One thing was certain though – no random stranger would ever step foot in his house, no matter how high, intoxicated or horny he was. Jisung was a man with well-established boundaries and nothing will change that.

That’s why he was no stranger to going home alone. It was, however, out of the ordinary for him to end the night without getting his dick wet. It’s not like he lacked options: there were many, an overwhelming amount. He just wasn’t feeling it, no energy left in him to text any of them back, to deal with any more people than he’s already had to tonight.

His social battery ran out too quickly and now all he wanted to do was go home and sleep for two days straight, turning his phone off and disappearing from everyone’s lives for a while. His friends and manager will understand, surely.

A deep voice interrupted his inner turmoil as he dwelled on the matter, oscillating between calling over one of his booty calls from the bar for a quick fuck or just going straight home and locking himself away. Guess that had to be put on hold for the time being.

“Han Jisung.”

Looking up, he can’t help but smirk at the person he finds standing in front of him. “Yongbok. You keep surprising me tonight. Do you miss me, is that it?”

Felix rolls his eyes in response, already regretting his choice to approach him, which amuses Jisung greatly. Standing up, he ignores the buzzing phone in his hand and crosses his arms, giving the other man his whole attention for the time being.

The silence stretches on as Felix’s face contorts unpleasantly and it’s clear that he’d rather be doing anything else than speak to him right now. It must have taken everything in him to come over and start this conversation and without you by his side, it looks like Yongbok has already reached his limit.

Speaking of, where have you disappeared to? And most importantly, why was your loyal puppy bothering him instead of being with you?

Growing tired, Jisung tries his best to mask the exasperation in his voice. “What do you want, Yongbok? Do you need help finding your way home to your owner or what?”

The glare he receives in response is hilarious to his tipsy self, the alcohol in his system making him miss all the obvious social cues. Not like he cared in the first place, this was Yongbok in front of him after all.

“Help? From you?” Yongbok laughs, throwing his head back. “Not in a million years.”

Jisung is the one who rolls his eyes now, finally throwing the annoying device that hasn’t stopped buzzing on the chair behind him. “Then? I don’t want to spend the rest of my night with you, so spit it out already.”

Any traces of the smile previously on his features vanish instantly as big, brown eyes look straight into his. “I’m here to give you a warning.”

Amused, Jisung raises an eyebrow, leaning back on the chair nonchalantly. If Yongbok was expecting him to shiver in his boots, he’d have to try harder than that.

Stepping closer, Felix’s voice gets lower. “If you hurt her, Han Jisung, I swear I will return that pain tenfold.”

That piques his interest and he uncrosses his arms, straightening his posture. He’s a few inches taller than the man before him but Jisung learned a long time ago to not underestimate him. Felix might’ve been petite but behind the bright and smiley exterior was a very skilled fighter, one that wasn’t afraid to step in and defend his loved ones.

Jisung wasn’t stupid – he knew that even with the boxing lessons Minho made him take as some sort of bonding activity, he was no match for Felix in a physical fight.

But what Felix seems to have forgotten is that Jisung has an advantage. Or several.

“Don’t worry about that.” Suddenly much more sober than before, he lets the ghost of a smirk appear on his tense features, one that Felix doesn’t fail to notice.

“After all, I’m not the one who made her cry, am I?”

As expected, his words hit a bit too close to home and Felix’s tough exterior visibly crumbles as he takes a step back, like he was in pain himself. Like he was the one left sobbing for days on end by his best friend, abandoned like an old toy that inevitably got replaced by another, shiny and new. Like you were the one that hurt him and not the other way around; like he was the victim in the whole situation.

The nerve of him to act like he was the one Jisung held in his arms as his shirt got drenched, fragile heart breaking in his hands with every pained whimper that escaped your mouth. The audacity had Jisung’s anger rising without a clear reason, not really understanding his reaction. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the memory of your tear-stained face looking up at him, so broken and sad in the passenger seat of his car on a random Monday back in high school, when he picked you up in Minho’s place.

It was most likely both that fuelled his unexplainable anger and kept him talking, completely ignoring the look on Felix’s face just like he ignored you back then.

“Nor did I lead her on for months on end like a fucking asshole, right?”

Felix visibly flinches at the words, certainly relieving those same memories Jisung was thinking about just moments ago. Even though he couldn’t and he never will because he wasn’t there. Felix wasn’t there to comfort you when you needed him the most, Jisung was.

And he remembers it like it was yesterday.

So whatever pain Felix might be feeling now could never compare to the one you felt back then, struggling to breathe through the sobs that even his soothing touch and whispered words of comfort couldn’t diminish.

Without giving him any other chance to speak, he continues carelessly, landing the finishing blow.

“Now that we’re both on the same page, Yongbok,” he exhales through gritted teeth, taking a step closer towards him just like Felix has done before when he expected him to back down. “Get the fuck out of my face.”

He blinks, schooling his face into a neutral expression that doesn’t prevent Jisung from seeing right through him as he hoped. On the contrary, his clenched jaw tells him everything he needs to know.

Yongbok is fuming, barely holding himself together. But, he’s also aware of his faults so he backs off, not blowing up in Jisung’s face like he wants. For such a nice guy, loved by many, Felix had a pretty short fuse.

Guess that’s why he’s such a great actor, charming everyone he meets with just a few pretty words he never means.

Anyways, crisis averted for now. Somewhat.

“What’s going on here?” Chan’s voice interrupts their glaring match but the tension remains as palpable as before, even as they both take a step back from each other. Even tipsy, they’re both still sober enough to remember that fighting in front of Chan won’t end well for either of them.

“Nothing.” Felix finally speaks, voice hoarse and deeper than before, the storm behind his eyes not visible to Chan. “I was just leaving, Y/n is waiting for me.”

Chan nods slowly, trying to understand what happened as Felix walks past him without as much of a glance in his direction.

Jisung’s eyes follow his retreating form for a moment before he reaches for his discarded phone and his mouth opens on its own accord, not being able to stop himself. “Make sure you don’t make her cry on the way home, Yongbok.”

Both of Felix’s middle fingers shoot up in the air as he continues to walk away, not bothering to give any other answer to the obvious taunt. Jisung only smirks, satisfied he managed to get under his skin for a second time that night.

When he finally disappears and they remain alone in their little space in the VIP section, Chan turns to him with curiosity written all over his face.

“What was that?”

He shrugs, already captivated by his phone. “I’m just looking out for Minho’s little sister.”

Chan doesn’t buy it, Jisung can tell without even looking at him. But he doesn’t react, fingers moving across the screen as he types, cancelling multiple plans he made while sober and in a more social mood.

“Jisung.” Chan sighs, not even expecting an answer as he runs a hand through his dark curls. “Don’t start playing with fire if you aren’t ready to get burnt.”

That makes him tear his gaze from the device, a cocky smile slowly morphing onto his features. “Oh, but I’m ready.”

Then, he shows his screen to Christopher who can’t help but also smirk when he recognizes the people in the picture before him. It was you and Jisung after all, sharing a supposed kiss that was already gaining thousands of likes despite being posted just minutes ago. With the lighting and the angle, his fans wouldn’t be able to recognize you but the people that mattered certainly would.

Like Minho, if he paid close attention, which he didn’t most of the time. But to be honest, that’s what he was hoping for. Minho scrolling past his feed without a second glance and giving him more time to enjoy this silly ploy with you. The alcohol in his system along with the adrenaline pumping through his veins from the little confrontation that just took place completely erased all of his nerves and previous protests regarding your plan, leaving him giddy with excitement.

Minho might not notice but there was no doubt in his mind that Yongbok would, despite having him blocked on all socials. This will reach him one way or another and Jisung couldn’t wait to see his blood boil as he turned green with envy, jealous of the way he got to touch and feel you while he was stuck on the sidelines, watching it all.

“I’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?” And for once, Chris actually agrees with him.

Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

—----

The weekend finds you on the couch, scrolling idly through your phone while a random show plays in the background and one of the cats sleeps soundly on your stomach, deeming you comfy enough for a bed. It’s quiet and peaceful, with the sun barely peeking through the closed curtains and you almost doze off as your scrolling slowly stops. Your breathing evens out and sleep is right there, on the tip of your eyelashes, coming to take you to dreamland until the most annoying voice in existence startles both you and the feline and your phone slips through your fingers and falls to the ground. The cat jumps off and runs away instantly, seeking comfort with his other two siblings while you remain there, groaning into a pillow.

“Come here! I made breakfast.” Your brother yells from the kitchen and this is the first time in your life that you start to consider murder as the only option left to solve all of your problems.

Rolling your eyes, you complain under your breath as you drag your feet to the kitchen, forgetting all about your phone and the sweet dream that was about to take you under. When he sees you, Minho’s whole face lights up from where he’s sitting at the table, not expecting you to actually join him.

Well, too bad you won’t.

“Thanks.” Is all you say before grabbing your plate and making your way back to the living room, Minho’s face falling in the process.

It’s been exactly one week since that incident at the party, when Minho, letting his dick take over, broke one of your promises. One week since you’ve spoken more than three sentences to him.

Truth be told, you were starting to miss him but every time you tried to make things right, to push it all aside for the sake of your relationship, your anger got the better of you and it all went back to square one. It was childish and you could feel Minho’s annoyance rising because of your behaviour but, you just couldn’t stop yourself, especially when you remembered all the years you’ve spent following that rule just for his sake. Just so he won’t be upset or uncomfortable having to pick between his sister and one of his friends.

You’ve put his happiness above yours for so long and in the end, he couldn’t have cared less. You were miserable for nothing. That’s where all of the anger came from, among other things (Han Jisung).

Minho lets out a loud sigh but other than that, remains seated and gives you the space you need. Your brother wasn’t a bad guy, far from it, but he really messed up and now he had to bear the consequences of his actions.

As you make yourself comfortable on the couch again, Dori comes back and jumps onto your lap, purring, almost like he wants to take away your anger himself which warms your heart. This is why your brother’s furballs were your favourite thing about him.

Ten minutes later, when you’re done eating, Minho comes to get your plate and goes back to wash it without a word. Every time you two argue and it ends up being his fault, your brother has the same pattern when it comes to apologizing. If words don’t work, he switches to acts of service and if those don’t work either, he starts spending money on the most random stuff you might have said you liked 5 years ago. His brain worked in mysterious ways.

Thankfully, the doorbell rings and breaks the awkward atmosphere.

Picking Dori up, you make your way towards the door and almost gasp when you realize who’s on the other side.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” His voice is low, like he just rolled out of bed and came here first thing and the sound alone awakens the dormant butterflies that always go crazy when he’s near. “Can I come in?”

You nod, trying to catch your breath as you step to the side and Dori jumps from your arms to rub himself against Jisung’s legs in greeting. The boy smiles, the most genuine you’ve ever seen him and crouches down to pet the little feline, his favourite out of the three. And nobody could blame him when the bond they shared was absolutely adorable.

Suddenly, you’re very conscious of your appearance and your hands shoot up to at least fix your hair as his back is to you, patting down and cursing under your breath at the ugly pyjamas you chose to wear last night.

Of course, Han Jisung has to show up looking all perfect at 10 a.m. while you still look like a literal zombie. Just your luck, really.

You haven’t seen him since his gig a few days ago but you’ve kept in touch, and he certainly didn’t mention anything about suddenly coming to your house on a Saturday morning. So, that means he’s here to see your stupid brother. Great. You can never win, can you?

“Oh?” Minho’s voice reaches both of you simultaneously as he comes strolling into the hallway with the other two cats in toe, hands still wet. “Why are you here?”

From the way he speaks, you would never guess these two have been best friends since middle school.

“Good morning to you too, baby.” Jisung smirks as he looks up, still petting Dori who’s now on his back, showing his belly, and your heart can’t help but flutter at the nickname even though he didn’t address you. There was something almost enthralling about the way this word rolled down his tongue, just like fresh honey. Addicting even, making you want to be the only one with the privilege of hearing it. Want to be his baby. Wait, what –

“Can’t I come and visit my best friend once in a while?” He continues, smirk slowly morphing into a smile yet the playfulness doesn’t leave his voice. “I’ve missed you.”

Minho rolls his eyes, drying his hands on the dark blue apron he wore. Your dad’s apron. “I saw you two days ago.”

“And that was two days too long!”

“Do you guys need a moment?”

They both turn to look at you at the same time like they just remembered you were hearing this too. Jisung gives you an apologetic smile and stands up, pushing the hair back from his eyes. “Another time. You’re the one I came to see today, sweetheart.”

Minho’s eyes narrow as he looks between the two of you, completely oblivious to the excitement that is quickly taking over you. And just like that, for the first time that morning, Han Jisung manages to make you smile with a single sentence.

But before you can open your mouth, your brother butts in and the world comes crashing down again. “See her? What for? I didn’t know you guys were that close.”

The glare you send his way would make any normal person feel uncomfortable but as we’ve already established, you and your brother were far from normal. He’s grown immune to your antics a long time ago as nothing you can do or say phases him anymore.

Or so, he thinks.

Before you can open your mouth and bite back, you feel a strong arm wrap around your shoulders and pull you close, the smell of his cologne invading all of your senses and making you a little unstable on your feet.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about our relationship, right, sweetie?”

Then it all clicks in your head, making sense. Jisung isn’t here to see Minho – he’s here to annoy him! He’s here for you! Thank God his arm was already holding you upright because you were sure your legs might’ve betrayed you at the realization.

Your features relax and soften as you look up at him, batting your eyelashes in what you hope is a seductive way. He looks down instinctively and winks, smirk widening when you reach out and gently trace his jaw with one finger, pleased you caught on to his act.

“You don’t have to tell him all of our secrets now, Ji.” You purr and he responds by leaning into your touch, playing it up as much as he can since he’s aware Minho could see right through your act if he tried.

Thankfully, your brother is still stuck on the way Jisung enunciated that one word, relationship, like he was hinting at something deeper going on, something he wasn’t aware of. He’s deep in thought, you can tell by the way his eyebrows furrow, visibly displeased at the new revelation and that makes you so giddy you have to stop yourself from giggling by hiding your face in Jisung’s shoulder.

He knows what you’re doing and responds accordingly, pulling you flush against him and that’s when Minho snaps out of it, both eyebrows shooting up in brief surprise. Quickly discarding his apron, your brother turns to walk back into the apartment and that’s when you two share a conspiratorial grin.

However, Minho isn’t one to back down easily. “Fine, give me ten minutes then the three of us can go and do something fun together.”

Wait, what? You weren’t expecting that, and Jisung can tell by the look of horror that crosses your face as you pull away, panicking.

“The three of us?” Jisung questions, not shaken at all. “It’s Saturday, Min. You have dance practice with Yongbok and Hyunjin, remember?”

Minho stops in his tracks, pausing for a moment as he seems to remember his schedule and groans loudly, annoyed at the whole situation. Your face lights up and Jisung squeezes your shoulder reassuringly with a smile.

Bless his weird attachment to your brother and his elephant memory.

Turning around, all three cats scramble to him and you understand why the moment your eyes meet his, cold with no hint of amusement left in them. Minho might’ve been immune to your childish acts but in your case, even a narrow gaze from him made you stand straighter, slightly terrified. In those instances, you were left feeling like the bullies that dared bother you as a child, the ones he took care of one by one – frozen in fear.

That makes your brother sound like some sort of child gangster but truth be told, Minho is scary now and was even scarier back then. Or that’s what your undeveloped mind was fooled into believing back then, since his anger was never directed towards you, ever.

Seeing their brother beat a middle schooler with a stick would do that to any child.

One thing that’s never changed since then, however, was the fact that no matter how scary Minho appeared on the outside, you were never truly afraid of him. Because you knew, even from a young age, that he would never hurt you. On the contrary, he’s always been a little too protective of you, coddling and spoiling you rotten.

Still, that didn’t mean Minho didn’t know how to make you question and regret all of your life decisions with a single look. He’s mastered the warning gaze from your parents at a young age and the feelings it awakened in you never changed. Discomfort with a side of good old shame.

“Hm, lucky you, right?”

You don’t respond, looking away as your whole face warms at the hidden implication. Stupid brother with his stupid mouth and his stupid mind games.

Jisung’s arm around your shoulders comforts you silently and Minho notices, eyes flying straight to the unusual display of affection.

“Have fun,” and suddenly, he smiles innocently like nothing even happened, “but if you’re not home by the time I return from practice you’re sleeping outside with the dog.”

If you had any doubts Minho couldn’t tell what you were doing, they all went out the window in a split second.

You frown, not falling for his evil ploys. “We don’t have a dog.”

“No, but Jisung does.” Jisung snorts next to you and your glare finds a new target as you elbow his side, Minho’s smile widening. “I’m sure Bbama will love to have a sleepover with you.”

He then turns around to continue on his merry way, humming as the cats follow him like he’s their leader or something, the one that carries all the answers they’ve been looking for. Traitors, furry little traitors, all of them.

But then, as you glare at his retreating back, it hits you.

You were supposed to have the upper hand! He’s going to be the one sleeping outside with the dog, not you!

And so, you’re on his trail in a second, the cats all running away from the scene. “How dare you speak to me like this?! You little bitch, come back here! “

That morning, Han Jisung is once again subjected to one of your arguments, against his will as always. The only good thing is that after all these years, he’s gotten so used to them that when you and Minho come into the living room still bickering, he’s fast asleep on the couch with all of the cats on him.

By the time you’re done getting ready for the day and leave the house with Jisung, your mood is already ruined. All thanks to Minho, a normal occurrence lately.

Getting out of his car with a huff, Jisung follows before quickly locking it and catching up with you. His arm finds solace around your shoulders again and without meaning to, you slow down to accommodate him.

“Where are we going?” you ask, looking straight ahead as you continue leading him like you know exactly where. A girl’s wrath is capable of amazing things.

He smiles, amusement with a very obvious hint of fondness clear in his voice. “You started walking away without me despite not even knowing where we are?”

You shrug, already becoming used to the weight of his arm around you. It’s pleasant and warm, lulling the butterflies to sleep as you begin relaxing in his presence. You’d never thought this would happen, not after being so nervous and excited around him for so many years because of your bottled-up feelings.

A welcomed development if you said so yourself. Finally, you managed to calm the fuck down and act normal in front of the guy you liked.

Wonder how long that will last.

“This way.” He gently steers you both in the right direction and your destination becomes clear.

“The arcade?” There’s a hint of excitement in your voice and Jisung’s face lights up, elated to finally see you happy. “I haven’t been here in years! I love this place!”

He’s beaming, grinning from ear to ear as he looks down at you. “Yeah? Me too! Your brother and I used to come here all the time back in high school.”

You know this. After all, that’s the reason you used to drag Felix here after school almost every day, just to get a glimpse of the cool senior your brother spent most of his time with. But with time, this became one of your and Felix’s favourite places thanks to the memories you made together and you often looked back fondly on those times. Skipping class has never been as fun since.

Even though you still skip class together now, in college, you aren’t as attached to the hip as you were back then because of your clashing schedules so, it’s not the same.

Excited to go in and play some games, you almost miss Changbin at the entrance.

“Look who decided to finally show up!” His loud voice disturbs your pink and peaceful bubble full of memories of high schooler Felix and you can’t help but sigh, already missing your daydreams.

“What took you so long?” He continues, all his annoyance directed at Jisung. It’s all an act because Changbin could never be upset at him, especially since when your eyes meet, he smiles. He’s surrounded by seven other people you don’t recognize, who wave and greet you politely once your gaze moves to them.

Guess Chan was busy.

A small part of you feels a bit disappointed by their presence. Even though you were aware this wouldn’t be a date per se, you were still looking forward to spending some quality time with him alone, wanting to peel back all of the layers and see who exactly was hiding behind the many masks he liked to show off. Maybe another time.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jisung runs a hand through his silky hair, not sorry at all, “Minho was being difficult.”

“You mean, a pain in the ass like always.” You mutter bitterly.

That gets a loud laugh out of Changbin, and the others follow suit, just not as flamboyant. Do all the members of 3racha run their own little cults on the side? Surely Chris wouldn’t…right? Right?!

He grins and changes the subject, though you sense there’s more he’d like to add to your comment. “We’re all here so let’s have some fun, yeah?”

Everyone cheers and you can’t help but giggle, joining them before making your way inside.

Where you expected loud chatter and laughter was only the music from the speakers playing in the background, accompanied by the bright neon lights from all the game machines. The place was empty, creepily so, and you gravitated towards Jisung for support, hiding behind him in what you hoped was a subtle enough way.

Changbin and the others run wild, like children, the moment they step in, not finding anything wrong with the deserted place. Noticing your presence, Jisung turns around with a laugh, gently grasping both of your hands.

“Sorry, pretty, I should’ve mentioned it sooner.” He says, drawing comforting patterns on your knuckles. “Changbin and I rented out the whole place for the day, that’s why it looks like something straight out of a horror movie.”

Oh, right. They were rich and famous or whatever.

You nod, visibly relaxing with the help of his comforting touch and go on ahead to discuss your plan for the day.

In the end, you settle on a pretty simple one.

Take a few pictures of each other, think of some clever captions and post them, hoping everyone (your brother) believes you’re currently on the best date of your life. Who else’s date would rent out a whole arcade for them to spend time together in peace, getting to be as lovey-dovey as they want? No ones.

Too bad Jisung wasn’t actually your date either. You were mourning that thought every day.

Once satisfied with all the posts, Jisung gets pulled away by some of the others, people you’ve learnt are part of their crew, laughing loudly as they cheer him on at a game of basketball. You’re left alone at a table somewhere a bit further away from all the fun, making yourself busy with the drink and snacks he bought to make this whole date even more believable.

Naturally, your thoughts fly to your high school days and all the time you used to spend in this very same arcade back then. Jisung has already revealed the reason he picked this place but a part of you fooled itself into believing he did it for you too, that he knew what it meant to you.

But this was Han Jisung after all, so he probably didn’t. It’s not like you could blame him either – in some aspects, you were as much of a stranger to him as he was to you since you’ve never had the chance to get to know each other on a deeper level.

Isn’t it strange? How you can know a person for most of your life but also know next to nothing about them?

“Having fun?”

Changbin’s presence snaps you out of it as he takes Jisung’s previous seat across from you, smiling brightly. “I sure hope so, Jisung did all of this for you, after all.”

“What?”

Your eyes widen comically, not believing Changbin’s words at all which causes him to laugh in response, picking up his friend’s discarded drink.

“Didn’t he tell you?” He’s still smiling, messing with one of his bracelets that came undone. “Damn, he has no game at all, huh? No wonder he’s been single since high school.”

Your whole world is spinning and you can’t help feeling like you’re being pranked right now. Jisung couldn’t have done this for you! You’re his best friend’s annoying little sister, why would he even want to do something for you?

Though, now that you think about it, he gave in easily after your argument, agreeing to help you get back at Minho with minimal complaints. But why? Does he see it as some sort of duty to protect you and make sure you’re happy all the time like he once did when you were teenagers? Is he looking out for you, wanting to keep an eye out in case you do something stupid?

Wait, what if somehow, this whole thing has been orchestrated by Minho and you’ve fallen into his trap, playing his game? No way! Has your stupid brother been behind this all of this time? Is Jisung just a pawn, moving according to his orders?

Oh my god, what if –

“Y/n?” Changbin moves some hair out of your eyes gently, looking at you with slight concern. “You good?”

You shake your head, chasing away all of the irrational thoughts before nodding at his question. Sure, if being annoying was a competition, both Jisung and Minho would somehow share first place, winning every time. But, neither of these menaces would do something like this right? Play with your head and feelings in the most cruel way imaginable.

There was no way; that’s what you chose to believe to stop your brain from going into overdrive. Felix would beat their asses, after all, defending your honour until the end. Yeah, that sounds better.

“Why would Jisung go through all this trouble for me?” You finally ask, and Changbin lets out a relieved sigh at the sound of your voice. Were you really that out of it that he started worrying? Cute.

“Why not?” He plops a fry in his mouth before extending his arm and asking you to fix his bracelet, tired of struggling. “You’re his best friend’s sister. He likes making you smile.”

Your jaw drops, and so does the bracelet, the sound deafening to your overwhelmed mind. Jisung…likes seeing you smile. Since when?!

Across from you, Changbin frowns. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

Your brows furrow, and he can read the confusion on your tense features. “I just don’t…understand.”

“It’s simple, Y/n. Seeing you happy, makes him happy. Why do you think he teases and flirts with you all the time? Your laugh makes him act like an excited puppy, living to please his owner.”

You’re not buying it. “He acts like that with everyone, even with Minho!”

“Well, he isn’t renting out arcades for everyone, now, is he?” The smile returns to his lips once you finish fixing the bracelet, eyes crinkling at the corners. “And especially not for Minho.”

“He said you rented it together!”

Now, Changbin is the confused one, blinking at you for a moment before standing up abruptly. “Han Jisung!“

“No, don’t!” You stand up as well, setting a hand on his toned bicep, panicking. “Please don’t call him back here.”

Seeing the look on your face, he nods, most likely understanding that all of this new information is currently overwhelming. What he doesn’t understand, however, is why did Jisung lie? But that’s something he’d have to ask him later when you aren’t here.

“Do you want to come play with me? There’s this one game I can never win, no matter what strategy I choose to go with.”

And that’s how Changbin manages to calm you down once again, making you forget all about your previous conversation. Not that you weren’t curious about Jisung’s motives, it’s just that your feelings got the better of you and suddenly, your heart was beating a bit too fast and your delusions almost took over. And you couldn’t have that, not when you were finally spending time with the guy that’s been off limits for years.

Okay, maybe spending time is a bit of an exaggeration since he pretty much abandoned you, but hey, at least your followers were jealous, right? A win is a win.

At some point, Changbin is also dragged away and you’re left alone trying to kill all the zombies and save the world, a task that proves to be a bit more difficult than you remembered. If only Felix was here with you, then every pixelated person would be safe and sound and you’d get to bask in all of his glory.

Thankfully, you’re not alone for long.

After a while, two strong arms wrap around your waist from behind startling you momentarily until the familiar and comforting scent reaches your nose and you relax, relieved.

“Hi, baby.” The embrace along with his soothing, low voice make you feel like you’re floating on a fluffy cloud, very tranquil. You’ve wondered how he’d feel wrapped around you dressed like this, comfy in his white hoodie and pants, since this morning when he appeared at your front door. You have to admit - for once, reality was better than the daydream.

“What are you playing?” He continues, resting his chin on your shoulder to look at the screen in front.

You shake your head, trying to ignore the shiver that runs down your spine as his breath keeps hitting your cheek. “Nothing, because I’m losing. Felix was always better than me at this game.”

He hums lightly, looking at the toy gun in your hands. Without a word, his arms detangle from around your waist to move upwards, warm hands falling over yours gently. Your head turns slightly to the side to look at him and that’s when you realize how close he is, actually stealing your breath away. The proximity isn’t intoxicating as usual but instead, warm and fuzzy, so intimate it has you falling for him all over again.

You can’t help but wonder if he feels it too, how natural it is to hold each other like this. His breathing is steady and not ragged like it was that night before his performance, calm and content as he maintains eye contact. His pupils aren’t blown, and the emotion behind them is one you can’t recognize. An emotion usually well-known to you but completely foreign in his eyes.

“I’m sure together we can change that.”

There’s no hint of tobacco or weed in his breath and that, for some strange reason, makes you very happy. Maybe because he finally resembles the person you fell for so long ago, or maybe the person you made him out to be in your head. Who was Han Jisung, after all? You really didn’t know anymore, but you’d like to find out again.

Either way, the swarm of butterflies in your stomach go berserk as his hold on you tightens and he raises the gun, eyes flickering between you and the screen.

“Shall we?” He doesn’t need to ask you twice.

Breaking the embrace for just a moment to put in another coin, you return in his arms again once the game starts and as promised, he helps you. It’s a silly zombie game but you’re both having the time of your lives, laughing away as he does all the work and shoots everything in sight. It’s fun, freeing, and you wish this moment would never end as his genuine laugh makes your heart grow inch by inch with every minute that passes.

You’re having so much fun together that time flies in a blink of an eye and suddenly, you’ve played like five rounds of the same game.

When the ‘victory’ screen appears, Jisung puts the toy down and steps back, only to pull you in another hug as you turn around, happiness written across both of your faces.

Letting go, your back is to the machine as he runs his hands through honey-blonde hair, still smiling brightly.

“I bet even Yongbok would be jealous of this score.”

You laugh, nodding, your happiness so contagious it has him chuckling as well. “You guys should play together sometimes. You’d make an unstoppable team.”

His smile drops instantly as he rolls his eyes, all in good fun, and you can’t help but reach out to pinch his full cheeks which makes him pout cutely. The sight pulls at your heartstrings and causes your pulse to pick up, not letting go of his cheek. He looks adorable like this, from his bare face to his comfy outfit, without the furrow between his eyebrows that seems to be a constant in his life.

His lips look very plush, and your mind flies far away with thoughts about melting against them in a much-needed kiss. You wonder what it’d feel like, what he’d taste like all sober and relaxed like this, and you’re once again reminded of that night a few days ago when you almost found out.

“No thanks,” he shakes his head, still pouting and your hand falls on his shoulder, “I’d rather spend my free time with you, sweetheart.”

Warmth rushes to your cheeks but you do your best to ignore it, briefly avoiding his gaze. “I bet you tell that to all the girls.”

That’s when he steps closer, almost pinning you to the machine as his arms circle your waist again, chest to chest. He licks his lips and your eyes zone in on them, all wet and oh so inviting, shamelessly staring. Jisung notices and leans forward, for once not smirking or acting all smug, putting a strand of hair behind your ear and taking the opportunity to cup your cheek after, bringing your face even closer to his.

“Maybe,” He admits, not missing a beat and you’re the one rolling your eyes now, “but this is the first time I mean it.”

Your heart thumps loudly in your chest and in fear of him hearing, you make to pull away but are surprised when he doesn’t let you, instead squishing your cheeks together with both of his hands. In the absence of his rings, they’re warm and soft, just like he is being right now.

“Very smooth, Ji.” You finally come up with a reply, voice quieter than before and speech slightly unclear. “Careful though, I might actually believe you.”

But he understands you, of course. “Maybe you should.”

His doe eyes drop to your mouth for a moment, lingering there as he lets go of one side of your face to trace your bottom lip with his thumb. Pulling it down lightly, he then moves to the top one, pushing against it like one would on a pillow to test its quality. Without even thinking about it, they pucker and you kiss his fingertip and that’s the moment his eyes darken completely, the stars in them disappearing instantly.

Inhaling sharply, he continues with a bit of difficulty. “You know I’m no liar.” Then his hands drop before he moves to cradle the back of your head tenderly, bumping your nose with his.

A nervous chuckle bubbles out of you, suddenly feeling breathless. “Yes, you are.”

Jisung laughs, the sound so low and devoid of any amusement that it sends a shiver down your spine, your own hands planting themselves on his chest as your brain decides between pushing him away and pulling him closer, finally closing this annoying distance.

“Yes, I am.” He admits a little too easily and suddenly, your conversation with Changbin comes rushing back.

You want to ask him about it, the curiosity eating away at your every thought until you’re a blabbering mess. But, you can’t. The words seem to remain stuck in your throat every time you want to bring it up, making you incapable of doing so.

So, you stop fighting it and like every normal person caught in the moment, let yourself melt in his embrace.

Time stops and your eyes flutter shut, arms moving up his body to wrap around his neck and pull him flush against you. Everything and everyone vanishes and it’s just you, him and the purple and pink neon lights that still managed to somehow blind you even in darkness.

His lips finally touch yours but for some reason, he doesn’t start kissing you and your eyes snap open in disappointment just to find him already staring back.

“If Minho were to see us like this…” he trails off when you frown, one of your hands going to fist the material of his hoodie to coax him forward. “We’d never hear the end of it.”

You whine, doing everything in your power to remain sane as the hand at the back of your neck tangles into your hair and pulls you back slightly, still keeping your lips connected but heads farther apart.

“Are you seriously thinking about Minho as we’re about to kiss?” you ask against his lips, voice regaining its strength. “What the fuck, Ji?”

He chuckles darkly, his hold on your hair tightening in a very pleasant way. “I’m just reminding you about the consequences, sweetheart. Games are fun until they aren’t.”

“Fuck the consequences.” You plead and the desperation in your voice makes him push you further into the cold machine. “Forget about Minho and kiss me, please.”

Releasing his hoodie, your nails find his nape and you feel him shiver at the contact, lips parting without a sound once you move to scratch at the shorter hair there. It’s clear as day he wants this as much as you do; why does he continue to torture you both?

“Please, Jisung.”

That seems to be the right thing to say because he groans, frustrated and lets his head fall in the crock of your neck, latching onto the smooth skin.

“Fuck, baby.” He says after planting a few, soft kisses there. “Every time we end up like this, our first kiss replays in my head over and over again until I’m dizzy. Do you remember? You’ve always said my name so prettily, baby, it drives me fucking insane.”

How could you ever forget? Nobody has ever kissed you like that ever since. It was the main reason you became so enamoured with him back in high school, after all, the reason –

“Wow, get a room, you two.”

Both of your heads snap in the direction of the voice, glaring at the intruder that just ruined the long-awaited moment. As Changbin’s face comes into view once Jisung steps away reluctantly, you almost let out a scream, frustrated out of your mind. And horny. Frustrated and horny and pissed out of your mind.

Changbin just lost his place as your favourite 3racha member. He’s now in the cockblocker category with Minho.

“Bin, respectfully, what the fuck?” For once, Jisung voices his frustration as he fixes his hoodie and dishevelled hair, snapping at his friend.

Putting his hands up, Changbin takes a step back. “Hey, you didn’t give me any heads up about wanting to fuck Minho’s little sister today!”

Both you and Jisung look away in opposite directions, not being able to meet Changbin’s accusing gaze. You’re surprised to see him just as embarrassed as you are since he’s always exuding an infuriating amount of confidence that has almost every person he meets falling to his feet.

This side of Jisung was a new one. Yet another thing you didn’t know about him.

Well, at least it was cute.

Not having any sort of filter whatsoever, Changbin continues despite your discomfort. “You usually let me know about those things in advance!”

That’s when you turn to look at him, trying your best to not show the fact that your heart just dropped all the way to your stomach, the new information making you sick. Not new, since you knew he slept around, just…uncomfortable. This is one of those things you are aware of but can’t hear out loud, don’t want to as a means to keep your heart intact and pain to a minimum.

One of those things both Minho and Felix have warned you about, which you ignored each time.

When Jisung doesn’t meet your eyes, you shake your head and hurry to leave the uncomfortable situation, keeping your head down and emotions in check.

“Yeah, uh, I didn’t sign up for this conversation so I’ll just leave you alone.”

So, you leave, not stopping once even as Changbin starts calling your name and yells about some pictures, going to the bathroom to pull yourself together. Hopefully, some cold water will do the trick, cooling your heated skin and thumping heart, maybe even stop this uncomfortable feeling in your gut.

You should have never fallen for Han Jisung, not so hard at least.

Quite the revelation to have at 4 in the afternoon, if you say so yourself. 

The outing ends without any other major events and after that, you and Jisung steer clear of each other for a while. The texts stop and since you’re in different departments and majors, you don’t see him around campus either. The aftermath of what happened at the arcade, in front of the stupid zombie game is hitting you a bit harder than usual as all of your dreams end up being about him, his fluffy clothes and plush lips that you were once again deprived of. But then you also remember his hand in your hair, pulling at the strands and his bruising hold on your hip and suddenly, those dreams are anything but innocent.

You’re dizzy and out of it for a few days every time you remember that moment, but after a while, you finally return to normal (somewhat). The feeling of his hands on you still lingers, but mostly when you’re alone at night and scrolling through all the pictures you, him or Changbin have taken that day.

He looks happy in them, and if you didn’t know it was all an act, you’d actually believe he was just a normal guy enamoured with his sweetheart. You both look happy, playing the part a little too well and that’s what keeps messing with your head. No, not the staged photos when you were all camera-ready but the ones Changbin took when neither of you was aware of his presence.

Before interrupting, he had the bright idea to take out his phone and capture several moments between you, claiming you both looked too cosy and comfortable to miss out on it. And you were, it was obvious even from behind. Holding and caressing each other in the most natural way, like you were long-time lovers and not just two people who will never be together.

Neither of you ended up posting those, nor did you mention them on the way home, the drive being painfully silent. You did, however, make one of these pictures your home screen, your favourite one out of the bunch. In it, Jisung was hugging you from behind, not yet preoccupied with the game, giving you his undivided attention and affection.

It was cute, yet every time you unlocked your phone and stared at it, another part of your heart shrivelled up and died quietly, leaving behind this unexplainable feeling of emptiness. But as much as it hurt, knowing Jisung will never be yours even with Miho’s promise out of the way, you could not delete those pictures.

Maybe you were a masochist, all these years pinning after him leaving you a little messed up.

Or maybe you’ve finally lost your mind after living with your stupid brother for so long.

Yeah, that sounds better. It’s all Minho’s fault. All of your life problems are Minho’s fault, he’s the worst.

Almost another week passes before you hear from Han Jisung again. But, surprise, surprise, he doesn’t come and talk to you in person.

“Hey, guys!” Changbin plops down between you and Felix one day at lunch, surprising everyone with his presence. “What’s new?”

Jeongin looks at him, startled out of his mind. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Seungmin nods. “Yeah, you don’t even go here.”

You and Felix also share a look full of suspicion behind his back, silently asking each other the same thing. His sudden appearance gets a few gasps and causes a small commotion at the tables nearby but as always, Changbin doesn’t pay them any attention. A man on a mission never gets distracted.

“Boo, you whores!” He shoots them a look full of fake annoyance, but all it does is cause laughter at your little table. Satisfied, he grins and turns to you. “I’m having a party this weekend and I was wondering if you’re free?”

A party at Changbin’s place usually means a whole lot of trouble. There’s alcohol, weed, dancers, small celebrities and pretty much everything you could ever imagine. It’s like one of those 2000s’ MTV house parties you used to watch on TV as a child. His ‘humble abode’ becomes a full-on music festival which automatically makes it a 3racha party. And if it’s a 3racha party, that means Jisung will be there. And if Jisung is there, your heart will burst.

So, yeah, maybe you’ll pass this one, even if you’re aching to see him again.

“You too, Yongbok.”

“I’d rather eat glass, thanks.”

Changbin laughs, slapping his back playfully, clearly not taking Felix’s words seriously. But you know better, so you frown, flicking his nose to show his rude behaviour wasn’t appreciated in the slightest.

With a sigh, you respond. “I don’t really feel like partying, Bin.”

“Minho will be there.” He says nonchalantly, stealing one of Felix’s fries and getting another glare from the man.

“We’ll be there!”

Satisfied, he sends a wink your way before standing up and bidding goodbye, not lingering in the cafeteria for longer than necessary. Did he come all this way here just to invite you to a party he could’ve texted about? What was he planning?

Taking another sip of his strawberry milk, Seungmin meets your gaze head-on. “Since when do you speak for all of us?”

Felix nods, also turning to look at you from his seat at your side.

“What? I single handedly ended your miserable weekends. The least you can do is be nice about it!”

They both roll their eyes at the same time, before Seungmin stands up, grumbling under his breath about his plan to take over the world, most likely. He instead settles for getting another piece of pie, for now.

As expected, Jeongin is on your side. “Come on, a party at a rich guy’s house won’t kill you.” He tells Felix, whose mood soured significantly since Changbin showed up.

Grumpy Felix shows up only two times a year when certain people have the audacity to start sprouting nonsense in his presence. That’s it. So, seeing him so blue about the whole thing really isn’t sitting right with you.

Bumping his shoulder with yours, he doesn’t even bother to look up from his food this time.

Confused, you ask. “Lix, why do you keep acting like this? Are you going through puberty again?”

That gets a laugh out of Jeongin whose platinum blonde hair bounces along with his joy. Felix doesn’t share the same sentiment and for a brief moment, your heart squeezes painfully in your chest at his lack of reaction.

“Can I live?” He raises an eyebrow, purposely making his voice even deeper than it naturally is to get you to back off, all in good fun, of course.

You grin and bat your eyelashes at him, getting all up in his face. “Nope.”

And without any sort of warning, your nimble fingers find his sides and you change tactics, wanting to make him laugh at all costs. It works in an instant and the sound of Felix’s much higher laugh brings a smile to both yours and Jeongin’s faces as you tickle him, taking him by complete surprise.

But as expected, his retaliation doesn’t take long to come and in a blink of an eye, the roles are reversed and suddenly, you’re the one struggling to breathe as he begins tickling you mercilessly. He overpowers you easily, and you almost fall out of your chair with laughter but his quick reflexes catch you quickly, holding you up by the waist with one arm while continuing his attack with the other.

One thing about Felix is that he’ll always catch you, no matter how dangerous the fall. Always.

You’re finally saved when Seungmin returns with his pie, accompanied by none other than Hyunjin.

“Hello, friends I haven’t seen since this morning.” He greets everyone, taking a seat beside Jeongin, on his left while Seungmin takes his usual seat on his right. “What’s new?”

“Changbin invited us to a party and Lix doesn’t want to come with me.” You huff once you regain your composure, your sides starting to hurt from all the laughing. Even at the mention of his name, Felix doesn’t budge and acts unbothered, like you aren’t actually talking but his arm remains around your middle, holding you warmly.

Hyunjin’s eyes widen and he gasps dramatically, a little over the top. “No way! Lix said no to you? The world must be ending.”

Seungmin and Felix roll their eyes, the former busy with his dessert while the latter tries to hide his growing smile, secretly enjoying your antics. Of course, he is, Felix can never keep a straight face around you.

Nodding, you lean forward in your seat to be closer to Hyunjin. “Right?!” Then, with a fake sniffle, you continue. “He doesn’t love me anymore.”

Jeongin laughs and shakes his head when Hyunjin nods vigorously, agreeing with your lies. That’s when Felix frowns and hugs you closer, leaning his head against yours as his way of debunking your nonsense.

“Not true.” He mumbles under his breath before hiding his face in your hair. You can’t help but smile at the gesture, taking hold of the hand that’s on his thigh under the table, hoping that after this ridiculous show, you’re putting on he will finally agree to the party. You physically can't be away from him for that long, he has to come with you and the others.

Stealing some of Jeongin’s food, Hyunjin adds. “You know I normally wouldn’t entertain that though but, in this case, I think you might be right, Y/n.”

“Will you two shut up?” Felix groans, lifting his head and glaring at the both of you. “Fine, I’ll go to the stupid party.” Looking straight at you, he then adds. “Happy?”

You cheer and throw your arms around his neck to squeeze him in an embrace, missing the smug smirk that forms on Hyunjin’s plump lips and the warning look Felix sends his way. They communicate with their eyes alone until you pull away and start going on about the party, suddenly excited since all of your friends are coming.

In your haste, you don’t even notice the way Felix scoots a bit farther away from you, thoughts elsewhere.

Then, that same night you get a text that turns your whole world upside down, making the party an event that you must attend at all costs.

[off-limits j.one]: see you this weekend, sweetheart

When your voice reaches his ears, he pulls away from the girl, visibly annoyed at being interrupted as she chases after his lips, wanting more, not yet noticing you. She, being one of your closest friends, that was currently sucking face with your brother. Your stupid brother who wasn’t allowed to cross the line of friendship with any of your friends, ever, but still did it anyway. And by the look on his face, he wasn’t sorry in the slightest.

Wiping at his lips shamelessly, Minho’s eyes meet yours as calm and nonchalant as always. “Y/n, what if I was naked? Do you not think before barging into random rooms at parties?”

Hearing your name, the girl finally looks up and her face flushes in embarrassment. Quickly grabbing her discarded shirt, she doesn’t bother putting it back on and instead runs off without looking at either of you. Well, at least someone has some shame left.

The door slams behind her and the loud music from downstairs is finally muffled enough for you to be able to hear your thoughts. As expected, Minho doesn’t even move from his place on the bed, nor does he look after the girl whose mouth was devouring his mere minutes ago. His careless nature doesn’t get your admiration this time but your quickly rising anger.

“Do you not think before shoving your tongue down someone’s throat?” you bite back, crossing your arms as a frown settles on your face.

He shrugs, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “I sure do. Just not with my brain if you know what I –“

“Minho, that was my friend!”

That shuts him up instantly, but not before letting out a big sigh and falling back on the many pillows scattered around. Seungmin owes you big time for stopping this guy from having sex on his very bed.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” You’re fuming by this point, annoyed at your stupid brother and his stupid face. Walking towards him, you then grab a pillow and start hitting him with it without caring where it lands.

He’s taken aback by your outburst so you manage to hit him in the face a couple of times before he raises his arms to block your attacks. “How was I supposed to know that?! You’re friends with half the campus, Y/n! I had no idea!”

“Liar!”

You see, normal siblings wouldn’t get into a fight over something like this. However, you and Minho were just…crazy at times, plain and simple. But your strangeness isn’t the reason for your argument, for once.

When you were younger, back in your first year of high school, Minho came up with this brilliant ‘rule’ that’s been in place until now. You pinky promised each other (since he insisted) that you would never date or hook up with the other’s friends to avoid making things awkward and uncomfortable when the relationship came to an end. Plain and simple – that was the Lee siblings' rule. Something you’ve struggled so much to follow over the years just for your stupid brother to break in less than 30 minutes of arriving at a party just because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.

But what’s making you see red right now is the feelings you’ve had to bottle up all of those years, all the sleepless nights teenage Y/n spent crying and daydreaming of an impossible future with the guy Minho didn’t allow her to get to know on a deeper level. All to satisfy his own selfish wishes. It wasn’t fair and it’s never been, so he deserves your wrath.

“Okay, okay,” Having had enough, he catches the pillow and throws it to the side before grabbing your wrists in case you wanted to go for one of the other five on the bed, “okay! I’m sorry! Can we just pretend nothing happened and go downstairs and have fun, please?”

You scoff, letting out a small laugh in disbelief. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Pretend nothing happened and be all sunshine and rainbows like you didn’t just break one of our biggest promises!”

Yeah, the silly Lee siblings’ rule was a big deal, but not as big as some of your other promises. Like the one you made when you were ten years old and he twelve, after a big fight that ended in you both ignoring each other for days. As you cried in his arms, you promised to never let anything get between you – to always work everything out and not let it damage your relationship.

Yeah, looks like that won’t happen anytime soon.

You see his eyes soften as he lets go of your wrists, scooting towards the end of the bed. “I’m sorry, Y/n. You know I didn’t mean it.”

Shaking your head, you turn your back to him and start walking off, giving up. “Whatever. I’ve had enough of you for tonight.”

And that’s the last time you spoke to your brother.

Okay, to be fair, it’s been like two days since that party but still. You’ve been doing a good job of ignoring him so far, you bet even he was proud of your perseverance.

At least you can count on your brother to always be proud of you because right now, your best friend certainly wasn’t.

“You want to do what?!”

Felix’s voice resonates throughout the empty apartment, the volume prompting you to make yourself even smaller on his couch. Standing up, the look he gives you is full of disbelief with a slice of good old disappointment and that almost crushes you on the spot. Good thing Felix’s outbursts are never that serious.

“Hear me out.” You try to defuse the situation with a pleading look, resorting to the puppy eyes.

He shakes his head with a sigh, exhaling deeply as he moves to sit on the coffee table in front of you, resting his elbows on his knees and bringing his hands together.

“I’ve been hearing you out since you got here, but go on. What other nonsense do you have to say?”

You frown but he doesn’t react at all, ignoring your antics. “Nonsense? You don’t even know what I want to say!”

“You want to use Han Jisung to get back at your brother.”

For a moment, neither of you says anything else, opting to just stare at the other until one inevitably gives in and this random staring contest ends. The silence stretches on but it’s not uncomfortable, it never is with Felix. It is, however, unusual. So out of the blue that you don’t mind being the loser for once.

“Why do you say his name like that?” You finally let out, raising an eyebrow.

“Like what?” He tilts his head to the side cutely and your heart flutters.

“Like it’s an insult. Like it makes you physically sick.”

“Oh, because it does.”

Your eyes widen.

“Felix!”

“Y/n.”

You shake your head, not believing your ears. To be fair, Felix has never been Jisung’s biggest fan, for reasons you’re well aware of, but he’s also never been so open about his dislike towards him before. It didn’t feel right. Your best friend, sunshine embodied, liked everyone. Okay, maybe not everyone, but every single one of your friends at least. Him disliking Jisung, the guy you grew up with and also have been crushing on since forever felt like a punch in the face.

You frown, not being able to control your facial expressions as you look up into his eyes. “Don’t be like this, Lix.”

With another sigh, Felix leans back on his hands and closes his eyes, defeated. “What do you want to do?”

There’s no stopping the smile that gradually makes its way on your face, nor the sparkle in your eye. “Play pretend, of course. I’ll trick Minho into thinking we’re dating by being super obnoxious when he’s around.”

He opens one eye. “That’s all?”

You nod enthusiastically. “Yep! It’s a great plan, right? Minho will totally lose his goddamn mind when he sees his best friend with me!”

However, Felix doesn’t seem convinced. “Is this why you’re doing this? Because of Minho?”

“Uh, duh! Have you not been listening to my rant for the past 45 minutes?”

“Yeah?” He checks again, sitting up straight and opening his eyes. “Or are you doing this because of your crush on Jisung? Because you feel like you can finally act on those ‘forbidden’ feelings?”

Your face feels warmer but you don’t respond – don’t confirm nor deny his hypothesis. As always, he’s able to read you like the back of his hand even when you, yourself, aren’t sure of the reasons for your actions. Minho made you angry; you feel betrayed. But is this all that’s prompting your behavior?

Until you’re able to finally admit some things to yourself, you won’t know.

But Felix doesn’t need to know that either. Admitting he might be right will cause his head to get abnormally big and explode all over his plush new carpet and Hyunjin will kill you. That you were sure of. Contrary to popular belief, a pretty boy’s wrath wasn’t pretty at all.

“Let me have my fun, Felix, please.” You plead, jutting out your bottom lip in a hopefully cute and heart-melting pout.

Shaking his head, Felix stands up and starts walking towards the kitchen. “You’ll do it even if I agree or not, so knock yourself out.”

There’s no time for celebrating before he suddenly turns to face you again, no hint of amusement or lightheartedness on his freckled face.

“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when Han Jisung inevitably breaks your heart and you’re left struggling to put it back together.”

Delightful. Such a positive presence in your life this best friend of yours.

Letting the words marinate in your head overnight, you spend the rest of the day with Felix, watching romcoms and seeing who can keep it together and not burst into tears the longest. You, unsurprisingly, win.

The very next day is when your plan is finally put into action.

You were sure now, there was no better way of getting back at your brother than this. Employing the help of his childhood best friend, who’s been off-limits and out of reach for the majority of your life was bound to ruffle some of his feathers. Han Jisung, the man you’ve fantasized about calling your own for as long as you can remember. Minho was going to lose his mind while hopefully, his best friend was going to make you lose yours in a very, very enjoyable way – it was a win-win situation, really.

And despite Felix’s warnings, you were excited. Playing with fire has always sounded so fun, you couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss was about.

So, sticking to the plan, you texted said best friend and in less than an hour, had Felix drop you off at the little home studio his group, 3racha, called their own. Little was an understatement since this studio was at Changbin’s house and the guy was loaded, living in a mansion that still intimidated you with its size alone. Luckily, you’ve been here before, at one of his parties, with Minho so you saved yourself the embarrassment of getting lost on the way.

3racha was a three-man rap group consisting of Christopher, Changbin and Jisung, hence the name. In the beginning, back in high school, nobody seemed to take them too seriously but now, they were booked and busy almost every night performing at different clubs throughout the city. Seeing their popularity first-hand had been mind-blowing, leaving you a bit starstruck until the end of their set but it was also eye-opening. The girls in the audience made sure of that.

It showed you another side of Jisung, one you didn’t get to see growing up – one that was the complete opposite of his usual, laid-back, almost shy self. You would be lying if you said it didn’t intrigue you, or turn you on, but it also had the same effect on the people that came to see them perform every night.

The difference between you and them was that when he got off the stage, they got to act on those urges, while you didn’t. They ended the day in his bed while you went home and punched your pillow with tears in your eyes until you fell asleep. It was pathetic but it will all end today.

Knocking on the big double doors, you were greeted by who you believed was a maid. After stating your business, a two-minute conversation in which you didn’t stutter once, she moved to let you in before helping you get downstairs, to the basement. Playing with fire was one thing – but possibly getting murdered in a basement was something you really didn’t want to experience. God, who the fuck hangs out in a basement?

Your question was answered the moment you stepped in and the smell of smoke and weed enveloped all of your senses, causing you to cough and your eyes to water. Oh my god, what did you get yourself into?

Honestly speaking, you were expecting this. They were kids with money, after all, running around in a business that was dark and fucked up, where you either were corrupted or, did the corrupting. You were aware of this, of the way Jisung lived his life but you tended to forget about this side of his when he was constantly being a menace at your house, screaming and playing video games with Minho.

This was the Jisung you liked, after all. The cute guy next door who always made you laugh and occasionally drove you to school back in high school, making all of your friends jealous. Was that side of him all an act? Or was it this one?

Three heads look up as the door opens, and Jisung is the first one to greet you, but not before he takes another drag of a strange-looking joint.

“Hello, sweetheart. Missed me already?” He smirks as he exhales the smoke and you can’t help but roll your eyes, hoping that your body language doesn’t betray the way your heart flutters at the nickname. To him, you were never just ‘Y/n’. Since high school, it was always sweetheart, doll, or as of recently, baby, never Y/n. He’s given you so many nicknames over the years that at some point, you began to think he’s actually just forgotten your name and was too embarrassed to admit it. You wouldn’t put this past Han Jisung. You wouldn’t put anything past him, he was too unpredictable.

“Hi, Y/n. What brings you to my humble abode?” Changbin greets you with a smile, ruffling your hair as you walk past him to get to Jisung sitting in front of a big desk, laptop in his lap. You smile back, giving him a quick hug before high-fiving Chris once you're close enough, making sure to avoid the cigar in his hand.

Changbin’s humble abode was, as expected, not humble at all. The basement was huge, with multiple rooms from what you could tell at first glance, with their studio alone being the size of both yours and Minho’s rooms combined. Fancy equipment, mics, laptops and instruments were scattered everywhere, with cans of energy drinks, crumpled paper and notebooks. It was a mess, but in a comforting way, if it made sense. It looked lived in and not like a pigsty, despite the numerous ashtrays, cigs and weed in the back. You might've liked this room if it weren’t for the smell.

Once you get closer, Jisung puts aside his laptop and joint and opens his arms. “Come here, sweetness.”

You hesitate for a moment, looking between Chan and Changbin who barely notice your exchange before complying and hugging him, making sure to not linger in his strong arms. Then, you settle on the big, brown couch by the wall, opposite him.

“So, what’s burning? Your texts were very vague.” He continues, putting out his cig.

You get straight to the point, making yourself comfortable. “I need help with something.”

“And you want Ji to be your knight in shining armor?” Changbin snorts, shaking his head while Chan only chuckles and continues typing on the laptop before him. “I thought you were smarter than that, Y/n.”

Jisung turns to face him in his chair, throwing the opened notebook on his desk at his standing figure a few feet apart. As expected, Changbin catches it without much trouble and begins scolding him in a loud voice.

Looking up from his place at one of the three desks, Chan ignores their antics and gives you his undivided attention. “What happened?”

In another universe, you would totally have a crush on Christopher. He’s sweet, kind and overall, the perfect gentleman in your eyes and everyone else’s really. Unfortunately, in this universe, you’re stuck crushing on the biggest red flag in the room, Han Jisung. Life really wasn’t fair.

Trying to contain your anger at the mere memory of your brother, you answer simply. “Minho.”

That gets Jisung’s attention again, head wiping around in your direction. “Your brother? Did you guys fight again?”

You shake your head. “Of course. But that’s not the main problem here.”

“Then?”

All the members of 3racha are now intrigued, waiting for you to speak and fill them in, patiently. With a sigh and little to no hesitation, you look Jisung in the eyes, suddenly serious, which causes him to raise an eyebrow and scoot closer to you in his chair.

“Do you remember that rule Minho and I set in place back when I started high school?”

He’s quiet, deep in thought for a moment before it comes to him and he snaps his fingers like he just made the biggest discovery for humankind. “That dumb rule which forbade either of you to hook up with the other’s friends?”

You nod, and you can see Chan and Changbin being completely lost in the background. Makes sense since they weren’t around back then, nor were they ever that close to Minho to know about something so stupid that’s cockblocked you for as long as you could remember.

It feels kind of ironic coming to Jisung of all people to complain about what Minho did when he’s the reason behind the ‘rule’ in the first place. To prevent you from acting on your feelings back when Minho found out about your crush on his best friend, he came up with this rule that basically stated that neither of you was allowed to flirt, kiss, date or fuck any of the other’s friends. As a hormonal teenage girl, you were devastated but then as time went on, that godforsaken rule helped you in more ways than you’d like to admit. It cleared out all of the fake people in your life who only befriended you for a chance at your brother’s heart while for him, it eliminated the possibility of conflict in his friend group. All’s well that ends well.

Until it wasn’t. Until today.

“What about it, sweetheart?” The velvety voice you’ve come to love calls out to you gently, dark eyes softening when he notices the frown on your face.

“Wait a second.” Changbin chimes in, walking closer to you two. “What the fuck kind of rule is that?”

Jisung rolls his eyes, not appreciating the fact that your conversation was interrupted. “Shut up and let Y/n speak, ass.”

They start to bicker like little kids, all in good fun, but your mood only gets worse. Noticing, Chan clears his throat and speaks louder, to drown them out. “Did Minho break the rule?”

Again, a complete gentleman.

The two get quiet instantly and Changbin gasps, surprised, in his dramatic manner. Jisung’s attention is yours again and he stands, coming to sit next to you on the couch in case you need comforting. He’s known you for half your life, after all, it’s like second nature to him.

Letting out a big sigh, you nod once again. “Yes, he did. I caught him making out with one of my close friends, of all people! Can you believe this?! Who does he even think he is?”

The questions are all addressed to Jisung whose eyes widen gradually when he notices your anger, immediately shaking his head. Looks like he also didn’t see this coming, nor did Minho tell him anything. Perfect. That makes him easier to win over.

You continue. “To be honest, it’s not even about the fact that he kissed her! What pisses me off is the hypocrisy, the nerve!”

“For years all he did was blabber on and on about how his friends are off limits, that I shouldn’t even think about getting closer to any of them!”

They all nod at your every word, so in sync it makes them look like three little bobblehead dolls. Kind of creepy but strangely cute at the same time.

Changbin is the first one to snap out of it and speak, this new information having him too invested to take a seat. “So does that mean…” he trails off in the middle of his sentence, a big smirk stretching across his features, “you’ve had a crush on one of us?”

You feel your face getting warmer under their piercing stares and suddenly, Jisung’s proximity feels suffocating. The centimetres between your bodies feel nonexistent as you realize how easy it is to just reach out and hold his hand, hug him or do all of those things you’re always daydreaming about. Minho broke the rule that caused you to hold back and bottle up all of your feelings, how long until you finally snap and let it all out to the surface?

Then, like he just had the same epiphany as you, Jisung closes the distance between your bodies and slings an arm around your shoulders casually, your skin burning pleasantly at the touch.

“Hey, hey, let’s not make the girl uncomfortable now.” He sends a glare Changbin’s way before quickly turning back to you, leaning closer to your face and lowering his voice. “But it’s me, right, baby? You’ve had a cute, innocent teenage crush on me?”

Oh, if only he knew how much that crush developed over the years. It flourished and bloomed into something you still wonder how you managed to keep at bay for so long. And your fantasies were far from innocent.

Trying to calm your pounding heart, you do your best to ignore him and act as normal as possible but he still catches the way you swallow thickly. That causes him to smirk and back off, satisfied his teasing got a reaction out of you. “You guys realize Minho has other friends too, right?”

You see Chan lighting up another cigarette as Changbin scoffs, crossing his arms. “So, what, you’re telling me you’ve had a crush on one of his boring little dancer friends?”

You shrug, Jisung’s arm heavy around you. “Why not? Hyunjin is hot as hell.”

Chan raises an eyebrow, exhaling the smoke in his lungs. “Hyunjin has a girlfriend.”

“Exactly!” you respond a bit too quickly, surprising them all. “And if it weren’t for Minho’s big ass mouth that could have been me! ME!”

Complete silence follows your statement for a solid minute before Jisung snorts, which prompts Changbin to burst out laughing and Chan to giggle cutely. Great, now they’re all laughing at you. You have half a mind to hide your face in Jisung’s chest when he pulls away and stands up, leaving you completely flabbergasted.

Once his laughter dies down, Changbin, now sitting next to you, tries again. “What about Felix?”

You can’t help but frown, confused, before turning to him. “What about him? Felix is my best friend.”

“Exactly.”

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, almost making you gag as images of you and Felix doing anything other than innocent, platonic things invade your mind. What the fuck is Changbin getting at here? Does he want to see you get sick all over his expensive equipment? Because you will, but he won’t be pleased.

Most likely taking pity on you, Jisung chimes in. “Leave her alone, Bin. If they were to have feelings for each other, they would have been a couple already.”

Chan nods, but that’s when you realize he is already back in his own world, headphones firmly in place while he types away, absorbed in his work. Fortunately, Changbin gives up easily and ruffles your hair before standing up, putting an end to the uncomfortable conversation.

Your eyes fly to Jisung once again just in time to see him put on his jacket, sending a wink your way when your gazes meet.

“Come on, let’s get some fresh air, sweetheart.”

Well, he doesn’t have to tell you twice.

You leave Chan and Changbin to their work and follow Jisung up the stairs until you get to a small balcony in a hallway, all white stone, tall pillars and marble that make you feel like a hopeless princess trapped in a big, haunted castle. Haunted but breathtaking castle, with a view of the modern driveway in which you recognize Jisung’s sleek car.

Once outside, he takes a deep breath of the fresh air before pulling out another cig and lighting it almost instantly.

“So,” he says once he takes a drag, exhaling the smoke out in the open without sparing you a glance, “what do you want to do?”

You weren’t one for smoking but Jisung made it look so beautiful and enticing. The way his lips puckered around the stick, how he exhaled deeply through his nose when talking to you while the sun rays caressed his smooth skin, longer hair staying perfectly in place despite the wind. He was beautiful. He’s always been beautiful but now it felt like you were truly seeing him for the first time. Seeing all of him, with the good and bad.

His gaze moves to yours as he leans on the railing, ever so patient and you clear your throat, trying to act like you weren’t just caught up in another daydream.

“Help me get back at Minho.”

Both of his bleached eyebrows raise in surprise, clearly not expecting the turn this conversation took. It’s silly, and childish – plotting against your brother at this age but if there is one person that would never judge you, Han Jisung is the first that comes to mind. You feel comfortable around him, like you can be yourself without holding back despite the crush that’s been torturing you for years. You don’t know what spell he’s got you under but frankly, you don’t really care right now.

“How?” He’s curious and a bit amused as the corners of his mouth turn upwards slightly around the cigarette.

Suddenly, you realize you haven’t thought so far ahead. Sure, you know exactly what you want to do but how are you going to tell him about it without making sure he wasn’t going to laugh in your face? Birds of a feather flock together and him and Minho were best friends – Jisung was going to tease the fuck out of you if you fumbled it now.

Shallowing down your nerves, you mumble under your breath.

Confused, he gets closer. “What?”

Your voice gets a tiny bit louder, but still not enough for him to make out the words.

“I can’t hear you, sweetheart.”

With a huff, you hope he can’t make out how embarrassed you are or how your voice shakes. “By pretending we’re hooking up in front of him.”

Jisung blinks, absentmindedly throwing his smoke out the balcony before a laugh bubbles out of him, one so clear and childlike it pulls at your heartstrings hard.

“Wait, so that’s your big master plan? Fooling Minho into thinking we’re fucking?”

You shrug, putting some hair behind your ear as you turn to look at the view. “Pretty much, yeah. You’re his best friend. Seeing me latch my claws into you is bound to upset him in some way or another.”

“That’s hot.” He breathes out, lightly biting down on his bottom lip as he stares at your side profile. “Forget Minho, you can latch your claws into me anytime you want, beautiful.”

This time, you’re the one who can’t help but laugh and he joins in seconds later, turning your whole body towards him. “Shut up, Ji. So, are you going to help me, or not?”

Rubbing his chin, he pretends to think about it while his smile fades gradually. “That depends, pretty. What’s in it for me? I can’t be expected to put my ass on the line without getting anything in return, now, can I?”

You frown. “What do you want?”

He comes closer but still respects your personal bubble. “I hope you know your brother will beat my ass when he sees us together.”

“You can take him.”

He laughs, throwing his head back like a child. “Believe me, we train together. I know what he’s capable of. Minho will break my neck for putting a hand on his baby sister.”

You roll your eyes, properly annoyed by now. “Whatever. Just answer the question.”

“I’ll think about it. Come to my gig tonight and we’ll talk more then, yeah, doll?” Jisung smiles so prettily, it’s almost enough to convince you of giving him everything he’d ever ask for.

“Is this your way of getting me to come just so you can show off, Ji?”

He winks, finally stepping back. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. You’ll have to come and see for yourself, baby.”

And who are you to refuse an invitation from J.one himself?

-----

Tonight’s show comes quicker than you would have liked but you still manage to pull yourself together just enough to hopefully blow Han Jisung’s mind when he sees you. Enough to have him up on stage, so mesmerized that he forgets all of his lyrics and tumbles down the steps to get to you faster, to never let you go. So enthralled –

“Earth to Y/n?”

Felix waves his hand in front of your face and manages to pull you away from your delusions, slight concern written on his features. “You good?”

“Oh, Lix, I’m great!” You try to conceal your excitement but as expected, it doesn’t work since everyone could see you buzzing from a mile away. Especially Felix that was sitting right next to you in the driver’s seat. “Are you ready?”

“No.” You roll your eyes at his predictable answer, brushing away his grumpiness as you both take off your seatbelts at the same time. “But let’s go. The faster we go in, the faster we get out.”

“You know this isn’t how it works, right?” He’s silent, giving you both time to get out of the car.  “The show won’t start any sooner than scheduled just because you demand it.”

He’s the one who rolls his eyes now, mumbling something under his breath before walking ahead without even looking back at you.

“Lix! Wait for me!”

Felix, for all the years you’ve known him, has never been so against doing something in his life. Sure, you understand his dislike towards Jisung and his group but since he was accompanying you tonight, you thought he would be a bit happier. You had no idea what beef they might have, these two, but maybe you can finally clear the air tonight.

He slows down as he hears you approach, holding out his hand which you grasp gladly. “Come on, Seungmin and Jeongin are inside already.”

Not like you could spot them anyway since the moment you stepped into the club, you realized how packed it actually was. You knew 3racha was getting big, but not this big. The chatter was as loud as the music, bodies pressed together in hopes of getting more room and the heat was unbearable. The venue was big but most of the people were still hanging around the entrance, blocking your access to the stage and at the same time, Jisung. The flashing lights were already making your eyes feel tired, so you let Felix lead you through the mass of partygoers, walking in like he owned the place straight to the table Seungmin and your other friends rented for the night. What would you do without him?

Perish, most likely.

“Hey, you made it!” Jeongin is the first to welcome you, pushing past your other friends to hug you both. “I was afraid you wouldn’t find us among the craziness.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t have but Felix is a walking navigation system.” You both laugh and Felix, despite rolling his eyes, chuckles too.

“Who knew your boyfriend was this popular?” Seungmin joins in the chatter, high-fiving Felix and thinking he could get away with only patting your back in greeting. Ignoring his comment, for the time being, you don’t let him move away without throwing your arms around his neck and bringing him into a hug, which makes him groan in fake annoyance.

Jeongin and Seungmin have been by your side for as long as you can remember. Along with Felix, you were lucky enough to have two other amazing best friends who had your back no matter what, sticking with you through thick and thin. However, unlike Felix, they were actually on board with you developing a relationship with Jisung, with Seungmin encouraging it every chance he got. But Seungmin wasn’t such a reliable source of support in the matter since he basically lived to annoy your brother, his misery being his joy. They were like cats and dogs, doing everything and anything to make the other’s life hard in some way or another. It was entertaining, you weren’t going to lie, but it also made it harder for you to tell if he actually supported the idea wholeheartedly or did it just to piss Minho off. The world may never know.

“Come, sit with me.” Jeongin grabs your hand and drags you to sit next to him in the booth. Felix takes a seat opposite you and after greeting everyone else, Jeongin leans down to whisper in your ear. “Jisung came by earlier, looking for you.”

“Really?” Your eyes widen, pulling back to look at his face to make sure he isn’t playing you.

He laughs at your disbelief before pulling you back down to make himself heard over the loud music. “Yeah. He was a bit disappointed when we told him you weren’t here yet, probably thought you were a no-show.”

Your heart drops for a moment, suddenly feeling bad you didn’t get here sooner. Was he that eager to see you? But that makes no sense. Did he think you were going to bring Minho? Yeah, that’s probably it.

Oblivious to your inner turmoil, Jeongin continues. “He bought us these drinks, too. Though I’m sure they’re more for you than anyone else, to be honest.”

You begin scanning the table that was already overflowing with shots and bottles of liquor, champagne and even water. Jisung spent all this money on you? You?! That can’t be right…

Looking up, your eyes search Felix’s but for once, he’s too busy laughing at something Seungmin and your other friends are telling him to notice your distress. Turning back to Jeongin, you ask.

“Have you seen him since?”

He nods and points somewhere over your booth. “He’s right there by the stage.”

You try to spot him from your seat, standing up to get a better look before you hear Changbin’s loud and infectious laugh, which helps you see them instantly. With a quick promise of your return, you exit the booth and follow the sound of his voice to the stage, pushing and elbowing people out of your way without a care in the world. You were a woman on a mission and nothing and nobody was going to stop you from getting what you want tonight. You’ve been patient enough already, you deserve this.

Finally reaching the stage, you get a good look at the members of 3racha, all three surrounded by fans and other people eager for a chance at their attention. Chan and Changbin were on opposite sides of the stage, chatting away while Jisung was right in the middle. When your eyes fall on him, however, you can’t help but frown as you get closer, ignoring all the glares sent your way as some people begin muttering under their breath.

As expected, Jisung wasn’t alone nor did he have any time to get lonely. All around him, there were girls and boys, fluttering their eyelashes, playing with their hair and stepping on each other’s toes just to have him spare them a second glance. Jisung was beautiful, we’ve already established that, but that same beauty suddenly reminded you of the reason you didn’t attend their performances that often.

At the end of every gig, Jisung liked to take a lucky fan or two back to his dressing room, hotel, or wherever they were staying at the moment. This was a known fact since all three of the boys did it, but still, it didn’t make you any less uncomfortable. But as much as you hated it, you couldn’t help but wonder, if the circumstances of your relationship were different, would he also pick you? Would he find you attractive enough to take you back to his place and have his way with you?

“Y/n, you made it!

Changbin’s voice helps you return to the moment at hand, his loud voice causing everyone around them to turn and stare at you curiously. That also includes Jisung, whose eyes light up as you finally reach him.

Changbin comes to your side for a brief hug before he’s pulled away by some girls while Chan shoots you a warm smile and lazy wave from afar, too caught up in his conversation to come over.

Jisung doesn’t move, and that helps you notice the arm he has wrapped around a girl, presumably a groupie if the hungry look she gives him is anything to go by. Oh great, he’s already taken his pick for tonight. You were going to be sick.

When your eyes move back to meet his, you find him already staring at you and your heart stops as you quickly realize he noticed your staring. He smirks, all smug and way too sexy in his stupid black and white string shirt, with his hair done up nicely. It’s been a few hours since you’ve last seen each other but Jisung looked like another person, the slightly smudged eyeliner and faint color on his lips making him look like a proper celebrity.

“I thought you backed out, pretty.” He finally speaks, leaning back against the stage. “I’m glad I was wrong.”

You ignore all the stares from the people around him and cross your arms, speaking louder over the music. “And why would I back out?”

Jisung shrugs. “Yongbok is a bad influence on you.”

The irony of the situation almost has you bursting out in laughter, the all too familiar words making you experience déjà vu. Felix has said the same thing about Jisung numerous times, so hearing him say them back was hilarious to you. These two had much more in common than they liked to admit.

Shaking your head, you uncross your arms. “We should talk.”

He nods and the little crowd of groupies parts before him, the sight creepier and more unsettling than it should be. Was Jisung running a little cult on the side you were unaware of? Because if so, you were ready to run back to Felix and admit he was right in a heartbeat.

Jisung doesn’t seem phased as he leans down to whisper something to the girl in his arms, something funny apparently since she giggles and meekly slaps his chest in response. You don’t try to hide the exasperated look on your face even as he gets closer and grabs your hand to drag you away, and that causes his smile to turn into a cheeky smirk. He’s enjoying this – of course, he is.

You walk past Changbin, who’s still talking with the girls from before as Jisung leads you by the hand somewhere to his right, to a more secluded area. His hand in yours is soft and slightly cold, the big, silver rings adorning his fingers causing a pleasant shiver to run down your spine. You’re stuck staring at the back of his head for a few minutes and that’s when you finally notice a dark undercut he certainly wasn’t sporting that afternoon. The sight makes you weak in the knees, and you have to control the sudden urge to run your nails over the freshly cut hair. Oh, he went all out for this performance.

How did he know the undercut was your favorite?

Opening a door that clearly states ‘dressing room #1’, he lets you enter first before following and closing it behind him, finally silencing the loud chatter and music from outside. There, you lose the comfort of his hand as he plops down on the rugged-down, brown couch that’s pushed against the far wall with a sigh.

“Have a seat, sweetie.” He breathes out, reaching up to run his hands through his hair before he seems to remember it's all pretty and decides against it.

You do, but on the chair that’s in front of the lit-up vanity, turning it around to face him. The room is tiny, filled with makeup and some of Jisung’s more casual clothes, his guitar and pack of cigs and the smell of his cologne that floats around everywhere. It’s a bit intimidating, being alone with him in such a constricting place but you have to admit that’s part of the thrill of finally playing with the fire he ignites in you.

There’s no beating around the bush now. “So, Ji. Are you going to help me?”

“Wait, you were serious?” He blinks, sitting up straight. “Sweetheart, I had you wait until tonight to have this conversation again because I thought you would come to your senses.”

Your eyes widen, a bit offended by his last comment. “What? Why would you even think that I’m joking?!”

There’s a pause before he responds, voice quieter. “I didn’t really believe you would come to me of all people for help.”

The vulnerability hidden behind that statement has you opening and closing your mouth like a fish out of water, completely taken aback. He sounds so fragile and insecure, a sight so out of the ordinary for you who’s always only seen his confident and laidback side.

It makes you want to hug him, reassure and hold him in your arms. So, finally free from the burden of Minho’s promise, you actually do.

Standing up, you close the small distance between you both and sit down next to him on the couch before tentatively wrapping your arms around his neck. When he doesn’t protest or pull away, you bring him closer.

“And why wouldn’t I?” you whisper and you feel him relax in your embrace, wrapping one of his own arms around your middle. “I trust you a lot, Ji.”

“You do?”

“Of course,” his hold on you tightens and the butterflies in your stomach start to choke you up, needing the release, “I’ve known you for half my life, after all. You’re my go-to troublemaker.”

Finally, he laughs, pulling away slightly to look at your face. “God, you’re so cheesy.”

“Only for you, baby.” You wink and he breaks the embrace for good, visibly cringing but still laughing.

His laugh had always been one of your favorite sounds, instantly bringing a smile to your face no matter the circumstances. Wanting to hear it a bit more, you continue, crossing your arms with a pout.

“This is how you sound every time you talk to me! Now you know how it feels.”

He raises an eyebrow as his smile fades and he suddenly comes closer in a swift motion, the couch dipping lightly when he invades your personal space. “Sorry, baby.” His voice is low and the proximity causes your heart rate to pick up significantly. “Let me make it up to you.”

You can’t speak, breathe, or think for several moments as he remains there, giving you this smouldering look you’ve seen him only use on stage. You’re left standing there looking at him, mouth agape as your brain screams at you to pull yourself together, to not give him the satisfaction of seeing the effect he has on you. His eyes scan your face, almost like he is memorizing your features but at the same time, not lingering on anything for too long or giving you a glimpse into his intricate mind.

Has time stopped, why isn’t he pulling away?!

“See, it’s not as bad as you made it out to be.” He winks and pulls away, acting like he didn’t just take your breath away straight from your lungs. “You like it.”

“I do not!” You protest, mind still fuzzy and he chuckles, putting more distance between you.

There’s a moment of brief silence as Jisung checks his phone and you begin to think you might actually not be crazy. There is something between you two and he most certainly felt it right now.

Something wanting to snap and be free.

“Okay, so how do we do this thing?” Gently throwing his phone to the side, he shifts on the couch to face you, still as relaxed as ever. “How do we fool your brother?”

“I have an idea.” You mumble, suddenly nervous. Not actually sudden at all since you’ve been nervous since you stepped into this room with him. Jisung nods and reaches for a smoke, waiting for you to continue as he lights it up.

“For starters, I think a few posts on social media could plant the idea of something going on in his head.”

Nodding, he exhales the smoke and you instinctively lean back. “So, you want to…take some pictures together? That’s all?”

The way he says it, with amusement in his voice, makes your face warm up in embarrassment but for an entirely different reason than before. You feel stupid. For all your anger a few hours prior, he thinks your plan is the most vanilla thing in the world.

And he hates vanilla. Just your luck, really.

Mustering all the courage available at your disposal, you try to appear as confident as ever as you decide to go with the other version of your plan. The one Felix hated the most.

“Sure, simple enough, right?” you nod and with no warning, make your way closer to him on the couch, your knees touching. If he’s surprised, Jisung doesn’t show it and keeps the same level look in his sparkling eyes as he turns his head to the side to not blow the smoke right in your face.

“Now,” taking your phone out, you come even closer, leaning towards him until your faces are mere inches apart. “Kiss me.”

For the first time in your life, you can see Han Jisung’s brain short-circuit, hand freezing mid-way to his lips while the cigarette continues to burn, ash falling onto his ripped black jeans. He blinks and stares in disbelief, dumbfounded while you just smile, not being able to hide your delight at his reaction. Taking someone by complete surprise and closing their mouth in the process has never been more fun.

Innocence is what you try to portray with your growing smile and head tilted to the side. “Jisung? Are you okay?”

He seems to snap out of it at the call of his name, clearing his throat before putting out his cig. When he turns back to you, his eyes are darker and you can’t help but gasp as he gets a hold of your shoulders with his big hands, increasing the distance between you so he can breathe.

“Y/n.” You almost recoil as your name leaves his plush lips, eyes widening in shock. He hasn’t used your name in ages so now you feel like you’re about to get the scolding of your life, like you committed the worst crime known to man. It doesn’t feel right at all, and your heart hurts a little as he ignores the shock on your face and carries on.

“Don’t play with me like that.” His voice is low, icy even and that baffles you even more than his words. “I’m all up for games but this isn’t one I’m willing to play.”

A moment passes with you staring into each other’s eyes before you scoff loudly, shaking off his hands and standing up altogether. “Why can’t you ever take me seriously?”

His eyes don’t leave yours. “Because you’ve been sprouting nonsense since I saw you this afternoon! I get you’re throwing a tantrum but how ridiculous can you be, Y/n?”

There’s no way Jisung is being serious right now. You can’t believe your ears. After the little speech you gave him, he has the audacity to speak to you like this?

“Throwing a tantrum?” Your voice raises in volume, getting angry. “I’m not a fucking child, Jisung!”

“Yet you keep acting like one, Y/n.”

Oh, that’s rich coming from him of all people.

“Fuck you.” There’s no hesitation as you spit out the words, glaring at him like you would at your brother. Great, he was reminding you of him now. So much for the happily ever after you envisioned by his side – even when he isn’t present, Minho still manages to fuck up your love life somehow.

He lets out a short laugh, not genuine in the slightest. “See. Childish.”

Your anger simmers and almost bubbles to the surface but you force it back down, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of actually acting like a spoiled child. It’s all coming back to you now, the reason you and Jisung didn’t actually spend time together. Since becoming a part of Chan’s group, he turned into a pain in the ass, an arrogant asshole that thought he was so high and mighty when in reality, he was just horrible. Horrible with his friends, with his fans and with everyone that wasn’t part of his little fame bubble. Sometimes you wondered why Minho was still his friend, as bad as that sounds. He was nothing like the best friend he grew up with, the ray of sunshine that used to brighten his gloomy days

The Jisung you fell for years ago was a ghost now, a sweet memory you carried dearly in your heart and kept safe like a precious souvenir. It was bittersweet, remembering how he used to be but despite that, your feelings didn’t budge. You still cared for him, deeply, and seeing him at your house occasionally, playing with Minho brought back the hope that you abandoned a long time ago in regards to him ever returning to normal.

Of course, that never lasts. It never does.

Defeated, you shake your head and make for the door, not even sparing him a second glance. “Whatever, forget about it. I was stupid to believe you would actually help me.”

These words are meant to hurt him, but why are you the one in pain?

“I’ll just go and ask Chan instead.” You don’t even know why you’re still explaining yourself to him and that makes you angry again. Without another word, you open the door but before you can take another step, a big hand appears and closes it abruptly.

The sound startles you, just like his sudden presence behind you and there’s no stopping the way your breath hitches in your throat. However, you don’t turn around, still hurt because of his words. He doesn’t seem to care and leans forward, his chest flush against your back while his hot breath hits your cheek. The contact causes you to shiver and goosebumps appear on your arms, knuckles turning white on the doorknob.

Jisung notices, because, of course, he does. However, he doesn’t tease you as expected. Seems like he isn’t in the mood for it either, not anymore.

“Fine, you want me to take you seriously?” His velvety voice hits your ear, quieter than you’ve ever heard it before and your heart skips a beat. His dominant hand remains on the door, trapping you between it and his body but the other doesn’t join, still giving you a way out. The position you’re now in is close, intimate and without meaning to, you cave and turn around to look at him. This allows him to come forward, no longer pressing against you but just a breath away from your lips, tempting you to take action, to close the almost non-existent space left and melt into him.

“Kiss me yourself.”

Surprise flashes across your features, not sure if you’ve heard him right or not. But Jisung doesn’t budge and continues to stare into your eyes deeply, defiantly even, the shimmering glitter that adorns them not softening his intense gaze at all. It feels like you can’t breathe properly as his words slowly sink in but your arms still move to reach for him like a lifeline, the need to feel him beneath your fingers greater than the one for air. When your palms settle on his broad chest, he inhales sharply, resting his forehead against yours as your noses collide gently.

You’re sharing the same breath now but the tension only grows, almost flickering in the air. Suffocating but still so delicious.

Neither of you seems to be in a hurry as one of your hands moves upwards on his chest until it reaches his jaw, cupping it gingerly while the other fists his shirt. You can’t bring him any closer without doing the inevitable but you can still prolong this, thumb reaching out to trace his bottom lip to which he responds by grabbing your hips and connecting your lower halves. You both exhale through your mouths at the contact, the desperation quickly building up and eating away at your sanity.

There’s no doubt in your mind that he feels the same, now. Carnally, at least.

Still taking it slow, you realize he loves making you lose your mind as much as you love it when you teasingly kiss the corner of his mouth and he pushes into you, pinning your body against the door. A whimper escapes your mouth and he smirks faintly, pupils blown wide.

“What’s wrong?” He whispers so close to your lips that your hand drops to grab his chin roughly, keeping his head in place while his smirk only grows. “Cat got your tongue?”

The world outside this little room has disappeared completely and now you only see, hear and feel him. Nothing else matters. That’s why you feel like you might go completely crazy if you spend even another second not kissing him, finally indulging in something you’ve wanted for so long.

The smug smirk on his face drops as the hand on his chest moves up to wrap around his neck, his hold on you bruising when he sees the way your lips part and eyes flutter shut. Finally, you were going to do it. You were going to kiss Han Jisung and make a mess of his pretty hair and stage makeup, have him moan and curse lowly into your mouth just like you’ve always fantasized about.

But your luck never lasts that long.

Your lips barely get the chance to touch briefly when suddenly, you feel yourself falling backwards as the door opens, a loud yelp escaping your mouth. Fortunately, Jisung snaps out of it quicker and pulls you back towards him, strong arm wrapped around your waist securely. Your own arms drop to his middle as you bury your head in his chest, embarrassed when you recognize the voice that’s come to interrupt your fairytale. It feels like those moments when you’re rudely awakened by your alarm in the morning while you’re busy dreaming about marrying your celebrity crush.

Both instances are just as frustrating and heartbreaking.

“Oh, sorry guys.” Chan laughs awkwardly before clearing his throat. “But uh, the show’s about to start so, um… Jisung, if you will – “

You feel his chest move as he exhales, clearly annoyed. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

That’s all Chan needs to walk away, a bit too eager to escape the uncomfortable situation. When you dare look up again, Jisung is already looking down at you, putting some hair behind your ear gently. He’s doing a much better job at masking his frustration at being interrupted than you currently are.

His voice is still quiet as he speaks, but now for a different reason. “After the show, take everyone and come to the VIP section. I’ll wait for you there.”

You nod and he forces a smile, the new emotion in his eyes a bit too complicated to make out when your head is still spinning all over the place. Giving your shoulder a friendly squeeze, Jisung then detaches from you and moves to walk away first, finally dawning on him the importance of the show and how he cannot just keep lingering here.

Before he’s completely out of earshot, you speak up. “Jisung!”

He turns briefly, now in a hurry.

“Break a leg out there!” You smile.

And he finally returns it, genuinely. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

When he disappears, you remain there for a moment longer to pull yourself together, making sure you look presentable enough to not raise any suspicion. Looking in the vanity’s lit-up mirror, your fingers find your lips and the slightly smeared lipstick, tracing them lightly while remembering the way his own lips felt. They were so close, yet still so far as they seemed to have slipped right through these very fingers, harshly pulled away from you in the worst way.

Will you ever get a chance like that again?

But more importantly, will you actually take it?

Shaking your head, you quickly fix your lipstick before leaving and closing the door on everything that’s transpired with Jisung in the last 20 minutes. If you want to remain sane, you have to forget it all, for now.

Reaching your friends isn’t as challenging as before and when you make it to your seat, with Jeongin already excited about the gossip you brought back, the lights turn off. Everyone gasps and cheers as the booming music signaling the performance starts, and you let out a small sigh, relieved you won’t have to get into it right away.

From where you’re all sitting, you can see smoke enveloping the stage and it all goes quiet again for a moment before a spotlight turns on and the members of 3racha appear, one by one, to the beat of their favorite song. The crowd grows wild, and you aren’t an exception, your whole table cheering as loud as everyone else as the whole vibe of the venue changes.

Emotions are running high for everyone as their performance stars, adrenaline and excitement running through your veins from the first song to the last. Everyone is dancing and singing along, with some knowing the lyrics by heart and it feels like the room is spinning with their energy and stomping around. Grabbing Felix, who seems way happier than before thanks to the alcohol, you also stand up to dance and scream along to the music and your happiness only multiplies when you see him doing the same.

3racha’s stage presence is no joke, neither is their talent as Changbin gets the whole venue to chant their names at some point, leaving the crowd begging for an encore they can’t help but deliver. Throughout the whole performance, no matter if he’s rapping or jumping around, Jisung’s eyes seem to find you one way or another and every time, he winks or smirks at your excitement. He’s visibly pleased and unknown to you, that fuels him up better than any crowd could and prompts him to give the performance of a lifetime.

By the end, you’re left buzzing and more awake than ever, throwing your arms around Felix and thanking him for accompanying you tonight.

After, a waiter comes over to your booth and escorts your whole group to the VIP section of the club, where tonight’s stars are. You really weren’t expecting Jisung to send someone or even remember what he said, too busy having fun with his fanclub to be bothered.

The VIP area is a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the club, with AC and fewer people. It’s fancy and luxurious and among the other patrons, you spot the guys instantly.

Their place consists of a bunch of sofas and three coffee tables in the middle, all filled with alcohol and the weed they love so much. There are other people among them when you arrive and besides their manager and choreographer, you don’t recognize anyone else. The choreographer is Minho’s teacher, after all, the one who taught him everything he knows.

“Well, this is fancy.” Seungmin hums, impressed.

Chan smiles behind his cigar, glass of whiskey in hand. “Only the best for our friends.” He winks and Seungmin looks away, rolling his eyes, but you swear there’s a faint blush on his cheeks.

“You guys were amazing! I think this was your best performance yet!” Jeongin joins in, all smiles, eyes turning into two crescent moons, the sight so adorable you can’t help but reach over and squeeze one of his cheeks, not being able to stop yourself. He groans and swats your hand away but unfortunately for him, Felix is on his other side, so he doesn’t catch any breaks before his cheeks get squished together again. You laugh as he succumbs to his faith, knowing first-hand how strong Felix is and how difficult it would be to fight him off.

Changbin, who’s the only one surrounded by groupies, boys and girls, exclaims a bit too loudly. “Aw, Innie! Thank you!”

Everyone laughs at his high-pitched voice, besides Jeongin who just cringes and moves to take a shot once he escapes Felix’s claws. Alcohol makes Changbin’s true personality shine through in a hilarious way each time – there’s never a dull moment with him around.

Across from the chaos, Jisung, who’s been silently sipping his drink so far, locks eyes with you before beckoning you closer without a word. You’ve calmed down since whatever the fuck happened in his dressing room so you have no problem standing up and walking over to him, also a bit curious about his missing cult. Were they waiting for him in a basement somewhere with the ritual on hold?

“Before you say anything, just know that Minho doesn’t allow me to join shady cults.”

He blinks up at you, confused out of his mind and the look on his face makes you laugh. Jisung smiles at the sound, but the gesture doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Sorry, sorry.” You shake your head, stopping in front of him. “What’s up?”

It’s surprising how normal you can actually act around him after he’s managed to turn your whole world upside down with a mere sentence. After the intense moment you’ve shared before when you thought your heart was going to explode into teeny tiny pieces right on his shirt. The stupid shirt that’s hugging his waist perfectly, sleeves a bit too long over his hands.

The part of you that resents what he’s become is also dormant now, to your surprise. You haven’t been this angry at him in years, your last argument ending with you both ignoring each other for months.

Maybe you’re both tired of fighting.

“Come here.” He throws his drink back before setting the glass down and grabbing his phone.

Without meaning to, you do and when you’re within arms’ reach, Jisung gently pulls you down by the hand until your faces are mere inches away. Your eyes widen, and you panic, but before you can jerk away, he closes the distance and places a gentle smooch on your cheek that lingers for a moment too long. Not that you mind.

But, the unexpected gesture still leaves you frozen in your spot even after he lets go, gaze slowly moving to meet his for an explanation.

The smirk he sports is shameless as he signals you to take a seat on the arm of the comfy, fluffy white chair he’s currently lounging in. For a moment, you think about taking a seat in his lap, wanting to get the upper hand and fluster him back but, you quickly come to your senses and decide otherwise.

“What was that for?” You get straight to the point, staring him down. A thin layer of sweat now adorns his sunkissed skin and his styled, blonde hair has become nothing short of a mess. An attractive mess nonetheless, since you swear, he looks even better than before. You didn’t think that was even possible but there he was, proving you wrong once again.

Instead of using his words, Jisung just shows you his phone. Curious, you lean down to find a picture of two faceless people sharing a kiss – wait a second…it’s you! It’s a picture of the kiss you just shared.

But wait. He’s only just kissed your cheek…

Oh, he was good.

“Think this will be enough to trick Minho for tonight?” He smiles faintly, more reserved than he’s ever been with you and that kind of throws you off. Although, you can understand why he’s acting the way he is, considering what just happened.

“You,” A pause, taking hold of his phone, “made it look like we’re kissing for real.”

He grins. “I’m pretty great, right?”

Your eyes glide over to look at him, shoulders slumping slightly. “But why? I thought you didn’t want to help me.”

“I’ve changed my mind.” He wastes no time in explaining, looking straight into your eyes. Even in the poorly lit room, you can see his gaze soften, features relaxing as a mischievous smile makes its way onto his lips.

There he was, the Jisung you fell in love with. The menace Minho forbid you from ever pursuing.

“Let’s do this, sweetheart. Let’s get back at your selfish brother.”

Game on.

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