ephemeral,

@rkdongmin

the modeling class was one that he’d only had mild interest in and it only had to do with the fact that doyeon was the one leading said class. after all doyum himself had little to no desire to ever model. he knows being an idol will have moments of modeling and he might get gigs that involve it–though he also knows the odds of him ever being an active model are slim due to his height. anyway, he’d wanted to go see doyeon and so he found himself at the modeling class with low energy.

“maybe i could just catch her after..” he muttered to himself as he stepped into the room for the class only to pause in step when he spotted a familiar tall frame already inside. “no way…” doyum raised his brows as he crossed the room to the person. and low and behold it is in face lee dongmin. 

     of course they couldn’t act like a couple, but it was still fun. 

     even though it was a modelling course, he was fully planning to pay attention to doyeon, even if he wasn’t sure she would teach him anything he didn’t already know. especially considering that they had literally used to model together, but he had high hopes that she probably had something new to teach him. 

     what he’s not expecting, is for someone else to show up and call him out for being here. he honestly didn’t think anyone would recognize him or anything, considering he hadn’t really been in the modelling industry for almost a year now. but of course, one of his favourite dongsaengs would show up. 

a closed starter for @rkdongmin

it’s hard to believe it’s already been a year.

gahyeon and dongmin had started dating after dancing around one another for way too long, so really their anniversary could’ve been that day they’d been tricked to go out on their first date – but they hadn’t started dating until long after that. it was astounding the two even managed to stay together under the pressure of their busy schedules and the possibility of getting caught, but gahyeon would consider them careful and mindful of how they spent their time together. to say she was overjoyed they were dating would be an understatement. because gahyeon adored dongmin, and she liked to believe he adored her just the same or else they wouldn’t be together.

which was why she had started cooking the moment she’d left practice. shooing her roommate out of the apartment had been easier than she’d thought it would be, and after a quick shower gahyeon found herself heading straight to the kitchen. while gahyeon would’ve loved to go out to dinner instead of have to cook herself, she couldn’t help the lingering fear that someone would catch them. so instead, gahyeon chose to cook for them. it was more meaningful, after all – plus, gahyeon didn’t take too many days to make a homecooked meal anymore, either. it was a treat for the both of them.

it was no surprise she felt like an absolute mess as she finished up dinner and sprinted to get herself dressed. tonight was supposed to be a special night, and even if they were just staying in gahyeon wanted to look nice. it was their anniversary.

     they had decided to have a special dinner in tonight, because neither of them would be able to take time off tomorrow from training to have a date on their actual anniversary day. maybe he would send her a coupon for a cake or something over kakaotalk just so they could kind of celebrate, even if it wasn’t together. also because going out was still a bit too scary, despite the fact that it was probably pretty unlikely that anyone would be following them around to snitch on them. but the fear is still there. 

     so they decided to stay at home, but considering the fact that dongmin gets off a bit earlier than his girlfriend makes him feel like he should do something. he knows that she said she would cook for him, so he shouldn’t make food to bring over. instead, he stress cleans his apartment as he tries to figure out what to do. an hour or so later, his apartment is sparkling clean and he still has no idea -- his roommate can thank him later though. 

     in the end, he just changes into nicer clothes -- it doesn’t hurt to look extra nice for their anniversary even if they’re going to be spending it in private -- and hurries to go pick up some ice cream and some flowers (a bundle of three roses) for gahyeon. 

     he’s less prepared than usual for their anniversary compared to other special days, if only because he’s been more busy than usual with filming and whatnot. with more on his plate, along with school assignments and whatnot, his mind has been a bit more absent for things that weren’t deadlines. he feels a bit bad about it, but he’s sure his girlfriend will understand. 

     when he arrives at her apartment, he takes a deep breath and straightens his clothes before ringing the doorbell as usual. he smiles at her greeting though, considering being with her is so easy and so nice at the end of a long day. hugging her back once he’s inside, he places the flowers onto the nearby table and leans down to meet her halfway for the kiss. 

gahyeon doesn’t think she’ll ever get over actually being able to wrap her arms around her boyfriend. boyfriend. because, well – she’d never been in another proper relationship. not something like this when it was more than experimenting that ultimately ended in a hollow feeling in her chest and never got far in the first place. but they also weren’t really allowed to show affection when they crossed paths, for fear of getting into some sort of trouble. gahyeon couldn’t help but feel a little sad every time they just waved as they passed, exchanging pleasantries but them not really being able to mean anything.

this ? this was so much better. it made the times they had to pretend they were nothing more than friends worth it. because dongmin made her soft and blushy and maybe her heart swelled every time she saw him – but no one needed to know that. she thinks the only person who did already knew. she pouts up at him as he teases her, then smiles at his follow up. “ showing up at my door and stammering out a confession ? i think i put two and two together. ” she points out with a giggle. “ i’m a smart cookie like that. ” she hums, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her list of takeout places. admittedly, it was being used more than usual recently – but she couldn’t help it. it was so much easier to call in her order on the way home and have it delivered shortly after she got back than actually cook for herself.

but no one needed to know that.

she hums, “ don’t know … there’s this thai place i’ve been meaning to try out, but i’m kinda stuck getting like … the same thing every day. ” she admits, chuckling quietly as she plops down beside dongmin. “ i know, i feel like there’s never a moment to relax anymore … with everything going on … ” she lets out a long breath, hands falling to her lap as she looks over at him. she stares, examining dongmin’s face for a moment. as if she hasn’t spent hours before, while they were supposed to be watching some tv show on a night like tonight some time after they initially started dating, doing just the same. but she couldn’t help it because what did she do to deserve someone like him. she hums, smiles. “ i love you. ” she murmurs, voice light. her cheeks immediately redden upon saying it, and she wants to hide her face away as she sits there, eyes memorizing the boy’s face, eyes tired yet bright as he looks back at her. “ i just … think you should know that. ” she murmurs, losing her nerve suddenly and looking away – looks back at her phone. she was sure the phone number was somewhere. 

     “let’s try the thai place then, to try something new together?” he suggests with a grin as she sits down next to him, and he’s quick to drape his arm around her shoulders gently, just wanting to be able to enjoy her warmth next to him if he’s honest. it’s always nice to be able to cuddle with gahyeon when he comes over, especially since they don’t really have time to do anything else aside from enjoy each other’s company without the worry of the higher-ups breathing down their necks, cctv cameras watching their every move. 

     it’s nice to just be able to be themselves here. 

     though this time, she catches him off guard. it’s funny to him, considering the fact that she doesn’t often get to do that, since he was always the one trying to surprise her. he was always planning little presents and little surprises for her whenever he could, making sure he didn’t forget all their important days, no matter how insignificant they might seem to others. he had things usually planned for valentine’s day and white day and their birthdays, their 100 days ... there were so many things that he had meticulously planned out -- because that’s just how he was. 

     but this ... this time she’s successfully and fully caught him off guard. dongmin can’t help but pause, holding his girfriend’s gaze for a long moment until she turns away and he realizes that he might’ve frozen for too long. “i love you too,” he responds easily, clearly, so there’s no room for her to doubt his words. he doesn’t want her to hear anything aside from the words he means with his entire heart, and he reaches over gently to turn her face back towards him. “i hope you know that too,” he says softly, his expression full of love only for her. 

a closed starter for @rkdongmin​

“ i know you … ” yeji says, pointing over at the tall male. 

they’d been standing near one another in line for probably way-too-long, but yeji wasn’t about to complain when the poor check out girl just looked overwhelmed with the woman she was currently attending to. so she decided it may be good to strike up a conversation with someone else in line. the mother on her one side was trying to wrangle her children and that just seemed like too much to yeji, so she turned to the boy on her other side. problem was, as talkative as yeji was, she usually had something to talk about. idle pleasantries had already been shared, a hello and what’s your name? and these wait times are crazy, and yeji was still itching to talk to someone.

although, she couldn’t help this nagging feeling that the male’s face looked oddly familiar. like she’d seen him somewhere before – should she feel that way ? he was … well, handsome, and definitely didn’t just have ‘ one of those faces, ’ so yeji knew it wasn’t that. even states, “ i think i’ve seen you somewhere, haven’t i ? ” as she glances over him, a scrutinizing gaze – “ do we know each other ? ” she asks, quirking her head to the side. she pauses, realizes it probably sounds odd for her to say that and giggles. “ i realize how that sounds. but i really think i’ve seen you before. and like. you have a very distinct face. ” she pauses again, frowns. “ you’re pretty, is what i’m getting at – but like, a distinctive kind of pretty that i’ve one-hundred percent seen before. ” she explains.

     so, considering that he’s stuck in line right now is a bit of a predicament. he has to recalculate how long it’ll take for him to clean everything that he wants to, thinking maybe he would have to ask his roommate to fold the laundry since he might not have time to do that with how long the check out might take. 

     but, being approached isn’t something he had thought would happen. dongmin looks mildly surprised when the girl speaks to him at first, his eyes widening slightly before he remembers that if anyone actually paid attention to modelling circles then he would probably look pretty familiar. “maybe?” is all he can offer in assistance, since he isn’t if she actually knew him or thought he looked familiar or something. and he’s just generally not the type to assume that people would know who he was -- which proved fun sometimes, since he was always so shocked whenever someone actually recognized him. 

“ yeah, because neither of us could get ourselves together. ” gahyeon chuckles, nudging dongmin gently. but maybe they both needed that time, to figure themselves out, to be sure. “ but that’s okay, because we’re together now. ” she points out, smiling gently up at dongmin just moments before he draws her into his arms. gahyeon wraps her arms around dongmin’s middle and lays her head on his chest. for a moment, she just closes her eyes and allows herself to relax. it’s funny – she hadn’t even noticed she’d been tense until she was in his arms.

their schedules were long and their lives were busy, but because of that they didn’t get much time together. they were working hard to get where they wanted – but that didn’t mean they didn’t want any down time. that they didn’t need time to unwind. for gahyeon, it sat well for her to just relax in her boyfriend’s company; to just be around the persons she loved was enough for her. gahyeon liked her time alone and usually needed some time on her own to make up for the hours she spent interacting with people – but dongmin had become someone she could recharge easily around. someone she was comfortable with – she cared dearly for him, and was thankful they’d been set up a year ago.

as dongmin unwraps his arms, gahyeon keeps hers loosely around his middle, looking up at him. she pursed her lips, unable to keep her cheeks from growing pink as he spoke. a shy smile pulled at her lips – “ ahh, dongminnie … it’s almost like you like me or something. ” she says, shaking her head. she gets up on her tip-toes and presses a kiss to dongmin’s cheek before letting him go. “ how embarrassing. ” she teases before humming in thought. “ i was just gonna order some takeout and just watch some drama until i fell asleep on the couch. ” she admits, chuckling. “ if those plans work for you, we can be lazy for once in our lives. you can pick the place, and we can just … relax for a little. ” she offers, a brow raised. 

     he can’t help the soft sigh he lets out when she hugs him back -- it’s a warm feeling in his chest, and perhaps once that he likes too much. it’s true though, that it didn’t matter how long it was between the times they got to spend alone, because whenever they did manage to get together, it always just felt right. cheesy, he knows, but he hasn’t exactly been able to be cheesy to gahyeon’s face which means that he should amp it up when he has the chance. though, he also knows he would be too shy to actually say any of the things that he was thinking. 

     the kiss to his cheek that he receives before they fully part makes him smile, his cheeks flushing afterwards. “what? did i imply that i liked you?” dongmin teases back, amusement laced through his tone as he reaches out to tweak his girlfriend’s cheek gently, laughing softly afterwards. “because it’s true, so i’m glad you got that message,” he singsongs, content with everything. he hadn’t thought it would be possible for him to be so comfortable around someone -- aside from his close friends, of course, and his roommate. but it’s just so easy to be himself from gahyeon that he wonders how he had ever existed without her in his life like this.