“he knows he’s overdue on sleep yet he’d rather play games first? unbelievable,” you faintly whispered, eyes finally drifting away from the small words on your book to steady on the figure in the opposing chair. you smiled. there sat a very sleepy fuma, recently dyed bangs falling gently over his eyes, head lightly nodding down every few minutes before bobbing back up as if nothing happened. his mouth hung the slightest bit open, soft sighs slipping from his pouty, blush tinted lips as his body relaxed against the cozy material of your furniture. every last bit of his being radiated this drowsy air that he just refused to accept.

thump.

you stifled a short giggle as you watched his expression turn to a frown for a split second before relaxing back into place. something about the way he tried to fight against the temptation of sleep, restraining himself from giving in was laughable, a surprisingly wholesome sight.

an indescribable warmth filled your heart. being in a relationship with fuma, you weren’t one to argue with how and who he spent his spare time with. he’s a grown adult with a full-time career doing what he loves with who he loves. there was no reason to be mad about something like that, especially when, despite his hectic schedules, he still found time to spare and share it with you.

so whether he spent his free time with you catching up on each other’s day, his members sharing silly stories and laughs, his family bonding over a home cooked meal or by himself opening another set of pokémon cards as he waited for his game to load, you respected all of it like he did with yours… however, there was only so much you could tolerate.

thump.

“okay, that’s it. let’s get you to bed,” you chuckled, pushing yourself up with the blanket still wrapped tightly around your body. his eyes fluttered open at the sound of his phone falling for the nth time today. he reached down to pick the device off the floor, screen still glowing bright with the settings function popped up mid-game. his thumb must’ve clicked it by accident.

“i’m fine,” he rebutted, hand moving to cover up his mouth, face contorting to suppress the yawn that wanted so badly to make itself known. “swear ‘m not tired yet.” an obvious lie.

fingers slipped into his hair running through the soft strands that framed his tired face. tears brimmed the lower lashline, the apples of his cheeks dusted with pale hue of pink, yet more signs of his fatigue taking over. staring directly at him with an unwavering stare, you deadpanned, “fuma, honey, you dropped your phone because you’re falling asleep.”

“was an accident,” he mumbled quietly, voice barely audible even in the muted room.

“really? which time?”

“...well–”

“i personally lost count after the third drop. you?” your strict tone cutting through the silence made him pause from talking back. he knew you were right. the side of his mouth ticked upwards, a breathy sigh leaving his tongue as your fingers traced down the side of his face, curling under his chin with a firm hold. “come on.”

the natural flush of his cheeks climbed up to the tips of his ears, embarrassed from the way you caught him in a clear lie and shy at how easily you took charge of his carefree self. fuck, they’re so hot like this. seeing you all determined and reliable wasn’t a new sight, but with him usually taking the lead out of his natural instinct, it sure as hell wasn’t a sight he saw often.

he wanted to argue, get you to back down, but… if me refusing to sleep causes them to act more dominating over me, you can sign me right up. truly an unfair experience. the power you had over him with every little action you made was unbelievable.

“fuma,” your hand reached out towards him, face automatically smiling as he immediately obeyed, placing his hand in yours. the heat of his palms blended into your own, the pad of his thumb grazing over the texture of your skin as if he were trying to commit it to memory. so uniquely you.

with a groan he pushed himself up: 10% because you tugged him upwards and 90% because he planted his feet on the ground to make it easier for you. practically a team effort. without warning, fuma flopped against your figure, heavy arms wrapping itself around your neck as he leaned the majority of his weight on you. naturally, he closed his eyes once again in tiredness. what a cute yet inconvenient way of thanking you.

“ugh, fuu. this is what i get for caring about your health,” you whined and pushed back, face scrunching up to get some of his weight off you. “you’re welcome by the way.”

he shook his head, burying his head by the crook of your neck. god, even with your small comments, every day he fell more and more for you. “mhmm. thank you, pretty.” voice a low hum with a grin proudly deepening as soon as he saw his words take effect. he waited but you didn't answer, so he leaned up to your cheek and planted a gentle peck. flustered stutters slipped as he pulled back satisfied at his small act of love. so cute.

before he could do anything else heart flustering, you wrapped your own arms around him, slowly moving your joint bodies towards the bedroom with the occasional grumbles. “for someone who just said they weren’t all that tired, where’s that awake energy gone?” at this point, you were practically dragging his feet along the floor.

you turned and pulled his arms from your neck, watching fuma plop onto the bed with a sleepy smile. “it went into loving you,” he bluntly stated, legs spreading just slightly, encasing you in his muscular arms before resting his head on your stomach in comfort.

“ugh, shut it.” you cringed, shutting your eyes in disgust making a sound of disapproval as you felt his laughter rumble over your stomach. it annoyed you how he knew even the cheesiest words sounded like honeyed compliments in your ears. “you definitely need to sleep after that.”

before you could even take a step back, his grip around you tightened, shoulders stiffening to the touch. “fuma?”

“don’t wan’ you to go.”

“my love, i have to clean up the living room. i’ll join you later.” gently, you placed a hand atop of his head, stroking the smooth strands of dyed hair while you allowed him to pull you closer. “you can sleep with eevee for now while i finish the dishes, right?”

your eyes drifted over to the side, a particularly shaped object catching your attention. a small eevee plush resting among the collection of other pokémon related pillows, plushies, and merchandise that he adorned your room in. the sight of the item drew a smile from your face, heart softening at the darling memory of him fanboying at you finally sharing an interest in his adorably, partially nerdy passions.

he pressed a delicate kiss on your stomach, the cotton fabric of your (his) shirt doing nothing to stop the warmth of his plush lips from seeping through. one by above you bellybutton, another nearing the side of your waist, then another just under your ribcage. with each brush of his mouth across your body, you couldn’t help it; melting in his hold until you slowly sank yourself to straddle his lap, arms enveloping you as you both acknowledged that he won this battle.

he stared at you for a beat longer, shaking his head in response. “it isn’t the same, is it pretty?” his hands rested on your hips massaging the fat that covered the pelvic bone, whispering sweet nothings about how good you looked. that’s when you felt it, that pounding pulse that stretched over your chest, the lull atmosphere of the late night making you give in to his wishes.

“i want you tonight. please stay with me.”

slowly, he placed a hand at the back of your neck, pulling you down, closer into his hold. and before you could get a word in, his lips pressed against yours. kissing you with the utmost care, perfectly slotting between your own as you sighed into it. “please,” he begged as your hand tangled in his hair, tugging his head up so you could deepen the kiss.

holds tight, almost like each one was afraid of losing the other. you rested a hand over his chest, the erratic thumping of his heart slowing down to match the rhythm of your own breathing. his teeth nibbled on the swollen skin of your lips, slipping his tongue. every sigh, kiss, whimper that he ripped from your throat, his eyes further squeezed shut at the melody ringing in his ears, tempted to suck on the tip of your tongue to draw out another sweet sound. a shaky and weak groan left his lips, pulling back to rest his forehead against your own as you both caught your breath.

the corners of his mouth twitched into a smirk seeing a string of saliva split, falling over your slick lips. his thumb carefully swiped over the clear fluid, popping the spit-covered thumb into his own mouth, tongue grazing the pad with a satisfied sigh. “you can do that. can’t you, pretty?” he asked, tired voice sounding deep and raspy while he played with the hem of your shirt.

you absentmindedly nodded, head in a daze from his kiss. his lips moved to litter pecks across any area exposed, sucking flushed marks at the skin by your neck. with every moment that passed, all the tension in your body melted away, dissolving into his warmth. “come now.”

his arms soon picked you up, body feeling weightless in his hold, soon settling the both of you under the thick, cozy sheets. you shimmied yourself into his warm embrace, grinning in delight as the sound of his light chuckle reached your ears. “thank you for caring, pretty.” he mumbled, exhaustion and heavy eyelids finally taking over.

the sight of him, thoughts coming to a rest with his mind drawing into a peaceful slumber, made your heart flutter. eyelashes casting long shadows over the top of his cheeks, lips kissed swollen parting with each exhale, slim fingers and calloused palm clinging to yours as, even in a deep slumber, he refused to let you go.

words stuck in your throat, too nervous to speak at the chance of disturbing him from a much needed rest. awake or not, he was beyond beautiful in your eyes.

“good night, my love. sleep tight.”

taglist: @hironoshimura -> asked: @dorlithesweetest

more specifically, he changed as soon as his eyes met yours in that lecture hall. why focus on a book filled with words upon words, when he could instead choose to focus on you who had features that blended into pure harmonization. eyes that sparkled as you continued to share your own thoughts on the matter. shadows that swished and swashed with every passing movement of your outfit whenever you gestured to a specific part in his presentation.

a presentation that he poured his heart and soul into and was beyond the moon knowing at least one person appreciated his efforts. not so they could grade him, or look to see what they should focus since they’re presenting next, but out of sheer interest.

yn. a fellow student who simply enjoyed his lecture topic in world literature 52 had made the resident campus crush, myung jaehyun, fall head over heels for them. oh dear.

“i cannot believe he expects us to finish memorizing all that information on inorganic compounds and reactions by this friday.” you complained, fingers gently rubbing your temples to ease the headache that was starting to form. the laptop in your bag was wearing your shoulders down, knots only further solidifying to your dismay.

“right? plus, we still have to finish the spectral analysis he assigned too! honestly, he is being such a–”

“leehan!” you cut your friend off mid-sentence at the sight of the tall individual sporting an alien-shaped keychain on his worn out backpack. you sent your friends a quick, lopsided grin to apologise. with a short say, they headed on to the dining hall, hopefully already knowing to save you a seat for lunch.

donghyun spotted your tired figure within the crowd at the call of his name, signalling you to come over with an excited wave. while the gesture would usually be ignored by jaehyun, who was previously cooing over his strange friend’s fact of the day in a baby voice, that wouldn’t be the case now. he felt his eyes widen at your figure slowly moving closer and closer towards his direction. head moved to look around, heartbeat pounding louder in his ears, palms getting sweatier with every step you took.

why is yn coming over here? no one’s behind us looking their way. why is leehan smiling? does he know them? no, no, can’t be. not possible. he barely talks to anyone besides us. surely not. please stop walking towards us. no, go away!

“hey hannie,” you greeted with a bump of his shoulder against yours. they know each other?!

“hey yn,” he moved his bag to the front with a soft grunt, unzipping the material and digging around past books and crumpled papers before pulling out a somehow creased folder. his hand gave it over and you immediately hugged it close to your chest in gratitude. “as promised, here are the notes you missed in class. sorry if it’s a little messy.”

“you are an absolute lifesaver. professor lee would’ve had my ass if i was a lecture behind again.”

leehan laughed and continued to exchange pleasantries with you as jaehyun and the rest of the group watched in sheer astonishment at how he casually conversed with you like the two of you were childhood best friends. a statement that would have had taesan huffing in objection like a grumpy black cat. his head racked up every single memory possible, anything to try and gauge what, who, where, when, why and how you two became friends. close enough friends for you to call him by a nickname too.

goosebumps littered your skin as you moved your vision to his side, flashing the five males around leehan a shy smile. “sorry, i’m being rude. i’m yn, a friend of hannie. you all are?” one by one, you become the slightest bit more familiar with the group, storing their introductions in your head for future instances.

park sungho, an architecture major who tests recipes in the cooking club. lee sanghyeok or riwoo from the dance department, who’s also in the cooking club (mostly just to eat sungho’s creations). han dongmin or taesan, who makes mixes in the music composition department and music club. kim woonhak, the self-appointed mvp of the basketball club in music composition. and lastly, “you are– oh! it’s you.”

jaehyun pointed to himself, eyes looking into yours to be sure. “yeah, you. i’m not too good with names but we’re in the same literature class, right?”

he nodded. breathed in and out. “ye-yes. same one. i’m uh… f-friend. donghyun’s friend.”

huh?

you hummed, waiting for him to continue his introduction. his eyebrows furrowed after hearing the mistake, quickly shifting his eyes to look away before continuing. “i’m from the lal department.” you looked at him confused, head tilting at the word. “i- you know, lal. language and literature. l a l.” woonhak tried his best to stifle a snort but to no avail he ended up doubling over in laughter at the older one’s awkward mistake.

“oh. that’s cool, but i still don’t know your name…”

did he seriously not introduce himself yet? all the basics have been said except for the most important one. he just had to forget that one. awesome. okay. it’s fine. just say your name. simple as that.

“j-jae myung hyun.”

“...jae is your last name?”

he was punching himself internally, hands pulling at every last hair follicle that remained as he yelled in frustration, voice cracking at the prolonged length of his scream. “ahahaha. it’s– hyun. no! jae. m-myung jaehyun. last name myung, first name jaehyun.”

“well it’s very nice to meet you, myung jaehyun, who is hannie’s friend from the lal department and also happens to be in my class.”

you flashed him a grin, eyes shining brightly into his own, a fluttering warmth hitting the soft-hearted male straight in the chest causing his heart to clench at the overly cute sight. stop smiling like that please. you’re gonna make me explode from how cute you are. with his hands clamming up, he responded with a shaky smile of his own.

“so…”

“shut up!” jaehyun remarked, harshly stabbing at the broken up meatballs in his spaghetti. his frown deepened at the sound of his utensils accidentally scraping against the dish, a high-frequency metallic screech that would make even the most stiff expressions falter.

“it was like a humiliation ritual happened before my eyes against my consent.” he groaned at the insulting dig from the ravenette, figure slumping against the lunch table in despair while his so-called friends chuckled at his more than obvious misery.

“you’re usually more smooth with introductions, annoyingly so. what happened?” sungho breathlessly asked, the first to calm his laughter from the group.

he whined, fingers ruffling his hair into a deeper mess that matched his current feelings. “i’m not sure. all i remember is they were across the hallway, looking like an absolute angel coming from chemistry 124.01. next thing i know they’re walking towards us with a smile that could battle the sun on its best day. it was an attack to the heart!”

“so much for mr. all i chase after are medals. with those comparisons, you are waist deep in with no way out.” dongmin mocked, pursuing his lips and moving his shoulders annoyingly suave-like to portray the older male. that was until he got punched by the shoulder.

“seconded. also, why do you know yn had just come from chem 124.01? stalker much.”

“i overheard james talking to them about their group project a few weeks back and found out about yn’s schedule through him. pretty sure they’re in the same program. it’s been around two months since then.” heads turned to look at him in absolute shock. the same thought ran through each of their heads. there is no way myung jaehyun, who is the literal personification of tmi and extrovert, kept his crush secret from us for two whole months.

“have you told yn yet?”

“...what do you think, idiot?”

woonhak opened his mouth to argue but quickly shut it back up at the lack of words coming out. “right. my bad.”

his chopsticks pushed around the remaining kimchi on the dish, movement slowing down as he zoned out from the reality of the conversation at the mere sight of his crush. the longer he stared, the more lost he felt. just what made you different? so different that, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get over this silly crush of his.

maybe it was the way you seemed so passionate about life, sharing your views in discussions you’re interested in. from poetic literature to the societal issues it suggests, each word that left your lips only proved to him how insanely smart you were. you never hesitated to ask questions that would clarify the inquiries running in your mind, even if you weren’t all too familiar with the topic.

or maybe it was because you were really kind, but knew when to stand your ground ensuring no one walks over you. taking notes for others when they got sick, putting little tips and comments in the margins of the pages to make concepts easier to understand.

he paid mind to the smallest actions: whether it was the way you placed your phone screen side facing down to invest yourself in the conversation; the way you leaned in to listen to someone closely, clearly paying attention; or the way you traced a smiley face on any surface before sending the person beside you an equally bright smile to lighten their day.

he liked that about you. he liked a lot about you, and you didn’t even know.

his eyes met your own a few tables away and he could feel his heart rate rapidly speed up. your hand gestured an okay sign and he rushed to reply with two thumbs up, chopsticks clattering on the surface as it slipped from his fingers. you let out a small laugh at his clumsiness, nodding as your hand covered your mouth. i’m such an idiot. you broke his gaze, jaehyun sighing at his unrequited love as soon as you turned away.

“that was really, truly painful to watch.”

“can i change my answer? i think that was the humiliation ritual.”

“how is the so-called campus crush such a lovesick loser with his crush?”

“i’ve never been more embarrassed to be friends with you.”

“the only way to describe you and your actions is: a complete and utter mess.”

he pushed his plate towards woonhak, the younger male’s eyes sparkling with excitement at the free food offered. his hands dragged over his face, slapping his cheeks to snap himself out of this dazed feeling. he felt sick. stomach squeezing into different intricate knots, a result of the butterflies and cruel humiliation he faced after realizing how clearly his feelings could be seen. heart eyes, dreamy gaze, and flushed cheeks written all over his face. “please just put me out of my misery.” he begged, body leaning towards donghyun who willingly patted his shoulder out of sympathy.

“if you say so–”

“dongmin!” sungho scolded, momentarily taken aback by the immediate response to jaehyun’s sad request.

“ask and you shall receive, right? damn, this is what i get for being nice.” the eldest rolled his eyes, hand meeting his forehead in pure exhaustion as he muttered under his breath how tired he is constantly being surrounded by idiots. well, as they say, birds of the same feather flock together.

“so… when are you gonna get their number and ask them out?” leehan asked, leaning ever so slightly into his distraught friend, tone casual as he nodded his head over to where you were seated. “we can always help you out.”

his gaze softened, peeking past his fingers only to close them once again as you catch him staring, heat rushing up his neck when you smiled faintly. with a quick mental shake, he lowered his gaze, breath caught stuck in his throat at the fact you unknowingly had him wrapped around your finger. “never. i can’t. i’m just going to embarrass myself again. i’d rather suffer with this crush forever until the day i die.”

“okay. suffer then,” the sound of your laugh rang in his ears, a friend of yours casually dropping his arm around your shoulder to pull you closer. his eyes studied the way they looked at you, their expression reflecting only a hint of what he too felt for you. nails dug into his skin, a green-eyed monster consuming his thoughts as the stinging pain numbed. “suffer as you watch someone sweep your precious crush off their feet, knowing that could’ve been you instead.”

the teasing glint in their eyes was unmistakable. he shot them a glare causing a smirk to climb up their faces, enjoying the pout that framed his face at the idea of him never confessing. constantly trapped in a sea of his own emotions.

“fine. what’s the plan?”

i. operation “knight in shining armour”

“are you sure about this?”

“can you just– sigh, why am i helping you?”

“because you love me?”

“...save that for yn.”

the plan was simple. the humanities building had the busiest walkways in koz university and since jaehyun knew you had the navigating world history 225 class there (out of pure chance he adds but nobody believes), he was going to pretend to bump into you accidentally. maybe even lead you away from the crowd to protect you before asking for your number and inviting you out to lunch. the perfect case of a knight-in-shining armour.

it wasn’t even twelve yet yet he watched a couple of students flow in the hallways, eyes skimming through the crowd until it landed on you. your class must’ve ended early today. he threaded himself between students, grinning elegantly like expected before tapping you on the shoulder, “y-yn. hey, did you just finish class? what a coincidence ‘cuz i did too.” no it didn’t. he had been waiting outside for the past twenty minutes, but you didn’t need to know that part.

they look so pretty. ah, that’s a lot of papers, i should offer to help.

“here,” he slipped his hands under yours, the weight of books and course material lightening as he smoothly grabbed hold of the items, carrying it in his strong arms instead. “i got you.”

you whispered a thanks, ears warming a hinge of red, feeling bad that he was hauling the junk from your lessons. he was sweet, so kind that it made your heart leap in the air. it was nice walking with him in silence, the spring air sending a strange chill over your skin, the faint sound of leaves rustling in the distance adding to the atmosphere. “ow, excuse me! hey, stop pushing me! jae–”

the clock had struck twelve and right on cue a rush of college students filled the pathway, varying tones of voices mixing into one loud decibel as they shoved and jammed past each other to handle their business.

please let this go well.

jaehyun's eyes widened, not expecting the amount of people blocking his pathway, losing you in the mass. he shook his head, hyping himself up before pushing himself into the crowd, his friends, minus woonhak and leehan, watching with expressions of pain at the havoc ensuing before their very eyes. was this even worth it? for him, it most definitely was. he would be your prince charming, saving the day as he protected you from harm, getting an honorable reward by asking you out on a lunch date.

“ouch. hey, sorry– i lost someone in this– talk later please.” the mass flowed through the area, slowly leading him over to your worried self who was protecting your bag for life. sunlight streamed through the large glass windows, rays gleaming in your face making it harder to see through the rows of bodies. “sorry. yn, hi again.”

you turned around to see jaehyun awkwardly grinning at you, eyes glinting with that familiar sparkle of playfulness, a welcoming distraction from the current hecticness of the situation, “hey.”

“you alright?”

“never better, obviously. how about you?”

“absolutely amazing as you can tell, especially with me stuck in this literal sea of overworked students. come on.” he placed a hand on your shoulder, moving you just a bit closer to his chest, and with the other hand still holding onto your stuff, angling himself to protect you as he slowly guided you both step by step to the side, out and away from the crowd.

the sounds of chatter calmed and you could feel the airconditioned breeze hit your warm skin. notes of cedarwood and fresh soap hit your nose as you caught your breath, shoulders dropping down at the feeling of relaxation. finally, you had escaped. “thank you, seriously. you were basically my hero there.”

he chuckled, easing into his usual charming character, adoring the features that he could never see in detail up until today. how your skin felt warm to the touch, lips softly curving with every breath you took, hair strands falling to frame your face. it was a dangerous sigh. one that made him question if the concept of beauty was based on you.

his finger gently raised to swipe away at a stray strand, carefully moving it back into place behind your ear. the slight graze of his fingertip against the shell of your ear made you suck in a breath, eyes flickering to look up at his. “huh, your eyes are really pretty up close.”

“sorry?”

his tone carried a sincere lilt that contrasted the boyish grin he flashed, teeth pearly white drawing your attention to his lips. did he mean it? it sounded so casual, like it was a passing comment you didn’t need to pay mind to.

you should repay him somehow. after all that, it was basically necessary. your head flipping through potential options until, “food?” he looked at you in surprise. “i was gonna grab a bite to eat, if you wa-wanna? it’s a nice cafe by campus. relatively cheap prices. nice atmosphere. food is super good too.”

this is it. my chance. “plus i won’t be late to class later since it’s by campus… which you already mentioned, yeah. after that maybe we could exchange nu–”

“dude! come on, i am starving. it’s your turn to buy lunch. you promised, remember?”

your expression fell at the appearance of his friends woonhak and leehan, ultimately cutting yourself off before you could continue. “actually i was planning to go with yn.”

“no no, it’s fine. you have to keep your promise, also…”

“there you are, yn. are you busy?” your friend called, waving at your figure.

“ah.” he stilled. and just like that, he shut up.

“yeah. maybe next time. see you around.” his smile dropped while you hurried over to where your friend was, not even sparing a measly look back at him.

“so? did you get their number?”

he stole a glance at you holding your packed lunch with utmost care. the golden light casted a warm glow over the scene of you merrily walking away, a skip in your step at the prospect of having lunch. “i was about to until you interrupted, idiot! plus, yn’s eating lunch with their friends…” he deadpanned, wanting to cry from despair at his luck as they patted his shoulder sadly and smacked the youngest boy for butting in.

“how did we mess this up?”

“blame woonhak and jaehyun’s bad timing.”

“i said i was sorry!”

ii. operation “cat and mouse”

the literature lecture hall buzzed quietly, the usual sounds of chatter, fingers tapping hurriedly against the keys of their laptop, a subtle crunch of paper and plastic coffee cups being moved from hand to hand, and chairs screeching as students dragged them lazily across the floor. your heart was beating in fear, eyes constantly flickering back to the argument on the presentation slides at the front.

in the world of literature, what is the bigger tragedy? the love story of romeo and juliet, or the life journey of frankenstein’s monster?

with fifteen minutes left of the class, professor jung had once again initiated his weekly literature debate. a supposedly fun game that divided the class into two groups, pitting them against each other to argue in defense of their assigned side for the remainder of the session. you had been looking at the group document for almost seven minutes and at the messy sight of words on a page was starting to make you feel sick, groaning in complete spurn at its disorder.

a scattered pile of words in inconsistent paragraphs, bullet points listed that were either striked out or had an arrow following it, and sentences of varying sizes highlighted a light yellow paired with matching comments about what points to expound on. your ideas were starting to run dry, like a car slowing down in the middle of the road spurting out its last bits of fuel.

“how is what we wrote worse than before?” you frowned, staring at the messy page in disbelief. fingers tangled in your hair, tugging the strands the lightest smidge as if that would fix your problems. the brainstorming time was about to come to an end and with barely any progress, you couldn’t help but feel hopeless.

“just pull anything out at this rate. sad thoughts and find every inconsistency in their argument. if we grill them enough, the gaps will be obvious and our side will seem more uniform,” your classmates stated after seeing you shove the laptop away from you in irritation. the wretched device does nothing but make you feel worse.

beep beep. beep beep.

the timer echoed in your ears, the sound bouncing off the plain walls of the lecture hall. “who’d like to start?”

jaehyun raised his hand wearing a smirk dripping in confidence. your shoulders tensed, feeling the air shift as he cleared his throat. his posture was relaxed, like he already knew he had this in the bag. professor jung nodded, impressed at his proactiveness. okay, you got this jaehyun. cool and confident. all to impress yn. you’ll be fine.

“a famous example of star-crossed lovers in a forbidden romance. their story ended not from bad luck, but because the universe was cruel. not only did their families forbid them from being together, the forces of the universe did not look kindly on them either. at the knowledge of their passed loved one, they were impulsive and chose death. it shows dedication. a desperate attempt at finding love even in the afterlife.”

every statement he made, voice even and perfectly clear, points only helping him build a better foundation. yours fell short. it was good, but not enough. his was strong, like he had experienced the tragic love story himself. a victim of their misfortune rather than an ordinary student studying their lives. so you took action.

“frankenstein’s monster also experienced his rejection towards love. from the people of his community and after victor frankenstein failed to follow through with the creation of a female companion. his kindness was repaid with fear and violence on top of that just because he was a monster. wouldn’t you say that’s more pitiful?” you interrupted, eyes narrowing at the relaxed individual.

he gleefully laughed. messy hair that curled by the tips falling into his eyes, casually brushed away with a quick ruffle. they’re paying attention to me! it’s working. i’m impressing them. ugh and their points are so smart too. please like me back! “you’re wasting your time over this,” you mumbled, voice shaking as the clock slowly ticked away. huh?

“with you? happily… just like romeo might i say. a hopeless romantic that knew the rules and still chose to defy it out of dedication to his precious juliet. they had love that fell through after everything they did, frankenstein’s monster never experienced love to that extent of a cruel heartbreak.” the bell rang before you could argue back, and as you witnessed the professor giving jaehyun a nod of approval, you knew he had won.

“yn! y-you were great back there. if possible, do you think–” his sentence was cut off as friends gathered around, drowning him with compliment after compliment as he lost sight of you in the crowd.

“jaehyun, that was awesome.”

“you totally beat the other group.”

“best literature debate ever.”

“professor jung must love you man.”

the room filled with praise being thrown left and right towards the man, classmates patting his back and pushing to get closer like he was a celebrity. and why wouldn’t they. after all, he was mr. popular. he probably wanted to talk to them over you.

so you sent him a smile, not that you think he could see it, and silently slipped away to prepare for your next class. jaehyun could only watch, regret filling his chest as he tried to push through only to find you had disappeared in the hallway. your smile. it didn’t reach up to your eyes like normal. he didn’t like that. not at all.

shoot, i think i messed up.

iii. operation “just ask them you wimp”

it was like the universe and all its higher beings were plotting against him. he sighed, throwing his head back and groaning at the way the sun was blaring down on the track team. “do you think coach will let me skip practice if i tell him i’m having chest pains?”

“from what? your unreciprocated crush or the fact that you can’t even ask them for their number because of your general wimpiness?”

his right hand grabbed his soaked towel, flinging towards an unsuspecting tired dongmin. at the graze of cold sweat, the nonchalant male yelped, pushing off his chair to avoid the cloth landing on him. he was beyond upset. never had he been so annoyed at the fact people liked him, but at this point, after two major tries and many other small ones, he really wished that he could just get you alone so he could ask for the damn number. jaehyun didn’t even know if you would give it, but at least he could relax at the knowledge that he tried.

the coach clapped his hands together gathering the attention of the other players, with a booming voice he announced, “the annual cross university sportsfest is coming up. i want my runners front and center that day, winning medal after medal. so training is gonna be an hour longer for the next few weeks.” the team groaned in protest, the coach rolling his eyes and waving away the sound. “complain all you want, i want winners at this event. so no slacking! so start running your laps.”

while the other students ran ahead, jaehyun failed to move his body. he was too mentally tired for this. head gently thumping against the metal pole that supported their one shaded rest spot.

“myung, i swear. do not test my patience today.”

“but coach–” he whined, a prominent pout on his lips, shaking the arm of his mentor only to get a grunt.

“run the laps. now.”

he grumbled. this is not worth it. sigh. if i had some sort of motivation, maybe then i’ll feel like running laps.

“isn’t that yn?” his head shot up looking ahead and like he heard, there you were. tattered shoulder bag weighing heavy on your left shoulder, clothes wrinkled after a long day of back to back classes, lunch bag swinging lightly after being emptied during your late lunch period.

his hand grabbed a random water bottle, pouring its little remnants over his head , snatching his phone from the chair before he ran with haste. feet padding in a rhythmic sequence across the track that looped around the field. the dusty brick red track bright against the shades of greens, browns, and gray that framed their campus. bits of gravel and sand swept in the air as his pace sped up, calling out in desperation, “yn! wait up!”

you turned around, the intense afternoon heat blocking your sight until it cleared away to introduce the male calling for you. “h-hi, hey, wow.”

“jaehyun, what’s up?”

he walked closer to the edge, catching his breath as he leaned against the laced metal railings. while he was clearly out of breath, panting audible between you two, his smile hadn’t faltered for a second. it was brilliant, drenched in sweat (it was just water actually), undeniable joy, and pure love that he had for you. did he know how cute he was like this?

“nothing much, just training for the usual sports event. coach gum is drilling us about it too.”

you dug around in your pocket pulling out a navy handkerchief with small embroidered ducks by its corners, smoothed it down, and handed it over. “here. it must be difficult in this heat. i should leave–”

“wait, before you go.”

“myung! less talking and more running!” the sound of the coach’s voice, lined with tense anger, sliced through the air. “i will go over there and make you run!”

“he’s bluffing. anyways, i was wondering… could i possibly get your number? only if you want of course. i just–”

“myung!”

he leaned closer, pouting as he thumbed at the ends of the piece of cloth you gave. “i was hoping we could get lunch sometime soon. maybe like a date? if you’d let me.”

your eyes switched between him and his fuming coach who was now flushing a bright red at the male’s defiance. how exactly was this the star player of the track team? “are you seriously doing this right now? you’re literally in the middle of practice.”

“well i tried a bunch of other times but i wasn’t having any luck with it. the hallway, the lecture hall, heck even on my way to the bathroom. i kept screwing it up someway, somehow and gosh, i just really like you yn. a lot. what do you say?”

“are you seriously ignoring me?”

myung jaehyun, resident campus crush of koz university, liked you. it didn’t matter that he was dripping in sweat, hair a dark mess clumped together with strands sticking out awkwardly, jersey slipping that bit revealing a shiny collarbone. you loved how natural it felt. he waited and you just sighed adoringly, heart softening at his sincere expression. with you holding your hand out, he gasped and rushed to give you his phone, almost dropping it in the process which made you giggle at his state.

“text me soon, okay? good luck with practice, jaehyun.”

as soon as you handed the device back, the number now inputted into his contacts list, he immediately hugged his phone against his chest. with a grin of delight, he kissed the handkerchief excitedly. “i’ll text you right now if you want.”

“myung jaehyun! do you want more laps?!”

“bye, yn.” his footsteps brushed against the rough path, hands grasping the cloth and device in each palm as he yelled, “give me the laps coach ‘cuz i can run forever now that i got their number! i finally got yn’s number! the world loves me and i love them! let’s go!!”

you laughed, the giddy smile on your face stuck as you watched your phone glow with a notification from said campus crush.

so about that date? - jae myung hyun *myung jaehyun. sorry typo

taglist: @hironoshimura -> asked: @hraethy @honestlynae (ty for pressuring me lovely)