“oh so you don’t want the gifts i got for you?” you raise a brow, giving in almost too easily and sinking back into his warmth. he throws an arm around you to keep you pinned to him, even though you had no plans to try and get up without him again. 

“i didn’t say that,” he says, puffing out his cheeks a bit. “but the first present i want is you, holding onto me so tight.”

he keeps you there for another hour, the both of you lightly dozing off in between lulled conversation. his voice is soft in the morning light, the glow from the curtains illuminating his entire being better than the star atop the christmas tree. 

you finally convince him to get out of bed when his stomach growls in angry protest at having not been fed yet. he keeps his arms around you while you brush your teeth, only letting go of you once he had to brush his own, but his eyes stayed trained on you while he spoke in unintelligible sentences around his toothbrush. 

you glance at the tree as you pass it on your way to the kitchen to make sure your presents were safe and sound and you have to do a double take. several gifts that you certainly didn’t wrap were strewn about, as if placed haphazardly, various colored ribbons messily tied to seal them together. 

“what is all this?” you ask, forgetting breakfast as you take them in. the wrapping paper is shining under the lights on the tree, which you remember turning off last night before you both went to bed 

“oh that?” he smirks, placing his hand on the small of your back and rubbing small circles into it. “i got up early to wrap them. you were sleeping so soundly, it was almost too easy.”

“so you can get out of bed early but i can’t?” you almost screech, disbelief coating your tongue. there’s no way he was able to get in and out of bed without you noticing. 

“well, yeah,” he laughs, “i said that all i wanted was you. you still deserve real presents, and i had to keep them a surprise.”

“awh, baby,” you tease him, genuineness lacing your words. “all i want for christmas is you, too. the presents are just a nice benefit.”

—

Chan offered his best smile to the room, the one you knew he only had when he was nervous but tried to play it cool.

“Maybe we could start with the basics—how about you give us a complete rundown of the charity, the cause, the fundraising, all that?” 

“Absolutely.” Hongjoong accepted a cable from Chan and wasted no time connecting his laptop to the projector. You sat in silence with yours, waiting to take some notes on what may be relevant to you right now. “Big charity event—it’s a yearly thing, except this year is the 10th anniversary so we’re going for something bigger.”

“What’s the event like typically?” Changbin asked, looking very serious with his ipad and his glasses. You were tempted to snap a picture of him and send it to his girlfriend—she was a kind girl and she was funny and you were trying to find a way to become her friend. You knew this would make her smile.

Making friends as an adult was so hard. Well, for you at least. It didn’t seem hard at all for Chan—whenever he took you and the guys out for drinks after work, he seemed to attract all sorts of people who liked to make friendly conversation with him. A lot of the time women were hitting on him, too, but he rarely indulged them. And you were grateful about that since you did share an apartment with him… 

“It’s for a children’s hospital,” So-yeon explained. She had already left a strong impression on you—in just the few minutes she had spent here in this conference room, you had learned that she had to work really hard to earn this job on the museum’s administrative board, and you respected her even more because of it.

It also made you rethink it all. How you had taken this job because Chan had offered it to you but you knew he didn’t have many other options. That had never been your dream. To be something someone settles for. That was maybe one of your greatest fears.

But was really a work meeting on a sunny afternoon the best place to contemplate life? Probably not. So you listened to the briefing about the museum charity instead, hoping it would distract you from your not-so-fun thoughts.

“In the past years, artists—sometimes local, sometimes international—would create paintings or pieces of art and they would simply be sold in an auction to raise funds for the children’s hospital,” So-yeon went on. You had a vague knowledge of this—you had probably seen footage of someone handing another person one of these giant checks on TV. “But for this year, we wanted the children to be involved, so the artists will collaborate with a few of them directly.”

“Oh, that’s actually pretty cool,” Chan commented. “Would an auction still take place to raise funds?” 

“Yes, but we felt like it wasn’t enough,” Hongjoong continued. “So on top of that, the artists will also be painting the walls of the entrance hallway with as many children as possible. Like a giant mural. We thought we could also gather more attention if we invited celebrities—actors, idols, internet personalities, you know?”

“That’s a sound course of action if I’ve ever seen one.” Chan was typing furiously on his laptop as he was talking. “Honestly, I don’t see why the other guys dropped you. This sort of event promotes itself.” 

There was a long silence in the room, punctuated only by the sounds of Chan’s keyboard. You and Jisung exchanged a knowing stare. “They didn’t like your art director, did they?” you asked, alternating between looking at Hongjoong, So-yeon, and Wooyoung. “The guy that’s on his way here with a whole ass cat in his shirt.” 

So-yeon laughed, shaking her head. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” 

“Then maybe they were not the right kind of people to lead the marketing campaign on a charity event,” you pointed out. You were no expert, but you knew for a fact that people who went out of their way to help others—animals or humans—couldn’t be so bad to work with if you had empathy.

“You and I agree on this.” Hongjoong flashed a smile at you and returned to his laptop. “Can I use your printer? I didn’t have time to print out the files so we can review them together.” 

“This one’s out of ink,” you replied, pushing yourself out of your chair, a little too glad to have a great excuse to leave this room. You motioned towards the printer that was by the door. “Just select the second printer on the list, I’ll go get the documents.”

You didn’t wait for a response and made your way out of the conference room, vaguely hearing Chan saying he was coming to help you because ‘that printer always gets jammed’. Then, Wooyoung chimed in. “Oh, looks like our missing guy is here, he just texted that he’s at the door.” 

“I’ll go get him,” Changbin announced, but already his voice was faint as you had just turned the corner. “Do we have some sort of box to put that cat in? Or is he gonna keep that cat in his shirt during the whole meeting—”

Still, you went down the hallway and towards your office. It was a small room but it was yours, and you had spent countless hours here, working on various projects. Usually with a podcast on, or some background music. You made sure to walk as quickly as possible in the hopes of evading Chan—you needed a minute. Just one minute, alone. 

You had known a person like this. It felt like a lifetime ago but it really wasn’t. A boy who had found a frog by a bush of hydrangeas in Chan’s old backyard. A boy with fancy lollipops and a dorky laugh and a heart of gold. A boy who had made you feel things you never even thought possible, with honesty in every word he spoke. Misunderstood by the world around him and yet he saw beauty and art everywhere he looked. You had known a person like this. Who had been rejected because others couldn’t wrap their heads around someone like him. Someone carefree and yet deeply caring. Someone funny, talented. Someone real. 

He had been real. Real enough that you thought about him every day—sometimes a lot, sometimes just as a passing thought. But he had changed you somehow. You saw him when you walked by ponds or when Jisung passed you a joint. You tasted him in red candy and felt him in cool autumn breezes. He had been real but he felt like your brain had made him up for some cruel reasons. Your own custom-made fairy tale. 

“I’m here!” Chan put an end to your mind's mini-spiraling episode and you couldn’t even be mad. 

The printing process had just begun. “I think I can manage a paper jam on my own, Chan.” You turned to him and crossed your arms over your chest. “It’s literally my printer. In my office.” 

Chan chuckled and offered you an apologetic smile. “Yeah, no, you’re right.” Still, he came to stand next to you. “Exciting project, isn’t it?” 

“Honestly, yeah. It’s a good thing for the community and it feels good to be involved in it. I already have some ideas… like—if the team is alright with this—I’d like to use children’s drawings to design the posters and—”

“Sounds good, sounds great,” Chan interrupted your sentence before you were done explaining your vision, which threw you off—he always listened to everyone diligently and it was very unlike him to cut you off, especially when it was about work. You saw on his face that he had noticed it. “Sorry, I just… I feel bad about lying to Jisung. About… the plus one. All of that.”

You nodded absentmindedly, focusing on the noises coming from the printer instead. “Don’t feel bad. We can find you an actual date before the wedding. I’m sure that many girls would love to go on a little cruise.”

Jisung and Sun-young’s wedding would take place on a real boat—not the huge cruise boats but still far from just a ferry—for a two-nights trip at sea. Sun-young’s father was the captain of that boat and he generously rented all the rooms for the guests while Jisung’s parents paid for the wedding dinner. It would be one hell of an event—so of course a guy like Chan would have absolutely no problem finding someone to go with. 

“Oh, maybe,” Chan said with a shrug. “We could just… go together, you know? I mean if Ji needs to free an additional room… or just… it could be fun, yeah?”

Your heart jumped in your chest as your mind ran marathons. Bang Chan himself was asking you to be his plus one at your friend’s wedding. Your old college self would be creaming her panties at that idea. But your today self felt warmth spread behind her neck. You didn’t know where to look—you couldn’t bear making eye contact with Chan but the sight of the printer spewing sheets of paper made you dizzy. You settled for going to your desk, pretending to be looking for something in a drawer. 

“I mean, we’ll both be going anyway,” you pointed out. “Won’t we?”

Chan followed you to your desk and leaned against it. With a sigh, you closed the drawer and mustered up enough courage to look him in the eyes. He had a soft smile on his face, although his cheeks were pink. “Sure, we will. Last I checked, I was the best man for this wedding…” Chan chuckled and you laughed with him, which eased the tension between you two. “Sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.” The printer was done and the sheets rested in the tray, but you made no move to recover them yet. “Sorry for making things weird.”

“You didn’t.” Chan’s smile faded a little and he bit his lip softly. He sighed, as if his forces were abandoning him. “Look, we’re both adults, aren’t we? Can I speak frankly?”

Relief washed over you—tiptoeing around was much more exhausting than being straightforward. “For the love of god, yes.” 

“Just earlier, I mentioned the party where Jisung met Sun-young. And… your mood shifted. I know why. I remember that party. I made you a s’more. You fell into the fire.” 

If your mind had been going at lightspeed earlier, it quietly slowed down until it became the vacuum of outer space itself. You didn’t look away from Chan and didn’t pretend you didn’t know what he meant. 

“I fucked up that night,” Chan went on. “I acted like a dumbass. Instead of hanging out with you, I hung out with another girl, but I didn’t even like her. It was to make you jealous. I don’t know what I was thinking, I was so fucking stupid... I wanted to ask you out.” 

It wouldn’t have felt much different if Chan had dropped a block of concrete over your head. You choked on the nervous sip of water you had just taken from your bottle, causing you to cough violently for a few seconds. 

For months you had had a crush on him. Chan the cool guy. You used to go out of your way to ‘accidentally’ bump into him after his classes when you didn’t even have lectures in the same building as he did. You'd follow Jisung to places you didn't care for if he mentioned Chan was going to be there. For months, you had thought he barely saw you. 

“No fucking way…” Your voice sounded small so you cleared your throat. 

“And I’m not even asking you out right now,” Chan added hurriedly. “But sometimes I wonder what would have happened if instead of messing around I would have stayed with you that night. Like, I know you left the party with—”

But the rest of Chan’s sentence was drowned by a sudden commotion coming from the conference room. Even from here, you clearly heard shouts and exclamations, as well as Jisung’s voice booming through the hallways.

“FROG BOY?????????????????”

Your eyes met Chan’s—your mind was empty and full at the same time, as if you couldn’t properly process what was happening. You looked at the hallway where all the shouting was still coming from, then at the printer, then at Chan again. In milliseconds, both of you were bolting out of your office to investigate the chaos.

And nothing could have prepared you for what you saw when you entered the conference room again. 

Everyone had left their seats and were standing in a circle around someone that hadn’t been there previously. A man, tall, with broad shoulders and a black hoodie. He was holding a small tabby kitten in his hands and was talking excitedly with Jisung and Changbin. He wasn’t looking at you but you saw him perfectly—the beautiful traits of his face, large, brown eyes, lips the color of roses. There had been a ring on the bottom one before but it was gone now. 

His hair was still bleached to a warm, buttery blond color, but it was longer now, almost reaching his shoulders in length. It was silky smooth, shining under the sun that was filtering through the windows. One side of it was tucked behind his ear, showing not a flashy rose-shaped helix piercing but something more modest—two simple black rings. 

He looked so different and yet exactly the same. A calm, poised aura, a soulful gaze, a genuine smile. You could have not seen him for a hundred years and you would be able to recognize him. 

Hyunjin. Your Fairytale.

He didn’t look real because how could he be real? How could he be standing in the middle of this conference room, right now, today? What were the odds of the pieces of this puzzle coming together like that? 

A million thoughts went through your head—how you should have known from the info disclosed by the museum team that he was their art director. Maybe you had known the moment you had seen the black hoodie in the picture. But why was he here? When had he returned from Paris? Why hadn’t he texted you? He looked good, healthy, happy. He looked all grown up, serious but with a playful glimmer in his beautiful eyes. 

Hyunjin slowly twisted his neck, apparently to say something to So-yeon who you were now standing just behind, and he caught sight of you. The room fell silent immediately—you couldn’t not notice Jisung’s shocked expression and how he brought his hand to his mouth as if he was witnessing a life-changing event. 

Hyunjin’s brows furrowed slightly, like he didn’t believe what he was seeing. “T—Tipsy?” 

You couldn’t believe it either. You tried to say something, anything—his name, or just a goddamn hello, but your voice got stuck somewhere in your throat. Before you knew it, tears were pricking at the corner of your eyes, but they weren’t from being upset, or even from being surprised. Relieved was closer to it. Grateful would be more accurate. 

In an instant, Hyunjin handed over the small kitten he had in his hands to Jisung who grabbed it without hesitation. A second later, you found yourself pulled into a tight hug, Hyunjin’s arms tightly wrapped around your body, and it felt like taking a rest after a long journey. He felt the same as it had before, but different. Better. Your head found its way to the crook of his neck where you basked in his scent, familiar and foreign all at once. He smelled like complex cologne with smoky undertones, like roses, like laundry detergent, like a soft breeze. 

Hyunjin smelled like home.

a/n: this chapter is still in progress but I wanted to share a little bit of it! ♡ Thank you for your support & love for this series, it's been overwhelming but in the best possible way. I'm excessively grateful for the love you've shown frog boi! 😊

smut warnings: Unprotected sex. Sex under the influence (weed, alcohol), but everything is consensual. Making out. Mentions of masturbation (hyunjin, reader). Mentions of sex toys. Brief use of a fleshlight on Hyunjin. Oral sex (reader receiving). Vaginal sex and creampie (intentional, consensual)

That week was filled with assignments and midterms and trying to survive this mess. You almost got into a heated argument with your Interactive Design professor on top of it all, which only made you more determined to pass his class with flying colors.

Thursday was less busy than the other days—you only had one class in the morning and had decided you’d stay around and work in the computer lab for a change, hoping the Interactive Design professor would catch sight of you there. You didn’t know what difference it might make but you were too petty to care anyway. You just wanted him to know that you definitely didn’t deserve to fail his class.

The sun was almost completely down when you realized your eyes were too tired to keep working. You logged off the computer and checked your phone as you decided on your next move—you could head home directly, or try and see if Felix was available. You usually went out for drinks on Thursday nights with Felix and Ji, but with the midterms…

Instead of opening the group chat with these two, your eyes wandered down to a conversation that hadn’t moved since Sunday. Still, you opened it. A picture of Chives greeted you at the bottom of the short conversation, still in its aquarium, looking as happy as a frog could be.

After the party, the park… After Hyunjin and the night you spent with him, you had texted him briefly to respond to his initial messages and to say thank you for walking you home, to which he had simply replied, “No problem at all” and this picture of Chives.

He still haunted your mind. His angel hair, his tongue, his giggles, his strong weed. His weight on top of you. His cock inside of you. But you hadn’t had the courage to text him any further—you had given the picture a little heart, but that was it.

With a sigh, you shoved your things in your messenger bag and headed outside of the computer lab. The hallway was almost empty as you made your way toward the elevator. You smiled politely at the student already in it.

“Which floor?” she asked you, her hand hovering over the panel. 

You should study for Friday’s exam. You should rest, maybe have a couple of beers with your roommates. You stared at the student, still waiting for your answer. You were going to the first floor, where the main entrance was located. From there, you only had to walk for a minute before finding a bus that would take you to your neighborhood—

“Nevermind, changed my mind, sorry.” You exited the elevator with a frustrated sigh, not hesitating once before taking the hallway to the east wing, where only one flight of steps separated you from the art studios. 

The familiar cool breeze greeted you when you passed the door. You really could never figure out where it came from, and the professors didn’t seem to know either. Walking in this hallway reminded you of good memories. Mrs. Yoo’s gentle smile and how she always pushed her students to challenge themselves so they became better. You missed her. Maybe you ought to take one of her painting courses next semester, just for fun. 

You found Hyunjin in the farthest art studio, the one with the corner windows. When it was daytime, plenty of sunlight illuminated the room. But tonight, it was large ceiling lights that provided the lighting.

He didn’t see you get in. He wasn’t alone in the studio—a few other people were busy adding finishing touches to their paintings, which you guessed must be their midterm assignment for a class. You could tell from the distressed look on their faces and the deep dark circles under their eyes. They barely acknowledged you as you made your way towards Hyunjin. 

His painting was much less complete than other paintings you could see in the room. You did a double take at it when you realized what it depicted—nighttime, trees, soft grass, a pond, the yellow lighting of lamp posts…

No frog around, but you recognized the view from the other day, at the park, when Hyunjin and you were laying on the grass. The lighting was so soft that you couldn’t take your eyes off it. The way he blended it with the dark sky, the trees… 

Why did the other night feel more than just a hookup? You weren’t sure you knew why exactly, but you figured that part of the answer resided in that painting.

Hyunjin jumped on his seat when he finally noticed you after a while of you just standing there staring at the painting in silence. He took his earbuds out and pretended he was busy wiping the paintbrush he was holding to avoid looking at you—but his ears had turned pink.

“Oh, hey!” He watched you from the corner of his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I just thought…” Already, that was a lie. You hadn’t thought at all—you probably should have texted him instead of showing up here like this. But you hadn’t thought about it. Your brain was haunted by the feeling of a lip ring against your skin, the faint smell of cigarettes and weed, and Hyunjin’s pretty moans as he came with you. In you. “I was…” You sighed. You were about to tell him another lie—that you were just walking this way and thought you’d come by. “I just wanted to say hi and see what you were working on these days.” 

You looked behind him where the painting rested on its easel. Beautiful was the only word that came to mind. He had a unique style, the kind of painting that the more you looked at it the more you noticed about it. The shading, the light… And it wasn’t even completed.

“Oh. It’s my midterm… for Mrs. Yoo’s class.”

Without any hesitation, you inquired, “Is that the park?”

“Yeah.” 

You stared into his big brown eyes. He took a step closer to you, his tongue running on his bottom lip. He seemed to have regained some of the composure you had previously seen in him.

“It’s stunning.” You stood side by side with him while you both looked at the canvas. Hyunjin’s arm pressed against yours in the confined space between the work tables and, for fuck's sake, you noticed it. This tiny bit of contact. “I just… Wonder why you wanted to paint that.” You couldn’t help the nervous giggle that followed your sentence, which made you look like a dumbass. Fuck.

He shook his head. “I like painting things I find beautiful, or that remind me of good times… And I had a nice evening with you.”

“I had a nice evening with you too.” Now you were certain your ears were pink.

“Every time I walk by the park, or when I sit there… I think of you now, you know?”

The heat on your cheeks spread all over your face. It seemed like even your brain was blushing. You cleared your throat, trying to come up with an answer that a normal person would give. The truth was that you thought about Hyunjin almost all the time. The truth was that you masturbated to the thought of him every night, chasing the feelings he gave you.

“So you like it? The painting?” He faced you then, not waiting for you to elaborate on his previous statement, his eyes in yours, head cocked to the side and his hands buried in the pockets of his hoodie. Too handsome to look real, but too noticeable to you to deny that he was. His breath smelled sweet, like candy, like a handmade raspberry lollipop. You couldn’t deny that you hadn’t just dreamed him—that he was real, that you had fucked him, and that you wanted to fuck him again if at all possible. 

“I love it.” You smiled. It was impossible not to smile around him—there was something calming about his aura, the way he held himself. His tongue returned to his lip to fiddle with the ring. “I’m just… surprised, you know? That you’d want to paint that night. And that you painted something so beautiful in so little time.”

Hyunjin cracked a wide smile at you, pulling you in for a hug. That surprised you a million times more than a painting ever could, but you gave in to the hug, to him, burying your face in the crook of his neck. His hoodie smelled like him. You still couldn’t name all of the things that made his scent his, but today they hit your nostrils a little more. Maybe because you were sober. Maybe because you had been thinking about Hyunjin all week, him, his mouth, his voice, his smooth tongue…

“Thank you.” He squeezed you harder under the observing eyes of the other students and you ignored them. You couldn’t care anymore. “It’s really inspiring. The trees, the light. It reminds me of you. Makes me want to paint more and better.” 

You had heard a few pick-up lines in your days but none like this. And it did not even feel like a pick-up line but you couldn’t ignore the way Hyunjin gently grazed your neck and cheek with his lips as he pulled away from you. 

Or the fact that he was painting, for his midterm, the scenery from when he was rubbing his crotch on you in a park. 

“Actually, I’m almost done with this coat,” Hyunjin explained, returning to his work. “I’ll drive you home after if you want?” He smiled, grabbing his paint and brush again. “We can stop by my place if you’d like to say hi to Chives.”

“How’s he doing?” you asked, pulling a nearby chair to sit down, leaving your bag with Hyunjin’s dilapidated black backpack. “Everything ok for the little guy?”

“Ah, Chives’ alright—” Hyunjin paused halfway through the sentence, his face inches away from the canvas as he seemed to be putting the finishing touches on an evergreen tree. On the painting, it looked lifelike and reminded you of a blanket, you just couldn’t say why exactly. “—but, uh, I looked it up and I think, based on size, that it’s actually a girl frog…” 

You laughed, but so did he. It felt good to be with him again. You didn’t think you could miss him, but you did. You did miss him.

With agile movements, Hyunjin continued adding texture to the tree using a flat brush. He flicked his wrist without a care in the world, as if he could do no wrong. And he did no wrong anyway. You couldn’t stop watching him, the slight scrunch on his face, how often he returned to wet his lips, swiping them with his tongue. Not unlike a brush on a canvas. The kind of sight that would haunt you. The kind of sight that would not help you forget the way it felt when he kissed you. 

More thoughts that would spring back to your mind when you reached for your vibrator at night…

You made yourself look at the paintbrush gliding on the canvas instead. “I did get the girlfrogboss vibe from Chives from the beginning,” you said, wondering if it was too weird if you just stared at him without saying a word. “I’d love to go see her, if that’s alright. And Chris the dog, too! Do they get along?” 

Hyunjin’s shoulders shook with a laugh and he nodded. “I mean, sometimes Chris will just… sit by the aquarium… and watch her. And you know what? Call me crazy, but I think Chives stares back sometimes, almost like she’s interested.” 

Not once could you have imagined that at some point in your life you would end up in this cold ass art studio with Jisung’s weed dealer—WHO HAD FUCKED YOU HARD!— having a very normal conversation about a frog named Chives while he was busy painting the time he made out with you passionately. But here you were doing exactly that, taking deep breaths, not to calm down but to inhale as much of Hyunjin's scent as you could. 

“I believe you.” You nodded even though he couldn’t see you. 

Hyunjin turned to you for an instant, smirking and shaking his head almost dismissively before focusing on his painting again. “You’re really too nice, you know that? You don’t need to indulge my every thought.” 

“I’m not indulging anything!” If he hadn’t been painting, you would have punched him in the shoulder for that. “It’s true! For all we know, they might be having an impossible romance thing going on!” 

“You’re crazier than me, I swear.” A side glance, again. A smile, again. “It’s fun talking with you.” 

You sighed a little. “I think it’s fun talking with you too, Hyunjin.” He was now blending his colors. Why was he so good at blending? He made it look effortless. “Are you really gonna keep her? Chives, I mean.”

“Nah, I think I found the perfect spot to release her. Better than the park. I was thinking of doing that this weekend.” He stopped talking for a while but you could sense that he had more to say, only he was absorbed by his work, his long fingers holding the brush and gliding it expertly on the canvas. “Are you busy? You should be there, I feel like. It would be fitting.”

“Fitting?”

“Yeah, I mean—what if Chives desperately wants you to be there to say goodbye? Who knows what goes on in a frog’s mind?” 

You didn’t even try to stop your laugh. How weird was that guy—he always had something strange to say, but it made him likable as hell. You had never met anyone like this before. You felt good around him. You had expected some sort of awkwardness between the two of you after the other night, but there was none of that. 

Hyunjin appeared to be done painting so he spun his stool to face you, pushing himself close to your chair. To you. 

“I’ll try to be there,” you replied. Hyunjin was playing with his lip ring again and you couldn’t look away from his tongue. Pink, wet, smooth. “To wish Chives good luck.” 

“Do you want to pick up dinner on the way to my place?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes returning a little too often to your mouth for it to be even a little subtle. “Anything you want.”

“Anything?” Hyunjin reached for you, placing his hand just above your knee. You shivered hard enough for him to notice and a bashful smile painted itself on his lips. 

“Are you cold? You’re always cold, aren’t you? You should wear warmer clothes—it’s almost November.” He unzipped his black hoodie but you stopped him before he could take it off, not without a glimpse of a black t-shirt adorned with the logo of a band you knew and liked. Jisung introduced you to them some time ago.

“Please, don’t.” You zipped him back up yourself and he took your hands in his to warm them up. His skin was warm and his big hands easily held yours in between. He touched you gently, running his fingers on your wrists and making it very hard for you to keep thinking straight. “I still have your hoodie at my place, by the way… I’ll give it to you tonight. I washed it!” To be honest, you had washed it last night only and had been sleeping with it in your bed before that because it smelled like him.

“Don’t stress over this, I got plenty of those.” He said with a shrug, bringing your hands close to his mouth to give them a little kiss, effectively making you wet. “So do you want to come over for dinner or not?” 

As if you could say no. 

It took a little while for Hyunjin to store his painting and supplies but it gave you some time to head to the nearest bathroom to splash water on your face. A lot of it. You tried to tame your hair a little, making it somewhat presentable after the hot flash brought by Hyunjin’s gentle caresses. Either this guy was the smoothest motherfucker around or the most oblivious fool… Or maybe he was both of those things at once, somehow.

He was waiting for you outside near the door of the side entrance. He crushed the cigarette he was smoking and threw it away when you appeared, leading you toward the parking lot. 

“How’s midterm season for you, Tipsy?” Hyunjin questioned as you let the cold breeze cool you off. Tipsy. Why did you like it so much when he called you like that? “A lot of projects, I assume?”

“You’re right.” The sun was down by now, and the area was quieter. You paused, walking in silence with Hyunjin for a little while. It felt nice—you liked his presence, his energy. “But I manage. I think. I hope.”

“I’m sure you’re fine,” he assured. “I’m right over there.” 

You followed him around the parked cars, not expecting the one he stopped at—an old, borderline vintage, bright red sedan. It showed signs of old age but seemed in good condition. At least it was clean. 

“It’s my dad’s car,” Hyunjin explained, unlocking your door before his and opening it for you. The inside of the car was clean, too. It smelled like the little mochi-shaped car freshener that hung from the mirror. Sweet. “The house was his, too.”

Was. You sat on the passenger seat quietly, waiting for him to walk around the vehicle and take place behind the wheel. He had driven out of the parking lot before he spoke again.

“He’s not dead by the way,” he said, negotiating a left turn. He seemed to be a good, careful driver. “And I guess the house is technically still his. He works abroad. I miss him, but it’s fine.” 

You weren’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry, Hyunjin.” 

“Don’t be.” You looked over at him and noticed he was still smiling faintly. “We weren’t on the best terms anyway. He had to raise me alone from when I was like, six… I think the last time I’ve seen him was three Christmases ago. I have some good memories of him. And I have this car. Don’t you love this thing?” He gave a few appreciative pats on the dashboard. 

You couldn’t help but giggle, watching the city lights through the window. “Of course. Some kids come to class in cars that are, what, eight, ten years old? They don’t know what they’re missing out on. So bougie of them, if you ask me.”

Hyunjin laughed so hard that he almost missed his red light. “Damn straight!” He sat back in his seat, calming his laughter with deep breaths, keeping his eyes on the traffic lights. “You make me laugh a lot, you know?” 

You tried cooling off your cheeks with your fingers. Hyunjin led the conversation the rest of the way but not in a self-centered way—when you questioned him about his midterms, he simply got carried away as he tried to explain a paper he was writing for his 19th Century Landscape Painting course. 

He parked his car behind a trendy pizza place as he was trying to explain the level of detail that was possible with oil on canvas, and how painters of the 19th century used color to express light and purity in their work. 

“Oh—” he said, cutting himself off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I didn’t even ask. Is pizza okay?”

“Pizza is always okay.” You realized you were starving but your phone rang as you were just about to push open the car door. You pulled it out of your bag and noticed several missed texts on your screen before taking the call.

“Hey Jisung,” you offered an apologetic smile to Hyunjin. “Everything alright?”

“Everything alright? Been trying to reach you for forty-five minutes! Felix texted, too, and then I called Chae who said you weren’t home…”

You sighed. “So where are you?”

“The same place we are at every Thursday night!” Jisung insisted. “We thought you got kidnapped or something!”

“I didn’t get kidnapped!” You groaned in frustration, but you couldn’t help but to feel relieved that in the unlikely case that something bad would happen to you, someone would eventually worry about you. “I won’t make it tonight, sorry. Are you with Felix?”

“Yes, Felix’s here but—is it because of that professor again? Do you have extra work?”

You made eye contact with Hyunjin as you were coming up with your response—he had a playful expression on his face. He signaled you silently to hand the phone over to him, and you did exactly that, unable to resist the glimmer in his eyes. 

“No, actually, I did kidnap her,” he said into the phone, keeping his voice relaxed and casual. “The ransom will be high for a pretty girl like her.” There was a pause, during which you assumed Jisung was being very confused on the other side of the line. You buried your face in your shirt to muffle the sound of your giggles but mostly tried to control and conceal the flush on your cheeks at the same time. Hyunjin had called you pretty. To Jisung. “Do I sound like I’m fucking kidding? A ransom, and you better be quick because I’m about to treat her to fancy pizza and a movie, my guy, and—” Another silence, and Hyunjin’s smile turned into a grin. “God, I was wondering if you’d ever recognize me, Hanji boy. Yeah, it’s me. She’s with me, don’t worry. Now I’m starving so she’ll talk to you later okay? Bye, have fun!” 

Hyunjin hung up the call before handing you your phone. “He’s a good friend for you, don’t let him go,” he advised. “But I’m hungry for real. Ready, Tipsy?” 

As you walked the short distance between the car and the restaurant, it almost seemed to you like Hyunjin was about to take your hand in his. In the end he didn’t, but something inside of you wished he had. 

“HEY! HEY!” 

At first you didn’t realize that the person yelling somewhere behind you was talking to Hyunjin. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking over his shoulder—but this area of the parking lot wasn’t particularly well-lit and it was hard to see. Still, you made out two silhouettes who had just come out of a car that had seemingly been following Hyunjin’s.

“Not now,” Hyunjin replied. “Later. I’ll come by to your place, I’ll—” 

“No, actually, now’s a really good time, Hwang.” The man came forward, barely letting you see his face—he had a face mask on and was wearing a beanie, just like his partner. “You promised.” 

As the two men approached, Hyunjin extended a protective arm around you and gently put himself in between them and you. You, however, reached inside your bag and wrapped your fingers around the can of pepper spray that you had sworn to your mother you would never need.

“I promised I’d try to get you the pills, Soong,” he said. “I also said it might take a while—that’s not my usual stuff and you know it. You know I didn’t promise you shit.” 

You weren’t stupid—you understood that whatever was going on had to do with Hyunjin’s illicit activities. You hadn’t realized it had been such an important part of his life, though. Jisung had mentioned Hyunjin knew a guy who knew a guy, resulting in him selling some weed to pay for his education. Jisung had also said that Hyunjin grew some weed as well, but that this one was exclusively for his own use… unless he really liked you. Jisung had been blessed enough to be one of those well-liked individuals… And you were pretty sure you made the list, too. 

But pills? That, you didn’t expect from the boy who had carefully carried a frog in the pocket of his hoodie to give it a bath. The boy who took care of you and fucked you like a porn star, but made sure to leave lollipops on your bedside table after he left.

“But you still said you would,” the other guy insisted, now dangerously close to you and Hyunjin. His partner was right behind him, keeping an eye on you. “So what’s it gonna be, Hwang?” 

“Not here,” Hyunjin whispered, pleading. “Let me take her home, I’ll—” 

The punch happened so fast that you didn’t even see it coming—Hyunjin, stunned, fell back against you after the man hit him in the face. You gasped, too shocked to react except for helping Hyunjin to keep his balance as the man was closing his fist and raising it again, getting ready to strike. 

“Go—” Hyunjin managed, pushing you away. “Just fucking go!” 

“Don’t let her leave,” the man Hyunjin had called Soong told his partner. “Get her for me, even. I bet she’s gonna tell us where her little boyfriend keeps his pills…” 

“I DON’T HAVE THEM, LET HER—” But Hyunjin did not finish his threat—you pulled the can of pepper spray out of your bag, disengaged the lock on it with one push of your thumb, and sprayed the two men directly in the face after extending your arm over Hyunjin’s shoulder.

Soong and his partner screamed in pain. They covered their faces with their hands while Hyunjin grabbed your arm and dragged you away from the scene. 

Hyunjin warned them as you were both walking away from the scene. 

“Don’t follow me ever again. I said that when I’d have the pills, I’d let you know.” He picked up a pace, but the two men were on their knees and whining loudly. “Come on, Tipsy,” he added but he didn’t even turn to you. “We have to go now.” 

The altercation had happened behind the restaurant and you didn’t think anybody had seen anything, but you didn’t hesitate before joining Hyunjin as he offered you his hand, dragging you away. Already, your mind was running as fast as your heart was beating, suddenly hit by a huge adrenaline rush. What if they did follow you, what if they went after you, what if—

“What if they call the cops?”

“Don’t worry, he’s not gonna call the police or anything. He’s a much bigger criminal than I’ll ever be,” Hyunjin assured, practically pushing you inside the sedan to close the door behind you. “Are you okay?” he added once he was sitting too and had started the car.

“I guess, yeah, I’m fine—” You were trying to process everything but it was too much at once. You took a long, deep breath, trying to appease your heartbeat. “You’re bleeding.” 

Hyunjin touched his upper cheek where the skin was cut. It would leave a bruise, too. “Don’t worry about me, it’s fine. Thank you, Tipsy. You did us a solid back there. I’m just… I’m sorry you had to see this.” He paused briefly. “I’ll drive you home immediately.”

But you didn’t like the idea of leaving Hyunjin alone, not after he was hit in the face like that. And, maybe you also didn’t like the idea of being alone in your apartment—Chae would be out with Minho and Ji was still at the bar with Felix. Still, you remained quiet as Hyunjin drove away, using the sleeve of his hoodie to soak up some of the blood on his cheek. 

“I thought you were a weed dealer,” you eventually said, your voice smaller than you had expected. “Just that, you know?”

He took a left turn to go through the quiet neighborhoods instead of staying in the busy streets. “I am just that. I’m barely that.” Hyunjin sighed, “I sell weed to a few people I know. But these dudes, they… they heard about my supplier, and they figured they could get their hands on some pills to resell them. They wanted to get them through me, but my guy isn’t going to trust me with a bunch of opiates just for the fuck of it, you know? These things take time…” 

“But why would you want to help them get those pills?” you insisted, not seeing at all why Hyunjin had chosen to be associated with these kinds of people.

He sighed. A long, tired sigh. “They said they’d… my neighbor… the lady I told you about.” Another sigh. “They say they’d…” Instead of saying it, he pointed his fingers as if to make a finger gun, and shot at nothing to show his point. “And then me, too. Just threats, probably—but I couldn’t risk it.”

And just like that, Fairytale was back. The one ready to put himself in danger to keep his neighbor safe. 

“Don’t take me home,” you suddenly told Hyunjin as you heard his turn signal. “I’ll go with you.”

“No, you—”

“If you drop me at my place, I’ll wait until you’ve turned around the corner and go after you, on foot.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “I’m going with you.” As if it added any weight to your statement, you added, “You said I could see Chives anyway.” 

And so you went with him. And, for some reason, your heart calmed down and your breathing returned to something almost normal, too.

He parked his car in the garage—it was mostly empty except for a lawnmower, a few tools, and an artificial Christmas tree in the corner.

“I’ll go get Chris from the neighbor,” he told you as he unlocked the door leading to the inside of the house and you needed a few seconds to remember that his dog was named Chris and he wasn’t talking about a person. The bleeding on his face was better, but the wound would need to be cleaned up. “Make yourself at home, Tipsy. I’ll be back in a minute.” Hyunjin avoided your stare as he left through the garage door. 

His house wasn’t that big, but it was cozy and clean. There were two easels in the large living room, but only one of them had a canvas on it. The painting seemed finished—a color study, by the looks of it. Greens and yellows fading into an interesting shade of pink. Hyunjin’s blending was impressive, but you noticed the bathroom door open and went in there to wash your hands and rinse out your face quickly. The bathroom was clean. Surprisingly clean. But then—maybe you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. 

You heard the barks of a large dog and immediately went out of the bathroom to go meet Hyunjin’s loyal friend. Instead, you met a fluffy cloud.

A huge samoyed ran at you and jumped in an attempt to lick your whole entire face or kiss you on the mouth. You tried to pet his huge head to calm him down but it was an absolute fail—you just ended up kneeling down to be at the right height to be subjected to Chris The Samoyed’s very wet greetings. The dog’s fur was clean and pure white. He smelled good—when Chris allowed you to bury your face in his neck, you discovered that this was the smell that completed Hyunjin’s mysterious scent. You assumed that they were using some kind of dog perfume on him, but it was subtle—you recognized chamomile mixed with the smell of a well-groomed dog.

“You’re such a nice dog,” you told Chris, taking his head in your hands to kiss his cool, black nose. In return, he licked your entire face. “You’re so soft my beautiful baby, my little precious thing—”

“He sure as hell isn’t little,” Hyunjin’s voice said somewhere around you, and you suddenly remembered that you were in his house. You looked away from Chris’ big black eyes and found his owner standing by the couch. He was holding a pile of plastic containers. “But apparently he likes you a lot.” 

“Should he not?” you asked, pushing yourself back up. Your clothes were covered in white fur but you couldn’t care. You sank your fingers in Chris’ soft coat again, scratching his head as he smelled your clothes and your bag, which still hung from your shoulder. “Doesn’t he like strangers?”

“He’s never bitten anyone if that’s what you’re asking.” Hyunjin shrugged, closing the distance between you two. “But let’s just say that with him around, I’m not worried. If something’s not right, he even gives alerts when he’s next door.”

Hyunjin left the containers he was holding on a small coffee table nearby and left you for an instant while he was pouring some kibble into Chris’ bowl—your loving scratches and pets no longer meant a thing to the fluffy cloud and he abandoned you to go have his dinner. 

“You’re still bleeding a little,” you pointed out to Hyunjin as he grabbed the containers again and went into the kitchen. You followed him. “Are you sure they’re gonna leave you alone?”

“I mean, they’ll probably tease me to death because a pretty girl defended my honor.” Hyunjin offered you a bashful smile, unzipping his hoodie and leaving it on a stool. The kitchen was just as clean as the bathroom, furnished in a style that must have been trendy about twenty-five years ago. “I don’t care, though. If you hadn’t been there, it would have been so much worse.” He pointed at his face. 

“I’ll know I should get you some pepper spray for Christmas, then.” You knew the situation wasn’t funny, but your instincts drove you to go for the joke anyway. And, apparently, they’d been right—Hyunjin laughed and shook his head.

“Sure thing, Tipsy—make sure to wrap it in a cute ribbon, too, yeah?” He faced the other way while he was washing his hands. “Seriously though, are you okay?” He looked at you over his shoulder.

“You’re the one whose face is going to be purple tomorrow,” you pointed out. “I’m okay, Hyunjin. I mean…” As if on cue, a car drove by the house and your eyes immediately darted towards the window—but the car didn't stop, didn’t even slow down, it just kept going.

Hyunjin sighed as he dried his hand on a towel that had a dog embroidered on it. It looked handmade. “My neighbor always makes extra food for me. Do you want to have dinner here instead of the restaurant? We each could shower, then eat this food while we watch the movie? Smoke some weed too, maybe?” 

You remembered the way Hyunjin’s weed had relaxed you almost instantly last week… And you also remembered how it felt when his body was close to yours. His lips, his wet mouth…

And you were currently in his house. 

Why were you thinking about the vibrator he had claimed to own that was similar to yours? Why were you wondering how it would feel to make out with him if you were fully high, not sobering up?

Why were you wondering about how the night would end? Shouldn’t you be a little more traumatized by the events from the restaurant parking lot?

You made the effort to sound as casual as you could. “Sure,” you replied. “You should go clean that up first, though.” You motioned at his face. 

Hyunjin agreed with you but he refused to let you reheat any of the food. Instead, he showed you around the house quickly and assured you he had clothes you could borrow before disappearing in the hallway. Not long after, you heard water running and assumed he must be using the shower in the master bedroom. 

Chives’ aquarium was in that bedroom, so you waited until the shower had been going for a while to go there—it felt weird even though Hyunjin had promised it was fine. Followed by Chris, you made your way to Hyunjin’s bedroom.

It was bigger than you had imagined—the walls were white but covered with posters and art of all kinds. You recognized some of Hyunjin’s own art from the style only as well as pieces from other artists too. Movie posters, music posters, photographs. A bright orange skateboard rested on a chair also covered in black clothes. Hyunjin had painted lemons and tangerines and grapefruits on it—you noticed his style immediately. Right by the chair, a dark purple electric bass stood against the wall. 

Hyunjin’s smell was stronger here and it was enough to make you dizzy. Or maybe it was from being so hungry, or from the adrenaline levels slowly coming down… But there was so much to see in the room—his bookshelves, the art he painted, his clothes, sketchbooks—that you almost forgot Chives.

But she was there, in her aquarium on Hyunjin’s dresser. You came closer to her and Chris sat right next to you to watch the frog too, exactly as Hyunjin had described. 

She looked well, just resting on a rock. Doing frog things. You watched her for a while, sometimes turning to Chris to give him pets and some attention, but you kept staring at Hyunjin’s room. You just wanted to lie in his bed and inhale as much of his scent as you could. You said goodbye to Chives and decided to leave the room because you were a little too physically close to Hyunjin and even through walls, it was distracting to think about him naked. 

The kitchen was better. You took a look at the food—all of it seemed delicious—and decided to text Jisung to assure him that you were alright. He responded immediately.

Jisung: are u still with ur 🐸 boyfriend ? ?? 

You: He’s not my boyfriend but yeah I’m with Hyunjin

Jisung: remember: no glove no love !!!

You closed the texting app with a grunt and left your phone in your purse. You liked Jisung, he was a good guy, but you just weren’t in the mood for his jokes, not tonight. 

Still, he got you thinking. You hadn’t even reflected on that. Of course Hyunjin wasn’t your boyfriend. Realistically wasn’t even your friend. He was your roommate’s weed dealer. He had saved a frog and you had helped him do so. His dick had been inside you. You wanted it inside you again if at all possible. He was a good guy. A really good guy, for real. Sweet, kind-hearted… Talented, handsome, really good in bed… You wouldn’t mind ever being anything more than just a casual hookup. 

And then you remembered Paris. He had applied for a student exchange. For next-fucking-semester. That was so damn soon. And there was no way he wouldn’t get it, right? Why were you deep down hoping he wouldn’t get it? He was obviously a skilled painter. Of course you wanted him to go to Paris. You wanted all of Hyunjin’s dreams to come true.

You scanned the room, just searching for something to look at that might distract you from this tiny little panic inside of you. You hadn’t even considered the fact that he might very well leave in just a few weeks. 

Did you have a crush on him? So soon? And what did that entail exactly?

Your gaze found a frame near one of the windows. It contained several pictures on it. You could hear Hyunjin’s voice in his bedroom as he was talking to Chris. Drawers were being opened and closed—he was probably changing.

The pictures showed his family. One, you assumed, would be his paternal grandparents with him and his dad. Another was just him on what had to be his first ever bicycle. Hyunjin was recognizable even though he was a small child. 

The other two pictures caught your attention in particular: one of him and his two parents and another of him with his mother. The background was familiar—it had been taken on a beach with a beautiful sea behind Hyunjin’s mother, who was holding him. He couldn’t have been more than three years old, but his small arms were wrapped around her neck. She was beautiful. She wore a colorful sundress and there was a large smile on her face.

You looked at the other picture. Hyunjin definitely took after his mother. His father was handsome but too serious for his own good, it seemed like. It took away from his looks. Still, they seemed happy, the three of them. 

“I’ll admit I was a pretty cute baby, don’t you think?” Hyunjin’s voice made you jump and you quickly turned away from the photo as if he had caught you doing something you weren’t supposed to do. “Don’t worry,” he added. “I don’t have many pictures of my mom, so I left these ones there. It’s alright to look at them.”

His hair was damp and a few water droplets rolled down his jaw. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt with gray sweatpants, and you couldn’t control the slight tingle between your legs at the sight of him in those casual clothes. The t-shirt allowed you to see his beautiful tattoos, too. They adorned his honey-colored skin better than any jewelry. 

You hesitated. “You told me about your dad, but you didn’t…” You couldn’t figure out how to finish the sentence, so you just didn’t. 

Hyunjin nodded. A cloud of darkness covered his gaze momentarily, then his eyes, but he nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I barely remember her. She… She passed. When I was like six years old. She had an undiagnosed heart condition. It was very sudden. She was into painting, actually. She’s the reason I gave it a shot sometime later.”

You noticed one of his tattoos in particular. The ocean in a black frame. It had reminded you of a photograph the first time you saw it, and you understood why now. You stared at it, then back at the picture of his mother holding him on the beach. It was that exact photo, only without the two of them on it.

“That’s your tattoo, then?” you asked softly, motioning towards the picture in question. 

He nodded. “Yeah. My parents won a trip to Jeju that year. We went. I don’t remember much, but I remember I was so happy and my mouth tasted like tangerines when my dad took this picture. I guess… I wanted to have her with me somehow. So I got the tattoo.”

“Oh, Hyunjin…” You took a step towards him while Chris was joining the both of you in the living room, making himself comfortable on the couch. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he assured, shaking his head with a nervous laugh. “I should apologize, I don’t know why I said that to you, unprompted and all.”

You looked around the room once again. It was a big house for just one college student and his part-time dog. “With your dad living abroad… You’re just alone here, there?” 

Hyunjin shrugged. “Yeah. My dad was never the same after he lost my mom. He must have loved her very much. I think that’s why we never really got along. I think he’s happier when he’s away from me and away from this town.” 

What an incredibly sad thing to say. You didn’t hesitate this time—you pulled Hyunjin into a hug and he hugged you back, gently wrapping his arms around you. He rested his face against yours, his breath tickling your cheek and your ear. “I said don’t worry, Tipsy,” he murmured. “It’s all behind me now.” 

“Okay, Fairytale.” You kissed his cheek and he kissed yours back, sending a small jolt of electricity through your body. “You’re really brave, you know.”

He shrugged again as he pulled away from you. “Is it brave if you have no choice except to just keep going?”

You didn’t really have an answer to that and you didn’t need one anyway. “I mean it. Don’t worry. I’m alright. I’m used to being alone,” he added, kissing your head again for good measure. Every time his lips touched you, they left a lingering sensation of warmth behind. It was soothing. “Wanna shower? I found some clothes for you.”

You followed him into his room—and Chris followed you, too—as he showed you a pair of sweatpants not unlike the ones he was wearing, with a blue t-shirt, and some socks. “They’re good socks,” he pointed out. “I remembered that your toes get really cold.” 

A strange, fuzzy warmth spread inside of your chest. You pressed your hand just over your heart as if it would calm your fluttering heart. “Thanks, Fairytale,” you managed, making yourself sound playful. 

“Sorry I don’t really have like… girl soap and stuff,” Hyunjin went on, showing you the shower. 

“That’s alright. You smell good, so I don’t mind at all.” The weight of your words hit you only after you had said them. You gulped thickly, cheeks burning with embarrassment, and made sure you avoided Hyunjin’s eyes, pretending to be looking through the clothes he left for you. “I mean, it’s a good smell.”

“Thanks, I choose carefully.” Hyunjin walked away, just a few steps. “I’ll get dinner ready. Take your time, Tipsy. At least you’re not tipsy right now, you’re less likely to fall to your death in my shower.” 

“Shut up, Hyunjin.” But he was already gone with that endearing laughter of his, leaving you in the bathroom.

You closed the door and looked at yourself in the mirror. Bright eyes, flushed cheeks, a smile on your lips. You didn’t like that you felt this way with Hyunjin. Everything was so easy. You didn't like that you liked to be around him so much. You kept waiting for it to be ruined. 

Paris. You remembered. This newfound happiness would be ruined, indeed. 

The shower was good and you enjoyed a little too much the lush scent of Hyunjin’s luxury products, making sure you lathered every inch of your body with them. The act itself felt a little erotic, like you were lathering him over your body somehow, and even though it tied a knot between your legs, it felt good to wash off the day. It relaxed you a little, too. You wanted to believe Hyunjin when he said those two guys from the parking lot were harmless, but it was the first time you were involved in something like this…

You rinsed the foam off your body and left the shower. The towel that Hyunjin had left for you was soft, and you felt cozy by the time you joined him in the kitchen. His clothes were comfortable. And they smelled like him. And you smelled like him.

Yeah. You liked that a little too much.

Hyunjin was busy putting food on plates in the kitchen. However, you noticed something was missing.

“Where’s Chris?” you asked, looking around. 

“Oh.” Hyunjin turned to you, and you couldn’t pretend you didn’t notice the appraising look he gave you. “He gets a little crazy around food. I wanted us to relax, you know? I can go get him after dinner if you want…”

“Oh, it’s fine, no problem.” You joined him by the counter to take a look at the food as he went back to his task. “Wow, that looks delicious!” The foods were full of rice with roasted veggies and marinated beef with several sauces and sides. 

“Yeah, my neighbor likes to cook. She keeps telling me I’m too skinny.” Hyunjin giggled, but it was for himself only. “Don’t worry for the dog either. She spoils him.”

“She seems like a nice lady,” you pointed out, accepting one plate of food from Hyunjin. “I guess… you guys are lucky to have each other.”

Hyunjin only offered a noncommittal shake of his head as a response and you figured it was best to let the conversation end there. You followed him into the living room and the both of you ate in silence for a few moments as he scrolled through movies on different apps. 

The food was out of this world. The couch was comfortable. You were sitting with your back against the armrest and your feet almost touched Hyunjin who was sitting with his long legs crossed, stuffing his face with rice. 

You liked that. It made you happy how casual and laid-back everything was. And yet it scared you. When Hyunjin left for a minute and returned with soju, you eagerly drank two shots, and he did the same. 

The plates were halfway empty by the time you settled for a movie—American Pie. “I used to watch this with my childhood best friend,” Hyunjin explained. “We’d hide in his basement to watch it. That was before me and dad moved here.”

So you watched American Pie and you laughed and you smoked weed with Hyunjin. You helped him clear the plates and the food. He was wiping down the counter and you were finishing a glass of soda when he turned to you. “I wanted to ask you… If like… I mean if you want you can spend the night… And I totally get it if you don’t want to. Like if you hate me or—”

You almost choked on that last sip of soda, trying to replay the past hour in your mind to see how you may have indicated to Hyunjin that you hated him when in fact, you regretted not wearing that emergency pair of panties you had in your bag because he was making you wet just by talking to you and being around you. “What?” You left the empty glass on the counter. “Why would I hate you, Fairytale?”

Hyunjin shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at the floor. “Cause of the pills and stuff.” 

Your heart swelled and there was no controlling it. You felt the tingle from the weed in your body—you were relaxed and yet hyperaware. Of the everlasting scent of the body wash on your skin. Of the way Hyunjin’s body looked in those sweatpants. Of your own accelerated heartbeat. Of his tongue running over his lips and playing with his lip ring. “Hyunjin, don’t be silly.” You put yourself in front of him and pushed on his chin to make him look at you. His cheek had already started to bruise a little around the band-aid he had applied over the cut. With a frown, you thumbed the skin gently where it was dark. “I don’t hate you because of these two assholes.”

Hyunjin pressed his hand over the one you had on his face. His skin was warm. It felt good to touch him again. “I know that people call me frog boy behind my back,” he added, his voice barely a whisper. “And now, if anyone ever hears about what happened in the parking lot…”

“Hyunjin.” You sighed, your eyes on his. His pupils were dilated. He was handsome. You left his cheek to run your fingers through his short ashy blond hair and it made chills run down your spine. You were high and it felt amazing. “I don’t care what people say. You shouldn’t let people call you frog boy.”

“I know they don’t mean it in a bad way.” Hyunjin’s big, dark eyes fell on your lips. “I don’t care anyway. It’s just… you. I don’t want you to feel embarrassed to hang out with me.”

“I don’t feel embarrassed.” Hyunjin put his big hands on your waist, pulling you closer. Your heart jumped, but you felt it between your legs. “I’ll spend the night if you want me over.” 

“I really, really want you…” Hyunjin started, his head tilted to the side and moving dangerously close to yours. “Can I kiss you, Tipsy?”

You were 0.01 seconds into nodding that he was already kissing you, his plush lips pressed against yours, his ring digging into your skin delightfully. Fuck, you had missed that. His tongue insisting its way into your mouth to explore it, his lips taking yours like you were his anchor. You kissed him back, wrapping your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. You let out a soft moan when you felt the counter behind your lower back.

“Let’s get into bed to finish the movie, yeah?” Hyunjin whispered against your mouth, a smile on his pretty lips. 

You giggled like a schoolgirl when he took your hand and guided you to his room. He let you get in bed while he was dimming the lights and grabbing a couple of additional pillows from a chair. You watched him, his long limbs, his tattoos, his piercings. You were past questioning everything but you did wonder why you felt so comfortable around him.

You sat cozily in his bed, your back resting on pillows, his blanket over your lower body. He joined you soon with a joint that he was lighting up. The two of you smoked in silence for a while, until Hyunjin’s hand found your thigh under the blanket. That simple touch made you shiver, even through the fabric of the sweatpants. 

You kissed his cheek as he took a drag of that joint, so you moved your mouth onto his before he exhaled, kissing the smoke out of him. Hyunjin let you breathe it out and smoked again, this time gently blowing the smoke between your lips and kissing you to seal it in. The weed tasted bitter but Hyunjin’s mouth was wet, warm and it made you dizzy. Or maybe that was the smoking and lack of oxygen—Hyunjin kissed you so deeply that you could barely keep track of the twirling of his smooth tongue. You were high but higher on him. His warmth. His big hands all over you. His weed breath coursing through your veins, like a fizzy drink.

The sound it made when he kissed you. You had never been kissed like this, so softly, so passionately. When you pulled away for air, you leaned against him and he wrapped an arm around your shoulders as he was restarting the movie on this TV. 

“Are you comfortable?” he asked you, his voice low. “Do you want another pillow?”

“I’m fine.” You found your way into the crook of his neck, resting your cheek on his chest. “Best pillow in town.” 

“I’d have to disagree,” Hyunjin pointed out. He was looking away as he was putting out the joint in a fancy ashtray. If you had been high before, you were lightheaded by now, but calm. “Best pillow in town is right… here.” As he brought back his arm towards you, he slid his hand over your breasts, applying just enough pressure to feel them under his palm. 

You closed your eyes, pressing yourself closer to him, biting your lower lip. His hand focused on one breast, then the other, alternating between the two to massage them, often teasing your hardening nipples. You clung to him, passing a leg over his, needing to feel all of him against you. 

“Best pillow,” Hyunjin repeated under his breath, kissing the top of your head. “You do have nice tits, Tipsy.” 

The movie was long forgotten already. Your hand traveled to his abdomen where you played with the hem of his shirt for a few seconds before sliding your fingers under it to caress his lower stomach. Hyunjin’s entire body spasmed hard under your touch, responding with a gentle slap on your sensitive nipple. 

You looked up only to find that he was staring at you. Your gazes met, but Hyunjin’s was unreadable. His dark eyes scanned you, your face, your body against his. You took your time to feel him, to remember him. You would want to remember this in case he left. The feeling of his body against yours, the way his parted lips looked, with the tip of his tongue threatening to show. His flushed cheeks, his collarbone, showing where his shirt was pulled a little under your weight. His lip ring, his tattoos. Him. The smell of him, floral, deep, complex. He smelled like cigarettes, like weed, like his-not-his dog. 

You let your other hand trail on his inked arm, tracing the outline of the rose, admiring it under the changing lighting of the TV. It made it seem as if the flower was moving on his skin. Or were you just that high? “Hey, look at me,” Hyunjin whispered, and he smiled when you did so. “You’re very pretty. Thank you for not judging me.”

You blushed hard but you were past caring. Instead of caressing his stomach, your fingers played with the elastic of Hyunjin’s waistband and he very noticeably jerked his hips a little at that. “You’re very pretty,” you repeated in the same tone. “But why would I judge you?” 

A slight shrug. “Most people do. I’m just the weirdo weed dealer.”

“No. You’re so much more than that.” You propped yourself up on your elbow to look at him face to face—but you were still gently tugging on his pants. “You’re Fairytale. You save drunk girls from drunk girl problems. You save frogs from frog problems! You help your elderly neighbor, you paint, you—” You paused there, finding an unexpected lump in your throat. “You paint so well you’re probably going to Paris… So who’s the weirdo here? You, or them?”

An endeared smile painted itself on Hyunjin’s lips. You touched him there too, feeling his ring under your thumb. He took that hand in his and kissed it gently. “You don’t have to say all of this, Tipsy. It’s fine.” Another kiss. “I don’t even know if I’m going to Paris.” 

You let go of his pants as your one remaining brain cell got to work. “But we’re pretty late into the semester. Wouldn’t they have given you a response by now, even a negative one?”

Hyunjin looked away, pretending to be watching the movie, keeping your hand in his. He rested it on his chest—you felt his pulse under your skin, strong, healthy. Fast. “They did give me a response, I just haven’t opened the email.”

It took you several seconds to process that. “You mean you got the email that would tell you whether or not you’re accepted into the exchange to Paris? And you haven’t opened it?”

Hyunjin turned to you again, looking at you with big, puppy-like eyes. “I figured… While I didn’t read it, I was neither accepted or denied, you know?”

“I get it. It’s like Schrodinger’s cat,” you said, nodding. 

His expression turned to something deeply serious then. Solemn, even. “Schrodinger’s Paris,” Hyunjin added, causing the two of you to laugh hysterically. By the end of it, you were lying down again, arms around your stomach as you laughed and laughed and laughed. 

It took a few moments for the two of you to calm down, but soon enough, Hyunjin had pulled you into his embrace again. You traced circles on his chest, your head resting comfortably on him. “I just… I guess for a while, I didn’t really want to go. Like, I did,” Hyunjin admitted, “but also not.”

“Why not? Wouldn’t that be a great opportunity for you?” you questioned as the movie credits rolled but neither of you had paid much attention to it anyway. “Like, for your future dream job in a museum?”

“Oh, it would be the absolute best opportunity,” Hyunjin admitted. “Ideally, through this exchange I could even graduate in Paris, then find an internship or a job there while I study… That’s one hell of a resume. But…”

You heard Hyunjin gulp and then he did not finish his sentence. You gave him some time, pressing a few kisses on his jaw and playing with his hair to soothe him. You didn’t like to see him so troubled—you couldn’t help but feel like you wanted to shield him from the horrors of reality. At all times.

“But what?” you whispered. And then it dawned on you, and you pushed yourself back up to face him. “Oh, Hyunjin…” You caressed his face and he leaned into your palm, but didn’t avert his eyes this time. “It’s your neighbor, isn’t it? You don’t want to leave her alone?”

He nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “Yeah. I feel responsible for her… even though I’m technically not. But I am.”

“Disney prince shit.” You leaned over to kiss his cheek, but he took your lips instead, kissing you softly. His mouth tasted a little bitter from the weed and vaguely sweet from the apple he had shared with you after dinner. When he pulled away, he was smiling—faintly, but still. 

“Yesterday, when I went over there to get Chris,” Hyunjin explained, “she told me that one of her relatives was moving back in the country with her husband and their daughter. They’re moving into a house, a house big enough for four. They offered her to stay with them.”

“Hyunjin! That’s so great! Isn’t that a sign?” You traced his full lips with your fingers, just because you liked the velvety feeling of them. And you also liked the intimacy of the moment—nothing felt awkward, even though you knew him so little. 

“I guess it is,” he shrugged. “Like, it’s the best possible outcome for her… She’ll be with her family… Chris will be with them, they’ll have this huge backyard apparently, and the daughter loves animals.”

“You said that sentence as if there was gonna be a but at the end,” you pointed out.

“But… what if I’m not getting into the exchange?” Hyunjin said, his voice a little strained. 

You breathed deeply. “Paris exists anyway even without that exchange. What stops you from applying to a school over there on your own if that's what you want?” As if on cue, you noticed the screen of Hyunjin’s phone lighting up. He had left it just by the ashtray. It was a notification from a silly game. “Please unlock your phone right now. I’m reading that goddamn email.” 

Hyunjin didn’t move, not initially—he stayed like this, his body sinking into his mattress and the pillows behind him, as beautiful as an angel, as dangerous as one, too. He blinked once, then again, and when you thought he was reaching for his phone, he kissed you instead. Deeply. Passionately. He kissed you with his mouth open, his hands already dancing over your body and stopping in all of his favorite places—your waist, your tits, your ass, your lower back. 

You kissed him back, letting him bite your lip, letting him hoist you on top of him, your knees on either side of his thighs. He was half hard and his body was warm, like embers. Your pants were damp in the crotch area and your heart was beating fast.

“Okay, we’ll read the email,” he breathed against your mouth, “and then I’ll make love to you.” 

Make love. Not fucking. Making love. You felt a tug at your heart and yet warmth was pooling between your legs, moving involuntarily and seeking friction against Hyunjin’s hardening cock. He kissed you for a little longer, his tongue playing with yours, his hands sliding down your back, your waist, into your pants.

“Hey.” You poked his nose and he stopped moving just before his hands reached your ass. “We said we would read the email.”

“Ah, I’m so silly. I forgot.” But Hyunjin’s smile was mischievous. He reached for his phone, unlocked it, and opened his email app before handing it over to you. “Can you read it? I’ll just guess by the expression on your face.” 

You took the phone from him, sitting comfortably with your pussy pressed flush against his cock. He played with the drawstrings of your pants while you scrolled down his emails. You couldn’t believe a guy trusted you with his phone like this. You had dated your ex for several months and you weren’t even allowed to look in his direction when he was using his phone—he would always hide the screen from you. And here you were tonight. Going through Hyunjin’s phone as if it was the most normal thing in the world. There were a lot of emails for food delivery and art supplies orders as well as dog-related shopping.

You didn’t want to snoop around but an email caught your attention before you located the one sent by the Student Exchange committee. You wondered if you were noticeably blushing, because Hyunjin was staring at you intently. You cleared your throat, smiling. “A fleshlight, Fairytale?” you questioned, biting your lip. “How’s that going for you?”

He blushed a little and let out a repressed giggle. “It’s not bad.” He paused, hesitating. “You’re much better.” 

You clenched around nothing, the ache between your legs becoming worse every second. Better read that goddamn email before you soaked through Hyunjin’s pants as well as yours—but you couldn’t not notice how he was just slightly rubbing himself against you. 

“Found the email,” you managed. It was indeed unopened. You clicked but stared at Hyunjin before reading it. “Are you ready?” 

“My heart is beating so fucking fast oh my god…” He buried his face in his hands with a sigh but left a crack between his fingers to see you. “Just… let’s get this over with…”

You gave him a comforting squeeze on his forearm and focused on the phone again. “Dear Mr. Hwang. We have received your application for the student exchange in Paris… blah blah blah… We were impressed with both your innate and acquired skills as well as your knowledge… blah blah blah… Professor Yoo’s letter of recommendation…”

“Wait, Mrs. Yoo wrote a letter of recommendation for me?” Hyunjin interrupted you, his face suddenly appearing from behind his hands.

“Apparently, Fairytale.” You took his hand in yours as you kept going. “Where was I… Ah, yes…” You scanned the email to find the paragraph, but the words you read remained stuck in your throat. It is with great pleasure that we are offering you to pursue the next semester at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris. 

You were not surprised at all. Hyunjin was art, it was in every atom of his body. In his eyes, the whole world was a canvas where art was simply waiting to be witnessed. His heart was good and life hadn’t been so kind to him. So it was his turn to be happy and to have his dream come true. Right?

“Oh my god, I fucking knew it…” Hyunjin muttered, his eyes fixated on you. “I knew I wouldn’t get it but I—”

You took a deep breath and tried to put a smile on your face. You weren’t disappointed that Hyunjin was going to Paris to study. You had only hoped, maybe, that one day you would be more than a hookup. But surely it wouldn’t have worked between the two of you, not long term. 

“Don’t be stupid Hyunjin, of course you’re going.” Your voice sounded surprisingly steady but there was still a lump in your throat. You put the phone under his nose so that he could read. You watched as his big beautiful eyes scanned the screen and as he processed the words.

“I got it,” he said. “I GOT IT?” 

“You got it, Fairytale.” You were smiling now, feeling an inexplicable joy inside of your chest. “You’re going to Paris.” 

Hyunjin discarded his phone as if it had been an empty bottle of water, letting it fall on the floor beside the bed. He pulled you close, hugging you tight, kissing you all over. Your cheeks, your nose, your hair, your shoulder. He wrapped his legs around you and kept you against him to continue his attack of kisses. You couldn’t not laugh with him. There were tears in his eyes, making them shine in the dim lighting. Happiness looked good on him. 

The playful pecks turned into something else when Hyunjin pressed his lips against yours and his hands found your lower back to lower you against his crotch. He hummed when you responded by rolling your hips onto him—he was hard, and feeling him like that made you dizzy. The pressure between your legs was distracting, but not as much as Hyunjin’s wet mouth devouring yours. 

“Can I make love to you?” Hyunjin asked, his voice soft and low. “Even if I leave?”

You took his face in your hands and kissed him some more. “Yes. Yes please, Fairytale.” 

“Tipsy.” He bit his lip, staring at you with his eyes hooded and burning with lust. You had never felt desired like that before. Before meeting him. “So beautiful.” He tugged at your shirt. “Can I take this off you?” 

You nodded and helped him pass the shirt over your head—Hyunjin wasted no time cupping your tits in his large hands, extracting a sigh from you. He was warm and it felt good. You closed your eyes to print that memory in your mind, too. 

“I’ve thought about your tits a lot this week,” Hyunjin whispered, palming you good and making your breasts bounce. 

You had thought about Hyunjin a lot, too. It didn’t matter how tired you were from your assignments—when you got into your bed at night, it felt empty since that night with him, but masturbating for an hour seemed to make this go away. Still, you smiled, thrilled by that confession. “Have you?” you said, sitting comfortably on his thighs, holding the hem of his shirt in your hands. “When have you thought about my tits, Fairytale?”

Hyunjin’s face turned pink but he propped himself up to allow you to take his shirt off, leaving you speechless at the sight of his body. You touched him all over, his broad shoulders, his strong arms, his toned abdomen. The ink on his skin. You leaned over to kiss his collarbone and his nipples.

Hyunjin hissed when you twirled your tongue around one but cupped his bulge at the same time. He was very hard but shot a glance at his bedside table. You followed his gaze. “You thought of me when you were using your fleshlight?” you questioned, another rush of heat pooling in your gut. 

He nodded and you watched with delight as his adam’s apple bobbed with a thick gulp. “Yeah.” He gave your left breast the gentlest slap, but it was enough to make you clench and crave him even more. “God, I’m so fucking hard—”

But the rest of Hyunjin’s sentence died somewhere in his throat. He looked somewhere behind you, but just one second, before putting his hands on your waist and pulling you off him. 

“What—”

“Just a minute.” He laid you comfortably next to him and pushed himself out of the bed. You used his blanket to cover your chest, suddenly a little shy. Had he changed his mind? Or…

But Hyunjin crossed the room and stood in front of Chives’ aquarium, looking around it as if he was searching for something. In the end, he took a large box of paint tubes and stacked a few textbooks on top of it, hiding the aquarium from view entirely.

“I can’t do this in front of Chives,” Hyunjin explained as he made his way back towards the bed.

You stared at him for maybe an hour. Or a week. “Hyunjin, you’re so fucking high. It’s a frog.”

“It’s Chives!”

“As if she didn’t see you milk your own cock all week with a fleshlight!” you pointed out, no longer able to repress the laughter choking you. 

Hyunjin put a hand over his mouth, still standing right next to the bed in just his sweatpants. You couldn’t take your eyes off the very visible outline of his erection. “Oh my god. Oh no. You’re right, Tipsy… I fucking traumatized this poor frog—” 

“Come here, Fairytale.” You reached out for the waistband of his pants, tugging at it. “Take these off. Chives had her time. My turn to see it now.”

This seemed to make Hyunjin remember what he was doing. He quickly got rid of his pants and underwear, finally freeing his cock. It was flushed dark, straining. As pretty as you remembered. You caressed Hyunjin’s thighs, letting your hand travel to his length to give it a few squeezes. 

Hyunjin wasted no time—he pulled the blankets off your body before kneeling on the bed, towering over you. He’s just so handsome, you told yourself, hoping you’d always remember that, too. How easily beautiful he was. The way his tongue lingered on his lip ring. His hands on your thighs to open up your legs.

“What’s that, Tipsy?” Hyunjin guided a hand between your legs to feel the damp fabric of the pants you were wearing. “Did you stain my pants?” 

The fabric was wet and cool as Hyunjin rubbed you through it in slow, lazy circles, almost as if he was using it to clean you up. You rolled your hips to meet his movement, already impatient and needy. But Hyunjin went on for a little longer. When he was satisfied, he simply took the pants off you but took his time to study the wetness you had left on them. Then, he gave the stain a few licks and his face melted with pleasure as his cock visibly throbbed. 

“Oh my fucking god…” Hyunjin crumpled the pants into a ball and threw it across the room where it landed near the TV. “Let me lick you up, Tipsy.” 

Hyunjin pushed your legs open a little further, exposing your pussy to him. He inhaled sharply, pressing a few digits on your soaked folds to smear your juices all over yourself. “I need to taste you…”

But Hyunjin didn’t lower himself between your legs just yet—he placed you in the exact center of the bed before taking a pillow and sliding it under your lower back. Only then did he return to your lips for a kiss, but you moaned when his cock brushed against your pussy. “Please,” you begged. You were still lightheaded from the weed but also from all the blood rushing between your legs. You needed him. 

Hyunjin kissed your neck, then your breasts, leaving a trail of spit behind him. God, nothing felt better than his pretty, wet mouth on your skin. 

Well. You thought that until you felt his breath tickle your pussy. Until he kissed your inner thighs while he was carefully spreading you open after releasing a large amount of spit on his fingers. Then nothing. 

You opened your eyes, which seemed to be what Hyunjin was waiting for. 

“Look at me, Tipsy. Can you do that?” 

“Y—y—es.” Could he feel you throb? 

“Let go completely. I’d love it if you came all over my face and into my mouth.” He smiled faintly, kissed your thigh again and looked between your legs. “Your pussy is so pretty. So so pretty…”

The lower half of his face disappeared and you immediately felt him leave light kisses on your folds—still, your hips jerked as if you had been shocked. “Eyes on me,” Hyunjin said, his voice low. “I want to see you when you cum.” 

Hyunjin angled his head a little to the left before sliding his tongue on your folds in one big wet slurp. You let out a gasp which turned into a moan when his tongue became more insistent, licking you again and again with wet noises. Licks and twirls and kisses and gentle caresses. You watched as Hyunjin buried his face deeper and deeper between your thighs, bobbing his head to accentuate the way he was making out with your cunt. 

You sighed when he went back up for air, his mouth and chin coated with your arousal. “You taste so fucking good.” He licked his lips clean and swallowed every drop. “So sweet. Really sweet.” 

When Hyunjin returned to your pussy, he gave you a few modest kitten licks before turning his attention to your clit—but it seemed it wasn’t enough for him. He laid flat on his stomach and rested your thighs on his shoulders. You felt so vulnerable like this, completely exposed to him. At his mercy. But your whole body was alive and covered in chills—yet, it felt like you were burning from the inside out. 

Hyunjin twirled his smooth tongue on your clit, teasing your entrance with a couple fingers. “Yes,” you panted. “Yes, yes!” 

He looked up to meet your gaze. “You really like having your tight little cunt stuffed, don’t you?” The weed seemed to have made it more confident and you couldn’t pretend you didn’t like it. “Don’t worry. I’ll fuck you later. I really want to taste you some more.”

Hyunjin pressed his lips onto you, quickly latching onto your clit. You could see that he was rubbing himself on the mattress—he was probably just as impatient as you were. It was hypnotizing to watch him work on your pussy while succumbing to the friction on his cock. You imagined it squeezed between him and the mattress, leaking precum onto the sheet. 

You clenched at that and Hyunjin let out a pleased hum as he kept taking your sensitive bud between his plush lip to kiss it and slurp on it. It was sloppy—he was wet even on his cheeks. You couldn’t believe the sounds it made, but then you could also feel your own slick drip down your folds all the way to your ass. 

Hyunjin gave your clit a gentle suck and you immediately arched your back into him, overtaken by the stimulation provided by his skilled mouth. He buried his fingers into your hole, massaging your walls but it was no good—all that you could do was clench and clench as he alternated between sucking on your clit and twirling his tongue all over it. 

His motions were neither rushed or slow, but they were accurate. Hyunjin ate you out in the same way you had seen him paint earlier—every stroke of the paintbrush had a purpose and every flick of his tongue had intent behind it, too. It didn’t take much time before the room was filled with your voice. Every time you moaned, Hyunjin moaned too, deep, throaty moans that vibrated against your sensitive cunt.

He was trying to make you cum and you wouldn’t resist him, but you also couldn’t keep your promise of keeping your eyes on him. Your head kept sinking into the soft pillow beneath you and your eyes rolled at the back of your head. You were basking in a state of total euphoria. Every single molecule of your body was on fire. 

Hyunjin pushed his fingers deeper into you, curling them up to tease that spot. Fuck. He pressed his fingers there but returned to explore you all around, too. “Hmm… I just love the texture of your pretty pussy…” He said into your cunt, his words tickling your clit. His breathing was labored but even that sound was erotic to you. “Here… Feel that?” He was massaging you in different spots. “So smooth, so nice…” 

His fingers returned to your most sensitive spot and he teased you there, rubbing that cushiony skin. You cried out, gripping the sheet with one hand and Hyunjin’s hair with the other. “Here?” he said, feigning surprise. “You like it?” 

He fucked you with his fingers before returning to lap at you, collecting your slick on his tongue. You pulled on his hair and the high-pitched moan he let out almost caused you to cum right then and there, unannounced—you clenched so hard that for a few seconds, he could barely move his fingers inside of you. 

You fucked his face from below. Gently. Just rolling your hips. His fingertips were on your g-spot and his knuckles stretched you open as he closed his lips around your clit again. You did try to look at him then, but his eyes were glazed over and hooded. Unfocused. He was lost in you and you in him. 

When the pressure rose again within your core, your whole body spasmed—your legs closed together, trapping Hyunjin there, but he did not stop finger-fucking you and he did not stop slurping and sucking on your clit as if his life depended on it. 

“I’m—I’m—I’m close,” you managed in between moans. Only your shoulders and actually resting on the bed—the rest of you was arching into Hyunjin’s mouth, tense, ready. 

Hyunjin kept his relentless pace, but when you slammed your hips against him a little harder, he moaned again, and you came. Your orgasm crashed over you like waves so powerful that you blacked out—by the end of it, you were fully laying on the bed again with the pillow underneath you, and Hyunjin’s head was still bobbing between your legs. 

He pulled his fingers out first, but only to lower his mouth onto your entrance. He drank you, every drop of you, lapping and slurping with pleased grunts. You finally let go of his hair and your whole body went limp. 

Hyunjin cleaned you up with more licks and his warmth disappeared from between your legs. You felt his breath against your face. It smelled like your pussy. He kissed you and it tasted like your pussy too. You kissed him back, chasing your own taste. 

“Need a minute?” Hyunjin asked softly. “You look… a little fucked out, Tipsy.” 

You managed to open your eyes. You weren’t sleepy, but you couldn’t remember ever feeling so relaxed before in your life. God, he was beautiful. His chin was still wet from you and his pretty lips were swollen from how hard he had slurped on you. What a sinful sight. 

You did feel fucked out but you also were excessively curious about something. As Hyunjin lay next to you, you immediately took his cock in your hand just to feel him, and you were delighted when you ran your thumb over his slit only to find him leaking. 

You smeared his precum onto his length. “Can I see the fleshlight, Fairytale?” you asked, your face into his neck. His cock was so warm, so stiff. When you let your hand venture a little farther, you found his balls tight, probably aching. He whimpered when you squeezed them gently. “Can I see what you do with it?” 

“Anything for you.” Hyunjin kissed your forehead and pulled away from you. You managed to open your eyes, despite the high from the endorphins making it hard. You caught a glimpse of his drawer—the fleshlight, lube, and the vibrator he had told you about.

The fleshlight was a simple, clear silicone tube with ridges on the inside. You sat on the bed with Hyunjin and watched carefully as he coated the toy’s interior with a generous amount of lube. When he put the bottle back though, he stopped there.

You noticed the dark color of his cheeks despite the low lighting and took the toy from his hand. It was light and supple—some lube leaked out of it when you tested it. “Let me,” you said, and Hyunjin nodded. 

“Isn’t it weird?” he asked you, finally looking at you with his dark eyes. 

“No.” You giggled. “Not to me.”

Hyunjin guided your hand towards his straining cock and helped you push it inside the entrance of the toy. You immediately felt it hug his girth and by the looks of it, Hyunjin liked it a lot. He leaned his back into the headboard, his eyes fixated on your hand and his cock disappearing into the toy.

“Fuck,” he moaned when you squeezed him. 

You pumped him a few times and Hyunjin responded by meeting you with sharp thrusts of his hips, opening his legs more and more. It was his turn to be vulnerable, and the sound of his little sighs and whimpers was making you wet again. 

You could feel him through the toy too. How hard he was, and big. You’d love to keep going and watch him cum just like that, but your insatiable hunger had other plans. 

You squeezed Hyunjin harder—in fact, you weren’t sure if the moans that escaped his lips were from pain or pleasure, but with the way he kept bucking his hips you figured he liked it quite a lot. He looked desperate, like he was close already. “Close, Fairytale?” Another squeeze as you took up a pace too, pumping him hard. Hyunjin was sweating. “Where do you wanna cum, though? In the toy or inside of me?”

Hyunjin went motionless in a matter of milliseconds. He looked at you. “W—what? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure if you are.” The condom had been alright last time, but you really wanted him, all of him. 

Hyunjin gently pushed your hand away and then pulled out from the toy too, making a mess of lube and precum on the bed. Still, he just let the toy roll away and you heard it thump on the floor as Hyunjin pulled you in for a kiss. 

“You’re so fucking sexy,” he said against your mouth. “Need your cunt so bad right now…” 

Hyunjin kissed you until he had you under him again. The weight of his body on yours was delightful, warm—you felt safe, you felt like he needed you as much as you needed him. He guided his cock between your legs, aligning himself with your entrance… but ultimately rubbed his tip against your clit. The simple thought of having his precum dripping on your pussy made you clench.

Hyunjin pushed himself into you then, struggling at first. “Fucking hell…” He growled under his breath. “Relax, gorgeous. Can you do that for me?”

You touched him, his disheveled hair, his rose piercing. His lip ring. The ink on his skin. You tried to level your breathing and your heartbeat and pulled Hyunjin in for a kiss, really feeling the texture of his mouth, how wet it was. How soft his lips were, smooth like silk, like a brush coated with paint and sliding effortlessly across a canvas. 

He would do so well in Paris and you would treasure the memories you had of him. This, you knew for sure.

You cried out when Hyunjin thrust once, then twice, and buried his straining cock inside of you. He didn’t let you moan out your bliss as he took your lips again, not waiting another second before rolling his hips, fucking you deep and good. 

“That’s it, Tipsy, fuck yeah…” Hyunjin slammed hard into you a few times, his movements made easier with every thrust as he stretched you. You had to hold onto the headboard behind you, already soaking his cock with your slick. He filled you so well and you couldn’t think of a better feeling than that. “You’re so pretty. So tight. Kiss me, gorgeous.”

You kissed him. You were so damn high and he was maybe higher than you and maybe that’s why he was fucking you slowly, so steadily, sinking into you again and again, watching your tits bounce every time he did so.

“Don’t stop don’t stop don’t stop.” You spoke somewhere in the crook of his neck, clinging to Hyunjin, your nails digging into his skin—he was the only thing that mattered right now. Just that. His cock pounding into you hard enough to bruise you and how it occupied every inch of your throbbing cunt. The squeaking of the mattress, the air circulating through the ventilation, Hyunjin’s uneven breathing and his moans. Who moaned like this? Like your pussy was heaven and he was seeing god every time he bottomed out? 

Hyunjin’s usual angelic traits were morphing into something else as he focused on the heat between your legs. He looked serious, brows stitched together, his lips parted open, face and body covered with a film of sweat.

You had never been fucked like this before—with so much effort. So much intent. Like Hyunjin was trying to paint a portrait with each roll of his hips, massaging your walls with this pretty cock of his. 

“Wanna cum again, Tipsy?” he said into your ear, his voice cracking. “I can’t fucking hold it you’re too tight, too good—”

The ache you felt in your core agreed with him. You kissed him. A slow, languid kiss, a kiss that tasted like weed and like pussy. “Fill me up, Fairytale,” you breathed, moving your hips from below to meet his thrusts. You could swear he was reaching your goddamn cervix. 

Hyunjin released a good amount of spit on your already soaked cunt and pressed his fingers onto you to rub precise circles onto your clit. You whimpered at the contact, overwhelmed. Happy. His other hand was on your waist as he guided you onto him and himself into you. You were close again and you could feel him throb, too. 

“Let’s cum together, cum with me, you’re so fucking pretty.” Hyunjin spread your legs open, looking down to observe, causing him to hiss. “Oh fuck… holy shit… look at that… so fucking creamy... Is that for me? All that cream?” He accentuated his last work with a sharp thrust of his hips, making you see stars.

He returned to your face to kiss you as his fucking became erratic and as the pressure inside of you became unbearable, as if flames were licking you from the inside out. “Now, please—” you begged, moaning. You couldn’t stop moaning and neither could he, but it sounded beautiful. 

You tensed up as you came—for a few seconds, you came so hard that it hurt you, but it hurt you good because you were doing it on Hyunjin’s cock. The pretty moans and whimpers he let out were lewd. Sinful. You let your release take over you, reveling in it. 

Hyunjin pulsed inside of you, burying his cock into your fluttering walls. You felt it. His orgasm. You felt it as much as yours—he throbbed, his body jerking, too, emptying himself inside of you. A lot, it seemed. It felt wet. It felt good. You could feel it pool within you as you clenched, milking every drop out of him—his sticky cum was already spilling out of you as he rolled his hips into you, riding his aftershocks. 

And he stayed inside you, even moments after both of your highs had ended. Both of you were sweaty, sticky messes on a stained mattress, but you smiled when he smiled at you and stole a few kisses from you. You hummed when he pulled out with a wet sound that you hoped you wouldn’t forget either. 

Hyunjin reached out to grab a handful of tissues to clean you up a little awkwardly. “I made a mess, sorry, I—” he managed, but you took the tissues from him to finish the job. He was right. 

“Don’t worry, it’s okay.” That was a hell lot of cum, but you enjoyed the sensation of what was still inside you.

You lay down next to Hyunjin on your side, facing each other. He was still a little winded out but so were you. He gave your kiss a gentle kiss. “Are you alright?” 

“Yes.” You nodded, suddenly a little shy for some reason. “I feel very good.”

“I feel very good too.” But his eyes were almost closed. Still, he smiled, warming up your heart, and pulled you against him. “Do you want a lollipop?”

You thought you misheard. “What?” 

Hyunjin’s eyes were closed but the smile hadn’t left his lips. They were still swollen from the kissing and the sex. In the end, he hadn’t lied to you—it did feel like making love more than fucking, no matter how intense. It felt like you had been given something instead of just you giving it freely, to the wrong people.

“A lollipop, Tipsy. Do you want one? They’re in a jar over there.” 

You twisted your neck to look behind you, finally locating, on a shelf, a glass jar halfway full of Hyunjin’s favorite lollipops. You let out a soft laugh. “Nah, Fairytale. Do you want one?” 

But Hyunjin only gave you a noncommittal hum as a response, so you dropped it. He fell asleep like that, holding you. You closed your eyes, your pulse slowing down, your brain working hard. To remember everything. You did fall asleep soon after, but you hoped you wouldn’t forget that either. How it felt to fall asleep in the arms of someone like Hyunjin. 

This time around, you woke up before him. The TV was still on but was displaying its screensaver—random landscapes—and everything was quiet. Your pussy felt sore, along with your lower back, and you were parched.

Hyunjin was sleeping on his back, breathing slowly and deeply. He was holding your hand, and you considered dying from dehydration instead of leaving this warm bed. He seemed so peaceful. Had he been nervous about Paris? Did he really believe he wasn’t worthy of going?

He moved in his sleep when you removed your hand from his gentle grasp, but he let out a content sigh when you pressed a kiss on his bare shoulder. His skin was smooth and warm and it felt good against your lips.

You found the t-shirt you had been wearing earlier—it was on the floor, but you put it on and left the bedroom. After using the guest restroom so as not to wake Hyunjin, you went to the kitchen to get some apple juice. You also grabbed a couple of sour candies from a bag and drank in the dark kitchen, leaning against the counter. 

You had never really done that. Sleep twice with a boy you weren’t actually seeing. You had never had a friend with benefits because you had always been afraid to catch feelings. And by the way your chest was heavy, you knew you had been right to fear that. Hyunjin was the worst possible person for whom you could catch any sort of feelings right now—even friendly ones. The semester was almost over and then he would leave. Sure, the exchange was temporary, but realistically he would remain abroad for a while after finding a job… or a girlfriend.

You lifted your eyes from your empty glass of apple juice and looked at the door of Hyunjin’s bedroom. You wanted nothing more than to return in there to lay by his side and wrap yourself all around him to smell him and feel him so close. But you were already too attached. And you couldn’t let him get attached any more than he was—if he was at all. He deserved to leave for Paris with a smile on his face and with no regrets. His life had been difficult enough as it was. You hoped he would be happy there, maybe get a few more tattoos and see his dreams come true.

So you made your way back to his room but went immediately to the master bathroom where you had left your clothes and put them back on as silently as possible. When you headed out, you couldn’t help but return to the bed just to look at Hyunjin some more. He had an arm where your body had been just moments ago and it made you crave him more than ever.

But you did walk away. You grabbed a lollipop from the jar and gathered your things in the living room, noticing a notepad on a bookshelf.

Headed back home because Chae texted me, but thanks for dinner! I had a good time. Tipsy xxx

You knew Chae wouldn’t mind that you lied about that—you’d do the same for her. So you left, carefully locking the door behind you, and walked home. But your heart was heavy, heavier than it should have been.

Hyunjin did not text you the next day, or the day after. You tried keeping yourself busy—hell, you were busy with all those midterms but it was hard to focus on them. You kept checking your phone. When Chae suggested that you should text him, you almost threw your sandwich at her. No, you couldn’t do that. 

But you did pretend you really, really wanted iced tea and that you’d go to the convenience store. Jisung asked you to get his favorite candy and Chae proposed to go with you if you didn’t want to be alone—but you did want to be alone. Or not. You were just gonna go to the convenience store and cross the street and find Hyunjin in the park and go talk to him. 

Except he wasn’t at the park at his usual table. 

The next day was Sunday. You spent the entire day in your room, working in front of your laptop. You had put on a sitcom you’d seen countless times before just for background noise, which is why you didn’t react when you heard the doorbell—for a few seconds, you thought it came from the show. But then you heard the sound of the door, and voices… 

Jisung spoke first. “Frog boy! My guy! What’s up? I don’t think you’re here for me…” 

Your heart leapt in your chest and you pushed yourself out of your chair to go towards your door, hesitating. Hyunjin was here? You checked your phone to see if you had missed a text message but there was nothing. 

“No,” Hyunjin told Jisung. “But I do have something for you. Free of charge, of course.”

There was a pause in the conversation. “Are you fucking kidding me? All of this for me?” 

“For you and Tipsy—I mean, y/n,” Hyunjin added, and this time you couldn’t pretend like you weren’t dying to see him, so you joined the two of them in the living room. 

Hyunjin was standing right by the door with Jisung who was holding a large bag that was seemingly full of weed. When you appeared, Hyunjin’s already faint smile disappeared, but Jisung grinned at you.

“Look what your boyfriend brought us! What’s the occasion man?”

“She’s not… I’m not…” Hyunjin started, avoiding your eyes, his cheeks flushed. “We’re just friends.” He took a deep breath and shrugged. “I’m leaving after the semester and I wanna get rid of all that shit. I can’t risk getting caught.”

“You’re leaving?” Jisung questioned, looking at Hyunjin, then at you, then at Hyunjin. “What?”

“He got into a great art school in Paris,” you explained, forcing a smile on your face. 

Jisung almost pushed Hyunjin into the wall with shock and spent maybe a whole hour congratulating him before he managed to read the room. He cleared his throat. “I’ll go store this safely,” he said, showing the bag full of weed. “Thanks for thinking of us, man.”

“No problem.” Hyunjin waited until he heard the door of Jisung’s bedroom close behind him then he turned to you. “Hey, Tipsy.” 

You took one cautious step towards him. “Hey Fairytale.”

He smiled a little and it made you smile, too, despite the storm of tormented feelings that was brewing inside of you. It really sucked that you were so happy for him and yet still somehow wished that he would stay. 

“So, huh…” Hyunjin started. “Actually, I have Chives with me, she’s… She’s in the car. I was wondering if you still wanted to be there to release her. I’m headed over there right now.”

“Oh!” You looked at the window where you saw Hyunjin’s car parked right in front of your building. You weren’t very good at saying goodbye, but you did want to say goodbye to Chives. And to Hyunjin. “Yeah, I wanna go,” you said and hated how small your voice sounded. “Just give me a minute.” 

“Take your time.” 

You just went to the bathroom where you quickly brushed your teeth and rinsed your face after spending an entire day being a gremlin in your bedroom and eating a little too much candy. You returned to the living room to grab your coat from the closet as well as jump into a pair of shoes.

Chives was back into a plastic container. You held her while Hyunjin drove the car. There was no music and it took several minutes before he spoke to you again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t text,” he said quietly. “I should have texted you.”

The fog that had been clogging your thoughts and your brain lifted instantly—so instantly you felt stupid. “Oh, don’t be sorry, I should… I should have texted you, really.” Yeah, now that you were saying it out loud, Chae had been right all along. 

“No.” Hyunjin stopped the car at the traffic light because it turned red and looked at you. His eyes were sad. “Did I do something to hurt you? Did I… Did I hurt you when we… Or after? Or—”

“No, no Hyunjin,” you cut him off. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t hurt me. I should have texted you, but I didn’t want to… To get in the way. Of your things.”

A dark veil passed over Hyunjin’s eyes as the light turned green again and he took a left turn. “We’re almost there,” was all he said. 

You didn’t speak until he had parked and stopped the car a few minutes later. The night sky was clear and you could see the half-moon shining bright. The air was a little cool and you wished you were wearing warmer clothes. The place was a community center but there was a large wooden area all around.

“There’s a meadow and a pond,” Hyunjin explained. “I’m sure Chives will love it.”

So you walked with him. There was a narrow but paved path though there was almost no lighting, so you used your phone to light the way. Hyunjin was holding Chives’ container with one hand, and after a while, he took yours to hold it. And it felt right.

He finally spoke after a long while. “You’re not getting in the way of anything. I… If I wasn’t going to Paris, I’d take you on a date. More than one date. I kinda wish I wasn’t going at all.”

You had never really felt this before—a perfect mix of sadness and elation at the same time. In equal amounts. 

You squeezed Hyunjin’s warm hand. “It’s Paris. On a scholarship. You have to go.” He pulled you closer a little. “But I would have gone on those dates with you, Fairytale.”

“When I come back,” he started, “I’ll take you on a date. A friend-date, especially if you’re seeing someone. But you know what I mean.”

You had made it to the meadow with the pond. There was a streetlight here, although dim, but it was sufficient enough that you could put your phone back into your pocket. There was also a bench and a lot of grass and trees. It was the perfect spot for Chives. 

“You mean that?” You turned to Hyunjin, facing him. The rose on his ear was shining under the amber light. “Then, yes. I’ll take that raincheck on a date.” You didn’t think it would ever happen, but the thought comforted you. “Although I’m not sure your super hot french girlfriend will appreciate.”

Hyunjin went to say something but then his expression turned from serious to playful and there was a glimmer in his eyes. “For all I know, Bang Chan himself will propose to you while I’m gone. I might even miss the wedding.”

You simply couldn’t hold your laughter. Hyunjin laughed with you and took your hand again to guide you towards the pond. “I’ll make sure to have photos sent to you,” you responded in the same mischievous tone. 

Hyunjin left the container by the pond, right next to a large bush of hydrangeas—the very same type of flower where he had found Chives begin with. You sat together on a bench just close by.

He pulled you against him and you buried your face into his neck, inhaling his enthralling scent. Maybe you’d go to the store tomorrow to find his exact body wash… 

“Well, even if you’re married to Chan,” Hyunjin declared, “I’m still taking you on that date. I don’t care.” He kissed your forehead. 

“And I’ll go even if we have to take your super hot french girlfriend with us.” This time, Hyunjin kissed your mouth, and you kissed him back.

A slow kiss. His breath was warm and minty and you realized you had missed this, this particular way he had to kiss you. As if he meant it. 

“Deal.” Hyunjin traced the outline of your face with his finger before pushing your hair behind your ear. “I wanted you to know something else too. I… When my mom passed, her family put money in an account for me, for my studies. But I didn’t really need it because I had the house and a scholarship and… Well, I took a little amount of that money and talked to my supplier and… I got those pills for these two guys. They won’t bother me anymore, and they won’t be a threat to you either.”

“Oh… But Hyunjin—”

“That’s why I got rid of all the weed too. Well, almost… I hid some for me but… I can’t take any risks. I don’t want to mess this up.” Hyunjin slid his thumb on your lower lip, his eyes fixated on your mouth. “Even if staying wouldn’t be all bad either.”

You were about to kiss him when you noticed movement behind him. “Hyunjin, look!” 

Chives had hopped out of her container and was making her way toward the tall grass around the pond. Hyunjin gasped and held you in his arms as you both watched the cute little frog hop away to freedom.

“Is that what proud parents feel when their child leaves for college?” Hyunjin asked you, his voice a little strangled. 

“I think so. You really helped that frog, Fairytale.” There was a lump in your throat too, but both of you pretended like this wasn’t an exceptionally emotional moment. 

Hyunjin squeezed you tighter when Chives disappeared for good and you stayed together in silence for a little while, listening to the breeze and the lazy flapping of the water. “Thanks for being here tonight,” Hyunjin said into your ear. He kissed your jaw. “You’re cold, though. Let’s get you back into the car.” 

You retrieved the empty container and returned to the car. On the way back, Hyunjin told you about his father. He had called him to give him the news that he was going to Paris. “He was really proud of me. We talked for a long time… Longer than we have in years. Paris is not so far from where he works, I think… I think he’ll come see me. I’d like that.” 

“Oh, I’m really happy for you. Really.” And you were. This time, it was a little harder to swallow back the tears. “I’m sure he really wants to see you too, you know?” How could he not? How could someone not be lethally fond of this boy?

Hyunjin unlocked the car doors and you sat in the passenger seat. He started the car but didn’t drive away. The road was deserted just like the entire area. 

“I wanted to tell you something else.” Everything was going a little too fast, but you figured that was the price to pay for being stubborn and refusing to text or see him before. 

Hyunjin turned towards you from his seat behind the wheel. He took your hands in his and rubbed them as if to warm them up. But your heart was beating fast in your chest. “I think you’re really cool. And I know I’m not leaving until the end of the semester but… You’ll be busy and I’ll be busy too, and I just… I want you to know that I won’t forget you. Even if we don’t text all the time and all. I’ll never forget my Tipsy.” 

A tear rolled down your cheek but it was okay—Hyunjin’s eyes were wet too and his bottom lip was trembling. You had never been really good at saying goodbye, but you forced a smile on your lips. 

“And I’ll never forget my Fairytale.” 

He drove you home and kissed you goodbye from the car, then again at your door. And again. And again. Until Jisung texted you, worrying about where you were. Still, Hyunjin kissed you for a long time after that, and then he left, but he didn’t say goodbye and neither did you.

He had been right about one thing though—both of you were exceptionally busy the rest of the semester. He texted you sometimes and you texted him, too. You ran into him more than you did before because he often needed paperwork done in other buildings because of the exchange. It was through those interactions that you learned his father would take care of selling the house. It was snowing the day you ran into him at the convenience store with Jisung—who needed more sour candy—and Hyunjin told you that his neighbor had officially moved away to be with her family, leaving with Chris, too. 

That was two days before Hyunjin’s flight. You did not return to your apartment with Jisung that night. You went to Hyunjin’s place where you each showered and slipped into comfortable clothes. The house was mostly empty of furniture but full of boxes. The easels were gone, too. 

Hyunjin kissed you a lot that night and made love to you, again and again, until the sun appeared on the horizon. Slow, meaningful thrusts into you, both of you moaning together and cumming together. And there was a lot of beauty in that. He made you laugh, he made you cry. He cried too. You fell asleep in his arms, and this time, you stayed. You showered again and made food while he was packing more of his things. You helped him even though you had to get ready to spend the winter break at your parents’ place. But you stayed with him. 

When the time came to say goodbye for real, neither of you wanted to, so you simply didn’t. 

“I’ll see you later, Tipsy,” Hyunjin said, his big beautiful eyes looking into yours. 

You touched the ring on his lip. It was cool under your skin, but he smiled, and you smiled. “I’ll see you later, Fairytale.”

It was not the best winter break of your life. You were exhausted from the semester and from the sleepless nights where you couldn’t get Hyunjin out of your stupid fucking head. But you spent time with your family and cried everything you had to cry. Your cousin got you drunk on Christmas and it helped a little. That day, you got a text from Hyunjin, with a picture of the Eiffel Tower. “Joyeux Noël,” as all he wrote. 

The next semester started before you even knew it. On the third day, a special person was waiting for you after one of your classes, someone you certainly did not expect.

Mrs. Yoo was there, she said, at Hyunjin’s demands. She had two paintings for you—one was Hyunjin’s midterm assignment which you had already seen. The one depicting the park on that first night. 

The second painting was a portrait. Of you. Sleeping in his bed, wearing the shirt you had been wearing that last night you spent with him before he left. You were beautiful. The painting was beautiful, with the sunlight filtering through the blinds and reflecting on the crumpled sheets and your hair. Your peaceful expression. A bunch of blue hydrangeas in a white vase. The empty aquarium and the glass jar full of lollipops. He got excellent grades, Mrs. Yoo told you that day. What an artist. Hyunjin was very fond of you, I believe. 

You thought about him a lot that semester. But he didn’t come back after one semester. In fact, it was about him you thought when you went to pick up your diploma. 

You got over it, sure. But you never forgot him. 

When you moved into your apartment after graduating, you had both paintings framed and you hung them in your room. Even if you and Hyunjin didn’t text that much anymore, you never forgot your Fairytale. And something in your heart told you that he did not forget his Tipsy either. 

~ TWO YEARS AND A HALF YEARS LATER ~

“So have you thought about your plus one or not?” 

You looked up from the project you were working on—a sign for a new restaurant—and stared at Jisung who stood in the door frame of your office. 

You blinked. “No, Jisung, I have not.” You sighed and leaned into your chair. “You know what? Just give that seat to someone else who’s not a lonesome loser like me.” 

Jisung tilted his head, frowning. He was about to respond to you when Chan joined him. “Guys. There’s a bit of an emergency going on. Please don’t hate me.”

“Why would we hate you?” Jisung questioned with a laugh. “Did you drink all of the good coffee again?”

Chan offered his friend a sorry smile. “No… I… You know the guy we had a few classes with… Hongjoong. He went into PR,” Chan explained while you were simply a witness of their conversation which was definitely preventing you from working in peace.

But that wasn’t new. After all, you knew what you were getting into when, soon after graduating, Chan, Jisung, and Changbin started their own marketing firm and Chan offered you a job in it. He said he wanted to offer the very best services and that he wanted everything to be produced in-house by people he trusted. You’re the best graphic designer I know, he had told you. 

However, he had adamantly refused to tell you exactly how many graphic designers he knew.

But still, whatever—you had a job. You worked with your friends and for a while, you had lived with them, too. But now Jisung had gotten himself a serious girlfriend to whom he had proposed a few months ago. Since Changbin had immediately moved in with his girlfriend after graduating, it was just you and Chan in the apartment. Which sometimes could be a little awkward considering… everything, but it was still alright. The commute was decent and the rent not so bad even if you had lost a roommate. You liked the neighborhood. And you liked your job, too. 

Well. Except when these guys decided to use your office as a debate room. “Am I involved in this conversation?” you asked, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Yes. Yes, very much.” Chan bit his lip. “So you do remember Hongjoong, right?” While Jisung nodded eagerly, you had to think a little longer, but you definitely had heard that name before, probably ran into him at a party if he was with Jisung or Changbin. “Yeah, so he works for the Museum of Contemporary Art downtown and they have this big charity contest thing coming up at the end of the year and the marketing firm they had contacted actually dropped the contract last minute. They need a new one! I told HJ to bring his team over and that we’d take the contract!” 

Jisung stared at Chan as if he had just slapped him in the face. “DUDE, THAT’S A HUGE CONTRACT! I’M GETTING MARRIED IN A MONTH! YOU’RE MY BEST MAN!”

“Sounds to me like he’s your worst man right now,” you pointed out. The joke had to be made anyway, but Chan still shot a cold glance at you. 

“Don’t look at her like that, she’s fucking right!” Jisung let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the wall. 

“Look, you get married with Sun-young all the same, nothing changes,” Chan explained. “All I’m asking from you is to be here today for this meeting and maybe answer the phone once in a while if one of the interns has a question. I take full responsibility for the extra work.”

Jisung took a deep breath. “Okay. Fine. But only once in a while.” Jisung even smiled. “So, I was just here to ask y/n about her plus one for the wedding and she says she doesn’t have one. Do you?”

Chan seemed surprised by how easy it had been to calm Jisung down, but then, he was in an exceptional mood today. The guy was delighted with the idea of getting married to the love of his life. He was just… very stressed about it and it helped him to make every single person he knew also stressed about his marriage. No big deal. Hell, it almost made you thankful to be the most single person on earth. 

“I don’t have a plus one,” Chan began, “uh—”

“Alright! Maybe I can put the two of you in the same room then…” Jisung seemed lost in his thoughts and you exchanged a silent stare with Chan. 

You used to have this big crush on him when you were in college. Not so long ago. Forever ago. He was the coolest guy of his year and everyone liked him. Of course, you were invisible—you were the nerdy graphic design student who was also friends with a friend of his. Fast forward to some time later and you’re working with him. You’re living with him. Maybe this past December’s office Christmas party was… intense, and maybe you drank a little too much. But then, you never liked holidays because they only reminded you of how truly lonely you were.

Maybe Chan fucked you on his desk that night. Sure, from an outsider’s perspective, it sounded super cool. To finally get dicked down by your college crush or whatever. But he was your boss. Your roommate. And your friend, too. It had made things a little awkward, especially at first. 

Especially because neither of you had the intention of taking things any further. Chan was not looking for any sort of long-term thing because he was obsessed with work. And you repelled long-term things because you were cursed. 

That also made things easier. It made things clear at the very least.

But you did not want to share a room or a bed with Chan for Jisung’s wedding. “Channie!” you exclaimed, using all of the skills you may have developed in the drama class that you took at the tender age of nine years old. “I thought you did have a date for the wedding! Did she cancel?”

Chan picked up on it immediately. “Oh, I just thought maybe Ji needed the seat for someone else,” he said and turned to his friend. “I do have a date. She’s a friend of my sister’s friend.” 

Jisung nodded and sighed before pulling out his phone, apparently to take some notes. “Alright, that’s fine, it’s not like I’m paying anyway.”

“Lucky bastard.” You crumpled a sheet of paper into a ball and threw it at Jisung’s head. Everything from the wedding would be paid by the father of the bride.

Chan’s phone also rang and he announced that HJ was going to be there soon. “Let’s go to the conference room.” 

You helped him brew some more coffee to offer your guests while Jisung and Changbin were discussing the wedding’s seating chart, which was Jisung’s topic of the day. 

“Is it a really big contract, Chan?” you asked while sorting through the different flavors of creamers. 

“Really really big,” Chan replied, keeping his voice low. “I didn’t want to tell Ji that right now but… it could make us known. If you know what I mean. Sure, we’re doing really good and I’m proud of all of you guys but… this isn’t a restaurant, or a bar, or a summer theater that needs posters… It’s a legit ass museum! For a huge charity event!”

“That’s really cool.” You smiled and gave Chan’s cheek a few gentle pats. “Remember all this time ago when you told me you wanted your own marketing firm and all that crap?” 

Chan nodded and smiled a big beautiful grin at you, flashing his dimples. “Fuck yeah I remember. Isn’t that the night Jisung met Sun-young too?”

“Yeah, it is.” All of a sudden, your smile became too heavy for your lips and it fell apart. You looked away to hide your change of mood. “Anyway, what I mean is you’re doing pretty well, Bang Chan.” 

“I wouldn’t be able to do that without you. All of you.” Chan squeezed your shoulder and you waited until you heard him leave the room to go greet the clients to take a few deep breaths. 

That was not so long ago but it was forever ago. A night with a bonfire and s’mores. And blue hydrangeas. And—

You resisted the urge to pull out your phone to check a dead text conversation and an even deader collection of social media profiles. Instead, you sat at the table and listened to the conversations until Chan returned with the clients.

They were just three of them, which was not as intimidating as when you were meeting with a large group. HJ, who did look familiar now that you were seeing him, a woman, and another guy. An intern apparently, but who was friendly and sweet. Of course, they sat him next to you. They being solely Jisung who took your dating life very seriously. 

“Sorry, we’re missing someone, he’s running late,” HJ explained. He had a sweet, comforting smile. He seemed like an intelligent dude. “I just texted him. We can start without him I guess… I don’t want to be any more of a burden than we already are. I cannot thank you enough for meeting us on such short notice.” 

“Not a burden at all, please,” Chan insisted. “Are you sure you wanna start without your art director? We have coffee, we’re in no hurry at all.”

“Sure, we’re in no hurry at all,” Jisung added with an exaggerated shrug. “What else could we possibly be doing today anyway?” 

You suppressed a smile at Jisung’s jokingly sarcastic tone, deciding to join the bit. “Damn, Jisung. You’re so fucking right. Nothing in the world matters more right now than your wedding’s seating chart. Maybe we should close the whole business until further notice.” 

Jisung laughed with you but Chan put a hand over his mouth and apologized to the clients. “I’m so sorry. They’re unserious sometimes but really talented.” 

“No problem, I like the vibe. We’re friends here after all.” HJ shook his head with a smile. “Actually, I think this is a perfect match. You’ll super get along with the art director of the museum. He’s also really talented but he’s…”

“He’s weird,” the woman, whose name was So-yeon said, not waiting until HJ had finished his sentence. “He just texted me to say that there was a stray kitten by his building and that he had to take care of that. He’s almost here.” She put the phone back on the table of the conference room. “I hope no one’s allergic to cats because he’s bringing the kitten here. He sent me a picture of it. It’s in his jacket.”

“Oh, can I see?” Wooyoung, the intern, asked eagerly and he smiled endearingly when So-yeon showed him the picture in question. You caught a glimpse of it, too—a tiny little tabby kitten head poking out of the front pocket of a black hoodie. A hoodie. On a bright, sunny day in May? 

“Yeah, he’s unique, sure, but he’s a great guy,” Wooyoung concluded. “When I said I forgot to buy my mom a gift for her birthday, he took some time in the afternoon to do a custom painting just for her so that I’d have something to give her!” 

“Yeah, yeah, he’s everyone’s favorite prince,” So-yeon said with a sigh, but she was smiling. “Can we begin the meeting before this place turns into a petting zoo?” 

author's note: Hi everyone! Once again, thank you so much for being so patient with me and for showing me so much kindness. I truly appreciate this, and you. The response on chapter one left me speechless and I truly hope this second chapter is not too disappointing. There will be a chapter 3! Thank you for all the love, the support, for everything. 🐸💕 Thank you for welcoming the frog boi into your hearts. I am honored. Stay safe!

permanent + series taglist ♡ (if you want to be removed from the taglist feel comfortable sending me a message!) @cb97percent @changbinluvr @neosracha @hwan-g @streetlight-s @j-0ne25 @leedunno @aimeexx @hyunskizz @lotus-dly @thestarseeker @skzho @suhomylife @abiaswreck @chanlovesme @binstitsweat @hyunjinswifeee @straydhampir @fwess / @septicrebel @chanssmiles @midsoulz @imwithurmother @babyracha @honeyedtalisman @jaembby @felixcharmerera @laylasbunbunny @chimmycupcake

Smut warnings: Nothing major. Everything is consensual. Making out in a semi-public place/outdoors. Making out & dry humping under the influence. The actual intercourse happens when they are both mostly sober. Protected sex. Mention and use of sex toys. Vaginal fingering/sex. Mild nipple play. Mild edging (reader receiving). There are bodily fluids, okay? They give each other cute & funny nicknames. Reader finds out that her roommates heard the intercourse (and there is some teasing about it).

“I think we need more chips, does anyone want anything else?” 

You managed to pull yourself out of the armchair that had been your home for the past hour or so and grabbed a few empty beer bottles while you were at it. On the speaker, a particularly catchy song began playing, eliciting many cries of joy from your friends. You gently pat Minho’s hair, who had less of a reaction than the others—he was very focused on his Super Mario level on the TV. 

“Can you grab me a bag of Cheetos?” Felix asked, offering you a forced yet adorable, grin. “Let me give you some cash,” he added, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. 

“Oh, if they have that brand of ramyeon I like, get it for me, please?” Chae added, turning to you after downing the rest of her beer to hand you the empty bottle. “Felix will pay for me.” 

“I was gonna anyway but you’re making me reconsider!” Felix took an exaggerated shocked expression but still handed you the money. “Pay for the chips with that, too.” He smiled a true smile then, and you walked away with the money and empty bottles. 

As you reached the kitchen, your friend and roommate came out of his room with an empty glass in hand. He grabbed a bottle of vodka on the shelf and brought it to the counter. 

You closed in the distance between you and Jisung. “You’re sure you don’t want to join us?” You spoke at a low volume, certain that the music would drown the sound of your voice. “Chae is cool about it.”

While you were very much human and enjoyed hearing gossip once in a while, you didn’t like when drama struck your friend group. Last week, Jisung asked your friend out on a date and she declined, saying she wasn’t really interested in dating. Except Jisung had seen her hang out with Minho outside of lectures, which of course had hurt his pride. And running into them coming out of a movie together had been even worse, of course… 

You knew Chae wasn’t looking into dating and you knew that whatever was going on between Minho and her wasn’t dating. You knew they were fucking each other brains out once in a while, casually. You weren’t sure how much Jisung knew about it all, though. And now you were literally in between your two roommates—friends—with that one, as Jisung was offended by the whole ordeal. He did want to date, he had told you, but would have been open to something more casual if that’s what Chae was after. 

‘But she just doesn’t want to complicate things, so it’s easier to stay friends’ was the truth, but it hadn’t been the right thing to say to Jisung. Needless to say, the atmosphere in the apartment was a bit tense. 

“Good for her if she’s cool about it,” Jisung replied while adding cranberry juice to his vodka. “I’m not in the mood for music and—” he stretched his neck to catch a glimpse of the living room, “Super Mario. Besides, I have this assignment to hand over in two days and I’m only halfway done.”

“We can turn off the music if you need quiet,” you offered Jisung, a Marketing major—and a promising one at that. “It’s fine, it’s getting late anyway.”

“Don’t worry, I have my headphones,” he pointed out. They were hanging around his neck. “You guys have fun.”

“I’m headed outside for snacks.” This was a weak yet honest attempt at a friendly interaction with Jisung of any kind. “Do you want anything?”

Jisung stared at you for a few moments after returning the cranberry juice to the fridge. 

“Actually, yeah, I’m craving something sweet.” For the first time in a few days, you saw the ghost of a smile on Jisung’s lips. “Could you get me some gummy bears?”

“Sure, the sour ones, right?”

“Yeah. And, actually…” Jisung hesitated, still standing near the fridge. He took a large sip of his drink. “If you’re out, would you mind getting me some weed? If you don’t want to, it’s alright, but my dealer would be there at that time so…”

You knew about Jisung’s fantastic weed because he had shared it with you a few times and it was indeed worth buying from some weirdo who liked to hang out at a park on a Friday night. You had never conducted the transaction yourself—you usually crossed the road to get drinks at the convenience store while Jisung chatted with his dealer.

You weren’t particularly looking forward to it, but you figured it might cheer Jisung up if you came back with his sour gummy bears and his favorite weed. When you accepted, his smile grew a little—a sign, to you, that he would get over it soon enough. 

“Tell him to give you double my usual order, but make sure you mention my name,” Jisung told you, handing you some more cash. “There’s a party tomorrow at Chan’s place.”

“Chan?” you took the money but stood in Jisung’s door frame. There was a slight commotion in the living room—by the sound of it, Minho had not done well on his video game level and was currently throwing a tantrum. “You’re going?”

“Yes, why else do you think I need more weed?” Jisung sighed but gave you a knowing look. “Bet you’d love to be there, wouldn’t you?”

You gulped but made yourself shrug, actually walking away from the conversation to grab your jacket from a hook in the hallway and jump into your brown pleather boots. Jisung followed you, leaning against the wall. 

“I mean, Chan’s parties have quite the reputation,” you replied, securing the money in your bag. But really, you just thought Bang Chan was hot as hell. He sometimes visited Jisung here, and it was always a delight—on top of looking this good, he was genuinely a good guy.

“He said I could bring a few people if I wanted. You’re in, I suppose? Seungmin wanted in, too.” 

You nodded. “Yeah, sounds fun.” You didn’t think your carefree intonation fooled Jisung but you didn’t really care. “You want me to ask if Chae wants to come, too?”

He shook his head as you made your way towards the door to head outside. “She’ll be there, she’s going with Minho. I heard her speak on the phone earlier.” He paused, just for a few seconds. “It’s fine, whatever. See you soon, thanks for the errands.” 

Jisung returned to his bedroom, so you made your way outside, thinking it all over. You couldn’t argue with Chae about that—if she wasn’t into Ji, then she just wasn’t into him. Maybe you could ask her to keep her infatuation with Minho a little on the DL for a couple of weeks, though…

But maybe you just shouldn’t feel responsible for everyone’s happiness for once. Easier said than done, you thought, walking in the night. You liked Fridays—unlike Jisung, you usually avoided your papers and assignments on Fridays and you felt free, even if it was just for a few hours. 

The convenience store was just two streets down from your building and usually attracted all sorts of people. It was close to campus so a lot of students ended up there, as it had better stuff than the campus stores and wasn’t too far. There were also a few office buildings in the area so it wasn’t at all uncommon to see people in business attire stop there to grab a drink and a quick meal after their workday. 

You looked across the street—the park’s lamp posts filled the area with a soft yellowish light well enough that you saw Jisung’s dealer sitting at a picnic table. Still, you decided to start with the snacks and entered the convenience store.

They had Felix’s hot Cheetos and Chae’s sesame-flavored noodles, however, they did not have the sour gummy bears. You sighed, figuring you should text Ji to see if he wanted something else. When you went to pull your phone out of your pocket, you realized you had left it on the coffee table in the living room, probably distracted by the conversation with Jisung. Ultimately, you grabbed the regular gummy bears of an expensive brand and returned outside after a quick trip to the self-checkout. 

You crossed the street on your way to the park. A few of the tables were occupied by people you could only assume were other students, younger than you by the looks of it. A group of them played music and were playing cards, and another seemed to be doing schoolwork on their laptops, with snacks and drinks. Others were just scattered around, chatting, enjoying their Friday night the same way you did. 

You took a deep breath and approached Jisung’s dealer carefully. The grass was soft beneath your feet, making your footsteps quiet—he did not hear you or didn’t care, because he kept scrolling on his phone even after you reached his table. You immediately noticed that his fingers were stained blue— paint, maybe? The cobalt shade was beautiful and reminded you of your favorite pair of fuzzy socks.

The hood of his black hoodie was pulled over his head so you couldn’t even see the guy’s face. You cleared your throat once, then twice—getting yourself side-eyed by the students doing homework a few tables down in the process. However, he seemed to notice you then, because the dealer finally looked up and pulled one earbud out of the hood. 

You almost took a step back—you had bought weed on a few occasions in your life but had never seen a dealer that looked like this. His face still somewhat covered, he watched you with big, unsettlingly calm eyes, waiting. You decided to make the first move just so that you could be done with everything here sooner and be home quickly. 

“Hey,” you said, making sure to use your pleasant voice. “Jisung sent me.” 

The guy pulled his hood down and gazed at you with an indifferent look on his face. Not in a rude way, though. You, on the other hand, had never seen him from this close and had to make an effort not to stare or be weird—he had a handsome face from what you could see, with pleasant traits and short, ashy blond hair. His large eyes were dark, sharp, and captivating, the same color as the iced coffee on the table. He had a small mole under the left one and an eyebrow piercing—he also had a lip ring and more jewelry adorned his ears. His helix piercing in particular caught your attention as it was a beautiful shiny red rose. Delicate yet striking—it suited him well. 

His plush, pink lips were closed around a lollipop but they turned into a brief but gentle smile. He pulled the candy from his mouth, licking his lips to gather the taste of it, lingering a few milliseconds longer over his lip ring.

He grabbed his iced coffee, his long fingers—also decorated with rings of various styles— wrapping around the sweating plastic of the container and bringing it to his lips in place of the lollipop to take a long sip. It may not have been winter yet, but it was most definitely the month of October, so his choice of an iced drink surprised you.

“How’s Hanji doing?” the guy asked you after what might as well have been two hours of long, embarrassing silence. “Been a while since I saw him. I hope nothing bad happened to him.” He had a soft, pleasant voice and a distinct pronunciation. Not an accent—he just spoke at a cadence you hadn’t heard before, as if he tasted each word carefully before they gracefully spilled out of his cushiony lips. They moved delightfully with each of his syllables, possibly to compensate for his jaw’s fewer movements.

“He’s fine, just busy with assignments,” you replied, unable to look away when the guy put his coffee back on the table to return the lollipop in his mouth. Under the light, you caught a glimpse of a red, candy-stained smooth tongue. “He asked me to talk to you if that’s alright.”

“Sure that’s alright, I know what it’s like. Assignments and shit.” The guy pushed himself up and signaled you with a wave of his head to come with him. You didn’t like the idea of following a stranger in a dark corner but there was something quite inoffensive about the guy, so you walked with him just outside the park, next to a clothing store that was closed at this hour. 

“Same as usual?” the dealer questioned, reaching under his oversized hoodie and into the pocket of his baggy jeans. He was tall, taller than you would have thought. You couldn't help but notice that his clothing style suited him.

“No, actually, he said he’ll have twice the usual.” 

The guy nodded knowingly and handed you a small plastic bag that you slipped into your purse after paying him. “He must be going to Chan’s party,” he guessed with a shrug. “Tell him hi for me, will you?” After putting the cash away, the dealer rolled his lollipop into his mouth, eyeing you while he awaited your response.

“Sure!” You placed your hands in the pockets of your jacket while coming up with a not-too-awkward way of leaving. “I should get going, they’ll be waiting for me at home.” 

“Of course.” He slid the lollipop to the corner of his pretty mouth and smiled at you with a polite dip of his head. He did not have the attitude you’d expect from a weed dealer. But then, what did you know about weed dealers anyway? “See you around!” 

You nodded and almost turned around but stopped yourself at the last second, your eyes returning to his hands as he picked up his phone again, to his long, slender fingers. 

“What’s that?” you questioned, wondering if you would have been so bold if it weren’t for the few beers you had earlier. “On your hands?”

The dealer seemed surprised by your question but not offended at all. You heard the lollipop clink against his teeth as he once more pushed it to the side to answer you, looking down at his own hands before doing so.

“The blue?” he chuckled faintly. “It’s just ink, don’t worry. We did ink painting today.” 

He waved at you and walked away slowly, leaving you with more questions than answers. 

“Is that a good outfit?” 

You turned around, giving Chae a view of the front while you looked at the back. You had decided to wear denim shorts over black sheer tights. You liked those because they had black roses embroidered on them. The rest of the outfit was quite plain but comfortable—a black t-shirt with your favorite band’s logo on it (and you knew Chan also liked them) with a long, gray wool cardigan. 

“If I were Chan, I’d want to hit it for sure!” Chae commented, reaching around the back to slap your ass playfully. “We’re late now, come on, Minho’s waiting for us!”

You rolled your eyes but laughed with your friend, deciding to apply an additional layer of lipstick before heading out. Minho was indeed waiting for the both of you down the street—Chan’s place was not far, just past the convenience store. He looked good tonight in his jeans and red varsity jacket. You could see why Chae had this crush on him, but you weren’t sure you could handle dating someone like him. 

You let the two chat about their respective day while you walked at the back, checking your phone. According to Insta, the party was already ongoing and going strong. Jisung was tagged in several photos and videos showing him standing on a coffee table, singing a ballad rather convincingly with a crowd around him. That was the thing about Jisung—he was a serious guy until he wasn’t anymore, but would have no problem returning to his assignment sometime tomorrow when his hangover would be better, if he even had one at all.

You heard the music before you entered the house. Chan lived with a few friends in a house off campus and you were convinced it was why he had the reputation of hosting the best parties—the house was nice with a large backyard and even a pool, and the neighbors had never complained about the noise.

The house was full and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Chae and Minho disappeared to get to the backyard—it was too cold to get into the pool but you suspected they’d find a quiet corner and make out a little before joining the rest of you for drinks and games. Because Chris always hosted some kind of games at his parties, too. 

You found Jisung in the living room but he was no longer on the coffee table—he was sitting near the window with Seungmin, one of Chan’s roommates. The music was loud but it was good, and you waved at them instead.

“Hey, you alone?” Jisung asked, frowning a little and handing you an empty red plastic cup. “I thought you were coming with Chae and Minho?” 

“They’re here,” you said evasively. “Somewhere around.” 

Jisung nodded and got up to grab a bottle of liquor and a can of soda to pour a quick rum and coke into your cup. You thanked him by raising your glass at him and took a few sips while looking around. There was an intense game of poker being played at the kitchen table. Judging by the discouraged faces of everyone else at the table, Changbin was winning by a landslide. He had a wide grin on his face and so did the pretty girl sitting on his lap. Jeongin seemed ready to throw hands. 

“I might want to try a game of poker, wanna come with?” Seungmin asked you and Jisung, finishing his drink in one go. 

“Ain’t no way I’m playing against that guy,” Jisung retorted, shaking his head and raising his glass towards the table, where Changbin was accepting everyone’s money with a demented laugh. “Suit yourself, but I’d rather keep my money and my pride.” He turned to you. “Wanna go outside and smoke a little?” 

You nodded hesitantly knowing very well that Minho and Chae were outside. You just hoped they had the decency to lick each other’s uvulas somewhere they couldn’t be seen and followed Jisung out in the backyard. 

It was Chan that welcomed you there—he was busy building a small fire in the fire pit, surrounded by bags of marshmallows as well as cookies and some chocolate. And many, many bottles of liquor, laid in an orderly fashion on a camping table. 

There were a few guests here too but you didn’t see Minho or Chae so you confidently went to sit by the fire and watched Chan at work while Jisung took care of rolling the joint. He was wearing jeans with a black leather belt and a long-sleeved dark shirt.

“How’s class?” he asked you, adding wood to the fire pit. “Did that professor grant you the grade adjustment on your paper?” 

“She refused to give him a good time,” Jisung burst out laughing, “so she still got a C.” 

You grabbed one of the bags of marshmallows and threw it directly at your friend’s face who couldn’t even defend himself because his hands were busy—he knew he deserved it, though. Chan was chuckling with his forearm over his face, almost burning his leg in the process. 

“Maybe you should suck your professor’s dick, graduate faster and stop bothering me for once,” you retorted, hoping the fall breeze would be enough to cool down your pink cheeks. You were mostly used to Chan’s presence by now, but he was a very good-looking guy and you didn’t need Jisung to make stupid jokes like this around him. 

“That’s a very good one,” Chan said with a nod. “She's got a good point.” He turned to you. “You want a s’more? I’ll make you one myself!” 

Behind Chan, you saw Jisung do a rather convincing imitation of Chan asking you the question—he even added your response, transforming into a fake version of you by crossing his legs the same way as you and flipping hair he didn’t have, acting exaggeratingly shy. You glared at him but offered Chan the best smile you could muster despite the silent rage inhabiting you. 

“Sure, why not?” you replied. Deep down, you knew this would be too sweet for you and a dangerous mix with your strong rum and coke. But he offered—you weren’t going to say no, were you?

You smoked a little while Chan was prepping your snack. Jisung was called back inside to apparently settle a debate going on at the poker table, so you just drank your rum and coke. Chan was chatting with some of the guests sitting around a table not too far. 

To your left, something caught your eye—you twisted your neck only to see someone crouched near a large hydrangea bush at the other end of the yard. Upon further inspection, you noticed the person was wearing baggy jeans and a black hoodie with the hood on. The stick of a lollipop was poking out from the hood. You recognized the sneakers you had seen on Jisung’s weed dealer last night, and nodded to yourself—that guy was definitely weird enough to be seen crouching near a bush at a college party. 

He was holding a small notepad and seemed to be sketching something. You smoked a bit more while observing him but soon enough, Chan came to sit next to you and handed you a paper plate with a perfectly made s’more on it. 

“Bon appétit!" Chan clinked his s’more with yours instead of your drinks and you dug in, taking a small bite. Chan, on the other hand, went to town on it. 

“Who’s that?” you asked, pointing at the hydrangea bush, taking another bite. “He sold me this weed.” And, to be fair, it was really good weed, too. 

“Yeah, that’s Hyunjin. He sells weed,” Chan replied with a throaty, genuine laugh. “Don’t mind him, he’s absolutely harmless.” 

You put back the s’more into the paper plate and finished your weed in silence. Chan smelled nice and so did the fire—it was a pleasant evening, especially combined with the background music and the general mood of the night. You looked around, finally spotting Minho and Chae. They weren’t making out—they were watching something on Minho’s phone and laughing about it. You wondered how Chae managed that. To just be comfortable with a guy she liked. Because you had barely spoken a few words to Chan tonight and could hardly hold his gaze.

“He’s an art major,” Chan went on in a lower voice, noticing that your head was turned towards the weed dealer again. “So of course he’s weird.”

“Hey!” you gave him a playful shove. “I’m an art major too!” 

“Graphic design isn’t the same kind of art and it's not the same kind of weird,” Chan specified, shaking his head. “I don’t really know him. One day I was just buying weed and he told me his dream was to have some kind of important job at a museum. Can’t remember what exactly, though. My point is, I don’t know why I know this about him! You know?” 

You hummed in approval, not indifferent but not surprised either—you remembered your conversation with him, how his hands were stained blue from ink painting. It made sense that he was an art major, but you were surprised you hadn’t noticed him before. “Good for him,” you decided to say. Again, how the fuck did Chae manage to hold a conversation with a cute guy? “What’s your dream, Chan? Do you have one?”

Yeah—unfortunately for you, you were definitely not the flirty kind of person. Unfortunately as in, while others managed to get laid, you had invested a good amount of money on a decent vibrator to soothe your needs and pretended it was enough. 

And really, it was for the most part. Except you really, really wouldn’t mind having Bang Chan himself rearranging your insides, even just for one night. 

“If I have a dream?” Chan laughed again but there was no mocking in his reaction. He ate a few more bites of his s’more before answering, though. “When I started college, my dream was to finish school and someday own my own marketing firm, you know? But now… Marketing major… sure. But I realized that my job was my dream, and it was a bit depressing.”

“Oh, I understand that.” You nodded and pushed yourself up to refill your cup. “Sorry for the existential question, I just—” but you didn’t know what else to say, so you just left it there.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chan replied in your back while you were mixing yourself the most random drink ever—its only purpose was to make you drunk as fast as possible without tasting like hand sanitizer. “Do you have one? A dream?”

You shrugged. “Kinda same as you. Would be great to be my own boss, but I hope I dream about other stuff someday.” 

“Yeah, yeah I feel you, mate.” He lifted his own drink when you came back towards him and you clinked yours with it. “Hey, tell you what—if you can’t be your own boss, me, Changbin and Ji will hire you at our marketing firm!” 

You laughed with him, finding yourself a little more peaceful. You spent some more time with Chan, eventually joined by Chae and Minho who wanted to sit by the fire too. Still, it was a very pleasant time until yells and chaos could be heard from the house.

“I better check up on that,” Chan sighed. “Bet it’s someone getting in a fight with Changbin because he won at poker again.”

“He cheats,” Minho scoffed with a shrug. “I’d never sit at a poker table with him.”

“He doesn’t cheat, that’s the worst part.” Chan got up and finished his drink in one swig. “He’s just a lucky little shit. Alright, I’ll see you around guys.” 

The noises coming from inside were indeed worrying. You were only hoping it wasn’t Jisung who started trouble—Changbin could easily knock him out should he want to. And the fact that they were best friends wouldn’t stop Changbin—they’d just laugh about it after and Jisung would find a way to get his (harmless) revenge. 

“You’re not eating this?” Chae asked, pointing at your abandoned s’more. “Can I have half?”

“You guys keep it all if you want.” You grabbed the plate and stood to bring it over to them. “I’m not hun—”

You had been sitting for a little too long, drinking the liquor and drinking Chan’s words—you took one step and stumbled down. The final result was impressive considering how small of a stagger it had been. You somehow managed to smear some marshmallow and chocolate on your cardigan, get a minor burn on one arm and make Minho spill his own drink over the leg of his jeans when he prevented you from fully face-planting into the fire. 

At least it ended with you sitting on the ground laughing it off with your friends. 

“I’m so fucking sorry,” you managed, wiping tears from the corner of your eyes. “Oh my god Minho, your jeans…”

“You're the worst drunk!” But Minho was smiling and laughing too. He helped you up and even smoothed the fabric of your cardigan. “Are you gonna be alright?”

He looked at your arm, showing it to Chae after. “I’m fine,” you said. Really, you were—it stung a little, but it wasn’t like you had a third-degree burn here. 

“You should clean it up,” Chae advised. “I’ll go with you.” 

“I’m fine,” you insisted, walking around to prove Chae wrong. You were lightheaded but figured it was from the lack of actual food you had eaten this afternoon. And a few bites from a s’more had apparently not been enough to provide sustenance. “I’ll go clean up in the bathroom and see if Chris has some actual food, not just sweets.” 

“There was food earlier but I doubt there’s anything left by now,” Minho said after he took his seat back. “Want us to go get you something?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” You could tell from Chae’s face that she’d rather be back home getting her back blown by Minho—your place was closer than his—than going to a store to get you a little snack because you were drunk. “Actually, I think I’ll go check out the poker table… Or Felix is probably in the basement playing video games with Jeongin, they will have snacks.” Realistically, they probably had Cheetos, brownies, and drinks sweet enough to kill a diabetic. But it would do.

You waved your friends goodbye and returned towards the house. It went beyond releasing Chae from your presence—the sooner she and Minho got their business done, the sooner it would be over for the night. And Jisung could return home without hearing a choir of moans and get upset all over again.

Whatever incident had taken place earlier seemed to have died down although the music was blaring and there were still loud voices echoing from the table. You heard Jisung’s especially but couldn’t really make out the words as he was speaking quite rapidly. You headed for the hallway to the bathroom but found the door locked and a girl standing near it. But since you knew there was another bathroom in the basement, you went downstairs instead. 

Felix and Jeongin were indeed playing video games but they weren’t alone—they had attracted quite a large crowd who came to watch their live match and by the sound of it, some bets had been made. You chuckled as you went past the couches and TV. Chan’s parties definitely had that reputation of being all over the place, as he didn’t shy away from welcoming all sorts of people into his house. He was a popular frat guy, but he had friends from all backgrounds.

The basement bathroom was in a small hallway near a door that led outside. From here, the music was quieter, yet comforting—something about the bass echoing through the floor helped calm the general jittery feeling you always got at parties. You didn’t love parties. You were just here in the hopes of catching a conversation with Chan. And now you were just thankful he hadn’t been there to witness you face-planting near the fire pit. 

The bathroom door was closed and there was another person already waiting next to it. You recognized him immediately. Black jeans, sneakers, hands buried in the front pocket of his black hoodie—but no lollipop this time—Hyunjin lifted his gaze from the floor when he heard you approach. 

“Hey Tipsy,” he said, barely loud enough for you to hear over the video game ruckus and the music upstairs. “You okay? I saw you fall.” 

Warmth spread on your cheeks and you considered turning around and walking away not just from this basement—but from this party and house entirely. Who else had seen you?

Had Chan maybe seen you from a window?

“I’m alright,” you replied after taking a deep breath. “I sat down for too long.” You frowned, processing the current events. “Did you just call me Tipsy?” You thought this was a little bold of him to nickname you like this the second time he ever spoke to you. But there was something endearing about it too and you couldn't help but smile.

“T—” Hyunjin’s eyes grew wide and his shoulders shook with a nervous giggle that was a little too adorable. It instantly melted the tiny offense you had taken at the nickname. “I mean, you are tipsy, I didn’t—I don’t mean—I did—I just—”

You sighed, shaking your head. For some reason, Hyunjin’s pleasant traits made it hard to resent him. “Don’t worry, I was joking.” You licked your lips. They tasted a little bit like marshmallows. “I am tipsy, after all. And I fell on my ass in front of everybody.”

“It happens.” Hyunjin gave you a few consoling nods. In doing so, his hood moved a little, revealing a bit more of his ash blond hair. You also got a peek at his cool rose piercing. “One time, I dreamt I was walking on top of a stone wall. I managed to keep my balance the whole time, almost… On one side, there was the sea. On the other side of the wall, there was nothing… Emptiness. I lost my balance just as I had almost made it across… whatever this was. I fell into the void and I woke up on my floor. With my dog barking at me. For some reason, my eyebrow was bleeding. That's how I got the scar.” 

 You noticed that while one of his eyebrows had a piercing on it, the other had a slight split in it, with a faint scar. All healed, but there. 

“That’s wild,” you replied, not sure what else to say, trying to understand the correlation between your drunken fall and his crazy ass dream. That guy was weird. But by god was he attractive. 

Checking out his scar gave you a great excuse to actually check him out—you could tell he had broad shoulders under that big hoodie, and he looked way too angelic for a weed dealer. And yet—he stared back at you with his big dark eyes, his mouth still red from his last lollipop, a soft expression on his face. He smelled vaguely like the outdoors, like cigarettes, like weed… and like flowers. You inhaled another time just to verify that you weren’t going crazy—but no, you weren’t. Not only did this guy have a rose on his helix piercing, but he also smelled like roses, too. 

So fucking weird, you told yourself, trying hard not to stare as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, playing with his lip ring. 

“Y/N, right? Hanji speaks about you sometimes,” he chatted. He seemed comfortable, easy-going, but maybe a little shy. His voice was sweet, pleasant, almost melodic. “I’m Hyunjin.” 

“Or so I heard,” you replied in your most friendly voice but the truth is you were kind of drunk and he did have a really cute tongue and he seemed to struggle to keep his mouth closed. It distracted you. “Nice meeting you, Hyunjin. I hope Ji is saying nice things about me,” you added with a laugh.

Hyunjin giggled—and again, you were stunned by how weird yet endearing he was. You had never seen such an aura on a person before. “Of course, only good things,” he assured. “He likes being your roommate, seems like.” 

You put an end to this particular topic of conversation with a noncommittal shake of your head. There was nothing else to be said anyway—you and Jisung had known each other for a while as he had been a friend of your brother’s, and it only made sense to be roommates when you had both been admitted to the same university. 

“You’re an art major?” you asked instead, glancing towards the bathroom door where finally noises were being heard. A voice inside shouted, ‘SORRY, I FELL ASLEEP BY THE SINK, GIVE ME A SECOND’, making you and Hyunjin sigh with an amused smile. “It’s weird I’ve never really seen you around.”

“I’ve seen you around, though.” Hyunjin’s voice did not show any resentment but you suddenly felt guilty. And, to be fully honest, the burn on your arm was starting to hurt more, adding to your discomfort. “But I get it. There are a lot of regular dudes just like me in the Visual Arts building.”

A lot of black hoodies, maybe—however, Hyunjin was anything but a regular dude, this you could tell the moment you met him yesterday. 

“I just don’t hang out on campus a lot,” you admitted, leaning against the wall—the drink’s effect on you was evolving more and more as minutes passed. “I don’t know why… but I need a specific kind of quiet to study, you know? Even the library drives me nuts.”

“I understand.” Hyunjin’s smile softened as he mirrored your laid-back position against the wall. “I mostly hang out in the studio, so that’s why.” 

You knew where the visual arts rooms and studios were located but you did not spend a lot of time there—nothing against that crowd but you didn’t have any classes over there anymore, and the area was always cold for some reason. 

“I’d do the same,” you assured, glancing at the bathroom door, ultimately deciding to give it a knock. Your arm was stinging more and more and you couldn’t help the sharp inhale through your teeth when a particularly intense throb of pain shot through your arm. Maybe you should head back upstairs, that bathroom was probably free by now… or you could risk the kitchen sink, despite the living room and kitchen resembling a battlefield… 

Hyunjin’s eyes went from your face to the arm you were holding then back to your face. His smile had disappeared and he bit his lip softly. “Wanna see something cool?” he asked, his smile returning, eyes wide open. 

Without waiting for your response, Hyunjin pulled out his hands from the front pocket of his hoodie. He was holding something in the right one and brought the left one near it to cup whatever it was into both. You twisted your neck in order to see better and finally caught a glimpse of it through his fingers.

A frog. Hyunjin was holding an actual live frog and was handing it out for you to see up close. The bathroom door opened at the same time and the frog was quickly concealed again while the guy occupying the bathroom apologized—he had a rough night of drinking and thought he was going to throw up… until he fell asleep on the bathroom floor. 

You nodded him away and Hyunjin immediately pulled out the frog again when he was gone.

“What the actual fuck are you doing with a frog in your pocket, Hyunjin?” 

His red tongue fiddled with his lip ring again but just for a few seconds before it retreated behind a bashful smile. “Just. Look, it has something sticky on its leg,” Hyunjin explained, pointing at the frog’s little leg. There was indeed something dark sticking to its green, spotted skin. “I was gonna give it a quick bath and take it to the pond in the park. Wanna come with?” 

You stared at Hyunjin completely dumbfounded—so surprised you almost couldn’t feel the sting on your arm anymore. “But that doesn’t answer my question! How—where? Did you find it in the yard?”

“Oh, yeah.” Hyunjin seemed to ease up and went into the bathroom as casually as if he were holding anything other than a live animal. “I was doing a few sketches… I really like hydrangeas at this time of the year. It was there, by the bush. I couldn’t leave it there, could I? There are trees and a pond at the park, and I’ve seen tree frogs there before so it’ll even have friends.”

The bathroom was rather small but surprisingly clean considering this party had been going on for a few hours. There was a small plastic container on the counter with clean towels in it and Hyunjin carefully emptied it to put the frog in it. It croaked softly and Hyunjin hummed back a few soothing words—all that you could do was stare and wonder how the hell you had ended up here. In Bang Chan’s downstairs bathroom with Jisung’s weed dealer who apparently liked to save frogs and give them baths. 

“You go first,” Hyunjin offered, stepping away from the sink. “Want me to take a look at that burn?”

“It’s fine,” you assured, letting the water run for a few moments. You decided to take one of the smaller towels to dampen it with the cold water and apply a compress onto the burn—it wasn’t bad, just a bit red. It could have been so much worse, and the cool compress helped a lot.

You still took the time to try and clean up some of the dirt on your clothes. Meanwhile, Hyunjin sat on the edge of the bathtub with his frog, speaking to it every time it made a sound. 

“I bet Chan has aloe vera somewhere,” Hyunjin said once you had left the sink. He opened the mirror cabinet as if he was in his own home and scouted its contents. “Hm. Maybe upstairs. He doesn’t have much here.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Just condoms and toothpaste.” 

Why the fuck were you still in this bathroom with a stranger who sold weed on campus, had weird dreams and told you about them, and carried a whole ass frog in the front pocket of his hoodie? Were you actually considering taking a little walk with him to release this amphibian back into its natural habitat?

I guess so, you admitted to yourself, standing next to the sink while Hyunjin ran lukewarm water on the frog's leg to clean it up. It was surprisingly calm considering the situation—either it was in shock or Hyunjin was some kind of real-life Disney princess. And, truth be told, you heavily leaned towards the second hypothesis. 

“Would you mind helping me, please?” he asked politely once the frog was clean. “Could you take a towel and run lukewarm water on it, too? So it can be all damp and nice for Chives.”

“Chives?” Still, you obliged—you made sure the towel was humid enough and put it neatly folded at the bottom of the plastic container. “Chives?”

“It’s kind of chive green, isn’t it?” Hyunjin shrugged, delicately putting Chives back into its temporary enclosure. It was looking a lot better than it did before. “Chives said it liked the name, so please withhold comments, miss Y/N.” 

“Did not mean to offend our dear Chives,” you said with an exaggerated bow—which was a mistake because you were definitely too tipsy to be leaning forward like this. You struggled to stand straight again but managed to do so by holding the counter. “Please accept my most sincere apologies.” 

The frog actually croaked at that very moment, sending both you and Hyunjin into a state of unrestrained hilarity. You wiped tears from the corner of your eyes and Hyunjin struggled to wash his hands as he was laughing uncontrollably—he spilled a good amount of hand soap on the counter, only making the both of you laugh even more.

He had a contagious laugh, which didn’t help—his eyes were small, reduced to two crescents full of joy, his cheeks pink from laughter. Nobody should look this good when laughing like that with an open mouth and making weird faces, but of course, he did. The Disney princess. The fucking weed dealer—it made you want to pick up a serious smoking habit.

“Okay, let’s go before we make this place worse,” Hyunjin said, wiping his hands with one of the towels left on the counter. “Unless you wanna stay here with your friends? It’s totally fine.” 

“No, I’ll go.” There was no hesitation and you tried convincing yourself it had everything to do with the destination being the park near the convenience store—therefore, snacks—and nothing to do with how handsome Hyunjin looked, especially without the hood over his head, or how pleasant he was to talk with. How smooth his voice was, how pretty his mouth— 

“Awesome! After you, miss.” He grabbed the container with Chives in it and waited for you to move. 

You gulped, realizing how at ease you felt. Would you be having the same thoughts if you were still by the fire and Hyunjin by the hydrangeas? The sole reason for you wanting to be here in the first place was to maybe have a shot with Chan—which you knew you wouldn’t get, but still—so why were you hoping you’d get to taste Hyunjin’s lollipop on his lips before the end of the night? 

The video game match was still occurring, but Felix seemed to have died already. He noticed you and waved at you, inviting you to join him—there was some space left on the couch. You waved back but refused his offer, gesturing toward Hyunjin and the container he was holding.

“Where you going?” Felix asked, his brow furrowing a little. 

“Hyunjin found a frog so we’ll take it back to the park.” You were fully aware of how insane you sounded the moment you spoke those words out loud. 

Felix’s face said it all. It looked like he wasn’t sure whether he should cry or laugh or be worried.

“I’ll text you tomorrow,” Felix concluded and returned to his game, letting you and Hyunjin go. 

Things had calmed down upstairs a little—there was still a game of cards being played at the table but neither Changbin or Jisung were there. You spotted Chan in the living room, sitting with a group of friends from his classes. There was a girl beside him. She was beautiful and wore classy clothes. And Chan had his arm around her waist as the whole group drank and seemed to be having a lively conversation. 

You knew you didn’t stand a chance with him—you knew that to him, you’d always just be Jisung’s friend and roommate. But still. 

Still. 

You felt a hand squeeze your shoulder gently behind you and turned a little only to see Hyunjin look at you with concern on his face. You wondered how much of the situation he had noticed. 

“Let’s go,” he said softly. You didn’t hear him over the music but you could read it on his lips. You nodded and followed him outside.

The air was much cooler than it had been earlier, or maybe you were just sitting by a fire. Neither you or Hyunjin could walk too fast because of Chives, yet you couldn’t wait until you made it at least to the convenience store—you’d take your sweet time selecting a few snacks while warming up. Maybe you could get a hot chocolate or something…

“I didn’t realize it was this cool out,” Hyunjin said as the two of you walked side by side, the noise from the party slowly dying off as you kept going. “Hold on—I live right over there.” 

He was showing you a house down the street. A very normal house, too. You wondered what kind of roommates he had. Were they all as weird as he was—or worse, maybe? For sure, he had a girlfriend, right? At least that. Or else why was he living in a house? 

After all, Chan’s house was located in a pretty good neighborhood, and you definitely wouldn’t have guessed Hyunjin lived around here, too. But maybe that was a life lesson—you ought to be a little less judgemental in the future.

“I’ll get you something warmer than your cardigan,” he went on, handing you Chives in its little container while he disappeared into the house. 

You were struggling to even comprehend tonight as a whole but, truth be told, you welcomed this friendly new presence in your life. Hyunjin was a nice guy. Strange for sure. But… the way he had been staring at you after noticing you had seen Chan with the girl… The compassion in his eyes. How he thought that showing you this frog would make you forget temporarily the burn on your arm. The very fact that he had wanted to save the frog in the first place.

And now Hyunjin was coming back out from his house holding an extra black hoodie for you. He handed it out to you as he took Chives back. It was a zip-up so you easily wrapped yourself in it—it smelled like Hyunjin. The faint scent of cigarettes and weed. And laundry detergent. And flowers. 

“Thanks.” You retreated your hands into the big sleeves of the oversized hoodie. Empathy was a rare thing these days—you ought to appreciate it when it passed by. Still, you couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure it’s okay? I mean, if you have… someone. Maybe they wouldn’t like you just handing me your hoodie.”

Hyunjin stared at you for a few seconds. “I’m single.” You couldn’t shake the feeling that he has read through you, that he knew you were simply trying to find out whether he was with someone or not. Still, he offered you a gentle smile. “I don’t really have time to date, you know? With uni and everything.”

You nodded. “Of course. Same, really.” 

Hyunjin’s smile grew a little, and he opened his arm to invite you to keep going, so you walked by his side, thinking it all over. Hyunjin did not make sense to you. As if he was made up. Sweet, funny. The whole frog shenanigans. Weed dealer. Cool. But sexy as hell—the guy could be a model. And yet he was apparently single and chose to spend his evening with you and a frog. He did not make sense at all, but you couldn’t deny the warmth you felt in your chest as you grew accustomed to his presence by your side. 

The park was surprisingly quiet for a weekend night but you suspected that most regulars were hanging out at Chan’s. You followed Hyunjin in between the tables, ignored by the few people who were there, burying your face in the dizzying scent of this hoodie.

“I think we’ll leave Chives by the pond,” Hyunjin said after a few moments of silence only interrupted by the sounds of your footsteps and an occasional soft-spoken sentence to the frog. You nodded in approval although he couldn’t see it, but he went on with the conversation anyway. “How’s uni going for you?” 

“Going fine,” you answered truthfully. You did enjoy your field and had been fortunate enough to have earned your degree on a scholarship. “I mean, I do like it. Graphic design.” It was true—you had wanted to pursue a career in that field since your early teenage years. “What about you, Hyunjin?” 

The two of you came to a stop near the little pond. You could actually hear other frogs in the distance, as well as a soft breeze rustling around the dead leaves. Hyunjin got on his knees and set the container with Chives in it on the ground, gently tilting it so the frog could be released.

“I love art,” he just said. Then he leaned forwards to speak to Chives again, inviting the animal to join his friends around the pond. “I applied for an exchange next semester. I want to study in Paris, learn new techniques. Even if I’m learning a lot already... My favorite class is the painting class. Our professor, Mrs. Yoo, is really nice. I think she gave your drawing class last semester. I saw your drawing on the wall, I remember the way you drew clouds. It impressed me.” 

Naturally, as a graphic design major you had taken a few art classes—drawing had been one of them. You had fond memories of your time in Mrs. Yoo’s art studio despite the cold hallways. You recalled the particular drawing in question—soft pastels—and the clouds. 

“Oh,” you managed, your thoughts speeding in your brain. Paris, pastels. Everything in between. You felt a slight sting in your heart at the idea of possibly losing a friend you hadn’t even made already. “You remember that?” You couldn’t help a nervous laugh to escape your lips. “I mean, thanks. It was just a cloud study, nothing—”

“No, it was really pretty.” Hyunjin, thankfully, wasn’t looking at you. He kept his attention on little Chives who did not seem to want to leave the comfort of his container. “The way you blended the pinks in the clouds was realistic. I have a picture of it on my phone.” 

You leaned against a nearby tree. You weren’t quite tired, just still slightly affected by alcohol and by the eeriness of the night. “Wow, really?” You shook your head. “That’s a huge honor, actually.” How on earth could he remember that? How on earth could he relate this drawing to you? Sure, you had signed it, but you had not spoken a word to this guy before last night…

Hyunjin chuckled and lifted his gaze toward you. “I like to keep memories of the things I find beautiful. Just to look at them, or just in case I want to draw or paint them someday.”

“I understand that. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with sudden inspiration for something… I keep a notebook by my bed. I’ll wake up the next morning with a very, deeply ugly draft of something completely random… And almost no recollection of the actual idea I had. It’s frustrating.”

Hyunjin laughed louder at that but not condescendingly—you laughed with him, rubbing away some of the pain still shooting through your arm although it was much better now. You didn’t know why you had the urge to entertain conversation with him and to do so in such detail about your personal life, but it felt good. To just talk. There was something comfortable about him that you couldn’t explain. And you liked having an excuse to look at his face.

“I wish I had more time to create outside class, though. Do you ever get that too?” Hyunjin asked, pulling himself up and leaning against the tree next to yours in the hopes that Chives would want to walk away if he kept his distance. “Or maybe I was just really dumb to go for a double major…”

“Dumb? That’s probably not the right word… How about a little foolish but optimistic?” you offered, smiling. God, his hoodie smelled really good and was really soft against your skin. You wrapped your arms around your body, basking in the warm comfort of it. “Double major, really?” 

“Yeah, really. Thanks, though, you almost didn’t look surprised there.” You bit your lip in shame and went to apologize, but Hyunjin raised his hand to stop you before you could. He was smiling, although you could barely see him. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m literally a weed dealer and I did carry a frog in my pocket at Bang Chan’s party. You’re allowed to be a little caught off guard.” He pulled something out of the pocket of his jeans. “Actually, mind if I smoke a little? I’ll even share.” 

You gave him a nod and watched as he secured the joint in between his pretty lips. “What’s the other major?”

“Art history. I want to work in a museum someday, you know?” The flame from the lighter illuminated his face—his gaze was focused on his task as he lit up the joint, and you gulped, still amazed by his looks. The rose on his ear shone in the yellow light for a few seconds before the lighter returned to the pocket of his jeans. “I couldn’t decide between the two. So I went with both. Thankfully, a few classes overlap… It’s just where I feel best. Surrounded by art.” 

You understood that, or at least you thought you did. There was a certain sense of belonging that you felt when you were working on a design. Something unmatched. 

“You obviously have a passion for it.” You accepted the joint from him, suddenly very aware that it had been on his lips just a second ago—but you smoked a little, hoping it would calm the flutters that disturbed your heart every time Hyunjin looked at you. “I think it’ll happen. Bet you'll even go to Paris.” 

A wide grin decorated Hyunjin’s face then. “Thanks for saying that. You’re a really nice person, you know.” He took the joint back from you and ran his tongue on his lips before smoking too, playing with the smoke in his mouth before exhaling. “I don’t know why Chan didn’t come looking for you and went with that girl instead. Maybe he’s intimidated by you.”

You stared at Hyunjin in silence, properly stunned. Sure, you had a few drinks and were now smoking a little weed, but you were still of sound mind. Then why couldn’t you process what he had just said?

“Intimidated?” You probably looked like an idiot because Hyunjin squinted just a little before passing the joint back. 

“Yeah, I mean…” Hyunjin shrugged, looking at Chives instead. “A cool, laid-back graphic design major who’s successful, has a large and reliable circle of friends, a nice fashion style—”

“But he’s Bang Chan.” You shook your head. “Bang Chan. The cool guy. I doubt he even remembers my existence by now. I don’t think he’s intimidated by me. It’s fine, Hyunjin. I appreciate the pep talk, but I saw the girl he was with. And it’s not like I care, anyway. I don’t. I went outside with Jisung because he didn’t want to play poker, not to hang out with Chan specifically.” You were aware of how painfully obvious it was that you were trying to convince yourself of these things much more than you were trying to convince Hyunjin.

Even in the relative darkness, you saw him raise his pierced eyebrow, smiling playfully. “You don’t care, really? Ha. Forgive me, then.” He shrugged. “What was so special about that girl he went to find anyway? You seem to think she was worth ditching you for.” His tongue returned to the ring on his lip.

His fingers brushed yours when he handed you the joint. 

“She’s really hot, intelligent, funny, popular,” you sighed and rolled your eyes, but smoked before going on. You could already feel the weed entering your bloodstream very slowly and producing its calming effects. “I’d fuck her, given the chance. Wouldn’t you?”

Hyunjin shrugged. “I guess? Maybe. I don't know. You’re prettier.” No hesitation. You almost joined Chives on the ground.

You ought to say something, but what? It was probably not what he said, maybe you misheard. No, you definitely misheard. Hyunjin wasn’t just cute, he was handsome—a mysterious kind of handsome. His smile, it felt, could light up this whole park. Maybe that other girl wasn’t his type, but you definitely—

“Much prettier,” he added, taking the joint from between your fingers as you were too stunned to move. “You have beautiful eyes, nice legs, a pretty smile, and are lovely to chat with. You didn’t even seem fazed when I showed you I had an actual frog in my hoodie.” 

You looked down to stare at your legs. The fall by the fire earlier had damaged your tights around the knees. 

“Was that too much? Sorry.” Hyunjin giggled and gave you a reassuring pat on the forearm. “Pretend I said nothing. I noticed your legs because of the roses on your tights. I like roses.” With his free hand, he tapped his helix piercing. “I even have a rose tattoo.” 

You couldn’t tell what had come closer to sending you to the ground—the fact that Hyunjin called you pretty or that he had a tattoo. You watched quietly as he pulled the sleeve of his hoodie to reveal his forearm—and it was a nice forearm, too—and more than one tattoo. The most prominent one was the rose, and you leaned forwards as Hyunjin used his phone to produce light. 

It was a beautiful watercolor tattoo. The rose was red and well executed. It looked like a real watercolor painting, with sharp thorns and smooth, satiny petals. You went to reach for him and brush the flower with your fingertips but stopped yourself at the last second.

“It’s fine, go ahead.” Hyunjin chuckled. “I get it. It looks smooth.”

His skin was warm and nice to the touch. You shivered as you traced the flower with your fingertip just a little before pulling your hand away to get a better look at the other tattoos. A paintbrush, a sun and moon surrounded by a laurel wreath, an umbrella… one that caught your attention was a square with a fine black frame and an ocean scenery inside. It looked lifelike. 

“Did you design these?” you asked, looking at Hyunjin’s face again. He had finished the joint and was now licking his lips as if he had just eaten a slice of cake. “They’re really cool.”

“I did, actually. Thanks!” His smile was shy then, and he avoided looking into your eyes by lighting up another joint. “It’s also great to be friends with a tattoo artist, I guess.”

You decided to change the subject as he was obviously uncomfortable. Maybe the tattoos held significance to him and he didn’t like to talk about them too much. You smoked in silence for a while before you left him by the trees and went to check up on Chives. Not only was the frog still in its container, it had even retreated deeper inside of it—it seemed to be asleep now. Peacefully asleep at that.

You sighed and got on your knees near the container. The grass was cold but it didn’t bother you. Curious, Hyunjin joined you by the pond and sighed with you when he saw what you were looking at, descending on his knees as well. 

“God, what are we going to do?” you asked, turning to Hyunjin. 

“I’d feel bad to just…” Hyunjin acted out as if he was picking up the container and shaking it to force Chives out of it. “... you know?”

“No, we can’t do that.” You retrieved a twig from nearby and tried using it to make Chives move around with very little success. Frustrated, you threw away the twig as hard as you could, losing your balance in the process. 

You cried out surprised by the sudden movement and found yourself—for the second time that night—stumbling over. Except this time, courtesy of the alcohol and weed, you felt absolutely no embarrassment and were laughing before you even touched the ground. The fact that you were crouching largely helped too.

“Holy sh—” Hyunjin instinctively grabbed your arm, still failing to prevent the fall and getting entangled in it instead. In a matter of seconds, the both of you were laying down on the grass side by side, laughing your asses off. 

Your head spun a little whenever you moved, but you were filled with a strange sensation of freedom. Your assignments felt so far away, and so did the argument with your mother last week over the phone, as well as the sting from seeing Chan with this hot girl at the party. You didn’t even care that your Interactive Design professor hated you and that he would surely fail you on purpose. You didn’t care about anything. Your laughter slowed down, but Hyunjin didn’t let go of your arm. 

You turned to look at him. One of the park lamps had died out and it was a little darker, but you could see the light reflected on his lip ring. In his eyes. 

“Are you okay?” he asked you, his voice low, propping himself on one elbow to take a proper look at you. “Did you hit your head?”

“I’m fine.” Weed makes your heartbeat faster, right? Yes. You just weren’t used to smoking this amount of it in so little time, and it was why your chest felt tight, why you could hear your pulse from within your ears—it had nothing to do with Hyunjin moving his face dangerously close to yours. 

Right?

And yet he was so close you could feel his warm breath on your face, his hand trailing up your arm until it reached the crook of your neck. He pushed your hair out of your face and played with it gently, his eyes burning into yours. Warm, smooth skin, warm, sweet breath. 

You opened your mouth to say something, to say anything, but you just couldn’t find what to say exactly. All the while, your hands found their way to him, your fists closing onto his hoodie. You pulled him closer. Just a little closer. More than enough. 

Hyunjin’s gaze shifted to your parted lips. He returned to your eyes and you saw a question in them, you saw cobalt blue ink and stars and doubt and all the beauty in them, accumulated from what they had witnessed. 

He seemed to find the answer to his question in your eyes because he descended onto you, not even pausing before his lips crashed against yours.

His mouth was hot, the ring on his bottom lip cool against your skin. Hyunjin parted his plush lips to anchor them to yours, his tongue already teasing you. You felt a shift inside of you, something small or something big, you couldn’t tell. But you breathed a quiet moan into Hyunjin’s mouth when he deepened the kiss, making out with you gently, softly, the metal of his ring sinking into your lips. You let go of his hoodie to wrap your arms around him, feeling his firm body beneath the thick layer of fabric covering him, making your head spin harder than any strain of weed could. 

Hyunjin pressed himself against your side, his knee climbing over yours. Your eyelids fluttered when his hand found your thigh to caress the outside of it as lazily as he was kissing you. 

He broke the kiss to adjust his position and pull you all the way against him, your face finding its way into his neck. He smelled good, god, he smelled like nature and like paint thinner and weed and cigarettes and fabric softener and roses and something else you couldn’t figure out. You left a few kisses on his jaw as Hyunjin pulled your shirt up just enough to press his palms on your lower back. You shivered at the contact.

“Hyunjin…” you breathed into his neck and he carefully put around your face to pull you in for another kiss.

You kissed him back, pressing your tongue against his lip ring for a moment while he hooked his leg around your thighs. When your tongue made it past his lips and your hands made it under his shirt, you felt his body tense up but he kissed you hard. Hungrily. He kissed you in a way that made you dizzy, as if your mouth was ice cream that needed to be devoured before it melted, his tongue swirling around yours, often returning to tease your lips. He pushed himself up, his knees on either side of your thighs, moaning when your nails dug into the skin of his waist. 

“Fuck—” He pressed himself against you, the weight of his body on yours driving you crazy. His lips came back to brush against yours, ghosting them, going past your mouth to descend into your neck. 

He pulled on the zipper of the hoodie he had supplied you with and you actually welcomed the fresh breeze against your already prickling skin. Hyunjin kissed your neck, licking you there the same way he had played with your tongue moments ago. You let out another moan, louder this time, a little too loud for the very public setting you were currently in. He inhaled sharply, hips grinding against you and you meeting his movements. 

Every move he made had a purpose, every move was both urgent and lazy, every move made your legs open up for him, just for him. The pretty boy sucking hard on your neck. He would bruise you if he kept going. You hoped he would keep going. You hoped he would never stop. You hoped you would never not hear the sound of his mouth on your skin, his spit-coated lips working on you diligently. 

You pulled your hands out of his hoodie to wrap your arms around him once more. You needed to feel him, more of him, all of him. Your fingers made it to his hair and you ran them through it—you got chills from how soft it was, delicate, fine, hair like an angel would have. Fuck, I’m high, you told yourself. But you raked your nails through his hair again and again, scratching his head, eliciting more delightful sounds from Hyunjin. 

He emerged back up to kiss you, his lips wet, warm, sweet. He dragged his tongue on your bottom lip, his forehead pressed against yours, breathing his air into you. It was good, he felt so good. The weirdo. The stoner. The guy nobody knew but everybody knew. The guy whose warm hands were under your shirt, trailing up, and up—

Hyunjin moaned in earnest when he found your hard nipples, caressing them through the lace of your bra, hips bucking harder against you. His jeans might have been baggy but you felt him through them anyway, immediately rubbing against his growing erection like an animal in heat. 

And then Hyunjin pulled away unexpectedly, standing upright, half-sitting on your thighs, looking down at you. Disheveled hair, lips wet and swollen, chest heaving from all the kissing. You wanted him, but he seemed to have other plans. 

He removed himself from you to return to the grass, laying down next to you. Still, he pulled you against him and kissed you again, slowly. 

“I should take you home,” he whispered in your hair before kissing you there too. “It’s not right. It doesn’t feel right to do this out here in the cold, you know? You deserve better than that.” 

You closed your eyes, touch-starved already, your body screaming for Hyunjin’s weight back on it. He kissed your lips again. 

It’s not that cold, you wanted to say but instead, you let out a sigh.

Hyunjin chuckled and helped you up until you were both sitting upright. He had to keep an arm wrapped firmly around your waist to prevent you from slumping over. You knew that your legs weren’t this wobbly solely from the long-forgotten rum and coke or even the weed—it had everything to do with the feeling of Hyunjin’s velvety lips on yours.

“How am I even gonna get you home?” Hyunjin sighed. 

“I’ll be fine, but we can’t leave Chives here,” you replied, letting Hyunjin hold you. You liked that he held you.

“Absolutely we can, Tipsy. It’s at home here, I’d bet it’ll just leave the container when we’re gone.” 

“Oh. Right.” It’s as if in between a little dry humping and making out with Hyunjin you had forgotten that Chives was a wild frog. You laughed with him. “Okay, maybe you’re right. We should go home.” 

You were surprised at your own balance when you took a few steps. Hyunjin’s arm snaked around your waist again and you walked together. He didn’t ask for directions—he just turned left towards your street. Maybe he knew where Jisung lived… 

“How many roommates do you have?” you asked after a while of unbearable silence. “The house looked pretty big from the outside.” 

If you didn’t make conversation, you’d be thinking about Hyunjin’s lips again—it was why you weren’t even looking at him too. It was distracting enough to feel his fingers digging into your waist, even through several layers of fabric. The strong smell of him on his hoodie didn’t help either.

He didn’t respond for a while. A few seconds maybe, but it took long enough that you were thinking about how his hard-on had felt against your crotch, sending warmth between your legs again. 

“I live alone,” Hyunjin responded finally. “Me, and my dog. Well, he’s not exactly my dog but he is, he’s… Don’t tell anyone this, yeah? That I live alone I mean. I don’t need people knowing that.” 

You came to a halt at the intersection, waiting for the pedestrian signal to come on. There was minimal traffic at this hour of the night, but you suspected Hyunjin didn’t want to risk having you falling down yet again in the middle of the road. 

“Nobody knows anything about you, Hyunjin. I didn’t even know your name until like an hour ago,” you pointed out. 

Hyunjin faced you then, the green of the traffic lights all over his face, in his eyes. He sighed and caressed your cheek tenderly. “Most people don’t care to know my name anyway,” he said with a shrug. He didn’t seem upset, he was simply stating a fact. “But you did. So now you know.” 

You saw in his big, a little hazed but still beautiful eyes the color of the traffic light switching to yellow and then red. Hyunjin still waited for the actual pedestrian signal to light up before leading the both of you on the street. 

“How come you only kind of have a dog?” you questioned, still needing a good distraction to help you forget that some of Hyunjin’s saliva was drying on your neck. You’d need a much bigger distraction to forget your not-so-drying panties.

“Oh…” Hyunjin chuckled and shook his head. “My neighbors had this dog… A couple, lovely people. They lived with the husband’s mom. Anyway, they unfortunately passed away in a car crash a year ago. It was really hard on her—the mother—to lose her son and daughter-in-law… They had this dog, and she was too overwhelmed to take care of him by herself, so…”

“So you took him in,” you said to end his sentence when he failed to do so. He nodded, offering you a shy smile. “So you really are a real-life Disney princess, huh? Dogs, frogs… drunk girls… is there anything you won’t save? What’s next?” 

Hyunjin stared at you with a puzzled expression on his face but he burst into laughter and pulled you closer to kiss your cheek. “Disney princess?” 

“You’re pretty enough to be one anyway,” you heard yourself reply without a single ounce of hesitation. He laughed again, this cute laugh of his, the one that made his eyes curve into crescents. “It’s fine, Hyunjin, I can walk the rest of the way myself.” You pointed at the next building over—yours—to prove your point.

“Nope, sorry.” He tightened his grip around you. “You said it yourself. A true Disney princess wouldn’t let a poor girl alone on the sidewalk on a Saturday night.”

“But you did leave a frog alone in the park.” You slapped the back of his head gently. 

He kissed your cheek again in return and your heart leaped in your chest. It was like he was trying to give you a heart attack. “I’ll take the long way back through the park to check on Chives,” Hyunjin assured. “I’m sure it’s long gone by now.” 

You stopped in front of the building where a relatively deep puddle of water always accumulated down the steps. “We have to jump over it,” you explained. 

Hyunjin tried to see if maybe it would be best to jump on the brick fence surrounding the path to the front door, but it was quite high. “Considering how your legs seem unable to function normally tonight, I would advise against you jumping over this puddle to land on a step.” He went ahead of you, easily clearing the puddle with his long ass legs. He took both of your hands in his “Careful, Tipsy.” 

That nickname. Why did it make your heart flutter? Was it the simple fact that a handsome boy had deemed you worthy of a nickname, even a humorous one? “What’s your dog’s name?” you asked, preparing to take the leap. You didn’t normally struggle this much. Sure, whatever Hyunjin had smoked with you was potent as hell, but he kept you in a constant flustered state. “Your-not-but-kinda-yours-dog?” 

“Chris. Alright, come on up now, it’s getting windy and you’re in tights.” 

And your panties were wet because of him, which was a little uncomfortable in the cold. “Chris?” 

“Short for Christopher. Look, I didn’t name him, okay?” 

Everything about Hyunjin was weird. Everything about Hyunjin was interesting. He gave you an encouraging smile as you did your best to avoid the puddle—

—and ended up with your two whole feet in it, splashing water all around when you landed. 

Hyunjin sighed as you climbed to join him on the step. The water was cold around your ankles, dripping into your boots. “Fuck.” 

“You’re a terrible drunk, Tipsy.” Hyunjin said sternly with a stiff nod. “At least you’re a cute drunk.”

You blushed at that, hoping that he wouldn’t notice. Hyunjin helped you up the rest of the steps and waited patiently while you were typing the code to the front door of your building. “Thanks,” you said once the door was open. 

“Sorry, I won’t be at peace until I know you’re safe in bed. Think I let you smoke a little too much.” He pushed you gently towards the door. “You need sugar and you need to lie down.” He fumbled in his pockets and produced two red lollipops from them, handing you one after unwrapping it himself. 

You watched him slide his between his lips, eventually grabbing the other lollipop and doing the same. You let out an appreciative groan as you headed up the staircase leading to your door. 

You licked your lips to taste as much of the flavor as you could. Sweet but tart at the same time. “They’re not regular lollipops.” They didn’t taste like the fake, overly-sweet flavor you usually associated with red candy.

“I mean…” Hyunjin chuckled. “I get them from a little candy shop that’s next to…” He sighed as if he wasn’t even sure he should be saying this. “My neighbor—the one with the dog that’s kind of mine now—can’t always pick up her prescription medicine herself, so sometimes I go for her. There’s a candy shop next door to that pharmacy. They make those. They’re raspberry flavored.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” You nodded to yourself and entered the code to get into your apartment once you had reached the door, leaving a trail of mud behind. “Disney shit. Saves frogs, dogs, drunk girls and does errands for elderly neighbors. Eats exclusively handmade candy.” 

The living room was empty. When you went to take your soaked boots off, Hyunjin motioned you to stay put and got on his knees to unlace them for you and pull them off your feet. You tried to hide your rosy cheeks behind your hair, but you couldn’t take your eyes off his long fingers as they worked on the laces and zippers of the boots. You couldn’t not shiver at the contact of his hands on your feet. 

“Who’s the princess now, Cinderella?” he stared at you from down there with a smile on his beautiful lips. 

“We are far from a glass slipper here…” You sighed at the sight of your favorite boots covered in mud. 

Hyunjin stood up and played with the lollipop in his mouth. “I feel bad. I’ll get you new boots,” he offered. 

“Why? It’s not your fault.” You shrugged. “I’m a terrible drunk, you said it yourself.” 

He nodded and took your hand again when you led him into the apartment. You heard Chae’s TV at a low volume through her door when you passed it, guessing immediately that her and Minho’s bodily fluid exchange was over—they enjoyed watching movies together, too. Either Jisung was deeply asleep or not home at all as the door to his room was closed and everything seemed dark in there. 

You turned on the lamp on your bedside table and sat on the edge of your bed after Hyunjin told you he was going to the bathroom. You took your damp socks off and threw them somewhat in the direction of your laundry hamper. The lollipop was mostly melted by now, leaving its sweet aftertaste in your mouth. You got rid of the stick as Hyunjin reentered your room holding a towel. 

“Your feet are wet,” he said, crouching to wipe them up. Disney prince shit. “You’ll sleep better with dry feet.” 

“You really don’t have to—” You blushed harder when he wrapped his long fingers around your ankle. You watched him dry your feet, his tongue swirling around the rest of his lollipop. He discarded the stick in the bin just like you had. 

“Almost done.” He squeezed your leg gently before letting it go. “You need socks to warm you up, your toes are ice cold.” 

Your thought immediately went to your favorite pair of fuzzy socks, the blue ones. The ones that were the same color as Hyunjin’s paint on his fingers last night. “First drawer.” You showed him your dresser. “There’s blue fuzzy socks, they’ll keep me warm.” 

He left you by the bed to fumble around in your drawer. You watched him open it as realization hit you like a truck to the face at the same time.

How drunk do you have to be to forget that? “WAIT—” 

You usually stored your faithful bullet vibrator in your bedside table after cleaning it—but not this morning. Being in a hurry a little you just threw it in the first drawer before going with Chae for coffee. 

Hyunjin turned to you, his cheeks a little darker than they had been a few seconds ago but with a reassuring smile. 

“Don’t worry.” He returned to the dresser, pushing its contents around, perfectly at ease as if he were in his own home. As if he hadn’t just found your favorite sex toy in your socks drawer. “No shame. Actually I have almost the same model… I think mine is a little older. And it’s blue.” 

You lay down on your bed, dizzy. You expected to wake up anytime soon because there was no way Hyunjin The Weed Dealer, the same guy who had a frog in his pocket less than two hours ago, had just dumped on you the info about which bullet vibrator he personally owned—and what color it was. 

You heard the drawer being closed back… footsteps… your eyelids were too heavy to keep them open for more than a second at a time, but you saw Hyunjin towering over you next to your bed, then he put socks on your bare feet. You immediately recognized the soft fabric of your cobalt blue fuzzy socks. 

The sudden warmth of your apartment had made you sleepy. Hyunjin gently lifted your legs onto your mattress and made sure you were lying comfortably, on your side, with a blanket over you. Real-life Disney prince. He gave your forehead a kiss, but you grabbed his shirt when he pulled away. 

“Sleep here?” you managed, fighting to keep your eyes open. You felt relaxed, like you were floating on a cloud. “I mean, if you want…”

Hyunjin sighed, a soft smile on his face. “You sure?” 

You scooted over to make space for him on your bed and he nodded. “Yes okay, alright. It’s probably best I keep an eye on you.” 

You watched him take off his hoodie, revealing a black t-shirt with a colorful abstract design on it. He also removed his socks for good measure and announced he was going to pour you and himself glasses of water for the night—which he did—before lying down next to you. 

He was so close to you, so beautiful. His eyes found yours and he blinked slowly, almost like a cat, cupping your cheek gently to pull you in for a chaste kiss. “Goodnight, Tipsy.”

“Goodnight, Fairytale.” Hyunjin chuckled at the nickname, and you fell comfortably asleep by his side soon after. 

It was still dark when you woke up. You felt warm, unnaturally warm, and it took a few seconds to remember everything. 

You were in your bed but you weren’t alone. You were buried under the covers, your back pressed flush to Hyunjin’s chest, his arm keeping you against him. You could feel his steady breathing in your hair. You could also feel his cock against your lower back. 

You inhaled sharply, utterly stunned. You closed your eyes again but it was too late—a rush of heat spread all over your body, ending its course in your core. The smell of him was strong and intoxicating. Hyunjin let out a soft moan when he squirmed gently in his sleep, pressing himself closer to you, causing you to become wet immediately. 

You gulped thickly—your mouth was dry and all of your brain cells were focused on the delightful pressure of Hyunjin’s concealed erection against you, his body around yours, his weight in your bed. You couldn’t tell if it was from your sudden arousal or drinking a little more than usual this evening, but you absolutely needed to use the bathroom. 

Unfortunately for you, you were mostly sober by now, causing you to overthink. If you got up, Hyunjin would wake up. Would he be embarrassed about his boner? You certainly didn’t need to let him know that you had felt it. Or that it had made you wet. If anything, maybe leaving the room for a minute would allow him to relax.

You tried telling yourself it was all a normal reaction of his body, nothing specifically about you. As if Hyunjin hadn’t hungrily made out with you earlier at the park. As if there had been no dry humping, no nothing. God, you’re really stupid sometimes, you told yourself.

As delicately as you could, you pulled your way out of Hyunjin’s warm embrace. You really wished you didn’t need to get up, that you could just stay there—you couldn’t remember feeling this comfortable, this cozy, in a long, long time. 

Hyunjin groaned as you got up and walked away, making sure to grab one of the two glasses of water on your way out. You didn’t even acknowledge him as you left, deciding to go with your plan of staying silent about the… issue.

By the looks of it, Jisung’s room was still empty. You made your way to the bathroom, emptying the glass of water in one large gulp, soothing your parched mouth. The light blinded you a little and the mirror confirmed that your trip in here was a good idea, especially with Hyunjin in your bed—you looked like absolute shit. 

You checked on your arm too—the burn was obviously still there, but you barely felt it and it didn’t look infected or anything. In a way, you were almost grateful for it. If it weren’t for your fall by the fire, you wouldn’t have needed to use the bathroom at the same time as Hyunjin. Still, you applied a cool compress on it while trying to tame your hair.

Nothing could have prepared you for how wet your panties were, though. You gazed at them, the sweet scent of your arousal hitting your nostrils. With a sigh, you decided to clean up quickly—you washed your face and your teeth and tried your best to clean yourself up, wondering if being this wet for a weed dealer was any kind of normal. Wondering if it mattered. Hyunjin was kind, thoughtful and funny. He was weird but he was sexy, and he had given you your best kiss so far in life. 

You couldn’t possibly put these panties back on. You discarded them in your laundry bag, grabbing a simple pair of shorts instead, also choosing to change into a tank top and drop the socks, despite not really wanting to take Hyunjin’s hoodie off, so you brought it back with you in the room, leaving it near the one he had been wearing all evening.

Thankfully, some of his scent had lingered on your skin, your hair. 

You immediately noticed that Hyunjin had shifted position—and that some water had disappeared from his glass. When you returned to your spot on the bed, still warm from earlier, he rolled over to face you.

“Everything alright?” he whispered, sliding his face closer to yours. 

You couldn’t help but smile. Even in the mostly dark room, you could see his large eyes, could make out the ring on his plush lip. Everything about him was mysterious, beautiful, endearing. Alluring. “I’m alright. Are you?”

“I am.” He tilted his head, looking at you from head to toe. “It’s kind of warm, isn’t it?” He chuckled, caressing your bare arm, causing you to shiver a little too violently. You hoped he didn’t notice that.

“I can find shorts for you too,” you assured. You were pretty sure Jisung wouldn’t mind you raiding his closet while he was out. “I’ll be right back.” 

But you didn’t move and neither did Hyunjin. You just kept staring at each other in silence, eyes on each other’s mouths. 

“Can I be honest with you?” Hyunjin asked under his breath, his fingers finding the hem of your shirt and playing with it. 

You took a deep breath, feeling the urge of touching him too. You pressed your hand on his side. His firm body was as warm as a furnace under your palm, even with the absence of covers. “Of course, Hyunjin.” 

“I’m really glad I stayed the night.” His hand made it under your shirt but stayed respectfully on your waist. Still, you wished you wore panties under your shorts—you’d stain them if he kept touching you, even just like that. 

You moved closer to him, no longer denying to yourself that you were seeking to feel his erection against you once again. You pressed a thigh in between his, running a hand through his short, disheveled hair. “I’m really glad you stayed too.” You bit your lip. Your heart was beating fast and you could feel blood coursing between your legs. Could also feel the fabric of your shorts becoming wetter by the second. You pushed your thigh upwards, just a little, just enough—until you felt him, still hard, through his jeans.

Hyunjin’s fingers dug into your waist and his eyelids fluttered a little. His exhale ended in a sigh as he pulled you as close as he could. “Can I kiss you again, Tipsy?”

You didn’t even respond—you just kissed him. He took your mouth, his ring digging into your lips, his tongue twirling around yours. His mouth tasted vaguely sweet from the remnants of many lollipops and a little bitter from the weed. You moaned when he bucked his hips, rubbing himself on your thigh. 

You kissed him harder, deeper, running your hands all over his body to feel him. His strong arms, his sharp jawline, his soft cheeks. Hyunjin grunted when you slid your hands under his shirt to feel his abdomen, then gave some attention to his nipples. 

“We—we don’t have to,” he stammered. But he was still fucking himself onto you and your cunt was throbbing. 

“But I want to,” you replied, pulling away from him to look into his eyes. “Do you?”

Hyunjin’s face twisted in pain or pleasure. “Fuck—I want you so bad.” 

He kissed you again and you lay your hands flat on his chest, teasing his nipples with your thumbs. Just brushing them gently, applying different kinds of pressure depending on the little sounds he produced when you did so, and how hard his hips jerked, too. 

But as Hyunjin was burying his hands into your shorts to knead your ass, you left his chest to undo the button of his jeans, then slid his zipper down. He hissed against your mouth, letting out sounds that could rival those of a wild animal. “I’m so hard,” he whined. “Fuck…” 

“Let’s take care of that.” You kissed his cheek and managed to pull his jeans down, although it was a little difficult because he was, indeed, so hard. 

You palmed his bulge over his boxers and he buried his face into your neck, kissing you there, biting you there, too. You suppressed a moan, remembering that, after all, you weren’t alone in the apartment. His cock felt good under your touch, even through the fabric. Firm, stiff. Warm. Hyunjin rolled his hips slowly, meeting your movement with gentle thrusts, his mouth devouring your neck. “Your skin is so soft,” he whispered, his tongue gliding on your collarbone. 

“So is yours,” you commented, smiling as you kissed him. 

He helped you, wiggling himself out of his jeans—soon enough, they were being kicked off the bed and Hyunjin pulled you on top of him, rolling on his back. You settled your knees nicely on either side of him, pressing your core to the swell in his boxers, never breaking the kiss. “Can I take this off you?” he asked, pulling at your tank top. 

You nodded your approval, your lips separating only to let the fabric pass over your head. Hyunjin let out a growl when he caught a glimpse of your bare tits, immediately cupping them in his big hands, playing with them, making them bounce, teasing your nipples. He was entirely too clothed to your liking, so you asked silent permission to rid him of his t-shirt—and he actually took him off himself.

You couldn’t even admire the view for more than a few seconds before Hyunjin pulled you close to his chest, your tits squeezed against him. He kissed your neck, one hand in your hair, the other disappearing into your shorts. When his fingers reached your folds, he bit back a moan, finding you just as wet as you had been before your pointless clean-up in the bathroom. 

“Fuck, I need you so bad…” He brushed his fingers on your pussy, coating them with your slick. “I won’t last, I need you.”

You ignored his pleas, largely distracted by the friction of him on your cunt which disappeared when you retreated further down his legs to pull his boxers down, finally.

And that was the closest you ever came to a hands-free orgasm. His cock sprung free, hard, flushed dark. Leaking. It was pretty, adorned with a few veins—the size of it sent a throb up your clit and a rush of warmth all over your body. You hummed in appreciation, wasting no time to release some spit onto his length, eager to feel him skin to skin. 

His nice, smooth cock felt like silk and velvet at once under your hand. You spread your saliva onto his tip, giving him a few strokes, watching as his face came undone. Feeling him throb under your touches. “I won’t last,” he whined again. “Let me see your pussy too.” 

While you were one to enjoy taking your time, that was just not the mood for tonight. You let go of his cock and he took control again as he lay you next to him, working on taking your shorts off you. 

He couldn’t resist tugging at his cock as he spread your legs open using his knee, taking in the sight of your pussy. “Oh my god, Tipsy…” He immediately reached for you, his fingers finding your wetness again. “So smooth… so wet.” 

You clenched around nothing when he pressed three digits flush against your core—and his fingers were long enough that he covered a lot of the area—but he had to cover your mouth with his free hand when he pushed two of them inside of you, muffling your whimpers. “Hyunjin—” 

But he took his time, stretching your hole, getting to know the feeling of your intimacy. You caressed his thighs, his lower abdomen, teased his cock, while Hyunjin slowly finger fucked you. He leaned over, taking your nipple between his pretty lips and swirled his tongue around it, eliciting more gasps and strangled noises out of you. 

He buried his fingers deeper inside you, massaging your walls, curling them in a search for your most sensitive spot. “Need to stretch you,” he said against your mouth. “Need you to be able to take all of me.” 

You melted when Hyunjin used his thumb to tease your clit, finding it rather easily. He used your own slick to ease his movements as he rubbed slow circles around it, causing you to bite into your own fist. For fuck’s sake—how deep could his fingers reach? It seemed as if he was taking all of the space inside of you. 

Your arousal was smeared all over his hand—you could feel it, see it, and Hyunjin kept up his pace, sinking his fingers inside of you and twirling them around to tease you. When you bucked your hips to fuck his hand from below, Hyunjin hissed, biting his pierced lip. 

“Hyunjin,” you breathed, grasping at his cock. 

He kissed you slowly again but not for long—you moaned when he pulled his fingers out of your hole, straightening himself on the bed. He looked a little too good there in the dimly lit room, with his toned body and his hand coated with your cream. He gave his fingers a few kitten lips, taking in the taste of you, before licking himself clean in earnest. “You taste sweet, Tipsy.” His cock twitched. “Some day, I’ll eat your pussy for hours and hours if you let me.”

You quivered at his declaration, a puddle of your slick forming underneath you. How could he have such an effect on you? 

How could he not? 

Hyunjin got up from the bed, his erection bobbing to the rhythm of his movements. You couldn’t look away. You couldn’t wait until he fucked you with his big, smooth cock.

He reached for his pants, which he had left on your dresser. “I stole a condom from Bang’s bathroom.” With that, he laughed.

You laughed too, unable to resist touching yourself as he retrieved the condom from his pocket. You played with your tits and teased your cunt a little under Hyunjin’s attentive stare. 

“You’re so pretty, Tipsy.” He wrapped his hand around his cock, watching you. “I’d watch you do that all day.”

You spread your legs open for him, exposing yourself, teasing your entrance with your fingers. He made you feel beautiful. Desired. “But I want you, Hyunjin. Need you here.”

“Show me where, baby. Tell me where you want me.” He leaned against your dresser, stroking himself slowly. “Tell me how you want me fuck your tight cunt.”

“Here.” You easily slid a finger, then two into your hole, curling them immediately to reach your g-spot. “Please.”

With no hesitation, Hyunjin pulled your drawer open to retrieve the vibrator he had seen earlier before joining you on the bed again. “Let’s have a little bit of fun, yeah?”

Hyunjin carefully removed your hand from your pussy, but licked your fingers clean. Then he positioned your legs to his liking and asked you to close your eyes. 

You felt the familiar shape of the toy on your folds as Hyunjin carefully coated it with your slick. He pulled it away then, causing you to whine your complaints. 

But then, he pressed his big hand on your inner thigh, pushing your legs wide open, and the small vibrator returned to your clit. 

And then Hyunjin activated the toy. 

You cried out, throwing your head backwards, your back arching into the toy involuntarily. The vibrations echoed through your body, creating waves of pleasure that took you away, away from it all. It was just you, the toy on your clit, and Hyunjin’s gentle voice as he was experimenting with different ways to tease you with the vibrator.

“Is this better?” He loosened his grip on the toy a little, letting you rub yourself against it to your heart’s content while he touched you all over, your thighs, your waist, your tits. “You feel good, Tipsy?”

“Yes, yes,” you panted, losing yourself in the steady pace at which you were fucking yourself onto the toy. It was so good, despite it being the same fucking toy you used pretty much every day. And yet the stimulation it provided was nothing compared to the feeling of Hyunjin’s fingertips holding said toy against your folds, or the sweet pain it elicited when he twisted your nipple or gently bit into your knee as he watched you.

You managed to keep your eyes open long enough to catch a glimpse of Hyunjin wrapping his hand around his cock, jerking himself off at the same speed as you were rolling your hips. You clenched at that—this unexpectedly beautiful man leaking precum on your thigh while he touched himself to the sight of your cunt, hissing whenever you moaned or throbbed, or if you touched him. 

You found his thigh, digging your nails into his skin. “Won’t you fuck me?” Your head was spinning—you were quickly climbing to reach your high, feeling the pressure of it in your core.

Hyunjin changed the angle of the toy, sensing your imminent orgasm and preventing it. You squirmed on the bed, holding back moans of desperation, but Hyunjin didn’t help at all by momentarily letting go of it entirely to reach for the wrapped condom he had left nearby instead. If you had been able to hold half a coherent thought, you would have understood that your dry spell had made you touch-starved, causing you to be a little more needy than usual. As in, at this moment, as you watched Hyunjin slowly apply the condom on his pretty cock, it felt as if you would die if he didn’t put it in you right this second. 

And he still didn’t fucking put it in you. 

He slid the toy gently to tease your hole but not pushing it in—just tracing circles around it, applying pressure. “You smell good, Tipsy.” You could smell yourself, could smell him, the sweet scent of his sweat, his breath. It made you dizzy.

“Just fuck me,” you insisted, still trying to get your hands on him, but him not really letting you. 

He smirked at you—a soft smirk, not wicked, not teasing. Hyunjin was simply pleased with himself. The smirk grew wider when he went to tease your nipples with the toy, coating your tits with your juices. “Nice tits, Tipsy.” He nudged your legs open again with one gentle push of his knee. “My balls hurt,” he added, aligning himself with your entrance. “I'm gonna fuck you so deep…”

You locked eyes with Hyunjin, mouth gaping, as he coated his tip on your wet cunt, rubbing your clit several times with it, causing your entire body to be engulfed in heat. Hyunjin—the weirdo, the stoner, the fairytale—apparently had a very unique way of fucking that was both very slow and not at all. Precise would be the right word. He did everything he was supposed to do to bring you closer, to make waves of pleasure roll within you, as if he had known your body forever. As if he wasn’t a semi-stranger with good weed and a nice cock. But maybe it was the color of his soul behind his large dark brown eyes that captivated you the most. The tattoos on his arm, the feeling of his lips on yours. Maybe it was all of those things that made you crave him like that. Or maybe he was just a fun guy who was good in bed. Did it really matter? 

Hyunjin pushed himself inside you, his breath hitching as your warmth engulfed him. You let out a moan when he sank down further, stretching you open, his cock taking up all of the space inside you. He gave a few thrusts, easing himself into your tight hole, and the sound of it almost made you cum. The wet noises of his cock in your cunt, his repressed growls… 

He lowered himself onto you with a sharp thrust of his hips. You cried out when Hyunjin bottomed out, but he kissed the moans out of you, busying your mouth. His lip ring dug into the supple skin of your lip but you loved it. You loved everything he made you feel, the perfect stretch of his cock, his hand in your hair as he slammed into you relentlessly. 

You couldn’t focus on more than one thing at a time. The vibrator, still functioning, forgotten on your stomach. Hyunjin pulling on your hair, exposing your neck to him—his teeth sinking into your skin there, biting down on you to muffle his uncontrollable moaning and grunting. Hurried lovemaking. 

“Cum with me,” he begged. “Your pussy… so good…” 

You kissed the side of his head and gazed at his perfect face when he pulled away a little. You touched him, feeling his toned body, his back, his ass. His arms. 

Hyunjin’s knees went limp when you carefully brought his arm to your mouth to kiss the rose tattoo. “Are you close, Fairytale?” You kissed the ink again, a wet kiss with your mouth open, coating it with your spit. 

Hyunjin slowed down his thrusts, tilting his head to the side as he watched you cover his tattoos with kisses, but always returning to the rose to make out with it the same you would if it were his lips. Or his cock. Twirling your tongue on the petals, gently sucking in the flesh there. 

He throbbed inside you and you were so on edge, so sensitive, that you felt it. And again. But this time, his eyes rolled a little at the back of his head, and he pulled his arm away from your mouth but only to dive in for another passionate kiss. “You’re fucking ruining me, Tipsy,” he breathed against your mouth. He bucked his hips, burying himself to the hilt inside you.

Hyunjin didn’t stop fucking you when he retrieved the vibrator again to press it on your clit. If anything, he only fucked you harder, deeper. So fucking deep, his long, smooth cock reaching the exact spot that made you melt. That made you go crazy. 

You put your hand over his, guiding the toy where you wanted it to be—on your clit, yes, but also low enough that Hyunjin’s cock brushed against it every time he pounded into you. 

You were about to cum, and by Hyunjin’s fucked out look, so was he. His fucking became frantic, erratic, his face hovering over yours to steal kisses or mumble praises about your cunt into your ear. So tight, so warm, you take me so well, do you feel how deep you're taking me?

Hyunjin. You called out his name in a strangled voice, falling into a warm ocean, heart racing in your chest. The pressure between your legs was so strong that it almost hurt you. Hyunjin. You said his name again when he lifted one of your legs up, resting it against his chest, fucking you even deeper. 

Hyunjin. You moaned his name when your pussy clenched around him. “I’m so close—” you started but couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“C—Clen—Clenching—so—tight—” Hyunjin managed, his face flushed, a few lazy drops of sweat rolling down the side of his face. “Milk me, Tipsy. Milk my cock, milk me, milk me—” 

Hyunjin. You breathed his name when you came, the knots in your stomach coming undone, finally. You blacked out entirely as the whole world dissipated around you, leaving only your orgasm and Hyunjin’s pulsing cock that he was desperately driving into you. 

His orgasm was beautiful though, pretty moans and low grunts as he bucked his hips with every shot of cum that filled the condom. And it felt good to cum around his cock, your fluttering walls hugging it, hips spasming with his. Nobody should look this good when they came, but he did. And he came for a long time, same as you, until he collapsed on top of you, drained. 

The room fell silent when the buzzing of the vibrator disappeared. Except for your panting and Hyunjin’s, you couldn’t hear anything. You stayed like that for a while, Hyunjin’s fingers playing with your hair and you tracing shapes on the skin of his back. 

He kissed your jaw, your face, your lips. You kissed him back, moaning when he finally pulled out, his softening cock leaving a trace of your slick on your thigh. 

You respectfully looked away as he disposed of the condom and then Hyunjin helped clean you up with tissues. He kissed you often, but not always your mouth. Your wrist sometimes, or your waist, or your chin. 

You were sleepy again by the time he lay down next to you again in your filthy bed. But it strangely felt good to lie in a puddle of your own cum, especially with Hyunjin’s weight beside yours.

He rolled on his side until he faced you and smiled when he noticed your sleepy state. He had quite literally fucked you hard enough to induce a coma. He brushed his thumb over your eyelid, kissing your nose gently. “You okay, Tipsy?”

“So good.” You closed your eyes, nuzzling into him, forehead pressed on his chest. “You okay, Fairytale?”

Hyunjin kissed the top of your head. “So good. You sleep now, okay?” 

You fell asleep to the sound of his breathing as it gently slowed down. He was so warm and he felt so good against you. You felt sore between the legs and you liked it.

When you woke up, Hyunjin wasn’t there anymore.

In fact, you woke up so abruptly that you thought you had dreamed it all. If it hadn’t been for the messy state you were in and the soft ache between your legs, you would have thought you had somehow dreamed the whole encounter. 

Your phone vibrated again and you searched for it on the floor, among the clothes that had been discarded here and there. It was still dark outside but not as much, and your phone informed you that it was almost 5 in the morning. 

You didn’t even look at the notification at first. You stared at the empty space in your bed where Hyunjin should have been. You looked around the room, easily noticing that his clothes were gone. He was gone.

There were three red lollipops on your bedside table, and a full glass of water. The hoodie he had lent you was neatly folded on your chair.

You drank some water but it was hard to swallow it, as if there was a lump in your throat. You checked your phone in the end, seeing it was a series of texts. 

Unknown Sender: Hanji gave me your number. Hope it’s ok. It’s Hyunjin btw

Unknown Sender: I’m sorry I left. I wasn’t sure if you’d want me there when you woke up. I went by the park on my way home and Chives was still there

Unknown Sender: I brought it with me. Still had the old aquarium from when I was a kid and my dad bought me a goldfish

Unknown Sender: I had a nice night with you. Hope I’ll see you again soon, Tipsy

And, attached to the last message, was a picture of Chives in an aquarium. The frog rested peacefully on a rock that Hyunjin had undoubtedly taken from the pond at the park.

You hadn’t dreamed him—you still felt the ghost of his cock in your pussy, he had left lollipops by your bed, and now he had texted you. And yet it didn’t feel real, for some reason. Even if it didn’t matter. Even if it was just for fun, because both of you were a little lonely and moderately horny. 

You lay back on your bed, resting your face on the pillow where Hyunjin’s had been some time ago. It still smelled like him. Like paint thinner, like cigarettes, like outside air, like roses, like weed. Like you. 

When you woke up for real—just past noon—you actually felt slightly dazed. Not enough to throw up, but just enough to let you know that it had been a rough night, especially for someone who isn’t used to partying. Or who had never been fucked his hard once in her life. 

Your phone battery was dead so you plugged it in before putting the hoodie on and grabbing the first pair of sweatpants you found in your dresser to go get more water—you were parched. You’d rehydrate a little and head to the shower to wash last night off you. Your hand ghosted your neck, your lips, your pussy, recalling Hyunjin, recalling the look in his eyes when he had pressed his hard cock against you…

Outside of your room, you heard quiet voices and slowed down, not particularly fond of the idea of anyone seeing you in the state you were in… You pulled the hood over your head, Hyunjin’s hoodie protecting you from unwanted attention, and entered the kitchen. It was empty—the voices came from the dining room.

“Y/N, is that you finally?” Jisung asked and you heard his footsteps coming towards the kitchen. “Hey, you—oh my god…” 

Your hand still on the fridge door handle, you turned to look at your friend, making sure to keep your movements slow as you were a little lightheaded. 

“She literally is wearing his hoodie,” Jisung said to whoever was in the dining room. 

You let go of the fridge to cross your arms over your chest and glare at him. “The fuck, Ji?” 

Chae and Minho appeared behind Jisung, shocked expressions on their faces. So Chae and Jisung were talking to each other again? With Minho present in the room especially?

Why did this morning feel more like a dream than last night did? 

“You actually brought back the frog boy here last night,” Minho stated without shame, and you blushed at the realization that he and Chae had most likely heard a lot more than they—or you—needed to…

Frog boy. You closed your eyes to take a deep breath, doing your best to appease your racing heart. Walk of shame but make it a million times worse as your own friends try to roast you for bringing a guy home for once. 

“Frog boy?” You couldn’t help but be offended despite the humiliating situation you were in. “Also, let’s not pretend like the two of you,” you pointed at Chae and Minho, “didn’t do some unholy stuff last night and many other nights before! And you were out doing god-knows-what, Ji!” 

“No need to get all defensive,” Minho replied, raising his hands in vindication. “Meant no disrespect. But a dude walking around with a frog at a party is just not something you see every day, y’know?” 

“How do you know about Chives anyway? Did Felix tell you?” Your brain could still only barely process last night, but you knew that Felix knew about the frog—if the damn frog was such a big deal to them.

Jisung chortled. “The frog has a name. I repeat, the frog has a name. Chives?” But he had pulled his phone out and showed you a picture that had been shared on social media. You recognized Chan’s basement. The focus of the photo was actually the video game gang, but you could clearly see Hyunjin behind them, carefully holding Chives. 

“I’m sure he’s a good guy,” Minho added. “But why the frog?”

“Leave her alone!” Chae punched Minho in the shoulder and shoved Jisung away from you.

You were a little too hungover and definitely too shocked to fully appreciate the fact that Jisung could stand being in the same room as Chae again—and interact with Minho and her—but you noticed it regardless. 

“Don’t answer him!” Chae crossed her arms over her chest. “Come on, guys, give her some space, she just woke up. Who cares if she slept with frog boy?” 

The boys left with quiet laughter, but you were relieved to hear the conversation shift to something else entirely as they walked away. Chae turned to you. “Are you ok?”

You nodded. “Except for these two dickheads, I’m fine.” You finally poured yourself a glass of cold water and drank a little. “Don’t call him that, okay? His name is Hyunjin, and he’s really nice actually.”

Chae’s smile was telling, but she gave you a minute as she looked into the fridge. “Let me fix you some breakfast while you shower,” she offered. “I was going to make some soup anyway.”

“Thank you.” You emptied your glass of water, wrapping yourself tighter into the hoodie. 

“So, is it gonna be a thing? Hyunjin and you?” Chae asked, her voice low, making sure to be heard by you only.

You shook your head. “Nah. He applied for an exchange next semester. He wants to go to Paris. Doesn’t seem like the kinda guy that commits to a girl anyway, does he?” 

Chae shrugged. “I didn’t know he wanted to leave. That’s too bad. He really does sell the best fucking weed.” She got to work, peeling a carrot. “But I guess he also doesn’t seem like anything, you know. I can’t get a read on him at all. He doesn’t look like a real weed dealer… He’s weird, but not in a bad way. Didn’t seem like the kind of guy that carried a frog to a party.”

“He was saving it. The frog. He tried to save the frog.” 

Chae stared at you for a long time. “Oh.” 

You walked away, headed for the bathroom. “And the frog’s fine, by the way. He brought it home with him.” 

You showered and then started some laundry, leaving out the hoodie on purpose. You’d give it back, of course, but you’d rather it kept some of Hyunjin’s smell for the rest of the weekend. 

──to be continued!

Author's note: World, meet frog boy. Frog boy, meet world. Guys, when I tell you that this idea happened the very day following the Maxident release... And when I tell you I've been sitting on this for months now, not releasing it... will you forgive me? I wanted to make this a simple one-shot, you see, but I failed and it became a series. I went through lots of ups and downs and a lot of it was rewritten in the weeks following the preview.

In any case, I'd like to thank you my readers for your patience and your kindness! To those who choose to read and interact with my stories, thank you. Please know you are a huge source of motivation for me and I appreciate it.

── no frog was harmed in the writing of this fic! 🐸

Series + permanent taglist ♡ @septicrebel @cb97percent @changbinluvr @neosracha @hwan-g @streetlight-s @j-0ne25 @tanyas97 @hyun-bun @americanokisses @aimeexx @upallnight-s @hyunskizz @lotus-dly @thestarseeker @skzho @suhomylife