sing it to me

he let out a little groan, pulling her into his arms and letting his hand run through her hair. “i’m sorry. i’m so sorry. they wouldn’t be saying all that to you if i weren’t me,” he told her, kissing the top of her head. “luri, i love you– what can i do to show you that?” he’d never said those words out loud before, to any woman, but they weren’t hollow. he meant it. he was whipped for this girl.

she rested her head on his chest, letting tears fall as he held her. if he was such a bad man, why did she feel so safe with him like this? why did she feel so secure in his arms? “you don’t need to be sorry. they do. you’ve done nothing to me,” she cried, hands balling up into fists and clutching his shirt. when she heard his confession, though, she pulled away, looking up at him with watery eyes. “you love me?” she asked in awe. “i love you too...”

“well, what you lack in brains, you make up for in looks. i’m sure you could secure something. especially since you’re a top tier idol,” sera answered bluntly.

“right? i could be a great foundation model....or lipstick model... ooh, or maybe luxury jewelry?” she went on, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“hmm? what’s up, princess?” he asked, pausing the choreography video he was studying so he could listen to her. to be honest, he should have expected this at some point. it was overdue. but that didn’t mean it still didn’t make him nervous. “baby, of course i like you! i promise, i won’t,” he said, trying to assure her. he stood up and met her, tilting her chin up with his hand. “you know, i know i’ve got a rep. i know why your friend is worried. and maybe at first that was the plan, but it stopped being the plan a lot time ago, luri. you’re different. i want to be with you.”

her eyes slowly began to well up with tears as she looked at him, hand resting hesitantly on his chest. she loved him. she trusted him. but she was so scared that solhee was right. “i want to be with you too...and that’s what i told her... but so many people had so many nasty things to say, and i got so scared....” she whimpered

“uh, i can’t do everything for you luri! figure it out! i bet if you talk to our manager, he can do it for you,” she answered flippantly. “i have too much to figure out with the duo still, obviously.”

“oh, that’s a great idea! i should ask him,” luri agreed. “do you think i’d be able to get some sort of endorsement? i’ve always wanted to be the face of a makeup brand...”

she took a deep breath, trying not to get too frustrated. luri was naive, but she was stubborn. “i trust you, solhee, but i also trust sangsuk. and ripley. and chiharu. and yeseo. and bia. and the countless other women who have stories about how he’s treated them…”

“i’m going to have to ask you to stop talking to me now, solhee,” luri retorted, tears starting to pour down her face. “you’re being really unkind, and i don’t want to be around you right now.”

“no, i promise you, it’s the same hyunjoo,” solhee answered, shaking her head. luri was naive. she was scared that her friend was getting taken advantage of, and she’d have to pick up the pieces after luri got very hurt. “maybe he didn’t do anything this time, but he’s just acting like this to get in your good books. this isn’t going to end well.”

“solhee, please stop. you’re being very rude about someone i care about,” luri said firmly, trying not to get too upset. there was a growing sense of dread in her stomach, and she didn’t like it one bit. “i don’t know what you’ve heard from haters, but i know him better than you. and i’m not going to listen to this.”

“i most certainly did not,” xifeng laughed. “that’s been a common term for literally decades.”

“are you sure? it’ must be super hipster-- i’ve never heard it before!”

“i……” she trailed off, honestly speechless and luri’s… wit. “tattoo sleeves, luri. like tattoos all over my arms. not literal sleeves, you nut.”

“oh, i get it! it’s like...having so many tattoos that they look like sleeves! that’s such a cute term-- did you come up with that?”

“oh, luri, no,” solhee answered eyes going wide with worry. “hyunjoo isn’t a good guy. he has a huge reputation of being a fuckboy. like….dozens of other female idols have stories of him trying to get with them, or succeeding and then throwing them out like garbage. please tell me he didn’t try anything with you when you weren’t feeling well when you got back to the dorms….”

“we must be talking about a different hyunjoo,” luri insisted, cocking her head to the side. “my hyunjoo is so sweet.... nothing happened when we got back here! he just got me an advil and a cold compress and played with my hair until i fell asleep. you must be confusing him with someone else...”

“yeah, i don’t want you to waste your money though, babygirl. i’m no gold digger,” he answered, tucking her hair behind her ear and helping her get into the jacket. “yeah, let’s go– it’s a bit of a drive, and i’d rather get on the road now so we don’t run into fuckin traffic in gangnam.”

“it wouldn’t be a waste-- i like shopping! and i like giving people presents!” she insisted with a pout, wrapping her arms around one of his. “okay! i didn’t know you had a car! i mean, i guess you needed one to get here but...that’s so cool! i don’t even know how to drive...”

“burma,” achara corrected. “and it’s called myanmar now. it’s right next to thailand and laos.”

“i don’t think i’ve ever heard of there! or been there! is it nice?”

“how did i not know you went on a date? or that you had a boy in our dorm? damn, our dorm must be bigger than i thought,” solhee answered incredulously. “well, spill? who was it?”

“i don’t know if you know him! he’s a higher trainee, and was on idol project-- hyunjoo? he’s super handsome and super sweet. we went to an idol only club, and that was fun. and then when the lights and music were too much for me, he took me back to the dorm and took care of me until i fell asleep,” she gushed.

“well, when i debut, i’m gonna have to take you shopping with me. you can pick things out so i don’t look like a scrub when i’m out and about off the clock,” he answered her, eyes scanning her collection. it was incredibly impressive, to say the least. “do you wear them all, then? if they’re keepsakes? or do you just have them so you can look back on them?” he asked her, before stopping in front of one coat. “you should wear this one. it’s nice. and warm.”

“why when you debut-- i can take you shopping now! it’ll be a gift,” luri answered excitedly. she’d never gone shopping for a guy before-- it sounded so exciting. “ a bit of both! i wear most of it, but there are a couple pieces that are just there as keepsakes. i just wanted to have them and look at them...” she hummed, pulling the coat he picked out off it’s hanger and shrugging it on. “good choice-- you have great taste. shall we get going, then?”