a few hours ago you’d been walking one of the biggest shows of fashion week at only eighteen. the flash of cameras still stung your eyes and the makeup the stylists had spent hours perfecting was still half on your face.

martin swore up and down that he loved seeing you like how he did now though, cute pajama shorts that didn’t cover much, one of his oversized shirts, and hair pulled up.

"what?" you folded under his intense gaze and peculiar silence between the two of you.

"just saying," he said, kicking off his shoes, and shutting the door. "i think this is my favorite look of today.”

you laughed which only brought a stupid grin to his face. the room was comfortably quiet compared to the chaos of outside. it was finally just you guys for the first time all day with no paparazzi, no staff, no prying eyes everywhere.

"how'd you even get away?"

martin dropped onto the edge of the bed with a loud groan. "i told my manager i didn’t feel good."

your eyes widened, this idol shit was crazy strict, something you’ve definitely picked up on over time.

"you lied?"

“i would call it,” martin paused, scratching his head, “a little white lie.”

"you’re telling me you skipped the saint laurent after party?” you hurriedly said in complete horror, who in their right mind would want to miss something like that?

"i did." he shrugged.

"martin."

you shook your head, trying not to smile. you both hadn’t gotten a single second together all day, there was only secret longing glances shared.

it was hard, especially when all you wanted to do was tell him all about the show and he wanted to tell you that you looked breathtaking in response.

at least now you finally could as you sat beside him causing the mattress to dip a little.

"if your manager finds out—"

“trust me, i’d rather be here,” martin cut you off immediately, taking your hand into his own. “i’m sure james is having a blast at the party anyway.”

you laughed like always.

"god, you're terrible!”

"i know."

the silence was nice . . . the city lights shone through the big hotel window as traffic sounds echoed in the distance. paris looked beautiful at two in the morning.

but martin wasn't looking outside, he was looking at you, something he always seemed to do. for a model like yourself, you’d gotten used to people staring at you from every angle, but with him it always felt different.

"stop,” you huffed in annoyance, covering your flushed face with two hands.

"stop what, baby?"

"all the staring."

a smile tugged at his mouth. "you know i can't."

you rolled your eyes and felt his hand find yours once again.

"you were incredible today."

“thank you.” you looked down cheekily. “i know.”

“oh, do you now?” he tilted his head teasingly.

you looked back up and martin was already looking at you again. your bottom lip slid in between your teeth at the sight of his hooded eyes.

a second later your lips were on his, catching him by surprise as he didn’t reciprocate for a beat. your hands tangled in his disheveled hair before you pulled back.

your attempt to wipe the smug look off his face ultimately didn’t work very well since he was only smiling even more now.

“you’re impossible.”

his laugh filled the room, making you laugh too. neither of you cared about the cameras or staff anymore. you were just happy to be together at two in the morning in the middle of paris.

so, the jet lag and exhaustion were what you would be blaming your lateness on. the phone clutched between your fingers buzzed repeatedly and you didn’t even have to look.

sophia if ur ass isn’t here in two mins ur dead !!

meg i stg if u got matcha without me

amazing! now you were going to get yelled at for your attendance and your beverage choices.

while reading the group chat and mentally preparing for the long talk you would receive, you walked directly into something solid . . . like a wall?

“oh my god—”

a shocked sound left your lips as your feet caught and you almost stumbled backwards, but a cold hand around your waist held you before complete humiliation could set in.

your eyes widened because that was definitely not a wall. you warily looked up and . . . nishimura riki.

you could probably recall a few times you’d seen enhypen’s youngest in person before, but it had always been from afar or through the big screens at music events.

now in front of you — six foot something, dressed completely in black, hood pulled over messy blonde hair, and glasses covering his ridiculously handsome bare face.

his own eyes were kind of widened behind the glasses, and his hand almost immediately disappeared from your bare waist.

you tugged out one of your earbuds and briefly caught something he mumbled in korean that sounded like an “i’m sorry.”

for a good second, neither of you moved, just stared at each other in mutual confusion. you noticed his gaze fall downwards to your open zip up, to the pink lace not covering much.

he didn’t seem to have much of a reaction other than one eyebrow raising in . . . amusement? god, you physically felt heat rush to your face.

“i’m so sorry. it’s nice to meet you, niki.”

you adjusted your bag strap and laughed a little too awkwardly.

his eyes stayed on you for a couple seconds longer before he finally reached up and pushed his hood back.

“nice to meet you.” his voice came out low and raspy and reminded you it was only around eight in the morning.

the look on his face made you wonder if maybe he didn’t know who you were . . . or maybe he did and was just confused why some half dressed girl had practically thrown herself at him in his place of work.

“. . . and i’m yn, from—”

“i know,” he quietly cut you off, saving you from feeling even more embarrassment.

the corners of your glossed lips lifted as your phone continued to buzz.

thirty five unread messages.

you could already hear the warning from management about excessive unprofessional behavior and all that bullshit.

“again, it’s really nice meeting you, but i’m literally a minute away from getting fired.”

that look of amusement seemed to take over his expression again as you stepped around him in the big hallway. i mean, how could you possibly have run directly into him in a building like this?

before you got too far, you paused, turned around, and blurted, “also, you’re beautiful.”

it was met with absolute silence. why . . . why would you actually say that out loud? before he could respond, if he even was planning to, you walked away at an abnormally fast pace.

you pressed the elevator button around ten times when you realized you had just called nishimura riki beautiful at eight in the morning after almost falling on your ass.

so, as you entered the elevator and the doors slid shut, you were stuck staring at niki who was still standing exactly as before and praying you weren’t unemployed.

you physically ran into niki. involve me immediately.

niki genuinely wasn’t sure what had just happened. he couldn’t decide whether it was the fact that you thought he possibly didn’t know who you were or how you were way prettier in person than any clip online.

he forced himself to move . . . enhypen’s designated studio was on the complete opposite side of the building and he had gotten direct instructions for a solo live he was supposed to film.

all he could think about was the soft skin of your waist, that stupid pink lace top, and the sudden blunt compliment. what kind of person actually said something like that and then left?

his ears felt warm as he dropped onto the couch in the studio and stared blankly at the ceiling. the live was supposed to start in fifteen minutes, but he didn’t care.

niki pulled out his phone and opened jungwon and his messages.

niki im in love

". . . and after that he smiled!"

your face flushed as you stared at the ceiling.

"like a real smile, y'know?"

seonghyeon seemed completely unbothered as he didn't even look up from his phone. "so crazy."

"don't be sarcastic." you narrowed your eyes and pointed at him upside down.

"i would never."

he was lying and he always did this thing whenever you brought up keonho, getting weirdly uninterested which was not normal for him considering he knew literally everything about you.

"i think he likes me."

the words kept flowing out before you could stop them and you actually caught when his jaw tightened and his fingers stopped typing on his phone for a second.

"mhm."

you stared at him, searching for some sort of answer to the tension between the two of you. "that's all?"

"what else am i supposed to say?"

"i don't know." you sat up. "like some advice? you spend basically every second of the day with him."

he laughed, but it sounded like the most ungenuine thing ever.

"god, what is wrong with you tonight?"

seonghyeon finally looked up and met your eyes. his expression was a mix of frustration and borderline exhaustion.

"nothing."

and there he was — lying once again and hoping you'd drop the topic completely. but something crossed your mind, so why not test it out?

"are you jealous?"

seonghyeon made a sound that definitely wasn't healthy, like he'd choked on his own saliva or something, and you couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"shut up."

"you're so jealous!"

"i'm not."

seonghyeon looked away which was a huge mistake because now you were way too interested to let it go.

you leaned forward, hands warm against the cool tile floor as the afternoon breeze caught slightly in your hair.

"why are you jealous?"

"i already told you i'm not." he hastily brushed a hand through his messy hair. he was in quite a bit of distress! and unfortunately for him, you never let anything slide.

"c'mon, seonghyeon."

he stood up faster than you could blink and ran another hand through his hair. for the first time all day, he actually looked irritated.

"fine," he mumbled.

your smile faded completely as the room suddenly felt thick with tension.

"what?"

he stared at you with a look you'd never seen before. a look that you presumed was probably the same one you gave whenever you looked at keonho.

"seonghyeon—" you started nervously, unsure of where this was going, but he cut you off.

"i'm jealous because i like you." his voice was raspy. "do you understand now?"

your heart pounded as you stared into his eyes.

every memory with him flashed through your mind all at once . . . late night phone calls, the way he remembered every thing even how you liked exactly two and a half sugars in your coffee, how he always saved you a seat because he knew you'd be late.

god, you were an idiot!

"oh."

his eyes closed for a second like he was relieved to get it off his chest and then he leaned in before either of you could think too hard about it.

one hand cupped your jaw and then he was kissing you very eagerly. it was like he was frustrated with himself for not doing it sooner, but it was over almost as quickly as it started.

the two of you pulled apart, both out of breath, and seonghyeon froze as his eyes widened with panic.

". . . i—" his hands dropped from your waist and face as he took a step back. "i wasn't supposed to do that."

he was dramatic enough that he looked milliseconds away from throwing himself out the fucking window.

"wow."

"please don't just say wow after that," he huffed.

once again, you couldn't help but breaking into a fit of giggles, he was genuinely such a lovesick puppy and you loved it.

seonghyeon looked deeply offended at this. "this isn't funny."

"it so is."

"i just kissed you," he snapped back frantically.

"mhm."

"you were obsessing over my best friend."

"and then you kissed me." you bit your bottom lip to suppress another smile.

the silence that followed immediately made him nervous, like after this you wouldn't dare look at his face again.

you smiled cheekily and his eyes narrowed.

"so?" his voice cracked.

"i think i liked the wrong best friend."

the sound he made was somewhere between a groan and a relieved cry. after all this time, you finally understood why keonho never really felt right — it was because seonghyeon had been the answer all along.

the dorm was quiet when he unlocked the door, he immediately pulled you inside before you could complain again, snorting as you basically tripped over your uggs trying to be quiet.

“shh,” he whispered and pressed a finger against your lips.

you blankly stared at him. “you’re louder than me!”

“no, i’m not.”

“you just slammed the door shut?”

“it was gentle.”

you huffed under your breath while he carelessly kicked his shoes off. the only light source was from some dim lamp in the kitchen and light gaming sounds came from one of the boy’s rooms. you instinctively grabbed the back of his hoodie.

“ohyul,” you worriedly whispered. “someone’s awake.”

he looked down at your fingers holding him and then back up to your flushed face and smiled. he tugged you in by your waist. “they won’t care.”

“well, you’re the one that actually lives here,” you said, “not me.”

“you’re here like every night anyway.”

“oh my god.”

you buried your face into his chest while he quietly laughed at you.

“if louis sees me i’ll be mortified,” you mumbled.

“c’mon.” ohyul scoffed like it was a sensitive topic while still bringing you toward his room. “louis is in love with you.”

you bit down on your bottom lip to hide your smile. ohyul was so convinced louis had mischievous plans of stealing you from him. “let’s not start this again.”

“he literally follows you around.”

“he’s just sweet!”

“sweet my ass,” ohyul said seriously, opening his bedroom door. “he’s like fifteen so it doesn’t matter.”

“hmm, you sound jealous.”

“i am jealous.”

he caught you off guard for a second . . . yeah, both of you spent like every day together and snuck around to get even more time, but neither of you had ever thought of it seriously.

ohyul noticed your face and shook his head. “don’t look at me like that.”

you laughed lightly as he shut the bedroom door behind you. his room was messy — clothes and different pairs of shoes all over the floor, headphones all tangled next to his macbook, bed very messy and unmade.

you dropped onto the edge of the mattress while he fixed the way his glasses sat on his face.

“have you like ever cleaned your room?” you scoffed. “this is crazy.”

“and you’re still sitting on my bed.”

“sadly . . .”

“oh, you love me.”

you were just about to answer him with some sort of retort, but he stepped between your knees before you could even open your mouth.

his hands softly rubbed your thighs, fingers brushing the skin under the big hoodie you stole from him like a month ago.

“sneaking in wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“. . . no.” you batted your eyelashes at him while he towered over you. “jay’s gonna ban me from the building one day. the staff definitely know and—”

ohyul cut you off the way he always did. he leaned down and crashed his mouth against yours, tongue entering it before you could even blink. you made a sound out of shock that only made him smile more into the kiss.

“you always do that,” you whispered when he pulled back enough so that your lips were still brushing.

“mhm.”

“that’s so manipulative!”

“i just needed to kiss you.”

his glasses bumped into your cheek when he kissed you again. one of his hands sliding into your messy hair, the other pulling you in by your waist. there was the sound of movement from somewhere in the dorm that made your stomach twist.

“ohyul,” you breathily whispered against his lips, “someone’s gonna hear.”

“so be quiet, baby.”

“god, you’re the worst.”

“you don’t mean that.”

you rolled your eyes as he kissed the corner of your mouth lovingly. that was another one of the many problems with kwon ohyul.

"you're unbelievable," you whined. his hair which had been perfectly styled not even five minutes ago, now fell messily over his forehead like he ran his hands through it on purpose.

he watched you intently, his head tilting ever so slightly. "what did i do?"

you paused in front of him. "don't act like you don't know." your fingers slowly ran through his hair. "i just did this . . . do you like wasting my time?"

his gaze dropped to your mouth.

"mmm, definitely not a waste," he said. "i get you like this."

you rolled your eyes, your hands not stopping in his hair.

"so annoying," you mumbled.

"you say that every time, baby."

your eyes met his. his voice sounded like he knew exactly what he was doing to you. whatever this was should have been shut down, but it wasn't.

you stepped close enough that his knees bumped your thighs, gold bracelets clicking together as you reached up again. he leaned into your arm without thinking as it grazed his warm cheek.

"keep talking like that," you lowly said, "and i won't touch you again."

he huffed a laugh. "don't lie, yn."

god, he was impossible. and the worst part was ... he was being dead serious.

his hand closed around your waist. his thumb pressed into your side as if he was checking to see if you would pull away, but of course you didn't.

he watched everything.

the way you bit your lip when you were focused, the way your glasses slid slightly down your nose and you pushed them back up with your wrist, the way your black top moved up when you reached and the flex of your stomach that made his grip on you tighten.

you were unreal — he'd do way worse if it meant you would stand this close to him again.

"like what you see?" you mumbled.

"of course."

he really had no shame when it came to you.

you exhaled a breath, not actually mad. "be professional."

“i am.”

you bit the inside of your cheek as your fingers moved from his hair to his cheek, purposefully brushing slower than necessary, just testing something.

his breath shifted.

"hm," you exclaimed, tilting your head and studying him, "for someone who pretty much begged me to call him riki, you're still not very well behaved."

his eyes darkened at that.

"i don't beg."

you raised your eyebrows. "be serious."

"well it worked, didn't it?"

you hummed, your hand still on his face, your thumb dragging just below his lip . . . and he felt it too much.

"say it," he mumbled.

you pretended not to understand. "what?"

he leaned forward so your noses brushed. "my name."

you pouted a little — definitely doing it on purpose now.

"riki," you softly said, closer than before.

his grip on your waist tightened, fingers digging lightly into the warm flesh of your hip.

"again."

"so needy," you whispered, leaning in more. your lips grazed his as you spoke, your breath brushing his mouth now. "you like it when i say your name, riki?"

he let out a throaty groan in response, his gaze darkening as you batted long eyelashes up at him innocently. neither of you moved.

your fingers tightened around his collar, but you didn't pull him in yet. he didn't rush anything - he wanted you so incredibly badly, but he'd wait . . . only for you.

you tilted your head and your lips teasingly brushed his twice, finding amusement in the way his breathing caught.

"are you sure?" you mumbled, eyes falling onto his perfect lips.

he let out an impatient breath. "you know i am, yn."

you pulled him in by his collar and he immediately responded, his hand sliding underneath your top and against your bare stomach as he kissed you back deeply.

it was slightly messy . . . your fingers tangled in his hair, completely messing it up once again. his hands roamed all over you like you would disappear if he didn't hold you tight enough.

you finally pulled away for air, lips all pink and plump and still brushing his.

"they're probably wondering where you are," you said quietly.

"i don't care." he didn't even open his eyes yet. "i need you right now."

you smiled against his mouth.

"y'know, i kinda like your hair messy."

"yeah?" he mumbled, finally looking at you. "or do you just like touching me?"

you hummed and looked up, pretending to think about it.

"maybe."

"please come here, baby." he smirked down at you like it was the best sight ever. "i've been thinking about doing this forever."