rae

You’d seen the aesthetic on Pinterest approximately four hundred times. You had manifested this trip. You’d made a playlist. You’d bought snacks in those little individual bags because it felt more road-trippy than just throwing a family-sized bag of chips in the back.

The reality, as of hour three, was James arguing with the GPS, Keonho eating your individually portioned snacks, Seonghyeon asleep against the window with his mouth open and drooling, Juhoon sending memes in the group chat while sitting three inches away from you, and Martin -who was pressed against your side because the back seat of this rental was not built for five people and a duffel bag- reading something on his phone with his elbow digging into your ribs.

“Martin.”

“Yeah”

“Your elbow motherfucker.”

“What about it.”

“It’s in my ribcage.”

He looked up, glanced down at his elbow, looked back at his phone. “You have space on your left.”

You looked to your left. Keonho had colonized your left side and was currently opening your strawberry gummies with his teeth.

“Yo Tin, i can guarantee that is NOT how you bag fine shit. Try the gallantry method instead.” He commented in between bites.

“I genuinely cannot stand any of you,” you announced to no one, scoffing.

“Same honestly,” said Juhoon, and sent you a meme about being trapped.

⛐.

James had insisted on being the one to drive because he was, as he’d reminded all of you approximately sixteen times, the only one of legal driving age, which he said with the gravity of someone announcing they’d won a Nobel Prize.

You had your license. You simply chose not to mention this because you also chose not to drive five idiots across three states.

He was doing fine, actually. James was a surprisingly good driver -calm, steady, kept both hands on the wheel. You’d give him that.

What you would not give him though, was the aux cord, which he’d seized at the start of the trip and defended with his life.

“James, this is the fourth time you’ve played this song,” Seonghyeon complained, apparently not as asleep as you thought.

“It’s a good song.”

“It was a good song the first two times.”

“Then it became a great song.”

“James-”

“I’m driving. The driver controls the music. It’s the law.”

It is absolutely not the law, you thought, but you were also leaning your head against the window and the vibration was kind of soothing so you let it go.

That was, in retrospect, the most peace you would get for the rest of the day.

⛐.

It started with Keonho.

It always started with Keonho.

“Yo Jamesss,” he called, in the voice he used when he was about to ask for something unreasonable.

“What.”

“Can you do something for me.”

“Depends.”

The younger one held up his phone, pressing record to film a video.

“Can you say happy birthday-” Keonho was already composing his face into something very innocent and sincere, which was your first warning sign- “to my little brother? His name is Dixson Mayaz. He turns seven today.”

You heard the name. You parsed the name. Something in your brain went oh this bitch approximately half a second before James, without thinking, turned up the radio slightly less and said cheerfully:

“I didn’t know you had a little bro. Happy birthday, Dixson Mayaz-“.

Silence.

“Dicks in your ass? Damn bro…” Martin scoffed, not looking up.

James’s hands tightened on the wheel.

“…Keonho.”

“Yeah?”

“You must be thinking you’re the funniest motherfucker alive right now.”

Keonho had turned his face into the window and his shoulders were shaking so hard he looked like a phone on vibrate. Juhoon had his hand over his mouth and Seonghyeon had gone completely still in the way people go still when they’re trying to decide if something is cringe or funny.

You pressed your lips together very hard.

Martin, to his eternal credit, lasted four full seconds before he lost it -this silent, wheezing laugh that he was very badly trying to muffle into his sleeve.

“that was ass, im not gonna lie-”

“I hate all of you,” James said, with great dignity. “I want all of you to know that.”

Martin had shifted slightly so his elbow was no longer actively bruising you, which you chose to interpret as personal growth on his part.

⛐.

“I’ve been thinking,” Juhoon declared at some point.

“Oh for fucks sake man, you’re always thinking,” said Seonghyeon.

“About what?” you asked, against your better judgment.

“About how I attract love and happiness or whatever they say.” He said this very seriously, staring out the window. “I just got my exam results back, my life is great, you guys are here.”

A beat.

“Who says that?” Martin asked.

“People. Manifestation people.”

“Do you manifest?”

“I’m considering it. I feel like I have the energy for it.”

“Juhoon,” you said carefully, “you spent twenty minutes this morning arguing with a vending machine. You have the energy of a crackhead my dude. Maybe try yoga?”

“That was the vending machine’s fault.”

“You called it a scammer.”

“It was a scammer. It took my money and gave me nothing. That’s a scam. That’s the definition of a scam.” He turned to look at you. “I’m just saying, despite that, I have good energy. I attract good things.”

“You’re unemployed,” Keonho said pleasantly.

“I’m in between opportunities.”

You shook your head, looking around, “Wait do you guys hear that? I can hear a big fat LIAR.”

“There’s this funny app called linkedin,” Keonho continued, with the same pleasant tone, “you might find it interestin-”

“I know what LinkedIn is, fuck you-”

“You can make a profile, list your skills-”

“That slot’s gonna stay empty, let me tell you that.” Martin snorted before Juhoon smacked him with his bottle.

“ You can also connect with professionals in your field.” Keonho continued, unbothered.

“What field is he even in,” Seonghyeon muttered, and this time it was your turn to muffle a laugh.

“I’m in a- good field bro,” Juhoon said, very grandly. “don’t even worry about me.”

“blah blah blah - unemployed, unqualified.” you rolled your eyes.

“You know what, let me know in the comments down below-” Juhoon gestured vaguely at the car- “whether you’ve ever had a vision so big it required a sabbatical.”

“Crickets, man, crickets. None of us are that stupid.” Martin deadpanned.

Here’s the thing about Martin that you’d spent approximately eight months trying not to think about too hard:

He was annoying. He was genuinely, consistently, specifically annoying to you in a way that felt almost personal, like he’d identified your exact frequency and decided to broadcast directly into it. He borrowed your things without asking. He argued with you about movies you hadn’t even said you liked. He had opinions about everything and expressed them directly into your ear because for some reason the universe kept seating you next to each other.

He also had a laugh that did something unfortunate to your chest cavity, but that was neither here nor there.

Currently, he was eating the last of his chips and reading something on his phone, and you kept noticing, in your peripheral vision, that he’d glance over at you every so often. Not for any reason. Just -glancing.

You were not going to acknowledge this. You were above it.

“What are you reading,” you asked.

He turned his phone so you could see the screen. It was a very long article about the history of … highways ?

You stared at it.

“We’re on a highway,” he said, as if this explained everything.

“That’s-“ You searched for the word, frowning. “That’s such a you thing to do.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means only you would drive down a highway and decide to read an essay about highways.”

“Context is great, maybe if you gave it a little chance-.”

“You find everything enriching. You’re so annoying about it.”

“You find me enriching,” he said, and then went back to his article with a completely straight face.

Your brain briefly buffered.

Did he ever think before speaking, or did he just continuously spat bullshit out.

“Y/N and Martin sitting in a tree,” Juhoon murmured, very quietly, directly into the back of your headrest.

You turned around.

Juhoon gave you the most serene smile you’d ever seen on a human face.

“I will fuck you up” you muttered.

“K-I-S-S-”“

“JUHOON-”

“-I-N-G,” he finished peacefully, and then held up his phone as if scrolling through it. Unbothered. Completely at ease. A man without fear or survival instinct.

Martin had, notably, not responded at all. You snuck a glance at him. He was still reading his highway article, but there was something very careful about the way he was holding his phone, something deliberate about how he wasn’t reacting, that made your brain do something complicated that you immediately filed away in the folder labeled not dealing with this right now.

⛐.

The tire blew on a stretch of highway that was, as far as you could tell, specifically designed by the universe to be as inconvenient as possible.

No exits for miles. Median to the left. A gentle slope to the right with a guardrail. Perfectly, specifically terrible.

James handled it well, actually -he kept the car steady, didn’t panic, eased onto the shoulder with both hands on the wheel like someone who’d practiced this exact scenario. You’d give him that. You would give him full credit for not killing anyone.

Then he put it in park, and everyone just… sat there.

“So,” Seonghyeon said.

“So,” said James.

“Let’s adress the whale in the room…That was a tire.”

“That was, yes, a tire.” James put his forehead on the wheel, exhaling.

“It popped,” Keonho confirmed, helpfully.

“Oh my fuck. Keonho thanks man, we didn’t fucking notice.” Juhoon scoffed.

“We should fix it,” Martin offered

“We should yeah.”

But no one moved.

You looked around the car. Five people. A blown tire. A rental. You waited, genuinely curious, to see how long it would take before someone admitted they had no idea what to do.

James got out of the car first, walked around to the rear right tire, looked at it, and then stood with his hands on his hips in the universal posture of I am assessing a problem I don’t know how to solve.

Everyone else got out. You all stood in a loose semicircle around the flat tire.

“Okay,” James said.

“Okay,” Seonghyeon agreed.

“So we need to-” James gestured.

“Change it,” Martin supplied.

“Change it. Yes. The tire.”

“There’s a spare in the trunk probably,” Keonho said.

“Probably,” James agreed.

“Should someone get it?” you fought a laugh.

“Yes.”

Nobody moved to get it.

You looked at all of them. Five people, standing in the highway shoulder sun, staring at a flat tire like it had personally wronged them and they were waiting for an apology.

Seonghyeon had his arms crossed. Keonho was squinting at it. Juhoon had his phone out, and you were 90% sure he was Googling “what to do if tire pops” except it was taking too long which meant he probably had no signal.

Lord, you thought. Lord above.

“Do any of you know how to change a tire?” you asked.

Silence.

“I know the general concept,” James stated, defensively.

“The concept, huh?”

“Of the process. Like, the steps. In theory.” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’ve never done it.”

You looked at Seonghyeon. He slowly shook his head. Keonho shrugged in a way that meant no. Juhoon held up his phone as if to indicate he was looking into it. Martin met your eyes and then had the audacity to look slightly sheepish, which- honestly -on him was devastating, you needed him to stop doing that immediately.

“Y/N,” James said slowly, reading something on your face. “Please say you know how to-”

“I know how to change a tire,” you exhaled.

“You-” Keonho started.

“My dad made me learn before I was allowed to take his car out. Figured it would come up eventually.” You paused. “Didn’t think it would be because I’m surrounded by dumb number 1 to number 5, who apparently never learned basic car maintenance, but -heh- here we are.”

“I could have figured it out,” James defended. “I’m just saying I’m not completely helpless-“

“yeah yeah, ladies step aside,” you said, very kindly.

The spare was in the trunk, under the floor panel, which you found in approximately forty-five seconds while Juhoon was still reading a WikiHow article about it. There was a jack and a lug wrench in there too, which was a relief because you genuinely weren’t sure this group would have been able to source those independently.

“Okay,” you said, setting things out. “Someone can make themselves useful and put the hazard triangle out.”

“On it,” said Seonghyeon, with the energy of someone very grateful to have been given a task.

“What do we do?” Keonho asked, crouching next to you with genuine curiosity.

“Listen, look, and learn.” you sighed.

You loosened the lug nuts before jacking the car up -an important step, you narrated to no one in particular, because if the car’s off the ground the tire just spins -and Keonho was actually paying attention, head tilted, following your hands. James was also watching with the expression of a man silently taking notes and pretending he wasn’t.

Juhoon, meanwhile, was still on WikiHow.

“It says here to loosen the nuts in a star pattern,” he announced.

“That’s what she’s doing,” Martin said.

“I know, I’m just trying to help.” Juhoon scoffed, raising both hands in mock surrender.

“Well maybe you can try zipping up that mouth” you mumbled, hands greasy and the sun hitting your back.

Keonho meanwhile- was pulling out his camera, he must’ve thought the moment absolutely called for a vlog, because he was narrating to invisible viewers in second.

“We’ve got y/n here, the woman of the hour. How does it feel being manlier than all of us y/n?”

“Fuck you.” you slapped away his camera. “Time to take those testosterone shots my guy.”

You laughed despite yourself, crouched in the highway shoulder with your hands on a lug wrench. Martin caught your eye and the corner of his mouth did something that you had been cataloguing and definitely not thinking about for the better part of eight months.

Stop it, you told yourself. Stop looking at his mouth specifically.

“Kim, you’re doing amazing sweetie,” Keonho told you encouragingly, seconds away from laughing.

“Thanks fuckface.”

“I’m learning so much.” Juhoon added, mocking.

“That’s what I’m here for.” you said sarcastically.

Juhoon did not stop, he kept adding comments on top of comments, watching the way you looked at Martin with interest.

That was the thing about Juhoon -he identified a bit and he committed to it. By the time you had the flat off and were fitting the spare, he’d made approximately four comments about you and Martin, each one more plausibly deniable than the last.

A little “oh, Martin, could you help Y/N with that” when you didn’t need help.

A soft “look at you two, working together” when Martin handed you the wrench you’d asked Keonho to hand you.

A very quiet, very smug “You attract love and happiness” directed at no one, immediately after you’d accidentally laughed at something Martin said.

You tightened a lug nut. Then another.

Okay, you thought. Okay. We’re going to address this. ( beat him up)

You stood up, dusted off your knees, and looked at Martin.

“Hey,” you said. “Can you get out of the car for a second? I need to talk to Juhoon.”

Martin looked at you. Looked at Juhoon. Something passed over his face -oh no- and he started to stand up.

Juhoon, without missing a beat, reached over and grabbed Martin’s shoulder, pulling him back down.

“If you have anything to say to me,” Juhoon said, with absolute serenity, “you can say it in front of the missus.”

Martin made a sound.

“The missus,” you repeated.

“The missus,” Juhoon confirmed, patting Martin’s shoulder warmly. “We’re a unit. What you say to me, you say to him. We don’t have secrets.”

“Juhoon, I will-“

“You’ll what?” He was smiling. He was smiling like a man who knew exactly how untouchable he was. “Tell me to shut up? You can tell Martin to tell me to shut up. We communicate.”

Martin’s head was bowed. His shoulders were doing the thing -the silent wheezing laugh thing.

“Martin,” you said.

“I’m not involved,” he said, to the ground.

“We’ve got a wild 6ft something Martin right here- being used as human shield. How pathetic.” Keonho angled his camera to zoom in on Martin’s face, ever the commentator.

“I’m the missus apparently. I’m staying out of it.” Martin defended.

“Y/N.” Juhoon folded his hands. Composed. Peaceful. A man who had achieved something. “I attract love and happiness. I’m just reflecting what I see.”

“I will leave you on this highway, boy.”

“No you won’t. You love me.”

“I’m going to change my mind about that.”

“The tire’s fixed,” Seonghyeon called from the other side of the car, peering at your work. “Looks good! She did great!”

“She really did,” James agreed, with genuine, slightly humbled respect.

“Thank you!” you called back, still glaring at Juhoon, who was grinning at you like a man who had won something and knew it.

“Oh yeah Y/n you’re officially part of the boys. You’re not like other girls.” Keonho mocked.

“Oh my fuck- if you don’t get that camera thing out of my face-“ you stomped your foot.

Martin finally looked up. His eyes were bright. He had the audacity, the absolute nerve, to look endeared.

“You’re good at that,” he said. “The tire thing.”

“As if you’d know…” you rolled your eyes.

You stared at him for one long moment. He looked back at you with those stupidly sincere eyes and the stupidly soft expression that he only got sometimes, when he wasn’t arguing with you about something, when he was just- looking at you like that.

Your chest did the thing.

You all got back in the car. Same order. Same cramped configuration. Martin pressed against your side, Keonho on your left, Juhoon and Seonghyeon in the far back.

James pulled back onto the highway with great ceremony.

“Alright,” he said. “Crisis averted. Thanks to Y/N.”

“Thank you, Y/N bro,” Seonghyeon and Keonho said, genuinely.

Martin said nothing. But about thirty seconds later, so quietly you almost missed it: “Yeah. Thanks, Y/N.”

Keonho immediately opened another one of your snack portions.

“Keonho you big back- i swear-“

“I’m celebrating dude.”

“With my food??”

“It’s an honor - tribute”

“Give me those-“ you started

“A toast,” he said, holding the gummies just out of reach, “to Y/N, who saved us all, and also to Dixson Mayaz-“

“comfortable?”, mark murmured, his lips brushing against your hairline. you could feel the steady rhythm of his breathing, the warmth of his body mixing with yours. you nodded, nuzzling deeper into his chest. the familiar scent of his cologne made your stomach flutter each time you inhaled.

his fingers moved from your arm, to your neck tracing the line of your jaw. you titled your head back, that’s when his hips found yours. the kiss was soft, with a hint urgency. you responded right away, your lips parted as his tongue traced your lower lip. your hands moved up to his chest, tangling in the fabric of his shirt. mark deepened the kiss, one hand slid from your shoulders to your waist, pulling you closer until there was no space between your bodies.

the bed sheets shifted beneath you as you adjusted your position, legs draping over his. his mouth moved from your lips to your neck, leaving a trail of open mouth kisses. you arched against him, a soft gasp escaping your lips as his teeth grazed that sensitive spot just below your ear.

mark’s hand moved from your waist to your thigh, fingers squeezing gently through the thin material of your leggings. “mark”, you let out needier than you intended. he pulled back just enough to look at you, his eyes dark with desire. “i want to touch you is that okay?”

you nodded unable to form words, his fingers slipped beneath the waistband of your leggings. the brush of his fingertips against your panties made you jump, shooting desire through your entire body. a small smile spread across his lips realizing how wet you are. “someone’s needy”, he teased.

your cheeks burned, the embarrassment you felt was quickly forgotten as his fingers pushed past your panties, finding your slick folds. you were embarrassingly wet, the sounds filling the room. mark circled your clit, slow and deliberate. your hips moved against his hand, seeking relief.

“please”, you whimpered, he obliged sliding one finger inside you while his thumb continued slow circles on your clit. your back arched off the bed as he found that spot, he added a second finger, stretching you deliciously as he curled them just right. your moans filled the room, “that’s it”, he encouraged. “let me hear you.”

his pace increased, his fingers pumping in and out of you while his thumb worked at your clit. the pressure was building inside you. mark’s other hand moved to your breast, thumbing your nipple through your bra.

“mark, i..”, the words dissolved into a broken cry as your orgasm washed over you. mark didn’t stop, his movements became more deliberate. your body trembled, the pleasure turning sharp. mark’s fingers pressed deeper, hitting that spot again and again.

“fuck, wait..”, a gush of liquid erupted from you, soaking mark’s hands, your leggings, and the sheets beneath you. the sensation was intense, almost overwhelming. your body shook uncontrollably, your vision went white as you road out your orgasm.

mark froze for a second, his eyes wide with shock as the liquid continued from your body. his expression quickly changed, from shock to pride. “holy shit”, he breathed, his voice filled with wonder. “did you just?”, you couldn’t answer, your body still trembling from the aftershocks as his fingers continued, slower this time. another gush escaped you, smaller this time. mark laughed, the sound vibrated through your body.

“again”, he demanded. his eyes locked on yours as he increased his pace. “i want to see it again.”, your mind went blank as he worked towards another orgasm. the overstimulation was almost too much.

this time when you came, mark watched everything. his fingers never stopping their movements as you came each orgasm more powerful than the last. the sheets beneath you were soaked, thighs drenched with your release but mark loved every second.

The problem with Jaehyun wasn't that he was attractive.

The problem was that he knew it.

Or at least, you strongly suspected he knew it.

Because nobody should be allowed to look that good while shelving books.

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, he'd stroll around the library with his sleeves rolled up, forearms on display as if to taunt you, glasses sliding down his nose and acting like he personally owned every square inch of the building.

Meanwhile, you couldn't check out a book without him finding some new way to annoy you.

Not actual annoying.

The infuriating kind.

The kind where you leave smiling despite yourself.

The kind that keeps you awake later replaying conversations and kicking your feet like a love-sick fool.

The kind that turns into a six-month overdue library book because you're...hopeless.

Hopelessly in love.

And because Jaehyun is impossible.

The first month wasn't intentional.

You simply forgot.

The second month became awkward.

The third month became a challenge.

By month four, it was war.

Because Jaehyun had discovered the book was overdue.

And because Jaehyun never let anything go.

"Oh look," he'd call whenever you walked into the library. "My favourite criminal."

You'd roll your eyes.

"You're a librarian."

"Part-time librarian."

"Worse."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Then he'd grin.

And you'd hate him.

No. You absolutely love his devastatingly gorgeous smile. But you'd rather die than him ever finding that out.

Which was incredibly inconvenient.

So when month six arrived, you developed a new strategy.

Avoid him.

Specifically, avoid him so thoroughly that returning the book became impossible.

Which somehow led to you climbing through a library window at nine-thirty at night.

In hindsight, it wasn't your brightest moment.

The library was technically closed.

But the return slot had been jammed all week and you were desperate at this point.

And you'd spotted the maintenance man leaving one of the side windows cracked open.

Which felt less like breaking and entering and more like...aggressive book returning?

You dropped onto the carpet inside with all the grace of a falling bookshelf and a loud thud. Too loud for someone sneaking in.

A stack of magazines rattled, which made you freeze in place. A few seconds go by, and no alarm goes off. There's no sound at all except for the occasional car that drives by in the distance.

Reaching for the novel in your bag, you let out a sigh of relief.

"Freedom," you whisper dramatically, whilst you almost stumble over yourself to reach the return counter.

You're safe. You can put the book back and leave and nobody will ever know this has happened-

"You know breaking into a library is probably a bigger offence than an overdue book?" A deep voice says.

You nearly launch yourself into orbit at the sound.

Spinning around, you find Jaehyun leaning against a shelf.

Arms crossed, that smug smile, and entirely way too pleased with himself.

"Oh my God. You almost gave me a heartattack!"

Jaehyun chuckles.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked first."

"I work here."

"It's nine-thirty."

He shrugs.

"I was finishing inventory."

"You live to ruin my life, don't you?"

"I live to improve it."

"By harassing me?"

His smile widened.

"Mostly."

You rolled your eyes.

Of course. Of course, he'd be here.

Because apparently the universe itself wanted to make your life difficult.

Jaehyun pushed away from the shelf.

"You climbed through a window."

"You saw nothing."

"I saw everything."

"You are the worst."

"Yet here you are."

He took the book from your hands.

Examined it.

Then looked back up.

"Six months."

"Don't."

"Six months."

"Jaehyun."

"Six. Entire. Months."

You lunged for the book.

He lifted it over his head.

Naturally.

Because he was tall and annoying.

"Give it back."

"No."

"You child."

"You committed a crime."

"You are being dramatic."

"You broke into a library."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's insane."

With a determined huff, you stepped closer and reached again. The edge of the book brushed your fingertips, but Jaehyun effortlessly lifted it higher.

"Seriously?" you groaned.

"Seriously."

You made one last ambitious grab, rising onto your toes. Unfortunately, your balance had other plans.

Your foot caught on the leg of a nearby chair. Who even put it there?

The world tilted, and before you could fully process what was happening, you stumbled forward straight into Jaehyun's chest.

His free arm instinctively wrapped around your waist to keep you from falling.

For a moment, neither of you moved. When you look up at him, you're met with those beautiful brown eyes you've been dreaming about.

"You know," he said, "If you wanted an excuse to end up in my arms, you could've just asked. No need to blame the book."

"You are unbelievably full of yourself."

"And yet you're still in my arms."

For one horrible second, you heart stopped beating all together.

Then you shoved him away. And you could swear you saw him look at your lips for a split second before you did.

"Shut up."

His laugh followed you long after you'd stepped back.

You crossed your arms, pretending that your face doesn't feel like a thousand degrees right now.

His eyes sparkled because he knew how much it did affect you.

That was another problem.

Jaeyhyun looked happiest when he was driving you crazy.

"And also, you do know that most people just use the front door?"

"Most people don't have librarians obsessed with them."

"Oh?"

His eyebrow lifted.

The idiot.

The annoyingly attractive idiot.

"You think I'm obsessed with you?"

"I know you are."

A laugh escaped him.

"Princess."

Your stomach betrayed you immediately, as the butterflies broke free.

You hated loved when he called you princess.

Because he only did it when he wanted to watch you malfunction.

"I am absolutely not obsessed with you."

"You broke into my workplace."

"To avoid seeing you."

"Still counts."

"It doesn't."

"It does."

"It doesn't."

"It does."

You stared at each other. You with fury in your eyes and he with too much amusement in his.

"You know what I think is the funniest part?"

You immediately scoffed.

"Leave me alone."

"No, hear me out."

"I'd rather not."

His grin only widened.

The problem with Jaehyun's grin was that it always meant trouble.

The bigger problem was that you secretly liked it. A lot.

"You held onto this book for six months."

You pointed at him.

"Because of you."

His eyebrows shot up.

"Oh, that's dangerous information for me to have."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Pretty sure it was."

"It wasn't."

Jaehyun took a slow step forward.

You took one back.

"You were embarrassed."

"No."

"You were."

"No."

"You absolutely were."

Another step.

You backed away again.

Jaehyun looked far too pleased about it.

"Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong."

"You snuck into a library at night."

"That proves nothing."

"To return a book."

You glared.

He smiled knowingly.

"The evidence is overwhelming."

You hated that smile.

You hated the way it made your stomach flip.

You hated the way he clearly knew it too.

"Besides," he continued, lazily flipping through the book in his hands, "if you were really returning it because you forgot..."

His eyes flicked up to yours.

"...you would've returned it before chapter twenty-three."

Your jaw dropped.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE?"

The look on his face was pure victory.

"Oh my God."

"You just answered your own question."

You buried your face in your hands.

Behind them, you heard Jaehyun laughing.

Actually full on laughing.

The jerk.

"That chapter, huh?"

"Stop talking."

"Interesting choice."

"Jaehyun."

"Very interesting choice."

"JAEHYUN."

His grin only got bigger.

"Good taste, though."

You made a strangled noise.

The amusement dancing in his eyes was unbearable.

And somehow incredibly attractive.

Which was honestly another one of your problems.

"You know," he said, taking another step closer, "I always wondered why you kept renewing it."

"Please stop."

"I thought maybe you were busy."

You backed away again.

"I was-"

"And then I realized you were renewing it every few days."

You hit a bookshelf.

Your heart immediately stumbled.

Because now there was nowhere else to go.

Jaehyun noticed.

His gaze flicked briefly behind you before returning to your face.

The smile he wore became slower.

More dangerous.

More teasing.

"Oh."

"Don't."

"You've run out of escape routes."

You swallowed.

"This is a library, not a hostage negotiation."

“You always this dramatic when someone catches you? I was starting to think you wanted to get caught." He says with that infuriating smirk as he grabs the shelf next to your head, caging you in.

You hated how close he was.

You hated how aware you suddenly was of every inch between you.

You hated how much he seemed to enjoy it.

You especially hated how he could practically hear your heart beating right now.

His eyes dropped to the book.

Then back to you.

"You know what's really embarrassing?"

"Everything about this conversation."

"No."

His voice lowered slightly.

"The fact that after six months, after sneaking into a locked building, after all this effort..."

He chuckled at your expression.

"...you still never asked me for recommendations."

You blinked.

"What?"

Jaehyun tilted his head.

"I work in a library."

You looked at him like he said the moon is pink.

He stared back completely serious.

Then his smirk cracked through again.

"If you're going to read something that has you blushing this hard, I could've saved you some time."

You made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a groan.

"You're impossible."

"I know."

"Insufferable."

"I know."

"Annoying."

"I know."

He looked entirely too content about it.

Then, his expression softened just enough to make your chest ache.

"And yet."

You tried so hard to hide how your breath caught.

Jaehyun's gaze lingered on yours.

The teasing was still there.

But so was something else.

Something warmer.

Something that had been there for months.

"And yet," he said again, smiling, "you keep coming back."

The butterflies in your stomach became completely unmanageable.

For a second neither of you spoke.

The library felt impossibly quiet.

Just the two of you.

The old shelves.

The dim lights.

Jaehyun looked at you for a moment.

Then shook his head softly.

"What?"

He laughed under his breath.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

His eyes sparkled.

"I was just thinking."

"That's never a good sign."

"No?"

"No."

His smile widened.

"I was thinking it's kind of unfair."

"What's unfair?"

"You spent six months reading about fictional men."

"And?"

"And now I have competition."

You stared.

Actually stared.

Because that was such a ridiculous thing to say.

Such an outrageous thing.

Such a completely Jaehyun thing.

The look on his face told you he knew exactly what he was doing.

"You are unbelievable."

"Am I really, my princess?"

"You are."

His gaze flicked briefly to your lips for a second time that night.

Then back to your eyes.

"Good."

Before you could think of something to throw back, he leaned in. And looked back into your eyes when he was just a hair away,

"May I?"

You nodded since you couldn't trust your voice anymore.

The kiss was warm, the kind that immediately made every coherent thought disappear.

It was like nothing you imagined and everything you feared you’d have to wait for forever. Soft at first, tentative—like testing if it’s real—but the hesitation melted instantly. Every second of holding back crashes into this single, electric instant.

Your heart hammers, your chest feels too full, and the world shrinks to just the two of you. You taste the patience, the longing, the unsaid words, and it’s dizzying. Every nerve is alive, and yet, somehow, it’s calm too—like all the waiting was necessary to make this so perfect.

When he pulled away, he was still smiling.

Still looking unbearably pleased with himself.

You rolled your eyes once again.

"Don't look so smug."

"I earned it."

"You absolutely did not."

His grin only grew.

Then he leaned closer, voice low enough that it felt like a secret.

"Next time you need help finding something spicy..."

Your face immediately heated.

"Jaehyun!"

His voice dropped an octave, low and dangerous, "Come to me instead… I’ll show you the live-action version. Every scene, every moment… more intense than anything in those books." He leaned in even closer. "And I'll make it so much better than your imagination, princess."

‐---------------------------------------------------------------------

paring soccer captain! jake x fem volleyball player! reader

genre college!au, fluff, crack, reader and jake hate each other (this is my favourite concept i hope y’all got that by NOW LMAO), they play sports but there isn’t much about it lmao, 70% smau 30% written

warning a million typos and grammatical errors (i think faster than i type whoops), kys/kms jokes, sexual innuendos, yn and jake hate each other, mentioned this in my last smau but i will be using my face for yn (explained here), shall add more as i go on…

featuring ot6 enhypen (minus sunoo (THIS WAS NOT ON PURPOSE I LOVE SUNOO OKAY)), dani and lara of katseye, yunjin of le sserafim, intak of p1harmony, taesan of boynextdoor

status completed!

nessie 🗯️ YEEEEE HELLOOOOO welcome to he’s on my court (unfortunately). im super excited for this one as well, im riding high on that reader hates jake pipeline (it’s my favourite). i hope y’all like this as much as i do (i really do) and wooo happy reading, i love y’all!!

started on 14.06.25

completed on 24.07.25

taglist closed!

tags sorry if you didn’t wanna be tagged!!

@kirakun @shhh1233728 @weepingsweep @amatariki @tinyteezer @firstclassjaylee @jellymiki @1-itsneverthatserious-1 @dazeymazey11 @lovenha7 @simjaeyunlvrclub @wenomakiluvr @jaysguitarstring @zoe1love @luvchaew @hollxe1 @lveegsoi

profiles

bawlerz😜 ⟢ note: remove yunjin

chapters

01. gallina 02. 8th grade barf 03. heainrevebknwoit 04. doughnut thief 05. #CourtDaddy 🫦 06. NO DRUNK DEBATE FREAKS (written) 07. kiki 08. dear diary, 09. 3-in-1 shampoo loser ( written ) 10. princess banana hamilton & sir richard bonoseuvelo nuttington 11. this is so scary i’m farting ( written ) 12. enemy-lover 13. yunjin’s party ( written ) 14. thank you mommy sorry mommy 15. sexy hatred 16. I HAVE A THEORY 17. 32am (written) 18. it’s an orgasm 19. she lied, he believed 🥀 ( written ) 20. then stop moaning ?? 21. love u bestie xoxo not rn 22. so hypothetically ( written ) 23. what the helly did u do jakey 24. moto moto hakuna wazaoski ☹️💔 25. u need to eat dick and u need it now! 26. stakeout (written) 27. she chose bowel movement over me 28. i’m keying his grandmas bike 29. thank you guys for not overreacting 30. ew yall ugly epilogue fin.

you had debuted 4 years after dream, and you’re the maknae and lead dancer of your group, always shyly interacting and greeting dream and 127 at music shows, inkigayo and award ceremonies. you had a huge crush on the dream members and openly talked about being an nctzen so you always felt super embarrassed whenever you met them. the more confident members (always jaemin and chenle) were constantly cooing and teasing, laughing as they make you blush. god forbid they ever see you outside off schedule and notice any dreamiez plushies on your bag or a photocard in your phone case.

one time haechan had been asked to come to your green room to film a tiktok dance challenge for his solo CRZY, smiling and patting your shoulder when he spots a gomdo lee hanging from your bag next to a photocard of him in a teddy bear holder. you scramble to find a hoodie and throw it over your belongings but it’s too late, he’s already seen it, your members laughing hysterically at your red face

“ah i must be your favourite ynnie”

you can’t speak or look on his eyes just trying to bow respectfully towards him and his manager sets up the phone in the tripod

“what part do you want to do? i’ll teach you”

“let’s do the last chorus”

“that’s the hardest part”

“i know it”

he raises an eyebrow at you and you practice it, showing him you know the intricate footwork. he smiles and claps proudly and you guys film. when it’s uploaded later that day it’s going viral.

“you learned that on your own? i really must be your favourite”

mark is always coming to find you, talking with you with a tiny smirk on his face, to most it would look like casual conversation, but your fans and his know that he is loving this, getting you all shy and flustered, watching you shake and blush while trying to talk with him, all with those sultry eyes and arms crossed over his chest. god you were so cute and endearing to all of them, and they really loved knowing they’ll always have your support. all of them talking about you in the group chat, whenever you post something it’s getting screenshotted for them all to gush over. all of them wanting to see your cute blush from underneath them, legs shaking and chest heaving.

then came your poison cover.

you had recorded a cover of their song poison, and if nctzens thought the song was sexy before, hearing your lower register, mixed with your whiney tones, slowed the song right down, singing in almost a whisper, and your video you recorded for it too. your fans and nctzens are going crazy for it, it’s so different from anything they had seen from you or your group before, always doing more girly or cutesy concepts for your comebacks.

dream are all on a live, just doing silly things like they usually do, talking about their recent schedules and performances, but the masses of comments leaving your name catches all of their attention, hundreds of comments talking about your recent cover, begging them to react to it.

“huh? yn did a cover of our song?”

“ah wait tell us what song?”

“woah! poison? she really did that? like for real?”

“someone said she made it sexier? is this really possible? yn?”

they’re all going through comments

“she’s probably watching this right now, yn if you’re watching we can’t wait to see it”

and of course you were watching, blushing, freaking out not thinking they would notice or care about your cover, now hyper aware that they’re going to see you in a more mature setting, more revealing outfit and using a different kind of voice, one that’s more naturally desperate.

a few days later you’re getting a youtube notification for the official nct channel, and it’s dream reacting to your cover. your heart pounds as you start to watch it, they’re all leaning into the monitor, watching and listening closely. they’re shouting and cheering from the start, pausing to talk about your outfit, your make up the way you sound.

“is this really her? she looks a lot more mature”

“she really nailed the concept, but she made it her own”

“she looks really good, it’s nice to see her not being shy”

“ah ynnie you did good! thank you for covering our song”

the next time they see you they’re all cheering and giggling talking about your cover as your face beams red once again

“oppas! stop it~”

“you’re so cute! why are you blushing so hard! you did great!”

you try and hide but your members push you to face them again

“you can’t act shy now! you were so confident in your video!”

“i didn’t think you’d see it!”

they’re all laughing giving you hugs and pats on your head.

then came the dating scandal

your group had been spotted going for dinner with the dream members, all of them being polite and respectful towards your members, but still quite teasing and playful with you, at the end of the dinner you were seen hugging all of the members, and they were all looking at you like the were madly in love with you (they are) and then more and more old footage is getting brought back up, the clips of them talking about you, all your interactions, the way they treat you and bask in the glory of getting you flustered. rumors spreading like wildfire. each member wound up in a scandal with you

your manager has told you that the dream manager has requested to speak with you. something about pr.

you’re gulping as you walk into the board room at sm, all of them watching you like hawks as you slip into the room.

“i’m sure you’re all aware of the rumors spreading online, and this is your first time getting caught up in this kind of thing right?”

you nod your head yes

“uh… yeah…”

your manager and their manager start talking solutions, before mark is speaking up.

“i think we should lean into it personally… the traction it’s gotten both our groups is insane, we would be stupid not to capitalise on this. we could feed the fans what they want to see”

“mark im not following you”

“well think about it, how many streams have both of us got in the last 48 hours since these rumors started, how many videos have been played, how many interactions have our accounts gotten, all of these things are monetised, we could just… fake date, the fans want to see it, so why don’t we let them? you agree right yn?”

“i- i mean it doesn’t sound that bad of an idea, i guess- i don’t know, if mark thinks it’ll work i trust him”

your manager looks at you, then so does theirs

“you want to fake date 7 men?”

“it could work”

mark is smiling clenching his fists under the table at how excited he is, how easily you would conform to what he asks of you.

“it’ll shoot both group sales through the roof, i promise, plus it’s not like we’d all be dating for real, it’s just for the fans”

he looks into your eyes giving you a knowing look, and you don’t need any more convincing, the look in his eyes telling you that if you do this, all your fantasies about them can and will come true. it is enough to have you obeying and listening to whatever they tell you. smiling softly as you bite your lip, looking back to your manager

“i don’t think you would be doing your job if you didn’t want what’s best for my group unnie, you should think about the sales”

your manager is a little shocked at your words, she can see in your eyes that mark has literally just corrupted you in front of their eyes. you look at all 7 of them, smiling sweetly, they’re all reciprocating the same look towards you, then to their manager

“are we all agreed? it’s what’s best for the teams”

“are you sure you want this?”

“why wouldn’t i?”

“it’s unorthodox, usually we try and keep away from any dating scandals”

“usually fans don’t want to see it”

jeno has a proud smile on his face as he watches you fight for this. fight to be theirs.

“if she is happy with it, so are we”

your managers draw up a contract, then 8 NDA’s making you all sign them, accepting the proposal to fake date, schedule availability for joint content, a feature on each others upcoming albums, logistics and monetisation. then they’re drafting up an announcement, getting all 8 of you to check it over and make tweaks. then they leave you alone, to discuss your first content. when the door shuts renjun speaks up

“you were good, very convincing princess”

“did i sound too desperate?”

“a little, but you’re cute so we’ll let it slide”

mark comes up to you, turning your seat to face him as you look up at him

“good thinking on your feet angel”

you smile at him, loving the petnames and praise already.

“you did most of the work”

“and you followed along perfectly, good girl”

chenle coming up to you now, taking your hand and pulling you up, he can feel your hands are shaking slightly

“you nervous? don’t be, it’s just us”

“i know… it’s just… you know…”

he hums approvingly, brushing your hair out your face.

“i know sweetheart, but it’s okay, you’re in safe hands yeah? we’re not gonna let anything happen to you, just have to trust us, and listen to us, we’ll keep you right”

jaemin butting in

“chenle is right, if you just keep following our lead, we’ll do the hard work, you just have to love on us alright?”

“i can do that”

“we know you can”

he has that cunning smile on his face as you duck your head embarrassed again, then jisung speaks up

“have you ever kissed anyone?”

“i-uhh no…”

“well maybe you should practice, yeah? come give us all some kisses, we’ll teach you”

haechan smiles all smug standing up

“i’ll go first considering she has my photocard on her bag”

jaemin pushing his shoulder

“she has mine on there too idiot”

then jeno speaks up

“yeah mine is in her phone case”

jisung too

“mine is on her wallet, and in a little pocket on her bag”

you have all 7 of them somewhere on your belongings, renjun and jeno have little plushies on your bag, jisung and jaemin patches sewed in, photo cards in holders dangling from your bag and wallet. haechan just rolls his eyes

“whatever, i still want the first kiss”

they start bickering and you cut them off by pulling haechan into you, smashing your lips to his and he kisses back instantly. all of them stood in shock watching. after a quick make out your pulling back out of breath and he’s catching his own

“how was that?”

“and you said you’ve never kissed anyone before? i don’t believe you”

“it’s true!”

“where did you learn to kiss like that?”

“kdramas”

he laughs a little breathless, then you’re pulling each of them in one by one for the same treatment. once you’ve kissed them all you’re sitting in marks lap, talking about what your first moves as “boyfriends and girlfriend” should be

“i know the contract says fake baby, but want you to know there’s nothing fake going on here, not with us, just have to pretend it’s fake for our companies, yeah?”

“okay…”

“this doesn’t stop when the cameras turn off”

“good, i don’t want it to”

he’s kissing your cheek and squeezing you closer to his chest.

months have now gone by, news of your “relationship” has been announced and mark was right, it had boosted both group’s popularity, your group is getting opportunities that others in your generation haven’t yet seen. winning awards and being invited overseas for appearances and talk shows, plus also boosting dream and nct as a whole too. as promised you had told your members it was all fake, the late nights at the SM building with them filming content for your own youtube, or the sleepovers at their apartments for PR and photo ops, taking the same flights and matching couples items all for show.

but what you don’t tell anyone is every sleepover is filled with them taking shots at you, filling you up with a load or two each. working on music with them and sucking mark off in the studio late at night. choreographing with jisung until he’s had enough dancing, but his stamina and energy still raging, holding you up against the wall of the practice room pushing into you while you moan into his neck or laying you against the floor while he goes down on you. jaemin taking candid photos of you, naked just fresh out of his shower or after you’ve just had sex just for them to see, jeno taking you for drives at night, fingers up your skirt playing with your pussy as you whine and buck against his palm. renjun dressing you up in pretty clothes, hands roaming over your body squeezing your tits as you put on one of the pretty blouses he bought for you. jerking chenle off on the bleachers at the basketball court, crawling under haechans desk as he plays league, smiling and giggling up at him when he can’t concentrate from your cheeks hollowing around him.