em

—

Yang Jungwon (ENHYPEN)

Five Stars | SERIES MASTERLIST

As assistant managers at one of the most popular luxury hotels, you and jungwon have been put through the wringer. It is no secret that the two of you harbour deeper feelings for each other, and yet, even after so many years of working together, nothing has happened. Perhaps this cycle things will finally change…

Lost On You | Pt.1 Pt.2

Around you is a blur of muted colours and somewhat familiar faces, the other students wearing thick coats and wool scarves and yet, amongst them all, you’re always able to pick out your favourite. It’s nothing special– a black bomber– but it has never been the jacket that catches your eye, not necessarily; it’s the person wearing it. 

You’ve known Yang Jungwon since the first semester of your first year at university.

Back then, a boy named Jake was nothing more than your assigned partner for a chemistry lab, but slowly, he became one of your closest friends. And unlike most other first-years, he’d opted out of rooming in the university residence, choosing instead to rent a small three-bedroom apartment just off campus with two guys he’d known since high school. When he invited you over for the first time, you were expecting nothing more than a quiet evening spent studying for a midterm together.

What you had absolutely no idea would happen, however, was that you would end up meeting the person who would completely occupy your every thought for the next three years.

Your phone buzzes in your lap. 

jungwon: where are you??? i saved you a seat

you: look behind you silly

You watch as Jungwon tilts his head back, eyes sweeping across the lecture hall for a few seconds before finally landing on you. The moment he sees you, a smirk pulls at his lips, and he nods toward the empty seat to his side.

It’s almost embarrassing, you think, the way your body moves on its own, already gathering your lecture notebooks and shoving your pens back into your bag. You make your way down the steps two at a time, stumbling over backpacks and outstretched legs, trying to rein in the eager expression tugging at your face, but to no avail.

“Finally,” he whispers, nudging his knee against yours softly. “I thought you abandoned me.”

There’s a teasing glint in your eyes as you glance over at him and feign thoughtfulness. “Well, I was thinking about it.”

He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head as he focuses back to the front of the room, where the professor is getting ready to start the lesson. “Liar,” he mumbles under his breath.

You grin. He’s right, you’d never do that. And even though you should turn to the front too, you let your gaze linger on his features for a moment longer. The curve of his nose, the sparkle in his eyes, the small birthmark at the bottom of his jaw... You’ve memorized these details, traced them so many times in your mind that they feel permanently etched there. 

But if you were smarter, you’d realize that just because you can predict the way his smile will form before it reaches his lips, it doesn’t guarantee that he can do the same for you. 

—

“And then he nudged my knee! when I tell you–”

A squeal cuts you off. “He what?!” Yunjin practically launches herself upright on the couch, eyes widening. “I’ve been saying that he likes you.” 

As your roommate and best friend, she has been by your side throughout what you guys have jokingly started calling the Jungwon Saga since day one. She was there when you got back to your dorm in first year, rambling about the cute boy Jake lives with, and she was there when you embarrassingly spent an entire evening analyzing the meaning behind a good luck text before your first final exam. Yet perhaps most importantly, she’s always there to tell you that you aren’t imagining things.

Not that you need much convincing. You pride yourself on the fact that you’re pretty good at reading body language and gauging the signs someone might give off. After all, you can always tell when one of your friends has a crush. You notice how their eyes track the person a little too long, the way their voice changes when they talk about them, how they somehow always end up bringing them into every conversation despite there being zero correlation.

It’s obvious because it's almost exactly what you do with Jungwon. 

“I’m serious,” she insists, watching the flush on your cheeks grow. “You cannot tell me you don’t see it after all this time.”

You laugh as you tuck your legs beneath you on the couch. “I mean... I’d like to think he likes me too,” you give her a pointed look, “but it’s not like he’s actually done anything about it.”

Though humbling to admit, not once has Jungwon actually made a move on you. And as much as you can sit here and list every little thing he’s done that makes you believe there are underlying feelings, you know there is one thing you don’t have. A confirmation, in words. What was that famous phrase going around on social media? If he wanted to, he would? Something like that. So far, he hasn’t done the ‘would’ part, which is a bummer, but there are still so many other hints that point to some sort of romantic inclination that you choose to ignore what the relationship gurus on TikTok say. 

“Okay, but still,” your friend says, waving her hand dismissively. “The year isn’t over.” 

“Hm?” You raise an eyebrow.

“I’m mean,” leaning forward, her hands coming to rest on your shoulders. “Maybe he’s just waiting for the right moment.” 

“The right moment?”

“Yeah! Think about it: you’re in the final semester of your final year, lots of work and studying to do. He’s probably aware of the fact that you are stressed and wants to make sure he doesn’t add to it.”

“I bet,” she continues, raising a finger, “maybe he’ll ask you out after graduation. You know, when things calm down.”

You tilt your head, considering it.

One thing you’ve noticed about Jungwon is that he is extremely thoughtful, always taking his time to consider how his actions might affect other people. So perhaps Yunjin is right, to some degree. Then, because there’s only so long you can spend dissecting your (lack of) love life before remembering you have actual responsibilities, you glance toward the kitchen. “Anyway,” you say, pushing yourself off the couch, “what do you want for dinner?”

Yunjin blinks. “What do we have?”

“Well…I kinda forgot to go grocery shopping, so our options are pretty slim pickings right now.”

Grabbing her phone, she opens the local food delivery app. “Order in?”

-

So after consuming an amount of pizza that must not be voiced aloud, you eventually decide that moving to your bed is a battle you are no longer willing to fight. By the time you’ve showered, changed into your pyjamas, and completed your nightly routine, the apartment has gone quiet. Settling into your bedsheets, you scroll on your phone, catching up on missed messages you’d forgotten to reply to throughout the day. 

You’re halfway through watching an Instagram reel your friend Sunghoon sent when your phone vibrates in your hand; a new notification blooming at the top of your screen. Your eyes flick up toward the same of the sender, and your heart does a heavy, traitorous thud in your chest. 

jungwon: hey, i think you’d like this song!

Quickly, you click the link to the song, and within seconds, you’re smiling and rolling around your bed in giddy excitement. The minute it ends, you replay the song from the beginning, letting the melody fill the quiet of your room as you stare at the little message bubble above it. 

He heard this and thought of you! Out of everyone he could have sent it to, he chose to send it to you!

As cringe as it may be, you take a screenshot of the text and open your chat with Yunjin. She may be in the room next to yours, and definitely awake, but you’re so comfortable there’s no way you’re getting up. Just as you’re about to press send, your phone buzzes again, and it’s another message from Jungwon, but this time, it’s not a private message. Rather, it’s sent to the group chat you have with him and Jake, and some more university friends. 

jungwon: guys this song is a banger and a half 

Below that is the exact song he sent you.

Okay… so you guess it isn’t the cute shared moment between the two of you that you thought it was, but he sent it to you first, so that should mean something at the very least. You try not to let the disappointment lodge itself in your throat as you switch back to your private chat with him, and like the message. 

—

You might honestly have a heart attack.

Seated across from you, Jungwon has his head buried in a textbook, one hand lazily playing with the edge of the page while the other scribbles notes into the margin. He’s wearing a black beanie pulled low over his forehead, a plain black t-shirt, and grey sweatpants. Altogether, it might just be, and this is objectively speaking, the single most lethal clothing combination a man can put together, and it takes everything in you not to spend the whole studying session checking him out— a Herculean task, really.

To your left, Jake is meticulously making flashcards for the upcoming midterm, mumbling definitions under his breath (you know he’ll ask you to quiz him on them later), and on your right, Jay is asleep, to nobody’s surprise. This is how your afternoons usually go: after dying of boredom in a lecture, the four of you, or whoever else you share a class with, move to the campus library to do extra reading and review any new information.

“Yo,” Jake says suddenly, not bothering to look up from the stack of flashcards in his hands. “Y’all going to that party on Saturday? I think it’s at Yeonjun’s.”

You'd already been invited by the man himself the last time you ran into him, though you hadn't exactly been counting down the days. Loud music, sticky floors, and squeezing through a house shoulder to shoulder with strangers weren’t usually included in your idea of a good time. Still, Yunjin had made it abundantly clear that she intended to go, and after nearly four years of knowing each other, you'd learned a very important lesson: What Yunjin wants, Yunjin gets. 

“Yeah,” you shrug. “I’ll probably be there.” 

At that, Jungwon’s head lifts as he looks at you. “You’re going?”

“Mhm.”

He hums once, absentmindedly, then looks back down at his notes. “I’ll go too.”

Biting the inside of your cheek, you force yourself to look anywhere but him to avoid getting caught cheesing. You totally influenced his decision! It’s times like this when you’re 100% convinced he likes you. Like who would say that if they weren’t interested? You’re not complaining. Plus, if he wasn’t going to go, your already non-existent motivation would have dropped tenfold. Perhaps with a little bit of alcohol in the system...

The right end of the table wobbles as Jay stirs, peeling his cheek off the textbook he'd been using as a pillow. There's a deep, blotchy imprint pressed into his skin where the pages had folded beneath him.

You burst out laughing before you can stop yourself, slapping a hand over your mouth, eyes wide as you try to smother the noise (rookie mistakes). A few heads turn from nearby tables, searching for the source of the disruption.

“Are you going to go?” You whisper once you've composed yourself.

From the corner of your eye, you see Jake’s cheeks puff up with air as he, too, tries his very best to hold in his laughter. 

“I’m too tired to make a decision right now,” Jay grumbles back, dragging his hands through his hair. It makes you roll your eyes. That’s code for ‘No, unless there is weed.’

From under the table, you feel something pushing against the front of your calf, and your gaze flits over to Jungwon, who’s leaning a bit further back in his chair, peering at you with one eyebrow raised. Wordlessly, he looks at Jay and gives you a look, and you know immediately that he’s thinking exactly what you are.

“I’m pretty sure Yeonjun’s plug will be making an appearance.” He coughs behind a fist, and Jay sits up so quickly you’d think he’s been possessed. 

“Heeseung? No way. I thought he transferred.” The fact that that is what gets Jay to be the most alert he’s been since entering the library…

“He did, but he’ll never turn down a party.” 

—

Said party is already well underway when you step through the front door of Yeonjun’s place. 

It has been propped open to let in the cool spring air, though it does very little to combat the heat trapped inside, and it makes you feel bad for the neighbours, who are undoubtedly debating whether or not they should call the cops with a noise complaint. Music spills out from somewhere deeper in the house, loud enough that the bass rattles faintly beneath your feet as you step over the piles of abandoned shoes and get past clusters of people gathered in the entryway. The living room is stuffed full of students from every faculty imaginable, many of whom you vaguely recognize just from walking around campus, or the dining hall from first year.

"I told you we'd be late," Yunjin yells back to you as she catches your wrist, weaving the two of you through the crowd before you lose each other. "If we'd left forty minutes earlier, we wouldn't have to fight for our lives like this just to get inside."

You laugh, nearly bumping into someone. "This is your fault. You wanted to pre-game for an hour before coming.”

“Yeah, yeah, but imagine arriving here sober? I’d probably turn right back around.”

A fake scoff escapes you, and she lets go of your hand, looping her arm through yours as the two of you finally emerge into a slightly less crowded corner of the room. The drinks table has already been picked over by the time you reach it, with only a few bottles of cheap liquor and beer sitting scattered amongst half-empty bags of chips and melting ice. You settle for a random bottle of gin and what’s left of the tonic. 

"There you are!"

You turn to find Kazuha and Chaewon making their way through the crowd, each carrying drinks of their own, and it takes no time to get comfortable with them. Along with Yunjin, they round out your closest friend group. The four of you quickly fall into conversation, joking about the horrific midterms and about the potential ‘prospects’ at the party. Chaewon is eyeing some guy in a wifebeater, and you suppress the urge to gag at his outfit choice.

Every few minutes, someone new comes by to say hi and hug you all before going back to their little party group, and despite originally not wanting to come that much, you can’t deny that you’re having a good time. 

Yet, your eyes seem to have a mind of their own, because they keep drifting toward the direction of the entrance, hoping to catch sight of Jungwon or at least one of the other guys, since you know that once you see one of them, the rest aren’t far behind. Before your focus shifts back to your friends, a wave of loud cheering rolls through the room. Even from another part of the house, you can easily pick out his laugh first. 

Not long after, the boys filter in, Jake animatedly telling some story that has Sunghoon and Riki cackling, while Jay trails behind with his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. Following him is Sunoo, and beside him is, of course, Jungwon.

It takes him less than a second to spot you and your friends, his face brightening immediately as he pushes through some students to greet you. 

"There she is," he says warmly as he reaches you, slinging an arm around your shoulders, and pulling you briefly into his side. “You made it.”

Your heart flutters so violently it almost distracts you from the fact that, a moment later, he lets you go and turns to Kazuha, greeting her with the same easy side hug. Then Chaewon. Then Yunjin, his smile never changing. After him, Jake, Sunghoon and Niki come and give you hugs of their own, while Sunoo waves and Jay, well, Jay has already vanished, presumably in search of Heeseung. 

"Good to see you guys," Jungwon says, looking between all of you. "I'm gonna go steal some drinks before they're all gone." 

“Pretty sure they already are,” Chaewon snorts. He laughs, disappearing back into the crowd, and the second he’s out of sight, three pairs of eyes swivel and land on you. You give them a warning look as their eyebrows wiggle in unison, trying your best to wordlessly point out the very important fact that his friends are still standing with you.

Choosing not to indulge them, you deliberately turn your body to the left, starting up a conversation with Sunoo and Sunghoon. Before long, you're laughing again, the conversation having drifted between upcoming finals, summer plans, and the general excitement of graduating. At this point, ten or so minutes have passed, and you secretly wonder where your favourite boy is. Luckily for you, the next time you glance away, you spot him. 

Jungwon has a cup in one hand and appears to be making his way back when someone reaches out, fingers wrapping gently around his forearm to stop him. A girl you don’t think you’ve ever seen before stands on the tips of her toes, and she leans in to say something you can't quite make out from where you’re standing. He pauses immediately, turning his body downward and moving his face close to hers. Oh?

Knowing it’s probably nothing, your own attention returns to whatever ridiculous story Sunoo has now moved on to. He’ll be back soon. 

But time passes faster than you realize. "We're gonna move to the sunroom," Kazuha announces suddenly, gesturing toward the hallway. "It's impossible to hear anyone in here." 

And as your group makes their way to the new spot, your movements pause for a brief second when you see Jungwon is still talking to the same girl. She’s speaking, both hands moving as she speaks, and he’s listening attentively. They look completely absorbed in each other, standing very close together as they converse. And although you may like him, you would never stoop so low as to interrupt or join them, as much as the urge is there. It isn’t your place to swoop in and attempt to mark your territory, so you continue on.

A few hours later, it's clear everyone has hit their limit. Between the dancing, the socializing, and getting dragged into games you barely understand the rules of, your social battery is well and truly dead. So it's no surprise that the second someone floats the idea of leaving, it's met with unanimous approval. "I am starving," Riki groans dramatically, clutching his stomach.

"I vote convenience store," Jake pipes up. "I'm craving instant ramen."

"Nah," Jay counters. He came and found you guys a while ago, having wandered off to find Heeseung, and if his eyes are anything to go by, he definitely found more than just his friend. "Ice cream."

"It's three in the morning."

"I’m high."

Nobody can really argue with that. Within the next few minutes, everyone has managed to find their shoes and sweaters, put them on, and exit onto the street. Even Jungwon, who had been AWOL practically the entire night, appears. The difference in temperature from when you arrived versus now hits you right away, and you instinctively pull your sleeves over your hands as you step onto the sidewalk.

The walk to the convenience store isn't long, though it takes nearly twice the time as it probably should, due to the collective effect of the night's… substances. Jungwon remains a few paces behind the rest of the group as you make your way over.

His head is tilted toward his phone, thumbs moving quickly across the screen as the glow of a notification lights up his face every few seconds. He doesn't seem to notice that the distance between himself and everyone else has slowly grown when he smiles faintly at whatever he’s reading before typing something else, and you wonder who he's texting. Whoever it is, he manages to catch up again by the time everyone reaches the convenience store.

Twenty minutes later, you’ve migrated to the small park a block away, planting yourselves around a weathered wooden bench. Riki, Sunghoon and Jake sit on the grass despite the cold, while the rest of you perch on the backrest or sit properly. Wrappers begin stacking up in the middle as everyone steals bites from one another's snacks. You barely notice Jungwon has gone quiet until Riki suddenly points at him with a mouthful of chips. “Dude. Who are you texting?”

Looking up, and maybe shy from the sudden attention, the other boy quickly shuts off his phone, turning the screen over against his thigh before slipping it into the pocket of his hoodie. “No one.”

The younger one’s eyes narrow. “I’m calling cap.” 

“Whatever, bro.”

He doesn't touch his phone for the rest of the night, but you can tell he wants to.

—

The weeks continue on much the same, except something feels... different.

Initially, you can't quite put your finger on it. After all, nothing has changed in any obvious way. You still see Jungwon at group hangouts, you still exchange the occasional text, and he still talks and jokes around the way he always does. But at the same time, you’re no idiot. You’ve been in love with the guy for quite a while now, over-analyzing his every move, so it would be stupid for you, of all people, to not notice even the slightest shift in behaviour.

Evidence #1: He’s begun skipping lectures.

Now, Jungwon isn’t exactly the type to colour code his notes or chase extra credit opportunities, but he does take his studies seriously. He stays on top of assignments, shows up to class, and rarely falls behind. He wouldn't miss a lecture unless he was genuinely sick or something important had come up. Which is why seeing the seat beside you remain empty for an entire hour and a half without receiving a single text, makes zero sense. It’s just one time, though, so you don’t need to worry about it too much. 

But when it happens again, just one week later, you begin to question things. You don’t know if it’s your place to text him, or not. Unfortunately, one of the things that comes along with liking someone is the inability to be casual about literally anything. With him, you tend to overthink even sending a quick message, because what if he doesn’t reply? Or what if he does reply, but it’s super dry? Either way, you’d feel bad. Ultimately, you choose not to text him.

If he wanted to keep you in the loop, he’d do it himself. 

"You know where Jungwon's been lately?" you ask Jake one afternoon as the two of you walk out of your advanced analytical chemistry lab together, your backpacks slung over one shoulder.

He shrugs. "Not really. I think he's just been hanging out with some other friends recently."

“Oh.” There's a brief pause before you nudge his arm. "Well, tell him he can't disappear forever. We have one of our last miderms coming up and it's worth like thirty percent of our final grade." 

“Trust me,” your friend says, “he knows. I’ve been on his ass about it for ages.”

Evidence #2: He no longer keeps his word.

And that evening, after putting it off for nearly an hour because you don't want to seem like a desperate loser, you finally cave and open your messages.

you: heyyy wanna study together tomorrow? 

It doesn't take long for his reply to come through.

jungwon: yes i would love to :)) let's do our usual spot at 3pm

You blow out a breath of relief, a soft smile gracing your features. Maybe you were truly going crazy. He has a life, and though you’d love to be privy to more parts of it, you aren’t, but at least you have this. 

The next afternoon, you arrive at your usual table in the library ten minutes early.

In first year, the two of you found it, tucked into the far corner beside the windows, hidden just enough from the rest of the floor that nobody else ever seems to claim it, and ever since then, it’s become the study location. You spread your notes across the surface and take your laptop out of your bag, arranging everything exactly how you like it, and while you wait, you start studying. 

Truthfully, you don't even realize he hasn't shown up until nearly thirty minutes have passed. You've been too busy reconstructing proteins on Py-Mol to bother checking the time, your fingers typing away on the keyboard as you add more beta sheets. It's only when you finally glance at the clock hanging on the wall that your stomach sinks.

Huh. That’s… unlike him. 

You expect him to show up soon, stumbling in, apologizing for his tardiness, anything, really. You don’t expect for an entire hour to pass, then another, and another. With each minute that slips by, the knot in your chest ties itself a little tighter. The rational thing would be to send another message, like hey, are you still coming?  But the longer you wait, the more humiliating the idea becomes. If he forgot, reminding him would only make you feel worse, since you wouldn't want him to rush over, and if he didn't, well, then you'll have your answer anyway. 

Drowning in the embarrassment for having been stood up on a study session of all things, your thumb presses his contact until the mute notifications option appears. You don’t know why you do it. Perhaps the only explanation is to help silence your growing anxiety, your growing dread. 

You flip your phone over, set it down beside your pencil case, and compel yourself to look back down at your notes. 

Evidence #3: When you do interact, he gives you nothing. 

You’re trying your hardest to give Jungwon the benefit of the doubt, since it’s only fair. People get busy, plans can change, you know that. You aren't some unreasonable person who expects Jungwon to drop everything the second you ask to spend time together. It’s not like you need to be his first priority– you don't even need to be close to the top of the list– but a small part of you thinks that if he cared even the slightest amount about your feelings, then he would try. 

The next time you see him is a few days later in the Enzyme Chemistry & Biocatalysis course. Like always, as you’ve been finding lately, you notice him before he does you. Regardless of the fact that he ditched you in the library, you refuse to be petty, save him the seat beside you, and when he sits down next to you, you smile. “Hey.”

“Hi,” he replies, pulling out his notebook. You brace yourself for his apology, ready to wave it off and move past it, but then, to your shock, neither of you speak. In fact, minutes pass without a single word exchanged. You’ve never felt so awkward around him before. 

“So…” you begin in an effort to break the weird atmosphere, shifting in your place, “you never came to the library the other day.”

“Oh, oops”

Breathing out, “Yeah, I waited for a while."

Jungwon exhales, leaning back slightly in his chair. "yeah, sorry. Something came up."

Your nose scrunches at how thin that sounds, at how much more you feel like you deserve. "Okay.” The word comes out slowly, although you do your best to keep your voice light. "I get that. I just wish you had texted me or something."

He looks like you from the corner of his eye, not even bothering to turn his head fully. Then, “alright, my bad.”

You force out a nod, just to end the conversation, before turning back toward the front of the classroom just as the professor begins setting up the lecture slides. The words on the screen blur together as you attempt to focus, but your mind keeps replaying the interaction over and over again. Was it too much to expect a proper apology? You can’t help but think that the Jungwon of five months ago would've handled this differently.

The rest of the lecture passes in silence.

Usually, you and Jungwon walk out together afterward to go to the library or cafe. Today, you pack your bag and leave without sparing him a glance. 

At night, you lie awake staring at the ceiling, hating how much power one person has over your emotions. It makes you want to shake yourself. You’re about to graduate from university, for crying out loud! You’re not some high schooler anymore; shit like this shouldn’t get to you, but it does. 

When you interact with him, your entire day brightens. The bare minimum, like one joke, one smile, or one small gesture, and suddenly you feel euphoric. But when he feels distant or doesn’t seem to pay you any attention, it ruins everything. Today, your entire mood hinged on a conversation that lasted less than ten seconds.

Less than ten seconds!

You turn onto your side, pulling your blanket closer, your phone sitting untouched on your nightstand as your mind wanders off to a place it’s never dared to explore. Have you just been imagining it all, him pulling away and acting differently? It’s as if something between the two of you has shifted. Or it could be that there was nothing there to begin with. 

The thought is painful enough that you instantly try to push it away, but once it appears, you can't seem to get rid of it.

Did Jungwon ever actually like you? Because when you like someone, you want to spend time with them, you look for excuses to talk to them, you notice when they're gone, you make an effort.

You have spent years convincing yourself that there was this thing between the two of you. The shared moments, lingering glances, casual touches, inside jokes. You have replayed conversations so many times that you could probably recite his own words back to him. It couldn't all have been nothing, right? There's no way.

A realization settles somewhere deep in your chest, heavy and uncomfortable. 

Frustratingly, your eyes begin to burn. You squeeze them shut, willing the tears away before they have the chance to fall. 

—

Along with the last weeks of the semester, comes a resolve. A resolve to get over him. To enjoy the little time you have left of university and allow yourself to exist without Yang Jungwon taking up so much space in your life.

At first, it's liberating. You hadn't realized how much energy you'd been pouring into thinking about him until you finally stopped. Now, you can hang out with your friends without being that one person who can't stop bringing up some guy, and your friendships are better for it. The version of you from first, second, or even third year would never have believed you could go nearly a month without talking to Jungwon. And yet here you are, deep in your fourth-year glory, proving it's possible after all.

For a while, you believe that this is it, that getting over him wouldn’t be nearly as hard as you anticipated it would be. Except, faintly, in a hidden corner in the deepest, darkest crevices of your heart, you note that he hasn’t even tried on his end of the friendship. He hasn’t cared to reach out to you, only interacting in the shared group chat. And while you do see him attending group hangouts, he’s really only there physically, and even then, sometimes he’ll leave early or just stay to the side, too busy being preoccupied with his phone. Has he always been like this, and you just chose not to see it? Were you always the one initiating things? You'd like to think not, but honestly, you don't know anymore.

The only two times his name appears on your phone for the rest of the school year are when he needs something.

jungwon: hey do you have the notes from yesterday's lecture? couldn’t make it to class today

And because old habits die hard, you send them over. The second time, however, you find yourself hesitating. 

jungwon: missed another lecture sry. notes??

His audacity should be studied, you surmise. You don’t owe him anything! 

you: no sorry, come to class next time

jungwon: alr i’ll just ask jake then

you: kk

As hapless as it may be, not a single ounce of guilt courses through your veins. You’re past the point of deluding yourself that he likes you based on some arbitrary interactions, and you’re no longer going to try to get him to like you by doing random tasks that, in any other world, he wouldn’t need help with.

During the last group get-together of the semester before finals, your friends notice the change. Yunjin’s eyes flick between you and Jungwon as she takes a sip of her drink, brows furrowed in confusion. “Are you seriously not even going to say hi?”

Shaking your head, you look around the room “Nah, we’ve already waved eachother.”

That earns you a suspicious look. "Okay...?"

You chuckle, bringing your hand up to pat her shoulder. "Yunjin, I'm fine."

She doesn't look completely convinced, and neither do Chaewon and Kazuha once they clock it too. Throughout the night, they keep trying, doing things like trying to casually suggest getting another drink from the kitchen when Jungwon is there, or steering the conversation toward wherever he’s sitting. You’re on the receiving end of increasingly unsubtle looks every time he walks past, your friends essentially begging you to make a move, though to no success.

—

The final nail in the coffin is the night before graduation, on a walk down the same streets you’ve walked thousands of times. 

There is something oddly comforting in it, knowing that soon enough these familiar paths will no longer be part of your daily routine, that the late night visits to the convenience store and the early morning gym sessions before campus grows crowded will fade into memory. Everything feels a little more sentimental now, pulled down by the knowledge that tomorrow marks the end of this particular chapter of your life.

Jake walks beside you as the two of you take your last late night walk as university students, reminiscing about the memories made over the years: some of them silly, some surprisingly tender. He has always been your safe space, a friend who has never once judged you for anything, and maybe that's why the confession slips out so easily.

“Jake?”

“Hm?”

You stare below at the pavement beneath your feet, watching your shoes move with each step. "You know I've had the biggest crush on Jungwon for the longest time, right?" 

After a small pause, "yeah," he says quietly, "I know." 

"Ugh, I honestly thought something was going to happen this year." 

"I don't know why,” you continue, “I think I had some wild delusion that after all these years of knowing each other, something would eventually change." You laugh self-deprecatingly, "Obviously not." 

To you right, Jake doesn’t laugh. Instead, he looks ahead, his expression thoughtful. "For a while I thought he liked you too.”

Your steps falter. “What?”

He scratches the back of his neck, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Like, there were moments where I was pretty sure. The way he acted around you sometimes..." 

You kick lightly at a loose pebble on the sidewalk; it skitters ahead. "Yeah, well, whatever he felt for me wasn't romantic."

It is at this moment that Jake turns to face you fully, and the expression that paints his features has your lips pursing in immediate suspicion. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Hearing him say your name so gently is enough to send your stomach twisting into nervous knots. With the hesitation lacing his voice and his obvious refusal to meet your eyes, you feel as though you already know what's to come. “I’m sorry I’m the one telling you this.”

“Telling me what?”

Jake looks genuinely upset. “Jungwon has a girlfriend now.”

At first you don’t react, not because you don't understand what he means, but because your brain seems to reject the information before it can fully settle. You had spent this entire semester slowly coming to terms with the fact that Jungwon probably didn't see you the way you saw him, and that was fine. You were able to accept that him not returning your feelings wasn’t going to ruin your life, and that once you let go of any expectations, the ache would eventually fade. But this is different.

Knowing he doesn't like you is one thing. Knowing he likes someone else is another.

The world around you continues moving, completely unaware that something inside you just broke. You hope it’s not your heart. 

“Who?” Your voice cracks.

Hesitating again, Jake watches you carefully, reluctant to cause you any more pain. "I think they met at Yeonjun's party." 

Ah. 

He doesn’t need to explain any further; your mind has already filled in the blanks. She’s the girl who grabbed Jungwon's arm when he came back with drinks, the one he was talking to for the rest of the night while you waited for him to come back to your group. The girl he had been texting when everyone went out for snacks after the party, who somehow became more important than the lectures he stopped showing up to, more important than spending quality time with his friends, and evidently, you.

All of a sudden, everything makes sense. 

You feel the familiar sting growing behind your eyes and let out a small, broken laugh that doesn't sound like you at all. "This is so embarrassing," you whisper, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to bury your face in both hands.

The tears come quickly after that, and you hate how easily they fall, hate that after all this time, after convincing yourself you were finally moving on, you were just lying to yourself. You don't want Jake to see you like this, not over something that feels so foolish and immature, but you're only human, and you wear your emotions like a badge.

"Hey," he says tenderly from beside you. Your friend’s hand settle against your back, rubbing slowly as he tries to offer as much comfort as he can. His voice is soft when he speaks again. "It's not embarrassing, okay? I promise it's not." 

Still, the reassurance only serves to tighten your throat more. Your voice is muffled behind your hands when you choke out, "It just hurts so much.”

And Jungwon having a girlfriend somehow isn’t even the worst part of this revelation. It is the realization that for almost four whole years, you carried around this hope that maybe one day he’d finally make a move, and yeah, he was making moves, just not on you.

You can’t stop your thoughts as they spiral, searching through every possible version of events, every moment where you wonder if you could have done something differently. What if you had told him in first year? What if you had been more obvious? What if you met him at that party, instead of her? What if, what if, what if. 

"I'm so stupid," you rasp, shaking.

Jake immediately shakes his head, squeezing your shoulder. "No, you're not."

Out of all the emotions crowding your chest right now, you’re surprised to find that anger isnt one of them. It couldnt be. Jungwon never promised you anything, or intentionally gave you false hope.

He was kind to you, he cared about you, and he treated you like a friend. The problem was that you took every small act of kindness and every moment of platonic intimacy and built them into something bigger because you wanted them to mean more, despite them not having that deeper message you seeked. And when you broke through that façade and saw his actions for what they really were, you didn’t know what to think. He didn’t start hating you or ignoring you on purpose; he just got a girlfriend. 

You wish you could go back to first year and tell yourself not to bother, because now, with graduation only a day away, all you can think about is how much time you lost on him.

---

A/N: there will be a part two!! i split it bc there will be a time skip, and i didn't feel it meshed well all in one fic. i will keep the taglist the same for pt2 but please comment if you want to be added! comments & reblogs are always appreciated :)

Around you is a blur of muted colours and somewhat familiar faces, the other students wearing thick coats and wool scarves and yet, amongst them all, you’re always able to pick out your favourite. It’s simple– a black bomber– but it’s never the jacket that catches your eye, not necessarily; it’s the person wearing it. 

You’ve known Yang Jungwon since the first semester of your first year at university.

Back then, a boy named Jake was nothing more than your assigned partner for a chemistry lab, but slowly, he became one of your closest friends. And unlike most other first-years, he’d opted out of rooming in the university residence, choosing instead to rent a small three-bedroom apartment just off campus with two guys he’d known since high school. When he’d invited you over, it was to study for a midterm together, so that’s what you were expecting.

What you had absolutely no idea would happen, however, was that you’d end up meeting the person who would completely occupy your every thought for the next three years. 

Your phone buzzes in your lap. 

jungwon: where are you??? i saved you a seat

you: look behind you silly

You watch as Jungwon tilts his head back, eyes sweeping across the lecture hall for a few seconds before finally landing on you. The second he sees you, a smirk pulls at his lips, and he nods toward the empty seat to his side.

It’s almost embarrassing, you think, the way your body moves on its own, already gathering your lecture notebooks and shoving your pens back into your bag. Making your way down the steps, you try to reel in the eager expression on your face before dropping down next to him, but to no avail.

“Finally,” he whispers, nudging his knee against yours softly. “I thought you abandoned me.”

There’s a teasing glint in your eyes as you glance over at him. “I was thinking about it.”

He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head as he focuses back to the front of the room, where the professor is getting ready to start the lesson. “Liar,” he mumbles under his breath.

You grin, and even though you should turn to the front too, you let your gaze linger on his features for a moment longer. The curve of his nose, the sparkle in his eyes, the small birthmark at the bottom of his jaw... You’ve memorized these details, traced them so many times in your mind that they feel permanently etched there. 

But if you were smarter, you’d realize that just because you can predict the way his smile will form before it reaches his lips, it doesn’t guarantee that he can do the same for you. 

---

a/n: this will be posted as soon as i finish!! i'm really excited to share this, i'm lowkey pouring my heart into it ✊ for plot purposes, it might end up being split into two parts but idk yet!

---

a/n: based on a true story (i'm ovulating). if u saw my first post no u didnt

He sits at his desk, fingers drumming restlessly against the edge of his desk before stopping altogether when he realizes they're shaking. The suspense is awful. If he had to describe it, it feels like those side characters in horror movies who pick the world's worst hiding spot and spend the next five minutes waiting to be found. Even then, at least they usually know what's coming.

The click of the office door pulls him from his thoughts. You step inside with a sigh of relief for having finished the shift, and with your lanyard slung over one shoulder, clearly expecting the room to be empty. But the second your eyes land on him, your eyebrows lift in surprise. "Oh," you say, pausing in the doorway. "You're still here?"

He nods wordlessly. 

"I thought you would've gone home by now."

"And I thought you'd have ignored me."

Instead of answering straight away, you walk past him towards your desk, setting your bag down before gathering the few things you'd left behind earlier that afternoon. Your laptop slips into its sleeve, then your notebook follows. He can see you’re purposefully trying not to look at him in the way you're keeping your eyes on your hands the entire time.

"Being passive-aggressive gets you nowhere," you get out eventually, your voice calm enough that he can't tell whether you're still angry or simply tired.

The words hang between you. Jungwon pushes himself to his feet, the chair scraping slightly against the floor. His hands immediately find the back of his neck, more out of habit than anything else, his fingers pressing into the warm skin there as he tries to organize the hundred different thoughts colliding in his head.

"Can we... Not do this? I hate it," he admits, the words leaving him in a rush before he can overthink them. "I hate whatever this is between us right now."

You stop your motions, and slowly turn to face him.

"I'm truly sorry about the messages last night. They were out of line." His heart is beating so loudly he feels his brain pulsing, and he’s willing to bet money on the fact that you can probably hear it too. Dropping his hands from the back of his neck, he lets them stay at his side for a beat, although he has absolutely no idea what to do with them now. They hang awkwardly by his sides, fingers twitching once before curling into loose fists. "When you told me you'd have to relocate..." He exhales slowly, searching for words. "My brain just... stopped working."

A small, embarrassed laugh escapes him. "I knew I was supposed to be happy for you because this is an incredible opportunity. I am ecstatic for you. But all I could think about was the fact that you wouldn't be here anymore."

He is trying his very best to maintain eye contact with you and not let the nerves interfere with his delivery this time around. "Working with you has been the best part of this job."

"Actually," He shakes his head, correcting himself. "It's been the best part of the last five years.”

Even though he feels like he just lifted the world’s weight off his shoulders, you haven’t said anything. In fact, you’ve barely reacted at all. You just stand there looking at him, your expression revealing nothing, the silence almost has him fumbling with what he truly wants to say next.

"I've never exactly been subtle about how much you mean to me," he carries on, swallowing around the sudden dryness in his throat. "And... I think you know why."

At that, the corners of your lips curve up into a smile, after what feels like an eternity. “You should have just told me”

The knot that's been sitting in Jungwon's chest all day loosens ever so slightly, and you cross the room, stopping directly in front of him. It’s only then that you notice the minor tremble of his hands, so without thinking twice, you reach forward, slipping your fingers into his. "There," you murmur, giving them a small squeeze. "That's better." 

He looks down at your intertwined fingers, and yeah, it’s not the first time you’ve held hands, but after what he's just said, it’s obvious that the action carries a deeper meaning. He meets your gaze again. “I’m sorry,” he repeats. “I was really rude for no reason.”

“You were,” a wry smile graces your lips, and he grimaces a bit, but you give him another gentle squeeze, and he knows you’re not saying that to be malicious, “but you apologized, so now, it’s okay.”

“Plus, I can’t stand here and say ignoring you was easy. I spent more than half of my shift complaining to either Lily or Ryujin about how much I missed you.” You duck your head in embarrassment for a second, and something inside Jungwon's chest swells so suddenly it catches him off guard. Call him the Grinch, because he swears his heart has just grown three sizes.

“Oh?"

Your smile turns sheepish.  Looking at you now, cheeks warm with embarrassment over admitting you missed him, he genuinely cannot wrap his head around the fact that he waited so long to tell you how he felt. Well, at least he got it off his chest, you on the other hand….

His lingering gaze turns expectant, eyes flicking between yours, searching your face. You blink up at him, feigning exaggerated innocence. “What?”

He doesn’t answer, and you fight back a smile. “What?” You ask again.

Jungwon presses his lips together, as if he too is fighting the urge to grin, “I don't know...” he murmurs, glancing down at your joined hands before looking back up at you. “Don't you have anything else you want to say?”

You laugh. “Oh, do I?”

“I mean...” He gives one shoulder an almost awkward shrug, deliberately looking anywhere except directly at you in an attempt to seem nonchalant. “I'm not tryna put words in your mouth.” His eyes dart back to yours.

You're unable to stop the fondness from seeping into your expression. “Jungwon.”

“Hm?”

“I’m pretty sure you know what I’m going to say.”

“I do.”

Snorting, your eyes drift thoughtfully toward the ceiling as you pretend to think. “You know though,” you muse, “it's not like you were all that clear either. What if we're actually thinking about completely different things?”

He narrows his eyes at you, though the smile on his face betrays him. “Doubt that.”

The second you loosen your grip on his hands, Jungwon takes the opportunity to slide his own around your waist instead, drawing you in until there's barely any space left. Your hands find his chest, and you have to lean back slightly just to keep looking up at him. “So,” he asks, thumbs brushing absent-minded circles against your sides, “what are you thinking about?” 

You watch the way the fluorescent lights above catch in his eyes, the faint pink dusting across his cheeks, the tiny, barely-visible crease between his brows that only ever appears when he's nervous. 

“I’m thinking,” you pause. “About how much I like you.”

And just like that, Jungwon drops his forehead against your shoulder, hiding his face there, as though he can’t bear for you to see how happy you’ve just made him. “I'm thinking about that too,” he murmurs, the words warm against your skin. “About how much I like you.” 

“I wish we'd just said it sooner.”

Mumbled so softly, muffled by the skin of your shoulder, you barely miss it. An affectionate sigh escapes you as one of your hands slips up to the back of his head, your fingers brushing through the soft hair at his nape. He closes his eyes and hums at the feeling. Gently, you cradle the sides of his face and coax him to look at you again. His expression, softer than you've ever seen it before, imprints itself in your mind. “There's no point wasting any more time,” you tell him. 

“And...” Your smile falters ever so slightly. “I'm still not one hundred percent sure about the promotion. They've given me until the end of this cycle to decide.”

In your mind, you expect Jungwon to protest, maybe say something akin to what he had said over text, but what you see in front of you is a man weakened by his natural instincts. His eyes, no longer sharp and attentive, seem focused on something else. Something a bit more tempting. Eyelids drooped, his gaze traces the shape of your mouth as you speak, every coherent thought dissolving the moment you wet your lips. You’ve lost him, you gather.

“Hello…. Earth to Jungwon…”

You feel a soft pressure lay itself on top of your hands, finding his hands covering yours from where they're still resting on his face. Slowly, he guides them from his jaw to the nape of his neck, keeping them there while he leans in to the point that your noses brush. “We'll figure it out,” he whispers. 

And then he kisses you. His lips meet yours delicately at first, like he’s mapping them out. Then, the moment you lean into him, the moment your lips part against his, he deepens the kiss. He doesn’t know how long the two of you stand there, in the office, hands roaming, breaths mixing, but he knows he doesn’t want it to end. 

Eventually, you're the first to pull away, giggling when his mouth chases yours. “Wait, we need to stop before the night shift clocks in and catches us”

It takes a monumental amount of effort, but begrudgingly, he relents, stepping back, and the two of you finish packing up your things. Luckily for you, Jungwon drove to work today, and in his car, no one will be able to interrupt his hands exploring your body as he kisses you everywhere and tastes what he's been missing out on for the last five years.

---

a/n: yeah im sorry the car sex Had to happen. me when i lie about there not being texts this chap oops also i think there will be like 2-3 more chaps left!! but i def want to post some bonus content after, like their first meeting, funny moments, the car scene... who knows!!

There’s an art to giving someone the cold shoulder. 

Contrary to popular belief, it isn't as simple as pretending the other person no longer exists. That's amateur work. If you're going to ignore someone, you have to do it with restraint. Namely, you need to pay attention to the little things, like walking past them without the smile they're used to receiving, and when they inevitably start wondering whether they've done something wrong, you let them stew in it for a while. Is that emotional manipulation? Perhaps.

In all fairness, Jungwon deserves this. His messages last night struck the wrong chord. Like, where did he get all that attitude from? He was so supportive of you before he found out about the relocation, and then he just sounded like he was forcing himself to be happy, which bothered you deeply. 

So, being the incredibly emotionally mature and exceptionally well-adjusted woman that you are, you decide the obvious solution is to ignore him until he apologizes. However, there is a small hiccup: carrying out your brilliant little plan proves considerably more difficult than anticipated.

Your lunch briefing ended only ten minutes ago, so everyone in the first break cycle is still trickling back to their stations, exchanging quick greetings before the next half of the shift properly begins. Normally, this would be the point where you see Jungwon, maybe bumping your shoulder against his as he begins his own lunch break, or maybe he'd hand you a coffee he'd picked up on his way in because he already knew you'd be too carried to have gotten one for yourself. Either way, the two of you would always find each other in the in-betweens. 

Today, you’ve been making the conscious effort to break that routine, and it’s miserable.

"Girl," Lily says from beside you, watching you stare into the void, starting to reorganize a stack of check-in forms at the reception, "you're going through Jungwon withdrawals." 

"I am," you groan, letting your forehead fall dramatically against the desk. "I don't think we've ever been in a fight like this before.”

“You’ve never been in a fight, period."

"Exactly!" The word comes out far more dramatically than you intended as you throw both hands into the air. A businessman sitting on one of the lobby sofas glances in your direction at the noise, making you lower your voice a fraction. You absolutely cannot be caught tweaking out on the clock. 

“If I can barely survive one shift without a hug or a smile from him, how am I supposed to move across the country and expect myself to last more than a week?”

Your friend lets out an incredulous laugh. “I’m sorry, you know I love you, but you sound pathetic.”

Not what you wanted to hear. You purse your lips together in a tight line. 

"I mean it." She leans one hip against the counter, folding her arms. "Aren't you supposed to be mad at him?" 

"I am," you insist, lowering your voice when an older couple walks past the desk and waiting until they're out of earshot before continuing. "I'm trying really hard to be mad at him." You let out a long sigh, your shoulders slumping. "He just looks so good today.”

Lily closes her eyes for a brief second.

"I know what he said was uncalled for, and I'm not just going to let it slide because he's cute. I don't tolerate people speaking to me like that." Pausing, you straighten up. "But... can't I miss my best friend?"

It’s like you could physically see the wave of annoyance wash over her at the absurdity of your statement. “He is not your best friend.”

“Well, it's not like he's my boyfriend either.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but the elevator behind you dings open before she gets the chance.

Jungwon steps out first, followed by Jake mid-sentence, the two of them talking quite animatedly. Your “best friend” has his attention angled slightly toward him, listening while adjusting the sleeve of his shirt with the other hand, but his eyes flick up almost on instinct as they clear the doors. When they land on you, they soften a little, but he doesn’t even do so much as give you a small wave. Instead, he sends a terse nod in your direction, then continues past you, toward the staff room, voice fading once the two men round the corner. 

That may or may not have just been one of the top ten most awkward interactions you’ve had since you were hired. More awkward than the day you met, actually. It takes everything in you to keep your face neutral. At the end of the day, it’s up to Jungwon to talk to you. Something about the possibility of you relocating seemed to have gotten to him, and although deep down, you have a feeling you know why, you want, no, you need to hear it from him. 

“The Presential Suite sector needs more cleaning equipment. There’s been an accident and housekeeping is short on supplies,” you hear Sunghoon’s voice crackle through your earpiece.

“Okay,” you say, grabbing your key card from the desk and adjusting it onto your belt. “That’s my cue. I need to see what’s going on.” 

“I hope you guys sort this out,” Lily says quietly as you step away.

—

By the end of the shift, Jungwon is exhausted. 

Summer has arrived in full force, bringing with it fully booked floors, back-to-back check-ins, and a shit load of demanding guests. Normally, he thrives in this kind of environment; his experience having taught him how to think on his feet, keep a level head, and solve one problem before the next has the chance to become his. But the workload isn't what has him drained today. It’s you. 

More specifically, the fact that you’ve barely spared him a glance. Going into today, he was expecting you to pull him aside to talk about everything, ask him for his advice, just something. He would have found a way to get in an apology, you would be able to say your piece and boom, the tension would be gone, and things would be back to normal. 

To his dismay, every time he tried to catch your eye, you'd be finding something else to focus on, and the few times your paths did cross, it was just plain awkward.

Jungwon takes pride in the fact that he’s never lost sleep over a girl; relationships aren’t worth the unnecessary stress. He’s never understood when his friends would spend time wondering if they should send that message or not, or read into the tone of things, because you’ve never given him a reason to react in that manner. 

Yet he can’t help but think that today might be the exception to it all. A thought keeps circling his mind as he packs his bag. Should he text you tonight? He wants to. After all, you’ll probably reply, and then he can talk to you about it and put this awful day behind him. On the other hand, this seems like a conversation that should be held in person, which means the question becomes whether he should wait for you in the office instead. 

The other general manager has left; none of the night shift have clocked in yet, so there’s a small window of time where it’d be just the two of you. And he knows you haven’t left yet either, since all of your belongings are still on your desk, but how lame would he be to sit here and wait? He can hear Riki in the back of his mind, mumbling something about aura loss. If word gets out, he knows he’d be flamed in the group chat, but he feels pretty stupid for thinking about this so much.

Fuck it, he decides.

He’ll wait for you. 

---

a/n: justice for fregley

chapter 1: we always remember our first time

chapter 2: leave obama out of this (wc: 1.9k)

chapter 3: that's it i'm ******* him tonight

chapter 4: jungwon = fregley (wc: 1.3k)

chapter 5: freaks4managers (wc: 1.7k)

chapter 6: fuck my Baka life

---

a/n: :( typical man behaviour

Generally speaking, you're a good employee.

Reliable, organised, passionate…. Those are just a few of the words that have followed your name around Hybe Hotels for the better part of five years, voiced in performance reviews and passed between departments whenever somebody asks who should cover an extra shift or when inevitably, there’s been some sort of problem and you need to sort it out. Hospitality is hardly an industry where compliments are handed out for free, and you've worked enough to know that doing your job well often goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, the reward for competence doesn’t come in the form of praise, but rather more work. 

Thankfully, you happen to enjoy what you do. There is something satisfying about making sure  the guest experience reaches its maximum potential, and seeing their reactions make it all the more worthwhile. Of course, there are guests who are less than pleasant, but for the most part, things tend to run smoothly.

You applied for a room attendant position during the summer between university semesters because you needed a job that paid more than minimum wage and preferably didn't involve smelling like fryer oil at the end of every shift. It was never supposed to become part of the long-term plan, but here you were. 

Jungwon had also started around the same time, being another university student looking for some extra spending money, and having someone your own age around immediately made the place feel more welcoming. Most of the housekeeping department had years, sometimes decades, of experience behind them, and many didn’t care for small talk, or getting to know the hundredth summer student to cross their paths. 

Hence the two of you becoming friends right away, the long shifts passing by quicker when you had someone beside you to complain with. It probably didn’t hurt that you found him to be extremely attractive, a fact that would only become distracting on the slower days. After all, with emptied out lobbies and rooms tidied, there wasn’t much else to occupy your attention besides fantasizing about your coworker. 

Once classes started up again, you were offered a weekend contract, and the following summer, you moved behind the front desk. Then, being a front desk agent turned into becoming the shift supervisor, and finally, assistant manager. And while there were many times in which you considered leaving and trying out other professions, the attachment you had built to the hospitality industry conquered any doubt you felt, and you’d never end up going through with it. 

Luckily for you, Jungwon appeared to be living through the exact same career trajectory. Sometimes you wondered whether management simply refused to separate you. Every time your title changed, his did too, not that you were complaining. Somewhere along the line, the two of you stopped being colleagues who worked well together and became a package deal. People rarely mentioned one of you without the other following shortly after. And to absolutely nobody’s surprise, you developed a massive crush on him.

The summons to the executive boardroom had arrived in the morning morning with very little explanation beyond mandatory attendance and while slightly ominous, it wasn’t unusual. What was unusual, however, is the lack of Jungwon’s presence. 

“Thank you for joining us,” Mr. Bang says, gesturing to the chair seated across from him.

You offer a quiet thank you before sitting down, wiping your embarrassingly sweaty hands on your trousers and hoping, no– praying– that it doesn’t leave behind a visible stain. Around the table, eight other pairs of eyes settle on you: he Board of Directors. You note that there should be a ninth pair, but perhaps that director was occupied. 

“We have a few important matters to discuss.”

“Of course,” you hesitate for a moment before speaking up again. “May I ask where Jungwon is? I assumed he’d be joining us.”

One of the directors seated to your right responds. “He is not involved in today’s discussion.”

Now that doesn’t sound good, you think to yourself. In all your years with this company, there has never been a meeting that involved one of you but not the other. Talent acquisition, departmental restructures, performance reviews, you name it. Especially now, as assistant managers, if management wanted your opinion, they usually wanted Jungwon's too. You don't particularly like discovering you've become an exception. It has you thinking that perhaps your time at Hybe Hotels has come to an end. Still, there isn't much you can do about it now, and you’ll probably tell him everything that goes down in this meeting afterwards anyways, as humiliating as getting fired is.

Leaning forward an inch, Mr. Bang folds his hands on the table. “We have spent the last several months reviewing our operational structure across all Hybe Hotels locations, and have found that certain departments are not meeting expectations.”

You nod. 

“We have also been assessing all internal employees, taking into account their contributions to our workplace. Some replacements will need to be in order.”

You nod again. 

"We believe you've consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, strong operational judgement, and an ability to manage both staff and guest relations under pressure." 

Suddenly, staying silent seems to be a good choice, because you are starting to get the sneaking suspicion that this conversation is taking a completely different turn from what you thought it would be.

"So with that in mind, we'd like to offer you the position of Director of Operations and Management." 

When you unlock the door, you’re immediately greeted with Jungwon’s face. He's standing so close that you almost jump, your hand still wrapped around the handle as he says your name, and without waiting for an invitation, he slips past you into the break room, quietly pushing the door shut behind him.

“Is it true?” He asks, panicked, and confuses you. Your first thought is that someone has somehow found out about the promotion already, but that seems impossible. The meeting ended less than fifteen minutes ago, and every person in that room had struck you as extremely private. Then again, much like any place of work, news travels through the building at an alarming speed. “Are you actually leaving?”

"I..." you begin, but the words stall somewhere between your brain and your mouth. Jungwon mistakes your hesitation for confirmation, beginning to pace. 

"You've only just come back onto the same rotation as me. We’ve barely been seeing each other because they keep fucking up our schedule, and now we're finally on a cycle together again and..." He breaks off in tangent, exhaling sharply. "Seriously?" 

"You can't go," he says, stopping his steps directly in front of you. "I don’t think I can work here without you. I’ll go crazy.”

You should be touched, really, but no, you’re still puzzled. What is he going on about?

"Let’s see if I can talk to them." His mind clearly seems to be jumping several steps ahead. "If they're letting you go because of budgets or restructuring or whatever excuse they're pulling out of their asses, then I'll go upstairs myself. They have to know how much you do around here. Everyone knows.”

It’s at this point that you realize he has got it completely wrong. Jungwon thinks you’re being fired. 

“Hey, stop,” you interrupt gently, placing your hand on his forearm. “I’m not getting let go, or fired, or anything like that.”

“.... You’re not?”

“Nope.”

"Then..." He blinks at you. "Why were you called into a meeting?"

"Because," You can't help smile a little now, the edges of your mouth lifting despite yourself. It still doesn't feel entirely real when you say it aloud. "They want me to become the new Director of Operations and Management.”

The tension drains from him so suddenly that it's almost visible. His shoulders finally drop, his brows smooth out, and the relief that washes over his face leaves you feeling oddly guilty for letting him believe the worst, even though you didn’t actually do anything.

"...Are you serious?"

"I know, I had the same reaction."

"No," he says, shaking his head with a disbelieving laugh. "No, I mean..." Trailing off, Jungwon looks at you again, a slow smile spreading across his face. It starts at the corners of his mouth before reaching his eyes. "Wow."

He runs a hand through his hair. “That’s amazing. You really deserve it.”

It’s a cute moment; it really is, and you just want to savour it. Considering how long it’s been since you and Jungwon have even had a one-on-one interaction, you’re tempted to keep your mouth shut and wait for another time to deliver the bad news. Still, the thought settles heavily in your chest, dulling some of the excitement that had been bubbling there only moments ago. He deserves to know. More than anyone else, he deserves to know. If the roles were reversed and he had accepted a position on the other side of the country without saying anything until the last possible second, you don't think you'd ever let him hear the end of it, or you’d be so heartbroken you’d simply refuse to talk to him.

In any case, if this really was the beginning of something new, you don't want your last few weeks here to be overshadowed by a secret you deliberately kept from him. 

"Thank you," you breathe out. "But, actually, the thing is, if I accept it, then I'm going to–" 

"There you are!" Ryujin practically stumbles inside, slamming the door open and bracing one hand against the doorframe while she tries to catch her breath. “You didn’t respond to my messages, and mind you, there are multiple break rooms here, so I’ve been checking them all!"

She finally stops to look at you properly. “Holy– I am so out of shape– Oh.”

Upon seeing the two of you, she doesn’t even need to say anything. You can already sense her thoughts, and judging by the goofy smirk she’s serving, Jungwon probably can too. 

“Well well well,” your friend begins, beginning to back away slowly, sending you finger guns, “looks like everything is good here. I’ll just leave y'all to it.” 

Then she leaves.

Silence settles over the room, though you wouldn't describe it as awkward. It never is with him. With your hand that isn’t on his forearm, you bring it up to the back of your neck, rubbing it sheepishly. The moment you'd been trying to hold onto is gone now, broken beyond repair by Ryujin's spectacularly bad timing, and there doesn't seem to be any way back to the conversation you'd almost had.

Letting out a quiet sigh, glancing towards the clock mounted above the vending machine. "I guess we should probably get back to work."

“Yeah,” he agrees. “We can’t have both of the assistant managers gone.”

You turn towards the entrance, but barely make it a step before Jungwon's hand finds your waist, his arm slipping comfortably around you with a familiarity the two of you had settled into years ago. He gives you a gentle squeeze, drawing you briefly against his side.

"Congratulations," he starts, “Seriously. You've worked really hard for this, so don't let yourself forget that, okay?" His hand lingers for just a moment longer before dropping back to his side. "I'll text you later. Once we're both off the clock."

He reaches past you to hold the break room door open, waiting for you to step through before following you into the corridor, matching your pace as the two of you head back towards reception.

…Right. So later tonight you need to break the news to Jungwon that the promotion comes with a mandatory relocation, and maybe Karina was right (though you’ll never admit that to her), maybe you really should have said something to him a long time ago.

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a/n: hope you enjoy! i like writing and a part of me thinks i should have just made this a full length written fic but oh well :')

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