✮⋆˙ 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖 ˙⋆✮
| pairing: johnny x manager!oc
| warnings: 18+ MDNI. Protected vaginal sex. Quick sex / fade to black. A dash of praise kink (John receiving). Short male refractory period. MET GALA JOHNNYYYYY!!
As expected, Johnny's next trip abroad wasn’t until May when he was scheduled to fly to New York for the Met Gala, an event which neither Aurora nor Johnny ever expected to attend. The invitation came completely out of left field. Aurora could remember vividly the day where she was sitting at her desk, casually working on setting up more details for The Link show, when she received an email from a name she didn’t recognize, yet the company attached to it lept at her as a very well known fashion brand in South-East Asia. Why were they contacting her? So she skimmed the email to get the gist, and once her eyes fell over “Johnny Suh” and “The Met Gala”, she paused, restarted reading, and carefully examined every single word in the email. They wanted to invite Johnny to wear their clothes at the Met. The Met… As in the biggest fashion show in the entire world. As in the event of the year which was always run by the respectable yet terrifying Anna Wintour.
Aurora couldn’t believe it at first. She thought that perhaps they were being pranked or some shit. But after a few back and forths with the company, Aurora realized that the invitation was very, very real; The designer who was invited by Anna Wintour was Viet, and he wanted someone famous who had a sleek black look to match his style and wear his clothes on the famous red carpet. They had their eyes on Johnny ever since his Work It era. Now they had the perfect excuse to work with him— And they were right, because Johnny would have been a total fucking idiot to decline it! There was no way Aurora wouldn’t have let him go. Even if he had schedules at the same time that he agreed to properly, she would have moved things around, just for him.
When Johnny saw the invitation with his own eyes, he took about ten minutes to read it over and over again before he looked at Aurora. They were sitting in his apartment at the time, relaxing after he had finished practicing in the dance room for the night, and she couldn’t wait any longer to share the news with him once it was a done deal that he was going.
“You know what this means, right?” Aurora asked.
Johnny nodded vaguely, almost like he was frozen in fear… or maybe he was overwhelmed by excitement? Aurora wasn’t sure.
“You’ll be one of the first K-Pop idols to ever be invited, the second one to ever attend.”
Johnny gulped. It was a huge honor, yes, but with that came a weight that Aurora could tell Johnny was being consumed by. He was clearly excited in the weeks leading up to the event because they were having more frequent Zoom meetings with the designer, Peter, and his team in Vietnam to plan and discuss details like flights and hotels. However, Johnny was the type of guy to also bottle up his anxieties until they spilled over and he needed Aurora to put him together. And yet somehow he had the audacity to fault her for the same things. Hmph.
Still, once the shock settled and the meetings started piling onto their schedule, life warped into a blur of logistics, fittings, and back-and-forths with the designer’s team. Aurora handled most of it, naturally. Smoothing the edges, asking the right questions, preparing everything Johnny forgot to think about. She loved it, but, fuck, it was exhausting. And before they knew it, the trip was already around the corner.
The morning of their flight to New York, Aurora woke up hours before Johnny in order to do work and loads of preparation that he never had to worry his pretty, little head over. Lucky. She quietly worked the time away at her desk in the office, the door slightly ajar so that she could hear if Johnny woke up and needed anything, but not so far that he could hear her keyboard clacking with every aggressive email she sent out. To keep herself occupied, she watched some old interviews of the boys that she hadn’t gotten to before. She prided herself on keeping up with their content as much as possible, but sometimes work was so consuming she didn’t have the time, and that was okay to admit… Just not to the boys. They’d never let her know peace if she told them she wasn’t perfect after always insisting that she was.
After she was done multitasking her morning away, Aurora quietly got ready in the living room so that she wouldn’t disturb Johnny before she headed out to retrieve some breakfast for the two of them. On the mornings when they had extra time, Aurora and Johnny would find somewhere to get breakfast sandwiches and coffee— Usually at Paris Baguette or something along those lines. She knew that with the time she had and the rush that Johnny would inevitably be in to get to the airport, it was the perfect place to get food for him. She picked up two sandwiches, a latte for herself, and an Iced Americano for him.
The errand was quick. She made her way back to the apartment promptly, before she could even drink a third of her latte, which was impressive because she was a fast drinker while Johnny was more of the sipper in their relationship. Even though she planned on waking him up, she was still cautious when entering the apartment. Quietly opening and closing the front door, carefully sliding off her shoes before she tiptoed towards the bedroom where she found Johnny still dead asleep, drooling over himself slightly. At least he was getting plenty of sleep for once… He wouldn’t get much of it during their trip, that was for certain.
“Morning, handsome,” she cooed in his ear. He groaned tiredly. “You’ve got about an hour to get ready before the car’s here to pick us up for the airport.” She waved the food under his nose slowly to coax him awake with the smell. It worked. Aurora giggled as Johnny slowly opened his eyes and rolled onto his back so that he could look up at her. “Morning, baby.”
He smiled and took the sandwich from her. “Morning.” He pulled on the collar of Aurora’s shirt to bring her in for a kiss.
Before he could get ahead of himself, however, Aurora pulled away and replaced the touch of her lips against his with the corner of his breakfast sandwich for him to nibble on instead.
“Clothes are hanging on the closet door, your bags are packed, and I’ll shove the toiletries in after you use them.”
“You’re really sexy, did you know that?”
“Suck up. Food and coffee will be at the dining table for when you get your ass out of bed.”
She slipped away from him and he pouted.
“You’re really sexy!” he called out as she walked off.
“Thanks! Still not stripping for you!”
Johnny got up after Aurora settled in the living room with her own breakfast putting a content smile on her face because good food and coffee would keep her from getting cranky during their long travel day ahead of them. At least they’d get to mix business with pleasure for once. It had been a while since their last trip to New York, Aurora could hardly remember it, honestly. For work, they got to go to New York, sure, but they hardly ever got to explore New York City itself; but this time they got to do whatever they wanted once work was finished. She was actually excited. Usually Aurora hated big cities in America, but a fun trip with Johnny could never disappoint her.
“Will you kill me if I don’t shower?” he asked as he wandered into the living room, ready for the day aside from showering.
“No. Just shower when we land, you’re going to complain that you feel gross regardless.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As Johnny ate, Aurora finished packing his things like she promised. It seemed like a quiet, sane morning— Something that was unsettlingly unusual for them on travel days. Yes, Aurora was stressed, it was her job to be, but at least Johnny was behaving himself. Or so she thought.
As if she wasn’t already stressed enough, Johnny decided to make things worse by pulling out his phone to live stream. She warned him not to do it because they were already en route to the airport, but he insisted that it would “keep him awake”, which she was sure was just an excuse to make an appearance online so that SM didn’t have another reason to scold him for not interacting with fans enough.
There wasn’t much Aurora could do once the stream started and Johnny was settled in the back row of the van. She did her best to keep an eye on him by listening to the conversation… She listened for any leads to indicate she needed to shut him up, or people in the chat that were being weird and therefore needed to be muted, and she prayed that he never said or did anything that went against his years of presumably unshakable PR training.
“Next stop is… Incheon Airport…”
Aurora immediately spun around and hit his arm. He laughed at her and cried out in fake pain while kicking the back of her seat.
“My manager’s mad at me for telling you guys that.”
She glared at him.
Of course a handful of fans were already expected to be waiting for their arrival at the airport, but Aurora didn’t appreciate Johnny giving people a fucking head’s up when that could just egg on more fans to show up and cause even more of a hassle getting to the gate before the flight. But Johnny was Johnny. The jokester of the group, and a guy who genuinely liked to interact with his fans in the wild like that, so he didn’t mind a single bit when it came to the thought of fans showing up to take pictures or videos, or hand him letters or flowers, or even beg for his attention while his (secret) girlfriend walked right beside him. Obviously Aurora wasn’t jealous. Well, she could get jealous, but that was different from actively being jealous of fans that Johnny never looked at twice because he was more entertained by the stern look on Aurora’s face that she put on whenever she was in work mode.
“I’m really excited about this trip, though,” Johnny continued casually to the phone, “I think it’s just the beginning of greater things for us, and my opportunity to travel the world, see all the things I’ve always wanted to see. With the group, we travel, but we don’t get to sightsee too much. I told someone a bit ago how I want to start actually sightseeing and doing touristy things… We’ll see if I’ll be able to do some of that during this trip. My schedule’s pretty packed, but you never know, right? And I’ll try to vlog a bit, too, so you guys can come along with.”
The person he’d talked to about sightseeing was Aurora, and she knew it. Before they dated, Johnny used to beg Aurora for more free time while on tour or schedules abroad because he really wanted to go hang out with the boys somewhere not professional, but she didn’t have the kind of say in their schedules then that she did after a few years of hard work where she proved herself capable of managing everything on her own, including making sure that the boys would return to their hotels or schedules in a timely manner if given any free time. When they started dating, Johnny told her about his interest in traveling and doing things that he could enjoy with someone like her or his mom. She obviously wasn’t sure if this trip would be the right time to test all that out, but… She wanted to see if there was wiggle room to explore, even for a single afternoon. Something was better than nothing.
As they pulled up to the airport, Aurora nudged Johnny again to indicate that he needed to wrap it up, which he did without any protests this time around. He was in work-mode the second they were out of the car and on the sidewalk, facing the fans that had already set up with their nice, expensive cameras to take high-quality photos of him that they could sell to pay their rent for the next month. Johnny did his job. Standing on the curb, he smiled and waved to the fans as a distraction while Aurora ordered around the rest of the staff that had come out of the airport lobby to help get the luggage onto carts to drag inside for the check-in process, which was easier since it was just Johnny and Aurora rather than all eight members and a shit ton of staff members. Aurora walked with the security guards just ahead of Johnny— He liked to keep an eye on her when they got mobbed by fans in public, so she remembered to act like a manager in charge while keeping in mind that he had eyes on her. The fans were so focused on asking Johnny questions that they didn’t pay any attention to Aurora. She preferred it that way.
The check-in process went about as smoothly as it could’ve, getting through security was a breeze once they were past the check-point that marked where the public couldn’t enter to take photos and videos, and the lounge was somehow free of any sasaengs or fansites for once. Johnny snacked, Aurora didn’t. Their usual airport pattern fell into place naturally without any hiccups, and before they even knew it, they were on the plane and taking off for America.
As per usual, the first two hours or so of the flight were the worst because there was always turbulence when flying over Japan. No matter what Aurora did, her flight anxiety could never be satiated during those first few hours. Johnny, being the sweetheart he was, stayed up to watch a movie with her so that she wouldn’t have to suffer alone and she had a hand to squeeze every time there was a little bump that made her heart jump and her stomach twist. Because of her flight anxiety making it so that she never had an appetite on flights, Johnny ate her first meal for her, still holding her hand, still comforting her, still leaning over to kiss her after a few minutes of unbearable turbulence.
Eventually, though, Johnny's exhaustion and his usual habit of sleeping the flight time away hit him, so he passed asleep while still holding her hand and sitting up; Aurora helped him out by reaching over to recline his seat all the way— And she gave him a quick kiss for extra measure. Even if she reclined too, she wouldn’t be able to sleep, so she decided to pull out her laptop to get some work done while sipping on some wine that the flight attendants offered. Johnny didn’t shift when the plane shook. He snored and drooled over himself, completely unaware that his girlfriend was fighting for her life not to have a panic attack and instead focused wholeheartedly on her laptop screen as a distraction. She really, really envied him.
Nearly fourteen hours later, they touched down at JFK Airport in New York. Johnny was in work mode since he had woken up with a fresh sense of wanting to seize the day since he was well-rested in comparison to Aurora who looked like a zombie. The second they were past customs and had their luggage, Johnny was vlogging on his fancy camera for his internet show, JCC. He did an introduction, explained his morning and the trip to New York, then caught the audience up on how they were already headed to the hotel to rest before they had Met Gala schedules the following day. The entire time, Aurora stood off to the side. His job was to smile for the camera and make their boring travel day entertaining, meanwhile Aurora wrestled with her iPhone because it kept switching to her Korean keyboard as she texted the private chauffeur in English about where they needed to meet him since he was running late… Great… At least no fans were waiting for them at the airport. Honestly, it was actually a miracle that not even the Korean or Chinese fans had taken an earlier flight just to catch a few photos of him in America since it was such a big event for him; but neither of them bothered to mention it out loud while he was still recording and she was dragging a million suitcases to the pick up area where the chauffeur was parked.
After they checked into the hotel and had their bags sent up to their room, Johnny— still recording— asked Aurora if she wanted pizza. Fuck, a nice, thin, cheesy slice of New York style pizza sounded so fucking good. Korea loved sweet pizzas— Which wasn’t bad! Aurora had a soft spot for the potatoes and corn and mayo that the Koreans put on their version of the food, but there was really nothing better than an American pizza, and that was a fact she was willing to fight the Italians over.
So off they went around the corner and into a hole-in-the-wall store. Johnny was hungry. Aurora could tell by the way he ordered an entire pizza with the camera still pointed at him, and without even checking with her, he asked that half be meat and veggie lovers and the other half a simple pepperoni because those were the two types both of them always agreed were the best. Though they got a little bit of side eye, their order was rung up. The employees probably thought Johnny was just some clout chaser on social media, so they didn’t say anything that would get them cancelled, but it was definitely peculiar to have a guy wearing designer clothes and carrying around an expensive camera order a non-traditional New York pizza in a random New York style pizza place.
As they sat to wait for their pizza, Johnny and Aurora sat across from each other, and he placed the camera on its tiny tripod in front of her so it got the perfect angle of him whenever they’d start eating. Aurora didn’t mind one bit since it was her job and she didn’t want to make their relationship noticeable; but she also wanted to be close to him because it was such a cool experience for him and she was so excited that he was able to do it. But JCC was also important to him. Part of his job was content creation, which meant she couldn’t afford to be selfish and say that she wanted it to just be them… She had to remember that their professionalism came way before their personal relationship with each other. Sometimes it got muddled, but they’d done good thus far, she wasn’t going to let the Met Gala mess it all up.
When the pizza came, they adjusted so the staff weren’t inconvenienced by the large camera or the equipment while trying to put the hot tray down on the stand. Aurora did the adjustments. Johnny entertained the camera. She did her best to check the shot and the audio to make sure it was focused and not messed up, likely taking it too seriously the way she usually did. Perks of having a girlfriend who went to film school and was annoying on every set she’d been on with the boys since then.
“God,” he groaned, his eyes rolling back, a half-eaten slice of pepperoni pizza in one hand, a curled fist gently beating the tabletop with the other, “it’s so fucking good.”
“Language.”
“It’s really good,” he re-stated to the camera.
Aurora grabbed a piece filled with sausage and peppers specifically, which was a prime piece with just her name on it. The pizza’s undercarriage was nice and sturdy. The crust was crispy but not burnt. There was enough cheese to make a lactose-intolerant person’s stomach hurt just by looking at it. And as Aurora took a careful bite to not disrupt Johnny's performance, she melted in her seat, her eyes also rolling back. Fuck, she really missed American food.
“See? Really fucking good.”
Aurora sat up and glared at her boyfriend. Language, was the warning she sent him silently, so he surrendered before taking a bite of another slice to get a taste of both flavors.
The following day was scheduled for Johnny meeting with the design team to get fitted for his outfits for the Met Gala. Both of them were jet lagged enough that they were up early in the morning to get coffee and breakfast at the buffet in the hotel lobby before heading to the address they had been sent before they landed in the States.
Once they arrived, Johnny opened the doors for Aurora so she could focus on walking right up to Peter who was in the thick of looking over designs on large posters, at which point she stopped to introduce herself and Johnny with a big smile and a handshake.
The atmosphere in the studio was immediately warm despite how busy it was. Assistants moved around with tablets and fabric swatches, greeting them politely as they passed. Someone offered coffee without even asking, another took Aurora’s coat, and Peter himself greeted Johnny with an enthusiasm that felt genuine rather than performative. There was laughter sprinkled between conversations, compliments exchanged easily, but no one wasted time— every movement felt intentional, like a well-rehearsed dance.
Within minutes, they were ushered toward the fitting area. Racks of clothing were wheeled over, garment bags unzipped, and tape measures appeared like magic. Johnny was guided behind a partition while someone explained the schedule and fitting process, and Aurora took a seat nearby, phone already in hand as she documented notes and watched everything unfold.
The concept itself was already set in stone by Peter, but he was actually eager to get Johnny's own input on the little details to see what would make him comfortable, but also because Johnny had good fashion sense that seemed to intrigue Peter. If they could make Johnny's look unique to Johnny, then they were going to do it.
Everyone stood by to watch them work. Johnny asked to be dressed in the original idea made by Peter himself. It was a kindness that Peter didn’t deem necessary since he was willing to collaborate, but Johnny simply wasn’t the type to take over a project and call it his own. He wanted to know what the initial vision was. In fact, Aurora knew that if Johnny had it his way, he wouldn’t have made any changes at all because he felt like as the guest it was his right to be quiet as he was fitted and be happy that he was there at all.
For the first hour, they put Johnny into a sleek black look that consisted of a loose silk shirt that resembled a suit vest reimagined as fancy pajamas, loose fitting pants made with the same material, a long tailcoat with fringed hems, and shoes… Though they hadn’t decided what kind yet, so they tried out some options.
They tried him in heels first. Actually, much to no one’s surprise, Aurora liked it, but Johnny seemed… off… It wasn’t that he hated them, it was just that he was too wobbly, too unsure of himself, and he wouldn’t be able to learn heel confidence before the Gala, especially when he was bound to be so nervous during the event in the first place that worrying about his shoes wouldn’t work. So next they put him in a pair of square toed boots, which he looked a lot more comfortable in. Peter’s team seemed “meh” about the look because the original idea was better— The heels.
In Korean, Aurora asked him which he preferred.
Johnny brushed his hair out of his face before replying in English, “The square toed boots are more comfortable.”
“The heels would make sure you don’t trip on the jacket.”
“You look tall in them, too,” Peter chipped in. “You’re already tall, but the heeled boots accentuate that more.”
“It’s not too much?” Johnny cocked his head to the side while staring at himself in the mirror. He hummed a thought. “I do like them a lot… It’s true…”
For now, he decided to keep the heels on and move onto accessories.
When it came to the jewelry, the assistants just started decorating him in every gold piece they had on hand. They layered on necklaces, bracelets, rings, even an ear cuff or two. But the more they added, the more they started whispering about how much they hated it. So before Johnny could give his insight, the assistants began taking off all the layers, only leaving behind a single long necklace that hung at his sternum. Aurora was slightly confused when it came to the earrings. The cuffs were removed, and then so was the right earring… Leaving a single left stud… Peculiar. It wasn’t anything she was too “wow-ed” by, but Peter and his assistants seemed satisfied, so Aurora pursed her lips together to hold herself back from saying anything she wasn’t supposed to, like how it kind of looked… stupid…
Peter stepped forward with a tray full of jewelry. “Do you like any of these?”
Johnny began investigating all of the pieces Aurora couldn’t see from where she stood awkwardly in the corner.
“Can she pick out a bracelet for me?” Johnny asked the room in general.
Aurora froze. He was still shopping through all of the options laid out in front of him, meanwhile the rest of the room had gone silent and were now turning their attention toward her. No one really said anything about how suspicious his question was. No one acknowledged how odd it was that he wanted her to pick out his bracelet. All anyone did was nod and show her the case of bracelets instead.
“Are you sure?” she whispered to him in Korean.
He nodded. “You picked out our group necklaces… I trust you.”
Aurora blushed. That was so long ago, how could he still be caught up on something like that? Still, he watched her eagerly with anticipation for a response, so she turned to look at the jewelry as well, really taking her time to mull over all of the options.
Everything looked so… expensive. She didn’t know enough to tell which company was which aside from a few pieces so her opinion couldn’t be swayed by impressive brand names. However, the ones she did know were things that she’d eyed for herself or as a gift for Johnny over the years. She couldn’t help but float towards those. A pearl clip-on Cartier bracelet and a silver and diamond Swarovski bracelet.
Everyone watched as she carefully picked them up individually then put them on Johnny who stood as still as he could manage to avoid spooking her. Seeing him in the jewelry she’d always silently imagined made her wish she had all the money in the world to spoil him. Sure, Johnny could’ve easily bought it for himself, but it wasn’t the same. Like the team necklaces, what mattered was knowing it was a gift from her. This would be the closest she would ever get. She decided to savor it. Johnny was, too. He was staring at her with his face so close that she could feel how warm his breath was, and though it made her slightly self-conscious, she couldn’t help but blush, which made him smirk.
After clearing her throat uncomfortably to break up the tension brewing in the room, Aurora took a step back and reapproached the topic of what shoes he wanted to wear. Johnny was still certain about the tall shoes, but the stylists were chipping in with the sound advice that he should pick shoes that would be comfortable because it would be a long night with a red carpet experience that he wasn’t familiar with, and there were a fuckton of stairs. Perhaps the heels were not the best choice.
“Women do it all the time,” he joked.
“Yeah, but we’re used to it,” Aurora replied.
It seemed that their arguments were beginning to get to him, because Johnny's attention switched to the flat shoes. Honestly, the topic kept switching. They tried all kinds of outfits, all kinds of variations to the clothes he had on. Sleeves rolled up and shirt completely unbuttoned. Half buttoned. Unbuttoned again. Definitely not fully buttoned— It was too uptight, not at all the vibe they were going for. Honestly, Aurora was distracted the entire time… She was trying her best to focus… but it was too damn hard when he was model walking in circles half-naked.
“I like the white undershirt— Or bare, even. I liked that a lot,” Johnny asserted.
“Bare?”
“Yeah. It was sleek.”
“True… I liked it, too… I think bare could work.”
Aurora hummed a thought. “You might get cold,” she commented. “Or the whole look might be perceived wrong… Maybe take a shirt just in case?”
Johnny nodded an agreement.
“Let’s try the vest one more time,” one of the assistants recommended.
Another hour of back-and-forth with the outfit transpired before they finally moved on to the second outfit they still needed to consider, which would be worn during the after party that was arguably just as important as the Met Gala’s red carpet. A very oversized and loose white shirt, an oversized black suit jacket, but pants that were tight— Though not too tight— to balance it all out, making him irresistibly attractive. Obviously it wasn’t meant for the event itself, but… She thought it was the best look of the whole day. She even took pictures of him wearing it while chatting with Peter, completely unaware of his girlfriend buzzing around him, sending the pictures back home to the boys like she were a proud mom or something.
Please kiss him for me, Haechan texted.
Aurora rolled her eyes.
The actual day of the gala was just as busy as the days before it— If not more.
Johnny couldn’t sleep because he was so anxious, so Aurora dug out her melatonin to help knock him out, which it fucking did. Thirty minutes after taking the pills while chugging a full glass of water, Johnny fell asleep face-first on the hotel bed, not even bothering to get under the covers, and he was snoring so loudly that Aurora ended up being unable to fall asleep too. She sat at the desk most of the night. Her legs were tucked up to her chest somewhat with her chin propped on her knees as she watched Johnny drool on himself in between emails she sent during the Korean work hours.
In the morning, Johnny's alarm woke up Aurora after only getting about two hours of sleep, leaving her face puffy with incredibly obvious dark circles under her eyes that she desperately tried to hide with a shit-ton of makeup that she usually didn’t wear, catching Johnny off guard slightly. He didn’t question it because he chalked it up to her getting ready for the event. Stylists showed up at their hotel suite only an hour after Johnny woke up and ordered breakfast from room service so neither her nor Aurora had to leave when they were so tired and stressed. Egg whites and coffee for him, because he insisted jokingly that he was “watching his figure.” Scrambled eggs, fruit, and coffee for Aurora, and she only ended up eating half of it anyhow because her stomach was uneasy and the stylists interrupted earlier than expected.
The room slowly filled with people and equipment— garment racks being wheeled in, makeup cases snapping open, cords and lights carefully arranged so nothing showed up on camera by accident. One stylist gently pressed Johnny back into the chair while another draped a cape around his shoulders, fingers already brushing through his hair.
“Sit still,” one of them warned lightly as he shifted for the third time.
“I am sitting still,” Johnny protested, even as his knee bounced.
Aurora hovered nearby with her tablet, answering emails and checking schedules while watching them work on him in her peripheral vision. Makeup brushes swept over his face, evening out his skin, subtly sharpening his features without taking away what made him him. Hair spray followed, quick and practiced, shaping everything into place so it would survive flashing cameras and hours under lights.
He was acting all nervous which was definitely strange for him, but she knew that it was because everything was all new and out of the ordinary for him since this was fucking Met Gala and now just some award show in Busan.
Right on cue, another knock sounded at the door. Peter entered with two assistants, carefully carrying garment bags like they contained something fragile enough to shatter if mishandled. They unzipped them slowly, revealing the outfit piece by piece, and Johnny visibly swallowed as he stood to look at it properly.
“I also brought a gift along for you.” He unveiled a bracelet box which he promptly opened to reveal a Cartier bracelet which matched the one Aurora picked for Johnny, but this one was gold instead of silver so that it matched her dress. “Wear it for the night. No one will ever know.” He smiled at her.
Aurora blinked, genuinely caught off guard. “You didn’t have to—”
“Humor me,” the stylist said warmly.
She smiled, bowing her head slightly in thanks before turning to Johnny and holding out her wrist. “Help me?”
Johnny grinned for the first time that morning, carefully fastening the bracelet around her wrist with fingers that were steadier than she expected. “You’re always dolling me up in jewelry, it’s about time I get to return the favor.”
Once he was dressed, the stylists fussed over final adjustments— smoothing fabric, fixing cuffs, stepping back to inspect him from every angle. Then, just as quickly as they’d arrived, they cleared out, leaving the suite suddenly quiet again.
They were given a short pocket of time before the car arrived for photos, a rare moment to breathe. Johnny sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his hair despite explicit instructions not to touch it. Aurora immediately swatted his hand away.
“Don’t,” she warned, though she was smiling.
He laughed softly and reached for her instead, fingers sliding between hers as he pulled her closer. He pressed a kiss to her lips— slow, grounding— before resting his forehead against hers.
“I’m really nervous and overwhelmed, baby…” He looked down as he played with her bracelet. “But I’m glad we can do this together because I’d be even more scared without you here by my side.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek gently.
Johnny blushed. “I love you.”
She gave him another one for good measure. “I love you, too.”
Following a knock on the door to indicate that it was time, Johnny quickly stole a very passionate kiss from Aurora before she could react and reciprocate, then he got up to leave while Aurora was still sitting on the bed, her head spinning. Oh, surely he knew what he was doing to her.
They split to do their work separately, Aurora managing the staff while Johnny took pictures with magazines for their stories about him attending the gala then a few of his own that Aurora took on his phone for Instagram. After that, it was back to her running around to get everything set for when Johnny would leave, meanwhile Johnny was just focused on getting out of the hotel, to the van, and to the event without tripping on his shoes and falling on his face. Out of everyone’s jobs, that was the most important one. But because the van was small and it was meant to be for the public faces, like Johnny and Peter, Aurora was going to drive to the event later with the rest of the staff.
“Phone,” she said, handing it back to him so he could put it in his pocket. She had everything else from his wallet to a set of contacts if he needed replacements randomly. He didn’t need anything else on him. “You good?”
He looked a bit out of it. Maybe it was from all the camera flashes or the screaming fans waiting outside, but he looked like he was somewhere else mentally, which worried her.
“Yeah.”
She managed to get one more quick kiss from him in the midst of his scattered mind dragging him around in different directions. Johnny melted against her. His hand clasped with her’s and their lips pressed together long enough for him to exhale deeply to regain his bearings. He smiled at her as they parted.
“You look so good, baby, go have fun.”
Johnny chuckled. “I will.” He grabbed her chin gently to hold her steady before kissing her again. “I’ll see you later?”
She nodded.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Her nose nudged his. “I love you more.”
With that, he escaped to head to the museum with Peter, leaving Aurora in the dust— A proud smile lit across her face. Since he was gone and she was back to being his manager, Aurora began stalking Twitter to see all the photos and videos of him that fans and the media were posting. In her desperation to know and see as much as possible, she even texted Taeyong to send her things she would miss since she only had her phone while the boys were all watching from home. Once Taeyong knew that she wanted pictures and Tweets, all the others started sending her things, too, and inevitably the 127 group chat turned into a Johnny fanclub. They got so giddy when she told them about Johnny's bracelet. They thought it was so cute that he asked her to pick it for him, and that the stylists actually let him do it.
By the time Aurora arrived at the Met, her phone was already overheating in her clutch from the nonstop notifications. Photos of Johnny were everywhere— him stepping out of the car, him pausing at the top of the stairs, him posing with that effortless calm that always made it look like he belonged wherever he stood. According to the timestamps and frantic captions flooding her screen, Johnny was already inside. His carpet photos were done, interviews wrapped, and the press had moved on to the next arrival.
Along with the rest of the staff, Aurora made her way inside— Carefully navigating the stone steps with the skirt of her dress lifted slightly so she could see where she was stepping to avoid falling. The air felt different once she crossed the threshold, heavier somehow, buzzing with conversation and camera flashes echoing from deeper inside the museum. She blended in with the other staff members easily, head down, posture professional, reminding herself again that she was here to work even if her heart was racing a little too fast.
Her eyes scanned the room out of habit, searching for familiar hair, familiar shoulders, the glint of silver on his wrist—
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said after sneaking up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. She shrugged him off since they couldn’t risk being seen together like that. “I want to check out the exhibit with you.”
She turned and pouted up at him. “I shouldn’t, baby… I wasn’t invited as a guest, and we don’t need to be pissing off Anna Wintour and half of Hollywood while we’re here.”
“It’s just the exhibit, not the dinner, no one’s gonna care. Come on, I can always pull the foreigner card if someone asks.”
“You’re from Chicago.”
“I don’t think anyone here would know or care.”
She laughed and hit his shoulder. “What about me?”
“Just start speaking in Korean to confuse them even more.”
“Funny,” she said flatly. But she couldn’t deny that she wanted to see the exhibition given the opportunity, and she couldn’t keep fighting Johnny on it when he seemed oh-so-adamant on sharing that experience with her. “Fine.”
With an excited pep in his step, Johnny snatched up Aurora’s hand and began dragging her towards the exhibit entrance which was guarded, a warning sign that perhaps they were making a bad decision. Johnny pushed through, however. With an acknowledging nod and nothing else, he pulled Aurora past the security and into the large exhibit which was crowded with other celebrities and the occasional plus one that Anna Wintour green-lit. Aurora did not make the cut for that title.
“Look at this one, baby!” Johnny ushered her quickly over to one of the outfits on display that Aurora immediately recognized was from the first Hunger Games movie of all things. “Can’t believe this is here…” Johnny got as close to the glass as he could without falling over the red ropes in front of it just so he could inspect the magenta coloring of the dress and the details on the head piece. “Cool.”
Aurora began reading the plaque sitting underneath the outfit. Sure enough, it was the exact outfit that had been worn on set by Elizabeth Banks. It described the designer, his work on the piece, the hours it took, important details, and so on. A lot of the big words went over Aurora’s head.
“What about this one?” Johnny rushed to another outfit on the opposite side. Aurora followed.
It was… fine. Not her taste. A bit much, honestly. But the way Johnny lit up with each display made it worth it. Even if Aurora spent half the time pretending she knew anything about couture beyond “pretty” and “weird.”
After they finished sneaking around the exhibit like two kids who’d crawled under a museum rope, it was time for dinner. That meant splitting up again. Johnny gave her a soft look before he went inside— An apology, a promise, and an “I’ll be quick” all blended into one. Then he disappeared into the grand hall full of powerful people and expensive perfume.
Aurora ended up outside with the staff. There was a bar out there— Thank god— and at least three heaters to keep the breeze away. Anna Wintour could be terrifying, but Aurora had to admit: the woman took care of the staff. Drinks, snacks, seating. Everything except… conversation. Aurora stood alone, clutching a glass of sparkling water she didn’t really want because she already felt queasy enough from flying and getting Johnny ready for the event that could change the course of his career. Everyone around her already knew each other, laughing, networking, clinking glasses. No one stopped to talk to the shy girl lingering near the pillar, avoiding eye contact. She didn’t blame them. She wouldn’t know what to say either.
She scrolled aimlessly on her phone, listening to the muffled applause from inside the hall, wondering if Johnny was having fun or pretending to. And even though she had followed him through the exhibit, even though she’d stolen those rare, sweet moments by his side… it still felt like she was orbiting a world she wasn’t meant to be in. Still, she told herself that it was all worth it. Every minute with him, even the stolen ones, always was.
She didn’t realize how long she’d been standing there until her phone buzzed with a short message from Johnny.
Leaving soon. Gotta change in the car. I’ll see you after.
Relief loosened something tight in her chest. He was slipping out a little earlier than the rest— not enough to be suspicious, just enough to avoid the worst of the crowd— so he could change into his second look on the way to the after party. Aurora could already picture it: him hunched awkwardly in the backseat, careful with the fabric, complaining under his breath while staff hovered around him like it was a pit stop. The thought made her smile despite herself.
The after party was Aurora’s savior. Johnny was invited to a few different parties in some random skyscrapers throughout the heart of NYC by various brands that wanted to work with him, so Aurora ultimately left the decision up to him about where they wanted to go— AKA, who they wanted to support and hope that the favor would be returned in the future, giving Johnny more cool opportunities similar to attending the Met Gala. Johnny chose NYFW and Instagram, shrugging like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
“Someone’s bound to give me something, right?” he joked when he told her, grinning in that way that always made it clear he was only half-kidding. Aurora rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. Strategically, it made sense.
The best part was that he was allowed to bring a plus one to the party, no asterisks beside that title. She was given the same treatment as he was, unlike at the Met. They got in the same way, were offered the same drinks and finger food snacks, and she could go anywhere he went— Except she had no interest holding his hand while he went to the bathroom. For the first time that night, she could breathe. She wasn’t lingering on the sidelines or pretending she didn’t belong. She did belong. She was with him.
Still, they were careful. They stayed close but not close enough. No hands lingering too long, no leaning in too intimately, no moments that could be snapped out of context and turned into headlines by morning. Aurora knew herself well enough to know that if dating rumors broke because of the Met Gala of all things, she’d actually cry— and not the quiet, dignified kind. So they played their roles: idol and manager, professional and polished, even when his eyes kept finding hers across the room like magnets.
Once they arrived back at the hotel, the stylists were back on the clock, immediately getting to work on undressing Johnny and putting away all of the expensive jewelry that he had decorating his body. They took stock of each item and its condition to make sure that nothing was missing or damaged, and they pressed the clothes neatly before storing them. And while they were more concerned with what they brought with them, Aurora handed Johnny his pajamas and kept the JCC camera out so that he wouldn’t be caught on YouTube wearing only his underwear. One of the assistants came over to Aurora. They stared at each other for a moment, Aurora unsure of what he needed until he gestured to the Cartier bracelet on her wrist. Oh. Right. She held her hand out so that he could take the bracelet off of her and inspect it for damages, which there weren’t any.
After they were done, the stylist, his assistants, and all of the content crews packed into the suite shuffled out, taking their noise and chaos with them. The door closed and suddenly the suite was silent. Aurora and Johnny looked at each other. For the first time since they arrived in New York, they were completely alone and in silence with nowhere to go and no one to see or impress. Without a word, Aurora and Johnny went to the bedroom. He was in his pajamas, thanks to her, but Aurora was still in her dress, and though it was uncomfortable, it seemed like too much work to change instead of sitting on the edge of the bed alongside Johnny.
“Can I be honest for a second?” she finally asked quietly, scared that she would spook the silence of the settling hotel.
Johnny nodded.
“Ever since you put the clothes on for the first time the other day, I’ve been dying to fuck you.”
“Pfftttt—” He started laughing loudly. “I thought you were gonna say something like I looked like shit!” He fell backwards onto the mattress, throwing his right arm over his face while he continued laughing at her. “If I knew you wanted me that badly, you could’ve told me when I was still wearing it.”
“And get it all fucked up? Absolutely not.”
“‘Fucked up’?” He perked up with a raised brow. “Just what did you want to do with me? Damn—”
She leaned down to kiss him roughly while rolling so that she was on her knees beside him for a moment until he put his hands on her hips and began guiding her on top of him. She let him maneuver her. With her thighs bracketing his, their hands on each other’s cheeks, and Johnny rolling his hips, it was very clear where they were headed, so Johnny cradled the back of Aurora’s head before quickly flipping them over.
“Get this thing off me,” she begged him, gesturing to the zipper on the back of her dress.
Johnny nodded, understanding the assignment. He reached around her and pulled the zipper down, loosening the dress enough so that she could grab the bottom hem and pull it over her head before tossing it to the side of the room. They laid down again. Aurora moved her hair to her shoulder so that she could comfortably rest against the pillows while Johnny easily took off his pajamas. Lucky fucker got pampered by having his clothes replaced for him, but Aurora had to do it all herself… Well, now she was making Johnny do it for her. So maybe she was just as lucky, come to think of it.
“You’ve been trending all night,” Aurora informed him after he dove in to kiss her neck with the intention of leaving a hickey. He paused. “Every platform.”
He pulled back to look at her. “Actually?”
“I wouldn’t lie about that. You’re the number one trending name from the Met Gala— World wide.”
Johnny immediately leaned in again, this time to kiss Aurora with so much passion and suddenness that both of them didn’t have time to breathe, so they inhaled against each other, their eyes fluttering closed to allow their hands to do all the work. Clothes, gone. Condom wrapper, ripped open. Johnny's hair, trapped in Aurora’s grip so she could tug hard as he lined up with her entrance with a quiet moan.
“I’m proud of you, nae sarang…” she cooed lovingly.
Johnny's tip pushed through. “It’s all ‘cause of you, though…” He slid in gently to let Aurora adjust to the stretch. When she shook her head, he huffed and squeezed her hips roughly. “I’m gonna give you…” he hesitated as he settled at the base finally, “all the credit…” he started thrusting slowly, “whether you like it or not.”
He didn’t really give her much opportunity to argue back at that because he suddenly picked up his pace and leaned back on his knees so he could watch as he drilled into her at a brutal pace that left her as nothing but a moaning mess, grabbing the sheets, ankles kicking at his thighs. The sight of the point where they met made him moan. He threw his head back and worked his length into her like he was some sex symbol in some movie— and Aurora wasn’t exactly opposed to it. He looked really, really fucking good… and he fucking knew it.
When he felt her tighten around him, he grinned and reached between their bodies to rub her clit with two fingers at a quick and rough pace that matched his thrusts. “Don’t hold it,” he moaned. It was meant to sound more like a command, but it came out more like a pathetic plea, which Aurora obeyed regardless.
She grabbed onto his thick biceps before pulling herself up enough for her to kiss him again. The new angle allowed him to go deeper. She moaned as he hit a sensitive spot, and he moaned as she tightened and gently bit his bottom lip.
“Don’t stop,” she begged him breathlessly.
He nodded eagerly. There was no intention to slow down or stop— Johnny would’ve fucked her all day, every day if he could’ve, especially after she had tempted him with the claim that she needed him ever since he put on his outfit earlier. He knew that she had been stressed for weeks about the gala and organizing his schedules. He knew that she was pent up because of it. He knew what she needed: A quick release with him stretching her out and rubbing her sensitive clit in a way different from whenever she masturbated— Somehow better… Like he knew her body better than she did, which she would never understand.
“Cum on my cock, baby. Go on. Let it happen.” He pressed a hand against her chest then pushed her back down to be flat on the mattress so he could readjust to trap her legs around his waist before rolling his hips to keep himself buried deep as she squeezed his biceps for dear life when cumming. “Good girl,” he moaned. Another few thrusts after she had cum sent him over the edge with a slightly pornographic moan in her ear. “Fuck—” He gave another brutal thrust into her, filling the condom to the brim.
She picked his head up off her shoulder and held his chin between her fingers as she brought him in for another hungry kiss. “I’m really…” She panted to catch her breath. “Really proud of you.”
He chuckled. Instead of pulling out and rolling off of her, Johnny just sat up on his knees again and pulled out to take off the condom and tie it shut before tossing it to the side then grabbing another.
“You’re going to kill me,” he joked.
“You love me that much?”
“Fuck… Of course I do…” And then he drove into her again.
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