down. His breathing was coming in quick and he felt hot all over. He shifted in his seat, making futile attempts to adjust his pants so they didn't bother him.

He probably should leave. How was he going to go through tutoring with a hard on after he'd seen you like that? Better to look as irresponsible and make an excuse saying he couldn't make it.

But your roommate. She'd tell you he'd been here, and it would be weird that he suddenly decided to leave. What if you figure out that he'd seen you?

He brushed a hand down his face very frustratedly, and decided to text you letting you know he was there. He should've done that from the beginning and he'd saved himself from this but it had totally slipped that you'd exchanged numbers earlier in the week after your professor set you two up for your lessons. He heard a thud and clatter from your room, and a couple minutes later he heard your light steps heading to the living room.

"Did you just get here?" In your haste, you skipped the greetings fearing he might've heard what you were up to, smoothing down your hair nervously. Time had passed by you, and you didn't notice he'd arrive any minute now, too busy trying to get off for the past half an hour unsuccessfully. It's already mortifying enough to think your roommate might've heard you when she suddenly came back looking for something she left behind.

His big, round eyes stared up at you, taking the sight of you in. The slight color on your cheeks, your perky nipples showing under your shirt. His mind wandered as his eyes kept traveling down to your skirt now fixed down, thinking about how you'd soaked your panties, the sight of your ass as you rolled your hips- "Hi," His voice came out breathy. He cleared his throat, "Yeah."

"You good?" You looked at him curiously, and if he wasn't mistaken, the slight curve of your lip was a tell of you trying to hold back a smirk. "Your face is a little red."

"Really? No- I mean, yes I'm great! I just, ran here." He lied. "Sorry for being late."

"You're okay." you brushed him off, turning towards the kitchen, "Do you want some water?"

"That would be nice. Thank you." And a cold shower too, came as an afterthought.

You handed him his glass of water and instead of sitting down, you offered, "Maybe we should study in my room. It'd be more comfortable there." Crossing your arms over your middle as you shifted in place waiting for his response.

He was thankful he managed to drink his water without choking, playing it off like all was good, grabbing his books before standing up and following you. Once inside, you walked over to your desk, grabbing your notebook, book, and pencil pouch, before plopping down on the bed crossed legged and looking over where he was standing dumbly staring at you like a lost puppy.

To his surprise, you laughed. "You're going to take that bookbag off sometime today and sit down?" You tapped a spot on the bed in front of you.

He gulped, shrugging his bag off. He sat down, one leg crossed, the other stretched over the edge of the bed.

"Okay, what should we start with?"

For a while, you both worked in silence. He caught you up again with what the current topic was and what you were working on and from that, you did most on your own, barely asking him anything. You seemed to be fairing well by yourself. That should've given him time to work on his own homework and papers too, but he had caught himself staring at you more than anything else during that time, and when he wasn't, his mind kept replaying how he'd found you earlier, and threatening to make its own script of fantasies.

Your hand reaching out to rest over his thigh stopped his knee from bouncing, making him tense and his breath stop short. "Listen, I know I bitched out before when the professor paired us up. I'm sorry for that, and thank you for still showing up and agreeing to help me."

He looked at you, befuddled. He was not expecting an apology. The way you'd snapped at him and stormed out of the classroom had given him the impression that you didn't want anything to do with him. He'd felt dejected to say the least given his fat ass crush on you, but ever since you'd received him, you'd been nothing but nice to him and he'd known he'd been right in the first place, you were actually really sweet. And now you were mistaking his fidgeting for him being uncomfortable around you. Thus, you kept speaking. "It's just, I really can manage on my own. I don't want to burden you with this or for you to feel obliged to just because our professor made you. I've never had problems with my classes before. Guess I was just distracted with …" Your face fell a little, "It doesn't matter now anyway. We can just tell the professor we're meeting up but we don't actually have to so you still get paid." You finished.

He totally knew that you did okay on your own. You were smart, top of most your classes except this one because it was him. Only when you started to surround yourself with some not-so-smart people and your not-so-smart boyfriend it was that you started to fall behind, skip classes when you never in your life did so before. He couldn't understand what were you doing with a guy like that. His guess about you saying you'd been distracted was that you meant by him. He'd been surprised to recently hear you two had broken up near the end of last term. He was dying to know more. You totally had to have been the one to dump him. But instead, he said something more wise, "It's not a burden. I know you're good without me." Pushing himself to be a bit bolder and take his chance, he said, "And actually, I-I like… this. So we can just have study sessions like these whenever you want. Only if you'd like to of course!"

He was rewarded with bright laughter bubbling up from you. "Sorry. You're cute. But sure, I'd like that too. You have my number." You winked at him, squeezing his thigh before pulling your hand away.

His nose scrunched up, but still he smiled back. He'd take it you calling him cute if it meant hanging out with you again.

\\\

"Cheol, I want to cum. Please make me cum, Cheol." You keep chanting along with his name, words slurring when he hits that spot that turns you into putty in his hands. He's got you bent over that same pillow you were using earlier, face smushed against the mattress now that your arms have given up as he drives his cock in and of you hard from the back. You move in time to meet his thrusts, desperate to reach your high, your hole greedily sucking him in and making a mess all over him. He knows that he might be too much to take, but you're taking him like a champ, his hip bone smacking the fat of your ass with each deep thrust, light red blooming on the tender skin as he kneads it and lands a few spanks.

"Go ahead, baby. Soak my cock with your cum." He encourages, "I'm going to cum inside your pretty pussy, Fill it up even more."

It doesn't take much longer for you both to cum.

Except that when he does, he's alone in his room sitting on his bed with his jeans and underwear pushed down, head thrown back against the headboard as he cums on your panties that are wrapped around his cock as he jerks his hand up and down. The same panties you'd ruined when you were touching yourself that he'd spotted lying under your bed. They'd probably ended there in your rush of you changing and receiving him. He wouldn't have seen them if the ink of the pen you were using hadn't run out, you standing up to get another from your desk complaining about not finding your favorite and making due with a trashy one that you hated. That's when you accidentally dropped something, and bending to pick it up you flashed him. In the second that'd taken him to avert his gaze down, he'd noticed they were different ones, only to find the other pair lying on the floor. He'd reached and pocketed them, telling himself he did it to save you from wondering if he'd seen your underwear lying there the whole time he'd been over.

As his breathing calmed down and post orgasm clarity hit, he was sure of two things: he really was a perv. And pathetic. He heaved out a deep sigh, "This is so wrong."

2: Heartbreaker

It's a few days later when he sees you again after his first lesson of the morning. You're walking out of a lecture hall talking to a classmate when you look forward and wave at him with a smile. He waves back, face heating up. He's not able to hold eye contact for long, guilt bubbling up from the mouth of his stomach at the thoughts and things he's done thinking about you. He hears someone call out your name and looks over to find your ex coming up from the opposite direction walking towards you.

He tenses, jaw clenched as he watches you two talk. He knows he's unreasonably jealous. You're not his. He's not sure if he can even call himself your friend. But he's nothing to you either. The guy's a loser for fumbling you. What do you two even have to talk about?

He's stuck in this circle of thoughts, frowning at nothing when someone walks up to him. A girl he recognizes from one of his classes.

You brush your ex off as quick as you can, telling him to leave you alone and putting on a distance before he can lay a hand on you like you fear he intended to when you saw him reaching over, thinking it much better to go say hi to Seungcheol. But then you notice he's engaged in a far more pleasant conversation compared to yours. He's chatting with a girl, and for once he's not the one looking more nervous. You watch curiously, catching a few words like 'studying sometime together', walking slower than necessary making people skip past you annoyed. The last you get to see is the slight disappointment on the girl's face when Seungcheol seemingly turns the offer down.

The cafeteria is packed like it usually is past midday. You spot him already at a table, and go up to tease him, a lilt in your voice,"You heartbreaker!"

At the sound of your voice, Seungcheol looks up from his sandwich. Flustered, he sputters, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you turning down that poor girl earlier." You elaborate, pointing to a chair with the hand that's not holding your tray and pulling it out to sit in front of him when he nods it's okay.

"She just asked me if I needed a study partner." He tells you, still at a loss at how you came to your conclusions.

"Mmhm." you hum knowingly. "Bet you've been approached by lots of girls asking to "study" with you. Boys too." You grin.

"A few, yeah. How'd you know that?" He asks even more confused.

"You really don't know?" you let out an incredulous laugh. So he's really that oblivious. "You're handsome, smart. People like that. "

He blushes furiously, deciding to look down while taking another bite of his sandwich. You start on your own food as well.

"Do you?" He asks a few beats later.

"What?"

"I mean, do you like that?" He clarifies.

It's your turned to be stunned into silence, before you recover and answer with a slight color on your cheeks. "Yeah. I like that." you say it looking right into his eyes, an alluring look on your own.

Seungcheol's fighting off the huge smile about to take over his features, trying to keep cool. He nods, looking directly into your eyes too, "I already have my study partner."

You eat lunch together, chatting here and there and sitting in comfortable silence when you're not. A while later, you ask him what time is it. When he looks at his watch and tells you, you curse. It's almost time for your next lecture already. You hurry to grab your things and stand up, kissing his cheek goodbye like it's the most natural thing for you to do.

\\\

Mingyu's lying on Seungcheol's bed like it's his own, talking to him while he sits by his desk absentmindedly spinning a pencil in his hand, note-taking forgotten.

He notices Seungcheol spacing out for the nth time. He's let it slide all the other times before, but he's endured enough of not getting attention. He throws his empty water bottle at him. It further proves it's really bad when Seungcheol doesn't even flinch nor throws him a threatening look. "Dude, what's up with you? You've been smiling at the wall for 5 minutes. It's creeping me out."

"I talked to y/n today."

Ah. That makes sense.

"She had lunch with me. Kissed me on the cheek." He says, allowing for a dopey smile to take over. "She thinks I'm handsome too."

"Ugh." Mingyu fakes disgust at his friend's display of lovesickness. He's actually happy for him. You're a nice girl and Seungcheol's been admiring you from afar for a long time. It's great to hear hes had the opportunity to talk to you. He teases,"Great for you. It's good to have someone other than your grandma called you that for once, isn't it?"

Now Mingyu's the victim when an empty can is thrown his way. "I'm feeling very unwelcomed right now. So I'm going to leave you to daydream about how you're going to ask her out and eventually get laid."

3: Movie

Next time you plan your study session you meet at the library one late afternoon. It had been raining for a while, and he's running late for almost fifteen minutes. In the meantime, you'd been working ahead on your own homework. The cool air from the air conditioning, the silence and the misty gray from outside, with droplets of rain racing down the foggy window panes are making you sleepy. You wonder if in the end he thought better of what you told him and chose he didn't really need to come. A text letting you know would've been nice if that's the case.

When Seungcheol finally arrives, he's drenched enough for the librarian to glare at him, already thinking of him leaving puddles on the carpet. It was windy, so his umbrella could only do much to cover him; this resulted in the lower part of his jeans and his shoes to take the brunt of it. While he closed said umbrella right at the door, a light spray had fallen over his head and shoulders. He looks around and doesn't see you. Oh God you left thinking he bailed on you, it's what he starts to think cursing himself as his eyes roam desperately for you until he sees what's definitely your bag on one of the four chairs at a table with papers and stationery spread over it further in the back, the row next to the windows. He turns his head away when he hears light murmuring and laughter. A couple of guys are pointing at something, and as he follows their line of sight there you are, putting back some of the books you were using. The problem is, you're wearing one of those tiny skirts you like - and well, he likes them on you too probably more than you do. You keep wearing them despite the weather getting chillier but he knows better than to question a girl's outfit choice. - and are bending slightly, giving them too much of a good view than what they deserve. He drops his bag on your table and walks over, standing right behind you to shield you from their prying eyes, going as far as to throw daggers at them, who are quick to look away sensing they'd pissed him off.

You gasp, faltering to a stop when you feel something, or well someone right behind you. It's then when he realizes that he might be standing a little too close, his front practically pressed to your back, and he takes a step backwards. Tilting your head and seeing it's him you let out a relieved breath, straightening up and turning. "Seungcheol, you scared me."

"Sorry. I was just- you were crouching down and a couple of idiots were staring." He stutters an explanation, his face warming up while he pushes away the images his brain is bringing up of having you bent over in front of him. God, he has a problem.

Your eyes shoot open when you catch on to what he's saying, and you try to look past him to see which guys is he referring to. You catch them looking over again and they quickly turn away. "Thanks, Cheol. I think it's thanks to you I still have faith that some boys were raised right."

Right. He's awful. I mean, he thinks he's a decent guy. It's just that when it comes to you, most of that decency flies out the window. His poor mom would be so disappointed.

So he gives you what he hopes looks at least close to a genuine smile and chooses to remain silent. You speak again when you take in the state he's in. "Oh my god, your clothes are soaked." You looked at him with concern.

"It's not that bad." Even as he says it he immediately thinks of the librarian's glare.

"It's pretty cold in here already and with your clothes like that…" You shake your head, and he notices how you rub your arms, seeking for warmth. "We should go to your place. Don't want you to get sick. What are you..? No, you need it too! I just said I don't want you to get sick" you frown, arguing as you watch him shrug his jacket off, leaving him in a graphic t-shirt, gently placing it over your shoulders instead.

"We'll go once the rain lets up then. I'll be fine for a bit like this."

As you walk back to your table, you notice the way his shirt molds to his body over broad shoulders, fit on his arms. Meanwhile, he can't help but throw another mean look at the two assholes that were looking at you. You fix his jacket on you. The fabric practically swallows you up, he's several sizes bigger than you. It's so comfortable and warm, and it smells like him. You feel bad but can't help yourself as you snuggle up in it, giving him a grateful look.

You catch up with him about what you'd been working on. He looks it over, and gives you a couple pointers on how to continue. You listen to him closely and in turn help him with his own work. You finish earlier than him since you had a head start, and partly because he keeps stealing not so subtle glances at you, but thankfully for him you're sleepy enough not to notice. You must be tired, but he thinks you look cute regardless, wearing his jacket that's too big for you.

Your head falls on his shoulder and his grip on his mechanical pencil loosens, stopping everything he's doing altogether. Did you just fell asleep on him?

Your groggy voice comes as an answer, "Are you sure you're not cold? You feel cold." He is very much cold but he's not about to let you in on that. And then you're pressing yourself to him on a side hug. "Is it okay if I do this?" You look up at him. His hair's still a little damp. You think it's almost unfair how great he looks.

He looks into your doe eyes. You're so close. Then his gaze travels lower. He really wants to kiss you right now. "Yeah. It's okay." You nod, and nuzzle contentedly into him. He continues to work like that for a while more, or well, more like he pretends to because you're practically cuddling him, in public, and he likes how your hair smells. "I think the rain's letting up." He says regretfully. He really doesn't want to move away from you. Slowly, you straighten up and you both start gathering your things.

When you step outside, you take hold of his arm, cautious of the wet sidewalk. "I'll walk you to your place. We're done with classwork already and you must be tired." He says. You were hoping to hang out a little longer. He notices as you deflate a little. "Unless you want to come over anyways? We could um, watch a movie." He offers and instantly regrets it. That phrase usually is an euphemism. What if you think he's trying to get on your pants- or well, skirt? "Or something."

You brighten up, a glint in your eye."Sure. I'm up for a movie. Or something." You laugh.

His place is nice, surprisingly tidy and organized but with hints that it's lived in, like a forgotten mug on the living room's coffee table, the game controllers on the couch or the things on the kitchen waiting to be put away into the cupboards. In his room, the closet door is open, a pair of shoes sticking out, another jacket hanging from the backrest of his desk chair,the desk is cluttered, a tee shirt thrown over a full body mirror and another bunched on the floor besides the hamper instead of inside. You notice there are a few posters on the walls of bands and artists he likes. Shelves stacked with action figures, lego sets, videogame cases, cds, vinyls, different books and graphic novels.

He drops his bag on the floor by the door and you follow suit. "I just need a minute to get out of these. You can get comfortable." He tells you as he walks over to his drawers and gets what he needs, heading back out to change in the bathroom. You sit on his neatly made bed with your back against the headboard, shifting nervously while you keep looking around his room. He's quick to come back, now wearing black shorts. He looks over for something, the remote control on his night stand for the TV mounted on the wall facing the bed. "Oh shit, my bad. Didn't offer you anything. Would you like something?" Can you blame him for being nervous?

You smile up at him,"I'm okay, thanks."

He nods, sitting down beside you on the bed. "So, what do you feel like watching?"

This time though, you don't answer him. At least not with words. You just look at him and he thinks you're thinking it over. Then your gaze falls to his lips, or did he imagine it? He's still wondering if it is his imagination when you lean in and press a chaste kiss to his lips, and still when you raise yourself, swinging one of your legs over his so you're straddling his thick thighs. He doesn't have but a beat to look up at you with wide, starry eyes before you're cupping his cheeks leaning back down to kiss him. You kiss him slowly, taking your time, trying to memorize how his plump lips feel against your own. They are slightly chapped because of his habit of running his tongue over them but still soft. He tastes your lipgloss in his mouth, something faintly sweet about it, and he'd be glad to wipe it off you and get it smudged all over his face anytime. His hands that were resting on the bed lift just to stay hovering by your sides, twitching unsure where to put them and partly fearing that if he tries to touch you he'll wake up from a dream. As if reading his mind and reassuring him that this is indeed happening, you bite down softly on his bottom lip, making him groan, then you suck on it lightly to relief the sting. One of your hands move up to the back of his neck, threading your fingers through his hair as you tilt your head to deepen the kiss, letting your tongue slip inside his mouth. Your mixed puffs of breath and the sound of your spit covered lips echo in his ears and threaten to drown him but he still forces himself to the surface. "Wai-Wait."

"What's wrong?" You ask him, breath fanning his face. His eyes try to rake all over you at once in case this is all he gets; how your chest rises and falls in time with his, your lips now swollen and shiny. You look him over as well. His skin feels hot to the touch under your palm, where you can see a blush has taken over his fair skin, the deep shade of pink of his lips covered in the light glittery shade of your lipgloss, his glasses askew. He looks too good like this you can't wait to kiss him more but he has yet to answer. The longer he takes to talk though, you start to think you jumped to conclusions, "Wait, is this not what you wanted when you said- You were serious about the movie." You let out a breathy, uncomfortable laugh, totally embarrassed now, eyes downcast to avoid meeting his. You can't believe yourself, starting to move off him,"Fuck, I'm so sorry."

His hands finally find their place on your waist, making you sit back down on him gruffly. If you don't know the effect you have on him you might as well feel it. Your eyes widen when you do, something definitely big pressed right between your legs."No, no. Nothing's wrong." To hell with the movie. Nothing has ever been more right in his eyes. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay with this."

You look more shy than a moment before, but you're back to looking at him, "What do you think?" then you admit in a whisper like you're letting him in on a secret, your lips a breath away from his. "I've actually been thinking about kissing your pretty lips for a while." You kiss the corner of his lips. "Unless maybe this is too fast."

He shakes his head vigorously, "I don't mind fast." And this time he kisses you. You smile into the kiss, and he's on cloud nine. He's really got you sitting on top of him, your mouth ravishing his own. What started as making out sweetly is turning into hot, feverish kisses that have you both gasping heavily against each other's lips, you grinding your clothed core over the bulge in his pants. You move to pepper kisses along his jaw, his neck, your hands tracing his body over his t-shirt; up his torso where they rest a moment on his defined chest, caressing his shoulders then going back down over the muscles in his arms. His hands get the message at last and they release their tight hold on your waist, fingertips sneaking under the hem of your top feeling the warmth emanating from your skin, up, stopping just at the underside of your breasts feeling the delicate lace of your bra. You pull away just for a moment to get rid of your shirt, and he takes in the newly exposed skin with hungry eyes. But it's unfair, you want to touch him, feel him with nothing in between so you pull at his shirt wanting to get rid of it and he appeases you when he does. You admire him as well, surprised to find that under those big sweaters he likes to wear he's toned in all the right places, firm under soft skin. He shivers as you sink your nails on it from his chest down to his abs leaving light red marks on their wake, and you smile. You leave kisses all over his bare skin, teeth biting and nipping softly, teasing. You proudly look over your artwork, marks blooming on his skin.

His own hands smooth over your thighs up until he's cupping your ass under your skirt pressing you impossibly closer, hips bucking up into you as you keep kissing him."We're- We're just making- hah out?"

"Mmm- How far do you wanna go?"

He wants to feel you wrapped around him so badly, eyes threatening to flutter shut with every grind of your hips. He's already so far gone between now and thinking back to that day he'd accidentally seen you getting off all by yourself, your sorry little hole pulsing over nothing asking to be filled up while you begged to cum. He wanted to help you back then, and he surely can do so now. "I want to be inside you. Please." He gasps. He's the one begging now.

You whimper, nodding. He watches as you raise yourself off him so you can shimmy out of your skirt and he gets just a peek of how damp your underwear is before you're sliding it down too and kicking it off somewhere in his room. You might not find those again. You smile bashfully, but the hazy look in his eyes as he looks at you, the hunger you see in them give you a boost of confidence. You deliberately take your time making your way back to him while he fumbles to take his shorts off. You straddle his thighs, pulling his boxers down yourself. He sighs in relief and you watch,stunned, as his big cock springs up and hits his tummy, its tip leaking with precum.

An involuntary whine escapes you,"You're just big everywhere, aren't you?" you say, almost as if speaking to yourself. He gives you a dazed smile, seeing how satisfied you are with the view in front of you. You're tempted to slide down and lean over him for a taste, the lust swirling in your lower belly that shines in your eyes pushing back the thought that he's going to tear you apart when you try to take him. You're torn on where do you want him more. But you'll get a chance to do anything you want together another day, right? So, you swallow the spit gathering in your mouth at the mouthwatering sight. "Condom?"

His smile falters, and vanishes. A word. Just a simple, 6 letter word was threatening to bring crashing down everything that build up to this moment. There was no way this was happening to him. You were half naked and eager in front of him, and he was so hard it was starting to make him hurt and dizzy. You'll hate him if you have to stop everything now. "I don't- I don't have any." And he waits for the worse. Everything stops for a beat.

Okay, maybe your mind was clouded with thoughts about sex, and you wouldn't be able to stand leaving all hot and bothered and frustrated. The need is too much. You want him bad. It's not your proudest moment nor your best suggestion when you speak, "You can pull out."

He stares at you, thinking he might've heard wrong but sees you're being serious."Yeah, yes." He nods eagerly, bringing you forwards. You stumble clumsily over him due to his strength, and laugh, surprised. It turns you on even more when you think of him manhandling you any way he wants.

You lower yourself gently on him so his cock is nuzzled in the warmth between your legs, your puffy lips dragging all over his length with the tantalizing roll of your hips. "Oh fuck." He curses, lips parting as you continue moving, covering him in your slick. He stops you when he grips your waist. He can't allow himself cumming right now when things are just starting. So, he lifts you again before he's aligning his cock to your entrance, bringing you back down. His moans and curses are drowned out by your loud ones as he makes you sit on him balls deep in one go. It knocks the air out of your lungs. Your walls flutter around him, your pussy holding his big, fat cock in a tight grip. He drags out another curse,"You feel so good."

"So full." It's all you can manage to whine. You haven't even moved yet and you're already ruined. You could've really used his fingers first.

"Yeah?" He smirks, "I'm giving you all of it."

"Mhmm." you answer in a whimper, "I'm going to take all of it."

You start moving slowly while you get used to the stretch, to the feeling of his cock, every ridge and vein dragging along your warm, velvety walls. Raising yourself up from him until only the tip is in, then sink back down, then you do it again, and again, until you're bouncing on him. The room fills with your moans, the wet sounds of skin slapping on skin every time his balls smack against your puffy lips, his cock covered on his precum and your glistening slick that's dripping down making a mess all over him. You switch to a roll of your hips to give yourself respite. His big brown eyes look up at you,"You're beautiful." He tells you before he gets cut off by his moans. You've both worked up a sweat, strands of his hair sticking to his forehead. You smile at the compliment, cheeks rosy, and push his glasses that had slid down back up the bridge of his nose. He hadn't taken them off because he wanted to see your every expression, every inch of your skin as clearly as possible. They suit him so well and he looks so sexy, you tell him, which makes his skin flush more as well in turn. He's struggling to unclasp your bra, wanting to see your tits bounce freely all over his face while you move. You giggle, helping him out. "Someone might need some tutoring." You tease but a sweet roll of his hips is quick to shut you up.

You're growing tired, thighs trembling as you resume your pace from earlier, but your climax is just at reach and you won't stop. His hips thrust up, meeting your own movements and hitting deep. Next thing he knows, you're cumming all over his cock, your pussy squeezing him tight, trying to milk him for all he's worth. Your moans are loud. He's in love with the sounds you're making. He should've known, he loves to hear your voice. Your orgasm threatens to trigger his own but he doesn't want this moment to end yet.

You gasp when he turns you both over, caging you under him with his arms at his sides holding him up keeping him from crushing you. He slides himself back in, easier this time around with your wetness and cum serving as lubrication but it's still rough, a tight squeeze. You spread your legs wider, trying your best to accommodate to him, before he lifts one up encouraging you to wrap them around his waist, the heels of your feet digging into the flesh of his asscheeks. He rolls his hips with purpose, drunk on the sound of your moans and the filthy squelch your pussy makes with each of his thrusts. He's hiding his face in the juncture between your shoulder and neck, trying to muffle his own moans against your skin but they're just falling right into your ear, making arousal zip down your spine and pool on your lower belly. Your body jostles up the bed with the force. You feel like you're sinking into the mattress, and the headboard of his twin bed is smacking loudly against the wall, most likely letting anyone on the room next door know what's going on.

You thread your fingers through the soft, damp strands of his hair, your other hand clawing down his back, making him groan, your head thrown back against the pillows. You call his name, and when he lifts his head, your lips meet his in wet, heated, open mouthed kisses. His thrusts become sloppy and he's breathing hard.

"Cheol." you try to tell him but his name just comes out in a moan. He's making you feel so good your brain is turning to mush. "Mmmph! Cheol." Your eyes roll back as you cum again, soaking his cock for a second time and clamping down around him making it hard for him to keep moving. A couple stray tears make their way down to your hairline. You're spent, eyes threatening to fall shut, your last warnings dying in your throat when he gives a few deep, punctuated thrusts and you gasp when you feel him swell inside of you before he's filling you with his hot cum.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He curses, burying himself to the hilt, stilling, and you take in the sight of him as he cums. The pure bliss irradiating from his face, eyes screwed shut while his mouth hangs open, the veins on his neck straining. You whimper at the feeling of his cock throbbing inside you as he empties his balls and fills you up with spurt after spurt of his cum.

You remain like that, chest to chest and unmoving, catching your breaths. Your fingers brush through the short strands on his nape softly, making his eyelids droop while he leaves kisses on your shoulders here and there.

After a while, he raises himself up before his arms give out and he puts all his weight on you. But before he separates entirely from you, he can't help but to teasingly roll his hips one more time, making you whine. He chuckles and you smack his arm. With a hiss from both of you he pulls out.

You gasp, a hand going to sneak down between your legs to cover yourself when you feel thick globs of cum dripping out, before you're whining his name in a reprimanding tone "Seungcheol!"

He's on his knees, leaning back and moving your hand to stare shamelessly at your stretched out pussy dripping with his cum, face hot as he bites his lip trying to hold back a smile in case you're mad. But staring up at your face, you don't look mad, just bashful under his stare.

You yelped as he leaned over and hooked his arms under your thighs pulling you down the bed so his face was right between your legs. "What are you doing?" You raised yourself on your elbows.

His hot breath fans over your spent cunt as he answers, making you shiver, "Just have to clean you up."

\\\

Seungcheol reluctantly and carefully leaves your side on the bed, disentangling himself from you to grab his glasses from his nightstand and getting up, wearing only his boxers. He looks back at you, relaxed and still sound asleep, bunched up sheets covering your naked body, messy hair on his pillows like a twisted halo. He's still smiling at the sight of you as he leaves the room to the bathroom across the hall. When he sees his reflection in the mirror above the sink, his eyebrows shoot up. He looks like he had a good fuck, which he did. There's marks peppered along his chest, bite marks, scratch marks, red tiny half moons on his shoulders and arms. Turning around slightly and tilting his head, he sees more scratches on his back. He doesn't know how he's going to hide the ones on his neck.

"Damn, bro" comes Mingyu's loud voice as he walks into the kitchen for a glass of water, looking at the state he's in and the bad case of bed/sex hair he's sporting. Seems like he just got back. "Either you were fucking or you were a victim of attempted murder."

"Shut up." He hisses, thinking of you still sleeping in his room.

"She's still here?" He asks nosily. He walks over to him to get a closer look of all the marks from you adorning his otherwise porcelain skin, but Seungcheol tries to cover himself with one arm, shoving him away with other letting out a, "Get off me." mirth in his tone yet still flustered. "Need to give her my congratulations on finally popping your cherry. We have to celebrate! Where are you going?" He asks as Seungcheol finishes drinking his water and starts to walk toward the hall.

"To put some clothes on."

"Aw, don't be shy."

"Fuck off, dude. I need to go get something." He tries to defend but ends up digging himself further.

"Now? What are you getting?"

"Just… Something."

"Why are you being so mysterious all of a sudden? I'm just asking why would you want to leave when you have-" He cuts himself off as he notices the deep blush on his friend's face and how he brushes his hand over his already messy hair nervously. He laughs, a big grin stretching on his face when he catches on "Oh, you mean something from the pharmacy two blocks down the street?"

"You're the worst."

"Apparently you are."

After Mingyu, he still has to deal with the slightly judging stare from the pharmacist he stutteringly asks help from, taking in the sight of him similarly like his friend did.

You stir in bed, coming to. Opening your eyes, you take in your surroundings, remembering what happened earlier. You shake your head with a lovesick smile, sighing as you sit up and begin looking for your clothes. You hear voices from outside the door, Seungcheol and someone else's. His roommate, you figure. Forgetting about your clothes for a moment, you walk over towards the door, pressing your ear to it curious to hear what's all the fuss about.

"-her my congratulations for popping your cherry. We have to celebrate!" Your frown morphs into utter surprise as you slap a hand to your mouth.

You were Seungcheol's first time?

The rest of the conversation is tuned out. His footsteps coming down the hall alert you, and you rush back into bed, pretending you're asleep. You feel one of his hands cup your face, thumb stroking your cheek affectionately, and the soft press of lips to your forehead.

4: Distracted

Your eyes search for him at his usual spot in the front. You arrived before he did. You step into a row, shifting until you reach the seat around the middle , at the center of the lecture hall. You pull the desk in front of you and start setting up your things.

Seungcheol arrives, the professor walking in right behind so once his eyes meet yours all you can do is wave at each other. Something catches your eye. A deep red mark peeking just over the collar of his shirt. He hadn't even bothered to cover them up. He straightens up in his seat and you think he wasn't able to catch the blush on your cheeks.

Class goes on as usual for the most part, until your focus starts to shift elsewhere. Seungcheol sits to the side, so you have a clear view of his profile. You start to map every detail: from his hair, to his thick eyebrows, big brown eyes with long eyelashes, the bridge of his nose, full lips, strong jawline. And he's turning to look at you expectantly. Wait. Shit, he's looking over. You avert your gaze quick though it's too late, he already caught you staring. Someone's calling your name. The professor. "I'm sorry, what?" You ask sheepishly.

He gives you an unimpressed look, telling of how this is not the first time you've done this and you grimace. He repeats the question for you and now you answer, eyes downcast while your face burns. You miss the grin on Seungcheol's face.

When the lecture's over, you all but run for the exit. He's hot on your heels, calling out after you. You stop, grimacing again, before you turn around, finding the cracks between the floor tiles very interesting. Your sway from side to side on the spot, arms wrapped around you not knowing what to do with yourself, and Seungcheol is enjoying how flustered this has gotten you. Between the two of you, you've always been more cheeky, which is a lot to say because you're still pretty shy.

"Have you heard that it's not nice to stare?"

"I don't know. Something tells me you liked it." you answer back.

"I did." He admits, dropping the banter before picking it up again, "I just don't want you to start getting distracted again by your friend." He almost gets too carried away nearly calling himself your boyfriend, thinking back to the first proper conversation you had with him. Seems that thinking about that day whatever way it may be is dangerous. "As your tutor, I have to disapprove." But he thinks he made a good enough safe.

"I think my tutor is putting as much work to distract me too. Might have to speak to the professor about looking for another one."

"You wouldn't." As you make it to circle past him back to the classroom, he wraps his arms around you pulling you to him, your back against his chest uncaring of being in the middle of a crowded hallway. "You're stuck with me." That makes you laugh. He smiles against your hair at the sound.

You turn in his hold, staring up at him. There's a boyish smile on his face for you. You bring up a hand to poke at his cute dimple, and then you're distracted again by the marks on his skin. Your fingers trace down and over the tender spot. "You know, people can see these."

Seungcheol shrugs. One of his hands comes up to wrap around your wrist, holding your hand in place as he kisses your palm, then he's making you wrap your arms around his neck. "I like them." He says, wearing them proudly, "You think I should've worn a turtleneck?"

"Mmm", you pretend to think it over, "I think they'd also look so good on you."

"Fine. I'll wear one then." You smile at him, and open your mouth like you're about to say something else. Sensing your hesitation, he encourages you to speak, "What is it?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you about something but I'm not sure this is a good place for it." You tell him, looking around at the other students hurrying to get to their to their next class, which you two also should be doing. He raised a brow, wondering what you want to talk about that you can't tell him right now. Was it bad? You notice him worrying his bottom lip and you speak up again to try and stop him from overthinking, "Don't worry, it's not bad. It's about what happened the other day."

"Oh." He nods sheepishly. You could get whiplash from how he can go from being this cute to being such a freak.

But wait, his mind refuses to not think more about it, what was your definition of "not bad'? What if you were going to tell him it had just been a one time thing? What if you wanted to call off your studying sessions and everything altogether? It plants a seed of doubt in him, invasive, one that sprouts and weaves all around trying to squeeze his heart and lungs making it hard to breathe.

Before he can pry further, you speak again."We're going to be late. Meet later?"

"Sure, okay." He nods, but it feels awkward when he smiles at you. Yours is pretty before you kiss his cheek and start walking away to your next class. He turns to look at you and sees you turning to wave at him one more time.

And now he has to go through the rest of the day trying not to go mad about every single possible outcome of your upcoming conversation. He hates the suspense.

\\\

Needless to say, he struggles to focus during the rest of the class day, his mind spinning all sorts of scenarios, most of them leading to a bad ending. The clock on the wall marks the end of his last lecture and he's the first to cross out the door, heading towards the front of the building where he waits only a few minutes before you're walking over to him. "Your place?" Does he really want you to dump him at his place where it would be even easier for his mind to bring it up and grief him any time? Well, practically you can't dump him, right? You're not together. Which brings no comfort. It's actually worse. And he's taking too long to give you an answer, so regardless of his feelings he finds himself nodding under your expectant gaze. Then you're grabbing one of his fidgeting hands in yours, intertwining your fingers and leading the way. It gets his thoughts to quiet down.

Mingyu's not back yet, so it's just the two of you. He moves slowly, shrugging off his bag and moving in autopilot. If this is it, he might as well make it last even if it eats him from the inside. You're merciful in making you both sit in the living room couch so he doesn't attach the memory to his room, where some of his best moments with you have happened. His hand's still in yours.

You don't make him wait any longer, "So, I heard something." You wince. Not because of what you're going to say, but because you're about to confess you eavesdropped on him and Mingyu by asking, "Was I really your first time?"

His eyes go comically wide while his face burns. This? He's been going crazy all day about this conversation happening and you're telling him this? It's far better than all he managed to come up with but it's still mortifying enough. He's going to kill Mingyu as soon as he sees him.

His lips part and close making him resemble a fish, and he looks away and at the coffee table in front of him instead while he nods.

You groan, your hand releasing his so both can come up to hide your face. Your voice comes out muffled, "Why didn't you say anything! I practically jumped you."

Now apart from embarrassed, he's also confused about why you're embarrassed. He turns back to you, gently pulling your hands away so he can see you, "What for? I happily let you, didn't I?"

You stare at him, surprised, a matching blush on your face. Then you're throwing yourself at him and burying your face in his chest instead. He hears your muffled voice against his hoodie as you start talking again "We should've done this differently. It was meant to be special for you but I had to rush everything-"

He grabs your waist and you gasp as he brings you onto his lap. Then he's cupping your face to keep you from hiding, "Hey, listen to me. You didn't do anything I didn't want you to. It was special. You know why?" You shake your head,"Because it was with you. I really liked it. Wouldn't change a thing. Understood?" Liking it doesn't even begin to cover it. He actually loved it but he was afraid that would come off as too much and scare you off.

If you weren't stunned to silence, you are now. So you do the most sure thing and you kiss him. He's quick to follow, pressing his lips sweetly against yours."Understood." You tell him when you pull away.

"Smart." He's giving you a cheeky smile, "I really wanted you to jump me."

"Yeah? Want me to jump you now?" You ask him biting your lip. It directs his attention to them, and between that, the look you're giving him and having you on top of him again it's enough to have him ready to go.

Just as he's about to answer, the front door swings open. Your heads turn and you see Mingyu stepping inside. He sees you two and stops, a hand still on the doorknob. "Oh. What's up?" Then, even though it's not a clear view with his friend craning his neck to look back at him, he notices there's that familiar, scary threat in Seungcheol's glare. He has a feeling it has nothing to do with him walking in on you.

"Would you give me a minute?" Seungcheol's eyes turn soft when he looks back at you. You nod curiously. As soon as you're off him, he stalking towards Mingyu. Instinctively, he runs for it.

"Wait! Hold on! Wai- What did I do?!"

5: Jealousy

Time keeps moving. Things between you and Seungcheol have definitely changed; you keep studying together, have lunch together whenever you can (sometimes joined by Mingyu), hang out at each other's place which often ends in a heated make out session. But he's not just the tutor your professor assigned you anymore. Hasn't been for a while ever since you slept with him. Maybe you were already falling before that. You don't know. But you're just friends, right? Friends that fucked once and would be fucking a lot more if you didn't put every ounce of self-control you could muster to use. Because what if he doesn't want anything serious? Does he even see you as someone he would like to date? He thinks you're pretty, has told you so many times. Enjoys touching you and kissing you, but what if that's the extent of it? You think back to your last relationship and feel that uncomfortable pang in your chest. But your ex was an idiot. Seungcheol's nothing like that. He can be very shy though. Maybe that's why he hasn't said anything? Should you be the one to ask him out?

You're thinking too much it must be showing on your face. You shake your head, trying to keep your spirits high, but seems like today's not your day. You hear him calling out your name before you see him. He's too close already for you to try and dodge him, so you close your eyes, take a deep breath and turn to face him and tell him to get lost.

Seungcheol thinks life is good. He's doing well at school, makes money with his tutoring job while at it, has good friends, spends time with the girl he likes any chance he gets. It could get better, Mingyu agrees, if he finally stopped chickening out from asking you out properly.

"What if she turns me down?" He worries throwing his arms out defeatedly, turning his body slightly towards Mingyu as they walk down the halls.

"Does those heart eyes she gives you mean nothing to you?" Mingyu gives him a look before continuing, "That's the worse thing she could do though, and it wouldn't be the end of the world-" So much for his pep talk, "but she won't." They turn a corner.

It's as far as the conversation goes, because he's not listening anymore. He's now looking at the person talking to you. His eyes swirl with contempt, body locking in with tension. Mingyu takes a few more strides before he realizes Seungcheol fell to a stop behind him. "What? What is it?" He looks from Seungcheol to where his gaze is fixed on, to find you talking with your ex, "That guy again? Seriously, he needs to take a hint."

Unless you actually consider getting back with him, an annoying voice in his head taunts him. He doesn't have more time to stand there and brood because Mingyu's pulling him forward trying to listen to the conversation.

"I've already told you I'm sorry. What else do you want?"

"I'm sorry I put you through that." You say sarcastically. Seungcheol doubts if he can even catch that, "I never asked you to do it. In fact, I never asked anything from you besides respect." Seungcheol frowns. He still doesn't know what happened to put an end to things between you, wonders what did he do to make you say that.

Something you said must've been funny for him, because he gives you an amused look,"You're just acting difficult."

"And you're wasting my time. Again." You grit out and try to turn to leave.

He grabs your arm harshly, forcing you to face him again. "We're not done."

"We've been done for a long time. I don't want anything to do with you." You repeat, "Let go." You say, uneasy, wincing when he does the opposite, his grip getting tighter. "You're hurting me."

The moment Seungcheol sees your ex cross the line, he's walking over and taking hold of his arm, making him let go of you. "Don't ever touch her again." he says, rigid with anger.

He shrugs off Seungcheol's hold roughly. Something flickers in his eyes as he takes a close look at him, recognition and something more unpleasant. You know that you won't like whatever he chooses to do next, "Got yourself a good lap dog by letting him hit?" He says and dares to scoff like he has any right to reproach anything about your life, "You've become so easy."

It happens fast. Seungcheol throws a punch, your ex narrowly dodging it and connecting his own fist right over Seungcheol's lip. You shout, the chatter around you stopping before resuming more intensely when the rest of the students standing close by caught on to what's happening. A trickle of blood stains Seungcheol's skin and the front of his sweater. His glasses clatter on the floor, but when he goes for another punch it lands and your ex is going to be sporting a black eye later. You try to get in between them to stop the fight but Mingyu comes up from behind you right on time to steady you when your ex almost knocks you back. Some other students try to help to break them apart.

\\\

By the time Seungcheol sees you again, you're way less upset but still worried. Mingyu stuck with you waiting for Seungcheol as well, helping you calm down and getting you to stop crying until he had to leave for class. Thankfully, someone from faculty had stepped in and they didn't report the matter of the fight over to campus security, which would've risked getting the local police involved. Still, if something like that ever happened again on campus grounds they wouldn't be so forgiving. They also knew Seungcheol, that he was a great student and it wasn't normal for him to exhibit violent behaviour.

Sure enough, when both boys walk out of the professor's office, you see the area around your ex's right eye beginning to redden and darken, while Seungcheol's got a busted lip. You run over to him, "What happened? Are you okay?" One of your hands hovers unsurely over his mouth, and your eyes threaten to well up with tears again. Your ex walks past you silently observing you and glaring at you both. He fills you in and assures you he's not in trouble, that's he's okay. "You shouldn't have done that. You got hurt, and you could've gotten in trouble with the police or expelled!"

He frowns. "I was supposed to let him get away with doing and saying those things about you without paying for it?"

"He was obviously trying to provoke you."

"I don't care about that. He was hurting you. I won't let it slide for anyone to touch you or speak to you that way." He shoots back. He thinks back to how he was gripping your wrist and feels himself getting angry again. You sniffle, and he sees a tear that manages to escape before you hug him. He gets this deep, unpleasant feeling in his chest at the sight. He doesn't think he's ever felt something like it. He panics. "Wait, no, I'm sorry." He's definitely not sorry for punching that idiot but he scrambles for anything that'd make you feel better. "Please don't cry."

He stops briefly at his dorm before he's meeting you back at your place again later in the evening. He probably shouldn't, given that he just managed to slip free of trouble for starting a physical fight and now he's risking it by coming into your dorm. Curfew's still not in place but he knows well he's always still there when the time comes. You tell him so, but it betrays you how you brighten up at the sight of him nonetheless, just wanting him close. There's still a redness in the corner of your eyes from earlier.

None of you are thinking about homework or exams right now. You're lying in your bed, he's got his back against the headboard while you rest your head on his lap. One of his hands threads through your hair affectionately. It's just the two of you enjoying each other's company.

"You know, I think I have a great idea of how my lip could heal faster." He starts to say. You turn slightly to look up at him with a questioning look. "Kiss is better?" And he juts his lip out, mustering the most disarming pout he can. He's so cute you could start punching the air. And it really works, because you're about to fall right into his trap.

You sit up, resting a hand on his thigh for support, and can't help but giggle at how excited he looks that you're actually going to do it. You lean in to softly press your lips against his own over the small gash. Just a feathery brush being careful not to hurt him and then you're trying to pull back. But he's bringing up a hand to cup the back of your neck and chasing your lips again with more intention. "Cheol- Wait I don't- I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not hurting me." He mumbles, eyes barely open, not letting the space between you widen more than a breath, "Your kiss would never hurt me. It already feels better."

"It's going to start bleeding again." You say more seriously and pull away.

"I'm not going to be able to kiss you now because of the stupid cut?" He's pouting again, but he really looks upset now. You laugh.

"You should've known better than getting into a fight." You take the opportunity to lightly scold him again. He sulks even more, looking away. You're not going to agree regarding the topic. It's not easy for you either, you think. You love kissing his luscious lips and it doesn't help that he's really good at it. Your own self control is starting to fray until it comes undone.

"But I can make you feel better some other way." You offer, biting your lip. He's still being petty and not looking over. So you decide to go ahead.

You move back to your previous position. When it was all but innocent earlier, now you nuzzle your face right over him, making his dick jump in his pants. You hear a deep intake of air from above you and smile to yourself. His hand goes back to your hair when you do it again, more to ground himself than anything. Your name leaves his lips, voice unsteady. You raise yourself up only so you can slide his pants down, then you're lowering yourself again to leave kisses and suck teasingly over where's he's already straining in his boxers, helping him get completely there by bringing a hand to stroke him over the fabric. A moan slips from his lips, and you look up at his face through your lashes. There's already a hazy look in his eyes, his breathing hard, splotches of red blooming on his face down to his neck. You're faring no better, and you feel it in the ache between your legs. His eyes follow your every move as you're back up, brushing your thumb over his lower lip to free it from where he'd caught it between his teeth to stop more sounds from tumbling out. You tut, "You're going to hurt yourself."

"Sorry, it's just- You…" he trails off, not really knowing what he was going for in the first place, mind shutting off with nothing but you in it.

"Has anyone given you a blowjob before?" You ask straightforwardly. His face turns even more red as he shakes his head. It's not of importance if there was someone before, but you still get a thrill hearing you're his first. You pull the elastic of his boxers and let it snap lightly against his skin again before you go to take them off.

"You don't- You don't have to." He barely has the restraint to say.

"I know I don't. I want to. " He has no idea how much you've wanted it. "I want to suck you off. Make you feel really good. Can I?" You ask to make sure he's okay with this.

He gulps. "Yes. Please." He'll let you do anything you asked.

"Good." You smile, "But no biting these or I stop." you place your index finger to his lips. "Let me hear you."

You get rid of what's left of his clothes and start leaving a path of kisses from his chest down to his tummy, following his happy trail until you're right over him. Puckering your lips, you let the spit that's been gathering in your mouth drip over his cock. You close your hand around him as best as you can, giving it a few wet jerks. The tips of your fingers don't touch. He's fully hard already, leaking with precum. The first press of your lips makes him moan as you leave a few kisses. You dart out your tongue and flatten it to lick the underside from base to tip, feeling the thick vein there before you switch to kitten lick his tip where he's more sensitive. You pay attention to it, his salty taste hitting your tongue, loving how he responds and instinctively bucks his hips up, starting to get restless. Finally, you close your lips around him and slowly sink down, taking everything you can. When you swallow around him he curses, hands bunching the sheets so tight his knuckles turn white. His head hits the headboard with a soft thud when he screws his eyes shut and throws it back, letting out the prettiest of moans without a care in the world. You moan and feel your underwear starting to get uncomfortably wet. You swirl your tongue around him, he's hot and heavy against it, before you come up to breath, a string of your saliva connecting from his cock to your lips.

You sink back down, paying some attention to his balls, licking and sucking, his whole body jolting involuntarily. You sooth with both your hands smoothing up and down his thighs sweetly and one of his hands returns to the top of your head, brushing your hair softly and holding it back for you. You take his cock back in your mouth, quickly finding your rhythm now bobbing your head up and down, working your tongue around him. His breathing becomes more shallow and you can feel him twitch in your mouth. You redouble your efforts, your jaw starting to feel numb but you focus on him, on keeping him making those pretty sounds for as long as you can. He looks down at you with half lidded eyelids, beads of sweat building over his temple, his chest glistening. Stars swim around his eyesight threatening to burst at any moment for how you're making him feel and more seeing how you're also relishing in it. A couple tears have streaked down your cheeks, but the sight of them like this don't upset him like when you were crying earlier. A few loose strands of your hair stick to your forehead, and your chin is shiny with your spit with the mess you've made all over his cock down to his balls. It's everything about you like this that brings him dangerously to the edge with barely no warning, "Fuck, I'm gonna- I'm gonna-"

You only moan in response, pulling back slightly but never taking him out of your mouth and he can only just give in to the wave of pleasure washing over him when he cums. Strings of hot, thick, white cum hit your tongue and you swallow every drop. He thrusts into your mouth a couple of times, hitting the back of your throat and making you gag, before he stills and slumps into the bed. You release him from your mouth with a pop, going to give a few teasing licks as he starts to grow softer. He hisses, sensitive now and you stop, switching to leave kisses on his thighs, going up to his tummy and chest that rises and falls fast as he tries to catch his breath from the intensity of his high. When you're face to face, he gives you a tired smile, eyes swirling with affection. You smile at him and kiss the corner of his lips.

Again, he pulls you into him so you're kissing him properly and you gasp in his mouth. He can taste himself in you, before you're pulling away to chide him one more time. It's clear he doesn't care though as he just nods and looks at you like you're the most precious thing in his life. He really wants to ask you out. Maybe he should do it another time when he's not entirely naked in front of you, sticky and sweaty after he just came in your mouth to save himself from further embarrassment if you say no. He also thinks you might hate him for asking while you're also a total mess but he adores how messy you get for him. Before he can overthink it longer and this sudden courage wears out, he's letting the words tumble out of his mouth, "Go out with me? On a date?"

Your eyes widen and go rounder with surprise, and he braces himself. But then you're smiling bashfully, trying to smooth down your hair staring at his lips, before you meet his big, bright, warm brown eyes. "You want to date me?"

"Yes." He says firmly, nodding for emphasis.

"I thought you'd never ask. Yes, I want to go out on a date with you."

He falls asleep shortly after having to drag himself under your bed when someone knocks on your front door (He pulled his boxers back on and kicked the rest of his clothes under it before ducking and hiding himself. You can't help yourself and give him a little slap on his perfectly round ass under the disguise of hurrying him and have to hold back your laughter when he jolts with a yelp and throws you a look before getting out of sight. It's not much of an easy task given that the space under your bed is narrow and he's a big guy so it's a very uncomfortable fit. Your roommate who got back some time before curfew started beats you to the door and opens it, letting the student that makes the rounds come in. She greets you kindly, making small talk while walking around the place and you open the doors to your rooms. Soon, she's back out without a single clue of Seungcheol being there.). You're sitting on your desk with his tee shirt on typing away on your laptop finishing a paper for one of your classes, but the sight of him like that, so relaxed, soft yet sinful has you stealing glances at him more often than not. He's splayed on his back on your bed taking most of the space, one arm folded under his head, legs spread, one of them slightly bent. wearing only his boxers while he snoozes softly, serene look in his face as his chest rises and falls slowly. He'd fallen asleep with his glasses on but you took them off to make him comfortable. You smile, your eyes twinkling brightly thinking about moments ago. Your heart flutters; you can't wait for your -

6: Date

Seungcheol checks his appearance on the full body mirror in his room for the nth time. He's nervous but excitement thrums steadily in his veins, glowing on his face. Mingyu walked into the room a few minutes ago to tease him as he finishes getting ready. Seungcheol gets he means well, and it's actually helping him relax.

"Don't want to rush you or anything but you're going to be late if you keep checking yourself out." Mingyu tells him, making him glance at the time. He hurries one last look, fixing his already styled hair.

"Do you think she'll like it though?" He meets his eyes in the mirror's reflection.

"She told you she'd like it, right? She'll love it." Then he adds, "Though I'm not sure if she'll choose it best after she's seen what's underneath."

"Do you really have to say those things?"

"You're the same or even worse than me." Silence. No argument, and Mingyu smiles triumphantly.

You'd insisted to meet there when he told you he'd pick you up. He invited you to the winter festival going on on the town's square. He gets there on time, before sundown, and looks around for you amongst the throng of people already there.

"Cheol?" He hears your voice calling for him. You're close. He turns towards it and he sees you standing up from a bench, smiling and waving at him. He walks over.

"Hi." He breaths out, nerves creeping back in.

"Hi." you stand on tip toe and kiss his cheek. It's cold, so the color on his cheeks could be because of that. You take in his appearance. "You're wearing a turtleneck." And your smile growing bigger makes your eyes shine brighter.

"I told you I would. So, what do you think?"

"I love it." You state, and he looks down in an attempt to hide his bashful smile from you. That four letter word keeps going in circles in his mind. "What's that?" you point curiously at a small box in his hand.

"It's a gift. For you. I- I actually bought you something else but I didn't want you to have to carry it around all night." He rambles, beginning to undo his hairstyle by brushing his hand through the soft strands. He's doing so well. If only he could shut up.

"Great minds think alike." you smile brightly at him, and that's when he notices the bag you're holding behind your back. "I got something for you too."

You sit down, and hand him his gift. He takes out the contents from the bag: there's a new lego set, a book and a small box that holds a thin gold chain. You watch, excited for his reactions. When he looks up at you, there's a sparkle in his eyes. You're incredible. "I love them, thank you. You didn't have to do all of this."

"Shut up. Then why did you bring me something?"

"Because- Because I wanted to."

"Well, there you have it. I wanted to too." You say firmly.

He laughs, shaking his head before urging, "Open yours."

You open the small box to find a dainty gold bracelet inside. You gasp, "It's beautiful." He smiles, pleased that you liked it and helps you put it on. "You didn't need to get me anything else."

Now it's his turn to tell you to shut up. "We should find a good spot to watch when they turn on the lights." You nod, and grab his hand when he offers it.

There's lots to do, but first you watch as the square fills color with Christmas lights. A giant Christmas tree, with a shining star on the top, and covered in ornaments with enough space in it left for the people to decorate it too. Stands of food vendors to cater visitors with something warm - except that you actually go for an ice cream stand first and Seungcheol thinks you're insane. "Some people crave ice cream when it's cold." is what you tell him. -, live music, attractions and rides for the kids - you still drag him onto the carousel-, an ice rink, souvenir stands, a photo booth.

You grab your photo strips, and smile staring at them.You're making silly faces on the first one, he'd hugged you from the back on the second one and you're not even looking at the camera, you slightly turned towards him while he looks at you, but there's big smiles on your faces that made your eyes crinkle. The third one you're poking his cheeks where his dimples show, and the last one he meant to kiss your cheek but you turn at the last moment and he kissed your lips instead. It caught how his brows lifted in surprise while you smile into the kiss.

Seungcheol's cheeks hurt from how much he's smiling. The date has gone great, better than he'd imagined. He knows that it's mostly because you're the one he's with. Sure, he's getting cold as fuck the later it gets but it doesn't matter when he's holding you, your hands.

"Oh! I'll get us some more hot chocolate." It's probably your third cup, but you're off before he can get it for you anyway.

He stays right where you left him by the great water fountain, staring after you and already thinking of your next date. That's why he doesn't notice when a couple of chuckling kids come barreling through chasing each other, accidentally knocking him over. He's brought back from his daydreaming, caught off guard. The back of his legs hit the edge, hands shooting from where they were in his coat pockets trying to regain his balance in vain. He falls backwards into the freezing water.

"Oh my God, Seungcheol! Are you okay?" And you're back. You forget the two cups in your hands, leaving them on the edge and going to help him out. His teeth are chattering when he answers yes, clothes and hair soaked and dripping all over where he now stands. "What happened?" He explains still befuddled himself shivering through all the recount. He can also tell you're doing your best not to laugh at him because seriously, how ridiculous can his luck be, but you also feel bad and are worried he might get sick. "We should call it a night."

\\\

Seungcheol comes out of the shower, and when he's done toweling his damp hair, he beelines for his bed, burying under the sheets right next to where you're sitting. You laugh, poking his side. "What is it?" He just groans. You try to yank the sheets off him so you can see him but he doesn't relent. When he turns to avoid you, you end up toppling over him. You squeal, more laughter bubbling up. Finally, you wrench the sheets from him, revealing his face, eyes screw shut as he complains. "C'mon, talk to me."

"Fuck! I'm so sorry. Everything was going so well and I had to screw it all up taking a dive in the fountain." It's really hard not to laugh but you'd make it worse if you do, so you force it down.

"Hey, you didn't ruin everything. I had a really good time, enjoyed every second of it."

"It's just- I really like you and I don't want to mess things up." He confesses, opening his eyes and looking straight up at you. His hair's a mess from rolling all over the bed, and he looks really upset about it, his words sincere.

"I really like you too." You say, and his sulky expression splinters, a tentative smile shining through.

"You do?"

"Mmhm. I like you this much." And you open your arms as wide as you can. Seungcheol really laughs this time. That seems to do it. He sits up and wraps his arms around you. You hug him back just as tight. "Now can we cuddle?"

Later before you inevitably have to leave, he hands you your other present. When you tear off the wrap paper from it, you find a journal and a set of pens. Good ones. He rambles on about the details, what type they are, how the ink dries fast so you don't have to worry about smudges on your notes. And maybe you shut him up with a kiss and stay a little longer.

"I still can't believe they managed to drop you into the fountain."

"I was distracted!" By you. "You're laughing. I could've been seriously hurt! I could've drowned!"

"That's a little too far fetched."

"There's a bruise on my ass."

"We can't have that." And you sound really worried this time.

7: PDA

Finals are coming up, and with it the end of the semester and the beginning of the holidays. That's why Mingyu, Seungcheol and you find yourselves in the library late one night getting in some extra studying. It's more like Seungcheol's helping Mingyu at this point. There's a topic he's struggling with, and Seungcheol has tried to explain it several times already in different ways. He's starting to lose his patience but you know he won't drop it until he gets it. You watch amused as his eyes go a little wider the more it goes on, Mingyu looking like there's not a single thought getting through his head. You let out a quiet laugh while you review your notes again.

"I get it now. Can we please take a break?" Mingyu says after a while. He's saying he finally grasped it, but something tells you he's lying so he can get over it and finish up. Seungcheol and you share a look. He's thinking the same thing. "You heard about the party this weekend?"

"What party?" You ask.

"A friend of Mingyu's throwing a huge end of the semester party. It's kinda like a Christmas thing too. Basically he invited everyone." Seungcheol tells you.

Instead of wondering where this guy's planning to fit the whole campus in a way that's safe and how can he afford it, you say, "We still have finals left. Don't you think he's a little ahead?"

"We finished classes already. Can't you let him take a win?" He nudges you playfully."I'm going. We should all go."

After a while, Mingyu takes his leave. You ask Seungcheol if he thinks he's going to be okay. He tells you he'll be alright and that whatever he doesn't know he has confidence to make up for it. You aren't sure how can you measure confidence on a written evaluation but you don't doubt he's right. "You want to go to that party?" He asks you.

"Only if you want to." you say, "Mingyu wants us to go." Seungcheol nods. You're going then. "Let's review this again so we can go."

Now, he groans, resting his head on the table with his arms stretched in front of him defeatedly. He whines out, "Again? We've been here for hours. You've read those a hundred times already."

"No, I haven't." You have, "Just once and we'll go." And as if hearing you, the bright overhead lights go off, only leaving the warm lights from the lamps on each occupied desk. There's only a few other students scattered around since it's nearing closing time. He begrudgingly takes the stack of flashcards you hand him to test you first.

Like he said, you do great, but he knows that you always worry about not doing well during the actual test so he goes along with it as long as it helps you. He fuels you on and smiles at you. "I told you."

You smile back, preening under his praise. "Your turn." you gesture for his flashcards.

"We don't need to." But you're stubborn and insist. "Fine. But I get a kiss for every answer right." He bargains.

You raise your brow at him knowingly. You know better than that but still you find yourself agreeing. "Okay. Let's see how you do."

Hint: He gets every answer right, happily claiming his reward each time. The first kiss is a peck, ends as quickly as it began. You don't think much of it, not even when his gaze stays fixed on the movement of your lips as you go on to read the next card. Maybe he actually intends to behave this time. But as you continue, his kisses linger, each one lasting more than the other, then he's pulling back leaving you breathless and chasing after his lips. There's still a few cards left in your hand when he decides he's had enough, insatiable with your lips still moving against his own after his latest answer. He grabs your waist, lifting you over the armrests of your chair onto his lap. The cards slip from your hands and spill on the floor. You gasp his name against his lips, but he just kisses you again, his hands still on your waist making you rock against him. "Seungcheol, we're in the library." you whisper. It sounds loud in the quiet space, no doubt as it also does the smack of your lips together, and as his kisses travel lower to your jaw, your neck, and back up so he can nip at your ear playfully.

"I want to kiss you." It's like he's been bewitched by them. His only thoughts being about kissing your already swollen, shiny lips. Touching you and hold you closer until there's no space left.

"You're doing more than that." You call out but you don't do anything to stop him.

The couple of students that were closer to your usual table had left a few minutes ago. The only one in your field of vision is at a table way at the front, partially hidden from view by a tall set of bookshelves. The librarian's shift's been long over and the student in charge at the desk is nodding off with her headphones on.

You lose yourselves in each other with each grind of your hips, kisses only broken for your need to breathe. You don't care that it's uncomfortable, with the armrests of the chair digging into your thighs. You're more worried about how damp your underwear's getting, molding to your puffy lips and leaving a damp spot on Seungcheol's dress pants when it soaks through. He had a presentation for his last class just before you met here, so he'd been more particular with his outfit today. You, for one, had appreciated it and you're sure more than one person other than you had checked out his ass in those pants. You'd be jealous if you had to, but you're the one sitting on top of him now, undoing the first buttons of his shirt so you can kiss, lick, and mark his skin. You're lying you were still jealous only thinking about someone else staring but you don't blame them.

Seungcheol's hands move from your waist to the back of your thighs, up until they're fondling your asscheeks. He's still aiding your movements as he spreads you for him when one of his hands gets dangerously close to where you're aching for him. Then it's slipping under your panties, feeling the wetness pooling there. He bites his lip, "You're so wet." Spreading your puffy lips with two of his thick fingers, collecting your slick. He sinks his middle one into your heat and kisses you again to swallow any sounds that may threaten to fall from your lips. Your walls pulse, pussy sucking his finger in every time he pulls it back just to thrust it back in. His palm rubs deliciously against your clit, making more of your slick drip out all over his finger down his hand. Then you're taking another. Fuck, he wishes it was his cock stretching your little pussy instead of his fingers.

And he realizes he said his wish aloud. You only get wetter when he voices his fantasies, the sticky sound of his fingers going in and out of you loud in his ears. Your jaw goes slack, lips parting prettily in a silent moan as his fingers hit a sweet spot. He reaches deeper than you ever could, but he's right. His cock would feel so much better. Without any other thought, you grab his wrist to stop him. He pulls his hand away and from under your skirt, watches as you bring it to your mouth and suck his digits. He's going to bust in his pants. He's licking his own fingers and hand clean when you're done and start unbuttoning his pants. It's tight, difficult to move cramped together in the uncomfortable chair, but you manage to pull them down along with his underwear low enough to free him. He lets out a loud gasp when you wrap one manicured hand around his cock and start moving it up and down his shaft, your underwear pushed to the side and digging onto your skin as you guide him to your entrance. "We have to be quiet." you whisper into his lips, voice unsteady. You don't want to get banned from the library though that's not even remotely close to the worse thing that could happen if you get caught. He nods his head impatiently, breaths coming quick.

Your lips barely leave his the whole time. Slowly, the tip goes in and he forces himself to keep still even when you take your time to keep moving lower, your hand still working around him. He tries not to think too hard about the lewd image below your skirt. A shaky sigh leaves him when you sit fully on him. Your nails dig into his shoulders crumpling the fabric of his shirt. You stay like that for a moment, getting used to the feeling of him inside of you again before you start rolling your hips lazily. His own thrusts are shallow, his cock barely leaving your pussy to plunge back in deep. It's the best you can do to avoid alerting anybody of what's going on, while you also refuse to leave even a sliver of space between you, pressed together stealing each other's breath, kissing, touching and moving in sync.

In the dim light, Seungcheol takes everything in; the expanse of your chest visible over the neckline of your shirt glistening. He can feel beads of sweat building on his own skin, seeping onto the back of his shirt. He could stare up at you like this forever, but neither of you are going to last any longer. He can feel it in the way your thighs start trembling, and when your release hits you and you're creaming all over him, he's following right after you. Your lips meet one last time, eyes screwed shut. It's more to muffle any sound than a proper kiss, a little clumsy, before you have to pull away to be able catch your breaths.

You rest your forehead against his, wrapping your arms around his neck, an airy laugh sneaking into your little bubble, "We have to stop doing this."

And he smiles. You can try. He's brings his hands up from your thighs to your hair, feeling the damp strands around your face trying to fix them."You look so fucked out."

You raise a brow, eyes filled with mirth. "Back at you." And you start doing the same for him, fixing his glasses, his hair, buttoning up his shirt. But there's no hiding the afterglow. There's a blush on his face, his lips are swollen from all the kissing. He kisses your palm when your hand lingers on his cheek. It makes your heart skip a beat.

He pulls out, helping you fix your underwear right before you can feel his cum start to drip out of you. You then have to swat his hand away when he starts brushing his fingers over the ruined fabric, the way he bites his lip doing nothing to hide his smile. He's been spoiled beyond repair.

You gather your things, and when you're ready, he's holding your hand to head out. He has to walk closely behind you to hide the ruined front of his pants because even though you were so good to take his cum, there was no saving them from the mess you'd both made. You wish goodnight to the student working the desk, which they return with a tired smile. What you never did notice was the poor boy a few tables to the right. A first year. He'd accidentally dozed off with his head over his folded arms after stressing out over his first university finals for hours. But when he'd come to, he's caught wind of what was happening between the couple in the room. He'd looked away, flustered, burying his face back into his books, shaking his head.

Always the quiet ones, or so they say.

8 : Broken

"Hi."

"Hi." Seungcheol smiles into the kiss you give him in greeting when he opens the door of his dorm.

"You have no idea how sexy you look right now." You say, eyeing his outfit, hands on his sides.

He raises a brow but there's still an unmistakable blush on his cheeks at the compliment, "I'm wearing the ugliest ugly sweater you were able to get your hands on." You're actually matching too, your idea. He won't say but he loves that fact, his possessive side being unintentionally nurtured. Were you thinking the same when you suggested it? The thought drives him even more crazy.

You laugh, "That makes it even sexier."

This time he kisses you. You return it happily, and that encourages him to push you against the nearest wall, hiking up one of your legs around his waist. You press your hands softly to his chest and he gets the hint, pulling back, "Seungcheol, we have to make it to the party."

He sounds as breathless as you when he replies, "Do we really have to?" and it's real hard to resist him when he keeps staring at your lips. He looks right into your eyes before he utters his next words, "I'd rather stay here with you." If you're being honest, you too. But you already told Mingyu you'd go. "Mingyu won't care. He's seeing someone, they'll be there too." It's like he's read your mind and knows he's close to convincing you.

"We should spend time with our friends, otherwise they'd think I'm trying to keep you all to myself."

"What if I want you to?" He wouldn't mind. "We could eat and drink these ourselves." He says, eyeing to the side at the chocolates and cheap bottle of wine you brought along refusing to show up empty handed.

You stare at him and open your mouth like you're about to say something. Nothing but a breath comes out and the shit eating grin he's giving you tells you he's enjoying having left you at a loss for words. "I'm being serious." Is what you say when you regain your voice.

"So am I."

"They'll hate me."

"No they won't. That's ridiculous."

"Seungcheol!"

Unfortunately, despite all his efforts, you end up going. And you're surprised to find it's not some nearly unbearably loud house party with students dancing and drunk everywhere. You arrive at a mansion-like house. There's beautiful Christmas decorations in the garden,a group of people chattering lightly while they have a drink outside in the porch. Inside, more people are sitting down around a big living room, conversation and laughter filling the air. There's a big Christmas tree on the far corner, presents for the Secret Santa game under and around it. On the patio, there's tables set for when it's time for dinner. You see familiar faces and you greet them, others you're not so glad to see.

You walk into the kitchen, where a few other people are lingering around. There you find Mingyu. He's with his date, both talking to who he introduces to you as the host of the party. "You made it!" He beams. When he introduces you two as his favorite couple, you almost die on the spot, cheeks burning. But when Seungcheol's hand in yours only gives you a gentle squeeze and you look over at him, you allow yourself to smile when you see that he doesn't seem to mind. And he doesn't at all. His cheeks could start hurting by how wide he's smiling.

You elbow Mingyu and pull him to the side while Seungcheol and his friend talk. He protests but you shut him up. "Why did you say that?"

"What?" He asks confused, seeing as you fidget and pull at your sleeves until they cover half your hands.

"Seungcheol and I aren't a couple." you hiss back.

"You're wearing matching sweaters." He deadpans. "Labels. But trust me, that'll change soon. He's head over heels for you. You two can't be more obvious."And he sees you smile.

A projector's set and the group in the living room watch a movie. You sit on a bean bag and Seungcheol grabs a cushion to sit on the floor in front of you. One of his hands brushes up and down one your legs where they rest at either side of him absentmindedly. He's seemingly paying attention to the movie, until at one point he's not. Resting his head on your thigh he can't stop himself from nipping your soft flesh playfully, making you yelp. A few people around give you a look,"Sorry, that-really startled me." It's your lame excuse. It's not like there's any jumpscares. Seungcheol snorts and you're very tempted to whack the back of his head. He behaves for the rest of the movie though, almost falling asleep with his head cushioned by your thigh. You eat, and after, you gather once again in the living room to exchange gifts before the group scatters to do different things. You're doing karaoke now, someone giving their own rendition of a Christmas song classic while the rest hype them up as they half nail it until their voice breaks and cracks. You have a turn too, and though he puts up a fight at first, Mingyu manages to drag Seungcheol to the center to sing as well. The few drinks he's had helped him let loose.

He plops down beside you after his performance. Someone else steps up and starts looking for a song. You laugh as he buries his face into your neck. "Did you like it?" He murmurs, his hot breath smelling faintly of alcohol tickles you.

You hum affirmatively, "Loved it." You can't see it but you feel him smile. He's practically clinging to you, leaving kisses on your neck. "Cheol, there's people around." You glance around the room, while the song starts. They're doing pretty good.

"Don't care."

"I do. And you're drunk."

"Am not." He is. He can handle it well, but he's buzzed. And getting a little too handsy. There's a high note and the person singing butchers it. "We've been here for enough time already so we can leave."

"Sure. We'll leave soon." But first you'll get him to sober up a little. "Give me a moment. I'll be right back."

He only wraps his hands around you tighter. "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to get you some water. Wait here." and reluctantly, he lets go.

You try to make your way around to the kitchen in the big house, only entering one wrong room in the process. Meanwhile, Seungcheol stands up and walks out. The living room was beginning to get stuffy. His skin feels hot, face slightly red, and his sweater itches. He welcomes the cold air outside, taking a seat on an outdoor couch nearby. He doesn't notice when someone slips out after him, leaned back with his eyes closed, but when they sit in top of him, he's smiling when they lean in to kiss him. He kisses back.

You frown when you head back to the living room and Seungcheol's nowhere to be seen. You start to walk back out and come across Mingyu, almost stumbling into him and knocking over the drink in his hand. "Shit, sorry. Have you seen Cheol?"

He shakes his head and offers to help you look for him. Worried he might have sneaked outside while it's cold, you start there. You're quick to find him but you stop right under the threshold, the sliding door having been left open. A chill gust of wind hits your face. It's nothing compared to the scene unfolding right before your eyes that has you stumbling back like you've been slapped.

What he sees when he opens his eyes doesn't make sense. It's not you in front of him, but your roommate. It's like someone drops a bucket of ice cold water over him when he hears a noise, like someone taking a sharp breath, and he looks over to find you and Mingyu standing by the door. He's fully sober now. Mingyu looks the most confused he's ever been. But you. There's a look in your eyes. Something more than disappointment, betrayal, while silent tears roll down your face. You snap out of it, and the last he sees is how you're face crumples up with so much hurt before you spin around in a hurry to leave. Mingyu calls your name, starting after you but he doesn't know what to do.

No.

"Oops. Guess she saw that." Your roommate says faking innocence. But when she turns back to him, she's smiling, uncaring. All her attention is on him, while he's still struggling to grasp what's happened. "I always wondered what she saw in such a dork like you but now I get it. Bet you really know how to use this too." When she tries to touch him, he grips her wrist and pushes her hand away.

"Don't you ever come closer to me again." He spits out furiously pushing her off him, with nothing but aversion in his eyes.

She scoffs indignantly, straightening up, "I wouldn't bother going after her. Do you think she'd want anything to do with you now?" He's just about to head back inside when she speaks again, making him stop "Do you know what happened with her last boyfriend?" He waits for her to finish off. "He cheated on her."

You tune out Mingyu's calls, otherwise almost drowned under the voices from where karaoke's still going on, about to slip out of the house when you knock onto someone walking in. The water bottle you were still holding drops to the ground. You let out a hurried apology, bringing a trembling hand to hide your tear streaked face. You didn't even notice when you'd started crying.

"Your new boy already let you down?" And the owner of the voice is none other than your ex. Great. He's still blocking the front door."It's bad, isn't it?" Taking a guess by the state you're in. "Guess he just needed someone to stroke his ego. You did too much of a good job, and now he's moved on to the next one."

"Is that what happened with you?" You bite back, shoving him out of the way and stepping outside. Usually you're good ignoring his comments, but right now when everything hurts and you're already down his words land like a final blow. Your mind can't help but break down and spin his words around until you start to believe he might actually be right about it. You'd just happened to be there, he saw you were interested and you turned into option number one. A good time, until you weren't even worth that anymore. He didn't see what you saw in him. Maybe you weren't made to have more, mean something to someone, be important in their lives, in his life. You were so naïve, giving so much of yourself for someone to only take and not match. Why did you always took it too far?

Mingyu sees Seungcheol hurrying over not a moment later, "Where is she?" He looks around desperately, urgency in his voice. He's as shaken as he saw you earlier. Everything's gone wrong, like the ground is crumbling under his feet; but life keeps moving on around him, the music, the laughs, the animated conversation. It's driving him insane. He shouldn't have come, he was so close to convincing you to stay back. His mind keeps repeating that over and over.

"She left. Wait- You can't go after her right now. Not like this." Mingyu has to struggle to hold him back. He's about to ask what the fuck does he mean when he catches his reflection on the round mirror above a small table near the front door. He doesn't look any better than he feels. He wipes the red lipstick off harshly and thinks he's going to be sick, the warm and fuzzy feeling from the alcohol before now making his stomach churn dangerously.

It must show on his face, because Mingyu makes him lean on him and begins hauling him to the nearest bathroom. "I have to tell her it's not what it looked like." He's aware of how that sounds. Like a poor excuse. He should've known something was off. You wouldn't have been all over him while he'd been drinking. Your weight on his, your perfume, your lips, all that he knew so well. And now he was risking missing them for good.

9: Now

Your phone had been ringing to the point of exhaust. You put it on silent, throwing it away letting yourself be swallowed by your sheets. Last night when you got to your dorm, you'd sent an email to the student affairs' office requesting for a dorm change. Either you got that, or you'd put a complain on your roommate and get her out. You don't think she'd be opposed to leave, not after you'd run into her this morning. It was more out of impulse than anything, but you'd raised your hand and slapped her across the face so hard she'd only gaped at you, speechless, not daring to hit back. You didn't regret it. She deserved it. The dorm has been silent since she'd walked out the door in the minutes that followed. That is until you hear a knock on the door and someone calling your name. You won't open it. Hopefully he'd leave. But he doesn't. You hesitate near the door whether to tell him to go away or not.

"Can we please talk?" Seungcheol's voice sounds raspy from lack of use or like he'd been crying. If you answered the door, you'll see he mirrors you by how wrecked he really is. His hairs disheveled from how many times he's pulled and stressed his hands through it. He got no sleep last night, dark circles under his eyes.

Silence. He starts to doubt if you're really there, but he'd asked at the desk before coming upstairs and they said they hadn't seen you leave."If you don't want to you can just listen."

"I don't want things to end like this. Fuck, they haven't even started." he lets out a humorless laugh and sniffles when a fresh wave of tears comes, "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you. Last night it was all her. She wanted to pull us apart and I fell for it. I… I know what you saw, that I kissed her too. I never would've done that if I hadn't thought it was you. Never. When I saw it wasn't you I'd kissed I literally got sick and I've been beating myself up all night for how stupid I was. Please believe me." He rests his forehead against the door. "You're the only one I want. I've liked you for so long, you have no idea how much. You spending time with me has made me feel like the luckiest guy ever. I'd never throw that away fooling around." A sigh, "Still, I managed to mess it up."

There's silence for a while. You're thinking he's gone when you're startled by the sound of his voice again, broken."I understand if you need space- Or if you already made up your mind and you can't forgive me… Please tell me, curse me out, whatever you need to do, and I won't bother you ever again."

Nothing breaks the dreadful silence that follows. He really left now. Your own tears haven't stopped flowing and you keep crying leaning against the door.

Later, you force yourself up off the floor and grab your phone. There's countless missed calls and unopened texts from him since last night, a bunch from Mingyu. The ones from Seungcheol stopped coming not too long ago, probably because he was on his way over.

You open the the thread of Mingyu's messages first,

M: Pardon my unfeminist language, but your roommate's a bitch. If I was a girl, I'd slap the shit out of her.

M: It was her! It's all her scheming! You know Seungcheol wouldn't hurt you, he only has eyes for you.

M: You're my friend too and I hate that you're hurting. Please at least let me know you got home okay.

M: Please hear him out. I can't get him to calm down it's bad.

M: The guy's in love with you you know that. He's so pathetic without you.

M: Don't let that girl get away with this.

There's a voicemail too from moments after you ran out of the party. His voice comes rushed at first, knowing he only has a couple minutes and a lot he wants to get in.

"Hey! Please let me know when you get back to your place so I know you're okay. I mean I know you're not- fuck! I saw it too but I know Seungcheol, you know him and he's not like that. He's buzzed even I could get away with kissing him right now." There's a silence. Like he realized that last bit wasn't exactly helpful. You can picture his face of disgust from even saying it. "What I'm trying to say is that that girl took advantage of him. This is exactly what she wanted. Don't rush to conclusions, he's serious about you. I know you two are going to be oka-" he gets caught off.

Now that you read his messages you hope he gets you're okay, all things considered. You only reply to one message directly:

M: Pardon my unfeminist language, but your roommate's a bitch. If I was a girl, I'd slap the shit out of her.

You: I did.

You get a reply almost instantly.

M: That's my girl. I'm so proud of you.

A tiny smile peeks through your tears. He knows not to push you further. All he wanted was to know you were okay. Or alive, at least.

Then you move on to Seungcheol's messages from last night.

Cheol: We need to talk.

Cheol: Answer the phone, please.

Cheol: please pick up

Cheol: I'm so sorry. I don't know why she kissed me. I didn't want her to.

Cheol: It wasn't you. I only want you.

Cheol: You know that, right?

Cheol: Are you back at your dorm? Did you get there alright?

Cheol: I'm coming over.

Cheol: I'm at the lobby they won't let me up. I don't have much time before they kick me out.

Cheol: Let's talk it out please. I know I hurt you and I hate myself for it but we can get past this.

Cheol: Are you asleep?

Cheol: They told me I have to leave. I'll come back tomorrow so we can talk?

Cheol: Please say something. anything.

Cheol: I'm sorry.

He also left a voicemail after none of his calls went through.

"Don't think for even a second that I can like another girl that isn't you. Please, talk to me? Let me know you're safe at least. Fuck, we shouldn't have gone to that stupid party. I would've rather stay back with you. I don't care about anyone else. I love you, alright? Before you even noticed me, it was just you. Then you gave me a chance and I got to know you better. So sweet, smart, kind, funny, irresistible like I knew you'd be. You drive me crazy it was impossible not to fall for you. I don't want this to be it. I want to be with you."

You can tell he'd been crying then too just like you are now. His voice shaky and wet, catching in some parts. It was so raw and honest. He was baring his heart for you. You doubt he could be faking any of it.

You know he isn't.

But the image of him kissing someone else had hurt so much. Your brain kept trying to protect you telling you to run away from the pain before it could cut you open further, that the story was repeating itself. But your heart is telling you to go back to him. You can't let one relationship gone wrong for reasons beyond you sabotage you. Are you going to allow someone else and their malicious intentions to drive you away from whom your heart calls for? So you decide to take one step. You don't feel ready, but you go for it nevertheless.

You: I'm sorry too. We can talk.

Seungcheol goes through exams robotically. Only his lack of focus could cost him a few points from what would otherwise be perfect scores. Even if that were the case, he does not care - at least not at the moment. He'd have the entire holiday break to wallow in self-pity if he wanted to afterwards. - But it's nothing that'd affect his general grade anyway. He's talking to you right after this test, the one from the class you have together. You're only a few rows behind him and it's the closest you'd been the whole week, only catching brief glimpses of each other around campus. The toughest part has been seeing you so retreated into yourself, so dull, and knowing he'd been the cause. He feared you weren't taking care of yourself, but he was no better of an example.

He finishes before most of the rest of the class, but he deliberately stays back until the end of the hour. You're the last two to hand in your papers, then it's only the two of you in the middle of the lecture hall. There's so much to say, but where to start? It's funny, he's been wanting to talk to you for days and now everything in his head's on disarray. His eyes search your face for hope that this won't go wrong.

"I…" you both stop.

"Can I go first?" you ask, figuring it's fair. He already said enough, it's your turn to try. Besides, if you're right, things would get settled quick. You have a feeling. When he nods, you take a deep breath and speak, "Did you mean all of the things you said?" you're pulling at your shirt sleeves. It makes you look smaller than you are already compared to him but you ask looking straight into his eyes.

Seungcheol doesn't miss a beat to answer, "All of it."

"Even when you said you loved me?"

"Not loved. Love." He corrects. "I didn't want the first time I tell you to be like that," It kinda slipped out, "but it's the truth. I love you."

And you're hugging him. This is not how he expected this conversation to go. Honestly he didn't dare to picture how it'd go down, whether they be good or bad outcomes. He was about ready to plead and beg, do whatever you asked of him. But he's wrapping his arms around you tightly like he's afraid if he lets go he'd never hold you again. He kisses the crown of your hair before he rests his head on top of yours "I'm so sorry."

"I am sorry too."

"What are you sorry for?" He's frowning.

"For how I reacted, for doubting you and running without hearing you out."

"I don't think neither of us were in a good state to talk." Then he pulls back. He has to ask, "Are you sure you're okay?" He sees a few stray tears on your face and wipes them off gently.

You nod, and smile at him. "Yeah, it's just- I was so scared."

"Me too." You could've left things like that, but you chose to believe in each other. That you were in it for the long run. He leans down, resting his forehead against yours, "Thank you for coming back."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. So much."

"Cheol?"

"Mm?"

"I love you." And he's smiling, that big smile that makes his dimples show. You both feel much more lighter now, like you can breathe again.

"I love you."

And you're about to close the small gap between you, when the door opens. You both turn towards it to find the professor.

He stops, staring at your intertwined hands. You think you see a ghost of a smile. "I just came back for this." He walks over to the desk and takes a cellphone out of one of the drawers before he heads back out. "Enjoy your holidays."

"Thanks." "You too."

"Was it me or he smiled at us?"

"It's probably because you stopped spacing out in class because of me."

"Okay that's not what happened."

"Right. You actually spaced out more."

"You're a bad tutor."

"I could do worse."

"Oh I know."

Fin.

Finishing up with a lip gloss, you look at yourself in the little mirror on top of your table again. A smile spreads on your lips on its own. You look pretty. Isn't that the most important? Looking pretty for others?

Brushing your fingers through your hair quickly to fix it, you hurry out. Grabbing your bag on your way, you're out of your dorm as fast as you possibly can, headed for your morning class.

There were many ways people told you college would look like—bunch of studying, parties on campus every week, new friends in all of your classes, or on the other hand how hard it would be to make friends, how you wouldn't have time for any parties because of exams, and how much you would wish to go back to high school.

Most of them were correct. But there is one thing that will never apply no matter what.

You'll never wish to go back to high school.

The place holds many memories, mostly the bad ones. You've been counting down days until you'd be able to leave for longer than not, praying to anyone who would listen at night to put you out of your misery. Saving never came, but high school ended eventually, and you didn't hesitate for a second before moving away to start over.

It was also when you got into makeup for the first time. Different eyeshadows, shades of lipsticks, brands of concealer, powdered and liquid products—you tried it all the summer before college started. And after many tries, you'd like to say you perfected your routine. You look pretty now, just like you wished all your life you would be.

"Look, that's her."

"Shh, idiot! She'll hear!"

"Both of you, shut up, I can't see!"

"If it isn't my pretty girl?" Liv's smile is the only one you pay attention to, ignoring the rest of your surroundings. You learned to do so quickly after classes started, pushing your nerves and worries about what others think aside and doing your best to focus on your lessons. If you must say, it didn't work as well as you wish it would at first, your head spinning every time you caught someone looking at you, worried if your makeup was still intact or if they can see right through you. Being pretty always came with a con. For you, it was that you were always on the edge about everyone finding out you're not such goddess you make yourself out to be.

As big of a relief it is to know that no one here knows the old you, that none of your classmates have been there to see how you were treated in high school or to laugh at you, you can't lie and say it's all just perfect.

But being around Liv makes you feel like perfect is pretty damn close.

"Hi," you greet her back, pulling a chair at her side. You've met Liv at the start of the semester, clicking instantly when you talked about anime and other shows you like. Everything was always easy with her, your worries disappearing for a moment whenever you'd talk to her about the stuff you both like. But you still wouldn't let your guard down, not even around her. No matter how much you sometimes wish you could, how the idea of just being yourself fully with her intrigues you, fear always wins.

"Did you see the video I sent you last night? They were going crazy," she laughs just remembering it.

You nod, taking out your books, "It's incredible how you always find yourself in the middle of the most bizarre stuff."

"Look, I just wanted to go for a shower, it's not my fault I found these guys wrestling in the middle of the hallway. One of them, I'm pretty sure his name was Chan, asked for my number by the way."

Raising an eyebrow, you give her a look, "And what does Joshua think about that?"

Liv shrugs. "I gave him Shua's number so considering he still hasn't questioned anything, I don't think Chan called anyway."

You laugh, shaking your head. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled about having to deal with another one of your suitors."

"Please," she scoffs. "What suitors? You're one to talk," she nudges your shoulder lightly, pointing with her eyes at the group of guys that watched you when you walked in. "I think someone is interested."

Quickly shaking your head, you don't even turn around to see who she means. "You know I'm not doing relationships."

Liv's smile falters just a little bit, the nod she gives you sad. You know she's cheering for you more than anyone, only wishing you the best, but it doesn't change anything about your decision. You knew coming here that you wouldn't fall for the tricks of another man again, no matter what eyes he gives you or how much he flashes his teeth when he sees you. Not only would it be a waste of time but it's also a lot safer and comfortable when you're on your own. Just you and the pretty parts of life.

"Well," she is fast to getting her smile back, "That only means more time for me to spend with you, so it's okay. Do you want to watch the new episode of the culling games later together?"

Your smile stretches from one ear to another as you agree, wanting to do exactly that more than anything.

You curse yourself out quietly as you check your face in the bathroom mirror, pulling out your powder from your bag to fix it up. Fortunately, it's nothing life ending, but your makeup still needs fixing. Dabbing the place under your eyes, you keep your eyes on the mirror. Other girls move in the bathroom around you but you don't pay them any attention. Someone on the side compliments you and you offer her a smile, complimenting her right back. You have no idea who she is but her hair is beautiful, so why not let her know?

You know she'd probably never speak to you if she saw you bare faced instead. The reminder sits in the back of your head without a break, but it doesn't stop you from spreading some of the love you needed so much back then.

Exhaling, you check yourself all over again before closing your bag and heading out of the bathroom to get something for lunch before your next lesson. Usually, you eat with Liv or your other friend—Kay—but they both have a class today so it's on you to figure something out.

Keeping your eyes on the ground beneath your feet, you guide through campus with ease as you try to figure out what it is you're craving today. Without even realizing, your body takes you to a shop outside of campus. It's the one store you visited frequently when you moved here and needed to save some money as you were settling in. You've never had a ramen this good and cheap at the same time before you stumbled here.

Picking up your favorite instant noodles, you look around a bit more after exchanging greetings with the cashier, giving him your usual smile. Hansol has been in the store ever since you first found it, always chatting you up when you were paying. But just like everyone else, he is unaware of the two faces you carry, convinced that you with makeup on and you without are two different people he sees shopping here. And even though you know he is a good guy since he talks to you no matter what look you come in with, you can't bring yourself to tell him Neoguri girl and Mupama girl are the same.

"Does this look right to you? It tastes like shit!"

You don't pay any attention to the girl voice you hear somewhere behind you at first, picking up a drink to go with your noodles. But as soon as you hear the sound of laughter, your entire body freezes. It's too loud, too close. Snapping your head back to see what's happening, you almost get a whiplash. It feels like you know the laugh, like you've heard it all your life.

You never understood what people meant when they said they've seen their life flash before their eyes but as you stand between the two aisles in your favorite store, you finally get it. You see your entire high school years flash through your mind, every memory, every time you were the center of a laugh, every little hit you had to take because you weren't like they wanted you to.

Relief washes over you for a split second when you see the faces behind you, calming down a little when you realize it's not the same people you had to deal with.

But that doesn't make it any better. Your eyes fall down to the spilled coffee cup on the floor and the girl with her head down beside it, muttering an apology while everyone around her laughs. Swallowing hard, you do your best not remembering how it felt to be in that position, how much you hated yourself when you had to deal with the same thing or how much you prayed that someone would see and help.

You're sure she's doing the same, praying and hoping that by some luck, she won't be alone in this anymore.

Taking a wary step forward, you swallow all your worries as you make your way to the group, holding your groceries in one hand so you could use the other to drag the bullies away. Placing your free hand on the shoulder of the girl who you're pretty sure threw the cup, you tug her back so she can look at you.

You're taller than her but it's not by much. Her eyes are filled with disgust as she is forced to look away from her source of fun, a complain hanging on her lips. "What do you—" Her brows furrow when she looks at you, glancing around others confusedly. "Who are you?"

Judging by the uniform and the look in their eyes, you think they're all high schoolers. Of course they are. High school is when they all show their colors. "Who are you?" You ask her right back, eyeing her up and down. "To think you can throw a coffee at my younger sister like that, you two must be really close, hm?"

She blinks, clearly taken aback. "I—"

Letting go of her shoulder, you look over to the girl in the middle, her head now raised as she watches you in awe. You got used to people looking at you with awe in their eyes ever since you started doing your makeup, the gaze usually followed by some sort of compliment or a question about your contact info. But this girl doesn't look at you like that. She doesn't look at you like you're the prettiest girl she's ever seen and she needs to get her hands on you to be happy. She watches you like you're a savior, someone she never thought she would find in this awful world.

"I didn't know I'd find you around here today. I was just grabbing lunch, let's eat together, my treat," you nod her head towards you, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Y-Yeah," she nods, avoiding eye contact with the rest of her classmates as she follows you away. Keeping her eyes down, she doesn't even see which ramen pack you're picking for her. All she knows is that she needs to thank you as soon as you're out.

"The girls back there spilled some coffee on the ground so make sure they clean it up before they leave," you tell Hansol as you place everything on the counter, letting him mark you up. He blinks confusedly, his eyes flickering between you and the girl beside you before he nods, deciding it's not the right time to question anything. You turn to her once again as Hansol quotes you the cost. "Let's get out of here and eat at my place?"

"I—"

"Please," you ask of her quietly. "I want to make sure they don't follow you."

Biting her bottom lip, she agrees without saying anything else, watching you pay for the both of you. Looking over your shoulder as you walk out, a smile spreads on your lips when you see Hansol heading to the group of girls, glad that they won't run away just like that.

It's the first time you're bringing someone to your dorm. The moment you realize it you start to regret asking her to have her lunch with you there, but you won't back down anymore. You're already in the building, leading her through the halls. It's way over late to turn around and eat somewhere else.

"What is your name?" You wonder as you watch her eyes scan every inch of your room, the same look she had when she first saw you on her face.

"Yuna," she turns to face you, extending her hand sheepishly. "Choi Yuna."

"Yuna," you smile at her, introducing yourself right back. "I know it's a mess in here now but sit down anywhere you like and I'll prepare the food."

"Thank you," she calls when you turn around, her voice now stronger. "For…what you did back there. I don't want to be a bother."

"You're not a bother," you assure her, quick to face her again. "Who is a bother are those girls back there. Are they your classmates?" The hesitation in her eyes answers you before her mouth can, a heavy sigh leaving your lips. "They are in the wrong here."

Yuna shakes her head as if she disagrees with you. You narrow her eyes at her. "No, they— It's fine. I deserve it."

Your eyes widen instantly. "Deserve it? Why on Earth would you deserve it?"

"I'm ugly," the words leave her mouth before she can stop them and it hits you like a punch. You can see your own body in her position, crying to your mom and asking her why she made you this ugly, why she even bothered giving birth to you if you were going to look like this. But you and Yuna are something completely different—she's adorable, beautiful, how does she not see that? So what if her eyebrows are a little more bushy? So what if her skin isn't perfectly clean? She's in no way ugly.

"Did they tell you that?"

"They didn't have to." You clench your teeth as her gaze drops to the floor, watching your flooring like it's the most interesting thing about your room. "If I was pretty like you, I wouldn't be in this situation," she mumbles.

Telling you she wishes she'd be like you when she is so much prettier feels ridiculous. Leaving the food your bought on the nearest table, you quickly cross the space between the two of you and place your hands on her shoulders. Yuna takes a second to raise her head and meet your eyes. "I'm going to let you know on a secret," you say softly, your eyes filled with sorrow. "I've been called ugly my entire life."

Her eyes widen instantly, almost as if you just hit her with a bus instead of just telling her how it's been for you. You should be joyous that your makeup is good enough to not make your face recognizable but all you feel is regret than you can't express how much you relate to her, how you understand everything.

"But you're so…. gorgeous," she blinks, her eyes flickering from your face down to your body. "You couldn't have been called names," she shakes her head, refusing to believe you.

"I was," you assure her, swallowing a lump in your throat. No matter how much you want to let her know, show her that there is a way out of the misery she feels and that she can show everyone she isn't who they tell her she is, you can't bring yourself to voice it out. You can't. The reminder of what happens when people see your bare face is too loud for you to tell her anything more. "You can't believe them. There is nothing ugly about you but a lot about them. It's not okay to act like they do."

She stays quiet after, her expression a mix of surprise and awe. You slowly drop your arms back down, keeping your eyes on her as you do. "Don't let them tell you who you are. You're beautiful, Yuna." The little flush of her cheeks when your words reach her ears is enough for you to know she's feeling better now, even if the change is small.

"Thank you," she whispers, feel shy all of a sudden.

"There is nothing to thank me for," you smile at her, fixing her hair for her before getting the food again, your stomach already calling for some filling.

When you signed up for a creative writing course, it was mostly a joke. As much as you always loved stories, the course was only supposed to be a fun distraction from the more heavy classes you take. You never expected to fall in love with it like you did. A part of your excitement might be because it's another class you share with Liv and Kay, but mostly it's just because you genuinely love what you do here.

It's the one and only class where you find the assignments fun and look forward to them most of the time. You had to write eight hundred words portraying a meaningful situation without using any form of speech for the last one. Focusing on only the inner monologue and body language of a person felt challenging at first, but once you fell into it, it felt like you couldn't stop.

"Had a nice lunch?" Kay asks with a smile and you hum as you slide into a seat beside them, Liv on your other side. "We went out for pasta and let me tell you," they sing, nodding in satisfaction and making you laugh.

"We have to go together," Liv encourages, a grin stretching on her face. "It's nearby and not overly pricey either."

"Let's do it," you agree without any hesitation. "Next week?"

Before you can get an answer, both Liv and Kay fall silent as the class door opens and your professor walks in, greeting the class. Mr. Han is a thirty-something year old who entered the first lesson in a button up and sweats, catching the eyes of almost every girl. He's always been the free spirited type, simply enjoying what he teaches. But today, he looks rather ticked off, his greeting not as enthusiastic as it always is.

Frowning, you look at your friends to see if they noticed it too.

"I apologize for the mess but I won't be able to lead class today," Mr. Han says and your frown only deepens. Your curiosity might be your greatest weakness because you can't help but wonder what happened on his way here. "I paired you guys up and I'd like you to use the class time to grade each other's latest assignments. Point out mistakes or what could use more work, give feedback. Leave the papers under my desk before you leave and I'll check over it before our next lesson."

He isn't looking at the class anymore as he finishes up his speech, clicking through some stuff on his laptop before turning the projector on. You barely get to register what's been said before the chatter around you starts, everyone looking for their respective partners. Kay is with some guy called Minghao, and Liv is with a girl named Amy, but you can't find your own name on the board no matter how hard you look.

You pull your gaze away when you hear your name called from a few roads away from a guy with his hand raised, looking around the room. You blink as you watch him, only snapping out of it when he calls your name again and you finally respond. You call your name, waving in his direction. An easy smile spreads on his lips when his eyes settle on you, passing by the people in his row to get to you.

"Hey," he greets you as he takes a seat beside you, plopping his bag on top of the desk.

"Hey," you repeat after him, glancing at the board again in an attempt to figure out his name and not make this awkward.

"Seungcheol," his little chuckle brings your eyes back to him, your mouth opening to answer before you close it again, accepting that he's seen right through you. "Choi Seungcheol, third year physical education."

Offering him a smile, you introduce yourself back to him. "I'm sorry, I couldn't find my name on the board."

Seungcheol shakes his head, "It's okay. I found you, didn't I?"

Your cheeks flush as you quickly avert your eyes, pulling out your assignment from your bag. "The writing. You've done it, right?" You ask when you find him watching you curiously, worried you'll just be wasting your time with him.

"I did," he agrees, opening his bag to prove his point. You watch as he pulls out a few papers from the mess of books. Raising an eyebrow, you question how it isn't all wrinkled. "Eight hundred words on the dot."

"Okay," you nod a little, unsure if he expects you to praise him for completing his work.

"Okay," he laughs, pushing the two papers with his writing towards you. "Be nice to me, I'm no Shakespeare."

"I think I know that," you hand him your work in exchange, eyeing him up and down as you do. "The Shakespeare I know is much older and wiser."

"Ouch," he pulls his palms to his chest, pressing where his heart is. "I just asked you to be nice to me."

"I said you look young, didn't I?" A smile spreads on your lips before you can realize it, finding him ridiculous.

"And then that I'm dumb."

"You're putting words in my mouth," you shake your head.

"Yeah, that's kind of the thing we are supposed to do in the course," he tells you, a teasing grin decorating his face. You roll your eyes but your smile doesn't falter even for a moment.

However, it does disappear when you start reading his work. Your brows furrow together as you underline two sentences in the first paragraph, putting question marks right beside it. Glancing his way, you find him focused on your work, his chin in his palm while he taps the pen against the table with his other hand. You already have questions for him but it'll probably be better to ask at the end instead.

Half of the things he produces don't make any sense. You didn't expect to mark so many things in red or that you would be fixing so much punctuation. He might have completed the assignment, but you have no idea what was happening.

"At least you didn't use AI," you try to excuse it to yourself more than to him, handing him back his papers. As soon as he lies his eyes on the writing he closes his eyes, not wanting to look any longer.

"I asked for you to be nice."

"I was."

Peering one eye open, he skims through the first page. "I don't find this very nice."

Sighing, you turn in your chair so you face him. "Tell me what you were trying to show. Without reading anything you wrote."

Placing the papers down on the table, he does the same and turns his body towards you. "The feeling of winning a competition for the first time. How proud one feels when they achieve what they've been trying to and that they didn't disappoint the people that were supporting them."

"I had no idea it was about winning something," you tell him honestly.

Seungcheol inhales sharply before pursing his lips together, clearly not winning this time around. "It was supposed to show excitement and joy."

Hesitating, you simply watch him for a second. "What did you think of mine?" You decide to change the topic, not wanting to make his day even worse than you probably already had. "Was it okay?"

"Okay?" He laughs, shaking his head. He hands you your papers, giving you a second to scan through his comments. Which you find almost none of. "It was amazing. More than that to be honest. You write inner monologue so well."

Your skin feels hot as you listen to him, reading through the very few comments he left. Were you too harsh on him after all? If this is how he marked your writing maybe you should have toned down yours. Your eyes flicker from the papers in your hands and his face, trying to get a better read at him.

"Are you serious?" You ask, hopeful.

"Absolutely," he assures you. "You should teach me instead of Mr. Han, maybe then I'd write something readable."

"It was readable," you quickly tell him, feeling bad about the review you gave him. "You just need to tweak a few things and it will be great!"

Seungcheol watches you freak out in amusement, a smile lining his face. He knows he isn't a great writer and he's okay with that, but seeing you try to make him feel better about it with your cheeks and ears all red makes him want to be even worse. If he can see you like this every time he fails at an assignment, he hopes he never learns.

"How would you write my paper? If you were to portray what I wanted," he wonders, leaning his hand on the table and resting his cheek in his palm. Keeping his eyes on you, he waits for everything you have to say.

Flustered, you blink at him at first. Clearing your throat, you quietly reach for his writing, reading over the first few sentences. "I'd probably start with a bit of body language. Sweating, heavy breathing—just point out the exhaustion one feels. You can go straight into his thoughts, there is no problem in that, it's just that you try to tell the reader what's happening immediately without executing it right. I didn't know he was supposed to win a competition until you told me."

He hums, listening carefully as his eyes constantly move from your face to his papers.

"Once you set the overall mood, showing how hard it was on his body, I'd move on to the mind and show the hardship there. Slowly show what he is thinking—why he feels so proud, why it's such a big deal to him, and how tiring this all way for the mind. I think writing about the stress and pressure he feels because he doesn't want to disappoint anyone would be a good idea as well."

"You're incredible at this."

Your eyes widen as they meet his, suddenly nervous. "I'm really not," you disagree with a small shake of your head.

But Seungcheol doesn't budge, a knowing look in his eyes. "I don't know who you're trying to fool but it's not working on me. You really are amazing. This is great."

"You just need to practice and you'll be a lot better than me in no time."

He laughs at your comment, flashing his white teeth as he does. Didn't you tell Liv something about this being the exact thing you don't fall for just a week ago? You're not sure because as you listen to the soft sound of his laugh, you forget all the reasons why you're so adamant about not being with any of the guys that have been hitting on you.

"I can keep dreaming but I don't think that's going to happen."

"Why wouldn't it? I think you could be."

He smiles at you but it's clear he still disagrees. "I'd like to bet good money that if one of us becomes a successful writer, it wouldn't be me."

"I'm not going to be a successful writer," you shake your head. "This course is just for fun."

"Okay," he nods, still keeping his eyes on you. "But just know that if you do end up walking down the path, I will be telling everyone I'm the reason they can read their favorite book."

You giggle at him. Giggle. Someone should pinch you because this has got to be a dream.

The first time he averts his eyes from you is to pull out his phone from his pocket, unlocking it with ease and clicking through some stuff. You watch him, part of you curious and the other embarrassed that you're just sitting here while he plays on his phone. Turning the screen towards you, he offers you his phone. "Can I get your number?"

You blink at the screen, the new contact staring right at you. Your name is written on the top without a profile picture or the number filled. "Oh, uhm—"

"So that I can talk to you when I need help with other assignments. I think I could benefit from brainstorming like this with you," he explains and you hate how much his excuse works. Normally you'd apologize right away and refuse but something about Seungcheol makes you hesitate. You want to help him with his writing and you want to hear from him again. You're not sure why but you do.

Nodding, you watch as his smile grows when you start typing in your number. You let him save the contact himself, keeping your eyes on him as he does. "That's me," he says just as your phone pings, clearly having a message from him. Before you can check what it is, he is standing up from his seat and collecting both of your papers. "I'll leave it at the teacher's desk. Don't be a stranger. I'll see you around."

Your lips part as you watch him leave, "See you around," hanging on the tip of your tongue. But you end up not saying it, something in you stopping you. You squeeze your eyes shut, sighing. Why would you act like this over him? There is no reason to be disappointed in yourself for not being able to tell him your goodbyes. It's not like exchanging numbers actually means anything. So what if you normally don't do it? Liv and Kay also have your number. It doesn't make Seungcheol any special.

Slowly reaching for your phone, a smile spreads on your lips again when you see the message from him, chuckling. He sent a bunch of emojis—books, pen, and a confused looking face. You shake your head at him, putting your phone back down. "See you around, Seungcheol."

You honestly didn't expect for Yuna to text you again but she did, and you're extremely grateful. You gave her your number the day you ate lunch with her at your dorm but she hasn't messaged you until now. Seungcheol, who has gotten your number on the same day, has on the other hand texted you almost every day.

It started of slow, him saying he saw you at lunch, or that he's been trying some of the writing tips that you shared with him. You kept the conversation going but it wasn't anything mind blowing like Liv likes to make it out to be. She's thrilled about you "stepping out of your bubble and chatting with him," as she likes to say. You can't say you wouldn't enjoy talking to him, whether it's about writing or him simply reaching out, but Yuna's text is much more exciting to you.

She sent you an online ticket to this show in town, asking if you'd like to come see her sing. Your response was an immediate yes.

Walking through the halls with your coat in your hands, you keep looking around you in hopes to find the backstage like you promised you would. You regret it as soon as you do, the sound of laughter making you feel sick. It's the same sound you heard when you met Yuna for the first time so it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on.

Stepping inside the room, you're thinking about a plan on how to get her out. As much as you wish it's not her this time, that she isn't the center of their fun this time around, you know what you're going to find.

"What is that? You think that's going to help your face?"

"I can't even look at her."

"Someone save my eyes!"

"You should just go home before you embarrass yourself more. The solo was supposed to go to me either way," the girl in the front nudges Yuna until she stumbles back, hitting the table behind her.

It's the same group as in the convenience store, all of them dressed for the show. Clenching your teeth together, you stop yourself from doing something stupid. "Yuna!" You call for her, her eyes finding you instantly. Your eyes widen slightly when you see the makeup on her face, realizing they are making fun of her for trying her way with it. These girls are never going to be happy. No matter if she walks around barefaced or with the prettiest art on her skin, they are still going to find a reason to laugh at her.

You quickly push past them, grasping Yuna's hand and tugging her with yourself. You don't say anything to the girls around her, knowing it won't do anything. You hear them say something behind you, asking what you're doing, but you don't care. What's important now is fixing this mess.

Only stopping when you find the bathroom, you encourage her to take a breather while you take out your makeup from your purse. "Is it that bad?" She asks, her eyes sad as she takes a look at herself in the mirror.

Your heart breaks a little at the sight. Shaking your head, you bring her attention to yourself again. "It isn't," you assure her. Her cheeks are overly red, her eyeshadow is way too loud, and her attempt at eyeliner went sideways, but you'd never tell her she's not beautiful. Because she is. In your eyes, she's so incredibly pretty, you wish she could see it too. There is a tiny part in your heart yelling at you as you think about it, calling you a hypocrite but you push it aside. You and her aren't the same. She's way prettier than you are. "It just needs a little more blending. Let me help, hm?"

She nods and you offer her a smile, ready to get to work.

Your seat is great. Not too close to the podium but not too far away either, letting you enjoy the show properly. Based on the students you see performing, you assume they are all from Yuna's high school, all the teachers taking up the first road. It puts a smile on your face to see them cheer for their students so much. You wish you would have had something like this as well. Not that you'd go performing on a stage, especially not in front of an audience this side. But it would have been nice to see this kind of support when you were in high school.

There is a group of guys covering a 5 seconds of summer song, there are girls singing songs by girl's generation, and there is a guy singing some sort of a trot song—which you later find out is his own and it's called God of Light Music—but the performance that catches your eyes and ears the most is the one Yuna is a part of.

There are eight girls on the stage, three of them the ones you saw bullying Yuna before. They stand on the sides, clearly annoyed looks on their face whenever they glance towards the middle. That's where Yuna stands, smiling brightly as she looks at the people in front of her, singing to them. Her voice is so beautiful she leaves you in awe, your grin stretching from ear to ear as you listen to her.

The applause when the song comes to an end is much stronger than any of those before, loud cheers coming from every direction. Yuna's eyes lock with yours for a second and you can see how genuinely proud she feels. Cheering for her as well, you watch as she giggles at you, averting her eyes from you and looking somewhere on the other side of the audience.

"She's beautiful," some guy besides you nudges his friends.

"Yeah but her voice is even prettier," his friend answers, both of them looking ahead at the podium. You have to bite back your smile as you watch them praise Yuna, thinking the exact same thing.

The grin that stretches on your face when you hear Yuna calling your name is filled with excitement. She's at your side faster than you can proceed anything else, a laugh bubbling out of you when she hugs you. "Thank you so much! I've gotten so many praises after out performance."

"That's all because of you," you tell her, keeping her at your side a little longer. "You were incredible up there. I can't believe you didn't tell me you have such talent for music."

Her cheeks flush as she takes a step back, clearly happy. "It's nothing," she shakes her head. "But it felt good to see everyone enjoy the show."

"Looks like you found your calling," you smile.

"I've been telling her for years," a man's voice interrupts your conversation, causing you to glance to the side. Your eyes widen when you're met with Seungcheol, a bouquet of pink roses in his hands. "You did so well," he says, pulling Yuna into a hug. You can't tear your gaze away, confusion written all over your face as you watch them. What is he doing here?

Clearing your throat, you stumble over your words as you try to find an excuse to slip away. "I should go… it's been amazing, Yuna. Text me more often."

"You're going already?" She quickly pulls away from Seungcheol, stopping you before you can even take your first step.

It makes him look your way as well, his eyes flashing with recognition. Your name slips past his lips in a question, your cheeks catching a hint of redness. "Hey, Seungcheol," you smile a little.

"What are you doing here?"

"She's the one I told you about," Yuna nudges his side. "She helped me with my makeup before we started."

Seungcheol smiles as he takes the sight of her in before his eyes fall to you again. "Maybe I should save your contact as the Choi Savior. First you help me with my writing then my sister with her makeup." The look in his eyes is nothing if not admiration and it makes you nervous for some reason.

"Your sister?" You blink at him.

He chuckles, pulling Yuna under his arm and leaning closer to her, "Don't we look alike?"

You stare at them, your eyes flickering from her to him. Somehow, this is the most ridiculous yet absolutely believable thing he could have said. You nod slowly, "You have the same eyes."

"We do?" Yuna frowns, pulling away from his hold. "I don't think so."

He rolls his eyes at her before handing her the bouquet he brought. "Keep working hard," he smiles. As much as she wants to hide it, you can see how grateful she is, bringing the flowers to her nose instantly.

"I should really go now," you smile at them. "It was so nice to see you." You don't add a name at the end, unsure which one of the Choi siblings you're referring to. It might be both.

"Wait," Seungcheol blurts out. They really don't want to let you go, do they? Raising an eyebrow, you question what he needs. "Have you eaten yet? We wanted to go get food to celebrate."

"We did?" Yuna frowns in confusion and he quickly nudges her feet with his.

"Your favorite sushi place, remember?" He interrupts his sister before she can say anything else, keeping his eyes on you. "What do you say?"

You hesitate, glancing between the two of them. "I could eat," you finally agree and it feels like another small win for Seungcheol.

When Yuna first mumbled something about mean girls to Seungcheol it made his blood boil. Every cell in his body wanted him to get out of the house and find them all to have a talk, tell them to grow up and mind their grades instead of finding entertainment in her sorrow because he knows she wouldn't do it on her own. But she refused to give him names or anything, assuring him it was taken care of already. Still, his worrying wouldn't stop until she told him about you.

She didn't give a name or anything that could help him connect the dots but she did say that this college student stood up for her and helped her feel a bit better about herself, which was enough for Seungcheol to know he appreciates you.

He's spent all of Yuna's life trying to prove her that she's amazing and deserves all the good in the world, but it felt like he wasn't doing anything. Every time he'd see his sister come home late with tears in her eyes a part of him broke, the fixer in him needing to make everything better. But she stopped talking to him when he started college, building this invisible wall between them that made him feel helpless. He did his best to be by her side despite it all but there was nothing he could do if she refused to tell him what was happening.

So when she finally told him something that night, it felt like a step forward. He refused to let the chance go, wanting to make everything right again. He thinks it got better—he hopes it did—as she hasn't told him that something would be happening again after. To his surprise, she actually came home with a smile on her face after that, at least until the parts for their performance were decided. Yuna got a big part, which he couldn't be more proud about, but the laughs came back with that as well.

He didn't need to be told this time around, noticing the moment she got home and her smile wasn't as bright as before. He asked about it, begging for her to let him help, but she refused to pull him into it, promising she has it covered. And as much as he wished it was true, he knew it wasn't going away. It left him praying for you in the past few weeks. He wasn't sure what to pray for, who would be able to help, but he couldn't stop and hope that who ever helped his sister back then would do it again.

And then you showed up, turning up to Yuna's performance and blowing his mind away. When he got paired with you in the writing course, he noticed you were pretty, of course he did. But then he started enjoying the conversation the two of you had as well and it was over for him. He found himself reaching out to you too often, wanting to get to know you better and know if the pull he felt was just a figment of his imagination because he's been single for so long or if it actually means anything.

Now as you walk in front of him, smile on your face when you talk to his sister, he knows for sure that it wasn't just some fleeting want. You were already cool when he read your writing assignment and now when he knows you are the same girl who had Yuna's back when he couldn't, he knows for sure that he wants to try. That he wants to take you out and get to know you more if you'd just let him.

With his hands tugged in his pockets, he walks behind the two of you, listening in on your conversation. You ask Yuna about music a lot and she asks you about writing in return, seemingly catching on the comment he made earlier. He doesn't need to be a part of the conversation to feel happy, enjoying just trailing behind you.

"Ladies! How lovely is it to see you here!" That however doesn't make him happy. Peering in front of you, he finds a trio of clearly drunk guys, eyeing his sister and you.

"Yuna get—"

"We aren't interested," you say without even looking at the group. "Plus, we are underage, do you really want to risk that?" You lie as you glance their way, eyebrow raised. They don't say anything else, muttering something to themselves as they turn to walk the opposite direction. You scoff, wrapping your arm with Yuna's. "Works every time."

And just like that, he is smiling again, shaking his head at himself for ever doubting you. "You deal with this often?" Yuna asks, worried.

"Not often," you assure her. You can't tell her that this only happens when you're out with makeup on, that whenever you go out barefaced you don't have encounters like this. You don't think anyone has even looked your way when you were out without your makeup on. "Just…sometimes."

"I don't want to be pretty anymore," she breathes out, shaking her head. You laugh at that, reminding her she already is pretty as she tugs you into the sushi restaurant Seungcheol promised you.

Taking a table for four, you sit beside Yuna and opposite Seungcheol, your eyes wandering to him on their own every few seconds. But he doesn't seem to be doing any better, meeting your eyes every time he raises his from the menu. You smile at each other, leaving Yuna confused on the side.

You let Yuna order you your food after she claims to have the best taste, trusting her fully. You laugh a lot with both of them, listening Seungcheol's embarrassing stories that Yuna loves to share much to his dismay. But he never interrupts her or curses at her for talking about him, simply closing his eyes and pretending not to hear. You must say, he looks quite adorable like this.

You're not sure how but somehow he managed to circle the conversation around to you, trying to get to know you better. He asks about your family the moment Yuna mentions their parents, he asks why you decided to chose your major when Yuna talks about Seungcheol always used to teach her all kinds of sports until he decided to purse it further. Every little fact she shares about their life he turns into a question for you, wanting to know more about you.

You answer him what you can, purposely avoiding questions about middle or high school and childhood friends. But you tell him about Liv and Kay, as well as Joshua who even though you don't meet often has always been nothing but good to you. You also tell them a bit about your family but if you're honest, you like listening to their stories much more than yours. Whenever they mention a happy memory from their childhood it warms something in your heart. And that feeling is much better than the one you have when you look back at your past.

Seungcheol decides to pay for everyone at the end of the night, no matter how much you insist on covering your own portion of the bill. He dismisses you without hearing you out, shaking his head. "Let me buy you a dinner, will you? You've done so much for my sister, it's only fair."

"I just fixed her makeup a little," you disagree.

He shoots you a knowing look, "Not just that."

"I really didn't— oh," your voice dies down when you realize he is referring to your first meeting with her, surprised that he knows. Then again, you never had an older brother you could tell about the things that were happening to you. Maybe if you did, it wouldn't have been so hard for you. "It was nothing."

His easy going smile falters as he looks at you now, much more serious than he was throughout the dinner. "Thank you, really. For everything. I don't think… I think she only told me because of you. I'm not sure if she'd ever tell me has it not been for meeting you. I think seeing that not everyone is putting a blind eye to what's happening showed her that she could tell me as well. So, again, let me pay for your dinner as a thank you for all you did."

You can't argue with him anymore, simply nodding. You don't know if meeting you really did what he thinks it did but you're glad you could help her, even if it was just a little. "She's lucky to have a brother like you," you tell him.

The two of you share a look, one you don't think you'll ever forget, because despite your attempts to hide everything, his eyes carry understanding that makes you feel more seen than you ever had. And as scary as it is, it's also a feeling you could get used to.

You've always loved the creative writing course, but after having dinner with Seungcheol and Yuna a few days ago, you look forward to the class even more. Even if you don't exactly sit with him or talk to him during class time, you still love knowing he is in the room with you, listening to the same lecture.

Liv and Kay both noticed apparently, because as soon as you glance around the room in hopes to find him, they're both giving you a knowing look. "What?" You swallow nervously, leaning back in your chair.

"Who are you looking for?" Kay grins, leaning forward on the table.

"Yeah, who are we trying to find?" Liv joins them immediately.

"No one," you're quick to shake your head but your eyes betray you, falling to the place you first saw him. "Okay, well, Seungcheol isn't in yet," you admit with a sigh.

"Seungcheol," Kay taunts and you roll your eyes.

"We became friends," you shrug. Kind of. You can call the two of you that, right? Considering the amount you two text for no particular reason it feels right.

"Is he sick?" Liv suggests, tilting her head.

You nod, "probably." Fortunately, they don't get to question you for much longer as class starts, focusing on the teacher. You do your best paying attention as well but eventually give in, taking out your phone and opening your chat with him.

you: everything okay? you: should I send you notes after class? cheol: do you know the girls who bother Yuna? you: huh? cheol: I'm sorry, I'm okay and yes, if you could send me your notes that would be perfect cheol: I need to know who the girls are though you: I don't know their names cheol: but you could recognize them? you: yeah…. you: what are you doing, Seungcheol? cheol: can you meet me at Yuna's high school when class ends? you: what is going on?? cheol: someone posted a video of her cheol: making fun of her cheol: I need to deal with this cheol: please you: I'll be there as fast as I can

You lean closer to Liv, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. "I need to go, could you send me your notes later?"

Liv takes you in confusedly, nodding. "Of course, yeah— what's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," you assure her, quickly collecting all your things and pushing your chair back. The sound causes everyone to look your way but you ignore it, ignoring the confused call after you the teacher makes as well.

"She isn't feeling well," Liv excuses for you, glancing back at you as you hurry out of the classroom.

Running is not your strongest suit but you still run as fast as you can to get to the bus stop. Panic has taken over your body, worries for what happened to Yuna clouding your judgment. You need to help her just as much as Seungcheol does, not wanting her to go through the things you did. You want to prove to both her and yourself that it doesn't always have to end up bad. That her high school years can be better than yours.

You keep staring at Seungcheol's texts as you sit in the bus, your leg bouncing on its own. You debate texting Yuna herself to ask for more but you already know she won't answer. You wouldn't either.

You see Seungcheol as soon as you step out of the bus, his head down as he shifts his weight from one leg to the other. He's dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark gray hoodie that swallows him. Some might not recognize him if they saw him like this, you can't exactly see his face after all, but you're confident it's him. You can tell exactly how he feels even just looking at him from afar. The worries are written all over him, accompanied with nerves and impatience. "Cheol!" You call and he raises his head instantly, meeting your eyes.

He breathes out in relief, crossing the space between you and wrapping his arms around you before you can say anything else. You freeze for a second, blinking in surprise. But it's quickly replaced by a different feeling as you hug him back, reassuring him you're here, that he doesn't have to deal with this alone. "Tell me everything," you encourage. "Where is Yuna?"

"She's not picking up her fucking phone," he complains, holding you close. "The principal called me since mom wasn't picking up, she didn't come to school. Then he told me about this," he pulls away from you, trying to calm himself down as he unlocks his phone and shows you the video that's been haunting him this entire time.

You wait for him patiently, wanting to pull him into another hug and tell him it will all be okay, that you can deal with this together. He hands you his phone and your eyes widen as soon as you see Yuna on the screen. She's in her uniform, somewhere in school you'd assume, with her head down. "Go on," someone in the video says, already laughing. It's quiet for a second before someone throws a tomato her way. A fucking tomato. You turn the video off, refusing to watch any more.

"Did you see the whole thing?" You ask him. He nods, not meeting your eyes as he takes his phone back. "Let's go," you say, grasping his hand in yours and tugging him forward. You don't have a plan yet but you're going to solve this. You're going to make sure those girls don't get away with what they are doing. You know Seungcheol feels the same, sharing your determination, even if it's for different reasons.

It's currently break time when you make it into the school halls which only plays in your favor. "Do you know which class Yuna is in?" Without saying anything his grip on your hand tightens as he leads you towards one of the classes, pushing the door open with his free hand. Your eyes scan the students instantly, disappointment taking over you when you don't see any of the girls you know are behind this. "They're not here," you whisper, leaning into his side.

"Wait," he smiles at you briefly—a sign of reassurance—before stepping forward. "Who here knows where I can find whoever posted that video?" Murmurs start around the class, everyone looking at him but still acting as if he wasn't there. Slamming his palm against the door, causing a few gasps. But it works how he wants, everyone's attention now on him. "I'm not playing around. Do you guys think this is funny? You think laughing at others is making you better than others? Have you ever for a fucking second thought about how this must feel?"

"Cheol," you tug at his sleeve, glancing around. A circle of curious student formed around you in the hallway, blocking the entire path. "It's not worth it, let's go. Let's find the principal."

"Harin and her friends," one of the guys speaks up. "She is the one speaking in the video."

Seungcheol meets his eyes before tugging you out of the class again. You almost stumble over your own feet as you follow him, trying your best to keep up with him. "Cheol! What do you want to do? You need to be smart about this!"

"I'm trying!" He turns to face you and you drop his hand. His eyes fall to it right away, already missing your touch. He takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. "You're right, I'm sorry. Fuck, I—" Your eyes widen, completely forgetting about the rest of the students in the hall as you look at him, realizing what's going on. This isn't just some anger outburst. He's panicking so much it's causing an attack. Okay, you can deal with this. "I just need to fix this."

"Let's fix it then, okay? Together, calmly," you suggest, reaching for his hand again. "Let's find the principal office and talk to him about this. We can make it better again, I promise." He nods and you take it as a small win.

There is honestly not much you can do when you do find the principal. Despite your attempts to calm Seungcheol down, his voice raises either way when he starts feeling powerless, trying to get the head of school to do something about this. He shares the name of the girl he learn before and you say that you've been a witness of the bulling earlier outside of the school property. Still, all the principal asks of you is to go home and let him deal with this.

"Let's find Yuna instead," you offer but it's like he can't hear you, desperately begging the principal to do something now. "Cheol, the teachers will deal with the girls. We need to find your sister."

"She is right," the principal assures. "We will make sure this won't repeat again and I completely understand if you will ask for a transfer. What's important right now is the well being of miss Choi."

"See, we are on the same page," you squeeze his biceps, hoping to ease his mind a little. "Please, let's go."

Seungcheol exhales, the sound so weak yet heavy. You feel bad for him. But you feel bad for Yuna more and you know he can't get himself any more involved in this than he already has. "Okay," he agrees, reaching for your hand again. You let him take it, squeezing him tight.

Trying to find Yuna takes you hours. You go to all the places Seungcheol can think about that might be her escape, the panic in him worsening with each hour that passes. You don't let go of his hand the entire time, knowing that if you can't do more, at least that's calming him a little.

The sun is long gone by now and you find yourself in front of the Choi's house again, both of you dialing Yuna's number again. It goes straight to voice mail and you curse quietly.

"You can stop calling me now." You both look up instantly when you hear the voice, seeing Yuna heading towards the front door with her hands in her pockets.

"Are you kidding me?" Seungcheol sounds angry, but you also catch onto the hint of relief in his tone. "Where have you been?"

"Around," she mumbles, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm okay, let's go home."

"You're not, though," he disagrees, letting go of your hand for the first time since you left to school as he crosses the space between him and his sister. Without saying anything else, he wraps his arms around her, squeezing so tight she won't be able to escape his hold even if she wants to.

It's then that you hear the soft sound of tears. You take a slow step back, trying to give them more space. But Seungcheol has other plans, turning his head to see you. He motions for you to come join and you quickly shake your head. If you've learned something about him though in the time you've known him, he doesn't give up easily. Giving in and walking to them, you let him pull you into the hug as well, wrapping one of your arms around Yuna's shoulders and the other around Cheol's back.

Yuna sobs quietly in your arms while you both hold her, exchanging worried looks. You understand why he wants to fix it so much. Seeing her like this breaks your heart so much you can't bear the thought of someone hurting her just because they can.

"Let's get you to bed. We can talk tomorrow," Seungcheol whispers into her hair and she nods, brushing her tears away with the back of her hand. She slips away from both of you, offering you a grateful smile before disappearing inside.

You watch her leave, only taking your eyes off when the door closes behind her. "Text me if you need anything. Both of you."

"I need something now," he says, the smile you're so used to him wearing now nowhere to be seen. You blink at him confusedly, waiting for him to say more. "Stay the night. It's late. I don't want you getting back home alone."

"Oh," you breathe out.

"You can take my old room and I'll sleep on the couch. I can drive us back to campus in the morning so you can make it to all your classes." You can tell he's desperate, needing to have you somewhere when he knows you're safe after the day he's had. Hesitating, you pull out your phone to check the time.

"Okay," you agree with a nod. "I'll stay for the night."

You feel awkward walking around the house, Seungcheol right beside you as he leads you to his room. It's half empty which you assume is because most of his stuff is at his college dorm. Your room at your parents' house is just as empty for the same reason. You sit down on the edge of his bed while he searches for new sheets for you. You watch him, unable to take your eyes off him. It's been a long day yet he stays as handsome as ever, his caring side never leaving. You would have been perfectly fine sleeping anywhere but he'd be damned if you don't get the best.

Carrying the clean sheets to the bed, he stops in front of you as he does. You watch him curiously, your head tilted back slightly so you can see him. You watch as his breath hitches before he drops down, crouching in front of you. "Thank you," he exhales, dropping his forehead to your knee. You open your mouth but close it right after, unsure what to say. You're not sure what to do with your hands either, letting them awkwardly hang in the air instead of wrapping them around him. "I would have done so many stupid things has it not been for you."

"You would have figured it out on your own eventually," you shake your head. "You're smart."

"But also anxious," he chuckles as if it was a matter to laugh at. "I know you realized."

You frown, finally touching him again. You run your fingers through his hair, getting him to raise his head. "And? That doesn't make you any less. You're a great brother to Yuna, Cheol."

He smiles, his hands resting on the side of your thighs to stable himself. You cup his face, wanting to make sure he understands. "I like it when you call me Cheol," he whispers, leaning into your opened palm. "It makes me feel like we are close." He keeps his eyes on yours as he speaks, unable to look away.

"We are," you whisper back, suddenly too nervous to speak louder.

"Yeah?" You nod, your cheeks flushed. "I'm glad." Turning his head to the side, he presses a tender kiss to your palm, slow and careful as his eyes find yours again to see your reaction. "I like how you take care of my sister," he whispers, planting another kiss. "I like how happy you look when we talk about writing," another one. "I like how you smile and look at me the most, though."

Before he can give your palm another kiss, you lean down and press your own lips to his. His smile grows as soon as he feels you kiss him, pushing himself back up to his feet. It forces you to lean back down, your back pressed into his mattress. "I like you," he finishes up, pressing another kiss to your lips. One of his hands squeezes your waist, the other resting on your side and steadying him. You slide your hands to the back of his neck, your body moving on instinct as you pull him closer. It feels good, he feels good.

"I like you," you breathe out against his lips. You didn't think you'd ever confess to a guy again after the shit show it was in high school but Seungcheol makes you feel safe and comfortable, he makes you feel like maybe liking him wouldn't be so bad. "Sleep here instead of the couch?" You suggest softly, your eyes busy taking in every inch of his face. He seems so happy. You forgot this is how someone is supposed to look at you.

"I'd love to," he nods, pressing a kiss to your cheek. The tingle of his breath on your skin makes you smile. "I'll find you a towel and something to wear to bed. Do you want to shower first?"

Fuck. You didn't think that through. You don't have your makeup bag or anything. All you have on you is the few products you carry in your school bag for touch ups, which definitely can't give you a full face in the morning. But what's more important, you can't possibly sleep beside him without him noticing. God, this is a bad idea. This is a terrible idea. You should have just went home and not give in to his beautiful eyes when he asked you to stay.

"You can go first," you pipe out, your head a mess as you try to figure out a solution to your problems. But there really is none, is there? You can't hide your face from him and you can't have this. You can't have a man that actually wants you because the moment he sees you without makeup it will all go sideways.

Nodding with a smile, he pushes himself up again, telling you to pick whatever clothes you want from his closet while he showers. You try to smile back but it doesn't quite reach your eyes. You're too nervous and in your head for that.

Taking a deep breath when he leaves the room, you try to think straight again.

Seungcheol is lying on the bed when you come back to the room after your shower, the sheets already changed. One of his hands rests beneath his head while he uses the other one to scroll on his phone, his eyes lifting to you as soon as he hears the door close. "Oh. My. God." he breathes out as soon as he takes you in, the sight of you in his clothes messing with his head. His shirt swallows your whole, ending in the middle of your thighs and making it seem like you're not wearing anything underneath. For the sake of his well being he hopes you are wearing something underneath.

You chuckle at his reaction, climbing into the bed. His arms wrap around you as soon as he can reach you, pulling you on top of him. "You're beautiful," he tells you, a blush creeping up your cheeks instantly. His hand comes up to brush your hair behind your ear, resting on your cheek after. His thumb brushes your skin softly, confusion written all over his eyes as he does, "Why didn't you take your makeup off? I'm sure there is that water for it somewhere in the bathroom."

Your smile falters, this is exactly what you were worried about. "I can't take it off," you shake your head.

"Why?" He frowns, trying to understand what you're saying. "I thought it's not good for the skin to sleep in makeup."

You sigh as you watch him, a part of you yelling at yourself for just not confiding in him because deep down, you know he would be on your side. But it doesn't change the fact it's scary. It's scary to show someone you like a side of you that's been hated all your life. It's scary to be vulnerable. "It's complicated," you mumble.

"Tell me," he encourages. "I want to know all your complicated."

He makes you hesitate, making this all even worse. You had a plan. You were okay with sleeping with your makeup still on and hoping it will be okay-ish in the morning so you could fix it when you arrive at your dorm, but he's going off the path you counted on. "Don't worry about it," you shake your head. "I— you might get angry again."

Way to make him even more confused. His eyes flicker all across your face, trying to read you and what's going on in your head. But you're not making any sense. If anything, you're making him worried. "Why would I get angry?" You stay quiet, averting your eyes from his and looking at his chest instead. Your name slips past his lips in a mix of desperation and determination. "Why don't you want to take your makeup off?" He asks again, tilting your chin up with ease so he can see your face.

You hate how welcoming his eyes are and how he makes you want to share everything with him. "I'm not as pretty as you think," you mumble, watching as he raises an eyebrow at you. It's absolutely not the time to be thinking about this, but he's incredibly attractive when he does that. "It's— I'm ugly, really. Makeup is the only thing saving me," you sigh.

Seungcheol's frown only deepens as he listens to you. "What on Earth are you talking about?" You can tell he is ticked off already by the tone of his voice, not liking what you're implying. "Who told you that shit?"

You shake your head, a bit sad as you bring your hand to his face, brushing your thumb over his cheek. "It's okay, Cheol. It's the truth and that's fine I just don't really… I want you to keep thinking I'm pretty."

It feels like you're slapping him with every word that leaves your mouth. You're right, he is getting angry. Not at you, though, god no, but at whatever had to happen for you to think that. When he thinks about how you've always cared about his sister even though you didn't properly know her, it's only fueling him more. The thought of you relating to her crosses his mind and he hates it. He hates it so much.

Your name on his lips makes you close your eyes, already knowing that whatever he is about to say will be hard to hear. He sounds so serious, desperate for you to listen to him. "There is absolutely no way I could think you're not pretty. I don't care if you have a sixth finger on your foot or whatever it is that makes you think you're ugly, but there is no way I'm suddenly not going to be attracted to you anymore. I think you're so gorgeous, but not just because of your face or your makeup," he gives you a reassuring smile when he sees your eyes watering, ready to brush away any tears that might escape. "I fell for you soul. This," he taps the side of your head gently, "is this most attractive thing about you. Your mind."

"I don't know what happened or why you think I could just stop liking you but I want you to know that I'm here and you can tell me. Whenever you feel ready, you can tell me." You bite your bottom lip, nodding softly. "Let's get it off, hm? I promise you, I'll still be just as into you as I've been until now."

As worried as you still feel, you nod.

Somehow, you don't feel nervous in the slightest when you sit on the washing machine in the bathroom, Seungcheol standing between your legs and gently removing your makeup. You watch him, holding back a smile at how focused he looks. "There," he nods, taking a step back to really look at you. A genuine, loving, smile spreads on his lips as soon as he does, your cheeks turning red under his gaze. "You're so beautiful," he shakes his head, unable to comprehend how you ever though anything else.

You give him a knowing look, ready to tell him that's not true, but before you can do so, he closes the space between you again and presses his lips to yours. He cups your cheeks to keep you close, causing you to melt under his touch. "I promise you," he whispers, resting his forehead against yours, "I think you're beautiful."

"But I have acne everywhere," you argue.

"I don't care," he shakes his head, pressing a kiss to your cheek, right where the breakout is the worst right now.

"My cheeks are chubby," you continue.

"They are what makes you so adorable," he argues right back.

"But I—"

He stops you before you can say anything else, "There is nothing you can say that will make me dislike you or change my mind. I don't know what standards you're using in your head to put yourself down like this, but in my book, you're all I could possibly ask for."

Oh-oh. Have your cheeks always been this wet? You don't realize you're crying until his thumb swipes across your skin, an understanding smile on his lips. "Yuna is so lucky to have you there for her," you sob, quickly brushing your tears away with the back of your hand.

"Let me be there for you as well," he pleads. "Let me bear this with you."

You shake your head and he drops his hands to your sides, keeping his eyes on you. "I'll be okay." He says your name, needing for you to understand this doesn't have to be just on you. "You need to worry about yourself and your family. I just… have some issues I need to learn to deal with." He sighs but doesn't say anything else, helping you down from the washing machine.

You feel a bit awkward as you lie in his bed, your back turned to him. It's been a while since you left the bathroom and by the sound of his breath, you think he is already asleep. You can't bring yourself to turn and check, though. You feel bad for putting your issues on him without giving him an explanation like he asked. You know he is a good guy. You know he would be there for you. Deep down, you know it all. But it's hard to let someone in after you went for so long without anyone.

You remember him in the bathroom, his eyes begging you to share your pain with him so he could understand and help. You think about the two of you there, about how it would go if you just told him. "Kids didn't like me," you whisper, closing your eyes as the memory of the first time you cried because of someone else crosses your mind. "They made fun of me for my looks and… I just never got to experience nice people. Which is why I'm so grateful Yuna has you. And me. I hope I make her feel safe as well," you sigh, knowing exactly what he'd say. He'd tell you that Yuna loves having you here and that you do make her feel safe. It immediately eases one of your worries.

"I grew up being told I'm ugly and that no one would ever like me because of it," your voice is quiet as you think about the disappointed look he'd give you—not because of you but because of the people who told you that. "And when you're constantly told that… you start believing it no matter how much you don't want to."

It feels good to talk about it. Even though he can't hear you, it makes it feel like weight eases off your chest when you say it out loud. There is so much you could talk about, but you think this is all you can manage tonight. Revisiting memories and crying in Cheol's bed while he is sleeping is not something you want to do tonight. Tonight, you'll gladly do with the idea of how he'd react.

Except you don't have to rely on just your imagination for his reaction as his hands wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You gasp as soon as he does, your eyes widening as you turn your head back to look at him. And there he is, not asleep at all and with pain written all across his eyes. He lowers his head to your shoulder, pressing a tender kiss to your skin. "You have me now. You have Yuna," he tells you and you close your eyes shut, a small part of you regretting ever saying anything. "You have your friends. Liv and Kay?"

You nod against him, your hands resting on top of his as he holds you close. "I'm sorry," you whisper.

He shakes his head, "There is absolutely nothing you could be sorry for. I'm the one who is sorry."

"You didn't even know me back then," you remind him.

"I wish I did. I wish I could have punched everyone who ever told you those lies."

Slowly turning around to face him, you pout at him as you meet his eyes, almost breaking into another wave of tears. But you hold it in as best as you can, melting into him instead and mumbling your "thank yous" into his shirt as he wraps himself around you, hoping to make you feel better.

Today has been a long day and as you lie in his arms with the reminder than not everything has to go sideways for you anymore, you easily fall asleep.

Seungcheol has apparently made it his mission to prove to you that he doesn't think any less of you and you deserve the world after the night you spent at his family house.

He dropped you off at your dorm the next morning like he promised, watching you in admiration while you got ready for your day before kissing your lip gloss off without a single care, soft words of praise leaving his lips all morning. He didn't walk with you to class like you thought he would though, skipping his classes and going back home to talk with Yuna about everything.

You weren't able to think about anything else all day after, hoping that she is okay. She never deserved any of this, and because of Seungcheol, you're starting to realize you didn't either.

It's hard on you, if you're honest. Accepting that someone genuinely finds you beautiful no matter what you look like, if you're put together or not, but it's been getting easier every time he tells you.

It's been two weeks since you slept over and you've been together every day since, so much that Liv and Kay keep asking you when you're finally going to make it official. It's funny when you think about how much you convinced them before that you weren't looking to get into a relationship when you met them because with each day that passes, you wish for Seungcheol to ask you more and more.

It's easy with him, comfortable. He makes you love yourself, and on the days that feel like you just can't, he makes sure to do it for you.

Your name being called makes you turn around, your eyes softening as soon as you see Seungcheol trailing behind you, one hand in his pocket while the other waves at you. He's got his easygoing smile on and his eyes locked on you. You quickly stop Liv and Joshua from walking any further, letting him catch up to you.

Exchanging greetings with your friends, he falls to your side and offers to take your bag, which you roll your eyes at. "I can carry my bag to class. You're not even going the same way, are you?"

He shrugs, "I'm going wherever my feet take me."

"Way to say you're walking her to class," Joshua laughs and Liv nudges his side.

"You don't need to," you remind him, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I know," he smiles, holding your hand in his as he walks with you to your next class.

It's when you're sitting down that you notice Seungcheol managed to slip a note in your pocket when you were walking together, confusion evident on your face as you unfold the little paper. Your eyes widen when you do, scanning over the writing.

It's a simple note, little praise he tells you every day as well as a restaurant and time scribbled down, asking you to meet him there for a date. It creates a smile on your face and you quickly pull out your phone, shooting him an exciting yes back. He doesn't question what you mean, sending you a heart back in an instant.

The sight of Seungcheol in a button up and rolled up sleeves is one worthy being at a museum. Your cheeks are red as you walk to the table he is sitting at, unable to keep your eyes off him. He's absolutely beautiful.

"Hi," he smiles at you as you sit down, his eyes trailing down your figure. You greet him back, your ears catching the same red as your cheeks as he tells you how pretty you look, his hand finding yours on top of the table. "I thought it was about time we'd get a proper dinner together."

"We've had dinner together before."

"One someone else cooks for us I mean," he corrects, the reminder of you sitting in his dorm and waiting for him to finish making dinner crossing his mind. It's one of his favorites. You talked into the night that day, both of you tired but also having so much to say to one another.

"Thank you, for taking me out," you smile, your eyes falling to your connected hands on the table.

The food is amazing, but the company is even better. You can't stop smiling when you talk to Seungcheol, no matter what the topic is. He is so attentive, always asking you questions. You'd think there isn't something he wouldn't know about you anymore but you still manage to find so many things to talk about.

You talk about Yuna as well. He tells how she's doing well at her new school and that she's made a new friend that's apparently been coming over a lot lately and you laugh and tell him you already know. He plays offended that his sister talks to you more than him, which only makes you laugh more.

The night is easy, comfortable, just like every one you spend with him. You especially feel it when you leave the restaurant and walk around the park together, holding hands and looking at the starry night.

"You make me feel lucky," you whisper as you watch the night sky. You feel his eyes on you but don't turn to meet them, your cheeks already red enough without it. "I'm so glad to have you."

Seungcheol squeezes your hand tighter, a bit nervous as he looks at the sky as well. "That's how I feel every day," he admits. "And I've been thinking," he clears his throat, tilting his head with a sigh—irritated with himself for being so awkward about it.

He decides to look at you after recollecting his thoughts, finding your curious eyes already on him. He smiles at you, brushing a messy strand behind your ear. "I'd like for you to be my girlfriend."

You're convinced that anyone walking past you two would think he just brought you the stars from the sky with how you look at him. It's exactly how you feel. He always makes you feel like this, like he could give you the entire world if you just asked for it. Smiling brightly, you don't hesitate with your answer, nodding your head. "Yeah?" — "Yeah," you giggle, quickly pushing yourself up to your tiptoes so you could press your lips to his.

Holding you close, he kisses you lovingly, trying to tell you exactly how he feels with the tender touch. He's absolutely smitten with you and he's honestly been for a while. No matter how much you tried to convince him you're not worth it, that your issues aren't worth it, he doesn't plan on going anywhere. If anything, he is planning to show you just how life should have treated you all this time, showering you in so much love you're going to be sick of him.