strike three  ➠chapter five
âsometimes, you find love where youâd least expect it.â
â˝ baseball team captain!jinhyuck x softball team captain!reader
â˝ college!au  Â
â˝ ft. up10tionâs jinhyuck, uniqâs seungyoun, up10tionâs wooseok and most likely other produce x 101 contestants aswell
â˝ also kim jiyeon, cho sojung and kim hyunjung of wjsn just to have a face to those names, but if you want to imagine your own people go ahead because this is mainly a produce x 101 fic
â˝ fluff and bits of angst, possibly more mature content but only following a warning
â˝ second person view, female reader who goes by your name (y/n)
⽠word count  : 3k
â˝ finished at 2019-11-25, 9:30 pm cet
â˝ a/n : finaaaallyyyyy! sorry for the long wait... iâve had quite a lot going on in my life lately, both physically and mentally (and a maaaajor writers block when it came to this...). thank you all for waiting. also, go check out jinhyukâs solo debut! itâs great!!
ALSO! click here to find jinhyuk and y/nâs clothes for the party!!
trigger warning : mentions of anxiety/panic attacks!Â
Masterlist l Chapter one l Chapter two l Chapter three l Chapter four l Chapter fiveÂ
⏠The two of you spent a good amount of time that evening together, getting to know each otherâs kissing styles so that you could be prepared for the party. Or, to you, it was more of a moment to get to know the whole act of kissing itself. After some time, you actually grew more confident and less scared of the party. Or, at least thatâs what you thought in the moment.
But when you woke up the next morning, there was a huge lump in your throat. You were a bit on-edge the whole day, and your mind wandered back to thinking about the party any time it could.Â
As Fridays were the teamsâ only weekday free from practice, parties were often held on exactly those days, except for if there was a game the morning after. Games were most often either on Saturdays or Sundays, with sometimes a celebratory party on Saturday evening if the game went well. There werenât any games until the nationals, so the whole weekend would be free for players to be hungover, so Wooseok had planned his party on a good day. After school, you went straight back to your dorm to get some rest before Jinhyuk would pick you up at 8. Right as you were done eating a quick dinner, Sojung came crashing in through the door.
âGirl, I saw this in the shop window today and I needed to get you it for tonight,â she said as she placed a shopping bag on the floor in front of you.
âDidnât you have class today?â
âYes I did, but since when does that mean I have to attend it?â You chuckled at her response but grinned, reaching down to the bag. You saw that it was from a shop you had heard from - not exactly a cheap store.
âSojung, I canât take this. It mustâve been super expensive,â you said, giving her a thankful yet sad smile.
She shook her head at you. âIt was on sale, like 70% off! And give it back tomorrow if you want to, just please, please, wear it tonight.â You stood still, only thinking about it for a few seconds, before agreeing. You nodded at her and could instantly see how her whole face shone up. âTry it on, then! Go!âÂ
You picked the piece of clothing out of the bag, and - it was really pretty. It was a black shoulderless dress, with the sleeves merely a little bit puffed. It was decorated along the chest and sleeves with strings, and only held up by two strings over the shoulders. You were stunned. âHave I ever told you that you have great taste in clothes?â Sojung only grinned and you could really tell how excited she was to see you in it.Â
You got changed quickly, and when you were done, you turned around for her to see you - and her mouth hung agape. âWow. Just wow,â she said and you couldnât help blushing. You walked over to the full-length mirror by the front door and watched yourself. You werenât someone who usually dressed up all fancy; you usually didnât have a reason to. But now that you had, you felt confident. You looked good. The dress hugged your body in just the right places, and it wasnât too short or too long for your taste. You smiled at the sight in the mirror.Â
Sojungâs voice soon interrupted your thoughts. âJinhyuk is going to love it. And you.â And now you were blushing even harder. You hadnât thought yet about Jinhyuk seeing you in that dress, and suddenly you got really nervous. He had pretty much never seen you like this, all dressed up, and you were unsure of how he was going to react.Â
âLet me do your hair!â Sojungâs mother was a hairstylist, so she had been taught how to work with hair from when she was very young. She always braided your hair for your competitions and put your hair in pretty hairstyles for special occasions. This time, she put your hair up in a cool ponytail and gave your hair some pretty waves. Just as you were about to check yourself out in the mirror, there was a knock on the door. You checked the time on your phone, 7:41, before opening the door - and behind it stood none other than Jinhyuk.
âOh, youâre early!â you exclaimed, a bit surprised as you didnât expect to see him so soon.
âAnd youâre really pretty,â he said and grinned, pulling you in for a hug.
You heard your own heartbeat very loudly in your head. Did he really call me pretty just now?, you thought to yourself. You breathed deeply to try to collect yourself, and put a bright smile on your lips as you pulled away from the hug. Your eyes scanned his outfit; he was wearing a white button-up with thin black vertical stripes, and its hem was lazily tucked into his ripped jeans at some parts. The jeansâ holes over his knees were so large that his whole knees were sticking out - but it looked cool nonetheless. And on his feet, a pair of regular white sneakers that matched his shirt. His outfit was simple, to say the least, yet it made him look very handsome. âWell you donât look too bad yourself,â you snickered and nudged his side with your elbow.
âDo you need some more time or are you ready to leave?â You nodded and went to grab your phone, and on the way back you saw Sojung who was still watching you with a big smile plastered on her lips. You pulled her in for a hug.
âThank you so so much,â you whispered to her and squeezed her extra tightly.
âItâs my pleasure,â she said back, pulling away from the hug to smile at you.Â
You walked over to Jinhyuk who was holding his out hand for you, and you took it in yours. You put on your shoes and waved a last time to Sojung before leaving through the front door. âHow are you feeling?â
You two began walking towards the exit and you let out a small sigh. âA bit nervous, but Iâm fine.â
âDonât be,â His thumb stroked the back of your hand softly as you went out through the front door, heading towards the parking lot. âI wonât leave your side, and you know you can cancel the kissing if you want.â
You nodded to yourself, but couldnât get any more words out of your mouth. You wanted to do it, you really did - you really wanted people to think of you two as a legit couple for the contest - but it frightened you. A lot. Just the thought of being that close to Jinhyuk, kissing Jinhyuk, in front of all these people made you dizzy. But you had to stay strong.
You two soon reached Jinhyukâs car which was parked in the schoolâs parking lot. As the party was going to be in an apartment off-campus, there was a drive of a couple of minutes, but Jinhyuk filled it up by talking to you about all kinds of nonsense to calm you down. When you arrived at Wooseokâs apartment, Jinhyuk ran around the car to the passengerâs seat to open the door for you and help you out. You smiled at his actions and thanked him, and he threw his arm around your waist to keep you close before leading you inside.
The room you first entered was the combined hallway/living room, with big speakers playing some kind of EDM music and lamps shooting beams in green and blue all over the room. There was a smell of alcohol, so strong your nose itched a bit. The room was filled with students with red cups in their hands, some dancing slowly and out of sync to the music, some just standing upright and talking. âLetâs find Wooseok,â Jinhyuk said and you nodded at him.
The room was so crowded that it was hard for you to get through, and Jinhyukâs grip on your waist tightened, making sure that you wouldnât fall away into the mass. You two made it into the kitchen after a few moments, and there was Wooseok, chatting with a girl who was sitting on a kitchen counter. You hadnât seen her on campus before, but you assumed she went to your school - but you thought she mustâve been in a lower grade than you, as she looked a few years younger. She had light brown wavy hair that framed her pretty looks, and dark freckles that were sprinkled across her face.
âWhatâs up, man?â Jinhyuk said when you approached the two of them.
âHey, Iâm glad you both could make it!â Wooseok snickered, a grin spreading across his lips. âGuys, this is Natasha.â He introduced the girl and she waved to you with a cute smile. âNatasha, this is Jinhyuk and Y/N.â
âItâs nice to meet you,â you said and Jinhyuk nodded next to you.
âYou too!â Natasha exclaimed and pulled a hand through her big, fluffy hair to get it out of her face.
You could really understand why Wooseok liked her (if it was actually real and not just to get on better terms with her father, that is). Everything about her was pretty - her smile, her nose, her hair, her eyes. If Wooseok is actually using her, you thought to yourself, then this is awful. Then she deserves someone much better.
The boys soon got immersed in a discussion about some football game, and Natasha was pulled away after a little while by one of her friends to the living room-area. You werenât particularly interested in the conversation going on, but as you scouted the room you didnât notice anyone familiar, so you had nowhere to go. So you stayed right next to Jinhyuk. And his arm never left its place around your waist.
After a while, you felt a tap on your shoulder. Turning around, you saw someone you knew. Kim Jiyeon, a senior and the greatest batter of the softball team. You two werenât exactly best friends, but as you were teammates, you knew each other well.
âHey girl! I didnât think youâd make it,â she rejoiced and pulled you in for a hug.
Giving her a squeeze back, you smiled to yourself at her excitement. âItâs nice to see you!â You two pulled away from the hug. âI didnât know youâd be here.â
âWell, this guy forced me to come here with him,â she said and pointed towards the boy standing behind her - Lee Hangyul, the baseball teamâs strongest shortstop. He was responsible for more double plays than any other shortstop in the league last season. He was also a quite nice guy, one of the few boys on the team who didnât consider himself âtoo coolâ to talk to you softball players. He and Jiyeon were sworn best friends, and according to them only so - though a lot of people thought there was something else going on between them.
The boys broke off their chitchat and you all five started small-talking together instead. The boys soon went to get some drinks, and Jinhyuk kissed your cheek as he mumbled into your ear that heâd be back any minute.
Jiyeon leaned against a kitchen counter before she started talking. âSo... How are you feeling about the competition? Are you nervous?â
You were confused. What contest was she talking about? âDo you mean the national championships?â you asked, to which she shook her head and smiled at you.
âNo, the one tonight.â You searched through your mind. Did Jinhyuk mention any contest? Had your memory been erased in some magical way? Jiyeon saw your struggle and spoke up again. âThe kissing contest. The round of ~too hot~, donât you know? You and Jinhyuk are up against Natasha and Wooseok. The couple the crowd likes the most wins.â
Your heart stopped. Was this for real? You werenât only going to kiss Jinhyuk in front of all these people, but you were going to be judged by them? The thought of them watching your every move, how your mouth moved against his, made your stomach twist. Your mind went blank and you stopped breathing for a few seconds.
A hand on your shoulder woke you up again. âY/N? Whatâs going on?â Jiyeonâs voice echoed through your head along with the loud music and you blinked a couple of times to try to see clearer. Everything was dark. Your breathing became heavier.
âI-I-I need to get some air...â you let out all in one breath before turning around and moving as quickly as you could through the crowd. There were people everywhere, dancing and hollering at each other. The tunes coming out of the speakers made your head hurt, and the extreme smell of alcohol didnât make it any better. As you pushed yourself between the students, you felt a strong pain in your chest and your breathing intensified. I just need to get outside, you thought to yourself. I just need some air...
Finally, after what felt like hours, you found a back door that lead to Wooseokâs small backyard. Pulling the handle down with all the power you had left in your body, you let the door slide open and you threw yourself outside, letting it close behind you. You sat down on the grass and it was as if you finally let loose. Like everything just poured out of you. The anxiety over having to kiss him in front of someone, anyone at all, and the anxiety of knowing they will judge you from all that you do. You started hyperventilating, and now tears were falling along your cheeks nonstop. You felt like someone was choking you. The world was spinning and you reached forward with trembling hands to try to stabilize yourself to the ground.
Suddenly, your arms were pulled gently up over your head and your hands were held by another large pair of hands. âBreathe,â a voice whispered lowly.
You recognized it - it was Jinhyukâs.
âDo it with me. Breathe in,â he said and really emphasized the in, signaling for you to take it slow. âand out.â And so he continued. You tried your best to follow him, even though it was hard.
And Jinhyuk was nothing but patient with you. He took it slow, and focused on helping you bring you up from all of this. His thumbs alternated between stroking the back of your hands and wiping tears off your cheeks.
When you eventually calmed down and could breathe properly again, you felt another wave of feelings wash over you - but this time, it was feelings of embarrassment. You had been sitting here crying like a total freak, in front of one of the most popular boys in school, a boy you knew talked to all his friends about almost everything - especially when it came to girls.
You looked away as he let go of your hands, and could feel your cheeks heating up instantly. Your hand went up to draw your fingers through your hair, a habit of yours for whenever you got embarrassed. âAre you okay?â the boy in front of you asked, seemingly worried.
âYes,â you spoke in a weak voice, feeling like your voice wasnât strong enough not to crack if you were to say anything else.
âWhat caused all of this? Is it the kiss?â
You shook your head. âNo...â you mumbled. âor, yes, kind of. I donât know.â A couple of lonely tears ran along your cheek once again. âI heard about the... competition.â
âThe what?â
âThereâs apparently some kind of contest between you and me, and Wooseok and Natasha.â
You looked up at him after finishing your sentence, and Jinhyuck pulled a face you couldnât quite understand, but he looked really confused. âWhat?!â
âJiyeon told me about it, and...â You let out a sigh. âsomething just happened. I couldnât control it. I needed to get out of there.â
Suddenly, Jinhyuck pulled his arms around you and engulfed you into a soft hug. âThereâs absolutely no pressure to do this, okay? We can go back to the dorm right now if youâd like to.â
Shaking your head, you pulled away from the hug and wiped away the last of your tears. âI can go through with the kissing, itâs just the contest that Iâm not up for.â
âI could go inside and tell them to call it off?â
You looked up at him with hope in your eyes. âCould you do that?â
He nodded and smiled at you. âOf course. Anything for you.â
A weight lifted off your shoulders and you could finally smile again. Did he really mean that? Saying that was really sweet of him, and it didnât seem like he only said it for the deal - it seemed like he genuinely cared for you.
âThank you.â He nodded and reached forward to cup your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb ever so softly, before standing up and walking back towards the house. But as he was about to enter, the door was opened by someone else - Seungyoun.
âIs she okay?â He asked, shooting a worried glance over towards you.
Jinhyuk nodded. âJust... be gentle with her,â he muttered under his breath before heading in to the party and letting Seungyoun walk over to you.
He stopped right in front of you and sighed, before saying âWe need to talk.â.













